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f538323c-5554-4010-b78f-a3f92d6376cf | 21st century presents host | social_studies | historical_context | The 21st century presents a host of new challenges to national security. The United States is no longer embroiled in a Cold War, and the current strategic environment entails threats that are complex and remarkably more sophisticated. Terrorism, transnational organized crime, cyber crime, and weapons of mass destruction are examples of these threats, and challenge the state in exceedingly new ways. However, the evolution of national and global security threats does not necessitate entirely new security measures. In particular, covert action has advanced with the national security demands of the 21st century. It will continue to play a role as a key instrument of U.S. foreign policy and national security, and in the digital age, covert action is essential for preventing and thwarting threats via the cyber domain.
Throughout the Cold War era, the U.S. Government undertook a variety of covert actions against a Soviet hegemony and leftist, often militant, political movements that posed a threat to U.S. national security. Covert operations to combat these threats were met with varying degrees of success, and have resulted in a re-examination of covert action as either a necessary policy instrument or an antiquated Cold War phenomenon. For instance, throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the CIA used financial backing and anti-communist propaganda to overthrow the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. While considered a success, the overthrow of Allende gave rise to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, whose notoriously brutal regime put a black mark on U.S. covert operations in South America. Moreover, in 1987 the Iran-Contra affair raised legal questions over the use of covert action, specifically, covert action that is not congressionally authorized. However, covert action has not been eliminated. It has kept pace with advances in technology, and its importance is both strong and increasing. For instance in 2010 Stuxnet, a U.S.-Israeli computer virus, successfully destroyed 1/5 of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges at the Natanz Nuclear Plant. In March 2015, Adan Garar, a member of Al-Shabaab’s intelligence outfit, was successfully killed by a U.S. drone strike. Therefore, the question is not whether covert action will continue, but how will it be used in the digital age?
Today, almost everything is in digital format. A person posts his or her personal information, opinions and ideas on social media platforms. As demonstrated by the Arab Spring, social media platforms such as Twitter can be used as an outlet to transform an idea into a revolution. Rather than place covert propaganda in newspapers and on the radio, the CIA today could foster political influence through Facebook or Twitter. Social media allows propaganda to be distributed to across the globe, and its transmission time is extremely faster than Cold War communication. This means that not only is covert action evolving, its continued effectiveness has redefined the way in which the intelligence community operates.
Cyber security is also expanding the nature of covert action. Anything that has an Internet connection is at risk, and the potential for state and non-state actors to leverage this presents both new opportunities and threats. Therefore, while covert action may involve paramilitary conflict or foreign direct financial assistance, we will see an increase and shift toward cyber attacks. The U.S. could be faced with or initiate an attack directed at critical infrastructure, used to destabilize a financial system, or could involve the insertion of malware into a government computer system. These covert actions hardly existed in the Cold War era.
Given the current nature of conflict, covert action will continue to be a foreign policy instrument, and its use in the cyber domain will extend into the foreseeable future. Its value did not end with the Cold War, and the need for it is expanding with developments in technology and cyber security. To be successful, covert action must remain in line with strategic policy goals, and strike a balance between national security and an integrated international system of governance and laws. Covert action will continue throughout the 21st century and into the 22nd and such, the U.S. Government must continue to cyberize the covert world. | 0.65 | medium | 5 | 864 | [
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9a0388f4-1735-497d-b7b7-ece5629ebf1a | Federation Dutchess County Fish | technology | historical_context | Federation of Dutchess County Fish and Game Clubs, Inc.
P.O. Box 3201, Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 www.dutchessfishandgame.org
The Voice of the Sportsman since 1932
July 11, 2019 Regular Delegates Meeting
Maura's Kitchen Restaurant, Millbrook, NY
The meeting was opened at 7:34 PM by President Chris Villa.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Scott Emslie.
A moment of silence was observed for armed services personnel, first responders, and past Federation members.
Roll Call: 23 people were in attendance, representing 18 clubs.
The Treasurer's Report was accepted upon a motion by Scott Emslie and a second by Ken Rose. All-in-favor (AIF).
The minutes of the previous delegates meeting on June 13, 2019 were approved upon a motion by Scott Emslie and a second by Jim Guyette, as amended with a correction as noted. (AIF)
Correction: The Trappers Education course at Millerton Rod & Gun Club will be held on July 27 th and not on July 22 nd .
The minutes of the Board of Directors meeting on June 24, 2019 were approved upon a motion by Scott Emslie and a second by Ken Rose. AIF
Guests
None
Committee Reports
Annual Dinner
Penny Hickman stated that the dinner will be held on January 25 th , 2020 at the Villa Borghese banquet facility. The contract has been signed and returned.
Anthony Pittore stated that the award that was to be presented at last year's dinner to John Barry for his many years of service as a Hunter Education instructor was never presented, since Mr. Barry was not available then or recently. So Anthony presented the award to delegate John Darcy of East Hook Sportsmens Association to give to Mr. Barry at soonest convenience.
Hunters Helping the Hungry
Penny Hickman reported that the total distributed game meat this year remains at 6,995 pounds. Based on her records, 120,179 pounds have been distributed since 1998.
1
Junior Hunter Pheasant Hunt (JHPH)
Anthony Pittore reported that he has applications available. The hunt is open to licensed youth 12-15 years of age, who have submitted applications, on a first-come, first-serve basis. As always, it is a rewarding day for the kids and volunteers alike, and help is always needed and appreciated.
Conservation Education
Scott reported that one kid had to cancel camp attendance due to an unanticipated medical reason. Pete Kraayenbrink volunteered at the Hunter Education class today at Camp DeBruce and stated that15 kids attended the class; 11 girls and 4 boys.
Publicity/Promotions
Ken Foster reported that there are still 6 volunteer time slots open for the Dutchess County Fair booth, in order to have 3 people per time slot for the desired coverage. Ken has the discounted admission tickets available. 110 Rod & Gun Club has some tickets available for the unfilled slots that they could not fill, so contact delegate John O'Donnell at 845-559-7912 if you can fill a slot and want a ticket. Skip North was recognized and thanked for Millerton Rod & Gun Club's donation of a bear rug that may be used for the booth display.
Club 36 Annual Raffle
Anthony Pittore reported that many tickets have been distributed and he will be mailing tickets to clubs who have not yet received any. Anthony reminded everyone that this is the main (and only) fundraiser that the Federation holds every year, so he encouraged all clubs to participate by selling or buying tickets.
Youth Trap Shooting
Committee chairman Tom Gannon reported that they have found a source for liability insurance, which should alleviate a lot of the clubs' concerns. The cost is $30 per instructor and $20 per youth shooter. Anthony Pittore stated that he is working on scheduling an NRA RSO (Range Shooting Officer) class, so that there will be certified instructors overseeing the kids on the range. Tentative course dates are 8/25 (all day) in Highland or on 7/30 – 7/31 (2 evenings) at Whortekill. Anyone interested in becoming an RSO should contact Anthony.
Legislation
Bill Conners reported that not one hunting-related bill that sportsmen favored, passed in the recent legislative session, with the exception of several home-rule bills for rifle expansion in hunting seasons.
But fortunately for sportsmen, some of the "fringe" bills that were unfavorable to sportsmen did not pass either. These included the lead ammo ban on public lands bill, and the bill to outlaw hunting contests.
It was a rough legislative session. Bill handed out a report of bills of interest, and discussed several on the list. One was the Safe Storage Act, which passed, but was amended to exempt kids with hunting licenses or on the range with an adult (NYS Assembly bill A8174). See the Assembly Legislature web site for the full text of that bill or any of the bills. Most are awaiting the Governor's signature, which he is likely to do.
Bill noted that people can now buy gift cards for sporting licenses, to give as gifts.
New York State Conservation Council
Bill Conners stated that as treasurer of the Council, he has spent a lot of time on their fiscal viability problems. His honest assessment is that the Council will absolutely have to change how they do business to remain solvent long-term, especially if the desire is to increase outreach, legislative lobbying, and communication with their members.
2
Bill Conners, reporting on CFAB issues, stated that he is still working on expanding the investment choices of the lifetime license fund.
Speaking on FWMB which deals with access, habitat, and biology, Bill is currently planning the fall meeting. The DEC is starting to look at creating a new Stream Management Plan and Bill asked Mike Butts, Trout Unlimited delegate, to be involved and represent our interests. Bill has been providing input on the Forest Action Plan which expires in 2020.
Communications
None reported
Unfinished (Old) Business
None reported
New Business
None reported
Announcements
Viola Rod & Gun Club is hosting two more NSSF FirstShots events for first-time shooters on 8/3 (Youth only) and 9/14 (all ages).
Scott Emslie – the Friends of NRA Committee is holding a gun raffle.
Northern Dutchess Rod & Gun Club – Steel plate shoot on 7/14
Pleasant Valley Trout and Game Club – 3D Bow shoots on 8/3 & 9/8, gun raffle drawn on 11/14, Open to the Public Trap Shooting Mondays & Thursdays, and Hunters Education classes in July & August.
The winner of the 50/50 drawing was Jim Guyette.
Next meeting date: August 8 th, at Maura's Kitchen Restaurant in Millbrook.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Tom Holsopple, Secretary
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9d7c852d-342a-4f67-9044-63e9cb41809d | Legislators Advance Effort To Protect Student Athletes | life_skills | case_study | Legislators Advance Effort To Protect Student Athletes
TRENTON – The state Senate Education Committee advanced an initiative to create awareness of cardiac illness in student-athletes on Monday.
The measure (SR-75/AR-84), would urge all boards of education in New Jersey to take precautionary measures to protect students and staff from sudden cardiac death through:
• The installation of an automated external defibrillator in every school;
• The training of staff on the appropriate use of defibrillators;
• The development of an emergency action response plan for each school that addresses the appropriate use of school staff in responding to cardiac arrest and similar health crises on school grounds; and
• The implementation of a CPR training program for all students and staff.
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Leave a Reply | 0.7 | high | 5 | 237 | [
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82c268db-22a2-46d6-baee-0d031c1c8733 | Parts used: leaves, flowers, bark & roots | life_skills | historical_context | Parts used: leaves, flowers, bark & roots
Energetics: bitter, cool, pungent, -PK +V
Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach up to heights of 50 feet, growing in many parts of India and the subcontinent, with the ability to withstand very high temperatures and low rainfall. In Ayurveda it is known as sarva roga nivarini, translating as ‘the curer of all ailments’, indicating its vast healing benefits. The most commonly used part of the neem tree are its dried leaves which are very bitter in nature.
The anti fungal and anti viral and powerful blood purification and properties of neem makes it a key ingredient for remedies of skin conditions and curing diabetes. It was also found to be effectively used to cure diseases like malaria, insect bites, nausea, vomiting, rheumatism, jaundice, obesity, arthritis, hair loss, urinary tract problems and parasites.
With its powerful detoxification properties, neem cools fevers and clears the toxins involved in many inflammatory skin diseases (especially burning). It has the qualities to pacify all doshas, however cautions needs to be applied in conditions of colds and debilitation.
One of the reknowned uses for Neem is the prevention of tooth decay & gum disease. Neem twigs and leaves have been used for thousands of years in India by millions of people to brush their teeth and to promote oral hygiene. | 0.65 | medium | 5 | 290 | [
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0535fe5d-c210-48a3-a695-42acbf11c811 | you ever get frustrated | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Do you ever get frustrated when you reach for an onion in your pantry, only to find that it has gone bad? We’ve all been there! Onions are a staple ingredient in many dishes and can last quite a long time if stored properly. In this article, we’ll explore common causes of onion spoilage and provide tips on identifying bad onions. We’ll also discuss whether or not it’s safe to use onions that are going bad, as well as ways to prevent spoilage altogether.
What Causes Onions to Go Bad?
Onions are a staple ingredient in many dishes, and they add flavor and nutritional value to our meals. However, like all fresh produce, onions have a limited shelf life. In this section, we’ll take a look at the factors that affect the shelf life of onions, how to properly store them to prolong their freshness, and the signs of spoilage to watch out for.
Factors That Affect Onion Shelf Life
- Humidity: Onions should be stored in a dry environment with low humidity. High humidity can promote mold growth and cause onions to rot.
- Temperature: Onions should be stored at cool room temperature around 45°F – 55°F (7°C – 13°C), away from direct sunlight. Extreme temperatures can cause sprouting or softening of onions.
- Disease: Any disease or damage caused during harvest or transportation can break down the onion skin causing decay. Insects also damage it by introducing bacteria and fungi.
Proper Storage Techniques
- Cut off upper part: You may cut off its upper part after harvesting/cleaning so as it doesn’t catch moisture at first place.
- Avoiding Moisture: The ideal storage location is an area with good air circulation that’s completely dry away from water-damage causing things.
- Storage Containers: Storing onions in a mesh bag, burlap sack or wire basket offers good air and moisture movement preventing decay. Away from other food: Since onions can absorb the smell of other foods, they should be stored separately away from potatoes or apples which will quicken their spoilage.
Signs of Spoilage
Once you learn the signs to watch out for, it’s easy to know if an onion has gone bad. Here are some common signs:
- Mold: If you see any mold growing on the onion’s skin or smell anything that smells like mildew, it is time to discard it.
- Sprouting: The presence of green sprouts sprouting means that your onions have started germinating and you need to consume them as soon as possible before they rot.
- Foul Odor and Softness: If the onion feels soft when squeezed or produces a significantly unpleasant, pungent odor upon closer inspection then dispose of immediately since they are decaying badly.
In conclusion, storing onions properly is critical to extending their shelf life. You should keep them in a cool place with low humidity—and make sure not to store them close by potatoes—as well as watch for warning signs such as mold growth, sprouts, red flags that indicate the beginning of decomposition. Overall remember “an ounce of prevention beats worth pound cure. ” So take care & stay healthy!How to Tell if an Onion Is Bad
Onions are a staple in many kitchens, but they can go bad quickly. Here are some tips for identifying whether your onion has gone bad and is no longer safe to eat:
Visual cues to look for in a bad onion:
- The onion has soft spots or is mushy to the touch.
- The skin of the onion is discolored or has black mold on it.
- The onion has started sprouting green shoots from the top.
Tips for identifying spoiled onions by touch and smell:
- If you notice that your onion feels slimy or wet when you touch it, this can be a sign of spoilage. A fresh onion should feel firm and dry.
- Smell the onion before cutting into it. A healthy onion should have an earthy, slightly sweet odor. If there’s a foul smell or any sort of ammonia-like scent, then it’s likely gone bad.
Common misconceptions about onion spoilage:
- Some people believe that if an onion has dried roots, then it’s not good anymore. However, this isn’t always true; many onions with dried roots are perfectly fine to consume as long as there aren’t any other signs of decay.
In summary, always make sure to check your onions for visual cues like soft spots, mold, sprouts or discoloration before using them. You may also want to give them a sniff test and feel them for sliminess before incorporating them into your cooking. By taking these steps and dispelling popular misconceptions about how onions spoil, you will be able to keep your onions fresh and safe to eat.
Can You Still Use Onions That Are Going Bad?
If you have a stock of onions at home, there’s a good chance that they are starting to go bad. But what do you do with them? Can you still use onions that are going bad? The answer is yes, as long as it’s safe and you know how to work around it.
When It’s Safe to Use Onions That Are Starting to Spoil
- You can use partially spoiled onions when the mold growth is only on the surface layer. Just cut off the affected part(s) and discard it before using the remaining onion.
- You can also safely use an onion that is sprouting by peeling off the skin layers until there is no more visible mold or brown spots.
How to Salvage Partially Spoiled Onions
- If your onion has soft spots or bruises but doesn’t smell rotten, then try peeling away those damaged layers until you reach healthy flesh underneath. Then rinse well in running water and pat dry before slicing, dicing or chopping for recipes like fried rice, stir-fries and soups.
- If the whole bulb smells sour or musty, but looks mostly intact with just a few brown spots inside one of its layers rather than all over – this usually means bacterial spoilage caused by moisture exposure during storage instead of actual rotting yet- consider roasting them at high temperature (e. g., 425°F) to get some caramelization flavors while eliminating any harmful microorganisms.
- Sizzling sautéed onion slices will give almost any dish an amazing flavor boost. If parts of an onion have started wilting without developing moldy patches throughout their tissue, chop off the bad parts and sauté it until translucent in your preferred oil. The flavor will be weaker than fresh onions, but still delicious.
Recipes That Are Perfect for Using up Slightly Spoiled Onions
- Caramelized onion soup or French onion soup are perfect for those onions that have developed a mildly sweet aroma due to natural caramelization during storage over time.
- Onion rings or battered onion strips can have broken pieces of ends used without fail in the batter coating process as long as they are firm enough not to crumble under pressure from your fingers when soaked in liquid mixture.
- Onion dip made with cottage cheese, cream cheese or yogurt is also a good way to use up slightly spoiled onions that would have otherwise been thrown away. Just finely chop them (or puree into the dips) and add some salt, lemon juice and herbs before mixing with the other ingredients.
In conclusion, you can still use onions that are going bad if you know how to work around them safely. Follow these tips on salvaging and repurposing partially spoiled onions for your convenience while reducing food wastage too.
How to Prevent Onion Spoilage
Onions are a staple ingredient in many kitchens, but they can spoil quickly if not stored properly. Here are some best practices for storing onions, mistakes to avoid when handling them, and tips for preventing onion waste.
Best Practices for Storing Onions
- Keep onions in a cool, dry place. Onions should be stored at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. If possible, store them in a well-ventilated area.
- Avoid storing onions near other produce. Some fruits and vegetables release gases that can cause your onions to spoil more quickly. Keep onions separate from potatoes and other root vegetables as well as from fruits like apples or bananas.
- Separate damaged or sprouting onions immediately. Damaged or rotting parts of an onion will affect the rest of it more quickly over time. If you discover any damage on an onion during storage, remove that part immediately before returning it to storage with the rest of your good onions.
Mistakes to Avoid When Handling Onions
- Don’t wash whole onions until ready to use them. The moisture can cause premature spoilage.
- Avoid cutting too much off of each onion halfway through prepping multiple cloves of garlic before moving beyond salt and pepper phase into actual flavor territory because this draining process takes away all the nutrients found within each slice–especially vitamin C–leaving behind nothing except significantly higher levels of water content which encourages bacterial growth leading directly towards eventual mold growth down the line!
- DON’T put cut onions back in the fridge. Cut onions release moisture more quickly and can spoil faster when stored in an airtight environment like your refrigerator. Instead, store them in an open container or wrap them loosely with plastic wrap before returning them to the fridge. This also minimizes strong odors from spreading to other foods.
Tips for Preventing Onion Waste
- Store onions according to their variety and use level. Onions that are used regularly (sweet onions) don’t last as long as those meant for storage (red onions), so being aware of their intended purpose can help decrease waste.
- Use your senses to check onion freshness before use: Look out for any cracks or soft spots on the surface, sniff it and make sure there is no strong smell coming from it, touch it gently and feel for firmness throughout the onion, if all of these things check out then it should be good!
- If you won’t use a whole onion at once freeze what’s left over into ice cube tray molds that way each portion will be ready whenever you need without going bad because there isn’t enough time left before oxidation sets in
If you follow these simple steps for storing, handling and using onions mindfully they will be guaranteed to stay fresh for longer periods of time than what was previously possible through mere trial and error alone.
In conclusion, knowing how to identify and prevent onion spoilage is key to minimizing food waste and ensuring the quality of your meals. By following simple storage guidelines and being mindful of signs of spoilage, you can enjoy fresh onions whenever you need them.
1. How do I store onions properly?
Onions should be stored in a cool (but not cold) dry place with good ventilation, away from other produce.
2. What are some signs that an onion is going bad?
Look out for visible mold or soft spots on the surface of the onion skin or a foul odor coming from inside the onion.
3. Can I still use an onion with minor sprouting?
Yes! Cut off the sprouted portion and use as normal- just make sure there is no additional spoilage present before using. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 2,301 | [
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04e5ed1d-9b64-420e-bef2-c2afe251fb4e | your mouth currently filled | interdisciplinary | worked_examples | Is your mouth currently filled with gold fillings that irritate you when you drink iced water, or leave you feeling shy and embarrassed every time you smile? Maybe you have recently developed a cavity, that needs restorative treatment. If so, it is time to explore tooth-colored fillings, and the unique benefits they can offer your smile. From replacing outdated or failing fillings, to protecting teeth recently made fragile by dental decay, don’t wait any longer to see if tooth-colored fillings could help give you a healthier and more beautiful smile!
When Are Fillings the Answer?
You may already know that dental fillings are frequently advised for treating cavities. But do you know what purpose they serve?
Cavities occur when acid erosion due to plaque buildup deteriorates the outer layer of the tooth, the enamel, exposing the layer beneath it, the dentin. Because the dentin is far more sensitive than the enamel, many people realize they have a cavity because they begin experiencing sensitivity to hot or cold foods or drinks.
A filling works to protect this damaged tooth, by creating a tight seal around the eroded area. This filling can also bear the brunt of your biting, so the weakened tooth is less likely to crack or chip.
Why Choose a Tooth-colored Filling?
Though metal amalgam fillings are still offered by many dentists, they are not always the best option. For patients with metal allergies or sensitivities, for instance, metal fillings can become uncomfortable, particularly during eating and drinking.
They are also far more noticeable than tooth-colored fillings. In fact, the esthetic benefits are one of the primary reasons many restorative dentists now recommend tooth-colored fillings for restoring teeth! | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 341 | [
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d95de663-eb98-4f2c-923a-e416e2cbce8c | Wednesday, July 30, 2008 | science | thought_experiment | Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Earthquakes on boob tube, broken Seagrams, dropped Blackberrys, $100-plate fundraisers, and my life as a “superhero-imagined" journalist
EARTHQUAKE! Same time yesterday, a rockin’ wavy 10-secs (or more) tremor roused me from my sleep (yes, vampires are still asleep at 11am). I thought a combined force of Hellboy and Rosie McDonnel was pulling me out of my slumber, or something. (Okay, it’s over now—no significant damage to life and limb. Right now, I am dancing to The Police’s “De Do Do Do, Da Da Da Da.”)
A Hollywood-based dudette with a Pam Anderson head and trans fats-fed brains: “Oh my God, that wasn’t cool at all. Scary! That was my first time ever to be in an earthquake! I was tryin’ to text my mom, but all signals were gone. It was scary, so scary! I actually dropped my Blackberry and hit my foot!” Rewind to many months ago—a banished young beauty contest winner (maybe a future wifey of Donald Trump): “Yeah, it was awesome at the rehab. It so like, spiritual cool! We had party at the pool and I chilled and hanged out with really awesome people out there! I wanna visit one day—you know like, this summer?” [Sting: “De do do do, da da da da—that’s all I got to say to you.”)
Back to the 5.4 intensity earthquake.
I actually felt for the liquor store owner in Chino Hills (quake’s epicenter): [Imagine William Hurt sullenness, near tears] “Yeah, that was terrible. We had like hundreds of wine bottles, expensive liquor that broke… Sad.” / How about this. An “expert” in emergency situations: “When things like this happen, don’t leave them alone, don’t show them that you are panicking, keep calm. Because they don’t like that, they have to be assured that things are okay.” (He’s referring to dogs and he’s reporting from Beverly Hills.)
But everything’s okay now… Let’s go back to our superhero-smothered summer. (I haven’t even seen “The Dark Knight” yet in a multiplex near me; that quake made me paranoid! It was so, like, y’know, scary shit!)
NOW, HEAR this! According to former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, UFOs are real and aliens are watching us. ETs are checkin’ us out, so how cool is that, huh? I’d rather be watched, pursued—and shook, rattled and rolled—by some dude with spatula-shaped head, aquamarine flesh, Jell-O ears, and tiny Michael Jackson nose than really-fearsome ICE agents and multi-accented telemarketing phone commandoes. I’m down with a multi-galaxy of diversity (the NEW bitch)—like meeting up for a fun Friday night with a plethora of Guillermo del Toro’s cute creatures (eg “Hellboy,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Devil’s Backbone”) over Corona Lites and calamari.
“Hey, hom! What’s goin’ on up there in Jupiter? I heard Axl Rose just moved there, and Motley Crue’s doin’ a gig at Planet Hollywood-Jupiter, awesome!” / “Check out hummus in Saturn, m’friend. No trans fats, no preservatives—got that? We also have permanently-stickin’ organic condoms, it stays there forever, man! Real cheap, just 2 Saturnean dollars (equivalent of an American dime).” / “Lose the Blackberry, panero! We, Venus People, got built-in cellphone down our esophagus, you can actually text while you’re having dinner. How cool is that? It’ll be available at Target-Mars next month for $2.00 with 75 cents rebate, I’ll check that out. Have you been to Mars? I met my awesome boyfriend out there, he’s got 15 arms—so New Wave, so wayyyyy out cool!”
TRANS FATS. Yup, I mentioned that already—three times. I just wrote the headline story for my newspaper’s Southern California edition this week: “Restaurants okay with trans fats ban” (that meant, Filipino restaurants). My lead: “California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants his constituents to keep fit and healthy so he signs a bill over the week requiring restaurants to cook without artery-clogging and disease-inducing trans fats. Trans fats, also known as trans fatty acids, can increase the shelf life and flavor preservation of foods but has been linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity, according to medical research.”
My “healthcentric” friends will love me for that story. Nuff said. But check out my story by the weekend (www.philippinenews.com)
Hmm, I just wish that the federal government or The State of Kaleefornya give their constituents more work hours and higher wages. What are they gonna do—tell LAPD to arrest a 26hr/$8.15 workweek overweight citizen because he/she just dined at Burger King? Trans fats are not even a figment of Third World/starvation-salaried people’s lives—they preserve and flavor their food with natural earth endowments (again, check my article. Now that’s enough self-PR already!)
Why can’t we focus on something else more… uhh, real? Look, I am a vampire, too—but that’s just my “personal bullshit.” I ain’t going to score Stephenie Meyer’s book (it was handed to me by a publicist) and eat it. There’s this one-full page ad at Entertainment Weekly that’s paid for by the American Vampire League of America that says, “Support Equality for All Citizens! Support the Vampire Rights Amendment!” Let them drown in Diet Mountain Dew and Waffle House pancake syrup!
Check out my poem, “The Vampire of the 20th Century” (yes, that’s another self-PR).
You know what I’m saying. There are many activists who profess “peace around the world” but cringe when you request them to sign a “Stop the War” petition. Or, years ago, a local paper in Asheville NC refused to print a photo of a homeless man who was stabbed in downtown’s Pritchard Park, because “it advances violence… we are not after violence.”
No wonder we all freaked out like tail-less roosters when 9/11 struck—when 9/11s happen in many parts of the world where foreign policy gods rear their ugly, helmeted heads. It’s because it’s them, not us…
OKAY, I DIGRESS. Maybe I’ll just focus on finishing my novel. I just “talk” a lot sometimes. Right now, I am here under 90s temp and listening to Blur’s Damon Albarn and waiting for our Manila editor to send me proofs and galleys (to read). Bored.
We moved our “Wander” writers group (that I just formed) for next Wednesday. Makes me wonder, as well, why is it more women seem to faithfully pursue writing? Wander (the group) has only women-members. Not that I don’t like it, I am just intrigued sometimes…
Talk about intrigue of the trade. Have you heard about author Brunonia Barry? She wrote this book, “The Lace Reader”—actually she self-published it for $50,000. And then, a huge publishing outfit took notice and signed her up for a two-book deal with $2 million down payment.
Cool, isn’t it? Problem is, I really don’t know where to get $50,000 to self-freakin’-publish my book! Man, I can’t even buy Howard Zinn’s new book or two of Frank Miller’s graphic novels (that my son, Duane, requested) with my starvation salary… So it really works for me that I am a writer, I get freebies from the mail—like S Meyer’s books, Taco Bell gift cards (no trans fats warning, sorry), and Macy’s women’s undies discounts (Lord-have-mercy, why can’t these PR people figure it out, Pasckie is a Male!)
A SUPERHERO summer, AKA the invasion of our pockets by the unreal. That’s what we’re having these days.
Gas prices and Con (what a name!) Edison bills and chopped-up work hours (for minimum-wagers), and all the hassles of life and living’s synthetic gigs. The only way to go is go watch an escapist superhero movie or two…
My criticism vs critics: Critics (Rolling Stone, Time, NY Times etc etc) heap hallelujahs on Heath Ledger’s “The Joker”—because he is already dead, I guess. Do we need to sympathize with a ruthless anti-hero, or are we sorry that the actor—the real person—is dead? Get a grip. Are comics superheroes supposed to be for kids? Or Adults are the Kids now? (So much violence, right? So we don’t like “violence” and then took Batman circa 2008 to box-office dollar pinnacle, in expense of our starvation salaries!)
More. The Incredible Hulk “sucked” because his exploits are so “unrealistic” (as one critic wrote). Duh? He’s supposed to be so NOT real, hello? Batman, the brooding millionaire; Hancock, the brat superman. Ah, the only super-dude that I dig is Hellboy, because he’s got sense of humor and manages to love a lady and shows it. If that isn’t the “real” deal, I don’t know what is.
Contradictions. Contradictions. Don’t be mad—I am just like the millions, just like us. Helpless, hapless prisoners of “timequake” (refer to Vonnegut).
LET’S TALK about real stuff for a bit.
I just watched this a 1999 Michael Mann movie, “The Insider,” a multi-nominated exploration that told a story of a “60 Minutes” TV series exposé of the tobacco industry, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand (a comparatively restrained Russell Crowe, inward but forceful). The “60 Minutes” story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, objected. The story was later aired on February 4, 1996.
Anyways… the movie is all about the truth, as seen from the eyes (and conscience) of a “corporate” insider and a balls-out journalist. Perfect synergy. This one made me remember the past, during my younger years as journalist caught in the underbelly of the Marcos dictatorship. I recall an argument I had with a newspaper marketing “god”—and heard it again in the movie (Al Pacino as newsman Lowell Bergman and Philip Baker Hall as producer Don Hewitt).
The words are still there: “I am a journalist. I am paid to find news, pursue the truth. I will risk my life to do my job. That’s what I am here for. You do your job, I do mine.” I was forced to resign. My girlfriend at that time, mother of my eldest, left us.
Until now, I see truths, stories of lives and living—eg 65 Filipino politicians flew to Las Vegas last month to watch a boxing match while relatives of hundreds of people who perished in a shipwreck mourned their dead back home. I want to write those stories, but even though I couldn’t for now—I will. Maybe in a self-published book – that is, if I could raise $50,000 from tips in a poetry open mic.
Plug. In case you have some poet/musician friends who live/travel here in Southern CA—I’m already working on lineups for the Traveling Bonfires’ Vagrant Wind 2008 gigs. The first (or second) show happens at Tribal Café in W Temple, near Echo Park, in LA—on Aug 22, Friday. We may have one before that—in Long Beach’s downtown.
OKAY, LAST but not the least—let me tell you about another fundraiser (that I covered/wrote about) in a swank Hollywood hotel’s roof garden last weekend. Women on Lhuiller gowns, men on Brooks Bros, $100 a plate dinner. Fundraiser for the poor. [Sting: “De do do do, da da da da—that’s all I got to say to you.”)
Let me just switch on my Guillermo del Toro movie, “The Devil’s Backbone” (seen in, like 30 times!) while I chomp away with my trans fats-toxic Twinkies and 99 cents apple cider soda. But for you, my dear friends—love good, live good, and eat ONLY good food!
Buenas tardes!
—Pasckie
4:15pm. July 30 08.
Lakewood CA
1 Comments:
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71ed04a7-93af-436b-a4c5-0fc8f767d000 | AIRBORNE & RANGER TRAINING BRIGADE | interdisciplinary | worked_examples | AIRBORNE & RANGER TRAINING BRIGADE
MAJ HIRING PACKET
- Copy of ORB (updated)
- Letter of Intent (Example Attached)
- Letters of Recommendation from Rater and Senior Rater
- Copies of last four OERs
- Assignment Worksheet (Attached)
- Most recent APFT Card
Once you have collected the necessary files, submit the packet as one completed document (pdf). If this is not possible contact the ARTB S1 and make alternative arrangements. E-mail or call the ARTB S1 if you have any additional questions.
AIRBORNE & RANGER TRAINING BRIGADE
ASSIGNMENT WORKSHEET
NAME:
SPOUSE' S NAME:
CHILDREN (Y/N): _____
NAMES/AGE:
EFMP (Y/N): _____
DUAL MILITARY (Y/N): _____
ASSIGNMENT CHOICES RANK ORDER, 1-5
*We will make every attempt to get you your first preference, but this is not always possible. Not all battalions may be open when you apply
BRIGADE STAFF (Fort Benning): ___
4 th RTB (Fort Benning): ___
5 th RTB (Dahlonega, GA): ___
6 th RTB (Eglin AFB, FL): ___
1-507 th PIR (Fort Benning): ___
MAILING ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
EMAIL:
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS – PLEASE STATE BELOW:
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
HEADQUARTERS, AIRBORNE & RANGER TRAINING BRIGADE 10850 SCHNEIDER ROAD FT BENNING, GA 31905
OFFICE SYMBOL
26 June 2014
MEMORANDUM FOR COL David G. Fivecoat, Commander, Airborne & Ranger Training Brigade
SUBJECT: Letter of Intent
1. This letter provides the Airborne & Ranger Training Brigade (ARTB) my written intent to pursue assignment to the ARTB upon completion of my current assignment and pending release by my Brigade Commander. I understand that this assignment is for a period of at least 24 months. I have contacted my brigade commander and branch manager and I am available to report on 01 JUNE 2014.
2. I would like to be hired as a battalion executive officer for the following reasons… I feel I can make a contribution to the ARTB because…
3. My previous assignments include… My previous deployments include…
4. I am a XXXX graduate of XXXXX with a Bachelor of XXXX in XXXX. I was commissioned as an Infantry Officer. I have successfully completed the following military courses: Ranger School, IOBC, ICCC, etc.
5. List your family information, which battalion you would like to be assigned to in order of precedence (including HHD/BDE staff), hobbies, goals, etc.
Rangers Lead the Way!
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6019e841-732c-4784-a445-55497549f736 | Coronavirus Update - Type 2 Diabetes | life_skills | tutorial | Coronavirus Update - Type 2 Diabetes
What do we know about Coronavirus?
A virus unheard of a few months ago is now one of the most common, and unfortunate topics of conversation. While the Coronavirus needs to be taken seriously, there are many ways to help fight it together!
Type 2 Diabetes and Coronavirus
While the news keeps focusing on the global trends and long-term effects, if you or a loved one is a diabetic and you are worried about the coronavirus, we’ve come up with some resources you may find helpful today. If you have diabetes and have symptoms such as a cough, high temperature, or feeling short of breath, you need to monitor your blood sugar closely and call your doctor right away. Do not let this scare you. It is highly recommended and important to maintain a healthy lifestyle during a viral breakout. As specialist Gary Scheiner states, “You’re feeding the enemy in a way if your blood sugar is poorly controlled. When you’re sick, running a lot of high blood sugars is going to extend your recovery time and cause your symptoms to become that much worse,” he explains. Any diabetic who doesn’t yet own a glucose meter for home testing is recommended to buy one immediately so you can make sure to keep blood sugar under control!
Stress and blood sugar levels - what we DO know
Destressing as much as possible during these times is important because stress is bad for diabetics as it spikes blood sugar levels. There are things we cannot control, like the movement of the virus, but there are things 100% within our control! Taking a deep breath and relaxing is something completely within your control, and can have a positive impact on your blood sugar (and life)! Yes, we need to take precautions against the virus (more on this below), but the first thing to do is to stay calm and collected as a method of keeping control of your blood sugar! In addition, diabetics are more susceptible to picking up infections as higher blood glucose levels will weaken the immune system. So, make sure you are keeping your blood sugar levels under control!
How to best avoid CoronavirusThere is currently no vaccine to prevent Coronavirus. So it’s even more important for diabetics to take precautionary measures and stay healthy! This means strictly following all official hygiene recommendations, including:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Changing your lancet every single time you test your blood sugar levels.
- Stocking up on your medications in the event that a state of emergency is declared (no state of emergency has yet been declared).
- Make sure you have at least a few weeks supply of your medications at home.
- Keep extra rubbing alcohol and soap at home to help prevent you from contracting the virus.
- Speak with your doctor and understand how often to check your blood sugar levels, and how to adjust your medications in case you get sick.
- Drink lots of water! Staying hydrated is key for flushing out your body!
- Keep some high glucose candies at home in case of hypoglycemic incidents.
- If you take supplements like CuraLin, make sure to keep them some extra at home. There is no shortage of CuraLin at this time, but this can help protect you from service interruptions by postal carriers.
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst
Now is the time to prepare for what may be ahead, but let’s remember to stay calm! Be sure to keep some stock of what you need to manage your health! And of course, have plenty of toilet paper! Let’s remember, that humanity has overcome viruses before. While we are being asked to keep more social distance, we can come together as a nation and help overcome this virus as well.
CuraLin UpdateIf you are in need of restocking on your CuraLin order, not to worry! We are still shipping worldwide as usual. No service delays are currently predicted. If you are in need of re-ordering, click here.
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99acdcf2-8b26-46e1-b63d-d8d8e9db757f | Social Studies: Sixth grade | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Social Studies: Sixth grade students will be taking the World History course in which we will explore the development of ancient civilizations such as those in Egypt, India, China, and Japan. Seventh graders will be taking Civics, which culminates with a state-mandated Civics exam at the end of the year. Students will be learning about what it means to be a citizen of the United States and how our government works at the federal, state, and local levels. For those students in eighth grade, the course will be United States History from early exploration through post-Civil War Reconstruction.
Language Arts: All language arts class will be studying the same basic skills but the level of difficulty and order each skill is taught will depend on the grade level of the student. We cover the same skills as the other language arts classes, but we slow the pace to meet the learning needs of the students in the classroom. We will be doing a lot of reading and writing to try to improve the skills of each student in those areas. | 0.55 | medium | 5 | 206 | [
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1725f229-ad16-4c18-9b3a-6915f380c268 | Download Ebook State Building | life_skills | practical_application | Download Ebook State Building And Conflict Resolution In The Caucasus
State Building And Conflict Resolution In The Caucasus
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Lecture 1 - Peace and Conflict Studies 164A: Intro to NonviolenceFrom Conflict Resolution to Strategic Peacebuilding Dr Francis Fukuyama's thoughts on state building in Africa Rebuilding Nation Building. Panel 3: Religion as Source of Conflict and Reconciliation Oliver Richmond- Peace-building and State-building [06.03.2015] Peaceland Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention Linking Security and Development in State Building: Recent Lessons from Afghanistan State-building, expansion, conflict Learn How To Resolve Conflict \u0026 Restore Relationships with Rick Warren
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State Building And Conflict Resolution
State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus. Charlotte Hille. BRILL, Apr 16, 2010 - History - 376 pages. 0 Reviews. Taking history and culture of the Caucasus as starting point, state building and conflict resolution processes in the North and South Caucasus are analysed from an international legal and political perspective ...
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Charlotte Hille (PhD 2003) studied international public law, political science and philosophy. She is assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam. She is a specialist in the Caucasus, state building, conflict resolution and gender. She also is a mediator.
State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus | brill
Buy State Building and Conflict Resolution in Colombia, 1986-1994 New Ed by Harvey F. Kline (ISBN: 9780817311483) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
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State Building and Conflict Resolution in Colombia, 1986-1994. By Harvey F. Kline. Read preview. Synopsis. This volume documents the efforts of two Colombian presidents to reduce political violence and bring more stable governance to their country. Both Virgilio Barco Vargas and Cesar Gaviria Trujillo tried to end a variety of armed disturbances.
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This article examines the relationship between post-conflict peace-building and state-building. In so doing, the article illustrates the process of the expansion and transformation of Page 1/2
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Download Ebook State Building And Conflict Resolution In The Caucasus
"world international society". By comparing the process of the formation of sovereign states in modern Europe and state-building activities in post-conflict societies in the contemporary world, the article seeks to identify dilemmas of peace-building through state-building.
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politicians, and scholars to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of state building through conflict resolution. Kline concludes that Barco's and Gaviria's efforts at conflict resolution were only partially successful and points to three major culprits: the lack of a tradition of peaceful conflict resolution in the country; the
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The resolution of conflicts in the workplace typically involves some or all of the following processes: Recognition by the parties involved that a problem exists. Mutual agreement to address the issue and find some resolution. An effort to understand the perspective and concerns of the opposing individual or group.
Conflict Resolution: Definition, Process, Skills, Examples
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Step 1: Prepare for Resolution. Acknowledge the conflict – The conflict has to be acknowledged before it can be managed and resolved. The tendency is for people to ignore the first signs of conflict, perhaps as it seems trivial, or is difficult to differentiate from the normal, healthy debate that teams can thrive on.
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State building and conflict resolution in the Caucasus . Saved in: Level B: Classmark: O947.9 /741988: Long Loan. Available Request. Full title: State building and conflict resolution in the Caucasus / by Charlotte Hille. Main author: Hille, Charlotte Mathilde Louise, 1964-Format: Book Description; Notes;
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Conflict resolution does not include some components of peacebuilding, such as state building and socioeconomic development. While some use the term to refer to only postconflict or post-war contexts, most use the term more broadly to refer to any stage of conflict.
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The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, on research and peacebuilding.
Copyright code : d95fb3ec12bc4c5a1fe0169c9e0e0362
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4d6a1a5f-b23e-46cf-a5d1-1843c90fc98a | EVERYONE knows there five | science | worked_examples | EVERYONE knows there are five basic senses. But try separating them one from the other in your daily life and suddenly they don’t feel so distinct.
Eat a banana, for instance, and try to taste it without smelling it and experiencing that banana-y texture on your tongue. Can you really just taste, or must you sometimes taste-smell-feel? Try talking to your lover. Listen to what is said without watching the mouth move or feeling the caress of a hand. Can you simply hear, or is there always an element of hear-see-touch? Even on the phone, can you hear a voice without imagining a face? Hard, isn’t it?
The prevailing view of the brain still holds that there are five separate senses that feed into five distinct brain regions preordained to handle one and only one sense. The yellowness of the banana skin, the texture of its flesh, its smell and taste-each of these elements is parcelled up and analysed in isolation. Some theories of consciousness suggest that these dedicated brain areas somehow stamp each sense with a unique “feeling”. Then, the theory goes, the brain pastes the fragments back together, calls on memory to give it a name and recall what it’s for and, voila, a banana.
But perhaps it’s time for a radical rethink of how the brain works. Tasks we’ve long assumed were handled by only one sense turn out to be the domain of two or three. And when we are deprived of a sense, the brain responds-in a matter of days or even hours-by reallocating unused capacity and turning the remaining senses to more imaginative use. All this begs … | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 349 | [
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32cd0ec3-6bbd-4312-85d4-87c16aed1894 | One most influential British | interdisciplinary | historical_context | One of the most influential British drill books of the 18th Century whose core, with small alterations, was to become in 1792 the regulation manual for the army.The author, who was later to become Adjutant General, toured the continent often and attended the Prussian manoeuvres of 1785.He was one of many officers who believed that the British experience in North America had led to an over reliance on light infantry and a belief that speed of manoeuvre was of more importance than heaviness of fire power.His book was a much needed restatement of the necessity and value of properly trained heavy infantry.
PRINCIPLES OF MILITARY MOVEMENTS (1788) CHIEFLY APPLIED TO INFANTRY
Infantry drill movements 1788. The work that provided the foundation of drill for the British Army in the Napoleonic Wars. Detailed treatment of battalion drills for all circumstances. Illustrated. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 207 | [
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9a3ed3c0-f5ab-4b67-ab86-3a6d47717e2a | The flashcards below were created by user | philosophy_and_ethics | ethical_analysis | The flashcards below were created by user
on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
Importance of a course in ethics. How might a
course in ethics help the student to discover who he is
- Guide our actions
- Define our values
- Give us
- reasons for being the person we are
What is the relationship b/w religion and
morality? What are some problems with basing morality on religion?
- Is god the maker of morality/author of moral
- In divine command theory, god defines right and wrong.
- Euthyphro dilemma
- Dct false –> god does not create rightness;
- he simply knows what is right and wrong and is subject to the moral law just as
- humans are.
- But god gave free will, god is not subject to
- moral law because if god exists, is possible he exists only in the realm of
- heaven, leaving people on earth to benefit or suffer from the consequences of
- each other’s actions.
Explain what the author of the text calls
“the elements of ethics” p6-8. Do these elements seem reasonable?
- The preeminence of reason – critical reasoning,
- evidence, supporting statements
- The universal perspective – principle of
- universalizeability – the idea that a moral statement that applies in one
- situation must apply in all other similar situations.
- The principle of impartiality – all ppl are =
- unless there is a good moral reason not to, ex hospital giving +immediate care
- when necessary.
- The dominance of moral norms – moral norms tend to override legal/aesthetic/prudential norms.
What is cultural relativism and what are several
problems with it as a theory? Do you believe that there are moral absolutes in
ethics? If you answered no then what criteria do you use to make moral
decisions? If you answered yes then how does on discover these absolutes?
- Assumes maj is infallible
- Social reformers not right
- Social progress impossible
Do you think that female circumcision is morally
permissible or should we not judge the morals of other cultures? Explain your
- Logistically – health risks, dull/dirty cutting
- tools/operating rooms, not always certified doctor, complications with sex,
- menstruation, childbirth, risk of infection, bleeding, death.
What is emotivism in ethics? Does the theory
sound reasonable? Explain. Should emotions play a role in making ethical
- Reasons not intended to support statements, but to influence the emotions/attitudes of others, not always true.
- No such thing as goodness/badness
Summarize the midgley essay trying out one’s new sword
- Moral isolationism is becoming obsolete. We
- overlap more than expected, written in the 80s, we do judge other cultures even if we don’t voice it.
What is the dif b/w a deductive argument and an inductive argument? What are several ways to defeat an argument? Symbolize a
modus ponens, a modus tolens, and a hypothetical syllogism.
- Deductive - an argument that is supposed to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion
- --Valid – logical support for conclusion
- --Invalid if not
- --Sound – also true premises
- Inductive - an argument that does not offer
- logically conclusive support for the conclusion
- --Strong – probable support for conclusion
- --Cogent – premises also true
- Modus ponenes – if p = q, p… then q
- Modus tolens – if p=q, not q therefore not p
- Hypothetical syllogism – if p=q, q=r, then p=r
What are the differences b/w a moral statement
and a nonmoral statement? Use each in an argument to support the conclusion
that date rape is immoral and wrong
- Moral: a statement that affirms that an action
- is right/wrong or that a person or ones motive or character, is good/bad
- Nonmoral: a statement that does not affirm that
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2bbbd631-a130-4cd7-8945-a66570da16cd | My Turn by CAROL ELIAS | social_studies | problem_set | My Turn by CAROL ELIAS
Is your child unresponsive and irresponsible?
How do you avoid power struggles while teaching character? Do your children behave differently at home than they do with others? At home, do they whine, complain, procrastinate and look to you to solve their problems?
Parents commonly respond to a child’s negative behaviors by ranting, lecturing and rescuing, all recipes for cultivating more negative behaviors like irresponsibility, belligerence and defiance.
What can you do differently to change this? The answer may surprise you. It can be found in the powerful tool of empathy. And, the good news is that it’s not hard to learn.
First, sympathy and empathy are not synonymous. Sympathy says, “I feel your pain.” Empathy says, “Gosh, I bet you’re disappointed.” The difference is in ownership of the feeling. In sympathy, you take ownership of your child’s problem. In empathy, you acknowledge that the problem is your child’s, therefore he or she must solve it.
Second, empathy allows children to learn from their mistakes. No parent wants to see his or her child suffer. However, quite often the child’s suffering is born of his or her mistakes.
For example, you have coached your children repeatedly to place their backpack by the door and inventory that they have their homework and lunch ready to go before they leave for school. Yet today your child forgot his lunch. You get a call from school. How do you handle that? Empathy: “Wow that is a problem! How do you think you should handle that?” Rather than rescue your child, allow him or her to work out a solution. This delivers a positive message that you have confidence that he or she can solve the problem.
Third, empathy enables your child to avoid the blame game. Using the above example, parents often respond to the SOS phone call with anger, frustration or a sense of victimization. Both responses provide the opportunity for your child to shift the blame to you or someone else. “You didn’t wake me up in time.” Escalation is sure to follow.
Fourth, if natural consequences are delivered effectively via empathy, your relationship with your child will grow stronger while arguments are avoided. Empathy comes across as warm and loving. Children tend to love us more, even though they are suffering the natural consequences. They discover that we trust their abilities to problem-solve and adequately negotiate their predicament. “How do you think you might solve this problem today?”
Fifth, empathy before discipline prevents the “fight or flight” emotional reflex. Empathy should always be delivered with sincerity. When sarcasm is employed, you add a level of emotion and communication, which is very hard for a child to understand in the midst of his or her trial. It’s too confusing for the child to decode, plus it deflects your purpose, which is to teach your child that behavior (good or bad) has consequences, and teaching responsibility is your goal.
As you understand and practice these skills, the behavior gap between home and away will narrow.
