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Scratching is a normal, healthy behavior for cats; even declawed cats go through the motions of scratching. Why?
• To remove the dead outer layer of their claws.
• To mark their territory by leaving both a visual mark and a scent – cats have scent glands on their paws.
• To stretch their bodies and flex their feet and claws.
• To work off excess energy.
Attempting to train a cat never to scratch is fighting a losing battle. It is much easier for you and much better for your feline companion if you concentrate on training your cat to scratch where you find it acceptable.
Give your cat a special place to use her claws. Surfaces for scratching should be appealing and attractive to your cat, and above all, convenient. The answers to the following questions will help you understand your cat’s scratching preferences:
• Where is his or her prime scratching area now? Prominent objects, objects close to sleeping areas and areas near the entrance to a room are often chosen.
• What texture does the chosen surface have – is it soft or coarse?
• What shape does it have – horizontal or vertical?
• How tall is the current scratching area? At what height does your cat scratch?
Now that you know where and what your cat prefers to scratch, you can substitute similar, acceptable objects for her to scratch, for instance, rope-wrapped posts, corrugated cardboard or even a log.
Place the new scratching station near the inappropriate item(s) that she’s already using. Make sure the scratching objects are stable and won’t fall over or move around when she uses them.
Cover the old inappropriate surfaces with something your cat will find unappealing, such as double-sided sticky tape, aluminum foil, sheets of sandpaper or a plastic carpet runner with the pointy side up. Or you may give the former scratching area an aversive odor by attaching cotton balls containing perfume, a muscle rub or some other unappealing odor. Be careful with scents- you don’t want the new scratching station to smell unpleasant.
When your cat is consistently using your chosen scratching object, it can be moved very gradually (no more than three inches each day) to a location that suits you. It’s best to keep the appropriate scratching objects as close to your cat’s preferred scratching locations as possible.
Don’t remove the unappealing coverings or odors from the formerly scratched objects until your cat is consistently using the new scratching surfaces in their permanent locations for several weeks, or even a month. After that, you can uncover the old areas gradually, not all at once.
Should I Punish My Cat For Scratching?
NO! Punishment is effective only if you catch your cat in the act of scratching unacceptable objects and have previously provided her with acceptable scratching objects. Punishment after the fact will not change the behavior but it may cause her to be afraid of you and may elicit defensive aggression.
If you do catch your cat in the act of scratching inappropriate objects, remote punishment is best. In other words, the cat must not realize that your are the source of the punishment. Ideas for remote punishment include making a loud noise (using a whistle, shaking a pop can filled with rocks or slapping the wall) or using a water-filled squirt bottle. If the cats recognizes you as the punisher, she’ll learn to refrain from scratching in your presence but will continue to scratch wherever she likes when you’re not around.
Seattle Humane Society
Chief Executive Officer | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37666000 |
Maybe you’ve noticed that Seattle’s sunrises and sunsets are particularly colorful lately. If you haven’t seen them in the sky, you’ve probably seen them on your Facebook feed. (At least, my own feed seems full of “beautiful sunset” pictures every evening.)
There’s a reason for our pretty orange skies. Heard of the the wildfires burning in Siberia? Smoke from those fires is drifting over the ocean and lending hazy color to our horizon at dusk and dawn.
“I believe many of you…particularly those near the coast and northwest Washington will be able to see the smoke, particularly at sunset, where the sun should look redder than normal,” UW meteorologist Cliff Mass recently noted on his blog.
Here’s what that smoke looked like from space recently, courtesy of NASA.
As NASA recently noted:
Russian firefighters have battled uncontrolled fires for months. According to the environmental group Greenpeace, more land in Russia had burned in 2012 than in 2010, a year that intense wildfires affected western Russia. ITAR-TASS reported that more than 1,826 forest fires had burned a total of 195,800 hectares in the Far East of Russia.
It isn’t uncommon for smoke from large wildfires in Siberia to be lofted high enough into the atmosphere that winds push plumes of it across the Pacific Ocean to North America. Significant amounts of smoke arrived in British Columbia this week, according to CBC News.
Speaking of beautiful sunsets, check out this recent video from Seattleite Adam Foster.
Visit seattlepi.com’s home page for more Seattle news. Contact Amy Rolph at email@example.com. Find more of her stories on Twitter via @amyrolph and @bigblog or subscribe to her updates on Facebook. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37668000 |
During the last decade the tile industry has reinvented the way ceramic tiles are decorated. With the advent of inkjet technology being incorporated into this process there is no longer a need for screen or roller printing methods, freeing the industry up to many different opportunities. As with screen and roller printing, the image of the design is first scanned, then modified on a computer. However, by utilizing the key advantages of digital imaging the design can be almost instantly transferred to the inkjet printing machine, which is fully equipped with the essential inks to print any design with any desired color.
The non-impact technology that the inkjet printer utilizes enables manufactures to decorate any type of tile, including relief tile, just as easy as traditional flat tile. This is done by using a print style called Drop on Demand (DoD) and by utilizing a special type of printing device called a piezoelectric printhead. These let the printer create an identical picture of the digital image by propelling tiny drops of ink (measured in picoliters) onto the tile. Because the inkjet machines fit perfectly into the manufacturing process, it is no wonder how they improve efficiency, yet allow for a higher degree of customization by allowing virtually an infinite possibility of design.
What We Used Before
In the not too distant past the entire ceramic tile industry were slaves to screen and roller printing. While not bad, technology has since proven these methods to be rather inefficient. Not only are they more time consuming, but they can produce large amounts of waste.
A key benefit of the inkjet printer is not just the fact that you can load an image of almost unlimited length, but at any time during the printing process you can change that image instantaneously. With the older methods your design capability is more limited, and changing designs can prove to be time consuming and expensive. The biggest hindrance of the older methods is that the production line needs to briefly stop while the design is applied to the tile. Because inkjet printing allows a seamless application of the image, it can speed up the production rate up to five times!
You must also consider the green benefit for embracing this new technology. Besides the screen and roller printers taking longer, they must also be replaced from time to time. You must also replace the film, adhesives, chemicals, and emulsion from the process as well, creating an unnecessary amount of waste.
Simply put, an inkjet printer reproduces a digital image by propelling a continuous stream of ink droplets onto the tile. With virtually no setup time, this shortens the period from idea to product immensely. As mentioned earlier, this allows relief tile, as well as fragile tile, to be decorated without any additional effort other than programming in the design.
Although standard inkjet printers are only equipped with enough memory to decorate about 30 12×12 ceramic tiles, like most computers additional memory can be added to create a virtually limitless possibility of unique designs. Factor in the ability to easily adjust to any size and texture and it’s easy to see how inkjet technology is revolutionizing the ceramic tile industry.
Another key factor is that all of your design information can be stored digitally. This allows the manufacturer to reproduce any image with a push of a button, with alterations to the design or size easily changeable.
In today’s market the demand for stone tile is declining as it is now so simple to replicate these images, despite the fact they inherently fluctuate in their design. Not only do you get the same aesthetic cosmetic design, but because the engineered stone is actually technical porcelain it is not only stronger and more durable, but it is much easier on the environment.
Products such as StonePeak’s Limestone Ebony combine the subtle beauty of a soft hue with the uniqueness of the limestone’s design. By using engineered stones you not only receive the green benefits of manufacturing the tile instead of cutting it from a quarry, but Limestone Ebony contains 84% recycled material. Combine this with superior strength of porcelain and a through-body color you have an eco-friendly tile that will look spectacular for a lifetime. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37671000 |
- freezing a small piece of leaf tissue in liquid nitrogen (-196 degrees C !) and grinding it as finely as possible.
- adding a detergent to release the DNA from the cells of the leaf tissue.
- adding chloroform. The detergent and chloroform do not mix (like oil and water), but proteins and other things we do not want are drawn into the chloroform while the DNA is left in the detergent.
- the detergent layer is removed, and alcohol is added to it. This precipitates the DNA (i.e., makes it turn into a solid), and we can actually see it. I don’t have any pictures of Pseudopanax DNA, but precipitated DNA all looks much the same – see this link.
It is possible to extract DNA using household items (see this link).
In order to analyse the DNA further we have to make it go back into solution. The alcohol is tipped off, and a small amount of salt solution is added; the DNA ‘dissolves’ in this.
To test the quality and quantity of the extracted DNA, we run a small amount of the DNA solution on an agarose gel in a process called electrophoresis (see link).
In the gel above, each lane corresponds to a separate sample, except the right-most lane which is a ‘ladder’ for sizing the DNA samples. A negative charge was applied at the top and a positive charge at the bottom. DNA is negatively charged, so its moves towards a positive charge.
The bright blobs indicated by the green arrow indicate that we got high quality (the DNA is in big pieces, as it hasn’t moved very far) and quantity (a brighter stain indicates more DNA) for most of these samples, which is great!
The sample labelled 5957 (my collection number) is a bit weak, while we didn’t get anything for sample 5964.
These DNA extractions are all from samples of fierce lancewood (Pseudopanax ferox), except 5966 which is P. macintyrei.
The next step in assessing the relationships of these plants is to genetically ‘fingerprint’ them. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37675000 |
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial – Photo by SD Tourism
Usually Mount Rushmore is attributed to the genius of Gutzon Borglum, but without the influence of a humble state historian named Duane Robinson, the idea might never have gotten its start. In 1923, while secretary and superintendent of the State Historical Society of South Dakota, Doane had the idea to carve western figures on the “Needles” (granite spires) in Custer State Park to draw tourism dollars to the state. He envisioned grand people like Buffalo Bill Cody, Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea in stone. Encouraged by other politicians, Doane shared his dream with sculptor Gutzon Borglum who molded the historian’s vision into what we see today.
(Source: Gutzon Borglum: His Life and Work)
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum
The month of October is a significant one in telling the story of sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The carving of Mount Rushmore began on October 4, 1927 and ended on October 31, 1941 not long after his death. Born in 1867 to Danish immigrants, he ventured to California at the age of 16 and began pursuing art in the form of painting. Although he is mainly known for carving Mount Rushmore, his art legacy also included oil painting, line drawings, gargoyles and other national monuments. After studying in Europe, Borglum fell in love with Mary Montgomery Borglum who went with him on his quest in planning a momentous sculpture at Stone Mountain, Georgia which was to be a tribute to the confederate army. After an argument with the association that contracted him for the project and promptly throwing the models off the mountain, Gutzon Borglum fled Georgia and turned his eyes to where his dream of carving a mountain was sure to be realized – Mount Rushmore.
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society allowed us to share these great pieces of history about Mount Rushmore National Memorial, visit their website for more information. They can also be found on facebook by searching for “Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society.” | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37677000 |
After more than four years in space, restlessly searching for planets orbiting other stars, NASA’s Kepler space telescope may have met its demise.
The Kepler project is typically described in terms of raw numbers. As of the last official announcement, it had found 2,740 likely new planets–including 1,200 Neptune-size planets, 350 Earth-size planets, and at least 4 planets that orbit within the “habitable zone” where liquid water can exist. All of those numbers are sure to increase, as more observations are confirmed and as mission scientists continue to dig through a trove of archived data. But spirit, not statistics, is what really defines Kepler. It is a modern version of the expedition of Lewis and Clark, or the great voyages of Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. It is a headlong plunge into the unknown cosmic territory around us.
Extrapolating from Kepler’s results, astronomers now estimate there are at least 17 billion Earth-size planets in our galaxy. That is another number, yes, but one with a powerful message: Another age of exploration awaits, one that may very well lead to the discovery that humanity is not alone in the universe. Read More
Dark energy is the single most important element in the universe. It influenced how the cosmos was born, how it is evolving today, and how it all will end trillions of years in the future. Right now, this energy is causing the universe to expand faster and faster; in the far future, the expansion may become so rapid that space itself will be torn apart. And yet we know next to nothing about what dark energy is. We don’t even have a proper name for it—the very term “dark energy” is little more than a scientific shrug.
Small wonder, then, that our recent DISCOVER magazine cover story about the mystery of dark energy (Confronting the Dark by Zeeya Merali) produced such an outpouring of curious reader mail. In a previous post, I addressed some of the key cosmological questions submitted by our readers. But really, that first set of responses only scratched the surface. For every letter writer who asked broadly about the nature of the Big Bang, someone else who wanted to know more about dark energy itself.
So as promised, here is a second installment addressing how scientists came to realize that energy, not matter, rules the universe. Read More
Fifteen years ago, a small cabal of researchers took some of the most firmly held notions about how the universe works and turned them on their head. Until then, everyone was sure that the expanding universe was born in an explosive Big Bang and had been slowing down ever since, dragged by the gravitational pull of untold billions of galaxies. But in fact the expansion is speeding up. Everyone was sure that matter was what dominated the overall behavior of the universe. But in fact it seems that “dark energy,” not matter, is running the show. Whoops.
The May cover story in DISCOVER magazine (Confronting the Dark by Zeeya Merali) chronicles that game-changing discovery, and lays out the latest thinking about what dark energy is and how it affects the fate of the universe. As soon as the article was published, DISCOVER’s inbox began to fill with letters from curious readers wanting to know more. Here I will address sweeping, big-picture questions about cosmology. I’ll consider more specific queries about dark energy and dark matter in a following post. Read More
Last Thursday, a team of scientists working with NASA’s Kepler space telescope described three intriguing new planets circling distant stars. They are just slightly larger than Earth and orbit in the “habitable zone” where temperatures could be right for liquid water and for life. The names of these amazing worlds? Kepler 62f, Kepler 62e, and Kepler 69c. Not to be confused with other much-celebrated recent discoveries like Kepler 64b, Kepler 22b, or Gliese 581g.
Alan Stern, a former NASA associate administrator and founder of a startup called Uwingu, thinks these newfound worlds should have real names, and that the general public should be able to have a say. The International Astronomical Union–the organization the organization that officially validates astronomical nomenclature–strongly objects to Uwingu’s approach, and has effectively thwarted it. After the IAU’s blistering April 12 press release attacking Uwingu, submissions to Uwingu’s fee-based online planetary naming database plummeted. Stern calls it a “torpedo attack.” Read More
Or perhaps you would like to name it “Tatooine” or “Wrigley’s Pleasure Planet”? If so, you are in luck–all you need to pay a small fee and keep voting. A startup company called Uwingu is holding a “people’s choice contest” to pick a name for the nearest planet outside our solar system. It orbits Alpha Centauri B, an orange star located just 4.3 light years from Earth, and currently has the ungainly name Alpha Centauri Bb. For $4.99 you can propose a name of your own, and for $0.99 you can vote on the winner. The contest runs until April 22; there is also a broader, ongoing campaign for other alien worlds.
Uwingu’s name-that-planet project has a noble aim. Alan Stern–the founder of the company, lead scientist for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, and a former associate administrator at NASA–is using the money raised by the contest to restore funding to NASA’s education and outreach efforts, which have been hit hard by sequester-related budget cuts. [Full disclosure: DISCOVER magazine and its sister publication, Astronomy, have partnered with Uwingu on its efforts to raise private funds for astronomical research.] But as one side effect, Stern has found himself embroiled in a battle with the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the self-described arbiter of “unambiguous astronomical nomenclature.” In a testy statement released on April 12, the IAU declared that private competitions (the union never cites Uwingu by name) will “have no bearing on the official naming process.”
All of which raises a big question for the rest of us: Who gets to name new astronomical objects, and how exactly do they get that right?
Although it’s been fading steadily in the TV ratings (despite the best efforts of Nicki Minaj), American Idol remains a cultural touchstone, and for good reason. It casts a wide net in the search for quality; it creates intense performance pressure that weeds out weak performers; and it rewards contestants who are able to connect with a broad audience. For those reasons, I thought that American Idol would be the perfect template for a symposium on how to help scientists do a better job communicating with the public.
Or maybe I just thought it would be a lot of fun. Read More
Five-sixths of the universe is missing. That statement feels strange to write, and I’m sure it feels pretty strange to read as well. Given the vastness of the cosmos–and given how little of it humans have explored–how can we know for sure that anything is out of place? The claim sounds positively arrogant, if not delusional.
And yet scientists have assembled a nearly airtight case that the majority of the matter in the universe consists dark matter, a substance which is both intrinsically invisible and fundamentally different in composition than the familiar atoms that make up stars and planets. In the face of staggering difficulties, researchers like Samuel Ting of MIT are even making progress in figuring out what dark matter is, as evidence by teasing headlines from last week. Time to come to terms, then, with the new reality about our place in the universe. Here are seven key things every informed citizen of the cosmos should know. Read More
What are those strange particles raining down on our planet from the depths of outer space?
Physicists have been wrestling with that question for a century now, but the past couple months have seen remarkable progress toward a meaningful answer. It’s taken so long because researchers have had to overcome a lot of obstacles along the way. Even the name of the thing they are studying is confusing. The particles are formally known as cosmic rays even though they are not rays at all, but fragments of atoms that are moving at extremely high velocities. And those fragments are extremely difficult to study, because cosmic rays do not move in straight lines. They are electrically charged, so they bend to the will of the magnetic fields that snake almost everywhere through deep space. By the time a particular cosmic ray reaches Earth, its path may have nothing to do with the place where it started out. Looking at cosmic rays is like pointing a telescope into a set of funhouse mirrors. Read More
By now you’ve probably heard about the amazing new cosmic snapshot from the European Space Agency’s Planck spacecraft. It is one of those scientific achievements so mind-boggling that you have to spend a bit of time with it to truly appreciate what you are seeing. This is relic radiation from when the universe was 370,000 years old, still all aglow from the Big Bang. The radiation has been traveling 13.8 billion years since then, across ever-expanding stretches of space, before landing in Planck’s detectors. Then it took a tremendous feat of imagination and insight to translate that noisy signal into a comprehensible map of what the universe looked like in its infancy.
So let’s step back for a moment, look at how this image came to be, and consider some of the more surprising details hidden within it. Read More
Sounds like a trick question, doesn’t it? Sort of like “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?” And yet the answer keeps confounding a lot of smart people. (DISCOVER even published a whole feature on the question.) Now the issue keeps coming up again in the latest images from the Curiosity rover. Blue skies on Mars? Can that be right? Which of these images shows what Mars really looks like?
The very first Viking images from the surface of Mars in July, 1976 showed blue skies, largely because that’s what people were expecting and so that is how the imaging experts initially set the color balance. They quickly realized their error and reissued the image with tangerine skies. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37685000 |
On New Year’s day, Comet Tuttle will be closest to the Earth, a mere 25 million miles away, and also at its brightest. The comet will just be visible to the unaided eye, so you will need to be observing from a very dark site.
A gallery of images, and sky maps of when and where to look, can be found at SpaceWeather.com.
[Image of Comet Tuttle taken by Pete Lawrence]
Happy solstice to all our readers!
The winter solstice this year occurs at 6am, on 22 December, 2007.
That is the time when the Earth’s North pole is pointing directly away from the Sun (which is why it is so much colder in the Northern hemisphere).
For people living in the Southern hemisphere, the South pole is pointing towards the Sun, making it summertime ‘down-under’!
On the night of the 13 December, and the morning of the 14 December, the Geminid shooting star shower reaches its peak.
The Earth will be ploughing through a stream of debris left behind by asteroid Phaethon, and we see these fragments burn up as they hit the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the shooting stars.
And they are often big fragments! I myself saw a huge fireball in the UK during the Geminid shower of 1994.
More details can be found at the NASA science website.
Details of all the major annual meteor showers visible from the UK are available on the NMM website.
Comet Holmes now appears almost twice the diameter of the full Moon in the night sky.
To see the latest images, see the gallery at Spaceweather.com.
Because the comet is so large in the sky, it is spread out, making it appear much fainter in the night sky. But it is still visible to the unaided eye when well away from light pollution.
The best way to observe the comet now is with a pair of binoculars that are large (to collect a lot of light) but with low magnification (because the comet is so large in the sky).
The apparent size and brightness of Comet Holmes is regularly estimated by amateur astronomers world wide. A list of estimates is available at the IAC/ICQ/MPC website. Using averages of these estimates, I have plotted the apparent size of Comet Holmes against time (below).
In this graph, you can see the number of days along the bottom since 24 October, 2007 – the date when Comet Holmes suddenly increased in brightness.
Up the left hand side of the graph, I show the angular size of the comet – that is how big the comet appears to us in the night-time sky. The apparent size of the Full Moon, which is half a degree across (or 32 arc-minutes) is labelled for comparison.
Up the right hand side of the graph, I show the actual size of Comet Holmes in millions of km (assuming that the comet is at a fixed distance of 1.7 AU away – although the comet is moving away from us, it has not moved too much over the last 2 months).
Note how within days of the outburst in October, the comet was bigger than the separation of the Earth and the Moon, and within weeks it was physically bigger than the Sun!
Currently, it appears about 1 degree (60 arc-mins) across in the night sky – that’s twice the diameter of the full Moon. In physical size, the nucleus of the comet is now surrounded by a cloud of gaseous water that is over 2.5 times larger than the Sun.
What an amazing comet! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37699000 |
Cost vs Price
The price of electricity from wind and solar is currently higher in most places in the world than electricity generated by fossil fuels. But the true cost of fossil fuels is unsustainable—and hidden.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 13,000 deaths per year among children across Europe are directly attributable to outdoor pollution. In the US, approximately 64,000 premature deaths from cardiopulmonary causes may be attributable to particulate air pollution each year. We all pay for these costs in ways large and small.
Ecosystem services, or the benefits of nature to people, are also impacted by fossil fuels. The pollution from burning fossil fuels adds carbon to our atmosphere, causing planetary warming. Such warming causes many problems. It is a boost to some insects, which damage valuable forests, and warming negatively impacts coastal wetlands, which support ocean life and protect towns and cities.
Burning coal, which is the largest source of electricity production in the US, also sends mercury into the air. Methyl mercury in the ocean accumulates in many types of fish. Not all seafood is contaminated, but many large fish have high enough levels of mercury to warrant limited consumption.
When all of these additional costs – known as externalities — are considered, the true costs of fossil fuels are not reflected in the price at the pump or meter, but we all pay these costs just the same.
3 things you can do to support clean energy:
1. Get involved with local/regional/national efforts to establish renewable sources of energy.
2. Support clean energy businesses.
3.Change your driving habits to conserve fuel – walk, ride a bike or carpool.
Other great ways you can make a difference.
LINKS & VIDEOS
Whole Coal Story – Huffington Post
Value of Ecosystem Services – World Research Institute
Direct Subsidies Are the Tip of the (Melting) Iceberg – Grist
The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels – Union of Concerned Scientists
Green Vehicles – Wikipedia
Cost of Coal $500 Billion, Harvard Study – Clean Technica
The Roads Aren’t Free, Redefining Progress
Further Reading on Ecosystem Services
Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels, Democracy Now
A new report by the National Academy of Sciences estimates that burning fossil fuels costs the United States about $120 billion a year in hidden costs. The study estimated that nearly 20,000 people die prematurely each year from air pollutants emitted by power plants and vehicles.
Ocean of Truth, Conservation International
The overview of the monetary value — the ecosystem services — of the ocean with great imagery.
What’s the price of gasoline? In the U.S. it’s about $4 a gallon. But some experts say the true price of gas is much higher. What about the costs of pollution, and the global and local problems caused by it? Who pays for those? This animated feature from the Center for Investigative Reporting calculates the carbon footprint and other “external costs” of gasoline use in the U.S. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37706000 |
White Seabass are found along the US Pacific coast, growing over 1.5 m in length and 40 kg in weight. They grow at a moderate rate, may live for 25 years, and can produce millions of eggs each year.
The US commercial fishery for White Seabass occurs in Californian waters, where abundance of White Seabass is at a medium level.
Most fish are caught using drift and set gillnets, which cause little or no habitat damage. Some marine mammals are incidentally caught in this fishery but the State of California has implemented regulations to reduce their bycatch. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37707000 |
By creating a mathematical model of the way overconfident individuals compete against ordinary individuals, they show that there is a clear advantage in overconfidence.
In fact, if the potential reward is at least twice as great as the cost of competing, then overconfidence is the best strategy. In fact, overconfidence is actually advantageous on average, because it boosts ambition, resolve, morale, and persistence. In other words, overconfidence is the best way to maximize benefits over costs when risks are uncertain.
But it is Johnson and Fowler's predictions that are most worrying. Their model implies that optimal overconfidence increases with the magnitude of uncertainty. So the greater the risk, the more overconfident individuals should become.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Elsewhere, Jonah Lehrer profiles Clay in Outside magazine, discussing the advantages Asperger's gives Clay, including the ability to focus on surfing for 8-9 hours at a time.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
the assumptions that underpin these theories are largely inscrutable to those without a Ph.D. in economics. Indeed, the debate is full of terms that mean one thing to the uninitiated and quite another to economists.
Consider “rationality.” Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “reasonableness.” By contrast, for economists, a “rational individual” is not merely reasonable; he or she is someone who behaves in accordance with a mathematical model of individual decision-making that economists have agreed to call “rational.”
The centrepiece of this standard of rationality, the so-called “Rational Expectations Hypothesis”, presumes that economists can model exactly how rational individuals comprehend the future. In a bit of magical thinking, it supposes that each of the many models devised by economists provides the “true” account of how market outcomes, such as asset prices, will unfold over time.
The economics literature is full of different models, each one assuming that it adequately captures how all rational market participants make decisions. Although the free-market Chicago school, neo-Keynesianism, and behavioural finance are quite different in other respects, each assumes the same REH-based standard of rationality.
In other words, REH-based models ignore markets’ very raison d’etre: no one, as Friedrich Hayek pointed out, can have access to the “totality” of knowledge and information dispersed throughout the economy. Similarly, as John Maynard Keynes and Karl Popper showed, we cannot rationally predict the future course of our knowledge. Today’s models of rational decision-making ignore these well-known arguments.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
People who succumb to short-term impulses often do awful things, such as driving drunk or beating up their children. They would better off if their long-term selves had control, and could block and distract these short-term choices. But often the situation is flipped, and it’s the long-term self that’s misguided. It can become committed to belief systems that have immoral consequences. Terrorism and genocide, for instance, are typically deliberate choices, not acts of passion; it’s the long-term self that’s the guilty one. Indeed, people often have to force themselves to commit terrible acts; they have to work to defy the natural and legitimate moral impulses of their short-term selves.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
animals share functional parallels with human conscious metacognition -- that is, they may share humans' ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their states of mind.
Smith explains that metacognition is a sophisticated human capacity linked to hierarchical structure in the mind (because the metacognitive executive control processes oversee lower-level cognition), to self-awareness (because uncertainty and doubt feel so personal and subjective) and to declarative consciousness (because humans are conscious of their states of knowing and can declare them to others).
Therefore, Smith says, "it is a crucial goal of comparative psychology to establish firmly whether animals share humans' metacognitive capacity. If they do, it could bear on their consciousness and self-awareness, too."
In fact, he concludes, "Metacognition rivals language and tool use in its potential to establish important continuities or discontinuities between human and animal minds."
Related: Temple Grandin on similarities between animals and austistic savants with regard to "priviledged" access to low level sensory information.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
"The politically charged Texas Board of Education has kicked off hearings today
on whether school textbooks should have a more conservative slant. Things began
auspiciously when one member of the public got up to announce that she is a
--David Kurtz , Talking Points Memo
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
From the NYT:
“It is the nuclear reactor for all his works,” Shamdasani said, noting that Jung’s more well-known concepts — including his belief that humanity shares a pool of ancient wisdom that he called the collective unconscious and the thought that personalities have both male and female components (animus and anima) — have their roots in the Red Book. Creating the book also led Jung to reformulate how he worked with clients, as evidenced by an entry Shamdasani found in a self-published book written by a former client, in which she recalls Jung’s advice for processing what went on in the deeper and sometimes frightening parts of her mind.Read the rest of the article. It is fascinating reading all the way through.
“I should advise you to put it all down as beautifully as you can — in some beautifully bound book,” Jung instructed. “It will seem as if you were making the visions banal — but then you need to do that — then you are freed from the power of them. . . . Then when these things are in some precious book you can go to the book & turn over the pages & for you it will be your church — your cathedral — the silent places of your spirit where you will find renewal. If anyone tells you that it is morbid or neurotic and you listen to them — then you will lose your soul — for in that book is your soul.”
The book itself looks absolutely gorgeous.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
In the case of time-space synaesthesia, a very visual experience can be triggered by thinking about time.
"I thought everyone thought like I did, says Holly Branigan, also a scientist at Edinburgh University, and someone with time-space synaesthesia.
"I found out when I attended a talk in the department that Julia was giving. She said that some synaesthetes can see time. And I thought, 'Oh my god, that means I've got synaesthesia'."
So what exactly does she see?
"For me it's a bit like a running track," she says.
"The track is organised around the academic year. The short ends are the summer and Christmas holidays - the summer holiday is slightly longer.
"It's as if I'm in the centre and I'm turning around slowly as the year goes by. If I think ahead to the future, my perspective will shift."
Monday, September 14, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
I'm reading several books simultaneously these days, including prep work for the CFA exam this December, rereading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle for fun, working my way through everything Don Norman has published on design theory, and now, Tyler Cowen's book, Create Your Own Economy, which contains more about autism and Web 2.0 material than one might expect from the title. Nonetheless, it's packed with engaging tidbits: I'd love to have a collapsible Caravaggio to carry around to parties, for instance.
He also points the reader toward a really good 2007 blog post by Media Lab professor and Technology Review blogger Ed Boyden, who heavily annotates and organizes his life. Boyden's post details 10+2 recommendations for effectively organizing your life:
- Synthesize new ideas constantly
- Learn how to learn (rapidly)
- Work backward from your goal. Or else you may never get there
- Always have a long-term plan. Even if you change it every day
- Make contingency maps
- Make your mistakes quickly
- As you develop skills, write up best-practices protocols
- Document everything obsessively
- Keep it simple
- Use logarithmic time planning. Use greater detail for the near future
- Compose conversation summaries. Photograph and store for easy retrieval
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Listen carefully, my son: bombs were falling
over Mexico City
but no one even noticed.
The air carried poison through
the streets and open windows.
You'd just finished eating and were watching
cartoons on TV.
I was reading in the bedroom next door
when I realized we were going to die.
Despite the dizziness and nausea I dragged myself
to the kitchen and found you on the floor.
We hugged. You asked what was happening
and I didn’t tell you we were on death’s program
but instead that we were going on a journey,
one more, together, and that you shouldn’t be afraid.
When it left, death didn’t even
close our eyes.
What are we? you asked a week or year later,
ants, bees, wrong numbers
in the big rotten soup of chance?
We’re human beings, my son, almost birds,
public heroes and secrets.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Eric Heller at Harvard University and various pals have studied rogue waves for some time. Today they show how microwaves propagating through a forest of scatterers which the team call a "quasi-two-dimensional resonator with randomly distributed scatterers, each mimicking an r^−2 repulsive potential".
The results are fascinating because they clearly show the rogue waves (or hot spots in microwave terms) appearing more often than conventional thinking (Rayleigh's law for the wave height distribution) allows. In fact the team says the probability in their set up of a rogue wave appearing is 15 orders of magnitude greater than Rayleigh statistics predict. They attribute the difference to ray refraction rather than to resonance effects as conventional thinking might suppose.
Mouse retinas contain cells that detect approaching objects, possibly providing an advance warning system.
While investigating mouse eye cells, Botond Roska at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland, and colleagues noticed that one type behaved unusually in response to movement. Further analysis of this one kind of retinal cell revealed that it fired only when an object approached.
The researchers suspect that people have similar cells, which alert us to approaching objects faster than our brain cells can. "It's an alarm system that's as close to the front end of the organism as possible," says Roska. "If you left it to the brain to respond, it might be too late."
It could also be that these cells form part of the signal processing apparatus that enhances visual acuity.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sharing the top floor with Oliver and his sister were two different lunatics: a rotund, elderly German, Edward Lindner – "Helen and I were convinced he was a Nazi in hiding," reveals Oliver who never went to the bathroom – and in the back room was Freddie Feldman, midget cabalist.
"Freddie tried to kill us on a daily basis, He would steal our empty wine bottles from the trash – of which there were many as we liked to entertain – and he would plant them one by one, lying on their sides on various steps, hoping that Helen and I on our many trips to the bathroom would step on an empty bottle and it would roll out from under our feet, causing us to plunge down the stairs and break our necks," Oliver explains. "It was quite amazing that Freddie was able to plant his booby traps without making a sound, because the stairs creaked horribly."
So how did he do it? "First, he would remove his clothes. Then he would walk up the stairs very carefully on tiptoe, balancing on the very outer edge of each step with his whole body pressed against the wall, then he'd walk up the wall like a fly would. To see Freddie – naked, walking up the wall – was truly to witness the most dread and awe-inspiring of acts," replies Oliver.
I wonder what it would take to bring this show to Chicago. I'd buy box seats.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
This is the second time America has been up against the zero lower bound, the previous occasion being the Great Depression. And it was precisely the observation that there’s a lower bound to interest rates that led Keynes to advocate higher government spending: when monetary policy is ineffective and the private sector can’t be persuaded to spend more, the public sector must take its place in supporting the economy. Fiscal stimulus is the Keynesian answer to the kind of depression-type economic situation we’re currently in.Brad Delong comments:
Such Keynesian thinking underlies the Obama administration’s economic policies — and the freshwater economists are furious. For 25 or so years they tolerated the Fed’s efforts to manage the economy, but a full-blown Keynesian resurgence was something entirely different. Back in 1980, Lucas, of the University of Chicago, wrote that Keynesian economics was so ludicrous that “at research seminars, people don’t take Keynesian theorizing seriously anymore; the audience starts to whisper and giggle to one another.” Admitting that Keynes was largely right, after all, would be too humiliating a comedown. And so Chicago’s Cochrane, outraged at the idea that government spending could mitigate the latest recession, declared: “It’s not part of what anybody has taught graduate students since the 1960s. They [Keynesian ideas] are fairy tales that have been proved false. It is very comforting in times of stress to go back to the fairy tales we heard as children, but it doesn’t make them less false.” (It’s a mark of how deep the division between saltwater and freshwater runs that Cochrane doesn’t believe that “anybody” teaches ideas that are, in fact, taught in places like Princeton, M.I.T. and Harvard.)
Meanwhile, saltwater economists... were shocked to realize that freshwater economists hadn’t been listening.... Freshwater economists [like Lucas, Prescott, Fama, Cochrane, Mulligan, Zingales, Boldrin, etc.] who inveighed against the stimulus didn’t sound like scholars who had weighed Keynesian arguments and found them wanting. Rather, they sounded like people who... were resurrecting pre-1930 fallacies in the belief that they were saying something new and profound. And it wasn’t just Keynes whose ideas seemed to have been forgotten. As Brad DeLong of the University of California, Berkeley, has pointed out in his laments about the Chicago school’s “intellectual collapse,” the school’s current stance amounts to a wholesale rejection of Milton Friedman’s ideas as well. Friedman believed that Fed policy rather than changes in government spending should be used to stabilize the economy, but he never asserted that an increase in government spending cannot, under any circumstances, increase employment. In fact, rereading Friedman’s 1970 summary of his ideas, “A Theoretical Framework for Monetary Analysis,” what’s striking is how Keynesian it seems.
I remember October of 1987. We--that is me, Andrei Shleifer, Larry Summers, and Robert Waldmann--had what we regarded as a very nice paper about the instability of irrational agents' beliefs as itself a powerful barrier to arbitrage. We then watched the stock market crash by 25% in one day. And we thought that we had won the argument: that the efficient market hypothesis couldn't come back from a 25% market collapse on a day when absolutely nothing fundamental happened.
But then we were told that something fundamental had happened: there had been a sudden shock to the required expected rate of return on equities and the market had reacted efficiently to that shock. However, when I tried to process this, I could not understand it other than as an assertion that the market had gone down for no reason and would eventually recover--but that this was not a problem because it was consistent with the efficient market hypothesis...
When we could endure no more upon the water; we to a little ale-house on the Bankside, over against the ‘Three Cranes, and there staid till it was dark almost, and saw the fire grow; and, as it grew darker, appeared more and more, and in corners and upon steeples, and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire. Barbary and her husband away before us. We staid till, it being darkish, we saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from this to the other side the bridge, and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above a mile long: it made me weep to see it. The churches, houses, and all on fire and flaming at once; and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at their ruins.
Here's what the area looks like now, as viewed from the Fire Monument, which was built by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, as part of their reconstruction of London after the fire.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
To bed at 2 or 3 in the morning and up again at 6 to go by appointment to my Lord Bellasses, but he out of town, which vexed me. So back and got Mr. Poynter to enter into, my book while I read from my last night’s notes the letter, and that being done to writing it fair. At noon home to dinner, and then the boy and I to the office, and there he read while I writ it fair, which done I sent it to Sir W. Coventry to peruse and send to the fleete by the first opportunity; and so pretty betimes to bed. Much pleased to-day with thoughts of gilding the backs of all my books alike in my new presses.
By Mary-Louise Parker
To you, whom it may concern:
Manly creature, who smells good even when you don't, you wake up too slowly, with fuzzy, vertical hair and a slightly lost look on your face as though you are seven or seventy-five; you can fix my front door, my sink, and open most jars; you, who lose a cuff link and have to settle for a safety pin, you have promised to slay unfortunate interlopers and dragons with your Phillips head or Montblanc; to you, because you will notice a woman with a healthy chunk of years or pounds on her and let out a wolf whistle under your breath and mean it; because you think either rug will be fine, really it will; you seem to walk down the street a little taller than me, a little more aware but with a purpose still; to you who codifies, conjugates, slams a puck, baits a hook, builds a decent cabinet or the perfect sandwich; you who gives a twenty to the kids selling Hershey bars and waits at baggage claim for three hours in your flannel shirt; you, sir, you take my order, my pulse, my bullshit; you who soaps me in the shower, soaks with me in the tub; to you, boy grown-up, the gentleman, soldier, professor, or caveman, the fancy man with initials on your towels and salt on your chocolates, to you and to that guy at the concession stand; thank you for the tour of the vineyard, the fire station, the sound booth, thank you for the kaleidoscope, the Horsehead Nebula, the painting, the truth; to you who carries me across the parking lot, up the stairs, to the ER, to roll-away or rice mat; to you who shows up every so often only to confuse and torment, and you who stays in orbit, always, to my left and steady, you stood up for me, I won't forget that; to you, the one who can't figure it out and never will, and you who lost the remote, the dog, or your way altogether; to you, wizard, you sang in my ear and brought me back from the dead, you tell me things, make me shiver; to the ones who destroyed me, even if for a minute, and to the ones who grew me, consumed me, gave me my heart back times ten; to most everything that deserves to call itself a man: How I do love thee, with your skill to light fires that keep me warm, light me up.
(in Esquire magazine via Jonathan Carroll) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37712000 |
British Go Journal No. 41. May 1978. Page 21.
Continuing our series on the most significant Japanese Go terms.
Kake, pronounces approximately, kah-keh, is one of the few important Japanese terms which is always used in its English form, the English being so perfectly descriptive.
Diagram 1 |
BGJ had this diagram and that for Page 20 swapped.
Black 1 in Dia 1 is the pressing move, hitting the white stone on the shoulder. Whites first option is to resist being pushed down by pushing between the two Black stones to separate them. This leads to tactical fighting which we will not study here. However, it is important to remember that pressing moves can often be resisted in this way.
The second option is to crawl along the third line as in the diagram. Black keeps pressing with 3 and this time white jumps with 4. This jump ahead is very important. With every move that black presses white down, white gets territory against the edge and black gets influence facing the centre. If white is pressed further than necessary along the third line, his territory will be worth less than blacks influence.
Diagram 2 |
Dia 2 shows what we mean. The moves to 11 are a well-known joseki. Black has territory against the edge and 11 is the essential jump which takes him ahead of white. 12-22 shows just one possibility if white decides to press black further.
Black cannot play 13 on the fourth line because white will push between 1 and 11, but 15 is a safe move and after white protects his cutting point with 22, both whites central influence and blacks territory have increased dramatically.
Diagram 3 |
In Dia 3 white jumps ahead of black immediately. This immediate jump allows Black to push through and sacrifice one stone, but whether the sacrifice is effective or not depends of course on the overall position.
Here black sacrifices with 5, White correctly captures the cutting stone, rather than protecting on the outside, and though black can capture 2 in a ladder, white is more than happy. Not only can he live in the corner with one more move, but he can push at A and break through into the centre. Black cannot stop him without spoiling his ladder.
Diagram 4 |
Finally, pressing does not have to be against the edge. In Dia 4 white 1 hits black on the shoulder and this time white wants to get out into the centre as quickly as he can. (Though if black does not resist white would be delighted to continue at 2 and press black in that direction.)
As soon as black leaps ahead and sideways with 6, White jumps also with 7 and the sequence probably ends.
If White pushes left of 5 to cut the knights move, black plays above 4 and if white cuts, his cutting stone is captured easily and safely. This is why Black pushed to 4 before jumping. If he jumps with 4, White can push and cut and his cutting stone can only be captured in a ladder which is more dangerous for black. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37715000 |
When we talk about weight and health - whether we are discussing pounds, kilos, or Body Mass Index, we are trying to assess the body's composition of fat and muscle deposits. The degree to which muscle and fat are present or absent in the body can have implications for overall physiological functioning and the risk of developing certain medical conditions. And that's the problem with the indices above: at best, they are an estimation of body composition, yet they are treated as gospel. We need to have additional ways to talk about body composition and health beyond "the numbers."
So what else can we look at to determine whether someone's body composition is healthy and normal for them? Here are some questions; the more often you answer "Yes," the more likely it is that your body is reflecting what is right for YOU:
- Do you get feedback from your doctor that suggests that your pulse, blood pressure, and labwork results are healthy for someone of your age and gender?
- If you have finished growing (and remember, many people will not finish growing until their early 20s), does your weight tend to stay in the same range, without a lot of significant ups and downs, and without any strenuous efforts on your part?
- Do you find that you have plenty of energy throughout the day, and that you are not more likely to catch colds, flus, etc. than your peers?
- Are you getting 30-60 minutes of enjoyable physical activity on most days of the week?
- Do you generally eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are comfortably full?
- Do you eat a wide variety of foods (covering all the food groups or food group substitutes)? Would you say that most (not all!) of your choices are high in nutrients and moderate in calories? Do you include lots of high-fiber choices?
- Do you have a minimum of five servings a day of fruits/vegetables? If you drink alcohol, do you use it in moderation?
- Does your body resemble the size and shape of other healthy members of your family?
- If you are a woman, do you get your periods regularly, and is the flow pretty normal?
- If you are an athlete, do you make it through training, games, or events with only a normal amount of fatigue? Are you able to recover fairly quickly?
We hesitate to provide calculations, numbers, or ranges because each body is different, and even these clinically-focused assessment tools need to be interpreted in the context of an individual's other health factors. Athletes, for instance, are likely to carry more muscle mass than a typical student; standard calculations don't take this into consideration, and might suggest that an athlete is "overweight." Likewise, some people have large, dense bone structures, and their healthy weight will be different from someone of equal height with a smaller frame. And lastly, some folks are meant to carry a higher percentage of body fat than others. There are large-framed students with a higher percentage of body fat who play a sport or exercise several times a week, and eat a healthy balanced diet. Other students may be very thin, have a low percentage of body fat but don't consume adequate nutrients or have a consistent relationship with physical activity. If you are really concerned about your weight or body composition, check with a medical provider at Health Services (401.863-3953) or in the community. Choose someone who is not affiliated with a commercial weight loss program; consulting with an unbiased health professional will help you get a more realistic idea of whether it would be healthy for you to gain or lose weight, and how to go about it wisely.
As we said a moment ago, if you are answering "Yes" to most of the questions above, your body is likely to be in the place that is normal and healthy for you. Every day, however, we get bombarded with images of "desirable" bodies that look radically different from what is normal and healthy. It can lead to a lot of body dissatisfaction, and the urge to significantly change the way we look. If that's the case, and you are trying to lose or gain weight even though you probably don't need to, you might want to think about some things first.
Researchers estimate that 40-70% of your weight is determined by genetics; we are programmed for certain bone structures, levels of adipose (body fat), and muscle development capacity. You would have to spend A LOT of time and energy to significantly change your adipose and muscle endowments; you would probably need to pathologically distort your relationship with food and exercise in order to do it; you'd have to be willing to divert resources from a lot of other important pastimes (school, work, relationships, hobbies), and you'd have to be able to keep that up for - well, the rest of your life. This is impossible to maintain and would seriously undermine your emotional and physical health.
The body strives for balance and stability, and as we stated above, it pays a price when it has to function too far from its comfort zone. This price tag includes decreased functioning mentally, emotionally, and physically. Researcher Ancel Keys conducted what is now considered the classic study on semi-starvation during World War II, and he noted the following outcomes among the conscientious objectors who volunteered:
- Decrease in metabolic rate by 40% as caloric intake and weight dropped
- Feelings of anxiety, depression and irritability
- Dizziness, weakness, and fatigue
- Withdrawal from important social relationships and disinterest in sex
- Decreased interest in intellectual pursuits
- Food preoccupation (e.g. collecting recipes, hoarding kitchen implements, constantly thinking and dreaming about food)
- Development of distorted eating rituals: extremely slow consumption, cutting of food into small pieces, creation of weird and distasteful food concoctions
- Feelings of embarrassment and guilt about perceived "overeating" episodes
- Binges of thousands of calories per episode while on leave from the study
- Self-induced vomiting (in some) to get rid of the post-binge discomfort
These men were chosen as highly intelligent, highly motivated, and psychologically stable volunteers, but it wasn't until 8 months later, when they returned to normal eating and were fully weight restored, that the changes in cognitions, behaviors, and mood completely subsided.
And what if you answered "No" to a lot of the Healthy Body Weight questions above? Lifestyle trends (rather than isolated actions) CAN affect the body's ability to maintain a healthy weight, so if you habitually underuse or overuse food and physical activity, you are more likely to be at a weight that isn't right for you and to have negative changes in heart rate, blood pressure, labwork, energy levels, reproductive functioning, and athletic performance. If underuse or overuse of food is an issue for you, check out our section on Eating Concerns. Brown students can consider calling 401.863-2794 to make an appointment with the Health Education Nutritionist, who can help you develop a more balanced lifestyle pattern.
There's no question about it: when you significantly change energy balance in the body, by repeatedly affecting either intake or expenditure, you're likely to see at least short-term changes in weight as muscle, adipose, and fluid status are impacted. But wait: the body is built to react strongly to systemic changes like this --particularly if the changes are drastic. The rate at which the body burns calories (metabolism) slows down every time you diet, in part because of the inevitable loss of muscle mass, our most "metabolically-active" tissue. Less muscle means the body doesn't need to spend as many calories in order to maintain itself. When you begin to eat normally again, your body is still functioning at the lower rate. So every time you diet, weight comes off more slowly and goes back on more quickly because your metabolism gets lower. And it isn't just muscle that determines how your body will respond to changes in energy balance. We are also programmed for a certain level of adiposity (body fat) --a level that is monitored very closely by the survival mechanisms of the body. Researchers are finding that adipose can be just as metabolically-active when the body perceives that survival and reproduction are being endangered, and that there are many chemical messengers whose function is to influence appetite, metabolism, and mobilization of fat stores in order to preserve or restore the status-quo. So under-nutrition and rapid weight loss can eventually result in preferential fat storage.
Once normal eating is resumed and maintained, the metabolism generally returns to normal. But the early stage of this metabolic adjustment can be scary for some people because they may put on a few pounds as the body attempts to reestablish equilibrium. Fearing that the weight gain will be too significant, or that it will last forever, they may go back on a diet - causing their body to downshift metabolically again, and promote fat storage.
Studies show that people who repeatedly go on and off crash diets actually gain weight over time. The sad fact is that the only thing crash dieters ever learn is how to starve. And suppressing your appetite with most diet pills risks a number of nasty side effects, such as irritability, insomnia, high blood pressure, and dependency. Plus, once you stop taking them, any weight you've lost will probably sneak right back on. Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight means practicing a variety of good self-care behaviors --day in, and day out.
Although some people will engage in dieting behavior with little or no significant change in the way they think and feel, many people find that the legacy of dieting goes far beyond a transitory effect on their weight. The following are some side-effects of dieting that should be considered carefully:
- Diets tend to polarize our attitudes towards foods, creating categories of "good" and "bad," that then go on to affect how we feel about ourselves when certain foods are eaten --whether or not we are currently dieting.
- Diets tend to perpetuate the belief that control with food and eating exists only as a function of an external system of regulations; we forget that our bodies have an innate ability to self-regulate, and we mistrust the demands of our physiology.
- Because of the externalized focus, and because the cookie-cutter approach of many diets will NOT be a match for our individual needs, diets can foster a disconnect between hunger and fullness. As a result, we lose touch with the primary mechanism by which the body self-regulates energy balance.
- Because dieting may involve ignoring hunger and promoting inadequate fullness, and because much-loved foods are often re-categorized as "bad," we can experience enough perceived or real deprivation to make us feel tremendously preoccupied with food --particularly with the "bad" foods. As a result, we can wind up spending a lot of time and energy thinking about how we will consume or avoid certain foods. Even more painfully, we may wind up feeling vulnerable, out of control, and lacking in character as a result.
- Although dieting and exercise are two different behaviors, viewing physical activity primarily as a means of losing weight or re-shaping the body is a shift in attitude that can often accompany dieting. People can respond to this by developing a driven, compulsive relationship with physical activity that pushes them to exercise when fatigued, ill, and injured, and that cuts into their ability to enjoy other things. People can also respond by developing an aversion or resistance to physical activity, because it has become associated with guilt, obligation, and anxiety for them.
Have breakfast within an hour of waking up.
Your body is craving fuel after a night's sleep. Not only does having breakfast support an optimal metabolism, but studies have shown that having breakfast helps our bodies with appetite control. Study participants were found to experience less hunger all day long when they had breakfast --there's something about that meal that is uniquely satisfying to the body. (And for those of you who are saying that you experience more hunger during the day when you eat breakfast, here's a news flash: the hunger you are experiencing is actually your REAL level of hunger. When you skip breakfast, your body sometimes begins to produce a chemical called a ketone that "covers up" your natural hunger signal. As a result, you may not notice significant hunger --until you eat or drink something with nutrients in it that "breaks" the ketosis, causing you to feel suddenly and ravenously hungry --a real set-up for overeating and feeling uncomfortable).
Be regular with meals and snacks; try to eat something every 3 to 4 hours.
Again, your metabolism is better supported when the body is fed in a regular, consistent way. Erratic eating patterns with more than 4 hours between meals and snacks may cause the body to fight back against what it perceives as deprivation and uncertainty. It may cause the metabolic rate to drop, and it may signal the body to preferentially store calories as fat instead of spending them freely.
Think of the peace symbol when you're planning your plate at lunch and dinner.
Aim to fill 2/3 of your plate with carbohydrates: a fruit serving, a cooked or raw vegetable serving, and a grain. The last third of your plate is for a serving of protein (animal or vegetable). Add a serving or 2 of fat to round things off, if your other food choices don't contain much fat. This meal mix: carbohydrate + protein + fat provides the fast acting and long acting sources of energy that keep people well-fueled and satisfied for a longer period of time. When you are well satisfied, you're less likely to feel compelled to "nibble" during the day, and you aren't likely to arrive at the next meal or snack over-hungry and prone to over-eat.
You can improve your meal mix (and bone health!) even further by having an 8 oz. serving of low-fat milk, yogurt, or their fortified soy-substitutes with each meal. These dairy servings contribute additional protein, which may boost appetite control for some people by creating and prolonging a sense of comfortable fullness.
Add high fiber choices to meals and snacks.
High-fiber foods like wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes help us with energy balance by promoting a feeling of comfortable fullness. Both the bulk of these foods, and the more gradual way in which they are digested for energy, can help us to experience fullness at a meal and maintain a feeling of comfortable fullness for several hours.
Start eating when you are comfortably hungry, and stop eating when you are comfortably full.
Eating when you are at a comfortable level of physical hunger (instead of starving), and finishing when you are comfortably full (instead of stuffed) is one of the most powerful ways to make sure that your caloric intake stays appropriate. And the two are definitely related: by the time you are over-hungry, not only will you have a hard time slowing down your eating long enough to listen for a subtle fullness signal, you may also develop a preference for over-fullness in reaction to or as a defense against this uncomfortable level of hunger. Moreover, you may find yourself developing a preference for higher-fat, higher-sugar foods under these circumstances because of the brain chemicals (galanin - fat cravings, neuropeptide Y - sweet cravings) that are released when someone has gone for too long without eating.
Hunger is the physiological expression of the body's need for energy. There are some common symptoms of hunger that people may manifest in descending order as their blood sugar levels continue to drop. It's useful for you to identify your personal progression from slight hunger to over-hunger. You are more likely to begin a meal or a snack at a comfortable level of hunger if you eat within 5-10 minutes of your early hunger signals.
- Rumbling, or empty stomach - early hunger
- Decreased energy, particularly during physical activity
- Decreased ability to focus
- Feeling weak or shaky
- Nausea, cold sweats - late hunger
Appetite is our interest in food. It usually accompanies hunger, but it can also be stimulated by sensory triggers (walking past a bakery), habit ("I always have a snack at this time"), or emotions (wanting food when sad or anxious). Most of us are familiar with the experience of a food "calling to us" when we are clear that we are not hungry, and eating under these circumstances once in a while is totally normal. A frequent tendency to eat from appetite rather than hunger, however, is likely to create inappropriate weight gain because it promotes consumption of calories that the body has no use for. Appetite is linked to our innate need for pleasure, and can be aggravated by food deprivation, but it can also be exacerbated by a lack of fun, not enough relaxation, and insufficient outlets for soothing and comfort. Our appetite for food stays more manageable when we eat enough, when we eat things we really enjoy, and when we have many other ways of relaxing and having fun. To learn more about the link between emotions, self-care needs, and eating, look at our section on Emotional Eating below.
