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Tiny Armies of Microsubmarines Could Clean Up Oil Spills (Video) Back in May, we covered a cool new technology looking into how microsubmarines could be the future of cleaning up oil spills in the ocean. Megan wrote, "The tiny machines are able to absorb and transport oil droplets in water, meaning they could be our next go-to solution for cleaning up oil spills...[T]he microsubmarines were based on microtube engines that were created to deliver medicine through the bloodstream of the human body. The submarines are eight micrometers long -- ten times smaller than the width of a human hair -- and are propelled by an inner layer of hydrogen peroxide that reacts with the liquid they're submerged in to produce bubbles and shoot them forward." The technology can feel a little complex but the video above from American Chemical Society succinctly explains it. So if you had any lingering questions after reading our coverage earlier in the year, this video might clear a few things up. Enjoy! Tags: Oil \| Oil Spill \| Technology treehugger slideshows
zondag 27 september 2009 Landscape of tissue paper You need: 1. tissue paper in several colours 2. wallpaper glue, made with extra water 3. glue brushes 4. white drawing paper A4 size Look with the students at pictures of different landscapes: mountains, volcanic landscape, coastal landscape, river landscape, hills, flat landscape. Discuss the differences between those landscapes. Students are going to make a landscape out of tissue paper. They may just tear the sheets, so no scissors! The landscapes have to be constructed from behind, so the front sheets have to be glued at last. While doing it this way, colours can be glued overlapping, which gives more tints. Explain the students to use white tissue paper to make colours lighter. The glaciers on the mountains in the example are created by not glueing the white tissue paper entirely. Dry parts will stay white, wet parts take over the colour that's underneath. Geen opmerkingen: Een reactie plaatsen
Saturday, December 6, 2014 Why Did Lehi Not Have Fires? Quite often when we read the scriptural record, we pass over some significant or interesting facts that may not, at first, seem apparent or noteworthy. As an example, Nephi tells us: “For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:12). Yet, their food was the wild animals that Nephi and his brothers were able to hunt and kill along the way (1 Nephi 16:15), and when game was not available or when Nephi broke his bow and his brother’s bows lost their spring, the party “did suffer much for the want of food” (1 Nephi 16:19). Without a means of obtaining food, Nephi states that he “did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow” (1 Nephi 16:23). However, making a bow out of wood is not a simple fete, and finding the right wood would have been important since he would have needed a piece long enough, thick enough, straight enough, and flexible yet strong enough to draw back with great force without breaking. Such an effort would take someone with learning, skill, ingenuity and determination. Evidently, Nephi had some experience with bows, and was evidently an accomplished hunter for it was he, it seems, that provided the bulk of the game along their journey (1 Nephi 16:18). This new bow would have been different, no doubt a different size and weaker than his steel bow, and obviously would have had a different draw weight. The fact that he had to make an arrow for it and not use one of his own or brother’s arrows, suggest a different, customized requirement to be of use with this new wood bow. Top Left: Olive tree; Top Right: Pomegranate tree; Bottom Left: Acacia tree; Bottom Right: Juniper tree--all were available in the area where Nephi would have broken his steel bow While Nephi probably had olive, pomegranate, acacia or juniper for wood in the area, archaeologist Salim Saad claims that the especially hard, close-grained fruitwood of the pomegranate tree, which is remarkably limber and tough, and grows around a place called Jiddah (Jeddah)—a tiny village in Lehi’s time—would have been an absolute necessity for bow-making purposes. On the other hand, the Egyptians of the time used Acacia, Tamarisk, and Jujube, all of which are found in the southern Arabian Peninsula; however, anciently the Atim tree, which is an Olive tree, was used along the coastal area of the Asir Mountains close to the Frankincense Trail, for all types of weapons, including arrows, staffs, throwing sticks and spears, as well as being flexible for bows. An extremely hard wood, it was also used for hammers and gimlets. In addition, Nibley cites the use of nab wood, which is a sa’sam, the same as shauhal or jujube Indian wood. The Asir Mountains are a series of escarpments alongside the Red Sea down the western coast of Arabia where Nephi probably went to hunt It is interesting that Nephi says the instruction on the Liahona caused him to “go forth up into the top of the mountain” where he was able to find and “slay wild beasts” (1 Nephi 16:30-31), since it is in the tops of the mountains in this area where mountain goats, gazelle, leopards and wolf are common. Along the route they took, Nephi makes no mention of meeting any other party in their eight years and about 2500 miles of wandering in the wilderness. Of course a casual passing of a stray family or an occasional camel caravan would not have merited any special attention, but any actual meeting or joining would certainly have elicited some comment in the narrative. To cook the meat of the wild animals killed for food, normally a fire would have been struck for cooking during the day or at night, and also for warmth and light, but the Lord told Nephi, “I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not; and I will also be your light in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:13). Not until they reached the seashore at the place Lehi called Bountiful did they feel free to build fires. Nephi tells us he did so when he built a bellows “to blow the fire” that he made striking two stones together (1 Nephi 17:11). What was the difference? In 1922-24, ninety-three years after Joseph Smith translated the plates, Bertram S. Thomas (left), became the first Westerner to cross the Rub’ al Khali (Empty Quarter), a desert in Southern Arabia—an area until then that was forbidden to all but the Bedouin and completely unknown outside the Arab world. Thomas was a British civil servant and later became the Wazir (Vizir), or high-ranking political advisor (minister) to the Sultan of Oman. He wrote in Arabia Felix, that despite the bitter cold at night, campfires were avoided because they might attract the attention of a prowling raiding party over long distances of sculptured sand dunes and invite a night attack. He added, that on occasion, a favorable sheltered depression in this vast land sometimes referred to as the Abode of Silence and called simply by the Bedouins “The Sands,” provided an opportunity for a fire that could not be seen from a higher spot. In addition, the smoke of a daytime fire was just as likely to be spotted by some distant rover or murderous raiding party and just as dangerous. His comment: “Fires were not out of the question, but rare and risky,” seems to match Nephi's comment: “For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire,” suggesting Lehi’s party followed this ancient Bedouin custom of not traveling with fire through this largest sand desert in the world, but only occasionally were able to build one. Obviously, in traveling through these perpetually shifting sand dunes there was always the fear of raiding parties to keep Lehi and his group alert and tense. At night, no fires meant raw food “we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:2), though the Lord told them that “I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not” (1 Nephi 17:12). According to William F. Albright (Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, Johns Hopkins Press, 1942, p. 101), the area where Lehi traveled has always been a land of “disoriented groups and of individual fugitives, where organized semi-nomadic Arab tribes alternate with sedentary society, runaway slaves, bandits, and their descendants.” Obviously, it would have been imperative to avoid all contact with anyone, not knowing who was friend and who was foe. After all, the raid is a highly honorable and traditional undertaking among the desert tribes, and includes attacks on neighboring tribes as well as on traveling caravans. Jeremiah, in Lehi’s day, wrote: “Thou has laid in ambush for them, as the Arabians in the wilderness” (Jeremiah 3:2). All this bears out the reality, supported both by archaeology and modern experience, that Lehi was moving through a dangerous world. In ancient times Jewish merchants traveling through the desert fell so often into the hands of Bedouin raiders that by the beginning of the Christian era their word for "captor" normally meant simply "Arab." Inscriptions from Lehi's time show that "in the peninsula there was constant unrest," and "the honored man did not dare stay in the open country, and flight did not save the fainthearted." Hunger, danger, loneliness, fear—Lehi's people knew them all. The Arab tribes of this desert are in a state of almost perpetual war against each other. To surprise the stranger by a sudden attack, and to plunder a camp, are chief objects of the Bedouin. Raiding to them is the spice of life, and "might is right." In the desert, “a man ever walks in fear for his life and possessions." Lehi, of courser, could ill afford to get embroiled in these perennial desert feuds, and yet he was everywhere a trespasser—the only way for him to stay out of trouble was to observe a rule which Bertram Thomas lays down for all travelers in the desert, even today: "An approaching party may be friend, but is always assumed to be foe." Consequently, the Lord’s injunction to Lehi not to make much fire as they journeyed in the wilderness makes sense in light of the understanding of the area through which he traveled. It also shows the accurate portrayal and knowledge of the times and conditions in which Lehi lived--factors unknown and unheard of in the U.S. in 1830. No comments: Post a Comment
Thursday, July 9, 2009 Dinosaurs To Live Again? Dinosaurs have captured the imagination for centuries since their disappearance 65 million years ago. Since then, the media has attempted ressurected this amazing group of animals and their environment through films, novels, encyclopedias, kids books, scientific journals, etc. Who wouldn't want to see them up close and personal? Now it might be possible. New techniques in genetics brings back the hope of seeing these great animals alive again. The novel Jurassic Park suggests that one can extract dinosaur DNA from mosquitos fossilized in amber. In fact, one geneticist attempted to do just that...or rather using a slightly different method and from a relatively younger mosquito. The result was an apparent DNA strand, yet when it was attempted by others, people gave up when they got no DNA , leading to the idea that maybe the DNA was a contaminant from the scientist. Thus, diminishing the hope of resurrecting these fantastic animals. However, Dr. John R. Horner has another idea, if you recall from my Wired article post. If you DO recall, he mentions that modern birds have the same genes as the avian-theropods (Coelurosaurs, mainly). They're just turned off or slightly modified. In fact, these "old-dogs" can learn new tricks. Experimenting with these genes (more specifically, these hox genes, or genes that make up the body plan of an organism. Hox genes correspond to a specific body part.), is Horner's former student Hans Larsson notices that as an chicken embryo develops, the embryo has about 16 vertebrae in their tails and then it shrinks to about 4-5 vetebrae in their tails. Larsson then attempts to see if he can keep the gene active longer than usual. In fact, it works. He not only succeeds in keeping the gene on in the chicken, he manages to extend the tail about 3 more vertebrae. Developmental Biologist Mathew Harris has managed to cause a bird's feet to develop downy feathers like the Dromaeosaurs would've had and the Chinese breed of chicken the silky bird. Harris and his mentor found that a chicken mutant was starting to develop embryonic teeth. Suddenly, Horner's idea of retro-engineering of birds into theropod dinosaurs seems possible. However, it's not as easy as it sounds. Not only do they have to identify the particular genes, but they have to find the right mix of chemicals to start the fertilization process and to create the enzymes needed to control the genes as in what genes are turned on/off and when. Despite this setback, Horner and Larrson believe that at the rate at which we're decoding genomes and the rate at which the science of genetics is racing, we may be able to retro-engineer dinosaurs (mainly theropods) from modern birds within this century. Jurassic Park? Probably not. Living theropod dinosaurs or something like it? Yes! Author's Note: Information obtained from the Discovery Channel documentary: "Dinosaurs: Return to Life?" Author's Note: Wondering about the bird wings and the fore-limbs of Dinosaurs? I believe that at the rate at which Genetics is racing, we may able to find the gene that keeps the fingers separate and the arm long and capable of grasping prey and find the right enzymes and chemicals (with the right mixture, of course.) we could keep that gene turned on. Like I said, sounds easy, right? Well, easier said than done fits this situation. However, it will happen within this century I believe and you may see a theropod walking around in a zoo before you kick the bucket. That's the deal with the fore-limbs of the bird embryos and the theropods. Dinorider d'Andoandor said... I'm looking forward to seeing such a creature wandering around! Raptor Lewis said... Aren't we all, Dinorider...Aren't we all. Naveed said... For some reason I'm reminded of the Spinosaur from JP/// that everyone called a mutant duck. However these mutants will be real and chickens, or at least the first batch will be, unless they use ratites (ostriches, emus, etc...). Either way the end result is that we'll have a theropod, or at least something theropod like. Of course it they get good enough at it, I might be able to get that raptor army I've always wanted...hehe. Raptor Lewis said... May I please interrupt your fantasy with reality? Now, that your listening, I agree with you two things: 1. I believe, like Jack Horner, that the only barrier is philosophical. 2. It really comes down to taxonomy, if you think about it. Anywho, welcome back to PaleoQuest. Rick said... It would be great that the DNA could be extracted from fossils of mosquitoes to create the big and dangerous species that captivated us so much. I would like to live in the age of dinosaurs because the Viagra Online was not invented by then.
Elizabeth Bay House Australia, Sydney Elizabeth Bay House Elizabeth Bay House is an historic Colonial style home in the suburb of Elizabeth Bay in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Built between 1835 and 1839, Elizabeth Bay House was known as 'the finest house in the colony'. Elizabeth Bay House is a home in the Regency style, originally surrounded by a 54-acre (22 ha) garden, but now situated within a densely populated inner city suburb. It is managed by the Sydney Living Museums as a museum that is open to the public, on behalf of the Office of Environment and Heritage, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. Elizabeth Bay House is a superb example of Australian colonial architecture, best known for its central elliptical saloon with domed lantern and geometric staircase, and is listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate and the New South Wales Heritage Register.
April 30, 2012 How do we learn? I've just watched the video at this article From the Minds of Babes Fascinating research as to what babies think and can reason with and why they do the things that they do. What came to mind as I heard her say at the beginning of the video was "before they learn all the facts and figures that come with growing up" Yes, what do they feel? Do they understand compassion already? Do they understand fear? Do they understand love? If they do, why do they? Is it in-built into humans that we have compassion? Do we negate that compassion with our thoughts? A child soon realizes that she has the power to say no. At two years old most are saying no to things that they ask. They realize that they have that power. Do they also realize that they have compassion? When they see someone crying do they try to comfort that person? I think back based on my own children and would say yes. They don't know the reason why you are crying but just want to make you feel better. Why do we teach children our thoughts and beliefs? Shouldn't they be allowed to observe and absorb and wonder their own thoughts? Not told what to think by continually indoctrinating them in your beliefs. Autistic children seem to withdraw into themselves. But we need to show them compassion of course. We can't know why they are feeling that way. But with the help of the IPad some autistic people are actually able to indicate what they are thinking. Some of what I've read about what they are saying is pretty amazing. They aren't defective mentally, at all. They are simply overwhelmed with sensory overload and are shutting down. We need to unlock this overload and find that place where they can say what they are thinking. On feedback and negativity On feedback and negativity. I got some feedback from a post I did on Facebook pointing to this blog. She said she was impressed with my call to action but in the end dulled my message with the negativity. Well, that's something I need to work on. To stay positive in every single post I make. The point I made that because I have Asperger's I often don't think what others think of what I write. I just write down what I think. So, it is good to finally get some good feedback on what you, the reader thinks of what I write. It is only through feedback that you begin to improve as a person. So, now that I know that I'm being perceived as negative and therefore dulling my message with that negativity I'll stop. Period. Now I know and I can learn and grow from there. If you've read this blog before why didn't you point this out to me? Is it because you don't feel the need to point out something that is wrong? I'm not asking this in a snide way but an honest way. My message is this Love one another Feel compassion for each other Try to hear the other person Let go of the ego Let go of the beliefs you feel are so important to you Enjoy the moment when you realize you're really listening and not hearing what you want to hear Embrace that feeling of understanding someone else Love them for who they are, not what you want them to be Love, don't hate. April 28, 2012 Compassion - 12 steps 12 steps to a more compassionate life “compassion” derives from the Latin and the Greek meaning “to suffer, undergo, or experience.” So compassion” means “to endure [something] with another person,” to put ourselves in somebody else’s shoes, to feel her pain as though it were our own, and to enter generously into his point of view. That is why compassion is aptly summed up in the Golden Rule, which asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else. Compassion can be defined, therefore, as an attitude of principled, consistent altruism. Bullied teens This post is going to seem a little harsh. But I think it's time to be a bit harsh and realistic and truthful. There are teens out there, in the U.S. that are being bullied. By their parents. By the people at school. Why? Because they appear to be gay. They didn't ask for this. They didn't decide 'oh I'll be gay". They just are gay. They know it. They sit in their room and think why they were actually born to be a living, breathing human being placed on this earth. To be a sick, twisted, ugly lump of flesh that dares to think heretic thoughts that they like people of their own sex. They think these thoughts because of the messages they hear from their parents, due to the parents religious beliefs. This is wrong. They shouldn't be made to feel this way. They aren't sick, they are human. Some of the people that post on the Asperger's forums are these bullied teens. They type in "why am I here on earth? Why must I live in hell on earth? I can't take it any more" You type in below "It'll get better". And you see nothing in reply. That's pretty upsetting to me. I'm sorry but I'm leading to a logical conclusion I believe. Gay teens bullied to the point of suicide "Despite recent cultural shifts, kids still get the overwhelming message from society that homosexuality is not acceptable," says Scott Quasha, PsyD, a professor of school psychology at Brooklyn College. It's not uncommon to hear fierce condemnation from politicians and preachers as they debate gay civil rights. Homosexuality is compared to incest, bestiality, even violent crime. "This trickles down into the schools, where bullying occurs," says Dr. Quasha. "A gay child is an easy target for classmates looking to make trouble." We can't stand idly by and let these politicians and preachers condemn someone for their being. They didn't ask to be what they are. They just are. Any preacher that promotes hate is a hypocrite: in all major religions the golden rule is "treat others as you would like them to treat you". That one trumps all the rest of it. That is what God calls upon you, as a Christian to embrace. Or any of the major religions of the world. So I'm calling people to live the golden role if you call yourself religious. Bullied - the forgotten memoirs by Dan Pearce When we begin to say it's not okay to bully teens to death with our attitudes we all win. Because compassion is there. Compassion is "deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it." Would you say that these teens need compassion? Or hate? I ask you, what would help them? Getting past the ego of your beliefs and thoughts and feeling real compassion for these people. Here is a breakdown of Sympathy vs. Compassion Hospice "Reaching out is your gift, reminding others they are loved and important to you even when they need more time and attention than they can give. You offer hope that they can make it through this dark time simply by asking to be with them. Sit with your fears, acknowledge how helpless you feel, then let your compassionate heart show you how to give love." Okay, time to throw some statistics in here to show that it's not just isolated cases that I'm talking about. 30 to 40% of GLBT have tried to kill themselves according to studies. That's 1 in 3 kids. 1 in 3. 1 in 3 kids that see no hope. One man, Dan, of Single Dad laughing was brave enough to post I'm Christian, unless you're gay He has had an influence beyond his wildest dream and nightmares. He's taking a break at the moment due to the overflow of responses. Why has he gotten so many? Because he was brave enough to speak out about the insanity of homophobia in religion. To stand up and say "This is not right". April 27, 2012 Here's a message we should listen to Lose your ego, find your compassion This one is so powerful and moving. Joan Halifax and compassion and the true meaning of empathy "Women in this room are the lotuses in a sea of fire". This one is about the golden rule: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. Karen Armstrong: The charter for compassion Charter for Compassion website. Lots of videos here. TED.com on compassion. Stephen Fry on showing respect. Here's a video/audio of Stephen Fry. On showing respect Yes, we have to offend. By raising points. But doing so, respectfully. A Day in the life I'd like to point a wonderful site. A day in the life of the world. Take a picture on May 15th and share it with the world. Capture an image that you want to share. Follow them on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/AdayDotOrg Okay, I've gotten one response Okay I've gotten one response. It was to say that he didn't feel comfortable speaking his mind out on a subject that broad. He's okay with addressing it with friends. But can't come out and talk about it on the net. That's fine. But we have to break through this "I can't say anything" to "I have to say something". We only get such tremendous responses to I'm Christian, unless you're gay when we are brave enough to post something. Because he was brave enough, he got so many responses he was overwhelmed. And continues to be overwhelmed every time he is brave enough to venture the topic again. Because he is brave enough to talk about something that should be talked about. Break through the "I can't" to "I will because I have to". Only then will we see posts that people will read and respond to. You will be getting responses, I can guarantee that. Some negative, some positive. But you will be talking about something that needs to be talked about. Love, compassion, kindness, caring, and loving, Despite everything. What we need to do What do we need to do to fight bigotry, hatred, misogyny, intolerance, and fear? We need to spread out our voices via the net to send out our messages. Like this one "I'm Christian unless you're gay" or this one Compassion. Those are the messages we need to spread. Not the message that Richard Dawkins said in the Reason Rally and I quote: "Religion makes specific claims about the universe which need to be substantiated, and need to be challenged - and if necessary, need to be ridiculed with contempt. ... For example, if they say they're Catholic: Do you really believe, that when a priest blesses a wafer, it turns into the body of Christ? Are you seriously telling me you believe that? Are you seriously saying that wine turns into blood? ... Mock them. Ridicule them! In public!" That is fighting fire with fire. You are fanning the flames of hatred with that approach I argue. You aren't appealing to the softer, gentler side of people. You are raising their hackles, assaulting them. You are bullying them, plainly and simply. You aren't respecting them, at all. You aren't allowing them their views. Yes, they are screaming their lies to you. I agree. But with reason, calmness, gentleness and compassion you can argue their points. When it comes to a very simple example I think of my very sensitive, over-reactive daughter. When I ask her politely to do something that gets much better results than if I stand over her and demand that she is wrong, she must do what I say and that there is no arguing the point. She just "HAS" to do it. Which approach gets the better response do you think? With the post A teen's brave response you see the approach of the teen towards his mother. He is calm, and firm and right in his approach. He is simply telling her what he is. He's not screaming that he's right, she's wrong. He's just saying it like it is, take it or leave it. He had the very very brave courage to stand up and say it. I really applaud him for that. I applaud all of those that are just standing up and simply saying "I am what I am, take it or leave it". It's hard to do, I'm sure. They are all brave. Why did Single Dad Laughing get so many responses to all his posts about acceptance? Because he was brave enough to broach the subject in a respectful, firm way. He was brave enough to say this isn't the way it should be. He's stronger for it, I'd suggest. Because he's been reaffirmed that he did the right thing by the responses he's gotten. I'll continue to pour out my feelings of love, compassion, warmth and gentleness and understanding. Maybe changing one mind, at a time. So, I'll type it out again. "Is compassion the root of all morality?" I'd say yes it is. Feeling morally superior Do you feel morally superior and do you do anything to fight against what you see as right or wrong? That is the question I'm posing to some people on Google+. Will any of them take up the challenge I've thrown down? We have to speak out on injustices and wrongdoings. Do what I'm trying to do every day on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Which is to love, to accept, to tolerate and to have compassion. I do this by posting messages from the Dalai Lama. From quotes I like. I do this with posts on compassion. On "I'm Christian, unless you're gay". That man that writes "Single Dad Laughing" had the courage and the conviction to speak out. Do you? Honestly, do you, sitting there behind your keyboard reading this have the conviction to actually type something out on the social medium of your choice and say something about hatred? Or bigotry? Or misogyny? I