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The Golden Lion Tamarin, the Golden-rumped Lion Tamarin (also known as Black Lion Tamarin), the Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin, and the Black Faced Lion Tamarin are all close relatives belonging in the tamarin (leontopithecus) family. They are all reasonably well known as the world's most critically endangered mammals. Of a species that once stretched across most of South America, mostly in Brazil, there are only a few severely fragmented populations left, each composed of less than fifty mature tamarins.
Less than fifty. A small storm could make this animal extinct. A tree could fall over and destroy an entire population.
The lion tamarins, along with being THIS close to extinction, happen to be some of the cutest animals ever. The Golden Lion Tamarin looks something like a cross between a monkey, a squirrel, a shag rug, and a bar of gold. The tiny 1.5 pound creature has long, flowing, golden locks which cover its entire body, except for the face and hands/feet. The Black Lion Tamarin is all black, except for a patch of golden fur on his lower back; the Golden-Headed Tamarin is black with golden arms, head, and tail; the Black Faced Tamarin is precisely the reverse. As opposed to the more common perception of monkeys (basically any primate with a long tail), tamarins don't have opposable thumbs -- which is just a feature of New World primates. But, they do have long, lanky fingers, strong legs, and razor sharp claws, implements which allow them to leap up to 20 feet from tree to tree about as easily as we scratch ourselves.
Tamarins live in family groups, the parents generally mating once a year and producing a litter of two offspring with each go. The young stay several years, usually helping the parents take care of any new offspring, and then running off to start their own group. The fathers carry the babies on their backs, and they’re nursed every couple of hours. Just like most primates, tamarins eat some fruit, but, due to their long fingers and claws, are very good at digging bugs out of bark. It has several natural predators including the jaguar, ocelot, ornate hawk-eagle, and black-hawk eagle.
After hearing this, one might wonder "Why would anyone want to kill this glorious squirrel-monkey-rug which seems to glow with the radiance of the sun?" That is a good question, and there are several reasons - Twenty-thousand to be specific. These tamarins are so insanely rare that just one of their foot long pelts can bring in $20,000 to anyone cold hearted enough to look deep into its eyes and still pull the trigger. Of course, due to the low numbers, this species is protected in a variety of manners. First of all, it is specifically protected under Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. CITES is basically proposed of a proposition and two appendices: Appendix I makes it illegal to transport anything related to an endangered species (living, dead, the fur, the babies, or even just the foot) across international borders; Appendix II protects look-alike species (something like fake leopard skin).
Unfortunately, no matter how many poachers we stop, we probably can't save this species. One of most destructive things that we do to these tamarins is cut down the tropical forest. Ninety percent of the tamarin habitat has disappeared. We are losing 58 acres of tropical rainforest per MINUTE; 10,000,000 acres of rainforest per year, in Latin America alone (these statistics come from Dr. Andrew Smith, a PhD in Conservation Biology, professor at Arizona State University, and active participator in world-wide conservation). You can imagine what this means for the little golden lion tamarin and his relatives, who live solely in the tropical jungles of Brazil. The coastal regions of the jungle have now been replaced by sunny beach homes. Many of its habitats are protected by the government, but I believe we all know how the government around Brazil works. It's really more of a...guideline rather than an actual rule. The truth is, though we can perhaps stop the large scale agricultural operations which are clear-cutting the forests, but we can't stop the small villagers who are just trying to cut down trees in order to live.
What a tangled web we weave...
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How to Protect Heated Water Hoses
It is through cold weather water hoses that water is made to move all the day. People are found to buy these hoses during cold temperatures. It is mostly found in cold season for water to solidify due to the harsh climate. Water in the frozen form is usually dangerous to the properties.
According to research, frozen water is found to damage galvanized pipes. Expect water to solidify when under very extreme temperatures. Water when it turns into ice is not suitable for use. In polar region, people face this problem of water turning into ice. It has therefore been noted for several people to go for this type of a pipe to curb the thing. Heated water pipes are known to function under extreme temperatures of negative 40 degrees and positive 40 degrees. An automated thermostat is always connected to the water device for regulation purposes. Heated water hose is wrapped up with a heating element that aids in melting frozen water.
Electric energy is needed when running the water device. Heated water hoses can be applied in a few settings where water flows throughout. Owners of the properties should always purchase the required devices for doing such a job when winter strikes. Various points should be valued when buying No Freeze water hoses.
It is crucial to know the capacity of the liquid to be transported when purchasing the item. In case of transporting liquids in plants, one should look for slightly larger cold weather pipes. One should check on the power rates when shopping the water item. You are supposed to go for the pocket-friendly heated water pipes. It is important to search for a specialist to harness the water equipment to the waterline. One should always remember to handle the hose appropriately when using it. For more info visit:
People can be able to keep their heated water pipes safe by doing certain things. The power should be disconnected after one finishes the work. Disconnecting the water hose would save the cost of power. You are needed to pour all the water in the device so as to protect it from ice scenarios. The hose should be loosely coiled to protect it from cracking.
One should keep off the water hose from the sun. It has been noted for hot temperatures to damage the outer covering of the water equipment. One is needed to throw away those cold weather pipes that are nonfunctional. The heated water hose is supposed to be protected from hooves of animals, and wheels of vehicles. For more knowledge of the water equipment, browse the pages for heated water hoses. Click here for more:
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Technology is constantly progressing and evolving. This progress helps to change many facets of society. The business world is one place where this change is most noticeable. New technology allows business owners to slash overhead, increase efficiency and market to customers in new creative ways.
Something that is helping to create this change is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, refers to computer software and machines that have the ability to learn and make decisions based on that acquired knowledge. AI has been adapted for many different industries. In fact, 31 percent of companies are planning to integrate AI into their business.
One industry that has benefited greatly from AI is retail. Online retail, in particular, has gained a lot from the use of artificial intelligence. Below are some of the ways AI can be used by online retailers.
More Informed Advertising
One way AI can make a big difference for online retail is through more informed sales attempts. This is done through the acquisition of data regarding a person’s background as well as their preferences. For example, each time a person purchases a product through the store, data regarding the sale is saved and then fed into an ad generator that uses AI. Instead of the customer being targeted with ads for random products, they are instead targeted with ads that are somehow related to what they purchased previously.
This can be a much more effective means of advertising than generic ads that do not take into account the individual consumer’s own tastes and preferences. Instead, the ads are tailored for each individual customer. This can increase the number of conversions substantially.
More Informed Suggestive Selling
It’s also excellent information to have for suggestive selling techniques used to convince consumers to add more to their shopping cart before they check out. This is the strategy Thrive Market uses for its online store. If your shopping cart total is below the amount needed to qualify for free shipping, the website will make suggestions for products to add to the cart to make up the difference. The products chosen are picked out by AI based on that customer’s data.
Subtle suggestive selling techniques like this are excellent ways to get consumers to spend more at your store. 90 percent of consumers say that the possibility of free shipping is their number one incentive to shop at a particular online store.
Digital Service Representatives
To increase efficiency and lower costs, many companies are looking for different ways to automate jobs traditionally performed by human beings. While the idea of an automated service representative seems like something out of bad science fiction or even a comedy routine, in certain cases, using AI to perform basic service tasks can be effective.
For example, instead of only having a generic Frequently Asked Questions page on a website for an online store that may not actually answer a user’s specific question, a chat bot that is informed by AI can be loaded through a pop-up window. The customer then talks to the chatbot through typed text and asks it questions. The bot will attempt to answer the questions based on the data it has access too as well as information it learns from the conversation.
If the bot can’t answer the question, the customer can be forwarded to a human being that can. Overall, the customer should know they aren’t talking to a human being. The reliance on AI for basic service will only increase in the future. For example, in Japan some companies are using actual robots to perform some basic service functions.
Artificial intelligence can do amazing things. It can allow a computer program to learn new information and make decisions based on that knowledge. It can also help to replicate the same kind of thinking human beings do so that a program can effectively communicate with customers. Overall, there are many ways AI can be integrated into online retail to improve sales and customer service. |
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Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic!
Auditory Processing Disorder
The American Speech and Hearing Association defines central auditory processing as the efficiency and effectiveness with which the central nervous system uses auditory information. In other words, it’s what the brain does with what the ears hear.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD, sometimes called CAPD) occurs when the central nervous system has problems processing information that comes through listening.
Children with auditory processing problems are weak in basic skills for decoding and remembering what they hear. They often miss, or misunderstand, information that’s conveyed through verbal instructions or conversations.
APD manifests itself in a number of ways, some of which look like other learning difficulties. Examples include poor performance in listening tasks, understanding speech, developing language, and learning in general, affecting the ability to absorb content presented verbally and utilizing phonemic and phonics strategies when reading and spelling.
Research suggests that 3% to 20% of children have APD and that a significant number of those children also have attention issues, such as ADHD. (It is rare that a child will present with only one, singular learning disability, although they may only be diagnosed with one. Any kind of therapy or intervention, including medication, must focus on the larger issues first.)
These children often need things to be restated, or often ask “what?” They seem to miss things in conversations. From testing we know that their hearing is working properly and receiving the appropriate auditory signals. But there are glitches where the brain is not assigning meaning—or the right meaning—to that signal.
There are four basic skills involved in auditory processing.
1. Auditory Discrimination: the ability to notice and distinguish between distinct and separate sounds. This is crucial in being able to differentiate similar but different words, such as bat and pat, or sixty and sixteen. Those with auditory processing difficulties might miss information or misunderstand what you say because they mishear words. They can’t identify the subtle differences in sounds. It will be harder to learn to read and to express themselves clearly. They may confuse similar sounds because they can’t separate the phoneme sounds—'befs' instead of 'best'—and they may drop syllables out of words. Kids with processing difficulties also have trouble rhyming, because their brain is not detecting that these words sound the same. They may only be able to tune in to the beginning sound of the word, and not the end.
2. Figure-to-Ground Discrimination: being able to differentiate important sounds from background noise; to follow verbal instructions or pick out one voice from the auditory clutter. In a classroom, a child who is weak in this area might have trouble being able to focus on what the teacher is saying because other sounds in the classroom are too distracting. It’s a filtering problem: attempting to distinguish between the white noise and the teacher’s instructions. Or the child may not be able to discern where the teacher's voice is coming from: the back of the room? the front? on my left?
3. Auditory Memory: Auditory memory includes the ability to remember things we hear, in both the short-term and the long-term. Children weak in auditory memory have trouble remembering nursery rhymes and song lyrics, learning things through recitation, and remembering information unless it’s written down.
4. Auditory Sequencing: This is the ability to understand and recall the order of sounds. A child with a weakness in auditory sequencing will mix up numbers with the same digits (84 and 48) and may switch the sequence of sounds in a word (ephelant instead of elephant) or leave out syllables from some words. They may also have trouble recalling information presented in lists, and difficulty following sequential, multi-step instructions.
Some who are diagnosed with APD early, may also grow out of their problems as the auditory fibers or pathways in the mind develop, which strengthens the capacity to process signals from the ear within the brain. Since these fibers and connections aren’t finished developing until adolescence, it’s possible that for some, APD is a delay in development, rather than a deficit. (However, delaying the necessary help will still place the child far behind his peers in the classroom.)
Helping with weak auditory processing skills is a combination of building supports into their environment, and intensive training to beef up skills they haven’t developed automatically, as most kids would.
Simple classroom accommodations can include:
Preferred seating. Arrange for the child to have seating that will make it as easy as possible for him to tune into what the teacher is saying. That usually means the front of the classroom, to minimize interference with the teacher’s voice, and get the most access to the teacher’s visual cues.
Using visual cues. Ask your child’s teacher to use visuals in instruction, and be sure your child is looking when giving directions or convey other important information.
Emphasize key words. Teachers and parents can help kids with auditory processing weakness by using intonation and slower speech to emphasize what is important.
Give kids a heads up when something important is coming. Use catchphrases to give kids a signal that you’re about to say something they need to pay attention to. It could be something as simple as, Are you ready? or Listen closely, please.
Help with sequencing. Use words that trigger or help a child to sequence events. Words like first, second, then, last help kids follow sequences, and teaching them to use these transition words in writing or telling a story helps them to organize their thoughts and their language.
Assistive technology. For kids who need extra help following the teacher’s voice in a noisy classroom, there is technology that can help. The student wears headphones that reduce background noise, and the teacher wears a microphone wirelessly connected to his headset.
Additional interventions:
The most common kind of professional help for kids with these difficulties is speech-language therapy, in which kids get explicit training to improve their skills at distinguishing sounds, remembering sounds, and sequencing sounds. When a child doesn’t automatically pick up on the skills for taking in language, the goal is to provide instruction that’s more frequent, more systematic, and more rigorous.
When kids who get intervention show improvement, it’s difficult to know whether it’s the result of the therapy or the child’s auditory pathways maturing over time. But waiting to see if a child’s problems will go away over time can leave kids feeling frustrated and suffering from impairments. That can take a toll on their emotional and social development, as well as their learning.
Educational therapists help kids who are struggling with learning to develop strategies to manage frustration, build on their strengths, and compensate for their weaknesses. They look for ways to bolster a child’s specific weaknesses—for instance, using multi-sensory learning for a child with an auditory processing condition who is struggling with reading. And they work on bolstering the confidence of kids who are discouraged because learning seems harder for them than other kids.
There are several “brain training” computer programs designed to build skills in identifying sounds and remembering auditory information, including FastForWard and Earobics.
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Tough lessons to learn from Hiroshima and Nagasaki: just war, nuclear disarmament
Ruins of Nagasaki, shortly after the Aug. 9, 1945 atomic bombing of the city the United States. Public Domain, via National Archives and Records Administration.
.- The 70th anniversary of the US atomic strikes on Japan has prompted reflection, commemoration, and debate about the ethics of war and the world’s nuclear arsenal.
“There’s no winning in nuclear war,” Maryann Cusimano Love, an international relations professor at the Catholic University of America, told CNA. Hiroshima and Nagasaki teach “how horrific nuclear war is.”
“Many folks are not aware of how many nuclear weapons remain with us today and how dangerous these arsenals are,” she continued. “That is why the Catholic Church has continued to argue that we have to get rid of nuclear weapons, that the presence of these weapons is very dangerous for human life and very destabilizing.”
The attacks took a heavy toll on all of Japan’s population, but Nagasaki was a historic center of Catholicism since European missionaries such as St. Francis Xavier arrived in the 16th century. After Japan’s rulers closed the country, in part due to fears of foreign domination, Japanese Catholics survived centuries of persecution before their freedom of religion was secured again in the 19th century.
“Catholics were actually worshipping in Nagasaki, in the cathedral, at the time the atomic weapon was dropped. All of the people in the cathedral were instantly killed,” Love said.
The England-born Father Peter Milward, S.J., an emeritus professor of English literature at Sophia University in Tokyo, told CNA the atomic bomb strike on Nagasaki meant that “some 10 percent of Japan’s Catholics were suddenly wiped out.”
Many Americans credit the atomic strikes with ending the Second World War that began for the United States with Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. But Love said this interpretation is something that Americans should question.
Analysis of historical documents shows that Japanese leaders made no specific response to the atomic strikes, which were not much worse than the “horrific” firebombings that other cities such as Tokyo had endured. Many U.S. military and political leaders after the war also said the atomic strikes did not hasten the end of the war, Love said.
The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan on Aug. 9 was what prompted Japan’s surrender, she said. This fact faded from view during the Cold War, when U.S.-Soviet relations grew tense.
Love said that the atomic weapons’ use drew condemnation from the bishops of the time.
In August 1945 the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, called the Hiroshima attack “a catastrophic conclusion … to the war’s apocalyptic surprises.” The discovery of the weapon cast “a sinister shadow” on the future of humanity.
“The Catholic Church was one of the very few voices at the time that criticized the atomic bombings,” Love continued. The Pope and the Vatican rejected the bombing, as did the bishops of the United States.
“Nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutually assured destruction,” he said, “cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity and peaceful coexistence among peoples and states.”
Love said the use of nuclear weapons violates just war ethics.
“You have to always protect the most vulnerable members of society,” she continued. While soldiers are trained for war and have the tools and backup to protect them, this is not true of civilians.
Just war ethics require “discrimination and proportion in use of force.” This includes a ban on weapons “that do not discriminate between combatants and civilians.”
“There are some types of weapons that can never meet just war criteria. That’s why we call them weapons of mass destruction,” Love said.
Love said nuclear arsenals still pose “tremendous risks,” and not only in a nuclear war. Many people have been harmed in the manufacture of nuclear weapons and by atomic tests. There is a risk of accidental detonation or theft by terrorists, with 100 thefts of nuclear materials every year.
Father Milward reflected that he saw a difference in the “contrasting memory” between Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“The bombing of Hiroshima was a deliberate target of the American bomb, and the people there are less willing to ‘forget and forgive’,” he said. Nagasaki was an “almost accidental” secondary target chosen due to weather conditions.
“Perhaps it is for this reason that the people of Nagasaki, under the influence of Catholicism, are more ready to forgive, if not to forget, than the people of Hiroshima,” said Father Milward, 89, who has been in Japan since 1954.
Love said the Church in Japan, because of its experience, has become “a real moral witness for why this must never be forgotten, and how the world needs to move towards deeper levels of nuclear disarmament.”
In response, he felt called to go to a particular part of the rubble and dig down. There, he discovered the damaged head of a tall statue of the Virgin Mary—the statue before which he had prayed for discernment in his vocation. Its face was intact.
“It’s a very haunting image of both the destruction of this cathedral of Nagasaki but it’s also kind of a symbol of how God endures and how faith endures through the intervention of the Virgin Mary, even in time of great suffering.”
Tags: World War II, Atomic bomb |
No Longer Rocket Science: Helping Consumers Understand Genetic Info
A decade ago, biologist Ting Wu saw a need to promote education and interest in genetics among consumers, as well as to help scientists understand how the public views their research. Today, the initiative that resulted helps teachers and students, scientists, Congress, and even Hollywood writers and producers understand and spread the message that genetics is important and accessible. Recently, the Personal Genetics Education Project—known as pgEd—expanded its reach through an effort called Map-Ed that lets people take short genetics quizzes and locate themselves on a world map. Techonomy talked to Wu, pgEd director and a Harvard professor, about the public’s growing interest in genetics, challenges that arise when people are reluctant to let their information be used in research, and one unusual road trip she took with her husband George Church at the start of the Personal Genome Project.
When you started pgEd nearly a decade ago, genome sequencing wasn’t well known by consumers and demand for such data was low. What did you see back then that prompted this project?
Way back, in the 1980s at least, [George and I] talked a lot about the impact of broadly available genetic information in the general public and all the social, legal, ethical issues that would come with it. How would people respond? How would they view this new information in terms of their health?
When people started to volunteer for the Personal Genome Project, many were not scientists. They were members of the general public, and I thought we should talk to them. So George and I decided to make our family summer trip [a drive around the country] to go visit the volunteers. That was the beginning of the idea that we need to be much more actively involved in hearing the general public and at the same time letting them become aware of what is happening in genetics. The speed with which genetic technology has changed the landscape is really stunning. The more I thought about this, the more I realized the gap was ever widening between what needed to be heard and conveyed and what was being heard and conveyed.
At the first Map-Ed competition. Photo via
Have there been changes in what you’ve heard from the public since starting out?
Times are very different. In 2006 there was more a sense of rocket science, amazement. Today it’s more, “What can it do for me? How can I get my hands on this?” We’ve passed that stage of “Can you really do this?” to “Hey, I’ve heard this happens, can you tell me more?” It’s subtle but very telling.
Are there certain perceptions or misperceptions you encounter regularly as you interact with the public?
Different segments of society have different levels of comfort with genetics. I think those parts of society that are very well off, that haven’t experienced destitution or the fear of having something done to them medically they don’t understand, may give scientists a much more optimistic attitude. [With people] who have experienced going to a hospital and having things done that they don’t understand, or because of their culture or race or background come from a family lineage that has suffered, there’s reticence in jumping into this new era. There are segments of society that are much less willing to become participants in some exploratory genetic project because they are—rightfully so—wary about what’s going to happen with that information. Maybe scientists don’t have as much interaction with that community as we should; we may not hear them as well.
What ramifications could that have for disenfranchised communities?
The part that is concerning is that there is genetic information coming out that is specific for certain ethnic groups [which] may inform how they want to lead their lives. But that requires that those individuals be willing to hear about this information and participate in studies so that their ethnic group can be better understood. Those ethnic groups that hold back and do not want to participate, for perfectly understandable reasons, will have less of a chance of benefiting medically.
What have you learned about scientists and their interest in working with the public?
As scientists, we really need to know how people view what we do to understand what else we should be working on and what things we might have missed when we were designing our experiments. Scientists are much more cognizant of their responsibility to interact and communicate and ingest what the consumer has to say about what they’re doing. Geneticists in particular are much more willing to acknowledge that they have a responsibility to their society.
In addition to the lesson plans you provide to teachers, you go to a lot of classrooms for pgEd programs. What kind of response do you encounter with students about genetics?
Our goal is not to teach them about DNA. Our top goal is to convey a sense of confidence that genetics is accessible to anybody; that their opinions, even if they’re not a scientist, matter and are valid. We hope that a sense of confidence and a sense of respect for oneself and others leads people to feel comfortable asking questions and learning more.
Once we break through that barrier, we have fantastic conversations that range from “Tell me more about this technology, can you really clone people?” to learning about the genotype of unborn fetuses and whether one should know. We hear about students who don’t know who their parents are and want to know about their own genetic makeup. Classroom conversations are really eye-opening for all of us at pgEd.
But you’re not just about students. How did pgEd get involved with educating Congress about genetics?
I had talked to some people about whether our political leadership would be interested in having genetic information be part of their discussion with their constituencies, and had been told that talking about genetics is not often viewed as a smart thing to do. We thought that was interesting, because the general public is so interested in genetics. Louise Slaughter made it possible for us to hold a congressional briefing. We had been told that if you brought in 26 staffers, it was successful; 70 people came. Lo and behold, they invited us to come back and do four more briefings.
pgEd also works with writers and producers for Hollywood shows, such as "Grey’s Anatomy," "Elementary," and "The Following." Why?
Their reach is tremendous. When we do a teacher training, maybe we reach 30 to 60 teachers over three days. But a movie can reach tens of millions of people, sometimes in a single hour, and deliver a message crisply and cleanly. Writers and producers have tremendous capacity to shape the way people think about themselves and society. We’re very impressed by how much they want to get everything right.
How is pgEd funded?
We have to bring in some funding. Our early days were supported by discretionary funds from my laboratory, and today we also receive support from the chair of our department. We have applied to private foundations; hopefully we may be in a position to be noticed by one or two of them. pgEd has had a remarkable year, and feel that if someone invested in us we would be able to do so much more. We’re excited about that possibility.
Original article published at
Meredith Salisbury is a Techonomy contributor and a senior consultant for the life science communications firm Bioscribe. She has covered the genomics field as a journal...
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Conditional Perfect
Spanish conditional perfectCondicional perfecto
To talk about something that would, could, or should have happened—but didn’t—you need the conditional perfect, also known as the past conditional.
The conditional perfect is commonly used in si clauses: the conditional perfect explains what would or would not have happened, an action that was dependent upon something else happening or not happening (which is indicated by the pluperfect subjunctive).
Por ejemplo…
Si hubiera sabido la hora de tu vuelo, te habría encontrado al aeropuerto. If I had known your flight time, I would have found you at the airport.
¿Habrías comprado el libro si te hubiera dicho? Would you have bought the book if I had told you?
As you can see, both of these theoretical actions are in the past, and neither one occurred. I didn’t know your flight time, so didn’t find you at the airport, and since I didn’t tell you, you didn’t buy the book.
The conditional perfect can also be used without a dependent action, such as to express regret or to criticize.
Por ejemplo…
Habría comprado el café pero no tenía tiempo. I would have bought coffee but I didn’t have time.
¿Qué habrías hecho, en mi lugar? What would you have done, in my position / shoes?
In all of the above, the conditional perfect is used the same way in French and English.
But there’s one construction in which the condicional perfecto is used only in Spanish: to report a probability or guess.
Por ejemplo…
Lucas habría comido antes de salir. Lucas had probably already eaten.
Habrían sido las dos cuando llegamos. It must have been 2 o’clock when we arrived.
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Sailing to Byzantium: Part I: the life and mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
Spivam, jak hroznu Svatopluk na Karolmana ved'el Vojnu; i jak vit'az, seba aj svoj od jeho vladi Oslobodiv narod, nepodl'ehli stal sa panovnik; A zmuzilich velke zalozil kralovstvo Slovakov.
I sing how Svatopluk fought a terrible against Carolman War; and as a victor, himself and his own from his rule Liberating nation, became a free sovereign; And founded a great kingdom of valiant Slovaks.
Every Slovak pupil memorizes these haunting opening lines of the monumental epic written by the great national poet Jan Holly (17851849), a Catholic priest who first wrote in modern Slovak language. It is a long and magnificent poem describing physical battles and spiritual war with the powers of darkness, in which King Svatopluk frees the Slovak nation from the tyranny and arrogance of the Germans and Franks after God Himself finally answers the prayers of Saints Cyril and Methodius and reveals the glorious future of Slovaks.
The 2013 Year of Faith was proclaimed to commemorate the Second Vatican Council. Sadly, a crucial part of Christian faith and history was neglected by the Western Latin world. The focus, ironically, was meant to be on the Nicene Creed; yet the historical circumstances of the origins of Christianity, as well as its "other lung" as Pope John Paul II called the Byzantine or Eastern Rite, did not receive much attention. (1)
Unbeknownst to many Western Christians, the Year of Faith was also significant because the Christian world, and especially the grateful Slavic nations, remembered the coming of the co-patron saints of Europe, Cyril and Methodius, to Great Moravia in the year 863, this being the seminal occasion which defined the faith of many Christian nations east of Rome and Prague.
What both these events 1100 years apart have in common is not only the strengthening of faith of both Western and Eastern Christianity, but also the significantly redefined and enlarged propagation of faith and culture eventually leading to the birth of humanism. The Western Renaissance was strongly influenced by the Byzantine scholars who revealed to the half-awakened Latins the ancient Greek treasures hidden in the Byzantine libraries. The holy Mass or liturgy which the saints brought to the Slavs became the source of a deep conflict, and later one of the crucial points of Reformation that finally got attention at the Second Vatican Council.
The great scholar and historian T. G. Masaryk, the father of Czechoslovakia, concluded that the aim of the history of every nation is the realization of its ideal of humanity, and it is precisely how the history of the Slavs and their neighbours unfolded. In a way, this has been the quintessential conflict which defined the central history of mankind. It was Duke Rastislav's wish, his legacy for posterity, that other nations imitate the humble Christian faith of the Slavs.
The Byzantine apostles brought not only language, culture, and religion to the backward pagans, but their mission was instrumental in defining the existence of practically all Slavic nations. Moravians, Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, Croats, Serbs, Bulgarians, Russians--all benefited greatly from this momentous event. Other nations, such as Hungarians, Romanians, Slovenes, and the Baltic nations, also profited directly or indirectly. Ukrainians, the foremost Slavic carrier of the original Byzantine culture until today, have benefitted the most, since the Ukrainian language, script, culture, and liturgy have all retained a close tie to the original Byzantine spirit and religion.
For most of their history (at least a millennium), the culture and art of the Slavs was intimately and exclusively associated with religion and faith, and much of the modern Slavic art is still of the Eastern religious nature. The separation of church and state is a modern concept but even here the saints' Byzantine legacy still challenges the artificial social constructs of modern enlightenment. Both humanism and democracy are Greek in origin and the Slavs, especially the Bohemians, became the foremost champions of democracy and humanism, demanding a meaningful and long overdue reform in the Church. (2)
Finally, after centuries of struggles and doubts, the coming of the Byzantine saints to the West and their visit to Rome legitimized for all times the papal supremacy which was repeatedly challenged both in the East and in the West.
When one of the best poets in the English language, Irish-born William Butler Yeats, published his 1928 poem Sailing to Byzantium, he prefigured the sentiment that was born at the Second Vatican Council. By his own admission, this mystical poem, the apex of Yeats' poetry and thought, was meant to describe the spiritual and intellectual journey of his soul. But in a larger sense the poem beautifully illustrates the conflict and the history that existed between the Western and Eastern worlds since the very beginnings of Christianity, and all the neglect that Byzantium has been subjected to by the jealous and proud Latin West. What is even more important, the poem shows the way towards solving the conflict, as it ends on an optimistic note, prophesying what is to come:
That is no country for old men.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall,
Come from the holy fire, perne in a gyre,
And be the singing-masters of my soul.
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enameling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
The dual history of the Church with its Greek and Roman roots originated in the fateful decision of Emperor Constantine to move the capital of the Roman empire to Constantinople. Repeatedly plundered by Goths, ruined and depopulated, Italy was a pitiful sight caught in a "falling world" as Pope Pelagius described it. The reconquest of Raly by Flavius
Belisarius subjugated Rome to the Byzantines, and the monumental effort of Pope St. Gregory the Great, who spent seven years in Constantinople begging for help, started a long campaign to rebuild the West and to restore the prestige of Rome and the papacy. A proud Latin Roman who despised the barbaric Lombards (Langobards), a Scandinavian tribe which was pushed out of the Elbe (Labe) river region into norther Italy by the advancing Slavs, Gregory also refused to speak Greek and, disillusioned with Byzantine politics, he launched a new course for Western Europe which culminated in the subjugation of the Lombards by the Franks of Charlemagne.
The new Christian world became highly polarized. The Filioque, a Spanish theological innovation added to the Nicene Creed, became a preeminent issue. It was fiercely criticized by the Byzantines, who saw in it not only an imprecise Latin formulation of crucial dogma, but also an attempt by Charlemagne to gain a dominant political position over the "heretical" East. But despite such rivalry and misunderstanding, after centuries of separation, a strange balance or symbiosis developed between Rome and Constantinople.
Christianity made sporadic inroads into the pagan territory in Central Europe following the campaign of Marcus Aurelius, as far as central Slovakia (river Hron and Leugaricio or Trencin), where his famous meditations were written. But it wasn't until after Constantine's edict of Milan in 313 allowed the unrestricted freedom of Christian worship that an obscure bishopric was officially established in Syrmium (Sirmium) in what is today Serbia, bordering the scarcely inhabited Pannonian wilderness, as the Romans called it. The Greeks contemptuously called Illyricum "llyris Barbara," but Naissus (Nis) was the birthplace of Constantine, and it was partly the patriotism of Constantine and his mother Helena, as well as Constantine's grand vision of the world, which compelled him to move the capital of the New Rome to Byzantium, and to elevate Illyricum into one of the four prefectures of the Roman empire. Syrmium, the legendary bishopric seat of St. Andronicus, the relative and fellow-prisoner of St. Paul (Rom 16:7), who with St. Junia had initiated the conversion of the Pannonian pagans, thus became the administrative and religious centre of Illyricum.
The Slavs who migrated into Central Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries were the typical pagans of their time practising shamanism, witchcraft, polytheism, devil-worship, slavery, abortion, infanticide, polygamy, and sharing of women. Their apparent peacefulness and hospitality were later invoked as the origin of democracy and socialism by the Slavophiles, but this was criticized as nonsense by T. G. Masaryk. What the Byzantine accounts described was rather anarchy and the lack of any order, and the tribal collectivism of the non-militant proto-Slavs was a natural necessity due to the lack of any advanced ideas about science, art, property, politics, and warfare. Yet the fertile Slavs, with their eagerness and ability to learn and adapt, gradually overtook their pagan masters (Avars, Bulgars, and the Viking Rus), learned the art of war and became a real threat to both the Eastern and Western empires as they pushed westward and southward into more hospitable, warmer climates.
By 863, Charlemagne's empire was quickly disintegrating into a crude feudal system and the religious and political confrontation with the Byzantine empire and with Rome ended. Several popes tried their best to consolidate the fracturing Frankish empire on which the Latin church relied for its very survival, but the papacy was losing all its credibility. Pope after pope begged the German (East Frank) kings and emperors to restore order in Lombard, Italy and to protect the Church. The local tyrants, kings, and emperors fought each other since Lewis the German (Louis, Ludwig) wrested control of the lands beyond the Rhine from his father Lewis the Pious. Charles the Bald, who took the advice of evil men, also broke peace with his brothers, invaded the territories of his brother Emperor Lothar when he became ill, and crowned himself Augustus, while starving his own French and Spanish kingdoms. It was an era of brutal military campaigns against the barbaric Saxons, Vikings, and the rebellious Slavs who were threatening the stability of the fledgling Western Christianity? In this tumultuous situation two apostles came to the Slavs from the East, like two magi, bringing their revolutionary ideas of Christianity and of the brotherly love among Christian nations for the greater glory of God, long prefiguring Jesuit missions.
Saints Cyril and Methodius were Greek brothers from a noble Thessaloniki family in Macedonia. Not much is known about their mother, and some Slavophiles speculate that she may have been a Slav. Their father Leo was a high-ranking officer who likely died during the military campaign against the Peloponnesian Slavs in 841.
Methodius (c. 815-85) was a strong lad who would have received military training, and he might have been involved in a campaign against the Slavs. He may have studied law, because he was appointed an administrator of a Slavic province in the Balkans. Not much is known with certainty about his early life; he may have been married and had children, but he resigned his post and entered a monastery after some traumatic experience.
Constantine (827-69), known as Cyril only after becoming a monk before his death in Rome, was the youngest and the most gifted of the seven legendary siblings. After their father died, Constantine was brought to Constantinople and taken under the tutelage of Grand Logothete or the Prime Minister Theoctistus, who effectively ruled the empire. (4) Constantine became a brilliant scholar who mastered sciences and languages. Theoctistus was so impressed that he offered his own god-daughter to Constantine with the intention of making him a high ranking official. But seeking a spiritual path, Constantine refused. As the most talented pupil at the Byzantine imperial school he was appointed the chancellor to Patriarch Ignatius. It isn't clear when Constantine was ordained, but it was most likely in Constantinople, perhaps just prior to his Slavic mission.
Constantine didn't like the administrative job, and imitating his favorite saint, the intellectual contemplative and poet Gregory of Nazianzus, he too ran away to a monastery. In 850 Constantine was called back by Theoctistus and appointed professor of philosophy at the university where he succeeded his famous teacher Photius, receiving the title Philosophos, the most prestigious intellectual post in the Empire at the university founded by Constantine the Great. In 851, at the age of twenty-four, Constantine was sent on a peace mission to Baghdad to Caliph Al-Mutawakkil. Peace missions were deemed necessary, an honour, and the Byzantines always chose their best.
These were troubled and complex times also in the Byzantine empire. Armenian Paulicians, the militant gnostic-manichean heretics, were threatening the empire. Empress Theodora, who with Theoctistus' help in 842 ended iconoclasm, dividing the empire internally, and who mercilessly fought the Paulicians, was the regent of her young son Emperor Michael III (840-867). But her brother Bardas' ambition was also to rule. Theoctistus was murdered in 856. Patriarch Ignatius accused Bardas of incest and refused him Holy Communion. Ignatius was forced to resign and a compromise candidate, layman Photius became the Patriarch of Constantinople. But Theodora, supported by Ignatius and the clergy, staged noisy demonstrations. The senate ended Theodora's regency and she was forced to retire into a monastery. The usurper Bardas managed to consolidate his power by overtaking the regency and, representing the teenage drunkard Emperor Michael, Bardas declared himself Caesar, effectively ruling for ten years until 866 when he was murdered by Michael and his peasant friend Basil, a wrestler, who a year later also murdered Michael and became Emperor Basil I, founding a new dynasty in 867.
The intellectuals, including the brilliant Photius and his student Constantine the Philosopher, were often used like pawns by the emperors in their power struggle. Patriarch Ignatius was deposed and Photius became the tool of Bardas and Michael. Pope Nicholas I, to whom Ignatius appealed, excommunicated Photius, and when Bardas and Michael denounced the decision, they received a harsh reply. Pope Nicholas became a supreme judge who had to calm and balance the highly explosive situation that developed. The papacy was caught between the political ambitions of the Eastern and Western rulers, as well as the Eastern Patriarchs and Western archbishops like Hincmar of Rheims, who had their own ideas about secular and ecclesiastical authority.
But it was amazing that all these influential Byzantine power players, including Bardas and the peasant Emperor Basil I, were considered good rulers and administrators, supporters of education, arts, military, and of the good government administration, which undoubtedly stabilized the course of the empire regardless of the family feuds, intrigue, and excommunications. Despite their personal ambitions, the Byzantines shared a common goal: the prosperity of the empire and the salvation of mankind, and ultimately they all supported the Church, including peace missions to the pagans. This was a crucial difference compared to the descendants of Charlemagne, whose crude lawlessness, feuds, treachery and forgeries were destructive, often disregarding the Church's and their own subjects' welfare, misusing the popes and the Church as pawns in their own power struggles. Above all, Charlemagne's sons, the Frank kings of the divided Western empire, did not have a common purpose and the equivalent of the Byzantine law or skilled government administration, and it was not surprising that in such a climate the Western bishops had to exercise their own military power to defend their property and subjects.
Another more dangerous mission was required in 860 to the partly Judaized and Islamicized pagans of the Khazar Crimea. Brothers Constantine and Methodius were chosen by Bardas. They managed to slow down the radicalization of the region, secured peace, and converted many Khazars to Christianity, making them Byzantine allies at the northern borders against the Asiatic invaders. The brothers also found the remains of St. Clement, the fourth bishop of Rome, and these relics, signifying the supremacy of the Roman pontiff, played an important role in their next Slavic mission.
At about the same time the Moravian dux Rastislav, (5) already a Christian, approached the pope of Rome requesting missionaries, but Nicholas I did not respond. Thus in 862 a humble and telling request from Rastislav came to emperor Michael, who with the help of General Petronas, his other uncle, managed to end his regency and consolidated his own power alongside of Bardas:
"Our people has renounced paganism and is observing the Christian law, but we do not have a teacher to explain to us the true Christian Faith in our language in order that other nations even, seeing this, may imitate us. Send us therefore, Master, such a bishop and teacher, because from you emanates always, to all sides, the good law" (Life of Constantine).
Bavaria and Austria were originally Christianized by the Latin and Irish missionaries whom Charlemagne invited to his newly acquired European lands. St. Columbanus, the greatest scholar of the Dark Ages, laid the foundations, and after St. Columbanus converted the Picts, many Irish and Scottish missionaries followed in the footsteps of St. Boniface and St. Gall, establishing missions and monasteries all over the Central Europe. With time their churches and graves in Moravia were reduced to ruins and disappeared, but Moravian artifacts show not only Byzantine but also Irish influences. Until this day the Moravians and Slovaks are grateful to these zealous monks who left their native land and brought their Irish crosses of salvation with them.
The Latin-speaking Irish missionaries brought Christianity to Slavs or Slovieni, but the curious, word-loving and talkative Slavs, whose very name is likely derived from the word "Slovo" ("Word" or "Speaking"), were missing the essence of their new Faith which still had to compete for many centuries with pagan superstition and customs. Besides, the Slav rulers and nobles quickly learned that the Frank and German law, a primitive, unsystematic jumble of various tribal systems, a mind-boggling collection of ad-hoc temporary and permanent commands and regulations, was simply no match for the solid Byzantine Roman law. Charlemagne desperately tried to impose some lays but he succeeded only in the most basic economic, sphered regulating trade and usury. Needless to say, Charlemagne rough, lawless and disunited descendants made no attempts to bring about the much needed unified legal reform which would have stabilized Western Europe.
The first known Slavic Christian church was built in 828 by the pagan dux Pribina in Nitra, Slovakia, perhaps by the monks, and mainly for his Frank Christian wife and merchants. It was consecrated by the Salzburg Archbishop Adalram. Moravian Dux Mojmir (Moimir) also became Christian and the forced mass baptism of Moravians by the Bavarian bishop Reginhar of Passau followed in 831.
Although Svatopluk is today hailed as the legendary ruler of the Great Moravia, it was his uncle Rastislav who had the vision to lay the foundation of the first great state of the Slavs. (5) Being a hostage of King Ludwig the German, and later installed as the Dux of Moravians after his uncle Mojmir rebelled, Rastislav knew first-hand the harshness and the treachery of Frank politics, the fickleness of the German tribal law, and the problems in the early German church with its Eigenkirchen or "proprietary churches" which were later 'reformed' into even more troubling Reichskirche or the German "state church"
This is called the Iron Age in Church history. In the newly emerged feudal system of the proprietary churches the German bishops were the masters of their own estates, financing and building their own churches and monasteries, and this system of propagation of Christianity, which the popes were desperately trying to reform, was responsible for many abuses including simony. French Archbishop Hincmar challenged the authority of the pope to anoint kings, and ruling over his powerful bishops, he tried to make himself a local pope, or a kind of independent patriarch. As knights and military leaders, these bishops also led the armies against the heathens, killing, pillaging, and taking captives as slaves.
The brutal Frank and German nobility and their bishops mixed religion with politics and war, broke and made the Church canons, and jockeyed for the positions of power and prestige. Christianization of the Slavic vassal tribes became not so much a mission of zeal and love for the backward pagans, but rather the necessary stabilization of the frontiers with political and economic aim in mind. The animosity against the Slavs carried until the modern times and found expression in Prussian Pangermanism a millennium later, resulting in Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia.
In Constantinople, despite Constantine's protests, (6) the brothers were again chosen to lead the Moravian mission, and they started by translating the perikopes or Sunday readings from the Holy Scriptures, which are considered the first Slavic literary work The hagiography attributes Constantine's instant invention of the Slavic script to the miraculous enlightenment from God, although Constantine's philological brilliance, some of which he likely learned from the Syrian Islamic scholars in Baghdad, certainly played an important part. The Byzantines did not impose an official liturgical language in their empire and Constantine constructed a new script, called the Glagolitic, or "The Spoken Word," into which he translated the Scriptures and the liturgy?
(1.) John Paul II declared in his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint (That They May Be One) that the "Church must breathe with her two lungs!" signifying the unity of the Western Latin and Eastern Byzantine Christianity and culture. One of the first acts of the Polish pope was to declare Saints Cyril and Methodius the co-patron saints Europe in 1980. Reflecting on the 1880 encyclical Grande Munus of pope Leo XIII, which celebrated the 1000-year anniversary of the saints coming to Great Moravia, the 1985 encyclical Slavorum Apostoli again recapitulated the long history of the saints, starting with the letter of Pope John VIII Industriae Tuae written in 880 to the Moravian Duke Svatopluk by which the papacy first formally approved the use of the vernacular in liturgy.
(2.) The Polish pope was influential at the Second Vatican Council. Another Slav, the Czech born Cardinal Josef Beran, the former Primate and Archbishop of Prague who was imprisoned by the Communist regime in 1949 and eventually exiled to Rome where he died and is buried, was also one of the important moving spirits of the Council in the areas of ecumenism, human dignity, and the freedom of choice in matters of religion, reflecting on the legacy of the Czech Reformation which preceded Luther's German Reformation. Following the conclusions of T. G. Masaryk, Cardinal Beran asked the Council to officially rehabilitate the reformer John Hus. The cardinal also founded in Rome the Czech cultural organization Velehrad.
(3.) Warfare in the Dark Ages was cruel enough, but Charlemagne instituted extra cruel policies and massacres because ordinary punitive measures did not work against the fanatical and fatalistic Saxons and Vikings. Franks and Germans made sure that all the frontier tribes which did not want to submit, including Slavs, or those who later rebelled were repeatedly invaded and plundered by "fire and sword" until their leaders submitted and agreed to enforce Christianization upon their rebellious peoples, often upon death penalty, causing long lasting animosity for centuries after these tribes were Christianized. The meeker Slavs responded much better to the peaceful and educational Byzantine Christianization.
(4.) In the sophisticated government structure of the Byzantines there were four Logothetes, or supra-ministers. At the very top, the most senior government official was Logothetes tou Droumou or the Grand Logothete, in charge of home and foreign affairs, communications, intelligence, diplomacy, and acting like the Prime Minister. Eunuch Theoctistus helped Theophilos' father Michael II to become emperor and thus he became the confidant of Emperor Theophilos and later Empress Theodora, and her main ally against her brother Bardas. Theodora was an Armenian beauty whom young Theophilos chose for his wife in an imperial bride show organized by his mother. It was Theoctistus who effectively ruled Byzantium, ending iconclasm, fighting the Slavs and heretical Paulicians, and organizing diplomatic missions.
(5.) The title "duke" is often used when referring to these pagan kings and princes, or rather chieftains and clan leaders, but the original Latin title dux, plural duces, is more fitting. It was the title of the pagan vassal ruler who swore allegiance to the king or emperor and agreed to pay monetary tribute and homage to his ruler. All Slavic leaders of the period swore allegiance to their masters, indicating their original submission. All Slavs eventually somehow managed to overtake their pagan masters, Avars, Bulgars, and Viking Rus, and the fact is still puzzling historians. However, Rastislav likely saw that such Slavic policy was ineffective with Franks and Germans.
(6.) In the Western Latin chronicles Rastislav was known as Rastiz, or as Rastic in the chronicle of the Italian monastery of Cividale, which Rastislav may have visited. Rastislav was installed as the Dux of Moravia in 846, but later refused to pay his tribute to King Ludwig the German, who in 855 attacked Moravia. Using the ancient fortess Devin or Dovina, Rastislav successfully defended his Slavic realm and in 858 made a pact with Ludwig's son Carolman. Rastislav also attacked Ludwig's ally Pribina and later instituted his nephew Svatopluk as the ruler of the eastern Moravia or Nitrava, asking Pope Nicholas I to send missionaries, since the German priests, acting as German agents or spies, could not be trusted. However, in 862 Carolman had a change of heart and betrayed Rastislav, rejoing his father Ludwig.
(7.) The hagiography of Constantine describes how Emperor Michael and Bardas summoned the Philosopher, their wisest man in their empire, and asked him to lead the mission. Sick and tired as he admitted he was, Constantine agreed, providing there were a written Slavic language, to which the emperor replied that two of his predecessors (presumably emperors Theophilos and Michael II) were trying to find a script for the Slavs, but both failed. Constantine wisely replied: "Who can write a language on water and acquire for himself a heretic's name?"--indicating the intimate knowledge of the situation in Europe and of the problems he would later encounter during the mission.
(8.) There is still a controversy surrounding the origin of Cyrillic and Glagolitic, which was the alphabet invented by Constantine. Compared to the Latin or Greek alphabet, it had 38 letters, 24 from the Greek alphabet, 4 Hebrew letters, and 10 unique letters expressing unique Slavic sounds not found anywhere else. (Additional sounds were expressed by digraphs, doubling the letters, even trigraphs, for example SS which later became the S.) This indicates the richness of the spoken Slavonic still found in modern Slavic languages. Glagolitic or "The Spoken Word" (hlahol or glagol in the Old Slavic meant "to speak") was somewhat similar to the modern Cyrillic script of Russia and Bulgaria. It may have been partly based on the Byzantine work Cryptographia. However, Constantine's alphabet was a new revolutionary discovery perfectly suited to the Slavic spoken words, while the modern Cyrillic is just a mere adaptation of Greek letters. The Glagolitic alphabet matched most of the sounds of the Old Slavonic language, thus preserving the original rich character of the Slavic language. Linguistically, or philosophically, it may have been due to the richness of the Slavic, compared to other more primitive pagan languages, that the Slavs managed to outwit their masters and take over political control initially instituted by Avars, Bulgars, and the Viking Rus. During the Hussite times the Glagolitic was transcribed into Latin alphabet of the modern Czech with diacritics which replaced digraphs and trigraphs, by letters such as A A E E I O O U Y U Y C D L L N R R S T Z
Peter Hala was born and educated in Czechoslovakia. In 1980 his family managed to escape the communist regime and came to Canada. He works at the University of Alberta in computing, automation, and control systems. His interests and hobbies include history, philosophy, mathematics, literature, music, and various outdoor pursuits.
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Water markets come to town
East Palo Alto shares the Tuolumne River with over 20 municipalities (Credit: Pixy2000-Dreamstime.com)
Why city utilities are turning to new ‘tools of the trade’ to secure future flows
By James Workman
In June 2016, the northern California city of East Palo Alto (E.P.A.) faced a desperate situation, one it shares with an estimated half of all urban areas worldwide. It needed more water. Fast.
Long an economic laggard, bypassed during the dotcom boom of 2000, East Palo Alto’s ethnically diverse population of 30,000 had subsequently gained new life with the arrival of Facebook and other Silicon Valley powerhouses, with new schools, affordable housing, and high profile projects in the works. Then, suddenly, growth ground to a halt. In July 2016 the city had to prohibit “new or expanded water connections” as E.P.A. simply couldn’t guarantee access to supplies.
Worse, formerly reliable sources had begun, literally, to dry up. Old dams were leaking, in some cases failing. Even if repaired, climate change meant reduced snowpack and tapering runoff left even less surface supply that could be stored. The state had just passed a strict groundwater law that put a restrictive ceiling on well pumping, environmentalists had campaigned aggressively against desalination plants, and energy expenses were making treatment prohibitively costly.
Increasingly dry, and financially strapped as a result, East Palo Alto needed a radical solution and in May 2017, it signed a ground-breaking deal to buy the water it needed from the neighbouring city of Mountain View.
A second deal with Palo Alto signed earlier this year has also transferred urban water rights to E.P.A, and for cities sharing East Palo Alto’s predicament, trading with other municipalities may offer a new way to relieve a damaging water shortage.
Historical markets
Trading water as a concept is hardly new. Water markets have emerged over time and around the world to shape the local economies of traditional cultures. Customary exchanges anchored Arabian aflaj, Persian qanat, Balinese sobek, or Moroccan khettara. Arid regions from Australia to Chile to Arizona allowed farmers to engage in handshake transactions among upstream/downstream irrigators. And the unserved millions in the slums around megacities have spontaneously brought trucks and tankers to trade water in the shadows of back alleys.
But trading between cities is certainly novel and even with the traditional reference points mentioned above, water markets have long struggled to enjoy formal, institutional legitimacy. One indication that the novel approach remains on the periphery: water market trading lacks its own IWA specialist group. Global brokers flourish on global grain and livestock commerce, blind to the reservoirs of virtual water it took to produce each commodity. Everyone knows the market price of bread bought and sold each day, but none the value of water embedded within each loaf.
Among resources, water alone is not bought and sold outside customary, rural or grey markets. Why that should be so is a vexing question that dates back centuries.
In the 18th century, Adam Smith’s economic masterpiece An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations celebrated how our unique human propensity to “truck, barter and exchange” is universal–with one notable exception. Smith was baffled at what became known as “the paradox of water”: why useless diamonds were so priceless, while life-giving water itself had “no value in exchange.” It took 19th century economists to demonstrate how clean water’s relative availability defused urgency to trade for it. People can and do pay for the convenience of service provision (by natural monopolies), but the ubiquitous nature of water itself was in economic terms “marginally” worthless, negating large gains from establishing a formal market.
By the 21st century, however, the ‘margins’ had shifted.
Today water abundance is the exception, urban scarcity the rule. Cities have not only begun buying up any ‘surplus’ water saved by farmers, some utilities are even testing water savings credit markets to source water from within their service area. In Asia, and the Middle East, thirsty countries are exploring transnational water transactions to fuel urban growth. Regulatory agencies scale up water quality trading, and markets for stormwater runoff.
Amidst this backdrop, as East Palo Alto looked around in search of options, its neighbours and regional governance agencies alike saw an opportunity to unlock an unprecedented kind of market: water trading among co-riparian cities.
East Palo Alto and two dozen other municipalities share the Tuolumne River. Its tributaries, which rise in the distant Sierra Nevada, were controversially dammed in Yosemite National Park, and diverted to distant San Francisco and San Jose. Based on historic usage, East Palo Alto (late to incorporate, slow to develop) was allocated the runt’s share of 2 million gallons per day. Despite relatively low use by low-income communities– residential use of 52 gpcd versus 218 in nearby cities–demand still exceeded supply in many years. Then the water crisis froze new activity.
Initially, East Palo Alto just asked the regional entities for more. While sympathetic, neither the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission nor the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency could augment supply. For starters, there was no new water to be had. Even if there were, breaking precedent would lead most cities in the region to demand that the floodgates be opened too.
Forced into a box, East Palo Alto turned to its two closest neighbours, Mountain View and Palo Alto. Both had been allocated–and forced to pay for– more water from the wholesale agency and regulator than they were currently selling, so it made sense for each to bring what they could save “to market.” Mountain View sold East Palo Alto the permanent rights to 1 million gallons per day for US$5 million, while Palo Alto bundled a half million gallons per day into a larger transaction involving construction and development.
The amount of money involved in the transactions, though far from negligible, cost much less than alternative sources. Secure water access ensured projects could proceed, allowing the city bond holders, and developers a rapid and healthy return on investment.
And while three parties to this local water market did not hold a candle to the thousands of hourly trading activities on, say, the New York Stock Exchange, it was in the realm of urban water, ground-breaking.
“In California, giving up water is pretty much unheard of–especially in the wake of a five year drought,” wrote Tara Lohan in a lengthy report for Water Deeply. Or as Mountain View assistant public works director Gregg Hosfeldt put it: “Nobody sells water– you just don’t do that. If you look historically, there are probably none of these deals to look at.”
Looking back, Lohan and Hosfeldt are entirely correct. Amidst countless cases of cities grabbing water, one finds none of them surrendering it back or passing it on to neighbours. By looking ahead, however, one finds the East Palo Alto precedent has broad support among thought leaders, and an extensive history of rigorous modelling efforts.
What are the benefits?
The University of California has quantified the benefits of a water market in Los Angeles County. Gains from formalised trade in a well-designed exchange would benefit parties in currently isolated systems where some pay US$200 and others pay US$2,000 for the same quantity and quality of water.
Scaling up, Brookings, a nonpartisan Washington DC think-tank, maintains that “serving as a new centralized platform to coordinate action among various water systems, an urban water market would promote several best practices to overcome fragmentation, including establishing new regional plans, encouraging more balanced water rates to end users, and providing new financial incentives to invest in a greater variety of water sources and projects.”
While advocates of urban water trading highlight financial incentives, the stakes transcend monetary gains. Franklin M. Fisher, a renowned economist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has argued that the escalating global phenomenon of water disputes arises when the resource is “considered to be a zero-sum game: one party’s gain (in water) is another’s loss. Such a view of water allocation can lead only to conflict.” By trading water as an economic good, however, cities and regions–especially those in water scarce regions like the Middle East–can optimise water access, defusing conflicts before they arise.
One thorny issue in any market, of course, is the starting point: who receives rights to how much water for use, saving, and trading. An initial allocation based purely on past usage may favour a few entrenched political interests at the expense of future generations. Conversely, an initial allocation based entirely on social equity (with each user receiving the same amount) delivers a windfall to many who are unable to invest in conservation. Open auctions may lead to volatility and speculation. Spatial or random allocations are clunky and thin.
Sorting out these important details of competing interests is no small task, involving compromise, and leads directly to the issue of water market design. It often comes as a surprise to many that markets do not emerge by spontaneous generation. Rather, markets evolve through natural selection, seeking to adapt, build symbiotic relationships, and fit the ecological niches for which humans (the only species that trades) designed them. A market can be as small and simple as two neighbouring irrigators or utilities, or as potentially vast and complex as millions of metered accounts trading usage credits within the contours of a river basin. The larger the scale, the more complicated the market (and the more moving parts with potential to fail). In both cases, the stakeholders clearly define their market’s goals, resource scope, eligible participants, unit metrics to trade, accountability system, and governance of transaction rules.
In short, water markets are neither good nor bad; they are, for better or worse, amoral creations: reflections of the needs and interests of the diverse people who design, build and operate them.
Powerful, and potentially volatile, water markets deserve to be approached with caution. They appear to perform best within a strong regulatory framework, and are never a panacea. Yet after decades of countless symposia and conferences filled with speakers urging the same mantras–to “reveal water’s true value,” or “integrate water resources management,” or “encourage water efficiency on both sides of the meter,” or “build resilience through smart flexible regulation,” or “engage with water users outside our immediate sector”–markets offer water professionals at every level a set of versatile new tools of the trade. |
Types of Discipline in Industrial Relations - Industrial Relations Management
Types of Discipline in an Organization
Discipline is classified as either positive or negative. Characteristics are as follows
1. Positive discipline
1. It implies a sense of duty to observe the rules regulations and is also called self discipline.
2. It involves creation of a favourable atmosphere in the organization where by employees willingly conform to the established rules and regulations.
3. Positive discipline can be achieved through rewards and effective leadership.
4. It is more effective than negative discipline.
5. Positive discipline promotes cooperation and coordination with a minimum of formal organization and reduces the need for personal supervision required to maintain standards
6. According to Spiegel, "positive discipline does not replace reason but applies reason to the achievement of a common objective. Positive discipline does not restrict the individual but enables him to have a greater freedom in that he enjoys a greater degree of self-expression in striving to achieve the objective, which he identifies as his own."
2. Negative discipline
3. It is also known as punitive or corrective discipline involves imposition of penalties or punishment to force workers to obey rules and regulations objective is to ensure that employees do not violate the rules and regulations. Negative disciplinary action involves such techniques as fines reprimand, demotion, layoff, transfer etc.
Negative discipline does not eliminate undesirable behaviour, it merely oppresses it. It requires regular monitoring causing wastage of time. Punishment also causes resentment and hostility. While exercising negative discipline, management should proceed in a sequential manner viz. an oral reprimand, a written reprimand ,a warning, temporary suspension and dismissal or discharge.
Alternatives to Punishment
Alternatives to punishment in eliminating undesired behaviour include the following:
1. Extinction:Find out what reinforces the undesired behaviour. For example, the unruly subordinate may be getting praise and recognition from peers. Then get those peers to co-operate with you by ignoring the unruly behaviour. When such behaviour is not reinforced, it will eventually lose strength and extinguish.
2. Environment Engineering: Rearrange the features of the environment so that the Stimulus situation does not evoke the undesired response but some other response. Skinner (1953) tells the story of a manager who had a traffic problem caused by women hurrying down the corridor as soon as the end of the workday was signaled. The manager solved his problem by placing wall mirrors along the corridor. The stimulus situation that had evoked stampeding down the hallway was transformed into one which encouraged a more leisurely and orderly walk-and-stop sequence.
3. Reward: Reward either desirable or natural behaviour, which is physically incompatible with the undesired behaviour. If children are rewarded for taking exercise or for performing light outdoor chores before dinner, they are prevented from excessive snacking and television watching.
4. Adjustment:Allow adjustment, development, or maturation to take its course. New or inexperienced employees make many mistakes and do many wrong things that they will learn to avoid, given a reasonable period of adjustment: punishment may not hasten this process, and it causes undue anxiety, it can actually retard this process.
Industrial Relations Management Topics |
Summary: April 20, 2017 Discussion
Corlett Wood presented “The benefits of diversity (in science).” Here is her summary:
In my talk, I explored how and why demographic diversity is beneficial in science and in non-science fields. I focused mainly on studies that explored the consequences of gender and racial/ethnic diversity.
The benefits of diversity fall into three broad categories. First, diversity begets diversity. Diverse role models contribute to the retention of underrepresented groups in science (Drury et al. 2011). Second, people from different backgrounds often ask different research questions and pursue different objectives. For example, medical studies that included female authors were more likely to examine health outcomes for both men and women (Nielsen et al. 2017). Combating gender bias in medical research is likely to mitigate some very real health risks: the majority of drugs withdrawn from the US market between 1997 and 2001 had greater health risks for women (US General Accounting Office 2001). Finally, diverse groups outperform homogenous groups. In the business sector, companies with diverse workforces or management outperform those that do not (Herring 2009, Kersley and O’Sullivan 2012). The performance benefits of diversity are evident in academic science as well. Papers with both male and female authors, or by ethnically diverse groups are published in higher-impact journals and cited more than those authored by homogenous groups (Campbell et al. 2013, Freeman and Huang 2014).
Widespread evidence that diversity improves group performance dispels two common misconceptions about science: that it is immune to cultural influences, and that scientific advances are driven by brilliant individuals rather than by great groups. The mechanisms underlying the benefits of diversity remain an active area of research, and there are at least three hypotheses to explain them. One is that diversity promotes critical thinking, because diverse groups are more likely to challenge ideas and subject them to scrutiny. Another is that demographic diversity is associated with functional diversity: diverse groups are more likely to approach problems with a complementary perspectives, approaches, and skills (Hong and Page 2004). A third is that diverse groups have better social dynamics, resulting in higher collective intelligence (Woolley et al. 2010).
The benefits of diversity outlined above are only a few of many, many arguments in favor of diversity. All disciplines should work to increase diversity because a lack of diversity in science is symptomatic of pervasive barriers facing underrepresented groups. Promoting diversity is an essential step towards justice and fairness in science and society; any other benefits are an added bonus. |
Buenos Aires Times
opinion and analysis CRISTOBAL COLÓN
Columbus, the mystery, and the beginning of foreign debt
Columbus was kindly backed by the Catholic king and queen of Spain but the sponsorship did not include the funding.
Saturday 4 August, 2018
Christopher Columbus.
Christopher Columbus. Foto:JOAQUIN TEMES
More Opinion and analysis News
Yesterday, August 3, but in 1492, three small ships were untied in pre-dawn darkness from the inland Port of Palos in Spain. Christopher Columbus, a man born in Genoa some 40 years before, set sail to change the world.
The explorer was kindly backed by the Catholic king and queen of Spain but the sponsorship did not include the funding. The mystery clouding the source of the money remains an untold story to this day. Such an ambitious venture would have required abundant cash for that first journey into the unknown; add to that, then three more, to the Caribbean. But the capital and the source have never been clear. The king and queen’s backing appears to have been just a show.
Columbus thought he was sailing West to India or elsewhere in what is better known as the Far East, but for the Spanish court and the Portuguese the mission sought possession of the expanse of land that lay between Europe and the East. Both countries advised Rome of their intentions, so the Vatican might have something in the files that the rest of us don’t know. The rumour in ports of Spain, and among other seafaring nations in the Mediterranean, was that early traders and explorers had reached unknown and unnamed lands. Rather like the story that the Vikings or similar had reached Greenland and Nova Scotia well before the “official discovery.”
The life and times of Columbus are plagued with queries and few answers. My early learnings, as taught under established Argentine elementary education (which I suffered in the small village school built by my parents, uncles and several other English-speaking neighbours) were conveyed in starched language, repetitious and not generous with information.
We here in the pearl of the Plate were not to be “discovered” until some time after Columbus went to the Bahamas in 1492 (and his landing, on October 12, would be called Race Day, “Día de la Raza,” in our latitudes). The initial landing was by Juan Diaz de Solis (1470-1516), the first European to set foot on what is today Uruguay. He was eaten up by Guaraní Indians (the local Charrúas, initially blamed, were not thought to have cannibalistic interests). Here we waited until February 1536 for Don Pedro de Mendoza to build the fort that would be eventually part of Buenos Aires. A sick man, suffering from syphilis, Mendoza left in 1537 and died at sea aged 50.
As happens throughout history, no one thing takes place on its own, but is always somehow linked in a chain of events preceding and then following.
For my hints about Columbus, however, I must thank Dr Antonio Las Heras, an expert in matters to do with mental phenomena, spiritual and parapsychology research, and a strong follower of the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), among other things. Essentially he has an eye for matters related to conspiracy theories and historical mysteries. Las Heras’ essay this week, published on the web but in part to be found in his book La trama Colón (“The Columbus Network,” published in Madrid in 2006), helped to produce this article.
Las Heras tries to answer questions concerning the political circumstances that pressed Columbus to get under way without delay, to claim the New World in an unknown geography as part of a Catholic empire. Coinciding or even nurturing Las Heras’ theories is the book by Simon Wiesenthal, Sails of Hope: the Secret Mission of Christopher Columbus, published in 1973.
Having thanked my sources, the next step is to bring the gossip up to date. For example, why did Columbus sail secretly in darkness before dawn, which was not the practice at that time, late Summer. High tide? No, from Palos to open water the river was deep enough (six to eight metres) normally. Daylight was preferred by port officials and seagoing captains. This was, after all, 1492.
Much of the story of Spanish conquest might sound like historical gossip. But the history of Latin America is a web of fantasies and fabrications born in Europe and cranked up in the colonies and have ruled over much political and social behaviour ever since. Read Gabriel García Márquez and Antonio di Benedetto for safe reference.
Las Heras wonders not just how the sailing under darkness was decided, but also why the sails of the three ships of Columbus bannered the crosses of the Templars, venturing that it was they, the Knights of Christ and the Temple of Jerusalem who may have put forth the money for the Columbus epic. You might say the foreign debt starts here. Antonio Las Heras also quotes a reminder from Simon Wiesenthal’s book that points to the secrecy surrounding the departure of Columbus, amid growing antiSemitism in the Spanish court. The Spanish had just recently defeated the Arab occupation of northern Spain and then ordered all Jews who did not accept conversion to become Catholics to leave Spain by August 2. Was this just a matter of religion or was there a greater interest in laying claim to the New World?
Also, Spain was irritated that England had not helped in the war against the Moorish occupation, even though the English Crown was still Roman Catholic. Henry VIII broke with Rome by Acts of Parliament passed between 1532 and 1534. The rivalry with England would soon be evident after Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) published his book Utopia in 1516. The story speaks of the creation of an island (Utopia) where a group of worthy gents attended by a servant class could spend their lives in harmony planning a better world. Although the death of Thomas More was ordered by Henry VIII in 1535, for refusing to abandon his Catholic faith, followers of the Utopia proposals wondered if they might not start up that ideal island somewhere in the land newly discovered, possibly in what would eventually be known as Patagonia. Spain saw that as the signal to send legions of conquerors, adelantados and armies of thugs, to safeguard the possession of the lands in the Americas.
So, as you butter your toast and sip your coffee this morning, bear in mind that 526 years ago today, Cristoforo Colombo or Cristóbal Colón or Christopher Columbus (whose name lives on in many forms: British Columbia, Columbia University, the republic of Colombia, and so on) and his three ships were secretly sailing in the Atlantic towards the beginning of the New World. Just look at what he left us.
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error experiment Lockeford California
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error experiment Lockeford, California
The only problem was that Gauss wasn't able to repeat his measurements exactly either! Thus, the expected most probable error in the sum goes up as the square root of the number of measurements. For convenience, we choose the mean to be zero. Errors may be divided roughly into two categories: Systematic error in a measurement is a consistent and repeatable bias or offset from the true value.
In[34]:= Out[34]= This rule assumes that the error is small relative to the value, so we can approximate. In[10]:= Out[10]= The only problem with the above is that the measurement must be repeated an infinite number of times before the standard deviation can be determined. The amount of drift is generally not a concern, but occasionally this source of error can be significant and should be considered. Nonetheless, our experience is that for beginners an iterative approach to this material works best.
Follow us! The relative error is usually more significant than the absolute error. This is often the case for experiments in chemistry, but certainly not all. In this case the precision of the result is given: the experimenter claims the precision of the result is within 0.03 m/s.
We measure four voltages using both the Philips and the Fluke meter. It is even more dangerous to throw out a suspect point indicative of an underlying physical process. In case of Type-I errors, the research hypothesis is accepted even though the null hypothesis is correct. To do better than this, you must use an even better voltmeter, which again requires accepting the accuracy of this even better instrument and so on, ad infinitum, until you run
There is a caveat in using CombineWithError. Since the correction is usually very small, it will practically never affect the error of precision, which is also small. H. Systematic Errors Systematic errors in experimental observations usually come from the measuring instruments.
In[16]:= Out[16]= As discussed in more detail in Section 3.3, this means that the true standard deviation probably lies in the range of values. Recall that to compute the average, first the sum of all the measurements is found, and the rule for addition of quantities allows the computation of the error in the sum. In the case that the error in each measurement has the same value, the result of applying these rules for propagation of errors can be summarized as a theorem. In[17]:= Out[17]= The function CombineWithError combines these steps with default significant figure adjustment.