Fullness is the physiological expression of the body having received enough energy at a meal or snack. The experience of fullness can be affected by a variety of food-related factors:
- High-fiber wholegrains help to fill us up at meals and snacks, and keep us feeling full for longer.
- Protein is best at promoting comfortable fullness at a meal or snack, and it will continue to promote comfortable fullness for several hours afterwards.
- Although the presence of fat in a meal may not boost fullness in the moment because it is digested more slowly, it contributes significantly to long-lasting fullness.
- Fruits, vegetables, and beans provide bulk and fiber that boosts fullness.
- Hot foods and beverages tend to make us feel more full than cold ones.
- Eaten alone, processed grains (e.g. low-fiber breakfast cereals) and sugary foods don't contribute to a significant feeling of fullness, and get used up too quickly to support long-lasting fullness.
Fullness is a more subtle physiological signal than hunger, and can more easily be overridden or missed --particularly if you are eating quickly or in a very distracting environment. The old guideline about taking a minimum of 20 minutes to eat still makes a lot of sense.
Like appetite and hunger, satisfaction can travel along with fullness, but there are other aspects that go beyond whether the body feels it has received enough energy. Satisfaction usually requires:
- Reaching a preferred level of fullness, and
- Achieving a reasonable "match" between the sensory characteristics you were craving (hot/cold, spicy/bland, crunchy, creamy, smooth, chewy, salty, bitter, sweet) and the foods you actually chose.
Most of us can identify with eating situations in which we've been physically full but not yet satisfied, and we usually found ourselves "grazing" afterwards, still searching for that satisfaction. This situation is even more likely to occur with dieting when people disallow themselves the types and amounts of foods they really want. Unfortunately, the result of under-cutting satisfaction is a tendency to eat when not hungry and eat beyond fullness --both of which contribute to inappropriate weight gain. So make sure that you choose foods you really like at meals and snacks --even if some of them are high in calories, you can have them in moderate portions and you'll be doing yourself a favor in the end!
As a species, we have several strong biological imperatives: survival, pleasure-seeking, and pain-avoidance, to name just a few. Food and eating are connected to all three of these major themes, so is it any wonder that they get over-used sometimes? And possibly because our experience with food is so strongly reinforced on a physiological level, we have also developed a powerful emotional relationship with food. Food and eating seem to be "about" a lot of things: family, cultural values, security, fun, intimacy, personal identity, spirituality, sensuality, control, power, love… the list goes on, and on.
As a result, our relationship with food can get a little distorted when we are having a hard time coping in other areas of our lives. Food can be used as a way to meet other needs when we are depleted (e.g. eating a snack, when we really need to take a nap or have a study break). Food can also be used to manage emotions (e.g. eating to "numb-out," or relax). Everyone eats emotionally once in a while - that's normal. When emotional eating becomes frequent, however, it can be really disruptive and distressing. First of all, it confuses the body, which prefers to regulate its intake according to hunger and fullness. Secondly, it interferes with our ability to deal with our feelings and meet our real needs directly. It turns the language of feelings into the language of food, creating a situation in which you can begin to think that you have a "problem" with food. Food isn't the problem --it's a symptom of coping difficulties.
Here are some ways to manage emotional over-eating:
Take care of your basic needs for sleep, relaxation, social connection, and pleasure on a daily basis. There is a tendency, particularly during college, to treat these needs as optional: they are not. And ignoring the deficit doesn't make it go away; it simply goes underground and pops up someplace unexpected --like your relationship with food. Create academic, athletic, social, and work schedules that don't require you to sacrifice the foundation of well-being.
Find more supportive ways to comfort or distract yourself when things are difficult. Phoning a friend, taking a hot shower, going for a short walk while listening to your favorite music; these are some ways to take a break and boost your mood without using food.
Get help understanding and managing feelings. The transition to college life is exciting --and incredibly stressful. Everybody struggles with this in their own way, and a little coaching can help you to understand your situation better and feel more effective. For more information about all of the above suggestions, Psychological Services is a fantastic resource. You can reach them at 401.863-3476.
If you are going to eat emotionally, do it really, really, well. Like we said, everyone eats emotionally once in a while. So if you've considered other self-care options, and eating something feels like the most satisfying choice, make it count.
- Pick out a food that gets as close as possible to your craving, so that you get the sensory satisfaction you are looking for.
- If you can, aim for a single-serving portion of whatever you are craving; remember --you can always have more afterwards if you truly want it.
- Sit down and concentrate on what you are eating; take your time and stay in touch with how good it tastes.
- Give yourself permission to enjoy whatever you are eating --without guilt. Feeling guilty increases the likelihood that you will "numb-out" and rush through your eating, making you prone to eat more because either you missed out on the pleasure, or you are having to comfort yourself for feeling so guilty.
Sometimes dealing with emotions results in the opposite problem --under-eating and weight loss. Here are some emotional under-eating issues, and some ideas that may be useful:
- Feeling stressed-out about making time for meals and snacks because your schedule is so tight. Healthy eating gives you the energy to do what you want to do, so make it a priority. Avoid painting yourself into a corner by creating a schedule that allows you to put self-care first.
- Feeling overwhelmed by the crowds and atmosphere of the dining halls. Try coming at a time when the crowds are smaller (Noon to 1 pm is usually the busiest time of day.). Since the Ratty is the largest of the dining facilities, try the V-Dub or another location if you need a smaller and less hectic eating environment --even if it means a few extra steps in your usual routine. Plan to go with a friend if you are uncertain about trying a new place alone.
- Arriving at meals too stressed to eat, having no appetite, or getting an upset stomach after eating. Some of the same brain and endocrine chemicals that start to cascade during our experience of stress also have receptors in the gut - no wonder people lose their interest in food or get an upset stomach. Do what you can to arrive at meals in a relaxed frame of mind. Leaving plenty of time so that you can arrive, eat, and hang out for a little while afterwards can really improve interest in eating, and definitely cuts down on stomach discomfort afterwards. Practicing deep, abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or doing some mini-visualizations can also help people manage their stress before heading into a meal. To learn more about these and other techniques for stress management on-the-go, visit our page on stress.
- Feeling anxious about the types of foods available and how they are prepared. Getting used to new foods or foods that are prepared differently is sometimes difficult. You can't ask for "made to order" dishes, but you can experiment with creating some of your own dishes with items already available in the dining facilities. Think about trying one new food each week, so that you can begin to broaden your tastes and bring down your anxiety level. If you suspect that your anxiety about food and eating is related to disordered eating or weight concerns, visit our page on eating concerns.
Health Education 401.863-2794
Located on the third floor of Health Services.
Confidential information or care is available through individual appointments with a Nutritionist to discuss the many types of eating concerns you may have regarding yourself, a friend, roommate or teammate. Health Education also offers workshops, pamphlets, and reading materials covering these and related issues. Health Education services are free as part of your Health Services fee.
University Health Services 401.863-3953
Located at 13 Brown Street across from Keeney Quad.
Confidential information and care is available for initial, current or past disordered eating patients.
Psychological Services 401.863-3476
Located on the fifth floor of J. Walter Wilson.
Confidential appointments are available at Psychological Services for students concerned about their eating issues. Guidance is also available for those who are concerned about a friend, roommate, or teammate's eating. Services include crisis intervention, short-term psychotherapy and referrals. Appointments at Psychological Services are free as part of your Health Services fee.
After The Diet: Helping Humans Overcome Eating Problems
Another fantastic diet-free web site, with particularly good information about the connections between nutrition, hormones, and brain chemistry. Run by dietitian Monika Woolsey, the site includes "Eating Resource Centers" covering everything from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to Sleep Disorders, Q&A sessions on hot topics, and links to providers specializing in a given topic.
Established by dietitian Karin Kratina, one of the foremost leaders in the Health At Every Size approach, this web site is a great place to go for a balanced clinical counterpoint to the "war on obesity." Having recently completed her PhD in Cultural Anthropology, Karin's work is particularly useful for anyone interested in exploring the symbolic and socio-cultural aspects of food, eating, exercise, and body image.
The American Dietetic Association
Daily Tips and Feature Topics often have articles of interest. By sending an email to email@example.com, you can ask questions directly of registered dietitians in your area. Nutrition Network is a national referral service for registered dietitians. Award winning web site.
This site looks at ways we can feel good in the bodies we have. One of their slogans: "Remember, your body hears everything you think." Other topics on the web site: Size Acceptance; What do you say when everyone around you is dieting? 200 Ways to Love the Body You Have; Dieting Detox; Evaluating Weight Loss Programs: What are the Red Flags? Free subscription to email newsletter "Body Positive Pages."
Disclaimer: Health Education is part of Health Services at Brown University. Health Education maintains this site as a resource for Brown students. This site is not intended to replace consultation with your medical providers. No site can replace real conversation. Health Education offers no endorsement of and assumes no liability for the currency, accuracy, or availability of the information on the sites we link to or the care provided by the resources listed. Health Services staff are available to treat and give medical advice to Brown University students only. If you are not a Brown student, but are in need of medical assistance please call your own health care provider or in case of an emergency, dial 911. Please contact us if you have comments, questions or suggestions. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37718000 |
NOTE - TO DATE. THE DOME IS STILL UNFINISHED. AS IS THIS ARTICLE. NEITHER DOME NOR ARTICLE WILL BE.RESUMED UNTIL THIS AUTUMN. SO PATIENCE PLEASE . . . MEANWHILE. THE INFORMATION BELOW IS A STEP BY STEP EXPLANATION OF HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN GEODESIC DOME.
Above, dome nearly completed, without glass and perspex windows (its summer!)
Above photo, interior of dome, nearly completed
Above photo, interior of dome, nearly completed.
However, most governments and legislators would prefer people of low income to live here . . .
In 'charming' town planning projects that give the local medeival architecture a real boost to their image, eh hem . . . Spot Ales' medieval fort and, significantly, old prison, it's a job to find it, but if you squint hard enough. . .
STEP BY STEP PHOTO INSTRUCTIONS . . .
The first step in building a geodesic dome home is to fully understand and visualise the geometry of the structure beforehand.
To do this it is essential to build a small model version that you can refer back to whenever you get confused or stuck. It's possible to build a dome without first doing a model, but you're more likely to get in a fix, which wastes time and money.
To make a 50cm diameter cardboard model you'll need a pencil, a compass, a ruler, 15 sheets of A4 lightweight photocopy card in one colour, and 5 sheets of the same card in another colour, one large piece of thick cardboard for the base (from a big cardboard box will do), glue, at least twenty very small boston clips, thumbtacks and probably some other stuff too, we'll see as we go along. The two fluffy assistants are optional.
I found a useful video on YouTube showing how to 'construct a geodesic dome' out of cardboard. The instructions are for children so even a maths moron such as myself could follow them! The dome is composed of 10 equilateral triangles that join together 6 pentagons, each pentagon being composed of 5 isosceles triangles.
In all, the dome requires a total of 40 triangles, 30 of them isosceles and 10 of them equilateral. In order to attain the dome diameter of 50cm the 3 sides of the equilateral triangles must be 15cm45 long precisely (to be called length A). The isosceles triangles must have one side measuring, again, 15cm45 and the two other sides measuring 13cm66 (to be called length B).
Being the congenital maths moron I am, it was impossible for me to calculate how to draw two triangles together (to save paper), centering them correctly on a sheet of photocopy paper. So I drew one, photocopied it, cut them both out, then stuck them together on a sheet of paper. In this way I had the template for two triangles neatly fitted together and centered on the A4 paper. I then made 5 photocopies of the template below so as to get 10 equilateral triangles in lightweight yellow card.
To make an equilateral triangle, use your ruler to draw a 15.45cm line at the bottom of your page. Set your compass to exactly 15.45cm. Putting the point at one end of the line, draw an arc approximately where the top point of the triangle should go. Switch the point of the compass to the other end of the line and draw another arc. Where the two arcs cross is the third point of the triangle. Use your ruler to draw the two other sides. To draw the glue tabs, draw a line 1cm parallel to all three sides around the entire outer edge of the triangle. Cut off its points, as in the triangles above, by drawing a straight line to slice off the points of the outer triangles so that the glue tabs can be stuck together without the ends overlapping. To draw the isosceles triangle draw the base line of the triangle again at a length of 15.45cm, but set the compass at 13.66cm instead so as to achieve the two shorter edges. I then made 15 photocopies of the template, this time in blue card, so as to get a total of 30 isosceles triangles.
Carefully cut out all your triangles and, using a book and a ruler, fold the glue tabs carefully along each of their lines.
Apply glue to the tabs and stick the five isosceles triangles together (sticking together the B sides) so as to form a pentagon, leaving the last two tabs unglued. When applying glue be sure to use a scrap piece of paper underneath so as to not get anything grubby. Stick the B sides together two by two. If you try to apply glue to all of the sides at the same time and then try to stick them all together simultaneously, the tabs where you applied the glue first will have dried. So just go edge by edge. Glue needs to be applied to both glue tabs being stuck together and not just one, to ensure a strong fix.
Assemble all six pentagons in the same way, leaving the last two edges open on each one. To be sure that the glue dries completely you may want to leave the next stage for the following day; otherwise, leaving it for a couple of hours should do it. Once dry, the final edges of the isosceles triangles can be glued together. As you pull the two sides against one another you'll see why it was necessary to allow the other sides to dry first, as now the pentagons will be raised into their three-dimensional volume, putting strong pressure on all sides. This is where you now need to attach the small boston clips to clamp the freshly glued sides together. I left them all overnight again, but if you're feeling brave, another couple of hours should do.
Here we have the six pentagons fully assembled on my scruffy old floor. As you can see, my fluffy assistant to the left seems satisfied with the work so far. I have placed the ten equilateral triangles next to the pentagons, ready for the next stage.
Now we need to make the base. Thinking I was very clever, I bought some fancy hard card instead of using the simple cardboard box card suggested in the video. The result was a fiendishly difficult challenge with a Stanley knife when it came to the cutting stage. It was all very scary and not at all appropriate for children . . . or for fluffy assistants for that matter. So use normal cardboard from a box as it's far easier to cut with no more than a pair of scissors. And it's free.
Cut out your piece of cardboard for the base, making it no smaller than 56cm squared. Find its center by drawing diagonal lines from each of its corners, creating a cross in the center. Here, one of my fluffy assistants is demonstrating how this can be done very easily with a builder's rule, useful as it's so big. A straight plank would also do the trick.
Here is the base with the cross revealing the center of the square. At this point you may wish to take a small break and give yourself a vigorous scratch for good measure.
Now we need to make a big compass out of a 35cm x 4cm strip of card. This card is thicker than the triangles but lighter than the base board. It needs to be quite thick and strong so as not to tear, but not too thick to put the nib of a pencil through it. Place the cardboard strip on another piece of cardboard as we are now going to push thumbtacks into it to create pencil holes. My assistant is helpfully indicating the spacing of these four holes. The one on the far left, let's call it the '0cm hole', will be the point where we pin this card compass into the center of the base. Now place a tack at precisely 16cm to the right of the first hole, then 25cm and finally at 27cm distant from the first hole. We have now created four holes at 0cm, 16cm, 25cm and 27cm.
Tacking the 0cm hole to the center of your cardboard base, use the holes at 16cm, 25cm and 27cm to draw three concentric circles. The fluffy tail is optional in this simple manoeuvre, but adds interest.
Here is the base with the three concentric circles drawn.
Cut out along the center circle to create an inner hole. Cut out along the outer circle to finish the now circular base. Sitting on the circle will prevent it from unexpectedly flying away . . .
Set the compass to 15.45cm precisely. To make it easier to set it perfectly I drew a line of the right length on a piece of paper, dug the point into one end of the line and carefully pulled the compass to the right length. Place the point of the compass on the circle inside the outer edge of your base and draw an arc further along the line of your circle. Then place the point where your arc crosses the line and draw another arc further along. Continue all around the circle till all the points of your decagon (ten-sided polygon) are drawn.
At this point you will discover if your compass is set precisely or not. If it isn't your last arc will be too far in or out. Cursing loudly at this juncture may help relieve tension. If it's not right, rub out the marks and start again. I actually ended up having an approximate decagon and just bodged along as I do, knowing that the length A sides of the triangles would make up for any incompetent fumbling around with the compass. Now use your ruler to draw straight lines from point to point, thus completing the drawing of the decagon. My assistant pointed out that my work was rather unprofessional.
She explained that putting one's nose up against the base and scrutinising it carefully was all it took to discover my sloppy work.
She even went so far as to call my other assistant over to prove her point
At this moment in the proceedings my assistants became suddenly overwhelmed by a frenzy of excitement. Perhaps my lack of professionalism had compromised their respect for the project. All at once my ordered workshop had degenerated into a wrestling ring!
Determined to get things under control, I raised my voice and commanded, 'No no, you naughty assistants! Stop this monkey business at once!!!'
Fearing my authority had indeed been compromised I was forced to take radical measures. Reciting the affirmation 'I am strong and in control. I am respected' I grabbed them round their fluffy bellies and firmly transported them out of the room, shutting the door behind them! They were outraged, but I felt proud to have proved to myself and to the world at large that I was an impressive figure of authority, not to be messed with. I could now get on with laying out my card dome sections, base, boston clips, thumbtacks and glue without further ado.
Applying glue to both sides that needed to be stuck together, I glued the pentagons and equliateral triangles alternately round the base following the decagon I'd drawn previously, as neatly as possible. To keep everything in place it's essential to use the boston clips on the dome's edges and the thumbtacks around the base to hold everything in place and give the glue time to work.
Once the bottom layer was complete I applied liquid glue all around the join of the base to give it extra strength.
I added the final layer of equilateral triangles . . .
And using the hole in the base in order to access the final layer from underneath, I glued in the last pentagon. Et voila . . . the dome model was complete . . . as was my initiation into the mysterious world of geometry and mathematics!
The most difficult part of building a dome being accomplished, I could now apply myself to the simple task of building the dome home itself. All that was needed was a comfy chair, a hot drink, and a handy assistant to take care of all the boring woodwork!
To make lifesize domes, you can use the model as a ratio guide. In the video for making the model, the man gives the following mathematical formula for understanding the diameter and length ratios (not that I understand a word of it, mind). This was the formula he gave (and that I still haven't figured out in my brain):
r = radius of dome
A = r x 0.61803 (base side)
B = r x 0.54653 (sides of isosceles)
Here is how we went about calculating the real dome:
The model is 50cm diameter, composed of 40 triangles of which 10 are equilateral and 30 are isosceles.
Length A (of the equilaterals) is 15.45cm and length B (of the isosceles) is 13.66cm
Therefore, to make, for example, a 2m diameter dome, simply multiply all of the dimensions above by 4 (50cm x 4 = 2m).
So for a 2m diameter dome:
Length A = 61.8cm (15.45 x 4)
Length B = 54.64cm (13.66cm x 4).
For the 3m dome that we built, simply multiply the model's dimensions by 6 (50cm x 6 = 3m).
Here it is in its skeletal form to help you visualise the following calculations,
The 3m diameter dome:
Length A = 92.7cm
Length B = 82cm
Now it is necessary to count all of the spokes, or wooden bars, of the dome (lengths A and B) so as to know how many to cut to support the forty triangles.
As there are 6 pentagons, each composed of 5 central (radial) spokes, this makes a total of 30 length B spokes of wood. The 10 equilateral triangles, joining the pentagons together, are all composed of 3 length A spokes, which makes 30. Don't forget to add the 5 additional length As at the base of the bottom pentagons.
The door is best put in one of the hexagons (composed of an upper and lower equilateral and 2 isosceles to each side) rather than the pentagons, because the hexagons have horizontal tops and bottoms, good for putting in a rectangular door: The pentagon is pointed at the top and a bit lower down, requiring one to stoop. Therefore, from the above calculation of the number of total spokes, it is necessary to subtract the central spokes of a hexagon, that is, two length Bs and 4 length As
The 3m diameter dome:
Total number of length A (92.7cm) spokes/bars = 35 (minus 4 for door = 31)
Total number of length B (82cm) spokes/bars = 30 (minus 2 for door = 28)
After trying out the dome without a base, as you'll see in the photos below, we decided that having a bit of extra height would be far more comfortable and spacious to live in. It was worth the extra effort:
Our base consisted of: ( . . . . . . . . . )
The metallic bars, or braces, to join the spokes together into 'hubs' were each 10cm long with 4 screw holes. We chose to join the wooden spokes with more or less the cheapest available, strong enough to do a nice job, but flexible enough to bend with pliers in those all-important bodge job moments. I think the price in a DIY shop was about 3 euros for a pack of twenty five. We bought four packs, giving us about 100 metal brackets in all. We got in a fix and ran out at some point, so it's useful to buy a few extra just in case.
We bought the cheapest non-planed bars of wood, 3cm x 4cm thick in strips of 2 meters, to cut up into the lengths B and A. In all we spent approximately 70 or 80 euros on the wooden understructure frame of spokes. One day I will make these spokes out of locally harvested bamboo and join them using the ring hub method instead. Meanwhile, we did actually happen to have a spare door hanging around, so that was one expense we were spared. Planing the wood is boring and quite time consuming, so having a handy human assistant around to take care of this is advisable.
The metal braces are put in a vice (or some other mechanism to keep them still) after first being stuck together in a straight line with masking tape so as to prevent them slipping out of place when whacked . . .
Then they were whacked and bent in the middle at a 36° angle using a protractor as a guide. After much head scratching we finally figured out that the angles of the dome would correspond to the angles of the base of the structure; that is, a ten-sided polygon which is called a decagon. A circle is 360°, and divided by 10 = 36.
Here below are the metal braces each screwed into the wood using the two screwholes, leaving the other half of the bar jutting into the air. All of the wooden bars must have metal braces attached to both ends.
Each hub is joined by a butterfly screw (well, that's what I call them, anyway)
Here is what the dome looked like, rapidly erected with no base . . .
. . . leaving the hexagonal door gaping saggily open and in desperate need of two vertical support lengths of wood for the rectangular door shape, plus short spokes supporting the middle of each length. However, we had more ambitious projects afoot, so we didn't bother.
Nevertheless, the basic dome, covered as in the photo below, with decorative hand embroidered nomadic Indian fabrics and blankets, makes a very nice mini-yurt structure for keeping warm in the winter, or covered with a canvas for a outdoor tent.
But that's not what we wanted . . . so we took it all down and started again, this time with a base . . .
Oops . . . forgot to add the side bars of the rectangular base sections . . .
At this point having someone holding the model as a guide and telling the other person which order the lengths A and B go is vital if you don't want to spend all day and all night putting the wrong lengths in, dismantling everything, reconstructing it and so on. It can even be helpful to mark, both on the model dome and the wooden spokes, if they are As or Bs. Additional assistance of the fluffy ginger variety is optional.
A handy broom, however, is essential . . .
The first round is up, leaving a gap for the door, so everything's a bit wobbly and the broom is more appreciated than ever.
This floppy hexagonal gap for the door is a tricky number. If you have a door ready made and fitted at this stage, it's best to put it in earlier rather than later. In our case the door was still an unexpected but rapidly approaching crisis.
The last spokes go in . . .
Up and up . . .
And now, the door . . .
It is not going to be fixed into a solid wall so anything you can do to rigidify it could be helpful. We attached planks to the base and top of the frame to reinforce it and attached the whole lot to the dome with 45° angled brackets as in the photo below. It's tricky, fiddly and at times infuriating, so experts in bodge jobbing are more likely to win the day on this one. At times the frame and even the whole dome needs yanking around till you get everything well balanced and grounded evenly on the floor:
After admiring the recycle crochet jumper I made for my assistant, you may wish to turn your attention to the piece of string attached to a hub with a bracket sticking up. This is to measure and gauge the angle and lengths from the top four dome hubs to each side of the door that must be joined to it with four bars. Goodness knows what angle they may be, all depends on the size of the door in relation to the dome, its base, etc. So forget about maths, get your string out, a handy pair of pliers and start wiggling the metal brackets on the door and the hubs into the right angle.
Once you have achieved this most difficult of tasks and furthermore attached the bars successfully in place, you may wish to invite your assistants in to check it out and test for areas of sloppy handiwork. In our case we were most relieved to meet with the door inspector's approval.
Following which, sitting down with a hot cup of organic mint tea and admiring the view is a good way to spend the next few days of well earned rest. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37725000 |
ART, BYZANTINE INFLUENCES ON COPTIC. It would be astonishing if Byzantine art had not exercised an influence on Coptic art, which was the art of a region included in the Byzantine empire. Byzantine art was at an advantage over Coptic art, since it was an imperial art, as dominant as it was rich and having all the splendor of brilliant luxury, whereas the values of Coptic art were modest and could only find models in Byzantium.
Thus Byzantine specialists naturally tend to see Coptic art as a department of Byzantine art to the extent of classifying among the techniques of Byzantine art the best works of Coptic art in painting, sculpture, and tapestry. This claim is made by scholars as well informed as A. Grabar (1966, pp. 173-89, 245-46, 264-69, 323-32), and it is carried to extremes by K. Wessel (1964). It is, however, rejected by E. Coche de la Ferté (1981, p. 29).
The claim loses substance when the facts are considered. Coptic art was already well established when Byzantine art came into being at the end of the fifth century. The possibility of direct and constant links between the two is limited to two centuries because of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs. These were the years when the Byzantine authorities provoked Coptic hostility. These circumstances, then, make an influence of Byzantine art more plausible because of its dominant position, rather than that Coptic art
should have been part of the Byzantine: not the style—which is the very life blood of art—but the iconography, a supporting feature, was affected.
If Byzantine influence occurred between the middle of the fifth and the middle of the seventh century, it could be revived only with some indulgence from the ninth to the twelfth century, when Tulunid and Fatimid Egypt gradually opened its gates to the Byzantine empire.
The first of these periods, then, is one of coexistence of these two art traditions, while Egypt was occupied by the Byzantine authorities.
In Egypt the basilicas of the crypt of ABU MINA, one erected by Constantine in the paleo-Christian period and the other added by Arcadius in the fifth century—each a part of an imperial program and constructed with rich materials—do not appear to have had a decisive influence. Rather, it seems that the Coptic basilica derives from the Roman Christian basilica, with some native modifications. This is apparent particularly in the side entrance, sometimes with a baffle, reentrant colonnades, and a tripling of the apse, which is itself also reentrant and a product of the vertical lines of the walls.
The decorative sculpture of Coptic churches may have borrowed certain motifs from Byzantine art, among them the foliated scrolls of the friezes. Nevertheless, the scrolls, as in the South Church of Bawit, may equally well have derived from those evident in Roman mosaics scattered around the periphery of the Mediterranean from Libya to Syria. Scrolls elsewhere developed according to a Coptic style characterized by the flat disposition of the whole and an extremely elaborate stylization. This transformation is particularly true of the corbeled capitals such as those in the South Church of Bawit. The corbeled capital, too, was of Libyan origin, from Sabratha and Leptis Magna, and earlier than Byzantine art. The imagination displayed here and the clear-cut right-angled contrast of surface and recess that throws it into relief are typically Coptic.
The pictorial decoration of the Chapel of Peace at al-Bagawat was plainly Byzantine and not Coptic. It remained isolated at that oasis from all other Coptic productions, none of which included any of its features. Some liturgical attributes, such as the garments of the saints or the monks in the church of the monastery of (DAYR) APA JEREMIAH at Saqqara or in the devotional chapels of Bawit, matched those of the sacred figures of the sanctuaries of Ravenna. But there the form had lost the elegance of its drapery, and the
figures were grouped side by side instead of gathered together, as if in an interpretation of movement, as is usual in the art of Ravenna and in Byzantine art as a whole. Another liturgical symbol, the sacred book adorned with precious stones and carried by a Christ shown with the Abbot Mena, painted on wood, clearly indicated the influence of Byzantine art in the stereotyped way it portrayed the Savior. Otherwise Byzantine influence was subsidiary; the subject matter, the style of the characters, and the language of the inscription that names them were entirely Coptic.
Various subjects in fabrics and tapestries are of Byzantine origin. Some of these are the fantastic animals that face each other in
some groups of fabrics, the medallion showing Alexander on horseback (Museum of Textile, Washington), and certain pieces of
silk from Antinoopolis (Louvre). But these are isolated examples and distinct from the major productions of Coptic fabrics. The
subject of the tapestry hangings in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which show the Virgin seated in state with the Infant Jesus and busts of the Apostles and saints around the edges, is Byzantine, but the presentation has broken with the original style to become Coptic oriented.
The links between Constantinople and Egypt, which were interrupted by the Arab conquest of Egypt, resumed in the ninth and
accelerated in the tenth to the twelfth centuries. But they were episodic and superficial among the Christians of Egypt, who were
from that time a minority without influence. The church of the monastery of Abu Fanah in western Middle Egypt, which is
uniformly decorated with Byzantine crosses, suggests that in that region Byzantine iconoclasm was in the ascendant; but this is an
isolated case. The saints on horseback decorating the rear of the church of the Monastery of Saint Antony (DAYR ANBA
ANTUNIYUS) in the desert near the Red Sea are marked by Byzantine influence either by their postures or by the placing of a
church under the horses' bellies; the faces of the horsemen, however, show Coptic features. The themes of shoulder bands and the cuffs of tunics contrast with everything Coptic though at the same time are part of it. These are characterized by the garments or details of garments (e.g., the thorakion [baldric] of the persons there represented) and are often accompanied on the edges by animals facing each other. But the whole is treated in crowded and angular fashion, typical of the Coptic style.
Thus the Byzantine presence was felt in Egypt as it influenced Coptic art. Sometimes the Byzantine characteristics were strong and
isolated; sometimes they were slightly modified by Coptic features; sometimes their traces appeared in art that was completely Coptic in style. As with other art styles, especially Greco-Roman art, the Byzantine may have provided subjects that were entirely reworked in Coptic style in such a manner as to lose the marks of origin.
This assimilation and, ipso facto, difference had two causes. One was theological, particularly the cult of images, which set the Coptic expression of the common Christian faith at odds with that developed at Constantinople. The other was a less intellectual and spiritual perspective in an Egypt under foreign occupation. The genius of the invaders was to simplify and transform subjects from the pharaonic heritage into elaborate decoration.
PIERRE DU BOURGUET, S.J.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37734000 |
Secondhand Smoke Bad for Kids’ Hearts
Exposure Affects Flow of Blood on Arteries, Study Shows
June 4, 2008 - Even small amounts of exposure to secondhand smoke can
negatively impact the cardiovascular health of children, new research
Kids exposed to tobacco smoke showed evidence of blood flow restriction in
the study, with those exposed to the most smoke experiencing the greatest
Researcher Katariina Kallio, MD, says it is increasingly evident that
secondhand smoke exposure poses a significant health risk to children.
“This certainly suggests that there is no safe level of exposure,” she tells
WebMD. “We don’t know what this means for their future, but studies in adults
suggest these changes may not be totally reversible.”
Kallio and colleagues from Finland’s University of Turku measured levels of
the nicotine marker cotinine in the blood of children between the ages of 8 and
11 to determine their exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
They assessed blood vessel health using an ultrasound testing method
previously used to measure artery function in adults.
Of the 402 children enrolled in the study, 229 showed no evidence of
exposure to secondhand smoke, while 134 showed evidence of low exposure and 39
showed evidence of high exposure.
Ultrasound testing revealed that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
negatively affected artery function and that the effect grew with increased
The study is published in the latest issue of the American Heart Association
(AHA) publication Circulation.
“There is already a lot of evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful to
children,” Kallio says. “Hopefully, parents who are still smoking around their
children will stop.”
22 Million Kids Exposed
Almost 60% of children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 11 --
roughly 22 million kids -- are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to a 2006
report from the U.S. Surgeon General.
Infants exposed to environmental tobacco smoke are at increased risk for
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and children have an increased risk for
respiratory infections and ear problems. Asthma symptoms in children can also
be triggered by exposure to cigarette smoke.
While the long-term health consequences of tobacco smoke exposure early in
life are not well understood, it is clear that continued exposure poses
significant risks. And children whose parents smoke are more likely to become
smokers themselves, AHA spokeswoman Martha Daviglus, MD, PhD, points out.
“Duration of exposure is important,” she tells WebMD. “Just as obesity in
children increases their risk for high blood pressure and diabetes earlier in
life, early and prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke may lead to earlier heart
disease or other health problems.”
Thomas Glynn, PhD, of the American Cancer Society says the study findings
provide “one more piece of the puzzle” for understanding the health impact of
passive smoke exposure.
“We have known that secondhand smoke increases ear infections and the
incidence of asthma attacks in children,” he tells WebMD. “Now we know that it
affects the cardiovascular system.”
- How do you protect
your kids from secondhand smoke? Tell us on WebMD's Parenting: Preschoolers
and Gradeschoolers message board. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37746000 |
Art and Life in Africa Online
University of Iowa
University of Minnesota
At the core of this site is a searchable database of African art entitled the Stanley Collection. This collection of more than 500 images and objects focuses mainly on western Africa, and it is possible to search by country, ethnic group, type of artifact, material, function, style, or substyle (the final two links refer to geographic categories).
This site also includes a number of links to explanatory essays and other resources that serve as excellent general introductions to African history, culture, and art. It is part of the larger Art and Life in Africa Project, which offers links to resources for teachers, including DVDs for sale, a glossary and pronunciation guide, a teacher’s forum, and lesson suggestions. The focus here is also on West Africa, with additional special links to pages about Mali and Burkina Faso.
“Key Moments in Life” is a good place to start. This essay is subdivided by 10 links to stages of the human lifecycle, and includes photos of people, objects and places. The site’s creator notes that using the lifecycle to talk about African art is one way to “de-exoticize” Africa and make this continent more approachable for North American audiences.
The site also has links to “Countries Resources” and “Peoples Resources.” The first link provides facts about 27 Sub-Saharan African countries. The second link digs deeper and gives information about 107 different ethnic groups in these African countries. In each case a map is provided as well as short synopses of the history, economy, political systems, religion, and types of art of the people group and the geographic area. The other pages of the site also link to these fact pages for easy access to the information.
In exploring the Stanley Collection database, it is best to try one type of search at a time. For example, under “function,” a student might click on “musical instruments” to see a variety of objects, including a 16th-century horn made from a large ivory tusk, which was used by the royalty of the Kingdom of Congo; or 20th-century stringed instruments that show both the innovation and craftsmanship of African musicians, often working with limited materials. Students might also link to QuickTime sound files found on the Art and Life in Africa Project site to get a sense of how the instruments might sound.
Another suggestion, given in one of the site’s own teaching modules, is to do a search for “jewelry” (also under “function”). Students should consider materials, functions, and styles (as described in the captions) in order to gain a better understanding of African motifs and the purpose of bodily decoration.
Students are better able to understand artifacts when they are placed in the context of important facets of people’s lives, such as childhood, puberty, religious belief, marriage, and death. Students could look for art or objects in Western culture (in the present or historically) that compare to African art and artifacts in similar categories. Challenging examples might be the nkisi, or power figures of the Kongo people from Congo, or the Mbari houses of the Igbo people from Nigeria, used to represent and to try to harness spiritual forces. These items might be compared in a variety of ways with sculptures of saints or carved altars in Christian churches. The point here is not to change students’ own beliefs, but to discuss uses of art, as well as a deeper point: what strategies do human beings in all cultures use to deal with the unpredictability of life?
In short, this is a wonderful site that not only offers an abundance of images from Africa and information about Africa, but also many creative ways to understand and use the material in classroom settings. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37748000 |
Pry House Field Hospital Museum
Come and visit the Pry House Field Hospital Museum. This museum is located in the historic Pry House on the Antietam Battlefield, which served both as Union Commander General George B. McClellan’s headquarters and as Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Letterman’s headquarters during the battle. Exhibits include a re-creation of an operating theater, interpretive panels, objects relating to the care of the wounded, the history of the Pry House and family, and information on the revolutionary system of evacuation of wounded created by Dr. Letterman during the battle, which is still in use today. This is why the Pry House is considered the birthplace of military and emergency medicine.
The grounds around the house also offer many sights. The Pry Barn, which was used as a field hospital, will be open to the public with displays on field hospitals. There is also an overlook at which you can view the battlefield in almost the same spot at General McClellan and his staff did in 1862. And right outside the house is a 19th century style medicinal and kitchen garden. Every plant serves a practical, rather than aesthetic, purpose. This includes medicinal plants, herbs, and vegetables for the kitchen table, just like the Pry family would have had in the 1860′s.
Be sure to visit our garden blog:
A Garden of Antietam
The Pry House garden is a 19th century-style medicinal and kitchen garden. Every plant serves a practical, rather than an aesthetic, purpose. This blog documents learning the ins and outs of 19th century gardening.
Join us on Facebook! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37754000 |
Today, I spoke with Krista Wilkinson, Ph.D., who is an expert in the field of augmentative communication, particularly for people with cognitive disabilities. Her interests include vocabulary learning and the use of visual supports in communication and education.
I approached Dr. Wilkinson with my struggle to create, for the future Clear Helper Web site, a set of navigation icons that would enable people with cognitive disabilities to find the information they want quickly and easily.
I said I would like to use icons shown by research to be effective communicators. She confirmed for me that little research has been performed in this area. After more discussion, we agreed that icons we have seen in use on Web sites seem arbitrary, or bereft of context.
She explained that even the common use of left- and right arrows on Web sites to indicate previous- and next pages is not contextually accurate in practice. She said that people with cognitive disabilities can find it confusing that a click to a right arrow does not actually present the next page from the right. Instead, a new page just appears.
Dr. Wilkinson showed me an augmentative communication device, called The Tango, that uses arrow buttons in a contextually appropriate manner. Below is a picture of it. Note the green arrow buttons on both sides of the middle set of icon buttons.When a user presses a green, up-arrow button, the middle set of icon buttons revolve upward like a slot machine acts, and presents a new set. When a user presses a green, right- or left arrow button, the middle set of icon buttons scrolls in the relevant direction, and presents a new set.
Dr. Wilkinson suggested I might make Web pages act similarly when left- and right arrow buttons are clicked. I can’t think of an accessible way to do that, but I will consider it.
Another suggestion she made would be much easier to implement; left- and right arrow buttons could be paired with a contextually-appropriate sound. An example of this would be a recording of a page turning.
Again, little research has been performed to demonstrate that the context of icons can be understood, or that the pairing of icons with sound is more effective than not. I’ll do what I can to experiment with these ideas on the future Clear Helper Web site. Perhaps, through evaluations by users, and via automated Web-site evaluation tools, the effectiveness of the navigation icons I plan to use could be measured.
Note: No endorsement is intended or implied for the Tango.
Tags: Assistive Technology | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37757000 |
Wild horses released in Western Iberia rewilding area
31 July 2012 | News story
A herd of 24 Retuerta horses, coming from the Doñana biological station in southern Spain, were released in the Campanarios de Azaba reserve on July 27. The release was possible thanks to the Rewilding Europe initiative and the collaboration between the Nature and Man Foundation (FNYH) and the Doñana Biological Station.
The Nature and Man Foundation released twenty-four Retuerta horses in the Campanarios de Azaba reserve, in the province of Salamanca, Spain. The creation of this new population of Retuertas will help to guarantee the survival of this rare breed in Doñana and will strengthen the process of natural grazing by large herbivores in the Campanarios de Azaba reserve, part of one of the current five rewilding areas of Rewilding Europe.
Natural grazing by wild herbivores (such as wild horses, wild cattle, bison and many other species) disappeared from large parts of Europe when humans occupied these areas. Wild horses and cattle were domesticated and used for agriculture. With the large scale land abandonment now happening in many parts of Europe, livestock is also disappearing, leading to the simplification of ecosystems and reducing the dehesas that compose the natural Mediterranean mosaic landscapes.
Rewilding Europe contributes to the increase of biodiversity in Western Iberia, by reintroducing natural grazing as a key ecological process. In order to reach its goals in Western Iberia, the initiative has started to work in two pilot areas: Campanarios de Azaba biological reserve (Spain) and Faia Brava reserve (Portugal). The reintroduction of wild living herbivores will not only support the recovery of natural spaces and increase biodiversity; it will also provide new opportunities for local communities, landowners and stakeholders in the area.
After rigorous comparative genetic analysis with other ancient races like Asturcón, Losino or Potoca, a study published in 2006 has discovered that Retuertas are one of the oldest horse breeds in Europe.
The new Retuerta population in Campanarios will be treated as wild living animals, and live in social groups, grazing the reserve which is currently 500 hectares.
"The release of the 24 Retuerta horses is an important step in the rewilding of Western Iberia", says Frans Schepers, Managing Director of Rewilding Europe. "I hope the herds will adapt soon to this new area and will grow in numbers. I also hope the local stakeholders and landowners in the area will see the benefits of the rewilding initiative in the area, and will support or join our work. Together with the planned reintroduction of other species, Western Iberia will become one of the leading examples of rewilding in Europe".
"Rewilding Europe offers a new opportunity to manage Western Iberia," Carlos Sanchez Martinez, director of FNYH and President of the Spanish IUCN National Committee said at the release. "Wild herbivores help prevent forest fires and keep landscapes open, which is a key to greater biodiversity. Retuerta horses are invaluable. It is both a privilege and a huge responsibility for FNYH to be custodians of the second population of this breed of horses."
Rewilding Europe and Campanarios de Azaba
Rewilding Europe is an initiative by WWF Netherlands, ARK Nature, Conservation Capital and Wild Wonders of Europe, with the ambition of making Europe a wilder place, with much more space for wilderness, wildlife and natural processes. Rewilding Europe aims to rewild one million hectares of land by 2020. Rewilding Europe is currently working in five rewilding areas, Western Iberia is one of them.
The key area in Western Iberia is the Campanarios de Azaba biological reserve, located in Espeja's municipality in the region of Ciudad Rodrigo. Pasture lands with different oak habitats (Quercus ilex, Quercus pyrenaica) characterize the area and several distinguished species can be found here, for example the Black Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra).
Carlota Pérez, FNYH Press Officer
Telf: +34 942 559119 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37763000 |
What is Mediation?
Mediation is a confidential and “out-of-court” procedure which gives parties involved
in a dispute a chance to meet and negotiate a resolution to their conflict with
the assistance of a trained mediator.
Agreements that are reached during the course of a mediation session could include:
repair, return or replacement of property, acceptance of social service referrals,
payment of medical expenses, or arrangements to modify or cease specific behavior.
In most cases, the mediation process can be very healing as it allows participants
to address the underlying issues that gave rise to the dispute, without the formalities
or restrictions of the courtroom.
Mediation is where two or more people, who are in conflict, get together to discuss
their problems, trying to resolve them with the help of a neutral person - the mediator.
The mediation session provides a structured, confidential setting designed to assist
persons in working out their own problems. The purpose of mediation is not to judge
guilt or innocence, but to help parties get at the root of their problems and devise
their own resolution to them.
The difference between mediation and court processing are significant. In a court
case, guilt or innocence must be proven. In mediation, however, proof is not required;
the objective instead is to resolve a dispute by reaching a settlement that is agreeable
to both parties.
Mediation allows participants to address the underlying issues that caused the dispute
without the formality or restrictions of the courtroom. Therefore, mediation can
be very healing. Mediation is not bound to the rules of a formal system and disputants
retain the responsibility to make the final decision regarding the outcome of their
Mediation has proven effective when:
- Situations or issues are so great parties are unable to organize or focus on proper
- A dispute involves such a great number of parties that a moderator is required.
- Parties involved in the conflict are not familiar with problem-solving procedures.
- There are no laws, rules, or regulations to explain how the situation should be
- False perceptions, poor communication, or intense feelings are involved.
- Parties do not want to use the legal system due to cost, time, publicity, or uncertain
Filing Your Complaint
You may file your complaint by telephoning the Restorative Justice Center at (515)
286-3057. The intake worker will record all of the information you provide such
as dates, times, names and addresses. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37764000 |
An apartment must have a kitchen. It is this room that distinguishes an apartment from a flat or a boardinghouse. A kitchen also is the perfect room for installing modern conveniences. When apartment building owners realized up-to-date kitchens would attract tenants, they mentioned the amenities in their promotional materials. Advertisements in local newspapers often included phrases such as "the housewife’s dream come true" or "the last word in kitchen design and equipment." In the early years of the 20th century, some Seattle working-class families and those living in rural areas usually lacked the new labor-saving appliances that apartments featured.
Apartments began fronting Seattle streets in 1901. Compared to the East Coast, Seattle was a relative latecomer to apartment living. This delayed entry, however, proved beneficial. Because the city had already introduced home services such as clean water, gas, and electricity, apartment owners were able to offer kitchens with hot and cold running water, electric lights, and gas ranges. With the advancement of technology, architects and builders installed gleaming new electric stoves and porcelain-lined refrigerators that made ice cubes=two pinnacles of American technology. "Every practical feature of modern convenience arranged with a view to the quick dispatch of housework will be found here," trumpeted an advertisement of the Fleur-de-Lis Apartment. By the end of the 1930s, when the number of appliances manufactured in America had already exceeded the total for the preceding century, builders could choose from an assortment of models.
What is more, Seattle apartments made their appearance just when Americans had begun spending money to achieve a more leisurely lifestyle. No longer content with self-denial, consumers challenged the moralistic approach to spending and began a debate on how to "economize in a world where yesterday’s luxuries seemed to become today’s necessities." By the first decades of the 20th-century Americans had "more money and more time to purchase more goods.... Society’s task was, therefore, no longer how to make do with less, as it always had been, but instead how to live with much more," said historian Thomas Schlereth.
Tenants in many of Seattle’s apartments, scattered throughout the city, were among those who desired the accoutrements of a good life. Apartment owners recognized the advantages of having a building with no vacancies and filled their buildings with distinctive furnishings. In fact, a 1927 survey of Seattle apartments showed higher occupancy in the "better class of apartments" and lower occupancy in a lesser class of apartments that "because of obsolescence or location are not as desirable." Examining the advancement of technology in apartment kitchens between 1900 and 1939 is another way of observing the new consumer society.
The increasing array of kitchen appliances, cabinets, and implements that became available in the early 20th century aided in designing attractive kitchens. But architects and builders needed more than a choice of goods. They had to be aware of the arrangement of cabinets and the best place to install a sink and cooler or icebox; they needed to know that women wanted compact, efficient kitchens with little wasted space; and they had to pay attention to the kitchen’s color. Furthermore, the architect and builder had to be familiar with the advice of reformers who stressed scrupulously clean, sanitary surfaces to battle against germs and diseases. "Soap and water should be no enemy to its contents....Dirt should show," said housekeeping expert Elizabeth Gilman.
Seattle builders could find information and ideas in the Apartment Operators Journal. This publication regularly printed helpful recommendations regarding the best paint to apply to kitchen walls, optimal placement of a fan so kitchen smells are eliminated, whether the sink should be near the stove or the refrigerator, and the importance of providing adequate shelf space. An advertisement for the Buckley, an apartment building on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, indicated that apartment owners paid attention to this advice:
Not so many years ago the kitchen was thought a place of drudgery that no beauty nor taste could be connected with, but today this room must be as presentable as any other part of the home. Therefore the floor is covered with inlaid linoleum in attractive design. The walls enameled in a color scheme composed by a capable decorator. The range in white enamel is the latest electric model. Cabinets, drawers and accessories, even to the china closet are in keeping.
When the Buena Vista Apartments opened in 1907, their advertisements announced that each unit had a Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet, a freestanding storage unit. In a list of positive features for each apartment, the Manhattan Flats mentioned a dish cupboard and a flour bin, also freestanding.
Of the many freestanding kitchen cabinets on the market, the Hoosier Cabinet, made by the Hoosier Manufacturing Company of New Castle, Indiana, is the best-known. Beginning around 1899, the first ones were assembled and "built by skilled cabinetmakers." But within a few years, the company standardized parts so they could be replaced and began to manufacture the cabinets on an assembly line. Some of the special features included a sifter mounted on the bottom of the flour bin, places to store potatoes and onions, metal-lined bread drawers, cutlery drawers, spice racks, some of which rotated for easier use, lidded jars for coffee and tea, coffee grinders, and a work table, designed at the optimal height for working while seated. By 1920 the company had made two million Hoosiers and the name became the generic term for the kitchen cabinet. Caught between a market that wanted built-ins and a depression and war that halted the manufacture of consumer goods, the company ceased its business in the early 1940s.
Built-in wood cabinets eventually replaced the freestanding ones. A number of apartments stressed "ample or abundant cabinet space" in the kitchen or mentioned special items such as a "metal cupboard counter top at the side of each where hot dishes may be set without fear of marring the woodwork." Built-in wooden cupboards, such as those in the Sovereign and Charlesgate, had cutlery drawers, bins for flour and sugar, and a pull-out dough board.
Apartment builders made a point of mentioning that their apartments used local lumber for cabinets, doors, and windows, and credited the company. Washington’s abundant timber led to a well-developed lumber industry. In 1907 the O. B. Williams Company sold glass china closet doors and cupboard closet doors at prices from $1.00 to $1.25 each. By 1919 lumber manufacturing was Seattle’s "chief industry" and was "keyed to the local market, requiring construction lumber and finished products."
For women used to hauling wood or coal to feed their wood- or coal-burning ranges, and spending hours "blacking" the stove to prevent rust, the gas range must have seemed like a miraculous appliance, heaven-sent to lighten housework. Besides producing a quicker source of heat, it required neither bulky fuel nor excessive elbow grease to keep lit and clean.
Gas ranges benefited from the development of manufacturing processes that produced lightweight steel. "Easier to transport, rolled steel conformed better to turn-of-the-century systems of centralized production and national distribution, making for a general switchover from locally produced cast iron to centrally produced rolled steel in American industry, " wrote Susan Strasser. In 1905 gas companies around the country joined with the National Commercial Gas Association to introduce these ranges and campaign for the use of gas as a cooking fuel. They trained personnel to service gas systems and set up showrooms to demonstrate how best to use gas appliances.
To increase its market share of the gas appliance business, the Seattle Lighting Company ran a series of advertisements extolling the virtues of gas and promised to help install their newly gas ranges. In one ad, entitled "A Talk on Gas Ranges," the company asked women to call for a company representative "to tell you about our many styles and their various advantages." Other announcements told of gas’s economy and convenience. "Every up-to-date Architect, Builder and Property owner now realizes this fact and thoroughly provides every apartment house, residence, business Block and factory with thorough equipment of gas piping," said a 1907 advertisement.
Seattle furniture stores also made a pitch for gas ranges. The Century Furniture Company trumpeted the popular "Jewel" gas range, which had "one giant burner, a simmer burner, and three single burners" that "suffice for every necessity and contingency." To further ensure purchases, the furniture store promised to connect the gas ranges for free and said it would accept the old range or stove as partial payment for the new Jewel.
Just the THING for a small flat
The Bachelor Girl’s Friend
And the Young Bride’s SAVIOR
Quick to start-Quick to cook, Quick to put out
A valve, a match, dinner.
The 1912 annual report for Seattle City Light noted that the year "has brought forward another important field for the use of electrical energy, that of heating and cooking with electricity." It was a message that inspired J. D. Ross, Seattle City Light’s superintendent of lighting, to promote the installation of electric ranges in Seattle homes and apartments. To implement his plan, Ross recalled in a 1937 Seattle Star article, he told his staff to "order a carload of those ranges and advertise that we’ll wire them in free.... Those early ranges had to be installed and wired correctly to give any service at all, and our boys knew how to do it."
Still, even with Ross’s interest and drive, customers did not rush out to purchase electric ranges. Furthermore, Seattle City Light had a difficult time acquiring parts and key materials during World War I. The big boom for electric cooking came after the war when an improved range came on the market and appliance companies collaborated with City Light to promote electric appliances. For example, the Hughes Company, a division of Edison Electric Appliance Company, suggested in a letter to the Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant, City of Seattle Engineering Department, that they join together to promote the sale of electric ranges. "Do you realize that in the very near future your greatest means of revenue is going to come from the electric range and other electrical cooking devices.... We are in a position to answer any questions pertaining to this subject [cooking with electricity], and to give you assistance in building up this load." Eight years later Edison Electric Appliance Company allocated money for advertising electric ranges and provided lecturers for a cooking school. Between 1924 and 1927 the number of ranges in Seattle homes jumped from under 3,000 to over 11,000.
During the 1920s various business and civic groups vigorously promoted the sale of electric appliances. In 1923 the Seattle Electric Club, which had as its members businesses concerned with any and every aspect of electricity, celebrated an Electric Week. The exhibit, held in a large tent in Bothell, a suburb of Seattle, showcased cooking demonstrations and promoted the idea that "the work is done by the most willing of servants, electricity harnessed to push buttons.... Let Electric Mary do your work.... [She] will take a big load off the shoulders of any housewife".
Two years later the Seattle Times backed the Progressive Seattle Exhibition. Though it did not focus exclusively on electricity, the exhibition’s spotlight shone on electric appliances, including radios. To entice customers, merchants showcased electric appliances during daily demonstrations. At the Puget Sound Power and Light booth, company representatives told visitors they would receive assistance in selecting the appropriate range as well as prompt service after the installation. "Our facilities and success in equipping thousands of Seattle homes and apartment houses with electric ranges and service enable us to demonstrate the best in electrical cookery," said a spokesman for the company. Between January and September of 1927, Puget Power announced, "more ELECTRIC RANGES have been installed on our lines than there were in the entire state of Washington only six years ago!" The utility company sold Westinghouse, Hotpoint, and Crawford electric ranges and offered very low time payments.
