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Evolution and the Nature of Science Institutes: Lesson Plans
From Cutting Edge
This website provides access to lesson plans published by the Evolution and the Nature of Science Institutes (ENSI). Based on 32 key ideas of scientific thought, the ENSI program emphasizes the importance of teaching the nature of modern science before introducing the elements of evolution as an example of modern scientific thinking. This website features lessons in three categories - the nature of science, the origins of life, and evolution. Lesson plans are organized into eight sections including an overview of concepts and objectives, logistics such as time, materials, and teaching preparations, and ready-to-use handouts and worksheets for students. These lessons are intended for use in any high school biology course, and may also be used in middle school and/or lower division university courses depending on slight modifications and the experience and level of students.
Intended for grade levels:
Type of resource:
Adobe Acrobat reader
Cost / Copyright:
Copyright 1999 by the Evolution & the Nature of Science Institutes. This material may be copied only for noncommercial classroom teaching purposes, and only if this source is clearly cited.
DLESE Catalog ID: SERC-NAGT-000-000-000-391
This resource is part of 'Creating Effective Web-based Learning Resources in the Geosciences'
Resource contact / Creator / Publisher:
Contact: Dr Jean Beard
Evolution & the Nature of Science Institutes | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39108000 |
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Applications and projects
Earth Observation Center
Applications and projects
Projects: Civil Security - Environment
Projects: Land Surface
Applications and Projects: Atmosphere
According to the current plans of space agencies and satellite operators, in the course of the next two decades over 100 satellite-based instruments will be providing a wealth of data about the earth’s atmosphere from ground level up to the border to outer space. The spectrum extends from detecting trace gases and aerosols to clouds, precipitation and radiation to global measurement of temperature and wind. In parallel, powerful data communication and analysis systems will be established in order to make these data available in a standardized format and ready to use worldwide in near-real-time.
Anwendungen und Projekte: Atmosphäre
ENDORSE is involved in the user-driven creation of so-called ‘downstream services’ for the renewable energies sector of the European Union’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Programme. Based on the GMES services for land, atmosphere and security, specific applications will be developed together with users from the fields of solar energy, wind energy, distributed power networks, bioenergy and daylighting for buildings.
The goal of the ESA project aerosol_cci, a climate change initiative, is to design consistent prototype algorithms for the production of long-term aerosol data sets from several European earth observation sensors. The project starts with an in depth analysis and comparison of the retrieval results for several existing algorithms. Based on this analysis, elements of community algorithms and harmonized retrieval are then developed. Topics of investigation are the different assumptions and approaches for modeling optical aerosol properties, how to deal with surface reflectance and its anisotropy, cloud masking, and the use of auxiliary data sets.
Within Europe’s family of GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) projects, MACC-II (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate, phase 2) deals with the atmosphere. DLR is in charge of the MACC solar radiation service and the interface to MACC-II users. Furthermore, DLR contributes satellite-based information on stratospheric ozone chemistry, tropospheric trace gases and aerosols.
The Sahara is a huge reservoir for the introduction of dust into the atmosphere, which can be carried as far as the Americas in air currents. In the SAMUM (Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment) project, the optical effects of mineral dust will be investigated in detail. A team of eight national institutes will take in-situ aerial as well as remote sensing measurements and combine them with models to derive information on the spatial distribution and transport of these dust layers as well as their physical and chemical composition.
- Volcano Monitoring (PROMOTE and EXUPERY)
Volcanic eruptions not only endanger the local population, they can also have a negative effect on air traffic. Because the eruption clouds of volcanoes threaten the functioning of airplane engines, operators of aircraft needs to be promptly informed about volcanic eruptions so that flight paths can be modified accordingly.
Virtual Institute "Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus" (UFS)
The Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (2650 a.s.l.) on the mountain Zugspitze is an internationally linked center of competence for high altitude, climate and environmental research with focus on development, demonstration and operation of innovative technologies in the context of atmospheric and climate research, satellite validation, model verification, quality assurance for value added products (e.g. in the framework of GMES), analyses for the understanding of climate system processes, environmental and high altitude medicine, early detection of natural hazards, cosmic radiation and radioactivity. The UFS has the status of a global station within the Global Atmosphere Watch Programme (GAW) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It is in addition part of the NDACC program and linked with the ICSU/WMO World Data Center for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere (WDC-RSAT), which is hosted by DFD.
As part of the EU Seventh Framework Program, the EnerGEO project was established to devise a strategy for estimating the influence of the exploitation and use of energy resources on the environment and various ecosystems. This assessment will be based on models and remote sensing data. The strategy is to be demonstrated making use of pilot projects involving a variety of energy sources, including fossil fuels, biomass, solar energy and wind power.
Helmholtz Alliance Planetary Evolution and Life
The Helmholtz Alliance is using an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the relationships between the formation of planets and the evolution of life. Entire planets are included in the study, from their outer envelopes of magnetosphere and atmosphere to their core. Beginning with Earth, other planetary bodies in our solar system will also be studied, such as the earthlike planets Venus and Mars. But moons are also a subject of investigation, on which life is at least theoretically possible according to present knowledge. The wide-ranging methodologies being developed may also even involve planets outside our solar system.
Copyright © 2013 German Aerospace Center (DLR). All rights reserved. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39109000 |
Revised December 2012
This year's Monitoring the Future Survey raises concerns about increases in drug use among the Nation's teens, particularly the youngest.
Read the full description of Percentage of U.S. 12th Grade Students Reporting Past Month Use of Cigarettes and Marijuana, 1975 to 2009.
- Daily Marijuana use increased among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders from 2009 to 2010. Among 12th graders it was at its highest point since the early 1980's at 6.1%. This year, perceived risk of regular marijuana use also declined among 10th and 12th graders suggesting future trends in use may continue upward.
- In addition, most measures of marijuana use increased among 8th graders between 2009 and 2010 (past year, past month, and daily), paralleling softening attitudes for the last 2 years about the risk of using marijuana.
- Marijuana use is now ahead of cigarette smoking on some measures (due to decreases in smoking and recent increases in marijuana use). In 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the past 30 days, while 19.2 percent smoked cigarettes.
- Steady declines in cigarette smoking appear to have stalled in all three grades after several years of improvement on most measures.
- After marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter medications account for most of the top drugs abused by 12th graders in the past year. Among 12th graders, past year non-medical use of Vicodin decreased from 9.7% to 8%. However, past year non-medical use of OxyContin remains unchanged across the three grades and has increased in 10th graders over the past 5 years. Moreover, past-year nonmedical use of Adderall and over-the-counter cough and cold medicines among 12th graders remains high at 6.5% and 6.6%, respectively.
- After several years of decline, current and past year use of Ecstasy has risen among 8th and 10th graders. From 2009 to 2010, lifetime use of ecstasy among 8th graders increased from 2.2% to 3.3%, past year use from 1.3% to 2.4%, and current use 0.6% to 1.1%. This follows declines in perceived risk associated with MDMA use seen over the past several years.
- Alcohol use has continued to decline among high school seniors with past-month use falling from 43.5% to 41.2% and alcohol binge drinking (defined as 5 or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) declining from 25.2% to 23.2%. Declines were also observed for all measures among 12th graders reporting the use of flavored alcoholic beverages. Past year use fell from 53.4% to 47.9%.
This is also available in PDF format. Download (PDF, 209KB)
Images from Press Conference
NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. discusses the 2010 Monitoring the Future survey results at a press conference Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at the National Press Club. Seated next to the podium are R. Gil Kerlikowske, ONDCP Director (center), and Dr. Lloyd Johnston, survey principal investigator.
Press conference attendees.
ONDCP Director R. Gil Kerlikowske takes a question from a reporter. Seated beside him is NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39116000 |
Study Finds Possible Link Between Gene Variation and Teen Binge Drinking
Scientists in London have found a genetic variation that may play a role in binge drinking in teenagers, Reuters reports. The two-phase study included mice and teenage boys.
“People seek out situations which fulfill their sense of reward and make them happy, so if your brain is wired to find alcohol rewarding, you will seek it out,” lead researcher Professor Gunter Schumann of King’s College Institute of Psychiatry in London said in a news release.
The researchers found that a gene called RASGRF-2 is important in controlling how alcohol stimulates the brain to release the brain chemical dopamine, which triggers feelings of reward. Previous studies have suggested that this gene increases the risk for alcohol abuse, but the mechanism was unclear, the article notes.
The researchers began by studying mice whose RASGRF-2 gene was removed, to see how they would react to alcohol. The lack of the gene was found to significantly reduce alcohol-seeking activity in the mice. When the rodents did consume alcohol, the lack of the gene reduced the activity of dopamine-releasing activity in the brain, and limited any sense of reward.
The scientists then analyzed brain scans of 663 teenage boys. They found when the boys were expecting a reward in a mental test, those with genetic variations in the RASGRF-2 gene had more activity in the brain involved in dopamine release. This suggests people with the genetic variation release more dopamine when they anticipate a reward, and get more pleasure out of it, the researchers said.
Two years later, the researchers retested the boys, many of whom had begun drinking frequently. Those with the gene variation drank more often than those without it. Their findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39117000 |
‘Falling For Orangutans’, by Jonathan Stark.
27th November 2012
Earlier this year, a group of Durrell staff took part in a sponsored skydive over Jersey to raise money for “The Tripa Campaign”, an initiative led by our esteemed ex colleague Dr Ian Singleton who is now the Conservation Director for The Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Programme. The idea to support this campaign was born during a visit I made to Sumatra in May of this year when I had the opportunity to meet with Ian and see the devastation of the Tripa peat land forest for myself.
Tripa is one of just 3 remaining peat swamp forests on the west coast of Aceh province, Sumatra. In terms of area, these peat forests make up just 10% of the viable remaining Sumatran orang-utan habitat yet they are home to 30% of the population making them vital for the survival of this species.
As a peat swamp, the protection of Tripa is also incredibly important for the regulation of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Estimates of the amount of carbon stored in Tripa's three peat domes range from 50 to 100 million tons, an amount equal to the carbon emitted by the use of air conditioning in the whole of the United States in a year. With the destruction of the forest and the draining of the peat swamp comes the massive release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
In 1990 the forest of Tripa covered 60,000 hectares which is equivalent in area to the size of Singapore while sustaining a population of 3,000 orang-utan. Since then much of Tripa has been destroyed with over 250 concessions handed out to companies for the development of palm oil plantations. Today forest covers just 15,000 hectares and the population of orang-utan has plummeted to 200 individuals.
Tripa is part of the wider “Leuser Ecosystem”, which covers more than 2.6 million hectares. It is one of the richest expanses of tropical rain forest in Southeast Asia and is the last place on earth where Sumatran elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, Sumatran tiger and Sumatran orangutan are found within one area. The area provides water to nearly 4 million people living in Aceh and it is of global importance to the conservation of biodiversity, as well as an important status symbol of Aceh.
Fig. 3. The Leuser ecosystem from above
Whilst in Sumatra I was hoping to visit Tripa with Dr Singleton but unfortunately he was suffering from extreme fatigue at the time, brought on no doubt by the arduous work schedule he maintains. I therefore travelled with a group of SOCP staff including Shayne McGrath, a 29 year old New Zealander who has been working alongside Ian in challenging the illegal allocation of palm oil concessions in Tripa and other areas within the borders of the Leuser Ecosystem.
Packed in tightly to one of Ian's numerous pick-up trucks we left the SOCP office in Allubele which is a small ramshackle village on the outskirts of Tripa. Soon we were speeding through mile after mile of mature palm oil estate deep into the heartland of what was once forest. After a while the horizon opened up as we entered an area of newly cleared land as the burning midday sun shone down.
Fig. 4. Map showing the Tripa region with the contested PT Kalista Allam concession in dark blue.
What was a few months ago a riot of jungle had been replaced by line after line of freshly planted oil palm saplings on ground still charred from the clearance fires. This was the controversial concession granted to the company PT Kalista Allam. It was the illegal issue of this concession that had galvanised Ian and his colleagues into taking action and hence “The Tripa Campaign" was born. With Tripa so close to complete annihilation, forcing the government to rethink the sale of this 1500 hectare plot represented the final battle to protect what remained of this vital orang-utan habitat.
We continued through the concession for another 15 minutes before arriving at a solitary fragment of forest which was set back perhaps 100 metres from the road. This patch, barely the size of a football pitch, had been spared the recent destruction and using a hand held GPS Shayne pinpointed its position within the boundary of an area supposedly protected by spatial planning laws. Shayne explained that it was from this fragment just a few weeks earlier that a fully mature male orang-utan had found refuge and had been rescued by the SOCP team. This magnificent male was presently housed in SOCP's Batu Mbelin quarantine facility in the outskirts of Medan awaiting relocation to Jantho, one of SOCP's release sites in Central Aceh.
Fig. 5. Fully flanged male orang-utan rescued from Tripa by SOCP
Fig. 6. The SOCP quarantine facility at Batu Mbelin in April 2012.
Within seconds of entering the forest patch it was to my amazement that we heard the kiss squeak vocalisation of a female orangutan up above. I looked up and her lithe silhouette hung suspended below the canopy, bobbing up and down as she rested on forest vines before disappearing amid a crash of breaking branches. I looked to the faces of the SOCP team and they appeared more dejected than surprised. "Looks like we need to sort out another rescue" one replied.
We continued onwards to see if we could get a better look but within a couple of minutes we heard another rustle of foliage, this time to our right, perhaps 50 metres away. Knowing looks were passed between the SOCP team as we altered direction, moving through the thick undergrowth in the direction of the noise. To our amazement the mysterious form of a fully flanged male orangutan came in to view. With each limb spread-eagled he anchored himself to branch, vine and climber staring directly at us. He gave penetrating kiss squeak vocalisations while snapping off twigs from surrounding trees and throwing them in our direction. My mind darted back to Dagu, our magnificent adult male at Durrell and the life he may have lived. I couldn't help but think if he was unfortunate enough to be living in Tripa at this time, then the security of Durrell would be some kind of heaven.
It was saddening to think that this was my first encounter with truly wild orang-utans, forced in to these increasingly tiny forest fragments as their habitat is destroyed all around them. At the same time I felt very aware that the only hope for these individuals was provided by Ian Singleton and The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. While there are a couple of other orangutan NGO's working in the region, SOCP is the only one that can respond to the clear and present danger individual orangutans find themselves in when the palm oil companies arrive. Who would have thought a humble keeper from Durrell could become the greatest hope for a species as magnificent and beguiling as the orangutan.
Maybe it was at this point that I thought we should try and raise some money to help turn this situation around. When I returned to Jersey I suggested the idea of a sponsored skydive to my colleagues at Durrell. It was with no surprise that they were immediately enthusiastic about the idea and within a week or so we had 10 willing participants across 5 different departments willing to take a stand by "Falling for Orangutans".
Fig. 7. A promotional poster showing the skydiving team of 10 Durrell staff.
With the help of the marketing department we set up a justgiving fundraising page and each participant was encouraged to attract support from friends, colleagues and family. Within about a month we had raised £4,200 between us. This, I am told is sufficient to run the campaign for 2 and a half months, ensuring Ian can maintain individuals such as Shayne in the field while paying the lawyer fees necessary to save Tripa by the challenging the perpetrators in the courts of Jakarta.
So the day of the skydive came and as the first jumpers; Gordon and Myself, arrived at the dilapidated portacabin of Skydive Jersey. Following a 30 minute training session by a worryingly aged instructor we climbed into a van reminiscent of one of the rust heaps I had seen in Sumatra. Following a short journey we arrived at the air strip where we were introduced to the "aeroplane" which was supposed to break our god given right to terra firma. After a few adjustments to the gafa tape that held the wings on we were off, accelerating down the run way, a knot of apprehension tightening in our stomachs. This humble craft took flight and, slightly slower than anticipated, Jersey unfolded below us into a patchwork of greens and browns. We headed over the sea and began climbing in a wide spiral up to the jumping height of 10,000 feet.
The wind screamed like a banshee and Gordon was first to go, clamped firmly to his instructor - I couldn't bring myself to look as they shuffled towards the open door before falling away towards Jersey. I kept my head up as instructed and took my position ready for the experience of a lifetime. Arriving at the open door I looked skyward and after a short pause suddenly I was falling too. When I'd opened my eyes I saw the shape of Jersey below me. In honesty it was a rather tranquil experience that lasted just a few seconds. The instructor pulled the cord and suddenly we were floating down to ground. As we descended towards St Aubins bay I could make out the gathering of Durrell staff who were waiting by the slipway to greet us.
Fig. 8. Colm sporting a rather fetching orang-utan costume.
Fig. 9. Alberto and Chris after their jump – smiles all round
Fig. 10. I think this was me
Fig. 11. Eluned comes in to land.
Fig. 12. Gordon on the final approach
Fig. 13. Colm and Will doing the “Mo”
Fig. 14. Where on earth is Johnny!?
Fig. 15. Colm takes the orang-utan mask off.
The rest of the day was spent welcoming the rest of team back to solid ground. Alberto, Chris, Will, Colm and Eluned landed safely and without incident. Relatives and colleagues of Johnny Poole exchanged worry shrouded small talk while the sky darkened as day crept into night, wondering when the last of the jumpers would arrive. Finally a Johnny-like shape appeared up above. Johnny had accepted the stealth mission, jumping in near darkness long after the sun had set and landing to cheers all around. Unfortunately Louise and Sarah weren't able to jump that day as we ran out of time so their skydive will be postponed till early next year – so get your wallets ready!
Since the skydive the controversial PT Kallista Allam concession has been revoked, a historic first in the battle to save Indonesia's forests. This is undoubtedly down to the efforts of SOCP and their partners. The hope of Ian is that this victory will provide the necessary leverage to enforce forest laws across increasingly large tracts of Indonesia. Whilst these are just small steps along a long road to a coherent and sustainable land use policy in Indonesia it’s certainly a start. Looking back over all these events I think it is remarkable what Durrell’s Army can achieve when they put their mind to it. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39124000 |
A Song for Saturday
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 92
Words in boxes are from the Bible.
Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the Hebrew Bible.
The notes explain words with a *star by them.
The translated Bible text has yet to go through Advanced Checking.
Jesus said, "Thank you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)
The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) had a story that Adam sang this song the day after God made him. The Jews called that day the Sabbath, the 7th day. We call it Saturday. Really, we do not know who the person was that wrote Psalm 92. We call the person that wrote a psalm the psalmist. Maybe it was after God had done something good for his people Judah or Israel. Many Bible students think that it was when King Cyrus of Persia beat King Belshazzar of Babylon. Cyrus then sent the Jews home to their own country. For 70 years, the Babylonians had made them live in Babylon. Now they were free!
Study the psalm in 5 parts:
· Verses 1 - 3 say that it is good to tell the *LORD that he is great and to use music to do it.
· Verses 4 - 6 say that God has done something good. You would have to be silly not to see it.
· Verses 7 - 9 tell us that even if the enemy is strong, God will destroy them.
· Verses 10 - 11 tell us that God has made the *psalmist very strong. And also that God has destroyed his enemies.
· Verses 12 - 15 tell us that all *righteous people will be strong.
Verses 1 – 3: In this part there are two words for God and three words for things that make music. We call these things "musical instruments". They are the lute, harp and lyre. The psalm calls God "LORD" and "Most High". "LORD" means that he is always alive. "Most High" means that he is more important than anyone else is. In verse 2, "do what you have promised" suggests that God has done something good.
Verses 4 – 6: Now the *psalmist says that God has done something good. The *psalmist is now very happy. Only a silly man would not see what God has done. What God thinks is often hard to understand. Only fools would not agree that grass and weeds grow everywhere.
Verses 7 – 9: Grass and weeds grow everywhere! So do bad people. But God will destroy them and they will never come back again. Really, they destroy themselves, as Hosea 13:9 tells us. It says, "You have destroyed yourselves (yourselves means more than one yourself)".
Verses 10 – 11: Here Bible students think that the *psalmist was a leader of the people. If he wrote the psalm before Babylon beat the *Jews, then that leader was the king.
They made people king by pouring special oil over them. We are not sure what the wild animal was. Maybe it was a wild ox. An ox is a kind of cow.
Verses 12 – 15: Now the *psalmist talks about righteous people. Righteous is a word that means "very, very good". Only God is really righteous. But God makes people that love him righteous too. It does not mean that they are good. It means that they love God and want to obey him. They will not be as grass and weeds that do not live long, verse 7. Instead, they are as trees. They are as palm trees that produce fruit called "dates"; and as the cedar tree which lives for centuries. "The temple of our God" in verse 13 is the same as "the house of the *LORD". It was a special building where the people went to meet God.
1. Count how many times me, my or mine come in the psalm.
2. How many times does "*LORD" come in the psalm?
3. If you have a Bible, read Ezekiel 18.
4. Learn to say Psalm 92:8 by heart. (This means without looking at the words.)
© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
Visit our website: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39137000 |
North American Dipteran Pollinators: Assessing Their Value and Conservation Status
Carol Ann Kearns, University of Colorado at Boulder
Full Text: HTML
Recent attention to pollinator declines has focused largely on bees and vertebrates. However, few pollination systems are obligate, and pollinators that complement the role of bees may respond differently to environmental disturbance. The conservation status of North American fly pollinators remains undocumented. In this paper, methods for monitoring shifts in dipteran pollinator abundance are discussed. The need for further basic research into pollination by flies is addressed, and the significance of dipteran conservation is considered.
anthophilous flies, anthropogenic disturbance, conservation, Diptera, Dipteran conservation, generalist pollinators, North America, pollination, pollinator declines, population fluctuation, redundant pollination systems
Ecology and Society. ISSN: 1708-3087 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39141000 |
POLAND has celebrated "Flag Day" on May 2nd since 2004. Asked what it means, most Poles shrug. Some say it is a jingoistic gimmick to plug the gap between Labour Day, on May 1st, and the May 3rd anniversary of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's 1791 written constitution, the first in Europe.
But ask Polish veterans of the second world war, particularly those that served on the eastern front, and they will remind you of a neglected story. For in Berlin on May 2nd 1945, Polish troops clambered up Berlin's iconic victory column, the Siegessäule, to hoist their colours at the end of the battle for the German capital. Hitler's corpse lay a few hundred metres away.
It is the Soviet flag fluttering atop the Reichstag that people remember from that day, thanks partly to an iconic photograph. This is not unreasonable: the lion's share of the fight against Nazi Germany was undertaken by the peoples of the Soviet Union.
But the contribution of the Polish army to the battle for Berlin was significant. It fielded up to 200,000 troops, more than the combined American, British and Canadian deployment at D-Day. This was Poland's largest battlefield deployment in the history of its military victories (more soldiers were sent to fight in the 1939 Battle of the Bzura, in which the invading Nazis defeated the Poles).
The Poles were greatly outnumbered by the 1.5m Soviet troops in the Berlin "defensive area", a dense network of anti-tank obstacles, gun emplacements, trenches and bunkers. But they did make a tactically instrumental contribution to the fight: the Polish 1st Infantry Division bailed out a halted Soviet tank advance on the Reichstag. The Poles were later invited to the Moscow victory parade, while the British and Americans were shunned (Soviet leaders accused the Western allies of conducting a strategy of bait and bleed throughout the war).
The Polish army on the eastern front had been set up, with Stalin's blessing, to rival its counterpart on the western front, backed by Churchill. Many of its commanders were Russian plants, but most of its soldiers were former Gulag inmates who had been deported from Poland to Siberia during the Soviet occupation of 1939-1941. All the troops who took part in the Battle of Berlin, including Holocaust survivors and former Home Army resistance fighters, wore Polish uniforms, used the Polish salute and swore an oath to Poland alone.
Some witness testimonies state that the Polish flag was raised before the Soviet one, possibly even a day earlier, making it the first Allied victory banner to be raised in Berlin at the end of the war. One version has it that the Polish solider who raised it was shot dead by the Soviets, who then pulled the flag down. If these accounts are true, they were soon covered up by Soviet propaganda.
The story of the Polish flag in Berlin helps illustrate several things: that Poland did not surrender to Germany; that the Polish army, contrary to the allegations of some, was neither ineffective or inept; that many Polish Jews did not passively accept their fate at the hands of the Nazis; that Poland did not collaborate with Germany (although some traitors did).
The story also serves as a reminder that Poland's war heroes, normally associated with the London-based government-in-exile, were vastly outnumbered by Poles who fought under Soviet high command, willingly or otherwise. Some Poles might also like to consider that if the Battle of Berlin was their countrymen's finest hour, then it should also be shared with, among others, the ordinary people of Russia who did so much to bring an end to Nazi tyranny. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39143000 |
|Published 1,561 days ago|
Researchers discover bones of armored dinosaur
College of Eastern Utah researchers have located the largest nodosaur ever, according to a December 2008 article in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The Nodosaur is an armored dinosaur that is part of the a group known as ankylosaurs.
The article written by Kenneth Carpenter of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with the assistance of Jeff Bartlett, John Bird and Reese Barrick of the CEU Museum, reports that bones of a partial skull and post-cranial skeleton of a new large nodosaurid anklylosaur were found in the Cedar Mountain Formation southeast of Price.
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ECU faculty, students work to authenticate Wright brothers artifact
(Apr. 22, 2008)
When the Wright Brothers moved to Kitty Hawk to follow the wind more than a century ago, they brought limited household supplies. Their thoughts seemed to be focused more on glider materials at first than basic goods to get their “camp” established.
One of the crates that shipped supplies to “W. Wright, Elizabeth City, North Carolina” is believed to have been recycled by the Wrights to create the top of a wooden kitchen table, which resurfaced last month in Kitty Hawk.
A leading Wright brothers authority, Dr. Larry Tise, and several of his students at East Carolina University have worked since that time to analyze and authenticate the history of the small wooden table.
The table will be shown publicly for the first time April 24 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial site in Kill Devil Hills. It will be presented during a public program at 7 p.m., when Tise and his students will discuss their research and findings on the little known secret flights of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk in May 1908.
Tise, the Wilbur & Orville Wright Distinguished Professor of History in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, is author of the 2005 work, “Hidden Images: Discovering Details in the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk Photographs 1900-1911.” In that book, Tise used modern computer technology to magnify and examine small areas of the black and white photos made by the Wright brothers to document their life and quest for flight while conducting experiments at Kitty Hawk.
Tise admitted he was skeptical when he was first contacted about the table by a Kill Devil Hills resident, but after close examination and further study, he said he is positive it is the same table shown in 1902 photographs of the Wright brothers’ living quarters.
How Ron Ciarmello, an Outer Banks jeweler, came to own the table is almost unbelievable: He answered a classified ad earlier this year.
A self-described aviation enthusiast, Ciarmello said he spotted the ad and called the telephone number. The person selling the table said her family had it for about a century and had used it through the years in the family laundry room and as a utility table in a family-operated barber shop. The family was moving and had decided to sell it. Ciarmello in his own research located a photo with the table in it on the Library of Congress Website.
Ciarmello contacted Tise after seeing his book at the Wright Brothers National Memorial gift shop and finding that the book contained a second image of the table.
Tise asked Ciarmello to send him digital images of the table. “When I saw the photos, I was 70 percent sure it was the table, but I wanted to see it in person,” Tise said.
Tise travelled to Kitty Hawk and met Ciarmello at the home of Bill Harris, whose grandfather welcomed the Wright brothers to the Outer Banks in 1900. “Bill has vast knowledge of the families in the area for the past century, which was quite helpful. We examined and studied the table for almost three hours. The more we looked, the more we decided this could not be a fluke,” Tise said.
The table consists of three “convincing” components: the legs are from a pre-existing writing table and the top is made from the sides of a shipping crate and two remnants of ash rib material used by the Wrights to build their gliders.
“The different types of wood combined with the shipping label, a distinctive exposed nail that can be seen in the photos which is in the same place in the table, it was exciting to put all the evidence together,” Tise said. The way the shipping crate has been addressed to Wilbur Wright was consistent with others that had been documented previously by Tise.
As for the future of the table, Ciarmello said he would like for it to be permanently displayed | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39146000 |
Children’s Play and Early Number Knowledge
Recent research at U. C. Berkeley’s Institute of Human Development (IHD) suggests that children’s early number knowledge comes about because as children play with objects, they spontaneously set up correspondences between sets and they track what happens as set sizes change. They seem to understand correspondence and simple arithmetic quite well when they actually play with objects. However, they find it quite difficult to look at object sets and try to judge whether sets are of the same size or not.
When children solved number problems in the active method, they succeeded up to three times more frequently than they did when they solved the same problems in the passive method. In the active method tasks, their responses to the correspondence problems were nearly perfect, whereas in the passive method correspondences the children responded correctly only about half of the time. When children solved addition and subtraction problems, they were similarly more successful in the active method than in the passive method.
One explanation for these differences is that the active method more closely mimics the sort of “number play” that young children do when they sort objects, when they set up tea parties, when they arrange for each of their friends to have a toy, and so on. These are examples of naturally occurring correspondences. And importantly, these all involve the children’s actions upon the objects.
It is also interesting to note that these early number abilities do not associate directly with children’s ability to count sets of objects. The children in these studies were younger than three years. They sometimes knew some number words, and perhaps could recite the counting sequence up to five or so, but they were not particularly good at saying how many objects were in front of them. And yet they could solve problems that look remarkably like object based arithmetic when they could act upon the set materials.
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WORKBOOKSMay Workbooks are Here!
WE'VE GOT A GREAT ROUND-UP OF ACTIVITIES PERFECT FOR LONG WEEKENDS, STAYCATIONS, VACATIONS ... OR JUST SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FUN!Get Outside! 10 Playful Activities
- Kindergarten Sight Words List
- The Five Warning Signs of Asperger's Syndrome
- What Makes a School Effective?
- Child Development Theories
- Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Creative Development
- 10 Fun Activities for Children with Autism
- Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working
- Bullying in Schools
- A Teacher's Guide to Differentiating Instruction
- First Grade Sight Words List | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39153000 |
Underage Drinking: Start Talking Before They Start Drinking
You Are the Most Powerful Influence on Your Child’s Behavior
Underage drinking can have serious consequences. You can protect your children from the risks associated with drinking by maintaining open communication and expressing a clear, consistent message about alcohol. Building a close relationship with your kids will encourage them to come to you for help in making decisions that impact their health and well-being. This guide provides facts and practical advice on how to talk with your children about underage drinking. It helps you create household rules to support your values.
Society gives children mixed messages about alcohol. Make sure that your children get their information from the best resource available
What You Need to Know
Many kids start drinking in middle school.1
> One out of every two 8th graders has tried alcohol.2 > More kids use alcohol than use tobacco or illicit drugs.3 > More children are killed by alcohol than all illegal drugs combined.4 > Children who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are 5 times more likely than those who start after age 21 to develop alcohol problems.5 > The chances of becoming dependent decrease by 14% for each year of delay in the onset of alcohol use.6
Alcohol and Judgement
The teenage brain is still developing. Alcohol can impair the parts of the brain that control the following:7
> Motor coordination. This includes the ability to walk, drive and process information. > Impulse control. Drinking lowers inhibitions and increases the chances that a person will do something that they will regret when they are sober. > Memory. Impaired recollection and even blackouts can occur when too much alcohol has been consumed. > Judgement and decision making capacity. Drinking may lead young people to engage in risky behaviors that can result in illness, injury, and even death.8
Alcohol use among youth is strongly correlated with violence, risky sexual behavior, poor academic performance and other harmful behaviors.10
> Children who start drinking before age 15 are 12 times more likely to be injured while under the influence of alcohol and 10 times more likely to be in a fight after drinking, compared with those who wait until they are 21.11
> Alcohol use by teens is a strong predictor of both sexual activity and unprotected sex.12 > A survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39% of males say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex if the girl is high or drunk.13
> Teens who use alcohol have higher rates of academic problems and poor performance than non-drinkers.14 > Among eighth-graders, higher truancy rates are associated with greater rates of alcohol use in the past month.15
ILLICIT DRUG USE
> More than 67% of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug. Children who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use any illicit drug, more than 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than children who never drink.16
> When young people drink and get into a car, they tend to make poor decisions that impact their safety.17 > Traffic crashes are the number one killer of teens and over one-third of teen traffic deaths are alcohol-related.18
“What parents may not realize is that children say that parental disapproval of underage drinking is the key reason they have chosen not to drink.”
Charles Curie, SAMHSA Administrator U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
You have more influence over your children than you may realize. Kids spend a lot of time with friends, television, music and magazines. But they are also tuned in to you. Your words and actions impact them in many ways every day.
>Research studies indicate that children are less likely to drink when their parents are involved in their lives and when they and their parents report feeling close to each other.20 > You can influence your children’s behavior by observing the rules of a moderate drinker or by not drinking.21 > Your older children also influence their younger brothers and sisters. Older siblings’ alcohol use can influence the alcohol use of younger siblings in the family, particularly for same sex siblings.22
For adults who choose to drink, moderation is defined as no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men.23
Reprinted with the permission of the National Mental Health Information Center.
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Today on Education.com
WORKBOOKSMay Workbooks are Here!
WE'VE GOT A GREAT ROUND-UP OF ACTIVITIES PERFECT FOR LONG WEEKENDS, STAYCATIONS, VACATIONS ... OR JUST SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FUN!Get Outside! 10 Playful Activities
- Kindergarten Sight Words List
- The Five Warning Signs of Asperger's Syndrome
- What Makes a School Effective?
- Child Development Theories
- Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Creative Development
- 10 Fun Activities for Children with Autism
- Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working
- Bullying in Schools
- A Teacher's Guide to Differentiating Instruction
- First Grade Sight Words List | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39154000 |
In this lesson, our instructor Evren Edler gives an introduction to tempo operations. He starts by discussing tempo events, enable conductor, tempo change and option click. He then moves on to snap to bar and tempo operations: constant , linear, parabolic, s-curved, scale, stretch, & pencil tool.
Graphic Tempo Editor: to view
the tempo operations, click the little arrow in the tempo ruler.
Tempo events are visible when
the conductor icon is enabled on transport window.
Tempo Change: In order to make
tempo changes, we need to always enable the “conductor” icon in
the Transport Window.
Once we type the changes on
certain cars, we can drag the “Tempo Change” icon in the Tempo
ruler up to go faster or drag down to slow down.
Option Click: gets rid of
tempo changes in a similar way we work with our markers or we can
select the tempo change icons and delete them by delete/backspace
key or clearing them under Edit Menu or short cut of (Com B).
Tempo Operations: We can also
apply tempo changes to a time selection using the Tempo Operations
under the Event menu.
There are 6-sub menu you will
see under Tempo Operations.
Pencil Tool: You can draw in
the new tempo events, replacing existing ones, using the pencil tool
The Free hand tool lets you
draw freely by moving the mouse, producing a series of steps that
depends on the Tempo Edit Density settings.
Parabolic & S-Curve Tools
lets you draw the best possible curve to fit your freehand drawing,
again producing a series of steps that depend on the Tempo Edit
The Triangle, Square &
Random Pencil tool cannot be used to create tempo events!
Lecture Slides are screen-captured images of important points in the lecture. Students can download and print out these lecture slide images to do practice problems as well as take notes while watching the lecture. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39155000 |
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The carotid arteries are large blood vessels that carry blood to the brain. When these arteries are healthy, the brain gets all the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function well. If the carotid arteries are damaged, however, it can greatly increase your chances of stroke. This is a sudden loss of brain function caused by a lack of blood flow.
In a healthy carotid artery, the inside of the artery wall is smooth and open. But health problems such as high blood pressure can damage the artery wall and make it rough. This allows plaque (fatty deposits) to build up in the artery wall. Blood clots may also form on the plaque. If pieces of plaque or blood clot (called emboli) break off, they can flow in the blood until they get stuck in a small blood vessel in the brain. This blocks blood flow to a portion of the brain, causing a stroke.
Below are common symptoms of stroke. Call 911 right away if you have any of these symptoms! Prompt treatment for a stroke is vital. The longer you wait to get medical help, the more damage a stroke can do.
Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
A TIA is a “ministroke.” It’s a serious warning sign of a larger stroke. TIAs occur when an artery supplying the brain is temporarily blocked. This causes stroke symptoms that last from a few seconds to a few hours. NEVER ignore any stroke symptoms. Call 911 right away! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39160000 |
What do you think what is record?
Our electronic definitions web site has answer for that as well:
is a collection of related items of data treated as a unit for processing (e.g. one
line of an invoice may form a record). This is called a logical record where
it is necessary to distinguish it from the record as held in computer storage
which may also include control information (the physical record).
Other electronic terms related to record
record format recording adaptor recording telecomms | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39162000 |
What is an organ transplant?
An organ transplant replaces a failing organ with a healthy organ. A doctor will remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. This may be done when your organ has stopped working or stopped working well because of disease or injury.
Not all organs can be transplanted. Organs most often transplanted include:
More than one organ can be transplanted at one time. For example, a heart and lung transplant is possible.
Not everyone is a good candidate for an organ transplant. Your doctor or a transplant center will do tests to see if you are. You probably are not a good candidate if you have an infection, heart disease that is not under control, a drug or alcohol problem, or another serious health problem.
If your tests show you are a good candidate, you are put on a waiting list. It may be days, months, or years before a transplant takes place.
How successful is an organ transplant?
Organ transplants have been done in the United States since the 1950s. The procedure is always improving, and transplants are more successful today than ever before. Organ transplant success depends on:
How do you prepare for an organ transplant?
First, you'll need to have blood and tissue tests done that will be used to match you with a donor. This is because your immune system may see the new organ as foreign and reject it. The more matches you have with the donor, the more likely your body will accept the donor organ.
You'll need to take care of your health. Continue to take your medicines as prescribed and get regular blood tests. Follow your doctor's directions for eating and exercising. You also may want to talk with a psychiatrist, psychologist, or licensed mental health counselor about your transplant.
To learn more about what happens, talk to someone who has had a transplant. Your transplant center or doctor can give you the name of someone who is willing to share his or her experience with you.
You may have to wait days, months, or years for your transplant. Be patient, and ask your doctor what you can do while you're waiting.
What can you expect afterward?
After a transplant, many people say they feel better than they have in years. What you can and can't do will depend on the type of transplant you had, other health problems you have, and how your body reacts to the new organ.
You will have to take daily antirejection medicines for the rest of your life to prevent your immune system from rejecting the new organ. You will need less of these medicines as time goes by.
Because these antirejection medicines weaken the immune system, you may have to stay away from large crowds for a while and stay away from people who have infections. Be sure you talk to your doctor before you take any nonprescription medicines, such as cold remedies. These medicines may cause problems with your antirejection medicines.
You will also have regular checkups and blood tests to see how well your new organ is working.
Depression is common after an organ transplant. If you think you may be depressed, get help. The earlier depression is treated, the more quickly you will feel better.
You may need to make some lifestyle changes to keep your new organ healthy and strong. This can include eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise, and getting enough sleep. Your doctor can help you plan any needed changes. Keeping in touch with your transplant coordinator and your local primary doctor, taking your medicines, going to your doctor appointments, and making lifestyle changes are all important.
Who can be an organ donor?
Most people can be organ donors. If you are interested in donating an organ, contact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) at 1-888-894-6361 or go online at www.unos.org to get more information and to locate the nearest transplant center.
Many people choose to donate an organ upon their death. But a person can donate certain organs while he or she is still living. These people are called "living donors."
eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
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Everybody knows the most famous vacation destination in Europe. But Rimini, or better ancient Ariminum, is also a city of art with over 22 centuries of history.
Rimini is a Roman city and certainly not just any old city, but one of the most important of ancient Rome. The official date of its founding is 268 BC when the Senate of Rome sent 6000 colonists to establish a new settlement there which took the name of the river Marecchia (Ariminus).
In the beginning it was a strategic settlement. Then (90 BC) it became a “municipium”, and finally a blossoming city of the Roman empire, with a grand forum (piazza Tre Martiri), two central streets - the cardo maximus (via Garibaldi and IV Novembre) and the decumanus maximus (corso d’Augusto) – and triumphal monuments: the Tiberus Bridge and Augustus’s Arch. And let’s not forget a rarity: the Surgeon’s Domus, a unique medical clinic from the ancient Roman world, miraculously still intact in 2011 AD.
Among the great works decided upon by the Senate of Rome, there are the two Roman roads: the via Flaminia and the via Emilia. The first connects Rome to Rimini and ends at Augustus’s Arch. The via Emilia starts at the Tiberus Bridge and runs 100 km to Piacenza.
It is a delight to walk among these historic places where cars are not allowed and every five minutes you run into a monument. To begin to get to know Roman Rimini, you must begin at Augustus’s Arch, the most ancient of the surviving Roman arches. Located in a strategic position – marking the end of the via Flaminia – it was commissioned by Emperor Augustus in 27 BC.
The tour continues with the Tiberus Bridge. One of the most noteworthy Roman bridges still around, began by Augustus in 14 AD and completed by Tiberus in 21 AD, it is impressive because of its architectonic design, the size of its structures and the building technique used.
Not many people know it, but this city also had a large amphitheater – only the Coliseum was larger – that was always crowded and held more than 12,000 spectators, with only 1800 seats not covered. Here a convent and other buildings were built. Today, only the ruins of the amphitheater on the side nearest the sea are visible. Guided tours of the site are organized by the City Museum.
The grand finale of the tour must not be missed: a stop in piazza Ferrari at the little Rimini Pompei, the archeological site called the Surgeon’s Domus. This exceptional archeological find was discovered right here: it held the most complete surgical toolset from the Roman era found to date.
First visitors will be astonished by the 700 square meter archeological area in which the working instruments of a surgeon who worked inside a house of Ariminum in the 3rd century, used in part for practicing medicine and as a pharmacy, were found.
An excavation that the architectonic work protects and emphasizes available for all passersby to see. The structure is set into the urban space around it, integrating itself into the garden of piazza Ferrari. On the inside there is a system of transparent walkways, suspended over the ancient structures, making it easier to visit them.
Luck would have it that the Domus is located right next to the Museum, which makes up an important part of the tour of this site. The City Museum houses, in fact, the exceptional surgical instruments found in the domus.
For tourist information: | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39170000 |
HEROES OF FAITH - PART EIGHT
Frank W. Dowsett (Australia)
JOSHUA AND THE WALLS OF JERICHO
WE have completed our studies of the faith which led to the formation, establishment, and guaranteed continuance of God’s Kingdom on earth. We then studied what we might refer to as a ‘cameo’ of Israel’s then future history, through the faith of the Patriarchs, followed by the faith of Israel’s first deliverer, Moses.
In proceeding to Hebrews 11:30-32, we read of nine specific instances of faith, involving both people and events, each illustrating the faithfulness of God, and particularly the reward for obedience to God’s commands:
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.”
This obedience constituted doing that which was in accord with God’s Divine will and purposes. As we read in 1 John 5:14-15:
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
I cannot stress too strongly the fact that God never has, and never will, grant us requests which are opposed to, or at variance with, His Divinely ordained will and purpose. He is not going to change the course of history just to pander to our petty desires.
