text stringlengths 247 520k | nemo_id stringlengths 29 29 |
|---|---|
CLEAN AIR RESOLUTION
Resolution Regarding Air Quality in Cumberland County
Authored by the Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania
pollution from diesel engine emissions has been proven to be harmful to our health. Diesel exhaust can contain 40 hazardous air pollutants, 15 of which are known human carcinogens. Fine particles from diesel emissions have been linked to heart attacks, asthma, stroke, stunted lung growth and premature death. Children and seniors are at the greatest risk from these emissions1; and
air quality has been shown to be especially degraded in Cumberland County and EPA has designated the County as being in non-attainment of fine particle (PM 2.5) and ozone standards. The average lifetime diesel soot cancer risk here is 393 times greater than the accepted EPA cancer level of one in one million2. Cumberland County is among the 2% most polluted counties in the nation for fine particle pollution3; and
in August 2005 more than 100 doctors in the region submitted a paid advertisement to local media citing statistics about air pollution and attributing the problem primarily to fine particle pollution from diesel exhaust and the heavy concentration of trucks in the area; and
“the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it,” as the Psalmist says, and human beings are called to be responsible stewards of God’s creation;
Therefore, the undersigned members of the Cumberland County faith community hereby ask that:
1. Planning and municipal authorities in Cumberland County take air quality factors into account in land use planning decisions, particularly with regard to diesel trucks and buses that contribute to air quality degradation.
2. Cumberland County enact ordinances to limit air pollution from the idling of diesel-powered vehicles.
3. Truck facilities in Cumberland County implement programs to reduce diesel emissions, including installation of electrification units to eliminate the need for extensive diesel-powered truck idling.
4. School districts in Cumberland County enact policies limiting school bus idling and aggressively pursue grant funding and programs to retrofit and upgrade school bus diesel engines with devices to help control harmful emissions.
1. Clean Air Task Force, “Diesel and Health in America,” February 2005. Available online at http://www.catf.us/publications/view/83
2. Clean Air Task Force, Diesel Project. Available at http://www.catf.us/projects/diesel/
3. American Lung Association, “State of the Air 2005.” Available online at http://lungaction.org/reports/stateoftheair2005.html
4. The Sentinel: Carlisle, PA. August 23, 2005 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31911000 |
By Cass R. Sunstein
WASHINGTON — Almost 70 percent of Americans have been overweight or obese in recent years, and more than 78 million people in the country have been counted as obese.
The problem has many sources, but one of them is obvious: increased portion sizes. We have a lot of evidence that people will eat whatever is put in front of them, even if they aren't hungry. As portion sizes expand, waistlines expand as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average U.S. restaurant meal is more than five times larger than it was in the 1950s. The average hamburger, once less than 4 ounces, is now more than 12 ounces. The average order of French fries, once less than 3 ounces, is now more than 6 ounces. There is a clear correlation between increases in portion sizes and increases in obesity.
That correlation helps explain why obesity has been more prevalent in the United States than in France. The French eat high-calorie food, but their portion sizes are smaller. In supermarkets and restaurants, and in portion sizes recommended in cookbooks, Americans are given significantly bigger servings. Even at McDonald's, where we might expect identical sizes, servings of soda and French fries have been found to be larger in Philadelphia than in Paris.
Brian Wansink, a Cornell University professor of consumer behavior, helps to explain why portion sizes have such a large effect. He finds that much of our eating is mindless or automatic in that we tend to eat whatever is in front of us. If you are given a half-pound bag of M&M's, chances are that you will eat about half as much as you will if you are given a one- pound bag. People who receive large bowls of ice cream eat a lot more than those who get small bowls.
In one of Wansink's fiendish experiments, people were provided with a large bowl of Campbell's tomato soup and told to eat as much as they liked. Unbeknownst to them, the soup bowls were engineered to refill themselves (with empty bottoms connected to machinery beneath the table). No matter how much soup the subjects ate, the bowl never emptied. The result? Soup consumption skyrocketed. Many people just kept eating until the experiment was ended.
The good news is that once we isolate the sources of excessive eating, we will be able to identify potential solutions. Google found that its New York cafeteria, which offered a lot of high-calorie items, was producing a lot of unwanted pounds. In response to employee complaints, it initiated changes to nudge people toward healthier choices. Large plates and takeout containers were exchanged for smaller sizes, and employees were encouraged to eat less with a sign stating, "People who take big plates tend to eat more."
The redesigned cafeteria took a number of smart steps to make healthy choices simpler and more convenient (and to make less healthy choices less so). As a result, it helped to produce big reductions in both calories and fat consumed from candy.
A striking feature of the Google initiative was that employees were grateful for the nudges. There is reason to think that many consumers would respond the same way. In a series of studies, researchers told fast-food servers to ask customers whether they wanted to "downsize" their high-calorie side dishes. A substantial number (from 14 percent to 33 percent of those served) consistently agreed to do so. Strikingly, they accepted the offer whether or not they were offered a nominal 25 cent discount. Their total calorie consumption was reduced, on average, by more than 200.
Evidence is increasing that lower-calorie servings can be good for business. One reason is consumer demand. Many customers like, and reward, restaurants that provide light options; an easy way to provide such options is to cut portion sizes. Another reason is the increasing practice, often undertaken voluntarily and eventually to be required by the Affordable Care Act, of posting calorie counts on menus. Customers can be surprised to see just how many calories come from the standard portions of their favorite meals. They may not want to switch to a meal they enjoy less, but a smaller portion may suit them just fine. (Parents and dieters, please take note.)
The broader lesson is that obesity levels, in the U.S. and elsewhere, are hardly inevitable. They are a product of the social context in which people's choices are made. With careful attention to the subtle social cues that lead to excessive eating, we should be able to make a real dent in a serious public health problem.
Cass R. Sunstein, the Felix Frankfurter professor of law at Harvard University, is a Bloomberg View columnist. He is the former administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the co-author of "Nudge" and author of "Simpler: The Future of Government," to be published in April. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31916000 |
Following the Easter Rising of 1916, a significant challenge for the republican movement was sourcing weapons and ammunition to rearm itself. One particular incident on the Dublin docks in 1918 saw the Irish Citizen Army secure a huge windfall of ammunition from an American transport vessel, the Defiance, which had served as a cargo ship in the United States Navy during the late stages of the Great War. Having first sailed from San Francisco in September 1914, she delivered cargo to Dundirk in France, and at the end of the war she briefly spent some time in Dublin, for the purpose of shipping back army huts and stores which belonged to the United States Expeditionary Force.
While in Dublin the ship fell victim to a well-planned raid carried out by the Irish Citizen Army, the small but militant workers militia that emerged first from the Lockout of 1913, and which fought in the Easter Rising. A brilliant and colourful account of the raiding of the ship is contained in R.M Fox’s 1944 work The History of the Irish Citizen Army, and here we have republished some of the account of this raid from that long out of print work. It shows the role Dublin dockers played in the revolutionary period, and gives an idea of ICA activity in the years after rebellion.
In his study, Fox notes that the vessel attracted the attention of dockers, and that:
Dublin dockers at work loading up the boat wondered at the extraordinary precautions taken. By each gangway was an armed guard of United States Marines. Other guards were placed in position by the deck and the hold. No man could get off the ship without a permit, and he had to run the gauntlet of the guards. The dockers looked round and discovered the hold contained piled up cases of revolvers, rifles and ammunition that were being shipped from England back to America. The Citizen Army was instantly on the alert. Seamus McGowan, the arms expert, was smuggled in as a docker, to arrange about getting some of this stuff ashore.
The cases had to be broken open in the hold by dockers without being observed by the guards. Then all the stuff had to be concealed to get it across the gangway. No parcels were allowed. In spite of all the difficulties the booty was too valuable to lose, and relays of Citizen Army men were down on the quays for eight hours a day, taking the revolvers and ammunition from those who succeeded in getting the necessary shore permits. The little tin lavatories on the quays made excellent transfer stations. Soon the bag consisted of 56 .45 revolvers, 2,000 rounds of revolver ammunition, 5,000 rounds of Springfield ammunition in canvas bandoliers and an assortment of Verey lights and pistols. Arrangements were also made with a member of the crew to deliver 34 .45 automatics, which had been served out to the crew. He lowered these over the side in a canvas bucket to a boat which crept out in the darkness. Captain Poole was in charge of the boat operation.
Unfortunately the Springfield rifles proved too cumbersome to get ashore. It was easy enough to break the cases in the hold. But no one could hope to get along the gangway holding a rifle. They were left very reluctantly. Attempts were made to unscrew the butts and so reduce the length, but this proved impossible. If it hadn’t been for the length of the rifles, America would have played a still bigger part in arming Ireland in her fight for freedom!
For several days ammunition and revolvers were landed without difficulty. Then one morning the captain and his mate descended to the hold in a state of great agitation. The captain walked straight across to a dark corner which had been screened by a number of big cases. Here he saw rows of boxes, broken open and empty. The arms and ammunition had vanished. All the dockers were immediately ordered ashore under armed guard. They were taken into a shed – the same shed which had been used to receive the stores from the foodships in 1913. There they were told they were going to be searched. Indignant objections were raised, but all knew they had taken their last load. They were paid off on the spot, and the Defiance raising anchor departed without waiting for any more cargo. Suspicions had been aroused by an imprudent Irish Volunteer asking the mate if they had any guns for sale. He went back and told the captain, and they started investigations at once. Much of the stores and the equipment that they left behind was auctioned on the quays. Liberty Hall secured furniture at this auction to make up for the devastation of 1916.
From R.M Fox ‘The History of the Irish Citizen Army’ (Dublin, 1944) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31920000 |
I had the privilege of attending a conference called “Asperger Syndrome and Adolescence: Building Skills for the Real World” hosted by The Gray Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan last week. It consisted of two speakers. The first, Talmer Shockley, was an adult diagnosed with Asperger’s who spoke openly and honestly about his personal experiences. He offered insight into all the challenges that present themselves to him on a daily basis. The second speaker was Teresa Bolick, Ph. D., who spoke about strategies to help individuals with Asperger Syndrome better understand the social world around them. I would recommend that anyone who gets a chance to hear Dr. Bolick speak should do so. She was an entertaining and thoughtful presenter with many suggestions and ideas for intervention. Following are a few highlights from her presentation:
- The concept of “Social Capitol” is very important when looking at what behaviors are acceptable and what behaviors are unacceptable. Kids with social capitol have a reputation within a social network. There is a sense of trust and reciprocity that has been established over time and allows for forgiveness of social mistakes (which none of us are exempt from making). The example Dr. Bolick provided explained it quite well: when the cute 7th grader who everyone has a crush on puts a pea up his nose, it’s funny. When a “quirky” kid puts a pea up his (or her) nose, it’s weird. Social capitol is gained over time and kids with Asperger’s need help building it. Learning how to do some of the following will help: make a good impression, listen to others and remember what they say, get involved with other people, contribute, be a good sport.
- Using and teaching “low and slow.” When agitation starts to increase it’s important to remember to bring everything down. We often don’t think of ourselves as threatening but the simple fact that we’re bigger than most of the kids we work with automatically puts us in that position. If a child is in distress or quickly moving in that direction, how you approach them will greatly impact the situation. Here are some things to remember: Low: lower your body to the child’s level, lower the pitch and volume of your voice, lower the complexity of your language and decrease questions. Slow: slow down your heart rate by taking deep breaths, slow your speech and pause between sentences, slow your movements, slow down your agenda.
- The idea of creating an “ACCEPTS” book to help with self regulation. Each page focuses on a different positive theme and it can be brought out when a child needs a boost. The sections are as follows: A = Activities (what makes you smile?), C = Contributing (how did you help someone?), C = Comparisons (how far have you come?), E = Emotions (a collage of positive feelings), P = Pushing Away (note some worries that can be pushed away), T = Thoughts (self-affirming), S = Sensations (memories of calming/regulating sensory input). Kids can cut out pictures from magazines, use photographs, or anything else they might want to include on the pages.
- Suggesting that social stories should be used to reflect successes as well as challenges. They’re a great tool for positive reinforcement and won’t get the reputation of only coming out when things aren’t going well.
- Make Beliefs Comix: You can choose your own character, facial expression, body positions and speech bubbles on this website. A great resource!
- Charting and visuals can make a huge difference. It takes things that are intuitive to most of us and presents them in an analytical way. This can make them much easier to approach and process for people with social cognitive deficits. The charts don’t have to be fancy, it often just helps to see things categorized and written out (for example, a table defining what topics are appropriate to discuss in what situations).
These highlights are just a sample of the information that was presented but they were some of the things that stood out to me. I hope you’ll find them useful! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31922000 |
I get lots of questions from parents about how to work on improving their child’s use of personal pronouns. It’s not unusual for children on the autistic spectrum to demonstrate what’s referred to as pronoun confusion or pronoun reversal. Since this is something that we work on a lot of Communication Therapy, I thought I would share some ideas that can be used to work on this skill at home:
- Use visuals. Keep them posted around the house so you can easily reference them when needed. The visual to facilitate use of the pronoun “I” usually consists of an individual gesturing to himself or herself, paired with the written “I”.
- Read Mercer Mayer’s “Little Critter” books with your child. These books are written in first person and consist of simple sentences of a repetitive nature. The stories are simple and often label emotions clearly. The pictures are not overwhelming and have a few reoccurring characters that children usually enjoy looking for on each page, which can also be used to model pronouns. For example, take turns finding the spider or cricket on each page and model self talk while you do so: “Okay, it’s my turn. I’m looking for the spider…I found him!”
- Draw self portraits along with your child. These can be as simple as drawing stick figures and will allow for lots of clear modeling. Choose a part to draw and describe what you’re doing: “I’m drawing my hair. I have brown hair.” Gesture to yourself as you emphasize the word I. Repeat similar, simple sentences with each thing you draw (eyes, nose, legs, feet, etc.). If your child is confused by the concept of drawing themselves- they may want to draw you, as you’re doing- try having a picture of each of you to look at while you draw. This will help make it clear that you are each drawing yourselves.
- Make a book for your child. You can use pictures of things they’ve done, places you’ve visited, pictures of friends and family members, or just things they enjoy. Narrate the book so it’s written from your child’s perspective. Again, keep the language simple and emphasize use of personal pronouns. It’s okay it if sounds repetitive; we learn from repetition.
If you have a chance to try any of the suggestions, please share and let us know how it worked for you! If you find ways to expand on ideas or come up with any new ones, please share those too! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31923000 |
The WHO confirms a most horrifying trend in their recent study: one billion individuals cannot afford paid health care of any kind. Reuters reports the issue is even more complicated than that, however. Each year, the high cost of medical care takes 100 million paying customers to the arms of poverty. Post resource - One billion people cannot afford health care, says WHO by Personal Money Store.
Nations that cannot afford medical care must improve efficiency
The WHO's global report on health care pays particular attention to financing, as the number of countries with large numbers of individuals who cannot afford medical care has growth significantly. It's extremely essential, with universal coverage as the goal, that there are methods to make medical care more affordable by doing things like fund-raising measures and improving taxes.
Who’s director of health systems financing in David Evans. He explained that individuals end up making the decision to go without medical care because of the current state of health care worldwide.
“When (health services) are not really affordable, it means you either choose not really to use them or you suffer severe financial hardship,” he said.
World Health Organization intends to improve worldwide medical care
In order to keep those who do pay for medical care from sliding into poverty, the World Health Organization recommends that health care and insurance business practices ought to be tweaked so that 15 to 20 percent of a country's total health spending amounts to direct, out-of-pocket payments. There are 33 low-to middle-income nations right now that pay way too much in out of pocket payments. Over 50 percent is paid for them. With the suggestion of sin, taxes, currency transaction taxes and wealth taxes in the report that governments could diversify their revenue sources with, there ought to be less spent.
Medical care being unused
Health care is wasted when you will find one billion individuals world health organization can’t afford to get it. According to WHO director general Margaret Chan, 20 percent to 40 percent of all worldwide medical care spending is wasted through purchase of expensive, unnecessary drugs and treatments. Lack of proper medical training also contributes to such inefficiency. Some countries end up paying 67 times more than the international average for some medications that they need. Many see this and know that solving the medical care dilemma isn’t going to take place quickly.
"There is no magic bullet to achieving universal access,” said Chan. “Nevertheless, a wide range of experiences from all more than the world suggests that nations can move forward faster."
The need for health care reform in India | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31925000 |
Treecycling with Urbanwood
In the urban forest, a felled tree used to be a dead tree. Too commonly, city and suburban trees leveled by wind, insect plagues like the emerald ash borer, and other bad breaks are headed for the wood chipper or hauled off to factories to be ground into mulch, particle board material, and end products bearing little resemblance to their leafy forebears.
Now, take the locavore mindset of consuming products within their communities of origin – a movement which started with food – and apply it to trees.
"This idea of reclaiming those kinds of trees is really picking up steam across the country. It first really got its start a couple decades ago in California. There were some small businesses that were working together with communities that were doing it, and the U.S. Forest Service has been doing a lot over the last two decades to promote this across the country...Southeast Michigan has really become a showplace for it now," says Jessica Simons, a natural resources specialist with the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation & Development Council.
To wit: the rise of the Urbanwood Project
, a partnership between the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation & Development Council
, Recycle Ann Arbor
, the Genesee Conservation District
, the Genesee County Habitat for Humanity ReStore
, and local small businesses that is tasked with the recycling of Southeast Michigan's fallen urban trees for lumber, flooring, millwork and cabinetry, counter and tabletop slabs, and other household uses.
Tanya Muzumdar discusses the resurrection of wood with Jessica Simons.
What is Urbanwood about and what was behind its inception?
We [the Council] started working on some projects together with the U.S. Forest Service and with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources back in 2004, and at that point, the area was right in the middle of the huge emerald ash borer outbreak...And so we were trying to figure out how much wood was going to be coming out of communities because of emerald ash borer, where it was going to go, if there were already businesses that could handle it...One of the things that we found pretty quickly, there were far more sawmills in the area than we realized. Except they were very small, they were typically family-owned, they didn't really advertise much...Most of them were milling trees from communities anyway...They were kind of ideally suited for the ash borer crisis. They were nimble, they could work directly with communities, so we were trying to figure out what we could do to boost the profile of these sawmills in the area, and at the same time help create more of a market for the products that they produced...
Recycle Ann Arbor was refinishing their conference room at the time...and they wanted to put new flooring in, and they always tried to highlight sustainable materials...Then the Reuse Center customers started asking about it, so Recycle Ann Arbor said that they would put up a small shelf with a little bit of the wood on it to see if reuse customers were interested. Fast forward about seven years, and now...1,600 square feet of the Reuse Center at Recycle Ann Arbor is now the Urbanwood Marketplace and has wood from six different vendors.
The first Marketplace opened at Recycle Ann Arbor's ReUse Center in 2005, followed by the Genesee County Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Flint last spring. How are the marketplaces doing since they were opened?
They're projecting right now to sell over $100,000 worth of lumber there this year. And so we think that that's great success. A couple of the mills that we worked with have credited us with keeping them in business during the slow economy...
What we're excited about the products that Urbanwood carries is that there's a tremendous variety and it's very different from what you'd see at your typical lumberyard. It's not just filled with standard dimensional lumber for a few species, like what you would see going to look at the 2X4s at Lowes. At any time there could be 25-30 different species of lumber at the Marketplace...What it represents is the species of trees that come out of the urban areas in southeast Michigan. If walnut comes out, great, walnut's always in high demand... If a mulberry tree or an osage orange comes out of a community, well, that's what gets milled too. The unpredictability of the supply and the variety of the supply is what makes Urbanwood different...Sometimes the wood has much more character than what you'd find at your traditional store. We do still carry the clear things without any kind of knots...but we also carry material that has huge knotholes, or that has staining, or that has bark still attached on the edge.
What is the cost range per board-foot?
It is all over the board.
No pun intended.
(Laughs.) We have everything from – one of the local mills sells boxes of cutoff pieces – small scrap pieces for someone who likes to carve small wooden pieces of art. You can get a large box of cutoff pieces for $15 or you can buy a tabletop slab that is $1,500...The range is enormous. It's possible to walk out with a board for a couple of bucks, but if you're looking for something high-end, spectacular, you can get that too.
With what happened with the emerald ash borer, with the fact that people in SEMI, in that urban area, are looking at forestry problems and realizing that they live in an urban forest and realizing they have to care for an urban forest, it has also made them more receptive to hearing about what can be done with the products of that urban forest.
Are other communities following your lead?
This whole cooperative structure that we've developed is really something that is increasingly going to be looked at as a model for other regions. We've been in a lot of contact with the folks who are trying to promote the same thing in different other metropolitan areas around the country. There are some people in the Chicago area who are doing it, there are people in Madison, Wisconsin, and in Milwaukee who are trying to do it, there are people in North Carolina, people in California. There are pockets all around the country where you see these initiatives taking place. As far as I know, the cooperative we have, the combined marketplaces that we have with a whole group of small sellers, that's the only one we know of selling urban material like this that we know of in the country. And so we're getting a lot of calls from other areas where urban wood use is taking off...We're hoping to see more of this happen...I think it was one of those cases where out of disaster, something good bloomed. With just the volume of waste that was created by emerald ash borer and the awareness that it created, I think it actually gave us the perfect environment for something like this to grow.
The Traverwood branch of the Ann Arbor Public Library has a lot of reclaimed ash flooring and shelving in its interior.
Yes, we worked on the Traverwood branch
... Part of the harvesting and milling of the ash trees that went into that building, that was paid for through a grant that our council got from the U.S. Forest Service.
What's another significant project using recycled wood?
Paul Hickman is a local designer in Ann Arbor...He is working using our partners as suppliers, and he's producing a whole line of picture frames made from urban wood. His business is called Urban Ashes and he uses the wood and works with people from the local workforce development group and actually is doing job training and development with people who are coming out of corrections, people who are in transitional labor for one reason or another, who are producing these high-end picture frames...He's using Michigan glass in the picture frames, he's using Michigan paper for the backing. It's an entirely Michigan product and he's getting great reception from boutique gift stores throughout Michigan and also even throughout the country.
And what's next for Urbanwood?
"In the bigger picture, we would really just love to see more markets develop. We are very open to the idea of creating a couple more marketplaces throughout southeast Michigan and just getting more people aware that this wood is available, that this can happen with their own trees, that we can see more communities buy into the concept as well...We would love to see every city that has a plan for managing their urban forest to include a plan for how they manage the wood when the trees come down."
Tanya Muzumdar is a freelance writer, poet, and the Assistant Editor of Concentrate and Metromode. Her last feature column was "German Park is Heimplatz for Summer Festivities".
All photos by Doug Coombe | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31927000 |
A printed book or PDF download version of The Congo Cookbook is available from lulu
names of African foods
It could be argued that Africa's linguistic diversity is greater than its gastronomic diversity. Simply put, the number of African languages is greater than the number of African foods. The African continent is home to hundreds, maybe thousands, of languages (though perhaps only 40 African languages are spoken by two million or more people), but there are far fewer foodstuffs. This means that a certain food prepared a certain way might be known by one name in one place, and by another name in another place. For example, what can be called Black-Eyed Pea Fritters, or Bean Croquettes, or Bean Balls (in English) are called Akara in The Congo Cookbook. That is one name for them in at least one language in Western Africa, but they are also known as Binch Akara, Kosai, Koose, and Kwasi, and probably many other things. Akara may or may not be the most common name. As if there were not enough African languages, things are further complicated by the fact that African words are spelled differently in different languages like English, French, Portuguese, German, or Italian that came to Africa in the colonial era. For example, the Moambé Stew recipe could just as easily have been titled Mwambé.
When African words are written in English, a good rule to follow is to pronounce each vowel as a seperate syllable. For example: Matoke is pronounced "ma-toe-kee". French accents are sometimes used, for example, "Moambé" is pronounced "mwam-bay".
Alice Werner provided much the same advice for pronouncing words from the Bantu languages in her Myths and Legends of the Bantu (London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1933), in which she wrote:
A word as to the pronunciation of African names. No attempt has been made to render them phonetically, beyond the rough-and-ready rule that vowels are to be pronounced as in German or Italian, consonants as in English, every syllable as ending in a vowel, and every vowel to be pronounced. Thus it has not been considered necessary to put an acute accent over the e in Shire (which, by the by, ought to be Chiri) and Pare. Where ng is followed by an apostrophe, as in 'Ryang'ombe' (but not in 'Kalungangombe'), it is sounded as in 'sing,' not as in 'finger.'
Search this website:
Congo Cookbook recipes using Palm OilRecipes by Ingredient | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31928000 |
The bulletin of Atlanta University
|Previous||1 of 4||Next|
Loading content ...
Number 187 Atlanta, Georgia January, 1909 The Southern Educational Association Negro Education The question of Negro education was given a prominent place in the program of the recent meeting of the Southern Educational Association in Atlanta, an entire morning session being given to its consideration. We regret that the local newspaper reports failed to convey the liberal spirit which characterized the discussion. The prevailing sentiment was decidedly in favor of more and better work for the Negroes and there was general recognition of the sad limitations which characterize their present public school opportunities. It was held that the burden of Negro education must fall largely on the Southern people, and in this connection the missionary schools established and largely supported by people from the North met with some criticism. The question was raised as to whether people who lived in another section of the country could possibly understand the needs of the Negro race and prepare them for useful life as effectively as the Southerners among whom their lot is cast. Rev. George Sale, D. D., was on the program to speak upon The Past, Present and Future of Mission Schools in the South for the Education of the Negro. He used the opportunity this afforded to meet the criticisms which had been made. He showed the relation which these schools bore to the whole system of Negro education, being, as they are, the training schools for the teachers. He showed, moreover, that the development of character and of the spirit of service was fundamental in the purpose of all such institutions, and said that criticism of them was usually based upon misapprehension. He urged the people of the South to acquaint themselves more fully with the work of such schools. When the meeting was open for discussion Pres. G. R. Glenn, of the North Georgia Industrial School, spoke. Dr. Glenn was formerly Commissioner of Public Schools of the state of Georgia. There is no man more familiar with the problems of education in the South than he. In a few words, beautifully chosen, he expressed, as a Southern man, his deep appreciation of the work that had been accomplished in the mission schools and his admiration for the young people who had, as missionaries, come to the South in the '60's and '70's, and devoted themselves to so unpopular a cause as Negro education. Mention should be made also of the forceful address of Ex-Governor W. J. Northen. He earnestly advocated education as a means for the prevention of lawlessness and would have the state of Georgia introduce compulsory education for all her people of school age, both white and black. Some Phases of the Negro Problem (Quoted from Mr. Taft's speech before the North Carolina Society) The proposal to repeal the Fifteenth Amendment is utterly impracticable and should be relegated to the limbo of forgotten issues. It is very certain that any party founded on the proposition would utterly fail in a National canvass, and that the hope is futile. What we are considering is something practical, something that means attainable progress. It seems to me to follow, therefore, that there is or ought to be a common ground upon which we can all stand in respect to the race question in the South, and its political bearing, that takes away any justification for maintaining the continued solidity of the South to prevent the so-called Negro domination. The fear that in some way or other a social equality between the races shall be enforced by law or brought about by political measures really has no foundation except in the imagination of those who fear such a result. The Federal Government has nothing to do with social equality. The war amendments do not declare in favor of social equality; all that the law or Constitution attempt to secure is equality of opportunity before the law and in the pursuit of happiness, and in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. Social equality is something that grows out of voluntary concessions by the individuals forming society...... Ultimately, of course, the burden of Negro education must fall on the Southern people and on Southern property owners. Private charity and munificence, except by way of furnishing an example and a model, can do comparatively little in this direction. It may take some time to hasten the movement for the most generous public appropriations for the education of the Negro, but the truth that in the uplifting of the Negro lies the welfare of the South is forcing itself on the far-sighted of the Southern leaders. Primary and industrial education for the masses, higher education for the leaders of the Negro race, for their professional men, their clergymen, their physicians, their lawyers, and their teachers, will make up a system under which their improvement, which statistics show to have been most noteworthy in the last forty years, will continue at the same rate. . . . Public Schools in Atlanta When a city becomes its own severest critic there is great hope of improvement. The following paragraphs are quoted from the annual address of Mr. Asa G. Candler, President of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce: All the school houses are overcrowded, and in several the board of education, in order to accommodate the children who have sought entrance, have been compelled to use ill-lighted and poorly ventilated basements for class rooms. The wooden buildings are heated by stoves ; their only means of ventilation are windows through which cold drafts of vitiated air come, inviting and producing disease and death to our children, if in the providence of a merciful God they escape cremation by a burning building. Poor and perilous as are these buildings, they are wholly inadequate even if they were such structures as they ought to be. Atlanta has about 20,000 children of school age, boys and girls, between the ages of six and fourteen. The total enrollment in our overcrowded and ill-housed schools is less than 14,000. It is reliably estimated that 7,200 children of school age are not in school at all. Of these 2,800 are white and 4,400 black. Gentlemen, take note, the spring time of life comes but once and when gone, is forever gone, with all its solemn eternity of meaning. Can any community afford to take such chances on the young life of future generations? Can we blast the seed time and hope for the harvest? Prof. George Norton Ellis, of Berea College, visited us the last day of the old year and spoke to the students at morning chapel.
|Title||The bulletin of Atlanta University, 1909 no. 187|
Universities & colleges
|Description||The bulletin of Atlanta University was a publication sent to faculty, friend and alumni of the institution; Telling of the institution's progress and present needs. This issue is January 1909, no. 187.|
|Holding Library||Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31931000 |
What we perceive in the world is highly influenced by what we are looking for. That is old news. Now European researchers have used this theory to create a convincing and engaging ‘mixed reality‘, and they have put together a cookbook so others can do it, too. That is new news.
Reality is WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. But what you see depends largely on what you are looking for.
In a famous experiment, a group of volunteers observed a video of two teams, one dressed in black and one in white, passing a ball between them. The volunteers had to count the number of times the ball was passed directly from one player in black to another player in black. They performed the task excellently.
What they failed to notice was the man in the gorilla suit who walked on screen and jumped up and down during the game. It proved that what you see is strongly influenced by what you are looking for.
In ophthalmology, researchers have found the eye does not see everything you perceive; neural processing fills in parts of the scene by inferring from those bits that are observed. In quantum physics, researchers discovered that particles change behaviour depending on whether you are looking at them or not.
In field after field researchers have discovered that perception is not linear; it is fuzzy; and it can be strongly influenced by carefully choosing the right cues.
The cues do not necessarily require complex technology. The Wii, a very popular gaming platform, abandoned the arms race of ever-more powerful processors and graphics cards and instead incorporated a simple motion sensor. Now users' gestures and reflexes drive the game, changing the pastime from a solitary, passive experience into an active, social one.
Those two additions, sociability and physicality, dramatically enhance the sense of experienced reality engendered by the game. This is very interesting. Up to now technologies, such as virtual and mixed reality, were thought by most to rely on more power, more technologically advanced interfaces, more animation and textures; but it now seems mixed reality is more powerfully and realistically evoked by combining perceptual dimensions with novel technologies in order to create a greater depth of experience.
“The greater the combination of senses engaged, the greater the chance of the user feeling immersed or present in the experience,” explains Rod McCall, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute and coordinator of the IPCity project.
In IPCity, a major EU-funded mixed reality project, researchers studied dozens of technologies to find those that dramatically enhance a user’s experience of a given task, all in an effort to increase citizens’ participation in civic life.
V-Ex and the city
Using virtual experiences (or V-Ex if you want) like this to bring citizens closer to the city, the project embarked on what is probably the largest concerted effort, looking at the widest variety of mixed reality implementations, in recent times.
The project created applications for town planning, gaming, environmental awareness and storytelling. It enhanced engagement with the social, cultural and historical fabric of a city through location awareness and mapping, and it developed social storytelling rooted at locations within the streetscape.
Using a combination of easy-to-understand yet state-of-the-art technologies and location sensing, the researchers were able to create convincing cross-reality experiences by engaging multiple senses in parallel.
From the lab to the real world
The project took perceptual and mixed reality research out of the lab and into the real world with a combination of large-scale field trials and longitudinal studies. As a result, the IPCity team has developed cookbook-like guidelines for creating mixed reality experiences.
Take Urban Renewal, an urban redesign application. Here, the researchers used a wide variety of media and interfaces to engage citizens in an exercise for redesigning an urban space.
IPCity’s Colour Table is a particularly innovative interface, using tokens to represent elements within a scene, such as buildings or other objects. An overhead camera projected the design table onto a wall, revealing changes as they developed from a bird’s eye view.
Another camera ‘interprets’ the tokens and projects virtual mock-ups onto a backdrop of the real site. Meanwhile on a screen, users can see how they have arranged the tokens, and on another they see how that would impact the real landscape.
The entire set-up, along with other tools, is part of a mobile tent that is transported to the actual location for the new building, so participants can visualise the real-world environment. The combination of these technologies, along with subtle audio streams, evokes a very convincing air of engagement in the task.
“In the Urban Renewal showcase you have coloured tokens on the table and these represent buildings or another object in the space. So rather than having participants moving graphical objects on the screen you have them physically moving real objects on the table,” stresses McCall.
This physicality makes it easier for other people who are there to grasp what's going on – it starts a much richer discussion around the design through this physical relationship with it.
Another showcase by IPCity, CityWall in Helsinki, uses a very large multi-touch screen on a central street. “People can do whatever they want with content which is uploaded to flickr. But they appropriate the CityWall in hundreds of different ways. People play 'Pong' with the content, throwing it across the screen to one another, and it becomes [an] expressive space, far more perhaps than people showing pictures on their computer monitor,” McCall notes.
A sociable science
Social elements form a part of all the applications developed by IPCity, deliberately so. “We figured out pretty early on that a shared experience is much richer, that is why two people work together in our game, TimeWarp. It becomes a shared, new reality,” McCall explains.
Active, physical engagement, too, is important. McCall reveals that because it is impossible to cover a city entirely in virtual objects, the project developed activities that players need to complete, such as walking through a time portal or following a beer cart through the city. As non-players cannot see what the players are doing it often led to confused looks by passers-by in Cologne when it was demonstrated there.
In many respects, IPCity’s work represents the state of the art for mixed reality experiences and promises to offer a lot of food for thought to tourism, social gaming and mobile phone companies, among many others, including the performing arts. In fact IPCity’s work could be applied in some fashion to almost any area, to dramatically enhance the experience.
IPCity has applied the theory on perception in novel, compelling ways and its work will go on to enhance the theory further and lead to even more subtle and ingenious applications of V-Ex, in the city and elsewhere.
This is the first of a two-part special feature on IPCity appearing on ICT Results.
The IPCity project received funding from the FET Proactive strand of the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme for research.
Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided ICT Results is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you do republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the ICT Results site (http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults). Let us know if you republish so as to help us provide you with a better service. If you want further contact information on any of the projects cited in this story please contact us. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31934000 |
ALS researchers aim for the fences
By Alissa Poh
Nobody likes bad news. Especially when it's a grim medical diagnosis like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
ALS, a rapidly progressing, fatal neurodegenerative disease, usually strikes people between 40 and 60 years of age; those afflicted have an average survival of just two to five years. Amyotrophic, a word with Greek origins, means "no muscle nourishment." Lateral identifies the areas of the spinal cord where motor neurons—nerve cells that signal muscles—are found. And sclerosis refers to the scarring and hardening this region undergoes as it degenerates. But though the brain becomes increasingly unable to control the muscles, it maintains its cognitive abilities. So ALS patients are painfully aware of their progressive loss of function.
"It's a hard disease to treat, to tell patients that they have it," says Dartmouth neurologist Elijah Stommel,M.D., Ph.D. He sees patients at DHMC's nationally recognized ALS center and also conducts research exploring the underlying mechanisms of the disease. One of the most common neuromuscular diseases in the world, ALS entered the national lexicon when the career of Yankee slugger Lou Gehrig was cut short by the condition in the 1930s. In the U.S. today, about 20,000 people have it at any given time and about 5,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
Role: It's not yet known what causes ALS, but there's increasing evidence that neuroinflammation is involved. Stommel and DMS neuropathologist Brent Harris, M.D., Ph.D., have looked at the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), a pro-inflammatory molecule present at elevated levels in ALS patients. Their study, published in the April issue of Neuroscience, showed that TNF-a induces the redistribution of mitochondria
About 5,000 new cases of ALS are diagnosed each year.
in motor neurons grown in the lab. Mitochondria generate energy as well as release substances that can cause cell death. In the experiment, TNF-a caused the mitochondria to cluster where the axon—the part of the nerve cell that carries signals to other cells—meets the cell body. Similar mitochondrial clustering has been noted in patients who died of ALS.
Test tube: But Stommel would extrapolate the finding to humans "with trepidation." He says that "it's very hard to be sure that what you're looking at under the microscope, or in the test tube, has very much in common with what's going on in a live human or a live animal." The team will continue to study the significance of neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction in ALS.
Stommel and Harris are also running a
Phase II clinical trial to treat ALS using thalidomide, a TNF-a blocker. Phase II trials test whether a therapy, at a safe dose, works against a given disease (while Phase I assesses safe dosing, and Phase III compares new therapies to established therapies and/or placebos). About 20 patients are enrolled in the trial but the dropout rate has been high, says Stommel, mostly due to thalidomide's unpleasant side effects—including sedation, constipation, and blood clotting. Thalidomide was once used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women but was banned in the 1960s in the U.S. after it caused birth defects in thousands of babies. But it has since been approved to treat some cancers. The team hopes to also test lenalidomide, a related drug that is more potent but has fewer side effects.
The researchers believe that multiple risk factors are involved in the development of ALS, including genetic makeup and, as Stommel puts it, "walking into the wrong situation at the wrong time." Some scientists suspect that exposure to environmental toxins such as aluminum, which is neurotoxic in high doses, might play a role.
Clusters: Stommel and Harris have also undertaken an epidemiological study of several ALS clusters—areas with an unusually high incidence of the disease—in New Hampshire and Vermont. They plan to test the water in those areas to measure levels of a neurotoxin produced by cyanobacteria that live in some lakes in the region.
They agree that discovering a biomarker for ALS is key. "My guess is that to find successful treatments for ALS is going to require finding out about the disease very early, before the motor neurons are irreversibly damaged," Stommel says. "By the time you're diagnosed with ALS, probably the majority of your motor neurons are already dead or dying and not salvageable."
If you'd like to offer feedback about this article, we'd welcome getting your comments at DartMed@Dartmouth.edu.
This article may not be reproduced or reposted without permission. To inquire about permission, contact DartMed@Dartmouth.edu. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31946000 |
These days, nearly every college student owns a cell phone. In the classroom, cell phones are generally seen by the instructor as nothing more than a distraction. Step into any college classroom during a long lecture or in-class film, and chances are you’ll see a handful of students typing away and sending text messages to their friends. With this behavior becoming all too common, it is no doubt why professors despise the devices and are asking students to turn their cell phones off completely during class.
However, what students and instructors aren’t always realizing is the potential of cell phones in education. Students have access to very powerful devices, especially with the rising ownership of smartphones. An article published recently by Edudemic questions the next step of cell phones in education and offers the following interesting ways to harness the device’s power for effective use in education:
- Text Reminders: Since students generally check their cell phone more frequently than their email, the website Remind101 has come up with a way to reach students when they are away from their computer, but not their phone. The site allows instructors to create assignment reminders that are sent to students via text message. All the students have to do is register with the site and subscribe to the class’ reminders.
-Using the cell phone as a study tool: For students who want to study on-the-go, but don’t want to drag their heavy computer around there’s sites like StudyBoost. Once the student registers, they can create their own series of study questions. Then, using their phone, they can have the questions sent to them via text message. From there, the student answers the questions by replying to the StudyBoost number, and will instantly receive their results.
-Voting: Using Poll Everywhere, instructors can gather opinions and votes in their classroom. This tool also provides real time data, which is especially appealing to professors looking to save time.
-Accessing Twitter: Interestingly enough, Twitter is becoming increasingly present in the classroom. Obviously, smartphones have the ability to instantly access Twitter via apps or an internet browser. However, there are also easy ways to access Twitter with a basic phone! Users can tweet by registering their phone and sending a text message to their country’s short code. If the user isn’t able to send text messages, TweetCall is also an option. TweetCall is a free service that lets the user call a phone number, speak their tweets, and have them transcribed into text.
-Scavenger Hunt: Educational scavenger hunts are already a popular activity with cell phones in the classroom. There are many different programs and apps to run your scavenger hunt on, but the recommended program is SCVNGR. The program is compatible with both basic cell phones and smartphones, as many scavenger hunt apps are designed for smartphones with a GPS function. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31950000 |
You can view the current or previous issues of Diabetes Health online, in their entirety, anytime you want.
Click Here To View
Latest Type 1 Issues Articles
Popular Type 1 Issues Articles
Highly Recommended Type 1 Issues Articles
Send a link to this page to your friends and colleagues.
I have read and heard that warm-up and cool down are important in preventing pulled muscles and preventing muscle soreness. Exactly how long and strenuous should they be?
Warm-up should last about 5 to 10 minutes and would be performed at a work rate or speed that is well below that used for the main workout. For example, a jogger might use walking as a warm-up, or a slow jog a minute or two slower per mile than the pace used in the main body of the workout. Walkers should start out easily and work their way up to a brisk pace. Weight trainers might do 5 to 10 minutes of light aerobic exercise such as described here before ever picking up the first weight. Even then, the first set of each exercise should be light, approximately half the weight to be used in the heaviest set. For example, someone who will bench press 120 pounds in the last set might use about 60 pounds in the first set.
The value of warm-up extends beyond pulled muscles. Other benefits include shifting blood flow to the muscles and heating up the muscle and connective tissues so that they are more resistant to strain, but also because they work more effectively. Warm muscle promotes the speed of chemical reactions that release energy for contraction. The addition of blood to the muscle allows for more of the energy needed for the muscle contraction to be released through oxidative chemical reactions rather than reactions not dependent on the presence of oxygen. This reduces the amount of lactate, a waste product, developed in the muscle. Lactate interferes with chemical reactions and makes one breathe faster and deeper. Together, all of these benefits make your body work more efficiently, comfortably, and safely.
One study found vigorous exercise performed without the customary warm-up to be dangerous for the heart. Most of the young, healthy subjects were found to experience abnormalities in their EKG during the vigorous exercise. This indicates that middle-aged and older exercisers in particular need to warm up thoroughly before starting to exercise.
Cool down is the light exercise that is performed after the main part of the workout. Like warm-up, it should last about 10-15 minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, cool down does not reduce muscle soreness. Instead, it is always recommended because the easy movements during cool down promote the return of blood from the veins back to the heart. If one stopped running suddenly and simply stood still, the blood in the veins tends to remain there which reduces the volume of blood the heart receives which in turn reduces the amount it can pump. With reduced blood leaving the heart, the tissues rapidly become hypoxic (low oxygen content) leading to dizziness, possible fainting, and nauseousness.
By continuing to move after exercise, albeit at a slower pace, the veins are squeezed by surrounding skeletal muscles which pushes the blood back to the brain, muscles, skin, etc. Consequently, we recover much faster and feel better sooner.
Failure to cool down properly can lead to cardiac arrhythmia (a heart that fails to contract at a constant rate) and even a heart attack. As with lack of warm-up, middle-aged and older exercisers should view cool down as a critical part of a safe and healthy exercise program.
0 comments - Feb 1, 1995
Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31952000 |
There are nearly two million known species on the planet. But many of those won't be around much longer; one out of every eight known bird species, one in four mammal species, and one in three amphibian species are at risk for extinction, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which maintains the Red List, a catalog of the world's species classified according to their risk of extinction.
"It's supposed to inform conservation practice, to be a wake-up call for the extinctions that are happening," says Caroline Pollock, a program officer with the Red List unit. Animals that are classified as "critically endangered" are at the highest risk--their numbers in the wild may be extraordinarily low or their territories incredibly small. "It is possible to bring them back," Pollock says, "but it is quite work-intensive and financially expensive." Here, a look at five species on the brink.
Native to Spain and Portugal, there are fewer than 250 of these felines left in the wild. Habitat destruction has been a major cause of its decline as agriculture spreads through its homeland. Additionally, disease has claimed a large percentage of the region's rabbits, one of the lynx's primary food sources. Intensive captive breeding programs are currently underway to help save the lynx, Pollock says. If they do disappear, the lynx will be the first wild cat to go extinct in more than 2,000 years.
The wild population of these frogs has declined more than 80 percent in the last decade. The plummeting numbers of the frogs, which are endemic to Panama, is largely a result of chytridiomycosis, an infectious fungal disease that seems to be causing mass amphibian die-offs. The disease is still spreading, and deforestation is adding to the pressures faced by the frogs. Though there are captive-breeding programs in place for these amphibians, they will not be released into the wild until conditions improve.
Fewer than 100 of these birds, which are confined to one small island in Cape Verde, remain in the wild. The birds have been threatened by drought and increasing desertification on the island, conditions that may worsen as a result of global climate change. Because they build their nests on the ground, they also face risks from cats, dogs, and rats that have been introduced to the island.
Only 34 of these trees, native to Mexico, remain. The plants have a low rate of pollination--and don't reach maturity until they are approximately 25 years old--and are also profoundly threatened by agriculture. One tree was cut down in 2006 to expand farmland, and insecticides decrease the number of pollinators available to help the trees spread. Human-caused fires have also destroyed or damaged a number of these plants.
It could already be too late for the Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji. There has not been a documented sighting of these cetaceans, which lived in China's Yangtze River and nearby lakes, since 2002. A search for the dolphin--and the signature sounds that they make--was conducted in late 2006 but turned up no evidence of the mammals. However, further surveys are still needed to determine whether the dolphins truly have disappeared forever. The baiji's population decline is due, in large part, to the development of Chinese waterways and the expansion of commercial fishing.
Read more on helping endangered species by breeding captive animals in DISCOVER's Recall of the Wild
Emotion researcher Jaak Panksepp
Read More »
Sign up to get the latest science news delivered weekly right to your inbox! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31960000 |
Human genes for retinal degeneration
Retinal degeneration [DOID:8466]
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field (the macula) because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults (>50 years). Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life.
Synonyms: retinal degeneration, DOID:8466, RETINA degeneration, degeneration of retina (disorder), retina degeneration ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31961000 |
|relevant research · login|
We Just Disagree - Billy Dean
So let's leave it alone,
As the song notes, sometimes "we just disagree". In economic life people often disagree about how resources should be used. Some may want to use a tract of land to build houses, another to farm, and still another may want to have the land used as a nature preserve. In his article, The Problem of Social Cost, Ronald Coase talks about the "reciprocal nature of the problem". What does Coase's insight tell us about how disagreements can be settled efficiently? What barriers exist to solving these problems efficiently in real life?
[Will Luther assisted with this assignment.] | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31963000 |
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]
Re: New alvarezsaurid
> Anything that allows an animal to control its motion while
>airborne, no matter how slightly, becomes a flight characteristic or
I guess it just depends on your definition of flight. Me, I would say
that anything that allows an animal to control itself during gliding or
parachuting is a gliding or parachuting adaptation.
>Flapping flight is a specialized form of flight that evidently appeared
>in the evolution of birds well after numerous flight features had
>evolved--indeed, it's not yet clear whether _Archaeopteryx_ itself was
>flapping flier. I would certainly agree that many flight adaptations
>for reasons other than flapping flight; but I would tend to disagree
>evolved for reasons other than flight (for the most part), as I have
Why would it appear that flapping flight is a characteristic that
evolved late in bird evolution?
I think that it is quite clear that Archaeopteryx was a flapping flier.
It has characteristics that are only seen in volant, flapping birds:
1) Assymetric flight feathers.
2) Curved remiges.
3) Ventral furrow on the shaft of the flight feathers.
4) Hypertrophied furcula that has not degenerated or formed an obtuse
5) Elongate coracoid that faces posteriorly.
6) Heart-shaped ulnarae.
Basically I think that volant adaptations must have evolved for reasons
other than flight for flight to evolve and only after flight has evolved
have some of the more advanced flight features evolved (strut-like
coracoid for example).
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31965000 |
Light Scattering System
NanoBiophysics Core Facility has a full set of Light Scattering equipment from Wyatt including Multiangle Light Scattering (MALS) device, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) device, and HPLC system (Agilent) linked to MALS.
Light scattering is a non-invasive technique for characterizing macromolecules and a wide range of particles in solution. In contrast to most methods for characterization, it does not require outside calibration standards. In this sense it is an absolute technique. Wyatt Technology instruments make two different types of light scattering measurements for absolute molecular characterization:
* Classical light scattering: Here, the intensity of the scattered light is measured as a function of angle. For the case of macromolecules, this is often called Rayleigh scattering and can yield the molar mass, rms radius, and second virial coefficient (A2). For certain classes of particles, classical light scattering can yield the size, shape, and structure.
* Quasi-elastic (QELS) or dynamic light scattering (DLS): In a QELS measurement, time-dependent fluctuations in the scattered light signal are measured using a fast photon counter. QELS measurements can determine the hydrodynamic radius of macromolecules or particles.
Light scattering is a technique that can be applied in either batch or chromatography mode. In either instance the sample may be recovered at the end of the measurement. Since light scattering provides the weight-averaged molar mass for all molecules in solution, it is generally more useful to utilize the chromatography mode, though each technique has its advantages.
Although absolute molecular weights can be determined also via mass spectrometry, membrane osmometry, and sedimentation equilibrium (analytical centrifugation), only light scattering covers so broad a range of macromolecules including their oligomeric states. Most importantly, light scattering permits measurement of the solution properties of macromolecules. While a sedimentation equilibrium run may require 72 hours, a size exclusion chromatography/light scattering study may be completed in well under an hour, and a batch mode analysis in a few minutes. These comparatively short run times coupled with the absolute determination of molar mass, size, and A2 make light scattering the method of choice for accurate and fast macromolecular characterization.
For more information go to www.wyatt.com
Core Facility will help you with obtaining free downloads of manuals, tutorials and software. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31972000 |
Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years.
Dragons don’t communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures.
Spitfires are a desert breed of dragon. Their dull brown bodies contrast with their brilliant turquoise markings, and they only blaze brighter when these dragons fight. Spitfires are notorious for their territorial natures, and the wing-edges of most are ripped and tattered before their first year is out. Spitfires are also noteworthy for their brilliant blue fire, which is used not for hunting or fighting, but rather for making glass caves from the sand, in which the dragons can soak up the sun. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31974000 |
Location sensing within mobile devices is reaching a new phase of development and distribution. This new phase, now commercially available for augmented reality developers, delivers powerful local search solutions.
Morton Heilig introduces Sensorama to the world, a machine capable of providing entertainment that engages all five senses. Built similar to arcade amusements, the user experienced a virtual world. Production of the Sensorama spawned for Heilig, another great idea: the head-mounted display.His Telesphere Mask became the prototype for head mounted displays that are used in military fighter jets – the uses of which were first seen by many in "Star Wars."
During this time, Ivan Sutherland devised one of the first complete augmented reality systems built with wire-frame graphics and a head-mounted display that required a head sensor which measured the position and angle of the user’s head. The system would then change the location of augmented objects depending on the view angle.
Boeing engineers Tom Caudell and David Mizell began applying augmented reality in the design process.It's Caudell who is considered to have coined “augmented reality.” Augmented reality goes industrial in helping to design, build, and maintain objects.
The era of virtual reality grows in development and application and seizes the imagination of Hollywood and other industries including games, educational, and defense.
Librarians begin to explore AR to protect priceless manuscripts and books. The technology allows searchers to flip the pages and read the table of contents of rare old books and identify missing books from a shelf or collection.
Robert Azuma in his HRL Lab published a paper describing his team’s latest AR discoveries in both indoor and outdoor environments. There was also a big thrust in the '90s for enterprise Bluetooth, RFID, and other wireless local LAN technologies. It would be the late 1990s that would bring wireless data communications. So when Azuma and his team calculated an outdoor solution for AR applications it was big news. The solution from HRL Lab compensated for user motion which inspired freedom of use beyond the confines of a stationary presentation. The solution used a rate gyro, compass, and attitudinal sensors to display virtual text labels over distant points of interest.
This era also saw Mixed Reality Systems Lab in Singapore and Project Arvika in Germany study augmented reality in both head-mounted displays and video screen interfaces.
Philippe Kahn introduces his newborn daughter Sophie to the world on the first mobile camera phone that enabled him to share her picture with over 2,000 relatives and friends. Kahn created a makeshift camera phone in the hospital by pulling together a cell phone and a digital camera to send photos in real time. His invention was the beginning of LightSurf Technologies which now powers mobile phones for most of the leading global manufacturers.
Benefon Esc! NT2002 becomes the first GSM device with built-in GPS.
2000s and the Future
In 2001, Stargate SG1 showcased the long-term side affect of retinal scan display (RSD) on the user, including permanent optical nerve and brain damage.
Although AR has been around for over four decades it's only now the technology is taking off. Head mounted displays using (RSD), which displays the image directly onto the eye, may reduce the need for bulky headsets, but consumers need to be wary of using technology that impacts our sight and hearing just because it is cool.
Pattie Maes of MIT’s Fluid Interfaces group is creating a new digital "sixth sense" for humans. Maes’ group is interested in how people can mix into their environment using a wearable device that turns any surface into an interactive display screen. Maes intends to augment the data derived from our five senses with those that can be generated from a mobile computing device. To see more about Mae’s solution, watch his TED presentation.
The fundamentals of location-based augmented realityLocation sensing within mobile devices is reaching a new phase of development and distribution. This new phase, now commercially available for developers of augmented reality, delivers powerful local search solutions.
Mobile AR solutions finally have the components available to deliver solutions for mass adoption.
Basic requirements for all mobile location based AR solutions include a browser enabled smart phone with a high resolution camera, geo-positioning, accelerometer, light sensor, direction sensing, motion sensors and stabilizers, a processor able to calculate the visual information and decide overlay data to present and how it should be presented. Additionally, the solution requires at least a 3G network and a data plan.
When network coverage is slow to non-existent
When national network coverage is non-existent, metropolitan area networks kick into gear. Proximity location sensors determine if an object is within a distance-frame of a known location, e.g. WiFi access hot spots within a campus setting that can provide triangulation data. There are two other methods for determining proximity and they include detecting physical contact such as pressure and touch: mobile touch screens and observing auto ID such as point-of-sale terminals, road-way toll passes, and UPC product codes.
What this means is even if the carrier network is slow, mobile search AR can be used on a university campus, at an enterprise company with multiple buildings, within a defined tourist area, and a shopping mall as long as the mobile device shakes hands with the WiFi network.
Beware of open-source solutions
Open source technology enabled apps are rarely supported by the carrier or handset manufacturer, thus if there is a problem the most likely outcome is the user will need to delete of the app and a require a refund. Consumers and the brand advertisers behind the AR apps need to ensure that their AR apps are fully supported by the developer.
Augmented reality in real life
Toppan Printing Co Ltd in Japan supplies AR terminals for mass distribution. Their terminals – about the size of a soda or mobile phone vending machine – are located in market places. Based on the simple ability of a mobile phone snapping a QR code to acquire enhanced item descriptions on digital signage, provide new features to display windows, and help shoppers find stores, the Toppan AR Terminal when used with a mobile phone housing a high-quality camera, can recognize the package of a sample product, display a description of the product, and provide a view of the product outside of its security packaging.
If you've discovered a real life augmented reality mobile solution, please share. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31982000 |
Description from Flora of China
Herbs, clambering subshrubs, shrubs, or lianas. Leaves alternate or opposite, entire, exstipulate. Flowers small, bisexual or unisexual, or sterile and reduced, subtended by 1 membranous bract and 2 bracteoles, solitary or aggregated in cymes. Inflorescences elongated or condensed spikes (heads), racemes, or thyrsoid structures of varying complexity. Bracteoles membranous or scarious. Tepals 3-5, membranous, scarious or subleathery, 1-, 3-, 5-, or 7(-23)-veined. Stamens as many as tepals and opposite these, rarely fewer than tepals; filaments free, united into a cup at base or ± entirely into a tube, filament lobes present or absent, pseudostaminodes present or absent; anthers (1- or)2-loculed, dorsifixed, introrsely dehiscent. Ovary superior, 1-loculed; ovules 1 to many; style persistent, short and indistinct or long and slender; stigma capitate, penicillate, 2-lobed or forming 2 filiform branches. Fruit a dry utricle or a fleshy capsule, indehiscent, irregularly bursting, or circumscissile. Seeds lenticular, reniform, subglobose, or shortly cylindric, smooth or verruculose.
Morphology of the androecium, perianth (tepals), and the inflorescence has traditionally been used to circumscribe genera and tribes. Pseudostaminodia are interstaminal appendages with variously shaped apices. Filament appendages are the lateral appendages of filaments (one on each side). The basic structure of the inflorescence is the cyme (branchlets arising from the bracteole axils, the bracteoles serving as bracts for upper flowers), which can be reduced to one flower with two bracteoles and a bract. Units of dispersal vary considerably (capsules opening with lower part persistent, flower and bracteoles falling together, or cymose partial inflorescences breaking off above bract) and can be characteristic for genera. Several genera possess long trichomes serving dispersal at the base of the tepals.
Digera arvensis Forsskål (Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 65. 1775) has been reported from Anhui. However, we have seen no specimens and are therefore unable to treat it in this account.
About 70 genera and 900 species: worldwide; 15 genera (one introduced) and 44 species (three endemic, 14 introduced) in China.
(Authors: Bao Bojian (包伯坚) ; Steven E. Clemants , Thomas Borsch)
Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, Peoples Republic of China.
Herbarium, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11225-1099, U.S.A.
Abteilung Systematik und Biodiversität, Botanisches Institut und Botanischer Garten, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 170, D-53115 Bonn,
Kuan Ke-chien. 1979. Amaranthaceae. In: Kung Hsien-wu & Tsien Cho-po, eds., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 25(2): 194–241. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31992000 |
Elementymology & Elements Multidict
Zilver – Silber – Argent – Plata – 銀 – Серебро – 銀
Sulver Frisian (West)
Argint Romanian - Moldovan
SlavicСребро [Srebro] Bulgarian
Серабро [serabro] Belarusian
Сребро [Srebro] Macedonian
Серебро [Serebro] Russian
Сребро [Srebro] Serbian
Срібло [sriblo] Ukrainian
Airgead Gaelic (Irish)
Airgead Gaelic (Scottish)
Argid Gaelic (Manx)
Other Indo-EuropeanΑργυρος [argyros] Greek
Արծաթ [artsat'] Armenian
Æвзист [ævzist] Ossetian
Нуқра [Nukra] Tajik
Indo-Iranian/Indo-Aryanরূপা [rūpā] Bengali
نقره [nqrh] Persian
ચાંદી [cā'dī] Gujarati
चाँदी [chā.ndī] Hindi
Эзысь [Èzys'] Komi
Ший [Šij] Mari
Сия [sija] Moksha
Кĕмĕл [Kĕmĕl] Chuvash
Күміс [kümis] Kazakh
Кумуш [Kumuš] Kyrgyz
Мөнгө [möngö] Mongolian
كۈمۈش [kümüş] Uyghur
Other (Europe)Zilarra Basque
ვერცხლი [verc'xli] Georgian
Afro-Asiaticفضة [fiDDah] Arabic
כסף [kesef] Hebrew
銀 [gin] Japanese
은 [eun] Korean
เงิน [ngoen] Thai
銀 [yin2 / ngan4] Chinese
Other Asiaticവെള്ളി [veḷḷi] Malayalam
வெள்ளி [veļļi] Tamil
North-AmericaIztāc teōcuitlatl Nahuatl
South-AmericaQullqi q'illay Quechua
CreoleSrivru Sranan Tongo
New namesSilveron Atomic Elements
History & Etymology
"And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." (Gen. 13:2)The Egyptians considered gold to be a perfect metal, and gave it the symbol of a circle. Since silver was the closest to gold in perfection, it was given the symbol of a semi-circle. Later this semi-circle led to a growing moon symbol, probably due to the likeness between the shining metal and the moon glow.
