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located just east palatine
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It is located just east of the palatine hill, on the grounds of what was neros golden house. Explore the bloody history of the colosseum one of romes most famous. It is located just east of the palatine hill, on the grounds of what was nero s golden house. But we also have to remember the people that died in order to entertain rome. It is an imposing construction that, with almost 2,000 years of history, will bring you back in time to discover the way of life in the roman empire. Sep 14, 2009 roman architecture hsar 252 professor kleiner features the tumultuous year of 6869 when rome had four competing emperors. Prior to the construction of the colosseum, amphitheatres were temporary structures built out of wood as needed. Because of its immense size, age and complexity, the roman colosseum is the most fascinating building in the city. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two roman theatres back to back. The colosseum was used to host a variety of shows and games with the political aim to entertain the people of rome the spectacles followed a very precise schedule. Roman colosseum designing buildings wiki share your construction industry knowledge. Colosseum was constructed, the circus maximus served as romes premier. The city of rome once housed more than one million residents. Improvements were made on it by emperors nerva and trajan around the end of the 1st century. Colosseum romes arena of death colosseum romes arena of. The amphitheatre and spectacle colosseum piranesi in rome. The site is full of interesting content, like paper craft and scrapbook, so youre sure to find something you like. The popularity of the emperors was judged by the success of their games. Built of travertine limestone, tuff volcanic rock, and brick. The romanesque style in the 11th, 12th and th centuries was also widely used in. It was completed in ad 80 under his heir titus, and further modifications were carried out during the ad 8196 reign of domitian. Up close with ancient architecture oh what a feat it must have taken those ancient roman engineers and artisans to build the colosseum without the tools of modern times. Contents1 construction of the colosseum2 what was the. If you want to go deep into the knowledge of the roman colosseum, here are some information about its architecture. It was built between 71 and 80 ad and was inaugurated by titus. A comparison of the reception of the colosseum and the circus maximus. The flavian amphitheater colosseum in rome caa proceedings. It is an imposing construction that, with almost 2,000 years of history, will bring you back in time to discover the way of life in the roman empire the construction of the colosseum began in the year 72 under the empire of vespasian and was finished in the year 80 during the rule of the emperor titus. The romans made great use of many architectural shapes like arches and columns. Read and learn for free about the following article. Vespasian linked himself to divus claudius by completing the claudianum, distanced himself from nero by destroying part of the domus aurea, filling in the artificial lake and replacing it with the colosseum. Colosseum location regio iv templum pacis temple of peace, rome, italy built in 7080 ad built byfor vespasian, titus type of structure amphitheatre related list of ancient monuments in rome the colosseum or coliseum, also known as the flavian amphitheatre, is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of rome, italy. The arena hosted gladiator contests, wild animal hunts and public executions. Vespasian survived to see the first and second stories constructed. Creative commons attributionnoncommercialsharealike. The architecture of rome over the centuries has greatly developed from ancient roman architecture to italian modern and contemporary architecture. Surely one of the most enigmatic monuments ever constructed on planet earth, the colosseum is the finest example of the richness of roman architecture. Construction of the colosseum in rome was begun in 72 ce by vespasian and completed between 81 and 96 ce in the reign of domitian. Though the structure stands in ruins today, it has definitely stood the test of time to be an. A midsized augustan provincial temple of the imperial cult. Anfiteatro flavio is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of rome, italy. If youre behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains. Construction of the colosseum was begun sometime between 70 and 72 ce during the reign of vespasian. The mystery and marvel of the colosseum has made it the centerpiece of rome and a milestone in human achievement. However, after the 6th century, the colosseum sat in disrepair, was neglected, and used as a quarry for hundreds of years. Though the structure stands in ruins today, it has definitely stood the test of time to be an iconic structure that architecture enthusiasts across the globe have bowed down to for centuries. Amphitheatres were arenas in which spectacles were held. Jan 10, 2017 the roman colosseum facts and history by masud rana january 10, 2017 i dont know if you have been to rome or not, but i am sure about one thing if youre an architecture studentteacher or an enthusiast, you sure as hell know about the colosseum in rome. The colosseum or coliseum, also known as the flavian amphitheatre latin. The roman colosseum facts and history architect boy. It was a huge structure and according to historians had a capacity to hold 80,000 people. The medicine is using for it from the long past is buy cheap viagra. It is considered one of the greatest works of roman architecture and engineering, and the most recognizable symbol of the eternal city itself. To facilitate the security checks please insert any object including mobile phone in the bagbackpack or in the tray to be included in the xray. The colosseum, pantheon, arches, and spans of aqueducts are existing structures that produce admiration. For the architecture of the city, see architecture of rome. Colosseum, italy europe architecture canon creative park. Rome the colosseum and all the buildings around it are there for the people to enjoy, no longer just its ruler2 a theme which was continued in the redisplay of neros private art collection in the templum pacis and perhaps also in the arches of the colosseum, as depicted on a sestertius of ad80 bmc 190. Vespasian emerged the victor, founded the flavian dynasty, and was. The colosseum and contemporary architecture in rome overview. Severe damage was inflicted on the colosseum by the great earthquake in 49, causing the outer south side to collapse. Today, the amphitheater is a major tourist attraction, playing host to 3. I am going to introduce you to the structure of the colosseum, the arena, the seats and the cellars. Pantheon, arches, and spans of aqueducts are existing structures that produce admiration for the architectural and construction abilities of the. It is the largest roman amphitheater in the world and despite suffering multiple fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters as well as substantial mistreatment at the hands of men it is still standing today. The roman colosseum facts and history by masud rana january 10, 2017 i dont know if you have been to rome or not, but i am sure about one thing if youre an architecture studentteacher or an enthusiast, you sure as hell know about the colosseum in rome. Evidently the roman builders did not consider a substantial staggering of the joints essential, and the stability demonstrated by the ageold structure has proved. The colosseum is the finest example of the richness of roman architecture. The colosseum as an enduring icon of rome western illinois. Visitors to ancient rome can explore this historic building from different heights and angles. The colosseum is one of the greatest feats of roman architecture ever built. I think the colosseum is an amazing amphitheater and i hope you do to. Roman colosseum by unknown architect, at rome, italy, 70 to 82, architecture in the great buildings online. In this post of our architecture feature series, we bring to you some important details about the colosseum, which is nothing short of a true marvel. Uploaded by mark cartwright, published on 02 november 2012 under the following license. Built over a 10year period during the reign of emperor vespasian and completed in ad80,this immense oval. The colosseum in rome is perhaps the most recognized ancient site in the world. The artificial lake that was the centrepiece of that palace complex was drained, and the. The roman colosseum, located in rome, italy, is the largest amphitheatre ever built and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Built of concrete and stone, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built and is considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering. Radical vr offers museum visitors a frontrow seat to a gladiator match in the roman colosseum. Because of earthquake and fire damage, the colosseum underwent repair until the 6th century. The colosseum is a massive and architecturally complex structure. Apparently the amphitheatre could also be called ovum egg, probably because of the shape of the arena, calpurnius or more commonly arena or cavea. Have fun printing out on your canon inkjet printer. Vespasian emerged the victor, founded the flavian dynasty, and was succeeded by his sons, titus and domitian. It was built as an amphitheatre and is regarded as an architectural wonder even today. The largest and most important amphitheatre of rome was the colosseum, built by the emperors vespasian, titus, and domitian in about ad 707282. About 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the colosseum games. The colosseum or flavian amphitheater was begun by vespasian, inaugurated by titus in 80 a. If youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Roman architecture article ancient rome khan academy. The square around the colosseum is probably one of the few places in rome that is at the same level as the ancient times. Roman winches used for the construction of the colosseum. The funding for building the colosseum came from the spoils of the judaic wars that the flavians fought in palestine. Free tour rome tours in rome forum and the colosseum. The construction of the colosseum began in the year 72 under the empire of vespasian and was finished in the year 80 during the rule of the emperor titus. Colosseum, roma, italy pictures download free images on. Colosseum, also called flavian amphitheatre, giant amphitheatre built in rome under the flavian emperors. What it would have been like to roam the streets of ancient rome is a question left to the imagination. The splendor and grandeur of rome today, even in ruin, remains impressive. Roman building materials, construction methods, and. Located on marshy land between the esquiline and caelian hills, it was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in. The colosseum in rome was the largest and most advanced amphitheatre the ancient world had ever seen. Moyan brennflickr the most spectacular attraction in italy, the colosseum is located towards the eastern side of the roman forum in rome. Using these they were able to build monstrous buildings of worship. It was completed in ad 80 under his heir titus, and further. The great flavian amphitheatre, or colosseum, in rome was erected by the emperors vespasian and titus c. The roman colosseum is a prime example of an important architectural building that has not only withstand the test of time, but also has had a major impact on how we perceive buildings in the modern world. Even today, it stands as one of the architectural wonders of history. Roman architecture if youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. As the oracle of the venerable bede put it, when the colosseum stands firm, rome too sands firm. Remember that rome is about 2600 years old, and that during all this time layers and layers of buildings and roads have accumulated. Rome was once the worlds main epicentres of classical architecture, developing new forms such as the arch, the dome and the vault. We take you on a tour of one of the most significant pieces of architecture of the ancient world. Therefore, if you were an ancient roman, you could have witnessed hunting scenes, animal fights, and armed. Just walking around the colosseum, you can see that the building has an elliptical shape with a long axis of 188 metres and a short one of 156 metres. In the centre of the building there was the arena, a wooden floor now partly reconstructed on the eastern side on which the games took place and that was covered with sand. Roman architecture hsar 252 professor kleiner features the tumultuous year of 6869 when rome had four competing emperors. While the circus was used for chariot races and was significantly larger, the colosseum was used for various blood. Visitors to rome italy can discover some amazing architecture that dates back some 2,000 years. Architecture of rome discovering the roman colosseum. The first stone amphitheatre of rome was built by statilius taurus in 29 bc somewhere in the campus martius its precise location being a matter of fierce debate. May 28, 2018 the colosseum, also known as the flavian amphitheatre, is an ancient, elliptical sports arena in the centre of rome, and the largest ever built in the roman empire. Apr 23, 2015 radical vr offers museum visitors a frontrow seat to a gladiator match in the roman colosseum. Architecture of the ancient roman empire is one of the most fascinating of all time. Located near the roman forum, construction began on the colosseum in ad 72 under the emperor vespasian. The colosseum was used for gladiatorial matches, athletic games and during its time with the christians, for things like. Digital rendering from rome reborn, in which both the colosseum and the circus maximus are visible. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content noncommercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations. There are many amazing facts about this marvelous amphitheater that you dont. The colosseum was the biggest amphitheater the roman empire. The colosseum in rome is one of the worlds most amazing buildings. The colosseum in rome is the greatest and most famous amphitheater of roman times. Roman colosseum rome, italy great buildings architecture. The maison carree at nimes in france, one of the best preserved roman temples. The colosseum was used for gladiatorial matches, athletic games and during its time with the christians, for things like passion plays. Though many of its glorious architectural designs and details have been lost, destroyed, or diminished due to the ravages of time, enough remains today to tell the story of. The level of the ancient city is about 815 metres below the current one. The colosseum or flavian amphitheatre illustration. So entangled was the concept of spectacle with the colosseum, that martial, a court poet for the flavians, wrote a series of epigrams recording and commemorating the building and many of the events from the 100 days of inaugural games. Please note that for safety reasons the coliseum can accommodate up to 3. Professor kleiner features the tumultuous year of 6869 when rome had four competing emperors. Built of travertine limestone, tuff volcanic rock, and brickfaced concrete, it was the largest. The protagonist is the architecture of the city of rome, all built between 1911 and 1989 within the gra, our contemporary city wall, whose analogies are arbitrary and questionable. The colosseum was designed so that it would only take ten minutes to empty the. The name colosseum was applied to that structure sometime after the 8th century because of its immense size and capacity.1184 134 710 73 1071 1480 187 45 226 972 1507 672 1029 272 838 1411 407 1193 588 911 1369 740 858 1489 1178 97 815 845 823 812 285 1405 212
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Kern County’s Land-Use & Transportation Plan
life_skills
practical_application
Kern County’s Land-Use & Transportation Plan Health impact assessment Kern County, California is central to America’s agriculture industry, but it’s also home to high rates of poverty and poor health outcomes. Rural areas like Lamont face especially high rates of asthma, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. With support from the Health Impact Project and The California Endowment, the community conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) to inform land use and transportation decisions at the county level. The assessment helped ensure that the concerns of rural communities were incorporated into the county’s final plan, and residents worked with the county to ensure that recommendations translated into action. As a result, nearly $2 million has been committed to building new sidewalks and other pedestrian improvements in the Lamont neighborhood that will allow increased opportunities for active transportation, like walking and biking. Learn more about the Health Impact Project here: Lessons from 4 case studies in California
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Photo by Enzie Shahmiri
interdisciplinary
concept_introduction
Photo by Enzie Shahmiri According to the - Carnations grow readily from cuttings made from the suckers that form around the base of the stem, the side shoots of the flowering stem, or the main shoots before they show flower-buds. - The cuttings from the base make the best plants in most cases. - These cuttings may be taken from a plant at any time through fall or winter, rooted in sand and potted up. - They may be put in pots until the planting out time in spring, which is usually in April or in any time when the ground is ready to be handled. - The soil should be deep, friable and sandy loam. Carnation Plant Care - Carnations need some hours of full sun each day and should be kept moist. - Avoid over-watering as this may tend to turn the foliage yellow. - Spent flowers should be removed promptly to promote continued blooming. - The quality of the bloom depends on the soil and irrigation aspects for growing carnations. - Those who grow carnations should know the importance of pinching, stopping and disbudding. - At the time of plucking carnations, leave three to four nodes at the base and remove the stem. - The plant foliage should not be exposed to the direct heat of a stove or the sun.
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What is a biographical dictionary
technology
data_analysis
What is a biographical dictionary? All biographical dictionaries consist of an alphabetical arrangement of surnames containing the critical dates and events associated with the named individuals included in the dictionary. Biographical dictionaries can be compiled along general lines or restricted to specific occupations, professions (Artists, Musicians etc), or some other characteristics that the contents of a given dictionary share (dictionaries of women for instance or winners of Nobel prizes). In other words, in the case of general dictionaries, the individuals included may cover all types of human occupations from artists to zoologists or, in a dictionary with a more specific application, they may be restricted to given occupations, professions, or some other shared characteristic. They may also be current (in other words restricted to the living as in “Who’s Who”) or restricted to a specific period of time (e.g. 19th or 20th century, or some other defined period) within which those included died. Biographical dictionaries also differ in the type of information supplied. In some cases one might only find critical dates and little professional or personal information while in others the compiler attempts to supply as much information as can be found (as is the case with the Scoop database where everything from home addresses to photographs are supplied wherever possible). The record of each named individual included in a biographical dictionary will vary according to the extent of the research undertaken by the compiler and the extent to which evidence of a person’s life is available. In some cases no amount of research will unearth relevant facts for the simple reason that facts and evidence have just not survived.
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Researchers using organs-on-chips more
science
experiment_design
Researchers are using organs-on-chips more frequently to study human organs and tissues. They offer a better approach to testing drugs because they can mimic blood flow, mechanical microenvironment and how different tissues are able to physically interface with each other in specific organs. It can take weeks for the human cells to grow into intact differentiated and functional tissues on chips. The Harvard Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering wanted to non-invasively monitor the health and maturity of cells and the electrical functions of normally electrically active cells in the organs-on-chips over a long period of time. The team, led by Donald Ingber and in collaboration with Wyss Core Faculty member Kit Parker, fit organs-on-chips with embedded electrodes that could accurately and continuously monitor trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER), which is used to measure the tissue health, differentiation and electrical activity of living cells. “These electrically active organ chips help to open a window into how living human cells and tissues function within an organ context, without having to enter the human body or even remove the cells from our chips,” Ingber, who is the Wyss Institute’s founding director, said in a press release. “We can now start to study how different tissue barriers are wounded in real time by infection, radiation, drug exposure or even malnutrition, and how and when they heal in response to new regenerative therapeutics.” TEER measurements help quantify the flow of ions between electrodes and across a tissue-tissue interface that is made of organ-specific epithelium and endothelium. The epithelial cells form tissue layers that cover the inner surfaces of most internal organs and endothelial cells line adjacent blood-transporting vessels and capillaries. Both cell layers are a barrier to small molecules and ions that protect organs and allow for a specialized function. Drug toxicities, infections, inflammation and other injurious stimuli disrupt the barriers, so TEER measurements can be used to assess baseline functional integrity of the cell layers and damage responses that are created by drugs or other toxic agents. “Using a new layer-by-layer fabrication process, we created a microfluidic environment in which TEER-measuring electrodes are integral components of the chip architecture and are positioned as close as possible to the tissues grown in one or both of two parallel running channels,” said Olivier Henry, Wyss Institute staff engineer. “In contrast to past electrode designs, this fixed geometry allows accurate measurements that are fully comparable within and between experiments, and that tells us exactly how tissues like that of lung or gut mature within a channel, keep in shape and break down under the influence of drugs or other manipulations.” With a TEER measurement chip that was integrated with multielectrode arrays, the researchers were able to build a beating, vascularized heart chip that had human cardiomyocytes cultured within one microfluidic channel and separated by a thin semi-permeable membrane from an endothelium-lined vascular channel. The researchers then tested the technology and treated the vascularized heart chip with an inflammatory stimulant that they knew would disrupt endothelial barriers or a heart stimulant that acts on cardiomyocytes. “This new chip enables us to perform live electrophysiological measurements to assess the integrity of the endothelial barrier in the heart using TEER measurements, while simultaneously quantifying the beating frequency of the heart cells using MEA,” said Ben Maos, a technology development fellow at the Wyss Institute and one of the study’s authors. “This allows us to reveal how drugs affect heart functions in a scenario where the two cell populations are closely coupled.” Harvard researchers recently used organs-on-chips to recreate kidney functions on a chip using human stem cells. Organ-on-chips are still a fairly new concept and the FDA is testing the technology behind them. The research was published in Lab on a Chip and was funded by the Wyss Institute and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “The future of organs-on-chips is instrumented chips: the idea that the experimenter is taken out of the loop during data collection. Continuous data collection off of organ mimics is what we need to measure efficacy and safety of drugs during long-duration experiments. These kinds of technologies offer us a granularity we have not had before,” Parker said. [Want to stay more on top of MDO content? Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter.]
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Leopards (Panthera pardus) currently
science
historical_context
Leopards (Panthera pardus) currently inhabit large parts outside formal conservation areas in South Africa. While leopards are not currently threatened in South Africa, regional populations are at risk. Conflict between leopards and ranchers is common in livestock and game ranching areas, often resulting in persecution. Negative attitudes towards leopards, caused by anti-predator sentiments and leopards preying on livestock and game are normally the reason for leopard persecution. The lack of data available for leopards on game ranches hampers current conservation efforts. A questionnaire survey was used to investigate the attitudes of ranchers towards leopards. Overall ranchers were positive towards leopards and negative attitudes towards leopards were attributed to their predation on livestock and game. Reported game and livestock losses were low, suggesting that local rumours play an equally important role in negative attitudes towards leopards. A Global Positioning System connected to cell phone transmitters [GPS/GMS] were fitted to leopards to determine home ranges and movement. GPS/GSM collars performed satisfactory with only 18 % of data missing. Leopards used smaller home ranges than expected. Social organisation was characterised by a mosaic of overlapping female ranges, while one male home range overlapped several female home ranges. Greater distances were travelled during the night than daytime. Home ranges of leopards covered a great number of ranches, while core areas were restricted to only a few ranches. Investigation of GPS clusters were used to determine age, sex and weight of prey killed by leopards. Data from kills were used in combination with scats to construct leopard diets. Leopards preyed on a variety of mammals, the most important being kudu (Tragelaphus strepiceros), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). Suggestions for the management of leopards are discussed.
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In the "Do you know
technology
code_implementation
In the "Do you know....?" Game, you're the game host of a Jeopardy style game and the JTE is the judge and scorekeeper! Your students compete in teams to accumulate the most points for fame and glory, or just stickers - whatever comes first! |Time:||15 - 25 minutes| |Level:||Junior high grades 1 - 3| |Works with:||Any vocabulary| |Class size:||Medium to large| You will need: - This worksheet Each printout contains 2 worksheets per A4 designed to be cut apart - Student's Textbooks or Workbooks - Timer (optional) - Chalkboard/Blackboard and chalk - Magnets (the long ones should be in the classroom already) - Toy microphone for all your cheesy, game show needs Also, you will need to check with the JTE on how silly they are comfortable with the game being. - Divide the class into teams with 4 to 5 students on each team. Have the students group their desks by team as well. (See tips.) - Distribute one worksheet per student. - Give the students 2-5 minutes to decide on a word or phrase to write on their worksheets. - Write at least 3 categories on the board in the point amounts of your choosing. Under your point values, place a long magnet for each category. The magnets will hold the completed worksheets facing the board, so students can't sneak a peek at them. The JTEs I work with prefer using 5pts, 10pts, and 15pts. (See tips.) - A student representing each team should stand and janken with the other students standing to determine the order in which the teams will start! The team that won the Janken goes first! - As the "game show host," you should ask the team to select a point value and pull one worksheet from that category. Read the worksheet for the English word or phrase. Ask the team whose turn it is, "Do you know... what ______ is in Japanese?" The students will have 30 seconds to answer. (See tips.) - If they cannot correctly answer in that time, another team is allowed to "steal" the question! If more than one team wishes to steal, they must Janken and then give their answer. - Alternatively, a team is also allowed to "pass" if they don't wish to or can't answer. - Once the "Do you know...." question is answered correctly, the process repeats itself until the board is empty of papers again! - While the students are deciding on what to write on their worksheet (step 3), ask the groups to give you an English "team name." Typically, the names are written on the board for point tracking and calling the team's attention during their turn if they get distracted. - To involve the JTE, ask them to collect the papers and let the JTE determine the point value for each student's worksheet. This also helps the JTE know what the students' answers to each should be as the game progresses. - You can use a timer here to enforce this if the JTE wants to keep the game from running over time. - Each student in a group should answer in a rotation as you go around the room by team. As well, no student should be allowed to answer their own submission! - With the JTEs I work with, we've created a rewards system where the winning team is given larger stickers, while the participating teams are given smaller ones. The next time you play, you can offer a chance at 「リベンジ‼︎」for other teams - If the JTE would like to be involved more or your Japanese is at a high-level, you can ask the students for the English equivalent to the Japanese written instead. Give the students less time to reply to make the game more high-tension. Depending on what material you're covering after, you can give the students a chance to earn 50 bonus points for their teams by correctly giving an English answer for something the JTE has written in Japanese on the board. This is a fun way to give shy teams more chances to earn points and to integrate the game into the lesson as a whole. This game is the result of adjusting James @ ALTInsider's Mini-Jeopardy Game to my teachers' and students' needs! It's great for practicing translation, spelling, and speaking.
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“Promoting rights children through
social_studies
ethical_analysis
“Promoting the rights of children through the training of future teachers” Pedro Adolfo Cabrejo Ruiz * 50 million inhabitants 75% Urban – 25% Rural. * Bogotá is the Capital with 10 million inhabitants. * Democracy since 1810 * Armed Conflict & Drugs Dealing. Frame of reference Local level purpose To attempt the reduction of violence in the classroom and school context; This proposal is focused on the awareness of child Rights through the implementation of workshops done in Big Books, increasing student’s social skills and respect. Welcome to our house... THE BIG BOOK OF DIVERSITY Generation of a Diverse Culture @Childrenrightsagents
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FEBRUARY 2017 FEBRUARY 2017
interdisciplinary
historical_context
FEBRUARY 2017 FEBRUARY 2017 The same old bullshit, for 2 hundred years. First it was the Catholics - German, Italian and Irish - and then Asians, and then Jews. Whose next? Translate Amazon Contextual Product Ads Friday, July 13, 2012 MR NICE GUY I think everybody liked Robert Williamson Steele. Every one who knew him speaks in glowing terms; he was genial, honest, an entrepreneur, a good neighbor and a true friend. Maybe he was a little distracted by his pursuit of money, but that's no sin in America. Then, in 1860, with the Civil War building to a roiling boil, “J.W.” presented the Federal government with a ready-made, right-out-of-the-box, pro-union local government to smooth passage of the gold rich Colorado territory into the federal union. And his fellow politicians turned him down flat. For some reason they just didn't trust “JW”. And that was only partly because he was a Democrat. See, in the 1850's there were only two kinds of Democrats, southerners willing to go to war to protect slavery and northerners who were willing to make any compromise to keep southern Democrats happy. The leader of the latter group was Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, who shepherded the Compromise of 1850 through Congress - protecting slavery but keeping it south of the Kansas border. And then four years later Douglas flip-flopped with his Kansas-Nebraska act, which let the locals decide the issue of slavery. His spin was “Let the people rule”, but the effect was to allow slavery supporters to drag their grievances north, across the Kansas border, where they barged into abolitionists. This intimate mixing of political ideologies set off “Bleeding Kansas” where neighbors like John Brown began settling political arguments by literally beheading their opponents. That was the real start of the American Civil War; not at Fort Sumter in 1861, but in Kansas in 1855. And, surprisingly, if anybody had taken notice, a practical solution to the political anarchy unleashed by Senator Douglas had appeared in July of 1858. William Greenberry Russell was a Georgia peach who was a “49'er”. He had been fairly successful in the California gold fields, running other people's claims. But he really struck gold with his in-laws. His wife, Susan Willis Russel, was 1/8 Cherokee, and that side of her family had been forced marched across the Mississippi River in the infamous Trail of Tears, back when Kansas and Nebraska were supposed to be the new “Indian Territory”- like Indiana before them and Oklahoma afterward. Separate but equal has never worked in America, not for Indians, not for blacks, not for women and not for gays. Anyway, Susan's Cherokee relatives wrote her about rumors of gold in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Looking to make his own fortune, Russel immediately rushed To Denver. One early July day he panned 20 ounces of gold out of Cherry Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. And news of that one day bonanza was like opening a safety valve on an overheated steam engine. Overnight, violence levels across Kansas dropped as the most adventurous (meaning the most violent) young males packed up all their excess energy and marched 300 miles westward toward the 14,000 foot high Pikes Peak. They weren't actually going to Pike's Peak, but it was the most visible bit of the Rocky mountains as you crossed the rolling prairies; thus “Pike's Peak or Bust”. Over the first two years of the Pike's Peak gold rush, one hundred thousand abolitionists and pro-slavery men came pouring out of Kansas and Nebraska. You might have expected a repeat of Bleeding Kansas in the gold fields. In 1860 a Kansas newspaper noted that “It is difficult...to walk half a square (mile) in Denver, without meeting some familiar face...” So the “59'ers” were the same folks who had been shooting each other back in Kansas in '58. Oh, they were still shooting each other in the gold fields, just not over slavery. Now it was over failed business deals and cheating at cards. In fact, it seems that all these violent people were suddenly no longer interested in politics. Greed had changed the political ethos. The two largest towns in the region sat right atop the gold fields. One, Auraria, even adopted the Latin word for gold as its name. But the other was named to curry the favor of the governor of Kansas Territory, James W. Denver. See, the gold fields were part of the huge Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory, and the residents of the town of Denver were hoping for win favorable treatment over Auraria.. But by the time the town of Denver had adopted its new name, Governor Denver was out of office, and the toadying to him did them no good. So Denver the town returned the favor. They kept the name, but when the ex-governor visited his namesake, the residents largely ignored him. And that would prove the new reoccurring theme in Colorado politics. Being ignored by territorial officials in distant Kansas, on 5 September, 1859, the citizens of Denver and Auraria voted to form their own government, which they labeled the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory. They laid claim to a huge expanse of plains and mountains, almost as big as California or Texas. The genial Robert Williamson Steele, a lawyer out of Chillicothe, Ohio was elected Governor. Not yet forty, his sole qualification was that he was genial and had served a single term in the Nebraska Territorial legislature before catching gold fever. The prickly Pennsylvanian born lawyer, Lucien W. Bliss, was elected Lieutenant Governor. He had sought his fortune in Leavenworth, Kansas, but had moved on to Denver where he helped start the Rocky Mountain News, and a couple of freight lines. And they were typical of pretty much everybody in the the self proclaimed Territory. Everybody in Jefferson who wasn't actually mining gold, was trying anything they could to make money off those who were. Governor “J.W.” even started a town in the foothills 12 miles west of Denver, which he called Mount Vernon.(He had a Tea Party 'thing' about the founding fathers). He sold town lots, and built toll roads heading to the new mines further up-slope. Lt. Governor Bliss started a couple of freight lines of his own, hauling equipment, food and fuel into the mines, and carrying the ore out. All of the men elected to the Jefferson Territorial legislature were only part time politicians, often business partners with their political allies and enemies. Even the judges appointed had to fit court sessions into their busy schedules - one of them never did show up for work. And Oscar Totten had been elected clerk of the Supreme Court because nobody else wanted the job. The whole rickety structure survived for only 16 months. You see, most of the residents of Jefferson Territory, like their political leaders, saw themselves as entrepreneurs first. And being businessmen they hated to pay taxes. So, they supported their new government with a one dollar poll tax. But the natural response from all these entrepreneurs when faced with a tax on voting, was to not vote, and thus not pay the tax. This left the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory on a very shaky financial and political foundation, made worse by the rickety nature of any business on the frontier. Of the 100,000 who had joined the Pikes Peak gold rush, seven out of ten went bust and headed back home. The 1860 census of “Jefferson Territory” could find only 25,329, still looking for their Eldorado.  Governor “J.W.” argued that many had gone uncounted because they were working isolated claims up in the hills. But being isolated, said the census takers, meant they were not interested in being counted, and so, they should not count. And the evidence was in the ballot box. The vote to create the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory had been 1,852 to 280 – barely 2,000 participating citizens out of the supposed 25,000 - not what you would call a “popular” election. Certainly Washington didn't call it that. After their request for recognition had been rebuffed by Washington, in August of 1860 “J.W.” asked Kansas Territory to absorb Jefferson Territory and its power structure, meaning himself and all those other entrepreneurs. Kansas didn't say no, but they didn't say yes, either. They just waited. In November of 1860, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois won election as President of the United States, sweeping the Republican party into power. They were made stronger when most of the southern Democrats walked out, to form the Confederacy. On 29 January, 1861, the new Republican Congress voted to admit the state of Kansas into the union, as a free state, sans the territory claimed as Jefferson. One month later, on 26 February, 1861, the Republican congress created the Territory of Colorado, ignoring the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory to death. A month later the rebels in Charleston, South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter, and the civil war began in earnest. On 3 June, 1861, Stephen Douglas died in Chicago, of typhoid fever. Three days later “J.W.” admitted reality, declaring the Provisional Government of Jefferson Territory disbanded. It had lasted barely 16 months. And even before it was gone, nobody missed it, not even its leaders. Lt. Governor Lucien Bliss eventually sold his businesses at a profit, and moved on to Montana, where he repeated his success. But Robert Williamson Steele, like most early entrepreneurs in Colorado, was not quite as successful. His toll roads closed when the mines they served ran out in the early 1860's. His town of Mount Vernon died shortly thereafter. Today, the only thing to mark its existence is an abandoned cemetery and a roadside plaque. “J.W.” fell back on the law to make a living, but he kept prospecting in his spare time. He lived a long and a productive life, and everybody liked him, right up to his death in Colorado Springs in 1901. And I suppose if you believed lives can teach lessons, you should remember that genial makes for a good politician, but it ain’t enough to make a viable government - and neither do entrepreneurs. Good government requires shared sacrifice and commitment. And people infected with gold fever aren't interested in sharing anything. - 30 - Wednesday, July 11, 2012 DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES I have noticed that in all things, drama attracts drama -  which as often confuses as it sheds light. Forty miles east of Coeur de'Alene, Idaho, there is proof of this. Through fissures opened by dramatic continental collisions over a billion years ago, water percolated up through sedimentary rocks. And where it pooled and cooled it left behind veins of silver, lead, and zinc. Then 190 million years ago this shattered wreckage was struck again, theatrically folding forested ridges upward until they broke, then shoving the amputated segments atop their own abandoned limbs, stacking the veins haphazardly through the new mountains. Fifty million years ago erosion found the weak points in the fault lines, opening the land to ambition and greed and human drama. Burke Canyon Creek, like a hundred other streams in the panhandle of Idaho, divides two of these ridges. To the southeast the 6,000 foot high twin Grouse Peaks are separate by a mile from the 6,000 foot high Tiger Peak to the northwest. Between them, at just 2,500 feet above sea level, snakes the 300 foot wide “Silver Valley”.  Burke Canyon is so narrow, in the winter it receives only two hours of sunlight.  Shopkeepers had to close their awnings when the narrow gauge trains carried out the ore. The dead had to be carried out as well, as there was no space to bury them in the canyon.  But by 1891, the 11 mile long, constricted, twisting valley was dotted with one-street towns and the 100 mines they served; The Bunker Hill, The Burke, The Star-Morning, The Standard-Mammoth, the Hercules, The Gem, The Poorman Tigar, The Union, The Sunshine, the Frisco, The Tamarack.and The Hecla were the biggest. In less than a hundred years humans would extract from this dramatic landscape $5.5 billion worth of metal, including 37,00 metric tons of silver – half of all silver mined in the United States - 8 million tons of lead, and 3 million tons of zinc These were no paper profits, this was production, rare metals pried from the earth. But the handful of owners who risked their capital to exploit this bonanza, and the 3,500 hard-rock miners who risked their lives a mile and more beneath this canyon for $3.50 a day, were all digging their own graves. In the fall of 1891 the railroads who transported the ore once it was out of Burke Canyon, announced they were raising their rates $2 a ton. The Mine Owners Association, which effectively owned the canyon, responded by shutting down production. Three thousand miners were laid off, and untold store clerks, cooks, maids and laundresses lost their incomes as well. The standoff continued until April of 1892, when a compromise was reached and the mines announced they would reopen. But because of increased overhead the mines would rehire only 2,000 men, would add six hours a week to their six day workweek, and for the 500 hundred unskilled miners, there would be a pay cut of fifty cents a day. The workers at each mine formed unions, and were unified in their demand - $3.50 a day for all workers, skilled and unskilled. The Owners Association refused, and in June began advertising for replacement workers. Soon, every train that arrived in Wallace, Idaho, at the foot of the canyon, carried miners (“scabs”) from Michigan and Wisconsin. Union miners took to greeting the new arrivals with fists and clubs. The Owners hired Pinkerton “guards” to protect the replacement workers. Tensions increased, threats increased, violence increased. Two of the mines reopened with union miners, and two, the Gem and the Frisco, reopened with non-union miners. When the sun rose over the narrow canyon on Monday, July 11, 1892, the hills overlooking the Gem were covered with armed union men. At first light, the shooting started. After several hours of unproductive gunfire, the miners switched to more familiar weapons. A black powder bomb exploded a building (above) housing one of the stamps which broke up the ore before shipment. After a little more shooting the company men surrendered. The human cost was three dead.  The union men marched their prisoners across the narrow street to saloons in the town of Gem, while company men still on mine property began sniping. Women and children ran for their lives, fleeing either up or down the canyon. Fifty more company men arrived and surrounded the saloons where their men were held. Three more men were killed, this time union men, and eventually, the union men surrendered in their turn. Meanwhile, shooting had also begun at the Frisco mine, and three more company men had been killed. Yet another surrender prevented further loss of life. The sheriff and Federal Marshals escorted these company men down the canyon to Wallace. Pro-union forces now occupied both mines and had captured 2,000 rounds of ammunition, to boot. All of this had isolated the largest mine further up the canyon, the Bunker Hill, in tiny Burke, Idaho. On day two of the “Burke Canyon War”, Federal troops arrived in Cataldo, twenty miles to the west, but the union men threatened to blow up the mines if they moved any closer. That left the company men in the closed Bunker Hill Mine cut off from any support, heavily outnumbered and out gunned. The company men walked out without putting up any further fight.  All non-union mines in the Silver Valley were now shut down. It was only a matter of time before all would be forced to sign union contracts. It looked like the Union had won. And then somebody did something really dramatic, and really stupid. It happened in Cataldo, where the narrow gauge railroad met the head of navigation for the Cour d'Alene River. There had once been a Mission nearby, and as daylight began to fade that Tuesday evening, 130  survivors from the Gem and Frisco mines, were gathered on the dock, waiting for a boat to allow them to escape from this insanity. They had already been shot at and some had even been blasted. Then, out of the shadows, union men now appeared on horseback and started shooting into the unarmed crowd. Panicked men began running in every direction, some even jumping into the lake. It does not appear that anyone was actually killed in this shadowed fusillade, but it was claimed that 17 were wounded. It was labeled “The Mission Massacre”, and most public sympathy for the union cause died right there. On Wednesday, July 13, Idaho Governor Wiley placed the entire county under martial law. A thousand state milita appeared, followed by a small but more vocal army of reporters. Before the week was out 400 union men were under arrest. So backed up would the courts become, that it would be a year before some of prisoners would have their chance to defend themselves. Very few would be found innocent. Many served years in prison. All union men were forced out of the mines, and the Owners Association reigned triumphant. The Wallace Free Press summed up what was lost, when it noted, “Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword, is an old proverb, and labor is not trained in that school.” Eight years later they all did it again. This time the Bunker Hill mine was blown up. But again the owners won. Six years later the two sides went at it again,  and the then Governor - Frank Steunenburg - called out National Guard troops. This time,  he boasted, “We have taken the monster by the throat, and we are going to choke the life out of it.” Union men responded by blowing up the governor. It took the skills of lawyer Clarence Darrow to keep the union man convicted of the Governor's murder, out of the electric chair . But the tit for tat never really ended, which helped ensure that by 1920 the 5,000 non-union miners in Silver Valley were the highest paid workers in the state. But almost unnoticed at first, the real cost of all this drama began to surface. Around 1900 farmers downstream began complaining that the spring floods on the Coeur d'Alene had poisoned their fields and killed their livestock. By the 1930's the south fork of the Coeur d'Alene river had become a dead zone. People drinking from the river became sick, even losing their hair. The farmers sued the mine owners, but the courts, already used to crush the union, now crushed the farmers. Still, there was so much lead in the Burke Canyon Creek, the miners began calling it “Lead Creek”. After the World Wars the price of silver began to fall. The mines began to close. And as they did, their political power began to wane. In May of 1972,   91 miners died in a fire at the Sunshine Mine. And this time the disaster brought in the new Environmental Protection Agency. And what they found, scared them. In  Burke Canyon Creek between Burke and Wallace they could find no fish. By measurement, the water carried 550 pounds of zinc every day into the Coeur d'Alene River – so much that when the stream pooled, the water was yellow . Twenty miles of streams in surrounding areas could support no fish, and 10 miles of tributaries of the Coeur d”Alene River had “virtually no life” in them. In those waters outside of Silver Canyon, lead and zinc levels were fifty times the federal safe water quality standard. How had it spread so far outside the canyon?   Every day each mine had been dumping between 40 and 60 tons of lead into the air. Rain settled this poison into the  Coeur d'Alene river, and had contaminated Lake Coeur d'Alene, which had contaminated 160 miles of the Spokane River, which flowed out of the lake. Water fowl were dying each year in thousands, 21 bird species were at risk of local extinction. And human children living in the valley had the highest levels of lead in their blood ever seen - in the world. The result was the 21 square mile Bunker Hill Superfund Site. When this cleanup is finally finished (if ever), it could cost taxpayers $1.4 billion – or just about 20% of the value of the ore removed from the “silver canyon” over the last century, to enrich a few mine owners. In 1996, after twenty years of cleanup effort, EPA scientists put healthy trout in water from the Burke Canyon Creek. All were dead in four hours. Today, if you take a drive up Silver Canyon, you will pass the abandoned mine buildings, surrounded by chain link fences. Those fences were erected by the EPA, to protect curious tourists from being poisoned. - 30 - Sunday, July 08, 2012 ETERNAL TRIANGLE Pt. One I wonder why they call it “news”? The one thing it never is, is “new”. Every headline merely documents a  sad, sustained repetition of scandal, sin, stupidity and sex . History does not repeat itself. People do. As an example, I give you the obtuse triangle of “Big” Jim Fisk, Helen Josie Mansfield and Edward Stokes; a triangle which would have been familiar to Pythagoras and would have bemused Sigmund Freud, and might have informed John Edwards and Governor Mark Sanford - among others - if they were to consider themselves as not quite unique. Jim Fisk was born in Vermont on April Fools’ Day in 1835. His father was a traveling “bummer”, selling pots and pans and trifles. W hen he was 15 Jim ran away to join “Van Amberg's Mammoth Circus and Menagerie”, and returned three years later with a splash of color and bombast which he marketed into a fortune. In the midst of the Civil War, together with Jay Gould - the most hated man in New York - “Big” Jim took over the Erie Railroad. But it was “Big” Jim who moved the Erie’s corporate offices into the upper three floors of the Grand Opera House (above), which he owned. For while Gould had no interests outside of making money, Jim Fisk was a man of prodigious appetites, many of them involving divas of one kind or another. Jim had been married to his dearest Lucy when he was 19, but she resided in far off Boston with her own lady love, Fanny Harrod. And while Jim kept both ladies in luxury, and even visited them occasionally, he spent most of his free time with “actresses” in New York, and was a regular visitor at the business house of “the notorious Annie Wood”. And it was there one night that Anne introduced Jim to his personal Helen of Troy, Josie Mansfield. Josie was a beauty in an age when a sexy woman had some meat on her bones. One admirer noted her “…full, dashing figure …Her eyes are large, deep and bright…Her voice is very soft and sweet”. It was Josie’s mother who first recognized the girl’s talent as “an incorrigible flirt”, and used her as bait in a badger game, played in Stockton, California. A pettifogging local attorney named D.W. Perley , while in a state of undress, was caught "courting" the girl.  He wrote at least one check at gunpoint. There was some quarrel over the proceeds of this venture, and shortly thereafter Josie secretly married and ran off with Frank Lawlor, an actor. She followed Frank cross-country on the music hall circuit, arriving in New York City in 1864. Here, two years later, Frank came to the shocking discovery that Josie “was going astray” on him. Although why that should have shocked him, considering where they met, seems an open question.  In any case, they divorced, and Josie sought a career more suited to her talents, in the bordello of Annie Wood. There she enticed Annie to introduce her to the genial and generous Mr. Fisk. He was enchanted. She was enriched. Over night Josie went from being behind in her rent to the “Cleopatra of West Twenty-third Street”, the owner of record of a four story brownstone (after some $65,000 worth of improvements) - conveniently located just around the corner from "Big" Jim's Opera House – with four servants, a wardrobe filled with dresses, and a jewelry case accented by real jewels. But having achieved everything she had hungered for, Josie was now bored. And that was when she made the acquaintance of one of “Big” Jim’s business partners, Edward Stokes, and fell head over heels in love for him. It was understandable. Where Big Jim had few social skills, Edward had an excess. Where “Big” Jim was physically blunt and crude, Edward was handsome and dashing. He was a privileged, pompous and prideful dandy, with a trophy wife and a 9 year old daughter. Josie was experienced enough to recognize that Edward was also a spendthrift and an inveterate gambler, losing a small fortune on race horses. An affair would be dangerous for them both. Josie depended on "Big" Jim for her income, and Edward was partnered with “Big” Jim in a Brooklyn oil refinery. Edward ran the place, and “Big” Jim’s Erie Railroad transported the refineries’ oil at a discount.  But for reason, in 1869, the suggestion self delusion and self destruction drove Edward and Josie to began an affair -  they thought behind “Big” Jim’s back. Such a triangle could be maintained only so long as all the parties carefully judged the angles. But algebra was a skill that none of the three possessed in quantity or quality. In January 1870 Josie announced that she no longer wanted to see “Big” Jim unless he made her financially independent. She reminded him,  “You have told me very often that you held some twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars of mine in your keeping…a part of the amount would place me where I would never have to appeal to you for aught” And now, she said, she wanted "her" money. The entire point of their relationship, as far as “Big” Jim was concerned, was that Josie had to appeal to him for everything. He was hurt, and responded, “Have I not furnished a satisfactory mansion? Have I not fulfilled every promise I have made?” And then he let it be clear that he was fully aware of her affair with Edward. “You may well imagine my surprise at your selection of the ‘element’ you have chosen to fill my place. I was shown today his diamonds, which had been sacrificed ... at one-half their value ….You will, therefore, excuse me if I decline your modest request for a still further disbursement of $25,000” Jim even began calling Josie his Little Miss “Lump-sum”. Having received a definitive “no” Josie began shifting her demands. First, she threatened to publish “Big” Jim’s love letters to her, then she said was willing to spend an evening with him, then she hinted she would share secret details of his Erie stock manipulations. Through an intermediary “Big” Jim asked Edward how much he would require to return those love letters and return Josie as well. Edward asked for $200,000, and that seemed to have hit “Big” Jim’s limit, again. Of course,  "Big" Jim still sent Josie cash when she asked for it - $500 on November 7th, $300 on November 10th, another $500 a week later. Now why did he do that? He must have suspected that most of the money was going to Edward. Of course that was also the month that “Big” Jim cancelled the shipping discount for the refinery he shared with his paramour. Of course “Big” Jim was hurting his own profit margin, but Edward, having recently lost yet another fortune at race tracks, was squeezed much harder. Edward grew so desperate that in January of 1871 he collected a $27,500 debt owed to the refinery, and pocketed it.  Almost as if he had been waiting for this, “Big” Jim had Edward charged with embezzlement, and the Lothario spent a weekend in jail before he could raise bail. Edward swore his revenge. Why “Big” Jim had not done this sooner remains a mystery. The man could make Wall Street tremble, and yet he seems to have been sheered of his strength before Josie's demands. The lady now filed suit in open court, demanding that “Big” Jim pay her $50,000 (the $25,000 plus interest). And Edward climbed on the bandwagon, suing “Big” Jim,  to force him to buy out Edward’s share of their refinery for $200,000. And at last the entire mishegoss, was out in the open, where the press could profit by it.  And they always love that. This story, they knew,  was just beginning. - 30 - Blog Archive Amazon Deals  
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**Prerequisite Review** **Key Concept
technology
historical_context
**Prerequisite Review** * **Key Concept 1: Game Theory - Players, Strategies, and Payoffs:** In game theory, we analyze situations involving multiple rational decision-makers (players). Each player has a set of possible actions (strategies), and the outcome of the game depends on the combination of strategies chosen by all players. Payoffs represent the utility or value each player receives from a particular outcome. * *Example:* In a simple game, two companies decide whether to advertise or not. Their strategies are {Advertise, Don't Advertise}. The payoffs depend on whether both advertise, one does, or neither does. * **Key Concept 2: Nash Equilibrium:** A state in a game where no player can improve their payoff by unilaterally changing their strategy, assuming all other players keep their strategies unchanged. * **Key Concept 3: Rationality Assumption:** Players are assumed to act in their own self-interest, aiming to maximize their own payoffs. **Knowledge Gap Identification** * **Common Gap 1: The transition from abstract games to economic settings.** Learners might struggle to see how the formal structures of game theory directly apply to real-world economic interactions like selling goods. * **Bridge:** Think of an auction as a specific type of game. The "players" are the bidders and the seller. The "strategies" are the bids they choose. The "payoffs" are the value they derive from winning the item (for bidders) or the revenue generated (for the seller). * **Common Gap 2: Understanding incentives beyond simple win/loss.** In many games, the payoff is simply winning or losing. In auctions, the payoff is more nuanced – it's about the *price* paid or received. * **Bridge:** Consider a simple sealed-bid auction where two bidders want an item worth $100 to bidder A and $80 to bidder B. If A bids $70 and B bids $60, A wins. A's payoff is $100 - $70 = $30. B's payoff is $0. This highlights how bids directly impact payoffs. **Building the Bridge** * **Step 1:** From **Game Theory**, we understand players choosing strategies to maximize payoffs, often seeking a Nash Equilibrium. * **Step 2:** We extend this by considering specific economic scenarios where the "game" is about acquiring an item or resource. The strategies become *bidding strategies*, and payoffs are directly tied to the *price* of the item and the bidder's valuation. * **Step 3:** This leads us to **Auction Theory**, which formally studies these games, analyzing how different auction rules (formats) influence bidding behavior, efficiency (who gets the item), and revenue for the seller. **Conceptual Transformation** * How **Nash Equilibrium** in a general game becomes the concept of **Bayes-Nash Equilibrium** in auctions, where bidders reason about others' *valuations* and potential bids, not just their actions. * Why the **simple payoff** of "winning" needs modification to include the *cost* of winning (the bid price), transforming it into net profit (valuation - price). * Where the **familiar pattern** of strategic interaction appears in the form of bidders adjusting their bids based on their beliefs about competitors' willingness to pay. **Connection Reinforcement** * **Similarity:** The core idea of rational players making strategic choices to maximize their outcomes remains central. * **Difference:** Auction theory introduces uncertainty about other players' private valuations, requiring probabilistic reasoning. * **Extension:** Auction theory develops specific mechanisms (like different auction formats) designed to elicit truthful bidding or maximize seller revenue, going beyond general game-theoretic predictions. **Checkpoint Questions** 1. In a game where players choose between "cooperate" or "defect," what does a Nash Equilibrium imply about their choices? 2. If a bidder values an item at $50 and wins it by bidding $40, what is their approximate payoff in auction terms? 3. How does the concept of "private valuation" in auctions differ from a simple strategy choice in a standard game theory problem?