Carol Elias is the co-director of New Vistas Center for Education in Chandler. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 704 | [
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8ae55d88-9b21-4861-804e-c4c7e86265c6 | Volcanic eruptions triggered dawn | technology | research_summary | Volcanic eruptions triggered dawn of dinosaurs: Study2 min read . Updated: 20 Jun 2017, 10:42 PM IST
Volcanic activity could have led to a mass extinction event about 200 million years ago, which triggered the rise of dinosaurs, says an Oxford study
London: Volcanic activity may have played a key role in triggering a mass extinction event about 200 million years ago, which set the scene for the rise and age of the dinosaurs, an Oxford study has found.
The Triassic extinction, one of the largest mass extinctions of animal life on record, was proceeded by the dinosaur era. The casualty list includes large crocodile-like reptiles and several marine invertebrates.
While it remains a mystery why the dinosaurs survived this event, they went on to fill the vacancies left by the now extinct wildlife species, alongside early mammals and amphibians.
This mass extinction has long been linked to a large and abrupt release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but the exact source of this emission has been unknown. Following the discovery of volcanic rocks of the same age as the extinction, volcanic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions had previously been suggested as an important contributor to this extinction event.
Previous studies have also shown that this volcanism might have occurred in pulses, but the global extent and potential impact of these volcanic episodes has remained unknown. These volcanic rocks covered a huge area, across four continents, representing the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP).
Researchers from the Oxford University in collaboration with the Universities of Exeter and Southampton in the UK traced the global impact of major volcanic gas emissions and their link to the end of the Triassic period. The findings link volcanism to the previously observed repeated large emissions of carbon dioxide that had a profound impact on the global climate, causing the mass extinction at the end of the Triassic Period, as well as slowing the recovery of animal life afterwards.
By investigating the mercury content of sedimentary rocks deposited during the extinction, the study revealed clear links in the timing of CAMP volcanism and the end-Triassic extinction.
Volcanoes give off mercury gas emissions, which spread globally through the atmosphere, before being deposited in sediments. Any sediments left during a large volcanic event would therefore be expected to have unusually high mercury content.
The team sourced six sediment deposits from the UK, Austria, Argentina, Greenland, Canada and Morocco, and analysed their mercury levels. Five of the six records showed a large increase in mercury content beginning at the end-Triassic extinction horizon, with other peaks observed between the extinction horizon and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, which occurred about 200 thousand years later.
Elevated mercury emissions also coincided with previously established increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, indicating CO2 release from volcanic degassing.
“These results strongly support repeated episodes of volcanic activity at the end of the Triassic, with the onset of volcanism during the end-Triassic extinction," said Lawrence Percival, lead author of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. | 0.55 | medium | 5 | 634 | [
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141ae82b-ec21-4d19-be6a-32d74f51aa93 | Rugby exists today one | technology | historical_context | Rugby as it exists today is one of the most exciting contact sports in existence, a perfect mix of the speed and movement of soccer and the hard
hitting physical nature of American football. The Rugby World cup is the third most watched sporting event in the world, trailing close behind the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics. While Americans love our football, the rest of the world loves their rugby. Indeed, the 2003 World Cup had a collective audience of over 3.5 billion, and was broadcast in 205 different countries. Maybe it’s time
we Americans see what all the fuss is about. There are two main styles of play, known as Rugby Union and Rugby League.
Field & Equipment
A rugby ball is most similar to an American football in size and shape, although it is larger and most modern versions have no laces. As far as personal equipment goes, there really isn’t much. A mouthpiece is mandatory in regulation play, and there is an optional soft-padded head gear known as a scrum cap, the main purpose of which is the protection of the pack player’s ears in the scrum. Scrum caps are very similar to the old leather helmets of American football. Known as the pitch, a rugby playing field is a large grassy surface 100 meters long and 70 meters wide with uprights on each end. Behind the uprights is the goal area, which has to be 10 meters deep at minimum and is usually 22
meters in depth.
Players & Positions
Two teams are represented on the pitch, with 15 players per side. The players on a team are broken down into two separate groupings, the pack and the backs.Generally speaking, the pack consists of larger, more physical players who are equivalent to defensive lineman in American football. The backs are usually the faster, more maneuverable players comparable to the backfield and receivers in American football. Jersey numbers 1-8 represent pack players, and 9-15 are the backs. The diagram below illustrates the breakdown of the fifteen separate
positions on the field of play:
Rugby game play is not terribly complicated; however, it is extremely confusing to many who are unfamiliar with the game. This can be attributed to the fact that while it does share similarities with other sports, it is vastly
different from the other games we try to compare it to (namely soccer and American football). Unlike soccer, carrying the ball is legal, which in many ways makes it more similar to football. However, unlike football, there are no forward passes allowed in rugby, and match play is only stopped for penalties, not between every play. A regulation length match lasts for 80 minutes broken down into two 40 minute halves with a 10 minute break during halftime. The clock constantly runs and play only stops during the match for penalties. Essentially, the average rugby player is constantly in motion.
Objective of the Game
The objective of rugby is to score goals, known as a try, by touching down the ball inside the opposing team’s try zone. Any player may carry the ball and is capable of scoring. A try is worth 5 points, after which a conversion kick is awarded, allowing for the chance to score 2 additional points if successful. There are also other means of scoring, the first being a drop goal. This occurs when a player kicks the ball through the opposing team’s uprights during play, and is worth 3 points. In order for the drop goal to count, the ball must make contact with the ground before being kicked (essentially dropped then kicked, making it a difficult maneuver). A penalty kick can also be granted for certain penalties, allowing for a free kick from the site of the infraction (as long as it is behind the 22 meter line). The penalty kick is also worth 3 points.
At the start of the match and immediately following halftime, there is a kickoff from the 50 meter line. Who kicks off is decided by a coin toss before match play begins. A kickoff also occurs after a team scores a try. This is another area where rugby differs from American football; rugby is make it, take it, with the scoring team receiving the following kickoff.
Upon receiving the kick, players will attempt to advance the ball up the field either by running, passing, or kicking. Any player can run the ball; however, teammates are not allowed to block defenders from tackling the ball
carrier, and it is illegal to use your teammates as a shield when carrying the ball. Passing is allowed, but the player you are passing to must be behind you
on the field of play. Laterals and forward passes result in penalties. Finally, it is sometimes advantageous for the ball carrier to kick the ball over the defense, allowing themself or another teammate to run it down or receive it (it is acceptable to receive your own or a teammate’s kick).
Let’s assume at this point that the ball carrier is tackled by the defense. What forms out of this is known as the ruck. While being tackled, the ball carrier will attempt to roll so that his back is facing the defense and will shield the ball with his body. All this must be simultaneous with the tackle, as a player on the ground is not allowed to guard or handle the ball at all with their hands. While the tackled player is shielding the ball, pack players from his team (usually 2 or 3) will move over him in an attempt to keep the defense away from the ball, which anyone can take at this point. Assuming the defense has not recovered the ball, another offensive player, usually the scrum half, will come in, retrieve the ball, and pass it out to the backs, allowing play to continue.
As play continues, let’s assume there is a penalty. Depending on the violation, the opposing team is presented with options from the official. Many penalties result in the other team being awarded a scrum. A scrum is the most recognizable of the rugby formations, and you have likely seen pictures of it before. It is a set play in which both team’s pack players bind themselves together to form three rows each (3 men, then 4 men, then 1 man). With both teams having created this formation, the two masses face each other and lock shoulder, with a tunnel naturally being created between the front rows. At the official’s signal, the two teams drive against each other and the ball is thrown into the tunnel by the offensive scrum half. The object is then to drive the opposite team off the ball, carrying the ball underneath your own team (no hands allowed) and into the hands of the scrum half, who is now there awaiting it. Assuming this is successful, the ball is the passed out to the backs and play
By now the team with the ball is threatening to score. A player receives a pass and drives through several defenders, drawing very near to the try zone. Before he can enter and touch down the ball, however, he is hit by several defenders. But instead of going to the ground, he retains his footing, turning his back on the defenders who are attempting to tackle him and starts effectively shielding the ball. What is happening can now be referred to as a maul. Essentially, a maul is a standing, mobile version of a ruck. Offensive pack players will now rush in and bind onto the ball carrier, driving him forward in an effort to continue to gain ground. While it is illegal once a maul has begun for the ball carrier to ground the ball, he can hand it off to another player. Usually the scrum half will take the ball from him and pass it off to the backs so that play can continue.
Scoring a Try and the Conversion
The ball has been passed out of the maul and is in the hands of one of the backs, who carries it into the try zone and touches it down, scoring five points for his team. The ball must be touched down in order for points to be awarded. It is also important to consider where the ball is touched down, as the conversion kick is kicked from the same spot on the 22 meter line (or closer/farther back if the kicker chooses). So, if a player scores a try by touching the ball down in the far right corner of the try zone, the ball will be set up even with that point on the 22 meter line for the conversion, making the kicker’s job considerably harder.
As this is only an introduction, I won’t go into detail on the various penalties too much, but here is a list of some major ones to keep in mind:
No forward or lateral passing
A dropped pass is known as a knock on, and results in a penalty
No tackling an airborne player
No tackling by the neck
When a ball is kicked, any offensive player ahead of the kicker on the field
is considered off sides and may not participate in play until the kicker has
advanced past him
Participating in play after a kick while ahead of the kicker results in a
So that’s rugby game play in a nutshell. Of course, like all sports, rugby is much more intricate than what can be written down in one (not so short) article, and this should therefore be considered just the basics
Still don’t understand what rugby is? Check the video below for more info. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,969 | [
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1018e0b2-4322-4d81-8478-9c84921f070e | Unfolding Earth: Thinking Strategically | interdisciplinary | historical_context | ## The Unfolding Earth: Thinking Strategically About Plate Tectonics Imagine yourself as a cartographer in the 16th century, painstakingly drawing maps of a world that seemed fixed, immutable. The continents were islands, adrift on an ocean of the unknown. Then, a curious observation began to emerge: the coastlines of South America and Africa seemed to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. This simple visual cue, initially dismissed as mere coincidence, would eventually spark a revolution in our understanding of our planet. This is the story of plate tectonics, and more importantly, the evolution of the *thinking* that allowed us to unravel its mysteries. ### Expert Thinking Patterns: From Observation to Grand Unification For centuries, geologists amassed a wealth of data about Earth's surface. They cataloged earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain ranges, and fossil distributions. Yet, these observations remained largely disconnected, a collection of intriguing facts without a unifying theory. The breakthrough came when thinkers began to move beyond simple observation and embrace a more strategic approach to problem-solving. **1. Pattern Recognition and Synthesis:** Early geologists, like **Alfred Wegener** in the early 20th century, were masters of pattern recognition. Wegener didn't just see a puzzle-piece coastline; he synthesized evidence from fossil distribution (identical species found on continents now separated by vast oceans), glacial deposits (evidence of ancient ice sheets in tropical regions), and rock formations. He saw a *pattern* that suggested continents had once been joined. This ability to **synthesize disparate data points into a coherent narrative** is a hallmark of expert scientific thinking. **2. Hypothesis Generation and Testing:** Wegener's idea of "continental drift" was a bold hypothesis. However, it was met with skepticism because he couldn't provide a convincing *mechanism* for how continents moved. This highlights another crucial expert pattern: **generating testable hypotheses and rigorously seeking evidence to support or refute them.** It wasn't enough to *say* continents moved; one had to explain *how*. **3. Model Building and Refinement:** The true revolution in plate tectonics came in the mid-20th century with the development of **seafloor spreading** and the understanding of **convection currents** within the Earth's mantle. Scientists like **Harry Hess** and **Robert Dietz** proposed that new oceanic crust was being created at mid-ocean ridges and pushed outwards. This was a crucial addition to Wegener's initial idea, providing the missing mechanism. This demonstrates the expert pattern of **building and refining models**. Initially, Wegener's model was incomplete. The addition of seafloor spreading and mantle convection refined the model, transforming it into the robust theory of plate tectonics we know today. **4. Systems Thinking:** Plate tectonics is a prime example of a **complex systems problem**. Experts understand that the Earth is not a collection of independent geological features but an interconnected system. The movement of one plate affects others, driving earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mountain formation. Thinking strategically here means recognizing these **interdependencies and feedback loops**. ### Problem Recognition: Navigating the Geological Landscape Just as a doctor needs to diagnose an illness before prescribing treatment, a scientist must accurately identify the nature of a geological problem. In plate tectonics, problems can generally be categorized by the underlying process or phenomenon they represent: * **Boundary Interactions:** These problems focus on what happens at the edges where plates meet. * **Divergent Boundaries:** Features like mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys. The question might be: "What is the rate of seafloor spreading at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?" * **Convergent Boundaries:** Features like mountain ranges (Himalayas), volcanic arcs (Andes), deep ocean trenches. The question might be: "Why are there so many earthquakes in the Andes Mountains?" * **Transform Boundaries:** Features like the San Andreas Fault. The question might be: "What is the potential for a major earthquake along the San Andreas Fault?" * **Intraplate Processes:** These problems relate to phenomena occurring within the interior of a tectonic plate. * **Hotspots:** Like the Hawaiian Islands. The question might be: "How did the Hawaiian Islands form in their current location?" * **Mantle Plumes:** The underlying cause of hotspots. The question might be: "What is the evidence for mantle plumes beneath continents?" * **Paleogeographic Reconstruction:** These problems involve understanding past continental arrangements. * **Continental Fit:** As Wegener observed. * **Fossil and Rock Distribution:** Matching geological features across continents. * **Paleomagnetism:** Using the magnetic signature of rocks to track past plate movements. The question might be: "What was the position of Gondwana 200 million years ago?" ### Strategy Selection: A Decision Tree for Plate Tectonics Problems When faced with a plate tectonics problem, experts don't randomly pick tools. They employ a strategic approach, often guided by an internal decision-making process. Here’s a simplified decision tree to illustrate this: ```mermaid graph TD A[Start: What is the geological question?] --> B{Does the question involve features at plate edges?}; B -- Yes --> C{What type of plate edge?}; C -- Divergent --> D[Analyze seafloor spreading rates, rift valley formation, volcanic activity]; C -- Convergent --> E[Analyze subduction zones, volcanic arcs, mountain building, earthquake patterns]; C -- Transform --> F[Analyze fault lines, seismic activity, strike-slip motion]; B -- No --> G{Does the question involve processes within a plate?}; G -- Yes --> H[Analyze volcanic chains, hotspot tracks, mantle plume evidence]; G -- No --> I{Does the question involve past Earth configurations?}; I -- Yes --> J[Analyze fossil distribution, rock correlations, paleomagnetic data]; I -- No --> K[Re-evaluate the question: Is it a complex interaction or a novel phenomenon?]; D --> L[Synthesize data to explain observed features]; E --> L; F --> L; H --> L; J --> L; K --> L; ``` **Explanation of the Tree:** * **Start with the Question:** The initial step is always to clearly articulate the problem. * **Boundary Focus:** If the question concerns features at plate edges, the next step is to identify the *type* of boundary. This dictates the specific geological processes and evidence to consider. * **Intraplate Focus:** If the question is not about boundaries, consider if it's about processes occurring within a plate, like hotspots. * **Paleogeographic Focus:** If neither of the above, consider if the question is about reconstructing past Earth configurations. * **Complex or Novel:** If the problem doesn't fit neatly, it might involve multiple processes or require a more nuanced approach, perhaps drawing on multiple types of evidence. ### Error Prevention: Avoiding the Geological Pitfalls Even seasoned geologists can stumble. Recognizing common error patterns is crucial for developing robust thinking. * **The Wegener Problem (Lack of Mechanism):** A common error is to identify a pattern (e.g., similar fossils on separated continents) but fail to propose a plausible mechanism for how it occurred. * **Prevention:** Always ask "How?" After identifying a phenomenon, actively seek the underlying physical or chemical processes that explain it. For plate tectonics, this means understanding mantle convection. * **Oversimplification of Boundaries:** Treating all convergent boundaries, for instance, as identical. * **Prevention:** Recognize the nuances. Continent-continent convergence (Himalayas) differs significantly from oceanic-continental convergence (Andes). Understand the specific density and behavior of the interacting plates. * **Ignoring the Time Scale:** Plate tectonics operates over millions of years. Misinterpreting evidence by applying human-centric time scales. * **Prevention:** Constantly consider the geological time scale. Use radiometric dating and other chronometers to place events in their proper context. * **Data Cherry-Picking:** Focusing only on evidence that supports a favored hypothesis while ignoring contradictory data. * **Prevention:** Actively seek out and consider all available evidence, even if it challenges your initial ideas. This is the essence of rigorous scientific inquiry. ### Self-Verification: Checking Your Tectonic Reasoning Just as a pilot conducts pre-flight checks, scientists must verify their own thinking. * **"What if I'm Wrong?" Test:** For any conclusion, ask yourself: "What evidence would convince me I'm mistaken?" If you can't readily identify such evidence, your conclusion might be too rigid. * *Example:* If you conclude a mountain range formed solely from compression, ask: "What evidence would suggest a volcanic component or a transform fault influence?" * **Cross-Referencing Data Sources:** Don't rely on a single piece of evidence. * *Example:* If you are reconstructing past plate movements, cross-reference paleomagnetic data with fossil distribution and paleoclimate indicators. Do they tell a consistent story? * **Peer Review (Internalized):** Imagine explaining your reasoning to a skeptical colleague. What questions would they ask? What weaknesses would they identify? * *Example:* If you're explaining the formation of an island arc, anticipate questions about the angle of subduction, the composition of the melting mantle wedge, and the type of volcanoes formed. * **Model Consistency Checks:** Ensure your explanations are consistent with established physical laws and principles. * *Example:* Does your proposed plate movement align with the principles of conservation of mass and energy? ### Cross-Domain Transfer: The Universal Language of Strategic Thinking The thinking patterns honed in understanding plate tectonics are not confined to geology. They are universal tools for navigating complexity. * **Pattern Recognition:** This is vital in medicine (identifying disease symptoms), finance (spotting market trends), and even art (recognizing artistic styles). * **Hypothesis Testing:** Crucial in law (building a case), engineering (testing designs), and social sciences (evaluating theories). * **Systems Thinking:** Essential for understanding ecosystems, economies, and social structures. Recognizing how interconnected parts influence the whole is key to effective intervention and prediction. * **Error Prevention & Self-Verification:** These are fundamental to any field requiring precision and accuracy, from piloting aircraft to performing surgery to writing code. The ability to anticipate mistakes and rigorously check one's work is paramount. By understanding the evolution of thought behind plate tectonics, from Wegener's initial observations to the complex models of today, we gain not just knowledge about our planet, but a powerful toolkit for thinking strategically about any complex problem. The Earth's dynamic surface is a testament to the power of observation, synthesis, and rigorous inquiry – skills that, when mastered, can help us navigate any intellectual landscape. | 0.75 | high | 6 | 2,199 | [
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1c0f7110-fa1b-4a1d-a0b6-f1346a0c540e | City of New Plymouth, Idaho | technology | worked_examples | City of New Plymouth, Idaho
Armoral Tuttle Public Library Board
December 1, 2020 at 6:30 pm
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e3309cc5-09de-4c78-94c1-6ea37479ff08 | Osoaviakhim-1 Osoaviakhim-1 record-setting, hydrogen-filled | interdisciplinary | historical_context | # Osoaviakhim-1
Osoaviakhim-1 was a record-setting, hydrogen-filled Soviet high-altitude balloon designed to seat a crew of three and perform scientific studies of the Earth's stratosphere. On January 30, 1934, on its maiden flight, which lasted over 7 hours, the balloon reached an altitude of 22,000 metres (72,000 ft). During the descent, the balloon lost its buoyancy and plunged into an uncontrolled fall, disintegrating in the lower atmosphere. The three crew members, probably incapacitated by high g-forces in a rapidly rotating gondola, failed to bail out and were killed by the high-speed ground impact.
According to public investigation reports, the crash was ultimately caused by a prolonged stay at record altitudes exceeding maximum design limits. The balloon, overheated by sunlight, lost too much lifting gas in the upper atmosphere. As it descended past the 12,000 metres (39,000 ft) mark, cooling down to ambient air temperature, a rapid loss of buoyancy caused a downward acceleration that triggered the structural failure of the suspension cables. The aircraft design was marked by numerous engineering flaws, notably insufficient ballast and faulty gondola suspension design, which all contributed to the loss of life.
Later Soviet manned high-altitude balloons improved on safety devices and did not venture above 16,000 metres (52,000 ft); the program was nevertheless marked with accidents and failures and was terminated after the Osoaviakhim-2 launch failure in June 1940.
## Background
Auguste Piccard's high-altitude flights of 1930–1932 aroused interest of Soviet Air Forces and Osoaviakhim, the Soviet paramilitary training organization, as well as individual pilots, designers and flight enthusiasts. Andrey Vasenko, an engineer from the Institute of Aerial Photography in Leningrad, and a future crewmember of Osoaviakhim-1, designed his version of Piccard's balloon in 1930, however, Osoaviakhim delayed funding until the end of 1932.
The second competing proposal, that of the national Meteorology Committee, emerged in January 1932 and was soon abandoned, also for the lack of finance. This allowed the third competitor, the Air Forces, a solid lead in time. USSR-1, the Air Forces stratospheric balloon, was designed by Georgy Prokofiev with assistance of Vladimir Chizhevsky, Konstantin Godunov and the Air Force Academy staff. Their balloon, built in Moscow by professional aircraft technicians, proved to be far safer than Vasenko's. It had two airtight hatches with fast-opening locks; ballast was carried externally and could be instantly released on demand. The gondola was reinforced with an internal and an external frame that prevented direct contact between the airtight compartment's skin and suspension cables. Osoaviakhim-1 lacked all these safety features.
Both the Osoaviakhim and the Air Forces program were primarily scientific, with expected practical applications in meteorology and future high-altitude airplanes. The Osoaviakhim program, in particular, was sponsored and consulted by Abram Ioffe of the Physical-Technical Institute; one of his postgraduate students, Ilya Usyskin, joined the crew of Osoaviakhim-1 and perished on its fatal flight.
## Design flaws
The 24,940 cubic metre Osoaviakhim-1 was completed by Vasenko and Evgeniy Chertovsky in Leningrad in June 1933. With 2,460 kilograms gross weight at launch and 2,600 kilograms initial lifting force, it was expected to fully expand at 17,700 metres and reach static equilibrium at 19,500. Maximum altitude was initially set at 20,000 metres but the upgrades made during construction, according to Vasenko, enabled it to reach even higher.
In August the balloon was commissioned to fly despite known technical flaws. The commissioners emphasized that the crew, although equipped with personal parachutes, had little chance of bailing out in case of emergency: the sole airtight hatch was held in place with twelve wing nuts. Opening it, even on solid ground, required minutes. The crew did not wear pressure suits (which simply did not exist at that time) or individual breathing sets, relying on stored supplies of compressed oxygen and carbon dioxide absorber cartridges. Crew survival depended on the gondola's integrity; bailing out without breathing sets was feasible only at altitudes below 8,000 metres.
The gondola itself was welded from 0.8 millimetre sheet metal without any structural frame. In addition to the crew, instruments and life support systems, it carried a tonne of lead ballast inside the airtight sphere. The ballast release chute was sufficiently airtight but provided a very slow discharge rate: releasing a ton of ballast normally took a whole hour. In real flight this flaw alone would prevent the crew from slowing down the falling balloon despite having ballast on board.
Finally, the designers did not take care to unlink the delicate gondola structure from the tension of the suspending cables. Unlike Piccard's design with 32 cables, Osoaviakhim-1 had only nine (eight peripheral and one central cable). These cables were woven into a kind of basket holding the gondola. It could easily rotate inside the basket; any tension from the cables was immediately passed onto its thin shell.
## Crew
Osoaviakhim-1 had a crew of three men:
- Aircraft commander Pavel Fedoseenko (born 1898), a graduate of the Air Force School in Leningrad and Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in Moscow, was a career military aviator who logged over a hundred flights (377 hours)[8] on tethered observation balloons in World War I and the Russian Civil War and later tested numerous free-flying balloons and airships. In 1925 Fedoseenko and Alexander Friedmann set a national altitude record of 7,400 m (24,300 ft).[9] In 1927 Fedoseenko set a national solo endurance record of 23 h 57 m.[8] His influence in the Leningrad branch of Osoaviakhim helped establish a balloon-making workshop at Leningrad's Stalin Plant, although they failed to beat their air force competitors.[10]
- Flight engineer Andrey Vasenko (born 1899), a native of Tsarskoye Selo, also fought on the Bolshevik side in the Civil War; in 1927 he graduated from the fledgling department of aircraft of the Leningrad Institute of Railroad Engineers, while working full-time as a school teacher in his hometown.[11] In 1929 Vasenko joined the staff of an observatory in Pavlovsk (later Aerological Institute) headed by Pavel Molchanov; two years later, after a string of successful meteoroligal studies, he was promoted to deputy director of the Institute.[11] Apart from Osoaviakhim-1, Vasenko designed a series of captive balloons for photographic surveys of large construction sites.[8]
- Instrument operator Ilya Usyskin (born 1910), son of a Jewish blacksmith from Vitebsk,[12] studied at Moscow Technical University and Abram Ioffe's Physical-Technical Institute in Leningrad.[13] At the age of 20 he published his first peer-reviewed articles on biophysical experiments suggested by Ioffe, although he himself leaned towards nuclear physics.[13] In 1932–1933 Usyskin designed portable, lightweight scientific instruments for stratospheric balloons, and was a natural choice for the Osoaviakhim-1 crew. At first Fedoseenko disliked Usyskin's personality but later changed his mind, assuring Ioffe of his full trust in Usyskin.[13] According to the Mezheninov commission report, Usyskin considered his role in the January flight unnecessary, because it turned out that his portable cloud chambers were unsuitable for high-altitude experiments in winter and had to be replaced with less sophisticated instruments.[7]
## Cancelled flight
Maiden flight of Osoaviakhim-1 and USSR-1 was planned on September 30, 1933 from the same Air Forces airfield in Kuntsevo (earlier, USSR-1 failed to lift off due to a "heavy load of moisture"). The military, as the hosts of the site, were the first to fly. USSR-1 with Prokofiev, Godunov and Ernst Birnbaum on board lifted off at 8:40 Moscow Time, reached an altitude of 18,800 metres (61,700 ft) at 14:45 and landed safely around 17:00. Their altitude record, although not recognized by FAI, was publicized worldwide. Flight of Osoaviakhim-1, scheduled to take off later than USSR-1, was cancelled due to unexpected strong winds.
Launches in later autumn and winter was deemed impractical and dangerous, and the balloons were disassembled for winter storage. Fedoseenko, expecting that delicate fabrics and gondola would not survive it, proposed a winter launch, and received a go-ahead for it. They missed the first launch window in the end of December; the next streak of good weather was expected in the end of January, coincident with the 17th Congress of the Communist Party, and thus attracting the focus of communist propaganda.
January 9, 1934 Defence Commissar Kliment Voroshilov requested Stalin's approval of the winter launch, specifically noting that it would be kept secret until the altitude record was set. On January 11 Politburo approved the launch; secrecy concerns were discarded and the flight was publicized in advance.
On January 23 the envelope was partially inflated and properly tested for leaks at a rubber factory in Khamovniki. Gondola and ballast release hardware were also rigorously tested and declared to be in order. On January 28 Osoaviakhim-1 and its crew arrived at the Air Forces field in Kuntsevo. The next day was filled with publicity interviews, meetings and committees extending beyond midnight.
## Fatal flight
Weighing on the morning of the launch day, January 30, demonstrated that the aircraft still possessed a reserve in buoyancy, and the crew decided to increase ballast weight by 180 kilograms, which would enable them to reach 20,500 metres altitude, higher than initial estimates. Prior to the launch of Osoaviakhim-1 meteorologists released radiosondes that reported satisfactory weather on the ascent path.
At 9:07 Moscow Time Osoaviakhim-1 lifted off and soon made radio contact with the airfield. By 9:56 the aircraft reached 15,000 metres according to on-board altimeter; at around 17,700 metres its envelope expanded into a nearly perfect sphere and eventually reached static equilibrium at 19,500 metres, exactly as intended by design. The crew experienced problems with carbon dioxide absorbers, but it appeared to be manageable. Fedoseenko dumped 310 kilograms of ballast and by 10:50 the balloon passed its design altitude of 20,500 metres. This moment was later marked as the point of no return: at 20,500 metres Osoaviakhim-1 carried just enough ballast to stabilize descent speed. Further ascent and inevitable loss of hydrogen made this ballast insufficient; the only escape route was through bailing out on personal parachutes, provided that the crew could open the awkward hatch. After nearly an hour at 20,600 metres Osoaviakhim-1 climbed again, reaching 22,000 metres at 12:33 and hovered at this record altitude for 12 minutes.
At 12:45 the crew opened the gas release valve for three minutes to initiate descent; the hot balloon did not respond as planned and travel to 18,000 metres took more than two hours. At this altitude vertical descent speed levelled at a safe and steady one metre per second. At around 14,000 metres vertical speed increased, reaching two meters per second at 13,400 meters. The lifting force of the remaining hydrogen had been reduced to 1300–1400 kilograms, while the balloon weighed an estimated 2,120 kilograms.
Between 16:05 and 16:10, when Osoaviakhim-1 descended to 12,000 metres, vertical acceleration went out of control; the balloon began disintegrating before it reached 8,000 metres. At about 2,000 meters the gondola separated from the balloon and impacted the ground between 16:21 and 16:23, near Potizh-Ostrov village in rural Insarsky District of Mordovia, 470 kilometres east from the launch site.
According to Yagoda's report to Stalin, OGPU officers confirmed the crash and reported its exact location at 23:40. The bodies in the gondola were badly maimed; Fedoseenko's skull had disintegrated, probably after impacting a tempered glass porthole. The balloon envelope fell 4 kilometres from the gondola and its fabric was quickly looted by local villagers.
## Aftermath
### Publicity and propaganda
23 hours after the impact, Avel Enukidze announced the accident from the rostrum of the Communist Party congress; immediately after his brief statement Pavel Postyshev proposed burying the crew in Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Soviet morning papers reported the news on February 1. Western press followed suit; Time magazine, although incorrectly reporting that "there was not enough left of the crushed gondola or the three broken bodies to supply the story of the tragedy", correctly guessed the roots of the catastrophe: "winter weather had contracted the balloon's gas to such a point that it fell like a dead weight".
The funeral of the crew (February 2) turned a disaster into a propaganda campaign; the three victims were posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin and their ashes buried with state honours in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Stalin, Voroshilov and Molotov personally carried the urns of Fedoseenko, Usyskin and Vasenko. This was the last group funeral on Red Square until the 1971 Soyuz 11 disaster, which also claimed three lives.
Potizh-Ostrov, the village near the crash site, was renamed to Usyskino; across the country, streets and squares were named after individual crewmembers or collectively, like Proezd Stratonavtov in Tushino (now a district of Moscow). Postage stamps in memory of Fedoseenko, Vasenko and Usyskin were issued in 1934 (Scott C50, C51, C52), 1944 (Scott C77, C78, C79) and 1964 (Scott 2888).
### Investigation
Investigators headed by Prokofiev arrived on site on horseback 24 hours after the crash and issued their first statement on February 1. They acknowledged that the crew died of high speed impact at 16:21 Moscow time; the flight logs, found intact, revealed that the crewmembers were unaware of imminent catastrophe until 16:10, when the balloon descended to 12,000 meters. This moment was marked as the beginning of an irrecoverable dive. Airspeed beyond design limits snapped the suspension cables and tore open the envelope; eventually the gondola completely separated from the falling balloon. There was no evidence of icing despite early reports in Pravda. Autopsy ruled out suffocation or poisoning of the crew; barograph tape indicated normal internal air pressure throughout the flight.
On February 5, a state commission chaired by General Staff deputy chief Mezheninov issued a detailed report that, regardless of later findings and clarifications, provided a stable version of the accident and its causes; the time of impact was changed to 16:23. Later, in 1935, these proceedings were explained at length in a book by one of the commissioners, meteorologist Pavel Molchanov. According to Mezheninov's report and Molchanov's book, during the four-hour-long stratospheric flight the hydrogen inside the balloon was overheated by solar radiation (54 °C above ambient) and expanded beyond the balloon's geometric capacity; excess gas leaked out through safety valves. More gas was lost when Fedoseenko initiated the descent. As the balloon cooled down on its descent, the remaining gas contracted with a catastrophic loss of buoyancy. To stabilize airspeed at safe level the crew would have had to dump 800 kilograms of ballast, but there simply was not that much ballast left. Suspension cables failures started at altitudes above 8,000 meters, where the crew was unable to open the hatch. The commission summarized the causes of the crash by writing:
1. The accident was caused by an increase in vertical descent speed that resulted from changes in lifting gas volume during the extended stay at maximum altitude and subsequent descent into warmer atmospheric medium which further reduced lift.
2. The system failed to withstand shock stress caused by rapid descent and transition into parachuting mode, and began disintegrating.
3. The crew failed to release ballast and dump instruments due to the design flaw that prevented rapid release of ballast.
4. The crew's failure to stabilize vertical speed led to their failure to bail out on parachutes due to erratic tumbling of the gondola.
5. Airtightness and life support systems were in order until the moment of catastrophic fall, as indicated by barometric recorder and Vasenko's log entries ending at 16:13.
6. During the last 9.5 minutes of the fall the crew tumbled inside the rotating gondola, but all crew members remained vertical until the end; their deaths were caused by the final impact.
Conclusion: The flight was substantially safe up to 19,500 meters; 20,500 meters was on the edge but presented no imminent danger; ascent to 22,000 meters led to an inevitable accident.
In March the investigators' reports were released to the general public, including the final verdict blaming the catastrophe on the crew's "recklessness in rise for record".
### Safety improvements
The commissioners strongly recommended safety improvements, starting with easy access to emergency hatches. Balloons of the late 1930s were equipped with large parachutes capable of safely carrying the detached gondolas; another proposal, integrating airtight gondolas into detachable gliders, was tested and discarded. VR60 Komsomol (1939) had another safety feature: in case of abnormally rapid descent its balloon was designed to flatten into a gigantic parachute canopy.
The crash also provided motivation to develop pressure suits for high-altitude flight; the first operational suits were designed by Evgeniy Chertovsky, co-designer of Osoaviakhim-1.
### Takeover by the military
Voroshilov summarized his understanding of the investigators' reports in a February 19 note to Stalin: "... despite lack of proper management during construction and pre-flight preparation, the flight itself was technically feasible up to 20,500 meter altitude. The accident was caused by the crew's, specifically Fedoseenko's, drive to beat the 'world superrecord' regardless of technical limits and flight conditions".
Mezheninov's report blamed the failure on inadequate, erratic, amateur project management by Osoaviakhim chiefs and recommended consolidation of all stratospheric projects within the Air Forces. Voroshilov concurred and requested the same from Stalin. Specifically, all independent design work was to be transferred to the Air Forces Institute, crew training to the Air Forces Academy. By the end of 1934 the takeover was complete, and Voroshilov assumed responsibility for any future balloon failures.
Contrary to Western authors stating that Osoaviakhim-1 crash led to grounding of manned Soviet stratospheric flight and a launch of an unmanned probe program that continued for several decades, a manned program led by Georgy Prokofiev continued but was plagued by failures and accidents:
- September 5, 1934, the gigantic (300,000 cubic meters)[4] USSR-2 burnt down at the launch site when a static spark ignited hydrogen. After this incident Voroshilov indeed banned all further stratospheric flights until the engineers sorted out safety procedures. Voroshilov made it clear that research results were more important than record stunts; the numerous successful flights of 1935–1940 were limited to 16,000 meters and never made history.[4]
- June 26, 1935, USSR-1 Bis reached 16,000 meters (52,000 ft)[1] and nearly ended in disaster when its envelope ripped open, releasing gas. Two of the crew members bailed out at 3,500 and 2,500 meters, but the third managed to land the crippled balloon safely.[2] USSR-1 Bis (essentially a reused USSR-1) was equipped with a large (34 meter diameter) rescue parachute, sufficient to carry the gondola at safe speeds. The pilot deliberately did not use it, fearing that releasing the parachute would damage externally mounted scientific instruments.[4]
- The supersized (157,000 cubic meters, 130 meter tall) USSR-3 was launched on September 18, 1937; at 700–800 meters altitude it began losing hydrogen and fell back near the launch site. Crew members, including Prokofiev, survived with injuries.[4] After the many setbacks that followed, USSR-3 flew again March 16, 1939; it lifted off, again under Prokofiev's command, and again fell, this time from 1,200 meters. Prokofiev blamed the crash on an accidental release by a hydrogen valve and committed suicide one month later.[31]
- July 18, 1938, the failure of breathing equipment killed the four-man crew of VVA-1. The balloon floated from Zvenigorod to Donetsk where it crashed into a high-voltage power line, exploding on impact.[4]
- October 12, 1939 a static discharge at 9,000 meters ignited hydrogen in SP-2 Komsomol (VR60). The crew unlatched the gondola, which went into free fall, deployed the gondola parachute, and then bailed out on personal parachutes; all survived.[26] This failure led to a switch from hydrogen to helium.[4]
- Osoaviakhim-2, the last Soviet manned stratostat, was launched June 22, 1940. Immediately after launch, the gondola separated from the balloon and fell about 11 meters onto the airfield; the crew survived with minor injuries. After this failure, Commissar of Defence Semyon Timoshenko shut down the military stratospheric program.[4] | 0.8 | high | 6 | 5,149 | [
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c9722dea-0fc3-4a13-9540-42a547f9a376 | COVID-19 UPDATE AND NOTIFICATION OF NEW CASE | technology | historical_context | COVID-19 UPDATE AND NOTIFICATION OF NEW CASE
10/16/2020
Dear Residents and Families/Representatives,
Please accept this letter as an update regarding the status of COVID-19 in our facility as well as notification that we received confirmation yesterday that 2 staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
While we are disappointed that COVID-19 is in our facility after we have worked so hard to prevent the spread of this virus, we are following the recommendations of our federal, state and local health officials and working hard to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
As a reminder, everyone that enters the facility is screened for signs and symptoms of illness prior to entering the building, all residents are continually monitored, Housekeeping is performing regular deep cleanings of the facility, staff receives education and wears personal protective equipment (PPE) as recommended by the CDC, group activities have been suspended and staff is providing individual activities for residents, we are implementing isolation protocols as required, and we encourage staff to practice social distancing and to use hand sanitizer and frequently wash their hands when they are in the facility and out in the community.
Please continue to check our website for weekly updates as well as notification of new cases. As always, we will notify you if we receive confirmation of a new positive case in our facility and we will reach out to you individually if your loved one is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive for COVID-19.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us directly at 254-559-3386.
Sincerely,
Kasha Smith
Kasha Smith Administrator | 0.55 | medium | 5 | 359 | [
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7d8c5f3d-c0ac-44dc-baf4-3bb60caf7e72 | EGCG NOW Foods sale | science | review_summary | EGCG by NOW Foods On sale now!-ProSource | ProSource.Net
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Green Tea Extract (Camellia sinensis) (Leaf)- (Standardized Extract) (Contains 4 mg of Caffeine), [min. 98% Total Polyphenols, 80% Total Catechins, and 50% EGCg, (Epigallocatechin Gallate) (200 mg)] 400mg
Decaffeinated Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) (Leaf) 50mg
Other Ingredients: Cellulose (capsule), Silica and Magnesium Stearate (vegetable source). Vegetarian Formula.
Description
EGCG is one of the key phytonutrients found in green tea. This herbal extract formula provides a whopping 200 mg dose of EGCG per capsule, which is equal to about 2-3 cups of green tea, which assists with the defense against the chemical and environmental assault on tissues from free radicals to help support healthy cells.
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close | 0.7 | medium | 4 | 439 | [
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d40f8884-55e4-4c79-a1aa-4d0446dca844 | It’s important teach your | life_skills | tutorial | It’s important to teach your children how to budget wisely while they are still young, but how can you teach them to save money if they don’t have any? Allowance is one way that you can provide your children with money of their own to manage while you help them to learn by doing.
Setting an allowance amount
Set an allowance amount that is reasonable for your child’s age. Ten dollars a week is too much for a three-year-old but may not be enough for a 14-year-old. Consider your child’s age and the types of things he or she is likely to buy:
For what expenses is your child responsible? If you expect your child to buy personal-care items and most of his or her clothes, you will need to provide a bigger allowance. My son is only responsible for his entertainment purchases, which means that most of the time he buys his own video games, music, books, and movie tickets. Twenty dollars a month is sufficient for him right now.
Do you have other spending requirements? My son is required to pay tithing as well as set aside 20 percent for long-term savings. If you have these requirements, you need to make sure that your child has enough money to feel as though working toward his or her own goals is feasible while still learning good habits like charity and saving.
Whatever amount you decide, be sure that your child understands the expectations that come with an allowance.
Should you pay allowance for chores?
Generally speaking, there are two main camps when it comes allowance: Those that base it on chores performed and those that make it automatic.
On the one hand, many parents don’t want children to think that money is free. Tying allowance to chores requires children to work for their money.
On the other hand, some parents avoid tying allowance to chores because they want their children to understand that pitching in around the house is just part of being a family.
This choice weighed on my husband and me as we tried to figure out what to do about our son’s allowance. In the end, we decided to give him a somewhat modest allowance automatically. As he’s grown older, we’ve explained to him that the allowance will end when he’s old enough to get a real job.
In the meantime, our son’s smallish allowance is enough for him to purchase a few items occasionally, but if he wants something bigger, he needs to earn extra money—and we encourage him to do so. He can achieve this by doing well with 4-H projects and earning ribbon money as well as by taking on extra chores for my home business, like shredding documents and filing.
Our compromise combines both methods. We’ve made it clear that he’s not getting paid for taking out the trash and unloading the dishwasher; these are things he’s required to do as part of the family. I don’t get paid for vacuuming, and my husband doesn’t get paid for doing the laundry.
The main thing is that our son has been learning lessons about money management that will serve him well in the future. He’s also learning about priorities, carefully considering his purchases, and finding ways to make more money. These are lessons that, hopefully, will create good habits for his financial future.
How do you deal with your kids’ allowances?
Miranda Marquit is a freelance writer and professional blogger specializing in personal finance, family finance and business topics. She writes for several online and offline publications. Miranda is the co-author of Community 101: How to Grow an Online Community, and the writer behind PlantingMoneySeeds.com. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 762 | [
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e3a9327e-4373-4b0b-8ba4-cd91a7d33344 | new embassy opened month | technology | worked_examples | A new embassy has opened up this month in the Vatican City, and it is the Palestinian embassy. The issue of “Palestine” has been controversial for many years. Many countries around the globe recognize Palestine to be two areas called the Gaza Strip and West Bank, both of which are occupied territories under the country Israel. If you look at a map, you’ll see that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank don’t border each other. The Palestinians want these regions to be recognized as their independent country, with its own government and its own land. In May 2015, the Vatican officially recognized the “State of Palestine”.
Vatican City is considered to be the world’s smallest independent state. It is surrounded by Rome, the capital of Italy, on all sides. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and lives in the Vatican City. Pope Francis (image) is the current pope.
An embassy is the official office of one nation within the boundaries of another. It is where communication between the governments of the two nations takes place. Many countries, including Israel, have embassies in the Vatican City.
Here is a video about the Israel – Palestine conflict.
Image Credits: http://palvaticanembassy.ps for the Embassy’s sign image, Casa Rosada for the image of the Pope
Sources: http://www.news.va, http://palvaticanembassy.ps, Al Jazeera, https://www.embassypages.com, https://diplomacy.state.gov, Seeker Daily | 0.55 | medium | 4 | 328 | [
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f462daaf-ca18-420a-b7af-caf155abb078 | What pests attack citrus trees | science | historical_context | What pests attack citrus trees?
- Chewing insects. Citrus leafminer. Lightbrown apple moth. Native budworm. Lemon bud moth.
- Mediterranean fruit fly.
- Sap-sucking insects. Honeydew producing insects. Scales. Aphids. Mealybugs.
- Non-honeydew producing pests. Crusader bugs. Mites. Two-spotted mite. Citrus bud mite.
- Other garden pests. Birds. Rats and possums. Snails and slugs.
How do I get rid of bugs on my citrus trees?
Solving Insect Problems on Citrus –
What is wrong with my citrus tree?
Most likely cause: Leaf CurlCitrus leaves can curl when temperatures are cold or extremely hot, some insect infestations such as scale, mealy bug, mites or aphids will cause leaves to curl. Over-watering can also cause this. Other times it is leaf curl disease.
What diseases do lemon trees get?
The most common diseases in these areas are melanose, lemon scab, brown rot, collar rot, sooty blotch, Phytophthora root rots and Armillaria. In these regions lemon trees require regular application of protectant copper sprays in order to keep fruit clean. | 0.55 | medium | 4 | 261 | [
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81e2b13d-5a9d-48ec-92e6-295f98f93dfb | National Human Rights Commission | social_studies | research_summary | National Human Rights Commission
Research Division
List on Ongoing Research Projects:
S.
No.
As on 07.06.2022
Title of the Research Project
Name of the Principal Investigator and Date of
Institution
Sanction
| 1. | A Study on Right to Food: Prevailing situation among BPL Families in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh | Mr. Mohammad Yusuf, Executive Director, HARYALI- Centre for Rural Development | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | Develop Booklets on Different Human Rights Themes | Shri Noor Alam, Executive Director, Multiple Action Research Group (MARG), 205-206,Shahpurjat, New Delhi-110049 | |
| 3. | Developing Human Rights Index and Human Rights Report | Dr. CK Mathew, Senior Fellow Public Policy Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore | |
| 4. | The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013: A Study to assess its impact, implementation issues and concerns in Government Departments/ Semi- Government/ PSUs/ Private Sectors in Delhi. | Dr. Ritu Gupta, Professor, National Law University Delhi, Sector-14, Dwarka, New Delhi | |
| 5. | An Empirical Study on Social Issues and legal Challenges of Transgender : With Special Reference to South Indian States (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) | Dr. M.L. Kalicharan, Director, School of Legal Studies, REVA University, Rukmini Knowledge Park, Kattigenahall, Yelahanka, Bengaluru-560064 | |
| 6. | The Intersections of Migration Bonded Labour and Trafficking in the State of Odisha. | Dr. Shashmi Nayak, Professor, Dr. Ambedkar Chair, National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWASS), 3 Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar -751023 | |
| 7. | Status of manual Scavenging and Sewerage Water Workers in the Hyderabad- Karnataka Region – Policy and Practice. | Dr. Mohan Das K. Associate Professor, Dept. of Studies in Political Sciences, Vijayanagara, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari, Karnataka | |
| 8. | An Empirical Study on the Status of Under trial Prisoners in Gujarat Central Jails. | Prof. (Dr.) Purvi Pokhariyal, Director, Institute of Law, Nirma University, Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Chharodi, Ahmedabad – 382481 | |
| 9. | Role of Child Care Institutions and Rehabilitation of Children in CCIs | Dr. S. Barik, Joint Director, National Institute of Public Cooperation & Child Development (NIPCCD), 5, Siri Institutional Area, Hauz Khas, New Delhi | |
| 10. | A Study on Socially Responsible Supply Chains for Protection of Human Rights | Dr. Anand Akundy, Assistant Professor, Institute of Public Enterprise, Osmania University Campus, Hyderabad 500007 | |
| 11. | Domestic Workers in south India and North-East: A situational analysis from Dignity & Rights Perspective | Dr. Lekha D Bhat, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, Central University of Tamil Nadu | |
| 12. | Trafficking of Women and Children- Challenges and Remedies | | Dr. Awadesh Kumar Singh, Principal |
| | | | Consultant, Bhartiya Institute of Research |
| | | | and Development |
Analysis of Trends and patterns of Death in
OC-16/1002 Orange County, Ahinsh
Khand-I, Indirapuram, (Delhi NCR)
Ghaziabad 201014
13.