The noble metals, gold and silver, are found in the native state, and as is well known, gold and silver were used to make jewelry and sheet metal due to the great ductility and lustre of the pure metals. Its malleability and ductility make it ideal for ornamental purposes. It was also used for paying debts, in personal and religious places decoration and in utensils of the wealthiest houses.
Some mineral scums in old mines of the Near-East and in some islands of the Aegean sea seem to reveal that by 5000 b.C. a method was already known to separate silver from lead. Early gold and silver ornaments from the Indian subcontinent are found from Indus Valley sites such as Mohenjodaro (ca 3000 BC).
The monetary use of silver may well be as old as that of gold but the abundance of the native metal was probably far less, so that comparable supplies were not available until a method of winning the metal from its ores had been discovered. It appears, however, that by perhaps 3000 BC a form of cupellation was in operation in Asia Minor and its use gradually spread, so that silver coinage was of crucial economic importance to all subsequent classical Mediterranean civilizations.
In astrology alchemy the seven heavenly bodies known to the ancients were associated with seven metals also known in antiquity:
The long history of Silver is reflected in the many different words for this metal. See the list of names to the left and in the overview of Silver in over 100 languages (click here).
We can identify at least seven diffent roots.
The names in the Roman languages (except some on the Iberian peninsula), in the Celtic languages and in Albanian are derivations from the Latin.
It is the only element after which a country is named (Argentina > argentum).
SILVER, the proverbially bright metal,
(Argentum), is of a bright white colour
With brilliant lustre, not affected
By pure Aire. Silver Suboxide is black,
The Monoxide is brown. Silver is the best
Known conductor of Electricity
And Heat; 'tis extremely ductile; fine Silver wire
Of seventy-eight one-thousandth inch diameter
Will support one hundred and eighty pounds weight
Without breaking. Sulphur, if present in Air,
In time tarnishes Silver articles.
From Andis Kaulins, Indo-European Afro-Asiatic Words for Metals - Copper Lead Tin Iron Bronze Gold Amber: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31993000 |
Two Centuries of Thought
Richard Burton - 1964
Two centuries later, Hamlet still muses; Hamlet still broods; and most critics still base their thinking on the vision of Hamlet created by the Romantics. He is a poet or philosopher by nature, and his reflections lead to internal conflict that inhibits actions. The following excerpt from the writing of Yale University professor, Harold Bloom, serves as a good representative of the preservation, and continuing development of this line of thought.
The largest mistake we can make about the play, Hamlet, is to think
that it is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind because
(presumably) he thinks too much.... The fundamental fact about Hamlet
is not that he thinks too much, but that he thinks too well. His is
simply the most intelligent role ever written for the Western stage;
indeed, he may be the most intelligent figure in all the world of
literature, West or East. Unable to rest in illusions of any kind,
he thinks his way through to the truth, which may be a pure nihilism,
yet a nihilism so purified that it possesses an absolute nobility,
even a kind of transcendentalism.
Harold Bloom finds a foundation for this emendation of the Romantic view in Fredrich Neitzsche's The Birth of Tragedy.
|Montaigne's experiential man avoids Dionysiac transports as well as
the sickening descents from such ecstasies. Nietzsche unforgettably
caught this aspect of Hamlet in his early The Birth of Tragedy,
where Coleridge's view of Hamlet (like Coleridge) thinks too much is
soundly repudiated in favor of the truth, which is that Hamlet thinks
too well. I quote this again because of its perpetual insight:
While appearing to refute the notion that Hamlet's excess thought prevents him from action, Harold Bloom argues that it is the quality of his thought that prevents action. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31997000 |
Mirad/Orthography and Pronunciation
Last modified on 1 November 2010, at 22:49
↑Jump back a section
Orthography and Pronunciation
- The Mirad alphabet has both lower-case and upper-case letters. The alphabet has the same base letters as Latin or English, except that the letters Qq, Xx, and Yy are considered non-native and are used only in foreign names and borrowings. Also, the letters Hh and Ww are additional to Agapoff's original Unilingua alphabet and are unique in that they have no inherent semantic values; they are used for various grammatical-only purposes. A unique feature of Mirad is that every native letter is a semantically-significant atom in the language and can be thought of as bricks in lexical construction. See Word-building
- The order of the native alphabet is as follows:
- a á à â b c d e é è ê f g h i í ì î j k l m n o ó ò ô p r s t u ú ù û v w z
- The above lower-case letters can also be represented as upper-case letters. In Unicode representations and indexing, the uppercase graphemes precede the lowercase values. Uppercase letters are used much as in American English, that is, for the first letter in sentences, proper nouns, etc. See #Orthography for more details. As mentioned above, the Mirad graphemes Ww and Hh are additional to the letters in the original Unilingua and are used to form the passive voice of verbs and the correlative deictics, respectively. Foreign names and borrowings sometimes also incorporate Hh, Qq, Xx, and Yy.
- The following are classified as consonants:
- b c d f g h j k l m n p r s t v w z
|*Note: The author of Unilingua did not include the letters Hh or Ww as native graphemes. They have been added in Mirad in order to encompass word structures not included by Agapoff, in addition to interjections and foreign names. See more on this under #Vowels.|
- Vowels, or more accurately, vowel nuclei consist of plain vowels and yodified vowels, that is, vowels that have a y-glide sound before, after, or around them. A synonym of yodified is palatalized.
- The plain vowels are (only miniscules listed here):
- a e i o u
- The yodified vowel nuclei are:
- á é í ó ú (pre-yodified)
- à è ì ò ù (post-yodified)
- â ê î ô û (circum-yodified)
|Note: The author of Unilingua used non-Roman letters to represent some of the pre-yodified vowels (я = á, е = é, ø = ó, and ю = ú. The author employed a hacek (called ille in French) over the vowel to represent post-yodification (ă = à, ě = è, etc.). This revised Mirad textbook, however, uses the acute accent (as in French été) for the pre-yodified vowels, the grave accent (as in French père) for the post-yodified vowels, and the circumflex accent (as in French fête) for the circum-yodified vowels. It must be remembered, however, that á, ô, and other yodified vowels are considered single vowels or vowel nuclei in any analysis of the language, not dipthongs or tripthongs). In other words, the accents are merely graphemic devices to distinguish vowels qualitatively, and thereby semantically.|
- Despite Agapoff's idiosyncratic system of punctuation, the punctuation symbols and usage in Mirad are just like those of American English.
- Capitalization in Mirad follows the same rules as in English. European learners need to be especially careful to capitalize the first letter of the names of languages, nationalities, and inhabitants, which in most European languages are left in lowercase.
- Note the following examples. The words are all capitalized because the root word is the name of the country China:
|Kina||Chinese (people or nation) [adj.]|
|Kinad||Chinese (language) [n.]|
|Kinada||Chinese (language) [adj.]|
|Kinadè||in Chinese [adv.]|
|Kinadaer||to speak Chinese (pronounced: kee-nah-dah-EHR)|
|Kinader||to utter in Chinese|
|Kinadrer||to write Chinese|
|Kina vidrun||Chinese calligraphy|
|Kinadéder||to read Chinese|
|Kinénà||in the Chinese way [adv.]|
|Kin-Amerika véani||Sino-American relations|
|Kinconi||things Chinese (pronounced: keen-SOH-nee)|
|Kinaser||to sinofy (pronounced: kee-nah-SHEHR)|
|Kintun||Sinology (pronounced: keen-TOON)|
- This chart shows the closest phonetic approximations of the Mirad consonant graphemes in English and some other familiar languages, along with the exact value in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet):
|c||s||see||hace||garçon||Watch out! Sounds like "s".|
|h||h||how||jota||--||Closer to the English value.|
|j||ʒ||mirage||--||jour||As in "Dr. Zhivago.|
|r||r||--||toro||--||Dental flap or trill|
|s||ʃ||shed||--||chaise||A fricative "sh" sound!|
|Note! Be very careful that the c and the s are not pronounced as their English or European equivalents. Think of the c as being the French c cedilla (ç).|
Simple vowel sounds
- a as in Spanish la (IPA:/a/)
- e as in French thé (IPA:/e/)
- i as in Spanish sí! (IPA:/i/)
- o as in Spanish no (IPA:/o/)
- u as in Spanish tú (IPA:/u/)
Pre-yodified vowel sounds
- These vowels are pronounced the same as the simple vowel above, but with a y-glide at the beginning.
- á is like ya as in English yacht
- é is like ye as in German jeder or English yes
- í is like yi as in French yippie or English ye (without the final y-glide)
- ó is like yo as in German Joga or English yo-yo (without the final w-glide)
- ú is like yu as in German Juli or English unit
Post-yodified vowel sounds
- These vowels are pronounced like the simple vowels, but with a y-glide at the end.
- à is like ay as in English Thai
- è is like ey as in English fey
- ì is like iy as in English see
- ò is like oy as in English boy
- ù is like uy as in English fooey
Circum-yodified vowel sounds
- These vowels are pronounced with a y-glide at both the beginning and end.
- â is like yay as in English yikes!
- ê is like yey as in English yea!
- î is like yiy
- ô is like yoy
- û is like yuy
|Note the difference in pronunciation between aá, which is pronounced like A-ya as in Spanish "playa", and àa, which sounds like AY-a as in English diagram.)|
Syllabification and Stress
- A closed syllable is one that ends in a consonant or a y-glide (i.e., a post- or circum-yodified vowel). A syllable consists of [C]V[C], where V, the vowel nucleus, can begin or end with a y-glide, but contain only one of the set of vowels [aeiou], and where C consists of one or two homorganic consonants, i.e. [bcdfgjknpstvz]+[lrwy].
- The rule for stress is: If a word ends in a closed syllable, then the last syllable receives the stress, otherwise, the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable receives the stress.
|Hàfa||HAY-fa||(Israeli town of) Haifa|
|gracer||gra-SER||to be extreme|
- Every vowel in Mirad is given its full syllabic pronunciation, even when juxtaposed in what English or European speakers might consider dipthongs:
|Mirad · Word-building →|
|Orthography and Pronunciation · Word-building · Word Families · Grammar · Conversation Lessons ·| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-31998000 |
||This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. (June 2009)|
|Look up award in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.|
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize their excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient; for example, the Nobel Prize for contributions to society or the Pulitzer Prize for literary achievements. An award may also simply be a public acknowledgment of excellence, without any tangible token or prize.
Awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder. Usually, awards are given by an organization of some sort, or by the office of an official within an organization or government. For instance, a special presidential citation (as given by the President of the United States) is a public announcement giving an official place of honor (e.g., President Ronald Reagan gave a special presidential citation in 1984 to the Disney Channel for its excellent children's television programming.)
However there are exceptions like some quality labels, for which it is neither person nor organizations that are rewarded, but products. This is the case for the World Quality Selections organized by Monde Selection. These international awards are assigned to beverages, foods, cosmetics and diet products, which stand out for their quality.
People who have won certain prestigious awards, such as the Nobel Prize, a championship title in a sport, or an Academy Award (Oscar), can have the award become their identity, thereafter being known primarily for winning the award, rather than for any other achievement or occupation. To distinctly be categorized as an 'Award', rather than some other type of ceremonial or arbitrary recognition, there should be a clear process of nominations, award criteria and appropriate judging process. Generally, recognition by a set of peers, acknowledging quality of work, rather than a 'popularity contest' is considered to be an authentic award.
Mock awards, which typically recognize failures or atypical achievements, are also popular. They are usually given by people and organizations of lower or average prestige, such as comical organizations and individual writers. Popular mock awards include:
- Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), a satirical counterpart to the Academy Award which recognizes the worst acting, screenwriting, songwriting, directing, and films that the film industry had to offer
- Ig Nobel Prize, a satirical counterpart to the Nobel Prize, given for achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."
- Darwin Awards, "given to people who seem to improve the human gene pool by accidentally killing or sterilizing themselves during a foolish or careless mistake."
One common type of award in the United States is the Employee of the Month award, where typically the recipients' names are listed in a prominent place in the business for that month. A common mock award is the wooden spoon, given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition.
Some awards are given only after a fee is paid by the recipient, such as the German Design Award.
- The Kentucky Derby Trophy is an award worth $70,000 with an estimated 1000 man hours of labor.
- Ken Bensinger (2006-12-14). "The Bogies: Radar nominates the most bogus awards in America". Radar Online. Archived from the original on 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2007-06-07. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32001000 |
Canute IV of Denmark
|Saint Canute of Denmark|
Murder of Canute the Holy by Christian Albrecht von Benzon, 1843
|Died||10 July 1086
|Honored in||Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism|
|Canonized||19 April 1101|
|Major shrine||Saint Canute's Cathedral, Odense|
13 January (in Sweden & Finland)
|Patronage||Patron saint of Denmark|
Canute IV of Denmark (Danish: Knud IV den Hellige or Sankt Knud; c. 1042 – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy or Canute the Saint, was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne. Slain by rebels in 1086, he was the first Dane to be canonized. He was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as patron saint of Denmark in 1101, under the name of San Canuto.
Canute was born c. 1042, one of the many illegitimate sons of Sweyn II Estridsson. He is first noted as a member of Sweyn's 1069 raid of England, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Canute was one of the leaders of another raid against England in 1075. When returning from England in 1075, the Danish fleet stopped in the County of Flanders. Because of its hostility towards William I of England, Flanders was a natural ally for the Danes. He also led successful campaigns to Sember and Ester, according to skald Kálfr Mánason.
When Sweyn died, Canute's brother Harald III was elected King, and as Canute went into exile in Sweden, he was possibly involved in the active opposition to Harald. In 1080, Canute succeeded Harald to the throne of Denmark. On his accession, he married Adela, daughter of Count Robert I of Flanders. She bore him one son, Karl (a name uncommon in Denmark) in 1084, and twin daughters Cæcilia (who married Erik Jarl) and Ingerid (who married Folke the Fat), born shortly before his death (ca. 1085/86). Ingerid's descendants, the House of Bjelbo, would ascend to the throne of Sweden and Norway and Canute IV's blood returned to the Danish throne in the person of first Olaf II of Denmark.
King of Denmark
|King of Denmark|
|Predecessor||Harald III of Hen|
|Successor||Olaf I Hunger|
|Spouse||Adela of Flanders|
|Blessed Charles the Good
|Father||Sweyn II Estridsson|
|Died||10 July1086 (aged 43–44)
St. Alban's Priory, Odense
|Burial||St. Canute's Cathedral|
Canute quickly proved himself to be a highly ambitious king as well as a devout one. He enhanced the authority of the church, and demanded austere observation of church holidays. He gave large gifts to the churches in Dalby, Odense, Roskilde, and Viborg, and especially to Lund. Ever a champion of the Church, he sought to enforce the collection of tithes. His aggrandizement of the church served to create a powerful ally, who in turn supported Canute's power position.
In May 1085, Canute wrote a letter of donation to Lund Cathedral which was under construction, granting it large tracts of lands in Scania, Zealand, and Amager. He founded Lund Cathedral School at the same time. Canute had gathered the land largely as pay for the pardon of outlawed subjects. The clerics at Lund got extended prerogatives of the land, being able to tax and fine the peasantry there. However, Knud kept his universal royal rights to pardon the outlaws, fine subjects who failed to answer his leding call to war, and demand transportation for his retinue.
His reign was marked by vigorous attempts to increase royal power in Denmark, by stifling the nobles and keeping them to the word of the law. Canute issued edicts arrogating to himself the ownership of common land, the right to the goods from shipwrecks, and the right to inherit the possessions of foreigners and kinless folk. He also issued laws to protect freed thralls as well as foreign clerics and merchants. These policies led to discontent among his subjects, who were unaccustomed to a king claiming such powers and interfering in their daily lives.
Aborted attempt on England
But Canute's ambitions were not purely domestic. As the grandnephew of Canute the Great, who ruled England, Denmark and Norway until 1035, Canute considered the crown of England to be rightfully his. He therefore regarded William I of England as a usurper. In 1085, with the support of his father-in-law Count Robert and Olaf III of Norway, Canute planned an invasion of England and called his fleet in leding at the Limfjord. The fleet never set sail, as Canute was preoccupied in Schleswig due to the potential threat of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, with whom both Denmark and Flanders were on unfriendly terms. Canute feared the invasion of Henry, whose enemy Rudolf of Rheinfelden had sought refuge in Denmark.
The warriors of the fleet, mostly made up of peasants who needed to be home for the harvest season, got weary of waiting, and elected Canute's brother Olaf (the later Olaf I of Denmark) to argue their case. This raised the suspicion of Canute, who had Olaf arrested and sent to Flanders. The leding was eventually dispersed and the peasants tended to their harvests, but Canute intended to reassemble within a year.
Before the fleet could reassemble, a peasant revolt broke out in Vendsyssel, where Canute was staying, in early 1086. Canute first fled to Schleswig, and eventually to Odense. On 10 July 1086, Canute and his men took refuge inside the wooden St. Alban's Priory in Odense. The rebels stormed into the church and slew Canute, along with his brother Benedict and seventeen of their followers, before the altar. According to chronicler Ælnoth of Canterbury, Canute died following a lance thrust in the flank. He was succeeded by Olaf as Olaf I of Denmark.
Because of his martyrdom and advocacy of the Church, Canute quickly began to be considered a saint. Under the reign of Olaf, Denmark suffered from crop failure, which was seen as divine retribution for the sacrilege killing of Canute. Miracles were soon reported as taking place at his grave, and his canonization was already being sought during the reign of Olaf.
On 19 April 1101, persuaded by the envoys from Eric III of Denmark, Pope Paschal II confirmed the "cult of Canute" that had arisen, and King Canute IV was canonized as a saint under the name San Canuto. He was the first Dane to be canonized. 19 January is recognised by the Catholic Church as his feast day. In Sweden and Finland he is historically, however, partially associated with St. Knut's Day, which in reality was celebrated in the memory of the death of his nephew, Canute Lavard.
The reign of Canute has been interpreted differently through the times; from a violent king who tyrannized his subjects, to a strict but fair ruler who devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church and fought for justice without regard to his own person. He was never a thoroughly popular saint in Denmark, but his sainthood granted the Danish monarchy an aura of divine legitimacy. The cause of the rebellion which killed Canute is unknown, but has been speculated as originating in fines issued to the peasants breaking the leding of 1085 as specified in the Chronicon Roskildense, or as a result of his vigorous tithe policy.
The document of his donation to Lund Cathedral was the oldest comprehensive text from Denmark, and provided broad insights into Danish post-Viking Age society. The donation might have had the aim of establishing the Danish Archdiocese of Lund according to Sweyn II Estridsson's wishes, which was finally achieved in 1104. Canute's son Carl became Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127, ruling as Charles the Good. Like his father, Charles was martyred in a church by rebels (in Bruges, 1127). According to Niels Lund, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Copenhagen, Canute's abortive invasion of England "marked the end of the Viking Age." For it was the last time a Viking army was to assemble against Western Europe.
In 2008, an X-ray computed tomography was taken of Canute, which showed that he was right-handed and of a slender build. It also specified his cause of death as a thrust to the sacrum through the abdomen, negating Ælnoth's account. He had no injuries indicating he fought against multiple enemies, which can be seen as supporting an account saying he faced his death without a struggle.
In Spain, Canute's feast day has become a tongue-in-cheek "holiday" for the marijuana legalization movement, appropriating the Spanish version of his name, Canuto, which coincidentally is also the word for a marijuana cigarette.
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (August 2012)|
|Ancestors of Canute IV of Denmark|
- Stefan Pajung, Knud den Hellige ca. 1042–1086, danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University, 22 January 2010
- Bricka, Carl Frederik, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, vol. IX [Jyde – Køtschau], 1895, pp.260–263.
- Knud 4. den Hellige at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi
- Cawley, Charles, DENMARK, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012,[better source needed]
- Monarkiet i Danmark – Kongerækken at The Danish Monarchy
- Knud den Helliges gavebrev 1085, danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University, 6 June 2010
- CT-scanning af Knud den Hellige afslører nyt om kongemord, Ingeniøren, 8 March 2008
- Farmer, David Hugh (1997). The Oxford dictionary of saints (4. ed. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. p. 87. ISBN 9780192800589.
- Axelsson, M: Tjugo dagar efter jul, published 13 January 2007 (in Swedish)
- The Scandinavian Remedy: The murder at Haraldsted, published 3 of Januari 2009, retrieved 8 Januari 2012.
- , "El País", 1 January 2003
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Canute IV of Denmark|
- The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Ed., Peter Sawyer. Oxford University Press, New York, 1997. Chapter Seven: "The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age" by Niels Lund. The quote is from page 181.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Ed David High Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2004. See the entry on St Canute.
Canute the SaintBorn: c. 1042 Died: July 10 1086
|King of Denmark | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32002000 |
Central Weather Bureau
|Central Weather Bureau|
|Zhōngyāng Qìxiàng Jú|
|Jurisdiction||Republic of China|
|Agency executive||Tzay-Chyn Shin (辛在勤), Director-General|
|Parent Agency||Ministry of Transportation and Communications|
The Central Weather Bureau (Chinese: 中央氣象局; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Qìxiàng Jú; often abbreviated to CWB) is the government meteorological research and forecasting institution of the Republic of China (Taiwan). In addition to meteorology, the Central Weather Bureau also makes astronomical observations, reports on sea conditions, and conducts research into seismology and provides earthquake reports. The Central Weather Bureau is headquartered in Taipei City and is administered under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the government set up five weather monitoring stations on the island, located in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Hengchun, and Penghu. On December 19, 1897, the Governor-General moved the headquarters to the present location occupied by the eventual successor agency of the Japanese "Taipei Observatory": the Central Weather Bureau. In 1945 when the Kuomintang took control of Taiwan the various stations set up by the Japanese were incorporated into the new Taiwan Provincial Weather Institution, under the Chief Executive of Taiwan Province, Chen Yi. When the position of Chief Executive was abolished in 1947 (the new head of local government being the Governor of Taiwan Province) the institution became an agency of the Taiwan Provincial Government.
The Central Weather Bureau itself was established in 1941 in Chongqing under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. In 1947 (and again from 1971 onwards) it was re-assigned to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. After the Kuomintang defeat in the Chinese Civil War and their subsequent flight to Taiwan in 1949, the Central Weather Bureau relocated from Mainland China to Taiwan. From 1949 to 1958 it was under the control of the Taiwan Provincial Weather Institution, then from 1958 onwards it was resurrected to become the principal meteorological organisation of the government. In 1971 the Central Weather Bureau switched from being a part of the Taiwan Provincial Government to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, under central government authority.
The Central Weather Bureau has a number of responsibilities, represented by the various departments.
Weather Forecast Center
The Weather Forecast Center (Chinese: 氣象預報中心; pinyin: Qìxiàng Yùbào Zhōngxīn) is the department responsible for monitoring actual weather conditions and making short and medium term forecasts concerning the weather. It also issues severe weather advisories for conditions including heavy rain, cold snaps, typhoons and storms, and dense fog. In the case of typhoons, the department closely monitors all tropical storms which might impact the island and issues warnings and predicted typhoon path and severity based on the collected data.
The Seismological Center (Chinese: 地震測報中心; pinyin: Dìzhèn Cèbào Zhōngxīn) of the Central Weather Bureau was founded in 1989, with a mission to monitor seismic activity in and around the island, publish reports on significant earthquakes, study earthquake precursor phenomena, issue tsunami warnings where appropriate, and provide information to the public of earthquake precautions. Taiwan is in a seismically active region on the Pacific Ring of Fire, with 44 deadly earthquakes occurring there during the twentieth century. The center has 150 seismological monitoring stations through Taiwan, Penghu, Jinmen and Matsu.
Marine Meteorology Center
The Marine Meteorology Center (Chinese: 海象測報中心; pinyin: Hǎixiàng Cèbào Zhōngxīn) was established in 1993 to monitor sea conditions and make predictions about weather at sea for shipping, fisheries, tourism and other interested parties. Variables including wave height, tides, sea level variations, sea surface temperature, and ocean currents are measured to provide an accurate picture of current conditions. The center is also responsible for informing the public of tide times, and cooperates with local tourism bureaux and Fishermen's Associations to erect electronic billboards in harbours to inform seafarers of ocean conditions.
The Bureau also includes the following departments:
- The Meteorological Satellite Center (Chinese: 氣象衛星中心; pinyin: Qìxiàng Wèixīng Zhōngxīn), which receives and analyses weather satellite data for observation and prediction purposes.
- The Astronomical Observatory (Chinese: 天文站; pinyin: Tiānwén Zhàn), which not only observes astronomical phenomena such as sunspots and eclipses, but also publishes an annual almanac and provides information on astronomy to the public.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Central Weather Bureau ROC|
- "南區氣象中心 (Southern Meteorological Center)" (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau.
- "氣象博物館 (Meteorological Museum)" (in Chinese).
- "Brief History & Organization". Central Weather Bureau.
- "Missions". Central Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- "Weather Forecast Center". Central Weather Bureau.
- "二十世紀(1901-2000)台灣地區災害性地震" (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- "Seismological Center". Central Weather Bureau.
- "Marine Meteorology Center". Central Weather Bureau.
- "Meteorological Satellite Center". Central Weather Bureau. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32003000 |
Der Sturm (German: The Storm) was a magazine covering the expressionism movement founded in Berlin in 1910 by Herwarth Walden. It ran weekly until monthly in 1914, and became a quarterly in 1924 until it ceased publication in 1932.
Among the literary contributors were Peter Altenberg, Max Brod, Richard Dehmel, Alfred Döblin, Anatole France, Knut Hamsun, Arno Holz, Karl Kraus, Selma Lagerlöf, Adolf Loos, Heinrich Mann, Paul Scheerbart, and René Schickele. Der Sturm consisted of pieces such as expressionistic dramas (i.e. from Hermann Essig and August Stramm), artistic portfolios (Oskar Kokoschka), essays from artists (the Kandinsky Album), and theoretical writings on art from Herwarth Walden. The most well-known publications resulting from the magazine were the Sturmbücher (storm-books), (e.g. Sturmbücher 1 and 2 were works of August Stramm – Sancta Susanna und Rudimentär). Postcards were also created featuring the expressionistic, cubist, and abstract art of Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Kokoschka, August Macke, Gabriele Münter, Georg Schrimpf, Maria Uhden, Rudolf Bauer and others. The term Sturm was branded by Walden to represent the way in which modern art was penetrating Germany at the time.
Particularly in the time before outbreak of the World War I, Der Sturm played a crucial role in the French-German exchange of expressionist artists, which led to a special relationship between Berlin and Paris. Regularly, poems and other texts of French and/or French-speaking expressionists were published (Guillaume Apollinaire, Blaise Cendrars, etc.). This relationship was renewed after the war despite the hostilities between the two countries caused by the fighting.
The Gallery
The magazine also fostered the Galerie Der Sturm, started by Walden to celebrate its 100th edition, in 1912. The gallery became the focus for Berlin's modern art scene for a decade. Starting with an exhibition of Fauves and Der Blaue Reiter, followed by the introduction in Germany of the Italian Futurists, Cubists and Orphists, the gallery was to exhibit Edvard Munch, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Jean Metzinger, Gino Severini, Jean Arp, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kurt Schwitters.
After the war, Walden expanded Der Sturm into Sturmabende, lectures and discussions on modern art, and Die Sturmbühne, an expressionist theatre, as well as publishing books and portfolios by leading artists such as Oskar Kokoschka. Despite this, the gallery declined in importance after the war and closed in 1924, leaving the magazine to carry on as a quarterly until it too closed in 1932.
However, concerning the exact closing date of the Der Sturm Art Gallery (an offshoot of the magazine) as Maurice Godé, wrote in his book "Der Sturm of Hewarth Walden or the utopia of an autonomous art", the author wanted to promote the German "avant-garde" arts by means of both resident and touring exhibitions. Accordingly, Walden organized, until 1932, more than 200 exhibitions in its premises in Berlin plus multiple other touring exhibitions (Wanderausstellungen) in Germany and also in most other major European cities. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32004000 |
||This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. (February 2009)|
Direct-to-video (also known as direct-to-DVD, direct-to-VHS, direct-to-digital, made-for-video, straight-to-video, shot-on-video, or straight-to-DVD) is the release of a film to the public on home video formats (historically VHS) without being released in theaters or broadcast on television. Because sufficiently inferior sequels, prequels, or midquels of larger-budget films may be released direct-to-video, references to direct-to-video releases are often pejorative. Still, direct-to-video releases have become something of a lifeline for independent filmmakers and smaller companies.
Reasons for releasing direct-to-video
A production studio may decide not to generally release a TV show or film for several possible reasons: poor quality, lack of support from a TV network, negative reviews, controversial nature, or a simple lack of general public interest. Studios, limited in the annual number of films to which they grant cinematic releases, may choose to pull the completed film from the theaters, or never exhibit it in theaters at all. Studios then generate additional revenue through video sales and rentals.
Direct-to-video releases have historically carried a stigma of lower technical or artistic quality than theatrical releases. Some films released direct-to-video are films which have been completed but were never released in movie theaters. This delay often occurs when a studio doubts a film's commercial prospects would justify a full cinema release, or because its release window has closed. A release window refers to a timely trend or personality, and missing that window of opportunity means a film, possibly rushed into production, failed to release before the trend faded. In film-industry slang, such films are referred to as having been "vaulted".
Direct-to-video releases can be done for films which cannot be shown theatrically due to controversial content, or because the cost involved in a theatrical release is beyond the releasing company.
Animated sequels and feature-length episodes of animated series are also often released in this fashion. The Walt Disney Company began making sequels of most of its animated films for video release beginning with The Return of Jafar (the sequel to Aladdin) in 1994. Universal Studios also began their long line of The Land Before Time sequels that same year.
Studios may also release sequels or spin-offs to a successful live action film straight to DVD. These are commonly referred to as "cheapquels" due to the lack of quality and budget in comparison to the original. Examples are the Behind Enemy Lines series of films.
The family film segment is a major part of direct-to-video sales. According to the LA Times,
"Often, the downfall of live-action family films at the box office is their strength on video. Their appeal is to families with young children, who may go to only a couple of movies per year but who will watch many videos multiple times. The teens and young adults who drive blockbuster box-office statistics stay away from family movies."
During the Golden Age of Porn in 1970, many films were released in theatres, some of which became some of the highest grossing films in their release years and in the porn industry altogether. Towards the 1980s porn began to shift to video release, because video allowed the producers to work on extremely low budget, and neglect some film elements like script. During the 1990s porn began releasing through paysites on the internet, which made distribution easier to millions of customers around the world, but also created a problem as it became an easy target to piracy and posting in free porn sites.[original research?]
Direct-to-video films screened theatrically
Occasionally, a studio that makes a movie that was prepared as a direct-to-video film will release it theatrically at the last minute due to the success of another film with a similar subject matter or an ultimate studio decision. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an example of this. However, despite the movie's critically acclaimed success, its box-office performance was very poor, which has been blamed on its last minute decision to be released theatrically. The film had much better commercial success in its subsequent home video releases. Another example which garnered a large cult following is the 2001 psychological thriller Donnie Darko, which was originally slated for a direct-to-video release. Doug's 1st Movie was also intended as a direct-to-video release, but due to the success of The Rugrats Movie, it went into the theaters in Spring 1999. While the film did poorly with critics, it was a moderate box-office success.
Other times, a direct-to-video movie may get a limited theatrical screening in order to build excitement for the actual release of the video such as was done for 2010's Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Planet Hulk.
As DVDs gradually replaced videocassettes, the term "direct-to-DVD" replaced "direct-to-video" in some instances. However, the word "video" does not necessarily refer to VHS cassettes. Many publications continue to use the term direct-to-video for DVDs or Blu-ray Discs. The new term sometimes used is DVDP ("DVD Premiere"). Such films can cost as much as $20 million (about a third of the average cost of a Hollywood release) Some direct-to-video releases also feature formerly well-known actors, such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ray Liotta, Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Ving Rhames, Val Kilmer, Rose McGowan, 50 Cent, Christian Slater, Vinnie Jones, Forest Whitaker, Steven Dorff and Cuba Gooding, Jr.. Salaries for such actors range from $2 to $4 million (Van Damme) to $4.5 to $10 million (Seagal). According to Variety, American Pie: Band Camp sold a million copies in one week, despite retaining only two actors from the original trilogy.
As of 2005, DVDPs collectively grossed over $3 billion annually.
Direct-to-iTunes is an online distribution method that avoids all upfront DVD production, marketing and distribution costs as well as upfront cinema distribution and marketing costs. It has revolutionized short film distribution and on occasion has been used for feature length films. Apple distributes the film for 30% of the revenue, while an additional 10-15% may go to the person who formats the film for iTunes compatibility. The first independently produced feature length motion picture to pursue the direct-to-iTunes marketing scheme was Ed Burns' Purple Violets, which debuted on iTunes on November 20, 2007. It was the first feature length film to "premiere exclusively on iTunes". It was distributed exclusively on iTunes at a price of US$14.99 for a month before being made available through other distribution channels. The movie, which was produced at a cost of $4 million, had premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, where it was reviewed positively, but only received modest distribution offers. At the time of the Purple Violets release, most studios were not distributing via iTunes early in the process and only Walt Disney Studios, which was the first movie studio to distribute via iTunes, was distributing at iTunes simultaneously with DVD distribution. It was not very common for consumers to make digital movie purchases at the time. The Polish brothers' 2011 For Lovers Only, which had virtually no production costs and was released to iTunes on July 12, is regarded as the first profitable feature length direct-to-iTunes product. The direct-to-iTunes method is also becoming common with both books and music.
When Purple Violets was released, several short films had already been distributed through iTunes. Previously, marketing of short films had been prohibitive. However, Apple distributed the February 25, 2007 79th Academy Awards nominees for the Animated Shorts, Live Action Shorts and Documentary Shorts as well as half of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival shorts, beginning a new era.
The V-Cinema and OVA markets in Japan
In Japan, direct-to-video titles referred to as "Original Video" (オリジナルビデオ) carry different connotations, being a niche product rather than a fallback. Despite having lower budgets than features intended for theater release, Japanese direct-to-video productions are rarely marred by the poor storyline and lower quality production often associated with the DTV market in the US. So-called V-Cinema has more respect from the public, and affection from film directors for the greater creative freedoms the medium allows. DTV releases are subject to fewer content restrictions and less creative dictates than other formats.
In the case of anime, this is called Original Video Animation (OVA or OAV), and their production values usually fall between those of TV shows and movies. They're often used to tell stories too short to fill a full TV season, and were particularly common in the early 1990s. Sometimes OVAs garner enough interest to justify commissioning a full TV show, such as Tenchi Muyo!, El Hazard, and Read or Die.
With the advent of the 13 episode season format, OVAs are less common now. The majority of OVAs released in today's market are usually continuations or reworkings of recently completed TV show. For instance, the DVD release of a TV show might include a bonus episode that was never broadcast as a sales hook.
- B movie
- Home video
- List of Disney direct-to-video films
- Television film
- Category:Direct-to-video films for a list of Direct-to-video productions.
- Alvarez, Max J (1994-12-30). "Big Names Look For Bright Lights In Videoland". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
- Lerman, Laurence (September 17, 2001). "Independents' 'Bread and Butter'". Video Business 21 (38). Section: Video Premieres
- Barlow, Aaron (2005). The DVD Revolution: Movies, Culture, and Technology. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 19. ISBN 0-275-98387-0. "Films that flop in theaters or which are never theatrically released can prove profitable through longer-term video and DVD sales."
- Goodale, Gloria (October 23, 1998). "'Straight to Video' Picks up Steam". Christian Science Monitor
- Bernstein, Adam (2004-12-12). "Silent Films Speak Loudly for Hughes". The Washington Post. TVWeek p. Y06.
- "More Films Jump Straight to DVD". USA Today. August 6, 2003. Section: Life, p. 03d
- Cheapquel - Urbandictionary.com
- Matzer, Marla (1997-04-16). "Direct-to-Video Family Films Are Hitting Home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths gets big-screen Premieres on Two Coasts - Comicmix.com - February 5, 2010
- Berardinelli, James. "DVD's Scarlet Letter". Retrieved 2007-01-13.
- For one example of many uses of the term, see "Paramount grows DVDP slate". Retrieved 2007-01-13.
- DVD Exclusive Online. "Stars, Money Migrate To DVDP (archived)". Archived from the original on 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
- Carl DiOrio (2004-03-23). "Average cost of a film: $102.9 million". Video Business Online. Retrieved 2007-01-21. The figure cited in the title includes marketing costs; as of 2004, when this article was written, the average production cost was $63.8 million.
- Variety.com (2005-12-29). "Spending on DVDs up 10%". Retrieved 2007-01-13.
- Halbfinger, David M. (2007-10-23). "Facing Competition, iTunes Revs Up Its Film Section". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- Graser, Marc (2007-10-25). "Ed Burns offers 'Violets' on iTunes: Feature to skip theatrical release". Variety. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- "Edward Burns - Movie Going Direct To Itunes". contactmusic.com. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- Kirsner, Scott (2007-11-02). "Studio's Digital Dilemma: Apple Calling Shots as Biz Tries To Control Market". Variety. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
- "Stana Katic and Mark Polish Interview about For Lovers Only on Bloomberg West". Bloomberg News. YouTube. 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- Mike Mayo (1997). VideoHound's Video Premieres: The Only Guide to Video Originals and Limited Releases. Visible Ink Press. p. 431. ISBN 0-7876-0825-4. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32005000 |
Existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of late 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. In existentialism, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.
Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher, though he himself did not use the term existentialism. He proposed that each individual—not society or religion—is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely ("authentically"). Existentialism became popular in the years following World War II, and strongly influenced many disciplines besides philosophy, including theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology.
Definitional issues and background
There has never been general agreement on the definition of existentialism. The term is often seen as a historical convenience as it was first applied to many philosophers in hindsight, long after they had died. In fact, while existentialism is generally considered to have originated with Kierkegaard, the first prominent existentialist philosopher to adopt the term as a self-description was Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre purports the idea that that which "all existentialists have in common is the fundamental doctrine that existence precedes essence," as scholar F.C.Copleston explains. According to philosopher Steven Crowell, defining existentialism has been relatively difficult, and he argues that it is better understood as a general approach used to reject certain systematic philosophies rather than as a systematic philosophy itself.
Although many outside Scandinavia consider the term existentialism to have originated from Kierkegaard himself, it is more likely that Kierkegaard adopted this term (or at least the term "existential" as a description of his philosophy) from the Norwegian poet and literary critic Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven. This assertion comes from two sources. The Norwegian philosopher Erik Lundestad refers to the Danish philosopher Fredrik Christian Sibbern. Sibbern is supposed to have had two conversations in 1841, the first with Welhaven and the second with Kierkegaard. It is in the first conversation that it is believed that Welhaven came up with "a word that he said covered a certain thinking, which had a close and positive attitude to life, a relationship he described as existential". This was then brought to Kierkegaard by Sibbern.
The second claim comes from the Norwegian historian Rune Slagstad, who claims to prove that Kierkegaard himself said the term "existential" was borrowed from the poet. He strongly believes that it was Kierkegaard himself who said that "Hegelians do not study philosophy 'existentially'; to use a phrase by Welhaven from one time when I spoke with him about philosophy". On the other hand, the Norwegian historian Anne-Lise Seip is critical of Slagstad, and believes the statement in fact stems from the Norwegian literary historian Cathrinus Bang.
Existence precedes essence
A central proposition of existentialism is that existence precedes essence, which means that the most important consideration for the individual is the fact that he or she is an individual—an independently acting and responsible conscious being ("existence")—rather than what labels, roles, stereotypes, definitions, or other preconceived categories the individual fits ("essence"). The actual life of the individual is what constitutes what could be called his or her "true essence" instead of there being an arbitrarily attributed essence used by others to define him or her. Thus, human beings, through their own consciousness, create their own values and determine a meaning to their life. Although it was Sartre who explicitly coined the phrase, similar notions can be found in the thought of existentialist philosophers such as Heidegger, and Kierkegaard:
"The subjective thinker’s form, the form of his communication, is his style. His form must be just as manifold as are the opposites that he holds together. The systematic eins, zwei, drei is an abstract form that also must inevitably run into trouble whenever it is to be applied to the concrete. To the same degree as the subjective thinker is concrete, to the same degree his form must also be concretely dialectical. But just as he himself is not a poet, not an ethicist, not a dialectician, so also his form is none of theirs directly. His form must first and last be related to existence, and in this regard he must have at his disposal the poetic, the ethical, the dialectical, the religious. Subordinate character, setting, etc., which belong to the well balanced character of the esthetic production, are in themselves breadth; the subjective thinker has only one setting-existence-and has nothing to do with localities and such things. The setting is not the fairyland of the imagination, where poetry produces consummation, nor is the setting laid in England, and historical accuracy is not a concern. The setting is inwardness in existing as a human being; the concretion is the relation of the existence-categories to one another. Historical accuracy and historical actuality are breadth." Soren Kierkegaard (Concluding Postscript, Hong p. 357-358)
It is often claimed in this context that a person defines himself or herself, which is often perceived as stating that they can wish to be something—anything, a bird, for instance—and then be it. According to most existentialist philosophers, however, this would constitute an inauthentic existence. Instead, the phrase should be taken to say that the person is (1) defined only insofar as he or she acts and (2) that he or she is responsible for his or her actions. For example, someone who acts cruelly towards other people is, by that act, defined as a cruel person. Furthermore, by this action of cruelty, such persons are themselves responsible for their new identity (a cruel person). This is as opposed to their genes, or 'human nature', bearing the blame.
As Sartre writes in his work Existentialism is a Humanism: "...man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards." Of course, the more positive, therapeutic aspect of this is also implied: A person can choose to act in a different way, and to be a good person instead of a cruel person. Here it is also clear that since humans can choose to be either cruel or good, they are, in fact, neither of these things essentially.
The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it. This meaninglessness also encompasses the amorality or "unfairness" of the world. This contrasts with the notion that "bad things don't happen to good people"; to the world, metaphorically speaking, there is no such thing as a good person or a bad person; what happens happens, and it may just as well happen to a "good" person as to a "bad" person.
Because of the world's absurdity, at any point in time, anything can happen to anyone, and a tragic event could plummet someone into direct confrontation with the Absurd. The notion of the absurd has been prominent in literature throughout history. Many of the literary works of Søren Kierkegaard, Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Eugene Ionesco, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus contain descriptions of people who encounter the absurdity of the world.
It is in relation to the concept of the devastating awareness of meaninglessness that Albert Camus claimed that "there is only one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide" in his The Myth of Sisyphus. Although "prescriptions" against the possibly deleterious consequences of these kinds of encounters vary, from Kierkegaard's religious "stage" to Camus' insistence on persevering in spite of absurdity, the concern with helping people avoid living their lives in ways that put them in the perpetual danger of having everything meaningful break down is common to most existentialist philosophers. The possibility of having everything meaningful break down poses a threat of quietism, which is inherently against the existentialist philosophy. It has been said that the possibility of suicide makes all humans existentialists.
Facticity is a concept defined by Sartre in Being and Nothingness as the "in-itself", of which humans are in the mode of not being. This can be more easily understood when considering it in relation to the temporal dimension of past: one's past is what one is in the sense that it co-constitutes oneself. However, to say that one is only one's past would be to ignore a significant part of reality (the present and the future), while saying that one's past is only what one was, would entirely detach it from them now. A denial of one's own concrete past constitutes an inauthentic lifestyle, and the same goes for all other kinds of facticity (having a body—e.g. one that doesn't allow a person to run faster than the speed of sound—identity, values, etc.).
Facticity is both a limitation and a condition of freedom. It is a limitation in that a large part of one's facticity consists of things one couldn't have chosen (birthplace, etc.), but a condition in the sense that one's values most likely will depend on it. However, even though one's facticity is "set in stone" (as being past, for instance), it cannot determine a person: The value ascribed to one's facticity is still ascribed to it freely by that person. As an example, consider two men, one of whom has no memory of his past and the other remembers everything. They have both committed many crimes, but the first man, knowing nothing about this, leads a rather normal life while the second man, feeling trapped by his own past, continues a life of crime, blaming his own past for "trapping" him in this life. There is nothing essential about his committing crimes, but he ascribes this meaning to his past.
However, to disregard one's facticity when one, in the continual process of self-making, projects oneself into the future, would be to put oneself in denial of oneself, and would thus be inauthentic. In other words, the origin of one's projection will still have to be one's facticity, although in the mode of not being it (essentially). Another aspect of facticity is that it entails angst, both in the sense that freedom "produces" angst when limited by facticity, and in the sense that the lack of the possibility of having facticity to "step in" for one to take responsibility for something one has done also produces angst.
What is not implied in this account of existential freedom, however, is that one's values are immutable; a consideration of one's values may cause one to reconsider and change them. A consequence of this fact is that one is responsible for not only one's actions, but also the values one holds. This entails that a reference to common values doesn't excuse the individual's actions: Even though these are the values of the society of which the individual is part, they are also his/her own in the sense that she/he could choose them to be different at any time. Thus, the focus on freedom in existentialism is related to the limits of the responsibility one bears as a result of one's freedom: the relationship between freedom and responsibility is one of interdependency, and a clarification of freedom also clarifies that for which one is responsible.
The theme of authentic existence is common to many existentialist thinkers. It is often taken to mean that one has to "create oneself" and then live in accordance with this self. What is meant by authenticity is that in acting, one should act as oneself, not as "one" acts or as "one's genes" or any other essence requires. The authentic act is one that is in accordance with one's freedom. Of course, as a condition of freedom is facticity, this includes one's facticity, but not to the degree that this facticity can in any way determine one's choices (in the sense that one could then blame one's background for making the choice one made). The role of facticity in relation to authenticity involves letting one's actual values come into play when one makes a choice (instead of, like Kierkegaard's Aesthete, "choosing" randomly), so that one also takes responsibility for the act instead of choosing either-or without allowing the options to have different values.
In contrast to this, the inauthentic is the denial to live in accordance with one's freedom. This can take many forms, from pretending choices are meaningless or random, through convincing oneself that some form of determinism is true, to a sort of "mimicry" where one acts as "one should." How "one" should act is often determined by an image one has of how one such as oneself (say, a bank manager, lion tamer, prostitute, etc.) acts. This image usually corresponds to some sort of social norm, but this does not mean that all acting in accordance with social norms is inauthentic: The main point is the attitude one takes to one's own freedom and responsibility, and the extent to which one acts in accordance with this freedom.
The Other and the Look
The Other (when written with a capital "o") is a concept more properly belonging to phenomenology and its account of intersubjectivity. However, the concept has seen widespread use in existentialist writings, and the conclusions drawn from it differ slightly from the phenomenological accounts. The experience of the Other is the experience of another free subject who inhabits the same world as a person does. In its most basic form, it is this experience of the Other that constitutes intersubjectivity and objectivity. To clarify, when one experiences someone else, and this Other person experiences the world (the same world that a person experiences), only from "over there", the world itself is constituted as objective in that it is something that is "there" as identical for both of the subjects; a person experiences the other person as experiencing the same as he or she does. This experience of the Other's look is what is termed the Look (sometimes the Gaze).
While this experience, in its basic phenomenological sense, constitutes the world as objective, and oneself as objectively existing subjectivity (one experiences oneself as seen in the Other's Look in precisely the same way that one experiences the Other as seen by him, as subjectivity), in existentialism, it also acts as a kind of limitation of one's freedom. This is because the Look tends to objectify what it sees. As such, when one experiences oneself in the Look, one doesn't experience oneself as nothing (no thing), but as something. Sartre's own example of a man peeping at someone through a keyhole can help clarify this: at first, this man is entirely caught up in the situation he is in; he is in a pre-reflexive state where his entire consciousness is directed at what goes on in the room. Suddenly, he hears a creaking floorboard behind him, and he becomes aware of himself as seen by the Other. He is thus filled with shame for he perceives himself as he would perceive someone else doing what he was doing, as a Peeping Tom. The Look is then co-constitutive of one's facticity.
Another characteristic feature of the Look is that no Other really needs to have been there: It is quite possible that the creaking floorboard was nothing but the movement of an old house; the Look isn't some kind of mystical telepathic experience of the actual way the other sees one (there may also have been someone there, but he could have not noticed that the person was there). It is only one's perception of the way another might perceive him.
"Existential angst", sometimes called dread, anxiety, or anguish, is a term that is common to many existentialist thinkers. It is generally held to be a negative feeling arising from the experience of human freedom and responsibility. The archetypal example is the experience one has when standing on a cliff where one not only fears falling off it, but also dreads the possibility of throwing oneself off. In this experience that "nothing is holding me back", one senses the lack of anything that predetermines one to either throw oneself off or to stand still, and one experiences one's own freedom.
It can also be seen in relation to the previous point how angst is before nothing, and this is what sets it apart from fear that has an object. While in the case of fear, one can take definitive measures to remove the object of fear, in the case of angst, no such "constructive" measures are possible. The use of the word "nothing" in this context relates both to the inherent insecurity about the consequences of one's actions, and to the fact that, in experiencing one's freedom as angst, one also realizes that one will be fully responsible for these consequences; there is no thing in a person (his or her genes, for instance) that acts in her or his stead, and that he or she can "blame" if something goes wrong. Therefore, not every choice is perceived as having dreadful possible consequences (and, it can be claimed, human lives would be unbearable if every choice facilitated dread). However, this doesn't change the fact that freedom remains a condition of every action. Angst is often described as a drama an adolescent troubles with during their developmental years.
Despair, in existentialism, is generally defined as a loss of hope. More specifically, it is a loss of hope in reaction to a breakdown in one or more of the defining qualities of one's self or identity. If a person is invested in being a particular thing, such as a bus driver or an upstanding citizen, and then finds his being-thing compromised, he would normally be found in state of despair — a hopeless state. For example, a singer who loses her ability to sing may despair if she has nothing else to fall back on, nothing on which to rely for her identity. She finds herself unable to be what defined her being.
What sets the existentialist notion of despair apart from the conventional definition is that existentialist despair is a state one is in even when he isn't overtly in despair. So long as a person's identity depends on qualities that can crumble, he is considered to be in perpetual despair. And as there is, in Sartrean terms, no human essence found in conventional reality on which to constitute the individual's sense of identity, despair is a universal human condition. As Kierkegaard defines it in Either/Or: "Let each one learn what he can; both of us can learn that a person’s unhappiness never lies in his lack of control over external conditions, since this would only make him completely unhappy." In Works of Love, he said:
When the God-forsaken worldliness of earthly life shuts itself in complacency, the confined air develops poison, the moment gets stuck and stands still, the prospect is lost, a need is felt for a refreshing, enlivening breeze to cleanse the air and dispel the poisonous vapors lest we suffocate in worldliness. ... Lovingly to hope all things is the opposite of despairingly to hope nothing at all. Love hopes all things – yet is never put to shame. To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of the good is to hope. To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of evil is to fear. By the decision to choose hope one decides infinitely more than it seems, because it is an eternal decision. p. 246-250
Opposition to positivism and rationalism
Existentialists oppose definitions of human beings as primarily rational, and, therefore, oppose positivism and rationalism. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on subjective meaning rather than purely rationally. The rejection of reason as the source of meaning is a common theme of existentialist thought, as is the focus on the feelings of anxiety and dread that we feel in the face of our own radical freedom and our awareness of death. Kierkegaard advocated rationality as means to interact with the objective world (e.g. in the natural sciences), but when it comes to existential problems, reason is insufficient: "Human reason has boundaries".
Like Kierkegaard, Sartre saw problems with rationality, calling it a form of "bad faith", an attempt by the self to impose structure on a world of phenomena — "the Other" — that is fundamentally irrational and random. According to Sartre, rationality and other forms of bad faith hinder people from finding meaning in freedom. To try to suppress their feelings of anxiety and dread, people confine themselves within everyday experience, Sartre asserts, thereby relinquishing their freedom and acquiescing to being possessed in one form or another by "the Look" of "the Other" (i.e. possessed by another person — or at least one's idea of that other person).
Existentialism and religion
An existentialist reading of the Bible would demand that the reader recognize that he is an existing subject studying the words more as a recollection of events. This is in contrast to looking at a collection of "truths" that are outside and unrelated to the reader, but may develop a sense of reality/God. Such a reader is not obligated to follow the commandments as if an external agent is forcing them upon him, but as though they are inside him and guiding him from inside. This is the task Kierkegaard takes up when he asks: "Who has the more difficult task: the teacher who lectures on earnest things a meteor's distance from everyday life — or the learner who should put it to use?"
Existentialism and nihilism
Although nihilism and existentialism are distinct philosophies, they are often confused with one another. A primary cause of confusion is that Friedrich Nietzsche is an important philosopher in both fields, but also the existentialist insistence on the inherent meaninglessness of the world. Existentialist philosophers often stress the importance of Angst as signifying the absolute lack of any objective ground for action, a move that is often reduced to a moral or an existential nihilism. A pervasive theme in the works of existentialist philosophy, however, is to persist through encounters with the absurd, as seen in Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus ("One must imagine Sisyphus happy"), and it is only very rarely that existentialist philosophers dismiss morality or one's self-created meaning: Kierkegaard regained a sort of morality in the religious (although he wouldn't himself agree that it was ethical; the religious suspends the ethical), and Sartre's final words in Being and Nothingness are "All these questions, which refer us to a pure and not an accessory (or impure) reflection, can find their reply only on the ethical plane. We shall devote to them a future work."
The term "existentialism" was coined by the French, Catholic philosopher Gabriel Marcel in the mid-1940s. At first, when Marcel applied the term to him at a colloquium in 1945, Jean-Paul Sartre rejected it. But later, he changed his mind and, on October 29, 1945, publicly adopted the existentialist label in a lecture to the Club Maintenant in Paris. The lecture was published as L'existentialisme est un humanisme (Existentialism is a Humanism), a short book that did much to popularize existentialist thought.
Some scholars argue that the term should be used only to refer to the cultural movement in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s associated with the works of the philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Albert Camus. Other scholars extend the term to Kierkegaard, and yet others extend it as far back as Socrates. However, the term is often identified with the philosophical views of Jean-Paul Sartre.
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche
Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche were two of the first philosophers considered fundamental to the existentialist movement, though neither used the term "existentialism" and it is unclear whether they would have supported the existentialism of the 20th century. They focused on subjective human experience rather than the objective truths of mathematics and science, which they believed were too detached or observational to truly get at the human experience. Like Pascal, they were interested in people's quiet struggle with the apparent meaninglessness of life and the use of diversion to escape from boredom. Unlike Pascal, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche also considered the role of making free choices, particularly regarding fundamental values and beliefs, and how such choices change the nature and identity of the chooser. Kierkegaard's knight of faith and Nietzsche's Übermensch are representative of people who exhibit Freedom, in that they define the nature of their own existence. Nietzsche's idealized individual invents his or her own values and creates the very terms they excel under. By contrast, Kierkegaard, opposed to the level of abstraction in Hegel, and not nearly as hostile (actually welcoming) to Christianity as Nietzsche, argues through a pseudonym that the objective certainty of religious truths (specifically Christian) is not only impossible, but even founded on logical paradoxes. Yet he continues to imply that a leap of faith is a possible means for an individual to reach a higher stage of existence that transcends and contains both an aesthetic and ethical value of life. Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were also precursors to other intellectual movements, including postmodernism, and various strands of psychology. However, Kierkegaard believed that an individual should live in accordance with his or her thinking. This point of view is forced upon religious individuals much more often than upon philosophers, psychologists, or scientists.
The first important literary author also important to existentialism was the Russian Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground portrays a man unable to fit into society and unhappy with the identities he creates for himself. Jean-Paul Sartre, in his book on existentialism Existentialism is a Humanism, quoted Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov as an example of existential crisis. Sartre attributes Ivan Karamazov's claim, "If God did not exist, everything would be permitted" to Dostoyevsky himself. Other Dostoyevsky novels covered issues raised in existentialist philosophy while presenting story lines divergent from secular existentialism: for example, in Crime and Punishment, the protagonist Raskolnikov experiences an existential crisis and then moves toward a Christian Orthodox worldview similar to that advocated by Dostoyevsky himself.
Early 20th century
In the first decades of the 20th century, a number of philosophers and writers explored existentialist ideas. The Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo, in his 1913 book The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations, emphasized the life of "flesh and bone" as opposed to that of abstract rationalism. Unamuno rejected systematic philosophy in favor of the individual's quest for faith. He retained a sense of the tragic, even absurd nature of the quest, symbolized by his enduring interest in Cervantes' fictional character Don Quixote. A novelist, poet and dramatist as well as philosophy professor at the University of Salamanca, Unamuno wrote a short story about a priest's crisis of faith, Saint Manuel the Good, Martyr, which has been collected in anthologies of existentialist fiction. Another Spanish thinker, Ortega y Gasset, writing in 1914, held that human existence must always be defined as the individual person combined with the concrete circumstances of his life: "Yo soy yo y mis circunstancias" ("I am myself and my circumstances"). Sartre likewise believed that human existence is not an abstract matter, but is always situated, also many thought his plays were absurd ("en situación").
Although Martin Buber wrote his major philosophical works in German, and studied and taught at the Universities of Berlin and Frankfurt, he stands apart from the mainstream of German philosophy. Born into a Jewish family in Vienna in 1878, he was also a scholar of Jewish culture and involved at various times in Zionism and Hasidism. In 1938, he moved permanently to Jerusalem. His best-known philosophical work was the short book I and Thou, published in 1922. For Buber, the fundamental fact of human existence, too readily overlooked by scientific rationalism and abstract philosophical thought, is "man with man", a dialogue that takes place in the so-called "sphere of between" ("das Zwischenmenschliche").
Two Ukrainian/Russian thinkers, Lev Shestov and Nikolai Berdyaev, became well known as existentialist thinkers during their post-Revolutionary exiles in Paris. Shestov, born into a Ukrainian-Jewish family in Kiev, had launched an attack on rationalism and systematization in philosophy as early as 1905 in his book of aphorisms All Things Are Possible.
Berdyaev, also from Kiev but with a background in the Eastern Orthodox Church, drew a radical distinction between the world of spirit and the everyday world of objects. Human freedom, for Berdyaev, is rooted in the realm of spirit, a realm independent of scientific notions of causation. To the extent the individual human being lives in the objective world, he is estranged from authentic spiritual freedom. "Man" is not to be interpreted naturalistically, but as a being created in God's image, an originator of free, creative acts. He published a major work on these themes, The Destiny of Man, in 1931.
Gabriel Marcel, long before coining the term "existentialism", introduced important existentialist themes to a French audience in his early essay "Existence and Objectivity" (1925) and in his Metaphysical Journal (1927). A dramatist as well as a philosopher, Marcel found his philosophical starting point in a condition of metaphysical alienation: the human individual searching for harmony in a transient life. Harmony, for Marcel, was to be sought through "secondary reflection", a "dialogical" rather than "dialectical" approach to the world, characterized by "wonder and astonishment" and open to the "presence" of other people and of God rather than merely to "information" about them. For Marcel, such presence implied more than simply being there (as one thing might be in the presence of another thing); it connoted "extravagant" availability, and the willingness to put oneself at the disposal of the other.
Marcel contrasted secondary reflection with abstract, scientific-technical primary reflection, which he associated with the activity of the abstract Cartesian ego. For Marcel, philosophy was a concrete activity undertaken by a sensing, feeling human being incarnate — embodied — in a concrete world. Although Jean-Paul Sartre adopted the term "existentialism" for his own philosophy in the 1940s, Marcel's thought has been described as "almost diametrically opposed" to that of Sartre. Unlike Sartre, Marcel was a Christian, and became a Catholic convert in 1929.
In Germany, the psychologist and philosopher Karl Jaspers — who later described existentialism as a "phantom" created by the public — called his own thought, heavily influenced by Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, Existenzphilosophie. For Jaspers, "Existenz-philosophy is the way of thought by means of which man seeks to become himself...This way of thought does not cognize objects, but elucidates and makes actual the being of the thinker."