dare you. I honestly dare you to break down the wall of playing nice and actually say something. It is the quiet revolution of fingers typing out messages of love and compassion that will fight these words of hate. Of bigotry. Of misogyny. Sitting there reading it, and thinking "geez this is wrong" and doing nothing does nothing. It doesn't do anything at all to stop it. Only in speaking out do we do something. That is why "Single Dad Laughing" got so many responses good and bad. Because he did something. He said something that needed to be said. If other people said what needed to be said we'd all be better off. We'd get something as opposed to nothing. I'll end this with a link to a story that is quite fitting to this theme. Will the gays and women please rise? Where he says, quite rightly "No, my anger is directed at the many followers who choose to remain silent in the face of such bigotry. Just because some old guy with flowing robes and a funny looking hat says some stuff, it doesn’t make it right. Nor does it make it wise or necessarily God’s will. By remaining silent, you condone this moronic and hateful stance of the church, which in turns makes you as bigoted and ignorant. By remaining silent, you prove you are nothing more than a sheep being fleeced for money and acting as agent of indoctrination. By remaining silent, you’re saying homosexuals do not deserve the civil liberties you enjoy. By being silent, you are acting against the very doctrine your supreme being in the heavens wants you to follow." Are you as bigoted, hateful, and misogynistic as some? If you aren't why aren't you speaking out that you are not this way? Exactly why are you silent? Is it helping the people who are told they are "weird" by being silent and being nice? And, as for the homosexuals and women who sit quietly in the pews, where is your voice? You must be the most indoctrinated of the lot if you can sit in a congregation that argues against your right to civil liberties and equality. Speak out in clear honest voices that are respectful and firm. This is the way we fight the horrible atrocities we see perpetrated. By staying silent you are agreeing with them. Yes, you are. April 26, 2012 Are you more likely to be an atheist if you're Aspergian? April 25, 2012 The God Delusion I've read the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. It's interesting and good. To get this out of the way I feel that I fit in with the theory that God was the prime mover and created the Big Bang. And that he hasn't been here since. I'm about 50/50 on the scale of if God ever existed or not. So, he starts out with the idea that evolution is the prime mover and shaker. That's what's fueled the world's explosion. He also talks about the God hypothesis. The reasons why God may exist, or may not exist. He points out the inconsistencies of the Bible. The barrenness of some of the stories in it. Then he goes into the arguments for God's existence. The proofs of existence through beauty, personal relations, and the arguments from religious scriptures. He breaks down each with a look at how science says it can't be so. Then we get into "Why there is almost certainly no God" chapter. He brings up the point of the Ultimate 747. You can't build a 747 without having all the right parts. To get those parts all by chance would be an order of magnitude of incredible proportions. Hence God is improbable as that airplane getting built. Then natural selection comes up. Darwin's theory of natural selection is heavily illustrated. Then irreducible complexity. You can't create such complex things is his point. Then he talks of gaps in the history of evolution. How creationists are eager to fill these gaps. Then he gets into the anthropic principle - planetary version. How did Earth end up at the right gap from the sun, with the right conditions for water, life, and everything on it? He talks about the order of magnitude of the galaxies. Just how many distant stars may have some conditions necessary for life? Then he talks about the anthropic principle - cosmological version. The universe is one of millions of universes. Anyhow, a lot of discussion that was boring about physics ensues. Now the half of the book about religion. Why do we have it? Isn't it consoling? Doesn't it motivate people to do good? If it weren't for religion how would we know what was good? Why, in any case, be so hostile? Why, if it is false, does every culture have a religion? So, why do we have it? For a sense of order in our lives? He surmises that religions, like languages, evolved with sufficient randomness, from beginnings that are sufficiently arbitrary, to generate the bewildering, and dangerous, richness of diversity that we observe today. Isn't it consoling? Don't we find some relief from the world's burdens when we rely on God and/or Jesus or whomever? Find some comfort in the thought of the afterlife? Or perhaps comfort in the company of others? Then he talks about the morality issue. How the common thread throughout history has been that you don't need religion to be moral. You just need to be decent. How religion has shown itself to be the opposite of goodness, honesty and niceness. Then he talks about the "Good Book" and the changing moral Zeitgeist. How, we, as society have moved quite rapidly from slavery is okay to it's not okay. How morals seen in centuries ago seem so crude and inhumane now. How we've evolved from 'blacks aren't the same as whites" to a black man now being President. And so forth. He points out that Stalin was a likely atheist. Did he kill because of that? Not likely, but perhaps. Was Hitler an atheist? Not likely. He had a bizarre sense of xenophobia against Jews. Brought on by hatred because of religious intolerance? We'll never know. Then he gets into "What's Wrong with Religion? Why so hostile?". This is the section that I take most issue with. He lists out all the horrible, awful, incredibly bizarre things that people have done in the name of religion. But not once do he point out the goodness of what religion has done. Very many great things! Simply focuses on the negatives of it all. Then he talks about indoctrinating children. How they should be allowed to make up their own minds. Not forced into religions like their parents are. Free to explore, to wonder, to judge what's right and what's wrong. He ends with the chapter "A much needed gap". Talking about a burqua and how a woman can only see a narrow view out. How we need to widen that gap, that view. Show more. He doesn't bother asking if the woman does or doesn't want to wear her veil. Quite a few women who do wear one like to wear one, by the way. Why we love the burqua So, he gets a big minus from me there, too. But I understand he was simply using the veil as an illustration of the view some take. So, to sum up. I'm okay with the idea that God hasn't been around for a very long time. Okay, disposed of that. I'm okay with the idea of natural selection. I accept that we don't need religion in order to act well. What I take great issue with is his summary dismissal of all religion as being bad. I don't argue the fact that children should have their own path. I do agree that we need to widen the view. In closing I'd like to post his view of modern ethics. These are ones he picked off a website apparently, and a few of his own that I've paraphrased. A modern code of ethics - do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. - In all things, strive to cause no harm. - Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things and the world in general with love, respect, honesty and faithfulness. - do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted. - live life with a sense of joy and wonder. - always seek to learn something new. - test all things, always check your ideas against the facts and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them. - Question everything. - maintain a happy life with regards to sex and let others have their right to their own personal sex life. - don't distill your ideas into a child, let them question, wonder, and decide for themselves. - do not discriminate on the basis of sex, religion or ethics. So, does Dr. Dawkins live up to all of these ideals when he stated at the Reason Rally Mock them! Ridicule them! — In public! April 20, 2012 Detail heavy book - Girls growing up on the Autism Spectrum I got another book "Girls Growing up on the Autism Spectrum". Haven't read it all yet. Quite detailed and heavy, requiring a lot of concentration. Something I don't have a lot of at the moment. Have to get into the zone and just sit and read and absorb it all. I'll post a review of it after I've done that. But to give it a quick summary review - it's about 250 pages long, quite packed. With snippets of girls voices who are on the spectrum. With advice about girly issues such as periods, moods, tempers, and male friends. Will write more later on this book. April 19, 2012 22 Things a woman must know I have another book here by Rudy Simone 22 Things a woman must know if she loves a man with Asperger's syndrome. I plan on giving the book to my mum. Some of the things are - you will be lonely - he won't listen to you very often - expect to be spoken over top of - your man may not be there for you in a crisis - you will never change him even if you do change his behaviour - your AS male won't care much about anything you do apart from him And so it goes. All traits that I can see in my dad. He's 85, and they've stayed married for 60 years next year. Good on her for putting up with his shit for that long. She's a patient, loving wife, for sure. Patience is such a necessary tool for marriage I find. Patience, kindness and a tolerance for the other. Acceptance that they will never be perfect, and neither will you. Perfectionism is one of the marriage killers I believe. This mistaken knowledge that if I'm perfect he should be too. The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth. W. Somerset Maugham April 15, 2012 Having another black day Having a black day where I find some joy but with dark chaotic thoughts through my head. I wonder if that's what it was like for Ernest Hemingway and his daughter. Where the negativity of the thoughts won the day and they killed themselves. Where the weight, and heaviness and depth of the thoughts just overwhelmed them. We'll never really know. I find little bits of joy among my days. A sweet girl offering me a flower and saying I love you Mummy. A kiss from my husband and a big hug. A recipe for raspberry frozen treats for the summer. A brief conversation among friends on a post I did.. These small bits of joy amongst the dark bits are what keep me going. The thought of a nice dinner, and what shall I make help speed it along. Then I'll take my pills and fall into a deep sleep. And tomorrow wake up and do it all over again. Always marching on, relentless. Trying to keep my head above the water. Reminding myself I am loved. By some. Human nature, at its best, had always been based on a deep heroic restlessness, on wanting something--something else, something more, whether it be true love or a glimpse just beyond the horizon. It was the promise of happiness, not the attainment of it, that had driven the entire engine, the folly and glory of who we are. Will Ferguson. April 14, 2012 Why don't I ever post any pictures of me? That's a question that I bet some readers may have. Why not any pictures of you, as you currently are? Well, there is a sad fact about me. That is that I'm on anti-psychotics. They cause weight-gain. Simple enough, they slow your mind and your body down. They sap your will to get out there and exercise. I've put on a lot of weight over the last few years. And I'm embarrassed to look at photos of myself. Simple as that. I don't like the way I look. I look ugly in my opinion. I don't look pretty. Doesn't help that I get "you are so fat Debbie, when are you going to do something about it??" from my parents. I'm 50 years old. I can't stop eating. I need to eat some food. I don't overeat. I don't gorge myself on food. I get out and walk every single day. I wish I could run a marathon every day. And be thin again. I wish I could take a carving knife to my body and carve out all the fat. Then I'd be thin. And dead too. I wish I could be perfect. Have a ton of friends, Be pretty and attractive. Have a job. Have a family that would ask how I feel inside. I need to get Tim to pump up the tires on my bike. Then I can go for rides. That's always fun. I enjoy going for bike rides down by the Ottawa River. That's fun to see the water rushing by. Such a beautiful powerful river that never stops. A real energy in the water, always swirling and moving. Like a child. Never pausing for more than a second. Ever watch a child in a playground? They never stop moving. It's so amazing to watch them. My daughters are still like that at the playground. Lovely to see. So, yes, some sadness and despair in there today that I'll never be perfect. But some joy in there that I've got a bike, I've got my health, for the most part, and got some energy to go out and bike. April 12, 2012 Something about Sexuality I'm going to write up a post about sexuality. I'm reading the Asperger's pages on Facebook and more and more I'm seeing questions about people having Asperger's and being gay. I found this video on YouTube about it Twice the difficulty in his life, coming out twice, once as Aspergers and once as gay. Not fun to deal with at all. It'd be interesting to hear him talking about bullying, I bet. There is this book available about the subject Sex Sexuality and Autistic which looks quite interesting. Anyhow, just thinking of the kids who are gay, have Asperger's and live in families that are strict anti-gay. How on earth do you begin to "come out"? To a parent that will disown you, belittle you, hurt you mentally and perhaps physically. How truly awful that must be. I have such sympathy for these people. No wonder people commit suicide. And on top of the atmosphere at home, being bullied at school for being different. Not coping well with school work. How truly awful. I can't help but think "there but for the Grace of God go I". I am so lucky to have been born into a family that accepted me. Didn't try to change me. Didn't try to belittle me. But supported and loved me. Even though we never knew what was up until 3 years ago. As my daughters enter their teenage years I hope that they'll find their path okay. At least we know that they both have it. And will have issues with boys likely. Boys won't understand them. Girls won't understand them either. Thankfully Sarah has some friends that accept her for who she is. They seem to get along great, based on what she's telling me. She seems to be happy. So I hope that she'll navigate the teen years with some confidence. Victoria, with few friends, I worry about more. I hope she'll manage okay. If either of them was to identify themselves as gay to me, I'd still love them to the ends of the earth. One just has to accept what another person is. That's the end of the story. April 11, 2012 Post about 22 things a Woman with Asperger's Syndrome wants her partner to know I got a huge package of books yesterday. I ordered all of Rudy Simone's books from her on her order page. Rudy Simone's website I most wanted to read "22 Things a Woman with Asperger's Syndrome wants her partner to know". So, I did, in between making dinner, helping my daughter with homework, and other motherly duties. Basically it describes us in a fun, friendly engaging way that encourages the reader to participate with their partner to find out "do you feel this way"? I'll list the 22 things now 1. So you want to date an Aspergirl? 2. Try feeling this! 3. She is not broken - you don't need to fix her 4. No wire hangers ..ever! Why she has control issues 5. Everyone's a critic ... but she's better at it than you 6. Break on through to the other side 7. It might seem that her special interest is herself 8. She only needs one friend .. and the winner is ... YOU! 9. Don't be cruel to a heart that is true 10. Home is where her heart is .. and her body most of the time 11. Even if you think of her as a woman, she might not 12. Her name isn't Mummy... no matter how much she loves her child 13. How to turn a hotbed into a hot bed 14. Why soothing behaviours (formerly known as stimming) are good for her ... and you 15. Jumping for joy ... or bouncing .... or twirling 16. Tongue-tied but not twisted ... just because she can't verbalize her emotions, doesn't mean she doesn't have them 17. Depression, the enemy on our borders 18. The mood swings, do more than duck 19. Trust, abuse it and lose it 20. Is it obsession or is it love? 21. You may find more in common as you get older 22. Asperger's is a reason, not a label, or an excuse. So, for each of the points listed above she walks you through descriptions of each reason. Some I identify with, others I don't. I don't have the massive self interest. I don't have the massive sensory issues. But other things in the book I strongly identify with: Is it obsession or love? I tend to obsess, I know, over things and people. I fall into a frenzy of interest and cannot let go of them, at times. It's painful to experience when someone says "leave me alone!" But I know they do it because I'm overwhelming them. I tend to post massive amounts on my interests on Facebook and Google+. Overwhelming people with the quantity of what I'm posting. Simply trying to share, but overdoing it. Letting my obsessions rule the day, in other words. The mood swings are definitely there. The medication I'm on helps minimize those, but with the reduction in my anti-psychotic they're more pronounced than before. I'm not a terrible critic of my husband. I have humility and realize quite strongly that I'm only human and make a massive number of mistakes myself. And so don't point out things to him. I definitely try to be nice to him. It's the only way I swear that he's stuck by me for 25 years. Because I treat him like a gem. He is a gem for putting up with my shit for all this time without knowing why. Home is where the heart is - oh boy, so much me. I love my home. I love being in my home, safe and warm with my family. It is truly my refuge, away from busy social gatherings. Definitely the trust issue - you cross me and you're so on my black list. I don't put up with any of that. I write people off if they betray my trust. About the Mummy issue - I love being called Mummy by my daughters but yes, feel weird when I'm referred to as "Sarah's mum". Like, don't I have my own identity? But yes I love my children very very much. I loved when they were babies. Finally, someone who accepted me for who I was. Never judging or criticizing me. Well, until lately :P About the identifying as a woman - yeah, that strikes a chord. I often say to others that I feel like an "it". Neither man nor woman. I don't see myself as being a female in the sense of being mad about fashion, or clothes, or shopping, or decorating, or all those things that "women" seem to do. Pinterest has no interest for me, whatsoever. I see little point in it, myself. Yes, other women seem to go mad over it. But I'm not like other women. I'm like myself. Fact based, oriented towards news, information and concrete things. Breaking through to the other side (point 6) - yes, the "glass wall phenomenon". Where we seem to be in our own little world, there, but not there, in the sense of paying attention to what's going on around us. We're apart mentally, from others. I have to be called back to earth, often. My mind is wandering its own path. Social situations - it's hard to have to don the suit of "social niceness". I realize that I have to do it. I often think to myself "I'd rather just stay home thanks". For appointments and parties I have to go through a ritual of preparing myself. Reminding myself of the rules of engagement. Don't talk too much. Wait for pauses and let the other person have chances to speak. Maintain some eye contact. Don't let myself flip my hair over and over and over. Don't get too into detail on subjects. Keep it light, friendly and open, unless they show real interest in the subject then let it flow to a point. But keep track of it, don't overwhelm them on the subject. All of these are things I have to think about every single time I go out in public. Every single time. Can you see why I just prefer to stay at home? She ends the book with a nice passage about "Are you strong enough to be my man?" How we Asperger's women aren't looking for some malleable, weak-willed person that we can toss about. We want a strong, brave, honest man to stand up to us. Help us, support us and love us for who we are. Independent, strong willed women who aren't broken but different. And proud to be that way. 2nd part of the review of School Success Okay, I had time to sit and finish off School Sucess for kids with Asperger's Syndrome yesterday. I did part 1 last month here So, strategies and interventions that work in the classroom - they expand on that a lot. The issues that they address include - problems with social interactions; - very focused areas of interest and expertise; - need for predictability - problems with language - problems with abstract reasoning - problems with sensory hyper- or hypo sensitivity - problems with anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation - problems with attention, organization, and other areas of executive functioning - problems with motor issues including written production and - problems with ritualistic, repetitive, or rigid behaviour Basically, for social interactions, try to minimize bullying. Of any kind. By being honest about AS with the other students. Exposing them to the reality that it's not "weird" it's just the way they are. With very focused areas of interest - try to build bridges with those interests. Use those interests to engender interest in other subjects by associating them. Use the special interests as a reward for doing other tasks. Always try to accentuate the interest and expertise. With need for predictability - try to maintain a set way of doing things in the classroom. Have routines, picture clues of what to do, visual cues to follow as well as verbal reminders Problems with language - try to minimize the use of similes and metaphors to the child, simplify the language used. Don't dumb it down, you're not talking to an idiot. Just realize they don't grasp hidden meanings well. Problems with abstract reasoning - break down the goals of the lessons and describe each part of it that you want accomplished. Allow the student to show that they understand the lesson in other ways than what they have difficulty with. i.e. they have trouble writing, why can't they present the info in an oral format for instance? Or a story board with pictures? Problems with hyper or hypo sensitivity - if the child seems anxious and/or withdrawn try to solve that with talking to them. Or getting them to type it out on a computer. Or drawing a picture of what they're feeling. Try to find out what is bothering them. Is it the flickering of the fluorescent lights for instance? Try to find ways to minimize distractions for the student. Problems with anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation - try to work to proactively nip these situations in the bud. Work on ways to calm the student. Have a place they can go or a person they can go to to talk or communicate with. Talk with the parents about how best to calm the child if they get upset. Attention, organization, and executive functioning - use visual schedules instead of written ones. Use proximity to teachers and cues from them. Structure work periods into smaller segments and have clear goals stated with a timer or stopwatch monitoring them. Structure the environment with a clearly defined work area for them. Written production and motor issues - find alternatives for the child to do other than structured physical exercise or writing. Can they type out projects perhaps? Can they draw pictures and make story boards to show they know the material? Can they simply have fun outside with a support person instead of being forced to participate in games in physical education classes? Can they be supported in a way that suits their style? Ritualistic, repetitive, or rigid behaviours - define a Functional Behavioural Analysis of the child. The FBA should accurately describe the behaviour, analyze the antecedents to that behaviour, and describe the current consequences and rewards to see if they are in fact helping to curb the behaviour. If possible, intervene before the behaviour becomes disruptive. Respond to the behaviour in a positive fashion and try to distract the student. Then they go on and talk about working with the school. Getting a person to take the commitment to being the liason between the school, student and parents. Having a cohesive mix of communication flowing always. Then they talk about parenting. Rules and regulations that most parents with autistic children already know. So I won't repeat any of it. So, all in all a fairly good resource book for kids with Asperger's syndrome. I'd recommend it, if you're a parent of a child with AS. It would help to give it to the teacher I'd imagine. I'll refer to it for Sarah's teachers in Grade 7. By the way, I've interchangeably used some of my own language and some of the language from the book in some of the points I detailed.. Just trying to get their point across in as few words as possible. April 9, 2012 A new chapter in Vic's life Just a quick mention here that we're starting a new chapter in Vic's life. She's going to be taking a new program (to us). Carp Ridge Learning centre She's very keenly interested in nature, biology and how things work in nature. So when I saw this course available I jumped at it for her. They'll be doing the following: Example of Mild Weather Activities: • Shelter Building • Fire Techniques • Cooking • Folklore • Hiking & Camping Basics • Animal Tracking • Wildlife Viewing • Edible Plants She's extremely interested. So that will be good for her to take and learn something outside of the home. And to have interaction with other kids. I'm excited for her! :) Depression meltdowns and similarities to Bipolar I've been reading more of Aspergirls by Rudy Simone. Towards the end of the book she mentions depression meltdowns. What are they? From the book here. Depression is triggered by feeling powerless - powerless to bring love, money, friends, health, understanding, or other things into your life. With the exception of some of life's more extreme occurrences - death of a loved one, for example, most of those things can be returned into one's control, by finding new solutions to old problems. The term "chemical imbalance" has been bandied about to for the last few decades to try to sell us the antidepressant du jour. We are more susceptible to depression when there is an imbalance in the body; but what that imbalance is in each individual would take analyzing by specialists through a variety of tests. Imbalances would more likely be corrected through a regimen of vitamins and supplements, tailored to the individuals needs, than through a one-size-fits-all psychotropic pill. Now, that fits better with me than the deep, black, yawning pit of despair that I hear some describe of depression. Where it requires too much energy to get out of bed, or to get dressed. Or to turn on the light switch and make breakfast. I've never felt that blackness. Only the depressive state that she describes. Where I just feel "depressed" because I realize I have no friends. Because I have no job. Because I have little understanding from anyone. It just sits there in my brain swirling around and around that I'm powerless to do anything about it. I know she says, 'get up and do something! Go exercise, go out and be with people, get away from it." But when you're in tears and you're having a pity party for yourself it's hard to change gears. I'd tend to think that my bipolar is more just an extension of the Asperger's beyond what other people are feeling. It's a more extreme state of the depression, and the mania that others describe. The bipolar is caused by the Asperger's I'm coming to think. That's where the similarity comes in, in the title of this post. I'm taking only 1/3 of the dosage of the Zeldox that I was taking before. So, as a result I'm feeling things more intensely now. I notice I feel happy and I feel sad, at times. While I was on the higher dosage I felt little. Little joy, little sadness. I was just existing. I missed my best friend's 50th birthday because I just didn't care. I was emotionless, and forgot to call her. I spoke on here little. I had nothing much to say. I wrote few emails. I had little to say. So, I'm happy now. But more wants to come out through my fingers typing. This annoys some people, I know. I post too much on Facebook and get criticized for posting too much. Some days you just can't win, eh? Can please some of the people some of the time, can't please all of them all of the time. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better. John Updike April 8, 2012 Some sadness and some joy Yesterday was a bit of a dark day for me. Not a happy day where I felt joy to the world. Just a day to get through where the thoughts were tumbling around and angry. But this morning I woke up and said "It's Easter and I'm going to church". So I went with my husband and daughter. I listened with an open heart and a questioning mind. I heard of love and resurrection. The sermon was about going to that dark place and then finding the hope of Jesus' resurrection in the midst of that darkness. Never mind that I thought of zombie Jesus walking around. (joke) Anyhow, yeah, well, hope springs eternal eh? And we are to believe that Christ's resurrection means we're all saved? I'm a believer and a doubter at the same time, to be honest. I spoke with the minister after the service. We have a coffee/snack time to talk to each other and catch up with friends. Anyhow, I mentioned about the "I'm Christian, unless you're gay" blog post and about the replies he's gotten. She said she was glad to hear that. She's a lesbian herself. Yes, our minister in our church is a lesbian with a partner. They're very happy together. I think she's awesome, personally. Great minister that's a lot of fun to listen to. We chatted for a minute about how open the United Church of Canada, that I belong to is. How thankful we are that we're blessed with such a forward thinking church. And I said that I was in a dark place yesterday with my thoughts. She replied with the assurance that we've all been there. Yes, they have loud voices that scream hate towards "sinners" Well we have voices too, she replied. Voices of reason, love and compassion. Don't let yourself get caught up in their hate. Just love and speak of love, and keep speaking of love, tolerance and compassion. That's all we can do. And with that, we parted ways. Yeah, I feel better today. More settled and more happy. Laugh if you want to, church makes me happy. There's people there, smiling, happy to see each other. I get to say hi to people that I haven't seen in a while. I get to talk to people and do that social networking thing that humans are wont to do. So, yeah I enjoy it. I got to talk with a lady who does special education help at the Ottawa Board of education. So she's very well versed on Asperger's. She gave me a few ideas to get Victoria working on her typing skills. Since Vic's writing is atrocious. And gave me a good idea of what to work on, with her. So, that, alone was worth the trip to church. Plus all the bonus stuff. Yeah, I feel happy now. I mean better than yesterday by a long shot. Chocolate eating may have something to do with that. Or going to church. Or a combination of that and seeing my parents for the first time in 6 months. They're snowbirds that fly South to Mexico for each winter. Anyhow, the point of all of this is to say: I love myself. So I love others. And want to preach love towards others. That is the key to all of us being happy. Happy Easter. God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest. - JG Holland April 7, 2012 A writing contest This contest was just announced on the New York Times. For teenagers to talk about bullying and what to do about it. Please, share and spread the word. Thanks :) A post the Dalai Lama did on compassion This need for human affection he speaks of. We all crave it. Some more than others. I crave it, I know. I want to feel affection, and do. I want others to feel affection towards me. That is what is so lovely about the affection of a child. They simply love you for who you are. No qualifications needed. I feel simple love for my daughters and husband and parents. No qualifications needed. I love my cat too, but not in the same way. I know she simply feels affectionate to me to get food. That's her main purpose in life: to eat and sleep. If I was replaced by someone else she wouldn't care, likely. But my kids would care. My husband would care. But of course it is also true that we all have an innate self-centeredness that inhibits our love for others. So, since we desire the true happiness that is brought about by only a calm mind, and since such peace of mind is brought about by only a compassionate attitude, how can we develop this? Obviously, it is not enough for us simply to think about how nice compassion is! We need to make a concerted effort to develop it; we must use all the events of our daily life to transform our thoughts and behavior. Yes, this concerted effort to develop it. I believe that you're only compassionate towards others if you love yourself. Not just saying to yourself "you're okay", or "you're a bit weak in spots". But really saying honestly to yourself "I LOVE YOU". Unconditionally, without any reservations. From that love you project outwards. You are able to love your neighbour because you love yourself. You are able to love others, because you love yourself. It comes around to this inner idea of peace. Compassion starts from within. Be compassionate to yourself. Whether people are beautiful and friendly or unattractive and disruptive, ultimately they are human beings, just like oneself. Like oneself, they want happiness and do not want suffering. Furthermore, their right to overcome suffering and be happy is equal to one's own. Now, when you recognize that all beings are equal in both their desire for happiness and their right to obtain it, you automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. Through accustoming your mind to this sense of universal altruism, you develop a feeling of responsibility for others: the wish to help them actively overcome their problems. Nor is this wish selective; it applies equally to all. As long as they are human beings experiencing pleasure and pain just as you do, there is no logical basis to discriminate between them or to alter your concern for them if they behave negatively. No, there is no need to discriminate against people. If they are human, they deserve your compassion. No strings attached. Just because they are different doesn't mean they feel less pain, does it? We should begin by removing the greatest hindrances to compassion: anger and hatred. As we all know, these are extremely powerful emotions and they can overwhelm our entire mind. Nevertheless, they can be controlled. If, however, they are not, these negative emotions will plague us - with no extra effort on their part! - and impede our quest for the happiness of a loving mind. I believe that anger and hatred comes from fear of the unknown. It is easy to hate someone you don't know. Look at the love letters sent between Israel and Iran on Facebook for instance. People getting to know each other and realizing they're not monsters. If a Christian person was to meet a gay person and simply talk to them, they'd see that isn't a person filled with Satan but simply a person that is the way they are. If only they'd open their ears and hear that the person just wants the same thing they want. To be loved and accepted and cherished for who they are. Not what they "should" or "shouldn't" be. Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or sister. No matter how new the face or how different the dress and behavior, there is no significant division between us and other people. It is foolish to dwell on external differences, because our basic natures are the same. We all need love. Every single person on this planet that breathes needs love. We all need compassion. Will you listen to one person that is different to you? Will you honestly listen and open your ears and hear that they need love, just like you do? Will you show compassion? I'll end this post with the Dalai Lamas words: I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion. A message “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~The Dalai Lama Some reaction to my post yesterday As I expected one person answered my post about "I'm religious, unless you're gay" on Facebook. I got a couple of responses on the follow up post to it, "A teen's brave response to "I'm religious, unless you're gay"' It's nice to see people reacting to it, but I'll never get the huge responses like some friends would. They just attract people because they are social creatures. I repel people because of my anti-social behaviours. I get that, clearly, every single day. It's not easy to admit that you repel people and that you know you do it. But I know I do. That's painfully obvious. Anyhow I want to go ahead and address this article now. The one about the teen's response to the original article. How brave of that young man to stand up to his mum. It can't be easy at all to know that you will be yelled at, belittled, made fun of, told you are a freak, and likely slapped, and shunned. But he did it. Brave. Good for him. It's so hard to turn tides. And then you gave us the assignment to write this essay for our homework and I read it like ten times I even skipped lunch and just kept reading it in the bathroom and by the time I went home I decided that maybe I am only 15 years old but maybe this town will change if I can be honest about who I am and maybe my family will change if I can be honest about who I am with them too. I don’t see why I don’t deserve love just like everyone else. I see some crazy stuff that so many people do and people still love them but for some reason everybody around here thinks its ok to hate gays and stuff. And I don’t know really I think I just realize that I don’t want to be Jacob in ten years and still live my life in secret and scared of being hated. Being honest to yourself is so important. This kid knew that and it finally won the battle inside of him. It doesn't win the battle in some. So they end up killing themselves. Because they can't talk to themselves, let alone others to let out this honesty about themselves. I wrote a comment about the original article on an Asperger's page and said that I felt that same way as Jacob. Someone wrote back to say that she couldn't feel anything for him. "He chose to feel that way" she wrote. I replied back nicely "you don't choose to be gay, you just are gay". Just like I don't choose to have the horrible fact that I have Asperger's for the rest of my life. So, yes I stand by my words. We are the same. Trapped in a world that doesn't understand us. Won't begin to try to comprehend what it's like. His world became a tiny bit larger with one friend. The teen's world grew a tiny bit with his mother. But so much hate in his town towards gays. You don't break down walls with one hammer. You need many hammers. Our voices are those. So, if you read this, just pass along the link. I'm going to link another article that I found a few weeks ago. A Rolling Stone article about how gay kids were killing themselves in Montana, in Michele Bachmanns home riding. The war on Gay Teens Pretty disturbing reading. I felt so angry and impotent at the end of it. Like how can Christians treat like that? Where is the stupid "love" in the Bible in your actions? Who needs the Bible when you are fueled with hate and despicable actions. You are just a bully. A bully hiding behind the religious trappings. A gang of bullies. Religion has no right to shield these bullies. I say I believe in God. I say I believe in my church and its "goodness". But I am ashamed to call myself a Christian if that means I'm aligned with these bullies. They don't speak for me. It is a sad day when religion is used to bully people to death and suicide. A very sad day. Anyhow, I could go on, but I won't. I've said enough for today. April 6, 2012 Post about a post "I'm Christian, unless you're gay" A friend just linked to this post I'm Christian, unless you're gay. I'd seen the link yesterday but didn't read it. Wow, just wow, after reading it. Such beautiful powerful words. Tolerance, of others, is a wonderful thing. That is one thing that I pride myself on: my tolerance of all other people. I don't "hate" on anyone. Ever. I buy homeless guys coffee. I give my friends thanks. I try to project love out and tolerance and compassion to all. Sometimes it's easy to laugh at someone, yes, when they do something funny. But you have to remember that that is a person behind there. Someone with love, dreams and hope in there. Someone with an ego that may have been bruised due to you laughing at them. If they've told you a joke, that's fine to laugh. But if you're laughing at them because they did something odd/bizarre, to you, that's not tolerant of them. When he writes of love I wish people could just feel pure, unadulterated love. Not love "because he's Jewish", or love "because she looks like me". Just ...... love for the sake of love. Simply accepting that you love somebody for the beautiful unique creature that they are. We are all different and unique and special in our own ways. When the original guy talks in the story about feeling unloved, unwanted, a freak, misunderstood by most I can see his point so well. I've often felt that way. Totally misunderstood by most. Ignored because I'm different. Not tolerated well, because I'm odd. Because I don't follow rules I'm seen as a freak. Someone to be shunned. I've often felt shunned. I feel that way most of the time on Facebook to be honest. I know some read my posts but I get very few comments. Because I've alienated people with my thoughts, actions and stances. I understand this but it doesn't make it easier to accept. It still hurts. So yes to copy and paste his words from that post It’s about love. It’s about kindness. It’s about friendship Practice some love today. Practice some kindness. Practice some friendship. And I'll add in, practice some understanding. We are the smartest mammals on this planet. Let's start using our brains and practice love, kindness, friendship and understanding. Instead of hate, intolerance, and misunderstanding others. It's only when we open our hearts and let love flow out that we'll gain some compassion for others. Let your love flow out to others today. Don't let the dark side win the day. Carpe diem April 5, 2012 Stages to get through I keep picking up Aspergirls and finding another bit that I love. This bit is nice from the introduction Stages you go through when you're an adult and you find out that you have Asperger's syndrome. Awareness - We find out about Asperger's and the information speaks to us but it just hasn't hit home yet. We may experience some resistance or denial. Knowing - The irreversible understanding that you have Asperger's. The realization clicks. Validation - Asperger's explains so much in a life that often seems to have had no rhyme nor reason. This is not one moment but a series of moments that will continue for years if not forever. Relief - I can finally as the song says "Lay my Burden down". We don't know what our burden is until we're diagnosed but we can tell that other people don't seem to be carrying it. Worry - What does this mean for my future and my potential? Anger - For all the blame and misdiagnoses that may have been laid upon us by others or by ourselves. Hopefully we will then get to the next phase of our lives Acceptance/thriving - We become keenly aware of our gifts and deficits and use what we have wisely. For me, the awareness came from the psychiatrist telling me that she felt that I had Asperger's. She said what it was, and asked me to read up on it and see if I felt that it fit me. So, I got online pretty much as soon as I got home, and then the knowing hit. The feeling that finally, something could explain me. Finally, after 44 years of not knowing why I was different. Then almost immediately validation hit. The feeling that yes, I am not weird or bizarre or broken. Finally I knew what all the odd bits of me were about. And then the relief hit almost immediately too. This total relief that it'd be okay if I called myself an Aspergian. That finally I knew what was up with me. The worry set in a bit later after the relief. And yes, anger at the way that I've been treated, all my life, by people. Not so much anger towards medical professionals, since no-one ever tried to tell me I had something differently wrong with me. Acceptance/thriving, that's an on-going thing. For me, it's been a journey finding out both my daughters have it. I'm in the worry stage for both of them, at the current time. Incidentally a friend mentioned back at the start of 2012 that one of his favourite artists was Alison Krauss. She's a lovely talented lady with a fabulous voice. Nice that she sings this song. At the moment I'm getting most of my support from group posts on Facebook. A feeling that I don't have it that bad, with my girls. April 3, 2012 Age of diagnosis of girls So, yes, we come around to the age of diagnosis in girls with Autism or Asperger's. Sadly girls with Asperger's seem to get their diagnosis a lot later than boys. Less obvious signs of it. Both my girls got slapped with ADHD titles at a younger age. It was only when I started noticing symptoms mentioned in my books about Asperger's that the light clicked on and it was like "Ok, that's why she does that!" My older daughter was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, my younger one by a clinical psychologist. So, this is sad that it's taking this long to get kids the help they need. Not the drugs that one teacher suggested I put Victoria on (Ritalin) She said, "it'll just make it easier for all of us". Lovely. Not! Boys seem to be picked up faster due to their behaviour. They get the help faster that way, as well. Pity girls aren't as lucky. This article goes on to explain that some girls aren't diagnosed until they're adults. That's the same with me. It's not uncommon for girls with Asperger's to go undiagnosed well into adulthood. Like heart disease, this high-functioning autism spectrum disorder is 10 times more prevalent in males, so doctors often don't think to look for it in females. But some experts have begun to suspect that unlike heart disease, Asperger's manifests differently, less obviously in girls, and that factor is also causing them to slip through the diagnostic cracks. This gender gap may have implications for the health and well-being of girls on the spectrum, and some specialists predict that as we diagnose more girls, our profile of the disorder as a whole will change. Anecdotally, they report that girls with Asperger's seem to have less motor impairment, a broader range of obsessive interests, and a stronger desire to connect with others, despite their social impairment. And this bit But even as they effectively mask Asperger's in girls, social mores might also make the disorder more harrowing for them. As they approach adolescence, girls face greater pressure to be sympathetic and empathetic than boys do. "By the time girls reach junior high, their social networks have become extraordinarily complex, and Aspie girls can't keep up with all the nuances," says Janet Lainhart, a doctor at the University of Utah's Brain Institute. "Boys struggle socially as well, but their peers mature much slower so their inability to empathize is seen as more forgivable." I dread the teen years for both Sarah and Victoria :( April 2, 2012 Incredibly long list here Wow, this is an incredibly long list of Aspergirls traits Females with Asperger's Syndrome Traits But, yeah I can relate to a lot of them. A great deal of them. Way too many to begin to break down which ones. Basically, just read the list and that's me, essentially LOL But be warned, it's LONG! Autism Awareness isn't enough Here is a great post Autism Awareness isn't enough I could post a 1000 posts on Facebook today. But it won't help. Not until someone wants to listen. A friend or co-worker (if I worked) or relative. Even then you have a short period in which to explain it. Severely disabled children, those who don't communicate well, are usually the ones focused on when it comes time to turn the spotlight on Autism. And rightfully so. Their lives are terribly disrupted as are their families lives. But there are the others, like me. Disabled in that I can't follow social conventions easily. I need help to know what to do, in other words. My daughters need help. They don't function well in classrooms. Anyhow, Autism awareness is great, but no, it's not enough. Just wrote an email to a friend to explain Asperger's Yeah, I just wrote an email to a friend to try to help to explain Asperger's. It's hard to get someone's attention. Once you have it, it's hard to break down what it is. It's not an easy concept to convey. "What's Asperger's?" I've had some people ask me that and I'm at a loss for words for a moment. Anyhow, I copied this from Tony Attwood's site A qualitative impairment in social interaction: * Failure to develop friendships that are appropriate to the child’s developmental level. * Lack of social and emotional reciprocity and empathy. * Impaired ability to identify social cues and conventions. A qualitative impairment in subtle communication skills: Restrictive Interests: * The development of special interests that is unusual in their intensity and focus. * Preference for routine and consistency. Okay, now I'll break down where I see it fits with me. - failure to develop friendships that are appropriate for age. I always seemed to go for younger kids at school. I mean, I associated more with them. They didn't expect me to be on the same level as them, as with age appropriate kids. I wasn't the same level, emotionally and mentally, as the kids my age. - my body language has never been exactly normal. I'm too intense, too focused on my thoughts to pay attention to being relaxed and natural. I do try to tell myself to relax, enjoy, calm down, but find myself getting tensed up. My gaze is often intense. I don't often meet people's eyes. I tend to look towards mouths. - impaired ability to identify social cues and conventions. - many emails between me and this friend in question have pointed out this fact to me. I don't follow "neuro-typical" rules of social engagement. I need help navigating on what to do in social networking apps. - Fluent speech - I had to have speech therapy when I was between the ages of 7 and 14. Because I couldn't talk smoothly and evenly. I stuttered a lot and my speech was very stilted. I couldn't get my thoughts out clearly. So, kids teased me. And that didn't help. - The development of special interests. - I was mad about horses. Everything had to be about horses when I was young. Begging my parents to buy me a horse to love. Never got one. Then it became about music, Had to have every CD I could get my hands on. Then it was about baking bread. I have about 10 cookbooks on making bread. Do I use any now? Very few. But damn I can bake some good bread still. Then the obsession started with WoW. And that continued for a long time. And now, it's with news and Twitter and wanting to know everything I can about what's going on in the world. It's crazy I know, but yes, "The development of special interests that is unusual in their intensity and focus". - Preference for routine. I love my routines. They give me stability, consistency and hope that things will stay the same. I like predictability. I can cope with change okay, but prefer stability. - My handwriting has always been atrocious. I mean to the point of "what have you scribbled here?" I do shopping lists and Tim can barely read them. He's gotten used to it, but it sucks, to this day. - I'm not that sensitive to touch, but clothes have to feel "right". I hate having anything too tight or constricting. For instance I cannot stand to wear nylons/tights. Far too itchy and uncomfortable. for me. - Explaining thoughts and ideas using speech. Yeah, well, I am too concise and go into too much detail. I'm like a professor, that stays squirreled away in his office, knowing a lot, cramming it in there in the brain. and then can't talk normally to people. That crazy, bizarre guy who knows a hell of a lot, but can't get his point across in front of the class. Tony's Perspective From my clinical experience I consider that children and adults with Aspergers Syndrome have a different, not defective, way of thinking. The person values being creative rather than co-operative. The person with Aspergers syndrome may perceive errors that are not apparent to others, giving considerable attention to detail, rather than noticing the “big picture”. However, the person with Aspergers Syndrome can have difficulty with the management and expression of emotions. Yes, well, I'm very direct in my speaking. I don't mince words and don't play games. I have trouble with girl's games of "let's not tell the boys what we're up to". I have trouble hiding my true feelings about things. I enjoy speaking the truth. I enjoy knowing a lot about subjects. As far as noticing things, I'm an excellent proof-reader I've been told. I noticed grammar and spelling mistakes quite quickly. They bother me in a way that few others likely imagine. Just can't stand spelling errors, basically. I don't go so far as to be a "Grammar Nazi" but I'm sitting there going to myself "why can't they use spell-checker?" Yes, definitely a priority to solve a problem instead of satisfying the social needs of others. Definitely a feeling of being creative in my thinking rather than co-operation with others. I'd rather get out my message to others than sit there and agree with others and "like" everyone else's Facebook posts for instance. I have my own voice and like to use it. Despite what convention might say. I do enjoy solitude, but am an extrovert at the same time. So I talk a lot about issues that I'm thinking about on virtual paper. I have the gift of being a fast touch typist so can convey my thoughts quickly and accurately. Yes, I have trouble with managing emotions. The bipolar doesn't help with that either. I feel intense anger, frustration and rage when I wasn't on anti-psychotics. Not fun to deal with that, at all. Hope that goes towards explaining my life with Aspergers and bipolar a bit more. Mothers, stop moaning about children This article written by a woman who will never have a child in her lifetime is both touching and hurtful. Touching as in that for 38 years I didn't have a child. It was only through the miracle of IVF that I had Sarah. Hurtful in the respect that now that I have my two precious children how dare I protest that it's "hard" at times to cope. Yes, it is hard to cope some days. Sarah is very needy in terms of routine. She needs to do the same thing every morning. God forbid if I dare do something out of place. She screeches at me. It doesn't do any good to reprimand her, she's not doing it out of spite. Only because she's overwhelmed. And no, scolding her doesn't help, believe me. I've tried that and it doesn't work, period. Victoria, as well, loves her routine. It's not easy coping with two children with special needs. Yes, I should be grateful and kissing the earth that I have children. And yes, most of the time I am incredibly grateful that I've been given the gift of their presence in my life. I wish that every woman could have the dream that they wished. But sadly that isn't the case. If I hadn't had kids, I don't know how I'd feel right now, at age 50. Likely pursuing my interests. It is a hard thing to do, to set aside a want, a need, so bad that your ovaries ache. But it's necessary to put that behind her and move on. Find a new passion in life and forget that which you will never have and desire so badly: a child. Adoption of a baby is always an option, as well. But yes, it's not "your" child. But many children are loved and will be loved by surrogate parents. She should pick herself up off the floor and carry on, head held high. Instead of moaning and crying that mothers should be so bloody grateful that they are mothers. I'll never know what it's like to be childless in this lifetime. I'm so thankful that that is not the case. I can recall wanting a baby so badly. Us pursuing every avenue in order to achieve that goal. Putting up with the indignities of IVF in our lives. If you care to read my story of Sarah's journey from test-tube to fully born baby let me know and I'll send you to our story. It wasn't a hard trip but a necessary one. On World Autism Awareness day I'd like one person to acknowledge to me that it's hard being a mum with my own special needs and being mum to 2 girls with their own special needs. Yeah, I love being a mum, but it's hard some days to cope.