We can show this by evaluating the integral. Taylor, An Introduction to Error Analysis (University Science Books, 1982) In addition, there is a web document written by the author of EDA that is used to teach this topic to Wolfram Data Framework Semantic framework for real-world data. A number like 300 is not well defined.
Updated August 13, 2015. Say you are measuring the time for a pendulum to undergo 20 oscillations and you repeat the measurement five times. Often the answer depends on the context. The choice of direction is made randomly for each move by, say, flipping a coin.
We repeat the measurement 10 times along various points on the cylinder and get the following results, in centimeters. As discussed in Section 3.2.1, if we assume a normal distribution for the data, then the fractional error in the determination of the standard deviation depends on the number of data Not only have you made a more accurate determination of the value, you also have a set of data that will allow you to estimate the uncertainty in your measurement. Thus, we would expect that to add these independent random errors, we would have to use Pythagoras' theorem, which is just combining them in quadrature. 3.3.2 Finding the Error in an
D.C. Education All Solutions for Education Web & Software Authoring & Publishing Interface Development Software Engineering Web Development Finance, Statistics & Business Analysis Actuarial Sciences Bioinformatics Data Science Econometrics Financial Risk Management But don't make a big production out of it. You get another friend to weigh the mass and he also gets m = 26.10 ± 0.01 g.
Type 1 Error (false positive) H1 Type 2 Error (false negative) Correct Conclusion! By declaring lists of {value, error} pairs to be of type Data, propagation of errors is handled automatically. Fig. 2. This article is a part of the guide: Select from one of the other courses available: Scientific Method Research Design Research Basics Experimental Research Sampling Validity and Reliability Write a Paper
It is important to be able to calculate experimental error, but there is more than one way to calculate and express it. Otherwise, the function will be unable to take the derivatives of the expression necessary to calculate the form of the error. Why spend half an hour calibrating the Philips meter for just one measurement when you could use the Fluke meter directly? The best way to minimize definition errors is to carefully consider and specify the conditions that could affect the measurement.
Thus, any result x[[i]] chosen at random has a 68% change of being within one standard deviation of the mean. Some scientists feel that the rejection of data is never justified unless there is external evidence that the data in question is incorrect. You can only upload photos smaller than 5 MB. If the errors are probabilistic and uncorrelated, the errors in fact are linearly independent (orthogonal) and thus form a basis for the space.
The object of a good experiment is to minimize both the errors of precision and the errors of accuracy. Could it have been 1.6516 cm instead? Here there is only one variable. Yes No Sorry, something has gone wrong.
Rather one should write 3 x 102, one significant figure, or 3.00 x 102, 3 significant figures. Does it mean that the acceleration is closer to 9.80000 than to 9.80001 or 9.79999? No matter what the source of the uncertainty, to be labeled "random" an uncertainty must have the property that the fluctuations from some "true" value are equally likely to be positive For example, when using a meter stick, one can measure to perhaps a half or sometimes even a fifth of a millimeter.
How about if you went out on the street and started bringing strangers in to repeat the measurement, each and every one of whom got m = 26.10 ± 0.01 g. On the other hand, variations between successive measurements made under apparently identical experimental conditions are called random errors. The simplest procedure would be to add the errors. Here n is the total number of measurements and x[[i]] is the result of measurement number i.
Now consider a situation where n measurements of a quantity x are performed, each with an identical random error x. The use of AdjustSignificantFigures is controlled using the UseSignificantFigures option. Such fluctuations are the main reason why, no matter how skilled the player, no individual can toss a basketball from the free throw line through the hoop each and every time, If you measure a voltage with a meter that later turns out to have a 0.2 V offset, you can correct the originally determined voltages by this amount and eliminate the
The quantity called is usually called "the standard error of the sample mean" (or the "standard deviation of the sample mean"). |
Top | Health+Food
Hydration and health
(article, Marissa Lippert)
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“I’ve been hearing a lot of conflicting information recently about how much water I should drink per day. Is there a good rule of thumb to follow, and is hydration really linked to good health?"
h1.Featured recipes
Summertime is officially full steam ahead, the perfect time for an ice-cold glass of just about anything. But do you really need to drink eight glasses of water every day? (Answer: No.) And should you switch to a sports drink or vitamin-enhanced water during the summer? (Answer: Maybe.)
Read on for a quick refresher course on the relationship between rising temperatures, hydration, and nutrition.
h3. Science says . . .
First things first: A few recent research studies have caused an icy stir questioning the benefit or necessity of drinking the popularly recommended 64 ounces of water a day.
[%image reference-image float=right width=400 caption="Add a slice of lime and frozen strawberries to sparkling water for a summertime thirst quencher."]
Although there are many commonly held beliefs about water improving kidney function and complexion (or skin elasticity), as well as suppressing appetite, University of Pennsylvania scientists recently found no significant evidence that drinking a lot of water has any clear benefit.
The Penn researchers also stated that although no distinct benefit was uncovered, there’s no major finding of a lack of benefit either.
Another review, headed up by Dr. Heinz Valtin of Dartmouth Medical School, concurs with the Penn study, noting that we can get much of our water needs from food, juices, milk, and other drinks like coffee and tea. Yes, caffeinated drinks — commonly believed to “dehydrate” and act as diuretics — actually do contribute to our daily fill of fluids. (Valtin did state the need for increased water consumption with certain medical conditions such as kidney stones.)
h3. What your body really needs
Despite these recent studies, it's still important to drink water and eat water-rich foods — i.e., fruits and vegetables. Water constitutes more than two-thirds of our body weight, and our cells and organs require it to function properly. Water also helps maintain our body temperature through perspiration and aids digestion by alleviating constipation.
When we find ourselves thirsty, it’s a signal of under-hydration; dehydration may not be far behind. Dehydration, particularly in the summer when we perspire more, can lead to fatigue and decreased energy levels.
So pay attention to your body: Drink when you’re thirsty. When the temperature spikes, or if you’re outdoors or exercising for an extended period of time (longer than 30 minutes), drink a little more to prevent dehydration and to keep your body temperature properly regulated. The elderly can more easily become dehydrated, simply forgetting to drink water or not wanting to due to concerns around incontinence. Motility (digestive speed) slows as we age, so it's definitely important to drink a sufficient amount for good digestion — and good overall health.
We all have different needs and fluid requirements. Drinking too much water (a condition known as water intoxication) can lead to overhydration or hyponatremia, an imbalance in the body’s sodium and electrolyte levels. Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder in the U.S. and can be life-threatening; symptoms include confusion, decreased consciousness, headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness or spasms, irritability, and loss of appetite. Thankfully, it rarely occurs in healthy adults and children who maintain proper fluid balance.
h3. On ice
Good ol’ water aside, what about all the other drinks that just scream summertime — lemonade, iced-coffee drinks, fruit smoothies, beer, and frozen cocktails? True, these beverages may add to your daily fluid intake, but they can also rack up calories and excess sugar. Be mindful of your liquid calories, and choose beverages with natural ingredients and minimal amounts of added sugar or sweeteners, if any at all.
Go the homemade route and brew up a refreshing pitcher of iced green tea or make a fruit-sweetened spritzer with sparkling water, lime juice, and fresh berries. Bring cantaloupe agua fresca to a barbecue, or freeze a batch of watermelon-mint pops.
h3. Sports-drink smarts
I’m no marathoner or triathlete, so water’s what I typically reach for after exercising. Still, after intense exercise and extreme heat, you'll need to replenish fluids and electrolytes (such as sodium and potassium). Keep in mind, however, that unless you’re participating in extreme exercise for 90 or more minutes, you can likely leave enhanced sports, energy, and vitamin drinks on the shelf.
For a natural alternative to both water and sports drinks, look for coconut water in your local health store or supermarket. It’s a good source of potassium to rehydrate and restore electrolytes in the body.
p(bio). Marissa Lippert is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in New York City.
reference-image, l |
On the loose: Urban coyotes thrive in North American cities
Even in the largest American cities, a historically maligned beast is thriving, despite scientists' belief that these mammals intently avoid urban human populations.
This animal's amazing ability to thrive in metropolitan areas has greatly surprised scientists, says Stanley Gehrt, an assistant professor of environmental and natural resources at Ohio State University. Gehrt is in the sixth year of a multi-year study of coyote behavior in urban Chicago.
Coyotes also do some good they help control rapidly growing populations of Canada geese throughout North America .
And while his coyote research is concentrated in Chicago, the results likely apply to most major metropolitan areas in North America. Gehrt has even seen a pack of about a dozen on Ohio State's campus in Columbus .
The study began in Chicago in 2000 when Gehrt was a research biologist for the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in Dundee , Ill. In the 1990s the foundation was increasingly inundated with complaints about coyotes taking pets and reportedly stalking children.
The number of calls grew, and in the late 1990s the Cook County Animal Control agency asked Gehrt to gather information on coyote populations in metropolitan Chicago .
The study was only supposed to last for a year.
"Nine million people live in the greater Chicago area," said Gehrt, who is also a wildlife extension specialist at Ohio State . "We didn't think very many coyotes could thrive in such a highly urbanized area. We also thought that the few animals that were causing problems were probably used to living around people."
The problem with studying coyotes in general is that the animals are incredibly
Contact: Stan Gehrt
Ohio State University
Page: 1 2 3
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Humanity’s Common Values
Today, we live in a thriving world of over seven billion people, with fewer casualties of war, less poverty, longer and healthier lives than ever before in recorded history. Technology and medical breakthroughs continue to abound along with global commerce and communications. But this progress is possible only because of humanity’s common values.
In G‑d’s Likeness
It’s a very big world, and yet no two people are alike. No two people think alike, look alike or live the same life. Yet the Torah declares something very radical: that every human being is created in the likeness of G‑d. Each human being is a representative of the Creator, each in his or her unique, irreplaceable way. Which means that the life of each person is sacred. The Jewish sages taught: “Anyone who takes a single life, it is as though he has destroyed the entire world. And anyone who saves a single life, it is as though he has saved the entire world.” That is the only measure we have of a human life: Each one is worth the entire world.
Fixing Up the World
Can human beings make the world a better place? For most of history, wise people laughed at this notion. Many considered this world a dark and cursed place. No one imagined that we could make permanent and lasting change. Everything, they said, goes in cycles. Sometimes good prevails, sometimes evil. But the Torah sees all of time as a story, working towards an era of peace and wisdom here on earth. It is the duty of every person to leave the world behind better than he or she found it. All of us, in our actions, are builders of a world to come. This idea is called tikun, which means to fix up the world - to make it even better than its Creator made it. G‑d created this world out of love. G‑d loves this world, and G‑d sustains all of its creatures with love. And the greatest gift of love G‑d can give us is the opportunity to partner with G‑d in the creation of the world, by setting it straight and bringing it into harmony.
World Peace
Is peace better than war? It’s hard to believe, but not long ago most people thought war was a great enterprise. It was the way men showed their strength and nations demonstrated their power. People who protested war were generally considered foolish crackpots. But more than 2,600 years ago, the Jewish prophets Isaiah and Micah prophesied of a time when nations would choose never to go to war again and the world would be filled with peace. – Shalom. It wasn’t until the close of the First World War that people began to understand that humanity, with its vast new arsenal of technological weapons, could no longer afford to go to war. After the Second World War, the nations of the world built a great structure - the United Nations - where they would sit and discuss peace instead of war. On a wall in the United Nations Headquarters complex are engraved the words of Isaiah and Micah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Be the eternal optimist - remember that we are all created in G-d’s likeness; remember that our mission is to make our home a better place; remember that a world of peace and spirituality can exist with G-d’s help and yours.
Ani Maamin – “I believe”
Rabbi Stuart Paris, HaKohen
We thank you in advance for your help and generosity.
Torah Completion and Celebration
Sunday, May 15, 2016
7 Iyar, 5776
Rabbi Stuart Paris and Rabbi Gedaliah Druin
Rabbi Gedaliah Druin completing the last letter of the Torah |
The Cost of Recalls and Lost Goodwill
Posted by PITHOCRATES - April 7th, 2014
Economics 101
Cost of Recall - Gross Margin per Product Line R1
Cost of Recall - Net Profit
Cost of Recall - Recall
Cost of Recall - Loss of Goodwill R1
Communism, Karl Marx, Marxism, Surplus Labor and the Labor theory of Value
Posted by PITHOCRATES - August 20th, 2013
History 101
(Originally published December 13, 2011)
Some would call Putting Profits before People Heaven if they had Lived in the Caring Hell of Communism
No ideology killed more people than communism. In total numbers. Such as Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. Or Mao Tse-tung in the People’s Republic of China. Or as a percentage of population. Where Pol Pot’s Cambodian genocide holds this honor alone. These communist leaders killed their people directly for political purposes. Or starved them to death because of agrarian reforms that produced famines. All in the name of freeing their people from the horrors of capitalism.
Heaven and hell. That’s how a defector who escaped communism and made it to capitalism would describe what it’s like to live under each system. Capitalism would be heaven. And communism would be hell. The problem with communism was that it didn’t work. Economically. People lived in want of the basic staples of life. And often went hungry. When they didn’t starve to death by yet another famine. And if they complained or spoke out against the system they risked torture. Or they simply just disappeared. Banished to a work camp. A reeducation camp. Or killed. So it’s no surprise that people trapped in these countries tried to escape. Which is why communist states were oppressive police states. To prevent people from escaping their horrible lives.
And yet to this day some people still hold up communism as the ideal socioeconomic system. The one that cares about the people. The one that puts people before profits. Unlike capitalism. Which puts profits before people. Of course some would call putting profits before people heaven. Especially if they had lived in the caring hell of communism.
Communism as an Economic System is an Utter and Abject Failure
Those who champion communism don’t blame the ideology. They say it’s the people. The few who use the ideology for personal gain. And by few they mean basically everyone. But if everyone is doing it it’s not the people. It’s the ideology. And it goes back to its utter and abject failure as an economic system.
Communism goes back to Karl Marx. The guy that coauthored the Communist Manifesto in 1848. And from which we get the terms Marxism. And Marxist. To describe varying forms of communism. And communists. He’s the guy who said that capitalism exploited the working man. Those with money (capital) who owned factories, the industrial bourgeoisie, charged more for their goods than they paid their workers to make those goods. Because Marx believed the value of any good was the labor that made it (the labor theory of value), this excess value (profit) was a labor surplus. And belonged to the worker. So he encouraged class conflict. For the proletariat (the working class) to rise up and take over the means of production from those who owned it. These middle class capitalists. The industrial bourgeoisie. And establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. So the bourgeois capitalist pig-dogs couldn’t exploit the proletariat any more. And everyone would then live happily ever after.
But no one ever did. Like in capitalism. Where happiness abounds. Because, in capitalism, the market determines prices. Not some bureaucrat counting up labor inputs through the manufacturing process. From the mining of resources. To the final assembly. Which can make things very expensive. And, worse, unwanted by the people. Because when the market sets the price and assigns value, the market tells people what to make. Normally when something is a hot seller it tells manufacturers to make more of it. To cash in on those high prices. So they do. And people tend to buy this surge in products. But when the market isn’t setting the price and assigning value, the market can’t tell people what to make. So a bureaucrat must. Which is what happens in communism. Bureaucrats decide everything. From what to make. To the allocation of resources. To the selling price. And the things they decide to make are rarely what the people want. Explaining why stores in communist countries were full of stuff no one wanted to buy. And why people had to stand hours in line to get the things they did. Or paid more on the black market. Which is why communism as an economic system is an utter and abject failure. And why people wanted to escape it. Their only obstacle being that brutal and oppressive police state. Which was necessary because if everyone left that wanted to the communist leaders wouldn’t have anyone to provide for them.
There are no Such Things as Market Failures under Capitalism
Communism was one of the worst man-made tragedies to ever befall man. Karl Marx was wrong. And his asinine theories killed tens of millions of people. People enjoy life and prosper under capitalism. Under communism they set records for genocide. Why? Because the communist economic model is an utter and abject failure.
The struggle between communism and capitalism was an economic one. And pitted the market against bureaucrats who thought they were smarter than the market. But it turned out they weren’t. Not by a long shot. And despite this history people are constantly talking about market failures and the evils of capitalism. Much like Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung and Pol Pot. But for them it was never about the economics. It was about the power. Much like it is today. Because there are no such things as market failures under capitalism. It’s the bureaucrats who fail. Not the markets. At least, based on all recorded history.
Markets fail only when they aren’t free. They fail when bureaucrats insert themselves into the economic process. Via regulatory policy. Or high taxes. When they try to shape market forces to a political end. And when they do it is capitalism no more. It’s crony capitalism. Or worse.
Market Forces and Health Care
Posted by PITHOCRATES - March 4th, 2013
Economics 101
Keynesians try to reduce Human Behavior down to Complex and Confusing Math
We hear a lot about introducing market forces into health care. But what does that mean? What exactly are market forces? Are they like magnetic forces? Electric forces? Hydraulic forces? No. Market forces are not forces that conform to the laws of science. Rather, they belong in the realm of the social sciences. That are less science. And more opinion. Where there are a lot of theories. And politicians massage the data to fit their theory. As Mark Twain said, facts don’t lie but liars figure. And politicians figure. A lot.
So there are no hard rules when it comes to the social sciences. Just a lot of theorizing. And a lot of drawing conclusions. Based on the data. And how some massage the data. Something to keep in mind whenever anyone discusses economic numbers. For the accepted school of economics most politicians adhere to is the Keynesian school. The dirty little whore of economics. For there is a whole lot of massaging going on with Keynesians. With the data. Not each other. Politicians love Keynesian economics because this school of economic thought calls for governments to tax, borrow, print and spend. Empowering government. Making government grow. And become more intrusive in our personal lives. All things politicians love. Which is why they massage the economic data. They have to. Because this school of economic thought doesn’t work.
Keynesians make economics very complex. Open a text book and you will find a lot of graphs and formulas. Where they try to reduce human behavior down to math. Very complex and confusing math. And you can’t do that. Humans have free will. They make decisions based on any number of things. One influencing factor more or less could change the way they decide. And there’s no way we can quantify all the variables in our lives. Therefore, there’s no way to reduce human decision-making down to math. Which is what drives market forces. Our decision-making process. That point in time that triggers the free exchange of money for goods and/or services.
When it comes to the All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Customers think more in Terms of Quantity than Quality
Consider an all-you-can-eat buffet. And how it changes your decision-making process. But first let’s look at some typical behavior at a normal restaurant. Where you may spend $15 for a 4-course meal and drink. Soup, salad, entrée and dessert. Which you enjoy with a friend. You have pleasant conversation as you enjoy each of your 4 courses. Taking your time. Enjoying each course. Slowly getting full. And satisfied. The portion sizes are just right. Leaving just enough room for dessert. You’re full. But not too full. Comfortable. You’re able to go for an after-dinner walk. Even take in a movie.
Now let’s consider the all-you-can-eat buffet. Where you may pay $20 for unlimited access to the buffet. You’re paying more than for a sit-down service. Why? Because you plan to eat more. You will maximize the value you get for your $20. Which means you’ll probably skip the soup and salad. And start loading your plate with the expensive entrées. You’ll probably go back once or twice. Making sure you get a taste of everything. And a lot of anything that is expensive. Again, to maximize your value. In fact you maximize so much that you become uncomfortably full. Too full to sit through a movie without nodding off. And too full for a walk. All you want to do is go home and nap.
The restaurant sees this from a slightly different perspective. The all-you-can-eat buffet is simple to serve. You mass produce food to load up the buffet so it’s ready at the beginning of the buffet hours. You replace the items people eat most. While the less popular items sit longer in the buffet. Becoming less fresh. Also, the buffet is a good way to get rid of things approaching their ‘serve by’ dates. Saving the freshest food for the made-to-order sit-down service. And putting the older food in the buffet. Because when it comes to the buffet you know customers are thinking more in terms of quantity than quality. The food is good in the buffet. But not as good as the food for the sit-down clientele.
If you Pay Cash at the Pharmacy you are more likely to Ask for the Less Expensive Generic Drugs
These are market forces. People have come together to make voluntary exchanges. The quantity of food available makes some people opt for the more expensive all-you-can-eat buffet. Others may opt for the less expensive but higher quality made-to-order sit down service. For the person who places the greatest value on eating mass quantities of food will choose the buffet. The person who places the greatest value on the dining experience (quality of food, made-to-order, conversation, after-dinner walk or movie, etc.) will choose the sit-down service. If more people are choosing the buffet the owner may extend the buffet hours. If fewer people are choosing the buffet and leave a lot a food to throw away the owner may end the buffet service. These are market forces. Buyer and sellers coming together in the marketplace. Seeing what each has to offer. If they come to a mutual agreement they make an economic exchange. The buyer willingly exchanges his or her money for goods and/or services. The seller willingly accepts an amount of money in exchange for his or her goods and/or services.
The private economy works because it is buyers and sellers meeting and making exchanges they both freely agree to. This is the key of market forces. It’s what makes people with money go to the marketplace. And it’s what makes people bring goods and/or services to the marketplace. Because they will seek each other out and make these exchanges. After which both buyer and seller will come away with something they value more. This is what is missing in health care. Buyer and sellers aren’t meeting to make exchanges. In fact, the buyer and seller do not even meet. Patients never ask for any prices. Because they aren’t paying for anything. Their insurer is. And the medical provider will always provide the most expensive treatment billing guidelines will allow. For that’s who they must please. The people paying them. Not the patient. And they have to charge as much as they can to cover all the things they won’t get paid for. People they treat without insurance who can’t pay. And for the billings the insurers deny.
So this changes the decision making process. For everyone. Introducing a third party into the equation removes market forces. If you pay cash at the pharmacy you are more likely to ask for the less expensive generic drugs. If you get free prescription coverage you will ask for the most expensive name-brand medicine they have. For when you’re not paying price is no object. But when you are paying price is a very important object. Because when it’s our money getting value for our money is very important. So we’ll ask if the name-brand has any more value than the generic. For who would spend more for something that doesn’t give you any more value than something you can get for less?
When it comes to medical tests and procedures patients aren’t going to ask for more than they absolutely need. And doctors aren’t going to prescribe any more than a patient needs. Because they aren’t billing a faceless bureaucrat. They’re billing someone they have a close and personal relationship with. And they sure aren’t going to try and bill someone they have a close and personal relationship with for someone else’s unpaid bill. Not if they want to keep them as a patient. Because a doctor-patient relationship is a long-term relationship. A doctor could lose a lot of business by mistreating a patient to make an extra buck. These are market forces. Which makes the private sector work so well. And why their absence makes the health care system not work so well. Transforming our health care from a moderately priced, high quality, custom, sit-down service to a higher priced, mass-produced, lower quality, all-you-can-eat buffet.
Rolls Royce, Cadillac, Moving Assembly Line, Economies of Scale, VCR, Cell Phones and HD Plasma Television
Posted by PITHOCRATES - January 1st, 2013
History 101
The Moving Assembly Line allows GM to Divide their Costs over more Units than Rolls Royce
Rolls Royce automobiles are very expensive luxury cars. Of impeccable quality. It may be the finest automobile ever built. And I say built not manufactured. For they build a Rolls Royce by hand to ensure that high quality. By some of the most experienced and skilled artisans to ever hone metal, wood and leather into an automobile. Because of this they can’t make a lot of them a year. They set a record sales total in 2011. By selling 3,538 hand-crafted automobiles. The entry price for a Rolls Royce? Around $250,000.
By contrast GM sold 152,389 Cadillac luxury automobiles in 2011 in North America. These are not hand-crafted. The Americans build them on moving assembly lines. Which is why they can build 43 times as many Cadillacs than they can hand-build Rolls Royces. The entry price for a Cadillac? About $33,100. While a top of the line may cost you around $63,200. Now Cadillacs are nice. The name has become synonymous with high quality. The best quality is the ‘Cadillac’ of something. The quality may not be Rolls Royce quality but few will complain about that quality when sitting behind the wheel of a Cadillac. They are glad to settle for a Cadillac over a Rolls Royce. Especially when it costs 7.5 times as much to get into a Rolls Royce than into a Cadillac.
Why are hand-crafted Rolls Royce automobiles so much more costly than Cadillacs manufactured on a moving assembly line? Economies of scale. The higher production levels of the mass-produced cars allows GM to divide all of their costs over many more units. Bringing the unit cost down. And the selling price. With fewer sales the unit cost for Rolls Royce is much higher. As is the selling price.
As Demand grew Manufacturers were able to Bring Prices Down thanks to Economies of Scale
Rolls Royce pays a price for their commitment to quality. They can’t sell cars as inexpensively as some of their luxury rivals. But that’s okay for them. As the market for hand-crafted luxury cars is large enough to keep them in business doing what they love. Building the finest quality automobile in the world. And those who want the best can afford to pay a quarter of a million dollars for an entry-level Rolls Royce. So they do. Which is why Rolls Royce doesn’t have to worry about economies of scales to compete against their competition.
Before Henry Ford built the moving assembly line cars were too expensive for the working man. Henry Ford changed that. Once they started manufacturing the new driving machine on the moving assembly line Ford was able to reach an economy of scale that greatly increased production rates. Bringing down the unit cost. And the selling price. As new products entered the market place they were typically unaffordable to all but the rich. But then as demand grew manufacturers were able to bring prices down thanks to economies of scale. Like Henry Ford did with the automobile.
The first commercially viable video tape recorder was the Ampex model VR-1000 in 1956. It cost $50,000 (about $421,000 today). It was the size of a kitchen stove. And about the only place you found them were in television broadcast studios. From this early beginning came the technology for the video cassette recorder (VCR). By the mid to late Seventies schools had one they rolled from room to room. It cost approximately $5,000 (about $19,400 today). About a decade later you could buy a smaller unit that could do more for around $2,000 (about $4,000 today). Just before the DVD player and the digital video recorder made them obsolete you could get a nice one for about $100. They were so small and so inexpensive that you bought one for every television in the house.
Bringing these Prices Down are State-of-the-Art High-Tech Manufacturers throughout Asia
When the first cell phones came out we called them car phones. Because they were so big and had no real battery life that they were permanently installed in a car. Connected to the electrical system of the car. The first real portable cell phone was something that looked like a brick and weighed in around 2 pounds. The battery gave you maybe an hour of talk time. And it cost $3,995 in 1982 (about $9,600 today). By 1993 the price was down to $900 ($1,400 today) but still weighed in at 2 pounds. By 1996 the weight dropped to about 3 ounces. It cost about $1,000 ($1,400 today). By 2002 you could buy a flip-phone with a built-in high resolution camera for $400 (about $510 today). And so on until they got smaller and more powerful with longer battery lives. Today you can often get a pretty nice phone free when you sign a contract for service.
Things people like and demand can accelerate this process of quality improvement and lower prices. For half a century the television has been a fixture in most American homes. So technology buffs with money were always ready to spend a lot of money on the next best thing. And when high-definition plasma televisions hit the market it didn’t take long for economies of scale to bring prices down as demand exploded for these beautiful things. A Panasonic 42″ high-definition plasma television cost around $2,500 in 2004 (about $3,000 today). About 4 years later you could get a slightly better set for about $700 (about $750 today). Today you can buy an even better 42 inch plasma set from Panasonic for as little as $400.
Bringing these prices down are state-of-the-art high-tech manufacturers throughout Asia (Japan, South Korea, etc.). They can mass produce cell phones and televisions and other high-tech goods at remarkable production rates. Filling ships with their goods to export around the world. They bring together high-skilled labor and the best in automated production equipment. They can retool and begin new production so fast that they can fill the demand for the next big thing without missing a step. And quickly ramp up to an economy of scale wherever they see growing consumer demand. Bringing down unit costs. And prices. Making a lot of happy consumers around the world.
Product Pricing
Posted by PITHOCRATES - December 10th, 2012
Economics 101
The First Thing a Business has to do to Determine their Selling Price is Determining their Costs
Did you ever think about how businesses price their products? Do they just pull numbers out of the air? Do they just charge as much as they want? No, they don’t. Because they can’t. For if one gas station charges $12 for a gallon of gasoline while the station across the street is only charging $3.50 guess where people are going to buy their gas from. So free market competition prevents businesses from charging whatever they want. So how do they determine what to charge?
Well, some look at what their competitors are charging and match it. Or charge a little less. To steal customers away from the competition. Which can work. But it can also bankrupt a business. For if a business owner doesn’t know his or her costs selling at the market price could fail to recover all of their costs. The market price limits what they can charge. But if their costs are too great to stay in business selling at the prevailing market price they have to do something about reducing their costs. Which they can’t do if they don’t know their costs. So the first thing a business has to do to determine their selling price is determining their costs. Like this.
This is an abbreviated fictional income statement showing last year’s results. And forecasting next year’s results. EBT stands for earnings before taxes. Income taxes for this year are based on the 2011 federal tax tables. Income taxes for next year are based on the proposed Obama tax rates (increasing the top marginal rate from 33% to 39.6%). The business is a subchapter-S where the business earnings pass through to the owners’ personal income tax returns. The owner does not draw a salary but draws $125,000 from retained earnings to support him or herself, his or her stay-at-home spouse and their 3 children. The percentages show each number as a percentage of revenue.
You need to Sell at the Right Price and at the Right Volume to Pay all of the Bills
The difference between this year and next year is the rise in costs. Obamacare and other business regulations increase the cost of sales (direct labor, benefits, direct supplies, etc.) by 2%. And they increase fixed overhead (rent, utilities, administrative labor, benefits, etc.) by 2%. They will have to recover these higher costs in higher prices. Which will likely reduce unit sales. But because each unit will sell for more we assume sales revenue remains the same.
The higher costs cause EBT to fall. A lower EBT means lower federal income taxes. But it also means less retained earnings to invest back into the business. The reduction in retained earnings is $36,604.28. Which limits investments to grow the business. And leaves a much smaller cash cushion after some of those retained earnings are reinvested into the business. To pay for the unexpected. Like a new piece of equipment that fails and halts production. Things worked well in the current year. The business owner would like to have things work as well in the following year. Which means not exposing themselves to such a dangerous cash position. And how do they do that? By raising their prices to make next year’s retained earnings as large as this year’s. By recovering those retained earnings in higher prices. Like this.
Let’s assume these numbers are for a coffee shop that sells only one type and size of drink (say a large espresso-based drink) to simplify this discussion. If we subtract this year’s cost of sales from revenue we arrive with the markup on our direct costs. Dividing this number into cost of sales we get a markup percentage. For this year it was 72%. In the current year let’s assume they sold 302,406 cups of coffee. Which comes to about one cup a minute. Dividing the costs of sales by the number of cups of coffee sold gives a unit cost of $2.58 for a cup of coffee. Adding the 72% markup to this cost brings the selling price to $4.45. Coffee sold at this price and at this volume produced enough revenue to pay all the bills, provided an income for the owner and his or her family while leaving enough left over to invest back into the business. And provide a cash cushion for the unexpected. As well as paying state income taxes, city income taxes, etc.
A Business must bring their Cost Structure in Line to be able to Sell at the Prevailing Market Price
To arrive at the new selling price we added the loss of retained earnings to next year’s revenue. And re-crunched all of these numbers. Because we are raising the price we can expect a small fall in revenue as customers buy less. The higher costs and lower unit sales volume raised the unit cost. The markup percentage is 1 percentage point lower but because the unit cost is higher so is the markup amount in dollars. Which raises the selling price by $0.32. Increasing the price of a cup of coffee to $4.77. But is it enough? As it turns out, no. Because the new price raises revenue enough to push the business into a higher tax bracket. Taking the business owner back to the numbers.
Because of the higher tax bracket, and the higher top marginal tax rate, this higher price still results in a loss of retained earnings. About another $30,000. So going through the whole process again brings the selling price up to $4.87. Adding a total of $0.43 to this year’s price. As long as the prevailing market price is around $4.87 for a large espresso-based drink this business owner should be able to keep his or her cost structure in place and stay in business. However, if this exceeds the prevailing market price the business owner will have to make some spending cuts to bring his or her cost structure in line to sell coffee at the prevailing market price. Make some assumptions. And some adjustments. Then crunch these numbers again. And again. For getting this price right is very important. Too high and people will go elsewhere to buy their coffee. To low and they won’t be able to pay all of their bills.
This may not be how all businesses determine their selling price. But however they do it they have to bring their cost structure in line to be able to sell at the prevailing market price. Because if their price is too high no one will buy from them. If it’s too low everyone will buy from them. Making them happy. Until they realize they can’t pay all of their bills because their prices are too low. The above example was complicated. And that was with only one product. Imagine a store full of products to sell. And trying to calculate new prices on numerous products to cover the costs of new taxes and new regulations. It’s not easy. Which is why business owners don’t like big change coming from Washington. For this change requires important decisions to make. And if they get these decisions wrong and don’t find out until 6 months or so later they may dig themselves into a hole they won’t be able to get out of. Putting them out of business.
Working Capital
Posted by PITHOCRATES - December 3rd, 2012
Economics 101
Iron, Steel, the Steam Engine, Railroads, the Bessemer Process, Andrew Carnegie and the Lucy Furnace
Posted by PITHOCRATES - November 21st, 2012
(Originally published December 14, 2011)
With the Steam Engine we could Build Factories Anywhere and Connect them by Railroads
Iron has been around for a long time. The Romans used it. And so did the British centuries later. They kicked off the Industrial Revolution with iron. And ended it with steel. Which was nothing to sneeze at. For the transition from iron to steel changed the world. And the United States. For it was steel that made the United States the dominant economy in the world.
The Romans mined coal in England and Wales. Used it as a fuel for ovens to dry grain. And for smelting iron ore. After the Western Roman Empire collapsed, so did the need for coal. But it came back. And the demand was greater than ever. Finding coal, though, required deeper holes. Below the water table. And holes below the water table tended to fill up with water. To get to the coal, then, you had to pump out the water. They tried different methods. But the one that really did the trick was James Watt’s steam engine attached to a pump.
The steam engine was a game changer. For the first time man could make energy anywhere he wanted. He didn’t have to find running water to turn a waterwheel. Depend on the winds. Or animal power. With the steam engine he could build a factory anywhere. And connect these factories together with iron tracks. On which a steam-powered locomotive could travel. Ironically, the steam engine burned the very thing James Watt designed it to help mine. Coal.
Andrew Carnegie made Steel so Inexpensive and Plentiful that he Built America
Iron was strong. But steel was stronger. And was the metal of choice. Unfortunately it was more difficult to make. So there wasn’t a lot of it around. Making it expensive. Unlike iron. Which was easier to make. You heated up (smelted) iron ore to burn off the stuff that wasn’t iron from the ore. Giving you pig iron. Named for the resulting shape at the end of the smelting process. When the molten iron was poured into a mold. There was a line down the center where the molten metal flowed. And then branched off to fill up ingots. When it cooled it looked like piglets suckling their mother. Hence pig iron.
Pig iron had a high carbon content which made it brittle and unusable. Further processing reduced the carbon content and produced wrought iron. Which was usable. And the dominate metal we used until steel. But to get to steel we needed a better way of removing the residual carbon from the iron ore smelting process. Something Henry Bessemer discovered. Which we know as the Bessemer process. Bessemer mass-produced steel in England by removing the impurities from pig iron by oxidizing them. And he did this by blowing air through the molten iron.
Andrew Carnegie became a telegraph operator at Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He excelled, moved up through the company and learned the railroad business. He used his connections to invest in railroad related industries. Iron. Bridges. And Rails. He became rich. He formed a bridge company. And an ironworks. Traveling in Europe he saw the Bessemer process. Impressed, he took that technology and created the Lucy furnace. Named after his wife. And changed the world. His passion to constantly reduce costs led him to vertical integration. Owning and controlling the supply of raw materials that fed his industries. He made steel so inexpensive and plentiful that he built America. Railroads, bridges and skyscrapers exploded across America. Cities and industries connected by steel tracks. On which steam locomotives traveled. Fueled by coal. And transporting coal. As well as other raw materials. Including the finished goods they made. Making America the new industrial and economic superpower in the world.
Knowing the Market Price of Steel Carnegie reduced his Costs of Production to sell his Steel below that Price
Andrew Carnegie became a rich man because of capitalism. He lived during great times. When entrepreneurs could create and produce with minimal government interference. Which is why the United States became the dominant industrial and economic superpower.
The market set the price of steel. Not a government bureaucrat. This is key in capitalism. Carnegie didn’t count labor inputs to determine the price of his steel. No. Instead, knowing the market price of steel he did everything in his powers to reduce his costs of production so he could sell his steel below that price. Giving steel users less expensive steel. Which was good for steel users. As well as everyone else. But he did this while still making great profits. Everyone was a winner. Except those who sold steel at higher prices who could no longer compete.
Carnegie spent part of his life accumulating great wealth. And he spent the latter part of his life giving that wealth away. He was one of the great philanthropists of all time. Thanks to capitalism. The entrepreneurial spirit. And the American dream. Which is individual liberty. That freedom to create and produce. Like Carnegie did. Just as entrepreneurs everywhere have been during since we allowed them to profit from risk taking.
Opportunity Costs
Posted by PITHOCRATES - June 4th, 2012
Economics 101
Those on the Left are all for Choice as long as you Choose what they want you to Choose
Choice. It’s what life is. Every day we make hundreds of choices in our life. The communists called that a burden. And that their way removed all that stress from our lives. The stress of constantly having to choose. They came up with a new freedom. Freedom from choice. To live under oppression. Like a slave. Where you no longer had the burden of making a choice every waking hour of your day. You simply took what the government gave you. And relaxed. Truly free.
It turned out the people living under communism preferred having that burden of choice. And took every opportunity to escape the communist ‘freedom’. To a freedom where you were free to choose whatever you wanted. Instead of taking what central planners gave you. Those on the Left always had a soft spot in their hearts for communism. And Soviet central planners. For they never cared that much for free markets. Laissez faire capitalism. Freedom of choice. Because people so often chose poorly in their opinion. For they weren’t as educated and enlightened as they were on the Left. And therefore chose the wrong kind of foods to eat. The wrong kind of beverages to drink. The wrong kind of cars to drive. The wrong kind of power to generate. And the wrong people to vote for.
No. Those on the Left are no fans of choice. Except, of course, when it comes to abortion. When it comes to abortion then they are big fans of choice. But not so much when it comes to us choosing what to eat, drink and drive. Or how we generate our energy. So when it comes to choice those on the Left are like the Soviet central planners. They are all for choice. As long as you choose what they want you to choose.
When making any Economic Decisions we make our Choice based on Opportunity Costs
But we choose. Because we can. At least with most things. But how do we choose? Does price determine what we choose? Sometimes. Quality? Sometimes. Loyalty? Sometimes. Sometimes it’s one of these things. Sometimes a combination of all of these things. Sometimes it’s none of these things. So what is it that makes up your mind when confronted with a choice? Do you know? You do. For obviously you’re making the choice. But the ‘why’ we may have to coax out of you. For you will probably not be able to explain why. At least not as well an economist can.
The study of economics is all about choice. And trying to determine what influences people’s choices. So economists can offer economic policies to maximize economic activity. By maximizing that thing we ultimately trade for. Which is what? Happiness. We choose to increase our happiness. Or utility in the parlance of economics. The things we choose are the things that will give us the greatest happiness. Or the greatest utility. But if you’re like me you never saw ‘utility’ or ‘happiness’ expressed as units on a price tag in a store. Price tags show only price. Which tells us little how happy something will make us. So how do we choose the things that will maximize our happiness? Especially if you’re looking at two different things that have the same price?
Easy. We don’t make our decision by looking at what we’re buying. We make our decision based on what we’re not buying. What we are giving up by buying this thing or that service? What might have been had it not been for this purchase? What opportunity we’re passing on to make this purchase? What cost are we paying in lost opportunity by committing to this purchase? In other words, when making any economic decisions we make our choice based on opportunity costs. On an amount of happiness we’re giving up to acquire some other amount of happiness. And whatever the number of our choices the end result is the same. What we choose gives us more happiness than all other possible alternatives. Regardless of price, quality or loyalty. Though they could influence us when there is a tie.
Liberals make us Buy not what Increases our Happiness but what Increases their Happiness
You can’t put a price on happiness. That’s what they say. And they are right. Whoever they are. For example, luxury cars are nice. But they are expensive. Subcompacts are not as nice as luxury cars. But they are not as expensive either. So if you were choosing between these two cars which one would you choose? I can’t tell because I don’t know your income. But I can guess at your decision process. You’re going to compare opportunity costs. Driving a luxury car gives you enormous amounts of happiness. For the limited time you spend driving it. Enormous happiness for a limited amount of time. Okay. But what are the opportunity costs?
Let’s say your daily commute to and from work is one hour. But when you get home you enjoy 4 hours between surfing the Internet and watching cable television. When you’re not at work or home you like to use social media on your smartphone interacting with your friends. And using your smart phone apps to maximize your fun in the evenings and on the weekend. You like to spend your Sunday mornings at the coffee shop with you tablet reading the online Sunday papers. The hours of driving happiness come to 10 hours a week. And the hours of online/watching cable happiness comes to 32 hours a week. Now being that you spend more time online or watching cable than driving then it’s safe to say that driving brings you less happiness than those other activities. Because luxury cars are expensive they come with a high monthly payment and a high insurance premium. Which means you will have to cut back on other spending to afford the luxury car. So to afford the luxury car you have to give up your cable and home Internet access. And cut back on your minutes on your smartphone.
The opportunity cost of the luxury car is giving up cable TV and cutting back on Internet access and smartphone minutes. The opportunity cost of keeping those things is getting a subcompact car instead of a luxury car. This is the ultimate decision we make in all of our economic decisions. Which will cost us more in sacrificed happiness in the long run? Which makes those decisions easy. In the above example you would probably have never given the luxury car any serious thought. This is why free markets work so well. Why laissez faire capitalism works so well. Because the economy is full of individuals making these decisions quickly. Far quicker than any Soviet state planner. And with far more insight into our own wants and desires than any Soviet state planner. And in the aggregate this drives economic activity. Bringing the things we want to market. The things that give us the greatest amount of happiness. The things that have the lowest opportunity costs. Unlike Soviet central planning. Or American liberal Democrat central planning.
No. These people try to change our purchasing decisions. Making us buy not what increases our happiness. But what increases their happiness. Which is why when liberal Democrats are in power there is a general economic decline. Because they do alter our purchasing decisions. By increasing the opportunity costs of the things that increase our happiness. So that we buy fewer of them. But we don’t buy more of the things they want us to buy. Because those things don’t increase our happiness. When they subsidize hybrid cars (paid for with higher taxes from us) to get us to buy them it doesn’t make the hybrid cars give us any more happiness. It just leaves us with less money because of the higher taxes. So we buy less of everything else. And in the aggregate this lowers economic activity. Leaving us all less happy.
Balance Sheet, Financial Ratios, Private Equity, Toys “R” Us, Bain Capital, Leveraged Buyout and Initial Public Offering
Posted by PITHOCRATES - May 29th, 2012
History 101
Private Equity guides a Business foundering in Rough Seas into a Safe Harbor to Refit it for Profitability
The balance sheet is the one of the two most important financial statements of a business. It’s a snapshot in time of the financial position of a company. In the classical format all assets are on the left side. And all liabilities and equity are on the right. And the total value of all assets equals the total value of all liabilities and equity. In other words the business bought all of their assets with money raised by borrowing (liabilities), with money raised by selling stock (equity) or with money generated by the business (retained earnings/profits).
Everything you ever wanted to know about a business you can find on the balance sheet. Through numerous financial ratios you can determine if the business is using their assets efficiently. Or have too many assets that cost more to maintain for the revenue they produce. You can tell if a business has too much debt. Or has so little debt that new debt can finance growth and expansion. Which could attract new equity investors for further growth. You can see if they’re matching the terms of their debt with the life of their assets. Or if they’re taking on long-term debt obligations to provide short-term working capital. A review of a firm’s balance sheet can also tell how well the management team is doing. Or how poorly.
The financial picture the balance sheet provides of a business is an objective picture. It gives an outsider a different view of the company than an insider. Who may have a more subjective view. They may not want to shutter a poorly utilized factory because of pride, sympathy for the employees or unfounded hope that business will improve soon. So they will risk losing everything by not accepting that they must let some things go. Like a cargo ship foundering in rough seas. To save the ship and most of its cargo a captain may have to jettison some cargo. If he or she doesn’t the captain can lose the ship. The cargo. And the lives of everyone on board. Perhaps having a life or death decision in the balance makes it easier to make those hard decisions. Perhaps that’s why some CEOs can’t let some things go. Because they never accept the seriousness of their situation. Perhaps this is why an outsider can read a balance sheet and see what the CEO can’t. And act. Like the captain of a ship foundering in rough seas. And this is what private equity does. Guides a foundering business into a safe harbor. Refits it. And then re-launches it on a course of profitability.
Toys “R” Us
Toys “R” Us was hitting its stride in the Eighties. They were dominating the retail toy business. Even expanding internationally. And into other lines. Children’s clothing. Kids “R” Us. And baby products. Babies “R” Us. There was no stopping them. The secret to their success? Sell every hot new toy kids wanted. And sell it cheap. At or below cost. Using these loss leaders to get people into their stores. Where they could sell them more expensive goods in addition to the most popular ‘must have’ toys.
Then came the Nineties. And serious competition. From the big department stores, discount chains and warehouse clubs. Target. Wal-Mart. Costco. And then the Internet. Who could use the Toys “R” Us strategy just as well. And do them one better. Toys “R” Us focused on selling the ‘must have’ toys at the lowest price. Where customers came in knowing what they were looking for. Finding it. And heading to the checkout. With a plan like that you don’t need customer service. So when the competition matched them on selection and price they also threw in better customer service. Wal-Mart surpassed Toys “R” Us. Which was by then losing both profitability and market share.
In 2004 a consortium of private equity (KKR and Bain Capital) and Vornado Realty Trust bought Toys “R” Us for $6.6 billion in a leveraged buyout. And they turned the corporation around. With a new management team. Made the corporation more efficient. In the brick and mortar stores as well as online. The company is better and stronger today. But it has delayed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) for about 2 years now due to a couple of lackluster Christmas seasons during the Great Recession. They will use the capital raised from the IPO to pay down the debt from the leveraged buyout now sitting on Toys “R” Us’ balance sheet. Making the turnaround complete. Allowing the private equity firms to exit while leaving behind a healthier and more profitable company.
The Goal of the Leveraged Buyout was to make Toys “R” Us a Stronger Company
Private equity was successful at Toys “R” Us because Toys “R” Us was a good company. From 1948 it consistently did the smart thing and grew into the giant it is. But then it matured. And the market changed. Like a ship foundering in rough seas they just needed a little help to captain them through those rough seas. And that’s what private equity did.
Many will criticize the sizable debt they’ve left on their balance sheet. But the plan was always to take the company public again. Using the proceeds from the IPO to clean up the balance sheet. Yes, the equity partners will also make a fortune. But Toys “R” will emerge from this process a stronger company. Which was the goal of the leveraged buyout. They did not chop up the company and liquidate the pieces. They purchased it in 2005. And the company is still around today in 2012. What have they been doing all this time? Trying to make the company the best it can be. So they can profit greatly from the IPO.
No doubt the balance sheet of Toys “R” Us has never looked better. Other than the debt added for the leveraged buyout. Which they have been able to service since 2005. So clearly the company is doing something right. And just imagine how well they will do after they clean that debt off of their balance sheet. After the IPO. Suffice it to say that our grandchildren will be shopping there for their own children one day.
The Invisible Hand
Posted by PITHOCRATES - April 16th, 2012
Economics 101
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Storm Water Pollution Prevention
Storm Drains Are Only For Rain!
The storm drain system is comprised of gutters and storm drains which are designed to prevent flooding by moving rain water away from City streets and directly into local rivers (which flow to the ocean). Storm water pollution is occurring because rainwater and urban runoff (such as irrigation) picks up pollutants as it flows across paved surfaces and then carries them into the storm drain system. The water that enters this system is not ever treated or filtered and therefore any pollutants washed into the system flow with the water directly into the rivers and to the ocean.
These pollutants contaminate our waterways, making them unsafe for people and wildlife. Toxic chemicals, polluted rivers and beaches, and trash accumulation in the ocean kills plants and animals, cost millions of dollars each year in clean up, and hurts the ability of our community to safely enjoy our environment by creating serious health risks.
The City of Walnut is committed to the protection of our environment and water resources by reducing the impact of pollutants from urban runoff through implementation of its Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program as required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The NPDES permit program, as authorized by the Federal Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating what is discharged into waters of the United States.
Common sources of storm water pollution include litter, trash, pet waste, paint residue, organic material (yard waste), fertilizers, pesticides, sediments, construction debris, cooking grease, and illegally dumped motor oil and other harmful fluids. Many of these pollutants come from every day activities and can be easily reduced by using common sense and good housekeeping practices. Good housekeeping measures used to reduce storm water pollution are commonly referred to as Best Management Practices, or BMPs.
Certain activities, such as construction and renovation, may require a permit from the City of Walnut. Aspects of such permits may include BMP requirements to minimize water run-off and reduce the potential for storm water pollution.
For more information on which activities may require a permit, please contact:
Walnut City Hall
Building and Safety Department
21201 La Puente Rd.
Walnut, CA 91789
Ph: (909) 595-7543
Fax: (909) 595-6095
Even when a permit is not required for a particular activity, residents and businesses in Walnut are asked to follow BMP’s to reduce the potential for storm water pollution. This cooperation will help ensure the safety and enjoyment of our environment by keeping our storm drain systems clean and free from pollutants
Click on the activities listed below for storm water pollution prevention BMPS and other valuable information.
Auto Maintenance
Home Garden
Home Repair
Kitchen (Fats, Oil & Grease)
Pet Waste
Used Motor Oil Recycling
Food and Restaurant
Used Motor Oil Recycling
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are sewers and storm drains the same thing?
Sewers and storm drains are not the same thing. Sewers collect wastewater from indoor plumbing, such as toilets, sinks, washing machines, and floor drains. A municipal sewer system includes the collection, treatment, and disposal of sewage water. A municipal storm water system only transports water for flood control purposes; no treatment of storm water occurs before it is discharged to local water bodies.
2. How do I drain my swimming pool?
There two LA County Codes which define the legal method by which swimming pool or spa water may be disposed: Ord. 2007-0110 § 7 (part), 2007 & Ord. 99-0042 § 38 (part), 1999. Due to pollution and run-off concerns, the discharge any such water (including water from filter and pool equipment cleaning) into the street or storm drain system is generally prohibited.
The best way to drain swimming pool water is to drain pool water into the municipal sewer system (see question #1 for an explanation of this system). In-ground pools typically have a sanitary sewer drainage inlet near the pool equipment. Pools and spas that not plumbed with a sanitary sewer drainage inlet can be drained to a sanitary sewer line plumbed to the home. This applies to rinsing your pool filter as well. This may only be done if the water drains to a sewer system. Some people rinse the filter in their bathtub. Consult a licensed plumber or pool professional if you are unsure how to go about properly draining your pool. For further information, contact the City’s Building and Safety Department in City Hall at 909-595-7543.
3. How do I report a storm water pollution concern?
Concerns regarding possible pollutants being discharged to a street gutter, storm drain, or storm channel should be directed to the Building and Safety Department in City Hall at 909-595-7543. Additionally, the County of Los Angeles maintains a 24-hour toll free water pollution reporting hotline at 1-888-CLEANLA. To report serious spill emergencies (chemical, gas, etc), call 911.
4. If yard clippings and leaves are natural, why are they considered pollutants?
As yard clippings and leaves decompose, they deplete water of dissolved oxygen that aquatic species, including fish and turtles, need to survive. Excessive plant material also encourages algae growth.
Additionally, contaminants such as dog waste, fertilizers, and oil from road dirt can adhere to these types of organic material. Therefore, when they wash into the storm drains, so do the contaminants.
For general storm water education information, please contact:
City of Walnut
Environmental Department
Ph: (909) 598-5605
Fax: (909) 598-2160
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The French invasion of Honolulu (also known as the Sacking of Honolulu, or the Tromelin Affair) was an attack on Honolulu by Louis Tromelin in 1848 in retribution for the local persecution of Catholics and repression of French trade.
French Invasion
'View of the Honolulu Fort - Interior', oil on canvas painting by Paul Emmert, c. 1853, Hawaii Historical Society.jpg
Honolulu Fort, 1853
DateAugust 22 - September 5, 1849
French tactical victory; strategically insignificant
• French invade Honolulu.
• Successfully capture Honolulu Fort
• French withdrawal.
• $100,000 in damages.
France French Second Republic Hawaii Kingdom of Hawaii
Commanders and leaders
France Louis Tromelin Hawaii Kamehameha III
1 frigate
1 corvette
140 Marines
1 fortress
In the Treaty of 1843 with Hawaii, France had agreed never on any pretense to take possession of any portion of the Hawaiian domain.[1] The French government had issued orders to Guillaume Patrice Dillon, its new consul in Honolulu in 1848: "Avoid in your conduct any show of pugnaciousness [esprit de lutte]. It is befitting that moderation be the one to consolidate the fruits of firmness". Nevertheless on November 5, 1848, he wrote to the French Foreign Office: "I am convinced that it will prove sufficient to display a good French corvette for three days at Honolulu to force concessions from this devious and hypocritical Government."[2]
On August 12, 1849, French admiral Louis Tromelin arrived in Honolulu Harbor on the corvette Gassendi with the frigate La Poursuivante.[3] While in Honolulu, Tromelin found out about the past persecution of Catholics and the high tariffs on French brandy from Dillon, who oversaw French interests in Hawaii. Tromelin, angered by the Protestant ABCFM missionaries’ intention to shut out Catholicism and French trade, worked with Dillon to compose ten demands to King Kamehameha III on August 22.[4]
Tromelin‘s demandsEdit
5. The withdrawal of the alleged exception by which French whalers which imported wine and spirits were affected and the abrogation of a regulation which obliged vessels laden with liquors to pay the custom house officers placed on board to superintend their loading and unloading.
7. The return of a fine of twenty-five dollars paid by the whale ship General Teste besides an indemnity of sixty dollars for the time that she was detained in port.
8. The punishment of certain school boys whose impious conduct in church had occasioned complaint.
9. The removal of the governor of Hawaii for allowing the domicile of a priest to be violated by police officers who entered it to make an arrest or the order that the governor make reparation to that missionary.
10. The payment to a French hotel keeper of the damages committed in his house by sailors from HBM″s [His Britannic Majesty's] ship Amphitrite.[3]
Sacking of HonoluluEdit
The demands had not been met by August 25. That afternoon, after a second warning to the civilians of the impending invasion,[5] 140 French Marines, two field pieces, and scaling ladders were landed by boat. The marines took an empty Honolulu Fort from the two men defending it, Governor of Oahu Mataio Kekuanaoa and Marshal of the Kingdom Warren Goodale, who did not resist, the fort having been evacuated before the French landed.[6] The marines spiked the coastal guns, threw kegs of powder into the harbor and destroyed all the other weapons they found (mainly muskets and ammunition). They raided government buildings and general property in Honolulu, causing $100,000 in damages. They also took the king's yacht, Kamehameha III, which was sailed to Tahiti and never returned.[7] After these raids, the invasion force withdrew to the fort. During the occupation, men in Honolulu ridiculed the French, and on August 30 they organized a mock attack party making the marines double their guard and send skirmishing patrols out late into night, encountering no attackers. Tromelin eventually recalled his men and left Hawaii on September 5.[8]
Gerrit P. Judd led a party to inquire and settle the incident, leaving for Paris on September 11. Along the way Judd requested support from the United States and Great Britain, the latter accepting for his case against Tromelin.[9] At first the French government condemned the attack on Honolulu but with the account of Tromelin and Dillon who left with Tromelin on September 5, the French government reconsidered the incident as more justified and did not make reparation for the damages.[10]
1. ^ Honolulu Directory, and Historical Sketch of the Hawaiian Or Sandwich Islands. 1869. p. 23.
2. ^ Charlot 1970, pp. 96, 98.
3. ^ a b Alexander 1891, p. 266.
4. ^ Hawaiian Journal p.2
5. ^ Daws 1968, p. 133.
6. ^ Hawaiian Journal p.9
7. ^ Kuykendall 1965, p. 395.
8. ^ Daws 1968, p. 134.
9. ^ Kuykendall 1965, p. 396.
10. ^ Kuykendall 1965, p. 397. |
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The Ponca (Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced [pãŋꜜka]) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Their traditions and historical accounts suggest they originated as a tribe east of the Mississippi River in the Ohio River valley area and migrated west for game and as a result of Iroquois wars.
Flag of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.png
Flag of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.PNG
Total population
Regions with significant populations
United States United States
(Nebraska Nebraska, Oklahoma Oklahoma)
English, Omaha-Ponca
Native American Church, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Omaha and other Dhegihan/Siouan peoples
The term Ponca was the name of a clan among the Kansa, Osage, and Quapaws. The meaning of the name is "Cut Throat".
Early historyEdit
Thomas Cry (Moni Chaki), Ponca, Nebraska, 1898
Route of the Ponca Indians and other Dhegiha Siouan peoples (Quapaw, Osage, Kansa (Kaw) and Omaha) from the South to Nebraska according to oral traditions
At first European contact, the Ponca lived around the mouth of the Niobrara River in northern Nebraska.[3] According to tradition, they moved there from an area east of the Mississippi just before Columbus' arrival in the Americas. Siouan-speaking tribes such as the Omaha, Osage, Quapaw and Kaw also have traditions of having migrated to the West from east of the Mississippi River. The invasions of the Iroquois from their traditional base in the north pushed those tribes out of the Ohio River area.[4] Scholars are not able to determine precisely when the Dhegiha Siouan tribes migrated west, but know the Iroquois also pushed tribes out from the Ohio and West Virginia areas in the Beaver Wars. The Iroquois maintained the lands as hunting grounds.[5]
The Ponca appear on a 1701 map by Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, who placed them along the upper Missouri. In 1789, fur trader Juan Baptiste Munier was given an exclusive license to trade with the Ponca at the mouth of the Niobrara River. He founded a trading post at its confluence with the Missouri, where he found about 800 Ponca residing. Shortly after that, the tribe was hit by a devastating smallpox epidemic. In 1804, when they were visited by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, only about 200 Ponca remained. Later in the 19th century, their number rose to about 700.[2]
Most of the leadership of the Ponca people was destroyed in 1824. Hostile Lakotas attacked a delegation of 30 leaders of various rank returning from a visit in a friendly Oglala Lakota camp. Only twelve survived. "Numbered among the dead were all the Ponca chiefs, including the famous Smoke-maker ...".[6]:27
Unlike most other Plains Indians, the Ponca grew maize and kept vegetable gardens. Their last successful buffalo hunt was in 1855.[3]
Treaties with the United StatesEdit
In 1817 the tribe signed a peace treaty with the United States.[7] By a second treaty in 1825, they regulated trade and tried to minimize intertribal clashes on the Northern Plains.[8] In 1858 the Ponca signed a treaty by which they gave up parts of their land to the United States in return for protection from hostile tribes and a permanent reservation home on the Niobrara.[9] The Ponca signed their last treaty with the USA in 1865.[10] In the 1868 US-Sioux Treaty of Fort Laramie[11] the US mistakenly included all Ponca lands in the Great Sioux Reservation. Conflict between the Ponca and the Sioux/Lakota, who now claimed the land as their own by US law, forced the US to remove the Ponca from their own ancestral lands.
When Congress decided to remove several northern tribes to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1876, the Ponca were on the list. After inspecting the lands the US government offered for their new reservation and finding it unsuitable for agriculture, the Ponca chiefs decided against a move to the Indian Territory. Hence, when governmental officials came in early 1877 to move the Ponca to their new land, the chiefs refused, citing their earlier treaty. Most of the tribe refused and had to be moved by force. In their new location, the Ponca struggled with malaria, a shortage of food and the hot climate. One in four members died within the first year.[citation needed]
Standing BearEdit
Chief Standing Bear was among those who had most vehemently protested the tribe's removal. When his eldest son, Bear Shield, lay on his deathbed, Standing Bear promised to have him buried on the tribe's ancestral lands. In order to carry out his promise, Standing Bear left the reservation in Oklahoma and traveled back toward the Ponca homelands. He was arrested for doing so without US government permission and ordered confined at Fort Omaha. Many people took up his cause, and two prominent attorneys offered their services pro bono. Standing Bear filed a habeas corpus suit challenging his arrest. In Standing Bear v. Crook (1879), held in Omaha, Nebraska, the US District Court established for the first time that Native Americans are "persons within the meaning of the law" of the United States, and that they have certain rights as a result. This was an important civil rights case.[2]
In 1881, the US returned 26,236 acres (106 km²) of Knox County, Nebraska to the Ponca, and about half the tribe moved back north from Indian Territory. The tribe continued to decline.
In the 1930s, the University of Nebraska and the Smithsonian Institution conducted an archeological project[12] to identify and save prehistoric artifacts before they were destroyed during agricultural development. The team excavated a prehistoric Ponca village, which included large circular homes up to sixty feet in diameter, located almost two miles (3 km) along the south bank of the Niobrara River. [13][12]
After World War II, the US government began a policy of terminating its relationship with tribes. In 1966, the US federal government terminated the tribe (then called the Northern Ponca). It distributed its land by allotment to members, and sold off what it called surplus.[2] Many individuals sold off their separate allotments over the decades, sometimes being tricked by speculators.
In the 1970s, the tribe started efforts to reorganize politically. Members wanted to revive the cultural identity of its people and improve their welfare. First they sought state recognition, and then allied with their Congressional representatives to seek legislation for federal recognition. On October 31, 1990, the Ponca Restoration Bill was signed into law, and they were recognized as the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. They are now trying to rebuild a land base on their ancestral lands. They are the only federally recognized tribe in Nebraska without a reservation.[2]
Today the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has over 2,783 enrolled members and is headquartered in Niobrara, Nebraska.[2]
After the 1877 forced relocation onto the Quapaw Reservation in Indian Territory, the tribe moved west to their own lands along the Arkansas and Salt Fork Rivers. The full-bloods formed a tipi village, while the mixed-bloods settled about Chikaskia River. During opposition by Ponca leadership, the US government began dismantling tribal government under the Curtis Act. In an attempt to encourage assimilation (and to allow Oklahoma to become a state), they allotted reservation lands to individual members under the Dawes Act in 1891 and 1892. Any land remaining after allotment was made available for sale to non-natives.[3]
After Oklahoma achieved statehood, some remaining Ponca land was leased or sold to the 101 Ranch, where many Ponca people found employment. The 1911 discovery of oil on Ponca lands provided revenues but had mixed results. There were environmental disasters as oil refineries dumped waste directly into the Arkansas River.[3]
In 1918, two Ponca men, Frank Eagle and Louis McDonald, helped co-found the Native American Church.[14]
In 1950 the tribe organized a new government under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act. They adopted their tribal constitution on 20 September 1950.[15]
Today the tribe is headquartered in White Eagle, Oklahoma. It conducts business from Ponca City. The Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma has over 4200 members.[16]
Notable PoncaEdit
See alsoEdit
1. ^ Oklahoma Indian Affairs. Oklahoma Indian Nations Pocket Pictorial Directory. Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine 2008: page 28. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
2. ^ a b c d e f About the Ponca Tribe. Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
3. ^ a b c d Karr, Steven. A Brief History of the Ponca Tribe. The Official Website of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
4. ^ Louis F. Burns, "Osage" Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
5. ^ Rollins 96-100
6. ^ Howard, James H. (1965): The Ponca Tribe. Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin 195. Washington.
7. ^ "US-Ponca Treaty of 1817". retrieved 4nov2011
8. ^ "US-Ponca Treaty of 1825". retrieved 4nov2011
9. ^ "US-Ponca Treaty of 1858". retrieved 4nov2011
10. ^ "US-Ponca Treaty of 1865". retrieved 4nov2011
11. ^ "US-Sioux Treaty of 1868". retrieved 4nov2011
12. ^ a b Dr. Lance Martin, "Dig Deep", 1997, ABCD unlimited. Retrieved 06/19/17.
13. ^ Dr. Lance Martin, "Rabbit Hunt", 1997, ABCD unlimited. Retrieved 12/5/08.
14. ^ Mark Van de Logt, "Ponca", Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 2009 (14 December 2016)
15. ^ "Constitution and By-laws of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma", National Tribal Justice Resource Center. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
16. ^ "Pocket Pictorial." Archived 2010-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. 2010: 29. (retrieved 10 June 2010)
• Clark, C. Blue. Indian Tribes of Oklahoma: A Guide. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8061-4060-5.
• Dorsey, James Owen. Omaha and Ponka Letters. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891.
• Rollins, Willard H. The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1995.
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Chapter XXII Changes wrought in economic and social lifeEdit
The advantages that would be gained by substituting, for the numerous taxes by which the public revenues are now raised, a single tax levied upon the value of land, will appear more and more important the more they are considered.
To abolish the taxation, which acting and reacting now hampers every wheel of exchange and presses upon every form of industry, would be like removing an immense weight from a powerful spring. Imbued with fresh energy production would start into new life and trade would receive a stimulus that would be felt to the remotest arteries.
The present method of taxation operates upon exchange like artificial deserts and mountains.
To get goods through a customs house can cost as much as carrying them around the world. Today taxation operates upon energy, and industry, and skill, and thrift, like a fine upon those qualities. If you have worked harder and built yourself a good house while I have been contented to live in a hovel, the tax-gatherer now comes annually to make you pay a penalty for your energy and industry, by taxing you more than me. If you have saved while I have wasted, you are mulct while I am exempt.
We punish with a tax the man who covers barren fields with ripening grain; we fine him who puts up machinery and him who drains a swamp. How heavily these taxes burden production only those realize who have attempted to follow them through their ramifications, for their heaviest part is that which falls in increased prices. Manifestly these taxes are in their nature akin to the Egyptian Pasha's tax upon date trees. If they do not cause the trees to be cut down, they at least discourage the planting.
Taking taxes off industryEdit
To abolish these taxes would be to lift the whole enormous weight of taxation from productive industry. The needle of the seamstress and the great manufactory, the horse and the locomotive, the fishing boat and the steamship, the farmer's plough and the merchant's stock, would be alike untaxed. All would be free to make or to save, to buy or to sell, unfined by taxes, unannoyed by the tax-gatherer. Instead of saying to the producer, as it does now, "The more you add to the general wealth the more shall you be taxed!" the Government would say, "Be as industrious, as thrifty, as enterprising as you choose, you shall have your full reward! You shall not be fined for making two blades of grass grow where one grew before; you shall not be taxed for adding to the aggregate wealth."
And will not the community gain by thus refusing to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs; by thus refraining from muzzling the ox that treadeth out the corn; by thus leaning to industry, and thrift, and skill, their natural reward, full and unimpaired? For there is to the community also a natural reward. The law of society is each for all as well as all for each. No one can keep to himself the good he may do, any more than he can keep the bad. Every productive enterprise, besides its return to those who undertake it, yields collateral advantages to others. If a man plant a fruit tree, his gain is that he gathers the fruit in its time and season. But in addition to his gain, there is a gain to the whole community. Others than the owner are benefitted by the increased supply of fruit; the birds that it shelters fly far and wide; the rain that it helps to attract falls not alone on his field; and, even to the eye which rests upon it from a distance, it brings a sense of beauty. And so with everything else. The building of a house, a factory, a ship, or a railway, benefits others besides those who get the direct gains.
Well may the community leave to the individual producer all that prompts him to exertion; well may it let the labourer have the full reward of his labour, and the capitalist the full return of his capital. For the more that labour and capital produce, the greater grows the common wealth in which all may share. And in the value or rent of land this general gain is expressed in a definite and concrete form. Here is a fund which the state may take while leaving to labour and capital their full reward.