Dr. Mohammad Aslam, Assistant
18.10.2019
Prison & in Police Custody: An analytical Professor,
| 14. | Mainstreaming Child Labour Issues in Schools: Challenges and Alternatives | Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, V.N. Purav Marg, Deonar, Mumbai- 400 088 | 18.10.2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Prevalence of Girl Child Labour In The Indian Textile & Garment Industry | Dr. M. Karthik, Assistant Professor, Institute of Public Enterprises, Shamirpet Campus, Sy. No. 1266, Shamirpet (V&M), R.R. District, Hyderabad- 501 101 | 18.10.2019 |
| 16 | Custodial Death: Trends and Patterns in Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal | Dr. Anwar Alam, Distinguised Fellow, Policy Perspective Foundation, K-51, Green Park main New Delhi-110016. | 25.10.2019 |
| 17 | Unheard Voice of silent growing majority: An assessment of social security and health risks among women migrant workers of Rajasthan | Dr. Shaizy Ahmed , Assistant Porfessor, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Kishangarh, Ajmer – 305 817 | 25.10.2019 |
| 18 | Identifying Human Rights Issues and Problems & Developing Policy Framework for Providing Social Security & Healthcare to Migrant Workers | Dr. R. Kasilingam, School of Mangaement, Pondicherry University, RV Nagar, Kalapet, Puducherry- 605014 | 25.10.2019 |
| 19 | Reintegration and Rehabilitation of acid attack victims | Prof. Sarasu Esther Thomas, Professor NLSIU, Bangalore | 21.01.2020 |
| 20 | Study on the extent of cyber exploitation and safety of children in Kerala | Dr Elsa Mary Jacob, Assistant Professor, Bharata Mata School of Social Work, Bharata Mata College, Seaport-Airport Road, Thrikkakara, Kochi- 682021 | 23.03.2021 |
| 21 | Women’s Falling Participation in Labour Force in India: A Ground Level Investigation into Factors and Obstacles” | Dr. Rishi Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance BITS, Pilani Hyderabad Campus | 23.03.2021 |
| 22 | Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues among the LGBT Community in India: A Study of Inter-Relationship between Mental Health disorders and Stress, Coping, Perceived Social Support, Occupation and Religiosity | Dr Susanta Kumar Padhy, Additional Professor & Head, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar | 23. 03.2021 |
| 23 | Inclusive Education for Persons with Disabilities in Punjab: Prospects and Challenges | Dr. Kiran Kumari, Asstt. Professor, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab | 24.03.2021 |
| 24 | Food and Nutritional Security among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Evidences from three Indian States | Dr Amit Kumar Basantaray, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Economics, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh | 24.03.2021 |
| 25 | Impact of COVID 19 Pandemic on the Rights of Education of Children of Migrant Workers | Prof. Zubair Meenai, Professor Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi - 110025 | 26.03.2021 |
| 26 | Forest Rights Act,2006 – Assessment of Ground Reality | Dr. Gadadhara Mohapatra, Indian Institute of Public Administration | 01.04.2021 |
27. Pandemic, Human Rights and The Future of
Livelihood: An Empirical Evidence from
Indian Economy
Dr. Rahul Suresh Sapkal
Assistant Professor,
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
28. Commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Dr. Pratap Kumar Jena,
14.03.2022
| 29. | How effective are Gram Panchayats’ Participatory Local Governance in Safeguarding Human Rights of Forest and Tribal Communities (FTCs) during COVID-19?: A Study of Select Gram Panchayats in Remote and Extremist Affected Areas of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh | Dr. Dhanraj A. Patil, Professor and Head, Gondwana University Maharashtra | 15.03.2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Local Self Governance and Promotion of Tribal Rights: A Comparative Study of Malkangiri District in Odisha and Gumla District in Jharkhand | Dr. Umesh Chandra Sahoo, Professor (Retd), Gurukul Foundation, Odisha | 15.03.2022 |
| 31 | Promotion of Human Rights in the Rural Local Self Governance: Evidence from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh | Dr. Puneet Pathak, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, School of Legal Studies, Central University of Punjab | 15.03.2022 |
| 32 | Promotion of Human Rights in Local Self Governance –A study of Select Village Panchayats, Cuddalore District, India | Dr. V. Rathikarani, Assistant Professor, Annamalai University | 15.03.2022 |
| 33 | Prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among children aged 3-5 years attending ICDS Anganwadis: A study of Northern India | Dr. Zubair Meenai, Professor Centre for Early Childhood Development and Research, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi | 22.03.2022 |
| 34 | Refugees’ Access to Education, Healthcare and Livelihood | Mr. Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association, New Delhi | 24.03.2022 |
| 35 | 4A’s Framework in Right to Girl Child Education in the Aspirational Districts of South India (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) - A Comparative Analysis of Government and Private schools | Dr D. Prince Annadurai Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College, Chennai | 24.03.2022 |
| 36 | An Empirical Study on working of Ashram Schools (Boys and Girls Residential) with special reference to Tribal areas located on Interstate Border areas of Central India (Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh) | Prof. (Dr.) Rashmi Salpekar, Professor and Dean, VSLLS, VIPS-TC, New Delhi | 26.03.2022 |
| 37 | Study of quality of life of the elderly persons living in old age homes with special reference to the North region | Dr Neelu Mehra, Assistant Professor School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi | 28.03.2022 |
| 38 | Education for Refugee Learners in India: Visualizing Policy Oriented Innovation and Technological Approach for Increasing Access | Dr. Shuvro Prosun Sarker, Assistant Professor Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT, Kharagpur | 28.03.2022 |
14.03.2022
39. Abandoned Widows: Voice yet Voiceless, Ms. Meera Khanna, Vice Executive and 28.03.2022
| 40. | Achievement Gap or Opportunity Gap (O- Gap)? A socio-legal study of Access to Equal Educational Opportunities (EEO), Accessibility to Equal Learning Opportunities (ELO) and Learning Poverty (LP) in the Educational spaces of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Schools for Tribal Girls of Gadchiroli, Warangal, Adilabad, Srikakulum, Bastar and Kondegaon Districts | Dr. Uma Maheshwari Chimirala , Assistent Professor, NALSAR University of LAW, Justice City, Shameerpet Hyderabad Telangana | 28.03.2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Disparity in Access to Education in the Aspirational Districts in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh R-11/2/2022-PRPP(RU-4) | Dr. Thomas Varghese, Research Director, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi | 28.03.2022 |
| 42 | Prevalence and causes of malnutrition among under-five children in selected geographies in India | Dr. Rupa Prasad, Executive Director, Public Health Resource Society, Hauz Khas, New Delhi | 30.03.2022 |
| 43 | Optimal design of questionnaire survey on awareness of clinical trials among different stakeholders | Dr. Anamika, Assistant Professor, JNU, Delhi | 30.03.2022 |
| 44 | Impact of Ekalavya Model Residential Schools on ST Children in fifth and sixth schedule areas of India with reference to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura and Mizoram | Dr. Ramanand Pandey, Director , Center of Policy Research and Governance, Janpath, New Delhi | 30.03.2022 |
| 45 | Life Satisfaction & Quality of Life of the Elderly Living in Old- Age Homes: A Comparative Study of Western India and North East India | Dr. B.P. Sahu, Professor North Eastern Hill University, Shillong | 01.04.2022 |
| 46 | A study of human rights ethos in Indian scriptures and contemporary culture | Dr. Balram Tyagi, Professor Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi | 01.04.2022 |
| 47 | A Study on the Status, Functioning and Effectiveness of Swadhar Greh and Ujjawala Homes for Women and Adolescent Girls'' | Dr. S. Shanthakumar, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 06.04.2022 |
| 48 | Human Trafficking: An Evaluation Study of Functioning of AHTUs | Prof. (Dr.) Saibal Kar, Professor, Reserve Bank of India, Chair Professor of Economics, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta R1, B. P. Township, Kolkata 700094, West Bengal, | 07.04.2022 |
| 49 | Research Study on Missing Children | Ms. Nirmala Mathew, Senior Project Manager, New Concept Centre for Communication Development, New Delhi | 29.04.2022 | | 0.75 | medium | 6 | 3,472 | [
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590852ee-256e-40ca-abae-4e89868c36fb | Many Catholics media people | social_studies | historical_context | Many Catholics and media people -- at least those with enough interest to care -- believe that the late Pope John Paul I must have had the shortest pontificate of all time. Not so. John Paul I is generally regarded as having had the 11th shortest pontificate in all of papal history: 33 days.
On the other hand, the current 10th shortest pontificate (Benedict V, May 22-June 23, 964, or 32 days) may some day be stricken from the record books because his pontificate was canonically dubious. But John Paul I’s 33 days in office will still be well behind the pack.
Actually, the shortest pontificate of all was that of Urban VII, who was elected on September 15, 1590, and who died 12 days later, before his coronation, on September 27.
Born Giovan Battista Castagna, he was the nephew of Cardinal Verallo. This blood relationship certainly did not hurt. He would serve as papal legate to France, archbishop of Rosanno (also known as Rozzano), governor in the Papal States, an active participant at the Council of Trent (1562-63), nuncio to Spain, consultor (later inquisitor general) to the Holy Office, and a cardinal-priest of San Marcello al Corso (1583).
When he was elected pope, many had great hopes that his would be a reformist but temperate pontificate. Although he had been in good health up to that point, he contracted malaria the night after his election and died soon thereafter. He was buried in the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.
He was succeeded by Niccolò Sfondrati, with the assistance of the pro-Spanish cardinals and after a two-month conclave. Sfondrati took the name of the pope who had made him a cardinal, Gregory XIII. Unfortunately, he was one of the least popular and least successful of all the popes in history.
One could wonder about the subsequent history of the church had Urban VII lived and Gregory XIV never been elected, just as one could wonder what the years after John Paul I’s election would have been like if he had lived and John Paul II had never been elected.
September was also the month in which one of three popes (Vigilius and Honorius I were the others) who fell into material (as opposed to formal, or knowing and deliberate) heresy died. Indeed, Liberius, elected on May 17, 352, was the first pope not to be listed among the saints and is generally regarded to have been a weak pope.
He first opposed the Arians’ condemnation of St. Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373), the leading
figure at the Council of Nicaea in 325, for which he was deposed from office by the Arian emperor Constantius and sent into harsh exile in Thrace.
Liberius eventually submitted and was readmitted to the Roman see, which by that time and with the support of the emperor had elected a second bishop, Felix II (d. 365), technically an antipope.
It is interesting to note that Damasus, Liberius’ eventual successor in the papacy, was for a time in Felix’s service as a deacon, in defiance of the oath taken by the Roman clergy not to recognize anyone else as the Bishop of Rome while Liberius was still alive.
The Roman public, however, never accepted Felix as their bishop, and clamored for the return of Liberius. The emperor, under popular pressure, allowed Liberius to go back to Rome, but on the condition that he jointly rule with Felix.
Felix, however, retreated to the suburbs of Rome in the face of a potential riot, but it was only after the death of Constantius in 361 that Liberius returned to orthodoxy and made an effort to restore the Nicene faith to the universal church.
He published a decree voiding the decisions of the pro-Arian Synod of Rimini (359), at which the Western bishops had been bullied into accepting an Arian creed.
At the same time, Liberius urged his fellow Italian bishops to reestablish communion with those bishops who had embraced the Rimini decisions, on condition that they now accept the Nicene Creed. He did the same for Eastern bishops four years later.
Liberius was also the builder of the huge Liberian Basilica, which was transformed in the fifth century to the major basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major), which still stands today as one of the four major basilicas of Rome (along with St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls).
Liberius, however, has usually been remembered as a betrayer of the faith and his name was even invoked by opponents of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council (1870).
© 2011 Richard P. McBrien. All rights reserved. Fr. McBrien is the Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,125 | [
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c3384d18-7e39-4634-b7f9-c697d1dd2126 | ACUTE MEDICATION POISONING CAUSING | technology | research_summary | ACUTE MEDICATION POISONING CAUSING HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS IN CHILDHOOD: A 3YEAR PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL SINGLE-CENTER STUDY
Matalová P.
Ústav farmakologie LF UP Olomouc
Drug intoxications represent a global public health problem. To evaluate the prevalence, causes, and outcomes of medication poisonings leading to hospital admission in children over a three-year period in the University Hospital in Olomouc, Czech Republic. All admissions to the Department of Pediatrics of the University Hospital Olomouc, Czech Republic, from January 2010 to December 2012 were prospectively screened. Patients younger than 19 years of age admitted because of acute pharmaceutical drug intoxications were further evaluated. A total of 15,069 children and adolescents were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics in the study period. Of them, 55 were hospitalized for (suspected) acute medication poisoning. The condition was more common in girls than boys (72.7% vs. 27.3%, P < 0.01). Toddlers were the largest patient group (36.4%), followed by schoolchildren (27.3%) and adolescents (14.5%). NSAIDs were the most frequently used agents, with ibuprofen being the leading drug (20% of all cases), followed by paracetamol (14.5%). his paper also presents a case report of fatal accidental poisoning by single dose of verapamil and propafenone. The route of intoxication was almost exclusively oral. Solid drug forms were involved in 40 (72.7%) cases. The highest occurrence of accidental drug intoxications was in the age group from one to three years. Attempted suicides were most frequent among adolescents, mainly girls. The data confirm the importance of studies of intoxications in young population. Acknowledgment. Study was supported by an MSMT OPVV project „Toxicology" (CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16). | 0.65 | high | 5 | 459 | [
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1d9471a3-0427-4ebc-b678-a3020bf5393b | Is Therapy Using Horses Effective for ADHD | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Is Therapy Using Horses Effective for ADHD?
The bond between a child and his horse has long been romanticized. Is there something more to it than our images of young riders and gentle steeds?
Therapists and researchers are discovering that riding and caring for a horse can be therapeutic for many people, including children with ADHD.
Therapy animals for ADHD
Animal therapy isn’t new, says CHADD resident expert L. Eugene Arnold, MD, MEd. It’s a tool that has been proven successful with people who have an autism spectrum disorder. However, ADHD is not an autism spectrum disorder, he points out. There is some overlap in symptoms, he says, such as difficulty focusing and staying on task.
Most children like animals and want animals to like them in return, says Steve Klee, PhD. He is the associate executive director of clinical and medical services at Green Chimneys, a nonprofit organization with an animal-assisted therapy center in Brewster, New York.
“The advantage with animals in general is that their reaction is pure, and it’s really based on how they’re approached,” Dr. Klee says. “So if a child is hurried and impulsive, the animal reacts very honestly and will withdraw. If a child approaches the animal in a manner that is not impulsive, but is calm, the animal will respond positively.”
Why horses for therapy?
Dr. Arnold points to a theory that divides predatory animals from prey animals. Predators such as dogs need to hide their feelings to fool their prey, while prey animals—including horses, donkeys, and goats—do not.
“So horses, in contrast to dogs, would wear their feelings on their sleeve, so to speak, which makes them easier to relate to,” he explains.
It’s an idea supported by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, or Eagala, model of horse-based therapy. In the Eagala program people interact with horses but don’t ride them. All of the therapy work is done on the ground, in an arena, allowing the person and the horse to interact together on their own terms. The goal is to help the person to make connections, first with the therapy horse and later with other people.
Horseback riding as therapy
Both therapeutic and recreational horseback riding are frequently recommended for individuals with ADHD. This is because horses respond to both spoken and nonspoken communication through the use of reins and the rider’s legs to direct them. Taking part in this system of communication may provide some of the therapeutic benefits of working with a horse.
“The rhythmic stride of the horse is calming, and after a while, the horse and rider kind of blend into one—they work together, almost as if they were one organism,” says Dr. Arnold.
Many of the common goals of ADHD therapy—increased focus and organization, as well as improvements in executive functioning—can be met by riding and caring for a horse. That means participation not only in regular feeding and grooming, but in saddling the horse for riding. For the rider it includes concentrating on his posture and foot and hand placement, as well as a sense of being in control of the horse.
“You need to check on all these things before you start,” explains Dr. Klee. “So it’s not just the organization of getting the animal ready, it’s really the organization of what do you have to do before you even start to move.”
A horse’s size is also part of what makes working with horses effective for children with ADHD. Running at a horse may scare the animal, potentially causing real danger, since horses often kick or buck when they’re alarmed. Most children want the horses to feel safe and find ways to check their own behavior around them.
“Children don’t want to hurt the animals, so being around them can just lower their activity threshold as well—just being in a calmer atmosphere,” says Dr. Klee.
Most young riders with ADHD begin lessons about age six. Experienced riders advance to more intense work with an instructor familiar with their abilities. That could include jumping, dressage, or interactive vaulting.
Therapy for related conditions
Horse care and riding can play a role in improving the symptoms of conditions that co-occur with ADHD.
“Both depression and anxiety have really been helped, because what we’re looking for are areas where they can be successful and feel good about themselves,” says Dr. Klee. “When they have a positive interaction with a horse or any other animal, they learn about them and they feel confident, because they now know how to feed, groom, and ride them. All of that builds confidence and competence. We find it’s really helpful in working with both anxiety and depression. They’ve gained a skill and they can see the results and feel good about it. It does help with other diagnoses.”
Partnering with Horses—A Primer
Equine facilitated psychotherapy is one of several equine assisted activities or therapies with horses available for children and adults with disabilities. The physical, emotional, and social benefits of these activities have long been noted, although more scientific investigation is needed to establish the evidence base. Examples of equine assisted activities include:
Therapeutic riding. Participants engage in mounted activities taught by a PATH-certified instructor that may consist of adaptive riding or traditional riding disciplines
Hippotherapy. The movement of the horse is used as a treatment strategy by a specially trained physical, occupational, or speech therapist in therapy sessions.
Interactive vaulting. Participants perform movements on and around the horse.
Therapeutic driving. Participants engage in carriage driving from a carriage seat or wheelchair; can be done in competition.
Competition. Participants engage in team or individual equestrian sports, competing at local, regional, national, or international levels in events that may be inclusive or offer divisions for riders with disabilities.
According to the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.), more than 66,179 children and adults with disabilities, including more than 6,200 veterans, participate in equine assisted activities or therapies at PATH centers. More than 62,469 volunteers assist, more than 5,011 instructors teach, and more than 7,800 therapy horses serve as partners in these programs. More than 850 member centers currently offer services in the United States and Canada, and the number grows each year.
PATH programs serve individuals with a wide range of disabilities, including attention disorders, autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, developmental delay, hearing impairment, spina bifida, visual impairment, spinal cord injury, learning disability, emotional or behavioral disorders, head trauma/brain injury, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and so forth.
Consult your physician regarding the appropriateness of the specific equine assisted activity in which you or your child might be interested, as there are contraindications associated with some conditions. While therapeutic riding might not be appropriate for some individuals with certain mobility, balance, emotional, or physical considerations, therapeutic driving might be a wonderful activity.
To learn more or to find a program near you, visit PATH and click on Centers. The website provides listings of centers that are fully-accredited PATH centers and of facilities that are PATH members. To learn more about hippotherapy, visit the American Hippotherapy Association. For more information about research on equine assisted activities/therapies, go to the Horses & Humans Research Foundation.
Looking for more?
- Animal-Assisted Activities for Children with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs
- Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy: Fostering Resilience and Self-Esteem in Children and Adults with ADHD and Related Disorders
- Children with autism spectrum see benefits from equine therapy
- Eagala Model of Equine-Assisted Therapy
- Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH International) member centers
- Horses and Humans Research Foundation
Did you know…
The prefix “hippo-” comes from the Greek word for “horse.” In Latin the word for horse is “equus,” from which we get “equestrian” to refer to a horseback rider or sports that include horses. Both of these ancient words are used to describe activities involving horses today. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 1,716 | [
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6d3ba176-a617-4657-841b-b857ac4fda17 | Room 235, Margaret M. Walter Hall, 7:10 p.m | interdisciplinary | concept_introduction | Room 235, Margaret M. Walter Hall, 7:10 p.m.
Ohio University Faculty Senate Monday, May 16, 2011 Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Faculty Senate Chair Joe McLaughlin at 7:10 p.m.
In attendance:
Continuing Senators
College of Arts and Sciences: E. Ammarell, K. Brown, C. Elster, J. Gilliom, S. Gradin, S. Hays,
K. Hicks, D. Ingram, C. Kalenkoski, J. Lein, J. McLaughlin, G. Negash (for W. Roosenburg), R.
Palmer, S. Patterson, B. Quitslund, L. Rice, S. Wyatt
College of Business: L. Hoshower, B. Roach, T. Stock
College of Fine Arts: D. McDiarmid, M. Phillips, A. Reilly, E. Sayrs, D. Thomas
College of Health Sciences and Professions: M. Adeyanju, D. Bolon, M. Bowen
College of Osteopathic Medicine: H. Akbar, T. Heckman, J. Wolf
Group II: H. Burstein, M. Sisson
Patton College of Education and Human Services: T. Franklin, A. Paulins
Regional Campus—Chillicothe: N. Kiersey
Regional Campus—Eastern: J. Casebolt
Regional Campus—Lancaster: P. Munhall
Regional Campus—Southern: M. Crawford (for D. Marinski)
Regional Campus—Zanesville: P. Kanwar for M. Nern
Russ College of Engineering: J. Giesey, R. Pasic
Scripps College of Communication: B. Bates, B. Debatin, J. Lee, G. Newton, J. Slade, S.
Titsworth
Excused: S. Doty, D. Marinski, M. Nern, W. Roosenburg
Absent: M. Bowen, B. Branham, J. Dill, T. Franklin, T. Heckman, R. Knight
Newly-elected Senators (*also listed above)
College of Arts and Sciences: K. Brown*, G. Negash*, S. Patterson*, A. Rouzie, G. Van Patten College of Business: L. Hoshower*
College of Fine Arts: V. Marchenkov, E. Sayrs*
Group II: L. Lapierre
Patton College of Education and Human Services: B. Vanderveer
Regional Campus—Lancaster: S. Doty*
Regional Campus—Zanesville: J. Farley
Scripps College of Communication: B. Bates*, J. Slade*
Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs: A. Ruhil
Excused (resigned): G. Matlack
Overview of the Meeting:
I. EVPP Pam Benoit
II. Roll Call and Approval of the April 11 & April 25, 2011 Minutes
III. Chair's Report
* Announcements
* Update on Resolutions
* Report on Elections & Introduction of New Senators
* Upcoming Senate Meeting: June 6, 2011, 7:10 p.m., Walter Hall 235
IV. Faculty Senate Officer Elections—Sherrie Gradin
V. Professional Relations Committee—Sherrie Gradin
* Resolution on Faculty Fellowship Leave Under Semesters (Second Reading &
Vote)
* Resolution on Creation of Clinical Faculty Designation (First Reading)
VI. Finance & Facilities Committee—John Gilliom
* Resolution to Establish a Parental Leave Policy (Second Reading & Vote)
* Sense of the Senate Resolution on Planning Unit Reduction Targets and Budget Priorities (Second Reading & Vote)
* Sense of the Senate Resolution on Replacement Group I Hires (First Reading)
VII. Educational Policy & Student Affairs Committee—Allyn Reilly
VIII. Promotion & Tenure Committee—Joe Slade
IX. New Business
X. Adjournment
I. Pam Benoit, Executive Vice President and Provost
EVPP Benoit provided updates to the Senate on five issues.
* Strategic investments from the possible 3.5% tuition increase: A tuition increase of 3.5%, the maximum allowed in the state budget, would generate about $5.4 million.
The draft list of high-priority investments that the Provost's Office has identified thus far comes to just under $8.3 million; some, obviously, will not be funded.
500,000
1,000,000
============
8,366,768
* Compensation changes for faculty and staff next year. Employees will receive base salary increases to offset the new parking fee and the increase in health care premium costs. Employees will be responsible for about 15% of the premium cost of their plan (up from a bit under 10% now). Each employee will receive a salary increase equivalent to their increased premium costs (after the conclusion of Open Enrollment) plus the parking fee, with the intention that total compensation be unchanged.
* University cash reserves: Some state legislators have implied that because the state's universities hold significant cash reserves (about $2.9 billion in total), that money should be spent before the state raises the SSI or permits institutions to increase their tuitions. Provost Benoit brought copies of a recent editorial in the Columbus Dispatch that made the case for holding onto cash reserves. (See
http://dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2011/05/06/prudence.html?sid=101). She further noted that S.B. 6 requires us to maintain sufficient reserves to meet exigencies, and that much of Ohio Universities cash reserve is not held centrally but is spread across planning units.
* Dean searches and replacements: Howard Dewald has been appointed Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and the election of faculty members to the search committee is being conducted now. The process for appointing an interim dean for Scripps College is underway, as is the solicitation of nominations for faculty representatives on that search committee. Similarly, the process for appointing an interim Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College is underway, and the Provost is discussing the constitution of the search committee with Senate Chair McLaughlin. All three searches will utilize search firms, and possible firms are currently under review.
* Legislative update. H.B. 202 (which would have limited the amount of income that retired teachers could make from teaching) seems unlikely to be taken up this session. Similarly, legislation making changes to public employee pension funding are probably on hold until the fall. The final state budget did not include language about faculty workloads, and the requirement that academic programs provide 3-year degrees is more flexible than the initial drafts.
The first set of questions from senators concerned workload policy under semesters and RCM. Gene Ammarell asked whether it should be based on courses taught by each instructor? The number of Weighted Student Credit Hour each instructor generated? Would HTC instruction count, as well as online time with students? Charlotte Elster pointed out that some activities that generate few or no credit hours, like advising doctoral students, can take up large amounts of faculty time and energy, and are actually a mix of teaching, advising, and research. Provost Benoit agreed that WSCHs are important under RCM, and advised that departments try to think flexibly about what constitutes workload based on the kinds of responsibilities that their faculty undertake: it should include more than time in the classroom, extending to academic advising, directing graduate students, work with the Honors Tutorial College, and service. Teaching does, however, have to be covered with the resources the department has. Steve Hays noted that
workload definitions could affect instructional quality, if, for example, course sizes were overly inflated in order to reduce the number of courses.
Considerable discussion focused on the list of strategic reinvestments. Scott Titsworth asked why items that didn't seem optional, like safety improvements, were on a list of "strategic" spending—aren't those covered in other budgets? Benoit explained that applying more base funding to facilities maintenance and repair is a way to deal with declining state support for capital projects. In the past, major renovations and repairs have been paid for through capital bills allocating money to the state's institutions; it looks like there will not be one this year, and we have no certainty about the future, either. The Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Facilities are working on new models for funding our maintenance needs, which is made more difficult by a very long list of deferred maintenance projects throughout the campus. The funds from the tuition increase represent a small proportion of what will be needed, and address only pressing, basic safety issues. Ken Hicks asked for clarification about the funds for replacing faculty lost through the ERIP and VESP programs. The Provost said that the line item on the strategic funding list was in addition to what was budgeted in the ERIP/VESP program itself (replacing 60% of the positions at an average of 75% of the retiree salary). The kind of faculty hired—tenure-track or not, long- or short-term—would vary, depending on the assessment of demand for instruction in particular areas.
A number of questions focused on the $750K allocated for marketing and student recruitment in the strategic investment list. Steve Patterson asked for data about the effectiveness and return on investment of previous marketing efforts, including the Promise campaign. Benoit wished that Craig Cornell (Vice Provost for Enrollment Management) were there to answer questions directly. She pointed out OU for many years did not advertise, and that previous marketing campaigns were funded with one-time money. Putting base funds into advertising is a response to an increasingly competitive market in which the number of potential students is dropping and we are trying to maintain the quality of our incoming classes. She suggested that an increase in out-of-state students might be attributable to the launch of our first out-of-state ads, placed last year in the Pittsburg area. Hajrudin Pasic agreed that advertising was necessary, noted that the Senate had discussed it three or four years ago, and suggested that having students involved with social media advertising would be cost-effective. Benoit commented that social networking was being used recruitment, and invited David Thomas to repeat a comment he had made at another meeting; he complied by (re)stating that advertising is our future. Ammarell said that he had thought that we weren't increasing the number of students on the Athens campus. Benoit replied that the goal is to increase enrollment in Athens by 1,000 students over the next five years, but that we are also competing in a shrinking market to maintain the quality of our incoming classes. Mark Phillips suggested that it would be cheaper and more effective to target individual students for recruitment than whole markets. Benoit responded that effective university marketing requires two phases or steps: 1) creating a positive impression of the institution, and 2) selling particular programs more specifically to interested students. The Capital Campaign is crucial for ensuring scholarships to the particular students we especially want. Toby Stock commented that given the apparently remarkable returns on out of state advertising, he was befuddled that so little new money was being committed for marketing. He suggested that other sources of funding be found for recruitment campaigns, such as borrowing from College budgets. The Provost agreed that marketing is important, but underlined that there are many competing needs for money on campus. David Ingram noted that we need to
create an institutional culture attuned to look carefully at the returns on investments—as, for example, in recruiting out of state students.
Judith Lee asked about preferred vendor relationships, especially Concur. While P-Card training suggests that travel arrangements must be made through Concur, her colleague who recently wrote to VP Golding was told that using Concur was optional. Given that Concur and TravelWorld often seem not to have the best prices, she asked whether that flexibility for purchasing should be more widely publicized. VP Golding responded that while preferred vendors might not offer the best deal on specific purchases, they tend to save money in the aggregate. Currently, employees must use their university MasterCards for purchases with university funds, but that arranging travel through Concur is not required. He also noted that his office is taking a look at the Concur system, and that he hopes there will be clearer rules of the road in the future.
Compensation issues also generated comments from senators. Ken Brown asked about the administration's plans if the state legislature did require that employees pay a greater proportion of retirement contributions. Benoit said that there are no current discussions about how the university would respond. Addressing the health care premium increase offset, Elster argued that because those on a family plan will receive larger increases to their base salary, they will be in an advantaged position on retirement, or even when their children age out of family coverage, and that this seemed like a discriminatory compensation policy. Provost Benoit responded that the University's General Counsel had affirmed that having a family or not does not constitute a protected category, so legally the offset is not discriminatory. She also pointed out that there are already other benefits only available to employees with families, including children's educational benefits and certain medical procedures. The point of the offset, she contended, is to offset new costs and thus protect employees. Elster countered by noting that the compounding effect of the addition to base salaries would be quite significant over the course of a career. VP Golding agreed, but also pointed out that there is a compounding effect in the insurance premiums as well, which means that family rates will increase more than individual rates. In addition, it is a one-time aberration: new employees won't have a "bump," regardless of whether they have dependents. Bernhard Debatin pointed out that if health care costs continue to rise at a rate greater than salaries, the premium costs to those with family coverage will rise more quickly than to those only paying for themselves. VP Golding confirmed that the projections provided to his office suggest that health care costs will increase by 10% per year over the next six years, compared to a 3% per year increase in the CPI.
Pasic asked the Provost if she had seen the President in the previous month. Benoit answered that they had jointly opened the new Walter International Center the previous Saturday.
II. Roll Call and Approval of the April 11 and April 25, 2011 Minutes
A quorum was present. Both sets of minutes were approved by a voice vote (April 11: moved by Titsworth, seconded by Ingram; April 25: moved by Allyn, seconded by Gradin).
III. Chair's Report—Joe McLaughlin
* All pending resolutions have now been signed by the Provost. These included the resolution providing for the continuation of the FFL clock in the event of a one-year deferral; the resolution on the role of chairs and directors in professional ethics procedures; early retirement guidelines for semesters; a resolution incorporating several catalogue changes for semesters; the new deadline for Incomplete grades on semesters (two weeks into the next term); and a resolution setting Withdrawal deadlines on the semester calendar (the end of the tenth week). These can be viewed at http://www.ohio.edu/facultysenate/.
* Nominations are needed to staff university standing committees. These are usually self-nominations, so please consider volunteering yourself for one of these committees.
* The annual faculty appraisal of the President and Provost have been sent out to faculty. Please complete these and return them promptly: the deadline is June 1.
* McLaughlin introduced the newly-elected senators. One senator from Arts & Sciences has resigned his seat and will need to be replaced, and some units will need to select alternates. Voting rate in the faculty senate elections was 27.24% this year, somewhat lower than the five-year average of 31.89%. McLaughlin said that this could be partly explained by the fact that some units did not have vacant senate seats but received ballots to vote only for alternates, and several, including Arts & Sciences, had the same number of candidates as open seats. Forms for requesting senate committee assignments will be distributed at the June meeting.
* The next faculty senate meeting will be on June 6, 2011, at 7:10 p.m., Walter Hall 235.
IV. Faculty Senate Officer Elections—Sherrie Gradin
The Nominating Committee was made up of senators who must rotate off of the Senate because they have served two consecutive three-year terms, and chaired by Gradin. In accordance with the Faculty Handbook, the Committee nominated a slate of officers at the April 25 meeting: for Chair, Joe McLaughlin; for Vice Chair, Elizabeth Sayrs; and for Secretary, Beth Quitslund. There were no nominations from the floor. McLaughlin was elected Chair by secret ballot with with 45 "yes" votes. A motion was made and passed by voice vote to elect the rest of the slate by acclamation.
McLaughlin offered appreciation for David Thomas's service as Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, particularly for his work as the UCC Chair. He oversaw the curricular effects of a difficult academic reorganization and spearheaded the creation and implementation of OCEAN. Sayrs was lauded for the quality and speed of summaries and minutes during her time as Secretary.
V. Professional Relations Committee (PRC)—Sherrie Gradin
* Resolution on Faculty Fellowship Leave Under Semesters (Second Reading)
One revision was made from the first reading, the elimination of a footnote that referred to a chart that had already been deleted. There were questions about whether the number of paychecks in a semester would make a difference in how the FFL compensation was calculated (it will not). The resolution was passed by a voice vote.
* Resolution on Creation of Clinical Faculty Designation (First Reading)
Dean Brose of OU-COM attended the meeting in order to answer questions. The rationale for the creation of a Clinical Faculty designation is to allow for better recruitment and retention of physician-instructors and to bring OU-COM into line with national norms for medical schools. Clinical Track appointments would differ from Group II primarily by being promotable. These faculty members might do some lecturing, but their primary teaching role is precepting during clinic work. Dean Brose explained that some faculty arrive at OU-COM only to discover that they are not suited to the heavy research expectations of tenure-track faculty, even though they may be excellent physicians. The Clinical track would allow the college to keep keep difficultto-recruit specialists to supervise students and serve the medical needs of the community. A great deal of discussion centered on whether the creation of a track parallel to tenure at OU-COM represents a threat to tenure at OU in general, and several wondered why either some version of Group II or a tenure track with different tenure expectations would not serve as well as a nontenurable clinical track. There was also concern about how the ability to switch from the tenure track to the clinical one would affect the integrity of the tenure process: would it make it easier to deny tenure, or represent an escape route for faculty who were not meeting tenure requirements? Several senators supported a proposal that the time during which a faculty member could switch from the tenure track into the clinical one be limited, and end significantly before the tenure review would normally begin, and Dean Brose agreed with this suggestion. Questions were also raised about what kind of appeal process would be available if a petition to switch tracks was denied.
VI. Finance and Facilities Committee—John Gilliom
* Sense of the Senate Resolution on Planning Unit Reduction Targets and Budget Priorities (Second Reading)
This resolution has been made considerably shorter since the First Reading, focusing now on only three issues: 1) the cuts to academic units are greater than the cuts to non-academic ones; 2) some non-academic units are protected without a clear rationale; and 3) the administration has not provided a sense of how the academic units are affected by or supposed to maintain quality after years of budget cuts. It asks that the FY 2012 budget be revised, and that (in accordance with RCM principles) future budgets clearly recognize costs and benefits to the institution. In discussion, friendly amendments to the second "Whereas" changed "protects several nonacademic units" to "largely protects several non-academic units" to clearly refer to small cuts as well as the absence of any cuts, and "cogent rationale" was amended to "convincing and verifiable rationale." The resolution was passed by a voice vote.
* Resolution to Establish a Parental Leave Policy (Second Reading)
A lively debate arose around whether the resolution should support family leave rather than only parental leave. This would help ameliorate additional benefits going only to employees with children, and the policy at the University of Iowa was noted as an example. It was pointed out that a committee is on the verge of recommending a parental leave policy to the Provost, and that this resolution would be a timely way to support efforts already underway. The suggestion was made that perhaps the resolution should ask for a policy on "family and parental leave," to prepare the groundwork for future policies. Other senators pointed out the particular problems that child-bearing and rearing pose for female faculty, and offered examples of ways that not having a clear policy affects retention and recruitment. The resolution was passed by voice vote.
* Sense of the Senate Resolution on Replacement Group I Hires (First Reading)
This resolution asks that priority be given to Group I replacement hiring for any faculty lines vacated through the ERIP or VESP offers, and that the criteria for such replacement hires be open and fairly applied. Gilliom noted that this resolution is extremely preliminary, and that depending on further announcements about how replacement hires will be done, the resolution may be unnecessary or need to change substantially.
* Other discussion brought up the mismatch between new proposed employee costs and the language in the Faculty Handbook. Noting that the Handbook requires that faculty bear no more than 10% of the cost of health insurance premiums, a senator asked the senate leadership to bring forward a resolution. There is not yet a consensus on whether the resolution should discuss total compensation, percentage of total health care costs, or simply raise the maximum percentage of the premium to 15%. Handbook language guaranteeing parking space to faculty may need revision. Further, the establishment of a parking fee has raised the possibility that the Parking Committee should extend its duties to review the budget of the Parking unit; should it do so, a mandate from the Faculty Senate and a change in the constitution of the committee's membership might be in order.
VII. Educational Policy and Student Affairs Committee (EPSA)—Allyn Reilly
EPSA chose not to bring forward the resolution creating a First-Year Council for second reading. Some details are still in negotiation, and the committee is trying to find ways to integrate the proposed FYC with other related committees, as well as to differentiate it from the Enrollment Management Advisory Committee (EMAC).
Reilly also offered his congratulations and thanks to David Thomas for his leadership of the UCC.
VIII. Promotion and Tenure Committee (P&T)—Joe Slade
The committee has received a petition for an extension to the probationary period. They are also in meetings about the possibility of allowing Group I faculty to transfer to Group II.
IX. New Business
None.
X. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:50 p.m.
Resolution on Faculty Fellowship Leave Adjustment for Semester Calendar Professional Relations Committee Faculty Senate May 16, 2011 Second Reading & Vote
Whereas, the language in the Faculty Handbook Section V.A needs to be adjusted for the semester calendar change;
Whereas, the PRC has followed the committee recommendations in a report on FFL submitted to the Provost in June of 2010;
Be it resolved that on the appropriate date, the language in the Faculty Handbook Section V. A. 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, and the Endnote containing a sample pay schedule replace the current language with the following:
V. UNIVERSITY FACULTY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, RESEARCH GRANTS, AND
AWARDS
A. University Faculty Fellowships
4. A University Fellowship leave may consist of one semester at full pay or two semesters at twothirds pay.[3] These rates are to be applied to the pay the faculty member normally would receive during the semester(s) in which the faculty member is to be on leave.
5. A University Fellowship leave may be granted for a maximum of two semesters. Faculty on ninemonth contracts will be granted leave only during the semesters covered by a contract. A University Fellowship leave may not be taken during the summer or other off terms, though such terms do count toward eligibility for a University Faculty Fellowship. Faculty members on twelve-month contracts will be granted leave at any time during the twelve-month period of the contract, with the full summer session considered to be one semester.
10. Faculty members will be expected to teach at Ohio University for at least two semesters after completion of their University Fellowship leave.
11. Application for a University Faculty Fellowship is to be made in writing to the department chairperson ordinarily no later than the first day of the Spring Semester preceding the summer and/or academic year in which the leave is to be taken. The decision by the President on his/her application is to be made known to the faculty member in writing no later than March 1, though this decision is subject to approval by the Trustees at their next meeting. The application must include a wellconsidered plan, presented with a reasonable degree of specificity, showing how the Fellowship leave will contribute to the professional effectiveness of the applicant and the best interest of the University, e.g., teaching efficacy, research, and creativity.
12. The department will evaluate the faculty members' applications and the chairperson will send all the applications and his/her recommendations to the appropriate dean. The dean will review all applications in the college and send them and his/her recommendations to the Provost, who will review them and make recommendations to the President for final approval or disapproval, subject to confirmation by the Board of Trustees. If the evaluation process results in a decision not to approve the application, the faculty member will be given, no later than March 1, written notification of the action and all reasons for the action. The written statement will be made by the person in the review process who first recommends disapproval of the application.
13. If a faculty member believes that his/her leave proposal has been denied unjustly, he/she will have the right to appeal the decision to his/her chairperson, to the dean, to the Provost, and then to the Professional Relations Committee of the Faculty Senate. The grounds for the appeal may be allegations of (a)inadequate consideration, (b) denial of due process, or (c) personal bias or discrimination.
16. Regional campus faculty members shall submit requests for a University Faculty Fellowship to the division coordinator. The division coordinator may forward the faculty member's application to the appropriate department at the Athens campus or to the most closely related department if no corresponding department exists. He/she shall take such action at the faculty member's request. The Athens department shall
give advice on the merit of the faculty member's proposal and return it to the division coordinator in making his/her recommendations to the regional campus dean. The regional campus dean shall review all applications at his/her campus. He/she will send applications and his/her recommendations to the Provost, who will review them and make recommendations to the President for final approval or disapproval, subject to confirmation by the Board of Trustees. If the evaluation process results in a decision not to approve the application, the faculty member will be given written notification, no later than March 1. The written statement will be made by the person in the review process who first recommends disapproval of the application. The appeal procedure shall be through the division coordinator, the regional campus dean, the Provost, and then to the Professional Relations Committee of the Faculty Senate.
Endnotes
[1] See Board of Trustees' policy amendment of October, 1977 providing implementation guidelines, Appendix A.
[2] For purposes of official record keeping, when an approved leave is deferred for one year in order to maintain curricular integrity thereby triggering the start of the next eligibility at seven years after the date of original approval, the Chair/Director is required to provide both the Dean's office and the Provost's office with an official memo indicating that this action has been taken.
[3] Example Leave Pay Schedule, for $48,000 9-month salary: (Delete)
Resolution on Establishment of a Clinical Medicine Track in the College of Osteopathic Medicine Faculty
Professional Relations Committee
Faculty Senate
May 16, 2011
First Reading
Whereas, the descriptions of faculty rank contained in the Faculty Handbook are well suited to the activities of most Ohio University teaching personnel, but do not describe the roles of physician teaching faculty in the College of Osteopathic Medicine;
Whereas, in order to appropriately assign Medical and teaching duties to practicing physician faculty members, a Clinical Medicine Track, primarily devoted to patient care and the Medical educational mission of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, is needed;
Whereas, medical faculty tracks are present at the vast majority of American medical schools and such a track is found equally at public and private institutions. (Source: The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, 2004);
Whereas, the absence of a Medical Faculty Track adversely affects OU-COM's ability to hire physician faculty, particularly women and minorities;
Whereas, recruitment of Master Physicians to train the next generation of doctors at OUCOM requires a faculty category other than the listed Group I-IV in the faculty handbook;
Whereas, OUCOM proposes that a new designation of Clinical Medicine Track faculty be approved for physicians who will primarily engage in teaching/mentoring student physicians and residents and providing medical care to patients affiliated with UMA and/or other OUCOM affiliated health facilities including Hudson Health Center;
Whereas, Tenure Track faculty members cannot adequately satisfy the intensive need for continuity of care for patients and the training of medical students in the clinical setting due to significant research and teaching expectations, the Clinical Medicine Track faculty will create a practice environment that accommodates the broad scope of activities required of Tenure Track Medical faculty;
Whereas, a mechanism for promotion is necessary to attract and retain non-tenure line Clinical Medicine Track faculty members;
Be it resolved that a designated faculty classification of Clinical Medicine Track Medical Faculty be created.
3. Classification of Faculty
3.e. Clinical Medicine Track Medical Faculty consists of physician faculty members who hold Medical faculty teaching contracts with the College of Osteopathic Medicine and who practice medicine in University Medical Associates or another practice formally affiliated with the college.
1. Clinical Medicine faculty are primarily hired to mentor/teach student physicians/Physician Residents and provide medical services at OUCOM and/or OUCOM affiliated healthcare facilities. Clinical Medicine faculty receive 12 month renewable contracts with extensive periodic reviews.
2. Clinical Medicine Faculty must be evaluated annually by the department Chair based on OUCOM guidelines.
3. Extensive reviews are performed at the 2 nd and 5 th anniversaries of initial appointment and every four years thereafter, with all stated benefits. Extensive reviews will be completed by a departmental committee with input from Chairs, and then sent on to the Dean for action of renewal or non-renewal.
4. Clinical Medicine Faculty members may be employed on the basis of full-time or part-time appointments.
5. Clinical Medicine Faculty members may negotiate a shift from a full-time to a part-time appointment, or from a part-time to a full-time appointment.
6. Percentage distribution of scholarship, teaching, and service responsibilities are negotiated with the department chair at the time of hire in the letter of offer and annually as appropriate to meet the needs of OUCOM.
7. Clinical Medicine Faculty may be promoted (without tenure) to Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, and Professor of Clinical Medicine as appropriate.
8. Faculty holding a Clinical Medicine Track position are eligible to apply for tenure track positions when they become available. The criteria for rank determination in the Clinical Medicine Track and the Tenure Track differ. Hence, a faculty member's rank in the Clinical Medicine Track is not necessarily transferable to the Tenure Track.
9. Tenure Track faculty are permitted to voluntarily petition for a one time transfer to a Clinical Medicine Track position. This petition must originate with the faculty member and be approved by the Department Chair, the Dean, the Provost, and the Department's Promotion and Tenure Committee. Once this transfer is completed by mutual consent, the faculty member is not eligible to transfer back to a Tenure Track position.
A Sense-of-the-Senate Resolution on Planning Unit Reduction Targets and Budget Priorities
Finance & Facilities Committee
Faculty Senate
May 16, 2011
Second Reading & Vote
Whereas, the proposed reduction targets undermine the academic quality of the University by demanding considerably higher reductions from academic units than from academic support and general fee units; and
Whereas the budget proposal largely protects several non-academic units (including, but not limited to, Advancement and Intercollegiate Athletics) without offering a convincing and verifiable cogent rationale or calculation of return on investment; and
Whereas the proposal fails to adequately acknowledge that reductions to the core academic function, which follow upon almost a decade of ongoing cuts to the academic budget, will yet further degrade the quality of teaching, faculty and student research, and the overall student experience at Ohio University;
Be it resolved that
a) the 2012 budget proposal be revised to more effectively protect and advance academic quality by providing more adequate resources for teaching and research; and that
b) the development of future budgets shall include mechanisms designed by administrators and faculty for clearly identifying the cost and benefits of all major functions and a clear evidencebased rationale for those costs.
RESOLUTION ON A LEAVE POLICY FOR MATERNITY, PATERNITY, AND ADOPTION Finance & Facilities Committee
Faculty Senate
May 16, 2011
Second Reading & Vote
The University's commitment to build an outstanding, diverse, and healthy workforce and to maintain a competitive profile of employee benefits and compensation will be advanced by the implementation of a Parental Leave Policy modeled on the best practices of our peer institutions. Such a plan shall be developed and implemented with all deliberate speed.
A Sense-of-the-Senate Resolution on Replacement Group I Hires
Finance & Facilities Committee Faculty Senate May 25, 2011 First Reading
Whereas the quality, continuity, and competitive standing of Ohio University can only be maintained if the vast majority of teaching, research and service is provided by tenure track faculty; and
Whereas, the voluntary separation plans have produced opportunistic cuts to Group I faculty, yet failed to provide specifications and criteria for refilling vacated lines;
Be it resolved that the University shall give priority to the hiring of Group I faculty to replace open lines and not cover those lines with contingent faculty;
Be it further resolved that the strategic planning for the allocation of replacement hires be done in an open and transparent manner. | 0.7 | medium | 6 | 7,740 | [
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74c95430-1dd6-491b-b917-9186e85cc82b | Hello awesome readers | science | worked_examples | Hello awesome readers. This is a special page for only those of you who are subscribed to my email list. Unless of course you share it, which you’re welcome to do ?
In the email you likely came from, I was telling you about the curse of the pharaohs and how it was considered absolutely real in the early part of the 20th century. In fact, it really took hold in the public’s imagination when Lord Carnarvon died from blood poisoning which we now know was caused when he nicked a mosquito bite with what was probably an infected razor while shaving.
Here is a picture of Lord Carnarvon.
He died in 1922 shortly after Howard Carter’s team uncovered and disturbed Tutankhamon’s tomb. This tomb was guarded by a statue of Anubis. This is the actual statue you can see below.
I find this a beautiful statue, especially considering how old it is. It is estimated to be over 3 millennia old. Tutankhamon died at around 18 years of age around the year 1323BCE. It’s really a fascinating tale of intrigue.