The first of these nine incidents of faith relates to the Fall of Jericho, as recorded above:
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”
Now what was so important about the Walls of Jericho? What part had they in the exhibition of faith? The setting is given to us in Joshua 5:13-15:
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”
There are a few very important aspects recorded in this statement. Firstly, as Joshua was approaching Jericho, he met a man who had a drawn sword in his hand. The fact that the sword was drawn, indicated an act of warfare. So we can readily understand the import of Joshua’s question as to whose side the man was on. This was soon put to rest when the man replied that he was “the captain of the Host of the Lord”. But who then in actual fact was this man?
Let us turn to the account in Revelation 19:9-10;
“And he (that is, the angel of chapter 18 verse 1), saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
In the above incident, John was very quickly corrected by the angel when he was about to fall on his face before him as an act of worship. But when we read the account regarding Joshua, there was no such command given! Quite the contrary.
“And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy...And Joshua did so.”
Does this ring any bells in our mind? It should. An exactly similar incident happened many years earlier with Moses. We read in Exodus 3:2-6, and 13-14;
“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.”
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
The One who met Joshua was no other than the Lord God of Israel, the Great I AM!!!
In Joshua 6:1-2 we find that Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, had already laid siege to Jericho:
“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.”
So what was the problem? Victory was already assured. But the greatest obstacle to this victory was the WALL! And it was this wall of protection around the city that became the focal issue of the entire incident.
We should clear up one very important point at this juncture. Why was the destruction of Jericho so necessary to God’s Plans?
Well firstly, Jericho was situated upon land that had been promised by God to Israel.
Secondly, Israel at that time dwelt in Gilgal, on the plains of Jericho, close to the city. Joshua 5:10-11 reveals:
“And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.”
The fact that they were eating old and parched corn clearly points to the fact that they were having a hard time.
Thirdly, Jericho was occupied by the people such as Canaanites, etc., whom God had commanded to be utterly and totally destroyed, because of the unGodly, and anti-God effect they had upon God’s Israel people. We read in Joshua 24:11:
“And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.”
These people were a major impediment to the fulfilment of God’s promise of inheritance to His Israel people, and had to be removed. And herein, we are given a very, very, important message.
God will always remove anything, or anyone, who becomes a source of danger to the outworking of His Divine Plans and Purposes! We only need to read Isaiah 43:4, and 54:17 to realise the truth of this statement:
“Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.”
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
One thing we should never forget is that when it comes to Israel, God is a very jealous God. He will brook no interference with His relationship with His people, and will do anything and everything to protect that relationship, even to inflicting sever punishment upon the people of Israel themselves for disobedience. Any violation of His Holy Law on our part always results in punishment and disaster, as witnessed by our present precarious position in the world.
This entire incident was a demonstration of this principle. Let us read of it in Joshua 24:11-25:
“And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.
And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.
Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away (he gods which your fathers sewed on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers sewed that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.”
We will never read a more definitive statement of cause and effect. And if we think that God is going to change His mind and go easy on this present generation of His people, then we are sadly mistaken.
But having made this promise to God at that time, one obvious fact remained. The wall was still there! The enemy were still protected by a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Shades of today. We look at the enemy in our midst, and all around us, and wonder how on earth we can ever get rid of them. How is victory ever going to be possible in our present circumstances?
And that is where FAITH steps in. But first let us realise that “faith without works is dead”. Before real faith can operate, especially on a national scale, it must be preceded by national repentance. We are not speaking here of acts of individual faith. The faith of which we are speaking here is one of national proportions. So how was this mighty victory achieved? How was this seemingly impenetrable barrier to be removed?
The main reason for the success of the operation was NOT the priests, nor the people nor the trumpets.
It was the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. We read in Joshua 6: 6-11:
“And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.
And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rereward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.
So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.”
The presence of this Ark of the Lord signified the presence of the Lord God of Israel for victory. And in Israel’s hands, it also signified defeat of the enemy at their hands. The success of the rest of the ‘ritual’, if we could so name it, was utterly dependant on the presence of the Lord, without which the great miracle could never have been achieved.
So what was the full extent of what happened? We read in the verses preceding the above extract, that there were to be SEVEN priests, with SEVEN trumpets. They, with the entire army, were to march around the walls for SEVEN days. But on the seventh day, they were to encompass the city SEVEN times.
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.”
This process had never before been heard of, and it was the peoples’ unswerving obedience to this unheard of command which constituted the FAITH which resulted in the victory. It formed the ultimate example of the principle set forth in Acts 2:1, where all the people were “in the one place with one accord.”
I have often stated in discussing miracles, how God performs so many of them by employing natural processes of scientific fact. God never waves a ‘magic wand’. He utilises normal everyday processes in a manner that we mortals never seem to realise, much less use. But that’s to be expected, as only He can use the elements to accomplish His requirements, whether for good, or for punishment. In this incident, He used the science of Vibration and Sound. The constant marching around the walls, with a break between each encompassing, commenced a vibration pattern within the foundations of the walls, which were then given time to settle. Each circling added to this settling process. But finally, on the seventh day, the breaking up of the foundations was magnified by the intensity of seven perambulations. I’ve personally experienced earthquakes when living in New Guinea. The tremors occur at intervals from each other, and each tremor compounds the effects of the previous tremors. Finally, if they continue long enough, a volcanic eruption takes place. I’m sure that the ordinary Israelites were not too well aware of this situation.
Then we have the added situation that as they completed the final encirclement, “all the people shall shout with a great shout.” The effect of sound is still being recognised today, especially in the area of medicine, where certain conditions involving internal stones are literally smashed up by the use of sound waves. I well remember, many years ago, seeing the notice on the organ in the Sydney Town Hall informing the organist never to play a particular note with certain nominated organ voices, as this could risk shattering the windows. And I’m sure that we have all heard of singers shattering glass with their high notes. So we see that God was simply using normal scientific means to achieve His purposes. Nevertheless, it was totally outside the experience and knowledge of those days. One is reminded of the statement in I Thessalonians 4:16:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
Obviously, Christ’s return is not going to be very silent, nor secret as so many Theologians would have us believe.
What then is the lesson in this for us today? Remember that the walls of Jericho fell under the terms of the Old Covenant, using the power of that Covenant.
But our present adversary, Babylon, will fall just as surely as a result of the establishment by our Lord Jesus Christ of His New Covenant which He made at Calvary. As we are informed in Revelation 18:2, 9-10, and 21:
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.”
“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”
It was the combined obedience and faith of Joshua and the people of Israel whom he led which achieved the overthrow of the enemy at Jericho. The walls of protection surrounding the city had no chance whatsoever against the “Power of Faith” combined with the “Power of God Almighty”.
And the command is as pertinent today as it was in those far off days, as recorded in Revelation 18:4;
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Obedience and faith go hand in hand. By obedience we are rescued from judgment. By faith we qualify for reward and blessing.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.”
In a world so inundated with sin and evil of every conceivable kind, it can be very difficult to imagine how we could ever see things change.
But through the examples left to us by our forefathers, we can, by faith, see in our spirit the substance of those things for which we hope, and recognise the evidence of what is not obvious to the natural eye and mind.
Let us never cease from our efforts to be ranked amongst those who obtain a good report.
Never doubt in the dark, What God has revealed in the light.
Back To Archive Contents | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39175000 |
Nephila jurassica: The biggest spider fossil ever found
Spiders are small arthropods, famous for their elasticity, strength and web-making abilities. For some people, spiders are not welcome in the home; as soon as they see one crawling on the ceiling, the first thought that comes to mind is to swat it at once.
But spiders predate us humans by a long way. And while sometimes spiders are tiny creatures, a team of scientists has discovered the largest spider fossil ever in a layer of volcanic ash in Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. The research was carried out by Paleontologist Professor Paul Selden, of the University of Kansas, with his team.
Named Nephila jurassica, this 165-million-year-old fossil is 2.5 cm in length and has a leg span of almost 9 cm. It is currently the largest known fossilized spider, and is from the family known as Nephilidae, the largest web-weaving spiders alive today.
According to research published online in the 20th April, 2011 issue of Biology Letters, this prehistoric spider was female and shows characteristics of the golden orb weaver. Widespread in warmer regions, the golden silk orb weavers are well-known for the fabulous webs they weave. Females of this family weave the largest orb webs known.
"When I first saw it, I immediately realized that it was very unique not only because of its size, but also because the preservation was excellent," said ChungKun Shih, study co-author, and a visiting professor at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China.
According to a press release: “This fossil finding provides evidence that golden orb-webs were being woven and capturing medium to large insects in Jurassic times, and predation by these spiders would have played an important role in the natural selection of contemporaneous insects.” | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39178000 |
Research Project Search
Engineering Students Win With Online Game
May 17, 2008 - A team of Ohio University engineering and technology students won an honorable mention from the Environmental Protection Agency for their online environmental game designed to improve public awareness of chemical exposure, the university announced.
The Russ College of Engineering and Technology students competed in the 4th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo from April 20-22 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Nearly 60 teams represented colleges and universities across America.
The Chemical Exposure Awareness Game, funded by a $10,000 EPA grant, is played in the online virtual world Second Life. Modeled on Monopoly, the game exposes players to various daily chemicals to teach positive and negative effects. Players also are encouraged to strive for more sustainable lifestyles.
The expo was the second phase of the EPA's People, Prosperity and the Planet, P3, competition.The first phase, for which the team won the grant, asked teams to demonstrate how they planned to research and develop innovative designs to address challenges to sustainability.
Associate Professor of Computer Science Chang Liu and Professor of Civil Engineering Tiao Chang led students Ying Zhong, Yanhui Fang, En Ye and Jourdan Siemer in developing the game.
"Our team was the only computer game to compete in the expo," Zhong said in an OU news release. "Our game was very popular at the expo, especially with children."
"Students waited in lines to play our P3 game," Liu said. "I think this was evidence that our team had made progress toward the goal of improving chemical awareness though engaging programming." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39181000 |
Winters in Western New York are generally cloudy, cold and snowy...but are changeable and include frequent thaws and rain as well. Snow covers the ground more often than not from Christmas into early March, but periods of bare ground are not uncommon. Over half of the annual snowfall comes from the "lake-effect" process and is very localized. Lake-effect snow occurs when cold air crosses the relatively warm lake waters and becomes saturated, creating clouds and precipitation downwind. The location of these snowbands is determined by the direction of the wind. Due to the prevailing winds, areas south of Buffalo receive much more lake-effect snow than locations to the north. The lake snow machine can start as early as mid November, peaks in December, then virtually shuts down after Lake Erie freezes in mid to late January. The area does not experience many heavy general (synoptic scale) snows, because large scale storm systems usually pass well to the east.
Spring comes slowly to the Buffalo area. The ice pack on Lake Erie does not usually disappear until mid April and the lake remains chilly through most of May. As the prevailing flow is southwesterly, areas near the lake are often as much as 20 degrees colder than inland locations. Fortunately, the cool lake waters act as a strong stabilizing influence, so areas near the lake shore, including the city of Buffalo, experience more sunshine and fewer thunderstorms than inland areas. The cool air from the lake also retards the growing season, but this diminishes the threat of damaging late spring frosts. The average date of the last frost is near the end of April in the Buffalo metro area, but in mid May well inland.
Summer is pleasant in the Buffalo area. Sunshine is plentiful, temperatures are warm, and humidity levels are moderate. Rainfall is adequate, but it shows an overnight maximum, so it is seldom a problem for outdoor activities. The stabilizing effect of Lake Erie continues to inhibit thunderstorms and enhance sunshine in the immediate Buffalo area through most of July. The lake also modifies the extreme heat that approaches from the Ohio Valley. There usually are periods of uncomfortably warm and humid weather during summer, but an average of only three 90 degree readings makes conditions more bearable than at most other locations. August usually turns a bit more showery and humid as the lake is warmer and loses its stabilizing influence. In fact, a good nighttime thunderstorm or two is often a feature of late summer in Buffalo. Overall though, Buffalo has the sunniest and driest summers of any major city in the Northeast, with enough rain to keep vegetation green and lush.
Autumn on the Niagara Frontier is pleasant, but rather brief. September is usually quite tame, as is much of October. The first frost can be expected in late September over interior sections, but not until mid October in the Buffalo metro area. During some years, the warm Lake Erie water can extend the growing season into early November adjacent to the lake shore. Cold fronts from Canada become common in late October, and as the cold air passes over the warmer Great lakes, cloud cover increases drastically. This heralds the start of the Lake-Effect season. The first measurable snow usually occurs in mid November, but snow cover is sporadic until mid December. However, many of Buffalo's greatest snowstorms have occurred in late November and early December, due to the lake-effect phenomenon. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39187000 |
This paper examines the relationship among technology, science, engineering, and mathematics in the context of education. It strives to shape a perspective on how future citizens should best be educated to live in an increasingly more complex technological world? The eight sections of the paper cover the following: (1) the history of technology, science, mathematics, and their relationships; (2) basic definitions of technology, science, engineering, and mathematics; (3) technology and science compared; (4) technology and engineering compared; (5) technology and mathematics compared; (6) the symbiotic relationships between and among technology, science, engineering, and mathematics; (7) the emergence of technology as an equal partner with science and mathematics as a school subject; and (8) individual discipline subjects versus an integrated curriculum. The paper recommends that technology become a fundamental core school subject that is equal in importance with science and mathematics in the schools worldwide in order to produce students who are scientifically, mathematically, and technologically literate to be prepared for the future. (Contains 36 references.) (KC)
Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Vocational Association (Nashville, TN, December 3-7, 1993). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39188000 |
Earth from Space: Bloom-filled Baltic
This Envisat image captures blue-green algae blooms filling the Baltic Sea, which is roughly 1600 km long, 190 km wide and has a surface area of about 377 000 sq km.
'Algae bloom' is the term used to describe the rapid multiplying of phytoplankton, microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea.
Floating freely in the water, phytoplankton are sensitive to sunlight and local environmental variations such as nutrient levels, temperature, currents and winds. The blooms seen here are due to favourable conditions – lots of sunshine, little wind and an increase of nutrients from run-off following the ice season – in the area over the past weeks.
Although algae blooms are a normal and essential phenomenon, they can be harmful to humans and animals when they produce toxic substances, occur too often or last too long, depleting the concentration of oxygen in the water.
Due to the toxicity of some phytoplankton and marine algae species, it is important to monitor blooms so that fishermen, fish farmers and public health officials know about such events as soon as possible.
While individually microscopic, the chlorophyll that phytoplankton use for photosynthesis collectively tints the surrounding ocean waters, providing a means of detecting these tiny organisms from space with dedicated 'ocean colour' sensors, like Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS).
Algae blooms impact the ability of radar sensors, such as the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar on Envisat, to detect oil spills because their presence produces a similar dampening effect on the water’s surface. It is important, therefore, for agencies such as the European Maritime Safety Agency, which monitors European waters for oil spills, to know when algae blooms appear to warn satellite image analysts.
Visible in the image (clockwise from bottom left) are parts of Germany, Sweden, Estonia (top right), Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian territory of Kalingrad and Poland. Also visible are the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland (middle) and the Danish island of Bornholm (lower left).
MERIS acquired this image on 11 July 2010 at a resolution of 300 m. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39189000 |
President Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
Head of Government: Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis
Foreign Minister: Georgios Papandreou
Area: 132,000 km2
Population: 10,964,020 (2001)
GDP per capita: 11,974 €
GDP growth: 4.1% (2001)
Constitution - Domestic politics
Greece became a parliamentary republic in 1974 following a referendum that abolished the monarchy. The President is elected for a five-year term and has a largely ceremonial role. Legislative power lies with the single-chamber Parliament of 300 members elected by universal direct suffrage for a four-year term.
The April 2000 general election was marginally won by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). It was the first time in decades that a party had won three consecutive national elections. Prime Minister Costas Simitis has pledged to continue the policy of economic reconstruction, as the government endeavours to tackle unemployment, enhance investment conditions and improve the country’s infrastructures.
Through systematic efforts, Greece has succeeded in significantly strengthening its previously unstable economy, enabling participation in EMU as of January 2001. Both the rate of inflation and the budget deficit have been brought within the limits stipulated in the Maastricht Treaty.
Although the contribution of the primary sector to GDP has declined in recent years, the sector is still the largest in the EU, accounting for 8.5-10% of GDP, well above the EU average of around 2.5%. In recent years, industry has contributed 22-24% of GDP. The services sector accounts for over 70% of GDP.
Greece’s efforts to achieve economic decentralisation have been greatly facilitated by infrastructure improvements financed under the Public Investment Program as well as the EU’s Community Support Frameworks.
The focus of Greek foreign policy is on political and economic cooperation in the EU, membership of NATO and cooperation with its Balkan neighbours. Greece wishes to further strengthen its already leading role in the economic development of the Balkan region and strongly supports the integration of the Balkan states in existing European structures.
Relations with Turkey have been the main foreign policy issue for many years. The close neighbours have long been at odds over territorial disputes in the Aegean and the divided island of Cyprus. The Greek government has initiated a process of confidence-building with Turkey and although business cooperation has been strengthened and diplomatic contacts have become much more frequent, disagreement remains unresolved in certain key areas. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39192000 |
The EU aims to cut its energy consumption by 20% by 2020. However, ccurrent estimates tend to show the EU is not on track to achieving this objective. As a result, new measures on energy efficiency are now being proposed.
The European PROMISE Project - launched in 2012 and funded by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy - Europe (IEE) programme - will host a European awareness conference on energy-efficient consumer behaviour in European Islands. The project aims to solve the issue of energy use still being largely invisible to the user, while being rapidly increasing due to larger homes, new services and additional appliances. By sharing information and experience, energy agencies from Samsø (Denmark), Iceland, Rhodes (Greece) and Tenerife (Spain) aim to promote tried-and-tested methods for reducing the energy consumption of households.
The event will seek to promote energy savings and awareness by spreading knowledge and experiences on how to reduce the energy consumption of households. Stakeholders and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and exchange on how to successfully implement the project-tested methods.
Le Chalet Robinson - Bois de la Cambre
Sentier de l'Embarcadère, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgique | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39193000 |
Where to search?
There are many different places in which one might find academic information. Often, the best place to search depends on the search technique that is used. As a general rule, for a reference search (title or author, preferably both) it is best to use a search engine with a wide scope, for this increases the chance of success. For a topic search, it is best to search in a more specific pre-selected area, such as a subject specific database. For merely browsing, subject specific portals or topic guides are useful starting points. For books and especially for ‘aged’ information which has not been digitalized, library and archive catalogues are the best place to start your search.
For a known item search: academic search engines
For browsing: subject specific portals
- Selection of subject guides (doorlinken naar hierachical searching)
For a topic search: databases
For print books, journals and ‘aged’ information: library Catalogues
- UL catalogue (EUR collection)
- Picarta (national collection of most library catalogues)
- Worldcat (international collection of library catalogues) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39195000 |
But experts now believe the words “essere amato amando” reveal a doomed love story.
A manager at Penrhyn Castle, near Bangor, North Wales, deciphered the inscription – Italian rather than Latin – as “to be loved while loving”.
Historians believe the words were scratched on the glass by lovelorn teenager Lady Alice Douglas-Pennant.
We knew the room had been Lady Alice’s bedroom. So it was fair to assume the writing was hers and we began to dig
In a story that bears striking similarities to the novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, her father, industrialist and Tory MP Lord Penrhyn, banished her to a tower for falling in love with a gardener. During her time in solitary confinement around 1880, she is said to have scratched out the message as a memento of her love.
The National Trust – which runs the 19th century neo-Norman castle – is indebted to Italian-born education manager Resi Tomat for solving the riddle.
House steward Clare Turgoose said: “We knew the room had been Lady Alice’s bedroom. So it was fair to assume the writing was hers and we began to dig.
“The story goes that Lord Penrhyn forced her to stay in the nursery to keep her away from her love.”
Lady Alice, who became an artist, never married and died in 1939. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39204000 |
Sing Old Rose
Sing Old Rose and burn the bellows. “Old Rose” was the title of a song now unknown; thus, Izaak Walton (1590-1683) says, “Let's sing Old Rose.” Burn the bellows is said to be a schoolboy's perversion of burn libellos. At breaking-up time the boys might say, “Let's sing Old Rose [a popular song], and burn our schoolbooks” (libellos). This does not accord with the words of the well-known catch, which evidently means “throw aside all implements of work.”
Now we're met like jovial fellows, Let us do as wise men tell us, Sing Old Rose and burn the bellows.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39206000 |
Olbia (ŏlˈbēə) [key], Ionic Greek colony of Miletus, founded at the beginning of the 6th cent. B.C. It is on the right bank of the Buh River between Mykolayiv and Ochakov, S central Ukraine. The leading Milesian colony and later a republic, its economy centered around handicrafts and trade. Its prosperity resulted especially from the exportation of wheat. The period of its flowering was from the 6th cent. B.C. to the 3d cent. B.C. In the 2d cent. B.C., Olbia was incorporated into the Scythian state of the Crimea. About the middle of the 1st cent. B.C., Olbia was invaded by the Getae and others. By the end of the 6th cent. life in Olbia came to a standstill. Excavations have unearthed towers and city gates from the Hellenic period and parts of a fortified wall and a temple of Apollo from the Roman period.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Olbia from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Greece | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39207000 |
Juan de Padilla
Padilla, Juan de (hwän dā päħēˈlyä) [key], c.1490–1521, Spanish revolutionary leader in the war of the comuneros [municipalities] against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Charles's conduct and his foreign advisers offended Spanish national feeling and led to a rising in Toledo under Padilla's leadership (1520). Soon other Castilian cities rose and joined Toledo in a Santa Junta [holy league]. Padilla sought to legitimize the junta by securing the support of Charles's mad mother, Joanna, but the movement soon degenerated into class warfare. Padilla's army was defeated at Villalar (Apr., 1521), and he was executed. The comuneros revolt was the most important rising in Castile until the 19th cent. Its defeat permitted royal absolutism to consolidate itself and led to a loss of municipal liberties.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Juan de Padilla from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Spanish and Portuguese History: Biographies | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39208000 |
Meningitis and Septicemia
Last Updated on Saturday, 11 December 2010 17:36
Meningitis is an infection of the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Septicemia is a blood poisoning by the same germ. Both can develop very rapidly into life-threatening conditions.
Although children are now being vaccinated against one form of meningitis, the infection can be caused by the other bacteria as well, so it is vital that all parents know the signs.
See detailed section on Septicemia here: www.familyhealthguide.co.uk/septicemia.html
Signs of Meningitis
Signs of Septicemia (see detailed section on septicemia)
Other signs in babies
Tense or bulging fontanel (soft spot on the scalp)
Blotchy skin Pale complexion
Refusing to eat
High pitched or moaning cry
Irritable when picked up
Stiff body with jerky movement or else floppy and lifeless
Difficult to wake or lethargic
Symptoms can appear in any order and not every child gets all the symptoms. If you are worried about someone who is ill, or your child has some of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately.
The rash is the most telltale sign of meningitis / septicemia and 'The Tumbler test' is the best way to identify the rash. Press a glass tumbler firmly against the rash. If you can see the rash through the glass then get medical help immediately (it is harder to see on dark skin so check paler areas).
Do not wait for the rash. It may be the last symptom to appear, and in some cases it may not even appear at all. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39213000 |
This report updates and extends the FAO global study World agriculture: towards 2010, issued in 1995. It assesses the prospects, worldwide, for food and agriculture, including fisheries and forestry, over the years to 2015 and 2030. It presents the global long-term prospects for trade and sustainable development and discusses the issues at stake in these areas over the next 30 years.
In assessing the prospects for progress towards improved food security and sustainability, it was necessary to analyse many contributory factors. These range from issues pertaining to the overall economic and international trading conditions, and those affecting rural poverty, to issues concerning the status and future of agricultural resources and technology. Of the many issues reviewed, the report concludes that the development of local food production in the low-income countries with high dependence on agriculture for employment and income is the one factor that dominates all others in determining progress or failure in improving the food security of these countries.
The findings of the study aim to describe the future as it is likely to be, not as it ought to be. As such they should not be construed to represent goals of an FAO strategy. But the findings can make a vital contribution to an increased awareness of what needs to be done to cope with the problems likely to persist and to deal with new ones as they emerge. The study can help to guide corrective policies at both national and international levels, and to set priorities for the years ahead.
The world as a whole has been making progress towards improved food security and nutrition. This is clear from the substantial increases in per capita food supplies achieved globally and for a large proportion of the population of the developing world. But, as the 1995 study warned, progress has been slow and uneven. Indeed, many countries and population groups failed to make significant progress and some of them even suffered setbacks in their already fragile food security and nutrition situation. As noted in the 2001 issue of The State of Food Insecurity in the World, humanity is still faced with the stark reality of chronic undernourishment affecting over 800 million people: 17 percent of the population of the developing countries, as many as 34 percent in sub-Saharan Africa and still more in some individual countries.
The present study predicts that this uneven path of progress is, unfortunately, likely to extend well into this century. Findings indicate that in spite of some significant enhancements in food security and nutrition by the year 2015, mainly resulting from increased domestic production but also from additional growth in food imports, the 1996 World Food Summit target of halving the number of undernourished persons by no later than 2015 is far from being reached, and may not be accomplished even by 2030.
By the year 2015 per capita food supplies will have increased and the incidence of undernourishment will have been further reduced in most developing regions. However, parts of South Asia may still be in a difficult position and much of sub-Saharan Africa will probably not be significantly better and may possibly be even worse off than at present in the absence of concerted action by all concerned. Therefore, the world must brace itself for continuing interventions to cope with the consequences of local food crises and for action to remove permanently their root causes. Nothing short of a significant upgrading of the overall development performance of the lagging countries, with emphasis on hunger and poverty reduction, will free the world of the most pressing food insecurity problems. Making progress towards this goal depends on many factors, not least among which the political will and additional resource mobilization required. The importance of these factors was reaffirmed in the Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later, unanimously adopted at the Summit in June 2002 in Rome.
The study also foresees that agricultural trade will play a larger role in securing the food needs of developing countries as well as being a source of foreign exchange. Net cereal imports by developing countries will almost triple over the next 30 years while net meat imports might even increase by a factor of almost five. For other products such as sugar, coffee, fruit and vegetables the study foresees further export potential. How much of this export potential will materialize depends on many factors, not least on how much progress will be made during the ongoing round of multilateral trade negotiations. Developing countries' farmers could gain a lot from lower trade barriers in all areas, not only in agriculture. In many resource-rich but otherwise poor countries, a more export-oriented agriculture could provide an effective means to fight rural poverty and thus become a catalyst for overall growth. But the study also points at potentially large hardships for resource-poor countries, which may face higher prices for large import volumes without much capacity to step up production.
Numerous studies that assessed the impacts of freer trade conclude that lower trade barriers alone may not be sufficient for developing countries to benefit. In many developing countries, agriculture has suffered not only from trade barriers and subsidies abroad but has also been neglected by domestic policies. Developing countries' producers may therefore not benefit greatly from freer trade unless they can operate in an economic environment that enables them to respond to the incentives of higher and more stable international prices. A number of companion policies implemented alongside the measures to lower trade barriers can help. These include a removal of the domestic bias against agriculture; investment to lift product quality to the standards demanded abroad; and efforts to improve productivity and competitiveness in all markets. Investments in transportation and communication facilities, upgraded production infrastructure, improved marketing, storage and processing facilities as well as better food quality and safety schemes could be particularly important, the latter not only for the benefit of better access to export markets, but also for reducing food-borne diseases affecting the local population.
On the issue of sustainability, the study brings together the most recent evaluation of data on the developing countries' agricultural resources, how they are used now and what may be available for meeting future needs. It does the same for the forestry and fisheries sectors. The study provides an assessment of the possible extent and intensity of use of resources over the years to 2030 and concludes that pressure on resources, including those that are associated with degradation, will continue to build up, albeit at a slower rate than in the past.
The main pressures threatening sustainability are likely to be those emanating from rural poverty, as more and more people attempt to extract a living out of dwindling resources. When these processes occur in an environment of fragile and limited resources and when the circumstances for introducing sustainable technologies and practices are not propitious, the risk grows that a vicious circle of poverty and resource degradation will set in. The poverty-related component of environmental degradation is unlikely to be eased before poverty reduction has advanced to the level where people and countries become significantly less dependent on the exploitation of agricultural resources. There is considerable scope for improvements in this direction and the study explores a range of technological and other policy options. Provided such improvements in sustainability are put in place, the prospects point to an easing of pressures on world agricultural resources in the longer term with minimal further buildup of pressures on the environment caused by agricultural practices.
I conclude by reiterating the importance of developing sustainable local food production and of rural development in the low-income countries. Past experience underlines the crucial role of agriculture in the process of overall national development, particularly where a large part of the population depends on the sector for employment and income, as is the case in most low-income countries. Agricultural development is and will be the critical component of any strategy to improve their levels of food security and alleviate poverty. It is for this reason that sustainable agricultural and rural development are given enhanced priority in The Strategic Framework for FAO: 2000-2015. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39217000 |
Curriculum for Addiction Professionals > Competency 1: Introduction to FASD > 6b. Terminology and Prevalence Rates: Prevalence
Competency 1: Introduction to FASD
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Terminology and Prevalence Rates, Continued
Experts are unsure exactly how many individuals in the United States have an FASD.
Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported prevalence rates of FAS alone from 0.2 to 1.5 cases per 1,000 births across various populations.15-18 Other studies using a variety of
methods have produced estimates ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 cases per 1,000 live births.19,21 Such rates are comparable with or
above other common
developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome or spina bifida.22
Studies of a variety of populations may yield even higher FAS prevalence estimates.
For example, some Native American communities with high levels of alcohol use have
FAS rates as high as 3 to 5 per 1,000 children.21-24
Some experts estimate that an FASD occurs in 10 in 1,000 live births.21
Thus, of 4 million infants born each year, an estimated 40,000 will be born with
Because of the challenges of establishing accurate and timely prevalence information,
the number of cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders could be greater than current
data indicate. These challenges include:
- Lack of specific and uniformly accepted diagnostic criteria. Only
recently have diagnostic guidelines been published for FAS. No uniform guidelines
exist for other types of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Thus, health providers
are hampered in their efforts to screen and identify individuals with an FASD.
- FAS diagnosis is based on clinical examination of features, but not all
children with FAS look or act the same. Because each symptom has a broad
range of possible diagnoses, a clinician might miss or misdiagnose an FASD. For
instance, physicians are aware of the high prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorders but might not link attention problems to an FASD.
- Lack of knowledge and misconceptions among primary care providers.
Few know about the full range of neurobehavioral symptoms that result from prenatal
exposure to alcohol. Few know about the full range or progressive nature of the
neurobehavioral symptoms that result from prenatal exposure to alcohol. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39219000 |
ForestWatch systems offer a nighttime benefit no lookout could provide. Their sleepless cameras scan the horizon day or night, and their near-infrared capability means that they are capable of localizing flame fronts not visible to the human eye through the smoke and haze. This allows ForestWatch operators to spot smoke plumes in hazy conditions before flames are even visible. And since fire dispatch centers typically operate 24/7, alerts from ForestWatch systems allow these dispatchers to quickly mobilize a response, with the added benefit that they can zoom in on an incident to determine precise size and location of a blaze, greatly aiding an incident commander’s size-up of the fire before resources are dispatched.
Unlike a lookout tower, an EVS camera can display images anywhere there is an available computer via the internet. This gives first responders unparalleled capabilities, allowing them to monitor an incident as they approach in case the situation changes. With the ability to pan/tilt/zoom any camera in the network, an incident commander can slew a camera over to a specific location, zoom in on something, and determine the best course of action to quickly knock down the fire.
The military uses the term “force multiplier” to signify how technology can increase the effectiveness of available assets. ForestWatch is a force multiplier, in that it allows incident commanders to allocate just enough of their limited firefighting resources to an incident, keeping enough in reserve for other emergencies. By having cameras strategically located, they can cut down on the unknowns associated with responding to an incident as well. In an era of budget cuts and firefighter layoffs, ForestWatch systems allow a fire agency to do more with fewer resources.
Another feature of the EVS equipment is the ability to archive data from an incident for use in prosecution of arsonists. With date/time stamping on each frame of video from an EVS camera, law enforcement can provide incontrovertible evidence at trials of arson suspects, something no lookout tower could ever do!
And the same record-keeping capabilities can also be used to collect fire data for comparison with historical Fire Regime Condition Class information, a useful feature when trying to assess the effectiveness of a fire agency’s policies in an era of climate change.
Douglas Forest Protective Association (DFPA), headquartered in Roseburg, OR, has deployed dozens of wildfire camera systems across the state. Their dispatch center is state-of-the-art, with monitors able to quickly switch from one trouble spot to another and convey up-to-the-minute information to firefighters as they respond to an incident. What started out as a small operation for a limited area has now expanded to include many locations spanning a large swath of the state.
Melvin Thornton, the DFPA District Manager, had this to say about the system: “We have been very pleased with the ForestWatch system and EVS’s response to issues when they develop. They listen to our needs and then work to solve the issue or to improve efficiency.”
And EVS also customizes systems to the customer’s specifications. “An example where EVS took an idea and made it work was incorporating lightning strike data onto our maps so the operators would know where active lightning was occurring, helping to find fires earlier,” said Thornton. “The ForestWatch 3 software provides more than just detection capabilities, it provides fire managers an immediate view of the fire, location, and it’s potential to increase. Then we use that information to prioritize fires during periods of multiple fire events.”
For more information on ForestWatch, visit http://www.evsolutions.biz.
Summary of Envriovision Solutions Systems Features
- High-powered 35x optical zoom lens
- 15-mile visual range (with zoom)
- 18 preset views per 360-degree rotation
- High stability in windy conditions Effective low-light level performance at night
- The ability to switch to a near IR (Infrared) mode during the day to see further in hazy or smoky conditions
- The ability to switch back from “night shot” to color at night with long exposure mode active
- Geo-referencing is a key advantage due to the impact it has on making the algorithms “range aware”
- Results in better detection
- Lower false-alarm rates
- Improved situational awareness when dispatching resources to known locations
- Can overlay stored daytime images onto live night image for better context and interpretation of how the fire propagates at night | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39231000 |
This means interconnecting different computers via a TCP/IP compatible network. Usually you need this to transfert data from one PC to another, share ressources, like disk drivers, printers, internet connection or any other.
Although I decided to not do a specialisation in networking and telecommunication (but in software developpment), I know a lot about networks. I am able to establish and configure a network and all the components that go with such an operation, like routers, switches, ...
Hint: Did you ever try the IpCop software router? It's really easy to use and very powerful. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39232000 |
The Egg Matrix
Creating a Ubiquitous Information Architecture and Designing Across Devices
The Egg Matrix is a tool for planning content, features, and scenarios when creating an information architecture that will exist across multiple devices and touch points.
Where Did the Idea Come From?
In college, I had an environmental design professor who described the field as such:
Architecture is the profession that designs the shell or the structure of the built environment. Interior design is the profession that designs the interactions and spaces inside that built environment. Landscape architecture is the profession that designs the space outside this structure.
Environmental design encompasses all three, studying our interactions with the built environment, how we move through it, how we move around it, how we integrate with the natural environment, and so on.
I always had the idea of an egg in my head, in part because he described architecture as being like a shell of sorts, and partially because we talked a lot about animal habitats and homes.
Environmental design is a human-centered design discipline that covers our physical surroundings. It considers the shared ecology between places and spaces, interiors and exteriors, the mechanic and the organic. Many of the same principles and ideals carry over into the digital space.
When the Digital World Spills Over into the Physical World
When we design for digital spaces today, it’s no longer safe to assume that the majority of our users will access our information from a similar static setup in an office or home. Digital information travels freely now between devices, locations, and online and offline habitats. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to know the context or situation that surrounds each of our users.
It also seems likely that even before we have mastered the art of designing across desktop and mobile platforms, we will find ourselves creating spaces in cars, kiosks, mirrors, table tops, refrigerators, and many other devices. There is no set of rules that tells us how to create the right mix of content and features so that our users will have a seamless experience whenever and wherever they access our information.
The Egg Matrix
The Egg Matrix is my attempt to create a tool for cataloging the different forces that should be considered when determining the architecture, features, and overall design of a multi-device experience. My hope is that it is flexible enough to be applicable to topical challenges, like designing for mobile vs desktop spaces, but that it also will encompass future needs, such as television or in-car apps.
The concept is simple. There is a subset of the experience (the egg) that you can directly control. You are responsible for the structure, the content, the messaging, and the interaction that goes into your design. There are also two equally important forces at play that contribute to the experience and overall success of what you’ve designed. There is the internal composition of the user (the yolk) and the extrinsic environment that the experience takes place in (the nest). You might be able to influence certain aspects of both areas, and you might be able to design around certain scenarios, but you’ll never be responsible for the creation of these realms.
By breaking each area down into individual factors, you’ll be able to create a better model for your structure. I’ve broken each field out into the initial factors that I thought were most crucial, but there is certainly room for expansion, refinement, and feedback.
Start with a single node of content, and build out from there. What features are needed to interact with that content? How often is the content accessed by the user? What possible contexts might the user be in when accessing the content? What belief systems might he or she be bringing to the experience?
The breakdown currently is as follows:
The Nest covers environment, location, context, and locomotion.
The Egg covers message, content, task, frequency, urgency, privacy, intimacy, tracking, and measurement.
The Yolk covers motivations, needs, desires, and knowledge.
You may find yourself creating multiple columns for a single content node to cover the array of possible touch points or devices your users might encounter.
I included a section called “messaging.” This may relate to a marketing campaign, a company brand message, or a common slogan. It’s important the spaces you design don’t contradict the messaging being broadcast to users.
I’ve also included fields for noting tracking and measurements. These are for listing how you plan to measure the experience and what measurement points you’re going to look for.
How Do You Know If The Model Is Working?
Like any other model, it has to be put into action and tested. Fortunately, this “model” can be tested in several ways. You can gather feed and ask questions of users. You can create a prototype to test. When you’re satisfied with the performance of a prototype, you can design the real deal, and then continue to make refinements with ongoing feedback.
I’ve listed the Egg Matrix worksheet here so that others can download it, play around with it, refine it, and provide feedback. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39235000 |
Welcome to the Diet and Health module for students aged 11-16 years.
This module supports secondary school students learning about:
Diet through life
Two levels of information, entitled foundation and extension, have been created to help with progression. Some areas will have foundation resources only, whereas others will have both foundation and extension. Within the interactive tutorials, for both foundation and extension, there are three levels of differentiation.
An exciting collection of interactive tutorials has been developed exploring:
Dieth through life
A guide has been developed to help you make the most of the interactive tutorials.
There is also a video looking at the facts behind the headlines.
Last reviewed: 06/04/2009
Next review date: 01/04/2012 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39237000 |
Food Security Analysis: Tools and Standards
The EC- FAO Food Security Programme aims at improving the quality and quantity of food security information available.
It has developed tools and methodologies to improve the way in which food security information is collected, stored and analysed. It has also helped set international standards to make sure data can easily be exchanged and compared across borders.
The programme has developed tools and standards for:
Area of Work
Tool & Standard
Markets & Prices
Price Monitoring Tool
Food Security & Nutrition | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39238000 |
- Provide the child with a special notebook just for homework assignments. Nothing else is to be written in this notebook.
- When homework assignments are completed, the work is put into the special notebook so it can be turned in at school.
- Ask teachers to send a note home with the homework assignmnet which parents must sign and return.
It is best to have the child do his/her homework at the same time every day. Meals and bedtime are at regular times, and giving homework the same consideration gives it equal importance. Work should usually come before play, especially is the child is having difficulty remembering or completing assignments. A half hour after arriving home from school gives children time for a snack, but not time to get involved in other activities.
STUDY HABITS BEGIN AT AN EARLY AGE
Good study habits should begin in the first grade. Insist no radio or television be playing while the child is doing homework. Studies have repeatedly shown the most people learn better in a quiet atmosphere. Be willing to help, but don't do your child's work.
- Use a homework notebook.
- Set a regular time for doing homework.
- Check and approve homework before the child goes out to play. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39241000 |
Fort HealthCare Diabetes Education Program
Through a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals knowledgeable in all aspects of diabetes care, the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program is an excellent way to:
Fort HealthCare’s Diabetes Education Program is recognized by the American Diabetes Association, assuring that you receive the best, most up-to-date diabetes management information.
Fort HealthCare Diabetes Education classes are presented through group and individual sessions, and educational information is also shared through ongoing support and outreach through free monthly presentations of the Diabetes Education Series offered at Fort Memorial Hospital. The Diabetes Education Series welcomes anyone to attend, whether you or a family member or friend is affected by diabetes, or just for interested parties.
Talk with your physician about attending the Fort HealthCare Diabetes Education Series. For more information, contact the Diabetes Educator at (920) 568-5247, or via email at firstname.lastname@example.org or email@example.com.
What is Diabetes?
Virtually all food a person eats is converted into glucose before it enters the blood stream. With the help of insulin produced by the pancreas, glucose is taken into cells to be used as energy.
Type 1 diabetes develops when the pancreas becomes unable to produce insulin because the immune system destroyed the beta cells of the pancreas.
Type 2 diabetes, representing 90 to 95 percent of all cases, is typically caused by a decrease in insulin production, and the cells becoming less efficient at using insulin (insulin resistance). Although the pancreas continues to produce insulin, it is not enough to keep blood glucose levels in check. Type 2 diabetes is more likely to be inherited than type 1. Risk factors include obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar (diabetes) that starts or is first diagnosed during pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones can block insulin from doing its job. When this happens, glucose levels may increase in a pregnant woman's blood.
Pre-diabetes means your blood sugar level is above normal but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39242000 |
STEM3 places an emphasis on personal finance and financial literacy. Our goal is to equip our students with the knowledge to not only manage their personal finances but to understand the broader financial system and successfully navigate the many decisions we must make as productive citizens on a daily basis.
Finances are one of the most common barriers to enrolling and remaining in higher education. With improved financial literacy, students and families will better understand the positive impact that higher education can have on their financial future. They’ll also have a better understanding of the tools and resources available to find an appropriate education path, create a financial plan to get to college, and stay in college.
Read more: http://www.educationcents.org/About-Us/About-Education-Cents.aspx#ixzz20Wxh0dGL
STEM3 makes use of the curriculum developed by CollegeInvest, part of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. The curriculum is developed based on national standards set forth by the federal government via the federally funded Jump$tart Coalition. The goal is to develop competencies in six categories, including: Financial Responsibility and Decision Making, Income and Careers, Planning and Money Management, Credit and Debt, Risk Management and Insurance, and Saving and Investing.
We actively encourage our students to participate in our personal finance and financial literacy program; however, we do not require any students to spend time and effort on the subject. We do give service credit for participating in this part of our program and completing one module per academic year is required to qualify for a STEM3 academic scholarship.