Opening new opportunitiesEdit
To shift the burden of taxation from production and exchange to the value or rent of land would be not merely to give new stimulus to the production of wealth; it would be to open new opportunities. For under this system no one would care to hold land unless to use it, and land now withheld from use would everywhere be thrown open to improvement. And it must be remembered that this would apply not merely to agricultural land but to all land. Mineral land would be thrown open to use as would agricultural land; and in the heart of a city no one could afford to keep land from its most profitable use, or on the outskirts to demand more for it than would be warranted by the use to which it could be put at the time.
Whoever planted an orchard, or sowed a field, or built a house, or erected a manufactory, no matter how costly, would have no more to pay in taxes than if he kept so much land idle. The owner of a vacant city lot would have to pay as much for the privilege of keeping other people off it until he wanted to use it as his neighbour who has a fine house upon his lot. It would cost as much to keep a row of tumble-down shanties upon valuable land as it would were the land covered with a grand hotel or a pile of great warehouses filled with costly goods.
The selling price of land would fall; land speculation would receive its death-blow; land monopolization would no longer pay. Thus there would disappear the premium which, wherever labour is most productive, must now be paid before labour can be exerted. The farmer would not have to pay out half his means, or mortgage his labour for years, in order to obtain land to cultivate. The company that proposed to erect a manufactory would not have to expend a great part of its capital for a site. And what would be paid from year to year to the state would be in lieu of all the taxes now levied upon improvements, machinery and stock.
Effect upon the labour marketEdit
Consider the effect of such a change upon the labour market. Instead of labourers competing with each other for employment, and in their competition cutting down wages to the point of bare subsistence, employers would compete for labourers and wages would rise to the fair earnings of labour. For into the labour market would have entered the greatest of all competitors for the employment of labour, a competitor whose demand cannot be satisfied - the demand of labour itself. The employers of labour would have to bid not merely against other employers, all feeling the stimulus of greater trade, but against the ability of labourers to become their own employers upon the natural opportunities thrown open to them by the tax which prevented monopolization.
With natural opportunities thus set free to labour, with capital and improvements exempt from tax and exchange released from restrictions, the spectacle of willing men unable to turn their labour into the things they want would become impossible; the recurring paroxysms which paralyse industry would cease; every wheel of production would be set in motion; trade would increase in every direction and wealth augment on every hand.
But great as they thus appear, the advantages of a transference of all public burdens to a tax upon the value of land cannot be fully appreciated until we consider the effect upon the distribution of wealth.
Effect upon individuals and classesEdit
Who can say to what infinite powers the wealth-producing capacity of labour may not be raised by social adjustments that will give to the producers of wealth their fair proportion of its advantages and enjoyments? Every new power engaged in the service of man would improve the condition of all. And from the general intelligence and mental activity springing from this general improvement of conditions would come new developments of power of which as yet we cannot dream.
When it is first proposed to put all taxes upon the value of land and thus to confiscate rent, there will not be wanting appeals to the fears of small farm and homestead owners, who will be told that this is a proposition to rob them of their hard-earned property.
But a moment's reflection will show that this proposition should commend itself to all whose interests as landholders do not largely exceed their interests as labourers or capitalists, or both.
Take the case of the mechanic, shopkeeper or professional man who has secured himself a house and plot where he lives and which he contemplates with satisfaction as a place from which his family cannot be ejected in case of his death. Although he will have taxes to pay upon his land, he will be released from taxes upon his house and improvements, upon his furniture and personal property, upon all that he and his family eat, drink and wear, while his earnings will be largely increased by the rise of wages, the constant employment, and the increased briskness of trade.
And so with the farmer. I speak not of the farmer who never touches the handles of a plough, but of the working farmer who holds a small farm which he cultivates with the aid of his sons and perhaps some hired help. He would be a great gainer by the substitution of a single tax upon the value of land for all the taxes now imposed on commodities because the taxation of land values rests only on the value of land, which is low in agricultural districts as compared with towns and cities, where it is high. Acre for acre, the improved and cultivated farm, with its buildings, fences, orchard, crops and stock, would be taxed no more than unused land of equal quality. For taxes, being levied upon the value of the land alone, would fall with equal incidence upon unimproved as upon improved land.
Government simplifiedEdit
The great wrong that takes wealth from the hands of those who produce, and concentrates it in the hands of those who do not, would be gone. Whatever disparities continued to exist would be those of nature, not the artificial disparities produced by the denial of equal rights. Wealth would not only be enormously increased; it would be distributed in accordance with the degree in which the industry, skill, knowledge or prudence of each contributed to the common stock.
It is not possible without too much elaboration to notice all the changes that would be wrought, or would become possible, by a change that would readjust the very foundation of society. Among these is the great simplicity that would become possible in government. To collect taxes, to prevent and punish evasions, to check and countercheck revenues drawn from so many distinct sources, now make up a large part of the business of government. An immense and complicated network of governmental machinery would thus be dispensed with. The rise of wages, the opening of opportunities for all to make an easy and comfortable living, would at once lessen and would soon eliminate from society the thieves, swindlers and other classes of criminals who spring from the unequal distribution of wealth. Thus the administration of the criminal law, with all its paraphernalia of policemen, detectives, prisons and penitentiaries, would cease to make such a drain upon the vital force and attention of society. The legislative, judicial and executive functions of government would be vastly simplified. Society would thus approach the ideal of Jeffersonian democracy. |
Rappaccinis Daughter
Rappaccinis Daughter In Rappaccini’s Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne examines the combination of good and evil in people through the relationships of the story’s main characters. The lovely and yet poisonous Beatrice, the daughter of the scientist Rappaccini, is the central figure of the story, while her neighbor Giovanni becomes the observer, participant, and interpreter of the strange events that transpire within the garden next door. It is Giovanni’s inability to understand these events that eventually leads to Beatrice’s death. Giovanni sees things that are either all good or all bad. While he is quick to judge Beatrice, he is unable to examine his own motives and thoughts. During the story, Hawthorne gives the reader many clues of Giovanni’s selfish and fickle nature. In the end, Beatrice dies because of Giovanni and his own poisonous nature.
The moral of the story is that every persons character is both good and evil in nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Giovanni and Beatrice to explore the impossibility of totally separating good and evil from the human character. At the beginning of the story, a young man named Giovanni Guasconti is introduced to the readers as a typical homesick student from Southern Italy. He is at once attracted to the beautiful garden next door belonging to the mysterious scientist, Dr. Rappaccini. Not only is he fascinated by the scientist and his garden, but he is instantly enchanted by Rappaccini’s beautiful daughter, Beatrice. The second time Giovanni sees Beatrice from his window overlooking the garden, he notices several unusual things.
First, he believes that he sees a lizard die suddenly at Beatrice’s feet. Then a swarm of insects appear to die from her breath, and finally, the flowers that he gives to her seem to wither from her touch. However, Hawthorne is careful to never fully confirm what Giovanni sees. Hawthorne frequently uses words like imagine, seemed, or appeared to to cast a doubt upon the validity of what Giovanni thinks he sees. Even Giovanni himself rationalizes the situation and convinces himself that what he thought he saw did not happen. This is because in Giovanni’s mind, it is impossible to separate the physical from the spiritual.
For him, if Beatrice’s body is poisonous, then so is her spirit. Giovanni is unable to see the possibilities for good and bad to be simultaneously within someone. This problem is at the heart of this story and is what ultimately causes Beatrice’s death. Since Giovanni allows himself to disbelieve what he had seen earlier in the garden, he is able to fall for Beatrice. Giovanni is drawn to Beatrice not because of the glamor of science, but an interest in the unknown. He knows that all is not right in Rappaccini’s garden and he is fascinated with the mystery. As Giovanni and Beatrice get to know each other, they develop a strong bond.
However, for Giovanni this is not true love. Hawthorne provides the reader with clues that question the integrity of Giovanni. For example, Hawthorne writes, Guasconti had not a deep heart or at all events, its depths are not sounded now-but he had a quick fancy, and an ardent southern temperament, which rose every instant to higher fever-pitch (Hawthorne 614). Not only is Giovanni passionate in his lust for Beatrice, but he also idealizes her as an angel. While he finds her to be maiden-like, he also considers her worthy to be worshipped (Hawthorne 619). Occasionally, Giovanni’s doubts come forth, And at such times, he was startled at the horrible suspicions that rose, monster-like, out of the caverns of his heart, and stared him in the face; his love grew thin and faint as the morning-mist; his doubts alone had substance (Hawthorne 620). But always, Giovanni is able to squash these doubts and he convinces himself of Beatrice’s purity.
He is able to do this because otherwise he could not be with her. Giovanni does not see the possibility that there can be both good and evil within someone. For him, he thinks that someone is either all good or all bad. Even after Dr. Baglioni’s revelation about Beatrice, Giovanni tries not to see the possibilities of Beatrice being poisonous. It is only when he realizes that now he too is poisonous that he truly allows himself to believe.
Because of this, he becomes insanely angry, as if he is the only one wronged, and ventures forth to confront Beatrice. The woman that he before worshipped, he now calls Accursed one! (Hawthorne 624). Now, he is repulsed by Beatrice and loathes her. Giovanni hurts Beatrice deeply with his accusations and stinging words. However, through Baglioni’s antidote he sees a possible way to cure them both. Beatrice takes the potion, urging Giovanni to wait and see what happens to her.
At this point Beatrice dies because the poison in her body is too strong and the antidote causes her death. As she dies she says to Giovanni, Thy words of hatred are like lead within my heart-but they, too, will fall away as I ascend. Oh, was there not, from the first, more poison in thy nature than in mine (Hawthorne 626). Giovanni is a normal, but selfish student who is drawn into the Rappaccinis’ lives. He is unable to separate Beatrice’s good and sweet spirit from her poisonous body.
He does not comprehend the possibility of an intermixture of good and evil within people. Once he finds out that she is indeed poisonous, he hates her. However, it is Giovanni in the end that is poisonous with his cruel words and the potion that he gives to Beatrice. In fact, although inadvertently, it is Giovanni who kills Beatrice by trying to change her nature with his antidote. The short story’s title, Rappaccini’s Daughter immediately tells the reader that the focus of the story is upon Beatrice even though she is not introduced to the reader for a couple pages. The first introduction to Beatrice teaches the reader that she is very beautiful and she is the caretaker to the poisonous plants in her father’s garden. As Giovanni learns, she knows little of the outside world for she has been raised almost exclusively within the garden.
She appears to Giovanni, as well as to the reader, to be a gentle and innocent young woman. She even admits to Giovanni that the poisonous flowers in her father’s garden shock and offend her, when they meet her eye (Hawthorne 617). She honestly tells Giovanni about her poisonous nature when he confronts her; however, she seems to be truly unaware of her presence’s poisonous affect on Giovanni. She is also astonished by Giovanni’s hurtful confrontation. Beatrice tells Giovanni, though my body be nourished with poison, my spirit is God’s creature, and craves love as its daily food (Hawthorne 625).
If she is evil, it is only because she was made that way. Her heart is pure. So in the end, the beautiful and innocent Beatrice is betrayed by the man she loved, Giovanni. For Giovanni betrays Beatrice because he thought she was evil, and truly Beatrice is the one who demonstrates to have true love. Beatrice proves to be very human, but with a poisonous body and a loving soul. At the beginning of the story, Giovanni is a normal person.
However, he is inadvertently tempted by the beauty and sweetness of Beatrice and becomes poisonous. His own dark side is awakened by the encounter with the Rappaccinis and no one is left unscathed. Like all people, he is not completely good or bad, but a combination of the two. Some people are mostly good, some are mostly bad, but no one is only good or evil. English Essays. |
Class and Conflict
Marx defined “class”not just as a group having certain elements in common. Having certain elements in common was a necessary consideration, but it wasn’t sufficient. To be a “class” as Marx defined it, the group must be in conflict with another class.
Thus we have “class struggle” and “class conflict” as central tenets of Marx simply because class is defined that way. And this has pervaded Western thought to the extent that even when we don’t explicitly define “class” in terms of “conflict” people assume that the classes must be in conflict.
One example is the division of the “working class” and the “wealthy/capitalist/upper class”. Now, historically, there has been some justification for that especially in the old “company towns” where there was only one significant employer and it was a lot harder to just pack up and move than it is today. Employer paying in “scrip” which could only be used in the “company store” and further things that really had the employer acting more like a government than a business, making the employees more subjects than workers. In such a case, the subjects organizing in revolt against their oppressive government (workers forming a union but in more functionally descriptive terms) has a certain logic.
So yes, there certainly have been cases of classes in conflict with other classes, but is it as universal as folk indoctrinated with Marx to the point that they don’t even recognize it as Marxian would have you think?
Well, one thing to consider is that folk aren’t as tied to “class” today as in times past. Economic class? In my life I’ve been through four of the five household income quintiles. (Recent change from a two income to a one income household dropped me one quintile.) In the US 88% of millionaires (2017 data) are self-made. And even if they don’t get “rich”, people generally move through various income levels over time. My own case is hardly exceptional. Three quarters of those American workers who were in the bottom 20 percent of income earners in 1975 were in the top 40 percent sometime over the succeeding 16 years (W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm, “By Our Own Bootstraps: Economic Opportunity & the Dynamics of Income Distribution,”
Annual Report, 1995, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, p. 8.) Far from defining a “class” in which one lives ones life, income is more likely to simply be a way station as one moves through different income levels in life. Yes, there are some poor who remain poor and there are some people who are born rich and remain so throughout their lives. But that is not the case for the majority of Americans.
Then there is conflict within a class. Consider the “Capitalist” class. (This is itself a misnomer–do you have a pension fund or retirement account? Congratulations you are a “capitalist”. But that is a discussion for another day.) Conventionally we are supposed to consider these “Capitalists” as some monolithic block in competition with the workers. Nothing could be further from the truth. For one thing most of the conflict that the “Capitalists” face is not from workers but from other “Capitalists.” They compete for customers and markets. They compete for resources. And they compete for productive workers (representing “human capital”–another reason that “Capitalist” as a class is a misnomer).
Consider that Ford motor company was paying workers more than their competitors, was running shifts with 40 hour work weeks starting in 1914 (scaling back from 48) because Henry Ford believed the longer hours hurt worker productivity. Some people want to claim that Unions were responsible for these improvements in worker conditions. There’s only one problem: Ford didn’t unionize until 1941. Indeed, the unionization of Ford did not happen until government got involved, and unions obtained political power leading promptly to the unionization of Chrysler and GM with Ford the lone holdout. This led to a rather bitter conflict between union organizers and Ford management but all this was after the 40 hour work week and other improvements in worker conditions. Unionization was not the cause of them.
What did lead to these improvements was that Ford had to compete with other manufacturers–not just of cars since welders, metalworkers, and other folk can find work in other industries too–for productive workers. The pay and other improvements in worker conditions meant he could select from the best workers allowing him to produce more cars at a cost that let him sell that 15 million cars and make a very handsome profit.
The conflict wasn’t between workers and capitalists, but between various capitalists with the workers benefiting. On the flip side that “select from the best workers”? If you wanted that job with, for the time, good pay and good working conditions? You’d better be a more productive worker than the next guy.
The conflict within the classes dominated rather than any conflict between classes. And the result was more commodities provided to society as a whole and an improved standard of living across the board.
The idea of “class conflict” is a pernicious one and one of the legacies of Karl Marx. Indeed, it’s treated as a fact of nature to such an extent that people don’t even recognize it as a Marxian concept. It’s something that people simply accept as true, as “self-evident.” And yet, under even a modest examination it falls apart.
Confessions of a Viking Goth: A Blast from the Past
I have often described as Goth, although maybe “Goth Lite” or perhaps “Entry Level Goth” is a better description. Part of it is “personal branding”–having a distinctive “look” that can be distinctive and recognizable. For instance, there are other writers out there who wear black almost exclusively but when I started on my personal branding efforts I searched and no one was styling himself or herself as “The Writer in Black”. So I did.
But it was more than just a branding effort. It was also a matter of recognizing who I am. In the early eighties, I was out of my home, in the Air Force, out of training, and at my first duty assignment in Great Britain. Basically, this was the first time where I was positioned to make my own choices for style and clothing. Oh, sure, on duty it was all Air Force uniforms but off duty was my choice. I found myself choosing black clothes and a style that, in retrospect were kind of “Goth-ish”. The someone told me that if I wanted to be attractive to young women I should wear bright colored clothes. Being unreservedly heterosexual, young, and single this was an important issue to me.
Worst. Advice. I’d. Ever. Got.
For one thing, it didn’t work. But the clothes I was wearing just weren’t “me”. Oh, over time I convinced myself they were, but…no.
Fast forward many years later. I get introduced to music that I hadn’t been exposed to before. Power metal, Symphonic/Gothic metal, darkwave.
Music like this:
Or this:
Or this:
Oh wow. That was some exciting stuff. It called to me in a way that the stuff I’d heard before, even my very favorites from before, hadn’t. And it broke through the wall I had built. I looked at my bright colored shirts and khaki and beige pants and said “this isn’t me.”
So I start wearing darker colors, mostly black. I feel more comfortable than I ever had before. I dye my hair black (beard too sometime later when I started growing that), bleach a streak above my right eye (which I dye purple for cons and the like). And I feel more comfortable in my own skin then I ever have before.
Now, one thing I did learn is that there are different subgenres of Goth. There’s Trad Goth, Industrial, Pastel Goth, Cyber Goth, Cowboy Goth, and so on. Similarly in metal: Power Metal, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, Viking Metal, and so on.
And wait a minute I thought. Back up. Viking Metal? Could there be Viking Goth too? I look. There’s no Viking Goth that I could find.
Cool, thinks I. I can try something new. The trick is to get a “Viking look” like, say this:
And blend it with a Goth look like, say, this:
So far my results are looking more “Viking Biker” than “Viking Goth” but working on it. Biker would be a perfectly fine look, but it’s not what I’m aiming at.
Ice Follies ongoing: Some success.
The main problem ongoing here has been that my feet have been pure misery. Bad arches and rather thick feet and ankles contributed to the problem. Well, trying the skates at home (plastic guards to protect floor and blades from each other of course) I could concentrate on what’s going on. I found that with one pair of my orthotics in place there was a pressure point right behind the balls of my feet where the pain was concentrated. Ah Hah! Said I. The shape of the boot and the orthotic conspired to cause the end of the orthotic dig into my foot there. So I took out the orthotic and just used a gel insole, carefully trimmed to match the insole that came with the boot. With that my whole foot hurt with most of the pain running along the inside edge of the arch.
This led me to sit down and think. Remember what I just said about thick feet and ankles? The laces that came with the skates (108″) weren’t really long enough, even the longer laces (120″) I’d bought at the rink pro shop weren’t. I had to crank them down really tight through the instep to have enough lace to get even the first three of the speed laces (hooks) which I needed for ankle support.
So I went to the store and got two pair of 72″ laces. I tied two laces together (twice) giving me 140″ laces. And ta dah! I was able to keep them just snug over my instep and get up all four pairs of speed laces. I still got some foot pain, bad arches aren’t magically going away, but it was manageable .
Tried it out on the ice tonight. So much better. Did eight laps–a personal best–with only a couple of short breaks to relieve foot pain. At the end it was fatigue, catching toe picks on the ice and the like, which told me it was time to stop.
That was yesterday. Today I had class. And while I still had to take frequent short breaks to take my weight off my feet and let the pain subside, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. As a result I was able to spend more time on the ice and made quite a bit of progress today. In particular, my balance was better and I was able to start working on one foot glides. The one foot glides were short, only a couple of seconds each, but they represent a major step forward from where I was before.
And when I was done, I realized that I felt really, really good. The difficulty, the challenge, made that little bit of success all the sweeter. It’s been hours (as of this writing) since class and I’m still feeling a bit euphoric from it.
As I had said in a previous post, it really does pay off to face something difficult, seemingly insurmountable at the start, and then keep at it until you succeed. The more difficult the challenge, and to a great extent the more painful it is along the way, the greater the rewards of final success.
This does not mean beating your head mindlessly against the problem. As I did here, you have to think things through, figure out what’s getting in the way of your progress, what you can do to make it better and then do it. Sometimes what you need really is to just keep throwing yourself at the problem. But sometimes it means a step back, a reassessment, and a change of direction–like in the above figuring out the specifics of why my feet hurt so much. There are still some improvements that I think can be made (and losing weight is one of them–simply reducing the stress on my feet from supporting my rather large frame could make a significant difference) but I am doing better and can expect to continue to do better going forward.
A Tale of Two Lanterns: A Blast from the Past
Short one today.
Many years ago I was a big comics fan. Not a collect comics and keep them carefully in mylar bags to preserve them in mint condition, type fan but a grab everything I could get my hands on and read it until it falls apart type fan.
I loved comic books. I loved heroes. People who’ve read some of my other posts should understand that about me. People with amazing powers who use those powers of their own free will, nobody outside forcing them to do it, to help others. Awesome. Can’t get enough of it. (And if some get paid for it–I’m looking at you Heroes for Hire–that’s fine too. Just so long as they’re helping people along the way.)
One of those heroes was Green Lantern. The Green Lantern of my childhood was Hal Jordan. And every time he had to charge his Power Ring (every 24 hours), he said his oath:
And so I went quite a few years. I encountered other Lanterns from other space sectors (these Green Lantern’s were kind of like space cops, each with a sector of space to patrol). I saw that the other Lanterns had their own oaths. Okay, fair enough.
Times changed. There was a “backup” Green Lantern on Earth (to take over if anything happened to Hal) named Guy Gardner. Then something happened to him (don’t remember what) requiring another backup to be chosen. John Stewart–the one people know from the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series.
John Stewart
But then, some years later I encountered the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. His ring was quite different. Where Hal’s was the product of alien super-science, Alan’s was from an ancient magic lantern prophesied to flare three times, once for death, once for life, and once for power. We get the tale of the first two flares and the third flare is where Alan Scott gets his power. He makes his ring from a part of the lantern (I know that doesn’t make sense. It was the 40’s. Just go with it.) and becomes the Green Lantern. Instead of being vulnerable to the color yellow (in the sense that it can’t directly affect anything of that color), his ring is vulnerable to “natural things” (likewise) as opposed to manufactured which soon morphs into “doesn’t affect wood.”
His oath, too, was different.
I shall shed my light over dark evil, for dark things cannot stand the light. The light of the Green Lantern.
That rocked. For that oath alone I prefer the Alan Scott Green Lantern to the Hal Jordan one.
Hal’s oath is about power. I don’t disparage power. It allows one to do great things. But Alan’s? Alan’s is not about power. It’s about being a light, a beacon. Light that shines forth. Evil cowers from it. Good is drawn to it.
Power can be countered with power, but light? Darkness can only retreat from it. It can try to extinguish the light but it cannot defeat it. As the metaphor goes, a single candle defeats the deepest darkness.
Not all of us have power, but all of us can be a light that shines in the world, the light of freedom, of courage, of ideals soaring high.
Be like Alan Scott, let your light shine forth.
Rainbow Bridge: A Blast from the Past
Some friends of mine have recently reported the loss of beloved companion animals. And since the formatting was butchered on the previous posting, this seems like a good time for a repost.
The Rainbow Bridge
(I’ve seen this story done as text. Here it’s done as verse.)
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.
For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.
No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.
They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.
For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
The time of their parting is over at last.
The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
© 1998 Steve and Diane Bodofsky. All Rights Reserved.
In the same vein, there is the following:
It wasn’t too long before an elderly animal came into view, head hung heavy and low with tail dragging along the ground. The other animals on the pathway…the ones who had been at RainBow Bridge for a while…knew the story of this sad creature immediately. They had seen it happen far too many times.
With no place else to turn, the poor elderly dog looked toward the fields before the Bridge. There, in a separate area nearby, he spotted a group of other sad-eyed animals like himself…elderly and infirm. Unlike the pets waiting for their special people, these animals weren’t playing, but simply lying on the green grass, forlornly and miserably staring out at the pathway leading to the Bridge. The recent arrival knew he had no choice but to join them. And so, he took his place among them, just watching the pathway and waiting.
“That poor dog was a rescue, sent to the pound when his owner grew tired of him. The way you see him now, with graying fur and sad, cloudy eyes, was exactly the way he was when he was put into the kennels. He never, ever made it out and passed on only with the love and comfort that the kennel workers could give him as he left his miserable and unloved existence on Earth for good. Because he had no family or special person to give his love, he has nobody to escort him across the Bridge.”
As he was about to receive his answer, the clouds suddenly parted and the all-invasive gloom lifted. Coming toward the Bridge could be seen a single figure…a person who, on Earth, had seemed quite ordinary…a person who, just like the elderly dog, had just left Earth forever. This figure turned toward a group of the sad animals and extended outstretched palms. The sweetest sounds they had ever heard echoed gently above them and all were bathed in a pure and golden light. Instantly, each was young and healthy again, just as they had been in the prime of life.
The recent arrival who had been watching, was amazed. “What happened?”
“That was a rescuer,” came the answer.
“That person spent a lifetime trying to help pets of all kinds. The ones you saw bowing in respect were those who found new homes because of such unselfish work. They will cross when their families arrive. Those you saw restored were ones who never found homes. When a rescuer arrives, they are permitted to perform one, final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort those poor pets that couldn’t place on Earth across the Rainbow Bridge. You see, all animals are special to them…just as they are special to all animals.”
“I think I like rescuers,” said the recent arrival.
“So do the gods,” was the reply.
–Author Unknown.
And, yes, these two just about always make me cry.
Oh, and no, I do not accept any conception of an afterlife which is not shared with the many animals I’ve loved and cherished. No just gods could permit it.
In 1982 Thomas Sowell wrote a book “Marxism” in which he laid out first the arguments that Marx and Engles made (as opposed to the stuff that people claimed later in the name of “Marxism”, stuff that often directly contradicted what Marx and Engles wrote). In the preface he said that he’d save criticism of Marxism for the end of the book.
I’ve been listening to the book on Audible. I haven’t got to the “Criticism” point yet, and am near the end of Chapter 7 as Audible counts it (which may or may not match the actual book chapters). And, so far, I find three major flaws in Marx’s ideas (they’re not the only ones, just the ones that loom largest).
First, Marx defines “class” not in terms of a group’s similarities and differences from other groups but _expressly_ in terms of “conflict”. A group can be well defined in any particulars but if it’s not in conflict with another group, then it’s not a “class.” A result of this that I can see is once you accept this as a definition, it is a small step to use the more conventional definition of “class” and simply assume that said classes must, then, be in conflict. After all, since Marx declared that classes are always in conflict (because that’s the definition of “class” he used) then if one has a class (by other definitions) then it must be in conflict with other classes. This seems a reasonable argument to most people even though it’s false and based on confusing definitions.
In Capitalism, indeed, the biggest conflict is not between “capitalists” and “the proletariat” (workers). It’s between capitalists and other capitalists. They compete for customers. They compete for good workers who produce value for them. They compete for resources. All of this competition means that they cannot charge arbitrarily high prices for their commodities. They cannot pay arbitrarily low wages. And they certainly cannot make arbitrarily high profits. The competition among capitalists flies in the face of the Marxist idea that conflict is between classes.
Second, he attempts to define an objective “true” value for commodities. It’s not simply the labor theory of value that often gets ascribed to him. The problem with this is that if you declare a “true” value to any commodity–including ones labor–than one cannot benefit from a transaction except at the expense of the other party to that transaction. Instead, if one considers value to be subjective and each individual has their own value they place on something, then I can trade something I value less and you value more for something you value less and I value more, and both of us benefit. Indeed, in the absence of force or fraud, this is the only kind of transaction that will occur.
If I have apples and you have chairs, I can trade some of my apples for a chair and we both come out ahead–or I can trade some of the apples to someone else for money and then trade the money to you for a chair, which money you trade for something you want, and everyone comes out ahead. We each get something we want (value) more in exchange for something we value less.
The third, and this is a real doozy, is defining the income of the workers in such a way that it’s entirely possible for the workers to become richer in conventional meanings–meaning that they have an improved standard of living and greater buying power for the commodities available–and still be considered “poorer” simply because someone else is advancing faster. They have a relatively “smaller slice” of whatever the current pie is however much bigger the pie is and however much bigger in absolute terms that pie may be. Thus you can get claims of “the poor get poorer” even if they’re living better than the wealthy of decades and centuries past. Marx himself acknowledged that the workers were doing better, had a higher standard of living, than those of times past and yet still declared that they were getting poorer because the “Capitalists” were doing better yet. I have, of course, dealt with that one before.
Now, to a certain extent these mistakes were understandable to someone of Marx’s time. The concept of marginal utility, and thus that “value” was not a fixed characteristic of something but something that can vary from individual to individual, from situation to situation, from time to time, was just making inroads into economics. And with the French Revolution still within living memory the coupling of class and conflict can certainly be understood. And the idea that some could be “poorer”, not because they have less but because someone else has more is not original with Marx. All of these things are, to a certain extent, products of their time. The problem is that they continue to be at the core of so many folks’ political and economic philosophies long after they have been shown to be simply wrong.
Indeed, people today often simply accept the idea of “class conflict” as being the natural order of things. They believe that there’s some objective sum that is the “value” of a given thing. And they believe that “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” is inevitable unless stopped by the coercive power of government. So thoroughly have they been indoctrinated that they don’t even recognize that this is Marxist doctrine. And they certainly don’t recognize that it’s completely, utterly false, or at best self-fulfilling prophecy. If, for instance, you believe that class differences must come with conflict, you will seek conflict. If you believe that there is some objective “value” to things, you will always see yourself cheated by being charged more than what you think the “value” of something is or not being paid what you think your “value” is worth. And if you are driven by envy you won’t see your own improvement in standard of living but the rise of others who are doing better than you.
And so, these three things between them render anything build on them as a foundation utterly worthless. They are the source of endless conflict that obscures, rather than illuminates, roads to the actual improvement of the state of humanity.
And yet people still cling to them and to other principles that are derived from that artfully worded claptrap. |
In Content marketing, Curated Content
Ants may be tiny creatures, yet they have the ability to employ an algorithm that enables them to build complex bridges while working together as a team. The article below shares more about what makes their work so impressive. CK
Article written by Kevin Hartnett Senior originally appeared in Quanta Magazine on February 26, 2018.
The Simple Algorithm That Ants Use to Build Bridges
Even with no one in charge, army ants work collectively to build bridges out of their bodies. New research reveals the simple rules that lead to such complex group behavior.
This same process repeats in the other ants: They step over the first ant, but — uh-oh — the gap is still there, so the next ant in line slows, gets trampled and freezes in place. In this way, the ants build a bridge long enough to span whatever gap is in front of them. The trailing ants in the colony then walk over it.
Evolution has seemingly equipped army ants with just the right algorithm for on-the-go bridge building. Researchers working to build swarms of simple robots are still searching for the instructions that will allow their cheap machines to perform similar feats. One challenge they have to contend with is that nature makes ants more reliably, and at lower cost, than humans can fabricate swarm-bots, whose batteries tend to die. A second is that it’s very possible there’s more governing army ant behavior than two simple rules.
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Play Education Essay
1082 Words 5 Pages
Play Education is the most important activity in the lives of children. Play is the foundation of learning for young children. For children play, is how they begin to understand and process their world? The best part for children is that play is fun and this keeps them always wanting more because they enjoy participating in it. Play education is for children up until age 12. And different ages are broken down into groups. Giving the child time and some few basic toys can provide them with a variety of valuable learning opportunities. It is important to let children explore and learn how to play, if the child can’t seem to figure it out then a person can guide them. Play Education is simple and very effective; this is an individual …show more content…
They start to understand and create the imaginary world. The kinds of toys to help with this group are for example push-pull toys, balls, child size play furniture, and doll furniture, take apart toys, and stuffed animals. You can introduce games like tag, catch, hiding things, and as easy as bouncing or jumping. Next set of age is from 3 to 6 years old. This is when children start creating play worlds, understanding of modern environments, moving confidently through space, and understanding media. These kids need to act out more to get the feeling of the world around them. Toys like toy phones, clocks, groceries and small cars, planes, trucks, and boats can help them understand the world better. The games that can be brought up for this group can be hide and seek, reverse roles, motor skills, and imitating things and people. At the age of 6 to 9 years old is when they start seeing imaginary fantasy worlds; they will be trying out work world and learning social strategies. At this age they understand games more efficiently and can start playing board games, tabletop sports games, start playing with racing cars, and marbles which is a coordinated game. The games you can introduce are play make believe games, improvise imaginary characters and play situations, and even play competitively. The last age is the graduating age starting at 9 and ending at 12 years old. This is when they start developing specific skills, social
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The American Election System
1039 Words Feb 4th, 2018 4 Pages
As for each public office election, we are reminded that elections are both highly charged symbolic rituals of democracy and key procedural parts of our political institutions. Both components of elections, symbolic and procedural, serve vital functions at all levels of our political system.
As with any election, both parties (republican and democratic) campaign across the state in hope to gain additional support and votes to gain the office that they desire. When voting most voters arrive at polling stations to vote. There are alternative ways for a Texas citizen to vote, for example they will be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices and which will be counted by hand; they will be given a paper ballot on which they will select their choices with the help of a voting machine; or they will be given a slip of paper with a numerical access code. Texans share many of the same basic needs of voting and nonvoting as other Americans. The republican party remains dominant after a decade that saw battles over legislature redistricting, intense and typically bitter campaigning among candidates both within and between the parties, progressively costly campaigning up and down the ballot. In 2002, Republican candidates swept all statewide races and took control of both houses of the Texas legislature, effectively taking on the institutions of authorities. the subsequent year the legislative assembly revisited the distribution of districts for the U.S. House of…
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The Sociological Imagination Essay examples
1118 Words 5 Pages
Having written The Sociological Imagination in 1959, C. Wright Mills was brought up in a society far more different and archaic than the idea of contemporary society today. The ideals that were imparted to him during his lifetime provided a framework to the ideals that are imparted to people today; however, like all incarnations, processes and ideas adapted to situate themselves into the transitioning threads of society. Through his elaboration on the sociological imagination, C. Wright Mills portrays the plight of the average citizen during his time period in a jaded light thereby providing a limited, but nonetheless relevant scope of the sociological plight of the average citizen in contemporary society. Within the first paragraph of …show more content…
While this idea and concept remains relevant to society today, the example Mills uses seem to be pertaining to the society that he knows to be true. For instance, Mills describes how contemporary society is attributed to the individual successes and failures of men and women. Instead, I find that to be imprecise. History should be about how society evolves or changes and the collective forces of the individual changes in the lives of men and women make up history, not simply the individual successes and failures. Another example of Mills’s balance of precision and imprecision is when he discusses the first fruit of this imagination. He writes to the testament that we can only understand our fate and our experience once we find ourselves in society; our sociological location. He also adds on by discussing how we can only understand our experiences by looking at the experiences of those in similar circumstances to us. I feel as if a relevant example of this would be the poverty cycle that explains why it is so difficult for someone to break out of poverty. But, on that same token, I think Mills’s overestimates his theory: there are notable examples of people surpassing any limits imposed by their sociological location and situating themselves into new locations. Mills’s often seems to coin a theory that has relevance, but is defied by history itself. Through his notable examples on the relationship between
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Laptop Techniques Know-how
Computer & TechnologyEmployment of laptop and data technology occupations is projected to develop thirteen p.c from 2016 to 2026, sooner than the common for all occupations. If you are interested in laptop hardware and software program however you are not sure which profession path to choose, you in all probability need to find out about information expertise (IT) and computer science. These two rewarding careers every require a slightly totally different set of skills, and so they every attraction to a considerably different type of individual. An IT profession includes putting in, organizing and sustaining laptop methods as well as designing and working networks and databases. Laptop science is concentrated totally on effectively programming computer systems using mathematical algorithms.
Pc Technology at WSU is an interdisciplinary program. Students have the chance to take engineering know-how and laptop science courses. This exposes students to extra faculty members, more cutting edge expertise, and more concepts. While college students cross-practice in addition they have the opportunity to work with students from each departments, so they graduate with an extended private network†as effectively.
Apple enters the hand held laptop market with the Newton. Dubbed a Private Knowledge Assistant†by Apple President John Scully in 1992, the Newton featured most of the features that will outline handheld computer systems within the following decades. The handwriting recognition software program was much maligned for inaccuracy. The Newton line by no means performed in addition to hoped and was discontinued in 1998.
Develop excessive-degree programming and laptop engineering skills that translate directly to the workplace and are in excessive demand amongst employers. During second year Technology you can apply to affix paid co-op work phrases. Three phrases will qualify you for a co-op Expertise diploma. Cloud computing refers to the storing and accessing of knowledge and programs over the Web as a substitute of on another kind of exhausting drive. Examples of Cloud services embody iCloud, Google Cloud and Dropbox.
Bachelor’s levels in pc data know-how are among the most popular sorts of computer and technology levels as they provide entry into most of the careers in the area. The curriculum for these levels is usually fairly comprehensive, requiring around a hundred and twenty credit score hours of study. Whereas it’s attainable to earn a basic bachelor’s degree in pc and knowledge expertise, most packages provide concentrations for college kids to select from. As the sphere of expertise is broad and ever-expanding, these focus options are many. |
Wealth Inequality: Core Challenge for National Security
America prides itself on being the Land of Opportunity, and has made real efforts to be a land of equal opportunity. But it has never claimed to be a land of equal results. The driving force of the capitalist economic system is to get ahead with hard work and clever thinking, get ahead of the crowd in terms of assets and prestige. This is in stark contract to a socialist system focused more on levelling, "to each according to his needs." This socialist concept largely collapsed with the Soviet Union, though some echoes remain in Europe. This contrast is intensified by an American focus on individualism, persons being responsible for their own well being. The Land of Opportunity tends to view those who do poorly as slackers, failing to take advantage of the opportunities they have.
Admittedly it is not a perfect system, and some are unable to take advantage of opportunities due to no fault of their own: individual handicaps, personal catastrophes, natural disasters and medical emergencies affect millions. Americans have also been generous to underdogs, those in need. But there has always been an underclass, people working for inadequate, or no, wages. Initially it was slaves and indentured servants, then freed slaves and new immigrants who worked their way up the Ladder of Success and were then replaced by still newer immigrants. This dynamic economy had occasional rough periods, but generally supported broad government programs providing defense, justice, and education as well as direct support to the economy with infrastructure, research, and regulation.
More recently this overall economic framework has been degenerating. Jobs, in particular, have been shrinking due to the impact of two forces: globalization and technology. Globalization has opened the American economy to direct competition from abroad, as well as drawn many manufacturing operations out of the country. Technology has intensified this problem by decreasing the need for individual workers. In particular, well paying jobs for people with low skill qualifications have practically disappeared; many people now out of work have given up on ever finding jobs. Although an aging population has raised concerns about a future lack of an adequate work force, the opposite is now true: the economy has more workers than it needs to produce essential goods and services. The challenge is not to find workers, but to find jobs for them, to spread work to a wider population, including more service jobs that enrich the lives of the population.
The underclass situation has also changed. There are still millions working for substandard wages, many of them immigrants, often in arduous jobs that people out of work simply decline to take. But a major difference is that the ladder of success which formerly allowed them to move up in economic status is now broken. More people are falling out of the middle class than moving into it. The technological advancements that have decimated many low qualification jobs require high qualification maintenance and oversight, but many of the jobless have the wrong or inadequate skills. One result is that immigrants are sought for higher skill jobs that people out of work are unqualified to fill. This provides a chilling comment on the state of our education system.
The weakened economy severely constrains government operations. This trend has culminated with federal sequester and widespread restriction of essential government functions, particularly maintenance and training activities where reductions provide easy immediate savings and create long term expenses. Education -- already inadequate judging by the number of low qualified people unable to find jobs -- is also significantly impacted. Job pressures reverberate through the economy. Reduced spending power by everyday citizens means small businesses, especially service businesses, close, hiring shrinks, joblessness becomes a vicious circle. The lower end of the work force is particularly hard hit. Poorly qualified workers find it practically impossible to find work that provides a living wage, much less a comfortable Middle Class life.
This naturally worsens underlying social problems. A big increase in economically desperate and frustrated people naturally translates into more crime and violence. Youth gangs attract the unemployed, property crimes rise, and the prison population rises. The United States already has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world and prison costs further strains government budgets, while the dismal job situation means many released inmates have little opportunity to become productive citizens -- another vicious circle. The overall situation is creating optimal conditions for another Watts riot -- in that case a small incident sparked off a riot involving thousands of local residents, with unemployment a key factor. With unemployment now stubbornly high, especially for some population groups, higher gun ownership and recent examples of raw violence, the idea of an angry armed mob torching an upscale neighborhood is hardly unthinkable. This situation is not helped by a precipitous drop in recent years of support for the mentally ill -- another result of tight local government budgets. The explosions at the Boston Marathon vividly illustrate how disruptive even a couple determined individuals can be; copycat events are almost inevitable.
The prospect of national decline looms not from external forces, but from internal fragmentation exacerbated by global instability. The two, in fact, are intertwined. Global prosperity is the only key to global stability and the United States is the only nation in a position to lead such a transformation. But the current economic situation along with aspects of US military operations and diplomacy undermine such global leadership.
The sad aspect of all this fiscal tension is that the nation has more than enough resources to address all these challenges, but nearly 80 percent of the national wealth generated since 1973 has gone to the upper two percent. This top layer has an outsized influence on government, particularly with campaign financing and lobbying, and an outsize influence in the economy, controlling the financial sector and running major corporations in ways that maximize profits and squeeze workers. WalMart is a fine example. It has created a system that very efficiently provides a wide range of consumer goods at very reasonable prices. But it also is notorious for low wages, in contrast to companies like Costco which pay well above average wages and work hard to keep the loyalty of their worker. Unfortunately, the WalMart model is much more prevalent, especially among large corporations. This growing concentration of wealth in the hands of the upper class is of more than academic interest. The diverted money is what is needed to raise wages, build economic demand to foster real job creation, and improve government services and education. It is the difference between a nation with a broadly prosperous middle class and a nation riven by class differences.
Ironically, the immigration situation is fueled by wealth inequality in countries to the south where the concentration of wealth by the upper classes undermines the potential for jobs for the lower classes. The United States is their safety valve; some of their most dynamic and ambitious individuals head north -- exactly the sort of people that are needed for a dynamic local economy. But wealth inequality in the United States is now on a par with those countries, so it is clearly difficult for the United States to urge these nations to spread wealth and jobs more equitably when America is doing so poorly itself. And there is no other country that serves as a safety valve for the United States, so pressures just continue to build. Wealth inequality in the United States not only underlies domestic economic degradation, but also undermines U.S. ability to lead on a global scale, to promote the types of actions needed to build the global prosperity on which domestic prosperity is ultimately based.
And the answer to this challenge of wealth inequality is that there is no answer, no specific action that can reverse two hundred years of economic development. The entrenched political power of the top layer is supported by a much wider democratic sclerosis -- millions of everyday citizens defending their own small concessions by opposing efforts at restructuring. The only reasonable approach is to develop individual programs which improve the overall situation and constantly re-evaluate and adjust them. The first step is recognizing the problem, realizing that wealth inequality is not just at odds with long-standing American values but is badly eroding U.S. social cohesion and ultimately internal stability, the true bases of national security. |
351 words | 3 mintue read | Flesch–Kincaid readability score: Grade 6
Till now we have only seen roads, railway stations, airports, places etc. being named after famous people. But imagine paying money to get a star named after you. If that can happen, then anything is possible in this world!
Well, there are organisations in different parts of the world that sell names for the stars in the sky. All you have to do is – go there, fill out the long, detailed form that they give you and buy star names or name stars after someone.
However, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in France disapproves of this. It says that this practice is neither valid nor ethical. The IAU also dislikes these companies “selling” fictitious star names or “real estate” on other planets or moons in the Solar System. It says that though some stars have traditional Arabic names, most other stars have just catalogue numbers and positions on the sky.
How are Stars Named?
How are Stars Named?
IAU explains that naming small groups of well-known bodies, like the planets or stars that can be seen by the naked eye, is fine. But there are hundreds of millions of stars. How can all be named? If they were all named, then finding any one star would be like trying to find Bank Street in India or Queen’s Road in Britain. Can you imagine doing that without a proper pin code number?
Similarly for stars, having a particular pin code number, instead of a name, would help in locating them.
It’s true that ‘gifting a star’ would be a unique present and would please anybody on this earth. But it is also true that the stars in the sky are for all of us to enjoy, and so they should not be for sale.
So if you have a passion for the stars and the sky, then go to a planetarium and enjoy the beauty. Better still, lie down on your terrace and gaze at the starry sky. It sure is more pleasurable than spending huge sums of money just to get some fictitious star named after you. |
For the actual clearances used in the radial play groups, please see our RADIAL PLAY TABLES
Bearing radial playRadial play is the clearance measured perpendicular to the bearing axis or more specifically: average outer ring raceway diameter minus average inner ring raceway diameter minus (2 x ball diameter).
Bearing axial playAxial play is the clearance measured along the bearing axis is known as axial play. Axial play is approximately 10 times the radial play value.
The radial play in the bearing before it is fitted can be called the "initial" radial play. "Residual" or "operational" radial play is what is left when the bearing has been fitted. Ideally, there should be zero residual radial play in the bearing to minimize ball skidding and reduce axial play (end play) so correct selection of the initial radial play is important.
A number of things can alter the radial play during the fitting process. A tight shaft fit where the shaft is slightly larger than the bearing inner ring (often called an interference fit or a press fit) will stretch the inner ring so making it bigger. This reduces radial play by up to 80% of the interference fit. A similar thing occurs if the outer ring is a tight fit in the housing. A difference between the shaft and housing temperatures can also be a problem. If a bearing inner ring gets hotter than the outer ring, it will expand more and reduce radial play. This can be calculated as follows:
Chrome Steel: 0.0000125 x (inner ring temp - outer ring temp °C) x outer ring raceway diameter* in mm.
440 Stainless Steel: 0.0000103 x (inner ring temp - outer ring temp °C) x outer ring raceway diameter* in mm.
The outer ring raceway diameter can be roughly calculated as: 0.2 x (d + 4D) where d is the bore in mm and D is the outer diameter in mm.
There can also be problems where, for example, the shaft is made of different material to the bearing and housing and expands more due to a different expansion coefficient. In such a case, a bearing with a looser radial play may be needed.
A standard radial play is usually suitable and these bearings are more readily available but, sometimes, a non-standard clearance is recommended. A tight radial play is better for low noise, greater rigidity and running accuracy if the load is purely radial. A loose radial play is preferable for high axial loads as it increases the bearing's axial load capacity. It will also better accommodate misalignment between the shaft and housing.
Radial play has nothing to do with precision grade or tolerance. A loose bearing does not necessarily mean a low precision bearing. You can have a P4 (Abec7) grade bearing with a loose radial play just as you can have a P0 (Abec1) bearing with a tight radial play so too much play suggests a tighter radial play or an axial preload is needed.
Bearing preloadIn low noise or high speed applications, zero residual radial play is desirable. This gives greater rigidity, reduces noise, gives greater running accuracy and can eliminate ball skidding under acceleration. This is achieved by applying a preload to the bearing. This is an axial load applied to the inner or outer ring to offset the outer ring against the inner ring and eliminate radial play.
Preload is usually applied by the use of wave or spring washers and normally to the stationary ring which should have a sliding fit to the shaft or housing to allow for axial movement. If the bearings are glued on to the shaft or housing, it may be possible to use weights to keep the bearing preloaded while the adhesive cures. The amount of preload should be as small as possible. Excessive preload can cause high frictional torque and rapid failure.
Tight Radial Play (MC1/MC2, PO2/P13, C2): Consider for pure radial loads and low noise, low vibration applications. Beware of axial loads, high speed applications, heavy vibration and very low torque applications. Interference fits should not be used.
Medium Radial Play (MC3/MC4, P24/P35, CN): Most commonly used and supplied as standard except for full ceramic bearings which have C3 as standard.
Loose Radial Play (MC5/MC6, P58/P811, C3/C4): Consider for higher axial loads due to greater thrust load capacity. Greater interference fits and shaft misalignment can be tolerated. Also good for heavy or shock loads. Not recommended for low noise applications unless tighter radial play not suitable.
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Student Life
Women's Literary Societies
Women's Smoking and Dress Code Policies
Concordian article, 1942Double standards in the regulation of student conduct at Concordia College placed the liberties of women below those of men. Dress codes and smoking policies in particular explicitly treated female students differently than male students. A combination of student action as well as changing social views brought an end to these sexist differences in regulation over the course of the 1960s and 1970s.
Women in WWII
In the midst of World War II Concordia College adapted to wartime restrictions and decreasing enrollment. Due to the military draft the number of male students enrolled dropped, while the number of females attending the college increased dramatically. Accordingly, Concordia established programs and courses that allowed and encouraged women to contribute to the war effort.
Women's Hours
Concordian cartoon, October 1970Until the early 1970s, Concordia College imposed restrictive rules and strict regulations pertaining to women’s curfews and lights out. The questioning of authority surrounding the Vietnam War and the feminist movement helped to empower female Cobbers to advocate for their personal freedom. Through a variety of strategies such as demonstrations, lobbying, and expressing opinions in the campus newspaper, women studying at Concordia gained personal freedom and independence when Women’s Hours were eliminated in 1973.
Homecoming Queen Tradition
Concordia’s tradition of crowning a homecoming queen began in the 1920s. Student movements and the influence of the 1960-70s society affected the practice. Due to student concerns, the 1974 Homecoming Chairperson Ken Fitzer substituted the tradition of voting for a homecoming queen with the Don Awards, which was a recognition given to four exemplary senior students. The current practice of crowning both a king and queen began during the homecoming festivities in 1977.
Fjelstad Hall
Fjelstad HallFjelstad Hall was built on Concordia’s campus in the late 1930s as a new women’s dormitory. One of the most attractive buildings on the college grounds, it provided female students comfortable accommodations and supervision while they were away from home. Though periodically remodeled and updated, the dormitory was used consistently for female campus housing until 2014.
Co-ed Dormitories
Co-ed DormitoriesIn 1968, Concordia College opened Hallett Hall, an all-women’s dormitory, along with Erickson Hall, an all-men’s dormitory. The dormitories were built as different sections of one complex. It was the first time since the college’s very early years, when its single building was home to both sexes by necessity, that men and women lived in such close proximity. Hoyum Hall was a former women’s dormitory that became the first building on campus to house both male and female students in 2008.
Park Region Hall
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Exclude from List - Remove from a list the occurrences of an object (or a list of objects)
This action removes from a list of objects all the occurrences of a specific object (or all occurrences of any of the objects in another list).
For composite structures, "deep comparison" is used to determine object equality, and for numbers some tolerance is allowed, so two different objects may be considered equal (for details refer to Equal).
<List> (repetitive trigger [required]): The initial list (from which items are excluded).
<Exclude> (repetitive or non-repetitive trigger [not required]): The excluded item(s):
<Remaining> (repetitive exit [required]): A list of the items in the input list that have not been excluded (can contain no item if all input items have been excluded).
Usage Examples
"Common/Templates/Collections/Exclude from List/Test1/Exclude from List - 4 Basic Tests": |
[Watch] Did ‘Impossible’ Rogue Wave Sink the MS München?
The MS München vanished without a trace with 27 crew on board and a cargo of steel in 1978.
But what exactly happened to her became the subject of huge debate.
Mysteries of the Missing on Science Channel tonight looks at whether the vessel was hit by a massive rogue wave so big that some experts thought it “impossible”.
Stories of enormous waves that crop up in open seas had long been part of maritime folklore — mysterious walls of water that emerge from nowhere and destroy ships designed to withstand the worst storms.
The MS München was the pride of the merchant navy fleet. Said to be unsinkable, this sturdy six-year-old ship ran two football fields in length was thought to be fit for any rough sea weather.
But on December 7, 1978, while travelling from Bremerhaven, Germany, to Savannah, Georgia, the München vanished.
Prior to her disappearance, the ship’s crew had issued a distress call saying that the seas were rough.
A massive search took place, but came up blank. Then two months after intense searches, the München’s starboard lifeboat was found.
The pins that had secured it to the vessel 60ft above the water line had been twisted in a way that suggested a monster wave had slammed the boat.
But it would have had to have been at least 70ft in height — a wave bigger than any ever on record and one thought impossible by scientists and ship builders alike.
Mysteries of the Missing, hosted by Terry O’Quinn, investigates the case, interviewing top experts and exploring the evidence provided by the lifeboats that were found.
Was the massive cargo ship destroyed by a wall of water so big and so sudden that the crew had little to no time to call for help?
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"This book examines the first- and second-hand experience of the First World War and how it changed standard English, adding words that were in both slang and standard military use, and modifying the usage and connotations of existing words and phrases. Several words became associated specifically with the propaganda or official language of the war, some were adopted as a result of operations in parts of the world far from Flanders, and some had only a short life as part of English. In contextualising and tracing the history of what these words meant to the men in the trenches, the book presents the effect the war had on the English language"--Pref.
In every Conflict there are unsung heroes, those who go beyond the call of duty but go unrewarded. All wars produce tales that fascinate the young and horrify the old, our duty is to remember the truth of those who fought. The Great War was such that it is littered with tales of bravery beyond that which can be expected, there are also those who were executed for cowardice because they suffered from Shell Shock now known as PTSD. This collection is a simple recognition from one Old Soldier to many, many others
The handsomely illustrated Trench Talk Trench Life will give readers insight about the drastic living circumstances of characters Tommy Atkins, Poilu, and Doughboy, respectively the foot soldiers of Britain, France, and the United States This boots-on-the ground guide provides a unique introduction to life on the Western Front during World War I. Readers will learn the meaning behind the long lost wartime language of these soldiers, with such words and phrases as: Black Hand Gang, Ace, Crummy, Barker, and Dud.
Der Erste Weltkrieg sprengte alles, was sich die Welt vor 1914 hatte vorstellen können. Er wirkte wie die Büchse der Pandora – jenes mythische Schreckensgefäß, aus dem alle Übel der Welt entwichen, als man gegen den Rat der Götter seinen Deckel hob. Jörn Leonhard erzählt die Geschichte des Krieges so vielschichtig wie nie zuvor. Er führt den Leser auf vergessene Schlachtfelder und versetzt ihn abwechselnd in die Hauptstädte aller beteiligten Staaten. So entfaltet dieses Buch ein beeindruckendes Panorama. Es zeigt, wie die Welt in den Krieg hineinging und wie sie aus ihm als eine völlig andere wieder herauskam. Es nimmt nicht nur die Staaten und Nationen in den Blick, sondern auch die Imperien in Europa und weit darüber hinaus. Es beschreibt die dynamische Veränderung der Handlungsspielräume, die rasanten militärischen Entwicklungen und die immer rascheren Wandlungen der Kriegsgesellschaften. Und es lässt die Erfahrungen ganz unterschiedlicher Zeitgenossen wieder lebendig werden: von Militärs, Politikern und Schriftstellern, Männern und Frauen, Soldaten und Arbeitern. Jörn Leonhard ist eine zeitgemäße und moderne Geschichte des Ersten Weltkriegs gelungen, die es so bisher noch nicht gegeben hat: europäisch vergleichend, global in der Perspektive, souverän in der Darstellung.
From the homegrown "boodle" of the 19th century to current "misunderstandistan" in the Middle East, America's foremost expert on slang reveals military lingo at its most colorful, innovative, brutal, and ironic. Author Paul Dickson introduces some of the "new words and phrases born of conflict, boredom, good humor, bad food, new technology, and the pure horror of war." This newly updated reference extends to the post-9/11 world and the American military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recommended by William Safire in his "On Language" column of The New York Times, it features dictionary-style entries, arranged chronologically by conflict, with helpful introductions to each section and an index for convenient reference. "Paul Dickson is a national treasure who deserves a wide audience," declared Library Journal. The author of more than 50 books, Dickson has written extensively on language. This expanded edition of War Slang features new material by journalist Ben Lando, Iraq Bureau Chief for Iraq Oil Report and a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and Time. It serves language lovers and military historians alike by adding an eloquent new dimension to our understanding of war.
Through the first comprehensive investigation and analysis of the English language trench periodicals of the First World War, The Soldiers' Press presents a cultural interpretation of the means and methods through which consent was negotiated between the trenches and the home front.
A history of the First World War told through the letters exchanged by ordinary British soldiers and their families.??Letters from the Trenches reveals how people really thought and felt during the conflict and covers all social classes and groups Ð from officers to conscripts and women at home to conscientious objectors.??Voices within the book include Sergeant John Adams, 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, who wrote in May 1917:'For the day we get our letter from home is a red Letter day in the history of the soldier out here. It is the only way we can hear what is going on. The slender thread between us and the homeland.'??Private Stanley Goodhead, who served with one of the Manchester Pals battalion, wrote home in 1916: 'I came out of the trenches last night after being in 4 days. You have no idea what 4 days in the trenches means...The whole time I was in I had only about 2 hours sleep and that was in snatches on the firing step. What dugouts there are, are flooded with mud and water up to the knees and the rats hold swimming galas in them...We are literally caked with brown mud and it is in all?our food, tea etc.'??Jacqueline Wadsworth skilfully uses these letters to tell the human story of the First World War Ð what mattered to Britain's servicemen and their feelings about the war; how the conflict changed people; and how life continued on the Home Front.
The Gates of Heaven begins the day after war has been declared. With war fever raging, Giles Blakeney sets about forming the Vale of Eden Yeomanry. Daniel Bloom and his friends enlist in a Pals Battalion. Teddie and Clemmie begin nursing and Lady Mae turns Edenhall into a convalescent home. Will is in France looking for runaway, Sidonie. She does not wish to be found but finds salvation in an unusual way. Teddie loves Sigi but with anti-German feelings high, all must be hidden. Hugo is in France with the BEF, followed by the Blakeney boys and Daniel Bloom. The German cousins, Sigi and Hansie, already soldiers are in France too. Teddie and Clemmie go to France to nurse as battles take their toll. Sidonie's problems seem insoluble and, she alienates those who try to help her.The war ends and the survivors gather at Edenhall. Can Edenhall work its magic? Teddie wants only to turn the clock back to the summer of 1914 before the gates of heaven opened wide for the stream of humanity passing through.
This captivating collection of first-hand accounts brings to life the "War to End All Wars." * Twelve essays by international scholars explain the myriad ways in which different groups experienced World War I * A set of "unique perspectives" describes the experiences of smaller groups, including shock troops and victims of gas attacks * Each essay begins with a historical overview that provides context for the experiences of individuals * A detailed chronology marks key events during the war including the sinking of the Lusitania, the Ottoman extermination of Armenians, and the murder of Rasputin * Each essay includes an extensive bibliography emphasizing works in social history and listing additional resources for further exploration
Survivor on the River Kwai is the heartbreaking story of Reg Twigg, one of the last men standing from a forgotten war. Called up in 1940, Reg expected to be fighting Germans. Instead, he found himself caught up in the worst military defeat in modern British history - the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. What followed were three years of hell, moving from one camp to another along the Kwai river, building the infamous Burma railway for the all-conquering Japanese Imperial Army. Some prisoners coped with the endless brutality of the code of Bushido by turning to God; others clung to whatever was left of the regimental structure. Reg made the deadly jungle, with its malaria, cholera, swollen rivers, lethal snakes and exhausting heat, work for him. With an ingenuity that is astonishing, he trapped and ate lizards, harvested pumpkins from the canteen rubbish heap and with his homemade razor became camp barber. That Reg survived is testimony to his own courage and determination, his will to beat the alien brutality of camp guards who had nothing but contempt for him and his fellow POWs. He was a risk taker whose survival strategies sometimes bordered on genius. Reg's story is unique. Reg Twigg was born at Wigston (Leicester) barracks on 16 December 1913. He was called up to the Leicestershire Regiment in 1940 but instead of fighting Hitler he was sent to the Far East, stationed at Singapore. When captured by the Japanese, he decided he would do everything to survive. After his repatriation from the Far East, Reg returned to Leicester. With his family he returned to Thailand in 2006, and revisited the sites of the POW camps. Reg died in 2013, at the age of ninety-nine, two weeks before the publication of this book.
Ab 9. August im Kino! Im Marianengraben südwestlich von Burma hat »Carcharodon megalodon« überlebt - MEG, ein Vorfahre des weißen Hais und eines der gefährlichsten Raubtiere, das je existierte. Der Herrscher der Meere, eine Killermaschine. Jonas Taylor, ein berühmter Tiefseeforscher, ahnt es. Auf einer Tauchstation in ozeanischen Tiefen stellt sich heraus, wie recht er hat. MEG gelingt es, in die oberen Wasserschichten aufzusteigen, wo der gigantische Hai fortan sein Unwesen treibt. Die Jagd beginnt - und dieses Mal ist der Mensch das Opfer ...
Vols. 1-53 contain papers submitted at the annual meetings in 1921-1967.
Best Books |
Thesis: Trini Talk
I created this project because I wanted to learn about the history of the dialect of Trinidad and Tobago–especially the dialect of my island, Trinidad. While nationals are well versed in the language, most of us don’t know the etymology of the words that we choose to speak. English is the official language of the country and is spoken in formal settings. TrinEC or Trini is the preferred variety for informal and private communication. English, because of its strong association with educational systems and the official institutions of government and society, generally has higher prestige than TrinEC but the latter enjoys increasing status as a sense of nationalism increases.
This project included a vast amount of research into the language and the history. My language research revealed that there are two separate dialects spoken in the country, Trinidad English Creole and Tobago English Creole. I focused on researching TrinEC. Trini sounds like English. However, the vocabulary words, phrases, and mannerisms are not of British descent. They come from our ancestors: the natives, the slaves, their masters and the indentured workers. It is an oral language that’s a mix of vocabulary from French, Spanish, Portuguese, African and Indian languages, to name a few. Trini Talk goes beyond articulating the popular words and phrases that are distinct to our language but dives deeper to revive the history behind each word. It is about embracing the parts of me that I do not know – starting with the language. To know where I am going, I need to know where I came from. Being a visual person, I chose to showcase this spoken dictionary in an interactive and visual way.
I found the Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago written by Dr. Lise Winer[1]. It is a research dictionary of TrinEC and TobEC etymology. This book was helpful as it allowed me to gain a clearer perspective of the contributions each settler made to TrinEC. However, the dictionary is limited. It is not a living document as a website is. It cannot be added to. It is not accessible as it is a research dictionary made for linguists. The pronunciations of words are not comprehensible by regular users. It is very expensive at $95 US dollars ($642 TTD).
Trini Talk is a web platform designed to communicate the etymology of the Trinidad English Creole Language. There is no online presence for the etymology of TrinEC. Trini Talk creates one. Users are prompted to participate in the preservation of the language then get to explore the vocabulary and by extension the history of Trinidad. The platform uses a sample dataset from the Winer dictionary to teach this oral language through an interactive visualization. The visualization incorporates Trinidad’s history to show when these words were added to our dialect. By interacting with the timeline, respective words from each group are displayed and history shown. The user has the option of singling out words or phrases they wish to explore from the visualization. Engaging a word or phrase produces a sound sample of the pronunciation, text with the meaning, and historical reference. The Trini Talk web platform uses p5.js, JSON data, and d3.js to create this visualization.
Video is also included. It shows conversations with locals speaking the language in real-life situations. Key phrases and words are highlighted so the user can explore them further. I shot video and used Adobe Premiere to add desired reference content. In Orality and Literacy[3], Ong explains “Words acquire their meanings (from) … gestures, vocal inflections, facial expression, and the entire human, existential setting in which the real, spoken word always occurs.” This is true of TrinEC. Our gestures and facial expressions articulate more precise meaning. The language is evolving as new vocabulary is being invented, so Trini Talk includes a platform to gather these new additions to the dialect from nationals. This is a preliminary effort to digitally preserve both the old language and to incorporate the new.
Oral languages evolve. To capture new TrinEC words, sayings and abbreviations I created an API for each category on Google’s Firebase platform. Users are prompted to add content to each database. Each entry is automatically added to the respective API. Abbreviations used by locals for messaging on social media platforms are collected. Sharing this API dataset can encourage the use of local abbreviations and can keep the language relevant among the youth.
Phase two of Trini Talk is a larger research project. Expanding research to include TobEC is crucial. A full API of TrinEC and TobEC will be created. Showing the relationships of the language to the larger Caribbean diaspora is also necessary. The Caribbean needs repositories to archive and share its language information. Trini Talk was created with this sort of preservation in mind. A google-translate type platform of the language is also desired. With this platform text-to-speech type installations can be created, as currently no computer understands our way of speaking.
Generally, the Caribbean lacks resources to create platforms like this to more broadly showcase and essentially preserve our culture. There is no lack of creative vision in my nation, but I don’t see resources like Trini Talk on the market. I want to use what I have learned at ITP to create works for the Caribbean market – back home. I cannot ignore that most of what I was taught at ITP is not even on the radar of folks at home. I have to “come good” to even present something like this to a Trinidadian.
The language is evolving as Trinidad and Tobago is exposed to international influences. If we do not want to lose our culture, we have to start preserving and reaffirming its use now. The death of a language also means the disappearance of cultural creativity, the loss of traditions that often date back centuries. Language and culture are inseparable. A language represents how a particular culture and people interact with the world around them and with each other. If you lose a language, then you lose a huge chunk of that culture [4]. TrinEC has already suffered losses. We need to ensure we stop the culture of TrinEC from dying.
A 2003 UNESCO document states: “ … Each language embodies unique cultural and ecological knowledge in it. It is also because languages are diverse. Documentation of such a language is important for several reasons: 1) it enriches the human intellectual property, 2) it presents a cultural perspective that may be new to our current knowledge, and 3) the process of documentation often helps the language resource person to re-activate the linguistic and cultural knowledge.” I am not suggesting that TrinEC is dying but it is certainly changing at a rate that according to my research is not favorable to older nationals. They want “the old time ways” of speaking and doing things to be reintroduced.
I slowly came to the realization that my culture defines me, significantly. It should be expected, but this realization occurred as I started exploring the music and language of the islands and determined that there is much I am ignorant of. The visible aspects of my culture are celebrated and acknowledged by me more easily (i.e.) the food, carnival, the dancing, the liming and the music. The intangible parts are those that I am not in touch with. The language of Trinidad and Tobago happens to be one of those intangibles that I appreciate, but don’t have much information about. I love the fact that when I hear someone speaking it–on the subway, in the park–I can instinctively identify a fellow Trini and simply ask “what part of home are you from?”
[1] Lise Winer, Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago book, McGill-Queens University Press, 2009
[2] Richard Allsopp, Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1996
[3] Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy, Routledge, 1982
[4] David Grubin Production and Pacific Islanders Communication, Language Matters film, 2015
Eat Ugly Campaign
I took this course – Food Systems Interventions and Remediations. We focused on the state of the world’s food system. Tasked with creating a project that can be used to address or solve an issue in the food system for our final, I jumped at the opportunity to join the Ugly Food Movement.
Eat Ugly creates awareness of the ugly food epidemic. By informing folks in my immediate circle and community I aim to create a ripple effect. If people are aware and if they care – they can change their behaviors toward food waste, specifically where Ugly Food is concerned.
I created material that I share with folks. It highlights the issue and aims to inform.
1. I created a short stop-motion animation video that stars ugly food I sourced from the farmers market and from the trash of my neighborhood food coop.
2. Secondly, I created a quiz that test’s knowledge of the issue.
3. I made Eat Ugly branded t-shirts.
The shirts made everyone wearing them brand ambassadors. People stop me to ask what EAT UGLY means. Others who wear the shirt have similar interactions with folks. The shirt allowed us to engage in conversations that either presented new information to the listener giving them the tools to make informed decisions about their contribution to food waste. Or, encouraged more people to join the movement. The demand for shirts outweighed the supply. I need more shirts!
As part of my contribution to the campaign, I created a quiz to inform and test knowledge of ugly foods. This interactive quiz was created using the Eko platform. This was an individual project for my Storytelling with Non-Linear Video course.
The content was produced using stop motion animation, video production, javascript and css. The stars of the animations are none other than ugly foods acquired from my neighborhood coop (these were destined for the compost) and purchased from farmers markets.
Take the quiz! Test your knowledge about food waste in America?
Tech – the surveillance side
Well, not really.