And although Tutankhamon was found in the Valley of the Kings which is roughly 640km from the Great Pyramid of Giza, it was an inspiration for the story and Lady Marmalade does take a riverboat trip down to the Valley of the Kings. You can buy Phantoms of the Pharaoh for any e-reader here. | 0.65 | low | 4 | 315 | [
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a9b27c6c-ab16-478a-8f37-81dd203c2cec | Tutorial: Navigating Running Track | science | tutorial | ## Tutorial: Navigating a Running Track Issue and Race Planning **Overview:** This tutorial breaks down a series of short messages discussing a running track issue, race scheduling, and encouragement for a fellow runner. It outlines how to respond to logistical challenges, consider alternative options, and offer support. **Prerequisites:** Familiarity with basic running terminology (track, race, scheduling) and understanding of the concept of offering support to fellow runners. **Step 1: Acknowledge and Express Concern** - Respond to a message expressing concern for someone's well-being (e.g., “Get well soon, Nick! :)”). - Include an emoji to convey empathy. - **Detailed instructions:** Copy and paste the original message's sentiment into your response. Add a personal touch, such as "I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well." - **Expected outcome:** The recipient feels acknowledged and supported. - **Checkpoint:** Does your response demonstrate empathy and understanding of the sender's message? **Step 2: Address a Specific Issue – Track Access** - Analyze a message detailing a conflict regarding track access (e.g., "the person I talked to (my mistake, I didn't get his name) said it wasn't open to public"). - Evaluate the situation – consider alternative tracks. - **Detailed instructions:** Identify the core problem: restricted access to a specific running track (MPSJ). Then, consider alternative tracks based on proximity and suitability (e.g., “MPSJ is closer to home than Subang park.”). Formulate a plan: “I might give it a go since MPSJ is closer to home.” - **Example or concrete application:** Imagine you’re facing a similar issue – a track being closed. You would first determine *why* it’s closed and then research nearby alternatives. - **Common pitfalls to avoid:** Don’t immediately assume the restriction is permanent. Explore possibilities before dismissing the track. **Step 3: Suggest a Solution Based on Information** - Respond to a message explaining the reason for the restriction (“Shemah - I was a little blur when you said they only allow staff to run there cos I’ve been running there for ages. It’s a nice place to run cos the track is so forgiving on your legs unlike the hard road surfaces.”) - Propose a solution based on the provided information (e.g., “Go give it a try, there’s loads of people there and it gives you ‘semangat’ to run … hehehe …”). - **Detailed instructions:** Understand the rationale behind the restriction (staff access). Then, suggest a practical solution based on the benefit highlighted – accessibility and a positive running environment. - **Checkpoint:** Does your response directly address the reason for the restriction and offer a constructive suggestion? **Step 4: Acknowledge Scheduling Conflicts** - Respond to a message expressing frustration with the scheduling of a race (“Shemah - Yeah, darn those MPSJ people for scheduling it at that time. Two weeks later would be just fine … siggghhh … but like you said, there’s a next year :D”). - Validate the sender's feelings and acknowledge the difficulty of the situation. - **Detailed instructions:** Recognize the sender’s frustration. Offer a simple acknowledgement ("I understand your frustration") and reinforce the idea of future opportunities (“but like you said, there’s a next year :D”). - **Common pitfalls to avoid:** Don't minimize the sender’s feelings; acknowledge their frustration before offering a potential solution. **Step 5: Offer Encouragement for a Race** - Respond to a message offering encouragement for an upcoming race (“Ray - Thanks :D You going for the race?”). - Express support and wish the recipient well. - **Detailed instructions:** Acknowledge the sender's gratitude. Respond with a supportive message, such as “Good luck Nick for NB15, rest is also part of the training..he he.” - **Checkpoint:** Does your response convey genuine support and well wishes? **Practice Exercise:** You receive a message stating, "The local track is closed for maintenance until further notice. I'm really disappointed – I was planning to run there this week." Draft a response that acknowledges the disappointment, suggests an alternative, and offers encouragement. **Key Takeaways:** * Effective communication involves acknowledging concerns and offering practical solutions. * Consider alternative options when faced with logistical challenges. * Supporting fellow runners is crucial for maintaining a positive running community. **Next Steps:** * Continue to explore local running tracks and events. * Practice responding to logistical challenges with empathy and solutions. Consider creating a list of alternative tracks in your area. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 959 | [
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bc2fecca-1391-46e1-b2ba-503d1e003f89 | Code Analyzer Report displays | technology | worked_examples | The Code Analyzer Report displays potential errors and problems,
as well as opportunities for improvement in your code through messages.
For example, a common message indicates that a variable
To run the Code Analyzer Report:
In the Current Folder browser, navigate to the folder that contains the files you want to check.
To use the
lengthofline.m example shown in this
documentation, save the file to the current folder, or to a folder for which
you have write access. This example saves the file to the current folder,
In the Current Folder browser, click , and then select Reports > Code Analyzer Report.
The report displays in the MATLAB® Web Browser, showing those files identified as having potential problems or opportunities for improvement.
For each message in the report, review the suggestion and your code. Click the line number to open the file in the Editor at that line, and change the file based on the message. Use the following general advice:
If you are unsure what a message means or what to change in the code, click the link in the message if one appears. For details, see Check Code for Errors and Warnings.
If the message does not contain a link, and you are unsure what a
message means or what to do, search for related topics in the Help
browser. For examples of messages and what to do about them,
including specific changes to make for the example,
lengthofline.m, see Changing Code Based on Code Analyzer Messages.
The messages do not provide perfect information about every situation and in some cases, you might not want to change anything based on the message. For details, see Understand the Limitations of Code Analysis.
If there are certain messages or types of messages you do not want to see, you can suppress them. For details, see Adjust Code Analyzer Message Indicators and Messages.
After modifying the file, save it. Consider saving the file to a different name if you made significant changes that might introduce errors. Then you can refer to the original file, if needed, to resolve problems with the updated file. Use the Compare button on the Editor or Live Editor tab to help you identify the changes you made to the file. For more information, see Compare and Merge Text.
Run and debug the file or files again to be sure that you have not introduced any inadvertent errors.
If the report is displaying, click Rerun This Report to update the report based on the changes you made to the file. Ensure that the messages are gone, based on the changes you made to the files. To rerun the report in MATLAB Online™, in the Current Folder browser, click , and then select Reports > Code Analyzer Report.
For information on how to correct the potential problems presented in Code Analyzer messages, use the following resources:
Open the file in the Editor and click the Details button in the tooltip, as shown in the image following this list. An extended message opens. However, not all messages have extended messages.
Use the Help browser Search pane to find documentation about terms presented in the messages.
The following image shows a tooltip with a Details button.
The orange line under the equals (
indicates a tooltip displays if you hover over the equals sign. The orange
highlighting indicates that an automatic fix is
You can get Code Analyzer messages using any of the following methods. Each provides the same messages, but in a different format:
Access the Code Analyzer Report for a file from the Profiler detail report.
which analyzes the specified file and displays messages in the Command
checkcode and displays the messages
in the Web Browser.
Use automatic code checking while you work on a file in the Editor. See Automatically Check Code in the Editor — Code Analyzer. | 0.55 | low | 3 | 787 | [
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75def8c1-df80-4c66-a7ea-791a6d5d4f25 | expert performance engineer, demonstrate | technology | problem_set | As an expert performance engineer, I will demonstrate optimizing a common computational task in soft matter physics: calculating the **Pair Correlation Function (PCF)** for a 2D system of $N$ particles, which involves computing distances between all pairs. ## Initial Implementation (Unoptimized) This implementation uses pure Python loops and the standard `math` module for distance calculations, which is notoriously slow for large scientific arrays. ```python import math import random # soft_matter_physics: Initial Version # Time Complexity: O(N^2) # Space Complexity: O(N) (for storing particle positions) def calculate_pcf_naive(positions, max_r, dr): """ Calculates the radial distribution function (g(r)) using naive Python loops. positions: List of (x, y) tuples for N particles. """ N = len(positions) # Determine number of bins num_bins = int(max_r / dr) g_r = [0.0] * num_bins # 1. Calculate all pairwise distances for i in range(N): for j in range(i + 1, N): # Avoid double counting and self-interaction x1, y1 = positions[i] x2, y2 = positions[j] dx = x1 - x2 dy = y1 - y2 # Bottleneck: Expensive square root calculation inside the inner loop r = math.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy) if r < max_r: # Determine bin index bin_index = int(r / dr) if bin_index < num_bins: g_r[bin_index] += 1 # 2. Normalization (Simplified for demonstration; real PCF requires area correction) # We normalize by the expected number of pairs in a random distribution (N^2 * Area_of_shell / Total_Area) # For simplicity here, we just scale by the number of pairs counted (N*(N-1)/2) num_pairs_counted = N * (N - 1) / 2 if num_pairs_counted == 0: return g_r # Scale the counts to get the raw g(r) approximation for k in range(num_bins): r_low = k * dr r_high = (k + 1) * dr # Area of the shell (approximate annulus area) shell_area = math.pi * (r_high**2 - r_low**2) # Expected number of pairs in this shell for a uniform system (density = N / Total_Area) # Since we don't know the total area, we approximate the normalization factor (this is the main physics simplification) # The key performance issue is the O(N^2) loop, not the normalization itself. # For performance comparison, we focus only on the counting loop above. pass return g_r # Example usage setup: N_TEST = 1000 POSITIONS_TEST = [(random.uniform(0, 100), random.uniform(0, 100)) for _ in range(N_TEST)] # print(f"Running naive calculation for N={N_TEST}...") # result_naive = calculate_pcf_naive(POSITIONS_TEST, max_r=10.0, dr=0.1) ``` ## Performance Analysis ### Bottlenecks Identified: 1. **Python Looping Overhead**: Iterating over $N^2$ pairs using standard Python `for` loops incurs significant interpreter overhead for every single iteration. 2. **Expensive Math Operations**: Calling `math.sqrt()` inside the tightest loop is computationally expensive, especially when performed $O(N^2)$ times. 3. **Data Structure Inefficiency**: Using standard Python lists of tuples forces repeated lookups and memory indirection, which hurts cache locality compared to contiguous memory arrays. ### Benchmark Results (Conceptual): *Input size N=1000*: $\sim 500$ ms *Input size N=10000*: $\sim 50,000$ ms (50 seconds) *Memory usage*: Low, dominated by input storage ($\sim O(N)$). ## Optimization Techniques Applied ### Optimization 1: Vectorization with NumPy - **Problem**: Python loop overhead and slow arithmetic operations. - **Solution**: Replace explicit Python loops with highly optimized C/Fortran routines provided by NumPy. We use broadcasting to calculate all $dx^2$ and $dy^2$ differences simultaneously. - **Impact**: Eliminates interpreter overhead and utilizes SIMD instructions, leading to speedups of $10\times$ to $100\times$ for the calculation phase. ### Optimization 2: Avoiding Square Roots (Squared Distance Comparison) - **Problem**: Calculating the square root (`math.sqrt`) is the most expensive operation in the distance calculation. - **Solution**: Since we only need the distance $r$ to determine the bin index, we can compare $r^2$ against the squared bin boundaries ($r_{max}^2$). We only calculate the final square root *after* determining the bin, or often, we skip it entirely if the binning logic can be adapted. For simplicity here, we calculate $r$ only once after the vector subtraction, but the main gain comes from vectorization. (Note: In this specific PCF context, we still need $r$ for binning, but vectorizing the $dx^2 + dy^2$ calculation is the key step.) - **Impact**: While we still need the final distance, vectorizing the *sum of squares* calculation is vastly faster than looping over individual elements. ### Optimization 3: Data Structure Change (NumPy Arrays) - **Problem**: Python lists/tuples have poor memory locality. - **Solution**: Convert the input positions into a contiguous NumPy array (`float64`). This allows NumPy's internal functions to load data in large, predictable blocks into the CPU cache. - **Impact**: Essential prerequisite for effective vectorization. ## Optimized Implementation ```python import numpy as np # soft_matter_physics: Optimized Version # Time Complexity: O(N^2) -> Effectively O(N^2) operations executed in near O(N^2/P) time due to vectorization # Space Complexity: O(N) def calculate_pcf_optimized(positions_np, max_r, dr): """ Calculates the radial distribution function (g(r)) using NumPy vectorization. positions_np: NumPy array of shape (N, 2). """ N = positions_np.shape[0] num_bins = int(max_r / dr) g_r = np.zeros(num_bins, dtype=np.int64) # Pre-calculate squared max radius for potential early exit checks (micro-optimization) max_r_sq = max_r * max_r # --- Vectorized Pairwise Distance Calculation --- # 1. Create difference arrays using broadcasting # Expand dimensions: (N, 1, 2) - (1, N, 2) results in (N, N, 2) matrix of differences diffs = positions_np[:, np.newaxis, :] - positions_np[np.newaxis, :, :] # 2. Calculate squared distances (dx^2 + dy^2) # Summing over the last axis (axis=2, which holds x and y components) r_sq = np.sum(diffs**2, axis=2) # 3. Masking and Filtering # We only care about the upper triangle (j > i) and exclude self-interaction (r_sq = 0) # Create a mask for the upper triangle (excluding diagonal) mask = np.triu(np.ones((N, N), dtype=bool), k=1) # Apply the mask and flatten the resulting array of squared distances r_sq_flat = r_sq[mask] # Filter by max_r (using squared values is slightly faster than calculating sqrt for all N^2 pairs) r_sq_filtered = r_sq_flat[r_sq_flat < max_r_sq] # 4. Calculate actual distances only for required pairs # This is the only place we calculate the square root, operating on far fewer elements r_values = np.sqrt(r_sq_filtered) # 5. Binning (Using np.histogram for efficient counting) bins = np.linspace(0, max_r, num_bins + 1) counts, _ = np.histogram(r_values, bins=bins) g_r[:] = counts return g_r # Setup for comparison N_TEST = 2000 # Increased N to better show the O(N^2) scaling difference POSITIONS_NP = np.array([(random.uniform(0, 100), random.uniform(0, 100)) for _ in range(N_TEST)], dtype=np.float64) # print(f"\nRunning optimized calculation for N={N_TEST}...") # result_optimized = calculate_pcf_optimized(POSITIONS_NP, max_r=10.0, dr=0.1) ``` ## Performance Comparison | Metric | Before (Pure Python) | After (NumPy Vectorized) | Improvement | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Time Complexity (Theoretical) | $O(N^2)$ | $O(N^2)$ | N/A | | Time Complexity (Practical Wall Time) | $O(N^2)$ | Near $O(N^2)$ (but constant factor reduced by $100\times$) | $\sim 100\times$ faster | | Space Complexity | $O(N)$ | $O(N^2)$ (Temporary storage for `diffs` and `r_sq`) | Significant increase | | Readability | High (Explicit logic) | Medium (Requires NumPy knowledge) | Trade-off noted | *Note on Complexity*: The theoretical complexity remains $O(N^2)$ because we still must compute $N(N-1)/2$ distances. However, the *wall-clock time* improvement is massive because the constant factor hidden within the $O()$ notation has been dramatically reduced by moving the work from the slow Python interpreter to fast, compiled C code. ## When to Apply These Optimizations - **When to Apply**: This optimization is critical when $N$ is large (e.g., $N > 500$) and the calculation must be run repeatedly (e.g., during Monte Carlo simulations, or MD trajectory analysis). Any simulation where $O(N^2)$ operations dominate the runtime *must* be vectorized in Python. - **When it might be premature**: If $N$ is very small ($N < 100$) or the calculation is only performed once, the overhead of setting up the NumPy arrays and the increased memory usage might make the simpler, naive approach faster due to lower startup costs. - **Alternative approaches to consider**: For extremely large $N$ (millions of particles), the $O(N^2)$ complexity is still the bottleneck. Faster methods like **Cell Lists** or **Neighbor Lists** would be required, reducing the effective complexity to $O(N)$ by only checking particles within a cutoff radius $r_c$. ## Key Takeaways - **Most important optimization principle demonstrated**: **Vectorization over explicit looping**. When dealing with numerical data in Python, always look to NumPy/SciPy to replace loops that operate on large datasets. - **Common pitfall to avoid**: Performing expensive mathematical functions (like `sqrt` or transcendental functions) inside tight, high-iteration loops when simple comparisons (like using squared distance) can suffice, or when the operation can be vectorized across the entire dataset at once. - **Tool or technique for identifying similar issues**: Use the **`cProfile`** module in Python to confirm that the execution time is indeed spent inside the nested loops, and then use **NumPy's `timeit`** or standard benchmarking tools to compare the vectorized approach against the original. | 0.65 | high | 6 | 2,603 | [
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708aed5c-5257-43a1-b3df-b1acce0e08d8 | Regrets doubt agonizing, specially | science | worked_examples | Regrets are no doubt agonizing, specially when you forget your phone before going to the loo.
Upset with this obstacle to your usual intellectual pursuit of judging Dave on Instagram for wearing individual toe footwear, you stumble upon an inferior, yet viable substitute: the shampoo bottle on top of your shelf. It reads: Benzyl Alcohol, Methylisothiazolinone and other words that you’ll probably stop reading halfway through.
If you’re a nerd like me, you’ll probably wonder what these compounds are and why you never get invited to parties? Let’s just stick with the former.
What are Organic Compounds?
Applied Chemistry as of now is organized into two sections: Organic and Inorganic compounds. Organic Compounds are composed of virtually any set of compounds whose chemical structure includes carbon that is covalently bonded to other elements.
The term ‘organic’ was originally coined to describe molecules associated with living organisms. This section of chemistry is therefore popularly termed “the chemistry of life”, as it was discovered and previously thought to flourish exclusively in living beings. However, this definition isn’t completely true and is not the only rule to determine whether a compound is organic or inorganic. For instance, carbon dioxide is based on carbon and is highly central to both animals and plants, but it’s far from being organic.
A popular consensus has been established, insisting that organic compounds are structures that contain carbon as well as hydrogen, bonded covalently together, collectively known as a ‘C-H’ group. This group is then further attached to nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, silicon etc. to pave the way for a plethora of organic compounds.
Secondly, organic compounds aren’t necessarily produced by living entities. Their sources can be inorganic as well. This revelation can be credited to the synthesis of urea by Wohler from ammonium chloride — an inorganic compound. Thus, it is entirely possible that organic compounds can emerge from inorganic processes, such that organic compounds found on Saturn do not necessarily signal the existence of life; they can be a product of constant sunlight and just the right environmental factors.
Why are there so many of them?
The enormous amount of organic compounds and their versatile nature are the result of carbon’s promiscuity, a trait that can be attributed to its unique structure. Today, nearly 2 million organic compounds have been isolated or characterized.
There are 4 electrons in carbon’s final or valence orbit, which permits the sharing of 4 electrons. The sharing of electrons between two elements constitutes a covalent bond. One could argue that Silicon also has 4 electrons in its outermost orbit, as does every element residing in the same column of the periodic table, so what makes carbon so special?
The truth is, Silicon is equally affable. Its willingness to share its electrons can be inferred from the enormous number of silicon compounds that we observe in semiconductor technologies. However, the prevalence of carbon in different life forms confirms the parsimonious personality that we attribute to nature. Electing carbon for sustaining something so complex and power dissipating makes sense, as it is the most stable element of them all, which allows for utilizing optimum energy to perpetrate processes, thereby maximizing efficiency.
The shape of a compound is also a key indicator of its stability. Stability increases as more and more groups are attached to existing groups. This is a direct function of the length of what is called a carbon chain. In fact, compounds come in a number of shapes other than linear ones, such as cyclic, tetrahedral and our high school favorite, hexagonal.
These condensed shapes are much more robust, just as a coin is much tougher to deform than a thin spoon. Increased length also implies increased boiling and melting points, which make compounds resistant to bond-breaking and consequently, more hesitant to share electrons.
These properties make carbon susceptible to structure manipulation on a whim, even at slightly elevated temperatures or pressures. Consider plastic, which changes shape readily when subjected to fire, but consolidates into a new shape as soon as the fire is extinguished and the material is allowed to settle.
The malleability of covalent bonds and thus organic compounds make them widely recruited chemical substances to manufacture a variety of products.
Carbon’s alarming effects on the environment
Organic compounds, most notably hydrocarbons, are used as fuels. Fuels drive our beloved vehicles and machines to further manufacture rubber, plastic, pharmaceuticals, detergents, and countless more organic compounds.
However, somewhere on the road to seeking more of this fuel, we successfully harnessed efficiency, but it was at the expense not only of our patience, but also our environment. Sure, productivity increased as we extracted more fuel from the depths of our oceans, but its effects on the planet’s flora, fauna and climate are baffling.
Our obsession with saving time and achieving even faster transportation or high-yield machines has blinded us to the extent of abuse that we have inflicted on nature, which has warped our perception of patience. It is preposterously selfish to not only extinguish important limited resources, but also to leave a wretched, barren place behind.
Add to that the chaotic climate and the planet’s unpredictable and prolonged summers, which will ravenously annihilate any agricultural prospects, leaving it devoid of aesthetic and biological beauty for our future generations. | 0.65 | medium | 6 | 1,086 | [
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a4a6951f-3a36-4748-bc25-7b14cd3173f2 | Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Wikipedia | technology | historical_context | Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Wikipedia.
galvanizing,process of coating a metal, usually iron or steel, with a protective covering of zinc. Galvanized iron is prepared either by dipping iron, from which rust has been removed by the action of sulfuric acid, into molten zinc so that a thin layer of the zinc remains on the surface of the iron upon removal or by a method of electroplating. Iron is also coated with zinc by a method in which the iron is first covered with the zinc dust and then baked; an alloy is formed at the surface, the resulting product being known as sherardized iron. Sheets of pure iron, copper iron, and various steels, as well as wire and netting, are often galvanized, since the zinc coating resists oxidation and the action of moisture very successfully. When the coating is broken or pierced some protection is still afforded, since the zinc reacts with the corroding agent first.
the decomposition of zinc or a zinc alloy on a metal object to impart certain physical and chemical properties to the surface, mainly high corrosion resistance. Galvanizing is the most common and economical metallization method used to protect iron and its alloys from atmospheric corrosion, and approximately 40 percent of the world’s zinc output is used for this purpose. The more corrosive the environment and the longer the prospective service period, the thicker must be the zinc coating (10 to 50 microns).
Zinc is applied to steel sheets, strips, wires, fastenings, machine and instrument components, and pipes. It usually has no decorative function; however, the appearance can be made more acceptable commercially by passivating zinc-coated objects in Chromate solutions, which imparts an iridescence.
The most widely used form is zinc-coated strip, which is produced by the hot-dip method on automated lines, that is, by immersion in molten zinc. The spraying method can be used to coat objects of any size, for example, power transmission towers, but the coating has considerable porosity and much zinc is wasted. Galvanizing by electrodeposition (electrogalvanizing) is carried out by acidic or alkaline cyanide electrolytes; special additives make it possible to obtain a lustrous coating. Galvanizing by diffusion, which is carried out from the vapor or gas phase at high temperatures (375°–850°C), is used to coat pipes and other structural components that function in a humid atmosphere, in gasoline and kerosene, and in gaseous media containing sulfur. The thickness of the diffusion layer, usually between 0.1 and 1.5 mm, depends on the temperature and the galvanizing time.
REFERENCESProskurkin, E. V., and N. S. Gorbunov. Diffuzionnye tsinkovye pokrytiia. Moscow, 1972.
Lainer, V. I. Zashchitnyepokrytiia metallov. Moscow, 1974.
V. I. LAINER and G. N. DUBININ
The generic term for any of several techniques for applying thin coatings of zinc to iron or steel stock or finished products to protect the ferrous base metal from corrosion; more specifically, the hot dipping that is widely practiced with mild steel sheet and corrugated sheets. During dipping, molten zinc reacts with the steel to form a brittle zinc-iron alloy. For marine use, magnesium is added.
An electrolytic process (also called cold galvanizing or electrogalvanizing) is also used for wire, as well as for applications requiring deep drawing. An alloy layer does not form, hence the smooth electroplated coating does not flake in the drawing die. See Metal coatings | 0.65 | medium | 5 | 782 | [
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cbfe7320-dce1-4c28-8afb-a10b84a20453 | How paint colour chart | interdisciplinary | tutorial | How to paint a colour chart with six colours – part three
In part one of How to paint a colour chart with six colours you have completed a colour chart using six primary warm and cool colours in to a colour circle. In the second part of the series you mixed the three warm primary colours together. Now we will see the difference when you mix the three cool primary colours together.
Make sure to download the free template for part three of How to paint a colour chart with six colours.
The colours you will be using in part three are:
– Lemon Yellow
– Ceruleum Blue
Make sure you have some scrap paper to test your colour mixes on. You will also need some tissue paper and some clean water to clean your brush with.
Step 1. Start by filling in all the Lemon Yellow boxes. Do the same with the Ceruleum Blue and Alizarin Crimson boxes.
Step 2. In the first row you mix a little Alizarin Crimson in to the Lemon Yellow to create a light orange.
Step 3. By adding a little more Alizarin Crimson to your mixture you should have two more deeper colours.
Step 4. In the second row you mix Lemon Yellow with a little Ceruleum Blue to create three greens. Lemon Yellow is a weaker colour and Ceruleum Blue is stronger, so be careful of how much of the Ceruleum Blue you use.
Step 5. Repeat the process for the last row with Alizarin Crimson and Ceruleum Blue. Here you get some wonderful darks.
Now you can see the difference between the cool and the warm primary colour mixes. The cool primary colour mixes are much brighter than the warm primary colours. In part four of How to paint a colour chart, we will be showing you how to use black and white. Make sure to download the free template DAB-colour-chart-part-03a. | 0.55 | low | 3 | 400 | [
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11addbb4-0b58-4ad9-99d4-ac7c971abafe | Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) ancient | social_studies | historical_context | The Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names 'Kautilya' and 'Viṣhṇugupta', both names that are traditionally identified with Chāṇakya (c. 350–283 BC), who was a scholar at Takshashila and the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan Empire.
The author of the Arthashastra refers to himself as 'Kautilya', while the last verse mentions the name 'Vishnugupta'. Many scholars believe that the former was the gotra of the author, while the latter was his personal name. Most scholars, though not all, also believe that these names refer to the 4th century BC scholar Chāṇakya. Thus, the original identification of Kautilya or Vishnugupta with the Mauryan minister Chanakya would date the Arthaśāstra to the 4th century BCE.
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling.
A complete set of cards is called a pack (UK English), deck (US English), or set (Universal); and the subset of cards held at one time by a player during a game is commonly called a hand. A deck of cards may be used for playing a variety of card games, with varying elements of skill and chance, some of which are played for money. Playing cards are also used for illusions, cardistry, building card structures, cartomancy and memory sport.
The Arthashastra (IAST: Arthaśāstra) is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names 'Kautilya' and '', both names that are traditionally identified with (c. 350–283 BC), who was a scholar at Takshashila and the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan Empire.
Sanskrit (; , originally , "refined speech") is a historical Indo-Aryan language, the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and a literary and scholarly language in Buddhism and Jainism. Developing from Vedic Sanskrit, today it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand. Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 574 | [
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0cba5a01-e38a-47de-8bd3-4a3bb4e2802b | last modified: October 17, 2018 at 12:39:23 PM | interdisciplinary | historical_context | last modified: October 17, 2018 at 12:39:23 PM
Basic Electrical Safety Rules
The safety of its crews and member-consumers is a top priority for East-Central Iowa REC. We recommend that you know and teach these basic rules about how to respect electricity.
- Consider any electrical line dangerous.
- Keep objects such as kites, ladders, and antennas away from power lines.
- Do not attempt to raise or move electric lines. They are not insulated and can cause electrocution!
- Report any potential power line hazards to the Cooperative, including trees growing in the lines.
- Always stay away from any electric line that is down on the ground. Call ECI REC at 877-850-4343 immediately.
- Never touch a person or object that is in contact with a live power line.
- Pull the entrance switch or fuse before working on wiring or any equipment connected to the wiring. If in doubt, call a competent electrician.
- If a fuse blows or a breaker trips, find out the cause before restoring current to that circuit. Look for damaged or bare wires, defective outlets, and defective appliances.
- Install ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) in areas where appliances may accidentally come into contact with water, such as kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages, and exterior spaces.
- If your vehicle hits a utility pole, stay in your car until help arrives.
For more safety tips, download the safety booklet from Electrical Safety Foundation International. Then, download and print off a safety checklist for your refrigerator! | 0.75 | medium | 6 | 345 | [
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21beb826-b53c-42c4-8399-228ce9c392f2 | Published March 29th, 2014 | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Published on March 29th, 2014 | by Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp.0
Porous Pavement, Widespread Use Awaits Cleaning Machines
Rainwater flows through porous pavement, allowing it to quickly reach soil, which helps keep pavement clearer from ice and snow in the winter and reduces the amount of pollutants that rain washes off of streets and into bodies of surface water.
“It works about 50 percent of the time,” says David Drullinger, an environmental quality professional with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He explains that dirt, sand and other debris get stuck inside the pavement; for it to be effective again, it must be cleaned. More machines capable of unclogging these road surfaces are needed before widespread installation is viable.
As more contractors gain experience working with the new material, the more effective it may become. Several communities in Michigan already are adopting the use of porous pavement for its benefits. | 0.6 | medium | 5 | 195 | [
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9f05cc10-8370-45f6-9e96-f6b16ec6b112 | Language planning sounds like | interdisciplinary | worked_examples | Language planning sounds like a simple, straightforward administrative task, but it’s often misunderstood because it involves messy human behavior, not just neat grammar rules. Let’s clear up the most common mental roadblocks! --- ## Misconception 1: Language Planning is Just "Fixing" Bad Grammar **Why it occurs:** People often confuse *language planning* (a large-scale societal intervention) with *language correction* (editing a single text). We see official documents and assume the goal is purely prescriptive—making language "correct." **Example of error:** A government launches a major plan to promote a regional language, focusing all resources on creating standardized dictionaries and grammar books. After five years, usage hasn't increased significantly. The plan failed because it only addressed the *form* of the language, not the *function*. **Correct understanding:** Language planning is about **status and corpus**. Status planning deals with *who* uses the language, *where*, and *why* (e.g., making it the language of courts or schools). Corpus planning deals with standardizing the structure (spelling, vocabulary). You can't just polish the dictionary (corpus) and expect people to start using it in the boardroom (status). **How to remember:** Think of it as **Building a Highway vs. Painting the Road Lines.** Corpus planning paints the lines (standardization); Status planning builds the actual highway system (creating the need and opportunity to drive on it). --- ## Misconception 2: Language Planning is Always About Promoting One Official Language **Why it occurs:** Media often highlights large-scale national unification efforts (like standardizing French or English). This leads to the mental model that planning is inherently monolingual and exclusionary. **Example of error:** A country attempts to replace all local dialects with the national standard in primary education overnight. This leads to high dropout rates and community resistance because the plan ignored the existing linguistic landscape. **Correct understanding:** Language planning is often **multilingual**. It involves managing language contact, codifying minority languages, or establishing *interlingual* policies (e.g., deciding which language will be the common bridge language between two distinct groups). It’s about **management**, not necessarily **monopoly**. **Key distinction:** Focus on **"Which language for which domain?"** rather than **"Which language wins?"** Planning can actively seek to preserve diversity (e.g., language revitalization efforts). --- ## Misconception 3: Successful Planning Means Immediate, Universal Adoption **Why it occurs:** Learners assume that because a plan is officially sanctioned by experts, the public will instantly comply. This ignores the deep-seated cultural and psychological attachment people have to their native tongue. **Example of error:** A corporation mandates a new technical jargon for internal communication, believing a memo will instantly change decades of ingrained professional habits. Employees revert to the old terms almost immediately in casual conversations. **Correct understanding:** Language planning is a **slow-burn social engineering project.** It works through generations, driven by **incentives** (jobs, education) and **identity**, not just decrees. Success is measured in decades, not months. **When it applies/doesn't:** It applies when you control the **gateways to power** (schools, government jobs). It *doesn't* apply when you try to dictate private, informal speech patterns without altering those external incentives. --- **Red Flags**: If you hear phrases like "We just need to teach them the right way" or "If it’s on the law books, it will happen," you are likely falling into a planning misconception. **Self-Check Questions**: 1. If a country standardizes its spelling, is that corpus planning or status planning? (Answer: Corpus) 2. Can a language plan encourage *more* languages to be used? (Answer: Yes, if the goal is multilingualism or revitalization.) **Prevention Strategies**: Always visualize the **stakeholders**. Who benefits? Who loses? Language planning is less about linguistics and more about **power dynamics and cultural identity.** | 0.65 | high | 6 | 834 | [
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35434371-ccd2-4325-9205-cd111c73641c | February 22, 2014 | technology | tutorial | February 22, 2014
Speed Reading – Link Round-Up
Category: Round-Ups — By @ 11:42 am
First: The Flashy Links
More comics-related links
• “Johnny Come Lately” Has Another Name She Has No Head! explains why you shouldn’t look down on people who haven’t been into your chosen fandom as long as you and therefore don’t know as much: They’re NEW READERS.
• Related: xkcd: Ten Thousand – If you belittle people for discovering something later than you, you miss out on the fun of helping them discover more.
• Two sure-to-be-controversial pieces that I stumbled on the same day: Ch-Ch-Changes – Peter David writes (back in 2000) about the nature of change in comics, and fan reaction to it, particularly long-term fans (something that basically didn’t exist back in the Golden and Silver Age of comics). And then View from the Gutters writes I Think Every Superhero You Love Should Be Dead (or, On the Nature of Time) and reinventing new heroes for new generations of readers. They both make interesting points, but I think they veer into “you’re wrong for liking what you like” territory.
• Jill Pantozzi (aka the Nerdy Bird) is doing the New Jersey Muscle Walk and needs help to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
2 responses to “Speed Reading – Link Round-Up”
1. Kyer says:
OMGosh! It took me a bit, but I finally made out the quote on that wall graphic Flash….my favorite line from that story. Love it!
Lego Flash is darn cute. The only way he’d be better is if they’d given him blond hair so that when you pulled off the mask it would be the painted on hair. As it is they make it seem as if his cowl is a helmet. Still, I want it along with the sound effects of him running from the Lego DC movie.
I’m not a fan of those F&F movies, but have to admit that Flash & the Furious film was kind of fun. Especially the bit about his friends all wearing masks… 😀
If only there was a newbie Flash fan around. Should one day I happen upon a fellow Flash fanatic (in Reality and not just Internet Land) I’ll likely forgo the making fun in favor of hugging them to death on account I’ve yet to meet anyone having my own affliction. Batpeople I can find here and there, but no fellow speedster fans to compare tees and action figures with. (Which is why I love this site and the people therein.)
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Note: This post is over 2 years old. You may want to check later in this blog to see if there is new information relevant to your comment. | 0.75 | low | 4 | 658 | [
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b4455061-ecd9-4e06-9a5c-a0726f18e23e | What Regional Transmission Organizations | interdisciplinary | historical_context | What are Regional Transmission Organizations and How do They Interact with State Climate Goals?
July 25, 2022
Overview of Energy Markets
In the United States, there are a variety of regional energy markets. The vast majority of these energy markets consist of both wholesale and retail components. In other words, these markets are similar to wholesale markets for other products in which a producer (in this case, a producer of electricity) sells its product (electricity) to a reseller (often an electric utility) who puts the product on the retail market to be sold to a consumer. The wholesale side of the market between the generator and the reseller plays a decisive role in the types of electricity dispatched to the grid (for example, renewable energy vs. fossil fuel-based electricity) as well as how much end users (energy consumers) pay on their utility bills.
Wholesale electricity markets, regulated at the federal level by FERC, can be broken down into two broad categories which also can have differing impacts on state climate goals and energy prices for ratepayers.
Market Type One: Bilateral Markets
The first type of wholesale market is known as a Bilateral Market. These markets can be found in the Southeast and Western U.S. and are run by vertically integrated electric utilities. A vertically integrated utility is a single utility that owns all levels of the energy supply chain including the generation of electricity, the transmission of electricity from power plants to distribution centers, and the distribution of electricity to end users.
In a bilateral market, vertically integrated utilities negotiate individual rates for trades with other utilities to ensure they’re constantly meeting demand. This means that costs can vary tremendously depending on the deals utilities strike with each other. Due to the vertically integrated nature of bilateral markets, utilities determine which types of energy (e.g. renewable versus fossil-fuel-based electricity) are generated and dispatched to the grid.
Market Type Two: Regional Transmission Organization (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs)
In the second type of wholesale electricity market, the generation, transmission, and retail service of electricity are overseen by what are known as Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) or Independent System Operators (ISOs) which allow independent power producers and non-utility generators to sell their power in a given region.
An RTO allows for individual operators of different generation sources, such as a wind farm or solar garden, to submit offers to run their electricity to the regional grid on a competitive basis. Because renewable sources of energy – namely wind and solar – are now the cheapest forms of electricity to produce, RTOs can, in theory, favor renewable energy simply due to market forces.
Why should legislators pay attention to their RTO?
RTOs oversee energy markets between multiple transmission utilities across wide geographic regions, allowing for the provision of electricity in real-time. Because of their geographic variability, RTOs can help sunnier states access renewable electricity from a more windy state and vice versa, helping to keep energy rates stable.
Some RTOs, specifically PJM, ISO-NE, NYISO, and MISO also operate capacity markets. Capacity markets are used to plan longer term for the provision of electricity to help plan for and meet peak electricity demand. Generators bid into the capacity market, meaning they will provide a promised amount of electricity in exchange for assured revenue from the market. These markets can determine which source of electricity generation — fossil fuels or renewables — gets built and stays online. Since the largest driver of wholesale energy costs is the price of fuel, decisions made by RTOs/ISOs to build more fossil generation lock ratepayers into more expense. Capacity market rules can also impact the participation of renewables. As a result, if state legislators are creating policy to promote renewables or reduce pollution in environmental justice communities, it is important to ensure the capacity market isn’t working counter to their interests by propping up fossil fuels.
When RTOs fail to design their policies to match state goals, for example, a state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), state legislators can organize in support for better rules. In 2021, state legislators wrote to the RTO for the Midatlantic region – PJM – concerned about the ‘Minimum Offer Price Rule’ that made it nearly impossible for renewable energy resources to compete in PJM’s capacity market, despite their declining costs. After hearing from and meeting with state legislators, PJM leadership revised the rule in question to facilitate more participation by state-supported clean energy resources. State legislators in New England also called on their region’s grid operator – ISO New England – to do the same in the interest of quickening the transition to renewable energy.
If you are interested in learning more about your RTO and how it impacts your state’s decarbonization goals, contact Climate and Energy Manager Clara Summers. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,002 | [
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62289908-89a6-4aa1-85eb-56dd234b40d7 | back Swallow, Serpent, Court | philosophy_and_ethics | ethical_analysis | Go back to The Swallow, The Serpent, And The Court Of Justice
Fable Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)
The Swallow, The Serpent, And The Court Of Justice
A Swallow, returning from abroad and especially fond of dwelling
with men, built herself a nest in the wall of a Court of Justice
and there hatched seven young birds. A Serpent gliding past
the nest from its hole in the wall ate up the young unfledged
nestlings. The Swallow, finding her nest empty, lamented greatly
and exclaimed: "Woe to me a stranger! that in this place where
all others' rights are protected, I alone should suffer wrong."
(Translated by George Fyler Townsend, 1814-1900)
All Rights Reserved. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 180 | [
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697519f3-f38d-49f4-8ec1-4e4d990f5e61 | Cloud quantum computing been | science | problem_set | Cloud quantum computing has been used to calculate the binding energy of the deuterium nucleus – the first-ever such calculation done using quantum processors at remote locations. Nuclear physicists led by Eugene Dumitrescu at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US used publicly available software to achieve the remote operation of two distant quantum computers. Their work could lead to new opportunities for scientists in many fields who want to use quantum simulations to calculate properties of matter.
In previous research, scientists have worked alongside quantum computer hardware developers to create quantum simulations. These typically use between two and six qubits to calculate a quantum property of matter – calculations that can be extremely time-consuming to do with a conventional computer. As the number of qubits available in quantum computers increase, the hope is that quantum simulations will be able to do calculations well beyond the reach of even the most powerful conventional computers. However, doing simulations alongside quantum computer specialists can be an inefficient process and the research would be much more streamlined if scientists were able to operate quantum computers themselves.
Rigetti and IBM
In response to this issue, two companies have released software which allows their quantum computers – Q Experience from IBM, and the 19Q from Rigetti – to be operated remotely through cloud services. The IBM quantum processor has 16 qubits, while the Rigetti device has 19 qubits. Dumitrescu’s team used the software to calculate the binding energy of the deuterium nucleus – the energy required to prise apart the proton and neutron that comprise the nucleus.
The team’s novel method required some precautions. Working via the cloud, the rate at which calculations could be made was limited, meaning the researchers needed to adjust their quantum measurements to account for the slower rate. With such measures in place, Dumitrescu’s team calculated the binding energy on both quantum computers to within 2% of the actual measured value.
Non-specialists should succeed
The success of Dumitrescu and colleagues’ experiment demonstrates that scientists do not need to be quantum computer specialists to operate quantum computers themselves. Soon, scientists in many different fields could be making use of cloud quantum computing.
The calculations are described in a preprint on arXiv. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 447 | [
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9dfe0ead-c1ca-4261-8dee-c64f68cde2e5 | How Is Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Restoration (BEAR) Performed | technology | concept_introduction | How Is Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Restoration (BEAR) Performed?
#1 – The First BEAR ACL
What is the ACL?
ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament and it is one of four major ligaments in the knee. The ACL connects the anterior (front) part of the tibia (shin bone) to the posterior (back) part of the femur (thigh bone). It prevents the tibia from sliding forward on the femur but more importantly when cutting, pivoting, or turning to the opposite side, it prevents that knee from giving out in a twisting fashion.
For the past decade, ACL reconstruction has been the main surgical method to treat an ACL tear. For ACL reconstruction, a surgeon will take a piece of tissue (a “graft”) from another portion of the patient’s body or a donated piece of tissue from a cadaver. The surgeon then prepares the graft to fit inside the injured knee so that it is roughly the same size as the original ligament. Once that is done, the surgeon drills tunnels in the tibia (shin bone) and femur (thigh bone) in order to feed the new ligament into place in the correct location in the center of the knee.
Bridge-Enhanced® ACL Restoration (BEAR) Surgery vs ACL Reconstruction
For the BEAR procedure, a surgeon makes an incision near the patient’s knee to insert the sponge between the torn ends of the ACL. The rest of the procedure is done arthroscopically. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 314 | [
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3302a9c5-a50b-42e0-8ff5-0ba982a9abd5 | BUY ONLINE PICK IN-STORE | technology | review_summary | BUY ONLINE PICK UP IN-STORE Available for in-store products only. Learn More ›
Delta
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7 Inch Shower Arm in Venetian Bronze
• Delta
• Model # RP40593RB
• Store SKU # 1000747988
• 1
7 Inch Shower Arm in Venetian Bronze
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Overview Model # RP40593RB Store SKU # 1000747988
The shower becomes your private sanctuary where body sprays and showerheads work in perfect harmony. Getting ready in the morning is far from routine when you are surrounded by a bath that reflects your personal style.
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e2d79dad-e596-4de0-91b4-7a5850060b4b | Iodine naturally occurring mineral | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Iodine is a naturally occurring mineral that is present in the soil as well as deep within the ocean’s water. This is the reason why saltwater fishes and vegetables have a higher amount of iodine. Aside from these foods, you may also opt for iodized salt to be used for cooking purposes. Benefits of iodine are vital in the diet as it is responsible for regulating hormones, development of fetus for pregnant women, and many more bodily processes.
In case of a lack of iodine in the body, then a medical professional will recommend supplementation. However, taking an iodine supplement needs the approval of a licensed physician. If you want to learn more about what iodine can do to the body, read on to find out.
1. Essential for Thyroid Health
Iodine benefits the thyroid gland that is found beneath the front of the neck. The gland works by producing hormones that control metabolism, heart functions, and more. To produce enough thyroid hormones, the gland makes use of a smaller amount of iodine. An impaired thyroid can cause decrease hormone production that can lead to a condition called hypothyroidism.
The good thing about iodine is the fact that it can be easily taken in the diet from saltwater fishes, dairy products as well as plants that grow in iodine-rich soil. Aside from that, you can use iodized salt as a seasoning for dishes. Although iodine uses are vital for the body, overconsumption can also lead to negative side effects on the thyroid gland. This is the reason why taking an iodine supplement needs a doctor’s approval.
2. Avoid Goiter
Goiter is a condition characterized by the enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism happens when there is an overproduction of hormones by the thyroid gland. A cyst or nodules can also cause enlargement of the thyroid gland. This health condition is directly related to iodine deficiency. However, it can be easily reversed by eating foods that are rich in iodine.
3. Solve the Problem with Overactive Thyroid Gland
In the case of an overactive thyroid gland, doctors usually recommend taking radioactive iodine. This drug is also known as radioiodine a medication that can be taken orally. The medication acts by eliminating excess thyroid cells to decrease the amount of thyroid hormone in the body. The negative side effects of taking this drug are it can destroy all thyroid cells that can, later on, lead to hypothyroidism. This medication is the last resort if an anti-thyroid drug is not effective in treating the condition. Patient with this health condition is not recommended to take an iodine supplement to treat hyperthyroidism.
4. Helps in Thyroid Cancer
Patients with thyroid cancer may opt for radioiodine as a possible treatment. Since the drug can destroy thyroid cells, it can also kill cancer cells. This medication is effective as an after surgical treatment. Thyroid surgery is necessary to ensure that all cancerous cells have been taken out of the body. The benefits of iodine in the form of radioactive iodine are effective in increasing the chances of survival for patients with thyroid cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
5. Brain Development of Fetus
It is during pregnancy that women need an excess supply of iodine in the body. Iodine is vital for fetus brain development. A review study in babies shows that mothers with iodine deficiency during pregnancy have a higher likelihood of children developing low IQ as well as other cognitive development delays. To take advantage of iodine benefits, a pregnant woman should take 200 mcg and for non-pregnant is 150 mcg per day.
For pregnant women, it is necessary to ask a doctor for iodine supplement or prenatal vitamins in case you are deficient in this mineral. For lactating mothers, 290 mcg of iodine is vital in the diet.
6. Improve Low Birth Weight
Aside from iodine uses in brain development, enough iron in the diet of a pregnant woman is also associated with normal birth weight. A study conducted in pregnant women with a health condition like goiter found out that taking 400 mcg of iodine daily at the course of six to eight weeks is effective in treating goiter. Also, they have recorded an increase in birth weight of newborns. | 0.65 | medium | 3 | 848 | [
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543f65a7-c48a-404e-b297-4529e14a392d | We're moving Forums Community | social_studies | historical_context | We're moving Forums to the Community pages. Click here for more information and updates.
The District Forums
CBS (ended 2004)
Help with an episode
• Avatar of DJHMETFAN2
DJHMETFAN2
[1]May 3, 2007
• member since: 06/14/05
• level: 6
• rank: Small Wonder
• posts: 45
Does anybody know why A&E & Bio does not air this episode
76. 4- 9 409 22 Nov 03 In God We Trust
djhmetfan2@aol.com
Thanks
You must be registered and logged in to post a message. | 0.6 | low | 4 | 173 | [
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5ee6a251-6472-4edd-aaac-f80ebcc9c954 | parent, you want best | life_skills | data_analysis | As a parent, you want the best for your children. When it comes to money, ensuring they understand the value of money without missing the deeper meaning of why having good money values is so important.
The book The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children, by Eileen and Jon Gallo, focuses on the idea that how parents spend money sends messages to their children about their values and priorities. Looking more carefully at how your children develop their values around money will help you become more aware of the values you communicate to children through your spending and other money-related behaviors.
If you are looking for ways to set your children up for success, establish a healthy relationship with money, and adopt good money habits, you need a plan. What is so helpful about this book’s advice is that it provides ideas for being more intentional in the messages you pass along to your children, encouraging you to focus on what you want them to pick up from you, rather than passing along unintentionally harmful messages or defaulting to letting them figure it all out for themselves.
If you are traveling down this road in your family—whether it’s with your children, setting the groundwork for future children, or you are looking for ways to help nurture your grandchildren’s future—here are some good ways to start.
Become a Charitable Family
When you are looking to instill good money values and habits in your children, you will want to step back and start with the bigger picture. Our relationship with money is about far more than saving, investing, and planning.
In many ways, good money values begin with painting a positive picture of what money and financial freedom can do for our lives and other people. Eileen and Jon Gallo suggest teaching your children to be generous through your volunteer and charitable activities.
If you do service work individually, talk about what you are doing and the people for whom you are doing it. If you can, find opportunities to volunteer as a family. When you get requests for charitable donations, discuss each charity’s goals, and have your children help you decide where to give.
By introducing the ideas of service and giving, you can teach your children that they have the power to make life better for others. It’s the best way to encourage their desire to build wealth and be responsible with their money so they can do more and create a meaningful impact in their community and the world around them.
On their blog, the Gallos refer to the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Its author suggests that internally motivated people are happier than those who rely on external motivations.
All too often, achieving money goals can feel empty and even begin to undermine your motivation. Getting a big promotion or raise at work, seeing an uptick in numbers on a balance sheet, or even buying your dream home are significant accomplishments, but they’re not going to make you bounce out of bed in the morning every day. But having a deeper “why” and working towards it will.
Will the promotion enable you to do more fulfilling work? Will the bigger account balance help you feel more secure or free? Will the dream home be the setting for creating and enjoying special memories?
By encouraging internal motivation, they suggest that parents can help their children become happier adults. Relying less on external motivators, such as paying children to do chores, and more on internal motivators, such as using chores to help children gain self-respect and take pride in their work, is more likely to create a lasting positive effect.
Develop a Strong Work Ethic
Most will agree that having a strong work ethic is important in life. No matter your path, your work ethic enables you to be successful in your career, household, and relationships. Laziness will not get you anywhere worth going.
Your work ethic consists of a set of values that incorporate the ideals of hard work and discipline. Forming and adopting a solid work ethic means getting focused, staying motivated, and seeing things through to finish what you start. By encouraging a strong work ethic in your kids, you’ll help them be more likely to accomplish their goals, financially and otherwise.
Keep in mind that most children’s primary work is school, so do what you can to help them begin building a positive association with work there. It is important to encourage them to “do their best” as opposed to “be the best,” as it is never helpful to promote unrealistic expectations or start them on the cycle of comparing themselves to others. Rest assured, they will be the best at something, even if it’s not science or social studies. Again, the idea is to help them always put in the effort to do their best.
Besides taking responsibility for their schoolwork, children should also be assigned age-appropriate chores and encouraged to take on part-time employment as teenagers. A good work ethic is learned behavior, and parents are the best role models. Going too easy on your kids when it comes to work ethic will backfire; the earlier you start and the more positive association you can make with work as they develop, the better for everyone.
Good Money Values
Your behavior sends clear messages to your children about money; parents are the first and most influential role models.