If you have questions about our Personal Finance and Financial Literacy program then please contact Shaun Loveless at 970-247-7521 or you can e-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.org. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39243000 |
Coronary artery disease is the progressive narrowing of the coronary arteries, usually due to a build up of fatty plaques along the vessel walls. It's the most common cause of heart disease in the United States. When the heart is deprived of blood, it fails to receive sufficient oxygen. Because the heart must be nourished with a constant flow of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood, damage occurs when it no longer receives the supply it needs. The first sign of coronary artery disease may be in the form of chest pain, called angina (an-JIE-nuh). This appears as a severe, crushing pain that may radiate from the chest to the left arm, lower jaw, and shoulder blade. Shortness of breath may also occur. Angina usually occurs after physical exertion, as a result of emotional excitement, or exposure to cold. If a coronary artery becomes completely blocked, a heart attack may occur. Factors that lead to coronary artery disease include high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and a family history of heart disease. For more information about coronary artery disease, contact your health care provider. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39247000 |
QUESTION: I ran a virus scan and my program turned up a bunch of things it labeled "third-party" cookies. What are these?
ANSWER: When you visit most websites, they place cookies on your browser. These are small bits of data that store your site settings for future visits. This is why you don't have to constantly log into Facebook any time you browse to a new Facebook page. Those are first-party cookies. Third-party cookies are when an advertiser or other third-party service on a site places a cookie. These can often be related to advertising tracking, so it's best to opt out of them in your browser. Try a service like SelectOut.
Q: I bought a new computer to replace my 6-year-old desktop. Should I just throw out the old one?
A: No, no and no! Computers contain hazardous materials that make it dangerous to just throw them out. Instead, you could try recycling it with help from a site like Earth911. It will tell you where you can take it and any special considerations. Of course, you could give it to a friend or family member that needs a PC, too. Just remember to completely wipe your personal information. .
Q: I just gave my teenage daughter her first cell phone. What can I do to make sure she's not visiting any adult sites with it?
A: If she does most of her surfing on the house's Wi-Fi, you can use OpenDNS. It filters content at your network router so it protects her from inappropriate sites no matter what gadget she surfs on. If she starts using her gadget's 3G or 4G connection to circumvent those blocks, you can download a filtering browser like Bsecure. On iPhones, however, Apple doesn't have an official way to change the default browser from Safari. You should have a chat with your daughter and make sure she knows what sites are appropriate.
Q: I keep seeing online that people recommend buying solid-state hard drives instead of conventional drives. What's the point?
A: A solid-state drive is a little brick of flash memory, like a large USB drive. SSDs can make a laptop faster, lighter and more energy efficient. The catch is they can raise the price of a laptop $200 to $300 and they usually don't offer a lot of storage. If you want a performance boost and don't store too many large files on your computer, it's a good upgrade. If you have a lot to store, or need a less expensive option, stick with a conventional drive.
Q: Someone told me the photos I take on my smartphone are geotagged. What does this mean?
A: Geotagging means your smartphone's GPS attaches a location to the photos you snap. Your photos are tagged with other revealing information, too. You can turn your smartphone's GPS off to stop this. However, that might mess with other useful location services work. If you don't want to keep turning location services on and off, you can use an app like Pixelgarde to strip the GPS data out of photos before you post them online.
Kim Komando hosts the nation's largest talk radio show about computers: www.komando.com/listen. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39256000 |
The topic of using blogs in education is nothing new. One thing I have noticed over the years is that many teachers use blogs in basic ways, such as posting a question(s) and having the students respond/answer. This is good from time to time, but a blog can be so much more than that. A blog can by one of the most dynamic teaching tools a teacher could have. It can be a review tool, learning tool, creating tool, collaboration tool, a sharing tool or all of them. With this post, I want to give some useful tips and ideas that can be used to make a dynamic blog. So, let’s go.
- The Silent Review: The silent review video is something I started this past year. This is a video that my students and I make together. As you will see in the video, it is such a simple way to review, but a very helpful one. The video can be posted on your blog for the students to access easily and watch leading up to the test. The attached video is a review over Greek Mythology. (be sure the students’ answers are the correct ones!)
- WSG Live! My blog is called Water for Sixth Grade, so at the end of each unit, I have a WSG Live! review event. This review tool allows me to study with the students the night before the test. I am at my computer at my home, and they are on theirs at their homes. (How often can a student review with the teacher the night before?) For 30-45 minutes, I go online and with my blog, ask my students questions on my WSG Live! post. We discuss the material we have been studying together. I take off comment moderation which allows the students to answer my questions and have their responses post immediately. This is a great way to review interactively.
- Prezi Online collaboration: I am sure you are all familiar with Prezi. So let’s take Prezi and combined it with our blog. I posted a prezi on my blog that could be edited by anyone. I told my students that sometime over the next week, they were to add anything they know or learned about our topic (ancient Egypt). At the end of the week, we had a ton of things posted. The next step was to take what was added to the Prezi and organize it into topics such as “Nile River” or “Pyramids” or “Religioni.” This forced the students to do some thinking as to which category each piece of info went into.
- Keep it Fresh: There is a multitude of tools that can be used through your blog. Create a comic on Pixton to help students learn/review in a more fun way. Have the students post a thought/comment on Wall-Wisher. Have the students create an imaginary conversation between them and someone of their choice about a topic. Post some online flashcards for them with flashcardmachine. Hold a debate on your blog, which allows everybody to have a voice, instead of just one kid getting called on. Share student work, post interesting videos. The possibilities are endless!
Keep in mind, you want your blog to be something that the students want to go to. So don’t “over blog” but try to keep new and useful/interesting things going. Start building momentum and remind/show the students how helpful it can be. Soon, the students will “buy in” to your blog and jump on board. And when that happens, you shall have a dynamic blog.
My name is Dan Klumper and I live and teach in Brandon, SD. I have taught 6th grade social studies for the past six years. I am originally from Worthington, MN. I attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. I have a passion for technology in education because I believe it can make a huge impact on today’s students. Thank you.
twitter: @danklumperemail: Daniel.Klumper@k12.sd.us | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39257000 |
What is a Retrofit?
Main Entry: ret·ro·fit
Pronunciation: \’re-trô-’fit, ‘re-trô-’fit\
Function: transitive verb
1 : to furnish (as a computer, airplane, or building) with new or modified parts or equipment not available or considered necessary at the time of manufacture
2 : to install (new or modified parts or equipment) in something previously manufactured or constructed
3 : to adapt to a new purpose or need
4 : to save a lot of money on energy costs!
5 : to update your current lighting system
Innovation and continuous improvement in the field of lighting have given rise to tremendous
energy-saving opportunities. Lighting is an area in which there is enormous energy-efficient potential, starting at the design stage by incorporating modern energy-efficient lamps and luminaries. Following responsible operational practices also can significantly reduce associated energy costs.
Lighting is not only a very high priority when considering facility retrofitting, but also is a high-return,
low-risk investment. By installing new lighting technologies such as dimmers, photo sensors, occupancy sensors, and timers, facilities can reduce the amount of electricity consumed and energy costs associated with lighting.
There are several types of energy efficient lighting and affordable lighting technology:
compact fluorescents lights, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and lighting controls.
Below are a few examples of energy-saving opportunities with efficient lighting!
• Installation of energy-efficient fluorescent lamps in place of conventional fluorescent lamps for example converting to T8 or T5 lamps from T12 lamps.
• Installation of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in place of incandescent lamps.
• Installation of high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps for applications where color rendering is not critical. Metal halide lamps should also be considered when correct color is important.
• Installation of LED exit signs to replace incandescents.
• Installation of high frequency (HF) electronic ballasts in place of conventional ballasts.
• Installation of occupancy sensors, an inexpensive way to ensure that unused lights do not remain on.
• Installation of microprocessor-based controllers.
• Installation of photocells, devices that automatically detect the natural light level in a room and adjust the intensity of the artificial light accordingly.
• Replacing incandescent wall lights and exit sign lighting with CFL or LED-lit units will not only save a considerable amount of energy, it also will significantly reduce labor costs associated with changing light bulbs, since CFLs and LEDs last much longer than incandescent bulbs.
• If the HVAC system is being upgraded or replaced, the lighting system, too, should be reviewed and the loads attributed to lighting recalculated. When the air conditioning system is optimized, the air conditioning loads will be calculated based on existing lighting systems. If a facility plans to upgrade the lighting, it is best to do so at the time of the HVAC retrofit since the lighting and HVAC systems have a large effect on each other.
Contact Frontier Lighting today for a free energy analysis
to see how retrofitting can save you money! | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39258000 |
You are invited to join us for our monthly bird banding program at the GCBO HQ in Lake Jackson. Licensed bird banders and GCBO Research Associates Robert and Kay Lookingbill will be banding at the sanctuary on a regular basis. Birds are captured for banding in very fine nylon nets known as "mist nets" because they are almost invisible in the environment. Captured birds are weighed and measured and their species, sex, and age are recorded. Each is fitted with an aluminum leg band with a unique number provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and released unharmed. If the bird is captured again, the band provides the link to retrieve this history, which then provides important information on the routes used by migrating birds, their longevity, and general physical condition.
The purpose of the project is to establish baseline data for the GCBO property on both resident and migratory bird populations. About half of the 34-acre headquarters tract is old growth Columbia Bottomland hardwood forest. The remaining acreage is partially cleared woodland with the larger trees remaining, the new constructed wetland, and the edges of Buffalo Camp Bayou. Banding will allow us to obtain information about the physical condition of migrants at this intermediate location between the coast and the bottomland forests lying well inland. Both coastal woodlots and inland bottomland forests are known to be extremely important stopover habitats for nearctic-neotropical migrants that move through the Gulf of Mexico region. Birds that are captured for banding can provide valuable information about their relative physical condition. Fat deposits, which provide the fuel necessary for the arduous undertaking of the twice annual travel of hundreds to thousands of miles, can be estimated by examining handheld birds. Recently arrived migrants generally exhibit little or no fat, as their fuel "tank" is depleted by the long flights they have just finished. The importance of stopover habitat to migrants is that it provides them with both shelter and a source of rapid replenishment of the fat reserves necessary to continue migration. In addition, bird banding is an excellent form of public outreach and education.
The public is invited to attend the regular banding sessions which are scheduled for the third Saturday in each month. Please check our website for any last minute changes in the monitoring dates. Funding for this program has been generously provided by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Texas Coastal Program office in Clear Lake, Texas and ConocoPhillips Sweeny Refinery. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39270000 |
Historical Books & Maps Search Tips
Historical Books & Maps Last and First Name Search
- When you search both first and last name fields, the search results contain historical books and maps where the surname is "near2" the first name.
- The search engine automatically finds all of the first and last name occurrences that are within two words of each other in the historical books and maps archive.
- When you search both first and last name, it helps the search engine find occurrences of middle names or initials in the old books and maps archive.
- The "near2" search command isn't order specific. This means that your historical books and maps search will retrieve the person's name irrespective of how it is ordered: the last name then the first name or the first name then the last name.
- The historical books and maps search default is intended to return the maximum occurrences of the relative's name you are seeking to find.
- If the ancestor's name you are researching is popular, like Jones, try narrowing your search with some of the options such as location, date range, and keyword. This will create a more targeted query and help the search engine find the specific Jones you are searching for (see below).
Advanced Search Tips for the Historical Books & Maps Database
- There are two keyword search boxes to help target your search for historical books and maps:
- "Include keywords with search" box and "Exclude keywords from search" box (see below).
- Use the Date search box for a specific date or date range of the historical books and maps you are looking for.
How to Search Historical Books & Maps with Keywords and Quotation Marks
- All historical books and maps queries are full-text keyword searches against OCR-generated ASCII text. The complete texts of the old books and maps are scanned against your search query to locate matches.
- Use the "Include keywords with search" box and/or "Exclude keywords from search" box, to expand or narrow your old books and maps search.
- Enclose key phrases in quotation marks, such as "Abraham Lincoln" in the "Include" keyword box to narrow the historical books and maps search to the specific name rather than using the last/first name search that returns search results that match Abraham near2 Lincoln.
- If a large number of names are returned for your historical books and maps archive query, narrow your search by entering names or places that you do NOT want included in your results into the "Exclude" box.
Searching Historical Books & Maps with Boolean Operators
- You can search the historical documents database using Boolean operators like AND, OR, ADJx (order specific), NEARx (order non-specific) and Wildcards (such as "?" and "*").
Expand or narrow your historical books and maps queries
- By clearing populated search fields to expand your query, or by filling in empty search fields to narrow your search query.
You can display historical books and maps results in a multitude of ways, such as:
- Best matches (this is the historical books and maps database search default).
- Oldest items (based on book and map publication dates).
- Newest items (based on book and map publication dates).
- Once the search default is changed, the current selection will remain the default until it is changed again.
Searching Historical Books & Maps by Date Range
- If you know the specific date of the historical book or map you are looking for, use the "Date" search box:
- Enter a specific date or a date range&mdashseveral date formats are accepted.
- Examples: July 4, 1807, or 1807 - 1876, or July 1807 - November 1876.
Search for Old Historical Books & Maps Using Colonial English Variant Spellings
Many of the historical books and maps in the archives database are extremely old, so these searches must account for Colonial English.
- In several Colonial English texts, the long "s" character was nearly identical to the "f."
- If you are looking for old historical books and maps on words containing the letter "s," use the "?" for "s."
- Note: this can occur whether it is the first letter, a letter within a word, or at the end of a word.
- The double "s" in keywords like Missouri should be replaced with two wildcards in historical books and maps searches.
Old Historical Books & Maps Colonial English Query Examples:
|Modern Spelling||Colonial Spellings||Suggested Search|
- In old Colonial American books and maps, type was set was by hand and printers often didn't always have all the type pieces needed to correctly spell a word. These limitations resulted in letters sometimes being omitted from words, or letters that looked similar being used in their place.
- Several of these old books and maps did not use standard spellings.
- Here are a few examples of conventions that were common in old American books and maps:
- Examples of interchanging the use of the letters "i" and "y":
- adjoining - adjoyning
- Pennsylvania - Pensilvania or Penfilvania
- rails - rayls
- Use of name variants: Smith or Smythe
- Use of "e" in word endings: Chesapeake or Chesapeak
- Dropping the letter "h": Philadelphia or Philadelpia
- Examples of irregular vowel usage:
- clerk - cleark
- color - colour
- Delaware - Deleware
- Elijah - Elifha
- Israel - Ifreal - Ifral
- Jehovah - Javovah
- Examples of adding the letter e to word endings:
- Brown - Browne
- Chesapeake - Chefopeak or Chefopeake
- Clark - Clarke
- highways - highwayes
Colonial American Books & Maps Search Notes:
- Use wildcards such as the question mark "?" or the asterisk "*" in your colonial books or maps searches.
- A question mark is a single-character wildcard and an asterisk is a multi-character (allows for up to 5 characters) wildcard. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39273000 |
L A B S A F E T Y
The National Association of Biology Teachers recognizes the importance of laboratory activities using human body samples and has developed minimum safety guidelines to minimize the risk of transmitting serious disease. ("The Use of Human Body Fluids and Tissue Products in Biology," News & Views, June 1996.) These are summarized below:
The mouthwash method of DNA isolation does generate liquid waste; however, the risk of spreading an infectious agent is much less likely than from natural atomizing processes, such as coughing or sneezing. Several elements further minimize any risk of spreading an infectious agent that might be present in mouthwash samples:
Consent and Confidentiality
Student particpation in this experiment raises real-life questions about the use of personal genetic data:
There is concensus that a human DNA sample should be obtained only with the willing consent of a donor, who understands the purpose for which it is being collected. Thus, the experiments should be explained ahead of time and students given the option to refrain from participating. (Some teachers may wish to have parents sign a consent from, such as those filled out for a field trip.) There is also consensus that a DNA sample be used only for the express purpose for which it is collected. Thus, student DNA samples should be thrown away after completing the experiments in this unit. (In fact, the cheek cell samples are not stable enough for long term storage.)
The Alu PV92 insertion and mt control region polymorphisms used in these experiments were specifically selected because they are phenotypically neutral. Neither locus encodes a protein, nor has any known relationship to disease states, sex determination, or any other phenotype.
Even though there is no chance of disclosing phenotypic information about the experimenters, all student polymorphism data stored at our Allele Server and Sequence Server sites are anonymous. Online submission forms identify students only by number and have no entry fields for personal identifiers. We recommend that each student select a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) and label their experiment with this number. Under this system, there is no chance that a student can ever be linked to his/her sample in the database. Alternately, students can be assigned a sequential number, with no permanent key maintained by the teacher.
All polymorphisms are inherited in a Mendelian fashion and can give indications about family relationships. The PV92 polymorphism has an inherently low information content – usually there are at least several parental genotypes that could account for an observed student genotype. On the other hand, mitochondrial (mt) DNA genotypes are explicit records of maternal inheritance that are usually unique to each family. Since mt DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, there is no chance of showing nonpaternity, which is the most frequent problem uncovered by DNA testing. However, inconsistent mt DNA types between siblings and/or mother could suggest adoptive situations.
To avoid the possibility of discovering inconsistent mt DNA inheritance, we recommend that you do not generate genotypes from family members. However, in a formal sense, a single data set – even for mt sequence – cannot definitively prove or disprove relatedness for several reasons:
DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Noncommercial, educational use only. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39274000 |
About Harry Burrard
Sir Harry Burrard, 1st Baronet (1 June 1755 – 17 October 1813) was a British General during the Peninsular War.
After Woolwich Burrard joined the Royal Artillery, the 60th Foot and the 1st Foot Guards, seeing combat in the American Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars. He was captured during a raid on the Bruges canal in 1798. He led the 2nd Brigade during the 1799 Anglo-Russian campaign in Holland, fighting at the battles of Bergen, Egmont and Castricum. In 1807, he commanded the 1st Division at the siege of Copenhagen.
Sir Harry Burrard had long since passed his prime when he took over the British army in Portugal from Sir Arthur Wellesley in 1808. Wellesley was one of the most junior Lieutenant-Generals in the British army, so for reasons of protocol, a more senior officer had to be placed above him.
Burrard stopped Wellesley's pursuit of General Jean-Andoche Junot after Vimeiro. It was his only real order during his one day in command of the army. He was replaced the next day by an equally cautious Sir Hew Dalrymple who began negotiations with Junot which led to the infamous Convention of Cintra. Recalled to London for an inquiry into the treaty, Burrard was placed in retirement from active duty.
He was nicknamed Betty by his troops.
The Burrard Inlet was named after his cousin, also named Sir Harry Burrard (1765–1840), by George Vancouver in June 1792.
One of Burrard's sons was killed at the Battle of Corunna and another died in the breach at the Siege of San Sebastian.
He appears in Naomi Novik's fifth Temeraire novel, Victory of Eagles. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39276000 |
1852 Vuillemin Map of Spain and Portugal
Description: An uncommon and extremely attractive 1852 map of Iberia or Spain and Portugal by A. Vuillemin. The map covers all of Spain and Portugal from France to the Mediterranean Sea and includes the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Majorca, and Minorca. Throughout, the map identifies various cities, towns, rivers and assortment of additional topographical details. As this map was drawn the Spanish prime minister Juan Bravo Murillo was dismissed form office . Liberal sentiments within Spain were growing rapidly, leading to the Progressive Biennium, in which the Progressive Party tried to replace the conservative liberalism of the Moderate Party and advocated radical liberalism. The map features a beautiful frame style border. Prepared by A. Vuillemin for publication as plate no. 16 in the 1852 Maison Basset edition of Atlas Illustre Destine a l'enseignement de la Geographie elementaire.
Date: 1852 (undated)
Source: Barbie du Bocage, J. D., Atlas Illustre Destine a l'Enseignement de la Geographie Elementaire, (Paris: Maison Basset) 1852.
Cartographer: Alexandre Vuillemin (1812-1880) was a cartographer and an book editor based in Paris, France. Despite a prolific cartographic career, much of Vuillemin's life is shrouded in mystery. What is known is that his studied under the prominent French Auguste Henri Dufour (1798-1865). Vuillemin's most important work his detailed, highly decorative large format Atlas Illustre de Geographie Commerciale et Industrielle. Click here for a list of rare maps from Alexandre Vuillemin.
Cartographer: Jean Denis Barbie du Bocage (1760 - 1825) and his son Jean-Guillaume Barbie du Bocage (1795 - 1848) were French cartographers and cosmographers active in Paris during late 18th and early 19th centuries. The elder Barbie du Bocage, Jean Denis, was trained as a cartographer and engraver in the workshops of mapmaking legend J. B. B. d'Anville. At some point Jean Denis held the post of Royal Librarian of France and it was through is associations with d'Anville that the d'Anville collection of nearly 9000 maps was acquired by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The younger Barbie du Bocage, Jean-Guillaume, acquired a position shortly afterwards at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, in time, became its head, with the title of Geographe du Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres. Click here for a list of rare maps by the Barbie du Bocage family.
Size: Printed area measures 13 in height x 10 inches in width (33.02 x 25.4 centimeters)
Condition: Very good. Blank on verso. Map exhibits some soiling and toning, especially to margins.
Code: SpainPortugal-vuillemin-1852 (to order by phone call: 646-320-8650)
© Geographicus Rare Antique Maps, Kevin Brown, 22/5/2013 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39277000 |
LISBON, Mar 22 (IPS) - The huge impact of the economic crisis on male employment in Portugal has led to a sharp increase in the proportion of women who have become the main breadwinners in their families. But that has not translated into progress towards equality.
"Today there is more male unemployment than female, because the crisis has especially affected the civil construction industry," said Anália Torres, a professor at the Technical University of Lisbon's Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences.
"With less economic activity in that industry, which traditionally employs men, the male unemployment rate has climbed, while in sectors that generally employ women, unemployment grew much less," Torres said in an interview with IPS.
The European Commission expects unemployment in Portugal to reach 17.3 percent in 2013. But opposition parties and trade unions project a rate of 24 percent.
Professor Anália Torres at the Technical University of Lisbon's Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences. Credit: Mario Queiroz/IPS
The gap between the figures is explained by the thousands of people who have stopped registering at the government employment centres or have moved abroad, mainly to other European countries or to the former Portuguese colonies of Brazil, Angola, Mozambique or Macau.
Among those who only have a primary school education, "the woman always earns less than the man," Torres said. "And as the educational level increases, the difference between the incomes of men and women grows. A woman with a doctorate earns much less than a man (with the same degree)."
In areas like education and health, where women earn 20 percent less than men, it is men who are most often laid off "because they are more expensive."
Another factor that puts women in the position of bringing home the bacon "is that many remunerated activities carried out by women are in the informal economy, undeclared or unskilled work, such as cleaning or babysitting in the homes of the well-off," the academic said.
In Portugal, the 1961-1974 colonial war in the country's overseas territories in Africa – Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique – "led to large numbers of women replacing men (in the workplace)," Torres said.
Since then, "the idea of the working woman who helps support her family has remained in place," she added.
During the war, Portugal maintained a permanent force of 220,000 military troops – an enormous figure compared to a population at the time of 8.8 million (10.6 million today).
In the 1960s, one million people from Portugal moved abroad for economic reasons or to avoid being sent to war in Africa. Women, Torres said, "took on a central role in a country with very few men of working age."
Nevertheless, "the predominant sexism persisted, and men continue to make a show of unacceptable machismo today," she said.
"By refusing to help do things around the home on the argument that ‘I am a man, I don't do that kind of work', which also causes serious domestic violence problems, men show that the sexist culture is still in place."
Women are sometimes the target of violence, often with tragic results, because many men "base their masculinity on their wage-earning power, even though both men and women have been working and supporting the family for a long time now in Portugal," Torres added.
Between January and November 2012, 30 women were killed in Portugal by their partners or ex-partners, according to UMAR, one of the largest women's organisations in the country.
That makes Portugal the country with the largest number of femicides – gender-related murders – in the European Union, in proportion to the population.
But "working is also a kind of insurance against machismo, in the sense of women being aware that they are making a living and don't need men," Torres said.
Sociologist and researcher Sofia Aboim of the University of Lisbon's Institute of Social Sciences said that in the last eight years, the proportion of couples in which the woman is the main breadwinner has risen from two to 16.5 percent.
It is "obvious" that many men "have suffered a strong blow to their self-esteem, because their masculinity is traditionally associated closely with supporting the family," she wrote in the newspaper Público about the conclusions of a study on the subject.
Aboim said this situation was seen especially in couples with low levels of education and in older couples, especially between the ages of 51 and 65.
But Torres said discrimination against women is also deeply rooted among more educated segments of the population, even though "there are many women with excellent educations - teachers and professors, for instance."
In general, "the highest-level posts are filled by men, even though, for example in the academic world, studies show that there is no difference in the production of research or articles. But women are not heads of institutes and are not on the boards of universities, with very few exceptions," she said.
One big exception is the Centre for Judicial Studies, which provides training for future judges and prosecutors. Because the centre accepts lawyers on the basis of competitive examinations, "80 percent of those who have been accepted for training as magistrates in the last decade were women, because they scored higher than men."
The problems plaguing Portugal affect everyone, "but in the crisis, women face greater difficulties, aggravated in cases in which their husbands are unemployed, because they still have to take everything on their shoulders.
"The worst thing about this government (of conservative Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho) is its complete insensitivity and indifference towards the plight of the people," Torres said.
This is especially serious in Portugal and other countries where sexism is predominant, she said, because "if a woman has work and her partner does not, she continues to do the housework, unlike what occurs in other places, where men participate in the housework when they are unemployed."
© Inter Press Service (2013) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
Latest News Headlines
Read the latest news stories:
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- Organic Cooperative Proves that Agriculture Can Prosper in Cuba Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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- Seeking Justice for Dictatorship Victims – Two Continents Apart Tuesday, May 21, 2013
- Tackling Crime Takes on Import As Urban Populations Rise Tuesday, May 21, 2013
- Q&A: Guantanamo 'Has No Right to Exist' Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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- Caribbean Farming Gets Its Roots Wet Tuesday, May 21, 2013
- Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party Militias Spread Fear of Voting Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39280000 |
GNU MIX Development Kit (MDK)
MIX is Donald Knuth's mythical computer as described in his monumental work The Art Of Computer Programming. As any of its real counterparts, the MIX features registers, memory cells, an overflow toggle, comparison flags, input-output devices, and a set of binary instructions executable by its virtual CPU. You can program the MIX using an assembly language called MIXAL, the MIX Assembly Language.
So, what's the use of learning MIXAL? The MIX computer is a simplified version of real CISC computers, and its assembly language closely resembles real ones. You can learn MIX/MIXAL as an introduction to computer architecture and assembly programming: see the MDK documentation for a tutorial on MIX and MIXAL.
MDK (MIX Development Kit) offers an emulation of MIX and MIXAL. The current version of MDK includes the following applications:
- mixasm A MIXAL compiler, which translates your source files into binary ones, executable by the MIX virtual machine.
- mixvm A MIX virtual machine which is able to run and debug compiled MIXAL programs, using a command line interface with readline's line editting capabilities.
- gmixvm A MIX virtual machine with a GTK+ GUI which allows you running and debugging your MIXAL programs through a nice graphical interface (see screenshots).
- mixguile A Guile interpreter with an embedded MIX virtual machine, manipulable through a library of Scheme functions.
- mixal-mode.el An Emacs major mode for MIXAL source files editing, providing syntax highlighting, documentation lookup and invocation of mixvm within Emacs (since version 22, mixal-mode is part of the standard Emacs distribuition).
- mixvm.el An elisp program which allows you to run mixvm within an Emacs GUD window, simultaneously viewing your MIXAL source file in another buffer.
Using the MDK tools, you'll be able to
- write, compile and execute MIXAL programs,
- set breakpoints and run your programs step by step,
- set conditional breakpoints (register change, memory change, etc.),
- collect execution timing statistics,
- trace executed instructions,
- inspect and modify the MIX registers, flags and memory contents at any step,
- simulate MIX input-output devices using the standard output and your file system.
The user's manual is distributed with the source tarball in texinfo format, which is converted to info files during the installation process. It is also available in a variety of formats in the documentation section.
- Repository: git://git.sv.gnu.org/mdk.git
- Development branch: master
- Online access here
You can get the sources using the following incantation:
git clone git://git.sv.gnu.org/mdk.git
or, for those of you behind a firewall,
git clone http://git.sv.gnu.org/r/mdk.git | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39283000 |
How to use BitMap in Turbo C++
This simple program explain you about how to use BitMap in Turbo C++.
NOTE :Before Running this program you have to copy one file in your "bgi" directory. That file either you have to download from the net or i will provide you. The file name is "SVGA256.BGI". Copy this file at your " tc\bgi\ ". Your tc path. I am not able to attach this file because the file extension is not supported.. If you need this file, i will provide you.
1) You have to use the BitMap structure, there is no need to change anything in this structure. Just copy this structure in one of the .cpp file like "BitMap.cpp".
char type; /* Magic identifier */
unsigned long size; /* File size in bytes */
unsigned short int reserved1, reserved2;
unsigned long offset; /* Offset to image data, bytes */
extern A HEADER,HEADER1;
unsigned long size; /* Header size in bytes */
unsigned long width,height; /* Width and height of image */
unsigned short int planes; /* Number of colour planes */
unsigned short int bits; /* Bits per pixel */
unsigned long compression; /* Compression type */
unsigned long imagesize; /* Image size in bytes */
unsigned long xresolution,yresolution; /* Pixels per meter */
unsigned long ncolours; /* Number of colours */
unsigned long importantcolours; /* Important colours */
extern B INFOHEADER,INFOHEADER1;
2) In the main file i mean the file which contain the "main" function write this code.
// This Global Function is used for the resolution of the bitmap. You can set the return value either 1,2 or 3. For me 3 is the best combination.
int gd = DETECT, md, a;
initgraph(&gd,&md,"c:\\tc\\bgi"); //Path may be different in your computer.
//Suppose you have one show function which read the bitmap from the disk. Then this show function looks like this.
//Here you have to define the path of the bitmap file. Like according to this example i have to open one Board1.bmp file. So write you bitmap file path here.
unsigned char Ch;
File.read((char*)&HEADER,14); //This is the header part of the Bitmap. It always looks like same. Don't change the content hear. The value remains 14 here.
File.read((char*)&INFOHEADER,40); //This is another part of the bitmap, here also the value remains same like 40 here.
unsigned int i;
if(PaletteData)//if memory allocated successfully
//read color data
//Don't change the code here because i have done some shifting here. Its working fine.
outp(0x03c8,0); //tell DAC that data is coming
for(i=0;i<256*3;i++) //send data to SVGA DAC
for(i=0;i<INFOHEADER.height;i++) //This for loop is used to display the bitmap.
File.read(&Ch,1); // Here Ch reads the color of your bitmap.
putpixel(XCor+j++,YCor+INFOHEADER.height-i-1,Ch); //XCor and YCor are the X and Y cordinates. It depends upon you.
//Another way to display the Bitmap is. Suppose i have another Show1() Function. This is simple as compare to previous show function.
File.seekg(54,ios::beg); //Its remains same. Means value always remains 54
File.seekg(256*4,ios::cur); //Its remains same means value always remain 256*4.
for(int i=0;i<40;i++) //Here 40 shows the height of the bitmap. It may be differ it depends upon the size of your bitmap.
for(int j=0;j<36;j++) //Here 36 shows the width of the bitmap. It may be differ it depends upon the size of your bitmap.
File.read(&Ch,1); //Here Ch is the character which reads the color of your bitmap. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39284000 |
It will take tens of billions of dollars to repair the damage wrought by Superstorm Sandy. But scientists who study climate change say repair is not enough. As the climate warms, ice sheets and glaciers will melt, raising the sea level. That means coastal storms will more likely cause flooding.
So New Yorkers, local politicians and scientists face a tough decision: How to spend limited funds to defend themselves from what climate experts call "the new normal."
New York City faces the Atlantic Ocean like a chin waiting to be hit, and Sandy stepped up and whacked it. And there will be more storms like Sandy.
"Storms today are different," says Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service. "Because of sea level rise, the storm surge was much more intense, much higher than it would have been in a non-climate changed world."
Even garden-variety storms may someday heave water up to your doorstep. So the question now is: How to prepare for the next big one?
Some things are a given. You can see this as you drive through Staten Island's shore neighborhoods. Many of these houses are a coin toss above sea level. Sandy knocked one-story bungalows off their foundations and flooded the rest.
Repair crews go from house to house, cutting up soggy flooring and hauling away debris. Green and yellow stickers on the front doors tell a story: Yellow means the house isn't habitable; green means it's OK. Marit Larson, with the city's parks and recreation department, says most of the OK ones were built after the late 1990s, when building codes changed.
"Zoning codes required that no utilities were in the basement," she says. "Electrical and gas, heating whatever utilities they had, had to be built on the second floor."
In between houses you can see wetlands tall reeds and twisted trees in standing water. Larson says normally they slow runoff from rainstorms. But Sandy's 10-foot-high surge overwhelmed them.
"Just simply the amount of water that came in and inundated these people's property that couldn't be held back by these wetlands," Larson says. She says wetlands could be useful for future storms, however, if you put them in the right place and make them big enough.
Along a beach, for example, wetlands help blunt the energy of incoming waves. But you need more. At this beachfront community, the beach is flat and narrow not much help.
Sand Dunes And Sea Walls
Engineer Franco Montalto of Drexel University says it could be "nourished" built up with sand or sediment to create dunes that hold back the water.
"And the evidence seems to be that places that had rehabilitated beaches suffered less damage than places that didn't," Montalto says.
For years, the Army Corps of Engineers has built sand dunes along East Coast beaches. Although many got swept away by Sandy, they're relatively cheap to rebuild. It's the kind of defense that Montalto calls "green infrastructure." He says the green strategy has multiple benefits.
"You know, a beach nourishment project could have value in terms of protecting houses, it could add habitat and could sort of enhance the value of this beach," Montalto says.
New York is seeking about $10 billion to prepare for the next big storm. Some experts, like Montalto, say you get more bang for your buck with a "distributed" defense dunes, wetlands, bigger stormwater culverts, even urban parks that slow down the flow of water. They're cheaper and designed to fit the needs of a particular community.
But city officials are contemplating plans to build huge sea walls across the mouths of the Hudson and East rivers, for example, and even one from New Jersey to New York. Each would cost $6 billion or more.
Klaus Jacob, a geoscientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty laboratory in New York, is skeptical about sea walls.
"The only thing that barriers do is prevent storm surges," he says. "Now that's wonderful. It would have taken care of Sandy and will take care of future storm surges up to a point."
That point being when sea levels rise enough to push a storm surge over the top of the sea wall. Since no one knows how high levels will go, a sea wall could become obsolete in a few decades.
Moreover, a sea wall is open most of the time to let traffic through. So as the ocean rises, it will raise the river level, too.
"So now we have barriers. The sea level rise still goes wherever it wants to go," he says.
Jacob isn't against sea walls, but he says the city needs to figure out ways to live with higher sea levels and flooding, even if that means abandoning some flood zones.
Cynthia Rosenzweig, a climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, says most New Yorkers have reached a tipping point on the subject of climate change.
"The evidence is indeed piling up that climate change is no longer something that is happening in future decades, and everyone's eyes are glazing over as the scientists are talking about it," she says.
Rosenzweig co-authored a report that looked at the costs and benefits of preparing the city for climate change. It calculated that $1 of prevention saves $4 in future repairs.
"If we're going to be having this much damage again and again, our whole economy of our region will not be able to survive," she says.
And as former New York Mayor Ed Koch once said, "New York City is where the future comes to rehearse."
Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39297000 |
What if each new fragrance we test was actually leeching away our brain’s processing power?
That’s the first thing I thought when I read an article on Salon.com reporting the findings of Dr. Eric Spangenberg, an environmental psychologist and the dean of Washington State University’s College of Business. Dr. Spangenberg carried out a study in a home-goods store in Switzerland and two others with his undergraduates in the US to compare the effects of three olfactive environments: unscented, scented with orange, and scented with a more complex blend of orange, basil and green tea (the two scents both tested as similarly pleasant).
It turns out the single-note scent was the only one to make a difference: in the Swiss store, customers spent 20 percent more, while the undergraduates solve more computerized anagrams more quickly. No-scent and complex scent environments yielded identical results.
It would make sense that a pleasant scent, if it is compatible with the environment, would drive customers to linger in a store and therefore be exposed to more temptations. It’s also quite possible that the smell of oranges lifts the mood of students solving anagrams, therefore enhancing their intellectual performance because they’re less stressed out.
When I reached out to Dr. Spangenberg to discuss these issues, this is what he answered:
“Our interpretation of fluency theory suggests that it is either, as you suggest, increased affect for the simple scent and therefore they are in a better mood, or the scent enhances cognitive capacity (and isn’t too complex and therefore taking up processing capacity). It could be some combination of both explanations which would help explain why we found no difference in response behaviors between complex and no-scent, and simple scent was better (significantly) that both of those conditions.”
The processing fluency theory he refers to is “the ease with which information is processed in the human mind” (according to Wikipedia). It seems that “high fluency is subjectively experienced as positive”: in other words, we feel good when we can suss something out easily. In this theory, fluency has a bearing on what we find beautiful based on symmetry, familiarity, etc.
This would explain why the orange-basil-tea, though as pleasant as the orange, doesn’t produce the same effect when people experience it without being aware of it. Their brains are actually using up processing resources to identify the notes – a bit like a background program slowing other software down. Because the fragrance itself becomes a problem to be solved, they are less engaged by other stimuli (buying napkins or solving anagrams). It’s like a nagging, subconscious “I’ve got it on the tip of my tongue” feeling.
This may be why I, for one, refrain from testing a new fragrance – or even from wearing fragrance at all – when I’m about to tackle a tricky intellectual task. As though I needed to shut the “background program”, the floating attention required to turn my impressions of a fragrance into words as I experience it over the hours.
But on the other hand, floating attention – as opposed to knitted-brow, “pick out the notes” sessions over blotters – is usually what yields the most creative results. It’s when I forget the fragrance that I find the words. They pop up while I’m performing some mindless activity like walking or taking a shower. Which is where processing fluency must kick in: I’ve trained the smell => words paths in my brain, so the connection happens spontaneously when I’m not trying to force it. All perfume lovers are familiar with that eureka moment.
This makes me wonder whether it’s possible that some fine fragrances, despite their complexity, achieve a harmony that makes people process them fluently without even being aware of it. Not necessarily because they are simple, figurative and/or familiar, but because somehow their olfactory forms make as much sense as the smell of oranges, echoing proportions, or achieving the same relationship between their notes, as something produced by nature. Perhaps that is the key to the success of some original fragrances – as opposed to copycats: people perceive these proportions subconsciously and respond to their harmony.
It's also possible that becoming more fluent in the language of scent, dedicated perfume lovers may experience the pleasurable feelings procured by fluent processing more frequently. In that case, though testing different scents drains some of our brainpower, we’d be benefitting because this fluent processing would subtly enhance our mood, and maybe even our cognitive capacities.
That’s probably not something that can be tested in labs, but it’s a damn sight more reassuring than to think all those vials around my computer are competing to suck out my brain like tiny zombies. If yours have enough gray cells left to respond, I’d love to read your thoughts…
For another take on Dr. Spangenberg’s research, please check out Dr. Avery Gilbert’s blog, First Nerve.
Illustration: Gala Narciso by Salvador Dali, 1938. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39298000 |
Top online resources for homework help
From atlases to study guides, these recommended websites will help students ace their assignments.
By Miriam Myers
Does your child's math homework have you stumped? Does he need help with a science project? Direct him online to the growing number of homework help websites to help him find answers to his burning questions. Such resources range from reference sites to those staffed by experts.
A site may have teachers or professionals your child can email to ask a question. If she has a question about the planets, she can find an expert astronomer. Help your child check the site to see when she can expect an answer — it may take a few days or weeks.
Reference sites range from atlases to encyclopedias. They are a place your child can go to access information to help answer their questions. If your child is doing research on sea animals, he can use a reference online such as an almanac or an encyclopedia to help complete his homework and develop his research skills.
Check your local library's website too. Some, like the Boston Public Library, offer reference material as well as online help from real people. To access the online help features, you may need to enter your library card number.
There are websites that are subject and grade level specific. Some sites give free advice, while others charge a fee. Help your child learn that it's important to evaluate the source of any information she gets online and show her how to find the "About Us" section of a site. Inform your child that these sites are tools to help her answer questions and that she will need to cite and acknowledge others' work correctly.
The following sites will assist you in finding resources to help your child successfully complete his homework assignments. While these sites are for kids, it is always a good idea to supervise your child while he is online.
Fact Monster: Homework Center
This kid-friendly site from Information Please, a Pearson Education company, sorts information by subjects, homework skills, reference sources and tools. Find information on how to write a research paper and how to cite sources. Browse the almanac and find an interactive periodic table or click on the atlas to find country, state and city profiles.
This website, created by an elementary school teacher, has compiled a list of homework help, reference resources, and search engines for kids. You can do a search or click through the topics to find information about subjects, such as insects or the history of toys.
Education World: Study Skills and Homework Help
This site for teachers lists several homework resources. Check out the Research Toolbox in the study skills section to find references from maps and converters to museums and libraries. Read reviews of homework-help websites and articles about homework help.
This site is a free homework information portal that provides access to K-12 homework-related sites. It's organized by topic and grade level for ease of use. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39302000 |
Floating gardens (Mexico, Bangladesh)
Floating gardens extend the growing area of rural communities where land is scarce. They are built by piling mud on top of anchored reeds in the water to construct a fertile bed for growing vegetables. The method is both cheap and sustainable.
The method dates from pre-Hispanic times in Mexico, when the Aztecs constructed chinampas or floating gardens in the canals of Lago Texcoco. The gardens became one of the most productive farming systems ever developed. By the time the Conquistadors came, the area of Xochimilco had become a rich agricultural district where many of the city's flowers, fruits and vegetables were grown. The gardens still produce flowers, fruits and vegetables today, and have become a favourite spot for both locals and tourists alike.
Floating gardens are amongst the options promoted to support the lives of the rural poor Bangladesh. Crops produced include Kang Kong (leafy vegetables), okra (lady's finger), gourd, brinjal (aubergine), pumpkin, and onions. When the rafts decay they are broken up and used as compost. A new raft is prepared for the next crop. The lives of once destitute families have been transformed by cultivating floating vegetable gardens on the Brahmaputra waters. As one farmer put it: “This has made a great difference to my life. Now I have enough food in the floods and I can give some to help my relatives as well”. Training on the construction and use of floating gardens is provided by Practical Action and Gono Unnayan Kendro (GUK), a local NGO.
green growth opportunities in the Greater Mekong | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39304000 |
Walruses in Greenland
The walrus with its large body and highly distinctive tusks is easily recognisable. Its tusks can grow up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) in length and are used by the walrus as a useful tool, for example when hauling itself up onto an ice floe. The tusks are also used in self-defence when killer whales or polar bears attack the walrus, which can be up to 3 metres (10 feet) in length and weigh 1000 kg (2,200 lbs).