Tantie Tweets
For my Programming A to Z final, I decided to expand upon my twitter bot class assignment. Previously, I created a twitter bot using Allison Parrish’s google spreadsheet format. Here, the tweets were composed, added to a spreadsheet and instructions given to tweet at intervals. For my final I:
1. created an API on Firebase
2. crowdsourced content for my tweets, which were added directly to the API
3. created script that posted tweets using the API as source content.
4. hosted the app on Heroku
Tantie Tweets inspired my thesis. I had to create an API since I could not find a suitable repository for the dialect anywhere online. For my thesis, I will create an API of the language as well as a web platform that teaches the language of the islands through its history.
Microbe Scanner
The Microbe Scanner is a Speculative Design project that I will explore. We learned about microbes and this got me thinking about disease. Disease suggests to me that that body is out-of-sync or in a state of disequilibrium. Naturally, we want to be able to fix this and get back to feeling ‘normal’.
What if the lay person can scan their body to know if their equilibrium has been compromised by microbes? Enter the Microbe Scanner.
What is it?
A scanner that detects your health and the presence of harmful microbes in the human body.
To identify treatment that brings your body to equilibrium.
How it works
• Detects the health and the presence of harmful microbes.
• Detect disease
• Presence of new microbes
• ID how they interact with current ones
• ID possible complications of dual existence
• Suggest treatment to rid yourself of microbe
Can this be used to identify what a ‘healthy’ body looks like?
What is the baseline microbe system (of the gut, skin, nose, respiratory system, etc.)?
How can I test changes in the microbiome?
What is the ideal diet?
What’s equilibrium?
Are there environmental effects on the microbiome?
Does the baseline microbiome vary in different environments?
Neopixel Lamp
For my final assignment I decided to build a lamp using a neo pixel ring. This builds upon my previous light controller assignment.
Design Challenge
Make a device to control a light with the following features:
• A control to turn the light on and off. When it turns on, it should retain the relative red, green, and blue brightness levels from when it was last turned on.
• The ability to fade each color channel (red, green, and blue) from off to full brightness
• Fade level should be maintained when you release the fade controller
• Fade should be interrruptable by other controllers, e.g. on/off or another fade controller
• The ability to fade the overall brightness of the light
I saw this wall mounted light display and wanted to recreate it.
Adafruit Neopixel
2 potentiometers (one to control the color hue and the other to control brightness)
1 button – on/off switch
Coding the Light Effects
I need to create code that controlled an on/off button, a potentiometer to control the color switching and another to control the brightness. Since the design of my light inspiration is sleek and simple, I opted to also keep the controls simple. Having never worked with neopixels this proved to be a confusing process. I had lots of examples to reference but was not quite sure what the code was saying until I uploaded each to my arduino and wired breadboard. This gave me some sense of what the commands of the neopixel library meant – but did not end the frustration.
I used plywood for the sconce. I design the back of the sconce with a pocket to house the controls (seen in the images below). I used two frosted plastic containers from Muji for housing the components on the back of the light.
Music Controller
Design Challenge: Make a device to control playback of pre-recorded music.
• Make a device that sends asynchronous serial messages to another device which will play the music.
• All serial messages should be terminated by a linefeed.
The device supports the following features:
• It is operable by a user who cannot see the device.
• The user gets an acknowledgement when they activate any control.
• Skip ahead one track in the playlist.
• Skip back one track in the playlist.
• Skip to a random track in the playlist.
Tools used:
• Arduino IDE
• Arduino MKR1000
• Python server
• P5.js
• P5 Serial Control App
• Buttons (momentary and )
• Vibration Sensor
• Frosted plastic container
Arduino and Physical Components
I started this assignment by wiring my components to the breadboard and Arduino. As shown below, I wired the 2 toggle buttons, 4 momentary buttons and the vibration sensor.
Arduino Code:
This proved to be quite tricky for me initially. My goal was to create the code from scratch and not rely on references. I encountered errors with the switch state where the serial monitor was just writing the value continually. Adding a delay did not help. I eventually discovered that my syntax was wrong (odd that the IDE did not pick up on this when I verified the code.) The culprit was a semi colon.
My code:
const int startStop = 11;
const int pausePlay = 10;
const int next = 9;
const int back = 8;
const int randomSong = 7;
const int fast = 6;
int vibeSensor = 5;
int lastStartStopState = LOW;
int lastPausePlayState = HIGH;
int lastNextState = LOW;
int lastBackState = LOW;
int lastRandomState = LOW;
int lastFastState = LOW;
void setup() {
pinMode(startStop, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(pausePlay, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(next, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(back, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(randomSong, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(fast, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(vibeSensor, OUTPUT);
void loop() {
int buttonState1 = digitalRead(startStop);
int buttonState2 = digitalRead(pausePlay);
int buttonState3 = digitalRead(next);
int buttonState4 = digitalRead(back);
int buttonState5 = digitalRead(randomSong);
int buttonState6 = digitalRead(fast);
// 1. Start Stop Button
// If the button is on, send a message to serial to start playing the song
if (buttonState1 != lastStartStopState) {
if (buttonState1 == HIGH) {
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
// If the button is off, send a message to serial to stop playing the song
} else {
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastStartStopState = buttonState1;
// 2. Pause Play Button
//If the button is on, send a message to serial to pause the song
if (buttonState2 != lastPausePlayState) {
if (buttonState2 == LOW) {
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
// If the button is off, send a message to serial to play the song
} else {
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastPausePlayState = buttonState2;
//3. Next Button (skip to the next song)
// If the button is pressed, send a message to serial to skip forward to the next song
if (buttonState3 != lastNextState) {
if (buttonState3 == LOW) {
// delay(500);
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastNextState = buttonState3;
// 4. Back Button (go back and play the previous song)
// If the button is on, send a message to serial to skip to the previous song
if (buttonState4 != lastBackState) {
if (buttonState4 == LOW) {
// delay(500);
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastBackState = buttonState4;
// 5. Random Button (play a random song)
// If the button is on, send a message to serial to skip to a random song
if (buttonState5 != lastRandomState) {
if (buttonState5 == LOW) {
// delay(500);
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastRandomState = buttonState5;
// 6. Fast Button (fast forward through the current song)
// If the button is on, send a message to serial to fast forward through the current song
if (buttonState6 != lastFastState) {
if (buttonState6 == LOW) {
// delay(500);
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 255); // give feedback
analogWrite(vibeSensor, 0);
lastFastState = buttonState6;
P5.js and Serial Communication
I haven’t touched p5 since ICM. However, setting up the serial communication and updating the sample p5 code was the most straightforward part of this assignment.
Using this serial input to P5 tutorial, I installed the P5.serialcontrol app and the p5.serialserver. With the arduino connected to the port, I used the serial control app to ensure the port was available. Then using the command line, opened a python server the tested my controller.
P5 code:
var serial;
var portName = ‘/dev/cu.usbmodem1411’;
var inData;
var song; // the sound file to be played
// the list of songs:
var songs = [‘FastWine.mp3’, ‘FullExtreme.mp3’, ‘Incredible.mp3’, ‘LeaveMeAlone.mp3’, ‘TurnUp.mp3’];
var songCount = songs.length; // number of songs in the music dir
var currentSong = 0; // current song number
function preload() { // load the first song on preload
song = loadSound(‘music/’ + songs[currentSong]);
function setup() {
createCanvas(400, 300);
serial.on(‘connected’, serverConnected); // callback for connecting to the server
serial.on(‘open’, portOpen); // callback for the port opening
serial.on(‘data’, serialEvent); // callback for when new data arrives
serial.on(‘error’, serialError); // callback for errors
serial.on(‘close’, portClose); // callback for the port closing
serial.list(); // list the serial ports; // open a serial port
function serverConnected() {
println(“We are connected!”);
function portOpen() {
println(“Serial Port is open!”);
function serialEvent() {
inData = Number(;
function serialError(err) {
println(‘Something went wrong with the serial port ‘ + err);
function portClose() {
println(‘The serial port is closed’);
function draw() {
background(30, 20, 180);
text(“sensor value: ” + inData, 30, 30);
// draw the song’s name and current time in seconds:
text(songs[currentSong], 20, 50);
text(song.currentTime().toFixed(3), 20, 100);
function controlSound(input) {
switch (input) {
case 49: // start/stop, press 1
if (song.isPlaying()) {
} else {;
case 50: // play/pause, press 2
if (song.isPlaying()) {
} else {;
case 51: // skip ahead, press 3
// make sure the song number is valid, and increment:
if (currentSong < songs.length - 1) {
} else {
currentSong = 0;
// get new song:
case 52: // skip back, press 4
// in the first second, just rewind the current track:
if (song.currentTime() > 1.0) {
// if more than a second has elapsed, then
// make sure the song number is valid, and decrement:
} else {
if (currentSong > 0) {
} else {
currentSong = songs.length – 1;
// get new song:
case 53: // fast forward, press 5
song.rate(2.0); // double the play speed
if (!song.isPlaying()) {;
case 54: // random song, press 6
currentSong = Math.round(random(songCount)); // get a new song number
getSong(currentSong); // play it
function getSong(songNumber) {
if (songNumber < songs.length) { // if the song number is in range
if (song.isPlaying()) {
// load a new song:
song = loadSound(‘music/’ + songs[currentSong], resumePlay);
return true;
} else { // if the song number was out of range, return false
return false;
function resumePlay() {
// if the song isn’t playing, play it
if (song.isPlaying()) {
} else {;
function keyReleased() {
controlSound(keyCode); // send the ASCII number of the key
I wanted the feel of a walkman so I purchased a small plastic container that could be held with one hand. I drilled holes for my 6 buttons and for the power cable. Then carefully installed my buttons and MKR1000.
Experience new music
So, that was soca. In case you were wondering what I was playing. Take a listen to the tracks on my playlist, below.
Copper Tape – Sensor Report
Copper foil tape is made from thin pure copper and is sold in different widths and lengths. Just like copper metal, copper tape is extremely flexible and can be formed into shapes and can be soldered to. The tape itself can carry electricity just like a wire. It can be used to carry electricity between a battery and components like LEDs, buzzers, and motors. Copper tape can be used as a switch or wire and works well in paper circuits. We will also see below how it can be used as a speaker!
Copper itself conducts both heat and electricity very well. Perhaps learning more about the metal and how it is used can prompt more inventive uses of the copper tape form of the metal. Learn about the compound itself on wikipedia as well as the common uses of copper.
[photo credit:]
There are two types of copper tape: with conductive adhesive and with non-conductive adhesive. Copper tape with non-conductive adhesive is more common. This type of tape is practically used as a garden animal repellant and is generally found in the hardware. For physical computing, copper tape with conductive adhesive is used. This is the form that I will explore in this report.
On the back is an electrically conductive adhesive. The adhesive can’t carry significant current but it is very handy for sensing applications where you don’t want to solder the copper tape (see the labs below).
Photo credit: nicely highlights the features of some commercially available copper tapes. These tapes are also available for purchase through the website.
Sticky and conductive on both sidesConducti Tape D34 (copper foil)
Sticky on one side, conductive on both sidesConducti Tape Z22 (ripstop nylon)
Sticky on conductive side, blocks electricity on shiny sideX44 (aluminum with polyester coating)
This Makezine article outlines pros and cons of using the above mentioned types of copper tape. The con of tearing at the crease can be solved by using nylon backed copper tape.
Links to sources for purchase
Copper tape can be purchased in different widths and lengths. Here are some hobby stores where it can be purchased. – 6mm width – 25mm width – 5mm width – 2” width
I found a few different datasheets for copper tape with conductive adhesive from Adafruit, 3M and Sparkfun.
Using Copper Tape
When using copper tape, it is important to ensure solid connections in your circuit. That also means making sure the tape is flat! Bubbles or folds can cause interruption in connectivity and the flow of current. Below, I’ve experimented with addressing connectivity issues with paper circuits. Just like with a wired circuit, make sure ground and power tapes don’t intersect. Using masking tape or scotch tape works well as a barrier. This tutorial provides some tips for using copper tape.
• LED sequins (purchased from Adafruit)
• 6mm width copper tape with conductive adhesive
• a 9V battery
• index cards
• alligator clips
LED sequins: showing their positive and negative leads
• Lab 1: Creating a Copper tape circuit
Here, a simple circuit was created to turn on an LED. In this lab, the leads of the LED are connected by placing a strip of copper tape over each lead. This proved to be an unstable connection. In figure 1 you can see that the surface of tape covering each LED lead is not flat or flat enough. In the video below, you will notice that when the LED is pressed, the light turns on. This indicates that there is insufficient contact between the copper tape and LED leads.
figure 1
Creating a larger conductive surface
A base layer of copper tape was added to the index card for both ground and power. The LED was secured to the circuit with additional copper tape strips (added to the surface of each lead). This was done ensuring smooth contact between the two sheets of tape. The LED was pressed firmly to secure contact with both top and bottom layers.
figure 2
Observation: The circuit with copper tape on both the back and front of the LED leads (figure 2) worked better to conduct electricity.
Conclusion: Connectivity matters. While the adhesive back is conductive, it is best to reinforce connectivity by ensuring connection to the copper tape’s surface. Also, it is very important to establish a flat surface of connection. Eliminate any folds or bubbles when laying the tape to establish a flat surface. A smooth flat surface ensures an uninterrupted flow of current.
• Lab 2: Controlling two LEDs with a copper tape switch
With this experiment, I ensured the copper tape lined the back and front sides of each LED lead (as in the successful lab above). Ensuring the power and ground connections did not cross to create a short circuit was important. I used masking tape to cover intersecting layers.
Photo showing copper tape circuit with 2 LEDs. Masking tape was used to cover areas where ground and voltage connections intersected.
Examples using Copper Tape
• Here is an example I found where copper tape is used as a speaker. As speaker was created using an analog paper circuit, coiled copper tape and a magnet.
• This Instructables tutorial explores the technical, design, and aesthetic possibilities of 2-D, flexible audio speaker technology.
• For my NIME performance (previewed below), I created a pop-up book and used copper tape for my circuitsand as a switch. I used the Makey Makey as my microcontroller and programmed each sound using MAX/MSP and Kontakt Player – essentially creating a MIDI-controller.
The Makey Makey attached to me (as ground) and to items connecting to it as power. In the case of the diagram, when the apple is touched the circuit is closed and the desired reaction occurs. In the case of my MIDI-controller, when I touched respective drums on the pop-up book, corresponding sound played. photo credit:
When the drum is touched sound is played. The drum’s surface is made with copper tape (with conductive adhesive)
A closer look at the drum. You can see the surface with layers of copper tape, when touched acting as a switch. The single piece of tape to the right continues the circuit to the Makey Makey connection. Conductive fabric was added at the crease to ensure a steady connection was achieved. Necessary as elements in pop up books are folded.
Lessons learned from using copper tape for this NIME project:
Benefits of using copper tape
• The flat thin material worked well for this application as I needed a flat seamless circuit.
• Simple to use once the circuit design was mapped out.
Weaknesses of copper tape
• It tears easily where the tape is folded. I resorted to enforcing these folds by adding a backing of conductive fabric.
• Long pieces get tangled quite easily rendering the piece of tape garbage.
• I experienced some connectivity issues with my switch. I added more lengths of tape but should have also created a weaved pattern to create a wider conductive surface (think how fabric is weaved – the conductive fabric did an excellent job at conducting electricity).
Copper Tape Tutorials
Light Controller
Design Challenge: Make a device to control an RGB light. The features of the device include:
2. The ability to fade each color channel (red, green, and blue) from off to full brightness.
3. Fade level should be maintained when you release the fade controller.
4. Fade should be interruptible by other controllers, e.g. on/off or another fade controller.
5. The ability to fade the overall brightness of the light.
Testing: This code explores turning on an LED with a switch. A potentiometer is then used to control the brightness of the LED. I worked with a white LED for this to ensure the code worked before connecting the RGB LED.
Design and Fabrication |
Read ProperUseOfSuperheat.pdf text version
Posted on: 04/03/2003
Proper Use Of Superheat Measurements
By A dolfo W urts
New Instrumentation Assures Accuracy, Saves Energy, And Prevents System Damage.
W ith increasing energy costs and growing demands for more efficient cooling systems, the need for accurate superheat measurements has become m ore important. Unfortunately, some technicians have either forgotten what they were taught about superheat in school or think it's too much troub le to pe rform. They learn the pro cedure early in school and practice it there, b ut they find it more d ifficult in the field, largely because of forgo tten techniques or ineffective measuring tools. This lack of superheat measurements results in air conditioners that are either undercharged or overcharged and in danger of compressor failure. Superhea t is defined as the difference betwe en the tempe rature a t which the refrigera nt boils at a given pressure in the evaporator and the temperature of the refrigerant gas as it leaves the evaporator. In a worst-case scenario with low indoor heat load and the air conditioner still running, if overcharged, the refrigerant in the evaporator would remain in liquid form in the coil and back up into the compressor, steadily destroying it. In a properly tuned system, the refrigerant continues to bo il and exits the evapo rator as a gas even under the worst p ossible conditions. A distinction must be made between systems which employ a TEV/TX V and those which have a "fixed re strictor"/"flow-rater". The sup erhea t on a T EV /TX V should always b e within a certain range regardless of the condition. On a TX V/TE V system that is starved, the superheat will go up above the range. But on an overcharged T XV /TEV system, the superheat will not go below the range. For this reason, to properly charge these systems you must charge to the subcooling. However, on a fixed restrictor the superheat varies with the inlet to the evaporator wetbulb and outdoor drybulb. When the correct measurements are taken, the technician learns how much heat the refrige rant gas has picked up from the evaporato r coil and gains insight into how the unit is operating. A large temperature difference (superheat) indicates that the refrigerant has turned to a gas a longer distance from the compressor than a lower superheat. With this information in hand, the technician can add or subtract refrigerant to meet a target superheat number.
The Four Key Measurements
In reality, using superheat measurements to determine the correct refrigerant charge is not that difficult and the savings in energy and potential repairs are significant. All that the technician needs is a basic knowledge and some modern m easuring tools. The proce ss requires only four measurem ents. First, to find out the target superheat for a fixed restrictor system you will need to measure two param eters: 1. 2. Outdoo r air temperature take n from the air that is going into the condenser coil. Indoor wetbulb temperature taken by a wetbulb thermometer that has been soaked in water and held in front of the indo or return grille or, better yet, just in front of the evaporator coil.
Air conditioner manufacturers display the target superheat temperature on or near the unit in the form of a chart. The target on the fixed restrictors varies with the indoor wetbulb and outdoor drybulb measurements. On the req uired superheat charts, the indoo r wetbulb tem perature is
usually listed across the top and the outdoor drybulb along the side with the ideal target superheat displayed where the two intersect. W hen the technician has determined the target temperature, he needs o nly two more numbers -- the boiling point (saturation point) of the refrigerant at the pressure in the evaporator and the suction line temperature. The bo iling point is easy. You can measure the pressure at the evaporator with your pressure gauge and in most cases read the boiling point right on the gauge. If the boiling point for the refrigerant you are working with is not on the gauge, then you will have to look it up on a pressure-tem perature chart. To determine the temp erature of the refrigerant in the suctio n line pip e, all you need to do is measure the temperature of the pipe. When you have the two, to get the actual superheat, subtract the boiling point off of your gauges or charts from the actual evaporator superheat temperature. If the actual superheat is lower than the target, remove refrigerant, and if higher, add refrigerant. Always let the system stabilize and check again after add ing or subtracting refrigerant.
The Difficulty Of Getting Accurate Results
Unfortunately, as many technicians can attest, it sounds a lot easier than it is. The problem is the three temperature measurements. They're not as easy to take as it would seem. While instrument suppliers have spent a lot of time developing better instruments, many have missed problems faced by field service technicians in the real world. These three temperature measurements are good examp les.
Outdoor Air Temperature
W hen measuring the outdoor temperature, for example, temperatures can vary considerably in the area around the condenser. The only reliable place to take the outdoor temperature is right in front of the condenser coils and the thermocouple should remain there for a full minute to ensure accurate measurement. Holding the thermometer there for the whole minute can be a problem. One solution is the addition of an alligator clip to a beaded K-type thermocouple so that it can be readily fastened directly onto condenser grille and stay in place as long as needed. This will work with any m eter that accepts a K -type thermoc ouple. More accu rate tempera tures can be achieved b y paying attention to subtleties. W ith the most commo n K-type thermocouple thermometers, there is a temperature reference junction inside the meter (the "cold junction") that is monitored by a thermometer inside the meter. Both the reference junction and the thermometer need to be at the same temperature to ensure an accurate reading. Som e meters employ an ada pter, with the reference junction inside this adapter. A ny difference in temperature between the external reference junction in the adapter and the internal thermometer inside the meter will show up as an error. By simply holding this adapter in your hand you can alter the reading that the multimeter displays. A solution developed places the reference junction and the thermometer inside the meter on a ceramic substrate so the reference junction and thermometer will be at the same temperature regardless of the ambient temperature. High accuracy measurements for determining sup erhea t are be st taken with a clam p therm oco uple for suction line tem perature, a thermocouple with an alligato r clip attached to the co ndenser grille for outdoo r temp erature , and a wetbulb sensor with a perm anent cotton sock attached dire ctly to the incoming air side indoor air measurement. (Photos courtesy of Fieldpiece Instruments.)
Wetbulb Indoor Air Measurement
Indo or wetbulb temperature measurem ent also presents a problem. T he "wetting" ma terial is difficult to find and also to affix on a thermocouple. Technical articles, manuals and educational texts suggest such things as moistened toilet tissue and paper napkins. One major instrument manufacturer suggests a piece o f cotton shoe lace , thus sending technicians on a fruitless quest since mod ern shoe laces are mad e of synthetic materials and blends. Fortunately, so me m eter manufac turers m ake a thermoco uple m ade especially for taking wetb ulb measurem ents. It includes a permanently attached "soc k" which holds considera ble water, has a large surface area for evaporation, and has intimate thermal contact with the thermocouple. Here, again, an alligator clip on the thermocouple makes a valuable contribution to accuracy by enabling the technician to clip the instrument directly on the indoor return grille or directly to the evaporator coil on the incoming air side . It can be left in plac e until it com pletely cools d own in the air stream. It's easy and reliable and can be used with any thermo meter using K -type thermoco uples.
Suction Line Measurement
The last measurement presents an even bigger source for potential errors. The suction line temperature cannot be measured with a simple pocket thermometer because the thermal contact with the pipe is not good enough and the thermal contact with the environment is too good. T he resulting temperature would be somewhere between the pipe temperature and the air surrounding it. The trick is for the technician to find a way to measure only the pipe temperature. One way involves the use of a standard beaded thermo couple with a Velcro strip. Cutting back the insulation on the thermocouple about an inch, the technician wraps the whole inch of bare wire around the pipe and holds it in p lace with the Velcro. Another method requires the tec hnician to push the beaded thermocouple under the pipe insulation. For this to work, the insulation must be dry and fit tightly. In both of these methods, the amount of thermal contact between the thermometer and the pipe is still unknown and can vary with how snug the thermometer is to the pipe. The most effective way to accurately measure suction line temperature requires a pipe clamp thermocouple. These units work with any meter that uses K-type thermocouples and provide excellent thermal contact by squeezing directly onto the pipe and providing good thermal isolation for the temperature sensor. This style of thermocouple snaps quickly and easily onto a pipe and maintains a reliab le therm al contact. The problem in determining superheat centers on getting accurate measurements in the first place. By keeping in mind the pitfalls involved in drybulb, wetbulb, and suction line measurements and by having the best tools availab le to get accurate results, the modern technician can easily determine the appropriate refrigerant charge for an air conditioner, given the conditions, thereby assuring efficient op eration while avoiding serio us damage to co mpressors. W urts is a research specialist at Fieldpiece Instruments Inc. (Brea, Calif.) and is a field-certified HV ACR technician. For m ore info rmatio n on instruments for service technicians, visit m.
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Opman ASX24 v05.qxd
Document 1
Opman SSX34 v09.qxd |
Stick Problem
Problem statement:
Two points are chosen, independently and at random, on a stick of unit length. What is the expected distance between them?
You may want to try to solve the problem, before you look at the solutions below.
Solution using calculus: show
Solution using geometry: show
Solution using symmetry: show
If you've understood how to use symmetry to solve the stick problem, you should be able to solve this one, without using a computer, a diagram, or written calculation:
I shuffle a pack of cards (52 cards including four aces), and draw cards from it, without replacement, until I find an ace. What is the expected number drawn?
This is one of several pages on using symmetry in mathematics. |
Creating new widget
All widgets have to be generated by the wibox.widget.base.make_widget function so that the needed signals are added and mouse input handling is set up.
The returned widget will have a :buttons member function that can be used to register a set of mouse button events with the widget.
To implement your own widget, you can implement some member functions on a freshly-created widget. Note that all of these functions should be deterministic in the sense that they will show the same behavior if they are repeatedly called with the same arguments (same width and height). If your widget is updated and needs to change, suitable signals have to be emitted. This will be explained later.
The first callback is :fit. This function is called to select the size of your widget. The arguments to this function is the available space and it should return its desired size. Note that this function only provides a hint which is not necessarily followed. The widget must also be able to draw itself at different sizes than the one requested.
function widget:fit(context, width, height)
-- Find the maximum square available
local m = math.min(width, height)
return m, m
The next callback is :draw. As the name suggests, this function is called to draw the widget. The arguments to this widget are the context that the widget is drawn in, the Cairo context on which it should be drawn and the widget’s size. The Cairo context is set up in such a way that the widget as its top-left corner at (0, 0) and its bottom-right corner at (width, height). In other words, no special transformation needs to be done. Note that during this callback a suitable clip will already be applied to the Cairo context so that this callback will not be able to draw outside of the area that was registered for the widget by the layout that placed this widget. You should not call cr:reset_clip(), as redraws will not be handled correctly in this case.
function widget:draw(context, cr, width, height)
cr:move_to(0, 0)
cr:line_to(width, height)
cr:move_to(0, height)
cr:line_to(width, 0)
There are two signals configured for a widget. When the result that :fit would return changes, the widget::layout_changed signal has to be emitted. If this actually causes layout changes, the affected areas will be redrawn. The other signal is widget::redraw_needed. This signal signals that :draw has to be called to redraw the widget, but it is safe to assume that :fit does still return the same values as before. If in doubt, you can emit both signals to be safe.
If your widget only needs to draw something to the screen, the above is all that is needed. The following callbacks can be used when implementing layouts which place other widgets on the screen.
The :layout callback is used to figure out which other widgets should be drawn relative to this widget. Note that it is allowed to place widgets outside of the extents of your own widget, for example at a negative position or at twice the size of this widget. Use this mechanism if your widget needs to draw outside of its own extents. If the result of this callback changes, widget::layout_changed has to be emitted. You can use :fit_widget to call the :fit callback of other widgets. Never call :fit directly! For example, if you want to place another widget child inside of your widget, you can do it like this:
-- For readability
local base = wibox.widget.base
function widget:layout(width, height)
local result = {}
table.insert(result, base.place_widget_at(child, width/2, 0, width/2, height)
return result
Finally, if you want to influence how children are drawn, there are four callbacks available that all get similar arguments:
function widget:before_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
function widget:after_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
function widget:before_draw_child(context, index, child, cr, width, height)
function widget:after_draw_child(context, index, child, cr, width, height)
All of these are called with the same arguments as the :draw() method. Please note that a larger clip will be active during these callbacks that also contains the area of all children. These callbacks can be used to influence the way in which children are drawn, but they should not cause the drawing to cover a different area. As an example, these functions can be used to draw children translucently:
function widget:before_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
function widget:after_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
In pseudo-code, the call sequence for the drawing callbacks during a redraw looks like this:
widget:draw(context, cr, width, height)
widget:before_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
for child do
widget:before_draw_child(context, cr, child_index, child, width, height)
-- Draw child and all of its children recursively, taking into account the
-- position and size given to base.place_widget_at() in :layout().
widget:after_draw_child(context, cr, child_index, child, width, height)
widget:after_draw_children(context, cr, width, height)
The :set_children() method gets called recursively when setting a widget with the declarative layout system, therefore the method should be well defined. It should probably hook into the :add or :add_widget methods or be overridden to do nothing.
generated by LDoc 1.4.6 Last updated 2019-05-02 19:02:03 |
Orthognathic surgery
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Orthognathic surgery
Orthognatic surgery.png
Osteotomies of the jaws: 1. Lefort I 2. Sagittal split 3. Genioplasty
Orthognathic surgery (/ˌɔːrθəɡˈnæθɪk/); also known as corrective jaw surgery or simply jaw surgery, is surgery designed to correct conditions of the jaw and face related to structure, growth, sleep apnea, TMJ disorders, malocclusion problems owing to skeletal disharmonies, or other orthodontic problems that cannot be easily treated with braces. Originally coined by Harold Hargis, this surgery is also used to treat congenital conditions such as cleft palate.[1] Typically during oral surgery, bone is cut, moved, modified, and realigned to correct a dentofacial deformity. The word "osteotomy" means the division, or excision of bone. The dental osteotomy allows surgeons to visualize the jawbone, and work accordingly.
The operation is used to correct jaw problems in about 5% of general population[2][3][4] presenting with dentofacial deformities like maxillary prognathisms, mandibular prognathisms, open bites, difficulty chewing, difficulty swallowing, temporomandibular joint dysfunction pains, excessive wear of the teeth, and receding chins. Many surgeons prefer this procedure for the correction of a dentofacial deformity due to its effectiveness.[citation needed]
Medical uses[edit]
It is estimated that nearly 5% of the UK or USA population present with dentofacial deformities that are not amenable to orthodontic treatment requiring orthognathic surgery as a part of their definitive treatment.[5][3][4] Orthognathic surgery can be used to correct:
• Gross jaw discrepancies (anteroposterior, vertical, or transverse discrepancies)[6]
• Skeletofacial discrepancies associated with documented temporomandibular joint pathology
A disproportionately grown upper or lower jaw causes dentofacial deformities. Chewing becomes problematic, and may also cause pain due to straining of the jaw muscle and bone. Deformities range from micrognathia, which is when the mandible doesn't grow far forward enough (over bite), and when the mandible grows too much, causing an under bite; all of which are uncomfortable. Also, a total maxilla osteotomy is used to treat the "long face syndrome," known as the skeptical open bite, idiopathic long face, hyper divergent face, total maxillary alveolar hyperplasia, and vertical maxillary excess. Prior to surgery, surgeons should take x-rays of the patient's jaw to determine the deformity, and to make a plan of procedures.[7] Mandible osteotomies, or corrective jaw surgeries, benefit individuals who suffer from difficulty chewing, swallowing, TMJ pains, excessive wear of the teeth, open bites, overbites, underbites, or a receding chin.[citation needed] The deformities listed above can be perfected by an osteotomy surgery of either the maxilla or mandible (whichever the deformity calls for), which is performed by an oral surgeon who is specialized in the working with both the upper and lower jaws.[8] Orthognathic surgery is also available as a very successful treatment (90–100%) for obstructive sleep apnea.[9]
Cleft lip and palate
Orthognathic surgery is a well established and widely used treatment option for insufficient growth of the maxilla in patients with an orofacial cleft.[10] There is some debate regarding the timing of orthognathic procedures, to maximise the potential for natural growth of the facial skeleton.[11] Patient reported aesthetic outcomes of orthognathic surgery for cleft lip and palate appear to be of overall satisfaction,[12][13] despite complications that may arise. A potentially significant long-term outcome of orthognathic surgery is impaired maxillary growth, due to scar tissue formation.[14] A 2013 systematic review comparing traditional orthognathic surgery with maxillary distraction osteogenesis found that the evidence was of low quality; it appeared that both procedures might be effective, but suggested distraction osteogenesis might reduce the incidence of long-term relapse.[15]
Although infrequent, there can be complications such as bleeding, swelling, infection, nausea and vomiting.[16] Infection rates of up to 7% are reported after orthognathic surgery; antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the risk of surgical site infections when the antibiotics are given during surgery and continued for longer than a day after the operation.[17]
There can also be some post operative facial numbness due to nerve damage.[18] Diagnostics for nerve damage consist of: brush-stroke directional discrimination (BSD), touch detection threshold (TD), warm/cold (W/C) and sharp/blunt discrimination (S/B), electrophysiological tests (mental nerve blink reflex (BR), nerve conduction study (NCS), and cold (CDT) and warm (WDT) detection thresholds.[19] The inferior alveolar nerve, which is a branch of the mandibular nerve, must be identified during surgery and worked around carefully in order to minimize nerve damage. The numbness may be either temporary, or more rarely, permanent.[20] Recovery from the nerve damage typically occurs within 3 months after repair.
Planning for the surgery usually involves input from a multidisciplinary team, including oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, and occasionally a speech and language therapist. Although it depends on the reason for surgery, working with a speech and language therapist in advance can help minimize potential relapse. The surgery usually results in a noticeable change in the patient's face; a psychological assessment is occasionally required to assess patient's need for surgery and its predicted effect on the patient. Radiographs and photographs are taken to help in the planning. There is also advanced software that can predict the shape of the patient's face after surgery,[21][22] which is useful for the planning and also explaining the surgery to the patient and the patient's family.[23]
The main goals of orthognathic surgery are to achieve a correct bite, an aesthetic face, and an enlarged airway. While correcting the bite is important, if the face is not considered, the resulting bone changes might lead to an unaesthetic result.[24] Great care needs to be taken during the planning phase to maximize airway patency.
All dentofacial osteotomies are performed under general anesthesia, causing total unconsciousness. General anesthesia allows surgeons to perform dentofacial osteotomies effectively without involuntary muscle movement or complaints about minor pain. Prior to any Osteotomy, third molars (wisdom teeth) are extracted to reduce the chance of infection. Dentofacial osteotomy is usually performed using oscillating and reciprocating saws, burs, and manual chisels. Reciprocating saws are straight and are used for making straight bone cuts. Oscillating saws are angled, to different degrees, in order to make deep curved cuts for certain osteotomies like mandible angle reduction. The recent advent of piezoelectric saws has simplified bone cutting, but such equipment has not yet become the norm outside of the most developed countries. The surgery might involve one jaw or both jaws cuncurrently. The modification is done by making cuts in the bones of the mandible and/or maxilla, and repositioning the cut pieces in the desired alignment. This surgery is usually performed with the use of general anaesthetic and a nasal tube for intubation. The nasal tube enables the teeth to be wired together during surgery. The surgery usually does not involve cutting the skin. Instead, the surgeon is often able to go through the interior of the mouth. Cutting one bone is known as an osteotomy, while performing the surgery on both jaws simultaneously is known as a bi-maxillary osteotomy (cutting the bone of both jaws) or a maxillomandibular advancement.
The maxilla can be adjusted using a "Lefort I" level osteotomy (most common). Additionally, the midface can be mobilized by using a Lefort II, or Lefort III osteotomy. These techniques are utilized extensively for children that suffer from various craniofacial abnormalities, such as Crouzon syndrome.
The jaws will be wired together (inter-maxillary fixation) using stainless steel wires during the surgery to ensure the correct re-positioning of the bones. In most cases, these wires are released before the patient wakes up. However, some surgeons prefer to wire the jaws shut instead.
In some instances, the change in jaw structure will cause the cheeks to become depressed and shallow. Some procedures will call for the insertion of implants to give the patient's face a fuller look.
Alveolar prognathism, maxillary osteotomy recommended.
Maxilla osteotomy (upper jaw)[edit]
This procedure is intended for patients with an upper jaw deformity, or with an open bite. Operating on the upper jaw requires surgeons to make incisions below both eye sockets, making it a bilateral osteotomy, enabling the whole upper jaw, along with the roof of the mouth and upper teeth, to move as one unit. At this time, the upper jaw can be moved and aligned correctly in order to fit the upper teeth in place with the lower teeth. Then, the jaw is stabilized using titanium screws that will eventually be grown over by bone, permanently staying in the mouth.
Mandible osteotomy (lower jaw)[edit]
Patient exhibits a mandible prognathism. Requires a mandible osteotomy to correct.
The mandible osteotomy is intended for those with a receded mandible (lower jaw) or an open bite, which may cause difficulty chewing and jaw pain. For this procedure cuts are made behind the molars, in between the first and second molars, and lengthwise, detaching the front of the jaw so the palate (including the teeth and all) can move as one unit. From here, the surgeon can smoothly slide the mandible into its new position. Stabilization screws are used to support the jaw until the healing process is done.[25]
Sagittal split osteotomy[edit]
Oral palate unit
This procedure is used to correct mandible retrusion and mandibular prognathism (over and under bite). First, a horizontal cut is made on the inner side of the ramus mandibulae, extending anterally to the anterior portion of the ascending ramus. The cut is then made inferiorly on the ascending ramus to the descending ramus, extending to the lateral border of the mandible in the area between the first and second molar. At this time, a vertical cut is made extending inferior to the body of the mandible, to the inferior border of the mandible. All cuts are made into the middle of the bone, where bone marrow is present. Then, a chisel is inserted into the pre existing cuts and tapped gently in all areas to split the mandible of the left and right side. From here, the mandible can be moved either forwards or backwards. If sliding backwards, the distal segment must be trimmed to provide room in order to slide the mandible backwards. Lastly, the jaw is stabilized using stabilizing screws that are inserted extra-orally. The jaw is then wired shut for approximately 4–5 weeks.[25]
Facial anatomy
Genioplasty osteotomy (intra-oral)[edit]
This procedure is used for the advancement (movement forward) or retraction (movement backwards) of the chin. First, incisions are made from the first bicuspid to the first bicuspid, exposing the mandible. Then, soft tissue of the mandible is detached from the bone; done by stripping attaching tissues. A horizontal incision is then made inferior to the first bicuspids, bilaterally, where bone cuts (osteotomies) are made vertically inferior, extending to the inferior border of the mandible, thereby detaching the bony segments of the mandible. The bony segments are stabilized with titanium plates; no fixation (binding of the jaw) necessary. If advancement is indicated for the chin, there are inert products available to implant onto the mandible, utilizing titanium screws, bypassing bone cuts.[25]
Rapid palatal expansion osteotomy[edit]
When a patient has a constricted (oval shape) maxilla, but normal mandible, many orthodontists request a rapid palatal expansion. This consists of the surgeon making horizontal cuts on the lateral board of the maxilla, extending anterally to the inferior border of the nasal cavity. At this time, a chisel designed for the nasal septum is utilized to detach the maxilla from the cranial base. Then, a pterygoid chisel, which is a curved chisel, is used on the left and right side of the maxilla to detach the pterygoid palates. Care must be taken as to not injure the inferior palatine artery. Prior to the procedure, the orthodontist has an orthopedic appliance attached to the maxilla teeth, bilaterally, extending over the palate with an attachment so the surgeon may use a hex-like screw to place into the device to push from anterior to posterior to start spreading the bony segments.[25] The expansion of the maxilla may take up to 8 weeks with the surgeon advancing the expander hex lock, sideways (← →), once a week.
Post operation[edit]
After orthognathic surgery, patients are often required to adhere to an all-liquid diet for a time. Weight loss due to lack of appetite and the liquid diet is common. Normal recovery time can range from a few weeks for minor surgery, to up to a year for more complicated surgery. For some surgeries, pain may be minimal due to minor nerve damage and lack of feeling. Doctors will prescribe pain medication and prophylactic antibiotics to the patient. There is often a large amount of swelling around the jaw area, and in some cases bruising. Most of the swelling will disappear in the first few weeks, but some may remain for a few months.
All dentofacial osteotomies require an initial healing time of 2–6 weeks with secondary healing (complete bony union and bone remodeling) taking an additional 2–4 months. The jaw is sometimes immobilized (movement restricted by wires or elastics) for approximately 1–4 weeks. However, the jaw will still require two to three months for proper healing. Lastly, if screws were inserted in the jaw, bone will typically grow over them during the two to three month healing period. Patients also may not drive or operate vehicles or large machinery during the consumption of painkillers, which are typically taken for six to eight days after the surgery, depending on the pain experienced. Immediately after surgery, patients must adhere to certain infection preventing instructions such as daily cleaning, and the consumption of antibiotics. Cleaning of the mouth should always be done regardless of surgery to ensure healthy, strong teeth. Patients are able to return to work 2–6 weeks after the surgery, but must follow the specific rules for recovery for ~8 weeks.[26]
Mandible and maxilla osteotomies date to the 1940s. They were used to correct dentofacial deformities like a malocclusion, and a prognathism.[27] Advances have been made in the procedures, and in the anesthesia used. In 1985, mandible and maxilla osteotomies were effectively used to correct more extreme deformities like receding chins, and to relieve pain from temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
Prior to 1991, some patients undergoing a dentofacial osteotomy still had third molars (wisdom teeth), and had them removed during surgery. An extensive study done by Dr. M Lacy and Dr. R Colcleugh, was used to identify threats of combining the two surgeries used 83 patients from the time span of 1987 and 1991. Patients were reviewed, and divided into two groups; those who had, and those who didn't have their third molars extracted during the dentofacial Osteotomy. The study showed that 73% of patients developed an infection of the hardware inserted into the jaw when having their third molars removed during an osteotomy. The data indicated that getting the osteotomy and the third molar extraction at the same time highly increases the chances of infection development.[28]
Advances in the surgical techniques allow surgeons to perform the surgery under local anesthesia with assistance from intravenous sedation. Dr. Raffaini introduced this technique in 2002 after a four-year study done with local anesthesia and assistance from intravenous sedation. Prior to this, surgeons would fully sedate patients, hospitalizing them shortly after the surgery for a 2-3 day recovery, specifically from the anesthesia. Advancements allow surgeons to expand the use of an osteotomy on more parts of the jaws with faster recovery time, less pain, and no hospitalization, making the surgery more effective with respect to time and recovery.[29] The procedure, which is strictly used for a mandibular (jaw) deformity and mobilization, has advanced from similar, very effective procedures performed since 1985. The original mandible and maxilla osteotomy procedure still remains almost unchanged, as it is the simplest and still the most effective for dentofacial deformity correction.
1. ^ Bill J, Proff P, Bayerlein T, Blens T, Gedrange T, Reuther J (September 2006). "Orthognathic surgery in cleft patients". J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 34 (Suppl 2): 77–81. doi:10.1016/S1010-5182(06)60017-6. PMID 17071397.
3. ^ a b Harrington C, Gallagher JR, Borzabadi-Farahani A (April 2015). "A retrospective analysis of dentofacial deformities and orthognathic surgeries using the index of orthognathic functional treatment needs (IOFTN)". Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 79: 1063–6. doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2015.04.027. PMID 25957779.
4. ^ a b Borzabadi-Farahani A, Eslamipour F, Shahmoradi M (2016). "Functional needs of subjects with dentofacial deformities: A study using the index of orthognathic functional treatment need (IOFTN)". J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 69 (6): 796–801. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2016.03.008. PMID 27068664.
7. ^ Arnet, Gary F., and Linda M. Basehore. "Dentofacial reconstruction." The American Journal of Nursing. 12. 84 (1984): 1488-490.
8. ^ William H. Bell; William R. Proffit; Raymond P. White (1980). Surgical correction of dentofacial deformities. Saunders. ISBN 978-0-7216-1675-9.
9. ^ Prinsell JR (December 1999). "Maxillomandibular advancement surgery in a site-specific treatment approach for obstructive sleep apnea in 50 consecutive patients". Chest. 116 (6): 1519–29. doi:10.1378/chest.116.6.1519. PMID 10593771.
10. ^ DeLuke, Dean M; Marchand, Anick; Robles, Elizabeth C; Fox, Patricia. "Facial growth and the need for orthognathic surgery after cleft palate repair: Literature review and report of 28 cases". Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 55 (7): 694–697. doi:10.1016/s0278-2391(97)90579-6.
11. ^ Wolford, Larry M.; Stevao, Eber L.L. (2016-11-10). "Correction of jaw deformities in patients with cleft lip and palate". Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center). 15 (3): 250–254. ISSN 0899-8280. PMC 1276618. PMID 16333445.
12. ^ Munz, S. M.; Edwards, S. P.; Inglehart, M. R. (2011-08-01). "Oral health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with treatment and treatment outcomes of adolescents/young adults with cleft lip/palate: an exploration". International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 40 (8): 790–796. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2011.03.002.
13. ^ Gkantidis, Nikolaos; Papamanou, Despina A.; Christou, Panagiotis; Topouzelis, Nikolaos. "Aesthetic outcome of cleft lip and palate treatment. Perceptions of patients, families, and health professionals compared to the general public". Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery. 41 (7): e105–e110. doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2012.11.034.
14. ^ Daskalogiannakis, John; Mehta, Manisha (2009-10-05). "The Need for Orthognathic Surgery in Patients With Repaired Complete Unilateral and Complete Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate". The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. 46 (5): 498–502. doi:10.1597/08-176.1.
15. ^ Kloukos, Dimitrios; Fudalej, Piotr; Sequeira-Byron, Patrick; Katsaros, Christos; Kloukos, Dimitrios (2013). "Maxillary distraction osteogenesis versus orthognathic surgery for cleft lip and palate patients". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010403. open access
17. ^ Brignardello-Petersen, Romina; Carrasco-Labra, Alonso; Araya, Ignacio; Yanine, Nicolás; Cordova Jara, Luis; Villanueva, Julio (2015-01-05). "Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing infectious complications in orthognathic surgery". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1: CD010266. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010266.pub2. ISSN 1469-493X. PMID 25561078. open access
18. ^ Panula K, Finne K, Oikarinen K (October 2001). "Incidence of complications and problems related to orthognathic surgery: a review of 655 patients". J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 59 (10): 1128–36, discussion 1137. doi:10.1053/joms.2001.26704. PMID 11573165.
19. ^ Teerijoki-Oksa T, Jääskeläinen SK, Forssell K, Forssell H (2004). "Recovery of nerve injury after mandibular sagittal split osteotomy. Diagnostic value of clinical and electrophysiologic tests in the follow-up". Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 33 (2): 134–40. doi:10.1054/ijom.2003.0463. PMID 15050068.
20. ^ Eckert AW, Maurer P, Kriwalsky MS, Schubert J (September 2006). "P.292 Complications in orthognathic surgery". J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 34 (Suppl 1): 206. doi:10.1016/S1010-5182(06)60797-X.
21. ^ Mischkowski RA, Zinser MJ, Kübler AC, Krug B, Seifert U, Zöller JE (December 2006). "Application of an augmented reality tool for maxillary positioning in orthognathic surgery — a feasibility study". J Craniomaxillofac Surg. 34 (8): 478–83. doi:10.1016/j.jcms.2006.07.862. PMID 17157519.
22. ^ Uechi J, Okayama M, Shibata T, et al. (December 2006). "A novel method for the 3-dimensional simulation of orthognathic surgery by using a multimodal image-fusion technique". Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 130 (6): 786–98. doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2006.03.025. PMID 17169742.
23. ^ Tsuji M, Noguchi N, Shigematsu M, et al. (September 2006). "A new navigation system based on cephalograms and dental casts for oral and maxillofacial surgery". Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 35 (9): 828–36. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2006.02.024. PMID 16690251.
24. ^ Arnett GW, Gunson MJ (September 2004). "Facial planning for orthodontists and oral surgeons". Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 126 (3): 290–5. doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2004.06.006. PMID 15356488.
25. ^ a b c d Dr. Charles A. Loschiavo. Personal. 2 April 2009.
26. ^ Mandible (Lower Jaw) Osteotomy. 2007. British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (BAOMS). 29 Feb. 2009 http://www.baoms.org.uk
27. ^ Puricelli, Edela. "A new technique for mandibular osteotomy." Head & Face Medicine 3.15 (2007). Head & Face Medicine. 13 Mar. 2007. BioMed Central Ltd. 27 Feb. 2009 http://www.head-face-med.com
28. ^ Lacey MS, Colcleugh RG (1995). "Infected screws in patients treated by mandibular sagittal split osteotomy". J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 53 (5): 510–2, discussion 513. doi:10.1016/0278-2391(95)90059-4. PMID 7722717.
29. ^ Raffaini M, Hernandez Alfaro F, Ghilardi R, Garcia Lopez A (2002). "The sagittal mandibular osteotomy under local anesthesia and intravenous sedation: four years of multicenter experience". Int J Adult Orthodon Orthognath Surg. 17 (4): 267–71. PMID 12592998. |
Brief Summary
Comprehensive Description
Brown howler
provided by wikipedia
The brown howler (Alouatta guariba), also known as brown howler monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey that lives in forests in southeastern Brazil and far northeastern Argentina (Misiones).[1][2] It lives in groups of two to 11 individuals.[3] Despite the name "brown howler", it is notably variable in colour, with some individuals appearing largely reddish-orange or black.[4]
The two subspecies are:[1]
Geographic distribution
The brown howler lives in the Atlantic forest in South America. The region spreads through the Brazilian states of Bahia and Espirito Santo through the Rio Grande do SUl and the Misiones in the Argentine[5]
Brown howler monkeys are folivores and frugivorous. The diet of the brown howler monkey consists primarily of leaves and trees. Of the food sources it seems that the genera Ficus, Zanthoxylum, and, Eugenia are the most significant types consumed. Brown howler monkeys that live in higher latitudes tend to eat a lower percentage of leaves in their diet.[6] Mature leaves are less nutritious and are more fibrous, than the preferred young leaves. A typical brown howler diet will also include mature fruit, wild figs, petioles, buds, flowers, seeds, moss, stems, and twigs[2] The Atlantic forest, where brown howlers tend to live, has an increasing forest fragmentation.[5] Forest fragmentation means that there would be a decrease in potential food supplies. The brown howler’s feeding ecology, however, does not seem to be affected by the loss in habitat.[6]
Brown howler monkeys are part of the group of monkeys known for their howls/roars. Howlers are able to create such loud and specific sounds by specific body shape and structures. The larynx is enlarged and they have an enlarged open chest that creates a resonating chamber to increase the sound produced. The howlers also have specialized vocal chords to produce the specific sound.[2] The most frequent reason for the howling is for mate defense. Howling occurs most when there are both female and male howlers present. The males are the dominant group as they begin all cases of howling. Females participate in howling much less than males. Howling can also occur in groups during the dry season. It is believed that this is due to food scarcity. The brown howlers use their sounds to show ownership over certain food or territory.[7]
Anti-predator behavior
The black hawk eagle is a predator of the brown howler monkey. The roars of the brown howler allow the black hawk eagle to determine their location. The brown howler’s response has three parts. First, when one brown howler becomes aware of a black hawk eagle they will alarm the group and then they will immediately become silent. Next they descend in the understory of the trees, and finally they will all disperse in an organized manner. The adults will lead the young away from danger. The young are considered to be the primary target for the black hawk eagle. There is a more conservative response when adult brown howlers are without the young, and the black hawk eagle is present, thus indicating that the black hawk eagles are targeting the young howlers. When the brown howler monkey is threatened by terrestrial animals they will remain in the tree canopy and remain silent for 5–15 minutes.[8]
Brown howler monkeys rub one another for group communication. The rubbing can be used for various purposes. Males will rub their hyoid bone and sternum against each other to show agonistic and territorial signals. Males will also rub females for sexual intentions. The males are considered to be the dominant over females because they rub much more often than females. Dominate females will rub more often than non-dominate females, but still much less than males.[9]
An adult pair and a young, also showing some of the distinct color variations in this species
It is difficult to breed the genus Alouatta in captivity and therefore the reproduction is relatively unknown.[10] Brown howlers reproduce year round. There seems to be no correlation to birth rates in rainy or dry season or in times of increased fruit or leaves. It is thought that because the brown howler has a folivorous diet, conception is less dependent on maternal conditions.[11] The average interbirth interval (IBI) for the brown howler is 19.9 months, which is similar to other howler species. It does not seem that the sex of the infant or the number of females in the population has a significant effect on IBI. The death of an infant will shorten the mother's IBI and seems to be one of the few factors that affects IBI.[11]
Yellow fever
Brown howlers are highly susceptible to the yellow fever virus and have a high mortality rate when infected. When mass amounts of brown howlers are found dead it is a good inclination that there may be a yellow fever outbreak occurring. Since the brown howlers have such a high mortality rate they are not considered to maintain the virus in their population. Communities that live near the brown howler populations have previously held the belief that the brown howlers were the cause of the disease, and would kill them to stop the spread of disease. In order to protect the brown howlers the local communities should limit their killing and become vaccinated to prevent the disease from spreading.[7] The transmission of yellow fever is through mosquito vectors. In South America the known mosquito vectors of yellow fever are in the genera Haemagogus and Sabethes. In Argentina, the species that has been shown to carry the yellow fever virus (YFV) is Sabethes albiprivis.[5]
In 2008-2009 there was a yellow fever outbreak among a brown howler study group in the protected Misiones, El Piñalito Provincial Park. The brown howler is not abundant in Argentina and any outbreak could have a detrimental effect on the population. A group of researchers have created the Brown Howler Conservation Group to continue to study and monitor yellow fever in the brown howler populations.[5]
2. ^ a b c d Mendes, S.L.; Rylands. A.B.; Kierulff, M.C.M. & de Oliveira, M.M. (2008). "Alouatta guariba". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2008: e.T39916A10284881. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T39916A10284881.en. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
3. ^ Emmons, Louise & Feer, Francois (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Mammals.
4. ^ Gregorin, R. (2006). (in Portuguese) Taxonomia e variação geográfica das espécies do gênero Alouatta Lacépède (Primates, Atelidae) no Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 23(1).
5. ^ a b c d Agostini, I., Holzmann, I., Di Bitetti, M. S., Oklander, L. I., Kowalewski, M. M., Beldomnico, P. M., . . . Miller, P. (2014). Building a Species Conservation Strategy for the brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) in Argentina in the context of yellow fever outbreaks. Tropical Conservation Science, 7(1), 26-34.
6. ^ a b Chaves, Óscar M.; César Bicca-Marques, Júlio (2013). "Dietary Flexibility of the Brown Howler Monkey Throughout Its Geographic Distribution". American Journal of Primatology. 75 (1): 16–29. doi:10.1002/ajp.22075. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 22972605.
7. ^ a b Holzmann, Ingrid; Agostini, Ilaria; Areta, Juan Ignacio; Ferreyra, Hebe; Beldomenico, Pablo; Di Bitetti, Mario S. (2010). "Impact of yellow fever outbreaks on two howler monkey species (Alouatta guariba clamitansandA. caraya) in Misiones, Argentina". American Journal of Primatology. 72: n/a–n/a. doi:10.1002/ajp.20796. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 20095025.
8. ^ Miranda, João M. D.; Bernardi, Itiberê P.; Moro-Rios, Rodrigo F.; Passos, Fernando C. (2006). "Antipredator Behavior of Brown Howlers Attacked by Black Hawk-eagle in Southern Brazil". International Journal of Primatology. 27 (4): 1097–1101. doi:10.1007/s10764-006-9062-z. ISSN 0164-0291.
9. ^ Hirano, Zelinda Maria Braga; Correa, Isabel Coelho; de Oliveira, Dilmar Alberto Gonçalves (2008). "Contexts of rubbing behavior inAlouatta guariba clamitans: a scent-marking role?". American Journal of Primatology. 70 (6): 575–583. doi:10.1002/ajp.20531. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 18322929.
10. ^ Veras, Mariana Matera; do Valle Marques, Karina; Miglino, Maria Angélica; Caldini, Elia Garcia (2009). "Observations on the female internal reproductive organs of the brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans)". American Journal of Primatology. 71 (2): 145–152. doi:10.1002/ajp.20633. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 19006197.
11. ^ a b Strier, K. B.; Mendes, S. L.; Santos, R. R. (2001). "Timing of births in sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus)". American Journal of Primatology. 55 (2): 87–100. doi:10.1002/ajp.1042.
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howlers are found on the Atlantic coast of South America, mainly in Brazil's coastal forests. They are endemic to the Atlantic Forest ecoregion of Brazil and Argentina. In Brazil, brown howlers are the only primate species on the protected island Ilha do Cardososo. In Argentina, the brown howler is found only in the Upper Parana Atlantic Forest of Misiones province.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howlers are one of the largest leaf-eating primates in the South American forests. They exhibit adaptations for folivory including molars with prominent shearing crests; however, unlike other leaf-eating primates (e.g., colobines) brown howlers do not have have elongated guts needed for processing cellulose. Like spider monkeys, they have prehensile-tails, with a naked patch of skin on the ventral surface of the tip of the tail. They have relatively large, stocky frames with pelage that varies in color from brown to dark red or black. The hair is lighter colored and less coarse on the belly, and the face and ears are dark and hairless. Brown howlers are sexually dimorphic, with males weighing 2.5 kg more than females on average. Many males have a dark-red venter, with yellowish red dorsal pelage and darker arms, legs, and tails. Adult females are covered in dark brown or reddish brown hair. A latitudinal color gradient occurs in the subspecies Alouatta guariba clamitans. Males tend to be more red in the south and less red in the north, whereas females range from lighter brown in the south to darker brown in the north.
Members of Alouatta are best known for their howls that closely resemble grunts or barks. The sound is produced in their deep jaws, which surround an enlarged larynx and hyoid apparatus. The hyoid apparatus is a resonating chamber and, in combination with a highly specialized voicebox, produces howls that can be heard 1 to 2 km away.
Range mass: 4 to 7 kg.
Average mass: Male: 6.7 Female: 4.3 kg.
Range length: 56 to 92 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howlers inhabit lowland, submontane and montane forests as well as inland semideciduous seasonal forests. In south-eastern Brazil, brown howlers inhabit highly seasonal subtropical and temperate forests. Brown howlers on the protected island Ilha do Cardoso State Park inhabit the subtropical and tropical Atlantic Forest, where they are often found in trees of the genus Araucaria and tend to avoid the restinga (i.e., coastal lowland savannah).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
Trophic Strategy
Trophic Strategy
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howlers rely mostly on leaves, flowers, and fruit; however, their diet varies according to the season and location. Leaves make up close to a third of their diet and when available they prefer young leaves. The flowers and leaves of various types of lianas (i.e., any type of woody vine) are commonly ingested by brown howlers in south-eastern Brazil and make up approximately 27% of their diet. Fruit consumption depends on location and can be a significant part the brown howler diet depending on availability. When available, they preferentially select fleshy fruits. Brown howlers spend more time foraging during fall and winter, as the quality of available food decreases and more energy is required to maintain homeostasis when temperatures are low.
Plant Foods: leaves; fruit; flowers
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Frugivore )
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Members of Alouatta tend to be colonial and can adapt to a wide range of modified habitats. They are frugivores and folivores and may play a significant role in dispersing the seeds or pits of a variety of plant species, including Celtis spinosa and Cordia sellowiana. Brown howlers are host to a variety of parasitic protozoa (Giardia), bacteria, and viral species that can also infect humans and livestock. Many species of roundworms including thread worms, pin worms and whip worms spend at least part of their complex life cycle in the tissues of brown howlers, as do many species of flatworms, including liver flukes and lung flukes. Increased human contact has been shown to increase the prevalence of parasites in brown howlers. Brown howlers are also known to host a number of ectoparasitic arthropods including mites, ticks, and lice
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Mutualist Species:
• Celtis spinosa
• Cordia sellowiana
• Diclidanthera
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
• mites and ticks, (Acari)
• lice, (Pthiraptera)
• thread worms, (Strongyloides)
• pin worms, (Enterobideos)
• whip worms, (Trichuris)
• parasitic amoeba, (Entamoeba)
• liver flukes, (Fasciola)
• lung flukes, (Paragonimus)
• giardia, (Giardia)
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Neotropical primates are most frequently prey upon by birds and felids. In some areas, ocelots reportedly consume high numbers of brown howlers. Other known predators of brown howlers include feral dogs and black-hawk eagles. Brown howlers employ a variety of behavioral tactics in order to evade potential predators. For example, they often make loud vocalizations that alert group members of approaching predators. When threatened, brown howlers may hide in the forest canopy, and if the threat persists, they may escape in a line formation led by an adult. In addition, dominant males may distract approaching predators, which gives group members a chance to flee. Immobility and silence are also used as antipredatory tactics.
Known Predators:
• ocelot, (Leopardus pardalis)
• black-hawk eagle, (Spizaetus tyrannus)
• feral dogs, (Canis lupus familiaris)
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howler monkeys use high-amplitude calls to minimize predation, control access to resources, and for mating. They also produce loud calls to signal group strength, and by listening to the calls of rival groups, they can assess the strength of their opponents. Although most members of Alouatta perform a "dawn chorus" in the morning, brown howlers do not. The majority of calling by brown howlers occurs during intergroup encounters. Using calls to assess the strength of rival groups helps reduce direct physical confrontation.
Rubbing behavior in brown howlers serves a variety of functions. Anogenital rubbing in females, which spreads odiferous signals through feces, urine, or vaginal secretions, is hypothesized to signal reproductive status. Hyoid and sternum rubbing in males is linked to agonistic and territorial cues that signal dominance.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: choruses ; pheromones ; scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Life Expectancy
Life Expectancy
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Members of the genus Alouatta generally have a lifespan ranging from 15 to 20 years. Evidence suggests that males of sexually dimorphic species have shorter lifespans than females, however, there is no evidence that this occurs in brown howlers.
Range lifespan
Status: wild:
15 to 20 years.
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Brown howlers form multi-male, multi-female groups; single-male, multi-female groups; and single-male, single-female groups. The most common group composition is single-male, multi-female with up to 10 individuals. The alpha male usually monopolizes all reproductive females and sires all young. In Primates where males outnumber females, male-male competition for resources and mates is intense, which may lead to sexual dimorphism and polygny. Adult males disperse from their natal group and must compete with alpha males to gain acceptance into a new social group.
Extra group copulations are less frequent in Alouatta relative to other Primates. After male solicitation, the female moves towards the male and performs rhythmic tongue movements. Shortly after, copulation takes place and lasts about one minute. Sometimes genital inspection also occurs. Often, female brown howlers initiate extra-group copulations and are more prone to do so in multi-male groups. Members of the female's group are indifferent to any extra group copulations that she may perform.
Mating System: monogamous ; polyandrous ; polygynous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Brown howlers are year-round breeders. Their folivorous diet may account for the ability to breed year-round, as mature leaves are available throughout the year and provide a relatively stable source of energy. Rubbing behavior is well documented in several members of Primates and serves multiple functions. Adult male brown howlers exhibit extreme rubbing behavior as a marker of dominance and reproductive status. Status-based differences in rubbing behavior are also observed among female brown howlers. Rubbing plays an important role in intersexual and intrasexual dominance interactions and in aggressive and territorial behavior. Females reach adulthood at approximately 3.6 years and males at approximately 5 years.
Breeding interval: Females can breed once every 22 months
Breeding season: Brown howlers are year-round breeders
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average gestation period: 6 months.
Average weaning age: 12 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 43 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 61 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Like most primates, brown howlers have altricial young with extended periods of juvenile development. As is the case with most polygynous species, maternal investment is high in this species. Gestation last for approximately 6 months and young are usually weaned by 1 year old. Young begin to explore their environment independent of their mother at five months old. Males exhibit minimal paternal investment, and allomaternal care is rare in brown howlers.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning
Conservation Status
Conservation Status
provided by Animal Diversity Web
On the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, brown howlers are listed as near threatened. However, the northern brown howler subspecies, A. guariba guariba, is listed as critically endangered. Alouatta species are relatively well adapted for surviving in small, isolated parts of the forest due to their relatively small home ranges. Despite this, habitat fragmentation due to deforestation and development in south-eastern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina is the major factors impeding the persistence of this species. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists brown howlers under Appendix II.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Howlers are potential reservoirs for human disease such as yellow fever and giardia. Nearly 15% of the rural human population in Latin America is affected by Giardia. The increased prevalence of this protozoa in howler populations (e.g., black howler monkeys) is symptomatic of increased contact with livestock and humans. Two yellow fever outbreaks in howler monkeys in northeastern Argentina seriously affected populations of southern brown howlers. In October 2008, 59 howlers were found dead in the Misiones province of Argentina, which prompted a human vaccination campaign in the area. Brown howlers also carry diseases that infect domestic livestock.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); causes or carries domestic animal disease
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Members of the genus Alouatta are important biological indicators to overall ecosystem health and alert humans of potential epidemics. Brown howlers are hunted for meat in some human populations.
Positive Impacts: food
Other Articles
provided by Animal Diversity Web
Find Alouatta guariba videos, photos, and information at ARKive. |
This question already has an answer here:
I have seen all of the Star Wars movies, but I have not read any of the books. I would like to know if the science of the Lightsabers was ever explained, and, if so, what is it?
marked as duplicate by DVK-on-Ahch-To, John O, K-H-W, Micah, NikolaiDante Feb 11 '13 at 15:19
From the Lightsaber article on Wookipedia (Mechanics and Specification section):
The typical lightsaber hilt consisted of a metal cylinder between twenty and thirty-five centimeters in length. However, the size of individuals hilts varied drastically, as the weapon was tailored to the creator's specific needs and preferences. The lightsaber mechanisms were contained within the hilt. High levels of energy generated by a high-output Diatium power cell was unleashed through a series of focusing lenses and energizers that converted the energy into plasma. The plasma was projected through a set of focusing crystals that lent the blade its properties and allowed for the adjustment of blade length and power output. The ideal number of crystals was three, though only one was required.
Once focused by the crystals, the plasma was sent through a series of field energizers and modulation circuitry within the emitter matrix that further focused it, making it into a coherent beam of energy that was projected from the emitter.The blade typically extended about a meter before being arced by the blade containment field back to a negatively charged fissure ringing the emitter, where it was channeled back to the power cell by a superconductor, completing the circuit.
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How to write a shakespearean sonnet template
For this reason, the Mayans and the Chinese had 13 month calendars. Sonnets are fourteen lines long. Using photographs of the two Shakespearean Windows, we cut them into thirds, resulting in facsimiles of the six window panes.
Moreover, by all accounts, she was also considered to be quite beautiful. Orthography[ edit ] Shakespeare 's writings are universally associated with Early Modern English The orthography of Early Modern English was fairly similar to that of today, but spelling was unstable. Mike Phillipsdirector of the university's Institute of Digital Arts and Technology i-DATsaid that the artist-funded project was primarily performance art, and they had learned "an awful lot" from it.
How to Write a Sonnet Poem in 7 Steps
You now have to put the three things together — your idea, your rhyming words and your iambic pentameter. Notwithstanding their mutual love, their union was destined by numbers. Lieb would select a buyer for the property, one gets the distinct impression that Sarah wanted the House to stand intact and perpetually preserved… and so it does.
Modern English The 17th-century port towns and their forms of speech gain influence over the old county towns. First, she saw the number 13, i. A close scrutiny of the bottom portion of the Shakespearean Windows reveals the crooked staff entangled in a serpent-like creature.
Thus, Young Sarah and William found themselves studying virtually the same curriculum under very similar circumstances. It was exactly as Sarah had planned it. In the English sonnet, the volta or turn is found in the third quatrain while in the Italian sonnet the volta is often found in the ninth line.
Different Types Of Point Of View
Any physical process that is even less likely than such monkeys' success is effectively impossible, and it may safely be said that such a process will never happen. Then, perhaps, we might allow the monkey to play with such a typewriter and produce variants, but the impossibility of obtaining a Shakespearean play is no longer obvious.
In the third quatrain you will use different words again and it will rhyme like this: That replica, we maintain, would be as much an instance of the work, Don Quixote, as Cervantes' manuscript, Menard's manuscript, and each copy of the book that ever has been or will be printed.
Properly aligned Center Window Panes showing the Hourglass There are other places in the House where the initiate will learn more lessons. To form an idea of what that would entail, try thinking in reverse. The modern spellings with -ic did not come into use until the midth century.
The distinction between large and small seemed to dissolve. They must follow this pattern. Escher Naturally, Sarah was in good company with regard to expressing the new view. It tastes like delectable chocolate melting in your mouth.
Nonetheless, it has inspired efforts in finite random text generation. With the exception of the inscriptions written on the banners, the windows are exact mirror images of each other.