Shoplifting is theft of merchandise for sale in a shop, store, or other retail establishment, by an ostensible patron. It is one of the most common crimes for police and courts. Most shoplifters are amateurs; however, there are people and groups who make their living from shoplifting, and they tend to be more skilled. Some individuals shoplift in an effort to resist selling their labor, and/or to protest corporate power. These individuals target --often exclusively-- chain stores; Wal-Mart is an especially popular target for political shoplifters. Some counter this by arguing that costs of theft are not absorbed by the targeted company, but instead may result in price increases. Therefore, shoplifting is thought to ultimately harm paying consumers, some of whom may be shopping at places such as Wal-Mart because they are poor and have few other options. A common slang term for shoplifting in Australia and the United States is "five-finger discount". The "five-finger" aspect of the term refers to fact there are five fingers on the hand which is used to grab the stolen merchandise. In the U.S., it is often referred to as "jacking" or "racking" and in the UK as "nicking or chaving". Professional shoplifters or organized shoplifting groups are often referred to as "boosters." According to the 2001 National Retail Security Survey conducted by the University of Florida retail operations suffered an average annual shrinkage percentage of 1.75% in 2000. Although most retailers experience a shrinkage percentage of less than 2% some smaller retailers often experience monthly and annual average shrinkage percentages as high as 20%. According to a study by the National Retail Security Survey 30.6% of shrinkage comes from shoplifting, 46% from employee embezzlement, 17.6% from administrative error, and 5.8% from vendor fraud. Companies have introduced many technologies to combat shoplifting. Many stores have video cameras filming all areas of the store; larger stores are often patrolled by undercover investigators. Security devices are often affixed to products that set off alarms at the store exit if they are not deactivated or removed by a cashier. According to the 2004 17th Annual Retail Theft survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, 689,340 shoplifters were apprehended by 27 of the major U.S. retailers. This figure was a 4.86% increase from a total of 657,414 shoplifters apprehended in 2003. In 2004 $70,039,564 dollars were recovered from shoplifting apprehensions compared to $68,927,833 in 2003. In 2004, the average dollar value for a shoplifting apprehension was $101.60 dollars. A common rationalization for engaging in shoplifting is that items are overpriced and honestly paying for items only serves to line the pockets of executives with their monstrous pay packages, thus those struggling to make ends meet should "fight back". This argument is dispelled by the fact that loss in stores only serves to hurt honest customers with higher prices. There is no specific offense of "shoplifting" under Canadian law. Instead, shoplifting is covered under the general provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada that deal with theft. According to section 322 of the Code theft is defined as taking or converting anything fraudulently and without color of right, with the intent to deprive the owner of it, either permanently or temporarily. For punishment purposes, section 334 of the Code then categorizes theft according to the value and nature of the goods that are stolen. If the goods are worth less than $5000 the maximum possible punishment is 2 years imprisonment and/or $2000.00 in fines, while if the stolen goods are worth $5000 or more, or are a testamentary instrument, the crime may be punished by imprisonment for up to 10 years. However, first offenders often face only {{extrajudicial sanctionsYouth Criminal Justice Act#Extrajudicial Sanctions - Alternative Measures Programs}}. In most states in the United States, shoplifting is a misdemeanor crime of petty larceny when specifically committed against a retail establishment by a patron. Some states do not distinguish between shoplifting and other forms of petty larceny, although a judge may consider the context of any crime in sentencing. In some jurisdictions within the United States, certain egregious instances of shoplifting involving large dollar amounts of merchandise and/or a high degree of criminal sophistication may be prosecuted and punished as burglary or otherwise as a felony. The dollar amount to constitute felony shoplifting can range from being quite low such as $100 in Vermont, to quite high such as $2,500 in Wisconsin. In some states a high dollar amount can constitute a higher felony, a prime example being Arizona where a shoplifting incident greater than $2,000 constitutes a class five felony. Indiana is the only state in the country where an act of shoplifting is considered a felony regardless of dollar value. Shoplifting can lead to far more serious charges than normally would be assumed. In most states an employee who shoplifts from their employer can be charged with shoplifting and embezzlement. In Arizona a shoplifter who is caught attempting to steal without any means of payment is guilty of third degree burglary. In Illinois a shoplifter who resists detainment is guilty of aggravated battery. In some U.S. jurisdictions, a repeat misdemeanor shoplifting offender can be charged with a felony for recidivism. Exactly when the crime of shoplifting has been committed varies from state to state. Most commonly, statutes dictate that a person must leave a retail store with intent not to purchase an item before they can be detained. Some states such as Arizona have more strict shoplifting statutes. According to Arizona law 13-1805 subsection B "Any person who knowingly conceals upon himself or another person unpurchased merchandise of a mercantile establishment while within the mercantile establishment shall be presumed to have the necessary culpable mental state pursuant to subsection A of this section." Some recidivist shoplifters in the United States have been given long sentences under three-strikes laws, such as Leandro Andrade, who received a sentence of 50 years to life; such sentences have been affirmed as neither cruel nor unusual punishment by the U.S. Supreme Court. See also Fixing Broken Windows for an explanation of the theory underlying such laws. There is no specific offence of shoplifting in the UK and offenders are usually charged with the offence of theft but are liable to be made subject to orders for restitution and compensation by the criminal courts. Increasingly, retail companies are using the civil courts as a means of recovering compensation and obtaining exclusion orders where appropriate. In addition, companies are issuing exclusion letters to offenders and those they suspect, as a means of attempting to encourage the police to charge those arrested for theft with burglary on the basis that they are trespassers. This remains a controversial issue and, generally, the police are reluctant to charge with the more serious offence. In the state of California, and in most cases the rest of the United States and other countries, store employees and managers have certain powers of arrest. Store Officials may detain for investigation (a reasonable length of time), whom they have probable cause to believe is attempting to take or has unlawfully taken merchandise. In the state of California, merchants may conduct a limited search to recover the item by those authorized to make the detention. Only packages, shopping bags, handbags or other property in the immediate possession of the person detained may be searched, but not any clothing worn by the person, pursuant to subdivision. Anyone, other than a peace officer, who arrests a person without a warrant shall forthwith deliver the person to a peace officer. A rule of thumb and in some cases a requirement to perform an arrest: * You must see the suspect enter the display area * You must witness the theft being committed * You must see where the suspect concealed the item, if concealed. * You must maintain visual contact with the suspect at all times * You must see the suspect fail to pay and exit the store * You must identify the property A main fear of a store operator is an accused shoplifter would press charges on the business or the owner. Even if the accused had stole from the establishment, the business may still run the risk of a law suit do to variables that may have occurred during the entire process. That's why many large franchises have very strict guidelines of how to handle shoplifters. An accused shoplifter has many rights that protect them from being falsely detained. An accused is subject to the many of the same rights as would be present in an arrest from sworn law enforcement, such as the right to remain silent. False imprisonment is the unlawful restraint of someone that affects the person’s freedom of movement. Both the threat of being physically confined and actually being physically confined can be considered false imprisonment if the customer is not free to leave. A store can not perform an arrest if there is no major proof of an actual theft. For example, a store that performs receipt checks may not perform an arrest if a customer refuses to have their receipt checked. A store may detain persons if the situation calls for it. But in no way may a subject be attacked or aggressively man-handled. A person can be detained by reasonable force, or the least amount of force necessary to protect one's self or one's property. CCTV monitoring is an important anti shoplifting method. Retailers focused on loss prevention often devote most of their resources to this technology. Electronic article surveillance is second only to CCTV in popularity amongst retailers looking for inventory protection. EAS refers to the security tags that attach to a garment and cause an alarm to sound when removed from the store. Loss Prevention personnel will patrol the store acting as if they are real shoppers. They may try on merchandise and browse the racks, all the while looking for signs of shoplifting and looking for possible shoplifters. Many large retail companies utilize this technique, and will watch a shoplifter conceal an item then stop them after they have exited the store. Mostly used by high end retail establishments. The presence of a uniformed guard acts as a deterrent to shoplifting activity. Costco shoppers are familiar with this. No shopping cart gets out the door until its contents are compared against the register tape. In most of the US, however, shoppers are under no obligation to accede to a search unless the employee has reasonable grounds to suspect shoplifting. All retail employees are instructed not to block the exit in the face of a customer determined to leave without showing the receipt. Floor attendants are instructed to greet, follow, and offer help with their shopping. Shoplifters are not comfortable with this attention and will go somewhere else where they can work unnoticed. Bottom of basket mirrors are commonly used in grocery stores where the check out lanes are close together and the cashier might be unable to see the entire basket to ensure there are no items being unpaid for. Some merchandise will be in a locked case requiring an employee to get items at a customers request. The customer is either required to purchase the merchandise immediately or it is left at the checkout area for the customer to purchase when finishing shopping. This prevents the customer from having a chance to conceal the item. Another formed of locked merchandise is especially popular with liquor. A secure, store administered hard-plastic cap is placed on the regular bottle top that cannot be removed without a store key. Once it is purchased the clerk will remove it, otherwise the shoplifter must struggle to open the bottle as the cap is designed to be extremely difficult to remove. Probably the most famous legal case involving shoplifting occurred in 2001 when actress Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting at Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Beverly Hills, California. Ryder was eventually convicted of misdemeanor theft and vandalism. In 2003, Will & Grace actress Shelley Morrison (who played Rosario Salazar) was arrested for shoplifting at a Robinsons-May store in California; the charges were later dropped. In early 2006, former White House aide Claude Allen was arrested for an alleged return scam at a Target store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Jean Eaton, while mayor of Albert Lea, MN, was accused of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of clothing from Marshall Field's stores in Rochester, Edina and St. Cloud in an alleged clothing swap scam. Eaton had claimed that police acted illegally when they executed a search warrant that gathered evidence used to support a felony theft charge against her. Eaton later reached a plea agreement with Olmsted County prosecutor's by entering into an adult diversion program, which includes restitution, and possibly community service to have the felony charges dropped. Another category of shoplifters (who are almost invariably - and erroneously - labelled as suffering from kleptomania) are persons who clinical investigator Dr. Will Cupchik has labelled 'Atypical Theft Offenders'. These usually honest persons may steal in response to personally meaningful losses and/or other stressors. His book, Why Honest People Shoplift or Commit Other Acts of Theft (2002) provides data and conclusions of two studies conducted by Dr. Cupchik, as well as assessment and treatment methods. The major reasons that these persons should not be labelled as kleptomaniacs has to do with the fact that there are virtually always external triggering events that can be identified as just preceding the theft activity, and the fact that the stealing is virtually always an act of vengeance carried out in anger (although seldom recognized as such by the offender). The existence of an external trigger and the feelings of anger and desire for vengeance are factors that, according to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, would exclude the diagnosis of 'kleptomania'.Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. Links to this post: Create a Link << Home
Modern World History - Schools History Project - Teachers Resources - Films Site Search How did the Cold War develop? 1943–56 The Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences The establishment and control of the Soviet satellite states Cominform and Comecon. The growing involvement of the USA in Europe The Truman Doctrine The Marshall Plan The Berlin Blockade/Airlift The formation of NATO. Military developments and the beginnings of the arms race. The impact of Soviet rule on Hungary De-Stalinisation and optimism The Cold War, 1956 - 1969. The Berlin Crisis The refugee problem Khrushchev's challenge to the USA Summit Conference and Eisenhower Challenge to Kennedy Construction of the Berlin Wall and its impact Kennedy's visit to Berlin, 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis How did the USA react to the Cuban Revolution? Why did Khrushchev put missiles into Cuba? Why did Kennedy react as he did? Who won the Cuban Missile Crisis? How did the Cold War develop? 1943–56 The formation of NATO. The Western Alies were very wary of the Soviet Union and feared that there may be attempts to impose Communism in nations that did not want it. The way in which the USSR blockaded West Berlin and denied Eastern Europeans the promised democratic governments made the threat appear real. Further evidence that the USSR was attempting to expand came when the Soviets supported an attempted communist uprising in Greece and later in Czechoslavakia. If the Soviets were willing to assist revolutionaries in these countries, there was no reason why they wouldn't do so elsewhere, or use force to impose their will on other nations. As a response to the increased threat of Soviet agression the Western European nations (Britain, France and the Benelux nations) signed the Brussels Treaty in 1948. This promised mutual assistance in the event of any of these countries being attacked. The Soviet Blockade of West Berlin convinced the American government that the Soviet threat was real, and serious. They decided that the Western Alies needed to have a united approach to the Soviet threat. In April 1949 12 Western nations formed NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation). They agreed to consider an attack on one member of the organisation as being an attack upon all of these nations. They included Allied servicement in occupied Europe and Western colonies in Africa.
Question: Determine the correct value for each of the following questions 1 Determine the correct value for each of the following questions: 1. Assume that an individual gives cash to the following parties: $25,000 to a charitable organization, $15,000 to her grandson for his college tuition, $8,000 to her granddaughter to buy a car, and $14,000 to her spouse for a trip to France. What amount of gifts is considered taxable? 2. Assume that an individual has given $25,000 to each of his four grandchildren for each of the past three years and $50,000 to a charitable organization. If he wants to make a single gift to each of his four grandchildren, what would the maximum gift per grandchild be in order to avoid all gift tax? 3. Your client made the following gifts last year: $200,000 to each of her three children, $50,000 to her brother, and $10,000 to each of her eight grandchildren. Prior to that, your client made a single gift of $50,000 to each of her two nieces. If she made a gift of $500,000 to her sister in the current year, what amount of gift tax would be due? 4. Assume the same facts as in item (3) above except that your client married during the current year prior to making the gift to her sister. Furthermore, assume that her spouse is a consenting spouse for purposes of gifting to the sister and they both gave the gift to the sister. The new spouse had prior taxable gifts of $100,000. What amount of gift tax would be due? 5. Assume that an individual and his consenting spouse had made no gifts prior to last year. However, last year, they gave $50,000, $32,000, and $72,000, to their daughter, son, and neighbor, respectively. This year, they want to do significant gifting to the same three individuals but do not want the cumulative net tax on gifts to exceed $61,500 per spouse. Assuming a minimum gift of $30,000 to each party, what is the sum of all gifts that could be made this year? Sale on SolutionInn • CreatedApril 13, 2015 • Files Included Post your question
Banking On Your Mark Just Got Easier Pencils? 1 dollar. Notebook? 50 cents. Calculator? 20 dollars. Getting a high mark in that Economics class? Priceless. We’ve heard that tag line a million times on various TV stations, but guess what? Getting that high mark in Economics? Not so priceless anymore. In a recent investigation done by the Toronto Star, shocking facts were unearthed about “credit mills.” But first, what exactly is the credit mill industry? Most commonly found in private schools, these sneaky school operations allow for kids to pay for higher marks to replace their less-than-stellar grades. Universities today are setting high standards, and kids are using these methods in order to achieve the best mark money can buy. Findings from the newspaper were as follows: – Grades at some private schools upgraded upon request. – Difficult questions removed from the exam. – Students allowed to write tests with little supervision and internet access. – Tests could be rewritten for a hundred dollars. Imagine if regular high schools allowed those things to happen. We would never have to study for tests again! Don’t like that question? Ask the teacher to remove it! Don’t like that grade? Upgrade it! Don’t know the answer to that question? Google it! Sounds unreasonable right? This is exactly what is happening in credit mill high schools. Instead of failing out of classes, under-achieving students are able to pay their way to a better grade. You would think that a sensible teacher would take a moment to say “Hey guys, this is actually very unfair!”, but either it hasn’t happened, or they have been silenced. Now, okay. I know what you’re thinking – so what if they get higher marks, it doesn’t affect me! You bet it does. Hard-working kids like you and I are being rejected from top university programs (I’m looking at you, Schulich!) simply because students from these credit mills are taking our spots. Because your marks aren't high enough, that's Y! Credit mills are bad news, but if that’s the case, why do they still exist? Better yet, why are they so successful? Here are the reasons why. 1. Economic Incentives Incentives are used as a way to change the choices that people make. Here in these credit mill cases, the obvious incentive being used are economic incentives. Economic incentives are enticing because it involves people gaining economically (usually involving money), as long as they change their decisions. In an example provided by this article, a student received a measly 74 percent in Advanced Functions, and sought out to change it by attending TCT high school – a credit mill. Paying between $500 – $700 dollars for each credit, the student knew what he was getting into. The amounts of money being paid by students were huge economic incentives for the school to hand out easy marks. The money is what differentiates these credit mill classrooms from regular classrooms. One of the main reasons why these credit mills are so successful is that it is just so simple to give easy marks. After all, the teachers are gaining from it. So what if they’re not exactly qualified? So what if they’re doing less than the required 110 hours of classroom time? They’re getting paid. The economic gain in these situations are so powerful that there isn’t much to lose from partaking in them. One teacher offers the explanation that the marks are higher because of “smaller class sizes and more personal attention.” Yeah, right. The only reason these teachers would pay more attention is because of the number of zeroes these kids are throwing away. Students being prepared for university isn’t even close to being one of these high schools’ concerns. Students on the other hand, should know better. It is pretty obvious what they are getting into by attending one of these schools. Although, for the students, the economic gain is pretty enticing as well. All they have to do is pay a couple hundred dollars and voilà! An easy 90 without any work involved. By parting with their money (or most likely their parents’), students are guaranteed a reasonable amount of economic gain – the desired mark and the university of their choice (Hogwarts not included) . Whether they are ready or not for said university, can still be questioned. Working hard at school could possibly yield the same results, but more often than not, students feel that it isn’t worth it. These credit mills are an easy way to get what they want without losing much. I guess Jessie J was wrong, because it's all about the money. 2. Opportunity Cost Opportunity cost refers to the most highly sacrificed alternative – or the value of the “next best choice”. It is basically what was not chosen. The opportunity cost for attending these credit mills is a real education. School is a lot more than just getting the required mark. Sure, it would be great to get that 100 in Calculus, but more often than not, it’s about what you learned. Sometimes your mark reflects that, but sometimes it doesn’t. Buying your mark from these credit mills? You may be gaining in the marks department, but you’re surely falling short in the education department. For those who argue that these are the same things, you’re wrong. Let’s take History for example. The fact is, all they do is memorize and cram the information into their brains for a test/exam. A week later, they probably could not tell you about the Treaty of Versailles. This goes to show that not only cramming is bad, but that you probably didn’t learn much in that class. You may have received a 90+ mark in that class, didn’t learn anything. There is a huge difference between learning and knowing the material for a test. Learn for the sake of learning, not for the sake of getting an easy mark, even if that is an added bonus. When going to one of these private schools, you are not learning at all, yet, your mark doesn’t reflect that. The opportunity cost for attending these credit mills are costing students their education, along with the regular cost of their money. Instead of going to a credit mill, students could be learning the material that will prepare them for university. Therefore, one may conclude that the opportunity cost for going to these institutions is an education. Students, however do not realize this. They think that it is an easy way to get high marks, and that is why these credit mills are so successful. The 3 “E”s To be equitable, it means that everything is fair or impartial – that everyone gets their fair share. An operation is efficient when some people are better off without making others worse off. By paying for grades, one may think that everyone is getting their fair share. Teachers are getting the money, while kids will get the mark they want. This, however is untrue. The students that are paying are actually worse off. They are worse off because they will start to believe that everything in life can be solved with money. These students also do not work to earn their grades, which in turn means that they do not learn anything. Although it seems great that they are getting high grades, it will ultimately cause problems when they enter university. The ability of being able to pay for grades is nothing if not efficient (in the short term). As the definition reads, efficiency means the accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. With the proof provided by the Toronto Star, it seems as if running a credit mill requires little to no effort at all! Teachers do not need to provided constant supervision during tests, and the required 110 hours of classroom time isn’t even met at all. The reason that there is no effort at all is because the teachers know that there is no point. Both the educators and students know that the money has already guaranteed a high mark. The only work you have to do is bring out the money. What’s the point in putting in time and effort, when the results are already set in stone? In the long run, however, it is not very efficient. Paying for grades would mean that students do not care, and do not put in the effort to get a certain grade. In turn, this makes them unprepared for university. Yes, they do get into their program of choice, but whether or not they can stay in is another matter. Dropping out of university is highly inefficient. You lose time, and also money (due to tuition). Once you drop out, students will probably have to find another way to get back in, to get their desired career. If the students had put in the effort in the first place, they will save a lot of time and money. The chance of those hard working students dropping out of university is far less than those who paid for their grades. Now, some of you may say “But they’re paying for it! It’s only fair that they get what they put in!”. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to my friend named the Fallacy of Composition. The Fallacy of Composition states that just because something is good for a particular group or individual, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good for everyone. Sure, credit mills are fair to those who get what they paid for, but students that work hard to achieve their grades are the losers in this game. They might get a 91 in mathematics, but what good is that compared to a student that got a 97 in a credit mill? Paying for grades is definitely not an equal system for everyone. Not everyone can afford to pay these high price tags to get a 90+ percentage. The fact that everyone has an equal opportunity to pay for grades, does not take into account whether or not they have the means to. What now? Universities don’t test the students on what they know, only on what their marks are. This is why the idea of standardized testing should be implemented. Like the SAT in the United States, these will ensure that all the applicants know all the required material before entering post-secondary education. Not only that, it could potentially put these credit mills out of business. Because it’s obvious that these credit mills do not benefit the students academically, no one would pay to get their marks anymore. Better enforcement could be placed on these private school credit mills. Teachers (unlike in these credit mills) will have to be certified, and have a diploma. Every so often, there should be a government employee sent (preferably undercover) to see what it is like inside the private schools. Taking them by surprise, there is no way they will be able to “clean up” their act before the auditor arrives. If more schools get caught, other private schools would think twice before following in their footsteps. Additionally, if schools are caught, they should be exposed to the media. Not only does this bring shame to their school, but it will set an example for other schools – kind of like a warning. For example, a 28 year-old Toronto Star journalist went undercover in an alleged high school credit mill, and here’s what her experience was like. Which leads to my last suggestion. Publicly acknowledging these schools will be a social incentive not to open credit mills. Society will definitely start looking at these schools in a bad light. If exposure to the media is done often enough, people will not want to attend these institutions at all. Universities will probably start looking at which schools a student obtained a credit from. Got your credit from a credit mill named by the media? REJECTED. Evil, thy name is “paying for grades”. I believe being able to pay for grades is awful, and should never be implemented in any school system. Not only is it unfair to those who can’t afford it, it is unfair to those who can. Education is free, take advantage of that and instead of paying for marks, earn them. That way, you can have the satisfaction of saying that you actually worked hard, instead of saying you paid for it. It is unfair for those who work so hard to earn their grades, when all you have to do is pay. Life has no shortcuts, and if you try to take them, it will only result in you going the long way in the end. Do it right the first time, or you’ll end up having to work more. Instead of finding ways to cheat your way to a higher mark, just do your homework and study. Instead of paying for your marks, just work hard. Nothing comes easy, but if you put in the effort, the results will be worth it.