Where to find walruses
Walruses are seen on land and along the coast throughout East Greenland, in particular between 63° and 81° N. In North Greenland the Davis Strait, Baffin Bay and the Thule district are the best places to see walruses. In West Greenland - where the walrus does not venture onto land - they can be seen from Sisimiut and north towards the Thule district. Considering that Greenland's coastline is more than 44,000 km (27,500 miles) in length, walruses are relatively few in number.
Forage for food
Walruses generally stay close to the edge of the sea ice or on drifting ice floes where the depth of the sea is less than 100 metres (330 feet). Here it can dive to pick up mussels and molluscs, which make up its chief sources of nutrition, and it is thought that it uses its tusks to scrape the seabed looking for food.
Hunting for walruses
For the Inuits the walrus has always been an important animal to hunt, and one which was also particularly dangerous to meet in a kayak. Its beautiful tusks have afforded it respect in Greenlandic myths and legends, but also almost cost it its existence due to intensive hunting by foreign companies which began as early as the 17th century.
In 1952 the walrus became a fully protected species, and since that time populations have gradually recovered. Today quota-based hunting of the walrus takes place in Greenland's hunting districts, and the export of souvenir products from the walrus requires a CITES certificate, which can be obtained from tourist offices or in souvenir shops. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39306000 |
Griffin Hospital and the Valley School Districts (Shelton, Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, and Seymour schools, including Emmett O’Brien Technical), are committed to promoting the health of the Valley community and to combating childhood obesity. The Valley Initiative to Advance Health & Learning in Schools (VITAHLS) brings together Griffin Hospital, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and the 5 Valley school districts to develop, implement, evaluate, and sustain a Valley-wide school-based childhood obesity prevention program to reduce the prevalence of obesity in students in grades Pre-K – 12.
- To reduce the prevalence of obesity and to promote the health, wellbeing, and academic readiness of students enrolled in the 5 Valley school districts.
- To develop a comprehensive and sustainable obesity prevention initiative that focuses on nutrition and physical activity for children in grades Pre-K – 12.
- To extend the health promotion efforts to include parents/family and school staff.
Objectives of the VITAHLS initiative
- To create an obesity prevention initiative designed to increase nutrition knowledge and healthy eating and increase physical activity within and outside of the school day
- To create and support a health promoting environment within the school setting.
- To create programs/activities that can be easily incorporated into, and with minimal disruption, to the school day
- To include policy, environmental/structural and educational components
- To create programs/activities that are sustainable over time with little to no budget impact on schools, and/or
- To secure funding to support any program related costs
- To include and encourage participation at all levels – students, parents, family, teachers, staff
- To increase community awareness of obesity and health related risks
- Be communicated and promoted effectively
- To evaluate the impact of the VITAHLS initiative
- To demonstrate improvement in the health of students by
- Reducing the prevalence of obesity
- Reducing the average number of sick days per student
Griffin Gala 2012: Dr. David Katz
Dr. Katz talks about the desperate need for the VITAHLS program, and what needs to be done to combat the childhood obesity epidemic.
Examples of ABC for Fitness© (Activity Bursts in the Classroom)
Mrs. Card's ABC for Fitness© (Activity Bursts in the Classroom)
Todd Howes' Sports Galore ABC for Fitness© (Activity Bursts in the Classroom) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39308000 |
The battle was the Royal Navy's last battleship action, against the last major surface threat to the fraught Russian convoy route between Scotland and Murmansk via Iceland. Each convoy had three layers of protection: a close escort of destroyers, intermediate cover by cruisers and the distant support of battleships of the home fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. The Germans' occupation of Norway enabled them to threaten passing convoys with aircraft, U-boats and surface ships separately or simultaneously, which made the route uniquely dangerous for the allies even without the appalling weather.
Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of the German Navy, persuaded a reluctant Hitler in December 1943 to sanction a new surface foray against the Russian convoys. Rear-Admiral Erich Bey left the Altenfjord in north Norway in the Scharnhorst, escorted by five destroyers. Admiral Fraser had anticipated the move as he organised the distant cover for one westbound and two eastbound convoys aboard his flagship Duke of York. Intermediate cover was provided by Vice-Admiral Robert Burnett's three cruisers, including HMS Norfolk, on which Lieutenant-Commander Pollock was gunnery officer.
German aerial activity and a flurry of signals, deciphered at Bletchley Park, revealed that the Scharnhorst was about to come out and attack eastbound convoy JW 55B. Fraser raced eastward from Iceland. He hoped to catch the Germans between Burnett to the north-east and himself to the south-west while the threatened convoy was diverted away from the scene.
The cruisers sighted the Scharnhorst on the morning of December 26 and opened fire. Pollock's shooting was the best, enabling the Norfolk to score a few hits before the heavily armoured Scharnhorst, several knots faster, drew away for a second pass at the convoy. But Burnett remained between her and her target, leading to a second clash in which the Norfolk lost a gun turret.
None the less the cruisers conveniently caused the Scharnhorst to turn towards the Duke of York, approaching at top speed. Fraser's flagship sighted her just after 4pm. He surprised the Germans when he opened fire at six miles, the start of a big-gun duel that lasted 90 minutes. A torpedo attack by destroyers finally slowed the Scharnhorst sufficiently to enable the Duke of York and the cruisers to surround her and hammer home their final salvoes. Only 36 out of nearly 2,000 German sailors survived.
Pollock was born in Altrincham, Cheshire, in 1916, into the family of a civil engineer. He went to Dartmouth as a naval cadet in 1930. After war broke out in 1939 he was appointed first lieutenant of a destroyer covering military convoys. He spent most of the war in convoy protection, becoming a gunnery specialist in 1941. As gunnery officer on the cruiser Arethusa he earned a mention in dispatches for gallantry when his ship was damaged by a German dive-bomber near Malta. His next appointment was to the Norfolk, where he earned another two "mentions" as well as the DSC.
After the war Pollock saw service in the Korean war and Malaya. He had a leading role in organising the state funeral of King George VI in 1952, for which the Queen personally made him a lieutenant in the Royal Victorian Order. By 1963 he was captain of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, where he oversaw sea trials of the new Harrier jump-jet.
Rear-Admiral Pollock's last seagoing appointment was second in command of the Home Fleet. His flagship was the cruiser HMS Tiger, on which he supervised the abortive talks between the Rhodesian rebel leader Ian Smith and prime minister Harold Wilson in 1966.
In 1968 he was unexpectedly appointed flag officer submarines, an increasingly important branch of which he had no experience. During his brief tenure, Polaris submarines took over responsibility for the British nuclear deterrent from the RAF's V-bombers. Pollock's next appointment, as controller of the Navy, in charge of ship design and construction, in 1970 was no less sensitive. The navy was embroiled in reshaping the fleet, withdrawing from a worldwide role to concentrate on the north-east Atlantic, and abandoning carriers.
This appointment was cut short by the sudden death of the outstanding first sea lord of the day, Admiral Sir Michael Le Fanu, just as he was about to become chief of defence staff. He was replaced by Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton, which meant that a new first sea lord had to be found. Pollock, to his own surprise, was given the job. His three-year term was the opposite of a gentle progress to retirement, embracing as it did the Icelandic "cod war", the 1974 oil crisis and deep cuts in defence expenditure, although he helped to ensure that the Invincible-class carriers, emolliently styled "through-deck cruisers" and still the pride of today's fleet, were built.
When he retired from active service in 1974 with the GCB, he undertook ceremonial tasks for the Order of the Bath and indulged his interests in walking, shooting, fishing and local affairs in Powys. His first wife, Margaret Steacy, whom he married in 1940, died in 1951. Three years later he married Marjory Reece, who died in 2001.
His two sons and daughter of the first marriage, and the stepdaughter of the second, survive him.
· Sir Michael (Patrick) Pollock, sailor, born October 19 1916; died September 27 2006 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39310000 |
BERKELEY LAKE - The term "summer camp" usually conjures images of outdoor play and physical activity.
However, these assumptions are false when it comes to Camp Invention, a summer day camp focused on hands-on education.
The nationally acclaimed camp is a weeklong program for rising first- through sixth-graders that combines science and creativity to open up kids' minds and broaden their horizons.
Camp Invention uses hands-on activities that teach kids to use their imaginations to invent solutions to problems.
The camp consists of five modules to help accomplish this feat. These modules, or classes, encourage kids to take apart used appliances, and then recycle the different parts to create something new.
Each module focuses on something different, and the focus ranges from transportation to alien invasion.
The unique idea for Camp Invention was developed by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990. The camp began as a summer program taking place in two elementary schools, but has since grown to reach more than 800 schools in 46 states.
In Georgia, Camp Invention takes place at several elementary schools throughout the summer.
At Berkeley Lake Elementary School, students and staff Friday finished a successful week at Camp Invention.
Director Kathy Bentley said the camp concentrates on bringing the participants creative, problem-solving experiences that don't involve homework, tests or worksheets.
"The kids think of things in different ways here," Bentley said. "They have fun with the hands-on activities."
In the "Wild Blue Y'Under" module, campers created different modes of transportation.
Sixth-grader Parker Cutler, and her team, the "Motorgirlz," were trying to invent a rolling car that would be faster than the other team's creations.
To make their car, the girls and their fellow campers were using supplies from a large table of appliance parts.
"We get to use our imagination for these projects," Cutler said.
Cutler's friend, fifth-grader Hayley Williams, agreed.
"You can create anything you want," Williams said. "There are no limits."
The Motorgirlz collectively decided heavier cars rolled faster, so were determined to create a heavy, unique car.
"The teacher gives you a general idea about the project," Cutler said. "But you get to make whatever you want."
Just down the hall, in the "I Can Invent Module," third-grader Olivia Johnson was surrounded by appliance parts as she concentrated on creating a robot.
"I want to make a robot that can cook," Johnson said. "So he can help my mom cook when she is too tired."
Johnson was using the cover pieces from a portable CD player for the robot's head, and the case of a graphic calculator as one of the robot's arms.
Johnson said her favorite part of camp is taking appliances apart.
"You get to see things you never knew about," Johnson said.
Third-grader Blake Davis was also working hard on his own invention. Davis was trying to create a shocking device.
Camp Invention has stringent safety regulations, so none of the supplies Davis used in his device carry an electric charge.
However, Davis used his imagination to overcome his creation's physical short comings.
"This is to shock annoying people," Davis said, as he described his invention.
At Camp Invention, participants also get a taste of forensic science as they investigate a pretend crime scene.
In the "Solve It" Module, campers are encouraged to be detectives and discover who stole an inventor's log.
"The kids get really serious and are very observant," Bentley said. "They focus on putting information together."
Jack Kraus, a second-grader, said the crime scene investigation was his favorite part of Camp Invention.
"I like finding out different clues," Kraus said.
With it's unique approach, it's no surprise Camp Invention continues to grow and attract more campers.
"The program appeals to a wide range of kids," Bentley said. "Everyone can be successful at Camp Invention."
Most people don't expect summer camp to be a haven of knowledge and scientific discovery. But then again, most people don't usually expect science and learning to be so much fun.
When asked about her favorite part of Camp Invention, fifth-grader Sarah Krix couldn't decide.
"I can't choose," Krix said. "It's all fun and I like everything about it."
Camp Invention is clearly breaking the mold for both science and summer camps alike.
Todd Bentley, a staff member at Camp Invention, said he loves seeing the kids be inventive and create new things.
When asked to describe Camp Invention, Todd Bentley smiled and said, "It's educational fun in disguise." | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39314000 |
| Create Time
| Listen Carefully and Attentively
| Be Honest
| Be a Credible Source
| Communicate Clearly
| Have Reasonable Expectations
| Empathize With Your Child
Every parent grapples with the "best" way to respond to those difficult questions that inevitably pop up as children get older. It is often hard to develop an explanation that will provide accurate information and be appropriate to your child's age and maturity level. And let's face it—sometimes certain questions are just plain uncomfortable.
Yet parents are the best resource a child has—and experts agree that developing an established pattern of open communication right from the start can give your son or daughter a healthy base of security and the ability to make sound decisions in the future. But, if parents communicate the message that "you can't talk to me about that," children will seek their answers elsewhere.
There is no magic answer for every question your son or daughter asks. But, here are some guidelines that can help you address these questions with confidence.
Establish a habit of open communication at the beginning of your child's life. Even before she can properly phrase a question, explain things to her constantly. Simply hearing language encourages vocabulary and communication. Children's first questions often consist of two words such as "Go bye-bye?" or "More cookie?" Instead of responding with a simple "yes" or "no," respond with an explanation using full sentences.
For example, in response to the question "Go bye-bye?" you might say, "Yes, it's time to go to the store. We need to pick up some food for dinner. Do you want to help mommy?" Frequent dialogue throughout these formative years will encourage healthy communication patterns. In addition, children learn that parents are a resource for having their questions answered.
Stop what you are doing, look her in the eye, and focus on what your child is saying and asking. Children will be drawn to whomever they perceive as taking an interest in them. If they sense that their parents don't have time, are not interested, or are uncomfortable answering their questions, they will find their answers elsewhere.
Amanda, age 16, states, "I hate it when I ask my mom a question and she just keeps working on her computer. I get mad at her and she tells me she's still thinking, and she'll get back to me. But she never does." In addition to carefully focusing on the question, also take note of what they are not asking. This can be helpful in understanding them better.
Listen Carefully and Attentively
A child's innocence is often reflected through her questions. Questions like "Where do babies come from?" and "Is grandpa going to die?" are questions that deserve an honest answer, yet many adults are tempted to give false or vague answers in an effort to protect the child from the truth.
Children are seeking to make sense of their world. Even though the reality of life is sometimes difficult for anyone to face, giving children false information only confuses their sense of reality and creates distrust. Eventually they will be faced with the truth. Consider their age, experience, and maturity. Then, present them with an honest and developmentally appropriate answer. Do not be afraid to say "I don't know the answer to that question" when it is the most honest response. Then discuss how you can explore the answer together.
Balancing the truth and your child's stage of development can be a challenge. Children learn best when they can base new information on existing knowledge. Therefore, when you are answering your child's question, consider what is already familiar to her. This can be a guide as you explain the answer.
Be a Credible Source
To be effective, you need to be a credible source. If your child is asking questions about topics like sex and drugs, be sure you are well informed. Your advice will be most credible in the eyes of your child when you give them accurate and current information. Do not just rely on your own experiences and/or personal assumptions. Investigate the facts. If you need time to do this, be honest with your child and let her know that you need to get more information. Children will respect your perspective more when they know it is based on facts and that you care enough to invest time in them as well as their questions.
Janelle, a mother of two girls, Morgan, age 6 and Elli, age 8, learned this lesson first hand. At age 6, Morgan approached her mother with the question "What is a rapist?" She thought carefully, then responded by telling her that a rapist is someone who touches you where you do not want to be touched. Morgan seemed satisfied with this explanation. The following morning as Morgan was saying goodbye to her mother, she said "Bye Mommy, I hope no one rapes your eyes today." At that point Janelle realized that her explanation was not clear and had been misunderstood. Over the next several months, Janelle began explaining the difference between healthy and unhealthy sexual experiences. With this as a background, Janelle was able to give a more clear explanation of a rapist. It is tempting to give vague explanations when we are unsure of what children know and understand. Begin by asking the child what she thinks the answer is. This can help guide parents in giving a more clear explanation.
Have Reasonable Expectations
Children need time to process information. Sometimes the questions they ask trigger a great deal of emotion and parents become eager for the child to respond in a certain way to the advice they have given. When the child feels pressure to conform, she will often respond with resistance. It is best to offer suggestions and further questions instead of giving orders.
Empathize With Your Child
Growing up is difficult. A child's perspective is often very different than a parent's perspective. Take time to consider the child's point of view. Think about her individual temperament, circumstances, relationships, and other factors. All of these issues affect the child's development. Children need to feel that they are understood, even when they cannot understand themselves. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39321000 |
Part 4 - Darwinists' Methods of Deception of the World - 5
10. Darwinists Try to Use the Similarities between Monkeys and Humans
We have already mentioned that Darwinism is based on a most simplistic logic and tends to account for life in a most superficial and facile way. As a result, one of Darwinists' most important propaganda tools are monkeys. Due to various aspects of their anatomical characteristics, monkeys really are created to be similar to be humans. These similarities are something that deceive most Darwinists, and thus lead them to mislead others.
In order to be able to make use of the similarity between humans and monkeys, Darwinists look at a monkey and emphasize various aspects of its behavior, such as use of tools or ability to learn. The aim is to supposedly legitimize the famous Darwinist deception that humans are descended from apes and cause people to form that impression. Once some people have been exposed to such conditioning, and go to the zoo or watch a documentary about monkeys, they develop a specific opinion along those lines. So influenced do they become by this Darwinist deception that they are easily able to believe that a living thing they see could easily turn into human being "if it grew a bit, shaved off its fur and ate better food." A few technical similarities laid the foundation for successful Darwinist conditioning. Programs about monkeys that have learned various primitive forms of behavior similar to those in human beings appear again and again on Darwinist TV stations and internet sites. Some viewers who see what a monkey can do when trained, and who have little knowledge of Darwinism, come to possess a completely erroneous perspective because of the Darwinist conditioning they are subjected to. Intelligent behavior exhibited by monkeys is shown over and over again in order to strengthen the propaganda regarding these creatures being man's supposed earliest forebears.
Yet this is just another Darwinist deception.
It is true that monkeys do have some characteristics that resemble those in humans. But this does not alter the fact that humans and monkeys are two completely different entities. By Allah's leave, so long as there are monkeys in this world they will never be anything other than monkeys. No matter how much they are trained they will never turn into humans with characteristics such as the ability to think, perceive, interpret, foresee, behave intelligently, make judgments, act in a planned and conscious manner or speak. No matter how much they repeat their efforts, monkeys will never be able to design airplanes, build skyscrapers, write poems or study human beings in the laboratory. No matter how much training they receive, they will never be able to design a project, or produce a superior civilization through reflection and planning. This is because a monkey is an entity with the anatomical features specially bestowed on it by Allah, but bereft of the ability to speak and, most importantly, bereft of the human consciousness, of mind and soul. The fact it has a few abilities is definitely not proof of the claim that it is the ancestor of man.
In making these claims, Darwinists try to make forget the main difference between humans and monkeys. Man is an entity capable of saying "I am," who is aware of his own existence and why he is created, who is capable of reflecting on the reason for his existence and of making judgments. For that reason, man is a totally different entity to other life forms. Compared with this, anatomical similarities and abilities have only a minor differential capacity. A conscious entity, aware of its own existence and capable of saying "this is me," cannot be accounted for in any materialist terms. No materialist account can explain a supposed transition from a life form unconscious and unaware of its own existence into one with a soul and aware of its existence. Darwinists can produce as much false evidence for this unscientific account as they wish (and all the fossils so far produced have been fraud), but they will never be able to account for the human soul and consciousness. That is what Darwinists do not wish to speak of and that inflicts total despair on them as they speak of the co-called evolution of man and try to impose a whole series of false skulls as evidence for this.
In addition to all this, there are other living things that display far more intelligent characteristics than monkeys, whose abilities Darwinists imagine are the greatest form of evidence. Crows, bees, beavers and termites sometimes behave far more intelligently than monkeys, and behave in a way that requires far more ability. For that reason, this claim based on ability and skills is totally misleading.
First and foremost, Darwinists need to account for what makes human beings human; how they are affected by what they see and hear, how they think about these, use reason, possess feelings such as respect, love and loyalty, and possess a soul that enables them to make decisions and judgments. This mindset, that believes in the absolute existence of matter and that regards human consciousness as simply a collection of neurons, is totally speechless in the face of the existence of the soul. For a long time now, Darwinists have been working on the origin of consciousness and on imaginary evolution; or, to put it another way, they have been producing propaganda methods on the subject. But since it is impossible for them to account for matter with a concept that has no material existence, or even to produce an alternative interpretation, they make no claims on that subject at all. Indeed, the origin of consciousness, the soul that makes human beings human, belongs to Allah. Allah has bestowed this as a blessing from Himself, and in this way has made humans different to other life forms. The Darwinist deception is speechless and baffled on this matter.
Allah reveals in the Qur'an that He creates man from His own Spirit:
He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid; then formed him and breathed His Spirit into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show! (Surat as-Sajda, 7-9)
An Intelligent Crow
Crows from the species Corvus moneduloides living on New Caledonia in the Pacific Islands are far superior to chimpanzees when it comes to making tools. Researchers investigating crows in their natural habitat on the island of New Caledonia in 2003 concluded that the knowledge of tools these animals employed revealed a "technological progress" handed down between generations and individuals. The final example of this miraculous behavior is the behavior of a crow called Betty studied in a laboratory in Oxford University.
Betty turned a metal rod into a tool by bending it, with no outside intervention. When her beak was unable to reach food at the bottle of a deep bowl, she found a metal rod for herself in the laboratory and bent the end, turning it into a hook. She was then easily able to extract the food. There is one very important point here that really amazed scientists; Betty was able to realize how the length and flexibility of a material she had never encountered before would be of use to her. She managed to bend that flexible material in a manner entirely appropriate to her needs. When scientists wishing to establish whether this achievement of Betty's was the work of coincidence tested the crow, she achieved the same success 9 times out of 10. The scientists stated that despite tiny Betty's brain she exhibited a level of intelligence far higher than that of chimpanzees. The BBC, which maintains its Darwinist prejudices, commented that "Betty has put our closest relatives to shame."
Betty is just one of many birds capable of "intelligent" behavior. Much research into this is going on is the scientific world. (For details see, The Miracle of Talking Birds by Harun Yahya) These all reveal that evolutionist claims about chimpanzee behavior are largely for propaganda purposes. All comments based on the intelligence of chimpanzees, and claims of a family link between human beings and chimpanzees, are obviously false.
11. Darwinists Try To Spread Their Visual Conditioning and Bewitchment
You have probably seen this in all Darwinist publications. For years, they attempted to portray Nebraska Man as the most important evidence for evolution. A familiar picture accompanies the articles written about this fictitious creature. An ape-man with a slight stoop, with his wife, habitat, the weapons he used for hunting etc. etc. So detailed is the picture that people have developed a sufficient mental image of this mythical entity. The Darwinist aim has been achieved for readers with little opportunity to do their own research and with little knowledge of the subject. Readers unaware of the Darwinist deception have easily been convinced of the existence of an ape-man living with his family in a primitive environment.
But this is not true.
The fictitious entity known as Nebraska Man was based on a single tooth. As we have already described in detail, the tooth in question belonged to a wild pig. In other words, a conviction formed by conditioning people with visual stimuli was produced on the basis of a molar tooth belonging to a wild pig. Images of the mythical family of Nebraska Man were then produced in some way from this pig tooth. To put it another way, enormous cheating went on, and people were blatantly lied to.
This method of conditioning is still going on. Pictures of fish starting to move from the sea onto dry land and whose fins are gradually turning into legs are total figments of the imagination. Darwinists use the same methods in order to make people believe in such a passage, which is devoid of any evidence. Placing a series of monkeys gradually becoming more and more erect and turning into humans alongside such reports in scientific journals or web sites carrying this deception makes it possible for the issue to be equated with evolution. Shown this report and accompanying visual indoctrination, any reader may perceive this as part of, or even evidence for evolution. Most of the time they do not even read the words in the reports, but these pictures reminiscent of evolution remain in their memories. The same people are subjected to the same conditioning from pictures of evolution placed alongside reports about cloning or the Human Genome Project, but which actually have nothing to do with it. The impression is given that any scientific progress in the Human Genome Project is actually scientific proof of evolution.
This fraudulent visual conditioning is a typical element of Darwinist propaganda. It is one of the most frequently employed psychological conditioning techniques. The fact remains, however, that elaborate reconstructions based on a fossil skull are just works of art that if nothing else, certainly reflect the imaginative powers of different artists. Just as in the example of Nebraska Man.
This had absolutely nothing to do with science. Not anything to do with evolution. All that is happening is fraudulent indoctrination rather than the production of any scientific evidence.
Jonathan Wells summarized this Darwinist fraud:
This remarkable set of drawings shows clearly how a single set of fossil bones can be reconstructed in a variety of ways. Someone looking for an intermediate form to plug into ape-to-human sequence could pick whichever drawing seems to fit best.
The reason why Darwinists can perpetrate such fraud so easily is that they can take fossils of extinct life forms, shape them as they wish, and give them whatever appearance they so choose. Darwinists use these reconstructions they manufacture so intensively that a book about evolution many volumes in size could be filled with these false pictures alone. Indeed, these reconstructions may be the only materials in the possession of a museum of natural history. They show people these false pictures and models over many years and give the impressions that the subject really once existed. Of course, many people who visit such museums may not admit to the possibility that everything exhibited in a museum of natural history, with official backing and supervised by professors and scientists, is actually a lie and a fraud. They may be affected in this way by what they see and form the opinion that such a mythical life form, with a tiny head, a huge jaw, a stooped gait and a body covered in hair must indeed once have existed. Many people there will not know, and will never investigate, that the subjects of these false statues and pictures never lived at all, that they are completely fraudulent, that not a single fossil remain exists to corroborate them and that, on the contrary, the fossil record totally refutes them. The conditioning they are subjected to is so powerful, and the people supporting it so eminent, that even questioning its veracity may seem utterly illogical to them. But in this way, they are constantly deceived, and a mendacious environment is created.
When people go to museums of natural history, they are generally shown such false models or drawings rather than the fossils themselves. Darwinists cannot produce fossils, because all fossils belong to perfectly formed entities. All fossils show that life forms millions of years ago were perfectly and fully formed. Moreover, fossils also show that present-day life forms were around millions of years ago, and have never changed since. This is why fossils, which should be a paleontology museums' sole reference material, are left out of the equation. Since all fossils prove the fact of Creation, Darwinists kept all the 300 million-plus fossils that had been found hidden away. They never put them on show or displayed them for people.
Darwinists also use various scientific magazines as tools for visual conditioning. Since Darwinist journals cannot provide any scientific evidence, they concentrate on propaganda instead. As a requirement of this propaganda, they regard it as sufficient to use striking cover designs, the colors used on the cover and inside pages, the photographs chosen and the language employed in order to send the desired message to the reader. The spell concealed under this mask ensures that the person reading the magazine will be influenced by its visual appearance and the photos within it, and hugely impressed by the strange, almost mystical Latin terminology employed in it.
Every opportunity, from advertising to movies, from music clips to song lyrics, cartoons, books and newspaper and magazine articles are used to prevent this spell from being broken. The aim is for people to memorize certain words and clichéd sentences and be familiarized with certain images. Every moment of people's lives are filled with the fictitious transitional stages between monkeys and man, mendacious images of transitional fossils, and fraudulent reconstructions of primitive humans. There is huge concentration on this in newspapers and magazines, great or small, in the form of a single word of much more comprehension. The aim is to prevent the effect of the Darwinist spell on people being broken.
The language deliberately developed against Creation, and what they foolishly imagine to be a mocking attitude, are also intended to complete the effect of this spell. The reason for all the jokes, articles, talk and cartoons about belief in Allah (surely Allah is beyond that) is to familiarize people with Darwinist indoctrination. This unpleasant spectacle, intended to eliminate any tendency in people towards belief in Allah and to lay the foundation for Darwinism in their minds, is part of the dajjal's stratagem.
But this spell has at last been broken. The supporters of the dajjal fail to understand the position in which they find themselves. There can be no question of people continuing to believe in the theory of evolution once they have been told, just one time, of all the evidence that disproves Darwinism. That is why, as in all their propaganda techniques, Darwinists resort to complicated verbiage, Latin terminology and visual conditioning. But all it takes is to tell the true facts just one time, using a very simple form of language, to reveal the evidence that demonstrates the invalidity of Darwinism. Even someone who has been exposed to a lifetime of Darwinist conditioning can never continue to believe in the lie that is Darwinism in the face of these irrefutable facts, because he now knows the truth. All it takes is for someone in a pitch dark room to see the Sun behind the drapes for just a second. No matter how dark the room he is in, it will no longer be possible to convince that person that it is nighttime outside. The current state of affairs is no different. The Darwinist conditioning imagined to be so successful over the years has now been eliminated and lost all its influence by the exposition of the facts, one time, and with full supporting scientific evidence.
Our Lord describes this position of the followers of the dajjal in a verse thus:
Those are the people who have lost their own selves. What they invented has abandoned them. (Surah Hud, 21)
12. Darwinists Condition People with the Idea of "Irresponsibility"
The greatest aim of materialism throughout the course of history has been to turn people away from belief in the existence of a Creator and to indoctrinate them with the lie that there is nothing else but matter. The aim here is to condition people to the idea of irresponsibility and convince them they are nothing more than a highly evolved animal. Since Darwinism is an extension of materialist thinking, such conditioning draws people closer to Darwinism because feeling oneself to be irresponsible may be very attractive to people in whose hearts there is no fully established faith in Allah. With the idea of irresponsibility, people fall into the error that it will be easier for them to live by their earthly desires. Throughout their lives, they behave as if they were unaware of the responsibilities they have to fulfill toward Allah. They believe that they can turn away from responsibilities imposed by the Qur'an, such as worshiping Allah, living with the idea of the Hereafter and being virtuous and eschewing evils that belong to earthly passions, and they foolishly imagine that they can thus live at ease. But the fact is that this system, which they imagine to be a very easy one, is in fact a source of enormous trouble. Someone who thinks he can be comfortable by rejecting moral virtues lives in a constantly troubled state, the spiritual emptiness resulting from not living virtuously. Someone who thinks that by being selfish they can be strong, and that behaving unjustly can benefit him, will constantly suffer the pains of these unpleasant misconceptions. The moral vice he exhibits rebounds against him. The physical and psychological damage inflicted by living in an environment where nobody loves anybody else, where nobody makes sacrifices for anyone else, where nobody protects or watches over anybody else and where there is no justice, love or compassion wears his life away. In short, the Darwinist inculcation of irresponsibility is not, as some people imagine, something that makes their lives easier, but rather and on the contrary makes their lives ugly and unpleasant and inflicts material and spiritual suffering. This can be better realized when one considers the social collapse going on in many Western countries.
Believing in Darwinism may seem rather more acceptable for some people who prefer not to think about all this. Because some people may have a predisposition to take things easy, imagining this will "simplify" their lives. Most people see nothing wrong in thinking of themselves as irresponsible beings descended from animals. And that is what Darwinism does, literally equating human beings with flies or insects.
The evolutionist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould summarizes this way of thinking:
Humans represent just one tiny, largely, fortuitous, and late- arising twig on the enormously arborescent bush of life.179
The bus posters supported by the atheist Richard Dawkins in various countries are a clear and explicit instance of the ugly propaganda in question. The posters backed by Dawkins indoctrinate people with atheism and thus foolishly advise people to "enjoy life free of any responsibilities." This call may seem quite realistic to someone who does not think too deeply, and he will quickly receive the Darwinist conditioning in question. Everything is set out so simplistically that such a person will be unaware of the error he has fallen into and how he has been deceived.
The fact is that these posters constitute a great fraud and a grave error. Even if one does not believe, one still sees the proofs of Allah's sublime existence all the time and one still lives the destiny appointed by Allah, whether one wishes to or not. The proofs of faith are everywhere – for people who can truly see and think. People can only achieve happiness and enjoy what they experience through faith and love of Allah. Of course Allah, who creates the delights of this world as a blessing, will bestow most of the beauty and joy of these blessings on those who love Him most and who are closest to Him. Since unbelievers forget that it is Allah who bestows blessings and pleasures, they imagine they can attain happiness by living irresponsibly and without restraint. But the fact is that living heedless of Allah, in an unrestrained and irresponsible manner, always inflicts stress, troubles and sorrows on them. Blessings have always turned into afflictions and pleasures to be enjoyed have always ended in disappointment. Since these people are unable to reflect on the beauty of being close to, and believing in, Allah and since they fail to comprehend that Allah bestows all blessings, they imagine they can succeed by the use of such false propaganda techniques. But the fact is that they cannot live pleasant and peaceful lives, and neither can they influence the people around them. (The bus posters espoused by Dawkins attracted a great deal of criticism in many countries. Bus drivers in European countries such as Finland boycotted them because of the extreme reactions they attracted, bus companies decided not to use the posters, and they were also torn up by members of the public.) As a result, the posters in question were banned in many places.180)
Another place where this conditioning is carried out on an intensive basis is schools. Biology, a university text book, teaches students that in learning about the "nature of life" they must always bear in mind that "Evolution is random and not designed ".181 Students reading the university text book Life: The Science of Biology encounter the following passage: " Darwinian world view "means accepting not only the processes of evolution, but also the view that... evolutionary change is not directed toward a final goal or state."182 There can be no doubt that an education system that teaches the lie that man came into being by chance, as the result of blind and unconscious coincidences means regarding the poisoning of young minds by ideas that encourage anarchy, conflict, slaughter and selfishness as legitimate, and people receiving such indoctrination can be directed as desired. For example, the error taught to students in Douglas Futuyma's text book Evolutionary Biology is this:
Futuyma's unscientific statement continues:
But this is all a deception.
Human beings are not freed from their responsibilities by regarding everything as simple and unconscious. And it is impossible for a feeling of avoiding one's responsibilities to make people happy. Once people cast off this feeling, they will not suddenly enjoy earthly pleasures or at once be freed from all their worries. There is a very important truth that atheists and Darwinists either do not know, or refuse to admit: Allah creates all things. It is also Allah Who creates blessings and pleasures in this world. And it is therefore Allah who bestows the sensation of enjoying earthly pleasures and a pleasant life.
If Allah so wishes He can make a person suffer the worst unhappiness and torment in the midst of all blessings and in great plenty and abundance. No matter how much a person may strive to have unlimited enjoyment of all delights, it is still Allah who bestows pleasure and happiness on him. One of atheists' and Darwinists' gravest errors is that they ignore this reality.
Everyone who thinks he has no responsibilities is also searching for love, comfort and security, just like everyone else. But he will possess none of these in a society made up of individuals like himself. Throughout his life, the irresponsible person tries to forget that he will one day die. But he is in fact constantly in the shadow of death. He sees the deaths of people around him and constantly witnesses sickness and accidents. Even the death of an insect will remind him of the death he is trying to get away from. No matter how much he tries to deny the fact of death, the fear of it will eventually enfold his entire body. He grieves for people around him who die and, according to his own beliefs, just cease to exist . He begins to find it impossible to deny that his own body cannot withstand the ravages of time, and that death is drawing closer all the time. Far from comforting him, denying the fact of death will bring with it fear, stress and worry.
Living irresponsibly in fact opens the door to all troubles and difficulties. A person who fails to properly appreciate that everything is under Allah's control will be terrified of the future. A person who fails to appreciate that all profit and loss lies with Allah will greedily pursue his own profit throughout his life, thus ruining almost that entire life. Someone who does not know that Allah has created a matchless life in the Hereafter in which a person can enjoy all delights will expect to see true love, friendship and loyalty in the system in which he believes. But the fact is he will only possess true love in this world if Allah so ordains. That expectation will never be met as long as he does not live for Allah. He will realize that his life is passing swiftly by without his attaining true love and devotion. But there can be no going back. He waits in terror for what lies in the future.
In his own eyes, he only has a few decades in this world. Since he has no belief in the Hereafter, he thinks he will "cease to exist" in a few decades' time. How can spending a few decades in this world believing that one will then cease to exist impart any happiness, pleasure or peace? It cannot, of course. That is why no atheists enjoy life in the way they claim to, and spend their time worrying about and fearing what the future will bring.
When they come to the end of their lives, such people will realize they have spent it all in empty and pointless pursuits and expectations. That is what irresponsibility brings with it. If someone has no hope of the Hereafter and wants to live unfettered and devoid of any values, then sooner or later he must face the consequences of that. Suicide, fighting, murder, slaughter, theft, rape and corruption are all consequences of an irresponsible life.
Yet as Allah reveals in the verse, "Does man reckon he will be left to go on unchecked?" (Surat al-Qiyama, 36), human beings are not created without responsibilities. It is only fear and love of Allah that can bestow peace and that leads a person to live a true and pleasant life with no fear and troubles. Someone who fears Allah knows he will have to account for himself to Him and cannot live in violation of his conscience. Nobody who fears Allah can harm anyone else, display poor moral values, or regard human beings as random entities. Someone who trusts Allah knows that it is Allah who creates him, preserves him and gives him his daily bread, health and strength and knows he can ask these things from Him alone. Someone who fears Allah knows that he is subject to an auspicious destiny created by Allah, that he is solely tested in this world, and that his real life will be the one appointed for him by Allah in the Hereafter. For that reason, they constantly strive in this world. They know that are responsible to Allah, that they must render account to Him, and that Allah does not create them to be unfettered and irresponsible.
For them, blessings are means for rejoicing, and it is only believers who can properly appreciate and enjoy blessings. People imagine that they will achieve satisfaction when they enjoy unlimited pleasures. But this lack of restraint leads people to become tired of, and even disgusted with, blessings. The delights they expected to enjoy suddenly turn into afflictions and burdens. But the state of mind that loves blessings from Allah and enjoys them because Allah created them is very different. Someone who lives in that way enjoys extraordinary delight. And by Allah's leave, the reward for living in that awareness is a pleasant life in this world and the Hereafter. Allah reveals in verses that:
Yes, the friends of Allah will feel no fear and will know no sorrow: those who believe and show piety, there is good news for them in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. There is no changing the words of Allah. That is the great victory! (Surah Yunus, 62-64)
13. Darwinists Inculcate the Lie That "Darwinism Does Not Conflict with Belief in Allah"
Materialism represents the basis of Darwinism. According to the error of materialism, matter is eternal and there is no power greater than matter. To put it another way, materialism denies the existence of a sublime Creator above matter who rules the entire universe and keeps it under His constant control. (Surely Allah is beyond that.) The sole reason for the endeavor to prop up Darwinism, put forth with the assumption that matter is the only absolute reality, and for all the deceptions and frauds perpetrated for that purpose, is to try to prevent acceptance of the fact that an almighty and sublime Creator brought all things into being. Darwinists have pursued that objective for the last 150 years and struggle hard to retain it. And that is the only reason for the adoption of Darwinism as a false religion.
But this fact is generally kept concealed, because for people to know it would prevent large masses of people from feeling any sympathy for Darwinism. In particular, it will have a negative impact on people who believe in and respect Allah. The fact that Darwinism is a theory opposed to belief in Allah attracted criticism from religious circles in Darwin's time, and the theory was not easily adopted by people of the day. It began being adopted as a result of Darwinist conditioning and propaganda. People who are currently taught in schools that human beings are descended from apes, and that dinosaurs grew wings and took to the air, generally imagine the theory of evolution to be a harmless one. They are unaware of the true face of the theory. They do not know that it is this perverse theory, devoid of any scientific foundation, that lies at the root of irreligion, dictatorial regimes, degeneration, terror and the martyrdom of so many troops in Turkey.
Darwinists also try to conceal the true face of the theory they espouse. That is why they propagate the lie that Darwinism is not incompatible with religion, in order to mislead the masses of people who believe in Allah, to supposedly portray Darwinism as harmless and to gain support from those people, as well. They believe that by these means they can win supporters and weaken the intellectual struggle against the theory of evolution. Despite being exceedingly illogical and inconsistent, the lie of "evolutionary creation" they propagate to that end is secretly supported and raised by Darwinists at every available opportunity. To that end they even resort to the deception that Darwin was himself a devout religious believer. The atheist and Darwinist Richard Dawkins admits the existence of a Darwinist lobby serving that very purpose as follows:
But the fact is that evolution is in no way compatible with religion. Even though Darwinists do not themselves believe in Allah, and make a god out of chance (surely Allah is beyond that), are totally opposed to the fact of creation and are engaged in a struggle against it, they suddenly become the greatest exponents of the false concept that Allah created the universe through evolution. Yet because of their blind devotion to materialism, Darwinists never accept belief in Allah. Being a Darwinist means rejecting belief in Allah. The only reason why someone supports this pagan religion, devoid of any scientific evidence, that deifies chance, is to be able to deny the existence of Allah (surely Allah is beyond that). And there is nothing that Darwinists will not do to turn people away from belief in Allah.
That is why people must always be on their guard against this deception!
In his documentary Expelled: "No Intelligence Allowed," which explains how Darwinism is a false religion based on indoctrination, the journalist Larry Witham makes the following statement:
So even though Darwinists definitively oppose belief in Allah, they still play this unpleasant trick on people. But the people who believe in this nasty deception fail to consider the fact that Almighty Allah is certainly powerful enough to create all things by a variety of means. Had He wished, our Lord could have created living things by way of evolution. But He did not. All living things came into being on Earth in a single moment, created from nothing.