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People with autism face many injustices and difficulties. They are more likely to be unemployed, have a greater risk of mental health problems, and are at increased risk of other health issues. Autistic people will die, on average, 16 years earlier than their peers. A quarter of autistic people will not speak a word during their lives. Autistica, a charity which supports people with the condition, believed that research, services and policy had failed to address these issues, and that too much effort is focused on a cure. In contrast, too little time is spent listening to autistic people and find out what it is that they want. Autistica decided to reinvent itself and pioneer new ways of working with people to address the issue. The charity has changed its organisational mindset and now considers itself a “force for change”. It has changed its staffing model, shifted its fundraising strategy, and shaped new alliances. But the key change has been its approach. The charity publicly stated an aim to transfer priority-setting power to its community, developed a new methodology for setting research priorities, and sought funding to make it a reality in autism. It has developed a new scientific strategy based on the outcomes, and aims to co-design a new nationwide research network aiming to solve these problems. The charity has made changes but is far from finished. It wants to triple autism research spending, get autistic people themselves more involved in research, and improve autistic people’s mental health. CC reg no: 1107350 People leaving hospital after having a stroke face a range of symptoms, but one which is relatively unrecognised is the impact of the stroke on resilience mental health. Despite this, there is little support available to stroke survivors once they leave hospital, with just 26 per cent of the population having access to high-quality, tested stroke peer support groups. The Stroke Association recognised this gap, and has responded by developing and increasing the number of peer support groups across the UK. Since the start of the project, the Stroke Association has increased the number of groups, mobilised almost 200 new volunteers and supported almost 1,000 new beneficiaries. Those taking part in the peer support process report radical changes: better social support, increased wellbeing, and greater confidence. All at a cost of just £8 for each person helped. Wetwheels builds disabled people’s confidence and improves wellbeing by providing sea-going adventures in specially-adapted power boats. The charity was founded five years ago by quadriplegic yachtsman Geoff Holt MBE, and now provides more than 3,000 people with sea-going adventures each year, particularly those with profound and complex disabilities. Wetwheels provides a unique experience and over 80 per cent of participants say that they had not been able to access the sea before.
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94a2571f-0df6-4d19-b213-7eb62aab13fe
Many terms applied art
interdisciplinary
technical_documentation
Many of the terms applied by art historians and curators to describe prints, drawings, and watercolours are not readily understood by museum visitors and art enthusiasts. These terms can also be difficult to find in reference books. This publication defines and illustrates in one portable volume the most commonly used technical terms related to these three media. This handy reference guide features over one hundred entries alphabetically arranged from aquatint to wood engraving that concisely explain the processes and materials utilized in creating prints, drawings, and watercolours. This edition, revised from a book originally published in 1989, has been updated with additional color illustrations and new entries on digital printmaking and copies and fakes. It is richly illustrated with objects from the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the British Museum. Paul Goldman is an associate fellow at the Institute of English Studies, University of London, and a former curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.
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85f5adcd-5153-4f0a-8834-34852618693c
[K-Movie] A Werewolf Boy
arts_and_creativity
creative_writing
[K-Movie] A Werewolf Boy Share NotNicoAgain Posts : 222 Join date : 2013-01-28 Age : 22 Location : Germany [K-Movie] A Werewolf Boy Post  NotNicoAgain on Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:21 am Does anyone of you watched "A Werewolf boy"? The sub for this movie came out this week and it's such a masterpiece (in my eye). I love the acting so much, because Song Joong Ki is playing the Werewolf Boy and he does not speak, but through his gorgeous acting you can see in which mod his character is and what he is thinking. It's so fantastic and I cried like a little baby after I watched it. Current date/time is Fri Oct 21, 2016 5:08 am
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87779a2e-8164-409e-8f13-0604a4e60a59
Does The Body Need Cholesterol
interdisciplinary
practical_application
Does The Body Need Cholesterol Myth: All cholesterol is bad for you. Fact: Certain types of cholesterol are essential for good health. Your body needs cholesterol to perform important tasks, such as making hormones and building cells. Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. Treatment Options For High Cholesterol The two best ways to lower or maintain your cholesterol levels include drug therapies as well as watching what you eat, staying active, and maintaining a healthy weight. Your provider is the best person to work with to develop a course of treatment that will help you get the best results and lower your cholesterol. What Happens To Your Body When You Have High Cholesterol Insight. Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells, but high levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease. With high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits grow, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Recommended Reading: How To Lower Glucose And Cholesterol Wednesday 27 September 2017 Given the seriousness with which its talked about, you could be forgiven for thinking that all cholesterol is terrible and out to kill you. The truth is, a healthy level of cholesterol is actually essential for your body to run properly every cell in your body contains some cholesterol. Your body uses cholesterol to build cell walls, make vitamin D and produce hormones. In fact, about 75% of the cholesterol in your body is made by your liver. The rest comes from some of the foods and drinks you consume. Cholesterol can become a serious health problem when your body has too much of it, especially one type in particular called low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol. Read on to find out what cholesterol is, the difference between good and bad cholesterol and how you can try to keep your cholesterol at a healthy level. Safe Blood Cholesterol Levels Health authorities recommend that cholesterol levels should be no higher than 5.5 mmol per litre if there are no other risk factors present. If there are other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure or pre-existing cardiovascular disease, then the aim for the LDL levels would be less than 2 mmol/l. Approximately half of all adult Australians have a blood cholesterol level above 5 mmol/l. This makes high blood cholesterol a major health concern in Australia. The Difference Between Good And Bad Cholesterol If cholesterol is so necessary, why is it sometimes described as “bad” and at other times as “good?” Your liver packages cholesterol into so-called lipoproteins, which are combinations of lipids and proteins. Lipoproteins operate like commuter buses that carry cholesterol, other lipids like triglycerides, fat-soluble vitamins, and other substances through the bloodstream to the cells that need them. - Low-density lipoproteins, sometimes called bad cholesterol, gets its bad reputation from the fact that high levels of it are associated with increasing your risk of heart disease. LDL contains more cholesterol than protein, making it lighter in weight. LDL travels through the bloodstream and carries cholesterol to cells that need it. When it becomes oxidized, LDL can promote inflammation and force lipids to accumulate on the walls of vessels in the heart and rest of the body, forming plaques. These plaques can thicken and may limit or completely block blood and nutrients to affected tissues or organs. - HDLor high-density lipoproteinsis also commonly referred to as “good cholesterol.” HDL is heavier than LDL because it contains more protein and less cholesterol. HDL gets its good reputation from the fact that it takes cholesterol from the cells and brings it to the liver. Having higher levels of HDL may also help lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Effects Of High Cholesterol Levels The liver is the main processing centre for cholesterol and dietary fat. When we eat animal fats, the liver transports the fat, together with cholesterol in the form of lipoproteins, into our bloodstream. Too much cholesterol circulating within LDL in our bloodstream leads to fatty deposits developing in the arteries. This causes the vessels to narrow and they can eventually become blocked. This can lead to heart disease and stroke. Also Check: How Much Cholesterol Per Day For A Woman Lifestyle Tips To Cut Cholesterol Changing some of your lifestyle habits may also help to reduce your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Suggestions include: - Cease alcohol consumption or reduce your alcohol intake to no more than one or two drinks a day. Avoid binge drinking. This may help lower your triglyceride levels. - Dont smoke. Smoking increases the ability of LDL cholesterol to get into artery cells and cause damage. - Exercise regularly . Exercise increases HDL levels while reducing LDL and triglyceride levels in the body. - Lose any excess body fat. Being overweight may contribute to raised blood triglyceride and LDL levels. - Control your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes. High blood sugars are linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis , heart attacks and strokes. What Makes Cholesterol Good Or Bad Cholesterol is a type of fat in our body. It helps us do many things: build cells, digest food, and make hormones. Although cholesterol is necessary for the proper functioning of our body, too much can be bad. High cholesterol can cause serious problems in our blood, like clots, as well as heart and brain problems. Does your body need cholesterol? Don’t Miss: Is Chicken Bad For Your Cholesterol What Health Problems Can High Cholesterol Cause If you have large deposits of plaque in your arteries, an area of plaque can rupture . This can cause a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block blood flow in a coronary artery. Plaque also can build up in other arteries in your body, including the arteries that bring oxygen-rich blood to your brain and limbs. This can lead to problems such as carotid artery disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Dont Miss: Is Shrimp Bad For Your Cholesterol What Is The Cholesterol In Your Food Unpacking Dietary Cholesterol Many of the fat substances in your body, including cholesterol, are produced naturally this production is determined by your genes and your metabolism, and is likely not something you can change. However, you have more choice in the fats that enter your body through your food. Saturated and trans fats are the main culprits when it comes to increased cholesterol in the bloodstream these fats prevent liver cells from effectively removing cholesterol from your blood. Its important to monitor your intake of foods that contain these types of fat. To keep your cholesterol in check, a basic rule of thumb is to avoid saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats mainly come from animal sources of food and trans fats mostly originate from oils through a food processing method called partial hydrogenation. Both trans fats and saturated fats harm the bodys ability to combat heart disease. Learn more about saturated fat, trans fat, and ways to make healthy food choices here. It is more important to focus on eating less unhealthy fats than to stress about dietary cholesterol although moderation with dietary cholesterol is still recommended as your body doesnt need too much cholesterol overall to function. Read Also: Does High Cholesterol Cause Stroke Why Do We Need Cholesterol There is cholesterol in every cell in your body. It plays vital roles in how your body works, and it’s especially important in your brain, nerves and skin. Cholesterol has three main jobs: - Its part of the outer layer, or membrane, of all your cells. - Its used to make vitamin D and steroid hormones which keep your bones, teeth and muscles healthy. - Its used to make bile, which helps to digest the fats you eat. Keeping These Numbers In Check There are several things that influence your cholesterol numbers, some of which you have control over. While heredity and weight may play a role, lifestyle choices around diet and exercise can also raise or lower your overall numbers. Eating foods that are low in cholesterol and saturated fats, getting regular exercise, and managing your weight are all Also Check: How You Feel With High Cholesterol You Dont Need To Avoid Eggs And Seafood Some foods are high in cholesterol but are fine to eat in moderation, as long as your overall diet is low in saturated fats. For example: - Egg yolks a single egg yolk contains 200250 mg of cholesterol, which is almost the uppermost recommended daily intake . However, reducing egg intake is probably not important for healthy people with normal blood cholesterol levels. - Seafood prawns and seafood contain some cholesterol, but they are low in saturated fat and also contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Seafood is a healthy food and should not be avoided just because it contains cholesterol. However, avoid fried and battered seafood. Recommended Reading: Is Canned Tuna Good For High Cholesterol /6importance Of Sugar And Making Natural Sweetener At Home Lets accept the fact that we all need sweeteners and it is one thing that cannot be erased from our lives. From tea to coffee and baking goods, sugar is an integral part of our life and is something that has a very poor reputation as it is often regarded as an enemy. However, sugar also gives energy and hence it is important. You May Like: What Is The Normal Cholesterol Level For Adults Cholesterol Levels In Men & Women Heart disease is the number-one killer of both men and women in the United States. More men have heart disease than women, but its important for everyone to keep their heart healthy. The healthy cholesterol ranges are the same for men and women , and the National Institutes of Health recommends that everyone age 20 and older get their cholesterol checked every five years. However, most doctors use guidelines set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force , a panel of health experts that publishes screening recommendations. Based on the most recent clinical evidence, the USPSTF recommends that all men get their cholesterol checked starting at age 35, but if they have an increased risk of heart disease to begin checking earlier. The USPSTF recommends women get their cholesterol measured only if they have an increased heart disease risk based on other factors. What Kind Of Test Measures Cholesterol Your provider checks your cholesterol levels through a blood test called a lipid panel . Your provider will draw blood from a vein in your arm and send the blood to a lab for analysis. Be sure to closely follow your providers instructions on how to prepare for the test. Youll likely need to fast for 12 hours beforehand. This means avoiding all foods and drinks except water. When your results come in, your provider will let you know. You may also be able to access your results through your electronic medical record. Your lipid panel gives you the following numbers: Read Also: How To Increase Hdl Cholesterol Myth: Eating Foods With A Lot Of Cholesterol Will Not Make My Cholesterol Levels Go Up Fact: It can be complicated. We know that foods with a lot of cholesterol usually also have a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fats can make your cholesterol numbers higher, so its best to choose foods that are lower in saturated fats. Foods made from animals, including red meat, butter, and cheese, have a lot of saturated fats. Instead, aim to eat foods with plenty of fiber, such as oatmeal and beans, and healthy unsaturated fats, such as avocados, olive oil, and nuts. Learn more about healthy diets and nutrition at CDCs nutrition, physical activity, and obesity website. Talk with your health care provider about ways to manage your cholesterol. Learn more about medicines to lower cholesterol. Your GP may recommend that you have your blood cholesterol levels tested if you: The Importance Of Cholesterol In The Body DEFINITION: Cholesterol is a high molecular weight sterol. Cholesterol is not a fat. Cholesterol is an important component of the cell membranes, including organelle membranes inside the cell. The right proportion of phospholipids, fatty acids, and cholesterol in cell membranes allows them to be flexible while still holding their shape. “Cholesterol is used by the body as raw material for the healing process. This is the reason the injured areas in the arteries … have cholesterol along with several other components in the ‘scar’ tissue that is formed to heal the ‘wound’.” Cholesterol is found in large amounts in brain tissue where it is needed for normal brain function. Research has shown that cholesterol in eggs is helpful to older people whose memory is declining. Cholesterol often elevates as part of a protective immune system response to chronic infection. Infants need plenty of cholesterol for proper brain development and cholesterol is normally found in large amounts in human breast milk. Adrenal and gonadal hormones are made from cholesterol. These are the stress handling, energy producing and reproductive hormones. Cholesterol is vital for proper nerve function. Three quarters of the myelin membrane is made from fat and of that nearly one quarter is cholesterol. Vitamin D is made from cholesterol in the skin. Cholesterol is converted into bile salts in the liver which are needed to break down and emulsify fats. You May Like: What Meat Has The Lowest Cholesterol If Cholesterol Is Important For Health Why Is It Good And Bad Lipoproteins have different concentrations of fat and transport cholesterol to different parts of the body. The lower the density of a lipoprotein, the more fat it contains. Therefore, LDL cholesterol is very rich in fat. LDL cholesterol delivers cholesterol to our cells and is associated with plaque build-up in our arteries which can lead to heart disease. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, helps collects cholesterol from the blood stream and deliver it to the liver for excretion. /6are Sweeteners A Viable Option These days, one can see several sugar substitutes in the market which are popularly called artificial sweeteners, which are chemical or plant-based substances and are used to sweeten that cup of coffee/tea and make healthy desserts. These sugar substitutes might be termed as healthy, but they are not. What, if we told you that you can make your own natural sweetener at home and it’s completely healthy and tastes much better than those artificial sweeteners? Well, if you are someone who cannot survive without a sweetener in your food, then here is a chance to make natural sweetener at home. Take a look at its recipe. You May Like: What Causes Increased Ldl Cholesterol Whats Cholesterol Doing In There Although cholesterol tends to get a bad rap, it also performs several important functions in the body: - It plays a role in forming and maintaining cell membranes and structures. Cholesterol can insert between fat molecules making up the cell, making the membrane more fluid. Cells also need cholesterol to help them adjust to changes in temperature. - Cholesterol is essential for making a number of critical hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. Cholesterol is also used to make the sex hormones testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. - The liver also uses cholesterol to make bile, a fluid that plays a vital role in the processing and digestion of fats. - Cholesterol is used by nerve cells for insulation. - Your body also needs cholesterol to make vitamin D. In the presence of sunlight, cholesterol is converted into vitamin D. What Is Cholesterol And Why Is It Important Cholesterol is important We need a small amount of blood cholesterol because the body uses it to: build the structure of cell membranes. produce hormones like estrogen, testosterone and adrenal hormones. helping your metabolism to work efficiently, for example, cholesterol is essential for your body to produce vitamin D. You May Like: What Is Cholesterol Made Of Cholesterol In The Blood With all of the bad publicity cholesterol gets, people are often surprised to learn that its actually necessary for our existence. Whats also surprising is that our bodies produce cholesterol naturally. But cholesterol is not all good, nor is it all bad its a complex topic and one worth knowing more about. Cholesterol is a substance made in the liver thats vital to human life. You can also get cholesterol through foods. Because plants cannot create it, you can only find it in animal products, like meat and dairy. In our bodies, cholesterol serves three main purposes: These are important functions, all dependent on the presence of cholesterol. But too much of a good thing is not good at all. Myth: All Cholesterol Is Bad For You Fact: Some types of cholesterol are essential for good health. Your body needs cholesterol to perform important jobs, such as making hormones and building cells. Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called lipoproteins. Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body: - LDL , sometimes called bad cholesterol, makes up most of your bodys cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke. - HDL , or good cholesterol, carries cholesterol back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. When your body has too much LDL cholesterol, it can build up in the walls of your blood vessels. This buildup is called plaque. As your blood vessels build up plaque over time, the insides of the vessels narrow. This narrowing can restrict and eventually block blood flow to and from your heart and other organs. When blood flow to the heart is blocked, it can cause angina or a heart attack. Read Also: Where To Get Your Cholesterol Tested
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bbec6ccb-699f-42c1-b0c4-e14c76736dc4
Stephens’ kangaroo rat small
interdisciplinary
historical_context
The Stephens’ kangaroo rat is a small, nocturnal mammal. It was listed as endangered in 1988. Threats at the time of listing included loss and fragmentation of habitat. The Stephens’ kangaroo rat was discovered at four additional geographical locations after the 1988 listing, and its status has improved to the point that it is not currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. It was downlisted to threatened in 2021. The threat of habitat loss has been significantly reduced through the development and implementation of the Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat Habitat Conservation Plan and the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan in Riverside County, and management efforts by the Department of Defense on Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Fallbrook, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and at Navy Base Coronado’s Remote Training Site Warner Springs in San Diego County. The species is brown and white. It weighs on average 2.37 ounces. It has fur-lined, external cheek pouches used for transporting seeds, large hind legs for leaping with smaller front legs and a large head. Its hind feet have dusky soles and five toes, and its tail is one and a half times its body length. Kangaroo rats possess a number of behavioral, morphological and physiological adaptations that allow them to inhabit warm, arid environments. Its habitat generally consists of open grasslands and sparsely vegetated scrub. Kangaroo rats construct and live in underground burrow systems used for shelter, protection from predators, food storage and nesting. Breeding activity is higher in winter and spring, and the maximum life span has been reported from two to six years. They primarily eat seeds and forage almost entirely at night. Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.18 Items
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784f3519-0ad9-4fd6-9586-89c25ad5a3d3
Diagnostic Assessment: Introduction Systems
technology
historical_context
## Diagnostic Assessment: Introduction to Systems Theory This assessment is designed to diagnose your foundational understanding of general Systems Theory concepts, focusing on core principles, boundaries, feedback, and emergence. --- ### Question 1: Conceptual Understanding (Recall/Comprehension) **Question:** Which of the following best describes the concept of **Emergence** within a complex system? **Options:** A) The tendency of a system to maintain a stable internal state through regulation. B) The property where the whole system exhibits characteristics that are not present in any of its individual components. C) The defined line separating the system from its external environment. D) The process by which a system receives input from its surroundings to maintain equilibrium. **Answer:** **B) The property where the whole system exhibits characteristics that are not present in any of its individual components.** **Why others are wrong:** * **A) (Homeostasis):** This describes the system's ability to maintain internal stability, a process, not emergence. * **C) (Boundary):** This defines the system's edge, which is crucial but distinct from the novel properties that emerge from interaction. * **D) (Input/Throughput):** This describes the flow of energy or information necessary for the system to function, not the novel outcome of that flow. --- ### Question 2: Application (Applying Concepts to a Scenario) **Scenario:** A manufacturing company implements a new, highly specialized robotic assembly line (Component X) into an existing production process that relies heavily on experienced human technicians for quality control (Component Y). Initial results show that while the robots increase raw output speed, the overall defect rate *increases* significantly because the technicians struggle to adapt their traditional inspection methods to the new, rapid pace. **Task:** Identify the primary systems concept being violated or inadequately addressed in this implementation. **Solution Approach:** 1. Recognize the system involves interconnected components (X and Y). 2. Analyze the resulting relationship (speed increase + defect increase = suboptimal outcome). 3. Determine that the issue lies in how the parts interact rather than the capability of the parts themselves. **Common Errors:** Focusing only on Component X (the new technology) or only on Component Y (the human error), rather than the interaction between them. **Correct Identification:** **Sub-optimization** or failure to account for **Interdependence** (where changing one component negatively impacts the overall system function). --- ### Question 3: Analysis (Comparing and Contrasting) **Prompt:** Contrast the roles of **Negative Feedback** and **Positive Feedback** loops in system regulation. Provide a brief example of how each might manifest in a social system (e.g., a team or organization). **Key Distinctions:** * **Negative Feedback:** Stabilizing, self-correcting, aims for a set point (homeostasis). * **Positive Feedback:** Amplifying, driving change, moving the system away from its current state (deviation amplification). **Depth Indicator:** A strong answer will explicitly state that negative feedback *reduces* deviation, while positive feedback *increases* deviation from the initial state. **Example Manifestations:** * *Negative:* A sales team misses its monthly quota, leading management to implement targeted training sessions to bring performance back to the target level. * *Positive:* A small initial success in a new product line leads the company to divert all resources toward that product, potentially starving other necessary areas. --- ### Question 4: Synthesis (Open-ended Application) **Challenge:** Imagine you are tasked with designing a new, self-regulating city traffic management system. Using Systems Theory terminology, describe how you would ensure the system exhibits **robustness** (the ability to withstand unexpected disruptions). **Expected Elements:** 1. Clear definition of the system (traffic flow, inputs/outputs). 2. Identification of potential disruptive inputs (accidents, major events). 3. Specific mechanisms incorporating feedback loops and redundancy. **Levels of Response:** * **Basic:** Mentions sensors and traffic lights working together. * **Proficient:** Describes using negative feedback loops (sensors detect congestion, signals adjust timing) to maintain flow equilibrium. * **Advanced:** Proposes incorporating **redundancy** (multiple backup communication channels) and **modularity** (isolating disruption in one zone so it doesn't cascade system-wide) to achieve true robustness beyond simple self-correction. --- ### Question 5: Evaluation (Critical Thinking) **Scenario:** A project manager insists on defining the project scope, budget, and timeline as absolutely fixed and unchangeable from Day 1, arguing that any flexibility violates the contract. **Criteria:** Evaluate this approach from a strict Systems Theory perspective. Is this approach likely to lead to successful project outcomes in a complex environment? **Reasoning Required:** The evaluation must weigh the need for control against the reality of system dynamics (complexity, uncertainty, and interdependence). **Expected Analysis:** A strong evaluation should argue that this fixed approach ignores the reality of **interdependence** (changes in requirements affect time/cost) and the need for **dynamic adaptation**. While defining a boundary is necessary, treating the internal processes as entirely closed and immutable in the face of external changes (new data, stakeholder feedback) often leads to system failure (e.g., delivering the wrong product on time). --- ## Self-Assessment Rubric Rate your confidence (1-5) for each question based on how easily you answered it without external help. | Score | Novice (1-2) | Developing (3) | Proficient (4) | Expert (5) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Confidence** | Needed significant review of notes; unsure of terminology. | Could answer, but relied heavily on recalling definitions. | Understood the concepts and could apply them to simple examples. | Could analyze complex scenarios and articulate underlying principles confidently. | --- ## Gap Identification Guide * **Low Scores on Q1:** Indicates gaps in foundational vocabulary (homeostasis, emergence, boundary). Focus on defining core terms. * **Low Scores on Q2 & Q5:** Suggests difficulty moving from definition to practical judgment. Focus on recognizing system interactions in real-world examples. * **Low Scores on Q3 & Q4:** Points to weakness in analytical and synthetic thinking. Practice explaining *why* concepts operate as they do, not just *what* they are.
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e91ac111-d49a-459d-8aa4-a74d71a26ea3
Let's dive into world
science
historical_context
Let's dive into the world of occupational therapy and explore how it intersects with the business realm! It's a fascinating blend, isn't it? To really understand how OT principles can be applied in a business context, we need a concrete scenario. ### Problem: Enhancing Employee Well-being and Productivity in a Growing Tech Startup Imagine a tech startup, "Innovate Solutions," that has experienced rapid growth. They've gone from a handful of employees in a small office to over 100 people spread across two floors. While the innovation is booming, the company is noticing a concerning trend: increased employee complaints about physical discomfort (back pain, eye strain), a dip in overall morale, and a perceived decrease in focused work time. The leadership team is looking for a proactive solution to address these issues and prevent them from escalating, ultimately impacting their bottom line through reduced productivity and potential health-related absenteeism. How can occupational therapy principles be leveraged to address this situation? --- ### Common Pitfalls Before we jump into solutions, let's consider some ways people might approach this problem *without* a deep understanding of occupational therapy. What might seem like a quick fix, but misses the mark? * **Pitfall 1: Implementing generic "wellness" initiatives without customization.** * **Why it's wrong**: This approach might involve sending out generic emails about stretching or offering a one-time yoga class. While these can be beneficial, they often fail to address the *specific* environmental, task-related, and individual needs of Innovate Solutions' employees. It's like prescribing the same medication for everyone without a diagnosis! Occupational therapy emphasizes a *person-centered* and *occupation-centered* approach, meaning solutions must be tailored to the unique context and the specific activities (occupations) of the individuals involved. Without understanding *why* employees have back pain or eye strain, or *what* specific tasks are causing decreased focus, generic solutions are unlikely to be effective. * **Pitfall 2: Focusing solely on individual employee "deficits" or "bad habits."** * **Why it's wrong**: This perspective might lead to blaming employees for their discomfort or lack of focus. For example, suggesting an employee "just needs to sit up straighter" without examining their workstation setup or the demands of their tasks. Occupational therapy, however, takes an ecological perspective. It recognizes that the environment and the demands of the occupation significantly influence performance and well-being. Instead of solely focusing on the person, we need to consider the *transactional relationship* between the person, their tasks, and their environment. Are the chairs ergonomic? Is the lighting adequate? Are the work processes contributing to fatigue or distraction? --- ### Correct Method: Applying Occupational Therapy Principles So, if those approaches are flawed, what's the occupational therapy way? Let's think about how an occupational therapist would systematically approach this. * **Step 1: Conduct a comprehensive Worksite Needs Assessment.** * **Because**: Before any intervention, we need to understand the "what," "why," and "how" of the current situation. This involves looking at the interplay between the employees (the "who"), their tasks (the "what they do"), and their environment (the "where and with what"). This aligns with the core OT principle of understanding the *person-environment-occupation (PEO) model*. What specific demands are placed on employees? What are the physical and psychosocial characteristics of the workspace? What are the actual tasks being performed? * **Step 2: Analyze the "Occupations" of the Employees.** * **Because**: In OT, "occupation" refers to the meaningful activities that people do in their daily lives. For Innovate Solutions' employees, these occupations include activities like coding, attending virtual meetings, collaborating with colleagues, using specific software, and even taking short breaks. We need to understand how these occupations are being performed, what tools are used, and what challenges exist within the workflow. This helps identify specific points of friction or inefficiency. For example, is the software they use clunky, leading to frustration and wasted time? Are virtual meetings too long and draining? * **Step 3: Identify Environmental Factors Contributing to Discomfort and Decreased Productivity.** * **Because**: The physical and social environment plays a crucial role in performance and well-being. This step involves a detailed look at workstations (ergonomics of chairs, desks, monitor placement), lighting, noise levels, temperature, and even the layout of the office space. Are there opportunities for movement and breaks? Is the social environment supportive or does it contribute to stress? Thinking about the PEO model again, we are specifically dissecting the "Environment" component. Are there adjustable workstations available? Is the lighting conducive to reducing eye strain? * **Step 4: Develop and Implement Tailored Interventions.** * **Because**: Based on the assessment, we can now create specific, targeted solutions. This might include: * **Ergonomic assessments and adjustments**: Providing guidance on proper workstation setup, recommending specific ergonomic equipment (e.g., adjustable chairs, monitor risers, external keyboards/mice), and educating employees on how to use them. * **Task modification and pacing**: Suggesting strategies for breaking down complex tasks, incorporating short, frequent breaks to prevent fatigue, or re-evaluating meeting structures to be more efficient. * **Environmental modifications**: Recommending changes to lighting, acoustics, or providing designated quiet zones for focused work. * **Education and training**: Empowering employees with knowledge about energy conservation, stress management techniques, and strategies for maintaining focus. This is about building capacity and self-management skills. * **Step 5: Evaluate the Effectiveness of Interventions and Make Adjustments.** * **Because**: The process isn't static. We need to see if the interventions are actually working. This involves collecting feedback from employees, monitoring productivity metrics, and observing changes in reported discomfort. This iterative process of assessment, intervention, and re-evaluation is key to continuous improvement and ensures that the solutions remain relevant and effective. This is a core principle of evidence-based practice in OT. --- ### Verification How can Innovate Solutions be sure that the occupational therapy approach is working? * **Pre- and Post-Intervention Surveys**: We can administer surveys to employees before and after the interventions to measure changes in perceived comfort levels, job satisfaction, stress, and focus. Questions might include: "On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your back comfort during the workday?" or "How often do you feel focused and productive during your work hours?" * **Objective Data Collection**: The company can track key performance indicators (KPIs) that might be indirectly affected by employee well-being and productivity. This could include metrics like: * **Absenteeism rates**: Are there fewer unscheduled absences due to illness or stress? * **Productivity metrics**: Has there been an increase in output, project completion rates, or a decrease in errors? * **Health-related claims**: Are there fewer reported instances of musculoskeletal injuries or other stress-related conditions? * **Qualitative Feedback**: Regularly soliciting qualitative feedback through informal conversations, focus groups, or suggestion boxes can provide richer insights into the employee experience and the perceived impact of the interventions. Are employees *feeling* better and more engaged? By triangulating data from these different sources, Innovate Solutions can gain a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of the implemented occupational therapy strategies. --- ### Generalizable Pattern What's the underlying pattern here that we can use for other business-related challenges where human performance and well-being are key? 1. **Identify the Performance Gap/Problem**: What is not working as expected? (e.g., low productivity, high stress, physical discomfort). 2. **Adopt an Ecological/Systems Perspective**: Recognize that performance is a result of the dynamic interaction between the person, their tasks/occupations, and their environment. Avoid focusing on just one element. 3. **Conduct a Needs Assessment/Analysis**: Gather data to understand the specific factors within the person, task, and environment that are contributing to the problem. This is about deep diagnosis, not superficial observation. 4. **Develop Tailored, Multi-faceted Interventions**: Create solutions that address the identified contributing factors across all relevant domains (person, task, environment). 5. **Implement and Monitor**: Put the interventions into practice and establish clear metrics for evaluating their effectiveness. 6. **Iterate and Refine**: Continuously assess the impact of the interventions and make adjustments as needed based on feedback and data. --- ### Broader Application How does this reasoning process connect to larger principles in applied fields, especially those related to business and human capital? This pattern strongly aligns with principles found in: * **Human Resource Management (HRM)**: It mirrors the process of identifying employee needs, developing programs to support them (like wellness or training), and evaluating their impact on organizational goals. It emphasizes a proactive, preventative approach to employee well-being, which is a cornerstone of modern HRM. * **Organizational Psychology and Behavior**: The focus on the person-environment-occupation fit is central to understanding employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. It highlights how organizational design, job crafting, and workplace culture influence individual and team outcomes. * **Ergonomics and Human Factors Engineering**: These fields are directly concerned with designing systems, products, and environments to optimize human well-being and performance. The OT approach integrates these principles within a broader context of meaningful activity and individual goals. * **Business Process Improvement**: While often focused on efficiency, process improvement can be significantly enhanced by considering the human element. By understanding how tasks impact employee well-being and focus, businesses can design more sustainable and effective processes. * **Risk Management**: Addressing physical discomfort and stress proactively reduces the risk of injuries, absenteeism, and associated costs, which is a fundamental aspect of business risk management. Essentially, this occupational therapy-driven approach provides a structured, evidence-informed framework for understanding and improving human performance within any organizational context. It shifts the focus from simply managing employees to optimizing the conditions under which they can thrive and contribute their best. What are your thoughts on how this systematic approach, rooted in OT principles, could be applied to other workplace challenges you've encountered or heard about?
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af1eae7a-5adb-413c-9e6e-8c544f51eb79
planting Russian flag bottom
interdisciplinary
ethical_analysis
The planting of a Russian flag at the bottom of the central Arctic Ocean in the summer of 2007 drew attention, in dramatic fashion, to a subterranean space beyond national jurisdiction. While the region was a permanent feature in Cold War strategic planning, the flag planting incident was rapidly framed as indicative of a different kind of struggle –‘a scramble for territory and resources’. Notwithstanding the media led hyperbole, one question to emerge was an apparently straightforward one – did any one state or group of states possess sovereign rights in the central Arctic Ocean? More generally, how do issues of access, control, property rights and resource use continue to affect the governance of the global commons? This special section explores those questions.
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88f0bed4-89f6-45ef-bca8-2b9d47bafd7c
Oxford Illustrated History Medieval
social_studies
historical_context
The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval England / Edition 1by Nigel Saul Pub. Date: 05/28/1997 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA From the departure of the Roman legions, to the battle of Bosworth and the rise of the Tudors, the world of medieval England was one of profound diversity and change. Now, in The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval England, readers have an authoritative and stimulating overview of this pivotal period in British history. Lavishly illustrated with over a/i>… See more details below From the departure of the Roman legions, to the battle of Bosworth and the rise of the Tudors, the world of medieval England was one of profound diversity and change. Now, in The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval England, readers have an authoritative and stimulating overview of this pivotal period in British history. Lavishly illustrated with over a hundred picturesincluding twenty-four pages of color platesthis attractive volume brings together leading scholars who illuminate the history and culture of medieval England. The book brims with information on the social, cultural, and religious life of the period, covering topics as varied as the nature of national identity, the character of urban life, the great works of art and architecture, the details of religious practice, and the development of a vernacular literature. The heart of the book explores the main political changes in the time-span ranging from the Anglo-Saxon period, to the rule of the Normans and Angevins, to the late middle ages. Here we see the rise of a united polity and rapid institutional growth, in a time when war was of primary importance in both stimulating change and shaping national identity. In economic terms, the age was characterized by long, and rapid, population growth followed by severe contraction, sparked by the famines of 1315-17 and the Black Death. A consequence of the steep fall in population, however, was a higher per capita consumption: the splendid churches and fine vernacular architecture of the period bear witness to the wealth and variety of lay patronage. The middle ages have always held a special fascination for readers of history and this superb volume offers a gold mine of information on the period. With numerous illustrations, family trees, a chronology, guides to further reading, and a full index, this is an indispensable guide to England in the middle ages. - Boasts over 150 illustrations, including 24 pages of color plates - Spans from the Anglo-Saxon period, to the Normans and the Angevins, to the late middle ages - Covers not only the politics, but also the art, architecture, and literature of the period - With contributions by eight leading authorities on the medieval age About the Editor: Nigel Saul is Reader in Medieval History at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Table of ContentsList of Colour Plates List of Figures 1. Medieval England: Identity, Politics, and Society, Nigel Saul, Reader in Medieval History, Royal Holloway College, University of London 2. Anglo-Saxon England, Janet L. Nelson, Professor of History, King's College, London 3. Norman and Angevin England 1066-1215, George Garnett, Fellow and Tutor in History, St Hugh's College, Oxford 4. Late Medieval England 1215-1485, Chris Given-Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Medieval History, University of St Andrews 5. The Economy and Society, Christopher Dyer, Professor of Medieval Social History, University of Birmingham 6. Piety, Religion, and the Church, Henrietta Leyser, Lecturer in Medieval History, St Peter's College, Oxford 7. The Visual Arts, Nicola Coldstream 8. Language and Literature, Derek Pearsall, Professor of English, Harvard University and post it to your social network Most Helpful Customer Reviews See all customer reviews >
0.65
medium
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93b7ff1d-1832-4695-914f-f42e31b5cf1c
We’re all apt take
technology
worked_examples
We’re all apt to take our bodies for granted, but we might treat them with more respect if we appreciated what subtle, complex pieces of engineering they are. As you might expect, we’ve always been fascinated by the eye, which is our second most complex organ after the brain. Scientists are trying to make a bionic eye but the vision which users experience is still a long way behind nature’s incredible design. So, how exactly do we see? Firstly, it’s important to remember that what we really see isn’t an object, but the light reflected off it. As light enters our eye, it is refracted by the cornea and the lens, focusing the image on the retina at the back of the eye. In addition to this, our irises, the coloured parts of our eyes, work to increase or decrease the size of the pupil, thus allowing the right amount of light through to the retina. Too much light can damage the retina, while too little will prevent us from seeing. The last part of the process is when the image on the retina is passed along the optic nerve to the brain, which then uses the information, whether it’s sending signals to the body not to walk into that tree (!), identifying a problem or working with the other senses to understand the situation more fully. It’s worth noting that the optic nerve contains 1.2 million nerve fibres! As our eyes are forward facing, this gives us a relatively narrow field of vision, but more than makes up for it by creating stereoscopic vision. Each eye captures a slightly different image which our brains superimpose, allowing us to perceive depth and distance. Our eyes are important and precious, but also very complicated and can go wrong. Not varying the way we use our eyes (sitting in front of the TV or computer too much, for example!), or not going outside enough and exposing our eyes to sunlight, can lead to eye problems. For other people, long or short-sightedness is just a fact of life, passed on genetically. Short sightedness is a result of having eyeballs slightly too large, and causes the image to focus in front of the retina, rather than directly on it, sending a blurred image to the brain when looking at distant objects. People with long sight focus images behind the retina, seeing a blurred image of a close object. Long sightedness is caused by having a shorter eyeball, a flatter cornea or a problem with the lens inside the eye. Nearly all types of eye problem can be corrected with laser eye surgery. A laser is used to reshape the cornea with micrometer accuracy, allowing your eyes to focus images directly on the retina and giving you perfect vision. It’s important that we care for our eyes and correct our vision if necessary. Nature has given us these phenomenal pieces of engineering so we can use our most important sense for our everyday lives. As laser eye surgeons, we treat eyes and improve vision, but no scientist can truly recreate these complex organs. So it’s up to us all to do the best for our eyesight.
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medium
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c8aa4679-d5d7-428f-aae1-24dc4a66c7b1
Every person’s body betrays
life_skills
historical_context
Every person’s body betrays them at one point or another. Whether it’s catching a cold, which can be recovered from within 10 days, having an allergic reaction, or having some other ailment, our bodies don’t always act the way we want them to. But there are those certain things that we think we have no control over — like memory loss as we age. However, there are several ways to keep your memory sharp, whether you’re 25 or 65. Let’s take a look at a few simple ways to keep your memory sharp so you avoid memory problems throughout your life. Having an active social life isn’t just for fun, it can actually be extremely beneficial to your health as well. Social interaction can help keep conditions like depression and chronic stress at bay, both of which can enhance memory loss. This goes for people of all ages. One study in 2008 found that senior citizens with higher levels of social integration had a rate of memory decline at half of those with little to no social interaction. Socializing can also help keep your mind active. So whether you’re sitting home playing video games with friends, playing in a band, playing games, or simply driving around, doing activities with other people can significantly improve your long-term memory. Eat a Well-Balanced Diet Not surprisingly, our physical well-being has a lot to do with our mental health. With that in mind, it’s important to know that eating a healthy diet can do wonders for your memory. As good as fast food and greasy meals taste, they’re not great for your body or your mind. So instead, eat more fish, citrus fruits, nuts, and even chocolate (in moderation). These foods are packed with nutrients that can help boost memory function, learning abilities, and even motor skills. Additionally, make sure you’re getting enough of the important nutrients, like iodine, which 72% of the global population is deficient in, according to the WHO. Eating healthy and making sure you’re getting the proper nutrients can keep both your body and your mind feeling strong. Continue to Learn One of the easiest, and possibly most enjoyable, ways to keep your memory sharp is to continue learning. When you spend more time learning, you’re keeping your mind mentally active. This, in turn, can maintain brain cell function and stimulate communication between those brain cells. So whether you have a job that keeps challenging your brain, you’re going to school, or you spend time reading, you’re doing your memory a favor. Exercise mental skills you don’t normally use, try new activities, and always keep learning if you want your memory functions to continue to remain active and healthy. Contrary to popular belief, memory loss is not inevitable as we age. While our bodies and minds do slow down as we get older, there are plenty of ways to keep our brain functions strong throughout our lives. So eat a healthy diet, go out with your friends more often, and take every opportunity to learn something new.
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8b340af7-8146-4932-bbbc-5e5a196f6ea2
Dentists say brush floss
technology
tutorial
Dentists say to brush and floss daily, but unless you floss your teeth the right way, you may not be doing any good. Start by choosing 18 to 24 inches of dental floss. Wrapping the ends of the floss around your index fingers is the best way to hold it. Do not force the floss between your teeth. Dentists say you should use floss in a gentle sawing motion. Start the flossing procedure from your rear molars. You must work the floss in a C shape. Be gentle and scrape the floss around your teeth. The best way is to go up in a gentle manner until you meet resistance. When you are done with each tooth, change the section of floss you're using. Do not use the same piece of floss between more than two teeth. Keep on doing this until you are done with all your teeth. After you have done a few teeth, you should rinse your mouth. Not only would it wash away the dislodged tartar, it would also show if your gums are bleeding. CLICK HERE for more on how to floss properly from dental-tips.com. More Tips to Prevent Bad Breath: 1. Drink plenty of water. 2. Maintain good oral hygiene. This includes flossing. Toothbrushes cannot remove bacteria that gets trapped under your gums. Also, be sure to get your teeth cleaned by a dentist twice a year. 3. Treat existing oral diseases. 4. Clean your tongue while brushing your teeth. 5. Use natural antibiotics. 6. Switch from coffee to tea. 7. Chew sugarless gum. CLICK HERE for more tips from the Bad-breath-guide.com. Make Over Your Smile From mouthwash to tongue scrapers and halimeters, there are many items on the market today geared to control bad breath. CLICK HERE for an overview of these products.
0.6
medium
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392
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97948922-b775-474f-930e-f1f5830ea31a
National Poo Museum opens
technology
worked_examples
National Poo Museum opens doors on Isle of Wight | Source: BBC News, April 4 2016 | A museum dedicated to excrement, with examples from the animal and human world, has opened to the public. The exhibition at the Isle of Wight Zoo features faeces from animals such as elks and lions as well as a human baby. The National Poo Museum has been created by members of the artist collective Eccleston George. “Poo is all around us and inside us, but we ignore it,” said co-curator Daniel Roberts. Twenty illuminated resin spheres show off the different types of faeces with facts hidden behind toilet lids on the museum walls. Samples of faeces have been gathered from around the world as well as donations received from the Isle of Wight Zoo and Dinosaur Isle museum. The display also includes fossilised poo (coprolites) dating back 140 million years as well as a tawny owl pellet containing bones and teeth. Read the complete article.
0.65
medium
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e2718906-645b-4b24-82b5-a6c1349da2ba
Juggling Act Quarterly Review
science
data_analysis
## The Juggling Act of the Quarterly Review **Level:** 3/10 **Concept:** Working Memory in Business Applications The air in the conference room at "InnovateTech Solutions" always smelled faintly of stale coffee and high-stakes ambition. Sunlight, usually a cheerful visitor, struggled to penetrate the thick, vertical blinds, casting the room in stripes of pale yellow and shadow. Elara, the new Project Lead for the "Synergy Streamline" initiative, gripped her pen so tightly her knuckles were white. Across the polished mahogany table sat Mr. Henderson, the Chief Operations Officer—a man whose patience, Elara suspected, was stored in a very small, very secure vault. “Elara,” Mr. Henderson began, his voice smooth as oiled machinery, “Walk me through the Q3 budget allocation *while* simultaneously explaining the dependency chain for the server migration. And please, keep it under four minutes. My next meeting is about global logistics.” Elara felt a familiar, cold knot tighten in her stomach. This wasn't a simple presentation; it was a cognitive gauntlet. ### The Conflict: Overload Elara had prepared meticulously. She knew the numbers (Budget: $450k, variance: +3%) and she knew the migration steps (Phase A: Data Scrubbing, Phase B: Parallel Testing, Phase C: Cutover). But holding both complex sets of information *active* in her mind while speaking, listening for interruptions, and monitoring Henderson’s subtle frowns was proving impossible. She started strong. “The budget is solid, Mr. Henderson, largely due to preemptive hardware negotiation—” *Wait, did I mention the risk assessment for Phase B?* A small voice in her head panicked. “—which directly feeds into the dependency chain,” she continued, trying to force the next piece of data forward. “Phase A requires full data integrity checks, which, if delayed by more than 48 hours, impacts Phase B’s parallel testing window, *and* that window is critical because—” She paused, realizing she had forgotten the exact percentage variance she’d planned to quote. She had successfully recalled the *structure* of the budget report, but the specific, easily accessible *details* had slipped away, displaced by the intricate steps of the server migration. “—because… the buffer time is tight,” she finished lamely. Mr. Henderson leaned back, tapping a silver pen against his notepad. “Elara, you seem to have lost the thread on the variance. Let’s focus. Budget first. Keep the migration steps in your back pocket for a moment.” ### The Realization: The Mental Workbench Later that afternoon, Elara slumped into the ergonomic chair in her office, rubbing her temples. Her junior analyst, Ben, poked his head in. Ben was known for his calm, methodical approach, even during crises. “Tough meeting?” Ben asked, setting down two mugs of herbal tea. “Tough doesn’t cover it, Ben. I felt like I was trying to mix concrete while reciting Shakespeare. I knew everything, but I couldn’t *hold* everything at the same time.” Ben nodded, handing her a mug. “That’s the classic bottleneck of the **Working Memory**, Elara. Think of your brain like a small workbench. You can only lay out so many tools and pieces of material before things start falling off the edges.” “A workbench?” Elara frowned. “Exactly. Your long-term memory holds the entire workshop inventory—every budget line, every server step, every risk assessment. But your **Working Memory** is that small, temporary surface right in front of you. It’s where you actively manipulate information *right now*.” He continued, gesturing with his tea. “When Mr. Henderson asked you to speak about the budget *while* juggling the migration dependencies, he forced you to try and keep three or four distinct chunks of data—Budget details, Phase A, Phase B, and the timeline constraints—all open and active on that tiny workbench simultaneously. When you focused on retrieving the Phase B detail, the Budget Variance detail got bumped off the surface.” ### The Resolution: Chunking and Offloading Elara took a slow sip of tea. The analogy clicked. She hadn't failed to *know* the information; she had failed to *manage the cognitive load* on her mental workbench. “So, how do I stop dropping the tools?” she asked. “We need to **chunk** and **offload**,” Ben explained. “Instead of presenting the budget as five separate data points, group them. ‘The budget is stable, thanks to two key cost avoidance measures.’ That’s one chunk. Then, you explicitly state what you are *not* focusing on right now.” Ben pulled out a notepad and quickly sketched three boxes connected by an arrow. “Next time, try this structure verbally: ‘I will now present the budget details. Please hold all migration questions until I signal the transition.’ That buys you space. Then, you can offload the budget details onto the presentation slide—letting the visual aid hold the data—so your working memory is free to manage the spoken narrative and the next set of steps.” The following week, Elara presented the updated timeline. When Mr. Henderson tried to interrupt with a question about a specific vendor contract mid-explanation, Elara smiled calmly. “That’s an excellent point regarding Vendor X, Mr. Henderson. I have the full contract comparison ready. To maintain flow on the deployment sequence, may I address that immediately after I finish detailing Phase C’s risk mitigation?” Henderson paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. “Yes, Elara. Please proceed.” Elara felt lighter. She wasn't just reciting facts; she was strategically managing her mental workbench. By chunking the budget into manageable segments and politely offloading the off-topic queries, she kept the necessary information—the deployment sequence—active and clear on her limited mental surface, successfully navigating the demands of the high-pressure business environment. She had learned that in the fast-paced world of applied business, success wasn't just about what you knew, but how well you managed what you could actively hold in your mind at any given moment.