Before refrigerators became popular and necessary kitchen equipment, apartment houses installed coolers as a way to extend the life of perishables. The cooler, sometimes referred to as a cooling closet, can best be described as a cupboard, often made of wood, with one to three shelves. The back side, set against an outside kitchen or dining area wall, had a three- to five-inch opening covered with perforated tin or wire screen. This allowed air to flow in while keeping insects out. Standing in mute testimony to the past, these small openings, usually located below or at the side of a window, are still visible on many early Seattle apartments.
Coolers sufficed in Seattle’s moderate climate. Though not cold enough to keep perishable food such as meat from spoiling, they worked well for the short-term storage of fruits and vegetables, jars of jam and preserves, and cheeses. A cooler was comparable to having a small cellar in the kitchen. Owners and tenants considered them an important apartment amenity.
Real estate promotional material for apartments indicates that in addition to, or in place of coolers, buildings furnished refrigerators. Until the 1920s, these were actually iceboxes. The icebox usually had a finished ash, pine, or oak shell that was lined with zinc, slate, porcelain, or galvanized metal. Iceboxes came in a variety of sizes and shapes and had doors that opened to reveal adjustable shelves, with a separate compartment for ice. A pan set in the bottom held melting ice water, which had to be emptied frequently. Tenants eagerly awaited the weekly delivery of ice. "The ‘ice man’ would break up the large blocks into sections for ease in carrying up the stairs to the waiting iceboxes. The neighborhood kids would gather around the wagon to get an ice sliver to suck on," recalled Al Wilding who lived in several Seattle apartments during the 1930s.
Because the ice melted and iceboxes leaked, these "refrigerators" could be exceedingly messy. Whenever possible, they were placed on a back porch. This was a most convenient place for the apartment that had back steps-the renter did not have to be home when the ice man delivered. He could just bring the ice to the porch, open the icebox door, and insert the block of ice. As late as 1924 the Roy Vue apartments, in Seattle’s Capitol Hill district, bragged that each apartment would have outside porches, "containing a large refrigerator." In apartments without porches the icebox would frequently be housed on a wall with an opening onto the apartment corridor or in the entrance hall of individual apartments. Bernice Ovadia, who lived in the Monmouth Apartments, recalled that their icebox was in the front hall. "Sometimes we had to get up at night to empty the water from the melting ice. That was a very unpleasant task."
Once manufacturers figured out the mechanism for electric refrigerators to make ice cubes and freeze food, that technological wonder became one of the new appliance’s most important selling points. Apartments promising true refrigerators reminded prospective tenants that each apartment had its own, enabling tenants to make "their own ice and frozen dainties." The ice cube trays of the 1920s and 1930s were made of tin or nickel-plated copper with plated brass dividers, and required a dunking under warm water to remove the ice. Many an anxious homemaker ruined her elegant frozen dessert by dousing the tray with very hot water in order to speed the process.
In the mid 1930s, when engineers finally solved the choice of coolants and other design dilemmas, the refrigerator was well on its way to becoming an indispensable machine. Along the way, companies tested many improvements. One, the Electro-Kold, employed a single machine, located in a basement or other out-of-the-way place, to operate 20 kitchen refrigerators in individual apartments. Another system converted the older iceboxes into refrigerators operated by electricity. The president of Modern Appliances for Frigidaire distributors explained how it worked, but because the process was rather complicated, he reminded people that the company would happily sell them a new electrical refrigerator, "complete, with the mechanism in its own cabinet." Most apartments chose that option.
Although modern amenities were most evident in the kitchen, the entire apartment benefited from technological advancements. Bathrooms acquired built-in tubs with showers, telephones became common, rooms were wired for radio aerials, and garages became a necessity. Aware of the importance of appealing to the middle class, apartment owners hired decorators to choose specially designed wallpaper and select fabric for lobby furniture. Clearly, owners paid attention to the wants and needs of prospective tenants. That so many Seattle apartments, built so long ago, are still fronting Seattle streets is testimony to their role in the urban landscape.
Jacqueline B. Williams is author of Wagon Wheel Kitchens: Food on the Oregon Trail (University Press of Kansas) and The Way We Ate: Pacific Northwest Cooking, 1843-1900 (Washington State University Press). Diana James is at heart, and by training, a preservationist. She and Williams are currently researching early (1900-1939) Seattle apartments. Research for this article was partially funded by a grant from 4Culture. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37771000 |
Invasion of Kuwait
Reasons for Invasion
Despite close foreign relations during the Iran-Iraq War, the relationship between Iraq and Kuwait quickly deteriorated after the war. This happened for a number of reasons, many of which can be attributed to blunders and miscalculations by Saddam Hussein.
Kuwait loaned Iraq $8.2 billion during the Iran-Iraq war, a sum that Hussein did not think he would be expected to repay. When Kuwait refused to pardon the debt, the friendship between the two countries began to strain.
Miscommunication with the United States
On July 25, 1990, the Iraqi High Command met with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, to discuss the military activity of Iraq. In this meeting Glaspie stated that "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait."
On the 2nd of August 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait. Kuwaiti forces resisted, but were quickly over-whelmed. In the air, Kuwaiti Mirage F1 and A-4 Skyhawk pilots claimed to have shot down several Iraqi helicopters, but none of these claims have been confirmed. Following five weeks of aerial bombardment from US and allied warplanes on targets in Iraq and Kuwait, a 4 day ground war started on 23 February 1991, and Kuwait was liberated. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37776000 |
2002: Superintendent News - Study tracks waterbirds in Florida
By SCOTT KAUFFMAN
A study of waterbirds in southwest Florida golf communities has spawned optimism about the viability of course wetlands and ponds as healthy breeding grounds for such wildlife.
That’s the opinion of University of Florida researchers who recently wrapped up the second phase of an intensive two-year study of 12 courses.
“In rapidly urbanizing areas, golf courses will have enormous potential to provide wildlife habitats,” said Martin Main, Ph.D., wildlife ecologist and assistant professor at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “It’s not all species. You’re certainly not going to have bears and panthers running around. But for a number of species, this can be viable. And we think in the future (golf courses) will become increasingly important as a habitat as we lose land.”
According to Main and University of Florida graduate student LeAnn White, who co-authored the study, “Habitat Value of Golf Course Wetlands to Waterbirds,” there were a total of 4,864 observations of 31 species of waterbirds in the first five months of last year. In all, there were 183 lakes on the 12 courses surveyed, and each course was visited eight times.
The effort was duplicated this year from Feb. 1-May 1, when the concentration of waterbirds is highest in southwest Florida and before some migratory birds move north.
“We are measuring the same factors as last year – the number and types of waterbirds, and various characteristics of the lakes such as productivity, slope of the banks, water depth, vegetation type and density, and surrounding landscape features,” said White, who wrapped up her 2002 field work earlier this month.
“The data will be compared between the two years to monitor variation in bird abundance, as well as changes in other factors, such as vegetation density,” she said.
One surprise sighting was a large population of hooded mergansers at Mediterra’s South Course in Naples, a Tom Fazio-designed layout developed by The Bonita Bay Group.
“I don’t recall ever having seen hooded mergansers on a golf course before,” White said. “They are an uncommon species, especially for South Florida.”
Main says survey results will help shape recommendations for how to make ponds and lakes even more productive, such as modifying shorelines to expand feeding areas for wading birds.
“Our goal is to identify how different habitat characteristics of golf course ponds and lakes influence use by wading and other waterbirds,” said Main, who works in Immokalee, Fla.
According to Main, the estimated $50,000 study was funded by Bonita Bay Group, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Golf Association’s Wildlife Links Program.
Of the 12 courses studied, nine were Bonita Bay properties, including seven Audubon International Signature or Cooperative Sanctuary Program participants: Mediterra; Bonita Bay Club West’s three courses designed by Arthur Hills; Bonita Bay Club East’s two off-site golf courses designed by Fazio; and North Naples’ TwinEagles Golf & Country Club Talon Course co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II in Naples.
The two non-Audubon courses were the Spring Run at The Brooks in Bonita Springs and Copperleaf at The Brooks in Naples, both designed by Gordon Lewis.
The study’s other participants were WCI’s residential golf communities: Arnold Palmer-designed Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club in Estero, Burnt Store Country Club, a Ron Garl and Mark McCumber collaboration in Punta Gorda, and Fazio-designed Gateway Golf and Country Club in Fort Myers.
Burnt Store superintendent Luis Olivarez describes the story as “very important.”
“I think a lot of things have been said about golf courses being careless on the side of pesticides and not doing anything for the environment,” he said. “I embrace these type of studies. It could be bad or good.
“But having a graduate student doing research backed up by the University of Florida gives us a lot of credibility.”
Main and his staff picked courses at various points of maturity to evaluate the habitat systems at different stages, and also chose a mix of Audubon program participants and nonparticipants to “evaluate how Audubon-certified courses compare to courses that have not participated in the program.”
Kim Fikoski, environmental manager with The Bonita Bay Group, says the study will provide a database that identifies the “best management practices for creating, enhancing and maintaining wetland habitat for water birds on golf courses.”
“This is the first time a broad-spectrum study has been done on golf course properties to quantify the relationship between created wetland waterbird habitat and the use of these areas by water birds,” Fikoski said. “We anticipate the information the study yields will help developers to create and protect habitat in the most beneficial ways for the greatest number of species.” | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37790000 |
Mayfield Predicts More Storms for Years to Come
22, 2005 WASHINGTON: Expect many more hurricanes, large and small,
in the next 10 to 20 years, the director of the US National Hurricane
Centre warned the nation yesterday.
Mayfield told a congressional panel he believed the Atlantic Ocean
was in a cycle of increased hurricane activity that paralleled the
increase that started in the 1940s and ended in the 1960s.
ensuing lull lasted until 1995, then "it's like somebody threw a
switch", Mr Mayfield said -- and the number and power of hurricanes
hitting the US increased dramatically.
under questioning by members of a US Senate subcommittee, he shrugged
off suggestions that global warming played a role.
Mayfield said the increased activity was a natural cycle in the
Atlantic Ocean that fluctuated every 25 to 40 years.
has been an active year, and several storms have made landfall in
the US due to a large high-pressure system over the central Atlantic
Ocean. Other years have been more active, but the storms blew out
in the Gulf of Mexico without reaching the continental US.
Mayfield predicted several more tropical storms this year. The latest,
Hurricane Rita, is the 17th storm of the Atlantic hurricane season,
which runs from June to November. Since US record-keeping started
in 1851, the record is 21 tropical storms in 1933. The year 1886
was recorded as the most active hurricane season for the continental
US, with seven hurricanes making landfall.
Mayfield listed several US cities and regions in addition to New
Orleans that were "especially vulnerable" to a large hurricane --
Houston and Galveston in Texas, Tampa in Florida and the Florida
Keys, New York City and Long Island, and New England.
will not be the last major hurricane to hit a vulnerable area,"
centre's predictions on Katrina's movements were more accurate than
usual, but the storm had become more intense more quickly than expected,
days before Katrina hit land on August 29, computer models predicted
it would cross the coast near New Orleans. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37801000 |
Problems with Prepositions
Prepositions are words that often show direction; for example, below, above, over, under, around, through, in, out, between, among, to, toward(s). Other common prepositions include of, for (also sometimes a conjunction), from, with, like (also sometimes a verb).
Rule: You shouldn’t use or end a sentence with an unnecessary preposition, i.e., when the meaning is clear without the preposition. Sentences may end with necessary prepositions.
Correct: That is something I cannot agree with.
With is a necessary preposition.
Incorrect: Where did he go to?
Correct: Where did he go?
To is unnecessary because the meaning is clear without it.
Rule: Don’t follow like with a subject and verb because prepositions are followed only by nouns that act as the object of the preposition. Use as or as if or as though instead of like when a subject and verb follow.
Correct: I wish I could be more like her.
Incorrect: It doesn’t look like she will show up for dinner.
Correct: It doesn’t look as if (or as though) she will show up for dinner.
Which sentence is correct?
1. A. Where did you get this at? B. Where did you get this?
2. A. I will go later on. B. I will go later.
3. A. Take your shoes off the bed. B. Take your shoes off of the bed.
4. A. Cut it up into small pieces. B. Cut it into small pieces.
5. A. I look like my sister. B. I look as my sister.
Pop Quiz Answers
Posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008, at 12:31 am | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37806000 |
following INSERT INTO statement:
INSERT INTO TABLE2 SELECT * FROM TABLE1
Now suppose you do not want to copy all the rows, but only those rows that meet a specific criteria. Say you only want to copy those rows where COL1 is equal to "A." To do this you would just modify the above code to look like this:
INSERT INTO TABLE2 SELECT * FROM TABLE1 WHERE COL1 = 'A'
See how simple it is to copy data from one table to another using the INSERT INTO method? You can even copy a selected set of columns, if you desire, by identifying the specific columns you wish to copy and populate, like so:
INSERT INTO TABLE2 (COL1, COL2, COL3)
SELECT COL1, COL4, COL7 FROM TABLE1
The above command copies only data from columns COL1, COL4, and COL7 in TABLE1 to COL1, COL2, and COL3 in TABLE2. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37807000 |
A simple measure for applying sunscreen while on holidays
Dermatology Department. Hospital Central. Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi. Mexico. email@example.com
To the editor:
The use of topical sunscreens is considered to be an important intervention to reduce skin damage induced by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. The sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen is based on a uniform application thickness of 2 mg/cm2. However, there is no known linear relationship between an effective SPF and the amount of sunscreen applied. The efficacy of a sunscreen therefore is highly dependent upon its correct application. The amount of sunscreen that most people apply usually never exceeds more than 60 percent of the quantity needed to achieve the SPF on the label product. [1, 3] One reason that sunscreens are insufficiently applied is the absence of conventional parameters to assess the amount of sunscreen necessary to cover the exposed surfaces. Although the "teaspoon rule" and the "fingertip unit" have been proposed as a dosage guide users do not find these standards easy to use in practice.[4, 5] Under real-life conditions, a suitable teaspoon is not readily available, when the different sizes, shapes and uses of teaspoons world-wide is taken into account. The semiquantitative "fingertip unit" guide is a good approach but has its disadvantages, especially its lack of utility when lotions or gels are being applied. In addition, the explanation of how to use it is complicated and the time required to carry out the process in such large areas as the chest, back, or legs makes the process unlikely to be widely adopted.
Most sunburns develop while persons are outdoors during their leisure time. At these times, they are often drinking alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages from bottles with caps. The crown tin lid is a metal bottle cap which is widely used, and which has an almost uniform size no matter where in the world it is manufactured (Fig. 1). Taking this into account, we suggest a practical method that would make it easy to apply a standard quantity of sunscreen with disposable metal bottle caps. Crown tin lids are frequently available at the time when people are about to expose themselves to sunlight. Although the lids may differ slightly in their size, we think they serve as a less variable reference than a spoon.
A crown tin lid filled with a regular SPF-30 sunscreen contains an average of 3.3 grams (3,300 mg) of cream. This amount is enough to cover at least a 1,500 cm2 area. To ensure a proper dosage, some authors have suggested the use of the well-known "rule of nines" in the same way that burned areas are calculated. [4, 5] The total body surface is divided into three 9 percent regions (head and neck, left arm, and right arm), and four 18 percent regions (back, torso, left leg, and right leg). The head and neck segment includes the scalp, so that the face and neck to which sunscreen is applied is over-represented by the "rule of nines". When morphometry was used to calculate the face and neck area in a volunteer who was not bald, we found that the surface area approachs 685 cm 2. Therefore, approximately 1,370 mg of sunscreen would be needed to cover the face and neck ( 685 cm2 x 2 mg = 1,370 mg/cm2). The amount required corresponds to one half of the crown tin lid. If we use the "rule of nines" for the rest of the body, and assume that the average 1.73 m2 (17,300 cm2) adult surface area is divided into segments, we obtain the figures shown in Table 1. Half of a lid is required for the face and neck, one lid for each upper limb, and two lids each for the back, the torso and for the two lower limbs.
In conclusion, we suggest an easy, alternative method to apply suncreens. This system would allow users to apply a reliable quantity of sunscreen in a uniform and practical manner. It would also offer protection which is closer to the protection promised by the bottle label with whatever product vehicle is used (i.e., liquid, gel, or cream).
References1. Stokes RP, Diffey BL. How well are sunscreen users protected? Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 1997;13:186-188.
2. Brown S, Diffey BL. The effect of applied thickness on sunscreen protection: in vivo and in vitro studies. Photochem Photobiol 1986;44:509-13.
3. Autier P, Boniol M, Severi G, Dore JF, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Melanoma Co-operative Group. Quantity of sunscreen used by European Students. Br J Dermatol 2001;144:288-291.
4. Schneider J. The teaspoon rule of applying sunscreen. Arch Dermatol 2002;138:838-839.
5. Taylor S, Diffey BL. Simple dosage guide for suncreams will help users. BMJ 2002;324:1526.
© 2003 Dermatology Online Journal | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37812000 |
|a fool or simpleton; ninny.|
|an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.|
|—the chemical symbol for|
The symbol for the element rubidium.
The symbol for rubidium.
|rubidium (r-bĭd'ē-əm) Pronunciation Key
A soft, silvery-white metallic element of the alkali group. It ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently with water. Rubidium is used in photoelectric cells, in making vacuum tubes, and in radiometric dating. Atomic number 37; atomic weight 85.47; melting point 38.89°C; boiling point 688°C; specific gravity (solid) 1.532; valence 1, 2, 3, 4. See Periodic Table.
RB/R-B-L/ Abbreviation: "Realtime Blackhole List". A service that allows people to blacklist sites for emitting spam, and makes the blacklist available in real time to electronic-mail transport programs that know how to use RBL so they can filter out mail from those sites. Drastic (and controversial) but effective. There is an RBL home page (http://maps.vix.com/rbl/usage.html).
chemical element of Group 1 (also called Group Ia) in the periodic table, the alkali metal group. Rubidium is the second most reactive metal and is very soft, with a silvery-white lustre. A brief treatment of rubidium follows. For full treatment, see alkali metal.
Learn more about Rb with a free trial on Britannica.com. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37815000 |
Develop Your PLN (Personal Learning Network)
Below, you'll find several approaches to PLNs. There's no right or wrong way to get started, so take what you like and leave the rest.
Excerpt from the wiki by Australian educator, Sue Waters
The aim of Sue's site is to help you gain the skills to build your own personal learning network (PLN)! Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are all about using web tools such as blogs, wiki, twitter, facebook to create connects with others which extend our learning, increases our reflection while enabling us to learn together as part of a global community. PLNs increase our opportunities to ask questions and receive help compared to our normal daily face-to-face interactions.
Best of a PLN is it's personal! You make all the choices:
- What tools you use!
- Who you connect with!
- How you want to learn!
- When you want to learn!
Personal Learning Networks: The Power of the Human Network
What is a Personal Learning Network (PLN)?
Definition One: Personal Learning Networks are:
- a concept based on Web 2.0 and social software
- learner-driven, problem-based, or motivated by interested
- based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts, and not come from one place or person
- set their own learning goals
- manage their learning; managing both content and process
- communicate with others in the process of learning
- and thereby achieve learning goals
This information is from a wiki by Judith Epcke (@jepcke) and Scott Meech (@smeech). Continue reading at the wiki.
Judy & Scott's work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
- Free Tech for Teachers A blog by Richard Byrne about, well, free tech for teachers. Reviews, advice, descriptions of how teachers use the tech.
- What should I read? - A few suggestions.
- Social Media Reading List - The idea for this page is to build a 'best of the web' reading / watching list for school leadership regarding using social media for school advancement. Rather than talk about how great social media is we're using social media to build this reading list.
- A 21st Century Professional Development Proposal: a Personal Learning Network + specific web tools = a true 21st century teacher. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37822000 |
• Whiteboard and whiteboard marker
• Post it notes
• Cut outs, print our characters and make body parts moveable
• Foams letters or magnetic letters (Great for title sequence to add some interest)
• Roll out modelling clay and use cookie cutters
• Modelling clay (Make shapes or characters)
• Toys eg. Legos, action figures
• Objects eg. Stationery, cutlery, buttons, paddle pop sticks
• Create a set out of a box.
• Document change: Set the camera to take photos in intervals and document change eg. The sky, a plant growing etc.
Students have fabulous ideas and the best intentions, unfortunately their abilities can restrict the production of these ideas. Modelling clay characters can be difficult. I found these great people and bird add on pieces to push into clay. They make fabulous creatures without needing any modelling skills (and they are fun to make).
Here are some scaffolding activities I use as an introduction to build confidence:
• With a whiteboard, create the illusion of writing your name with your finger.
• Make a piece of paper fold up and then unfold by itself. (Done by reversing slides)
• Make buttons follow each other in a line
Here are some ideas for animations:
• Convert a fairytale, fable or nursery rhyme.
• Adapt a movie story line
• Create a Music Film clip
• Convey a message ‘Save the Environment'
• Re-write history
• Create characters from a novel students are reading
Here are a few You Tube videos I like to show students to give provide inspiration:
The Animals Save the Planet - Energy Efficient Penguin
(There are many others in this series)
There was a Time
Deadline - Post it Stop Motion
Ping Pong Ball Stop Motion | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37823000 |
Even if brain size accounts for just 10 to 20 percent of an IQ test score, it is possible to conjecture what kind of average scores would be made by a group of people with 30 percent larger brains. We can readily calculate that a population with a mean brain size of 1,750 cc would be expected to have an average IQ of 149.
This is a score that would be labeled at the genius level. And if there was normal variability among Boskops, as among the rest of us, then perhaps 15 to 20 percent of them would be expected to score over 180. In a classroom with 35 big-headed, baby-faced Boskop kids, you would likely encounter five or six with IQ scores at the upper range of what has ever been recorded in human history. The Boskops coexisted with our Homo sapiens forebears. Just as we see the ancient Homo erectus as a savage primitive, Boskop may have viewed us in somewhat the same way.
They died and we lived, and we can’t answer the question why. Why didn’t they outthink the smaller-brained hominids like ourselves and spread across the planet? Perhaps they didn’t want to.
Longer brain pathways lead to larger and deeper memory hierarchies. These confer a greater ability to examine and discard more blind alleys, to see more consequences of a plan before enacting it. In general this enables us to think things through. If Boskops had longer chains of cortical networks—longer mental assembly lines—they would have created longer and more complex classification chains. When they looked down a road as far as they could, before choosing a path, they would have seen farther than we can: more potential outcomes, more possible downstream costs and benefits.
As more possible outcomes of a plan become visible, the variance among judgments between individuals will likely lessen. There are far fewer correct paths—intelligent paths—than there are paths. It is sometimes argued that the illusion of free will arises from the fact that we can’t adequately judge all p ossible moves, with the result that our choices are based on imperfect, sometimes impoverished, information.
Perhaps the Boskops were trapped by their ability to see clearly where things would head. Perhaps they were prisoners of those majestic brains.
There is another, again poignant, possible explanation for the disappearance of the big-brained people. Maybe all that thoughtfulness was of no particular survival value in 10,000 B.C. The great genius of civilization is that it allows individuals to store memory and operating rules outside of their brains, in the world that surrounds them. The human brain is a sort of central processing unit operating on multiple memory disks, some stored in the head, some in the culture. Lacking the external hard drive of a literate society, the Boskops were unable to exploit the vast potential locked up in their expanded cortex. They were born just a few millennia too soon.
In any event, Boskops are gone, and the more we learn about them, the more we miss them. Their demise is likely to have been gradual. A big skull was not conducive to easy births, and thus a within-group pressure toward smaller heads was probably always present, as it still is in present-day humans, who have an unusually high infant mortality rate due to big-headed babies. This pressure, together with possible interbreeding with migrating groups of smaller-brained peoples, may have led to a gradual decrease in the frequency of the Boskop genes in the growing population of what is now South Africa.
Then again, as is all too evident, human history has often been a history of savagery. Genocide and oppression seem primitive, whereas modern institutions from schools to hospices seem enlightened. Surely, we like to think, our future portends more of the latter than the former. If learning and gentility are signs of civilization, perhaps our almost-big brains are straining against their residual atavism, struggling to expand. Perhaps the preternaturally civilized Boskops had no chance against our barbarous ancestors, but could be leaders of society if they were among us today.
Maybe traces of Boskops, and their unusual nature, linger on in isolated corners of the world. Physical anthropologists report that Boskop features still occasionally pop up in living populations of Bushmen, raising the possibility that the last of the race may have walked the dusty Transvaal in the not-too-distant past. Some genes stay around in a population, or mix themselves into surrounding populations via interbreeding. The genes may remain on the periphery, neither becoming widely fixed in the population at large nor being entirely eliminated from the gene pool.
Just about 100 miles from the original Boskop discovery site, further excavations were once carried out by Frederick FitzSimons. He knew what he had discovered and was eagerly seeking more of these skulls.
At his new dig site, FitzSimons came across a remarkable piece of construction. The site had been at one time a communal living center, perhaps tens of thousands of years ago. There were many collected rocks, leftover bones, and some casually interred skeletons of normal-looking humans. But to one side of the site, in a clearing, was a single, carefully constructed tomb, built for a single occupant—perhaps the tomb of a leader or of a revered wise man. His remains had been positioned to face the rising sun. In repose, he appeared unremarkable in every regard...except for a giant skull. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37827000 |
Adjusting path segments
Irregular shapes, such as polygons, polylines, freehand paths, elliptical arcs, and Bézier curves are made up of a number of path segments. Path segments can be straight or curved: polygons and polylines contain one or more straight path segments; freehand paths, elliptical arcs, and Bézier curves can include straight and curved path segments.
Path segments are defined by the position of the following two kinds of points:
- Anchor points specify the beginning and end of the path segment
- Control points change the direction and shape of a curve
In the BlackBerry® Composer, anchor points appear as red squares along the path. When you select an anchor point on a curve, the control points appear. Control points appear as black circles, connected to an anchor point by a direction line.
You can use the Transformation or Select tool to move anchor points and control points to refine a shape. You can use the Add Points and Remove Point tools to add or remove anchor points. When you add anchor points to a path, you increase the number of path segments and you have more control over the shape. When you remove anchor points, you simplify the path. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37837000 |
Recursion is a programming paradigm as well as a problem solving strategy thought to be very challenging to grasp for university students. This article outlines a pilot study, which expands the age range of students exposed to the concept of recursion in computer science through instruction in a series of interesting and engaging activities. In this study, a small number of students (n = 9) aged 11 to 13 years, were presented with a new and unique recursion curriculum involving hands-on experiences over a seven-week period at the University of Victoria, Canada. The curriculum was comprised of a series of progressively challenging recursion activities—roughly based upon the ideas of ‘Computer Science Unplugged’ (Bell, Witten, & Fellows, 2009)—and included programming applications with MicroWorlds EX, a programming language based on LOGO. Through this engagement, an increased number of students recognized and understood the concepts covered. We hypothesize that through experiences for youth with activities such as those outlined here, the number of students who understand fundamental computer science applications and who might potentially pursue computer science in post-secondary education will increase. We hypothesis further that through an earlier encounter of “challenging” concepts the learning and understanding of those will become easier at the university level. In this paper, the curriculum, classroom experiences, preliminary, largely descriptive and qualitative results and next steps in the research are discussed.
Gunion, Katherine; Milford, Todd; and Stege, Ulrike
"The Paradigm Recursion: Is It More Accessible When Introduced in Middle School?,"
The Journal of Problem Solving:
2, Article 8. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37838000 |
Studying Oregon's History III
Bill Long 7/21/06
The Protestant Ladder and Further Mission Documents
Once a student sees takes time to understand fully the Catholic Ladder something peculiar begins to happen in the mind of that student. S/he realizes that s/he can do history, that history is, when you take your time with it, quite fun and rather accessible to you. Such a project will make the student begin to long for more specific information when s/he studies other topics. It may well be that once a student has really done this topic well that s/he will never be content with anything other than primary sources. And, this lesson will have been learned within the first few weeks of the course.
Continuing with the Protestant Ladder
It is interesting to me that though there are 9,950 Google "results" when you type in "Catholic Ladder," there are only 155 for "Protestant Ladder," and most of them, when you look at them closely, bear no relationship to the competing Ladder used by Protestant missionary Henry Spalding (they refer to the general concept of the Protestant work ethic...climbing the Protestant ladder). Fortunately, the Oregon History Project page on the Protestant Ladder by Melinda Jette is done extremely well. Let's turn to it.
She skillfully and briefly explains the work of Presbyterian missionaries Henry and Eliza Spalding in Lapwai on the Clearwater River (present-day Western Idaho, but part of the then-Oregon Territory). We learn that Spalding made a Protestant Ladder in 1845, probably in imitation of Blanchet, but Jette also mentions that Spalding's Ladder might have been related to a now lost earlier Protestant Ladder (1839) by Jason Lee. I suppose the Protestants imitated the Catholics in making ladders, but this kind of throws things up in the interpretive air for a minute. The OHP web page never answers the question of whose came first, since both Blanchet and Lee are credited with Ladders from 1839. Well, in any case, the Protestant Ladder, which is presented quite nicely in a photograph you can "blow up" on this page, differs in three ways from the Catholic Ladder.
First, it has lots of nice drawings on the sides, representing everything from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the building of the first city to the Tower of Babel. Humorous it is that so much space is devoted to depictions of the first chapters of Genesis. It is as if the maker of the Protestant Ladder realized after he had drawn about six scenes from Genesis that he was running out of space, and so he quickly leaped over lots of history to get to the crucifixion of Christ, the really big historical event. Around the time of Christ we have the interesting scene of John the Baptist's head being presented by Salome (never know if the Protestants were Caravaggio-lovers, you know..).
A second difference between the two Ladders is that the Protestant portrays two separate channels or tubes of history, the Catholic and the Protestant, rather than one. The Catholics had looked at the Protestants as a withered branch; the Protestants recognized the "parallel track" of the Roman Catholic Church with the Pope in charge.
Finally, however, the Protestant Ladder shows that the Catholic "track" of history will end in an unceremonious way when the road turns back on itself and the Pope is overturned. The last picture on the "Catholic side" shows an upside-down Pope being lowered into a fire--perhaps he will fall victim to the same fires with which he has burned the Protestant martyrs. What lies at the end of the Protestant road, in contrast? A straight road to heaven. The Protestant road is narrower than the Catholic one ("narrow is the way that leads to salvation") but it, after all, is the "true" one.
By looking at the competing Catholic and Protestant Ladders, then, the student can see how artistic representation can be used in the service of religious propaganda.
Spalding and Whitman and the Protestant Ladder
Jette further informs us, however, that Spalding seemed to make very little use of the Ladder in teaching. Why? Because Protestants, as "people of the Book" and "transformers of culture" (no, George Bush isn't the first "transformer"), were more interested in cultivating literacy and the land for the Indians. By 1839 Spalding had published the first printed book in the Nez Perce language (Jette doesn't tell us if this was a Bible, but the eager student would, no doubt, follow up this lead), and the Protestant Ladder just seemed to be a kind of afterthought so as not to let the Catholics have all the good ideas.
Let's pause here for a moment. If a student was going to look at early Oregon missions, s/he might proceed as I have in the last few pages, or s/he might want to wander further afield. Three projects that grow directly out of this would be to try to understand the mission that hasn't been named so far--that of Jason Lee in Salem. The Methodist archives on State Street in Salem hold a treasure that hasn't yet been really closely examined by scholars regarding the early days of the Willamette mission. Or, a student might want to study the Whitman's or Spalding's mission more closely, to learn about their work, the Indians, the language, the life. But the next really big topic is the Whitman massacre of November 1847. Here the OHP helps us get started nicely. Let's close this essay with what the OHP has.
The Whitman Massacre and its Historiography
By continuing to probe, or by selecting this as his/her topic, a student can learn not only about primary texts and an important shaping event in the history of the Oregon Territory, but also about competing versions or interpretations of the same event. And, s/he can learn about this all very naturally and easily through the exposure to primary texts. Here is what we have.
The OHP has the title page and a brief description of John Baptiste Brouillet's 1869 book Authentic Account of the Murder of Dr. Whitman and Other Missionaries by the Cayuse Indians, in 1847, and the Causes which Led to that Horrible Catastrophe. Here, however, is what the student would learn in the first instance. By looking at the title page to the 1869 edition, one notices the following Latin quotation on the cover: "Magna est veritas, et praevalebit." Of course, no student will know the Latin (what would spark High-school student interest in Latin? I have some ideas...), so it would have to be translated for him/her. But, you can teach the student some rudimentary Latin along the way, before telling them that it means "Great is truth, and it will prevail." Why, you might ask, would such a quotation be on the cover of this work? Well, perhaps there was a debate over what was "truth" in the Whitman massacre. Now you are ready for some real learning.
And, thankfully, the OHP page, thanks to Melinda Jette again, lays out the issue fairly nicely. The "Whitman Massacre" (what should we call it?) happened in November 1847, with several members of the Whitman party being killed and about 50 hostages being taken. Brouillet buried the bodies on the Mission several days later. At this time Brouillet warned Spalding that he was in danger, and Spalding fled. Later Spalding thanked the Catholics for their help in sparing his life. Later still, however, according to Jette, Spalding changed his tune, supporting retaliation against the Cayuse and implying Catholic complicity in the Whitman tragedy. This, then, became the occasion for the first edition of Brouillet's book, published in 1853, six years after the fateful events. Over the next 20 years charges flew back and forth between the two sides.
Thus, an eager student could do a study on the historiography of the Whitman Massacre. It would involve the reading of primary texts, the assessment of various facts, and the way that writers put facts together to make an argument.
A student could do all this, and we still haven't exhausted all the resources of the "Mission page" of the OHP. One final essay will discuss another text or two, which do not relate to the missions but do connect with other points made by Robbins in his "700 words."
But now I will stop, since is is 100 degrees in Oregon...
Copyright © 2004-2008 William R. Long | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37848000 |
It is extremely simple to add objects to the world in Ragnarok. All you have to do is create the object and call add_obj from the Ragnarok engine instance. Below follows a more in-depth example:
A Sprite is essentially a container object for an image that allows us to manipulate properties of it extremely easily. Let’s start by creating the object.
sprite = R.Sprite()
Since we are adding only one object to the world, the update and draw orders don’t carry much significance as of yet. But if we were to add more than one object, these values would be responsible for controlling the order in which the object updates and draws in relation to other objects.
sprite.update_order = 0
sprite.draw_order = 0
Now we assign an image to the sprite by going to the Ragnarok Engine folder and pulling out its logo image.
Now, remember in the previous tutorial how we said that the World is the entity responsible for
managing our objects for us? Well, the last step to get this object onscreen is to
add it to the world so it can be drawn and updated.
Boom! That’s all it takes to get an sprite on the screen. You can play around with the sprite’s coords, scale, and rotation properties to change the orientation of the sprite accordingly.
Download the source for this tutorial here.
Linux user? Download the gzipped tar here.
What is an engine without a few tutorials to get user’s jumpstarted?
This tutorial will cover the basics necessary to get the Ragnarok Engine up and running.
The first step is to import our Ragnarok engine for use.
The ‘as R’ clause here acts as a alias for Ragnarok, meaning we can access its
members by typing R instead of Ragnarok.
import Ragnarok as R
This single line of code is all it takes to actually initalize the engine.
We are telling Ragnarok that we want to create a window of size 640 by 480,
and that it should bear the title “RAGNAROK TUTORIAL 1″.
Notice how we are making use of the Vector2 class to pass in the window size.
engine = R.Ragnarok(R.Vector2(640, 480), “RAGNAROK TUTORIAL 1″)
One of Ragnarok’s goals is to reduce micro management in your code. It does this by automatically
updating and drawing your objects for you. You can control the draw and update order by changing an
object’s update_order and draw_order properties. A low number will draw/update first, while a higher number will draw/update overtop the lower numbers. The world is the entity within the engine that does all this work for us. We grab an instance of it here for easier access.
world = engine.get_world()
The world’s clear_color property defines what color the backbuffer should be
erased to after each draw operation.
world.clear_color = (0, 0, 0)
That’s it! All we have to do now is tell Ragnarok to begin spinning its game loop.
At this point you should be presented with a blank screen. Don’t worry though, Ragnarok can do much more than this!
Check back in for Tutorial 2 to see how to add sprites and other entities to the world.
You can download the source for this tutorial here.
Linux user? Download the gzipped tar here.
>Today I would like to announce the first release of the Ragnarok Engine for Python/Pygame.
Ragnarok is a 2D engine built on top of Pygame to make game creation easier. While Pygame is a library, Ragnarok attempts to assume the role of an engine, featuring many capabilities that would take a lot of work to create from the ground up in Pygame.
The engine is built in such a way that it attempts to be used under any scenario and game environment (i.e. it is generic). It is easy to set up, maintain, and extend for your particular needs.
A few of the features Ragnarok has to offer:
+2D and 3D Math Library
+Sprites for easy rotation, scaling, texture loading, etc.
+SpriteSheet and Animation classes
+Text objects that can be rotated, scaled, and translated
+A customizable 2D Camera
+A managed World system that updates, draws, and automatically offsets objects by the camera’s
+Input Handling Systems
+Pool class for efficiently reusing objects
Ragnarok is still a work in progress, thus there will be bugs present. Feel free to respond to this post with any bugs you find.
Ragnarok is licensed under the GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE v3.0
Download the engine here.Running on Linux? Download the tar here. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37851000 |
Technology companies like Google are always trying to find new ways to make their data centers consume less energy. It cuts down on one of their biggest costs, and it helps them maintain their cleantech image.
Data centers get very hot, and need to be cooled. But Google’s data center in Belgium gets all the cooling it needs from two non-electrical sources: non-municipal water brought in from nearby canals, and the surrounding air. Belgium’s cool climate means that the air outside is usually cold enough to naturally cool the hot computing parts inside, except for about seven days per year, on average.
So here’s the cool part (pun somewhat intended) – when it gets too hot outside, Google will automatically divert all processing away from that data center, to one of their many other data centers around the world.
Just one potential green benefit of cloud computing. But that’s another post…
|< Prev||Next >| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37859000 |
Before There’s No Way Out
The United States economy missed two opportunities of going through a necessary recession. Some argue that the government’s involvement is what the nation needed. Sure, stimulating the economy to prevent massive layoffs is a good thing, in the short run. However, the country is facing a large devaluation of its currency, i.e. the U.S. dollar becoming more worthless.
Prices will dramatically rise, investment will disappear, and unemployment will reach record highs. It is time the American people understand their circumstances so they can put pressure on the government to act appropriately. The government’s sustainability can be credited to Japanese, Chinese and the Federal Reserve’s investment in treasury securities.
Otherwise, the government would have defaulted a long time ago. If the government faces a deficit, then the United States has, at most, three options: find other lenders, increase taxes and decrease spending, or just default. I propose that a mix of the second and third options occur. It will be a major blow, but would leave the nation economically healthy in the future.
The Federal Reserve responded to the 2008 financial crisis in the same way it responded to the Dot Com bubble bursting. It lowered interest rates (Federal Funds Rate) from 6 percent in 2001 to a low of 1 percent in 2003, to offset the oncoming recession. This led to the housing market bubble. When the housing market bubble burst, interest rates were 5.35 percent, but the Fed lowered them to a low range of 0 to 0.25 percent. The implication of this is that another bubble is being fueled, set to be bigger than the last. When it bursts, bailouts and low interest rates will not be able to save the nation from a deep recession.
There are a few measures that the government can do to limit the next recession and prevent the devaluation of the dollar. First, there must be incentives in place for firms that produce on homeland as opposed to overseas. This will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., meaning there will be more goods to export. Currently, the trade balance is negative at 44 billion dollars. With manufacturing back in the U.S., the trade balance will be positive and meaningful investment will flow into the country.
Despite the importance of foreign investment, domestic investment needs to drive economic growth. This can only be done through saving and allocating capital to efficient means of production. Instead, the government keeps trying to enrich the economy through stimulus packages. Spending is not economic growth. It only inflates the GDP, creating the illusion that the economy is growing. However, spending is having adverse effects on the economy. Concisely, we borrow and buy too much, but don’t make enough.
Lastly, the Fed needs to adjust its monetary policy. The artificially low interest rates are facilitating unsustainable borrowing by the government. If the interest rates are allowed to rise, the government will not be able to afford to borrow money and will have to adjust its fiscal policy accordingly.
Looking beyond the short-term, there needs to be serious changes in fiscal and monetary policy. Changing how the government spends its money will ultimately determine how much debt it accumulates. Making sure the Fed uses its tools to stimulate economic growth and not just economic demand, is what’s going to change the dynamics of investment in this country. If you want an idea of what the U.S. is to expect, look at Greece’s situation. Greece’s problems are a few hundred billion dollars bad. The U.S. is over 10 trillion in the hole. Who’s going to bail us out?
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Andre Lewis opted out for the rural town of Storrs-Mansfield. He is in his junior year at the University of Connecticut continuing his studies in Economics and Mathematics. He has a passion for African American history and hopes to share his wisdom through teaching and education.
Andre can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37861000 |
News items regarding dubious testing practices of educators abound in the national press. Often educators respond to external pressure to increase student scores by engaging students in test-preparation activities. Because some of these activities can result in inaccurate scores and produce negative consequences for students, teachers, schools, parents, and the community, it is important that teachers and administrators be able to make educationally and ethically defensible decisions about what types of activities can be used and in what contexts. Additional information to assist Iowa educators in making sound decisions regarding activities associated with preparing students to take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) or Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) is now available.
This program, designed by Dr. Kris Waltman of The University of Iowa Center for Evaluation and Assessment, is accessible for use by Iowa educators. The lessons are best delivered in group settings with opportunities for discussion, however individuals can also access and complete the curriculum. At the conclusion of the program, educators should have greater understanding of how criteria related to academic ethics, score meaning and use, and educational value are connected to test-preparation activities. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37866000 |
Chemical Principles/Will It React? An Introduction to Chemical Equilibrium
And so, nothing that to our world appears,
Perishes completely, for nature ever
Upbuilds one thing from another's ruin;
Suffering nothing yet to come to birth
But by another's death.
Lucretius (95-55 B.C.)
The main question asked in Chapter 2 was "If a given set of substances will react to give a desired product, how much of each substance is needed?" Our basic assumptions were that matter cannot be arbitrarily created or destroyed, and that atoms going into a reaction must come out again as products.
In this chapter we ask a second question: "Will a reaction occur, eventually?" Is there a tendency or a drive for a given reaction to take place, and if we wait long enough will we find that reactants have been converted spontaneously into products? This question leads to the ideas of spontaneity and of chemical equilibrium. A third question, "Will a reaction occur in a reasonably short time?" involves chemical kinetics, which will be discussed in Chapter 22. For the moment, we will be satisfied if we can predict which way a chemical reaction will go by itself, ignoring the time factor.
Spontaneous Reactions
A chemical reaction that will occur on its own, given enough time, is said to be spontaneous. In the open air, and under the conditions inside an automobile engine, the combustion of gasoline is spontaneous:
C7H16 + 11 O2 → 7CO2 + 8 H2O
(The reaction is exothermic, or heat emitting. The enthalpy change, which was defined in Chapter 2, is large and negative: = -4812 kJ mole-1 of heptane at 298 K. The heat emitted causes the product gases to expand, and it is the pressure from these expanding gases that drives the car.) In contrast, the reverse reaction under the same conditions is not spontaneous:
7CO2 + 8H2O C7H16 + 11 O2
No one seriously proposes that gasoline can be obtained spontaneously from a mixture of water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Explosions are examples of rapid, spontaneous reactions, but a reaction need not be as rapid as an explosion to be spontaneous. It is important to understand clearly the difference between rapidity and spontaneity. If you mix oxygen and hydrogen gases at room temperature, they will remain together without appreciable reaction for years. Yet the reaction to produce water is genuinely spontaneous:
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
We know that this is true because we can trigger the reaction with a match, or catalyst of finely divided platinum metal.
The preceding sentence suggests why a chemist is interested in whether a reaction is spontaneous, that is, whether it has a natural tendency to occur. If a desirable chemical reaction is spontaneous but slow, it may be possible to speed up the process. Increasing the temperature will often do the trick, or a catalyst may work. We will discuss the functions of a catalyst in detail in Chapter 22. But in brief, we can say now that a catalyst is a substance that helps a naturally spontaneous reaction to go faster by providing an easier pathway for it. Gasoline will burn rapidly in air at a high enough temperature. The role of a spark plug in an automobile engine is to provide this initial temperature. The heat produced by the reaction maintains the high temperature needed to keep it going thereafter. Gasoline will combine with oxygen at room temperature if the proper catalyst is used, because the reaction is naturally spontaneous but slow. But no catalyst will ever make carbon dioxide and water recombine to produce gasoline and oxygen at room temperature and moderate pressures, and it would be a foolish chemist who spent time trying to find such a catalyst. In short, an understanding of spontaneous and nonspontaneous reactions helps a chemist to see the limits of what is possible. If a reaction is possible but not currently realizable, it may be worthwhile to look for ways to carry it out. If the process is inherently impossible, then it is time to study something else.
Equilibrium and the Equilibrium Constant
The speed with which a reaction takes a place ordinarily depends on the most concentrations of the reacting substances. This is common sense, since most reactions take place when molecules collide, and the more molecules there are per unit of volume, the more often collisions will occur.
The industrial fixation of atmospheric nitrogen is very important in the manufacture of agricultural fertilizers (and explosives). One of the steps in nitrogen fixation, in the presence of a catalyst, is
N2 + O2 → 2NO (4-1)
If this reaction took place by simple collision of one molecule of N2 and one molecule of O2, then we would expect the rate of collision (and hence the rate of reaction) to be proportional to the concentrations of N2 and O2:
Rate of NO production
R1 = k1[N2][O2] (4-2)
The proportionality constant k1 is called the forward-reaction rate constant, and the bracketed terms [N2][O2] represent concentrations in moles per liter. This rate constant, which we will discuss in more detail in Chapter 22, usually varies with temperature. Most reactions go faster at higher temperatures, so k1 is larger at higher temperatures. But k1 does not depend on the concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen gases present. All of the concentration dependence of the overall forward reaction rate, R1, is contained in the terms [N2] and [O2]. If this reaction began rapidly in a sealed tank with high starting concentrations of both gases, then as more N2 and O2 were consumed, the forward reaction would become progressively slower. The rate of reaction would decrease because the frequency of collision of molecules would diminish as fewer N2 and O2 molecules were left in the tank.
The reverse reaction can also occur. If this reaction took place by the collision of two molecules of NO to make one molecule of each starting gas,
2NO → N2 + O2 (4-3)
then the rate of reaction again would be proportional to the concentration of each of the colliding molecules. Since these molecules are of the same compound, NO, the rate would be proportional to the square of the NO concentration:
Rate of NO removal [NO][NO]
R2 = k2[NO]2 (4-4)
where R2 is the overall reverse reaction rate and k2 is the rev~rse-reaction rate constant. If little NO is present when the experiment begins, this reaction will occur at a negligible rate. But as more NO accumulates by the forward reaction, the faster it will be broken down by the reverse reaction.
Thus as the forward rate, R1, decreases, the reverse rate, R2 , increases. Eventually the point will be reached at which the forward and reverse reactions exactly balance (4-5):
R1 = R2 [N2][O2]k1 = k2[NO]2
This is the condition of equilibrium. Had you been monitoring the concentrations of the three gases, N2 O2, and NO, you would have found that the composition of the reacting mixture had reached an equilibrium state and thereafter ceased to change with time. This does not mean that the individual reactions had stopped, only that they were proceeding at equal rates; that is, they had arrived at, and thereafter maintained, a condition of balance or equilibrium.
The condition of equilibrium can be illustrated by imagining two large fish tanks, connected by a channel (Figure 4-1). One tank initially contains 10 goldfish, and the other contains 10 guppies. If you watch the fish swimming aimlessly long enough, you will eventually find that approximately 5 of each type of fish are present in each tank. Each fish has the same chance of blundering through the channel into the other tank. But as long as there are more goldfish in the left tank (Figure 4-la), there is a greater probability that a goldfish will swim from left to right than the reverse. Similarly, as long as the number of guppies in the right tank exceeds that in the left, there will be a net flow of guppies to the left, even though there is nothing in the left tank to make the guppies prefer it. Thus the rate of flow of guppies is proportional to the concentration of guppies present. A similar statement can be made for the goldfish.
At equilibrium (Figure 4-1b), on an average there will be 5 guppies and 5 goldfish in each tank. But they will not always be the same 5 of each fish. If 1 guppy wanders from the left tank into the right, then it or a different guppy may wander back a little later. Thus at equilibrium we find that the fish have not stopped swimming, only that over a period of time the total number of guppies and goldfish in each tank remains constant. If we were to fill each tank with 9 goldfish and then throw in 1 guppy, we would see that, in its aimless swimming, it would spend half its time in one tank and half in the other (Figure 4-1 c).
In the NO reaction we considered, there will be a constant concentration of NO molecules at equilibrium, but they will not always be the same NO molecules. Individual NO molecules will react to re-form N2 and O2, and other reactant molecules will make more NO. As with the goldfish, only on a head-count or concentration basis have changes ceased at equilibrium.
The equilibrium condition for the NO-producing reaction, equation 4-1, can be rewritten in a more useful form:
in which the ratio of forward and reverse rate constants is expressed as a simple constant, the equilibrium constant, Keq. This equilibrium constant will vary as the temperature varies, but it is independent of the concentrations of the reactants and products. It tells us the ratio of products to reactants at equilibrium, and is an extremely useful quantity for determining whether a desired reaction will take place spontaneously.
General Form of the Equilibrium Constant
We derived the equilibrium-constant expression for the NO reaction by assuming that we knew the way that the forward and reverse steps occurred at the molecular level. If the NO reaction proceeded by simple collision of two molecules, the derivation would be perfectly correct. The actual mechanism of this reaction is more complicated. But it is important, and fortunate for chemists, that we do not have to know the reaction mechanism to write the proper equilibrium constant. The equilibrium-constant expression can always be written from the balanced chemical equation, with no other information, even when the forward and reverse rate expressions are more complicated than the balanced equation would suggest. (We shall prove this in Chapter 16.) In our NO example, the forward reaction actually takes place by a series of complicated chain steps. The reverse reaction takes place by a complementary set of reactions, so that these complications cancel one another in the final ratio of concentrations that gives us the equilibrium constant. The details of the mechanism are "invisible" to the equilibrium-constant expression, and irrelevant to equilibrium calculations.
A general chemical reaction can be written as
In this expression, A and B represent the reactants; C and D, the products. The letters a, b, c, and d represent the number of moles of each substance involved in the balanced reaction, and the double arrows indicate a state of equilibrium. Although only two reactants and two products are shown in the general reaction, the principle is extendable to any number. The correct equilibrium-constant expression for this reaction is
It is the ratio of product concentrations to reactant concentrations, with each concentration term raised to a power given by the number of moles of that substance appearing in the balanced chemical equation. Because it is based on the quantities of reactants and products present at equilibrium, equation 4-8 is called the law of mass action.
|Give the equilibrium-constant expression for the reaction|
The equilibrium constant is given by
Since all four substances have a coefficient of 1 in the balanced equation, their concentrations are all raised to the first power in the equilibrium-constant expression.
|What is the equilibrium-constant expression for the formation of water from hydrogen and oxygen gases? The reaction is|
Since two moles of hydrogen and water are involved in the chemical equation, their concentrations are squared in the Keq expression.
|Give the equilibrium-constant expression for the dissociation (breaking up) of water into hydrogen and oxygen. The reaction is|
An important general point emerges here. This reaction is the reverse of that of Example 2, and the equilibrium-constant expression is the inverse, or reciprocal, of the earlier one. If a balanced chemical reaction is reversed, then the equilibrium-constant expression must be inverted, since what once were reactants now are products, and vice versa.
|The dissociation of water can just as properly be written as
What then is the equilibrium-constant expression?
Notice that when the reaction from Example 3 is divided by 2, resulting in the Example 4 reaction, the equilibrium constant is the square root of the old value, or the old Keq to the one-half power. Similarly, if the reaction is doubled, the Keq must be squared. In general, it is perfectly proper to multiply all the coefficients of a balanced chemical reaction by any positive or negative number, n, and the equation will remain balanced. (Multiplying all the coefficients of an equation by - 1 is formally the same as writing the equation in reverse. Write out a simple equation and prove to yourself that this is so.) But if all the co1ficients of an equation are multiplied by n, then the new equilibrium-constant expression is the old one raised to the nth power. Hence, when working with equilibrium constants, one must keep the corresponding chemical reactions clearly in mind.
|The reaction for the formation or the breakdown of ammonia can be written in a number of ways:
(Each of these expressions might be appropriate, depending on whether you were focusing on nitrogen, ammonia, hydrogen, or the dissociation of ammonia.) What are the equilibrium-constant expressions for each formulation, and how are the equilibrium constants related?
Notice that there is nothing wrong with fractional powers in the equilibrium-constant expression.
Using Equilibrium Constants
Equilibrium constants have two main purposes:
- 1. To help us tell whether a reaction will be spontaneous under specified conditions.
- 2. To enable us to calculate the concentration of reactants and products that will be present once equilibrium has been reached.