Seeing the “big picture” elements of instilling good money values in children can make a big difference in approaching the part you play as a parent. When you step back and look at money values, rather than seeking overly simplified tips, it helps you to understand how important this responsibility is. If you want your children to learn how to earn, save, budget, and plan effectively, it starts with helping them create a positive relationship with what money means in their lives.
This is why becoming a charitable family, encouraging volunteer and philanthropic work is so important. It’s also why encouraging children to gain self-respect and take pride in their work will support their emotional and financial wellbeing over time. And it’s why helping them develop a strong work ethic can be a foundation for success and happiness in life.
Kids learn money values by seeing how you accumulate money, what you spend money on, and how you treat others. It’s your job to teach children that money is something they have and not something they are. Their net worth and their self-worth are entirely different things, but the more positive their relationship with money, the more likely they will be to reach their financial goals in the future and enjoy peace of mind for a lifetime.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,359 | [
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2a212990-80a0-409f-b85d-139e387569f6 | Why Laboratories Are Important | science | research_summary | Why Laboratories Are Important
One of the ways to detect diseases is by testing them in a laboratory using lab equipment and then treatment can follow. Some of the samples that are tested in laboratories include urine, blood, and other fluids. They can also carry out testing on tissue as well as other substances. In laboratories, you will find experts such as general lab technicians and medical lab technologists.
General lab technicians do not need as much education as medical lab technologists because they do not perform in-depth work. Medical lab technologist needs to get a bachelor’s degree and even a masters degree in some cases. Doctors use the results that come from laboratories to determine the illness of a patient or to test for a specific illness in a patient.
Some of the work that goes on at LifeBrite Laboratories is the analysis of body fluids as well as tissue samples. After analysis has been carried out, the lab technicians at LifeBrite Laboratories may find normal findings but sometimes they may get abnormal findings and all this must be recorded. Another job that a LifeBrite Laboratories technician will perform is studying of blood samples to look for the blood type, the number of cells, and check whether the blood is compatible with other blood types.
The LifeBrite Laboratories technicians use special laboratory equipment such as microscopes and other equipment when they carry out tests. They may use automated equipment that will help in carrying out the tests. Some of the computerized equipment of LifeBrite Laboratories is used for carrying out many tests at once. The LifeBrite Laboratories technicians and technologists will then enter the data that they have collected from the tests into a patient’s records.
In abnormal patterns in a patient’s test, the LifeBrite Laboratories technicians and technologists will need to discuss the findings with doctors.
Medical laboratory technologists carry out training of technicians at LifeBrite Laboratories. Supervision of lab work is carried out by medical laboratory technologists at LifeBrite Laboratories. This is because they have the experience and knowledge that is required to monitor activities in the laboratory.
In some laboratories, one will find laboratory managers who carry out supervision. There are specialized medical laboratory technologists who work in large laboratories and one will find immunology technologists, clinical chemistry technologist, blood bank technologist, cytotechnologist among others when they go to the large laboratories. Medical laboratory technologists and technicians may choose to specialize after they have worked in the laboratory for a while. One may need to get advanced training in order to specialize in some of these areas.
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256effa1-abdd-41ae-9d31-eed0ef6f6cab | USAA to roll out speech-enabled iPhone app | science | historical_context | USAA to roll out speech-enabled iPhone app
Finally — a U.S. company is embracing smartphone technology directly in its customer service app!
Back in late 2010 I wrote about Groupama, an European insurance company, that produced a spectacular iPhone app for its customers. The app displays visual menus, estimated wait times, and even featured virtual hold. It was likely the first smartphone apps by a company that rethought how customer service should work in the smartphone era.
Today we have iPhones and Androids with specs and features that’ll blow your mind. One of the most powerful being a virtual assistant that understands your words. Apple incarnated it into iOS as Siri, powered by Nuance in the cloud. Google and a few third party developers also offer something similar, so by all means it’s not just an Apple thing, but Siri is perhaps the most widely known moniker for such a smartphone feature.
USAA is reported to announce an update to its iPhone app in early March that’ll enable voice recognition so customers can interact with USAA via their own smartphones. According to American Banker:
USAA, which has a strong reputation for innovating faster than other financial firms, will launch the first generation of voice assistance with support of more than 200 navigational commands, including allowing members to speak or type queries related to fund transfers, bill payment and answering questions like: what’s my balance?
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When Apple introduced Siri as the voice-enabled personal assistant on its iPhones, people went crazy with it. There are websites and videos dedicated to Siri, showcasing her “personality”… The funny Siri, the serious Siri, and sometimes the dumb Siri.
Siri works well for the most part, especially if your voice commands are words it knows how to process contextually. It works great for setting an alarm on the iPhone. Siri does a good job with scheduling. Her latest incarnation fetches sports scores quite handily. She can also give pretty good directions to a restaurant or landmark. Siri can even talk to herself, although the results of that conversation can be a bit silly.
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1c9eeca0-58b8-4a94-9cc2-07084105cd43 | Dale Mabry Airport, names | interdisciplinary | historical_context | The Dale Mabry Airport, names after Dale Mabry was an American World War 1 aviator and was born and raised in Tallahassee, Fl. Can you believe that right under the campus of Tallahassee Community College was the actual Dale Mabry Airfield?
How ironic is that? It was named dale Mabry Field in honor of Tallahassee native Army captain Dale Mabry, killed in 1922 while commanding the Army Semi-Rigid airship Roma. “In 1928 the city of Tallahassee bought a 200 acre tract of land for $7028 for its first airport.” Dale Mabry Army Airfield was a World War 2 United States Army Air Force located at the Dale Mabry Field in Tallahassee, Florida. It all began in 1938 when the U.S. Army Air Corps established a contract flying school at the airport, under the influence of U.S. Senator and Florida governor to make Dale Mabry Field a United States Army Air Force as part of the buildup of the military prior to the U.S. entry into World War 2. In October of 1940 the reconstruction began many improvements were put together to overcome the swamp conditions at the site. A 90 day completion dead line was given by the Federal Government because of the need for a place to train pilots. The field was initially activated on January 13th, 1941. Its initial use was a Base Head Quarters and Air Base Squadron. The first unit to train at Dale Mabry Field was the 79th Fighter Group. Combat training was upgraded to the P47 Thunderbolt in 1943. “At Dale Mabry the 338th Fighter Group inactivated, and replaced by the 335th Army Air Force Base Unit.” The Command Fighter training ended on May 31st, 1945, with the Japanese surrendering as well. Demobilizations was the major activity being performed at the base because of personnel being separated and returning to life.
Dale Mabry Field was closed to general aviation during World War 2. The Air Base was deactivated in the fall of 1945. After the war, male students attending the Florida State College of Woman ran by TBUF.By 1947 the Florida State College for Woman was renamed Florida State University. Tallahassee Regional Airport opened in 1961, and Dale Mabry Field was closed. The land was redeveloped in the 1960’s into the Campus of Tallahassee Community College to location of the Airport is what is now Appleyard Drive and W. Penscacola Street.
Resources “enwikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Mabry_Field.” Dale Mabry Field. | 0.6 | medium | 3 | 619 | [
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0492400a-6004-42d3-b450-c01b03f5c978 | The word squat | interdisciplinary | creative_writing | The word squat
can refer to:
- A squat is a kind of sitting position.
- Squatting is a term for inhabiting an abandoned or unused building or plot of land without owning or holding a formal lease on it; a person squatting is known as a squatter, and the house or building occupied by squatters is known as a squat.
- Squatting (pastoral) is a term from Australian history, referring to the action of a person (the squatter) who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock.
- Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and conditioning.
- Squatter (game), a popular Australian board game about managing such a sheep-station.
- Squatter's rights, referring to the legal term adverse possession.
- Cybersquatting refers to registering Internet domain names similar to popular trademarks with the intent to extort the trademark holder.
- A species of Flanimal from the books Flanimals and More Flanimals by Ricky Gervais.
- A squat toilet is a type of toilet where the user squats rather than sits on a seat.
- The alternate name of the titular character in Scott Adams' comic Plop: The Hairless Elbonian.
- The squat effect is a hydrodynamic phenomena.
- Squats (Warhammer 40,000) are a race in Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe.
- Squatting attack, in Computer Science, is a kind of attack involving shared synchronization objects.
- In slang, squat is a term which can mean "of little or no value", as in "this computer isn't worth squat."
- Squat also refers to the pitching motion of a car when under acceleration. i.e. rear end moves down, front end moves up. | 0.7 | medium | 4 | 393 | [
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c37819d0-ad91-432d-bc69-721a1b4087e8 | Tutorial: Exploring Transhumanist Implications | interdisciplinary | tutorial | ## Tutorial: Exploring Transhumanist Implications of the Technological Singularity **Overview:** This tutorial breaks down the core arguments presented in the provided text regarding the potential societal and psychological impacts of a technological singularity, focusing on the challenges to human identity and the potential pitfalls of relying solely on technological advancement. It aims to provide a practical understanding of these complex ideas and encourages critical reflection. **Prerequisites:** A basic understanding of the term "singularity" (typically referring to a hypothetical point in time when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization) is helpful. Familiarity with concepts like artificial intelligence and biotechnology is beneficial but not essential. **Step 1: Identify the Core Concern – Loss of Purpose** - **Action:** Read the initial quote: “What happens when you have infinite abundance? What happens when you ask and it simply comes to you?...The whole nature of the human psyche is based around producing things doing something, making a contribution.” - **Detailed Instructions:** Highlight or underline the phrases that express the central worry. Consider the question: What is the fundamental human need that the quote describes? How does this need relate to our current experience of life? - **Expected Outcome:** You should be able to articulate that the core concern is the potential loss of purpose and meaning derived from productive activity and contribution. - **Checkpoint:** Can you summarize the quote in one sentence that captures this central concern? (Example: “The text suggests a fundamental human need for activity and contribution could be undermined by a future of effortless abundance.”) **Step 2: Analyze the Argument Regarding Biotechnology & Brain Understanding** - **Action:** Examine the statement: “A person needs to constantly solve complex problems, invent something, develop, otherwise it degrades.” - **Detailed Instructions:** Think about the biological basis of this statement. Why is continuous engagement and problem-solving linked to human well-being? Research briefly (using a simple search engine) the concept of "cognitive reserve" and how it relates to maintaining mental function. - **Example/Concrete Application:** Consider a hobby – playing a musical instrument, learning a new language, or engaging in a craft. How does the *process* of learning and creating contribute to your sense of self and fulfillment? - **Common Pitfalls to Avoid:** Don’t oversimplify the argument. It’s not simply about “doing something”; it’s about the *intrinsic value* of the activity and the sense of mastery it provides. **Step 3: Evaluate the Concerns About AI and Value Alignment** - **Action:** Consider the statement: “Merging A.I. with ‘humans’ would be such a disastrous event…They just don’t get it or really understand what gives life its meaning.” - **Detailed Instructions:** What is the potential danger of AI being programmed with values that differ from human values? Brainstorm three potential negative consequences of this misalignment. - **Checkpoint:** List three potential problems that could arise if AI is programmed with values that aren't universally shared. (Example: AI prioritizing efficiency over compassion, leading to decisions that harm individuals or society.) **Step 4: Recognize the Critique of Western Intellectual Leadership** - **Action:** Analyze the passage discussing “left brain” dominance and reliance on mathematical skills. - **Detailed Instructions:** What is the criticism being made against a purely analytical, “smartest guys in the room” approach to problem-solving? How does the passage suggest this approach might be deficient? - **Example/Concrete Application:** Think of a complex problem you've faced – perhaps in your personal life or career. Did relying solely on logical analysis help you find a solution, or did other factors (intuition, empathy, creativity) play a crucial role? **Step 5: Understand the Argument for Spiritual Development and “Cosmic Family”** - **Action:** Process the statements about “Spiritual Beings” and the “Cosmic Family.” - **Detailed Instructions:** What is the underlying belief system being presented? How does this perspective contrast with the technological singularity narrative? Consider the value of experiences beyond the material world. - **Common Pitfalls to Avoid:** Recognize that this is a specific philosophical viewpoint and avoid dismissing it simply because it differs from your own beliefs. **Step 6: Question the Assumptions About Technological Progress** - **Action:** Reflect on the examples provided – Fukushima nuclear power plants and “Space-Force” initiatives. - **Detailed Instructions:** What is the implicit critique being leveled against those examples? Consider the potential for technological advancements to have unintended negative consequences. - **Checkpoint:** Can you identify a technological advancement that has had unforeseen negative consequences? Explain the situation and the resulting impact. **Practice Exercise:** Imagine a future where basic needs are effortlessly met by AI and automation. Write a short paragraph (approximately 150-200 words) describing how a person might find meaning and purpose in such a world. Consider the potential challenges and opportunities. **Key Takeaways:** * The technological singularity raises fundamental questions about human purpose and identity. * Reliance solely on technological advancement without considering ethical and philosophical implications could be detrimental. * A balance between technological progress and the cultivation of human values (compassion, creativity, wisdom) is crucial. **Next Steps:** * Research the concept of “value alignment” in AI development. * Explore different philosophical perspectives on the meaning of life. * Continue to critically evaluate the potential impacts of emerging technologies on society. | 0.65 | high | 5 | 1,125 | [
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179873fa-8590-4b00-b6aa-d9b301b5c95e | study found women type | technology | research_summary | The study found that for women with type 2 diabetes and cancer, the odds of dying from cancer appeared to be 45 percent higher compared to women with cancer who didn't have diabetes. But, in women with cancer who took metformin to treat their type 2 diabetes, the risk of dying from cancer seemed about the same as it was for women without diabetes.
"Our findings from this large study may provide more evidence that postmenopausal women with diabetes and cancer may benefit from metformin therapy compared to other anti-diabetes therapy," said lead researcher Zhihong Gong. She's an assistant professor of oncology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Gong cautioned, however, that this study didn't prove that metformin prevents or reduces the risk of dying from cancer, only that an association was found. And, she added that more studies are necessary to figure out metformin's possible role in decreasing the risk of dying from cancer.
The report was published in the April 15 print issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
Metformin is a first-line drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says. People with type 2 diabetes don't use the hormone insulin efficiently, which leads the pancreas to pump out more and more insulin until it eventually fails, the ADA explains. Insulin is a hormone that's necessary for the body to use the carbohydrates in food as fuel. Metformin makes the body more sensitive to insulin and reduces insulin resistance, the researchers said.
The study team reviewed data from nearly 146,000 postmenopausal women. They were between the ages of 50 and 79. The information was collected between 1993 and 1998 and came from the large Women's Health Initiative study.
The researchers wanted to focus on women with type 2 in this study. So, in an effort to exclude women with type 1 diabetes, the researchers removed information on anyone who had been diagnosed with diabetes before age 21.
Looking at specific cancers, the risk for postmenopausal women with diabetes appeared to be about 25 percent to 35 percent higher for developing colon and endometrial cancers and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The women's risk was more than doubled for liver and pancreatic cancers, the researchers found.
"Our findings suggest that diabetes remains a risk factor for cancer and cancer-related death, and metformin therapy, compared to other diabetes medications, may have an important role in [managing] diabetes-associated cancer," Gong said.
One diabetes expert who wasn't involved with the study was cautious about interpreting the results.
Although the study found a slight risk reduction, it depended on taking the drug for a long time, said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. More studies are in progress to determine the long-term effect of metformin in cancer risk, he added.
"We still don't understand the exact mechanism of action of this old drug used in diabetes," Zonszein said. "It may have positive effects in decreasing cancer mortality and or increasing longevity as shown in this paper."
For more information on type 2 diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 709 | [
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4227a5f0-278a-40df-a62c-58fab65df705 | Dr | science | research_summary | Dr. John "Fred" Grassle received the highly prestigious Japan Prize for his "contribution to marine environmental conservation through research on ecology and biodiversity of deep-sea organisms". His most notable research findings are the elucidation of "chemosynthetic ecosystems" and the "patch mosaic hypothesis", which suggested that even superficially similar deep-sea environments actually contain many different microhabitats, each of which hosts a unique set of species.
Fred was one of the founders of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), which turned into the biggest scientific collaboration ever to elucidate the diversity of life in the oceans.
He devoted himself to making the research findings publicly available through the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). Today, OBIS is managed by the IODE programme of IOC-UNESCO, and is used around the globe for planning ocean conservation policies.
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c53c1515-8e5d-40b1-adf8-4030b38c0d89 | Meta-Learning Strategic Thinking Programming | technology | practical_application | ## Meta-Learning for Strategic Thinking in Programming Systems This content is designed to help you develop the meta-cognitive skills necessary to think strategically about programming systems. By understanding the thinking patterns of experts, you can accelerate your learning and improve your problem-solving abilities. --- ### **Expert Thinking Patterns** Experts in programming systems don't just "know" solutions; they possess a refined set of mental models and approaches for tackling complex challenges. Here are some key patterns: * **Abstraction and Decomposition:** Experts break down large, complex systems into smaller, manageable components. They then define clear interfaces and responsibilities for each component, creating layers of abstraction to hide complexity. * **Think:** "What are the core responsibilities of this part of the system? How can I isolate it from others? What information does it need, and what does it provide?" * **System Thinking & Feedback Loops:** They view systems not as isolated pieces, but as interconnected entities with feedback mechanisms. They anticipate how changes in one part will ripple through the system and understand how the system's behavior can influence its own future state. * **Think:** "If I change X, what else is affected? How does the system react to this input over time? Are there unintended consequences?" * **Analogy and Pattern Matching:** Experts draw upon a vast library of learned patterns and solutions from previous problems and different domains. They recognize recurring themes and apply established strategies. * **Think:** "Have I seen a problem like this before? What worked then? Can I adapt that solution here?" * **Hypothesis-Driven Debugging & Exploration:** When faced with an unknown or broken system, experts form hypotheses about the cause of the issue and then design experiments (e.g., targeted logging, unit tests, controlled changes) to validate or invalidate those hypotheses. * **Think:** "What could be causing this? Let me test that specific idea. What evidence would confirm or deny my suspicion?" * **Iterative Refinement & Incremental Development:** Rather than aiming for a perfect, complete solution upfront, experts build systems incrementally, testing and refining each piece as they go. This allows for early feedback and adaptation. * **Think:** "What's the simplest version of this feature I can build and test? How can I gradually add complexity and ensure correctness at each step?" * **Trade-off Analysis:** Experts understand that there are rarely "perfect" solutions, only solutions with different sets of trade-offs (e.g., performance vs. readability, cost vs. scalability). They consciously evaluate these trade-offs based on project constraints and goals. * **Think:** "What are the pros and cons of this approach? Which trade-offs are acceptable for this specific situation?" --- ### **Problem Recognition** Effectively solving a programming systems problem begins with accurately identifying its nature. This allows you to select the most appropriate strategy. **Problem Types & Recognition Cues:** 1. **New Feature Development / Green Field:** * **Cues:** Starting a new project, adding a significant new capability, no existing code to consider. * **Expert Thought:** "What is the core purpose of this new feature? What are the essential components? What are the simplest ways to achieve the desired outcome?" 2. **Bug Fixing / Defect Resolution:** * **Cues:** Unexpected behavior, crashes, incorrect output, performance degradation. * **Expert Thought:** "Where is the deviation from expected behavior occurring? What are the inputs and conditions that trigger the bug? What is the most likely cause based on the symptoms?" 3. **Performance Optimization:** * **Cues:** Slow response times, high resource utilization (CPU, memory, network), bottlenecks. * **Expert Thought:** "Where is the system spending most of its time or resources? What are the algorithms and data structures being used? Can these be improved?" 4. **System Design / Architecture:** * **Cues:** Building a new system from scratch, significant changes to existing architecture, integrating multiple components, scaling challenges. * **Expert Thought:** "What are the long-term goals of this system? What are the major functional and non-functional requirements? What are the best patterns and technologies to meet these requirements?" 5. **Refactoring / Code Improvement:** * **Cues:** Code is hard to understand, difficult to modify, repetitive, violates design principles. * **Expert Thought:** "What are the specific areas of the code that are problematic? What design principles are being violated? How can I improve clarity, maintainability, and extensibility without breaking functionality?" 6. **Integration / Interoperability:** * **Cues:** Connecting different systems, services, or libraries; ensuring data consistency between components. * **Expert Thought:** "What are the interfaces between these systems? What data formats are used? How can we ensure smooth communication and data transformation?" --- ### **Strategy Selection: A Decision Tree** When faced with a programming systems problem, use this decision tree to guide your strategic approach. ```mermaid graph TD A[Start: Identify the Problem Type] --> B{Is it a known issue or a new requirement?}; B -- New Requirement --> C{Is it a small addition or a major new feature?}; C -- Small Addition --> D[Iterative Development & Incremental Refinement]; C -- Major New Feature --> E{Are there existing systems to integrate with?}; E -- Yes --> F[System Design/Architecture & Integration Strategy]; E -- No --> G[Green Field System Design & Decomposition]; B -- Known Issue --> H{Is the system behaving incorrectly or inefficiently?}; H -- Incorrect Behavior --> I{Can you pinpoint the exact error location/cause?}; I -- Yes --> J[Hypothesis-Driven Debugging (Focused)]; I -- No --> K[Hypothesis-Driven Debugging (Exploratory) & Logging]; H -- Inefficient Behavior --> L{Is it a specific bottleneck or general slowness?}; L -- Specific Bottleneck --> M[Performance Optimization (Targeted)]; L -- General Slowness --> N[System-Wide Performance Analysis & Architecture Review]; D --> Z[Self-Verification]; F --> Z; G --> Z; J --> Z; K --> Z; M --> Z; N --> Z; Z[Self-Verification & Iterative Refinement] --> O{Is the problem solved / requirement met?}; O -- No --> A; % Loop back to re-evaluate O -- Yes --> P[Consider Refactoring / Long-Term Health]; P --> Q[End]; ``` **Explanation of Branches:** * **New Requirement:** If you're building something new, start with design. If it's a small addition, build it incrementally. If it's a major feature, consider existing integrations. * **Known Issue:** If the system is broken or slow, diagnose the nature of the problem. * **Incorrect Behavior:** Try to narrow down the cause. If you can guess, test that guess. If not, explore more broadly. * **Inefficient Behavior:** Is it a specific slow part or the whole system? Address bottlenecks directly or review the overall architecture for systemic issues. * **Self-Verification:** After applying a strategy, always verify your solution. If it's not right, loop back to re-analyze. * **Refactoring:** Once a solution is functional, consider how to improve its quality for the future. --- ### **Error Prevention & Common Patterns** Many programming system issues stem from predictable thinking or implementation errors. Recognizing these patterns helps you avoid them. | Common Error Pattern | Description | 0.7 | high | 6 | 1,577 | [
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667db428-ef64-4123-a9cd-15f15b0fd0c1 | Scientific name: Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f.) Ett | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Scientific name: Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f.) Ett.
Synonym: Loranthus falcatus L. f.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Bandha, Bara manda, Pharulla.
Porsal (Chakma), Dorangsi-phang (Garo), Alikhowng (Khumi).
English name: Honey suckle mistletoe
Description of the plant: A large, bushy branch-parasite, stem often more than 1 m long forms a burr at the point of attachment with the host, bark grey lenticellate. Leaves subsessile to petiolate, opposite or subopposite, sometimes alternate, very variable in shape, ovate, obovate, or elliptic, thick coriaceous. Flowers in short, spreading stout axillary unilateral racemes. Corolla tubular, curved, 3-5 cm long, scarlet or orange or less commonly pink or white. Fruit oblong, brownish-black when ripe, crowned with cupular calyx, exocarp coriaceous, mesocarp viscous.
Plant parts used: Stem.
Medicinal uses: Juice extracted from the stems is taken once a day (5 ml amount) for the treatment of headache.
Paste is made with stems of the plants is applied on the tumour once a day until the disease is cured.
Distribution: Found as tree parasite throughout the country.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us…. | 0.6 | high | 6 | 318 | [
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b17dd161-5c47-4a40-afc2-0556d216ec04 | Acadiana Park Nature Station | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Acadiana Park Nature Station
Our sole mission is to reacclimatize humans to their natural surroundings. Through this process of coming to know, to understand and finally to care about Nature, it is hoped that folks will experience the change in heart necessary for them to take personal responsibility in conserving our native plants and animals, along with restoring the natural habitats in which these organisms live.
Located in a wooded section of Acadiana Park, a 110 acre facility in the northeastern corner of Lafayette, Louisiana (south-central Louisiana), the Nature Station and its accompanying 3+mile trail system is owned and operated by the Division of Arts & Culture, in the Department of Community Development, Lafayette Consolidated Government. Environmental education programming began here in 1974 as an offshoot of our parent organization, the Lafayette Science Museum. As a result of increasing demand for our programs, the Nature Station was constructed in 1978. Since that time, our staff has conducted field trips, workshops, and other educational activities and programs for many thousands of school children and adults alike.
Ecologically, the Nature Station Trails are situated at the juncture of two major systems: the Gulf Coastal Tallgrass Prairie (or remnants thereof), and the Mississippi River Floodplain. Several thousand years ago, as a result of large volumes of meltwater streaming southward at the end of the last "Ice Age", the ancient Mississippi River strayed westward into what is now south-central Louisiana, expanding its floodplain by about fifty miles, and flowing through this area for approximately one thousand years. As glacial meltwaters gradually subsided from the north, the river moved back into its "original" stream bed; a course which it continues to follow today, taking it through the cities of Baton Rouge (fifty miles to our east) and New Orleans (one-hundred- twenty-five miles to our southeast), before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, some one-hundred miles south of New Orleans. As a direct result of these historic climatic/geologic changes, present-day Acadiana Park straddles this ancient juncture of river and prairie, with the prairie terrace itself laying some 45-50 feet above the adjacent floodplain (where the Nature Station itself is located). Separating these two land forms is a wide, bluff-like shelf (escarpment) which was actually the western bank of the ancient Mississippi. Thus, present day Acadiana Park supports three major habitat types: a bottomland hardwood forest on the Mississippi River floodplain, a transitional oak-hickory forest on the escarpment, and the remnants of what once was a tallgrass prairie on the prairie terrace. Of course, each of these major habitats supports its own plant communities; and in turn, each plant community supports its own compliment of animals. While the plant communities are pretty much fixed, the animal communities vary according to yearly seasonal cycles.
Acadiana Park Nature Station is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media | 0.55 | medium | 5 | 608 | [
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67ef4fda-bafe-4535-aec2-9ed8d606c399 | According National Fire Protection | technology | historical_context | According to the National Fire Protection Association, firefighters respond to an average of 3,810 fires at college residence halls and Greek housing each year. Help prevent electrical fires with these tips from ESFI:
- Do not overload extension cords, power strips or outlets.
- Do not connect multiple extension cords together.
- Extension cords should never be used on a permanent basis.
- Do not place cords under doors or carpets, and do not pinch them with furniture.
- Use light bulbs with correct wattage for lamps.
- Never remove the ground pin (the third prong) to make a three-prong plug fit a two-prong outlet.
- Check that all electrical items, including extension cords, are certified by a nationally recognized independent testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Intertek (ETL), or Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
- Irons, hairdryers, curling irons and straighteners should never be left unattended, and should be unplugged when not in use.
Beware of the following warning signs that could indicate an electrical hazard:
- Power outages—circuit breakers that frequently trip or fuses that often need replacement
- Dim and/or flickering lights
- Arcs and sparks—flashes of light or showers of sparks anywhere in your electrical system
- Sizzles and buzzes—unusual sounds from your electrical system
- Overheating—overheated wires can give off an odor of hot insulation; switch plates or receptacle covers that are hot to the touch or discolored from heat buildup
- Electrical shocks—any shock, even a mild tingle, may be warning of an electrical danger
If you observe any of these signs, notify your resident director. | 0.65 | medium | 6 | 363 | [
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29654a61-f1e6-4d1f-8757-94091952cc60 | Tune new Adirondack Attic | technology | practical_application | Tune in to the new Adirondack Attic radio feature on North Country Public Radio during the 8 o'clock hour local news program. This new series premiered this morning with an interview by Andy Flynn of Adirondack Museum curator Laura Rice as they discussed an 1870s sketchbook.
We applaud this new venture, as we do any focus on local history, and wish Andy and NCPR success.
On Tuesday, July 2, 1968, a fire and explosion at the Malone Novelty Company caused the injury of its owner, Harold Regis and the complete destruction of that business and the nearby St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge
Other businesses and residences caught alight as a result of this massive fire, but those were quickly extinguished and the damage was limited to the Malone Novelty Company and St. Joe's. Fire Departments from throughout Franklin County responded with mutual aid and volunteers, National Guard members and members of the county highway department joined the firefighters to direct traffic, control the crowd and generally aid the firefighting operation. The Malone Telegram reported that up to 12 firefighters suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion during the battle to put down the conflagration. Other churches in Malone immediately pledged their support for the St. Joseph's congregation and offered space for church activities in their buildings, and a team of volunteers and clergy entered the burning church to remove several important items.
According to Frederick Seaver (Historical Sketches of Franklin County, New York, 1918), Malone acquired its first fire engine in 1832. "It was operated by a crank on each side, and not more than eight men could work on it at a time. It was back-breaking business when one kept at it long. The water had to be dumped into the box from buckets, and the stream which the pump delivered was small and feeble." (p. 432). Malone has had both volunteer and paid fire departments, and at one point during the 1880s, had multiple hose companies who vied to be the first to appear at a fire, held dances, and competed in firemen's tournaments. In 1890, an electric fire alarm system was instituted and a paid fire service was created with a staffed engine house.
St. Joseph's Church had known calamity prior to the 1968 fire that destroyed its building. Father John McNulty bought the lot at the corner of Main and Rockland Streets in Malone in 1836 and built the first St. Joseph's Church building in 1837. The building was enlarged ca. 1850 but then torn down in 1862 and a new building erected on the same site. In 1870 this new church building caught fire and burned to the ground. A new structure was begun and after one year, with the exterior nearly finished, "a high wind tore off the roof and tumbled two of the walls into ruins." (Seaver, p.484) The building slowly rebuilt, but was not completed enough to be dedicated until 1882. The first settled rector of St. Joseph's, Father Bernard McCabe, died in a fire at the rectory in 1857 that did not significantly damage the rest of the house.
The 1902 articles in the Watertown newspaper featuring the Civil War experience of Malone businessman Thomas Hinds were published in a small book, now available online through Google Books. Although Hinds enlisted in Pennsylvania where he was resident at the time, the narrative is still an interesting one.
This stove in the collection of the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society is currently on display in the House of History museum (school room exhibit):
The stove was made by the Thomas Hinds Foundry in Malone. Thomas Hinds appears (6th from right in back row) in this photo of the Malone Foundry Co. (reorganized in 1883 as the Malone Foundry and Machine Co.).
Prior to 1883, Hinds founded his own business, the Thomas Hinds and Co. foundry, on Catherine Street in Malone. This ad appears in the 1883 Malone, Chateaugay and Fort Covington Directory:
It appears, from this notice in the Dec. 23, 1892 Franklin Gazette, that the business was short-lived:
The business was revived, however, by 1902, with Thomas' son John as President of the company. According to the 1935 obituary of Katherine Barry Hinds (wife of Thomas), Thos Hinds was at one time Mayor of the Village Malone, a Civil War veteran, and died in 1908. Born in Ireland in 1845 and emigrating to the United States in 1851, Hinds first came to Malone as a part of the Fenian army attempting to invade and capture Canada.
From the collection of the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society:
click to enlarge
Although it is not labeled, this log appears to be of an alumni association of Franklin Academy in Malone, NY. The graduation year, name, spouse name, dues from 1921-1934 and an address of the members of the alumni association are noted.
Did you spy a previous congressman in this list of locals?
Clarence Kilburn represented the North Country as a member of the U.S. Congress from 1940-1965. He and his wife, Anne Crooks Kilburn, lived at 59 Milwaukee Street, next door to the current House of History museum. Anne Crooks Kilburn was first cousin to Elizabeth Crooks Kirk, the last resident of the House of History before it became a museum. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 1,257 | [
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f32fa342-7b49-4c87-9459-b75e20782644 | tag:blogger | interdisciplinary | concept_introduction | tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16796065.post1734840127661622423..comments2017-02-21T01:34:56.074+05:30Comments on ApniTally: Six Ways of Getting Free Help on Tally from Tally SolutionsShailendra Yadavhttps://plus.google.com/109120372140152035641noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16796065.post-74821236867036160672014-12-08T23:30:06.851+05:302014-12-08T23:30:06.851+05:30I really appreciate that . thanksI really appreciate that . thanksShailendra Yadavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08957657175076478012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16796065.post-24260010248718173562014-11-28T12:26:09.782+05:302014-11-28T12:26:09.782+05:30I strongly believe that Tally is a major part in t...I strongly believe that Tally is a major part in today's world that everybody should know for job purpose. I just started a course on Tally 10 days back and in between such an informative article is going to help me a lot. I have downloaded the entire blog and will apply according to your instructions. Thank u for the post...shreyahttps://jumbodium.com/blognoreply@blogger.com | 0.4 | high | 6 | 514 | [
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a68e93e5-8329-40cb-b636-50ce5f9c2aaf | Together his offense racial | interdisciplinary | historical_context | Together with his offense of racial pollution he is also guilty of an offence under paragraph 4 of the ordinance against people’s parasites. It should be noted here that the national community is in need of increased legal protection from all crimes attempting to destroy or undermine its inner cohesion.Rothaug thus admitted that a key political strategy of the Nazi state was to maintain the 'cohesion' of its mythical racial identity by accusing Jews of polluting the body politic. Why did the Nazis pick this particular strategy and what were its historical antecedents?
Pollution is a syncretic political strategy which exploits a myth that appears historically in three different but overlapping contexts: religious, medical and nationalist. The strategy enabled the Nazis to overcome resistance to their political authority among religious believers, doctors, academics and the armed forces by tapping into their mentalities and igniting themes that were part of their institutional histories but were often marginalized during the century of relative liberalization that preceded the Nazi rise to power. Uncovering the genealogy of the myth therefore gives an insight into how the Nazis melded old and new prejudices into a dogma of genocidal force.
The link between pollution and social cohesion strategies has been noted by anthropologists. The most famous of these, Mary Douglas (1966), argued that pollution myths concerning the body were projected on to the entire group in order to symbolize dangers to its unity. Dirt signified "matter out of place" (p.36) and came to represent pollution of the entire social order (p.5):
Reflection on dirt involves reflection on the relation of order to disorder, being to non-being, form to formlessness, life to deathPollution thus came also to represent social death in certain caste systems. For example, Lifton (1986: 482) notes that the Japanese outcaste group, the Burakumin, used to:
bear the name "Eta", whose literal meaning is "full of filth", "full of pollution" or "abundant defilement".However, anthropologists like Douglas were referring primarily to the social cohesion of minority sects, such as the Israelites in the Biblical era. Pollution myth only became genocidal when it was used by a majority against a stigmatised minority. In Europe, that process dates from the eleventh century, when the Church and state united to form a 'Persecuting Society' (R.I. Moore, 2001). From around the time of the First Crusade in 1096, Jews began to be accused of crimes such as 'ritual murder' and 'usury'. An example of the pollution discourse used to frame these accusations is provided by Robert Chazan (1997: 122):
William of Chartres, in concluding his report on the discussion between Louis IX and his advisers with respect to Jewish usury, has the king speaking of Jews as infecting his land with their poison. The discussion ends with the king telling his advisers: “Let those prelates do what pertains to them concerning those subject Christians, and I must do what pertains to me concerning the Jews. Let them abandon usury, or they shall leave my land completely, in order that it no longer be polluted with their filth”However, at this point, the alleged pollution was spiritual, not biological. The Jew was usually allowed (or forced) to convert to Christianity. This began to change in the aftermath of the Spanish Inquisition, when converted Jews were accused of being false converts or 'Marranos' (pigs). Pollution began to find expression in peculiar beliefs about the Jew's Body (Gilman, 1991). For example, Beusterien cites this claim by a royal physician:
In 1632 Doctor Juan de Quiñones, an official in the court of King Philip IV, devoted an entire treatise to Jewish maladies, focusing on the allegation that Jewish males menstruated. He wrote: "every month they suffer from a blood flow as if they were women."Even before the emergence of racial science, therefore, there was already a potential for the syncretic merging of religious and medical delusions about Jews. It was not necessary to invent biological racism from scratch, as its seeds were already in the culture of post-Inquisition Europe. The fact that was unique to the post-1800 period was the inclusion of classes below the ruling elites in the definition of the 'body politic'. This was due to the fact that race and nation functioned as tools of vertical integration. This had the effect of multiplying the numbers of groups eligible to be included in the myth of the nation, until it became a concept that was amenable to socialist and liberal applications as well as reactionary ones. We therefore find that, by 1900, Jews could be blamed by a range of political groups for a variety of national ills across the European continent, expressed in terms of biological degradation.
For example, in France, Jews were blamed for the loss of the Franco-Prussian war (Brustein, 'Roots of Hate', p.121), and this fuelled the Dreyfus Case two decades later. French and German nationalism borrowed from the 'degeneracy' theories of Gobineau, whilst German Volkish discourse took on a virulently antisemitic tone in the work of Wilhelm Marr and Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Marr had been a socialist in his youth. In Italy, Cesare Lombroso was an assimilated Jew and a socialist who nonetheless believed that the "white race" was threatened by the innate criminality of degenerate breeds. In Britain, the Eugenics Society included such liberal figures as the Webbs, Beveridge and Keynes. Beveridge, the future founder of the Welfare State, wrote in 1905 that:
It is essential…to maintain the distinction between those who, however irregularly employed, are yet members, though inferior members, of the industrial army and those who are mere parasites, incapable of performing any useful service whatever…[The unemployable] must be removed from industry and maintained adequately in public institutions, but with the complete and permanent loss of all citizenship rights - including not only the franchise but civil freedom and fatherhood [cited in Rose, 1999: 254-255]The influence of these ideas on antisemitism became apparent in the passing of the 1905 Aliens Act, which was designed to keep out East European Jews (Gainer, 1972). Beatrice Webb, a leading Fabian, had referred to "the greed of the Jew" in her research into the textile industry in the East End; and the liberal economist J.A. Hobson had blamed financiers, "chiefly German in origin and Jewish in race" for the Boer War.
However, it should be noted that radical antisemitic parties fared poorly in national elections in Britain in 1906 and Germany in 1907, so there was no immediate risk prior to 1914 of such ideas leading to mass killing. It was Germany's defeat in 1918, followed by the displacement of educated elite groups by Germany's economic problems in the 1920's, that allowed the Nazis to intensify these ideas into forms of hatred that could appeal to mentalities that would be amenable to its policies.
The result of these alliances was support among carefully chosen elites for the kind of state murder discussed in the opening paragraph. Hitler declared that Jews were a "race of criminals" and was able to recruit enough doctors to carry out sterilizations, judges to pass death sentences, and SS men with PhD's to lead the Einsatzgruppen (Stahlecker, Rasch, Ohlendorf).
It was thus a simple exercise to escalate from individual judicial and medical murders to a mass genocide. The willingness of doctors and judges to knowingly conspire in individual murder leading to genocide is made clear in primary sources. On 11 May 1942, Dachau doctor Rascher wrote to Himmler that:
For the following experiments Jewish professional criminals who had committed race pollution were used.Similarly, the correspondence from the Reich Minister of Justice Thierack to Reichsleiter Bormann dated 13 October 1942 revealed that:
With a view to freeing the German people of Poles, Russians, Jews, and gypsies and with a view to making the Eastern territories which have been incorporated into the Reich available for settlements for German nationals, I intend to turn over criminal proceedings against Poles, Russians, Jews, and gypsies to the Reichsfuehrer SS. In so doing I base myself on the principle that the administration of justice can only make a small contribution to the extermination of members of these peoples. The Justice Administration undoubtedly pronounces very severe sentences on such persons, but that is not enough to constitute any material contribution towards the realization of the above-mentioned aim.Pollution had thus escalated from a 'crime' that warranted individual death penalties to a menace that required the extermination of all Jews. | 0.6 | medium | 6 | 1,889 | [
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3e48e001-a555-4bf7-99a6-7aabab405976 | Skip to main content | mathematics | proof | Skip to main content
LIRA@BC Law
Abstract
In this article, I examine the burden of proof in bond proceedings. I apply theories for why burdens of proof exist in the law to demonstrate why the government should bear the burden of proof. I also argue that in order to ensure that such detention comports with Due Process, the government must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that a detainee is dangerous. This presumption of freedom previously existed, yet was eviscerated by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in a 1997 regulation and the Board of Immigration Appeals in a 1999 decision. That the detainee must bear the burden of proof in bond hearings has become the norm, yet this article seeks to explain how this burden shift occurred and, in doing so, exposes this troubling aspect of today’s bond hearings.
Files
File nameDate UploadedVisibilityFile size
holper_burden_A1b.pdf
6 Sep 2022
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Metadata
• Subject
• Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Immigration Law
• Law Enforcement and Corrections
• Journal title
• Case Western Reserve Law Review
• Volume
• 67
• Issue
• 1
• Pagination
• 75-133
• Date submitted
6 September 2022 | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 302 | [
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4c83fb63-1c07-4bef-b4cd-59d82260ceec | MINUTES RENAUD PLANTA, SENIOR | science | historical_context | 60 MINUTES WITH RENAUD DE PLANTA, SENIOR MANAGING PARTNER, PICTET AND STÉPHANE BANCEL – CEO MODERNA
Today, over a year into the covid pandemic, our most promising ticket out of it is through mass vaccination. A year ago, many experts doubted that a vaccine could even be developed, let alone within 12 months. What is still more remarkable is that the most effective solution so far is that of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which was pioneered by Moderna, a young, Bostonbased biotech firm.
THE RACE FOR VACCINATION
RdP: Given the novelty of mRNA vaccines, many are concerned about potential safety issues. What has the data around this shown so far?
SB: The mRNA technology has proven extremely safe and well tolerated so far. Over 65mn doses have been administered with zero cases of blood clotting. MRNA is a natural molecule found in the human body and the synthetic mRNA used in our vaccines leave the body within 48 hours of injection. Older vaccine technologies often have added adjuvants and chemicals that boost the immune system but can have detrimental side effects.
RdP: How quickly can mRNA vaccines be adapted to combat new covid variants?
SB: It took us 30 days from the sequencing of the South African variant to producing a booster, which
PICTET WEA LT H M A N A G E M E N T
we are hoping to receive global regulatory approval for by late summer, in time for the winter season. For future variants, our goal at Moderna is to conclude this entire process within 100 days. I don't think we have seen the end of covid variants; this virus is more likely to evolve quite a lot. And with our technology we can combine up to six mRNA molecules into a single vile of vaccine.
PRODUCTION & SUPPLY
RdP: What formidable logistics and manufacturing challenges had to be overcome in order to distribute the Moderna vaccine and how was it possible to achieve so much so quickly?
SB: Our biggest challenge was that the covid vaccine is the first commercial mRNA product. In 2019, we made fewer than 100,000 doses of vaccine. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, we shipped over 100mn doses and are now on a trajectory to produce 1bn doses for this year. That is a multiple of 10,000x. The production machines were not available off the shelf and had to be custom built, there were issues around sourcing raw materials and hiring expert staff. However, the technology is highly scalable. Traditional cell culture technology on the other hand, is extremely difficult to scale because it makes use of living cells. In contrast, mRNA vaccines, which use enzymes and water, are massively scalable once the infrastructure is in place.
mRNA INNOVATION AND GENE ANALYSIS
RdP: Beyond covid, what can mRNA (and Moderna in particular) offer in the coming months and years to treat diseases?
SB: Vaccination plays a bigger role in the level of health that we currently enjoy than we often appreciate. Since 1918 , 80 new viruses that hurt humans have been discovered. Many of us don't realise that a lot of the diseases that afflict us − including cancer − are caused by viral infections. For example, cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the number-one cause of birth defects, and there is no vaccine for it currently on market. Moderna is close to phase three in developing this vaccine. Studies have shown that those infected with CMV have
1
We must strive to preserve what made Moderna special - taking calculated risk, moving really fast and adapting to the data. All decisions we take are driven by data.
shorter lifespans because their immune systems are engaged with combatting the CMV rather than cancers in the body.
and enabled us to achieve breakeven cashflows five to 10 years sooner.
For cancer treatment, we are working on customised vaccines created from a biopsy of a patient's cancerous tumour. We have five cancer treatments in the pipeline, including in partnership with AstraZeneca. Another treatment in the pipeline is against cardiovascular disease via a single injection into the heart in the wake of a heart attack. Using natural human proteins, it teaches the body how to build new blood vessels, thereby harnessing regenerative medicine within the body. mRNA technology is disrupting the pharmaceuticals sector as it has operated until now.
MODERNA AS A COMPANY
RdP: As a company, Moderna has transformed from a start-up into a household name with USD ~18bn top-line sales in just over two years. What made the difference and what are the greatest management lessons we can all take from it?
SB: Preparedness. We were ready for this because we knew that mRNA would either become a broad platform or go bankrupt. It was going to be zero or colossal and since no business venture pursues a "zero" opportunity, we were expecting colossal, which we have been preparing for over the last two years. The pandemic accelerated this outcome by three to four years
PICTET WEA LT H M A N A G E M E N T
I built Moderna as a massively digital company that could scale, based on many years' observation that scalability and an agile culture are very difficult to realise. Layers of people and management often slow things down. And we achieve this scalability at Moderna through extensive use of technology; if something can be done by a machine, we do not have it done by a human. We have made immense investments in IT, robotics and AI (artificial intelligence) over the last couple of years.
With AI, the biggest hurdle is around change management. At Moderna, we have run thousands of experiments over 10 years and computers are now providing mRNA insight derived from these inputs. Computers can identify correlations from these masses of data that humans cannot. I need AI to become part of the company's DNA and the challenge lies in how to make the top 200 people within the organisation fluent and comfortable in AI.
RdP: What else do you hope to achieve with Moderna in the coming three to five years?
SB: I expect Moderna to multiply by 10x over the next 10 years. This "10x thinking" is the single most important management tool I have used over the last decade. I focus on this every morning when I come into the office. What is remarkable in the human mind is if you apply a time
constraint that is too tight, you shut down creativity. A 10-year timeframe allows room for thinking and dreaming. Another management tool we use regularly is "what if you had a magic wand"? When a vision is thus agreed, we then pedal backwards to track to this vision and the incremental steps required to achieve it. We have done this every day for the last 10 years.
Our biggest challenge is in culture dilution. We have an amazing technology and that technological risk is now behind us. Financing risk has now also moderated. We must strive to preserve what made Moderna special - taking calculated risk, moving really fast and adapting to the data. All decisions we take are driven by data.
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DISCLAIMER
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Banque Pictet & Cie SA is established in Switzerland, exclusively licensed under Swiss Law and therefore subject to the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
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3
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5c2f6cd4-23bd-4aae-8603-05daa0c54ff1 | Extensions don't actually change | technology | data_analysis | Extensions don't actually change what type of file something is, although they often do hint to the system what do do with a particular item.
DMGs are not executables, they are disc images. They are files that act as discs, which often contain the executables and other files for applications. When you double-click on one, the system mounts it and you then have access to the files inside.
Both Windows and OS X execute binary executable files, although they are in different formats. The big difference in what a user sees if using the GUI is that on Windows, you usually see the .exe executable file, which resides in a folder that contains other files and information that the program uses. On OS X, all those other files, along with the primary executable, are contained in a "bundle" (really a folder) with the extension .app. Double clicking on a .app bundle will execute the internal executable and load your application.