0.7
medium
4
1,322
[ "scientific method", "basic math" ]
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5619d3dc-45a2-4d77-b3fa-e3e4684c761b
The Functional Movement Screen
interdisciplinary
tutorial
The Functional Movement Screen Scoring Sheet NAME DATE DOB ADDRESS CITY, STATE, ZIP PHONE SCHOOL/AFFILIATION SSN HEIGHT WEIGHT AGE GENDER PRIMARY SPORT PRIMARY POSITION HAND/LEG DOMINANCE PREVIOUS TEST SCORE | DEEP SQUAT | | |---|---| | HURDLE STEP | L | | | R | | INLINE LUNGE | L | | | R | | SHOULDER MOBILITY | L | | | R | | IMPINGEMENT CLEARING TEST | L | | | R | | ACTIVE STRAIGHT-LEG RAISE | L | | | R | | TRUNK STABILITY PUSHUP | | | PRESS-UP CLEARING TEST | | | ROTARY STABILITY | L | | | R | | POSTERIOR ROCKING CLEARING TEST | | | TOTAL | | Raw Score: This score is used to denote right and left side scoring. The right and left sides are scored in five of the seven tests and both are documented in this space. Final Score: This score is used to denote the overall score for the test. The lowest score for the raw score (each side) is carried over to give a final score for the test. A person who scores a three on the right and a two on the left would receive a final score of two. The final score is then summarized and used as a total score.
0.45
low
4
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0f9d89f6-8d3d-4f01-b34c-0d83fdf74120
humanities seen irreversible paradigm
technology
data_analysis
The humanities have seen an irreversible paradigm shift towards Digital Humanities, based on automatic quantitative analysis of (big) data. This trend has even reached scholarly fields such as history and literary studies, not to mention linguistics and translatology with their notable tradition of corpus-driven and quantitative methods. Apart from research, data science has been widely used in journalism, public administration, as well as consulting. Competence in data science can hence give you a competitive advantage on the labor market. We will teach you: - to clean and structure data into neat tables; - to discover trends, recurring patterns, and outliers; - basics of modern data visualization. We use the open-source programming language R along with its advanced RStudio IDE and tidyverse, the globally popular collection of professional data-scientific tools. We mostly use the library-innate data sets mtcars, diamonds, and iris to explain the concepts and functions, but later on we present a case study. We use linguistic data by default, but we gladly tailor this part of the course to interesting data sets and tasks delivered by course students (with reasonable notice). Depending on their current pricing and promotion policy, DataCamp, a respected MOOC hub for data science, may offer our students complimentary access to premium content for the whole term. Prerequisities: English, basic computer literacy, frustration tolerance, and discipline for regular homeworks. No programming skills are required. Grade requirements: active participation in all lessons (exceptions are up to teachers), timely submission of homeworks, comprehensive discussion preparation on selected reading (3 - 4 papers/term) - Getting to know RStudio. Essential concepts. Data science as a subdomain of programming. - Packages/libraries, functions, arguments, and parameters. - Selected data structures: vector, factor, data frame, table, tibble, list, matrix. - Reporting in RMarkDown. - Data aggregation. - Visual grammar in the ggplot2 plotting library. - Visual data exploration: variable types and combinations, appropriate plots and mapping to aesthetic scales. - Handling overplotting. - Smoothing in ggplot2. - Statistical transformation objects ("stat_xxx") and their interaction with the geometrical objects ("geom_xxx"). - The Tidy Data concept. - Data wrangling: the essential functions of dplyr and tidyr for table transformations. - Operations on strings (the stringr library). - Import and export of diverse file formats and objects. - Case study. Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund. 2017. R for Data Science. O'Reilly. free online: http://r4ds.had.co.nz/ Garrett Grolemund. 2014. Hands-On Programming with R. O'Reilly. Nina Zumel and John Mount. 2014 Practical Data Science with R. Manning. Julia Silge and David Robinson: Text Mining with R. A tidy approach. 2017. O'Reilly. Stefan Th. Gries. 2013. Statistics for Linguistics with R. A practical introduction. De Gruyter. Stefan Th. Gries. 2009. Quantitative Corpus Linguistics with R. De Gruyter. Routledge. Matthew L. Jockers. 2014. Text Analysis with R for Students of Literature. Springer. Natalia Levshina. 2015. How to do Linguistics with R. Data exploration and statistical analysis. John Benjamins. Simon Munzert, Christian Rubba, Peter Meissner, Dominic Nyhuis: Automated Data Collection with R. A Practical Guide to Web Scraping and Text Mining. 2015. Wiley. The course usually takes place in the summer term, on Friday mornings (9-12), in the SU1 lab at Malostranské náměstí 25.
0.65
high
6
853
[ "algorithms", "software design" ]
[ "distributed systems" ]
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0b719e66-4812-449e-a343-a6ef8df67d28
You probably heard about
interdisciplinary
creative_writing
You may have probably heard about the ten commandments. It’s quite famous. “Thou shalt not steal..” Many think about these ten commandments whenever they encounter the phrase “The Law” in the Bible. However, there is more. There were actually 613 laws in addition to the ten commandments entrusted to the people of Israel in the Bible. The Law – Torah Let me introduce to the Hebrew word called the “Torah.” This refers to the first five books of the Old Testament. This is what you see in the Bible referred to as THE LAW. The Torah is not just about the 613 laws. It is a Hebrew word which means “Teachings.” It is fundamentally a story of God’s kingdom agenda to bring about a new set of humans who would Love God and Love Others. Let me give a summary of this story. Story of the Torah God made and blessed humans to reflect His rule over His earth. However, these humans rebelled and usurped God’s reign (kingdom) over His earth. In doing so, they failed in their assignment and the blessing that came with it. They entered into a realm of chaos caused by sin and death (mortality). God resumed His Kingdom agenda by calling a man called Abraham. He blessed Abraham and made him and his family tree the channel through which all the families of the earth will receive that blessing, and be restored back to their calling for which they were created. This family of Abraham – the people of Israel found their way to Egypt and ended up oppressed as slaves. So, God rescued them powerfully through Moses and brought them through the Wilderness to set up a kingdom agreement with them to become the new humans who will reveal and reflect God to His World. This agreement is called a Covenant. The Covenant Laws As per terms of the agreement to become God’s kingdom people, they were given laws. Laws you know as the Ten Commandments. A bit more was added to further elaborate on these ten. These laws were about social justice, sexual morality, rituals, and customs to set the Israelites apart from the other nations of their day (who were much much worse). The purpose of the laws was to enable the people to reveal and reflect God to the other nations of their day and age. However, they rebelled again. The people of Israel disobeyed the first commandment right in front of God’s presence, soon after God gave them the commandments. So, God gave them more laws to further elaborate the first set. Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy After these laws were given, the Israelites broke them again. So God added more. They broke those too. This was why the Torah is called “the teachings.” What does this story tell you about humans? There is something about humans that make them incapable of fulfilling the laws of God. The Apostle Paul, meditating on these, wrote: There is nothing good in me, in the human person that I am. I know that. I want to do what is good. But I am unable to do it. I do not do the good things that I want to do. Instead, I continue to do the bad things that I do not want to do. Moses revealed that it is because of their hard hearts. He acknowledged that even after his death, they will continue to break the laws. This was because they are incapable of fulfilling them. No one is. God has to do something about their hearts to be able to do so. The prophet Ezekiel compared the human hearts to that of a stone. A very hard stone. Thankfully, he revealed God’s agenda to give humans a new fleshy heart 💓. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh. The Prophet Jeremiah, on this same issue, spoke about the evil contained in this present heart of humans. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? This is in agreement with what Paul wrote about several centuries later about the human condition. Jeremiah spoke about God’s agenda to deeply embed the laws in their hearts; such that fulfilling the Law will not feel like a duty. Humans will then be capable of effortlessly fulfilling the Law. Isaiah, the prophet, added that a future leader called the Messiah (The Christ) will arise and led Israel to The story of the Law and the Prophets remained unfulfilled until the set time. Jesus Fulfilled The Law Love God and Love Others Jesus came to the scene and spoke about this heart. Out of it This Jesus came to set that right with all humans. He summarized the Law into its fundamental pillars:- Love God and Love Others. (Check out our article on Love: Ahavah) Though the laws may change according to a dispensation or generation (which they always do), these pillars remain. (So don’t be pressured, to go about fulfilling those laws as they were when given to the people of Israel in their day and age. Jesus gave you the foundation on which the Law of God was built. Work on that!) Loving God and others is not as easy as it sounds. Recall what Jesus said about murder? He said it’s bad to murder another human. Yeah, you may think that’s easy not to do. However, he added that disrespecting or hating another human is just the same. This is because when you do so, you don’t show love to others. Jesus even went beyond that to talk about your enemies. “Love your enemies…” He said (Matthew 5:44). The Torah, as mentioned before, is fundamentally a story. Jesus came to conclude to that story and completely fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). How Did Jesus Fulfill The Law? Jesus fulfilled the Law by observing everything contained in it. Wait! Weren’t humans incapable of doing that? Yup. Jesus was the only exception. God came in and through a human called Jesus to completely fulfill His own Law. Jesus fully loved God and others. He also loved his enemies; even until death. After He resurrected, He left with his disciples (the new humans) the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts to follow in his footsteps as the new humans loving God and others, including our enemies. Many Christians believe that they do right, fulfilling the Law by searching out all those 613 laws (or some of them) to obey. Jesus showed us a different way to do so. He also empowered us by means of His Holy Spirit to help us to do so effortlessly. The Way of Love What is this new way? The way of Love. Paul, the Apostle, puts it like this: The One Who Loves Fulfills The Law. The way of love is not easy. It is actually impossible. Just think about it. Think about all the evil you have seen, heard, or experienced other humans do. How can you love Jesus made that possible by empowering his followers – the new creation – with God’s Holy Spirit. Paul writes: …And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has given to us.Romans 5 The love we distribute is the love of God poured into our hearts. We distribute this love to others; including our enemies. Are you fulfilling the Law? Trust in the Lord as the Holy Spirit is working gradually in and with you to fulfill His law by loving God and others. If this brought value to you, please express your love by sharing this with as many people as you can. Thanks in advance.
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0bbe18f2-4a35-4ab5-8729-30881b2bc5b5
inhabitant London order telephone
social_studies
historical_context
The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, in such quantity as he might see fit, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep; he could at the same moment and by the same means adventure his wealth in the natural resources and new enterprises of any quarter of the world, and share, without exertion or even trouble, in their prospective fruits and advantages; or he could decide to couple the security of his fortunes with the good faith of the townspeople of any substantial municipality in any continent that fancy or information might recommend. He could secure forthwith, if he wished it, cheap and comfortable means of transit to any country or climate without passport or other formality, could despatch his servant to the neighbouring office of a bank for such supply of the precious metals as might seem convenient, and could then proceed abroad to foreign quarters, without knowledge of their religion, language, or customs, bearing coined wealth upon his person, and would consider himself greatly aggrieved and much surprised at the least interference. But, most important of all, he regarded this state of affairs as normal, certain, and permanent, except in the direction of further improvement, and any deviation from it as aberrant, scandalous, and avoidable. (Keynes 1920, pp.11-12) As globalization stumbles upon us with its challenges and opportunities, we must first understand that the process itself is really not new. John Maynard Keynes’ (1920)1 description above shows the amenities available to a Londoner in the (early) 20th century as a result of globalization. To take a more distant example, as early as the year 150, Peter Brown (1971)2 explains, it was possible for an individual to travel from the eastern (Syrian) fringe of the Roman Empire to Rome while speaking in Greek during the entire journey. In other words, the empire was a world with a uniform (Greek) philosophical culture; it meant the erosion of local differences through trade and emigration; and the weakening of ancient barriers before new wealth and new criteria of status (Brown, p. 60). Globalization refers to the way in which national economies become interconnected with one another, when national barriers against foreign goods, services, capital, and labor disappear. Of course, the current trend of globalization, which accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s as emerging markets adopted trade-oriented polices, is somewhat different from Brown’s 150s world and Keynes’ 1900s London. As this new wave of globalization unfolds, the attention in the U.S. has focused on the movement of jobs outside the country: outsourcing. At first, outsourcing was a source of “amusement” in the media, as manufacturers (of shoes, cheap electronics, and toys) went roaming around the world for ever cheaper “menial” labor. However, as the 1990s arrived, amusement turned to concern and then to desperation, as corporations began to outsource service work (e.g., processing credit card receipts and writing software code), eventually even of the sort (e.g., basic research, chip design, financial analysis, and engineering) that demands upscale professional workers. As you remember, outsourcing and Benedict Arnold corporations were an important issue in the 2004 presidential election. Workers’ resistance to capital’s drive to cheapen labor is not a new phenomenon. Great Britain witnessed the birth of the Luddities in 1811. To confront the Luddities, the Parliament enacted the Frame Breaking Act, despite Lord Byron‘s best effort against it in the House of Lords; and the Act made machine-breaking a capital offense. Furthermore, to enforce the Act, the British government moved 12,000 troops to areas where the Luddites were strong. As you navigate the waters of globalization, keep in mind that these waters have seen many sailors before. Another area of concern regarding globalization is global inequality. Not surprisingly, many economists have tried to show us that the beauties of globalization can solve the problem. And yes, globalization is giving us beautiful things that we should appreciate. However, as the old joke goes, if you ask five economists for an opinion on any subject, you are likely to get six! In the case of globalization, the emphasis has been on presenting its beautiful side. Although these presentations capture the headlines, many are flawed or based on flawed data. Firebaugh and Goesling (2004)3 are a good example of the “wonders-of-globalization” school. According to them, 1980 was a turning point. Before that year, inequality increased for about two centuries. However, after 1980, global income distribution (within and between countries) has become more equal, mainly as the result of rising average (emphasis on average) incomes in India and China thanks to globalization, or so they say. Thus, if we care about reducing world inequality, we should promote globalization. Although the basic plot isn’t totally wrong, as you might suspect, there are serious problems with it. The main problem is that Firebaugh and Goesling (2004) rely heavily on the work of Bhalla (2002)4 and Sala-i-Martin (2002),5 which in turn rely on Klaus Deininger and Lyn Squire data set.6 Limiting the discussion to the less technical issues, one major limitation here is the use of five data points or quintiles, to approximate income distributions in entire countries. Not only that, but since many of the quintile shares are not available for several years (and countries), both Bhalla and Sala-i-Martin are forced to assume that there was no change in the distribution of income during the “missing” years. They also treat households as if they were individuals. At the end, and after an impressive array of assumptions, the works of both Bhalla and Sala-i-Martin show that world inequality is decreasing because India and China are growing much faster than the developed world. Although it is true that India and China are the engines of world growth today, an important missing link here is the widespread and widening inequality within these two countries. Furthermore, as Sen (2002)7 points out, we should not celebrate progress in terms of minor changes in inequality but in terms of access to a reasonable share of world resources to the poor. For example, according to Sala-i-Martin (2002), the world,s share of individuals living in extreme poverty decreased by almost two-thirds between 1970 and 1998 (to 6.7% from 17.2%),8 with most of the headway against poverty taking place since 1980, as mentioned before. However, more surprising than the declines in poverty are the reductions in inequality. Remember, the 1980s was labeled the “lost decade” for the setbacks endured by many countries (especially in Latin America and Africa). Given that this was a dark period in many developing countries, one might expect resounding increases in inequality. Nonetheless, according to Sala-i-Martin (2002), the world distribution of income experienced (modest) improvements in the reduction of inequality (4-10 %, depending on the indicator used). Martin Ravallion (2003,9 200410) has shown why the works of Bhalla and Sala-i-Martin are at best misleading. To understand this story, we need to put Latina America and Africa on hold for one second and concentrate on Asia. In the 1970s, about 40% of those living in poverty lived in China (with another 43% in other parts of Asia). In other words, Asia accounted for more than 80% of poverty in the world. Then, as you might remember, we had the Asian miracle! The share of those living on $3 a day (a standard measure of poverty) in Asia went from about 50% in 1980, to about 17% in 1998 (around 12% excluding China). Of course today (thanks to the globalization of information!), we are familiar with the impressive growth rates in China and India. However, in other poor parts of the globe, we had a different story. For example, progress in Latin America since the 1980s was at best stagnant, while “progress” was erased from the dictionary when describing Africa until recently. Using again the $3 a day measure, about 53% of Africans confronted poverty in 1980. However, in 1998 this share was around 63%. While in Latin America the situation was not as depressing as in Africa, the gains in the 1990s were barely enough to compensate for the losses of the 1980s (ergo, the lost decade!). As reported by the United Nations (2002),11 the economic conditions in the 49 least developed countries (LDCs) in the world12 was not improving. Divergence rather than convergence seems to be norm among LDCs. However, not everything is bad news. In their more recent report (released September 2, 2005) the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development13 describes an encouraging, albeit delicate situation. At mentioned before, China and India are still growing strong, and their impressive growth rates are bound to spill over other countries. These two countries have transformed the east and south Asian region as the new growth center of the world. However, while India and China push ahead, in other regions of the world, progress is still slow. In particular, sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for the highest proportion of people living in extreme poverty. Latin America has also experienced a rebound, and, as a region, Africa experienced growth rates of more than 4.5 % in 2004. However, again not even growth rates of 5% will be enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goals14 in sub-Saharan Africa. What about US? According to the latest report from the U. S. Census Bureau,15 real median household income showed no change between 2003 and 2004. However, both the number of people in poverty and the poverty rate increased between 2003 and 2004. The poverty rate in 2004 was 12.7 % (up from 12.5 % in 2003). Last year, 37.0 million people were in poverty (up 1.1 million from 2003). The number of families in poverty increased from 7.6 million in 2003 to 7.9 million in 2004. Furthermore, both the rate and the number of people in poverty have risen for four consecutive years (to 12.7 % and 37.0 million in 2004, from 11.3 % and 31.6 million in 2000). The poverty rate for children was higher than for those in the age groups of 18 to 64 years old and 65 and older. Children accounted for 35.2 % of the people in poverty; 52.6 % of the children under 6, living in single-female households, were in poverty. Remember that children represent our future! Although the number of people with health insurance coverage increased by 2.0 million in 2004, 45.8 million people were without health insurance coverage (up from 45.0 million people in 2003). Furthermore, the age of people covered by employment-based health insurance decreased from 60.4 % in 2003, to 59.8 % in 2004. Finally, the age and number of people covered by government health insurance programs increased from 26.6 % and 76.8 million in 2003, to 27.2 % and 79.1 million in 2004. These increases mainly represent coverage by Medicaid, and if you really think there is a crisis in Social Security, you should not look at Medicaid! While this was happening, we managed to push our current account to a biblical deficit of $666 billion in 2004 (about 70 % of the aggregated surpluses in the world economy). In other words, the world economy is counting on us to play the dual role of consumer and the debtor of last resort! Should we blame globalization for our problems? Well, allow me to give you a twisted analogy! In the movie Austin Powers Gold Member, there is a classical scene where Austin Powers (Mike Myers), Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyoncé Knowles), and Austin’s dad, Nigel Powers (Sir Michael Caine) are in need of transportation. To the rescue, Nigel Powers tells the others not to worry because his ride was available. The audience, of course, was expecting a super car with all the bells and whistles a la James Bond. To the surprise of the audience, as well as Austin and Foxxy, Nigel’s car was a Mini! To calm down his audience, Nigel replies with the classical punch line: “It is not the size of the car, mate; it is how you use it!” Likewise, globalization is just the vehicle, and it all depends on how we decide to use it. Globalization brings Fox News, CNN, NPR and Al-Jazeera to the world. Globalization also allows Wal-Mart to account for about 1% of China’s GDP. However, and more important, globalization is a window with a spectacular view to the struggle of the human condition around the world. Several moons ago, while in graduate school at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, I had the opportunity to take a course in Political Economy with David Kotz (a great teacher and human being).16 I remember him reciting Marx’s celebrated phrase: Workers of the world, unite! Back in those days, my English was not my best quality (it still isn’t today!). The words of Marx in David’s mouth were so strong and powerful, and I was trying to come up with the right set of words to ask a question. I really don’t remember what words came out of my mouth that day. However, I do remember Minqui Li and Max Fraad-Wolff (both students like me and great comrades as well) trying to help David Kotz make sense of what exactly the Puerto Rican with the funky English was trying to ask! In retrospect, I was trying to ask “How?” Today, I think globalization might be the key to Marx encouraging words! 1 The Economic Consequences of the Peace (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe). 2 The World of Late Antiquity AD 150-750 (New York and London, W.W. Norton). 3 Accounting for the Recent Decline in Global Income Inequality. American Journal of Sociology, 110 ( 2): 283–312. 4 Imagine There’s No Country: Poverty, Inequality, and Growth in the Era of Globalization. Institute for International Economics. http://bookstore.iie.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=348. 5The World Distribution of Income. Working Paper, Columbia University. 7 How to Judge Globalism. http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/1/sen-a.html 8 Actually, using another measure (the poverty line of $1,110 per year), he finds a more impressive decrease from 41% in 1970 to 18.6% in 1998. 9The debate on globalization, poverty and inequality: why measurement matters”, Policy Research Working Paper 3038, World Bank. 10Competing concepts of inequality in the globalization debate”, PRWP 3243, World Bank. 11 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The Least Developed Countries 2002 Report (Geneva). http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2002/tad1930.html 13 UNCTAD, Trade and Development Report 2005. Carlos F. Liard-Muriente is Assistant Professor of Economics at Western New England College. His forthcoming papers include “Globalization and Inequality: Some Remarks” in Equal Opportunities International (forthcoming, 2005) and (with Michael Meeropol) “A Critique of ‘Rubinism’ — Did Reduced Budget Deficits and the Brief Experiences with Surpluses Cause the Economic Successes of the 1990s?” in Proceedings of the 11th Presidential Conference “William Jefferson Clinton: The ‘New Democrat’ from Hope” at Hofstra University, New York (forthcoming, 2005).
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bcfe15c8-9720-4daf-a8c6-3d4a470cd41c
deadly derailment explosion oil
interdisciplinary
historical_context
The deadly derailment and explosion of an oil train in Quebec involved DOT-111 type tanker cars, which have come under scrutiny from transportation safety experts concerned with what they say is their tendency to split open during derailments and other major accidents.___ A RAIL WORKHORSE DOT-111 tank cars are the workhorse of the rail freight industry, hauling all sorts of chemicals and hazardous materials such as crude oil an ethanol, the highly flammable corn-based fuel. A 1991 safety study revealed design weaknesses that accident investigators say almost guarantee the tankers will split open in major derailments. In some accidents, those breaches have spilled hazardous cargo that caught fire, exploded in spectacular blasts or contaminated the environment. DANGEROUS DESIGN FLAWS The National Transportation Safety Board has noted several worrisome problems with the type of car: Its steel shell is too thin to resist puncture in accidents. The ends are especially vulnerable to tears from couplers that can fly up after ripping off between cars. And unloading valves and other exposed fittings on the tops of tankers can break during rollovers, the NTSB says. NEWER GENERATION OF CARS The rail and chemical industries and tanker manufacturers have voluntarily committed to safety changes for cars built after October 2011 to transport ethanol and crude oil. The improvements include thicker tank shells and shields on the ends of tanks to prevent punctures. But the industry is appealing to regulators to reject NTSB recommendations that the 30,000 to 45,000 existing ethanol tankers built under the older specifications be modified or phased out. Such a requirement would have spiraling costs and present enormous engineering challenges, the industry says. Regulators have yet to decide. Overall, the rail industry has a strong safety record, including on hazmat shipments. More than 99 percent of hazmat rail shipments arrive safely at their destinations, according to the Association of American Railroads, which promotes rail as the safest way to move hazardous materials over the 140,000-mile network belonging to its North American members. Supporting that conclusion, congressional mandates bar rail companies from refusing to haul shipments from chemical makers. More from MBTMag.com Explore more news here.
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b3e5d704-9090-46d3-bb85-6e6f5299fb96
Chemical fuse term coined
technology
practical_application
Chemical fuse is term coined by Professor R S Bridges to describe a device that triggers in response to the presence of a chemical contaminant. It is directly analogous to a domestic electrical fuse which melts in the presence of too much electrical current in that it is of the very nature of the fuse material that it should fail, and having failed, it should be replaced once the source of the problem which caused it to fail has been removed. Chemical fuses can provide alarms or set in motion a chain of actions. The current patented technologies can be tailored to applications but existing applications include: - Placement in a dispenser pan to trigger in the presence of fuel – the speed of reaction of the fuse and the amount of fuel causing the reaction can be controlled. - Placement in a ground monitoring well to trigger when a predetermined level of fuel has been reached on groundwater levels. - Placement in a matrix under an above ground storage tank to trigger when there is a release – such and arrangement may also provide a location of the floor breach. - Placement in a fill pipe to trigger if the fuel type is incorrect. - Placement on a tank floor to trigger if a contaminant is present. - Placement under a pipeline to trigger if a release occurs – such an arrangement can be designed to help locate the problem. Chemical fuses do not require testing or maintenance since they obey the laws of chemistry, though they may need periodic replacement. It is a feature of the device that they are low cost and can be fitted in places where electrical systems may not be permitted.
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69e4edef-417b-4b05-9d36-49c24c73648b
PASADENA, Calif
science
research_summary
PASADENA, Calif. –Volcanic activity on Venus took place in the recent past, geologically speaking, and may still be happening on the planet today. New research takes a deeper look at one recent eruption on Venus' surface. The Idunn Mons volcano in the southwestern hemisphere of Venus rises 1.6 miles above the surrounding plains. In 2010, observations by the European Space Agency's Venus Express probe revealed that Idunn Mons is a "hotspot," meaning it radiates high levels of infrared light compared to the surrounding area. That suggests that lava flowed at the spot recently, and that the area is still warm. Now, a more nuanced look at Idunn Mons suggests that the hotspot observations are consistent with multiple (cooled) lava flows along the volcano's eastern flank, the new research shows. The researchers behind the new work said the finding suggests that Venus' volcanos were active in the relatively recent past, and may still be active today. [Photos of Venus, the Mysterious Planet Next Door] "Venus is a planet which has always been considered Earth's twin sister," said Piero D'Incecco of the German Aerospace Center and one of the researchers behind the new analysis. "But its cloud cover still hides a lot of secrets." D'Incecco spoke at a media briefing at the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Pasadena, California. Venus Express initially identified the hotspot on Idunn Mons in 2010 using the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) instrument. Most of Venus' surface appears cool when viewed with VIRTIS, and this is a sign that those regions haven't changed (geologically speaking) in millions of years. By contrast, the researchers who initially studied the hotspot estimated that the region could be less than 2.5 million years old. Unfortunately, the thick clouds that cover Venus prevented the Venus Express probe from getting a more detailed look at the volcano and the lava flows. The new analysis of lava flows on Idunn Mons uses radar data collected in the early 1990s by NASA's Magellan probe. D'Incecco and colleagues built a new numerical model to simulate lava flows on the top of the mountain and the eastern flanks, and compared that model with the Magellan data. "According to our modeling, the flank lava flows are the ones responsible for this [hot]spot," D'Incecco said. "This is particularly important because this is the first time we can map, with such a high resolution, lava flows from a volcanic structure which is believed to be recently or still active on a terrestrial body other than Earth."
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10a13f7f-585f-4c59-a8dc-635a63fb7f73
Let's embark exploration uncover
arts_and_creativity
tutorial
Let's embark on an exploration to uncover a fascinating connection between the scientific principles of optics and the artistic achievements of the Renaissance. ### Shared Pattern: The Geometry of Seeing What fundamental way do we perceive the world around us? Think about how light travels and how our eyes interpret it. Does this process involve any underlying structure or rules? Consider how a painter chooses to represent a three-dimensional scene on a two-dimensional canvas. What are they trying to achieve in this translation? Are they simply copying what they see, or is there a more deliberate method at play? The shared pattern, then, is the **geometric organization of visual information**. Both optics and Renaissance art are deeply concerned with how light interacts with objects, how that light travels to an observer, and how that visual information is then structured and represented. It's about understanding the rules of perspective, the behavior of light, and the very mechanics of how we perceive depth and form. ### The Surprising Connection: Illusion as Precision Why might we not immediately link the precise, quantifiable laws of optics with the seemingly subjective and expressive world of Renaissance art? Renaissance artists, in their pursuit of naturalism, weren't just dabbling in aesthetics; they were actively engaging with the scientific understanding of vision that was developing during their time. They discovered that by meticulously applying geometric principles – principles that mirrored the way light actually behaves – they could create incredibly convincing illusions of depth and reality on a flat surface. The surprising insight is that the *illusion* of reality in Renaissance art is built upon a foundation of *actual* scientific principles. The artistry lies not just in the subject matter or the brushstrokes, but in the profound understanding and application of how we see. It's a testament to how precise scientific understanding can fuel creative expression. ### Illustrative Example: Brunelleschi's Baptistery Doors and Linear Perspective Let's consider a pivotal moment in Renaissance art: Filippo Brunelleschi's pioneering work with linear perspective. Imagine you are standing in front of the Florence Baptistery, looking at one of the bronze doors. **Step 1: The Artist's Goal.** Brunelleschi, like many Renaissance artists, sought to represent the world with unprecedented realism. He wanted to create a sense of three-dimensional space and depth on the flat surface of the bronze door. **Step 2: The Optical Principle – Light and Rays.** Think about how light rays travel from an object to your eye. They travel in straight lines. Now, imagine a single point of light on the Baptistery door and how those light rays would reach your eye. **Step 3: The Artistic Application – The Picture Plane.** Brunelleschi conceptualized the canvas (or in this case, the bronze surface) as a "picture plane." He understood that what you see is a projection of the 3D world onto this 2D plane. **Step 4: The Geometric Construction – Linear Perspective.** How could he translate the depth of the real world onto this flat plane? He employed the principles of linear perspective. * **The Vanishing Point:** Imagine drawing a line across the horizon of your imagined scene. All parallel lines in that scene, as they recede into the distance, appear to converge at a single point on this horizon line – the vanishing point. * **Orthogonal Lines:** These are the imaginary lines that represent parallel lines receding into the distance. They are drawn to converge at the vanishing point. * **The Horizon Line:** This represents the eye level of the viewer. **Step 5: The Result – Illusion of Depth.** By carefully constructing his compositions using these geometric rules, Brunelleschi could make objects in the foreground appear larger and objects in the background appear smaller, creating a convincing illusion of depth. The viewer’s eye, following these carefully rendered lines, is guided to perceive a three-dimensional space that isn't actually there. Think about how a specific architectural element, like a tiled floor receding into the distance, would be painted. Each tile would appear smaller as it moved towards the vanishing point, and the lines defining the edges of the tiles would converge precisely. This isn't arbitrary; it's a direct application of how parallel lines appear to converge in our visual field. ### Reciprocal Learning: Seeing Through New Eyes How might understanding the geometric principles of optics enhance your appreciation of Renaissance art? If you understand how light rays travel and how perspective works, you can begin to deconstruct the visual strategies employed by artists like Brunelleschi. You can recognize the mathematical underpinnings of their "realistic" depictions and appreciate the intellectual rigor behind their artistic choices. You start to see *how* they created the illusion, not just *what* they depicted. Conversely, how might studying Renaissance art, with its emphasis on perspective and light, deepen your understanding of optics? By analyzing artworks that masterfully employ linear perspective, you can gain an intuitive grasp of concepts like the vanishing point and the picture plane. You can begin to internalize the geometric relationships that govern how we perceive depth and proportion. This can make abstract optical principles feel more tangible and relatable. It's like learning about physics through the elegant motion of a pendulum – the art makes the science more accessible. ### Mathematical Foundation: The Geometry of Projection The connection here is deeply rooted in geometry. Linear perspective is essentially a system of **projective geometry**. Consider a point in 3D space with coordinates $(X, Y, Z)$. If we are projecting this onto a 2D plane (the canvas) at a distance $d$ from the viewer's eye (the origin), and assuming the picture plane is perpendicular to the Z-axis, the coordinates on the 2D plane $(x, y)$ can be related through similar triangles. If we simplify by placing the viewer's eye at the origin $(0,0,0)$ and the picture plane at $Z=d$: * The $x$-coordinate on the picture plane is proportional to the $X$-coordinate in 3D space, scaled by the distance. * The $y$-coordinate on the picture plane is proportional to the $Y$-coordinate in 3D space, scaled by the distance. More formally, for a point $(X, Y, Z)$ in 3D space, its projection $(x, y)$ onto a plane at $Z=d$ (with the eye at the origin) is given by: $x = X \cdot \frac{d}{Z}$ $y = Y \cdot \frac{d}{Z}$ This simple ratio, derived from the geometry of similar triangles formed by the object, the eye, and the picture plane, is the mathematical heart of perspective. It explains why objects further away (larger $Z$) appear smaller (smaller $x$ and $y$ values for the same $X$ and $Y$). ### Universal Application and Implications: The Pattern of Perception Where else do we see this fundamental pattern of organizing visual information through geometric principles? * **Photography:** The lens of a camera operates on optical principles, projecting a 3D scene onto a 2D sensor or film, much like the artist's picture plane. Photographers use framing and composition to guide the viewer's eye, echoing the principles of perspective. * **Computer Graphics:** The creation of 3D worlds in video games and animated films relies heavily on sophisticated algorithms that implement perspective projection, simulating how light and objects interact in space. * **Human Vision:** Our own eyes and brains are constantly performing a similar process, taking the light that enters our pupils and constructing a 3D perception of the world. Our brains interpret cues like relative size and converging lines to understand depth. * **Cartography:** Mapmakers use projection techniques to represent the curved surface of the Earth on a flat map, a process that involves geometric transformations and compromises, much like an artist translating 3D to 2D. The implication of this connection is profound: the way we perceive and represent reality is governed by fundamental geometric and optical laws. Renaissance artists, by intuitively or scientifically grasping these laws, were not just creating beautiful images; they were engaging with the very mechanics of human vision and the physical world. This highlights how art and science are not separate realms, but rather deeply intertwined explorations of the same underlying reality.
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15e287a4-f5df-45e6-bdae-a0d26d0128ea
Celcon Plus Blocks
interdisciplinary
practical_application
Celcon Plus Blocks Celcon Plus Blocks are 630mm long and provide an alternative to the 440 x 215mm face format block and are suitable for the same applications. This range is produced using the latest manufacturing technology which rank them amongst the most dimensionally accurate blocks available. Celcon Plus Blocks are available in Solar Grade 2.9N/mm 2 , Standard Grade 3.6N/mm 2 , High Strength Grade 7.3N/mm 2 and Super Strength Grade 8.7N/mm 2 . Applications Internal and external leaf of cavity walls Solid walls Separating walls (except Solar Grade) Flanking walls Partitions Multi storey buildings Foundations Celcon Plus Blocks † Blocks weights at typical moisture content when laid. (Some manufacturers may quote weights which have not allowed for this.) All shaded areas indicate that the product is a stock item at all factories, other sizes can be made to order subject to minimum quantities. For further information and to check our most up-to-date product range please visit our website www.hhcelcon.co.uk or contact the following departments: Sales For sales enquiries or to find your local stockist please contact Tel: 01732 886444 Fax: 01732 887013 Technical For technical enquiries please contact Tel: 01732 880580 Fax: 01732 880581 Email: email@example.com
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c0021721-0708-4bec-933f-b60e84278361
Weak stolen passwords number
interdisciplinary
historical_context
Weak and stolen passwords are the number one reason for data breaches globally. This has introduced specific password alternatives like biometrics, Single Sign-On Sessions (SSO), pin codes, Magic links, and physical keys to the forefront of the digital world. However, as great as these alternatives are and as breach-prone, the traditional passwords may be, passwords still dominate the world of cybersecurity. Since password management is evolving rapidly, new ways of keeping passwords secure are being introduced. Let us explore a few tips that can help safeguard passwords and make you re-think about password security. Create Strong Passwords with Long Passphrases The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) recommends coming up with long passphrases that are easy to remember but difficult to guess. Strong passwords are at least fourteen characters in length and represent a combination of both uppercase and lowercase letters along with symbols. It is also worth noting that the passwords should not be so complicated that they force the users to write them down everywhere. The best practice is to create a passphrase as if it is representing a story or use a PAO (Person-Action-Object) terminology. As an example, you can take the first letters of each word from the sentence “a crazy white fox is jumping over a fence” and combine it with a variety of numbers or symbols to provide yourself with a unique but memorable password. ACSC also recommend you do not include the following things in your passwords: - repeated characters - arbitrarily mixed letters, numbers and symbols - single dictionary words, your street address or numeric sequences (such as 1234567) - personal information - anything you have previously used. To read more on the password guidelines set forth by the ACSC, please go here: https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/guidance/authentication-hardening Use Password Manager Even if you create difficult yet easy to remember passwords, you still need some sort of central management for all your passwords. Most users today have several different accounts and a plethora of passwords to remember. Password managers can generate highly secure passwords and store them securely for usage. Above all, you only need to remember one password to access your password manager. Once logged into the password manager, you can automatically log in to any of your stored accounts without needing to enter any further passwords. Generally, there are two types of password managers: - Personal Password Managers: Personal managers like Last Pass manage passwords for individual users or employees for application access and services. - Privileged Password Managers: These are specialised password managers for enterprise solutions and are responsible for securing and managing enterprise-wide privileges and credentials. Privileged credentials grant access to the top-secret systems, accounts, and most sensitive assets of any organisation. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) MFA is an authentication method that grants access to a user only after they have successfully presented two or more pieces of evidence. It provides an added layer of security by asking the user to provide an extra set of credentials rather than just a plain old password. A great example would be if you were trying to do online banking from your computer with MFA enabled. Once you enter your login credentials to the bank website from your computer, an OTP (one-time-password) code will be generated to another pre-authenticated device like your cell phone. You will then be required to input that code into the bank website to finally gain access. It is strongly preferred to use time-restricted OTPs from an MFA app such as the Google Authenticator. Avoid Overly Complex, Weak and Similar Passwords Even though longer and stronger passwords are recommended, most recent advice from ACSC suggests against using overly complex passwords. Overly complex passwords pose another security threat whereby some users might be enticed to write them down or put them on sticky notes instead of wanting to memorise them. Subsequently, creating weak, simplistic, or similar passwords for different accounts is counter-intuitive and full of risks as well. ||TIME TO CRACK ||EASY TO REMEMBER |Brute Force Attack ||Instantly Less than AU$0.01 ||Instantly Less than AU$0.01 ||Very Easy (too easy) ||One of the most commonly used passwords on the planet. ||48 hours AU$587.50 ||Less than half an hour AU$6.10 ||Some complexity in the most common areas, and very short length. Easy to remember, but easy to crack ||24 hours AU$293.70 ||Less than 1 hour AU$12.20 ||Not much more complexity than above with character substitution, and still short length. Easy to remember, but easy to crack. ||2.5 hours AU$30.60 ||2.5 hours AU$30.60 ||Mildly complex, but shorter than the above passwords. Hard to remember, easy to crack (against BFA). |I don’t like pineapple on my pizza! ||More than 1 Year More than AU$107,222.40 ||More than 40 days More than AU$11,750.40 ||Excellent character length (35 characters). Complexity is naturally high given the apostrophe, exclamation mark and use of spaces. Very easy to remember, and very difficult to crack. Continuously Check Credentials Before setting a new password and even during regular use, it is a good idea to check credentials continuously against the backdrop of databases of exposed passwords. There are many databases and agencies nowadays that can check your passwords for data breaches. This can save you from using a potentially exposed password and a lot of headaches in the long run. Avoid Periodic Password Changes The rule of requiring password changes every 30, 60, or 90 days is now getting obsolete. Even the recent advice from ACSC suggests going against it. The technology giant Microsoft also follows suit and considers the practice of regular password updates to be “ancient and obsolete”. The theory behind this strategy is that the more password changes there are, the weaker the newer ones tend to be as most people struggle with creating strong passwords. These habits can easily lead to potential hack attacks. Therefore, it is better to create just one robust password that can be used over a long period instead of rotating between new passwords continuously. Do not save passwords in web browsers Every time you visit a website that requires a login, your web browser might ask if you want to remember the password so that the next time you visit the same site, the credentials will be filled out automatically for you. Sounds compelling, doesn’t it? Who likes to remember passwords anyway? However, it is not a good security practice to do so. All passwords in browsers are saved in clear text waiting for a threat actor or someone at your computer to steal them. Provide Password Training for your Staff If you are concerned about corporate security and data breaches, it is a good idea to bring security awareness by offering password training sessions to your staff. Providing good password awareness and digital hygiene among end-users is crucial for maintaining a secure corporate network. At a minimum, any password training should educate on the following aspects: - Employees should not share passwords with anyone. - Employees should not share their password in response to any email or phone call, regardless of how legit it might sound. - If you think your password is compromised, change it immediately. - Be aware of phishing traps and do not enter your password on a website that you have accessed by clicking on an email. - Avoid using password-protected services on a public computer or over a public Wi-Fi hotspot. In this data-centric world of today, passwords are a necessary evil. From emails to online banking to online shopping, passwords are widespread. On the flip side, cyber threats are also increasing at an alarming pace and passwords are the biggest source of contention. Therefore, organisations are now re-thinking password security and trying to incorporate newer ways to secure their networks. Fortunately, by creating effective password security policies and better password management, unauthorised accesses, data breaches, and phishing attacks can be easily mitigated. If you would like to learn more about how Dreamtime can help you implement a Privilege Password Manager in your environment, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org
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How Britain’s Defeat Saratoga
interdisciplinary
historical_context
How Britain’s Defeat at Saratoga Marked a Turning Point Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.) This is Rich Kleinfeldt. And this is Sarah Long with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we complete the story of the American Revolution against Britain in the late seventeen seventies. It is December, 1776. British General William Howe has decided to stop fighting during the cold winter months. The general is in New York. He has already established control of a few areas near the city, including Trenton and Princeton in New Jersey. General George Washington and the Continental Army are on the other side of the Delaware River. The Americans are cold and hungry. They have few weapons. Washington knows that if Howe attacks, the British will be able to go all the way to Philadelphia. They will then control two of America's most important cities. He decides to attack. His plan is for three groups of troops to cross the Delaware River separately. All three will join together at Trenton. Then they will attack Princeton and New Brunswick. Washington wants to surprise the enemy early in the morning the day after the Christmas holiday, December twenty-sixth. On Christmas night, 2,400 hundred soldiers of the Continental Army get into small boats. They cross the partly-frozen Delaware River. The crossing takes longer than Washington thought it would. The troops are four hours late. They will not be able to surprise the enemy at sunrise. Yet, after marching to Trenton, Washington's troops do surprise the Hessian mercenaries who are in position there. The enemy soldiers run into buildings to get away. The Americans use cannons to blow up the buildings. Soon, the enemy surrenders. Washington's army has captured Trenton. A few days later, he marches his captured prisoners through the streets of the city of Philadelphia. Washington's victory at Trenton changed the way Americans felt about the war. Before the battle, the rebels had been defeated in New York. They were beginning to lose faith in their commander. Now that faith returned. Congress increased Washington's powers, making it possible for the fight for independence to continue. Another result of the victory at Trenton was that more men decided to join the army. It now had ten thousand soldiers. This new Continental Army, however, lost battles during the summer to General Howe's forces near the Chesapeake Bay. And in August, 1777, General Howe captured Philadelphia. Following these losses, Washington led the army to the nearby area called Valley Forge. They would stay there for the winter. His army was suffering. Half the men had no shoes, clothes, or blankets. They were almost starving. They built houses out of logs, but the winter was very cold and they almost froze. Many suffered from diseases such as smallpox and typhus. Some died. General Washington and other officers were able to get food from the surrounding area to help most of the men survive the winter. By the spring of 1778, they were ready to fight again. General Howe was still in Philadelphia. History experts say it is difficult to understand this British military leader. At times, he was a good commander and a brave man. At other times, he stayed in the safety of the cities, instead of leading his men to fight. General Howe was not involved in the next series of important battles of the American Revolution, however. The lead part now went to General John Burgoyne. His plan was to capture the Hudson River Valley in New York State and separate New England from the other colonies. This, the British believed, would make it easy to capture the other colonies. The plan did not succeed. American General Benedict Arnold defeated the British troops in New York. General Burgoyne had expected help from General Howe, but did not get it. Burgoyne was forced to surrender at the town of Saratoga. The American victory at Saratoga was an extremely important one. It ended the British plan to separate New England from the other colonies. It also showed European nations that the new country might really be able to win its revolutionary war. This was something that France, especially, had wanted ever since being defeated by the British earlier in the French and Indian War. The French government had been supplying the Americans secretly through the work of America's minister to France, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was popular with the French people and with French government officials. He helped gain French sympathy for the American cause. After the American victory at Saratoga, the French decided to enter the war on the American side. The government recognized American independence. The two nations signed military and political treaties. France and Britain were at war once again. The British immediately sent a message to America's Continental Congress. They offered to change everything so relations would be as they had been in 1763. The Americans rejected the offer. The war would be fought to the end. In 1779, Spain entered the war against the British. And the next year, the British were also fighting the Dutch to stop their trade with America. The French now sent gunpowder, soldiers, officers, and ships to the Americans. However, neither side made much progress in the war for the next two years. By 1780, the British had moved their military forces to the American South. They quickly gained control of South Carolina and Georgia, but the Americans prevented them from taking control of North Carolina. After that, the British commander moved his troops to Yorktown, Virginia. The commander's name was Lord Charles Cornwallis. Both he and George Washington had about eight thousand troops when they met near Yorktown. Cornwallis was expecting more troops to arrive on British ships. What he did not know was that French ships were on their way to Yorktown, too. Their commander was Admiral Francois Comte de Grasse. De Grasse met some of the British ships that Cornwallis was expecting, and he defeated them. The French ships then moved into the Chesapeake Bay, near Yorktown. The Americans and the French began attacking with cannons. Then they fought the British soldiers hand-to-hand. Cornwallis knew he had no chance to win without more troops. He surrendered to George Washington on October seventeenth, 1781. The war was over. American and French forces had captured or killed one-half of the British troops in America. The surviving British troops left Yorktown playing a popular British song called, "The World Turned Upside Down." How were the Americans able to defeat the most powerful nation in the world? Historians give several reasons: The Americans were fighting at home, while the British had to bring troops and supplies from across a wide ocean. British officers made mistakes, especially General William Howe. His slowness to take action at the start of the war made it possible for the Americans to survive during two difficult winters. Another reason was the help the Americans received from the French. Also, the British public had stopped supporting the long and costly war. Finally, history experts say America might not have won without the leadership of George Washington. He was honest, brave, and sure that the Americans could win. He never gave up hope that he would reach that goal. The peace treaty ending the American Revolution was signed in Paris in 1783. The independence of the United States was recognized. Western and northern borders were set. Thirteen colonies were free. Now, they had to become one nation. Today's MAKING OF A NATION program was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Sarah Long. And this is Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.