We can illustrate how equilibrium constants can be used to achieve these ends, and also the fact that an equilibrium constant is indeed constant, with real data from one of the most intensively studied of all reactions, that between hydrogen and iodine to yield hydrogen iodide:
If we mix hydrogen and iodine in a sealed flask and observe the reaction, the gradual fading of the purple color of the iodine vapor tells us that iodine is being consumed. This reaction was studied first by the German chemist Max Bodenstein in 1893. Table 4-1 contains the data from Bodenstein's experiments. The experimental data are in the first three columns. In the fourth column, we have calculated the simple ratio of product and reactant concentrations, [HI]/[H2][I2], to see if it is constant. It clearly is not, for as the hydrogen concentration is decreased and the iodine concentration is increased, this ratio varies from 2.60 to less than 1. The law of mass action (Section 4-3) dictates that the equilibrium-constant expression should contain the square of the HI concentration, since the reaction involves 2 moles of HI for every mole of H2 and I2 , The fifth column shows that the ratio [HI]2/[H2][I2] is constant within a mean deviation of approximately 3%. * Therefore, this ratio is the proper equilibrium-constant expression, and the average value of Keq for these six runs is 50.53.
The equilibrium constant can be used to determine whether a reaction under specified conditions will go spontaneously in the forward or in the reverse direction. The ratio of product concentration to reactant concentration, identical to the equilibrium constant in form but not necessarily at equilibrium conditions, is called the reaction quotient, Q:
Q = (not necessarily at equilibrium) (4-10)
If there are too many reactant molecules present for equilibrium to exist, then the concentration terms in the denominator will make the reaction quotient, Q, smaller than Keq. The reaction will go forward spontaneously to make more product. However, if an experiment is set up so that the reaction quotient is greater than Keq, then too many product molecules are present for equilibrium and the reverse reaction will proceed spontaneously. Therefore, a comparison of the actual concentration ratio or reaction quotient with the equilibrium constant allows us to predict in which direction a reaction will go spontaneously under the given set of circumstances:
Q < Keq (forward reaction spontaneous) Q > Keq (reverse reaction spontaneous) (4-11) Q = Keq (reactants and products at equilibrium)
- These are Bodenstein's original numbers. Modern data can be much more accurate, with
less deviation in Keq. The mean deviation is the average of the deviations of individual calculated Keq from the average Keq.
|If 1.0 X 10-2 mole each of hydrogen and iodine gases are placed in a I-liter flask at 448°C with 2.0 X 10-3 mole of HI, will more HI be produced?|
The reaction quotient under these conditions is
This is smaller than the equilibrium value of 50.53 in Table 4-1, which tells us that excess reactants are present. Hence, equilibrium will not be reached until more HI has been formed.
|If only 1.0 X 10-3 mole each of H2 and I2 had been used, together with 2.0 X 10-3 mole of HI, would more HI have been produced spontaneously?|
You can verify that the reaction quotient is Q = 4.0. Because this is less than Keq, the forward reaction is still spontaneous.
|If the conditions of Example 7 are changed so that the HI concentration is increased to 2.0 X 10-2 mole liter-1 , what happens to the reaction?|
The reaction quotient now is Q = 400. This is greater than Keq- There are now too many product molecules and too few reactant molecules for equilibrium to exist. Thus the reverse reaction occurs more rapidly than the forward reaction. Equilibrium is reached only by converting some of the HI to H2 and 12, so the reverse reaction is spontaneous.
|If the conditions of Example 7 are changed so that the HI concentration is 7.1 X 10-3 mole liter-1 , in which direction is the reaction spontaneous?|
Under these conditions,
Since Q equals Keq within the limits of accuracy of the data, the system as described is at equilibrium, and neither the forward nor the backward reaction is spontaneous. (Both reactions are still taking place at the molecular level, of course, but they are balanced so their net effects cancel.)
The second use for equilibrium constants is to calculate the concentrations of reactants and products that will be present at equilibrium.
|If a 1-liter flask contains 1.0 X 10-3 mole each of H2 and I2 at 448°C, what amount of HI is present when the gas mixture is at equilibrium?|
The Keq expression is treated as an ordinary algebraic equation, and solved for the HI concentration:
You can verify that in Example 7 the HI concentration was less than this equilibrium value; in Example 8 it was more; and in Example 9 it was just this value.
|One-tenth of a mole, 0.10 mole, of hydrogen iodide is placed in an otherwise empty 5.0 liter flask at 448°C. When the contents have come to equilibrium, how much hydrogen and iodine will be in the flask?|
From the stoichiometry of the reaction, the concentrations of H2 and I2 must be the same. For every mole of H2 and I2 formed, 2 moles of HI must decompose. Let y equal the number of moles of H2 or I2 per liter present at equilibrium. The initial concentration of HI before any dissociation has occurred is
Begin by writing a balanced equation for the reaction, then make a table of concentrations at the start and at equilibrium:
The HI concentration of 0.020 mole liter-1 has been decreased by 2y for every y moles of H2 and I2 that are formed. The equilibrium-constant expression is
We immediately see that we can take a shortcut by taking the square root of both sides:
For 5 liters, 5 0.0022 = 0.011 mole of H2 and of I2 will be present at equilibrium. Only (0.020 - 0.0044) 5 = 0.080 mole of HI will be left in the 5-liter tank, and the fraction of HI dissociated at equilibrium is
Shortcuts such as taking the square root in the preceding example are not always possible, yet part of the skill of solving equilibrium problems lies in recognizing shortcuts when they occur and using them. The key is often a good intuition about what quantities are large and small relative to one another, and this intuition comes from thoughtful practice and understanding of the chemistry involved. You should remember that these are chemical problems, not mathematical ones.
In many cases a quadratic equation must be solved.
|If 0.00500 mole of hydrogen gas and 0.0100 mole of iodine gas are placed in a 5.00 liter tank at 448°C, how much HI will be present at equilibrium?|
The initial concentrations of H2 and I2 are
This time, let the unknown variable y be the moles per liter of H2 or I2 that have reacted at equilibrium:
The quilibrium expression is
The square-root shortcut is now impossible because the starting concentrations of H2 and I2 are unequal. Instead we must reduce the equation to a quadratic expression:
A general quadratic equation of the form ay2 + by + c = 0 can be solved by the quadratic formula,
Thus for this problem
The first solution is physically impossible since it shows more H2 reacting than was originally present. The second solution is the correct answer: y=0.935 10-3 mole liter-1. Therefore, the equilibrium concentrations are
Units and Equilibrium Constants
As we have seen, the square brackets around a chemical symbol, as in [N2], represent concentrations, usually but not exclusively in units of moles liter-1. Concentrations expressed as moles liter-1 are often given the special symbol c, as in cN2, the concentrations measured in these units is denoted by Kc.
An equilibrium constant as we have defined it thus far may itself have units. In Example 1, Keq is unitless since the moles2 1iter-2 of the numerator and denominator cancel. In Example 2, the units of Keq are moles-1 liter since concentration occurs to the second power in the numerator and to the third power in the denominator. In Example 3 the units of Keq are the inverse: moles liter-1. The units demanded by Example 4, moles1/2 liter-1/2, may seem strange but they are perfectly respectable.
|What are the units for the equilibrium constants in the four reactions of Example 5?|
The Keq expression is treated as an ordinary algebraic equation, and solved for the HI concentration:
The question of units for Keq becomes important as soon as we realize that we can measure concentration in units other than moles liter-1. The partial pressure in atmospheres is a convenient unit when dealing with gas mixtures, and the equilibrium constant then is identified by Kp. Since the numerical values of Kp and Kc in general will be different, one must be sure what the units are when using a numerical constant.
|One step in the commercial synthesis of sulfuric acid is the reaction of sulfur dioxide and oxygen to make sulfur trioxide:
At 1000 K, the equilibrium constant for this reaction is Kp = 3.50 atm-1. If the total pressure in the reaction chamber is 1.00 atm and the partial pressure of unused 02 at equilibrium is 0.10 atm, what is the ratio of concentrations of product (S03) to reactant (S02)?
The equilibrium mixture has 0.59 mole of S03 for every 1 mole of S02.
The ideal gas law permits us to convert between atmospheres and moles liter-1, and between Kp and Kc:
PV = nRT (3-8) (4-12)
In the general chemical reaction written earlier,
Δn (read "delta n"), the increase in number of moles of gas during the reaction, is n = c + d - a - b (4-13)
The equilibrium-constant expression in terms of partial pressures is
With the ideal gas law applied to each gas component, we can convert this expression to Kc:
(RT)Δn = Kc(RT)Δn (4-15)
(Do not confuse the two uses of the symbol c in equation 4-15: one is for concentration in moles liter-1 and the other for the number of moles of substance C.)
|What is the numerical value of Kc for the reaction of Example 14?|
Three moles of reactant gases are converted into only 2 moles of product, so Δn = - 1. Hence at 1000 K,
Although the numerical answers that result when different units are used may differ, the physical reality must be the same.
|What is the concentration of oxygen in Example 14, in moles liter-1? Solve Example 14 again using Kc from Example 15.|
Three moles of reactant gases are converted into only 2 moles of product, so Δn = - 1. Hence at 1000 K,
This is the same ration of SO_3 to SO_4 as was obtained when atmospheres were used. The choice is one of convenience.
Equilibrium Involving Gases with Liquids or Solids
All the examples considered so far have involved only one physical state, a gas, and are examples of homogeneous equilibria. Equilibria that involve two or more physical states (such as a gas with a liquid or a solid) are called hetergenous equilibria. If one or more of the reactants or products are solids or liquids, how does this affect the form of the equilibrium constant?
The answer, in short, is that any pure solids or liquids that may be present at equilibrium have the same effect on the equilibrium no matter how much solid or liquid is present. The concentration of a pure solid or liquid can be considered constant, and for convenience all such constant terms are brought to the left side of the equation and incorporated into the equilibrium constant itself. As an example, limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), breaks down into quicklime (calcium oxide, CaO) and carbon dioxide, CO2:
The simple equilibrium-constant expression is
- K'eq =
As long as any solid limestone and quicklime are in contact with the gas, their effect on the equilibrium is unchanging. Hence the terms [CaCO3] and [CaO] remain constant and can be merged with K'eq:
- Keq = K'eq [CO2(g)]
This form of the equilibrium-constant expression tells us that, at a given temperature, the concentration of carbon-dioxide gas above limestone and calcium oxide is a fixed quantity. (this is true only as long as both solid forms are present.) Measuring concentration in units of atmospheres, we get
- Kp = pCO2
with the experimental value 0.236 atm at 800°C.
We can see what this means experimentally by considering a cylinder to which CaCO, and CaO have been added. The cylinder has a movable piston, as shown in Figure 4-2. If the piston is fixed at one position, then CaCO3 will decompose until the pressure of CO2 above the solids is 0.236 atm (if the temperature is 800°C). If you try to decrease the pressure by raising the piston, then more CaCO3 will decompose until the pressure again rises to 0.236 atm. Conversely, if you try to increase the pressure by lowering the piston, some of the CO2 gas will react with CaO and become CaCO3 decreasing the amount of CO2 gas present until the pressure once more is 0.236 atm. The only way to increase pCO2, is to raise the temperature, which increases the value of Kp itself to 1 atm at 894°C and to 1.04 atm at 900°C.
An even simpler example is the vaporization of a liquid such as water:
This process can be treated as a chemical reaction in a formal sense even though bonds within molecules are not made or broken. Imagine that the cylinder shown in Figure 4-2 is half-filled with water rather than with CaCO3 and CaO, and that the piston is initially brought down to the surface of the water. As the piston is raised, liquid will evaporate until the pressure of water vapor is a constant value that depends only on the temperature. This is the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at that temperature. At 25°C, the vapor pressure of water is 0.0313 atm. At 100°C, the vapor pressure reaches 1 atm and, as we shall see in Chapter 18, this is just the definition of the normal boiling point of water. The pressure of water vapor above the liquid in the cylinder does not depend on whether the water in the cylinder is 1 cm or 10 cm deep; the only requirement is that some water be present and capable of evaporating to make up any decrease in vapor pressure. Only when the piston is raised to the point where no more liquid exists can the pressure of water vapor fall below 0.0313 atm, if the cylinder is at 25°C. Similarly, if the piston is lowered, some of the vapor condenses, keeping the pressure at 0.0313 atm. Only when all vapor has condensed and the piston is resting on the surface of the liquid can the pressure inside the cylinder be raised above 0.0313 atm.
The formal equilibrium treatment of the evaporation of water would be
- K'eq =
- [H2O(l)] = constant , as long as liquid is present
- Keq = K'eq[H2O(l)] = [H2O(g)]
In pressure units, the expression would be
- Kp = pH2O(g)
From a practical standpoint, what the preceding discussion means is that the concentration terms for pure solids and liquids are simply eliminated from the equilibrium-constant expression. (They are present, implicitly, in the Keq.)
|If the hydrogen iodide reaction previously discussed in this chapter is carried out at room temperature, then iodine is present as deep purple crystals rather than as vapor. What then is the form of the equilibrium-constant expression, and does the equilibrium depend on the amount of iodine crystals present?|
The reaction is
and the equilibrium-constant expression is:
As long as some I2(s) crystals are present, the quantity is immaterial as far as equilibrium is concerned.
|Tin(IV) oxide reacts with carbon monoxide to form metallic tin and CO2 by the reaction
What is the equilibrium-constant expression?
|What is the equilibrium-constant expression for the following reaction leading to liquid water?
What would the expression be if the product were water vapor?
If the product is H2O(l), the equilibrium-constant expression is
If the product is H2O(g), the equilibrium-constant expression is
The preceding example shows that as long as liquid water is present the gas-phase concentration is fixed at the vapor pressure of water at that temperature. Hence the water contribution, being constant, can be lumped into Keq.
Factors Affecting Equilibrium: Le Chatelier's Principle
Equilibrium represents a balance between two opposing reactions. How sensitive is this balance to changes in the conditions of a reaction? What can be done to change the equilibrium state? These are very practical questions if, for example, one is trying to increase the yield of a useful product in a reaction.
Under specified conditions, the equilibrium-constant expression tells us the ratio of product to reactants when the forward and backward reactions are in balance. This equilibrium constant is not affected by changes in concentration of reactants or products. However, if products can be withdrawn continuously, then the reacting system can be kept constantly off-balance, or short of equilibrium. More reactants will be used and a continuous stream of new products will be formed. This method is useful when one product of the reaction can escape as a gas, be condensed or frozen out of a gas phase as a liquid or solid, be washed out of the gas mixture by a spray of a liquid in which it is especially soluble, or be precipitated from a gas or solution.
For example, when solid lime (CaO) and coke (C) are heated in an electric furnace to make calcium carbide (CaC2),
the reaction, which at 2000-3000°C has an equilibrium constant of close to 1.00, is tipped toward calcium carbide formation by the continuous removal of carbon monoxide gas. In the industrial manufacture of titanium dioxide for pigments, TiCl4 and O2 react as gases:
The product separates from the reacting gases as a fine powder of solid Ti02 , and the reaction is thus kept moving in the forward direction. When ethyl acetate or other esters used as solvents and flavorings are synthesized from carboxylic acids and alcohols,
the reaction is kept constantly off-balance by removing the water as fast as it is formed. This can be done by using a drying agent such as Drierite (CaS04), by running the reaction in benzene and boiling off a constant-boiling benzene-water mixture, or by running the reaction in a solvent in which the water is completely immiscible and separates as droplets in a second phase. A final example: Since ammonia is far more soluble in water than either hydrogen or nitrogen is, the yield of ammonia in the reaction
can be raised to well over 90% by washing the ammonia out of the equilibrium mixture of gases with a stream of water, and recycling the nitrogen and hydrogen.
All the preceding methods will upset an equilibrium (in our examples, in favor of desired products) without altering the equilibrium constant. A chemist can often enhance yields of desired products by increasing the equilibrium constant so that the ratio of products to reactants at equilibrium is larger. The equilibrium constant is usually temperature dependent. In general, both forward and reverse reactions are speeded up by increasing the temperature, because the molecules move faster and collide more often. If the increase in the rate of the forward reaction is greater than that of the reverse, then Keq. increases with temperature and more products are formed at equilibrium. If the reverse reaction is favored, then Keq. decreases. Thus Keq for the hydrogen- iodine reaction at 448°C is 50.53, but at 425°C it is 54.4, and at 357°C it increases to 66.9. Production of HI is favored to some extent by an increase in temperature, but its dissociation to hydrogen and iodine is favored much more.
The hydrogen iodide-producing reaction is exothermic or heat emitting:
(If you check this figure against Appendix 3, remember that this reaction involves gaseous iodine, not solid.) If the external temperature of this reaction is lowered, the equilibrium is shifted in favor of the heat-emitting or forward reaction; conversely, if the temperature is increased, the reverse reaction, producing H2 and I2 is favored. The equilibrium shifts so as to counteract to some extent the effect of adding heat externally (raising the temperature) or removing it (lowering the temperature).
The temperature dependence of the equilibrium point is one example of a more general principle, known as Le Chatelier's principle: If an external stress is applied to a system at chemical equilibrium, then the equilibrium point will change in such a way as to counteract the effects of that stress. If the forward half of an equilibrium reaction is exothermic, then Keq will decrease as the temperature increases; if it is endothermic, Keq will increase. Only for a heat-absorbing reaction can the equilibrium yield of products be improved by increasing the temperature. A good way to remember this is to write the reaction explicitly with a heat term:
Then it is clear that adding heat, just like adding HI, shifts the reaction to the left. (see Figure 4-3.)
Le Chatelier's principle is true for other kinds of stress, such as pressure changes. The equilibrium constant, Keq, is not altered by a pressure change at constant temperature. However, the relative amounts of reactants and products will change in a way that can be predicted from Le Chatelier's principle.
The hydrogen- iodine reaction involves an equal number (2) of moles of reactants and product. Therefore, if we double the pressure at constant temperature, the volume of the mixture of gases will be halved. All concentrations in moles liter-1 will be doubled, but their ratio will be the same. In Example 12, doubling the concentrations of the reactants and product does not change the equilibrium constant:
- Keq =
- = 50.51
Thus the hydrogen- iodine equilibrium is not sensitive to pressure changes. Notice that in this case Keq does not have units, since the concentration units in the numerator and denominator cancel.
In contrast, the dissociation of ammonia is affected by changes in pressure because the number of moles (2) of reactant does not equal the total number of moles (4) of products:
The equilibrium constant for this reaction at 25°C is
- Keq = 2.5 10-9 mole2 liter -2
One set of equilibrium conditions is
- N2 = 3.28 10-3 mole liter-1
- H2 = 2.05 10-3 mole liter-1
- NH3 = 0.106 mole liter-1
(Can you verify that these concentrations satisfy the equilibrium condition?) If we now double the pressure at constant temperature, thereby halving the volume and doubling each concentration,
- N2 = 6.56 10-3 mole liter-1
- H2 = 4.10 10-3 mole liter-1
- NH3 = 0.212 mole liter-1
the ratio of products to reactants, the reaction quotient, is no longer equal to Keq:
- Q = 1.0 10-8 mole2 liter-2
Since Q is greater than Keq, too many product molecules are present for equilibrium. The reverse reaction will run spontaneously, thereby forming more NH3 and decreasing the amounts of H2 and N2. Consequently, part of the increased pressure is offset when the reaction shifts in the direction that lowers the total number of moles of gas present. In general, a reaction that reduces the number of moles of gas will be favored by an increase in pressure, and one that produces more gas will be disfavored. (See Figure 4-4.)
|If the hydrogen iodide reaction were run at a temperature at which the iodine was a solid, would an increase in pressure shift the equilibrium reaction toward more HI, or less? What would be the effect of pressure on Keq?|
Since the reaction of 2 moles of gaseous HI now yields 1 mole of gaseous H2 and 1 mole of solid I2 the stress of increased pressure is relieved by dissociating HI to H2 and I2. However, Keq will be unchanged by the pressure increase.
What effect does a catalyst have on a reaction at equilibrium? None. A catalyst cannot change the value of Keq, but it can increase the speed with which equilibrium is reached. This is the main function of a catalyst. It can take the reaction only to the same equilibrium state that would be reached eventually without the catalyst.
Catalysts are useful, nevertheless. Many desirable reactions, although spontaneous, occur at extremely slow rates under ordinary conditions. In automobile engines, the main smog-producing reaction involving oxides of nitrogen is
(Once NO is present, it reacts readily with more oxygen to make brown N02.) At the high temperature of an automobile engine, Keq for this reaction is so large that appreciable amounts of NO are formed. However, at 25°C, Keq= 10-30. (Using only the previous two bits of information and Le Chatelier's principle, predict whether the reaction as written is endothermic or exothermic. Check your answer using data from Appendix 3.) The amount of NO present in the atmosphere at equilibrium at 25°C should be negligible. NO should decompose spontaneously to N2 and O2 as the exhaust gases cool. But any Southern Californian can verify that this is not what happens. Both NO and N02 are indeed present, because the gases of the atmosphere are not at equilibrium.
The rate of decomposition of NO is extremely slow, although the reaction is spontaneous. One approach to the smog problem has been to search for a catalyst for the reaction
that could be housed in an exhaust system and could break down NO in the exhaust gases as they cool. Finding a catalyst is possible; a practical problem arises from the gradual poisoning of the catalyst by gasoline additives, such as lead compounds. This is the reason why new cars with catalytic converters only use lead-free gasoline.
A proof of the assertion that a catalyst cannot change the equilibrium constant is illustrated in Figure 4-5. If a catalyst could shift the equilibrium point of a reacting gas mixture and produce a volume change, then this expansion and contraction could be harnessed by mechanical means and made to do work. We would have a true perpetual-motion machine that would deliver power without an energy source. From common sense and experience we know this to be impossible. This "common sense" is stated scientifically as the first law of thermodynamics, which will be discussed in Chapter 15. A mathematician would call this a proof by contradiction: If we assume that a catalyst can alter Keq, then we must assume the existence of a perpetual-motion machine. However, a perpetual-motion machine cannot exist; therefore our initial assumption was wrong, and we must conclude that a catalyst cannot alter Keq.
In summary, Keq is a function of temperature, but it is not a function of reactant or product concentrations, total pressure, or the presence or absence of catalysts. The relative amounts of substances at equilibrium can be changed by applying an external stress to the equilibrium mixture of reactants and products, and the change is one that will relieve this stress. This last statement, Le Chatelier's principle, enables us to predict what will happen to a reaction when external factors are changed, without having to make exact calculations.
A spontaneous reaction is one that will take place, given enough time, without outside assistance. Some spontaneous reactions are rapid, but time is not an element in the definition of spontaneity. A reaction can be almost infinitely slow and still be spontaneous.
The net reaction that we observe is the result of competition between forward and reverse steps. If the forward process is faster, then products accumulate, and we say that the reaction is spontaneous in the forward direction. If the reverse process is faster, then reactants accumulate, and we say that the reverse reaction is the spontaneous one. If both forward and reverse processes take place at the same rate, then no net change is observed in any of the reaction components. This is the condition of chemical equilibrium.
The ratio of products to reactants, each concentration term being raised to a power corresponding to the coefficient of that substance in the balanced chemical equation, is called the equilibrium constant, Keq. (See equation 4-8.) It can be used to predict whether a given reaction under specified conditions will be spontaneous, and to calculate the concentrations of reactants and products at equilibrium. The reaction quotient, Q, has a form that is identical with that of the equilibrium constant, Keq, but Q applies under nonequilibrium conditions as well. For a given set of conditions, if Q is smaller than Keq, the forward reaction is spontaneous; if Q is greater than Keq, the reverse reaction is spontaneous; and if Q = Keq, the system is at equilibrium.
The equilibrium constant can be used with any convenient set of concentration units: moles liter-1 , pressure in atmospheres, or others. Its numerical value will depend on the units of concentration, so one must be careful to match the proper values of Keq and units when solving problems. If gas concentrations are expressed in moles liter-1, the equilibrium constant is designated by Kc; if in atmospheres, by Kp. Just as partial pressure of the jth component of a gas mixture is related to moles per liter by pj = cjRT, so Kp and Kc are related by Kp = Kc(RT)Δn, in which Δn is the net change in number of moles of gas during the reaction.
When some of the reactants or products are pure solids or liquids, they act as infinite reservoirs of material as long as some solid or liquid is left. Their effect on equilibrium depends only on their presence, not on how much of the solid or liquid is present. Their effective concentrations are constant, and can be incorporated into Keq. In practice, this simply means omitting concentration terms for pure solids and liquids from the equilibrium-constant expression. Evaporation of a liquid can be treated formally as a chemical reaction with the liquid as reactant and vapor as product. These conventions for writing concentration terms for a liquid permit us to write the equilibrium constant for evaporation as Kp = pj where pj is the equilibrium vapor pressure of substance j.
Le Chatelier's principle states that if stress is applied to a system at equilibrium the amounts of reactants and products will shift in such a manner as to minimize the stress. This means that for a heat-absorbing, or endothermic, reaction, Keq increases as the temperature is increased, since carrying out more of the reaction is a way of absorbing some of the added heat. Similarly, cooling increases Keq for a heat-emitting or exothermic reaction. Although the equilibrium constant Keq is independent of pressure, and changing the total pressure on a reacting system does not alter Keq directly, an increase in pressure does cause the reaction to shift in the direction that decreases the total number of moles of gas present.
A catalyst has no effect at all on Keq or the conditions of equilibrium. All that a catalyst can do is to make the system reach equilibrium faster than it would have done otherwise. Catalysts can make inherently spontaneous but slow reactions into rapid reactions, but they cannot make nonspontaneous reactions take place of their own accord. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37877000 |
Wikijunior:How Things Work/Flush Toilet
Who invented it?
Flush toilets were first used in parts of India and Pakistan about 2,700 years ago. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a flush toilet in almost every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system. Remains of sewage systems have been found in the houses of the Minoan cities of Crete and Santorini in Greece. There were also toilets in ancient Egypt, Persia and China. In Roman civilization, toilets were sometimes part of public bath houses where men and women were together in mixed company. Toilets are usually connected to a septic tank, or to a sewer.
In 1775 Alexander Cummings invented the S-trap, which is still used today, that used standing water to seal the outlet of the bowl, preventing the escape of foul air from the sewer. His design had a sliding valve in the bowl outlet above the trap.
The flush toilet is sometimes called a water closet.
How does it get power?
A toilet works because of gravity. When a flush lever is pulled, a plug will open, allowing water to flow out to fill the basin. When the basin is full enough, gravity causes the liquid to flow out through a bend in the pipe, called an S trap.
How does it work?
A flush toilet disposes of our waste products by using water to send them through a drainpipe to another location. It is sometimes called a water closet, or WC.
The picture below shows a typical toilet. The toilet bowl usually has a ring-shaped seat on top, which is covered by the lid when not in use.
The handle, or sometimes a button, is pressed to flush the toilet. The water used for flushing is stored in the tank (also called a cistern)
The tank contains some important parts. The next picture shows the parts of a typical tank. The inlet valve controls the water supply coming into the tank. It lets water in when the tank is empty, and stops water coming in when the tank is full.
The float ball rises as the tank fills with water. As it rises, the float rod attached to it presses against the inlet valve. When the tank is full, the rod is pressing against the inlet valve hard enough to turn the water off. This stops the tank from overflowing.
When you press the handle, a lever inside the tank pulls the piston up, forcing some water through the siphon. This provides suction in the siphon, and the rest of the water follows, emptying the tank.
The tank empties quite quickly, and the float ball floats to the bottom. That means the float rod is no longer pressing against the valve, so water begins to flow into the tank, filling it up again.
The water which left the tank goes through a short pipe to the toilet bowl. It sloshes around the rim, down the sides of the bowl, and out through the drainpipe, cleaning the bowl and carrying the waste with it.
Some of the clean water coming behind remains at the bottom of the toilet bowl. That's because modern toilets have an 'S' bend which remains filled with water between flushing. The water in the 'S' bend stops bad odours escaping from the drainpipe. During flushing the 'S' bend also provides siphon action which helps speed up the flushing process.
However, since this type of toilet does not generally handle waste on site, separate waste treatment systems must be built.
How dangerous is it?
The danger from a toilet isn't immediately obvious like that from a hot stove, but people have known for a long time that flushing a toilet can produce very small droplets of water known as aerosols. These aerosols can contain bacteria and viruses that are in the toilet. Because the aerosols float through the air and land on surfaces that people might later touch, there is a risk of becoming infected. This has been believed to be a major cause for outbreak of atypical pneumonia within several high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong that are close to each other.
What does it do?
The flush cleans the bowl of the toilet, and under the rim where it is difficult to clean. It carries waste matter to a drain, which then takes it to a treatment plant or septic tank.
How does it vary?
Toilets come in many different types. There are chemical toilets, which use chemicals to neutralize the waste instead of water. There are composting toilets, which are better for the environment because they turn the waste into natural compost. There are even incinerating toilets, which burn the waste.
Some toilets have extra fixtures such as grab-bars for wheelchair users. Some toilets have a water jet built into them like a bidet. Some have heated seats, and lids that open and close automatically. And some will even check your blood pressure and temperature.
Different toilets use different amounts of water per flush. Older models use 13 or even 19 liters per flush while newer models use 6 liters (1.6 gallons) per flush. Today, some well-designed 6 liter toilets flush better than lesser toilets that use 2-3 times more water per flush. The design of the surfaces that control the flow of water make a big difference!
How has it changed the world?
The toilet has made homes, towns and cities cleaner places to live in. Because water cleans the toilets very well, highly contagious diseases cannot spread as easily as in the past, where very often thousands of people died at the same time, and to keep epidemics under control, cities and villages weren't allowed to grow beyond a certain population. WC helps public health of today to keep higher standards than in the past. That allows us today to live in much bigger cities than in the past, not being afraid of getting sick. Big cities were a requirement to start the industrial revolution in the 1800s. We see that although WC seems to be an invention of minor importance, its impact to our modern world was much greater. The toilet has also created a whole new profession like plumber and his associated industry.
What idea(s) and/or inventions had to be developed before it could be created?
To have a flush toilet in your house, first of all one has to have fresh and clean water supply. A better organization of the cities was needed for that. The lever and the siphon also had to be invented before the flush toilet could have come into being. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37878000 |
Automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates. They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task. They are used by various police forces and as a method of electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads and cataloging the movements of traffic or individuals.
ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of the day. ANPR technology tends to be region-specific, owing to plate variation from place to place.
Concerns about these systems have centered on privacy fears of government tracking citizens' movements, misidentification, high error rates, and increased government spending.
Other names
ANPR is sometimes known by various other terms:
- Automatic license-plate recognition (ALPR)
- Automatic vehicle identification (AVI)
- Car plate recognition (CPR)
- License-plate recognition (LPR)
- Lecture Automatique de Plaques d'Immatriculation (LAPI)
Development history
ANPR was invented in 1976 at the Police Scientific Development Branch in the UK. Prototype systems were working by 1979, and contracts were let to produce industrial systems, first at EMI Electronics, and then at Computer Recognition Systems (CRS) in Wokingham, UK. Early trial systems were deployed on the A1 road and at the Dartford Tunnel. The first arrest through detection of a stolen car was made in 1981.
The software aspect of the system runs on standard home computer hardware and can be linked to other applications or databases. It first uses a series of image manipulation techniques to detect, normalize and enhance the image of the number plate, and then optical character recognition (OCR) to extract the alphanumerics of the license plate. ANPR systems are generally deployed in one of two basic approaches: one allows for the entire process to be performed at the lane location in real-time, and the other transmits all the images from many lanes to a remote computer location and performs the OCR process there at some later point in time. When done at the lane site, the information captured of the plate alphanumeric, date-time, lane identification, and any other information required is completed in approximately 250 milliseconds. This information can easily be transmitted to a remote computer for further processing if necessary, or stored at the lane for later retrieval. In the other arrangement, there are typically large numbers of PCs used in a server farm to handle high workloads, such as those found in the London congestion charge project. Often in such systems, there is a requirement to forward images to the remote server, and this can require larger bandwidth transmission media.
ANPR uses optical character recognition (OCR) on images taken by cameras. When Dutch vehicle registration plates switched to a different style in 2002, one of the changes made was to the font, introducing small gaps in some letters (such as P and R) to make them more distinct and therefore more legible to such systems. Some license plate arrangements use variations in font sizes and positioning—ANPR systems must be able to cope with such differences in order to be truly effective. More complicated systems can cope with international variants, though many programs are individually tailored to each country.
The cameras used can include existing road-rule enforcement or closed-circuit television cameras, as well as mobile units, which are usually attached to vehicles. Some systems use infrared cameras to take a clearer image of the plates.
ANPR in mobile systems
Recent advances in technology have taken automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems from fixed applications to mobile ones. Scaled-down components at more cost-effective price points have led to a record number of deployments by law enforcement agencies around the world. Smaller cameras with the ability to read license plates at high speeds, along with smaller, more durable processors that fit in the trunks of police vehicles, allow law enforcement officers to patrol daily with the benefit of license plate reading in real time, when they can interdict immediately.
Despite their effectiveness, there are noteworthy challenges related with mobile ANPRs. One of the biggest is that the processor and the cameras must work fast enough to accommodate relative speeds of more than 100 mph (160 km/h), a likely scenario in the case of oncoming traffic. This equipment must also be very efficient since the power source is the vehicle battery, and equipment must be small to minimize the space it requires.
Relative speed is only one issue that affects the camera's ability to actually read a license plate. Algorithms must be able to compensate for all the variables that can affect the ANPR's ability to produce an accurate read, such as time of day, weather and angles between the cameras and the license plates. A system's illumination wavelengths can also have a direct impact on the resolution and accuracy of a read in these conditions.
Installing ANPR cameras on law enforcement vehicles requires careful consideration of the juxtaposition of the cameras to the license plates they are to read. Using the right number of cameras and positioning them accurately for optimal results can prove challenging, given the various missions and environments at hand. Highway patrol requires forward-looking cameras that span multiple lanes and are able to read license plates at very high speeds. City patrol needs shorter range, lower focal length cameras for capturing plates on parked cars. Parking lots with perpendicularly parked cars often require a specialized camera with a very short focal length. Most technically advanced systems are flexible and can be configured with a number of cameras ranging from one to four which can easily be repositioned as needed. States with rear-only license plates have an additional challenge since a forward-looking camera is ineffective with incoming traffic. In this case one camera may be turned backwards.
There are six primary algorithms that the software requires for identifying a license plate:
- Plate localization – responsible for finding and isolating the plate on the picture.
- Plate orientation and sizing – compensates for the skew of the plate and adjusts the dimensions to the required size.
- Normalization – adjusts the brightness and contrast of the image.
- Character segmentation – finds the individual characters on the plates.
- Optical character recognition.
- Syntactical/Geometrical analysis – check characters and positions against country-specific rules.
The complexity of each of these subsections of the program determines the accuracy of the system. During the third phase (normalization), some systems use edge detection techniques to increase the picture difference between the letters and the plate backing. A median filter may also be used to reduce the visual noise on the image.
There are a number of possible difficulties that the software must be able to cope with. These include:
- Poor image resolution, usually because the plate is too far away but sometimes resulting from the use of a low-quality camera.
- Blurry images, particularly motion blur.
- Poor lighting and low contrast due to overexposure, reflection or shadows.
- An object obscuring (part of) the plate, quite often a tow bar, or dirt on the plate.
- A different font, popular for vanity plates (some countries do not allow such plates, eliminating the problem).
- Circumvention techniques.
- Lack of coordination between countries or states. Two cars from different countries or states can have the same number but different design of the plate.
While some of these problems can be corrected within the software, it is primarily left to the hardware side of the system to work out solutions to these difficulties. Increasing the height of the camera may avoid problems with objects (such as other vehicles) obscuring the plate but introduces and increases other problems, such as the adjusting for the increased skew of the plate.
On some cars, tow bars may obscure one or two characters of the license plate. Bikes on bike racks can also obscure the number plate, though in some countries and jurisdictions, such as Victoria, Australia, "bike plates" are supposed to be fitted. Some small-scale systems allow for some errors in the license plate. When used for giving specific vehicles access to a barricaded area, the decision may be made to have an acceptable error rate of one character. This is because the likelihood of an unauthorized car having such a similar license plate is seen as quite small. However, this level of inaccuracy would not be acceptable in most applications of an ANPR system.
Imaging hardware
At the front end of any ANPR system is the imaging hardware which captures the image of the license plates. The initial image capture forms a critically important part of the ANPR system which, in accordance to the Garbage In, Garbage Out principle of computing, will often determine the overall performance.
License plate capture is typically performed by specialized cameras designed specifically for the task. Factors which pose difficulty for license plate imaging cameras include speed of the vehicles being recorded, varying ambient lighting conditions, headlight glare and harsh environmental conditions. Most dedicated license plate capture cameras will incorporate infrared illumination in order to solve the problems of lighting and plate reflectivity.
Many countries now use license plates that are retroreflective. This returns the light back to the source and thus improves the contrast of the image. In some countries, the characters on the plate are not reflective, giving a high level of contrast with the reflective background in any lighting conditions. A camera that makes use of active infrared imaging (with a normal colour filter over the lens and an infrared illuminator next to it) benefits greatly from this as the infrared waves are reflected back from the plate. This is only possible on dedicated ANPR cameras, however, and so cameras used for other purposes must rely more heavily on the software capabilities. Further, when a full-colour image is required as well as use of the ANPR-retrieved details it is necessary to have one infrared-enabled camera and one normal (colour) camera working together.
To avoid blurring it is ideal to have the shutter speed of a dedicated camera set to 1/1000 of a second. Because the car is moving, slower shutter speeds could result in an image which is too blurred to read using the OCR software, especially if the camera is much higher up than the vehicle. In slow-moving traffic, or when the camera is at a lower level and the vehicle is at an angle approaching the camera, the shutter speed does not need to be so fast. Shutter speeds of 1/500 of a second can cope with traffic moving up to 40 mph (64 km/h) and 1/250 of a second up to 5 mph (8 km/h). License plate capture cameras can now produce usable images from vehicles traveling at 120 mph (190 km/h).
To maximize the chances of effective license plate capture, installers should carefully consider the positioning of the camera relative to the target capture area. Exceeding threshold angles of incidence between camera lens and license plate will greatly reduce the probability of obtaining usable images due to distortion. Manufacturers have developed tools to help eliminate errors from the physical installation of license plate capture cameras
Circumvention techniques
Vehicle owners have used a variety of techniques in an attempt to evade ANPR systems and road-rule enforcement cameras in general. One method increases the reflective properties of the lettering and makes it more likely that the system will be unable to locate the plate or produce a high enough level of contrast to be able to read it. This is typically done by using a plate cover or a spray, though claims regarding the effectiveness of the latter are disputed. In most jurisdictions, the covers are illegal and covered under existing laws, while in most countries there is no law to disallow the use of the sprays. Other users have attempted to smear their license plate with dirt or utilize covers to mask the plate.
Novelty frames around Texas license plates were made illegal in Texas on 1 September 2003 by Texas Senate Bill 439 because they caused problems with ANPR devices. That law made it a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a fine of up to US $200), or Class B (punishable by a fine of up to US $2,000 and 180 days in jail) if it can be proven that the owner did it to deliberately obscure their plates. The law was later clarified in 2007 to allow Novelty frames.
If an ANPR system cannot read the plate it can flag the image for attention, with the human operators looking to see if they are able to identify the alphanumerics.
In order to avoid surveillance or penalty charges, there has been an upsurge in car cloning. This is usually achieved by copying registration plates from another car of a similar model and age. This can be difficult to detect, especially as cloners may change the registration plates and travel behavior to hinder investigations.
Other possible options include IR emitting LEDs around the license plate which would serve to "blind" cameras.
Police enforcement
Several State Police Forces, and the Department of Justice (Victoria) utilise both fixed and mobile ANPR systems. The New South Wales Police Force Highway Patrol were the first to trial and use a fixed ANPR camera system in Australia in 2005. In 2009 they began a roll-out of a mobile ANPR system (known officially as MANPR) with three infrared cameras fitted to its Highway Patrol fleet. The system identifies unregistered and stolen vehicles as well as disqulified or suspended drivers as well as other 'persons of interest' such as persons having outstanding warrants.
On 11 March 2008, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that some areas of the laws permitting the use of automated number plate recognition systems in Germany violated the right to privacy. More specifically, the court found that the retention of any sort of information (i.e. Number Plate data) which wasn't for any pre-destined use (e.g. for use tracking suspected terrorists or for enforcement of speeding laws) was in violation of German law. These systems were provided by Jenoptik Robot GmbH, and called TraffiCapture.
The project of system integration «OLLI Technology» and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Department of State Traffic Inspection (STI) experiments on the introduction of a modern technical complex which is capable to locate stolen cars, drivers deprived of driving licenses and other problem cars in real time. The Ukrainian complex "Video control" working by a principle of video fixing of the car with recognition of license plates with check under data base.
The city of Mechelen uses an ANPR system since September 2011 to scan all cars crossing the city limits (inbound and outbound). Cars listed on 'black lists' (no insurance, stolen, etc.) generate an alarm in the dispatching room, so they can be intercepted by a patrol. As of early 2012, 1 million cars per week are automatically checked in this way.
Several Hungarian auxiliary police units use a system called Matrix Police in cooperation with the police. It consists of a portable computer equipped with a webcam that scans the stolen car database using automatic number plate recognition. The system is installed on the dashboard of selected patrol vehicles (PDA based handheld versions also exist) and is mainly used to control the license plate of parking cars. As the Auxiliary Police doesn't have the authority to order moving vehicles to stop, If a stolen car is found, the formal police is informed.
Several cities have tested and some have put into service the "City Security Administration System" i.e. capital Ankara has debuted KGYS- "Kent Guvenlik Yonetim Sistemi" which consists of a registration plate number recognition system on the main arteries and city exits. The system has been used with two cameras per lane, one for plate recognition, one for speed detection. Now the system has been widened to network all the registration number cameras together, and enforcing average speed over preset distances. Some arteries have 70Kmh limit, and some 50 kmh, and photo evidence with date-time details are posted to registration address if speed violation is detected. As of 2012, the fine for exceeding the speed limit for more than 30% is approximately USD 175.
United Kingdom
The UK has an extensive (ANPR) automatic number plate recognition CCTV network. Effectively, the police and security services track all car movements around the country and are able to track any car in close to real time. Vehicle movements are stored for 2 years in the National ANPR Data Center to be analyzed for intelligence and to be used as evidence.
In 1997 a system of one hundred ANPR cameras, codenamed GLUTTON, was installed to feed into the automated British Military Intelligence Systems in Northern Ireland. Further cameras were also installed on the British mainland, including unspecified ports on the east and west coasts.
United States
In the United States, ANPR systems are more commonly referred to as ALPR (Automatic License Plate Reader/Recognition) technology, due to differences in language (i.e. "number plates" are referred to as "license plates" in American English)
Jurisdictions in the U.S. have stated a number of reasons for ALPR surveillance cameras, ranging from locating drivers with suspended licenses or no insurance, to finding stolen vehicles and "Amber Alerts". With funding from the insurance lobby, Oklahoma introduced ALPR with the promise of eliminating uninsured motorists, by integrating it with its existing PikePass hybrid RFID/OCR toll collection system, and unmarked police vehicles used for intelligence gathering. Oklahoma replaced all license tags with ALPR-compatible plates in 2009. In Arizona, insurance companies are helping to fund the purchase of ALPR systems for their local law enforcement agencies to aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles.
Other ALPR uses include parking enforcement, and revenue collection from individuals who are delinquent on city or state taxes or fines. The technology is often featured in the reality TV show Parking Wars featured on A&E Network. In the show, tow truck drivers and booting teams use the ALPR to find delinquent vehicles with high amounts of unpaid parking fines.
A recent initiative by New York State deployed ALPR systems to catch car thieves by tracing suspect plates back to forged documents. Police from Albany, New York also scan vehicles in their parking lots to check visitors for warrants.
In addition to the real-time processing of license plate numbers, ALPR systems in the US collect (and can indefinitely store) data from each license plate capture. Images, dates, times and GPS coordinates can be stockpiled and can help place a suspect at a scene, aid in witness identification, pattern recognition or the tracking of individuals. Such data can be used to create specialized databases that can be shared among departments or individuals (such as insurers, banks or auto recovery "repo-men".) Specialized databases can also be used to compile personal information on individuals such as journalists suspected gang members, employees of a business, patrons of a bar, etc., and be shared by E-mail or portable flash media.
From time to time, states will make significant changes in their license plate protocol that will affect OCR accuracy. They may add a character or add a new license plate design. ALPR systems must adapt to these changes quickly in order to be effective. For the most part, however, the North American design will be based on a variation of the "Zurich Extra Condensed" font.
Another challenge with ALPR systems is that some states have the same license plate protocol. For example more than one state uses the standard three letters followed by four numbers. So each time the ALPR systems alarms, it is the user’s responsibility to make sure that the plate which caused the alarm matches the state associated with the license plate listed on the in-car computer.
Average-speed cameras
This works by tracking vehicles' travel time between two fixed points, and calculating the average speed. These cameras are claimed to have an advantage over traditional speed cameras in maintaining steady legal speeds over extended distances, rather than encouraging heavy braking on approach to specific camera locations and subsequent acceleration back to illegal speeds.
The Netherlands
Average speed cameras (trajectcontrole) are in place in the Netherlands since 2002. As of July 2009, 12 such cameras are operating, mostly in the west of the country and along the A12. Some of these are divided in several “sections” to allow for cars leaving and entering the motorway.
A first experimental system was tested on a short stretch of the A2 in 1997 and was deemed a big success by the police, reducing overspeeding to 0.66%, compared to 5 to 6% when regular speed cameras were used at the same location. The first permanent average speed cameras were installed on the A13 in 2002, shortly after the speed limit was reduced to 80 km/h to limit noise and air pollution in the area. In 2007, average speed cameras resulted in 1.7 million fines for overspeeding out of a total of 9.7 millions. According to the Dutch Attorney General, the average number of violation of the speed limits on motorway sections equipped with average speed cameras is between 1 and 2%, compared to 10 to 15% elsewhere.
One of the most notable stretches of average speed cameras in the UK is found on the A77 road in Scotland, with 32 miles (51 km) being monitored between Glasgow and Ayr. In 2006 it was confirmed that speeding tickets could potentially be avoided from the 'SPECS' cameras by changing lanes and the RAC Foundation feared that people may play "Russian Roulette" changing from one lane to another to lessen their odds of being caught. However, in 2007 the system was upgraded for multi-lane use and in 2008 the manufacturer described the "myth" as “categorically untrue”. There exists evidence that implementation of systems such as SPECS has a considerable effect on the volume of drivers travelling at excessive speeds; on the stretch of road mentioned above (A77 Between Glasgow and Ayr) there has been noted a "huge drop" in speeding violations since the introduction of a SPECS system.
Traffic control
Many cities and districts have developed traffic control systems to help monitor the movement and flow of vehicles around the road network. This had typically involved looking at historical data, estimates, observations and statistics such as:
- Car park usage
- Pedestrian crossing usage
- Number of vehicles along a road
- Areas of low and high congestion
- Frequency, location and cause of road works
CCTV cameras can be used to help traffic control centres by giving them live data, allowing for traffic management decisions to be made in real-time. By using ANPR on this footage it is possible to monitor the travel of individual vehicles, automatically providing information about the speed and flow of various routes. These details can highlight problem areas as and when they occur and helps the centre to make informed incident management decisions.
Some counties of the United Kingdom have worked with Siemens Traffic to develop traffic monitoring systems for their own control centres and for the public. Projects such as Hampshire County Council's ROMANSE provide an interactive and real-time web site showing details about traffic in the city. The site shows information about car parks, ongoing road works, special events and footage taken from CCTV cameras. ANPR systems can be used to provide average driving times along particular routes, giving drivers the ability to choose which one to take. ROMANSE also allows travellers to see the current situation using a mobile device with an Internet connection (such as WAP, GPRS or 3G), thus allowing them to be alerted to any problems that are ahead.
The UK company Trafficmaster has used ANPR since 1998 to estimate average traffic speeds on non-motorway roads without the results being skewed by local fluctuations caused by traffic lights and similar. The company now operates a network of over 4000 ANPR cameras, but claims that only the four most central digits are identified, and no numberplate data is retained.
- IEEE transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems(IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society) published some papers on the plate number recognition technologies and applications.[relevant? ]
Electronic toll collection
Toll roads
Ontario's 407 ETR highway uses a combination of ANPR and radio transponders to toll vehicles entering and exiting the road. Radio antennas are located at each junction and detect the transponders, logging the unique identity of each vehicle in much the same way as the ANPR system does. Without ANPR as a second system it would not be possible to monitor all the traffic. Drivers who opt to rent a transponder for C$2.55 per month are not charged the "Video Toll Charge" of C$3.60 for using the road, with heavy vehicles (those with a gross weight of over 5,000 kg) being required to use one. Using either system, users of the highway are notified of the usage charges by post.
- The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California began using an all-electronic tolling system combining Fastrak and ANPR on March 27, 2013.
- NC Quick Pass for the Interstate 540 (North Carolina) Triangle Expressway in Wake County, North Carolina
- Bridge Pass for the Saint John Harbour Bridge in Saint John, New Brunswick
- Quickpass at the Golden Ears Bridge, crossing the Fraser River between Langley and Maple Ridge
- CityLink & Eastlink in Melbourne, Australia
- Gateway Motorway and Logan Motorway, Brisbane, Australia
- FasTrak in California, United States
- Highway 6 in Israel
- Tunnels in Hong Kong
- Autopista Central in Santiago, Chile (site in Spanish)
- E-ZPass in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts (as Fast Lane until 2012), Virginia (formerly Smart Tag), and other States. Maryland Route 200 uses a combination of E-ZPass and ANPR.
- TollTag in North Texas.
- I-Pass in Illinois
- Pike Pass in Oklahoma.
- OGS (Otomatik Geçiş Sistemi) used at Bosphorus Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, and Trans European Motorway entry points in İstanbul, Turkey.
- M50 Westlink Toll in Dublin, Ireland
- Hi-pass in South Korea
- Northern Gateway, SH 1, Auckland, New Zealand
- Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, Seattle, WA
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (December 2012)|
Portuguese roads have old highways with toll station where drivers can pay with cards and also lanes where there are electronic collection systems. However most new highways only have the option of Electronic Toll collection system. The Electronic Toll collection system comprises three different structures: ANPR which works with infrared cameras and reads license plates from every vehicle Lasers to measure the volumetry of the vehicle to confirm whether it is a regular car or if it is a Suv or truck as charges are very different RFID-like to read smart tags that cars can have installed. When the smart tag is installed, the car is quickly identified and owners bank account is automatically deducted. This process is realized at any speed up to over 250 km per hour. If the car does not have the smart tag, the driver is required to go to a pay station to pay the tolls between 3rd and 5th day after with a surplus charge. If he fails to do so, the owner is sent a letter home with a heavy fine. If this is not paid, it increases five-fold and after that, the car is inserted into a police database for vehicle impounding. This system is also used in some limited access areas of main cities to allow only entry from pre-registered residents. It is planned to be implemented both in more roads and in city entrance toll collection/access restriction. The efficacy of the system is considered to be so high that it is almost impossible for the driver to complain.
Charge zones – the London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is an example of a system that charges motorists entering a payment area. Transport for London (TfL) uses ANPR systems and charges motorists a daily fee of £10 paid before 10pm if they enter, leave or move around within the congestion charge zone between 7 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. A reduced fee of £9 is paid by vehicle owners who sign up for the automatic deduction scheme. Fines for traveling within the zone without paying the charge are £60 per infraction if paid before the deadline, doubling to £120 per infraction thereafter.
There are currently 1,500 cameras, which use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology. There are also a number of mobile camera units which may be deployed anywhere in the zone.
It is estimated that around 98% of vehicles moving within the zone are caught on camera. The video streams are transmitted to a data centre located in central London where the ANPR software deduces the registration plate of the vehicle. A second data centre provides a backup location for image data.
Both front and back number plates are being captured, on vehicles going both in and out – this gives up to four chances to capture the number plates of a vehicle entering and exiting the zone. This list is then compared with a list of cars whose owners/operators have paid to enter the zone – those that have not paid are fined. The registered owner of such a vehicle is looked up in a database provided by the DVLA.
In Stockholm, Sweden, ANPR is used for the Stockholm congestion tax, owners of cars driving into or out of the inner city must pay a charge, depending on the time of the day. From 2013, also for the Gothenburg congestion tax, which also includes vehicles passing the city on the main highways.
The introduction of ANPR systems has led to fears of misidentification and the furthering of 1984-style surveillance. In the United States, some such as Gregg Easterbrook oppose what they call "machines that issue speeding tickets and red-light tickets" as the beginning of a slippery slope towards an automated justice system:
- "A machine classifies a person as an offender, and you can't confront your accuser because there is no accuser... can it be wise to establish a principle that when a machine says you did something illegal, you are presumed guilty?"
Similar criticisms have been raised in other countries. Easterbrook also argues that this technology is employed to maximize revenue for the state, rather than to promote safety. The electronic surveillance system produces tickets which in the US are often in excess of $100, and are virtually impossible for a citizen to contest in court without the help of an attorney. The revenues generated by these machines are shared generously with the private corporation that builds and operates them, creating a strong incentive to tweak the system to generate as many tickets as possible.
Older systems had been notably unreliable; in the UK this has been known to lead to charges being made incorrectly with the vehicle owner having to pay £10 in order to be issued with proof (or not) of the offense. Improvements in technology have drastically decreased error rates, but false accusations are still frequent enough to be a problem.