Jaspers, a professor at the University of Heidelberg, was acquainted with Martin Heidegger, who held a professorship at Marburg before acceding to Husserl's chair at Freiburg in 1928. They held many philosophical discussions, but later became estranged over Heidegger's support of National Socialism. They shared an admiration for Kierkegaard, and in the 1930s, Heidegger lectured extensively on Nietzsche. Nevertheless, the extent to which Heidegger should be considered an existentialist is debatable. In Being and Time he presented a method of rooting philosophical explanations in human existence (Dasein) to be analysed in terms of existential categories (existentiale); and this has led many commentators to treat him as an important figure in the existentialist movement.
After the Second World War
Following the Second World War, existentialism became a well-known and significant philosophical and cultural movement, mainly through the public prominence of two French writers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, who wrote best-selling novels, plays and widely read journalism as well as theoretical texts. These years also saw the growing reputation of Heidegger's book Being and Time outside of Germany.
Sartre dealt with existentialist themes in his 1938 novel Nausea and the short stories in his 1939 collection The Wall, and had published his treatise on existentialism, Being and Nothingness, in 1943, but it was in the two years following the liberation of Paris from the German occupying forces that he and his close associates — Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and others — became internationally famous as the leading figures of a movement known as existentialism. In a very short space of time, Camus and Sartre in particular became the leading public intellectuals of post-war France, achieving by the end of 1945 "a fame that reached across all audiences." Camus was an editor of the most popular leftist (former French Resistance) newspaper Combat; Sartre launched his journal of leftist thought, Les Temps Modernes, and two weeks later gave the widely reported lecture on existentialism and secular humanism to a packed meeting of the Club Maintenant. Beauvoir wrote that "not a week passed without the newspapers discussing us"; existentialism became "the first media craze of the postwar era."
By the end of 1947, Camus' earlier fiction and plays had been reprinted, his new play Caligula had been performed and his novel The Plague published; the first two novels of Sartre's The Roads to Freedom trilogy had appeared, as had Beauvoir's novel The Blood of Others. Works by Camus and Sartre were already appearing in foreign editions. The Paris-based existentialists had become famous.
Sartre had traveled to Germany in 1930 to study the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, and he included critical comments on their work in his major treatise Being and Nothingness. Heidegger's thought had also become known in French philosophical circles through its use by Alexandre Kojève in explicating Hegel in a series of lectures given in Paris in the 1930s. The lectures were highly influential; members of the audience included not only Sartre and Merleau-Ponty, but Raymond Queneau, Georges Bataille, Louis Althusser, André Breton, and Jacques Lacan. A selection from Heidegger's Being and Time was published in French in 1938, and his essays began to appear in French philosophy journals.
Heidegger read Sartre's work and was initially impressed, commenting: "Here for the first time I encountered an independent thinker who, from the foundations up, has experienced the area out of which I think. Your work shows such an immediate comprehension of my philosophy as I have never before encountered." Later, however, in response to a question posed by his French follower Jean Beaufret, Heidegger distanced himself from Sartre's position and existentialism in general in his Letter on Humanism. Heidegger's reputation continued to grow in France during the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1960s, Sartre attempted to reconcile existentialism and Marxism in his work Critique of Dialectical Reason. A major theme throughout his writings was freedom and responsibility.
Camus was a friend of Sartre, until their falling-out, and wrote several works with existential themes including The Rebel, The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, and Summer in Algiers. Camus, like many others, rejected the existentialist label, and considered his works to be concerned with facing the absurd. In the titular book, Camus uses the analogy of the Greek myth of Sisyphus to demonstrate the futility of existence. In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned for eternity to roll a rock up a hill, but when he reaches the summit, the rock will roll to the bottom again. Camus believes that this existence is pointless but that Sisyphus ultimately finds meaning and purpose in his task, simply by continually applying himself to it. The first half of the book contains an extended rebuttal of what Camus took to be existentialist philosophy in the works of Kierkegaard, Shestov, Heidegger, and Jaspers.
Simone de Beauvoir, an important existentialist who spent much of her life as Sartre's partner, wrote about feminist and existentialist ethics in her works, including The Second Sex and The Ethics of Ambiguity. Although often overlooked due to her relationship with Sartre, de Beauvoir integrated existentialism with other forms of thinking such as feminism, unheard of at the time, resulting in alienation from fellow writers such as Camus.
Paul Tillich, an important existentialist theologian following Kierkegaard and Karl Barth, applied existentialist concepts to Christian theology, and helped introduce existential theology to the general public. His seminal work The Courage to Be follows Kierkegaard's analysis of anxiety and life's absurdity, but puts forward the thesis that modern humans must, via God, achieve selfhood in spite of life's absurdity. Rudolf Bultmann used Kierkegaard's and Heidegger's philosophy of existence to demythologize Christianity by interpreting Christian mythical concepts into existentialist concepts.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, an existential phenomenologist, was for a time a companion of Sartre. His understanding of Husserl's phenomenology was far greater than that of Merleau-Ponty's fellow existentialists.[vague] It has been said that his work Humanism and Terror greatly influenced Sartre. However, in later years they were to disagree irreparably, dividing many existentialists such as de Beauvoir, who sided with Sartre.
Colin Wilson, an English writer, published his study The Outsider in 1956, initially to critical acclaim. In this book and others (e.g. Introduction to the New Existentialism), he attempted to reinvigorate what he perceived as a pessimistic philosophy and bring it to a wider audience. He was not, however, academically trained, and his work was attacked by professional philosophers for lack of rigor and critical standards.
Influence outside philosophy
Film and television
The French director Jean Genet's 1950 fantasy-erotic film Un chant d'amour shows two inmates in solitary cells whose only contact is through a hole in their cell wall, who are spied on by the prison warden. Reviewer James Travers calls the film a, "...visual poem evoking homosexual desire and existentialist suffering," which "... conveys the bleakness of an existence in a godless universe with painful believability"; he calls it "... probably the most effective fusion of existentialist philosophy and cinema."
Stanley Kubrick's 1957 anti-war film Paths of Glory "illustrates, and even illuminates...existentialism" by examining the "necessary absurdity of the human condition" and the "horror of war". The film tells the story of a fictional World War I French army regiment ordered to attack an impregnable German stronghold; when the attack fails, three soldiers are chosen at random, court-martialed by a "kangaroo court", and executed by firing squad. The film examines existentialist ethics, such as the issue of whether objectivity is possible and the "problem of authenticity".
Neon Genesis Evangelion, commonly referred to as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese science-fiction animation series created by the anime studio Gainax and was both directed and written by Hideaki Anno. Existential themes of individuality, consciousness, freedom, choice, and responsibility are heavily relied upon throughout the entire series, particularly through the philosophies of Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard. Episode 16's title, "The Sickness Unto Death, And…" (死に至る病、そして Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite ) is a reference to Kierkegaard's book, The Sickness Unto Death.
On the lighter side, the British comedy troupe Monty Python have explored existentialist themes throughout their works, from many of the sketches in their original television show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, to their 1983 film Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
Some contemporary films dealing with existentialist issues include Fight Club, I ♥ Huckabees, Waking Life, The Matrix, Ordinary People, and Life in a Day. Likewise, films throughout the 20th century such as The Seventh Seal, Ikiru, Taxi Driver, Harold and Maude, High Noon, Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Clockwork Orange, Groundhog Day, Apocalypse Now, Badlands, and Blade Runner also have existentialist qualities.
The Matrix has been compared with another movie, Dark City where the issues of identity and reality are raised. In Dark City, the inhabitants of the city are situated in a world controlled by demiurges, much like the prisoners in Plato's cave, in which prisoners see a world of shadows reflected onto a cave wall, rather than the world as it actually is.
Notable directors known for their existentialist films include Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Michelangelo Antonioni, Akira Kurosawa, Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Hideaki Anno, Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, and Christopher Nolan. Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York focuses on the protagonist's desire to find existential meaning. Similarly, in Kurosawa's Red Beard, the protagonist's experiences as an intern in a rural health clinic in Japan lead him to an existential crisis whereby he questions his reason for being. This, in turn, leads him to a better understanding of humanity.
Existential perspectives are also found in literature to varying degrees since 1922. Louis-Ferdinand Céline's Journey to the End of the Night (Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) celebrated by both Sartre and Beauvoir, contained many of the themes that would be found in later existential literature, and is in some ways, the proto-existential novel. Jean-Paul Sartre's 1938 novel Nausea was "steeped in Existential ideas", and is considered an accessible way of grasping his philosophical stance. Between 1910 and 1960, other authors such as Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Eliot, Herman Hesse and Jack Kerouac, composed literature or poetry that contained, to varying degrees, elements of existential or proto-existential thought. Since the late 1960s, a great deal of cultural activity in literature contains postmodernist as well as existential elements. Books such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) (now republished as Blade Runner) by Philip K. Dick, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk all distort the line between reality and appearance while simultaneously espousing existential themes. Ideas from such writers as Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Michel Foucault, Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, Herbert Marcuse, Gilles Deleuze, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Eduard von Hartmann permeate the works of modern novelists such as Chuck Palahniuk, Crispin Glover, and Charles Bukowski, and one often finds in their works a delicate balance between distastefulness and beauty.
Jean-Paul Sartre wrote No Exit in 1944, an existentialist play originally published in French as Huis Clos (meaning In Camera or "behind closed doors"), which is the source of the popular quote, "Hell is other people." (In French, "L'enfer, c'est les autres"). The play begins with a Valet leading a man into a room that the audience soon realizes is in hell. Eventually he is joined by two women. After their entry, the Valet leaves and the door is shut and locked. All three expect to be tortured, but no torturer arrives. Instead, they realize they are there to torture each other, which they do effectively by probing each other's sins, desires, and unpleasant memories.
Existentialist themes are displayed in the Theatre of the Absurd, notably in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, in which two men divert themselves while they wait expectantly for someone (or something) named Godot who never arrives. They claim Godot to be an acquaintance, but in fact hardly know him, admitting they would not recognize him if they saw him. Samuel Beckett, once asked who or what Godot is, replied, "If I knew, I would have said so in the play." To occupy themselves, the men eat, sleep, talk, argue, sing, play games, exercise, swap hats, and contemplate suicide—anything "to hold the terrible silence at bay". The play "exploits several archetypal forms and situations, all of which lend themselves to both comedy and pathos." The play also illustrates an attitude toward human experience on earth: the poignancy, oppression, camaraderie, hope, corruption, and bewilderment of human experience that can be reconciled only in the mind and art of the absurdist. The play examines questions such as death, the meaning of human existence and the place of God in human existence.
Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist tragicomedy first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Comparisons have also been drawn to Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, for the presence of two central characters who almost appear to be two halves of a single character. Many plot features are similar as well: the characters pass time by playing Questions, impersonating other characters, and interrupting each other or remaining silent for long periods of time. The two characters are portrayed as two clowns or fools in a world that is beyond their understanding. They stumble through philosophical arguments while not realizing the implications, and muse on the irrationality and randomness of the world.
Jean Anouilh's Antigone also presents arguments founded on existentialist ideas. It is a tragedy inspired by Greek mythology and the play of the same name (Antigone, by Sophocles) from the 5th century BC. In English, it is often distinguished from its antecedent by being pronounced in its original French form, approximately "Ante-GŌN." The play was first performed in Paris on 6 February 1944, during the Nazi occupation of France. Produced under Nazi censorship, the play is purposefully ambiguous with regards to the rejection of authority (represented by Antigone) and the acceptance of it (represented by Creon). The parallels to the French Resistance and the Nazi occupation have been drawn. Antigone rejects life as desperately meaningless but without affirmatively choosing a noble death. The crux of the play is the lengthy dialogue concerning the nature of power, fate, and choice, during which Antigone says that she is, "... disgusted with [the]...promise of a humdrum happiness." She states that she would rather die than live a mediocre existence.
Critic Martin Esslin in his book Theatre of the Absurd pointed out how many contemporary playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, and Arthur Adamov wove into their plays the existentialist belief that we are absurd beings loose in a universe empty of real meaning. Esslin noted that many of these playwrights demonstrated the philosophy better than did the plays by Sartre and Camus. Though most of such playwrights, subsequently labeled "Absurdist" (based on Esslin's book), denied affiliations with existentialism and were often staunchly anti-philosophical (for example Ionesco often claimed he identified more with 'Pataphysics or with Surrealism than with existentialism), the playwrights are often linked to existentialism based on Esslin's observation.
Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy
A major offshoot of existentialism as a philosophy is existentialist psychology and psychoanalysis, which first crystallized in the work of Otto Rank, Freud's closest associate for 20 years. Without awareness of the writings of Rank, Ludwig Binswanger was influenced by Freud, Edmund Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. A later figure was Viktor Frankl, who briefly met Freud and studied with Jung as a young man. His logotherapy can be regarded as a form of existentialist therapy. The existentialists would also influence social psychology, antipositivist micro-sociology, symbolic interactionism, and post-structuralism, with the work of thinkers such as Georg Simmel and Michel Foucault. Foucault was a great reader of Kierkegaard even though he almost never refers this author, who nonetheless had for him an importance as secret as it was decisive.
An early contributor to existentialist psychology in the United States was Rollo May, who was strongly influenced by Kierkegaard and Otto Rank. One of the most prolific writers on techniques and theory of existentialist psychology in the USA is Irvin D. Yalom. Yalom states that
Aside from their reaction against Freud's mechanistic, deterministic model of the mind and their assumption of a phenomenological approach in therapy, the existentialist analysts have little in common and have never been regarded as a cohesive ideological school. These thinkers - who include Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, Eugène Minkowski, V.E. Gebsattel, Roland Kuhn, G. Caruso, F.T. Buytendijk, G. Bally and Victor Frankl - were almost entirely unknown to the American psychotherapeutic community until Rollo May's highly influential 1985 book Existence - and especially his introductory essay - introduced their work into this country.
A more recent contributor to the development of a European version of existentialist psychotherapy is the British-based Emmy van Deurzen.
Anxiety's importance in existentialism makes it a popular topic in psychotherapy. Therapists often offer existentialist philosophy as an explanation for anxiety. The assertion is that anxiety is manifested of an individual's complete freedom to decide, and complete responsibility for the outcome of such decisions. Psychotherapists using an existentialist approach believe that a patient can harness his anxiety and use it constructively. Instead of suppressing anxiety, patients are advised to use it as grounds for change. By embracing anxiety as inevitable, a person can use it to achieve his full potential in life. Humanistic psychology also had major impetus from existentialist psychology and shares many of the fundamental tenets. Terror management theory, based on the writings of Ernest Becker and Otto Rank, is a developing area of study within the academic study of psychology. It looks at what researchers claim to be the implicit emotional reactions of people confronted with the knowledge that they will eventually die.
Logical positivist philosophers, such as Rudolf Carnap and Alfred Ayer, assert that existentialists are often confused about the verb "to be" in their analyses of "being". Specifically, they argue that the verb is transitive and pre-fixed to a predicate (e.g., an apple is red) (without a predicate, the word is meaningless), and that existentialists frequently misuse the term in this manner.
Many critics argue Sartre's philosophy is contradictory. Specifically, they argue that Sartre makes metaphysical arguments despite his claiming that his philosophical views ignore metaphysics. Herbert Marcuse criticized Being and Nothingness (1943) by Jean-Paul Sartre for projecting anxiety and meaninglessness onto the nature of existence itself: "Insofar as Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine, it remains an idealistic doctrine: it hypostatizes specific historical conditions of human existence into ontological and metaphysical characteristics. Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory".
In Letter on Humanism, Heidegger criticized Sartre's existentialism:
Existentialism says existence precedes essence. In this statement he is taking existentia and essentia according to their metaphysical meaning, which, from Plato's time on, has said that essentia precedes existentia. Sartre reverses this statement. But the reversal of a metaphysical statement remains a metaphysical statement. With it, he stays with metaphysics, in oblivion of the truth of Being.
- John Macquarrie, Existentialism, New York (1972), pp. 18–21.
- Oxford Companion to Philosophy, ed. Ted Honderich, New York (1995), p. 259.
- John Macquarrie, Existentialism, New York (1972), pp. 14–15.
- Robert C. Solomon, Existentialism (McGraw-Hill, 1974, pp. 1–2).
- Ernst Breisach, Introduction to Modern Existentialism, New York (1962), p. 5.
- Walter Kaufmann, Existentialism: From Dostoyevesky to Sartre, New York (1956) p. 12.
- Crowell, Steven (October 2010). "Existentialism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- Marino, Gordon. Basic Writings of Existentialism (Modern Library, 2004, p. ix, 3).
- McDonald, William. "Søren Kierkegaard". In Edward N. Zalta. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition).
- Watts, Michael. Kierkegaard (Oneworld, 2003, pp.4-6).
- Lowrie, Walter. Kierkegaard's attack upon "Christendom" (Princeton, 1969, pp. 37-40).
- Guignon and Pereboom, Derk, Charles B. (2001). Existentialism: basic writings. Hackett Publishing. p. xiii. ISBN 9780872205956.
- Copleston, F.C. (2009). "Existentialism". Philosophy 23 (84): 19–37. doi:10.1017/S0031819100065955. JSTOR 4544850.
- Lundestad, 1998, pp. 169
- Slagstad, 2001, p 89
- Seip, 2007, p 352
- (French) (Dictionary) "L'existencialisme" - see "l'identité de la personne"
- Baird, Forrest E.; Walter Kaufmann (2008). From Plato to Derrida. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-158591-6.
- Jean-Paul Sartre. "Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre 1946". Marxists.org. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- E Keen (1973). Suicide and Self-Deception. Psychoanalytic Review
- "despair - definition of despair by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". Tfd.com. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- Either/Or Part II p. 188 Hong
- Soren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Vol 5, p. 5
- Hong, Howard V. "Historical Introduction" to Fear and Trembling. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 1983. p. x
- Kierkegaard, Soren. Works of Love. Harper & Row, Publishers. New York, N.Y. 1962. p. 62
- Camus, Albert. "The Myth of Sisyphus". NYU.edu
- Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, Routledge Classics (2003).
- D.E. Cooper Existentialism: A Reconstruction (Basil Blackwell, 1990, page 1)
- Thomas R. Flynn, Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press), 2006, page 89
- Christine Daigle, Existentialist Thinkers and Ethics (McGill-Queen's press, 2006, page 5)
- Ann Fulton, Apostles of Sartre: Existentialism in America, 1945-1963 (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1999) 18-19.
- L'Existentialisme est un Humanisme (Editions Nagel, 1946); English Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism (Eyre Methuen, 1948)
- Crowell, Steven. The Cambridge Companion to Existentialism, Cambridge, 2011, p. 316.
- Luper, Steven. "Existing". Mayfield Publishing, 2000, p.4–5 and 11
- Hubben, William. Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Kafka, Jabber-wacky, Scribner, 1997.
- Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm ; Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- Maurice S. Friedman, Martin Buber. The Life of Dialogue (University of Chicago press, 1955, page 85)
- Ernst Breisach, Introduction to Modern Existentialism, New York (1962), pages 173–176
- Samuel M. Keen, "Gabriel Marcel" in Paul Edwards (ed.) The Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (Macmillan Publishing Co, 1967)
- John Macquarrie, Existentialism (Pelican, 1973, page 110)
- John Macquarrie, Existentialism (Pelican, 1973, page 96)
- Karl Jaspers, "Philosophical Autobiography" in Paul Arthur Schilpp (ed.) The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers (The Library of Living Philosophers IX (Tudor Publishing Company, 1957, page 75/11)
- Karl Jaspers, "Philosophical Autobiography" in Paul Arthur Schilpp (ed.) The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers (The Library of Living Philosophers IX (Tudor Publishing Company, 1957, page 40)
- Karl Jaspers, "Philosophical Autobiography" in Paul Arthur Schilpp (ed.) The Philosophy of Karl Jaspers (The Library of Living Philosophers IX (Tudor Publishing Company, 1957, page 75/2 and following)
- Ronald Aronson, Camus and Sartre (University of Chicago Press, 2004, chapter 3 passim)
- Ronald Aronson, Camus and Sartre (University of Chicago Press, 2004, page 44)
- Simone de Beauvoir, Force of Circumstance, quoted in Ronald Aronson, Camus and Sartre (University of Chicago Press, 2004, page 48)
- Ronald Aronson, Camus and Sartre (University of Chicago Press, 2004, page 48)
- Rüdiger Safranski, Martin Heidgger — Between Good and Evil (Harvard University Press, 1998, page 343
- Entry on Kojève in Martin Cohen (editor), The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics(Hodder Arnold, 2006, page 158); see also Alexandre Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel: Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit (Cornell University Press, 1980)
- Entry on Kojève in Martin Cohen (editor), The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics(Hodder Arnold, 2006, page 158)
- Martin Hediegger, letter, quoted in Rüdiger Safranski, Martin Heidgger — Between Good and Evil (Harvard University Press, 1998, page 349)
- Rüdiger Safranski, Martin Heidegger — Between Good and Evil (Harvard University Press, 1998, page 356)
- William J. Richardson, Martin Heidegger: From Phenomenology to Thought (Martjinus Nijhoff,1967, page 351)
- K. Gunnar Bergström, An Odyssey to Freedom University of Uppsala, 1983, page 92;Colin Stanley, Colin Wilson, a Celebration: Essays and Recollections Cecil Woolf, 1988, page 43)
- © James Travers 2005 google search
- Holt, Jason. "Existential Ethics: Where do the Paths of Glory Lead?". In The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick. By Jerold J. Abrams. Published 2007. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2445-X
- "Amazon.com's Films with an Existential Theme". Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- "Existential & Psychological Movie Recommendations". Existential-therapy.com. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- "Existentialism in Film". Uhaweb.hartford.edu. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- "Existentialist Adaptations - Harvard Film Archive". Hcl.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- Chocano, Carina (2008-10-24). "Review: 'Synecdoche, New York'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- Sartre, Jean-Paul; (Translated by Robert Baldick) (2000. First published 1938). Nausea. London: Penguin
- Earnshaw, Steven (2006). Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Continuum. p. 75. ISBN 0-8264-8530-8
- The Times, 31 December 1964. Quoted in Knowlson, J., Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett (London: Bloomsbury, 1996), p 57
- Cronin, A., Samuel Beckett The Last Modernist (London: Flamingo, 1997), p 391
- Michael H. Hutchins (14 August 2006). "A Tom Stoppard Bibliography: Chronology". The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- Wren, Celia (12 December 2007). "From Forum, an Earnest and Painstaking 'Antigone'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- Kernan, Alvin B. The Modern American Theater: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1967.
- Stewart, Jon. Kierkegaard and Existentialism. p.38
- Flynn, Thomas R. Sartre, Foucault, and Historical Reason, p. 323.
- Yalom, Irvin D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: BasicBooks (Subsidiary of Perseus Books, L.L.C. p. 17. ISBN 0-465-02147-6 Note: The copyright year has not changed, but the book remains in print.
- Carnap, Rudolf, Uberwindung der Metaphysik durch logische Analyse der Sprache [Overcoming Metaphysics by the Logical Analysis of Speech], Erkenntnis (1932), pp.219–241. Carnap's critique of Heidegger's "What is Metaphysics".
- Carruth, Gorton (1993) The encyclopedia of world facts and dates, p.932
- Aron (1994) In Defense of Political Reason, p.170 as quoted in Brian C. Anderson Raymond Aron: the recovery of the political, p.170
- Marcuse, Herbert. "Sartre's Existentialism". Printed in Studies in Critical Philosophy. Translated by Joris De Bres. London: NLB, 1972. p. 161
- Martin Heidegger, "Letter on Humanism", in Basic Writings: Nine Key Essays, plus the Introduction to Being and Time , trans. David Farrell Krell (London, Routledge; 1978), 208. Google Books
- Appignanesi, Richard; and Oscar Zarate (2001). Introducing Existentialism. Cambridge, UK: Icon. ISBN 1-84046-266-3.
- Appignanesi, Richard (2006). Introducing Existentialism (3rd ed.). Thriplow, Cambridge: Icon Books (UK), Totem Books (USA). ISBN 1-84046-717-7.
- Cooper, David E. (1999). Existentialism: A Reconstruction (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21322-8.
- Deurzen, Emmy van (2010). Everyday Mysteries: a Handbook of Existential Psychotherapy (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-37643-3.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1855). Attack Upon Christendom.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1843). The Concept of Anxiety.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1846). Concluding Unscientific Postscript.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1843). Either/Or.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1843). Fear and Trembling.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1849). The Sickness Unto Death.
- Kierkegaard, Søren (1847). Works of Love.
- Luper, Steven (ed.) (2000). Existing: An Introduction to Existential Thought. Mountain View, California: Mayfield. ISBN 0-7674-0587-0.
- Marino, Gordon (ed.) (2004). Basic Writings of Existentialism. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-375-75989-1.
- Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of Perception [Colin Smith]. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
- Rose, Eugene (Fr. Seraphim) (1994). Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age. Saint Herman Press (1 September 1994). ISBN 0-938635-15-8.
- Sartre, Jean-Paul (1943). Being and Nothingness.
- Sartre, Jean-Paul (1945). Existentialism and Humanism.
- Stewart, Jon (ed.) (2011). Kierkegaard and Existentialism. Farnham, England: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-2641-7.
- Solomon, Robert C. (ed.) (2005). Existentialism (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517463-1.
- Wartenberg, Thomas E. Existentialism: A Beginner's Guide.
- Friesian interpretation of Existentialism
- Existentialism entry by Steven Crowell in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- "Existentialism is a Humanism", a lecture given by Jean-Paul Sartre
- The Existential Primer
- Buddhists, Existentialists and Situationists: Waking up in Waking Life
- Journals and articles
- Stirrings Still: The International Journal of Existential Literature
- Existential Analysis published by The Society for Existential Analysis
- Existential psychotherapy
- International Society for Existential Therapy
- HPSY.RU — Existential & humanistic psychology History of existential psychology's development in former Soviet nations | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32007000 |
History of writing in Vietnam
Until the beginning of the 20th century, government and scholarly documents in Vietnam were written in classical Chinese (called chữ nho "Confucian script," or chữ Hán "Chinese script"), using Chinese characters with Vietnamese approximation of Chinese pronunciations.
At the same time popular novels and poetry in Vietnamese were written in the chữ nôm script, which used Chinese characters for Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and an adapted set of characters for the native vocabulary.
The terms chữ Hán ("Han script") and chữ nho (𡨸儒 pronounced [cɨ̌ˀ ɲɔ] "Confucian script") are largely interchangeable. Both mean writing of Chinese in Chinese characters. However in modern Vietnamese usage chữ Hán can also refer to characters in the modern Chinese or Japanese languages - for example in reference by the journal of the Linguistics Academy of Vietnam to the introduction of pinyin in the PRC in 1958.
The term chữ ("character") is in regular use in Vietnamese, for example "chữ thập" means the Chinese "10" character (十, Vietnamese thập, used as the "cross" in Chữ thập đỏ "Red Cross"). The ideogram for chữ (𡨸 "script") is normally not found in Chinese printed texts and Unicode character 21A38 may also may fail to display in html browsers) and is sometimes substituted by the character for tự (字 "character"), the characters nho (儒 "Confucian") and Hán (漢) are part of the common Chinese-Japanese-Korean-SinoVietnamese character set. chữ Nho is often capitalized in Vietnamese texts. Nho is written and pronounced with a different tone from chữ nhỏ, "miniscule font".
The term Hán tự ([hǎːn tɨ̂ˀ] 漢字, "a Chinese character") is mainly used in typographic, calligraphic and lexical contexts, and used in Vietnamese to describe Sino-Vietnamese characters, as well as Japanese kanji or modern Chinese hanzi. The term Hán tự is still used in relation to individual ideograms, (or Chinese hanzi or Japanese kanji); an individual character is distinguished as "chữ," for example "chữ vật (物)" for the Chinese character "thing" (物) pronounced "vật" in Vietnamese.
Hán-Việt or "Sino-Vietnamese" is a term which is used by modern scholars in relation to Vietnam's Chinese-language texts to emphasize local characteristics and particularly the phonology of the Chinese written in Vietnam, though in regard to syntax and vocabulary this Sino-Vietnamese was no more different from Chinese used in Beijing than medieval English Latin was different from the Latin of Rome. The term "Hán-Việt transliteration" is also used for Chinese place names in Vietnam.
The term chữ nôm (𡨸喃 "script for talking") refers to the former transcription system for vernacular Vietnamese-language texts, written using a mixture of original Chinese characters and locally coined nôm characters not found in Chinese to phonetically represent Vietnamese sounds." However the character set for chữ nôm is extensive, up to 20,000, and both arbitrary in composition and inconsistent in pronunciation.
Hán - Nôm may mean either both Hán and Nôm taken together, as in the research remit of Hanoi's Hán-Nôm Institute, or refer to texts which are written in a mixture of Hán and Nôm, or refer to some Hán texts with parallel Nôm translations. There is a significant orthographic overlap between Hán and Nôm and many characters are used in both Hán and Nôm with the same reading.
The term quốc ngữ (國語 "National language") means Vietnamese written in Romanized script. This is different from the historical term quốc âm (國音 "National sound") meaning chữ nôm, found in the title of the 16th Century poetry collection Quốc âm thi tập.
The Chinese domination
No writings in Chinese by Vietnamese writers survive from the Chinese domination.
In Imperial Vietnam (939-1919), formal writings were, in most cases, done in classical Chinese. This was true both of the language of government and administration, and also of entry into government and administration by the wholly Chinese-language Confucian examination system in Vietnam. Chinese was also the language of medicine, astrology, religion, science and high literature such as poetry. Vietnamese existed only as an oral language, before the creation of the nom script to preserve and circulate less serious poetry and narrative literature. These writings are indistinguishable from contemporaneous classical Chinese works produced in China, Korea, or Japan. As are the first poems in chữ nho by the monk Khuông Việt and the Nam Quốc Sơn Hà by general Lý Thường Kiệt.
Localisation and Sino-xenic pronunciation
In Vietnam Chinese text Hán Văn (Hán Văn/漢文) was read with the vocalization of Chinese text as such, equivalent to the Chinese On-readings in Japanese kambun (漢文), or the assimilated vocalizations in Korean hanmun (한문). This occuring alongside entry of Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary into the vernacular Vietnamese language. And creating, in Samuel Martin's term, a Sinoxenic dialect. The Sinologist Edwin G. Pulleyblank was the one of the first linguists to actively employ "Sino-Vietnamese" to recover the earlier history of Chinese.
Period of coexistence of two languages and two scripts
From the 13th Century the dominance of Chinese writing - chữ nho - began to be challenged by a system of modified and invented characters modeled loosely on Chinese characters called chữ nôm, which, unlike the system of chữ nho (or chữ Hán), allowed for the expression of purely Vietnamese words, was created in Vietnam at least as early as the 13th century. During the Ming dynasty occupation of Vietnam chữ nôm printing blocks, texts and inscriptions were destroyed, so that the earliest surviving texts are from after the period. While designed for native Vietnamese speakers, chữ nôm required the user to have a fair knowledge of chữ Hán, and thus chữ nôm was used primarily for literary writings by cultural elites (such as the poetry of Nguyễn Du and Hồ Xuân Hương), while almost all other official writings and documents continued to be written in chữ nho (or chữ Hán) as Hán Văn (classical Chinese) until the 20th century.
French colonial period
The use of classical Chinese, and its written form, chữ nho (or chữ Hán), died out in Vietnam early in the 20th century during the middle years of French Indochina. At this time there were briefly four competing writing systems in Vietnam; chữ nho, chữ nôm, quốc ngữ, and French. Although the first romanized script quốc ngữ newspaper, Gia Dinh Bao, was founded in 1865, Vietnamese nationalists continued to use chữ nôm until after the First World War when quốc ngữ became the favoured language of the Vietnamese independence movement. Some scholars still study it today although its application is mostly confined to the historic context of Vietnamese texts.
Use of quốc ngữ for education in both North and South Vietnam from 1945-1975, and then all of Vietnam since 1975, has rendered most Vietnamese unable to read earlier Vietnamese texts, whether written in Chinese chữ nho, or vernacular chữ nom. Hán Nôm Institute is the national centre for academic research into both Hán and nôm texts. Since the mid-1990s a small resurgence in teaching of Chinese characters, both for chữ nho and the additional characters used in chữ nom, to enable the study of Vietnam's history has emerged. Additionally many Vietnamese study Hán tự characters as part of learning modern Japanese and Chinese. The significance of the characters has occasionally entered Western depiction of Vietnam; for instance novelist E. M. Nathanson mentions the characters in A Dirty Distant War (1987).
- Asian & Pacific quarterly of cultural and social affairs - Volumes 20 - 21 Cultural and Social Centre for the Asian and Pacific Region 1988 - Page 7 "... known script that was used by the Vietnamese, the "Southerners," to transcribe their language, in contrast to the Chinese ideographs (called chữ Hán i.e., "Chinese script," or chữ nho i.e. "Confucian script") of the "Northerners," the Chinese."
- Vietnam 10 - Page 522 Nick Ray, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Iain Stewart - 2009 "For centuries, the Vietnamese language was written in standard Chinese characters (chữ nho). Around the 13th century, the Vietnamese devised their own writing system called chữ nôm (or just nôm), which was created by combining two Chinese words or by using single Chinese characters for their phonetic value. Both writing systems were in use until the 20th century – official business and scholarship was conducted in chữ nho, while chữ nôm was used for popular literature. The Latin-based quốc ngữ script, widely used since WWI, was developed in the 17th century by Alexandre de Rhodes (see the boxed text, right). Quốc ngữ served to undermine the position of Mandarin officials, whose power was based on traditional scholarship in chữ nho and chữ nôm, scripts that were largely inaccessible to the masses."
- Nguyễn Đình Hòa Vietnamese London Oriental and African Language Library Vol.9. John Benjamins Publishing Company 1997 Page 6 "1.7 Writing Systems - The language has made use of three different writing systems: first, the Chinese characters, ... 1.7.1 Chữ nho or chũ Hán - Chinese written symbols, shared with Japanese and Korean—the two other Asian cultures that were ... Indeed from the early days of Chinese rule (111 B.C. to A.D. 939) the Chinese governors taught the Vietnamese not only Chinese calligraphy, but also the texts of Chinese history, philosophy and classical literature (while the spoken language ..."
- Ngôn ngữ & đời sống (Language and Life magazine) Hội ngôn ngữ học Việt Nam (Linguistics Academy of Vietnam) 2006 Nos 125/134 - Page 35 - "Phiên âm tự mẫu" là bộ chữ cái La tinh dùng đề chú âm (phố thông) cho chữ Hán, được Chinh phù Trung Quốc công bố năm 1958." Translation "Pinyin Zibiao" is the Latin alphabet used to give the pronunciation (Putonghua) to Chinese kanji, promulgated by the Chinese government in 1958.
- Unicode character 21A38
- Ái Nguyễn, Từ điển công nghệ thông tin điện tử viễn thông Anh-Việt English-Vietnamese Information Technology Dictionary. Nhà xuất bản Khoa học và kỹ thuật Ban từ điển. Science and Technology Publishing House 2000 Page 838 "... minuscule chữ nhỏ, chữ thường Trong in ấn, ký tư thường."
- Effective Designs of the Computer-Assisted Chinese Learning Program for Beginning Learners of Chinese Characters MT Lu, G Hallman, J Black 2010 "A character is a logograph used in written Taiwanese (Hanji), written Japanese (Kanji), written Chinese (Hanzi), written Korean (Hanja), and written Vietnamese (hán tự). A logograph is a grapheme which represents a word or a morpheme."
- Hoa Sơn Hò̂ng Hán tự nhập môn: tự học chữ Hán Âm Việt (Introduction to Hán tự - Teach Yourself Hán script with Vietnamese pronunciation) 1992
- Phan Van Giuong Tuttle Compact Vietnamese Dictionary: Vietnamese-English 2008 Page 392 "tự 1 n. (= chũ) Chinese character, letter: courtesy name: Hán tự Chinese character; biếu tự fancy name, nickname; van tự writing, written language"
- Tứ thư bình giải Lý Minh Tuấn biên soạn, Nguyễn Minh Tiến hiệu đính 1990 "Như thế, trí có nghĩa là thông suốt, thấu hiểu sự lý. Ở đây, trí là dùng miệng nói để thành tựu cho vật. Trong Hán tự, chữ vật (物) chỉ chung các loài trong trời đất."
- David G Marr Vietnamese Tradition on Trial, 1920-1945 1984 p141 "Because the Chinese characters were pronounced according to Vietnamese preferences, and because certain stylistic modifications occurred over time, later scholars came to refer to a hybrid "Sino-Vietnamese" (Han-Viet) language. However, there would seem to be no more justification for this term than for a Fifteenth Century "Latin-English" versus the Latin written contemporaneously in Rome.8"
- Essays into Vietnamese pasts Keith Weller Taylor, John K. Whitmore - 1995 p20 "Phu falls into this category; it was originally a Tang (Chinese) word but was written in a Hán-Việt transliteration. ... Dang VSn Lung and Thu Linh hypothesize that Phu Dong is the Hán-Việt transliteration of the name of an ancient Tay area, .."
- Hugh Dyson Walker East Asia A New History -2012 Page 262 "...chu nom, Vietnamese transcription, using Chinese and nom characters for Vietnamese sounds."
- Hannas: Asia's Orthg DILM Paper - Page 82 Wm. C. Hannas - 1997 "The linguistic defects are the same as those noted throughout this book for Chinese characters generally, caused by the large number of tokens (some twenty thousand in chu' nom), the arbitrariness of their composition, and the inconsistent "
- Eva Hung, Judy Wakabayashi Asian translation traditions 2005 Page 174 "A large portion of the lexicon of the Vietnamese language in recent centuries derives from Hán. Consequently, there is a significant orthographic overlap between Hán and Nôm, which is to say that many characters are used in both with the same meaning. This is primarily a lexical, not a syntactic, phenomenon, although Hán grammar did influence Nôm prose to a relatively significant extent (Xtankevich 1986)"
- John DeFrancis Colonialism and language policy in Viet Nam 1977 Page 88 "Contemporary handling is indicated by the following entries for Quoc Ngu and the related term Quoc Am from the work by ... must become the writing of the country' he may specifically have had 88 Colonialism and Language Policy in Viet Nam.. "
- George Cœdès The Making of South East Asia 1966 Page 87 "No work of literature from the brush of a Vietnamese survives from the period of Chinese rule prior to the rise of the first national dynasties; and from the Dinh, Former Le, and Ly dynasties, all that remains are some poems by Lac Thuan (end of the tenth century), Khuong Viet (same period), and Ly Thuong Kiet (last quarter of the eleventh century). Those competent to judge consider these works to be quite up to the best standards of Chinese literature.
- Lonely Planet Vietnam Nick Ray, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow - 2010 "Sino-Vietnamese literature was written in Chinese characters (chữ nho). Dominated by Confucian and Buddhist texts, it was governed by strict rules of metre and verse. Modern Vietnamese literature (quoc am) includes anything recorded in ..."
- Alexander Woodside Vietnam and the Chinese Model: A Comparative Study of Nguyen and ... 1971 - Page 53 "Although traditional Vietnamese scholars called Sino- Vietnamese literature "serious literature" and nom literature "the literature of pleasure," this dichotomy is obviously misleading."
- Bjarke Frellesvig A History of the Japanese Language 2010 - Page 258 "... the rendition of Chinese text in Japanese, which affected grammar and usage (see 9.1) and (kanbun-)ondoku, the vocalization of Chinese text as such, which paved the way for the intake of a large number of loanwords from Chinese (9.2).
- Nichibunken newsletter Kokusai Nihon Bunka Kenkyū Sentā 1996- No23-36 - Page 52 "The novel was then translated from Chinese into Vietnamese by a Vietnamese revolutionist. Knowledge of kanbun (classical Chinese) was quite common among Vietnamese intellectuals, and the new kanbun style of Liang Zhi-chau ..."
- Wm. C. Hannas - Asia's Orthographic Dilemma 1997 - Page 77 "Sifting out Sinitic from native vocabulary is more of a problem in Vietnamese than in Japanese or even in Korean because of the longer history of contact between Chinese and Vietnamese, and because of the intimacy (most Vietnamese would... Vietnam was under Chinese "suzerainty ... During this long period, the Vietnamese language itself was overshadowed and to some extent replaced by Chinese, opening the door to thousands of Chinese terms..."
- Language research - Seoul University Language Research Centre 1990 - Volume 26 - Page 327 "The term Sinoxenic dialects was first used by Samuel Martin to refer to the foreign readings of Chinese characters, such as Sino-Korean, Sino-Japanese, and Sino- Vietnamese. By Sino-Korean, Sino- Japanese, and Sino- Vietnamese, ..."
- John R. Bentley A Descriptive Grammar of Early Old Japanese Prose 2001 - Page 39 "... (1975:195, fn. 3) and his reconstructions, but it is interesting to note that Pulleyblank' s work actually supports Miller's claims. ... to have been one of the first linguists to notice the importance of SV in reconstructing earlier stages of Chinese."
- Laurence C. Thompson A Vietnamese Reference Grammar University of Hawaii Press 1965 revised 1987 Page 53 "Chữ nôm apparently existed for several centuries alongside the standard written Chinese of the royal court (called chữ nho 'scholar's characters' or chữ Hán 'Han [i.e., Chinese] characters')."
- Mark W. McLeod, Thi Dieu Nguyen Culture and Customs of Vietnam 2001 Page 68 - "In part because of the ravages of the Ming occupation — the invaders destroyed or removed many Viet texts and the blocks for printing them — the earliest body of nom texts that we have dates from the early post-occupation era ..."
- Ha Minh Nguyen, Bac Hoai Tran, Tuan Duc Vuong Colloquial Vietnamese: The Complete Course for Beginners Routledge 2012 Page 3 "Because of thousands of years of Chinese domination and influence, the Vietnamese used Chinese characters known as chu nho as their official written language for many centuries. However chu nho was not easy to learn and only the ..."
- D. W. Sloper, Thạc Cán Lê Higher Education in Vietnam: Change and Response 1995 Page 45 "All teaching materials are written in Han, Chinese classical characters known as chu nho. From about the thirteenth century a Vietnamese system of writing, chu nom or simply nom, was developed. ... chu nho was used for official business and scholarship, while chu nom was used for popular literature."
- Andrew Simpson Language and national identity in Asia 2007 Page 428 "..there existed a situation in which there were briefly four different available writing systems in Vietnam, chu nho, chu nom, quoc ngu, and Romanized French. ... (4) The acceptability of quoc ngu was then further heightened by its use to translate works of literature from Chinese and chu nom, as well as through its ..."
- Simon Eliot, Jonathan Rose A Companion to the History of the Book - Page 124 2009 "The first publication in quoc ngu was the first Vietnamese newspaper, Gia-dinh báo (Daily Paper, 1865), ... During World War I, the colonial administration encouraged quoc ngu journalism for propaganda purposes, and as a result journals"
- Vietnam Economic Times Volume 98 - Page 14 Viện kinh tế thế giới (Vietnam) "Today calligraphy is considered one of their most respected art forms. Vietnam also has a long history of calligraphy, but in its earliest form it was called Han Nom, a way of using the Chinese characters to convey Vietnamese words."
- Simon Eliot, Jonathan Rose A Companion to the History of the Book Page 124 - 2011 "Since the use of quoc ngu for education has rendered most Vietnamese now incapable of reading earlier Vietnamese ... an increasing commitment to the publication of translations from Chinese or of transcriptions from nom texts to render ..."
- E. M. Nathanson Dirty Distant War 1987 Page 121 "So they took the Chinese ideographs for those words, changed them a little to make them distinctive from the Chinese characters, and in that way developed a written language. That's the script that became what we refer to today as chữ nho."
- 漢字 Hán tự: A Vietnamese-Chinese wordlist (via Wayback Machine)
- Từ điển Hán Việt Thiều Chửu (漢越辭典) (via Wayback Machine)
- Từ điển Hán Nôm
- Hán Việt chú thích, Chinese-to-Vietnamese transliteration | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32009000 |
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became the basis of a very large and powerful military. Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1–3 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force.
In China, the State of Qin instituted universal military service following the registration of every household. This allowed huge armies to be levied, and was instrumental in the creation of the Qin Empire that conquered the whole of China in 221BC.
Conscription is controversial for a range of reasons, including conscientious objection to military engagements on religious or philosophical grounds; political objection, for example to service for a disliked government or unpopular war; and ideological objection, for example, to a perceived violation of individual rights. Those conscripted may evade service, sometimes by leaving the country. Some selection systems accommodate these attitudes by providing alternative service outside combat-operations roles or even outside the military, such as Zivildienst (civil service) in Austria and Switzerland. Most post-Soviet countries conscript soldiers not only for Armed Forces but also for paramilitary organizations which are dedicated to police-like domestic only service (Internal Troops) or non-combat rescue duties (Civil Defence Troops) - none of which is considered alternative to the military conscription.
As of the early 21st century, many states no longer conscript soldiers, relying instead upon professional militaries with volunteers enlisted to meet the demand for troops. The ability to rely on such an arrangement, however, presupposes some degree of predictability with regard to both war-fighting requirements and the scope of hostilities. Many states that have abolished conscription therefore still reserve the power to resume it during wartime or times of crisis.
Around the reign of Hammurabi (1791-1750 BC), the Babylonian Empire used a system of conscription called Ilkum. Under the system those eligible were required to serve in the royal army in time of war. During times of peace they were instead required to provide labour for other activities of the state. In return for this service, people subject to it gained the right to hold land. It is possible that this right was not to hold land per se but specific land supplied by the state.
Various forms of avoiding military service are recorded. While it was outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi, the hiring of substitutes appears to have been practiced both before and after the creation of the code. Later records show that Ilkum commitments could become regularly traded. In other places, people simply left their towns to avoid their Ilkum service. Another option was to sell Ilkum lands and the commitments along with them. With the exception of a few exempted classes, this was forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi.
Universal conscription in China dates back to the State of Qin, which eventually became the Qin Empire of 221BC. Following unification, historical records show that a total of 300,000 conscript soldiers and 500,000 conscript labourers constructed the Great Wall of China
In the following dynasties, universal conscription was abolished and reintroduced on numerous occasions.
As of 2011[update], universal military conscription is theoretically mandatory in the People's Republic of China, and reinforced by law. However, due to the large population of China and large pool of candidates available for recruitment, the People's Liberation Army has always had sufficient volunteers, so conscription has not been required in practice at all.
||This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2010)|
Under the feudal conditions for holding land in the medieval period, most peasants and freemen were liable to provide one man of suitable age per family for military duty when required by either the king or the local lord. The levies raised in this way fought as infantry under local superiors. Although the exact laws varied greatly depending on the country and the period, generally these levies were only obliged to fight for one to three months. Most were subsistence farmers, and it was in everyone's interest to send the men home for harvest-time.
In medieval Scandinavia the 'leiðangr' (Old Norse), 'leidang' (Norwegian), 'leding', (Danish), 'ledung' (Swedish), 'lichting' (Dutch), 'expeditio' (Latin) or sometimes 'leþing' (Old English), was a levy of free farmers conscripted into coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm.
The bulk of the Anglo-Saxon English army, called the fyrd, was composed of part-time English soldiers drawn from the landowning minor nobility. These thegns were the land-holding aristocracy of the time and were required to serve with their own armour and weapons for a certain number of days each year. The historian David Sturdy has cautioned about regarding the fyrd as a precursor to a modern national army composed of all ranks of society, describing it as a "ridiculous fantasy":
The persistent old belief that peasants and small farmers gathered to form a national army or fyrd is a strange delusion dreamt up by antiquarians in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries to justify universal military conscription.
Medieval levy in Poland was known as the pospolite ruszenie.
In the middle of the 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Murad I developed personal troops to be loyal to him, with a slave army called the Kapıkulu. The new force was built by taking Christian children from newly conquered lands, especially from the far areas of his empire, in a system known as the devşirme (translated "gathering" or "converting"). The captive children were forced to convert to Islam. The Sultans had the young boys trained over several years. Those who showed special promise in fighting skills were trained in advanced warrior skills, put into the sultan's personal service, and turned into the Janissaries, the elite branch of the Kapıkulu. A number of distinguished military commanders of the Ottomans, and most of the imperial administrators and upper-level officials of the Empire, such as Pargalı İbrahim Pasha and Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, were recruited in this way. By 1609, the Sultan's Kapıkulu forces increased to about 100,000.
In later years, Sultans turned to the Barbary Pirates to supply their Jannissaries corps. Their attacks on ships off the coast of Africa or in the Mediterranean, and subsequent capture of able-bodied men for ransom or sale provided some captives for the Sultan's system. Starting in the 17th century, Christian families living under the Ottoman rule began to submit their sons into the Kapikulu system willingly, as they saw this as a potentially invaluable career opportunity for their children. Eventually the Sultan turned to foreign volunteers from the warrior clans of Circassians in southern Russia to fill his Janissary armies. As a whole the system began to break down, the loyalty of the Jannissaries became increasingly suspect. Mahmud II forcibly disbanded the Janissary corps in 1826.
Similar to the Janissaries in origin and means of development were the Mamluks of Egypt in the Middle Ages. The Mamluks were usually captive non-Muslim Iranian and Turkish children who had been kidnapped or bought as slaves from the Barbary coasts. The Egyptians assimilated and trained the boys and young men to become Islamic soldiers who served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. The first mamluks served the Abbasid caliphs in 9th century Baghdad. Over time they became a powerful military caste. On more than one occasion, they seized power, for example, ruling Egypt from 1250–1517.
From 1250 Egypt had been ruled by the Bahri dynasty of Kipchak origin. Slaves from the Caucasus served in the army and formed an elite corp of troops. They eventually revolted in Egypt to form the Burgi dynasty. The Mamluks' excellent fighting abilities, massed Islamic armies, and overwhelming numbers succeeded in overcoming the Christian Crusader fortresses in the Holy Land. The Mamluks were the most successful defense against the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and Iraq from entering Egypt.
On the western coast of Africa, Berber Muslims captured non-Muslims to put to work as laborers. They generally converted the younger people to Islam and many became quite assimilated. In Morocco, the Berber looked south rather than north. The Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail, called "the Bloodthirsty" (1672–1727), employed a corps of 150,000 black slaves, called his Black Guard. He used them to coerce the country into submission.
Invention of modern conscription
Modern conscription, the massed military enlistment of national citizens, was devised during the French Revolution, to enable the Republic to defend itself from the attacks of European monarchies. Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave its name to the 5 September 1798 Act, whose first article stated: "Any Frenchman is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of the nation." It enabled the creation of the Grande Armée, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms," which overwhelmed European professional armies that often numbered only into the low tens of thousands. More than 2.6 million men were inducted into the French military in this way between the years 1800 and 1813.
The defeat of the Prussian Army in particular shocked the Prussian establishment, which had believed it was invincible after the victories of Frederick the Great. The Prussians were used to relying on superior organization and tactical factors such as order of battle to focus superior troops against inferior ones. Given approximately equivalent forces, as was generally the case with professional armies, these factors showed considerable importance. However, they became considerably less important when the Prussian armies faced forces that outnumbered their own in some cases by more than ten to one. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the levée en masse, the military conscription used by France. The Krümpersystem was the beginning of short-term compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term conscription previously used.
In the Russian Empire, the military service time "owed" by serfs was 25 years at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1834 it was decreased to 20 years. The recruits were to be not younger than 17 and not older than 35. In 1874 Russia introduced universal conscription in the modern pattern, an innovation only made possible by the abolition of serfdom in 1861. New military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in the military for six years.
The range of eligible ages for conscripting was expanded to meet national demand during the World Wars. In the United States, the Selective Service System drafted men for World War I initially in an age range from 21 to 30 but expanded its eligibility in 1918 to an age range of 18 to 45. In the case of a widespread mobilization of forces where service includes homefront defense, ages of conscripts may range much higher, with the oldest conscripts serving in roles requiring lesser mobility. Expanded-age conscription was common during the Second World War: in Britain, it was commonly known as "call-up" and extended to age 51. Nazi Germany termed it Volkssturm ("People's Storm") and included men as young as 16 and as old as 60. During the Second World War, both Britain and the Soviet Union conscripted women. The United States was on the verge of drafting women into the Nurse Corps because it anticipated it would need the extra personnel for its planned invasion of Japan. However, the Japanese surrendered and the idea was abandoned.
Conscription, which was called "Service Duty" (Dutch: dienstplicht) in the Netherlands, was first employed in 1810 by French occupying forces. Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte, who was King of Holland from 1806 to 1810, had tried to introduce conscription a few years earlier, unsuccessfully. Every man aged 20 years or older had to enlist. By means of drawing lots it was decided who had to undertake service in the French army. It was possible to arrange a substitute against payment.
Later on, conscription was used for all men over the age of 18. Postponement was possible, due to study, for example. Conscientious objectors could perform an alternative civilian service instead of military service. For various reasons, this forced military service was criticized at the end of the twentieth century. Since the Cold War was over, so was the direct threat of a war. Instead, the Dutch army was employed in more and more peacekeeping operations. The complexity and danger of these missions made the use of conscripts controversial. Furthermore the conscription system was thought to be unfair as only men were drafted.
In the European part of Netherlands, compulsory attendance has been officially suspended since 1 May 1997. Between 1991 and 1996, the Dutch armed forces phased out their conscript personnel and converted to an all-volunteer force. The last conscript troops were inducted in 1995, and demobilized in 1996. The suspension means that citizens are no longer forced to serve in the armed forces, as long as it is not required for the safety of the country. Since then, the Dutch army is an all-volunteer force. However, to this day, every male citizen aged 17 gets a letter in which he is told that he has been registered but does not have to present himself for service. The Dutch army allowed its male soldiers to have long hair from the early 1970s to the end of conscription in the mid-1990s.
Even though it is generally thought that conscription has been abolished in the Netherlands, it is compulsory attendance that was abolished, not conscription. The laws and systems which provide for the conscription of armed forces personnel still remain in place.
Britain introduced conscription for the first time in 1916 (halfway through World War I) and abolished it in 1920, and reintroduced it again in 1939 on the outbreak of World War II. It remained in force until 1960.
In all, 8,000,000 men were drafted, as well as several hundred thousand women. The introduction of conscription in May 1939, before the war began, was largely due to pressure from the French, who emphasized the need for a large British army to oppose the Germans. Starting in early 1942 unmarried women age 19–30 were conscripted. Most were sent to the factories, but they could volunteer for the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and other women's services. None were assigned to combat roles unless they volunteered. By 1943 women were liable to some form of directed labour up to age 51. During the Second World War, 1.4 million British men volunteered for service and 3.2 million were conscripted. Volunteers comprised 20% of the Army, 40% of the Royal Navy, and 50% of the Royal Air Force.
In the United States, conscription, also called "the draft", ended in 1973, but males between 18 and 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System to enable a reintroduction of conscription if necessary. President Gerald Ford suspended mandatory draft registration in 1975, but President Jimmy Carter reinstated that requirement when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Selective Service registration is still required of all young men although the draft has not been used since 1973.
Colonial and Early National
In America before 1862, combat duty was always voluntary, but white men aged 18 to 45 were usually required to join local militia units. Colonial militia laws—and after 1776 those of the states—required able-bodied white men to enroll in the militia and to undergo a minimum of military training, all without pay. Colonial Pennsylvania (controlled by Quakers) did not have such laws. Members of pacifist religious denominations were exempt. When combat troops were needed some of the militiamen volunteered for short terms of service, for which they were paid. Following this system in its essentials, the Continental Congress in 1778 recommended that the states draft men from their militias for one year's service in the Continental army; this first national conscription was irregularly applied and failed to fill the Continental ranks.
In 1814, President James Madison proposed conscription of 40,000 men for the army, but the War of 1812 ended before Congress took any action. An 1840 proposal for a standing army of 200,000 men included conscription, but it never passed and military service was voluntary before 1862.
Although both North and South resorted to conscription during the Civil War, in neither region did the system work effectively. The Confederate Congress on April 16, 1862, passed an act requiring military service for three years from all males aged eighteen to thirty-five not legally exempt, and it later extended the obligation. The U.S. Congress followed on July 17, 1862, with an act authorizing a militia draft within a state when it could not meet its quota with volunteers. This state-administered system failed in practice and on March 3, 1863, Congress passed the first genuine national conscription law, setting up under the Union army an elaborate machinery for enrolling and drafting men between twenty and forty-five years of age.
Quotas were assigned in each state, the deficiencies in volunteers to be met by conscription. But men drafted could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, avoid service by paying commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used the substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and overt resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The great draft riot in New York City in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the machine vote, not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of the 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who had their personal services conscripted.
The problem of Confederate desertion was aggravated by the inequitable inclinations of conscription officers and local judges. The three conscription acts of the Confederacy exempted certain categories, most notably the planter class, and enrolling officers and local judges often practiced favoritism, sometimes accepting bribes. Attempts to effectively deal with the issue were frustrated by conflict between state and local governments on the one hand and the national government of the Confederacy.
World War I
In 1917 the administration of Woodrow Wilson decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower for World War I. The Selective Service Act of 1917 was carefully drawn to remedy the defects in the Civil War system and—by allowing exemptions for dependency, essential occupations, and religious scruples—to place each man in his proper niche in a national war effort. The act established a "liability for military service of all male citizens"; authorized a selective draft of all those between twenty-one and thirty-one years of age (later from eighteen to forty-five); and prohibited all forms of bounties, substitutions, or purchase of exemptions. Administration was entrusted to local boards composed of leading civilians in each community. These boards issued draft calls in order of numbers drawn in a national lottery and determined exemptions. In 1917 and 1918 some 24 million men were registered and nearly 3 million inducted into the military services, with little of the resistance that characterized the Civil War.
World War II
In 1940 Congress passed the first peace-time draft legislation, which was led by Grenville Clark. It was renewed (by one vote) in summer 1941. It involved questions as to who should control the draft, the size of the army, and the need for deferments. The system worked through local draft boards comprising community leaders who were given quotas and then decided how to fill them. There was very little draft resistance.
The nation went from a surplus manpower pool with high unemployment and relief in 1940 to a severe manpower shortage by 1943. Industry realized that the Army urgently desired production of essential war materials and foodstuffs more than soldiers. (Large numbers of soldiers were not used until the invasion of Europe in summer 1944.) In 1940 to 1943, the Army often transferred soldiers to civilian status in the Enlisted Reserve Corps in order to increase production. Those transferred would return to work in essential industry, although they could be called back to active duty if the Army needed them. Others were discharged if their civilian work was deemed absolutely essential. There were instances of mass releases of men to increase production in various industries. Blacks and Asians were drafted under the same terms as whites. Over ten million men were drafted for combat in World War Two, more than double the amount drafted for World War One, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined.
One contentious issue involved the drafting of fathers, which was avoided as much as possible. The drafting of 18-year olds was desired by the military but vetoed by public opinion. Farmers demanded and were generally given occupational deferments (many volunteered anyway, and those who stayed at home were not eligible for postwar veteran's benefits).
Later in the war, in light of the tremendous amount of manpower that would be necessary for the invasion of France, many earlier deferment categories became draft eligible.
Drafting of women
Traditionally conscription has been limited to the male population. Women and handicapped males have been exempted from conscription. Many societies have traditionally considered military service as a test of manhood and a rite of passage from boyhood into manhood.
As of 2013[update], countries that were drafting women into military service included Benin, Chad, Cuba, Eritrea, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, North Korea, Taiwan,[(see discussion) verification needed] and Tunisia. In the United Kingdom during World War II, beginning in 1941, women were brought into the scope of conscription but, as all women with dependent children were exempt and many women were informally left in occupations such as nursing or teaching, the number conscripted was relatively few.
In 2002, Sweden considered female conscription on the grounds that excluding them goes against the ideology of equality.
In June 2013, Norway the parliament of Norway made a principal resolution to introduce female conscription, being the first country in NATO and Europe to do so.If further laws are passed, female consciption may be implemented in 2015.
In the USSR, there was no systematic conscription of women for the armed forces, but the severe disruption of normal life and the high proportion of civilians affected by World War II after the German invasion attracted many volunteers for what was termed "The Great Patriotic War". Medical doctors of both sexes could and would be conscripted (as officers). Also, the free Soviet university education system required Department of Chemistry students of both sexes to complete an ROTC course in NBC defense, and such female reservist officers could be conscripted in times of war. The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan.