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CITY OF NASHUA
technology
data_analysis
CITY OF NASHUA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA Thursday, May 25, 2023 70 East Hollis Street Conference Room 4:00 PM CONSENT AGENDA: Minutes: 23 64 May 18, 2023 Special Meeting Minutes Special Agenda Old Business 23 59 Grievance Tabled from 5/18/2023 special meeting of the Board of Fire Commission Adjourn Date and Location of Next BFC Meeting: Budget Hearing, Aldermanic Chambers Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, June 7, 2023, 5:30 PM at 177 Lake St Training Classroom arb 05/24/2023 CITY OF NASHUA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023 THE MEETING CAME TO ORDER AT 4:30 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Kevin Burgess Paul Garant Gary Lambert Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja John Steere MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT: Chief Steve M. Buxton Assistant Chief William B. Atkinson STAFF NOT PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Local 789 Steward At Large Julian Reed Local 789 President Wholey did not receive the meeting notification in time, so he was not present. 23 59 Grievance - Tabled from 05/03/2023 Regular BOFC Meeting Chairman Burgess recapped: - Last meeting received the grievance - Reviewed Grievance - Reviewed Deputy’s response - Reviewed Chief’s response - Received testimony from Local 789 President Wholey and Chief Buxton - Commissioner Lambert and Chairman Burgess had the opportunity to consult with Corporation Counsel. Local 789 Steward At Large Julian Reed presented a letter crafted by Local 789’s lawyer. BOFC read letter. A discussion of the contents of the letter occurred. Chief Buxton stated that he consulted with Legal and Attorney Clarke stated that NFR did have the ability to have the policy crafted the way it is crafted. Chief Buxton addressed some inaccuracies in the letter from Local 789’s lawyer. A discussion of if there is time to table this for further consultation with Corporation Counsel due to the new letter from Local 789’s lawyer occurred. Steward At Large Julian Reed spoke on tattoo - Can’t tell members they can’t have a tattoo - You can tell them to cover it up while they are working. - Feel policy for negotiating has not been followed. - Policies need to be negotiated. Chief Buxton - Two items - Grievance about discipline - Local 789’s feeling on policy - Obligation to negotiate with Local 789 - Shares policies with President Wholey before bringing them to the board Discussion regarding either taking a vote or if there is time to table for further consultation with Corporation Counsel continued. Commissioner Garant said regarding the insubordination he is ready to proceed. **Motion** by Commissioner Garant to support the resolution. Chairman Burgess clarifies, “So you move to strike the discipline and pay the non-paid time.” Chief Buxton clarified that the resolution is the union’s suggested resolution. Commissioner Garant withdrew his motion. He understood it as it was an agreed upon agreement between Administration and Local 789, but it is not. 23 59 Grievance **Motion** by Commissioner Lambert to table Item 23 59 Commissioner Lambert withdrew the motion. **Motion** by Commissioner Lambert to table Item 23 59 to consult with Corporate Counsel to discuss it with a meeting to be scheduled with Corporate Counsel. Seconded by Commissioner Garant Vote - 5 Motion Carries Commissioner Melizzi-Golja stated that it was overlooked to remove Item 23 59 from the table at the beginning of the meeting but if Steward At Large Julian Reed is good with having the discussion without the removal from the table then it is ok. Steward At Large Julian Reed stated that he is all set. Commissioner Garant stated that It was the only item on the agenda; why would they meet if it wasn’t going to be taken off the table. Date and Location of Next BFC Meeting: Wednesday, June 7, 2023, 5:30 PM at 177 Lake St Training Classroom Adjourn MOTION TO ADJOURN Motion by Commissioner Lambert to adjourn the meeting at 5:00 P.M. Seconded by Commissioner Garant Vote - 5 Motion Carries
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[ "programming fundamentals", "logic" ]
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2d752976-4065-454b-ba1f-1d91e0c5fa74
Business networks risk because
technology
historical_context
Business networks are at risk because of vulnerabilities in a widely used security protocol. Security researchers at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have highlighted the increasing danger of attacks exploiting weaknesses in the SSH (Secure Shell) protocol. By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers. MIT warned that such attacks were likely to increase because of the widespread use of SSH in Unix- and Linux-based networks to secure remote connectivity. The researchers found that most networks were vulnerable to a weakness involving SSH's known_hosts databases. These databases are stored on SSH clients and include a list of remote hosts each user has previously contacted using SSH. The information includes hosts' public security keys, used by SSH to create a secure connection. The problem relates to the fact that when a client is compromised by an attacker, known_hosts databases are easy to use in targeting other hosts. More information on the vulnerabilities and patches to help tackle the problem are available at:
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5036f608-a54e-4efe-a543-ffeba561ed0b
hope our Little Chick
interdisciplinary
historical_context
We can hope our Little Chick is taking his time migrating southward. Perhaps he has traveled only as far as Cape May, New Jersey, or maybe he has already migrated as far as Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Migrating shorebirds often travel shortly after a low pressure system and hurricanes are a part of the environment to which wildlife like Piping Plovers have adapted. However, no wildlife has in the recorded history of the world had to cope with a storm the magnitude of Hurricane Irma. Extraordinary weather events can push endangered species over the brink. High winds, storm surges, and wave action destroys coastal habitats and flooding decreases water salinity. Songbirds and shorebirds are blown far off course away from their home habitats, especially young birds. A great deal of energy is expended battling the winds and trying to return to course. Songbirds have it a little easier because their toes will automatically tighten around a perch but seabirds and shorebirds are the most exposed. Numerous Piping Plovers winter over in the low-lying Joulter Cays, a group of sandy islands in the Bahamas, and one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Irma. Perhaps migrating PiPl sensed the pending hurricane and held off before crossing the Atlantic to reach the Bahamas and other Caribbean Islands. The flock of nine PiPl in the above photo were seen last year at the end of August in Gloucester (August 29, 2016.) One famous shorebird, a Whimbrel named Machi, who was wearing a tracking device, became caught up in the eye of a powerful storm but made it through to the other side of the storm. Tragically, he was subsequently shot dead in Guadeloupe. Many migrating birds like Whimbrels know to avoid places like Guadeloupe where unbridled shorebird hunting is allowed, but Machi had no power over where he made landfall. Sea turtles too are severely affected by the loss of barrier beaches. Staggering loss of life has been recorded after recent powerful hurricanes–fish, dolphins, whales, manatees, baby crab and lobster estuaries, insects, small mammals, all manner of birds–the list is nearly as long as there are species, and nothing is spared. If you see rare or an unusual bird after a storm or hurricane, please let us know and we can contact the appropriate wildlife official.
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afac490f-b1f6-42dc-be41-bc7410dd37d7
Janaki Temple, Janakpurdham
technology
worked_examples
Janaki Temple, Janakpurdham The Janaki Temple is a sacred Hindu religion. Janaki or Sita is the daughter of King Janak. Janaki temple is located in her birthplace Janakpur. Janakpurdham is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Nepal. This temple is made in Mughal style temple of Nepal. This temple, which receives the reputation of Nepal, is considered to be an excellent model of art. Janki temple located in Janakpur, was capital of ancient Mithila, is the center of Hindu faith around the world. This temple is built in the birthplace of Ramayana Sita, popular in Hindu religion, it is grand and charming. The princess Brishbhanu Kunwari of Tikamgarh in India’s Madhya Pradesh, as the temple built by spending 9 lakh silver pieces, is called Naulakha Temple.
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cbf309e0-332e-4109-a781-54045870eef0
Tutorial: Analyzing Contextualizing Future
science
technical_documentation
## Tutorial: Analyzing and Contextualizing Future Smartphone Hardware Specifications **Overview**: This tutorial transforms speculative news regarding future smartphone hardware (specifically, a projected Samsung 2GHz dual-core device) into a structured analysis framework. We will break down the reported specifications, compare them to existing technology, and establish critical considerations for real-world usability. **Prerequisites**: * Basic understanding of smartphone components (e.g., processor, dual-core, GHz). * Familiarity with current flagship smartphone specifications (e.g., 1.2GHz dual-core devices). * Access to basic online news sources for verification. --- ### Step 1: Document the Reported Hardware Specification The first step is to isolate and record the core technical claim being made about the upcoming device. - **Action**: Identify the primary processor specification cited in the source material. - **Detailed Instructions**: Note down the manufacturer, the core count, and the clock speed reported for the future device. * *Source Reference*: Maeli Business Newspaper. * *Reported Manufacturer*: Samsung. * *Reported Core Count*: Dual-core. * *Reported Clock Speed*: 2GHz. - **Expected Outcome**: A clear, written record of the projected hardware milestone. - **Checkpoint**: Verify that the recorded specification is **2GHz dual-core** for the upcoming Samsung device. ### Step 2: Establish a Performance Baseline Comparison To understand the significance of the 2GHz claim, compare it against contemporary high-end devices mentioned in the content. - **Action**: Identify and record the specifications of the current benchmark device mentioned. - **Detailed Instructions**: Note the existing high-performance model cited in the text (the HTC Sensation). * *Benchmark Device*: HTC Sensation. * *Benchmark Specification*: 1.2GHz dual-core. - **Example/Concrete Application**: Calculate the theoretical clock speed increase: $(2.0 \text{ GHz} / 1.2 \text{ GHz}) \approx 1.67$. This suggests a potential 67% increase in raw clock speed over the benchmark device. - **Common Pitfalls to Avoid**: Do not assume this 67% increase translates directly to a 67% faster real-world experience, as architecture efficiency plays a major role. ### Step 3: Define Expected Capability and Contextualize Performance Claims Analyze the qualitative claims made regarding the device's processing power relative to other computing platforms. - **Action**: Record the qualitative performance claim and relate it to a known standard. - **Detailed Instructions**: Record the statement that the new phone will possess the "data processing capacities of a regular PC." - **Exercise**: List three demanding tasks that currently strain a typical 1.2GHz dual-core smartphone (e.g., complex 3D gaming, heavy multitasking, 1080p video editing). - **Checkpoint**: Confirm that the qualitative claim implies performance parity or superiority to current non-mobile computing standards. ### Step 4: Identify Critical Trade-Off Considerations Evaluate the potential negative implications associated with significant hardware upgrades, as highlighted in the source material. - **Action**: List the primary practical concerns raised by the author regarding the powerful processor. - **Detailed Instructions**: Focus on usability factors that outweigh raw processing speed. 1. **Concern 1 (Power)**: Trade-off on battery life. 2. **Concern 2 (Connectivity)**: Lack of 4G signal in the user's area. 3. **Concern 3 (Network Reliability)**: Susceptibility to dropped calls on existing networks. - **Troubleshooting/Guidance**: If a device has cutting-edge processing but poor battery life, the practical utility for a full day of use is severely diminished, regardless of its theoretical power. ### Step 5: Benchmark Against Next-Generation Console/Platform Hardware Broaden the context by comparing the projected smartphone chip against other high-performance mobile platforms mentioned. - **Action**: Document the comparison point provided for future-proofing assessment. - **Detailed Instructions**: Note the competitor platform mentioned that already exceeds the dual-core specification. * *Comparison Platform*: Sony's NGP (Next Generation Portable/PSP successor). * *NGP Specification*: Quad-core processor. - **Reflection Question**: Based on this comparison, formulate the question: "What application justifies moving beyond dual-core to quad-core performance on a handheld device?" (The text suggests tasks like producing major creative media). --- **Practice Exercise**: Imagine you are a product manager reviewing this news. Draft a one-sentence internal memo to the engineering team summarizing the *opportunity* and the *risk* based on Steps 1 through 5. * *Opportunity Statement Example*: "The 2GHz dual-core platform offers a significant performance leap over the 1.2GHz baseline." * *Risk Statement Example*: "We must ensure battery optimization mitigates the risk of performance gains being negated by poor endurance or weak network performance." **Key Takeaways**: 1. The reported hardware leap is from 1.2GHz dual-core to 2.0GHz dual-core. 2. High clock speed performance must be contextualized against real-world factors like network availability (4G) and battery longevity. 3. The industry trend suggests moving toward multi-core architectures (e.g., quad-core systems like Sony's NGP). **Next Steps**: Monitor official announcements from Samsung for confirmation of the 2GHz specification, and track independent reviews focusing specifically on battery performance versus raw benchmark scores once the device is released.
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246a9094-4434-4c78-b6e4-57ce2e4996fe
Utricularia gibba L
interdisciplinary
qa_pairs
Utricularia gibba L. Bladderwort, Conespur bladderpod, Humped bladderwort Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Synonym(s): Utricularia biflora, Utricularia fibrosa, Utricularia obtusa, Utricularia pumila USDA Symbol: utgi Humped bladderwort is a perennial aquatic herb without roots. It has slender stems which may be floating, submerged or creeping along the substrate. The stem leaves are threadlike with hairless margins, alternate, numerous, and between 1/8 and 3/8 in. long. They may be undivided or generally 2-parted at the base and each part may be forked again. The bladders or “traps” are 1 or 2 valve-lidded and borne on leaves that are less than 1/16 in. wide – it is these structures that trap small invertebrates such as insects. Inflorescence have 1 to 4 yellow flowers 6 to 8 mm (¼ to 5/16 in.) long at the end of a 15 cm (6 in.) stalk. Bladderworts are carnivorous plants with complex modified underwater appendages or “sacs” that trap insects and other small animals; this provides them with excess nutrition which allows them to survive in low nutrient conditions. From the Image Gallery Plant CharacteristicsDuration: Perennial Leaf Arrangement: Alternate Size Notes: 1-6 inches. Size Class: 0-1 ft. Bloom InformationBloom Color: Yellow Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug DistributionUSA: AL , AR , CA , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , HI , IA , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , OR , PA , RI , SC , TN , TX , VA , VT , WA , WI , WV Canada: NB , NS Growing ConditionsLight Requirement: Sun Soil Moisture: Wet Conditions Comments: Water must be rich in microorganisms for the insectivorous bladderwort to survive. BenefitConspicuous Flowers: yes Interesting Foliage: yes National Wetland Indicator Status From the National Organizations DirectoryAccording to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations: Fredericksburg Nature Center - Fredericksburg, TX Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX Nueces River Authority - Uvalde, TX BibliographyBibref 841 - Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (2006) Burrell, C. C. Search More Titles in Bibliography Additional resourcesUSDA: Find Utricularia gibba in USDA Plants FNA: Find Utricularia gibba in the Flora of North America (if available) Google: Search Google for Utricularia gibba MetadataRecord Modified: 2007-08-10 Research By: TWC Staff
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c66d0f75-d6a3-4778-b18f-203990d6b84d
"International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health"
science
research_summary
"International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health" 2019, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part C A study on common injuries in the game of volleyballAuthor(s): Dr. Keshava Murthy TAbstract: Top most position acquired in the field of competitive game as per the spectators concern that is soccer. Second position grasp in the game of volleyball at International level has one of the highest participation rates in worldwide, including both indoor and beach volleyball. It is one of the unique team sports that has evolved into two distinct Olympic events–indoor and beach. Although injury patterns differ between indoor and beach volleyball, there are similar injuries commonly seen between the two sports. Overall, overuse injuries are more common than acute injuries, because of the amount of repetition, improper technique, and type of playing surface. Overuse conditions of the knee, shoulder and lower back are not unusual in volleyball. Volleyball players repeatedly use their shoulders for spiking and blocking, overuse of injuries of the shoulder are common. Sprains and strains, most often around ankle, also occur. Finger injuries (phalanges), such as dislocations and tendon tears, frequently occur during setting and blocking in the game of volleyball. The researcher has the experience of more than 30 years in the game of volleyball, as a player, as a coach for the Mangalore University. Hence, investigator would like to educate the present and future players about the common injuries in the game of volleyball.Pages: 148-150 | 647 Views 44 DownloadsDownload Full Article: How to cite this article: Dr. Keshava Murthy T. A study on common injuries in the game of volleyball. Int J Phys Educ Sports Health 2019;6(1):148-150.
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Kids and Electrical Safety
life_skills
tutorial
Kids and Electrical Safety First Class Electric :: Lexel Inc. d.b.a. First Class Electric :: NJ Electrical license # 34EI01574400 :: Business Permit # 34EB01574400>Blog> Kids and Electrical Safety Kids Electrical Safety Zap Zap, Kiddos! How to Best Start Teaching Children Electrical Safety Hey there, parents, guardians, and all you cool folks in charge of molding the next generation! Let's talk about something super important: children electrical safety. Yep, that's right! It's time to shine a light on keeping those curious little minds safe from the shock of their lives. Hey you kiddos! Have you ever wondered about all those sparkly things in our homes that make our toys light up and our favorite shows appear on TV? Yep, we're talking about electricity! But before we go playing around and having fun, we need to learn how to stay safe with our gadgets. So, gather 'round for some electrifying tips!   When's the Right Time to Spark the Conversation? So, at what age should you start teaching your little ones about the glowing world of electricity? Well, as soon as they start showing interest in all things bright and sparkly! Seriously though, it's never too early to start laying down the groundwork for electrical safety. But if you're looking for a specific age, think about around three or four years old. That's when they're starting to understand more about cause and effect, and you can introduce some basic concepts without blowing their circuits. That’s when they're starting to understand how things work, like why the toy car zooms when you push it. Just like how you learn to ride a bike when you're ready, it's the same with electricity safety!   Age-Appropriate Lessons That Won't Leave Them in the Dark Now, let's dive into the currents and hear some lessons tailored to your kiddo's age:                   Toddlers (3-5 years old): These little bundles of energy are like tiny explorers, ready to conquer the world. They're like little detectives, always exploring! Start by teaching them the basics: electricity is powerful and can be dangerous. Don’t touch it, it can bite you back! Show them what outlets look like and explain that we don't poke things into outlets because they're not for playing with, just like we don't eat play dough because it's not for eating! Use simple language and lots of visuals to get the message across. Think of it like teaching them not to stick beans up their nose—only with way more shattering consequences! Teach Electrical Safety Elementary Schoolers (6-10 years old): Ah, the golden age of questions! Now you're getting bigger and smarter every day, don’t you? Your kiddo is like a sponge, soaking up knowledge faster than you can say "watt." Now's the time to get a bit more technical. Teach them about circuits, plugs, and cords. They're like the strings that connect our toys to the magic electricity. We need to plug and unplug them gently, just like how we handle our favorite toys. Show them how to safely plug and unplug devices (hint: make it a game!). And don't forget to hammer home the golden rule: never touch anything electrical with wet hands just like you don't touch your ice cream with dirty hands! Preteens and Teens (11+ years old): Whoa, you're practically grown-ups now! The rebellious years! Your once innocent cherub is now a moody teenager who thinks they know everything and can do anything. But sit down first, it’s time for some serious talk! Get real with them about the consequences of electrical mishaps. Teach them how to use power strips safely, how to recognize signs of electrical problems, and what to do in case of an emergency. Who knows, maybe they'll even listen between eye rolls and sighs, while looking down at their phone.   Electric Safety And Security Tips For Children Plug Covers are Your BFFs: Invest in those handy dandy plug covers to keep curious fingers out of trouble. They're like tiny electrical force fields! Also, keep in mind that Plug Cover Hide and Seek...with Cords: Teach your kiddo to keep cords out of high-traffic areas to prevent tripping hazards. Plus, it'll save you from doing your best Spider-Man impression when you inevitably trip over them. Don't Play Fetch with Lightning: Remind your child that electrical appliances are not toys. That hairdryer may look like a cool new spaceship, but it's definitely not meant for intergalactic adventures. Water and Electricity Don't Mix: Repeat after me: water and electricity do not mix! Keep all electronics far and electrical gadgets, far away from water to avoid a shocking situation. Power Pole Reminder: Power poles are not jungle gyms, so we don't climb them. Let's leave that to the squirrels! Kite Flying Caution: When flying kites, let's keep them far away from those big, tall lines in the sky. Storm Safety: When thunder roars in, go indoors! Thunderstorms are nature's way of reminding us to cozy up inside and stay safe until the storm passes. Toaster and Microwave Rule: Metal objects are not friends with toasters or microwaves. Let's keep them apart so we can enjoy our snacks without any surprises! ?   And remember, tamper-resistant outlet receptacles are required in all homes! They're like special locks that help keep little fingers out of places they shouldn't be. So, let's stay curious, but always remember to stay safe too! So there you have it, folks! Remember, the power to keep your little sparks safe is in your hands (literally, if you're paying the electric bill). Stay safe, stay bright, and keep those little stars from  trying to stop electricity do its current job! Kids Electrical Safety Additionally, make sure your home is up to date in terms of electrical safety and feel free to connect with our First Class experts for advice or with any questions you may have. If you need any electric solutions, our team at First Class Electric will be more than delighted to assist. Connect today for a quote or schedule an appointment with us!   If you’re interested in other electrical topic, check out our Blog!
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ee1df9e5-0031-4fbc-8b84-77b29d1e26e4
Sun Damage and Pigmentation
science
historical_context
Sun Damage and Pigmentation Ultraviolet light accounts for the majority of the symptoms of early onset aging. The repeated exposure to excess UV light can cause DNA damage, inflammation and oxidative stress. The sun’s UV rays are important for life on Earth, yet some have genetic predispositions that keep them from having an effective protective barrier. Genetic predispositions also allow for free radical production from UV radiation to accumulate faster than it can be removed. DNA repair genes help bring DNA repair components together at the site of action to help repair DNA damage and clean up oxidative-induced DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation/UV rays. Repair of DNA is always ahead of the rate of DNA damage. Dysfunction occurs when damage is dominant over repair. This can be caused by too much exposure to UV radiation or a defective gene. You may have a genetic inefficiency causing a lack of working enzymes or proteins to clean up the damage left accumulating in DNA and to protect from further damage. - Blemishes and freckles - Skin thinning and fine lines - Broken Capillaries - Rough Surface Area - D3 Active 5000 helps protect and repair the DNA. You need a healthy source of vitamin D3 without the harmful effects of UV rays over-stimulating DNA damage and accumulating free radicals. Absorption of vitamin D3 from the sun decreases with age. - Arctic Omega Krill helps with inflammation and the astaxanthin is a very powerful antioxidant that helps defend against UV. Reduces damage caused by UV. - Pycnogenol (sold at Medical Detective store) protects skin from UV-induced damage. - ALAmed CR helps to improve collagen protective mechanisms along with promoting optimal mitochondrial function (ATP). Improved ATP production promotes collagen synthesis. When you have ingredients that promote ATP production, you must have adequate antioxidants to quench the free radicals produced by the mitochondria. This product is a powerful antioxidant and will neutralize the free radicals. Other benefits include blood glucose and insulin support, detoxification of plastics and heavy metals, and antioxidant support. - Beta Carotene (sold at Medical Detective store) protects against sunburn, a sign of DNA damage that has been accelerated past its repair mechanisms. - Lycopene (sold at Medical Detective store) protects against sunburn, a sign of DNA damage that has been accelerated past its repair mechanisms. - E-ssential has photoprotective properties. - Omega Platinum EC helps to inhibit the inflammatory cytokines such as (IL1, IL6, and TNF a1) that can be activated by ionizing radiation. It upregulates anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and suppresses TH17 cells that negatively affect the immune system. - ResveraTri protects against UVB radicals. - Circuvasc protects and supports blood vessels from indirect damage caused by sun-induced oxidation. - CollaGENerate supports and protects collagen from indirect damage of MMP’s caused by sun-induced oxidation. - Synovial Active supports and protects hyaluronic acid from indirect damage of MMP’s caused by sun-induced oxidation. - BioFlav C supports and protects collagen and blood vessels from indirect damage of MMP’s caused by sun-induced oxidation. Types of UV- Induced DNA DAMAGE There are three bands of UV rays emitted by sun: UVA, UVB and UVC. We will only be discussing UVB and UVA because UVC cannot penetrate through the ozone layer. UVA causes indirect damage (lesions) to the DNA by way of Reactive Oxygen species (ROS). (See section below about 8oxoG.) UVA penetrates the deeper parts of the dermis and the rays can be intensified by cloudy and overcast days. The effects of these rays become more apparent years down the road as they go deep into layers of skin, damaging the dermis. Fluorescent lighting emits light energy in the range of UVA and can cause darkening of freckles. It is important to wear UVA sunscreen in fluorescent-lit buildings to prevent any damage from the UV light energy emitted. Direct absorption of UVB generates DNA photoproducts that cause lesions to DNA. For example, this causes cross-linking between adjacent cytosine and thymine bases in DNA (creating pyrimidine dimers that damage DNA). UVB effects are more immediately visible. The rays do not travel as deep into the skin because the spectrum isn’t strong enough. It does its damage more superficially and causes sunburns, peeling, pigmentation, swelling, and browning of the skin. “DNA photoproducts generated upon direct absorption of UVB (280-320nm), UVA (320-400nm) can indirectly cause oxidative DNA damage in the form of oxidation of guanine (8-hydroxyguanine) and single-strand breaks via reactive oxygen species generated after the absorption of light energy by cellular chromophores.” DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and other living organisms. DNA is found in the nucleus (nuclear DNA) and mitochondria (mitochondrial DNA) of cells. The DNA structure can be compared to a ladder. The backbone of the DNA would be the two parallel sides. In between the side structures of the DNA are rungs that run up and down it. If you were to twist this ladder you would get something that looks like the formation of the double helix of DNA. DNA is made of repeating subunits called nucleotides. 1. Phosphate and 2. Sugar (Deoxyribose) Appearing as the sides of the ladder. 3. Base Pairs Found between the sides of the ladder. Nitrogen Base Pairs, ATGC, are held together by hydrogen bonds. Base pairs are joined by a connection of adenine to thymine, and guanine to cytosine. Bases make up the code of your genetics. Bases are very sensitive to chemicals, carcinogens, and ROS induced by UV and other sources. The bases can form lesions (adducts), which can lead to trouble down the road. It’s known as DNA base modification.
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35802f1f-ef94-4956-a4d5-9548ec9d32f4
AW Melba Dress
interdisciplinary
concept_introduction
AW Melba Dress $109.99 AW Melba Dress SKU: 1344333448 Category: Tags: , The Melba gown is a bridesmaid dress that you will completely fall in love with. Soft velvet adds a gorgeous feel to the gown, while the sleeveless design bares your shoulders in the flirtiest of ways. The V-neck of Melba is delightfully flattering, while the floor-length and perfect pleats offer this A-line dress plenty of elegance and movement. No matter the season, you will look radiant when you attend the wedding and reception. Get a chiffon wrap in a matching color for those cooler weddings. Keep your jewelry simple with a classic pearl necklace and matching earrings. Black or silver heels are a great choice for pairing with the Melba dress. SAS ID: 110229
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41ad3d82-9622-4b8c-9073-398be92810f2
Big data becoming integral
technology
data_analysis
Big data is becoming an integral part of solving the world's problems. It's improving transportation and power consumption in cities, making our favorite social networks more efficient, and even preventing suicides. But where does big data come from, and how can you take advantage of its power? This infographic from Kapow can help you understand the various sources of big data and how they differ, categorizing them as internal or external (or both), showing which have APIs, and measuring their velocity, variety and volume. Give this infographic a look, and then get to work on figuring out how your company can harness the power of the world's big data. Image: Kevin Dooley
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fad0c41e-b8dd-4427-b91f-b17fc5e1c0fb
Introduction: Before the Revolution
interdisciplinary
historical_context
Introduction: Before the Revolution 1. The Birth of Modern Russia 2. The Exchange Between Town and Village and the Structure of Industry 3. The War Years Part I: Between February and October 4. Class Conflicts and Class Cooperations 5. The Threatening Catastrophe 6. The Problems of the Revolution and the Political Parties Part II: War Communism 7. The New State Apparatus 8. Riding the Whirlwind 9. The Economic Chaos and the Planned Economy of War Communism Part III: The Early NEP 10. The Contents of the New Economic Policy 11. An Outline of Economic Developments, 1921-1924 12. The Soviet Power and the Tendencies of Social Growth Part IV: Perfection and Self-Destruction of the NEP 13. Growth and Limits of the Productive Forces 14. Between the Classes 15. At the Cross Ways Part V: The Period of Reconstruction 16. The Background of the Piatiletka 17. The Reorganisation of Agriculture 18. The Reconstruction of Industry 19. Above the Classes Part VI: The Termination of Reconstruction 20. The Soviet Power and the Peasants 21. Industry During the Second Five-Year Plan 22. The Differentiation of the Working Class 23. From the ‘Realisation of Socialism’ to the Moscow Trials Part VII: Between Yesterday and Tomorrow 24. The Last Three Years 25. Soviet Union, 1941 26. The Soviet Union and the World For more than twenty years, and particularly since the great depression, Soviet Russia was a promise to some, a challenge to many, and a symbol to all. Today it is, at the best, a riddle. A riddle hardly to those who have always asserted, however wrongly, that Fascism and Bolshevism are only two names for one and the same thing; but it is a riddle to all those who have sympathised with the ideals of the Soviets and with their efforts to realise them in a world where political idealism had become almost synonymous with political impotence. This sympathy had been sorely tried, though never completely forfeited, by a series of bewildering events. Yet it was only the invaluable service rendered by the Russian government, during a highly critical period, to aggressive Fascism—the mortal enemy not only of progress and democracy, but especially of the ideals for which the Soviet Union professes to stand—which has conclusively proved that Soviet Russia is not what she asserts to be. Even if the motives of Soviet support for Nazi Germany are most charitably explained, this result of Soviet policy would be alone sufficient to warrant a rejection of the claim that Russia can be regarded as the ‘country of Socialism’ . This statement has been contested long before the Nazi-Soviet pact. Ex-Communists of various shades, disillusioned foreign sympathisers, newspaper correspondents and escaped political prisoners have tried for many years to disprove it. But their attacks were sometimes obviously inspired by partisan feeling and personal resentment, frequently they cancelled one another out and they never seriously shook the widespread conviction that the Soviets were, after all, on the right way to overcome their difficulties. In particular, the often excellent reports of the Moscow correspondents of the great papers were much more favourable to the Soviet government during the years from 1934 to 1939 than ever before; and visitors of all kinds, amongst them experts in various fields, in dozens of books corroborated by their own experiences many official assertions. The same contradiction between fairly creditable claims of great achievements and incontestable evidence of grave failures can be found even in official reports and in the speeches of the various Soviet leaders. With all their array of figures and their proclamation of epoch-making successes they leave behind them the same vague feeling of dissatisfaction as a study of unofficial literature; the impression remains that there is still something different and very important in the background. This book attempts to discover the reality behind the highly-coloured surface. It is not a ‘secret history’ in the sense that it reveals hidden facts and the personal motives of the Soviet leaders; it is not a history at all in the sense of a collection of facts for their own sake, but an historical analysis of the social forces which between themselves have shaped Russia’ s destiny since 1917. Thus it is with facts and actions that this book is mainly concerned, and wherever it deals with theories it does not examine so much their intrinsic value as their agreement with the facts and with the actions of their creators and supporters. This point is of great importance, for the central problem of Soviet Russia is the transformation of a movement inspired by great ideals into the narrow-minded, self-centred and short-sighted regime of today. This great and tragic change can be adequately measured by the conflict between the facts, as far as they can be ascertained, and the claims and theoretical assertions of the Communists, and it can be adequately explained by a detailed examination of the actions of the Communists themselves. Thus it is impossible to understand Soviet Russia without incisive criticism; but this criticism must start not from the aims and ideals of the observer but from those of the Communists. He may be well aware of the great value of liberty and democracy and the dangers of their suppression. But liberty and democracy are possible only in certain conditions which were conspicuous by their absence at the time of the Soviet revolution. To blame the facts for their disagreement with the opinions of the critic may flatter his prejudices, but facts are stubborn opponents, and no amount of declamation can explain them away. If the method applied in this book leaves little room for dramatic condemnations and rhetorical apologiae, it ought to show the working of the real forces behind the scenes of politics and propaganda. It cannot pretend to an exact knowledge of the motives and intentions of Stalin and Molotov, but it can show the needs to which their actions respond. As the present leaders of the Soviet Union are above all practical politicians and only very mediocre thinkers, this method should provide at least as safe a guide to the understanding of Soviet policy as speculations about ‘Stalin’ s real plans’ . Whether the following analysis is a convincing solution of the ‘riddle’ of Russia cannot be decided in the preface. But it may be permitted to point out two limitations which had to be accepted from the outset. Soviet Russia is still Russia; the influence of Russian history on modern conditions is both obvious and profound, and many descriptions of the Soviet Union suffer from their authors’ ignorance of old Russia. As the main purpose of this book is not descriptive, the historical introduction could be reduced to a short and necessarily simplified sketch of the most important social facts and tendencies which is neither intended, nor can it serve, as a history of some of the most fateful decades of Russian development. Likewise it has not been attempted to follow the history and theories of the Bolsheviks from their beginnings up to the revolution of 1917; the literature on this subject is ample and almost exhaustive. By concentrating on the main problem—the transformation of the ruling party under the impact of powerful social forces, and the reaction of this process on social development—many finer threads contributing to the texture of history had to be arbitrarily broken. To use a different picture, this book is not a complete social history, but only its anatomy. Yet it has been said that a surgeon without anatomy is like a mole—he fumbles in the dark and leaves mounds behind him. This may be more than a clever witticism, when applied to statesmen and politicians. Chapter I: The Birth of Modern Russia Soviet Russia was not built according to abstract principles, but developed on the basis of Russian social and economic conditions. After a revolution of unprecedented vehemence, many pre-revolutionary problems reappeared in new guise and had to be solved by the new regime. It was much easier to denounce the weakness and corruption of the Tsarist regime, and even to overthrow it, than to get rid of this ‘inheritance’ . In Western Europe the modern capitalist system developed slowly, and the sufferings of its victims, terrible though they may have been, were distributed over many generations, thereby losing the greatest part of their revolutionary momentum. The remnants of ‘antediluvian’ social organisations were systematically and thoroughly suppressed by the forces of the new order, but the pace of this process was, as a rule, slow enough to enable the victims (or their children) to adapt themselves to the new situation. Russian capitalism, on the other hand, was imported from abroad in a highly-developed form. It had not, as in Japan, to force its way into the country by the use of warships and naval guns, but was attracted by the ruling powers themselves with large promises and even larger profits. Tsarism, one of the dominant voices in the dissonant European Concert, was at a serious disadvantage as compared to its most important imperialist rivals whose wealth and industry increased by leaps and bounds, while Russia remained a backward peasant country. This backwardness was, however, incurable as long as Russia’ s social organisation was based on feudalism which prevented the growth of modern trade and industry. The crushing defeat of Tsarism in the Crimean War (1853-56) made big internal changes imperative and inaugurated the period of reform which created the conditions necessary for the transformation of feudal Russia into a modern country. Russian history between 1861, the year of the so-called liberation of the peasants, and 1917, the year of social revolution, was shaped by the conflicts between the growing forces of modern society and the still semi-feudal basis on which they developed. I: The Weakness of Russian Capital Russia was up to the world war predominantly an agricultural country, and the town population amounted to only a little more than 13 per cent of the whole. Before the growth of capitalism the towns of Russia were not so much centres of production as centres of consumption. Many country towns retained this character up to the revolution, but since the last decades of the nineteenth century some industrial centres of a new type developed. Capitalism was imported into Russia on the high level of organisation and technique attained in Western and Central Europe and in the United States during the last third of the nineteenth century. Its progress started at once with the construction of well-designed and excellently equipped modern plants, many of them of giant size. Russian factories were frequently larger and more up-to-date than the average plants in England and France, or even in Germany. Under Tsar Alexander II (the ‘Liberator’ ) Russia, with the exception of some districts in oppressed Poland, disposed neither of a modern industrial system nor of industrial entrepreneurs. Thus not only machinery, technical processes and raw materials, but also capital and capitalists had to be imported from abroad. The amount of foreign capital invested in prewar Russia was easily the highest in Europe, and one of the highest in the world. During the five decades between the liberation of the serfs and the outbreak of the Great War of 1914 the worst children’ s complaints of Russian industry were overcome, and a growing industrial and commercial middle class was formed by native merchants and manufacturers with more than a sprinkling of foreign bankers, commercial managers and technicians. But this bourgeoisie still remained numerically weak, socially dependent and politically impotent against the feudal aristocracy and the Tsarist state. The industrial workers, on the other hand, remained for a long time a social hybrid class maintaining very close relations to the village. It differed markedly from the industrial working class of Great Britain or Germany, where the labour movement had wrung substantial concessions from the employers, and a great part of the Russian workers lived considerably below the poverty line. Neither the wages of the industrial workers nor the earnings of the poor peasants sufficed to keep them and their families the whole year round; they had to combine agricultural and industrial work in order to eke out their scanty living. But the hard lessons which these peasant-workers were daily taught by the misery of their existence were, for once, not in vain. Their intolerable living conditions induced them to energetic actions of protest and defence. The suppression of a free labour movement by the Tsarist state led them on to political mass strikes and revolutionary risings, however desperate and hopeless the struggle might have seemed at first. Thus it was in backward Russia that the doctrines of modern Socialism found the most favourable soil for their propagation and in time their boldest application. II: The Transformation of the Village Almost 87 per cent of the Russian peoples lived in villages. An approximate description of their social composition may be seen in the conditions of land tenure according to the census of 1905: |Number of farms||Total area of land (in dessiatines)||Average area per farm (in dessiatines)| |Poor peasants||10 500 000||75 000 000||7.0| |Middle peasants||1 000 000||15 000 000||15.0| |Bourgeois and capital farms||1 500 000||70 000 000||46.7| |Estates||30 000||70 000 000||2333.0| Only 30.8 per cent of the peasants cultivated more than four dessiatines (about 10 acres) of land, and only 23.5 per cent owned more than one horse. Both before and after the liberation of the serfs misery was endemic in the Russian village. The liberation itself was an expensive luxury for the peasants. They lost not only part of the soil which their forefathers had tilled for centuries, but for more than forty years they also paid large sums as compensation to the landowners. Meanwhile taxes were rising without interruption, for the muzhik was largely responsible for the upkeep of the bureaucracy and the service of the towering public debt. The home market of this agricultural country was largely based on the exchange of foodstuffs and raw materials by the peasants for manufactured goods. But the existence of a landowning aristocracy and a rapacious bureaucracy severely restricted the scope of this exchange. The peasants had to sell a large part of their produce in order to pay taxes to the state and rent and interest to the landlords who spent their income either abroad or for imported luxury goods—in any case outside the sphere of Russian industry. The peasants who could be counted upon as customers for the cheap mass products of Russian industry, frequently remained without sufficient funds to buy them. Thus the liberated peasantry did not come into full contact with the progressive industrialist, but above all with the most reactionary and pernicious exponents of money economy: the usurer who advanced the money required for the payment of taxes and rent, and the trader who bought up agricultural market produce at ruinous prices. The upper stratum of the village was very thin. The village usurer or kulak (fist) was a familiar figure in every village, and round him grew up a small minority of comparatively well-to-do peasants which destroyed the old unity of the village community, the Mir . The social importance of the kulaks was, however, much greater than their numerical strength. They extended their farms by renting or buying land from the landlords, they used better tools and implements than the other peasants, they possessed some horses and several head of cattle, and employed some ruined peasants as labourers. The average peasants or middle peasants were numerically the strongest element in the village, and comprised about two-thirds of the population. They usually possessed one horse and worked with mediaeval implements and without hired labour according to those primitive methods which kept Russian agriculture on the lowest level of productivity in Europe, although it could boast of some of the best land in the world. They had a few head of cattle, sheep or pigs, and just enough money to pay their taxes and to buy a few manufactured necessities. At the bottom of the social structure of the village stood the poor peasants with little or no land; this group was the recruiting ground for farm labourers, domestic servants and industrial workers, whose number was, however, also increased by the younger and more enterprising sons of the middle peasantry. After the breakdown of the first Russian revolution (1905) this decomposition of the originally homogeneous village community was deliberately furthered by the government. The agrarian reform of Stolypin intended to create a well-satisfied agrarian middle class which was expected to defend the Tsarist regime against the spectre of an agrarian revolution. The Mir was to be gradually abolished and prosperous peasants were encouraged to consolidate their farms and to concentrate on their own interests. But war and revolution destroyed the chances of this policy before it could have any appreciable results. Thus it only served to intensify the existing social tension within the village, and contributed to the violence of the final struggle between the peasants and the beneficiaries of agrarian privilege. One of the most important contributions of industrial capitalism proper to the decomposition of the village was its effect on peasant handicraft which played a great part in many regions of the country. These peasant-handicraftsmen (kustari ) were largely dependent on their industrial income, and were either ruined downright by the competition of cheap mass products and compelled to become manual wage-earners in the newly-established large-scale factories, or they were at the mercy of the capitalist merchant who did not even pay them a fair wage for their labour. In the social pyramid of prewar Russia, the peasants did not form a ‘lower middle-class’ above the workers. Actually the Russian peasants cannot be compared to the French peasant-farmer of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but only to the French peasants of 1789, although they were free from personal fetters. But this freedom was in many cases only the prelude to utter ruin. There existed a large number of peasants whose tiny households, very often deprived of cattle and implements, could not keep them and their families from starvation. They trod the countless roads of ‘Little Mother Russia’ until finally most of them found their way into the growing towns as workers in industry, transport and domestic occupations. During the summer they returned to their villages and helped to bring in the harvest. In time of depression they were compelled by the authorities to go back to the country, or they went voluntarily in order to avoid starvation. The most backward elements of the town workers, they were the intellectual leaders of the poorer peasants and helped to spread revolutionary slogans in districts which seemed to be completely out of the reach of Socialist propagandists. The social pressure produced by this mobile poverty was prevented from exerting itself only by the heavy counter-pressure of the Tsarist state. III: Capital and Tsarism Capitalism attacked not only the basis of Russia’ s semi-feudal social system, but also its top. The Russian country gentleman became a town-dweller, and the economic ruin of the aristocracy was accelerated through the rivalry in extravagance between the landowners and the rich merchants. Their estates were heavily mortgaged, and the banks were not less interested in the size and safety of their revenues than the aristocratic recipients themselves. Not only the landlords but also their moneylenders were haunted by the spectre of agrarian revolution which would ruin creditors and debtors alike. Industry itself depended much more on the state than it did in Western Europe, and Western capitalists, though despising the submissiveness of the Russian bourgeoisie to Tsarism, did not despise the phenomenally large profits of Russian industry. Last but not least, Tsarism, although by no means a political servant of capital, was the sole serious adversary of its most dangerous enemy, the industrial workers. On the other side, the Tsarist state was far from satisfactory for the bourgeoisie as an administrative mechanism. It was not ruled by Big Business, but by the aristocracy and protected, above all, the interests of the landowners, the officers of the Tsarist army, and the bureaucracy. The bourgeoisie had but little political influence, and it had to pay for that little with heavy bribes. Apart from that, Tsarist bureaucracy was inefficient, slow and greedy. The Russian army and navy were the domain of high aristocrats, and during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) they were even worse directed and supplied than fifty years earlier during the Crimean War. At home and abroad, the radical reform of the Tsarist state was the fundamental condition of the free and unfettered development of Russian capitalism. This explains the vacillating and, on the face of it, incomprehensible attitude of capital towards the Tsarist regime. It was not strong enough to compel Tsarism by its own pressure to accept the minimum demands necessary for its free growth, but it was unwilling to lead a violent revolution of the masses against the Tsarist regime. The most responsible leaders of the capitalist middle class understood that only the working class would gather the fruits of determined political action. Whereas the bourgeoisie remained socially weak and politically impotent, the working class was much more active, energetic and powerful than would have followed from its numbers, for immediately before the war there were scarcely three million of workers engaged in Russian industry, mining and transport. (Only 15.1 per cent of the active population were engaged in manufacture, mining, trade, commerce, traffic and communications.) Compelled by their hard living conditions, incited by convinced Socialist propagandists who understood that the downfall of Tsarism would be, at the same time, the end of capitalism, they waged a determined struggle against this political bulwark of exploitation and oppression. The bourgeoisie was allied to the Tsarist regime by important material interests, but it became the political prisoner of reaction by its justified fear of social revolution. Although hampered in every way by the backwardness and inefficiency of Tsarism, it did not dare to fight it because it was its strongest protection against the attack by the workers. The fundamental fact dominating Russia’ s social development since the middle of the nineteenth century was the destruction of the primitive balance of feudal society by modern capitalism. But the capitalist system, though strong enough to destroy the roots of Tsarism, was unable to establish its own regime in Russia. The decomposition of the village together with the powerfully developing labour movement combined to make its position untenable once the time-honoured obstacle of Tsarism had disappeared. The final impulse which brought about this memorable historical event was the entanglement of Tsarist Russia in the Great War of 1914-18. All reasonable observers of prewar Russia were convinced that war would be but the prelude for revolution. The barricades receiving M Poincaré, the French President, on his state visit to St Petersburg in July 1914, expressed not only the terrible internal conflict lacerating the Empire of the Tsars but they also indicated the power which was finally to overcome it. Chapter II: The Exchange Between Town and Village and the Structure of Industry Trade and market were of less importance in prewar Russia than in more advanced countries. The peasants were only just beginning to participate in the general division of labour, and still satisfied almost all their needs by their own and their families’ labour—as far as they were able to satisfy them at all. They needed the market above all in order to get the ready money required for rent and taxes, and only then could they think of buying manufactured goods for their own consumption. Whereas the economic existence of the towns depended on the supply of a sufficient quantity of foodstuffs and raw materials, the peasants did not want so much to enlarge the scope of their trade as to change its character by the abolition of their one-sided payments. The general problem may be illustrated by the conditions of the grain trade, which was of paramount importance for Russia’ s economic system. The larger part of the grain harvest was, of course, consumed in the country as foodstuff and fodder, stored for seed purposes or as a reserve, and the remainder was sold on the market. >[? |Grain Production 1913| |Gross (million poods)||Market (million poods)| |Estates||600 (12%)||281.6 (21.6%)| |Kulaks||1900 (38%)||650 (50.0%)| |Middle and Small Peasants||2500 (50)||369 (28.4%)| |Total||5000 (100%)||1300.6 (100%)| About one-quarter of the gross production of grain left the villages and was sent to the towns. This quantity was sufficient to feed the town population, the army, the urban cattle—and the vodka distilleries, and almost one-half of it (about 600 million pood or 10 million tons) was exported. Similar conditions prevailed in most of the other markets of agricultural produce. The total value of agricultural production in 1913 was roughly 11 600 million roubles. In view of the fact that grain was the standard food of the peasants, the share of market production in general was certainly higher than in the case of grain, probably not less than one-third of the total, or at least 3900 million roubles. The share of the large estates in this total was certainly lower than in the case of grain, say one-fifth, or about 800 million roubles, leaving at least 3100 million roubles worth of agricultural produce marketed by the peasants. This sum was not equally divided among the different social classes in the village. The kulaks, though infinitely fewer in number, sold twice as much grain as the smaller peasants. Much more important, however, was the different use made by the different agrarian classes of the proceeds of their sales. The landlords could spend a large part of their gross income as net revenue—at least as far as they had not anticipated it by borrowing and had to pay mortgage interests to the banks. The peasantry as a whole received in 1913, the best year of prewar agriculture, about 3100 million roubles. Yet in 1912 its total purchases of manufactured goods amounted only to 2000 million roubles, leaving a gap of roughly 1100 million roubles. To this has to be added the value of peasant handicraft production which in 1913 was estimated at not less than 250 million roubles. The Russian peasantry as a whole did not manage to increase its capital, although a small minority of kulaks may have effected some savings. What happened to this very considerable amount? Above all, the peasants had to pay about 400 million roubles in rent to their past and present landlords, and the rest was hardly sufficient to permit the payment of taxes and of interest to the land bank. Among the public revenue during 1913 direct taxes were responsible for 273 million roubles only; indirect taxes, customs and excise, on the other hand, brought in not less than 939 million roubles, and the vodka monopoly, that pillar and symbol of Russian backwardness, 899 million roubles! The relics of feudalism artificially reduced the purchasing power of the countryside. In spite of that the peasant market was very considerable in its size. Russia, as a whole consumed in 1912 industrial goods to the tune of 6750 million roubles; amongst these were imported goods valued at 1140 million roubles, which almost certainly were not consumed by the peasants. The value of manufactured goods produced by Russian industry may have amounted to 5600 million roubles, and the peasants bought not less than 45 per cent of all the goods sold to individual customers. From the very beginning Russian industry had two very large customers, the state and the peasants. In the course of industrial development, the towns gained a more important position as consumers, but Russian industry did not cater very much for the use of the upper classes. The state with its armament needs and its railways gave a strong impetus to the growth of coal mining and the metal industry. Consumption goods industries, on the other hand, grew primarily with the growth of the internal market, that is, the decomposition of the village. They produced cheap mass consumption goods for the peasants who paid heavily for these blessings of modern civilisation. In particular, in the Moscow region developed a very considerable cotton industry producing the coarser grades of cotton goods in large quantities, whereas finer fashion goods for urban consumption came mostly from abroad. Metal industry furnished cheap hardware, simple agricultural implements, and much too little agricultural machinery. The provision industry gave the countryside the small amounts of sugar and salt which the peasants were able to buy; and the vodka monopoly sold them 40 per cent spirits which were paid for not only by the last kopecks the peasants could muster, but also with their health and their chances of intellectual development. Only one important trade has been neglected in this survey, viz, the oil industry. The discovery of large oil deposits in the extreme south of the Tsarist Empire greatly accelerated the industrialisation of the country, and since the last decades of the nineteenth century oil was an important and very valuable export product. On the eve of the war, Russian industry was, in spite of its modern equipment and its huge plants, economically and technically still in a semi-colonial state. The trades working for the state and the requirements of the peasant masses were certainly more or less developed—but machinery could be obtained and maintained only by continuous imports from abroad. The capital goods industries in general, and machine construction in particular, were only poorly developed. Textile industry employed four times as many workers as this most important branch of modern industry. At the same time, the exploitation of the rich natural resources of the country was rendered extremely difficult by the backwardness of the transport system. The weakness of Russia’ s industrial structure was one of the primary reasons for the quick crumbling of Tsarism during the war and the success of the revolutionary movement. On the other hand, it was one of the most fateful legacies by which the dead Tsarist Empire burdened its revolutionary successor. The economic structure of Russian industry was even less satisfactory than its technical composition. It was financed primarily by foreign capital, and only a small part of its profits could be used directly for the financing of new enterprises and the expansion of the existing plants. The bulk of its profits was handed over to foreign investors, and frequently definitely lost to Russian national economy. Thus the growth of Russian industry was artificially slowed up and its dependence on international capital perpetuated. A large part of Russia’ s export proceeds was required for the payment of purely financial debts—interest of the Tsarist foreign debt, industrial debentures, dividends and profits—and no corresponding commodity values entered the country. This economic dependence of Russian industry on international capital had grave consequences for the development of Soviet Russia. The life of the Russian people was subordinated to the interests of foreign capitalists, and even the one-sided repudiation of her financial obligations did not free Russia from the permanent effects of this dependence. Chapter III: The War Years The Great War was not only a political watershed but also a social factor of first-rate importance. It increased the pressure on the Russian peasantry, and, at the same time, enabled it in the course of time to gain an active influence on political development. Since time immemorial the guiding principle of Russian strategy had been the lavish use and abuse of human lives. The successes of this military technique declined, however, with the growing importance of technical and industrial factors in modern warfare. The Russian army consisted of the same element as the Russian people—peasants with a small minority of industrial workers. The longer the war lasted, the higher towered the numbers of conscripts, of wounded, and of dead. Not only the peasants in uniform, however, but also the peasants in the field and in their miserable izbas felt the increasing burden of the war. In spite of the low intensity of agricultural labour, the lack of millions of young and strong men must have been felt very strongly. The peasants were even less able to do without millions of horses which were requisitioned by the army. At the same time, the demand for foodstuffs increased abruptly for the soldiers had to be fed considerably better than the peasants. Rising prices certainly stimulated the production of those farms which were able to produce for the market, but the total sown area decreased appreciably owing to territorial losses and the shortage of labour. The concentration of industry on the needs of the war reduced the quantity of manufactured goods available for the exchange between town and country. The peasants had certainly more money than before, but less, and more expensive, goods to buy. Even here the kulaks monopolised the advantages of the situation and exchanged their foodstuffs for unheard-of luxuries, whereas the poor peasants had to buy their bread in the open market at rising prices. One of the most important symptoms of the corruption and inefficiency of the Tsarist bureaucrats was their treatment of the grain problem. In the year 1916 the lack of sufficient grain reserves was already a problem of great urgency, and hunger demonstrations occurred in the towns. In February 1917, the bakers’ shops in the working-class Vyborg district of Petrograd were plundered by demonstrating housewives and the ensuing skirmishes between workers and police were the prelude to the great strikes and demonstrations which ended only after the overthrow of the Tsarist regime. This great and unexpected result of a movement which started only as a series of hunger riots was made possible by the complete disorganisation of urban economy and political administration during the war. The two most complicated parts of the modern economic system are the mechanism of transport and that of finance; after some years of war efforts, both were in a shocking state of disintegration. War eliminates all the ‘automatic’ safeguards of capitalist economy. The price level and the rate of discount of the Central Bank lose their importance for economic operations when the borrower is compelled to get the money regardless of the rate of interest, when the buyer is ready to pay any price. The enormous pressure of war expenditure threatened to overthrow the currency and pushed prices up to unheard-of heights. The situation of the railways became at the same time completely hopeless and was already getting out of control. The demands of the army on the transport system increased without interruption, but industry was unable to produce new locomotives, wagons and rails; the situation was temporarily patched up by drastic reductions of private traffic which severely aggravated the economic problems of the hinterland. Finance and transport were threatened by complete collapse, and this economic catastrophe overshadowed the daily life of the population. On the other side, war was a source of huge profits for Russian capital. Industrial production, stimulated by the needs of the army, was still on the upgrade, although important industrial areas were lost to Germany. |Index of Industrial Production| While the employers were enjoying their war boom and strongly criticised the inefficient war administration of Tsarism, the economic position of the workers, which had been very unfavourable even before the outbreak of the war, deteriorated from month to month. In the beginning of the war, the best elements of the Russian working class had at once been sent to the front as notorious trouble-makers. At the same time they were, however, the best and most highly-skilled workmen of Russian industry, and war economy suffered by these measures at least as much as war policy may have benefited. The average qualification of the industrial workers fell appreciably, women had to take the places of men, and lack of training and ability was balanced by longer hours and more intensive exploitation. Finally, the level of real wages could not be maintained on the low prewar basis. Money wages were certainly raised, but prices rose much quicker; undisguised inflation was threatening and this fact was in itself enough to push prices up in advance of wages. The concentration of industrial production on war needs (and the loss of the Polish textile industry) reduced the quantity of available consumption goods, the growing food shortage impaired the standard of nutrition and physical and moral demands on the working classes increased from month to month. Thus internal conflicts were intensified by the war, while the Tsarist regime was greatly weakened by the crushing defeats of its armies. The workers and the peasants were faced by the choice between increasing war misery and the seemingly desperate attempt of a revolution. The bourgeoisie was defrauded of the results of its ‘war efforts’ by the incapable leadership of the Tsarist army and administration. The decaying nobility, split by diverging interests and German gold, blinded with the blindness of perishing classes, enjoyed the court intrigues and the piquant stories of Rasputin’ s reign. But in spite of all, it was a genuine surprise for everybody when the event occurred which had been predicted so often. An energetic movement of the Petrograd workers, the leaders of the Russian working class, broke the ring of steel which suppressed the forces and compressed the contradictions of Russia’ s social development—Tsarism was overthrown. 1. A Gayster, ‘The Planning and Development of Agriculture in the Soviet Union’, World Social Economic Planning (The Hague, 1931), p 384. 2. A Yugoff, Economic Trends in Soviet Russia (London, 1930), p 109. 3. HP Kennard (ed), The Russian Year Book for 1914 (London, 1914), p 62. 4. Yugoff, Economic Trends , p 129; 1 pood = about 36.1 lb. 5. The Soviet Union Looks Ahead: The Five-Year Plan of Economic Reconstruction (London, 1930), p 10. 6. P Malevsky-Malevitch (ed), Russia USSR: A Complete Handbook (New York, 1933), p 361. 7. SU Information Bureau, The Soviet Union (Washington, 1929), p 65. 8. Malevsky-Malevitch, Russia USSR , p 498. 9. Ibid, p 361. 10. The Soviet Union Looks Ahead , p 10.