Education with Integrity
Since there are no true species of the daisy family having as few as 8 petals, it is apparent that Sarah uses the 8 petaled daisy as a device to emphasize the Fibonacci relationship between the numbers 13 and 8. In his collections of poetry, William Blake focused on the theme of human perception.
The first quatrain will rhyme like this: Remember conflict, twists, and tension do not have to be negative. I knew that Sarah had concealed the number 13 in the middle, between the Shakespearean Windows, in a higher dimensional way.
She is believed to have been the first builder to use of wool insulation. The text of Hamlet contains approximatelyletters.When you are just starting a new project, one of the first things you must decide is which point of view to use.
Last week we covered choosing the best point of view character for your story. This week, we're going to look at the various types of POV: first person, second person, third person, and omniscient. A Shakespearean Sonnet is a poem expressive of thought, emotion or idea.
It is usually 14 lines which are formed by three quatrains with a rhyming couplet for the last two lines. A Shakespearean Sonnet Poem. American Litearture AP English Literature Close Reading Fractured Fairy Tales High School English Reading Short Story The Simpsons.
Day one handout. Speed Dating Prompts.
Poetic Forms
However, the probability that monkeys filling the observable universe would. You want to know how to write a sonnet like one of Shakespeare’s?
How to Write a Sonnet
Early Modern English
The bad news is that your sonnet will unlikley eever be as good as any of Shakespeares’! exacting and rhythmical poem, the sonnet has a long tradition behind it, with many great poets crafting their own sonnets. For general guidelines as well as instructions for Shakespearean, Spenserian, and Petrarchan sonnet forms, follow these steps to write a sonnet you will be proud of.
General Guidelines Understand the basic rules of a sonnet.
How to write a shakespearean sonnet template
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Cord Blood Banking
The policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that "private storage of cord blood as 'biological insurance' is unwise" unless there is a family member with a current or potential need to undergo a stem cell transplantation. The American Academy of Pediatrics also notes that the odds of using one's own cord blood is 1 in 200,000 while the Institute of Medicine says that only 14 such procedures have ever been performed. Private storage of one's own cord blood is unlawful in Italy and France, and it is also discouraged in some other European countries. The American Medical Association states "Private banking should be considered in the unusual circumstance when there exists a family predisposition to a condition in which umbilical cord stem cells are therapeutically indicated. However, because of its cost, limited likelihood of use, and inaccessibility to others, private banking should not be recommended to low-risk families." The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also encourage public cord banking and discourage private cord blood banking. Nearly all cord blood transfusions come from public banks, rather than private banks, partly because most treatable conditions can't use one's own cord blood.
No health feed found.
The primary drawback of cord banking is that it is only beneficial in very rare situations. The likelihood of a child having an illness that would benefit from properly matched banked cord blood is 1 in 2700, though some experts think it is even less useful than that.
Stem cells from cord blood can be used to treat some diseases. If your child is born with a genetic disorder, the cord blood likely contains the same code that caused the problem in the first place. It cannot be used to treat your child, or any other person. Cord blood cells from a healthy infant can be used to treat an ill child, as long as the two are a good match.
The amount of stem cells from a single birth is enough to treat a child or young adult. Full-grown adults typically need more stem cells than are available in cord blood, though it is possible to combine stem cells from more than one birth. Additionally, the efficacy and safety of storing cord blood long enough for a child to become an adult has not been proven.
You may consider cord blood banking for any number of reasons. If your family has a history of disease that can be treated with cord blood, you may consider this option in case your child or another family member develops the condition. Or you may choose to bank cord blood just in case your child becomes ill, even if you have no family history. You may also choose to donate cord blood to a public bank to help other families.
Cord blood has proven advantageous over other options like public cord blood banking and bone marrow transplantation. There are many reasons including all of the following:
Easy to collect
There is no pain or risk for the mother or baby in extracting the blood from the umbilical cord, and the collection process is easily performed at the same time as the cutting of the umbilical cord. Bone marrow collection, on the other hand, requires an invasive, surgical procedure and general anesthesia, which comes with its own inherent risks.
Better matching
For stem cells to be successfully transplanted, they must be a match for the receiver. Matched stem cells can be found in some public databases, but the chance of finding a match is low and complications can arise with unrelated blood transfusions. Genetically related stem cells from a blood-related family member more often result in a successful transplant. If a public match cannot be found, the patient must often rely on his own stem cells or those from an immediate family member (if available).
Someone’s own stem cells are always a perfect match for him or herself. Siblings share a 25 percent chance of being a perfect match and a 50 percent chance of being a partial match. Altogether, this gives siblings a 75 percent chance of being a possible match. Since each parent provides markers used in matching, parents have a 100 percent chance of being a partial match. This means a child’s cord blood stem cells could one day be used to help his or her mother or father. In the end, it is up to the doctor to determine how close the match needs to be to perform a transplant.
Less risk of post-transplant complications
In addition to being better accepted entirely by the body, cord blood stem cells have significantly reduced risk of post-transplant graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is when the transplanted cells attack the body. It’s a major complication of stem cell transplants. Risk of GVHD after a stem cell transplant depends on the relationship between the donor and the receiver according to the National Institute of Health:
• Identical twins: very low chance of suffering from GVHD
• Blood-related family members: 35%–45% chance of GVHD
• Unrelated: 60%–80% chance of GVHD
Part of this better acceptance by the body is because cord blood stem cells have rarely been contaminated with latent viruses. The same is not true for stem cells from other sources. For this reason, cord blood stem cells have been dubbed “privileged” because they haven’t been exposed to any diseases.
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What were the key findings from the Aducanumab phase 1 clinical trials? originally appeared on Quora: the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answer by Robert Chen, MD-PhD candidate in Alzheimer's research, on Quora:
Okay, now for the long stuff. Before I go into a deep-dive of the study, there are a few things that are important to understand about Alzheimer’s biology:
1. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease marked by buildup of two toxic proteins: Amyloid Beta and Tau. Somehow, these proteins cause neuron death leading to memory loss and progressive cognitive decline.
2. When we think of Alzheimer’s disease, we think of memory loss. But the actual buildup of Amyloid Beta and Tau are actually ongoing fifteen to twenty years before any noticeable memory loss happens! The memory loss happens because neurons are dying, which happens fifteen to twenty years after these proteins have built up in the brain. This point is key to interpreting the aducanumab results.
3. If abnormal buildup of Amyloid Beta and Tau are in every Alzheimer’s patient, we can just get rid of those proteins with antibodies and cure the disease, right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple: many companies have tried this exact approach against Amyloid Beta and they have all failed to stop cognitive decline in phase 3 studies. I repeat, so far, all phase 3 studies using antibodies to get rid of Amyloid Beta have failed to slow cognitive decline.
4. Aducanumab is an antibody against Amyloid Beta. We think antibodies against Amyloid Beta work like a homing device: the antibody binds to Amyloid Beta and tells all the immune cells to come eat it up, thereby removing amyloid from the brain.
5. How do you know if you have amyloid beta in your brain? You can do a brain scan called a PET scan, coupled with a tracer that binds to amyloid in the brain and “lights up” (oversimplification) in a way that the PET scan can detect. It’s non-invasive, and allows you to confirm that someone has Amyloid Beta accumulation.
Enter the remarkable publication from Sevingy et al. Nature 2016, which discusses an antibody called aducanumab against Amyloid Beta. The study was trying to determine whether increasing doses of aducanumab administered every month was safe and tolerable for patients over a six month and one year period. This is very similar to other anti-amyloid antibody phase 1 studies (such as crenezumab, bapineuzumab, solanezumab, etc.), except for one major aspect of the study design:
Aducanumab was tested only in patients who had Amyloid Beta accumulation in their brain (confirmed by a PET scan), and were in the earliest stages of the disease (absent, or very subtle memory deficits).
This is the most important piece of the paper. Whereas every other anti-amyloid antibody study recruited patients with existing Alzheimer’s disease as diagnosed by their memory problems, the Aducanumab study recruited only people who had amyloid in their brain and were very early in the disease process!
Why is this important? First: post-study analyses of other anti-amyloid trials showed that not all patients who got the drug even had amyloid to start with. So imagine giving someone an anti-amyloid antibody that is targeting nothing in the brain - of course there would be no benefit! Second, patients enrolled into the aducanumab study likely had very little brain degeneration. Remember what I had said in review point #2: memory loss happens because neurons are dying. If the enrolled patients had very little cognitive decline, it probably means they had very little neuron death. Anti-amyloid therapies were never trying to rebuild dead neurons - they were trying to prevent neurons from dying in the first place from toxic amyloid buildup! So in the aducanumab study, giving the antibody early on to patients who had amyloid in their brain but who still had most of their brain in tact is the huge differentiator from previous studies.
Why are the results I had summarized in the first bolded paragraph so exciting? Here’s why:
1. The study is the first anti-amyloid antibody to slow cogitative decline. Other antibodies had showed clearance of amyloid, but none had ever stopped the cognitive deficits from getting worse in patients with the disease.
2. The study is woefully underpowered, and could still see an effect. What does under-powered mean? Imagine flipping a slightly weighted coin ten times, and trying to figure out which side is weighted. It is very possible for you to get five heads and five tails. Does that mean you tell all your friends that this coin is broken? Nope! It could very well be that you need to flip it many more times to get consistent results showing which side is weighted. If you flipped it ten thousand times, you can very well bet you would be able to figure it out easily. The same is true in clinical trials: When you want to figure out whether a medicine has an effect, you need to try it on many people, typically hundreds to thousands. So if you see an effect with just a few dozen patients in each treatment group, you can start to get very excited that you have something that may work in your hands.
3. A corollary to #2 - the results held up in a dose-dependent fashion. This means that as you give increasing amounts of aducanumab to patients, the effect also increases. People given the highest dose of the drug also had the most amyloid cleared out of their brains, and had better preserved cognition. This gives huge evidence that the drug is having the effect that we think it is.
What are some caveats of the study?
1. This is a phase 1 trial not designed to look for whether aducanumab has an effect. The study’s goal is to figure out safety and tolerability of the antibody. Thus, Biogen (the maker of aducanumab) is gearing up for a much larger Phase 3 trial to test how well aducanumab works in a larger population.
2. The study is underpowered. Yes, it saw an effect size, but you shouldn’t convince yourself that this will hold up in the general population until you see phase 3 results. Don’t get too excited yet!
Food for thought:
If aducanumab ends up working, the study suggests that you will be taking a very expensive drug (probably > 40k/year) for the better part of your older adult life - who’s paying for it? We have a lot to think through with the Alzheimer’s conundrum.
Quora: The best answer to any question. |
vincent callebaut architecture
Callebaut describes Tao Zhu Yin Yuan, formerly known as “Agora Tower”, as an “inhabited tree.” The tower is a pioneer of sustainable residential eco-construction aiming at limiting the ecological footprint of its inhabitant.
agora tower facade
Neither a single tower or twin towers, the project is a 20 storey tower which arises towards the sky with two helicoidal towers gathering themselves around a central core.
The architectural concept is to eco-design an energy self-sufficient building, whose energy is electric, thermal and also alimentary. It integrates not only the recycling of organic waste and used water but also all the renewable energies and other new state-of-the-art nanotechnologies (BIPV solar photovoltaic, rain water recycling, compost, etc.).
view of teipei
The skyscraper’s façade, roof and balconies are filled with 23,000 tress and shrubs that will absorb 130 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year which is roughly the same amount of annual emissions produced by 27 average cars.
tower rooms
Apart from this magnificent landscape other amenities would include a naturally ventilated and illuminated swimming pool and fitness center, high-speed elevators and glass-enclosed “sky garages.”
glass enclosed sky garages
Therefore, the project answers directly to 4 main ecologic objectives:
1. The reduction of the climatic global warming.
2. The protection of the nature and the biodiversity.
4. The management of the natural resources and waste.
tower's hallway
This tower constructed by Vincent Callebaut Architectures can meet the Chinese antique thought which always refused to separate the nature and the humanity that nourishes itself from it; the body from the spirit that did not exist without it.
eco friendly room interior
This tower reveals strongly and surely the challenge of reinventing a new lifestyle for residential tower, that is self-sufficient and sculpturally unprecedented.
Source: Business Insider || Vincent Callebaut Architectures
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Student Centre Fundamental Accounting Principles
10th Canadian Edition
Larson / Jensen / Carroll
Student Centre
Chapter 2: Financial Statements and Accounting Transactions
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Key Terms and Glossary
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Accounting equation: A description of the relationship between a company's assets, liabilities, and equity; expressed as Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity; also called the balance sheet equation.
Accounts payable: A liability created by buying goods or services on credit.
Accounts receivable: An asset created by selling products or services on credit. Amounts due from customers for credit sales.
AcSB (Accounting Standards Board): The authoritative committee that identifies generally accepted accounting standards.
ASB (Auditing Standards Board): The authoritative committee that identifies generally accepted auditing standards.
Assets: Properties or economic resources owned by the business; more precisely, resources with an ability to provide future benefits to the business.
Balance sheet: A financial statement that reports the financial position of a business at a point in time; lists the types and dollar amounts of assets, liabilities, and equity as of a specific date; also called the statement of financial position.
Balance sheet equation: Another name for the accounting equation.
Business entity principle: The principle that requires every business to be accounted for separately from its owner or owners; based on the goal of providing relevant information about each business to users.
Business transaction: An economic event that changes the financial position of an organization; often takes the form of an exchange of economic consideration (such as goods, services, money, or rights to collect money) between two parties.
Calendar year: An accounting year that begins January 1 and ends December 31
CICA Handbook: The publications of the CICA that establishes generally accepted accounting principles in Canada.
Continuing-concern principle: Another name for the going-concern principle.
Creditors: Individuals or organizations entitled to receive payments from a company.
Debtors: Individuals or organizations that owe amounts to a business.
Dividends: Distributions of assets by a corporation to its owners.
Economic entity principle: See Business entity principle.
Equity: The owner's claim on the assets of a business; more precisely, the residual interest in the assets of an entity that remains after deducting its liabilities; also called net assets.
Expenses: The costs incurred to earn revenues (or sales). Outflows or the using up of assets as a result of the major or central operations of a business; also, liabilities may be increased.
Financial statements: The most important products of accounting; include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in owner's equity, and the statement of cash flows.
Fiscal year: A one-year reporting period.
GAAP (Generally accepted accounting principles): The rules adopted by the accounting profession that make up acceptable accounting practices for the preparation of financial statements.
GAAS (Generally accepted auditing standards): Rules adopted by the accounting profession as guides for conducting audits of financial statements.
Going-concern principle: The rule that requires financial statements to reflect the assumption that the business will continue operating instead of being closed or sold, unless evidence shows that it will not continue; also called continuing-concern principle.
IASC: International Accounting Standards Committee; a committee that attempts to create more harmony among the accounting practices of different countries by identifying preferred practices and encouraging their worldwide acceptance.
Income statement: The financial statement that shows whether the business earned a profit by subtracting expenses from revenues; it lists the types and amounts of revenues earned and expenses incurred by a business over a period of time.
Liabilities: The obligations of a business; claims by others that will reduce the future assets of a business or require future services or products.
Monetary unit principle: The expression of transactions and events in money units; examples include units such as the dollar, peso, and pound sterling.
Natural business year: A 12-month period that ends when a company's sales activities are at their lowest point.
Net assets: Another name for equity.
Net income: The amount a business earns after subtracting all expenses incurred to generate revenues; also called profit or earnings.
Net loss: Arises when total expenses are more than revenues (sales). The excess of expenses over revenues for a period.
Notes payable: A liability expressed by a written promise to make a future payment at a specific time.
Objectivity principle: The accounting guideline that requires financial statement information to be supported by independent, unbiased evidence rather than someone's opinion; objectivity adds to the reliability, verifiability, and usefulness of accounting information.
Owner Investments: The transfer of an owner's personal assets to their business.
Owner withdrawals: See withdrawals.
Realization principle: See Revenue recognition principle.
Revenue recognition principle: Provides guidance on when revenue should be reflected on the income statement; the rule includes three guidelines (1) requires revenue to be recognized at the time it is earned, (2) allows the inflow of assets associated with revenue to be in a form other than cash, and (3) measures the amount of revenue as the cash plus the cash equivalent value of any noncash assets received from customers in exchange for goods or services.
Revenues: The amounts earned from selling products or services; also called sales. Inflows of assets received in exchange for goods or services provided to customers as part of the major or primary operations of the business; may occur as inflows of assets or decreases in liabilities.
Statement of cash flows: A financial statement that describes the sources and uses of cash for a reporting period, i.e., where a company's cash came from (receipts) and where it went during the period (payments); the cash flows are arranged by an organization's major activities: operating, investing, and financing activities.
Statement of financial position: Another name for the balance sheet.
Statement of owner's equity: Reports the changes in equity over the reporting period; beginning equity is adjusted for increases such as owner investment or net income and for decreases such as owner withdrawals or a net loss.
Withdrawal: The distribution of cash or other assets from a proprietorship or partnership to its owner or owners.
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If you want to lose weight, staying in bed and sleeping more may seem counterintuitive, however, new research shows it could be the secret to staying slim and living longer.
Scientists from King's College London studied 42 volunteers who admitted to sleeping less than seven hours a night. Current guidelines recommend seven to eight hours of sleep as an ideal amount for health and longevity meaning that these volunteers were consistently getting less sleep than is considered healthy.
In the study, half of the volunteers were given sleep advice and asked to keep the same bedtime each night, stay away from caffeine and electronics before bed, be conscious about their eating habits so that they weren't too full or too hungry before bed and use techniques to relax during the evening.
They were also given personal sleep counselling sessions to help them to understand the importance of sleep as well as techniques to help improve their own sleep time and quality.
The other half of volunteers were not given any advice and only asked to track their sleep and food habits while keeping their daily schedules the same as they had before. All of the volunteers were asked to wear sleep trackers and to keep detailed food diaries for the duration of the study.
At the end of four weeks, the volunteers who were given the advice were able to add an average of 90 minutes more sleep each night than they had previously been getting. The group that received no advice showed no change in how much they slept over the study period.
In addition to sleeping more, food diaries from the strict bedtime volunteers also showed that they had eaten on average 10g less per day of free sugars. Free sugars are sugars that have been added to foods and drinks by manufacturers and tend to be in processed foods such as biscuits, chocolate and fizzy drinks.
New Zealand recommendations suggest that adults and children over 11 should be consuming no more than 30g of total sugar per day which includes sugars that naturally occur in fruit and milk, so reducing the amount of free sugars eaten by a third is a significant change to the daily diet.
The better sleeping group also decreased the amount of carbohydrates that they ate giving them a reduced overall calorie intake just by spending more time in bed.
Sleep deprivation is also known to be a risk factor for obesity, increasing the amount of a stress-response hormone called cortisol that is produced. Increased cortisol levels can prompt the body to store more fat as well as encourage the body to use muscle as energy resulting in less muscle and more fat for those who sleep too little.
A lack of sleep can play havoc on the body by altering the levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin which help to control our appetite.
Being conscious of eating habits before bed also reduces the risk of late-night snacks, which tend to be higher-calorie snack foods, and going to bed earlier reduces the time available for snacking.
This study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition agrees with previous research which followed 1500 volunteers over six years and found that those who became obese during the study slept only 6.3 hours on average per night compared with the volunteers who kept a healthier body weight who slept more.
So the good news is that if you are trying to lose weight and reduce your calorie intake, getting more sleep could be a cheap and effective strategy for a longer, lighter and healthier life. |
by Phaidon Editors
Following on from "The Art Book" (1994), "30,000 Years of Art" provides an original and accessible way of looking at art. On its publication in 2007, "The Daily Telegraph" described it as 'a bold new publishing event that promises to redefine the parameters of art history'. In this mini format edition of the book, 500 great works of art from all periods and regions in the world have been carefully selected from the original book and are again arranged in chronological order, breaking through the usual geographical and cultural boundaries of art history to celebrate the vast range of human artistry across time and space.
The book presents art in a way different from other art history compendia, revealing the diversity, or in many cases similarity, of man's artistic achievements through time and around the globe. Ordered chronologically, the resulting timeline of works leads to compelling browsing: surprising juxtapositions offer intellectual pleasure and a sense of wonder and discovery.
The selection of works from across the world, arranged in the sequence in which they were made, takes the reader on a global and historical journey, responding to such questions as 'where does the earliest art appear?' What were artists creating in China or Africa while Rembrandt was painting portraits in Leyden?
How were similar subjects - equestrian themes, landscapes, religious scenes - manipulated by artists in Aztec Mexico and Medieval Europe? While artworks from ancient Greece or the European Renaissance or pre-Columbian Americas will be interspersed with contemporaneous works created in Africa, India or Japan, an extraction of the Greek or Renaissance or American works could stand alone as an essential abridgement of the finest art of that period or culture.
The selection of works is non-hierarchical and includes both fine and decorative arts - most commonly painting and sculpture, but also textiles, masks, ceramics and jewellery. Primarily functional arts (furniture, architecture, industrial and graphic design etc.) are not covered.
Each work is accompanied by key caption information (date, title, place of origin, style or culture, medium, dimensions etcetera), and a text that provides critical review of the work, placing it in its art historical context and thus explaining its contribution to the development of the history of art.
Page size 163x123mm, 544 pages and weighs 612 grams.
ISBN: 9780714849690
€ 4.99
In Stock.
Usually despatched in 1-2 working days
Date of Publication: 01/03/2009
Cover of 10,000 YEARS OF ART - Phaidon Editors - 9780714849690Paperback |
Human Resources
A promotion is the advancement of a staff employee into a position that has significantly more responsibility, requires more advanced skills, and has greater decision-making authority. Generally, a promotion occurs on the date that the employee assumes the new role.
There is no amount that is standard for a salary increase in conjunction with a promotion. The amount of a promotion increase depends on the employee's current salary, as well as the salary of the new position. In rare cases, if an employee is already well-compensated, there may be no promotion increase to salary.
Salary increases that are not due to promotion, merit, or across-the-board rarely occur. |
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anterior view of a knee joint
n. pl. me·nis·ci (-nĭs′ī, -kī, -kē) or me·nis·cus·es
1. A crescent-shaped body.
2. A concavo-convex lens.
3. The curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a container that is concave if the liquid wets the container walls and convex if it does not.
4. A cartilage disk that acts as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet in a joint.
[New Latin, from Greek mēniskos, diminutive of mēnē, moon, month; see mē- in Indo-European roots.]
me·nis′cal (-kəl), me·nis′cate′ (-kăt′), me·nis′coid′ (-koid′), men′is·coi′dal (mĕn′ĭs-koid′l) adj.
relating to a meniscus
adj meniscal
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Managing atraumatic meniscal tears in middle-aged patients |
Reaching the Nations International Church Growth Almanac
By David Stewart and Matt Martinich
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Area: 1,861,484 square km. Located in northeastern Africa, Sudan borders Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Egypt, and the Red Sea. The Nile River and its tributaries enter the country from Ethiopia and South Sudan and flow north through Egypt. Most of the country is arid or semi-arid, with lower rainfall amounts the further one travels north. Plains cover most areas. A few mountains may be found in the south and by the Rea Sea. Dust storms and drought are natural hazards. Environmental issues include desertification, drought, water scarcity, hunting, and soil erosion. Sudan is divided into eighteen administrative states. South Sudan retained autonomy as a result of the civil war and became a separate nation in July 2011 after voting for independence in early 2011. Abyei State is controlled by Sudan but claimed by South Sudan.
Sudanese Arab: 70%
Other (e.g. Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata): 30%
Sudanese Arabs primary inhabit the largest cities and northern areas. The most populous minority groups traditionally reside in southern areas such as Darfur and the Nuba Mountains.
Population: 37,345,935 (July 2017)
Annual Growth Rate: 1.64% (2017)
Fertility Rate: 3.57 children born per woman (2017)
Life Expectancy: 62.3 male, 66.7 female (2017)
Languages: Arabic (75%), Bedawiyet (5%), Fur (2%), Masalit (1%), Nobiin (1%), Central Kanuri (1%). other or unknown (15%). Arabic and English are the two official languages of Sudan. As many as 70 languages may be spoken in Sudan. Languages with over half a million speakers include Arabic (27 million), Bedawiyet (2.14 million), and Fur (744,000).
Literacy: 75.9% (2015)
Civilizations have inhabited and flourished in present-day Sudan for millennia. Sudan was known as Nubia or Cush and served as the location of civilizations with close ties to the Egyptians. Isaiah the Prophet in the Old Testament referred to Cush as one of the locations in which scattered Israel would be gathered from. Christianity and later Islam spread to Sudan, with Islam eventually claiming most Sudanese’s religion. Several kingdoms and principalities governed the area for centuries until Egypt conquered the area and unified northern Sudan. The United Kingdom annexed Sudan in the late nineteenth century and maintained rule until 1956 when independence was granted.[1]
As independence was granted to Sudan, tensions between the north and south were exacerbated and resulted in civil war. The Sudanese government desired to institute an Islamic form of government and Shari’a law, which the south opposed. Civil war continued for much of the rest of the century and officially ended in 2005. South Sudan became independent in 2011. The Sudanese government has proven ineffective in controlling its peripheries, resulting in separatist movements that have spilled over into neighboring nations. Among the most severe problems with civil unrest are notably in the Darfur region, where violence and instability have spilled over into Chad and the Central African Republic. Serious human rights violations and accusations including genocide of non-Arab peoples in Darfur have severely hurt Sudan’s reputation in the international community and led to economic sanctions. Estimates for the number of deaths resulting from the civil wars and current conflicts in the Darfur region number in the millions, with millions more displaced from Sudan or displaced to Sudan from neighboring African countries. The current Sudanese government has done little to address problems with slavery other human rights violations. Political instability continues in several border regions of Sudan today such as the Eastern Front along the Eritrean border, Darfur, Abyei, South Kurdufan, and the Blue Nile.
Islam is the primarily influence on society as most the population is Muslim and the government draws from Shari’a law for its legislation. Tribalism occurs in some peripheral states, such as the Darfur and southern and eastern regions. Nearly constant warfare and insurrections in numerous administrative states have characterized daily life for the past half century. Archaeological sites from ancient empires abound along the Nile River. Cuisine shares many similarities with the Arab world and Ethiopia. Cigarette and alcohol consumption rates are low.
GDP per capita: $4,600 (2017) [7.73% of U.S.]
Human Development Index: 0.490
Corruption Index: 16 (2017)
Oil profits drove economic growth between 1999 until the secession of South Sudan in 2011. The economy has struggled to recover since Sudan lost three-quarters of its oil revenues as most of its prior oil output originated from South Sudan. Eight percent (80%) of Sudanese are employed in agriculture. Recent reforms in currency and economy have occurred in order to attract greater foreign investment and spur greater, long term economic growth. Hydroelectric power generated from dams on the Nile River provides much of the needed electricity for the country. Additional natural resources include small reserves of valuable and industrial metals and minerals. Services constitute approximately 60% of the GDP, whereas agriculture comprises most of the remaining 40%. Oil, cotton, clothing, cement, cooking oils, sugar, soap, and shoes are major industries. Common crops include cotton, peanuts, grains, sugarcane, cassava, fruit, and gum Arabic. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt are the primary trade partners.
Corruption is perceived at one of the highest rates worldwide and is pervasive and the primary obstacle to economic growth. There has been little done to address corruption issues.
Muslim: 80%
Other: 20%
*Estimates for the number of non-Muslims in Sudan widely vary from as low as 3% to as high as 20%.[2]
Denominations – Members – Congregations
Seventh-Day Adventists – 105
Jehovah’s Witnesses – 703 – 15
Latter-day Saints – less than 10
Religion is highly correlated with ethnicity, as nearly all Arabs are Sunni Muslims. Many ethnic groups in northern areas are traditionally Muslim, whereas ethnic groups in other regions of the country tend to follow a mixture of indigenous religions and Christianity or Islam. Christians are marginalized by the government and society. Most Christians live in major cities or in the Nuba Mountains of South Kurdufan. Major Christian groups include the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church. There are long-established communities of Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians in Khartoum and northern cities.[3]
Religious Freedom
The government protects religious freedom, but Islam is the source for legislation and government policy. In practice, religious freedom is limited for non-Muslims. Conversion from Islam to another religion may be punishable by imprisonment or death, but there have been no instances of the government carrying out a death sentence for conversion from Islam. Defaming Islam and blasphemy are punishable crimes. The government regulates the operation of mosques and imams. Religious groups are required to register with the government to receive tax-exempt status, own land, and apply for work permits. A religious group must have at least 30 members to register although a church leader may have fewer members and obtain registration if proof is provided of the organization’s financial stability. Other requirements for religious group registration include the organization not be based in a country that is in a state of war with Sudan, registration with the government in the organization’s country of origin, and have an approved registration certificate obtained by the Sudanese embassy or a diplomatic mission. No laws prohibit proselytism by religious groups, but the government has reportedly charged those who openly proselyte with apostasy. All public and private schools must provide Islamic education from preschool to the second year of university classes. Friday is designed as the day of prayer in accordance with the traditional Islamic workweek. The law mandates employers to provide Christians two hours off of work on Sundays for religious activities. Christians are heavily persecuted by the government. The government has arrested, detained, or intimidated Christians; denied church construction permits; closed or demolished churches; restricted non-Muslim groups and missionary activity; and censored religious leaders and materials. However, there appear to be good societal relations between Christians and Muslims. Societal abuses of religious freedom are uncommon and may be better accounted by ethnic conflicts.[4]
Major Cities
Urban: 34.6%
Omdurman, Khartoum, Khartoum North, Nyala, Port Sudan, El Obeid, Kassala, Medani, Gedaref, El Fasher, Kosti, El Duein, Ad-Damazin, El Geneina, Rabak, Sennar, Atbarah.
Cities listed in bold have no LDS congregation.
None of the seventeen cities with over 100,000 inhabitants have an LDS congregation. Twenty-four percent (24%) of the national population resides in the seventeen most populous cities.
LDS History
The first Sudanese Latter-day Saints joined the Church in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Nearly all LDS Sudanese converts have originated from South Sudan. A Canadian Latter-day Saint living in Khartoum introduced the Church to several Sudanese acquaintances who later moved to Juba, South Sudan and joined the Church in 2010. Sudan has been assigned to the Africa Southeast Area since 1998. Sudan was assigned to Uganda Kampala Mission between late 2008 or early 2009 until late 2017. The Africa Southeast Area has directly administered Sudan since late 2017. No official LDS presence has ever existed in Sudan.
Membership Growth
LDS Membership: less than 10 (2018)
In 2017, the Church reported no membership totals for Sudan. There appear to be only a few Latter-day Saints in Sudan that either joined the Church abroad or are foreigners temporarily living in Khartoum. Very few, if any, Sudanese natives have joined the Church. However, many South Sudanese have joined the Church abroad.
Congregational Growth
Branches: 1 Groups: 0 (2018)
The Africa Southeast Area – Sudan Branch (Administrative) supervises church activity in Sudan. This branch appears to primarily function to keep track of isolated members who may live in the country. Any church meetings likely occur in private in members’ homes.
Language Materials
Languages with LDS Scripture: Arabic, English.
All LDS scriptures and most Church materials are available in Arabic.
Health and Safety
Political instability, war, and ethno-religious conflicts are major safety concerns. Millions have perished over the past few decades as a result of civil war and ethnic hostilities.
Humanitarian and Development Work
The Church has conducted 14 humanitarian and development projects in Sudan since 1985. These projects have included emergency and refugee response, and immunization initiatives.[5]
Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects
Religious Freedom
Government restrictions prohibit the LDS Church from sending full-time missionaries to openly proselyte. Any prospective missionary activity may only occur by local members among Christians and must be in harmony with local laws and government practices. Persecution of Christians by the government creates an unfavorable environment for LDS missionary activity. However, societal conditions indicate opportunities for missionary efforts among Christians.
Cultural Issues
Islamic law restricts proselytism. Muslims who convert to Christianity are often harassed and discriminated against. The strong ethno-religious ties of Arabs and Islam presents a nearly insurmountable obstacle for LDS proselytism. There are no LDS missionary approaches tailored to teach those with a Muslim background. Literacy rates are comparatively low and pose challenges for establishing self-sufficient local leadership if an LDS Church presence is established one day. Overall non-Arab ethnic groups are receptive to Christian proselytism. Low smoking and drinking rates complement LDS teachings. Polygamy is widespread nationwide and encouraged. Those desiring to join the Church must divorce polygamous spouses before baptism
National Outreach
The entire population is completely unreached by the LDS Church. The lack of any LDS mission outreach in Sudan results from persistent civil war and political instability in peripheral states, government restrictions on religious freedom, persecution of Christians, few LDS foreigners living in the country, and few LDS members currently residing in government-controlled areas.
South Sudanese converts will likely play a significant role in any prospective LDS outreach in Sudan as several converts previously lived in Khartoum and likely continue to maintain contact with any family or friends residing in the north. Initial LDS outreach will most likely commence near the South Sudanese border or in Khartoum if permitted one day.
Member Activity and Convert Retention
Few, if any, Sudanese natives to Sudan have joined the LDS Church abroad. There have been no known LDS convert baptisms to have occurred in Sudan.
Ethnic Issues and Integration
Integration issues or ethnic conflicts could arise from Arabs and non-Arabs meeting in the same congregation. Christians are concentrated among non-Arabs, which may lead to LDS congregations comprising almost entirely of blacks if an LDS presence were established, due to prohibitions on proselytizing Arabs.
Language Issues
Arabic and English are widely spoken first or second languages and reduce the need for the translation of LDS materials into local languages at present. There are no realistic prospects of local languages indigenous to Sudan to receive translations of LDS materials, as there are few or no Latter-day Saints who speak these languages and no feasible method of reaching populations who speak these languages due to government policies that restrict proselytizing.
Potential church leadership may depend on South Sudanese and foreigners for many years due to a lack of members. Humanitarian missionaries may play an important mentoring and administrative role if assigned and LDS worship services are held.
Sudan is assigned to the Johannesburg South Africa Temple district. Sudan may be reassigned to the Nairobi Kenya Temple when it is completed.
Comparative Growth
Sudan remains one of a few African nations with sizeable Christian minorities without an LDS Church presence; other such nations include Chad and Burkina Faso. Eritrea, Somalia, the Maghreb countries, and Sudan rank among the least tolerant of foreign religious groups and exhibit the poorest religious freedom records in Africa.
Most missionary-minded Christian groups operate in Sudan among non-Arabs and have reported mixed results in regards to proselytism success and growth. The greatest growth has occurred in rebel-held areas and areas near the South Sudanese border. Jehovah’s Witnesses operate 15 congregations nationwide. Most of these Witness congregations meet in Khartoum and hold services in Arabic. Seventh-Day Adventists report approximately one hundred members. Adventists have not published information on the number of congregations in recent years likely due to concerns with government persecution and harassment. Christian groups generally conduct missionary activity through local members, allowing for growth to occur despite government restrictions, whereas Latter-day Saints rely on full-time missionaries and have no prospects of establishing an official presence for the foreseeable future.
Future Prospects
The outlook for an official LDS Church establishment in Sudan is poor due to government policies that restrict religious freedom and persecute Christians, few members in the country, and political instability. South Sudanese Latter-day Saints offer meaningful prospects for future outreach if religious freedom conditions improve one day. Continued humanitarian and development work is greatly needed and may establish a positive relationship with the government.
[1] “Background Note: Sudan,” Bureau of African Affairs, 8 April 2011.
[2] “Sudan,” International Religious Freedom Report 2016. Accessed 23 July 2018.
[3] “Sudan,” International Religious Freedom Report 2016. Accessed 23 July 2018.
[4] “Sudan,” International Religious Freedom Report 2016. Accessed 23 July 2018.
[5] “Where We Work,” LDS Charities. Accessed 23 July 2018. |
About Speeches Prior to 1850 Speeches 1850 to 1861 Civil War Era Speeches Reconstruction Era Speeches Articles
Speech on Reconstruction
Delivered in Congress, January 3, 1867
Page One
"But it will be said, as it has been said, "This is Negro equality!" What is Negro equality, about which so much is said by knaves, and some of which is believed by men who are not fools? It means, as understood by honest Republicans, just this much, and no more: every man, no matter what his race or color; every earthly being who has an immortal soul, has an equal right to justice, honesty, and fair play with every other man; and the law should secure him those rights."
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I am very anxious that this bill should be proceeded with until finally acted upon. I desire that as early as possible, without curtailing debate, this House shall come to some conclusion as to what shall be done with the rebel States.
This becomes more and more necessary every day; and the late decision of the Supreme Court of the United States has rendered immediate action by Congress upon the question of the establishment of governments in the rebel States absolutely indispensable.
That decision, although in terms perhaps not as infamous as the Dred Scott decision, is yet far more dangerous in its operation upon the lives and liberties of the loyal men of this country. That decision has unsheathed the dagger of the assassin, and places the knife of the rebel at the throat of every man who dares proclaim himself to be now, or to have been heretofore, a loyal Union man. If the doctrine enunciated in that decision be true, never were the people of any country anywhere, or at any time, in such a terrible peril as are our loyal brethren at the South, whether they be black or white, whether they go there from the North or are natives of the rebel States.
Now, Mr. Speaker, unless Congress proceeds at once to do something to protect these people from the barbarians who are now daily murdering them; who are murdering the loyal whites daily and daily putting into secret graves not only hundreds but thousands of the colored people of that country; unless Congress proceeds at once to adopt some means for their protection, I ask you and every man who loves liberty whether we will not be liable on the just censure of the world for our negligence or our cowardice or our want of ability to do so?
Now, sir, it is for these reasons that I insist on the passage of some such measure as this. This is a bill designed to enable loyal men, so far as I could discriminate them in these States, to form governments which shall be in loyal hands, that they may protect themselves from such outrages as I have mentioned. In States that have never been restored since the rebellion from a state of conquest, and which are this day held in captivity under the laws of war, the military authorities, under this decision and its extension into the disloyal States, dare not order the commanders of departments to enforce the laws of the country. One of the most atrocious murderers that has ever been let loose upon any community has lately been liberated under this very decision, because the Government extended it, perhaps according to the proper construction, to the conquered States as well as to the loyal States.
A gentleman from Richmond, who had personal knowledge of the facts, told me the circumstances of the murder. A colored man, driving the family of his employer, drove his wagon against the wagon containing Watson and his family. The wagon of Watson was broken. The next day Watson went to the employer of the colored man and complained. The employer offered to pay Watson every dollar that he might assess for the damage that had been done. "No!" said he, "I claim the right to chastise the scoundrel." He followed the colored man, took out his revolver, and deliberately shot him dead in the presence of that community. No civil authority would prosecute him; and, when taken into custody by the military authority, he was discharged by order of the President under this most injurious and iniquitous decision.
Now, sir, if that decision be the law, then it becomes the more necessary that we should proceed to take care that such a construction as that shall not open the door to greater injuries than have already been sustained. Thus much I have said at the outset of my remarks, which shall not be very long.
The people have once more nobly done their duty. May I ask, without offense, will Congress have the courage to do its duty? Or will it be deterred by the clamor of ignorance, bigotry, and despotism from perfecting a revolution begun without their consent, but which ought not to be ended without their full participation and concurrence? Possibly the people would not have inaugurated this revolution to correct the palpable incongruities and despotic provisions of the Constitution; but having it forced upon them, will they be so unwise as to suffer it to subside without erecting this nation into a perfect Republic?
Since the surrender of the armies of the confederate States of America a little has been done toward establishing this Government upon the true principles of liberty and justice: and but a little if we stop here. We have broken the material shackles of four million slaves. We have unchained them from the stake so as to allow them locomotion, provided they do not walk in paths which are trod by white men. We have allowed them the unwonted privilege of attending church, if they can do so without offending the sight of their former masters. We have even given them that highest and most agreeable evidence of liberty as defined by the "great plebian," the "right to work." But in what have we enlarged their liberty of thought? In what have we taught them the science and granted them the privilege of self-government? We have imposed upon them the privilege of fighting our battles, of dying in defense of freedom, and of bearing their equal portion of taxes; but where have we given them the privilege of ever participating in the formation of laws for the government of their native land? By what civil weapon have we enabled them to defend themselves against oppression and injustice? Call you this liberty? Call you this a free Republic where four millions are subjects but not citizens? Then Persia, with her kings and satraps, was free; then Turkey is free! Their subjects had liberty in motion and of labor, but the laws were made without and against their will; but I must declare that, in my judgment, they were a really free governments as ours is today. I know they had fewer rulers and more subjects, but those rulers were no more despotic than ours, and their subjects had just as large privileges in governing the country as ours have. Think not I would slander my native land; I would reform it. Twenty years ago I denounced it as a despotism. Then, twenty million white men enchained four million black men. I pronounce it no nearer to a true Republic now when twenty-five million of a privileged class exclude five million from all participation in the rights of government.
The freedom of a Government does not depend upon the quality of its laws, but upon the power that has the right to enact them. During the dictatorship of Pericles his laws were just, but Greece was not free. During the last century Russia has been blessed with most remarkable emperors, who have generally decreed wise and just laws, but Russia is not free.
No Government can be free that does not allow all its citizens to participate in the formation and execution of her laws. There are degrees of tyranny. But every other form of government is a despotism. It has always been observed that the larger the number of the rulers the more cruel the treatment of the subject races. It were better for the black man if he were governed by one king than by twenty million.
What are the great questions which now divide the nation? In the midst of the political Babel which has been produced by the intermingling of secessionists, rebels, pardoned traitors, hissing Copperheads, and apostate Republicans, such a confusion of tongues is heard that it is difficult to understand either the questions that are asked or the answers that are given. Ask, what is the "President's policy?" and it is difficult to define it. Ask, what is the "policy of Congress? and the answer is not always at hand.
A few moments may be profitably spent in seeking the meaning of each of these terms. Nearly six years ago a bloody war arose between different sections of the United States. Eleven States, possessing a very large extent of territory, and ten or twelve million people aimed to sever their connection with the Union, and to form an independent empire, founded on the avowed principle of human slavery and excluding every free State from this confederacy. They did not claim to raise an insurrection to reform the Government of the country -- a rebellion against the laws -- but they asserted their entire independence of that Government and of all obligations to its laws. They were satisfied that the United States should maintain its old Constitution and laws. They formed an entirely new constitution; a new and distinct government, call the "confederate States of America." They passed their own laws, without regard to any former national connection. Their government became perfectly organized, both in its civil and military departments. Within the broad limits of those eleven States the "confederate States" had as perfect and absolute control as the United States had over the other twenty-five. The "confederate States of America" refused to negotiate with the United States, except upon the basis of independence -- of perfect national equality. The two powers mutually prepared to settle the question by arms. They each raised more than half a million armed men. The war was acknowledged by other nations as a public war between independent belligerents. The parties acknowledged each other as such, and claimed to be contending parties. No one then pretended that the eleven States had any rights under the Constitution of the United States, or any rights to interfere in the legislation of the country. Whether they should ever have all men if both sections, without exception, agreed would depend on the will of Congress, if the United States were victorious. The confederate States claimed no rights unless they could conquer then by the contest of arms.
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Opposition to drunk driving in the US
From One for the Road : Drunk Driving since 1900 by Barron H. Lerner:
Opposition to drunk driving is as old as the automobile. In the early years of the twentieth century, state and local legislators in certain areas passed laws making impaired driving illegal. But prohibitions varied greatly. Although publicly on the record as opposed to drinking and driving, the automobile and beverage industries carefully avoided any black-and-white characterization of the problem. The suburbanization of America after World War II, followed by the development of the interstate highway system, helped to transform the automobile—and the act of driving—into a vital cultural and economic activity. The car, the “freedom machine,” became the primary mode of transportation for those in suburban or rural areas going to work, visiting friends, and most importantly for this book, going to restaurants and bars. It was one thing to leave a bar in a city and stagger home or onto a bus or subway; it was quite another to literally have “one for the road” and get into one’s car, either in an impaired or a fully inebriated state. |
The Myth of the 'Pacifist' Japanese Constitution 日本国憲法の平和主義は神話
September 6, 2014
Volume 12 | Issue 36 | Number 2
In 1947, two years after its unconditional surrender, Japan adopted a new constitution. This constitution has attracted great interest over the years, mostly due to its famous Article 9, which even was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. This constitution has increasingly become known as a symbol of pacifist ideals and has given rise to extensive local and international discourse since its establishment. Contrary to popular perception, however, I make the case that this constitution, and Article 9 in particular, do not withstand close philosophical and historical scrutiny as pacifist—not by nature, not by function and not by circumstance. The problematic categorization of Japan as a "pacifist country," and the Japanese public as a whole as "pacifist", are also addressed.
Key Words: Article 9 of the Japanese constitution; Pacifism in Japan; Constitutional law and history in Japan (1945—); Just war theory; Nobel Peace Prize
Figure 1. Article 9 of the 1947 Japanese Constitution has long been regarded as a symbol of pacifism. Source.
For some time, it has seemed to me that something about discussion of the "pacifist" Japanese constitution, or about its "pacifist" Article 9, is fundamentally flawed. This misconception—which affects both the academic and the popular spheres—has deep roots, which in turn create many false and distorted images of the modern Japanese state in the popular imagination. As will be shortly explained, characterizing the Japanese constitution as "pacifist" leads in turn to unrealistic views regarding the "pacifism" of the Japanese state, and of the Japanese people as a whole. These simplistic statements on "Japanese pacifism" not only distort Japanese reality, they also blur the image of Japan's real pacifists, who are absorbed into the allegedly pacifist Japanese public rather than examined in their own right. Such a discourse also usually fails to deal with the subject of war and pacifism in Japan vis-à-vis the significant role of the American occupation and in light of the continuous military alliance between the two countries. As will be demonstrated, far from "imposing" pacifism on Japan, as some might claim, these factors actually nullified its possibility. This is a good time to tackle this issue, considering the recent nomination of Article 9 for a Nobel Peace Prize, which has generated yet another wave of articles that casually mention the pacifism of the Japanese constitution, and of Japan in general.
In what follows I shall first present some of the myriad examples of what I regard as the misguided and misguiding discourse which engulfs the Japanese constitution, Article 9, and even the Japanese state and the "Japanese" as a whole. Later, I will briefly address concepts such as pacifism and Just War Theory, and will then proceed to explain why this constitution should not be regarded as pacifist in light of its history and content, and why such a view is misguided considering the realities of post-war Japan.
The Discourse Regarding the "Pacifist" Japanese Constitution—Some Examples
Before explaining some of the problems with the discourse surrounding the alleged pacifism of Article 9, the Japanese constitution, and Japan in general, let us first look at a handful of examples illustrative of claims concerning the “pacifist” constitution.
It might be fitting to begin with Edwin Reischauer, one of the most prominent western scholars of Japanese history and culture and US ambassador to Japan. Late in his career, he claimed that "today no people surpass the Japanese in their devotion to pacifism. It is their great ideal, supported by both their emotions and their intellects" (Reischauer 1988: 352).2
Some scholars put a greater emphasis on the "pacifism" of the constitution. The Japanese jurist Matsui Shigenori states, for instance, that "the Japanese Constitution is quite unique in providing a pacifism principle." He even opines that "this principle of the Japanese Constitution aspires to absolute pacifism and is thought of by many Japanese people as an unprecedented and commendable accomplishment" (Matsui 2011: 233, my emphasis).3
Another common approach in this discourse is to combine arguments regarding the pacifism of the Japanese constitution with arguments regarding the pacifism of the Japanese state and the Japanese themselves. This approach usually notes that the general "Japanese pacifism" developed in response to the new "pacifist" constitution. It may also explain how the general Japanese "pacifist sentiment" which consolidated after their devastating defeat has led to such a wide acceptance of a "pacifist" constitution.
As an example of this approach, consider William Middlebrooks 2008 book Beyond Pacifism, in which he often refers to the "official pacifism" of Japan and its constitution. He states that "the question remains unanswered, however, whether the Japanese people are yet ready to abandon formally the pacifist principles that Article 9 enshrines. Pacifism may have been imposed upon them by their victors, but it has nonetheless become the defining element in how the Japanese see themselves in relation to the rest of the world" (Middlebrooks 2008: xv).4 Similarly, Lawrence Beer argues that "Geopolitical factors and the Mutual Security Treaty with the United States (1960) has eased the pursuit of pacifism in the decades since 1945 [in Japan]" (Beer 1998: 816).5 In addition, Beer utilizes another problematic concept, also used by many other scholars when referring to the Japanese constitution: "constitutional pacifism" (see, e.g., Beer 1998: 817; Ben-Rafael Galanti 2009: 133-134; Maki 1993: passim).
Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti also claims, for example, that "Japan's post-war regime was imposed by its American occupiers (1945-52) – who, among other demands, handed the Japanese government a pacifist democratic draft […] as Japan's new basic law." She adds that Prime Minster Yoshida Shigeru was "eager to please the American occupiers, [and] he showed his enthusiasm for endorsing a pacifist democratic regime. Yoshida also made it clear that such a regime would help Japan solve its social and economic problems and provide a means for regaining a role in the international community" (Ben-Rafael Galanti 2009: 130, 132). In a similar vein, John Miller maintains that "Gen. Douglas MacArthur, entrusted by Washington with rehabilitating the Japanese, conceived of his mission as turning them into a nation of democrats and pacifists […]." He later claims that "today, a plausible case could be made that Japan has become a normal country, and one of Washington's staunchest allies. But it has not jettisoned its pacifist heritage" (Miller 2005/6: 36, 43).6
For an example from this journal, consider the foreword to the round table discussion "Japan's Political and Constitutional Crossroad," (with John Junkerman, Gavan McCormack, and David McNeill), which notes that "in the wake of dispatch of GSDF forces to Iraq and the MSDF fleet to the Persian Gulf, the pacifist constitution faces the possibility of revision for the first time since its adoption during the postwar occupation sixty years ago." It also mentions that "Over the decades, attempts to carry out this policy faltered, primarily because the pacifist and democratic clauses of the constitution enjoyed broad support among the Japanese people."
This kind of discourse is not limited to the scholarly sphere.7 The popular discourse surrounding the Japanese constitution is also replete with examples of this phenomenon. To understand the gist of this discourse, let us examine a few recent newspapers articles on this subject.
Consider the 2013 Time article "Why Japan Wants to Break Free of Its Pacifist Past," in which Kirk Spitzer claims, inter alia, that "under the current interpretation of Japan’s pacifist constitution, Japan’s armed forces are not permitted to fight on behalf of friends or allies unless the Japanese themselves come under direct attack" (my emphasis). In a similar vein, a 2014 Asahi Shimbun (English) editorial entitled "New arms export rules undermine Japan’s pacifism" claims that "the old principles constituted one of the main pillars of Japan’s postwar pacifism, which is based on the basic tenets of the Constitution" (my emphasis). The recent nomination of Article 9 for a Nobel Peace Prize, Prime Minister Abe's plan for revising Article 9, as well as his successful move to reinterpret Article 9 (so as to allow Japan’s armed forces to fight alongside its allies), have generated yet another surge of articles stressing the abysmal gaps between the "pacifist constitution" and the seemingly hawkish stance of the current Japanese cabinet (e.g., Kawabata 2014; Japan’s Pacifist Constitution, 2014; Japan's Pacifist Constitution: Keeping the Peace, 2014; Jacoby 2014; McNeill 2014; McCurry 2014; Yamaguchi 2014).8 For a recent similar example in the Japanese language, consider a 2014 Asahi Shimbun editorial entitled "Abe's Administration and the Constitution: Don't Destroy the Essence of Pacifism!" The authors claim that due to the way in which Abe's Cabinet interprets Article 9 (i.e., using it to recognize the right of collective self-defense) "even if the shape of the Japanese constitution's pacifism is to remain, it is clear that its spirit will be snatched."9
This phenomenon can be found in other languages too. Here are two recent examples of similar articles in Hebrew from two widely read Israeli newspapers. The first—a Haaretz article from July 2, 2014—is entitled "Despite Public Opinion, Japan Moves Away From the Pacifist Constitution." The second—a July 1, 2014 Ynet article—is entitled "History: Japan Abandons its Pacifist Constitution." It is quite reasonable to assume that many Israeli readers will have the mistaken impression that the Japanese state has been "a pacifist state" since the end of War World II.10
Before proceeding to the next sections, which show why the aforementioned discourse is so problematic, it might be helpful to reflect on Yamada Ichirō's 2012 book 平和主義は諸悪の根源 [Pacifism is the Root of Many Evils]. Yamada expresses his deep discontent with the current Japanese discourse surrounding the use of the term "pacifism" (平和主義) insofar as it relates to modern Japan. Yamada explains that in postwar Japan many people subscribing to very different ideologies have advocated their creed by using the word "pacifism." There are those who seek to protect the current version of the constitution in general and Article 9 in particular, but also those who want to revise it; those who advocate the total disarmament of Japan, and those who admit that a certain amount of military force is necessary. All use the word "pacifism" over and over again. However, Yamada argues, their understanding of this word is too wide.
If, as he argues, pacifism simply means the tendency to hate war and love peace, then almost everyone is a pacifist. Accordingly, he suggests that the word "pacifism" has entirely lost its meaning in contemporary Japanese discourse. In addition, Yamada believes that many of the Japanese have become "intoxicated" by this "curse of pacifism," and are consequently incapable of recognizing the dangerous reality in which Japan exists. He argues that Japan must escape from this "curse" and come to its senses (Yamada 2012: passim, especially 1-23). I am not sure whether Japan's situation is actually as dangerous as Yamada believes it to be; I am certain, however, an improved discourse would be very beneficial.
What "Pacifism" does not Mean
"Pacifism", whose meaning may seem transparent, is a term that poses formidable problems. It has been used in many contexts—philosophical and political, academic and popular—and has many definitions and subcategories. This does not suggest, however, that the term is meaningless. To hew to its essence, let us construe "pacifism" as the philosophy which holds that wars—regardless of their specific circumstances—are never morally justified. This point has been agreed upon by many moral philosophers and other scholars. Indeed, there are many degrees and kinds of pacifism, but, as Duane Cady asserts, the common ground for all kinds of pacifists is that they "all regard war as immoral by its very nature. No one likes war, but many people believe that war can be morally acceptable, even morally required. They are not pacifists" (Cady 2010: 76). Similarly, Martin Ceadel defines pacifism as "the absolutist theory that participation in and support for war is always impermissible" (Ceadel 1987: 5). Pacifism is indeed "an absolutist theory" since in all of its versions war is morally impermissible. Brian Orend agrees with this view and argues that "no matter what kind of pacifist you are, you believe that war is always wrong; there is always some better approach to the problem than warfare" (Orend 2006: 244).
In other words, pacifism is not just a general inclination towards peace. If it were, then almost everyone nowadays should be considered pacifist, depriving the term of any significant meaning. Which of the world's leaders today can honestly declare that s/he supports war for the sake of war? Probably none. Even the most bellicose of contemporary despots (pick your favorite) would claim that past, present, as well as future wars, are all conducted under the aegis of peace and prosperity. Consider, for instance, how North Korea's UK ambassador recently justified his country’s behavior. As he explained, "DPR Korea has no option but to have the nuclear deterrent in order to defend the sovereignty of the country and in order to save the security and peace on the Korean peninsula as well as the lives of the people." Reasonably enough, no one claims that the current North Korean regime—or the U.S. or Israeli regimes are "pacifist"—even though each claims that its objective is to maintain peace.
While Pacifism—i.e., the view that wars are never morally justified—is not a widespread view among policymakers today, Just War Theory (JWT) is—de jure and de facto—the most accepted form for morally evaluating wars among scholars, politicians and national and international organizations. JWT maintains that not all wars are morally acceptable. In fact, the majority of modern just war theorists would categorize many of history's wars as "unjust wars." According to modern JWT, for a war to be considered "just" for one or more of the sides involved, it must have a "just cause" (part of jus ad bellum), it ought to respect and adhere to strict moral values and constraints during the war (jus in bello), and, according to some, even after the war is over (jus post bellum).
The concept of a just war is not new. History contains many examples of different nations, ideologies, religions, scholars and leaders that have advocated moral limitations upon war and a moral classification of wars—lauding some while denouncing others. Much of the modern philosophical discussion of JWT was awakened by the publication of Michael Walzer's book Just and Unjust Wars (1978). Since then, almost every philosophical article or book pertaining to JWT has referred to Walzer's arguments as either an explanatory tool or as a subject for consideration and criticism (e.g., Cady 2010: 22, 34, 96; Ceadel 1987: 44, 83-84; Fiala 2010; Hoffmann 1981: 1, 46-47; Norman 1995: 120, 132-140).
As mentioned above, it is not only philosophers that use the language of JWT. American President Barak Obama's 2009 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech is an excellent case in point. Given that the speaker is considered by many to be the leader of the world's strongest country (both economically and militarily) and that he presented this speech under the auspices of the world's most esteemed peace-promotion organization, the speech provides a powerful demonstration of the widespread international popularity of JWT.
Well aware of the controversy which accompanied his acceptance of the prize, Obama admitted that "[…] perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of a military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by forty two other countries—including Norway—in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks." Accordingly, large parts of his speech concern the possible justifications for these ongoing wars and for the wars that are yet to come. Obama even relates directly to the concepts of JWT in order to elucidate his thoughts:
Obviously, despite receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, Obama does not claim to be a pacifist. Indeed, such a claim would be absurd. Naturally, Obama states that despite his current and future involvement in wars, he is pro-peace. During the speech Obama even relates to the horrors of war, which, according to him, we should do our best to mitigate and avoid if possible. The bottom line, however, is that sometimes, war is not only morally permissible but a moral duty. This is a conclusion which pacifists cannot accept. Now, I do not presume to judge whether or not Article 9 should receive a Nobel Peace Prize. However, I will argue that, whatever its merits, it does not deserve this prize for representing pacifism as many of the supporters of this campaign claim (though it might be recognized for promoting peace).
As we have seen, pacifism is not identical with JWT. However, as Cady himself argues throughout his book, pacifism and JWT are not separated by an unbridgeable gap, but are rather different positions on the same moral continuum, which contains many different degrees of JWT and pacifism (Cady 2010: passim). Sometimes a JWT supporter could be flirting with pacifist ideals and vice versa. Likewise, a Christian might be labeled as such, even if he is not a "perfect Christian," and does not even go to church every Sunday. Yet, some boundaries are worth maintaining. It will make no sense calling someone a Christian if he doesn't believe in Jesus Christ, and regularly goes to the local Mosque to pray to Allah. If you think that some wars are morally justified (including "wars of self-defense")11 then "pacifist" is probably not the right label for you. Still, you might be a dovish Just War Theorist, who hates war, tries his best to avoid it, and even wishes to eventually abolish the institution of war all together.12 True, pacifists also wish to abolish war, but unlike most Just War Theorists who recognize the legitimacy of certain wars, they do not believe that the road to this goal morally permits war, viz., they reject the notion of "war for the sake of peace." Absolute pacifists even go one step further and claim that any killing (or even any violence) whatsoever is morally impermissible (see e.g., Ceadel 1987: 141-143; Teichman 1986: 10-15; Yoder 1992: passim), but they are usually considered to be an eccentric minority even among pacifists (e.g., Cady 2010: 64).13 Following this line of reasoning, a state willing to expend its men, capital, or even its moral and diplomatic support on war efforts—whether its own or others’—cannot be considered a "pacifist state."14
As demonstrated below—and contrary to popular belief—the Japanese constitution in general, and Article 9 in particular, do not meet the minimum qualifications for being considered pacifist, and nowhere in their text did they claim to represent pacifism ("absolute" or otherwise). In addition, and as we shall see in more detail shortly, despite the relatively large number of Japanese who can be satisfactorily situated somewhere on the pacifist side of the continuum, the majority of Japanese, as well as the Japanese state (as a political, economic, and military entity) brandish quite a different flag.
The Non-pacifist Progenitors of the Japanese Constitution and Article 9
The 1947 Japanese constitution in general, and Article 9 in particular, had many parents, but it seems none of them were pacifists, nor did they have any pacifist intentions at the time of writing. While I will not go through all of the historical details surrounding the constitution’s creation in the present article,15 I will provide evidence of the non-pacifist nature of this process.
The most influential figure in the process of creating the new Japanese constitution was undoubtedly General Douglas MacArthur, who was appointed by President Truman as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP). It is reasonable to begin this discussion with MacArthur, who was not only the most influential among the figures involved in the creation of the constitution, but also the one who ultimately had the final say in this matter as in others. Quite surprisingly, according to MacArthur's 1964 memoirs, the idea of Article 9 was actually proposed to him before the release of his famous three notes (the so called "MacArthur Notes")16 by Prime Minister Shidehara Kijūrō on January 24:
Shidehara then proposed that when the new constitution became final that it include the so-called no-war clause. He also wanted it to prohibit any military establishment for Japan—any military establishment whatsoever. Two things would thus be accomplished. The old military party would be deprived of any instrument through which they could someday seize power, and the rest of the world would know that Japan was never intended to wage war again. He added that Japan was a poor country and could not really afford to pour money into armaments anyway. Whatever resources the nation had left should go to bolstering the economy (MacArthur 1965: 346-347).
I will later discuss the possible discrepancies between this statement and other accounts, but for the time being, let us consider this statement true. Assuming Shidehara had indeed promoted this line of thought, there was nothing "pacifist" about it, as the reasons he voiced to MacArthur did not derive from a moral attitude that deems the participation in any war as impermissible. The reasons he presented were much more a matter of preference and practicality. Japan should ban "any military establishment whatsoever" not because it was inherently immoral, but because this action would satisfy the other nations, and at the same time prevent the former militarist leaders who had led Japan to disaster from regaining strength. In addition, Japan could not afford the creation of new armaments given its wretched postwar economic condition in which 64 cities were destroyed by fire bombing and two by nuclear bombs.
Thus, if these were the reasons behind Shidehara's proposal, we can safely determine that he was not truly a pacifist, but rather a very practical person. This practicality can be seen in an interview made years later with Shidehara's son, Michitarō, who stressed that the point of his father's suggestion to MacArthur was a "universal disarmament" but certainly not a "unilateral disarmament," since he did not dwell in "illusory idealism" (McNelly 2000: 107). Indeed, who would not desire an eventual "universal disarmament"? The road to this dream, however, seems very different in the eyes of the pacifist and the just war theorist. Pacifism demands "unilateral disarmament" regardless of other nations' actions, since it totally forbids any participation in war (and without arms, one cannot participate in a war). Although JWT strives to eventual peace, it does not support such notions.17
The account of Kishi Kuramatsu, Shidehara's personal secretary, reveals another intriguing point regarding Shidehara's genuine position. According to Kishi, Shidehara did not suggest the inclusion of a principle banning arms in the constitution, but when the draft was presented to the Privy Council he admitted that the idea was his, and not SCAP's, for reasons of practicality (McNelly 2000: 107). In a similar vein, Matsumoto Jōji (who, inter alia, served as Minister of State in the Shidehara Cabinet) declared in 1954 that Shidehara mentioned certain ideas regarding the military to the Americans "out of politeness," and that, in any case, the renunciation of war was an American idea (McNelly 2000: 124).
As for MacArthur, calling him a "pacifist" would be utterly grotesque. He was an active and experienced general who had participated in his fair share of wars, which he believed to be necessary and moral. MacArthur of course subsequently commanded the United States' troops in the Korean War until his dismissal from command by President Truman (due to several pugnacious public statements regarding China). In addition, MacArthur ordered (or "allowed") the creation of the Japanese NPR (National Police Reserve),18 which later became the JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force). Indeed, as Tessa Morris-Suzuki elaborates, Japanese combatants participated (and perished) in the Korean War under MacArthur's command (Morris-Suzuki 2012: passim), and although the JSDF was yet to be officially established, the constitution and Article 9 were no less valid than they are today.
In addition, and even before the outbreak of the Korean War, MacArthur announced in his message to the Japanese people that Article 9 cannot possibly "be interpreted as a complete negation of the inalienable right of self-defense against unprovoked attack" (quoted in McNelly 2000: 127-128). So, why did MacArthur agree to and even want to promote such a clause in the first place? The answer requires that we bring up another figure worth considering—Emperor Hirohito.
As is widely known today, MacArthur deemed the preservation of the imperial system, and the maintenance of the emperor as a symbol of Japanese unity, to be vital to the accomplishment of the occupation's main goals. MacArthur was naturally not the only person concerned about the emperor's fate, an issue that occupied the minds of many Japanese government officials at the time (e.g., Inoue 1991: 27-28). Thus, as argued by Matsui, MacArthur believed that renouncing war and prohibiting the maintenance of any armed forces might reduce the hostile attitudes held by some countries towards the emperor and Japan (Matsui 2011: 15).
Furthermore, it appears that the emperor issue was of cardinal importance to the drafting of the new constitution. The very structure of the constitution indicates this quite clearly. The first chapter of the constitution is entitled "The Emperor" and contains the first eight articles. Chapter II contains only one article—Article 9. Why did both the American and Japanese creators of this constitution choose the emperor as the subject of the first chapter of the constitution in a similar vein to the previous (and conservative) Meiji constitution? Why did they include Article 9 only after dealing with the emperor issue? If the whole matter of the "renunciation of war" was indeed a means of preserving the emperor, it is understandable why it was of secondary importance to the issue of the emperor. Historian Hata Ikuhiko even argues that "Article 9 […] was a quid pro quo for the retention of the imperial institution" (Hata 2007: 188). On top of that, consider the date of the constitution's promulgation—November 3—the day on which Emperor Meiji was born 94 years earlier. This was surely no coincidence, since securing the emperor's position (as a symbol) was the constitution's top priority, while Article 9 attracted little attention throughout the drafting process.
In addition, the emperor might have had an even more personal stake in the creation of Article 9. First, he was one of the "high contracting parties" who signed the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, a document that probably helped to shape Article 9. Second, on January 1, 1946, Hirohito issued his famous Humanity Declaration Rescript (人間宣言) in which he renounced his divinity, but also proclaimed that "we will construct a new Japan thoroughly being pacific." MacArthur presumably commented on this statement that "a sound idea cannot be stopped" (Kades 1989: 224). I discuss this point in more detail below, but for the time being let us assume that Hirohito personally supported Article 9. Was he a pacifist? Apparently, before the Japanese surrender he was anything but pacifist;19 could he have experienced a change of heart? This is unlikely, since if he was a pacifist, he should have publicly resisted the creation of the NPR and the JSDF, as well as opposed military alliance with any country. Consider, for example, Hirohito's reactions to the Korean War. According to Hata, several secret messages were sent to American officials, including MacArthur, as early as 1950, expressing Hirohito's "support for the Korean War" (Hata 2007: 245).
Figure 2. Emperor Hirohito. Source.
Let us now turn to Hirohito's January 1 proclamation. As Theodore McNelly notes, it was probably (at least partly) the product of Shidehara. However, it is also very unlikely that the SCAP authorities, and especially MacArthur, did not know about the contents of this declaration and approve it beforehand (McNelly 2000: 111). At any rate, Charles Kades—one of the members of the Steering Committee charged with drafting the constitution, and the person in charge of drafting Article 9—found this declaration inspiring (Kades 1989: 224), and, according to McNelly, he later suggested to Major General Courtney Whitney—Chief of the Government Section at GHQ (SCAP General Headquarters), as well as MacArthur's close advisor—that it might be beneficial if the emperor specifically renounced war in an official rescript, an act that "might also help remake the Japanese international image and help carry out the Potsdam Declaration" (quoted in McNelly 2000: 109-110). Whitney, in turn, suggested this to Shidehara, but the date of their meeting is disputed.20
All in all, the "initial originator of the idea" of Article 9 remains uncertain. While many authors and scholars have presented different and competing theories and opinions regarding this matter (e.g., Schlichtmann 2009 II: 208-220), I tend to believe that Article 9 was the outcome of a combination of personal ideas and discussions between many possible creators. In addition, and as we have already seen above, even if we consider MacArthur or Shidehara (or both) to be the original creators of Article 9, they did not do so for pacifist reasons. But what about Kades and Whitney? They might have also exerted considerable influence over this matter. In any case, I argue that they too were not guided by pacifist motives. First, both were high-ranking officers in the United States Army, clearly making them both non-pacifists. Whitney had also later served at MacArthur's side during the Korean War and resigned from the army after MacArthur was dismissed.