In 1981 in the United States, several men filed lawsuit in the case Rostker v. Goldberg, alleging that the Selective Service Act of 1948 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by only requiring that men register with the Selective Service System (SSS). The Supreme Court eventually upheld the Act, stating that "the argument for registering women was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than 'equity.'"
On October 1, 1999 in the Taiwan Area, the Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China in its Interpretation 490 considered that the physical differences between males and females and the derived role differentiation in their respective social functions and lives would not make drafting only males a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of China.[(see discussion) verification needed] Though women are conscripted in Taiwan, transsexual persons are exempt.
A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or, more often, with any role in the armed forces. In some countries, conscientious objectors have special legal status, which augments their conscription duties. For example, Sweden used to allow conscientious objectors to choose a service in the "weapons-free" branch, such as an airport fireman, nurse or telecommunications technician.
Most refuse such service, as they feel that such roles are a part of the military complex. The reasons for refusing to serve are varied. Some conscientious objectors are so for religious reasons — notably, the members of the historic peace churches, pacifist by doctrine; Jehovah's Witnesses, while not strictly pacifists, refuse to participate in the armed forces on the ground that they believe Christians should be neutral in worldly conflicts.
Evading the draft
||The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (August 2010)|
The New York Draft Riots (July 11 to July 16, 1863; known at the time as Draft Week), were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The Central Asian Revolt started in the summer of 1916, when the Russian Empire government ended its exemption of Muslims from military service. The conscription also became unpopular in Grand Duchy of Finland during the reign of Nicholas II and was suspended; instead Finland paid a levy tax, "military millions" as compensation for abolition of conscription.
In the USA and some other countries, the Vietnam War saw new levels of opposition to conscription and the Selective Service System. Many people opposed to and facing conscription chose to either apply for classification and assignment to civilian alternative service or noncombatant service within the military as conscientious objectors, or to evade the draft by fleeing to a neutral country. A small proportion, like Muhammad Ali, chose to resist the draft by publicly and politically fighting conscription. Some people resist at the point of registration for the draft. In the USA around 1970, for example, the draft resistance movement has focused on mandatory draft registration. Others resist at the point of induction, when they are ordered to put on a uniform, when they are ordered to carry or use a weapon, or when they are ordered into combat.
In the United States, especially during the Vietnam War, some used political connections to ensure that they were placed well away from any potential harm, serving in what was termed a Champagne unit. Many would avoid military service altogether through college deferments, by becoming fathers, or serving in various exempt jobs (teaching was one possibility). Others used educational exemptions, became conscientious objectors or pretended to be conscientious objectors, although they might then be drafted for non-combat work, such as serving as a combat medic. It was also possible they could be asked to do similar civilian work, such as being a hospital orderly.
It was, in fact, quite easy for those with some knowledge of the system to avoid being drafted. A simple route, widely publicized, was to get a medical rejection. While a person could claim to have symptoms (or feign homosexuality) if enough physicians sent letters that a person had a problem, he might well be rejected. It often wasn't worth the Army's time to dispute this claim. Such an approach worked best in a larger city where there was no stigma to not serving, and the potential draftee was not known to those reviewing him.
For others, the most common method of avoiding the draft was to cross the border into another country. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way were known as "draft-dodgers". Particularly during the Vietnam War, US draft-dodgers usually made their way to Canada, Mexico, or Sweden.
Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts. In the late years of the Vietnam War, objections against it and support for draft-dodgers was much more outspoken, because of the casualties suffered by American troops, and the actual cause and purpose of the war being heavily questioned.
Toward the end of the US draft, an attempt was made to make the system somewhat fairer by turning it into a lottery, with each of the year's calendar dates randomly assigned a number. Men born on lower numbered dates were called up for review. For the reasons given above, this did not make the system any fairer, and the entire system ended in 1973. By 1975, the draft was no longer mandatory. Today, American men aged 18–25 are encouraged to sign up for the Military, but there has not been a call-up since the Vietnam Era.
In Israel, the Muslim and Christian Arab minority are exempt from mandatory service, as are permanent residents such as the Druze of the Golan Heights. Male Ultra-Orthodox Jews may apply for a deferment of draft to study in Yeshiva, and the deferment tends to become an exemption, while female religious Jews can be exempted after presenting "religious declaration" to the IDF authorities, and some (primarily National Religious or Modern Orthodox) choose to volunteer for national service instead. Male Druze and Circassian Israeli citizens are liable, by agreement with their community leaders (Female Druze and Circassian are exempt from service). Members of the exempted groups can still volunteer, but very few do, except that Bedouin have a relatively large number who tend to volunteer (usually for financial reasons).
Countries with and without mandatory military service
|Country||Land area (km2)||GDP nominal (US$M)||Per capita
|Albania||27,398||$11,800||$3,693.27||2,994,667||Ermiging Democracy||No (abolished in 2010)|
|Angola||1,246,700||$85,810||$5,003.43||13,338,541||Republic; Multi-party Presidential Regime||Yes|
|Argentina||2,736,690||$351,000||$8,662.99||41,769,726||Republic||No. Voluntary; conscription may be ordered for specified reasons; per Public Law No.24.429 promulgated on 5 January 1995.|
|Australia||7,617,930||$1,220,000||$44,474.51||21,766,711||Constitutional Monarchy that is also a Parliamentary Democracy and a Federation||No (abolished by parliament in 1972)|
|Austria||82,444||$366,300||$45,598.77||8,404,252||Federal Republic||Yes (alternative service available)|
|Bahamas||10,070||$7,538||$21,547.17||313,312||Constitutional Monarchy with a Parliamentary system of government||No|
|Belgium||30,278||$461,300||$43,648.01||10,431,477||Federal Parliamentary Democracy under Constitutional Monarchy||No (Conscription was abolished as of 1 January 1994 under the so-called Delacroix Bill of 6 July 1993)|
|Belize||22,806||$1,431||$4,327.67||321,115||Parliamentary Democracy||No. Military service is voluntary.|
|Bolivia||1,084,390||$19,180||$1,839.61||10,118,683||Republic||Yes (when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal)|
|Bosnia and Herzegovina||51,197||$16,320||$4,246.54||4,622,163||Emerging Federal Democratic Republic||No (Abolished on January 1, 2006.)|
|Bulgaria||110,550||$44,840||$5,409.09||7,093,635||Parliamentary Democracy||No (abolished by law on January 1, 2008)|
|Canada||9,093,507||$1,564,000||$42,886.91||34,030,589||Constitutional Monarchy that is also a Parliamentary Democracy and a Federation||No|
|Croatia||56,414||$59,920||$11,430.32||4,290,612||Presidential/Parliamentary Democracy||No (abolished by law in 2008)|
|Czech Republic||77,276||$195,200||$17,137.98||10,190,213||Parliamentary Democracy||No (abolished in 2005)|
|Denmark||42,394||$311,900||$57,039.71||5,529,888||Constitutional Monarchy||Yes (alternative service available)|
|El Salvador||20,720||$21,800||$3,520.10||6,071,774||Republic||No. Legal, not practiced.|
|Estonia||43,211||$18,800||$16,171.29||1,282,963||Parliamentary Republic||Yes (alternative service available)|
|Finland||304,473||$238,000||$46,769.47||5,259,250||Republic||Yes (alternative service available)|
|France||640,053||$2,555,000||$35,240.62||65,102,719||Republic||No (suspended for peacetime in 2001)|
|Germany||349,223||$3,306,000||$40,315.05||81,471,834||Federal Parliamentary Republic||No (suspended for peacetime by federal legislature effective from 1 July 2011)|
|Grenada||344||$645||$6,201.92||108,419||Parliamentary Democracy||No (no military service)|
|Hungary||92,340||$132,300||$13,901.01||9,976,062||Parliamentary Democracy||No (Peacetime conscription abolished in 2004)|
Yes, selective conscription (FWCC)
|Italy||294,020||$2,037,000||$33,599.20||61,016,804||Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Republic||No (suspended for peacetime in 2005)|
|Jamaica||10,831||$13,740||$5,077.93||2,868,380||Constitutional Parliamentary Democracy||No|
|Japan||374,744||$5,391,000||$34,402.26||126,475,664||Constitutional Monarchy with a Parliamentary government||No|
Yes. The government decided in 2007 to reintroduce conscription, which had been suspended in 1999.
|North Korea||120,538||$28,000||$1,800.00||24,720,407||Communist state one-man dictatorship||Yes|
|Lebanon||10,230||$39,150||$9,259,70||4,143,101||Sources differ||No (abolished in 2007))|
|Libya||1,759,540||$77,910||$12,259.64||6,597,960||Provisional Parliamentary Republic||Yes|
|Lithuania||65,300||$35,730||$10,725.96||3,221,200||Parliamentary Democracy||No (Suspended on September 15, 2008)|
|Macedonia||24,856||$9,170||$3,646.55||2,077,328||Parliamentary Democracy||No (abolished in 2006)|
|Netherlands||33,883||$770,300||$46,389.35||16,680,500||Constitutional Monarchy||Yes. Compulsory attendance suspended. Legal, suspended since 1997 (except for Curaçao and Aruba).|
|New Zealand||268,021||$138,000||$31,124.18||4,290,347||Parliamentary Democracy||No, Conscription Abolished in December 1972.|
|Poland||304,459||$470,000||$12,307.90||38,441,588||Republic||No (ended in 2009)|
|Romania||230,340||$158,400||$7,451.95||21,413,815||Republic||No (ended in 2007)|
|Russia||16,995,800||$1,477,000||$9,124.49||138,739,892||Federation||Yes (alternative service available)|
|Sweden||410,934||$444,600||$50,414.75||9,088,728||Constitutional Monarchy, Unitary Parliamentary Representative Democracy||No (ended in 2010)|
|South Africa||1,219,912||$354,400||$7,089.23||49,004,031||Republic||No (ended in 1994, formalized in 2002)|
|Spain||499,542||$1,375,000||$35,576.38||46,148,605||Parliamentary Monarchy||No (abolished by law on December 31, 2001)|
|Switzerland||39,770||$522,400||$66,408.19||7,639,961||A Confederation only in name, legally and structurally a Federal Republic||Yes (Alternative service available)|
|Syria||184,050||$59,630||$1,954.98||21,125,000||Republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime||Yes|
|Taiwan||32,260||$427,000||$16,768.11||23,071,779||Multi-party Democracy||Yes (alternative service available)
An all-volunteer force is planned by the end of 2014, but conscription will remain in practice thereafter.
|Trinidad and Tobago||5,128||$21,200||$16,088.47||1,227,505||Parliamentary Democracy||No|
|Turkey||770,760||$729,100||$9,889.72||78,785,548||Republican Parliamentary Democracy||Yes|
|United Kingdom||241,590||$2,259,000||$45,626.38||62,435,709||Constitutional Monarchy and Commonwealth Realm||No (abolished December 31, 1960, except Bermuda Regiment)|
|United States||9,161,923||$14,620,000||$45,958.70||311,705,000||Constitution-based federal republic||No Draft abolished in 1975 by President Gerald Ford; however males between 18–25 need to register with the U.S. Selective Service System.|
Conscription by jurisdiction
- Conscription in Australia
- Conscription in Brazil
- Conscription in Cyprus
- Conscription in Canada
- Conscription in Egypt
- Conscription in Finland
- Conscription in Germany
- Conscription in Gibraltar
- Conscription in Greece
- Conscription in Israel
- Conscription in Malaysia
- Conscription in Mexico
- Conscription in New Zealand
- Conscription in Russia
- Conscription in Serbia
- Conscription in Singapore
- Conscription in South Korea
- Conscription in Switzerland
- Conscription in the Netherlands
- Conscription in the Ottoman Empire
- Conscription in the Philippines
- Conscription in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Conscription in the Russian Empire
- Conscription in the United Kingdom
- Conscription in the United States
- Conscription in Turkey
- Conscription in Western Sahara
Arguments against conscription
Historically, the vast majority of conscription measures involve male-only participation. Even today, most countries mandating conscription only do so for males. Men who opt out of military service must often perform alternative service, such as Zivildienst in Austria and Switzerland, whereas women do not have even these obligations.
Nominally gender-equal societies such as Finland and Denmark also employ male-only conscription, as have the Netherlands and Sweden in contemporary times. The onerous time and other commitments involved with conscription, spanning two years in many cases, raises serious questions about the fairness of such programs and how they fit in with expectations of equal treatment irrespective of sex.
While women, almost always exempt from conscription, are free to pursue work, study and other activities, men's early career and life prospects can be impeded by conscription.
American libertarians oppose conscription and call for the abolition of the Selective Service System, believing that impressment of individuals into the armed forces is involuntary servitude. Ron Paul, a former leader of the Libertarian Party has said, "Conscription is wrongly associated with patriotism, when it really represents slavery and involuntary servitude." The philosopher Ayn Rand opposed it because "Of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy, the military draft is the worst. It is an abrogation of rights. It negates man’s fundamental right—the right to life—and establishes the fundamental principle of statism: that a man’s life belongs to the state, and the state may claim it by compelling him to sacrifice it in battle."
In 1917, a number of radicals and anarchists, including Emma Goldman, challenged the new draft law in federal court arguing that it was a direct violation of the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude. However, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the draft act in the case of Arver v. United States on January 7, 1918. The decision said the Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war and to raise and support armies. The Court emphasized the principle of the reciprocal rights and duties of citizens:
- "It may not be doubted that the very conception of a just government in its duty to the citizen includes the reciprocal obligation of the citizen to render military service in case of need and the right to compel.".
It can be argued that in a cost-to-benefit ratio, conscription during peace time is not worthwhile. Months or years of service amongst the most fit and capable subtracts from the productivity of the economy; add to this the cost of training them, and in some countries paying them. Compared to these extensive costs, some would argue there is very little benefit; if there ever was a war then conscription and basic training could be completed quickly, and in any case there is little threat of a war in most countries with conscription. In the United States, every male resident must register with the Selective Service System on his 18th birthday and is available for a draft.
The cost of conscription can be related to the parable of the broken window. The cost of the work, military service, does not disappear even if no salary is paid. The work effort of the conscripts is effectively wasted, as an unwilling workforce is extremely inefficient. The impact is especially severe in wartime, when civilian professionals are forced to fight as amateur soldiers. Not only is the work effort of the conscripts wasted and productivity lost, but professionally skilled conscripts are also difficult to replace in the civilian workforce. Every soldier conscripted in the army is taken away from his civilian work, and away from contributing to the economy which funds the military. This is not a problem in an agrarian or pre-industrialized state where the level of education is universally low, and where a worker is easily replaced by another. However, this proves extremely problematic in a post-industrial society where educational levels are high and where the workforce is highly sophisticated and a replacement for a conscripted specialist is difficult to find. Even direr economic consequences result if the professional conscripted as an amateur soldier is killed or maimed for life; his work effort and productivity is irrevocably lost.
Arguments for conscription
Political and moral motives
Jean Jacques Rousseau argued vehemently against professional armies, feeling it was the right and privilege of every citizen to participate to the defense of the whole society and a mark of moral decline to leave this business to professionals. He based this view on the development of the Roman republic, which came to an end at the same time as the Roman army changed from a conscript to professional force. Similarly, Aristotle linked the division of armed service among the populace intimately with the political order of the state. Niccolò Machiavelli argued strongly for conscription, seeing the professional armies as the cause of the failure of societal unity in Italy.
Other proponents, such as William James, consider both mandatory military and national service as ways of instilling maturity in young adults. Some proponents, such as Jonathan Alter and Mickey Kaus, support a draft in order to reinforce social equality, create social consciousness, break down class divisions and for young adults to immerse themselves in public enterprise.
Economic & resource efficiency
It is estimated by the British military that in a professional military, a company deployed for active duty in peacekeeping corresponds to three inactive companies at home. Salaries for each are paid from the military budget. In contrast, volunteers from a trained reserve are in their civilian jobs when they are not deployed.
- Civil conscription
- Civilian Public Service
- Economic conscription
- Impressment and the Quota System
- Indentured servant
- Involuntary servitude
- National Service
- Bevin Boys
- Ephebic Oath
- List of countries by number of troops
- Men's Rights
- Military history
- Military recruitment
- Timeline of women's participation in warfare
- "Conscription". Merriam-Webster Online.
- War and state formation in ancient ... – Google Books
- "Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers". CBC Digital Archives.
- "World War II". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- Postgate, J.N. (1992). Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History. Routledge. p. 242. ISBN 0-415-11032-7.
- Postgate, J.N. (1992). Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History. Routledge. p. 243. ISBN 0-415-11032-7
- Great Wall
- Sturdy, David Alfred the Great Constable (1995), p153
- Bernard Lewis. "Race and Slavery in the Middle East". Chapter readings for class at Fordham University.
- "In the Service of the State and Military Class".
- "Janissary corps, or Janizary, or Yeniçeri (Turkish military)". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
- "The Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty (Timeline)". Sunnah Online.
- Lewis (1994). "Race and Slavery in the Middle East". Oxford University Press.
- "Conscription". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
- Dierk Walter. Preussische Heeresreformen 1807–1870: Militärische Innovation und der Mythos der "Roonschen Reform". 2003, in Citino, p. 130
- "Military service in Russia Empire". roots-saknes.lv.
- "Conscription and Resistance: The Historical Context archived from the original". 2008-06-03. Archived from the original on 2008-06-03.
- "Records of the Selective Service System (World War I)".; see also Selective Service Act of 1917 and Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
- "The German Volkssturm from Intelligence Bulletin". lonesentry.com. February 1945.
- "CBC News Indepth: International military". CBC News.
- Roger Broad, Conscription in Britain 1939–1964: The Militarization of a Generation (2006)
- Daniel Hucker, "Franco-British Relations and the Question of Conscription in Britain, 1938–1939," Contemporary European History, Nov 2008, Vol. 17 Issue 4, pp 437–456
- Jeremy A. Crang, "'Come into the Army, Maud': Women, Military Conscription, and the Markham Inquiry," Defence Studies, Nov 2008, Vol. 8 Issue 3, pp 381–395; statistics from pp 392–3
- Those were the days
- Gill, Linda. "Military Conscription, Recruiting and the Draft". About.com US Politics.
- United States. War Dept; Joel Roberts Poinsett (1840). Plan of the standing army of 200,000 men: submitted to Congress by the Secretary of War, and recommended by the President of the United States. s.n. pp. 8.
- * Albert Burton Moore. Conscription and Conflict in the Confederacy 1924 online edition
- John Whiteclay Chambers II, To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America (1987)
- Flynn (1993)
- George Q. Flynn, The Draft, 1940–1973 (1993)
- Ben Shephard (2003). A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century. Harvard University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-674-01119-9.
- Carol R. Ember; Melvin Ember (2003). Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures. Volume 2. Springer. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-0-306-47770-6..
- "CIA World Factbook: Benin".
- "CIA World Factbook: Chad".
- "CIA World Factbook: Cuba".
- "CBC News Indepth: International military".
- "The Economic Costs and the Political Allure of Conscription". (see footnote 3)
- "Cia World Factbook: Eritrea".
- "CIA World Factbook: Israel".
- "CIA World Factbook: Libya".
- "CIA World Factbook: North Korea".
- Roger Broad (2006). Conscription in Britain, 1939–1964: the militarisation of a generation. Taylor & Francis. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-7146-5701-1.
^ Conscription into military service. Peace Pledge Union.
- Gwladys Fouche and Balazs Koranyi (14 June, 2013): Norway becomes first NATO country to draft women into military Reuters, retrieved 15 June, 2013
- Marie Melgård and Karen Tjernshaugen (14 April, 2013):Stortinget vedtar verneplikt for kvinner 14. juni (Norwegian) Aftenposten, retrieved 16 June, 2013
- Jack Cassin-Scott; Angus McBride (1980). Women at war, 1939–45. Osprey Publishing. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-85045-349-2.
- "Draft Women?". Time. January 15, 1945. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- Kalisch, PA; Kalisch PA, Kalisch BJ (1973). "The women's draft. An analysis of the controversy over the nurses' Selective Service Bill of 1945". Nursing research (PubMed) 22 (5): 402–13. PMID 4580476. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- "Rostker v. Goldberg". Cornell Law School. Retrieved 26 December 2006.
- "Judicial Yuan Interpretation 490". translated by Jiunn-rong Yeh.
- (Chinese) "Attachment of the standard of the class of physical condition of a draftee". Conscription Agency, Ministry of the Interior.[dead link]
- "Nationmaster: Land area".re source: "CIA World Factbooks". 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
- "Nationmaster: GDP". source= "CIA World Factbooks". 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
- "Nationmaster: Per capita GDP". source: "CIA World Factbooks". 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
- "Nationmaster: Population". source: "World Development Indicators database".[dead link] and "CIA World Factbook".
- "Nationmaster: Government type". source: "CIA World Factbooks". 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
- "Nationmaster: Conscription". source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, 1997. Data collected from the nations concerned, or as otherwise indicated.
- Koci, Jonilda (August 21, 2008159,00). "Albania to abolish conscription by 2010". SETimes. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects : Argentina, 2007–2010". imf.org.
- Conscription was abolished by law in 1973. But the Defence Act 1903 as amended retained a provision that it could be reintroduced by proclamation of the Governor-General. Potentially all Australian residents between the ages of 18 and 60 could be called up in this way. However, the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1992 further provided that any such proclamation is of no effect until it is approved by both Houses of Parliament. Though actual legislation is not required, the effect of this provision is to make the introduction of conscription impossible without the approval of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Gary Brown (October 12, 1999). "Current Issues Brief 7 1999–2000 — Military Conscription: Issues for Australia". Parliamentary library; Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- "Official information website".
- "The World Factbook: Military service age and obligation". CIA.
- "South America > Bolivia > Military". nationmaster.com.
- NATO and the Defence Reform Commission: partners for progress (SETimes.com)
- Country report and updates: Bulgaria22 October 2008. War Resisters' International. 22 Octobar 2008.
- "Country report and updates: China". War Resisters' International. 15 March 1998. "All male citizens must register at the local PLA office in the year they reach the age of 18. Local governments get annual recruitment quotas, and local PLA offices select recruits according to medical and political criteria and military requirements. Call-up for military service then takes place at the age of 18."
- "Croatia to abolish conscription military service sooner". Southeast European Times. May 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- Note: a separation of the two ethnic communities inhabiting Cyprus began following the outbreak of communal strife in 1963; this separation was further solidified after the Turkish intervention in July 1974 that followed a Greek junta-supported coup attempt gave the Turkish Cypriots de facto control in the north; Greek Cypriots control the only internationally recognized government; on 15 November 1983 Turkish Cypriot "President" Rauf DENKTASH declared independence and the formation of a "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), which is recognized only by Turkey
- "Official site of Ministry of defense and armed forces of the Czech Republic". Ministry of Defense and armed forces of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- "Country report and updates: Denmark". War Resisters International. 2008-10-23.
- "Værnepligtsloven (Law on conscription)" (in Danish).
- "Lov om værnepligtens opfyldelse ved civilt arbejde (Law on fulfilling conscription duties by civilian work) (in Danish)".
- Includes the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion."France". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- "Country report and updates: France". War Resisters' International. October 23, 2008.
- http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wehrpflg/__2.html Section 2 of the German Conscription Act (German)
- Country report and updates: Hungary. War Resisters' International. October 23, 2008.
- Nationmaster : Conscription, citing Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC)
- "Conscription for Indonesia?".
- "Wajib Militer di Indonesia!!".
- "Pemerintah: Komponen Cadangan Bukan Wajib Militer".
- "Italy". orld survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service. War Resisters International. 23 October 2008.
- Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 indicates, citing "Mustafa al-Riyalat
- "Korea, North". CIA World Factbook.
- "North Korea, Military Conscription and Terms of Service". Based on the Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007-08-12..
- Lebanon – Constitution, adopted on May 23, 1926. (Para (c) of the Preamble, and Article 4)
- "Lebanon". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2008-05-30
- sources differ regarding the precise type of government
- CIA Factbook: Libya.
- "CIA Factbook: Lithuania".
- "Lithuania: conscription suspended". War Resisters' International.
- Macedonia: Conscription abolished. War Resisters' International. 1 June 2006
- "Burma to bring in conscription". January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.[dead link]
- Burma: World's Highest Number of Child Soldiers. Human rights Watch. October 15, 2002.
- Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army. Narinjara News. August 4, 2009.
- Arakanese Youth Arrested and Conscripted by Burmese Army. War Resisters' International. June 19, 2009.
- Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army. Narinjara. August 4, 2009.
- Conscription still exists, but compulsory attendance was held in abeyance per January 1, 1997 (effective per August 22, 1996), (unknown) (October 12, 1999). "Afschaffing dienstplicht". Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives) and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Dutch Library). Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- "1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines". Chan Robles Law Library.
- Section 4 Article II of the Philippine constitution reads, "The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service." Section 4 Article XVI of the Philippine constitution reads, "The Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be composed of a citizen armed force which shall undergo military training and serve as may be provided by law. It shall keep a regular force necessary for the security of the State."
- "Poland's defence minister, Bogdan Klich, said the country will move towards a professional army and that from January, only volunteers will join the armed forces.", Matthew Day (5 August 2008). "Poland ends army conscription". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-11
- Informations about National Defense Day (in Portuguese)
- Background Note: Romania. Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department ofState. April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30
- Changing the Way Slovenia Sees the Armed Forces. slonews. November 18, 2003. Retrieved 2009-10-13
- Sweden scraps military conscription. http://www.washingtontimes.com. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2012-06-01. "The new policy means that required military service will be applied only if the neutral Nordic nation of 9 million feels threatened."
- End Conscription Campaign (ECC). South African History Online. Retrieved 2011-03-13
- "Cuenta atrás para que el último recluta vaya a la mili". November 9, 2000
- The situation of conscientious objectors in Switzerland – compared with the guidelines of the European Union, zentralstelle-kdv.de
- "Taiwan". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 2007-12-09. (estimates based on 2006 data)
- Substitute Service Center. Department Of Compulsory Military Service, Taipei City Government. Retrieved July 25, 2008[dead link]
- Jimmy Chuang (March 10, 2009). "Professional military by 2014: MND". Taipei Times.
- COMMITTEE PUBLISHES REPORT ON OVERSEAS TERRITORIES (item 26), 4 July 2008.
- The United States abandoned the draft in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, ended the Selective Service registration requirement in 1975 under President Gerald Ford. In 1980, Congress reinstated mandatory registering with the U.S. Selective Service System.
- Selective Service System. WHO MUST REGISTER. Accessed 20 January 2012.
- "CONSTITUTION OF THE BOLIVARIAN R E P U B L I C OF VENEZUELA". analitica.com. December 20, 1999 (Promulgation date). Retrieved 2009-11-01. (Articles 134, 135).
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (18 December 2003). Venezuela: Military service, including length of service, existence of alternative forms of service and penalties imposed on those who refuse to serve. U.N. Refugee Agency. Retrieved 2009-11-01
- "CONSCRIPTION AND THE MILITARY". Libertarian Party. dehnbase.org.
- U.S. Representative Ron Paul Conscription Is Slavery, antiwar.com, January 14, 2003.
- Draft — Ayn Rand Lexicon
- John Whiteclay Chambers II, To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America (1987) p 219-20
- Henderson, David R. "The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft" (August 2005).
- Milton Friedman (1967). "Why Not a Volunteer Army?". New Individualist Review. Retrieved 9 11 2008.
- Rousseau, J-J. Social Contract. Chapter "The Roman Comitia"
- Aristotle, Politics, Book 6 Chapter VII and Book 4 Chapter XIII.
- William James (1906). "The Moral Equivalent of War".
- Alter, Jonathan. "Cop Out on Class". Newsweek.
- "Interview with Mickey Kaus". realclearpolitics.com.
- Postrel, Virginia. "Overcoming Merit".
- Gustav Hägglund (2006). Leijona ja kyyhky (in Finnish). Otava. ISBN 951-1-21161-7
|Look up conscription in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.|
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Conscription|
- Burk, James (April 1989). "Debating the Draft in America," Armed Forces and Society p. vol. 15: pp. 431–448.
- Challener, Richard D. The French theory of the nation in arms, 1866–1939 (1955)
- Chambers, John Whiteclay. To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America (1987)
- Fitzpatrick, Edward (1940). Conscription and America: A Study of Conscription in a Democracy. Richard Publishing Company. ASIN B000GY5QW2.
- Flynn, George Q. (1998 33(1): 5–20). "Conscription and Equity in Western Democracies, 1940–75," Journal of Contemporary History in JSTOR
- Flynn, George Q. (2001). Conscription and Democracy: The Draft in France, Great Britain, and the United States. Greenwood. p. 303. ISBN 0-313-31912-X.
- Kestnbaum, Meyer (October 2000). Citizenship and Compulsory Military Service: The Revolutionary Origins of Conscription in the United States. Armed Forces & Society. p. vol. 27: pp. 7–36.
- Levi, Margaret (1997). Consent, Dissent and Patriotism. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-59961-0. Looks at citizens' responses to military conscription in several democracies since the French Revolution.
- Linch, Kevin (2012). Conscription. Mainz: Institute of European History (IEG).
- Krueger, Christine, and Sonja Levsen, eds. War Volunteering in Modern Times: From the French Revolution to the Second World War (Palgrave Macmillan 2011)
- Leander, Anna (July 2004). Drafting Community: Understanding the Fate of Conscription. Armed Forces & Society. p. vol. 30: pp. 571–599.
- MacLean, Alair. The Privileges of Rank: The Peacetime Draft and Later-life Attainment. date= July 2008. p. vol. 34: pp. 682–713.
- Mjoset, Lars and Stephen Van Holde, eds. (2002). The Comparative Study of Conscription in the Armed Forces. Amsterdam: JAI Press/Elsevier Science Ltd. p. 424.
- Pfaffenzeller, Stephan. 2010. “Conscription and Democracy: The Mythology of Civil— Military Relations.” Armed Forces & Society April Vol. 36 pp. 481–504, doi:10.1177/0095327X09351226 http://afs.sagepub.com/content/36/3/481.abstract
- Sorensen, Henning (January 2000). Conscription in Scandinavia During the Last Quarter Century: Developments and Arguments. Armed Forces & Society. p. vol. 26: pp. 313–334.
- Stevenson, Michael D. (2001). Canada's Greatest Wartime Muddle: National Selective Service and the Mobilization of Human Resources during World War II. McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 235. ISBN 0-7735-2263-8. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32010000 |
Nuclear power in Japan
Prior to the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, and the nuclear disasters that resulted from it, Japan generated 30% of its electrical power from nuclear reactors and planned to increase that share to 40%. Nuclear energy was a national strategic priority in Japan, but there had been concern about the ability of Japan's nuclear plants to withstand seismic activity. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007.
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused the failure of cooling systems at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on March 11 and a nuclear emergency was declared. This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in Japan, and 140,000 residents within 20 km of the plant were evacuated. The total amount of radioactive material released is unclear, as the crisis is ongoing. On 6 May 2011, Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant be shut down as an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher is likely to hit the area within the next 30 years.
Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima I nuclear plant had hardened attitudes to nuclear power. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are anti-nuclear and distrust government information on radiation". As of October 2011, there have been electricity shortages, but Japan survived the summer without the extensive blackouts that had been predicted. An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, says "public confidence in safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged" by the Fukushima disaster, and calls for a reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power.
Many of Japan's nuclear plants have been closed, or their operation has been suspended for safety inspections. The last of Japan's 50 reactors (Tomari-3) went offline for maintenance on May 5, 2012., leaving Japan completely without nuclear-produced electrical power for the first time since 1970. Despite protests, on 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted. As of September 2012, Ōi units 3 and 4 are Japan's only operating nuclear power plants, although the city and prefecture of Osaka have requested they be shut down.
In 1954, Japan budgeted 230 million yen for nuclear energy, marking the beginning of the program. The Atomic Energy Basic Law limited activities to only peaceful purposes. The first nuclear reactor in Japan was built by the UK's GEC and was commissioned in 1966. In the 1970s, the first light water reactors were built in cooperation with American companies. These plants were bought from U.S. vendors such as General Electric and Westinghouse with contractual work done by Japanese companies, who would later get a license themselves to build similar plant designs. Developments in nuclear power since that time have seen contributions from Japanese companies and research institutes on the same level as the other big users of nuclear power.
Robert Jay Lifton has asked how Japan, after its experience with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, could "allow itself to draw so heavily on the same nuclear technology for the manufacture of about a third of its energy". He says:
There was resistance, much of it from Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. But there was also a pattern of denial, cover-up and cozy bureaucratic collusion between industry and government, the last especially notorious in Japan but by no means limited to that country. Even then, pro-nuclear power forces could prevail only by managing to instill in the minds of Japanese people a dichotomy between the physics of nuclear power and that of nuclear weapons, an illusory distinction made not only in Japan but throughout the world.
Japan's nuclear industry was not hit as hard by the effects of the Three Mile Island accident (TMI) or the Chernobyl disaster as some other countries. Construction of new plants continued to be strong through the 1980s, 1990s, and up to the present day. While many new plants had been proposed, all were subsequently canceled or never brought past initial planning. Canceled plant orders include:
- The Maki Nuclear Power Plant at Maki, Niigata (Kambara)—Canceled in 2003
- The Kushima Nuclear Power Plant at Kushima, Miyazaki—1997
- The Ashihama Nuclear Power Plant at Ashihama, Mie—2000 (the first Project at the site in the 1970s was completed at Hamaoka as Unit 1&2)
- The Hōhoku Nuclear Power Plant at Hōhoku, Yamaguchi—1994
- The Suzu Nuclear Power Plant at Suzu, Ishikawa—2003
However, starting in the mid-1990s there were several nuclear related accidents and cover-ups in Japan that eroded public perception of the industry, resulting in protests and resistance to new plants. These accidents included the Tokaimura nuclear accident, the Mihama steam explosion, cover-ups after an accidents at the Monju reactor, among others, more recently the Chūetsu offshore earthquake aftermath. While exact details may be in dispute, it is clear that the safety culture in Japan's nuclear industry has come under greater scrutiny.
On April 18, 2007, Japan and the United States signed the United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan, aimed at putting in place a framework for the joint research and development of nuclear energy technology. Each country will conduct research into fast reactor technology, fuel cycle technology, advanced computer simulation and modeling, small and medium reactors, safeguards and physical protection; and nuclear waste management. In March 2008, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that the start of operation of four new nuclear power reactors would be postponed by one year due to the incorporation of new earthquake resistance assessments. Units 7 and 8 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant would now enter commercial operation in October 2014 and October 2015, respectively. Unit 1 of the Higashidori plant is now scheduled to begin operating in December 2015, while unit 2 will start up in 2018 at the earliest. As of September 2008, Japanese ministries and agencies were seeking an increase in the 2009 budget by 6%. The total requested comes to 491.4 billion Japanese yen (4.6 billion USD), and the focuses of research are development of the fast breeder reactor cycle, next-generation light water reactors, the Iter project, and seismic safety.
A 2011 independent investigation in Japan has "revealed a long history of nuclear power companies conspiring with governments to manipulate public opinion in favour of nuclear energy". One nuclear company "even stacked public meetings with its own employees who posed as ordinary citizens to speak in support of nuclear power plants". An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, says "public confidence in safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged" by the Fukushima disaster, and calls for a reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power. It also omits a section on nuclear power expansion that was in last year’s policy review. Nuclear Safety Commission Chairman Haruki Madarame told a parliamentary inquiry in February 2012 that "Japan's atomic safety rules are inferior to global standards and left the country unprepared for the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March". There were flaws in, and lax enforcement of, the safety rules governing Japanese nuclear power companies, and this included insufficient protection against tsunamis.
As of 27 March 2012, Japan had only one out of 54 nuclear reactors operating; the Tomari-3, after the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 was shut down. The Tomari-3 was shut down for maintenance on 5 May, leaving Japan with no nuclear-derived electricity for the first time since 1970, when the country's then only two reactors was taken offline five days for maintenance. On 15 June 2012, approval was given to restart Ohi Units 3 and 4 which could take six weeks to bring them to full operation. On 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted. This reactor can provide 1,180 MW of electricity. On 21 July 2012 unit 4 was restarted, also 1,180 MW.
The National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) is the first independent investigation commission by the National Diet in the 66-year history of Japan’s constitutional government. NAICC was established on December 8, 2011 with the mission to investigate the direct and indirect causes of the Fukushima nuclear accident. NAICC submitted its inquiry report to both houses on July 5, 2012.[a] The 10-member commission compiled its report based on more than 1,167 interviews and 900 hours of hearings. It was a six-month independent investigation, the first of its kind with wide-ranging subpoena powers in Japan's constitutional history, which held public hearings with former Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Tokyo Electric Power Co's former president Masataka Shimizu, who gave conflicting accounts of the disaster response. The commission chairman, Kiyoshi Kurokawa, declared with respect to the Fukushima nuclear incident: “It was a profoundly man-made disaster — that could and should have been foreseen and prevented.” He added that the "fundamental causes" of the disaster were rooted in "the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture." The report outlines errors and willful negligence at the plant before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 and a flawed response in the hours, days and weeks that followed. It also offers recommendations and encourages Japan's parliament to "thoroughly debate and deliberate" the suggestions.
Japan has had a long history of earthquakes and seismic activity, and destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times a century. Due to this, concern has been expressed about the particular risks of constructing and operating nuclear power plants in Japan. Amory Lovins has said: "An earthquake-and-tsunami zone crowded with 127 million people is an un-wise place for 54 reactors". To date, the most serious seismic-related accident has been the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Professor Katsuhiko Ishibashi, one of the seismologists who have taken an active interest in the topic, coined the term genpatsu-shinsai (原発震災), from the Japanese words for "nuclear power" and "quake disaster" to express the potential worst-case catastrophe that could ensue. Dr Kiyoo Mogi, former chair of the Japanese Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction, has expressed similar concerns, stating in 2004 that the issue 'is a critical problem which can bring a catastrophe to Japan through a man-made disaster'.
Warnings from Kunihiko Shimazaki, a professor of seismology at the University of Tokyo, were also ignored. In 2004, as a member of an influential cabinet office committee on offshore earthquakes, Mr. Shimazaki "warned that Fukushima's coast was vulnerable to tsunamis more than twice as tall as the forecasts of as much as five meters put forth by regulators and Tokyo Electric". Minutes of the meeting on Feb. 19, 2004, show that the government bureaucrats running the committee moved quickly to exclude his views from the committee's final report. He said the committee did not want to force Tokyo Electric to make expensive upgrades at the plant.
Hidekatsu Yoshii, a member of the House of Representatives for Japanese Communist Party and an anti-nuclear campaigner, warned in March and October 2006 about the possibility of the severe damage that might be caused by a tsunami or earthquake. During a parliamentary committee in May 2010 he made similar claims, warning that the cooling systems of a Japanese nuclear plant could be destroyed by a landslide or earthquake. In response Yoshinobu Terasaka, head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, replied that the plants were so well designed that "such a situation is practically impossible". Following damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant due to the 2007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake, Kiyoo Mogi called for the immediate closure of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, which was knowingly built close to the centre of the expected Tōkai earthquake. Katsuhiko Ishibashi previously claimed, in 2004, that Hamaoka was "considered to be the most dangerous nuclear power plant in Japan".
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also expressed concern. At a meeting of the G8's Nuclear Safety and Security Group, held in Tokyo in 2008, an IAEA expert warned that a strong earthquake with a magnitude above 7.0 could pose a 'serious problem' for Japan's nuclear power stations. Before Fukushima, "14 lawsuits charging that risks had been ignored or hidden were filed in Japan, revealing a disturbing pattern in which operators underestimated or hid seismic dangers to avoid costly upgrades and keep operating. But all the lawsuits were unsuccessful". Underscoring the risks facing Japan, a 2012 research institute investigation has "determined there is a 70% chance of a magnitude-7 earthquake striking the Tokyo metropolitan area within the next four years, and 98% over 30 years". The March 2011 earthquake was a magnitude-9.
Between 2005 and 2007, three Japanese nuclear power plants were shaken by earthquakes that far exceeded the maximum peak ground acceleration used in their design. The tsunami that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, inundating the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, was more than twice the design height, while the ground acceleration also slightly exceeded the design parameters.
In 2006 a Japanese government subcommittee was charged with revising the national guidelines on the earthquake-resistance of nuclear power plants, which had last been partially revised in 2001, resulting in the publication of a new seismic guide — the 2006 Regulatory Guide for Reviewing Seismic Design of Nuclear Power Reactor Facilities. The subcommittee membership included Professor Ishibashi, however his proposal that the standards for surveying active faults should be reviewed was rejected and he resigned at the final meeting, claiming that the review process was 'unscientific' and the outcome rigged to suit the interests of the Japan Electric Association, which had 11 of its committee members on the 19-member government subcommittee. Ishibashi has subsequently claimed that, although the new guide brought in the most far-reaching changes since 1978, it was 'seriously flawed' because it underestimated the design basis earthquake ground motion. He has also claimed that the enforcement system is 'a shambles' and questioned the independence of the Nuclear Safety Commission after a senior Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official appeared to rule out a new review of the NSC's seismic design guide in 2007.
Following publication of the new 2006 Seismic Guide, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, at the request of the Nuclear Safety Commission, required the design of all existing nuclear power plants to be re-evaluated.
The standard of geological survey work in Japan is another area causing concern. In 2008 Taku Komatsubara, a geologist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology alleged that that the presence of active faults was deliberately ignored when surveys of potential new power plant sites were undertaken, a view supported by a former topographer. Takashi Nakata, a seismologist from the Hiroshima Institute of Technology has made similar allegations, and suggest that conflicts of interest between the Japanese nuclear industry and the regulators contribute to the problem.
A 2011 Natural Resources Defense Council report that evaluated the seismic hazard to reactors worldwide, as determined by the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program data, placed 35 of Japan's reactors in the group of 48 reactors worldwide in very high and high seismic hazard areas.
Nuclear power plants
Following the Fukushima I nuclear accidents Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced that all 6 of the reactors at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant will be decommissioned. The plant operators had previously stated that reactors 1 to 4 would never operate again. For a list of nuclear reactors in Japan, see List of nuclear reactors.
In terms of consequences of radiation release and core damage the Fukushima I nuclear accidents in 2011 were the worst experienced by the industry in addition to ranking among the worst civilian nuclear accidents, though no fatalities were caused and no serious exposure of radiation to workers occurred. The Tokaimura reprocessing plant fire in 1999 had 2 worker deaths, one more exposed to radiation levels above legal limits and over 660 others received detectable radiation doses but below permissible levels, well below the threshold to affect human health. The Mihama Nuclear Power Plant experienced a steam explosion in one of the turbine buildings in 2004 where 4 workers were killed and seven others injured.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
According to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, "by April 27 approximately 55 percent of the fuel in reactor unit 1 had melted, along with 35 percent of the fuel in unit 2, and 30 percent of the fuel in unit 3; and overheated spent fuels in the storage pools of units 3 and 4 probably were also damaged". The accident exceeds the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in seriousness, and is comparable to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The Economist reports that the Fukushima disaster is "a bit like three Three Mile Islands in a row, with added damage in the spent-fuel stores", and that there will be ongoing impacts:
Years of clean-up will drag into decades. A permanent exclusion zone could end up stretching beyond the plant’s perimeter. Seriously exposed workers may be at increased risk of cancers for the rest of their lives...
On March 24, 2011, Japanese officials announced that "radioactive iodine-131 exceeding safety limits for infants had been detected at 18 water-purification plants in Tokyo and five other prefectures". Officials said also that the fallout from the Dai-ichi plant is "hindering search efforts for victims from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami".
Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have hardened attitudes to nuclear power. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are anti-nuclear and distrust government information on radiation". The ongoing Fukushima crisis may spell the end of nuclear power in Japan, as "citizen opposition grows and local authorities refuse permission to restart reactors that have undergone safety checks". Local authorities are skeptical that sufficient safety measures have been taken and are reticent to give their permission – now required by law – to bring suspended nuclear reactors back online.
Two government advisers have said that "Japan's safety review of nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster is based on faulty criteria and many people involved have conflicts of interest". Hiromitsu Ino, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, says "The whole process being undertaken is exactly the same as that used previous to the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident, even though the accident showed all these guidelines and categories to be insufficient".
In 2012, former prime minister Naoto Kan was interviewed about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and has said that at one point Japan faced a situation where there was a chance that people might not be able to live in the capital zone including Tokyo and would have to evacuate. He says he is haunted by the specter of an even bigger nuclear crisis forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo and threatening the nation's existence. "If things had reached that level, not only would the public have had to face hardships but Japan's very existence would have been in peril". That convinced Kan to "declare the need for Japan to end its reliance on atomic power and promote renewable sources of energy such solar that have long taken a back seat in the resource-poor country's energy mix".
Other accidents of note include:
- 1981: almost 300 workers were exposed to excessive levels of radiation after a fuel rod ruptured during repairs at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant.
- December 1995: the fast breeder Monju Nuclear Power Plant sodium leak. State-run operator Donen was found to have concealed videotape footage that showed extensive damage to the reactor.
- March 1997: the Tokaimura nuclear reprocessing plant fire and explosion, northeast of Tokyo. 37 workers were exposed to low doses of radiation. Donen later acknowledged it had initially suppressed information about the fire.
- 1999: a fuel loading system malfunctioned at a nuclear plant in the Fukui Prefecture and set off an uncontrolled nuclear reaction and explosion.
- September 1999: the criticality accident at the Tokai fuel fabrication facility. Hundreds of people were exposed to radiation, three workers received doses above legal limits of whom two later died.
- 2000: Three Tokyo Electric Power Co. executives were forced to quit after the company in 1989 ordered an employee to edit out footage showing cracks in nuclear plant steam pipes in video being submitted to regulators.
- August 2002: a widespread falsification scandal starting in that led to the shut down of all Tokyo Electric Power Company’s 17 nuclear reactors; Tokyo Electric's officials had falsified inspection records and attempted to hide cracks in reactor vessel shrouds in 13 of its 17 units.
- 2002: Two workers were exposed to a small amount of radiation and suffered minor burns during a fire at Onagawa Nuclear Power Station in northern Japan.
- 9 August 2004: four workers were killed after a steam explosion at the Mihama-3 station; the subsequent investigation revealed a serious lack in systematic inspection in Japanese nuclear plants, which led to a massive inspection program.
- 2006: A small amount of radioactive steam was released at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and it escaped the compound.
- 16 July 2007: a severe earthquake (measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale) hit the region where Tokyo Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is located and radioactive water spilled into the Sea of Japan; as of March 2009, all of the reactors remain shut down for damage verification and repairs; the plant with seven units was the largest single nuclear power station in the world.
Nuclear organizations in Japan
- Nuclear Safety Commission 原子力安全委員会 - The Japanese regulatory body for the nuclear industry.
- Japanese Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) 原子力委員会 - Now operating as a commission of inquiry to the Japanese cabinet, this organization coordinates the entire nation's plans in the area of nuclear energy.
- Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) 原子力安全・保安院 - The NISA performs regulatory activities and was formed January 6, 2001, after a reorganization of governmental agencies.
These organizations are government funded research organizations, though many of them have special status to give them power of administration separate from the Japanese government. Their origins date back to the Atomic Energy Basic Law, but they have been reorganized several times since their inception.
- Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) - 日本原子力研究所
- The original nuclear energy research organization established by the Japanese government under cooperation with U.S. partners.
- Atomic Fuel Corporation - 原子燃料公社
- This organization was formed along with JAERI under the Atomic Energy Basic Law and was later reorganized to be PNC.
- Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) - 動力炉・核燃料開発事業団
- This organization succeeded the AFC in 1967 in order to perform more direct construction of experimental nuclear plants, and was renamed JNC in 1998.
- Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) - 核燃料サイクル開発機構 (semi-governmental agency)
- Was formed in 1998 as the direct successor to the PNC. This organization operated Lojo and Monju experimental and demonstration reactors.
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) - 日本原子力研究開発機構
- This is the modern, currently operating primary nuclear research organization in Japan. It was formed by a merger of JAERI and JNC in 2005.
Electric utilities running nuclear plants
Japan is divided into a number of regions that each get electric service from their respective regional provider, all utilities hold a monopoly and are strictly regulated by the Japanese government. For more background information see Energy in Japan. All regional utilities in Japan currently operate nuclear plants with the exception of the Okinawa Electric Power Company. They are also all members of the Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPCO) industry organization. The companies are listed below.
- Regional electric providers
- Hokkaidō Electric Power Company (HEPCO) - 北海道電力
- Tōhoku Electric Power Company (Tōhoku Electric) - 東北電力
- Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) - 東京電力
- Chūbu Electric Power Company (CHUDEN) - 中部電力
- Hokuriku Electric Power Company (RIKUDEN) - 北陸電力
- Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) - 関西電力
- Chūgoku Electric Power Company (Energia) - 中国電力
- Shikoku Electric Power Company (YONDEN) - 四国電力
- Kyūshū Electric Power Company (Kyūshū Electric) - 九州電力
- Other companies with a stake in nuclear power
- JAPC was created by special provisions from the Japanese government to be the first company in Japan to run a nuclear plant. Today it still operates two separate sites.
- Electric Power Development Company (EDPC, J-POWER) - 電源開発
- This company was created by a special law after the end of World War II, it operates a number of coal fired, hydroelectric, and wind power plants, the Ohma nuclear plant that is under construction will mark its entrance to the industry upon completion.
Nuclear vendors and fuel cycle companies
Nuclear vendors provide fuel in its fabricated form, ready to be loaded in the reactor, nuclear services, and/or manage construction of new nuclear plants. The following is an incomplete list of companies based in Japan that provide such services. The companies listed here provide fuel or services for commercial light water plants, and in addition to this, JAEA has a small MOX fuel fabrication plant. Japan operates a robust nuclear fuel cycle.
- Nuclear Fuel Industries (NFI) - 原子燃料工業
- Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL, JNF) - 日本原燃
- The shareholders of JNFL are the Japanese utilities. JNFL plans to open a full scale enrichment facility in Rokkasho, Aomori with a capacity of 1.5 million SWU/yr along with a MOX fuel fabrication facility. JNFL has also operated a nuclear fuel fabrication facility called Kurihama Nuclear Fuel Plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa as GNF, producing BWR fuel.
- MHI operates a fuel manufacturing plant in Tōkai, Ibaraki, and contributes many heavy industry components to construction of new nuclear plants, and has recently designed its own APWR plant type, fuel fabrication has been completely PWR fuel, though MHI sells components to BWRs as well. It was selected by the Japanese government to develop fast breeder reactor technology and formed Mitsubishi FBR Systems. MHI has also announced an alliance with Areva to form a new company called Atmea.
- Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF)
- GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) - 日立GEニュークリア・エナジー
- This company was formed July 1, 2007. Its next generation reactor, the ESBWR has made significant progress with US regulators, and as of July 2007, has been submitted to English regulators as well for the generic design assessment (GDA) process.
- Toshiba - 東芝 電力システム社 原子力事業部
- Toshiba has maintained a large nuclear business focused mostly on Boiling Water Reactors. With the purchase of the American Westinghouse by 5.4 Billion USD in 2006, which is focused mainly on Pressurized Water Reactor technology, it increased the size of its nuclear business about two fold. Toshiba has plans to continue significant expansion in the next decade.
- Recyclable-Fuel Storage Co.
- Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) 日本原子力産業協会 is a non-profit organization, established in 1956 to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy.
- The Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) 日本原子力学会 is a major academic organization in Japan focusing on all forms of nuclear power. The Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology is the academic journal run by the AESJ. It publishes English and Japanese articles, though most submissions are from Japanese research institutes, universities, and companies.
- Japan Nuclear Technology Institute (JANTI) 日本原子力技術協会 was established to by the nuclear power industry to support and lead that industry.
- Japan Electric Association (JEA) 日本電気協会 develops and publishes codes and guides for the Japanese nuclear power industry and is active in promoting nuclear power.
Other proprietary organizations
- Established in 1978 as by Sumimoto Metal Mining Co. this company did work with Uranium conversion and set up factories at the Tokai-mura site. Later, it was held solely responsible for the Tokaimura nuclear accident
Long one of the world’s most committed promoters of civilian nuclear power, the negative impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has changed attitudes in Japan. Political and energy experts describe "nothing short of a nationwide loss of faith, not only in Japan’s once-vaunted nuclear technology but also in the government, which many blame for allowing the accident to happen". Sixty thousand people marched in central Tokyo on 19 September 2011, chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners, to call on Japan's government to abandon nuclear power, following the Fukushima disaster. Bishop of Osaka, Michael Goro Matsuura, has called on the solidarity of Christians worldwide to support this anti-nuclear campaign. In July 2012, 75,000 people gathered near in Tokyo for the capital’s largest anti-nuclear event yet. Organizers and participants said such demonstrations signal a fundamental change in attitudes in a nation where relatively few have been willing to engage in political protests since the 1960s.
Anti-nuclear groups include the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Stop Rokkasho, Hidankyo, Sayonara Nuclear Power Plants, Women from Fukushima Against Nukes, Article 9 group, and the National Network of Parents to Protect Children from Radiation. People associated with the anti-nuclear movement include: Jinzaburo Takagi, Koide Hiroaki, Haruki Murakami, Kenzaburō Ōe, Nobuto Hosaka, Mizuho Fukushima, and Tetsunari Iida.
Thousands of protesters marched in Tokyo on March 11, 2013 calling on the government to reject nuclear power. More than 30,000 people marched on June 2 near the Diet building in Tokyo against the government's plan to restart nuclear power plants. Marchers had gathered more than 8 million signatures in a petition against Japan's plan to restart nuclear power plants.
- Energy in Japan
- Horonobe, Hokkaidō
- Japan's non-nuclear policy
- Japanese nuclear weapons program
- Japanese nuclear incidents
- Nuclear energy policy
- Three Non-Nuclear Principles
- United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan
- The startpage of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission internetsite stated on July 10, 2012 the following information which was used as the basis for the previous sentences: "NAIIC (The National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission) is the first independent investigation commission by the National Diet in the 66-year history of Japan’s constitutional government. NAICC was established on December 8, 2011 with the mission to investigate the direct and indirect causes of the Fukushima nuclear incident. NAICC submitted its inquiry report to both houses on July 5, 2012."
- Tomoko Yamazaki and Shunichi Ozasa (June 27, 2011). "Fukushima Retiree Leads Anti-Nuclear Shareholders at Tepco Annual Meeting". Bloomberg.
- Mari Saito (May 7, 2011). "Japan anti-nuclear protesters rally after PM call to close plant". Reuters.
- "Nuclear Power in Japan". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- The European Parliament's Greens-EFA Group - The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2007 p. 23.
- Weisenthal, Joe (11 March 2011). "Japan Declares Nuclear Emergency, As Cooling System Fails At Power Plant". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- Story at BBC News, 2011-05-06. retrieved 2011-05-08
- Story at Digital Journal. retrieved 2011-05-07
- Story at Bloomberg, 2011-05-07. retrieved 2011-05-08]
- "Japan nuke plant suspends work". Herald Sun. May 15, 2011.
- M. V. Ramana (July 2011 vol. 67 no. 4). "Nuclear power and the public". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. p. 44.
- Gavin Blair, (June 20, 2011). "Beginning of the end for nuclear power in Japan?". CSMonitor.
- M. V. Ramana (July 2011 vol. 67 no. 4). "Nuclear power and the public". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. p. 43.
- "Thousands march against nuclear power in Tokyo". USA Today. September 2011.
- Stephanie Cooke (October 10, 2011). "After Fukushima, Does Nuclear Power Have a Future?". New York Times.
- Antoni Slodkowski (June 15, 2011). "Japan anti-nuclear protesters rally after quake". Reuters.
- Hiroko Tabuchi (July 13, 2011). "Japan Premier Wants Shift Away From Nuclear Power". New York Times.
- Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada (Oct 28, 2011). "Nuclear Promotion Dropped in Japan Energy Policy After Fukushima". Bloomberg.
- David Batty (May 5, 2012). "Japan shuts down last working nuclear reactor". The Guardian.
- Gerhardt, Tina (22 July 2012). "After Fukushima, Nuclear Power on Collision Course with Japanese Public". Alternet.
- Osaka governments call for shutdown of Oi nuclear plant
- Johnston, Eric, "Key players got nuclear ball rolling", Japan Times, 16 July 2011, p. 3.
- Robert Jay Lifton (April 15, 2011). "Fukushima and Hiroshima". New York Times.
- "Japan cancels nuclear plant". BBC News. February 22, 2000.
- United States and Japan Sign Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan, United States Department of Energy, published 2007-04-25, accessed 2007-05-02
- Fact Sheet: United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan, United States Department of Energy, published 2007-04-25, accessed 2007-05-02
- New Japanese nuclear power reactors delayed
- NucNet. Japan Budget Proposals Seek Increase In Nuclear Spending. September 11, 2008.
- Mark Willacy (October 3, 2011). "Japan nuke companies stacked public meetings". ABC News.
- "Nuclear Safety Chief Says Lax Rules Led to Fukushima Crisis". Bloomberg. 16 February 2012.
- "Soon Japan's nuclear power stands still" NyTeknik, 27 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012. (Swedish) English translation
- Real-time display Japanese - Ohi 3 and 4 are the last two on the page
- Ohi reactor restart in Japan fully approved
- Japan approves two reactor restarts
- Oi nuclear plant's No 4 reactor begins generating power
- National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. "国会事故調 | 東京電力福島原子力発電所事故調査委員会のホームページ". National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- Harlan, Chico (5 July 2012). "Report blasts Japan’s preparation for, response to Fukushima disaster". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- Hiroko Tabuchi (5 July 2012). "Inquiry Declares Fukushima Crisis a Man-Made Disaster". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- "Fukushima nuclear accident 'man-made', not natural disaster". Bloomberg. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- Editorial Board (6 July 2012). "Japan’s nuclear meltdown could have been prevented". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- Kiyoshi Kurokawa. "Message from the Chairman". Executive Summary, The official report of The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. NAIIC. p. 9. Retrieved 12 July 2012. "What must be admitted – very painfully – is that this was a disaster “Made in Japan.” Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the program’; our groupism; and our insularity."
- Yoko Wakatsuki and Jethro Mullen. "Japanese parliament report: Fukushima nuclear crisis was 'man-made'". CNN. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- Amory Lovins (March 18, 2011). "With Nuclear Power, "No Acts of God Can Be Permitted"". Huffington Post.
- Katsuhiko Ishibashi, "Why worry? Japan's nuclear plants at grave risk from quake damage" The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus (August 11, 2007) Also published by the International Herald Tribune (August 11, 2007). Retrieved March 24, 2011
- Michael Reilly, "Insight: Where not to build nuclear power stations" (preview only) New Scientist (July 28, 2007). Retrieved March 24, 2011 (subscription required)
- Quake shuts world's largest nuclear plant Nature, vol 448, 392-393, doi:10.1038/448392a, published 2007-07-25, accessed 2011-03-18
- Two grave issues concerning the expected Tokai Earthquake Kiyoo Mogi, Earth Planets Space, Vol. 56 (No. 8), pp. li-lxvi, published 2004, accessed 2011-03-11
- Japan Holds Firm to Shaky Science Science, Vol. 264 no. 5166 pp. 1656-1658, doi:10.1126/science.264.5166.1656, published 1994-06-17, accessed 2011-03-18
- "Warnings on Fukushima ignored, insiders say; They attribute failure to cozy ties between government and industry". Power Engineering. 03/11/2012.
- Dvorak, Phred; Hayashi, Yuka (March 28, 2011). "Lawmaker Broached Plant Risk". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
- Nuclear crisis in Japan as scientists reveal quake threat to power plants The Times, published 2007-07-19, accessed 2011-03-18
- Japan's deadly game of nuclear roulette The Japan Times, published 2004-05-23, accessed 2011-03-18
- physorg.com - IAEA warned Japan over nuclear quake risk: WikiLeaks
- Charles Perrow (November/December 2011 vol. 67 no. 6). "Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. pp. 44–52.