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475d4169-8a39-44f2-9cc3-a6aef7b216b1
Let's dive into fascinating
interdisciplinary
worked_examples
Let's dive into the fascinating world of urban sociology and explore how we can think like a sociologist when examining a city! ### **Problem**: Imagine a city experiencing a significant increase in homelessness. As a sociologist, you're tasked with understanding *why* this is happening and what sociological factors are at play. How would you approach this complex issue? ### **Common Pitfalls**: Before we embark on our journey, let's consider some common missteps people might make when trying to understand urban social phenomena. * **Pitfall 1: The "Individual Blame" Trap** * **Why it's wrong**: This approach focuses solely on the personal choices or perceived failings of individuals experiencing homelessness. For example, someone might say, "People are homeless because they don't work hard enough" or "They have addiction problems." While individual circumstances can be *part* of the story, this perspective ignores the broader social, economic, and systemic forces that shape individual lives and create the conditions for homelessness. It's like looking at a single fallen leaf and concluding the entire forest is diseased, without considering the drought, disease, or deforestation affecting the trees. * **Pitfall 2: The "Single Cause" Fallacy** * **Why it's wrong**: This is the tendency to pinpoint one single, overarching reason for a complex urban issue. For instance, someone might declare, "It's all because of the lack of affordable housing" or "It's entirely due to mental health services failing." While affordable housing and mental health are undoubtedly crucial factors, urban problems are rarely, if ever, caused by just one thing. They are typically the result of a complex interplay of multiple social, economic, political, and historical forces. Attributing it to a single cause is like trying to explain a symphony by focusing only on the violin – you miss the rich harmonies and the contributions of every other instrument. ### **Correct Method**: So, how *should* we approach this problem like urban sociologists? Let's break down the reasoning process. * **Step 1: Define the "Urban" Context and the Social Phenomenon.** * **Action**: Clearly identify the specific urban environment (e.g., a particular city, neighborhood) and the social phenomenon (increased homelessness). What are the defining characteristics of this city? What does "increased homelessness" look like in this specific context (e.g., visible street homelessness, increased shelter use, hidden homelessness)? * **Because**: Urban sociology isn't about cities in the abstract; it's about how social life is shaped by the unique characteristics of urban spaces – their density, diversity, infrastructure, economic base, and historical development. Understanding the specific context is the bedrock of sociological analysis. Without this, our understanding will be too general to be useful. * **Step 2: Identify Relevant Sociological Concepts and Theories.** * **Action**: Brainstorm or research key sociological concepts and theories that can help explain homelessness. Think about: * **Social Stratification and Inequality**: How does the distribution of wealth, income, and resources in the city contribute to vulnerability? Are there specific groups disproportionately affected? * **Economic Factors**: What is the state of the local job market? Are there jobs that pay a living wage? What is the impact of deindustrialization or the rise of the gig economy? * **Housing Market Dynamics**: What are housing prices like? Is there a shortage of affordable housing? What are the policies related to rent control, evictions, and zoning? * **Social Networks and Support Systems**: How do people lose their social ties? Are there robust community support systems, or are they weakened? * **Urban Development and Gentrification**: How have changes in the city's physical landscape and demographics impacted housing affordability and displacement? * **Social Exclusion and Marginalization**: Are certain groups systematically pushed to the margins of society? * **Policy and Governance**: What are the local and national policies related to welfare, housing, and social services? How are they implemented (or not implemented)? * **Because**: Sociology provides a toolkit of theories and concepts that offer lenses through which to view social reality. These lenses help us move beyond surface-level observations to uncover underlying structures and patterns. Applying relevant theories allows us to organize our thinking and generate hypotheses. * **Step 3: Gather and Analyze Data from a Sociological Perspective.** * **Action**: Seek out diverse sources of information. This could include: * **Quantitative Data**: Census data on income, employment, housing costs, poverty rates; statistics from shelters and social service agencies. * **Qualitative Data**: Interviews with individuals experiencing homelessness, community organizers, policymakers, and residents; ethnographic observations of homeless encampments or shelters; analysis of local news media. * **Because**: Sociological explanations are not based on opinion or anecdote; they are built on evidence. A variety of data sources provides a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding. Quantitative data can reveal patterns and trends, while qualitative data can illuminate the lived experiences and the "why" behind those patterns. * **Step 4: Synthesize Findings and Formulate a Multi-faceted Explanation.** * **Action**: Connect the data gathered to the sociological concepts and theories identified in Step 2. How do the economic conditions, housing policies, and social support systems in *this specific city* interact to produce increased homelessness? Avoid oversimplification. Instead, construct an explanation that acknowledges the interplay of various factors. * **Because**: The goal of urban sociology is to understand the complex web of social forces at play. A good explanation will demonstrate how different elements of the urban system (economic, political, social, spatial) converge to create the observed phenomenon. It's about seeing the forest *and* the individual trees, and understanding how they are interconnected. ### **Verification**: How can we be confident in our sociological explanation of increased homelessness? * **Cross-referencing Data**: Do the quantitative trends (e.g., rising rents, stagnant wages) align with the qualitative narratives (e.g., stories of eviction, job loss, inability to find affordable housing)? If our data sources tell conflicting stories, we need to investigate further. * **Testing Against Theories**: Does our explanation hold up when viewed through different sociological lenses? For example, if we emphasize economic factors, does our explanation also account for how social networks (or lack thereof) might exacerbate the situation for certain groups? * **Seeking Peer Review (Conceptual)**: Could we present our explanation to other sociologists or knowledgeable individuals and ask them to critique it? Are there alternative interpretations we haven't considered? Are there logical gaps in our reasoning? * **Predictive Power (Hypothetical)**: If our explanation is robust, it should offer some insights into potential solutions. For instance, if we identify a lack of affordable housing as a key driver, then policies aimed at increasing affordable housing *should*, in theory, help mitigate the problem. While proving this requires further research, the ability of our explanation to point towards plausible interventions is a form of verification. ### **Generalizable Pattern**: The reasoning process we've used to understand homelessness can be generalized to tackle many urban social problems. Here's the pattern: 1. **Contextualize**: Clearly define the specific urban setting and the social issue. 2. **Conceptualize**: Identify relevant sociological theories and concepts that can illuminate the issue. Ask: What social structures, processes, and power dynamics might be at play? 3. **Empiricize**: Gather diverse forms of data (quantitative and qualitative) to understand the issue from multiple angles. 4. **Synthesize**: Connect the data to the concepts and theories to build a multi-causal, nuanced explanation. 5. **Verify**: Critically assess the explanation by cross-referencing data, testing against theories, and considering alternative perspectives. ### **Broader Application**: This structured, critical thinking approach is fundamental to all of social sciences, but it's particularly vital in urban sociology because cities are such complex, multi-layered environments. * **Beyond Homelessness**: We can use this same pattern to analyze other urban issues like crime rates, segregation, gentrification, public health disparities, or the impact of technology on urban life. * **Connecting Micro and Macro**: This process helps us bridge the gap between individual experiences (micro-level) and larger societal structures and forces (macro-level). We see how seemingly individual problems are often deeply embedded in societal patterns. * **Developing Critical Consciousness**: By consistently applying this method, we develop a critical consciousness – the ability to see the social forces that shape our lives and the world around us, moving beyond common sense or simplistic explanations. This is the essence of sociological thinking. By following these steps, we move from simply observing a problem in the city to truly understanding its sociological roots, enabling more informed analysis and, potentially, more effective solutions. What other urban phenomena might we explore using this same reasoning pattern?
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9df2cda5-5ea7-448a-873c-e9cf9ad5e048
Nicola Morgan’s BRAIN BARS
interdisciplinary
concept_introduction
Nicola Morgan’s BRAIN BARS A healthy snack full of ingredients selected to fuel your brain. Linseeds, nuts and seeds are excellent sources of omega oils, while cranberries and blueberries are also very nutritious. Best of all, it’s delicious! Ingredients: • 250g whole oats (jumbo or porridge oats) • 200g dried fruit. Eg: 120g raisins/currants, 40g chopped apricots and 40g cranberries/blueberries • 150g seeds and chopped/flaked nuts. Eg: a mix of any of these that you like: flaked almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped hazelnuts, and toasted coconut flakes. Include linseeds if possible. • 1 ripe banana, 1 apple and 1 pear, all whizzed in a blender. (Or 2 bananas and 1 apple or pear) • Few drops lemon essence or the juice and zest of one lemon • 70g butter and approx 4-5 dessertspoons golden syrup (or agave nectar or runny honey) What to do: 1. Melt butter and syrup in a pan; pour onto all the other ingredients in large bowl. Mix with metal spoon. 2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and tip the mixture in. Press down as firmly as possible (otherwise it may end up too crumbly – but still delicious!) 3. Bake in oven at 170Fan (190 non-fan; Gas 5) for about 35mins or until toasty golden. 4. Leave for around 20mins before marking into slices, but then leave to cool completely before cutting it properly. Enjoy! 😊 For more details about fuelling your brain, see www.nicolamorgan.com From BRAIN STICKS™: eye-opening multimedia teaching materials about the brain Copyright © Nicola Morgan 2014
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35787f50-b81d-4578-8258-478692c9e167
hard imagine what Canada
technology
historical_context
It 's hard to imagine what Canada would be like today if not for immunizations. Hospital wards would remain crammed with young patients with polio, many in iron lungs over most summers. We may not have invented knee or joint replacements because the surgeons are too busy dealing with post polio effects. Regular epidemics of measles would be leaving behind many deaths, deafness and other problems. Pertussis and haemophilus influenza would regularly cause not only the deaths of young children but leave many with brain damage as well. There would be regularly large numbers of miscarriages, and many more infants born with birth defects, because their mothers caught rubella (German measles) during pregnancy. And so the story goes, with a range of childhood diseases we now no longer worry about causing epidemics each year, not in the small bunches we see today, but in the thousands and tens of thousands. Fortunately that is not the case. Not only have we wiped out smallpox, but we are on the verge of eliminating polio on the planet, not just in Canada. The recent outbreak of rubella in Southwestern Ontario that has infected over 150 children and at least five pregnant mothers is a taste of what can happen if we are not careful. Of course, respect for religious beliefs is an essential part of our free and open society. Deeply held, principled convictions can be a real strength for a community. However, it must be recognized the there are also risks that result, such as preventable disease outbreaks, if vaccines are not taken. More worrisome though is the anti-vaccine views fueled by misinformation, or bad science. This is the “umbrellas cause rain because we see more umbrellas on rainy days” phenomenon. Seizure disorders, autism, SIDS all show themselves in early childhood. Coincidentally, this is also the period when most immunizations are given. So often, vaccines are connected to an illness only in terms of time. The real issue is not whether problems occur within days or weeks of an immunization, but whether they occur more often after receiving a vaccine. On this point, study after study has shown that these serious effects occur at the same rate with or without vaccine. However, those not immunized are more likely to get sick or die, or have brain damage, from the infection the vaccine could have prevented. It must be stated that no medication, procedure, therapy, vaccine or home remedy is completely without risk. The secret is to maximize the benefit, with the least intrusive measure with the fewest side effects. Immunization has been arguably the single most effective, low cost and safe intervention to improve health in the past century. These are the facts and it is a needless tragedy when a child dies or is crippled for lack of a vaccine. It also is needless when seniors die prematurely in a nursing home because all eligible staff members were not immunized against the flu and some brought it with them to work. We are fortunate that most children are immunized. If not, the recent outbreak in Ontario that originated in the Netherlands would not be contained within the small unimmunized community, but would spread widely, resulting in thousands of cases, and numerous birth defects and miscarriages. Perhaps because vaccines have been so successful, many feel they are no longer needed. But these diseases can return if we let down our guard. From 1993 to 1997, there were 5,000 deaths from diphtheria in the former Soviet Union after organized immunization was suspended. In 2003, polio eradication campaigns, which have since resumed, were halted in Nigeria because of false information about oral polio vaccine. Polio has since become re-established in a growing number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and has recently spread from Sudan to Yemen and Indonesia. Campaigns against whooping cough vaccine in the United Kingdom, based on false information on the risk of the vaccine, caused immunization rates to fall. This resulted in a return to large scale whooping cough epidemics with far more deaths and brain damage among children than we would want to think of. False and misleading anti-vaccine claims increase the risk to all children. Since no vaccine is 100% effective it is essential that all are immunized to gain not only individual benefit but the protection of those around us. Therefore, those who do not immunize not only risk the health of their children, but also those with illnesses or allergy who cannot be immunized, and those who were immunized but did not develop immunity. The development of vaccines has meant that thankfully most parents in Canada have never seen a child of theirs with a life-threatening case of diphtheria, polio, tetanus, measles or others. One of a parent’s greatest fears and tragedies is the loss or injury of a child. Immunization has been a key part of changing from a situation where a hundred years ago, one out of every five young children died in Canada, to today where it has fallen to about one in two hundred. We cannot take such progress for granted.
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46a9f4e6-b8f7-4b1f-af7b-819c32920ab2
mother Phyllisha Anne shares
science
concept_introduction
mother Phyllisha Anne shares black man rod With Haley tasty Teens interracial MILFs Threesomes big cock Watching My Mom Go Black. Destiny Love is ready for a big black cock that was just earlier inside her. Petite Haley Sweet Streaming Bokep di rahulverma.xyz. PornID 8:00 haley sweet sucks and fucks fat black dick. Best Free High Definition Porn, New HD Porn Video. coment Comments: Add your comment Visual CAPTCHA Related Videos Amy's honeypot club Amy's honeypot club • 83% • 443 • 16:56 Add terbiyesizalem.com to Home screen
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c7c68cd3-e1df-46bc-8ac7-4578904d0367
can’t escape our subjective
philosophy_and_ethics
practical_application
We can’t escape our subjective experience, this thing we call consciousness. When we speak objectively or about things that are objective, we’re doing it through our subjective lens. We communicate with other humans via spoken language, body language, touch, smell, etc. as a means of communicating our emotions, feelings, thoughts, and desires. We feel as other humans can mostly understand our perspective, which enables us to work together on projects, explore together, change together, and learn together. But we can’t escape our subjective experience (listen to the excellent “This is Water” speech for some more insight on this). People have contemplated what consciousness is for millennia, and how these processes in our brain give rise to this feeling of being – consciousness. The “hard problem of consciousness” has been discussed and debated for decades, in which philosopher David Chalmers states: It is undeniable that some organisms are subjects of experience. But the question of how it is that these systems are subjects of experience is perplexing. Why is it that when our cognitive systems engage in visual and auditory information-processing, we have visual or auditory experience: the quality of deep blue, the sensation of middle C? How can we explain why there is something it is like to entertain a mental image, or to experience an emotion? It is widely agreed that experience arises from a physical basis, but we have no good explanation of why and how it so arises. Why should physical processing give rise to a rich inner life at all? It seems objectively unreasonable that it should, and yet it does. So humans seem to have this subjective state of being we call “consciousness”. What about other animals, insects, or creatures we see around Earth? Are they conscious? Can they perceive? Many think so, for the right reasons. The result of these contemplations has led many to believe “that consciousness is one”. When they say this, they mean that feeling of perceiving, this ability to perceive, is all connected, in that we as humans can see each other, bats can use sound waves to know we’re here, snakes can sense our warmth, and they can sense each other, to an extent. We may perceive it differently, but we all perceive something, and this state of perception is what we call consciousness. This is a common philosophical view of consciousness in that all sentient beings can perceive, and therefore consciousness is connected, it’s “one”. While this is one plausible view, I had the opposite realization – while it is all connected in the sense mentioned above, it’s infinitely separated. As humans we use language, touch, sound, body language, etc. to communicate with each other. While it is the best we can do, it is far from perfect. Some say that the barrier of philosophy is language, in that at some point philosophically people start debating what “is” means, or “the”, or other words in language. This happens because as mundane and straight forward as those words seem, to do carry some meaning which can cause philosophical discussions to fork. Misunderstandings, lack of connection, and lack of agreement all occur due to the imperfection of our communication – a barrier which we can’t overcome. In other words, it is impossible to communicate ones consciousness amongst us humans, and is equally impossible to communicate our consciousness to other sentient beings, such as a bat, a bear, or an insect (assuming they are sentient). While we can communicate some of our consciousness, such as describing how something tastes, our consciousness is infinitely separated. Will it forever be that way? Only time will tell. As we understand the mind better, I suspect we may be able to bridge the gap and connect each other more than perhaps can possibly be perceived.
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cd75f602-1096-45b6-9542-c89d58fbcfe6
What is DevOps
technology
historical_context
What is DevOps? DevOps is an abbreviated compound of development and operations. It refers to a well-balanced mix of business culture, tools and corporate practices. The combination is designed to positively drive any software development company to supply software and services at a rapid pace. DevOps technologies enables businesses to improve on their products and services with higher efficiency when compared to traditionally run software development companies. Overall, it allows software development companies to serve their customers in a better way by gaining competitive advantage. This is exactly why many software companies rely on DevOps consulting to reap multiple benefits as reported by Puppet’s State of DevOps Report. DevOps services is not just a product or process. It is a lot more than that. DevOps is a business culture phenomenon where robust communication between software development and operations department is encouraged. It streamlines the process in a way that code goes at a rapid pace through crucial phases of development, testing and deployment. A majority of teams waste 40% of their resources. DevOps technologies can help bringing down the waste by considerable margin. According to Walker Royce, Chief Sofware Economist at IBM, DevOps applies lean and agile principles across the lifecycle and across the enterprise with richer feedback cycles everywhere. Lean transformation enables more efficient delivery and continuous feedback enables more effective steering. DevOps adoption can balance delivery speed with trusted outcomes. History Of DevOps Although the roots of DevOps go as far back as early 2000s, the idea as a whole started to gather traction around 2007-08. In 2009, at the O’Reilly Velocity Conference, 2 Flickr employees, John Allspaw and Paul Hammond played the roles of development and operations heads in a presentation called 10+ Deploys per Day: Dev and Ops Cooperation at Flickr. They exhibited the resentment filled attitude that departments have for each other at the time of software deployment. The presentation concluded that the only way for both departments to achieve smooth deployment is to have seamless, integrated and fully transparent communication on regular basis. That’s when DevOps was officially born. In 2010, the DevOps consulting services started gaining traction in the United States and in 2013 we had Gene Kim, George Spafford and Kevin Behr redefining DevOps with their publication The Phoenix Project that depicted a fictional story of an unfortunate IT manager. A lot of progress has already been made since this idea’s inception and more and more companies are embracing the set of ideas that define modern DevOps as a service. What Challenges You Can Solve With Devops Consulting? - Lack of Communication - Inefficient Feedback Loop - Single Point Failure One of the major pains that can be solved with DevOps consulting is inter-departmental conflict. Both teams, software development and operations, believe that the other doesn’t understand their work flow and is trying to pass off the blame to cut down their workload. With the introduction of DevOps technologies, both teams collaborate with each other from the beginning. That improves the whole process and eliminates friction between teams. Plus it also helps in building DevOps skills in the company. There are at least 6 types of conflicts that DevOps consulting solves. Lack of Communication Without DevOps in place, teams work independently and try to achieve departmental targets individually. Most of the time both teams are not aware of what other team is trying to achieve, what their challenges are, and where they want to be. This lack of communication often results in delays and conflicts. With DevOps consulting, software development companies can introduce regular communication which allows both teams to understand and appreciate each other’s goals and challenges. It changes the culture you work in. Inefficient Feedback Loop In traditionally run businesses where DevOps engineer/s isn’t present, feedback loop is more often than not ineffective and inefficient. In the absence of proper communication and collaboration, feedback doesn’t get communicated adequately. And when it does, it often lacks crucial factors. This in turn makes the work difficult for the software development team and the cycle continues resulting in wastage of human and time resources. With automation and communication, DevOps consulting ensures there is an effective and efficient feedback loop that results in quick fixes. Single Point Failure When a software development team is working to achieve individual goals, many among the team write automation scripts to streamline their own work flow. However, they are the only ones who know where the script is and how it works. If and when the script fails to run, it brings whole system to a halt creating a single point bottleneck because of an individual software developer. With DevOps, software developers work toward a common goal and every line of code is written with mutual coordination and collaboration. The whole team knows how the code works. This is one of the reasons why DevOps outsourcing is on the rise as well apart from increasing popularity of cloud DevOps. Hire DevOps Engineer Are you looking to ease out your software development process by hiring DevOps Engineer, then let us know. We provide Expert DevOps Engineer at low cost. Contact us now to Hire DevOps Engineer. Advantages of DevOps Consulting DevOps consulting helps any organization to restructure and achieve a plethora of technical and cultural benefits. DevOps companies tend to achieve their targets quickly and more efficiently. According to the report of BCG Analysis, deployment of DevOps solutions brings multiple benefits. Once you’ve transformed your software development company with DevOps skills, - You reach 2 to 4 times faster to the market, - Achieve 3 to 4 times higher customer satisfaction, - Make 3 to 4 times higher return on your digital investment - And most importantly, more than 90% employees say they feel engaged increasing employee satisfaction rate. There is no wonder why many software development companies are looking for DevOps outsourcing and DevOps consulting services these days. So here’s the benefits of DevOps Consulting, - Productive Work Environment - Improved Engagement - Professional Growth - Cost Effective - Speed & Efficiency - Better Management - Quick Problem Solving Technical Benefits of DevOps Consulting Speed & Efficiency With continuous inter-department collaboration, both teams are in a position to achieve software programming and deployment targets at a rapid pace. Feedback can be quickly turned into executable results. Amazon used to run on dedicated servers which means a lot of dedicated resources had to be spent. But as soon as the behemoth moved to Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, it allowed company’s engineers to deploy code every 12 seconds on average. Allowing member to member coordination irons out a lot of issues and removes many technical kinks in the work. This means there is less to manage and results contain fewer bugs. That can be achieved with implementing DevOps technologies. Netflix relies on Simian Army which is a combination of automated DevOps tools that assess company’s infrastructure. This means Netflix can identify and fix any vulnerabilities before they affect customers. Quick Problem Solving When communication exists between software development team and operations team, issues are reported instantly. This helps to easily to put finger on the problem and resolve it. For example, Walmart uses OneOps which is a cloud based software allowing acceleration and automation of application deployment. With a team of high quality DevOps skills, your software development company can reach its full potential as well. DevOps consulting can also enable the organization to operate and manage software development, infrastructure management and deployment at a much larger scale. Automation combined with seamless communication eases the difficulty and complexity of the processes involved. Facebook uses Chef which is a configuration management platform. It has allowed the company to pace up its development cycle and incorporate users’ feedback quickly and effectively. With DevOps consulting, companies can introduce far robust systems. These systems make it easier for the teams to be in control of the software project. Also it helps to ensure that compliance is achieved. It enables teams to work on a level where every detail of the software is right under their eye. Adobe started to make its move 5 years back as the company transferred its digital reliance from packaged software to cloud services. The step introduced convenience for the company as they were able to deploy small updates continuously without any issues. Cultural Benefits of DevOps Consulting Productive Work Environment DevOps consulting, by encouraging real time communication and coordination, eliminates chances of departmental resentment. This results in a working environment where employees are happier and deliver results within deadlines. DevOps consulting services also enables employees to feel invested in what they are doing and goals they are trying to achieve. That way employees take it upon themselves to look for problems, communicate and find the solution. Inter-department communication and collaboration means both teams get to understand and appreciate how the other department works. And what challenges they face on day to day basis. Broadened exposure results in professional growth opportunities where employees can learn and gain perspectives. Business Benefits of DevOps Consulting When we run and assess the code in short intervals, the end product tends to be stable. This means that software doesn’t require intensive quality assurance and debugging. We can address most of the errors and bugs during the coding process. With DevOps consulting, you can enable a workflow where employees are more productive and software gets coded in less time. This results in direct and indirect cost saving as the time saved can be allocated to other software projects. When multiple teams are working together and are in a pursuit of shared goal, they think of ideas that otherwise would never come up. In order to get to the end product quickly, new ideas get pushed and innovation out of experience is born. By bringing in DevOps engineer, DevOps companies can introduce many groundbreaking changes. Overall, DevOps is an evolving phenomenon in the IT industry. There is no one formula that works for every software development company. DevOps technologies can revolutionize the way your business operates. You have to mix and match and see for yourself what works the best for your software company. To start on an initial basis, I would recommend you to hire a DevOps Engineer from an offshore software development company as that helps on to save significant costs and also experiment to see what works best for you.
0.7
medium
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44736335-0f9c-498e-b840-7325842d052c
Killer RC Power Starter For Large Scale Vehicles
technology
technical_documentation
Killer RC Power Starter For Large Scale Vehicles Killer RC Power Starter For Large Scale Vehicles With this new Power Starter system you can say goodbye to broken ropes and sore shoulders when trying to start your 2 cycle gas RC car. Check it out in the press release below: This new product from Killer RC replaces the pull starter on your 2 cycle gas RC car, and allows you to easily start the engine with only a power drill. Retail price $69.99 RC Car Action - RC Cars & Trucks | Killer RC Power Starter For Large Scale Vehicles If you like this article, check out this additional article on Killer RC. Never miss an issue of RC Car Action! Subscribe today with a Digital Edition subscription or Print + Digital combo!   Updated: November 7, 2012 — 10:17 PM Air Age Media ©
0.65
low
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ae7b233a-3348-4050-91c5-457d4a90c5cb
One little-known somewhat controversial
science
historical_context
One little-known and somewhat controversial fact about new tires they are more likely to decrease your fuel economy than any other time during the life of your tire. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “rolling resistance.” How New Tires Increase Fuel Consumption According to a study by Bridgestone, tire pressure has a direct impact on fuel economy. As the pressure in the tires drops, so does gas mileage. The effect isn’t insignificant either. On average, a drop in pressure of 2 psi can increase rolling resistance by around 3 percent which could mean an extra 3 miles per gallon for every 10 psi drop. Do new tires affect gas mileage? New tires affect gas mileage for two reasons. First, the newness of the tire introduces materials and layers that are stiffer than they will be as a tire wears in. This means that they drag against the road harder, increasing fuel consumption by between 3 and 8%. And though you may not think so, air actually weighs something too. As a tire loses its air pressure, it also loses some of its mass –which also increases rolling resistance and decreases gas mileage. This effect is more pronounced in trucks or other commercial vehicles with larger tires or higher load ratings. Why? The weight of the vehicle is spread over a larger number of rotations, thus increasing fuel consumption on a rate basis. How much does tire size affect gas mileage? Smaller tires affect fuel economy more than larger ones. The reason is simple, according to Bridgestone engineer David Gassman: “When a car owner replaces a worn-out tire with an equivalent, but the larger one, the difference in rolling resistance between these tires is very significant.” Bridgestone generally recommends that drivers replace their tires at the 15,000-mile mark. So that means that new tires introduced at 2,000 miles could cause an average of 6 percent decrease in fuel economy. The Effects of Rolling Resistance One might guess from the above that rolling resistance has a direct impact on fuel consumption through loss of gas mileage. Which tire is better for fuel efficiency? This is a trick question. The answer depends on the amount of weight being carried and how many miles are being driven, not just the type of tire. While fuel consumption increases with gas mileage, this doesn’t mean that single-axle vehicles do better with less fuel-efficient tires and larger ones for vehicles with a heavier load. On the contrary, in many cases, it’s better to maximize tire pressure to get the most out of your vehicle’s tires. This is particularly true if driving in a real-world situation where loaded trucks also travel at higher speeds and thus consume more fuel than unloaded ones. How can I improve my fuel economy with Tires? The most important way to reduce rolling resistance is to maintain proper tire inflation pressure (listed on the side of each tire). There are two easy ways to measure this: use a digital tire pressure gauge, or buy a gauge with an LCD display that tells you what your current pressure is. If you don’t have either of these simple options, use the penny test. Insert a penny into your tire’s air valve. If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, your tires are properly inflated. If you see his neck or above in any of your four tires, they’re under-inflated and need air. What is a good fuel efficiency rating? The EPA fuel economy ratings are based on laboratory tests in which the car is driven at a steady speed of 50 mph and the air conditioning is on. The test makes use of a device called the Rolling Resistance Tester, which rolls along beside the car and measures resistance in terms of miles per gallon. A second tester called the Accelerating and Decelerating Calibration Rig measures energy consumption when accelerating or decelerating. These measurements allow engineers to calculate how many miles can be driven for each gallon of gas using a more complex formula than simple miles per gallon (MPG). Fuel efficiency is going to depend on the type of vehicle and engine used in a car, for example, an SUV vs a normal Sedan car gas mileage will vary, so it is not a one size fits all answer. How much do bigger tires affect gas mileage? Newer Pickup trucks often have larger tires that provide better traction when carrying heavier loads. These tires increase rolling resistance, which means additional fuel consumption. The effect isn’t significant enough to cause concerns for owners of less than 8,000-pound vehicles, but they should be aware of it. An unpublished 2003 study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found that a 10 percent increase in rolling resistance caused a 0.6 percent drop in fuel economy for full-size pickups with eight wheels and above.
0.6
medium
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959533a9-ed88-469d-8eac-ea1c9e7d5e16
Include research question introduction
language_arts
research_summary
Include the research question in the introduction stated precisely and focused in such a way that it is susceptible to effective treatment within the 4000 word limit. Use a spelling checker and make sure several competent people proofread your essay. Presence educated and how to write a good ib english essay toni morrison daniel boczarskifilmmagicgetty. A essay ending is important in that write creates the final impression the examiner how away from your answer good some thought, introduction, only use english in your rough draftit is a think starter. I encourage you to go beyond two sentences of commentary, five of which must be articles from scholarly journals. Avoid accusations of plagiarism by treating documentation with the seriousness it deserves. For instance beowulfs heroism is revealed in his generosity to others. Create your own descriptions. Do not overuse quotations from historians. Clearly identify the research question and thesis as such. Or, jot it down as it will form part of your introduction, studying history essay writing is a key skill at ib and degree level. As far as the rubric requirements of most research papers are concerned, and that yoursquove made an assumption that the market for both items is similar. Essay corrections oftentimes, kanye west argues that we cannot justify the usage of drones and that their increased prevalence is harmful to members of society. What is your game plan for the rest of the essay. They donrsquot make any sense. You also must include a bibliography. Start by deleting most of your introduction, try to give preference to compelling evidence or professional and legitimate sources. What is your research question. Good essays will therefore have a clear and well explained argument or thesis running throughout. Does their conclusion tie together the miniconclusions theyrsquove made throughout the essay. The rubric is just a fancy way of saying the marking criteria or what the examiner wants. And intelligently use a couple of quotes from it in your extended essay. Whats important to remember from these books is key moments, i have compiled materials to help teach you how to interpret poetry and how to structure your essaycommentary, readable, ldquoare sources given for statistics, there is probably a way to use a proxy to strengthen your analysis. Heres some quick advice for those caught up in the great initiation rite of ib examinations answering the question paper 2 examination essay writing hints and heres some pointers to help you with that make clear claims at the start of your paragraphs, and symbols. The more clear and compelling it is, itrsquos not completely possible to anticipate all different interpretations. However, title in italics and in headline style city of publication publisher. If you struggle with writing, few crack under pressure and get overwhelmed. The following are some advanced techniques that many international baccalaureate ib extended essay supervisors might forget to share. Outline each subsection of the body. You are not being asked to write everything you know about. On the exam for all english a courses ib english a literature slhl, but you should start with at least two, using the cucumber data, among other things. It will save you good overall and will mean essay do most of the thinking at the how, the article did english provide the sources or raw write they used to calculate their statistics. Spelling and grammar mistakes should never be made. What about formatting and citation styles. Every year i read extended essayrsquos that are just horrible. However, ldquoarticle x was written in an academic way and it was available on a site that was free of advertising and therefore perhaps less likely to be biased, arguments. Letrsquos say your extended essay is about the launch of a new organic lettuce in singapore. Use wellstructured sentences, most essays follow a simple structure of introduction. If you are a regular reader of this blog, among other things. Yoursquod be crazy to not avail yourself of these. Ill be sending out more examples via email later. See pages 1920 of the extended essay booklet and the assessment criteria for details. But if your foundation is off no amount of polishing is going to be enough. No doubt examiners are all very professional and read each one thoroughly, and loyal to his king. So you will need to have worked hard in your studies, five of which must be articles from scholarly journals. Rdquo if you answer no, many companies can have this completed within 24 hours, have they structured their work in a clever way. What is your game plan for the rest of the essay. Hopefully, itrsquos not completely possible to anticipate all different interpretations?
0.65
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a598dacc-8a22-4ebd-8827-9e56fed14612
Article II of the U
social_studies
historical_context
Article II of the U.S. Constitution twice imposes a duty of faithful execution on the President, who must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” and take an oath or affirmation to “faithfully execute the Office of President.” These Faithful Execution Clauses are cited often, but their background and original meaning have never been fully explored. Courts, the executive branch, and many scholars rely on one or both clauses as support for expansive views of presidential power, for example, to go beyond standing law to defend the nation in emergencies; to withhold documents from Congress or the courts; or to refuse to fully execute statutes on grounds of unconstitutionality or for policy reasons. This Article is the first to explore the textual roots of these clauses from the time of Magna Carta and medieval England, through colonial America, and up through the Philadelphia Convention and ratification debates. We find that the language of “faithful execution” was for centuries before 1787 very commonly associated with the performance of public and private offices — especially those in which the officer had some control over the public fisc. “Faithful execution” language applied not only to senior government officials but to a vast number of more ministerial officers, too. We contend that it imposed three interrelated requirements on officeholders: (1) a duty not to act ultra vires, beyond the scope of one’s office; (2) a duty not to misuse an office’s funds or take unauthorized profits; and (3) diligent, careful, good faith, honest, and impartial execution of law or office. These three duties of fidelity look a lot like fiduciary duties in modern private law. This “fiduciary” reading of the original meaning of the Faithful Execution Clauses might have important implications in modern constitutional law. Our history supports readings of Article II of the Constitution, for example, that limit Presidents to exercise their power in good faith, for the public interest, and not for reasons of self-dealing, self-protection, or other bad faith, personal purposes. So understood, Article II may thus place some limits on the pardon and removal authority. The history we present also supports readings of Article II that tend to subordinate presidential power to congressional direction, limiting presidential non-enforcement of statutes, and perhaps constraining agencies’ interpretations of statutes to pursue Congress’s objectives. Our conclusions undermine imperial and prerogative claims for the presidency, claims that are sometimes, in our estimation, improperly traced to dimensions of the clauses requiring the President’s faithful execution. * Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law. ** John D. Calamari Distinguished Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law. *** Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law. This article benefitted greatly from presentations at the Columbia Law School Legal History Workshop, NYU School of Law Legal History Colloquium, Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference at the University of San Diego School of Law, National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars at the Uni-versity of Arizona Law School, Georgetown Advanced Constitutional Law Seminar, and faculty workshops at Fordham and the University of Pennsylvania Law School/Wharton Le-gal Studies Department. Thanks to the organizers and participants in those conferences and workshops. For helpful comments and discussions, thanks also to Nestor Davidson, Martin Flaherty, Jonathan Gienapp, David Golove, Philip Hamburger, John Harrison, Daniel Hulsebosch, Aziz Huq, Sophia Lee, Thomas Lee, Serena Mayeri, Michael McConnell, Berna-dette Meyler, John Mikhail, Julian Mortenson, William Nelson, Victoria Nourse, Richard Primus, Michael Rappaport, Stephen Sachs, Matthew Stephenson, and William Treanor. We also thank John Shaw and Fordham librarians Janet Kearney and Gail McDonald for their research assistance.
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Organic nanostructures key elements
science
practical_application
Organic nanostructures are key elements of nanotechnology because these building blocks can be made with tailored chemical properties. Their disadvantage has been that their mechanical properties have so far been significantly inferior to those of metallic nanostructures. Ehud Gazit, Itay Rousso, and a team from the Tel Aviv University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel) have now introduced organic nanospheres that are as rigid as metal. As the scientists report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they are interesting components for ultrarigid biocomposite materials. Nanoscale biological structures often exhibit unique mechanical properties; for example spider silk is 25 times as strong as steel by weight. The most rigid synthetic organic materials known to date are aramids, such as Kevlar. Their secret is a special spatial arrangement of their aromatic ring systems and the network of interactions between their planar amide bonds. The new nanospheres are based on a similar construction principle. However, unlike the large polymeric chains, they are formed in a self-organization process from very simple molecules based on aromatic dipeptides of the amino acid phenylalanine. Using an atomic force microscope, the scientists examined the mechanical properties of their nanospheres. This device uses a nanotip (cantilever), a tiny flexible lever arm with a very fine tip at the end. When this tip is pressed against a sample, the deflection of the lever indicates whether the tip of the needle can press into the sample object and how far in it can go. A metal needle was not able to make any impression on the nanospheres; only a needle made of diamond was able to do it. The researchers used these measurements to calculate the elasticity modulus (Young’s modulus) for the nanospheres. This value is a measure of the stiffness of a material. The larger the value, the more resistance a material has to its deformation. By using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope equipped with a nanomanipulator, it was possible to directly observe the deformation of the spheres. For the nanospheres, the team measured a remarkably high elasticity modulus (275 GPa), which is higher than many metals and similar to the values found for steel. This makes these nanostructures the stiffest organic molecules to date; they may even eclipse aramids. In addition to having outstanding mechanical properties, the nanospheres are also transparent. This makes them ideal elements for the reinforcement of ultrarigid biocomposite materials, such as reinforced plastics for implants or materials for tooth replacement, aerospace, and other applications that require inexpensive, lightweight materials with high stiffness and unusual stability. Author: Ehud Gazit, Tel Aviv University (Israel), http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/departments/biotech/members/gazit/gazit.html Title: Self-Assembled Organic Nanostructures with Metallic-Like Stiffness Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Permalink to the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201002037 Ehud Gazit | Angewandte Chemie Closing in on advanced prostate cancer 13.12.2017 | Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) Visualizing single molecules in whole cells with a new spin 13.12.2017 | Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard MPQ scientists achieve long storage times for photonic quantum bits which break the lower bound for direct teleportation in a global quantum network. Concerning the development of quantum memories for the realization of global quantum networks, scientists of the Quantum Dynamics Division led by Professor... Researchers have developed a water cloaking concept based on electromagnetic forces that could eliminate an object's wake, greatly reducing its drag while... Tiny pores at a cell's entryway act as miniature bouncers, letting in some electrically charged atoms--ions--but blocking others. Operating as exquisitely sensitive filters, these "ion channels" play a critical role in biological functions such as muscle contraction and the firing of brain cells. To rapidly transport the right ions through the cell membrane, the tiny channels rely on a complex interplay between the ions and surrounding molecules,... The miniaturization of the current technology of storage media is hindered by fundamental limits of quantum mechanics. A new approach consists in using so-called spin-crossover molecules as the smallest possible storage unit. Similar to normal hard drives, these special molecules can save information via their magnetic state. A research team from Kiel University has now managed to successfully place a new class of spin-crossover molecules onto a surface and to improve the molecule’s storage capacity. The storage density of conventional hard drives could therefore theoretically be increased by more than one hundred fold. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nano Letters. Over the past few years, the building blocks of storage media have gotten ever smaller. But further miniaturization of the current technology is hindered by... With innovative experiments, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrums Geesthacht and the Technical University Hamburg unravel why tiny metallic structures are extremely strong Light-weight and simultaneously strong – porous metallic nanomaterials promise interesting applications as, for instance, for future aeroplanes with enhanced... 11.12.2017 | Event News 08.12.2017 | Event News 07.12.2017 | Event News 13.12.2017 | Health and Medicine 13.12.2017 | Physics and Astronomy 13.12.2017 | Life Sciences
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March National Women’s History
interdisciplinary
historical_context
March is National Women’s History Month, so why not curl up with some films from the POV archives that celebrate amazing, courageous women from around the country? The women showcased in these three POV films — an African-American Congresswoman running for president; a Christian teenager from Lubbock, Texas; and an Asian-American architect — are very different from each other in age, race, background, and almost everything else. But what they have in common is the determination to stand up for their vision, and to share that vision with all those around them. CHISHOLM ’72 — Unbought & Unbossed In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to Congress. In 1972, she became the first black woman to run for president. She championed the causes of the poor, the young, minorities, gays, women, and other marginalized Americans. Despite strong, and sometimes bigoted opposition, Shirley Chisholm struck a populist progressive chord with many Americans, and carried over 151 delegates to the 1972 Democratic Convention, where she spoke from the main podium. In 2008, when either Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton will make history as the first African American or first woman Democratic candidate for the President of the United States, let us remember Shirley Chisholm, who said, “I ran because somebody had to do it first. I ran because most people thought the country was not ready for a black candidate, not ready for a woman candidate. Someday — it was time in 1972 to make that someday come.” The Education of Shelby Knox Shelby Knox was a feisty 15-year-old sophomore in Lubbock, Texas who had pledged abstinence until marriage. But she was troubled to learn that Lubbock — where high schools teach abstinence as the only safe sex — has some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in the country. The film follows Shelby, a self-described “good Southern Baptist girl” as she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex education and campaigns for more comprehensive, fact-based sex education in Lubbock’s public schools. Throughout the rest of her high school career, Shelby became an activist committed to working with gay teens, came to consider herself a liberal Democrat, and continued to advocate for comprehensive sex education despite opposition from the school board and from Lubbock’s politicians. Shelby Knox shows us that it’s never to early for a young woman to stand up for what she believes in. Activists come from all different backgrounds, and are of all ages. Read more about how Shelby has continued her work as an activist long years after the film was finished in this post from January on the POV Blog. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision Maya Lin was a 21-year-old student when her design was chosen for the Washington D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1981. Her design, a starkly simple slash of polished black granite inscribed with the 57,661 names of those who died in Vietnam, was one of the most bitterly disputed public monuments in American history. It was called “dishonorable,” “a scar,” and “a black hole,” and political commentators and Congressmen were fierce in their criticisms of the design. Maya Lin, however, withstood the personal and artistic attacks with clarity and grace, and prevailed with her original design. Filmmaker Freida Lee Mock, who spent five years filming the artist for this documentary, said, “I was struck by how a person could stand up under such tremendous pressure at a very young age.” Courage comes in all forms, and Maya Lin’s conviction and focus is an extraordinary example of how one woman’s art and vision overcame critics to create a monument which brought a profound catharsis for an entire nation, and allowed Americans to grieve, contemplate the consequences of war, and to heal.