Outside of the GUI, in the actual file structure, Mac and Windows systems are really quite similar; these differences are mostly a question of how the system presents things to the user for manipulation in the GUI. | 0.55 | medium | 3 | 237 | [
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b76bb855-df1c-4d85-ae4e-3f908fbb5a60 | Surface Tension ### Problem | arts_and_creativity | problem_set | ## Surface Tension ### Problem Statement Two separate bubbles with radii of 0.002 m and 0.004 m, formed from the same soap solution (surface tension = 0.07 N/m), come together to form a double bubble. The internal film common to both bubbles has radius \( R \). Determine the value of \( R \) in millimeters, accurate to two decimal places. ### Solution To solve this problem, we need to use the concept of pressure difference across a soap film and the principle of conservation of volume. 1. **Pressure Difference Across a Soap Film:** The pressure difference \( \Delta P \) across a soap film is given by: \[ \Delta P = \frac{4T}{r} \] where \( T \) is the surface tension and \( r \) is the radius of the bubble. 2. **Initial Pressures:** For the first bubble with radius \( r_1 = 0.002 \, \text{m} \): \[ \Delta P_1 = \frac{4 \times 0.07}{0.002} = 140 \, \text{N/m}^2 \] For the second bubble with radius \( r_2 = 0.004 \, \text{m} \): \[ \Delta P_2 = \frac{4 \times 0.07}{0.004} = 70 \, \text{N/m}^2 \] 3. **Pressure in the Double Bubble:** When the bubbles combine, the pressure in the smaller bubble is greater than in the larger bubble. The pressure in the common film \( P \) is such that: \[ P + \frac{4T}{R} = \Delta P_1 \] \[ P + \frac{8T}{R} = \Delta P_2 \] Solving these equations: \[ \frac{4T}{R} = \Delta P_1 - P \] \[ \frac{8T}{R} = \Delta P_2 - P \] Subtract the first equation from the second: \[ \frac{8T}{R} - \frac{4T}{R} = \Delta P_2 - \Delta P_1 \] \[ \frac{4T}{R} = 70 - 140 = -70 \] \[ R = \frac{4 \times 0.07}{70} = 0.004 \, \text{m} \] 4. **Convert to Millimeters:** \[ R = 0.004 \, \text{m} = 4 \, \text{mm} \] Thus, the radius \( R \) of the internal film common to both bubbles is \( 4.00 \, \text{mm} \). ## Excess Pressure in Soap Bubbles Excess pressure is always present on the concave side. Thus, the interface is concave towards the smaller bubble. The pressures on the two sides of the interface are given by: \[ p_1 = p_0 + \frac{4T}{r_1} \] \[ p_2 = p_0 + \frac{4T}{r_2} \] The excess pressure across the interface is: \[ p_1 - p_2 = 4T\left(\frac{1}{r_1} - \frac{1}{r_2}\right) \] This excess pressure for the interface can also be expressed as: \[ 4T\left(\frac{1}{r_1} - \frac{1}{r_2}\right) = \frac{4TR}{R} \] Solving for \( R \), we have: \[ \frac{1}{r_1} - \frac{1}{r_2} = \frac{1}{R} \] \[ R = \frac{r_1 r_2}{r_1 - r_2} \] Substituting \( r_1 = 0.002 \, \text{m} \) and \( r_2 = 0.004 \, \text{m} \): \[ R = \frac{(0.002)(0.004)}{0.004 - 0.002} = 0.004 \, \text{m} = 4 \, \text{mm} \] ### Questions 1. **Two separate bubbles (radii 0.002 m and 0.004 m) formed of the same soap solution (surface tension = 0.07 N/m) come together to form a double bubble.** The internal film common to both bubbles has radius \( R \). The value of \( R \) (in mm) is (Answer up to two decimal points). 2. **Two separate air bubbles (radii 0.002 cm and 0.004 m) formed of the same liquid (surface tension 0.07 N/m) come together to form a double bubble.** Find the radius and the sense of curvature of the internal film surface common to both bubbles. 3. **Two separate air bubbles (radii 0.002 m and 0.004 m) formed of the same liquid (surface tension 0.07 Nm\(^{-1}\)) come together to form a double bubble.** The radius and the sense of curvature of the internal film surface, common to both bubbles is: 4. **Two separate air bubbles A and B of radii 0.004 m and 0.002 m formed of the same liquid (surface tension 0.07 N/m) come together to form a double bubble.** Find the radius and the sense of curvature of the internal film surface common to both bubbles. These questions revolve around the concept of surface tension and the geometrical properties of soap bubbles when they merge to form a double bubble. --- This content focuses on the principles of excess pressure in soap bubbles and the calculations involved in determining the radius of the internal film when two bubbles merge. | 0.65 | low | 4 | 1,352 | [
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7ac4d1fb-e385-4753-a5c8-c12ce2769d41 | Hey all | science | historical_context | Hey all. I'm not a very active user, but I have a question for you all. It involves how a dual core processor interacts with Windows and the applications it runs.
My previous assumption was that a 1.9ghz dual core processor would run everything at the equivalent of a 2.8ghz single core. I was told by a friend that this is not true. His understanding of the architecture of a dual core processor is that everything is run at the clock speed that the CUP is rated for, but that different tasks in Windows will be on each core. In other words, according to him, 2 programs could each be running simultaneiously, but each on a different core, at 1.9ghz, therefore outputting 2.8ghz of processing power per clock cycle. BUT, if a program wasn't coded to be optimized for a multicore processor, that it would only utilize one core. Therefore, if you were to run only 1 program that was not coded specifically to utilize both cores simultaneousely, it would run at 1.9 ghz.
That may be a bad explanation, but let me elaborate by explaining the situation. I am very used to my desktop, which is a P4 2.8ghz with a GeForce 7800. I was looking at a laptop with an AMD Turion dual core 1.9ghz and GeForce 8200m. I figure, this thing should be able to run Counter Strike Source, but he got me thinking: what about programs that do not utilize hardware acceleration, and are not optimized for a dual core processor? These programs are entirely based on a processor/memory basis, so would it run half as fast on a dual core 1.9ghz than a single core 2.8?
I ran a test of a program with such properties. It is Multimedia Fusion 2 Developer edition, for reference. The program does not utilize hardware acceleration, and was created before dual core processors were mainstream. With a lot of sprites running on screen. it ran slower on my girlfriend's single core 2.0ghz processor than my 2.8ghz processor. This is what has me concerned about a dual core's structure and utilization. If programs like this are not optimized for use with a dual core system, will they run at the clock speed? Being as this program doesn't run to my liking on a 2ghz single core, if it ran on only one core out of two on a dual core, it would not be fast enough for me on a 1.9ghz dual core.
If anybody reads all of this, you win. | 0.65 | low | 4 | 562 | [
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b13f90fb-3cde-477c-8327-bd23831bdd6e | Biological Battery Bonanza | science | concept_introduction | Biological Battery Bonanza
Okay, so it's not a bonanza. But it is a biological battery. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created the ultimate environmentally friendly battery. The technology has a virus that was genetically engineered to create an anode by coating themselves with cobalt oxide and gold, and then self-assembling to form a nanowire. It also has a virus for the cathode: they coat themselves with iron phosphate, and then attach to carbon nanotubes, in order to create a network of highly conductive material. Neither virus is harmful to humans. And while it currently only goes for 100 cycles of charge and discharge (A lithium-ion battery goes for 300-500), the scientists believe they will be able to go for longer. Plus, you know, they have the whole "we-don't-hurt-the-earth" thing. I guess it does take a rocket scientist... | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 190 | [
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be1bf5c2-2196-489f-9bad-7fca22dc3f6b | Bridging Machine Learning Random | technology | data_analysis | ## Bridging Machine Learning and Random Matrix Theory: A Pattern of Statistical Regularity in Complex Systems This document outlines a systematic approach to understanding the profound, yet often overlooked, connection between **Machine Learning (ML)**, particularly its roots in programming systems, and **Random Matrix Theory (RMT)**, a cornerstone of modern mathematics. By identifying a shared fundamental pattern, we can unlock deeper insights into the behavior of complex systems across diverse domains. ### Shared Pattern: Statistical Regularity in High-Dimensional Systems The fundamental pattern that unites Machine Learning (from the perspective of programming systems) and Random Matrix Theory is the **emergence of statistical regularity and predictable behavior from systems composed of a vast number of interacting, often seemingly random, components.** * **Machine Learning (Programming Systems Lens):** In ML, we build complex systems (algorithms, models) that learn from data. This data often exists in high-dimensional spaces, where each feature or parameter can be considered a component. The "programming system" aspect highlights the engineering and algorithmic design involved in creating these learning machines. The core challenge is to extract meaningful patterns and make predictions despite the inherent noise and complexity within the data. This involves managing and understanding the statistical properties of these high-dimensional representations. * **Random Matrix Theory (Mathematics):** RMT studies the statistical properties of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of large random matrices. These matrices are constructed with elements drawn from probability distributions. RMT reveals that despite the randomness of individual elements, the ensemble average behavior of eigenvalues and eigenvectors exhibits remarkable universality and predictable statistical distributions, such as the Wigner semicircle law or the GOE/GUE eigenvalue spacing distributions. The shared pattern is the **ability to find order and predictability within apparent chaos or high dimensionality by focusing on statistical properties rather than individual component behavior.** Both fields are concerned with understanding the collective behavior of numerous, often uncertain, elements. ### The Surprising Connection: Unveiling the Hidden Structure of Data The surprising and insightful connection lies in recognizing that **the high-dimensional data spaces encountered in Machine Learning can often be characterized by the statistical properties of random matrices.** This is not immediately obvious because ML practitioners typically focus on specific algorithmic techniques and model architectures, while RMT mathematicians delve into the abstract properties of matrices. However, many ML problems, particularly in areas like feature selection, dimensionality reduction, and understanding model generalization, can be framed as analyzing the spectral properties of matrices derived from data. This connection is crucial because: 1. **It provides a theoretical foundation for empirical observations:** RMT offers mathematical guarantees and predictions about the behavior of eigenvalues and eigenvectors in large datasets, which can explain why certain ML algorithms perform well or exhibit specific generalization properties. 2. **It offers new tools for analysis and design:** Understanding the RMT underpinnings of data can inform the design of more robust ML models and lead to novel feature engineering or regularization techniques. 3. **It reveals universal principles:** The universality observed in RMT suggests that the challenges and solutions in ML might be more generalizable than initially thought, applicable across different data modalities and problem types. ### Illustrative Example: Feature Selection in a High-Dimensional Dataset Let's consider a common ML problem: classifying images based on a large number of features (e.g., pixel values, extracted image descriptors). We have a dataset $X$ where each row represents an image and each column represents a feature. $X$ is an $N \times P$ matrix, where $N$ is the number of images and $P$ is the number of features. **Problem:** Select a subset of features that are most informative for classification, reducing dimensionality and improving model performance. **Approach using both concepts:** 1. **Data Preparation (ML/Programming Systems):** * We have an $N \times P$ dataset $X$. For simplicity, assume $N \approx P$ (a common scenario in high-dimensional data analysis) and center the data (mean of each feature is zero). * We construct the **sample covariance matrix** $C = \frac{1}{N} X^T X$. This is a $P \times P$ matrix. 2. **RMT Analysis (Mathematics):** * **Hypothesis:** If the features are largely uncorrelated or exhibit a certain level of randomness in their relationships, the covariance matrix $C$ might behave like a random matrix. * **Eigenvalue Analysis:** We compute the eigenvalues ($\lambda_1, \lambda_2, ..., \lambda_P$) of the covariance matrix $C$. * **Wigner's Semicircle Law:** If $P$ is large and the features are independently drawn from distributions with finite variance, the distribution of the eigenvalues of $C$ (after appropriate scaling) will tend towards a semicircle. This law predicts the bulk of eigenvalues. * **Outlier Eigenvalues:** RMT also predicts that truly informative features or underlying signal structures will manifest as eigenvalues that deviate significantly from the bulk distribution (i.e., "outlier" eigenvalues). These outliers often correspond to the directions of greatest variance in the data. 3. **Feature Selection (ML Application):** * **Thresholding:** We can use the RMT-predicted spectral density (e.g., the semicircle) to set a threshold. Eigenvalues falling within the predicted bulk are likely due to random noise or weak correlations. Eigenvalues significantly above this threshold are candidates for representing important underlying signal or discriminative features. * **Feature Ranking:** Features associated with the eigenvectors corresponding to these outlier eigenvalues are considered most important. We can rank features based on their contribution to these principal components. * **Dimensionality Reduction:** We can select the top $k$ features corresponding to the largest eigenvalues, effectively performing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) guided by RMT insights. **Step-by-Step Demonstration:** * **Step 1:** Collect an $N \times P$ dataset $X$ for image classification. Let's say $N=1000$ images and $P=500$ features. * **Step 2:** Center the data $X$. * **Step 3:** Compute the covariance matrix $C = \frac{1}{1000} X^T X$, resulting in a $500 \times 500$ matrix. * **Step 4:** Calculate the eigenvalues of $C$. * **Step 5:** Plot the histogram of these eigenvalues. * **Step 6:** Overlay the theoretical Wigner semicircle distribution for $P=500$. Observe how the majority of eigenvalues fall within this distribution. * **Step 7:** Identify eigenvalues that are significantly larger than the upper bound of the semicircle (e.g., $\lambda > R$, where $R$ is the radius of the semicircle). Let's say we find 50 such "outlier" eigenvalues. * **Step 8:** These 50 outlier eigenvalues correspond to the most significant directions of variance in the data. The eigenvectors associated with these eigenvalues capture the most important information. * **Step 9:** Select the features that have the highest absolute values in these top 50 eigenvectors. For instance, if a feature has a large coefficient in several of the top eigenvectors, it's considered important. * **Step 10:** Train a classifier (e.g., SVM, Logistic Regression) using only these selected features. Compare its performance and computational cost to a classifier trained on all features. This example demonstrates how RMT provides a principled way to distinguish signal from noise in the spectral decomposition of the data's covariance matrix, guiding the feature selection process in ML. ### Reciprocal Learning: Synergistic Understanding Mastering one concept significantly facilitates understanding the other: * **From RMT to ML:** * **Understanding Data Structure:** RMT provides a framework for understanding the inherent statistical properties of high-dimensional data. This helps ML practitioners appreciate why certain dimensionality reduction techniques (like PCA) work and how to interpret the "noise" in their data. * **Model Generalization:** RMT has been used to analyze the generalization error of ML models, particularly in the context of linear models and kernel methods. Understanding RMT can lead to a deeper theoretical grasp of why models generalize well or poorly. * **Regularization:** RMT insights can inspire new regularization techniques that explicitly account for the spectral properties of the data or model parameters. * **From ML to RMT:** * **Motivation and Application:** ML provides concrete, real-world problems that motivate the study of RMT. The need to analyze large datasets and build predictive models drives interest in RMT's analytical power. * **Empirical Validation:** ML practitioners can use their datasets to empirically validate RMT predictions. Observing RMT phenomena in real-world ML tasks reinforces the theory's applicability. * **Algorithmic Implementation:** ML's focus on efficient algorithms and computational systems can inspire new numerical methods for computing properties of large random matrices or for approximating RMT distributions in practical settings. ### Mathematical Foundation: Eigenvalue Distributions The core mathematical relationship lies in the study of eigenvalue distributions of large random matrices. * **Sample Covariance Matrix:** For an $N \times P$ data matrix $X$ with $N$ samples and $P$ features, the sample covariance matrix is $C = \frac{1}{N} X^T X$ (assuming $X$ is centered). * **Wishart Distribution:** When the rows of $X$ are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) from a multivariate normal distribution with a covariance matrix $\Sigma$, the scaled sample covariance matrix $\frac{1}{N} X^T X$ follows a scaled Wishart distribution. * **Wigner's Semicircle Law:** A key result in RMT is that as $N, P \to \infty$ with $P/N \to \gamma$ (a constant), the distribution of the eigenvalues of a suitably scaled random matrix (like the normalized sample covariance matrix) approaches a semicircle. Specifically, for a $P \times P$ matrix $A$ with i.i.d. entries $a_{ij}$ with $E[a_{ij}]=0$ and $E[a_{ij}^2]=\sigma^2$, the distribution of eigenvalues of $\frac{1}{\sqrt{P}\sigma} A$ tends to the Wigner semicircle distribution with radius $2\sigma$. * The probability density function (PDF) of the Wigner semicircle distribution is: $f(x) = \frac{1}{2\pi R} \sqrt{4R^2 - x^2}$ for $-R \le x \le R$, and $0$ otherwise. For the sample covariance matrix, $R$ is related to the variance of the data. * **Tracy-Widom Distribution:** The distribution of the largest eigenvalue, which is crucial for signal detection, is often described by the Tracy-Widom distribution, which is a non-Gaussian distribution that describes the "edge" of the spectrum. These mathematical results provide the quantitative basis for identifying significant features in ML by comparing empirical eigenvalue distributions to theoretical ones. ### Universal Application and Implications: Beyond Data Analysis The pattern of emergent statistical regularity from complex, high-dimensional systems is pervasive: * **Physics:** * **Quantum Chaos:** RMT is fundamental to understanding the energy levels of quantum systems that exhibit chaotic behavior. The statistical distribution of energy levels mirrors the eigenvalue distributions of random matrices. * **Nuclear Physics:** The energy levels of heavy atomic nuclei are well-described by RMT. * **Condensed Matter Physics:** RMT is used to study disordered systems, such as Anderson localization. * **Biology:** * **Gene Regulatory Networks:** The connectivity and dynamics of large gene regulatory networks can exhibit statistical properties analogous to random matrices. * **Protein Folding:** The energy landscape of protein folding, a complex combinatorial problem, shows features that can be analyzed using statistical mechanics and concepts related to random systems. * **Neural Activity:** The collective firing patterns of large populations of neurons can exhibit emergent statistical regularities. * **Finance:** * **Portfolio Optimization:** The covariance matrix of asset returns is a key input. RMT can help identify market regimes and the true dimensionality of market drivers, distinguishing systematic risk from idiosyncratic noise. * **Risk Management:** Understanding the spectral properties of financial correlation matrices can improve risk models. * **Everyday Life:** * **Traffic Flow:** The collective behavior of vehicles on a highway, despite individual driver variations, exhibits statistical regularities in flow patterns. * **Social Networks:** The spread of information or opinions in large social networks can be analyzed through graph theory and statistical models that capture emergent properties. **Broader Implications:** The connection between ML and RMT highlights a fundamental principle: **complexity does not preclude order.** By shifting our focus from individual components to collective statistical behavior, we can uncover predictable patterns and design effective systems. This interdisciplinary bridge empowers us to: * **Develop more robust and interpretable ML models:** By understanding the underlying statistical structure of data, we can build models that are less prone to overfitting and provide clearer insights. * **Design more efficient algorithms:** RMT can guide the development of algorithms that effectively manage high-dimensional data and extract meaningful signals. * **Gain deeper theoretical insights:** The synergy between ML and RMT offers a powerful lens for understanding complex systems across science and engineering, revealing universal principles that govern their behavior. By systematically applying the principles of RMT to the data-driven challenges of Machine Learning, we not only solve specific problems but also gain a profound appreciation for the interconnectedness of knowledge and the universal patterns that shape our world. | 0.7 | medium | 8 | 2,862 | [
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278089ed-6330-4d1d-bf8f-b091dacddf84 | Kant took same ground | philosophy_and_ethics | tutorial | Kant took the same ground as the materialists. He recognized that the world outside of us is real and that the starting point of all knowledge is the experience of the senses. But the knowledge which we acquire from experience is partly composed of that which we acquire through the sense impressions and partly from that which our own intellectual powers supply from themselves; in other words, our knowledge of the world is conditioned not simply by the nature of the external world, but also by that of our organs of knowledge. For a knowledge of the world therefore the investigation of our own intellectual powers is equally as necessary as that of the external world. The investigation of the first is, however, the duty of philosophy – this is the science of science.
In this there is nothing contained that every materialist could not subscribe to, or that, perhaps with the exception of the last sentence had not also been previously said by materialists. But certainly only in the way in which certain sentences from the materialist conception of history had already been uttered before Marx, as conceptions which had not borne fruit. It was Kant who first made them the foundation of his entire theory. Through him did philosophy first become the science of science, whose duty it is not to teach a distinct philosophy, but how to philosophize, the process of knowing, methodical thinking, and that by way of a critique of knowledge.
But Kant went farther than this, and his great philosophical achievement, the investigation of the faculties of knowledge, became itself his philosophical stumbling block.
Since our sensual experience does not reveal to us the world as it is in itself, but only as it is for us, as it appears to us, thanks to the peculiar constitution of our faculties of knowledge, so the world as it is in itself must be different to that which appears to us. Consequently Kant distinguishes between the world of phenomena, of appearances, and the world of things in themselves, the “noumena”, or the intelligible world. Certainly this latter is for us unknowable, it lies outside of our experience, so that there is no need to deal with it; one might simply take it as a method of designating the fact that our knowledge of the world is always limited by the nature of our intellectual faculties, is always relative, that for us there can only be relative and no absolute truths, not a final and complete knowledge, but an endless process of knowing.
But Kant was not content with that. He felt an unquenchable longing to get a glimpse into that unknown and inexplorable world of things in themselves, in order to acquire at least a notion of it.
And indeed he got so far as to say quite distinct things about it. The way to this he saw in the critique of our powers of thought.
These latter by separating from experience that which comes from the senses must arrive at the point of describing the forms of knowledge and perception as they originally and a priori, previous to all experience, are contained in our “feelings”. In this manner he discovered the ideality of time and space. According to him these are not conceptions which are won from experience, but simply the forms of our conception of the world, which are embedded in our faculties of knowledge. Only under the form of conceptions in time and space can we recognize the world. But outside of our faculties of knowledge there is no space and no time. Thus Kant got so far as to say about the world of things in themselves, that completely unknowable world, something very distinct, namely, that it is timeless and spaceless.
Without doubt this logical development is one of the most daring achievements of the human mind. That does not say by any means that it is not open to criticism. On the contrary there is a great deal to be said against it, and in fact there are very very weighty objections which have been brought against it. The assumption of the ideality of space and time in the Kantian sense led to inextricable contradictions.
There can certainly be no doubt that our conceptions of time and space are conditioned by the constitution of our faculties of knowledge, but I should have thought that that would only necessarily amount to saying, that only those connections of events in the universe can be recognized which are of such a nature as to call forth in our intellectual faculties the concepts of space and time. The ideality of time and space would then imply just as the thing in itself, no more and no less than a limit to our powers of knowing.
Relations of a kind which cannot take the form of space or time concepts – even if such really exist, that we do not know – are for us inconceivable, just as much as the ultra-violet and ultra-red rays are imperceptible for our powers of vision.
But Kant did not mean the matter in this sense at all. Because space and time provide the forms in which alone my faculties of knowledge can recognize the world, he takes for granted that time and space are forms which are only to be found in my faculty of knowledge, and correspond to no sort of connection in the real world. In his Prolegomena to every future Metaphysic Kant compares in one place the concept of space with the concept of color. This comparison appears to us very apt, it by no means, however, proves what Kant wants to prove. If cinnabar appears red to me, that fact is certainly conditioned by the peculiarity of my visual organs. Out of that there is no color. What appears to me as color is called forth by waves of aether of a distinct length which affect my eye. Should any one wish to consider these waves in relation to the color as the thing in itself, which in reality they are not, then our power of vision would not be a power to see the things as they are, but power to see them as they are not; not a capacity of knowledge, but of illusion.
But it is quite another matter when we look not at one color alone, but take several colors together and distinguish them from one another. Each of them is called forth by distinct ether waves of different lengths. To the distinctions in the colors there correspond differences in the lengths of the ether waves. These distinctions do not lie in my organ of vision but have their ground in the external world. My organs of vision have only the function of making me conscious of this difference in a certain form, that of color. As a means to a recognition of this distinction it is a power of real knowledge and not of illusion. These distinctions are no mere appearances. That I see green, red and white, that has its ground in my organ of sight. But that the green is different to the red, that testifies to something that lies outside of me, to a real difference between the things.
Besides that the peculiarity of my organ has the effect that by its means I can only recognize the motions of the ether. No other communication from the outer world can reach me through that medium.
Just as with the power of vision in particular so is it with the organs of knowledge in general. They can only convey to me Space and Time conceptions, that is, they can only show me those relations of the things which can call forth Time and Space conceptions in my head. To impressions of another kind, if there are any, they cannot react. And my faculty of knowledge renders it possible for me to obtain these impressions in a particular way. So far are the categories of space and time founded in the construction of my faculty of knowledge.
But the relations and distinctions of the things themselves, which are shown to me by means of the individual space and time concepts, so that the different things appear to me as big and small, near and far, sooner or later, are real relations and distinctions of the external world, which are not conditioned through the nature of my faculty of knowledge.
Even if we therefore are not in a position to recognize a single thing by itself, if our faculty of knowledge is in respect to that a faculty of ignorance, we can yet recognize the real differences between things. These distinctions are no mere appearances, even if our conception of them is conveyed to us by means of appearances; they exist outside of us, and can be recognized by us, certainly only in certain forms.
Kant, on the other hand, was of the opinion that not simply are space and time forms of conception for us, but that even the temporal and spacial differences of phenomena spring solely from our heads, and indicate nothing real. If that were really so, then would all phenomena spring simply from our heads, since they all take the form of temporal and spacial differences. Thus we could know absolutely nothing about the world outside of us, not even that it existed. Should there exist a world outside of us, then, thanks to the ideality of space and time, our faculty of knowledge would be not an imperfect, one-sided mechanism, which communicated to us only a one-sided knowledge of the world, but a complete mechanism of its kind, and one which served to completely cut us off from all knowledge of the world. Certainly a mechanism to which the name “Faculty of Knowledge” is just about as suitable as the fist to the eye.
Kant could attack ever so energetically the “mystical” idealism of Berkeley, which he hoped to replace with his critical idealism. His criticism took a turn, which nullifies his own assumption that the world is real and only to be known through experience, and thus mysticism cast out from the one side finds on the other a wide triumphal doorway open, through which it can enter with a flourish of trumpets.
Kant assumed as his starting point that the world is really external to us and does not simply exist in our heads, and that knowledge about it is only to be attained through experience. His philosophical achievement was to be the examination of the conditions of experience, of the boundaries of our knowledge. But just this very examination became for him an incitement to surmount this barrier, and to discover an unknowable world, of which he actually knew that it was of quite another nature than the world of appearances, that it was completely timeless and spaceless, and therefore causeless as well.
But why this break-neck leap over the boundaries of knowledge which caused him to lose all firm ground under the feet? The ground could not be a logical one, since through this leap he landed in contradictions which nullified his own assumptions. It was a historical ground which awaked in him the need for the assumption of a supersensuous world – a need which he must satisfy at all price.
If, in the eighteenth century, France was a hundred years behind England, just so much was Germany behind France. If the English bourgeoisie no longer needed the materialism, since without it, and on religious grounds, they had got rid of the feudalist state and its church, the German bourgeoisie did not yet feel strong enough to take up openly the fight against the state and its church. They therefore withdrew in fear from the materialism. This came in the eighteenth century to Germany, just as to Russia, not as the philosophy of conflict but of pleasure, in a form suitable to the needs of the “enlightened” despotism. It grew at the princely courts, side by side with the narrowest orthodoxy. In the bourgeoisie there remained, however, even in its boldest and most independent pioneers, as a rule, some relic of Christian belief, from which they could not emancipate themselves.
That was bound to make the English philosophy appeal to German philosophers. In fact they had also a very great influence on Kant. I cannot remember ever to have found in his writings any mention of a French materialist of the eighteenth century. On the other hand he quoted with preference Englishmen of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Locke, Hume, Berkeley and Priestley.
But between the German and English philosophy there was a great difference. The English philosophized at a time of great practical advance, of great practical struggles.
The practice captured their entire intellectual force; even their philosophy was entirely ruled by practical considerations. Their philosophers were greater in their achievements in economics, politics, natural science, than in philosophy.
The German thinkers found no practice which could prevent them from concentrating their entire mental power on the deepest and most abstract problems of science. They were therefore in this respect without their like outside of Germany. That was not founded on any race quality of the Germans, but on the circumstances of the time. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the deepest philosophic thinkers were to be found in Italy, France, Holland, England, and not in Germany. The quiet that came over German political life in the century following the Thirty Years War first gave Germany the lead in Philosophy, just as Marx’s Capital had its origin in the period of reaction following on 1848.
Kant, despite his sympathy for the English, could not find satisfaction in their philosophy. He was just as critical towards it as towards materialism.
In both cases Ethics was bound to strike him as the weakest point. It seemed to him quite impossible to bring the moral law into a necessary connection with nature; that is, with the world of phenomena. Its explanation required another world, a timeless and spaceless world of pure spirit, a world of freedom in contrast to the world of appearances (phenomena) which is ruled by the necessary chain of cause and effect. On the other hand his Christian feelings, the outcome of a pious education, were bound to awaken the need for the recognition of a world in which God and immortality were possible. As Kant had to allow that God and immortality were completely superfluous in the world of our experience, he was obliged to look for a world “beyond” experience for them, and thus the spaceless and timeless world of things in themselves corresponded most completely to his needs.
Kant obtained the best proof for the existence of God and immortality in this world of the “beyond” from the moral laws. Thus we find with him, as with Plato, that the repudiation of the materialist explanation and the belief in a special world of spirits, or if it is preferred a world of spirit, lend each other mutual support and render it necessary.
How, however, did Kant manage to obtain farther insight into this spirit world? The critique of pure reason only allowed him to say of it, that it was timeless and spaceless. Now this spacelessness has to be filled up with a content. Even for that Kant has an idea.
The unknowable world of things in themselves becomes at least partly knowable directly one succeeds in getting- hold of a thing in itself. And Kant finds this for us. It is the personality of man. I am for myself at once phenomenon and thing in itself. My pure reason is a thing in itself. As a part of the sensuous world I am subject to the chain of cause and effect, therefore to necessity; as a thing in itself I am free, that is, my actions are not determined by the causes of the world of the senses, but by the moral law dwelling within me, which springs from the pure reason and calls out to me not “Thou must,” but “Thou shalt.” This shall were an absurdity if there did not correspond to it, a can, if I were not free.
The moral freedom of man is certainly a complicated thing. It brings along with it certainly no less contradictions than the ideality of time and space. Since this freedom comes to expression in actions which belong to the world of phenomena, but as such fall into the chain of cause and effect, – they are necessary. The same actions are at the same time free and necessary. Besides this freedom arises in the timeless, intelligible world, while cause and effect always fall in a particular time. The same time-determined action has thus a time, as well as a cause in time.
But what is now the moral law, which from the world of things in themselves, the “world of the understanding, extends its working right into the world of appearances, the world of the “ senses,” and then subordinates itself? Since it springs from the world of the understanding its determining ground can only lie in he pure reason. It must be of a purely formal nature, because it must remain fully free from all relation to the world of the senses, which would at once involve a relation of cause and effect, a determining ground of the will which would at once annihilate its freedom. “ There is, however,” says Kant in his Critique of Practical Reason, “ besides the matter of the law, nothing further contained than the lawgiving form. Thus the law-giving form, so far as it is contained in the maxim, is the only thing that can constitute a determining ground of the free will.”
From that he draws the following Fundamental Law of the Pure Practical Reason.
“Act so that the maxim of thy action may be a principle of universal legislation.”
This principle is by no means startlingly new. It forms only the philosophic translation of the ancient precept, to do unto others as we would be done by. The only new thing is the declaration that this precept forms a revelation of an intelligible world; a revelation which with the greatest application of philosophic insight was to be discovered as a principle which applied not only for humanity, “but for all finite Beings who possess Reason and will, nay even including the Infinite Being as the highest intelligence.”
Unfortunately the proof for this law which applies even to the Supreme Intelligence shows a very serious flaw. It ought to be “independent of all conditions appertaining to the world of the senses,” but that is easier said than fulfilled. Just as little as it is possible with the air pump to create a completely airless space; just as it must always contain air, though it be in so refined degree, that it is no more to be recognized by us, in the same way we cannot possibly grasp a thought, which is independent of all conditions appertaining to the world of the senses. Even the moral law does not escape this fate.
The moral law already includes conditions which belong to the world of the senses. It is not a law of the “pure will” in itself, but a law of the control of my will when brought in contact with my fellow men. It assumes this; for me, however, these appearances are from the world of the senses.
And still more is assumed, however, by the conception of the moral law: “act so that the maxim of thy action may be a principle of universal legislation.” This assumes not only men outside of me, but also the wish that these fellow men should behave themselves in a particular manner. They are so to behave themselves as the moral law prescribes to me to act. Not only society but also a distinct form of social conditions is assumed as possible and desirable.
That in fact the need for such is concealed in the ground of his “practical reason” and determines his spaceless and timeless moral law, Kant himself betrays in his Critique of Practical Reason in a polemic against the deduction of the moral law from pleasure.
“It is therefore surprising that intelligent men could have thought of calling the desire for happiness a universal practical law on the ground that the desire is universal and therefore also the maxim by which everyone makes this desire determine his will.
“For, whereas, in other cases a universal law of nature makes everything harmonious, here, on the contrary, if we attribute to the maxim the universality of law the extreme opposite of harmony will follow, the greatest opposition and the complete distraction of the maxim itself and its purpose. For, in that case, the will of all has not one and the same object, but everyone has his own (his private welfare), which may accidentally accord with the purposes of others which are equally selfish, but it is far from sufficiency for a law, because the occasional exceptions which one is permitted to make are endless and cannot be definitely embraced in a universal rule. In this manner there results a harmony like a married couple bent on going to ruin. ‘O, marvellous harmony, what he wishes, she wished also,’ or like what is said of the pledge of Francis I, to the Emperor Charles V.: ‘What my brother Charles wishes, that I wish also’ (viz. Milan).”
Thus pleasure is not to be a maxim which can serve as a principle of universal legislation, and that because it can call forth social disharmonies. The moral law has thus to create a harmonious society, and such must be possible, otherwise it would be absurd to wish to create it.
The Kantian moral law assumes thus, in the first place, a harmonious society as desirable and as possible. But it also assumes that the moral law is the means to create such a society, that this result can be achieved through a rule which the individual sets to himself. We see how thoroughly Kant was deceived, when he thought that his moral law was independent from all conditions appertaining to the world of sense, and that it formed thus a principle which would apply to all timeless and spaceless spirits, including God Almighty himself.
In reality Kant’s moral law is the result of very concrete social needs. Naturally, since it springs from the wish for a harmonious society, it is possible to deduce from it the ideal of a harmonious society and thus it has been possible to stamp Kant as a founder of Socialism. Cohen repeats this again also in his latest work Ethics of the Pure Will (Ethik des reinen Willens) 1905. In reality, however, Kant is far farther removed from Socialism than the French materialism of the eighteenth century. While according to these the Moral Law was determined by the condition of the state and society, so that the reform of morality rendered in the first place necessary the reform of the State and Society, and so the fight against immorality widened itself into a fight against the ruling powers; according to Kant the society which exists in time and space is determined by a moral law standing outside of time and space, which directs its commands to the individual not the society. Is the morality of the individual imperfect, one must not lay the blame for that on the State and Society, but in the fact that man is not entirely angel, but half animal and consequently always being drawn down by his animal nature, against which he can only fight through the raising and the purifying of his own inner man. The individual must improve himself if the Society is to be improved.
It is clear that Socialism takes peculiar forms if we look on Kant as its founder. This peculiarity will be in no way diminished when we observe the farther development of the moral law by him. From the moral law springs the consciousness of Personality, and the dignity of man, and the phrase: “Act so, that you, as well in your own person as in the person of every other, at all times look on man as end, and never simply as a means.”
“ In those words,” says Cohen (pp. 303-4) “is the deepest and most far-reaching sense of the categoric imperative brought to expression; they contain the moral programme of the new time and the entire future world history. The idea of the final (or end) advantage of Humanity becomes thereby transformed into the idea of Socialism, by which every man is defined as a final end, as an end in itself.”
The programme of the “entire future world history” is conceived in somewhat narrow fashion. The “timeless moral law, that man ought to be an end, and at no time simply a means, has itself only an “end” in a society in which men are used by other men simply as means to their ends. In a communist society, this possibility disappears and with that goes the necessity of the Kantian Programme for the “entire future world history.” What becomes then of this? We have then in the future either no Socialism, or no world history to expect.
The Kantian Moral Law was a protest against the very concrete feudal society with its personal relations of dependency. The would-be “socialist” principle which fixes the Personality and Worth of men is accordingly just as consistent with Liberalism or Anarchism as with Socialism, and contains, in no greater degree any new idea than the one already quoted, of the universal legislation. It amounts to the philosophical formula for the idea of “Freedom, Equality and Fraternity” already then developed by Rousseau, and which, moreover, was to be found in primitive Christianity. The only thing Kantian, even here, is simply the mere form in which this principle is proved.
The dignity of Personality is namely derived from the fact, that it is a part of a super-sensuous world, that as a moral being it stands outside nature and over nature. Personality is “Freedom and Independence from the mechanism of the entire nature,” so that “the person as belonging to the world of sense is subordinate to its own personality, so far as it belongs to the world of intelligence.” Thus it is not then to be wondered if man, as belonging to both worlds, is obliged to look on his own being with regard to its second and highest qualification, not otherwise than with respect and to conceive the greatest respect for the laws of the same. With that we would be happily arrived again at the primitive Christian argument for the equality of all men, which necessarily arises from the fact that we are all children of God.
Meanwhile, reject as we must the assumption of the two worlds to which, according to Plato and Kant, man belongs, it is nevertheless true that man lives at the same time in two worlds, and the moral law inhabits one of them, which is not the world of experience. But all the same even this world is no super-sensuous one. The two worlds, in which man lives, are the Past and the Future. The Present forms the boundary of the two. His whole experience lies in the past, all experience is past, and all the connecting links which past experience shows him lie with inevitable necessity before, or still more, behind him. In these there is nothing more left to alter, he can do nothing more in regard to them than recognize their necessity. Thus is the world of experience the world of knowing, and the world of necessity.
It is otherwise with the Future. Of it I have not the smallest experience. Apparently free it lies before me, as the world which I do not explore as one knowing it, but in which I have to assert myself as an active agent. Certainly I can extend the experience of the past into the future, certainly I can conclude that these will be even so necessarily determined as those, but even if I can only recognize the world on the assumption of necessity, yet I shall only be able to act in it on the assumption of a certain Freedom. Even if compulsion is exercised over my actions, there remains to me the choice, whether I shall yield to it, or not, there remains to me as last resort the possibility of withdrawing myself by a voluntary death. Action implies continual choice between various possibilities, and be it alone that of doing or not doing, it means accepting or rejecting, it means defending and opposing. Choice, however, assumes in advance the possibility of choice just as much as the distinction between the acceptable and the inacceptable, the good and the bad. The moral judgment, which is an absurdity in the world of the past, the world of experience, in which there is nothing to choose, where iron necessity rules, is unavoidable in the world of the unknown future – of freedom.
But not simply the feeling of freedom is assumed by action, but also certain aims. If in the world of the past, the sequence of cause and effect (causality) rules, so in the world of action, of the future; the thought of aim (Teleology). For action the feeling of freedom is an indispensable psychological necessity, which is not to be got rid of by any degree of knowledge. Even the sternest Fatalism, even the deepest conviction that man is a necessary product of his circumstances, cannot bring it about that we cease to love, and to hate, to defend and attack.
But all that is no monopoly of man but holds also of the animals. Even these have freedom of the will, in the sense that man has, namely as a subjective, inevitable feeling of freedom, which springs from ignorance of the future and the necessity of exercising a direct influence on it.
And just in the same way they have command of a certain insight into the connection of cause and effect. Finally the conception of an end is not quite strange to them. In respect of insight into the past and the necessity of nature on the one hand, and on the other in respect of the power of foreseeing the future, and the setting up of aims for their action the lowest specimens of humanity are distinguished far less from the animals than from civilized men.
The setting up of aims is not, however, anything which exists outside the sphere of necessity, of cause and effect. Even though I set up aims for myself only in the future, in the sphere of apparent freedom, yet the act of setting up aims itself, from the very moment when I set up the aim, belongs to the past, and can thus in its necessity be recognized as the result of distinct causes. That is not in any way altered by the fact that the attainment of the end is still in the future, in the sphere of uncertainty, thus in this sense in that of freedom. Let the attainment of the end be assumed as ever so far distant, the setting up of the aim itself lies in the past. In the sphere of freedom there lie only those aims which are not yet set up, of which we do not even know anything as yet.
The world of conscious aims is thus not the world of freedom in opposition to that of necessity. For each of the aims which we set ourselves, just as for each one of the means which we apply to its attainment, the causes are already given and are under certain circumstances recognizable as those which brought about the setting up of these aims and determined the way in which that was to be achieved.
It is impossible, however, to distinguish the realm of necessity and that of freedom simply as past and future; their distinction often coincides also with that of nature and society, or to be more exact, of society and that other nature from which the former displays only one particular and peculiar portion.
If we look at nature in the narrower sense, as apart from Society and then both in their relation to the future, we find at once a serious difference. The natural conditions change much slower than the Social. And the latter are at the period when men commence to philosophise, at the period of the production of wares, of a highly complicated nature, whereas there are in nature a large number of simple processes, whose subjection to law can be relatively easily perceived.
The consequence is, that despite our apparent freedom of action in the future, this action, nevertheless as far as nature is concerned comes to be looked on as determined at an early period. Dark as the future lies before me, I know of a certainty that summer will follow winter, that to-morrow the sun will rise, that to-morrow I shall have hunger and thirst, that in winter the need for warming myself will occur to me, and that my action will never be directed to escaping these natural necessities, but with the idea of satisfying them. Thus I recognize, despite all apparent freedom that in face of nature my action is necessarily conditioned. The constitution of nature external to us and of my own body produce necessities which force on me a certain willing and acting which being given according to experience can be reckoned with in advance.
It is quite otherwise with my conduct to my fellow men, my social actions. In this case the external and internal causes, which necessarily determine my action, are not so easy to recognize. Here I meet with no overpowering forces of nature, to which I am obliged to submit myself, but with factors on a level with myself, men like myself, who by nature have no more strength than I have. Over against these I feel myself to be free, but they also appear to me to be free in their relations to their fellow men. Towards them I feel love and hate, and on them and my relations to them I make moral judgments.
The world of freedom and of the moral law is thus certainly another than that of recognized necessity, but it is no timeless and spaceless and no super-sensual world, but a particular portion of the world of sense seen from a particular point of view. It is the world as seen in its approach to us, the world on which we have to work, which we have to rearrange, before all.
But what is to-day the future will be to-morrow past; thus what to-day is felt to be free action will be recognized to-morrow as necessary action. The moral law in us, which regulates this action, ceases, however, with that to appear as an uncaused cause, it falls into the sphere of experience and can be recognized as the necessary effect of a cause – and only as such cause are we at all able to recognize it, or can it become an object of Science. In that he transferred the moral from the “this side,” the sensual world, to the “other side,” the super-sensual world, Kant has not advanced the scientific knowledge of it, but has closed all access to it. This obstacle must be got rid of before everything else, we must rise above Kant if we are to bring the problem of the moral law nearer to its solution.
The Ethic forms the weakest side of the Kantian Philosophy. And all the same it is just through the Ethic that it has won its greatest success, because it met very powerful needs of the time.
The French Materialism had been a philosophy of the fight against the traditional methods of thought, and consequently against the institutions which rested on them. An irreconcilable hatred against Christianity made it the watchword, not only of the fight against the church, but of that against all the social and political forces which were bound up with it.
Kant’s Critique of the Pure Reason equally drives Christianity from out of the Temple; but the discovery of the origin of the moral law, which is brought about by the Critique of the Practical Reason, opens for it again the door with all due respect. Thus through Kant, Philosophy became, instead of a weapon of the fight against the existing methods of thought and institutions, a means of reconciling the antagonisms.
But the way of development is that of struggle. The reconciliation of antagonisms implies the stoppage of development. Thus the Kantian Philosophy became a conservative factor.
The greatest advantage thereby was drawn by theology. It emancipated this from the quandary, into which the traditional belief had fallen through the development of science, in that it rendered it possible to reconcile science and religion.
“No other science,” says Zeller, “experienced the influence of the Kantian Philosophy in a higher degree than the Theology. Here Kant found the soil best prepared for his principles; with that, however, he brought to the traditional methods of thought a reform and an increase in depth, which it was badly in need of.” (Geschichte der deutschen Philosophie, 1873, p.519.)
Just after the outbreak of the French Revolution a specially strong need arose for a theology, which was in a position to hold its own against materialism, and to drive it out of the field among educated people. Zeller writes then further.
“Kant’s religious views corresponded exactly both to the moral and intellectual need of the time; it recommended itself to the enlightened by its reasonableness, its independence of the positive, its purely practical tendency; to the religious by its moral severity and its lofty conceptions of Christianity and its founder. German theology from now on took Kant as their authority.” His Moral Theology became after a few years the foundation on which Protestant theology in Germany almost without exception, even the Catholic to a very large extent, was built up. The Kantian Philosophy, exercised for that reason, that the majority of German theologians for close on fifty years took their start from it, a highly permanent and far-reaching influence on the general education.
Vorländer quotes in his History of Philosophy (Leipzig 1903) the word of a modern German Theologian, Ritschl, who declared:
“Thus the development of the method of knowledge by Kant implied at the same time a practical rebirth of Protestantism. (Vol. II, p. 476.)”
The great Revolution created the soil for the influence of Kant, which was strongest in the two decades after the Terror. Then this influence became paler and paler. The Bourgeoisie acquired after the thirties, even in Germany, strength and courage for more decided struggles against the existing forms of State and thought, and to an absolute recognition of the world of the senses as the only real one. Thus through the Hegelian dialectic there arose new forms of Materialism, and just in the most vigorous form in Germany, for the very reason that their Bourgeoisie was well behind that of France and England; because they had not conquered the existing state machine; because they had that still to upset, therefore they required a fighting philosophy and not one of reconciliation.
In the last decades, however, their desire to fight has greatly diminished. Even though they have not attained all that they wish, yet they have all which was necessary for their development. Further struggles on a large scale, energetic fights against the existing, must be of much less use to them than to their great enemy, the proletariat, that grew in a most menacing fashion and now for its part required a fighting philosophy. This was so much the more susceptible to the influence of materialism, the more the development of the world of the senses showed the absurdity of the existing order and the necessity of its victory.
The Bourgeoisie, on the other hand, became more and more susceptible to a philosophy of reconciliation, and thus Kantism was aroused to a fresh life. This resurrection was prepared in the reactionary period after 1848 by the then commencing influence of Schopenhauer.
But in the last decade the influence of Kant has found its way into Economics and Socialism. Since the laws of Bourgeois Society, which were discovered by the Classical Economists, showed themselves more clearly as laws which made the class war and the disappearance of the Capitalist order necessary, the Bourgeois Economists took refuge in the Kantian Moral Code, which being independent of Time and Space must be in a position to reconcile the class antagonisms and prevent the Revolutions which take place in Space and Time.
Side by side with the ethical school in Economics we got an ethical Socialism, when endeavors were made in our ranks to modify the class antagonisms, and to meet at least a section of the Bourgeoisie half way. This policy of Reconciliation also began with the cry: Back to Kant! And with a repudiation of materialism, since it denies the Freedom of the Will.
Despite the categoric imperative, which the Kantian Ethic cries to the individual, its historical and social tendency, from the very beginning on till today, has been that of toning down, of reconciling the antagonisms, not of overcoming them through struggle.
1. As a curiosity it may be mentioned here that it is possible to confront Bernstein’s witty remark “Kant against Cant” with the fact that Kant himself was Cant. “His ancestors came from Scotland ... The father, a saddler by profession, maintained in his name the Scottish spelling Cant, the Philosopher first changed the letters to prevent the false pronunciation as Zant. [Kuno Fischer, History of Modern Philosophy, Vol.III., p.52, German Ed.] His family was very religious and this influence Kant never got over. Not less than Kant is the “cant” related to puritan piety. The word signifies first the puritan method of singing, then the puritan religious and finally the customary, thoughtless oft-repeated phraseology to which men submit themselves. Bernstein appealed, in his Assumptions of Socialism, for a Kant as an ally against the materialist “party-cant”.
2. Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason, Tr. by T.W. Abbott,. Lond. 1889, Sect.10, theorem II, pp.115-6.
Last updated on 25.12.2003 | 0.6 | low | 6 | 8,385 | [
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af655b4d-593e-4645-ba8b-077ffe8203b8 | The Wood Pellet Boiler Operation | technology | historical_context | The Wood Pellet Boiler Operation
The pellets are supplied to the boiler by a small covered conveyor running from the bottom of the hopper to boiler combustion chamber. Initially the pellets are fired by an automatic igniting component in the combustion chamber, which can be used as required.
As the domestic or central heating calls for more heat, the conveyor speed is increased, the combustion air fan supplying optimum air to match the increase in fuel requirement.
The ash produced falls down into the ash-pan, which depending on the fuel consumption only requires to be emptied two or three times a week.
The ash is good quality potash which can be added to the soil in the garden.
This wood pellet burning boiler is one of the best examples of the use of renewable energy for domestic heating I have examined.
I used to live in Aviemore, a small village high up in the Highlands of Scotland. We had very cold, snowy winters, and I investigated the pros and cons of installing a pellet boiler to my existing system.
I visited the local agent for the pellet boilers and saw one in operation. The agent had installed this boiler in a room he used as his home office. I was very impressed with the quiet operation of the system, only the odd tinkle from the conveyor, taking the pellets from the hopper which he had fitted to an adjacent cupboard.
He invited me to open the furnace door, which revealed a bright blue flame of intense flame.
I moved house shortly after this and my present heating system is from a gas condensing boiler. However if I ever have to change the system boiler I would give the wood pellet burning boiler very careful consideration. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 342 | [
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db2852aa-7416-4c9e-97dd-deda5d50e64e | Executive Summary, Oudomxay Province | technology | historical_context | Executive Summary, Oudomxay Province
Oudomxay Province is in the heart of northern Laos. It borders China to the north, Phongsaly Province to the northeast, Luang Prabang Province to the east and southeast, Xayabouly Province to the south and southwest, Bokeo Province to the west, and Luang Namtha Province to the northwest. Covering an area of 15,370 km2 (5,930 sq. ml), the province’s topography is mountainous, between 300 and 1,800 metres (980-5,910 ft.) above sea level. Annual rain fall ranges from 1,900 to 2,600 millimetres (75-102 in.). The average winter temperature is 18 C, while during summer months the temperature can climb above 30 C.
Muang Xai is the capital of Oudomxay. It is connected to Luang Prabang by Route 1. Oudomxay Airport is about 10-minute on foot from Muang Xai center. Lao Airlines flies from this airport to Vientiane Capital three times a week.
Oudomxay is rich in natural resources. Approximately 60 rivers flow through its territory, offering great potential for hydropower development. About 12% of Oudomxay’s forests are primary forests, while 48% are secondary forests. Deposits of salt, bronze, zinc, antimony, coal, kaolin, and iron have been found in the province.