- Mitsuru Obe (January 24, 2012). "Japan Reviews Disaster Plan Amid New Quake Concerns". Wall Street Journal.
- Japan's nuclear plant quake protection too lax, said expert The Australian published 2011-03-13, accessed 2011-04-06
- "Fukushima faced 14-metre tsunami". World Nuclear News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved march 24, 2011.
- Japan's Earthquake Regulations for Nuclear Power The Neutron Economy published 2011-04-04, accessed 2011-04-06
- Regulatory Guide for Reviewing Seismic Design of Nuclear Power Reactor Facilities Nuclear Safety Commission, published 2006-09-19, accessed 2011-04-06
- Jason Clenfield (March 17, 2011). "Japan Nuclear Disaster Caps Decades of Faked Reports, Accidents". Bloomberg Businessweek.
- Japan Nuclear Energy Drive Compromised by Conflicts of Interest Bloomberg, published 2007-12-12, accessed 2011-04-11
- The NSC views on, and future actions to take for, the impacts due to the Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007 - NSC Decision No. 17, 2007 Nuclear Safety Commission, published 2007-07-30, accessed 2011-04-06
- Japan's nuclear facilities face quake risk UPI Asia, published 2008-06-12, accessed 2011-04-11
- Thomas B. Cochran, Matthew G. McKinzie (19 August 2011). Global Implications of the Fukushima Disaster for Nuclear Power. Natural Resources Defense Council. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- Fukushima plant to be decommissioned BreakingNews, published 2011-03-31, accessed 2011-04-08
- Fukushima Daiichi Reactors to Be Decommissioned NowPublic, published 2011-03-30, accessed 2011-04-08
- Alex K. Tang, PE and Anshel J. Schiff, ed. (2007). Kashiwazaki, Japan Earthquake of July 16, 2007. Reston, VA: ASCE Press, Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering. ISBN 9780784410622.
- Jungmin Kang (4 May 2011). "Five steps to prevent another Fukushima". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
- "Nuclear power: When the steam clears". The Economist. March 24, 2011.
- Michael Winter (March 24, 2011). "Report: Emissions from Japan plant approach Chernobyl levels". USA Today.
- Johnston, Eric, "Current nuclear debate to set nation's course for decades", Japan Times, 23 September 2011, p. 1.
- "Japan Post-Fukushima Reactor Checks ‘Insufficient,' Advisers Say". Businessweek. January 27, 2012.
- Linda Sieg and Yoko Kubota (Feb 17, 2012). "Nuclear crisis turns Japan ex-PM Kan into energy apostle". Reuters.
- Benjamin K. Sovacool. A Critical Evaluation of Nuclear Power and Renewable Electricity in Asia, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol. 40, No. 3, August 2010, pp. 380.
- "A look at Japan's history of nuclear power trouble". Bloomberg Businessweek. Associated Press. March 17, 2011.
- The Mihama Nuclear Power Plant Accident
- Nagata, Kazuaki, "Vicious nuclear fuel cycle proving difficult to break", Japan Times, 18 September 2012, p. 3
- Kyodo News, "Work resumes on Aomori atomic fuel storage site", Japan Times, 17 March 2012, p. 2.
- Japan Atomic Industrial Forum.
- Atomic Energy Society of Japan.
- Japan Nuclear Technology Institute.
- Convention on Nuclear Safety; National Report of Japan for Fourth Review Meeting Government of Japan, published September 2007, accessed 2011-04-07
- (Japanese) Work Japan Electric Association, accessed 2011-04-07
- Martin Fackler (March 8, 2012). "Japan’s Nuclear Energy Industry Nears Shutdown, at Least for Now". New York Times.
- David H. Slater (Nov. 09, 2011). "Fukushima women against nuclear power: finding a voice from Tohoku". The Asia-Pacific Journal.
- Sean McDonagh (March 6, 2012). "After Fukushima, Vatican joins growing army of opponents of nuclear power". The Irish Times.
- Mure Dickie (July 17, 2012). "Japanese anti-nuclear demonstrations grow". Washington Post.
- Tina Gerhardt (July 22, 2012). "Japan's People Say NO to Nuclear Energy". Alternet.
- Thousands in Japan anti-nuclear protest two years after Fukushima Reuters
- United Press International (June 2, 2013). "60,000 protest Japan's plan to restart nuclear power plants". UPI Asia.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nuclear power plants in Japan|
- Nuclear power in Japan on the World Nuclear Association website
- The Future of Nuclear Energy in Japan, Q&A with Daniel Aldrich (July 2011)
- Japan's New Wave of Protest Songs, New York Times | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32011000 |
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, commercial government agency, public sector undertaking or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government. Their legal status varies from being a part of government to stock companies with a state as a regular stockholder. There is no standard definition of a government-owned corporation (GOC) or state-owned enterprise (SOE), although the two terms can be used interchangeably. The defining characteristics are that they have a distinct legal form and they are established to operate in commercial affairs. While they may also have public policy objectives, GOCs should be differentiated from other forms of government agencies or state entities established to pursue purely non-financial objectives.
Government-owned corporations are common with natural monopolies and infrastructure such as railways and telecommunications, strategic goods and services (mail, weapons), natural resources and energy, politically sensitive business, broadcasting, demerit goods (alcohol) and merit goods (healthcare).
GOCs can be fully owned or partially owned by government. As a definitional issue, it is difficult to determine categorically what level of state ownership would qualify an entity to be considered as "state-owned", since governments can also own regular stock, without implying any special interference. As an example, the Chinese Investment Corporation agreed in 2007 to acquire a 10% interest in the global investment bank Morgan Stanley, but it is unlikely that this would qualify the latter as a government-owned corporation. Government-owned or state-run enterprises are often the result of corporatization, a process in which government agencies and departments are re-organized as semi-autonomous corporate entities, sometimes with partial shares listed on stock exchanges.
The term 'government-linked company' (GLC) is sometimes used to refer to corporate entities that may be private or public (listed on a stock exchange) where an existing government owns a stake using a holding company. There are two main definitions of GLCs are dependent on the proportion of the corporate entity a government owns. One definition purports that a company is classified as a GLC if a government owns an effective controlling interest (>50%), while the second definition suggests that any corporate entity that has a government as a shareholder is a GLC.
A quasi-governmental organization, corporation, business, or agency (parastatal) or a "quasi-autonomous national government organisation" (Quango) is an entity that is treated by national laws and regulations to be under the guidance of the government but separate and autonomous from the government. While the entity may receive some revenue from charging customers for its services, these organizations are often partially or majorly funded by the government. They are usually considered highly important to smooth running of society and are sometimes propped up with cash infusions in times of crisis to help surmount situations that would bankrupt a normal privately owned business. They may possess law-enforcement authority, usually related to their functions.
Government-owned corporations often operate in sectors where there is a natural monopoly, or where the government has strategic interest. However, government ownership of industry corporations is common.
Nationalization also forcibly converts a private corporation into a government-owned corporation.
In most OPEC countries, the governments own the oil companies operating on their soil. A notable example is the Saudi national oil company, Saudi Aramco, which the Saudi government bought in 1988 and changed its name from Arabian American Oil Company to Saudi Arabian Oil Company. The Saudi government also owns and operates Saudi Arabian Airlines, and owns 70% of SABIC, as well as many other companies. They are, however, being privatized gradually.
In monarchical Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada and New Zealand, country-wide government corporations often use the style "Crown corporation." Equivalent terms include "State-owned enterprises" and "Crown entities" in New Zealand, and Government Business Enterprise (GBE) in Australia. Examples of Crown corporations include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Air Canada before the latter underwent privatization. Cabinet ministers (Ministers of the Crown) often control the shares in such public corporations.
At the level of local government, territorial or other authorities may set up government corporations such as "Local Authority Trading Enterprises" (LATEs). Many local authorities establish services such as water supply as separate corporations or as a business unit of the authority.
In Australia the predominant term used for Commonwealth government-owned companies is "government business enterprise" (GBE). Various Australian states also have GBEs, especially with respect to the provision of water and sewerage, but many state-based GBEs were privatized in some states during the last decade of the twentieth century.
Commonwealth GBEs include:
- the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – fully owned and funded;
- the Special Broadcasting Service – fully owned, and combines government funding and commercial funding;
- Australia Post – the Australian postal service; and
- NBNCo – fully owned and responsible for the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
These corporations are overseen by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
Former Commonwealth government-owned corporations include Telstra, established in the 1970s as Telecom Australia. Telstra, now Australia's leading telecommunications company, was privatized in 1997 by the government of John Howard. As of June 2010 Telstra owned a majority of the copper wire infrastructure in Australia (the rest is owned by Optus) and is pending sale to its former parent, the Australian government, for a non-binding amount of 11 billion Australian dollars, as ducts in the copper wire tunnels are needed to install the fiber optic cable.
In Victoria many GBEs were sold in the 1990s to reduce the state's level of debt. The State Electricity Commission of Victoria and the Gas and Fuel Corporation were the best-known government enterprises to be disaggregated and sold.
In Canada, state-owned corporations often use the style Crown corporation, indicating that an organization is established by law, owned by the sovereign, and overseen by Parliament and the Cabinet. Examples of Crown corporations include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada Post, and ViaRail. Former Crown corporations before their privatization include Air Canada, St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, and Petro-Canada. Ministers of the Crown often control the shares in such public corporations, while Parliament both sets out the laws that create and bind Crown corporations and sets their annual budgets.
Crown corporations also exist at the provincial level in Canada. Saskatchewan has maintained the largest number of Crown corporations, including SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskWater, and Saskatchewan Government Insurance. Crown corporations of British Columbia include BC Hydro, BC Ferries, BC Housing Management Commission and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
Privatization, or the selling of Crown corporations to private interests, is very common throughout Canada. Petro-Canada, Canadian National Railway, and Air Canada are examples of former federal Crown corporations that have been privatized. At the provincial level, privatized former Crown corporations include Alberta Government Telephones (which merged with privately owned BC Tel to form Telus), BCRIC, Manitoba Telecom Services, and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan which retained its name and has become the world's largest producer of potash.
Key federally owned corporations include:
The Government of Canada owned the airport infrastructure but did not operate the airport (transferred to local airport authorities from Transport Canada):
- Toronto Pearson International Airport
- Vancouver International Airport
- Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
- Calgary International Airport
- Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
- Edmonton International Airport
- Halifax Stanfield International Airport
- Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
- Victoria International Airport
- Kelowna International Airport
- St. John's International Airport
- Regina International Airport
- Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
- Prince George Airport
- Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport
- London International Airport
- Thunder Bay International Airport
- Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
- Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau de Montréal
- Fredericton International Airport
- Greater Moncton International Airport
- Saint John Airport
- Gander International Airport
In New Zealand, the terms used for government-owned companies include "state-owned enterprises" and "crown entities". Local government councils and similar authorities also set up government corporations, such as water supply companies and "local-authority trading enterprises" (LATEs) (New Zealand), as separate corporations or business unit of the councils concerned.
Government owned businesses which are the crown entities:
State-owned enterprises include:
- New Zealand Post
- Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited
- Airways New Zealand
- Transpower New Zealand Limited
- Mighty River Power
- Meridian Energy
- Genesis Power
- Learning Media Limited
- Solid Energy
- Crown Fibre Holdings
State-owned enterprises which has been privatised and then renationalised:
After extensive privatizations of publicly owned companies during the Margaret Thatcher administration, there remain few publicly owned corporations in the UK. Ongoing privatizations lasted from the end of the 1970s, through the 1980s until 1990 with the privatization of British Rail. After the Hatfield rail crash accident, the British government had to intervene and renationalize some companies.
- Central government
- East Coast Trains
- Royal Mail to be privatized before 2014
- NATS Holdings (49%) privatization to be completed soon.
- National Nuclear Laboratory
- London and Continental Railways
- Network Rail
- Rescued banks
- Devolved government
- Scottish Water (Scottish Government)
- Caledonian MacBrayne (Scottish Government)
- Translink (Northern Ireland Government)
- Northern Ireland Water (Northern Ireland Government)
- Local government
- Manchester Airport (Greater Manchester local authorities)
- Manchester Metrolink (Transport for Greater Manchester)
- Tyne and Wear Metro (Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority)
- London Underground (Transport for London)
In Western Europe there was a massive nationalization throughout the 20th century, especially after World War II to ensure Government control over natural monopolies and to some extent industry. Typical sectors included telecommunications, power, petroleum, railways, airports, airlines, public transport, health care, postal services and sometimes banks. Many large industrial corporations were also nationalized or created as Government corporations, including among many British Steel, Statoil and Irish Sugar. Starting in the late 1970s and accelerating through the 1980s and 1990s many of these corporations were privatized, though many still remain wholly or partially owned by the respective governments.
A state-run enterprise needs to be distinguished from an ordinary limited liability corporation owned by the state. For example, in Finland, state-run enterprises (liikelaitos) are governed by a separate act. Even though responsible for their own finances, they cannot be declared bankrupt; the state answers for the liabilities. Stocks of the corporation are not sold and loans have to be government-approved, as they are government liabilities. In contrast, the state also owns controlling interest in ordinary limited liability corporations. A state-run enterprise is technically not always a corporation, it might also be a separate state entity, or simply a governmental agency acting as an enterprise, perhaps having its own budget. Conversely, the state can directly fund unprofitable business, such as railway services to remote areas, regardless of whether the operator is a private corporation.
- National Railway Company of Belgium
- Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie
- Belgacom (53.3%)
- Belgischer Rundfunk
- Brussels Airport (25%)
Region of Wallonia owns the:
The fully owned corporations (51% or more) of the Republic of France:
- La Poste
- France Télévisions
- Radio France
- Régie autonome des transports parisiens
- Réseau ferré de France
- Areva (89.9%) 8,4% directly by the French State and 85% owned by *Commissariat à l'énergie atomique which is state-owned.
- Électricité de France (84.4%)
- Aéroports de Paris (52%)
- Française des jeux (72%)
The state of France owns a minority stake in:
- GDF Suez (35,9%)
- France Télécom (13,2%)
- Safran (30,2%) (+ 7,4% by Areva )
- Air France-KLM (16%)
- Renault (15.01%)
- Thales (27%)
- Marché international de Rungis (33,34%)+ + 18.79% by local area +4.60 by Caisse des dépôts et consignations
- Government-owned Open joint-stock company
- OJSC Russian Railways (100% owned by state)
- OJSC Rusnano
- OJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines (51%)
- OJSC Channel One Russia (75%)
- OJSC RusHydro (65%)
- OJSC Sberbank (50%+1)
- OJSC Gazprom (50%+1)
- OJSC Rosneft (75%)
- OJSC Rostelecom (56,8%)
- Unitary enterprise
In Russia and some other post-Soviet states, a unitary enterprise (Russian: унитарное предприятие) is a commercial organization that have no ownership rights to the assets used in their operations. This form is possible only for state and municipal enterprises, operating with state or municipal property, respectively. The owners of the property of a unitary enterprise have no responsibility for its operation, and vice versa.
The assets of unitary enterprises belong to the Federal government, a Russian region, or a municipality. A unitary enterprise holds assets under the right of economic management (for both state and municipal unitary enterprises) or operative management (for state unitary enterprises only), and that such assets may not be distributed among the participants, nor otherwise divided. A unitary enterprise is independent in economic issues and obliged only to give its profits to the state. Unitary enterprises would have no right to set up subsidiaries, but, with the owner's consent, can open branches and representation offices.
- State corporation
By contrast, a state corporation (Russian: государственная корпорация) is a non-profit organization which manages its assets as described in its charter. State Corporations are not obliged to submit to public authorities documents accounting for activities (except for a number of documents submitted to the Russian government) and, as a rule, are subordinate not to the government, but to the Russian president, and act to accomplish some important goal. Control by the Government is implemented on the basis of annual corporation meetings, an annual report on the audit opinion of accounting and financial reporting (accounting), as well as the conclusion of the auditing commission on the results of verification of financial (accounting) statements and other corporation documents. Any other federal government departments, organs of state power of subjects of the Russian Federation, and the local governments have no right to interfere in the activities of State corporations.
Here is the government owned of the Swiss Confederation:
In 2009, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan formed the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) as a "state owned enterprise" subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. By Presidential Decree, the APPF is mandated to replace all non-diplomatic private security companies by 20 March 2013 to become the sole provider of pay-for-service security contracts within Afghanistan.
China, People's Republic of
After 1949, all business entities in the People's Republic of China were created and owned by the government. In the late 1980s, the government began to reform the state-owned enterprise, and during the 1990s and 2000s, many mid-sized and small sized state-owned enterprises were privatized and went public. There are a number of different corporate forms which result in a mixture of public and private capital. In PRC terminology, a state-owned enterprise refers to a particular corporate form, which is increasingly being replaced by the listed company. State-owned enterprises are governed by both local governments and, in the central government, the national State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. As of 2011, 35% of business activity and 43% of profits in the People's Republic of China resulted from companies in which the state owned a majority interest. Liberal critics, such as The New York Times, allege that China's state-owned companies are a vehicle for corruption by the families of ruling party leaders who have sometimes amassed fortunes while managing them.
China, Republic of (Taiwan)
The founding father of the Republic of China and of the Kuomintang, Sun Yat-sen, was heavily influenced by the economic ideas of Henry George, who believed that the rents extracted from natural monopolies or the usage of land belonged to the public. Sun argued for Georgism and emphasized the importance of a mixed economy, which he termed "The Principle of Minsheng" in his Three Principles of the People.
"The railroads, public utilities, canals, and forests should be nationalized, and all income from the land and mines should be in the hands of the State. With this money in hand, the State can therefore finance the social welfare programs."
Kuomintang leader, and later President of the Republic of China on the mainland and Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek, crushed pro-communist worker and peasant organizations and the rich Shanghai capitalists at the same time. Chiang continued Sun Yat-sen's anti-capitalist ideology-Kuomintang media openly attacked the capitalists and capitalism, demanding government-controlled industry instead.
The Kuomintang Muslim Governor of Ningxia, Ma Hongkui promoted state-owned monopoly companies. His government had a company, Fu Ning Company, which had a monopoly over commerce and industrial activity in Ningxia.
The Chinese Muslim 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) governed southern Xinjiang from 1934 to 1937. The General Ma Hushan was chief of the 36th Division. Chinese Muslims operated state-owned carpet factories.
In India, a government-owned corporation is termed a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). This term is used to refer to companies in which the government (either the federal Union Government or the many state or territorial governments, or both) own a majority (51 percent or more) of the company equity. There are 251 PSU companies in India as of 2012.
Some examples include:
- Air India
- Balmer Lawrie
- Bharat Electronics Limited
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
- Bharat Petroleum
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
- Bank of India
- Biotech Consortium India Limited
- Coal India Limited
- Engineers India Limited
- Cotton Corporation of India
- Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu
- Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL)
- Food Corporation of India
- Heavy Engineering Corporation
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
- Hindustan Cables
- HMT Limited
- Indian Oil Corporation
- Indian Telephone Industries Limited
- Jute Corporation of India Limited
- State Bank of India
- Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
- Mazagon Dock Limited
- MECON Limited
- Modern Food Industries
- NTPC Limited
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
- PowerGrid Corporation of India
- State Bank of India
- Syndicate Bank
- Steel Authority of India Limited
- Tamil Nadu Electricity Board
- Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
- Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
- Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited
- Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited
- Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation
- State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation
- Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited
- Tamil Nadu Cement Corporation Limited (TANCEM)
- Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
- Poompuhar Shipping Corporation Limited
Government-owned corporations are easy to recognise by their names. Company names with suffix PERSERO mean that the company is wholly/majority owned by the government. The government takes control of the state corporations under one single ministry, the Ministry of State Enterprises, which acts like the CEO of a holding company. Some of the government-owned corporations are;
- Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia – Banking sector
- Pertamina – Energy, Oil/fuel, and gas sector
- Garuda Indonesia – Transport sector (international airline)
- Telkom Indonesia – Telecommunications sector
- Perusahaan Listrik Negara – the Electric company, Energy sector (national electricity utility)
- PT Kereta Api Indonesia – Transport sector (national railway)
- Pos Indonesia – Postal service sector
- TVRI – National television channel
- PT Krakatau Steel – Steel producer
- PT Dirgantara Indonesia – Manufacture (aircraft manufacture)
- PT Industri Kereta Api – Manufacture (train manufacture)
- PT Barata Indonesia – Manufacture
- PT Boma Bisma Indra – Manufacture
- Antara- News agency
In January 2012, the Minister of State Enterprises decided to unite manufacturing companies and for the first stage PT Barata should acquire PT Bisma to make an effective manufacturing sector.
In Japan, Japan Post was reorganized into Japan Post Group in 2007 as a material step of the postal privatization. It is currently wholly owned by the government, but is planned to be sold into private ownership. Japan Railways Group (JR), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) and Japan Tobacco (JT) were formerly owned by the government.
Government owned and controlled corporations, or GOCCs, include a wide variety of different independent organizations. Some have a commercial purpose, such as the Philippine National Oil Company, while others like the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), or the Philippine Institute for Development Studies fulfill more traditional government roles. The leadership, budget, and funding of the corporations are independent of the Philippine National Government but to varying degrees. Some such as the National Food Authority receive quite a bit of subsidy from the National Government.
The economy of Singapore is dominated by government-linked corporations that produce as much as 60% of the country's GDP. These government-linked companies are owned by a government holding agency, Temasek Holdings. Notable Government-linked corporations include Singapore Airlines, SingTel, ST Engineering, MediaCorp and Singapore Temasek Holdings.
Here is the government owned corporation owned by the kingdom of Thailand. The Kingdom of Thailand as shareholding of 51% or more.
- Airports of Thailand
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand
- Krung Thai Bank
- Metropolitan Waterworks Authority
- Port Authority of Thailand
- Provincial Waterworks Authority
- PTT Public Company Limited
- Thai Airways International
Parastatals in Kenya, partly from a lack of expertise and endemic corruption, have largely inhibited economic development. In 1979, a presidential commission went as far as saying that they constituted "a serious threat to the economy", and, by 1989, they had still not furthered industrialization or fostered the development of a Black business class.
In South Africa "the Department of Public Enterprises is the shareholder representative of the South African Government with oversight responsibility for state-owned enterprises in key sectors, including: Defence, Energy, Forestry, ICT, Mining and Transport". The current (March 2011) Minister of Public Enterprises is Malusi Gigaba.
The corporate entities that this department is responsible for are:
- Alexkor – Mining sector (diamond mining)
- Broadband Infraco – ICT sector (national backbone and international connectivity)
- Denel – Aerospace and Defence sector (armaments manufacturer)
- Eskom – Energy sector (national electricity utility)
- PBMR – Energy sector (development of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor nuclear energy technology)
- South African Airways – Transport sector (international airline)
- SA Express – Transport sector (regional and feeder airline)
- SAFCOL – Forestry sector (manages forestry on state owned land)
- Transnet – Transport and related infrastructure sector (railways, harbours, oil/fuel pipelines and terminals)
- Telkom SA – Telecommunications sector (national fixed line telephone network (PSTN))
Government-owned companies are divided into public enterprises (empresa pública) and mixed-economy companies (sociedade de economia mista). The public enterprises are subdivided into two categories: individual – with its own assets and capital owned by the Union – and plural companies – whose assets are owned by multiple government agencies and the Union, which have the majority of the voting interest. Caixa Econômica Federal, Correios, Embrapa, and BNDES are examples of public enterprises. Mixed-economy companies are enterprises with the majority of stocks owned by the government, but that also have stocks owned by the private sector and usually have their shares traded on stock exchanges. Banco do Brasil, Petrobras, Sabesp, and Eletrobras are examples of mixed-economy companies.
Beginning in the 1990s, the federal government of Brazil launched a privatization program inspired by the Washington Consensus. Public-owned companies such as Vale do Rio Doce, Telebrás, CSN, and Usiminas (most of them mixed-economy companies) were transferred to the private sector as part of this policy.
Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are a group of financial services corporations created by the United States Congress. The United States GSEs are private corporations owned by their stockholders, rather than government-owned corporations. Their primary function is to generate profits for their stockholders, but they are structured and regulated by the U.S. government to enhance the availability and reduce the cost of credit to targeted borrowing sectors. Congress created the first GSE in 1916 with the creation of the Farm Credit System; it initiated GSEs in the home finance segment of the economy with the creation of the Federal Home Loan Banks in 1932; and it targeted education when it chartered Sallie Mae in 1972 (although Congress allowed Sallie Mae to relinquish its government sponsorship and become a fully private institution via legislation in 1995). The residential mortgage borrowing segment is by far the largest of the borrowing segments in which the GSEs operate. Together, the three mortgage finance GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks) have several[quantify] trillion dollars of on-balance sheet assets. The federal government possesses warrants which, if exercised, would allow them to take a 79.9% ownership share in the companies. The federal government has not currently[when?] exercised these warrants.
Government sponsored enterprises include:
The federal government chartered and owned corporations are a separate set of corporations chartered and owned by the federal government, which operate to provide public services, but unlike the federal agencies (Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs), or the federal independent commissions (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc.), they have a separate legal personality from the federal government, providing the highest level of political independence. They sometimes receive federal budgetary appropriations, but some also have independent sources of revenue. These include:
- Commodity Credit Corporation
- Corporation for National and Community Service (Americorps)
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting[dubious ]
- Export-Import Bank of the United States
- Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
- Farm Credit Banks
- Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Federal Financing Bank
- Federal Home Loan Banks
- Federal Prison Industries
- The Financing Corporation
- Gallaudet University
- Government National Mortgage Association
- Legal Services Corporation
- National Consumer Cooperative Bank
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
- Millennium Challenge Corporation
- National Corporation for Housing Partnerships (NCHP); Washington, DC.
- National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility
- National Endowment for Democracy
- National Park Foundation
- National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
- Overseas Private Investment Corporation
- Panama Canal Commission
- Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation; Washington, DC.
- Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
- Securities Investor Protection Corporation
- Tennessee Valley Authority
The federal government acquired corporations are a separate set of corporations that were not chartered or created by the federal government, but the federal government has come into possession of and operates. These are corporations temporarily in possession of the government as a result of a seizure of property of a debtor to the government, such as a delinquent taxpayer. Usually these are awaiting auction, and most are too small to note.
There exists a second level of sovereign government in the United States after the federal government, those of the several states of which compose the United States. State governments are bodies sovereign, like the federal government, and other sovereigns; they have sovereign existence deriving from the consent of the sovereign people of their territories who created them and wrote their state constitution; they are not bodies corporate, as they are not created by the acquis of the federal government and exist with or without that Government's consent. As sovereigns, they have the power to hold radical title to land, to exercise the four fundamental powers, taxation, eminent domain, police power, and escheat, as well as numerous other powers, including the power to grant charters, and implicit in that power to charter is the power to charter corporations, which they do, extensively. The vast majority of non-governmental corporations in the United States are chartered by the states of the United States, and not the federal government, this includes most charitable corporations (though some charities of national repute are chartered by the federal government, and not by a state government), non-profit corporations, and for-profit corporations. States, as sovereigns, also have the power to charter corporations that they own, control, or are responsible for the regulation and finance of. These include municipal corporations and state chartered and owned corporations. Municipal corporations are public corporations that have devolved, democratic control over local matters within a geographic region; they are often styled villages, towns, townships, boroughs, cities, or counties. Though these municipal corporations are often regulated and sometimes financed by the state government, and often can collect taxes, they are arms-length, non-sovereign, devolved public entities, and a state government which charters them is not legally responsible for their debts in the event of a municipal bankruptcy. State government chartered and owned corporations are numerous and provide public services. Examples include North Dakota Mill and Elevator and South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Generally speaking, a statute passed by a state legislature specifically sets up a government-owned company in order to undertake a specific public purpose with public funds or public property. Lotteries in the United States are also run by government corporations, such as the Georgia Lottery Corporation and many others.
There exists a third level of sovereign government in the United States as well, the sovereignty of the Native American tribal governments. Native American tribes are comprehended as ancient sovereigns, established by their sovereign people since time immemorial, and recognized as sovereign by the federal government of the United States as well as the several states, and as such, the Native American (and Alaska Native) tribal governments have rights appertaining to sovereigns, including the power to hold radical title to land, to exercise the four fundamental powers, taxation, eminent domain, police power, and escheat, as well as other powers, for instance, the power to charter corporations and undertake public undertakings that might benefit their tribal citizens, Native Americans and Alaska Natives also being citizens of their respective U.S. state, and also citizens of the United States. For example, a tribal council could establish a public service broadcaster along the lines of RTE and partially fund it with a television licence on tribal land and partially through advertising as a means of uniting the tribe and giving it a voice as well as a commercial venture.
The Alaska Natives are particularly advanced in using their tribal sovereignty to incorporate corporations that are owned by and for the benefit of their tribal citizens and often compete in highly competitive economic sectors through the Alaska Native Regional Corporations. The Native American tribes in the lower 48 states often use their sovereignty and their ability to charter to compete using regulatory easements; for instance, Native American tribal corporations often trade in goods that are highly taxed in surrounding states (such as tobacco), or engage in activities that surrounding states have (for reasons of public policy) forbidden, such as the operation of casinos or gaming establishments. Most of these endeavors have proven very successful for Native American tribal sovereigns and their tribal corporations, bringing wealth into the hands of Native Americans.
Uruguay had the first welfare state of Latin America under the presidency of José Batlle y Ordoñez in 1904. Government-owned corporations monopolize services such as electricity (UTE), land-line communications (Antel) and water (OSE). Antel competes with private corporations in the cell-phone lines and international telephony markets. In 1992, under the presidency of Luis Alberto Lacalle, the government attempted to privatize all its companies, following the neoliberal Washington Consensus. However, a referendum won by 75% of the population kept the companies in the hands of the government. By the end of his term, president Lacalle alleged that he had achieved a successful modernization of the companies, which had made them more efficient.
In this list, government-owned corporations are classified on their legal status: silver color represents legal monopolies, where no competition is permitted; light green represents a corporation that has private competitors; yellow means that although competition is legally permitted, there are no other corporations de facto, and uncolored refers to a free market, regulated or not.
|Postal||Railways||Pharmacy||Gambling||Alcohol||Health care||Universities||Telephone||Broadcasting||Oil & Gas||Energy||Water||Airports||Highways|
|Australia||yes (Australia Post) monopoly on postal delivery of letters to 250g||mix varies by State||mix (PBS funding only) (no retail competition)||mix varies by State||no||mix (Medicare)||mix||no||mix (ABC) (SBS)||no||mix varies by State|
|Brazil||yes (Correios)||mix (pt:VALEC, pt:CBTU)||no||yes (Caixa Econômica Federal)||mix (ethanol only)||mix (SUS)||mix||mix (Telebras)||mix||mix (Petrobras)||mix (Eletrobras)||mix varies by State||mix (Infraero)||no|
|Canada||yes (Canada Post)||mix
(Via Rail), passenger rail. Freight is private.
|no||varies by province||varies by province (LCBO, SAQ, SLGA)||mix||mix||varies by province (Sasktel)||mix (CBC)||mix||varies by province (Hydro-Québec, BC Hydro, Hydro One, Manitoba Hydro, Nalcor, SaskPower)|
(Correos de Chile)
(Televisión Nacional de Chile)
|Colombia||yes (4-72)||no||no||Etesa [a]||varies by department||Nueva EPS||Universidad Nacional plus various local ones||(Telefónica Telecom) (Empresas Públicas de Medellín)||mix (Radio Televisión Nacional de Colombia)||(Ecopetrol)||(ISA Emgesa)|
|Czech Republic||yes (Česká pošta)||yes (České dráhy)||no||yes (Sazka)||no||yes (VZP)||mix||(České Radiokomunikace)||mix (Česká televize) (ČRo)||no||yes (ČEZ)|
|Finland||de facto (Itella)||de facto (VR)||no||yes
(Veikkaus, RAY, Fintoto)
|yes (Alko)||mix (municipal)||yes||mix (TeliaSonera)||mix (YLE)||de facto (Neste)||mix (Fortum)||yes (municipal)||yes (Finavia)||yes (Finnish Transport Agency)|
(Française Des Jeux)
|no||mix||mix||mix (France Telecom)||mix (France Television)||no||mix (EDF)|
|mix (DB)||no||no||no||mix (BG)||mix||mix (DTAG)||mix (ARD)||?||?|
|de facto (OSE, TrainOSE)||no||mix
|no||mix (ESY)||yes||mix (OTE)||mix (ERT)||mix (ELPE)||mix (DEI)|
|Iceland||de facto (Íslandspóstur)||no railways in Iceland||no||no gambling in Iceland||yes (ÁTVR)||mix||mix||no||mix (RÚV)||no oil industry in Iceland||mix|
|India||yes (India Post)||yes (Indian Railways)||yes (IDPL)||no||no||mix||mix||mix (BSNL)||mix (Doordarshan)||mix (ONGC)||yes|
|Ireland||yes (An Post)||yes (Iarnród Éireann)||no||mix (Prize Bond)||no||mix||mix||no||mix (RTE, TG4)||no||mix (ESB)|
|Italy||de facto (Poste italiane)||mix (FS)||no||yes (AAMS)||no||mix (SSN)||mix||no||mix (RAI)||mix (Eni)||mix (Enel)|
|Indonesia||yes (Pos Indonesia)||yes (PT Kereta Api)||yes||no||no||mix||mix||yes (Telkom Indonesia)||mix||mix (Pertamina)||yes (Perusahaan Listrik Negara)|
|mix (JR)||no||yes (JRA etc.)||no||mix||mix||mix (NTT)||mix (NHK)||no||no|
|Korea, Republic of||de facto
(Korea Railroad Corporation)
|no||yes (Kangwon Land Inc.)||no||de facto
(KBS), (EBS), Etc.
(Korea Expressway Corporation)
(Servicio Postal Mexicano)
|mix (e.g. in public hospitals)||no||no||mix (Mexican Social Security Institute, Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers)||mix (National Autonomous University of Mexico, National Polytechnic Institute and state universities among others)||no||mix
(Once TV México, XEIMT-TV)
(Comisión Federal de Electricidad)
(varies by state/municipality)
(Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares, Benito Juárez International Airport)
(Caminos y Puentes Federales)
|Netherlands||no||mix (Nederlandse Spoorwegen),[b] passenger rail. Freight is private||no||yes
|no||mix||yes||no||mix (Netherlands Public Broadcasting)||no||no|
|New Zealand||yes (NZ Post)||yes (Kiwi Rail)||no||no||no||mix||yes||no||mix (TVNZ)||no||mix (Genesis Power, Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Solid Energy, Transpower New Zealand Limited))|
|Norway||yes (Posten Norge)||yes (NSB)||no||yes (Norsk Tipping)||yes (Vinmonopolet)||mix||mix||mix (Telenor)||mix (NRK)||mix (Statoil)||State owned(Statkraft) and various municipally owned companies|
|Peru||yes (Serpost)||no||no||no||no||yes (EsSalud)||yes (local ones, including (Universidad Mayor de San Marcos)||no||yes (TV Peru)||yes (Petroperú)||yes (only in local water supply and sewage services, including Sedapal)|
|Philippines||yes (PhilPost)||yes (PNR)||no||yes (PAGCOR)||no||yes||yes (U.P.)||no||yes (PTV)||mix (PNOC)||mix (NAPOCOR)|
|Sweden||de facto (Posten)||de facto (SJ)||mix (Apoteket)||yes||yes (Systembolaget)||mix||yes||mix (Telia)||mix (SVT)||no||mix (Vattenfall)|
|Thailand Kingdom||yes (Post)||yes (State Rail)||no (Pharmacy)||yes (State Lotto)||Alcohol Permit||mix(Medical)||(University)||mix(Telcom)||mix (Thai Television)||mix (Petro)||yes (Electric)|
|Turkey||yes (PTT)||yes (TCDD)||no||no||no||mix||mix||no||mix (TRT)||mix (TPAO)||mix|
|United Kingdom||mix (Royal Mail)||mix
(Northern Ireland Railways, East Coast) (Network Rail)[c]
|no||mix (Premium Bonds)||no||mix (NHS)||mix (University of Buckingham), (BPP Holdings)||no||mix|
|United States||yes (USPS, an agency)||mix
(Amtrak), passenger rail. Freight is private.
|no||Mix (All State Lotteries)||varies by state (ABC store states)||mix||mix (U.S. military service academies, public universities)||no||mix (PBS)||no||mix (TVA)|
|Uruguay||yes (Correo Uruguayo)||yes (State Railways Administration of Uruguay)||no||mix (Casinos del Estado)||mix||mix||mix||mix (ANTEL)||mix Channel 5||mix (ANCAP)||yes (UTE)|
- Etesa is a company wholly owned by the Colombian government and holds the exclusive right to gambling activities. However, it sublicenses gambling permits to any private company who applies and fulfills legal requirements.
- Nederlandse Spoorwegen is a company wholly owned by the Dutch government.
- Network Rail is a private company whose debts are guaranteed by the UK Government, which has caused controversy over whether it is state owned or not.
- Constitutional economics
- Government agency
- Non-departmental public body
- Political economy
- Public benefit corporation
- Public bodies
- Public company (public corporation)
- Public ownership
- Regulatory agency
- Rule according to higher law
- Special-purpose district
- State within a state
- Stock market
- State-owned enterprises of New Zealand
- Statsforetak (Norwegian state enterprise)
- Statutory Agency
- Statutory corporation
- Volkseigener Betrieb (East German state enterprise)
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 1–16
- : Official Afghan Public Protection Force Website.
- Keith Bradsher (November 9, 2012). "China’s Grip on Economy Will Test New Leaders". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- Simei Qing "From Allies to Enemies", 19
- Parks M. Coble (1986). The Shanghai capitalists and the Nationalist government, 1927–1937. Volume 94 of Harvard East Asian monographs (2, reprint, illustrated ed.). Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 263. ISBN 0-674-80536-4. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- A. Doak Barnett (1968). China on the eve of Communist takeover. Praeger. p. 190. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- Werner Draguhn, David S. G. Goodman (2002). China's communist revolutions: fifty years of the People's Republic of China. Psychology Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-7007-1630-0. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. p. 131. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- "Dahlan Iskan to merge Barata with Boma Bisma Indra". January 14, 2012.
- Cabuag, V.S. (8 March 2012). "Government subsidies to GOCCs grew by 155% in 2011". Business Mirror. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- "CountryRisk Maintaining Singapore's Miracle". Countryrisk.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- Himbara, David (1993). "Myths and Realities of Kenyan Capitalism". Journal of Modern African Studies 31 (1): 93–107.
- Productivity performance in Kenya. p. 43.
- Conflicting Information Over Kenya Airways' Layoffs.
- "About the DPE". DPE.gov.za. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 24
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 44
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 60
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 50
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 77
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 82
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 105
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 120
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 125
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 131
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 145
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 149
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 165
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 180
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 162
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 168
- Profiles of Existing Government Corporations, pp. 18, 214
Profiles of Existing Government Corporations—A Study Prepared by the U.S. General Accounting Office for the Committee on Government Operations. 1988. (Document: H402-4) Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office]
- The Public Firm with Managerial Incentives by Elmer G. Wiens. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32012000 |
A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not extremely. A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification that treats steppe climates (BSk and BSh) as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short or scrubby vegetation, with semi-arid areas usually are dominated by either grasses or shrubs.
To determine if a location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. Finding the precipitation threshold (in millimeters) involves first multiplying the average annual temperature in °C by 20, then adding 280 if 70% or more of the total precipitation is in the high-sun half of the year (April through September in the Northern Hemisphere, or October through March in the Southern), or 140 if 30%–70% of the total precipitation is received during the applicable period, or 0 if less than 30% of the total precipitation is so received. If the area's annual precipitation is less than the threshold but more than half the threshold, it is classified as a BS (steppe climate).
Furthermore, to delineate "hot semi-arid climates" from "cold semi-arid climates", there are three widely used isotherms: Either a mean annual temperature of 18°C, or a mean temperature of 0°C or −3°C in the coldest month, so that a location with a "BS" type climate with the appropriate temperature above whichever isotherm is being used is classified as "hot semi-arid" (BSh), and a location with the appropriate temperature below the given isotherm is classified as "cold semi-arid" (BSk).
Hot semi-arid climates
Hot semi-arid climates (type "BSh") tend to be located in the tropics and subtropics. These climates tend to have hot, sometimes extremely hot, summers and mild to warm winters. Snow rarely (if ever) falls in these regions. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts. The most common variant of a hot semi-arid climate, found in regions such as West Africa, India, parts of Mexico and small parts of Pakistan experiences the seasonal effects of monsoons and has a short but well-defined wet season, but is not sufficiently wet overall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate. In Australia, a large portion of the Outback, surrounding the central desert regions, lies within the hot semi-arid climate regime. Hot semi-arid climates can also be found in sections of South America such as the sertão and on the poleward side of the arid deserts where they typically feature a Mediterranean precipitation pattern, with generally rainless summers and wetter winters.
Cold semi-arid climates
Cold semi-arid climates (type "BSk") tend to be located in temperate zones. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature hot and dry (often exceptionally hot) summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold winters. These areas usually see some snowfall during the winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. Areas featuring cold semi-arid climates tend to have higher elevations than areas with hot semi-arid climates, and are sometimes subject to major temperature swings between day and night, sometimes by as much as 15℃/27℉ or more in that time frame. These temperature swings are seldom seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates at higher latitudes tend to have dry winters and wetter summers, while cold semi-arid climates at lower latitudes tend to have precipitation patterns more akin to Mediterranean climates, with dry summers, relatively wet winters, and even wetter springs and autumns. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Asia and North America. However, it can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, Europe, (primarily in Spain) sections of South America and sections of interior southern Australia.
Regions of varying classification
Three isotherms means that delineate between hot and cold semi-arid climates -- the 18°C average annual temperature or that of the coldest month (0°C or −3°C), the warm side of the isotherm of choice defining a BSh climate from the BSk on the cooler side. As a result of this, some areas can have climates that are classified as hot or cold semi-arid depending on the isotherm used. One such location is San Diego, California (at its main airport), which has cool summers for the latitude due to prevailing winds off the ocean (so the average annual temperature is below 18°C) but mild winters (average temperature in January, 14°C, and closer to the 18.0°C isotherm that separates tropical and subtropical climates than to the 0°C or −3°C isotherm for the coldest month that separates temperate and continental climates).
See also
- Continental climate
- Dust Bowl (an era of devastating dust storms, mostly in the 1930s, in semi-arid areas on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada)
- Goyder's Line (a boundary marking the limit of semi-arid climates in the Australian state of South Australia)
- Palliser's Triangle (semi-arid area of Canada)
- Köppen climate classification | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32014000 |
One small step
(Redirected from It's one small step for man)
Neil Armstrong's words when he first walked on the surface of the Moon have been used and subverted in a wide variety of genres.
- That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.
- Words said when Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon (20 July 1969). In the actual sound recordings he apparently fails to say "a" before "man" and says: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." This was generally considered by many to simply be an error of omission on his part. Armstrong long insisted he did say "a man" but that it was inaudible. Prior to new evidence supporting his claim, he stated a preference for the "a" to appear in parentheses when the quote is written. In September 2006 evidence based on new analysis of the recordings conducted by Peter Shann Ford, a computer programmer based in Sydney, Australia, whose company Control Bionics helps physically handicapped people to use their own nerve impulses to communicate through computers, indicated that Armstrong had said the missing "a." This information was presented to Armstrong and NASA on 28 September 2006 and reported in the Houston Chronicle (30 September 2006). The debate continues on the matter, as "Armstrong's 'poetic' slip on Moon" at BBC News (3 June 2009) reports that more recent analysis by linguist John Olsson and author Chris Riley with higher quality recordings indicates that he did not say "a".
- Many short-sighted fools think that going to the Moon was just a stunt. But the astronauts knew the meaning of what they were doing, as is shown by Neil Armstrong's first words in stepping down onto the soil of Luna: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
- Robert A. Heinlein, The Pragmatics of Patriotism (1973)
- Better if he had said something natural like, "Jesus, here we are."
- Edmund Hillary, The Sunday Times [London] (21 July 1974) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32015000 |
Family: Ursidae, Bears view all from this family
Description A very large, white bear of the Arctic. Longer neck and relatively smaller head than other bears. Fur may appear yellow in summer. Females first breed at age 5-6, and pregnant females may weigh up to 500kg.
Dimensions 2.3-2.6m, 7-12cm, 400-800kg; / 1.9-2.1m, 7-12cm, 175-300kg
Warning All North American bears can be dangerous in the following situations: when accompanied by cubs, when surprised by the sudden appearance of humans, when approached while feeding, guarding a kill, fishing, hungry, injured, or breeding, and when familiarity has diminished their fear of humans. There have been several recorded cases of Polar Bears attacking humans.
Breeding Breeding season is April-May but delayed implantation slows gestation until fall, and cubs are born in December. Neonates are tiny (600g) but grow quickly in the den, and emerge at 10-12kg in March or April. Cubs remain with their mother for 2.5 years, learning to hunt seals on the sea ice. Only pregnant females overwinter in dens; all others remain active.
Habitat Offshore waters, Beaches, shorelines & estuaries
Discussion Ringed seals are the prey of choice, but they also take bearded seals, and occasional harp seals, hooded seals, walruses, belugas, narwhals, and even sea ducks. They are able to fast for up to 8 months if food is unavailable. Threatened by melting ice associated with global warming and airborne pollutants that accumulate in polar regions. Home ranges may exceed 300km_ in areas of receding ice. Pursues fish and seal prey in pack ice and coastal regions. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32017000 |
See also: 1984 Summer Paralympics[?]
The Games of the XXIII Olympiad
were held in 1984
in Los Angeles
, United States
. Los Angeles was the only city to bid to host the 1984 Summer Olympics.
- After the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the Eastern Bloc, including the Soviet Union, East Germany and Cuba boycotts these Olympics (the USSR announced their intention not to participate on May 8, 1984). Notably, Romania is represented in LA and wins a large amount of medals. The boycott influenced a large number of events that were normally dominated by the absent countries.
- The organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics are able to produce a profit of over $ 200 million.
- Carl Lewis equals the performance of Jesse Owens of 1936 and wins four gold medals.
- Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco becomes the first female Olympic champion of an Islamic nation, and the first of her country in the 400 m hurdles.
- A marathon for women is held for the first time at the Olympics, won by Joan Benoit[?]. The event is also noted because of Swiss runner Gabi Andersen-Schiess[?], who - suffering from heat exhaustion - stumbled through the last lap, providing dramatic images.
- Synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics debut in Los Angeles as Olympic events, as doeswind surfing.
- China returns to the Olympics after a long absence and wins 15 gold medals. In weightlifting, athletes from Taiwan and China win a medal in the same event.
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
1896 | 1900 | 1904 | 1906 | 1908 | 1912 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012
1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32019000 |
One of the greatest composers of all time, Franz JosephHaydn made an enormous contribution in the creation and development of virtually all musical forms and genres. 1760, Haydn was appointed the official musician for the Esterhazy Princes. Only in 1790, Haydn was released and allowed to travel. Haydn went to London where he became the most important and influential musician. Haydn retired in Vienna still being in the service of Prince Nikolaus. Haydn remains one of the most popular musicians. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32036000 |
A great conductor and composer, Richard Strauss created a new form and style of symphonic tone-poem. After 1900, Strauss received worldwide recognition with his operas, often at a grand scale. Later in his compositions, Strauss used a more classical approach. Straussís association with the Nazi Germany forced him to move to Switzerland. Strauss came back to him native Bavaria a few months before his death.
More Richard Strauss sheet music download on EveryNote.com | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32037000 |
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
One of the most famous pictures of the Holocaust. German stormtroopers force Warsaw ghetto dwellers of all ages to move, hands up, during the Jewish Ghetto Uprising in April-May 1943.
Photo credit: Main Commission for the Investigation of Nazi War Crimes, courtesy of USHMM Photo Archives.
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 1997-2013. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32048000 |
Bringing new beetles to light
2012 REU Project:
The beetle family Staphylinidae – the rove beetles – is the largest beetle family in the world, with over 57,000 species and nearly 3,600 genera already described. Several hundred new species and at least two dozen new genera are described every year, the largest proportion of them from Asia. The faunas of Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America also include many new genera awaiting naming and description but have received less attention. This relative lack of attention means that even identifying specimens belonging to described genera is difficult, because there are no comprehensive identification guides. International collaborative work is just beginning on two guides to beetle genera, one focused on Australia and one on southern South America, similar to the two-volume work American Beetles published in 2000 and 2002. Margaret Thayer is a coordinator of the rove beetle chapters of both guides, and hopes to describe the 20 currently known new genera from those areas so they can be included in these guides. The guides will promote more detailed work on those faunas by any researchers, including describing additional species, synthesizing information on all the species, and analyzing their distributions and evolution. This REU project will involve primarily describing one of the new genera (and, if necessary, new species) belonging to the subfamily Omaliinae, based on existing museum specimens from the collections of The Field Museum and others. The intern might also help with some aspects of work on other genera.
Research methods and techniques: Research work will include training in beetle skeletal morphology; dissecting, microscopy, and imaging techniques (probably including some SEM – scanning electron microscopy); databasing and georeferencing specimen collecting records; and using the georeferenced records to map the known distribution of one or more species. The intern will work with the sponsoring curator on writing, for publication, a modern description of the genus with illustrations (drawings, digital macro- and microphotos, SEM) and comparisons to other genera of Omaliinae. This project will provide experience with museum collections, entomological study techniques, and scientific literature on rove beetles. It may also involve developing and/or testing identification keys, potentially either traditional dichotomous or interactive ones. Although not directly involving the genus being studied, some local fieldwork would be possible to enable the intern to see other rove beetles in the field.
Curator/Advisor: Dr. Margaret Thayer (Zoology - Insects)
REU Intern: ANTHONY DECZYNSKI
Entomology/Wildlife Conservation double major
University of Delaware
Symposium Presentation Title: Wingless in Tasmania: A New Genus of Flightless Rove Beetle from Tasmania (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae)
Symposium Presentation Abstract: The family Staphylinidae – the rove beetles – is the largest family of beetles in the world and also one of the least understood. There are currently over 57,000 described species in over 3,600 genera and more are still being discovered at a rapid rate. In this project we describe a new flightless staphylinid genus from Tasmania belonging to the tribe Omaliini of the subfamily Omaliinae, extending knowledge of the highly endemic Australian fauna. We studied the beetles whole as dry specimens and in alcohol as well as cleared and dissected in permanent or temporary microscope slides. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allowed us to examine and image selected characters not clearly visible with optical microscopy. Using these sources of data we prepared descriptions and images of the beetles including species-specific genitalic structures and compiled all known distributional and ecological data. We added the genus into an ongoing phylogenetic analysis of World Omaliini by the second author to infer its phylogenetic placement. While we initially believed that this genus consisted of a single undescribed species from Tasmania we discovered that there are actually two species inhabiting different areas of that island. Several other genera of Omaliini have austral disjunct distributions that probably reflect an ancient origin on Gondwana. Our new genus needs to be compared carefully with several undescribed species of wingless Omaliinae known from southern New Zealand to assess whether they are all phylogenetically close – representing another disjunct genus – or convergently wingless. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32052000 |
A 4,000-year-old skeleton discovered in India is the oldest known archaeological evidence of leprosy. The fact that the skeleton survived suggests the person was an outcast: Hindu tradition calls for cremation, and only those deemed unfit were buried.
Before this skeleton was found, there was a question where the disease originated.
The latter half of the third millennium B.C. was a period of social complexity in this civilization, characterized by urbanization, a system of writing, standardized weights and measures, monumental architecture, and trade networks that stretched to Mesopotamia and beyond.
The presence of leprosy in India toward the end of this period indicates that M. leprae existed in South Asia at least 4000 years ago, which lends support to the idea that the disease migrated between Africa and Asia during a period of urbanization, increasing population density, and regular inter-continental trade networks. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32054000 |
Social skills of children with 22q11 Deletion Syndrome: A social cognitive neuroscience approach
The 22q11 DS is the most common genetic deletion syndrome. The deletion is believed to result in the dysregulation of the dopamine, GABA, and glutamate systems which, in turn, affects the prefrontal cortex, associated circuitry, and cognitive abilities governed by these brain regions. Research suggests that 22q11 DS children experience attention and executive function deficits; clinical observation also suggests impaired social abilities. This study sought to empirically identify if 22q11 DS children experience social skills, executive function, and/or executive attention impairments, and how these skills may be associated. A social cognitive neuroscience approach was used that attempted to relate these three areas of functioning (neurochemical, neurocognitive, and social). ^ The study was conducted as part of a longitudinal project at Rockefeller University. Fifty-one 22q11 DS children and 30 control participants took part in the study. Parents completed the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The children were administered two computerized tests, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: 64 - Computer Version (WCST: 64-CV) and the Attention Network Test for Children (ANT). ^ When compared with control participants, 22q11 DS children were found to: (1) have more impaired social skills, (2) be more likely to score in the clinically impaired range on the BRIEF global and subscale measures, and (3) have more perseverative responses and errors on the WCST: 64-CV. No significant group differences were found on the ANT; however a group x age interaction was detected. Correlational analysis revealed a significant, negative association between the BRIEF and SSRS total scores. A simple regression found that the BRIEF Global Composite score accounted for 42.4% of the variance in affected children's social skills. ^ Secondary analyses revealed significant associations between SSRS and BRIEF subscale scores. A multiple regression revealed that emotional control, planning, and monitoring skills were significant predictors of Total Social Skills Scores in affected children. A significant group x socio-economic status interaction was also found. ^ This study suggests that social and executive function skills are associated in 22q11 DS children. This has direct implications for remediation efforts and supports the validity of utilizing a social cognitive neuroscience approach. ^
Psychology, Developmental|Psychology, Clinical|Psychology, Physiological
"Social skills of children with 22q11 Deletion Syndrome: A social cognitive neuroscience approach"
(January 1, 2004).
ETD Collection for Fordham University. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32058000 |
Dorcas, a word which means "gazelle", was sometimes called Tabitha. She was a very kind person who spent her time caring for the widows of Joppa.
Dorcas lived in Joppa, a seaport town. She was a loving person who showed kindness to others and especially to the poor. She made coats for the widows so they would have something to keep them warm in the winter.
One day she became ill and died. Her friends were so sad and upset. Their dear friend was gone.
They had heard that Peter had been performing miracles of healing sick people. At this time no apostle had raised anyone from the dead, but Dorcas' friends believed that Peter could do even that, so they sent two men to Lydda, a nearby town where Peter was staying.
Peter went back to Joppa with the men, and when he got there, he was led to an upper room where her friends had laid Dorcas. The room was filled with widows who were crying and showing one another the coats and other clothing which Dorcas had made for them while she was alive. Each stitch showed her faithfulness and the love she had for them.
Peter told them all to leave the room, then he got down on his knees and prayed, asking God to bring life back into her still body. He said to her, "Tabitha, get up."
She opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her by the hand and she stood up.
He called for the people to come back into the room, and there they saw their friend, alive again. What joy they felt!
The news spread quickly through the town of Joppa. Dorcas is alive again! Because of the miracle many people believed in the Lord. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32079000 |
Graphic Design Exercises
InDesign: Lists & Dropcaps
To learn InDesign layout and production techniques by recreating
Drop caps and lists can be made easily in InDesign with just a click. But customizing these functions will require the use of character styles. In this exercise, we'll learn some tricks on how to make production of repetitive tasks more efficient.
A note on colored type: text type should only print in black or a solid ink color. If there are any tints (less than 100% of an ink color), the halftone dots will affect readability should there be any registration problems. In this exercise, we are making an exception by using two solid inks for the text type.
prepping for the exercise
- download starter files
- open "list.indd" in InDesign
- practice Adobe navigation keyboard shortcuts: space+cmd=zoom in; space+cmd+opt=zoom out; cmd+zero=fit in window
- practice InDesign preview shortcuts: opt+space=hand; cmd+opt+I (show/hide hidden characters); W (normal/preview mode)
making paragraph styles
- window > paragraph styles: edit basic paragraph: 12/16 ITC Century Book, hyphenation=no, justification=adobe single line composer, character color=green (note formula)
- style head: 36/32, fill=purple, make new paragraph style "h1"
- style intro: 14/18 italic, make new paragraph style "intro"
- style subheads: bold, fill=red, make new paragraph style "h2"
- apply style to other subheads
making character styles
- select initial cap character ("T"): remove italic, make new character style "book"
- insert sample ballot box character: window > glyphs: font= ITC Zapf Dingbats, choose solid square
- select bullet character: fill=none, stroke=.5 (green); make new character style "ballot box"
making a drop cop
- window > paragraph styles: edit "intro": drop cap: lines=2, character=1, character style=book
- adjust kerning
- select a range of list items
- window > paragraph: bullets & numbering (flyout menu), preview=on
- list type: bullet, add square Zapf dingbat, character style=ballot box, left indent=1p3, first line indent=–1p3
- make new paragraph style "ballot list"
- apply style to other list items
- clean up text (add forced line breaks)
- submit PDF in Angel for grading
- print and file graded proof in your 3-ring binder for individual review | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32083000 |
Today is the Day of the Census! No, it is not an April Fool’s joke. When you receive your Census form, all the questions asked are based on the status of your household today, April 1, 2010. The U.S. Census has been taken every 10 years since 1790 to ensure fair representation, taxation and fund allocation for our communities. As genealogists, the Census helps us determine the locality our ancestor lived, members of the household and their relationships, ages, marital status, birthplaces, immigration patterns, occupations, military service, and much more. When we receive our 2010 Census, we should take the time and complete our forms, so our future generations will be able to discover us on the 2010 Census. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32084000 |
Amos 1:1 identifies the author of the Book of Amos as the Prophet Amos.
Date of Writing:
The Book of Amos was likely written between 760 and 753 B.C.
Purpose of Writing:
Amos is a shepherd and a fruit picker from the Judean village of Tekoa when God calls him, even though he lacks an education or a priestly background. Amos' mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, Israel. His messages of impending doom and captivity for the nation because of her sins are largely unpopular and unheeded, however, because not since the days of Solomon have times been so good in Israel. Amos' ministry takes place while Jeroboam II reigns over Israel, and Uzziah reigns over Judah.
Amos 2:4, "This is what the LORD says: 'For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed."
Amos 3:7, "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets."
Amos 9:14, "I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit."
Amos can see that beneath Israel's external prosperity and power, internally the nation is corrupt to the core. The sins for which Amos chastens the people are extensive: neglect of God's Word, idolatry, pagan worship, greed, corrupted leadership and oppression of the poor. Amos begins by pronouncing a judgment upon all the surrounding nations, then upon his own nation of Judah, and finally the harshest judgment is given to Israel. His visions from God reveal the same emphatic message: judgment is near. The book ends with God's promise to Amos of future restoration of the remnant.
The Book of Amos ends with a glorious promise for the future. “’I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God” (9:15). The ultimate fulfillment of God’s land promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 15:7; 17:8) will occur during Christ’s millennial reign on earth (see Joel 2:26,27). Revelation 20 describes the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth, a time of peace and joy under the perfect government of the Savior Himself. At that time, believing Israel and the Gentile Christians will be combined in the Church and will live and reign with Christ.
Sometimes we think we are a "just-a"! We are just-a salesman, farmer or housewife. Amos would be considered a "just-a." He wasn't a prophet or priest or the son of either. He was just a shepherd, a small businessman in Judah. Who would listen to him? But instead of making excuses, Amos obeyed and became God's powerful voice for change.
God has used "just-a's" such as shepherds, carpenters, and fishermen all through the Bible. Whatever you are in this life, God can use you. Amos wasn't much. He was a "just-a." "Just-a" servant for God. It is good to be God's "just-a." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32099000 |
Functions and Variables in Physical Science Experiments
Almost all true science experiments involve designing a series of trials where one variable is manipulated and another variable changes as a result of this manipulation. All other variables are held constant. A variable is said to be a function of another variable if, for various values of x, it is possible to establish corresponding values of y, i.e. y = 6x.