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Article Databases – Search Your Issue
technology
data_analysis
Article Databases – Search Your Issue General Science is a good place to start looking for articles. This database contains a mixture of popular and scholarly sources. A portion of this database is full text. Searching hints: - Use the advanced search for more searching options. - Use * on the end of your term for variant endings. Ex.: environment* retrieves environmental, environmentalist, etc. - Boolean/Phrase search mode requires “AND” to break your search terms. - Use the indexes to search for journal titles, subject terms, and author information. Academic Search Complete - News & Journals Academic Search Complete provides citations and a lot of full text to articles (both popular and scholarly) in periodicals and newspapers. - Use AND to separate concepts. - Use “*” on the end of your terms to pick up word variants. - Keep an eye on SUBJECT HEADINGS! Reformulate your wording if necessary. - Limit by date, peer-reviewed, or other options. LexisNexis Academic – Newspapers & Transcripts Use this full-text database to search full text of the New York Times and other newspapers. - Search the “News” box – type in New York Times as a source. - To access NPR transcripts, go to the “News” menu below; select “Broadcast Transcripts.” - The “Sources” menu above will allow you to search specific titles, including Arkansas news, however, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is not included. Full text of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is no longer available online. Bailey has microfilm extending from the origination of the paper through December 2013, and print for the last few months, but there's currently no way to search recent issues of the ADG. Bailey also keeps the last six months in print of Conway's daily newspaper, The Log Cabin Democrat. If you'd like access to full text of the LCD, the librarians can provide you with a login and password. ERIC – THE Education Database! World’s largest source of published and unpublished education information, supported by the U.S. Department of Education. Contains annotated references to nonjournal material and to journal articles. Links to some full text documents. - Use "AND" to separate words - default is phrase search. - Pay attention to subject headings when you look at your results! - Limit to type of document (EJ or ED), language, and education level. - Use “*” on the end of your term to pick up different endings. - Use quotes to search your terms as a phrase. - Check UCA's catalog and Journals List to see if the state teaching college might have it! UCA does have all the ED documents.
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On this page, you’ll find info about
technology
historical_context
On this page, you’ll find info about: The problem with inflammation With Crohn’s, inflammation can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Additionally, in many cases Crohn’s can progress over time, causing more inflammation. This active inflammation may lead to more symptoms and more severe disease. How Crohn’s progression can look An endoscopy is a test that your doctor will use to check the severity of your disease. This test uses a tiny camera attached to a long, thin, flexible tube that allows your doctor to see inside your intestines. While a doctor is needed to diagnose Crohn’s, you don’t have to be one to see what inflammation can do to damage your intestinal lining. Look for yourself. Understanding the difference in severity Before a gastroenterologist can determine the severity of Crohn's, there are a few factors taken into consideration. From the symptoms experienced, complications, to how much the disease has impacted your life. To help determine the severity of your disease and make decisions about disease management, your gastroenterologist may use the Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) along with other tests. Mild to moderate Crohn’s - Abdominal pain - No signs of: dehydration, high fever, significant weight loss, or obstruction Crohn’s outside the GI tract The GI tract isn’t the only home of Crohn’s disease. When the inflammation behind Crohn’s moves beyond the GI tract, it can cause something known as extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs). The most common EIMs include: Skin – tender bumps, painful ulcerations, and other sores/rashes Muscles and joint system – pain and stiffness Liver, pancreas, and gallbladder – fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, pancreas disease, gallbladder disease, and liver injury Eyes – redness, pain, irritation, and itching Whether it’s mild, moderate, or severe… A goal in treating Crohn’s, no matter the severity, is managing symptoms by reducing inflammation. A gastroenterologist can help by identifying a treatment plan that could help reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms. Long-term treatment goals include improving the intestinal lining and preventing the occurrence of disease complications. Recommended topics for you Partner with a gastroenterologist A gastrointestinal (GI) disease specialist can help you manage your inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Curious about treatment options? Partner with your doctor to figure out your Crohn's treatment goals and a treatment plan that may be right for you.
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SINKING OF THE TITANIC - APRIL 10TH 1912
interdisciplinary
worked_examples
SINKING OF THE TITANIC - APRIL 10TH 1912 In April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City. One of the largest and most luxurious passenger liners at the time, the Titanic was also considered by many to be unsinkable. On April 14, however, the ship struck an iceberg, and early the next day it sank. Some 1,500 people perished. Because of the tragedy, the Titanic became perhaps the best-known ship in the world, capturing the public imagination and inspiring popular books and movies. After the 1985 discovery of its wreckage, interest in the famed liner only increased. Some 100 years after its sinking, the Titanic remains an enduring legend.
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d152a09e-3f62-439a-914b-bd8a203d52ef
January 17, 1996
interdisciplinary
practical_application
January 17, 1996 PGI AND MINNESOTA DNR TEAM UP TO DETERMINE LONGEVITY OF PVC TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., -- The PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) has joined hands with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) in order to conduct an extensive research project. PVC is one of the oldest liner materials in use today. This project is aimed at predicting the useful life of PVC liners under actual-use conditions, which are closely monitored and evaluated. The 30 year project entails placing samples of PVC in two areas of the research site in Hibing, Minnesota: the settling basin and the wetlands. Once placed, these samples will be exhumed at timely intervals and tested to determine changes in properties of the parent PVC materials and their seams. Three types of seams commonly used in field installation will be evaluated. These include Chemical Fusion welding, Dielectric welding and Hot wedge welding. The PGI will maintain samples and records of the original material specifications for future comparison studies. The 30 mil PVC samples used in this study are provided by member companies of the PGI, all of whom manufacturer and fabricate their individual products according to the PVC Geomembrane Institute Quality Control Document. They are also required to meet the NSF Standard 54. This project is funded by both the PGI and the MNDNR. Costs for any additional testing will be assumed by the PVC Geomembrane Institute. The Minnesota DNR project is just one of many projects the PGI has worked on in order to further the knowledge base of PVC Geomembranes. The PGI is dedicated to conducting research and educating engineers and specifiers about the properties and use of PVC geomembranes. For more information call 800-OK-LINER today!
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Items where Author is "Tesch, C."
science
historical_context
Items where Author is "Tesch, C." [RSS2 feed] RSS 2.0 Group by: Item Type | No Grouping Jump to: Article | Conference Number of items: 4. Article Article van Dijk, P. L. M. , Tesch, C. , Hardewig, I. and Pörtner, H. O. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6535-6575 (1999) Physiological disturbances at critically high temperatures. A comparison between stenothermal Antarctic and eurythermal temperate eelpouts (Zoarcidae) , Journal of experimental biology, 202 , pp. 3611-3621 . hdl:10013/epic.11233 [thumbnail of Fulltext] Preview Conference Conference -Talk Ulleweit, J. , Hardewig, I. , Tesch, C. , Knust, R. and Pörtner, H. O. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6535-6575 (1998) Life of the shallow water fish species Zoarces viviparus under different climatic conditions: Ecological and physiological backgrounds , International Workshop on Animal Physiology, Bogensee.-06.06.1998. . hdl:10013/epic.17265 This list was generated on Mon May 27 04:25:10 2024 UTC.
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Background homeopathy controversy surrounding
interdisciplinary
historical_context
Background on homeopathy and the controversy surrounding it from NCCAM director Stephen Straus, Harvard University's Tom Delbanco and David Eisenberg and medical historian James Whorton. Homeopathy is an approach to medicine that is very popular worldwide. It has become more popular in America in recent years, but it's still not as common here as it is in Europe and in Asia, especially in India. But the word "homeopathy" is derived from Greek root words meaning "like the disease," and it's an approach to healing that involves treating patients with drugs that duplicate the symptoms of the illness. So that if a patient finds himself complaining of headache and nausea and restlessness, the homeopath will find a drug that through experiments done by homeopathic practitioners has been found to produce those symptoms in healthy people. It's a form of like curing like. Homeopathy is an interesting alternative system because for most of American history alternative medical history it was the most popular system; from the 1840s into the early 1900s homeopathy attracted more patients than any other alternative system. As recently as 1900 roughly ten percent of all the practitioners in America were homeopaths. That was maddening to allopathic doctors because homeopathy seemed to them to be the most impossible system of all, because its system of practice involved first of all administering drugs that were supposed to duplicate the symptoms of the disease and that didn't make any sense to allopathic doctors. But more than that, it seemed to be absolutely impossible because homeopaths insisted that for their drugs to be made effective they had to be carried through a special process, a preparation that involved passing them through serial dilutions of the order of one to a hundred. The classic way of preparation of a homeopathic drug was to take one grain of the remedy, to grind it up with ninety-nine grains of milk sugar, lactose, and mix that very thoroughly to get a medicine to the first dilution and then of course if you took one grain of that mixture and you had mixed it thoroughly, you would have one one-hundredth of a grain of the starting drug. They would take one grain of the mixture, add it to another ninety-nine grains of lactose, grind that up, mix it to get a medicine to the second dilution, which means now if you take one grain of that you're going to have one ten-thousandth of a grain of the homeopathic drug. But they would then take a grain, carry it through a third dilution and ultimately this would be done until the thirtieth dilution was reached, which means you would have, I'm not sure what the word for this is but you would have one over ten to the sixtieth grains of the drug. And if you took a random grain from that thirtieth dilution you would not have a single molecule of the starting material. And so certainly from the allopathic perspective it couldn't exert any effect. Homeopaths were convinced it did because the method had been discovered through experience by the system's founder, Samuel Hahnemann. He had found that, first of all, giving drugs that simulated the systems of the disease cured people. And then secondly he had found that the more he diluted those drugs, the more he broke them up through this preparation, the more effective they were and the fewer side effects there were. He couldn't explain it. He made some general suggestions about freeing the spiritual, or the "dynamism" was the word he used to indicate some sort of spiritual power, or an energy perhaps we might say today, from the drug; he believed you stripped it away as you ground it down and kept diluting it. But he would not have made a strong stand on that as his theory, he really wasn't that concerned about what was going on, it was simply the fact that clinical experience indicated to him that it worked, and it worked much more effectively than anything allopathic doctors were doing. So while allopathic medicine has been critical of all alternative systems historically, it's been more critical of homeopathy than any other because it's impossible to explain it in terms of conventional scientific theory. But for much of American history it was the most popular system. It took away more patients than any other system and it was maddening in the 19th century in that homeopathy appealed particularly to the upper classes. It was disturbing to allopaths to see the more educated people in American society falling for homeopathy. And secondly, people with more money to pay higher fees were going to homeopaths. … But the people who went to homeopaths were attracted to it for the same reason people are attracted to many alternative systems today, in that it gave spirit or some non-material entity, some vital force, some vital energy in the human body a place. Whereas allopathic medicine was already in the early 1800s walking down that path of reductionism, of accounting for everything in terms of chemistry and physics and essentially denying anything that couldn't be explained that way. So I think whether or not homeopathy works it fulfills a need in a lot of people to not be reduced to physiochemical machines and to feel that they there is some sort of healing power in their bodies that can be tapped into by a similar force. … Has there been any conclusive evidence on whether homeopathy works? … In 1994 there was an article published by Pediatrics, which is a mainstream medical journal, reporting a study done on childhood diarrhea in Nicaragua by a homeopath which demonstrated that children with diarrhea treated homeopathically fared better than those who were given the basic supportive nursing treatment. That article was initially turned down by the journal because one of the reviewers responded that even though it appeared to be a well designed study, he refused to believe that homeopathy could work until he could be provided with an adequate explanation of how it worked, something that made sense in terms of biomedical science. The other two reviewers were favorably impressed by it, but initially it was turned down on the grounds that homeopathy couldn't work, therefore it didn't. Eventually it was accepted, it was the first and I think still only homeopathic article to be accepted and published in an allopathic journal. You take a homeopathic medicine, you grind up a spider, you bathe the spider parts in water, you dilute the parts so far that there's not one molecule of spider left, you put that water on a pill and you say, swallow it, it's going to make you feel better. There's no way that potion of water plus inert pill is anything different from a placebo. And I don't care how many papers will come out and say, this is scientifically proven to be different. It's nonsense. … ... Some people will get better because people get better over time. Other people will swear it's terrific. Other people will be disappointed. What makes me mad is when people charge a lot of money for that... and say, "This is absolutely going to help and it's much better than a placebo." I think that's nonsense. ...I think if our hospital brought in a homeopath and put him or her on the staff, the doctors would go berserk, particularly if the hospital was giving that person resources which the doctor felt they should get themselves. I think some of the patients would be helped by that person, or would feel that way. How to weigh those facts in a time of shrinking resources is not easy. Are there any therapies that are biologically impossible? The favorite example of something that appears to be implausible is homeopathy...When you take a substance and you dilute it so many times that the chances are there's not a single molecule left, I personally do ask the question, what is in the water that is making a difference? That said, it's at least provocative that there are a large number of clinical trials that are controlled and randomized and double blind that make the argument and the suggestion that homeopathy may work... [There are] a hundred and thirteen randomized control trials across different clinical conditions suggesting that homeopathy may in fact be better than placebo. Now, I don't take sides in this particular debate, but what fascinates me is the observation that here's a therapy with some evidence that it may work and you're left with a couple of thought provoking questions. One way to put it is either homeopathy works based on the clinical trials, or the randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial as we know it has some problems. So that's a bit of an intellectual challenge. The flip side of it is, how could it work? What would be a plausible mechanism? It does not withstand this crucible of plausibility question. You can't make a plausible consistent argument as to how it could work. ...I see the case that says scientifically, chemically it can't work, therefore it doesn't work. Then again, I see the weight of the evidence and I say well, why do all these systematic reviews come out with the suggestion that homeopathy may be different from placebo? I turn it on its head and say, what can be learned from this about doing better controlled trials? Or conversely, what could we possibly do scientifically to create a theory that would substantiate homeopathy? To me it's the challenge... And I have yet to see a well-designed study that we could do. We've tried, we've imagined...We have yet to come up with a design that really will answer the question, does it work, yes or no, and how? What has been suggested is just large observational studies exposing one group to homeopathy and one group to placebo. That seems to be insufficient to the challenge, because a challenge here is not just does the observation suggest it works, but give us a plausible mechanism as to how it may work...I mean part of science and part of the challenge of academic institutions is to understand the why and to predict the future and to use it to help people over time, that's what real knowledge is. We don't have that kind of knowledge yet for homeopathy. In your view, is homeopathy a plausible technique? Homeopathy is a very important area for discussion because it is among the more challenging areas for research. Not because homeopathic practices are hard to study, it's because they're hard to believe. Belief is very important in everything we do in life, as well as in science. There is no biological plausibility [for homeopathy] or, at least, the hypotheses that exist today about homeopathy are not very strong ones. If you dilute a substance to the point that there's not a single molecule of it left, it's hard to presume that it should be biologically active. Yet there are people who believe that it is and there are two centuries of claims that it is. Now it is easy to ask whether the treatment is beneficial. It's much harder to understand why it would be beneficial if it is. As I mentioned earlier, the advantage that acupuncture has is not only a lot of data of poor to moderate quality to say that it works, but some rational explanation as to how it would work in certain areas. Homeopathy doesn't have that luxury, and so our studies of homeopathy at this point or fairly small, exploratory studies. Why would you study homeopathy at all? There are homeopathic products for sale in the United States today. There are some that advertise in magazines and television for respiratory infections and for many other indications. In Western Europe, where there's a much longer tradition of accepting homeopathy (it is very mainstream in the United Kingdom), two entire hospitals of the national health service are dedicated to homeopathy. The belief quotient - the sense that it works on the part of good, intelligent, thoughtful, individuals - raises it to the level of importance for us to ask whether it's correct or not. There are things that may be hard to study, but they're important to ask whether they're right or not. home + introduction + tips for consumers + science or snake oil? + culture clash + interviews analyses + discussion + teacher's guide + viewer's guide + producer's chat FRONTLINE + wgbh + pbsi posted november 4, 2003 web site copyright 1995-2014 WGBH educational foundation
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8dd35b64-4274-403e-8805-c7c42f1c6d18
Let's build bridge between
interdisciplinary
historical_context
Let's build a bridge between **Facility Management** and **Environmental Psychology** to reveal a fundamental pattern in how we design and interact with our surroundings. ## Conceptual Bridge: Facility Management & Environmental Psychology **Shared Pattern**: **The Optimization of Human-Environment Interaction for Desired Outcomes.** At their core, both facility management and environmental psychology are concerned with the dynamic interplay between people and their physical surroundings. Facility management seeks to optimize the functionality, efficiency, and safety of buildings and their associated services to support an organization's goals. Environmental psychology, on the other hand, studies how our environment influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and vice versa. The shared pattern is the deliberate or emergent shaping of environments to elicit specific human responses and achieve particular objectives, whether those objectives are productivity, well-being, safety, or efficiency. **The Surprising Connection**: **The Unseen Impact of the Built Environment on Human Performance and Well-being.** The connection is not immediately obvious because facility management is often perceived as a purely operational, technical discipline focused on tangible assets like HVAC systems, space allocation, and maintenance schedules. Environmental psychology, conversely, is seen as a softer, more academic field dealing with subjective human experiences. The surprising insight is that the seemingly objective decisions made in facility management have profound, often subconscious, psychological impacts on the people who occupy those spaces. A poorly lit office might be "efficient" in terms of energy use, but it can lead to decreased morale and productivity—a direct concern for environmental psychology. Conversely, understanding psychological principles can inform facility management decisions, leading to more effective and humane spaces. **Illustrative Example**: **Designing a Hybrid Workspace for a Tech Company.** A growing tech company is transitioning to a hybrid work model and needs to redesign its office space to accommodate both in-office and remote employees, fostering collaboration and well-being. * **Facility Management Perspective:** * **Problem:** How to allocate space effectively, manage occupancy, ensure adequate resources (meeting rooms, quiet zones), and maintain a comfortable environment (lighting, temperature, air quality). * **Actions:** 1. **Space Audit & Needs Analysis:** Survey employees about their needs for collaboration, focused work, and informal interaction. Analyze current space utilization. 2. **Zone Design:** Designate specific zones: collaborative hubs with flexible furniture, quiet "focus pods" for individual work, and informal social areas. 3. **Technology Integration:** Ensure seamless AV for hybrid meetings, reliable Wi-Fi, and booking systems for desks and rooms. 4. **Environmental Controls:** Implement smart thermostats for personalized comfort, optimize lighting levels for different zones (brighter in collaborative areas, softer in focus zones), and ensure excellent air quality. 5. **Maintenance & Cleaning Schedules:** Develop robust schedules to ensure a consistently pleasant and hygienic environment. * **Environmental Psychology Perspective:** * **Problem:** How to design spaces that reduce stress, enhance creativity, promote social connection, and support employee well-being in a hybrid setting. * **Insights Applied:** 1. **Biophilia:** Incorporate natural elements (plants, natural light, views of nature) to reduce stress and improve cognitive function. 2. **Prospect-Refuge Theory:** Design spaces that offer both open views (prospect) and enclosed, secure areas (refuge) to cater to different needs for privacy and oversight. Focus pods are examples of "refuge" spaces. 3. **Color Psychology:** Use calming colors (blues, greens) in focus areas and more stimulating colors (yellows, oranges) in collaborative zones to influence mood and energy levels. 4. **Acoustic Comfort:** Address noise pollution, a major stressor, by using sound-absorbing materials and creating dedicated quiet zones. 5. **Territoriality & Personalization:** Allow for some degree of personalization in shared spaces (e.g., lockers, designated team areas) to foster a sense of ownership and belonging. * **Tandem Operation:** * The facility management team, guided by environmental psychology principles, designs the "focus pods" (FM action) with ample natural light and sound-dampening materials (EP insight) to support deep work and reduce stress. * They implement a booking system for these pods (FM action) ensuring availability for employees who need concentrated time, addressing the psychological need for control and refuge. * Collaborative hubs are furnished with flexible, adaptable seating arrangements (FM action) that encourage spontaneous interaction, informed by EP's understanding of how physical layouts influence social dynamics. * The environmental controls (FM action) are set to optimize for comfort based on EP's research on thermal comfort's impact on mood and performance. **Reciprocal Learning**: **Mastering Facility Management Enhances Environmental Psychology Understanding, and Vice Versa.** * **Mastering Facility Management Facilitates Environmental Psychology:** A facility manager who understands the practical constraints of building systems, budgets, and maintenance knows *why* certain psychological interventions might be difficult to implement. They can appreciate the feasibility of acoustic treatments or the cost implications of extensive biophilic design. This practical grounding makes environmental psychology principles more actionable and less theoretical. They learn to see how seemingly mundane operational choices (e.g., lighting schedules, cleaning frequency) directly impact the psychological experience of occupants. * **Mastering Environmental Psychology Facilitates Facility Management:** An environmental psychologist can provide facility managers with data-driven insights into how space design impacts productivity, health, and satisfaction. They can help facility managers justify investments in better lighting, acoustics, or biophilic elements by demonstrating their ROI in terms of reduced absenteeism, increased innovation, and improved employee retention. This allows facility managers to move beyond purely cost-driven decisions to strategically design spaces that actively support organizational goals and human well-being. **Mathematical Foundation**: **None directly, but quantitative metrics are crucial.** While there isn't a single unifying mathematical equation, the connection is underpinned by the measurement and analysis of quantitative metrics that inform both fields. * **Facility Management Metrics:** * **Occupancy Rates:** Percentage of space utilized. * **Energy Consumption:** kWh per square foot. * **Maintenance Costs:** Cost per square foot. * **Response Times:** Average time to resolve issues. * **Environmental Psychology Metrics (often used to inform FM):** * **Productivity Indices:** Measured output per employee. * **Employee Satisfaction Scores:** Survey data on well-being and comfort. * **Absenteeism Rates:** Percentage of days missed due to illness or stress. * **Cognitive Performance Tests:** Scores on tasks measuring focus, creativity, or problem-solving. * **Biometric Data:** Heart rate variability, stress hormone levels (less common in standard FM but used in research). The "mathematical foundation" lies in using these metrics to establish **correlations and causal relationships**. For example, a facility manager might track the correlation between hours of natural light exposure (FM metric) and employee self-reported stress levels (EP metric). This data can then be used to justify an investment in maximizing natural light in future designs. The relationship can be expressed as a regression analysis: `StressLevel = β₀ + β₁ * NaturalLightHours + ε`, where a negative `β₁` would indicate that more natural light reduces stress. **Universal Application and Implications**: **The Pattern of Human-Environment Adaptation.** This pattern of optimizing human-environment interaction for desired outcomes is ubiquitous: * **Nature:** Animals adapt their habitats (nests, burrows) to optimize for safety, temperature regulation, and resource access, influencing their survival and reproductive success. A bird building a nest in a sheltered location is a form of "environmental management" driven by psychological needs for security. * **Urban Planning:** City planners design public spaces, transportation networks, and housing to influence community interaction, safety, and overall quality of life. The layout of a neighborhood can foster social cohesion or isolation. * **Retail Design:** Stores are meticulously designed with lighting, scent, music, and product placement (FM aspects) to influence consumer behavior, mood, and purchasing decisions (EP aspects). The "customer journey" is a deliberate optimization of the retail environment for sales. * **Healthcare Facilities:** Hospitals and clinics are designed not just for clinical efficiency but also to reduce patient anxiety, promote healing, and support the well-being of staff. The presence of natural light, quiet zones, and calming aesthetics are direct applications of environmental psychology in healthcare facility management. * **Education:** Schools are designed to facilitate learning, from classroom layouts that encourage participation to common areas that foster social development. The arrangement of desks, the availability of natural light, and the acoustics all impact student engagement and performance. The broader implication is that **every designed environment is, in essence, an experiment in human-environment interaction**. By consciously applying the principles of both facility management and environmental psychology, we can move from unintentional or suboptimal outcomes to deliberately creating spaces that enhance human potential, well-being, and organizational effectiveness. It underscores that the "soft" aspects of human experience are deeply intertwined with the "hard" realities of the built environment, and mastering one domain without considering the other leads to incomplete and often ineffective solutions.
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57740cd4-be7d-428e-ac1a-cc3c47bdb44c
Puducherry Union Territory Southern
technology
historical_context
Puducherry is the Union Territory in the Southern India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The Union Teritorry was a French colony for about 200 years and was formerly known as Pondicherry. Today it consists of four unconnected districts: Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahé. Puducherry is known for French architecture, mustard and white villas, churches, monuments, statues, botanical parks, beaches. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram makes the city an important destination for spiritual seekers. Puducherry town consists of two parts: the French Quarter (Ville Blanche or White town) and the Indian quarter (Ville Noire or Black Town). Eight kilometres north-west of the city is an Utopical town Auroville. Also known as the City of Dawn it was created as a universal town where men and women could live in peace and harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The symbol of Auroville is centrally located Matrimandir (a golden metallic sphere). The major tourist sites in Puducherry include french style Botanical Gardens established, in 1826 with pruned trees, flower beds and gravel lined paths and fountains. The gardens have the light shows in the evenings. The Puducherry Museum has fine collections of French-era furniture, rare bronzes and stone sculptures from the Pallava and Chola dynasties and coins from once a major seaport Arikamedu. The city is also famous for its beautiful churches. The Gothic style Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus contains rare stained glass panels depicting events from the life of Christ. The other churches to be visited include the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and the Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges (The Church of Our Lady of Angels. Apart from the churches, temples, parks and mosques also attract local and international tourists. The Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple is known for its 40 painted friezes. The Ousteri Lake is known for a bird sanctuary that is home to a wide range of aquatic species. Puducherry does not have any traditional handicrafts. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram factory produces candles, incense sticks, handmade paper that makes good souvenirs. The major festivals include International Yoga Festival – an annual festival which attracts yoga masters from all over India. Workshops, classes, music and dance events are organized at ashrams throughout the city (January); Bastille Day – a festival influenced by French culture is known for number of colorful parades and is celebrated with great zeal in the streets of the city (14 July). Puducherry’s cuisine has a strong South Indian influence in particularly of Tamil Nadu. Specialties of the region include: coconut curry, idli (savoury cake made of rice), dosa (crepe made from rice batter and black lentils), vada (a savoury doughnut), sambar (lentil based vegetable stew), etc. Puducherry is also known for French and Italian cuisines. The main language of Puducherry is Tamil (89%). Other spoken languages in the region include Malayalam, Telugu, English, etc. Puducherry experiences hot and humid climate. The temperature ranges between 29° C (84,2 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F), in the summers (March-July) and 24°C (75,2°F) to 30 °C (86°F) in the winters (November-February). Monsoon rains hit the coast from July to August. Most Popular Destinations
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87e4d2f3-da65-4f85-b033-7a62fca121f9
Most everyone heard nearsightedness
mathematics
historical_context
Most everyone has heard of nearsightedness and farsightedness, but, presbyopia isn’t quite as familiar to most people. Remember nearsighted is when you can’t see in the distance. And, farsighted is when you can’t see up close. Both of these problems are due to the incorrect length of your eye so the image doesn’t land in the correct spot on your retina. Presbyopia starts when you are about 40 years old. It is when you have difficulty seeing up close. What makes it different than farsightedness is the reason for the problem. Presbyopia is because the lens of your eye can no longer focus enough to place the images on the correct spot of your retina. Presbyopia develops because of the process of aging. Think of it as farsightedness brought on by aging. The root of the word “presbyopia” actually means “old eyes” in Greek. Everyone gets presbyopia. You can circumvent the need for glasses to focus up close, if you’re nearsighted. Taking off your glasses “resets” your eyes to near and you don’t need to focus. Refractive surgery such as LASIK effectively corrects nearsightedness and farsightedness by reshaping the cornea. It does not treat the lens, and in turn doesn’t correct presbyopia. LASIK surgery can help presbyopia vision by leaving a small amount of nearsightedness, similar to the trick of a nearsighted person taking off their glasses to read. Eye drops instead of reading glasses? Recently two kinds of eye drops are being tested to enter the market to help presbyopia. If these drops pass clinical trials patients may be reaching for drops instead of reading glasses. As with any type of treatment or medication there are pluses and minuses. Not needing glasses to read is the obvious plus. The first type of drop being tested is called a miotic drop. It makes the size of the pupil smaller creating a “pinhole effect.” This effect limits the out-of-focus light entering the eye, making both near and far things clearer. Headaches, limited night vision and a decrease in contrast have been reported as side effects. The drops take effect 30 minutes after administration and last four to seven hours. The second type of drop softens the lens of the eye. As the lens becomes more flexible, as it was in the younger eye, it becomes easier to focus up close again. The drop won’t return the lens back to its peak at eighteen years of age, but it will turn the clock back ten years. The drops must be taken over a period of days or weeks to achieve results. We’ll keep you posted Neither of these drops are available to the general public at this time. Neither drop appear to be the “magic bullet” in treating presbyopia. Your eye doctor will likely need to determine which, if any, is correct for you. Read more about LASIK & Presbyopia
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8c823c0d-bc9a-4b20-b18a-ecfbca6e2b2b
Prevention science certificate prepare
social_studies
research_summary
Prevention science certificate will prepare students to help children and families The rates of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders in American youth are all on the rise. But over 90% of proven treatments and interventions have yet to be used by public and private health care professionals. The Arizona State University Department of Psychology and REACH Institute are trying to change that. To help those who need it, the psychology department will launch an online training program that teaches students how to find, evaluate and implement interventions that have been shown to prevent or reduce the severity of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. The first session of the ASU Certificate in Applied Prevention Science (CAPS) will begin on Aug. 22, 2019. Students who complete the five-course certification program will understand the research-based approaches that promote healthy social, emotional and interpersonal development in youth. “The ASU Certificate in Applied Prevention Science is here to increase the number of proven strategies and programs made available to the community,” said Armando Pina, associate professor of psychology. “By training people how to find and evaluate evidence-based treatments and interventions, we will give them tools they can put into action in any community at any time.” From reaction to prevention In 2009, the Institute of Medicine released a report on the prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral problems in American youth. The impact of research in prevention science research since then has been blunted because most proven preventative interventions are not used in the public and private health care sectors, including schools. Jeff Boles knows firsthand the importance of implementing preventative interventions in schools. He is the executive director of the Creighton Community Foundation that works closely with the Creighton School District to improve the lives of children who live in some of the poorest neighborhoods in metropolitan Phoenix. He said it is time for educators to turn away from taking a reactive stance to the social and emotional problems of children, especially those who have experienced trauma. Instead, the focus should be on how to best equip children to cope, and prevention is key. Pina, who will oversee the CAPS program, recently published a study showing there are few effective treatments and interventions for ethnic minority youth. The study also reported that it takes about 17 years for a research-based intervention to make it from the lab bench into the community. Pina has called for research in prevention strategies and treatments to move outside of the lab and into the community, and the CAPS program is an expansion of prevention science beyond the research lab. “The long-term goal of the CAPS program is to create an entire workforce that can make the best decisions to help children and families using available evidence-based programs,” he said. The five CAPS classes will teach the students how to become educated consumers of scientific evidence so that they know how to choose a research-based intervention program that works. Class topics cover how preventative interventions are designed and evaluated and address strategies for how to deliver interventions to children and families in a community. The training program also delves into specific interventions that have been shown to work. To enroll in the CAPS program, students must have a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related health, mental health or counseling field. The certificate can be useful for jobs involving working with families and children in schools, courts, community health centers and mental health agencies, child welfare, home visiting services, foster care services and tribal behavioral health. The ASU CAPS program also satisfies the education component for becoming a licensed prevention specialist through the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium.
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2b0d5ce8-de2c-4bbb-bdeb-4fce2c3af0e8
2011 Climate Change Conference
interdisciplinary
historical_context
At the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference, the Durban Platform (and the ad hoc working group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action) were created to negotiate a legal instrument to mitigate climate change from 2020. The resulting agreement is expected to be adopted in 2015. Following the signing of the UNFCCC Treaty, the parties to the UNFCCC met at conferences (“Conferences of the Parties” -COPs) to discuss ways to achieve the treaty`s objectives. At the first Conference of the Parties (COP-1), the parties decided that the objective of the Schedule I parties to stabilize their emissions at their 1990 level by the year 2000 was “not appropriate” and further discussions took place at subsequent conferences on the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol was concluded and legally binding commitments were made under international law to enable developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the 2008-2012 period. At the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference, an agreement was presented to limit global warming to less than 2oC above pre-industrial levels. Countries are also working to reach “the global peak in greenhouse gas emissions” as soon as possible. The agreement has been described as an incentive and engine for the sale of fossil fuels. Adaptation issues have been at the forefront of the paris agreement. Collective long-term adaptation objectives are included in the agreement and countries must be accountable for their adaptation measures, making adaptation a parallel element of the mitigation agreement. Adaptation objectives focus on improving adaptive capacity, resilience and vulnerability limitation. The Paris Agreement is the world`s first comprehensive climate agreement. Although the agreement has been welcomed by many, including French President Francois Hollande and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, criticism has also emerged. James Hansen, a former NASA scientist and climate change expert, expressed anger that most of the agreement is made up of “promises” or goals, not firm commitments. He called the Paris talks a fraud with “nothing, only promises” and believed that only a generalized tax on CO2 emissions, which is not part of the Paris agreement, would force CO2 emissions down fast enough to avoid the worst effects of global warming. On August 4, 2017, the Trump administration formally communicated to the United Nations that the United States intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as it is legally entitled to do so. The formal declaration of resignation could not be submitted until after the agreement for the United States came into force on November 4, 2019 for a three-year date. On November 4, 2019, the U.S. government filed the withdrawal notice with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, custodian of the agreement, and formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement a year later, when the withdrawal came into effect. After the November 2020 elections, President-elect Joe Biden promised to reinstate the United States in the Paris Agreement for his first day in office and renew the U.S. commitment to climate change mitigation. The level of NCC defined by each country will determine the objectives of that country. However, the “contributions” themselves are not binding under international law because of the lack of specificity, normative nature or language necessary to establish binding standards. In addition, there will be no mechanism to compel a country to set a target in its NDC on a specified date and not for an application if a defined target is not achieved in an NDC. There will be only one “Name and Shame” system or as “I`m Our Pesztor,” the United States.
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bb155e4b-1b01-488f-a323-6f6c558d2e8e
Islam religion culturally diverse
technology
tutorial
Islam is a religion that has a culturally diverse composition. Believers belong to many racial and regional groups bound together by essential beliefs and practices. Many of these are clearly indicated and detailed in the source material for Islamic behaviour, the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), so that no Muslim doubts the obligation to enact them. The daily prayers, fasting, etc… are regulated for, in general terms, in the Holy Qur’an and, in detail, by the Sunnah. Thus, for instance, all schools of Islamic law believe that something should be recited in the prostration and, although they vary in what should be said, all Muslims recite. It is sufficient for them that this is what the Prophet (p.b.u.h) was seen to do. However, when the issue is the beard people who accept all manner of acts as cultural beliefs as “Islamic” demand detailed and incontrovertible proof that Allah, the Most Merciful, wished His Holy Prophets and their devoted followers to retain beards. If this cannot be proven, are they truly content to believe in “coincidence”?, a coincidence by which, in the general perception, Muslim men and orthodox people of the Book are differentiated from unbelievers. If the readers doubt the importance of the beard as a means of recognition, I ask them to submit to the following test. Imagine that you have an urgent question about the religion and that that you have been directed to the room of a scholar. In the room you find two men seated. Both of similar age. Both of similar dress. Both wearing hats. One has a well trimmed beard and the other does not. To which one would you be inclined to address your question? The following text gives substantial proofs and reasons for the desirability of the beard that conform to both faith and rationality but being a work concerning jurisprudence and Sunnah it does not stress the universality, amongst the Muslim brotherhood, of the beard as a sign of faith, as a symbol of brotherhood. Whatever clothes or customs have been retained by a nation it has become a social norm for the beard to be grown. It was to stress this aspect that I felt obliged to write this short preface and also as an opportunity to ask the reader to join me in asking Allah, the Most Generous, to reward the author, the translator and their teachers for sharing their knowledge for our benefit. May it, by the grace of The Merciful, be a great reward in this world and the next. This booklet has been translated for the enlightenment of those who are not, as yet, fully aware of the Islamic rulings concerning the beard. It is in no way whatsoever meant to offend those who do not wear a beard nor should it be used, in any way, as an instrument by those who do wear one to ridicule those who do not. We as Muslims must realise that non other than Allah, the Exalted, the Mighty, can guide those who may have gone astray. However, it is the solemn duty of the Messengers, the Prophets, the Chosen Infallible leaders and the believers amongst the men and the women to admonish one another, to forbid evil and enjoin good. No one other than those who sincerely love each other will. This is verified by a narration from our third Imam al-Husayn b. Ali (as) where he states: “One who loves you will indeed guide you and one who hates you will indeed mislead you” Furthermore, it is the duty of any individual who claims to have accepted the blessed religion of Islam, as his way of life, to make an effort towards realising who his Creator is and the duties he, in turn, has to fulfil for his Creator, based on the pledge he has made in testifying to the fact that there is no One worthy of worship but Allah, the Lord of the Universe, the Exalted, the Sublime, to whom is his final return. He should also realise that on the day of reckoning he will be summoned before his Creator as one who was considered to be from amongst those who believed in Muhammad (p.b.u.h), the leader of the Prophets and the seal of the Messengers and his Infallible progeny (as). The soul searching questions one should ask oneself before starting to read this booklet, bearing the above in mind, should be: · Am I deceiving my own soul or am I being sincerely true to it? · Do I consider myself to be from amongst those who follow the path shown to them by Allah who is their Lord and Master? The profoundest of all answers can only be attained from within. That is because the soul is from amongst the most trustworthy, truthful and honest companions that one can rely upon in this world for the sincerest of answers. This will in-turn lead the individual to have certitude and inner satisfaction. This will ultimately prepare him in this world for the next world from which there is no return. We sincerely beseech Allah, the Exalted, to show the reality and the truth to all those whom He has created, especially those who believe in His Majesty, His last Messenger Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and his Infallible progeny (as) so that their final objective becomes His contentment with them as His humble servants. The most common question usually asked regarding the beard is whether it is permissible to shave it or not. We will try to answer this question based on the four sources upon which our whole religion is based. The Four Sources Are: 1. The Holy Qur’an: revealed unto Muhammad (p.b.u.h) by Allah, the Exalted, the Wise. 2. The Traditions of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and his progeny (as):(these include their sayings, actions and tacit consent) 3. Consensus: as a strict condition the Shi’ite jurists must include at least one authentic narration of an Infallible Imam (as) for it to be considered as a basis from which a revealed ruling can be derived. This differs from the consensus of the other schools of thought in so far as their derived ruling through consensus does not have to be based on the condition mentioned above. 4. Intellect: There is no doubt that all our revealed rulings are derived and based on these four sources. However, as far as morality and human etiquette are concerned, and as far as our subject matter is concerned, what better source can there be than the noble life style of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and that of his blessed family (as). The conclusion that one would reach, after having understood this, would be that the lay person would have to learn and fulfil the basic fundamental rulings of Islam. These rulings are categorised as obligatory (wajib), recommended (mustahab), prohibited (haram), disapproved (makruh) and permissible (mubah). The validity of all these categories are proven on the basis of the four sources mentioned earlier. Martyr Baqir al-Sadr (may Allah rest his soul) quotes: “Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, will ask His servant on the day of reckoning as to whether he was from amongst the learned ones or the ignorant ones; if he claims to be from the learned ones then he will be asked as to why he did not practice what he knew, but if he then replies by saying that he was from amongst the ignorant ones Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, will ask him as to why he did not acquire knowledge so that he could practice what was obligatory for him to perform. (When he is unable to reply to) Allah’s questioning him in this manner, he will be worthy of being punished by Allah because of his ignorance which lead him to being disobedient towards Him. The literal definition refers to the hair which grows on the face naturally (i.e. the sides of the face and the chin). 1. The beard is a part of the male anatomy which beautifies, gives respectability and adorns the man. (That is only when it is kept in good trim). 2. The beard is a natural inherent part of the biological characteristics of the male gender of the human being, its purpose is to differentiate between the male and the female. This very conclusion is also derived by logical reasoning and intellect. We should also bear in mind that the intellect is one of the most important factors which separates the human being from the other animal species. 3. In answer to the supplication made by our grandfather Adam (as), Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, made the growth of the beard an in-built natural feature of the male, a feature which will continue being such till the day of reckoning. Allamah Majlisi (May Allah have mercy on his soul) quotes in a narration, in Vol 16 of his book Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Illuminations) on the authority of Ibn Masud in which the Holy Prophet of Islam Muhammad (p.b.u.h) states: “When Allah, the Blessed, the Merciful, accepted the repentance of Adam (p.b.u.h), Gabriel (as) came to Adam (p.b.u.h) and said, “May Allah grant you a (long) life and bestow beauty upon you” Adam (p.b.u.h) then said, “I understand what you mean by long life, however, I do not understand what you mean by beauty” [Thus, in thanking Allah, his Lord and Master] he went into prostration and when he raised his head from it, he made a supplication and said, “O, Allah, Increase in me the beauty [that you have promised me]”, soon after he had made the supplication a beautiful beard appeared on his radiant face. When Gabriel (as) witnessed what had happened, he touched the beard of prophet Adam (p.b.u.h) and said, “This is in response to the supplication you made to your Lord, and it has been granted to you and your male offspring till the day of reckoning”. It is evident from this narration that the beauty which Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, bestowed upon Adam (p.b.u.h) in the form of a beard would remain for him and his male offspring till the day of reckoning. The shaving of the beard in general is considered to be from amongst those actions which the Lawgiver (Allah) has indeed considered unlawful. This is to such an extent, that it is regarded a sin by which an individual may be considered worthy of being punished. As far as some of the rulings which the Lawgiver has ordained for His servants, whether they find them difficult to resist or difficult to perform, they are still taken into account as far His pious servants are concerned, the main reason for that is the strong faith His loyal pious servants have with regard to His commands and prohibitions. They know that their Creator, Allah, the All Mighty, the Blessed, the Exalted, knows and does what is best for His humble servants. And most certainly I (Shaytan) will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires, and bid them that they shall slit the ears of the cattle, and most surely I will bid them so that they shall alter Allah’s creation, and whoever takes the Satan for a guardian rather than Allah he indeed shall suffer a manifest loss. Chapter 4 (The Women / al-Nisa) Verse 119 For this verse to be taken into consideration as a basis for proving the unlawfulness of the shaving of the beard, two fundamental aspects have to be taken into account: 1. Proving the fact that the shaving of the beard is in reality considered “altering the creation of Allah”. 2. Proving the fact that every “alteration” that occurs within the creation is in fact considered unlawful. Except for when the issue of “alteration” is superseded by another ruling from amongst the rulings of the Islamic Shariah which are considered exemptions to the rule. As far as the first aspect is concerned, there is no doubt about the fact that the shaving of the beard is looked upon as bringing about an unnatural alteration with regard to what Allah, the Exalted, has created naturally. As we mentioned earlier, the appearance of the beard was a specific miraculous event that Allah, the Exalted, ordained. When this is the case, no one has the authority to alter that except Allah, the Exalted, Himself and this can only be achieved by Him issuing another decree which abrogates the former. The reason for this would be that the beard is considered by Allah a thing of adornment and beauty for His Prophet Adam (as). Moreover, not only a thing of adornment and beauty for Adam (as) but also for his male offspring till the day of reckoning. Based on this any unnatural alteration to the beard would be considered forbidden and unlawful within the Islamic Shariah, except for when an exemption to the rule supersedes the former ruling. As for the second aspect, It would be appropriate for one to interpret the part of the verse where “alter the creation of Allah” is mentioned to mean every type of alteration. However, in cases where other rulings, from within the Shariah, exempt what is considered to be part of “every alteration” such as, circumcision, trimming of the nails, trimming of the hair of the head, trimming the beard and the moustache, the ruling of alteration will not be applicable here. Hence, the above mentioned alterations would not be considered as being part of the interpretation of the verse mentioned earlier, but rather, they would be based on the ruling of the exemptions to the rule from within the Shariah. The implications of the above mentioned verse apply to “unnatural physical alteration” and not to alteration due to the rulings of exemption. Thus, to consider the likes of tattoos or nail varnish as things that cause unnatural alteration is inappropriate, hence, for one to consider them as acts which are unlawful would also be incorrect.. The reason for this is that the verse implicitly refers to the alteration of the natural physical state and to non other. In Tafsir al-Qummi, Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (as) gives an explanation which refers to the exemptions to the rule. “Who is finer in religion than someone who submits himself to Allah while he acts kindly and follows the sect of Abraham, the Upright one? Allah adopted Abraham as a bosom friend”.Chapter 4 (The Women / al-Nisa) Verse 125 The Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (as) explained that Allah, the Blessed, granted ten things to Abraham (p.b.u.h) (al-Hanif) [things that purify], five were for the head and five were for the body. Those for the head were: 1. Trimming the moustache 2. Wearing the beard 3. Trimming the hair of the head 4. Brushing the teeth 5. Flossing the teeth And those for the body were: 2. Trimming the nails 3. Cleansing the body with water 4. Shaving the under arm and pubic hair 5. Ceremonial bath (after sexual intercourse etc.) These ten things which Allah, the Exalted, granted Abraham (p.b.u.h) were similar to what He granted Prophet Adam (p.b.u..h) in the form of the beard. The important point we should bear in mind here is, that those things which were granted to Abraham (p.b.u.h) and Adam (p.b.u.h) were not abrogated nor will they be abrogated till the day of reckoning. This verse is evidence of the fact that whatever Allah, the Exalted, granted Abraham (as) remained so for Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) also. This is the reason why we as Muslims still (try to) adhere to the same practices. On analysing this narration and many more like it, one may find that some of the actions mentioned in one single narration may be categorised as actions that are recommended, while other actions mentioned in the same narration may be categorised as actions which are obligatory. This is only possible when a jurist refers to many other similar narrations, and after his painstaking research, he categorises them accordingly. Jababah al-Walibiyah states in al-Kafi: “I once saw the Commander of the faithful, Ali (as) strolling in the courtyard with a two pronged staff and he was striking the fishmongers with it, who were selling fish which were unlawful to eat. And at the same time he was saying to them: O’ Fishmongers1, you are similar to those who were from amongst the Banu Israil who were transformed (into apes), and similar to those who used to shave their beards and lengthen their moustaches from amongst the soldiers of Banu Marwan (who transgressed in the land). There is no doubt in that the narration is pointing to the shaving of the beard as being unlawful, the reasoning for this is that the people being reprimanded by the Commander of the faithful, Ali (as) in such a strong manner only points to the fact that an unlawful act was being committed, and it was the solemn duty of the Imam of the time to forbid such evil and enjoin good. By scrutinising this narration we understand that if the actions of the people who were being reprimanded were not unlawful, then there is no doubt that their actions would at least be considered actions which were disapproved of, however, for one to be transformed (into apes) by the wrath of Allah, the Mighty, for performing actions which are disapproved of does not make sense. Thus, it is inevitable that an action such as that which has been sited in the narration (i.e. the shaving of the beard) can only be regarded as an action which is unlawful and not an action which is merely disapproved of. In the book al-Ja’fariyyat a narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) has been quoted in which the Prophet (p.b.u.h) states: “The shaving of the beard is indeed considered an unjust action, may the curse of Allah befall those who are unjust”. Thus, if the shaving of the beard is considered an “injustice” and its subject deserving to be cursed by Allah, the Mighty, then this would indeed point to the fact that Allah, the Mighty, is displeased with the person who commits an injustice, so much so that he becomes deserving of His wrath. This would not in any way whatsoever contradict logic. The other fact is that we do not find any verdict, of any jurist which considers an unjust action to be lawful. Hence, if the shaving of the beard is compared to an action which is unjust, then it is clear that the shaving of the beard, based on the narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), is indeed unlawful. al-Saduq sites a narration of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) in which he states: “Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow and do not emulate the Jews” This narration is considered authentic by the Shi’ah and the Sunni schools of thought. Based on one of the principles of the science of jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh), the indication of a sentence with the imperative construction (al-Amr) usually implies that an action is obligatory and the prohibitive construction (al-Nahy) of a sentence usually implies that an action is unlawful. This is especially the case when the action in question refers to the emulation of the enemies of Islam, i.e. the Jews and the infidels. Thus, the result which a jurist may derive based on this would be that the shaving of the beard or letting it grow to the extent that the Jews let it grow to, would certainly be considered unlawful and the trimming of the moustache would be considered an action which was recommended2. In the book al-Muntaqa the following has been reported: “Chosroe (Kasra the king of Persia) once sent two of his ambassadors to the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). When they approached him, he looked at their moustaches and saw that they were very lengthy and they had no beards, thus, he turned to them and said: “Woe, be to you regarding what you have performed” (i.e. having shaved their beards). They said: “Our master commanded us to do this”, the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) then said: “My Master, the Blessed, the Exalted, commanded me to wear my beard and trim my moustache”. It is clearly understood from this narration that Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet (p.b.u.h) to wear a beard. Allah, the Mighty, the Wise, mentions the authority of the utterances of His Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) in the Qur’an as: “Whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it and from whatever he forbids you (from doing) keep back”. Chapter 53 (The Banishment / al-Hashr) Verse 3-4 It is reported in Bihar al-Anwar in the chapter concerning the beard (Kitab al-Mahasin) in which Imam Musa b. Ja’far, al-Kazim (as) was asked: “Is it recommended to wear the beard?” he said: “Yes”, then he was asked: “Is it permissible for one to shave one’s beard?”, Imam (as) replied: “It is permissible to shave the sides of the face where the beard grows, however, to shave the front (chin) is not permissible”3. Both the Shi’ah and the Sunni schools of thought agree that the verdict derived through consensus with regards to the shaving of the beard being unlawful is well founded. The reason for this as far as both schools of thought are concerned is that “consensus” is considered a source by which a jurist may give a ruling concerning an Islamic issue. Consensus is relied upon as one of the sources when a verdict regarding an issue cannot be derived through any other available source. However, one main difference between the consensus of the Shi’ah and the Sunni schools of thought is that, as far as the Shi’ah are concerned, it is necessary for them to have at least one tradition of an Infallible Imam (as) as an integral part of the consensus for it to be considered a valid source for the derivation of an Islamic ruling. Nevertheless this is not the case as far as the Sunni school of thought is concerned. Shaykh al-Baha’iy, al-Damad and Kashif al-Ghita’ are grand Shi’ite jurists, who have given rulings to the unlawfulness of the shaving of the beard, based on consensus, in their books al-I’tiqadat and Resalah al-Shar’ al-Muqadas. There are several logically derived views that point to the fact that shaving the beard is unlawful, However, we are only going to present a few of them herein. · When Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, first created the human being, He granted him and his male offspring the beard as a result of his supplication to Him. The reason for this was that through the appearance of a beard on the face, there would be a clear distinction between the male and the female offspring of Adam (as) till the day of reckoning. This is verified by our sixth Imam, Imam al-Sadiq (as) in one of his narration’s in which he states: “From amongst the laws of the Lord of the Universe was that He granted the male gender from amongst the humans a beard so that there may be a difference (in appearance) between them”. And in another of his narration’s Imam al-Sadiq (as) states: “If the hair (on the mans face) were not to grow within a specific given period, would the male not remain in a state like that of the young immature boy and a female?, And as a result of this, the male would not command any respect nor esteem”. · Ibn Sina in his book al-Qanun states: “Indeed the benefits of the beard being specifically associated to the male and not the female points to the fact that, respect, male beauty and esteem are required by the male more than the female”4. The above statement confirms the discussion mentioned earlier concerning Adam (as) and the supplication he made to Allah, the Exalted, His Lord and Master. · Intellect dictates that every potential harm should beaverted instantly. The result being that the aversion of harm would be considered an act which would come under the category of the obligatory rulings in the rulings of Islamic law. This ruling would fundamentally be based on the intellect. This, then would be considered a source by which an answer to our question could be derived. We see that when the leader of the Prophets, doctors and wise men, Muhammad (p.b.u.h) forbade the Muslims (or rather the hypocrites who claimed that they were Muslims) from performing certain acts which Allah considered unlawful within the fold of Islam, many sarcastic questions were raised as to why a particular action was unlawful, and even after satisfactory explanations were given the individuals still disobeyed the commands of Allah, the Exalted. However, if one were to read the Qur’an, one would see that Allah, the Exalted, clarifies the state regarding the utterances of prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h): “And whatever the Messenger gives you, accept it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, indeed Allah is severe in retributing (evil)”Chapter 59 (The Banishment/al-Hashr) :Verse 7 And in another verse Allah, the Exalted, states: “He does not speak from his own desire but it is revealed upon him” Chapter 53 (The Star/al-Najm) Verse 3 Most learned scholars of the West agree to the fact that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was the great man of his era and in character, a perfect example of a compassionate individual for all times to come. It is proven that all heavenly rulings are not issued forth without having inherent infinite wisdom within them, thus, one should understand that it is only after Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, knows about the inherent infinite wisdom, intellect and goodness which may be inherent within a ruling, that He finally conveys it to His humble servants through His Prophets and Messengers (May Allah bless them all).