Not a single verse of the Qur'an points to evolution. According to the Qur'an, the universe and all living things were created by Allah commanding them to "Be!" Allah has revealed, with all the divine religions He has sent to man, that He created the entire universe, that He created it with a single command and that he creates in the form He wishes. Indeed, when we look at the evidence on Earth, we see that creation took place just as described in the Qur'an. The fossils of all life forms are perfect. They emerged suddenly, with perfect appearances, and never changed thereafter. Living things never changed over millions of years. There is no chance of life emerging from inanimate matter. It is impossible for even a single protein to form spontaneously. The idea of extraordinarily complex life forms turning into one another is totally unscientific. There is no mechanism that can endow a life form with new, beneficial information. Science has revealed with incontrovertible and certain evidence that all living things possess a glorious complexity, right down to their proteins and even atoms, that they appeared in a single moment and that they never turned into one another. Therefore, the idea that Allah created through evolution is a monstrous lie, and part of the Darwinist deception. (For detailed information on the subject, see, Harun Yahya, Why Darwinism is Imcompatible with the Qur'an)
Everything created is evidence of Allah's infinite might. Allah tells us of this sublime creation in many verses of the Qur'an:
[Allah is] the Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, 'Be!' and it is. (Surat al-Baqara, 117)
The likeness of 'Isa in Allah's sight is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, 'Be!' and he was. (Surat al-'Imran, 59)
It is He Who created the heavens and the earth with truth. The day He says 'Be!' it is. His speech is Truth. The Kingdom will be His on the Day the Trumpet is blown, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware. (Surat al-An'am, 73)
Our Word to a thing when We desire it is just to say to it 'Be!' and it is. (Surat al-Nahl, 40)
Does He who created the heavens and earth not have the power to create the same again? Yes indeed! He is the Creator, the All-Knowing. His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, 'Be!' and it is. (Surah Ya Sin, 81-82)
Modern-day science shows the invalidity of the materialist-evolutionist claim. Contrary to what the theory of evolution maintains, the evidence of every piece of creation that surrounds us proves that there is no room for chance in the universe. If any evidence were found on Earth that Allah uses evolution as His instrument in creating, and if Allah had revealed such a thing in the Qur'an, then people would of course at once sign up to and espouse the idea that "Our Lord created through evolution." But Allah reveals in the Qur'an that He creates with the command "Be!" and there are no verses suggestive of creation through evolution. Moreover, there is most definitely not a single piece of scientific evidence for evolution. The facts are therefore clear. Every detail emerging from an investigation of the Earth and sky, and all living things, is proof of the great might and power of Allah. All living things came into being from nothing at our Almighty Lord Allah's command. Allah certainly has no need of natural causes in order to create. (Surely Allah is beyond that.) This is the most important point that Darwinists need to grasp. Allah reveals in one verse that:
What about the one who argued with Ibrahim about his Lord, on the basis that Allah had given him sovereignty? Ibrahim said, 'My Lord is He who gives life and causes to die.' He said, 'I too give life and cause to die.' Ibrahim said, 'Allah makes the sun come from the East. Make it come from the West.' And the one who was an unbeliever was dumbfounded. Allah does not guide wrongdoing people. (Surat al-Baqara, 258)
Those who seek to suggest that Allah creates through evolution also have to account for how the djinn and angels were created. These people are silent when the issue of the creation of the djinn and angels is raised. Allah reveals the creation of djinn and angels in verses:
We created mankind out of dried clay formed from fetid black mud. We created the jinn before out of the fire of a searing wind. (Surat al-Hijr, 26-27)
Praise be to Allah, the Bringer into Being of the heavens and earth, He who made the angels messengers, with wings – two, three or four. He adds to creation in any way He wills. Allah has power over all things. (Surah Fatir, 1)
Those who maintain that man and living things came into being through evolution are of course unable to account for angels, created from light, and djinn, created from fire, in terms of evolution. For people who fail to appreciate the might of Allah, who do not realize that Allah is unfettered by any natural causes, and who deny that our Lord creates all things by telling them to "Be!" the existence of angels and djinn does away with all their false claims. Because the existence of djinn and angels reveals this reality; since djinn and angels were not created through evolution, neither was man.
Those people who blindly espouse Darwinism can never account for the staff of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) turning into a snake, as described in the Qur'an, or a bird fashioned from a piece of clay by the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) coming to life. Almighty Allah describes how the Prophet Moses'' (pbuh) staff turned into a snake in these verses:
He said, 'It is my staff. I lean on it and beat down leaves for my sheep with it and have other uses for it.' He said, 'Throw it down, Moses.' He threw it down and suddenly it was a slithering snake. (Surah Ta Ha, 18-20)
We revealed to Moses, 'Throw down your staff.' And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged. (Surat al-A'raf, 117)
At Allah's command, the wooden staff the Prophet Moses (pbuh) used to lean on suddenly turned into a living, multiplying, feeding and fully formed snake. By Allah's choosing, a piece of wood instantaneously turned into a snake. This totally eradicates the claim that the Qur'an contains evidence for evolution. Our Lord reveals in this verse how, by His choosing, the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) turned a bird he fashioned from a piece of clay into a living bird:
Remember when Allah said, ''Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel ; and when you created a bird-shape out of clay by My permission, and then breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission; and healed the blind and the leper by My permission; and when you brought forth the dead by My permission; and when I held back the tribe of Israel from you..." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 110)
The bird made from clay by the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) suddenly, by Allah's leave and at His choosing, turned into a living, fully formed and flawless bird with wings, capable of flying, reproducing and feeding. This creation from nothing is a great miracle that Darwinists can never account. And it is also proof that all living things on Earth are created.
All this reveals a manifest reality. Darwinists, who claim that evolution does not conflict with belief in Allah, are trying to inflict a huge deception on devout believers and are seeking to take improper advantage of their faith. Darwinism is one of the greatest dangers to, and opponents of, belief in Allah today. Darwinism is the most wide-ranging and effective snare of the dajjal, who is engaged in a direct campaign against faith in Allah. True believers in Allah must realize this danger and engage in intensive intellectual activities against it. Supporting this danger by regarding it as harmless merely strengthens it and supports a perilous movement engaged in a struggle against belief in Allah. It must not be forgotten that Darwinism is a false and perverse pagan religion whose sole aim is to lead people to irreligion.
177 Michael J.Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Free Press, p. 233
178 Jonathan Wells, The Icons of Evolution, January 2003, p. 202
179 Ibid., p. 209
181 Miller and Levine, Biology
182 Pirves, Orians, Heller ve Sadava, Life: The Science of Biology
183 Jonathan Wells, The Icons of Evolution, January 2003, pp. 190-191
184 Ben Stein, Expelled "No Intelligence Allowed", 2008 | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39323000 |
About the Hawaiian Luau
Lu'au weren't always called lu'au. Until the mid-1800s small get-togethers were called pa'ina and large banquets — the equivalent of today's lu'au — were referred to as 'aha'aina. These root words mean, among other things, "gathering" ('aha) and "eating" ('aina).
Local records show
Much has changed since the days of the ancient lu'au. Women and men are allowed to eat together, which was forbidden in Hawai'i before the Hawaiian culture's system of kapu (taboos) was eliminated in 1819. Women are also allowed to eat foods that were once denied them, such as bananas, coconuts, pork, turtle and several types of fish.
The lyrical hula dance — now referred to as the ancient, or kahiko, style of hula — was once accompanied with chants (mele) to honor the gods. Today it is performed for entertainment and to remember the ways of old. A more modern style, called 'auana, has become popular since the 1970s, when a renaissance of native Hawaiian culture began. Both styles are performed at lu'au, and commercial events often showcase Tahitian and Samoan dance styles as well. Tahiti and Samoa are believed to be ancestral homelands of the Hawaiians.
Although some lu'au menus have evolved to include sushi, teriyaki chicken, Chinese manapua buns and the ubiquitous macaroni salad, traditional lu'au food is served at many events. Authentic dishes include:
- kalua pork (an entire pig roasted underground in a handmade pit called an imu oven)
- lomi lomi salmon (diced with tomatoes and onions, like a salsa)
- chicken long rice (transparent noodles)
- huli-huli (barbequed) chicken
- haupia (coconut custard)
- laulau (pork, chicken or fish wrapped and steamed in ti leaves)
- poi (taro root mashed with water into a pale purple paste)
As Christianity swept through Hawai'i in the 19th century, the lu'au lost its pagan roots and became more commonly a chance to relax and enjoy family and friends with good food and music. This spirit prevails in nearly every aspect of life in Hawai'i. One of the most dutifully observed local rituals is the "baby lu'au," a grand celebration staged on a child's first birthday. Lu'au are also held for graduations, class reunions, and other important events.
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Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata
Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata is a rare, severe, inherited disease. The main features are limb shortening, bone and cartilage abnormalities visible on x ray, abnormal facial appearance, severe mental retardation, profound psychomotor retardation, and cataracts. Skeletal abnormalities can be seen prenatally. Most affected persons die in infancy. No treatments are available.
Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP) is caused by an abnormal protein in a part of the cell called the peroxisome. The inside of the cell contains compartments (called "organelles") that perform specific functions. The peroxisome functions in many metabolic processes, especially those involving lipids (fats) and hydrogen peroxide. Multiple peroxisomes are in almost every human cell. RCDP is one of many peroxisomal disorders, as well as a metabolic disorder.
Three other conditions are also called "chondrodysplasia punctata." These conditions are different from RCDP. They have almost the same name because it describes a feature that is present in all four conditions. However, the causes, features, and patterns of inheritance of the other chondrodysplasia punctata conditions are different from those of RCDP.
Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata is an autosomal recessive condition. This means that it occurs in both males and females, and often affects people who have no family history of the condition. Humans have two copies of every gene, one maternally and one paternally inherited. Autosomal recessive conditions occur when a person has two abnormal copies of the same gene. People who have one abnormal copy and one normal copy of a particular gene are unaffected; they are called "carriers." An affected person has inherited two abnormal RCDP genes, one from each carrier parent. The risk for the carrier parents to have another affected child is then 25% with each pregnancy.
In 1997, the gene that causes RCDP was identified. The gene is called PEX7 and it is on chromosome 6. Fifteen genes involved in the synthesis of peroxisomes have been identified in humans. These genes are called PEX genes, and the proteins they code for are called peroxins. Disorders caused by abnormalities of peroxin proteins are often called "peroxisomal biogenesis" disorders.
The PEX7 gene codes for a peroxisomal component that helps transport other important proteins into the peroxisome. The proteins to be transported contain a signal, called "PTS2" (peroxisome targeting sequence 2) that is recognized by the receptor on the peroxisome. When PEX7 is abnormal, the receptor that usually recognizes and helps transport the PTS2 proteins is abnormal. Thus, the abnormality of this one receptor has a cascade effect on many other proteins.
Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata is quite rare. It occurs in fewer than 1/100,000 births. The incidence of peroxisomal biogenesis disorders is approximately 1/50,000 births; RCDP accounts for fewer than one fifth of these.
Signs and symptoms
"Rhizomelic" refers to shortening of the bones near the center of the body (the bones of the thighs and upper arms more so than the bones of the forearms and lower legs). "Chondro" refers to cartilage and "dysplasia" to abnormal development. "Punctata" refers to specific abnormalities seen on radiological studies such as x ray. The ends of the bones near joints appear to be spotted. The spots represent dense, abnormal cartilage. The spots are also called "punctate calcifications." Other abnormalities include frozen joints (called contractures), abnormal facial features, cataracts, hearing loss, severe mental retardation, and profound psychomotor retardation. People with RCDP may also have other bone abnormalities, small heads, coarse and sparse hair, and dry, red skin.
The proximal shortening of the bones causes short stature, which is apparent before birth. Growth after birth is retarded as well. The rhizomelic shortening is severe, and occurs to the same degree on both sides of the body. The stippling (spotting) of the bones mainly involves the ends of the bones near the hip, knee, elbow, and shoulder. "Severe" mental retardation describes cognitive deficits worse than those of typical Down syndrome. Some researchers have described degeneration of brain tissue after birth. Researchers are not sure of the reason for this; it may be due to toxic effects of excess phytanic acid. Cataracts are symmetrical and occur in both eyes. The abnormal facial features have been called "koala bear facies." Facial features include a broad forehead and a saddle nose.
A subset of people with RCDP do not have some of the typical symptoms, such as shortening of proximal bones and/or severe mental retardation. The diagnosis in these individuals was confirmed to be RCDP. Therefore, the spectrum of features in RCDP is variable;
Although suspicion of RCDP is raised by the physical and radiographic features, the diagnosis is made by laboratory testing. People with RCDP have very specific biochemical abnormalities, i.e. abnormal levels of particular substances in bodily fluids. These abnormalities are due to the underlying defect in the peroxisome. The specific abnormalities are: 1) deficient plasmalogen synthesis with very low plasmalogen levels in red blood cells, 2) inability to process (oxidize) phytanic acid leading to elevated levels of phytanic acid in the blood, and 3) an unprocessed form of peroxisomal thiolase. Phytanic acid levels are normal at birth and increase to at least ten times normal by one year of age. Some experts recommend that confimatory studies be performed on cells obtained by skin biopsy.
The biochemical studies diagnostic of RCDP can be performed prenatally on cells obtained by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. CVS is usually performed at 10–12 weeks of pregnancy and amniocentesis is usually performed after 15 weeks of pregnancy. RCPD may be suspected in a fetus based on ultrasound findings.
Each feature of RCDP is seen in many other conditions, for example rhizomelic limb shortening is seen in other conditions that cause dwarfism. Chondrodysplasia punctata is seen in many inherited conditions but can also be caused by prenatal exposure to the anticoagulant drug, Warfarin. Doctors who specialize in diagnosing rare genetic conditions use subtle differences between the symptoms of these conditions to narrow their search for the suspected diagnosis. Many peroxisomal disorders have abnormal very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs); VLCFA levels are normal in RCDP.
Two rare conditions cannot be distinguished from RCDP by physical symptoms. These conditions involve specific abnormalities of plasmalogen synthesis. RCDP is caused by abnormal peroxisome synthesis, which leads to multiple biochemical abnormalities including deficient plasmalogen synthesis. In contrast, these two conditions each affect only one protein. The proteins affected are dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase (DHAPAT) and alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate synthase. People with deficiencies in these two proteins have normal thiolase and normal phytanic acid levels.
RCDP is the only condition known to be caused by abnormal PEX7 gene. Genetic testing is another method to confirm the diagnosis. A doctor who specializes in medical genetics can determine whether this testing is available clinically.
Treatment and management
The only treatments for RCDP are supportive therapies to treat symptoms. People with RCDP, especially those who are less severely affected, benefit from symptomatic support of various specialties such as ophthalmology and physical therapy. Dietary restrictions or supplements have shown promise in the treatment of some peroxisomal disorders. The enormous obstacle in the severe conditions is that many of the abnormalities develop before birth and are irreversible. The multiple biochemical abnormalities of RCDP also complicate treatment efforts. Some researchers have tried to improve the function of the deficient metabolic process. This treatment, if it works, will probably benefit mildly affected patients more than the typically severely affected person with RCDP.
The underlying cause of the severe mental retardation is not well understood. Some abnormalities of nerve tissue have been described. In many peroxisomal disorders
The prognosis for the typical individual with RCDP, who is severely affected, is death in infancy. Most affected infants die in the first two years of life. However, exceptions have reported in the medical literature. Individuals who lived past the age of 10 years have been reported. For atypical, mildly affected patients, prognosis is variable.
Scientists' understanding of peroxisomal disorders, and of the peroxisome itself, increased enormously in the last five years. Developing effective treatments of RCDP is a great challenge. But having a better understanding of the underlying cause is the first step. This has also increased awareness of RCDP, probably leading to more accurate diagnoses and higher clinical suspicion. A correct diagnosis is critical in providing accurate recurrence, prognosis, and prenatal diagnosis information.
Bennett, Ruth. "Workshop Looks Into the Challenges, Causes of Dwarfism." The Oregonian (July 7, 1999).
Hedley, Lisa Abelow. "A Child of Difference." New York Times Magazine 147 (October 1997): 98-99.
Footsteps Institute for Rare Diseases. 624 Martin Luther King Way, Tacoma, WA 98405. (253) 383-0985 or (888) 640-4673. email@example.com.
International Patient Advocacy Association. 800 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 400, Bellvue, WA 98004. (425) 462-4037 or (310) 229-5750 or (800) 944-7823 x4037. firstname.lastname@example.org. <http://www.vanpelt-ipaa.com>.
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). PO Box 8923, New Fairfield, CT 06812-8923. (203) 746-6518 or (800) 999-6673. Fax: (203) 746-6481. <http://www.rarediseases.org>.
Rhizomelic Chondrodysplasia Punctata (RCP) Family Support Group. 137 25th Ave., Monroe, WI 53566.
"Genetics Tutorial and diagnosis information." Greenberg Center for Skeletal Dysplasias. Johns Hopkins University. <http://www.med.jhu.edu/Greenberg.Center/Greenbrg.htm>.
Gould, Stephen J. "The Peroxisome Website." John Hopkins University School of Medicine. <http://www.peroxisome.org>.
Michelle Queneau Bosworth, MS, CGC | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39332000 |
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) involve a wide range of clinical diagnoses, including
- Asperger syndrome (a mild form of autism)
- childhood degenerative disorder
- pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)
Although the severity of the symptoms that occur with each of these disorders will be different, all ASDs result in specific impairments. These are commonly seen in three specific areas:
- social interaction
- language and communication
- engagement in repetitive behavior
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one in every 88 children have an ASD (CDC, 2012).
The term autistic behavior is used to describe the actions of a child with an ASD.
Doctors do not know for certain what causes autistic behavior. Genetics may play a role. Research examining the brains of children with autism has shown abnormalities in several different regions. Environment may also play a part in the development of autism. Exposure of the fetus to certain toxins or viruses may increase the chances of developing autism.
Autism may also be passed down through families. If an identical twin has autism, there is a 90 percent chance that his or her twin will have the disorder. Families with a child who has autism have a one in 20 chance of having another child with autism. Even though this is only a five percent risk, it is higher than the risk for families that do not have a child with autism (NINDS, 2012).
For unknown reasons, boys are significantly more likely to have autism. Studies show that one in 54 boys is diagnosed with an ASD, while only one in 252 girls suffer from an ASD (CDC, 2012).
Many people believe that autistic behavior is caused by vaccines. The link between vaccines and autism has received much media attention in recent years. However, there is no evidence that suggests that childhood immunizations cause autism. If you are concerned about this issue, talk with your doctor.
The symptoms of autistic behavior vary depending on your specific diagnosis. The most common feature of autistic behavior is difficulty with social interaction. Infants and children who display this behavior may:
- not respond when their names are called
- avoid eye contact
- not respond appropriately to social cues, such as someone being angry or upset
- engage in self-injurious behavior, such as biting
- engage in repetitive behaviors, such as rocking back and forth
As autistic children grow, they may develop problems in other areas, including language and communication. Children with ASDs typically learn to speak later than children without the disorder.
In addition, children with ASDs:
- may refer to themselves by name instead of using pronouns such as “I” or “me”
- will not know how to play with other children
- appear disinterested when being engaged by other children or adults
- may not smile or respond to others
- may have specific interests or habits that are more important to them than interacting with others
- may have sensitivity to loud sounds or bright lights
Autistic behavior can be diagnosed by your doctor. Infants typically reach developmental milestones by certain ages. Examples include:
- babbling by 12 months
- gesturing and pointing by 12 months
- saying single words by 16 months
- saying two-word phrases by 24 months
If your child does not develop these behaviors or has other symptoms of autism, your doctor may order additional tests. Tests will be used to rule out other health problems and may include:
- hearing tests (to rule out a hearing problem may cause similar behaviors)
- blood tests (to look for lead toxicity, which may cause similar behaviors)
Your doctor may also screen your child for autism using the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) or the Autism Screening Questionnaire. Your doctor may refer you to a developmental psychologist for further evaluation. This specialist can provide you with a more accurate diagnosis.
Treatment for autistic behavior will depend on the severity of the symptoms. Young children diagnosed with an ASD are typically provided with early intervention services. These can include:
- occupational therapy
- social skills training
- physical therapy
- speech-language therapy
In some cases, your doctor may recommend medication to control certain behaviors. These might include:
- risperidone for irritability and aggression
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to stabilize mood
- methylphenidate, a stimulant
Treatment may also include changes in diet. Gluten has been postulated to be associated with certain autistic behaviors. There is no evidence to support this reasoning; however removing gluten from the diet may reduce symptoms of ASDs. Treatment works best when it is tailored to meet the needs of the individual with autism.
The long-term outcome for a child with autistic behavior is better today than it was a generation ago. In the past, children with autism were typically placed in institutions. Today, early diagnosis and treatment can improve outcomes.
The prognosis for a person with autism will depend on the severity of the disorder. It will also depend on how early treatment is provided. Autistic behavior can cause emotional problems for children and family members. Getting help and support for these challenges from doctors, therapists, and family members can be beneficial. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39333000 |
Parents are often shocked when I tell them that pediatricians think it’s a bad idea for children to watch TV before age 2. Surveys tell us about 40% of infants are watching some sort of video by age 5 months, and by age 2 the number rises to 90%.
Early brain development
To answer these questions we have to return briefly to the child’s developing brain. Kids’ brains grow profoundly during the first 3 years of life, with the brain tripling in mass in just the first 12 months. The stimuli children experience during this period profoundly influence brain development. Images on screens behave in ways that differ dramatically from those in the real world. Because we’re all steeped in the visual language of screens, it’s easy to forget those differences until we think about them.
Imagine a ball in real life and a ball on TV. Infants are developing 3-dimensional vision. The world of the screen exists in 2 dimensions, so the ball is just a flat, shaded circle. If you roll a ball across the floor it proceeds in a single motion, slowing gradually until it stops. The same action on TV is broken up—you see the ball leave someone’s hand, then there’s a shot of it in motion, then a picture of the ball at rest. If your infant wants to grab a ball in real life he’ll lunge for it, grasp at it, or crawl after it. The stuff on the screen just disappears, to be replaced by other stuff; you can never get your hands (or mouth) on it. Infants may stare at the bright colors and motion on a screen, but their brains are incapable of making sense or meaning out of all those bizarre pictures. It takes 2 full years for a baby’s brain to develop to the point where the symbols on a screen come to represent their equivalents in the real world.
Because of this confusion, children up to age 3 learn better from the real world than they do from any screen, especially when it comes to language. They do seem to learn a little more if they’re watching in the company of a person who is talking to them about what they’re seeing, in the same way you would while looking at a picture book.
Where's the harm?
So sure, babies and toddlers don’t get anything out of watching TV, but if they seem to like it, where’s the harm? If a little TV is what it takes for you to get dinner on the table, isn’t it better for them than, say, starving? Yes, watching TV is better than starving, but it’s worse than not watching TV. Good evidence suggests that screen viewing before age 2 has lasting negative effects on children’s language development, reading skills, and shortterm memory. It also contributes to problems with sleep and attention. If “you are what you eat,” then the brain is what it experiences, and video entertainment is like mental junk food for babies and toddlers.
The problem lies not only with what toddlers are doing while they’re watching TV; it’s what they aren’t doing. Specifically, children are programmed to learn from interacting with other people. The dance of facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language between a toddler and parent is not only beautiful, it’s so complex that researchers have to record these interactions on video and slow them down just to see everything that’s going on. Whenever one party in this dance, child or parent, is watching TV, the exchange comes to a halt. A toddler learns a lot more from banging pans on the floor while you cook dinner than he does from watching a screen for the same amount of time, because every now and then the 2 of you look at each other.
Just having the TV on in the background, even if “no one is watching it,” is enough to delay language development. Normally a parent speaks about 940 words per hour when a toddler is around. With the television on, that number falls by 770! Fewer words means less learning. Toddlers are also learning to pay attention for prolonged periods.
Toddlers who watch more TV are more likely to have problems paying attention at age 7. Video programming is constantly changing, constantly interesting, and almost never forces a child to deal with anything more tedious than an infomercial.
After age 2 things change, at least somewhat. During the preschool years some children do learn some skills from educational TV. Well-designed shows can teach kids literacy, math, science, problem-solving, and prosocial behavior. Children get more out of interactive programs like Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street when they answer the characters’ questions. Educational TV makes the biggest difference for children whose homes are the least intellectually stimulating.
What you can do
Naturally, children learn more when they watch TV with a parent than if they watch alone. Content matters, a lot. All programs educate kids about something, but stick with ones that are designed to teach children stuff they should actually know.
Regardless of content, cap your child’s TV time at 2 hours a day. Remember, too, TV is still TV whether you actually watch it on a TV screen or on a mobile phone or computer. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39334000 |
Dogs can be trained to use a certain area set aside for elimination. They’re less fussy than cats about what materials you use to absorb the waste, so you could put old newspapers, paper litter, clay, or another absorbent material in the bottom of the pan. No matter what material you decide to use, use it consistently. At first, you may want to leave the litter a little dirty, because dogs tend to go back to a place where they have gone before. For the same reason, clean the carpet whenever your dog has an accident, to be sure she doesn’t return to the same spot.
Most of all, be patient and consistent. Develop a schedule of feeding, playing, walking, and sleeping, which will keep your dog on an elimination schedule as well. Learn the times when she will generally have to go: after eating, after waking up and, for puppies, about every 20-30 minutes when they are awake and playing. Watch for the cues your dog gives before urinating, like sniffing and circling, and place her in the pan when you see her getting ready to go. Praise her when she uses the pan.
Different dogs learn at different rates, so it may take a few days of accidents before your pet learns to use the pan. Eventually, though, with gentle persistence, she can learn to use the litter box consistently. Remember, though, the pan is not meant to replace trips outside, but to supplement them. Your dog still needs to go outside for exercise and fresh air every day. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39335000 |
|The angle of a celestial object measured upwards from the observer's horizon. Thus, an object on the horizon has an altitude of 0° and one directly overhead has an altitude of 90°. Negative values for the altitude mean that the object is below the horizon.
Altitude is usually used together with azimuth to give the direction of an object in the topocentric coordinate system.|
Altitude is also frequently referred to as "elevation", and this term was used until recently by Heavens-Above. We now use the term "altitude" to be in line with most other astronomy publications, and reserve "elevation" to indicate the height of the observer above sea-level.
The altitude of a point on the celestial sphere is defined as the angular distance measured positive toward the astronomical zenith from the astronomical horizon along the great circle passing through the point and the astronomical zenith. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39337000 |
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Number Sense: A 1st and 2nd Grade Math Event
This curriculum, developed by the Science Education Partnerships Program at Oregon State University, contains all the tools a teacher or administrator needs to organize a family math program at an elementary school. Using the PowerPoint presentation and timing guide available online, the speaker (a teacher or volunteer) leads student-parent pairs through a series of games and activities designed to develop students' number sense and strategies for addition and subtraction. The math event focuses on listening to students' mathematical thinking and helping parents understand how they can tailor the games to their child's ability level. At the end of the event, parents take home handouts, which are also available in Spanish, for playing simple card games, building number sense and nurturing a "mathematically powerful student." The curriculum includes templates for the games and a check-off list for organizing the event, which can be held in individual or multiple classrooms during the school day or in the evening.
Program Director: Daniel Arp, Ph.D.
Award Years: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Summary: Oregon State University is a public research university in Corvallis, Oregon. Its HHMI-funded initiatives include:
- The Science Education Partnerships program, a K-12 science outreach effort that improves science and math education for teachers throughout the state and also provides alternative ways for children and families to make science an interesting part of family activities;
- Undergraduate summer research programs with formalized mentoring of students, a peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal, and research opportunities for students at Pacific Northwest schools and schools populated with traditionally underrepresented groups in science; and
- The SMILE STARS (Study Techniques, Academics, and Research Skills) program, which offers an eight-week intensive summer bridge program for selected high school graduates before their first year at OSU. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39344000 |
GREENHOUSE gas emissions in the 1990s could have been underestimated by billions of tonnes, throwing doubt on some of the maths behind the Kyoto Protocol, research by Australian and international scientists suggests.
The research team measured real-world changes in the amount of CO2 building up in the atmosphere against the amount of gases that each country said it emitted. And, like a jigsaw puzzle with one or two missing pieces, the picture did not quite match.
''The simplest explanation is there has been an underestimate in the accounting of about 7 per cent through that early period in the 1990s,'' said the lead researcher, Roger Francey, an honorary fellow at the CSIRO.
''The increase in CO2 in the atmosphere doesn't reflect the reported emissions. This may be because the methodology for getting national emissions was far less developed than today, and only really developed for a few countries, so they were relying much more on estimates.''
If confirmed, the findings would carry some potentially good news about the rate of climate change: if emissions were higher in the 1990s, then they have not been increasing at quite such a steep rate to reach today's level. It would mean emissions have been rising more steadily for the past three decades, at the middle range of predictions by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, rather than surging up since 2000.
The group's findings are contained in a paper published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Although an error of 7 per cent in estimated emissions is within the stated level of uncertainty, it still means that emissions equivalent to about four times the size of Australia's annual greenhouse output had somehow been ''lost''. The accounting method is made even more complicated by the performance of ''carbon sinks'' which absorb large but varying amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.
''When they were adding up all the emissions from around the world back then … it's understandable that there might have been significant errors,'' said the head of the CSIRO's Changing Atmosphere group, Paul Fraser. ''Exactly how that may have happened, it's hard to know … What it shows is that the IPCC estimates of more recent times have got it about right.'' | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39346000 |
Nature and Hinduism are so entwined that it is quite impossible to think about one without the other. The need for an ecological balance is stressed in the Vedas and Upanishads and this message is repeated in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita, Puranas and in the messages of Hindu saints. Mother Nature is worshipped in Hindu religion. But for majority of Hindus, worship is confined to temples and homes and thus they are equal contributors in global warming, pollution and emissions.
- One should not destroy the trees. (Rig Veda Samhita vi-48-17)
- Plants are mothers and Goddesses. (Rig Veda Samhita x-97-4)
- Trees are homes and mansions. (Rig Veda Samhita x-97-5)
- Sacred grass has to be protected from man's exploitation (Rig Veda Samhita vii-75-8)
- Plants and waters are treasures for generations. (Rig Veda Samhita vii-70-4)
Earth, in which lie the sea, the river and other waters, in which food and cornfields have come to be, in which lives all that breathes and that moves, may she confer on us the finest of her yield. Earth, in which the waters, common to all, moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night, may she pour on us milk in many streams, and endow us with lustre. (From the Atharva Veda - Hymn to the Earth - Bhumi-Sukta)
May those born of thee, O Earth, be for our welfare, free from sickness and waste, wakeful through a long life, we shall become bearers of tribute to thee. Earth my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with heaven, O wise one, uphold me in grace and splendor. (From the Atharva Veda - Hymn to the Earth - Bhumi-Sukta)
- Earth, atmosphere, sky, sun, moon, stars, waters, plants, trees, moving creatures, swimming creatures, creeping creatures all are hailed and offered oblations. (Taittiriya Samhita i-8-13)
- One should protect the habitation. (Rig Veda Samhita vi-71-3)
- Waters as friends of man give full protection to his progenies. (Rig Veda Samhita vi-50-7)
- One shall take care of quadrupeds. (Taittiriya Samhita iv-4-10)
- One shall be auspicious to animals. (Taittiriya Samhita ii-3-14)
- One shall not find fault with animals. (Chandogya Upanishad ii-18-2)
- Waters represent splendor. (Atharva Veda Samhita iii-13-5)
- Waters bear off all defilements and cleanse people. (Vajasaneya Samhita iv-2)
- Whoever injures the essence of food, kine or steeds is a robber who sinks both himself and his offspring into destruction. (Rig Veda Samhita vii-104-10)
- Offerings are dedicated to waters of wells, pools, clefts, holes, lakes, morasses, ponds, tanks, marshes, rains, rime, streams, rivers and ocean. (Taittiriya Samhita vii-4-13)
- There was only water in the beginning. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad v-5-1)
- Waters and herbs should have no poison. (Rig Veda Samhita vi-39-5)
- Waters are to be freed from defilement. (Atharva Veda Samhita x-5-24)
- Waters cleanse humanity from the evil of pollution committed by it. (Atharva Veda Samhita xii-2-40)
- Waters are healing and they strengthen one to see great joy. (Taittiriya Samhita vii-4-19)
The Mahabharata says that 'even if there is only one tree full of flowers and fruits in a village, that place becomes worthy of worship and respect.’
‘No religion, perhaps, lays as much emphasis on environmental ethics as does Hinduism. It believes in ecological responsibility and says like Native Americans that the Earth is our mother. It champions protection of animals, which it considers also have souls, and promotes vegetarianism. It has a strong tradition of non-violence or ahimsa. It believes that God is present in all nature, in all creatures, and in every human being regardless of their faith or lack of it.’ Dr. David Frawley
We Hindus are always proud to hear others praise our culture. We publish them, discuss them in social circles but rarely follow the unparalleled teachings in our scriptures.
Lord Ganesha, Holy Cow, Worship of Mountains, Worship of Nagas (Snakes), Tulsi and the numerous other plants and animals that form part of Hindu worship are nothing but messages incorporated by wise Hindu Saints to teach us that we humans are part of nature and not outside it and above it.
The Hindu concept of Brahman, the Supreme Soul, suggests that all animate and inanimate and all born and yet to be born are part of Brahman. Therefore an imbalance in a particular part will affect all other parts. The Supreme Being then finds out a method to transform that defective part. Since Brahman is present in all, it is easy to transform. And we humans might term such a transformation as the End or Death or total annihilation. For the Supreme Soul, it is a small repair work carried out by a minute virus.
Mother Nature is not dependent on Human Beings but Human Beings are. Ancient Seers knew it and therefore they worshiped Nature. Modern Humans termed it as animism and replaced it with more refined worships. And the result of such a refined worship ...
‘In our arrogance and ignorance we have destroyed the environment of this planet. We have polluted the oceans, we have made the air unbreathable, we have desecrated nature and decimated wildlife. But the Vedantic seers knew that man was not something apart from nature, and, therefore, they constantly exhort us that, while we work for own salvation, we must also work for the welfare of all beings.’ Karan Singh
Only a people’s movement can save the earth from destruction. We are armed with wise teachings of our saints. Now what we need is its implementation.
Courtesy: Quotes from Vedas as found in the articles of Dr. S Kannan and Dr. Karan Singh | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39348000 |
Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, takes her life following the defeat of her forces against Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.
Cleopatra, born in 69 B.C., was made Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII, in 51 B.C. Her brother was made King Ptolemy XIII at the same time, and the siblings ruled Egypt under the formal title of husband and wife. Cleopatra and Ptolemy were members of the Macedonian dynasty that governed Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Although Cleopatra had no Egyptian blood, she alone in her ruling house learned Egyptian. To further her influence over the Egyptian people, she was also proclaimed the daughter of Re, the Egyptian sun god. Cleopatra soon fell into dispute with her brother, and civil war erupted in 48 B.C.
Rome, the greatest power in the Western world, was also beset by civil war at the time. Just as Cleopatra was preparing to attack her brother with a large Arab army, the Roman civil war spilled into Egypt. Pompey the Great, defeated by Julius Caesar in Greece, fled to Egypt seeking solace but was immediately murdered by agents of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar arrived in Alexandria soon after and, finding his enemy dead, decided to restore order in Egypt.
During the preceding century, Rome had exercised increasing control over the rich Egyptian kingdom, and Cleopatra sought to advance her political aims by winning the favor of Caesar. She traveled to the royal palace in Alexandria and was allegedly carried to Caesar rolled in a rug, which was offered as a gift. Cleopatra, beautiful and alluring, captivated the powerful Roman leader, and he agreed to intercede in the Egyptian civil war on her behalf.
In 47 B.C., Ptolemy XIII was killed after a defeat against Caesar's forces, and Cleopatra was made dual ruler with another brother, Ptolemy XIV. Julius and Cleopatra spent several amorous weeks together, and then Caesar departed for Asia Minor, where he declared "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered), after putting down a rebellion. In June 47 B.C., Cleopatra bore a son, whom she claimed was Caesar's and named Caesarion, meaning "little Caesar."
Upon Caesar's triumphant return to Rome, Cleopatra and Caesarion joined him there. Under the auspices of negotiating a treaty with Rome, Cleopatra lived discretely in a villa that Caesar owned outside the capital. After Caesar was assassinated in March 44 B.C., she returned to Egypt. Soon after, Ptolemy XIV died, likely poisoned by Cleopatra, and the queen made her son co-ruler with her as Ptolemy XV Caesar.
With Julius Caesar's murder, Rome again fell into civil war, which was temporarily resolved in 43 B.C. with the formation of the second triumvirate, made up of Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and chosen heir; Mark Antony, a powerful general; and Lepidus, a Roman statesman. Antony took up the administration of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and he summoned Cleopatra to Tarsus, in Asia Minor, to answer charges that she had aided his enemies.
Cleopatra sought to seduce Antony, as she had Caesar before him, and in 41 B.C. arrived in Tarsus on a magnificent river barge, dressed as Venus, the Roman god of love. Successful in her efforts, Antony returned with her to Alexandria, where they spent the winter in debauchery. In 40 B.C., Antony returned to Rome and married Octavian's sister Octavia in an effort to mend his strained alliance with Octavian. The triumvirate, however, continued to deteriorate. In 37 B.C., Antony separated from Octavia and traveled east, arranging for Cleopatra to join him in Syria. In their time apart, Cleopatra had borne him twins, a son and a daughter. According to Octavian's propagandists, the lovers were then married, which violated the Roman law restricting Romans from marrying foreigners.
Antony's disastrous military campaign against Parthia in 36 B.C. further reduced his prestige, but in 34 B.C. he was more successful against Armenia. To celebrate the victory, he staged a triumphal procession through the streets of Alexandria, in which he and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones, and Caesarion and their children were given imposing royal titles. Many in Rome, spurred on by Octavian, interpreted the spectacle as a sign that Antony intended to deliver the Roman Empire into alien hands.
After several more years of tension and propaganda attacks, Octavian declared war against Cleopatra, and therefore Antony, in 31 B.C. Enemies of Octavian rallied to Antony's side, but Octavian's brilliant military commanders gained early successes against his forces. On September 2, 31 B.C., their fleets clashed at Actium in Greece. After heavy fighting, Cleopatra broke from the engagement and set course for Egypt with 60 of her ships. Antony then broke through the enemy line and followed her. The disheartened fleet that remained surrendered to Octavian. One week later, Antony's land forces surrendered.
Although they had suffered a decisive defeat, it was nearly a year before Octavian reached Alexandria and again defeated Antony. In the aftermath of the battle, Cleopatra took refuge in the mausoleum she had commissioned for herself. Antony, informed that Cleopatra was dead, stabbed himself with his sword. Before he died, another messenger arrived, saying Cleopatra still lived. Antony had himself carried to Cleopatra's retreat, where he died after bidding her to make her peace with Octavian. When the triumphant Roman arrived, she attempted to seduce him, but he resisted her charms. Rather than fall under Octavian's domination, Cleopatra committed suicide on August 30, 30 B.C., possibly by means of an asp, a poisonous Egyptian serpent and symbol of divine royalty.
Octavian then executed her son Caesarion, annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire, and used Cleopatra's treasure to pay off his veterans. In 27 B.C., Octavian became Augustus, the first and arguably most successful of all Roman emperors. He ruled a peaceful, prosperous, and expanding Roman Empire until his death in 14 A.D. at the age of 75. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39352000 |
There are three basic ways to navigate around a map within the Viewer:
- The Home Button
Zooming in or out of the map will make the contents of the map bigger or smaller within the Viewer.
If you are using Windows Operating System, and have a mouse with a scroll-wheel (like this one), you can simply use the middle mouse wheel for zooming in and out.
Otherwise, you can use either the zoom in or out buttons at the right edge of the Viewer...
...or you can zoom in by double-clicking with the left mouse button. If you are using Windows Operating System, you can zoom out by double-clicking while holding down on the control key (Ctrl) on your keyboard.
Panning is the vertical (up/down) or horizontal (left/right) movement of the map within the Viewer.
To pan around in a map image you can either use the directional pan buttons at the right edge of the Viewer...
...or you can use your mouse by clicking and holding down on a spot with your left mouse button and then moving the mouse to drag the image in a given direction.
Located in the center of the directional pan buttons (see above), clicking the home button will zoom and position the map so that the whole thing fits within the Viewer. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39353000 |
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Magnetic Materials (Stator Core, Armature)
With heightened concern about environmental regulations, recent years have seen a remarkable increase in diesel engine automobiles, particularly in Europe. As an advantage of diesel engine automobiles, CO2 emissions are low thanks to their good fuel economy. However, because diesel engines also tend to generate exhaust gases in the form of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), technical improvements aimed at minimizing these types of pollution had been considered to be a major challenge for further popularization of diesel vehicles. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39355000 |
Something I have only come to realise recently, but which may have been obvious to many, is that when a boat is on a reach, the optimal angle of the sail to the wind is always the same and it is only the angle of the boat to the sail that alters:
Because the sail is acting like a wing when on a reach, the "lift", or propulsive force from the wind is at 90 degrees to the sail.
As you can see from the diagram, when the boat is on a close reach, it approaches 90 degrees to the propulsive force of the sail, at which point it stops moving forward.
On the other hand, when the boat is between a beam reach and a broad reach, the hull of the boat is travelling more or less in the same direction as the propulsive force, which is why that is the fastest point of sail.
This is consistent with JollyGreen's diagram, which suggests that if the optimal angle of a sail to the wind is 45 degrees, then the fastest point of sail is at a right angle to that - 135 degrees.
I drew the above diagram, so don't assume it came from an authority on sailing. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39357000 |
The trees around your house provide similar services in your neighborhood that trees do in a forest.
To learn more about the environmental benefits of
trees in urban and suburban environments, you can
use various tree benefit calculators based on i-Tree.
i-Tree is a software suite, from the U.S. Forest Service, that consists of tools that calculate the value
of trees in urban areas and your home.
A tree’s value is expressed in terms of services it provides and the value of these services. This information helps communities strengthen the structure and management of their urban forests as well as advocacy efforts to build and preserve urban forests.
By determining what services trees can provide for urban ecosystems, people can increase environmental quality and livability of urban areas.
Use one of the following calculators to determine the monetary value of individual trees on your property.
Mobile App: http://value.m.davey.com/
The simplest calculator, for a quick estimate of the value of one tree. (Requires Flash and will not work in Firefox or Google Chrome)
The most up-to-date and accurate calculator, that also allows you to see the value of multiple trees.
(Requires Flash, and works in most non-mobile browsers)
Sponsored by iTree. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39358000 |
June 16, 2005.
Doctors have a lot to learn when it comes to dealing with patients who are blind, according to an occupational therapist working in TCD who is herself blind.
Bethan Collins, writing in Forum, the journal of the Irish College of General Practitioners, says anecdotal evidence suggests a lack of awareness among GPs and a lack of assertiveness among blind people can create many of the communication difficulties that exist between the two groups.
Ms Collins gave the example of one blind person who when attending a GP, was told by the doctor:"there's a seat over there", following which the doctor (presumably) pointed to the seat.
The patient then asked where the seat was and the doctor replied-"over there" again trying to point the seat out to the blind patient.
The patient then pointed out to the doctor that he was blind but again the doctor pointed to the seat and told the patient it was "over there."
According to the article, the consultation continued with a number of further faux pas, culminating in the doctor saying to the patient: "I'm giving you this prescription", holding the prescription out without putting it into the blind patient's hand.
Prior to the consultation, the doctor's receptionist had been told that the patient was blind, according to the article.
Ms Collins said an important element in promoting good communication between doctors and blind and visually impaired patients is the doctor giving adequate descriptions to the patient.
For example, doctors explaining to the blind patient what will be done before a physical examination; and giving clear verbal descriptions if the patient is required to perform specific movements or actions, rather than the doctor simply saying "do this", and gesturing.
Practice staff, according to the article, should offer an elbow to the blind person entering the surgery.
For those patients who do not want to make physical contact, practice staff, according to the article, should also clearly tell them of obstacles in their way when entering the surgery.
Ms Collins said blind people are calling for more awareness, particularly among professional groups such as doctors, of the needs of blind people.
She said if information about guiding, access to information and more accurate conceptions of blindness were readily available, the current communication issues would be a thing of the past.
Source URL: http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=7693.
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This article was originally published in the January/February 1998 issue of Home Energy Magazine. Some formatting inconsistencies may be evident in older archive content.