MUX realization of logic Discussion in 'Homework Help' started by TwoPlusTwo, Dec 11, 2010. 1. TwoPlusTwo Thread Starter Member Oct 14, 2010 I'm supposed to realize the logic of a truth table (attached) with a multiplexer. Using the method in my text book I developed the connections below. My MUX has 3 data selectors (D, C and B) and 8 data inputs (0-7). Input Connected to 0 High 1 A 2 High 3 A 4 Low 5 A 6 not A 7 High I went through the states and it seems to produce the same output as the truth table. But in the solution (attached), my teacher did it differently, in a way that doesn't make sense to me. Can someone explain? 2. StayatHomeElectronics AAC Fanatic! Sep 25, 2008 You are using D, C, and B as the select lines to the mux and your teacher is using A, B, and C, with C as LSB. These will yield totally different logic on the front end, so your result may be completely correct as well. From the table, when ABC is 000 and D is 0 the output is 1. When ABC is 000 and D is 1 the output is 0. Therefore, you teacher put the first output as 'not D.' TwoPlusTwo likes this. 3. Georacer Nov 25, 2009 I read recently a nice formula to calculate your MUX inputs. Let F(A,B,C,D) be your boolean function and ABC (from MSB to LSB) your select inputs. Ii=F(Ai,Bi,Ci,D), where Ai, Bi and Ci are the nescessary inputs to achieve the selection of the number i. i.e. on your truth table, input 000 is I0=F(0,0,0,D)=D'. TwoPlusTwo likes this.
What Factors contribute to a ‘Failed’ presidency? Illustrate your answer with examples from the period 1961-2004 On the surface, the most straightforward way of deciding who can be deemed a successful president is whether they complete a second term of presidency by gaining a victory upon re-election after completion of their first term. The biggest ‘failure’ of a president is surely not being victorious in election for a second term of power, or worse still not being elected in the first place. More crucial is to establish the key ‘factors’ as to why a particular president ‘failed’ to successfully fulfil two terms of power. It would be to simplistic to state that, in recent times, Presidents Johnsen, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and Bush have all been successful for they have all completed, or in Bush’s case set to complete, two terms of Presidential power. In many cases Presidents have been extremely competent in some areas while systematically failed in others. It is also important to be aware that there can be polarising opinions, by different factions, as to whether a President has been a success or failure. Need essay sample on "What Factors contribute to a ‘Failed’ presidency? Illustrate your answer with examples from the period 1961-2004" ? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you for only $12.90/page The President is represented as a symbol of American people for the simple reason that he is the only solitary official of America, excluding the vice president, that the whole country elects. The presidency, as with any imperative institution is in constant transition. Historically he receives the utmost respect and admiration by the American people, however recent presidents and controversies have significantly discredited the position. A major problem for the president is that due to the diverse culture in American, there are many different groups and so they will be judged by them as to how representative they are of their needs in his policies and bills. For instance during the 2004 U. S elections, in the post election polls, the key factors that voters stated determined who they voted for were, moral issues-22 per cent, job opportunities/the economy-20 per cent and terrorism/security-19 per cent. Obviously people’s priorities change from campaign to campaign and the president needs to aware of these priorities and ensures he meets them. Earning clear public support is a key element to a President’s status and ultimately success, if Congress are under pressure from the public then they are more likely to give their support to a presidency. Over the years there has been great debate and mixed feelings on how powerful the President should be, on the one hand he can be seen as too powerful and unbounded by restrictions while on the other there is the opinion that he is too inhibited by provincial politicians confining themselves to short term advantage in place of long term strategies. The American President has varying power domestically to what they have abroad, often described as a ‘Lion’ in terms of foreign power but a ‘Fox’ at home. There is a narrow margin in the public’s opinion as to whether president has much or too little power. I For example President Johnsen 1963-68 became a victim of his own power. By using his inflated powers he went into a Presidential war with Vietnam, without gaining Congresses approval. This evidently proved to be disastrous for Johnsen, due to number of deaths and resulted in the Presidential powers being checked and regulated by Congress. The appointment of President John F. Kennedy in 1960 marked the beginning of the ‘Imperial Presidents’, where the Presidency’s power and control swelled, this theme was brought to an abrupt end by President Nixon in 1974. It is problematic to impassively assess or decide whether Kennedy can be deemed a success or failure due to his brief reign, his likable characteristics and the overwhelming sense of tragedy of his assassination. The major failing for Kennedy was that people from within Southern States, in his own party, rejected his Civil Right Bill. Presidents from the 1960’s onwards could no longer fully depend on the support his party once supplied due to the escalating decline in party identification and resulting emergence of American’s declaring themselves ‘independents’. “The president could no longer rely upon his party, for his party no longer relies upon him”. II It therefore became customary to vote against your own party. Some presidents, in spite of this, sought to strengthen party ethics and veracity, they included Ford, Reagan and JFK. They all emphasised their belief in the merits of their political party. As Ford endorses in 1975, “As president and as a member of the Republican Party and the leader of the Republican Party, I have a obligation to try and strengthen and rebuild the Republican Party Organisation in many, many states. ” III Historically a major contribution to a ‘failed’ presidency is if the President does not work in unison with his congressmen from both political parties. The key is to defend your own party but at the same time not place your party label under unnecessary pressure. Successful presidents are judged in terms of how successful they are in leading Congress, they need their goals to be accomplished by getting their bills passed through by Congress. Since the 1960’s the primary concern of a successful President is to drive his legislative program, if he fails to convince Congress to ratify his basic bills then he is deemed a failure. IV There are several examples of Presidents who have done this triumphantly and those who have not. President Clinton 1992-2000, tried to pass masses of bills through Congress early on in his reign however many of these failed, e. g. Health Care bill, allowing homosexuals into the army etc. The ‘honeymoon’ period of Clinton’s Presidency was not a success especially considering he had a united Congress, consequently he lost Congress after his second year in power. However this was almost a turning point in favour of Clinton’s presidency. He demonstrated that a divided Congress could still work successfully in harmony, this required Clinton to hold intense negotiations with Congress. He then consistently passed through small but noteworthy bills, in a similar vein to President Reagan 1980-88, with the most substantial being the budget. President Johnsen 1963-68, used President Kennedy’s assassination to his advantage by receiving sympathy from Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act. He wanted to give blacks equality, allowing them an education and into the army etc. Congress would look immoral and insensitive if they it after Kennedy’s drive to have it passed before his tragic assassination. He built the ideal of ‘Great Society’ as part of his ‘grand plan’, this included the introduction of two grants. The Voting Rights Act followed the Civil Rights Act. While Johnsen looked impressive on a domestic front he failed in his many of his foreign policies, as already stated the Vietnam War was crucial in this failure and due to his magnified power. President Nixon 1968-74 could be seen as having served the ultimate ‘failed’ Presidency due to the fact that he is the only President forced to resign mid-term, as a result of the ‘Watergate’ scandal. Nixon had a troubled time from the beginning as it was one of the first times ever that there was a Democratic Congress and Republican Presidency and therefore it was particularly problematic for him to get his bills passed by Congress. This obviously seriously affects how successful a Presidency can be, although Clinton later proved it was possible to work in synchronisation. This divide also looked unfavourable on Nixon as the 1970’s were seen as time to ‘get things done’. His eventual end of Presidential power was crippled with controversy due to the ‘Watergate’ Scandal, he lost the support of officials within The White House and the respect of public opinion soon followed. This loss is a devastating blow to any President and with the threat of impeachment he was left with no option but to resign. President Ford succeeded Nixon, but was always undermined by his association with him and only held two years of power. Both Ford and then Carter suffered from ‘post imperial Presidency’. This shows that it is possible to fail as President because of someone else’s mistakes, with reference to my comment in the opening paragraph about not being elected in the first place could be seen as a failure; many people believe had it not been for the Monika Lewinski scandal under President Clinton, then Al Gore would have won by a landslide in the 2000 elections. President Carter’s, 1976-80, major failing was that although he had a united Congress his relationship with them was poor, he attempted to pass to many bills but did not hold regular meetings nor did he offer them any incentive or ‘a bear hug’, to accept his bills. Congress become increasingly individualistic and became concerned only with domestic or even local issues. Carter lost power after one term due to the state of the economy and the hostage situation in Iran, with many people at the time deeming it a straightforward ‘failed’ presidency. Reagan re-established that is was possible to work in agreement with Congress, and regained some respect to the role of Presidency, passing many bills through in his first term. He passed his budget and crucially to the people lowered taxes, he successfully exploited the Media to reach out and stay in contact with the American people with his sincerity. However this accomplishment was to be under false pretences and during his second term it was discovered the economy was heavily inundated with debt. From the moment Bush Snr made his “Read my Lips… no new taxes” speech he was doomed to failure. The country was still in debt and making promises that he clearly would be unable to abide to was no-way to regain the trust of the American people. He only lasted one term of Presidential power, 1988-1992. Although George Bush jnr has just regained control for a second term in 2004, many people still deem him a failure, the country has its biggest record of un-employment levels and is once again in debt, even thought the economy was booming when Bush took over from President Clinton in 2000. Bush is mocked in the media for his illogical use of English language and incoherent speeches. The media is a key institution in determining how successful a President is, it is a direct opportunity for him to increase his power by speaking directly to the people, ‘speak American to America’. Congress does not get this opportunity. The televised press conference is the biggest opportunity for Presidents to attain public support and is very important to whoever is the current president. They have services and means for a successful campaign by already being in the public eye that an opponent does not, the president needs to ensure he lays out his future legislative policies. Evidently it is complex to decide whether a Presidency has been totally a success or ‘failure’ nor can you simply compare one Presidents success to another. However the factors stated are key contributions to how a President fairs. On the whole, the middle ground president appeals to most people, one that fulfils his duty to work relentlessly in completing a legislative program that involves every problem in American Society. If a president weakens the office’s power through ignorance or spinelessness then he will be considered a failure. Haven't found the Essay You Want? Get your custom essay sample For Only $13/page
STEMAcademiaAgriculture & FarmingHumanitiesSocial Sciences Raisin Weekend: A University of St Andrews Tradition Updated on April 12, 2017 The University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland was founded in 1413 making it the third-oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the oldest university in Scotland. It has a reputation for academic excellence. It also has some bizarre and unusual traditions. This article is about one of the most famous of these: Raisin Weekend. Common Questions • What do St Andrews students mean when they refer to their mother and father? • What is Raisin Receipt? • Why does the university sanction a foam fight every year? What Are Academic Families? Academic families are very important to Raisin Weekend, so you need to understand what they are before we move on. If you meet a student from St Andrews and they start talking about their mum or their dad, it is wise to be cautious. Don't automatically assume they mean their actual blood parents. They might be talking about their academic parents! Traditionally freshers, known as bejants and bejantines get adopted by students in third year (or above), who they know as 'mum' and 'dad'. Academic parents have an important role in helping students to integrate into life in St Andrews, and meeting new people in different years. Adoption is not formally organised by the University, traditionally fathers will ask first years to be their children, while freshers ask their mothers, but there are no specific rules. The students union often organise an event to help any orphans find parents. Some students take academic families very seriously and whole dynasties can be formed with grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and can sometimes be a problem. There are also, not surprisingly, occurrences of 'academic incest', i.e. it is not unknown for fathers and daughters, or other family members to get together and enter into relationships. What Is Raisin Weekend? The time when academic families are most important is Raisin Weekend, which happens every November. Raisin Sunday On Raisin Sunday it is traditional for students to go round to their mother's for a "tea party". This may involve lots of alcohol instead of tea, and silly party games. Children receive 'raisin strings' which are strings with a personal gift attached. After the tea party is over children head over to their fathers for more drinking. The tradition was that children were expected to give their parents a pound of raisins. However in the modern day version parents more often receive a different grape-based product called wine. Raisin Monday The following day is 'Raisin Monday' and the children are required to get up and collect their 'raisin receipts' from their fathers. Traditionally Raisin receipts were pieces of parchment with a message in Latin ascribed on them. More recently the tradition has been to provide children with something difficult to carry and embarrassing. Mothers dress their children up in costume. Once in costume children are march to St Salvators Quad on North Street to take part in a shaving foam fight between 11 am and 12 noon. Raisin Monday 2011 Latin Text for Raisin Receipt "Ego civis (name of parent), tertianus/a (if you’re a third year) or magistrandus/a (fourth year) or alumnus/a (if you’re a graduate) huius celeberrimae universitatis Sancti Andreae, qui (subject the parent studies) studeo, a te, meo/a bejanto/ina carissimo/a qui (subject the child studies) student, unam libram uvarum siccarum accepisse affirmo pro qua multas gratias tibi ago." History of the Tradition It is claimed the tradition of Raisin Monday dates back to the very beginnings of the University, although the foam fight certainly seems to be a more recent addition with obscure origins. Raisins were more valuable and rarer in the past. Some sources claim that the tradition of a pound of raisins started with students giving their mothers raisins as a thank you for the festivities. However as women were only admitted to St Andrews in 1876, it is likely that much of the tradition in its modern form dates from the twentieth century, and has changed over time. Raisin Weekend has not always been popular with the authorities at the University. In 1933 it was banned for three years due to concerns at students behavior. The ban was lifted in 1936 on condition that no students celebrated on the Sunday, and no raisins and receipts were exchanged before 8am on Raisin Monday. A 1940s article in the Scotsman describes Raisin Weekend as a day when first year students were obliged to produce a pound of raisins if any senior student demanded them . On receipt of the raisins the student would receive a receipt in Latin providing them with immunity from other senior students. In 1950 there was a shortage of raisins in St Andrews, so cigarettes and grapes were used instead. Reports of Prince Wiliam In 2001 Prince William was in his first year at St Andrews. He was reported in the press to have been in the foam fight, and pictures said to be of William were published in the newspapers. However it later emerged that this was a case of mistaken identity. The photographs were of Mark Willis, a first year history student, of a similar build to William. He was unrecognizable due to foam. Mark found out he was in the papers when his friends spotted him. It was confirmed by a spokesman that Prince William did not attend the foam fight. William did participate in some other parts of the Raisin Weekend tradition, but details of which bits and what Prince William did at Raisin Weekend were never provided to the media. Raisin Weekend 2015 Raisin Weekend has been criticized as a frivolous, silly way for students who should be studying to spend time. The University of St Andrews is often described as a 'bubble'. The small town in Fife can seem somewhat removed from the rest of the world. Images of students covered in foam does little to detract from this impression. Concerns are also raised about the excessive amounts of drinking that some students indulge in. Others say the festivities are just good fun, and a good way to help new students integrate into life at University. Poll: Yay or Nay to Raisin Weekend Do you think Raisin Weekend sounds like fun, or is a silly outdated tradition that has no place in a modern University? See results St Salvators Quad, in its usual tranquil state - not at Raisin Weekend! St Salvators Quad, in its usual tranquil state - not at Raisin Weekend! \| Source Other Traditions St Andrews also has a number of other weird and wonderful traditions: • Not stepping on the initials of Patrick Hamilton on the pavement outside St Salvator's Quad for fear of failing your degree • The May Dip (swimming in the North sea in the early hours of the 1 May) 0 of 8192 characters used Post Comment No comments yet.