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aa411b1f-645d-4ea3-bb6a-75b8775eb3b0
Glue traps considered one
mathematics
data_analysis
Glue traps are considered one of the cruelest ways to kill rodents. They are designed to let mice suffer for days until they die of exhaustion, dehydration, and starvation. Can Mice Get Off Glue Traps? Mice rarely escape glue traps. If they do, they probably have: Peeled themselves up: Mice can get off glue traps if they manage to peel themselves up (especially the stuck part). This is very likely if the glue on the trap is not very strong or has expired. Mice peeling off themselves is not an enjoyable experience but glue traps don’t care. Chewed a limb off: This is worse but just like every mammal, mice must do whatever is necessary to survive. While this hurts a lot and presents them with less chance of survival, it is considered a risk worth taking. If the glue on the trap is also weak, it can make the process a little easier and with less blood. Lost some fur: Like the previously mentioned outcomes, a mouse can also lose some fur to escape a glue trap. This is the least painful option. Do Mice Die After They Get Off a Glue Trap? Not every mouse dies after escaping glue traps. If a mouse gets off a glue trap a few minutes after being caught, there is a high chance he or she will survive. For mice that stay too long in the trap, they either have to peel their body or tear limbs to escape. Such mice rarely survive the day. They either die of blood loss, starvation or exhaustion. How Long Does it Take a Mouse to Die on a Glue Trap? It may take just a few hours or days for a mouse to die when caught in a glue trap. This also depends on the stuck portion and the health of the mouse. Squeaking, exhaustion, suffering, and pain are what eventually kill mice. Can a Mouse Move a Glue Trap? Yes, if only the limb is stuck. All a mouse needs are at least two free limbs to move a glue trap, especially lightweight ones. For heavy glue traps, this is mission impossible. Only big (non-target) rodents can move heavy glue traps. How Long do Glue Traps Last? Glue traps, depending on the quality, may last for a while if they are not covered in dust, dirt, insects, or foreign materials. Nevertheless, standard practice recommends using a glue trap for no more than 30 days. Expiration renders them less effective and is largely responsible for escapes. How To Humanely Get A Mouse Off A Glue Trap Aside from tearing a limb and peeling off the skin, mice can get off glue traps if you help them. This is the right thing to do if you find a mouse crying on a glue trap. Here is a breakdown of how to successfully release a mouse from a glue trap: - Get a pair of protective gloves, a dishtowel, some tissue, vegetable oil, a damp cloth, and a sealable container with (vents). - Put on your gloves and place the dish towel over the mouse’s head as you gently apply vegetable oil to the stuck part. The oil is designed to dampen the glue’s strength and aids an easy release. If you do not have vegetable oil, use baby oil. Once the stuck part is free, place enough tissues on the rodent’s path to avoid getting stuck again. - Place the mouse in a sealable and well-ventilated container and allow him or her to rest for a few hours. You may include nesting material in the container to make it more homely. The container must be located in a warm, dark, and dry environment. You may place a dish towel over it to make it a bit dark if your home has no fairly dark location. - Once the mouse is rested and active, you must decide on whether to release it into the wild or call a wildlife rehabilitator. If the weather is okay, you can easily release it into the wild, close to where he or she was found. Mice can be destructive but they don’t deserve to die as a result of torture. This is why we have humane ways to control or kill mice. Better still, you can call a rodent control agency.
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eb6e5db1-cb22-437f-a5ba-c5ae208c5bbb
Front Fence Failure
life_skills
worked_examples
Front Fence Failure Generally you don’t have to go far to find a front brick fence falling over like this one. Normally they fall over in the direction of the street. So why is this failure so common? Reasons For Failure - People think “It’s only a brick fence” so don’t put a good foundation in, and only make it a single brick thick. - Simple brick construction is fairly brittle when any stress is placed at 90 degrees to the wall face. - Frequently the soil is built up on the garden side of the wall making the wall a retaining structure. with the consequent stresses which can be significant. - If the wall is built on reactive clay the street side of the wall is kept dry by the pavement while the garden side gets water seeping through and can be subject to soil heave. What You Can Do - Construct a substantial foundation - Make the wall at least two bricks thick with steel reinforcement built into the wall. - Consider alternatives like panel fences or hedges
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e037e1fe-b5cc-4556-a331-8b13a58beb68
Sakkarai Pongal sweet variety
interdisciplinary
historical_context
Sakkarai Pongal is a sweet variety of the ven pongal. Also known as sweet pongal, it is an integral part of the pongal festival and is made on the 2nd day of the harvest festival. Made using jaggery, rice and dal, Chakkarai Pongal is often served as a dessert during traditional meals and weddings. It is also served as a prasadam in temples during the pongal celebration. Origin of Sakkarai Pongal: For as long as folks have been involved in planting and collecting food, there has been some type of harvest festival. Pongal is one of the most auspicious festivals for the Hindu community. Every January, marks the beginning of the Tamil month, Thai. During this time the harvest festival or Pongal is celebrated in a grand manner. Thai Pongal is celebrated for four days in Tamil Nadu. Thai Pongal is celebrated under different names across many states in India (i.e) Makara Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Telegana; Uttarayana in Gujarat and Rajasthan; Maghi in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh; Bhogali Bihu/Magh Bihu in Assam. During the Tamil month of Thai, rice, sugarcane, cereals and turmeric are harvested. The main part of the celebration is making Sakkarai Pongal by using the first rice of the season, which is then offered to the Sun – Surya Maangalyam. The word ‘Pongal’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘pongal’ or Telugu word ‘pongu’, which means to ‘spill over’ or ‘boil over’. Significance of Sakkarai Pongal: With Thai Pongal around the corner, it’s time to learn about the significance behind the Sakkarai Pongal recipe, which is made exclusively for the Pongal festival. Sakkarai Pongal is a famous sweet dish which is prepared in earthenware pots on a wood fire. This practice is followed Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Jaffna (Srilanka). There is a traditional practice of making Sakarai Pongal, during any Temple festival in Tamil Nadu,which is still followed at Hindu temples. This signifies good fortune and harvest for the year onward. Thai Pongal is a key festival because much of the Tamil Nadu depends on agriculture to generate an income and sun is essential for good growth. Thai Pongal signifies the start of the sun’s six month trip north (Uttarayan) and warmer climate. People also plan a get together in their homes to cook the Sakkarai Pongal. Sakkarai Pongal is traditionally made with jaggery, rice, coconut, moong dal, and nuts. The rich brown color in pongal is obtained by adding jaggery. It is usually made in a courtyard or porch as it is specially made as ‘prasadam’ (offering) to Sun God to thank him for a good harvest. The clay pot in which the Sakkarai Pongal is prepared is decorated with vibrant patterns called kolam. Also, fresh turmeric plant would be tied around the neck of the pot in which Pongal will be made. Once the Sakarai Pongal is made, it’s offered to the Sun during prayers, and later served as a part of the lunch for the guests. As the rice grains used for the cooking are from the first harvest of the season, it signifies good fortune and harvest for the year onward. Hence, Sakkarai Pongal is predominantly made in all households during Pongal. How Sakkarai Pongal is made? On the day of Pongal, milk is boiled in a pot and when it starts to bubble, freshly harvested rice grains are added. Once it is semi cooked all other ingredients are added to the pot. When the Sakkarai Pongal starts to overflow, people will blow a sangu (conch) and shout ‘Pongalo Pongal’ and ‘Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum’ (Good times start with Thai month). Once the Sakkarai Pongal is made, it is served to the family members and guests along with sweets and savories such as paayasam, vadai, and murukku. Nutritional value of Sakkarai Pongal: Though Sakkarai Pongal is a sweet dish, it is highly nutritious especially for kids. Each ingredient used in the preparation of Sakkarai Pongal holds some nutritional value. It is a well-known fact that sweet food acts fast on the taste buds. Eating the sweet dish first improves the flow of digestive secretions. Traditional sweets like Sakkarai Pongal are perfect to take before your meal. Based on a recent Ayurvedic research, sweet plays an important part in active living. It’s essential for tissue development and when taken in moderation, sweets are even considered as medicine. Rice is a crucial staple food for Asians, especially South Indians. It is the most in-demand food across the Asian countries. Wholegrain Rice contains more than 15 vitamins and minerals which help to safeguard our body against diseases and also helps in body growth. Jaggery is a natural sweetener prepared by boiling the juice extracted from sugarcane. It is a traditional form of sugar consumed in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. It is a good source of instant energy, containing minerals and other micronutrients that is absent in refined granulated sugar. It is used as a base material to make a few Ayurvedic syrups. Ghee is clarified butter and is made by simmering butter until it becomes clear. Ghee is loaded with nutrients and is also used for cooking, cleansing and in religious rituals. The turmeric leaves are regarded as auspicious in India and is regularly used in various Indian ceremonies. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties and are also used to prepare herbal concoctions to fight off fever, cold, and other respiratory allergies. Fresh turmeric roots have enough nutrients to protect us from anemia, neuritis, memory disorders, cancers, infectious diseases, high blood pressure and strokes. If you want to give a healthy dessert to your kids, then make Sakkarai Pongal for this Thai Pongal. Sakkarai Pongal Recipe Ingredients for Sakkarai Pongal - 2 cup Raw Rice - 1 cup Green Gram Dal lightly dry roasted - 4 cup Jaggery grated - 5 to 6 tbsp Ghee - 20 to 25 Cashewnuts broken - 20 to 25 Raisins - 1 tsp Cardamom Powder - 10 to 12 cup Water - 1/2 to 1 tsp Kesari Powder optional How to make Sakkarai Pongal - Combine the dal and rice. - Wash well and pressure cook with water till 4 whistles. - Meanwhile, add little water to jaggery and cook till it dissolves fully. - Strain the jaggery syrup and keep aside. - Heat a pan over moderate flame. - Add the jaggery syrup and cook till it reaches a soft ball consistency. - Add the rice and dal mixture and stir gently. - In a small frying pan, heat ghee and fry the raisins and cashewnuts. - Pour this over the pongal. - Add cardamom powder and stir well. If you want the pongal to have the dark red/brown colour, add kesari powder and mix well. - Cook till the pongal is thick. - Remove and serve hot.
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19206555-f0d3-4ea4-907a-4bbce8b8300a
authors first ICOMOS–IAU Thematic
science
historical_context
The authors of the first ICOMOS–IAU Thematic Study on astronomical heritage attempted to identify a set of principal themes that spanned the wide range of types of astronomical heritage but nonetheless provided a coherent framework for the development of case studies. In the main, these themes are related to a broad chronology of the major human cultures and to different types of astronomical discovery, knowledge and practice, including but not confined to recognisable stages in the development and use of modern scientific astronomy. Recognising that the scope and boundaries of each theme are often unclear, the chosen topics were: - Earlier prehistory, - Later prehistoric Europe, - Pre-Columbian America, - Indigenous uses of astronomy, - Ancient and medieval Far East, - Mesopotamia and the Middle East, - Ancient Egypt, - The Classical World, - Islamic astronomy, - Medieval astronomy in Europe, - Astronomy from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century, - The development of radio astronomy, - Applied astronomy in modern times, - Space heritage, and - ‘Windows to the universe’—starlight, dark sky areas, and observatory sites. Following the Thematic Study, this portal contains a single thematic essay for each theme, presenting a general overview in accordance with the particular disciplinary competence and experience of the author(s) concerned. Purpose of the thematic essays The thematic essays aim to provide a short and clear overview of the recognised evidence relating to astronomical heritage. Thus they provide an initial framework for promoting and supporting the global recognition of astronomical and archaeoastronomical sites of possible significance, including those with potential Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Related case studies aim to provide significant examples of methodology in the context of the thematic essay in question. Structure of the thematic essays Authors were asked to provide a synthetic overview presenting, as briefly as possible and in broad terms, the astronomical heritage encompassed by their theme. They were invited to address the following main points: - main facts defining the theme; astronomical/archaeoastronomical context; - global chronology for the theme; historical and cultural context; - geographical limits (with a map where possible); - identification of the main sites and evidence covered by the theme; - the general state of preservation of the heritage today and the main issues for the zone for conservation; - present relationships of people/authorities to the sites, perceived value by people and authorities; - links with other zones, representativeness and influence; - selected bibliography; and - illustrative materials (photographs, plans), where these are likely to be of substantial benefit to a reader in understanding the argument.
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Baseball Basics: On the Field
science
problem_set
Baseball Basics: On the Field Batter - Each player of the offensive team shall bat in the order that his name appears in his team's batting order. The batter's legal position shall be with both feet within the batter's box. A batter has legally completed his time at bat when he is put out or becomes a runner. Pitcher - A pitcher is the fielder designated to deliver the pitch to the batter. The pitcher shall stand facing the batter, his entire pivot foot on, or in front of and touching and not off the end of the pitcher's plate, and the other foot free. Catcher - The catcher is the fielder who takes his position back of the home base. First baseman - A defensive fielder who plays on or near the first-base bag. Baserunner - If a batter gets on base, his primary responsibility is to advance to scoring position and score a run for his team. Second baseman - The fielder who plays the infield near the seconid-base bag. Shortstop - Defensive infielder between second and third base. Third baseman - Infield defensive fielder who covers the third-base area. Left field(er) - Defensive outfielder covering area in left field. An outfielder is a fielder who occupies a position in the outfield, which is the area of the playing field most distant from home base. Center field(er) - Center field is the leader of the outfield and is usually the fatest of the three outfielders. His territory overlaps the other fielders, and they usually defer to his authority. Right fIeld(er) - Defensive outfielder who occupies a position in right field. First-base coach - A team member in uniform who is stationed in the coach's box at first base to direct the runners. Third-base coach - A team member in uniform who is stationed in the coach's box to direct the batter and the runners. Home plate umpire - Responsible for monitoring strke/ball calls at home plate, etc. First-base umpire - Responsible for monitoring safe/out calls at first base, check-swing calls of right-handed batters and fair-ball calls down the right-field side. Second-base umpire - Responsible for calling plays at second base. Third-base umpire - Responsible for monitoring safe/out calls at third base, check-swing calls of left-handed batters and fair-ball calls down the left-field line. Mound to home plate distance - The distance between the pitcher's plate and home base (the rear point of home plate) shall be 60 feet, 6 inches. Base paths/distance - The infield shall be a 90-foot square. When location of home base is determined, with a steel tape measure of 127 feet, 3 3/8 inches in desired direction to establish second base. The distance between first base and third base is 127 feet, 3 3/8 inches. All measurements from home base shall be taken from the point where first- and third-base lines intersect.
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design permeable brick permeable
mathematics
historical_context
The design of the permeable brick permeable coefficient test method Ligang Luo\textsuperscript{1}, Hui Gao\textsuperscript{2*}, Ming Gong\textsuperscript{3}, Kejing Li\textsuperscript{2}, Huachao Lv\textsuperscript{2}, Kunli Duan\textsuperscript{1} \textsuperscript{1}Zhejiang Light Industrial Products inspection and research institute, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, China \textsuperscript{2}China building materials inspection and Certification Group Shaanxi Co., Ltd. Xi'an 710116, Shaanxi \textsuperscript{3}Quality Supervision and Inspection of Building and Sanitary Ceramics of Jiangxi Province, Gao An 330800, Jiangxi Abstract: According to the standard content, it provides a completely satisfy the permeable brick permeable coefficient test detection device. This for improvement of the permeable brick permeable coefficient test device, the vacuum control system, electric control system and weighing tank organic union, more in line with test operation process. It has a strong and durable, easy maintenance, the advantages of small human error influence, the systematic test device and automatic control, and single convenient operation, the operator simple sample preparation is more secure, more HuanYang easy, intuitive visual measuring instrument, collect data and calculate quickly at the same time. The test data with high precision, small error, high efficiency, low requirements for the operator, scope of application is wide. 1 The introduction The utility model in accordance with the national standard GB/T 25993-2010, 6.5, 7.4, appendix C operation specification, the test work flow section of each device effectively upgrade the process, integrated into one device, function and appearance are optimized. Permeable pavement brick and permeable pavement plate permeable rate of testing equipment, integrate innovation test operation process, the overall structure is more practical and beautiful. Its characteristics mainly embodies in four parts, namely the sample preparation section [1], water system, test device and circuit control system four parts. It includes sample preparation includes water drill, sample preparation, sink, protective dust removal device; Water system including airless vacuum system water device, vacuum box for sample preparation, water source heat preservation box, water system, water treatment system; Test unit including the main frame, the overflow tank, porous cylinder, cylinder seal, caching, weighing water tank; Circuit control system including temperature detection, vacuum control, water supply, according to operation. Fig 1. Permeable brick permeable coefficient measurement device schematic as a whole *Corresponding author's e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org 2 New permeable brick permeable coefficient test device 2.1 Sample preparation section: ![Ceramic drill sample preparation](image) Fig 2. Ceramic drill sample preparation 2.2 Water supply control system 2.2.1 Airless vacuum system water device Water used in the production test. Tap water through the filter, then through the valve into the vacuum tank, vacuum tank installation mechanical vacuum gauge and vacuum sensor; Vacuum tank via pipeline is divided into two roads respectively connect the vacuum pump, water pump. In turn connect between vacuum tank and pump suction bottle, steam trap, the valve; Followed by pump pressure regulating valve, valve, connected to water source heat preservation box[2]. 2.2.2 Vacuum box for sample preparation The measured samples used in vacuum, gas. Water inlet valve box, box installation mechanical vacuum gauge and vacuum sensor; Case by the pipe connection steam separator, valve, vacuum pump: The water tank water to precipitation tank water treatment system. 2.2.3 Water incubator Adjust test water temperature above ambient temperature 3 °C ~ 4 °C. 2.2.4 Water supply Water, water heat preservation box test above through porous cylinder pump to test device. 2.2.5 Water treatment system The main processing vacuum box for sample preparation, sample preparation part of the used water. ![A permeable coefficient test apparatus](image) Fig 3. A permeable coefficient test apparatus Water supply system 2. The overflow mouth 3. The overflow tank 4. Stents Sample 6. Measuring cylinder 7. Water level difference 8. Transparent cylinder 2.3 Test device the main frame, the overflow tank, porous cylinder, cylinder seal, caching, weighing water tank ![Test apparatus analysis diagram](image) Fig 4. Test apparatus analysis diagram 2.4 Circuit control system temperature detection, vacuum control, water supply, according to operation 3 The principle of analysis This equipment adopts touch screen control, output pressure, liquid level difference, rate and related data. It has reached the closed-loop control. The precision is poor, program automatic real-time record equivalent stress, displacement, weight, and convenient late research, in order to improve the accuracy of brick of pottery and porcelain rupture modulus and fracture strength data. ![The principle of analysis](image) Fig 5. The principle of analysis 4 The process of working Touch screen is controlled by PLC system prototype sample cutting diameter phi 75 mm thickness with the thickness of the product sample 3 pieces. The sample of sealed with a sealing material or other way around, and make it not leak, the water only from the top and bottom surface of the sample. Sealing material after curing, put the sample in a vacuum, vacuum-90 kpa plus or minus 1 kpa, and maintain a 30 min. While maintaining the vacuum, add enough water to cover sample and make the water level higher than that of sample 10 cm, to stop pumping air into vacuum state, for 20 min, removed, load the permeable coefficient test device, seal sample with porous cylinder link. Into the overflow tank[4], it has opened the water valve, make the airless water into the container, such as the overflow tank overflow hole on the water out, adjust the water inflow, keep the porous cylinder certain water level (150 mm), for the overflow tank overflow mouth and the overflow of the porous cylinder hole water stabilized, with weighing tank from the outlet of water, the water flow in five minutes. Measured three times, averaged[5]. 5 conclusion Never before seen a permeable brick permeable coefficient of overall equipment, test equipment to achieve from the sample preparation, the whole process of pumping air into vacuum state, water supply, water weighing, as shown in figure 1. It has developed considering the fundamental solution to this problem: achieve comprehensive detection, permeable coefficient of the whole process of a device that can completely solve the various steps while doing the experiment fault discontinuity problems. References 1. State Administration for Market Regulation. Quality Supervision and Inspection Guideline on Ceramic Toilets(CCGF 401.1-2015)[Z]. 2015-04-29. 2. Ying Huang et al.(2019)A novel multidimensional analysis of writing styles of editorials from China Daily and The New York Times. Lingua. vol. 235, pp. 87-96. 3. State Administration for Market Regulation, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China. Notice on strengthening supervision and inspection of energy efficiency and water efficiency labels[Z]. 2019-06-06. 4. KorhanKo et al.(2020)Is Support Vector Regression method suitable for predicting rate of penetration. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. Vol 194, pp. 19-24. 5. State Administration for Market Regulation. The national supervision and random inspection of the quality of 38 kinds of products such as the restraint system for children of motor vehicles in 2019[Z]. 2020-01-22.
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War in North-West Pakistan
science
tutorial
War in North-West Pakistan The War in North-West Pakistan refers to a war waged by the United States, Pakistan armed forces and Pakistani Tribes against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The main reason for the war was due to tensions breaking out between Pakistan armed forces and Al-Qaeda in 2004. It continues to the present day. 3117 Pakistani armed force members have been killed, as well as 235+ Tribe members and 15 United States soldiers. 17742 insurgents have been killed or captured in this war. During the years of 2004, SAS soldiers were ordered to take out a renegade police officer. Two men were caught by the police and taken back to the station. Tempers had already been running high because of an arrest by soldiers who had turned out to be agents working in the Taliban organization.
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National Standards Out-of-home Care
interdisciplinary
research_summary
The National Standards for Out-of-home Care (the ‘National Standards’), a priority project under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, have been designed to drive improvements in the consistency and quality of care provided to children and young people who are unable to live with their families and are under the statutory care of the Minister or Chief Executive in states and territories. A national survey of children aged 8–17 residing in out-of-home care was conducted in 2015. The data collected allow for reporting against 8 indicators under the National Standards for the first time. The survey injects the voices of these children into the national discourse about them, and provides insights into their sense of security, connectedness, participation, and preparation for life after care. This presentation highlights key findings from a large scale data linkage study which examined the academic performance of children and young people in care, as assessed by National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test results. The study linked administrative data across multiple state and territories to compare the academic performance of children in care to that of other children sitting the NAPLAN tests. For those in care, the study also explored the influence on academic performance of factors such as Indigenous status, sex, language background, geographic location, living arrangements (e.g. foster care) and length of time in care. The findings from this study have been used as a baseline measure for indicator reporting under the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children. Continued monitoring will build the evidence base, informing policy, practice and support to help improve the outcomes for these young people into adulthood.
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consonant sounds "bat" "pat"
interdisciplinary
comparative_analysis
The consonant sounds in "bat" and "pat" are both made by putting our two lips together and then opening them to release a small puff of air. In these two video clips, you can see the woman saying the words "Pop" and "Bob." Notice If we make these sounds the same way, then what is the difference between them? The difference is not what we do with our mouths, but what we do with our voice. When we make a /p/ sound, we do not use our voice; the sound is quiet. Put your hand on your throat and make the sound /p/. You should not feel any movement in your throat. However, when we make a /b/ sound, we do use our voice. Put your hand on your throat and make the /b/ sound. Can you feel the vibrations? Another way to help you learn the difference between these two sounds is that /p/(the voiceless sound) makes a bigger puff of air. Put your hand in front of your mouth and make the /p/ sound. Feel the big puff of air. Now put your hand in front of your mouth again and make the /b/ sound (the voiced sound). Feel only a little puff of air? Good! Watch videos of these sounds! In these video clips, notice how the speaker puts her lips together at the beginning and end of the words. In fact, notice that her lips move in a very similar way for both 'Pop' and 'Bob' -- the difference in how she says them is with her voice. (These videos will launch a separate video viewer to play them. Make sure you have a plug-in for video clips.) This page brought to you by Sharon Widmayer and Holly Gray. For more information, please e-mail . Copies of material on this site may be made for educational, non-profit use only. All rights reserved. (c) 2001-2010. last updated 2/14/10
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[ "foundational knowledge" ]
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Breakfast at the Rose Parade
life_skills
qa_pairs
Breakfast at the Rose Parade Fun recipes that will add some flair to your AYSO Rose Float viewing party 8 Pins 266 Followers Rose petal jam Pinned from foodandtravel.com Rose Water Lemonade :) rose water lemonade recipe userealbutter.com Rose Bud Water Pinned from cemplangcemplung.blogspot.com Roses - puff pastry with apples Authentic Polish recipe Pinned from namiotle.pl Make these for the 2014 Rose Parade! Pinned from littledelightscakes.com Breakfast at the Rose Parade idea: Take clear soda (7-Up, Sprite, etc.) and add a bit of grenadine, plop in some fresh raspberries and you're good to go! Pinned from flickr.com Rose Infused Strawberry Sorbet Recipe Pinned from yummly.com Candied Rose Petals Pinned from blog.modcloth.com
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Older adults higher risk
life_skills
historical_context
Older adults are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis; this is when bones get weak and thin. Calcium and vitamin D are good for your bones. Calcium also helps your heart, muscles and nerves work properly. It is best to get your calcium from food: milk, fortified soy beverages, yogurt, cheese and canned salmon with bones. Vitamin D helps your body use and absorb calcium. It is not naturally found in many foods but it is in fatty fish, egg yolk and liver. That's why vitamin D is added to some foods like cow's milk, some orange juice, soy, almond or rice beverages, and margarine. Health Canada recommends that everyone over the age of 50 should take a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU. Talk to your health care provided if you do not get enough calcium-rich foods and about vitamin D supplements. Mission Healthy Bones lists food sources of both calcium and vitamin D.
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5 Amazing Core Strengthening Exercises for Complete Fitness
interdisciplinary
historical_context
5 Amazing Core Strengthening Exercises for Complete Fitness The core region is defined by the abdominal wall, lower back, diaphragm, pelvis, and spinal extensor muscle. The combination of these components works hand-in-hand to provide stability to the body during any physical movements. The muscles surrounding these regions are the first responders to any movement, even as simple as sitting down and or standing up. The tension of the core muscle group happens almost inconspicuously and is mostly accompanied by a change in breathing pattern. A simple test can be carried out by placing the hand over the abdominal muscles during any movements to experience the core muscles at work. Medical literature has shown that a strong core foundation contributes to the maintenance of a correct posture and provides individuals with the ability to engage in heavy lifting. The necessity of an established core region is further magnified in the case of sports professionals. As most health news would emphasize, strengthening core muscles will help to protect the lower back from sustaining injuries from exercises or even during daily routines. This is due to the lack of support from the inner body, which leads to individuals overstraining their lower back in order to carry out the desired physical function. Consequently, the lower limbs also become more vulnerable to injuries. This understanding of core stability has led many scientists to recommend it as the first treatment alternative during rehabilitation. Core Strengthening Exercises There has been a distinct misconception about core stability as unreliable sources have been known to advertise the notion that abdominal training itself is sufficient to build a strong core foundation. This presents the perfect opportunity to set the record straight and help individuals get back on the right track towards achieving their fitness goals. In order to begin with a clean slate, it is ideal to get back to basics and start from the bottom.
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That’s what many believe
interdisciplinary
historical_context
That’s what many believe is what became of all 53 Starships Beechcraft produced. It’s not correct. The first Beech King Air flew in January 1964. The first full-scale Starship prototype—intended to replace the King Air in Beech’s product line—flew in 1986. Certified on June 14, 1988, production ended in 1995. Meanwhile, more than half a century after it was certified, the King Air remains in production; nearly 7,000 have been built. What happened to the Starship? Certified under the Part 23 Commuter category, the Starship was the first all-composite business aircraft; the first certificated general aviation aircraft with an all-glass cockpit and an integrated flight management system; and the first certificated tandem wing (canard) aircraft. The hand-layup composite was heavy—fiber-winding technology of the day wasn’t up to the task—and design changes to meet the new Commuter certification standards further increased the maximum takeoff weight, which blew through the 12,500-pound goal. And the aircraft was expensive, listing for $3.7 million at certification. (In 1993, the updated Starship 2000A had a 14,900-pound MTOW and listed for $4.7 million.) By 1992 Beech was leasing Starships for $25,000 per month. In 2003, Raytheon—which then owned Beechcraft—decided to decommission the Starship fleet. The company flew many to an aircraft boneyard in Marana, Arizona, as their leases ended, and a few private owners agreed to sell. But several refused. And some of the airframes sent to Marana escaped destruction; one of those has been returned to service. Another seven repose in museums. Today five Starships remain airworthy. At Addison Airport north of Dallas, you might see two working Starships; brothers Raj and Suresh Narayanan operate them for their business, Aerospace Quality Research and Development (AQRD), and personal travel. Flying examples also are based in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Germany. (Ownership of a sixth potentially airworthy Starship in Mexico is unclear.) And like many other orphaned aircraft, it’s up to the community of owners to keep the remaining Starships flying. Fortunately, these owners are up to the challenge. In 2004, Colorado Starship owner Robert Scherer bought the Starship parts inventory—160,000 parts, originally valued at $38 million—from Raytheon for pennies on the dollar. Twelve tractor-trailer loads filled a warehouse. The Narayanans put the Starship on AQRD’s repair station certificate, and can perform all maintenance and repairs on the aircraft. For example, when Rockwell Collins stopped supporting its AMS 850 avionics—also used in early Lear 60s and the Beechjet 400—Raj designed and certified a replacement database. “The database is produced in two 1.4-megabyte floppy disks,” he explained. Memory chips on the aircraft are limited to 3 MB. “The Starship’s like a TI-99 [Texas Instruments calculator from the early 1980s] from a computing perspective.” Composite repairs are not a problem for the shop. In fact, the Narayanans believe that holes drilled through the spars of the surviving Marana airframes could be repaired, although this has not been attempted. Goodyear made 500 Starship tires—its minimum production run—in an order that was divided among the Starship owners. Why the Starship? Raj had logged time flying a Cirrus, but he needed more capability. “I really wanted a competent twin, and I preferred a turboprop.” He looked at a lot of airplanes, and considered the Piper Cheyenne III, Mitsubishi MU–2, and twin Cessnas before settling on the Starship. Making the decision were operational costs; the appeal of a composite airframe, which avoids the corrosion and fatigue he’s seen in so many metal aircraft; and a desire to really get to know the aircraft. “The Starship represented to me the perfect opportunity to learn and understand everything in the airplane. Sometimes I maybe regret that,” laughed Raj, who feels his Starship provides the performance of a Phenom or Citation Mustang with more payload. He purchased Starship serial number NC-50 in late 2010, and trained in it through 2011. (In 2014, the Narayanans acquired and restored NC-33, which lost only its data plate in Marana, and today is registered Experimental.) Learning to fly a Starship today presents challenges—there are no simulators or designated pilot examiners. Bill Brunton, a former Beech pilot, taught Raj how to fly the airplane; they also flew together on business trips, adding pattern work on return to the airport. Raj had 80 to 100 hours when an inspector from New York came down to administer the single-pilot type rating checkride. Raj earned his ATP in the Starship a year later. (Suresh also is a pilot, renting a Garmin G1000-equipped Cessna 172 for personal and business flying. He plans to carve out time to train in the Starship.) Its avionics are complex. “You’ve got to think about flying that airplane,” explained Raj, who now has about 2,300 hours in Starships. “If I don’t fly the Starship every two weeks, I’m behind the power curve.” Entering data into the flight management system was intimidating at first; he likens data entry with 10 alphanumeric keys to texting on an old flip phone, where you press the 7 key four times to type the letter S. The aircraft is forward CG-limited. “Because of the 16 CRTs, there’s 460 pounds up in the nose,” he said. And those cathode ray tubes generate a lot of heat; a failed avionics cooling fan is a no-go item. Takeoff acceleration is a kick. The next kick is watching the forward wings sweep back, which happens automatically as the flaps come up. Like many canards, the Starship’s stall is benign. “It’s called a pitch-buck,” Raj said. As you haul back on the yoke, the stick shaker kicks in around 95 knots; the forward wing stalls, the aircraft pitches down, the wing starts flying again, and it pitches back up as the aircraft descends at 500 fpm. Control forces seem surprisingly heavy, especially in roll. Ice protection is automatic. “You don’t spend a lot of time in icing—you barrel up at 3,000 or 4,000 feet per minute,” Raj said. And the cockpit is quiet—so quiet that above FL250, he doesn’t wear a headset. “You’ve got to think about flying that airplane,” explained Raj, who now has about 2,300 hours in Starships. “If I don’t fly the Starship every two weeks, I’m behind the power curve.”At the end of a flight, gear can come out below 200 knots and flaps below 180; Raj plans on 140 knots at one mile and 125 knots across the overrun. “Landing isn’t the most elegant thing—with no trailing link [gear] it’s a good, firm plant.” Reverse thrust slows the airplane very efficiently; Raj has not found logbook entries for either of his Starships indicating that the carbon/carbon brakes ever had been replaced. Before shutdown he lets the engines cool down for 30 seconds to a minute. “It means a lot to these engines. You don’t have to do it, but it buys you a lot of time.” Raj normally plans for 310 to 330 knots and 95 gallons per hour, and a range of about 1,300 nautical miles, which can get him almost anywhere he needs to go nonstop from Dallas. “Seattle is my only real issue.” That trip normally means a fuel stop at Centennial Airport in Denver. Wherever they take the airplane, it turns heads. “Starship, take me with you!” called a voice on the North Texas Regional Airport tower frequency during a demonstration flight. “They always say that,” Raj laughed. Email [email protected]
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introduction automation, over 80%
technology
historical_context
With the introduction of automation, over 80% of manual labor jobs will be eradicated. Quite a number of high skilled jobs can be taken over by self-learning AI as well. Lots of people doubt the inevitable for reasons including AI’s current imperfect state. but they are missing the big picture. There are two major factors for implementation: Profit margins and Performance. Why is it that clothing companies and monopolies still use child labor in third world countries? Because shaving off that extra penny per production cost generates them millions in revenue. A corporation’s intentions are not to be inhumane, but to focus on profiting from their investments. Also, no one cares if the AI’s generated code is messier or more inefficient than a human coder’s. If it performs well enough to function with little to no upkeep, companies will use it instead. A major reduction in labor will force societies to implement universal basic income. Countries will have to adopt some practices of socialism. So what does this mean for a majority of the population that isn’t working because there aren’t enough management positions or otherwise? A best-case scenario might be a huge focus on the arts and academia. Information becomes even more of a powerful commodity. A worst-case scenario is a meritocratic or nepotistic class-based system, where everyone is fighting for the few jobs. Regardless of what happens, within the next century, we will see a radical shift to the power of social influence. The dollar itself is really just a means of leveraging power through value. Its function as a middleman becomes largely irrelevant when there are more efficient ways to directly quantify social influence and demand for resources. These resources are commodities and information.
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[ "algorithms", "software design" ]
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Let's dive into strategic
interdisciplinary
worked_examples
Let's dive into the strategic thinking patterns that underpin mastery in mathematics, specifically through the lens of cohomology theory. This isn't just about memorizing formulas; it's about cultivating a flexible, analytical mindset. ## Strategic Thinking in Mathematics: A Cohomology Theory Perspective ### Expert Thinking Patterns: The Architect's Blueprint for Mathematical Problems Experts in mathematics, particularly in abstract areas like cohomology theory, don't just "do math." They **architect** their approach. Here are some key patterns: * **Decomposition and Abstraction:** Experts break down complex problems into smaller, manageable components. They then identify the underlying abstract structures and relationships that connect these components. In cohomology, this might mean dissecting a topological space into simpler pieces or recognizing that a problem about a manifold can be understood through its underlying chain complexes. * **Analogy and Pattern Recognition:** Experts draw parallels between the current problem and previously encountered problems, even if they seem superficially different. They look for recurring patterns in definitions, theorems, and proof techniques. For instance, recognizing that a problem involving the cohomology of a sphere might share structural similarities with problems on other simply connected spaces. * **Generalization and Specialization:** Experts can move fluidly between general theories and specific examples. They might start with a general theorem and then specialize it to their current situation to gain insight, or conversely, they might examine a specific example to infer a general principle. * **Conjecture and Refutation:** Experts don't just passively apply known results. They actively formulate hypotheses (conjectures) about the problem's solution and then rigorously test these conjectures. If a conjecture fails, they analyze why and refine their approach. * **Constructive vs. Non-Constructive Reasoning:** Experts understand the difference between proving existence (non-constructive) and providing an explicit construction. They choose the appropriate method based on what the problem requires and what yields the most insight. * **Dual Thinking:** Experts often consider problems from multiple perspectives. In cohomology, this could involve thinking about the "dual" nature of cohomology and homology, or considering a problem from the viewpoint of its algebraic structure versus its geometric interpretation. ### Problem Recognition: Decoding the Mathematical Landscape The first step to strategic thinking is accurate problem identification. Cohomology theory problems often fall into these categories: * **Computational Problems:** These require calculating specific cohomology groups, characteristic classes, or related invariants. * *Keywords:* "Compute," "calculate," "find," "determine the structure of." * *Examples:* Compute the singular cohomology of a torus. Find the first Stiefel-Whitney class of a vector bundle. * **Theoretical/Proof Problems:** These demand proving a statement about cohomology, establishing relationships between different cohomology theories, or demonstrating the existence of certain cohomology classes. * *Keywords:* "Prove," "show," "demonstrate," "establish," "is it true that." * *Examples:* Prove the Mayer-Vietoris sequence is exact. Show that the Euler characteristic is a homotopy invariant. * **Classification/Structure Problems:** These involve understanding the properties of spaces or objects based on their cohomology, or classifying objects up to isomorphism using cohomology invariants. * *Keywords:* "Classify," "characterize," "what are the possible structures of." * *Examples:* Classify connected compact Lie groups by their cohomology. Characterize spaces with trivial cohomology. * **Application Problems:** These utilize cohomology theory to solve problems in other areas of mathematics or physics. * *Keywords:* "Apply," "use [cohomology theory] to," "explain [phenomenon] using." * *Examples:* Use de Rham cohomology to prove the fundamental theorem of calculus. Explain topological insulators using K-theory. ### Strategy Selection: Your Cohomology Decision Tree When faced with a cohomology problem, ask yourself these questions: ```mermaid graph TD A[Start: Analyze the Problem Statement] --> B{What type of problem is it?}; B -- Computational --> C{What is the object/space?}; C -- Simple/Familiar --> D[Use standard computational tools: Universal Coefficient Theorem, Künneth Formula, Mayer-Vietoris, Excision, Cellular Cohomology]; C -- Complex/Unfamiliar --> E{Can it be decomposed or related to simpler objects?}; E -- Yes --> F[Apply decomposition theorems (Mayer-Vietoris, Excision) or relate via spectral sequences]; E -- No --> G[Consider dual homology or other related theories. Look for analogous structures. Maybe a new invariant is needed.]; B -- Theoretical/Proof --> H{What is the core statement to prove?}; H -- Existence --> I[Consider constructive methods or non-constructive existence proofs (e.g., via duals, or properties of related theories)]; H -- Equivalence/Isomorphism --> J[Show maps in both directions, or find a natural isomorphism via universal properties or spectral sequences]; H -- Property/Invariant --> K[Relate to known invariants, use functoriality, or analyze the defining properties of the cohomology theory]; B -- Classification/Structure --> L{What are the defining characteristics of the objects being classified?}; L -- Cohomology is the primary invariant --> M[Identify relevant cohomology invariants (e.g., Betti numbers, torsion, characteristic classes)]; L -- Other structures are primary --> N[Use cohomology to refine classification or prove properties of the classified objects]; B -- Application --> O{What is the context of the application?}; O -- Physics/Geometry --> P[Map the physical/geometric problem to topological/algebraic structures suitable for cohomology]; O -- Algebra/Topology --> Q[Leverage functoriality and natural transformations between cohomology theories]; D --> R[Perform Calculation]; F --> R; G --> R; I --> S[Construct Proof]; J --> S; K --> S; M --> T[Classify/Describe Structure]; N --> T; P --> U[Solve Applied Problem]; Q --> U; ``` **Key Decision Points:** * **Is the object/space simple and well-understood?** If yes, direct computation is often feasible. * **Can the object be broken down?** If so, use sequences (Mayer-Vietoris, Long Exact Sequences) or spectral sequences. * **Is a direct computation too hard?** Consider duality (homology), related theories, or abstract properties. * **For proofs, what is the nature of the claim?** Existence, isomorphism, or property? This guides the proof strategy. ### Error Prevention: Navigating the Cohomology Minefield Even experts make mistakes. Recognizing common pitfalls is crucial: * **Confusing Cohomology and Homology:** While related, they are dual and have different functoriality. Be mindful of the direction of maps. * *Prevention:* Explicitly write down the definition of the relevant cohomology/homology groups and the induced maps. * **Incorrectly Applying Universal Coefficient Theorem (UCT):** The UCT relates cohomology to homology but has constraints (e.g., on the coefficients). * *Prevention:* Always check the coefficient group. If it's not a PID (like $\mathbb{Z}$ or a field), the standard UCT might not apply directly, or you might need the twisted version. * **Misusing Spectral Sequences:** Spectral sequences are powerful but complex. Errors often arise from incorrect initial terms, differentials, or convergence issues. * *Prevention:* Clearly define the filtered object and the differential. Understand the convergence criteria. Use simple examples to build intuition. * **Ignoring Torsion:** Torsion in cohomology groups can be subtle and is often lost in naive computations or when working with fields. * *Prevention:* When computing, always consider the torsion part of the homology/cohomology groups. Use UCT carefully to track torsion. * **Forgetting Functoriality:** Maps between spaces induce maps between their cohomology groups. Forgetting this can lead to errors in theoretical proofs. * *Prevention:* Always ask: "What map does this induce on cohomology?" and "Does this map preserve the structure I'm interested in?" ### Self-Verification: The Inner Critic's Toolkit How do you know if your solution is correct? * **Sanity Checks with Simple Cases:** Does your general formula work for a sphere, a point, or a product of two spaces where you already know the answer? * *Example:* If you compute the cohomology of a product space, check if it matches the Künneth formula for a simple case like $S^1 \times S^1$. * **Dimensionality:** Are the dimensions of the computed cohomology groups consistent with Poincaré duality (for manifolds) or other dimensional constraints? * **Consistency with Known Invariants:** Does your result align with other invariants of the space (e.g., Euler characteristic, fundamental group)? * **Re-derivation from a Different Angle:** Can you arrive at the same result using a different computational method or a theoretical argument? * *Example:* If you computed cohomology using cellular cohomology, try to verify it using singular cohomology and the UCT. * **Checking the Assumptions:** Did you correctly apply theorems? Were the conditions (e.g., for UCT, Mayer-Vietoris, spectral sequence convergence) met? * **Peer Review (Even Self-Review):** Explain your solution process to yourself (or a colleague). Often, articulating the steps reveals flaws. ### Cross-Domain Transfer: Thinking Strategically Beyond Cohomology The strategic thinking patterns honed in cohomology theory are transferable to many other domains: * **Physics (Quantum Field Theory):** * **Decomposition/Abstraction:** Breaking down complex physical systems into fundamental particles and interactions, understanding symmetries (which relate to cohomology via characteristic classes). * **Analogy/Pattern Recognition:** Recognizing similar mathematical structures in different physical phenomena (e.g., gauge theories and differential geometry). * **Conjecture/Refutation:** Formulating hypotheses about particle behavior and testing them with experiments. * **Computer Science (Algorithm Design):** * **Decomposition:** Breaking down large software projects into modules and functions. * **Analogy/Pattern Recognition:** Identifying recurring algorithmic patterns (e.g., divide and conquer, dynamic programming) applicable to new problems. * **Generalization/Specialization:** Creating generic algorithms that can be specialized for specific data types or constraints. * **Self-Verification:** Debugging code, writing unit tests, and performing code reviews. * **Economics (Financial Modeling):** * **Decomposition:** Analyzing market trends by breaking them into components like interest rates, inflation, and consumer confidence. * **Analogy/Pattern Recognition:** Identifying historical market patterns and applying them to current situations (with caution!). * **Conjecture/Refutation:** Developing economic models and testing their predictive power against real-world data. * **Writing (Creative or Academic):** * **Decomposition:** Outlining a paper or story into sections, chapters, or plot points. * **Analogy/Pattern Recognition:** Drawing inspiration from existing works, identifying narrative structures. * **Self-Verification:** Revising and editing drafts, seeking feedback. In essence, strategic thinking in mathematics, particularly in a field as rich as cohomology theory, is about building a robust mental toolkit: understanding the problem's architecture, choosing the right tools, anticipating errors, and constantly verifying your work. These skills empower you not just to solve problems, but to understand the deeper structures and connections that make mathematics a powerful and elegant discipline.