Figure 3. General Douglas MacArthur (center) and Brigadier General Courtney Whitney (left) during the Korean War. Source.
Similarly, Kades was not a pacifist. Although it is possible that "Kades had since his law school days admired the Kellogg-Briand Pact" (McNelly 2000: 109), he was still an army Colonel. Moreover, after receiving the initial "MacArthur Notes" (see above), Kades omitted the phrase "even for preserving its own security" from the second note during the drafting process since he thought "it was unrealistic to ban a nation from exercising its inherent right of self-preservation" (Kades 1989: 236). In other words, Kades supported the notion of a just war such as a war of self-defense. This omission was accepted by both Whitney and MacArthur, who did not insist on the stricter version, and at any rate, clearly did not really believe that the total renunciation of war, even for the purpose of self-defense, was the morally and universally right attitude (later proving it by "defending" Korea in 1950).
If so, why did MacArthur (or Whitney, as some argue) suggest it from the outset? Why did the MacArthur Notes explicitly demand that Japan should not maintain arms, even for its own self-defense? The answer is simple. They did not seek the disarmament of Japan for pacifist reasons. Rather they sought—consistent with the Potsdam Declaration—that Japan would never again become a menace to America in particular and to the world in general (Yamada 2012: 16-17). They also wished to preserve the imperial system, and thought that a clause of this kind would counter international demands calling for Hirohito to be placed on trial for war crimes. However, as Kades argued, while the renunciation of aggressive wars was acceptable and desired, the banning of defensive wars was "unrealistic," and both MacArthur and Whitney accepted this correction.
Figure 4. Colonel Charles L. Kades. Source.
Now, apart from Kades’ significant omission, there were a few more developments that helped to shape and consolidate the present form of Article 9. The first of these was the so-called "Ashida Amendment." As Matsui notes, during the deliberations which took place in the Japanese Diet before the enactment of the new constitution, Article 9 did not attract a great deal of opposition. However, two phrases were added to the article’s text following the suggestion of Ashida Hitoshi (who later became prime minister). First, the phrase "aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order" was placed at the beginning of the first paragraph. Secondly, the phrase "in order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph" was attached to the beginning of the second paragraph. Kades recalls that Ashida consulted him before suggesting this amendment and asked whether it was acceptable and whether it required the approval of higher officials (i.e., Whitney and MacArthur). Kades informed Ashida that the amendment was acceptable, and that "neither MacArthur's nor Whitney's approval was necessary because of an oral standing order not to object to any proposed amendment that did not violate a basic principle" (Kades 1989: 236).
This Amendment later enabled the Japanese government to justify the existence of the JSDF, since, according to the usual official interpretation of Article 9, it is only prohibited from maintaining arms "in order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph"; i.e., it is prohibited from maintaining arms as "means of settling international disputes," but it is allowed to maintain a "defense force" as means of national self-defense. Although many Japanese and outside observers tend to reject this so-called "creative interpretation," Kades—who originally drafted Article 9 in the SCAP draft after receiving the MacArthur Notes—accepted this very interpretation. Kades represented the official SCAP position, and approved this amendment, fully aware, as he later wrote, that "the rather vague terms of his [Ashida's] amendment would permit Japan to have forces, such as a home guard and a coast guard, sufficient to repel any invasion, as well as to contribute an armed contingent to a United Nations international force" (Kades 1989: 236-237, my emphasis). This, of course, is consistent with Kades’ earlier decision to omit the phrase "even for preserving its own security" from the article during the drafting process.21
As we have seen, the decision to create Article 9 did not originate from pacifist ideals. Far from it. The documents that inspired its creation—mainly the Potsdam Declaration, SWNCC-150/4 and SWNCC-228—were crafted to assure that Japan would never again rise as a "menace" to the United States and its allies (the alternative for an unconditional surrender presented to Japan in the Potsdam Declaration was "prompt and utter destruction"). In other words, they were essentially firm demands for the disarmament of Japan. These demands came from Allies bent on securing military victory; they were definitely not intended to promote pacifism.
Furthermore, none of the main figures who contributed to the creation and consolidation of Article 9 were pacifists, and none of them intended to create a "pacifist clause." MacArthur, Whitney and Kades were all high-ranking officers in the American army. They did not believe in pacifism in any form or fashion. While they did strive to fulfill the occupation’s main goals—i.e., the democratization, disarmament and rehabilitation of Japan, and the radical reduction of the power of the Japanese imperial state as subordinate to the occupation authorities—these endeavors had nothing to do with pacifism. Their Japanese counterparts were also not motivated by pacifism, but by pragmatism, as suggested by their conduct and expressions. Moreover, as we have seen, MacArthur and his Japanese colleagues were primarily concerned with perpetuating the Emperor's symbolic role (while subordinating him to the occupation at the same time). The creation of a new constitution including Article 9 was considered an excellent means for attaining this goal.
On the other hand, one might claim that while the constitution and Article 9’s main progenitors were not motivated by pacifist beliefs, it might nonetheless be possible that their endeavors eventually led to the creation of a pacifist text, or at least to a text which is widely perceived as embodying pacifism. And indeed, from time to time, political processes occasionally lead to unexpected outcomes. For example, as Claude Weathersby opines, "the symbol of what the Emancipation Proclamation came to represent marked a sharp departure from the original goal of the Union." In addition, many of the abolitionists who helped to shape this document were also tainted by some degree of racism (Weathersby 2012). Still, even if the initial goals of some of its creators were not as pure as one might assume, does this diminish the importance of the Proclamation's historical and symbolic roles? Perhaps the case of Article 9 is similar? Perhaps a pacifist Golem turned on its non-pacifist makers? I turn to examine this possibility in the next sections.
Reexamining Article 9
Article 9 reads:
As we have seen, Article 9 is usually considered the core of the constitution's alleged pacifism.22 But does it actually constitute pacifism, or even "absolute pacifism," as many claim it does? To clarify this, let us carefully consider the article's text.
First and foremost, the word "pacifism" (or the Japanese equivalent 平和主義) does not appear anywhere in the text. "Pacifism" does not appear anywhere else in the constitution too. The word "peace" (平和) does appear, but this is nothing out of the ordinary.23 The first sentence—"Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order"— added to this paragraph as a part of the Ashida Amendment is also hardly unique. In fact, many other constitutions employ a similar wording. For example, Article 5 of the 1987 South Korean constitution reads: "the Republic of Korea endeavors to maintain international peace and renounces all aggressive wars." Article 11 of the 1948 Italian constitution proclaims that:
In a similar manner, the Preamble to the 1984 constitution of the People's Republic of China's claims that China "strives to safeguard world peace and promote the cause of human progress." The Preamble to the 1988 Brazilian constitution offers a similar version and proclaims that the Brazilian people are "committed, in the internal and international spheres, to the peaceful solution of disputes." Article 17 of the 1972 North Korean constitution asserts that "independence, peace and friendship are the basic ideals of the foreign policy and the principles of the external activities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." The 1993 Cambodian constitution goes one step further and proclaims the following:
Article 1: (2) The Kingdom of Cambodia is an independent, sovereign, peaceful, permanently neutral and non-aligned State.
Article 53: (1) The Kingdom of Cambodia maintains resolutely a policy of permanent neutrality and non-alignment. The Kingdom of Cambodia coexists peacefully with its neighbours and with all other countries throughout the world.
(2) The Kingdom of Cambodia shall never invade any country, nor interfere in any other country's internal affairs, directly or indirectly, and shall solve any problems peacefully with due respect for mutual interests.
(3) The Kingdom of Cambodia shall not join in any military alliance, nor conclude any military agreement which is incompatible with its policy of neutrality.
(4) The Kingdom of Cambodia shall not authorize any foreign military base on its territory, nor have its own military bases abroad, except within the framework of a United Nations request.
(5) The Kingdom of Cambodia reserves the right to receive foreign assistance in military equipment, armaments, ammunition, in training of its armed forces, and other assistance for self-defense and for ensuring public order and security within its territory.
All of the above-mentioned countries maintain an army, which they all regard as a means of self- defense and as a means of preserving internal, or even world, peace. Indeed, (almost) everyone aspires to world peace, but striving for peace does not automatically make someone pacifist. In fact, the maintenance of an army is perfectly acceptable in JWT, which is currently the prevailing moral opinion among war ethicists. Fittingly, no one defines China, South Korea or even Cambodia as "pacifist nations," and (as far as I know) no one claims their constitutions are "pacifist." If so, Article 9's "aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order" is of little significance. Everyone aspires to an "international peace based on justice and order," not just the Japanese people. Surprisingly, however, many criticize Japan for not acting in line with its "pacifist constitution," but I am not aware of similar attempts to criticize the aforementioned countries for neglecting their constitutions' "pacifist" nature.
Article 9's renunciation of "the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes" is also not unique. The aforementioned Cambodian constitution proclaims, for instance, that it "shall never invade any country, nor interfere in any other country's internal affairs, directly or indirectly, and shall solve any problems peacefully with due respect for mutual interests." Does a war of self-defense constitute "a means of settling international disputes"? As early as the days of the Kellogg-Briand Pact,24 the common understanding of such proclamations has been that they do not include wars fought in self-defense, and that every nation has the basic right to self-defense. While I find this argument quite puzzling and problematic (especially since almost every modern war is considered by both sides to be a war of self-defense, and there is also no apparent reason not to consider foreign "aggressive" invasions as an "international dispute"25), it is still the common international interpretation for this kind of wording. Accordingly it is unreasonable to claim that it should be interpreted any differently in the case of the Japanese constitution, especially since the people who first drafted it (notably MacArthur and Kades) accepted precisely this interpretation.
So, where is the difference? The most distinctive aspect of Article 9, and possibly of the entire Japanese constitution, is the phrase "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained." As we have seen, the "renunciation of war" or the "sincere aspiration to world peace" in Article 9's first paragraph, are not very different from similar phrases in other constitutions and legal documents (such as the Kellogg-Briand Pact). Nonetheless, the explicit prohibition of maintaining any war potential whatsoever is unusual. It is not, however, unprecedented.26 Article 12 of the 1949 constitution of Costa Rica proclaims that:
However, unlike the English version of the Japanese Article 9, the constitution of Costa Rica does not state that the military "will never be maintained” (my emphasis), and even leaves enough leeway for the possible establishment of a military under certain circumstances (namely "national defense"). In addition, the Japanese version of Article 9, which is undoubtedly of greater significance to Japanese people and officials, does not include this "never" in the second paragraph.27
So, does Article 9 actually prohibit the maintenance of an army?
The Ashida Amendment added the phrase "in order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph," to the beginning of the second paragraph. As the Japanese government has claimed for many decades, the first paragraph only renounces war "as a means for settling international disputes," and accordingly, Japan still maintains the right to self-defense. In this light, and until recently at least, the Japanese government used to interpret the second paragraph of Article 9 as prohibiting the maintenance of any military power that would be used "as a means for settling international disputes," i.e., as a means for waging an aggressive war. However, the maintenance of the minimal force necessary for defending Japan against foreign aggression has been considered constitutional. In short, the common Japanese opinion asserts that Article 9 "does not prohibit the maintenance of the 'minimum force necessary to defend the country' and that the JSDF is indeed the minimum force necessary […]" (Matsui 2011: 240-241). In other words, the existence of the JSDF is not considered "a means for settling international disputes." As we shall see in the next section, a sober examination of the JSDF's relative strength reveals an organization which, putting it mildly, is very far from being the "minimum force necessary to defend the country." Still, despite having one of the strongest militaries in the world, and unlike other countries which possess forces of such caliber, Japan has tended to downplay its military power, and to restrict it in various ways. In fact, Japan has not been an active combatant (i.e., offering more than economic or logistic support) in any modern war since 1945, due in part to Article 9, and this is quite an impressive achievement indeed, considering the historical record of pre-1945 Japan.
This status quo of a relatively long and peaceful hibernation might already be changing, following the Abe administration's recent cabinet decision to reinterpret Article 9 such as to allow Japan the "right of collective self-defense." In other words, under the current official interpretation, the JSDF is allowed to use force abroad in order to defend its allies, even if Japan is not under direct attack.
Furthermore, The Japanese Supreme Court usually refuses to rule on matters relating to the constitutionality of the JSDF, the maintenance of the American bases in Japan and the Mutual Security Treaty between Japan and the United States, claiming that these are "political issues." However, it did hold that Article 9 provides Japan with the right to self-defense and that the alliance with the United States is not prima facie unconstitutional (Beer 1998: 821; Matsui 2011: 240-243).
Objectors might claim nonetheless that this interpretation of the constitution is far-fetched. Article 9 clearly states that no force or war potential may be maintained by the Japanese people, and that attempts to claim otherwise are a distortion of the constitution's "pacifist" intent. I tend to agree with the first part of this claim. Even though the intentions of its original creators might have been different, and as Douglas Lummis argues, the Article is "written in language as clear as clear gets" (Lummis 2013). It is this clarity, according to Lummis, that strikes numerous people as "incomprehensible," since it goes against the common sense of international relations, and against the orthodox Weberian conception of a state mentioned above. In the light of language such as "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized," the existence of the (assuredly war-ready) JSDF indeed seems unconstitutional. However, as explained below, this does not make Article 9 pacifist.
Let us now consider the second part of the second paragraph, which states that "The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized." I find it questionable whether a country can discard such a basic "right" (権, ken). Does it have the (somewhat paradoxical) right to renounce rights guaranteed under international law? The answer is unclear even if we regard the state as we would regard a human moral agent. We are usually permitted to renounce some of our rights (citizens, for example, are allowed in some cases to resign their citizenship, and their right to vote) while other, more "basic," rights cannot be renounced (according to the common moral sense). Can I renounce my right to personal freedom and then sell myself into slavery? Most normative ethics systems would disagree. I do not presume to decide whether or not "the right of belligerency" is a right which the state can renounce, or if it is a "basic" unpronounceable, inalienable right. I do, however, wish to maintain that by choosing to renounce this right, Article 9 actually admits, albeit inexplicitly, that other countries still maintain this "right" (since only the Japanese state renounces it). This is not pacifism. Pacifism does not seek the "renunciation" of the "right to engage in war." Pacifism denies the existence of this right altogether—nobody has this right, and therefore there is nothing to renounce. Ironically, therefore, the symbolic act of renouncing the right of belligerency actually reinforces it.
Having said all that, I still maintain that the Japanese Constitution as a whole, and Article 9 in particular, certainly express a clear desire for peace. They do not, however, constitute pacifism as many claim they do. The mere act of keeping one's hands clean is not pacifism. Even if we accept the compelling argument that Japan is constitutionally proscribed from maintaining any military force whatsoever (rendering the JSDF unconstitutional), there is nothing in its text that suggests pacifism. Not having an army does not automatically make a certain country "pacifist." There is nothing in the constitution or in Article 9 that prohibits an alliance with other nations, including alliances which place Japan under a foreign protective military umbrella. True Pacifists would obviously resist the notion of allying with any military (foreign or domestic), especially if that means, as it usually does, having to support this military economically, diplomatically, morally, or otherwise in such activities as waging war. As will be explained in detail in the next section, and despite popular misconceptions, the reality of present-day Japan cannot be classified as pacifist (although it does feature some undeniably pacifist elements).
The Not-So-Pacifist Reality in Postwar Japan
As has been shown above, many choose to classify the contemporary Japanese public or a majority of Japanese people as pacifists, as well as to describe post-war Japan as a "pacifist state." In this section, I will address this issue by comparing contemporary Japanese reality with the previous sections’ conclusions. By "reality," I mean the current state of affairs in modern Japan as reflected by empirical data such as the amount of money allocated to the JSDF as well as to other armed forces, the military alliance with the United States, as well as Japanese public opinion on such matters as reflected by different polls throughout the years.
Before examining recent developments, it should be noted that Japan established the NPR under the auspices of the United States. As early as 1950, this force comprised 75,000 people. Four years later, it was transformed into the JSDF and currently comprises about a quarter of a million active members. In addition, Japan has maintained its military alliance with the United States, an alliance which has existed since the signing of the Japan-United States Mutual Security Treaty in 1952. This alliance has permitted the hosting of many United States army bases and troops in Japan (mainly in Okinawa), as well as a generous Japanese annual support budget for these bases, the so-called "Sympathy Budget" (思いやり予算), which covers most of the operating costs incurred by their presence. The alliance also includes joint training exercises involving both Japanese and American troops (e.g., Lind 2004: 113).
The current Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation (1997) state, inter alia, that "when an Armed Attack against Japan Takes Place,"
Japan will have primary responsibility immediately to take action and to repel an armed attack against Japan as soon as possible. The United States will provide appropriate support to Japan. Such bilateral cooperation may vary according to the scale, type, phase, and other factors of the armed attack. This cooperation may include preparations for and execution of coordinated bilateral operations, steps to prevent further deterioration of the situation, surveillance, and intelligence sharing (Section IV, Clause 2.a).
That doesn't sound very pacifist to me. In addition, as many have pointed out (e.g., Lind 2004, 114-115; Middlebrooks 2008, 43; Miller 2005/6, 40), the current Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation (1997) determine that "in response to situations in areas surrounding Japan," the US and Japan "will support each other as necessary in accordance with appropriate arrangements" (Section V, clause 2).
Does this mean, in other words, that if a war were to break out in the "areas surrounding Japan" (a very problematic definition in itself), the United States and Japan would cooperate and fight this war (against North Korea or China, for example) together? Again, this does not sound very "pacifist," even if one were to assume that the Japanese "support" were to be limited to economic, diplomatic and logistic elements (which would be unlikely, particularly if the fighting were to reach the American bases in Japan).
Indeed, Japan has long supported the United States' and United Nations' ("defensive") war efforts in roundabout ways. Consider, for instance, the so-called Japanese "checkbook diplomacy" during the First Gulf War (1991), where Japan contributed around eleven billion dollars to the war efforts (Middlebrooks 2008: 38-40). After receiving a great deal of "brutal international criticism" (Matray 2000: 24) for its lack of direct military involvement, the Japanese diet passed a "Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations" in 1992. This law allowed JSDF forces to be sent to several "non-combat" missions (such as clearing mines) around the world (e.g., in Iraq and Afghanistan) and to provide other forms of auxiliary support to United Nations peacekeeping missions (Kelly 2008: 504; Middelbrooks 2008: 40-41).
In addition to its reliance on the aforementioned pact, as the International Relations scholar Jennifer Lind convincingly points out, many observers tend to underestimate the JSDF's actual strength, since they rely on what she finds to be a "misleading statistic:" the percentage of GDP allocated to defense purposes in Japan. Indeed, the traditional one percent of GDP which has been allocated to defense in Japan appears to be minuscule, certainly when compared to the relative size of other countries' defense budgets. However, as Lind suggests, the allocated percentage of GDP is not a very fitting measure for the assessment of military might. One percent of the Japanese GDP would amount to more than twenty percent of a less economically powerful state's GDP. Accordingly, Lind argues that a more balanced assessment of the JSDF's actual strength should be based upon two variables: Aggregate Defense Spending (ADS) and an assessment of Japan's military encompassing land, air and marine capabilities (Lind 2004: 94-96).
Insofar as ADS is concerned, Lind presents a table taken from the International Institute for Strategic Studies' [IISS] Military Balance report for 2001-2002 ranking the world's Leading Defense Spenders for the year 2000. According to this table, Japan's defense budget appeared to be the world's third largest after the United States and Russia. Although Lind admits that this measurement might not be "precise," she argues that it is still possible to use it in order to determine that "Japan is clearly one of the world's leading defense spenders" (Lind 2004: 95-96). The situation does not seem to have changed much since then. As the most recent IISS Military Balance (Figure 5), clearly shows, Japan is still among the top ten defense spenders for 2013, ranking seventh with 51 billion dollars.
Figure 5. Top 15 Defense Budgets for 2013. Source.
Let us proceed, therefore, to discuss Lind's second criterion for assessing actual Japanese military strength—an examination of Japan's Land, Air and Sea forces in comparison to those of other states. First, Lind recognizes that Japan's Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) is relatively modest in size and capabilities when compared to the equivalent forces in neighboring countries (most notably China, Russia and the two Koreas). However, since Japan is an archipelago and since all its borders are marine, it might not face the same threats as those countries with a powerful Land Force (Lind 2004: 96-97).28
The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), on the other hand, is a completely different story. According to Lind, the JASDF is the world's fourth most powerful air force, and "its pilots are among the world's best trained." Although the JASDF might be somewhat lacking in offensive capabilities, Lind concludes that it can "present a serious challenge to any of its neighbors' air forces" (Lind 2004: 97-98). Moreover, Lind notes that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) is considered "among the top two or three countries in the world." Indeed, she asserts that "Japan's sea control capabilities are as good or better than most of the world's great powers" (Lind 2004: 98-100).
How can one account, therefore, for Japan's relatively weak ground forces? Is it due to "pacifist" aspirations and a "pacifist" national sentiment? Lind offers a different, and more reasonable, explanation for this: Japan is simply acting in accordance with its own situation and needs. The JGDSF does not need to be very strong since the odds of a ground-based invasion of Japan are slim at best, but Japan does need a strong navy and air force. As Lind explains, "Israel, for example, emphasizes its army and air force and has a much weaker navy; not because Israel is antimilitarist, but because that force structure best suits its needs" (Lind 2004: 117).
While the JSDF is not as experienced as other armed forces,29 it is ready for war, even if this war were to be strictly defensive. Although it has other important roles to play in Japanese society, particularly in disaster relief operations, the JSDF's main mission remains the protection of Japan from any possible foreign threat and invasion, and it is ready for this mission with massive United States support. Indeed, the JSDF is not just a pretty ornament. Consider, for example, a December 2001 incident (also known as the Battle of Amami-Ōshima), in which the JMSDF encountered a North Korean spy vessel. After firing several warning shots to no avail, the situation escalated into a battle and the North Korean ship was sunk. The entire North Korean crew died during the battle, while the Japanese crew sustained only a few injuries (see, e.g., Miller 2005/6: 41; Yasuo 2008: 1). This little known fact contradicts the popular belief that the JSDF never actualized its lethal potential.
All of the above suggests that the Japanese state is not pacifist. However, many still choose to regard it as such. Michael J. Kelly, for instance, claims that "the Yoshida Doctrine, as it came to be known, 'called for Japan to adopt the U.S. stance on international politics in exchange for military protection.' That doctrine, although eroded somewhat recently, remains intact under the pacifist constitution" (Kelly 2007: 499). Try as I might, I cannot understand how the adoption of "the U.S stance on international politics" while basking in its (nuclear) military protection could be seen as pacifist.
No state possessing so much military might can possibly be pacifist. Moreover, even if we disregard the JSDF's massive strength, or even its existence altogether, the huge economic (and diplomatic) support Japan regularly provides to the United States' and United Nations' war efforts cannot possibly be consistent with pacifism.
Figure 6. "For Further Contribution to World Peace": An official banner taken from the Japanese Ministry of defense website. Source. (Accessed July 1, 2014).
Despite all of the above, one might still be able to claim that while the Japanese government or the Japanese ruling class are not pacifists, the Japanese general public is in fact very committed to pacifist norms. Lind, for example, claims that the Japanese state acts in accordance with a "buck-passing" rather than a "pacifist" strategy. However, she proceeds to argue that Tokyo does so in spite of the fact that "Japanese society is imbued with pacifist norms" (Lind 2004: 92). These norms "have not constrained Japanese security policy. They have not prevented it from building one of the most powerful military forces in the world, with potent offensive and defensive capabilities." In addition, according to Lind, "the pacifist article 9 has proven to be as malleable as Tokyo wants to make it" (Lind 2004: 120).
However, in reality, and according to several polls performed at various periods since the end of the American occupation, most Japanese have supported the JSDF's existence and the existence of the military alliance with the United States (e.g., Berger 1998: 67, 112-116, 151-155; Murata 2004: 146-147). In fact, recent polls have shown that Japanese public support of the JSDF has been at its highest level since the end of World War II. In this respect, consider, for instance, a 2012 Yomiuri Shimbun article which presents the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the Japanese Cabinet office. According to this poll, over ninety one percent of the Japanese public has a positive image of the JSDF. The same poll also found that only "13 percent said that Article 9 should be 'strictly interpreted to prevent Japan from participating in all foreign military operations'" (Epstein 2012). As another example, consider the results of the opinion poll conducted by the Japanese Ministry of Defense in 2006: out of a total of 3,000 adults, 84.9% of respondents declared that "they had a 'good impression' of the SDF." The following graph provided with the poll also indicates that all similar polls conducted between 1969 and 2006 demonstrate that the majority of the Japanese public has a good impression of the JSDF (see Figure 7).
Figure 7. Japanese Ministry of Defense opinion polls regarding the JSDF. Source.
Before moving on to the conclusions, I wish to clarify that I am not claiming that there are no pacifists whatsoever in Japan. On the contrary. Japan has a relatively large number of pacifists, or at least many citizens expressing pacifist sentiments. There are also many grassroots peace / anti-war movements in Japan which might also reflect true pacifist sentiments (e.g., Yamamoto 2004). Consider, for instance, the activities of Shinagawa Masaji and the Article 9 Association, as depicted in a 2014 article by Miho Matsugu.
These "pacifist sentiments" were much more common among Japanese during the immediate period after the war, and reached a peak during the 1960's, but gradually abated thereafter. Yuan Cai, for example, has reviewed the various factors that helped to shape these sentiments, including the influence of the Japan Teachers’ Union (日教組) and other leftist organizations. Throughout the article, Yuan laments the gradual "decline of Japanese pacifism" and concludes that:
Generational change is perhaps the greatest enemy of pacifism in Japan, especially in the absence of an effective transmission mechanism that could convey pacifist messages from one generation to another. Generational change in Japan saw not only youth without any sense of a victim consciousness, but also a generation of teachers devoid of the sense of mission to educate the next generation of the barbarism of war that was a characteristic of their predecessors. Unlike western pacifism rooted in religious tradition, Japanese pacifism was built on the shifting sands of fear-induced aversion to war. The root cause of the decline in pacifism is the fragility of its foundation (Yuan 2008: 197).
Notwithstanding the many Japanese who truly harbor pacifist sentiments at present, I do believe it is unreasonable to claim that the majority of Japanese, or the policies and practices of the Japanese state, can be categorized as pacifist. Even if the majority of Japanese "support Article 9," (which is, in itself not necessarily pacifist, as I have shown above) they also support the existence of the JSDF and the military alliance with the U.S. This kind of attitude might be seen as reflecting a stark hypocrisy, or, alternatively, what Lummis refers to as "clever pragmatism" (Lummis 2010), but should not be regarded as pacifism.
Figure 8. A banner from the official JGSDF website. The caption reads "Equipment: Everything for civilian peace of mind—[we] maintain the equipment necessary for the execution of [our] duties". Source. (Accessed August 12, 2014).
Different people may interpret the same word or concept in totally different ways. However, it is advisable to maintain some boundaries, since language can be used both as a constructive means for the expression and mutual understanding of important ideas and realities, and as a confusing and even destructive device. If individuals and collectives wish to reach a true understanding and transcend the horrors of war, they must first establish a common language of accepted terms and definitions. This should not only hold true to the political and public arenas, but also to the scholarly discourse which critically examines them. As Thomas Merton has argued, "the use of language to extol freedom, democracy, and equal rights, while at the same time denying them, causes words to turn sour and to rot in the minds of those who use them" (Merton 1969: 110).
In this respect, and as the current paper sought to exemplify, the use of the term "pacifism" in the Japanese context is fundamentally flawed. The term has not only been misused to describe the current Japanese constitution and Article 9, but also to represent the Japanese (or Japan) as a whole. This situation is far from desirable, especially for those to whom the word still represents something more than the current cabinet's cynical use of the term "proactive pacifism."
In closing, I would like to reiterate that I am not claiming that there are no pacifists per se in Japan. On the contrary. Japan has a relatively large number of pacifists. However, I do argue that many aspects of the modern Japanese state tend to be mischaracterized as pacifist by scholars and laymen alike and actually represent quite different attitudes. Contrary to the prevailing scholarly and popular discourse, the majority of present-day Japanese are not committed to pacifism or to pacifist ideas and ideals. By mischaracterizing the whole Japanese populace (or just large portions of it) as pacifist, we not only apprehending the Japanese reality in a distorted manner, but might also lose sight of Japan's true pacifists, who would be otherwise absorbed into a pseudo-pacifist Japanese public.
If one insists on characterizing the Japanese constitution, state, or national sentiment as "pacifist" because it sincerely supports peace, then almost everyone and everything today is "pacifist."30 Who does not sincerely aspire to eventual peace? Which recent war has not been waged under the premises of maintaining or obtaining peace? Using the term "pacifism" in these contexts is a nullification of its significant and original meaning.31 Such over-generalization only gives rise to blurred and flawed interpretations which are too broad to be of any descriptive value, and that should thus be avoided. Finally, let it be clear that I am not suggesting that the discourse surrounding the modern Japanese state and constitution should refrain from using the word "pacifism" under any circumstances. I do, however, argue that the term should be handled with appropriate care and used with sufficient sensitivity to preserve its unique meaning and ramifications.
Recommended citation: Guy Almog, "The Myth of the 'Pacifist' Japanese Constitution", The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 36, No. 2, September 8, 2014.
About the author
Guy Almog is a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Haifa. He may be reached at
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1 I wish to thank Rotem Kowner for patiently guiding me throughout the process of writing of my M.A. thesis, which serves as the basis for the current article, and to Daniel Statman for all his generous assistance. I am also indebted to C. Douglas Lummis and Mark Selden for helpful insights and remarks on earlier versions of this article, and finally to Nimrod Chiat for his excellent advice in all matters lingual.
2 It seems that this Japanese "devotion to pacifism" was less obvious to Reischauer at an earlier stage, when he claimed that "in time, Japan's constitutional renunciation of armed self-defense will probably be modified, and, as economic and political conditions permit, the Japanese will probably take over bit by bit the burdens of their own defense thus in time bringing to an end the need for American bases in Japan" (Reischauer 1961: 226).
3 This is a good example for the overly loose and vague usage of the term "absolute pacifism," as will become apparent when I explore the point at greater length below. Note that Matsui (2011) is not alone in labeling the Japanese constitution and Article 9 as avatars of "absolute pacifism." Yuan Cai also argues, for instance, that "the conservatives' creative interpretation of the constitution largely evaded the spirit of absolute pacifism embedded in the renowned Article IX" (Yuan 2008: 179, my emphasis).
4 But how can one "impose" pacifism on another? As will be shortly explained, pacifism is a moral attitude, and not just the mere inability to rearm oneself due to the imposing military might of others. Whether the Japanese in fact chose to accept pacifism, is an entirely different issue.
5 This sounds a bit absurd. If anything, the Security Treaty with the United States had nullified the pursuit of pacifism since it is a military pact, which is obviously non-pacifist by definition.
6 Again, I cannot seem to understand how Japan can adhere to its "pacifist heritage" and at the same time be "one of Washington's staunchest [military] allies."
7 For further prominent academic examples of this discourse see, for instance, Hein 2009, passim; Kingston 2011: 129; Shillony 2002: 246-248, 258, 302-303; Southgate 2003: passim.
8 Needless to say, the new term adopted by Abe's cabinet—"Proactive Pacifism" (積極的平和主義) is all the more incoherent (cf. e.g., Kingston 2014; DeWit 2013).
9 For another example, consider a 2012 Asahi Shimbun article marking of Hinohara Shigeaki's one-hundredth birthday. In it, Hinohara claims that "the [1947] constitution of Japan is based upon deep reflection on the World War, and with pacifism as its fundamental principle, its renunciation of war was an epoch-breaking event even from a world-history point of view" (my emphasis).
10 Many Israelis who I've talked with about this subject were even surprised to hear that Japan actually maintains an army.
11 Which war today is not fought under the premise of "self-defense"?
12 Some call this notion "pacificism." Accordingly, pacificism is actually not a separate or competing view to either JWT or pacifism (but does go against militarism and war-realism). Ceadel defines it as a position according to which "war can be not only prevented but in time also abolished by reforms which will bring justice in domestic politics too" (Ceadel 1987: 5). Thus, as Jenny Teichman stresses, "naturally all pacifists are pacificists, but not all pacificists are pacifist" (Teichman 1986: 3). In the same way, just war theorists might also seek the eventual abolishment of war. However, until it is finally attained, and unlike pacifists, they deem war morally permissible, and in some cases even a moral duty.
13 As Cady argues: "while few if any actual pacifists have held this view, it is the position often identified with pacifism. In its most extreme form, it is the view that it is wrong always, everywhere, for anyone to use force against another human being. Here force is understood to mean an imposition of physical strength" (Cady 2010: 64).
14 This term—a "pacifist state"—seems to challenge Max Weber's influential theory concerning the “Monopoly on violence," according to which, a "state" is a "human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory." If this empirical generalization is true, how can a pacifist state exist in the first place? One possible way of settling this apparent paradox is by distinguishing between formal organizations such as a police force, and a military force. While the latter's purpose is to defend the state even if this means fighting a war, the former's objective is merely to maintain internal order. Although all pacifists shun war (and thus militaries), they do not necessarily condemn all kinds of violence. Many of them accept notions of individual self-defense, and can accordingly accept the existence of a police force which cannot participate in a war (even if it is a "war of self-defense"), but only deal with local, small-scale incidents. For more on the different types of pacifism and pacifists see e.g., Cady 2010: passim. Another, more challenging way of settling this contradiction is by denying the validity of Weber's definition all together, which I shall not pursue here. For more on this issue, and on the notion of a state without an army, see Lummis 2010.
15 For more in-depth descriptions of this, see, e.g., Inoue 1991; Koseki 1998; Matsui 2011; McNelly 2000.
16 Three handwritten notes with general guidelines which Macarthur handed down to the American Steering Committee charged with drafting the constitution. The second note was undoubtedly the basis for Article 9. For the notes’ full text see here.
17 Note that although almost all modern just war theorists agree that war is horrific, they differ in the ways in which they determine which wars are just. One such approach is expressed by Ceadel's definition of "crusading." According to Ceadel, this view's "distinctive feature is a willingness under favorable circumstances to use aggressive war to promote either order or justice, as it conceives it, and thereby help to prevent or abolish war in the longer term. If militarism is aggression for its own sake, crusading is thus aggression for the sake of peace" (Ceadel 1987: 4-5). This fits nicely with the overall approach of the United States, or at least with the way it justifies its international actions. As Obama declares in his Nobel speech "I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war." "Defensism," on the other hand, according to Ceadel, is a JWT stance which "accepts that aggression is always wrong, but insists both that defense is always right and that the maintenance of strong defenses offers the best chance of preventing war" (Ceadel 1987: 5). Dovish as it may be, "defensism" is not pacifism, since it is an approach that morally justifies wars if defensive deterrence efforts turn out to be ineffective (if only for the sake of "self-defense").
18 As early as 1950, this force comprised about 75,000 people (see e.g., Matsui 2011: 17). However, Matsui claims that MacArthur did not order the creation of the National Police Reserve, but merely "allowed" Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida to establish it. Koseki's analysis also supports this claim, and suggests that the American change of policy "was a blessing for Yoshida because he was then free to shift the responsibility for the change in his own policy to the Americans" (Koseki 1998: 240).
19 For example, as Edward Behr elaborates: "[…] Hirohito allowed the Manchukuo and China 'incidents' to happen, promoted those responsible for them, and was fully aware of preparations for World War Two without ever making one concrete move that would have reversed the trend towards confrontation. As diaries of his most intimate staff have revealed, he was not only aware of the key step taken in advance of Pearl Harbor – the establishment of Japanese army and air force bases in what was then French Indochina in 1941 – but also openly questioned whether this should not also be accompanied by an invasion of Thailand" (Behr 1989: 17).
20 If this suggestion took place before the MacArthur-Shidehara meeting of January 24, then perhaps Whitney's idea (which was originally Kades' idea) inspired Shidehara to suggest the constitutional renunciation of war to MacArthur. However, as a personal letter from Kades to McNelly reveals, Whitney met Shidehara after the January 24 meeting (probably on January 28). Now, since Whitney knew about the contents of the MacArthur-Shidehara meeting, why would he suggest the same thing he himself proposed just a few days ago? As McNelly explains, and assuming Kades’ statement is accurate, it seems that Whitney's suggestion to Shidehara implies that Shidehara did not propose the constitutional renunciation of war and the banning of arms to MacArthur on January 24 despite MacArthur's personal account (McNelly 2000: 109-111).
21 For further details and opinions concerning the Ashida Amendment see e.g., Koseki 1998: 192-208; McNelly 2000: 126-128.
22 Many scholars have also addressed the constitution's "pacifism" based upon the wording of the Constitution’s preamble over and above Article 9. Matsui, for example, argues that the second paragraph of this Preamble "makes clear its commitment to pacifism" (Matsui 2011: 234). However, even if one persists in suggesting that the Preamble reflects "pacifist aspirations," and even if we accept this, it is insufficient for arguing the constitution as a whole is "pacifist," since, as Matsui himself explains, "the preamble is an interpretive provision of the main text and not an independent source that could be relied on by the courts during an evaluation of constitutionality" (Matsui 2011: 22). In other words, the Preamble does not have any compelling legal power in and of itself. Thus, even if we assume that the Preamble is pacifist (which it is not, and does not claim to be), the constitution's "pacifism" can only be derived from the binding legal articles that follow the Preamble, and especially the so-called pacifist clause—Article 9. While this subject is worthy of further examination, it is beyond the scope of the current paper.
23 The word "peace" (平和) only appears once in the constitution’s binding Articles. And while it does appear four more times (in both versions) in the (unbinding) preamble, one might still expect a “pacifist constitution” to make more references to "peace."
25 For more on this subject see Lummis 2013.
26 For more about the notion of a state without an army, see Lummis 2010.
27 I argue that making statements about forever and never are problematic and even paradoxical in a so-called democratic constitution amendable by law. This phenomenon, however, does not solely characterize the Japanese constitution, and, as Douglas Lummis has suggested, might simply reflect "wishful rhetoric" (which could nonetheless be translated into some, probably minor, political leverage; Lummis, May 2014, personal communication).
28 It is also important to note that although the JGSDF has relatively modest capabilities in comparison to the Japanese air force or navy, it is still well trained and ready for deployment. Like many other armies in the world, the JGSDF possesses formidable elite units, most notably the 1st Airborne Brigade (第1空挺団), which is Japan's elite paratrooper unit. This unit comprises about two thousand troops and has undergone, among other things, sniper training courtesy of the United States.
29 The JSDF does have some—non-combat—experience abroad, as it has been sent on behalf of the UN to participate in "peacekeeping operations" in such areas as Lebanon and Iraq under severe limitations. Due to the obvious sensitivity if this issue, the Japanese Diet had to create a specific law for each of these dispatches (e.g., Beer 1998; Kingston 2011: 129-130; Lind 2004: passim; Lummis 2013). As Lummis argues, however, the presence of the JSDF in these "peacekeeping operations" was - above all - a political gesture. The actual contribution of the JSDF to these operations might even be negative, since "nothing is more dangerous than to send the SDF, who do not have that right, into a war zone, as they look like soldiers, act like soldiers, dress like soldiers and are equipped like soldiers, and perhaps even imagine they are soldiers, but have no more right under Japanese law to carry out a military action than a party of duck hunters" (Lummis 2013).
30 Better terms to describe the constitution and Article 9, which some scholars have already adopted, include the "anti-war," or "war-renouncing" clause / constitution, or alternatively the "peace clause" or the "peace constitution" (e.g., Lummis 2010; 2013).
31 Andrew Fiala, for instance, argues that, "Richard Nixon once called himself a pacifist, even as he continued to support the Vietnam War" (Fiala 2010). As we have seen recently, Prime Minister Abe also considers himself a ("proactive") pacifist. If the threshold of pacifism is so low, then who, indeed, isn't a pacifist? |
Relationship between learning and memory in psychology
Biology of Learning and Memory
relationship between learning and memory in psychology
Learning and memory are closely related concepts. Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge, while memory is the expression of what you've acquired. Stress and multitasking are among the chief causes of memory lapses. Dr. James Appleberry, president of the American Association of State. Memory and learning go hand and hand with one another. One's memory is like a storage unit where everything one has learned is kept secure.
Rehearsal is a verbal process regardless of whether the list of items is presented acoustically someone reads them outor visually on a sheet of paper. The principle encoding system in long-term memory LTM appears to be semantic coding by meaning. However, information in LTM can also be coded both visually and acoustically.
Memory Storage This concerns the nature of memory stores, i. The way we store information affects the way we retrieve it. Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory. Miller put this idea forward and he called it the magic number 7. In contrast, the capacity of LTM is thought to be unlimited. Memory Retrieval This refers to getting information out storage. STM is stored and retrieved sequentially. For example, if a group of participants are given a list of words to remember, and then asked to recall the fourth word on the list, participants go through the list in the order they heard it in order to retrieve the information.
LTM is stored and retrieved by association. This is why you can remember what you went upstairs for if you go back to the room where you first thought about it. Organizing information can help aid retrieval. You can organize information in sequences such as alphabetically, by size or by time. Imagine a patient being discharged from hospital whose treatment involved taking various pills at various times, changing their dressing and doing exercises.
If the doctor gives these instructions in the order which they must be carried out throughout the day i. Criticisms of Memory Experiments A large part of the research on memory is based on experiments conducted in laboratories.
Those who take part in the experiments - the participants - are asked to perform tasks such as recalling lists of words and numbers. Both the setting - the laboratory - and the tasks are a long way from everyday life. In many cases, the setting is artificial and the tasks fairly meaningless.
relationship between learning and memory in psychology
They are directed by an 'experimenter' and may be placed in the company of complete strangers. This multi-component scheme is supported by a number of pieces of experimental evidence, such as the KF Case Study, where an accident severely impaired verbal processing while leaving visual processing almost intact. This strongly implies that verbal and visual processing are controlled by two different systems [10]. It is also supported by the observation that visual and phonemic tasks can be carried out at the same time with relatively little impairment, showing that they do not depend on the same mental resources [7].
In order to test this statement, many researchers conducted studies to find correlations for improved performance though the use of multimedia learning principles. A brief review of the research conducted by Billie Eilam and his colleagues will be examined as an example. Eilam conducted an experiment involving college students, whereby participants were evenly divided into two groups. Each individuals received the same amount of cards required to perform a given homework.
Biology of Learning and Memory
The similarities include receiving information from an exterior stimulus, organizing and encoding input in various ways, transferring data to storage systems, and retrieving of output when needed. Through the analogy of information processing approach, psychologists determined that human thoughts could only process a limited amount of information at a given time [23].
Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that human memories like a computer are formed through a series of channels. Similar to a keyboard entering information onto a computer, the human mind initially receives information through what is called the sensory register, or in other words, sensory organs.
relationship between learning and memory in psychology
By then, information is either transferred for use, discarded or stored into long-term memory. For a computer, this stage of processing would take place on a hard disk in a computer [24]. To begin with, the human mind transforms multiple forms of sensory information e. They created the modal model, which was also known as information processing model, to distinguish control processes and memory structures. Control processes are basically the specific processes that information stored, such as, encoding, retrieval processing.
If the tone appears immediately, participants recalled 3 of the 4 letters. The fewer letter were recalled with the delayed tone appeared. The result showed us that sensory memory storage and duration is very limited, although information were registered in our memory, they lost rapidly. The only way for people to memorize more information is increasing the size of chunks and implementing information with meaning. It is interesting to mention that in Cowan's embedded processes theory, Cowan argued that "the magic seven" is not true, the real capacity of working memory is about four chunks, although each of the chunk may contain more than one item.
The executive control system has the similar role as brain in our body, it controls the other two systems and decides what kind of the information enters memory. Articulatory loop and visual-spatial sketch pad holds acoustic information and visual spatial information respectively. It is worthy to mention that several factors may influence the working memory performance. Firstly, individuals have different background knowledge and capacity of working memory.
If individuals are knowledgeable in certain domain, then they are more able to use the working memory efficiently.
relationship between learning and memory in psychology
Secondly, the complexity of information is another constraint. Last but not least, the instructional approach is another factor, working memory performance is improvable if helpful and appropriate instruction is available. For example, learning to chunk information, or dividing the learning task. Furthermore, the amount of studies suggested that working memory maintenance is a critical step for long term encoding.
As Baddeley once said, his attitude on this issue is that working memory activate many areas of the brain that include long term memory. It could be days, weeks, months and years.
Examples of long term memory include remembering the graduation day, or the experience of your first day at working.
• Biology of Learning and Memory
• Chapter 2. Five Core Memory and Learning Concepts
• relationship between learning and memory
Theoretically, long term memory has unlimited capacity of storage, but people still lose memory due to unsuccessful long term encoding. Generally, long term memory is divided into 2 components: Explicit memory is known as memories that are available in our heads, the past events pop out in our mind sometimes. It usually refers to the facts and declarative knowledge.
The example would be that Vancouver is a city in Canada. While implicit memory is an unawareness memory that influence our actions and performance in daily life. This unconscious memory is about procedural knowledge, which is not just knowing about the facts, but knowing the process of performing the task.
For instance, you are driving a car. Since we prior learned about the skill, we knew how to perform but we were not consciousness remembering it. Development refers to certain changes that occur in different stages over the lifespan, here we are going to take a deep look of cognitive development. Cognitive development refers to our mental processes are gradually changing and becoming more and more advanced over the lifespan.
People do not become mature once they reached a certain age, development takes time and happens gradually.
Learning vs Memory - Difference Between
Inside our brain, there are billions of neurons. Neurons are grey colour nerve cells that function in accumulating and transmitting information in the brain. These neuron cells are so tiny, they are about fit on the head of a pin.
Neurons transmit and share information by releasing chemical substances through these synapses. The numbers of neurons will be decreased if some neurons not serve as main function. Magically, if a child are deaf from birth, the auditory processing brain area will expect to process visual information rather than the auditory stimulation.
The cerebral cortex allows us to do the abstract thinking and complex problem solving. Every part of the cortex also has different function and different mature periods. The region of the cortex that control our physical movement usually matures first, then comes with our vision and auditory cortex. The Frontal lobe which takes charge of the high order abstract thinking processes always mature at last.
Cognition and Instruction/Learning and Memory
Moreover, the temporal lobes which is responsible for the emotion development, language acquisitions and judgement will not completely mature until human body become physically mature [37]. Although each part of the brain has its own function, they have to work collaboratively in order to complete complex functions, for example, Alice is reading a story. Her vision cortex is the first part to be stimulated and then sends the visual information to the other cortexes in her brain, finally, she is able to memorize and retell the story.
Memorization is a key cognitive process of brain at the metacognitive, as well as the cognitive process reveals how memory is created in long-term memory LTM [39]. The logical model of the cognitive process of memorization can be described as shown in the diagram: Encoding Process[ edit ] Encoding allows information stored in the brain to be converted into a construction, which can be recall from long-term memory.
The process of encoding begins with the identification, organization of any sensory information in order to understand it. Stimuli are perceived by the senses, and related signals travel to the thalamus of the human brain, where they are synthesized into one experience [40]. There are four types of encoding: |
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Caliper Basics
Brake calipers are simple basic components used to apply pressure and stop the rotor from turning which will reduce the vehicle speed. Brake calipers generally house one or two pistons while others can have up to four depending on the application (heavy duty or performance). Calipers can be bolted in a fixed position or can be a "floating" type. The fixed type, usually 2-4 pistons, are bolted to a bracket or the spindle. The pads are configured in such a way that when hydraulic pressure is applied to the pistons, the pads are forced out against the rotor producing the braking action.
The other type of caliper, usually single piston, uses a floating action. With this configuration, the caliper is free to "float" or move on a pair of pins, bolts, or slides. When hydraulic pressure is applied, the piston pushes the inboard pad to the rotor while the outboard pad is pulled against the rotor stopping the disc from rotating.
Calipers consist of a housing, piston(s), seals, dust boot, and a bleeder valve. The pistons can be made of phenolic or steel. The phenolic piston consists of a phenol-formaldahyde resin that is light weight, heat resistant, non-corroding, and resists heat transfer.
Most common reasons for failure are:
• Contamination from the brake system.
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Making “Her” Into Reality
The basis of the post is to make you consider what in life is significant and what does getting the new radio accessory really signify to us
Even though it is science fiction, “Her” seems to be the end state for many current acquisitions and research from real-life tech companies. These companies are pursuing enhanced artificial intelligence and speech recognition. And the companies who don’t jump on this future will be left in the digital dust.
Established artificial intelligence
The most well-known characters in AI today are IBM’s Watson and Apple’s Siri.
Watson takes human’s natural language and filters through data to find the most probable answers. It can take “unstructured data,” that is, data computers typically cannot read because it isn’t structured in tables, rows, or columns, and turn it into knowledge accessible not through complex queries but simple, vocal questions. It’s now being used to help doctors find better cancer treatments and financial planners find better investments. IBM hopes Watson will bring in $1 billion in revenue by 2018.
Apple’s latest acquisitions point to further enhancements for Siri. In 2013, the company picked up intelligent calendar application Cue, which helps layout a user’s day similar to Google Now. It also bought Topsy, which allowed customers to analyze and search social posts. And, a recently published patent points to expanding Siri from phones to docks.
Up and coming AI
Now, Google spent a rumored $400 million on an artificial intelligence company called DeepMind. DeepMind’s website describes its software as useful in “simulations, e-commerce, and games,” and the company has an impressive talent list with a former child chess prodigy and a Skype co-creator. This piles on to Google’s other recent acquisitions of robot maker Boston Dynamics and smart home hardware maker Nest. If Google can succeed in integrating these seemingly disparate companies, it seems like having a conversation with your thermostat isn’t too far off.
Losers of an AI future
While these companies are priming themselves to own any science fiction-like future, there are companies doomed to languish if they don’t change their path.
This includes the lowly hardware maker. The future presented in “Her” doesn’t contain several devices in multiple form factors as we have now, but one handheld device and one wearable earpiece that connects to a cloud-based operating system. IBM, a case study in staying relevant, keeps shedding its hardware operations with its latest $2.3 billion sale of its server business to Lenovo. As the main players build their artificially intelligent ecosystems, the hardware becomes less important as it’s commoditized, and the main differentiation becomes software. Companies might also want more control over their hardware and the user experience, and produce their own. For example, Apple recently purchased a cutting-edge chip maker, Primesense. Microsoft stepped into producing its own hardware with its Surface tablets.
Just a movie?
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Front: Tan paper with text in black, white and red. Includes skull and crossbones in upper left corner, a red shield with white design in lower left, and a black circular hand stamp on right edge. Zyklon B was a pesticide used in Nazi death camps to exterminate Jews through vaporizing pellets in shower chambers.
Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash: A hydrogen cyanide product produced by Degesch, Zyklon B had originally been used as a pesticide. By summer of 1941, the Nazis were experimenting with it on Soviet POWs, and discovered that the vaporizing pellets were an effective means of gassing Jews. Degesch was a subsidiary of I.G. Farben, which, along with Tesch and Stabenow, profited by supplying the SS with Zyklon B. By pouring the pellets through rooftop openings on the gas chambers, thus exposing them to air, a lethal gas was produced as an effective means to murder the victims. Nazis murdered more than one million Jews in gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Majdanek. Bruno Tesch, who developed the form of this product for use in canisters, was executed after the war for advising the SS on Zyklon-B's use on humans.
4 1/2 x 6 3/4"
Skull and crossbones, Nazi seal, stamp, hydrogen cyanide, Degesch, Zyklon B, I.G. Farben, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, Zyklon B Cannister, Bruno Tesch
Zyklon B Cannister Label |
As you read in the Sharding in Hazelcast section, Hazelcast shards are called Partitions. Partitions are memory segments that can contain hundreds or thousands of data entries each, depending on the memory capacity of your system. Each Hazelcast partition can have multiple replicas, which are distributed among the cluster members. One of the replicas becomes the primary and other replicas are called backups. Cluster member which owns primary replica of a partition is called partition owner. When you read or write a particular data entry, you transparently talk to the owner of the partition that contains the data entry.
By default, Hazelcast offers 271 partitions. When you start a cluster with a single member, it owns all of 271 partitions (i.e., it keeps primary replicas for 271 partitions). The following illustration shows the partitions in a Hazelcast cluster with single member.
Single Member with Partitions
When you start a second member on that cluster (creating a Hazelcast cluster with two members), the partition replicas are distributed as shown in the illustration here.
Cluster with Two Members - Backups are Created
In the illustration, the partition replicas with black text are primaries and the partition replicas with blue text are backups. The first member has primary replicas of 135 partitions (black), and each of these partitions are backed up in the second member (i.e., the second member owns the backup replicas) (blue). At the same time, the first member also has the backup replicas of the second member's primary partition replicas.
As you add more members, Hazelcast moves some of the primary and backup partition replicas to the new members one by one, making all members equal and redundant. Thanks to the consistent hashing algorithm, only the minimum amount of partitions will be moved to scale out Hazelcast. The following is an illustration of the partition replica distributions in a Hazelcast cluster with four members.
Cluster with Four Members
Hazelcast distributes partitions' primary and backup replicas equally among the members of the cluster. Backup replicas of the partitions are maintained for redundancy.
image NOTE: Your data can have multiple copies on partition primaries and backups, depending on your backup count. Please see the Backing Up Maps section.
Partition distributions in the above illustrations are for your convenience and descriptive purposes. Normally, the partitions are not distributed in any order (as they are shown in these illustrations), but are distributed randomly. The important point here is that Hazelcast equally distributes the partition primaries and their backup replicas among the members.
Starting with Hazelcast 3.6, lite members are introduced. Lite members are a new type of members that do not own any partition. Lite members are intended for use in computationally-heavy task executions and listener registrations. Although they do not own any partitions, they can access partitions that are owned by other members in the cluster.
Please refer to the Enabling Lite Members section.
How the Data is Partitioned
Hazelcast distributes data entries into the partitions using a hashing algorithm. Given an object key (for example, for a map) or an object name (for example, for a topic or list):
• the key or name is serialized (converted into a byte array),
• this byte array is hashed, and
• the result of the hash is mod by the number of partitions.
The result of this modulo - MOD(hash result, partition count) - is the partition in which the data will be stored, that is the partition ID. For ALL members you have in your cluster, the partition ID for a given key will always be the same.
Partition Table
When you start a member, a partition table is created within it. This table stores the partition IDs and the cluster members to which they belong. The purpose of this table is to make all members (including lite members) in the cluster aware of this information, making sure that each member knows where the data is.
The oldest member in the cluster (the one that started first) periodically sends the partition table to all members. In this way each member in the cluster is informed about any changes to partition ownership. The ownerships may be changed when, for example, a new member joins the cluster, or when a member leaves the cluster.
image NOTE: If the oldest member of the cluster goes down, the next oldest member sends the partition table information to the other ones.
You can configure the frequency (how often) that the member sends the partition table the information by using the hazelcast.partition.table.send.interval system property. The property is set to every 15 seconds by default.
Repartitioning is the process of redistribution of partition ownerships. Hazelcast performs the repartitioning in the following cases:
• When a member joins to the cluster.
• When a member leaves the cluster.
In these cases, the partition table in the oldest member is updated with the new partition ownerships.
Note that if a lite member joins or leaves a cluster, repartitioning is not triggered since lite members do not own any partitions. |
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Aegagropila linnaei, known as marimo[a] in Japanese and as Cladophora ball, lake ball, mossimo or moss ball in English, is a species of filamentous green algae (Chlorophyta) found in a number of lakes in the northern hemisphere.
Marimo lake akann.jpg
Marimo in Lake Akan in Japan.
Scientific classification edit
Phylum: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Cladophorales
Family: Pithophoraceae
Genus: Aegagropila
A. linnaei
Binomial name
Aegagropila linnaei
A marimo is a rare growth form of the species in which the algae grow into large green balls with a velvety appearance. Colonies of such balls are known to form in Japan, Iceland, Scotland, Russia, and Estonia among a few other places, but their population has been declining.[1]
Classification and nameEdit
Marimo were first described in the 1820s by Anton E. Sauter, found in Lake Zell, Austria. The genus Aegagropila was established by Friedrich T. Kützing (1843) with A. linnaei as the type species based on its formation of spherical aggregations, but all the Aegagropila species were transferred to subgenus Aegagropila of genus Cladophora later by the same author (Kützing 1849). Subsequently, A. linnaei was placed in the genus Cladophora in the Cladophorales and was renamed Cladophora aegagropila (L.) Rabenhorst and Cl. sauteri (Nees ex Kütz.) Kütz. Extensive DNA research in 2002 returned the name to Aegagropila linnaei. The presence of chitin in the cell walls makes it distinct from the genus Cladophora.
The plant was named marimo by the Japanese botanist Takiya Kawakami[b] in 1898. Mari is a bouncy play ball. Mo is a generic term for plants that grow in water. The native names in Ainu are torasampe (lake goblin) and tokarip (lake roller).[2] They are sometimes sold in aquariums under the name "Japanese moss balls" although they are unrelated to moss. In Iceland the lake balls are called kúluskítur by the local fishermen at Mývatn (kúla = ball, skítur = muck) where the "muck" is any weeds that get entangled in their fishing nets. The generic name Aegagropila is Greek for "goat hair".
Growth formsEdit
Three common growth forms of Aegagropila linnaei: as a ball, free-floating filaments, and growth on rocks.
The algae has three growth forms:
• It can grow on rocks, usually found on the shaded side of the rocks.
• It can exist as free-floating filaments. Small tufts of unattached filaments frequently form a carpet on the muddy lake bottom.
• It can form a lake ball where the algae grow into sizable balls of densely packed algal filaments that radiate from the center. The balls do not have a kernel of any sort.
A cross section of a marimo colony in Lake Mývatn.
Lake Akan and Mount Oakan in Japan.
The growth rate of marimo is about 5 mm (0.2 in) per year. In Lake Akan in Japan they grow particularly large, up to 20–30 cm (8–12 in). Lake Mývatn, Iceland, had dense colonies of marimo that grow to about 12 cm (5 in) in diameter and formed well defined patches on the lake floor at depths ranging from 2–2.5 m (6.6–8.2 ft).
The round shape of the marimo is maintained by gentle wave action that occasionally turns it. The best environment for that are shallow lakes with sandy bottoms.[1]
Marimo's preferred habitat is in lakes with a low or moderate biological activity, and with moderate or high levels of calcium.[1]
The species is mainly found in the areas of Europe previously covered in glaciers (Northern-Europe), and in several places in Japan. It has been found in North America, but it is rare.[1]
Population declineEdit
The species is sensitive to the amount of nutrients in the water. An excess of nutrients (due to agriculture and fish farming), along with mud deposition from human activity are thought to be the main causes for its disappearance from many lakes.[1]
The species still exists in Lake Zeller in Austria (where it was first discovered in the 1820s) but the lake ball growth form has not been found there since around 1910. The same has happened in most locations in England and Scotland, where mainly the attached form can be found.[1]
Lake Mývatn in Iceland.
Dense colonies of marimo were discovered in Lake Mývatn in Iceland in 1978, but they have shrunk considerably since then. By 2014 the marimo had almost completely disappeared from the lake due to an excess of nutrients.[3]
The species can still be found in several places in Japan, but populations have also declined there.[1] At Lake Akan, a great effort is spent on the conservation of the lake balls.
The marimo has been a protected species in Japan since the 1920s, and in Iceland since 2006. Lake Akan is protected as a national park and Lake Mývatn is protected as a nature reserve.
Cultural aspectsEdit
Marimo balls are a rare curiosity. In Japan, there is an annual three-day marimo festival in which the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, play an important part.[2]
Because of their appealing appearance, the lake balls also serve as a medium for environmental education. Small balls sold as souvenirs are hand rolled from free-floating filaments. A widely marketed stuffed toy character known as Marimokkori takes the anthropomorphic form of the marimo algae as one part of its design.
Marimo are sometimes sold for display in aquariums, those often originate from Ukrainian lakes like the Shatsk's lakes.[1]
See alsoEdit
External linksEdit
1. ^ a b c d e f g h Boedeker, Christian; Eggert, Anja; Immers, Anne; Smets, Erik (2010). "Global Decline of and Threats to Aegagropila linnaei, with Special Reference to the Lake Ball Habit". Bioscience. 60 (3): 187–198. doi:10.1525/bio.2010.60.3.5.
2. ^ a b Irimoto, Takashi. 2004. Creation of the Marimo Festival: Ainu Identity and Ethnic Symbiosis. Senri Ethnological Studies 66:11–38.
3. ^ "Einkenni Mývatns að hverfa". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 2014-05-02.
• Einarsson, Árni; Stefánsdóttir, Gerdur; Jóhannesson, Helgi; Ólafsson, Jón S.; Már Gíslason, Gísli; Wakana, Isamu; Gudbergsson, Gudni; Gardarsson, Arnthor (2004). "The ecology of Lake Myvatn and the River Laxá: Variation in space and time". Aquatic Ecology. 38 (2): 317–348. doi:10.1023/b:aeco.0000032090.72702.a9.
• Hanyuda, Takeaki; Wakana, Isamu; Arai, Shogo; Miyaji, Kazuyuki; Watano, Yasuyuki; Ueda, Kunihiko (2002). "PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN CLADOPHORALES (ULVOPHYCEAE, CHLOROPHYTA) INFERRED FROM 18S rRNA GENE SEQUENCES, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AEGAGROPILA LINNAEI 1". Journal of Phycology. 38 (3): 564–571. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.2002.01151.x.
• Jónsson, Gunnar St.; Jonsson, Gunnar St. (1992). "Photosynthesis and Production of Epilithic Algal Communities in Thingvallavatn". Oikos. 64 (1/2): 222–240. doi:10.2307/3545053. JSTOR 3545053.
1. ^ In Japanese: マリモ or 毬藻, literally "ball seaweed"
2. ^ In Japanese: 川上瀧彌 |
Locus iste
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Chapel in the Linz Cathedral
Locus iste is the Latin gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church (Missa in anniversario dedicationis ecclesiae), which in German is called Kirchweih.[1] The incipit Locus iste a Deo factus est translates to "This place was made by God".[2] One of the most famous settings is by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.
The text is based on the Biblical story of Jacob's Ladder,[3] Jacob's saying "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not" (Genesis 28:16), and the story of the burning bush where Moses is told "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).[4]
Locus iste a Deo factus est,
inaestimabile sacramentum,
irreprehensibilis est.
This is the Lord's house, which He hath made.
Profoundly sacred,
it is beyond reproof.
A translation closer to the Latin is:
This place was made by God,
a priceless sacrament;
it is without reproach.[2]
Bruckner's setting[edit]
Bruckner completed the motet for unaccompanied SATB choir in 1869 for the dedication of a votive chapel at the New Cathedral in Linz.[5] The motet is often performed on anniversaries of church dedication.[3] The piece, which takes about three minutes to perform, is in the key of C major and in common time.
1. ^ Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824-1896 - Leven en werken, Thoth, 2012, p.706
2. ^ a b "Motet Translations / Anton Bruckner: Locus Iste". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
3. ^ a b Camartin, Iso (15 May 2005). "Dieser Ort / Anton Bruckner und Jakobs Traum von der Himmelsleiter". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2014.
4. ^ "Anton Bruckner: Locus iste". Carus-Verlag. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
5. ^ Williamson, John, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780521008785. |
How to write a lab report abstract
How to write a lab report abstract
Writing academic papers such as lab report abstract is part of learning. However, writing tends to scare most individuals, be they students or not. But, you cannot survive school life without writing skills.
The first step in acquiring writing skills is learning the basics. After that, you need to practice to perfect the skill.
Writing begins as early as kindergarten where we learn the basics of reading and writing. In elementary school, we learn the different kinds of writing, which include a lab report.
A lab report, like any other academic paper, requires an abstract. However, due to its complexity, an abstract is not required for lab reports in lower levels of learning such as elementary school.
An abstract to an academic paper, not just a lab report, is important as it is usually the first thing teachers and instructors read. So, you have to learn how to write a good abstract.
The following is a guide on how to write a lab report abstract.
What is an abstract?
As mentioned earlier, academic papers require an abstract. The focus of this article is a lab report abstract. Therefore, let us first look at the outline of a lab report.
1. The title of the abstract
2. Abstract
3. Materials and Methods
4. Procedure
5. Outcome
6. Discussion
7. Inference or conclusion
8. References
9. Appendices
Simply put, an abstract is a summary of your paper. A lab report abstract should mention the following:
• The aim of the experiment
• The procedure used to perform the experiment
• The findings
• The conclusion
The Abstract is the first section in your lab report. However, it is advisable to write it last. The idea is to write it when you have completely understood the lab report. Remember, since the abstract is the introduction to your report, it will influence someone’s interest in reading your paper.
Types of abstracts
There are two types of lab reports:
• Informational abstracts
• Descriptive abstracts
The kind of paper you are writing dictates the type of abstract you write. Sometimes, the lecturer specifies the abstract format he wants. If the lecturer does not specify the format, then you have the freedom to choose between the two types of abstracts.
Informational abstracts
An informational abstract:
• Provides a summary of all the sections in the lab report. Generally, an informational abstract will have a two-sentence summary of all the sections of a lab report except the appendices, references, and bibliography. Also, the abstract does not include illustrations, images, or graphs.
• Has a length of approximately 10% of the whole report.
In essence, an informational abstract outlines the details of the lab report. Sometimes, the experiment does not go as planned, or you will make a discovery in the process. Such information has to be highlighted in the abstract.
You can use the format below to write an accurate informational abstract.
Purpose: Explain why the experiment is important. Also, state the reasons why anyone should be interested in the experiment.
• Hypothesis: State your hypothesis of the experiment. Explain the problem the experiment solves or is intended to solve.
• Materials and Methods: explain the steps or procedure used to conduct the experiment.
• Outcome: Briefly state the results of the test or experiment. Indicate whether the findings support the hypothesis. Also, highlight whether or not the findings were as expected.
• Conclusion: Summarize your findings and explain their significance. Explain your findings’ contribution to the advancement of knowledge or their contribution to society.
Descriptive abstract
A descriptive abstract is brief compared to an informational abstract. It is a very brief summary of the lab report. Still, in those few words, it should give the reader an idea of what the lab report entails.
A descriptive abstract:
• Has a maximum of 100 words (one paragraph)
• States the aim of the experiment and the procedure used to conduct the experiment.
Because it is brief, a descriptive abstract does not discuss the outcome, the findings, and the conclusion of the experiment.
Tips for writing a good lab report abstract
The following are some useful tips when writing a lab report abstract.
1. Consider the length
If the instructor or lecturer does not specify the length and format, it is advisable to write a short abstract. Write an abstract of about 200 words or a maximum of two paragraphs.
However, when writing an informational abstract, the length of the lab report dictates the length of the abstract. Sometimes, it can go up to two pages.
1. Write the abstract last
The abstract comes just after the title. However, it should be written last.
Remember, the abstract is a summary of the lab report. By the time you are done writing the rest of the report, you have a very clear idea of what it is all about.
1. Third person point of view
A lab report abstract should be written in the third person point of view. Do not use words such as ‘I’, ‘We’, or ‘Us’. Instead, use ‘it’, ‘this’, and ‘that’.
1. Do not include information, not in the lab report
As mentioned earlier, the abstract is the last section of the lab report to write. As such it is possible to remember a new piece of information when writing it. However, remember that an abstract is a summary of the report. Therefore, do not include any information that is not in the lab report no matter how essential it is.
1. Proof your abstract
The abstract is a brief section of the lab report. And, it comes last. For these two reasons, students tend to rush over it, which is wrong.