Perhaps the best known incident involving the abuse of an ANPR database in North America is the case of Edmonton Sun reporter Kerry Diotte in 2004. Diotte wrote an article critical of Edmonton police use of traffic cameras for revenue enhancement, and in retaliation was added to an ANPR database of "high-risk drivers" in an attempt to monitor his habits and create an opportunity to arrest him. The police chief and several officers were fired as a result, and The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada expressed public concern over the "growing police use of technology to spy on motorists."
Other concerns include the storage of information that could be used to identify people and store details about their driving habits and daily life, contravening the Data Protection Act along with similar legislation (see personally identifiable information). The laws in the UK are strict for any system that uses CCTV footage and can identify individuals.
There is also a case in the UK for saying that use of ANPR cameras is against the law under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The breach exists, some say, in the fact that ANPR is used to monitor the activities of law-abiding citizens and treats everyone like the suspected criminals intended to be surveyed under the act. The police themselves have been known to refer to the system of ANPR as a "24/7 traffic movement database" which is a diversion from its intended purpose of identifying vehicles involved in criminal activities.
The Associated Press reported in August 2011 that New York Police Department cars and license plate tracking equipment purchased with federal HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) funds were used to spy on Muslims at mosques, and to track the license plate numbers of worshipers. Police in unmarked cars outfitted with electronic license plate readers would drive down the street and automatically catalog the plates of everyone parked near the mosque, amassing a covert database that would be distributed among officers and used to profile Muslims in public.
Other uses
ANPR systems may also be used for/by:
- Section control, to measure average vehicle speed over longer distances.
- Border crossings
- Automobile repossessions
- petrol stations to log when a motorist drives away without paying for their fuel.
- A marketing tool to log patterns of use
- Targeted advertising, a-la "Minority Report"-style billboards.
- Traffic management systems, which determine traffic flow using the time it takes vehicles to pass two ANPR sites
- Analyses of travel behaviour (route choice, origin-destination etc.) for transport planning purposes
- Drive Through Customer Recognition, to automatically recognize customers based on their license plate and offer them the items they ordered the last time they used the service, improving service to the customer.
- To assist visitor management systems in recognizing guest vehicles.
- Police and Auxiliary Police
- Car parking companies.
Related research society
Measuring ANPR system performance
A 2008 article in Parking Trend International discussed a disparity in claimed vs. experienced license plate recognition read rates, with manufacturers claiming that their recognition engines can correctly report 98% of the time, although customers experience only 90% to 94% success, even with new equipment under perfect conditions. Early systems were reportedly only 60% to 80% reliable. True system error rate is the product of its subsystem error rates (image capture, license plate image extraction, LP image interpretation); slight increases in subsystem error rates can produce dramatic reductions of read rates. The effects of real-world interfering factors on read rate are not uniformly specified or tested by manufacturers. The article states "there is a need for the industry to adopt a standard performance measurement protocol to enable potential customers assess the best fit for their particular requirements."
See also
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Automatic number plate recognition|
- AI effect
- Applications of artificial intelligence
- Facial recognition system
- Road Policing Unit
- SPECS (speed camera)
- Closed circuit television
- IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society
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- "UK Billboards Equipped with License Plate Spy Cameras". TheNewspaper.com. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-24. Unknown parameter
- "Extreme CCTV Announces Contract for Stockholm Traffic Cameras" (PDF). Extremecctv.com. 22 April 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
- Friedrich, Markus; Jehlicka, Prokop; Schlaich, Johannes (2008). "Automatic number plate recognition for the observance of travel behavior" (PDF). 8th International Conference on Survey Methods in Transport: Harmonisation and Data Comparability, May 2008, Annecy, France. Universität Stuttgart Institut für Straßen und Verkehrswesen. http://www.isv.uni-stuttgart.de/vuv/publication/downloads/200805_Fr_PJ_JS-ANPR.pdf. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- "Measuring ANPR System Performance" (PDF). Parking Trend International. June 2008. Retrieved 2012-01-24. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37879000 |
||This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (December 2011)|
A counterfactual conditional, subjunctive conditional, or remote conditional, abbreviated CF, is a conditional (or "if-then") statement indicating what would be the case if its antecedent were true (although it is not true). This is to be contrasted with an indicative conditional, which indicates what is (in fact) the case if its antecedent is (in fact) true (which it may or may not be).
The difference between indicative and counterfactual conditionals, in a context of past time reference, can be illustrated with a pair of examples in which the if clause is in the past indicative in the first example but in the pluperfect subjunctive in the second:
- If Oswald did not shoot Kennedy, then someone else did.
- If Oswald had not shot Kennedy, then someone else would have.
The protasis (the if clause) of the first sentence may or may not be true according to the speaker, so the apodosis (the then clause) also may or may not be true; the apodosis is said by the speaker to be true if the protasis is true. In this sentence the if clause and the then clause are both in the past tense of the indicative mood. In the second sentence, the speaker is speaking with a certainty that Oswald did shoot Kennedy (according to the speaker, the protasis is false), and therefore the main clause deals with the counterfactual result — what would have happened. In this sentence the if clause is in the pluperfect subjunctive form of the subjunctive mood, and the then clause is in the conditional perfect form of the conditional mood.
A corresponding pair of examples with present time reference uses the present indicative in the if clause of the first sentence but the past subjunctive in the second sentence's if clause:
- If it is raining, then he is inside.
- If it were raining, then he would be inside.
Here again, in the first sentence the if clause may or may not be true; the then clause may or may not be true but certainly (according to the speaker) is true conditional on the if clause being true. Here both the if clause and the then clause are in the present indicative. In the second sentence, the if clause is not true, while the then clause may or may not be true but certainly would be true in the counterfactual circumstance of the if clause being true. In this sentence the if clause is in the past subjunctive form of the subjunctive mood, and the then clause is in the conditional mood.
People engage in counterfactual thinking frequently. Experimental evidence indicates that people's thoughts about counterfactual conditionals differ in important ways from their thoughts about indicative conditionals.
Participants in experiments were asked to read sentences, including counterfactual conditionals, e.g., 'if Mark had left home early he would have caught the train'. Afterwards they were asked to identify which sentences they had been shown. They often mistakenly believed they had been shown sentences corresponding to the presupposed facts, e.g., 'Mark did not leave home early' and 'Mark did not catch the train' (Fillenbaum, 1974). In other experiments, participants were asked to read short stories that contained counterfactual conditionals, e.g., 'if there had been roses in the flower shop then there would have been lilies'. Later in the story they read sentences corresponding to the presupposed facts, e.g., 'there were no roses and there were no lilies'. The counterfactual conditional 'primed' them to read the sentence corresponding to the presupposed facts very rapidly; no such priming effect occurred for indicative conditionals (Santamaria, Espino, and Byrne, 2005). They spend different amounts of time 'updating' a story that contains a counterfactual conditional compared to one that contains factual information (De Vega, Urrutia, and Riffo, 2007) and they focus on different parts of counterfactual conditionals (Ferguson and Sanford, 2008).
Experiments have compared the inferences people make from counterfactual conditionals and indicative conditionals. Given a counterfactual conditional, e.g., 'If there had been a circle on the blackboard then there would have been a triangle', and the subsequent information 'in fact there was no triangle', participants make the modus tollens inference 'there was no circle' more often than they do from an indicative conditional (Byrne and Tasso, 1999). Given the counterfactual conditional and the subsequent information 'in fact there was a circle', participants make the modus ponens inference as often as they do from an indicative conditional.
Psychological accounts
Ruth M.J. Byrne proposed in The Rational Imagination: How People Create Alternatives to Reality that people construct mental representations that encompass two possibilities when they understand, and reason from, a counterfactual conditional, e.g., 'if Oswald had not shot Kennedy, then someone else would have'. They envisage the conjecture 'Oswald did not shoot Kennedy and someone else did' and they also think about the presupposed facts 'Oswald did shoot Kennedy and someone else did not' (Byrne, 2005). According to the mental model theory of reasoning, they construct mental models of the alternative possibilities, as described in Deduction (Johnson-Laird and Byrne, 1991).
Philosophical treatments
In order to distinguish counterfactual conditionals from material conditionals, a new logical connective '>' is defined, where A > B can be interpreted as "If it were the case that A, then it would be the case that B."
The truth value of a material conditional, A → B, is determined by the truth values of A and B. This is not so for the counterfactual conditional A > B, for there are different situations agreeing on the truth values of A and B but which yield different evaluations of A > B. For example, if Keith is in Germany, the following two conditionals have both a false antecedent and a false consequent:
- if Keith were in Mexico then he would be in Africa.
- if Keith were in Mexico then he would be in North America.
Indeed, if Keith is in Germany, then all three conditions "Keith is in Mexico", "Keith is in Africa", and "Keith is in North America" are false. However, (1) is obviously false, while (2) is true as Mexico is part of North America.
Possible world semantics
Philosophers such as David Lewis and Robert Stalnaker modeled counterfactuals using the possible world semantics of modal logic. The semantics of a conditional A > B are given by some function on the relative closeness of worlds where A is true and B is true, on the one hand, and worlds where A is true but B is not, on the other.
On Lewis's account, A > C is (a) vacuously true if and only if there are no worlds where A is true (for example, if A is logically or metaphysically impossible); (b) non-vacuously true if and only if, among the worlds where A is true, some worlds where C is true are closer to the actual world than any world where C is not true; or (c) false otherwise. Although in Lewis's Counterfactuals it was unclear what he meant by 'closeness', in later writings, Lewis made it clear that he did not intend the metric of 'closeness' to be simply our ordinary notion of overall similarity.
Consider an example:
- If I had eaten more at breakfast, I would not have been hungry at 11am.
On Lewis's account, the truth of this statement consists in the fact that, among possible worlds where I ate more for breakfast, there is at least one world where I am not hungry at 11am and which is closer to our world than any world where I ate more for breakfast but am still hungry at 11am.
Stalnaker's account differs from Lewis's most notably in his acceptance of the Limit and Uniqueness Assumptions. The Uniqueness Assumption is the thesis that, for any antecedent A, there is a unique possible world where A is true, while the Limit Assumption is the thesis that, for a given antecedent A, there is a unique set of worlds where A is true that are closest. (Notice that the Uniqueness Assumption entails the Limit Assumption, but the Limit Assumption does not entail the Uniqueness Assumption.) On Stalnaker's account, A > C is non-vacuously true if and only if, at the closest world where A is true, C is true. So, the above example is true just in case at the single, closest world where I eat more breakfast, I don't feel hungry at 11am. Although it is controversial, Lewis rejected the Limit Assumption (and therefore the Uniqueness Assumption) because it rules out the possibility that there might be worlds that get closer and closer to the actual world without limit. For example, there might be an infinite series of worlds, each with my coffee cup a smaller fraction of an inch to the left of its actual position, but none of which is uniquely the closest. (See Lewis 1973: 20.)
One consequence of Stalnaker's acceptance of the Uniqueness Assumption is that, if the law of excluded middle is true, then all instances of the formula (A > C) ∨ (A > ¬C) are true. The law of excluded middle is the thesis that for all propositions p, p ∨ ¬p is true. If the Uniqueness Assumption is true, then for every antecedent A, there is a uniquely closest world where A is true. If the law of excluded middle is true, any consequent C is either true or false at that world where A is true. So for every counterfactual A > C, either A > C or A > ¬C is true. This is called conditional excluded middle (CEM). Consider the following example:
- (1) If the coin had been flipped, it would have landed heads.
- (2) If the coin had been flipped, it would have landed tails (i.e. not heads).
On Stalnaker's analysis, there is a closest world where the coin mentioned in (1) and (2) is flipped and at that world either it lands heads or it lands tails. So either (1) is true and (2) is false or (1) is false and (2) true. On Lewis's analysis, however, both (1) and (2) are false, for the worlds where the coin lands heads are no more or less close than the worlds where they land tails. For Lewis, 'If the coin had been flipped, it would have landed heads or tails' is true, but this does not entail that 'If the coin had been flipped, it would have landed heads, or: If the coin had been flipped it would have landed tails.'
Other accounts
Counterfactual conditionals may also be evaluated using the so-called Ramsey test: A > B holds if and only if the addition of A to the current body of knowledge has B as a consequence. This condition relates counterfactual conditionals to belief revision, as the evaluation of A > B can be done by first revising the current knowledge with A and then checking whether B is true in what results. Revising is easy when A is consistent with the current beliefs, but can be hard otherwise. Every semantics for belief revision can be used for evaluating conditional statements. Conversely, every method for evaluating conditionals can be seen as a way for performing revision.
Ginsberg (1986) has proposed a semantics for conditionals which assumes that the current beliefs form a set of propositional formulae, considering the maximal sets of these formulae that are consistent with A, and adding A to each. The rationale is that each of these maximal sets represents a possible state of belief in which A is true that is as similar as possible to the original one. The conditional statement A > B therefore holds if and only if B is true in all such sets.
Within empirical testing
The counterfactual conditional is the basis of experimental methods for establishing causality in the natural and social sciences, e.g., whether taking antibiotics helps cure bacterial infection. For every individual, u, there is a function that specifies the state of u's infection under two hypothetical conditions: had u taken antibiotic and had u not taken antibiotic. Only one of these states can be observed in any instance, since they are mutually exclusive. The overall effect of antibiotic on infection is defined as the difference between these two states, averaged over the entire population. If the treatment and control groups are selected at random, the effect of antibiotic can be estimated by comparing the rates of recovery in the two groups.
The tight connection between causal and counterfactual relations has prompted Judea Pearl (2000) to reject both the possible world semantics and those of Ramsey and Ginsberg. The latter was rejected because causal information cannot be encoded as a set of beliefs, and the former because it is difficult to fine-tune Lewis's similarity measure to match causal intuition. Pearl defines counterfactuals directly in terms of a "structural equation model" -- a set of equations, in which each variable is assigned a value that is an explicit function of other variables in the system. Given such a model, the sentence "Y would be y had X been x" (formally, X = x > Y = y ) is defined as the assertion: If we replace the equation currently determining X with a constant X = x, and solve the set of equations for variable Y, the solution obtained will be Y = y. This definition has been shown to be compatible with the axioms of possible world semantics and forms the basis for causal inference in the natural and social sciences, since each structural equation in those domains corresponds to a familiar causal mechanism that can be meaningfully reasoned about by investigators.
See also
- English conditional sentences
- Indicative conditional
- Irrealis moods
- Logical consequence
- Material conditional
- Optative mood
- Principle of explosion
- Subjunctive mood
- Thought experiment
- Possible world semantics
- Bennett, Jonathan. (2003). A Philosophical Guide to Conditionals. Oxford University Press.
- Bonevac, D. (2003). Deduction, Introductory Symbolic Logic. 2nd ed. Blackwell Publishers.
- Byrne, R.M.J. (2005). The rational imagination: how people create alternatives to reality. Cambridge, M.A.: MIT Press.
- Byrne, R.M.J. & Tasso, A. (1999). Deductive reasoning with factual, possible, and counterfactual conditionals. Memory & Cognition. 27, 726-740.
- De Vega, M., Urrutia, M., Riffo, B. (2007). Canceling updating in the comprehension of counterfactuals embedded in narrative. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1410-1421.
- Edgington, Dorothy. (2001). "Conditionals". In Goble, Lou, ed., The Blackwell Guide to Philosophical Logic. Blackwell.
- Edgington, Dorothy. (2006). "Conditionals". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward Zalta (ed.).
- Ferguson, H.J. and Sanford, A.J. (2008) Anomalies in real and counterfactual worlds: an eye-movement investigation. J. Mem. Lang. 58, 609-626.
- Fillenbaum, S. (1974). Information amplified: memory for counterfactual conditionals. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 102, 44-49.
- Johnson-Laird, P.N. and Byrne, R.M.J. (1991). Deduction. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Morgan, Stephen L. and Christopher Winship. (2007). " Counterfactuals and Causal Inference: Methods and Principles of Social Research". Cambridge Eprint.
- Ginsberg, M. L. (1986). "Counterfactuals". Artificial Intelligence, 30: 35-79.
- Lewis, David. (1973). Counterfactuals. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-22425-4
- Santamaria, C., Espino, O. and Byrne, R.M.J. (2005). Counterfactual and semifactual conditionals prime alternative possibilities. Journal of Experimental Psychology:Learning, Memory and Cognition. 31, 1149–1154
- Thompson, V. and Byrne, R.M.J. (2002). Reasoning about things that didn't happen. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 28, 1154-1170. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37881000 |
History and location
The church at Dode was built during the reign of William II of England at some point between 1087 and 1100. It was built on a man-made mound. The nearby hill is known as "Holly Hill" which is a corruption of "Holy Hill", and the lane which leads to the village is "Wrangling Lane", showing that the mound could be the site of a meeting place. The church stands at the end of a 10-mile long easterly running ley line connecting three pre-reformation churches, two Roman sites, a Bronze Age burial ground, and two of the Medway megaliths - the Coffin Stone and Kit's Coty House.
The village of Dode was virtually wiped out by the Black Death during the 14th century, and its church last used as a place of worship in 1367, then deconsecrated on the orders of Thomas Trilleck, the Bishop of Rochester. It was originally twinned with another Early Norman church in Paddlesworth (now in Snodland).
According to local legend, the last survivor of the Black Death at Dode was a seven-year-old girl known as the Dodechild. It is said she took refuge in the church after all the other villagers were dead, and died within its walls. The Dodechild is supposed to haunt the churchyard, having first appeared on a Sunday morning each month for several years, and then every seven years.
Rebuilding of the church
Following the Black Death, the village was abandoned, and the church stood empty for centuries. In 1901 it was purchased by an antiquarian, George M Arnold, Mayor of Gravesend. He restored the walls and roof of the church and in 1954 the Arnold family returned the building to the Catholic Church. It was rededicated as the Church of Our Lady of the Meadows and mass was celebrated there at least once a year.
Eventually the building deteriorated again and was vandalised. In 1990 Doug Chapman, a chartered surveyor who had worked at Canterbury Cathedral, purchased the church and began restoring the building, originally with the intention of turning it into a weekend home. Since 1999 it has been licensed as a civil wedding venue.
The wedding venue hit the British press in December 2009 because of the snowfall which occurred across the country. A bride-to-be called BBC Radio Kent for assistance when she realised that the transport arranged for her wedding would not be able to travel down the narrow lane to Dode. A number of volunteers stepped forward, providing enough four-wheel drive cars to transport the wedding party and their guests both to the venue at Dode, and then afterwards to the Leather Bottle pub in Cobham.
See also
- Glancey, Jonathan (1996-04-16). "One man's revival of ancient English rites". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- Chapman, Doug. "A Brief History of Dode". Dodevillage.com. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- "The Lost Village of Dowde". Haunted Kent. Retrieved 2009-12-18.[dead link]
- "A brief explanatory note on the churches and parishes of Paddlesworth and Dode". Medway.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
- "TQ6663: Dowde (or Dode) Church". Geograph.co.uk. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- "George Matthews Arnold". Discover Gravesham. Gravesham Borough Council. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
- "A History of English Martyrs Strood". Church Handbook 1975–6. English Martyrs Roman Catholic Church. 1975. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
- Pattison, Jo (2009-12-14). "Discover the lost village of Dode". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- "Snow almost stops bride getting to the church on time... until some kindly villagers step in". Daily Mail. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-19. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37882000 |
Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott
|This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008)|
Lieutenant-Colonel Lord William Walter Montagu Douglas Scott MC (17 January 1896 – 30 January 1958) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician.
The 2nd son of John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch, he was educated at Eton College and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the 10th Hussars. Promoted Lieutenant in 1915, he won the Military Cross in 1918 and was shortly afterwards promoted Captain. From 1925 to 1926 he was ADC to the Governor-General of Canada. He retired in 1927. He rejoined the Army in the Second World War, serving in Italy and reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
In 1937 he married Lady Rachel Douglas Home (10 April 1910 – 4 Apr 1996), younger daughter of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home. The couple had one son and four daughters, and lived at Eildon Hall, St Boswells, Roxburghshire.
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott
|Parliament of the United Kingdom|
Earl of Dalkeith
|Member of Parliament for Roxburgh and Selkirk
Archibald James Florence Macdonald
|This article about a Conservative Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom born in the 1890s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37884000 |
Manuel I Komnenos
|Manuel I Komnenos|
|Emperor of the Byzantine Empire|
Manuscript miniature of Manuel I (part of double portrait with Maria of Antioch, Vatican Library, Rome)
|Reign||5 April 1143 – 24 September 1180|
|Born||28 November 1118|
|Died||24 September 1180(aged 61)|
|Predecessor||John II Komnenos|
|Successor||Alexios II Komnenos|
|Consort to||Bertha of Sulzbach
Maria of Antioch
|Father||John II Komnenos|
|Mother||Irene of Hungary|
Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos) (28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180) was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean.
Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with the Pope and the resurgent west, invaded the Kingdom of Sicily, successfully handled the passage of the dangerous Second Crusade through his empire, and established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer. Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east. However, towards the end of his reign Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position. Although the Byzantines recovered and Manuel concluded an advantageous peace with Sultan Kilij Arslan II, Myriokephalon proved to be the final, unsuccessful effort by the empire to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Turks.
Called ho Megas (ὁ Μέγας, translated as "the Great") by the Greeks, Manuel is known to have inspired intense loyalty in those who served him. He also appears as the hero of a history written by his secretary, John Kinnamos, in which every virtue is attributed to him. Manuel, who was influenced by his contact with western Crusaders, enjoyed the reputation of "the most blessed emperor of Constantinople" in parts of the Latin world as well. Modern historians, however, have been less enthusiastic about him. Some of them assert that the great power he wielded was not his own personal achievement, but that of the dynasty he represented; they also argue that, since Byzantine imperial power declined catastrophically after Manuel's death, it is only natural to look for the causes of this decline in his reign.
Accession to the throne
Manuel Komnenos was the fourth son of John II Komnenos and Piroska of Hungary, so it seemed very unlikely that he would succeed his father. His maternal grandfather was St. Ladislaus. Having distinguished himself in his father's war against the Seljuk Turks, in 1143 Manuel was chosen as his successor by John, in preference to his elder surviving brother Isaac. After John died on 8 April 1143, his son, Manuel, was acclaimed emperor by the armies. Yet his succession was by no means assured: At his father's deathbed in the wilds of Cilicia far from Constantinople, he recognised that it was vital he should return to the capital as soon as possible. He still had to take care of his father's funeral, and tradition demanded he organise the foundation of a monastery on the spot where his father died. Swiftly, he dispatched the megas domestikos John Axouch ahead of him, with orders to arrest his most dangerous potential rival, his brother Isaac, who was living in the Great Palace with instant access to the imperial treasure and regalia. Axouch arrived in the capital even before news of the emperor's death had reached it. He quickly secured the loyalty of the city, and when Manuel entered the capital in August 1143, he was crowned by the new Patriarch, Michael Kourkouas. A few days later, with nothing more to fear as his position as emperor was now secure, Manuel ordered the release of Isaac. Then he ordered 2 golden pieces to be given to every householder in Constantinople and 200 pounds of gold (including 200 silver pieces annually) to be given to the Byzantine Church.
The empire that Manuel inherited from his father had undergone great changes since its foundation by Constantine, eight centuries before. In the time of his predecessor Justinian I (527–565), parts of the former Western Roman Empire had been recovered including Italy, Africa and part of Spain. However, the empire had diminished greatly following this, the most obvious change had occurred in the 7th century: the soldiers of Islam had taken Egypt, Palestine and much of Syria away from the empire irrevocably. They had then swept on westwards into what in the time of Constantine had been the western provinces of the Roman Empire, in North Africa and Spain. In the centuries since, the emperors had ruled over a realm that largely consisted of Asia Minor in the east, and the Balkans in the west. In the late 11th century the Byzantine Empire entered a period of marked military and political decline, which had been arrested and largely reversed by the leadership of Manuel's grandfather and father. Yet the empire that Manuel inherited was a polity facing formidable challenges. At the end of the 11th century, the Normans of Sicily had removed Italy from the control of the Byzantine Emperor. The Seljuk Turks had done the same with central Anatolia. And in the Levant, a new force had appeared – the Crusader states – who presented the Byzantine Empire with new challenges. Now, more than at any time during the preceding centuries, the task facing the emperor was daunting indeed.
Second Crusade and Raynald of Châtillon
Prince of Antioch
The first test of Manuel's reign came in 1144, when he was faced with a demand by Raymond, Prince of Antioch for the cession of Cilician territories. However, later that year the crusader County of Edessa was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent Islamic jihad under Imad ad-Din Atabeg Zengi. Raymond realized that immediate help from the west was out of the question. With his eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but for him to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Swallowing his pride, he made the journey north to ask for the protection of the Emperor. After submitting to Manuel, he was promised the support that he had requested, and his allegiance to Byzantium was secured.
Expedition against Konya
In 1146 Manuel assembled his army at the military base Lopadion and set out on a punitive expedition against Masud the Sultan of Rûm, who had been repeatedly violating the frontiers of the Empire in western Anatolia and Cilicia. There was no attempt at a systematic conquest of territory, but Manuel's army defeated the Turks at Acroënus, before capturing and destroying the fortified town of Philomelion, removing its remaining Christian population. The Byzantine forces reached Masud's capital, Konya, and ravaged the area around the city, but could not assault its walls. Amongst Manuel's motives for mounting this razzia there included a wish to be seen in the West as actively espousing the crusading ideal; Kinnamos also attributed to Manuel a desire to show off his martial prowess to his new bride. Whilst on this campaign Manuel received a letter from Louis VII of France announcing his intention of leading an army to the relief of the crusader states.
Arrival of the Crusaders
Manuel was prevented from following up his early successes in the east, for events to the west meant that his presence was urgently required in the Balkans. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France. At this time, there were still members of the Byzantine court who remembered the passage of the First Crusade, which was a defining event in the collective memory of the age and one which had fascinated Manuel's aunt, Anna Komnene.
Many Byzantines feared the Crusade, a view endorsed by the numerous acts of vandalism and theft practiced by the unruly armies as they marched through Byzantine territory. Byzantine troops followed the Crusaders, attempting to police their behaviour, and further troops were assembled in Constantinople, ready to defend the capital against any acts of aggression. This cautious approach was well advised, but still the numerous incidents of covert and open hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which it seems both sides were to blame, nearly precipitated a conflict between Manuel and his guests. Manuel took the precaution – which his grandfather had not taken – of making repairs to the city walls, and pressed the two kings for guarantees concerning the security of his territories. Conrad's army was the first to enter the Byzantine territory in the summer of 1147, and it figures more prominently in the Byzantine sources, which imply that it was the most troublesome of the two.a[›]
After 1147, however, the relations between the two leaders became friendlier. By 1148 Manuel had seen the wisdom of securing an alliance with Conrad, whose sister-in-law Bertha of Sulzbach he had earlier married; he actually persuaded the German king to renew their alliance against Roger II of Sicily. Unfortunately for the Byzantine emperor, Conrad died in 1152, and despite repeated attempts, Manuel could not reach an agreement with his successor, Frederick I Barbarossa.b[›]
Cyprus invaded
Yet Manuel's attention was to be drawn to Antioch again in 1156, when Raynald of Châtillon, the new Prince of Antioch, claimed that the Byzantine emperor had reneged on his promise to pay him a sum of money, and vowed to attack the Byzantine province of Cyprus. He arrested the governor of the island and nephew of the emperor, John Komnenos, and the general Michael Branas. The Latin historian William of Tyre deplored this act of war against fellow Christians, and described the atrocities committed by Raynald's men in considerable detail. Having ransacked the island and plundered all its wealth, Raynald's army mutilated the survivors before forcing them to buy back their flocks at exorbitant prices with what little they had left. Thus enriched with enough booty to make Antioch wealthy for years, the invaders boarded their ships and set sail for home. Raynald also sent some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople as a vivid demonstration of his disobedience and his contempt for the Byzantine emperor.
Manuel responded to this outrage in a characteristically energetic way. In the winter of 1158–59, he marched to Cilicia at the head of a huge army; the speed of his advance (Manuel had hurried on ahead of the main army with 500 cavalry) was such that he managed to surprise the Armenian Thoros of Cilicia, who had participated in the attack on Cyprus. All the towns and cities of Cilicia fell to Manuel immediately, and Thoros himself was forced to flee into the mountains at the last moment: he is said to have survived by sheltering alone under rocks on a hillside, where an old shepherd would bring him food to keep him alive.
Manuel in Antioch
Meanwhile, news of the advance of the Byzantine army soon reached Antioch. Realising that he had no hope of defeating Manuel, Raynald also knew that he could not expect any help from king Baldwin III of Jerusalem. Baldwin did not approve of Raynald's attack on Cyprus, and in any case had already made an agreement with Manuel. Thus isolated and abandoned by his allies, Raynald decided that abject submission was his only hope. He appeared before the Emperor, dressed in a sack and with a rope tied around his neck, and begged for forgiveness. Manuel at first ignored the prostrate Raynald, chatting with his courtiers; William of Tyre commented that this ignominious scene continued for so long that all present were "disgusted" by it. Eventually, Manuel forgave Raynald on condition that he became a vassal of the Empire, effectively surrendering the independence of Antioch to Byzantium.
Peace having been restored, a grand ceremonial procession was staged on 12 April 1159 for the triumphant entry of the Byzantine army into the city, with Manuel riding through the streets on horseback while the Prince of Antioch and the King of Jerusalem followed on foot. Manuel dispensed justice to the citizens, and presided over games and tournaments for the crowd. In May at the head of a united Christian army he started on the road to Edessa, but he abandoned the campaign, when he secured the release by Nur ad-Din, the ruler of Syria, of 6,000 Christian prisoners captured in various battles since the second Crusade. Despite the glorious end of the expedition, it is argued by modern scholars that Manuel finally achieved much less than he hoped in terms of imperial restoration.c[›]
Satisfied with his efforts thus far, Manuel headed back to Constantinople. On their way back, his troops were surprised in line of march by the Turks. Despite this, they won a complete victory, routing the enemy army from the field and inflicting heavy losses. In the following year he drove the Turks out of Isauria.
Italian campaign
Roger II of Sicily
In 1147 Manuel was faced with war by Roger II of Sicily, whose fleet had captured the Byzantine island of Corfu and plundered Thebes and Corinth. However, despite being distracted by a Cuman attack in the Balkans, in 1148 Manuel enlisted the alliance of Conrad III of Germany, and the help of the Venetians, who quickly defeated Roger with their powerful fleet. In 1149, Manuel recovered Corfu and prepared to take the offensive against the Normans, while Roger II sent George of Antioch with a fleet of 40 ships to pillage Constantinople's suburbs. Manuel had already agreed with Conrad on a joint invasion and partition of southern Italy and Sicily. The renewal of the German alliance remained the principal orientation of Manuel's foreign policy for the rest of his reign, despite the gradual divergence of interests between the two empires after Conrad's death.
The death of Roger in February 1154, who was succeeded by William I, combined with the widespread rebellions against the rule of the new King in Sicily and Apulia, the presence of Apulian refugees at the Byzantian court, and Frederick Barbarossa's (Conrad's successor) failure to deal with the Normans encouraged Manuel to take advantage of the multiple instabilities that existed in the Italian peninsula. He sent Michael Palaiologos and John Doukas, both of whom held the high imperial rank of sebastos, with Byzantine troops, 10 Byzantine ships, and large quantities of gold to invade Apulia (1155). The two generals were instructed to enlist the support of Frederick Barbarossa, since he was hostile to the Normans of Sicily and was south of the Alps at the time, but he declined because his demoralised army longed to get back north of the Alps as soon as possible.b[›] Nevertheless, with the help of disaffected local barons including Count Robert of Loritello, Manuel's expedition achieved astonishingly rapid progress as the whole of southern Italy rose up in rebellion against the Sicilian Crown, and the untried William I. There followed a string of spectacular successes as numerous strongholds yielded either to force or the lure of gold.
Papal-Byzantine alliance
The city of Bari, which had been the capital of the Byzantine Catapanate of Southern Italy for centuries before the arrival of the Normans, opened its gates to the Emperor's army, and the overjoyed citizens tore down the Norman citadel. After the fall of Bari, the cities of Trani, Giovinazzo, Andria, Taranto, and Brindisi were also captured, and William who arrived with his army (which included 2,000 knights) was heavily defeated.
Encouraged by the success, Manuel dreamed of restoration of the Roman Empire at cost of union between Orthodox and Catholic Church, a prospect which would frequently be offered to the Pope during negotiations and plans for alliance. If there was ever a chance of reuniting the eastern and western churches, and coming to reconciliation with the Pope permanently, this was probably the most favourable moment. The Papacy was never on good terms with the Normans, except when under duress by the threat of direct military action. Having the "civilised" Eastern Roman Empire on its southern border was infinitely preferable to the Papacy than having to constantly deal with the troublesome Normans of Sicily. It was in Pope Hadrian IV's interests to reach a deal if at all possible, since doing so would greatly increase his own influence over the entire Orthodox Christian population. Manuel offered a large sum of money to the Pope for the provision of troops, with the request that the Pope grant the Byzantine emperor lordship of three maritime cities in return for assistance in expelling William from Sicily. Manuel also promised to pay 5,000 pounds of gold to the Pope and the Curia. Negotiations were hurriedly carried out, and an alliance was formed between Manuel and Hadrian.
|"Alexios Komnenos and Doukas ... had become captive to the Sicilians' lord [and] again ruined matters. For as they had already pledged to the Sicilians many things not then desired by the emperor, they robbed the Romans of very great and noble achievements. [They] ... very likely deprived the Roman of the cities too soon."|
It was at this point, just as the war seemed decided in Manuel's favour, that things started to go wrong for him. The Byzantine commander Michael Palaiologos had alienated Byzantium's allies by his attitude, and this had stalled the campaign as Count Robert III of Loritello refused to speak to him. Although the two were reconciled, the campaign had lost some of its momentum: Michael was soon recalled to Constantinople, and his loss was a major blow to the campaign. The turning point was the Battle for Brindisi, where the Sicilians launched a major counterattack by both land and sea. At the approach of the enemy, the mercenaries that had been hired with Manuel's gold demanded huge rises in their pay. When this was refused, they deserted. Even the local barons started to melt away, and soon John Doukas was left hopelessly outnumbered. The arrival of Alexios Komnenos Bryennios with some ships did not retrieve the Byzantine situation in any respect.d[›] The naval battle was decided in the Sicilians' favour, while John Doukas and Alexios Bryennios (along with 4 Byzantine ships) were captured. Manuel then sent Alexios Axouch to Ancona to raise another army, but, by this time, William had already retaken all of the Byzantine conquests in Apulia. The defeat at Brindisi put an end to the restored Byzantine reign in Italy; in 1158 the Byzantine army left Italy, and never saw it again. Both Nicetas Choniates and Kinnamos, the major Byzantine historians of this period, agree, however, that the peace terms Axouch secured from William allowed Manuel to extricate himself from the war with dignity, despite a devastating raid by a Sicilian fleet of 164 ships (carrying 10,000 men) on Euboea and Almira in 1156.
Failure of the Church union
During the Italian campaign, and, afterwards, during the struggle of the Papal Curia with Frederick, Manuel tried to seduce the Popes by hints of a possible union between the Eastern and Western Churches. Although in 1155 Pope Hadrian had expressed his eagerness to prompt the reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches,e[›] hopes for a lasting Papal-Byzantine alliance came up against insuperable problems. Pope Adrian IV and his successors demanded recognition of their religious authority over all Christians everywhere, and wished themselves to reach superiority over the Byzantine Emperor; they were not at all willing to fall into a state of dependence from one emperor to the other. Manuel, on the other side, wanted an official recognition of his secular authority on both East and West. Such conditions would not be accepted by either side. Even if a pro-western Emperor such as Manuel agreed to it, the Greek citizens of the Empire would have rejected outright any union of this sort, as they did almost three hundred years later when the Orthodox and Catholic churches were briefly united under the Pope. In spite of his friendliness towards the Roman Church and his cordial relations with all the Popes, Manuel was never honoured with the title of Augustus by the Popes. And although he sent twice (in 1167 and 1169) an embassy to Pope Alexander III offering to reunite the Greek and Latin churches, the latter refused, under pretext of the troubles that would follow that union. Ultimately, a deal proved elusive, and the two churches have remained divided.
The final results of the Italian campaign were limited in terms of the advantages gained by the Empire. The city of Ancona became a Byzantine base in Italy, accepting the Emperor as sovereign. The Normans of Sicily had been damaged, and now came to terms with the Empire, ensuring peace for the rest of Manuel's reign. The Empire's ability to get involved in Italian affairs had been demonstrated. However, given the enormous quantities of gold which had been lavished on the project, it also demonstrated the limits of what money and diplomacy alone could achieve. The expense of Manuel's involvement in Italy must have cost the treasury a great deal (probably more than 2,160,000 hyperpyra or 30,000 pounds of gold), and yet it produced only limited solid gains.
Byzantine policy in Italy after 1158
After 1158 and under the new conditions, the aims of the Byzantine policy changed. Now Manuel decided to oppose the tendency of the Hohenstaufen dynasty to annex Italy, which Frederick believed should acknowledge his power. When the war between Frederick and the north Italian cities started, Manuel actively supported the Lombard League with money subsidies. The walls of Milan, demolished by the Germans, were restored by the aid of the Byzantine Emperor. Frederick's defeat at the Battle of Legnano, on 29 May 1176 seemed rather to improve Manuel's position in Italy. According to Kinnamos, Cremona, Pavia, and a number of other "Ligurian" cities went over to Manuel; his relations were also particularly favourable in regard to Genoa, Pisa, but not in regard to Venice. In March 1171 Manuel had suddenly broken with Venice, ordering all 20,000 Venetians on imperial territory to be arrested and their property confiscated. Venice, incensed, sent a fleet of 120 ships against Byzantium, which, owing to an epidemic and being pursued by 150 Byzantine ships, was forced to return without great success. In all probability, friendly relations between Byzantium and Venice were not restored in Manuel's lifetime.
Balkan frontier
On his northern frontier Manuel expended considerable effort to preserve the conquests made by Basil II over one hundred years earlier and maintained, sometimes tenuously, ever since. Due to distraction from his neighbours on the Balkan frontier, Manuel was kept from his main objective, the subjugation of the Normans of Sicily. Relations had been good with the Serbs and Hungarians since 1129, so the Serb rebellion came as a shock. The Serbs of Rascia, being so induced by Roger II of Sicily, invaded Byzantine territory in 1149.
Manuel forced the rebellious Serbs, and their leader, Uroš II, to vassalage (1150–1152). He then made repeated attacks upon the Hungarians with a view to annexing their territory along the Sava. In the wars of 1151–1153 and 1163–1168 Manuel led his troops into Hungary and a spectacular raid deep into enemy territory yielded substantial war booty. In 1167, Manuel sent 15,000 men under the command of Andronikos Kontostephanos against the Hungarians. Kontostephanos scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Sirmium which enabled the Byzantine Empire to conclude a very advantageous peace with the Hungarian Kingdom by which Syrmia, Bosnia, and Dalmatia were ceded. By 1168 nearly the whole of the eastern Adriatic coast lay in Manuel's hands.
Efforts were also made towards a diplomatic annexation of Hungary. The Hungarian heir Béla, younger brother of the Hungarian king Stephen III, was sent to Constantinople to be educated in the court of Manuel, who intended the youth to marry his daughter, Maria, and to make him his heir, thus securing the union of Hungary with the Empire. In the court Béla assumed the name Alexius and received the title of Despot which had previously been applied only to the Emperor himself. However, two unforeseen dynastic events drastically altered the situation. In 1169, Manuel's young wife gave birth to a son, thus depriving Béla of his status as heir of the Byzantine throne (although Manuel would not renounce the Croatian lands he had taken from Hungary). Then, in 1172, Stephen died childless, and Béla went home to take his throne. Before leaving Constantinople, he swore a solemn oath to Manuel that he would always "keep in mind the interests of the emperor and of the Romans". Béla III kept his word: as long as Manuel lived, he made no attempt to retrieve his Croatian inheritance, which he only afterwards reincorporated into Hungary.
Relations with Russia
Manuel Komnenos attempted to draw the Russian principalities into his net of diplomacy directed against Hungary, and to a lesser extent Norman Sicily. This polarised the Russian princes into pro- and anti-Byzantine camps. In the late 1140s three princes were competing for primacy in Russia: prince Iziaslav II of Kiev was related to Géza II of Hungary and was hostile to Byzantium; Prince Yuri Dolgoruki of Suzdal was Manuel's ally (symmachos), and Vladimirko of Galicia is described as Manuel's vassal (hypospondos). Galicia was situated on the northern and northeastern borders of Hungary and, therefore, was of great strategic importance in the Byzantine-Hungarian conflicts. Following the deaths of both Iziaslav and Vladimirko, the situation became reversed, when Yuri of Suzdal, Manuel's ally, took over Kiev and Yaroslav, the new ruler of Galicia, adopted a pro-Hungarian stance.
In 1164-5 Manuel's cousin Andronikos, the future emperor, escaped from captivity in Byzantium, and fled to the court of Yaroslav in Galicia. This situation, holding out the alarming prospect of Andronikos making a bid for Manuel's throne sponsored by both Galicia and Hungary, spurred the Byzantines into an unprecedented flurry of diplomacy. Manuel pardoned Andronikos and persuaded him to return to Constantinople (1165). A mission to Kiev, then ruled by Prince Rostislav, resulted in a favourable treaty and a pledge to supply the Empire with auxiliary troops; Yaroslav of Galicia was also persuaded to renounce his Hungarian connections and return fully into the imperial fold. As late as the year 1200 the princes of Galicia were providing invaluable services against the Empire's, at this time Cuman, enemies.
The restoration of relations with Galicia had an immediate benefit for Manuel when, in 1166, he dispatched two armies to attack the eastern provinces of Hungary in a vast pincer movement. One army crossed the Walachian Plain and entered Hungary through the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians), whilst the other army made a wide circuit to Galicia and, with Galician aid, crossed the Carpathian Mountains. Since the Hungarians had most of their forces concentrated on the Sirmium and Belgrade frontier they were caught off guard by the Byzantine invasion and the Hungarian province of Transylvania was thoroughly ravaged by the Byzantine armies.
Invasion of Egypt
Alliance with the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Control of Egypt was a decades-old dream of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and king Amalric I of Jerusalem needed all the military and financial support he could get for his policy of military intervention in Egypt. Amalric also realised that if he were to pursue his ambitions in Egypt, he might have to leave Antioch to the hegemony of Manuel who had paid 100,000 dinars for the release of Bohemond III. In 1165, he sent envoys to the Byzantine court to negotiate a marriage alliance (Manuel had already married Amalric's cousin Maria of Antioch in 1161). After a long interval of two years, Amalric married Manuel's grandniece Maria Komnene in 1167, and "swore all that his brother Baldwin had sworn before."f[›] A formal alliance was negotiated in 1168, whereby the two rulers arranged for a conquest and partition of Egypt, with Manuel taking the coastal area, and Amalric the interior. In the autumn of 1169 Manuel sent a joint expedition with Amalric to Egypt: a Byzantine army and a naval force of 20 large warships, 150 galleys, and 60 transports, under the command of the megas doux Andronikos Kontostephanos joined forces with Amalric at Ascalon. William of Tyre, who negotiated the alliance, was impressed in particular by the large transport ships which were used to transport the cavalry forces of the army.
Although such a long range attack on a state far from the centre of the Empire may seem extraordinary (the last time the Empire had attempted anything on this scale was the failed invasion of Sicily over one hundred and twenty years earlier), it can be explained in terms of Manuel's foreign policy, which was to use the Latins to ensure the survival of the Empire. This focus on the bigger picture of the eastern Mediterranean and even further afield thus led Manuel to intervene in Egypt: it was believed that in the context of the wider struggle between the crusader states and the Islamic powers of the east, control of Egypt would be the deciding factor. It had been becoming clear that the ailing Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt held the key to the fate of the crusader states. If Egypt came out of its isolation, and joined forces with the Muslims under Nur ad-Din, the crusader cause was in trouble.
A successful invasion of Egypt would have several further advantages for the Byzantine Empire. Egypt was a rich province, and in the days of the Roman Empire had supplied much of the grain for Constantinople before it was lost to the Arabs in the 7th century. The revenues that the Empire could have expected to gain from the conquest of Egypt would have been considerable, even if these would have to be shared with the Crusaders. Furthermore, Manuel may have wanted to encourage Amalric's plans, not only in order to deflect Latins' ambitions away from Antioch, but also in order to create new opportunities for joint military ventures that would keep the King of Jerusalem in his debt, and also allow the Empire to share in territorial gains.
Failure of the expedition
The joined forces of Manuel and Amalric laid siege to Damietta on 27 October 1169, but the siege was unsuccessful due to the failure of the Crusaders and the Byzantines to co-operate fully. According to Byzantine forces, Amalric, not wanting to share the profits of victory, dragged out the operation until the emperor's men ran short of provisions and were particularly affected by famine; Amalric then launched an assault, which he promptly aborted by negotiating a truce with the defenders. On the other hand, William of Tyre remarked that the Greeks were not entirely blameless. Whatever the truth of the allegations of both sides, when the rains came, both the Latin army and the Byzantine fleet returned home, although half of the Byzantine fleet was lost in a sudden storm.
Despite the bad feelings generated at Damietta, Amalric still refused to abandon his dream of conquering Egypt, and he continued to seek good relations with the Byzantines in the hopes of another joined attack, which never took place. In 1171 Amalric came to Constantinople in person, after Egypt had fallen to Saladin. Manuel was thus able to organise a grand ceremonial reception which both honoured Amalric, and underlined his dependence: for the rest of Amalric's reign, Jerusalem was a Byzantine satellite, and Manuel was able to act as a protector of the Holy Places, exerting a growing influence in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1177, a fleet of 150 ships was sent by Manuel I to invade Egypt, but returned home after appearing off Acre due to the refusal of Count Philip of Flanders and many important nobles of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to help.
Kilij Arslan II and the Seljuk Turks
Between 1158–1161, a series of Byzantine campaigns against the Seljuk Turks of the Sultanate of Rûm resulted in a treaty favourable to the Empire. According to the agreement certain frontier regions, including the city of Sivas, should be handed over to Manuel in return for some quantity of cash. However, when it became clear that the Seljuks had no intention of honouring their side of the bargain, Manuel decided that it was time to deal with the Turks once and for all. Therefore, he assembled the full imperial army, and marched against the Seljuk capital, Iconium (Konya). Manuel's strategy was to prepare the advanced bases of Dorylaeum and Sublaeum, and then to use them as to strike as quickly as possible at Iconium.
Yet Manuel's army of 35,000 men was large and unwieldy – according to a letter which Manuel sent to King Henry II of England, the advancing column was ten miles (16 km) long. Manuel marched against Iconium via Laodicea, Chonae, Lampe, Celaenae, Choma and Antioch. Just outside the entrance to the pass at Myriokephalon, Manuel was met by Turkish ambassadors, who offered peace on generous terms. Most of Manuel's generals and experienced courtiers urged him to accept the offer. However, the younger and more aggressive members of the court urged Manuel to attack; he took their advice and continued his advance.
Manuel made serious tactical errors, such as failing to properly scout out the route ahead. These failings caused him to lead his forces straight into a classic ambush. On 17 September 1176 Manuel was decisively defeated by Kilij Arslan II at the Battle of Myriokephalon (in highlands near the Tzibritze pass), in which his army was ambushed while marching through the narrow mountain pass. The Byzantines were too dispersed, and were surrounded. The army's siege equipment was quickly destroyed, and Manuel was forced to withdraw – without siege engines, the conquest of Iconium was impossible. According to Byzantine sources, Manuel lost his nerve both during and after the battle, fluctuating between extremes of self-delusion and self-abasement; according to William of Tyre, he was never the same again.
The terms by which Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan II allowed Manuel and his army to leave were that he should remove his forts and armies on the frontier at Dorylaeum and Sublaeum. However since the Sultan had already failed to keep his side of the earlier treaty of 1162, Manuel only ordered the fortifications of Sublaeum to be dismantled, but not the fortifications of Dorylaeum. Nevertheless, defeat at Myriokephalon was an embarrassment for both Manuel personally and also for his empire. The Komnenian emperors had worked hard since the Battle of Manzikert, 105 years earlier, to restore the reputation of the empire. Yet because of his over-confidence, Manuel had demonstrated to the whole world that Byzantium still could not defeat the Seljuks, despite the advances made during the past century. In western opinion, Myriokephalon cut Manuel down to a humbler size: not that of Emperor of the Romans but that of King of the Greeks.
The defeat at Myriokephalon has often been depicted as a catastrophe in which the entire Byzantine army was destroyed. Manuel himself compared the defeat to Manzikert; it seemed to him that the Byzantine defeat at Myriokephalon complemented the destruction at Manzikert. In reality, although a defeat, it was not too costly, and did not significantly ruin the Byzantine army. Most of the casualties were borne by the right wing, largely composed of allied troops commanded by Baldwin of Antioch, and also the baggage train, which was the main target of the Turkish ambush. The limited losses inflicted on native Byzantine troops were quickly made good and in the following year Manuel's forces defeated a force of "picked Turks". John Komnenos Vatatzes, who was sent by the Emperor to repel the Turkish invasion, not only brought troops from the capital but also was able to gather an army along the way which allowed him to score a victory over the Turks at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir; a sign that the Byzantine army remained strong and that the defensive program of western Asia Minor was still successful. After the victory on the Meander, Manuel himself advanced with a small army to drive the Turks from Panasium, south of Cotyaeum. However, in 1178 a Byzantine army retreated after encountering a Turkish force at Charax, allowing the Turks to capture many livestock. The city of Claudiopolis in Bithynia was besieged by the Turks in 1179, forcing Manuel to lead a small cavalry force to save the city and then, even as late as 1180, the Byzantines succeeded in scoring a victory over the Turks.
However, the continuous warfare did have a serious effect upon Manuel's vitality; he declined in health and in 1180 succumbed to a slow fever. Furthermore, like Manzikert, the balance between the two powers began to gradually shift – Manuel never again attacked the Turks and, after his death, they began to move further and further west, deeper into Byzantine territory.
Doctrinal controversies (1156–1180)
During Manuel's reign three major theological controversies occurred. In 1156–1157 the question was raised, whether Christ had offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world to the Father and to the Holy Spirit only, or also to the Logos (i.e., to himself). In the end a synod held at Constantinople in 1157 adopted a compromise formula, that the Word made flesh offered a double sacrifice to the Holy Trinity, despite the dissidence of Patriarch of Antioch-elect Soterichus Panteugenus.
Ten years later, a controversy arose as to whether the saying of Christ, "My Father is greater than I" referred to his divine nature, to his human, or the union of these two natures. Demetrius of Lampe, a Byzantine diplomat recently returned from the West, ridiculed the way the verse was interpreted there, that Christ was inferior to his father in his humanity, but equal in his divinity. Manuel on the other hand, perhaps with an eye on the project for Church union, found that the formula made sense, and prevailed over a majority in a synod convened on 2 March 1166 to decide the issue, where he had the support of the patriarch Luke Chrysoberges and later Patriarch Michael III. Those who refused to submit to the synod's decisions had their property confiscated or were exiled.g[›] The political dimensions of this controversy are apparent from the fact that a leading dissenter from the Emperor's doctrine was his nephew Alexios Kontostephanos.
A third controversy sprung up in 1180, when Manuel objected to the formula of solemn abjuration, which was exacted from Muslim converts. One of the more striking anathemas of this abjuration was that directed against the deity worshipped by Muhammad and his followers:
And before all, I anathematize the God of Muhammad about whom he [Muhammad] says, "He is God alone, God made of solid, hammer-beaten metal; He begets not and is not begotten, nor is there like unto Him any one."— Manuel I Komnenos
The emperor ordered the deletion of this anathema from the Church's catechetical texts, a measure that provoked vehement opposition from both the Patriarch and bishops.
Chivalric narrations
Manuel is representative of a new kind of Byzantine ruler who was influenced by his contact with western Crusaders. He arranged jousting matches, even participating in them, an unusual and discomforting sight for the Byzantines. Endowed with a fine physique, Manuel has been the subject of exaggeration in the Byzantine sources of his era, where he is presented as a man of great personal courage. According to the story of his exploits, which appear as a model or a copy of the romances of chivalry, such was his strength and exercise in arms, that Raymond of Antioch was incapable of wielding his lance and buckler. In a famous tournament, he is said to have entered the lists on a fiery courser, and to have overturned two of the stoutest Italian knights. In one day, he is said to have slain forty Turks with his own hand, and in a battle against the Hungarians he allegedly snatched a banner, and was the first, almost alone, who passed a bridge that separated his army from the enemy. On another occasion, he is said to have cut his way through a squadron of five hundred Turks, without receiving a wound; he had previously posted an ambuscade in a wood, and was accompanied only by his brother and Axouch.
Manuel had two wives. His first marriage, in 1146, was to Bertha of Sulzbach, a sister-in-law of Conrad III of Germany. She died in 1159. Children:
Manuel had several illegitimate children:
By Theodora Vatatzina:
- Alexios Komnenos (born in the early 1160s), who was recognised as the emperor's son, and indeed received a title (sebastokrator). He was briefly married to Eirene Komnene, illegitimate daughter of Andronikos I Komnenos, in 1183–1184, and was then blinded by his father-in-law. He lived until at least 1191 and was known personally to Choniates.
- Alexios Komnenos, a pinkernes ("cupbearer"), who fled Constantinople in 1184 and was a figurehead of the Norman invasion and the siege of Thessalonica in 1185.