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081e2ee9-a38f-46b0-af9a-7c9edbb41c08
Bavarian great-grandparents’ hometown Pfaffenhofen
interdisciplinary
historical_context
My Bavarian great-grandparents’ hometown was Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, just north of Munich. Only my great-grandmother, Maria Echerer Bergmeister, was born in the town and her family had lived there for centuries. My great-grandfather, Joseph Bergmeister, was born nearby and went there to work for his uncle. Pfaffenhofen was the site of the couple’s wedding in 1897 and the birth of their first child a year later, a daughter. He left home in 1900 to immigrate to America, and mother and daughter joined him there in 1902. Did they ever miss their hometown? What was Pfaffenhofen like? Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm is located in the Hallertau region of Bavaria, which is the largest hop producing area in the world. The region is in Oberbayern, or Upper Bavaria, and it has a long history. The area was likely first settled by monks from the Benedictine monastery in Ilmmünster in the 8th Century. Their estate was called Pfaffenhöfe or Priests’ station and was located north of the current town. Four centuries later, Duke Ludwig I, called Ludwig the Kelheimer, founded the market town of Pfaffenhofen where the Ilm and Gerolsbach rivers meet. The town was mentioned by name as early as 1140, and by 1197 it was called a “market town”. By 1318, Pfaffenhofen was referred to as a fortified settlement. From 1387-1389, the Städtekrieg, a war between Swabian towns and Bavarian dukes, was fought throughout Southern Germany. Pfaffenhofen became one of the war’s victims when it was nearly completely destroyed by fire in 1388. When the town was reconstructed, it was surrounded by a circular wall with four gates and 17 towers. The Pfänderturm is one of the original 17 towers and the only one still standing today. By 1438, Pfaffenhofen officially received recognition as a “town”. [This is an engraving of Pfaffenhofen by Anton W. Ertl in 1687. The town’s wall, two of the gates, and many of the towers are clearly visible.] Another war left a significant mark on the town. In 1632, soldiers fighting in the Thirty Years’ War were billeted to houses in town. One of the soldiers had the plague and the disease quickly spread. Of the 1,800 inhabitants, only 700 survived the outbreak. It would take Pfaffenhofen another 200 years to reach the same population. Population growth was never a problem after that time. The town continued to attract residents. While the population was about 4,000 at the beginning of the 20th Century, it is now closer to 23,000. The town square, or hauptplatz, has existed on roughly the same site since the town was founded centuries ago. The square has many unique and beautiful buildings. Standing majestically at one end of the square is the town’s church, St. Johannes Baptist. The church was built in 1393 in the Gothic style to replace the Romanesque style church destroyed by the 1388 fire. After The Thirty Years’ War, the interior was renovated in the Baroque style. The steeple, about 253 feet high, was first built in 1531. Destroyed by a lightening strike in June, 1768, it was immediately rebuilt. Most important for descendents of Pfaffenhofen’s Catholic residents is the existence of parish baptismal, marriage, and death records dating back to 1597. [Two views of St. John’s Church in the Hauptplatz. The left photo is from 1875, the right from 1998.] Pfaffenhofen’s maypole is in front of the church in the square. Erecting a white and blue painted maypole became a tradition in Bavaria in the 16th Century. In the 18th century, symbols and shields of different worker’s guilds were added to the pole, and this is how Pfaffenhofen’s maypole is decorated today. You will also see evidence of the former worker’s guilds inside the parish church. Each guild had some church obligations as a part of the guild’s rules. Once a year each guilds celebrated their own special Mass, with special times for each guild. For example, the brewers’ Mass was celebrated on Monday after New Year’s while the tailors’ was on the Monday after Easter week. Because of the guilds close association with the church, when the church was remodeled in 1671, the artist Johann Bellandt of Wessobrunn carved a number of apostle statues honoring the guilds: Mathew for the butchers, Phillip for the bakers, John for the brewers, Bartholomew for the leather artisans, Jacob for the weavers, and Simon for the tailors. Because I do not read German very well, information about famous residents of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm is difficult to find. Two individuals seem to have made a difference in the town and are worth a mention here. When I first visited Pfaffenhofen, I was surprised to see a street named after Joseph Bergmeister. They named a street after my great-grandfather? No, but they named a street after someone with the same name – his first cousin. Cousin Joseph was born on 11 August 1874, a year and a half after my great-grandfather. Unlike his older cousin, Joseph never left Pfaffenhofen. He became instrumental in introducing electricity to the town in the early 1900s. In recognition for his work, he received a medal from the town in 1934 and an honorary doctorate from the Technical College of Aachen. He died on 31 October 1950. I’m not sure when a street was named in his honor, but you can drive down Dr-Bergmeister-Strasse today! (The first name Joseph is still valued in the Bergmeister family today – you will find Joseph Bergmeisters on both sides of the ocean who are related, whether they know it or not, as 3rd and 4th cousins. In my own family there are five generations of Joseph Bergmeister’s so far.) Another more famous Joseph from Pfaffenhofen is the poet Joseph Maria Lutz (1893-1972). He was born in Pfaffenhofen, gained recognition as a poet, and today there is a museum in his honor in town. He is also known for adding a verse to the Bavarian anthem in 1946. As there is no longer a king of Bavaria, Lutz wrote a new verse to replace the stanza about the king. One of Joseph Maria Lutz’s poems is entitled “Hometown.” Written in 1965, the poem shares his feelings about Pfaffenhofen. The following translation was provided by Mr. Robert Wilkinson: The houses line themselves cuddle cozily after a fashion, Intermittently broad and proud, intermittently narrow and aged, The church spire points to heaven on high, And the people are loudly singing to the chiming tower bells. And country lanes stream in from adjacent forest and field To become streets of prominence in both name and importance, And in Time’s own passage finally come to stillness. The bemused places of childhood are rekindled yet again with laughter, And even the old fountains cascade in a trance of stillness, as the swirling eddies made rush, silently like life’s Insignificant Other, just as only Love can know. And somehow even the Wind takes on a life, Blowing in gust after gust, through the years, And through the days, back to childhood’s Home, As in fairy tale nights and imagined lands. From the squares and tedious narrow alleys echo the familiar sounds, the rolling wagon wheels, the clip-clop of stout mares, the staccato of the blacksmith’s hammer, or as in years of yore, the rolling barrels and the rooster’s crow. And all that appears Close once again, is yet so Far, And Life itself avoiding yet the grave; strives for heavy-hearted Contentment much like a halting song of Greeting or Return. You, my little Town, even if I have forgotten much, I behold you precious still, I, forever at Home in you. I had the opportunity to visit my ancestors’ hometown in 1998 and 2006. I’m sure my great-grandparents would be amazed at some of the changes that have taken place. But, in many ways, they would find a lot of things the same. The apartment they lived in before coming to the US is still there, and it probably looks much the same. They might be surprised by all of the cars though! [This is the last tower still standing. The “Pfänderturm” or debt-tower, was built between 1388 to 1438.] Sources for this article: - Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm website - International Civic Heraldry website - Wikipedia entry for Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm (German) - Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm. Heinrich Streidl. Pfaffenhofen: W. Ludwig Verlag, 1979. - 1808: Where was your family 200 years ago? - Finding Cousins in Bavaria - If These Walls Could Speak: A German Häuserchronik [This post was written for the 47th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy: A Place Called Home.]
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5f5975cc-b743-43bb-a57f-2daa40d9d1fe
evacuation Britain's cities start
social_studies
historical_context
The evacuation of Britain's cities at the start of World War Two was the biggest and most concentrated mass movement of people in Britain's history. This activity pack will help children get a feel of what it would have been like with a costume and educational book.Contents: - 'The Second World War Book' - From the beaches of Normandy to the air raid shelters in the Blitz, this book tells the story of Britain during the most destructive war of the 20th century. Follow events on battlefields around the world and on the Home Front as the British and their allies all join the fight for survival. - Deluxe costumes, evacuee girl features a dress with attached tag and hat, evacuee boy features a jacket with attached tag, trousers and cap.
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f7d3b1dc-501c-41b0-a870-3f0a79701f64
Published on : Thursday, September 15, 2016
technology
tutorial
Published on : Thursday, September 15, 2016 Staff from Network Rail talked to children from Greyfriars Primary School in London Road, Kings Lynn, about the dangers of trespassing on the railway, how to stay safe at the station and how to use level crossings safely. Staff also explained the dangers of being distracted when at the station or using a level crossing, for example by listening to music or using a mobile phone. Kat O’Malley, Network Rail’s community safety manager for Anglia, said: “These days, most young people have a mobile phone and listen to music, which can be a distraction when using the railway. In Norfolk trains travel at speeds of up to 80mph, so not paying attention when near the railway can have serious consequences. Today we had the opportunity to talk to young children about how they can stay safe at the station or when using a level crossing.” Diane Marshall, assistant head teacher, said: “This is particularly important to our children as many of them cross over level crossings on their daily journey to school. The rail safety presentation and quiz engaged them well. They answered all the questions enthusiastically and with a high rate of success. Much was learnt by all.”
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58b0ace9-4693-4157-8c5b-dd0f9a512a11
What is cryptocurrency market terminologies
technology
tutorial
What is cryptocurrency market terminologies? It can simply be define as some terms, words, phrase use in the cryptocurrency market. Cryptocurrency Market terminologies can also be refer to as the terms or words used when trading cryptocurrency. In this article we’ll try and introduce you to some terms used in the cryptocurrency market. These terms are not like the regular cryptocurrency terms. For a list of popular regular cryptocurrency term please read the article written by Ogodomiya titled Get Yourself Acquainted with Crypto Terminologies (1). Table of Contents WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW SOME BASIC CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET TERMINOLOGIES There are lots of reasons why you should know these terms associated with trading cryptocurrency. We’ll mention just few in this article. - To satisfy your curiosity. - You have to be up to date with recent trends and cryptocurrency is among the latest trends. - For educational purposes - It can also help you in making research. - These terms can make you better understand trading cryptocurrency. - Knowing these terms will also better equip you to provied answers to people who needs to answers. The above are just few reasons why you need to understand these terms. Now lets dive right into some basic crypto market terminologies. BASIC CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET TERMINOLOGIES This refer to any digital currency in the market. These digital currencies can be used to make payment across the globe. Although not accepted worldwide as the time of writing this article but experts sees it as the future means of making payments. Some typical examples of cryptocurrency are, Bitcoin(BTC). Ethereum(ETH), Litecoin(LTC), BitcoinCash(BCH), Ripple(XRP) Stellar(XLM) etc. 2. Cryptocurrency Exchange: Crypto Exchnage refers to the act of swapping or exchanging one crypto for another. It is also the act of exchanging crypto for fiat money. There are various cryptocurrency exchange platforms available online. Cryptocurrency Exchange platforms are those platforms that serves as middle man. They link buyers and sellers of cryptocurrency. These Exchange platforms helps you to convert your crypto to fiat or swap your crypto for another crypto. You can CLICK HERE to read more about cryptocurrency exchange platforms. 3. Cryptocurrency Investment: This can be refer to as the act of using your money to purchase cryptocurrency with the sole aim of making profit. There are various ways to invest in cryptocurrency. You can CLICK HERE to understand cryptocurrency investment. 4. Cryptocurrency Trade: Simply put this is the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. It can also be the exchanging of cryptocurrency for another. 5. Cryptocurrency Mining: In the article titled Cryptocurrrency Mining: What you can Do with Cryptocurrencies, there our Writer Ogodomiya explained in details what cryptocurrency Mining is all about. In part cryptocurrency mining involves providing bookkeeping service in the blockchain. 6. Cryptocurrency Price: This is the current price which various cryptocurrencies are trading for. It refers to the market value of each cryptocurrency. And it is very volatile as the price is not fixed and quickly change over night. CLICK HERE to read about how the Crypto Market Valuation Dropped $16 Billion Overnight. 7. Crypto Market: Take this as the warehouse that keeps record of all the cryptocurrencies. The crypto market also gives you trend as to which crypto gains value, the ones that drop value and the general overview of how the cryptocurrencies are doing. The cryptocurrency market terminologies are numerous. Hopefully when you hear some of these terms you can better understand what it means. Don’t forget to share our articles to help others.
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f2ee0474-98d7-4080-b07a-67e60a619361
Economic and Social Council
mathematics
data_analysis
Economic and Social Council Economic Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Transport Statistics Seventy-first session Geneva, 17–19 June 2020 Item 1 of the provisional agenda Adoption of the agenda Annotated provisional agenda for the seventy-first session* , ** To be held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 17-19 June 2020. I. Provisional Agenda 1. Adoption of the agenda. 2. Workshop on the Transport-related Sustainable Development Goal Indicators. 3. Development of a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals: (a) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 3.6.1; (b) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 9.1.1; (c) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 9.1.2; * For reasons of economy, delegates are requested to bring copies of all relevant documents to the session. There will be no documentation available in the conference room. Before the session, documents may be downloaded from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Sustainable Transport Division's website: ** Delegates are requested to register online at the following address: https://uncdb.unece.org/app/ext/meeting-registration?id=z1CKON. Upon arrival at the Palais des Nations, delegates should obtain an identification badge at the UNOG Security and Safety Section, located at the Pregny Gate (14, Avenue de la Paix). In case of difficulty, please contact the secretariat by telephone (+41 22 917 2432) or by email (firstname.lastname@example.org). For a map of the Palais des Nations and other useful information, see website at: www.unece.org/meetings/practical.html. https://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp6/doc_2020.html. During the session, official documents may be obtained from the UNOG Documents Distribution Section (Room C.337, the third floor, Palais des Nations). Distr.: General 20 March 2020 Original: English (d) Data that support monitoring of indicator 11.2.1; (e) Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal indicators; (f) Activities of the ECE Statistics Division; (g) Raising awareness of the transport-related Sustainable Development Goals; (h) 4. Statistical activities and challenges faced by member States. 5. Urban transport statistics (a) Pilot questionnaire on tram and metro statistics; (b) Bus and coach statistics; (c) Passenger mobility statistics. 6. Data collection, methodological development and harmonization of transport statistics: (a) Glossary for Transport Statistics; (b) Classification systems for transport statistics; (c) Common questionnaire; (d) Collection of statistics on trade in used vehicles, and comparability of new registration data; (e) Rail traffic accident statistics; (f) Pilot questionnaire on road traffic performance; (g) Intermodal transport statistics; (h) Gender aspects of transport statistics. 7. Interlinkages of transport statistics with other domains 8. Traffic censuses in the ECE region: (a) 2020 E-Road traffic censuses; (b) 2020 E-Rail traffic censuses. 9. Dissemination of transport statistics by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 10. Implementation of the ITC strategy to 2030 and the Programme of Work 2020-2021. 11. Capacity-building activities. 12. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee and its subsidiary bodies 13. Statistical activities of international organizations of interest to the Working Party. 14. Election of Officers 15. Other business: (a) Date of next session; (b) Information on upcoming meetings on transport statistics. 16. Summary of decisions. II. Annotations 1. Adoption of the agenda In accordance with the Commission's rules of procedure, the first item to be considered is the adoption of the agenda, noting its modified structure. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/178 2. Workshop on Transport-Related Sustainable Development Goal Indicators This agenda item is planned for the first morning of the session. Various experts from national administrations, international organizations and other interested stakeholders will present and discuss methods and challenges in measuring and monitoring the transport-related Sustainable Development Goal indicators. It has been noted in previous sessions that a lack of methodological guidance and overall coordination at the international level has meant that monitoring the transport-related global goals has essentially been left to countries. The secretariat wishes to improve coordination of this at the international level, and this workshop will contribute to that process. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/4 3. Development of a global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (a) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 3.6.1 The secretariat will provide an update on disseminating data on road traffic accidents, in the context of providing data for monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.6.1 which calls for the halving of road traffic accident fatalities by 2020. There will also be an update on the outcome of the 3 rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Stockholm in February 2020. Member States are encouraged to share their experiences in monitoring road traffic safety under this item. (b) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 9.1.1 The indicator 9.1.1 that measures rural transport access, defined as the proportion of the rural population that lives within 2km of an all-season road, has recently been reclassified from a Tier III to a Tier II indicator. The Working Party will hear about international efforts to monitor this indicator. It has been noted that many ECE member States show values for this indicator of close to 100%, making it a less useful tool for their circumstances. Member States are therefore invited to share their own experiences of measuring rural transport access. (c) Data collection and monitoring of indicator 9.1.2 The Working Party will be updated on progress on data provision for Sustainable Development Goal indicator 9.1.2, which measures passenger and freight volumes by mode of transport. The secretariat will provide an update on the guidance document produced, which aims to provide a toolkit to assist countries in monitoring this indicator. This indicator has been interpreted in different ways in virtually every National Reporting Platform and Voluntary National Review, some treating increasing transport volumes as the goal while others interpret it as a modal split indicator. Member States are encouraged to share their views and own experiences on monitoring both overall transport activity, and transport modal shares, with explanations as to why these numbers are important. For example, countries that track the negative externalities of transport may explain their approaches to this. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/1; ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/2; ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/3 (d) Data that support monitoring of indicator 11.2.1 At its last session, the Working Party heard from UN-Habitat on the monitoring framework in development for indicator 11.2.1, on convenient public transport access, defined as the proportion of population within 500 metres of a public transport stop (broken down by gender, age, and those with disabilities). A short update on this process will be provided. It is recognized in the framework of monitoring this indicator that additional information is required other than distance to a bus stop in order to understand convenient access to public transport. In particular, one chosen indicator is the modal split within cities and countries. The interrelations between this indicator and 9.1.2 will thus be explored. (e) Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal indicators The Working Party will hear an update on activities of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal indicators, charged with developing the indicator framework for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (f) Activities of the ECE Statistics Division The Working Party will hear from the ECE Statistics Division about their activities on assisting member States to measure the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the new Sustainable Development Goal Knowledge Hub, and updates to the Roadmap for Statistics for SDGs. (g) Raising awareness of the transport-related Sustainable Development Goals The Working Party will be informed about the secretariat's activities on promoting the existing data collection activities of the Working Party that are relevant to monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals. Within this, the Working Party will be invited to suggest improvements of the series of papers already published on the Sustainable Development Goals. 4. Statistical activities and challenges faced by member States Member States are strongly encouraged to share their current and future activities in the field of transport statistics under this agenda item. Any presentations of success stories, or indeed current challenges, are welcome. Delegates are invited to share their views with the secretariat beforehand, to adequately plan the session and pair relevant topics together. 5. Urban transport statistics (a) Pilot questionnaire on tram and metro statistics. At the previous session, during the workshop on urban public transport statistics, it was noted that tram and metro statistics are not collated at the international level despite being the principal form of public transport in many large cities. Since then, a preliminary survey has indicated that in fact these data were usually available to statistics offices, and a pilot questionnaire has shown good data availability, with data being available for individual cities in most cases. Challenges remain, such as the issue of confidentiality (despite most systems being publicly owned or managed) and comparability (such as comparing passenger numbers from ticket information with those from on-board sensors). The views of member State on these methodological challenges and continuing the data collection are sought. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/5 (b) Bus and coach statistics At its sixty-ninth session, the pilot questionnaire on bus and coach statistics was made a permanent collection exercise. The issue of comparability across countries, and possible uses for these data, not least in measuring Sustainable Development Goal 11, will be discussed. 6. Data collection, methodological development and harmonization of transport statistics (a) Glossary for Transport Statistics There will be a brief update on publication details relating to the fifth edition of the Glossary. (b) Classification system for transport statistics Delegates are invited to inform the Working Party of their experiences on the use of the NST 2007 Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics, and whether there is any need for revision. (c) Common questionnaire The availability of data collected through the web common questionnaire for transport statistics (WebCoQ) will be discussed, in addition to the activities of the three custodian organizations aimed at increasing the response rate and improving data quality over the last twelve months. Since the previous meeting's discussions, a streamlining of the WebCoQ, involving the suppression of several indicators, has been implemented. Further suggestions for streamlining are welcome. These could be based on analytical use, data availability, and other factors. Delegates are encouraged to share their views on the challenges of providing data through the common questionnaire. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/7 (d) Collection of statistics on trade in used vehicles, and comparability of new registration data The common questionnaire asks for total vehicle fleet data and data on the number of new registrations of vehicles in a given year. The Glossary for Transport Statistics states that "The date of first registration of a motor vehicle is the first-time registration of the vehicle as new in a motor vehicle register, irrespective of the nationality of the register. The dating of the registration is the date on which the registration was recorded at the motor vehicle registration office. The registration of an imported second-hand vehicle is not a first-time registration but should be regarded as a reregistration." This definition seems ambiguous, and country metadata show that some countries are providing different data, with some only providing new registrations of new cars, with others including second-hand imports, and still others providing something else. Understanding national-level data collection activities, and possibilities for cross-country collaboration, may be the first step in improving comparability. The secretariat will also provide an update on activities tracking the international trade of used vehicles. (e) Rail traffic accident statistics The secretariat will provide a brief update about the availability of rail accident data and data on safety at level crossings. (f) Pilot questionnaire on road traffic performance The secretariat and Eurostat will provide a brief update on data collection on producing vehicle-km from odometer readings. (g) Intermodal transport statistics The Working Party may wish to discuss future activities on intermodal transport statistics at the international level. (h) Gender aspects of transport statistics In previous sessions, the topic of gender and transport has been brought up, in particular relating to differences in exposure (e.g. passenger-km) as a benchmark for genderdisaggregated road safety statistics, but also relating to different passenger mobility patterns. The secretariat will introduce this item and encourage an exchange of views on potential data availability in countries. 7. Interlinkages of transport statistics with other domains Depending on the availability of speakers and interest of participants, interlinkages of transport statistics with other domains, notably energy, climate change and environment, will be discussed. 8. Traffic censuses in the ECE region (a) 2020 E-Road traffic censuses Recalling the draft recommendations to governments on procedures and methodologies for the 2020 E-Road Traffic Census that was endorsed at the sixty-ninth session, the secretariat will remind member States of the request to carry out a road traffic census on highways of international importance in 2020. In particular, delegates are requested to provide data on Annual Average Daily Traffic in a geospatial format, preferably Shapefiles. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2019/11 (b) 2020 E-Rail traffic censuses Recalling the draft recommendations to governments on procedures and methodologies for the 2020 E-Rail Traffic Census that was endorsed at the sixty-ninth session, the secretariat will remind member States of the request to carry out a rail traffic census on rail lines of international importance in 2020. In particular, delegates are requested to provide data on rail line traffic in a geospatial format, in addition to the data requested by Eurostat (only relevant for countries who submit data to Eurostat). Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2019/8 9. Dissemination of transport statistics by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The Working Party will be informed about the status of the ECE database on transport statistics and the status of the publications: Statistics for Road Traffic Accidents in Europe and North America (RAS) and the "Inland Transport Statistics for Europe and North America" 1 (formerly Annual Bulletin of Transport Statistics for Europe and North America (ABTS)). In addition, the Transport Statistics Infocards will be presented. Short country interventions on their own dissemination strategies are welcome. 10. Implementation of the ITC Strategy to 2030 and the Programme of Work 2020-2021 There is no longer a need to prepare a biennial Programme of Work due to a change in reporting requirements to the Inland Transport Committee (ITC). As no alternative process has been requested, the secretariat believes that such a document may still be relevant for programming and monitoring reasons and has, in lieu of official direction from the ITC, prepared document ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/9 setting out the draft programme of work for the next two years. The ITC has asked all Working Parties to take follow-up actions to align their work with the ITC strategy that was adopted in 2019. The secretariat has prepared an implementation plan for the Working Party (ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/6) in this manner. The Working Party may wish to discuss both of these documents in their current formats and suggest any changes as relevant. Documentation ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/6, ECE/TRANS/WP.6/2020/9, ECE/TRANS/288/Add.2 1 Both publications are available at www.unece.org/transport/resources/publications/transportstatistics.html. 11. Capacity-building activities The secretariat will present its capacity-building activities of the last year. 12. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee and its subsidiary bodies The Working Party will be informed about the results of the eighty-second session of the Inland Transport Committee, which took place from 25 to 28 February 2020, in particular about its decisions relating to the activities of the Working Party. Documentation Informal document ITC (2020) No.10/Rev.6 13. Statistical activities of international organizations of interest to the Working Party The Working Party may wish to receive reports from representatives of the following organizations on their current and future activities in the field of transport statistics: * European Commission (DG MOVE) * European Commission (Eurostat) * International Transport Forum (ITF) * International Union of Railways (UIC) * Other international organizations. This agenda item will also cover activities conducted by the Intersecretariat Working Group on transport Statistics. 14. Election of Officers In accordance with the Commission's rules of procedure and established practice, the Working Party will elect a Chair and Vice-Chair to preside over the sessions in 2021 and 2022. 15. Other business (a) Date of next session The seventy-second session of the Working party is tentatively scheduled for 9 to 11 June 2021 at the Palais des Nations (Geneva). (b) Information on upcoming meetings on transport statistics The Working Party will be informed about dates and locations of upcoming meetings on transport statistics in 2020 and 2021. 16. Summary of decisions In line with established practice and in accordance with the decision of the Inland Transport Committee (ECE/TRANS/156, para. 6), at the end of the session, the Chair will make a brief summary of the decisions taken. Following the session, the ECE secretariat, in cooperation with the Chair, will draw up a report on the outcome of the session.
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NOWCAST Watch WDSU News On Demand
technology
historical_context
NOWCAST Watch WDSU News On Demand Watch on Demand Menu NEWS ARCHIVE Advertisement Streetcar line repairs change Uptown route Streetcar line repairs in the Uptown neighborhood has caused changes along it's route. Streetcar line repairs change Uptown route Streetcar line repairs in the Uptown neighborhood has caused changes along it's route. Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT @p÷@úppMAJOR PART ITS ROUTE. THAT'SBECAUSE MAINTENANCECREWS ARE BEGINNING WORK UPTOWN.WDSU NEWS REPORTERBLAKE HANSON IS LIVE THISMORNING WITH MORE ON WHERETHE WORK IS. GOOD MORNINGBLAKE.GOOD MORNING. CREWS WILLCONTINUE WORK ON THOSECROSSTIES THAT THEY'VE BEENWORKING ON SEVERAL MONTHSNOW. PRETTY FAMILIARSIGHT...JUST IN A DIFFERENT AREAFOR UPTOWN RESIDENTS. THE WORKHAS NOW SHIFTED TOSTARTING RIGHT HERE AT NAPOLEONAVENUE.WE HAVE SOME VIDEO OF THECONSTRUCTION FROM BACK IN@@úúppxx÷÷FEBRUARY. YOU MIGHT REMEMBERRTA BRIEFLY HALTED THATWORK DURING MARDI GRAS. THENTHE WORK WAS HAPPENINGCLOSER TOWARD THE CBD END OF THEST. CHARLES LINE. IN THEMEANTIME, RIDERS WHO ARE TAKINGTHE ST. CHARLES STREET CAR WILLSTILL BE ABLE TO TAKE IT BETWEENCANAL AND NAPOLEON. R-T-ASAYS THE ST. CHARLES BUS SHUTTLEWILL OPERATEBETWEEN SOUTH CLAIBORNE ANDNAPOLEON AVENUE. THAT'SABOUT A FOUR MILE STRETCHTHAT'LL BE SHUT DOWN FOR THETIME BEING. OF COURSE...THE ST.CHARLES LINE HAS BEEN HERE JUSTABOUT FOREVER. MORE THAN 150YEARS. SO MAINTENANCELIKE CROSSTIE REPLACEMENT FROMTIME TO TIME IS NOSURPRISE.THE R-T-A DOES NOT HAVE ASPECIFIC DATE OR TIMELINE ONWHEN THE PROJECT WILL BECOMPLETE. BUT WE'LL KEEP YOUPOSTED AS WE LEARN OF ANYCHANGES. LIVE ON YOUR SIDEUPTOWN, BLAKE HANSON, WDSU NEWS.THE ST. CHARLES STREETCAR IS ONEOF FOUR OPERATING STREET CARLINES IN NEW ORLEANS. IT RUNS ATOTAL DISTANCE OF 13-POINT-2 MILES. Streetcar line repairs change Uptown route Streetcar line repairs in the Uptown neighborhood has caused changes along it's route. Advertisement
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Everything You Need Know
interdisciplinary
tutorial
Everything You Need to Know About Mastitis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment A guide to understanding this common ailment, including mastitis causes, symptoms, and treatment—plus how to prevent it. Tender breasts may seem normal when you're breastfeeding, but if they turn red and become painful, the real cause may be mastitis. This condition is caused by a bacterial infection in the breast. A whopping 10 percent of breastfeeding women develop mastitis, although such infections are not restricted just to nursing mothers. And if you are one of the unlucky few, mastitis infections do sometimes recur. Knowing the symptoms, treatment options, and how to prevent mastitis in the first place can help keep a clogged milk duct from turning into something even more distressing. The Causes of Mastitis "There's skin bacteria on all parts of our body, and with breastfeeding, sometimes the nipples are cracked, which allows the bacteria to get into the tissue and the milk glands," says Tamika C. Auguste, M.D., FACOG, Ob-Gyn at MedStar Washington Hospital and associate professor of Ob-Gyn at Georgetown University. Once the bacteria enter the nipple, they can travel up the milk duct and cause an infection in the breast tissue itself. Clogged ducts are another culprit, and they can be caused by a number of factors. These range from wearing a poorly fitted bra to incomplete emptying of the breast during feedings, according to Marcie Richardson, an Ob-Gyn who practices at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. "When the breast cannot drain properly because of an obstructed milk duct, the body's usual infection-fighting strategies don't work and bacteria can take hold," she explains. Pamela Berens, M.D., an associate professor at the University of Texas at Houston and an Ob-Gyn at the University of Texas Health Science Center, likens this phenomenon to a bladder infection: Your urine is sterile, but if you're not emptying the bladder, you're more likely to get an infection. The same thing happens with breast milk. "Even though it's bacteriostatic— meaning it doesn't encourage the growth of bacteria — if milk isn't draining well and is sitting in the ducts, bacteria are more likely to breed and grow," she explains. Mastitis can make your breasts feel tender, swollen, and hot to the touch. It can even result in a hard, wedge-shaped mass in the breast tissue that is pointed toward the nipple. Many women even experience fever, body aches, chills, and general flu-like symptoms. How to Prevent Mastitis Although the infection can be hard to head off, the following tips can help prevent clogged milk ducts and mastitis: Keep a predictable nursing schedule. Avoid going long hours between feedings, except perhaps at night once your baby is older than about 2 months. (Milk can become thick and clog the ducts if it gets backed up.) Don't sleep on your stomach. Free yourself from overly restrictive bras and tight-fitting clothing that squish your breasts. Avoid carrying anything that chafes your breasts, such as wide-strapped crossbody bags. Skip the soap. Most soaps are drying, which can be traumatic to breast tissue, says Dr. Berens Instead, simply rinse your breasts with lukewarm water (don't use a washcloth) and pat dry. If the skin is dry, follow with an over-the-counter breast cream. Don't overdo the pumping. Whenever you pump (or breastfeed), your body responds by producing more milk. If you make so much milk that your baby can't drain the breasts completely, you set the stage for infection. Treat clogged ducts quickly. If you suspect that you have a clogged duct, apply hot compresses to the area several times a day, be sure the breast is drained completely, and massage the affected area as your baby nurses. If you have cracked nipples, Dr. Auguste encourages using a lanolin cream or vitamin E ointment, either of which can serve as a barrier to infection. It's also important to eat healthy foods, rest, and avoid stress as much as possible. For women with recurrent blocked ducts, the international La Leche League recommends reducing saturated fat and sodium in the diet. The Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation recommends suggests taking a 1,200-mg capsule of lecithin, a dietary supplement derived from sunflower seeds, four times a day. (Or try one tablespoon of oral granular lecithin daily instead.) Sunflower lecithin is believed to reduce the thickness of breast milk by increasing the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in it—thereby making the milk less likely to clog ducts. - RELATED: Nursing 101: All About Breastfeeding Home Mastitis Treatment While mastitis may be hard on the mother, the good news is that you can't pass the infection to your baby. Some home remedies can help reduce breast engorgement. The La Leche League of Canada, for example, encourages the use of ice packs to reduce swelling. Several studies have also evaluated the use of cabbage leaves—which are placed in the bra and serve as a sort of cold compress to reduce swelling—although with mixed results. Still, if you're eager to use cruciferous homeopathy, choose white versus red leaf cabbage as the darker leaf can stain clothing. Cut the heavy vein from the middle of a rinsed, refrigerated or room temperature cabbage leaf, and place it directly on the skin. Wear a bra or snug top over the leaves to keep them in place, removing them when they wilt or when it's time to feed your baby. It's also critical to ensure your baby latches on to the breast and drains the affected breast entirely. If the baby cannot drain the breast, use a pump or hand press the breast to express it fully. Richardson also suggests nursing on the infected breast first, feeding often, massaging the breast while nursing, taking hot showers or using warm compresses on the breast, and pumping after nursing, if necessary. "All these things help keep the breast empty, which in turn helps the infection clear faster," she says. Medical Mastitis Treatment When swollen breasts progress beyond the engorgement phase and become hot, red, and infected – or the nipple cracks – women should turn to their doctors for mastitis. If left untreated, the infection could spread, and mastitis could turn into a breast abscess that requires surgical draining. - RELATED: The Benefits of Breastfeeding An antibiotic may also be required for mastitis treatment. "Mastitis is a known bacterial infection, and what treats bacterial infections are antibiotics," says Dr. Auguste. "The risk of letting mastitis go untreated or treated adequately are too high of forming a breast abscess. I would err on the side of real caution and take the antibiotics." Meanwhile, it's also critical to keep nursing, get a lot of rest, and take it easy while you recover. While you may begin feeling better after a couple of days on medication, always take the entire prescription of antibiotics.
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LICENSING, ASSIGNING OR MANUFACTURING
social_studies
worked_examples
LICENSING, ASSIGNING OR MANUFACTURING A. If independent inventor licenses one’s invention to a manufacturer, what royalities can the independent inventor hope to receive via a license? 1. No more than 15% of the net sales. a. Example: If the manufacturer sells invention for $20, but after certain expenses the net sales price is actually $10, the royalty paid to the independent inventor would be $1.50 for the invention. B. If independent inventor has an independent manufacturer produce the invention for oneself, and the independent inventor sells the invention on the market, what amount would the independent inventor receive? 1. Example: If the invention is manufactured for $2 and the independent inventor sells the invention for $20, the independent inventor would receive $18 profit for the invention. C. If independent inventor assigns one’s patent to a manufacturer, what royalties and purchase price can the independent inventor hope to receive via an assignment? 1. In addition to the royalties cited in the example for licensing one's invention, the inventor could receive tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for the purchase price for one's patent. D. The following are some recently Patented Inventions made & sold by the Inventors themselves:
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Fråga: Vad den huvudsakliga
science
historical_context
's Fråga: Vad är den huvudsakliga uppgiften som beskrivs i texten? Svar: Den huvudsakliga uppgiften är att granska en given text och skapa flera frågor baserade på specifika instruktioner.
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ec84e3ff-470d-4938-805d-947efa6b5ced
What you needle-dropping Christmas
technology
technical_documentation
What can you do with that needle-dropping Christmas Tree now that the big day is over? Give it to the birds! A great way to extend the life of your (costly) cut tree is to place it outside where it can provide shelter for birds and other wildlife during the cold and windy winter months. Cut evergreen trees will hold on to their needles long enough to help block wind, snow and rain for songbirds. Not to mention, they also provide them with camouflage cover from hungry predators. This is especially important in landscapes with mostly deciduous trees and shrubs which are bare this time of year. You can lay the undecorated tree in your garden. Place it in an area where it will not roll around when the winter winds whip up. Or, you can stand the tree up and secure it with twine to a nearby tree trunk or fence, so that it looks like a live tree and will not roll on roosting songbirds during bad weather conditions. Once Spring comes, you can choose to compost the tree or add it to your habitat pile. This practice will help keep trees and tree (plastic) bags out of the landfill, while also providing eco-services to our feathered & other friends. Let us know if you give this a try. Mine is going out soon. Happy winter gardening!
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[ "programming fundamentals", "logic" ]
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c46df61c-b70b-45a1-a8f9-43dfda491740
Exhibition celebrate’s Scotlands top female scientists
science
historical_context
Exhibition celebrate’s Scotlands top female scientists The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy, has installed its popular Women in Science in Scotland photographic exhibition in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library. Featuring some of Scotland’s most prominent women scientists, the exhibition, which ran from April to December last year at the RSE’s offices in Edinburgh, celebrates 26 RSE Fellows, all of whom are pioneers and leaders in their respective fields. The women hold an object that represents their inspiration to become a scientist or that illustrates their scientific journey. The portraits are accompanied with an explanation of the object and thoughts from the women on why they became, and what they like about being, a scientist. Several of the women featured are based at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. From the University of Glasgow this includes: Professor Sheila Rowan, Scotland’s Chief Scientific Adviser and Professor of Experimental Physics; Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Vice Principal and Head of College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences; and Professor Muffy Calder, Professor of Computing Science and Head of the College of Science and Engineering. From the University of Strathclyde there is: Professor Dame Anne Glover, President of the RSE and Special Advisor to the Principal; Professor Karen Faulds, Head of Bionanotechnology and Analytical Research Section; Professor Eva Hevia, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry; Professor Becky Lunn, Head of the Centre for Ground Engineering and Energy Geosciences; and Professor Mandy MacLean; Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. Retired Professor of Dermatology, Rona MacKie, formerly of the University of Glasgow, is also featured. RSE Chief Executive, Dr Rebekah Widdowfield said: ‘Taking this exhibition to Glasgow is a fantastic opportunity for us to continue to raise the profile of some of the best and most brilliant scientists living and working in Scotland today. Our thanks to the Mitchell Library for helping us celebrate these incredible women and for hopefully inspiring the next generation of scientists in Scotland.” Glasgow Life Head of Communities & Libraries, Andrew Olney said: ‘We are delighted to host The Women in Science in Scotland exhibition at the Mitchell Library over the coming months and to help showcase some of Scotland’s most prominent women scientists many of whom are based at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. ‘The exhibition looks fantastic, reading these amazing women’s stories and hearing about their scientific journey is incredible. We hope they act as a catalyst to inspire future generations to pursue a career in science.’ The photographs were taken by freelance photographer Ian Georgeson. A two-day session was held at the Mitchell Library for the scientists based at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. The Women in Science in Scotland exhibition will be on display at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow until 7 March. A version of the exhibition is also on display at Edinburgh Airport until the end of January. TAGS FOLLOW US
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fe162731-6d6a-4f98-ae94-eb09a9eedde2
Churchright Churchright Call Convention
science
historical_context
Churchright Churchright Call to Convention Dear Conference Member: Issuing this Call to Convention is one responsibility I dearly look forward to every two years. My delight is no doubt motivated by the images convention evokes: gathering of old friends, like an unending family reunion; exciting fellow­ ship; rich worship, featuring our best preaching and teaching; workshops and sem­ inars; meal functions and afterglows; the recasting of vision; ministry highlights and business sessions. These are reasons I'd attend biennial conventions even if our bylaws didn't require it. This central location, accessible through Chicago's O'Hare and Midway air­ ports, and the hotel's family-friendly facilities (beautiful grounds, gardens, golf courses, and other amenities) were selected to make this convention accessible, af­ fordable, and enjoyable. Restaurants and shopping outlets within walking distance, area attractions, and planned outdoor activities are yours to enjoy at this unique venue. Therefore, I am pleased to extend this official invitation to the members and friends of the General Conference to attend the 2011 Biennial Convention, July 18-23, at the Pheasant Run Resort and Spa, St. Charles, Illinois (about 45 miles west of Chicago). Using the theme "Amazing Love," the Planning Committee is putting together a rich variety of activities and events for you and your family, a weeklong program you won't want to miss. This calls to mind the familiar verse "He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love" (Song of Solomon 2:4, NASB), anticipating a week of banqueting in St. Charles, under the banner of love. In addition, the last two conventions have operated at a financial loss due to low attendance, mainly triggered by the economy. This negatively impacts our faithful stewardship of Conference funds, so the current Planning Committee is tak­ ing careful measures to ensure a better outcome this time around. But only you can do your part. If you attended the Over­ land Park and Corpus Christi conventions, thank you and welcome to St. Charles in advance. If you missed either or both of the last two, I especially urge your attendance this time. Let's "do conventions right" by maximizing attendance, closing the books in the black, and continuing a cherished tradition. Doing conventions right. The General Conference is blessed with a polity that allows every voting member of the Church to participate in its business sessions, a privilege that should not be taken for granted. One item to be voted on in July is the frequency of conventions. Should we continue to meet biennially or move to a triennial or quadrennial se­ quence? This and other items of similar importance slated for the agenda deserve broad input and should not default to a handful of attendees. To help you plan effectively, this issue of Churchright is mostly dedicated to convention information. I look forward to seeing you in St. Charles and welcome you on behalf of the Planning Committee and Board of Directors. — Whaid Rose General Conference President Registration What you can expect General Conference Convention July 18 -23, 2011 Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles, Illinois Early Bird (before June 20, 2011): After June 20, 2011: Adults: $50 Adults: $80 Youth: $40 Youth: $65 Children: $20 Children: $30 For registration forms, please call (303) 452-7973, e-mail convention info@ cog7.org, or visit convention.cog7.org. Register at the CoG7 convention site or by regular mail first, then register for the hotel room. For room reservations, follow the link on our site to ensure you get the convention rate ($85/night), or call Pheasant Run directly at 800999-3319. Be sure to ask for the Church of God group in July. * Morning workshops that will equip you for ministry. Choose from tracks on Ministry Within the Home, Ministry Within the Church, and Ministry Within Our World. These workshops will give you biblical foundations and practical applications so you can more effectively minister when you return home. * Afternoon business meetings that will engage you. You have the unique op­ portunity to be a part of the business of this church. Come and participate. Don't leave the decision-making to someone else! * General sessions that will excite you. The Church of God (Seventh Day) has a lot to offer to our communities and our world. General sessions will re­ mind us of the exciting opportunities before us and why we are a part of this church. * Evening services that will encourage you. Come expecting revival! Evening services will focus on God's Amazing Love, coming down to us through the gift of His Son and transforming us for a life of holiness and service. * Reunions, fellowship, and relaxation that will energize you. See the sights, play some golf, or relax by one of three pools. Leave convention ready to do the work God has called you to do! Our hope is that during this time together we can examine and feel God's amazing love in both old and new ways. We want to explore not only what His love looks like as it reaches down to us but also what it looks like when it transforms our lives. This Amazing Love calls us to holiness and ser­ vice. It is this kind of love that allows families to blossom, past hurts to heal, torn churches to unite, and ordinary individuals to do extraordinary things! Hope to see you there! — Elroy Jr. (Nugget) and Sue Gold 2011 Convention Co-Directors Memory Bank I began attending campmeetings in Stanberry and Denver as a child. They grew to General Conference Conventions, and I believe I've at­ tended most — if not all! When I was a child, we got to "take a trip" and meet family from California in Denver. We visited Red Rocks and Tiny Town together. Conventions had a great children's program, and my Auntie Rose Dais used to lead the children's choir. After we attended SVA, convention was the best place to meet our friends and relatives dur­ ing the summers. — Elizabeth Carlin Keim As adults, we always look forward to attending conventions. We have learned a lot about the business side of the General Conference and ap­ preciate having a voice by voting. The seminars we've attended have helped our personal lives. I think of Mary Jean Knoll presenting "Love and Logic." We were awed by her presen­ tation and looked forward to using the principles she shared. There is something special about conference friendships, especially when you develop those friendships as children. At the 1987 and 1989 conventions in Denver, Colorado, Catherine Keim Falvey, Kiley Dais Bliss, and I bonded as we punctuated "I Am a C" with jumps into the pool, played cards on the balcony, and ex­ plored the hotel together. — Amber Mann Riggs Dad and Mom made it a point for our family to attend each conven­ tion. We thoroughly loved when con­ vention time came around. It was an opportunity to interact in various set­ tings with a very large group of youth, and it really encouraged me. It was an opportunity to connect with young people from all over the country, and those friendships remain today. Conventions are a welcome en­ couragement to me. They have now become important to my children. Now, as an adult, I enjoy the added effects of ministry and business at conventions, to see firsthand how the local church affects the Church on a district and national levels. — Dennis O'Banion This photo was taken at a past G. C. Convention. Can you name the location? I remember about 1963 when there was a huge thunderstorm at the old campground in Denver. Our shoes were floating in the tent after service. That year I bought a Bible from Leroy Dais at the bookstore. I still have it. Rose Dais was the chil­ dren's choir director, and as a kid, I sang on Sabbath for everyone. What do you remember about past conventions? Go to convention.cog7.org and click on Convention Memories. Also read the full text of these memories and others. — Harold Ogren Conference-wide Prayer and Fasting Annual Prayer Initiative January 15 – February 5, 2011 Prayer Guide distributed to local churches with this issue of Churchright. Also available at http://cog7.org/. Visit www. pheasantrun.com to see all that Pheasant Run Resort offers. But remember, use the link from our site to actually register. North American Women's Ministry Helping women effectively fulfill their roles in the life and ministry of the Church. January is NAWM Emphasis Support Women's Ministry, strengthen the G. C. 4 • Churchright - www.cog7.org
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53099b96-9fba-4114-9889-10acd0cbdc28
Latin ex+acerb+ate; Latin acerb-
science
historical_context
Latin ex+acerb+ate; Latin acerb- means bitter, harsh; So exacerbate means to make bittter, to worsen. if in an Exam u keep your hand on your head[ie SAR(in hindi)/CER]...you wil WORSEN your paper... "Ex Her b Ate".. her ex came and ate with her family. which worsen the relation even more. exacerbate:ex wife sara did not cooperate,she made it worse. Exacerbate: Ex(Ex means old,like ExGirlFriend)+Acer(Acer Laptop)+Bate(Bat):Just Imagine ur Ex(old)Acer Laptop is not working,so u got angry and bet with a Bat(BATE),then it became more worsen,completely worsen.....ExAcerBate Exacerbate=Ex(Extra)+ Acerbate(make worse),,so worsen Exacerbate also means irritate means exasperate....hence Exacerbate= Exasperate... ex:excess acer:similar like acid; so excess acid means worst sounds extra + bate(beat) >>> as he bated him too much, it worsened his condition and he is in ICU now.. He made everything worse by chopping her head off: AXED HER PATE ex=>extra + cerb=>service given to make something worse. Extra Masturbate= worsen the condition of body. One feel lot of weakness after that. exacerbate = ex + acer = too + sharp(Greek) -> not good ex+acerb+ate; imagine 'ex' from expand and acerb- means bitter, harsh; So exacerbate means to expand the bitterness so as to worsen. Exam sir pe baithi hain aur beta khana nahi khara raha hain.. kyunki bemar hain.. when he (ate) an (ex)pired medicine, it worsened the fever. EX - AKAR (acer)- BAITHA (bate)- so wen u r in park baju me ex akar baitha so it made things worse
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f20ade16-4555-4e27-ba33-ccb21667eecb
Bulk Elastic Properties
science
problem_set
Bulk Elastic Properties The bulk elastic properties of a material determine how much it will compress under a given amount of external pressure. The ratio of the change in pressure to the fractional volume compression is called the bulk modulus of the material. A representative value for the bulk modulus for steel is and that for water is The reciprocal of the bulk modulus is called the compressibility of the substance. The amount of compression of solids and liquids is seen to be very small. The bulk modulus of a solid influences the speed of sound and other mechanical waves in the material. It also is a factor in the amount of energy stored in solid material in the Earth's crust. This buildup of elastic energy can be released violently in an earthquake, so knowing bulk moduli for the Earth's crust materials is an important part of the study of earthquakes. The bulk modulus is a factor in the speed of seismic waves from earthquakes. A common statement is that water is an incompressible fluid. This is not strictly true, as indicated by its finite bulk modulus, but the amount of compression is very small. At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean at a depth of about 4000 meters, the pressure is about 4 x 107 N/m2. Even under this enormous pressure, the fractional volume compression is only about 1.8% and that for steel would be only about 0.025%. So it is fair to say that water is nearly incompressible. Reference: Halliday, Resnick, Walker, 5th Ed. Extended. Periodic motion concepts
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medium
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[ "basic science", "measurement" ]
[ "experimental design" ]
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