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Home Energy Magazine Online January/February 1998
Regulating Ventless Heaters
The gas industry defends unvented heaters, pointing out that they are allowed by 42 state building codes in the United States, and that they are widely used in Europe. Mike Calderrera of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association says the heaters have safety measures intended to guard against dangerous combustion products. Every heater since 1980 has been required to have an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS), Calderrera says. This has certainly improved safety. Today's products are built to satisfy all the requirements of the ANSI safety standard. Ken Maitland, director of engineering at the California-based gas appliance maker Fireplace Manufacturers Incorporated (FMI), says, I believe as an engineer that they're safe, if designed correctly and the ODS is installed.
The safety features are widely proclaimed by the Vent-Free Alliance (VFA), a coalition of members of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association. Nice & Warm, a booklet published by the VFA, says that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data show no documented deaths due to emissions associated with the use of an ODS-equipped vent-free gas heating appliance since 1980.
Sandy Weisner of Medford, Oregon, is not soothed by these assurances. She installed an FMI ventless heater in 1996, and soon after developed symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. She installed a CO alarm, which sounded as soon as she used her unvented fireplace. She went to the doctor and found that the levels of carbon monoxide in her blood were 30 times normal concentrations. She has since been lobbying her state's code bodies to ban the heaters.
Many building scientists are harshly critical of the gas industry's safety claims. While every brochure, video, and Web site about unvented heaters relates their safety to the ODS, Greg Traynor, formerly an indoor air quality researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, says there is almost no correlation between oxygen depletion and increased pollutant concentrations. There's no way you're ever going to get the ODS to go off unless you have a way oversized heater in a tiny room, he says.
In a 1983 Department of Energy study, Traynor and six other researchers, including Mike Apte (author of Unvented Heaters: Drainless Sinks? HE, Sept/Oct '96, p. 9) found that the heaters pose a potential threat to the health of occupants of houses where such appliances are used.
Meanwhile, a new study from the University of Connecticut reports that CO can cause permanent brain damage without any single traumatic poisoning.
Oregon, however, is like most other states where the devices are allowed. Legislatures and code officials are reluctant to outlaw the vent-free heaters, for lack of conclusive evidence that they are harmful. As of March 1996, only eight states and eight Canadian provinces prohibited the appliances, and codes are steadily becoming more accommodating.The Tide Turning? Today, unvented heaters are being carefully scrutinized in California and New York. After contentious legislative battles in those states, both states' health officials are seeking reliable sizing guidelines. They hope that by sizing the heaters correctly for the amount of ventilation in a house and for the local climate, they can keep the heaters from hurting anyone.
With these developments on the horizon, in March, 1996, the Gas Research Institute (GRI) released what it hoped would be universally acceptable sizing guidelines. In 1997, the GRI guidelines were nominated for incorporation into the ANSI national safety standard for unvented gas heaters, Z21.11.2. These proposed guidelines have turned into a lightning rod for criticism.
The GRI guideline has been criticized for flawed assumptions and weak science. For example, one indoor air quality researcher with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) says, The report assumes that a loose house has one air change per hour (ACH), while a tight house has 0.35 ACH. But 0.35 ACH is probably about average for the good new houses being built in California today, and we often see houses much tighter than this.
Tom Greiner (author of The Case of the CO Leak: Solving the Mysteries of Carbon Monoxide Exposure, HE Nov/Dec '97, p. 21) adds, No attention whatever is paid to a 'worst-case' or even a less than favorable [ventilation] scenario. The gas industry traditionally uses worst-case scenarios, and then adds additional safety factors when designing equipment or developing standards. Greiner also criticizes the GRI assumption that the heaters will be used at most four hours at a time. He cites a homeowner who uses an unvented heater all the time, but calls it a supplemental heater because it heats only part of the house.
Ken Giles of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) agrees. In the burn belt of the South, he says, unvented heaters have traditionally been used as primary heat for many homes without central heaters. The CPSC recommends that indoor heaters not be used while residents are asleep, and produces safety brochures encouraging homeowners to use CO alarms.
The New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) produced a peer-reviewed critique of the GRI standard. Among other things, it criticizes the GRI's indoor air quality guideline of 0.5 ppm (parts per million) for nitrogen dioxide. No international, federal, or state guidelines that have been adopted are as high as 0.5 ppm. If an air quality guideline of 0.25 ppm is used for nitrogen dioxide, air quality will quickly reach unacceptable levels for homes in climates with more than 2,000 heating degree-days. Some such climates include mild Santa Barbara, California; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington, D.C.
The NYSERDA report also criticized the GRI's science. The heater sizes recommended, it says, are larger than the heater sizes which were used to calculate indoor air contaminant levels.
Potential moisture problems are cited by Stuart Brooks, an architect with Energy Design Associates Incorporated of Eagle River, Alaska. In his eight years at the Alaska Energy Programs Office and since then in private practice, he has encountered several unvented heaters. They do create a large condensation problem for houses here in the Anchorage area, as well as carbon shadowing on walls and ceilings, he says (see Black Stains in Houses: Soot, Dust, or Ghosts, p. 15). While the Vent-Free Alliance's video Vent-Free IAQ Research states that a humidity level of 60% is desirable, Brooks says that in very cold weather, more than 40% continuous relative humidity is almost a surefire level of condensation problems. Icing on windows, not just condensation, becomes a problem.
It is too early to tell whether criticisms of the proposed ANSI standard will affect California's and New York's sizing guidelines. But regardless of what guidelines eventually prevail, one source familiar with California's indoor air quality politics points out, It's dubious whether sizing standards could be enforced. After all, the heaters are sold as do-it-yourself retrofits at large retailers nationwide. When customers buy and install their units, they may use whatever size they feel fits their needs.Crisis or Annoyance? For all the problems, there is no epidemic of deaths caused by unvented heaters. Even a harsh critic at CARB says the current standards, combined with the ODS, are likely to prevent fatalities. The Vent-Free Alliance claims that such heaters have caused no fatalities since the ODS was first required in the early 1980s.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission logged over 15 CO poisoning events, including 10 fatalities, from unvented gas heaters between December 1994 and January 1997. Some of the poisonings were clearly caused by new heaters, but it is unclear whether the fatalities were caused by pre-ODS heaters.
Some manufacturers have experimented with including CO detectors with their unvented heaters, but this is not even being considered as part of the revision to the ANSI standard.
Weisner still suffers from reduced stamina and dizziness that were not present before her poisoning. However, because she was not seriously disabled, she has been unable to find an attorney willing to sue FMI. They think the prospective award would be too small to pay the necessary expert witnesses. But with millions of unvented heaters now installed nationwide, she feels it's only a matter of time before more people are poisoned. It could have been my grandchildren, she adds.
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"I couldn't care if I never had sex again"
"Forget the sex, I just wish I had some energy"
"I do it for him, not for me"
"I love him, but I just don't want to have sex with him"
"It's all just too much, I'd rather get a good night's sleep"
These comments are repeated by thousands of women every day of the week, sometimes to doctors, sometimes to friends, sometimes to partners.
Women provide a far more complex sex hormonal picture than men, with three hormones contributing to the overall makeup of the hormonal balance.
Women produce oestrogens, progesterone and testosterone. The ovaries produce the bulk of the oestrogens during the years leading up to the menopause and substantially less post-menopause.
Progesterone is produced once ovulation has taken place during the menstrual years.
Progesterone ceases to be produced when ovulation stops at the menopause.
Testosterone in women is predominantly produced by the ovaries. It is produced on a continual basis and testosterone production declines with age from year twenty onwards.
Testosterone is vital in the preservation of bone, for its positive effect on libido and maintenance of energy levels.
- Reduced libido
- Unexplained fatigue
- Lack of concentration
- Emotional mood changes
Typify the symptoms of testosterone deficiency in women.
Supplementing small amounts of testosterone in women experiencing symptoms of testosterone deficiency results in increased energy, libido and sexual response.
In the last decade there has been increasing interest in administering low doses of testosterone to pre- and postmenopausal women, particularly to help with loss of libido. The use of testosterone to manage low libido in women has extensively been reviewed in the medical literature for decades. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39368000 |
What teaching style do you favor? How do you present material in your class? When I was student teaching (many years ago now), I recall that we were required to observe another teacher in our supervising teacher’s department. I observed the man who happened to be chosen Teacher of the Year for his school by his colleagues. Actually, it was probably my supervising teacher who recommended I observe him. Matter of fact, I also observed the department head, who was an intimidating woman, both to her colleagues and students (she required English department members to hand in lesson plans, and I recall after one particularly didactic department meeting, the other English teachers clustered in the parking lot to “discuss” the meeting). The Teacher of the Year’s class was taking a notebook check the day I observed. He apologized for not being “up in front of the room,” but also added that he wasn’t up in front of room a lot because he “really didn’t believe in that.” What he was trying to say is that he viewed his role as a teacher as that of a facilitator or coach. In other words, he favored a constructivist approach to teaching. The department head was definitely more of a direct instructor. When I observed her class, she was standing in front of it, speaking. She called on students to provide answers.
One thing I like about Wiggins and McTighe is that they see value in various approaches to teaching; however, what they emphasize is that a good teacher needs to figure out when each approach is best. This can be difficult, however, because of our biases as teachers:
Teachers who love to lecture do too much of it; teachers who resist it do too little. Teachers who love ambiguity make discussions needlessly confusing. Teachers who are linear and task-oriented often intervene too much in a seminar and cut off fruitful inquiry. Teachers who love to coach sometimes do too many drills and overlook transfer. Teachers who love the big picture often do a poor job of developing core skills and competence. (242)
The most important quotation of the chapter, at least in my view, is that “[w]hen choosing instructional approaches, think about what is needed for learning, not just what is comfortable for teaching” (242). Teachers tend to use one instructional approach at the expense of all others, and to be honest, I have seen some hostility among teachers regarding this issue. Teachers who prefer direct instruction tend to see teachers who favor constructivism as irresponsible, unknowledgeable, lazy, and at worst, dangerous. It is not unheard of to hear that constructivists are the downfall of education as we know it, and don’t you know, education was so much better before these hippie yahoos came along and changed it all. On the other hand, I see constructivists characterize teachers who favor direct instruction as dour, boring, and punitive. In other words, they are the entire reason why kids hate school, and if they just weren’t teaching, why think of all we could change! In fact, I think we call all admit there are times when we want to learn things ourselves using a constructivist approach, and I don’t know about you, but I have certainly listened to some fascinating lectures.
The point of the chapter is not necessarily to advocate one method of instruction over another, but to emphasize that what method you choose needs to be based upon what your desired results are. All of a sudden the necessity for backward design “clicks.” How can you figure out whether lecture or a Socratic seminar would be best if you don’t know what you want the students to understand? In the words of Bob the nutrition unit designer, “What is the best use of our limited time together?” This should be the mantra of teachers planning instruction.
The two pages of formative assessment techniques are well worth some study (248-249). I like the index card summary idea. One of my colleagues uses hand signals with good results. Actually, her approach is slightly different from that of the book. She asks students to hold up one finger for one answer, two for another, and three for a third. It’s a very quick way to engage all the students and see who understands and who doesn’t. I tend to rely too much on discussion, which means if you talk a lot in class, I know what you know. I need to utilize methods of “hearing” from silent students more often (and not necessarily calling on them more often, although that would help; students are sometimes intimidated and afraid to say “I don’t get it”). I want to put a question box in my room, too. I think I already use oral questioning and follow-up probes to good effect, but there is always room for improvement.
I tend to teach grammar using direct instruction, and I am thinking that perhaps a constructivist approach would work better. But you know what? It would be harder to teach it that way. On the other hand, I think the students would understand it better. I know I am completely guilty of “marching through the textbook” when I teach grammar. No wonder I wind up complaining students didn’t learn what I taught. Teaching grammar next year is going to take some thinking.
Work Cited: Wiggins, Grant, and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Expanded 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2005. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39382000 |
It's been 22 years since the House of Commons voted unanimously to eradicate child poverty in Canada by 2000. All parties supported the motion and it appeared that we were finally on the right track to ensuring that no child ever had to grow up hungry or homeless again. However, a new report from Campaign 2000 reveals that over two decades later 639,000 children are still living in poverty. That's one in 10 children. Aboriginal children are in an even worse situation, with a shocking one in four children who are living on reserves below the poverty line. What's more alarming is that one in three children who live in poverty have at least one parent working full time.
If the number of Canadians still fighting to make ends meet isn't disturbing enough, the costs associated with poverty certainly are. Estimates currently say that poverty costs Canada a minimum of $24 billion a year, with 20 per cent of all health care costs directly attributed to poverty. Look at it this way, a child born into poverty has a greater chance of dying in infancy and, if he or she lives, is likely to have a lower birth weight and more disabilities. As they grow, they will suffer from poor nutrition and poor health. They'll miss more days of school and slowly, but surely, fall further and further behind at significant cost to society.
If we can solve the problem early, and prevent children from growing up in poverty in the first place, the savings both financially and in the quality of life they will go on to have will be dramatically increased.
That is why I am calling on this government to finally bring forth a viable long term national strategy to eliminate poverty in Canada. The strategy must focus on what the National Council of Welfare refers to as the investment model. Instead of paying to make a person's life marginally better in the short term, we must invest in long term solutions. As they put it, the current spending model we use is "like getting half a dose of antibiotics and having your infection ease up for a little while only to have it return worse than it was before." We cannot continue on that path.
In fact we are not that far away even with current expenditures. The latest report from the National Council of Welfare states that Canada currently faces a $12 billion poverty gap. That $12 billion annually is what it would take to make sure every Canadian was above the poverty line. Although this might mean more money upfront, the payoffs in terms of savings long term greatly out weight the initial costs because we would save billions annually in poverty related costs.
It is time that we stop putting a band-aid on the problem and really get down to fixing the root of the problem. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39383000 |
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was first passed by Congress in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The most recent re-authorization of this legislation is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The primary function of NCLB is to close the achievement gap between groups of students by requiring greater accountability and offering increased flexibility and choice. The NCLB Act affects almost every school district and charter school in the state.
The Division of NCLB Program Coordination at TEA is responsible for the state-level administration and implementation of federal education programs under the No Child Left Behind Act and the Ed-Flex Partnership program.Section 1111(h)(2) of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires each local education agency (LEA) that receives Title I, Part A funding to disseminate specific LEA- and campus-level data to 1) all LEA campuses, 2) parents of all enrolled students, and 3) to make the information widely available through public means such as posting on the internet, distribution to the media, or distribution through public agencies. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39385000 |
Since its establishment, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has worked vigorously to win international support for its position that it is the sole legitimate government of all China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Until the early 1970s, the Republic of China government in Taipei was recognized diplomatically by most world powers and the UN. After the Beijing government assumed the China seat in the United Nations in 1971 (and the ROC government was expelled) and became increasingly more significant as a global player, most nations switched diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. Japan established diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1972, following the Joint Communiqué between the Governments of Japan and the People's Republic of China; the United States followed in 1972. The number of countries that have established diplomatic relations with Beijing has risen to 165, while 24 maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Both the PRC and ROC make it a prerequisite for diplomatic relations that a country does not recognize and conduct any official relations with the other party.
After its founding, the PRC's foreign policy initially focused on solidarity with the Soviet Union and other communist countries. In 1950, the PRC sent the People's Liberation Army into North Korea as "volunteers" to help North Korea halt the UN offensive that was approaching the Yalu River. After the conclusion of the Korean conflict, the PRC sought to balance its identification as a member of the Soviet bloc by establishing friendly relations with Pakistan and other Third World countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. In 1962, the PRC had a brief war with India over a border dispute.
In the 1960s, Beijing competed with Moscow for political influence among communist parties and in the developing world generally. Following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and clashes in 1969 on the Sino-Soviet border, Chinese competition with the Soviet Union increasingly reflected concern over China's own strategic position.
In late 1978, the Chinese also became concerned over Vietnam's efforts to establish open control over Laos and Cambodia. In response to the Soviet-backed Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, the PRC fought a war with Vietnam (February-March 1979).
Chinese anxiety about Soviet strategic advances was heightened following the Soviet Union's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Sharp differences between the PRC and the Soviet Union persisted over Soviet support for Vietnam's continued occupation of Cambodia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Soviet troops along the Sino-Soviet border and in Mongolia--the so-called "three obstacles" to improved Sino-Soviet relations.
In the 1970s and 1980s the PRC sought to create a secure regional and global environment for itself and to foster good relations with countries that could aid its economic development. To this end, the PRC looked to the West for assistance with its modernization drive and for help in countering Soviet expansionism, which it characterized as the greatest threat to its national security and to world peace.
The PRC maintained its consistent opposition to "superpower hegemonism," focusing almost exclusively on the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union and Soviet proxies such as Vietnam and Cuba, but it also placed growing emphasis on a foreign policy independent of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. While improving ties with the West, the PRC continued to closely follow the political and economic positions of the Third World Non-Aligned Movement, although the PRC was not a formal member.
In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen crackdown in June 1989, many countries reduced their diplomatic contacts with the PRC as well as their economic assistance programs. In response, the PRC worked vigorously to expand its relations with foreign countries, and by late 1990, had reestablished normal relations with almost all nations. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the PRC also opened diplomatic relations with the republics of the former Soviet Union.
The foreign relations of the People's Republic of China draws upon traditions extending back to China in the Qing dynasty and the Opium Wars, despite China having undergone many radical upheavals over the past two and a half centuries.
The goal of the foreign policy within the People's Republic of China is to create a strong, independent, powerful, and united China which is a great power within the world. Chinese foreign policy experts believe that in achieving this goal, they are not pursuing any hegemonic or war-like ambitions and are sometimes very perplexed that others may see China's motives in this way. Nevertheless, many actions taken by the Chinese government in its relations with other countries as well as its rapidly developing military capacities belie this perplexity.
In sharp contrast to the former Soviet Union and the United States, recent Chinese foreign policy has not been devoted to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism and are generally cynical about the motives of nations, particularly the United States, who claim that they are motivated by higher goals such as spreading freedom, democracy and justice. This cynicism partially comes from Chinese thinking in which ideology is secondary to advancing national interest. In this sense, Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the realist rather than the liberal school of international relations theory. While this cynicism strikes many as selfish, others have pointed out that the "selfish" nature of Chinese foreign policy has made Chinese foreign policy extremely flexible and also prevents China from involving itself in the affairs of other nations on ideological grounds. Still others point out that in an era of increasing scarcity such selfishness will breed international altercations.
In much of the 20th century, Chinese foreign policy was based on a sense of victimhood (of centuries-long Western and Japanese colonialism) and a determination to fight back perceived humiliations. At the start of the 21st century, there appears to be a shift in Chinese foreign policy and calls from within China to reduce its victim mentality (受害者心态, shòuhaìzhě xīntaì) and recognize that with a generation of economic growth, that China has begun to fulfil its ambitions of becoming a great power once again and should adopt a great power mentality (大国心态, dàgúo xīntaì) to use its power responsibly and optimistically. These ideas form part of the new security concept which is China's vision for the post-Cold War era in which nations interact economically and diplomatically for mutual benefit and avoid forming exclusive alliances and/or blocs.
Modern Foreign Policy
In recent years, China's communist leaders have been regular travelers to all parts of the globe, and the PRC has sought a higher profile in the UN through its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral organizations. Closer to home, the PRC has made efforts to reduce tensions in Asia; it has contributed to stability on the Korean Peninsula, cultivated a more cooperative relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), and participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum. In 1997, the ASEAN member nations and the People's Republic of China, South Korea and Japan agreed to hold yearly talks to further strengthen regional cooperation, the ASEAN Plus Three meetings. In 2005 the "ASEAN Plus Three" countries together with India, Australia and New Zealand held the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS).
China has improved ties with Russia. President Putin and President Jiang, in large part to serve as a counterbalance to the United States, signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in July 2001.The two also joined with the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to found the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in June 2001. The SCO is designed to promote regional stability and cooperate to combat terrorism in the region.
Relations between India and China have also improved considerably. After years of competition, China and India are finally starting to collaborate in several economic and strategic areas. Both countries have doubled their economic trade in the past few years and China is expected to become India's largest trading partner by 2008. The two countries are planning to host joint naval exercises to strengthen defense partnership. In 2003, China and India settled a major border dispute through dialogue. China recognized Sikkim as a part of India while India recognized Tibet as part of the PRC. However, the dispute over Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh and China's military aid to Pakistan, India's arch-rival, continues to plague Sino-India relations.
The PRC has a number of border and maritime disputes, including with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, with a number of countries in the South China Sea, as well as with Japan. Beijing has resolved many of these disputes, notably including a November 1997 agreement with Russia that resolved almost all outstanding border issues and a 2000 agreement with Vietnam to resolve some differences over their maritime border, though disagreements remain over some islands in the South China Sea.
During the late 1990s and early 21st century, Chinese foreign policy appeared to be focused at improving relations with Russia and Europe in order to counterbalance the United States. This strategy was based on the premise that the United States was a hyperpower whose influence could be checked through alliances with second tier powers such as Russia or the European Union. This assessment of United States power was reconsidered after the United States intervention in Kosovo, and as the 20th century drew to a close, the discussion among thinktanks in China involved how to reorient Chinese foreign policy in a unipolar world. This discussion also occurred in the context of China's new security concept which argued that the post-Cold War era required nations to move away from thinking in terms of alliances and power blocs and toward thinking in terms of economic and diplomatic cooperation.
The shift away from a balancing strategy could be seen in China's actions after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States invasion of Iraq, and the accession of Hu Jintao. Although there were some initial fears that American intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq would lead to an increase in American power and the encirclement and tighter containment of China, the actual consequence was a shift in focus by the United States to the Middle East, which resulted in a desire to avoid crises in East Asia. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Blue Team in the United States which argued that China was the largest security threat to the United States became much more muted.
China was instrumental at brokering talks with North Korea over its nuclear program, and in 2003, there was a concerted effort by China to improve relations with the ASEAN nations and form a common East Asian market. These foreign policy efforts have been part of a general foreign policy initiative known as China's peaceful rise.
Much of the new diplomatic activity appears to be the result of a change in China's self-image. With the accession of the fourth generation of Chinese leaders, China appears to be seeing itself less as a victimized developing nation, but rather more as an assertive but responsible regional power.
In 2005, there has been talk of the European Union lifting its arms embargo, however the United States has objected to this. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39394000 |
From HUSKY to AVALANCHE: May--Mid-August 1943
Although TRIDENT did not settle the role the Mediterranean was to play in long-range European strategy, the need for deciding the size, timing, and direction of immediate operations in the Mediterranean became urgent. One effect of TRIDENT Was to speed preparations for the invasion of Sicily. By the close of the conference, operational planning for HUSKY was taking final shape. The Germans had at last been defeated in Tunisia, and the Allied headquarters in Algiers could turn its full attention to Sicily. Pantelleria had been accepted as an intermediate objective, an ad hoc, or modified, HUSKY had been rejected, and a full-scale operation had been projected in accord with a plan developed by General Eisenhower's staff. The final outline plan for Sicily, approved by the CCS on 13 May during the TRIDENT meetings, provided for British and American assaults against southern and southeastern areas of the island. On 22 May, while the CCS were still at the conference, General Eisenhower confirmed 10 July 1943 as D Day.1
Early in its planning for HUSKY, General Eisenhower's combined planning staff had concluded that the most important need was to capture suitable airfields and ports to maintain the armies after the landings. By early May General Eisenhower and his deputy, General Alexander, had decided to concentrate the assault against the southeastern group of airfields and to seize Catania, Palermo, and other important ports later on. As usual, the landing craft bottleneck presented a problem. The outline plan called for eight seaborne assaults on approximately a hundred miles of coast line extending from just below Syracuse around the southeast tip of the island to the west as far as Licata. British troops were to assault the southeast coast, U.S. troops to land farther west in the vicinity of Gela and Licata. General Eisenhower chose 10 July, which occurred in the second quarter of the moon, as the target date offering sufficient light during the early period of the night for parachutists' landings and complete darkness after midnight for the naval force operations.2 With the objectives and timing
definite, the tempo of preparations for launching the campaign was stepped up both in Washington and abroad.
As a part of the advance planning for HUSKY, the British arranged for a body, made to appear to be that of a British courier, to be washed ashore on the Spanish coast. In the corpse's pouch were plans for an attack upon Greece under the code name HUSKY and for a second attack in the western Mediterranean. According to the planted information, only a feint would be made against Sicily. The Germans in due course received word of the body and the plans and reinforced the Peloponnesus and Sardinia.3
The close of the Tunisia Campaign led to a radical change in the situation in Italy. The defeat in North Africa convinced many Italian leaders that Italy should get out of the war, but Hitler remained adamant in his determination to fight both the Russians and the Anglo-Americans. With their hopes for a political settlement quashed, the Italians were placed in a precarious position. Their military weakness made them acutely aware of the dangers of attempting to break their alliance with Germany, for swift retaliation might follow. On the other hand, they wanted to stop fighting. As they wavered between Scilla and Charybdis, they aroused the suspicion of Hitler. On 20 May he decided to take no chances and directed the German staff to prepare a plan for German control of northern Italy in the event of Italy's defection.
By mid-June, the German commanders in Italy concluded that Italian morale was hopeless and that little could be expected in the way of resistance unless German forces were brought in. The Italian military staff conceded the truth of the German position by permitting and requesting German aid. As German troops entered Italy in increasing numbers during June and the early days of July, the Italians' freedom of action decreased.
Thus, on the eve of HUSKY, German forces controlled the northern approaches to Italy and were firmly ensconced around Rome. If the Italians defected, the German commanders would be in a position to evacuate their forces from the south to a defensive line along the northern Apennines. Were the Italians to continue the fight, the Germans contemplated defending all of Italy. All signs pointed to an Allied attack upon Sicily, but the Germans were forced to be prepared for a number of eventualities. The next move depended upon the Allies--and the Italians.4
The uncertainty in the relations between the two European Axis partners was not unwelcome to the Allies, but the German reinforcement of Italy and Sicily was hardly encouraging. To the Allies, HUSKY represented months of preparation. It developed as a unique combined undertaking, involving mounting, assembling, and supplying assault forces from tour widely separated areas--the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and North Africa. It required the organization and dispatch of one task force from the United States, the assembly in the theater of a gigantic
Allied armada, and the launching of an ambitious amphibious operation. HUSKY also represented the first large-scale Allied venture in airborne operations. To maintain equal status between U.S. and British forces, special arrangements for command and administration were required. In the process, HUSKY ushered in an experiment in military government for occupied enemy territory. All of these experiences were to furnish valuable precedents for the management and conduct of subsequent combined operations.
The preparation and execution of this whirlwind campaign, which lasted only thirty-nine days (10 July-17 August 1943), pointed up the fact that much operational planning hitherto performed in Washington was shifting to large theater headquarters. The development of the replacement system and of the standing operating procedure for convoy loading and dispatching troops to the field made much of the work of operations officers in Washington routine and automatic. At the same time the tendency for an increasing number of General Marshall's plans and operations assistants to go overseas to serve on the theater headquarters staff as observers, liaison officers, planners, and active participants in the operation became even more marked.5 The chief Army planner, General Wedemeyer, during a tour of extended temporary duty in the North African theater, joined General Patton's staff and at the latter's request analyzed the entire operational plan for HUSKY. Wedemeyer went so far as to ask for and receive command of a regiment and participated in the initial fighting in Sicily.6 This leaven of practical experience with amphibious operations, needless to say, was to serve the Washington Army headquarters in good stead in subsequent planning for the highly operational phase of the war.
While some of its representatives were busily engaged in theater planning, the Washington Army headquarters completed arrangements for dispatching the 45th Infantry Division and the 82d Airborne Division.7 The combat-loaded 45th Division was a task force in miniature, for whose preparation the Washington headquarters had already had intensive experience in mounting and moving the Western Task Force for TORCH. The 82d Airborne arrived in the North African theater in May, followed a month later by the 45th Division. General Marshall's operations staff examined General Eisenhower's troop lists in terms not only of available units, ships, and escorts but also of the effect on other prospective operations, particularly on the build-up in the European theater for
the projected cross-Channel operation.8
The contrast in the totals of American strength divided between North Africa and the United Kingdom in the summer of 1943 drove home the need to hold the line so far as possible and to use troops already in the Mediterranean for HUSKY. By 1 July 1943, just ten days before HUSKY was launched, the strength of U.S. forces in the North African theater was estimated by the Washington planners at over 528,000, while U.S. strength in the United Kingdom was only about 160,000.9 Meanwhile, replacements had to be sent to the active theater, and the War Department took steps to correct deficiencies in the replacement training program in the zone of interior. It opened replacement depots on both coasts, increased capacities for training infantry and field artillery replacements, augmented training periods, and made provision for more small unit training.10
To match British arrangements, the War Department also took a significant step in organizing U.S. forces for HUSKY. Learning of the apparent British intention to designate General Montgomery's Eastern Task Force for HUSKY as an army, General Hull, then Acting Assistant Chief of Staff, OPD, suggested on 13 May to Marshall the advisability of designating General Patton's Western Task Force--then set up as a corps--also as an army. General Hull was concerned lest world opinion conclude that American contribution to HUSKY was much less than that of the British--a conclusion contrary to the facts in the case. General Marshall thereupon conferred with Field Marshall Dill, who confirmed the British intention. At the same time, the War Department operations staff learned of General Eisenhower's favorable disposition to Hull's proposal. As a result, on 17 May the Chief of Staff cabled General Eisenhower that the designation of General Patton's force for HUSKY was to be the U.S. Seventh Army.11 General Montgomery's Eighth Army comprised seven divisions, while General Patton's Seventh Army was given six divisions--the 1st, 3d, 9th, and 45th Infantry Divisions, the 2d Armored, and the 82d Airborne. The 9th and part of the 82d Airborne were to be held in reserve in North Africa; the rest were to, be used in the first assault.12 The Seventh Army became "the first United States field army to operate as a unit in the war."13
To provide fighter cover, a major problem in the operation, General Eisenhower had decided to subject the island of Pantelleria, almost equidistant from Tunisia and Sicily, to a heavy Allied bombardment well in advance of the assault on Sicily. Before an amphibious assault, the severe air attacks were supplemented by naval bombardment. The island surrendered after a few rounds of small arms fire were exchanged with the landing forces on 11 June. Next day Lampedusa, a smaller island some distance to the south, also fell. These attacks marked the first successful Allied effort to conquer enemy territory principally by air action.14
A month later, on 10 July, the Allied ground forces went ashore in Sicily. U.S. troops participated in the assault on the south coast of Sicily as the Western Task Force (Seventh Army), the attacks coinciding with those launched by the Eastern Task Force (Eighth Army) on the southeast end of Sicily with British forces from the Middle East, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. Making the assaults for the Americans were three reinforced infantry divisions--the 1st, 3d, and 45th--and the 2d Armored Division. The 1st and 3d Infantry and the 2d Armored Divisions were mounted from North African bases. The 45th, trained amphibiously in the United States, had spent five weeks at sea and required a brief conditioning in North Africa before its participation in the initial assault. Airborne operations were carried out by the 82d Airborne Division before and after these landings--not without some unfortunate mishaps.15
Though the Seventh Army encountered bad weather conditions, the landings on the whole came off without serious opposition. The remarkable performance of the celebrated DUKW--a product of American ingenuity--in unloading over the beaches solved the problem of large-scale supply until suitable ports were captured.16 Soon the ports of Licata, Syracuse, and Augusta were seized. On 22 July, elements of the U.S. 2d Armored and 3d Divisions, moving with great speed, met at the outskirts of Palermo, and Palermo surrendered without resistance. Early in the morning of 17 August, patrols of the U.S. 3d Division entered Messina not far in advance of patrols from the British Eighth Army. The campaign was over. In the closing days of the operation the strength of the U.S. and. British Army forces in Sicily was almost evenly balanced--168,427 American and 168,268 British.17
At Casablanca, seven months before, the Combined Chiefs of Staff had set as the objectives of the Sicily Campaign: to make the Allied lines of communication in the Mediterranean more secure; to divert as much German strength as possible from the Soviet front during the critical summer period; and to intensify pressure on Italy. General Eisenhower's conclusion was, "The operation achieved all these and much more."18 The invasion of Sicily, accompanied by heavy bombing on the Italian mainland--especially of the marshaling yards in the Rome area on 19 July-dealt crushing blows to Italian morale and led directly to the overthrow of the Fascist regime.19 On 25 July King Victor Emmanuel announced the resignation of Mussolini and charged Marshal Pietro Badoglio with the task of forming a new government. Italy had taken the first step toward withdrawing from the war against the Allies.20
Aside from their effect on Italy, air attacks from Mediterranean bases served as a prelude and warm-up for the five groups of B-24's that were withdrawn from HUSKY on 20 July, the day after the attack on Rome, in order to prepare for a raid on the Ploesti oil refineries in Rumania on 1 August 1943. Ploesti, with its rich resources of natural oil of great importance to the German war machine, had long been a favorite target in U.S. military planning. Its special attraction was the prospect of slowing up German operations on the Eastern Front and thereby offering immediate help to the USSR. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, American planners had studied the possibility of bombing Ploesti, and in the late spring of 1942 an ineffective attempt--by a special air group under Col. Harry A. Halverson--had been made by AAF planes from the Middle East.21
In the spring of 1943 a new plan had been developed by the Air Staff in Washington--a project for a low-level mass attack based on Bengasi. General Arnold and his planners heartily supported the plan, which was presented at TRIDENT and approved by General Eisenhower and the CCS early in June.22 In order not to deprive HUSKY of bomber support, it was agreed by all that the North African air force should provide only two groups of B-24's for the operation (known successively as STATESMAN, SOAPSUDS, and TIDALWAVE) and that the remainder should be obtained by transferring two groups of B-24's (the 93d and 44th) from the Eighth Air Force and temporarily diverting one group (the
389th) scheduled to move to the United Kingdom.23 Arriving in the Mediterranean at the end of June and beginning of July 1943, these groups joined the 376th and 98th groups.
The raid on Ploesti of 1 August was not a complete success. The loss of men and planes was heavy--532 (dead, prisoners, missing, or interned) of the 1,726 airmen and 54 of 177 planes, 41 of them in action. Much damage was inflicted on Ploesti's refining and cracking installations, reducing the production of lubricating oils, but the Germans soon repaired the damage. AAF historians, analyzing the results after the close of hostilities, have concluded that "though the over-all damage was heavy it was not decisive."24
Planning Post-HUSKY Operations
The progress of HUSKY inevitably raised anew the question that had been left in suspense at TRIDENT--what was to be the next strategic move? Should large-scale activity in the Mediterranean be closed down, and resources and strength be husbanded for the major operations in northwest Europe? The conferees had agreed to eliminate Italy, but how, where, and when had been left undecided. Should the Allies cross the Strait of Messina and seize the toe of Italy? Should they capture the heel at Taranto, or possibly land higher up the west coast? Or should they limit themselves to occupying Sardinia, as the U.S. Chiefs of Staff had favored? Churchill, who had come to TRIDENT with his heart set on an invasion of the Italian mainland, was disappointed in the vagueness of the agreement on Italy.25 As he confided somewhat later to General Jan Christian Smuts:
Not being satisfied with this, I requested the President [at the close of TRIDENT to send General Marshall with me to North Africa and there upon the spot to convince Eisenhower and others that nothing less than Rome could satisfy the requirements of this year's
Before he left Washington, Churchill explained to Roosevelt that he would feel awkward in discussing post-HUSKY policy with the Allied staff in the theater without the presence of a high-ranking American representative, lest he be charged with having exercised "undue influence." Obviously, if he could persuade Marshall--the strongest and most influential American military protagonist of an early cross-Channel operation as well as the theater commanders to back an invasion of Italy after Sicily, the Prime Minister would have gone a long way toward realizing his immediate goal in the Mediterranean. At the President's request, General Marshall agreed to defer a trip to the Southwest Pacific in order to accompany the Prime Minister and his staff.27 The transaction between the President and the Prime Minister prompted Marshall's rueful remark,.
that "he [Marshall] seemed to be merely a piece of baggage useful as a trading point."28
Algiers Conference, 29 May, June 1943
A series of meetings with General Eisenhower and other high-ranking Allied military leaders in the Mediterranean followed at Algiers in the week of 29 May-3 June 1943. Among those present were Generals Sir Harold Alexander, Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, and Sir Alan Brooke, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Maj. Gen. Walter B. Smith, Brig. Gen Lowell W. Rooks, and General Sir Hastings L. Ismay. Toward the close of the week General Handy, Assistant Chief of Staff, OPD, who had been on a tour of the overseas theaters, arrived at Algiers to join the Chief of Staff at the meetings.
Churchill and Marshall acquainted Eisenhower with the TRIDENT decisions, explored with him the progress of the HUSKY preparations and the implications of the projected cross-Channel operation (ROUNDHAMMER) for Mediterranean operations after HUSKY, and exchanged views with him on the merits of various possible post-HUSKY operations. At the outset General Eisenhower expressed the view that if the Allies were going to knock out Italy, they should do so immediately after HUSKY with all available means. If HUSKY proved to be an easy undertaking, the Allies should go directly into Italy rather than to any of the Mediterranean islands.29
The Prime Minister drew on all his eloquence to reaffirm the position he had supported at TRIDENT. He insisted that he had no desire to interfere with a cross-Channel attack projected for 1944, but he wanted to take full and immediate advantage of all opportunities offered by the capture of Sicily. His "sincere wish and hope" was that the United States and Great Britain could go directly from HUSKY into Italy. He declared that "his heart lay in an invasion of Southern Italy." To Churchill, the choice of southern Italy over Sardinia represented the difference between "a glorious campaign and a mere convenience."30
In reply, General Marshall emphasized that he was not arguing against the broad commitment made at TRIDENT to aim at the fall of Italy but, he stated, the Allies would have to select the particular operation in the Mediterranean to follow HUSKY with great care in order to ensure that it be based on a close calculation of requirements and of actual conditions to be faced. The "ball" and "toe" of Italy were only a small part of the mainland, and operations on the mainland might, in the final analysis, result in great drains on Allied shipping and other resources. Before a decision could be reached on post-HUSKY operations, it would be necessary to estimate German reaction to HUSKY in order to determine
GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER AND GENERAL MARSHALL
during the Algiers Conference, 3 June 1943.
Whether there would be real resistance to an Allied landing in southern Italy, Whether the Germans would withdraw to the Po, whether the Germans could organize and handle the Italians effectively, and what readjustments they Would make on the Soviet front. The information could be secured, in General Marshall's opinion, after the initial phases of HUSKY were completed.31
General Marshall thus continued to show the cautious attitude of the U.S. military staff toward large-scale ground operations in the Mediterranean. Pending the outcome of HUSKY, he recommended that the Commander in Chief, Allied Forces, prepare for various Mediterranean operations. The logical approach, lie suggested, was to set up two forces, each with its own staff--one to train for an operation against Sardinia and Corsica, the other for an operation against the mainland of Italy. When the HUSKY situation became sufficiently clear to make a decision on the next step, the necessary air strength and vital resources could be assigned to the force carrying out the plan adopted. As a result of General Marshall's recommendations, General Eisenhower modified the view lie lead first offered. He would designate
two separate headquarters, each with its own staff, to plan post-HUSKY operations. One would plan for operations against Sardinia and Corsica; the other for operations against the mainland of Italy, particularly the toe and the ball. If Sicily collapsed quickly, he would cross the Strait of Messina and seize a bridgehead on the mainland.32
The conference ended, as it had begun, without a clear-cut decision on post-HUSKY operations. The conferees simply concluded that General Eisenhower should send his recommendations to the CCS during the early phases of HUSKY. In effect, as the Prime Minister summed it up at the close of the meetings, "post-HUSKY would be in General Eisenhower's hands." The Prime Minister had to take what comfort he could from his impression that all were agreed that Italy be eliminated from the war as soon as possible, and if differences arose over the particular course of action recommended by General Eisenhower, they would be settled between the two governments. General Marshall had won his way on postponing a final decision.33
Decision To Undertake AVALANCHE
Meanwhile, in Washington General Marshall's planning assistants kept one eye on the progress of HUSKY, the other on post-HUSKY planning. In examining recommendations for Mediterranean operations after Sicily, they took the same cautious stand Marshall had taken against Allied embroilment in large-scale ground action in Italy. Their yardstick was the likely effect of any Mediterranean operation on the main effort in northwestern Europe. One recommendation to which they objected was that advanced on 3 July by General Arnold for invading Italy in the fall of 1943 in order to occupy the Ravenna-Ancona area.
Arguing purely from the Air point of view, the Air Forces chief dwelt on the advantages of gaining a base area in northern Italy from which the German controlled industrial centers of southern Europe could be bombed, thus supplementing the Combined Bomber Offensive from the United Kingdom and paving the way for an invasion of the Continent., On the other hand, alternative operations--against Sardinia, Corsica, or the Iberian Peninsula--promised only limited results for air operations.34 The Army planners objected that should the enemy offer strong resistance after HUSKY, a sufficient number of Allied divisions and adequate means would not be available to occupy the northern portion of the Italian boot. It was their hope, however, that the measures finally adopted to eliminate Italy would yield a base area for broadening air operations against German-controlled Europe35 In fact, so important did they consider this aim that they were opposed to allocating U.S. heavy bombers to Turkey--then
suggested by the British Joint Staff Mission in Washington--on the ground that the airplanes could be more effectively used in operations based on Italy.36
The Army planners also raised objections to a concomitant recommendation of the British Chiefs of Staff that the Allies occupy the toe and ball of Italy. In presenting their proposal, the British declared that "all means at our disposal" should be used to eliminate Italy from the war, and thereby contain as large a German force as possible in the Mediterranean.37 Col. George A. Lincoln of the War Department's operations staff argued that the toe and ball had little military value in themselves. If the Axis Powers chose to resist, a commitment of limited Allied forces available against Italy would not necessarily afford the best method of containing German forces in the Mediterranean or of bringing about the collapse of Italy. On the other hand, air operations from Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica might pave the way for the later disintegration of Italy. In any event, the seven divisions scheduled for transfer from the Mediterranean to the United Kingdom must be sent. A major operation in Italy must be avoided so long as there was a "reasonable" chance of executing OVERLORD. A realistic decision by the CCS on post-HUSKY plans, Colonel Lincoln concluded, must be based on General Eisenhower's appraisal of Axis reaction to HUSKY and of probable Axis reaction to a post-HUSKY operation, on a reliable estimate of resources remaining after HUSKY, and, above all, on over-all strategic considerations.38
Pending the response to HUSKY and the final decision on post-HUSKY operations, the Army planners heartily approved the flexible concept of operations embodied in General Eisenhower's unfolding plans against Sardinia, Corsica, southern Italy, and various combinations thereof. In this theater planning, the seizure of the toe or ball of Italy was to be followed by an overland advance to occupy the heel and thence northward to capture Naples. To ensure that post-HUSKY Mediterranean actions would not become extended, the Army planners sought to keep the wherewithal limited to that already allocated to the area, exclusive of planned withdrawals for other operations. On the other hand, the British were anxious to increase the means and strength available to General Eisenhower for an invasion of the Italian mainland in force.