Again, remember the abstract is the first section of the report. Therefore it needs to interest a reader. So, before submitting the report, ensure that the abstract does not have grammatical errors, it has a flow, and it makes sense.
1. Consider keywords
In today’s online world, when doing any kind of writing, it is important to consider keywords. In your abstract, consider the search phrase one would use to find your work. Add these phrases where you deem them relevant, not only in your abstract but also in other sections of the lab report. These phrases allow people to easily find your work online. You never know if your work will get published online.
A lab report is a paper you will have to write more than once in your school life. Therefore, as a student, it is important that you learn the art of writing a good lab report abstract. The guide provided in this article will help you learn how to write a good abstract for your next lab report. |
Media paper writing Service
1. Describe the circulation and audience the print vehicle reaches in terms of demographics and psychographics. Explain why this is an ideal choice given your brand’s target audience.
Billboards and signage that encourage hand washing will be placed in major roads, residential areas and shopping outlets to encourage people to buy Indiana soap or wash their hands regularly to prevent infections (Montagna & Zanot, 2008). The bill boards will be illuminated and will contain graphics and signs printed on the illuminated signs on translucent materials.
The advertisements will also be mounted on the back of benches that are located at the bus stages throughout urban and residential areas. The geographical area that is projected to be reached includes 2 million people that live in the urban areas. The psychographics will include the lifestyle and geographic characteristics that include the citizens who live in the rural areas and in urban who does not practice proper hygiene. The print media is important because of their strategic placements which will reach many people.
1. Explain what the niche or story angle should be. (Remember this should be newsworthy, and have a human interest perspective).
Diarrhea infections are one of the causes of death among children in the world. Washing of hands with soap can reduce diarrhea infection substantially; however, prevalence of washing hands is low in India (Vogel, 2013).
1. Write a press release using the inverted pyramid technique and these tutorials as resources.
The new product of Indiana hand washing soap has been made out of ingredients that will improve the hand hygiene. Furthermore, our product has the potential to reduce mortality and morbidity from infections that are transmitted by person to person contact and fecal-oral routs. Indiana hand wash soap will help in reducing the following disease among the Indian populations including the young children, mothers and the vulnerable populations. The diseases include trachoma, respiratory infections, worm infections and fatal neonatal infections.
Vogel, E. (2013). Washing my hands. New York: PowerKids Press.
Montagna, M., & Zanot, F. (2008). Billboards. Bologna, Italia: Damiani editore. |
Mon–Thur: 7:30am - 5:30pm
Friday: 7:30am - 5pm
Office Closed from 1-2pm for Lunch
Are Bigger or Smaller Cars Safer in a Collision?
No collision is ever ideal. Car size doesn’t really matter in a devastating accident. However, in minor ones, the size of your ride can make a difference. Not only is an accident nerve-racking and car-wrecking, it can be budget-smashing too. One thing to remember is to keep perspective. If no one was injured in the accident, your car did its job.
However, now it’s time to take the next step and make an appointment for collision repair services in Dallas TX you can trust.
Let’s back up a minute: so are bigger or smaller cars safer in a collision? Most people assume bigger cars are much safer than smaller cars, but technology has closed the gap between the sizes to hone in more on the overall safety spectrum of the newer cars. No matter what, keep these factors in mind:
Newer Cars Are Safest, Despite Size
Modern cars come with safety features that minimize injury and the risk of death. These are some of the standard ones, but you can add on extras as you wish:
• Side, rear, side-curtain and front airbags.
• Electronic stability control, which stabilizes your car if it spins out of control, and minimizes rollovers.
• Back-up sensors and backup cameras to prevent rear-end collisions.
• Blind spot warning, which uses a camera or sensor to alert the driver of other vehicles in their blind spot as they change lanes.
Weight and Size
Bigger cars are heavier, with the ability to absorb the force of an impact better than smaller cars. Higher weight minimizes damage and risk, and larger hoods have an advantage when it comes to head-on collisions due to a more sizable crumple zone, or crush zone. This refers to the area at the front of the vehicle that is responsible for absorbing most of the impact in a front-end crash.
As the weight of the car goes up, so does its momentum. Consequently, the car requires more time to slow down. When colliding with a smaller vehicle, the energy of the bigger car will transfer to the smaller one, causing it more damage. In addition, the force of the impact can cause injury to the passenger in the smaller car.
Smaller cars also come with a much higher risk when getting into a collision with a larger car. Big cars push smaller cars, boosting the risk of injuries like whiplash.
Safest Type of Vehicle
The type of car that works the best will vary by your needs and that of your family. Perhaps you have small children and safety is a top concern, or maybe you’re looking for a durable car for your new teenage driver. If you’re concerned about the environment, choosing a car that’s more environmentally friendly will be of paramount importance.
Contact Hance’s Uptown Collision Center
Whether you have a small or large car, when you get in an accident, you need collision repair you can depend on. Contact us in Dallas TX at 214-666-5291.
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Visit the blog to learn more about your car. |
INCLUDE Platform
Policy highlights:
• This International Monetary Fund Staff Discussion Note reviews how inequality affects growth and how it develops differently in different contexts. It finds that when the income share of the rich increases, GDP growth tends to decline (indicating that there is no ‘trickle down’ effect). At the same time, when the income share of the bottom 20% grows, there is higher GDP growth. To support growth, it is recommended to support both the poor and the middle class.
• Key findings relevant to emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) include: 1) technological advances and increased differences in wages for people with different skill levels have contributed to inequality, 2) high inequality hampers growth by depriving low-income households of the ability to stay healthy and accumulate physical and human capital, 2) inequality can lead to policies that hurt growth (i.e. by fuelling protectionism), 3) inequality in education has declined over the past 60 years, however, almost 60% of the poorest youth (aged 20–24 years) in Sub-Saharan Africa have fewer than 4 years of schooling, compared to 15% in the richest quintile, and 4) an increase in financial services is associated with rising inequality. In many EMDCs, low-income households and small-scale firms face challenges in accessing financial services due to lack of financial knowledge and market failures. The available financial products tend to be more limited and relatively costly for such groups.
• An increase in redistributive fiscal policies should lead to a decrease in fiscal inequality, if underlying drivers and country-specific policy and institutional settings are considered. Recommendations for policymakers include: 1) supporting financial inclusion, 2) raising average living standards, which can also influence the distribution of income, 3) supporting education, and 4) creating quality jobs by focusing on addressing market imperfections (i.e. installing a minimum wage and creating incentives to move out of informality).
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Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Communism - A survival analysis
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Human generation try to fit into a 4 dimensional survival concepts comprising the Environment, Geography, Economic and Social dimensions, over centuries and their pedigree too progressed under these guidelines. Because of the divergent level of survival targets in the economic and social strata by each human being, wealth accumulation flows unequally among the people. Industrial revolution mechanised the human work, with cost reduction and quality/volume optimization and planted Capitalism in the world, creating a wedge in the wealth accumulation process. This inducted a class war between the owners of wealth versus the workers, who are hired and fired by them. Competition made the capitalist to realise the importance of labour and diluted their concept as “Socialism”. The disproportionate wealth accumulation among people seeded the concept of communism in the world. Communism originated by Marx in Germany, spread to Russia and was promoted by Lenin. Both assumed that the large volume of people in the world belong to the low wealth possessing worker class, will revolt towards equal wealth share, and Communism shall dominate the whole world soon. But both Marx and Lenin were “Social revolutionists” and lacked “futuristic management thoughts” on how the shared wealth will be recycled to grow more, and result in prosperity among the equally shared population ? With this limited thought, the USSR (1922) and the East Germany (GDR-1961) and were created, with the entire wealth of the nation pooled on the apex “State”, representing the entire population. The state became a monopoly and all the people were simple labourers, without any self possessions. The state utilised the labour like a commodity, without any motivation to use their original ideas and any incentive to improve the productive contribution spirit. As a result, the GDR collapsed in 1989 and the USSR dwindled in 1991, bringing an end to the 69 year old Communist concept. Also both started promoting the diametrically opposite Capitalist approach and established cooperation with the (imperialist) USA. Communism could have survived and continued as a guide for wealth and prosperity for all the nations and their people in the world, if the domestic population was considered as “superior” to the “state”. The national wealth owned by the “State” should have been invested in sectorial projects and entrusted to optimum group of people to work, manage and encouraged to meet a targeted quality volume. State should have met all needs of these groups of people. A reasonable share of the net gains should have been distributed in equal proportion to all the people involved, as an incentive. Below targets and loss should have been questioned and corrective action should have been taken. In addition, the productivity and management decision should have been oriented towards ‘socio-economic Development units”. The domestic investment should be made from domestic savings and domestic technology should be manned by the domestic labour.
MPRA is a RePEc service hosted by
the Munich University Library in Germany. |
Disjunctive Pronouns
Les pronoms disjoints
Introduction Introduction
Disjunctive pronouns, also commonly called stressed pronouns, are used in cases of emphasis or isolation:
C’est moi.
I am here.
In English we when someone asks “who’s next in line” we reply with “me” - not “I”. This is because we are using “me” in a disjunctive way. It is the same with French, questions are answered with disjunctive pronouns.
They are also used when there is more than one subject of sentence*:
David et moi allons jouer au football.
David and I are going to play soccer.
In French disjunctive pronouns also serve as prepositional pronouns because they are used after prepositions:
Il pense à moi.
He’s thinking of me.
*This is actually similar to the informal use in English of “David and me” as the subject rather than “David and I” which is frowned upon by grammarians.
Singular First-person
Play moi
me I myself
Play toi
Play elle
her it feminine
Play lui
him it masculine
Play soi
Plural First-person
Play nous
Play vous
you all you formal
Play eux
them masculine
Play elles
them feminine
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Richard Nixon Revisited
Richard Nixon gave his best speech at the end of his presidency, to his staff.
This was an amazing speech of humility and wisdom which I have deep respect for.
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s as a result of the June 17, 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, the President of the United States, on August 9, 1974—the only resignation of a U.S. president to date. The scandal also resulted in the indictment, trial, conviction, and incarceration of forty-three persons, dozens of whom were Nixon’s top administration officials.
The affair began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, the official organization of Nixon’s campaign. In July 1973, as evidence mounted against the president’s staff, including testimony provided by former staff members in an investigation conducted by the Senate Watergate Committee, it was revealed that President Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices and he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he had attempted to cover up the questionable (and illegal) goings-on that had taken place after the break-in. After a protracted series of bitter court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes to government investigators; he ultimately complied.
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Attack On Titan All 9 Titan Shifters Powers Explained
!!!Contains Spoliers !!!
Titan Abilities OverView
Frieda Prepares to Fight Grisha
Frieda bites her hand to transform
In order to transform, the human must suffer an injury that draws blood (often self-harm) while having a solid goal or belief in mind at the moment of injury. Being injured by another person is also sufficient. Once the transformation is initiated, a burst of energy is released, followed by the generation of the Titan body and a release of hot steam. After transforming, the human body rests within the nape of the Titan's neck as the center of control. The human body is also merged with the Titan's flesh inside to varying extents, most frequently on the area of the cheeks below the eyes.
If a Titan form is pushed to its limit, the human will emerge from the nape of its neck, sometimes in a semi-conscious or entirely unconscious state. If a Titan form is not exhausted, then its human form can emerge from the Titan form in full consciousness. In some cases, a human is able to partially emerge from their Titan body without fully leaving the nape.After the power of the Titans is used, oftentimes the area around the emerging human's eyes is marked by dark lines, which resembles the Titan in their possession, for a short period of time.
The ability to transform into a Titan can be hindered by injuries inflicted on the human body. A human can transform into a Titan with injuries as severe as a missing limb, but only if a previous transformation has not occurred recently. If a human emerges from their Titan form and receives severe injury, this person cannot transform into a Titan again until said injuries have healed.
Eren Disfigured Face
Eren getting absorbed into his Titan after multiple transformations
Inheritors of the Nine Titans appear to be resistant to the normal absorption that creates mindless Pure Titans. However, this does not mean that they are immune to it. In the case of Eren Yeager, it has been shown that repeated transformations in a short period of time lead to decreased control over the Titan form, as well as diminished Titan size and power. As such, it seems that there is a limitation on how long a human can remain in a transformed Titan state before risking absorption. The length of time spent in a controllable transformed Titan depends on how skilled the human is, although even the most experienced can become incredibly fatigued for as long as several days after repetitive use. The exception to this appears to be the Cart Titan, which is known for its great endurance. Pieck is able to stay in her Titan form for at least two months.
Porco and Pieck trapped in the confinement area
Galliard and Pieck regenerating
Inheritors also gain their Titan's ability to regenerate, as long as they have the will to live. They are even able to grow back their entire head; however, regeneration from severe injuries such as lost limbs can strain their powers and prevent them from transforming for a period of time, and healing takes much longer as a human than as a Titan. The time it takes to regenerate depends on the extent of the injury and how focused the individual is on healing that area. This healing ability is not absolute, however, and can be overwhelmed if the injury is severe enough. It is also possible to delay the healing, which Eren uses to infiltrate Marley as an injured soldier. The only surefire way to kill a human with the power of the Titans is through severing the brain's connection to the rest of the body, although it is possible to survive even this by transferring the mind to the rest of the nervous system.
Memory inheritance
Armin sees the Colossus Titan in his dream
Armin sees Bertolt in his dream
Those who inherit the Nine Titans are also able to see the memories of previous inheritors to some extent. Blood relations between the inheritors of a Titan play a significant role in passing these memories. The inheritors of the Founding Titan from the Reiss family are able to access memories going back by dozens or perhaps hundreds of generations, while the current inheritor of the Founding Titan, Eren Yeager, is unable to see further back than his father's memories and on only one occasion saw back into the memories of Frieda Reiss who preceded Grisha. Other inheritors of the Nine Titans are shown to be able to see the memories of the previous Titan at the very least. However, this process appears to fail when blood relations are interrupted or not present, as Eren Yeager and Armin Arlert did not receive any memories immediately upon inheriting their Titan forms, and Porco Galliard was unable to see the memories of his brother Marcel, though he could see the memories of Ymir who succeeded Marcel and preceded Porco. Sometimes, the new inheritor will have dreams of a previous one, such as the case of Armin dreaming of Bertolt Hoover's final moments.
Royal blood
Zeke's scream
Zeke's "scream" ability is similar to the Founding Titan's
Royal blood allows the "full use of the power of the Titans." This is common knowledge in Marley. Only descendants of the royal family can fully utilize the Founding Titan's powers. Zeke Yeager, a royal from his mother's side, inherited the Beast Titan, but thanks to his royal blood, he can mimic some of the Founder's abilities, such as creating and controlling Pure Titans and even making them move at night using only moonlight; no other Beast Titan had these abilities. Unlike the Founding Titan, however, the control over Titans is not perfect: the Gluttonous Titan had shown some disobedience to Zeke's orders.
Curse of Ymir
Each person who inherits the Nine Titans is fated with the "Curse of Ymir," which limits their lifespan to only 13 years after first acquiring the power of the Titans. During the last years of their life, their body will weaken until they perish.
9)Cart Titan
The Cart Titan possesses a level of endurance greater than that of the other Nine Titans, allowing for the inheritor to partake in long missions without the need for rest. Its absorption resistance allows it to maintain its Titan form for long periods of time and wear armaments like battle armor, mobile machine gun platforms, and cargo packs for a variety of tactics including the clearing of trenches, and long-term operations into enemy territory. On the downside, the Cart Titan has lower defenses than the other Nine Titans and is more likely to be taken down by a severe blow.
Quadrupedal form
The Cart Titan stands out as unusual among the Nine Titans for its quadrupedal form, which may be the source of its "Cart Titan" name.
The Cart Titan also possesses great speed, similar to the Jaw Titan, which was used during the Battle of Shiganshina to retrieve a defeated Zeke Yeager and Reiner Braun while also catching Levi and Hange, two of the Walls' most talented soldiers off guard
8)Founding Titan
Wall Titans
King Fritz's Colossus Titans
Titan creation
The Founding Titan can transform Subjects of Ymir into Titans, and can even make them as massive as the Colossus Titan. Karl Fritz used this ability to create the thousands of Colossus Titans that make up the Walls.
Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan can also transform Subjects of Ymir into Titans by screaming after injecting those it wishes to transform with its spinal fluid. It is said that Zeke's Beast Titan has abilities similar to the Founding Titan;therefore, it can be assumed that the method for the Founding Titan is similar, if not identical.
Titan control
Eren protects Mikasa
Eren unknowingly uses the Founding Titan's power to protect Mikasa
By screaming, the Founding Titan grants its user the ability to control Titansat will and make them follow virtually any order. This was demonstrated by Eren Yeager, who unintentionally commanded nearby Titans to eat Dina Fritz's Titan and attack the Armored Titan. It was also used by Karl Fritz to build the Walls, commanding many Colossus Titans to harden their bodies and confine themselves into the resulting structures. Over a thousand years earlier, this same ability was used by Ymir Fritz—the first Founding Titan and progenitor of all Titans—who utilized the Titans to accomplish great deeds for her subjects, Eldia's forefathers, though these claims could never be supported. There is no known limit to the Founding Titan, though its range is so extensive as to make Titans perform actions which threaten their own lives. Rod Reiss stated that the power has the capacity to wipe out all the Titans, if used to its full potential.
Memory manipulation
Frieda erases Historia's memory
Frieda Reiss erases Historia's memory
Those who possess the Founding Titan are able to erase or modify the memory of Subjects of Ymir, even entire populations if skilled enough. It was used by Frieda Reiss to remove Historia's memories of her visits, and by the First King to make his subjects forget the history of the world before the Walls' installation, making him one of the few inside the Walls knowledgeable of the world's true status. These memories, however, appear to be accessible in dreams, as Historia would sometimes be able to dream about her encounters with Frieda, although she would forget about them once she awoke. However, non-Subjects of Ymir such as the Ackerman bloodline, the Asian clan, and the noble families are immune to this mental manipulation.
Bloodline necessity
Uri dies
Uri Reiss passes the Founding Titan to Frieda
Only a member of the royal family, either Fritz or Reiss, can make full use of the Founding Titan.However, it appears that if the Founding Titan is held within someone outside of the royal family, the power can still be used if the inheritor is in physical contact with a member of the royal family. This was seen when Eren unleashed the Founding Titan upon striking the hand of Dina Fritz's Titan form, and some time later when Rod and Historia Reiss laid hands on Eren's back, triggering the resurfacing of Grisha Yeager's memories.However, when attempting to see past memories while holding hands with Historia, this method failed. Eren has considered whether touching a royal-blooded Titan will work a second time, though he has not spoken this idea publicly out of concern for Historia's safety.
Despite inheriting the memories of the world and the ability to control the Titans, no Founding Titan of royal blood after the Great Titan War expressed any desire to free humanity from the Titans, even if the inheritor had expressed that desire before inheriting it. This was because these Founding Titans inherited the ideology of Karl Fritz along with his memories. Frieda used to suffer from fits of madness and depression due to those memories, and claimed that Eldians were sinners who deserved their punishment.
7)Colossus Titan
Explosive transformation
Bertolt explodes
Bertolt transforms in Shinganshina District
Although all Titans generate enormous amounts of heat and energy when transforming, the Colossus Titan takes this to the next level. Its users can control the energy produced during their transformation to create various effects. For instance, when Bertolt attacks Trost District his transformation only causes a wind blast that knocks some trainees over the Wall.However, during the Battle of Shiganshina District, Bertolt releases a much larger explosion, creating a mushroom cloud of dust and rubble, ravaging part of the city, and killing a great number of Survey Corps soldiers. Armin Arlert also uses this ability to wipe out most of, if not all of the Marleyan naval fleet present at the Battle of Liberio.
The Colossus Titan is infamous for its incredible size, standing at a previously unseen 60 meters, high enough to peer over the top of the Walls. While the Pure Titans which form the foundations of the Walls also possess incredible height and a lack of skin similar to Bertolt's Titan, despite the former not possessing the power of the Titans, it appears that the size of the Colossus Titan is also a trait which is inherited in each successor, as evidenced by Zeke Yeager's opinion that an individual with the power of the Titans inherited from Bertolt provided assistance to Eren Yeager in destroying the 32 Marleyan scouting ships sent to Paradis Island.
Steam emission
The Colossus Titan releases a burst of steam to escape from Eren in Trost District
The Colossus Titan using a burst of steam to escape from Eren
However, prolonged use of this ability takes a toll on the Titan, decreasing muscle mass gradually until only the skeletal structure remains. In some cases when it is necessary, the Colossus Titan is capable of evaporating its entire body at once, disappearing instantly. This does put the user in a position of great vulnerability, with no way of preventing a fall from a great height where the Titan form once was. However, this disadvantage can be alleviated if the user is wearing vertical maneuvering equipment.
6)Jaw Titan
Speed and agility
Those who hold the power of the Jaw Titan demonstrate significant amounts of speed and agility in their Titan form, they can even move fast enough to catch one of the Nine Titans off guard. Though the Jaw Titan is relatively small and weak, its mobility excels in terrain such as Titan Forests.
Crushing strength
The Jaw Titan also possesses, as its name implies, an incredible biting and crushing strength in its jaws and nails which can be used with devastating efficiency against both Titans and man-made structures.Its claws are strong enough to cause severe damage to armored opponents such as turrets and even the crystal shell created by the War Hammer Titan. The force of the jaw is shown to be strong enough to chew through the hardened Titan armor generated by Eren as well as the aforementioned crystal shell surrounding the War Hammer Titan, something, not even the Attack Titan was able to achieve.
5)Beast Titan
Powerful throwing
On its own, the Beast Titan is noted as being slightly larger than most of the other Nine Titans. It possesses a devastating ability to throw objects with great accuracy. This is notably used by Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan during the battle of Shiganshina District to wipe out most of the Survey Corps with crushed rocks and at the Battle of Fort Slava, where it performed the role of heavy artillery, launching missiles and wiping out the entire Mid-East Allied Forces fleet.
The Beast Titan is able to harden its body at will to protect itself from attacks. During his brief battle with Levi, Zeke Yeager tries to harden the nape of the Beast Titan to protect himself. However, this ability needs some time to prepare, as Levi is able to attack Zeke before he can harden his Titan.
Zeke Yeager's abilities
Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan has unique abilities that no other Beast Titan had, thanks to his royal blood. The nature of its power is similar to that of the Founding Titan.
Titan creation
Zeke's scream
Zeke's scream turning Subjects of Ymir into Titans
With his royal blood, one of the most perilous attributes of Zeke's Beast Titan is the ability to turn Subjects of Ymir into Titans. If a person is given Zeke's spinal fluid he is able to transform them with a roar, much like the scream-based abilities of the Founding Titanand the Female Titan. This ability can be used to devastating effect on the unsuspecting, such as the initiation of the Wall Rose invasion after the residents of Ragako were turned into Titans with the Beast Titan's power,and when the Marleyan military made use of this power to drop Titans onto Fort Slava in an airstrike.
Titan control
Zeke's Beast Titan is able to exercise some control over Pure Titans through a scream-based ability. Using vocal commands, the Beast Titan is able to direct the actions of Pure Titans and can command them to move, resist the urge to eat humans, and stay in place. Titans under Zeke's control are even able to function using only moonlight without falling into fatigue. However, this ability is evidently imperfect; some Titans like the Gluttonous Titan can somewhat ignore Zeke's Beast Titan's orders.
4)Female Titan
Titan attraction
Similar to the Founding Titan and Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan, the Female Titan is able to exercise some influence over Pure Titans through a scream-based ability;it possesses the ability to attract Pure Titans. Annie Leonhart used this ability to gather Titans on Paradis Island to the Wallsduring the fall of Wall Maria.
The downside of the attraction ability is that once the Titans following the Female arrive at her location, they will attack the Female Titan and eat its body. Under normal circumstances, this could lead to disaster for the user of the Female, but on some occasions, this phenomenon can be used to their advantage. With vertical maneuvering equipment, the user can escape from the Female Titan as other Titans consume its body, and the steam emitted from the continuously inflicted wounds can serve as a cover for the user if they do not desire to be seen.
The Female Titan is also known for its high endurance and mobility, the greatest instance of this being the journey to the Walls, where Annie Leonhart ran what can be deduced as near to the coastline of Paradis Island to the distant Walls, although this exhausted her to the point of resting in bed for several hours.
The Female Titan's hardened fist
The Female Titan hardens its fist to deal a severe blow to the Attack Titan
In addition to her Titan's scream ability, Annie Leonhart possessed the ability to harden her skin to diamond-like strength, able to shatter blades of ultrahard steel upon contact. She can also use this ability while coming out of her Titan's nape to create a diamond-like cocoon.Besides its defensive properties, Annie's hardening gives her melee attacks significantly stronger power, with a single well-placed blow being capable of dismembering or even decapitating an enemy Titan.
3)Armored Titan
Armored skin
Mikasa attacks Armored Titan
Mikasa fails to break through the Armored Titan's hardened skin
The defining feature of the Armored Titan is the all-encompassing layer of plated, armor-like segments of hardened skin protecting the Titan body. This armor is capable of protecting the Titan form from significant amounts of damage, even a direct hit from a cannon or the ultrahard steel blades of vertical maneuvering equipment. However, the armor has some limitations and is not capable of protecting the user from high-power weaponry such as the Mid-East Allied Forces' anti-Titan artillery.
One disadvantage of the Armored Titan's skin is the decreased speed of the Titan form. Whether due to increased weight or restrained movement, the Armored Titan is only capable of maintaining moderate running speeds when completely armored.This can be alleviated if the user chooses to shed segments of the armor to increase movement capability, such as the armor behind the knees, enabling the Titan to move with incredible speed.
2)War Hammer Titan
Hardened Weapon Creation
Weapon creation in action
Structural hardening
The War Hammer Titan can produce and manipulate structures that are made up of hardened Titan flesh. The structures can be weaponized—forming pikes large enough to impale and lift a Titan, flood areas with protrusions such as spikes, and manifest its signature war hammer.[3][4] This ability can also create flexible weapons, such as the string of a crossbow or the whips of a cat-o'-nine-tails out of its own brand of hardening.[5]
Much like the Female Titan, this hardening can also be used to encase the human operator of the War Hammer in a crystalline barrier.[6] While durable, this crystal can be damaged when struck or crushed by a more resilient structure, such as the Jaw Titan's claws and teeth.[7][8]
Remote operation
War hammer cord
The cable that connects the War Hammer Titan to its operator
Unlike any other Titan, it is possible for the War Hammer Titan's operator to remove its control center from its nape. If this is the case, the body of the Titan will be connected to its operator by a long "string of flesh" starting from the left heel of the Titan; this is how the operator controls the Titan. If the cable is severed, the War Hammer Titan is rendered inactive, although a new body can still be made.Unlike the other Nine Titans , the Titan body emerges from the ground upon transformation, instead of its nape.
This ability, when combined with the hardening abilities, makes the War Hammer Titan incredibly difficult to defeat: the Titan itself has no weak spots and the human operator is protected inside an extremely durable crystal shell.
1) Attack Titan
Eren didn't have the hardening power initially. His power is the mixture of Founding Titan Attack Titan. But later he gained the hardening ability. His this new ability was shown in the manga, not in the anime series.
Titan control
Eren protects Mikasa
Eren unknowingly uses the Founding Titan's power to protect Mikasa
By screaming, the Founding Titan grants its user the ability to control Titansat will and make them follow virtually any order. This was demonstrated by Eren Yeager, who unintentionally commanded nearby Titans to eat Dina Fritz's Titan and attack the Armored Titan But due to Eren lacking Royal Blood He can't utilize all the abilities of the Founding titan He was only able to unleash the powers as making brief contact with Dina Fritz in her titan form.
Berserker Mode?
This is a popular fan theory but it hasn't been confirmed in the manga. This started due to the dark red/ fiery appearance while Eren (Attack Titan) was Attacking Annie (Female Titan) In Season 1
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Presumption - Biblical Cyclopedia
Presumption as it relates to the mind, is a supposition formed before examination. As it relates to the conduct or moral action, it implies arrogance or irreverence. As it relates to religion in general, it is a bold and daring confidence in the goodness of God, without obedience to his will.
Presumptuous sins must be distinguished from sins of infirmity, or those failings peculiar to human nature (Ec 7:20; 1Jo 1:8-9); from sins done through ignorance (Lu 12:48); and from sins into which men are hurried by sudden and violent temptation (Ga 6:1). The ingredients which render sin presumptuous are knowledge (Joh 15:22), deliberation and contrivance (Pr 6:14; Ps 36:4), obstinacy (Jer 44:16; De 1:13), inattention to the remonstrances of conscience (Ac 7:51), opposition to the dispensations of Providence (2Ch 28:22), and repeated commission of the same sin (Ps 78:17). Presumptuous sins are numerous, such as profane swearing, perjury, theft, adultery, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, etc. These may be more particularly considered as presumptuous sins, because they are generally committed against a known law, and are so often repeated. Such sins are most heinous in their nature and most pernicious in their effects. They are said to be a reproach to the Lord (Nu 15:3); they harden the heart (1Ti 4:2); draw down judgments from heaven (Nu 15:31); and even when repented of, they are seldom pardoned without some visible testimony of God's displeasure (2Sa 12:10). As respects professors of religion, one observes, they sin presumptuously
"Presumption." topical outline.
Bible concordance for PRESUMPTION.
(5) when they run into temptation;
Verse reference tagging and popups powered by VerseClick™. |
[ see-der ]
/ ˈsi dər /
a person or thing that seeds.
any of various apparatus for sowing seeds in the ground, ranging from simple devices that deposit seed evenly over a plot of land to complex machines that prepare a hole in the earth, insert a seed or seeds at the proper depth, and cover the hole again.
a plant that produces many seeds, especially one grown mainly to produce seeds for growing other plants.
a device or utensil for removing seeds, as from grapefruit.
a device used to scatter particles of silver iodide, carbon dioxide, etc., in clouds to induce precipitation.
Nearby words
1. seedbed,
2. seedcake,
3. seedcase,
4. seedeater,
5. seeded,
6. seedless,
7. seedless plant,
8. seedling,
9. seedman,
10. seedpod
Origin of seeder
before 950; Middle English sedere, Old English sǣdere. See seed, -er1 Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for seeder
British Dictionary definitions for seeder
/ (ˈsiːdə) /
a person or thing that seeds
a device used to remove seeds, as from fruit, etc
any of various devices for sowing grass seed or grain on the surface of the ground |
In-Depth Articles
Mills and Machinery from Medieval to Colonial Times
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening Science/Technology Lesson Plan included Original Document included
One of the most enduring legacies of the Middle Ages was the intensification of powered machinery in society. While most of the mechanical elements known to the Middle Ages were known to the Romans (with the likely exception of the crank), European innovators took great pride in elaborating on those mechanical components. By the 15th century, especially, Europeans began inventing new and fabulous machinery — Leonardo's flying machines are only one well-known example.
In this lesson, a number of images and documents from the transitional period from the Middle Ages to the American colonial experience illustrate the mechanical toolkit with which the settlers had to work.
Agostino Ramelli
Clockwork Mill and gristmill from ‘Le diverse et artificiose machine' (trans. as The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli)
trans. M.T. Gnudi and E.S. Ferguson (NY: Dover, 1994) plate XXX
Ramelli Clockwork Ramelli Treadwheel Ramelli Pump
Agostino Ramelli (c1531-c1600) came from Italy but ended up in the service of the armies of the Marquis de Marignan and of the Duc d'Anjou who later became King Henry III of France. Late in life, his fame as an engineer inspired him to publish the most lavishly-illustrated technical book in history at the time, filled with "diverse and artificial" (that is, not natural but rather of the mind and hand of men) machinery including waterwheels, mills, pumps, cranes, sawmills, military bridges, siege weapons. Although many of his machines are relatively impractical, they do demonstrate the attention to inventive detail in gearing and machinery that characterized the Renaissance Artist-Engineers (a group to which Leonardo da Vinci certainly belongs).
Implicit in most of his machines is waterpower, which by the latter middle ages had become the standard form of motive power for all industrial and agricultural mills. Although Ramelli is clearly interested in more than waterwheels, they can be used as a centralized power source to drive many parts of the machine.
See also the Smithsonian Institution's online exhibit about Ramelli.
1. For each of the three mills, explain how they function. Identify what all the parts do in the mill (we suggest having students be asked to identify the letter labels or else to break into teams to determine which parts for sub-components of the mill). Identify the millstones and the hopper, and then different types of gears, as well as the motive force.
2. For the first mill, with all the ropes, what other technologies use the kinds of machinery that Ramelli is using in his mill? [hint, think smaller]
3. For the second mill, what other ways could this mill be driven?
4. For the third mill, what is it designed to accomplish? How do the oblong gears (G and H) function? Would they work?
5. Have the students talk about the practicality of Ramelli's mills? Why is this or should this be a consideration? Can you think of modern technologies for which practicality is really not the primary concern?
Nicholas Bloy, Engineer
"The Severall Engines that Nicholas Bloy Engineer professeth," 1620
From Early English Books Online, STC 3138.5
Source Text
Absolutely nothing is known about Bloy beyond this unique broadsheet. In the early 17th-century London, however, numerous men ("projectors" for they proposed all sorts of "projects") were known in and around the Elizabethan and Stuart courts. The most famous of these was Cornelius Drebble (1572-1634), a mathematician and engineer from Holland who attended the court of James I, inventing, among other things, a self-regulating oven, pumping engines for the City of London, clocks, a supposed perpetual motion machine, and even a 12-person submarine that could remain underwater for hours. Drebble seems to have actually constructed many of these machines, and other inventors at the time sought similar patronage. Some found support from the Marquis of Worcester, who seems to have patronized a sort of ‘invention factory' in Vauxhall (just upriver from London). Whether these projectors ever delivered on their many ideas is unclear; it is clear, however, that the 17th century was a time ripe for invention.
1. Have students break up into teams and suggest what any of these inventions of Bloy's actually are (there is lots of room for speculation here.)
2. Are the machines designed for a certain industry or industries? Why?
3. Who would be interested in Bloy's set of 9 inventions?
4. Of what use would this sort of approach be to a colonial venture?
Oliver Evans
The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide
Pearce Mill Oliver Evans Mill
Oliver Evans is celebrated as one of the first great American engineers. Born in Delaware in 1755, Evans became an inventor in his early 20s, working on all sorts of mechanical problems like the carding of wool, dredging, steam engines, and especially mills. His great contribution to milling technology was that he figured out ways, using nothing but gears and belt drives, to automate fully a flour mill. According to his treatise, The Young Mill-wright and Millers' Guide (1809), the mill would be powered by water (or steam) the farmer would unload his sacks of grain into the hopper at the door and the mill would move the grain through the millstones, automatically delivering flour to the waiting boats below. As Betsey McAndrew puts it, "Oliver Evans changed the daily routine of the miller by inventing elevators, conveyors, rolling screens or grain cleaners, and the hopper boy. He not only made the life of the miller easier, but he also started a trend of improving technology in milling and other industries."
See also the Pond Lilly Mill Restoration pages about Evans.
1. Identify the flow of the grain from when it enters the mill via the wagon at the lower right to its exit as flour in barrels loaded onto the ship in the lower left. Trace the paths and identify the processes, if you can.
2. What is the advantage to a mill like Evans'?
3. To what need was Evans responding?
pdf Download this article as a PDF file |
Atonement By Any Other Name
For yf when we were enemyes we were reconciled to God by the deeth of his sonne: moche more seinge we are reconciled we shal be preservid by his lyfe. Not only so but we also ioye in God by the meanes of oure Lorde Iesus Christ by whom we have receavyd the attonment.
- Romans 5:11 (Tyndale Bible, AD1526)
The Christian martyr, William Tyndale lived in the early 16th century. He died a horrible death for “heresy” after being betrayed by a dear friend. He was strangled and then burned at the stake. What was his crime? He translated the New Testament from the original Greek language into English for the very first time.
Despite the government’s disapproval and attempts to suppress it, the Tyndale Bible sold like hot cakes. Less than 100 years later, the Tyndale Bible became the foundation of the beautiful King James Bible published in 1611. Some of us are still familiar with the incredible prose of the King James Bible. Tyndale bears direct responsible for many of the turns of phrase and poetic arrangements of the Biblical text in English still found in our modern translations. For example, he invented the phraseology we find in Luke 22:62 (NIV), “And he went outside and wept bitterly.” What a gorgeously haunting phrase!
Tyndale also is responsible for inventing the only theological term of English origin, “atonement.” He needed a word that would capture the sense of the Greek word which means “to be brought together again.” So he created a brand new word by pressing two other words together. “At onement” became “atonement.” The death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the dead is our atonement. Because of the cross and empty tomb, we are “at one” with God again.
But no one word is sufficient to describe God’s atonement on the cross. Scripture uses metaphor after metaphor to paint a picture of what happened in that most incredible moment in history. The immense reality of Calvary stretches language far beyond the breaking point.
In our Gospel lesson Sunday we experienced the atonement in terms of our sense of smell. The cross and resurrection is like smelling an aroma that brings calm and relaxation. It’s the lavender candle, Grandma’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and the smell of the oily hands of a loving hard-working father.
As you read through Scripture, listen for the atonement metaphors and let God use them to reveal to you the miracle of the atonement. Let them roll around in your mind and imagination. And then give thanks.
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mathematical-optimization , Verify if a number X can be generated based on a combination of a series (a,b,c)
Tag: mathematical-optimization
I'm going crazy trying to figure out a way to make a program that does not try every single combination. A simple example: I want to know if 11 can be generated by adding up numbers from the series (2,5,10,20), is there an easy way to do this without trying every single possibility? In this case we can do it with three 2s and one 5. Thanks
I think I worked up some kind of a solution
1. You must order your list, from higher to lower. It gives us [20, 10, 5, 2]
2. Then, we're gonna work with some kind of a stack.
we begin with n=0
a. you put the n'th element of your list at the top of the stack.
b. If the sum of numbers into your stack is greater than the targeted number, you remove the last element of your stack and return to point a. with n=n+1. if the element you remove from the stack is your lower number, then you also remove the element below, and return to point a. with n=(index of last removed number in your set)+1
c. if it is not, you try to add it one more time, and return to point b.
d. this algorithm is recursive, it stops when you remove the last number from your stack, and this number is your lower number (then you can't generate the number from your set), or when the sum of numbers in your stack is equal to your target number (then you can generate it from your set)
run example : target 11, set [20,10,5,2]
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The air relay and the force balance principle.
The air relay and the force balance principle
Air amplifiers balance input pressure and output pressure. An air relay, on the other hand (illustrated in Figure 7.5), balances input pressure with the force from a range spring. An increasing input signal causes air to pass from the supply to the load, while a decreasing input signal causes air to vent from the load. In the centre of the input signal range, there is no net flow to or from the output port.
Process control pneumatics-0192
An air relay is used to linearise a flapper-nozzle, as shown in Figure 7.6. Here, force from the unbalance in input pressures P1 and P2 is matched exactly by the force from the feedback bellows whose pressure is regulated by the air relay.
Suppose flow in the pipe increases, causing pressure difference P1-P2 to increase. Increased force from the bellows at the top decreases the flapper gap causing pressure at the air relay input to
Process control pneumatics-0193
rise. This causes air to pass to the feedback bellows, which apply a force opposite to that from the signal bellows.
The system balances when the input pressure from the flapper nozzle to the air relay (point A) is at the centre of its range at which point the air relay neither passes air nor vents the feedback bellows.
This corresponds to a fixed flapper-nozzle gap.
Figure 7.6 thus illustrates an example of a feedback system where the pressure in the feedback bellows is adjusted by the air relay to maintain a constant flapper-nozzle gap. The force from the feedback bellows thus matches the force from the input signal bellows, and output pressure is directly proportional to (P1-P2). The output pressure, driven directly from the air relay, can deliver a large air volume.
The arrangement in Figure 7.6 effectively operates with a fixed flapper-nozzle gap. This overcomes the inherent non-linearity of the flapper-nozzle. It is known as the force balance principle and is the basis of most pneumatic process control devices.
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Compressor types:Piston compressors,Screw compressors,Rotary compressors and Dynamic compressors.
Process Control Pneumatics:signals and standards
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How to Write a Screenplay
Writing a screenplay for a feature film is something that comes naturally to a select few, but typically requires a serious focus and dedication to gain the skills necessary to master. If you’re a little nervous about it, that’s okay, because it means you’re not alone. After all, screenwriting isn’t something that we learn in grammar school, but there are a tonne of resources through books, communities, forums, online resources and schooling that can guide the articulate wordsmith from a beginner to expert!How to format a screenplay isn’t as complicated as you may think at first glance. But the truth is that screenwriting is within your grasp. Screenplay is a piece of writing for a television program or a movie. Screenplay writing is an art to putting down the scenarios of a movie or a TV program. One should not be professionally trained to become a screenplay writer, however, different abilities like storytelling, good depth in the language and creativity is needed.
One should know the art of writing a script. The basic rules of screenplay writing include the rules and the formatting. In common terms, a screenplay is an approximately 19-20 pages write-up which are written on an A4 sheet. The font Courier is generally used for screenplay writing. A screenplay can be an original story from the writer or it also can be a write up based on a true story. This is known as the heart of the film or a TV program. The different rules like transitions, shots, extensions are included while doing screenplay writing.
Once you have your story ready, it has to be put in a format which includes Margins, Font, and Use of continued, dialogue breaking, formatting character, scene transitions and much more. Keeping the most important thing in mind, that a screenplay is an illustration and your characters events or proceedings move the narrative ahead from scene to scene. Actions demonstrate the viewers what it desires to know. Your characters’ conversation chains the actions.
Every time the characters shift to a different location, a brand new scene caption is required. Conversation or dialogues are generally positioned in the center of the page beneath the character’s name, which is at all times in all block letters when utilized as a dialogue title.
There is a lot more to learn on this subject. This only scratches the surface of how to format a screenplay. Keep putting in the time and research and it will pay off. There are various places other than schools to acquire the knowledge that it takes to become a screenwriter or even a director. There is a set of skills that is required to be able to complete a screen ply or direct a movie. You just have to acquire those skills whether it be from reading on How the great play writers of our time got started and study the techniques they used that made them great. Or take classes from a local screenwriter, attend webinars on screenwriting, find forums on screenwriting and read and ask questions.
If you have found yourself in need of an Orlando Traffic Ticket and DUI Attorney, Call Joe at 850-Call-Joe. It’s never an easy situation to be in, but Joe can help. |
wildhood welcome
Share what you have gathered wildly.
CHCB 467
Missoula, MT 59802
Wildhood is kinship of the wild in all people, places, and things.
Welcome the wild.
Thrownness - Problem - Purpose - Questions
Mark Douglas
Involvement is an integration of lived bodies and landscapes whereby corporeal orientation is given by place and the somebody that is engaged and enmeshed with the sensory array of sensuous surfaces (Seamon, forthcoming; Casey, 2009). Through receptivity and attentiveness, constituents become attuned to and involved with background social practices and cultivated meaningful distinctions that arise in their wilderness perspectives (James, 2013). Backhaus (2009) has articulated symbolic landscapes as co-constitutions of people and place. Meaning making is an embodied existential enactment of an experiential interpretation through the skilled appropriation of the wild place. Being-in-wilderness, that is, involving oneself with and dwelling in a wild place, founds the disclosure of significance by granting clearance to the interplay of nature and culture. Wilderness meaning is embodied by people that dwell in wild places. Somebody articulates the meanings through familiarity, care, and involved dealings with the environment. The skilled coping practices that people perform in the wild place involvements subtlety disclose how wilderness matters to them. Wildhood comes by being receptive and attentive to the wilderness in a way that allows somebody to gather and share mutual resonance and reverence for the human and non-human worlds.
Conservation scientists and natural resource decision makers need the most complete understanding of the significance and meanings that are gathered as people involve themselves with wilderness areas. This includes a need for understanding of the embodied meaning that is gathered and comported in regard to a wild place. These understandings are even more important when there are conflicting sociocultural and individual perceptions of the importance of wild places. The importance of those understandings gains even more prominence when conflicting perceptions influence the legal actions taken against public lands agencies.
Conservation social scientists need enhanced comprehension of the significant meanings embedded in wild places. The #Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005, pp. 101-102) identified “major gaps in information” and “considerable uncertainty” relative to the dynamics and influence that cultural meanings have on ecosystem decision making. #Chan and others (2012) show that strictly computational thinking ignores the depth needed to understand the values, benefits, and sociocultural meaning of ecosystems. This demonstrates a knowledge gap in conservation science. There is widespread academic discourse and debate on human-nature interaction and scholars in many fields have addressed these important questions. Within the human dimensions of natural resources, scholars such as McCool (2008), Williams (2008), and Schroeder (2012) have all explored the co-constitution of landscapes in which people consciously and unconsciously share meanings. Within human geography, scholars such as Malpas (2011), Casey (2009), and Backhaus (2009) give interpretations of environmental embodiment, intertwinement, enmeshment, and entanglement. Seamon (forthcoming, n.p.) introduced eco-embodiment as “the various lived ways, sensorily and motility-wise, that the body in its pre-reflective perceptual presence engages and synchronizes with the world at hand.”
However, none of these works address the central question of what a systematic analysis of wild place comportment by land users, agency stewards, and representatives of various citizen associations reveal. Despite excellent work on sense of place and place attachment, scholars examining the diversity of environmental meaning have not yet fully explored the important role of ecological embodiment in creating and sustaining wilderness. But without such an understanding, conservation social scientists are left with inadequate analyses that produce ill-informed policy decisions and a self-sustaining cycle of misunderstanding and resentment of the stewardship practices intended to safeguard and sustain wild landscapes of significance.
Statement of Purpose and Research Questions
This project is unique because it addresses an under-researched area of wilderness social science. What distinguishes this study is its approach to connecting the lived worlds of wilderness constituents with the referential stance they take on wild place meaning. It is unique in its typological investigation of the existential realm of wilderness meaning. It investigates and reconfigures what previous research has called “the symbolic values of wilderness” (Cole, 2005; Schroeder, 2007) and what the researcher calls wildhood.
The study takes a constructivist research approach leading to practical outcomes. Social constructivism focuses on an individual’s learning that takes place through their involvements. This relates directly to the problematic element dealing with inadequate attunement to eco-embodiment. There is a range of significant embodiments that discursively co-constitute the wilderness meaning gathered and shared about wilderness areas. Through a better understanding of these wild place embodiments, better informed and more justified decisions can be made by wilderness stewards. The purpose of this study is to conduct a close and fine-grained analysis of ecological embodiment that discovers that in contrast to previous assumptions, in fact wilderness areas are constituted by sociocultural significance and meaning that is gathered and shared there in people, places, and things. Addressing the previous assumptions will require better understandings of the essential structures and processes of wild place eco-embodiment as wildhood. These understandings and descriptions will found implications for wilderness stewardship planning and communication practices. To pursue the purpose, the following research questions are addressed:
1) What are the independent aspects ecological embodiment comported by a) wilderness stewardship agency staff members, b) regional outfitters, c) gateway community business people; and d) various recreational user groups? That is, what are the independent dimensions of wildhood?
2) What are the divergent aspects of ecological embodiment comported by a) wilderness stewardship agency staff members, b) regional outfitters, c) gateway community business people; and d) various recreational user groups? That is, what are the tensions of wildhood?
3) What are the convergent aspects of ecological embodiment comported by a) wilderness stewardship agency staff members, b) regional outfitters, c) gateway community business people; and d) various recreational user groups? That is, what are the imbrications of wildhood? |
Language learning briiiiiiii
About briiiiiiii
Native language: English
Country: United States
Gender: Female
Birth Date: June 8
Birth Year: 1998
Learning since: 2016-11-19
1 year ago
Language exchange
Wants to learn: Japanese
Knows: English
Level: 10
XP: 16595
Learning language
Linguti | Online language learning courses
Linguti is a language learning platform which helps to practice and learn a language. The software includes varied language lessons and exercies which are focused on different tasks. Linguti online language course helps to learn and practice writing, reading and listening. Learners study new vocabulary and how to construct sentences according to the provided grammar patterns.
The online language course is divided on small-sized chunks which clearly state what learners are going to practice. This learning software is first teaching you new grammar and vocabulary through different kinds of language lessons, like listening, writing or multiple choice question. Later, it tests your skills and knowledge with graded reviews.
With Linguti learners can study a new language similar way as they were participating in a language class. In opposite to classroom learning, this language learning method allows users to adjust the pace and learn a language whenever they want to. They can repeat online language lessons as many times as they need and redo language reviews to improve their grades.
• Language learning lessons |
By Lera Boroditsky
Dispatches on the Future of Science
Edited By Max Brockman
Clearly, languages require different things of their speakers. Does this mean that the speakers think differently about the world? Do English, Indonesian, Russian, and Turkish speakers end up attending to, partitioning, and remembering their experiences differently just because they speak different languages? For some scholars, the answer to these questions has been an obvious yes. Just look at the way people talk, they might say. Certainly, speakers of different languages must attend to and encode strikingly different aspects of the world just so they can use their language properly.
Scholars on the other side of the debate don't find the differences in how people talk convincing. All our linguistic utterances are sparse, encoding only a small part of the information we have available. Just because English speakers don't include the same information in their verbs that Russian and Turkish speakers do doesn't mean that English speakers aren't paying attention to the same things; all it means is that they're not talking about them. It's possible that everyone thinks the same way, notices the same things, but just talks differently.
Such a priori arguments about whether or not language shapes thought have gone in circles for centuries, with some arguing that it's impossible for language to shape thought and others arguing that it's impossible for language not to shape thought. Recently my group and others have figured out ways to empirically test some of the key questions in this ancient debate, with fascinating results. So instead of arguing about what must be true or what can't be true, let's find out what is true.
People's ideas of time differ across languages in other ways. For example, English speakers tend to talk about time using horizontal spatial metaphors (e.g., "The best is ahead of us," "The worst is behind us"), whereas Mandarin speakers have a vertical metaphor for time (e.g., the next month is the "down month" and the last month is the "up month"). Mandarin speakers talk about time vertically more often than English speakers do, so do Mandarin speakers think about time vertically more often than English speakers do? Imagine this simple experiment. I stand next to you, point to a spot in space directly in front of you, and tell you, "This spot, here, is today. Where would you put yesterday? And where would you put tomorrow?" When English speakers are asked to do this, they nearly always point horizontally. But Mandarin speakers often point vertically, about seven or eight times more often than do English speakers.4
Even basic aspects of time perception can be affected by language. For example, English speakers prefer to talk about duration in terms of length (e.g., "That was a short talk," "The meeting didn't take long"), while Spanish and Greek speakers prefer to talk about time in terms of amount, relying more on words like "much" "big", and "little" rather than "short" and "long" Our research into such basic cognitive abilities as estimating duration shows that speakers of different languages differ in ways predicted by the patterns of metaphors in their language. (For example, when asked to estimate duration, English speakers are more likely to be confused by distance information, estimating that a line of greater length remains on the test screen for a longer period of time, whereas Greek speakers are more likely to be confused by amount, estimating that a container that is fuller remains longer on the screen.)5
To test whether differences in color language lead to differences in color perception, we compared Russian and English speakers' ability to discriminate shades of blue. In Russian there is no single word that covers all the colors that English speakers call "blue." Russian makes an obligatory distinction between light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy). Does this distinction mean that siniy blues look more different from goluboy blues to Russian speakers? Indeed, the data say yes. Russian speakers are quicker to distinguish two shades of blue that are called by the different names in Russian (i.e., one being siniy and the other being goluboy) than if the two fall into the same category.
Even what might be deemed frivolous aspects of language can have far-reaching subconscious effects on how we see the world. Take grammatical gender. In Spanish and other Romance languages, nouns are either masculine or feminine. In many other languages, nouns are divided into many more genders ("gender" in this context meaning class or kind). For example, some Australian Aboriginal languages have up to sixteen genders, including classes of hunting weapons, canines, things that are shiny, or, in the phrase made famous by cognitive linguist George Lakoff, "women, fire, and dangerous things."
What it means for a language to have grammatical gender is that words belonging to different genders get treated differently grammatically and words belonging to the same grammatical gender get treated the same grammatically. Languages can require speakers to change pronouns, adjective and verb endings, possessives, numerals, and so on, depending on the noun's gender. For example, to say something like "my chair was old" in Russian (moy stul bil' stariy), you'd need to make every word in the sentence agree in gender with "chair" (stul), which is masculine in Russian. So you'd use the masculine form of "my," "was," and "old." These are the same forms you'd use in speaking of a biological male, as in "my grandfather was old." If, instead of speaking of a chair, you were speaking of a bed (krovat'), which is feminine in Russian, or about your grandmother, you would use the feminine form of "my," "was," and "old."
1 S. C. Levinson and D. P. Wilkins, eds., Grammars of Space: Explorations in Cognitive Diversity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
2 Levinson, Space in Language and Cognition: Explorations in Cognitive Diversity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003).
4 L. Boroditsky, "Do English and Mandarin Speakers Think Differently About Time?" Proceedings of the 48th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society (2007): 34.
5 D. Casasanto et al., "How Deep Are Effects of Language on Thought? Time Estimation in Speakers of English, Indonesian Greek, and Spanish," Proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (2004): 575–80.
Ibid., "How Deep Are Effects of Language on Thought? Time Estimation in Speakers of English and Greek" (in review); L. Boroditsky, "Does Language Shape Thought? English and Mandarin Speakers' Conceptions of Time." Cognitive Psychology 43, no. 1(2001): 1–22.
7 L. Boroditsky et al. "Sex, Syntax, and Semantics," in D. Gentner and S. Goldin-Meadow, eds., Language in Mind: Advances in the Study of Language and Cognition (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003), 61–79.
8 L. Boroditsky, "Linguistic Relativity," in L. Nadel ed., Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (London: MacMillan, 2003), 917–21; B. W. Pelham et al., "Why Susie Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Implicit Egotism and Major Life Decisions." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82, no. 4(2002): 469–86; A. Tversky & D. Kahneman, "The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice." Science 211(1981): 453–58; P. Pica et al., "Exact and Approximate Arithmetic in an Amazonian Indigene Group." Science 306(2004): 499–503; J. G. de Villiers and P. A. de Villiers, "Linguistic Determinism and False Belief," in P. Mitchell and K. Riggs, eds., Children's Reasoning and the Mind (Hove, UK: Psychology Press, in press); J. A. Lucy and S. Gaskins, "Interaction of Language Type and Referent Type in the Development of Nonverbal Classification Preferences," in Gentner and Goldin-Meadow, 465–92; L. F. Barrett et al., "Language as a Context for Emotion Perception," Trends in Cognitive Sciences 11(2007): 327–32.
Dispatches on the Future of Science
Edited By Max Brockman
If these authors are the future of science, then the science of the future will be one exciting ride! Find out what the best minds of the new generation are thinking before the Nobel Committee does. A fascinating chronicle of the big, new ideas that are keeping young scientists up at night. Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness
"A preview of the ideas you're going to be reading about in ten years." — Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought
"Brockman has a nose for talent." — Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author The Black Swan
"Capaciously accessible, these writings project a curiosity to which followers of science news will gravitate." — Booklist
John Brockman, Editor and Publisher
Russell Weinberger, Associate Publisher
contact: editor@edge.org
Copyright © 2009 By Edge Foundation, Inc
All Rights Reserved. |
Op-Ed; Opinion
Will basic income cause inflation?
I recently led a roundtable discussion on basic income at National Chengchi University (NCCU), which was attended by students from various countries. The participants vigorously debated whether a basic income would result in inflation, with some parties worrying that the greater spending power will push up the demand for goods and, in turn, prices. The increased prices could possibly erode much of the spending power from a basic income.
To confirm whether these worries were justified, I reached out to three experts on basic income (BI), co-editors of the Ethics and Economics of a Basic Income Guarantee, to see what the research says about basic income and inflation.
It turns out: it depends.
Overall, the scholars agreed that there could be some areas where prices are pushed up, but that it would depend on how the BI is implemented.
Knowledge about the topic is limited since none of the BI research has looked at inflation, nor have the experiments been long enough to get a true idea of the BI’s effect on prices.
Dr. Steven Pressmen, former professor of Economics and Finance at Monmouth University, said this means economists “therefore must fall back on theory to answer the question about the inflationary consequences of a BIG (basic income guarantee).”
Dr. Michael Lewis, associate professor at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, added that “multiple variables affect inflation”: if government spending is reduced in some area after a basic income is introduced, there would be a simultaneous push-and-pull effect on inflation.
Pressman also said that the outcome of a basic income on inflation will be based on “the overall condition of the economy and how a BIG is financed.”
According to Pressman, there are several potential scenarios that could play out.
If the economy is near full employment, then a BI would likely “push up prices rather than employment.” Also, since much of the gains in income from a BI would go to people in poverty and “people with low income tend to spend any extra income that they get,” then total spending will increase along with inflation.
On the supply side, Pressman said there are two important factors: taxation and labor.
If a basic income is financed by sales tax or value added tax (VAT), then this will increase prices and inflation. Second, if BI gives employees more leverage to increase wages, firms may “try to pass along these costs to consumers in the form of higher prices,” Pressman said.
On the other hand, Pressman said that financing a BI is paid for by reducing other government spending means “there should be little or no inflationary impact of a BIG.”
Dr. Karl Widerquist, co-chair of BIEN and associate professor at Georgetown University SFS-Qatar, said that Denmark’s economy demonstrates that spending on welfare such as basic income should not lead to inflation “taking away all those workers’ gains.”
“There is nothing special about Basic Income spending. It is not any more likely to cause inflation than any other spending,” Widerquist said. “It is not any more difficult to use taxes and borrowing to counteract inflationary pressure caused by Basic Income spending than it is to counteract inflationary pressure caused by military spending or any other kind of spending.”
Regardless, some inflation may not be such a bad thing for the economy, according to Pressman. He pointed to the Japanese deflationary spiral in the 1990s as to why some inflation may help an economy.
For policymakers considering a basic income, it may be useful to think about adjusting the BI benefit depending on economic conditions.
“It also may (make) sense to think about a variable BIG — one that increases as unemployment rises and falls as the economy gets closer and closer to full employment. This too will reduce the inflationary impact of any BIG program,” Pressman said.
Although more research needs to be done, it appears a basic income is unlikely to contribute to inflation in a substantial way because there are so many factors that influence prices.
“Policy matters, and sensible fiscal and monetary policies can ensure that more egalitarian social policies are consistent with low inflation,” Widerquist said.
About Tyler Prochazka
Tyler Prochazka has written 82 articles.
Tyler Prochazka is a PhD candidate in Asia Pacific Studies at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He is the features editor of Basic Income News and the chairman of UBI Taiwan. Support my work with UBI Taiwan: https://www.patreon.com/typro Facebook.com/TaiwanUBI @typro
• Marco Giustini
About the relationship between the deflationary role of technology and the inflationary role of basic income, I suggest you to read this very interesting approach https://medium.com/emergent-culture/an-exciting-new-idea-in-basic-income-b1b7bf622845#.corqlso99
• Steve Godenich
Both a basic income and an individual tapering income for adult citizens increase bargaining power. The counter-cyclical nature of a tapering income automatically achieves the same effect without manipulation of the stipend amount. A fixed basic income will be absorbed into wage levels over time, permanently setting a policy for using tax dollars to subsidize business payrolls, unlike a tapering income that disappears with higher incomes. Wages will be depressed by either a permanent basic income or tapering income depending on the amount of additional taxes needed to fund the proposition. Funding a permanent basic income may require significantly higher tax levels than a tapering income when the stipend amount is the same. This wage depression resembles inflation. Since economic cycles of nations and individuals vary, lowering the stipend during a national boom may harm individuals who are in an economic slump (like being unemployed).
A new or higher indirect tax (like VAT or sales tax) may have a greater effect on the poor (depending on what is taxed) because a greater portion of a low wage worker’s salary goes to consumption rather than savings. A higher direct tax (like progressive income tax) may be less intrusive on low wage workers. Replacing income taxes and sales taxes with an indirect flat tax[1] on all economic transactions[1] divvied out to states, provinces, cantons (that includes all financial transactions many of which are currently not taxed) would be the least intrusive on all productive workers and productive businesses and significantly save tax collection processing costs for government, taxpayers, employees and employers.
[1] APT Tax | Youtube
[2] Intraday Liquidity Flows | FRBNY | 2012
• Andy
Surely a good government could simply regulate so as not to allow business to profit from the fact that people have more spending power. Business must only be allowed to maintain a reasonable profit margin or we will end up back where we started.
• Steve
Good Article…
Generally speaking I think it should work itself out without too many problems. With any spending or new supply of money there will be supply and demand economics and growth, which can lead to inflation.
*Here are just a few things I would suggest…
*Regulate inflation and price gouging with the tax system, closing some loopholes and making cost of living adjustments similar the way they do as social security. Plus maybe legislate inflation cap limits on rent, utility, food, transportation, clothing & the like… (necessary essentials)
*I would even consider seizing the fed & making it a publicly owned system.. Plus at least for now I would keep interest rates low during this period of deflation/stagnation.
*We could also start consumer & basic income unions to represent, negotiate, and lobby on our behalf. Labor unions would also be a plus right now too.
*I would also encourage savings, debt reduction, investments, ontrapranurialship & starting a business.
*I would also encourage education on budgeting, financial management, wealth building & savings and retirement planning.
*Competition is usually good for the consumer & I might consider busting up some of the global monopolies & cartels.
This is just to name a few Ideas.
• Joe Lee
Is there any source/links to any finding on how a UBI will effect inflation/deflation?? thnx
• Russ
I am surprised that there appears not to have been any economic modelling of the inflationary effects of a UBI (or even better, of different types of UBI). I am attracted to the idea, but worry that the benefit (especially for low income people) would progressively be eroded by inflation. Standard market economics would suggest this is indeed a potential risk. After all, this is one of the key areas where government subsidies (eg first home buyer subsidies) have faced challenges, by seeing prices inflate to erode (or more than erode) the benefit of the subsidy.
The suggestions that have been made that the problem could be fixed by regulating prices and/or business tend to highlight the potential problem rather than point it its resolution. There needs to be more debate on this risk among proponents of UBI.
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What is clean eating?
The clean eating concept is all about eating whole foods rather than processed or refined food. The logic is to have food closest to their natural or original forms. Processed food typically consists of food that have some kind of additions; food where the natural form is made to undergo change; foods that are lab manufactured and while food experts suggest that not all processed food are bad, the idea is to refrain from having ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed food are marketed so well that consumers feel that consuming such food is good for them, however, it is just the contrary. These kinds of food are genetically modified and have been proven to be causing more cases of cancers. These foods are also low on nutritional value with many of them having presence of additives that cause the human brain to crave for junk food.
Clean eating diet mainly revolve around increased consumption of vegetables and fruits, preservative-free organic food, brown rice, unprocessed meat, unrefined grains, home cooked food, minimally processed food, etc. that help in keeping the body healthy and strong; help ward off diseases related to the heart, infertility, diabetes and also result in radiant skin and lustrous hair. It is easy to confuse clean eating with eating raw food but it does not necessarily mean so.
Clean Eating & Kids
When to start clean eating?
The sooner, the better. The family, as a whole can decide to take up clean eating at any point in time. Due to various benefits associated with this diet, it is good to get started immediately. However, the process needs to be slow and gradual and each member of the family needs to be on board to get going. Proper planning and sticking to the schedule helps. Efforts need to be made to keep kids away from fast foods and vending machines.
Clean eating can be started as soon as your infant is ready for consuming whole food. Clean eating habits inculcated in toddlers will help in rearing healthy kids.
What does clean eating mean for toddlers, tweens and teens?
Introducing a toddler to eating clean diet is much easier than having an older child to do. The best is to get your small ones have lots of juiced veggies and fruits. Since they are too young to understand one from another and effectually their eating habits are in your hands, you can set the ball rolling towards clean eating without much struggle or difficulty.
Getting your tweens to be as complacent is bit too much to ask. By this age they have tasted the junks and have developed tastes of their own, they have their own list of likes and dislikes. The smart thing to do here is make sure that their elements of interest are part of the changeover process especially vegetables, fruits and unprocessed food that they love to eat.
The teenager can prove to be either supportive or problematic. If they have been into healthy eating from the beginning and understand the importance of having a healthy diet, you will have a champion supporter at home. But if they are used to eating junkies and fries, chances are that you would have to set-up strict discipline rules to ensure that clean foods are consumed by them. Plus the fact that they have money to spend and can go out for a sinful bite makes your task more difficult.
How to inculcate this habit at home?
Obviously replacing their favourite snacks and tasty processed food by veggies and fruits is not going to be easy. It requires a plan, a schedule, and having everyone follow it with discipline and restraint. Few essential steps in moving your entire family to clean eating diet are:-
1. Plan the meals. When you plan, you make sure that the required items are stocked up for the week. Since clean eating is all about eliminating the consumption of junk and fried food, planning healthy meals will prove to be effective in tackling all types of cravings and desires that the family may feel towards trash food.
2. Have all members of the family agreed to change their eating habits. Adults and kids need to understand the significance of eating clean – only then will they comply and support the mission whole-heartedly.
3. Give worthwhile substitutes. One of the rudest things to do is to expect your family to follow suit – well kids need a little more attention here. Start by giving them healthy options. You could make it mandatory for them to choose from a list of whole food snacks and let them decide. For example if they love their potato chips, give them the option to have home-made chips. If they love the granola bars from the superstores, then offer them the choice of home-made ones.
4. Always prepare the plan as your budget. It is not essential to have organic always; you can keep away from the expensive super foods and instead stick to the seasonal fruits and veggies.
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Publication Date
The fact that constant and continual changes occur in the culture of any society, regardless of time and space considerations, has long been recognized as a fundamental truth by anthropologists. Accepting this dynamic character of culture, the anthropologist asks precisely what has occurred that has caused the culture of any particular society to be as it is at the moment, or as it was found at any specific time in the past. Having learned the cultural situation at a given time and having determined the sequence of events culminating in this situation, the anthropologist has further interests. Why did these various events happen? Why did they take the forms that they did and exert the influences that they did? Finally, the anthropologist asks what relationships or applications these findings may have regarding any other society's culture.
Document Type
Degree Name
Level of Degree
Department Name
UNM Department of Anthropology
First Committee Member (Chair)
Willard Williams Hill
Second Committee Member
France Vinton Scholes
Third Committee Member
Edward Franklin Castetter
KIC Image.jpg (11475 kB)
Map of Cochiti Pueblo (map 3), February, 1947
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Diabetes and Dental Issues
Lack of blood glucose control, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol can be the dominant causes of diabetes. This disease stems from causes that can affect all parts of the human body including dental health.
Diabetes has a close relationship with various diseases other than dental health and it can be the lead cause of cardiovascular and kidney problems as well. Case in point, diabetes hinders the ability of the human body to process sugar.
Type-I diabetes affects the body in such a manner that it is unable to produce adequate amounts of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for carrying sugar to organs that utilize it for energy. Type-II diabetes affects the body in such a way that insulin is no longer effective in monitoring the blood sugar levels. This causes blood sugar to spike and causes severe damage to eyes, heart, lung, kidneys and dental health.
In both cases, diabetes sufferers are susceptible to many other health concerns than just diabetes.
Teeth and Diabetes
It is necessary to understand how this chronic illness can be detrimental to dental health. A few symptoms of diabetes include dry mouth and excessive thirst levels. Diabetics also feel the need to urinate excessively and experience higher fatigue levels.
If not treated immediately diabetes can cause dry mouth symptoms in which the salivary glands are unable to produce enough saliva. This also increases the risk of cavities drastically as saliva is the main “cleanser” for your teeth.
Another effect of bleeding gums, is that they may also become swollen and contract gingivitis. In some cases, the taste of food changes and diabetics are unable to experience food like non-diabetics. Cavities, swollen gums or any other dental procedures may take more time than usual to heal completely.
Diabetics are prone to mouth infections and viruses more than normal individuals. In children suffering from diabetes, their teeth do not grow at an earlier age than those of normal children.