Loading presentation... Present Remotely Send the link below via email or IM Present to your audience Start remote presentation • Invited audience members will follow you as you navigate and present • People invited to a presentation do not need a Prezi account • This link expires 10 minutes after you close the presentation • A maximum of 30 users can follow your presentation • Learn more about this feature in our knowledge base article Do you really want to delete this prezi? Make your likes visible on Facebook? You can change this under Settings & Account at any time. No, thanks Spoiled Milk Madison White Science Fair Project Madison White on 23 February 2013 Comments (0) Please log in to add your comment. Report abuse Transcript of Spoiled Milk Purpose The purpose of my experiment is to determine how long it takes for whole milk, 2% milk, and skim milk to spoil when it is left at room temperature. There are three specific questions that I would like to answer during this experiment. They are: 1. How long does it take for whole milk to spoil? 2. How long does it take for 2% milk to spoil? 3. How long does it take for skim milk to spoil? I also think that other people will benefit from this experiment. It will help them to know how long each kind of milk can be left at room temperature before it begins to spoil. Hypothesis I believe that the milk with the highest fat content, the whole milk, will be the first one to spoil at room temperature. Based on my research, harmful bacteria that leads to spoilage begins to grow when milk reaches higher than 45 degrees. Room temperature is greater than this, so spoilage will begin with all three kinds of milk once it is left unrefrigerated. It is my belief that the more fat the milk contains, the quicker it will go bad. Experimental Design As with any experiment, there are different variable associated with this one. The temperature of the room and the amount of each kind of milk that is used remains constant. The fat content of the milk is the variable that is manipulated. The type of cup that the milk is in is the independent variable in this experiment. Materials In order to complete this experiment, several different materials are needed. The following is a list of supplies that you will need when you start: 1 cup of whole milk 1 cup of 2% milk 1 cup of skim milk 3 cups measuring cup clock or timer paper Procedure To begin the project, you need to label three different cups for each type of milk (whole, 2%, and skim). Measure one cup of each kind of milk and pour it into the correctly labeled Styrofoam cup. Write down the time you began the experiment. You will then need to leave the cups of milk sitting out at room temperature. Be sure to check them often. Document the time that each milk clearly begins to spoil. Results Conclusions At the end of the experiment, the skim milk was the first to spoil, followed by the 2% milk and then the whole milk. Based upon the results of the experiment, it was the milk with the lowest fat content that spoiled the fastest. The purpose of my experiment was to find out which type of milk spoiled the fastest and this experiment led me to those results. The major result that came from this experiment is that the lower the fat content of the milk, the quicker it will spoil when left sitting out at room temperature. At the end of the experiment, I found that the results were the opposite of my hypothesis, as I had guessed that the milk with the higher fat content would spoil first. I can now guess that the higher fat content of the milk allows it to stay consumable for a longer period of time. It would now be possible to take this experiment further and see if it makes a difference what brand of milk you use or to find out exactly what temperature each kind of milk will spoil at. By: Madison White Background Research There are two main sources of bacteria found in milk. They are lactic acid and coliforms. When milk spoils, it undergoes physical and chemical changes. (Spoiled) The expiration date shown on the foods we buy and eat are not always set in stone. You can usually see or smell when something is spoiled before finding out by tasting it. (PC) Temperature is the most important factor when it comes to whether or not milk spoils. When milk is allowed to get above 45 degrees, harmful bacteria can begin to grow fast. (Rushing) Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization in the mid-1800s. Michigan became the first state to ban the sale of unpasteurized milk in 1948. (Pike) Buttermilk can be safely stored for 3-5 days. Evaporated milk that has been opened can be safely stored for 4-5 days. (Fisher) Bibliography Fisher, Lesley and Lydia Medeiros. Family and Consumer Sciences. The Ohio State University, 2010. Web. 18 Nov 2012.<http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5403.pdf> PC, Sofia. "Does Milk Spoil At the Same Rate As 2% Skim Milk?" Education.com. n.p, n.d. Web. 16 Nov 2012. <http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/does-whole-milk-spoil-same-rate-as-skim/> Pike, William E. "Raw Milk and the Sour State." The Freeman. n.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov 2012.<http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/raw-milk-and-the-sour-state/> Rushing, J.E. Department of Food Science. NC State University, n.d. Web. 17 Nov 2012. <http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/pubs/milksafety.html> "Spoiled Milk: How do different temperatures of liquid affect its rate of spoilage?" Gale Schools. n.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov 2012. <www.galeschools.com/sci_try/spoiled_milk.htm> Data Analysis Spoiled Milk How long does it take for milk to spoil? Full transcript
Many different shark species are used for fish-and-chips (under the name flake) in Australia: School sharks, several species of wobbegongs, and also the Gummy shark or Australian smooth hound (Mustelus antarcticus). It is named after its gummy-like, boneless fillets (don’t all sharks have no bones?) in English and its habitat off southern Australia (near Antarctica) in Latin. Like all sharks of the family houndsharks, the Gummy shark has a smooth skin with tiny denticles and is viviparous. Every one of the one to 57 embryos (depending on the size of their mother) stays in their own separate compartment in one of the two uteri of their mother during the year long gestation. Born at a length of approximately 13 in -33 cm-, female mature at 5 years and reach a length of up to 73 in -185 cm-, males at 4 years with a maximal length of 58 in -148 cm. Gummy sharks live up to 16 years. Living in two genetically distinct sub-populations, the Gummy shark is abundant in shallow waters off southern Australia. Nevertheless, regulations to manage fisheries like gillnets with a mesh-size around 6 in -16 cm- to protect smaller (juveniles) as well as larger (big female) sharks or a bag limit for recreational fishermen (see spotted wobby) and conservation measures like marine protected areas (MPAs) are in place to protect this shark species, too. It seems that climate change and subsequently warmer water “might trigger a change from the biennial reproductive cycle presently characteristic of Bass Strait to an annual cycle characteristic of the other regions (Walker 2007), which may increase pup production and hence productivity of the population and yield from the fishery.” This is no reason to give the all-clear, however. Sources: here and here
What Are The Primary Causes Of Calcaneal Spur Posterior Calcaneal Spur Heel spur is a thorn-like, bony protrusion of the heel bone, which can become inflamed through irritation, thus causing pain. A heel spur forms at the tendon attachments on the muscles of the heel bone as a result of micro-injuries to the tissue caused by overstraining. As part of the healing process for these micro-injuries, the body stores bone material in the tendon attachments as a repair mechanism. Heel spurs can develop over a very long period without causing major complaints. However, irritation of the area surrounding the ossified tendon attachment can cause inflammations. Left untreated, the inflammations can in turn lead to increased ossification and thus to permanent degradation with a risk of chronic manifestation. The normal rolling procedure that we all use when walking is then frequently no longer possible. Heel spurs form in some patients who have plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tar fash-ee-I-tis), and tend to occur in patients who have had the problem for a prolonged period of time. While about 70 percent of patients with plantar fasciitis have a heel spur, X-rays also show about 50 percent of patients with no symptoms of plantar fasciitis also have a heel spur. Posterior Calcaneal Spur Most heel spurs cause no symptoms and may go undetected for years. If they cause no pain or discomfort, they require no treatment. Occasionally, a bone spur will break off from the larger bone, becoming a ?loose body?, floating in a joint or embedding itself in the lining of the joint. This can cause pain and intermittent locking of the joint. In the case of heel spurs, sharp pain and discomfort is felt on the bottom of the foot or heel. Non Surgical Treatment Surgical Treatment Write a comment Comments: 0
The Story/Timeline of Halo (look here for any lore questions you have!) • Topic Archived 1. Boards 2. Halo 4 3. The Story/Timeline of Halo (look here for any lore questions you have!) User Info: Demigod_Elessar 4 years ago#1 Since I've seen a lot of questions floating around about the Didact, Librarian, Forerunners, etc, I figured I'd attempt to make this topic. Anybody who feels they may be able to add to a point, then please do. I am getting most of this knowledge from the novels (which I have read all of them), terminal videos, Halo Encyclopedia, and Halopedia for back up assistance. 1,000,000,000 to 150,000 BC: * The Precursors are the pre-eminent species in the galaxy, moving beyond sentience into practical godhood. They can traverse galaxies in seconds, control evolution, and create life. The Precursors seed the Milky Way galaxy with life, looking to raise a species worthy of carrying on their stewardship of the galaxy (known as the Mantle). Precursors create the Forerunners and look to elevate them to rule the galaxy, but eventually deem them unworthy of the role. They also create humanity. The Forerunners go to war with the Precursors, knowing that they are to be replaced by humanity as the ones worthy of the Mantle. The Precursors create the Flood as a final "test" for both humanity and Forerunners, to help assist with who is more capable of taking up the Mantle. The Precursors are annihilated by the Forerunners, and all of their technology passes on to them. It isn't clear exactly how the Forerunners managed to defeat the Precursors, and some Precursors may have survived. 150,000 BC: Forerunners have colonized much of the Milky Way thanks to the Precursor technology left to them. They are now a peaceful race and help elevate underdeveloped races. The first generation of humans begin colonizing the galaxy using more technology left from the Precursors. Their civilization grows to rival that of the Forerunners. 110,000 BC: Humanity and the Prophets make first contact with the Flood, ally themselves, and go to war. Humanity retreat from the Flood into Forerunner space; and the Forerunners, who believe Humanity are invading, strike back. The Human-Forerunner War commences. 109,000 BC: The Ur-Didact leads his people to victory against the humans. The Forerunners devolve humanity into several different species and exile them to their homeworld Erde-Tyrene (Earth). Unbeknownst to the Forerunners, the human/Prophet alliance managed to drive the few surviving Flood from the galaxy at the expense of victory against the Forerunner. 109,000 to 101,300 BC: The Forerunner learn of the Flood and begin planning construction of the Halo arrays as a "Plan B" incase the Flood returns. The Master Builder, Faber, leads the project, and his Builders are responsible for the construction. The Ur-Didact opposes construction of the Halo arrays and proposes the idea of the Shield Worlds, but is ultimately sentenced to imprisonment in a cryptum on the newly-primitive Earth. Construction of 12 Halo arrays begin, together with the Shield Worlds intended to protect organic species from the devastating effect of the Halo array's firing. The Librarian begins archiving species from across the galaxy, placing samples of every species in sarcophagi on the Ark, far outside of the galaxy (and out of reach of the Halo array's effects). 100,300 BC: Forerunners make first contact with the Flood on planet G617g1. The investigating team are killed and the Flood escapes. The Forerunner-Flood War begins. The Librarian hastens her work. 100,043 BC: Forerunners create Mendicant Bias (and AI) to combat the Flood. It is placed in charge of Halo Installation 07 and tasked with hunting the Flood Gravemind. Halo 07 is test-fired, freeing the last surviving Precursor sealed away millennia earlier by humanity. He is recaptured and imprisoned on Halo 07. Mendicant Bias begins questioning the last Precursor; their conversation lasts 43 years. Gamertag: Demigod Elessar (I was formerly Demigod Tyek on these boards, and as a gamertag) User Info: Demigod_Elessar 4 years ago#2 100,000 BC: The events of Halo: Cryptum take place. The Ur-Didact is freed by the Forerunner Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting after 1,000 years of imprisonment. They travel the galaxy together with the proto-humans Chakas and Riser. The Ur-Didact is eventually captured by the Master Builder, but not before transferring his consciousness and memories into Bornstellar (known as a mutation), who becomes the new Didact. Manipulated by the last Precursor, Mendicant Bias returns on Halo 07 to the Forerunner capital, and betrays them. Mendicant Bias seizes control of five of the 12 Halos. The Forerunner destroy them, leaving seven remaining. The events of Halo: Primordium take place. Riser and Chakas wander around Halo 07, having been placed there after they capture from the Master Builder. They assist in reclaiming the installation and restore it to the Halo network. Chakas' mind is used as the template for 343 Guilty Spark. The last Precursor is revealed to be a Flood Gravemind and is killed by Bornstellar. A Forerunner artifact bridging Earth and the Ark is buried in Africa by the Librarian. Conversations between the Librarian and the Ur-Didact are recorded and stored on the Ark (the Halo 3 terminals). Forerunners create the Offensive Bias AI to counter and fight Mendicant Bias. In need of troops to combat the Flood, Bornstellar uses a device known as the Composer on a group of humans being held by the Librarian on a Halo array. The device is supposed to turn the humans into warriors, but the effects backfire, and the humans are turns into the twisted Prometheans we see in the game. The Librarian betrays Bornstellar over the matter, and imprisons him in a cryptum and is places it on Requiem. The Ur-Didact returns to power, and he and the Librarian are the main characters (as per the summary of the book released). The following events are the final hours of the Forerunners. Mendicant Bias and the Flood fleet breach the Forerunner's defensive line and move onto the inner Forerunner colonies. Mendicant Bias commands a fleet of millions of Flood ships against Offensive Bias' tens of thousands. The Ur-Didact fires the Halo arrays, killing all sentient life within three radii of the galaxy's core. Mendicant Bias' organic Flood ships are destroyed by the Halo arrays. Offensive Bias now severely outnumbers Mendicant Bias' forces and the battle turns. Four minutes later, the Forerunner-Flood War ends. Mendicant Bias is shattered by Offensive Bias. A fragment ends up on the Ark and on the Prophet's homeworld. Species archived by the Librarian on the Ark and various Shield Worlds are returned to their planets by the surviving Forerunners. The Forerunners exit the galaxy. Humanity are given the "keys" to the Halo arrays in the Forerunner's absence. The whereabouts of the Ur-Didact and the Librarian are unknown. 30,000 BC: Homo sapiens rise to become the dominant human species, killing off the other human species on their journey out of Africa. The Neanderthals are among the last to die out. 8,500 BC The second generation of human civilization emerges. 938 BC Elsewhere in the galaxy, the Prophets and Elites already have vast interstellar empires thanks to knowledge inherited from the Precursors and Forerunners. Humanity has developed numerous civilizations, but is thousands of years behind. The Prophet-Elite War begins. 876 BC: The Elites abandon their beliefs and begin studying Forerunner artifacts, accelerating their technology. 852 BC: The Prophet-Elite War ends and the factions form a union named the Covenant. The Covenant add further races over the next millennium as they colonize the galaxy. User Info: Demigod_Elessar 4 years ago#3 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space over 100,000 years. Humanity's first off-world colony is built on Mars. Humanity forms the United Nations Space Command. The UNSC puts down rebels on Mars. Humanity maters faster-than-light travel with the Shaw-Fujikawa slipspace drive. Humanity has colonized over 800 worlds. The UNSC abandons Project Orion, the first generation of Spartan super soldiers, because of expense and time. Master Chief John 117 is born. 75 children are abducted and conscripted into the Spartan-II program. John is among them, and becomes squad leader shortly after training begins. Humanity's first contact with the Covenant. The events of Halo: Contact Harvest take place. Though it won't be revealed for many years, the Covenant attacked humanity only after learning that humans, not the Prophets, were the Forerunner's favored race. The 14-year-old Spartan-II's undergo extensive cybernetic and genetic modification. 30 die, 12 are disabled. The events of Halo: Wars take place. The first 300 volunteer Spartan-III's enter training. Cheaper and weaker than Spartan-II's, the III's are to be produced in much greater numbers with far fewer casualties. The events of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx begin, but go on all the way up to 2552. Desperate for propaganda, the UNSC makes the Spartan-II program public. Spartan-II's become legendary. When killed, they are listed as missing-in-action, to maintain the image of their invincibility. While Earth still eludes them, the Covenant find and invade the planet known as Reach. The events of Halo: Reach take place. Noble Team takes down a Covenant supercarrier. It is immediately replaced with hundreds more. Noble Team helps evacuate the city of New Alexandria. The city is glassed. Noble Six, Emile, and Carter die evacuating Cortana's AI core to the Pillar of Autumn. The Pillar of Autumn then jumps into slipspace using Forerunner data entrusted to Cortana. The events of Halo: Combat Evolved take place. The Forerunner data led the Pillar of Autumn to Halo 04. The Pillar of Autumn crash lands. John 117 makes contact with the Flood imprisoned in Halo 04's bowels. 343 Guilty Spark attempts to use John 117 to activate the Halo array. Cortana prevents the activation and John detonates the Pillar of Autumn's engines, destroying Halo 04. The events of Halo: First Strike take place. The events of Halo 2 and Halo: ODST take place. John 117 arrives on Cairo Station and is equipped with the Mark VI MJOLNIR armor. Searching for the Ark, the Covenant accidentally discover the location of Earth. John battles the Covenant in New Mombasa but quickly follows the Prophet of Regret's retreat to Halo 05. Earth is assaulted by Covenant forces searching for the Ark. An ODST squad in New Mombasa engages in a series of skirmishes with Covenant forces. John 117 arrives at Halo 05, assassinates the Prophet of Regret, and meets the Flood Gravemind. The revelation of the Halo array's true purpose creates a divide in the Covenant known as the Great Schism. The doubting Elites turn against the Prophets. The Gravemind uses the Great Schism as a distraction to seize the Covenant Holy City of High Charity. John 117 journeys back to Earth upon the Forerunner Dreadnought. Cortana is left behind in the Flood controlled High Charity. The events of Halo 3 take place. John 117 ejects from the Forerunner Dreadnought and falls to Earth. The Forerunner artifact buried under Voi is activated, opening a portal User Info: Demigod_Elessar 4 years ago#4 Human and Elite ships chase the Prophet of Truth through the portal and arrive at the Ark. The Arbiter kills Truth and the activation of the Halo arrays is stopped. John 117 and the Arbiter activate the replacement Halo 04 and escape through the slipspace portal aboard the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. Halo 04's activation wipes out the Covenant forces, the Flood, and the Gravemind. The activation closes the slipspace portal mid-transit. The Arbiter returns to Earth on December 23. John 117 and Cortana are lost in space. He enters cryosleep. The events of Halo: Glasslands take place. The events of Halo: The Thursday War take place. Cortana enters her seventh year of service and begins to degrade. Master Chief remains in cryo. A duplication of 343 Guilty Spark recounts Chakas' story from the Forerunner-Flood War. He later seizes control of an ONI ship and sets course for the Librarian's last known location, implying that she is still alive somewhere. The events of Halo 4 take place. Sorry it really got watered down near the end there; tiredness from typing all this out, and assuming most of you already know the story of the first trilogy, were the main reasons for that. The main parts I wanted to elaborate on were the Forerunner sections anyway, which is one of the reasons they are so detailed. User Info: SRR Capdown SRR Capdown 4 years ago#5 Only thing I'm particularly confused about is Reach vs Fall of Reach. I know some of Fall of Reach has been retconned, but I can't make it all fit. Fire Bucket User Info: Demigod_Elessar 4 years ago#6 SRR Capdown posted... Yeah, I couldn't either, that's why I didn't even bother. From what I understand, the story concerning John as a kid, the Spartan-II program, and the 2525 battle with the Covenant (the first half of the book) is still considered canon. But the second half, concerning Sigma Octanus Four, and the battle of Reach itself... just interpret whatever you think happened, I guess. User Info: VoidBeyond 4 years ago#7 Sticky requested GT: Dethrow2112 PSN: DuodecimKnight User Info: tristin809 4 years ago#8 Brilliant topic. "Shop smart, shop s-mart." -Ash, Army of Darkness SSF4AE Mains: Guy & Cody Subs: Gouken & Dee Jay User Info: Demigod_Tyek 4 years ago#9 Gamertag: Demigod Elessar User Info: chickenwax 4 years ago#10 When did this ancient human race thing get introduced? "Two in Harmony, Surpasses One in Perfection" -The Kirijo Group 1. Boards 2. Halo 4 Report Message Terms of Use Violations: Etiquette Issues: Notes (optional; required for "Other"): Add user to Ignore List after reporting Topic Sticky You are not allowed to request a sticky. • Topic Archived
Teaching & Research Labs OWU’s Department of Chemistry features seven modern laboratories for classroom research and four dedicated labs for use in independent research with faculty. The facilities are designed to expedite work-flow and promote collaboration. State-of-the-Art Mac Lab All chemistry students have access to the department’s computer lab, which has 25 iMac computers and a printer. The computer lab is designed to facilitate classroom instruction, group work, and student presentation. The computers have software for computational chemistry, molecular modeling, and data analysis. Each can run Mac and Windows operating systems. NMR Spectrometer The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer is used in structure determination and in discerning the identity of chemical samples. NMR spectroscopy is based on disturbing the equilibrium population of the quantum spin states of nuclei in a strong magnetic field through irradiation with radio waves. The department maintains a Bruker Avance 300MHz FT-NMR to which students have nearly unrestricted access to beginning in their sophomore year. The organic chemistry laboratory curriculum devotes substantial time to allow students to use the NMR. Dry Box The dry box is housed in the inorganic chemistry laboratory. It makes it possible to handle reagents and to carry out reactions that require inert atmosphere conditions. Cold Room The biochemistry laboratory features a walk-in cold room that provides a reduced-temperature environment for work with proteins or other species that need to be handled at lower temperatures. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to separate two or more components of a liquid sample. High pressures of a carrier liquid are used to transport the sample through a column to partition the constituents between the carrier and the surface of the column, which different components will attach to differentially based on their polarity. The HPLC can assist in the determination of the composition of the sample, as different components go through the column at different rates. The department maintains a Rainin HPLC that is equipped with a Varian Prostar UV/Vis detector to assist in identification and quantification of the concentrations of the components. Students learn to use this instrument at the sophomore level. Gas Chromatographs Gas chromatography separates components of a volatile liquid mixture by taking advantage of differences in boiling points and, to some extent, differences in polarities. It can assist in the determination of the composition of a sample as well as establish the relative amounts of components of a sample. The department has four Shimadzu GC-14A gas chromatographs equipped with flame ionization detectors. Students learn to use this instrument at either the freshman or sophomore level. Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer A mass spectrometer measures the mass/charge ratio of samples that have been ionized. This information can be used to assist identification of the components of a sample. By attaching a gas chromatograph before the mass spectrometer, the components of a mixture can be separated and analyzed independently by mass. The department maintains a Shimazu QP5000 Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) that features electron-impact ionization and a quadrupole mass spectrometer. It is fitted with an robotic sampler for automated and unattended operation. The GC/MS is used extensively in organic and analytical chemistry classes. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer Infrared (IR) spectroscopy exposes samples to a broad band of infrared radiation. The sample absorbs certain frequencies of the infrared light, corresponding to certain vibrational and bending modes of molecules. The frequencies absorbed can be interpreted as indicative of the presence of certain functional groups in molecules, as different functional groups have different vibrational modes. The Department of Chemistry maintains three IR spectrometers including a Thermo-Nicolet Nexus 670 FT-IR, a Thermo-Niclolet Avatar 360 FT-IR, and a Nicolet 210 FT-IR. IR spectroscopy is used in the general chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry courses. Diode Array UV/Vis Spectrometer Ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy measures the light absorptions by molecules due to electronic excitations in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It can assist in identification, concentration determination, and kinetic studies. UV/Vis spectroscopy is used in general chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and organic chemistry. The department maintains three HP8453 UV/Vis spectrometers, one of which is equipped with an HP 89090A temperature control module for temperature-dependent studies. The fluorimeter records the emissions of electromagnetic radiation (fluorescence) of a compound after the compound is exposed to light. This is useful in analytical studies of the presence of fluorescent minerals and determining concentrations of florescent compounds. The department’s fluorimeter is a Perkin Elmer LS-45. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Atomic absorption spectroscopy is used to determine the identity and concentration of one or more metal elements in a chemical sample. The sample is atomized by a flame, and it is then illuminated by light. The atoms in the sample will absorb some of the light, corresponding to electronic transitions characteristic to each element. The department has one Varian SpectrAA 220. Students learn to use this instrument in upper-level chemistry courses. The Beckman L7-35 Ultracentrifuge can achieve an acceleration of 107 times Earth’s gravity by spinning samples at 15,000 to 35,000 rpm. It is used in recovery of cell components, preparation of protein samples, and colloid research.
Wessen is the common name for the civilized region that lies to the north of the Tranquil Sea. It is bounded by the Weald to the east, the Felling Heights to the north, and the Camari Wilds to the west. Geographic Regions The Heartlands The Heartlands comprise the vast, fertile breadbasket of Wessen. Stretching from the Felling Heights in the north toward the Tranquil Sea, the Heartlands consists of gently rolling fields crisscrossed with a network of rivers. After the great coastal cities, the Heartlands are the most densely populated region of Wessen. Alashar is a spit of land at the end of the Arden Reach that lies at the juncture of the Castrian and Tranquil Seas. Its location makes it the center of maritime trade in Wessen. Alashar boasts numerous large and fabulously wealthy cities, and it is considered by many to be the center of the civilized world. The Creel lies between the Castrian Sea and a line of mountains made up of the Arden Reach and the Felling Heights. The land is rougher and less fertile than in the Heartlands, and more prone to droughts and frosts. Castria is separated from the rest of Wessen by the narrow Castrian Sea. It shares a southern border with Ruath, but culturally identifies with Wessen. The Lowlands The Lowlands are a long stretch of coast along the north edge of the Tranquil Sea. The land slopes gently down to the water, giving way to endless mud flats, estuaries, and marshlands that constantly shift with the tides. Dealing with the sea is a constant challenge for Lowlanders, but the area is also fabulously fertile, and the many navigable rivers that carry grain ships from the Heartlands are a source of great profit. The Felling Heights The Felling Heights are a long stretch of steep mountains and alpine plains that form the northern edge of the Heartlands. The Osterian Peninsula The Osterian Peninsula protects the calm waters of the Tranquil Sea from the storms and turbulence of the Great Ocean. The peninsula consists of a rough and broken mountain range that extends in most places straight down to the water, making settlement difficult. The mountainous shore of Ruath lies across a narrow straight filled with rocky crags, a passage known to sailors as The Jaws. Delirium storymaster2
Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Crop Water Requirements Under Gezira Scheme Condition. Sudan Shamseddin Musa Ahmed Water rather than land (80 million hectare, mha) has limited the agricultural production and expansion in Sudan. Any further reduction in irrigation water availability thus would have severe detrimental impacts, especially on irrigated agriculture that is currently producing 50% of the crop yields. There is a very high confidence that the arid and semi-arid areas would suffer a decrease in water resources due to climate change. The specific objective of this study is to assess the impacts of climate change on the crop water requirements (CWR) of the main grown crops in the Gezira scheme. Two approaches were used for the assessment. The first is the HADGEM2-ES climate change model approach. The second is the Change Factor approach. Both indicated decreasing trends in rainfall and the opposite holds true for temperature. Accordingly, the CWR increased by 5-45% for cotton, 9-45% for groundnut, 9-51% for sorghum, 15-52% for wheat and 4-40% for small vegetables. Consequently, with the assumption that the irrigation efficiency is 100%, the command area of the scheme (2.1 million feddan) by the year 2040 would need an irrigation water supply of 6.6 - 9 km3. Thus, the total CWR would be increased by 50% (3.0 km3), which outweighs the drawn benefits of the Rosieres dam heightening project. Under the condition that the Sudan’s share in Nile water (18.5 km3) is remained constant the efficient use of irrigation water is the paved way to follow for bridging such tremendous expected deficit. This necessitates capacity building programs and win-win cooperation with Egypt and Ethiopia. Full Text: PDF • There are currently no refbacks.