Success of the initial assaults on Sicily soon began to bring the interrelated questions of objectives, resources, and timing to a head. At first the vital resource in immediate question was combat loaders. At the close of June General Eisenhower had asked for the retention of nine combat loaders that TRIDENT had not definitely allocated to other theaters. Within a week after the initial landings the British urged that General Eisenhower to be given a free hand in respect to shipping--especially combat
loaders--the resulting loss to be absorbed by BOLERO or the Pacific. The Army planners resisted. They called for General Eisenhower to adjust his projected requirements for combat loaders for post-HUSKY operations to those remaining in the Mediterranean after the withdrawals for BOLERO, BULLFROG (operation against Arakan coast, Burma), and the Pacific were met--as originally planned. In a meeting of the CCS on 16 July General Marshall forcefully backed his planners' point of view on the distribution of resources, observing that losses of combat loaders in the initial HUSKY operations had been slight.39
Up to this point General Marshall's attitude toward an invasion of Italy had been a cautious "wait and see." He now proposed that a bold amphibious attack on Naples be seriously considered. Presumably his stand was influenced--in part at least--by a 15 July report from his intelligence staff on the exploitation of HUSKY. G-2 indicated that Italian combat power had deteriorated to the point where the Allies could assume calculated risks in dealing with Italy. To exploit their advantage, the Allies would be justified in taking prompt action against the Italian mainland. G-2 recommended the Naples area as the most promising target for an Allied invasion and called for studies to be made of an operation to capture Naples and then move on to Rome.40 Reasoning along the same lines, the Chief of Staff suggested on 16 July that the CCS consider launching an amphibious attack on Naples after HUSKY on the ground that if the HUSKY outlook continued favorable the Allies would be justified in taking a bolder move and "some reasonable risk in this direction."41 Sir John Dill took up Marshall's suggestion at once, and on the same day the CCS cabled General Eisenhower their acceptance of his current strategic concept for post-HUSKY planning purposes and their interest in the possibilities of an amphibious operation against Naples in lieu of an attack on Sardinia.42
In London Churchill received the report of General Marshall's 16 July proposal to the CCS with "evident. delight." Secretary of War Stimson, then on a visit to the United Kingdom, was greatly disturbed to find, in the course of conversations with the Prime Minister on 17 July, that Churchill interpreted Marshall's support of a bold move against Naples as an endorsement of his whole Italian policy. Stimson hastened to point out that Marshall had probably proposed the Naples operation only as a short cut designed to hasten "the completion of the Italian adventure" so that there would be no danger of interference with preparations for the cross-Channel operation. On 19 July the Secretary, talking with Marshall via transatlantic telephone, asked for a clarification of views. He reported his impression that the Prime Minister, subject to his "very strong desire" for a march on Rome, was sincere in his promise to support OVERLORD. Stimson informed Marshall of the
assumption he had made regarding Marshall's position--that Marshall had suggested the move against Naples in order to hasten the drive on Rome, permit more time for the cross-Channel operation, and preclude the danger of a long, slow march "up the leg" that might eliminate the cross-Channel operation altogether. The Chief of Staff reassured the Secretary of War: "You are absolutely correct. This is exactly what we are after."43 On 22 July Stimson told Churchill of his talk with Marshall and confirmed his interpretation of Marshall's support of AVALANCHE (code name for attack on the Naples area). He made clear that Marshall and his staff were as firmly in favor of the cross-Channel operation as ever.44 Thus it appears that General Marshall's proposal of 16 July signified no sudden new interest on his part in extended, large-scale ground action on the Italian mainland. Far from supporting a departure from the fundamental strategy hitherto espoused by the Army staff, he was seizing on the possibility of the Naples attack as a device to gain all the advantages of a position in Italy--as far north as Rome--as quickly and as cheaply as possible, thereby ensuring rather than impeding the success Of OVERLORD. Whatever Marshall's reasons, the possibility of bolder action in the Mediterranean found British staff circles no less enthusiastic than the Prime Minister.45
In Washington and in the theater, planning for post-HUSKY operations henceforth took AVALANCHE seriously into account.46 On 18 July General Eisenhower requested the approval of the CCS to carry the war to the Italian mainland immediately after the capture of Sicily. In the light of the current state of Italian morale this appeared to him to be the best course to achieve the twin objectives of forcing Italy out of the war and of containing the maximum German forces. His planners, he pointed out, were re-examining the proposition of an assault on Naples.47
On 20 July, on the basis of a message drafted in the War Department, the CCS cabled their approval.48
Once more the British raised the question of augmenting General Eisenhower's resources-this time to ensure completely the success of AVALANCHE. On 19 July--and more definitely on the 21st--they proposed that nothing be moved out of the Mediterranean until Eisenhower had stated his requirements for the proposed invasion of the mainland. Acknowledging that a stand-fast policy might delay scheduled operations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, they felt that the elimination of Italy from the war would be worth the price. To some extent the British proposal affected combat loaders. Since those slated for the Pacific and BOLERO-SICKLE had already left, Burma operations in all likelihood would suffer the most. The main items in immediate question now appeared to be aircraft--bombers and troop carriers and possibly also destroyers. To the British, the situation called for immediate and even unilateral action. They proceeded to issue a "stand-fast" order on movements of their own troops, shipping, and other resources from the Mediterranean, urging the Americans to do the same.49
Once more the Army planners raised objections--this time on the ground that JCS support of AVALANCHE was not intended to imply any increase in the means available for post-HUSKY operations. Col. Frank N. Roberts reasoned that General Eisenhower's forces for post-HUSKY had already been augmented at the price of some disarrangement of BOLERO.50 A further increase of means might postpone or cancel operations projected for other theaters--an unacceptable departure from TRIDENT strategy. The JPS went so far as to contend that unless the British went through with the planned withdrawals of combat loaders for BULLFROG, the American LST's (landing ship, tank) for that operation should be sent to the Pacific.51 General Marshall took the same position as his staff in arguing before the CCS on 23 July--that General Eisenhower had the means with which to capture Naples and that "reasonable hazards" could then be accepted in the Mediterranean. If additional shipping and other resources were furnished, OVERLORD as well as Far East and Pacific operations would be jeopardized.52 To General Marshall and
the JCS, AVALANCHE would have to be a calculated risk.
In the midst of these exchanges, Washington received the dramatic news of the fall of Benito Mussolini (25 July), and on the following day the JCS and the CCS met in special sessions. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were more eager than ever for quick action to knock Italy out of the war. General Marshall now viewed the British proposal as "conservative and orthodox." As he saw it, the situation in the Mediterranean had become different from that envisaged at TRIDENT. Italian resistance was weak. The Allies already possessed Palermo. Allied casualties in Sicily, except for airborne troops, had been very light. As a result, he believed that more Allied forces would be available in the Mediterranean for offensive operations after HUSKY than had been thought possible. The operation against Naples as then conceived was no longer a "calculated risk." A timely operation against the mainland at Naples would greatly strengthen the hand of the new Italian Government in freeing itself from its German partner. In view of the developments during the previous twenty-four hours, it appeared to Marshall that late August, then considered the time when a "fleeting opportunity" to invade the Italian mainland would occur, was much too late. Observing that 60,000 men over and above the TRIDENT agreement would be available for post-HUSKY operations, the JCS adopted the same arguments before the GCS. To the British, the JCS voiced particular concern over the progress of preparations for operations in Burma. Current successes in the Mediterranean had, they asserted, by no means eliminated the need for the Burma operations already agreed upon.53
On 26 July the CCS agreed that General Eisenhower should plan to mount AVALANCHE as soon as possible with resources already available to him. Some carrier-borne air support, however, would be made available to him for that operation from British sources.54 Over and above the exceptions already made, the Americans remained reluctant to retreat from their original decision not to send reinforcements from the United States for AVALANCHE or any other post-HUSKY Mediterranean operation. Nor did they want the scheduled withdrawals from the Mediterranean for other operations interrupted. To make up for the weaknesses in long-range fighters for the AVALANCHE landings, the British themselves actually allotted four of their escort carriers and a light fleet carrier and gave General Eisenhower three of their bomber squadrons scheduled for early departure from the theater.55
On 26 July General Eisenhower, meeting with his staff in Tunis, ordered the preparation of two alternative plans for operations against the mainland of Italy: BUTTRESS (invasion of Calabria) and AVALANCHE. On 27 July he cabled the CCS that a decision as to which of these plans should be put into effect should be possible in a few days--as soon as the military significance of the recent political
changes in Italy had become sufficiently clear56 On 28 July he in‚formed the CCS that the availability of shipping and landing craft made the launching of a formal AVALANCHE by 9 September 1943 a definite possibility. To exploit the situation immediately in the event of a complete collapse of Italy, his staff was also preparing an ad hoc AVALANCHE of about one division. He emphasized the difficulty of the air problem in AVALANCHE--the lack of bases close enough to provide fighter cover for the initial assault and the need to neutralize enemy airpower and disrupt enemy lines of communication. He stressed the need for haste in HUSKY in order to secure the necessary airfields and a "reasonable bridgehead" in the BUTTRESS area and thereby prevent the Germans from transferring their reserves directly to the scene of a landing in AVALANCHE.57 On 2 August General Eisenhower confirmed the fact that a lodgment would be required in the BUTTRESS area before a bold stroke such as AVALANCHE could be attempted.58 He had still to determine the exact character of the landing on the toe. The choice now lay between two planned operations--BUTTRESS and BAYTOWN (an operation across the Strait of Messina near Reggio) as the forerunner of AVALANCHE. While the final decision was to be postponed until the time of the next big Anglo-American conference, QUADRANT, the breaching of the Continent via the "soft underbelly" was close at hand.
Table of Contents
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1. (1) Eisenhower rpt, Sicilian Campaign, pp. 1011. (2) Chs. II and III, above. (3) Msg, Eisenhower to WD for CCS, etc., 22 May 43, CM-IN 15551 (24 May 43), NAF 224, Item 1b, Exec 3.
2. Eisenhower rpt, Sicilian Campaign, pp. 10-11.
3. For an interesting account of this deception, see Hon. Ewen Montagu, The Man Who Never Was (Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1954).
4. For an account of German and Italian plans and preparations for Italy during the pre-HUSKY period, see Smyth, Sicilian Campaign and the Surrender of Italy.
5. For a summary of the role of War Department staff officers overseas from 1943 onward, see Cline, Washington Command Post, Ch. XV.
6. (1) Pets ltr, Wedemeyer to Handy, 4 Jul 43, with Tab 16 in ABC 381 HUSKY (1943), 1-B. (2) Pers ltr, Patton, CG Seventh Army, to Marshall, 18 Jul 43, with Tab 16 in ABC 381 HUSKY (1943), 1B. (3) Pers ltr, Eisenhower to Marshall, 21 Jul 43, Case 38, Book 11, Exec 9. (4) For a discussion of General Wedemeyer's participation in HUSKY, See Cline, Washington Command Post, pp. 296-99.
7. (1) BIGOT-HUSKY msg (originator OPD), Marshall to FORTUNE Algiers, 3 Jun 43, CM-OUT 1397. (2) BIGOT-HUSKY msg (originator OPD), Marshall to FORTUNE Algiers, 5 Jun 43, CM-OUT 2250. (3) Msg (originator OPD) Marshall to Eisenhower, 1 Jun 43, CM-OUT 300. All in Item 6, Exec 3. (4) BIGOT-HUSKY msg, Eisenhower to OPD (Attn North African Theater Sec), 31 May 43, CM-IN 16 (1 Jun 43), Item 7, Exec 3. (5) Ltr, Maj Gen Troy H. Middleton, CG 45th Div, to OPD, 31 Jul 43, sub: Comments and Recommendations, 45th Div Task Force, OPD 371 ETO, 106. (6) Ch. II, above.
8. BIGOT-HUSKY msg (originator OPD), Marshall to Eisenhower, 29 May 43, CM-OUT 12639, Item 8, Exec 3.
9. Memo, Col Alexander D. Reid, Chief European Sec Theater Gp OPD, for Gen Handy, Gen Hull, and Col Bessell, 23 Jul 43, sub: Effect of TORCH and Subsequent Diversions Upon BOLERO, Paper 36, Item 1c, Exec 3. Colonel Reid noted that, based on Casablanca figures, U.S. strength for 1 July 1943 had been projected irk the United Kingdom at 456,000 and in NATO at 407,700, thereby indicating the build-up in NATO in excess of that in the United Kingdom even more sharply.
10. Memo, Handy, ACofS OPD, for CofS, 6 Aug 43, sub: Replacements for 1st Infantry Div, Case 59, Book 11, Exec 9.
11. BIGOT msg, FORTUNE via AFHQ Algiers to Middle East for FORCE 545, FORCE 343, War Office, WD, etc., 12 May 43, Case 12, Item 1c, Exec 3. (2) Memo, Hull, Actg ACofS OPD, for CofS, 13 May 43, sub: Br Twelfth Army, Case 9, Item 1c, Exec 3. (3) Msg (originator OPD), Marshall to Eisenhower, 15 May 43, CM-OUT 6885. (4) Msg, Marshall to Eisenhower (info copy OPD), 17 May 43, CM-IN 10837. (5) Msg (originator OPD), Marshall to Eisenhower, 17 May 43, CM-OUT 7288.
12. (1) CO Hq Bull No. 1/1, London, October 1943, "Notes on the Planning and Assault Phase of the Sicilian Campaign by a Military Observer," OPD 381 ETO, 217. (2) Memo, Ferenbaugh for ACofS OPD, 29 Sep 43, sub: Brief of the Hist Rcd, Provisional Corps, Seventh U.S. Army, for the Period 15 July to 20 August 1943, OPD 381 Africa, 151.
13. Eisenhower rpt, Sicilian Campaign, p. 32.
14. A detailed discussion of the operation and significance of the air attack on Pantelleria and Lampedusa is contained in Craven and Cate, AAF II, pp. 419-34. See also Samuel Eliot Morison, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, II, Operations in North African Waters, October 1942-June 1943 (Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1950) (hereafter cited as Morison, Operations in North African Waters), p. 279.
15. (1) Memo, R. A. Meredith, Hq AGF, for CGS Second, Third, and Fourth Armies, etc., 31 Jan 44, sub: Amphibious Operations Against Sicily, OPD 381 ETO, 251. (2) OPD brief of rpt of Operation of II Corps in the Sicilian Campaign, incl to memo, Ferenbaugh for Handy, 13 Oct 43, sub: Rpt of Operation of II Corps in the Sicilian Campaign, OPD 381 ETO, 130. (3) Notes Covering Observations Prior to and During HUSKY Operations, Gen Wedemeyer [1 Aug 43], Case 35, Book 11, Exec 9. (4) OPD brief of rpt Comdr Center Attack Force on Operation HUSKY, 30 Aug 43, OPD 381 ETO, 77. (5) Pers Itr, Eisenhower to Marshall, 17 Aug 43, Case 37, Item 1c, Exec 3.
16. The DUKW, a 21/2-ton amphibian truck, soon popularly known as the "Duck," was used to move cargo from ship to shore, and later moved in simultaneously with assault troops, thereby increasing the mobility of attacking forces.
17. (1) Msg, 15th Army Gp to WAR (info copy OPD), 21 Aug 43, CM-IN 15816. (2) Strength of Forces in Sicily, 10 Aug 43, based on msg, CM-IN 15816 (21 Aug 43), Case 91, Book 11, Exec 9.
18. Eisenhower rpt, Sicilian Campaign, p. 31.
19 The decision to bomb the marshaling yards of Rome was taken only after careful consideration by the Allied authorities. Military as well as political considerations determined it. Rome was not only the capital of Fascist Italy, it was also the center of the Italian system of communications. The decision and the operation are discussed in: (1) Craven and Cate, AAF II, pp. 463-65, 479; (2) Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe (New York, Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1948), pp. 168-69; (3) Churchill, Hinge of Fate, pp. 828-29; (4) Smyth, Sicilian Campaign and the Surrender of Italy.
20. A full discussion of the role of the U.S. Army in the planning and execution of the Sicilian campaign is to be presented in Smyth, Sicilian Campaign and the Surrender of Italy.
21. The Halverson Project (HALPRO) is discussed in Matloff and Snell, Strategic Planning: 1941-42, pp. 139, 141, 246-47, 250.
22. (1) Min, 83d mtg CCS, 13 May 43. (2) OPD brief, title: Notes . . . meetings CCS, 19 May 43, Tab 2, Folder 1, Item 10, Exec 5. (3) Min, 3d mtg held at Gen Eisenhower's villa, Algiers, 3 Jun 43, Official TRIDENT Conf Book. (4) Memo, Wedemeyer for CofS, 8 Jun 43, sub: Operations of Red Air Force Subsequent to SOAPSUDS, Paper 16, Item 1c, Exec 3.
23. The Prime Minister, with his usual sensitivity to the use of appropriate code names, liked the change in code name from SOAPSUDS to the more elegant TIDALWAVE. So did the President. "May they grow bigger and better," he declared to the Prime Minister in late June (Msg No. 296, President to Prime Minister, 28 Jun 43, WDCSA ETO (Super Secret)).
24. This brief account of the Ploesti raid is based largely on Craven and Cate, AAF II, 477-84. Quote is from p. 483. See also Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, pp. 160-61.
25. Churchill, Hinge of Fate, p. 810.
26. Msg, Prime Minister to Gen Smuts, 16 Jul 43, quoted in Churchill, Closing the Ring, p. 36.
27. Min, 6th mtg CCS at the White House, TRIDENT, Official TRIDENT Conf Book.
28. Quoted by Stimson, in Stimson and Bundy, On Active Service, P. 428.
29. (1) Min, 1st mtg held at Gen Eisenhower's villa, Algiers, 29 May 43, Official TRIDENT Conf Book. (2) General Eisenhower's willingness to go directly to Italy aroused fears among some of the American planners lest the Allies be committed to a major operation in the Mediterranean before the JCS had an opportunity to pass on it. Informal memo, L.J.L. [Lt Col Lawrence J. Lincoln] for Gen Wedemeyer, and appended "Summary Minutes of Meetings-Eisenhower's Villa, Algiers, 29 May 43," with CCS 223 in ABC 384 Post-HUSKY (14 May 43),I.
30. (1) Min, 2d mtg held in Gen Eisenhower's villa, Algiers, 31 May 43. (2) Min, 1st mtg held in Gen Eisenhower's villa, Algiers, 29 May 43. Both in Official TRIDENT Conf Book.
33. Min, 3d mtg held at Gen Eisenhower's villa, Algiers, 3 Jun 43, Official TRIDENT Conf Book.
The Algiers Conference is treated from the viewpoint of two of the principal participants in Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, pp. 166-68, and Churchill, Hinge of Fate, pp. 816-30.
34. JPS 223, 3 Jul 43, title: Comparison of Various Post-HUSKY Operations in Relation to Allied Air Capabilities.
35. OPD brief, title: Notes . . . 83d mtg JPS, 7 Jul 43. Comparison of Various Post-HUSKY Operations in Relation to Allied Air Capabilities (JPS 223), with JPS 223 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I.
36. (1) Memo, Handy, ACofS OPD, for DCofS, 3 Jul 43, sub: Heavy Bomber Squadrons for HARDIHOOD II. (2) OPD draft Itr, DCofS for Air Marshal Sir William L. Welsh, Br Joint Staff Mission, incl to memo, Handy for DCofS, 3 Jul 43, sub: Heavy Bomber Squadrons for HARDIHOOD II. Both with JPS 169/D in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I
37. CCS 268/1, 6 Jul 43, title: Post-HUSKY Operations North African Theater.
38. OPD brief, title: Notes . . . 10lst mtg CCS, 9 Jul 43, Post-HUSKY Operations North African Theater (CCS 268/1), with CCS 268/1 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. OPD action officer was Col. G.A. Lincoln.
39. (1) OPD brief, title: Notes . . . 102d mtg CCS, 16 Jul 43, Post-"HUSKY" Operations North African Theater (CCS 268/2), with CCS 268/2 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. (2) Min, 102d mtg CCS, 16 Jul 43.
40. Memo, Gen Strong, ACofS G-2, for CofS, 15 Jul 43, sub: "HUSKY" Exploitation, Case 15, Book 10, Exec 8.
41. Min, 102d mtg CCS, Jul 43.
42. Msg, CCS to Eisenhower and Br COS, USFOR, London, 16 Jul 43, CM-OUT 6683, FAN 165 (info copy OPD).
43. (1) Tel conv, SW and Gen Marshall, 9:05 A.M., 19 Jul 43, Paper 2, Book 11, Exec 9. (2) Incl to ltr, Stimson to Hopkins, 4 Aug 43, no sub, SW files, White House, 36. The inclosure contains Stimson's report to the President of his overseas trip in July.
44. Incl to ltr, Stimson to Hopkins, 4 Aug 43, no sub, SW files, White House, 36. A detailed discussion of Stimson's negotiations and conclusions drawn from his visit to England in the summer of 1943 is contained in: (1) Stimson and Bundy, On Active Service, pp. 429-38, and (2) Rudolph A. Winnacker, The Mediterranean Versus the Channel, 1943, draft MS, OCMH files.
45. For the British staff views see: (1) CCS 268/6, 21 Jul 43 title: Post-"HUSKY" Operations North African Theater; and (2) J.P. (43) 265, Rpt by Br Joint Planning Staff War Cabinet for Br COS, 21 Jul 43, title: The Exploitation of "HUSKY", with CCS 268/3 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. The British joint planners here recommended AVALANCHE in place of an operation against the heel (MUSKET) as "a sounder and more decisive operation.
46. General Marshall's staff planners, keeping the Chief of Staff alert to studies exploring his proposal, followed the progress of negotiations between the CCS and General Eisenhower. For an example of the staff planners' briefing function, see memo, OPD for CofS, 17 Jul 43, sub: "HUSKY" Exploitation, with JCS 417 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. OPD action officer was Colonel Roberts. The memo referred to a study of a Naples operation being conducted by the JWPC. The study is contained in JCS 417, 19 Jul 43, title: Rapid Exploitation of "HUSKY."
47. Actually, General Eisenhower and AFHQ planners had long been impressed with the desirability of promptly seizing the port of Naples, but they had been considering the project as the culmination of an overland advance from the south, in exploitation of BUTTRESS and GOBLET (operations against the toe of Italy to capture Reggio on the Calabrian peninsula, and against the ball of Italy near Crotone, respectively). Hitherto they had not considered a direct assault upon Naples feasible because of such problems as the anticipated shortage of landing craft and insufficient fighter cover for the operation.
See: (1) BIGOT-HUSKY msg, Eisenhower to WD for CCS, and to War Office for Br COS, 30 Jun 43 (info copy OPD), CM-IN 434 (1 Jul 43); (2) Smyth, Sicilian Campaign and the Surrender of Italy, Ch. II, "Preliminary Planning of Attack on Italy;" pp. 32-33; and (3) Allied Force Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander's Dispatch, Italian Campaign, 3 Sep 43-8 Jan 44 (hereafter cited as Eisenhower rpt, Italian Campaign), p. 12.
48. (1) Min, 69th mtg CPS, 20 Jul 43. Original draft of message was submitted by Colonel Roberts of OPD, acting Army Planner in the absence of Gen Wedemeyer during HUSKY. (2) Min, 97th mtg JCS, 20 Jul 43. (3) Msg, CCS to Eisenhower, 20 Jul 43, FAN 164, CM-OUT 8200 (info copy OPD).
49. (1) CCS 268/3, 19 Jul 43; CCS 268/6, 21 Jul 43; and CCS 268/8, 24 Jul 43. All entitled Post-HUSKY Operations. (2) For a detailed discussion of the logistical debate and preparations in connection with planning for the invasion of Italy, see Richard M. Leighton and Robert W. Coakley, Global Logistics and Strategy, 1943-45, MS draft chapter, "The Invasion of Italy," OCMH files.
50. Colonel Roberts served in the Military Intelligence Division in 1941 and on temporary duty with the Army forces in the CBI in early 1942. He joined the Strategy Section of OPD in July 1942.
51. (1) Col Robert's draft reply to CCS 268/6, 22 Jul 43, with CCS 268/6 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. (2) His conclusions were echoed in the JPS report to the JCS-JCS 421, 23 Jul 43, title: Post "HUSKY" Operations North African Theater. Both papers were drawn up as suggested replies of the JCS to the British Chiefs' proposal (CCS 268/6).
52. Min, 103d mtg CCS, 23 Jul 43.
53. (1) Min, sp mtg GCS, 26 Jul 43, with CCS 268/9 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. (2) Min, sp mtg JCS, 26 Jul 43, with CCS 268/8 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. (3) CCS 268/9, 25 Jul 43, title: Post-"HUSKY" Operations North African Theater. CCS 268/g was a memo by the U.S. JCS.
54. (1) Min, sp mtg GCS, 26 Jul 43, with CCS 268/9 in ABC 384 Post HUSKY (14 May 43), I. (2) BIGOT-AVALANCHE msg, CCS to Eisenhower, 26 Jul 43, CM-OUT 10374, FAN 175 (info copy OPD).
55. Churchill, Closing the Ring, p. 38.
56. BIGOT msg, Eisenhower to AGWAR for CCS and to USFOR for Br COS, 27 Jul 43, CM-IN 19362, NAF 300 (info copy OPD).
57. BIGOT msg, CinC, Algiers to AGWAR for CCS and to USFOR for Br COS, 28 Jul 43, CM-IN 20257, NAF 303 (info copy OPD).
58. BIGOT-AVALANCHE msg, CinC, Algiers to AGWAR for CCS and to USFOR for Br COS, 2 Aug 43, CM-IN 1142, NAF 307 (info copy OPD). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39395000 |
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive
This study is maintained and distributed by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA). SAMHDA is supported by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ), formerly the Office of Applied Studies.
National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002 (ICPSR 3903)
Alternate Title: NSDUH 2002
Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies
Summary: The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) measures the prevalence and correlates of drug use in the United States. The surveys are designed to provide quarterly, as well as annual, estimates. Information is provided on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among members of United States households aged 12 and older. Questions include age at first use as well as lifetime, annual, and past-month usage for the follow... (more info)
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United States Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002. ICPSR03903-v4. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2013-03-07. doi:10.3886/ICPSR03903.v4
Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03903.v4
This survey was funded by:
- United States Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies (283-98-9008)
Scope of Study
Summary: The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) series (formerly titled National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) measures the prevalence and correlates of drug use in the United States. The surveys are designed to provide quarterly, as well as annual, estimates. Information is provided on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among members of United States households aged 12 and older. Questions include age at first use as well as lifetime, annual, and past-month usage for the following drug classes: marijuana, cocaine (and crack), hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, alcohol, tobacco, and nonmedical use of prescription drugs, including pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives. The survey covers substance abuse treatment history and perceived need for treatment, and includes questions from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders that allow diagnostic criteria to be applied. The survey includes questions concerning treatment for both substance abuse and mental health related disorders. Respondents are also asked about personal and family income sources and amounts, health care access and coverage, illegal activities and arrest record, problems resulting from the use of drugs, and needle-sharing. Questions introduced in previous administrations were retained in the 2002 survey, including questions asked only of respondents aged 12 to 17. These "youth experiences" items covered a variety of topics, such as neighborhood environment, illegal activities, gang involvement, drug use by friends, social support, extracurricular activities, exposure to substance abuse prevention and education programs, and perceived adult attitudes toward drug use and activities such as school work. Several measures focused on prevention related themes in this section. Also retained were questions on mental health and access to care, perceived risk of using drugs, perceived availability of drugs, driving and personal behavior, and cigar smoking. Questions on the tobacco brand used most often were introduced with the 1999 survey and have been retained through the 2002 survey. Demographic data include gender, race, age, ethnicity, marital status, educational level, job status, veteran status, and current household composition.
Subject Terms: addiction, alcohol, alcohol abuse, alcohol consumption, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, controlled drugs, depression (psychology), drinking behavior, drug abuse, drug dependence, drug treatment, drug use, drugs, hallucinogens, heroin, households, inhalants, marijuana, mental health, mental health services, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, sedatives, smoking, stimulants, substance abuse, substance abuse treatment, tranquilizers
Geographic Coverage: United States
Date of Collection:
Unit of Observation: individual
Universe: The civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 and older, including residents of noninstitutional group quarters such as college dormitories, group homes, shelters, rooming houses, and civilians dwelling on military installations.
Data Types: survey data
Data Collection Notes:
Data were collected and prepared for release by Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Prior to the 2002 survey, this series was titled National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse.
Although the design of the 2002 survey is similar to the design of the 1999 through 2001 surveys, there are important methodological differences that affect the 2002 estimates. Each NSDUH respondent in 2002 was given an incentive payment of $30. This change resulted in an improvement in the survey response rate. In addition, new population data from the 2000 decennial census became available for use in NSDUH sample weighting procedures. Therefore the data from 2002 and later should not be compared with data collected in 2001 or earlier to assess changes over time.
For selected variables, statistical imputation was performed following logical inference to replace missing responses. These variables are identified in the codebook as "...LOGICALLY ASSIGNED" for the logical procedure, or by the designation "IMPUTATION-REVISED" in the variable label when the statistical procedure was also performed. The names of statistically imputed variables begin with the letters "IR". For each imputation-revised variable there is a corresponding imputation indicator variable that indicates whether a case's value on the variable resulted from an interview response or was imputed. Missing values for some demographic variables were imputed by the unweighted hot-deck technique used in previous surveys. Beginning in 1999, imputation of missing values for many other variables was accomplished using predictive mean neighborhoods (PMN), a new procedure developed specifically for this survey. Both the hot-deck and PMN imputation procedures are described in the codebook.
To protect the privacy of respondents, all variables that could be used to identify individuals have been encrypted or collapsed in the public use file. To further ensure respondent confidentiality, the data producer used data substitution and deletion of state identifiers and a subsample of records in the creation of the public use file.
Previously published estimates may not be exactly reproducible from the variables in the public use file due to the disclosure protection procedures that were implemented.
The setup and dictionary files for Stata are designed to be compatible with StataSE, Version 8. This is a large data file requiring that approximately 250 megabytes of Random Access Memory be allocated to Stata. Operations within Stata, including conversion of the ASCII data to Stata format, are likely to be slow. Analysts may wish to download subsets of data from the SAMHDA Data Analysis System (DAS) for use with Stata.
Since 1999, the survey sample has employed a 50-State design with an independent, multistage area probability sample for each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Sample: Multistage area probability sample for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia since 1999. A coordinated five-year sample design was developed for 1999 through 2003. Although there is no overlap with the 1998 sample, the design facilitates overlap in the first-stage units (area segments) between each two successive years in the five-year design. This design increases the precision of estimates in year-to-year trend analysis. The sample is stratified on multiple levels, beginning with states. Eight states are considered large sample states and contribute approximately 3,600 respondents per state. The remaining states are sampled to yield 900 respondents per state. The second level of stratification divides states into Field Interviewer (FI) Regions. The third level of stratification divides FI regions into area segments consisting of adjacent census blocks. These area segments were used as the primary sampling units. Dwelling units in area segments were listed in a standardized order and were selected by systematic sampling. Field interviewers visited each sample address to determine dwelling unit eligibility, to list all eligible persons at the address, and to conduct interviews. Each respondent who completed a full interview was given a $30 cash payment. Persons were selected from the address roster using a handheld computer. To improve the precision of estimates, the sample allocation process targeted five age groups: 12-17, 18-25, 26-34, 35-49, and 50 and older. The size measures used in selecting the area segments were coordinated with the dwelling unit and person selection process so that a nearly self-weighting sample could be achieved in each of the five age groups. The sample design included approximately equal numbers of persons in the 12-17, 18-25, and 26 and older age groups. The achieved sample for the 2002 NSDUH was 68,126 persons. The public use file contains 54,079 records due to a subsampling step used in the disclosure protection procedures. Minimum item response requirements were defined for cases to be retained for weighting and further analysis (i.e., "usable" cases). These requirements, as well as full sampling methodology, are detailed in the codebook.
Weight: Due to various adjustments, such as those for nonresponse and poststratification, the 2002 NSDUH sample design is not self-weighting. Analysts are advised to use the final sample weight when attempting to use the 2002 NSDUH data to draw inferences about the target population or any subdomains of the target population. All estimates published in SAMHSA reports (such as the Results from the 2002 NSDUH) are weighted using the final analysis weight for the full sample. For the public use file, the corresponding final sample weight is denoted as ANALWT_C, with the "C" denoting confidentiality protection. This sample weight represents the total number of target population persons each record on the file represents. Note that the sum of ANALWT_C, over all records on the data file, represents an estimate of the total number of people in the target population.
Mode of Data Collection: audio computer-assisted self interview (ACASI), computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI)
Response Rates: The study yielded a weighted screening response rate of 91 percent and a weighted interview response rate for the Computer Assisted Interview (CAI) of 79 percent.
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Performed consistency checks.
- Created online analysis version with question text.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 2004-02-05
- 2013-03-07 The 2002 NSDUH public-use data file has been updated to include 17 new variables related to respondent drug use, mental health treatment, and geography. Please view Table 4 of the codebook for more information on these variables.
- 2006-10-26 The data producer resupplied the data file and codebook documentation. Thirty-three variables were modified, 20 variables were dropped, and 118 new variables were added. Some of these changes were to correct for data errors, but most of these changes were done to provide consistency with the 2004 NSDUH study. Of these changes, the most important change to note is that two study design variables (VEREP and VESTR) were revised to provide consistency with the 2004 study, which collapsed the strata in order to maximize the number of people in each replicate.
- 2004-02-24 Variable NRCH17_2 (RECODED # R's CHILDREN under 18 IN HOUSEHOLD) was replaced to correct a coding error.
- List all ~279 citations associated with this study
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The South Asian countries are gradually diversifying with some inter-country variation in favor of high value commodities, namely fruits, vegetables, livestock and fisheries. Agricultural diversification is strongly influenced by price policy, infrastructure development (especially markets and roads), urbanization and technological improvements. Rainfed areas have benefited more as a result of agricultural diversification in favor of high value crops by substituting inferior coarse cereals. Agricultural diversification is also contributing to employment opportunities in agriculture and increasing exports. The need is to suitably integrate production and marketing of high value commodities through appropriate institutions. Market reforms in developing and strengthening desired institutions through required legal changes would go a long way in boosting agricultural growth, augmenting income of small farm holders and promoting exports.
patterns, determinants, and policy implications
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39406000 |
Medical Foods Policy and Regulatory Developments
Global Policy and Regulatory Medical Foods Developments
- Codex Alimentarius was created by FAO and WHO in 1963 to develop food standards and guidelines, as well as related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The Codex Alimentarius Commission aims to protect consumer health, ensure fair trade practices, and promote coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
- The Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses agreed to develop guidelines on labeling and claims for medical foods in 1980 and accepted the offer of the United States to prepare a set of proposed draft guidelines for consideration at the next session in 1982. Report of the Twelfth Session of Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 81/26.
- The draft guidelines on labeling and claims for medical foods prepared by the United States were discussed at the 1982 meeting. Report of the Thirteenth Session of Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 83/26.
- The draft guidelines on labeling and claims for medical foods prepared by the United States were also discussed at the 1985 meeting. Report of the Fourteenth Session of the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 85/26.
- The Committee developed a standard instead of a guideline in 1987 and agreed to use “foods for special medical purposes” instead of “medical foods.” The Proposed Draft Standard was submitted for step 3 comment. Report of the Fifteenth Session of Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 87/26.
- The Proposed Draft Standard was submitted to the 1989 session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption as a draft standard. Report of the Sixteenth Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 89/26.
- The Committee decided essential information for health professionals should be on the label but was not necessary for consumer labeling. Report of the Meeting of Intergovenmental Working Groups (CX/FSDU 87) and Report of the Sixteenth Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 89/26.
- Medical foods were to be labeled in accordance with the Codex’s “General Standard for the Labelling of and Claims for Foods for Special Dietary Uses.” Codex Alimentarius Committee on Codex General Standard for Labeling of and Claims for Foods for Special Dietary Uses (1985).
- Certain additional provisions were required for labeling medical foods. Specifically, medical foods must label the energy value and the content of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and if applicable, amino acids or essential fatty acids. Osmolality and acid-base balance, where appropriate, must also be on the label. Report of the Sixteenth Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, ALINORM 89/26.
National Policy and Regulatory Medical Foods Developments
- Defines a “food for special dietary use” as a food that has been specially processed or formulated to meet the particular requirements of a person: (a) in whom a physical or physiological condition exists as a result of a disease, disorder, or injury; or (b) for whom a particular effect, including but not limited to weight loss, is to be obtained by a controlled intake of food. 9.9 Foods for Special Dietary Use [Division 24, FDR]
- Compiles European Union rulings and resources relating to foods for special medical purposes.
- Vitamin-Mineral Amendments, Pub. L. No. 94-278 (1976)
- Prohibited the FDA from classifying vitamin and mineral supplements as drugs based solely on their combinations or potency, unless drug claims were made. The legislation also incorporated FDA’s 1941 definition of special dietary use into the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
- Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Pub. L. No. 75-717, § 201 (f), (g), 52 Stat. 1040, 1041 (1938), as amended 21 U.S.C § 321 (f), (g) (1982)
- Medical foods were regulated as drugs prior to 1972 according to Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.321(g)(1)(B).
- Orphan Drug Act, Pub. Law. 97-114 (1983)
- Congress amended Orphan Drug Act to formally define a medical food in 1988; reaffirmed in 1992, and again in 1996.
- Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 and subsequent amendments give the FDA authority to require nutrition labeling of most packaged foods regulated by FDA and requires all nutrient claims and health claims meet FDA regulations. The legislation incorporated the definition of medical foods from the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and exempted medical foods from nutrition labeling, health and nutrient claim requirements, and identified five criteria characteristics of medical food (21 CFR 101.9(J)(8)). FDA incorporated the statutory medical food definition of this Act into 21 U.S.C.343. FDA provided guidance on medical foods indicating that Section 101.9(j)(8) exempted medical foods from nutrition labeling, nutrient content claims, and health claim regulations if the product is:
- Specially formulated and processed product for the partial or exclusive feeding of a patient by means of oral intake or enteral feeding by tube;
- Intended for the dietary management of a patient who, because of therapeutic or chronic medical needs, has limited or impaired capacity to ingest, digest, absorb, or metabolize ordinary foodstuffs or certain nutrients, or who has other special medically determined nutrient requirements, the dietary management of which cannot be achieved by the modification of the normal diet alone;
- Provides nutritional support specifically modified for the management of the unique nutrient needs that result from the specific disease or condition as determined by medical evaluation;
- Intended to be used under a medical physician’s supervision; and
- Intended only for a patient receiving active and ongoing medical supervision wherein the patient requires medical care on a recurring basis for, among other things, instructions on the use of the medical food.
- Medical Foods Equity Act of 2011 (S.311 and H.1311) have been introduced and referred to Committee to provide coverage for medically necessary food under Federal health programs and private health insurance.
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
- FDA provided guidance on medical foods in 1997.
- FDA announced a new proposed regulations (ANPR) in 1996 but withdrew a couple years later.
- Exempted foods for the use solely under medical supervision to meet nutritional requirements for specific medical conditions from certain labeling requirements. 21 C.F.R. §§ 101.9, 101.9 (h) (3),(4)
- In 1991, FDA published in the Federal Register information on what a medical food is and the distinctive nutritional and medical supervision requirements of medical foods.
- FDA contracted to develop enteral products with high nutritional efficacy to improve tissue repair and shorten convalescence during World War II and to address needs of the aerospace program for easily consumable, low residue, high calorie dietary products. Fisher K, et al. A review of foods for medical purposes. FDA Contract No. 223-75-2090 June 1977; as noted in Hattan DG & Mackey DR. A review of medical foods: Enterally administered formulations used in the treatment of diseases and disorders. Food Drug Cosm. L. J. 44;479-501(1989).
- FDA implemented a compliance program for medical foods in 1988, requiring all products to be manufactured according to Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations.
- FDA expressed during rulemaking in 1973 on vitamin and mineral dietary supplements that the Commissioner recognized medical foods as foods. 38 Fed. Reg. at 2152.
- FDA reclassified medical foods as “foods for special dietary use” to encourage product development in 1972. 37 Fed Reg. at 18,230.
- FDA defined foods for “special dietary uses” in 1941. 21 C.F.R. § 105.3
Non-Government Developments & Reports | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39407000 |
Climate Clinic: LibDem conference
Professor Kevin Anderson: Point of no return
Without immediate action, catastrophic and irreversible climate change is surely on its way. That is why December's summit in Copenhagen is so important
Monday 21 September 2009
The importance of the international climate summit to be held in Copenhagen later this year cannot be over- emphasised; 2009 is literally a make-or-break year in terms of climate-change negotiations. After almost two decades of increasingly heated debate on how to tackle climate change, and notwithstanding the current recession, emissions of global greenhouse gases – from energy use, agriculture, deforestation and industrial processes – are rising at a faster rate now than they have done throughout our history. As we enter the second decade of this new millennium, the international community is faced with a very clear and stark choice: to cut emissions urgently and radically, or to lock the next and future generations into "dangerous climate change".
For far too long now, scientists, politicians, the media and the public, while broadly accepting the science and implications of climate change, have stubbornly refused to acknowledge the scale of rising emissions. So while the rhetoric of low-carbon action has been notched up year after year, the reality is that collectively we have been on a high-carbon binge. Unfortunately, most of the emissions we have put into the atmosphere over the 17 years since the Earth Summit in Rio and the 12 years since the start of the Kyoto process, will remain there for another century – added to, year on year, by our increasingly carbon-profligate lifestyles.
It is this cumulative nature of emissions, whereby the concentration of greenhouses gases builds up in the atmosphere, combined with our abject failure even to curtail emissions' growth rate, that has brought us to this political tipping point. Either our politicians step up to the plate in Copenhagen and agree to implement an immediate reversal in emissions trends, or we consciously accept a continued and rapid build-up of emissions in the atmosphere with all the implications that entails. We no longer have the luxury of lengthy negotiations such as those associated with the Kyoto Protocol.
As for the scale of reductions necessary, again here we have all been party to downplaying the severity of the issue and are now faced with the consequences of this delusion. In this regard I and my colleagues in the scientific community are particularly responsible. For too long we have, with notable exceptions, been reluctant to spell out clearly the true implications of our analysis, instead couching our conclusions as challenging but politically palatable. However the scientific climate congress held in Copenhagen earlier this year, as a prelude to the political event in December, witnessed a sea-change in attitude among many in the scientific community. The message to policy-makers, businesses and the public is unambiguous. Radical reductions are needed now to give us even a small chance of avoiding the 2°C threshold between "acceptable" and "dangerous" climate change.