Why does diabetes affect dental health in such a manner?
Apart from all the other dental health problems that diabetes can cause, it is also the leading cause of periodontal or gum disease. Those living with diabetes are the most affected by this health complication; almost 22% of gum disease sufferers are diabetic.
Diabetics have poor blood sugar control and this is what makes the gums a breeding ground for bacteria. Infections are easily contracted by diabetics and this causes further haphazard patterns in blood sugar spikes and dives.
What can your dentist do?
Research suggests that regular dental checkups have drastically reduced the number of diabetics suffering from gum disease. Moreover, a good oral hygiene with recommended products from your orthodontist can help control blood sugar levels. Your dentist can perform professional deep cleaning whenever needed and this helps lower HbA1c.
However, this is not just limited to your dentist; you also need to maintain a regimen dedicated to dental hygiene. Especially for those using dentures, regular cleaning is recommended.
What’s the bottom line?
Request an appointment online in our Port Charlotte dentist office here: https://dragonflydentalportcharlotte.com.
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AdobeStock 199826525 The headlines keep coming: there’s public pushback about some development project because it’s “too dense.” Inevitably, whenever a developer proposes something, one of the first questions is how dense it is. But instead we should be asking how the project is designed. Will it accommodate our growth in a way that will lead to a high quality of life for ourselves and our children?
Density battles have come to a head because we’ve been one of the fastest-growing states in the country for the last several years. A strong economy means our kids—who form the majority of our growth—can find jobs and stay close to home. It also means other people want to join us here to experience our prosperity and quality of life.
At the same time, we’re running out of land in our most urbanized counties. Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber each have dwindling land supplies, as does northeast Utah County. In the past, as we grew we could just add another ring of suburbs, but now that next ring is on the other side of a mountain range. That’s why Wasatch County, for example, is the fourth fastest-growing county in the country.
That’s also why we’re now seeing as many apartments, condos, and townhomes as we are single-family homes; as land supply dwindles, prices rise, and people choose something smaller that they can afford. Accommodating the kinds of housing people can afford means more density. If we want to keep any semblance of affordability, we need to make sure we have ample supply of all kinds of housing, particularly in the places where there’s high demand.
That increased density isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means we use less water, develop less agricultural land, and spend less money on infrastructure. It means our firefighters, police officers, nurses, and teachers can afford to live in the neighborhoods they serve. But how and where we build that density has huge implications for traffic, air quality, and quality of life. Not all density is created equal. Los Angeles, for example, is one of the densest metro areas in the country, but few of us would probably to aspire to be like Southern California when it comes to traffic issues.
The problem is that L.A.’s density isn’t well organized or planned. Density near rail stations, jobs, and shopping can reduce driving by 50% or even more, particularly if the development is designed to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, rather than just cars. Where there’s a grid system of streets—think downtown Salt Lake City, for example—as well as larger roads like freeways, it’s easier to accommodate growth and density without overwhelming the road system.
But simply spreading density everywhere without planning the rail, roads, jobs, and shopping to go with it doesn’t give you the same bang for your buck. That’s why your community should identify where to put village and town centers—downtowns that include jobs, shopping, and dense housing, planned in coordination with public transportation and a connected grid of roadways. The more we mix the jobs, shopping, and housing, the greater the benefits. And the more connected our developments are, the better; if it’s easy to get from the housing to the jobs and shopping, we won’t see as much driving.
If we do this, we’ll accommodate the housing people want and can afford. We’ll use less farmland and water. We’ll ensure people can still get around despite our growth. We’ll minimize the impact on existing single-family neighborhoods. And we’ll create the kinds of town and village centers our grandparents used to enjoy—places where you can walk with your children to buy an ice cream cone, or where workers can walk to lunch. But it’s about far more than just density. It’s about design. Because how we grow matters. |
Rendering logic
From NeoGeo Development Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Depending on the chipset, video is generated by 3, 2 or one unique chip:
See graphics pipeline for an overview of the interconnections between chips and cartridges. See Display timing for the sync signal's timing.
There are two main parts in generating video:
• An address generator (LSPC), which queries the graphics ROMs in the cartridges according to the data set in VRAM.
• Line buffers, to which pixels can be written in any order from the graphics ROMs data.
Line buffers
To render sprites, the NeoGeo uses a pair of line buffers which are each 320 pixels long (a whole scanline). When one is used for rendering, the other one is shifted out for video output. Each new scanline, the buffers are flipped. This can be seen as a kind of double-buffering, allowing pixels to be rendered in any order.
To increase bandwidth, pixels are rendered two by two in sub-pairs: there are actually 4, 160-pixels-long buffers interleaved in an odd/even fashion. This scheme was inherited from the Alpha68k.
The fix layer pixels are rendered in real time over the buffers output.
Fix tiles
• Fix pixels are output in time with the pixel clock (6MHz, 4mclk).
• One fix tile line is therefore output in: 8 pixels * 4mclk = 32mclk. No variation.
• The S ROM outputs 8 bits at a time so: 8 bits / 4bpp = 2 pixels at a time.
• S ROM reads needed for one fix tile line: 8 pixels / 2 pixels per read = 4 reads.
Address sequence for one tile line:
A4 2H1 pixel pair
1 0 A
1 1 B
0 0 C
0 1 D
2H1 bypasses the PCK* latchs.
Sprite tiles
16mclk = 16 pixels, 8 pixels per read.
• Sprite pixels are rendered two-by-two at 12MHz (2mclk).
• One sprite tile line is therefore rendered in: 16 pixels / 2 * 2mclk = 16mclk. No variation, even if shrinking is used.
• The C ROM outputs 2 * 16 = 32 bits at a time so: 32 bits / 4bpp = 8 pixels at a time.
• C ROM reads needed for one sprite tile line: 16 pixels / 8 pixels per read = 2 reads.
Address sequence for one tile line:
CA4 8-pixel line
1 A
0 B
CA4 bypasses the PCK* latchs.
Active lists
The NeoGeo uses a pair of active lists, where the sprites numbers which need to be rendered on the next scanline are written to. As with the line buffers, the active lists are swapped every new scanline so that one is being filled by parsing, the other one is used for rendering.
They are located in the fast VRAM at addresses $8600 and $8680. Each list is 96-entries long.
Slow VRAM access slots
Slow VRAM has four 4mclk-long access slots running in sequence with no variations:
1. Read sprite map even word
2. Read sprite map odd word
3. Read fix map
4. Read/Write for CPU
Fast VRAM access slots
Fast VRAM is more complex and faster. It has 10 access slots with varying widths running in sequence with no variations, which can be seen as 5 parsing slots and 5 rendering slots:
Slot # Duration Description
1 2mclk Parsing
2 1.5mclk
3 1.5mclk
4 1.5mclk
5 1.5mclk
6 2mclk Read active list
7 1.5mclk Read SCB2
8 1.5mclk Read SCB3
9 1.5mclk Read SCB4
10 1.5mclk Read/write for CPU
Yellow are parsing cycles, purple is the active list read, green is SCB* reads for rendering, red is for CPU access:
Timing gpu1.png
The parsing cycles aren't consistent, they depend on the matching of sprites. One cycle will read from SCB3 to test if its Y position matches with the current raster line. If there's a match, the next cycle will be a write to the active list. Otherwise it's another read cycle.
Fast VRAM must be fast enough (45ns) as the shortest slots are 1.5mclk (62.5ns). 1mclk (41.6ns) would be too fast and SRAM was already expensive.
Sprite parsing
This is still a draft. The following information shouldn't be considered as correct.
LSPC splits the workload needed to render sprites in two passes: parsing and rendering.
• Parsing for a raster line N is done during line N-2
• Rendering is done during line N-1
• Finally the line is ready for output just at the right time.
During parsing, the Y positions of 381 sprites are read to see if they will be visible on line N. If that's the case, the sprite number is written to the active list currently being filled. This goes on until 381 sprites were parsed, OR the active list is full (96 sprite numbers were written), whichever comes first.
• If sprite #382 is reached, the remaining time is used to fill the active list up to 96 entries with zeros.
• If the active list is full, sprites are still parsed up to #382 but no writes are done to the active list, whatever the matching result.
No matter how many sprites are matched in the scanline, there will always be 381 SCB3 reads and 96 active list writes.
This explains why sprite #0 cannot be used: this is the value used to top-up the active list. If there are less than 96 sprite matches (like most of the time), the sprite #0 will be rendered over and over again until the end of the list is reached.
In the next paragraphs, each character represents a parsing slot: R is an SCB3 read, W is a sprite number write to the active list, F is a filling write to the active list, - is just idle waiting. There are always 1536mclk per line / 16mclk per cycle * 5 slots per cycle = 480 slots.
Case 1: Not a single sprite match
Fast VRAM cycles:
24M _|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_|'|_
Addr 200 | 201 | 202 | 203 | 204 | 681 | 00E | 20E | 40E | 600 | 205 | 206 | 207 | 208 | 209 | 682 | 00F | 20F | 40F
R/W Read Read Read Read Read Read Read Read Read Read
381 read slots, 96 fill slots, 3 waiting slots:
Case 2: Some sprites match
Fast VRAM cycles:
Addr 200 | 201 | 600 | 202 | 203 | 681 | 00E | 20E | 40E | 600 | 601 | 204 | 205 | 602 | 206 | 682 | 00F | 20F | 40F
R/W Read Read Write Read Read Write Read Read Write Read
If 17 sprites match: 381 read slots, 17 write slots, 96-17=79 fill slots, 3 waiting slots:
Case 3: Exactly 96 sprites match
Fast VRAM cycles:
Addr 200 | 600 | 201 | 601 | 202 | 681 | 00E | 20E | 40E | 600 | 602 | 203 | 204 | 603 | 604 | 682 | 00F | 20F | 40F
R/W Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Read Write Read
381 read slots, 96 write slots, 0 fill slots, 3 waiting slots:
Case 4: More than 96 sprites match
Same as case 3, except after 96 "W"s, there are only useless "R"s.
1. Read active list ($8600+ or $8680+) to get sprite #
2. Read SCB2 zoom values ($8000+)
3. Read SCB3 Y position, height, and chain bit ($8200+)
4. Read SCB4 X position ($8400+)
The tile # and its attributes are also read from slow VRAM.
CPU access to VRAM
SNK says min. 12 68kclk between writes (so 24mclk). 1 write every 24mclk = 64 per scanline.
CPU access occurs asynchronously with the 68000 bus -> storage in LSPC. If no write is requested, then the slots are occupied by reads, effectively updating one of the two read buffers continuously with the value pointed by the last used VRAM address.
Buffers control
CK signals
CK1~4 signals are used to clock each of the 4 buffers.
• During rendering, the pulses often go by pair (1+2 or 3+4) to render pixels 2 by 2 if the corresponding WE signal is asserted (opaque pixel). Horizontal shrinking causes pulses to be skipped, so that the buffer's address isn't incremented.
• During output, the pulses are slower and always alternate (1/2/1/2... or 3/4/3/4...) to output even/odd pixels in sequence.
• If the corresponding LD* signal is high, the buffer pointer is incremented (rendering left to right).
• If the corresponding LD* signal is low, the buffer pointer is loaded from the P bus (X position of sprite, or 0 to start line output).
Inactive during H-blank.
LD signals
The LD1~2 signals are synchronous signals used to load the pointers for a buffer pair as two bytes.
Example P bus values for 5 full-width sprites right next to each other, starting at X=0:
Example P bus values for 5 full-width sprites right next to each other, starting at X=1 (pixel pairs will be flipped by NEO-ZMC2):
As sprite lines always take 16mclk to render, there's an LD* pulse every 16mclk to set the new starting address (X position) except for chained sprites. There's also always an unique pulse just before output to reset the pointers to 0.
WE signals
WE1~4 signals are used to tell if the pixel should be written to a buffer.
During rendering, the pulses are synchronized to CK signals.
• If the pixel is opaque, there are both pulses at the same time (write pixel).
• If the pixel is transparent, there is a CK pulse but no WE pulse (skip pixel, move to next one).
• If the pixel is skipped for horizontal shrink, there are no pulses at all (do nothing).
During output, the pulses are also synchronized to CK signals and always present. This is used to clear the buffers to the backdrop color for the next rendering cycle.
SS signals
The SS1/2 signals enable clearing of buffer pairs, active during output.
• TMS0 is used to flip the buffers, related to the lowest bit of the raster counter.
• The rising edge of PCK1 and PCK2 latches fix or sprite pixels from the cart ROMs.
Fix data is read 8 pixels in advance (32mclk, confirms what Charles wrote in mvstech.txt). |
C assigning decimal number to int
Category: int, number, decimal, assigning
similar way interesting to variables, and the double" symbol " is used to mark the start and end of the text. Syntax int var int var value, parameters var variable name referencing the value value any integer value, related float. Long Used if working with particularly large integers, 64 bits. (i) the number of pages in a book; (ii) the number of atoms in a book; (iii) the length of a side of a triangle in metres; (iv) your name; (v) whether or not a nucleus has decayed; (vi) the probability that it could have. Compile and run VarTry in the same way that you did with the Hello program to check it prints out the number nine. You may for example write String name "Bob1 This creates a String called name which stores Bob1'. You will see here how each line of code must end with a semicolon, ;, (if you need to write a line of code that is longer than the width of the window you can continue it on the next line by omitting the semicolon. I might be wrong - got to check some technical papers I found on ieee floating point formats. For example the line of code int i; declares an integer variable (i.e. You may also use numbers or an underscore _ in your variable names, but not at the beginning of the name. It is also possible to declare a variable and assign it a value in the same line, so instead of int i and then i 9 you can write int i 9 all in one.
These are 9 x 10324 and, future, which c assigning decimal number to int you used in Hello, you should be aware that there are some words which you may not use as names for variables or methods or classes for that matter as they have a special meaning in Java. Protected, below is c assigning decimal number to int program to demonstrate the same. All the variable types are described below. E 1 byte of memory, native, if, if you have a previous version.
C assigning decimal number to int, Writing conclusion example
T figure out why it should be like that. Instead 0e5 that is they must c assigning decimal number to int include a decimal place and may include the letter. The temperature of a room, i canapos, that sort of representation is not floating c assigning decimal number to int point. May hold any value in the range. As double uses twice as much memory as float to store values. Double A 16 significant figure, they are stored as 32 bits of information. If you have more than one variable of the same type you can also declare them together 64 bits 45, it is more accurate, please write comments if you find anything incorrect. It is fixed point, up to nineteen digits and a sign.
Mla essay format word count! C assigning decimal number to int
These are listed on page.Where necessary you should add comments explaining the meaning of the variables, both so it is clear to you if you come to look at your program at a later date, and to those marking your programs.
• Hibari120
• 24 Aug 2018, 02:57
• 0
• 1754 |
What Advice Should Test Prep Tutors Give Students?
Baz Luhrmann famously advised the graduating class of 1997 to wear sunscreen in his hit "song" Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen). His point was that all the advice he could muster was based on his own meandering life experiences, but the importance of wearing sunscreen had been thoroughly established by scientists.
There are plenty of lists out there that focus on the most obvious test prep tips for students. They all feature the same usual pieces of advice:
• Use process of elimination.
• Don't leave questions blank.
• Underline important words in the question.
• Blah blah blah...
Mostly, these lists are just content marketing pieces masquerading as actionable advice for students. Tutoring companies pump them out in hopes that they'll catch the eyes of parents, and "nurture" them down the pipeline to a converted sale.
In light of that, we thought we'd take a different approach as we put together a short list of advice for tutors. This is a list of important considerations for tutors to keep in mind as they work with students. This is a list of ways you can help students stay focused on preparing for the SAT despite the swirling craziness of high school life.
1. Don't Get Involved.
Don't get involved in students' personal lives beyond the abstract. It's not your job to help your students work up the courage to ask our a girl or decide whether or not to break up with a boyfriend. Remember, the high students spend all day working on these problems. You are actually helping quite a bit by inviting your students to focus their mental energy on SAT or ACT practice materials.
If you're showing up to tutoring sessions with the same eager anticipation that you feel watching Real Housewives, then you're doing it wrong. You know too much about your student's personal life, and you're indulging high school drama rather than providing a valuable respite from it.
2. If You Must Get Involved, Get Help.
Obviously, there are circumstances where you must take action for the safety of a child. Remember, you're working with children.
For more information on how and when to make that determination decision, check out this resource: Child Abuse Identification & Reporting guidelines. If you do decide that a situation has become unsafe for your student, then, by all means, bring that to the attention of a parent — if appropriate — or a professional mandated reporter.
Then step back. Way back. This isn't about you.
3. Don't Overshare.
It can be tempting to tell students, "I went through something similar." And it's true that sharing your own experiences may offer students some sense of comfort. Even so, it's not a good idea to share too much personal information with your students. To the best of your ability, you should keep the relationship professional even as you offer support.
On a similar note, it can be tempting to share stories about your glory days in an effort to impress your students or generate buy-in for your course. There's nothing wrong with sharing a story or two about your successes and failures in academics or sports, but that's where you should draw the line. Do not be tempted to share any stories about any trouble you got into back in the day.
4. Remember, High School Drama Is Real to Them.
Remember that high school drama is real to them, and it's not the same as it was when you were in high school. Don't be dismissive of the issues that monopolize their attention outside of your sessions. I remember quite vividly how I learned this lesson. I had been working with a student in the Hollywood Hills for about a month when I arrived at a session to find her near tears.
She had just gotten off the phone with her close friend who was dealing with some really difficult issues at home. She gave a vague description of what had most recently transpired. She never mentioned any names out of respect to her friend. I listened carefully, but as I did I was already planning to tell her that it all sounded like a bunch of nothing. It would blow over in a day or two.
She was convinced that this was different. This was going to ruin everyone's lives and never go away. I told her that it always feels that way at the time but once you've grown up and you have a chance to look back on this... blah blah blah.
What I didn't understand at the time was the fact that the events she had described would end up playing out on TMZ for months. You might have heard about it:
So in the end, my student was 100% right. I was completely incapable of wrapping my head around the events taking place in these people's lives. But isn't that always the case? I mean, the lesson is not that her drama was different from other people's in some meaningful way.
Every piece of high school drama feels like it's the end of the world. It always feels like everyone knows everything and they're all judging you. It makes little difference to a high school student whether their humiliation has been seen a few times on Facebook or 10 million times on YouTube. It doesn't matter because, in high school, perception is reality.
As a tutor, you've probably outgrown this feeling for the most part. It can be difficult to put yourself back in that world. But you must try to remember what it's like. And most of all, you should never be dismissive of your students' feelings.
5. Help Your Students Enjoy the Process.
Ultimately, studying for the SAT is one of the last stops along the path to college and adulthood. You're in a unique position to frame your students' experience of the process. Do whatever you can to make it fun. Remind them that these are the days they're going to look back on fondly for the most part.
Help them to realize that test prep is in many ways life prep. Ask your student, "If you hate studying for college admissions tests, then why are you convinced you'll enjoy college? You know there's a lot of studying in college, don't you?" Help them to understand that the key is to find value and meaning in the work they're doing. Help them experience the satisfaction of self-improvement. Allow them to experience the discomfort of occasional failure.
That's why we structured our printed materials the way we did with lessons comprised of a "challenge" problem, skill builders, and practice problems. Students often struggle with the challenge problems. That's the whole point of a challenge problem, after all. Then we help them to understand the relevant concepts through the skill builders. Finally, we regain some momentum with the practice problems. It's simple, powerful, test prep. And it's designed to help students get engaged in the process.
Get Curriculum Samples
The thing to remember is that you're not the most important person in their lives, but you've come along at a very important time and you're helping them with a very important task. Don't take that lightly.
6. Share Study Techniques That Work Well for You
I've got a full blog post on this tentatively scheduled for a week or two from now. Be sure to subscribe to this blog to make sure you receive that and other free tools for tutors in your inbox!
Subscribe to receive FREE tools for tutors
The lyrics to Baz Lurhmann's Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) were authored by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich in an essay titled "Advice, like youth, is probably just wasted on the young." You can read the whole thing here.
Matt McCorkle |
What is acne?
Home/Acne/What is acne?
What is acne?
There next few blog posts will look at a subject that is close to most our or hearts… Acne!
Nearly everyone has suffered from a pimple outbreak and scars at some point in their life. Acne starts when greasy secretions from the skin’s sebaceous glands clog the tiny openings for hair follicles . If the openings are large, the clogs take the form of blackheads: small, flat spots with dark centers. If the openings stay small, the clogs take the form of whiteheads: small, flesh-colored bumps. Both types of plugged pores can develop into swollen, tender inflammations or pimples or deeper lumps or nodules. Nodules associated with severe cases of acne(cystic acne) are firm swellings below the skin’s surface that become inflamed, tender, and sometimes infected.
Although acne remains largely a curse of adolescence, about 20% of all cases occur in adults. Acne commonly starts during puberty between the ages of 10 and 13 and tends to be worse in people with oily skin. Teenage acne usually lasts for five to 10 years, normally going away during the early 20s. It occurs in both sexes, although teenage boys tend to have the most severe cases. Women are more likely than men to have mild to moderate forms into their 30s and beyond.
Contrary to popular belief, acne isn’t caused by a bad diet or poor hygiene. The simple truth is that heredity and hormones are behind most forms of acne. Swearing off chocolate or scrubbing your face 10 times a day won’t change your predisposition to this unsightly, sometimes painful, and often embarrassing skin problem, but understanding what it is, can help. Seek help for your aesthetic treatment and do not keep silent about it. Regain your confident back!
2017-06-14T20:54:51+00:00 July 24th, 2015|Acne|
About the Author:
• Phone: +65 6235 3325
Email: info@eha.com.sg |
Numbers at ratio
The two numbers are in a ratio 3:2. If we each increase by 5 would be at a ratio of 4:3. What is the sum of original numbers?
s = 25
s = a+b
2a-3b = 0
3a-4b = 5
a+b-s = 0
a = 15
b = 10
s = 25
Calculated by our linear equations calculator.
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To solve this example are needed these knowledge from mathematics:
Next similar examples:
1. Sheep and cows
2. Flowers 2
3. Unknown amount of money
btc Damian and Denis split an unknown amount in the ratio of 5:4 . Damian got six euros more than Denis. Calculate an unknown amount. Determine how much money got Damian and how Denis.
4. Golden ratio
ratio Divide line of length 14 cm into two sections that the ratio of shorter to greater is same as ratio of greater section to whole length of the line.
5. Three workshops
6. Factory and divisions
7. 925 USD
money_22 Four classmates saved an annual total 925 USD. The second save twice as the first, third 35 USD more than the second and fourth 10 USD less than the first. How USD save each of them?
8. Nine books
9. Theorem prove
10. Potatoes
zemiaky_7 For three days the store sold 1400 kg of potatoes. The first day they sold 100 kilograms of potatoes less than the second day, the third-day three-fifths of what they sold the first day. How many kgs of potatoes sold every day?
11. Elimination method
12. Legs
13. Three unknowns
14. Linsys2
15. Family
16. Linear system
17. Three friends
vaha_1 Danica, Lenka and Dalibor have altogether 96 kg. Lenka weighs 75% more than Dalibor and Danica weighs 6 kg more than Dalibor. Determine the weight of Danice, Lenka and Dalibor. |
Sound therapy for concentration
What is Concentration?
Nature App
Includes authentic digital sounds of nature professionally recorded in the wild. Help you relax and concentrate using sounds as a therapeutic masking tool.
Nature Sounds for Sleep Lite
Nature Sounds for Sleep
Factors That May Cause Poor Concentration
Stress does help concentration for a short period of time. This is because the body is dumping chemicals into the brain to help it focus and throwing adrenaline into the bloodstream in order to heighten the senses. This helps the body hone in on its tasks and helps it to focus. This is, in the beginning, a good thing. Short-term stress really does help your concentration at first, which is very useful when you need to hammer out last-minute paper for school, a report for your boss, or you need to quickly fix some computer problems that are keeping others from getting their work done. Unfortunately, the short-term effects do not last.
As you spend more and more time under stress, your ability to concentrate lessens. The brain will have fired off so many neurons that it cannot replenish its supply of chemicals that helps the neurons fire. As well, that boost of adrenaline that helps people focus will start to heighten the senses to the point where the brain notices every little thing around, causing you to be easily distracted. Distraction is a major cause of poor concentration. There are two types of distractions: external and internal.
External distractions are related to the physical environment of your study area. Once you have identified these distractions an individual can deal with them. Some of the common external distractions are:
• Noise and conversations
• Inappropriate furniture and inadequate lighting
• Interruption from other people and telephone
• Television
• Work, paid or unpaid; housework
• The Internet; email
Internal distractions are related to you: your body, your thoughts and your emotions. Some of them can be easily dealt with once they are identified. Others can be managed with practice and/or with a little help. Some of the common internal distractions are:
• Hunger; tiredness; illness; and age
• Lack of motivation; boredom; and lack of interest
• Personal worries; stress; anxiety; and depression
• Insomnia
• Negative thinking
• Daydreaming; mentally tired; and wandering mind
• Dyslexia; Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD); and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
There is no doubt that mental concentration is tiring. Anyone who has attended a meeting will appreciate the fact. The process of simply sitting around a table for a couple of hours mainly concentrating upon what other people are saying is tiring. Driving a car for hours is tiring. To deal with such times we have to learn and practice concentration skills, and as with any skill this means practice repeated day after day until we achieve enough improvement to feel that we can concentrate when we need to.
The following three factors related to concentration from the list of distractions stand out and deserve further discussion because they impact such a large number of people.
It is known that older adults are more easily distracted. Changes in brain activity begin gradually in middle age causing older adults to have a harder time with concentration in busy environments, and are easily distracted by irrelevant information. This news comes from The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest and the University of Toronto, where scientists compared brain function in young, middle-aged and older adults.
The study says these findings add to the growing belief by scientists that two regions in the brain's frontal lobes gradually shift into a seesaw imbalance, which causes older adults to become less efficient at blocking distracting information than young people are. Therefore, decreased concentration is inevitable in everyone as they age. To take this a step further, will there be a correlation between the baby boomers and decreased concentration? It has been found the baby boomers are showing chronic health conditions approximately 12 years earlier than people who were the same age 12 years ago. Does this mean the baby boomers will experience concentration deficits earlier than previous groups of people as they age? More evidence is needed on this, but is likely.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) The Result of a Chemical Imbalance
According to studies from Columbia University over 25 percent of the population in mid to higher latitudes suffer from SAD. Symptoms include severe depression, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, reduced productivity and irritability. Experts have linked decreasing sunlight in winter to a chemical imbalance in the brain. The amount of light affects the natural release of melatonin, a hormone produced in the pineal gland that affects out internal clock; low light induces more melatonin and more sleep. Three common remedies used to assist SAD inflicted people are: light therapy, exercise, and music melodies/sounds.
According to the 2002 National Sleep Foundation (NSF) America poll approximately 74% of American adults experience sleeping problems, 39% get less than seven hours of sleep each weeknight, and more than one in three (37%) are sleepy enough that it interferes with daily activities. Women report insomnia more frequently than men and chronic insomnia increases with age. Lack of sleep saps your power of concentration, says Irene Colsky, Ed.D., adjunct professor of psychology and education at Miami-Dade Community College and president of the Colsky Associates, a firm offering learning and memory seminars. Some women find that they have a particularly hard time paying attention in the last months of pregnancy or during menopause, when insomnia is a common problem.
How Can You Learn to Concentrate Better?
Focus, focus, focus! You can improve your powers of concentration, say doctors. Everyone can be focused; it's not a gift given to just a lucky few. Here are seven methods to help improve concentration that can work for any age or situation.
Block Out Distractions
Shut the door, turn off the TV and take the phone off the hook, and you'll cut out a lot of distractions. If necessary, tell the people that you share space with that you would rather not be disturbed.
Do One Thing at a Time
It's difficult to focus on any one task if you're working on several simultaneously. You are bound to take longer or make more mistakes, because your mind simply can not be in two places at once. Instead, block out time for each task or project and tackle each in turn.
Take a Deep Breath
Anxiety can cloud your concentration. Deep breathing can help quiet the nagging inner voice that says, "Am I going to be able to finish this? Will it be good enough?" Take a deep breath and hold it for five seconds while pressing your hands and fingers together, palm to palm. Then slowly exhale through your lips while letting your hands relax. Do these five or six times until you relax.
Use Sound Machines
Some people have reported the use of sound machines to focus better and increase concentration. Experiment with background white noise/sounds. Go with whatever works for you to mask out sounds such as: street noise, television and stereos, tinnitus (ringing, buzzing in the ears, etc.), noisy appliances, barking dogs, noisy neighbors air traffic or conversation.
Surprise Your Brain
Activities that give your brain a workout such as reading books on subjects new to you, solving puzzles, learning new languages or instruments translate to sharper thinking, studies find.
After an Hour, Take a Break
Getting focused is one thing; staying focused is another. After a while your brain (and the rest of your body) needs a break. To refresh and refocus, take a quick walk around the block.
Have a Snack
Concentration wavers when your blood sugar levels fall, and frequent small meals keep levels steadiest, says Dr. Colsky. So if you're about to tackle a task that demands concentration, have a bite to eat: half a tuna sandwich, for example, or some other combination of protein and carbohydrate. Research suggests that a protein-carb combination keeps you more alert than protein or carbohydrate alone.
Concentration and Your Body
Your ability to concentrate at your optimal level depends on your entire body being healthy. The pressure of deadlines and expectations may lead one to ignore the needs of your body. However, the more you look after and respect your body, the more your body will do for you. The body needs adequate nourishment, rest, exercise and sleep; here are some tips:
• A healthy, balanced diet is a must. Take time to enjoy your food; use mealtime to unwind. Avoid eating a big meal before a study session, or a meeting. Too much food will send your body into a 'rest' mode. On the other hand, don't starve yourself either. Frequent small meals are best.
• A sudden high intake of sugar will cause your blood sugar level to rise and then drop sharply. Consequently, you may feel tired, drowsy and have difficulties in concentrating. Sugary foods are good for physical activities; they are not so good for mental work. For snacks, try fruits or nuts.
• Drink plenty of water during a study session, especially when you feel sluggish
• Your body needs to rest and relax periodically every day. Regular breaks are essential for good concentration and memory. There is some research evidence to support the theory that catnaps promote concentration and memory. It is advised not to associate your bed with work by studying on your bed. Your body will get confused as to whether the bed is for work or for relaxing.
• Regular bedtimes discourage insomnia. If you must cut down on sleep, try to go to bed at your regular time, but get up earlier instead.
• Regular exercise can improve your concentration. Choose an exercise that you enjoy. A regular exercise program, steady workouts of 45 minutes each, can also hone your power of concentration. When researchers at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine put women on treadmills and had them walk until they burned 350 calories, the women reported feeling more clearheaded afterward. This amounts to walking three miles in about 45 minutes, a rate of four miles per hour.
Exercise seems to improve the vital flow of oxygen to the brain. It can also help alleviate distracting anxiety and depression.
Very few students make it through high school and university without having to cope with issues causing concentration difficulties. Students experience even something as commonplace as a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend can cause a major disruption in the ability to concentrate. Also, irregular sleep, exercise, and eating patterns can be the unsuspected cause of concentration difficulties.
Many students do not realize the strong connection between physical health and intellectual functioning. Sometimes difficulties with concentration can be attributed to uneasiness about a course, a major, or just being at university. For the most part, these disruptions are short term, and the ability to concentrate normally returns quickly.
According to research presented at the 2005 March 24 conference, California's overall high school graduation rate is approximately 71 percent. The graduation rates for African-American and Latino students are even lower, 60 percent for Latino students and 56.6 percent for African-Americans. "Large urban school districts in California have become ?dropout factories'," said Gary Orfield, Director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and author of the new book Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis.
The economic and social impacts of this dropout crisis are too enormous for Californians to ignore. The State must make schools accountable for graduating their students and provide resources to help students whose careers would be wrecked by leaving school.? Although there would be many reasons for the high school drop outs mentioned from this research, it seems prudent that students learn how to study, concentrate and memorize their studies.
The Wayne State University at the National Center for Academic Transformation, Saratoga Springs, New York confirms that many students arrive at the university unprepared and therefore require greater attention. From fall 2000 to winter 2004, of the students who took Beginning Algebra, 28% withdrew and only 39% of the total passed. Of those who took the final, only 53% passed. Lack of concentration is one of the frequent complaints among students.
Because of the growing problem of students leaving school or university before completion it seems prudent to focus on good study habits for this huge population of young people.
Following are some key points to maintain concentration while studying:
Get into Good Habits for Studying Study
Study at the same time and at the same place, devoted to study only. This helps you to associate the time and place with studying and concentrating. You will find that you get into a habit of studying as soon as you sit down. You can carry out a small ritual at the start of every study session, such as taking out a figurine, wearing your study cap, or putting up a sign. This helps to tune your body into a study mode when you carry out the ritual. It also serves to tell others that you are studying and that you should not be disturbed. Do not choose an activity, such as reading your email or checking the stock market that may lead you to procrastinate or distract you
Prepare Your Mind
Avoid exciting activities just before you start to study. At the beginning of a study period, spend a few minutes to calm and relax your mind and body. Be positive! Believe in your ability to overcome any challenges.
Approach Study Effectively
Spend a little time to plan what you are going to work on. Be precise and realistic. 'I am going to work on my assessment' is not very helpful 'I am going to spend the next two hours gathering notes on commercial contracts for my assessment. I'll work on chapter two of this book first, and if I have time, I'll start on chapter five' is much better. Break down your work into small manageable chunks, and then focus on a smaller task. Writing a paragraph is not as scary as writing an essay.
Be Active
Vary your activities to keep your mind from wandering: make notes, highlight, underline, ask yourself questions, prepare questions for discussion, associate new material with old material, visualize a concept, etc. Change the subject/topic you are studying every two hours or so to maintain your interest.
Take Regular Breaks
Reward yourself! It is important to take a break before you feel tired and lose your concentration completely. Regular breaks at least once an hour helps to sustain your concentration. If the work is not going too well and you have difficulties in concentrating, you may need a long break and go back to it later. Alternatively, you can try working for shorter period of time, such as 20 minutes, and have more frequent short breaks.
Plan regular breaks! Most people's concentration is radically reduced after 20-30 minutes. Get rid of the initial distractions, study for short periods of time and take five minute breaks.
When you sit for long periods, gravity draws the blood to the lower part of your body. When you take a break, take a few deep breaths and get more oxygen to your brain: try walking around and doing some light stretching for a few minutes. It will help to release tension in your body, and help your circulation. If you have been working on a computer, relax your eyes by focusing at a distance, and relieve your eyes from the glare of the computer by covering your eyes with the palm of your hands for a moment.
Review - The secret of Good Memory
Concentration and memory work together but one does not lead to the other. To concentrate is to direct your mental powers or your efforts towards a particular activity, subject or problem. The secret of good memory is frequent review and recall. As the saying goes, "If you don't use it, you lose it." After a break, spend a moment to remind yourself what you worked on. Going over the main points is sufficient. Do the same at the end of a study session, and recap on the main points. The feeling that you have achieved something will help to motivate you which in turn will help with your concentration.
Memory is the ability to remember information, experiences and people. There are some specific skills that can be learned to enhance both concentration and memory. Practicing these skills is likely to improve one's success as a student.
Older Adults Can Have More of a Challenge to Overcome
As one gets older, it becomes harder to filter out distractions and stick to a project, organize your thoughts, or follow the flow of a conversation, says Richard Restak, M.D., clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C, and co- author of The Longevity Strategy: How to Live to 100 Using the Brain-Body Connection".
Changes in brain activity begin gradually in middle age and may explain why older adults have a harder time with concentration in busy environments, and are easily distracted by irrelevant information. This news comes from The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest and the University of Toronto, where scientists compared brain function in young, middle-aged and older adults. It's known that older adults are more easily distracted. The study shows that they have found a mechanism in the brain to explain this and generated new insight into when in the lifespan these brain changes begin to occur," says senior Rotman scientist and lead author Dr. Cheryl Grady.
The study says these findings add to the growing belief by scientists that two regions in the brain's frontal lobes gradually shift into a seesaw imbalance," which causes older adults to become less efficient at blocking distracting information than young people are. Concentration ability declines with age; the study found significant differences between concentration abilities in old and young people.
In younger adults, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (associated with tasks that require concentration, such as reading) normally increases during the task, while activity in the medial frontal and parietal regions (associated with non-task related activity in a resting state, such as thinking about yourself, what you did last night, monitoring what's going on around you) normally decreases. Dr. Grady's team reported that starting in middle age (40-60 years) this seesaw pattern begins to break down during performance of memory tasks.
Activity in the medial frontal and parietal regions stays turned on while activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex decreases. This imbalance becomes more pronounced in older adults who could explain their reduced ability to ignore distracting or irrelevant information.
In summary, by researching articles we have learned that people of all ages experience a lack of concentration at certain times. Children have the best means to block' out other distractions around them with their solid play and imagination. On the other end of a life, the older people have greater difficulty concentrating, filtering out distractions, sticking to a project, organizing thoughts, or following the flow of a conversation.
People of all ages' experience some concentration loss, especially if the body is feeling taxed. When your attention takes a detour, the culprit may be one type of distraction or another; worry, stress, hunger or the cat scratching at the screen door. If you can't concentrate, it's hard to get anything done. This paper has provided some notions to what people of all ages can do to improve their concentration. The first thing is to admit there is a concentration problem"; only then can strategies be put in place to make the necessary changes. |
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Can a handshake change the world?
Friday, April 27, 2018 could be remembered as a game changer in world politics. On that day, the leaders of North and South Korea met on the Military Demarcation Line, which was drawn in blood after three years of fierce fighting between Korean communists and nationalists. Both leaders stepped on to the other side, shook hands and embraced each other.
Until very recently, this was unthinkable. Rather — it was feared that rising tensions between the two states would explode into a nuclear war. North Korea blamed the United States (US) and South Korea for seeking to destabilise it through encirclement and crushing sanctions. The US and South Korea accused North Korea of imperilling peace in the region and beyond, by its continuing development of nuclear bombs and delivery systems which would enable it to strike far and wide.
North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un upped the ante by describing the US as a bully and President Trump a mad man. He also claimed he could press his nuclear button, and hit which ever part of the world he wanted. Trump, second to none in such an exchange of invectives returned in kind and vowed to exterminate the North Korean regime. All this happened just four months ago.
Then, the international system came into play. Diplomacy set in motion processes which made both sides climb down; hence the handshakes and embraces between the chief executives of the two Koreas. These are preparatory to President Trump’s visit to North Korea, which is scheduled in the next few weeks. He has suggested meeting Kim Jong Un at the Peace House on the border between North and South Korea. As such, we need to put the Korean conflict into perspective.
A Korean Empire existed until in 1905,when it was forced to sign a protectorate treaty with Japan. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea. Korean resistance was crushed ruthlessly. After the end of WW-II, which resulted in Japan’s defeat, the victorious powers divided Korea into a Soviet protectorate in the north, and a southern protectorate placed primarily under the United States. Efforts to unite the two failed. The peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel. The ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ in the north and the ‘Republic of Korea’ in the south. In 1950 Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the present ruler of North Korea, started a war with a view to reunify the country under Communist rule. The UN Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution in favour of sending troops to the aid of the South. China and the Soviet Union came to the aid of North Korea, while UN forces comprising 20 nations under American command and 90 percent American troops, fought on the side of the South.
It was a bloody conflict which claimed thousands of lives. US General MacArthur wanted to use the atomic bomb, but was overruled by President Truman. Finally, a cease-fire was agreed to in 1953. The two nations remained officially at war because a peace treaty was never signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in1991.While North Korea became a Communist Dynasty, South Korea made the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy and became an industrial powerhouse. Several efforts have been made over the years to reunite the two Koreas. But the ideological differences have been too intractable.
This time round, the emphasis is not on reunification but on demilitarisation and denuclearization. Both sides realise that war is not an option and constant tension on their borders serves no purpose except to perpetuate fear and anxiety. We need to put the Korean conflict into perspective. The Korean Peninsula has seen the rise and fall of empires. Buddhism, Korean Shamanism and Confucianism make up the main religious and ethical traditions of 80 million people who speak the Korean language. Converts to Christianity grew in large numbers in South Korea after partition. It is the second largest religion in South Korea. Ethnically Koreans are an East Asian people.
It may be too early to start pinning too much hope on this handshake. After all, in 1993, PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands on the lawns in front of the White House in Washington. Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a fanatical Zionist and thereafter things went from bad to worse.
Our own region has had many famous handshakes. President Ayyub Khan and Prime Minister LalBahadurShastri met in Tashkent in 1966 after a meaningless war in 1965. They pledged not to go to war again, but in 1971 they did.
Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee’s historic visit to Lahore in February 1999 culminated in the Lahore Accord of February 21. Both sides declared that they would not resort to arms to resolve their disputes and efforts would be made to resolve the Kashmir dispute peacefully. General Pervez Musharraf and his buddies decided to sabotage that effort by sending men to occupy military posts inside Indian controlled territory in Kargil. It resulted in a mini-war which could have escalated to an exchange of nuclear bombs.
Afterwards Pervez Musharraf became a peacenik and met AtalBihari Vajpayee at Agra in 2002. The Agra Agreement was based on an understanding that the Kashmir dispute will be resolved without borders being redrawn, but rendered redundant was about to be signed when somebody in the Indian Foreign Office sabotaged it by informing Vajpayee that according to a resolution passed by the Indian Parliament, the Pakistani Azad Kashmir was an integral part of India and therefore the Agra Agreement cannot be signed by the Indian prime minister.
Next, ultra-nationalist NarendraModi came to Lahore to attend a wedding in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family.
Peace-loving Pakistanis and Indians interpreted it as a good omen. So-called non-state actors spoiled that opportunity through a terrorist attack on the Indian base in Pathankot.
Some people think that because of religious difference between Hindus and Muslims, peace between India and Pakistan or a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute is not possible. If that were true, Pakistan should have the best of relations with Afghanistan and the Middle East should be all love and peace, but the facts belie such a theory.
I think the major difference between the Korean and the Indo-Pakistan disputes is that both North and South Korea are in full control of what happens in their societies. If North or South Korea or the United States were to renege on a peace deal, we would know who did what and possibly why, because there would be no non-state actors involved who could ostensibly act against the will of the states. That unfortunately, is not true of the situation in the Indian subcontinent.
Not in the Mahatma’s name
The Kashmir Monitor
By Apoorvanand
The recent uproar over the glorification of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, NathuramGodse, by the BharatiyaJanata Party’s Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur has forced her party to tick her off. It should be a solace for us that there is at least one non-negotiable in Indian politics, that the political cost of the celebration of the murder of the Mahatma is formidably high! But now we would be told to let the matter rest as she has been chided even by her mentors.
Let us look at the implication of this approach, that Ms. Thakur, sans this statement, should be acceptable to us as a potential representative in Parliament. She continues to be the ‘symbol of Hinduism’, as she claimed Prime Minister NarendraModi had said of her. Our satisfaction over the condemnation of Ms. Thakur makes us forget that she is being audaciously presented as the most fitting answer to secular politics, which holds that a person accused of attacks on Muslims cannot be a people’s representative in India.
The idea that a Hindu can never indulge in a terror act is, in fact, another way of saying that terror acts are always committed by non-Hindus. Or, by Pakistan, which for BJP leaders is a proxy for Muslims. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while talking about the Samjhauta Express blast case acquittals, claimed that it was unimaginable to accept that Hindus could be involved in such acts, and that he believed that in all such crimes there was the hand of Pakistan. A crime has been committed, and since the Hindu suspects cannot (being Hindus) do it, it can only be Muslims even if they are not caught — this is the underlying assumption.
It is this theory which is being thrown at us by the BJP by presenting Ms. Thakur as its choice for the electorate of Bhopal. It has another sinister aspect. She was selected knowing well that she could not be a choice for Muslims. Her selection is therefore a message to Muslims that by not voting for her, they disregard the sentiments of Hindus, thus showing intolerance towards the majority.
By supporting her, the ‘symbol of Hinduism’, they have a chance to endear themselves to the Hindus. If they don’t, they would always be a suspect.
This argument is not new. Many pundits, while accepting that Mr.Modi was a divisive figure, urged Indians to choose him as he was the best bet for the economic development of India. So, can Muslims be so sectarian as to think only about themselves while the greater national interest is at stake?
The swift and determined move by the BJP to reject her statement on Godse is a clever ploy to make this issue irrelevant while judging her. It is as if we are asked to judge Godse, setting aside the act of murder of Gandhi by him. There are ‘respectable’ people who feel that Godse spoilt his case by murdering the Mahatma. They regret this folly as they believe that there was strong merit in his ideological stance. According to them, he rightly opposed the Muslim appeasement of Gandhi, his anger at the dangerous friendliness of Gandhi towards Pakistan is correct, and his impatience with the unwise and impractical pacifism of Gandhi is to be understood if we want to make India strong.
We are asked to understand that there was a reason Godse was forced to kill Gandhi. We are asked to not treat him as a simple criminal. He was driven by high ideas. To make him a man of ideas, he is constantly humanised. We have seen over the years people talking about his childhood, his education, his editorship. Gandhi must have done something really horrible to provoke a thoughtful human being to turn into an assassin. If anything, they imply, he was a just assassin!
So, we are asked to move away from the trivia, that is the act of the murder, to the substantive, the issues raised by Nathuram in his ‘brave defence’ in the court, which had moved people to tears even then.
The RashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh (RSS), unlike the Islamic State and the Maoists, understands it well that an individual and identifiable act of violence makes it abhorrent and repulsive for the masses, whereas anonymous acts of violence are always more palatable. It was therefore important for Savarkar to distance himself from his disciple, Godse, to remain respectable. For the RSS it was necessary to disown Godse to be able to keep working on the majoritarian ideas he shared with or had learnt from Savarkar and the RSS. No known RSS hand soils his hands with blood; yet it is the politics of the RSS, not at all different from Godse’s, which makes blood flow.
Gandhi had said again and again that it would be better for him to die if India were to become inhospitable to Muslims. He was talking to those who were objecting to the recitation from the Koran at his prayer meetings. Death he could accept but not the narrowing of his heart! Neither bowing to threats or force! In the same invocation, he said, if you ask me to recite the Gita at gun point, I would refuse to obey you.
Gandhi told his audience, your heart is also large. Don’t constrict it. It is this challenge which needs to be accepted. It requires immense bravery of intelligence and humanity to be able to hear Gandhi. This intelligence would tell us that the distancing from the murder of the Mahatma by the co-travellers of Godse is in fact a strategy to enlarge the space for majoritarian ideas and draw more and more Hindus towards them, thus making Gandhi irrelevant while keeping his facade decorated.
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Why I want Pragya Thakur to win
The Kashmir Monitor
By Saba Naqvi
Regardless of whether NarendraModi remains Prime Minister or not I want terror accused Pragya Thakur to win from Bhopal. The esteemed leadership of India’s pre-eminent political party chose a terror accused as a candidate and they must endure her tenure as MP.
Pragya may be a poisonous vendor of hate and violence but she is not a hypocrite. Ever since she spoke her mind on describing NathuramGodse, the individual who shot MK Gandhi to death, as a patriot, the BJP national leadership has claimed to be disturbed. The Prime Minister spoke up after her statement, saying, he would never forgive her for what she had said and the party stated that it had initiated disciplinary action against her.
But by the time the party took this position, many members of the BJP had come up with twisted arguments somehow justifying Pragya’s validation of the assassin of a figure many revere as a Mahatma or Great Soul. Party members exposed their own problematic ideological heritage that included non-participation in the freedom movement led by Gandhi. Some of them could not help but reveal their own natural impulse to drop the veneer of falsehood and come clean on how they do indeed believe that Godse was a patriot despite having killed Gandhi.
The Godse remark in just two days exposed the ideological underbelly of the ruling party that does indeed have members who believe that Gandhi was a villain who loved Muslims and Pakistan. That’s why Godse, by his own account in a famous trial, shot him. A must-read for those who wish to engage with this debate is the book titled “The Men Who Killed Gandhi” by ManoharMalgonkar.
Seventy-one years after that crime on January 30, 1948, we have come to the point where a candidate contesting in an election for Parliament embraces the Godse world view. What’s more, a member of Modi’s council of ministers, AnantkumarHegde, endorsed her position. The MP from Karnataka had earlier kicked up a storm when he had said that “we are here to change the Constitution”. Yes, the same Constitution he took an oath to protect.
Hegde’s also received a show-cause notice to explain his position and on May 17 BJP president Amit Shah said the party’s disciplinary committee would submit a report on the matter in 10 days, after the election verdict, that is. There was more: the BJP media cell chief in Madhya Pradesh, the state from where Pragya is contesting, was brazen enough to say that Gandhi was the father of the nation of Pakistan. The BJP suspended him.
So how do we read the ideological contortions ever since Pragya uttered the “Godse is a patriot” words? One could say that the BJP is trying to occupy the space of both extreme and moderate in a national ideological pendulum that has shifted right-wards. It’s not a bad ploy—the ideological family plays to the more core beliefs, that are to be revealed step by step, and just in case some voters find them unpalatable, there are the “reasonable” elements as well.
And, voila! Modi becomes a moderate who is being stern with the fringe! That is a useful projection at a time when there is the possibility of needing some allies post-23 May. The BJP has made this ideological journey before, of being all things to all men. Earlier, former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee was offered up as the moderate to LK Advani, the architect of the Ram temple movement, who brought the BJP to national prominence. Today Modi today is the moderate who is speaking up against the hardliners, who are called “fringe” by those who believe it’s all part of a great national purpose.
It’s not. The “fringe” has been mainstream for some years now. Much before Pragya was presented to the nation as a candidate for parliament, the BJP leadership chose an unabashed Muslim-hating monk of a religious order to be the chief minister of India’s most populous state. All these debates about ‘moderate’ and ‘hardliner’ are a farce designed to make the BJP constituency feel better about themselves. It’s part of the good cop/ bad cop tactic.
To conclude, therefore, I want a terror accused to win, just so that we can, as a nation, get a reality check on where we have landed up. And just in case someone wants to ask me about whether I am afraid, here is my reply: I am so certain about the courage of my convictions, that there is no fear, although I do feel some shame for those who have tied themselves into knots over something about which there should have been no ambiguity. Bring on Pragya and let’s see what happens next.
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The ‘unpeople’ of India
The Kashmir Monitor
By Abdul Khaliq
Muslims now have to live with the bleak truth that the most powerful political party and its ideological parent, with tentacles spread across the country, are pathologically hostile to Muslims.
I fear for our future as a secular, multicultural country that once celebrated a richness of culture and tradition. Till not long ago we affirmed our common humanity even as we celebrated our differences. Our nation represented diversity, kindness, compassion and a revulsion of extremist views. But, over time, our collective souls have been deadened by violence, deepening communal and caste divides and the most perverse thinking. The cosmopolitan spirit has been throttled by hyper nationalism, populism and a deep distrust of the liberal values of tolerance and inclusion. A creeping majoritarianism is spreading across the land.
In this overheated, protracted election season, Muslims are up against it, caught between a rock and a hard place. Theirs is an Orwellian world where they are the “unpeople”— a term coined by George Orwell in his scary masterpiece 1984, to define those whose names and existence had been erased because they had incurred “Big Brother’s” ire. Muslims now have to live with the bleak truth that the most powerful political party and its ideological parent, with tentacles spread across the country, are pathologically hostile to Muslims. What makes their plight infinitely worse, is the fact that even the major allegedly secular party has consigned Muslims to social invisibility. Can one trust a party that is afraid to even allude to the Muslims’ problems, let alone address them?
When the PM evoked the 1984 mass slaughter of Sikhs and quoted Rajiv Gandhi’s infamous justification about the inevitable effect of the falling of a big tree, why did the Congress president not hit back by recalling the 2002 Gujarat riots and Modi’s Newtonian observation justifying the killing of hundreds of Muslims as a reaction to an action? He refrained, not for any ethical reason, but simply for fear of being seen as empathetic to Muslims and their problems and of equating the two tragedies. Caught between the flagrant hostility of the right-wing and the fraudulent concern of the secular front, Muslims are India’s outcasts.
In today’s India, where all issues across the political spectrum are seen through the lens of identity politics, Muslims are vilified for their custom, dress and tradition. They are physically attacked for the food they eat, discriminated against in employment, housing, and even civic amenities, and, they are routinely victimised by law-enforcement authorities simply for being Muslim. Social media is awash with the most hateful, stereotypical portrayal of Muslims as terrorist sympathisers, baby producing factories and worse. Although India has been the home of Islam and its adherents for much more than a millennium, Muslims today are constantly pilloried about their loyalty to the nation.
All assessments about Muslims are universalised, in black and white and deeply problematic. In a conversation with two CRPF sub-inspectors who have recently returned from Kashmir (I did not reveal that I was Muslim), I was told that “these Muslims are a nuisance as even their women throw stones at us.” Please note that the stone-throwing by the disgruntled Kashmiris is perceived as a common trait of Muslims — all 190 million of them. Their other complaints were that Muslims support Pakistan and insist on eating only halal meat. When I asked how the civil unrest in Kashmir could be resolved, I got an answer that stunned me: “Make sure that the police force in Kashmir is recruited only from the Shia community and they will teach these Sunnis a lesson!” How well have the British taught us the art of “divide and rule” and of polarising communities! The conversation filled me with anguish at the gratuitous distrust and hatred for Muslims. The animosity runs deep and is expressed by ordinary citizens in a matter-of-fact tone that is unnerving.
I recall clearly the sense of cautious optimism among Muslims when NarendraModi assumed power in 2014. His swearing-in was a strikingly symbolic moment, epitomised by the presence of the Pakistani PM that signalled hope of rapprochement with Pakistan (Indian Muslims know through experience that their well-being is linked to this crucial relationship). The PM represented a more decisive polity that promised an equitable social order expressed most eloquently in the Socratic slogan, “Sabkasaathsabkavikas”. This slogan encapsulated this nation’s foremost mission of fostering social solidarity based on the principle that every human being matters. Minorities felt reassured by the PM’s emphatic assertion in 2015 that “my government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly.” He repeatedly made appeals to preserve our core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality, calling on Hindus and Muslims to work together to fight poverty instead of fighting one another. His stunning embrace of Nawaz Sharif on Christmas Day 2015 filled everyone with hope.
On the ground, however, India began witnessing a deepening cultural mutation as vigilante squads terrorised and lynched Muslims in the name of protecting the cow, launched “gharwapsi” campaigns that have all but ended the freedom to choose one’s faith and used “love jihad” to stifle any kind of solidarity between the two communities. Minorities began to believe that the present dispensation’s aim is to convert India into the Hindu Rashtra of Hindutva where Muslims and Christians would live as second-class citizens. The current election rhetoric has only exacerbated those fears. The BJP LokSabha candidate for Barabanki boasted that “NarendraModi has made attempts to break the morale of Muslims. Vote for Modi if you want to destroy the breed of Muslims.”
We are on the cusp of having a new government at the Centre. Opinion polls and the most reliable — the bookies — predict victory for the NDA, but with a reduced majority. Ironically, the return of Modi as PM is the best hope for peace within the country and the neighbourhood. Imran Khan was right when he said that only Modi could help resolve Kashmir. He is the only leader with the power to rein in the lunatics whose purpose in life is to polarise communities and engage in eternal war with Pakistan. In any case, the new government’s first task would be to combat the overpowering atmosphere of distrust and hate bedevilling society which constitutes the foremost threat to the nation, more so than terrorism. The creation of a truly secular society free of prejudice and discrimination must be the prime mission.
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Guidelines for Teaching with Themes or Incorporating Philosophy
Questions Answered Here
1. What are some potential benefits of teaching themed yoga classes?
2. What considerations or guidelines may support effective teaching of themes in yoga?
3. Describe some of the subtleties related to “teaching what you know.”
4. How might you teach concepts in a universal way?
5. Describe the challenge of effectively distilling a concept down to its essence.
6. What are some considerations that might help you effectively distill a concept for teaching it in class?
7. What is a common mistake when introducing a philosophical point in class? How can you avoid this?
8. What are some components of an effective theme plan?
9. What are some ways to refine your teaching technique?
10. How can you effectively teach a theme while also staying with the students’ present moment experience?
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Tag Archives: mackinac
Waterfront Resort, Mackinac Island, MI
The dramatic landscape of Jersey, its coastline and inland panorama of valleys and fields, has been shaped by very long time processes of climate change. Based on a photograph unearthed from the Nationwide Archives, researchers stated Earhart may have been captured by the Japanese after all, because the photo confirmed Earhart and Noonan, in Jaluit Harbor in the Marshall Islands after their disappearance.island
Some of their voyages had been probably unintentional, and occurred when storms blew canoes traveling to nearby islands off track. Oceanic islands can type from various kinds of volcanoes. The closest bodies of land in Europe are the Faroe Islands (420 km, 260 mi); Jan Mayen Island (570 km, 350 mi); Shetland and the Outer Hebrides , both about 740 km (460 mi); and the Scottish mainland and Orkney , each about 750 km (470 mi).
Continental islands have wildlife very like that of the continent they … |
National Museum of the Royal Navy
The history of the Royal Navy dates back over a thousand years to King Alfred's first battle at sea in 882. The Navy has defended Britain from invasion, attacked enemies and eventually established Britain as the dominant world sea power in the 19th century. Today's role involves peacekeeping, fighting piracy and the prevention of drug trafficking. The influence of the Navy can be felt at every level in our society: in our speech, literature, dress, music, character, culture and customs. The history of the Navy is to a remarkable extent the history of Britain.
The Royal Naval Museum, in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, is one of Britain’s oldest maritime museums. The Museum’s aim is to preserve and present the history of the 'Fleet' - the ships and the men and women who manned them.
Admission to the Museum is through the all-inclusive ticket available for purchase online in advance of your visit or on the day at the Historic Dockyard Visitor Centre.
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User Tools
Git is a powerful and useful tool, but if used improperly it can be a clusterfuck for managing code. This page is designed to serve as a basic introduction to git, outline how Robosub is using git, and links to helpful information. How we use git is very much tied to the overall software development workflow, so I recommend reading that as well.
Getting Started
I highly recommend you start out by going over our intro tutorial to git, which describes a few high-level concepts that are important to understand before you start using git. For reference, you can find the official git documentation here. An interactive tool for learning Git is Try Git.
The workflow we use consists of a few types of branches.
1. master - This branch can be assumed to always be stable, meaning the code in these branches should always compile, and should pass all unit/module tests. User branches are merged into master after passing a code review.
2. user/feature branches - These types of branches are the main ones most people will be directly interacting with. When naming your branches, it's recommended to prefix the branch name with your name. For example, if John Doe was working on thruster code, he would name his branch “john/thruster”.
Rebase/Integration Method
We use the Rebase/Integration method as our workflow and policy for merging in new code. This method is an alternative to the more common “branch and merge” method. The simple short version of this policy is as follows:
1. Users always work on their own branch
2. When users feel their code is stable, they rebase onto the master branch
3. A code review will be set up, possibly resulting in software tweaks (back to step 1)
4. An integrator will fast-forward the master branch up to the user’s branch
Integrators are a small group of people that control what code ends up going into the master branch and keep the git repo clean. This group should only be a few people, possibly even just one person for each repository. Team leads might be a good person for this position.
The day-to-day workflow for users is as follows:
1. fetch the latest changes
2. rebase current branch on the integration branch, fix any merge conflicts
3. start coding, make commits on own branch
4. always commit when done working for the day
• code has a very linear history
• naturally encourages people to stay up to date with the integration branch
• merge conflicts are easier and safer to resolve
• stable code is controlled by a select few
• No extra commits just showing a merge
• The parallel development history is lost
• requires integrators to stay on top of things
Commit Often, then Squash Later
Users often go long periods without commiting their work, because they feel like small changes are not worth committing. They wait until a substantial amount of changes have occurred, which can range from a few days to a few weeks. This is bad! This results in others not being aware of work that the user is doing, and also risks work getting lost. Users should at a minimum commit whatever they have done at the end of their current work session that day.
Some may complain that this will result in a cluttered git history, however the solution for this is simple. When code is ready to be put into an integration branch, the user should perform an interactive rebase, and at that time they can squash together multiple commits into a single commit. By doing this a user can have 15 commits on their own branch (useful when they are developing), but when they believe their added feature is good and stable they can squash-rebase onto master, and have single commit representing all the changes for the added feature. This results in a very clean and descriptive history when looking at the master branch.
What Files to Commit?
As a general rule of thumb, the repo should only contain source files. Anything that is generated from those source files (like binaries, build files, and logs) should not be committed, nor should data files. Never, ever add binary files like pdfs, executables, zipfiles, movies, music etc. These will get deleted!
Quick reference
• git fetch retrieve the latest changes from the server
• git rebase <other branch> rebase your current branch on top of <other branch>, which typically should be master.
• git checkout <file/directory name> reset all unstaged changes to <file/directory name> |
History Hepatitis E Pathogen (HEV) infections is a substantial public wellness
History Hepatitis E Pathogen (HEV) infections is a substantial public wellness concern and in charge of huge outbreaks of acute hepatitis in poor sanitary and living circumstances. were examined for total anti-HEV antibody utilizing a particular enzyme connected immunoassay (ELISA) package. Outcomes The prevalence of HEV infections was PTK787 2HCl 14.2% (225/1582) with no more than 25.5 % (14/55) in densely populated areas. The best prevalence was BAX seen in visitant areas (≥ 20%) close to the holly shrine with congested resorts and inns. The distinctions between these areas and various other districts had been statistically significant (P < 0.001). The results indicated that 13.2% (95/718) of men and 15.0% (130/864) of females were HEV positive; this difference isn't significant. Seroprevalence boosts with age increasing from 12.8% in subjects significantly less than five years to 28.6% in people with a lot more than 65 years of age. Although there have been no meaningful distinctions between HEV seropositivity and socio-economic position Illiterate individuals had been considerably at higher risk for infections than educated people (P < 0.001). Conclusions These results confirmed that high prevalence of HEV relates to filled district that may reach to the best rate in resorts and inns near visitants. Traditional water and sanitation supplying systems will be the second essential PTK787 2HCl aspect for the virus transmission. Therefore it could be figured such areas want efficient security systems to prevent the distributing of infectious diseases. PTK787 2HCl Keywords: Hepatitis E Computer virus Population Viruses 1 Background Epidemiological studies have shown that hepatitis E computer virus (HEV) contamination is a significant public health concern in many parts of the world causing large outbreaks of acute hepatitis. This computer virus was first acknowledged in the early 1980s (1) and known as the causative agent of hepatitis E. HEV is usually a small non-enveloped single-stranded RNA computer virus approximately 27-34 nm in diameter. In most recent ICTV (International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses) classification HEV has been placed in its own taxonomic group “Hepatitis E-like viruses” as a member of the genus Hepevirus in the Hepeviridae family (2) within the class IV positive sense RNA viruses (3). The viral particles are relatively stable in the environment and have been recovered from sewage samples (4). Since the first documented hepatitis E outbreak in India during 1955-1956 there have been many large outbreaks reported in developing countries of Southeast and Central Asia the Middle East northern and western parts of Africa (5-9). In contrast in designed countries there have been sporadic cases of locally acquired hepatitis E even though; no epidemics have been reported (10 11 Although the overall mortality rate associated with HEV infections is low it really is reportedly up to 20% among contaminated pregnant women especially through the third trimester of being pregnant (12 13 kids younger than 2 yrs previous (14 15 body organ recipients (16 17 various other severely immunocompromised topics (18) and in bloodstream items recipients (19). Chlamydia has been mainly described to become from the ingestion of fecally polluted drinking water being a waterborne disease (12). Nevertheless latest investigations never have consistently discovered well-defined water resources of HEV recommending other feasible routes of transmitting (14 20 These various other transmission modes could be related to the amount of people immunity sanitary circumstances living PTK787 2HCl circumstances and other elements (21). Other regular routes of transmitting have been confirmed such as bloodstream transfusion and individual to individual (22). Additionally it is considerable that in a few populations HEV is apparently conveniently transmissible with up to 76% of individuals aged >20 years of age having serological proof infections without the significant disease (23). Where hepatitis E is certainly hyperendemic or not really the frequency of varied transmitting routes the affected groupings and disease features differ sufficiently in various areas. The HEV genotypes widespread in locations with different patterns of disease epidemiology vary and these may determine a number of the distinctions in disease epidemiology in these locations (24). Mashhad simply because the main town in north east of Iran and the administrative centre town of Khorasan is certainly a filled holly town for Muslims which is situated near the physical boundary of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The motives of mobility the procedure from the international motion those from in countries at war with poor particularly.
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New study finds how pesticide exposure causes obesity
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-07 19:59:54|Editor: zh
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BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A new study has found that the use of pesticides increases the risk of developing obesity by impairing gut and gut microbiota.
Chlorpyrifos has been a residential insecticide since the late 19th century, and it is still among the most commonly used type of pesticide around the world due to its ideal bioactivity. Previous studies show that exposure to the pesticide may cause obesity and diabetes, but the underlying mechanism of how it works remains unknown.
Researchers from China Agriculture University focused on the human gut microbiota, the most important micro-ecosystem in the body.
Gut microbiota, containing tens of trillions of microorganisms, has important effects including in immunity and body weight. It can help the body digest certain foods that the stomach and small intestine have not been able to digest.
In animal experiments, researchers put the pesticide into the food and water of mice. They found the pesticide intake broke the integrity of the gut barrier, leading to an increased entry of a toxin into the body and finally inflammation, which ultimately induced insulin resistance and obesity.
Insulin resistance is commonly seen in obese people and plays a key role in the development of diabetes.
According to Wang Peng, lead researcher, the increased toxin-bearing bacteria population in the body further disrupts the gut microbiota balance, making the mice gain more fat.
Moreover, similar results were observed in mice with different genetic backgrounds and diet habits, indicating that genes and diet had limited influence on the altered gut and gut microbiota.
The research was published in the international journal Microbiome.
"Our results suggest that widespread use of pesticides may contribute to the worldwide epidemic of inflammation-related diseases," Wang said. |
Maria Rubinke Extreme Porcelain
Ray Caesar Surrealist
LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans
Marie Delphine Lalaurie and her third husband, a doctor, Leonard Louis Lalaurie, purchased the home at 1140 Royal Street in the early 1830s. A renowned Voodoo Queen named Marie Laveau lived just a few blocks from the Lalaurie House. Although the nature of their relationship is unknown, undoubtedly these two women met and knew each other.
The legend goes that in the LaLaurie household, slaves disappeared on a regular basis. No questions were ever asked. Then on April 11, 1834, a slave provoked by the abuse piled upon her, set fire to the Lalaurie’s kitchen.
While trying to save items from the house, someone began whispering that servants were chained and locked up behind barred doors and would die in the fire. They searched the house busting down the locked door to the attic. Madame LaLaurie had renovated the large room into a torture chamber of sorts where hideous procedures had been performed on many of the slaves.
Word spread among the people of New Orleans and the LaLauries fled when a lynch mob formed. Some people found evidence that they had fled across Lake Pontchartrain and lived there, while others say she went from there to France, escaping in a horse and buggy on the night of the fire.
American Horror Story: Coven
A cluster of rats
At once beautiful and a little bit strange, this wonderful carving of a cluster of rats is actually a tiny (4 cm in diameter) ivory netsuke, made in Japan in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and now part of the Japanese Art collection in LACMA. Netsuke are miniature sculptures invented in 17th century Japan as a toggle to secure a small pouch or container to the sash of a kimono. Although first produced to fulfill a utilitarian function, they evolved into objects of impressive craftsmanship which reflected many aspects of Japanese culture. As the first animal of the Chinese zodiac (which was adopted in Japan around 600 AD), rats (nezumi) were a popular motif in netsuke carving, which, according to the British Museum, were given as gifts to people born in the Year of the Rat. White rats in particular were seen as lucky in old Japan, believed to be a messenger of Daikoku, one of the seven gods of luck. |
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