By other lovers:
- A daughter whose name is unknown. She was born around 1150 and married Theodore Maurozomes before 1170. Her son was Manuel Maurozomes, and some of her descendants ruled the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.
- A daughter whose name is unknown, born around 1155. She was the maternal grandmother of the author Demetrios Tornikes.
Foreign and military affairs
As a young man, Manuel had been determined to restore by force of arms the predominance of the Byzantine Empire in the Mediterranean countries. By the time he died in 1180, 37 years had passed since that momentous day in 1143 when, amid the wilds of Cilicia, his father had proclaimed him emperor. These years had seen Manuel involved in conflict with his neighbours on all sides. Manuel's father and grandfather before him had worked patiently to undo the damage done by the battle of Manzikert and its aftermath. Thanks to their efforts, the empire Manuel inherited was stronger and better organised than at any time for a century. While it is clear that Manuel used these assets to the full, it is not so clear how much he added to them, and there is room for doubt as to whether he used them to best effect.
|"The most singular feature in the character of Manuel is the contrast and vicissitude of labour and sloth, of hardiness and effeminacy. In war he seemed ignorant of peace, in peace he appeared incapable of war."|
Manuel had proven himself to be an energetic emperor who saw possibilities everywhere, and whose optimistic outlook had shaped his approach to foreign policy. However, in spite of his military prowess Manuel achieved but in a slight degree his object of restoring the Byzantine Empire. Retrospectively, some commentators have criticised some of Manuel's aims as unrealistic, in particular citing the expeditions he sent to Egypt as proof of dreams of grandeur on an unattainable scale. His greatest military campaign, his grand expedition against the Turkish Sultanate of Iconium, ended in humiliating defeat, and his greatest diplomatic effort apparently collapsed, when Pope Alexander III became reconciled to the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa at the Peace of Venice. Historian Mark C. Bartusis argues that Manuel (and his father as well) tried to rebuild a national army, but his reforms were adequate for neither his ambitions nor his needs; the defeat at Myriokephalon underscored the fundamental weakness of his policies. According to Edward Gibbon, Manuel's victories were not productive of any permanent or useful conquest.
His advisors on western church affairs included the Pisan scholar Hugh Eteriano.
Internal affairs
Choniates criticised Manuel for raising taxes and pointed to Manuel's reign as a period of excession; according to Choniates, the money thus raised was spent lavishly at the cost of his citizens. Whether one reads the Greek encomiastic sources, or the Latin and oriental sources, the impression is consistent with Choniates' picture of an emperor who spent lavishly in all available ways, rarely economising in one sector in order to develop another. Manuel spared no expense on the army, the navy, diplomacy, ceremonial, palace-building, the Komnenian family, and other seekers of patronage. A significant amount of this expenditure was pure financial loss to the Empire, like the subsidies poured into Italy and the crusader states, and the sums spent on the failed expeditions of 1155–1156, 1169, and 1176.
The problems this created were counterbalanced to some extent by his successes, particularly in the Balkans; Manuel extended the frontiers of his Empire in the Balkan region, ensuring security for the whole of Greece and Bulgaria. Had he been more successful in all his ventures, he would have controlled not only the most productive farmland around the Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, but also the entire trading facilities of the area. Even if he did not achieve his ambitious goals, his wars against Hungary brought him control of the Dalmatian coast, the rich agricultural region of Sirmium, and the Danube trade route from Hungary to the Black Sea. His Balkan expeditions are said to have taken great booty in slaves and livestock; Kinnamos was impressed by the amount of arms taken from the Hungarian dead after the battle of 1167. And even if Manuel's wars against the Turks probably realised a net loss, his commanders took livestock and captives on at least two occasions.
This allowed the Western provinces to flourish in an economic revival which had begun in the time of his grandfather Alexios I, and which continued till the close of the century. Indeed it has been argued that Byzantium in the 12th century was richer and more prosperous than at any time since the Persian invasion during the reign of Herakleios, some five hundred years earlier. There is good evidence from this period of new construction, and new churches even in remote areas strongly suggest that wealth was widespread. Trade was also flourishing; it has been estimated that the population of Constantinople, the biggest commercial center of the Empire, during Manuel's reign was between half a million and one million, making it by far the largest city in Europe. A major source of Manuel's wealth was the kommerkion, a customs duty levied at Constantinople on all imports and exports. The kommerkion was stated to have collected 20,000 hyperpyra each day.
Furthermore, the Byzantine capital was a city undergoing expansion. The cosmopolitan character of Constantinople was being reinforced by the arrival of Italian merchants and Crusaders en route to the Holy Land. The Venetians, the Genoese and others opened up the ports of the Aegean to commerce, shipping goods from the Crusader kingdoms of Outremer and Fatimid Egypt to the west and trading with Byzantium via Constantinople. These maritime traders stimulated demand in the towns and cities of Greece, Macedonia and the Greek Islands, generating new sources of wealth in a predominantly agrarian economy. Thessaloniki, the second city of the Empire, hosted a famous summer fair which attracted traders from across the Balkans and even further afield to its bustling market stalls. In Corinth, silk production fuelled a thriving economy. All this is a testament to the success of the Komnenian Emperors in securing a Pax Byzantina in these heartland territories.
To the rhetors of his court, Manuel was the "divine emperor". A generation after his death, Choniates referred to him as "the most blessed among emperors", and a century later John Stavrakios described him as "great in fine deeds". John Phokas, a soldier who fought in Manuel's army, characterised him some years later as the "world saving" and glorious emperor. Manuel would be remembered in France, Italy and the Crusader states as the most powerful sovereign in the world. A Genoese analyst noted that with the passing of "Lord Manuel of divine memory, the most blessed emperor of Constantinople ... all Christendom incurred great ruin and detriment." William of Tyre called Manuel "a wise and discreet prince of great magnificence, worthy of praise in every respect", "a great-souled man of incomparable energy", whose "memory will ever be held in benediction." Manuel was further extolled by Robert of Clari as a "a right worthy man, [...] and richest of all the Christians who ever were, and the most bountiful."
A telling reminder of the influence that Manuel held in the Crusader states in particular can still be seen in the church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem. In the 1160s the nave was redecorated with mosaics showing the councils of the church. Manuel was one of the patrons of the work. On the south wall, an inscription in Greek reads: "the present work was finished by Ephraim the monk, painter and mosaicist, in the reign of the great emperor Manuel Porphyrogennetos Komnenos and in the time of the great king of Jerusalem, Amalric." That Manuel's name was placed first was a symbolic, public recognition of Manuel's overlordship as leader of the Christian world. Manuel's role as protector of the Orthodox Christians and Christian holy places in general is also evident in his successful attempts to secure rights over the Holy Land. Manuel participated in the building and decorating of many of the basilicas and Greek monasteries in the Holy Land, including the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where thanks to his efforts the Byzantine clergy were allowed to perform the Greek liturgy each day. All this reinforced his position as overlord of the Crusader states, with his hegemony over Antioch and Jerusalem secured by agreement with Raynald, Prince of Antioch, and Amalric, King of Jerusalem respectively. Manuel was also the last Byzantine emperor who, thanks to his military and diplomatic success in the Balkans, could call himself "ruler of Dalmatia, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Hungary".
Byzantium looked impressive, when Manuel died in 1180, having just celebrated the betrothal of his son Alexios II to the daughter of the king of France. Thanks to the diplomacy and campaigning of Alexios, John, and Manuel, the empire was a great power, economically prosperous, and secure on its frontiers; but there were serious problems as well. Internally, the Byzantine court required a strong leader to hold it together, and after Manuel's death stability was seriously endangered from within. Some of the foreign enemies of the Empire were lurking on the flanks, waiting for a chance to attack, in particular the Turks in Anatolia, whom Manuel had ultimately failed to defeat, and the Normans in Sicily, who had already tried but failed to invade the Empire on several occasions. Even the Venetians, the single most important western ally of Byzantium, were on bad terms with the empire at Manuel's death in 1180. Given this situation, it would have taken a strong Emperor to secure the Empire against the foreign threats it now faced, and to rebuild the depleted Imperial Treasury. But Manuel's son was a minor, and his unpopular regency government was overthrown in a violent coup d'état. This troubled succession weakened the dynastic continuity and solidarity on which the strength of the Byzantine state had come to rely.
^ a: The mood that prevailed before the end of 1147 is best conveyed by a verse enconium to Manuel (one of the poems included in a list transmitted under the name of Theodore Prodromos in Codex Marcianus graecus XI.22 known as Manganeios Prodromos), which was probably an imperial commission, and must have been written shortly after the Germans had crossed the Bosporus. Here Conrad is accused of wanting to take Constantinople by force, and to install a Latin patriarch (Manganeios Prodromos, no 20.1).
^ b: According to Paul Magdalino, one of Manuel's primary goals was a partition of Italy with the German empire, in which Byzantium would get the Adriatic coast. His unilateral pursuit, however, antagonized the new German emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, whose own plans for imperial restoration ruled out any partnership with Byzantium. Manuel was thus obliged to treat Frederick as his main enemy, and to form a web of relationships with other western powers, including the papacy, his old enemy, the Norman kingdom, Hungary, several magnates and cities throughout Italy, and, above all, the crusader states.
^ c: Magdalino underscores that, whereas John had removed the Rupenid princes from power in Cilicia twenty years earlier, Manuel allowed Toros to hold most of his strongholds he had taken, and effectively restored only the coastal area to imperial rule. From Raynald, Manuel secured recognition of imperial suzerainty over Antioch, with the promise to hand over the citadel, to instal a patriarch sent from Constantinople (not actually implemented until 1165–66), and to provide troops for the emperor's service, but nothing seems to have been said about the reversion of Antioch to direct imperial rule. According to Magdalino, this suggests that Manuel had dropped this demand on which both his grandfather and father insisted. For his part, Medieval historian Zachary Nugent Brooke believes that the victory of Christianity against Nur ad-Din was made impossible, since both Greeks and Latins were concerned primarily with their own interests. He characterises the policy of Manuel as "short-sighted", because "he lost a splendid opportunity of recovering the former possessions of the Empire, and by his departure threw away most of the actual fruits of his expedition". According to Piers Paul Read, Manuel's deal with Nur ad-Din was for the Latins another expression of Greeks' perfidy.
^ d: Alexios had been ordered to bring soldiers, but he merely brought his empty ships to Brindisi.
^ e: In 1155 Hadrian sent legates to Manuel, with a letter for Basil, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, in which he exhorted that bishop to procure the reünion of the churches. Basil answered that there was no division between the Greeks and Latins, since they held the same faith and offered the same sacrifice. "As for the causes of scandal, weak in themselves, that have separated us from each other", he added, "your Holiness can cause them to cease, by your own extended authority and the help of the Emperor of the West."
^ f: This probably meant that Amalric repeated Baldwin's assurances regarding the status of Antioch as an imperial fief.
^ g: According to Michael Angold, after the controversy of 1166 Manuel took his responsibilities very seriously, and tightened his grip over the church. 1166 was also the year in which Manuel first referred in his legislation to his role as the disciplinarian of the church (epistemonarkhes).
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 3
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 3–4
- A. Stone, Manuel I Comnenus
- Gibbon, The decline and fall of the Roman Empire, 72
- Gibbon, The decline and fall of the Roman Empire, 72
* J.H. Norwich, A short history of Byzantium
* A. Stone, Manuel I Comnenus
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 87–88
- "Byzantium". Papyros-Larousse-Britannica. 2006.
- J. Cinnamus, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, 33–35
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 40
- W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 640
- J. Cinnamus, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, 47
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 42
- A. Komnene, The Alexiad, 333
- P. Magdalino, The Byzantine Empire, 621
- Letter by the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, Vatican Secret Archives.
- P.P. Read, The Templars, 238
- P.P. Read, The Templars, 239
- William of Tyre, Historia, XVIII, 10
- C. Hillenbrand, The Imprisonment of Raynald of Châtillon, 80
* T.F. Madden, The New Concise History of the Crusades, 65
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 67
- B. Hamilton, William of Tyre and the Byzantine Empire, 226
* William of Tyre, Historia, XVIII, 23
- Z.N. Brooke, A History of Europe, from 911 to 1198, 482
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 67
* J.H. Norwich, A short history of Byzantium
- K. Paparrigopoulos, History of the Greek Nation, Db, 134
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 98 and 103
- J. Duggan, The Pope and the Princes, 122
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 114
* J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 112
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 112–113
- A. A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire, VII
- William of Tyre, Historia, XVIII, 2
- J. Cinnamus, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, 172
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 115
* J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 115
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 115–116
* A.A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire, VII
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 116
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 61
- Abbé Guettée, The Papacy, Chapter VII
* J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 114
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 116
- W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 643
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 84
* A.A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire, VII
- J. Cinnamus, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, 231
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 84
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 93
- J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 131
- Curta, Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, xxiii
- Birkenmeier 2002, p. 241.
- J.W. Sedlar, East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 372
- D. Obolensky, The Byzantine Commonwealth, 299–302.
- M. Angold, The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1204, 177.
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 73
- J. Harris, Byzantium and The Crusades, 107
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 73
* J.G. Rowe, Alexander III and the Jerusalem Crusade, 117
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 74
- J. Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, 158
- William of Tyre, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea
- R. Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century, 84–86
- William of Tyre, Historia, XX 15–17
- T.F. Madden, The New Concise History of the Crusades, 68
- T.F. Madden, The New Concise History of the Crusades, 68–69
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 75
* H.E. Mayer, The Latin East, 657
- I. Health, Byzantine Armies, 4
- K. Paparrigopoulos, History of the Greek Nation, Db, 140
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 128
- Birkenmeier, p. 132.
- J. Bradbury, Medieval Warfare, 176
- D. MacGillivray Nicol, Byzantium and Venice, 102
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 98
- W. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 649
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 128
* K. Paparrigopoulos, History of the Greek Nation, Db, 141
- J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 196
- J.H. Kurtz, History of the Christian Church to the Restoration, 265–266
- P. Magdalino, p. 279.
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 217
- G.L. Hanson, Manuel I Komnenos and the "God of Muhammad", 55
- Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 73
* K. Paparrigopoulos, History of the Greek Nation, Db, 121
- Garland-Stone, Bertha-Irene of Sulzbach, first wife of Manuel I Comnenus
- K. Varzos, Genealogy of the Komnenian Dynasty, 155
- Každan-Epstein, Change in Byzantine Culture, 102
- C.M. Brand, The Turkish Element in Byzantium, 12
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 98
- K. Varzos, Genealogy of the Komnenian Dynasty, 157a
- Gibbon-Womersley, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volumes 1–6, 1776–1788), 74
- M. Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army, 5–6
- N. Choniates, O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, 96–97
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 173
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 174
- M. Angold, The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1204
- J. Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades, 25
- J. Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades, 26
- G.W. Day, Manuel and the Genoese, 289–290
- P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 143–144
- J. Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 3
- G.W. Day, Manuel and the Genoese, 289–290
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 3
- Robert of Clari, "Account of the Fourth Crusade", 18
- B. Zeitler, Cross-cultural interpretations
- J.W. Sedlar, East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 372–373
- P. Magdalino, The Medieval Empire, 194
- Jeffreys-Jeffreys, The "Wild Beast from the West", 102
* P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 49
- Z.N. Brooke, A History of Europe, from 911 to 1198, 482
- Abbé Guettée, The Papacy, Chapter VII
- M. Angold, Church and Society under the Komneni, 99
Primary sources
- Choniates, Nicetas, O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates. Trans. Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.
- Cinammus, John, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, trans. Charles M. Brand. Columbia University Press, 1976.
- Komnene (Comnena), Anna; Edgar Robert Ashton Sewter (1969). "XLVIII-The First Crusade". The Alexiad of Anna Comnena translated by Edgar Robert Ashton Sewter. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044215-4.
- Robert of Clari (c. 1208). Account of the Fourth Crusade.
- William of Tyre, Historia Rerum In Partibus Transmarinis Gestarum (A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea), translated by E. A. Babock and A. C. Krey (Columbia University Press, 1943). See the original text in the Latin library.
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Further reading
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manuel I Comnenus|
Manuel I Komnenos
Komnenid dynastyBorn: 28 November 1118 Died: 24 September 1180
John II Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37886000 |
|Portrait of Cannon by Washington B. Cooper|
|8th Governor of Tennessee|
October 12, 1835 – October 14, 1839
|Preceded by||William Carroll|
|Succeeded by||James K. Polk|
|Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 5th district
September 16, 1814 – March 3, 1817
|Preceded by||Felix Grundy|
|Succeeded by||Thomas Claiborne|
March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823
|Preceded by||Thomas Claiborne|
|Succeeded by||Robert Allen|
May 22, 1781|
Guilford County, North Carolina
|Died||September 16, 1841
Williamson County, Tennessee
|Resting place||Newton Cannon Cemetery
Williamson County, Tennessee
|Political party||Democratic-Republican Party
|Spouse(s)||Leah Pryor Perkins (1813–1816, her death)
Rachel Starnes Willborn (1818–1841, his death)
|Years of service||1812–1813|
Newton Cannon (May 22, 1781 – September 16, 1841) was an American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1835 to 1839. He also served several terms in the United States House of Representatives, from 1814 to 1817, and from 1819 to 1823. Cannon was a long-time foe of Andrew Jackson, and spent much of his political career opposing Jacksonite policies.
Early life
Born in Guilford County, North Carolina, Cannon was the son of Minos Cannon, who served as a soldier in the Continental Army. The family moved to the area that later became Williamson County, Tennessee, around 1790.
Cannon received a common school education and tried several occupations as a young man, working as a saddler, merchant and surveyor, and undertaking the study of law, before eventually becoming a planter in Williamson County.
Cannon entered political office in 1811, representing Williamson, Rutherford, Maury, Bedford, Lincoln, and Giles counties in the state senate in the 9th Tennessee General Assembly (1811–1812). He served in the Creek War of 1813 as a colonel in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles.
In 1813, he was a candidate for United States House of Representatives, losing the election to Felix Grundy. He won election to the seat as a Democratic- Republican the following year, however, in a special election held after Grundy resigned. Cannon was later reelected to a full term in the House, serving from September 16, 1814, to March 3, 1817. In 1819, he accepted an assignment from President James Monroe to negotiate a treaty with the Chickasaw. He was again elected to the U.S. House for the 16th Congress and won reelection to the 17th Congress, serving from March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1823.
Cannon first sought the Tennessee governorship in 1827 in a field that initially included Sam Houston, former governor Willie Blount, Felix Grundy, and aging frontiersman John Rhea. Cannon lost the election to Houston by a vote of 44,426 to 33,410. He subsequently returned to the General Assembly as a state senator, representing Rutherford and Williamson counties in the 18th General Assembly (1829–1830), and aligned himself with Andrew Erwin, John Williams and Davy Crockett, to oppose the policies of Jackson and his allies. He was elected as a delegate to the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1834, at which he served as chairman of the Committee of the Whole.
Cannon again ran for governor in 1835, defeating incumbent William Carroll by a vote of 41,970 to 31,205. Carroll had been a popular governor, but he was seeking a fourth consecutive two-year term in spite of a provision of the state constitution that limited a governor to three terms. Carroll maintained that the gubernatorial term limit in the state's original constitution no longer applied because it was replaced by a new constitution in 1834. Cannon, however, argued that the 1834 constitution was a revision rather than a replacement for the original constitution. Cannon's view apparently prevailed with the voters. Cannon's election was also aided by division among Tennessee Democrat-Republicans over the U.S. Presidential candidacy of Tennessean Hugh Lawson White in opposition to the national party's choice of Martin Van Buren.
Cannon was the first member of the Whig Party to be elected governor of Tennessee. He became the first governor to benefit from increased powers given to the office by the state constitution of 1834. As governor, in 1836 he convened the first special session of the legislature in state history.
Cannon was re-elected to a second term as governor in 1837, defeating General Robert Armstrong. In his second term as governor, both houses of the General Assembly were controlled by Whigs, and the legislature approved proposals to create a new state bank and to expand state support for internal improvements such as roads, railroads, and canals. An advocate for public education, Cannon designated some revenues from the state bank to pay for schools. Cannon was publicly criticized for his implementation of the new laws, especially in East Tennessee, where voters grew impatient over his lack of support for the Hiwassee Railroad.
In 1839, state Democrats, determined to defeat Cannon, convinced rising politician and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives James K. Polk to run against him. The two candidates toured the state together to give a series of public debates, the first of which took place at Murfreesboro on April 11, 1839. Cannon typically delivered slower, more methodical arguments, and was outshone in the debates by the quicker and wittier Polk. In the election, Polk narrowly defeated Cannon by a vote of 54,680 to 52,114.
Cannon died in Nashville at the age of sixty, just two years after his last candidacy for governor. He is interred in a cemetery on the grounds of his estate in Williamson County near Allisona.
Opposition to Andrew Jackson
Throughout his political career, Newton Cannon was known for his personal and political antagonism toward Andrew Jackson, whose policies he consistently opposed. Three different supposed interactions between the two men all have been suggested as explanations for the origin of Cannon's antipathy to Jackson. The earliest of these interactions involved a horse track known as Clover Bottom that Jackson owned together with a pair of brothers, William and Patten Anderson. Cannon is purported to have lost substantial amounts of money and other possessions from gambling at Clover Bottom, and is said to have blamed Jackson and the Andersons for his losses, suspecting them of fixing races. The second encounter occurred in 1812, when Cannon served on a jury in a trial for one of three brothers who were accused of murder in the death of Patten Anderson. After the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, Jackson is said to have shaken his fist at Cannon, saying "I'll mark you, young man." Perhaps the most compelling explanation is Cannon's disapproval of Jackson's military leadership when he served as a detachment leader under Jackson's command during the Creek War. Cannon is said to have believed that Jackson had deliberately exposed Cannon and his men to unnecessary dangers.
Family life and legacy
Cannon was married twice. In 1813, he married Leah Pryor Perkins. She died in 1816. In 1818, he married Rachel Starnes Willborn. He was the father of ten children. A daughter, Rachel Adeline Cannon Maney, was for many years an owner of the Oaklands estate in Murfreesboro. The Civil War journals of a grandson, also named Newton Cannon, were published in 1963 as The Reminiscences of Newton Cannon: First Sergeant, 11th Tennessee Cavalry, C.S.A.
- Newton Cannon at Find a Grave
- Jonathan M. Atkins. "Newton Cannon", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
- John Trotwood Moore and Austin Powers Foster (1923), Tennessee: the volunteer state, 1769-1923, The S. J. Clarke publishing company. Page 25.
- Portrait of Newton Cannon, Tennessee Portrait Project website, accessed May 27, 2011
- Diane Black, Tennessee Senators, Territorial General Assembly 1794 to 106th General Assembly, 2009-10, Tennessee State Library and Archives.
- Governor's Information: Tennessee Governor Newton Cannon, National Governors Association website, 2004. Accessed May 31, 2011.
- Newton Cannon at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Mark Eaton Byrnes (2001), James K. Polk: a biographical companion, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 1-57607-056-5, ISBN 978-1-57607-056-7. Pages 29-30.
- Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 59, 72-73, 81-84, 93-95.
- Jonathan M. Atkins. "William Carroll" in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
- Jonathan M. Atkins (1997), Parties, politics, and the sectional conflict in Tennessee, 1832-1861. University of Tennessee Press. Page 12.
- "Tennessee Portrait Project". National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- Stanley Folmsbee, Sectionalism and Internal Improvements in Tennessee, 1796–1845 (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1939), pp. 42-44, 121-125, 151-153.
- Robert S. Brandt (1995), Touring the middle Tennessee backroads, John F. Blair, Publisher. ISBN 0-89587-129-7, ISBN 978-0-89587-129-9. Pages 181-182.
- "Newton Cannon". Find A Grave. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- Tara Mitchell Mielnik. "Early Horse Racing Tracks", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
- Elbert Watson (1964), Governor Newton Cannon Papers, Tennessee State Library and Archives, accessed May 30, 2011
- History of Oaklands Plantation, Oaklands Historic House Museum website, accessed May 31, 2011
- Williamson County Historical Society, accessed May 31, 2011
- Carroll Van West. "Cannon County", in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Last accessed June 3, 2011.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Newton Cannon|
- Find A Grave
- National Governors Association
- The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
- Tennessee Portrait Project
|United States House of Representatives|
|U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District
George Washington Lent Marr
|U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 4th Congressional District
|Governor of Tennessee
James K. Polk | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37888000 |
Splash (fluid mechanics)
In fluid mechanics, a splash is a sudden disturbance to the otherwise quiescent free surface of a liquid (usually water). The disturbance is typically caused by a solid object suddenly hitting the surface, although splashes can occur in which moving liquid supplies the energy. This use of the word is onomatopoeic.
Splashes are characterized by transient ballistic flow, and are governed by the Reynolds number and the Weber number. In the image of a brick splashing into water to the right, one can identify freely moving airborne water droplets, a phenomenon typical of high Reynolds number flows; the intricate non-spherical shapes of the droplets show that the Weber number is high. Also seen are entrained bubbles in the body of the water, and an expanding ring of disturbance propagating away from the impact site.
Physicist Lei Xu and coworkers at the University of Chicago discovered that the splash due to the impact of a small drop of ethanol onto a dry solid surface could be suppressed by reducing the pressure below a specific threshold. For drops of diameter 3.4 mm falling through air, this pressure was about 20 kilopascals, or 0.2 atmosphere.
Splash plate
A plate made of a hard material on which a stream of liquid is designed to fall is called a "splash plate". It may serve to protect the ground from erosion by falling water, such as beneath an artificial waterfall or water outlet in soft ground. Splash plates are also part of spray nozzles, such as in irrigation sprinkler systems.
See also
- Harold Eugene Edgerton, whose Milkdrop Coronet is arguably the most famous photograph of a splash
- Slosh, other free surface phenomenon
- Lei Xu et al., "drop splashing on a dry smooth surface", Phys. Rev. Letts. (2005) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37891000 |
|An aspect of fiscal policy|
Many countries have agreed with other countries in treaties to mitigate the effects of double taxation (Double Tax Avoidance Agreement). Tax treaties may cover income taxes, inheritance taxes, value added taxes, or other taxes. Besides bilateral treaties, also multilateral countries are in place: Countries of the European Union (EU) have also entered into a multilateral agreement with respect to value added taxes under auspices of the EU, while a joint treaty of the Council of Europe and the OECD exists open to all nations. Tax treaties tend to reduce taxes of one treaty country for residents of the other treaty country in order to reduce double taxation of the same income. The provisions and goals vary highly; very few tax treaties are alike. Most treaties:
- define which taxes are covered and who is a resident and eligible for benefits,
- reduce the amounts of tax withheld from interest, dividends, and royalties paid by a resident of one country to residents of the other country,
- limit tax of one country on business income of a resident of the other country to that income from a permanent establishment in the first country,
- define circumstances in which income of individuals resident in one country will be taxed in the other country, including salary, self-employment, pension, and other income,
- provide for exemption of certain types of organizations or individuals, and
- provide procedural frameworks for enforcement and dispute resolution.
The stated goals for entering into a treaty often include reduction of double taxation, eliminating tax evasion, and encouraging cross-border trade efficiency. It is generally accepted that tax treaties improve certainty for taxpayers and tax authorities in their international dealings.
Several governments and organizations have proposed model treaties to use as starting points in their own negotiations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model treaty is often used as such a starting point. The OECD members have from time to time agreed on various provisions of the model treaty, and the official commentary and member comments thereon serve as a guidance as to interpretation by each member country.
Tax residency
In general, the benefits of tax treaties are available only to persons who are residents of one of the treaty countries. In most cases, a resident of a country is any person that is subject to tax under the domestic laws of that country by reason of domicile, residence, place of incorporation, or similar criteria.
Generally, individuals are considered resident under a tax treaty and subject to taxation where they maintain their primary place of abode. However, residence for treaty purposes extends well beyond the narrow scope of primary place of abode. For example, many countries also treat persons spending more than a fixed number of days in the country as residents. The United States includes citizens and green card holders, wherever living, as subject to taxation, and therefore as residents for tax treaty purposes. Because residence is defined so broadly, most treaties recognize that a person could meet the definition of residence in more than one jurisdiction (i.e., "dual residence") and provide a “tie breaker” clause. Such clauses typically have a hierarchy of three to five tests for resolving multiple residency, typically including permanent abode as a major factor. Tax residency rarely impacts citizenship or permanent resident status, though certain residency statuses under a country's immigration law may influence tax residency.
Entities may be considered resident based on their country of seat of management, their country of organization, or other factors. The criteria are often specified in a treaty, which may enhance or override local law. It is possible under most treaties for an entity to be resident in both countries, particularly where a treaty is between two countries that use different standards for residence under their domestic law. Some treaties provide “tie breaker” rules for entity residency, some do not. Residency is irrelevant in the case of some entities and/or types of income, as members of the entity rather than the entity are subject to tax.
Permanent establishment
Most treaties provide that business profits (sometimes defined in the treaty) of a resident of one country are subject to tax in the other country only if the profits arise through a permanent establishment in the other country. Many treaties, however, address certain types of business profits (such as directors' fees or income from the activities of athletes and entertainers) separately. Such treaties also define what constitutes a permanent establishment (PE). Most but not all tax treaties follow the definition of PE in the OECD Model Treaty. Under the OECD definition, a PE is a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is carried on. Certain locations are specifically enumerated as examples of PEs, including branches, offices, workshops, and others. Specific exceptions from the definition of PE are also provided, such as a site where only preliminary or ancillary activities (such as warehousing of inventory, purchasing of goods, or collection of information) are conducted.
While in general tax treaties do not specify a period of time for which business activities must be conducted through a location before it gives rise to a PE, most OECD member countries do not find a PE in cases in which a place of business exists for less than six months, absent special circumstances. Many treaties explicitly provide a longer threshold, commonly one year or more, for which a construction site must exist before it gives rise to a permanent establishment. In addition, some treaties, most commonly those in which at least one party is a developing country, contain provisions which deem a PE to exist if certain activities (such as services) are conducted for certain periods of time, even where a PE would not otherwise exist.
Even where a resident of one country does not conduct its business activities in another country through a fixed place or business, a PE may still be found to exist in that other country where the business is carried out through a person in that other country that has the authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the resident of the first country. Thus, a resident of one country cannot avoid being treated as having a PE by acting through a dependent agent rather than conducting its business directly. However, carrying on business through an independent agent will generally not result in a PE.
Withholding taxes
Many tax systems provide for collection of tax from nonresidents by requiring payors of certain types of income to withhold tax from the payment and remit it to the government. Such income often includes interest, dividends, royalties, and payments for technical assistance. Most tax treaties reduce or eliminate the amount of tax required to be withheld with respect to residents of a treaty country.
Income from employment
Most treaties provide mechanisms eliminating taxation of residents of one country by the other country where the amount or duration of performance of services is minimal but also taxing the income in the country performed where it is not minimal. Most treaties also provide special provisions for entertainers and athletes of one country having income in the other country, though such provisions vary highly. Also most treaties provide for limits to taxation of pension or other retirement income.
Tax exemptions
Most treaties eliminate from taxation income of certain diplomatic personnel. Most tax treaties also provide that certain entities exempt from tax in one country are also exempt from tax in the other. Entities typically exempt include charities, pension trusts, and government owned entities. Many treaties provide for other exemptions from taxation that one or both countries as considered relevant under their governmental or economic system.
Harmonization of tax rates
Tax treaties usually specify the same maximum rate of tax that may be imposed on some types of income. As an example, a treaty may provide that interest earned by a nonresident eligible for benefits under the treaty is taxed at no more than five percent (5%). However, local law in some cases may provide a lower rate of tax irrespective of the treaty. In such cases, the lower local law rate prevails.
Provisions unique to inheritance taxes
Generally, income taxes and inheritance taxes are addressed in separate treaties. Inheritance tax treaties often cover estate and gift taxes. Generally fiscal domicile under such treaties is defined by reference to domicile as opposed to tax residence. Such treaties specify what persons and property are subject to tax by each country upon transfer of the property by inheritance or gift. Some treaties specify which party bears the burden of such tax, but often such determination relies on local law (which may differ from country to country).
Most inheritance tax treaties permit each country to tax domiciliaries of the other country on real property situated in the taxing country, property forming a part of a trade or business in the taxing country, tangible movable property situated in the taxing country at the time of transfer (often excluding ships and aircraft operated internationally), and certain other items. Most treaties permit the estate or donor to claim certain deductions, exemptions, or credits in calculating the tax that might not otherwise be allowed to non-domiciliaries.
Double tax relief
Nearly all tax treaties provide a specific mechanism for eliminating it, but the risk of double taxation is still potentially present. This mechanism usually requires that each country grant a credit for the taxes of the other country to reduce the taxes of a resident of the country. The treaty may or may not provide mechanisms for limiting this credit, and may or may not limit the application of local law mechanisms to do the same.
Mutual enforcement
Taxpayers may relocate themselves and their assets to avoid paying taxes. Some treaties thus require each treaty country to assist the other in collection of taxes and other enforcement of their tax rules. Most tax treaties include, at a minimum, a requirement that the countries exchange of information needed to foster enforcement.
Tax information exchange agreement
The purpose of this agreement is to promote international co-operation in tax matters through exchange of information. It was developed by the OECD Global Forum Working Group on Effective Exchange of Information.
The working group consisted of representatives from OECD Member countries as well as delegates from Aruba, Bermuda, Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Isle of Man, Malta, Mauritius, the Netherlands Antilles, the Seychelles and San Marino.
The agreement grew out of the work undertaken by the OECD to address harmful tax practices. The lack of effective exchange of information is one of the key criteria in determining harmful tax practices. The mandate of the working group was to develop a legal instrument that could be used to establish effective exchange of information.
The agreement represents the standard of effective exchange of information for the purposes of the OECD’s initiative on harmful tax practices. This agreement, which was released in April 2002, is not a binding instrument but contains two models for bilateral agreements. A number of bilateral agreements have been based on this agreement.
Dispute resolution
Nearly all tax treaties provide some mechanism under which taxpayers and the countries can resolve disputes arising under the treaty. Generally, the government agency responsible for conducting dispute resolution procedures under the treaty is referred to as the “competent authority” of the country. Competent authorities generally have the power to bind their government in specific cases. The treaty mechanism often calls for the competent authorities to attempt to agree in resolving disputes.
Limitations of benefits
Recent treaties of certain countries have contained an article intended to prevent "treaty shopping," which is the inappropriate use of tax treaties by residents of third states. These limitation of benefits articles deny the benefits of the tax treaty to residents that do not meet additional tests. Limitation of Benefits articles vary widely from treaty to treaty, and are often quite complex. The treaties of some countries, such as the United Kingdom and Italy, focus on subjective purpose for a particular transaction, denying benefits where the transaction was entered into in order to obtain benefits under the treaty. Other countries, such as the United States, focus on the objective characteristics of the party seeking benefits. Generally, individuals and publicly traded companies and their subsidiaries are not adversely impacted by the provisions of a typical limitation of benefits provision in a U.S. tax treaty. With respect to other entities, the provisions tend to deny benefits where an entity seeking benefits is not sufficiently owned by residents of one of the treaty countries (or, in the case of treaties with members of a unified economic bloc such as the European Union or NAFTA, by "equivalent beneficiaries" in the same group of countries). Even where entities are not owned by qualified residents, however, benefits are often available for income earned from the active conduct of a trade or business.
Priority of law
Treaties are considered the supreme law of many countries. In those countries, treaty provisions fully override conflicting domestic law provisions. For example, many EU countries could not enforce their group relief schemes under the EU directives. In some countries, treaties are considered of equal weight to domestic law. In those countries, a conflict between domestic law and the treaty must be resolved under the dispute resolution mechanisms of either domestic law or the treaty.
- Pension tax relief
- Australian tax treaties
- Barbados tax treaties
- Canada income tax treaties
- Dutch tax treaties
- Mauritius tax treaties
- Singapore tax treaties
- United Kingdom tax treaties
- U.S. income tax treaties
- List of U.S. estate and gift tax treaties
- The Exchange of Tax Information Portal
- Agreements on tariffs, while technically tax treaties, are generally called agreements on tariffs and trade.
- See, e.g., the speech by Professor McIntyre of Michigan's Wayne State University.
- "Comments by New Zealand Revenue Minister". Government of New Zealand.
- "model treaty". OECD.
- "official commentary". OECD.
- See, e.g., the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, Article 1 ("OECD Model")
- See, e.g., OECD Model, Article 4.
- See, e.g., the treaty between Canada and Belgium, Article 4.
- See, e.g., 26 U.S.C. sec. 7701(b) for the U.S. "substantial presence" test for residency.
- See 26 U.S.C. sec. 7701(a)(30)
- See, e.g., the Canada/Belgium treaty, supra.
- See, e.g., the U.S. IRS explanation of residency regarding the "green card test".
- See, e.g., the Canada Revenue Agency discussion, and the Canada/Belgium treaty, supra, which defines resident by reference to local law.
- See, e.g., the old treaty between the United States and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which is still in force between the U.S. and several of the former Soviet republics.
- See, e.g., the U.S. IRS explanation of taxation of foreign partners of partnerships with a U.S. trade or business.
- Contrast the U.S./Italy treaty using exact OECD language with the U.S./India treaty that has numerous special provisions.
- 2008 OECD Model, Article 5(1)
- Commentary to 2008 OECD Model, ¶6
- 2008 OECD Model, Article 5(3)
- 2008 OECD Model, Article 5(5)
- 2008 OECD Model, Article 5(6)
- Examples include the U.S. and Singapore.
- See, e.g., the Singapore/India treaty.
- See, e.g., the Singapore/India treaty, Article 15, which has a 183 day rule and a flat 15% tax rate where services go beyond 183 days. This treaty contains all of the provisions mentioned.
- See, e.g., the U.S./Canada treaty Articles XIX and XXI.
- See, e.g., the Ireland/U.S. treaty, under which dividend withholding is limited to 5% or 15%, depending on ownership levels, but where Ireland tax law imposes no withholding tax on qualifying recipients.
- See, e.g., treaties between the U.S. and France regarding income taxes and estate and gift taxes. The provisions of this treaty reflect typical patterns, and incorporate all of the features mentioned in this section.
- See, e.g., the U.S./France treaty, supra, containing all of these features.
- All of the treaties cited above feature the credit mechanism.
- See, e.g., the Canada/U.S. 2007 Protocol Article 22, amending Treaty Article XXVI A, Assistance in Collection.
- The OECD model, supra, Article 25 contains typical language.
- See, e.g., the Canada/U.S. 2007 protocol, supra, article 25, as an example of complexity.
- See, e.g., The United States Model Tax Convention, supra, article 22.
- See, e.g., the U.S. Constitution, article VI.
- For example, Switzerland had agreed with the United States to turn over certain bank records, but the agreement was held by Swiss courts to violate Swiss law. The Swiss administration referred the matter to the Swiss Parliament for resolution. See, e.g., CNN coverage. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37892000 |
1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Slidell, John
|←Sleigh||1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 25
|See also John Slidell on Wikipedia, and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer.|
SLIDELL, JOHN (1793-1871), American political leader and diplomatist, was born in New York City in 1793. He graduated from Columbia College in 1810, engaged in business for a short time, then studied law, and became one of the leaders of the bar at New Orleans, Louisiana, where he settled permanently in 1825. He was a member of the national House of Representatives as a state's rights Democrat from 1843 to 1845, when he resigned and was sent by President Polk on a secret mission to Mexico, with power to adjust the difficulties growing out of the annexation of Texas to the United States, and to acquire by purchase both New Mexico (including the present Arizona,) and Upper California. He was not, however, received by the Mexican government. From 1853 to 1861 he was a representative of Louisiana in the United States Senate, and was an influential working member of important committees, though he seldom took part in debate. During this period he was intimately associated with James Buchanan, and is supposed to have had an important part in bringing about Buchanan's nomination for the presidency in 1856. When Louisiana seceded in 1861, Slidell withdrew from the Senate, and late in 1861 was sent by the Confederate Government as commissioner to France. With James M. Mason (q.v.), the Confederate commissioner to England, he was taken from the British steamer “Trent” by Captain Charles Wilkes of the United States navy, and was imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston harbour. In January 1862, at the demand of England, the Confederate commissioners were released, and Slidell proceeded to France. His mission there was to secure the recognition of the Confederate States; in this he was unsuccessful, but he was able to keep France sympathetic, and to help to secure supplies for the Confederate army and navy. After the war he remained abroad, settling in England, and his daughter married a French nobleman. He died in London on the 29th of July 1871. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37894000 |
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, 2013
About the document
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) was signed in Ramsar, Iran on 2 February 1971. The Ramsar Convention aims to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve, through wise use and management, those that remain. The Convention encourages member countries to nominate sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or that are important for conserving biological diversity, to the List of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). Australia was one of the first countries to become a Contracting Party to the Convention and designated the world's first Ramsar site, Cobourg Peninsula, in 1974. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37899000 |
Coleman, SA and Nichols, E (2011) Embedding Inquiry based learning into Programming via Paired Assessment. ITALICS, 10 (1). pp. 72-77. [Journal article]
Full text not available from this repository.
Changes within our approach to teaching can make some students feel uncomfortable. To overcome this, inquiry based learning, which is strongly supported by research in the areas of intellectual development and approaches to learning (Prince, 2007), can be used. Inquiry based approaches should be introduced in combination with existing teaching styles in order to address the needs of all students. Pair programming enhances the communication among peers and encourages students to ask questions of each other and be more ambitious in their computer programming practicals. The students subsequently gain confidence from one another to try different approaches to solving programming problems; this enhances deeper learning. Additionally, working in pairs provides some students with the courage to ask questions of the teacher while with their pair, which they may not do alone. This paper presents a case study on using pair programming to encourage inquiry based learning within programming modules, to improve attendance and practical assessment results.
|Item Type:||Journal article|
|Faculties and Schools:||Faculty of Computing & Engineering|
Faculty of Computing & Engineering > School of Computing and Intelligent Systems
|Research Institutes and Groups:||Computer Science Research Institute|
Computer Science Research Institute > Intelligent Systems Research Centre
|Deposited By:||Dr Sonya Coleman|
|Deposited On:||11 Jul 2011 09:06|
|Last Modified:||11 Jul 2011 09:06|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37904000 |
The set of Hamming
codes are called 'Forward Error Correction
' and give the ability for the receiving station
to correct a transmission error
. While this takes more bits to send the information
, it means fewer retransmits and thus can actually speed up a noisy connection.
The number of parity bits in the hamming code is given by the Hamming rule. This is a function of the number of bits of information transmitted in a block and is represented by the following inequality:
d + p + 1>= 2p
'd' is the number of data bits and 'p' is the number of parity bits. Hamming codes are identified by the ordered set (c,d) where 'c' = 'd' + 'p'. The Hamming code (7,4) is the classic example used which describes a word of 4 data bits long and 3 error check bits. This satisfies the above inequality:
4 + 3 + 1 >= 23
The hamming code word is created by multiplying the data bits by a generator matrix using modulo-2 arithmetic. The result of this is called a code word vector which consists of the original data bits and the parity bits.
The generator matrix used in constructing the hamming code consists of I (the identity matrix) and a parity generation matrix A. For a data size of 4 the following matrix is created:
1 0 0 0 | 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 | 0 1 1
G = 0 0 1 0 | 1 0 1
0 0 0 1 | 1 1 0
Multiplying a 4 bit vector (d1, d2, d3, d4) by G results in
a 7 bit vector of the form (d1, d2, d3, d4, p1, p2, p3). The A portion is what generates the parity bits. If the selection of the columns of A are unique
, it is true that (p1, p2, p3) is the parity calculations of three distinct subsets of the original data.
To validate the code word, it is necessary to multiply the data word by 'H' which is the [inverse A | I] check to form the parity check vector.
H r |1| s
| 1 0 1 1 | 1 0 0 | |0| |0|
| 1 1 0 1 | 0 1 0 | * |1| = |0|
| 1 1 1 0 | 0 0 1 | |0| |0|
If all the elements of s are 0, then the entire set has been received correctly. If there are any '1's in s, then there is an error which can be determined by looking at the parity pits that have failed.
If r = s will be This matches the third colum of 'H' which corresponds to the bit that has the error.
The (7,4) Hamming code, while good for demonstrations is not the best choice for practical communications - it has allot of overhead and has a non-standard length. The number of parity bits goes up with the log of the number of data bits. Hence, there is less overhead for longer words than shorter words.
The hamming code can detect and fix single bit errors, and detect double bit errors. For the (7,4) hamming code, the following table (error correcting bits are in bold):
decimal binary Hamming(7,4)
0 0000 0000000
1 0001 0001110
2 0010 0010101
3 0011 0011011
4 0100 0100011
5 0101 0100011
6 0110 0110110
7 0111 0111000
8 1000 1000111
9 1001 1001001
10 1010 1010010
11 1011 1011100
12 1100 1100100
13 1101 1101010
14 1110 1110001
15 1111 1111111
The hamming distance from one valid error correcting set to another for the same data is three. This means that it would take three errors to go from one valid message to another. Example:
0100010 (not valid - correctable)
0100000 (not valid - not correctable)
It is left an excercise to the reader to demonstrate this is the case for all 127 possible cases that the minimum hamming distance between any two valid messages is three. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37911000 |
Swiss naturalist and geologist
Born 1807 Died 1873
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was the son of the Protestant pastor of the parish of Motier, on the north-eastern shore of the Lake of Morat (Murten See), and not far from the eastern extremity of the Lake of Neuchatel. Agassiz was born at this retired place on the 28th of May 1807. Educated first at home, then spending four years at the gymnasium of Bienne, he completed his elementary studies at the academy of Lausanne. Having adopted medicine as his profession, he studied successively at the universities of Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich; and he availed himself of the advantages afforded by these universities for extending his knowledge of natural history, especially of botany. After completing his academical course, he took in 1829 his degree of doctor of philosophy at Erlangen, and in 1830 that of doctor of medicine at Munich.
Up to this time he had paid no special attention to the study of ichthyology, which soon afterwards became the great occupation of his life. Agassiz always declared that he was led into ichthyological pursuits through the following circumstances: - In 1819-1820, J. B. Spix and C.F.P. von Martius were engaged in their celebrated Brazilian tour, and on their return to Europe, amongst other collections of natural objects they brought home an important set of the freshwater fishes of Brazil, and especially of the Amazon river. Spix, who died in 1826, did not live long enough to work out the history of these fishes; and Agassiz, though little more than a youth just liberated from his academic studies, was selected by Professor Martius for this purpose. He at once threw himself into the work with that earnestness of spirit which characterized him to the end of his busy life, and the task of describing and figuring the Brazilian fishes was completed and published in 1829. This was followed by an elaborate research into the history of the fishes found in the Lake of Neuchatel. Enlarging his plans, he issued in 1830 a prospectus of a History of the Freshwater Fishes of Central Europe. It was only in 1839, however, that the first part of this publication appeared, and it was completed in 1842. In 1832 he was appointed professor of natural history in the university of Neuchatel.
Having become a professed ichthyologist, it was impossible that the fossil fishes should fail to attract his attention. The rich stores furnished by the slates of Glarus and the limestones of Monte Bolca were already well known; but very little had been accomplished in the way of scientific study of them. Agassiz, as early as 1829, with his wonted enthusiasm, planned the publication of the work which, more than any other, laid the foundation of his world-wide fame. Five volumes of his Recherches sur les poissons fossiles appeared at intervals from 1833 to 1843 1844. They were magnificently illustrated, chiefly through the labours of Joseph Dinkel, an artist of remarkable power in delineating natural objects. In gathering materials for this great work Agassiz visited the principal museums in Europe, and meeting Cuvier in Paris, he received much encouragement and assistance from him.
Agassiz found that his palaeontological labours rendered necessary a new basis of ichthyological classification. The fossils rarely exhibited any traces of the soft tissues of fishes. They consisted chiefly of the teeth, scales and fins, even the bones being perfectly preserved in comparatively few instances. He therefore adopted his well-known classification, which divided fishes into four groups - viz. Ganoids, Placoids, Cycloids and Ctenoids, based on the nature of the scales and other dermal appendages. While Agassiz did much to place the subject on a scientific basis, his classification has not been found to meet the requirements of modern research. As remarked by Dr A. Smith Woodward, he sought to interpret the past structures by too rigorous a comparison with those of living forms. (See Catalogue of Fossil Fishes in the British Natural History Museum.)
As the important descriptive work of Agassiz proceeded, it became obvious that it would over-tax his resources, unless assistance could be afforded. The British Association came to his aid, and the Earl of Ellesmere - then Lord Francis Egerton - gave him yet more efficient help. The original drawings made for the work, chiefly by Dinkel, amounted to 1290 in number. These were purchased by the Earl, and presented by him to the Geological Society of London. In 1836 the Wollaston medal was awarded by the council of that society to Agassiz for his work on fossil ichthyology; and in 1838 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society.
Meanwhile the invertebrate animals engaged his attention. In 1837 he issued the 'Prodrome' of a monograph on the recent and fossil Echinodermata, the first part of which appeared in 1838; in 1839-1840 he published two quarto volumes on the fossil Echinoderms of Switzerland; and in 1840-1845 he issued his Etudes critiques sur les mollusques fossiles. Subsequently to his first visit to England in 1834, the labours of Hugh Miller and other geologists brought to light the remarkable fishes of the Old Red Sandstone of the north-east of Scotland. The strange forms of the Pterichthys, the Coccosteus and other genera were then made known to geologists for the first time. They naturally were of intense interest to Agassiz, and formed the subject of a special monograph by him published in 1844-1845: Monographie des poissons fossiles du Vieux Gres Rouge, ou Systeme Devonien (Old Red Sandstone) des Iles Britanniques et de Russie.
The year 1836 witnessed the inauguration of a new investigation, which proved to be of the utmost importance to geological science. Previously to this date de Saussure, Venetz, Charpentier and others had made the glaciers of the Alps the subjects of special study, and Charpentier had even arrived at the conclusion that the erratic blocks of alpine rocks scattered over the slopes and summits of the Jura mountains had been conveyed thither by glaciers. The question having attracted the attention of Agassiz, he not only made successive journeys to the alpine regions in company with Charpentier, but he had a hut constructed upon one of the Aar glaciers, which for a time he made his home, in order to investigate thoroughly the structure and movements of the ice.
These labours resulted in the publication of his grand work in two volumes entitled Etudes sur les glaciers, 1840. Therein he discussed the movements of the glaciers, their moraines, their influence in grooving and rounding the rocks over which they travelled, and in producing the striations and roches moutonnees with which we are now so familiar. He not only accepted Charpentier's idea that some of the alpine glaciers had extended across the wide plains and valleys drained by the Aar and the Rhone, and thus landed parts of their remains upon the uplands of the Jura, but he went still farther. He concluded that, at a period geologically recent, Switzerland had been another Greenland; that instead of a few glaciers stretching across the areas referred to, one vast sheet of ice, originating in the higher Alps, had extended over the entire valley of north-western Switzerland until it reached the southern slopes of the Jura, which, though they checked and deflected its further extension, did not prevent the ice from reaching in many places the summit of the range. The publication of this work gave a fresh impetus to the study of glacial phenomena in all parts of the world.
Thus familiarized with the phenomena attendant on the movements of recent glaciers, Agassiz was prepared for a discovery which he made in 1840, in conjunction with William Buckland. These two savants visited the mountains of Scotland together, and found in different localities clear evidence of ancient glacial action. The discovery was announced to the Geological Society of London in successive communications from the two distinguished observers. The mountainous districts of England and Wales and Ireland were also considered to constitute centres for the dispersion of glacial debris; and Agassiz remarked "that great sheets of ice, resembling those now existing in Greenland, once covered all the countries in which unstratified gravel (boulder drift) is found; that this gravel was in general produced by the trituration of the sheets of ice upon the subjacent surface, etc."
In 1842-1846 he issued his Nomenclator Zoologicus, a classified list, with references, of all names employed in zoology for genera and groups - a work of great labour and research. With the aid of a grant of money from the king of Prussia, Agassiz, in the autumn of 1846, crossed the Atlantic, with the twofold design of investigating the natural history and geology of the United States and delivering a course of lectures on zoology, by invitation from J. A. Lowell, at the Lowell Institute at Boston; the tempting advantages, pecuniary and scientific, presented to him in the New World induced him to settle in the United States, where he remained to the end of his life. He was appointed professor of zoology and geology in the university of Cambridge, U.S., in 1847. In 1852 he accepted a medical professorship of comparative anatomy at Charlestown, but this he resigned in two years.
The transfer to a new field and the association with fresh objects of interest gave his energies an increased stimulus. Volume after volume now proceeded from his pen: some of his writings were popular, but most of them dealt with the higher departments of scientific research. His work on Lake Superior, and his four volumes of Contributions to the Natural History of the United States, 1857-1862, were of this latter character. We must not overlook the valuable service he rendered to science by the formation, for his own use, of a catalogue of scientific memoirs - an extraordinary work for a man whose hands were already so full. This catalogue, edited and materially enlarged by the late Hugh E. Strickland, was published by the Ray Society under the title of Bibliographia Zoologiae et Geologiae, in 4 vols., 1848-1854. Nor must we forget that he was building up another magnificent monument of his industry in the Museum of Natural History, which rose under his fostering care at Cambridge. But at length the great strain on his physical powers began to tell. His early labours among the fishes of Brazil had often caused him to cast a longing glance towards that country, and he now resolved to combine the pursuit of health with the gratification of his long cherished desires. In April 1865 he started for Brazil, with his wife and class of qualified assistants. An interesting account of this expedition, entitled A Journey in Brazil (1868), was published by Mrs Agassiz and himself after they returned home in August 1866.