In todayıs lab you will be working with various weights that can be hung on a spring. Work in pairs to determine any connections between the variables that you choose to investigate. Any spring will deform if you put a large amount of weight on it. The purpose of this lab is NOT to see how much weight a spring will take before it breaks or deforms. Deforming a spring by using an excess of weight, will ruin your experiment and it will force us to buy new springs. You can keep the lab fees from increasing if you use a reasonable amount of weight on the springs. Be nice to your springs.
When you have written a question and identified the variables you want to investigate, conduct an experiment to see what effect changing one variable has on another variable. Prior to beginning your experiment, you need to check your question and your procedure with your instructor. Please be sure to describe what experiment you are conducting and what materials you are using (the procedure) in your lab notebook (or if this is the first lab, use this sheet of paper). The level of detail you include in your procedure should allow someone to repeat your experiment just by reading your procedure. All data, observations, calculations, graphs, diagrams, etc. should be recorded in your lab notebook as well. Be sure to include appropriate units with all measurements and results of calculations. You will need to follow the rules for working with significant figures.
The expectations for this lab experiments are: a) you need to run a minimum of two different experiments, b) you need to collect a minimum of five data points for each experiment, c) you need to run each experiment twice and average your data, d) record your data for each experiment in a data table, e) there are at least two different types of springs, use them, describe them, make a comparison, f) for each experiment you do, plot a graph using the average values of your variables (when appropriate), g) identify at least two resulting relationships, h) include an algebraic expression (a mathematical equation and a written statement) describing the correlation between your variables, i) show how your data fits the equation.
Beginning Questions: In this lab you are faced with determining relationships between multiple variables. What are two initial questions that can be answered by doing this lab activity?
Procedure. Identify your dependent variable and your independent variable. What variables are kept constant?
Data/ Observations: (attach a separate piece of paper) Record all data and observations. Include appropriate units.
Graphs (attach graph paper). The dependent variable is plotted on the _____ axis and the independent variable is plotted on the _____ axis. Be sure to calculate the slope of each graph.
Claims: Based on the data collected, the graphs, etc. what claims can be made?
Evidence: Support your claims with appropriate evidence.
Reading/ Reflection: What are some of the principles that you have learned or applied in this lab? How does this compare to other groups? How does this compare to information found in a physics textbook? Compare graphs when using the thick wire/heavy spring vs. the thin wire/light spring, what physical variable does the slope of these graphs represent?
Please show how you arrived at your answers to each of the following questions using a) your algebraic expression, b) your graph. How does your equation or graph tell the difference between the two springs?
If a 63 gram weight is hung on the longer spring, what would be the amount of stretching? What would be the length of the spring? Does it make a difference if you investigate the length of the spring or the amount of stretching of the spring?
If a 63 gram weight is hung on the shorter spring, what would be the amount of stretching? What would be the length of the spring? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32105000 |
Paul Barry, organizer, SFFD Historical Society
On April 19th, 1906, this hydrant, now known as THE LITTLE GIANT, was found to have water. A hose lead was made, and the water supply from this hydrant has been credited with stopping the conflagration from advancing any further into the Mission district. In previous years, Chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, Joanne Hayes-White began the annual hydrant painting. Everyone present will be invited to join in with the painting of this famous hydrant.
*Please Note: The start time of this event coincides with the Lotta's Fountain ceremonies. As the SFFD is involved in both events, should the fountain ceremonies extend longer than planned, the Gold Hydrant painting ceremony will begin later than the scheduled 7:00 AM.
When: April 18, 2009 - 7:00 AM
Where: Gold Hydrant, 20th & Church Streets
Relevance: A traditional 1906 Earthquake and Fire commemoration ceremony, happening annually for more than 35 years.
Audience: General public
Contact: For more information, contact: Paul Barry, SFFD, 415-706-7994 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32106000 |
I watched the movie Die Hard for the nth time over the weekend. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that John McClane is like a modern John Wayne, and John Wayne is the quintessential American hero of our stories.
What defines the American hero?
First, there's rugged individualism, which is probably the most American trait. I feel the need to point out that rugged individualism is not the same as the selfish libertine attitude that modern Hollywood writers like to give protagonists. It's not individualism without a care for others, or doing things differently just to be different. Rugged individualism means stubborn self-sufficiency and a willingness to fight against any odds.
Most of John Wayne most memorable characters are polite and soft-spoken, but also no-nonsense persons who don't let law or manners get in the way of justice (if they were D&D characters, their alignment would be Neutral Good). Wayne usually ends up punching somebody. McClane isn't so polite -- definitely rough around the edges -- but he's similarly decisive in response to problems and quick to give jerks their due.
The American hero doesn't want to be heroic. He wants a quiet, ordered life; but he accepts a personal duty to protect the weak against evil and injustice. Incidentally, the American hero is in this sense very similar to the farmer-soldier of ancient Rome -- he does his duty, then returns to a quiet, humble life.
The American hero is humble (which is definitely harder to see in McClane). In the film McClintock, Wayne's character owns most of the land around town and is a sort of unofficial mayor, yet most of the townsfolk admire him because he's fair and respects the lowliest people. He's gives money to the town bum, despite knowing the money will be spent on liquor, and jokes around with the bum as a friend. He's friends with the same indians who put arrows in him years ago, and even represents them against his own government. The American hero is usually uneducated, relying on street smarts and a poor man's wisdom.
Which, perhaps, is another characteristic of the American hero: an open heart. He's friends with unlikely people... people who are very different from him. He might not even understand them, but he still travels with them, jokes with them, and fights for them. You see this with McClane, too, in the way he befriends a young, aloof limo driver or an eccentric airport groundskeeper. The American hero isn't multicultural. Wayne and McClane aren't worldly. They are proud of their own culture and not too interested in learning others, but they are accepting of people from any origin.
What else might be a characteristic of the archetypal American hero?
And can you think of any game characters that come close? I think the Master Chief in Halo and Marcus Fenix in Gears of War might.
I've asked my English friend, David, to describe who he thinks is the quintessential British/English hero from film and literature. His gut reaction was Sean Connery as James Bond. I'll be interested to see how American heroes compare to heroes of other cultures. My guess is that heroes cross-culturally are basically the same, but there are a number of significant nuances. Humility, for example, is not a virtue in all cultures. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32112000 |
The Role of Assessment in Teaching ED 670 Glinda & Cresta August 1, 2005 Presentation Overview Classroom Assessment Classroom assessment is the collection, evaluation ...
The Role of Assessment in Teaching.ppt - Search assessment glinda cresta august presentation overview classroom evaluation
Teaching What is it? Teaching How should mathematics be taught? So as a teacher what does research tell us: What is most important? Content? Pedagogy?
Definitions of Teaching taken in part from B. O. Smith’s Definitions of Teaching Operational Definitions of Teaching "the action of a person who teaches; the ...
Book: Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching Author: Diana Larsen-Freeman Second Edition, 12 chapters Slide production: Dr. H. Iravani Shahriar Center
TEACHING STUDENTS TO READ INFORMATIONAL TEXT Reference: What Research Has To Say About Reading Instruction, by Alan E. Farstrup (2002) Advocate for the explicit ...
TEACHING_STUDENTS_TO_READ_INFORMATIONAL_TEXT.ppt - Search students informational research about reading farstrup advocate explicit
Teaching Techniques and Strategies in Foreign Languages Presented by Dr. G. Sakinah Abdur-Rashied, Assistant Professor of Modern Foreign Languages
INNOVATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES Chris Keegan, CST, MS, FAST Vincennes University Teaching Strategies Begin with assessing your students Understand their LEARNING ...
2009_Conference_Innovative_Teaching_Strategies.ppt - Search innovative strategies chris vincennes university begin assessing understand their learning
Teaching Communication Skills to Healthcare Professionals: Role play & Role modeling Lee Grumbles, MD Department of Internal Medicine Palliative Care Program
How To Survive Your First Year Teaching Melissa Kettner Special Topics Project CEP 841 “Overwhelming and Not Without Tears.” This is how too many first-year ...
How To Survive Your First Year Teaching.ppt - Search survive first melissa kettner special topics project overwhelming without first-year
Co-Teaching Team 2 AKA (Dan DeLuca, Jen Borman, Tim Jump, Regina Ratzlaff & Christine Nystrom) What is Co-Teaching Two (or more) educators or other certified staff ...
Teaching Plot Structure Through Short Stories Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and ...
PlotStructure.pps - Search structure through short stories literary element describes shows causal arrangement events
Teaching Across Generations Effective Teaching and Learning Department email@example.com © 2005 Baker College Opening Activity Take a few moments to think ...
Suffering or Having Fun - Importance of perceived workload in teaching with computer simulation POON, Tat Hong (Ted) Department of Management The Hong Kong ...
ted.ppt - Search suffering having importance perceived workload computer simulation department management
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Quotations Complied by Diana Dell, Ed.S. It is possible to store the mind with millions of facts and still be entirely uneducated.
Teaching for Successful Intelligence Robert J. Sternberg Yale University Contact Information Robert J. Sternberg, Director PACE Center Department of Psychology Yale ...
sternberg.ppt - Search successful intelligence robert sternberg contact information director center psychology
Teaching Procedures and Skills Jennifer Peel, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology Director of Education, GME Office Remember being taught procedures in 3rd Year?
Teaching Reading Comprehension in the Middle School Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago firstname.lastname@example.org Why teach reading in the middle school?
Teaching Creativity and Teaching for Creativity What is Creativity? The Definition of Creativity: » “The application of knowledge and skills in new ways, to ...
TEACHING IN A MULTICULTURAL SETTING Introduction Globalization & technological advancement created new complex problems. Cultures bring together diverse backgrounds ...
walingo.PPT - Search multicultural setting introduction globalization technological advancement created complex cultures bring together diverse backgrounds
Teaching Styles Michele B. Lundy M.D. University of Arizona Faculty Development March 5, 2009 Facilitative Style Elicits/accepts student feelings Offers feelings ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32115000 |
عالم حواء للرشاقة و الجمال و احدث الازياء و الموضة و ديكور المنزل و كل ما يهم العروسة , فساتين افراح , دبل الخطوبة و اطقم ذهب , العناية بالشعر و البشرة مع وصفات حصرية بالفيديو من مطبخ همسه
الاثنين، 29 أغسطس، 2011
What is a Pennyweight of Gold? What is a Gram of Gold?
These are the most frequently asked questions we receive at GoldFellow. It's problematic for everyone as it doesn't relate to any measurement we currently use in our daily life. Pennyweights, however are still commonly used in the U.S. jewelry industry but we prefer to use the more accurate and globally recognized Grams (metric) as our unit of measure.
There are 20 pennyweights also referred to as DWT in an ounce. There are also 31.1 grams in an ounce. As we are talking about precious metals I'll use gold in my example throughout this post.
Many of our customers are weighing their valuables on home kitchen or postal scales of either mechanical or digital make. Most measure in grams and ounces, particularly when weighing food. The grams shown on your scale are not the same as the grams used in gold! You are measuring on a device that uses 28 grams per ounce while gold is measured in troy ounces. There are 31.1 grams per Troy ounce. The simplest way to use your home scale is to multiply the number showing as ounces by 20. That's it. If your scale shows 3.5 oz you have approximately 70 pennyweight. 1.5oz is about 30 pennyweight and so on. (Same for silver and platinum)
Ok, now for measuring your gold in grams. The scale shows 3.5 ounces. Multiply by 31.1 and it comes to 108.85 grams of gold. If it's 1.5 oz x 31.1=46.65 grams.
Lastly, if you would like to know a price per gram, follow this formula. $20 per pennyweight is$12.86 per gram. To convert simply divide $20 by 1.555=$12.86. Try $18 dwt divided by 1.555 and you get $11.58 gram
As the founder of the largest wholesale gold jewelry manufacturer in the United States, I built a reputation upon doing business ethically. My company supplied gold jewelry to the most respected jewelry stores, department stores, discount big box retailers and TV shopping networks in America. Though I sold my company to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire-Hathaway in 2007, my reputation in the jewelry industry remains impeccable.
Our founders began selling gold jewelry to America's leading jewelry retailers in 1977, ultimately becoming the largest manufacturer and distributor of gold jewelry in the United States. During 30 years of working in the gold jewelry industry, GoldFellow’s™ founders sold and distributed over 50 million pieces of 10kt, 14kt and 18kt gold jewelry such as chains, bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings and more. That's over 300 tons of GOLD!
Over the course of time, many of these jewelry items ended up in drawers, locked away for safe keeping or at the bottom of your jewelry box.
These gold items are made from precious metal, and with gold prices at an all time high, have significant value when sold to the right company. GoldFellow™ is that company. GoldFellow™ was started with the goal of providing consumers a trusted, safe and convenient way to sell their unwanted gold, platinum and silver jewelry for cash. We now offer our 30 years of expertise to you. GoldFellow’s™ mission is to pay you top dollar for your gold, platinum and silver | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32116000 |
(HealthDay News) -- Nosebleeds are common during childhood, especially during the preschool years. Though they can be scary, they usually aren't caused by a serious problem.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says common causes of nosebleeds include:
- Allergies or a cold, which can lead to nasal swelling or irritation.
- Trauma to the nose, from blowing too hard, picking or putting an object in the nose.
- Exposure to a very dry environment or harsh fumes.
- An abnormal anatomical structure of the nose.
- An abnormal growth inside the nose.
- A blood-clotting problem.
- Taking medication that dries out the nasal passages.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32119000 |
A new study challenges previous work that found a link between marijuana use and lower IQ, but the authors of the original paper stand by their findings.
Last August, Madeline Meier of Duke University and her colleagues published the results of a study assessing the effect of marijuana use on cognition, as measured by IQ. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that people who started using cannabis weekly before they turned 18 and continued to use heavily into adulthood lost an average of eight IQ points over that period. That’s enough to move someone with an average IQ of 100 from the 50th percentile of scores down to the 29th percentile.
The study also showed that this level of decline was seen mostly in about 8% of people who started using cannabis early and qualified for a diagnosis of marijuana addiction no fewer than three times between ages 18 and 38. The results suggested that marijuana was having a negative effect on brain development.
But now another analysis published in the same journal calls the IQ findings into question. Although the initial research involved a relatively large number of participants and controlled for factors such as alcohol dependence and schizophrenia that might also affect cognitive development, the new study suggests that the original one did not account for the effects of poverty, which can affect the way IQ changes over time. Using mathematical modeling, the new research found that because education can affect the trajectory of IQ development differently in people of different socioeconomic status, the environment, and not marijuana, may be the source of the poorer cognitive development.
“[Their] statistical models are unable to distinguish between a causal effect of cannabis on IQ-development and a non-causal correlation,” Ole Rogeberg, the author of the study and a research economist at the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway, said in an e-mail discussing the work. In the paper itself, he puts it more bluntly, “[The] estimated effect on of adolescent-onset cannabis use on IQ is likely biased and the true effect could be zero. It would be too strong to say that the results have been discredited but fair to say that the methodology is flawed and the causal inference drawn from these results is premature.”
The authors of the original paper disagree. In a statement they released by e-mail responding to the criticism, they write: “Dr. Rogeberg’s…challenge is based on simulations. We used actual data on 1,037 people to carry out the analyses he suggested. While Dr. Rogeberg’s ideas are interesting, they are not supported by our data.” Meier and her colleagues also note that in their investigation, only 23% of the participants were from lower-income families, which made it unlikely that the effect of poverty was strong enough to skew the results for the entire group. They examined both middle and low socioeconomic groups and saw IQ changes linked to marijuana use in both. “By restricting our analysis to only include children from middle-class homes, our findings of IQ decline in adolescent-onset cannabis users remain unaltered, thereby suggesting that the decline in IQ cannot be attributed to socioeconomic factors alone,” they wrote.
Still, Rogeberg claims that poor children tend to start smoking pot at a much younger age than rich or middle-class kids do. Early exposure to marijuana and other recreational drugs is linked to a higher risk of addiction, which the Duke study found connected to IQ loss.
Marijuana may also lead to higher dropout and expulsion rates from school, which may be an indirect way that marijuana is connected to IQ. “As you consider groups with higher and higher exposure to cannabis, these groups will have higher and higher shares of participants from low SES backgrounds,” says Rogeberg, who also notes that other research has not found a connection between teen marijuana use and lowered IQ.
“The issues raised by Rogeberg are those that confound all observational studies: no matter how carefully controlled a study appears to be, there are always other variables that may alter the conclusions once they are uncovered,” says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “In fact, for something like IQ, it would be surprising for one variable to be 100% causal to a particular outcome.”
Neither research group is insisting that is the case; clearly IQ is affected by myriad factors that scientists are only beginning to tally. But whether marijuana is directly affecting brain development — or whether factors like school dropout or expulsion are more influential — is not yet clear. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32121000 |
Joseph Smith may have been alone when he experienced his First Vision and subsequently met with the angel Moroni, but he did not stand alone in his home. His mother, father, and siblings formed a supportive family network. He could confide in his parents. He could rely on his siblings. Joseph’s wife, Emma, bore with Joseph the demands and strains of leadership, opposition, and persecution. Other friends, such as Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David and John Whitmer, stood with Joseph as he brought forth the Book of Mormon, organized the Church, and embarked upon his quest to build a Zion society.
Equally notable among those whose connections strengthened and sustained Joseph during his many trials and travails were the extended Knight family and their neighbors in Colesville, New York. Allying themselves with the young Joseph Smith, they followed him into the budding Church, defended him, and formed the nucleus of one of the first branches of the Church. The story of the Knights and the Colesville Branch testifies of the power of kinship and friendship in the restoration of the gospel and the building up of the Lord’s kingdom.
The story of the Colesville Saints began with Joseph’s visits to the region in the mid-1820s, when he began working for Josiah Stowell of neighboring South Bainbridge, New York, in a failed treasure-seeking venture. Though that quest proved unsuccessful, it yielded Joseph Smith’s close friendship with Joseph Knight Sr. and his son Newel Knight. Later, Joseph Knight Sr. aided Joseph in his courtship of Emma Hale. He was present at the Smith homestead the night Joseph Smith, with Emma’s help, retrieved the Book of Mormon plates from the Hill Cumorah, and he provided food and writing materials to Joseph Smith during the Book of Mormon translation.
Knight family members and some of their neighbors were among the first to join the Church in 1830. Later that year, they became the nucleus of one of the first (if not the first) branches organized in the Church. In July 1830, Joseph was counseled in two revelations now found in Doctrine and Covenants 24 and 26 to visit the members in Colesville, including the Knights, to devote his time to “studying the Scriptures & to preaching & to confirming the Church at Colesvill” (see D&C 26:1). Hyrum Smith stayed in the area in late 1830 and presided over the branch for several months. His successor was Joseph Knight Sr.’s son Newel.
The Move to Ohio
When instructions were given in December 1830 and January 1831 (D&C 37 and 38) for the New York members to move to the Ohio Valley region, the Colesville Branch members made significant financial sacrifices and prepared themselves for the move west. The families associated with the Colesville Branch included, among others, the Knights, Pecks, DeMills, Stringhams, Culvers, Slades, Badgers, Hineses, and Carters. Everyone was expected to gather in Ohio, and the poor were not to be left behind. Setting aside their former lives and homes, the branch, under Newel Knight’s leadership, began the journey to the Kirtland area in April 1831. When they arrived in May, they were advised to “remain together, and go to a neighboring town called Thompson, as a man by the name of [Leman] Copley had a considerable tract of land there which he offered to let the brethren occupy.”
Copley had offered his land perhaps in response to an earlier revelation (D&C 48) given to answer a key question among the Ohio Saints in early 1831: “What preperations we shall make for our Brethren from the East & when & how?” The revelation answered, “[I]nasmuch as ye [have] lands ye shall impart to the Eastern Brethren” (see D&C 48:2). Copley welcomed the Colesville Branch and shortly after their arrival in Thompson they began to plant and build on his ample 759-acre farm.
On May 20, Joseph Smith received another revelation, now identified as Doctrine and Covenants 51, directing those who settled in Thompson to be among the first to practice the recently revealed principles of consecration and stewardship. Newly called Bishop Edward Partridge was to “receive the properties of this People which have covenanted with me” and “appoint unto this People their portion every man alike according to their families according to their wants & their needs” (see D&C 51:3). Although the revelation made it clear that Ohio would be a temporary gathering location, they were reminded that the “hour & the day is not given unto them” for their anticipated move to the future city of Zion. They were to “act upon this land as for years” (see D&C 51:17).
However, the Colesville Branch members had precious little time to comply with the commandment to implement the law of consecration. Leman Copley’s resolve to impart of his land was put to the test in early May when he participated in a mission to his former Shaker congregation. The experience seemed to raise doubts that weakened his testimony, and shortly after his return to Thompson he broke his agreement and evicted the Saints from his property. In June 1831, their future clouded and their lives in disarray, the Knights and other members of the Colesville Branch sought counsel and guidance from Joseph Smith as to what they should do next.
Instruction came in the form of a revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants 54: “Take your Journey
s into the regions westward unto Missorie unto the borders of the Lamanites & after you have done Journeying Behold I say unto you seek ye a living like unto men untill I prepare a place for you & again be patient in tribulation” (see D&C 54:8-10). Newel Knight later described the situation, “We now understood that [Ohio] was not the land of our inheritance—the land of promise, for it was made known in a revelation that Missouri was the place chosen for the gathering of the church, and several were called to lead the way to that state.” Banding together once again, the Colesville members prepared for their journey. They selected Newel Knight to continue to preside over them despite his previous call, by revelation, to serve a proselytizing mission (see D&C 52). In a revelation canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 56, he was authorized to set aside his mission call and instead travel to Missouri as the head of the Colesville Branch.
The Move to Missouri
Leaving Thompson in early June 1831, sixty members of the branch reached Kaw Township in Jackson County, Missouri, on July 26 after a journey of about a thousand miles. Though Joseph Smith had arrived shortly before the Colesville Saints, they had the distinction of being the first branch of the Church to settle the land that had been dedicated as Zion on August 2, 1831, by Sidney Rigdon. Sadly, Joseph Knight Sr.’s wife, Polly, died a few days after their arrival. According to his later history, Joseph Smith “attended the funeral of sister Polly [Peck] Knight. … This was the first death in the church in this land, and I can say a worthy member sleeps in Jesus till the resurrection.”
That same day, Joseph received the revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants 59, outlining how the Church was to observe the Lord’s day. In that revelation, the Lord included words of comfort for Polly Knight’s family and friends: “Blessed … are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory according to my Commandments for them that live shall inherit the earth and them that die shall rest from all their labours & their works shall follow them they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father which I have prepared for them” (see D&C 59:1-2).
Joseph Smith visited his friends in the Colesville Branch in Missouri again in April 1832. On that occasion, Joseph sealed the members of the branch up to eternal life.During the Jackson County mobbing of 1833, the Colesville Branch fled with many other Saints into neighboring Clay County. They settled together there for a time, even building a chapel. However, once the Church moved on to Caldwell County in 1836, the branch membership was scattered and their time together as one of the first organized units in the Church came to an end.
The Knights and others from the former branch joined many of the Saints in escaping to Illinois in the aftermath of the Missouri Mormon War of 1838. The Knights settled in the Nauvoo area and remained faithful members of the Church and friends of Joseph Smith. After Joseph’s martyrdom in 1844, the Knight family followed the leadership of the Quorum of the Twelve. Both Joseph Knight Sr. and his son Newel died in 1847 during the exodus from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley.
For more on the sections mentioned in this article, see the forthcoming volume, Michael Hubbard MacKay, Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, Grant Underwood, Robert J. Woodford, William G. Hartley, eds. Documents: July 1828-June 1831. First volume of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2013. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32122000 |
This is the recording of the large Kermadec Islands earthquake of June 6, 2011, recorded on our schools seismology SEP seismometer here at Keele University in the UK.
Being at an epicentral distance of 155.3° from the epicentre, the first arrival is the PP phase as the direct P-wave is obstructed by the core.
The event is somewhat unusual as one would normally expect an earthquake of this magnitude along a subduction system to be a low-angle thrust event along the plate boundary between the Pacific and Australian Plates dipping gently to the west. However, the CMT focal mechanism determined is one of a normal fault. This event is right on the trench so it was possibly caused as the subducting Pacific Plate is forced to flex in order to subduct beneath the Australian Plate. The historical data show a magnitude 6.6 event from 2008, also on the position of the trench with a similar mechanism.
The ‘quake seems to have caused a ~1m tsunami wave locally but a more regional tsunami alert was cancelled.
Further details from the USGS. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32140000 |
Data appendix for economic growth in the long run
AbstractThis extended data appendix describes the sources and methods used to construct the data used in our paper "Economic Growth in the Long Run."
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 41325.
Date of creation: 14 Sep 2012
Date of revision:
physical capital; human capital; investment; schooling;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- O11 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O47 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
- O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Schoellman, Todd, 2008.
"The Causes and Consequences of Cross-Country Differences in Schooling Attainment,"
9243, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Todd Schoellman, 2007. "The Causes and Consequences of Cross-Country Differences in Schooling Attainment," 2007 Meeting Papers 297, Society for Economic Dynamics.
Blog mentionsAs found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
- The latest on growth accounting
by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-10-11 14:41:00
by himaginary in himaginaryの日記 on 2012-10-13 07:00:00
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Ekkehart Schlicht).
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32146000 |
Photo: Scott Zona
There is nothing more emblematic of spring and summer than flowers, but why do plants have flowers, and how did they evolve?
Botanists know that flowering plants, that is, plants that reproduce by producing seeds, evolved from non-flowering plants. According to evolutionary theory, nature would have selected plants with flowering tendencies because it gave these plants a reproductive advantage. It’s within the protective casing of flower petals, after all, that flowers are pollinated and make seeds. The strategy has been hugely successful. The vast majority of plants today are flowering plants.
The precise origin of flowering plants, though, is puzzling. In fact, exactly when, how, and why plants first developed flowers remains one of the biggest mysteries of evolutionary paleontology.
However, two discoveries have begun to unravel the mystery of how plants got flowers. Four years ago, scientists in China found a fossil of the oldest known flowering plant. The reed-like plants lived at least 125 million years ago in a lake, suggesting that flowering plants first evolved in water. The scientists speculate that the plant’s seeds floated along the shore and germinated near the banks.
More recently, scientist William Friedman of the University of Colorado found a clue in a plant called Amborella trichopoda, which grows in South Pacific rain forests. The plant’s female reproductive system has an extra, sterile egg cell. Friedman thinks that the extraneous part is a remnant from a more primitive reproductive apparatus and could link the plant to non-flowering plants like pines and firs.
The origin of flowers is still a difficult puzzle, of course, but with further discoveries and research, flowering plants will become a bit less mysterious. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32153000 |
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Rekhta: Rekhta was language of common man (lingua franca) in Indo-Muslim society in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. It was a mixture of various languages adopted by Lakshkar (army) in its camp (Urdu) and gradually followed by the people in cities (Hindavi or Dehlavi) especially among those who had converted to Islam.
Authority Referred: J. L. Mehta: Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India; Vol III: Medieval Indian Society and Culture.
Amira Khusaro ka Hindavi kavya: Springara sangraha ki Barlina prati sahita
Hindavi bhasha aura usaka sahitya: Visesha sandarbha sekha Asarapha ka Nausarahara
A House Divided: The Origin and Development of Hindi/Hindavi | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32161000 |
The Barren Isles archipelago, off the west coast of Madagascar in the Mozambique Channel, is one of the few remaining refuges of marine life in the western Indian Ocean. In addition to housing some of Madagascar’s healthiest and most productive coral reefs, this diverse ecosystem supports more than 4,000 traditional vezo fishers. The vezo live along Madagascar’s west coast and rely almost exclusively on the sea for survival and cultural identity. …
14 Jun 2013 | Article
Inspiring Places - Promote your Protected Area
The most viewed pages of our website
Inspiring Places are the most viewed section of our website, your text will not only be on the homepage of the website for 2 weeks, it will also be an integral part of our bi-monthly newsletter.
If you would like to promote your protected area, please email Delwyn firstname.lastname@example.org with the following information
- Approximately 15 high resolution images of the protected area (together with an authorization allowing IUCN to use these images on Flickr
- 1 map
- About an A4 Page of text including:
- Short background: about 150 words describing the PA, its conservation objectives, the IUCN category, the management authority, the governance arranagements, and other relevant information, e.g. if it has world heritage status;
- Context, location and size: Something about the region where it is located, the size of the PA in square kilometers, and other PAs in the vicinity, including transboundary context;
- Biodiversity and cultural features protected: a short description of about 150 words, giving information on geology, fauna and flora, cultural features, species on the IUCN Red List etc.
- Threats: Describe threats to the site and what is being done to address threats
It would certainly be helpful if you could check the current information on the PA in ProtectedPlanet, to ensure that the information is correct, and to make a submission on ProtectedPlanet if you find discrepancies.See www.protectedplanet.net
If you would like to write it in another language than english that’s fine, we just need a translation, but as for the Canadian sites we will put both languages up. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32162000 |
More sharks on the Red List – Expert workshop releases findings on the status of North and Central American shark and ray populations
25 June 2004 | News story
Gland, Switzerland, 25 June 2004 (IUCN - The World Conservation Union). The number of species of sharks and rays on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is set to grow. This was the finding of a week-long expert workshop at Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, to examine the conservation status of the species found in North and Central American waters.
Workshop findings confirm the widely-held belief that slow growing sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to over-fishing, but also reveal that species can recover from depletion if strict management is imposed before populations reach critical levels. The results highlight how species can become endangered through incidental catch, without being the target of fisheries. In many cases, species of “Least Concern” in US waters still face serious threats from unregulated fishing off Mexico and Central America.
Nearly 200 species of sharks and rays in the region were evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Categories range from "Extinct" to "Least Concern" and "Data Deficient." Species classified as "Vulnerable," "Endangered" or "Critically Endangered," are considered threatened with extinction and are added to the global Red List. The Red List Categories and Criteria were also used to assess certain regional and specific populations, as well as global ones. The Shark Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, which convened the meeting, will compile the assessments into a report that will include recommendations for conservation action.
Proposed additions to the Red List include the oceanic whitetip shark of the Gulf of Mexico and New England's thorny skate, both classified as "Critically Endangered," as well as two species of hammerhead sharks, now considered "Endangered." The demise of the oceanic whitetip is blamed on incidental catch (or "bycatch") in high seas tuna and swordfish fisheries combined with demand for their fins. Hammerhead populations have declined due to a combination of factors including recreational over-fishing, high commercial value of their fins and bycatch. Thorny skate was taken from US waters for a European market until last year, but is still caught incidentally in regional fisheries for cod, haddock and flounder.
Participants heightened the alarm over the US Atlantic sand tiger shark, which is proposed to move from a "Vulnerable" listing to the more serious "Endangered" classification. This species produces only two young every two years and is not recovering despite being protected since 1999. The group proposed to retain the 2000 "Vulnerable" classification for the protected Atlantic dusky shark, but stressed an urgent need for a more in-depth population assessment for this exceptionally slow-growing species.
The workshop did reveal some good news for sharks. Thanks to a decade of catch controls, the US population of commercially-important blacktip sharks has been rebuilding and its IUCN threat status was proposed this week as "Least Concern”. The species is still considered threatened off Central America due to the lack of fishing regulations and persistent fishing pressure outside the US. The threat status of barndoor skate off New England was proposed for downlisting from "Endangered" to "Near Threatened" based on a steady population increase over many years, while the Canadian population remains "Endangered."
More than 50 experts took part in the meeting, including scientists from government agencies, universities, private institutions and researchers from Central America. The workshop was the fifth in a global series to assess all the world's shark and ray species and develop regional conservation priorities. Resulting Red List proposals are preliminary until accepted by the global Shark Specialist Group network.
Anna Knee or Andrew McMullin, IUCN/SSC Communications Officers, email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.org; Tel: +41 22 999 0153 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32163000 |
Mediterranean Seagrass Meadows: Resilience and Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation
16 May 2012 | Media advisory
This new study will be presented in Málaga during the Seagrass meadows event in Spain and provides an insight into their potential for carbon sequestration at a time when carbon credit schemes are becoming increasingly important in combating climate change.
Published by IUCN and produced by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, this document is a short summary of a technical report on the current state of affairs in the Mediterranean basin and a must-read for policy-makers.
Authors of the book place special attention to the impact of climate change on Mediterranean seagrass ecosystems and their role they play in mitigating the effects of climate change, in respect of extreme weather events and blue carbon sequestration.
• What are the impacts of climate change on Magnoliophyta in the Mediterranean?
“Mediterranean seagrass meadows reflect the history and biogeograhical diversity of this particular area”, says Alain Jeudy de Grissac, Coordinator of IUCN-Med Marine Programme. “Along with the disruptions brought about by many human pressures, climate change could lead to a general warming of the Mediterranean with ‘meridionalization’ or even ‘tropicalization’ depending on the sector, and to increasing frequency of the sea water events”.
• What is resilience? “This new concept represents an exercise in realism, aiming to accommodate the idea that ecosystems change within and between various stable states”, says Gérard Pergent, one of the study coordinators from Corse University (France). “Depending on the characteristics specific to the various species of Magnoliophyta found in the Mediterranean (physiological, biological and ecological), their resilience, adjustment stability and capacity to adapt may differ”
• How much seagrass may contribute to climate change mitigation? “Seagrasses play a significant but quantitatively moderate role in carbon sequestration globally. They are estimated to account for 40% of the carbon stored each year by coastal vegetation”, says Miguel Ángel Mateo, Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CSIC-Spain) “ “It is the large carbon stock accumulated during thousands of years what makes seagrasses potentially highly valuable in the context of global warming. Specifically, it is estimated that Posidonia oceanica is retaining up to 89% of the total CO2 emitted by all Mediterranean countries since the Industrial Revolution.
Materials for the Media:
• Photos for download here
IMPORTANT: Please note that these images can only be used to promote this book.
Media Team: email@example.com | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32164000 |
Yesterday I described the Gates Foundation’s Measuring Effective Teachers (MET) project as “an expensive flop.” To grasp just what a flop the project was, it’s important to consider what success would have looked like. If the project had produced what Gates was hoping, it would have found that classroom observations were strong, independent predictors of other measures of effective teaching, like student test score gains. Even better, they were hoping that the combination of classroom observations, student surveys, and previous test score gains would be a much better predictor of future test score gains (or of future classroom observations) than any one of those measures alone. Unfortunately, MET failed to find anything like this.
If MET had found classroom observations to be strong predictors of other indicators of effective teaching and if the combination of measures were a significantly better predictor than any one measure alone, then Gates could have offered evidence for the merits of a particular mixing formula or range of mixing formulas for evaluating teachers. That evidence could have been used to good effect to shape teacher evaluation systems in Chicago, LA, and everywhere else.
They also could have genuinely reassured teachers anxious about the use of test score gains in teacher evaluations. MET could have allayed those concerns by telling teachers that test score gains produce information that is generally similar to what is learned from well-conducted classroom observations, so there is no reason to oppose one and support the other. What’s more, significantly improved predictive power from a mixture of classroom observations with test score gains could have made the case for why we need both.
MET was also supposed to have helped us adjudicate among several commonly used rubrics for classroom observations so that we would have solid evidence for preferring one approach over another. Because MET found that classroom observations in general are barely related to other indicators of teacher effectiveness, the study told us almost nothing about the criteria we should use in classroom observations.
In addition, the classroom observation study was supposed to help us identify the essential components of effective teaching . That knowledge could have informed improved teacher training and professional development. But because MET was a flop (because classroom observations barely correlate with other indicators of teacher effectiveness and fail to improve the predictive power of a combined measure), we haven’t learned much of anything about the practices that are associated with effective teaching. If we can’t connect classroom observations with effective teaching in general, we certainly can’t say much about the particular aspects of teaching that were observed that most contributed to effective teaching.
Just so you know that I’m not falsely attributing to MET these goals that failed to be realized, look at this interview from 2011 of Bill Gates by Jason Riley in the Wall Street Journal. You’ll clearly see that Bill Gates was hoping that MET would do what I described above. It failed to do so. Here is what the interview revealed about the goals of MET:
Of late, the foundation has been working on a personnel system that can reliably measure teacher effectiveness. Teachers have long been shown to influence students’ education more than any other school factor, including class size and per-pupil spending. So the objective is to determine scientifically what a good instructor does.
“We all know that there are these exemplars who can take the toughest students, and they’ll teach them two-and-a-half years of math in a single year,” he says. “Well, I’m enough of a scientist to want to say, ‘What is it about a great teacher? Is it their ability to calm down the classroom or to make the subject interesting? Do they give good problems and understand confusion? Are they good with kids who are behind? Are they good with kids who are ahead?’
“I watched the movies. I saw ‘To Sir, With Love,’” he chuckles, recounting the 1967 classic in which Sidney Poitier plays an idealistic teacher who wins over students at a roughhouse London school. “But they didn’t really explain what he was doing right. I can’t create a personnel system where I say, ‘Go watch this movie and be like him.’”
Instead, the Gates Foundation’s five-year, $335-million project examines whether aspects of effective teaching—classroom management, clear objectives, diagnosing and correcting common student errors—can be systematically measured. The effort involves collecting and studying videos of more than 13,000 lessons taught by 3,000 elementary school teachers in seven urban school districts.
“We’re taking these tapes and we’re looking at how quickly a class gets focused on the subject, how engaged the kids are, who’s wiggling their feet, who’s looking away,” says Mr. Gates. The researchers are also asking students what works in the classroom and trying to determine the usefulness of their feedback.
Mr. Gates hopes that the project earns buy-in from teachers, which he describes as key to long-term reform. “Our dream is that in the sample districts, a high percentage of the teachers determine that this made them better at their jobs.” He’s aware, though, that he’ll have a tough sell with teachers unions, which give lip service to more-stringent teacher evaluations but prefer existing pay and promotion schemes based on seniority—even though they often end up matching the least experienced teachers with the most challenging students.
The final MET reports produced virtually nothing that addressed these stated goals. But in Orwellian fashion, the Gates folks have declared the project to be a great success. I never expected MET to work because I suspect that effective teaching is too heterogeneous to be captured well by a single formula. There is no recipe for effective teaching because kids and their needs are too varied, teachers and their abilities are too varied, and the proper matching of student needs and teacher abilities can be accomplished in many different ways. But this is just my suspicion. I can’t blame the Gates Foundation for trying to discover the secret sauce of effective teaching, but I can blame them for refusing to admit that they failed to find it. Even worse, I blame them for distorting, exaggerating, and spinning what they did find.
(edited for typos) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32171000 |
Watching an episode of Modern Family had me thinking about the importance of being able to have a context for understanding of so many things we are confronted with on a daily basis. Cameron, the big gay guy, was wandering the streets looking for Stella, the lost dog Jay adores. As he shouts out ‘Stella’, he realises he is wearing a tshirt very like the one worn by Marlon Brando who played Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee William’s, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire‘. His cries for Stella become more impassioned as a result. For me, the joke was obvious, but my two children, having no context, had to ask why was I laughing.
Today, I was reading an answer on Quora, and it made mention of Alexander the Great and Bucephalus. I was immediately taken back to my obsession with all things Ancient Greek in my first year at Teacher’s College. But once again, it had me wondering. How many times a day do we not entirely grasp the full intentions of information we read or view, because we don’t have enough context to understand it in it’s entirety? How much does our formal education play a part in our general knowledge base, and is that determined by the teachers you had or your ability to ferret for information yourself?
In Victoria’s VCE English curriculum, Area of Study 2 requires students to study a central theme or idea, and be inspired to write from a variety of texts, be they print or visual. I’m teaching Year 10 English this year, and we are beginning our course with a thematic study in a similar vein to what the student’s will encounter in Area of Study 2 in VCE. In past years, students have created a hard copy folio of stimulas material, but this year, we are going to have our students use Storify for the same purpose. Storify is a fantastic curation tool, and is currently being used by individuals, corporations and news organisations around the world to report on current events.
I can’t help but think that the students with a broad general knowledge base have the advantage over others when it comes to formulating a response to Area of Study 2. Hopefully, the use of a tool like Storify will help our students comprehend the importance of reading widely and accessing a variety of sources to help formulate understanding.
I know that when I introduce this topic, I’ll be talking about the importance of being well read and able to contextualise life. School’s purpose is not just to get students through the final exams of year 12 with a decent enough ATAR score to get them into University courses. We’re helping to prepare these young people for the rest of their lives, and we want them to know how important it is to have context for understanding. I think I might just get Cam and Marlon to help me make my point. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32173000 |
As I explained in a previous article about Saint Sylvester and the Dragon, much medieval and Renaissance European religion art is based on Christian legends which are not found in the Bible. These include stories of the saints, and also stories taken from books of the Bible which are non-canonical, or which are labeled as “apocryphal” and not printed in most Protestant Bibles, although they might be found in Catholic or Orthodox Bibles. In this article, I would like to consider the “Harrowing of Hell” in which Jesus travels into the underworld to rescue the souls imprisoned there in order to lead them to paradise. This is an example of a story which is better known in its many visual representations throughout the medieval churches of Europe than in any written narrative form.
The Biblical basis for the story is scanty indeed. The descent of Jesus into the underworld forms part of the ancient Apostles’ Creed, where Jesus is said to have “gone down to those beneath” (Latin, descendit ad ínferos). There is a Biblical echo of this statement in Ephesians 4:9: “he descended into the lower parts of the earth” (Latin Vulgate, descendit in inferiores partes terrae). The Latin adjective inferus simply means “lower, below, underneath,” as you can see in the English word “inferior.” Yet in ancient Roman culture, the “underneath world” was already regarded as the abode of the dead, so that the plural form of the adjective, inferi, often stood simply for “the dead.” In English, this same Latin root even gives us the word “inferno,” which has lost its sense of “below,” and instead now refers to any kind of terrible “fire,” not limited to the fires of hell.
The fullest written account of the “Harrowing of Hell” is not found in the Bible, however, but in the non-canonical Gospel of Nicodemus, a text which probably dates back in some form to around the 3rd century or even earlier. Here we read how Jesus, after his crucifixion, descended into hell and brought salvation to the souls of the dead who were prisoners there. The story begins with a dialogue between Hades and Satan, who have heard word that Jesus is coming, which prompts a debate about the power of Jesus. Hades is afraid, because he has heard of the miracles Jesus has performed on earth. Satan, on the other hand, has heard that Jesus was crucified as a common criminal; he is certain that they will be able to bind and subdue Jesus when he arrives in their realm.
When Jesus arrives, Hades bids his servants to bolt and lock the doors, but to no avail; Jesus shatters the gates and enters. He seizes Satan and binds him in iron chains, then consigning him into Hades’s keeping until the second coming. Jesus next turns his attention to the patriarchs. He raises up Adam, along with all the prophets and the saints. Together, they all depart up out of Hades, and ascend into Paradise. (You can read a full account in the Gospel of Nicodemus online.) The “Harrowing of Hell” portion of that Gospel was widely circulated in other compilations of religious literature, most notably in the Golden Legend of the lives of the saints, compiled by Jacob of Voragine in the 13th century.
The literary versions of the “Harrowing of Hell” in turn gave rise to many works of art, including the “mystery play” tradition of medieval religious drama. Most commonly, however, people would learn about Jesus’s descent into the underworld from the artwork which decorated the churches and cathedrals of Europe. In the remainder of this article, I would like to look at ten different visual depictions of the story, to see what details we can observe in each artist’s rendering of the scene.
Let’s start with a modern Orthodox icon. In this very simple depiction, Jesus has broken through the doors to hell which he tramples underfoot (notice the locks all broken asunder), and he rescues Adam and Eve. As often, Adam is shown as an old man, while Eve is young. The traditional name for this scene in the Orthodox tradition is the “Anastasis,” the “Raising Up” as you can see written in the icon itself:
While Adam and Eve are clothed in this icon, they are often shown in the nude, as in this 15th-century wood carving, late 15th century by Veit Stoss from the Mariacki Altarpiece in Cracow, Poland. Notice also here the presence of demons, who are tormenting the dead:
To emphasize that he has only lately been crucified, some depictions emphasize Christ’s wounded hands and feet, as in this 16th-century painting now housed in the Museum of Lille:
While Jesus is often shown trampling the doors to hell underfoot, sometimes he is trampling a demon underfoot, as in this early 14th-century sculpture. Notice also how the scene is paired with the entombment of Christ to the left:
Some depictions combine both the door underfoot and the demon, as in this marvelous piece of 15th-century stained glass in the Church of St. Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk. Notice the flames licking out from under the door!
In addition to the demons you might see trampled underfoot or harassing the dead souls, you can also find demons standing off to the side, observing the events, as here in Andrea da Firenze’s famous 14th-century fresco from Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. Here you can see Jesus rescuing a whole crowd of souls from the underworld:
Here is a detailed view of those demons as they watch the proceedings:
Another character who often figures in representations of the harrowing of hell is the “good thief,” Saint Dismas, who was crucified with Jesus. Jesus promises Dismas that “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Not surprisingly, then, Dismas is also seen journeying with Jesus down into the underworld on their way to paradise. For example, you can see Dismas standing behind Jesus in this woodcut from 1510 by Albrecht Durer:
If you look carefully behind Adam and Eve, you can see Dismas bearing the cross in this mosaic from the Church of San Marco in Venice:
Sometimes Jesus is also accompanied by angels who battle the demons as he leads the soul out from their captivity, as in this painting by Tintoretto from 1568:
As you can see from the quite attractive nude depiction of Eve in Tintoretto’s painting, the story of the Harrowing of Hell provided Renaissance artists a rare opportunity to paint female nudes in a work of religious art. This is carried to extremes, as you can see, in Bronzino’s elaborate crowd scene, painted in 1552 and found in the Refectory of Santa Croce in Florence:
You will observe a remarkable contrast if you compare Bronzino’s R-rated scene to the extremely modest Orthodox icon with which we began this survey, an admittedly brief survey which only begins to hint at the wide range of iconographic styles in which this story has been depicted. As Jesus makes this underworld journey in the imaginations of these many artists over the centuries, he joins the ranks of heroes such as Orpheus and Heracles who also journeyed into the realms of the dead, breaking down the doors between that world and this one in order to rescue the souls who have been imprisoned on the other side. Although this is a not a story about Jesus that you will read about in the Bible, it is nevertheless a very famous one, as told both in words and, even more importantly, in images. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32181000 |
Early in 1939, as Ford and Ferguson rolled out the first 9N tractors, a tooling delay prevented Ford from having several of the stamped-steel components available for the assembly line. As a result, the first production run of about 700 9N tractors featured aluminum hoods, timing covers, steering columns, grilles and several other parts, which were then painted gray like the rest of the tractor before being sold. As these tractors continued their working life on the farm, many of the aluminum components became dented or mangled and by then, replacements were available from Ford parts suppliers. Replacement parts in steel, that is.
Image and info from Hemmings Blog http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/07/27/mecums-gone-farmin-auction-features-aluminum-hood-ford-9n/ | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32183000 |
The leftovers in the fridge smelled a little weird, but you went ahead and ate them. You were so hungry, you didn't even heat them up. A couple of hours later, though, you started to feel sick. Powerful waves of pain rumbled through your stomach. They went away, but not for long. Then you even threw up!
That sounds like a case of food poisoning. No one put poison in your food, but bacteria probably grew in the food in the fridge and those bacteria made you sick. Food poisoning can be mild and last just a short time or can be more serious. Let's find out how to avoid it.
What Is Food Poisoning?
Food poisoning comes from eating foods that contain germs like bad bacteria or toxins, which are poisonous substances. Bacteria are all around us, so mild cases of food poisoning are common. You may have had mild food poisoning — with diarrhea and an upset stomach — but your mom or dad just called it a stomach bug or stomach virus.
You might think the solution is to get rid of all the bacteria. But it isn't possible and you wouldn't want to do it, even if you could. Bacteria are all around us, including in food, and sometimes they can be good for us. It's confusing, but one thing is for sure — the bacteria in the rotten leftovers weren't the good-for-you kind. But you can learn how to avoid those bad germs in food.
Which Germs Are to Blame?
Foods from animals, raw foods, and unwashed vegetables all can contain germs that cause food poisoning. The most likely source is food from animals, like meat, poultry (such as chicken), eggs, milk, and shellfish (such as shrimp).
Sometimes feeling sick from food poisoning shows up within hours of eating the bad food. At other times, someone may not feel sick until several days later. With mild cases of food poisoning, you will not feel sick for very long and will soon be feeling fine again.
It can be hard to tell if you have food poisoning or something else. You might do a little detective work and see who else gets the same sickness. Did they eat the same thing you did? If only people who ate that food got sick, food poisoning could be the problem.
It's one thing to get food poisoning from something in your fridge, but imagine how many people could get sick if a restaurant served food that had these bad germs in it. When that happens, people from the health department might get involved and try to figure out what happened and make sure everyone gets the medical care they need.
What Will the Doctor Do?
If you go to the doctor, he or she will ask you a lot of questions about how you're feeling, when you first felt sick, what you ate in the past few days, and if anyone else you know is also sick. The doctor might also take a sample of your stool (poop) and urine (pee) to test for possible germs that might have caused food poisoning.
The type of treatment you'll get for food poisoning will depend on the specific germ that is making you sick. The doctor might give you medicine, but most of the time someone who has food poisoning doesn't need to take medicine.
It's also rare that a kid with food poisoning would need to go to the hospital. Usually, only people who get really dehydrated have to go to the hospital. Being dehydrated means your body has lost too much fluid due to diarrhea and vomiting. A dehydrated person can get fluids and medicine through an IV at the hospital. To keep from getting dehydrated, try to keep drinking fluids when you are sick.
You may also need to go to the hospital if you have blood in your poop. If you do see blood in your poop, you should definitely tell your parents about it.
Many things can be done to prevent food poisoning. These precautions should be taken at every stage a food takes — from preparation to cooking to storing leftovers. A lot of this responsibility falls on grown-ups, but kids can help fight germs, too. One of the best ways is to wash your hands if you're helping to prepare foods.
When should you wash? Before you start helping — so germs from your hands don't get on the food — and after so you don't pass along germs from the food to yourself or anyone else. If you don't, here's how germs can travel:
You help make hamburger patties.
You get bad bacteria from the raw ground beef on your hands.
You hold your little sister's hand.
She uses that hand to eat a snack.
Now the bacteria have made it inside and can make her sick.
Other steps you can take to keep your food safe include:
Wash fruits and vegetables well before eating them.
Only eat foods that are properly cooked. If you cut into chicken and it looks pink and raw inside, tell a grown-up.
Look at what you're eating and smell it, too. If something looks or smells different from normal, check with an adult before eating or drinking it. Milk is a good example. If you've ever had a sip of sour milk, you know you never want to taste that again! Mold (which can be green, pink, white, or brown) is also often a sign that food has spoiled.
If you're going to eat leftovers, ask a grown-up for help heating them up. By heating them, you can kill bacteria that grew while it was in the fridge.
Check the date. Lots of packaged foods have expiration dates or "sell by" (which means that the food should leave store shelves by that time) dates. Don't eat a food if today's date is after the expiration date. Use it before it expires. Ask an adult for help deciding if it's past the sell by date.
Cover and refrigerate food right away. Bacteria get a good chance to grow in foods that sit at room temperature. By putting food in the fridge, you're putting the chill on those bad germs! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32190000 |
Ignacio first noticed the signs of his non-Hodgkin lymphoma when he had trouble breathing and was coughing a lot during football practice. He also started having fever without knowing why. He told his parents, and they took him to the doctor. The doctor did an exam and ordered some lab tests and a CT scan. Everyone hoped that it would not show anything, but a lump was found. After some more tests, including a biopsy by the surgeon, the doctors diagnosed Ignacio with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
At first, Ignacio was scared when he heard that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a form of cancer. But he quickly learned that it's highly treatable, especially if caught early, as his was. Ignacio was relieved when his doctor told him that the odds were good that he'd be cured.
What Is Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma?
A lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a part of the body's immune system and helps filter out bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted substances.
Most people don't notice the workings of their lymphatic systems; in fact, the only time you might be aware of your lymphatic system is when the lymph nodes (which are sometimes referred to as glands) swell up. This often happens when a person is sick — a sign that the lymphatic system is working hard to filter harmful substances out of the body.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease in which cancer cells form in the lymphatic system and start to grow uncontrollably. There are several different types of lymphomas. Some involve a particular type of cell; these are grouped under the heading Hodgkin lymphoma. All other forms of lymphoma fall into the non-Hodgkin grouping. The different forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma depend on such things as what the cells look like under a microscope.
No one really knows what causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Doctors have identified some risk factors (things that may increase a person's chances of developing a particular condition) for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These include conditions that weaken the immune system, such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), taking immune-suppressing medications following organ transplants, and exposure to certain viruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus (the virus that usually causes mono). Often, experts never find out exactly why a person gets lymphoma.
People who have a brother or sister who has had the disease are also more likely to get non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But, it's not contagious — you can't give it to someone and they can't catch it from you.
Of course, just because you've had mono or an organ transplant doesn't mean you'll get the disease: Most people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma don't have any of these risk factors.
The signs and symptoms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma vary from person to person depending on the type of lymphoma and where a tumor is located. Some people may feel stomach pain, constipation, and decreased appetite. Others may have trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, and notice coughing, wheezing, or chest pain.
Other symptoms may include:
painless swollen lymph nodes
fever, chills, or night sweats
weight loss despite eating normally
bone or joint pain
The symptom that some people notice first is swollen lymph nodes — usually in the neck, armpits, and groin. Of course, swollen lymph nodes do not usually mean cancer — they're most often a sign of a common illness, like an infection. In fact, all of the symptoms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma also can be caused by other conditions, which is why only a doctor can determine what's really wrong.
In addition to doing a physical examination, the doctor will ask you about any concerns and symptoms you have, your past health, your family's health, any medications you're taking, any allergies you may have, and other issues. This is called the medical history.
If your family doctor suspects non-Hodgkin lymphoma, he or she will refer you to an oncologist, a doctor who specializes in the treatment of cancer. The oncologist will then do tests to diagnose the problem.
If someone has swollen lymph nodes, the doctor may want to perform a biopsy if the swelling does not go down after other treatments. A biopsy is a type of test where a doctor removes a tiny bit of tissue from the body and sends it out to a laboratory for a specialist to examine. Depending on the type of biopsy a person has, a doctor may use local anesthesia (where only a part of the body is numbed) or general anesthesia (where a person is asleep) to ensure there's no pain.
Biopsies used to test for non-Hodgkin lymphoma include excisional biopsy (where the doctor opens the skin to remove an entire lymph node) or incisional biopsy (where the doctor removes only a part of the lymph node).
Another type of biopsy, fine needle aspiration (where a very thin needle suctions out a small amount of tissue from the lymph node) is used on some occasions to diagnose non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Doctors sometimes also perform a bone marrow biopsy, where a needle is used to take samples of the soft tissue found in a bone.
Your doctor may do other tests to diagnose non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including:
a chest X-ray, a simple procedure in which the person lies on a table while an X-ray machine takes an image of the chest
a computerized tomography(CT or CAT) scan, which rotates around the patient and creates an X-ray picture of the inside of the body from different angles
an ultrasound, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create pictures of the inside of the body
a magnetic resonance imaging(or MRI) scan, which uses magnets and radio waves to allow doctors to see inside the body.
a galliumscan, which uses the injection of a material known as gallium and can help show tumors and inflammation
a bone scan to detect bone changes
a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, which can tell the difference between normal and abnormal cells based on metabolic activity
Once doctors have made a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, they use what's called a "staging system" to determine how much the disease has affected the body. Knowing the stage the disease is in helps the doctor decide on a form of treatment.
The most common treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is medicine that kills or stops the growth of cancer cells. Patients are also sometimes treated with radiation therapy.
For some patients who are receiving very aggressive chemo or radiation treatments, doctors may perform bone marrow or stem cell transplants to replace cells damaged by the treatment. These transplants involve using the cells from bone marrow or blood that has either been taken from the patient or has been donated by another person. These cells are then inserted into the patient's bloodstream to replace those that have been damaged or destroyed.
In a few special situations (such as high-risk patients or patients whose cancer has come back), doctors are using a new treatment called immunotherapy (or biological therapy). In immunotherapy, doctors use substances that occur naturally in the body to build someone's resistance to disease. Although they replicate naturally occurring substances, those used in immunotherapy are often manufactured in a laboratory.
What to Expect
If you've been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you know how scary having the disease can be at times. There's a lot to deal with emotionally. Plus, appointments, tests, and treatment schedules can be tiring, and the treatments you have to get can make you feel lousy.
People who are being treated with chemotherapy or radiation can expect certain side effects. Most are temporary — although, as with all medical treatments, each person is unique and experiences side effects differently. The severity of side effects and how long they last depends on the individual and type of medicine and treatment that a doctor prescribes.
The most common short-term side effects of chemo are nausea and vomiting, but medicines given with chemo can prevent this in most people. Another common side effect is a lowering of blood counts, which can put people at risk for infection or bleeding.
Some people feel weak or dizzy after their treatments, or they run a fever. Others get sores in their mouths or suddenly don't feel much like eating. It's also common for patients to lose some or all of their hair.
The short-term side effects of radiation can be similar to those of chemotherapy, although they're usually more localized, meaning they affect only the area that receives the radiation treatment.
Some people feel side effects for weeks after their treatment ends. Tell your doctor if you experience any side effects of treatment. Your doctor also can discuss any long-term side effects of the type of treatment you are having.
If you have or have had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, it's important to see your doctor regularly for the years following treatment. Occasionally, cancer may return, and follow-up appointments with your cancer specialist can help you catch it early if it does. Also, your doctor will be watching for any late side effects of treatment.
Although non-Hodgkin lymphoma can be an aggressive disease, treatments have improved in recent years — and researchers are constantly developing new and improved approaches to curing the disease. Today, the percentage of people who are cured is about 70% or higher. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32192000 |
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease that makes it difficult for the body to fight off infectious diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes AIDS by infecting and damaging part of the body's defenses against infection — its lymphocytes, which are white blood cells in the immune (infection-fighting) system that are supposed to fight off invading germs.
HIV can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluid of someone who is infected with the virus. That contact usually comes from sharing needles or by having unprotected sex with an infected person. An infant could get HIV from a mother who is infected.
HIV and AIDS can be treated, but there are no vaccines or cures for them.
What HIV Does to the Body
The virus attacks specific lymphocytes called T helper cells (also known as T-cells), takes them over, and multiplies. This destroys more T-cells, which damages the body's ability to fight off invading germs and disease.
When the number of T-cells falls to a very low level, people with HIV become more susceptible to other infections and they may get certain types of cancer that a healthy body would normally be able to fight off. This weakened immunity (or immune deficiency) is known as AIDS and can result in severe life-threatening infections, some forms of cancer, and the deterioration of the nervous system.
Although AIDS is always caused by an HIV infection, not everyone with HIV has AIDS. In fact, some adults who become infected with HIV may appear healthy for years before developing AIDS.
How Common Is HIV/AIDS?
The first case of HIV was reported in 1981, but the disease may have existed unrecognized for many years before that. HIV infection leading to AIDS has been a major cause of illness and death among children, teens, and young adults worldwide.
In recent years, HIV infection rates have been increasing rapidly among teens and young adults. Half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in people under 25 years old; thousands of teens acquire new HIV infections each year. Most new HIV cases in younger people are transmitted through unprotected sex; one third are from injected drug usage via the sharing of dirty, blood-contaminated needles.
Among children, most cases of HIV infections resulted from transmission of the HIV virus from the mother to her child during pregnancy or birth, or through breastfeeding. In rare cases children may have been infected by being sexually abused by someone living with HIV.
Fortunately, medicines currently given to HIV-positive pregnant women have drastically reduced mother-to-child HIV transmission in the United States. These drugs are also used to slow or reduce some of the effects of the disease in people who are already infected.
But these medicines have not been readily available worldwide, particularly in the poorer nations hardest hit by the epidemic. Providing access to these life-saving treatments has become an issue of global importance.
HIV is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluid of someone who is infected with the virus.