Posner's 'Introduction' A Summary of pp. 46 - 53 of the Learning Guide 'Doubters' of judicial review argue: 1. Legislators take the constitution seriously even when it is unlikely to be enforced by judges (eg. impeachment rules). Being blamed for 'unconstitutional' actions is also politically detrimental. In this way the constitution is somewhat self-enforcing. 2. Similarly: If legislators can't "pass the buck" to the courts, they are more likely to be blamed for unconstitutionality, and will have more of an incentive to take the constitution seriously. 3. Judicial review discourages public interest in the constitution, as it is seen to be "judges' business". According to Tushnet: what judges use is the dense and technical 'thick constitution', the entire text and all its prior judicial interpretations. What the people revere is a 'thin constitution', a set of basic norms which may not even be part of the Constitution itself. 4. 'Judicial review is condescending and antipopulist' in that it assumes the people to be incapable of self-governance. Among other things, life tenure for Supreme Court justices contributes to insularity and high-handedness. 5. When the text is clear, judicial interpretation is unnecessary as any violation would be obvious. When it is unclear, judicial interpretation is likely to be guided by policy. Interpretation 'is bound to be discretionary rather than constrained'. 6. Judges do not have the resources or expertise to effectively act as lawmakers on the vast range of issues covered by Constitutional law. 7. Since Constitutional decisions will not be determined by the text or guided by expert knowledge, they will reflect the prejudices of the 'class' from which Judges come. This class is not representative of the average person's views. 8. Courts do not have the resources to bring unpopular constitutional rulings into effect. They can make a ruling on one issue, but have no control over corollary issues arising from it. (For example, they can expand constitutional rights for defendants, but cannot prevent congress from retaliating by curtailing other rights, and do not have the fact-finding resources to ensure that such procedures as Miranda rights are followed). 9. Because of the case law system, issues which generate little litigation are ignored by Constitutional scholars, however important the issues may be. Instead, scholars study judicial opinions, written by judges who themselves have no expert knowledge of the issues. 10. Judicial review politicises the judiciary and judicial selection. A less powerful judiciary would be more efficient and professional. 11. The legislative process may be a better way of dealing with issues of political morality than the judicial process. Legislatures debate, compromise and vote. They do not purport to reach a 'correct' decision, just the one favoured by the majority. This may be a better way of reflecting the diverse opinions within society than the court process, which attempts to reason to a 'correct' decision, expressed in terms of what is 'right'. In reality, the judicial process is similar to the legislative (judges discuss a case following formal procedures and vote to reach an outcome), the difference being that judges are not elected representatives. Arguments (such as that of Rawls) suggesting the existence of a universal standard of justice by which courts could resolve issues are not sufficient: the problem is not ontological (whether there is objective moral right) but epistemological (how we can demonstrate what, if anything, is objectively right). Possible responses to these arguments: • The idea that it allows courts to be moral leaders is not one of them. There is no evidence that people take moral guidance from the courts. • One argument is that litigation around the 'edges' of the Constitution protects against infringement of its 'core'. • Another argument is that judicial review protects liberty by decentralising government. Posner notes that this is difficult to test, but seems to think that there wouldn't really be any more violation of liberties in the absence of judicial review, mainly because a) the legislature is unlikely to pass unconstitutional laws when they won't be corrected by courts, and b) when there is sufficient pressure for the legislature to do something unconstitutional, the courts generally lose anyway. • Another defence of judicial review is that courts have certain advantages over ordinary lawmakers. Life tenure insulates them from political pressures which impact on the legislature (and which may reflect ignorance, fear, prejudice, selfish interests). Judges are 'screened for competence and integrity', and can bring 'detached and intelligent reflection on policy issues…'. The legislature can also be ineffective for democratic government: it is difficult to repeal laws, the legislature may not reflect a majority view, and the legislature may pass undemocratic laws (eg. restricting the franchise to people with $1M or more). Judicial review may be the only counter to this. As a result, it may make the system more democratic. (Also, an idealised view of congress, as presented by Waldron, is no more realistic than an idealised view of the judiciary.) Conclusion of the article • In light of these favourable arguments, the case against judicial review is inconclusive. The question of whether we're better off with or without it is an empirical one, but difficult to resolve, since we can only speculate on what legislatures would have done if there were no judicial review. • Judicial review can certainly have unintended consequences. • Also, recognition of equal rights has been driven more by those affected (civil rights movement, women's rights, gay rights) than by the courts, and the courts tend to only discover constitutional rights to equality when such movements are already well established. • When constitutional values are seriously threatened, 'the Court has tended to take a back seat'. • At other times, its interventions can be seen as 'random impediments to experimental solutions to social problems'. • That said, skeptics have not proved that judicial review is overall a bad thing, or even that it is not overall a good thing. • But, the arguments show how little we know about the important process of judicial review, and by extension about the (American) legal system itself.
Project: 1.2 — Human Centered Design My thoughts and progress during the unit called “Research Practice and Human Centered Design” Invisible interface? What is interaction Most of the designers treat interaction as any kind of communication between two or more systems. But most of the artworks we see in daily life are rather a reaction, than interaction. If all the systems provide the same output for the same input, then they can not be parts of the interaction. Generally, to create an interaction, there should be at least one learning system (see the cover image) involved in the communication. Also, I like the idea, that interaction could be on the mental level, on the level of exchanging ideas. For instance, when the artist makes and showcases… More Cognitive biases
Selasa, 24 Mei 2011 The etymology of words and phrases fascinates me. I hear an expression and I like to find out what the root of it is. It’s kind of like a puzzle that I try to piece together. 'Cut the Mustard' is one of those terms that I heard recently. Of course I know what it means and how to use it but how did it come to be? The phrase dates back to the mid 17th century. At that time ‘mustard’ was associated with people and things. But it didn’t mean they were just like mustard, it meant that they were mustard. This is in relation to the heat and kick of the spice associated with the enthusiasm and energy of a person’s actions. Along those same lines, ‘cutting’ has long been interchangeable with ‘exhibiting’. Therefore, 'cutting the mustard' could be just another way of saying 'exhibiting one's high standards'. As you know, Colonel Mustard was a military man . . . and a fine one at that. Another line of thought is that ‘cut the mustard’ is a corrupted version of the military expression 'cut the muster'. This explanation cannot possibly be plausible. The mustering of troops is to assemble and present them for inspection. Cutting the muster . . . failing to show . . . would be disobeying an order and therefore a breach of discipline. Hardly fitting in with the meaning of ‘cut the mustard’. However, along those same lines ‘pass muster’ . . . passing inspection . . . fits but it’s unlikely that this is the origin of the phrase. And, by the way, he did it in the kitchen with a knife. Cher’s Rustic Mustard 1/2 cup yellow mustard seeds 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup water 1 1/2 tsp. sugar Fresh Ground Black Pepper Cayenne Pepper Hot Pepper Flakes Add the sugar and spices to the seeds mixture. Begin with about 1 tsp. of each spice. Let soak for 2 days. Blend mixture until it reaches desired consistency, adding water if needed. Try putting a teaspoon with some olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings for a homemade vinaigrette. Tidak ada komentar: Posting Komentar
What Are the Causes of Lymphoma in Cats? Close-up of cat in vet's office. Close-up of cat in vet's office. (Image: Tashi-Delek/iStock/Getty Images) Lymphoma is the most common of feline cancers, making up nearly a third of all feline cancer diagnoses. It's a cancer of the white blood cells known as lymphocytes, which circulate throughout the lymphatic system. The causes of feline lymphoma aren't clear, but it's apparent that cats exposed to either one of two deadly feline diseases are far more vulnerable than cats who aren't. Feline Lymphoma Cats suffer from several different types of lymphoma, but the gastrointestinal variety is by far the most common. Other types include the mediastinal form, which usually -- but not exclusively -- affects cats with feline leukemia. The mediastinal variant shows up in the animal's chest. The multicentric type, also more common in cats with feline leukemia, involves various organs. The renal form, found in the kidneys, is uncommon but tough, with most cats suffering from it succumbing fairly fast. It's also associated with cats who carry the feline leukemia virus. Lymphoma Causes It's possible that common and deadly viruses cause lymphoma development in cats. A cat infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus has a far higher rate of lymphoma than cats not exposed to the virus. If a cat has been infected with feline leukemia virus, his risk of contracting lymphoma rises astronomically -- 62 times that of an FeLV-negative cat. Cats testing positive for FIV or FeLV usually don't respond as well to treatment, and they die sooner than felines who don't have FIV or FeLV. Regular exposure to cigarette smoke may increase the odds of a cat contracting the gastrointestinal form of lymphoma. Typical Feline Lymphoma Patients Cats diagnosed with lymphoma are generally older -- the average feline patient is between the ages of 10 and 12. Cats who are allowed outdoors but aren't up to date on vaccines are more often affected than cats that stay indoors. Early signs of the disease are often vague, so your cat might be "not quite right" for a while, without obvious signs of illness. Typically, an affected cat experiences vomiting and diarrhea, lethargy, weight loss and an off-and-on appetite. He might have dark, tarry feces or blood in the stool. These symptoms are similar to those of other diseases often found in geriatric cats, so your vet will conduct blood tests, ultrasounds, fine needle aspirations or biopsies to make a definite diagnosis. Treatment and Prognosis Unlike with other forms of cancer, surgery and radiation aren't typical treatments for cats with lymphoma, because the disease is never local -- it has already traveled throughout the cat's lymphatic system. Most cats with lymphoma receive chemotherapy. Prognosis depends upon whether your pet has the high-grade or large-cell type, or the low-grade or small-cell variant of the disease. Cats with high-grade lymphoma often fail to go into remission after receiving chemo and die just a few months after diagnosis. Cats with the low-grade form might live up to two years after chemotherapy treatment. Related Searches Promoted By Zergnet You May Also Like Related Searches Check It Out How to Make an Elevated Dog Feeder Submit Your Work!
Ezekiel Twenty Nine by Dr. Henry M. Morris (taken from the Defender's Study Bible) Navigate to Verse the tenth year. See note on Ezekiel 20:1. Seven distinct prophecies against Egypt are noted in these next four chapters as follows: Ezekiel 29:1, 17; 30:1, 20; 31:1; 32:1, 17. Egypt. The last of Israel's neighbors to be the object of God's prophecies through Ezekiel was her ancient enemy, Egypt, once the world's greatest nation, but now in rapid decline. She is called a “great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers” (Ezekiel 29:3), comparing her to a monstrous dinosaur proud of her river kingdom, but soon to be devastated. through it. By Ezekiel's time, Egypt had lost her ancient glory. Jeremiah had rebuked Judah's kings for trusting the Egyptians to save them from Nebuchadnezzar. Instead of defending Israel, they suffered a crushing defeat by the Babylonians. Many scattered into Arabia, many were carried as captives to Babylon, and mighty Egypt became almost desolate from Syene to Ethiopia (Ezekiel 29:10)—that is, from the northern reaches of the Nile to the southern. forty years. No forty-year period of such complete desolation in Egypt has been confirmed, although this was the length of time between Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of Pharaoh and Egypt's later deliverance when Cyrus and the Persians conquered Babylon. Very little is known for certain about the Egyptian history of this period, but it is known that the Egyptian monarchs, like other monarchs of antiquity, commonly boasted inordinately of the victories and passed over their defeats as lightly as possible. That is, even if the prophecies in these verses were fulfilled literally, Egyptian historians may not have acknowledged it for reasons of national pride. We can be confident that, when and if Egypt's true and full history is ever discovered, these prophecies will be found to have been fulfilled as written. basest of the kingdoms. Egypt was never doomed to extinction, as were such nations as Edom, Ammon, Phoenicia, and others. It was prophesied, however, to be “the basest of the kingdoms” from then on, never to rise again to its former greatness. After Babylonia, Egypt was under the heel of Persia, then Greece, then Rome. Later the Arabs spread the religion of Islam over Egypt and the native Egyptians eventually became an ethnic minority in their own country. In more recent times, Egypt was a part of the British Empire, receiving its independence only in 1922. As an Arab nation, it has occasionally tried to assume leadership over the Arab world, but has been unsuccessful. It has continued to be “the basest of the kingdoms,” just as Ezekiel predicted over twenty-five centuries ago. seven and twentieth year. The prophecy of Ezekiel 29:17-21 was given seventeen years after the prophecy of Ezekiel 29:1-16. It was even given sixteen years after the prophecies of Ezekiel 30:20-31:17 and fifteen years after those of Ezekiel 32. Its interjection out of chronological order at this point was presumably made—possibly by Ezekiel himself—after all the prophecies against Egypt and her confederates had been given, possibly to show more effectively the divine connection between the prophecies against Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28) and those against Egypt (Ezekiel 29-32).
02/08/2014 10:53 pm ET Updated Apr 10, 2014 I Don't Agree With the Thesis in Malcolm Gladwell's Latest Book "Advantageous" events can't turn out to be "disadvantageous" and vice versa, because events never have an inherent meaning to begin with. It's not that what is true turns out not to be true; what we think is true is just a meaning that exists only in our minds. It never was inherently true to begin with. Why are so many people confused about this issue? The misconception Gladwell makes in his book is a common one and arises because people think events have inherent meanings. They don't. As I've explained in a number of earlier posts, events have no inherent meaning. But we think they do because we unconsciously and automatically give meaning to most events and then think the meaning is inherent in the event. As a result, we often give an event a meaning that makes it disadvantageous to us. Then later on something changes, and we re-label the original event as advantageous. In fact, the event was neither disadvantageous to begin with, nor did it turn out to be advantageous; both are meanings we ascribe to events. Neither are meanings inherent in events. Is dyslexia really a disadvantage to be overcome? Gladwell tells stories about people with dyslexia, which is characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence. He uses dyslexia as an example of something that is inherently disadvantageous to someone, who then rises above his disability to achieve success in some field. He would claim such a person turned a disadvantage into an advantage. I disagree. Such a person used something that many people call a disadvantage in such a way one could then call the original "disadvantage an "advantage." I contend the original situation wasn't a disadvantage to begin with and therefore couldn't turn into an advantage. Why does this matter? Because many people are unable or even unwilling to turn a "bad" situation into a "good" situation. Once they have become convinced they have a real disadvantage, they live at the effect of it, unable to overcome it. An alternative way of dealing with seemingly disadvantageous events Many people attribute their lack of success in various areas of life to their "disadvantages." Instead of telling people that it is possible to overcome their "disadvantages" and achieve their goals by hard work, I think more people would achieve their goals if they didn't think that they had disadvantages to begin with. To use Gladwell's example, dyslexia might make it difficult to do well in a conventional school setting, but it doesn't necessarily make it difficult to be successful in the arts or even creative in a business environment. So instead of telling a child with dyslexia that if he works hard he can overcome his "problem," I'd rather tell him that he might have a more difficult time while he is in school, but that he could do very well in the arts, and that he could be a very innovative businessperson. Do you get the difference? The difference could dramatically affect your what you achieve in life and your daily experience of life. A possible confusion When reading an early version of this blog, my wife, Shelly, commented: "I'm not sure I agree. Wouldn't being wealthy be an advantage because you would be able to hire tutors to help your child get better SAT scores?" But that assumes better SAT scores are an advantage because it helps you get into a "better" school. But that assumes that getting into a better school is an advantage because it will get you a better job, better connections, etc. But that assumes that a better job and better connections are an advantage because you probably will make more money. But that assumes that having more money is an advantage because it will make you happier. And this goes on forever. We say an event is an advantage because of what it provides us with vis à vis another situation or vis à vis someone else. But that always assumes that what it provides us with is better, which again is assigning meaning to an event rather than discovering meaning in an event. No matter how hard you look, you will never find meaning in reality. It is always in your mind. What's the lesson here for everyone? Because no event has an inherent meaning, you should get that the meaning you give any event -- whether it's positive or negative -- is never "the truth." The meaning exists only in your mind, not "in" the event. Instead of trying to cope with or deal effectively with something that isn't really true to begin with, you will always be better off making a clear distinction between the event and the meaning -- which will result in the meaning dissolving -- thereby allowing you to view the event as it really is: neutral without any meaning. Then deal with the event as best you can -- not thinking you have a disadvantage you have to overcome or an advantage that will make things easier for you. You will always be better off dealing with reality as it really is than with a meaning that exists only in your mind that you think it reality. Thanks for reading my blog. Please post your questions or comments about Gladwell's thesis and my critique of it. Your comments will add value for thousands of readers. I read them all and respond to as many as I can. Morty Lefkoe is the creator of The Lefkoe Method, a series of processes that improve the quality of people's lives. One revolutionary process, the Lefkoe Belief Process, permanently eliminates limiting beliefs. To actually try that process, go to To read more of his posts, visit his blog at Copyright © 2014 Morty Lefkoe
14:43 16 December 2003 Carbon nanotubes show drug delivery promise NewScientist.com news service Danny Penman Carbon nanotubes are adept at entering the nuclei of cells, researchers have discovered, and may one day be used to deliver drugs and vaccines. "Our research is still in its earliest stages, but it shows great promise," says Alberto Bianco, at the CNRS Institute in Strasbourg, France. "The nanotubes seem to migrate mainly to the nucleus, so we can imagine them being used to deliver gene constructs." "We can also imagine them being used to deliver drugs to specific compartments of the cell," he told New Scientist. Rapid migration Off-the-shelf carbon nanotubes were used by Bianco's team as the basis for their 'nano delivery vehicle'. The tubes were modified by heating them for several days in dimethylformamide, which enabled short linking chains of triethyleneglycol (TEG) to be attached. Then, a small peptide was bonded to the TEG molecule. When the modified nanotubes were mixed with cultures of human fibroblast cells they rapidly entered and migrated towards the nucleus. At low doses the nanotubes appeared to leave the cells unharmed, but as the concentration increased cells began to die. "The nanotubes do not appear to be highly toxic," says Bianco. "But we do now have to work out what happens to the nanotubes in the body." Custom delivery In principle, a wide range of different molecules could be attached to the nanotubes, raising the possibility of an easily customised way of ferrying molecules into cells. This has begun to excite other researchers. Ruth Duncan, who works on drug delivery mechanisms at Cardiff University, UK, told New Scientist: "There's a lot of evidence that other nanoparticles could be useful in delivering drugs so this is a very interesting and exciting area. But I am completely baffled about how the nanotubes manage to get into the cells." Duncan says researchers have tried without much success to use buckyballs - a spherical form of carbon nanotubes - as a way of ferrying anti-cancer drugs and radionucleotides into cells. Journal Reference: Chemical Communications (DOI: 10.1039/b311254c) Uploaded: 12-14-05
Guiding Question: How did the importation of Chinese workers affect the shoemakers' union the Knights of St. Crispin's ideals of worker solidarity, economic justice and civic equality? The Knights of St. Crispin faded from the scene not long after the failed action at the Sampson shoe factory. Sampson had demonstrated a successful, if controversial, means of breaking the strike. Despite the fact that Sampson had shown the method to beshoe ad effective, and although the Chinese were making more and better shoes for less money than the union, hiring Chinese workers to break strikes did not become widely used. That may in part be true because the mere threat to do so by a factory owner was sufficient to bring a strike to an end, but also was due to the fact that very few citizens were comfortable with the idea. Sampson was vilified by both unions and factory owners for his efforts. Prejudice against the Asian immigrants was stronger than the economic need to break strikes. The French-Canadian and Irish immigrants did not hesitate to claim alignment with "Americans" bent on nativist exclusion of the Chinese laborers. They felt no kinship with the Chinese as the new immigrant group, rather the other workers and nativists unequivocally denounced the Chinese workers as bad for America. The combination of fledgling government policies supporting labor and regulating industry safety and the lack of immigration laws assuring immigrants the benefits of what laws there were in place led to an intolerable solution. Image Credits: Top: Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department Bottom: Thomas Nast, "Blaine Language," Harper's Weekly, March 15, 1879, p. 219
Scientific Classifications explained Amphibians » Amphibians » Bees » Beetles » Birds » Bugs » Butterflies » Caterpillars » Damselflies » Dragonflies » Earwigs » Flies » Froghoppers » Fungi & Lichens » Galls » Grasshoppers » Harvestmen » Hoverflies » Ladybirds » Leaf Mines » Mammals » Millipedes » Moths » Sawflies » Slugs » Snails » Spiders » Trees » Wasps » Wild Flowers » Woodlice UK Nature > Flies > Musca autumnalis Scientific Name: Musca autumnalis Common Name: Autumn House Fly, Face Fly Musca autumnalis, more commonly known as the Autumn House Fly or Face Fly, is very similar to the house fly, especially the female, but her eyes are closer together and her body is more rounded than in M. domestica. The male has more orange on his abdomen. They often enter houses and other buildings in autumn, just as the house fly population is declining, and hibernate for the winter. They are most likely to invade farm homes or homes located near pastures or where cattle are kept since the eggs are laid in cow pats and the larvae develop there also. During the summer, the adults feed on the mucous secretions from the eyes and noses of cattle and horses and, more opportunistically, on blood from open wounds caused by Horse Flies and similar.