In 1871 he made a second excursion, visiting the southern shores of the North American continent, both on its Atlantic and its Pacific sea-boards. He had for many years yearned after the establishment of a permanent school where zoological science could be pursued amidst the haunts of the living subjects of study. The last, and possibly the most influential, of the labours of his life was the establishment of such an institution, which he was enabled to effect through the liberality of Mr John Anderson, a citizen of New York. That gentleman, in 1873, not only handed over to Agassiz the island of Penikese, in Buzzard's Bay, on the east coast, but also presented him with $50,000 wherewith permanently to endow it as a practical school of natural science, especially devoted to the study of marine zoology. Unfortunately he did not long survive the establishment of this institution. The disease with which he had struggled for some years proved fatal on the 14th of December 1873. He was buried at Mount Auburn. His monument is a boulder selected from the moraine of the glacier of the Aar near the site of the old Hotel des Neuchatelois, not far from the spot where his hut once stood; and the pine-trees which shelter his grave were sent from his old home in Switzerland.
His extensive knowledge of natural history makes it somewhat remarkable to find that from first to last he steadily rejected the doctrine of evolution, and affirmed his belief in independent creations. When studying the superficial deposits of the Brazilian plains in 1865, his vivid imagination covered even that wide tropical area, as it had covered Switzerland before, with one vast glacier,, extending from the Andes to the sea. This view, however, has not been generally accepted. His daring conceptions were only equalled by the unwearied industry and genuine enthusiasm with which he worked them out; and if in details his labours were somewhat defective, it was only because he had ventured to attempt what was too much for any one man. to accomplish. It may be interesting to mention that the charming verses written by Longfellow on The fiftieth birthday of Agassiz were read by the author at a dinner given to Agassiz by the Saturday Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1857.
Louis Agassiz was twice married, and by his first wife he had an only son, Alexander Agassiz, born in 1835; in 1850, after her death, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Cabot Cary of Boston, Massachusetts, afterwards well known as a writer and as an active promoter of educational work in connexion with Radcliffe College (see an article on Radcliffe College, by Helen Leah Reed in the New England Magazine for January 1895).
Authorities. L. Agassiz, His Life and Correspondence, 2 vols., by E. C. (Mrs) Agassiz (London, 1885); Louis Agassiz, His Life and Work, by C. F. Holder (New York and London, 1893). (H.B.W.)
Being the entry for AGASSIZ, JEAN LOUIS RODOLPHE in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, the text of which lies within the public domain. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37912000 |
Unlike some of their American cousins, European cicadas make their appearance annually rather than once every thirteen or seventeen years. This means they are part of the fabric of rural life instead of an occasional noteworthy or horrendous occurrence. Perhaps nowhere are they more loved than in the south of France, in the area known as Provence.
If the rooster, or coq, to use his French title, is the animal kingdom member who is officially symbolic of France, then the cicada, or cigale, is the symbol of Provence. Jean de LaFountaine immortalized him in his "Fables". Most English-language fable collections carry the story of the Ants and the Grasshopper but in the French "Fables de LaFountaine" it is le cigale who passes the glorious days of summer in song.
The cigale is a creature of summertime. Appearing near the end of June in Provence, he is never heard after mid-September. His song (and only the males are heard) may sound monotonous to the uninitiated, but the strident rasp of this tiny lyrist is varied according to the circumstances. Like most male singing, it is a sexual call, sometimes reaching around 160 decibels. As a song of love it is languorous and deep. Alarmed, it becomes raucous and short. To hear this version, carefully catch a cigale and turn him over on his back. Stroke his belly with a blade of grass or a broom straw and he will immediately began to give voice.
”Voice” is perhaps the wrong word to use, as no larynx action is involved. When you have a male on his back as described above, you can actually see the vibrations of the lower chest. This is not sound-producing but sound-modifying; the actual sound is produced in the hollow stomach of the male. It has been compared to the hollow interior of a guitar. The sound itself is produced by the rapid retraction (from 300 to 900 times a second) of a muscle on each side of the "music box". Below 22 degrees Centigrade, the resounding sections of this "music box" lose their elasticity. For this reason the males are silent during rain or after sundown.
What is interesting about this strident creature is that it is completely deaf, having no tympanic features, i.e. no ears. It depends on its eyes to alert itself to the approach of enemies. If you walk into its field of vision it will immediately fall silent. And it has a very large field of vision : It has a pair of huge eyes with 14,000 facets as well as three small stemmed eyes on the top of its head. Males and females are alike in this respect, which leads to the assumption that the mating call is recognized by vibration in the atmosphere rather than by sound itself.
Regardless of how the two sexes find each other, they do, and procreation is abundant. Each female lays between 300 and 400 eggs, depositing them in the dry twig of almost any type of plant after cutting a slit in the bark with a drill, or "rostre" carried on its lower body. Ten eggs are laid at each site.
The female dies soon after this, but the larvae later appear at the same slit in the bark by which the eggs were introduced. After tearing its protective envelope, each individual larva remains suspended until it dries in the sun and takes on a protective hardening of its exterior. It then drops to the ground and burrows into the soil. It will spend four years underground, digging long tunnels in search of roots, from which it sucks sap as nourishment. Both larvae and adults live exclusively on sap of various plants, which is extracted by means of a facial appendage resembling a large soda straw, functioning very much like a syringe.
The larvae undergo several metamorphisms during their time underground. In cold weather they curl up and remain dormant, in hot weather they grow bigger. At this point they are still blind. Finally, one fine day in June, they emerge, cling to small twigs while shedding the grub form, and wait for their wings to dry before starting an adult life of several weeks.
For the entomologist the cicada is a homopterous insect, having four transparent or nearly-transparent wings. The French say that these wings form a "roof" over the insect when they are folded in rest. The French also say (and I don’t know if this is true or not) that cicadas of Provence are the only ones in the world who do not damage the plants they use for nourishment and egg-laying.
As said earlier, the people of Provence are very fond of their cigales. You will often see glazed orange, cream and black ceramic reproductions of the insect, many times life size, attached to the exterior walls of homes. I have several enameled lapel pins in the form of a cigale; unfortunately, outside of Provence, friends ask me why I have a cockroach on my jacket.
Perhaps the true charm of the cigale is that it symbolizes summertime and the people of Provence are people of the sun. After a winter of blustery mistral, the wind that blows incessantly from the north-northwest, after perhaps a December with frost on the ground in the early mornings, perhaps even a January with one or two days of snow, what could be better than to spend a drowsy afternoon in July or August under a spreading plane tree, with the air around you hot and dry, vibrating with the melody of the cigales? | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37914000 |
Wart (?), n. [OE. werte, AS. wearte; akin to D. wrat, G. warze, OHG. warza, Icel. varta, Sw. vx86;rta, Dan. vorte; perh. orig., a growth, and akin to E. wort; or cf. L. verruca wart.]
A small, usually hard, tumor on the skin formed by enlargement of its vascular papillae, and thickening of the epidermis which covers them.
An excrescence or protuberance more or less resembling a true wart; specifically Bot., a glandular excrescence or hardened protuberance on plants.
Fig wart, Moist wart Med., a soft, bright red, pointed or tufted tumor found about the genitals, often massed into groups of large size. It is a variety of condyloma. Called also pointed wart, venereal wart. L. A. Duhring. -- Wart cress Bot., the swine's cress. See under Swine. -- Wart snake Zool., any one of several species of East Indian colubrine snakes of the genus Acrochordus, having the body covered with wartlike tubercles or spinose scales, and lacking cephalic plates and ventral scutes. -- Wart spurge Bot., a kind of wartwort (Euphorbia Helioscopia).
© Webster 1913. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37915000 |
Today is Wednesday, May 23, the 144th day of 2012. There are 222 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 23, 1937, industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Co. and the Rockefeller Foundation, died in Ormond Beach, Fla., at age 97.
On this date:
In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English.
In 1533, the marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.
In 1701, William Kidd was hanged in London after he was convicted of piracy and murder.
In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
In 1873, Canada’s Parliament voted to establish the North West Mounted Police force.
In 1911, the newly completed New York Public Library was dedicated by President William Howard Taft, Gov. John Alden Dix and Mayor William Jay Gaynor.
In 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, La.
In 1945, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler committed suicide while imprisoned in Luneburg, Germany.
In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established.
In 1962, the movie version of “The Miracle Worker,” with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft reprising their Broadway roles as Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, opened in New York.
In 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, an action which precipitated war between Israel and its Arab neighbors the following month.
In 1984, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report saying there was “very solid” evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers.
Ten years ago: During visits to Germany and Russia on the same day, President George W. Bush told wary European leaders “we’ve got to use all means at our disposal to deal with Saddam Hussein,” and he denounced anyone who would appease terrorists or ignore threats to Europe. Golfing legend Sam Snead died in Hot Springs, Va., four days short of his 90th birthday.
Five years ago: President George W. Bush, speaking at the U.S. Coast Guard commencement, portrayed the Iraq war as a battle between the U.S. and al-Qaida and said Osama bin Laden was setting up a terrorist cell in Iraq to strike targets in America. Iraqi police dragged from the Euphrates River a body identified as that of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who had disappeared during a May 12 ambush. Jordin Sparks was crowned the new “American Idol” on the Fox reality show.
One year ago: President Barack Obama opened a six-day European tour in Ireland, where he paid tribute to his Irish ancestors before heading to Britain. The European Union imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad over the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters. Pakistani commandos recaptured a major naval base from Taliban attackers after a bloody 18-hour standoff.
Today’s Birthdays: Bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman is 87. Actor Nigel Davenport is 84. Actress Barbara Barrie is 81. Actress Joan Collins is 79. Actor Charles Kimbrough is 76. Actress Lauren Chapin is 67. Country singer Misty Morgan is 67. Country singer Judy Rodman is 61. Singer Luka Bloom is 57. Actor-comedian Drew Carey is 54. Country singer Shelly West is 54. Actor Linden Ashby is 52. Actress-model Karen Duffy is 51. Actress Melissa McBride is 47. Rock musician Phil Selway (Radiohead) is 45. Actress Laurel Holloman is 44. Rock musician Matt Flynn (Maroon 5) is 42. Singer Lorenzo is 40. Country singer Brian McComas is 40. Singer Maxwell is 39. Singer Jewel is 38. Actor Lane Garrison is 32. Actor Adam Wylie is 28.
Thought for Today: “Sometimes you have to be silent in order to be heard.” — Swiss proverb. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37917000 |
This tip discusses how school leaders can build a strong learning-focused environment in their district or school. High-Impact Leadership for High-Impact Schools: The Actions That Matter Most, by Pamela Salazar, presents specific knowledge and practical strategies for school leaders to reach high standards of excellence.
Strong learning-focused communities offer professional support and provide learning opportunities and mutual accountability for improving instruction. Principals must build a work culture that promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective responsibility for improving teaching and learning.
High-Impact Leaders Ask:
- When do teachers come together to talk about teaching and learning?
- What are the expectations for teachers to continue their professional development?
- Have we established a culture of questioning and inquiry?
- Is professional development site-specific and aligned with the needs assessment and goals of the school?
- Do teachers use assessment results to drive instructional decisions on an ongoing basis?
- Do teachers have opportunities for looking at student work?
- Do we see ourselves as a community of learners that can continuously improve through collaboration, assessment of results, and reflection?
A high-impact school is a community of practice in which learning, experimentation, and reflection are the norm. There is a sense of common purpose based on a collective understanding of the community served by the school and the staff’s capacity to work together toward this common purpose. Everyone works together to assure that diverse voices and beliefs are heard and that consensus truly results in what is good for the whole school and every student.
High-impact schools are professional learning communities engaged in assessing and improving instructional practice. These schools are equipped to meet the needs of individual students and to accelerate the pace of learning. They do this through a high level of communication about a variety of issues after establishing opportunities for collaboration. These schools value the exploration and improvement of teaching. They recognize and support innovative efforts that contribute to creating a positive climate and culture in the school. Collaborative work forms the backbone for developing an aligned educational experience and expands a school’s vision and boundaries by involving more people in essential processes related to student achievement and school improvement.
High-impact leaders are proactive. They build a supportive learning environment that is healthy and intellectually stimulating. They create an environment characterized by a high level of professional practice paired with a high level of student engagement in the construction of new knowledge. Students feel respected and connected and they are engaged in learning. Instruction is personalized to increase student contact with teachers. Professional development supports collaboration and collegial accountability.
The high-impact school dedicates itself to developing everyone’s potential talents, centering its attention on learning. It continuously seeks more effective ways to enhance student achievement through careful design and evaluation of programs, teaching, and learning environments. The school and staff both demonstrate an enthusiastic commitment to organizational and personal learning as the route to continuous improvement. Seeing itself as a community of learners that can continuously improve through collaboration, assessment of results, and reflection, the school designs practical means for gauging its students’ and its own progress toward clearly identified goals. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37919000 |
your.data <- data.frame(Symbol = c("IDEA","PFC","RPL","SOBHA"))
new.variable <- as.vector(your.data$Symbol) # this will create a character vector
VitoshKa suggested to use the following code.
new.variable.v <- your.data$Symbol # this will retain the factor nature of the vector
What you want depends on what you need. If you are using this vector for further analysis or plotting, retaining the factor nature of the vector is a sensible solution.
How these two methods differ:
#1 2 3 4
#IDEA PFC RPL SOBHA | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37921000 |
NK cells release pore-forming proteins
called perforins and proteolytic enzymes called granzymes. Granzymes pass through
the pores and activate the enzymes that lead to apoptosis, a programmed suicide
of the infected cell. Apoptosis occurs when certain granzymes activate a group
of protease enzymes called caspases that destroy the protein structural scaffolding
of the cell, degrade the cell's nucleoprotein, and activate enzymes that degrade
the cell's DNA. As a result, the infected cell breaks into membrane-bound fragments
that are subsequently removed by phagocytes. If very large numbers of perforins
are inserted into the plasma membrane of the infected cell, this can result
in a weakening of the membrane and lead to cell lysis rather than apoptosis.
An advantage to killing infected cells by apoptosis is that the cell's contents,
including viable virus particles and mediators of inflammation, are not released
as they are during cell lysis. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37923000 |
The next time you pass the former Capitol department store on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville, imagine the U.S. Army gleefully burning down The Fayetteville Observer offices in that vicinity.
It happened. The event took place 146 years ago in the concluding days of the Civil War.
Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and south-central North Carolina are replete with Civil War history.
This year, the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. The war came to a close four years later in the spring of 1865 in our own backyard. The year 2015 will mark the sesquicentennial of local events.
Author Jim Wise in "On Sherman's Trail" describes how the combatants may have surveyed the surrounding fields from the belfry of Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church in Scotland County. Fort Bragg itself was the site of the Battle of Monroe's Crossroads. There's a driving tour and information about the Union army's pontoon bridge over the Cape Fear River in Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky's highly regarded "No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar: Sherman's Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro."
Union troops of Gen. William T. Sherman had laid waste to the secessionist hotbeds of Georgia and South Carolina and were supposed to go easier on North Carolina, which was late to join the exodus. However, they had been keeping track of the Confederate sympathizers. On March 12, 1865, Sherman's troops set the torch to the ardently pro-Confederate local newspaper.
According to one account, the Observer office was at Hay and Anderson streets. Union officers sat on a hotel veranda across the street and merrily watched as the Observer went up in flames.
There's an irony there. Nowadays, The Fayetteville Observer takes pride in being the hometown newspaper of Fort Bragg, the Army's premier installation. Elite magazine has a piece of that Civil War heritage, too. Fayetteville Publishing Co. publishes both Elite magazine and The Fayetteville Observer newspaper. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37927000 |
September 11 – National Hot Cross Buns Day
Posted on September 11, 2012
National Hot Cross Buns Day
Five Food Finds about Hot Cross Buns
- A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top, traditionally eaten on Good Friday.
- In many historically Christian countries, buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion.
- They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” was not until 1733.
- It is believed that buns marked with a cross were eaten by Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre (the cross is thought to have symbolised the four quarters of the moon); “Eostre” is probably the origin of the name “Easter”.
- Others claim that the Greeks marked cakes with a cross, much earlier.
Today’s Food History
on this day in…
1721 Rudolph Jacob Camerarius died. A German botanist, he showed the existence of sexes in plants, and identified the stamen and pistil as the male and female organs.
1777 The Battle of Brandywine in the American Revolutionary War. The British win, enabling them to capture Philadelphia.
1851 Sylvester Graham died in Northampton, Massachusetts. He advocated vegetarianism, temperance and the use of coarse ground whole wheat (graham) flour. He developed the Graham cracker in 1829.
1959 Congress passed legislation creating the Food Stamp program.
1961 The World Wildlife Fund, a conservation organization, was founded. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37938000 |
The negative split is one of my favorite distance running techniques that is sure to help you cut seconds and minutes off of your race times. A negative split is defined as running a later portion or a race at a faster pace than an earlier portion of the race. In essence, you start out slow and speed up as you go, each split is successively less than the one before it (negative). But why would you want to do that and how will that make you faster? Let's start at the beginning.
When I began running, I, like many others, believed that you should start fast when you are fresh and slow down as you wear out and become tired. Some call this 'banking time'. You are running faster than your goal at the beginning in an effort to bank enough time so that you can run slower later in the race. There is a fundamental flaw to this line of thinking and it has to do with your physiology (fancy word for body science). As you might already know our muscles get energy during running from glycogen (carbohydrates) and fat stores in your body. Glycogen is limited in quantity, and even a well trained athlete will not last long running above 85% of their max heart rate. They will be running anaerobically and burning a great deal of glycogen and producing lactic acid in their muscles at a rate faster than it can be removed. Lactic acid stops your muscles from converting fat into energy. This will cause you to slow way down or even walk. Your goal is to use your fat reserves, which are much greater in quantity and will keep you going longer.
The negative split running strategy coupled with the right aerobic training you can teach your body to use more fat and less glycogen which will allow you to run for much longer periods of time while burning fat and without running out of glycogen or generating large amounts of lactic acid.
So what can you do about it? First focus your training to be aerobic, in the 60-75% of your maximum heart rate range for at least 30 minutes. Yes that means running slower when training; it seems counter intuitive but it works. And the next time you race, instead of going out at full speed and fading in the later miles, start out at a pace a few seconds per mile (10-15) slower than your goal pace for the first few miles, and slowly pick up the pace running each mile a few seconds faster than the last. During the second half of the race you should be cruising at a bit faster than your goal pace and if everything goes correctly your second half will be faster than your first half and you will meet your goal.
Negative Split Works!
The first time I attempted to run a negative split it took almost 4 minutes off of my previous half marathon time where I went out at 6:59 at the start and slowed greatly at the end. This time I started off at a 7:20 - 7:24 min/mile pace for the first 3 miles and had tons of energy during the second half of the race and passed several people. I finished with an overall pace of about 7:09 min/mile. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37939000 |
By Kris Day
Topping is the absolute worst action you can take under the guise of “caring” for a tree. What exactly is “topping?” In a nutshell, it is a type of pruning that reduces a tree’s size by indiscriminately stub cutting the major branches of a tree. A tree typically ends up looking like a hat rack or candelabra at best. Other names for this misguided practice are: stubbing, heading, tipping, or rounding off.
Pruning trees in this way causes, rather than prevents, hazards–one of the main reasons people claim to do or have this work done. When a tree’s crown is cut back in this way, it responds by sending out a flush of growth from the remaining large diameter wood to replace the leaf area lost. This growth is very weakly attached and will become vulnerable to breakage in a short time.
Additionally, topping weakens trees by creating large wounds for them to seal over. It takes a lot of energy and time to close over cuts of this nature, and most often trees develop decay before the process is complete. So, not only do you invite the risk of new limbs breaking off in storms (or even just under their own weight), you also run the risk of having one of the structural branches falling due to rot.
While topping is dangerous, unhealthy, and unsightly, the bottom line is that it just doesn’t work. If you have a tree whose size or health are of concern to you, do yourself (and the tree) a favor and seek the advice of a certified arborist. A healthy tree can outlive many generations of people, but only if it is provided adequate resources and not mistreated. Don’t top or advocate for topping trees. And please… Spread the word. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37958000 |
What is Geography?While the word geography is derived from Greek and literally means "to write about the earth," the subject of geography is much more than describing "foreign" places or memorizing the names of capitals and countries. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks to understand the world - its human and physical features - through an understanding of place and location. Geographers study where things are and how they got there. My favorite definitions for geography are "the bridge between the human and physical sciences" and "the mother of all sciences." Geography looks at the spatial connection between people, places, and the earth.
How is Geography Different from Geology?Many people have an idea of what a geologist does but don't have any idea of what a geographer does. While geography is commonly divided into human geography and physical geography, the difference between physical geography and geology is often confusing. Geographers tend to study the surface of the earth, its landscapes, its features, and why they are where they are. Geologists look deeper into the earth than do geographers and study its rocks, the internal processes of the earth (such as plate tectonics and volcanoes), and study periods of earth history many millions and even billions of years ago.
How Does One Become a Geographer?An undergraduate (college or university) education in geography is an important beginning to becoming a geographer. With a bachelor's degree in geography, a geography student can begin working in a variety of fields. While many students begin their career after achieving an undergraduate education, others continue on.
A master's degree in geography is very helpful for the student who desires to teach at the high school or community college level, to be a cartographer or GIS specialist, of work in business or government.
A doctorate in geography (Ph.D.) is necessary if one wishes to become a full professor at a university. Although, many Ph.D.s in geography continue on to form consulting firms, become administrators in government agencies, or attain high-level research positions in corporations or think-tanks.
The best resource for learning about colleges and universities that offer degrees in geography is the annual publication of the Association of American Geographers, the Guide to Programs in Geography in the United States and Canada.
What Does a Geographer Do?Unfortunately, the job title of "geographer" is not often found in companies or government agencies (with the most notable exception of the U.S. Census Bureau). However, more and more companies are recognizing the skill that a geographically-trained individual brings to the table. You'll find many geographers working as planners, cartographers (map makers), GIS specialists, analysis, scientists, researchers, and many other positions. You'll also find many geographers working as instructors, professors, and researchers at schools, colleges, and universities. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37965000 |
Looking at the definitions of again and wieder we're able to figure out which meanings are identical and which are different.
1 one more time; on another occasion
1 drückt eine Wiederholung aus; ein weiteres Mal, wie früher schon einmal; erneut
2 showing that somebody/something is in the same place or state that they were in originally
2 drückt eine Rückkehr in einen früheren Zustand aus; drückt aus, dass etwas rückgängig gemacht wird
3 added to an amount that is already there
4 used to show that a comment or fact is connected with what you have just said
5 (then/there again) used to introduce a fact or an opinion that contrasts with what you have just said
3 gleichzeitig, andererseits [aber auch]
6 used when you ask somebody to tell you something or repeat something that you think they have told you already
6 (noch, doch) drückt in Fragesätzen aus, dass der Sprecher nach etwas Bekanntem fragt, was ihm im Moment nicht einfällt
As you can see there are two meanings of again that aren't represented by wieder. In the following sentence you can't use wieder in German.
The cost is about half as much again as it was two years ago.
And again, we must think of the cost.
Side note: There are also definitions of wieder that aren't covered by again; hence, you can't translate wieder to again in every case.
Last but not least: in some sentences German natives would tend to use a synonym like nochmals where again is used in English.
Could you say it again, please? - Kannst du das bitte nochmals sagen.
The last definition is taken from the entry of doch. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37967000 |
It seems like we can find almost everything we need through Google Maps — even the best place to put a new wind farm or a solar power plant. Renewable energy prospectors can now assess potential sites with the click of a mouse using 3TIER’s high-resolution maps of the earth’s solar radiation, wind speeds and hydro power capacities. The company showed off its new seamless, high-resolution solar map of the western hemisphere this week at the International Solar Power conference.
3TIER is working on mapping the entire world with its “REmapping the World” initiative which it hopes will help developing countries assess their renewable energy resources and “leap frog” past fossil fuels. Many of the places that need renewable energy the most don’t have the resources to synthesize millions of satellite photos. 3TIER offers a free look on their web site for consumers and sells comprehensive, custom full site analysis reports, complete with GIS data layers to energy developers.
3TIER says its new solar maps offers three times the resolution of existing industry standards. And while you might have thought sunlight just beams straight down, 3TIER’s solar map displays information on global horizontal irradiation, direct normal irradiation and diffuse irradiation so you can tell how much radiation might actually power your panels. The wind energy map also provides a huge amount of detail and clicking through the wind velocity at elevations of 20, 50 and 80 meters quickly illustrates that higher speed winds are higher up in the atmosphere.
Founded in 1999, 3TIER displays its data using Google Maps, which makes us wonder: What if Google were to acquire 3TIER? It could be a perfect fit. Google.org has made investments in solar and wind energy companies which could certainly make use of high-resolution energy maps. 3TIER’s maps could perfectly compliment Google’s recent grant to Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory to update a very similar geothermal energy map. And Google Earth has been adding layers of data about renewable energy for quite some time now. But then again, we’re still waiting for Google to acquire the Earth2Tech portfolio of green maps.
Images courtesy of 3TIER. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37968000 |
An ecological network is a network of high quality sites, protected by buffer zones, and connected by wildlife corridors and smaller, but still wildlife rich, 'stepping stone' sites.
The essence of what needs to be done to establish a more coherent and resilent network can be summarised in four words:
Better - improve the quality of priority habitat (both within and outside protected sites), through appropriate habitat management.
Bigger - increase the size of existing priority habitat.
More - create new areas of priority habitat.
Joined - enhance ecological connections between, or join up, existing areas of priority habitat to enable wildlife to move around the landscape. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37973000 |
The Heating System of the Winter Moth
When winter comes, many insect species inhabiting cold regions of the world die from cold or lack of food. That is because insects are delicate creatures, but there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, owl moths look like butterflies and at first sight seem very delicate. In reality, however, they are strong enough to survive tough winter conditions. Therefore these moths are also called "winter moths".
Like butterflies, a winter moth has two wings and a trunk to which these wings are joined. In order for this moth to fly, the temperature of its thorax to which its wings are joined should be 30oC (86oF). But the temperature where they live is usually 0oC (32oF) and even drops below zero degrees from time to time. How can winter moths survive such cold? What prevents them from freezing when they are motionless, and what enables them to fly in cold weather?
This moth species is created together with a special heating system that enables it to live under winter conditions. This system consists of several complementary features.
Before flight winter moths continuously tense the main muscles that are connected to the wings and make their wings vibrate. The rapid vibrating of the wings leads to an increase in the temperature of the insect's thorax. As a result of this increase, the temperature of the thorax may rise from 0oC (32oF) to 30oC (86oF) or even more. However, this is only one of the features that the moth needs to survive. In order to fly it is not sufficient for the winter moth merely to increase its body temperature. That is because the difference between the temperatures of the insect's body and of the atmosphere will result in loss of heat. In the same way as a glass of hot tea cools after a while, the moth's body will also cool. Therefore it will not help even if the moth keeps its wings vibrating. In order for the winter moth to fly and thus survive, another method is required to maintain the heat it has produced. This need is also met by a special structure that Allah created in the moth's body. Moths are covered with dense scales that reduce heat loss. Scientists have determined after research that a moth without scales cools twice as fast as those with scales.
These are some of the mechanisms in a winter moth that protect it from cold. The features mentioned above must have existed since this moth species came into being. Otherwise, the moth would have died of cold and this species would be extinct. One does not need to reflect at great length to understand that it is not a coincidence that only those species inhabiting cold regions possess these features that make them different from all other moths. Taking all kinds of measures to enable these creatures to survive in cold, Allah introduces Himself to us. In the Qur'an, Allah reveals that He knows where all creatures live:
There is no creature on the earth which is not dependent upon Allah for its provision. He knows where it lives and where it dies. They are all in a Clear Book. (Surah Hud: 6)
Such features in living creatures enable us to grasp Allah's power and artistry, and increase our faith in and love for our Lord. Communicating the amazing information you read to others, you may also be the means to increase other people's faith in Allah. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-37991000 |
The Economic Impact of Montana's Renewable Portfolio Standard
Montana's renewable power mandates will force state electricity consumers to pay an extra $225 million in 2015 versus baseline figures. In addition, the mandate will bring few environmental benefits, as it is unclear whether the use of renewable power sources such as wind and solar actually reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions. Wind and solar power require significant fossil fuel-based backup power to accommodate variability in the availability of wind and sunlight for power conversion. A recent study published by the Bentek energy market analytics company found wind power can actually increase pollution and greenhouse gas emissions because the constant ramping up and ramping down of fossil-fuel backup systems is less efficient than running them at a steady pace. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38000000 |
Fungi use spores to survive and spread to new sources of food.
Spores are not seeds. A seed contains a small form of a plant, plus some
food to help it get started, wrapped in a hard shell. A seed is made of
Most spores are single cells protected by a cell wall. Some spores are made of several cells, but the largest spore is still smaller than the smallest seed (made by orchids).
There is no microscopic fungus inside a spore. A spore contains all the chemicals needed to make its kind of fungus. When conditions are right, the spore starts to grow and creates a web-like mycelium, the fungus individual.
BACK TO MUSHROOMS
Last update: 25 Oct 96. © 1996, Robert Fogel, Ivins, UT 84738. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38002000 |
Tradition observes that Christ was put to death on Good Friday but Thursday is the day that would fulfill the sign of Jonah. Matthew 12:38-40 says "the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth". So did the Lord mean what He said here in Matthew 12? Three days and three nights in the earth? There are not 3 nights between Good Friday and Sunday morning, the first day of the week when Christ arose (John 20:1). By looking at the Feasts from Leviticus 23, we can confirm our answer that the Lord is always accurate. In some weeks the Jewish feasts could require two consecutive days of rest (weekly and annual Sabbaths). This helps to determine that Christ was crucified Passover day, Thursday the 14th of Nissan.
John 18:28 shows that some Jews had not yet eaten their passover in the hours before early Thursday morning. We know that Jesus and others had already eaten their Passover meal the previous Wed. evening. Customs or reasons for different times in killing the lamb and the Passover meal might come from the translation of Leviticus 23:5 where "at twilight" literally means "between the evenings". Also Pharisee and Sadducee disputes on Passover customs perhaps were based on past examples of Hezekiah, Josiah or from the book Ezra when passover changes were allowed. We can be sure Jesus celebrated the passover meal at the correct time of Wednesday evening when the 14th began. A new day was said to begin when 3 stars were visible in the evening. It is helpful to mention that the Jewish day begins in the evening unlike our present method of changing over at midnight. The 14th of Nissan is the date of the Passover meal celebration at twilight Wednesday evening. However it is still Passover, the 14th during daylight hours Thursday. During these daylight hours several events took place as our Savior was on the cross. It was the day of preparation (John 19:14) when all leaven is to be removed from the house in preparation for the High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This High Sabbath Friday the 15th, proceeded the weekly Saturday Sabbath of the 16th. This study is not to prove what the priests were doing at the exact time Jesus was nailed to the cross, but it may be probable that the priests were sacrificing a national passover lamb at the temple Thursday the 14th, as the true sacrifice of God was taking place on Golgotha outside the camp.
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened bread are sometimes referred to like one feast(1). However, a 7 day Feast of Unleavened Bread starts the day after Passover. The 7 day Unleavened Bread feast is proceeded by a day of preparation(Passover day). Passover is an evening memorial meal of unleavened bread and roasted lamb celebrated at twilight on the 14th. Studying these feasts should also help us understand Jesus words about Him being the bread from heaven, eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John chapter 6). Like our Savior, no bone of the passover lamb was to be broken (Exodus 12:46, John 19:36).
From Exodus 12:3-6 we read that the Jews are to choose their sacrificial passover lamb on the 10th of Nissan, the first month of the Jewish calendar. Nissan 10th was the day after a weekly Saturday Sabbath, and it is also called Palm Sunday by Christians today. This day Christ rode into Jerusalem and the people laid palm branches before Him, not realizing that He was to be their sacrificial lamb in a few days(2). Isaiah 53:1-9 predicted that Messiah would be the final paschal sacrifice, the final sacrifice for sin. Jesus is "our passover" in I Corinthians 5:6-7. Jesus is portrayed as this Passover Lamb in four passages: John 1:29, 1:35-36, I Peter 1:18-19, and Revelation 5:6. John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36). Believe in this Lamb for eternal life.
Leviticus and Exodus give us the best look at the timing of Christ sacrifice and how God had revealed this prophecy so many years before(3,4,5,6):
- Nissan 10th—Palm Sunday (the 10th actually starts Saturday evening till Sunday evening)—Jews choose and test the paschal lamb.
- Nissan 11th—Sunday evening till Monday evening—the lamb is tested
- Nissan 12th—Monday evening till Tuesday evening—the lamb is tested
- Nissan 13th—Tuesday evening till Wednesday evening—the lamb is tested
- Nissan 14th—Wednesday evening till Thursday evening&mdash.The lamb is killed at twilight on Passover (is not a Sabbath). Also called preparation day to rid the house of all leaven for the next day is a High Holy Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
- Nissan 15th—Thurs. eve till Friday eve—High Holy Sabbath the beginning day of Feast of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31, Leviticus 23:6-7, Exodus 12:16).
- Nissan 16th—weekly Sabbath. Friday eve till Sat. eve
- Nissan 17th—Sunday morning—Feast of Firstfruits—celebrated the day after Sabbath—Christ arose and is the firstfruits of our resurrection.(1Cor.15:20-23). Note that the Sadducees also disputed the Pharisees over the Feast of Firstfruits day. They could not agree from which Sabbath they should count for being the day after the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:11). This argument would arise because two Sabbaths occurred in one week.
This study can help us tie Old Testament and New Testament together in showing how God has revealed His plan for all mankind through His chosen people and through His Son who is the Word. On Palm Sunday many of the Jews welcomed Jesus saying "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 21:9). Just a few days later the crucifixion took place and Jesus was killed. In Matthew 23:13-39 Jesus had warned the nation of Israel of their coming desolation for rejection of God's Word. One day they will see Him again, but not "till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39). All Israel will be saved one day when they call on Jesus as Messiah (Romans 11:26, Romans 10-11). He will not come back until they do. Maranatha.
Some translations read "first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Day of Unleavened Bread" in Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7. By inserting capital lettered words here, unless we are careful, it may confuse Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A Passover meal includes "unleavened bread" but is not one of the 7 days of Feast of Unleavened Bread. The use of "first" or "Day" would indicate of chief importance. The Passover day is the first day of 8 days of feasts which include unleavened bread.
An additional comment about John 12:1-12 , in relation to the Sign of Jonah study may answer another possible question. I had looked at this passage before but originally decided not to include it in the study. John 12:1 says Jesus arrived in Bethany 6 days before passover. Some might jump to the wrong conclusion in counting 6 days from the supper in verse 2 which was Saturday night as verse 12 makes clear. Most likely Jesus and His disciples did not travel much on the sabbath and were in Bethany before the sabbath began Friday evening. Friday during daylight hours was the 8th of Nissan and 6 days before passover on the 14th. We are not told that they(Martha) made Jesus a supper the evening He arrived. The time of arrival and the time of supper are not stated to occur on the same day. John 12:1-12 does not contradict my view on the sign of Jonah unless one jumps to wrong conclusions on time between verse 1 to verse 12.
Further detail concerning Exodus 12 is needed. Exodus 12:41 and 12:51 are linked together in structure and are referring to Nissan the 15th as the day the Lord led Israel out of Egypt. The phrase in verse 41 and 51, "and it came to pass, on that very same day" are both referring to the ending of the 430 years of captivity when the Lord led them out and is not saying that He led them out on the 14th. Leviticus 23:5-6 showing the dates of passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread not being on the same date. The word "It" beginning verse 42 seems to refer to it being night when the Lord led them out. But verse 42 could be a transition referring to verses 43-50 and Passover. Or the "It" in verse 42 could lead back to verse 27 and "It is the Passover". Either way verse 42 is not contradicting all the events of Passover happening in the night on the 14th. Exodus 12:43-50 are viewing some additional regulations for passover, which is on the 14th. It would require some time for all the events of the night and the daylight of the 14th(Ex.12:21-39) to occur. For example ,just to assemble all Israel with belongings in preparation to depart Egypt may have taken most of the daylight hours. As evening approached and the beginning of the 15th starts, the Lord led Israel out. An additional comment about the phrase, "This same night" or "that night" in Exodus 12:8;12. These verses are referring to all the events occurring at night on Nissan 14th, from Exodus 12:6 thru 12:31. For passover to have occurred on the closing evening of the 14th, the amount of time required to complete everything would put the majority of events on the 15th at night, and not the 14th. Demonstrating again that Jesus took the Passover meal correctly at the beginning evening of the 14th.
Ex.12:18 says unleavened bread is to be eaten everyday for 7 days. On the 14th at evening till the evening of the 21st. That is a total of 8 days. However the requirement to eat unleavened bread on the 21st may not be included as the 21st begins at evening. But it is required to eat on the 14th. The word "on" is inclusive for the 14th but "until" the evening of the 21st is not inclusive, as the 21st begins at evening. No leaven is to be found in the house for 7 days. It would be difficult to find leaven for bread on the 21st in order to bake leavened bread because of this. Also this is a sabbath and certain restrictions apply. Difficult but not impossible as they may have been tired of unleavened bread after a week. Thank goodness for a gentile bakery across the street for example!
Exodus 12:15-16 at first seems to mean the same day by using the phrase "On the first day". "On the first day" in verse 15 is referring to passover day as removing leaven from the house. Verse 16 is referring to "on the first day" as a holy convocation on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.Leviticus 23:5-6 showing the different dates and John19:14;31;42 showing the day of Preparation on the 14th for a high holy sabbath on the 15th.The overlapping of the seven days between these two feast makes it somewhat hard to follow. Note that in Leviticus 23 between verse 5 and 6 a period mark is placed for punctuation. But verse 4 is saying a list of the feast is following. Verse 5 and 6 are joined together with the word "and" their meaning should not be separated by a period mark. This shows the 7 days of unleavened bread overlap to include both the 14th and the 15th. This is in agreement with the reading of Exodus 12 on these matters. Let us not overlook the importance of such a small word as "and".
Quartodecimanism holds that Jesus partook of the Passover meal on the correct beginning evening of the 14th. The following morning, still on the 14th, Jesus was crucified on Passover day. Many Jews in Jesus day observed a passover meal on the closing evening of the 14th. They did not think Jesus was right. You can only believe something when you know it is true. Jesus gives eternal life. That is something no other man can give.
Note: This article is copied from my web page under Sign of Jonah. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38003000 |
What was the general breakdown of casualties per their cause during American Civil War?
E.g. bullets vs. artillery vs. edged weapons vs. disease vs. natural death.
Did that breakdown change in meaningful way between the beginning and the end of the war?
You can get a breakdown of the major causes of death here.
Prior to the 20th century (possibly late 19th), the dominant cause of death in war was disease: the troops were in close quarters with unsanitary conditions and inadequate means of handling these. This number was followed by complications related to injuries actually suffered in battle — frequently one would get a small injury and it would get infected and kill the individual even though it would be trivial to heal the wound in better conditions.
Unfortunately, I cannot give you a specific breakdown of blade vs. bullet (and I suspect that it would be impossible to do so), but I will say that, based on the artillery technology of the time, it is fairly safe to say that discerning the difference between bullet and canon shot would be quite impossible. Even if you assume that there was a substantial interest in maintaining those records, there would not have been effort made to determine which injuries are post-mortem.
Bruce Catton's history and Shelby Foote's history should have the details. I cannot check as my copies are at home. From what I remember, it was pre-battle medical care and unsanitary conditions that killed the most soldiers. The first use of modern rifles with Napoleon tactics contributed to the hight number of dead on the battle field. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38005000 |
MEDIEVAL EGYPTIAN COUNTED-THREAD EMBROIDERY
INTRODUCTION: Long before blackwork embroidery was being done in Europe,a similar style using double-running stitch was being done in Egypt. During the Mamluk period (1250-1517), this style and the closely related pattern darning became common as cheap methods of decoration for those who couldn't afford the silk brocades being made at the time.
MATERIALS: The ground fabric was usually linen, although silk could be used. It was normally even-weave, ranging from 28 to 60 threads per inch. Linen and wool thread were sometimes used, but silk floss was the most common. Indigo blue and black were used most frequently, but many other colors were used as well: green, yellow, red, turquoise, dark brown, grey.
METHOD: Both types of embroidery are based on running stitch, the simplest of all. Double-running stitch was called Spanish stitch in 16th-century Europe, and is often called Holbein stitch by modern embroiderers. Each stitch is made over or under the same number of threads, usually two, and then a second row of running stitches fills in the initial row, creating a solid line, which is identical on both sides of the ground fabric. A variant of this is sometimes called box-stitch and, as the name implies, is just a series of squares with one stitch to a side, arranged to form the design. Both these variants are well-adapted for the inscriptions which are an essential element of all Arabic decorative arts.
Designs can be formed just with the double-running stitch, but there are examples where it outlines a shape which is then filled in with either a solid color,with drawn- and cutwork, or with pattern darning.
In pattern darning, the stitch length is varied, most commonly going over or under 1, 3, or 5 threads. In the second row, and in each succeeding row, some stitches change in length, and the rest shift. Although the technique is so simple, it produces an incredible variety of geometric patterns.
At least two fragments are large enough to be recognized as tunics/shirts, with embroidery around the neck opening and another two bands going down the front. The hems of skirts and sleeves were probably embroidered, as were the various long strips of cloth used as scarves, sashes and turban wraps. There is one surviving example of embroidered scraps being reused to make a doll's robe. Embroidery may also have been used on household linens.
There are at least five surviving samplers, mostly of pattern darning. These were clearly not decorative wall hangings, but intended as a way of recording the patterns, possibly to allow the customers of professional embroiderers to choose the desired pattern or combination of patterns. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38009000 |
that different liquids can have different weights and densities.
You will need:
Two raw egg
1) Place one egg
in a jar and cover with vinegar.
2) Place the
other egg in a jar filled with water. Observe over the course of a
Leave it and check it out in about a week. Just let it soak away in
the vinegar. After a week, the egg should be see through but still
pretty much egg-shaped. The vinegar completely dissolves away the
shell (which is mostly calcium), leaving the membrane intact.
Vinegar is, in
fact an acid - acetic acid to be exact. It's the same stuff found
in tomato ketchup amd brown sauce. That's why a coin will become nice
and shiny what placed in either of these sauces.
Some of the vinegar
actually enters the membrane of the egg, and since this vinegar takes
up more space, the membrane stretches to accommodate it. This is why
the egg can look a little bigger. If you shake the egg, you can see
the yolk sloshing around in the white. If the membrane tears, the
contents will spill out just the same as with any raw egg.
If you do this with a hard boiled egg, the shell will dissolve in
the same way, and you will be left with a rubbery egg that should
actually bounce (if not dropped from too great a height!).
Try soaking a chicken bone in vinegar for several days to a week.
If the bone is fresh enough, you should be able to bend it; even tie
a knot in it. This is because most of the calcium has been dissolved,
leaving behind other less rigid parts of the bone.
1. Balancing Clown | 2. Oily Divers! | 3. Flying Counters | 4. Dancing Snake | 5. Chromatography | 6. Bubbles
7. Slime | 8. Balloon Rockets | 9. Under Pressure | 10. Surface Tension 1 | 11. Surface Tension 2 | 12. Surface Tension 3
13. Find your 'Blind Spot' | 14. Two eyes are better than one! | 15. Some optical illusions
16. and 17. More Balancing | 18. Dissolve an egg in vinegar! | 19. Egg Float | 20. Some Paper Airplanes | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38010000 |
"We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed
by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these,
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights,
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and
to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles,
and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely
to effect their safety and happiness."
- US Declaration
of Independence as originally written by Thomas Jefferson, 1776.
"I define Equality of
Opportunity as the following : Equality before the Law.
It is a career open
to the talents. No arbitary obstacles should prevent people from achieving
those positions for which their talents fit them and which their values
lead them to seek. Not birth, nationality, colour, religion, sex, nor any
other irrelevent characteristic should determine the opportunitiues that
are open to a person - only his abilities.
Equality of opportunity,
like personal equality, is not inconsistent with liberty, on the contrary,
it is an essential component of liberty. If some people are denied access
to particular positions in life for which they are qualified simply because
of their ethnic background, colour, or religion, that is an interference
with their right to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
- Milton Friedman,
"Free To Choose"
"The authors are badly
confused about equality. They are hung up on the term 'equality of opportunity.'
Jefferson's 'equality' in the Declaration is, of course, what Hayek called
isonomia - equality before the law. Philosopher Robert Nozick called it
process equality, which he carefully distinguished from end-state-equality.
The authors pursue the latter of those mutually exclusive concepts."
- Charles W. Baird,
review of "The Stakeholder Society"
The struggle for the high
school and the debate over its proper role in American democracy would
focus once again a question that had recurred throughout American history
and that would bedevil the nation in the 20th century. It was in some ways
the central problem of modern democracy, for it was nothing less than the
meaning of human "equality". Was the good society one which allowed all
citizens to develop their natural differences, including their natural
inequalities? Or was it a society which tried to make men equal? Did "equality"
mean the maximum fulfillment of each, or did it mean the levelling of all?
This question was nowhere more sharply posed than in education, and especially
in the high school.
- Daniel Boorstin, "The Americans: The Democratic Experience"
All men are by nature...
born equally free and independent... not a physical but a moral equality.
Common sense was sufficient to determine that it could not mean that all
men were equal in fact, but in right, not equally tall, strong, wise, handsome,
active, but equally men... the work of the same Artist, children in the
same cases entitled to the same justice.
- John Adams
'All men are created
equal' says the American Declaration of Independence.
'All men shall be
kept equal' say the Socialists.
- Winston Churchill
Let our children grow
tall, and some taller than others if they have it in them to do so.
Let a thousand flowers
bloom, and if some are prettier than others, so be it.
- Robert Locke
We have so many people
who can't see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the
conclusion that the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin
- Ronald Reagan
You do not make the
weak strong by making the strong weak.
It is the character of
egalitarian measures that they pull down what is above. They never raise
what is below. Beware dependency on the state.
- Edmund Burke, 1770.
Those who attempt to
level, never equalize... Very plausible schemes, with very pleasing commencements,
have often shameful and lamentable conclusions.
- Edmund Burke
Socialists make the
mistake of confusing individual worth with success. They believe you cannot
allow people to succeed in case those who fail feel worthless.
- Kenneth Baker
Even if it were proved
- which it is not - that the incidence of men of potentially superior brain
power is greater among the members of certain races than among the members
of others, it would still tell us nothing about any given individual and
it would be irrelevent to one's judgment of him. A genius is still a genius,
regardless of the number of morons who belong to the same race.
Democracy extends the
sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches
all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent,
a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word:
equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in
liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
- Alexis de Tocqueville
A society that puts equality
- in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with
neither equality or freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will
destroy freedom. On the other hand, a society that puts freedom first will,
as a happy by-product, end up with both greater freedom and greater equality.
Freedom means diversity but also mobility. It preserves the opportunity
for today's less well off to become tomorrow's rich, and in the process,
enables almost everyone, from top to bottom, to enjoy a richer and fuller
- Milton Friedman,
"Free To Choose"
The urge to distribute
wealth equally, and still more the belief that it can be brought about
by political action, is the most dangerous of all popular emotions. It
is the legitimation of envy, of all the deadly sins the one which a stable
society based on consensus should fear the most. The monster state is a
source of many evils; but it is, above all, an engine of envy.
- Paul Johnson
There exists in the
human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt
to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality
in slavery to inequality with freedom.
- Alexis de Tocqueville
Everything that I have
experienced and everything that I have read about socialist experiments
in the field of equality convinces me that, not only is equality of outcome
an evil myth, but that all attempts to engineer it, that is, to rig the
race, are certain to end where they have ended from the French to the Russian
revolutions: the guillotine and the gallows. Hierarchy is vital to any
human project. In a storm, no mass meeting is a substitute for a captain
on deck to shoulder responsibility.
- Eoghan Harris, "The Irish Independent"
Socialism was always
a crappy philosophy based on the stupid idea that we couldn't allow anybody
to succeed in life becacause if would make the rest of us feel like failures.
Good riddance to that.
- Marc Coleman, urging a new approach for the left in "The Irish Independent"
My experience of life
tells me that equality is a hopeless cause. From the minute you are born,
you are unequal to others born on that same day and in the same location,
and there is nothing any state directive can do about it. You may be born
plain-looking. This is one of the greatest disadvantages in life. To be
born handsome is to have a first-class ticket on the journey of life. You
may be born to two rather stout parents, in which case you have an inherited
genotype which will make you fat however many diets your torment yourself
Like the ideal of
chastity, the ideal of equality is a war against nature, and in wars against
nature, nature usually wins. Philosophers say that Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
- that trio of aspirations still stamped on official French documents -
are contradictions in terms. You can never have both liberty and equality:
you have to choose. I'll take liberty.
- Mary Kenny, "No Such Thing As Equality", "The Irish Independent"
Equality has always
been a threat to liberty, since you can never have both. One person's "equality"
is another person's lack of choice. The state which enforces "equality"
will trample on liberty. The nation which embraces "liberty" will always
be an unequal one, since free individuals will make different and thereby
- Mary Kenny, "The Irish Independent"
It is a terrible misunderstanding
of meritocracy to assume it means everyone is somehow (or could be) of
equal merit, with equal success. Innate ability varies, obviously enough.
Merit varies. All cannot have prizes, though all can do well in some way.
No one believes these days that anyone should be held back by some long-discredited
idea of knowing your place or getting above your station. We do live in
a meritocracy, imperfect though it is, and few people would wish to change
that. However, the painful truth is that meritocracy is cruel. It offers
no excuses to those who donít do well. It is even more cruel when teachers
and politicians offer false encouragement based on a confusion of meritocracy
with socialism. Socialism is incompatible with meritocracy.
- Minette Marrin, "The Lies They Tell Children", "The Times"
If a man does not keep
pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.
- Henry David Thoreau,
Somebody had said, that
a king may make a nobleman, but he cannot make a gentleman.
God may have made men
and women, but Colt made them equal.
There is no principle
in the conservative philosophy than that of the inherent and absolute incompatibility
between liberty and equality.
- Robert A. Nisbet,
"Twilight of Authority"
EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
The great aim of the
struggle for liberty has been equality before the law.
The only stable state
is the one in which all men are equal before the law.
- Aristotle, "Politics
V", c.322 BC
"The most certain test
by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security
enjoyed by minorities."
It is of the essence of
the demand for equality before the law that people should be treated alike
in spite of the fact that they are different.
- Friedrich Hayek,
"The Constitution of Liberty", 1960.
From the fact that people
are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result
must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place
them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. Equality
before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but
are in conflict which each other; and we can achieve either one or the
other, but not both at the same time.
- Friedrich Hayek
If a test of
civilisation be sought, none can be so sure as the condition of that half
of society over which the other half has power.
- Harriet Martineau,
Society in America
Return to Politics
index, or Site homepage. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38011000 |
Blow to the head
Through examining his skeletal remains, scientists found evidence that at a young age, Shanidar 1 experienced a crushing blow to his head. The blow damaged the left eye (possibly blinding him) and the brain area controling the right side of the body, leading to a withered right arm and possible paralysis that also crippled his right leg. One of Shanidar 1’s middle foot bones (metatarsal) on his right foot shows a healed fracture, which probably only enhanced his noticeable limp. All of Shanidar 1’s injuries show signs of healing, so none of them resulted in his death. In fact, scientists estimate he lived until 35–45 years of age. He would have been considered old to another Neandertal, and he would probably not have been able to survive without the care of his social group. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38017000 |
Page 3 of 3
Although Kilby probably thought of the integrated circuit a bit before Noyce both Texas and Fairchild filed for patents and a long legal wrangle developed between the two.
One of the key points of contention was the use of flying interconnecting wires in the Kilby diagram - was this really a true integrated circuit? Kilby had realised the problem while the patent was being written and added some lines about being able to use any method of interconnection for instance gold tracks laid down on an insulating layer of silicon dioxide. Where this additional idea had sprung from is unknown but it certainly placed Kilby's chip alongside Noyce's in terms of sophistication.
The patent lawyers argued that Kilby's postscript wouldn't work because gold wouldn't stick to silicon dioxide and used experts to try to undermine Kilby's design. The patent was initially awarded to Kilby, or rather to Texas Instruments. Then the appeal judge, in 1966 roughly ten years on, reversed the decision and awarded the patent to Noyce, in other words to Fairchild.
By this time it didn't make any difference because the two firms had got together to carve up the market between them.
They each charged a royalty of between 2 to 4% which alone eventually earned them somewhere in the region of $100 million each. I say "eventually" because when both companies announced the technique in 1959 there were few takers. The reason was the high price of the relatively low component count chips that could be made. It was cheaper to build the same out of discrete components.
Surprisingly it wasn't the mainstream computer industry that initially created the market for integrated circuits. It was the combination of the space race and military electronics which needed the low weight and reliability of integrated circuits at any price. As the price fell and the number of components increased, a trend that continues today. First mainframe computers started to incorporate replacement printed circuit boards using chips in place of transistors and then whole integrated circuit computers were designed. Next came the minicomputer and then the microcomputer and we are still waiting to see where it will all end.
So what happened to Kilby and Noyce after the chip?