The three main ways HIV is passed to a very young child are:
while the baby develops in the mother's uterus (intrauterine)
at the time of birth
Among teens, the virus is most commonly spread through:
unprotected sex (oral, vaginal, or anal sex)
sharing needles used to inject drugs or other substances (including contaminated needles used for injecting steroids and tattooing and body art)
In very rare cases, HIV has also been transmitted by direct contact with an open wound of an infected person (the virus may be introduced through a small cut or tear on the body of the healthy person) and through blood transfusions. Since 1985, the U.S. blood supply has been carefully screened for HIV.
Signs and Symptoms of HIV
Although there may be no immediate physical signs of HIV infection at birth, if untreated, they might appear within 2 to 3 months after a child is born. Kids who are born with HIV can develop opportunistic infections, which are illnesses that can develop in weakened immune systems, such as Pneumocystisjirovicii pneumonia (PCP).
An untreated child with HIV may also get more severe bouts of other common childhood infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, which generally causes mild illness in most kids. In developing countries, tuberculosis has been a particularly common problem and often the cause of death of children and adults living with HIV.
A baby born with HIV infection most likely will appear healthy. But within 2 to 3 months after birth, an infected baby might begin to appear sick, with poor weight gain, repeated fungal mouth infections (thrush), enlarged lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen, neurological problems, and multiple bacterial infections, including pneumonia.
Teens and young adults who contract HIV usually show no symptoms at the time of infection. In fact, it may take up to 10 years or more for symptoms to show. During this time, they can pass on the virus without even knowing they have it themselves. Once the symptoms of AIDS appear, they can include rapid weight loss, intense fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, persistent diarrhea, night sweats, or pneumonia. They, too, will be susceptible to life-threatening opportunistic infections.
Diagnosing HIV Infections and AIDS
Every pregnant woman should be tested for HIV to have a better chance of preventing transmission to her unborn child.
If a woman knows she is HIV-infected and already has children, it is recommended that all of them be tested for HIV. Even older kids who seem healthy could still have an HIV infection if she was HIV-positive at the time they were born. A blood test is needed to know for sure.
Newer tests can help doctors to determine if a baby born to an HIV positive mother is infected in the first few months of life.
Older kids, teens, and adults are tested for HIV infection by a number of different tests that look for antibodies to the virus, proteins that coat the virus, or the presence of the virus itself. Antibodies are specific proteins that the body produces to fight infections; HIV-specific antibodies are produced in response to infection with HIV. Someone with antibodies against HIV is said to be HIV-positive.
If any one of the tests is positive, it will be repeated or confirmed with another test.
Across the United States, only a handful of cases have been reported where HIV infection was contagious from a child to another person. All of those cases involved direct blood contact within a household. The typical baby secretions (urine, drool, spit up, vomit, feces, etc.) do not seem to transmit the virus, so routine care of babies with HIV is considered safe.
Despite widespread concerns, no transmissions of HIV within a school or childcare setting have been reported. Because the danger in transmitting HIV involves direct contact with blood, personnel at schools and childcare programs should routinely use gloves when any child has a cut, scrape, or is bleeding.
Transmission of HIV Among Teens
Among teens, HIV is spread mostly through unprotected sex with an infected person or sharing intravenous drug needles. Education of children and teens is vitally important to help prevent sexual transmission of HIV, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, syphilis, and HPV (which can cause genital warts or lead to various cancers).
Many STDs cause irritation, sores, or ulcers of the skin and mucous membranes that the virus can pass through. Having an STD, such as genital herpes, for example, has been proven to increase the risk of getting HIV if the person has unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.
Opportunistic infections (infections that take advantage of a person's weakened immune system) are the most common complication of HIV/AIDS.
Sometimes adults with HIV/AIDS can get an infection from germs that do not normally cause illness in a healthy person (like cryptococcus). People with AIDS (especially children) can get a severe version of a more common infection, such as chickenpox.
These opportunistic infections and conditions can frequently occur in kids with HIV:
viral infections, such as a form of chronic walking pneumonia called lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP), herpes simplex virus, shingles, and the cytomegalovirus infection
parasitic infections, such as PCP (a pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovicii, a microscopic parasite that can't be fought off due to a weakened immune system) and toxoplasmosis
fungal infections, such as esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus), and candidiasis or thrush (yeast infection)
Children with HIV are also at higher risk for some forms of cancer because of their weakened immune systems. Lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are more common in older kids with HIV.
Difficult complications in treating kids who have HIV/AIDS include the wasting syndrome (the inability to maintain body weight due to long-term poor appetite and other infections related to HIV disease) and HIV encephalopathy (due to HIV infection of the brain that causes swelling and then damage to the brain's tissues over time).
HIV encephalopathy can result in dementia, especially in adults. Wasting syndrome can sometimes be helped with nutritional counseling and daily high-calorie supplements, but preventing HIV encephalopathy remains extremely difficult.
The last 20 years have brought two major developments in the treatment of HIV/AIDS:
drugs that inhibit the virus's growth, preventing or delaying the onset of AIDS and allowing people with HIV to remain free of symptoms longer
drugs that help reduce the transmission of the virus from an HIV-infected mother to her child
As medical understanding about how the virus invades the body and multiplies within cells increases, drugs to inhibit its growth and slow its spread are developed. Drug treatment for HIV/AIDS is complicated and expensive, but highly effective in slowing the replication (reproduction) of the virus and preventing or reducing some effects of the disease.
Drugs to treat HIV/AIDS use several different strategies, including:
interfering with HIV's reproduction of its genetic material (called nucleoside or nucleotide anti-retrovirals)
interfering with the enzymes HIV needs to take over certain body cells (these drugs are called protease inhibitors)
interfering with HIV's ability to pack its genetic material into viral code — that is, the genetic "script" HIV needs to be able to reproduce itself. These medicines are called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).
newer types of medications (integrase inhibitors and CCR5 inhibitors) that use different strategies
Because these drugs work in different ways, doctors generally prescribe a "combination cocktail" of these drugs that is taken every day. This regimen is known as HAART (highly active anti-retroviral therapy) treatment. Doctors also may prescribe drugs to prevent certain opportunistic infections when a person's immune system is very weak — for example, some antibiotics can help prevent PCP, especially in kids.
A number of medicines can treat HIV infection and slow the onset of AIDS, but they must be taken and administered properly on a round-the-clock schedule. Otherwise, the virus can quickly become resistant to that particular "cocktail."
HIV is very adaptable and finds ways to outsmart medical treatments that are not followed properly. This means that if prescribed medicines are not taken at the correct times every day, they will soon fail to keep HIV from reproducing and taking over the body. When that happens, a new regimen must be established with different drugs. And if this new mix of medicines is not taken correctly, the virus will likely become resistant to it, too, and eventually the person will run out of treatment options.
Aside from the difficulty of getting young children to take their medication on a timed schedule, the medications present other problems. Some have unpleasant side effects, such as a bad flavor, whereas others are only available in pill form, which may be difficult for kids to swallow.
Parents who need to give their child these medications can ask the doctor or pharmacist for suggestions on making them easier to take. Many pharmacies can add flavoring to bad-tasting medicines or your doctor may recommend mixing pills with applesauce or pudding.
Because drug options are still limited, doctors are concerned that if children fail to take their medicines as prescribed (even missing just a few doses), the virus could eventually develop resistance to the existing HIV drugs — making treatment difficult or impossible. So it is very important that kids take their medications as directed.
One of the most important home treatment messages for any parent or caregiver is that the child should take all medications consistently, at the time the prescription indicates. This can be difficult — but many HIV/AIDS family support groups and experienced medical providers can offer practical suggestions to help families be successful with the day-to-day challenges they face.
Many of the new medications that fight HIV infection are very expensive. In the United States, special programs can pay for medicine for all HIV-positive kids. Unfortunately, many people don't have access to these medicines in other parts of the world, especially in developing countries.
When a pregnant HIV-infected woman receives good medical care early and takes antiviral medications regularly during her pregnancy, the chance that she will pass HIV to her unborn baby is dramatically reduced.
It is important that any pregnant woman who knows she is HIV-positive start prenatal care as soon as possible to take full advantage of such treatments. The sooner a mother receives treatment, the greater the likelihood her baby will not get HIV.
An HIV-infected mother can receive medical treatment:
before the birth of her baby: antiviral treatments given to the mother during pregnancy can help prevent HIV transmission to the baby
at the time of birth: antiviral medications can be given to both the mother and the newborn to lower the risk of HIV transmission that can occur during the birth process (which exposes the newborn to the mother's blood and fluids); in addition, the mother will be encouraged to formula-feed rather than breastfeed because HIV can be transmitted to her baby through breast milk
during breastfeeding: because breastfeeding is discouraged among HIV-infected mothers, this type of transmission is rare in the United States. However, in places in the world with limited access to formula or a clean water supply to mix it, both the mother and child can be treated with medication to lower the baby's risk of HIV infection.
Before antiviral medicines were routinely given, almost 25% of children born to HIV-infected mothers developed the disease and died by 24 months of age. Now, studies show that mothers with HIV who get good prenatal care and regularly take antiviral drugs during their pregnancy have less than a 1% chance of passing HIV to their babies. If these babies do get the HIV virus, they tend to be born with a lower viral load (less HIV virus is present in their bodies) and have a better chance of long-term, disease-free survival.
Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in children are complicated and should be managed by experienced health care professionals. Kids will need to have their treatment schedules closely monitored and adjusted regularly. Any infections that could become life threatening must be quickly recognized and treated.
Medicines are adjusted in relation to the child's viral load. The child's health is also monitored by frequent measurement of T-cell levels because these are the cells that the HIV virus destroys. A good T-cell count is a positive sign that medical treatments are working to keep the disease under control.
Kids should see their health care providers often for blood work, physical exams, and discussions about how they and their families are coping socially with any stress from their disease.
Some immunizations during routine visits may be slightly different for infants or children with HIV/AIDS. A child whose immune system is severely compromised will not receive live virus vaccines such as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox). All other routine immunizations are given as usual, and a yearly influenza vaccine (flu shot) is recommended.
If a family seeks health care in a hospital emergency department, parents should be sure to tell the nurse who registers the child that the child has HIV. This will alert medical caregivers to look closely for any signs of diseases from opportunistic infections and provide the best possible treatment.
Outlook for HIV/AIDS
There is no vaccine to prevent HIV and AIDS, although researchers are working to develop one. Combinations of antiviral drugs and drugs that boost the immune system have allowed many people with HIV to resist infections, stay healthy, and live longer, and many children born with HIV who are treated early reach adulthood.
Prevention of HIV remains of worldwide importance. Despite much research, there is no vaccine that will prevent HIV infection. Infection can be prevented by never sharing needles, and abstaining from oral, vaginal, or anal sex. Since most people will eventually become sexually active at some point in their lives, always using condoms for all types of sexual intercourse can drastically reduce the risk of getting HIV.
Testing all pregnant women multiple times during pregnancy can also help. If the result is positive, immediate treatment can begin before the baby is born to prevent HIV transmission.
Talking With Kids About HIV/AIDS
Talking about HIV/AIDS means talking about sex and drugs — and it's not always easy for parents to talk about sexual feelings and behavior with their kids. Similarly, it's not always easy for teens to open up or to believe that issues like HIV/AIDS can affect them.
Doctors and counselors suggest that parents become knowledgeable and comfortable discussing sex and other difficult issues early on, even before the teen years. After all, the issues involved — understanding the body and sexuality, adopting healthy behaviors, respecting others, and dealing with feelings — are topics that have meaning at all ages (though how parents talk with their kids will vary according to a child's age and ability to understand). Open communication and good listening skills are vital.
Doctors, teachers and counselors can help. Many schools provide age-appropriate information about HIV/AIDS that has been designed to educate kids about the disease. Studies show that such education makes a tremendous difference in preventing risk behaviors in young people. Pediatricians, adolescent medicine specialists, and family doctors can also help you feel comfortable about talking to your kids and will also spend time talking to your child about how to be safe and prevent HIV infection.
Ultimately, parents who are well-informed about how to prevent HIV and who talk with their kids regularly about healthy behaviors, feelings, and sexuality can make a huge difference in preventing HIV infection and helping kids to grow up to become healthy adults. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32196000 |
Pub. date: 2008 | Online Pub. Date: April 25, 2008 | DOI: 10.4135/9781412963879 | Print ISBN: 9781412926942 | Online ISBN: 9781412963879| Publisher:SAGE Publications, Inc.About this encyclopedia
Damayanti Banerjee & Michael M. Bell
A disproportionate burden of environmental problems are borne by the poor and by communities of color, as documented by a large body of scholarship on what has come to be called environmental justice. Although the early literature on environmental justice primarily focused on questions of unequal distribution of environmental “bads” in the United States, recent years have witnessed studies of environmental justice on a global scale and a broadening understanding of what constitutes environmental justice. Both the U.S.-based and international studies have had a close relationship with the development of social movements working to overcome these inequalities, a true instance of the mutualism between the academe and civil society that many have called for in all areas of research. Concern for environmental justice has thus significantly grown over the years both within the United States and elsewhere. This entry describes the development of this movement, the research that examines Three ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32198000 |
Pub. date: 2009 | Online Pub. Date: December 16, 2009 | DOI: 10.4135/9781412972048 | Print ISBN: 9780761929574 | Online ISBN: 9781412972048| Publisher:SAGE Publications, Inc.About this encyclopedia
Film in Television News
Robin A. Larsen
Until the American commercial television networks introduced videotape recording in 1956, they produced news only live or on film. They aired live, film, and videotape news reports until 1978, when film was dropped. Televised film news first appeared in late 1936 in England with the launching of the BBC's London Television Service. Three years later, in 1939, NBC/RCA introduced U.S. television at the New York World's Fair. After World War II, in 1946, four networks (ABC, CBS, DuMont, and NBC) began broadcasting daily 15-minute filmed news magazine programs from their New York flagship stations. Coverage of political party conventions and presidential elections followed in 1948. To capture televised images on film, 16mm and 35mm kinescope cameras especially designed for the purpose were aimed at video monitors carrying studio or remote transmissions. Only in the late 1950s were film reels and cameras gradually replaced by erasable, two-inch magnetic videotape and the ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32199000 |
|Korcula.NET > Places on the island - Korcula - Moreška dance|
|THE MORESKA DANCE
Moreska is pronounced 'Moreska'. It means 'Moorish'. The word is derived from the Spanish adjective 'Morisco' or the Italian 'Moresco'. It is a matter of conjecture whether the dance came to the Adriatic directly from Spain through roving Spanish sailors, or from Sicily or Italy when Dalmatia formed part of the Venetian Republic whether it was originally a Moorish dance or a Spanish one, inspired by the struggle of Spanish Christians against the Moors is also debatable though the latter seems the most likely. We do know for certain that it is one of the oldest traditional European dances still performed, and that records exist of it being danced in Lerida in 1156 in a form portraying a Christian and National victory over the Moors and their expulsion from Aragon.
From the 12th century and particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, the dance spread to many Mediterranean countries: to Italy, Corsica, Sicily, Malta, France and, through Spanish trade, to Flanders, Germany and even to England. It was subject to frequent local variations, in regard to plot, protagonists and eventually also to form. In Corsica it was danced by eighty swordsmen on each side, armed with two swords apiece, who did battle for the town of Mariana to the music of a solo violin; in Elba the engagement was between Christians and Turks, in other places between Arabs and Turks; sometimes the damsel in distress was a white maiden of royal blood, sometimes a Turkish or Moorish one of equal innocence and beauty. In Ferrara a dragon was introduced who tried to devour the damsel and there were many later versions which degenerated from the original war-dance (intrinsically a useful sword practice and 'keep-fit' class for the warriors of small island or coastal garrisons for whom good swordsmanship and alertness meant their survival) into a form of folk drama, and eventually into the dance interludes of pastoral plays and Italian opera. In Germany the Moreska, though called Moriskentanze, became a mere collection of local folk dances and in England the Morris (l.e. Moorish) dancers threw away their swords and substituted long wooden sticks which they fought with and over which they hopped. In most of the Mediterranean the Moreska survived until the end of the 18th century, and in Italy and Dalmatia till the close of the 19th.
Today, Korcula is the only island where it is still danced with real swords in its original War-Dance form and where it has enjoyed a proud and almost unbroken tradition for over four centuries, though the text, music and pattern of the dance have been slightly altered and shortened (the contest used to last for two hours!) over the years.
The introduction to the dance is a short drama in blank verse which sets the scene -- four characters recite the verses: the enemy or the Black King, his father, Otmanovic, (a kind of Balkan mediator), the Hero or the White King, and the Bula or Moslem maiden, who is a peace-maker as well as a heroine (and a possible convert to Christianity?).
The Moreska arrived in Korcula in the 16th century, at the same time as it did in Dubrovnik, most probably from Sicily or Southern Italy, via Venice. An indication of this is that two of the dance "figures" have Italian names: the "Rujer" and the "Rujer di fori via". "Ruggero" was the name of a Sicilian war-dance, a version of the Moreska, in which the Saracens are shown fighting against the Norman Prince Ruggiero d'Altavilla -- a powerful family who ruled over Sicily and Southern Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries, which suggests a possible link. There are, however, no written records of the Korculan dance until the beginning of the 18th century. Latterly and up to the first World War the Moreska was "fought" only every few years -- protagonists were often wounded and replaced by 'seconds' during the dance -- between 1918 and 1939 it was performed every year under the aegis of the Gymnastic Society of Korcula. Nowadays it is an exclusive Society (and 'club') of its own and the Moreska is performed much more frequently for the benefit of the many tourists who visit the Island. Every family in Korcula is proud to have one of its members dance in the Moreska, especially one of the key roles, which demand considerable talent and stamina. When the Black or the White Kings "retire" they are allowed to keep their crowns and these become valued family possessions.
During the second World war costumes, swords, even musical scores and instruments had all been lost in the bombing and fighting and for the first time in its history only very young lads of between twelve and seventeen were available to dance the Moreska, and they had to be taught from scratch.
It was the undefeatable and indefatigable spirit of Ivo Lozica, the town barber, and Bozo Jerirevic, a school-teacher, with the help of a local policeman, Zdravko Stanic, and Josip Svoboda the conductor of the town orchestra, that somehow got the Moreska dancing again and in a very short time the poor, thin undernourished youths were growing into splendid young men and were taking the Moreska to youth conferences and festivals at home and abroad.
THE MORESKA DANCE
The revised score of the Moreska was composed by Krsto Odak who, working with Josip Svoboda, conductor of the town orchestra at the time, reconstructed an earlier score lost in the war. The Moreska from Korcula opens with a scene in which the Black King is seen dragging the captured Bula (Moslem maiden) along in chains trying to persuade her to respond to his love. The Bula refuses because she loves the White King and knows that he loves her.
The White King and his army and the Black King's army with banners and swords enter from either side. The two Kings confront each other and a dialogue of hurled insults and scorn ensues. The Kings are the first to cross swords while their armies stand facing each other and ready for battle. When the White King calls on his men to fight, the two armies clash swords and then break away from one another in order to make way for the Dance of the Black King, the graceful but menacing 'Sfida'. In this dance, which is performed in 6/8 rhythm, the Black King challenges the White King to a contest. The White King accepts the challenge, and then the Black King's father, Otmanovic and a soldier from the White King's army join the fight. They dance in a circle threatening one another with swords. The soldier withdraws leaving the two Kings and Otmanovic. At a given moment both armies, who are facing each other, leap forward and clash swords and then the Black King, still dancing, forms a circle with all the soldiers of both armies gradually joining in.
After this, seven Kolaps or "strokes" of the Moreska are danced in different and complicated rhythms and patterns and all are performed within this circle. The fight consists of alternating sword thrusts and parries. It is performed in pairs, i.e. one White against one Black fighter.
The seventh Kolap is performed in a speedy 4/4 rhythm and the swords clashes are fast and furious. The Black soldiers, facing outwards, defend themselves from within the circle which becomes smaller and tighter as they withdraw from the charges of the White army. Finally the Black soldiers fall down wounded, dying and defeated, laying their swords at their enemy's feet. The Black King admits defeat and surrenders, the White King, the Victor, frees the Bula from her chains and kisses her.
The following dialogue is translated from pat of the 19th century Croatian text of The Moreska published in Zadar in 1869.
Bula: Leave me alone! Your demands are in vain My charms belong to another man. Sweet Osman, my beloved, If you could see now How my heart is breaking And full of sorrow for you! Although this odious steel Binds my hands, My heart is always with you And yours with me. I shall bear you in my heart As long as I have life. Moro: Stop wailing, my lady I have had enough! It is painful for me to listen When you call my opponent your pride Here, in front of my face But I bear and endure it all For the love I feel for you My dear nymph, I give you my heart For your sweet charms. Bula: If you will But one favour grant me, All I ask Is that you stop loving me. Of far more pain for me Is your unwanted love Than the steel That weighs upon my hands. Moro: I will not leave you Nor will I stop loving you. I love honorably your everlasting beauty. Ask whatever you wish, Even my father's kingdom. Drums are heard. Enter the White Army. Otmanovic: There is no fear in Otmanovic! Osman: Do not trust your sword Without honour and without honesty. Treacherously, you wished to steal My betrothed, by torturing her. Where is your knightly honesty, Where your bravery? How did you dare to enslave her? Let me remind you That the army from my court Is ready to rescue her. Moro: You ask me to return her To your hands. Never! I would rather lose my head. Bula: Ah, you wicked man! Osman: If it were not that I disdain To darken my sword with your blood, And stoop from my might, I should destroy you. Otmanovic: Useless to be angry, Osman, Listen to me. There is no difference Between your two crowns, Both are full of glory I am an emperor as you are! Osman: How dare you compare My crown with yours Me, who reign over all the world, From East to West, and fear nobody. Moro: Ah! I cannot bear Your offenses any more. Fall then! Osman: Now defend, come my army. Bula: From this sharp sword I will willingly receive The wound of death; Come, deadly steel If it will stop their mutual rage. Moro: Console yourself, dear Nymph, I could not bear to look At your dead body in my lap. Now, knight, gather your armour. A fierce war is about to begin. Bula: Then render me to him I my death would afflict you. My affliction is the greatest Because I would rather choose death Than your unwanted love. Osman: To your arms, my soldiers, Let everyone be witness to my honesty, Which is as big as my empire. Now, knight, gather your armour. A fierce war is about to begin. Moro: Willingly, oh knight, I shall be fighting for the nymph. **Together I am ready to fight for the damsel Who arouses my love and noble passion; Willingly, oh knight. **At the end of the 4th Kolap Bula: Oh, knights! Do something to stop your wars Which wound my heart and draw tears of Blood from my eyes. Turn your sword on me And let him live Take my life But my beloved spare. Moro: As long as I have Power in my hands I will cause him strife Rather than lose you. Osman: You are going to lose Either by defeat or by slavery. My strength and courage Will force you to relinquish her to me. **At the end of the 7th Kolap Osman: You've lost all your dignity And now you are my slave for good. Moro: I readily to you my sword surrender It has grown heavy in my hands. And with it I return your Bula. Bula: My dear, sweet love, For whom my heart is longing, Receive the gift of my eternal faith, Take me, your constant love. Osman: Let this chaste kiss Be a reward for all my suffering. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32200000 |
Changes to your lifestyle can help you manage symptoms and prevent flare-ups or worsening of symptoms. Your coping skills and attitude toward your illness are important factors in successfully managing the disease. Habits to consider include:
- Get regular, moderate exercise.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Practice stress-reduction techniques.
- Avoid excessive heat.
- Avoid infections.
- Get adequate rest.
Talk to your doctor before beginning an exercise program. Regular exercise can help with muscle strength, balance, endurance, and fatigue. Swimming is especially beneficial. The water helps keep your body cool during exercise.
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, are sometimes recommended for people with MS. It is not clear if omega-3s are helpful for this condition.
It is also important that you drink plenty of water. Aim for 62 ounces per day, about 8 glasses. Avoid drinks that cause dehydration , like caffeinated beverages.
Many people with MS notice that stress makes symptoms worse. Consider getting regular massages and participating in other stress reducing practices, such as meditation , yoga , and relaxation. You may also find it helpful to join a support group . These groups can provide emotional support for you and your family.
Heat worsens MS symptoms in many people. The heat may be external or internal. Tips to avoid heat include:
- Avoid hot weather.
- Stay in air-conditioned places during periods of hot weather.
- Do not take hot showers or baths.
- Seek treatment for infections or fever.
- Drink plenty of liquids.
- Avoid overexertion.
Smoking may worsen MS symptoms. It can make MS progress to a more severe form. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about your options for quitting. There are smoking cessation classes, online self-help programs, nicotine replacement products , prescription medicines, and many other options.
When to Call Your Doctor
Call your doctor if your symptoms worsen or if new symptoms develop.
- Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD
- Review Date: 10/2012 -
- Update Date: 10/11/2012 - | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32216000 |
news & tips
A collection of helpful articles on teachers and teaching
ISTE NETS*S Part 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
This is my fourth article in a series of six about ISTE’s NETS*S (National Educational Technology Standards for Students). The fourth standard is “Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making.”
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
- identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
- plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
- collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
- use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions. (excerpted from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm)
I don’t know if you’ve been reading all the articles up to this one, but you need to know that I have approached each topic with varying levels of confidence. I concluded that we’re not doing enough to encourage creativity and innovation, we’re somewhat better with communication and collaboration, and we’ve come a long way with research and information fluency. But as I sat down to write this installment, I had a bit of an epiphany. Our success with this technology standard depends completely on how willing we are to let go of the reins and let the students drive their own learning.
I wish I knew the source of the now-famous “sage on the stage versus guide on the side” metaphor for the shift we need to see in education. Oh look, here’s a webpage that claims to know the origin of the saying. I’m not even a little surprised that it came out of using inquiry as a tool for critical thinking. That was apparently written in 1993 about changing college teaching. But we now have the tools and the experience to know that we should be using inquiry and critical thinking with our youngest students as well.
My epiphany had a “part two”: we don’t do this enough because our society and culture have conditioned students to be afraid of failure. Most of my students are afraid to bring home anything less than an A. The grades are what drive their achievement, not the learning. What they cram for a test is gone within weeks, and all they have learned is how to do well on tests. Are they using what they’ve learned? Have they retained anything of value?
My middle school students just finished up a project in which they created short surveys, had fifty or more people respond to them, and then graphed the results for an analysis report. The older students had a proposed independent variable and dependent variable. Their graphs should have helped them determine if there was any kind of correlation between the two variables. I have a speech I give several times over the course of the project, which goes a little something like this: “Sometimes all you find out is that these two things have nothing in common, or if they do, you can’t prove it based on your data. To say otherwise would be a lie, and will cost you points on the grade.” I remind them that Thomas Edison had a thousand failed ideas before every successful patent achieved. I still suspect they don’t believe me.
We are fighting an uphill battle on this one, folks. How can we get our students to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions, when the dialog inside their minds sounds like this: “Which choice will get me the best grade with the least work? Which choice will make my parents happy? How can I still get an A if I start on this project two days before it is due? Which of my friends is on Facebook right now?” We need to encourage students to try things out, with the goal of failing more than they succeed, so that they can come to appreciate that we learn and retain much more from our failures than we do from our victories.
For my graduate school cumulative portfolio, I’ve been reviewing Keller’s ARCS model of motivation a lot recently. ARCS stands for attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. As I look at the fourth standard, it’s clear to me that if we can apply these four principles of learner motivation to any problem-based project, we can achieve all the goals of the standard while also providing a very meaningful, motivating learning experience for students. By allowing them to find and choose a problem to solve, we get their attention, keep it relevant to them, enable them to gain confidence by trial and error, and just sit back and watch them derive satisfaction from their results.
Have your students start locally: what is a problem they perceive in the community where they live and attend school? How can they decide on a problem to solve, develop a solution, and report on their experiences in ways that provide numerous opportunities for decision making? I’d love to hear what others are doing in their schools.
Image “Decision Making” from Flickr user SimonDoggett, some rights reserved, Creative Commons. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32222000 |
Several oral history collections at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History pertain to various aspects of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Topics range from interviews about life under segregation and the desegregation of education to interviews with prominent civil rights activists. These collections explore the collective struggle to end legal segregation as well as discuss individual acts of resistance that normally, without oral history, would not make it into the historical record.
You can browse specific oral history subjects below or click on the Collections tab and browse collections related to the Civil Rights Movement. This guide is also searchable.
The Nunn Center
The Robert Penn Warren Civil Rights Oral History Project is a collection of interviews concerning the Civil Rights movement and the socioeconomic, cultural, and political struggles of African Americans. Conducted in 1964 by Kentucky native, author, and first poet laureate of the United States, Robert Penn Warren, these interviews constituted part of Warren's research for his book, Who Speaks for the Negro? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32225000 |
He was the son of the famous painter and
art historian Léonor, and was close friend of Stendhal.
Mérimée was also a friend to Empress Eugenia,
a monument inspector, and a senator and France academic,
and was able to enjoy prestige in the court of Napoleon
III. An expert of English and Spanish literature, he was
strongly inspired by them in his works; of which most were
theatrical. His narratives marked the shift from Romanticism
to Realism. He wrote short stories, La venus de L'ille
(1837), Colomba (1840), and Carmen (1845,
that inspired the so named play by Bizet), dramas and the
historic novel La vision du Charles IX (1829). He
went on with his activity of poet and narrator, but he dedicated
himself to historic and archeological studies as well. His
wide correspondence (published only in 1941-61) was remarkable
and one of the most important of the century; his notes
and memories offered worthy testimonies of Stendhal's life.
The Plays of Clara Gazul (1825, tr. 1825)
La Guzla (1827).
The Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX (1829; tr.
Colomba (1852, tr. 1853)
Carmen (in Revue des Deux Mondes, 1845; as a book,
1846, tr. 1881
La Vénus dIlle (1837)
Letters to an Unknown (in Revue des Deux Mondes, | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32226000 |
The microwave gets a bad rap in cooking circles because it tends to make most foods soggy and nearly inedible. However, The New York Times suggests the microwave might be far better at cooking than most of us think, and all you need to do is familiarize yourself with the power button.
We've mentioned before that your microwave is often just as good (if not better) at cooking certain foods than your stove. But The New York Times points out that the most important thing you can do is learn exactly what all the different power settings on your microwave really mean:
A general rule of thumb: the lowest power settings, 500 watts and under, turn your oven into a makeshift dehydrator... At higher settings, 500 to 800 watts, the device can fry and steam. And if you simply want to heat something quickly, use the highest setting possible, as you do for tea and coffee.
Some microwaves might have special settings for fry and steam, but not all do. Of course, most microwaves don't give you the ease of actually showing you the wattage and instead let you choose a level (1-10 or so). Thankfully, it's not that hard to figure out what wattage that means. First, find your microwave's wattage. It's usually on the inside the door or displayed proudly on the front of the unit. Then you need to do some math:
If you want to steam something at 800 watts and have a 1,000-watt microwave, set the power level to 80 percent, or 8. (Level 9 is 90 percent, and so on. Some microwaves also have shortcut buttons like "medium" and "medium high" that correspond to specific percentages.)
For an 1,100-watt microwave, the math is a bit trickier: 800 watts is about 73 percent of the top output, so you may have to round down and set the power level to 7. (By the way, adjusting the level does not actually change the wattage. It simply means the microwave will pulse on and off at its fixed wattage until the desired level is reached.)
Once you crack the wattage code of your microwave, you can treat it just like an oven or stove for certain dishes. If you're looking for meal inspiration, check out The New York Times post.
Creating a Dish, Not Just Reheating One | The New York Times
Photo by Chris Kelly. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32232000 |
Interfaith Dialogue Hindu Jewish
contactus at equalsouls.org
contactus at equalsouls.org
Mon May 11 03:23:18 UTC 2009
"Equality Based On The Soul"
Historically Christian and Muslim faiths have their roots in
so at their core concepts about the soul, creation and God are all
*I would like to address certain linguistic and philosophical
similarities common to both Jews and Hindus, which may open up a
1. Names of God,
a. The most holy of all names of God for a Jew is KNA or KANA,
Rabbi's have slapped my face when I have said this name out loud.
This is considered to be the most intimate name for God in the Old
Testament. Where it is translated, "I am a jealous God, have no other
gods before you", the literal Hebrew translation is, "My name is EL
KNA (KANA), have no other gods before you."
This name expands to KRE ShTN as Rabbi Aryeh Kapln,in Meditation and
the Kabbalah explains
"On Monday, you must intertwine the associated name "KRE ShTN""
b, From a Vedic (Hindu) view point, Kana is also an affectionate
name of Krishna, The pronunciation used above "KRE ShTN" is very
similar to the way south Indians pronounce Krishna.
2. Abraham and Brahma: Very few know that there are two Abrahams in
a. There is a description of how the universe was in chaos until
Abraham appeared. It is said, "Over the whole, there hovered Tohu
(chaos) and as long as Tohu dominated, the whole world was not in
being or existence. When did that key open the gates and make the
It was when Abraham appeared." [Genesis II 4] As explained in the
introduction to the Zohar The Soncino Press LTD--London New York
There is also this reference one needs to ponder It is said, "Angels
are supposed to have no back and four faces, so always to be able to
[Talmud, cf. Ezek i. 6]
b. In the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, there is a long
description of how Brahma created the planets, stars etc. It is well
known that the Brahma of this universe has 4 heads.
3. DEMIGODS AND ANGELS have the same function in both trations.
a. The Midrash teaches, "There is no blade of grass that does not
have a constellation (Mazal) over it, telling it to grow." [Sefer
"As commentaries explain, 'God's providence works through the
angels, but the angels, in turn, work through the stars and planets.
As some authorities put it, the angels are, in a sense, like souls to
the stars. Thus, for example, some sources speak of the stars as
having intelligence, but the commentaries note that this is actually
speaking of the angels that are associated with them.'" [Sefer
b. The Vedic conception is that there are many specially empowered
demigods who help manage the affairs of the universe including the
planets of our solar system.
The controlling demigods, although not eternal them selves, function
within various posts that exist as long as the universe exists. For
example, one of the principle demigods is Lord Indra. Indra is the
name of the post, but the particular demigod who occupies that post
during a given period has his own personal name. Just like President
of the United States is a post, but there have been many presidents
4. Durga in the Bible?
a. "He summoned to issue from the side of Darkness a kind of female
moon, which rules over the night, and is associated with Adonai, the
Lord of all the earth. In his days, the moon was magnified and
reached her fullness. A thousand mountains rose before her, and she
blew them away with a puff. A thousand mighty rivers flowed before
her, and she swallowed them at a draught. Her nails reached out in a
thousand and seventy directions and her hands in twenty-four
thousand, so that nothing could escape her. Thousands of bucklers
clung to her hair. From between her feet went forth a youth who
stretched from one end of the world to the other with sixty clubs of
b. The Vedas describe the ghastly form of Goddess Kali, another name
for the Goddess Durga. There is a reference of Goddess Kali in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam in the history of Jada Bharata, when she manifested
herself to protect him. It is stated, "Intolerant of the offenses
committed, the infuriated goddess Kali flashed her eyes and displayed
her fierce, curved teeth. Her reddish eyes glowed, and she displayed
her fearsome features. She assumed a frightening body, as if she were
prepared to destroy the entire creation. Leaping violently from the
immediately decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very
sword with which they had intended to kill Jada Bharata. She then
began to drink the hot blood that flowed from the necks of the
beheaded rogues and thieves, as if this blood were liquor.
5. (BRAHMAN) EFFULGENCE
a. "The Most Recondite is beyond cognition, but reveals of Himself a
tenuous and veiled brightness shining only along a narrow path which
extends from Him, and this is the brightness that irradiates all.
This is the starting point of all esoteric mysteries, itself being
unknowable." [Zohar IV 146b]
b. The Absolute Truth is expressed as Brahman, Paramatma, and
Bhagavän." [Srimad Bhagavatam.1.2.11] Brahman refers to the
impersonal all-pervasive spirit.
That is the same as the brahmajyoti, the effulgence of the Lord.
6. METATRON AND MAHA-VISHNU
a. It is said that a personality named Metatron cooperates with God
to teach the young. While God devotes the last three hours of the day
to this work, Metatron is in charge during the remainder of the day.
(A.Z. 3b) [Everyman's Talmud, II, III] Regarding the revolving sword
or flaming sword that revolves, it is said "the manner in which the
sword rotates depends on the readiness of the individual attempting
to enter. If he is worthy, it becomes the mirror through which he
perceives, while if he is not worthy, he is burned out and cut off by
the fire of this sword. The one who oversees the sword, preventing the
unworthy from entering, is the angel Metatron." [Meditation and
Kabbalah p 80 Chapter 4, Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia]
"Metatron is therefore not a proper name at all but a designation
for the whole category of celestial powers performing a mission."
[Origins of the Kabbalah, III, 6]
b. In the creative process,it is from Maha-Vishnu that all of the
universes emanate, Sudarshan Cakra (flaming sword that revolves)
controlled by Visnu similarly punishes and grants liberation.
"Without illumination,nothing can be seen, especially in this
The illumination in this world emanates from the effulgence of
Sudarshan, the original vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The illuminating principles of the sun, the moon and fire emanate
Similarly, illumination by knowledge also comes from Sudarshan."
[Srimad Bhag. 9.5.7, Purport]
Also there is a series of Visnu expansions each with a chakra.
7. THE LORD IN THE HEART
a. When the soul is about to descend to this world, it first goes
down to the terrestrial Garden of Eden and sees there the glory of
the souls of the righteous, and then goes down to Gehinnom and sees
the wicked who cry "Woe, woe", and find no compassion. That holy form
(God) stands by him until he emerges into the world, after which it
keeps him company and grows up with him." [The Zohar 43b] [KI TAZRIA
b. In the Bhagavad-gita "Yet in this body there is another, a
transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who
exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the
Supersoul, Paramatma." [Bg. 13.23]
8. GURU AND RABBI
a. In Judaism, knowledge is also passed from the rabbi to his
students, but not everyone is qualified to become a student. "As a
matter of law, the sages state that these mysteries 'cannot even be
taught to a single individual, unless he is wise enough to understand
with his own knowledge.' Even in such a case, the complete tradition
was only given over to the head of the group, and he would then only
instruct those whom he saw fit. Only individuals
possessing the highest qualities of scholarship and piety would be
admitted to the circle of initiates." [Introduction to the Bahir,
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan]
It is also stated that "One who reaches the highest level cannot
reveal it to anyone. All he can do is give over the keys, so that the
can open the gates which are sealed to exclude the unworthy."
[Meditation and Kabbalah, p 79]
b. In Vedic culture, although a guru would speak to whoever wanted
to learn the Vedic science, he was traditionally very selective whom
he would initiate as his disciple. He would only accept those persons
who qualified themselves by humble submission and service. Lord
Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita, "Just try to learn the truth by
approaching a spiritual master, inquire from him submissively and
render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge
unto you because he has seen the truth."
9. VEDIC AND JEWISH CALENDARS
a. The current Hebrew year is 5767. In this calendar, the year in
which Adam was created is counted as year one. If we then count the
Biblical genealogies from the time of Adam, we find that over 5,000
years have elapsed since the time he was formed. However, the
Kabbalists clearly say that other human beings existed before Adam,
and this is even supported in scripture The fifth
cycle was the one that brought life, and this took
place around two and a half billion years ago. Around 974
generations before Adam, or some 25,000 years ago, man developed all
of the physical and mental capabilities that we possess today...but
he still lacked the divine soul that would make him a spiritual
being. God then created Adam, the first true human being with a soul,
'and He blew in his nostrils a soul of life'. [Genesis 2.7] [Sefer
b. The Vedic calendar states that Kali-yuga lasts 432,000 years, out
of which we have passed about 5,000 years.
10.The Ecstasy of Chanting The Names Of God
a. People who have dedicated their lives to the service of God may
at times feel unlimited joy or ecstasy while engaged in prayer. It is
said, "Permute the letters back and forth, and in this manner, you
will reach the first level. As a result of the activity and your
concentration on the letters, your mind will become bound to them.
The hairs on your head will stand on end and tremble. Your lifeblood
is in your heart, and regarding this it is written,
"the blood is the soul" [Deuteronomy 12:23]. It is likewise written,
"The blood in the soul will atone" [Leviticus 17:11]. This blood
within you will begin to vibrate because of the permutations that
loosen it. Your entire body will then begin to tremble, and all your
limbs will be seized with shuddering. You will experience the terror
of God and will be enveloped with fear of Him. You will then feel as
if an additional spirit is within you, arousing you and
strengthening you, passing through your entire body and giving you
leisure. It will seem as you have been anointed with perfumed oil,
from head to foot. You will rejoice and have great pleasure. You will
experience ecstasy and trembling--ecstasy for the soul, and trembling
for the body.
[Meditation and Kabbalah, Treasury of the Hidden Eden p85-86]
b. The stage of bhava, love of God, is manifested by eight
transcendental symptoms, namely inertness, perspiration, standing of
hairs on end, failing in the voice, trembling, paleness of the body,
tears in the eyes, and finally trance. [Srimad Bhag. 2:3:24 Purport]
11. GOD'S BEAUTY
a.The Jewish scriptures describe a vision of God. "His head is a
treasure of fine gold. His locks are hanging, black like the raven."
In both Talmudic and Kabbalistic traditions, one of the
interpretations is that it relates to a vision of God; "when He is
visualized in battle, He is seen as a young man with black hair."
[Sefer Yetzirah Ch 6.1]
b.The Vedas refer to the form of the Lord. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam
it is stated, "the Lord is super excellently beautiful on account of
His open and merciful smile and His sidelong glance upon His
devotees. His black hair is curly, and His garments, waving in the
wind, appear like flying saffron pollen from lotus flowers. His
glittering earrings, shining helmet, bangles, garland, ankle bells,
waist belt and various other bodily ornaments
combine with the conch shell, disc, club, and lotus flower to
increase the natural beauty of the Kaustubha pearl on His chest."
[Srimad Bhag. 2.24.47-48]
williamglick at gmail.com <mailto:williamglick at gmail.com>
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters,
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit
Forward a Message to Someone
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Size: 2408 bytes
Desc: not available
More information about the pkg-gnome-maintainers | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32238000 |
Meiser repeats the "reported history" of the Apollo:
Hicham and Ali Aboutaam readily admitted to gaps in the Apollo's ownership record. From what they were able to determine, the statue was owned by a German family in the early 1900s. World War II forced them to flee, leaving their belongings behind.It could be true. But where is the certified documentation?
In the 1990s, a surviving member returned to the family estate after the fall of East Germany. In the backyard lay a pile of debris. He could only make out the bronzed head of a young man, a sculpted hand, the outline of a lizard.
The man vaguely recalled seeing the statue in the garden as a child, but he knew nothing of its history. Believing the cost of repair would be greater than its value, he sold the statue to a Dutch dealer in 1994, who in turn sold it to another collector, who then sold it to the Aboutaams in 2001 with the understanding that he'd remain anonymous.
And are all the investigations about the Apollo compelling? Meiser reports:
The International Art Loss Register in New York, which tracks stolen art, found no claims on the piece.But, as I have pointed out before, absence from the Art Loss Register does not signify anything when it comes to recently surfaced antiquities.
One thing is clear. There appears to be no evidence that the statue had spent time underwater and it thus looks like the Greek Government's claim that it came from a shipwreck is without foundation.
Meiser then reviews some of the cases of antiquities handled by the Aboutaams, though she does not note an Etruscan architectural terracotta that has been returned from Princeton, or the Italian claim that some of Shelby White's antiquities came from "the Aboutaam family, the owners of the Phoenix Ancient Art gallery". Meiser quotes Neil Brodie who said that he "would be acutely "suspicious" of anything that passed through the brothers' hands". In contrast:
Bennett dismissed the allegations. He'd been dealing with the brothers for years. In his experience, they'd been nothing but forthcoming and ethical.If that is the case, what else has the Cleveland Museum of Art purchased from the brothers? Will the Cleveland Museum of Art make that list public? And, if transparency is important, there is every reason to place this information in the public domain.
Meiser also touches on the Italian Government's request for the return of other items.
During the trial of dealer Robert Hecht, the Italians cited eight pieces Hecht had sold to Cleveland.A much longer list of requested returns includes some material that has been around for quite a long-time (see, for example, Suzan Mazur, "Italy Will Contest Medea Vase At Cleveland Museum", Scoop.co.nz, October 9, 2006). Among the antiquities is the head of the emperor Balbinus from a marble sarcophagus (1925.945; gift of J.H. Wade) and a Roman silver cup from Vicarello acquired in 1966 (1966.371) but first known in 1866. But many of the other pieces have surfaced more recently and certainly after 1970.
Cleveland has apparently refused to comment on the Italian list, and seems to be taking a firm stand.
But talking to Bennett, one gets the sense that the museum won't be quick to wave a white flag. "Our policy is really straightforward," he says. "Anyone at anytime" can protest an item's status. And "If someone has information that proves [the piece was illegally purchased], the museum has an obligation to look at that evidence . . . The Cleveland Museum of Art wants to know as much as possible about the items in our exhibits."But Bennett misses the point. Can the Cleveland Museum of Art be certain that the pieces in question had not been looted? What was the Museum's due diligence process? Are the pieces documented prior to 1970? Who sold them?
At the same time, Bennett claims that all pieces are vigorously researched. Just because a dealer is charged doesn't mean all his deals were tainted. Hecht's case is ongoing.
The Museum needs to make this information available. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32241000 |
EARLY LEARNING BRANCH OVERVIEW
A growing body of research shows that the first years in a child's life are the foundation for school success. Actions taken before children enter kindergarten affect their abilities to thrive during the elementary school years and beyond. The Early Learning Branch of MSDE's Division Early Childhood Development (DECD) oversees the following early childhood programs and initiatives, which promote best practices in early pedagogy and support Maryland's school reform efforts to help ensure that all of Maryland's youngest citizens will be successful in school and in life.
Click here for the 2012-2013 School Readiness Report.
Click on the links below for program-specific information.
NEW! The MSDE Division of Early Childhood Development has completed a draft of the Early Learning Standards for the Social Foundations Domain. Click here for information about the draft standards and how to submit comments on them. Comments will be accepted through May 15th.
Maryland Model for School Readiness
Enhancing School Readiness for all Children in Maryland
The Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) is a research-based assessment and instructional system designed to provide teachers, families, and the early childhood community with a common understanding of what children know and are able to do upon entering kindergarten. All kindergarten children are assessed in the fall of their kindergarten year to determine their level of readiness across seven domains. This assessment reflects the ability of each child to demonstrate skills, knowledge, behaviors, and interests that are indicators of future school success. The Early Learning Office coordinates and monitors the implementation of the MMSR at the local school level, provides professional development and technical assistance to the early childhood community, and analyzes and publishes the MMSR assessment results.
Click here for an MMSR School Readiness PowerPoint presentation.
Public Prekindergarten/Kindergarten Programs
Maryland's prekindergarten program (Pre-K) is a state-funded program for four year-old children who are from families that are economically disadvantaged or homeless. The over-all goal of the Pre-K program is to provide learning experiences that help children develop and maintain the basic skills necessary to be successful in school. The Early Learning Branch monitors and helps coordinate the local school system Pre-K Program and provides support for public pre-K initiatives.
Maryland's public schools provide a full day kindergarten program for children who are 5 years of age on or before September 1st of the year in which the child enrolls in school.
Judith P. Hoyer Program and Judy Centers
The Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Education Enhancement Program is a statewide effort to help young children enter school ready to learn. Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Family Education Centers ("Judy Centers") provide a central location for early childhood education programs and support services for children birth through Kindergarten and their families who reside in specific Title I school districts across the state of Maryland. Judith P. Hoyer Enhancement Grants are provided to expand and improve the range of community-based school readiness services. The Early Learning Branch monitors and coordinates the growth of Judy Centers and oversees the distribution and use of enhancement grant funds. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32262000 |
Ratio and Proportion
Date: 7/4/96 at 19:21:20 From: Anonymous Subject: Ratio and Proportion Six men can complete a piece of work in one day while 5 boys would take 2 days to complete the same piece of job. 44 men can build a tower in 5 days; how long will 40 men and 80 boys take to build the tower?
Date: 7/5/96 at 8:37:52 From: Doctor Anthony Subject: Re: Ratio and Proportion From the first statement, 3 men would take 2 days to do the job. It follows that 5 boys are equivalent to 3 men. Since we have 80 boys building the tower, these boys are equivalent to (3/5)*80 = 48 men. So the total workforce on the tower is equivalent to 40+48 = 88 men If 44 men take 5 days, then 88 men would take 5/2 = 2 +1/2 days. -Doctor Anthony, The Math Forum Check out our web site! http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Search the Dr. Math Library:
Ask Dr. MathTM
© 1994-2013 The Math Forum | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32265000 |
Interpreting Book of Mormon Geography
Reviewed by Randall P. Spackman
Mormon's Map is John L. Sorenson's most recent compilation and discussion of Book of Mormon passages relating to geography. The book is composed of 128 pages of understandable text (including seventeen maps illustrating geographical features mentioned in the text). Fifty-four endnotes (pp. 129-34), a scripture index (pp. 135-42), a subject index (pp. 143-54), and various other resources make this book a compact research tool. The inside front cover contains "Mormon's Map," a blue-and-green graphic resembling the maps of biblical lands found at the end of the King James Version of the Holy Bible published by the church in 1979. A legend listing geographical details (that are indicated on the map only by numbers) accompanies this map. Another multicolored map entitled "Major Physical Features" is placed on the inside back cover, permitting the reader to refer quickly to general topographic features.
Mormon's Map revisits many of the verses in the Book of Mormon that were mined for geographical meaning in the author's earlier and larger volumes: An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (1985) and The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book (1992).1 Indeed, the concluding paragraph in Mormon's Map asserts that "the features found on 'Mormon's Map' as presented in this book are more carefully defined, more logically cross-checked, and more numerous than the criteria in the 1992 work" (p. 128). My first impression of Mormon's Map—the sort of impression one would get in a bookstore after browsing through the book for a few minutes—was that it provided an attractively packaged, readable, and relatively thorough guide for anyone interested in a reasoned interpretation of Book of Mormon geography.
What Is Mormon's Map?
Sorenson indicates that what he has called "Mormon's Map" would, in its ideal form, be a "two-dimensional rendering of the body of information about geography that Mormon possessed in his mind" (p. 125). However, the version of Mormon's map set forth in Sorenson's book can only be "a reasonable approximation" (p. 126) of "the Nephites' conception of their geography" based on "all the information [Sorenson has] been able to elicit from Mormon's words and those of other Book of Mormon writers" (pp. 17, 126, emphasis in original).
Sorenson acknowledges that Mormon's map is "simplified" and "partial" because "even Mormon could not have recalled at the time he was writing all the knowledge he had acquired about the lands he personally traversed" (p. 125). In addition, "Mormon drew on what he knew of geography and shed light on those matters only when it seemed required in order to formulate his account. . . . He wanted to teach moral lessons to future readers, not instruct them about sheer facts of history and geography. Geography was significant for his task at some points, but not central to it" (p. 125). Finally, the map is "incomplete" because it "can be improved, and will be if we discover new points in the text of the Book of Mormon that require change in the map" (p. 126).
Does Book of Mormon Geography Matter?
Mormon's Map begins with a crucial question: Does geography in the Book of Mormon matter? Sorenson supports his affirmative response by discussing five concepts: (1) Joseph Smith's characterization of the Book of Mormon as "the keystone of our religion"; (2) Brigham Young's questioning challenge to engage all our faculties as readers of scripture (p. 1); (3) Sorenson's belief that the promise of the Book of Mormon (interestingly, he cites 2 Nephi 11:8 rather than the more often utilized Moroni 10:3-5) can be more powerfully fulfilled if the reader's understanding and sense of realism are enhanced by a clearly delineated geographical setting (pp. 2-3); (4) the importance of geography ("precious lands") for the working out of the Lord's purposes (1 Nephi 17:23-26, 32-38) (pp. 3-4); and (5) the "limited and unsystematized" state of our knowledge concerning Book of Mormon geography. Sorenson notes that "a superb set of maps" is included in our edition of the Holy Bible and additional maps began to be included in the Doctrine and Covenants with the 1981 edition of those scriptures. "But our copies of the Book of Mormon still lack even the most basic map to clarify the complicated goings and comings reported in our keystone scripture" (p. 4).
I would add a proposition to the concepts discussed by Sorenson. Book of Mormon geography is vital because it helps to reveal accurate information and to establish rational inferences related to the meaning and truthfulness2 of the Book of Mormon as an ancient text. As to geography, the Book of Mormon is Joseph Smith's translation of an ancient document that was originally written by record keepers who perceived events happening in real locations. Book of Mormon geography provides the internal clues from which theories can be constructed as to where such locations might be found. External sources (historical, archaeological, geological, geographical, ethnological, and so forth) may then be examined for corroboration or correction of the theories. For example, in the Near Eastern setting in which Lehi originated, we now have several proposed locations in the same general vicinity for the so-called "valley of Lemuel" (1 Nephi 2:10), and one of the locations appears to contain a river running "continually" (1 Nephi 2:9) from a spring.3 In another example, Nephi refers to the followers of Lehi passing through "the place which was called Nahom" (1 Nephi 16:34) and then turning "nearly eastward" and enduring "much affliction in the wilderness" before finally reaching "the land which [they] called Bountiful" on the seacoast (1 Nephi 17:1-6). Now it has been found that in a setting where Book of Mormon geography would place the location of Nahom, a place called "Nehhm" existed (according to an eighteenth-century map). References in related writings from several centuries earlier mention a pagan god ("Nuhum"), a tribal ancestor ("Nuham"), and a region and tribe ("Nihm"). Most recently, archaeological investigations in the area have unearthed an inscribed stone altar from the seventh or sixth century B.C. (about the time of Lehi) referring to the tribe of "Nihm."4 Such tangible support indicates that the events described in the Book of Mormon were not the imagined novelties of Joseph Smith but reasonably could have happened just where and when the book says they occurred.
Such evidence (whether geological, topographical, cultural, geographical, or environmental) is not a prerequisite for the development of a basic understanding and spiritual acceptance of and loyal commitment to the religious message of the Book of Mormon. The workings of the Holy Spirit are not dependent on educational attainments, scholarly acceptance, or scientific advances. Perhaps these facts are related to Sorenson's reasons for not expressly mentioning this line of argument. His book seems primarily addressed to Latter-day Saints who, in the overwhelming majority, are neither educationally ready nor sufficiently funded to develop carefully drawn theories, to pursue and examine potential data, to recognize physical substantiation, and, where necessary, to suggest modifications to prevailing interpretations of Book of Mormon geography. For such readers, Mormon's Map fills the purpose of providing a reasonably careful guide to current views about the geography of the Book of Mormon.
Nonetheless, Book of Mormon geography is vital to the establishment and management of an efficient and productive process for developing theories about, and seeking and finding material evidence related to, the Book of Mormon. The Lord has declared that the Book of Mormon "contains the truth and the word of God" (D&C 19:26), and he has commanded us to "grow . . . in the knowledge of the truth" (D&C 50:40). Surely that divinely intended growth may involve an organized process for extending our knowledge about the people and geography described in the Book of Mormon.
Sorenson does address the issue of Latter-day Saint church leaders having already settled questions about Nephite geography. He makes it clear that early suppositions of church members about a hemispheric geography ignored the evidence to be found in the text of the Book of Mormon. Sorenson also quotes church leaders and publications to show that no authoritative map or geography has ever been revealed or adopted, remarking that "what logically would seem to be one of the first steps in a systematic investigation—to construct a map of the American 'land of promise' based solely on statements in [the Book of Mormon] (at least 550 passages are relevant)—seems not to have occurred to anyone during the church's first century" (p. 4). The investigative efforts in the second century have resulted in "tremendous confusion and a plethora of notions that holds no promise of producing a consensus" (p. 5), primarily because most writers fail to take the first step of detailed textual examination. Mormon's Map is Sorenson's most recent effort to provide such a first-step analysis for a general Latter-day Saint audience.5
A Comprehensive Process
In the book's second chapter, Sorenson describes the process for developing "Mormon's Map." The starting point, certainly, is the text itself. "Whatever the Book of Mormon says about its own geography . . . takes precedence over anything commentators have said of it" (p. 9). Sorenson advises that we must "intensively examine the text Mormon left us (of course, we have access to it only as it has been transmitted to us in English through Joseph Smith)" (p. 12). This is a premise he also sets forth in The Geography of Book of Mormon Events:
If we are serious about answering the question [Where were the lands in which Book of Mormon events took place?] . . . what should we do . . . ? Well, the question itself has two sides to it. Our goal has to be to construct an equation involving the two sides:
Nephite locations A, B, C, etc. = New World locations X, Y, Z, etc.
We cannot work on the whole equation without first attaining thorough definition of the variables on either side of the equal sign. Equipping ourselves with that thorough knowledge demands different capabilities on the one side and on the other. For the external world, we cannot substitute knowledge of scripture for knowledge of climate, topography, hydrography, etc. Unavoidably, we must have a profound grasp of the elements of the physical and cultural scene in its own terms—without any reference to the scripture. Most people offering [geographic] models show that they have limited knowledge of that world. On the other side, we must know all there is to know about the statements in the Book of Mormon on the matters at hand—without any reference to external geography, archaeology, or history.
Everything done so far in studying the geography of Book of Mormon events [presumably including Sorenson's earlier writings] has been inadequate by reason of incompleteness, if not of real errors.6
John E. Clark addresses the same issue in his article "A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies," published in 1989.7 He examines the Book of Mormon passages he thought were important in developing an understanding of an "elemental" geography described in the book. Clark seems to be the first to attempt to treat the geography of the Book of Mormon solely from an internal standpoint and to base his thoughts on "all the geographical passages in the Book of Mormon."8 Because of the importance of Clark's 1989 article and Sorenson's 1992 book with respect to the topic treated in Mormon's Map, this review will refer to these earlier studies. For example, Clark addresses the issue of textual examination as follows:
It has been my experience that most members of the Church, when confronted with a Book of Mormon geography, worry about the wrong things. Almost invariably the first question that arises is whether the geography fits the archaeology of the proposed area. This should be our second question, the first being whether the geography fits the facts of the Book of Mormon—a question we all can answer without being versed in American archaeology. Only after a given geography reconciles all of the significant geographic details given in the Book of Mormon does the question of archaeological and historical detail merit attention. The Book of Mormon must be the final and most important arbiter in deciding the correctness of a given geography; otherwise we will be forever hostage to the shifting sands of expert opinion.9
With the fervent injunction (and leadership) of Clark and Sorenson requiring us to focus our attention on the text of the Book of Mormon as a first step in creating a realistic geography, the next crucial issue seems to be finding all the passages of text on which our focus is to rest. Both authors begin with Alma 22 and quickly build interpretative links to other passages of text. According to Mormon's Map,
the nearest thing to a systematic explanation of Mormon's geographical picture is given in Alma 22:27-34. In the course of relating an incident involving Nephite missionaries and the great king over the Lamanites, Mormon inserted a 570-word aside that summarized major features of the land southward. He must have considered that treatment full and clear enough for his purposes, because he never returned to the topic. Overall, over 550 verses in the Book of Mormon contain information of geographical significance: the account is steeped with information about the where of Nephite events. (p. 9)
Having read Sorenson's analysis, my assumption was that I could readily find the more than 550 verses mentioned by Sorenson if I looked in the scripture index to Mormon's Map. In fact, I found 637 verses.10 Clark used 318 verses to develop his "elemental" geography of the Book of Mormon. In light of this discrepancy in number of verses, I began to wonder how many verses in the Book of Mormon have been thought to hold meaning for someone intently seeking an understanding of the book's geography. More importantly, I wondered which verses they were.
Before reading Mormon's Map, I had been aware of the proposed internal or textual examination of Book of Mormon geography primarily through Sorenson's Geography of Book of Mormon Events; I therefore turned to part 4 of his 1992 study and counted the textual references: 725 verses. At this point, I questioned to what extent the verses identified by Sorenson matched those of Clark. I wondered whether Sorenson's 1992 study and Mormon's Map referred to essentially the same textual passages.