Putting this into everyday language, the wealthy, OECD, nations need to reduce their total emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2020, including emissions from aviation and shipping, and without buying emission reductions from poorer nations. Complete decarbonisation of the OECD's energy system needs to be in place by 2030. However these figures may be massaged, such reduction rates are incompatible with the current framing of economic growth. New low-carbon technologies are available, but for them to dominate our energy system will take at least two decades, time we simply don't have, as in the interim our emissions continue to build up in the atmosphere. Only once our energy system is carbon-free and our meat-eating substantially curtailed can we again consider seriously having a growing economy – provided it can be reconciled with the other demands of sustainability.
However, even such draconian reductions by the OECD nations leave only limited opportunities for the poor and less-wealthy nations to continue to increase their emissions. Consequently, while emissions in these nations will rise as their welfare improves, this rise needs to be kept to a minimum through comprehensive low-carbon technologies and policies. Ultimately, all nations across the globe will need to establish carbon-free societies over the coming few decades, completely counter to the rapid emission growth we have experienced since 2000.
While much of this rise has been driven by the newly industrialising nations of China and India, the problem to which they are now contributing is one caused by our emissions and to which we still are a major contributor. According to the Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), absolute UK emissions have risen by 18 per cent since 1990, and show no clear of signs of bucking this trend in the near term. The recent and much-heralded US Waxman-Markey Bill requires no reductions by the US even by 2017, and only four per cent by 2020, half that of Japan's eight per cent target. Russia and New Zealand have no 2020 goals and the EU's target, though ambitious relative to others, is not comprehensive, allows for significant buy-out from poorer nations, and even then falls far short of what would be necessary to meet its own 2°C commitments.
Against this backdrop of a failure by any nation or region to demonstrate meaningful leadership, Copenhagen looks also doomed to failure. But this isn't an option. It has to succeed, driving home at least 40-per-cent cuts by 2020 from the world's wealthy countries and putting the poor and less-wealthy nations on to a low-emission-growth pathway. We have all the necessary policy tools and technologies to rise to this challenge. What we need now is political integrity, scientific candour, a public and business community that acknowledges they are part of both the problem and solution, and a press that resists the temptation for polemic headlines instead of honest reporting.
Professor Kevin Anderson is Research Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change
The heat is on: The UN estimates a rise in the global average temperature of between 1.8 and 4°C over the coming century. Anything over 2°C is likely to be catastrophic for the world
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Catharine Cox Miles
(May 20, 1890-October 11, 1984)
- Stanford University (B.A., 1911)
- Stanford University (M.A. in German language and literature, 1913)
- Stanford University (Ph.D., 1925) - Under Lewis Terman
- Spent a year at the University of Jena and the University of Berlin (1914)
- Instructor to full professor, the College of the Pacific (1915-1920)
- Chief psychologist for the Central Mental Hygiene Clinic in Cincinnati General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, and the Diagnostic Center of the Veterans Bureau (1925-1927)
- Research Associate to Terman on the project leading to the construction of the Terman-Miles M-F Test at Stanford University (1927-1932)
- Clinical Professor of Psychology, Yale University (1932-1953)
- Sole-authored Volume 2 of Terman's Genetic Studies of Genius
- Calculated IQ estimates for 301 historic geniuses
- Estimated the correlation between IQ and eminence
- Assessed 67 character traits for 100 historic geniuses
- Determined the early mental and physical health of 282 geniuses
Ideas and Contributions
Catharine Cox entered the Stanford’s graduate program in psychology about the time that her mentor Terman was beginning his ambitious longitudinal study of intellectually gifted children. Because this project did not afford her with the suitable opportunity for a dissertation subject, she proposed a complementary investigation. Whereas Terman’s inquiry was psychometric and prospective, Cox would conduct a study that was historiometric and retrospective. In particular, she would estimate IQ scores for highly eminent but deceased creators and leaders and then show that these scores correlated with eminence measures that J. M. Cattell (1903) had previously provided. Just one year after publishing the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Terman (1917) had already shown how an IQ score might be computed for a historical figure, in his case assigning an IQ of near 200 to Francis Galton.
Cox’s approach was extremely conscientious and methodical. Using more than 3,000 biographical sources she carefully compiled developmental histories for 301 geniuses, and then she and a team of independent raters – including Terman and Florence Goodenough – used these data to derive the IQ estimates. In addition, she showed that estimated IQ correlated with achieved eminence. Furthermore, for a subset of 100 geniuses she computed ratings on 67 character traits. On the basis of these scores she was able to conclude that motivation, determination, and persistence were also critical to high achievement. The resulting doctoral thesis was sufficiently impressive that Terman had it published as Volume 2 in his Genetic Studies of Genius. Not only was this the only volume that did not involve the longitudinal study of his “Termites,” but it is also the only volume that did not include Terman as an author or co-author. At 842 printed pages, it can easily be considered the most ambitious historiometric investigation ever published. Moreover, many of her key findings have been replicated in subsequent research.
Unfortunately, Cox was soon diverted from this work by (a) her collaboration with Terman on a masculinity-femininity measure and (b) her marriage to Walter Miles (a recent widower with two teenagers). She also started publishing under her married name Miles rather than Cox. However, a decade later she returned to the historic geniuses that were the subject of her thesis. Miles and Wolfe (1936) specifically scored the geniuses on early mental and physical health. Their aim was to show that intellectual giftedness was also positively associated with both mental and physical well-being.
Cox. C. (1926). The early mental traits of three hundred geniuses. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Miles, C. C. (1928). A human clock. Journal of General Psychology, 1, 602-603.
Miles, C. C., & Terman, L. M. (1929). Sex difference in the association of ideas. American Journal of Psychology, 41, 165-206.
Miles, C. C. (1931). The Otis S-A as a fifteen-minute intelligence test. Personnel Journal, 10, 246-249.
Miles, C.C. (1931). Individual mental hygiene. In B. S. Dyment (Ed.). Health and Its Maintenance (pp.159-192). Stanford Univ.: Stanford Univ. Press.
Miles, C. C., & Miles, W. R. (1932). The correlation of intelligence scores and chronological age from early to late maturity. American Journal of Psychology, 44, 44-78.
Miles, C. C (1934). Influence of speed and age on intelligence scores of adults. Journal of General Psychology, 10, 208-210.
Miles, C. C. & Wolfe, L. S. (1936). Childhood physical and mental health records of historical geniuses. Psychological Monograph, 47, 390-400.
Miles, C. C. (1938). Intelligence and social adjustment. Mental Hygiene, 22, 544-566.
Terman, L. M., & Miles, C. C. (1936). Sex and Personality. New Haven, CT, US: Yale University Press.
Rogers, K. B. (1999). The lifelong productivity of the female researchers in Terman’s Genetic Studies of Genius longitudinal study. Gifted Child Quarterly, 43, 150-169.
Sears, R. R. (1986). Catharine Cox Miles; 1890-1984. American Journal of Psychology, 99, 431-433.
Simonton, D. K. (2009). The "other IQ": Historiometric assessments of
intelligence and related constructs. Review of General Psychology, 13, 315-
Simonton, D. K., & Song, A. V. (2009). Eminence, IQ, physical and mental
health, and achievement domain: Cox’s 282 geniuses revisited.
Psychological Science, 20, 429-434.
Written by Prof. Dean Keith Simonton, University of California-Davis, with contributions by Meihua Qian, Indiana University.
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Townships are a product of Indiana’s early history, and Indiana is one of 20 states that currently has some form of township government. A township in the Indiana refers to a small geographic area, ranging in size from 6 to 54 square miles (15.6 km² to 140.4 km²), with 36 square miles (93 km²) being the norm. A civil township is a unit of local government. Township government powers in Indiana have grown to the point that it is difficult to discern the differences between townships, cities and villages.
There are, however, significant differences that are important to the people charged with administering township affairs and deciding township policies. Townships and counties are statutory units of government, having only those powers expressly provided or fairly implied by state law. Cities and most villages are vested with home rule powers, meaning they can do almost anything not prohibited by law.
State laws authorize townships to perform a wide variety of functions and state laws specify details for performing these functions.
Township trustees are elected officials, but many are volunteers, too, who help make their communities better places to live. By far the largest single group of elected officials in Indiana, Township Trustees govern 1,008 townships covering every part of the state. Like most elected officials, the Township Trustee serves a four-year term and many Township Trustees work at other jobs in addition to serving their constituents.
Assisting the Township Trustee in managing this very localized form of government is a three-member Township Board. Among its duties are the adoption of the annual budget, serving as a board of finance, and approving township contracts.
Indiana law requires that the Township Trustees provide essential services to the residents and businesses of the Township. Because of its "grassroots" structure, the Township Trustee system is designed specifically to quickly meet the needs of the individual in an emergency.
The ITA is the only township organization that provides legislative services to the 1008 townships. Our lobbyists meet with law makers on a daily basis while the legislature is in session. The ITA insures that all proposed legislation is studied to assess its impact township government. The ITA is the only association from local government that testifies on proposed bills that impact townships. Members of the state legislature come to the ITA when they have questions about township government.
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(Last Updated on : 09/11/2011)
Districts of Orissa
bring out the diverse nature of the state. Orissa lies in the eastern coast of India and is renowned for its temples spread across the state. The famous ones are Lingaraja Temple
, Jagannath temple, and the Sun temple
of Konark or the `Black Pagoda`. The holy cities of Puri
are situated here. It is also the home to several sun drenched beaches. Bhubaneshwar is the capital of the state, which is a famous temple city and handicraft centre. An ancient classical dance form Odissi
originated in this state.
The state is divided into thirty districts.
is located in central Orissa spread over an area of 6,347 sq. km. This district is one of the top revenue generating states of Orissa. The district is rich in wildlife and also has vast deposits of coal. It is also the home to big industries such as the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Mahanadi Coal Field Limited (MCF), Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI), and Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS). The major attractions in the district are Tikarpada, Darjan Falls, Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary, Kapilas Hills.
is a paradise for all nature lovers. The region has substantial deposits of graphite, quartz and quartzite, bauxite, and manganese. It is the homeland of the Kutia, Binjhals, Khond Tribe
, and Ganda
tribesmen. Lying on the northwest of the Gandhamardan Hills, this hill is a major attraction in the district. Other tourist attractions in the district include Hirapur
, Jogisarada and Patnagarh
Baleswar district is spread over an area of 3,706 sq. km. The district has vast stretches of paddy fields. Major tourist attractions of the district are Remuna, Chandaneswar, and the sun drenched Chandipur
and Talasari beach
. The district headquarters is at Baleswar, which is the home to the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO).
Baragarh district is located in the western part of Orissa spread over an area of 5,832 sq. km. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and the main crops produced here are rice
, pulses, and oil-seeds. Fruits such as mango
, citrus, papaya, guava, and litchi are also grown. The places of interest in the district include Ambabhona (remains of an old fort), Barpali, Bhatli, Bijepur, Diptipur, and Panimura.
is famous for the Bhadrakali temple. Major places of tourist interest in the district are Aradi, Dhamra, Arharpada and Ishwarpur.
Boudh - Jogindra Villa Palace Boudh district
is rich in mineral deposits and therefore mining is an important industry of the district. The Mahanadi River
and its tributaries traverse through Boudh rendering the plains fertile, which contribute, to the agrarian economy. Paddy is cultivated here in large quantities. The riverbed of Mahanadi is also a rich source of diamonds and other valuable gemstone. Boudh also has a flourishing textile industry. Boudh district is a region with rich cultural heritage which is manifested in the aesthetically temples, ancient Buddha statues and caves spread in the region. The Ramanath temple, Jogindra Villa Palace, Hanuman temple, and the Charisambhu temple are some of the prominent ones.
is dominantly rural famous as the land of antiquities, monuments and handicrafts. Cuttack is also known as the granary of eastern Orissa. Few towns of the district are developing industrially which are, Choudwar, Vyasnagar and Dhanamandal. Dhabaleswar Island, Lalitgiri, Naraj, Choudwar, Niali-Madhav, and Paramahansanth Temple are some of the major attractions in the district.
has its headquarters at Deogarh. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy. Pradhanpat hill and waterfall is a famous attraction of the district.
is spread over an area of 4,600 sq. km. and is basically an agricultural district. Dense forests and colourful wildlife characterize this district. Forest products like timber, bamboo, firewood, and kendu leaf generate good revenue for the district. The district also has a number of largescale industries like the Nilachal Refractories, Utkal Asbestos Ltd, Orissa Polyfibres Ltd, and Shakti Sugar. Dhenkanal is famous for the Balbhadra Temple built in the 18th century.
The tribal community dominates Gajapati district
. The district headquarters is located at Paralakhemund. It is spread over an area of 3,056 sq. km. The Vamsadhara and Mahendratanaya are the major rivers flowing through the district. Gajapati is well known for its cane and bamboo handicraft works. In some parts of Gajapati granite stones are also found.
has rich deposits of manganese, monazite, sand, and talc. It covers an area of 8,033 sq. km. with the district headquarters at Chhatrapur. The district is covered with dense green forests which have exotic wildlife. Ganjam is also famous for horn works, silver works, and spinning mills.
Jagatsinghpur district is spread over an area of 1,759 sq. km. with district headquarters at Jagatsinghpur. Paradeep, a major port of the state is located in this district. It is an ideal tourist destination because of the several sun-drenched beaches.
has its headquarters in the town of Jajpur, which is an important pilgrimage destination. The district is situated on the banks of the Baitarani River
spread over an area of 2,885 sq km. It has rich mineral deposits and many industries and mines are situated here. Some of the places worth visiting are Ashokajhar, Langudi Hill, Gokarnika, Mahavinayak, Chandikhol, Patharajpur, Ratnagiri and Shri Siddheswar Temple.
is situated in the western part of the state and is one of the most industrialized and urbanized districts in the state. Jharsuguda is rich in mineral wealth especially coal and is also an important commercial center. The Kharasrota, Birupa, and Ib Rivers flow through the district. This renders the plains fertile, which contribute to the agrarian economy. Rice, wood and leather is some of the major products of the district.
has the district headquarters in the town of Bhawanipatna. It is an industrial district and some of the industries located here are Western Sugar and Chemical Industries Ltd, Konark Growers Cooperative Spinning Mills Ltd, and Kesinga and Orissa Regional Cooperative Oil Seed Growers Union Ltd. The region also has rich mineral deposits of graphite, manganese, iron, and quartz. Ravanadhara waterfall, and hot water spring Banshakela are some of the major attraction in the district.
is nearly covered with forests and mountains. The region has substantial deposits of graphite, manganese, coal, bauxite, china clay, limestone, and semi precious stones. Daringbadi a hill station in the district, Belghar Sanctuary and the Putudi Waterfalls are some of the major attraction in the district.
is spread over an area of 2,546 sq km. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and national park at Bhitarkanika and the Crocodile Research Farm at Dangamal are some of the prime interests in the district.
Keonjhar district is a green land of scenic beauty with rich mineral deposits. The district is home to many industries. Keonjhar district has vast deposits of iron, manganese and chrome ores. It is an important pilgrimage destination because the shrines of Siddha Jagannath, Siddha Kali, and Panchabati are located here. Sitabinj is located at a distance of 30 km. from Keonjhar is noted for the ancient fresco paintings on a rock shelter called Ravan Chhaya.
is spread over an area of 2,889 sq. km. and is famous for its cottage industries. The major attractions of the district are Barunai Hill, Chilika (Barkul), Hirapur and Nandankanan Sanctuary. Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, comes within Khordha District.
is located in the southern part of Orissa and the district headquarters is at Koraput. Dense virgin forests, cascading waterfalls, flashing springs and green meadows characterize the district. It has vast deposits of manganese, mica and graphite. The beautiful Duduma, Bagra and Khandahati waterfalls are bestowed on Koraput. Cereal crops are cultivated in the district.
is located in the southern part of the state and half of the district is covered with forests. The tribal and the marginalized communities dominate the district. The district has substantial deposits of tin, limestone, black granite, asbestos, mica and soapstones. The main tourist interests are Chitrakonda, Motu, Balimela, and Manyamkonda.
is the largest district of Orissa. The district headquarters is at Baripada. Majority of the district is covered with forests, which have a varied flora and fauna. Mayurbhanj is famous for the horn works, stone and clay works, tussar silk, jute mills and spinning mills. The major attractions of the district are Deokhund with its enchanting waterfalls, Haripur, Khiching and Simlipal Tiger Reserve
of Orissa consists of tribes and nomads and they mainly depend on agriculture. The district also has substantial mineral deposits of iron, chlorite, mica, quartz and granites. The forests of the region have rich wildlife common ones are panther, leopard
, tiger, striped hyena
, buffalo, black bear, bison, red and grey jungle fowl, spotted deer, sambar and barking deer
located in the eastern region is one of the oldest districts of the state. The Burtanga River flows through the district. It is well known for its leather works, brass and bell utensils and sugar factory.
lies in the western part of the state covering an area of 3,408 sq km. Budhikomna, Patalganga, Thipakhol, Patora, Sindursil and Yogimath are ideal tourist destination in the district.
is famous for the Lord Jagannath Temple
and the car festival, which is an important pilgrimage destination. It is one of the four dhams (spiritual place of the Hindus) Spread over an area of 3,055 sq.km. The district is famous for its stone sculpture, palm leaf paintings, tassar paintings, sand art and appliqu‚ work. Other tourist attractions are the sun drenched Balighai Beach, Baliharachandi Beach and the Ramchandi Beach. The historic Sun Temple at Konark and the Chilka Lake
are also popular tourist destinations.
is dominated by the tribal population mainly the Kondhas and the Souras. The region has vast deposits of mineral resources like bauxite, graphite, manganese, quartz and gemstones. The main industries of the region are ferro manganese factory, ferro silicon factory, paper mill and sugar factory. Sambalpur district
is bestowed with exotic wildlife, lush green forests, captivating waterfalls and enchanting array of hills. The district is famous for its textiles, varied tribal life, colourful dances and festivals and exquisite historical monuments. The major attractions of the district are Ushakothi Wildlife Sanctuary
, the Leaning Huma Temple
that is dedicated to Lord Shiva
Sonpur district has the district headquarters at Sonpur and is located in the western part of Orissa. It is spread over an area of 2, 284 square km and is famous for its handloom and handicraft products.
is located in the North-Western part of Orissa and is dotted with lofty peaks, virgin forests and rocky terrain. It is spread over an area of 9,942 sq. km. with its headquarters in the town of Sundargarh District
. It is an important industrial district and also has vast reserves of mineral resources like iron-ore, limestone, manganese, dolomite, and fire clay. The places worth visiting in the district are Darjeeng, Ghogar, Khandadhar, Mandira, and Miriglotah. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39420000 |
Hot Topics: More iron reduces risk of severe PMSWomen who get a little more than the recommended daily amount of iron in their diets may be less likely to get a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome, according to a U.S. study.
By: Reuters, INFORUM
Women who get a little more than the recommended daily amount of iron in their diets may be less likely to get a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome, according to a U.S. study.
Researchers writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology followed about 3,000 women over 10 years and found that those who consumed more than 20 milligrams per day of iron sources were 30 to 40 percent less likely to develop PMS than women who got less of the mineral.
“Most previous studies of PMS have focused on effective treatments and factors that differ between women who have PMS and those who don’t,” said lead author Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
“We were interested in looking further at some specific minerals,” she added, noting that her team had previously studied the relationship between vitamin intake and PMS.
For the study, the researchers limited their analysis to PMS in which symptoms such as breast tenderness, bloating, depression and anxiety are so severe they “substantially impact life activities and social relationships.”
That type of PMS affects between 8 percent and 15 percent of U.S. women, they wrote.
The study was based on data from a large ongoing study of U.S. nurses, who were between the ages of 25 and 42 years old in 1989, and it focuses on 3,025 women who did not have PMS in 1991.
Each woman completed three food questionnaires sent to them over the next 10 years, which asked how often they were eating 131 different types of foods and supplements. The researchers then compared the diets of the 1,057 women who went on to develop severe PMS during the study period to the diets of the 1,968 women who did not.
Overall, eating a diet that provided about 22 mg of iron every day was linked to a 33 percent decrease in a woman’s risk of developing PMS during those 10 years, compared to the women who ate the least amount of iron – about 10 mg. The recommendations are 18 mg of iron per day.
Even greater iron consumption was tied to an even larger drop in risk for PMS, but some of the women were eating diets with too much of the mineral.
“I think our message – based on these data – is meeting the (recommended daily amount) for iron seems to have a significantly lower risk of PMS,” said Bertone-Johnson. “We don’t want to recommend women take the upper limit (of 42 mg) because of potential adverse consequences.”
Women in the study with the highest iron intakes tended to get most of the mineral from non-meat sources.
The U.S. Institute of Medicine, which sets recommended dietary allowances for nutrients, points out that iron consumed from meat and poultry sources is more easily processed in the body, and that people who get their ion only from a vegetarian diet might want to consume as much as twice the recommended amount.
Bertone-Johnson said that while the research can’t prove iron prevents PMS, they suspect the mineral may have something to do with the production of serotonin, a molecule that plays a role in many processes in the body and in the brain. Iron is necessary for the body to manufacture serotonin, they write.
“Our advice from this study is pretty similar to what we’ve taken from previous work. ... Not focusing on any one nutrient per se, just make sure your diet is balanced and you’re meeting the (recommended daily amount) on your own vitamins,” Bertone-Johnson said. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39425000 |
September 14, 2009
By Claire McCarthy, M.D.
Boston Children's Hospital
None of us wants a child of ours to get cancer. It's a terrible thought unthinkable, even. So a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer sounds wonderful. We give it to our daughters, and there's one less thing for us to worry about as they grow up.
The problem is, it's not quite that simple.
Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted illness; over a lifetime, the risk of catching any kind of genital HPV is 75-90%.
Cervical cancer rates aren't nearly that high, though. That's because our immune systems are generally pretty good at getting rid of HPV. There are about a hundred different strains of the virus; 15 of them are known to cause cancer. Four strains 16, 18, 31, and 45 cause 80% of the cancer we see. Gardasil, the most common HPV vaccine, protects against only two of the cancer-causing strains.
While I am a proponent of the HPV vaccine (my eldest daughter has received all three doses), I think it's important that parents know all the facts as they decide whether or not to vaccinate their daughters.
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How Common Is Cervical Cancer?
More than 11,000 women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer. It used to be one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in U.S. women.
But between 1955 and 1992, the death rate went down by 74%. That's because of the Papanicolau test, or Pap smear as it's generally called. This test, in which some cells are removed from the surface of the cervix and checked for any signs of cancer, allows doctors to catch the cancer early. When caught early, cervical cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 92%.
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How Good Is the Vaccine?
The vaccine seems to do a really good job at protecting against strains 16 and 18 of the virus. In a study published in 2007, precancerous lesions on the cervix caused by 16 and 18 decreased significantly in girls who had received the vaccine. This is great, of course, but there is some fine print to the study that is worth knowing:
- While the vaccine significantly decreased precancerous lesions caused by these two strains, overall the vaccine only decreased the total number of precancerous lesions by 17% that's because cancer is caused by other types than 16 and 18.
- The vaccine did a good job of preventing grade 2 precancerous lesions. But it didn't appear to have an effect on the more serious grade 3 lesions, and 40% to 50% of grade 2 lesions get better by themselves.
- While it wasn't enough to be statistically significant, scientists noted in the study that they were seeing more lesions caused by other types of HPV than they would normally see. This raises the concern that if we protect against strains 16 and 18, other types will increase in numbers to take their place.
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Promising Results, But We Need More Studies
There has only been one big study published that looked at the vaccine's effectiveness. (Interestingly, it was a year after the vaccine was licensed.) It only followed young women for three years. Ninety-three percent of the women were already sexually active. Scientists believe that to be most effective, the vaccine should be given before any possible exposure to HPV namely, before becoming sexually active. (While the manufacturer says that the vaccine can be given through age 26, the American Cancer Society doesn't see any benefit to giving it after age 18.)
Studies in younger girls (9- to 12-year-olds), for whom the vaccine is recommended, have measured the vaccine's effectiveness using blood tests to check for antibodies to 16 and 18. Antibodies are special proteins that can weaken or kill the viruses. (Girls in this age group don't usually have pelvic exams.) We think that the antibodies are a sign of protection against cancer, but we don't know for sure. And we don't know if the vaccine will still protect them at mid-life, when cervical cancer is usually diagnosed.
It's particularly important that parents realize that their daughters will still need regular Pap smears throughout their lives. Other strains of HPV can cause cancer, and because we don't know how long the vaccine's immunity will last, getting tested regularly is crucial.
The whole issue of whether or not to vaccinate has been further clouded by revelations that Merck, the company that makes the vaccine, funded vaccine education provided by some professional organizations. This doesn't mean that it wasn't good, accurate education but it does make many people uncomfortable.
But despite all of this, I still had my eldest daughter vaccinated. Why?
- It offers her some protection against cervical cancer, and I'll take whatever protection my daughter can get. While I've told her time and time again that she'll need regular Pap smears in her lifetime, I have no real control on whether she gets them; she'll be a grown-up then, in charge of her own life and health.
- There wasn't a whole lot of time to wait for more data on the vaccine, given that it's most effective when given before girls become sexually active. My daughter was starting high school when she got the vaccine; by senior year, two-thirds of American teens are sexually active, and many start before then. I talk to her lots and lots about that, too, but as a parent one needs to be a little realistic sometimes.
- It appears safe, or at least as safe as any other vaccine. Sure, we need years probably to be certain. But what we know as of now is reassuring. The most common side effect appears to be fainting, which is why it's a good idea to have girls sit and be observed for awhile after getting the vaccine.
It's taking a chance, yes. But the reality is that medicine isn't always clear. It's often more art than science. Science, too, has a way of evolving; we learn new things every day that change how we think. As patients and as parents of patients, all we can ever do is learn as much as we can, weigh the risks and benefits, and with the help of our doctor, make our best choice.
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Claire McCarthy, M.D., is an assistant professor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician at Children's Hospital of Boston, and medical director of the Martha Eliot Health Center, a neighborhood health service of Children's Hospital. She is a senior medical editor for Harvard Health Publications. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39432000 |
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is a perennial forage grass that is now found growing in much of the southern half of Iowa. Its introduction was primarily for forage but is now also commonly used in turf, athletic fields, and soil erosion management applications.
Tall fescue has a lot of favorable traits. It is persistent, adapted to a variety of soil conditions, is compatible in mixtures with other grasses and legumes, can be harvested as hay or grazed, and has a March through early November growing season, making it the grass of choice for use in "stockpiled" or "fall-saved" forage for winter grazing pastures.
Unfortunately, much of the tall fescue growing in Iowa contains an internal fungus called an endophyte that produces alkaloids that can cause physiological problems in animals eating the forage.
Cool-season forage grasses, including tall fescue, produce only one set of seedstems with their spring growth. Clip them in late May or early June.
Tall fescue is best identified by stiff, dark green leaves, with deeply grooved upper leaf surfaces and shiny, smooth lower leaf surfaces. Edges of the leaf blades have fine, sharp barbs (serrated). (Stephen K. Barnhart)
The fungus is present in stems, seedheads, and the leaf sheath that wraps the stem. Alkaloids are found throughout the plant but in lower concentration in leaf blades and highest in the stems, seedheads, and seed. The presence of the endophyte is actually a benefit to the plant. Some of the alkaloids contribute to the plant's stress tolerance, vigor, and ability to resist diseases and insects. The undesirable alkaloid(s), including the ergovaline type, function as blood vessel restrictors in the animal and can be detrimental to livestock production and reproduction.
A first step in managing the tall fescue endophyte is to clip seedheads in early June to prevent animal ingestion of the plant parts with the highest concentration of alkaloids. Clipping seedheads is also the first step in a more comprehensive stand eradication and renovation. Additional intermediary fescue management steps are to introduce legumes into the stand and move livestock to nonfescue fields during the hottest summer months. Testing for the presence of the endophyte in existing stands is also a useful management practice that can indicate what percentage of the fescue plants in the pasture are infected and what further management steps may be needed. Mid- to late summer is the best time to test for the fescue endophyte. Extension crop and livestock specialists should be able to help you find a fescue endophyte testing lab.
This article originally appeared on pages Page 1-2 of the IC-494(12) -- May 31, 2005 issue. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39437000 |
How to Manage Pests
UC Pest Management Guidelines
There are usually no symptoms of bacterial canker on seedlings; however, on young plants symptoms consist of poor growth and temporary wilting of branches. Lower leaves yellow and shrivel, but symptoms may not show until flowering. On mature plants there are two kinds of symptoms, those resulting from systemic infections (i.e., the bacteria enter the vasculature and invade much of the plant) and those resulting from secondary infections (i.e., the bacteria cause local infections of leaves, stem, and fruit).
In systemic infections of mature plants, leaflets of the oldest leaves curl, yellow, wilt, and finally turn brown and collapse (known as firing). Sometimes, one side of a leaf is affected. Plants grow poorly and wilt. Pith of stems becomes yellow and later reddish brown, especially at the nodes, and has a mealy appearance. The pith may later become somewhat hollow. In advanced infections, cankers may or may not form at the nodes. Light and later dark streaks may develop on stems. Branches break off easily. Plants may die.
In secondary infections, infection of the margins of leaves is common. Lesions are dark brown to almost black. Round to irregular spotting of leaves also occurs. Fruit may be spotted, especially near calyx.
On fruit bacterial canker symptoms appear as yellow to brown spots, slightly raised, surrounded by a persistent white halo ("bird's eye spot"). Spots are usually about 0.125 inch (3 mm) in diameter. Vascular tissue under the calyx scar and leading to seeds that may be brown.
In California, the source of the pathogen is probably seed and transplants, although local contamination within greenhouses is a potential source. In California, the pathogen only overwinters in the soil when the previous crop residue is not thoroughly incorporated and does not decompose. In colder climates, the bacterium may overwinter on undecomposed plant residue.
Tomato is the most important host of the pathogen. Several nightshades, including perennial nightshade (Solanum douglasii), black nightshade (S. nigrum), and S. triflorum, are naturally infected. Pepper and eggplant can be successfully artificially inoculated, but they are probably not important in the epidemiology of the disease on tomato. It is not known how long the bacterium can persist on nightshade.
In California, economic losses in direct-seeded fields are probably very uncommon. During unusually wet weather, however, secondary spread from frequent vine-training, cultivation, or other operations may cause extensive leaf loss. Canker probably occurs at a low incidence in many direct-seeded fields but almost always goes unnoticed.
Seed contamination with only a few bacterial cells, apparently below the level of detection, can result in relatively high numbers of infected transplants. For that reason, certified seed reduces the chances of infections, but is no guarantee of contaminated-free seed. A seedlot contaminated with very few infested seeds can cause serious problems in a greenhouse.
When the seed germinates, the bacteria enter the seedling through small wounds in the cotyledon, probably through broken trichomes. The bacteria move systemically through the xylem from which it invades the phloem, pith, and cortex. In a highly conducive environment, like a greenhouse, bacteria on the surface of infected plants are then splashed to surrounding plants during overhead irrigation. This kind of spread accounts for the occurrence of groups of plants or trays in the greenhouse and subsequent rows of infected transplants in the field. During planting, which invariably causes wounds, transplants may also be infected after an infected plant is handled, especially if the plants are wet.
Secondary spread occurs in splashing water, on contaminated equipment, during clipping, cultivation, or vine training operations, and other activities. In the field, such spread usually only results in local infections, i.e., leaf, stem, and fruit spots. In the greenhouse, these sources can lead to local and systemic infections.
In the field, the pathogen will survive indefinitely in tomato tissue. Once that tissue has decomposed in the ground, however, the bacteria will die because they are notsoil inhabitors. Thus, it is very important to turn under infected plant residue at the end of the season. Once that residue decomposes, the bacteria will die and the field does not pose a problem for subsequently plantings. It is prudent, however, to rotate to another crop for at least one season to assure that the tomato residue is completely gone.
In research trials, bacteria have survived as long as 10 months on contaminated wooden stakes. Hence, in the greenhouse it may be extremely important to disinfest the surface of benches and equipment to prevent spread to subsequent trays of transplants. In fields of more mature plants, disinfesting equipment is not as critical because any spread to other plants would probably result in local, and not systemic, infections. It is cautious, however, to wash equipment that has been through a heavily infested field. Surface disinfectants include bleach solutions (0.5 to 1% calcium hypochlorite) and Physan, among other products.
Planting clean transplants is the most important control measure. Vigilantly monitor seed fields and implement strict quality control measures. Assay seed should for detectable levels of contamination and discard lots if the bacterium is found. It may be prudent to soak all seed for 30 minutes in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid (the final concentration of hydrochloric acid should be 1.1% with a pH of 0.9). Alternatively, seed could be soaked in 130°F water for 25 minutes. In the greenhouse, potting mix and flats should be steamed or washed with a 1% solution of calcium hypochlorite. Empty greenhouses between crops of transplants to allow time to disinfest benches, irrigation hoses, etc. Overhead water pressure should be low to prevent wounding. Copper applications may be necessary to reduce the efficient, yet unnoticeable spread between plants.
In the field, special measures may have to be taken once canker has been identified. Do not work fields when the foliage is wet. Frequent field operations at the wrong time can result in spread of the disease throughout the entire field. Unless the number of infected plants is small, it may do more harm than good to try to remove the symptomatic plants. Copper applications offer limited benefits because systemic infections cannot be affected and localized infections (the most probable scenario if other precautions are taken) pose a small economic threat. During wet weather, however, bactericides may be justified. At the season's end, incorporate all plant tissue. Tissue that remains on the surface and doesn't decompose is a real risk to subsequent tomato crops. Once the tomato residue decomposes, however, canker is no longer a threat. To be absolutely certain that the bacterium has been eliminated from the field, rotate out of tomatoes for at least one year.
UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines: Tomato | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39438000 |
International partnership launched to promote conservation efforts for threatened marine species
29 October 2003 | News story
IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland, 29 October 2003. IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC) is joining forces with the Perry Institute for Marine Science to help protect the world's oceans through research, and the development and promotion of conservation efforts for threatened marine species.
As the threat of extinction increases for a wide variety of marine species, the alliance between the Florida-based Perry Institute and the IUCN/SSC will support critical scientific efforts to identify threatened marine species worldwide. Prioritization for conservation of these species is promoted through SSC's Specialist Groups and other conservation organizations.
Currently, the SSC marine Specialist Groups focus on cetaceans, seals, sirenians, marine turtles, sharks, groupers and wrasses, and coral reef and Caribbean fishes. Threatened marine species, identified by these and additional SSC experts, will be included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world's most authoritative and comprehensive list of species at risk of extinction.
"As the number of marine additions to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species increases each year, it is essential that conservation organizations team up to pool their resources and knowledge. This new partnership is an extremely welcome step towards implementing SSC's marine programme priorities, which work to prevent the wave of extinctions in the marine realm," said SSC Chair, David Brackett.
"It is clear that international cooperation is a key to success in world-wide marine conservation efforts," says Dr. John Marr, Executive Director of the Perry Institute for Marine Science. "We are very grateful to have gained support for this from Mr. and Mrs. John H. Perry, Jr., active members of the Perry Institute's Board of Trustees, who have awarded a $75,000 grant for the first year of this partnership."
In addition to fostering scientific and conservation efforts on behalf of marine species, the collaboration between the Perry Institute and the Species Survival Commission will also focus on distilling and disseminating scientific information for a range of audiences. Other goals include developing technical resources on extinction and endangerment in marine species, participating in policy processes that affect the management of marine species, and assisting in marine protected area planning efforts.
To coordinate this partnership, the Perry Institute has hired Amie Bräutigam, who has spearheaded SSC's marine programme planning effort in recent years. She brings a breadth of experience to the effort, having worked on international threatened species issues for over 20 years, and will be working from Washington, DC.
"We are very excited about the positive impacts resulting from this partnership," said Roger McManus, SSC Executive Committee's marine focal point, and Board Chairman of the Perry Institute for Marine Science, whose work on worldwide marine conservation has earned international acclaim. "Through cooperative efforts we can learn more about preserving our marine environments and provide tools that will help others do the same."
For more information contact:
SSC Marine Programme
Perry Institute for Marine Science
Tel: +1 202-363.5675
Perry Institute for Marine Science
Tel: +1 561-741-0192, extension 117
About The Perry Institute for Marine Science
The Perry Institute for Marine Science, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Florida since 1970, is dedicated to enhancing understanding of the wider Caribbean region's marine environment by supporting and conducting high quality marine research and education programs in order to provide solutions to people and our oceans. This is accomplished through concentrating on critical marine issues, such as increasing populations of commercial and recreational fisheries, improving and protecting coral reef ecosystems, and studying the causes and consequences of natural and human impact on the oceans. Visit www.cmrc.org for additional information.
About IUCN-The World Conservation Union
Founded in 1948, IUCN brings together 73 states, 107 government agencies, 755 non-governmental organizations, 35 affiliates, and approximately 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a global conservation partnership. Its mission is to influence, encourage, and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. The Species Survival Commission, with 120 specialist groups, brings together more than 7,000 scientists, resource managers, and conservation practitioners worldwide, who collaborate on a myriad of projects. Visit www.iucn.org for additional information. The Species Survival Commission is the custodian of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (see www.iucnredlist.org). | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39446000 |
Transboundary EIA in Central America
08 June 2007 | News story
Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental Transfronteriza en Centroamérica - Lineamientos generales is the name of a new book of the EPLP Series, produced by the IUCN Regional Office for Mesoamerica (ORMA) and the IUCN
Environmental Law Centre (ELC).
Central America is a region that shares ecosystems, river basins, and protected areas. The development of projects, plans or activities likely to produce transboundary impacts need to be appropriately considered, and an EIA process established and anchored in regional policies and legislation.
This book, elaborated by Dr. Alejandro Iza, Director of the ELC, Dr. Grethel Aguilar, Regional Director, IUCN ORMA, and Marianela Cedeño, environmental lawyer at the IUCN Regional Office in Mesoamerica analyses the relevant initiatives on transboundary EIA in the world, and advances the basic elements of a regional agreement on EIA in a transboundary context for Central America. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39447000 |
Protecting yourself from cybercrime
(BPT) - Gone are the days when hackers were the weekend enthusiasts you tolerated on the golf course, when viruses were the things that gave you the flu or a cold, and Phish was a popular jam band who served as the inspiration for your favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry's. With the rise of the Internet and electronic devices has come the rise of cyber-related crime.
Cybercrime, as it is called, is defined as a criminal activity using computers or other electronic devices to victimize people, organizations or businesses.
"Despite a global recession, improved security and international crackdown efforts, cybercrime has thrived over the last decade, growing by double digits year after year," says Clint Kirkwood, a professor of Criminal Justice at Argosy University
, Orange County and 28-year veteran and retired commanding officer of the vice section of the narcotics division of the Detroit Police Department. While estimates of the cost of cyber crime to businesses and the private sector vary, a 2011 publication released by Javelin Strategy and Research, the annual cost of identity theft alone was $37 billion. "Today, some of the most successful criminals do not have to leave the comfort of their own homes to pull off crimes bigger than ever. All they need is an Internet connection, a little tech savvy and a lot of bad will," says Kirkwood.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 300,000 complaints in 2011, which included such crimes as FBI-related scams, identity theft, advance fee fraud and a host of romance, work-from-home, auto auction, loan intimidation and other scams.
"Since the take-off of social networking and the paperless way of conducting business, cyber-based criminal activity has skyrocketed in many corners of the world," says Gary Gonzales, a professor in the Criminal Justice program
at Argosy University, San Diego and police detective in his 16th year of service with the San Diego Police Department. "Criminals are masking themselves as potential customers, clients or even professionals to lure innocent people into a web of deception and greed. From copyright infringement and cyber bullying to child pornography and spamming, the impact is enormous."
Knowing the threats you face online and the tools available to help you keep a watchful eye is critical in protecting yourself in the digital world. There are simple precautions that computer, mobile phone and other digital users can take to ensure their safety. Do not open emails/attachments from unknown or suspicious sources, nor answer email messages that ask for your personal information.
"The widows of Nigerian generals desperately seeking your financial assistance and notifications that you've won a European lottery are obvious scams but some email fraud can be much more difficult to distinguish," says Arabinda Banerjee, senior vice president of Technology Infrastructure at a leading bank in Tampa, Florida and faculty member at Argosy University, Tampa.
"In general, if it seems too good to be true or requires you to send money in to receive a reward, be sure to avoid it. Emails with vague but feel-good subject lines like 'Congratulations! ' or the name of a friend and the message 'has shared a picture/video ' can be malicious emails, even when apparently sent out by one of your friends." Do an Internet search using the term 'scam' and some of the key words from the message, advises Banerjee. If it's a known scam, you'll likely see it pop up in your search engine results.
Invest in a good anti-virus software and firewall, the experts suggest. While this will not guarantee 100 percent protection, they will definitely reduce your risk greatly. Be sure that any WiFi connection you are using to conduct financial business is locked and protected and any stores you are making purchases from are reputable. In addition, be sure to monitor your financial accounts monthly to determine any fraudulent charges and report suspicious activity immediately.
Change your passwords frequently and create passwords that are difficult to guess. Do not use the same ID/password in all websites. While keeping track of multiple logins and passwords may be an inconvenience, it's a necessary protection against hackers. | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39450000 |
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Related: ego - individual - person - self consciousness - self medication - self injury - self-referentiality - identity
- The total, essential, or particular being of a person; the individual: An actor's instrument is the self (Joan Juliet Buck).
- The essential qualities distinguishing one person from another; individuality: He would walk a little first along the southern walls, shed his European self, fully enter this world (Howard Kaplan).
- One's consciousness of one's own being or identity; the ego: For some of us, the self's natural doubts are given in mesmerizing amplification by way of critics' negative assessments of our writing (Joyce Carol Oates).
- One's own interests, welfare, or advantage: thinking of self alone.
- Immunology. That which the immune system identifies as belonging to the body: tissues no longer recognized as self.--American Heritage Dictionary
In philosophy, the self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of an idiosyncratic consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they are ascribed. It is a substance, which therefore endures through time; thus, the thoughts and actions at different moments of time may pertain to the same self (See John Locke's theory of consciousness as the basis of personal identity). As the notion of subject, the "self" has been harshly criticized by Nietzsche at the end of the 19th century, on behalf of what Gilles Deleuze would call a "becoming-other".
To another person, the self of one individual is exhibited in the conduct and discourse of that individual. Therefore, the intentions of another individual can only be inferred indirectly from something emanating from that individual.
The particular characteristics of the self determine its identity. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_%28philosophy%29 [Feb 2006]
The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology. Usages differ between theorists and fields of study, but in general the self refers to the conscious, reflective personality of an individual. The study of the self involves significant methodological problems, especially concerning consciousness. Some of these are taken up in philosophy of mind and metaphysics.
A psychological school of thought focused on the self was originally proposed by Heinz Kohut (1913-1981).--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_%28psychology%29 [Feb 2006]
your Amazon recommendations - Jahsonic - early adopter products | fwe2-CC-MAIN-2013-20-39452000 |
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