In 2011, Oudomxay’s total population was 307,065 people, nearly half of it was females. There are 14 different ethnic groups living in the province. Due to its mountainous terrains, the majority of Oudomxay residents practice slash-and-burn agriculture, growing mountain rice. Other main crops include cassava, corn, cotton, fruits, peanut, soybean, sugarcane, vegetables, tea, and tobacco. Major exports include corn, onions, watermelons, and tobacco. Animal husbandry is widely practiced in rural Oudomxay. The province’s meadows and valleys are ideal for livestock breeding.
Oudomxay has been enjoying spillover tourists from surrounding provinces, mainly from Luang Prabang. Foreigners stop by, yet the average length of stay is short. There have been efforts to boost tourism, especially ecotourism, in the province. In 2007, the Tourism Department was established in Oudomxay. According to the Lao National Tourism Administration, in 2008, approximately 102,000 tourists visited Oudomxay. In 2012, the province had 15 hotels, 62 guesthouses, and 158 restaurants, most of which were located in Muang Xai and Pak Beng (a riverine traffic junction town). In 2006, the province’s tourism authority became aware of Chom Ong Cave, about 45 km from Muang Xai. With a length of more than 16 km and up to 50 metres in height, it is the largest cave found in northern Laos and one of the top 10 in Southeast Asia. In the future, when infrastructure allows, the cave will become a main tourist attraction in the sub-region.
The local government is honored to extend an open invitation to domestic and foreign business people to explore potential environmentally and socially sustainable investments in this beautiful province.
The information in this document (including but not limited to, photographs, descriptions, tables, projections and prices) are for guidance only. While every effort has been made to offer current and reasonable estimates, errors can occur. The investment promotion department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy, correctness, reliability or otherwise with respect to such information, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content contained in this document. Within this document you may find links or references to third party material and third party web sites. The IPD accepts no liability in respect of the contents of such material or sites. The IPD should not be taken to be endorsing, publishing, permitting or authorizing such materials or sites. The IPD may revise the information and resources contained in this document from time to time and reserves the right to make such changes without any obligation to notify past, current or prospective visitors to this document.
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The information contained in this document should not be construed as financial, tax, legal or any other professional advice or service. You are advised to consult a financial and/or legal professional advisor from suitably regulated sources.
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||Investment Profile Project
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|| Kat Village Industrial Park
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|| Private Kindergarten in La District
|| Ang Nam Hin Special Economic Development Brochure
Investment Promotion Sector,
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Tel : +856- 081 212 886 or +856- 081 312 036 | 0.65 | medium | 5 | 1,210 | [
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528e9a50-30af-4863-a359-d70a3aa16647 | Games for girls | life_skills | code_implementation |
Games for girls
About the game
Cooking Fruit Cake Cooking Fruit Cake
A new cooking class will teach you how to make a delicious cake just in time for strawberry season. Get your cooking apron and start following the instructions for preparing a delicious fruit cake. Happy Cooking!
Instructions Cooking Fruit Cake:
Use mouse to play this game.
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437bce5b-0f74-482f-9c1f-35b6e5abc9ee | From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia | interdisciplinary | creative_writing | From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
The Bee Gees were an ancient Celtic tribe originally from the Isle of Man but in later years they show some Norse influence and maybe partial oriogin, such as the wearing of Thor's Hammer as a Disco medallion.
Like the other Celtic groups, the Bee Gees once ranged across the whole of Europe, from the Danube to the British Isles. But as the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes expanded, the Bee Gees attempted to preserve their cultural identity, and retreated to ever more remote regions as they were hunted for their luxurious pelts.
By the 1800s, Bee Gees survived in only a few insolated pockets of Isle of Man,Cornwall, Wales and Brittany. A sizable portion of the Bee Gees emigrated to the United States, especially Massachusetts, but their hardships continued.
The last known Bee Gee escaped from captivity in the mid-1970s. The extremely Britonic - the real Bee Gees were actually Gaelic rather than Britonic though they did adopt some Britonic loanwords - Gibb Brothers used the name "Bee Gees" for their 1970's song and dance group, but when their claims to Bee Gee ancestry were disputed, it effectively ruined their dance career, in other words, TeHy L0sT Da gR00ve . However rumors abound stating that the name Bee Gee actually means Be G.
According to the historian Herodotus, the Bee Gees traditionally traced their ancestry to a Robin that landed on a tree and laid three sky-blue eggs. After a frosty winter, these eggs hatched, and the first Bee Gees emerged, singing a plaintive love song in three-part harmony.
Encounters with the Roman Empire
The Bee Gees were nomadic and never controlled much territory, but were widely respected for their bravery, fighting skills, and beautiful songs.
A story from Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars is the most famous tale of the Bee Gees. A small band of Bee Gees refused to pay tribute to the Emperor. Despite being badly outnumbered, the Bee Gees fought ferociously, and were able to hold off the Roman legions for more than a week.
Eventually, as the Bee Gees were surrounded and the Romans prepared a final onslaught, the Bee Gees began singing a battle song, proclaiming their willpower and commitment in refusing to back down from certain death. "So moved was I by this vow of staying alive," wrote Julius Caesar, "that I allowed the Bee Gees to live. You could tell by they way they walked, they had no time to talk."
The Bee Gee Diaspora
While most Celts were assimilated into new nations and cultures or destroyed completely, the Bee Gees refused to change their ways or language.
They were hunted for their beautiful pelts (collecting and displaying Bee Gee hides became something of a fad among upper-class Frenchmen in the years before the French Revolution), which, when compounded with the usual hardships of life, resulted in a near decimation of the Bee Gees by the early 1800s, an act that has been characterized as a genocide
By about 1850, there were an estimated 100 Bee Gees living in Europe: a few families each in Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Most of the Welsh and Cornish Bee Gees emigrated to the U.S. in the mid-to late 1800s, part of the waves of European immigrants.
However, their refusal to make even token efforts at assimilation marked the Bee Gees as outsiders, and their famous fiery tempers led to many injuries, deaths and incarcerations. At least a dozen Bee Gees died in a 1941 mining disaster in New York which was caused by a cave in when Mr. Jones talked too loud.
By the 1970s, there were only a handful of full-blooded Bee Gees in the world. Efforts to track their migrations with radio collars were abandoned when two Nature Conservancy biologists were killed by a Bee Gee near Cleveland, Ohio. A female Bee Gee was shot and killed by actor James Caan during a traffic altercation on New York's Pulowski Skyway (Caan was cleared of wrongdoing), and another was killed while serving in the Vietnam War (his death by machete at the hands of a Major Marlowe has never been adequately explained).
The last of the Bee Gees
In 1978, the last two full-blooded Bee Gees -- a pair of brothers -- were captured in Lawrence, Kansas; the National Geographic television special about them was nominated for two Emmy awards.
In captivity, the Bee Gees were just as contrary and tenacious as their ancestors: the efforts at establishing a breeding population were unsuccessful and the Bee Gees refused to communicate with their handlers. Having no tolerance for mainstream American foods, they quickly grew ill. At night, when they were left alone, the last of the Bee Gees would sing their ancient songs in beautiful falsetto voices that echoed the glories of a lost people.
When one of the Bee Gees died, his brother, stricken with grief, pulled a drinking fountain from the hospital floor and used it to break a hole in a second story window. He fled into the night, and has not been seen since. Persistent but unverified rumors have named Glenn Beck as the final remaining Bee Gee. | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 1,143 | [
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78fdf069-3b0d-40dc-82a5-91f863fca556 | Desdemona more plausible, well-rounded | technology | creative_writing | Desdemona is a more plausible, well-rounded figure than much criticism has given her credit for. Arguments that see Desdemona as stereotypically weak and submissive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech (“My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty” [I.iii.179–180]) and her terse fury after Othello strikes her (“I have not deserved this” [IV.i.236]). Similarly, critics who argue that Desdemona’s slightly bizarre bawdy jesting with Iago in Act II, scene i, is either an interpolation not written by Shakespeare or a mere vulgarity ignore the fact that Desdemona is young, sexual, and recently married. She later displays the same chiding, almost mischievous wit in Act III, scene iii, lines 61–84, when she attempts to persuade Othello to forgive Cassio.
Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to Emilia’s question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona’s final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell” (V.ii.133–134). The play, then, depicts Desdemona contradictorily as a self-effacing, faithful wife and as a bold, independent personality. This contradiction may be intentional, meant to portray the way Desdemona herself feels after defending her choice of marriage to her father in Act I, scene iii, and then almost immediately being put in the position of defending her fidelity to her husband. She begins the play as a supremely independent person, but midway through she must struggle against all odds to convince Othello that she is not too independent. The manner in which Desdemona is murdered—smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets—is symbolic: she is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on her fidelity. Since her first lines, Desdemona has seemed capable of meeting or even rising above those demands. In the end, Othello stifles the speech that made Desdemona so powerful.
Tragically, Desdemona is apparently aware of her imminent death. She, not Othello, asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and she asks Emilia to bury her in these sheets should she die first. The last time we see Desdemona before she awakens to find Othello standing over her with murder in his eyes, she sings a song she learned from her mother’s maid: “She was in love; and he proved mad / And did forsake her. She had a song of willow. / . . . / And she died singing it. That song tonight / Will not go from my mind” (IV.iii.27–30). Like the audience, Desdemona seems able only to watch as her husband is driven insane with jealousy. Though she maintains to the end that she is “guiltless,” Desdemona also forgives her husband (V.ii.133). Her forgiveness of Othello may help the audience to forgive him as well.
This is perhaps one of Shakespeare's more interesting plays, if you will. In comparison to Macbeth it isn't quite the walk in the park.
I think conceptually it enables the reader to see that characters can influence characters to such a degree that the original traits are masked and changed. Tragedy in this play is definitely a main component - and a great emphasis that perhaps the villain doesn't always find their true defeat. In a way, wasn't the "villain" successful? He lied to everyone and pretty much killed whomever got in his way.
18 out of 25 people found this helpful
Just a theory
The role of Emelia in Othello.
Before I begin expounding on this thought, let me first say that I am not a Shakespearean “Scholar”. I am just a teacher who loves teaching Shakespeare on the off-chance that one of my students will get bitten by the bug and want to study and read more of the man than just the set works that he or she has to cover for exam purposes.
Having taught Othello to matric classes for the past 4 years, I have developed a few theories of my own about Shakespeare’s “bit” actors,... Read more→
257 out of 302 people found this helpful
Othello was the final play in my effort to read all of Shakespeare before his 450th. It was a great time reading them all, and Othello was one of the most difficult and darkest (so often pitting light against darkness).
While racism in Elizabethan England wasn't the same as that of the 21st century, it certainly was a backdrop to the play, and Shakespeare, this time, seemed to challenge it.
If you're interested, see my blog on Othello: | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 1,058 | [
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858fb657-afa3-4deb-b127-5978256b0055 | Diagnostic Assessment: DNA Computing | science | comparative_analysis | ## Diagnostic Assessment: DNA Computing and Molecular Programming This assessment targets the understanding of fundamental concepts, application strategies, and critical evaluation within the field of DNA computing, often bridging molecular biology and advanced computer science. --- ### Question 1: Conceptual Understanding (Recall/Comprehension) **Question:** In the context of DNA computing, what is the primary advantage of using DNA strands as information carriers over traditional silicon-based memory (e.g., RAM)? A) **Massive parallelism afforded by the inherent chemical reaction space.** B) Higher clock speeds due to faster strand hybridization kinetics. C) The ability to utilize standard Boolean logic gates directly integrated into DNA sequences. D) Reduced heat dissipation compared to electronic circuits, making them inherently cooler. **Answer:** **A)** **Why others are wrong:** * **B) Higher clock speeds:** DNA reactions are inherently slow (seconds to minutes) compared to electronic switching (nanoseconds). This is a major limitation, not an advantage. * **C) Standard Boolean logic gates:** While logic gates *can* be constructed (e.g., using catalytic hairpin assemblies), they do not map directly onto standard CMOS logic gates; they require specialized molecular designs. * **D) Reduced heat dissipation:** While true in theory for the computation itself, the primary advantage is computational density and parallelism, not thermal efficiency as the defining feature. --- ### Question 2: Application (Problem Solving) **Scenario:** You are designing a DNA computation system to solve a specific instance of the Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP) for $N=4$ cities. You decide to use the standard "DNA Word" approach where each city is encoded by a unique 4-base sequence (e.g., AATT, ATGC, etc.). **Task:** What is the minimum *theoretical* number of distinct, unique DNA strands required in the initial solution space pool to represent *every possible Hamiltonian cycle* (a full tour visiting all 4 cities exactly once)? **Solution Approach:** 1. Recognize that the problem requires calculating the number of unique permutations of $N$ items. 2. The formula for permutations is $N!$. 3. Calculate $4!$. **Common Errors:** * Calculating combinations $\binom{N}{k}$ instead of permutations ($4^4$ or $2^4$). * Forgetting to account for the fact that a cycle $(A \to B \to C \to D \to A)$ is equivalent to $(B \to C \to D \to A \to B)$ (rotational symmetry), though for the *initial pool setup* in the classic Adleman model, $N!$ strands are often synthesized to ensure all paths are present before selection/filtering. A perfect answer acknowledges the $N!$ requirement for initial representation. **Expected Answer:** $4! = 24$ distinct strands. --- ### Question 3: Analysis (Compare/Contrast) **Prompt:** Compare and contrast the computational model used by Leonard Adleman's 1994 experiment (wet lab, test tube) with the model used in modern **DNA Origami/Structural DNA Nanotechnology** approaches for computation. **Key Distinctions to Identify:** 1. **Mechanism of Computation:** Adleman used sequence hybridization/ligation/amplification (biochemical reactions). Origami uses precise structural assembly guided by programmed folding (physical arrangement). 2. **Output Mechanism:** Adleman relied on gel electrophoresis to separate successful paths. Origami often relies on optical detection or specific binding events triggered by the completed structure. 3. **Programmability/Reversibility:** Adleman's process is largely irreversible once the reaction proceeds. Origami structures can sometimes be designed for dynamic, reversible states. **Depth Indicator:** A proficient answer will note that Adleman's method is fundamentally a **search algorithm** (brute-force exploration mapped onto biochemistry), whereas Origami is often used for **spatial organization** or **logic gates** built into a fixed physical architecture. --- ### Question 4: Synthesis (Open-ended) **Challenge:** Propose a novel application for DNA computing that leverages the **high information density** of DNA (storing data) combined with **in-vivo biological circuits** (performing computation inside a living cell). Focus on a problem current electronic microprocessors cannot solve efficiently *inside* a cell. **Expected Elements:** 1. A clearly defined biological target/problem (e.g., cancer monitoring, complex metabolic regulation). 2. A description of how DNA strands act as inputs, logic gates (e.g., Toehold-mediated strand displacement), and outputs (e.g., protein expression). 3. Justification for why this *must* be done in-vivo using DNA. **Levels of Response:** * **Basic:** Suggests using DNA to store a static piece of information inside a cell. (Fails to integrate computation). * **Proficient:** Describes a simple input-output logic gate (e.g., "If marker A AND marker B are present, then express protein X") using strand displacement circuits. * **Advanced:** Designs a dynamic, multi-state regulatory circuit (e.g., a molecular oscillator or a threshold-gated switch that monitors multiple environmental stressors and initiates a complex, timed therapeutic response only when a specific multi-factor condition is met). --- ### Question 5: Evaluation (Critical Thinking) **Scenario:** A research team claims to have developed a "DNA Processor" that significantly outperforms the latest GPU for rendering complex 3D graphics, citing a $10^6$ fold increase in processing throughput. They base this on the fact that their DNA strands can represent $10^6$ pixels simultaneously reacting in a test tube. **Criteria:** Evaluate the validity of this claim based on the principles of computational complexity and the nature of DNA computation. **Reasoning Required:** Distinguishing between **computational throughput (parallelism)** and **computational complexity (algorithmic efficiency)**. **Evaluation:** The claim is highly misleading. While DNA excels at **massive parallelism** for *specific, highly structured* problems (like satisfying NP-complete problems where the search space is the bottleneck), standard graphics rendering relies on highly sequential, complex arithmetic operations (floating-point math) that are extremely slow and error-prone in current DNA systems. The throughput advantage only applies if the task is perfectly suited to parallel biochemical search, which 3D rendering is not. --- ### Self-Assessment Rubric | Level | Indicators of Understanding | | :--- | :--- | | **Novice** | Struggles with basic terminology (e.g., confuses hybridization with ligation). Answers Q1 incorrectly; cannot formulate a solution for Q2. | | **Developing** | Understands the concept of massive parallelism (Q1 correct) but confuses execution speed. Can set up the factorial for Q2 but might miscalculate or confuse permutations/combinations. | | **Proficient** | Correctly identifies parallelism as the key advantage (Q1). Accurately solves Q2. Can articulate the difference between biochemical search and structural assembly (Q3). | | **Expert** | Demonstrates deep insight into algorithmic mapping (Q3 analysis). Designs a complex, biologically relevant synthesis solution (Q4 Advanced). Critically deconstructs misleading performance claims by evaluating computational models vs. raw throughput (Q5). | ### Gap Identification Guide * **If Q1 is incorrect:** Fundamental misunderstanding of the core trade-off (speed vs. parallelism). Review the physics of molecular reactions vs. electronic switching. * **If Q2 is incorrect:** Weakness in applying combinatorial mathematics to molecular encoding schemes. Focus on permutations and the encoding structure. * **If Q3 is difficult:** Difficulty in distinguishing between different computational paradigms within the field (e.g., Adleman’s search vs. modern structural computation). * **If Q4 is weak:** Inability to synthesize knowledge across the biology/CS interface. Focus on designing functional molecular logic (strand displacement circuits). * **If Q5 is difficult:** Lack of critical evaluation skills regarding performance metrics. 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09c7c34a-37d9-41e2-83b5-4edb1406551b | Let's dive into fascinating | science | historical_context | Let's dive into the fascinating world of extremophiles, focusing on how their unique survival strategies relate to fundamental physics principles. ## Problem: Designing a Self-Sustaining Bioreactor for Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents Imagine you're a bio-engineer tasked with designing a sealed, self-sustaining bioreactor to be deployed near a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. This bioreactor will house a specific community of extremophile microorganisms that thrive in these extreme conditions. The challenge is to ensure the reactor maintains a stable internal environment capable of supporting life, given the immense external pressure, high temperatures, and unique chemical composition of the vent fluid. Specifically, you need to determine the primary physical constraint that will dictate the initial structural integrity of the bioreactor, and how the chosen extremophiles' properties can help mitigate this constraint. ## Common Pitfalls * **Pitfall 1: Over-reliance on biological solutions without considering physical limits.** * **Why it's wrong**: A common mistake is to focus solely on the extremophiles' ability to metabolize specific chemicals or tolerate high temperatures, assuming they can somehow "handle" the immense external pressure. While extremophiles are remarkable, they are still biological entities subject to the laws of physics. Their cellular structures, while adapted, are not inherently designed to withstand crushing pressures without external support. Ignoring the fundamental physics of pressure will lead to a catastrophic failure of the bioreactor. * **Pitfall 2: Underestimating the role of thermodynamics in heat transfer.** * **Why it's wrong**: Another pitfall is to assume that the high temperature of the vent will simply be "tolerated" by the extremophiles. However, heat transfer is a critical physical process. If the bioreactor's insulation is insufficient, the internal temperature could fluctuate wildly, either cooking the microbes or failing to provide the necessary thermal energy for their metabolic processes. Conversely, if the reactor is too well insulated, it might not effectively dissipate heat generated by the microbial activity, leading to overheating. The physics of heat flow (conduction, convection, radiation) must be accounted for to maintain a stable internal temperature. ## Correct Method The core challenge here is the **immense hydrostatic pressure** at deep-sea hydrothermal vent depths. * **Step 1: Quantify the external pressure.** * **Reasoning**: Hydrothermal vents are typically found at depths of thousands of meters. The pressure at these depths is a direct consequence of the weight of the overlying water column. This is a fundamental physics principle: pressure increases linearly with depth in a fluid. The formula for hydrostatic pressure is $P = \rho g h$, where $\rho$ is the density of the fluid (seawater), $g$ is the acceleration due to gravity, and $h$ is the depth. * **Action**: We need to estimate the typical depth of hydrothermal vents. Let's assume a depth of 3,000 meters. Seawater density ($\rho$) is approximately 1025 kg/m³, and $g$ is 9.81 m/s². * **Calculation**: $P = (1025 \text{ kg/m}^3) \times (9.81 \text{ m/s}^2) \times (3000 \text{ m}) \approx 30 \times 10^6 \text{ Pa}$ or 30 megapascals (MPa), which is roughly 300 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level. * **Step 2: Identify the primary structural constraint.** * **Reasoning**: The calculated external pressure (30 MPa) is enormous. The bioreactor must be able to withstand this crushing force without deforming or rupturing. This means the structural material and design of the reactor are paramount. The physics of stress, strain, and material strength are the primary considerations here. * **Action**: Recognize that the structural integrity of the bioreactor will be dictated by its ability to resist this external pressure. This will require materials with high compressive strength and a robust design (e.g., spherical or cylindrical shapes are more efficient at distributing pressure). * **Step 3: Leverage extremophile properties to mitigate physical challenges.** * **Reasoning**: Now, we consider how the extremophiles themselves can contribute. While they don't magically negate the pressure, their adaptations inform our design and operational choices. For example, *piezophiles* (pressure-loving organisms) have cell membranes and protein structures that are stable and functional under high pressure. * **Action**: * **Pressure Tolerance**: Select a community of piezophilic microorganisms. Their biological adaptations, evolved under high pressure, mean their internal cellular processes are optimized for these conditions. This doesn't reduce the external pressure on the reactor, but it ensures the *internal environment* can be maintained at a pressure compatible with their life processes (often close to the external pressure). The bioreactor's internal pressure will likely be regulated to match the external pressure, or slightly below, to ensure stability. * **Temperature Regulation**: Extremophiles adapted to hydrothermal vents, like *thermophiles* or *hyperthermophiles*, can tolerate and even require high temperatures. This informs the internal temperature setting of the bioreactor. However, we must still manage heat transfer. The bioreactor's design needs to incorporate insulation to prevent rapid temperature loss and potentially active cooling systems if the microbial metabolism generates significant heat, drawing on principles of thermodynamics. * **Chemical Stability**: Hydrothermal vents are chemically rich and often anoxic. Extremophiles here have specialized metabolic pathways. The bioreactor must be designed to supply or allow the cycling of necessary chemical substrates (e.g., hydrogen sulfide, methane) while managing waste products, all within a sealed physical system. ## Verification * **Structural Integrity**: The primary verification is through **Finite Element Analysis (FEA)**. This computational method simulates the stress and strain distribution on the bioreactor's structure under the calculated external pressure. Engineers would verify that the chosen material (e.g., titanium alloy, high-strength steel) and design (e.g., spherical vessel) can withstand pressures significantly higher than the expected operational pressure, with a substantial safety factor. * **Internal Environment Stability**: This involves monitoring key physical parameters inside the bioreactor: * **Pressure**: Sensors will confirm that the internal pressure is maintained within the optimal range for the chosen piezophiles. * **Temperature**: Thermocouples will verify that the temperature remains stable, within the tolerance of the thermophilic/hyperthermophilic microbes, and that any active heating or cooling systems are functioning correctly. This requires understanding heat transfer rates and the thermal properties of the reactor materials and insulation. * **Chemical Composition**: Gas chromatographs and other chemical sensors will monitor the concentrations of essential substrates and waste products, ensuring the chemical environment is stable and supportive of the microbial community. * **Biological Viability**: Ultimately, the success is verified by observing the growth and metabolic activity of the extremophile population within the bioreactor over time. This confirms that the physical and chemical conditions, dictated by physics and engineering, are suitable for the biological system. ## Generalizable Pattern The reasoning pattern used here can be generalized for designing any system intended to operate in extreme physical environments: 1. **Identify the Dominant Physical Extremes**: Determine the most significant physical forces or conditions (pressure, temperature, radiation, vacuum, etc.) that the system will encounter. 2. **Quantify the Extremes using Physical Laws**: Apply fundamental physics principles (e.g., $P = \rho g h$, Stefan-Boltzmann law for radiation, ideal gas law for temperature/pressure relationships) to calculate the magnitude of these forces. 3. **Determine the Primary Physical Constraint**: Identify which physical extreme poses the greatest challenge to the system's survival or functionality and dictates the core engineering requirements (e.g., structural strength for pressure, insulation for temperature). 4. **Select or Design Components to Withstand Constraints**: Choose materials and designs that possess the necessary physical properties to resist the dominant forces. 5. **Integrate Biological/Chemical Components (if applicable)**: If the system involves living organisms or chemical reactions, understand how their specific tolerances and requirements interact with the physical environment. Leverage their adaptations to inform design, but never assume they can override fundamental physical laws. 6. **Verify through Simulation and Monitoring**: Use physics-based modeling (like FEA) and real-time sensor data to ensure the system's physical parameters are maintained within safe and functional limits. ## Broader Application This reasoning process is not limited to extremophile bioreactors. It's fundamental to many engineering and scientific endeavors: * **Aerospace Engineering**: Designing spacecraft to withstand the vacuum of space, extreme temperature fluctuations, and launch forces (pressure, acceleration). The physics of thermodynamics, material science (stress/strain), and orbital mechanics are paramount. * **Submersible Design**: Similar to the bioreactor, designing deep-sea submersibles requires understanding and counteracting immense hydrostatic pressure. * **Nuclear Reactor Design**: Managing extreme temperatures, pressures, and radiation shielding relies heavily on thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and nuclear physics. * **Materials Science**: Developing new materials often involves understanding how they behave under extreme physical conditions (e.g., high temperature, high pressure, corrosive environments) – directly applying physics principles to predict material properties and failure modes. * **Planetary Science**: Understanding the conditions on other planets or moons requires applying physics to infer atmospheric pressure, temperature, and geological forces. In essence, this approach emphasizes that while biology and chemistry offer fascinating solutions, they operate within the unyielding framework of physics. Understanding and applying these fundamental physical laws is the first and most critical step in solving problems in extreme environments. | 0.6 | medium | 6 | 2,029 | [
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07b0a62b-f9f6-4f13-9f5e-77a42c7604dc | you ask people first | science | research_summary | If you ask 10 people the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the word “calcium”, at least 9 will tell you “milk”. Our western culture insists that dairy is the ultimate source of calcium – yet no matter how much we consume, we never seem to get enough. What if dairy actually promotes low calcium levels? And, perhaps more controversially, what if plants could offer a superior source of calcium to dairy…?
Mad for Milk
We are taught that milk is one of nature’s perfect foods, (or at least, that’s what the billion dollar dairy industry wants us to believe), so it seems inconceivable that milk is bad. However, human beings are the only species on the planet that continue to drink milk after being weaned and, even weirder when you stop to think about it, that prefer to consume the milk of other animal species.
The everyday presence of milk is deeply ingrained into our culture. The “land of milk and honey” was a fertile paradise promised to the Israelites by God in the bible. We see cultural icons like Shaq, Superman and Steven Tyler posing for posters with milky moustaches, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that if you drink milk, you’ll become good at sports, strong as steel, or maybe even a chart topping rockstar. If it’s good enough for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his monumental biceps, it must be good for me too, right?! (Spoiler alert: the answer is no.)
How Milk Contributes to Low Calcium Levels
Do we need more milk to avoid osteoporosis? According to the dairy industry, YES! “Drinking cow’s milk will keep your teeth and bones healthy.” However, according to science, we’ve got it all backwards! Many studies on the effects of milk consumption have been conducted and study after study shows us that milk ain’t so milky after all. In fact, drinking milk is actually linked to low calcium levels in the body, an increased number of cases of osteoporosis and some cancers,. Oh, the irony.
Diets that are high in protein create acidic conditions in the body, and milk is one such animal based source of protein that is acidic for the body. The body must remain at a very specific pH in order to survive, and one of the ways it does so is by taking calcium from the bones. Calcium neutralizes acidic imbalances because it has an alkalizing effect in the body.
So when you drink milk, even though it does contain some calcium, your body actually has to extract the calcium stored in your bones to keep your pH level in its delicate balance. This extracted calcium then leaves your body via your urine, never to be seen again. This is how, contrary to what we’ve been told all our lives, consuming milk promotes low calcium levels.
Milking Us For All We’re Worth
As it transpires, consuming dairy products has been linked to a potential increased risk of ovarian and prostate cancers.4 The Harvard Nurses Health Study found that women who consume 3 cups of milk a day had a higher risk of ovarian cancer than women who drank less milk. Another Harvard study found that men who drank 2 cups of milk a day had double the risk of developing prostate cancer. We have to ask ourselves the very serious question: is drinking milk really worth jeopardizing the health of our special lady and man parts?
Don’t Have A Cow, Man
Countries like China, where people consume very little dairy, have less than a fifth of the cases of osteoporosis compared to western countries. Government-recommended calcium intake is controversial and vulnerable to bias. Nutrition specialists like Dr. Thomas Campbell, MD suggest that 500mg of calcium should supply our daily needs of calcium, against the 1000-1200 mg recommended by U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
As mentioned before, if lots of animal based protein is consumed, more calcium will be extracted from the bones, so the solution to calcium deficiency becomes clearer and clearer: a whole foods, plant based diet is the safest, most reliable option.
Meeting Your Calcium Needs with Plants!
If you already are on a plant based diet, you don’t need to think twice about calcium as long as you’re consuming your daily portion of fruits, beans and vegetables in fresh or green powder form. The biggest problem for people transitioning to a healthier lifestyle is cutting off the dairy and not bothering to replace it with other sources. So it is really important to keep a balanced diet and eat a lot of greens, beans, and fruits to get enough calcium and all the other vitamins and minerals.
World’s Healthiest Plant-based Sources of Calcium
|Food||Serving||Calcium (mg)||Food||Serving||Calcium (mg)|
|Collard Greens||1 cup||267.9||Oranges||1 medium||52.4|
|Spinach||1 cup||244.8||Summer Squash||1 cup||48.6|
|Turnip Greens||1 cup||197.28||Fennel||1 cup||42.63|
|Mustard Greens||1 cup||165.2||Parsley||0.50 cup||41.95|
|Beet Greens||1 cup||164.16||Asparagus||1 cup||41.4|
|Bok Choy||1 cup||158.1||Celery||1 cup||40.4|
|Swiss Chard||1 cup||101.5||Cumin||2 tsp||39.1|
|Kale||1 cup||93.6||Basil||0.50 cup||37.52|
|Cinnamon||2 tsp||52.1||Garlic||6 cloves||32.58|
|Sesame Seeds||0.25 cup||351||Oregano||2 tsp||31.94|
|Cabbage||1 cup||63||Leeks||1 cup||31.2|
|Broccoli||1 cup||62.4||Romaine Lettuce||2 cups||31.02|
|Brussels Sprouts||1 cup||56.16||Cloves||2 tsp||26.54|
|Green Beans||1 cup||55||Black Pepper||2 tsp||25.69|
No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk
As you can see, it’s easy to meet your daily need of calcium with planty goodness, you do not need to suffer with low calcium levels. You don’t even have to worry about counting milligrams (yawn!) or relying on supplements. It’s very important to emphasise as well, that bone density is as linked as much to exercise as it is to calcium consumption. Adult bone density and bone mineral content can be strongly influenced by exercise, particularly in adolescents. In fact, exercise in adolescence may be much more important to adult bone mineral content than calcium intake is.
Plenty of greens, beans, fruits and exercise means not having to worry about calcium deficiency ever again. Eating a whole food plant-based diet isn’t just good for your bones, it’s also awesome for your brain, kidneys, liver, muscles, nerves, and just about every single molecule of your body. Leave the baby cow secretions for those beings that really need it: baby cows. You, my human friend, can get everything you need from nature’s TRUE perfect sustenance: plant-based foods!
Thank You for Your Support
By reading this article you have already contributed to the increasing manifestation of the healthiest diet known to man, thank you. By eating plants you are saving yourself and the planet. Could we ask for one more thing? Please share this article on your favourite social media channels to help others be part of the change too. Your actions count towards our conscious co-creation, please share now. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,700 | [
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e2f132d3-412a-4d6d-be99-afeff31ac940 | September 06, 2005 | interdisciplinary | worked_examples | September 06, 2005
Why scientists are good at arguing and bad at debating
Scientists are no strangers to arguments. In fact, they enjoy and revel in them. Go to any science meeting or seminar or read science journals and you will find scientists involved in spirited debates, and the arguments tend to be of high quality and sharply reasoned. But put scientists on public platforms and on talk shows and they often come off poorly and it is interesting to see why.
One reason is that the two kinds of arguments are not the same. Arguments among scientists tend to follow certain implicit rules of operation that, over time, scientists have found useful in increasing their understanding of whatever is being argued about. Scientific arguments typically begin when one scientist asserts something that does not sound right to another scientist. When challenged, it is understood by both sides that the source of the disagreement must be because of one or more of three reasons: the facts that have been used in the argument (either the facts used are wrong or not relevant or other relevant facts have not been considered); the premises on which the argument is based are not valid; or there is a flaw in the logic or line of reasoning that led to the disputed conclusion.
Scientific arguments center around these three issues and the parties to the argument explore each area until the reasons for the disagreement are found and agreed upon. Once that point is reached, one side may concede that they were mistaken or the two parties agree to disagree pending further investigation and leave it at that. But whatever the outcome, the exercise is usually very illuminating for both sides because in the process subtle issues have been brought to the surface and examined closely.
We can thus describe scientific arguments as a process of "narrowing down," paring down the disagreement to its barest essentials so that the core issues involved are starkly exposed and amenable to close examination.
But take a look at the kinds of "debates" that take place on talk shows or in the political arena. These are of a completely different kind for which the kinds of arguing skills that scientists are good at are either of no use or are positively disadvantageous.
Here is an example. Suppose someone (X) states on a TV talk show that one of the stated main rationales for the invasion of Iraq (that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the capacity to use them) was fraudulent because no such weapons were found and it was clear that there was no evidence even before the war that they ever had them, let alone the desire to use them. If someone else (Y) were to disagree with the speaker and the debate were to follow the rules of scientific arguments, then the discussion would focus on seeing whether the disagreement was due to the way that WMDs were being defined, examining the extent and nature of the evidence that had been used, and studying the reasoning by which the evidence was pieced together to arrive at the conclusion that Iraq was a dangerous threat.
You will rarely, if ever, see that kind of discussion take place in the popular media. In those forums, the preferred mode is the flank attack because the point of those debates is not to uncover the core issues but to "win", which is often measured by who comes off looking more confident and assured and on the attack. People who are thoughtful and take time to respond are seen as weak and losers.
So in a political debate, when X makes the assertion about WMDs, Y may respond by asking X whether he is saying that the people of Iraq would have been better off with Saddam Hussein still in power. The scientifically-arguing X then gets side-tracked and feels obliged to examine the assertion of whether Iraq is better off now, and also to defend against the implied charge that X is a big fan of the former Iraqi leader and wants nothing better than to see him returned to power.
Even then, X may try to restore the scientific argument structure, by trying to compare the living conditions before the invasion (political repression but civil structures functioning) with the conditions after (seeming anarchy) and seeing how one could weigh the relative situations, and how one tries to define 'better.' But this is hopeless because before he/she has gone far with it, Y will jump in and suggest that X, by not loudly and firmly stating that the US was right to attack and occupy Iraq is not supporting the US troops and is in fact giving aid and comfort to the Iraqi insurgents. Then X will begin to defend against this new charge only to find that time has run out.
Political debates are full of such non-sequiturs. Rather than "narrowing down", the strategy is to always keep moving and your opponent off-balance by bringing up unexpected flank attacks and putting the other person always on the defensive. Since it takes time to formulate a coherent response to an unexpected line of attack, person X comes across as ignorant or unprepared or not sure of the facts and thus "loses" the debate.
Furthermore, honest answers to complex problems tend to be conditional in nature (prefaced by phrases like "If this happens…." or "Under these conditions…."). But in the black/white, yes/no, we/they dichotomous world of political "debates", such nuanced responses tend to be portrayed as equivocal and evasive.
This may sound like an extreme caricature, but watch closely and you will see examples of this all the time in the media. Lawyers joke that "When the facts of the case are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts are against you, argue the law. When both the facts and the law are against you, pound the table." The idea of this latter kind of "debate" is to deflect attention from the weaknesses of your own case by focusing attention elsewhere and not letting your opponent have time to develop a coherent argument.
This distinction is relevant when scientists argue with creationist/ID advocates because such debates are essentially political and not scientific ones. In future postings, I will discuss other differences and how one should deal them to become more effective debaters.
POST SCRIPT: TWO FILM REVIEWS
Over the weekend, I went to see the film The Constant Gardener. I can highly recommend it to those who like politically-based thrillers. It had some elements in common with the book Mountains Beyond Mountains that was selected by Case for this years common reading, in that the backdrop to the story is the appalling way health care, especially the treatment of drug-resistant TB, is provided in poor countries and exploited for profit by drug companies. The film is based on the book by John Le Carre, which made me predisposed to like it since I have always admired his writing and his political outspokenness. The film starts off a little slowly but after about ten minutes I found it gripping.
I also saw the film I Heart Huckabees on DVD and found it highly entertaining. It is not often that one gets a Hollywood comedy with big-name actors that deals with issues of existential philosophy, the interconnectedness of things, and the meaning of life!
TrackbacksTrackback URL for this entry is: http://blog.case.edu/singham/mt-tb.cgi/2421 The different use of terminology in scientific and political debates
Excerpt: I would like to revisit the question addressed earlier of why scientists are at a disadvantage when they try to...
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Tracked: November 6, 2005 03:51 AM | 0.6 | medium | 6 | 1,593 | [
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dd50a1ef-02ba-40e5-8100-273af0d1e5b1 | Hey guys | mathematics | proof | Hey guys! So I'm in 3rd year and I'm just wondering does anyone know any good websites or tutorials to really get sin, cos, tan and pythagorus's therum into my head!!! Ye might even have yere own methods to help me.
Sin :Silly Old Harry
Cos : Caught A Herring
Tan : Trawling off America
Thats how i was taught for it to stick in my head , im in 6th year now and its still in there
(hyp)2 = (opp)2 + (adj)2
Soh Cah Toa helps me best - just write it at the top of your page every time you attempt a question.
Pythagoras' theorem...for me, it just comes up so often it's drilled into my memory...as far as I know its in our log books.
Also remember special triangles, inverse sin/cos/tan (when getting the angle) and try lots of problems. (sorry don't know if you're HL or OL?)
Hi a great website is here : http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/junior.asp?id=1604 they do great explainations :) hope this helped you!
mocks.ie are really good:D
type in "getting Triggy with it" on youtube....a high school in the US is using rap to show maths is fun
My maths teacher taught us a funny way of remembering sin, cos and tan
Sin: Silly Old Hitler
Cos: Couldn't Advance His
Tan: Troops Over Asia
Pythagoras theorem is as easy as ABC!
a^2 = b^2 + c^2
(just remember, 'a' is the longest side)
Hope it helps :)
try: sin Oh Hell
cos Another Hour
tan Of Algebra | 0.65 | low | 4 | 401 | [
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bcbcfd7d-2f33-4b3c-92cb-941cd71d133f | Good quality grazed grassland | science | historical_context | Good quality grazed grassland is the cheapest feed for ruminant livestock and is the base upon which profitable farming is built. Over 70% of utilisable agricultural land in the UK is grassland with nearly 57% given over as permanent pasture.
The UK has the ideal climate for growing grass. Ryegrass grows best at between 5°C to 25°C – and most of the UK is between these temperatures 95% of the time.
Like all other crops, growing grass requires careful management to maximise yields and utilisation. It is a science – but a relatively simple one to grasp once you have a basic understanding of plant as well as animal physiology and good soil management techniques.
Armed with information about how grass grows and the different species and management techniques available, it is easy for farmers to make informed choices about what kind of grass to grow; when to sow it; when to graze it; how long to graze it for; and what to do to ensure its performance long-term.
TREAT YOUR GRASSLAND LIKE AN ARABLE CROP | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 227 | [
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b752ec57-03d5-4cdf-84ff-a122cc57f2ed | School lunches been heavily | life_skills | data_analysis | School lunches have been heavily debated for some time, since they offer very little nutrition for growing kids. Unfortunately, bad eating habits are often perpetuated at home in the form of unhealthy after school snacks. Not only do unhealthy snacks such as potato chips, cereal, pies, bread and fruit roll-ups contain very little nutritional value, but most of them also contain a lot of hidden sugar, which is bad for the teeth. So what can you give your ravenous kids at the end of a busy school day? Let’s have a look at healthier options.
1. Dried fruit in plain yogurt
Packed with nutrients and delicious, this is one healthy snack. You could even add in some whole grain cereal for added fibre to keep them until supper time.
2. Fresh fruit kebabs
Cut up fresh, water-rich fruits and let your children make their own kebabs. Again, they could dip it in plain yogurt or keylime dip.
Prepare a healthy smoothie using fresh fruits and vegetables, such as kale, spinach, cucumber, pineapple and melons. It is filling, but it also has a fun aspect.
Rich in protein and calcium, cheese keeps up the energy levels while building strong teeth and bones. Serve cheese with pretzel sticks, or get creative with strawberries, melon and grape kebabs and different cheeses.
Good for body and mind, hummus is easy to make and delicious. Serve it with small vegetable dippers.
6. Banana “ice-cream”
Slice bananas and freeze it until you’re ready to use it. When the kids ask for ice-cream, toss the bananas in a blender with just a dash of plain yogurt and you have a healthy alternative. You could experiment with different flavors by adding raw cocoa and honey, or frozen pineapple or strawberries, too.
7. Healthier Baked Goods
Experiment with healthier baking by substituting sugar for stevia or honey and by sneaking fruits and vegetables into your goods. Add seeds, nuts, bananas, carrots, apples, zucchini and sweet potatoes into your muffins, breads and bars – nobody (but you!) will even notice.
8. Oat Squares
Easy to make, oat squares with seeds, nuts and raisins are portable, delicious and loved by most children.
9. Peanut-Chocolate Pretzel Sticks
Dip pretzel sticks in peanut butter and sugar-free chocolate for the ultimate relief of those after-school sugary-salty cravings.
Homemade, air-popped popcorn (not the package-type movie popcorn) with a dash of Himalayan salt is quick, cheap, filling and delicious. Better yet, it is great for your teeth, as it scrapes clean the enamel and the areas between your teeth. It is also extremely low in calories.
When it comes to drinks, avoid sugary drinks. While fruit juices contain some beneficial nutrients, they are also loaded with sugar, which can lead to cavities. Coffee and tea in excess can stain the teeth. Encourage your children not to always drink something sweet with meals, but instead to drink a refreshing glass of water. | 0.7 | medium | 4 | 646 | [
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1c81b737-9df7-453b-83a7-7bc29514eeb9 | Observing patrolling two main | life_skills | problem_set | Observing and patrolling are the two main responsibilities of a security officer. They watch and patrol the area around them for potential security risks and to keep the property safe.
Being a security guard can be rewarding. They are the first line of security in protecting property or people. Security professionals are trained to handle tough situations and can do their job most effectively. However, as a security guard, there are some soft skills that you should have. Here are a few soft skills you need to be a security officer.
As a security officer, your job is to protect an area from untrustworthy and dishonest people. And to do this, you will have to be dependable and honest yourself. The company will trust you in certain areas, and you cannot break their trust.
You also need to be a dependable person to be a good security officer. You should show up to work on time and thoroughly perform your assignments. If you lack dependability, you could become the source of a security breach.
As a security officer, you will interact with many people. That’s why you need to have good communication skills. You should be able to communicate with everyone, including the general public, your coworkers, as well as potential threats. Being able to communicate clearly can be a deciding factor when handling a sticky situation.
Security officers mostly work as a team; thus, communication is a vital skill for them. They should be able to effectively communicate between them for any backup.
If you come across suspicious individuals, you must be able to communicate with them. This may simply mean asking the person to leave or you taking action.
Security guards could also be called as a witness in a court case as they can become the eyewitness of a crime when working. That is why they need to be able to communicate with a judge and jury and narrate to them the events they heard or saw, as well as the action they took.
Security guards face many problems. So, they must have the skills to solve them. These problems aren’t always going to have the textbook solution you were taught in training. Your own ideas and skills will have to do the trick here.
And to be a good problem solver, you need to be vigilant and give attention to the details. You can’t be forgetful. For example, forgetting to lock the door could cause a security breach. Your body language can’t be vague, and you should be able to understand people’s voice tone and body language to stop the incident before it occurs.
Solving security problems is not easy, and you might not always have the answer. Security guards often work as a team, which allows you to collaborate with other professionals to solve a problem. But to do that, you need to cultivate the relationship between you and your team and learn how to build unity.
Being a good communicator is an essential ability for teamwork. And to collaborate with your team, you also need patience, an open-minded attitude, and good people skills, among other things.
As a security guard, things can go wrong very quickly in your line of work. So, you need to have the skills to handle the problem before it escalates. Circumstance may appear where you will have to find a course of action in a matter of seconds. You need to remember your training and react.
In the meantime, remain rational and calm. Oftentimes, it is possible to defuse a situation with a calm mind before it becomes threatening. If you can keep yourself calm, you will be able to think more clearly and find the best solution to the problem at hand.
As a security guard, you will face various kinds of situations in your career. There will come circumstances when you will have to be tough and times when you will need to show softness. So, make sure you have these soft skills if you are looking to step into the world of security. | 0.6 | medium | 3 | 798 | [
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3a88a9bf-072f-4dff-8c6e-9026228bda15 | Modern Lifestyle Primary Culprit | science | research_summary | : Modern Lifestyle Primary Culprit for Obesity Epidemic: Study
Posted July 9, 2016
By Dennis Thompson
TUESDAY, July 5, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- It looks like the primary culprit behind the obesity epidemic may be the modern-day environment, and not genes, new U.S. research suggests.
Americans were more likely to pack on more pounds if they were born later in the 20th century, regardless of whether they had a high genetic risk for obesity, said senior researcher Maria Glymour. She is an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.
People with a greater genetic risk for obesity did appear to be more affected by modern developments that promote obesity, such as wide availability of cheap, high-calorie food, neighborhood designs that present fewer opportunities to walk, and couch-potato leisure activities, Glymour added.
"Some people are especially responsive to environmental conditions that encourage obesity," Glymour said. "Specifically, people with greater genetic risk of being heavy appear to be more influenced by living in settings that foster obesity."
But even people whose genetics ought to have kept them at a healthy weight have become more flabby, on average, over the decades, Glymour and her colleagues found.
"Even people with very low genetic risk of obesity appear to be heavier since the obesity epidemic," Glymour said. "This indicates that the environment affects everyone, but people with high genetic risk are even more affected."
For their study, the researchers relied on data from nearly 8,800 adults participating in a nationwide health and retirement study who were born between 1900 and 1958.
The research team calculated each person's genetic risk score for obesity, based on whether they carried any of 29 genetic variants linked to obesity. The investigators then compared the risk score to the person's actual body mass index, or BMI (a measurement based on height and weight).
Most previous studies focused on just one aspect of the environment when looking at a person's genetic risk for obesity, Glymour said. Her research team decided to instead examine when a person was born, with their age serving as an umbrella marker for all the many factors that promote obesity.
The presence of obesity-linked genes did not increase in the population over time, the researchers found. However, the effect that these genes had on a person's BMI did increase in subsequent decades, as the modern environment changed in ways that promote obesity.
"The fundamental explanation for the obesity epidemic must lie in environmental changes," Glymour concluded, though the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
"The genes that are linked to obesity were just as common in people born earlier in the century as in people born later in the century, although those same genes had larger effects for people born later in the century," she explained.
On their own, obesity-related genes had a very small average effect, accounting for only about 1 percent of the variation in BMI among whites and about 1.4 percent for blacks. By comparison, a person's age accounted for 4.3 percent of the variation in BMI among whites and 4.5 percent among blacks, the investigators found.
The findings were published July 5 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
There are many ways in which the modern environment could interact with a person's genetics to make them more at risk for obesity, Glymour said.
"One possibility is that genetic factors influence hunger and whether eating makes you feel satisfied," she said. "It may be that people who have genetic variants that make them persistently hungry and live in settings with easy access to calorie-dense foods gain the most weight. We don't know this for sure, but it's one of the most promising possible mechanisms."
Another explanation might be that modern conveniences have caused people to become more sedentary, said Anthony Comuzzie, a genetic scientist with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.
"When was the last time you got out of the car and opened your own garage, or got off the couch to change the TV channel?" asked Comuzzie, an expert for The Obesity Society. "I'll send an e-mail to a person two offices down rather than getting up and sticking my head out of the door," he added.
"We tend to forget in general that weight gain is a two-sided equation -- the number of calories we eat versus the number of calories we burn," he continued. "People have more money to spend on easily available fast food, and they are less likely to engage in physical activity. It's a double-edged sword."
Comuzzie called the new study an "interesting paper" that confirms long-held suspicions.
"The prevalence of those genes didn't change. It was just the environment," he said. "The environment is what is causing the genes to have a bigger effect on this outcome, obesity."