While Sorenson and Clark both started with Alma 22, they went on to examine quite different sets of verses. Of Clark's 318 verses, 85 did not show up in Sorenson's Geography of Book of Mormon Events and 140 verses were not cited in Mormon's Map. Of the 725 verses cited in Geography of Book of Mormon Events, 233 were listed in Clark's paper and 492 were "new" verses. Looking at Mormon's Map, I found that only 178 cited verses were listed in Clark's paper and only 201 verses came from the "new" verses listed in Geography of Book of Mormon Events. That is, of the 637 verses cited in Mormon's Map, neither Clark nor Sorenson had identified 258 verses earlier as being relevant to Book of Mormon geography. Furthermore, of the 492 "new" verses listed in Geography of Book of Mormon Events, fully 291 did not receive any mention in Mormon's Map.
Table 1 below shows the distribution of verses with potential geographical significance cited in Clark's article and in Sorenson's Geography of Book of Mormon Events and Mormon's Map. As the table depicts, Clark's study of Book of Mormon passages relevant to geography relies almost entirely on verses in the books of Alma and Mosiah (86 percent of the cited verses). These books are also vital to Sorenson's Geography of Book of Mormon Events (63 percent of the cited verses) and Mormon's Map (53 percent of the cited verses). Nonetheless, Sorenson's work indicates a capacity to expand the scope of inquiry outside the books of Alma and Mosiah and to find geographical inferences in a wide variety of scriptural contexts. This does not mean that Clark's work is defective; he apparently did not intend to go beyond an "elemental" geography. Sorenson, on the other hand, has dedicated a tremendous amount of time to the study of an internal Nephite map of Book of Mormon events.
|Clark 1989||Sorenson 1992||Sorenson 2000|
|Word of Mormon||0||1||0|
After I eliminated duplications and identified all geographically relevant verses used by Clark and Sorenson combined, I compiled a table of 1,068 verses that have been thought to carry potential meaning for constructing a Nephite conceptual geography.11 It seems to me that if we are going to become conscious of and accept the idea that we are searching for as good an internal map as we can find, then we really need to be reading these 1,068 verses in the Book of Mormon. They would now seem to be the best place to start.
Are the 637 verses cited in Mormon's Map (60 percent of the total) sufficient to develop an adequate internal map? Sorenson clearly believes that his book examines "mainly the most decisive and clearest statements" (p. 15). I do not know who could answer the question in any better manner today. A new level of Book of Mormon interpretative scholarship will have to be reached before our comprehension of the book's internal geography will be more accurate. Today, we can primarily refer just to the somewhat different views of Clark and Sorenson.
A Comprehending Process
In addition to including a comprehensive reading of textual passages, the process of reading the Book of Mormon for geographical meaning must provide us with comprehension of the meanings denoted and connoted by the words in the text. Necessarily, this raises the issue of how to interpret the text. Sorenson identifies several important principles that guide his interpretation of the Book of Mormon text. Clark also sets forth his assumptions on how to interpret the text. At their most basic level, these principles or assumptions fall into four common categories.
The Assumption of Simplicity
Rational simplicity and economy are to be assumed. Mormon's Map states: "We should avoid needlessly complicated synthesis. If two explanations occur to us for solving a geographical problem, the simpler solution—the one with the fewest arbitrary assumptions—is probably better" (p. 14). Clark words the assumption of simplicity as follows: "The best internal reconstruction is one which reconciles all of the data in the Book of Mormon with a minimum number of additional assumptions."12 These assumptions represent Ockham's razor, the "principle attributed to the fourteenth-century English philosopher William of Ockham . . . that one should choose the simplest explanation, the one requiring the fewest assumptions and principles."13 It is the rational principle of parsimony that ought to guide our interpretations of the Book of Mormon text unless, of course, the text itself unambiguously requires a more complex interpretation.
The Assumption of Consistency
In the Geography of Book of Mormon Events, Sorenson presents the assumption of consistency this way: "Minor slips of the 'pen' aside, all the information on geography will prove to be consistent."14 In Mormon's Map, he sets forth his assumption in the form of a conclusion about consistency:
My personal experience with the text of the Book of Mormon is that all the geographical information does prove to be consistent, so I conclude that Mormon possessed an orderly "mental map" of the scene on which his people's history was played out.
. . . Mormon leaves no evidence of confusion about geography; he easily persuades me that he could have told us more had he chosen to do so. Even when particular lands or cities are mentioned at widely separated places in the text, the statements fit comfortably together into a plausible whole. He never hints that he did not understand the geography behind the records of his ancestors that he was abridging; rather, his writing exudes an air of confidence. (pp. 10-11)
Clark also expresses this assumption in his study of Book of Mormon geography: "Assume that all passages are internally consistent and can be reconciled." Clark adds two closely related propositions: "Assume no scribal errors unless internal evidence indicates otherwise. . . . Assume no duplication of place names unless the text is unambiguous on the matter."15 I would add the word unmistakably to Clark's "scribal error" assumption. Internal evidence must unmistakably indicate an error. That which a reader might initially think is a "slip of the pen" (because of an insufficiently examined interpretation) usually turns out to be reconcilable when more evidence from the text of the Book of Mormon is carefully considered.
The Assumption of Uniformity
Both Clark and Sorenson rely on the assumption that at the time of the Book of Mormon, the natural world existed, operated, and was described in ways similar to the natural world we study and understand today. Clark makes this a general assumption and mentions, as examples, "that the locality where the Book of Mormon events took place was not unrecognizably altered at the time of the crucifixion, that geographic details in the small plates and in the book of Ether are therefore compatible with those in Mormon's and Moroni's abridgment, and that the principles of natural science that apply to today's environments are also pertinent to Nephite lands."16 In Mormon's Map, Sorenson expresses the sense of a general uniformitarian assumption with two rather simple propositions: "The expressions 'up,' 'down,' and 'over,' when used in a geographical context, refer to elevation. . . . Nature worked the same anciently as it does today." Sorenson elaborates with examples: "We can be sure that the headwaters of rivers were at a higher elevation than their mouths, and a river implies the presence of a corresponding drainage basin" (p. 13).
Sorenson also confronts the idea that "we cannot hope to attain clarity because of the great destruction that took place at the time of the Savior's crucifixion." Those who suggest such a notion may feel that the destruction "so changed everything that what could be seen of the landscape in former times would not be recognizable afterward. Mormon lets us know that this concern is unfounded" (p. 11). Sorenson then leads us through the textual evidence to conclude that "most of the basic land forms and ecological conditions had [not] been rendered unrecognizable" (p. 12). Hence, both textual evidence and logic require an assumption of uniformity in the way nature operates today and operated in Book of Mormon times.
If one were to assume otherwise, one's geographical theory would have to be categorized as being in the realm of science fiction. A fictional geography may be appropriate for a literary work about imaginary characters, but such a geography would not be appropriate for the Book of Mormon. The events set forth in the Book of Mormon were perceived to have happened by actual Nephite historians and their sources. Such events occurred in real geographical settings subject to the normal laws and processes of nature.
The Assumption of an Uncertain Cultural Comprehension
Clark suggests, without elaboration, that one should "assume a literal meaning" for Book of Mormon terminology.17 Sorenson seems to recommend otherwise. "Ideas in the record will not necessarily be familiar or clear to us. . . . Book of Mormon terminology will not necessarily be clear to us, even in translation, because language and cultural assumptions change. . . . We must seek to overcome any problems this causes us by striving to think, feel, and see as if we were Mormon, rather than supposing that we can read the text 'literally' (which actually turns out to mean 'according to unspoken assumptions of our current culture')" (pp. 13-14). Neither author is consistent in following his own advice, as will be discussed below.
Naturally, if one strives to think, feel, and see like Mormon, one might simply be thinking, feeling, and seeing in accordance with one's own cultural preconceptions (including those one has about Mormon). To actually accomplish what Sorenson suggests, we must know something about how Mormon thought, felt, and viewed the world; to do that, we should know at least the basics about how others in his part of the world perceived themselves and their world. Thus, we must know where Mormon lived in order to discover from all this internal Book of Mormon research where Mormon lived!
The process is circular and moves forward only with the acceptance and incorporation of more completely developed and understood information. As a result of this circularity, Sorenson's assumption of uncertainty in cultural terminology and ideas necessarily leads to a delicate exercise in determining when to rest (one cannot stop entirely) in this cyclical process of interpreting the text, associating the text with a theoretical world, examining the remains of the real world related to such a theoretical world, and then reinterpreting the text, modifying the theory, conducting further research, reinterpreting the text, etc. These are not tasks that most readers want to or can undertake. Hence, Sorenson's assumption imposes a requirement of special knowledge or expertise and turns the process of reading the Book of Mormon for geographical purposes into a process that must fundamentally be a scholarly pursuit.
While I think Sorenson's assumption is a correct one, as a general reader of Book of Mormon geography I also think the assumption is not without interpretative risk (Clark's "shifting sands of expert opinion" referred to above). We cannot continue to rely indefinitely on individual scholars working independently to bring about an improved understanding of Book of Mormon cultural ideas and terminology (whether having to do with geography or otherwise). The need for collaborative work continues to grow. The institutions necessary to produce such work ought to be identified, promoted, supported, and managed. But here I am really taking off on a tangent—an important tangent, nonetheless, that is directly related to Sorenson's work in Mormon's Map.
Sorenson is surely correct that we have to take Mormon's terminology and ideas into account. We must also bear in mind the transmission of the text from Mormon's language into the English of Joseph Smith and from there into the English of our contemporary culture. As Mormon's Map briefly observes, "English has changed between 1829 and 2000" (pp. 13-14). Does this mean we must strive to think, feel, and see like Joseph Smith, too? The answer is yes. Where did Joseph Smith live? How did people think, feel, and see in his culture? How did they express themselves? What did they know of Mormon's world? We must also question how people today think, feel, see, and communicate. Indeed, what do we know today about Mormon's world? Thus, we must be aware of three cultural screens—Mormon's (or the Nephites'), Joseph Smith's, and our own—standing between us and the world of the Book of Mormon. We must assume an uncertain comprehension at our own level, at Joseph Smith's level, and, perhaps to a much lesser extent, even at Mormon's level. All three cultural screens must be taken into account in any serious interpretative process.
My own research provides a clear example of the kinds of issues that need to be examined when attempting to interpret passages in the Book of Mormon and place their meaning into current English language and concepts. Mormon's Map mentions the particular issue of the differences between contemporary and ancient notions about "many days" of travel. "Similarly, we might ask, would 'year' have meant the same to [Mormon] as it does to us? Lasting how long? Beginning and ending when? Composed of what seasonal variations in climate?" (p. 78).
When I began studying Book of Mormon chronology,18 I started with a naive awareness that part of Nephite record keeping included the measurement of years. That's an English word familiar to me and the same word that Joseph Smith used to represent calendrical periods expressed by Nephi in the sixth century B.C. (e.g., 2 Nephi 5:28—"thirty years"), by Mormon in the fourth century A.D. (e.g., Mormon 6:5—"three hundred and eighty and four years"), and by Moroni in the fourth or fifth century A.D., when he abridged records based on historical reports from roughly one to two thousand years earlier (e.g., Ether 9:24—"an hundred and forty and two years").
While Joseph Smith and the vast majority of his contemporaries surely understood the common notion of a solar or seasonal year as the repeating period indicated by the term year, they were not acquainted to any significant degree with ancient timekeeping systems. The idea that ancient cultures may have used a variety of different calendars or years (at separate times or at the same time) probably did not cross the minds of more than a few of Joseph Smith's contemporaries in North America. And if such an idea did cross their minds, what word other than years would they have chosen to describe simply and accurately the meaning of recurring calendrical periods that were significantly longer than a few months?
Hence, an important question for interpreting Book of Mormon chronology is whether one can reasonably conclude that Joseph Smith's use of the word he knew and understood (years) necessarily requires the conclusion that we must understand that word in the Book of Mormon in exactly the same way that Joseph Smith and his contemporaries did or the conclusion that the exact same calendar was used by Nephi, Mormon, and the Jaredites described by Moroni in the book of Ether. My research, which has undergone several interpretative cycles, indicates that in each of the three citations above, the word years describes a period of time measured with a distinctly different calendar and that for most of Nephite history all three calendars were in use by the timekeepers.
Is a "literal" interpretation of the word years, such as Clark proposes, even possible? I would say yes—in a sense it is. Whatever period of time is indicated, it must literally be some form of a year. But several dissimilar types of years eventually must be understood. A "literal" use of Joseph Smith's calendar, which is our calendar (the Dionysian/Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in A.D. 1582), must necessarily lead to a distorted Book of Mormon chronology because it was not the calendar used by the ancient record keepers. Nephi, Mormon, and the Jaredites used distinctive calendars for separate purposes. Our interpretative experience can add rich levels of meaning to our literal reading of the word years.
Can I also, as Sorenson proposes, think, feel, and see as Mormon did? Again, I would say yes—in a way I can. But sitting in my easy chair and urging myself into some sort of imaginary late-Nephite reverie is certainly not the way. Once the terminology and ideas expressed in the Book of Mormon with respect to a specific topic have been fully examined from a textual standpoint, then careful study of external sources (including other scriptures) and thoughtful synthesis must be undertaken. That is one of the reasons why Mormon's Map is such a valuable book—a scholar of Sorenson's stature has taken the time and effort to clarify his thinking regarding the textual evidence he has examined and interpreted concerning the Book of Mormon land of promise.
Interpreting Book of Mormon Directions
The assumptions of Clark and Sorenson appear to differ most in their interpretative effect in relation to issues about directions in the Book of Mormon. These issues require the adoption of interpretations that are more complex and uncertain because the Book of Mormon seems, at least on the level of construal undertaken so far, to provide relatively little information about the Nephite directional system. As a result, Clark and Sorenson bring significant external assumptions to their interpretative tasks. These assumptions are valuable for the light they shine on the interpretation process.
Sorenson's treatment of the Nephite directional system in Mormon's Map is for me the least satisfying discussion in the entire book. It is not a step forward.19 To explain my disappointment and to help elucidate the interpretative process yet to be commenced with respect to directions in the Book of Mormon, I will contrast Sorenson's treatment of Nephite directions with the very limited interpretation undertaken by Clark.
In Mormon's Map, Sorenson devotes a short section to Nephite directions. He begins, not with an examination of the text relating to directions, but with textual passages that indicate how limited our understanding of Nephite ideas and terminology might be. "When we examine the text of the Book of Mormon carefully, we can detect numerous places where cultural assumptions that were second nature to the Nephites are quite different than those we hold. We Latter-day Saints may have become so used to 'liken[ing] all scriptures unto us' (1 Nephi 19:23) that we assume we understand ideas in them that actually are foreign to our experience" (p. 78). Then, instead of dealing with such foreign textual matters associated with directions, Sorenson talks about a Book of Mormon execution ceremony, the king's priests versus the church's priests, a royal pleading process, dragons, heaven and hell, and the space above the earth.
None of these topics has anything to do directly with the geography of the Book of Mormon world; so, one might logically ask how they are related to the Nephite directional system. Sorenson continues, "There are many points of similarity, of course, between [the Nephites'] concepts and ours. Much of the thought and experience conveyed in the ancient records relates sufficiently to the symbols and meanings familiar in our culture that we can learn much from studying them. But differences need to be recognized, not ignored. Direction is one such concept" (p. 79).
After such a lengthy introduction, I was ready for the evidence. But instead of focusing on the text of the Book of Mormon related to directions, Sorenson cites external sources to show that directional systems have varied from culture to culture. The Inuit of the north, the Sumerians and Babylonians of Mesopotamia, and the Maya of Mesoamerica are mentioned as having directional systems different from our own. "To those who share a particular culture, their way of labeling [directions] invariably seems 'obvious' and does not require explanation, while all other schemes seem to them strange. One thing we learn from studying this material is that the cardinal directions—east, west, south, north—have not been basic to the directional schemes of most of the world's cultures. What our culture has taught us, that the cardinal directions are obvious, is not true historically" (p. 80).
Finally, Sorenson turns to passages in the Book of Mormon having something to do with directions. He begins by mentioning the obvious difference between terms such as north and northward, south and southward. He then jumps to what I consider an unsupportable conclusion. "By their frequency of using the '-ward' suffix, we can infer that Mormon and his ancestors used a somewhat different cultural scheme for directions than we do" (p. 80). Why is this a reasonable inference? Did Mormon use the suffix or did Joseph Smith, in his attempt to express a Nephite concept? How does frequency of use necessarily require a different directional system? What if the Nephite directional scheme were exactly the same as ours, but the more important geographic areas were not directly north or south of the Nephites? Wouldn't Joseph Smith then refer to northward and southward as a matter of accuracy and fact, rather than to indicate a different directional scheme? Indeed, in an earlier chapter of Mormon's Map, Sorenson uses the term northward to help explain his reason for tilting the hourglass-shaped Nephite lands away from a strict north-south axis (pp. 18-20). That is, his argument about the need for a tilt in the axis of the Nephite land of promise is founded on an interpretation of the Nephite directional system so that it included cardinal directions. Clearly, this matter has not been thoroughly examined, and we have no reason at this point to disregard a directional system based on cardinal directions.
Sorenson then provides a second example that he thinks should lead us to be cautious when interpreting the Nephite directional system. He contrasts the use of the terms came and went in the Book of Mormon. He speculates that the distinction may have something to do with the place where the historian was recording the events, but then he notes that this contrast has not yet been analyzed systematically.
The best that Sorenson seems to be able to muster in this section is an expression of caution. "Beware of making assumptions about meanings that may prove to be misleading because they spring from modern-day assumptions rather than from ancient ways" (p. 81). However, Sorenson has not guided us through an examination of passages leading to the conclusion that a literal reading is not appropriate when it comes to the Nephite directional system. In fact, he acknowledges that not enough work has been done on this topic. While commenting that "directional matters" are often "subtle," he expressly notes that there is much yet to be considered "before we even know all the right questions about Nephite direction systems" (p. 81).
In contrast, Clark's interpretation of the directions used by Nephite authors is, at least initially, "literal" and thus builds on the foundation of textual analysis. Clark specifies his directional assumptions as follows:
I assume that the Nephite directional system was internally consistent and that this consistency persisted throughout the period of their history. I do not pretend to know how Nephite "north" relates to the north of today's compass, and such information is irrelevant for my present purpose of reconstructing an internal geography. I do assume, however, that regardless of what any "real" orientation may have been, Nephite north was 180 degrees from Nephite south, and both were 90 degrees off of east and west. The directional suffix "-ward" is here loosely interpreted to mean "in the general direction of." Thus, I read "northward" as "in a general northerly direction." Finally, all directions are directions from "somewhere." I assume the central reference point was the city of Zarahemla, located in the "center" of the land of Zarahemla (Helaman 1:24-27).20
Clark's initial view of Nephite directions relies precisely on our own culture's cardinal directions. Our "literal" understanding is, and to my mind must be, our first and most unsophisticated interpretation of the meanings associated with words used in the Book of Mormon. This "literal" approach to Book of Mormon directions also happens to be consistent with concepts of direction and geographical organization that were familiar to Joseph Smith and his contemporaries.21 As Joseph translated the Book of Mormon, he seems to have used the directional and geographical concepts familiar to him. This is, and must be, our second level of interpretation of a word or phrase mentioned in the Book of Mormon. In most cases, the first and second levels of interpretation probably will be identical, but this need not always be the case. The English language has changed in some respects since the time of Joseph Smith.
Near the end of his article, Clark describes in much greater detail another related directional pattern when he seeks to interpret Helaman 3:8. In that verse, the Nephites are said to have expanded "from the land southward to the land northward, and . . . spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east." Clark acknowledges that his reading of the Book of Mormon directional system can be literal only to a point. Then another level of interpretation is called for and additional assumptions must be made. Clark refers to this change in interpretative process as requiring an explanation that is metaphorical:
The passage in Helaman may have been meant in a metaphorical rather than a literal way. Explaining away difficult passages as metaphors goes against one of my guiding assumptions for dealing with the text, but in this case I think it is well justified. North and south sea probably have no more concrete meaning than the phrases "filling the whole earth" and "as numerous as the sands of the sea." Mormon waxes poetic whenever describing the Nephites' peaceful golden age of uninterrupted population growth and expansion. This is understandable given the circumstances under which he wrote, and his knowledge of the certain doom of his people. It is interesting that in a parallel passage describing the same sort of population expansion [Helaman 11:20] no north or south sea is mentioned. . . .
I am convinced that the reference to a north sea and a south sea is devoid of any concrete geographical content. All specific references or allusions to Book of Mormon seas are only to the east and west seas. Any geography that tries to accommodate a north and south sea, I think, is doomed to fail. But we cannot dismiss the reference to these seas out of hand. If they are metaphorical, what was the metaphor?22
With this piling up of inferences, Clark theorizes that the north and south seas mentioned in the text are not physical bodies of water. He bases this theory on the slim fact that these seas are not mentioned in one similar passage in the Book of Mormon. Hence, he moves his interpretation of Book of Mormon directions from a literal one consistent with our culture (and Joseph Smith's culture 175 years ago), where cardinal points are the principal directions, to a third level of cultural understanding (a Nephite metaphorical level) that still may have been somewhat accurately depicted by English words describing a cardinal direction system. Clark also notes that this metaphorical interpretation "would not be out of place in the Middle East at the time of Lehi; and it is remarkably close to the Mesoamerican view of their world."23 That is, at this third level of interpretation, a nonliteral theory has been created and compared favorably with what Clark would consider appropriate external cultures to lend credence to his further sense of the meanings that might be associated with our (and Joseph Smith's) cardinal directions. Clark's conceptualized Nephite world, "as part of a metaphor for the whole earth," places Zarahemla at the center and expands outward (in the four cardinal directions) through lands and wildernesses to the four seas mentioned in Helaman 3:8.24
Clark's literal interpretation of a couple of verses that mention (and don't mention) north and south seas, his identification of an interpretative problem, and then his creation of a metaphorical solution or theory are procedurally sound (but not necessarily substantively correct). He then compares the metaphorical theory with ideas from external sources he assumes were related to the Book of Mormon. This is a valid interpretative process, but not necessarily one that leads to an accurate interpretation. From a substantive point of view, one must also note that Clark's problem with the text of Helaman 3:8 is based on his inference from Helaman 11:20 that the north and south seas "probably" had no real existence. Why is that inference "probably" accurate? Are there no other passages in the Book of Mormon that might bear on this question? In how many other ways is the term north used in the Book of Mormon? What about uses of the term south? Is it impossible or just unlikely that there were north and south seas? The interpretative process dealing with north and south seas has actually just begun.
In Mormon's Map, Sorenson seems to throw his required caution to the wind when he interprets north and south seas literally. These seas seem to serve his purpose of tilting the axis of the Nephite promised land to an orientation similar to that of Mesoamerica. He first identifies a difference between the land north (five references) and the land northward (thirty-one references).
There is, of course, a distinction; "land northward" implies a direction somewhat off from literal north. This implication that the lands are not simply oriented to the cardinal directions is confirmed by reference to the "sea north" and the "sea south" (Helaman 3:8). These terms are used only once, in reference to the colonizing of the land northward by the Nephites, but not in connection with the land southward. The only way to have seas north and south on a literal or descriptive basis would be for the two major bodies of land to be oriented at an angle somewhat off true north-south. That would allow part of the ocean to lie toward the south of one and another part of the ocean to lie toward north of the other. (pp. 19-20)
Sorenson makes this argument from a literal point of view because he seems to be seeking to confirm the tilt he wants to give to his hourglass-shaped lands. (Note that in map 1 and all subsequent maps in the text, he does not tilt the lands the opposite way from Mesoamerica, which would seem to be an equally likely possibility under his interpretation of north and south seas.) I could not find any of the maps in Mormon's Map that actually show where the north and south seas were supposed to be. How were they related to the east and west seas? Why would the Nephites have referred to a land northward or southward if they didn't want to distinguish them from other lands that were literally north or south? In other words, isn't the whole concept of Nephite directions founded on a basic four-part directional system that Joseph Smith was content describing as north, south, east, and west? Frankly, my conclusion from this very brief review of Book of Mormon directions is identical to Sorenson's in one regard: so little work has apparently been done on the topic that we do not yet know all the right questions to ask.
Where Does Sorenson Think We Are Today?
I have not attempted to provide a substantive evaluation of the chapters of Mormon's Map that deal with Sorenson's detailed views of Book of Mormon land forms, topography, environment, distances, and civilization. I have no training or expertise in those subjects. Frankly, the task would have to begin with comparisons of Sorenson's inferences and the 1,068 verses identified as having potential geographical relevance. That will take a great deal of impartial (hopefully collaborative) work. Thus, I find myself in the position of virtually every other reader of Mormon's Map (Sorenson excepted). I must rely on my own rational responses to Sorenson's detailed interpretations and those responses include "interesting," "challenging," and "what if . . ." but hardly anything substantive.
To his credit, Sorenson also helps us in this area by concluding Mormon's Map with a chapter entitled "So How Much Do We Know?" In essence, he reviews his own work. He compares the version of "Mormon's Map" he has been able to construct with the widely duplicated maps that early European cartographers produced: "They drew in coastlines on the basis of reports that were not very clear or full from voyagers who had traversed portions of the coast. Where they did not possess direct information, those mapmakers made inferences—guesses may be more accurate. As for the interior spaces beyond the coasts, their information was even sketchier. Still, the maps they drafted were avidly sought by later voyagers and served them well enough. The comprehensive 'Mormon's Map' on the inside front cover of this book can prove useful too" (p. 126).
Sorenson then lists the three uses to which he thinks "a map in this tentative condition" (p. 127) can be put. First, it provides "a model that we can apply to stories from the record to check their consistency and perhaps shed new light on factors [the stories] involved that had not occurred to us before." Second, "we may discern new questions about geography . . . gaps in our knowledge for which we might seek answers by consulting Mormon's text anew." Third, "the map summarizes a set of criteria . . . against which to evaluate proposals for where in the external world Nephite lands were located" (p. 127).
This is a succinct summary of where we are today. "Mormon's Map" is surely "tentative," but we may finally be in a position to begin filling in the blank spots in our understanding through a reasoned process. By combining Clark's "elemental" geography and interpretative process with Sorenson's more comprehensive Geography of Book of Mormon Events and Mormon's Map, we have a solid foundation for a collaborative project to consciously produce a generally acceptable interpretation of the Nephite map described in the text of the Book of Mormon. We have a method for identifying interpretative issues, pulling together the textual passages that have been identified on each issue as controlling, determining various interpretative theories about those passages, and then comparing the theories for simplicity, consistency, uniformity, and uncertainty in our interpretation of ideas and terminology. Will such a collaborative project necessarily produce a duplicate of Clark's "elemental" geography or Sorenson's Mormon's Map I have met John Clark and John Sorenson and admire them both, but I don't think I know anyone who could answer that question today. Why don't we find the answer?
When one approaches a landfall from the sea, the barest edge of land first appears as a dark contour rising up on the horizon. Mormon's Map leaves me with a clear sense that it represents just the first contour of a wonderful, exciting, and "promised" land filled with information and levels of meaning that are yet to be discovered, understood, and communicated. Thank you, Professor Clark, for your attention to the interpretative process. Thank you, Professor Sorenson, for extending that process into Mormon's Map. "Land ho!" | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32269000 |
(Medical Xpress) -- Cambridge scientists have, for the first time, created cerebral cortex cells those that make up the brains grey matter from a small sample of human skin. The researchers findings, which were funded by Alzheimers Research UK and the Wellcome Trust, were published today in Nature Neuroscience.
Diseases of the cerebral cortex range from developmental conditions, such as epilepsy and autism, to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimers. Todays findings will enable scientists to study how the human cerebral cortex develops, how it wires up and how that can go wrong (a common problem leading to learning disabilities).
It will also allow them to recreate brain diseases, such as Alzheimers, in the lab. This will give them previously impossible insight, allowing them to both watch the diseases develop in real time and also develop and test new drugs to stop the diseases progressing.
Dr. Rick Livesey of the Gurdon Institute and Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, principal investigator of the research, said: This approach gives us the ability to study human brain development and disease in ways that were unimaginable even five years ago.
For their research, the scientists took skin biopsies from patients and then reprogrammed the cells from the skin samples back into stem cells. These stem cells as well as human embryonic stem cells were then used to generate cerebral cortex cells.
Dr. Livesey added: We are using this system to recreate Alzheimers disease in the lab. Alzheimers disease is the commonest form of dementia in the world, and dementia currently affects over 800,000 people in the UK. Its a disease that primarily affects the type of nerve cell weve made in the lab, so weve the perfect tool to create a full, human model of the disease in the lab.
Dr. Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimers Research UK, the UKs leading dementia research charity, said: We are really pleased to have contributed funding for this work and the results are a positive step forward. Turning stem cells into networks of fully functional nerve cells in the lab holds great promise for unravelling complex brain diseases such as Alzheimers.
Dementia is the greatest medical challenge of our time we urgently need to understand more about the condition and how to stop it. We hope these findings can move us closer towards this goal. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32274000 |
Americans work longer hours, take fewer vacation days, and retire later than employees in other industrialized countries around the globe. With such demanding careers, it's no surprise that many experience job burnout—physical, cognitive, and emotional exhaustion that results from stress at work. Researchers have found that burnout is also associated with obesity, insomnia, and anxiety.
Now Dr. Sharon Toker of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Management and her fellow researchers—Profs. Samuel Melamed, Shlomo Berliner, David Zeltser and Itzhak Shpira of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine—have found a link between job burnout and coronary heart disease (CHD), the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries that leads to angina or heart attacks.
Those who were identified as being in the top 20 percent of the burnout scale were found to have a 79 percent increased risk of coronary disease, the researchers reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Calling the results "alarming," Dr. Toker says that these findings were more extreme than the researchers had expected—and make burnout a stronger predictor of CHD than many other classical risk factors, including smoking, blood lipid levels, and physical activity.
Taking a toll on the heart
Some of the factors that contribute to burnout are common experiences in the workplace, including high stress, heavy workload, a lack of control over job situations, a lack of emotional support, and long work hours. This leads to physical wear and tear, which will eventually weaken the body.
Knowing that burnout has been associated with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as heightened amounts of cholesterol or fat in the bloodstream, the researchers hypothesized that it could also be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Over the course of the study, a total of 8,838 apparently healthy employed men and women between the ages of 19 and 67 who presented for routine health examinations were followed for an average of 3.4 years. Each participant was measured for burnout levels and examined for signs of CHD. The researchers controlled for typical risk factors for the disease, such as sex, age, family history of heart disease, and smoking.
During the follow-up period, 93 new cases of CHD were identified. Burnout was associated with a 40% increased risk of developing CHD. But the 20% of participants with the highest burnout scores had a 79% increased risk. Dr. Toker predicts that with a more extended follow-up period, the results would be even more dramatic.
Avoiding long-term damage
These results are valuable for preventative medicine, says Dr. Toker. Healthcare providers who know that their patients are experiencing burnout can closely monitor for signs of coronary heart disease as well.
Once burnout begins to develop, it sparks a downwards spiral and ultimately becomes a chronic condition, she warns. Employers need to prioritize prevention by promoting healthy and supportive work environments and keeping watch for early warning signs of the condition. Simple diagnostic questionnaires that identify burnout are already available online. Workers can contribute to prevention by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as exercising more regularly, getting seven to eight hours sleep per night, and seeking psychological therapy if required. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32275000 |
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder. The symptoms get worse over time and can include:
- Muscle rigidity
- Tremor at rest
- Slowing down of movements (bradykinesia)
- Difficulty moving and gait instability
PD is caused by a loss of certain nerve cells in the brain. The loss of these cells causes a decrease in the amount of a brain chemical called dopamine. Low dopamine levels cause PD symptoms.
The brain cells may be lost because of genetic defects, the environment, or some combination of the two. A small amount of people with PD have an early-onset form. This type is caused by an inherited gene defect.
Secondary PD has similar symptoms but is caused by several factors such as:
- Antipsychotic drugs, such as haloperidol (Haldol), fluphenazine (Prolixin), trifluoperazine (Stelazine), and chlorpromazine (Thorazine)
- Antinausea/gastric motility medications such as prochlorperazine and metoclopramide
- Cardiovascular drugs, such as some calcium channel blockers and antiarrhythmic drugs
- Valproic acid (a medication used for seizures, migraines , and bipolar disorder )
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Manganese poisoning
- Brain tumors
- IV drug abuse contaminated by MPTP (a type of neurotoxin)
- Reserpine (medicine to treat schizophrenia and high blood pressure)
- Insecticide exposure
Factors that increase the chance of PD include:
Symptoms of PD begin mildly. They will worsen over time.
- "Pill-rolling" tremor in the hands
- Tremors are present at rest, improve with movement, and are absent during sleep
- Stiffness and rigidity of muscles, usually beginning on one side of the body
- Difficulty and shuffling when walking
- Short steps
- Slowness of purposeful movements
- Trouble performing usual tasks, due to shaking in hands and slowness of movement
- Trouble speaking (often speaking with a low volume)
- Flat, monotonous voice
- Shaky, spidery, or small handwriting
- Poor balance
- Difficulty with rising from a sitting position
- Seborrhea (a skin problem that causes a red rash and white scales)
- Loss of smell
- Urinary symptoms (frequency and urgency)
- Bowel movement symptoms (straining, constipation)
- Tendency to fall
- Stooped posture
- Increasingly mask-like face, with little variation in expression
- Trouble chewing and swallowing
- Drooling and excessive salivation
- Difficulty thinking, problems with memory
- Decreased sense of smell
- Sleep problems such as REM-behavior disorder
The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. There are no tests to definitively diagnose PD. The doctor will ask many questions. This will help to rule out other causes of your symptoms.
Tests to rule out other conditions may include:
- Blood tests
- Urine tests
- CT scan —a type of x-ray that uses a computer to make pictures of structures inside the head
- MRI scan —a test that uses magnetic waves to make pictures of structures inside the head
- PET scan —a scan that makes images that show the amount of activity in the brain. A special kind of PET scan called a DAT scan may be used in the evaluation of PD.
Currently, there are no treatments to cure PD. There are also no proven treatments to slow or stop its progression. Some medications may help to improve symptoms. Over time, the side effects of the medication may become troublesome. The medications may also lose their effectiveness.
Examples of medicines include:
- Levodopa/carbidopa ( Sinemet )
- Amantadine (Symmetrel)
- Anticholinergics: benztropine (Cogentin) and biperiden (Akineton)
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, such as selegiline (Eldepryl)
- Dopamine agonists: bromocriptine (Parlodel), pramipexole (Mirapex), Cabergoline (Dostinex), Rotigotine (Neupro), apomorphine (Apokyn), and ropinirole (Requip)
- COMT inhibitors: entacapone (Comtan) and tolcapone (Tasmar)
Depression or hallucinations may also occur with PD and its treatment. Medicines may be prescribed to attempt to treat these conditions. The drugs may include:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Tricyclic antidepressant (such as, nortriptyline )
- Antipsychotic medicine (such as, clozapine )
Hip fractures are common in those with PD. Bisphosphonates are medications that may help reduce this risk.
Constipation , drooling, and lightheadedness when standing are common and may improve with medications or other treatments.
Different brain operations are available, and many more are being researched including:
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS)—implanting a device to stimulate certain parts of the brain; can decrease tremor and rigidity
- Thalamotomy and pallidotomy—destroying certain areas of the brain to improve tremor when medication does not work (not as common as deep brain stimulation)
- Nerve-cell transplants (research only)—to increase amount of dopamine made in the brain
Therapy can improve muscle tone, strength, and balance. It will include exercises and stretches.
Consider joining a support group with other people with PD. It will help to learn how others are learning to live with the challenges of PD.
If you are diagnosed with PD, follow your doctor's instructions .
- Reviewer: Rimas Lukas, MD
- Review Date: 09/2012 -
- Update Date: 09/10/2012 - | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32280000 |
Educator and community activist Charles Gomillion worked at the Tuskegee Institute for more than forty years. As president of the Tuskegee Civic Association, he worked with Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to increase African American voter registration in the South. Gomillion was the lead plaintiff in the landmark 1960 civil rights case Gomillion v. Lightfoot, which led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare gerrymandering unconstitutional.
Gomillion was born in Johnston, South Carolina, in 1900. Although his parents encouraged his education, Johnston’s African American school only ran three months out of the year. Gomillion left home at 16 to attend secondary school at Paine College, a Methodist school in Augusta, Georgia, where he completed high school and some college before dropping out to help his aging parents. After working as a junior high school principal, he returned to Paine to finish college and began teaching at Tuskegee Institute in 1928. Gomillion continued his own studies in sociology, eventually earning a PhD from Ohio State University when he was 59 years old.
In the 1930s, Gomillion attempted to register to vote several times, starting in 1934, and was finally successful in 1939. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Gomillion, by then the dean of students at Tuskegee, worked to register voters which prompted the state legislature to redraw the borders of the city in 1957 to maintain white political power. Tuskegee’s municipal boundaries were gerrymandered to create a 28-sided shape that retained every white person within the new city boundaries and excluded all but 12 African Americans. Gomillion brought suit to contest the redistricting in Gomillion v. Lightfoot.
King sought Gomillion’s advice for his book, Stride Toward Freedom and thanked him for his “significant suggestions and real encouragement” in the book’s preface (King, 11). After the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in Gomillion vs. Lightfoot, Gomillion encouraged the Tuskegee Civic Association to work for collaboration between whites and blacks. However, by the mid-1960s, the prospect of interracial politics was met with firm resistance from local African Americans who had been thoroughly excluded for so long. Gomillion left the Tuskegee Civic Association and in 1970 retired from Tuskegee Institute.
William A. Elwood, “An Interview with Charles G. Gomillion,” Callaloo, 40 (Summer, 1989) 576-599.
King, Stride Toward Freedom, 1958.
Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32289000 |
Is Morgellons Disease a Physical or Psychological Condition?
Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a study of a curious and controversial condition known as Morgellons disease, which is characterized by creeping, crawling and stinging sensations under the skin.
The project, whose goal is to identify possible risk factors and causes, was prompted by pressure from afflicted people, along with the advocacy groups and Congressmen that represent them, according to CDC spokesperson Lola Russell. Many in the medical community question whether Morgellons is an infectious disease or a psychiatric disorder.
Morgellons has drawn increasing attention since 2002, when a Pittsburgh woman named Mary Leitao launched a Web site describing skin sores and filamentlike structures emerging from her two-year-old son’s s skin. After being inundated with e-mails from people complaining of similar symptoms, Leitao founded the Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF) to raise awareness and secure research funding for the bizarre condition. Since then, nearly 14,000 families have reported Morgellons cases to MRF, although the actual number may be higher, the organization says.
To learn more about Morgellons, which many patients believe is caused by parasites, we consulted Michael Cappello, a pediatrics professor and infectious disease specialist at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
What is Morgellons disease?
It is a skin condition that does not have an accepted medical definition. The name itself was given not by physicians per se—at least contemporary physicians—but by an advocacy group. [Leitao borrowed the name from 17th-century French doctors who observed a similar condition in children.]
What are the symptoms?
Patients complain of itching and scratching sensations. They get wrapped up in the belief that there is something beneath their skin—an infectious agent, such as a parasitic worm—that can be extracted. They often try to pull that something out of their skin, which creates open sores. Patients will say, “I scratched and I pulled this living thing out of my skin.”
How do the patients describe these living things they believe are beneath their skin?
Often they describe them as tiny fibers. [According to the MRF, the fibers or "filaments" are "near microscopic" and may be white, blue, red or black. In addition to the filaments, there may also be black or white sandlike granules on or in the skin.].
Have you seen any evidence of these organisms?
Individuals and their physicians have sent me pictures of these filaments and skin samples purportedly containing them, but I have never found evidence of any parasites. Looking under the microscope, the samples look like amorphous skin, like a skin sample from a normal person might look. Some contain hair follicles. And apart from my personal experience, I am not aware of any evidence in the scientific literature suggesting that these patients have infectious agents crawling under their skin.
Do these patients have other signs of infectious disease?
Frequently, the patient’s history and skin lesions are not consistent with what we know about infectious diseases. If, for example, a person had toxoplasmosis [a disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, often contracted via contact with soiled kitty litter, for example], he or she would have enlarged lymph nodes and flulike illness. Or if a patient had pinworm [a common parasitic infection in young children], he or she would have rectal itching. There are even parasitic infections that cause itching and skin manifestations, but none of them are consistent with the clinical presentation of Morgellons.
If there are no parasites, what else could cause the sores—some kind of skin disease?
To my knowledge, there is no consistent feature of these skin lesions that have been linked to a dermatological diagnosis. They are self-inflicted.
So what is wrong with these patients?
They are clearing suffering. My interpretation is that the symptoms are most consistent with a psychiatric condition.
Continue reading Morgellons disease parasites skin psychiatric | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32299000 |
The Bulldog is a member of the Non-Sporting group. The Non-Sporting group is the most diverse group and is made up of dogs that don’t fit in any other group. The Bulldog is a muscular dog of medium size with a smooth coat. Females should weigh approximately 45 pounds while males should weigh around 55 pounds. Their head is their most prominent feature. The circumference of their head should measure their height. The legs are short, shoulders are very wide, and the chest is deep with well-sprung rounded ribs. A well-bred Bulldog’s general appearance suggests stability, strength, and courage. In attitude, they are passive yet dignified, and exude kindness.
Bulldogs are lovable and playful in short spurts. They are happiest when they are around people, and they tend to need a lot of attention. They enjoy a loving environment and should not be forced to endure fear or neglect. They are usually quiet and make a good companion.
The Bulldog breed is a friendly breed and will leave with anyone who will take them; therefore, it is best to keep them indoors and in a secure, fenced yard when outdoors.
The short face of a Bulldog causes them breathing difficulties, which are magnified in the hot weather. Bulldogs must be indoor dogs all of the time. In hot weather they tend to overheat. They need to be protected from heat exhaustion. When walking a Bulldog in warmer weather, always bring along ice water. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32304000 |
Providing digital resourcesfor the Australian Curriculum
Biological, Physical and Earth and space sciences for early learners
Early learners discover the past through toys and games
Multimedia and inquiry questions about life in ancient times
Conducting historical inquiry related to Australian History
This is a short story about the lives of stick insects.
Living things have basic needs! These videos show how bugs handle their prey.
Dr Tanya Hill, astronomer, explains why we experience day and night.
Dr Tanya Hill, astronomer, explains changes in the sky and the star patterns.
An interactive where students match objects that move the same way.
This is a story about toys used by several generations of a family.
Toys from the museum's collection are used to explore continuity and change.
Children sequence images of toys from the My Grandmother's Toy Box story.
Students investigate primary and secondary sources about the Vesuvius eruption.
Students examine the importance of conserving the remains of Pompeii.
The features and functions of a Roman house are explored in this resource.
What does the practice of public bathing tell us about everyday Roman life?
Illustrations of daily life and slaves' videos prompt an inquiry into slavery.
Alistair Thomson offers advice to students on how to record oral histories.
Dr Moya McFadzean discusses the role of objects in personal migration stories.
Michael Reason discusses how photographs assist in understanding the past.
Dr Paula Hamilton reflects on creating community histories.
Museum Victoria Learning Lab material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License, displayed at the bottom of each Learning Lab page unless stated otherwise. Where website users are directed via links to Museum Victoria material which is not a component of the Learning Lab, the applicable copyright notice for that material appears in the Rights tab in the page footer.
Hi Haidar - we checked with our Live Exhibits department with your query, and they have said the following:
No-one has ever recorded the life span of a male Vi...
To read the latest tweets from @museumvictoria
Follow Museum Victoria on
Hello Kristen - if you can upload a clear image to us via our Ask the Experts page, we will see if the bird can be identified - it would also be useful to know ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32307000 |
Search National Agricultural Library (NAL) Digital Collections
Showing item 0 of
from your search.
A System for Estimating Bowen Ratio and Evaporation from Waste Lagoons
- A low-cost system was deployed above a swine waste lagoon to obtain estimates of Bowen ratios and characterize lagoon temperatures. The system consisted of humidity and temperature sensors and anemometers deployed above the lagoon, water temperature sensors, and a meteorological station located by the lagoon. To evaluate the system, data was analyzed from the 25th through 28th June 2007. Bowen ratios showed diurnal behavior near the lagoon surface characterized by negative values during day and positive ones at night. Latent (evaporation) and sensible heat fluxes were towards the atmosphere and the lagoon, respectively for most of the day. A diurnal cycle in atmospheric and lagoon temperatures was also observed. Furthermore, wind speeds above the lagoon were highest in the afternoon. These variations were linked to lagoon temperature stratifications which became more pronounced as wind speeds increased. Temperature stratification at the lagoon indicated increased heat exchange at the lagoon's interface with the atmosphere. During the night, the stratification disappeared and temperatures in the water column were almost identical down to about 60 cm. This behavior is similar to that observed in other shallow water bodies that are fetch-limited. Lagoon heating was driven by the diurnal cycle of solar radiation and net radiation. This suggests that Bowen ratios had an inverse relationship with lagoon heating and its thermal stratification. This also indicates that there was an increase in latent heat flux and evaporation during the daytime. These results are important for characterizing the thermal behavior of the lagoon leading to a better representation of processes responsible for emissions.
Quintanar, A.I. , Mahmood, R. , Loughrin, J.H. , Lovanh, N. , Motley, M.V.
estimation , evaporation rate , waste lagoons , swine , pig manure , water temperature , sensors , anemometers , meteorological data , temperature profiles
- Includes references
- Applied engineering in agriculture 2009, v. 25, no. 6
Journal Articles, USDA Authors, Peer-Reviewed
- Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32313000 |
A southern white rhino at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Often referred to as the "zoo of the future", the park allows animals to roam freely on 2,000 acres around the foothills of San Diego County, California. The park houses 325 species of birds and 12
The world Wide Web may have been created on this day in 1990 but nature is sometimes too hot for technology. Here a rancher must keep his telephone in the refridgerator because of the heat in Drysdale River Station, Wyndham. Australia. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32315000 |
Sunlight is Earth’s most abundant energy source and is delivered everywhere free of charge. Yet direct use of solar energy—that is, harnessing light’s energy content immediately rather than indirectly in fossil fuels or wind power—makes only a small contribution to humanity’s energy supply. In 2008, about 0.1% of the total energy supply in the United States came from solar sources. In theory, it could be much more. In practice, it will require considerable scientific and engineering progress in the two ways of converting the energy of sunlight into usable forms.
Photovoltaic systems are routinely employed to power a host of devices—from orbiting satellites to pocket calculators—and many companies make roof-sized units for homes and office buildings.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems exploit the photoelectric effect discovered more than a century ago. In certain materials, the energy of incoming light kicks electrons into motion, creating a current. Sheets of these materials are routinely employed to power a host of devices—from orbiting satellites to pocket calculators—and many companies make roof-sized units for homes and office buildings.
At the present time, however, the best commercial PV systems produce electricity at five to six times the cost of other generation methods, though if a system is installed at its point of use, which is often the case, its price may compete successfully at the retail level. PV is an intermittent source, meaning that it’s only available when the Sun is shining. Furthermore, unless PV energy is consumed immediately, it must be stored in batteries or by some other method. Adequate and cost-effective storage solutions await development. One factor favoring PV systems is that they produce maximum power close to the time of peak loads, which are driven by air-conditioning. Peak power is much more expensive than average power. With the advent of time-of-day pricing for power, PV power will grow more economical.
Sunlight can also be focused and concentrated by mirrors and the resulting energy employed to heat liquids that drive turbines to create electricity—a technique called solar thermal generation. Existing systems produce electricity at about twice the cost of fossil-fuel sources. Engineering advances will reduce the cost, but solar thermal generation is unlikely to be feasible outside regions such as the southwestern United States that receive substantial sunlight over long time periods.
Despite the challenges, the idea of drawing our energy from a source that is renewable and that does not emit greenhouse gases has powerful appeal. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32321000 |
|World Salt Awareness Week: “Less salt, please!”|
Everyone can play a role in reducing salt intake to improve health
Washington, D.C., 12 March 2013 (PAHO/WHO) — The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is joining the call for “Less salt, please!” during this year’s World Salt Awareness Week. The March 11–17 campaign urges everyone to help reduce dietary salt, with a focus this year on chefs, caterers, and others who prepare food for consumption outside the home.
“Restaurants and caterers often add excessive salt to foods because they think that’s what customers want,” notes Branka Legetic, who leads PAHO/WHO’s salt reduction efforts. “But people can in fact change their tastes for salt over time. If you gradually consume less salt, you will gradually want less salt. The same is true of sugar. Chefs and caterers can help consumers choose this better path.”
Salt is an essential part of the human diet, but most people consume more than they realize and more than is healthy. Consuming excess salt contributes to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, as well as other health problems, including kidney disease, osteoporosis, obesity and Alzheimer’s. High blood pressure is the focus of this year’s World Health Day (April 7), and reducing dietary salt will also be one of the key recommendations of that campaign.
PAHO/WHO recommends that adults consume less than 5 grams of salt per day. In the Americas, salt intake averages 12g/day in Argentina, 11 g/day in Brazil, and 8.5–9 g/day in Canada, Chile and the United States.
Most of the excess salt people consume comes not from the salt shaker but from processed foods such as bread, snack foods, “instant” meals, processed meats and condiments. Restaurant foods are also major contributors, hence the focus this year on chefs and caterers.
PAHO/WHO nutrition expert Enrique Jacoby notes that choosing “low-salt” versions of processed foods is not always the best solution, because processed foods tend to be less healthy than fresh foods for other reasons.
“Foods that come in a bag or a box—what we call ultra-processed foods—are things that people should be avoiding anyway,” says Jacoby. “Low-salt versions of processed foods are full of empty calories, low on micronutrients, and often formulated and marketed to make people over-consume. In contrast, real, fresh foods provide real nutrition, satisfy hunger and are naturally low in salt. The best advice is to eat real foods like those your grandmother ate.”
Cost-effectiveness studies have shown that reducing salt consumption at the population level can cut the prevalence of related chronic diseases at a cost of between 4 and 32 U.S. cents per person per year. A Canadian study of 18 Latin American countries estimated that reducing sodium intake by 10 percent each year in 18 Latin American countries could prevent 593,000 cardiovascular events and save some 54,000 lives.
Salt reduction efforts are under way in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Suriname, Uruguay, and the United States. They include efforts ranging from mass media and educational campaigns to collaboration with food makers to improve nutrition labels and reformulate products to contain less salt.
PAHO, founded in 1902, is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It works with its member countries to improve the health and the quality of life of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO.
Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32325000 |
|Search ON THIS DAY by date|
1962: America to sell Polaris to BritainPresident Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan have announced the formation of a multilateral Nato nuclear force after talks in Nassau, in the Bahamas.
The agreement means the United States will sell Polaris missiles to the UK.
The President has made a similar offer to France in the hope of establishing a tripartite nuclear deterrent against the countries of the Eastern Bloc.
Polaris, a two-stage solid-fuelled rocket system, is designed to be fired underwater from a submarine. It carries a half-megaton nuclear warhead at a speed of 17,500 mph (28,160 kph).
The British Government would construct the submarines and develop warheads for Polaris with technical support from the US.
The deal has been described in the US press as a landmark in military and political development in the Western world.
It is also regarded as the most constructive meeting held between President Kennedy and Mr Macmillan.
However, there are now fears Britain will be too reliant on the US for its nuclear deterrent in spite of the fact that the nuclear element of the weapons system will be supplied by Britain.
At the end of the three-day summit, the two leaders issued a joint statement.
In it, Mr Macmillan made it clear that Polaris missiles would be used for international defence of Nato countries, except where Britain's "supreme national interests are at stake".
This phrase is designed to show the British nuclear force is politically independent of the US.
Cuban missile crisis
President Kennedy also sent a letter to France's President Charles de Gaulle offering to sell Polaris as well as provide technical support.
It is hoped this will not only heal the current rift between France and Britain over Mr Macmillan's "special relationship" with the US and Britain's wish to enter the EEC, but also strengthen Nato as a whole and allow France a greater role within it.
If France rejects the agreement, it will still be valid between Britain and America.
The talks come just two months after the Cuban missile crisis when it was revealed the Soviet Union's leader, Nikita Khrushchev, had set up nuclear missile bases on America's doorstep.
In this context, President Kennedy and Mr Macmillan emphasised the need for a unified defence programme.
"In strategic terms, this defence is indivisible and it is their conviction," said the statement, "that in all ordinary circumstances of crisis or danger it is this very unity which is the best protection of the west."
The controversial American Skybolt missile project will be abandoned due its high cost and questions about how long it would have taken to complete.
The first of a dozen Polaris submarines are due to go into service in the UK within five years. Each submarine will cost around £35m each and each missile costs £350,000. The total cost of the nuclear naval deterrent is estimated at about £300m.
The US currently has five Polaris A-1 submarines in service with a range of 1,200 miles (1,931 km).
The A-2 version is being tested from improved Polaris submarines and can reach 1,500 miles (2,414km).
A-3 missiles are due to be ready for use in 1964 and have a range of 2,500 miles (4,023km).
Compared with Skybolt missiles which carry warheads of nearly two megatons, Polaris rockets are less powerful.
But they are also less vulnerable because Skybolts are dropped from aircraft while Polaris submarines are much harder to locate.
Stories From 21 Dec
|Search ON THIS DAY by date|
|^^ back to top|
|Front Page | Years | Themes | Witness|
|©MMVIII | News Sources | Privacy & Cookies Policy | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32330000 |
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine have produced new analyses predicting the risk of heart disease among diverse population groups -- younger women, middle-aged men and older Japanese-American men.
The findings are being presented on March 26 at the 39th Annual American Heart Association (AHA) Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Orlando, Florida.
The analyses are based on results from several studies showing that for every nanometer decrease in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle diameter or size, heart disease risk increases from 30 to 230 percent, depending on the population studied.
LDL particles carry the "bad cholesterol" through the bloodstream. Smaller LDL particles may more easily become trapped in blood vessel walls than larger ones, possibly increasing risk for atherosclerosis. LDL particle size is determined using a technique called gradient gel electrophoresis that separates LDL particles obtained from blood samples by their diameter and shape.
The UW researchers have analyzed data from three different population groups. In a case-control study of 231 primarily Caucasian women aged 20-44 in Western Washington, blood samples from women with heart disease had smaller LDL size than control women in the same age group. A one-nanometer decrease in LDL size was associated with a more than two-fold risk for heart disease. The relationship remained after taking into account smoking, diabetes, hypertension and LDL cholesterol level, but was reduced substantially after taking into account triglycerides (another form of fat carried in the bloodstream) or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as the "good cholesterol".
"Many people think heart disease occurs mainly in men, but heart disease
is also the number-one cause of death among women in this country," says Dr.
Melissa Austin, profes
Contact: Ellen Liang
University of Washington | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32331000 |
NASA has released a computer visualization project called "Perpetual Ocean" that presents a data-created time lapse of the Earth's ocean and sea surface currents over a two-year period.
The animation (see below) shows the globe slowly spinning as white swirls curl and move in the water around landmasses. It looks as if Vincent van Gogh had painted into the oceans -- from the Gulf of Mexico to the Indian Ocean to the Black Sea.
Typically, NASA uses ECCO2 to model global ocean and sea-ice to better understand ocean eddies and other current systems that move heat and carbon in the oceans. The end goal is to study the ocean's role in future climate change scenarios. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32332000 |
From its crew members to its crockery, enthusiasts have raked over every aspect of the Titanic’s tragic tale. But what about the dogs on board?
There were 12 canines on the doomed ocean liner, three of which survived. Those include a baby Pomeranian, Lady, whose owner, Margaret Hays of New York City, wrapped her in a blanket and carried her into a lifeboat.
The other two dogs to survive were also small, pedigreed pooches who travelled in their owners’ cabins. (All the dogs on board belonged to first-class passengers.) Sun Yat-sen, a Pekingese belonging to Henry and Myra Harper (of the Harper & Row publishing dynasty) lived to yip another day, as did a Pomeranian belonging to Elizabeth Rothschild of New York.
The nine dogs confined in the onboard kennel — where they were walked and cared for by crewmembers — all died. Two belonged to American coal magnate William Carter, who reassured his worried children that their pets were safe as they clambered into the lifeboats. His daughter Lucy was later compensated $100 by Lloyds of London for her King Charles spaniel, while his son Billy received $200 for his Airedale.
The other dogs that perished included two Airedales owned by John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, a fox terrier named Dog, and a Great Dane who was the object of a failed rescue attempt by his owner, Ann Elizabeth Isham. She climbed out of a lifeboat after being informed that her dog was too big to join her and returned to the ship’s kennel. A few days after the sinking, her body was found by a recovery ship, clutching her beloved canine.
The Titanic’s four-footed passengers are included in a new exhibition about Philadelphia families aboard the Titanic at the Widener University Art Gallery in Chester, Pennsylvania. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32339000 |
Why 2 high tides?
Name: paul dickerson
Date: 1993 - 1999
It makes sense to me why there is a high tide at or about noon during
new moon, but why is there a high tide at or about mid-night as well?
The reason is very simple, though it takes a bit of thinking to hit the
right direction. Consider the Earth-Moon system, and visualise Earth as a
sphere with a layer of water all around it. The water closer to thMoon will get
attracted more than the Earth giving rise to the noon tide. But, Earth will get attracted more than
the water on the other side this is what gives the midnight tide.
Jasjeet ( Jasjeet S Bagla )
Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives
Update: June 2012 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32341000 |
Turner to Monet
Constable, one of the foremost British landscape painters of the nineteenth century, first achieved success with his large canvases depicting landscape and life in and around the Stour Valley, which he exhibited between 1819 and 1825. Such was the success of the first of these large paintings, The white horse 1819,1 when Constable exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1819, that he was elected Associate of the Academy later that year.2 Working on a scale usually reserved for history painting, Constable redefined the notion of a ‘finished’ picture by giving his large landscapes something of the spontaneous freedom and expressive handling of a rapidly painted sketch.
The leaping horse is the sixth and the last of these large Stour Valley landscapes and one of the most powerful. Constable chose a place called Float Jump, close to where the course of the old river temporarily left the navigable portion of the Stour. It also marked the boundary between the counties of Essex and Suffolk. The jump itself consisted of a wooden barrier a metre high, constructed across the tow path. Built to stop cattle straying, it was low enough to allow barge horses to leap over it. Constable chose the moment when the horse, mounted by a boy, was leaping the barrier, which gave vigour to the scene. He depicted it from a low viewpoint to give the horse and rider a dramatic presence.
Constable’s principal concern was not, however, with the specifics of the location but rather capturing the atmosphere of place and the general feelings associated with experiencing nature. He sought to present nature as something mutable, not fixed. ‘It is a lovely subject,’ Constable said of The leaping horse, ‘lively – & soothing – calm and exhilarating, fresh – & blowing’.3 He wanted his landscapes to create a total experience, including a sense of movement and sound as well as what can be directly observed. In this painting he wanted to convey the feel of the wind, the shimmering of light, the sense of being outdoors. And he extended the experience of the landscape by depicting a moorhen startled from her nest by the thundering of the horse’s hoofs.
Constable’s handling of paint is expressionist and almost abstract. He used palette knife as well as brush, with which he created a visual impression of flickering lights and shadows. The light rises as if the sun is coming out and the storm clouds are blowing away. It sparkles on the trees on the left and gives the pollarded tree in the centre a silvery look.
Constable also carried through his interest in ‘skying’ into all his large landscapes. In saying the sky was the ‘chief organ of sentiment’ in a painting, he emphasised his belief in the expressive importance of the sky, and its ability to dictate the mood of a landscape.4 His skies are a vital part of his compositions and a main conveyor of mood, as in The leaping horse. They transform comfortable, stable scenes into ones of continual change and transition.
1 The Frick Collection, New York.
2 Constable described this work as ‘a placid representation of a serene grey morning, summer’, Graham Reynolds, The later paintings and drawings of John Constable: text, New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1984, p. 156.
3 R.B. Beckett, John Constable’s correspondence VI Ipswich: Suffolk Records Society, 1968, p. 198.
4 Beckett, p. 77. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-32344000 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.