Irrespective of the outcome of the patent wrangle they are both generally credited as the co-inventor of the integrated circuit - both were awarded the National (USA) Medal of Science and inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame.
Kilby stayed with TI for some time and his next important project for them was the design of the first pocket calculator. Kilby and his team first reverse engineered existing desktop calculators to see how they worked and then designed their own chips to do the same job. Along the way they also developed the first LED display and the first thermal printing mechanism. The result, the Data-Math sold for $149.50. Kilby was awarded the patent for the pocket calculator. He left TI in 1970 to work for himself as an independent inventor. Although he clocked up a number of patents none seem to have made him rich or any more famous.
In the mid 1960's Noyce was growing increasingly unhappy at Fairchild and he and Gordon Moore left to found Intel in 1986. The idea was make computer circuits on silicon and we know where that ended up don't we...
Perhaps the strangest twist to the story is that Noyce handed the task of designing the chips for a new desktop calculator for Busicom to an engineer by the name of Ted Hoff. He managed to cram the logic onto a single chip and so produced the world's first microprocessor. The trouble was that Busicom's machine was knocked out of the market place by Jack Kilby's cheaper pocket model and its subsequent clones.As a result Busicom couldn't pay Intel for the design work and so the rights to the chip returned to Intel who promptly placed it on open sale as the 4004 - the forerunner of the entire 80x86 line of processors.
Noyce moved ever more into management but always remained a techie at heart. Some of his financial decisions deserve recording, however. He warned his wife not to invest in a "no-future" company down the road at Cupertino, i.e. Apple, and then went and sank money into Osborne computers which made the first portable, well luggable, machine and promptly went bankrupt.
But the president of Intel could afford to make the occasional small mistake. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38019000 |
By Laura Ly, Special to CNN
(CNN) - A math homework assignment that asked fourth grade students to tally the number of slaves on a ship has sparked outrage among parents and administrators in Manhattan.
The assignment was devised by another group of students, after they apparently expressed interest in the transatlantic slave trade. It required fourth graders to calculate the remainder of those not killed by a mutiny aboard the vessel, and to determine the number of times slaves were beaten in one month.
“This is really inappropriate,” student teacher Aziza Harding told CNN affiliate NY1 on Friday. “It should not be a homework assignment, and I did not want to make copies of this.”
Harding was asked to photocopy the assignment by another teacher, but refused because the questions made her uncomfortable and she thought it desensitized students to the horrors of slavery.
The first question read: "In a slave ship, there are 3,799 slaves. One day, the slaves took over the ship. 1,897 slaves are dead. How many slaves are alive?"
The second question read: "One slave got whipped five times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month (31 days)? Another slave got whipped nine times a day. How many times did he get whipped in a month? How many times did the two slaves get whipped together in one month?"
The worksheet was created earlier this year by another teacher whose students were studying the history of slavery in their social studies class. During a math lesson, they were asked to create word problems on the same topic. Another teacher borrowed the worksheet before leaving for vacation, according to a statement by New York school officials.
“This is obviously unacceptable and we will take appropriate disciplinary action against these teachers," said Connie Pankratz, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Education. "The chancellor spoke to the principal, and she has already taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
Adele Schroeter, the school principal, said she was appalled and will be meeting with staff as well as families.
“I have already met with the teacher and have arranged for training around this issue for the entire staff at my school,” she said in a statement.
Harding said that instead of students getting desensitized to this type of violence, she wanted them to “have a general idea that wow, this is a terrible thing that happened to a group of people for over 300 years.”
Harding, a graduate student at New York University, contacted her professor about the incident, then reached out to NY1.
The professor, Charlton McIlwain, who teaches Media, Culture, and Communication, said, “When she first explained what had happened to me, I was in disbelief. I said, ‘I don’t believe you, send me a copy.’ ”
He said he understood that teachers were trying to integrate subject matter, but felt the math questions did not provide enough context for the students.
“It completely trivializes the historical significance, pain and violence of slavery. By extracting that experience into math problems, students role play being slave traders. It’s part of a much larger story and you can’t get that in a math assignment,” McIlwain said.
This comes after a string of similar incidents in schools across the country last year. In January 2012, a Georgia elementary teacher came under fire after using slavery references in math problems assigned to 8-year olds. In March, a teacher in Washington was fired after she assigned math problem asking students to calculate how many Africans, Americans and Indians to bake in ovens for Thanksgiving. In October, a Wisconsin teacher drew criticism for assigning math homework that used a derogatory Native American term for women.
The math worksheet has drawn reaction from the school and the surrounding community, including a New York state senator calling for the immediate removal of the two teachers who assigned the homework.
McIlwain said he does not think firing the teachers is the answer.
“It would be better to have these teachers go through some kind of productive discipline where they can talk with parents, with students, with the community, about why this is offensive and why the topic is important," said McIlwain. "I hope the dialogue will continue.”
CNN’s Rande Iaboni contributed to this report. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38032000 |
Amazing Facts About Freshwater Fish
I like to read about marine fish. I also enjoying watching shows like Dicovery Channel's The Blue Planet series. That TV series in particular provided an amazing looking into the world of freshwater fish. Each book and show seems to have a few interesting tidbits of trivia that I've collected into this article. I think some of these facts really are amazing.
Male Goldfish have an unusual trick that they use as part of their courtship display: they swim up to a female and then roll over and urinate over her nostrils. As strange as this seems, it allows the female to assess many things, including the male's genetic make-up, thus preventing her from breeding with a relative.
Parental Firemouth Cichlids can also recognize their own fry; remarkably, they will kidnap the fry of others and put these on the edge of their own school of offspring so that they, and not their own young, are in harm's way -- a kind of "cichlid shield."
The age at which fish can be considered old varies from species to species. Fish such as guppies and African Killifish would be lucky to attain 12 months, whereas some of the larger catfish and Cyprinids can continue for two or three decades.
Perhaps the most footloose of fish is the mangrove Killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus). It makes its home in the smallest of water bodies, ranging from crab burrows to mere root holes in the mud and can move easily between each and every situation with flicks of its body. It can even withstand extended periods of emersion, surviving in damp leaf litter for days on end -- one specimen survived happily for 66 days out of water. Admittedly not a pure freshwater fish, but still... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38038000 |
According to the recently released annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), more than a third of U.S. managed honeybee colonies—those set up for intensified pollination of commercial crops—failed to survive this past winter. Since 2006, the decline of the U.S.’s estimated 2.4 million beehives—commonly referred to as colony collapse disorder (CCD)—has led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies: Hives are found empty with honey, larvae, and the queen intact, but with no bees and no trail left behind. The cause remains unknown, but appears to be a combination of factors impacting bee health and increasing their susceptibility to disease. Heavy losses associated with CCD have been found mainly with larger migratory commercial beekeepers, some of whom have lost 50-90 percent of their colonies.
A “keystone” species—one that has a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to its biomass—bees are our key to global food security and a critical part of the food chain. Flowering plants that produce our food depend on insects for pollination. There are other pollinators—butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, and birds—but the honeybee is the most effective, pollinating over 100 commercial crops nationwide, including most fruit, vegetables, and nuts, as well as alfalfa for cattle feed and cotton, with a value estimated between $15-$20 billion annually. As much as one of every three bites of food we eat comes from food pollinated by insects. Without honeybees, our diet would be mostly meatless, consisting of rice and cereals, and we would have no cotton for textiles. The entire ecosystem and the global food economy potentially rests on their wings.
Experts now believe bees are heading for extinction and are racing to pinpoint the culprit, increasingly blaming pesticide usage. U.S. researchers have reported finding 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax, and pollen. New parasites, pathogens, fungi, and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods are also part of the equation. Three years ago, U.S. scientists unraveled the genetic code of the honeybee and uncovered the DNA of a virus transmitted by the Varroa mite—Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV)—found in almost all of the hives impacted by CCD. Researchers have also found the fungus Nosema ceranae and other pathogens such as chalkbrood in some affected hives throughout the country. Other reported theories include the effects of shifting spring blooms and earlier nectar flow associated with broader global climate and temperature changes, the effects of feed supplements from genetically modified crops, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and the effects of cell phone transmissions and radiation from power lines that may be interfering with a bee’s navigational capabilities. (Last year, a study revealed that a contaminant from heat-exposed HFCS might be killing off the bees.) However, according to a recent congressional report on CCD, contributions of these possible factors have not been substantiated.
The industrial bee business and the demands of intensified food production could also be playing a role in the bees’ demise. Widespread migratory stress brought about by increased needs for pollination could be weakening the bees’ immune systems. Most pollination services are provided by commercial migratory beekeepers who travel from state to state and provide pollination services to crop producers. These operations are able to supply a large number of bee colonies during the critical phase of a crop’s bloom cycle, when bees pollinate as they collect nectar. A hive might make five cross-country truck trips each year, chasing crops, and some beekeepers can lose up to 10 percent of their queens during one cross country trip. Bees are overworked and stressed out.
California’s almond crop is a prime example of our reliance on bees’ industriousness for our agriculture success. The state grows 80 percent of the world’s almonds, making it our largest agricultural export and bringing in a whopping $1.9 billion last year. The crop—with nearly 740,000 acres of almond trees planted—uses 1.3 million colonies of bees, approximately one half of all bees in the U.S., and is projected to grow to 1.5 million colonies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now predicting that Central Valley almond growers will produce about 1.53 billion pounds of almonds this year, up 8.5 percent last year. To meet the demand, bee colonies are trucked farther and more often than ever before and demand for bees has dramatically outstripped supply. Bee colonies, which a decade ago rented for $60, cost as much as $170 this February in California.
Few organic beekeepers have reported bee losses, suggesting that natural and organic bee keeping methods may be the solution. In addition, organic farmers who maintain wildlife habitat around their farms are helping to encourage bees to pollinate their crops. “The main difference between our farm and our conventional neighbors is the amount of wildlife and insect habitat that we have around the edge of our farm,” said Greg Massa, who manages Massa Organics, a fourth generation 90-acre certified organic rice farm near Chico. Massa started growing organic almonds six years ago, and works with a small, organic beekeeper in Oregon who brings in 30 hives to his farm. Massa’s farm has a large wildlife corridor which has been revegetated with native plants and covered in mustard, wild radish, and vetch, a favorite of bees and also a good nitrogen source for his rice crop.
Time might be running out for the bees, but there are simple actions we can take to make a difference. First, support organic farmers who don’t use pesticides and whose growing methods work in harmony with the natural life of bees. In particular, buy organic almonds. Don’t use pesticides in your home garden, especially at mid-day when bees most likely forage for nectar. You can also plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and other native plants to encourage bees to pollinate your garden. Provide clean water; even a simple bowl of water is beneficial. Buy local honey; it keeps small, diversified beekeepers in business, and beekeepers keep honeybees thriving. In addition, you can start keeping bees yourself. Backyard and urban beekeeping can actively help bring back our bees. Finally, you can work to preserve more open cropland and rangeland. Let’s use our political voices to support smart land use, the impact of which will not only result in cleaner water, soil, and air, but also just might help save the humble honeybee. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38042000 |
Praise be to Allaah and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger and upon his family and companions.
The Muslim student puts his trust in Allaah when facing the tests of this world, and he seeks His help whilst following the prescribed means, in accordance with the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “The strong believer is better and is more beloved to Allaah than the weak believer, although both are good. Strive to attain that which will benefit you and seek the help of Allaah, and do not feel helpless.” (Saheeh Muslim, hadeeth no. 2664)
Among those means are the following:
- Turning to Allaah by making du’aa’ in any way that is prescribed in Islam, such as saying, “Rabbiy ishrah li sadri wa yassir li amri (O my Lord, expand my chest and make things easy for me).”
- Getting used to sleeping early and going to exams on time.
- Preparing all required or permitted equipment such as pens, rulers and setsquares, calculators and watches, because being well prepared helps one to answer questions.
- Reciting the du’aa’ for leaving the house: “Bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah. Allaahumma inni a’oodhu bika an adilla aw udalla, aw azilla aw uzalla, aw azlima aw uzlama, aw ajhala aw yujhala ‘alayya (In the name of Allaah, I put my trust in Allaah, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah. O Allaah, I seek refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, lest I slip (commit a sin unintentionally) or be tripped, lest I oppress or be oppressed, lest I behave foolishly or be treated foolishly).” Do not forget to seek your parents’ approval, for their du’aa’ for you will be answered.
- Mention the name of Allaah before you start, for mentioning the name of Allaah is prescribed when beginning any permissible action; this brings blessing, and seeking the help of Allaah is one of the means of strength.
- Fear Allaah with regard to your classmates, and do not be affected by their anxiety or fear just before the exam, for anxiety is a contagious disease. Instead, make them feel optimistic by saying good words as prescribed in Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was optimistic when he heard the name of Suhayl (which means “easy”) and he said: “Things have been made easy for you.” He used to like to hear the words ‘Yaa Raashid, when he went out for any purpose. So be optimistic that you and your brothers will pass this exam.
- Remembering Allaah (dhikr) dispels anxiety and tension. If something is too difficult for you, then pray to Allaah to make it easy for you. Whenever Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) found something too difficult to understand, he would say, “O You Who taught Ibraaheem, teach me; O You Who caused Sulaymaan to understand, cause me to understand.”
- Choose a good place to sit during the exam, if you can. Keep your back straight, and sit on the chair in a healthy manner.
- Look over the exam first. Studies advise spending 10% of the exam time in reading the questions carefully, noting the important words and dividing one’s time between the questions.
- Plan to answer the easy questions first, then the difficult ones. Whilst reading the questions, write notes and ideas which you can use in your answers later.
- Answer questions according to importance.
- Start by answering the easy questions which you know. Then move on to the questions which carry high marks, and leave till the end the questions to which you do not know the answers, or which you think will take a long time to produce an answer or which do not carry such high marks.
- Take your time to answer, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Deliberation is from Allaah and haste is from the Shaytaan.” (A hasan hadeeth. Saheeh al-Jaami, 3011).
- Think carefully about the answer and choose the right answer when answering multiple-choice questions. Deal with them in the following manner. If you are sure that you have chosen the right answer, then beware of waswasah (insinuating whispers from the Shaytaan). If you are not sure, then start by eliminating the wrong or unlikely answers, then choose the correct answer based on what you think is most likely to be correct. If you guessed at a correct answer then do not change it unless you are sure that it is wrong – especially if you will lose marks for a wrong answer. Research indicates that the correct answer is usually that which the student thinks of first.
- In written exams, collect your thoughts before you start to answer. Write an outline for your answer with some words which will indicate the ideas which you want to discuss. Then number the ideas in the sequence in which you want to present them.
- Write the main points of your answer at the beginning of the line, because this is what the examiner is looking for, and he may not see what he is looking for if it is in the middle of the page and he is in a hurry.
- Devote 10% of the time for reviewing your answers. Take your time in reviewing, especially in mathematical problems and writing numbers. Resist the desire to hand in the exam papers quickly, and do not let the fact that some people are leaving early bother you. They may be among the people who have handed in their papers too early.
- If you discover after the exam that you answered some questions incorrectly, then take that as a lesson in the importance of being well prepared in the future, and not rushing to answer questions. Accept the will and decree of Allaah and do not fall prey to frustration and despair. Remember the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “If anything befalls you, do not say, ‘If only I had done such and such.’ Rather say, ‘Qadar Allaah wa maa sha’a kaan (the decree of Allaah and what He wills happened),’ for saying ‘if only’ opens the door for the Shaytaan.” (Saheeh Muslim, and the first part of this hadeeth was mentioned above).
- Note that cheating is haraam whether it is in foreign language tests or any other tests. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever cheats is not one of us.” It is wrongdoing and it is a haraam means of attaining a degree or certificate, etc., that you have no right to. The consensus is that cheating is a kind of cooperation in sin and transgression. So do without that which is haraam, and Allaah will suffice you from His bounty. Reject all offers of haraam things that come to you from others. Whoever gives up a thing for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better. You have to denounce and resist evil, and tell the authorities about any such thing that you see during the exam, or before or after it. This is not the forbidden kind of slander rather it is denouncing evil which is obligatory.
Advise those who buy or sell questions or post them on the Internet etc., or who prepare cheat notes. Tell them to fear Allaah, and tell them of the ruling on what they are doing and on the money they earn from that. Tell them that the time they are spending in preparing these haraam things, if they spent it in studying, or answering previous exams, or helping one another to understand the subject before the exam, that would be better for them than doing these haraam things.
- Remember what you have prepared for the Hereafter, and the questions of the examination in the grave, and how to be saved on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is saved from the Fire and admitted to Paradise will indeed have succeeded.
We ask Allaah to make us succeed in this world and cause us to be among those who are victorious and saved in the Hereafter, for He is the All-Hearing Who answers prayer.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38050000 |
International Pages > Italy Search
Italy Genealogy Search
Search the best family history sites of Italy brought to you by World Vital Records.
Related Keywords: Italia, genealogica, Sicilian, Italian inheritance, cadastral records italy, italian succession law
Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Administrative divisions: 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna*, Sicilia*, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*, Veneto
Religions: approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Ethnic groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Economic overview: Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced low growth in 2006, and unemployment remained at a high level.
Italy Genealogy Search Info: This search engine currently searches 430 websites related to doing genealogy in Italy.
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It's from the Japanese saying, 読書百遍意自ずから通ず(Repeated reading makes the meaning clear). In this case, the ず ending doesn't make the verb negative. What is the function and nuance of this usage? Is this a verb form from the old days reserved for use in Japanese proverbs and perhaps some other specific and narrowly defined instances? Another example where this is used in the same way is 窮すれば通ず [きゅうすればつうず] (Necessity is the mother of invention). Is there another example with another verb that uses the ず ending in the same way?
I'm guessing it derives from
通ず comes from the verb 通ずる (to lead to). In this case, ず is used as another way to conjugate the 〜する/〜ずる verb.
In answer to your question:
Here are just a few examples based off of this post by urutorasenpaiさん where this ず can commonly be seen:
Seeing that 〜ず, in this case, seems to happen most often in ことわざ or classical Japanese would seem to indicate that this is possibly more of a poetic, stylistic conjugation and use of the verb. It helps with fitting verbs into a smaller amount of syllables, as well. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38059000 |
VAN OVEN, BARNARD:
English physician and communal worker; born in London 1796; died there July 9, 1860; youngest son of Joshua Van Oven. He was brought up for the medical profession, studying under Sir William Blizard and receiving the degree of L.R.C.S. in 1818. He practised in London during his whole life, and had an extensive clientele among the Jewish community.
Van Oven was one of the pioneers in the movement for the removal of the disabilities of the Jews in England. In 1829 he wrote the first appeal which directed public attention to the subject, and which was entitled "An Appeal to the British Nation on Behalf of the Jews." He followed this up by organizing committees in support of the movement, and by convening public meetings, at which he was an indefatigable speaker. In 1847 he published the pamphlet "Ought Baron Rothschild to Sit in Parliament?" He was subsequently appointed chairman of the committee which celebrated the success of the agitation by the establishment of commemoration scholarships at several public schools. Van Oven served on the committees of most of the Jewish institutions of his day, and was instrumental in establishing the Jews' Infant Schools. In 1827 he had been appointed physician to the poor of the Great Synagogue, which position he filled for many years.
Van Oven was the author of a work entitled "The Decline of Life in Health and Disease" (London, 1853).
- Jew. Chron. July 13, 1860;
- Brit. Mus. Cat. s.v. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38064000 |
Factors influencing nutritional supplement use by high school students were assessed. Comparisons were made between various groups of sports participants and non-sports participants. The Nutritional Supplement Use and Knowledge Scale was administered to 509 students. Mean supplement use score was 10.87 (SEM = 0.50, range 0-57). Mean knowledge score was 13.56 (SEM = 0.16, range 1-21). Significant relationships (p < .01) were obtained for supplement knowledge with use, and supplement use with gender. ANOVA found significant differences between supplement use by gender (p < .01), supplement use by sports category (p < .05), and knowledge scores by sports category (p < .01). Discriminant function analysis indicated knowledge, supplement use, and subscores for protein, vitamins/minerals, and carbohydrates were best discriminators of sport group membership. Greater knowledge about supplements was associated with less use; hence, education about supplements can be a deterrent to use. This study may help coaches, athletic trainers, athletic directors, teachers, physicians, and parents identify nutritional misconceptions held by adolescents. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38073000 |
According to a recent University of Haifa poll, over 94% of Israeli High School students use social networks in class (via cell phones). Mostly, they’re not checking facts, but Facebook profiles.
This came to my inbox today, a day after I wrote a blog from a cell phone’s point of view.
In that blog, I mentioned that Jewish teens may not be aware of the rich Jewish resources available for the taking from such a small device. I also referred to the fact that teachers sometimes take away cell phones all together.
I was once a proponent of this.
I thought that (much like the practice at summer camps of instituting a ‘cell phone fast’ for campers to increase the ‘here and now’ opportunities) keeping phones out of the class increased class connections between students and teacher.
I don’t think in those black and white terms any more.
What I believe now, is that like any good educational tool, media needs to be mediated.
In this light, it’s particularly interesting to examine the findings of the poll, which states that the more permissive a teacher is, the less that cell phones will be used in class.
Conversely, the study results also showed that the more authoritarian the teacher–those with a more rigid approach, the more students will use cell phones in class.
So, what are the boundaries that teachers should put in place? What are the school’s policies that should not be broken, but bent to advance the curriculum? These are things that need to be thought through before the school year. From a student’s point of view.
So, this what I learned, none of which strikes me as so illuminating, but for me, the benefits were a game changer:
1. It is very difficult to separate teens from their phones, as some teens see it as their lifeline.
2. Teachers need to figure out ways of using the phones as tools, to expand teen’s horizons about the subject area.
3. The way in which this is handled, can be crucial when building community in the class, and respect from students.
Photo credit: wikipedia
- A Q & A : with a Jewish teen’s cell phone (jteennews.wordpress.com)
- Va. school district encourages cell phone use in class (wtvr.com)
- Cell Phone Addiction May Be Contagious (fox8.com) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38074000 |
Also, it was also a place of owners to release fishes and other animals 'back to their nature'. Some of these released animals were not native in our region. Over time, a community of both native and invasive species is created within the longkang, eventually forming a longkang habitat.........
Recently, while walking along a road in Pulau Ubin with KS, RY, JL and IV, we chanced upon a longkang which was teaming with life. With one glance, we saw animals from 2 phylums and about 5 classes, mainly from the subphylum Vetebrata which is under phylum Chordata.
Apparently, like other longkangs, there were some invasive species, for example the tortise (class reptilia), which we could not take pictures of due to reflection of the water. Also, this fish (identification unknown) may not be a native as well.
Schools of what looked like small half-beaks were also seen as well (picture below).
As this longkang is in close proximity to a mangrove habitat, some of the mangrove species were also seen, mainly the gobies..
Also, a tree climbing crab (Episesarma sp.)was spotted by KS at the edge of the longkang (picture above). Some small mudlobster mounds (no picture) and burrows (picture below) were seen around the longkang as well. Species from the subphylum Crustacea (refer to the Spiders at our backyard..) seems to have a foothold here as well.
Couldn't resist the temptation, I decided to enter the longkang(picture below) to 'be 1 with the habitat' as well while the rest remained on the road to watch from a distance (picture far below). There, I tasted the water as well to confirm that it was fresh water.
However, time passed quite quickly and we had to move on. Reluctantly, I had to leave the longkang, bringing nothing but pictures and an experience which not many urban dwellers have in our air-conditioned nation....
Note: scientifically, there is no such term as longkang habitat.
longkang ==> drain
Vetebrate: chordates which has a backbone, or vertebral column, that forms the skeletal axis of the body.
Chordates: Deuterostome animals that, at some time in their lives, have a cartilaginous, dorsal skeletal structure called a notochord; a dorsal, tubular, nerve cord; pharyngeal gill grooves; and a postanal tail.
Also featured in:
Solomon, Berg and Martin. (2008) Biology, 8th Edition. Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Peter K L Ng and N Sivasothi. (1999) "A Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore II: Animal Diversity". Singapore Science Centre. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38077000 |
We got hit by one 1,200 years ago.
It came from two colliding Neutron Stars from a few thousand light years away and scientists were just now able to pick it up because of the existence of carbon-14 in tree rings.
What did it do around the year 775 AD? Pretty much nothing. The estimate two-second blast had really zero effect on the earth since the most high tech thing on the planet at the time was the castle and the crossbow. Had that blast happened today we would be in some serious trouble since it would short out power grids and knock out all of our satellites. If the blast happened from say, 100 light years away, we would have been a crispy cinder.
These gamma ray bursts were the result of the creation of a black hole from the collision of the Neutron Stars. So you'll have to excuse science for taking a while to figure this mystery out since there's no evidence visible. Had it been a supernova, people would have seen it in the 700s because it would have been so bright it would have been visible during the day. Had it been a solar flare, it would have been the largest flare every recorded. The black hole theory pretty much settles everything.
Except, when is this going to happen again?
(Buy this awesome book on space by Neil deGrasse Tyson - the guy that killed Pluto.) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38078000 |
— Internaciona Idokonfero, 23-29 Julio 2012, Dessau (Germania) —
The Esperanto suffix -id means child. From bovo (cow) we form bovido (calf); from hundo (dog) we form hundido (puppy). Ido is a child of Esperanto, the first of many Esperanto "reform" projects.
Ido shares much of Esperanto's vocabulary, but replaces many Germanic and Slavic roots with their Romantic counterparts. Nonetheless, speakers of either language can read the other with little difficulty. As in Esperanto, antonyms can be formed by use of the appropriate prefix. One thing that I find intriguing about Ido is that although this sort of antonym formation is both possible and acceptable, Ido also provides a greater number of unique antonyms for common terms than Esperanto does, and in many cases these antonyms are the same as those words which you will find marked literary in an Esperanto dictionary.
In both Esperanto and Ido, adjectives end in -a. But in Esperanto, adjectives must agree in number and case with the nouns they qualify. An adjective in the plural must have the suffix -j appended; and if in the accusative, it will also need -n. Ido does away with adjectival agreement, and requires the accusative only when nonstandard word order is used.
In Esperanto and many other languages, words for people and animals refer either to the male or to neither sex specifically, with the word for the female being derived by use of a suffix. Some say that this is sexist because it is demeaning to the female; I would argue the opposite, that it is demeaning to the male for he has no suffix to call his own. This was probably not a sexism issue in the early 20th century, but it was a logical issue and one that Zamenhof wished to address but for some reason never did. Esperantists have proposed several solutions and some are fairly common today. The Ido approach is this: the root word is epicene (specifies neither sex, or either sex, depending how you look at it); the suffix -ul denotes the male, and -in the female. Thus we speak of an aktoro (actor); if we wish to specify sex, we can refer to this person as an aktorulo or an aktorino. Frato (brother or sister (sibling)) spawns fratulo and fratino; spozo (husband or wife (spouse)) spawns spozulo and spozino. (However, Ido does have some explicit pairs, such as patro and matro.) And the personal pronoun lu (he, she, or it (epicene!)) neatly resolves the old he/she problem.
Ido also reduces the Esperantish adverbial overload problem.
Another advantage in today's wired world is that Ido uses no accented characters. Uncommon characters don't bother me personally, in fact I'm rather fond of some of them and love to use ð (that's a lowercase eth in Latin-1) whenever possible, but it is undoubtedly advantageous to restrict our choice of characters to a common set found on most keyboards.
For these and several other reasons, Ido deserves your consideration. It is very much like Esperanto, but you will probably find that one language fits you better than the other.
The International Language Society of Great Britain (ILSGB)
Mr David Weston, Secretary
24 Nunn Street
Leek, Staffs, ST13 8EA
See Forumi at Uniono por la Linguo Internaciona Ido for more.
"La odoroza sapono" da Fernando Tejón, a story about a
wonderfully sniffy bar of soap which does not shrink with use, but
instead seems to grow a bit... while its users become rather, uh,
tenuous... may be read in
and/or heard in
Podkasto numero 1
of Radio-Idia Internaciona.
(The home pages for those links are | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38080000 |
- A narrow student body. MOOCs claim to be open to everyone, and sure, anyone can sign up. But how many students can succeed? What does your educational background need to be? How about your motivation level? The creators of MOOCs are themselves highly successful highly motivated people who have excelled in the traditional classroom. I believe they have themselves in mind when they create MOOCs. Perhaps the vision of themselves extends to "what if I had grown up in a remote part of the world without access to great educational resources?" But it is still a narrow vision.
- Limited pedagogical views. Online courses, because of technological limitations, have a limited number of ways that students can interact with each other and the teacher. These are typically videos, online chat rooms, and forums. There is nothing to mimic in-class group work; working with your peers while asking questions from the professor. There is nothing to mimic in-person immediate interactions; the ability to gesture wildly and draw pictures and receive hints, not answers. To give credit where it's due, the Udacity courses apparently stop the video frequently for quick "check that you're following" quizzes. I do that in my own classes, and it's great - no class should be a lecture. But what if the students can't answer the question on the short quiz, even after they rewind?
- Emphasizes the mind / body split. bell hooks writes about the mind/body split in teaching. How teachers are viewed purely as minds and lacking in body and lives outside of the classroom. I believe this is frequently true for students as well, and MOOCs make this split harder to overcome and potentially more permanent. There is nothing to mimic longer term mentoring; asking your professor how to get a job, talking about what you should do with your life, or asking for a recommendation. There is no mentor who knows you, in the context of your community and in the context of the class. There is no teacher to determine if you're doing poorly because you're not working hard enough or because you're sick or because you're working three jobs just to pay the rent. And there's no teacher to make sure you get through that, by being lenient or tough, depending on what you need.
And when we consider awarding AP credit for online courses, we bring online courses into high school. High schools are not filled with dedicated intelligent students who are determined to get an education no matter the intellectual and emotional difficulty. Yet the right to an education, the right to be taught, is, I believe, a fundamental civil right. Let's not chip away at it. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38083000 |
I think I have a problem with overeating. What can I do? - Maya*
The first thing to do is to figure out if your overeating is something that happens occasionally or all of the time. We all eat too much every now and then, like on holidays.
But if you're overeating often, there are some things that might help you avoid doing so. For example, instead of eating when you're not hungry, find other ways to keep yourself busy, like taking a walk or talking on the phone. Put your food on a plate or in a bowl and sit down at the table to eat — don't eat out of a bag or container. And don't eat meals or snack while doing something else, like watching TV or doing homework — that's a set-up for overeating!
Binge eating, also called compulsive overeating, is different from simply overeating. People with binge eating disorder feel a compulsion (a powerful urge) to overeat. They regularly eat unusually large amounts of food and don't stop eating when they become full. With binge eating a person feels out of control and powerless to stop eating while they're doing it, then may feel guilty or ashamed afterward.
If you think you may have an overeating problem, talk to a parent or doctor. Treatments are available that can help you feel better about yourself and have a healthy relationship with food. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38090000 |
Huh? Can you speak up? Oh! You want to know if loud music can hurt your ears. Are you asking because you like to put on your headphones and crank up the volume of your favorite CD? Maybe your mom or dad has told you, "Turn that down before you go deaf!" Well, they have a point. Loud noise (from music or other sources such as machinery or jet engines) can cause both temporary and permanent hearing loss.
Hearing loss means someone can't hear as well as other people do. For some people, that means not being able to hear at all.
If the noise around you is so loud that you have to shout to be heard, there is a chance that the mechanism inside your ear can be injured. Temporary hearing loss can happen after you've been exposed to loud noise for any duration. If you have temporary hearing loss, you won't be able to hear as well as you normally do for a while. Don't worry, it will go away (usually after a good night's sleep).But it means that the next time you're around loud noise, you should wear protection to avoid permanent hearing loss.
You also could have tinnitus (say: tih-neye-tus), which is a medical term for ringing in the ears. Your ears can feel "full," too. Although your hearing often returns to normal, the dangerous part is that you can lose it permanently if you listen to loud noise or music over and over again.
If someone is exposed to loud noise over a long period of time, like every day, permanent hearing loss can occur. This means the person's hearing won't ever be as good as it once was. That's why construction workers and factory workers need to wear ear protection. Lawn mowers and power tools, like chainsaws, also can be loud enough to affect someone's ability to hear high-pitched noises. This kind of noise also can cause a person to have tinnitus all the time.
Listening to loud music a lot can cause the same kind of damage, especially if headphones or ear buds are used. Some famous musicians have suffered hearing loss and developed tinnitus — a real problem for someone who needs to hear to make and enjoy music. That's why now you might notice that some of your favorite musicians wear hearing protection while they're playing.
You too can help keep your hearing in tip-top shape. Protect your ears by wearing ear protection when you're using machinery, like in metal shop at school. Also remember to turn down the volume, especially when you're wearing headphones or ear buds or in the car. You also might want to give your ears a rest once in a while if you like wearing headphones.
And if you're going to a concert, consider wearing earplugs to protect your ears from the boom, boom, boom! In fact, special earplugs can be made for you if you're going to concerts a lot or if you're a musician yourself. Take these steps now and you won't be saying "What?" later on. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38091000 |
The brown recluse spider is one of a few poisonous kinds of spiders in the United States. It is part of the arachnid family, which includes not just spiders, but ticks, mites, and scorpions, too. It has long, skinny legs and is about ½ to 1 inch long overall. Its entire body is brown, except for a dark mark in the shape of a violin on its head.
Brown recluse spiders are most commonly found in midwestern and southern states of the United States, and they usually hang out in dark places. When they are outside, they like to spend time in piles of rocks, wood, or leaves.
If they come inside, brown recluse spiders will go to dark closets, attics, or basements. They aren't aggressive, and they bite only when disturbed.
What a Bite Looks and Feels Like
A person who gets bitten by a brown recluse spider may not notice anything at first or only feel a little sting at first. After about 4 to 8 hours, the sting will start to hurt a little more. It might look like a bruise or might form a blister surrounded by a bluish-purple area that turns black or brown and becomes crusty after a few days.
What You Should Do
If you ever think that you've been bitten by a brown recluse spider, tell an adult immediately. Brown recluse spider bites rarely kill people, but it's important to get medical attention as soon as you can because they can make you pretty sick. With an adult's help, wash the bite well with soap and water. You can also apply ice to the area, elevate it, and keep it still.
If it's possible, have an adult catch and bring the spider to the doctor's office with you — this is important because it can sometimes be hard to diagnose a spider bite correctly. The spider can be killed first before you bring it with you; just be sure not to squish it so much that no one can tell what it is.
What a Doctor Will Do
Doctors treat people who have been bitten by a brown recluse spider with different types of medications like antibiotics, antihistamines, or pain medicines. Rarely, a skin graft might be needed if the skin is really damaged at the area of the bite. (A skin graft is when a small amount of skin is removed from some part of the body and put in a place where skin is damaged to create new skin.)
How to Avoid Getting Bitten
The best way to avoid getting bitten by brown recluse spiders is to be careful in areas where they like to spend time. Don't play around in rock piles or woodpiles. If you are working outside in the yard in big piles of logs or leaves, wear gloves.
Be sure to shake out blankets and clothing that have been stored in the attic or the basement, or if they have been in a closet but not used for a long time.
If you keep your shoes in a mudroom or garage, shake them out before putting them on. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38092000 |
Exchange Meal Plan
(Plan de intercambio de alimentos)
Many people with diabetes use a food-balancing program called the exchange meal plan to guide what they eat each day. For this meal plan, foods are divided into six groups: starch, fruit, milk, fat, vegetable, and meat. The plan sets a serving size (amount) for each food, and, within each group, each serving has a similar amount of calories, protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
This allows the person flexibility in planning meals by "exchanging" or substituting choices from lists of foods with similar nutritional content. Using the plan to balance the amount of carbohydrates eaten is particularly important for people with diabetes because these are the foods that are mainly responsible for the rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38093000 |
"Time to get ready for bed!" someone calls from the other room. Oh, no! You're really into the great book you're reading or that computer game that you're winning.
"Why do I have to go to bed?" you ask. "Sleep is boring, and I'm not even tired!"
But sleep is more important than you may think. Maybe you can think of a time when you didn't get enough sleep. That heavy, groggy feeling is awful and, when you feel that way, you're not at your best. So if you're not too tired, let's talk about sleep.
Why You Need Sleep
The average kid has a busy day. There's school, taking care of your pets, running around with friends, going to sports practice or other activities, and doing your homework. Phew! It's tiring just writing it all down. By the end of the day, your body needs a break. Sleep allows your body to rest for the next day.
Everything that's alive needs sleep to survive. Even your dog or cat curls up for naps. Animals sleep for the same reason you do — to give your body a tiny vacation.
Your Brain Needs Zzzzzs
Not only is sleep necessary for your body, it's important for your brain, too. Though no one is exactly sure what work the brain does when you're asleep, some scientists think that the brain sorts through and stores information, replaces chemicals, and solves problems while you snooze.
Most kids between 5 and 12 get about 9.5 hours a night, but experts agree that most need 10 or 11 hours each night. Sleep is an individual thing and some kids need more than others.
When your body doesn't have enough hours to rest, you may feel tired or cranky, or you may be unable to think clearly. You might have a hard time following directions, or you might have an argument with a friend over something really stupid. A school assignment that's normally easy may feel impossible, or you may feel clumsy playing your favorite sport or instrument.
One more reason to get enough sleep: If you don't, you may not grow as well. That's right, researchers believe too little sleep can affect growth and your immune system — which keeps you from getting sick.
As you're drifting off to sleep, it doesn't seem like much is happening . . . the room is getting fuzzy and your eyelids feel heavier and heavier. But what happens next? A lot!
Your brain swings into action, telling your body how to sleep. As you slowly fall asleep, you begin to enter the five different stages of sleep:
In this stage, your brain gives the signal to your muscles to relax. It also tells your heart to beat a little slower, and your body temperature drops a bit.
After a little while, you enter stage 2, which is a light sleep. You can still be woken up easily during this stage. For example, if your sister pokes you or you hear a car horn outside, you'll probably wake up.
When you're in this stage, you're in a deeper sleep, also called slow-wave sleep. Your brain sends a message to your blood pressure to get lower. Your body isn't sensitive to the temperature of the air around you, which means that you won't notice if it's a little hot or cold in your room. It's much harder to be awakened when you're in this stage, but some people may sleepwalk or talk in their sleep at this point.
This is the deepest sleep yet and is also considered slow-wave sleep. It's very hard to wake up from this stage of sleep, and if you do wake up, you're sure to be out of it and confused for at least a few minutes. Like they do in stage 3, some people may sleepwalk or talk in their sleep when going from stage 4 to a lighter stage of sleep.
R.E.M. stands for rapid eye movement. Even though the muscles in the rest of your body are totally relaxed, your eyes move back and forth very quickly beneath your eyelids. The R.E.M. stage is when your heart beats faster and your breathing is less regular. This is also the stage when people dream!
While you're asleep, you repeat stages 2, 3, 4, and R.E.M. about every 90 minutes until you wake up in the morning. For most kids, that's about four or five times a night. Who said sleep was boring?
Dream a Little Dream
You're walking down the street and you pass a monkey in a green hat eating a donut. Suddenly you're in school — but why does your teacher have such big teeth? And how come you're wearing polka-dot pants?
No, this isn't a scene from a scary movie — it's a dream!
People dream during R.E.M. sleep, the period that follows the deepest stage of sleep. Everybody has dreams, although some people have a tough time remembering them. When you wake up can affect whether you can remember your dreams. If you wake up during R.E.M. sleep, you might remember everything about your dream. If you wake up during another stage of sleep, you might not remember a thing.
No one knows for sure why people dream. Some scientists think that dreams are your brain's way of making sense of what happened during the day. Others think that dreams allow your brain to sort through the events of the day, storing the important stuff and getting rid of the junk. Some scientists say that dreams are a clue to what you're worried about or thinking about.
For most kids, sleeping comes pretty naturally. Here are some tips to help you catch all the ZZZs you need:
Try to go to bed at the same time every night; this helps your body get into a routine.
Follow a bedtime routine that is calming, such as taking a warm bath or reading.
Limit foods and drinks that contain caffeine. These include some sodas and other drinks, like ice tea.
Don't have a TV in your room. Research shows that kids who have one in their rooms sleep less. If you have a TV, turn it off when it's time to sleep.
Don't watch scary TV shows or movies close to bedtime because these can sometimes make it hard to fall asleep.
Don't exercise just before going to bed. Do exercise earlier in the day — it helps a person sleep better.
Use your bed just for sleeping — not doing homework, reading, playing games, or talking on the phone. That way, you'll train your body to associate your bed with sleep.
If you have a hard time falling asleep for more than one or two nights or have worries that are keeping you from sleeping, tell your mom or dad. They can help you solve your sleep problems. In fact, just talking about it with them could help you relax just enough (yawn) that you'll be ready to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38094000 |
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
Richard K. Popp
Press clipping services monitor media for content of interest to their clients. They scan through newspapers, magazines, and electronic media, select pertinent items, and then package (“clip”) them for easy perusal. The industry's name derives from the traditional practice of clipping items with a pair of scissors from the newspaper for safekeeping. Modern-day services track not only newspapers but nearly every print, broadcast, cable, and web-based information outlet, running the spectrum from network news broadcasts to teenagers' blogs. Clipping services have their origins in the expanding media environments of late-nineteenth-century cities. As the number of newspaper titles grew, editions multiplied, and issues expanded in length, a handful of entrepreneurs independently hit on the idea of a press monitoring service. Henry Romeike started the earliest clipping (or cutting) service in London in 1881 and quickly expanded its operations to New York, Paris, and Berlin. Romeike relocated to the United States in ... | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38100000 |
Wed July 25, 2012
Massive Ice Melt In Greenland Worries Scientists
Originally published on Wed July 25, 2012 2:53 pm
A pair of NASA satellite images taken just four days apart tells a potentially worrying story of melting ice in the polar summer.
The first, snapped from orbit on July 8, shows about 40 percent of the Greenland ice sheet shaded in pink or red to illustrate probable or confirmed surface melting. The second photo, taken on July 12, shows nearly the entire land mass — 97 percent — blotched in a red hue.
In a typical year, only about half of the Greenland ice sheet undergoes this kind of melting before it later refreezes. But the rapidity and extent of the July change is what has caught scientists off guard, said Thomas Mote, a professor at the University of Georgia, who helped confirm the data from three satellites.
"Several of us were looking at the data with multiple different instruments and we began talking to each other when we realized we were seeing something quite unusual," he says.
Scientists note that besides covering a large area, the melting is happening at the top of the ice cap, where temperatures are coldest. They blame a massive heat dome parked over the island that has set up perfect conditions for melting high-altitude snow and ice.
Alarming? "I wouldn't use that word," say Mote. "We know from looking at ice cores that melt at the highest levels of elevation in Greenland has occurred in the past — not in our lifetimes, and not since the era of satellites, but it certainly has occurred."
The last time it happened was about 150 years ago, in 1889, according to ice core records.
But the Greenland melt roughly coincides with a giant chunk of ice described as "twice the size of Manhattan," breaking off the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland.
It's all part of a bad year for the Arctic, helped along by North America's record-breaking heat wave, says Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The heat has shrunk and thinned ice not just in Greenland but across the region. "The Greenland ice sheet is part of a larger picture," he says.
"We've always known that it is the Arctic where we're going to be seeing the effects of climate change first and it is the Arctic where these changes are going to be most pronounced," Serreze says.
"The events unfolding over the past 30 years, of which 2012 is really just an exclamation point, are telling us that we've got it figured out." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38106000 |
Note: This lesson was originally published on an older version of The Learning Network; the link to the related Times article will take you to a page on the old site.
Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.
Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students use prototypical fantasy themes to create an original role-playing game and cast of characters based on their own community.
Rachel McClain, The New York Times Learning Network
Suggested Time Allowance: 45 minutes
1. Explore the importance of characters in Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games.
2. Learn about the new movie “Dungeons and Dragons” by reading and discussing the article “‘Dungeons and Dragons’: After D and D, You May Need R and R.”
3. As a class, create the outline for a role-playing game based on their own community.
4. In groups, create character profiles for the game.
5. Write a dialogue between two of the characters from the game.
Resources / Materials:
-copies of the article “‘Dungeons and Dragons’: After D and D, You May Need R and R” (one per student)
Activities / Procedures:
1. WARM-UP/DO NOW: In their journals, students respond to the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): “If you could choose to be a character from any book or movie, who would you choose and why? How does your chosen character impact the plot and the other characters in the book or movie?” After 5-10 minutes, have some students read their journals aloud. As a class, discuss Dungeons and Dragons and how it offers people the opportunity to role-play fantastical and magical characters. Discuss the appeal of this and other role-playing games.
2. As a class, read the article “‘Dungeons and Dragons’: After D and D, You May Need R and R,” focusing on the following questions:
a. What is Dungeons and Dragons?
b. According to the article, what are some archetypes upon which Dungeons and Dragons is based?
c. How does A.O. Scott describe the special effects in the movie?
d. According to the article, why was the movie shot in Prague?
e. Which line of dialogue does A.O. Scott cite to show the low quality of the script? Why do you think he chose this line?
f. What is the main conflict in the plot of the film?
g. What phrase is used to advertise the film? How does A.O. Scott use this phrase to criticize the film?
3. Create a class role-playing game set in a mythical city that parallels the real one in which the students live. Have the class choose a name for their mythical city and create a map, including at least five key locations where action might take place(examples are a pizza shop, a school, a forest, etc.). The class should also brainstorm possible characters that might be included in the game, keeping in mind the types of characters usually found in such games (examples are an Evil Sorcerer Mayor, or the Wizard of the Pizza Shop). Avoid a sensitive situation by having students create prototypical characters and not ones based directly on actual people in the community. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4. Each group creates a character profile of one of the characters discussed in class. The profile should consist of a brief description of the character, the character’s strengths and weaknesses, and an illustration of the character complete with the character’s mode of dress and special weapons or other articles that might assist him or her throughout the game.
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Write a dialogue between two of the characters created by your class. Use a prototypical fantasy game conflict (such as the battle over the rod in the “Dungeons and Dragons” movie,) and set it in one of the key locations chosen in class. Keep in mind A.O. Scott’s criticism of the dialogue in the movie Dungeons and Dragons, and try to make your dialogue more realistic and compelling than the examples from the article.
Further Questions for Discussion:
– What do you think A.O. Scott is trying to achieve by using parentheses throughout the article?
– What is the overall tone of A.O. Scott’s review? How does he reveal his opinion of the movie?
– Do you think that role-playing games are a healthy outlet for the imagination? Do you think such games can have a negative effect on a person? How?
– Do you play or know people who play interactive role-playing games over the Internet? Do you think this is more or less exciting than playing these games on a board with a live group of people all in the same room?
– Are there certain modes of dress or behaviors that accompany being a player of games such as Dungeons and Dragons? Do the players of these games develop distinct social groups? If so, why do you think this is the case?
Evaluation / Assessment:
Students will be evaluated on completion of the journal entry, participation in class discussions, creation of a character profile, and completion of a dialogue between two of the characters created in class.
virtual, fantasy, sci-fi, jargon, grok, tedium, adherents, sorcery, murky, clotted, understatement, provocation, vexation, mages, antagonists, pontificate, raiment, conviction, plucky, mayhem
1. With a partner, perform the dialogue you wrote for homework for the class. Prepare the appropriate costumes and props based upon the profiles created for each character.
2. Movies based on books often do not live up to the expectations and imaginations of readers. This is especially true for movies based on fantasy books where elements like magical spells and mythical creatures are commonplace. Based on A.O. Scott’s criticism of the “Dungeons and Dragons” film, predict whether the Harry Potter film, expected to be released within the year, will impress or disappoint movie-goers who have already read the book.
3. Read a fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Write a movie pitch for a film version of the novel. Describe who you would cast the main roles and why, and how you would successfully recreate the fantasy world depicted by Tolkien on screen.
4. It is often difficult to differentiate between the literary genres of fantasy, science fiction, legend, and myth. Create a dictionary of terms defining each genre and explaining how each one differs from the others.
-Research fantastical creatures from different cultures. Create a poster with an illustration and short description of each creature, including the culture from which it originates. (Some examples of fantastic and/or mythical creatures from various cultures are the Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, Big Foot, and Aswang.)
-Compare and contrast the themes and characters found in Arthurian and other Medieval legends (such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or Beowulf) to those in Dungeons and Dragons. Create a chart displaying your findings.
Journalism- See the movie “Dungeons and Dragons” and write your own movie review. Refer to A.O. Scott’s review by supporting or refuting his claims regarding the film.
Mathematics- The Dungeons and Dragons game uses numerical values to assess a character’s strengths and weaknesses. These values are initially chosen by rolling special dice with differing numbers of sides. Learn about how this process works and create a chart showing the various attributes chosen by this method, and the average number expected for each attribute when dice are rolled.
Social Studies- As A.O. Scott mentions in the article, an entire sub-culture has developed around fantasy and role-playing games. Research this culture and write a short (2-3 page) essay describing its development and characteristics since the introduction of Dungeons and Dragons in the 1970’s.
Other Information on the Web:
DnDMovie.com (more. http://www.dndmovie.com/) features updated news, photos, cast information, and more.
Dungeons and Dragons (http://www.seednd.com/) is the official movie site from New Line.
Academic Content Standards:
Language Arts Standard 1- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process. Benchmarks: Uses a variety of prewriting strategies; Uses a variety of strategies to draft and revise written work; Evaluates own and others’ writing; Uses style and structure appropriate for specific audiences and purposes; Writes narrative accounts; Writes in response to literature
(CTSS – ‘english’, ’6-8’, ’1’)
Language Arts Standard 6- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of literary texts. Benchmarks: Knows the defining characteristics of a variety of literary forms and genres; Identifies specific questions of personal importance and seeks to answer them through literature; Understands the effects of the author’s style on a literary text; Understands that people respond differently to literature
(CTSS – ‘english’, ’6-8’, ’6’)
Language Arts Standard 1- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process. Benchmarks: Uses a variety of prewriting strategies; Uses a variety of strategies to draft and revise written work; Uses a variety of strategiesto edit and publish written work; Evaluates own and others’ writing; Writes compositions that fulfill different purposes; Writes fictional, biographical, autobiographical, and observational narrative compositions; Writes descriptive compositions; Writes in response to literature
(CTSS – ‘english’, ’9-12’, ’1’)
Language Arts Standard 6- Demonstrates competencein the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of literary texts. Benchmarks: Knows the defining characteristics of a variety of literaryforms and genres; Understands historical and cultural influences on literary works; Relates personal response to the text with that seemingly intended by the author
(CTSS – ‘english’, ’9-12’, ’6’) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38121000 |
5 Things You Need to Know About Africa
Africa is going to be an increasingly important area in the future, if only because a higher percentage of the human race will be living there. Here are some key things you should know about sub-Saharan Africa:
- Population growth. The African population will reach 1.2 billion by 2025, and 1.9 billion by 2050. Currently, 40% of the population is under 14, which guarantees high population growth as these children grow up and have children of their own.
- Water. Only 58% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has access to safe drinking water, and urbanization is making the problem worse. In eight countries, under a third of the population has access to safe water.
- Food. About 64 percent of Africans rely on water that is limited and highly variable, and crop lands are concentrated in dry regions with tenuous future irrigation supplies. Food imports have increased sharply.
- The economy. Economic growth has been good in the past decade (in the ballpark of 5%), only part of which is due to high commodity prices for oil exporters and others.
- Climate change. Sub-Saharan Africa will experience a strong warming trend over the 21st century (3.6-6.2° F), above the global average. Precipitation impacts are less clear.
The current situation obviously poses significant problems and fixing them will be harder because of climate change and high population growth. Obviously, we need to undertake intelligent steps to mitigate climate change and moderate population growth through programs like educating women. Then we need to do what we can to assist Africans in addressing the other problems.
- Christopher Muller, Climate Change Impact on Sub-Saharan Africa? An Analysis of Models and Scenarios (German Dev. Inst. 2009).
- Christopher W. Tatlock,Water Stress in Sub-Saharan Africa (CFR 2006).
- Tukufu Zuberi and Kevin J.A. Thomas, Demographic Projections, the Environment and Food Security in SubSaharan Africa(UNDP 2012) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38124000 |
Definition of Leyte
1. Noun. A battle in World War II; the return of United States troops to the Philippines began with landings on Leyte Island in October 1944; the battle marked first use of kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese.
Generic synonyms: Amphibious Assault
Group relationships: Second World War, World War 2, World War Ii
Geographical relationships: Philippine Islands, Philippines
Click the following link to bring up a new window with an automated collection of images related to the term: Leyte Images
Lexicographical Neighbors of Leyte
Literary usage of Leyte
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Report by United States Board on Geographic Names, United States Geographic Board (1916)
"... Barrio, Maasin Municipality, leyte Province, leyte. ... Bay, east coast, and Town, leyte Province, leyte. ... leyte Pw- Ince, leyte, (Not Jubas.1) ..."
2. General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War by George C. Kenney (1997)
"THE BATTLE FOR leyte GULF October, 1944 ON THE 16th, with General MacArthur and ... Halsey radioed that he would support us in the leyte area with two fast ..."
3. United States Coast Pilot, Philippine Islands by U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1919)
"... side to avoid the stronger current and whirlpools on the leyte side ... as foul ground lies between it and the leyte shore. EAST COAST OF leyte. ..."
4. The Inhabitants of the Philippines by Frederic Henry Read Sawyer (1900)
"Area and population—Panay—Negros—Cebu—Bohol— leyte—Samar. THIS name is given to the group of six considerable islands lying between Luzon and Mindanao, ..."
Other Resources Relating to: Leyte | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-38127000 |
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