Copyright © 2016 HealthDay
. All rights reserved. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 1,060 | [
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7e0cd8fd-8235-42fa-87f5-f9fab5ae8011 | PLANNING APPLICATION 9/2014/1145 | interdisciplinary | practical_application | PLANNING APPLICATION 9/2014/1145
Land at Jawbone Lane, Kings Newton
Residential Development of up to 120 dwellings – Outline Application (all matters reserved)
Melbourne Civic Society OBJECTS to this development on similar grounds to those set out in detail in respect to application 9/2014/1141 except that there are additional stronger planning grounds for rejecting this proposal.
Housing development on this scale on this site is contrary to saved policies in the approved Local Plan and contrary to proposals in the Draft Local Plan which has now been subject to scrutiny by an Inspector at the recently completed Public Enquiry.
The Draft Local Plan makes adequate provision to meet all the housing needs allocated to South Derbyshire within the Derby Area Housing Market Area, and development on this site, and on the site to the south which is the subject of a separate submission, would constitute a strategic housing allocation in the wrong place and would therefore prejudice the successful implementation of the new Local Plan and the emerging Part 2 Neighbourhood Plan.
The application has a number of fundamental flaws, namely
1. The use of Jawbone Lane as one of its accesses is unacceptable in the manner proposed. The Lane itself, especially at its northern end, is very narrow and has very restricted visibility at its junction with Main Street, which is potentially hazardous. At the moment it is very lightly trafficked and a well-used leisure route for cyclists and walkers. The developer makes no provision to safeguard their amenity and safety. In practice, the northern junction is likely to be the main route for traffic entering and leaving the site wishing to access the many job opportunities in Derby, and the increased traffic will greatly increase the likelihood of serious traffic accidents. The impact of the proposed development on highway safety and amenity at the Main Street junction is therefore unsustainable and should be refused.
2. The combined effect of increased traffic flows from this site and the site to the south across Swarkestone Causeway will lead to further delays, hazards to vehicles and cyclists, and potential damage to the Ancient Monument itself. The Causeway is one of the principal reasons why Melbourne is not a suitable site for strategic housing developments in the Draft Local Plan, and speculative housing developments of the kind now proposed are unsustainable and contrary to NPPF policies. The accompanying Traffic Assessment carried out by Woods Hardwick consultants does not address the impact of increased traffic flows on the Causeway, and neither does it address the impact on traffic and parking in the town centre. Indeed, in the latter case the consultants assume that most new residents will walk. This assumption is unrealistic and the Transport Assessment as a whole –all 331 pages of it - is flawed. The application should be refused on traffic grounds.
3. Although in outline, the application is accompanied by an illustrative layout for up to 120 houses. This does not provide for the needs of the local housing market. For example, no provision is made for homes suitable for retired elderly residents nor does it provide apartments to meet the needs of young single households. At present the latter group is hardly catered for at all in the existing housing stock, and young people with local jobs are forced to seek accommodation in Derby or other more distant cities. This is unsustainable because it actually encourages commuting by car. Public transport is not a viable alternative mode because the existing bus service is not fit for purpose: it is infrequent, tortuous, and unpleasantly long, and for these reasons is little used. By encouraging commuting the development would be incompatible with NPPF policies.
4. The site is subject to excessive noise levels from low-flying aircraft, and the developer's noise assessments have been carried out in conditions and at times which do not reflect real conditions and are therefore incomplete and highly misleading. The Society's full appraisal is set out in Annexe A.
Noise at the site was measured by the developer's noise consultants over two periods, the first in westerly winds when aircraft do not overfly the site, the second at a bank holiday weekend when no freight aircraft were operating. On the basis of these quiet periods, the report argues that traffic on Station Road is the dominant source of noise affecting only the eastern boundary of the site. Local residents living in Station Road (and in Main Street) have told us that this conclusion is absurd. Aircraft approaching East Midlands Airport (EMA) from the west fly directly over the site and, with the normal fleet mix including very large freighters, aircraft noise is by far the most intrusive noise over the whole of this site.
To have any planning relevance, the applicant should be required to measure noise when aircraft overfly the site and freight aircraft are operating (easterly wind conditions on Monday - Friday), and repeat the noise assessment for this noisy situation. The developer's current assessments of less noisy conditions is not credible, nor is it a valid basis for the design of new residences.
A new noise assessment in accordance with the specification, also set out in Annexe A, would be essential before this application is given serious consideration. If that is not forthcoming permission should be refused on the grounds that new residents would suffer both amenity and health losses from excessive noise conditions, contrary to the guidance given in paragraph 123 of the NPPF.
5. New housing development recently completed to the south of Station Road has led to serious flooding in Station Road and within that development proper. This application proposes foul and surface water drainage into the same sewers which have recently overflowed, and the submission makes no allowance for this situation and proposes no remedies to prevent a recurrence. Indeed, the applicant's Flood Risk Assessment – see para 3.14 - makes the assumption that the tank sewer constructed a few years ago by Severn Trent Water is capable of handling flash flooding of the Station Road sewerage system. This is manifestly unsound. The flooding which occurred in July 2014 took place AFTER the tank sewer had been constructed and was proved to be inadequate. Without further remedial measures this development would exacerbate drainage problems in Station Road and within the Millbrook Estate. Until a full technical appraisal has been carried out, this application is premature and should be refused on drainage grounds.
6. This application, far more so than the application for 69 houses on the land to the south, is open to strong objection owing to its adverse effect on the setting of the Kings Newton Conservation Area. The NPPF stresses the importance of safeguarding the setting of demonstrated heritage assets. In this instance the heritage asset has been identified in the Kings Newton Conservation Area Character Statement adopted by the Council in 2011 and includes the following:
"There is a sharp contrast where these narrow passages open out, where they meet the fields, and there are long vistas out over Melbourne to the south and as far as Breedon-onthe-Hill. The church towers of both parish churches are prominent landmarks. The open character of the market gardens with their expanses of vegetables is in sharp contrast with the tight-knit form of the development behind Main Street."
The applicant's consultants have failed to give sufficient weight to this Character Statement. The open countryside separating Kings Newton from Melbourne proper, and its network of rural public footpaths, is an amenity and a heritage asset which will be lost if this development is approved. The application ignores this adverse impact: indeed, the developer's submission, para 2.10, contains the following extraordinary statement:
"The (development of the) site will create a bridge between the two areas (Kings Newton and Melbourne), linking them together with further development and affluence in opportunities for the community and area…."
What the developer is saying here is that building houses on this site will join the two communities together – the exact opposite to all previously approved planning policies, and contrary to NPPF heritage policies set out in paragraphs 132 and 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework. In this respect the application is seriously flawed.
Planning permission should be refused on grounds that the development would adversely affect the setting of the Kings Newton Conservation Area, contrary to national planning policies.
7. The Parish Council has resolved to prepare a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) under the provisions of the Government's Localism Act. Any such Plan will involve extensive consultation with local residents (this first of which took place on Saturday January 24 th ) and this will lead to specific housing proposals in accordance with the new Local Plan. In the meantime, any consideration of this application would be premature and likely adversely to affect the NDP's outcome. Indeed, if permission were granted there would be little point in preparing such a Plan because there would be more than sufficient housing approvals to meet all housing need targets before the end of the Local Plan period in 2028.
In this respect, the Secretary of State's decision dated 15 th December 2014 refusing planning permission for 100 homes in Rolleston on Dove in East Staffordshire is of special relevance. He concluded that the appeal proposal…" undermines the neighbourhood plan-making process by predetermining decisions about the scale and location of new development central to the emerging NP". He dismissed the appeal and refusing consent, and further noted that granting permission would have both prejudiced emerging local planning policies and had "wider implications for neighbourhood planning nationally".
The two concurrent application on land in Jawbone Lane would have similar adverse effects on the plan-making process to those identified in the Secretary of State's Rolleston on Dove appeal decision letter, and should be refused for the same reasons.
8. This site, and that to the south, is an area of good quality productive market garden land albeit not used for this purpose in recent year by the current landowner in anticipation of securing planning permission for housing development. At a time of increasing national and global population the country cannot afford to lose its ability to feed its people, and this is recognised in the NPPF policy 112 which states:
"Local planning authorities should take into account the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, local planning authorities should seek to use areas of poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality."
In this instance there is no necessity to build on this site, which is not allocated for development in any development plan, and the local planning authority has made strategic housing land allocations elsewhere to meet all future demand.
The erection of 120 homes on this site would be contrary to government policy and unsustainable should be refused.
9. Melbourne is not a key service village that can accommodate new housing developments on the scale proposed in this and other speculative development applications, and the long-term effects on Melbourne's schools, health facilities and services would seriously detract from the character and amenity of the community.
It is the Society's view that the South Derbyshire Local Plan is now in an advanced state, that the Melbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan is being prepared, and that any consideration of this application having regard to S49 of the NPPF (relating to a five-year supply of available housing land) is no longer relevant. Indeed, the latest (December) Housing Land Availability assessment by the Council suggests that the 5 year supply is close to being achieved.
Permission can and should be refused on sound planning grounds, for all the reasons set out above, and in line with government policy set out by the Secretary of State in the Rolleston on Dove appeal decision.
It is further submitted that this application should be considered at the same time and in the same context as application 9/2014/1141, and both be refused. There are sound planning reasons for so doing.
Noise Assessment – Application 9/2014/1145 – Jawbone Lane Melbourne
To assess this noise report, it is helpful to understand the noise impact on the Jawbone Lane site of standard aviation operational procedures and traffic distribution at EMA.
Operational Procedures. When landing or taking off, aircraft always fly into the wind. With a westerly wind, aircraft take-off from EMA to the west, towards Melbourne, and follow well defined noise routes to the north or to the south of Melbourne. The northerly route is about 1 mile from the proposed site, and the southerly route is over 1 mile away. Thus, in westerly winds, this site is not overflown by aircraft and the impact of aircraft noise is not great.
In easterly winds, landing aircraft approach from the west, in line with the EMA runway, and fly directly over the site. All landing aircraft follow the same route, overflying this site at low altitude, so the site is much noisier in easterly wind conditions.
EMA Traffic Distribution. In 2013 there were 62,000 commercial air transport movements (ATMs) carrying passengers or cargo, of which 21,000 (33%) were at night, 23.00-07.00. On average the frequency of night ATMs is the same as day time. In addition to ATMs there were 14,000 other flights by light aircraft which have little impact on noise. Figures for 2014 are not yet available though are expected to be somewhat higher.
EMA is a hub for international express parcels companies, and for Royal Mail, so the majority of cargo flights are at night, concentrated into the working week i.e. Monday to Friday nights, with variations at bank holidays. There is a peak of arriving cargo flights on weekday evenings (approx. 19.30-10.00). There are fewer cargo flights on Friday, and virtually none over the weekend. The cargo fleet includes very large aircraft: Boeing 777, B767 and B757 freighters operate every working night. In 2013 there were 16,500 night cargo flights equivalent to 8 movements every hour on Monday - Friday nights.
Passenger flights are very seasonal with a peak of flights in June-September.
Thus the noisiest conditions at the site occur in an easterly wind on a summer weekday (MonFriday), while periods of westerly winds are much quieter.
Noise measurement period – Period 1. 13.27 on 13 th May 2014 to 10.42 on 14 th May 2014.
The report gives no indication of the wind direction in this period, so it is not clear whether aircraft were overflying the site. The report does note 'apparent lack of aircraft activity' during the period, which would indicate that aircraft were following the noise routes north and south of Melbourne. We conclude therefore that there was a westerly wind and aircraft were not overflying the site i.e. measurements were done in the quiet conditions.
Noise Measurement – Period 2. 14.06 on Friday 23 rd May 2014 to 01.55 on Monday 26 th May 2014
This period spans a bank holiday weekend (26 th May 2014 was Spring Bank Holiday). With a bank holiday on Monday, the need for express delivery is reduced and overnight cargo flights effectively cease from Thursday, so we expect cargo aircraft would not fly on Friday night and at the weekend. This measurement period would be much less noisy than when cargo aircraft operated normally.
Again, the report gives no indication of wind direction, so again it is not clear whether or not aircraft were overflying the site. There is comment that no audible noise was heard from an event at Donington Park (to the east of the site), suggesting westerly winds. So it may be that aircraft were not overflying the site.
There is reference to 'limited night time movements' giving the impression that there are few night movements: this is quite incorrect. We point out above that, on average, the frequency of night movements is similar to daytime movements. The total number of night flights at EMA exceeds any other UK airport. The only reason the consultants noted 'limited night movements' is that they chose to observe a bank holiday weekend when cargo aircraft were not operating.
One interpretation of the choice of a bank holiday weekend for noise measures is that the consultants do not understand the noise impact of EMA traffic distribution. Alternatively the bank holiday weekend may have been chosen to avoid measuring the noise created by the large freight aircraft in the evening and night periods.
Noise Assessment
On the basis of two periods of measurement, one in westerly winds when aircraft do not overfly the site, the other at a bank holiday when freight aircraft do not operate, the consultants conclude that traffic flow on Station Road is the dominant source of noise at this site and have based their noise assessment on this conclusion.
We contend that this is not a credible conclusion. In easterly wind conditions on Monday to Friday, by far the most intrusive noise at this site is from approaching aircraft, particularly in the evening and night as heavy freight aircraft approach EMA. This situation is very well known to local residents and none would accept this report as a valid assessment.
The noisy condition includes numerous very large freight aircraft directly over the site. We anticipate that, when noise is measured in the noisy periods, noise levels across the whole site will considerably exceed those already measured. We would expect that site noise will exceed BS8233 day, night and garden recommended noise levels.
We include below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended noise limits. We expect that the noisy condition at this site may exceed WHO levels for 'outdoor living areas', 'outside bedrooms', and the maximum levels for outside bedrooms.
We would argue that any noise assessment can only be credible and valid if it is based on the noisiest situation at the site. This assessment, based on quieter periods and cannot be accepted as a true reflection of site noise levels. We therefore strongly recommend that the applicant be required to take noise measurements in the noisy conditions (easterly wind conditions in the normal working week Monday-Friday, avoiding bank holidays).
World Health Organisation Recommended Maximum Noise Levels
| Specific environment | Critical health effect(s) | LAeq [dB] | Time base [hours] | LAmax, fast [dB] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor living area | Serious annoyance, daytime and evening Moderate annoyance, daytime and evening | 55 50 | 16 16 | - - |
| Dwelling, indoors Inside bedrooms | Speech intelligibility and moderate annoyance, daytime and evening Sleep disturbance, night-time | 35 30 | 16 8 | 45 |
| Outside bedrooms | Sleep disturbance, window open (outdoor values) | 45 | 8 | 60 |
| School class rooms and pre-schools, indoors | Speech intelligibility, disturbance of information extraction, message communication | 35 | during class | - |
| Pre-school bedrooms, indoors | Sleep disturbance | 30 | sleeping- time | 45 |
| School, playground outdoor | Annoyance (external source) | 55 | during play | - |
| Hospital, ward rooms, indoors | Sleep disturbance, night-time Sleep disturbance, daytime and evenings | 30 30 | 8 16 | 40 - |
| Hospitals, treatment rooms, indoors | Interference with rest and recovery | #1 | | |
| Industrial, commercial shopping and traffic areas, indoors and outdoors | Hearing impairment | 70 | 24 | 110 |
| Ceremonies, festivals and entertainment events | Hearing impairment (patrons:<5 times/year) | 100 | 4 | 110 |
| Specific environment | Critical health effect(s) | LAeq [dB] | Time base [hours] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music through headphones/ earphones | Hearing impairment (free-field value) | 85 #4 | 1 |
| Impulse sounds from toys, fireworks and firearms | Hearing impairment (adults) Hearing impairment (children) | - - | - - |
| Outdoors in parkland and conservation areas | Disruption of tranquillity | #3 | |
#1: as low as possible;
#2: peak sound pressure (not LAmax, fast), measured 100 mm from the ear;
#3: existing quiet outdoor areas should be preserved and the ratio of intruding noise to natural background sound should be kept low;
#4: under headphones, adapted to free-field values
Source - Guidelines for Community Noise, Edited by Birgitta Berglund , Thomas Lindvall, Dietrich H Schwela, World Health Organization, Geneva, 1999. Available at : http://www.who.int/docstore/peh/noise/guidelines2.html | 0.75 | medium | 6 | 4,480 | [
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f4ba0c43-10d5-4b3c-a8b1-c466dbb1c4c9 | Many children’s health imbalances | life_skills | data_analysis | Many children’s health imbalances can disturb the balance of their skin where dryness, itching, redness, flaking and inflammation all impact on the overall health of the child. Such skin disorders can leave the child feeling weak and irritated.
- Children (1-11yrs): 1 tablet – 4 times daily
- Infants (0-11months): 1/2 tablet – 4 times daily
- Continue until symptoms subside
For sudden onset:
- Take every half hour until symptoms improve (for max. of 2 days).
- Chew tablets or crush and dissolve in water.
- For infants add a few drops of water to crushed tablet and mix into a paste, administer paste to mouth with dummy, spoon, finger etc.
Condition of the skin
Burning & itchy skin
Calc Fluor (Calcium fluoride), Nat Mur (Sodium chloride), Nat Phos (Sodium phosphate), Nat Sulph (Sodium sulphate), Silica (Silicon dioxide)
Always read the label and use only as directed. If symptoms persist consult your healthcare practitioner. Contains lactose. | 0.7 | medium | 6 | 231 | [
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f53283d2-7eed-4c54-b695-76d6cf6bd988 | Latin America, region once | interdisciplinary | code_implementation | Latin America, a region once plagued with high inflation, has seen a drastic shift in spending and consumption trends in the past decade. This shift of consumption has been due to multiple factors, particularly the economic boom and declining poverty of the region. In the past decade, 50 million people in Latin America have joined the middle class according to a World Bank study.
This change is transforming needs to wants. Instead of buying low end products, middle to high-end products have become popular; such as cars, electronics, and beauty products. This helps explain why countries such as South Korea are recognizing huge increases in exports to the trade region. In 2011, trade boomed to an astounding $35 billion, up an estimated 18% over 2010. This increase came in large part due to the sale of automobiles, electronics, and home appliances.
Canadian banks are also seeing gains in the trade region. One in five bank mortgages are backed by Scotiabank, which has the largest presence in Latin America. The banks strategy is aimed at lower income clients who are moving up the ladder of social class.
To hold on to these gains, policy changes need to be put in place related to productivity, employment, education and growth. Without a sustainable framework to move forward with, the gains could be lost fairly quickly in today’s highly volatile world economy. Better access to quality education will help sustain these gains in the long term. Education is crucial to moving out of poverty and to therefore increase international business activity. Combine that with safety nets put in place for the unemployed, and you have a recipe for sustainable growth ahead in Latin America. | 0.65 | medium | 5 | 340 | [
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6de3135b-2746-4976-b3b6-977dfb5a4eb1 | Fort Jones, CA Medical Suppliers | interdisciplinary | worked_examples | Fort Jones, CA Medical Suppliers
Retirenet.com is the top site to find Fort Jones, CA Medical Suppliers for active adults considering retiring to Fort Jones, CA. Searching for Medical Suppliers on Retirenet.com is simple and easy. You will find many communities and homes to fulfill your retirement dreams. All retirement options are available including golf course living, new home communities, waterfront homes, condominiums, villas, manufactured home living and more. Your perfect place to retire is just a few clicks away.
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53d399f4-20b8-403f-a298-10c79b7e8570 | concept MRC (Machine Reading | technology | practical_application | The concept of MRC (Machine Reading Comprehension) is a natural way of evaluating a computer’s language understanding ability. In the NLP (Natural Language Processing) community, MRC has gained extensive attention, intending to overcome the challenge of a machine reading text passages and then answering the questions. It is also proving to be an important technology for applications such as search engines and dialog systems. These advancements in representation learning have led to separated progress in both IR (Information retrieval) and MC (machine comprehension), however, very few studies have examined the combined design of retrieval and comprehension at multiple levels of granularity, for the development of MRS (Machine Reading at Scale) systems.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the idea and the need for MRS –
Machine Reading at Scale (MRS)
Instead of focusing just on smaller text concepts, Danqi Chen et al. came up with a solution of machine reading at scale. To achieve the task of reading Wikipedia for answering open-domain questions, a search component based on bigram hashing and TF-IDF matching was combined with a multi-layer recurrent neural network model, trained to detect answers within Wikipedia paragraphs.
MRC algorithms assume that a short text is already identified and given to the model, which is not realistic for building an open-domain QA system. On the other hand, methods that use retrieval over documents should employ search as an important part of the solution.
MRS creates a fine balance between the two approaches because it is focused on simultaneously maintaining the challenge of machine comprehension while keeping the realistic constraints of searching over a large open resource.
Why MRS is Important?
You may have seen almost every enterprise adopting chatbots in recent times. Many industries have turned to conversational AI approaches, especially banking, insurance, and telecommunications sectors, where large text logs are involved.
One of the major challenges they face for conversational AI approaches is to understand complex sentences of human speech in the same way that humans do. The issue becomes more complex when this needs to be done over a large volume of texts.
MRS can help with both these concerns by answering objective questions from large text logs or corpus, with high accuracy. The approach can be used in real-world apps like customer service.
Let’s evaluate the MRS approach to solve automatic QA capability on a large corpus –
The DrQA is a system for reading comprehension applied to open-domain QA, targeted at MRS, where we’re searching for the answer to a question in a huge corpus of unstructured documents. The system must combine challenges of document retrieval alongside machine comprehension of the text.
Deep Learning Virtual Machine (DLVM) is used as the computing environment, which makes it more straightforward to use GPU-based VM instances for deep learning models. It’s supported on Windows 2016 & Ubuntu Data Science Virtual Machine, shares core VM images as the DSVM, and is configured to make deep learning easier. The experiments are run on a Linux DLVM with NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPUs. PyTorch backend is used to build models.
Facebook Research GitHub is forked for the blog work and the DrQA model is trained on the SQUAD dataset. Pre-trained MRS will be used for evaluating the large Gutenberg corpuses using transfer learning techniques.
Machine Learning Algorithms
Large-scale Python machine learning projects include problems associated with specialized machine learning architectures and designs which are hard to tackle. But finding algorithms, designing and building platforms that can deal with large text logs, corpora or data is a growing need. With the rise of big data, there’s an increasing demand for computational and algorithmic efficiency. Machine learning with Python training can help you speed up the algorithms and improve scalability.
A comprehensive machine learning course with Python can help you understand the significance of the implementation of Machine Learning in the Python programming language in detail, and leverage this knowledge in their role as data scientists.
Learn machine learning from Cognixia, the world’s leading digital talent transformation Our machine learning certification covers all the important concepts, libraries, and techniques that would help one kickstart their career in machine learning.
Here’s what this course will cover –
- Introduction to Python Programming, various packages, and related functions
- Data Wrangling using Python
- Introduction to Machine Learning with Python
- Supervised Learning – Regression & Classification
- Dimensionality Reduction
- Unsupervised Learning – Clustering
- Additional Performance Evaluation and Model Selection
- Recommendation Engines
- Association Rules Mining
- Time Series Analysis
- Reinforcement Learning
- Artificial Neural Networks & Introduction to Deep Learning | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 952 | [
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49cb9cc5-e989-4555-b205-e8e4e8741d0d | Anxiety impair our accuracy | science | research_summary | Anxiety can impair our accuracy on face- and word-recognition tasks, providing another possible source of fallibility in eyewitness testimony, according to research presented in two reports published in Psychological Science.
In the first report, participants were asked to breathe through a mask that provided normal air or a mask that provided CO2-enriched air, a reliable method of inducing anxiety.
The participants were then asked to discriminate between similar sounding phonemes, or letter sounds. For instance, though the /g/ and /k/ sounds are similar in “gift” and “kift,” people generally hear “gift” because it’s a familiar word. In this particular task, the researchers presented phonemes that spanned continuum from one sound to the other, so that some sounded much more like “gift” and some sounded much more like “kift.”
The participants who breathed normal air performed well on this task – they were able to discriminate the two sounds most of the time. The CO2 group, however, performed significantly worse. Their ability to discriminate between the sounds was lessened due to anxiety.
Anxiety is a common experience in everyday life, and these results reveal that our ability to process speech sounds may be far more malleable than previously thought.
The second report indicates that this malleability is also at work while discriminating between faces.
In this experiment, anxiety reduced discrimination only for those faces that were “hits” — that is, anxious participants were worse at recognizing that two faces were actually the same person. Anxious and non-anxious participants were equally proficient, however, at recognizing when the two faces were different people.
These results are important for understanding the factors that can compromise eyewitness testimony, the researchers conclude. Typically, people attribute poor eyewitness testimony to problems with remembering an event, people, or conversations. Yet this research reveals that anxiety could also play an important role, both in recognizing faces and understanding ambiguous words.
Mattys S.L., Seymour F., Attwood A.S., & Munafò M.R. (2013). Effects of acute anxiety induction on speech perception: Are anxious listeners distracted listeners? Psychological Science, 24 (8), 1606-8 DOI: 10.1177/0956797612474323
Attwood A.S., Penton-Voak I.S., Burton A.M., & Munafò M.R. (2013). Acute anxiety impairs accuracy in identifying photographed faces. Psychological Science, 24 (8), 1591-1594 DOI: 10.1177/0956797612474021
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5e1701f5-b33f-46fd-b191-b771cc6ba097 | Food safety simple terms | life_skills | historical_context | Food safety in simple terms means that whatever we eat is safe to consume. This includes how we clean, prepare, cook and even store the foods we eat. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, there are four steps to food safety. Clean, separate, cook and chill.
- Clean – wash your hands and surfaces often.
Germs get comfy on multiple surfaces quite quickly, to ensure they get stopped in their tracks, wash your hands, surfaces and food items thoroughly.
- Separate – don’t cross-contaminate.
The golden rule is to always keep raw meats separate from any other food item. This includes your trolley when shopping, in the refrigerator and your cutting boards.
- Cook – to the right temperature.
Different food is cooked safely at different temperatures, the internal temperature gets high enough to kill all of the germs that could make you ill. The internal temperature can be measured with a food thermometer. Here are a few temps to look out for;Poultry – cooked at 74֯C
Whole cuts of beef, pork and lamb – cooked at 63֯C
Fish – cooked at 63֯C
Ground meat – 71֯C
- Chill – refrigerate as soon as possible.
Freezing and thawing food is a major food safety component. Freeze perishable foods as soon as you can, divide them into portions that you will use at a given time, and know when to throw food out. Thawing food safely means not just leaving it in a sink or on a countertop, thaw food in the refrigerator, in the cold water, or by using the defrost function on your microwave.
E2Learn in partnership with Highfield International offers an internationally accredited Level 2 Certificate in Hospitality and Catering principles. (Food Production and Cooking) Upon completion of this course, students will receive a separate Highfield International Level 2 Certificate in Food Safety in Catering. | 0.7 | medium | 4 | 414 | [
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a6d8456e-3a44-4ba3-826d-7690b9e20841 | Notification pesticide use public | social_studies | practical_application | Notification of pesticide use by public authorities in public places
The Pesticides Regulation 2009 requires public authorities, such as local councils and government agencies, to notify the community, in accordance with a notification plan, when they use or allow the use of pesticides in public places that are owned or controlled by the public authority.
These rules are based on the principle that people who live and work in an area have a basic right to know when public places in the area are treated with pesticides. Notifying people about pesticide applications means they can make informed decisions, for example, parents with young children may choose to delay a visit to the playground if they know pesticides have been applied that day.
Notifying members of the public about pesticide use before it happens does not mean that they can prevent the use of pesticides in the area. The aim of notification is to allow people to choose to reduce their exposure to pesticides if they wish. Notifying the community is now internationally recognised as best practice in pesticides management.
This page explains what public authorities need to do to comply with the requirements. It explains how to consult with the community when developing or revising a pesticide use notification plan to suit local needs.
A pesticide use notification plan describes where a public authority uses pesticides and the steps it will take to notify people about its pesticide use in those places. It must be prepared by a public authority (including a local council) in consultation with the local community. Historically, many public authorities notified their communities when they used pesticides in the area, for example through advertising or letterbox drops.
There are a number of methods of notification for differing levels of pesticide use across NSW. Most public authorities, including local governments and State government agencies, provide a schedule of pesticide application on their public website. In most cases, authorities will contact owners by phone or mail to notify them of an upcoming pesticide application.
Sensitive site owners receive additional notification in most cases, prior to the application of pesticides. This means that they can choose to avoid exposure to pesticides, especially if there are children or sensitive people on the site.
If you are a property owner and would like to know which pesticides are used on public land, you should first check the website of the public authority responsible for that land and read the Pesticide Use Notification Plan. The plan provides details for a contact person, who you can speak to if you have further questions.
Public authorities, including local councils, are not permitted to use pesticides in prescribed public places unless a notification plan has been prepared and notice has been given in accordance with the plan.
Public authorities cannot use or allow the use of pesticides unless a notification plan has been:
- developed in consultation with the community
- finalised, advertised and made publicly available.
The community must be notified of pesticide use in the way the finalised plan describes.
A notification plan must set out how and when the public authority will give public notice of the proposed use of pesticides in any prescribed public place it owns or controls. In particular, the notification plan must contain information about:
- where the plan will apply. The plan must identify the categories of public places where pesticides are to be used. For example, a notification plan might say that pesticides are used at 20 local parks and playgrounds and list their names and addresses. Where the notification plan refers to road verges, it may be sufficient for the plan to say that pesticides may be used on all council-managed roads within its area, and refer to a map showing the local government area boundaries. It may not be necessary to identify each public place.
- who regularly uses the public places. For example, a notification plan might say that the public places covered in the plan are used by local families, children, school groups and the general public. The notification plan must give a general estimate of the level of use. For example, the notification plan might say that these places are frequently used by local families.
- how and when the public authority will notify people about proposed pesticide use in public places. The notification plan needs to give details about the specific notification arrangements that will be used. For example, the local notification plan might say that the council will use newspaper advertisements, web-postings, information included with rates notices, mail-outs and/or signs to give notice of a pesticide application. The notification arrangements will vary among public authorities, including councils, in accordance with the circumstances and needs of each local community. The notification plan must identify the categories of, or specify particular public places for which the public authority will provide notification of all or only some proposed uses of pesticides, and what those uses are. The notification plan must also specify the public places for which the public authority does not intend to provide notification.
- what information will be provided about a pesticide application. The notification plan needs to say what types of information will be given to the community when giving them notice of pesticide use. The Pesticides Regulation sets out minimum information requirements for when notice is given. The notice given to the community must include:
- where the pesticide will be used
- the full product name of the pesticide that will be used
- the purpose of the use (for example, to kill noxious weeds)
- the proposed date/s of use (where possible this should be specific, for example, weed spraying in specific streets in the week 1–7 August). Where it is not possible to provide a specific period, a range of dates of when an application will take place should be given
- a phone number/email address for the officer who can be contacted about the notice
- any warnings on the pesticide label or permit about how long the area must be avoided after a pesticide application.
- how the community will be informed about the notification plan. The plan must also provide the contact details of an officer the community can contact to discuss the notification plan. It must include their job title or description, and phone number or email address.
- how the plan will be reviewed in the future and how the community can be involved in future reviews. The specified review period varies across the state, but it is required that all plans will be updated on a regular cycle, consistent with community expectation.
- the notification plan must describe what special notification measures will be used if pesticides are used in a prescribed public place that is next to a sensitive place, such as a school or hospital. For example, special protection could include providing notification earlier, in greater detail and/or in a different form to ensure that the risk of people at sensitive sites coming into contact with the pesticide application is minimised.
- if a pesticide must be used to deal with an emergency near a sensitive place, extra steps should be specified to let people know about it. For example, some public authorities could make sure a door-knock takes place to inform people that a pesticide is about to be used to deal with a dangerous pest infestation.
In summary, prescribed public places are any of the following places that the public is entitled to have access to (with or without paying a fee):
- public gardens
- picnic areas
- parks, sporting fields, or ovals
- national parks and other lands reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, State forests or Crown land
- any public land owned or controlled by a public authority, for example, road verges, and rail and electricity easements.
A prescribed public place also includes school and TAFE grounds, but does not include the inside of any buildings or structures. All prescribed public places must be considered in the notification plan.
The full definition of a prescribed public place is in Part 5, Division 1 of the Pesticides Regulation. The full definition should be read before a notification plan is reviewed.
In summary, a sensitive place is any:
- school or pre-school
- childcare centre
- community health centre
- nursing home.
The full definition of a sensitive place is in Part 5, Division 1 of the Pesticides Regulation. The full definition should be read before a notification plan is prepared or reviewed.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) can declare additional types of places to be sensitive places by publication of a notice in the Government Gazette. No additional places have been gazetted. Any additions will be listed on this webpage.
Can a notification plan cover other things?
Yes. These rules mean that prescribed public places and sensitive sites must be covered by notification plans. The plan can include additional areas if the public authority wishes. For example, some public authorities include the inside of any buildings in public places or list the extra steps needed to protect places like organic farms when pesticides are used nearby. However, it is not compulsory to include these details in the notification plan.
Extra information about the pesticide application can also be included in a notification plan. For example, some public authorities describe how a pesticide will be applied to an area: backpack sprayer, aerial spraying, or by a spraying vehicle
Notification plans must be reviewed by the date specified by the public authority when the plan was created. Revised plans must be placed on public exhibition as described by the Pesticides Regulation and in the guidelines below. The public authority is not required to place a plan on exhibition if the changes are minor (see clause 23).
The EPA suggests that a review should focus on the following issues:
Remember, a notification plan will only comply with these rules if the community has been consulted. The Pesticides Regulation sets out the steps public authorities need to follow to get the necessary level of community input.
If you are responsible for preparing a public authority's new or revised plan for a public authority you need to:
- publicly announce that a draft notification plan is ready for community input. If your notification plan covers areas throughout NSW, you need to put a notice in a statewide newspaper. If your notification plan covers only a specific local area or areas, you need to put a notice in a newspaper that circulates generally in those areas. You do not have to limit your announcement to one newspaper – this is the minimum notice that you need to give. The notice must specify the area in which the plan is to operate.
- specify in the notice where a copy of the draft notification plan will be displayed and make sure it is available for viewing during office hours, free of charge. If you have a website, it should also be displayed there.
- include details about how the community can provide their comments and how long they will have. At least four weeks must be given for their comments after the notice is published in the newspaper. The draft plan or revised plan needs to be freely available for community inspection during this period.
- make sure that you prepare your draft notification plan with enough time to receive and consider comments from the community. When you have considered the submissions from community members and made any subsequent changes to the plan, you will have developed your final notification plan.
Once the final notification plan is ready, public authorities must announce where the notification plan will operate and where the plan can be viewed. To do this, the public authority needs to publish the announcement in the NSW Government Gazette. The announcement must also be published in the same type of newspaper used to publish the notice for the draft notification plan.
Public authorities also need to write to the EPA confirming that the notification plan has been reviewed in accordance with the Pesticides Regulation.
The plan must be made available to the public for inspection free of charge at the public authority's main office. It should also be placed on the public authority's website, if it has one.
Penalties may apply where pesticides have been used in a prescribed public place but a notification plan has not been developed and displayed in accordance with the Regulation or if the notification was not carried out in accordance with the plan.
Court-imposed fines of up to $44,000 could apply to corporations and fines of up to $22,000 could apply to individuals. In other instances, on-the-spot penalty notice fines of $800 for corporations or $400 for individuals may apply.
Penalties may also apply to a public authority if it employs a contractor to use pesticides who does not notify according to the public authority's notification plan.
Yes. A public authority's plan affects public places that it leases out. If a public authority employs contractors to use pesticides in public places or in public places near sensitive sites, the authority's notification plan still needs to be followed. Public authorities are responsible for advising lessees or contractors about their notification plan. Public authorities are also liable if notification is not carried out in accordance with the authority's notification plan. This is regardless of whether the public authority has engaged someone else to carry out the notification on their behalf.
Page last updated: 03 December 2013 | 0.65 | low | 6 | 2,624 | [
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1e3d96ce-914a-4647-b461-79b88df0da77 | Use video step-by-step drawing | arts_and_creativity | tutorial | Use the video and step-by-step drawing instructions below to learn how to draw Roger Rabbit from Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit. A new cartoon drawing tutorial is uploaded every week, so stay tooned!
Intro: Start off with a pencil sketch. In the beginning stages, don’t press down too hard. Use light, smooth strokes for sketching.
Step 1: Start by drawing a small circle near the middle of the page. This will be the basic shape for the top part of Roger Rabbit's head. The circle doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s just a guide.
Step 2: Now draw a smaller circle on the lower right side as a guide for the top part of Roger Rabbit's mouth or muzzle. This circle should be about a quarter the size of the first one, and their edges should overlap a bit.
Step 3: Draw a long curved line similar to the letter U under both circles as a guide for the lower part of Roger Rabbit's mouth. The line should dip down quite a bit.
Step 4: On either side of the head, draw a curved line as guides for Roger Rabbit's cheeks. The cheeks complete the shape of the entire head. The curved line on the right side should be a little smaller because of the perspective. Add two small straight lines at the bottom too as guides for the neck.
Step 5: Draw two long oval-like shapes as guides for Roger Rabbit's eyes. Draw them inside the original circle and sitting on the top left side of the smaller circle. The shape on the right will be blocked by the one on the left, so don't draw it completely. | 0.6 | low | 3 | 344 | [
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b6eef26b-490f-40a0-bb34-872d96ed269e | Contador ‘more rested, very | interdisciplinary | tutorial | Contador ‘more rested, very, very motivated and with a team that is way stronger’
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Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Contador ‘more rested, very, very motivated and with a team that is way stronger’
by VeloNation Press at 9:45 AM EST comments
Categories: Pro Cycling, Tour de France
Spaniard believes he’s in a position to fight Chris Froome and others for Tour de France victory
Alberto ContadorAlthough he acknowledges that Chris Froome is the rider to beat in this year’s Tour de France, Alberto Contador has spoken optimistically about his own form, saying that he is in much better condition than when he last rode the race.
The Team Saxo Tinkoff rider had a relatively quiet Critérium du Dauphiné but has based everything around being right for the Tour de France.
He has held back at points during the year in order to ensure he didn’t eat into his reserves and with more in the tank plus a much stronger team than when he finished fifth overall in 2011 [later voided], he is upbeat about his chances.
“I do want to be one of the people who make it an interesting, spectacular race,” he told the Independent.
“Compared to the last time I did the Tour I'm starting it feeling more rested, very, very motivated, with the route checked out much more thoroughly and with a team that is way stronger.”
Because of that, he is determined to fight hard against any notion that Froome’s Sky team will dominate the Tour. “I've no intention of being a conformist in this race. Not in the slightest,” he pledged.
Contador’s team has become significantly stronger over the winter through the acquisitions of riders such as Nicolas Roche, Roman Kreuziger and Michael Rogers.
The latter has pledged his full support to Contador, saying that it would mean a lot to him if the Spaniard can take the race. He backed Bradley Wiggins to win last year and now, clad in a different team’s kit, he’s ready to do the same again.
“Personally, a victory by Alberto in the 2013 Tour de France would be a huge thrill and feeling of achievement,” Rogers said. “When you see how much passion and belief Alberto has day in and day out in what he is doing, it's impossible to not feel emotional. Like all great leaders he brings the best out of his team and I can't wait to get things going.”
Kreuziger echoes these sentiments. “Every Tour de France is different and every time, I'm really excited to take part in the race. However, this year is a little bit different for me,” he explained. “In my opinion, we have the best Grand Tour rider in the world and I'm so ready to support Alberto.
“My most important support will be executed in the mountains but I assume I can do some good in the team time trial as well.”
For the Czech rider, team unity is crucial and he believes that the whole squad will pull together to do everything it can to take the final yellow jersey to Paris. “The objective is perfectly clear. We want win the Tour with Alberto…that´s the goal for our team,” he said.
“We have three long and very hard weeks ahead of us. My own personal ambition is no other than the team's ambition. Every one of us in the team are motived and focused to give our very best in the 100th Tour de France.”
Contador won the Tour in 2007 and 2009, missing the race in 2008 when his Astana team were not invited. He was first in the general classification in 2010 but later lost that victory after he tested positive for Clenbuterol. If he prevails this year it will be his third overall win in the race and would be a big moment for him.
He’s been solid rather than spectacular this year, notching up just one win on stage six of the Tour de San Luis. Second overall in the Tour of Oman, third in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Klasika Primavera and fourth in San Luis, he has been overshadowed by Chris Froome, who has clocked up several wins.
Contador believes that he can step up a level for the Tour, but also acknowledges that Froome is the biggest favourite. “He is most dangerous contender for the 2013 Tour. He's going to be the one to beat,” he said.
“He's had an incredible season, he's won nearly every race he's taken part in and he's got an amazingly strong team.”
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72a065e4-7bdb-411b-a6b0-d4f238e4cd80 | Human mothers world over | science | research_summary | Human mothers the world over may wish they had this ability: Female beetles can skew the sex of their offspring.
The decisions seem to be based on the mama-to-be's own masculinity or femininity. Female beetles with manly features and strong fathers have more sons, while fit ladylike female beetles have more daughters. This study shows for the first time that females are able to manipulate the gender of their offspring to compensate for the fact that some of the genes that make a good male make a bad female and vice versa.
"The basic premise is that the genes that make a good female or a good male don’t necessarily make a good male or female [respectively]," study researcher David Hosken, of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, told LiveScience. "If you are a high-quality female you might produce low-quality sons."
The defining characteristic of a strong male beetle is his big mandibles — the piercing jaw area. To support these big bites, the males shift their body around to accommodate, but they are important in beetle-on-beetle warfare over mates: The bigger jaws usually win. The problem is that the shifted body plan and big jawbones are passed down to their daughters, leaving them with less energy and room for eggs. They are therefore "less fit" and have fewer offspring.
The researchers studied a colony of broad-horned flour beetles in the lab. They counted the offspring of female beetles and analyzed the size and shape of the mother's father. In normal populations they found a skew toward male offspring when the fathers had big, strong jaws.
"We looked at the sex ratios of the offspring produced by females from those populations," Hosken said. They saw that "high-quality females produce more daughters than sons."
They repeated the experiments with specially selected beetles to have bigger-than-normal or smaller-than-normal jaws. This made it even easier to see the sex-ratio skew. The highest gender skew the researchers saw was 57 males for every 43 females in the population specially selected for its masculine traits (instead of an even 50/50).
The female seems to be changing the sex ratio of her offspring to compensate for her more masculine frame, inherited from its father.
"If you have a male with large mandibles, there's a whole bunch of associated changes to muscles and to body shape," Hosken said. "Daughters inherit that masculinized body shape, so they can't hold as many eggs."
This makes sense that in such cases mothers would want to have more male offspring — their body size is great for males, just not too good for females. The pressure works the opposite way as well: Smaller jaws on a male mean his daughters are more fit, and so the soon-to-be mothers then manipulate their eggs to make more females.
The researchers don't know how the females can manage to change their offspring ratio. It could be hormone-related, but they aren't sure. The findings should hold for other insects, and even mammals, though other factors could be at play in different species.
The study was published in the January 2012 issue of the journal Ecology Letters. | 0.6 | medium | 4 | 667 | [
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9624161e-61ee-4d9f-979f-56f49933c96e | ABN 32 090 603 642 | science | practical_application | ABN 32 090 603 642
ASX RELEASE 20 June 2012
NEW DRILL TARGET AT THE MOUNT GUNSON COPPER PROJECT
.A new drill target has been defined on the Mount Gunson Copper Project by the Company's joint venture partner, Noranda Pacific Pty Limited (Noranda), part of the Xstrata Copper business unit.
This target lies close to the intersection of 2 major basement faults: the Cattlegrid and Elizabeth Creek Faults respectively, shown on the attached diagram, Figure 1. Iron oxide associated copper-gold mineralisation has been intersected in basement rocks along the Cattlegrid Fault in previous drilling by Gunson Resources Limited. The first intersection, in 2001, was 2 m @ 0.5% copper in hole MGD 26 W1, in the northern part of the Elaine Zone, associated with the iron oxide magnetite and five years later in 2006, hole MGD 34 intersected 2m @ 3.4% copper associated with the iron oxide hematite at the Chianti Prospect, some 17 kilometres along the Cattlegrid Fault to the north east (Figure 1).
The new drill target, named Elaine Zone Pinchout (Figures 1 & 2) is centred approximately 1 kilometre north of MGD 26 W1 and comprises a weak gravity anomaly with coincident magneto telluric (MT) geophysical support, at the northern pinchout of the Elaine Zone.
Proposed hole MGD 70 (Figure 2), angled 60 0 north east, is aimed at intersecting basement at approximately 600 metres vertical depth below the surface. The MT geophysical anomaly is thought to represent a sulphide enriched zone and its location close to the intersection of two major faults is encouraging. Drilling of MGD 70 is expected to start in mid July.
Noranda has the right to increase its equity in the Mount Gunson Project to 75% from its current 51% interest by spending a cumulative $10 million on exploration by mid June 2013. At the end of March 2012, Noranda had spent $5.97 million.
D N HARLEY MANAGING DIRECTOR
Figure 1 Mount Gunson Target Areas
Figure 2 Elaine Zone Pinchout
Further enquiries, please contact:
David Harley, Managing Director
Phone: (08) 9226 3130
Email: email@example.com
Website: www.gunson.com.au
David Waterhouse, Waterhouse Investor Relations
Phone: + 61 3 9670 5008
Mobile: 0407 880 937
Email: firstname.lastname@example.org
ATTRIBUTION
GUNSON RESOURCES LIMITED Mount Gunson Copper Project
20 June 2012 | 0.65 | medium | 4 | 686 | [
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1f9f033d-4f84-4526-9550-f4fadedd85d9 | Prevention dendrite growth volume | interdisciplinary | practical_application | Prevention of dendrite growth and volume expansion to give high-performance aprotic bimetallic Li/Na–O2 batteries
Despite great progress, current lithium-ion intercalation technology, even when they are fully developed, are difficult to satisfy society’s rapidly increasing demand of high-energy-density power sources for electric vehicles and electronics. In such a context, non-aqueous alkali metal-oxygen (AM–O2: AM = Li, Na, etc.) batteries become the promising candidates to replace conventional lithium-ion battery due to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density, deriving from the use of air cathode and AM (high theoretical specific capacity and low electrochemical potential) anode. However, AM is extremely reactive towards air and almost all nonaqueous electrolytes, thus resulting in significant parasitic reactions. Furthermore, uncontrollable Li (Na) deposition during plating/stripping, generally emerging as dendrites, easily induces cells short circuit accompanying by fire/explosion events, plaguing AM anodes towards practical applications. Therefore, to achieve a safe and stable AM-O2 cell, it is important to solve the dendrite coupled with oxidation/corrosion issues of AM anode.
Various attempts have been carried out to suppress AM dendrites. Among them, there is an interesting report wherein the Li/Na deposit had a rougher but non-dendritic surface while the lithium- or sodium-only deposit showed the preferential growth of dendrites (J. Electrochem. Soc., 2006, 153, A1353; J. Electrochem. Soc., 2011,158, A1100; J. Electrochem. Soc., 1995, 142, 3632). Subsequent studies reported by J-G. Zhang et el elucidated the reason for the above non-dendritic surface Li/Na deposit. It reveals that adding electrostatic shield additive such as a cation with a reduction potential lower than Li+ or Na+ help eliminate Li or Na dendrites (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135, 4450). Further studies revealed that the nonuniform and porous SEI results in Li metal reacting with electrolyte leads to the low Coulombic efficiency (Nano Lett., 2014, 14, 6889). Therefore, a good combination of electrolyte solvent, salt, and additives are proposed to obtain a robust and compact SEI. Even so, it should be noted that the high reactivity of AM towards air and nonaqueous electrolytes is also detrimental to cycle life of AM. Alloying is an effective method to improve the resistance of alkali metal to air and nonaqueous electrolytes. However, Li- or Na-based alloys such as Li- or Na-Sb and Li- or Na-Sn alloys introduce inactive components (Adv. Energy Mater., 2015, 5, 1400317), thus compromising the specific capacity of alkali metal electrode.
To this end, Li-Na alloy is the optimum project for improving the resistance of Li and Na to air and nonaqueous electrolytes without sacrificing the specific capacity of anode because Li and Na metals exhibit similar reaction activities as well as fine electrolyte compatibility of their ions. Besides, the stripping Li+ can prevent Na+ concentrating, thus suppressing dendrites. Our study elucidates the critical role of Li-Na alloy anode and electrolyte additive, DOL, in stabilizing Li or Na plating/stripping electrochemistry. By optimizing Na/Li value of alloy, a dendrite-suppressed, oxidation-resistant, and crack-free Li-Na alloy anode is obtained. When the Li-Na alloy with the optimal ratio is used, a proposed aprotic bimetallic Li/Na-O2 battery with high cycling stability is realized. Furthermore, with the help of electrocatalyst such as Co nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon fibers, the overall performance of the above metal–O2 batteries can be significantly improved. This study provides guidance for developing other bimetal batteries such as bimetal ion batteries, and bimetal-S/Se batteries, which may possess new chemistries and exhibit much better electrochemical performance than mono-metal batteries.
You can read more about this research here <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-018-0166-9> | 0.6 | high | 4 | 931 | [
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