Continue Reading: hot-ass-teacher[1]The biggest virtue of a wooden pencil is that, well, it’s not made out of plastic. That means it takes less energy to produce the raw pencil material. Over time, the wooden pencil will eventually become a pile of shavings that can hypothetically be composted. The downside, of course, is that you’d typically have to cut down some trees to make wooden pencils. (To give some indication, a full-grown cedar might produce a few hundred thousand pencils, along with additional lumber that might be used for fencing.) But how damaging that is probably depends a great deal on where the wood comes from. Case in point: ForestEthics, a nonprofit focused on protecting California forests, came out with a report card last month that evaluated pencil companies on whether they use recycled material or wood that has been certified for practices that preserve endangered species and the long-term health of forests. (ForestChoice and the Greenline Paper Co.’s Eco-Writer came in for special praise.) Keep in mind that certified wood can be a mixed blessing: ForestChoice, for example, ships eco-friendly cedar from California all the way to Thailand, then manufactures pencils for sale back in the United States. So, which is better? In an ideal world, where kids could be counted on to bring their school supplies home safely at the end of each day, a mechanical pencil would be the greener choice. After all, the lifespan of a wooden pencil is pretty short, while the mechanical one can be used indefinitely. But the Lantern’s own middle-school experience suggests it’s unwise to count on a 12-year-old to keep anything for more than a few hours. The realities of school life mean that wooden pencils are probably a better bet for all but the most responsible kids. (For what it’s worth, the Lantern votes for pencils over pens, too: Not only do pens require plastic, but they increase the need for more paper or Wite-Out.) Sexy_pencil_drawings____________[1]Of course, concern about these issues has created a new market for more eco-conscious school supplies: Now, a fourth-grader could arrive at back-to-school day with a notebook made out of banana paper, pencils that reuse the plastic from car headlights, and pens made out of recycled wood—all in a PVC-free backpack created from old tires. Still, the buzz around green pens and pencils often seems to miss the forest for the cedar trees, suggesting that you can consume your way to a more environmentally friendly pencil pouch. After all, it still takes energy, water, and chemicals to make a product out of recycled material, and the packaging for that product is usually sent off to a landfill. (The Lantern is tempted to start a nationwide boycott against any company that insists on selling its eco-friendly pens two at a time, in plastic and cardboard.) Indeed, it may be wisest to skip the shopping spree and give kids a back-to-school lesson in how what they buy affects the environment. Buying eco-friendly pencils or recycled paper will make a much larger difference if Junior understands why using plastic is so bad or why one type of wood is better than another. It also helps kids learn that the easiest way to help the environment is to buy less stuff—an argument that’s easier to make with mechanical pencils than Christmas toys. The Lantern doesn’t envy the parent who tries to argue against a Hannah Montana notebook in the name of old-growth trees. But the greenest back-to-school product may be the one that never makes the list. 2 Replies to “[Environment] Which is Most Environmentally Friendly, Pens or Pencils or Mechanical Pencils?” Leave a Reply
The Twa Sisters No: 10; variant: 10Q 1. THERE dwelt twa sisters in a bower, Oh and ohone, and ohone and aree! And the youngest she was the fairest flower. On the banks of the Banna, ohone and aree! 2. There cam a knight to court the twa, But on the youngest his love did fa. 3. He courted the eldest with ring and wi glove, But he gave the youngest all his love. 4. He courted the eldest with brooch and wi knife, But he loved the youngest as his life. 5. ‘O sister, O sister, will ye come to the stream, To see our father’s ships come in?’ 6. The youngest stood upon a stane, Her sister came and pusht her in. 7. ‘O sister, O sister, come reach me your hand, And ye shall hae all our father’s land. 8. ‘O sister, O sister, come reach me your glove, And you shall hae William to be your true love.’ 9. ‘I did not put you in with the design Just for to pull you out again.’ 10. Some time she sank, some time she swam, Until she came to a miller’s dam. 11. The miller’s daughter dwelt on the Tweed, She went for water to bake her bread. 12. ‘O faither, faither, come drag me your dam, For there’s aither a lady in’t, or a milk-white swan.’ 13. The miller went, and he dragd his dam, And he brought her fair body to lan. 14. They couldna see her waist sae sma For the goud and silk about it a’. 15. They couldna see her yallow hair For the pearls and jewels that were there. 16. Then up and spak her ghaist sae green, ‘Do ye no ken the king’s dochter Jean? 17. ‘Tak my respects to my father the king, And likewise to my mother the queen. 18. ‘Tak my respects to my true love William, Tell him I deid for the love of him. 19. ‘Carry him a lock of my yallow hair, To bind his heart for evermair.’
Your Computer the Tsunami Super Hero Via a post on slashdot, someone has invented a computer program to help detect tsunamis in real time. Like a weather forecaster for earthquakes that might lead to big waves. Except the forecaster is probably a bit more accurate than the weatherman. The technical approach is interesting. It uses peer-to-peer technology similar to the seti project. The application itself measures shakes of your hard drive similar to what an earthquake would generate. If enough hard drives in a geographic area all jump at the same time, well, it is likely that entire area jumped. Brilliant stuff. A real world use. From the article: Governments seeking inexpensive technology to warn of tsunamis could be interested in a free software application that monitors vibrations in the hard disks of computers in an attempt to detect the undersea earthquakes that cause tsunamis. The Tsunami Harddisk Detector is the brainchild of Michael Stadler, who demonstrated the prototype system earlier this week at the Ars Electronica exhibition in Linz, Austria. be read from some hard disks. The Tsunami Harddisk Detector captures this vibration data and shares it with computers in other locations tremor is occurring.
Find a Security Clearance Job! Military Operations Other Than War This chapter discusses Army MOOTW--operations in two states of the range of military operations: peacetime and conflict. Peacetime is a state in which diplomatic, economic, informational, and military powers of the nation are employed to achieve national objectives. Since peacetime is the preferred state of affairs (as opposed to conflict or war), how well the Army and other services accomplish their missions in peacetime is vital to US national interests. Conflict is a unique environment in which the ARFOR commander works closely with diplomatic leaders to control hostilities, with the goal of returning to peacetime conditions. In conflict, the military, as an element of national power, takes on a more prominent role than in peacetime. The Army participates in conflict as a component of a joint organization that is usually an element of a multinational structure. Other US Government agencies, NGOs, PVOs, and international organizations (IOs) often participate. Army warfighting doctrine is based on well-established principles of war. MOOTW are based on similar principles that guide the force's actions. The principles of war apply for those actions that involve our forces in combat. For MOOTW that do not require direct combat, the principles are objective, unity of effort, legitimacy, perseverance, restraint, and security. FMs 100-5 and 100-23 describe these principles and their application. These principles are not immutable, but serve as guides for action. Commanders must balance these principles against the specific missions and nature of the operation. In planning for military operations in peacetime and conflict, commanders must tailor a force that is suitable for the mission. Suitability is the measure of a force's capability against possible threats and the diplomatic acceptability of the chosen force. Acceptability is based on the force's appropriateness, given diplomatic considerations, and qualities that are consistent with accomplishment of national interests and objectives. The commander's acceptability of the force includes the perceptions of the indigenous population, the international community, and the American public. Force capability is the measure of a unit's ability to counter an expected threat and execute a mission. A force must have the capability to accomplish a military mission by virtue of its training, equipment, and structure. The force composition for MOOTW must be proportionate to the stated goals of the sponsoring authority and provide sufficient capability to complete the mission and protect the force. The perception that the force employed exceeds the limits of its mandate lessens legitimacy with the international community, the US public, and the indigenous population. Capability and acceptability are not constants but vary based upon the threat, the intensity of operations, the missions to be performed, and changing international perceptions. The composition of the force should reflect the commander's consideration of the military end state, METT-T, mission-specific training requirements, strategic lift, pre-positioned assets, joint and multinational military forces, reserve component forces, nonmilitary US agencies, NGOs, PVOs, and host nations forces. The nature of MOOTW is such that CS and CSS units may have an equal if not greater role than combat units. The Army's responsibilities in peacetime are as important as its traditional combat roles. During peacetime, senior army commanders are always postured to present a deterrent to internal or external threats to US national interests. They do this by conducting routine peacetime operations and nonhostile activities. At the direction of national leaders, CINCs may use ARFOR to perform noncombat missions that support diplomatic initiatives. Army leaders then carry out these activities as part of the overall unified command plan. These activities may include job training exercises, peace support operations, nation assistance activities, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, security assistance, shows of force, and support for counterdrug operations. The commander of a unified command, such as PACOM and ACOM, may control and coordinate military support to domestic emergencies in the states of Alaska and Hawaii and territories and possessions of the US. CINCs must continuously assess their regions to identify the strategic situation and situations requiring military forces for noncombat missions. Armed forces may be tasked with direct responsibility, or they may conduct operations that support other US Government agencies. The Army's role in peacetime is to support the regional CINC's efforts to prevent unstable situations from developing into the loss of local control or open conflict. Senior army commanders may do this by conducting routine activities that maintain the potential of ARFOR to conduct major operations. This potential may serve as a deterrent, or it can enhance the capability to react in emergencies. Army component forces may turn this potential into actual mission execution to actively control a situation. As ASCCs or other senior army commanders respond to the regional CINC, they may be required to conduct peacetime operations in one region while simultaneously conducting conflict and/or war operations in others. In peacetime, SOF help attain peacetime military objectives and may promote regional stability by advising, training, and assisting allies. SOF peacetime activities could be the conduct of US humanitarian assistance programs, security assistance programs, and multinational training exercises. Like conventional forces, SOF are a deterrent. In multinational operations, SOF involvement with allies worldwide contributes to deterrence and provides a low-visibility means of extending US influence. Due to extensive unconventional warfare (UW) training, SOF are well-suited to conduct various peacetime operations and provide various types of support. SOF should be considered the force of choice for peacetime missions. General-purpose forces may also be called for their particular specialties or when the scope of operations is so vast that conventional forces are required. The operational-level functions discussed here are used as a starting point to discuss the ASCC in peacetime. Some systems, such as operational fires, may not have extensive peacetime applications. Still, the operational-level commander and his staff need to analyze each function and its corresponding subfunctions, augmenting or deleting as necessary to ensure the proper integration and synchronization of all peacetime operations and activities. Movement and Maneuver The CINC may use armored, light, or special operations Army forces and their corresponding CS or CSS structures available within the region. Some situations require deployment of additional units via strategic lift. The MCA provides for the orderly flow of these forces and resources. The ASCC receives and prepares incoming units for operations. Since peacetime operations are normally conducted in a permissive environment, CS or CSS units may be the predominant elements and deploy early to prepare to support the arrival of other units. The CINC may assign operating forces a JOA, but he generally uses few boundaries or other special control measures. Normally, the ASCC, a subordinate Army commander, or a JFC employs these forces to execute a specific MOOTW mission. Each operation is discrete in response to a specific situation, though it may be sequenced with past and future operations. Execution focuses on near-term operations. Peacetime operations often require special engineer, legal, CA, PSYOP, and PA considerations. Once the operating force completes its mission, it redeploys to its home station or continues peacetime activities in theater with little requirement for consolidation operations or other transition efforts. Protecting forces and resources from a wide range of threats is an important responsibility for all senior commanders. In force-projection contingency operations, the threat of the use of WMD must be continually tracked to preclude unacceptable risk to the force. Options for protection from these weapons encompass the politico-military range and include diplomatic defusing and deterrence through NBC readiness, active and passive defense, air defense, and WMD reduction. The ASCC directs measures in peacetime to conserve military potential so that it can be applied at a decisive place and time. Protecting the force depends on current, accurate intelligence for I&W of possible obstacles or threats. Protection includes conducting antiterrorism measures, maintaining discipline and order, and providing limited deception measures. As part of protecting the force, the ASCC issues the peacetime ROE established by the regional commander in coordination with JCS, the host nation, and the ambassador. Through an operational risk assessment, the ASCC ensures the conservation and safety of the force. Providing air defense of the force and selected geopolitical assets has a deterrent value. It also has an advantage that it is seen as a nonescalatory measure. Conducting Antiterrorism Measures Terrorist acts overseas are a constant threat to US armed forces, civilians, and facilities. The ASCC presumes civil authorities and host governments will implement counterterrorism procedures to protect people within their territory. The CINC ensures coordination of all local antiterrorist policies and measures for protecting DOD facilities, equipment, personnel, and family members abroad. The ASCC may assist in implementing specific antiterrorist actions called for by terrorist threat conditions (THREATCONs) discussed later in this chapter. The theater commander's peacetime ROE provide a flexible self-defense and deterrent posture. These rules deal with terrorist and other threats. Maintaining Discipline and Order Good order and discipline are instrumental for conserving military potential. The ASCC establishes a command climate conducive to this end. He ensures the maintenance of proper liaison with DOD police organizations as well as with local or host nation, allied, and interagency police agencies. Within Army organizations, the ASCC facilitates Army MP and Criminal Investigation Command elements investigating offenses. In addition, the ASCC enforces the policies of the senior army commanders. The ASCC may provide prisoner confinement facilities for those who violate good order and discipline. Providing Limited Deception Measures Peacetime operations usually require little deception beyond normal OPSEC. OPSEC, or the information measures the ASCC uses, must be consistent with established guidelines and may require interagency coordination. A major challenge for any force taking part in peacetime operations is to be organized to accomplish the goals of the sponsoring authority and provide sufficient capability to protect the force. The committed ARFOR must be sufficiently lethal and survivable to protect itself, deter possible aggression, and accomplish its mission. This specialized force must be capable of performing both hostile and nonhostile actions simultaneously throughout its AO. The ASCC must always have available and continuously plan for the employment of a joint or multinational force suite of fire support systems. A credible operational fires capability deters aggression and increases the options available to the commander to accomplish his mission and protect the force. Fire support units provide more than lethal and nonlethal fires during MOOTW. Fire support coordinators and operational-level planners must establish liaison early to start planning and coordinating targeting functions (operational IPB, high-payoff target selection, target acquisition and attack system selection/tasking, and BDA planning) should fires be needed. The organization and equipment of fire support units can augment the C3I collection and other capabilities of the joint or multinational force. Doctrine for fires and the basic tasks of fire support do not change during MOOTW. Still, the MOOTW environment presents unique challenges that affect tactics, techniques, and procedures for fires and require the meticulous attention of planners. Planners must consider the characteristics of the MOOTW threat and their impact on both operational fires and fire support. The MOOTW AO typically presents threats that do not conform to linear operations. Threats are diverse and may manifest themselves anywhere at any time, making them difficult to predict. Threat personnel and activities may be indistinguishable from friendly until hostilities are initiated. The prevalent threat in MOOTW is from hostile terrorist, guerilla, or partisan activities. Additionally, environmental factors (weather, disease) pose a serious threat. In some scenarios, they will be the prevalent threat. Normally, MOOTW threats do not involve a sophisticated military force unless hostilities have escalated to the realm of conflict or the threat is capable of rapidly massing and dispersing military or paramilitary force to achieve its objectives. MOOTW threat activities include hit and run harassing tactics such as attacks and raids, mining and booby traps, sabotage, deception, and psychological warfare designed to embarrass and demoralize friendly governments and forces. External support from other nations for the indigenous MOOTW threat and adaptation of friendly operations to the local geography compound the problem. External support of the threat extends the problem to the international diplomatic arena, usually increasing the restrictions and constraints on military options. The extremes in geography require organizations to prepare for and adapt to variations in terrain and vegetation and the impact of seasonal weather changes. All of these aspects of the MOOTW threat impact planning and execution of operational fires. The range of threats in an MOOTW environment impact both operational fires and fire support. First, all friendly forces are vulnerable. No rear area enjoys relative security. This vulnerability requires establishment of integrated base defenses with a mutually supporting fires capability. Fires must first support the increased security requirements for both position defense and movement. Second, planners must recognize the restrictions and constraints of ROE on the application of force. Planners must then consider indirect and nonlethal fires, in addition to direct fire systems, when they write ROE. ROE should address appropriate responses to various expected threat actions and force protection. The diversity of available fire support systems, including those of coalition forces, requires that ROE include weapon system and munition selection as well. At all echelons of command, ROE significantly impact all aspects of fire planning, target acquisition, and attack. Finally, the nonspecific nature of MOOTW threats requires continuous planning. Consideration must be given to mutual support between adjacent units or bases and even AOs. The fleeting nature of the threat requires near real-time target acquisition and sensor-to-shooter links. Target acquisition systems must be capable of distinguishing between friendly and threat activity. This capability increases the importance of HUMINT and IMINT sources, which provide real time eyes on targets such as patrols, police, SOF, UAV/RPV (remotely piloted vehicle), and J-STARS (joint surveillance target and attack radar system). Ground surveillance, countermortar, and counterbattery radars are equally important and have special employment considerations in the MOOTW environment. Electronic intelligence (ELINT) systems may provide valuable situation development information, but the need to verify target descriptions limits ELINT responsiveness and utility as a target acquisition system for triggering target attack. These considerations highlight the need for close coordination among joint, multinational, and coalition force operations; intelligence; and fires representatives at the ASCC headquarters. Although these considerations are not all-inclusive, they may appear to focus fire support at lower echelons rather than operational fires. Still, the MOOTW environment forces the ASCC/ARFOR to plan meticulously, coordinate, and execute application of force. To expedite fire support coordination, fire planning, and clearance of fires, special arrangements are required with the host nation military, allied nations, joint services, and national and local civilian authorities. These arrangements include determining communication requirements, identifying liaison personnel, and establishing procedures--all focused on the interoperability of the multinational force effort to support peacekeeping objectives. Within NATO and the ABCA (American, British, Canadian, Australian) quadripartite working group, special agreements exist which facilitate fire support operations. These are NATO standardization agreements (STANAGs) and quadripartite standardization agreements (QSTAGs). Many countries that the US may support have no bilateral fire support agreements. Action may be required, based on the situation, to establish agreements. Support in these efforts may be arranged through the appropriate DOS agencies and country teams. This increase in centralized C² oft fires is needed for civil-military cooperation, developing and adhering to ROE, establishing appropriate procedures for clearance of fires, and establishing an appropriate joint/multinational force staff structure to plan, coordinate, and, when necessary, control operational fires. Command and Control Peacetime operations contribute to stability and conflict prevention in order to complement diplomatic initiatives. The ASCC may conduct a wide range of peacetime operations that directly or indirectly stabilize a situation or contribute to the general welfare. Contingency force-projection operations develop through CAP (see Chapter 6). These actions may evolve into longer-term commitments such as regional peacekeeping operations. Other peacetime operations may begin as long-term commitments that may require deliberate planning. Examples include overt PSYOP programs, nation assistance, and security assistance. Command relationships in peacetime are normally based on the in-place theater structure that conducts routine peacetime activities. These peacetime relationships require special sensitivity to and coordination with nonmilitary organizations. As a result, operational-level command relationships and unity of command may be clouded. The Ambassador The ambassador is responsible for the direction, coordination, and supervision of all US Government interagency activities within a particular country. The ASCC's staff, under the direction of the unified commander's diplomatic-military staff element, may integrate ARFOR to support the ambassador. Military commanders must work closely with the ambassador and his country team to assure effective exchange of information and coordination. Sometimes, the military commander may be a part of the country team and directly advise the ambassador. The Commander in Chief The CINC may use forward-deployed Army units in theater when the NCA directs. In such a case, command relationships change little from routine peacetime activities. The ASCC controls ARFOR operations and recommends and coordinates the use of contingency forces and mobilization of reserve forces from outside the theater. In such a case, the CINC may use existing command relationships, or, if the mission requires forces of multiple services, he may establish a JTF. The ASCC may advise the CINC to integrate reserve component forces either in a training status or brought to active duty for an extended period to assist in executing operations. The ASCC needs high-quality, timely intelligence to conduct peacetime operations. The ACE serves as the clearinghouse for all-source intelligence. The ACE maintains lists of I&W that the ASCC uses to anticipate peacetime operations. The ACE produces intelligence information and disseminates it to commanders and staff agencies for use. This intelligence effort must address diplomatic and economic information as well as information related to potential natural disasters. Based on these indicators and CINC guidance, the ASCC focuses the collection and processing of information on specific peacetime operations. Intelligence provides a basis for all US plans and operations in MOOTW. The nature of MOOTW is one of heavy involvement with the host nation populace, government, and military. Due to this heavy involvement with the host nation, most activities in MOOTW are HUMINT-intensive. HUMINT operations provide valuable intelligence, as well as I&W on threat activities and operations. HUMINT provides timely information on threat capabilities and intentions. HUMINT collects information by interrogation, observation, elicitation of personnel, and exploitation of documents and material. HUMINT is also the most effective intelligence discipline available to the threat. Consequently, counter-HUMINT operations are the key to the success of any activity in MOOTW. Counter-HUMINT operations are used to degrade or neutralize threat espionage, sabotage, and subversion capabilities. Close liaison with a variety of US and host nation military and civil organizations is critical to the success of any MOOTW activity. This liaison is imperative for coordination, intelligence collecting, and information sharing. CI personnel are uniquely suited to this task. As a minimum, CI personnel must coordinate with members of the US country team, US MI units, US MP units, CA units, PSYOP units, HN regional and urban area coordination centers, HN intelligence and security forces, and HN military, paramilitary, and police. Battle Space In MOOTW, commanders seek to counter the threat's effects in a given battle space. The threats in MOOTW will vary between each MOOTW activity. Battle space is a physical volume that expands or contracts in relation to the ability to influence and counter the threat. A higher commander does not assign battle space, which extends beyond the limits of the commander's AO. Battle space is based on the premise that the commander's thinking expands to develop a vision for countering the threat before any mental constraints are emplaced, such as boundaries, legal mandates, or terms of reference (TOR). Battle space includes all friendly assets available to counter the threat. In MOOTW, pure combat power is only a small portion of the true battle space. Other assets may include the diplomatic efforts of embassy officials, liaisons with host nation governments and military agencies, as well as the efforts of NGOs, PVOs, and IOs. Unity of effort is essential to operations within a given battle space. Ownership of assets is less important than application of their effects toward countering the threat. An understanding of battle space allows commanders to keep their options open, synchronize all friendly assets, and counter the threat. As the commander considers the mission, as well as any perceived mission creep, he can visualize his battle space throughout the operation and how the battle space may change as he moves to counter the threat. Area studies provide host nation weather and geographical information, as well as basic intelligence (seaports, airports, transportation systems, water storage, POL storage, building materials availability) helpful in preparing for natural disasters and other contingency-type operations. Forward presence, both through permanent stationing and periodic deployment of CONUS-based HUMINT resources, is essential to this effort. The theater-level MI organization continuously develops and refines indicator lists. These lists allow the ASCC to monitor diplomatic, military, and economic conditions in the area. Army intelligence sources provide the necessary information and intelligence to identify and predict potential threats. All source intelligence analysis provides the ASCC with the necessary information to protect his forces, noncombatants, and resources. It also allows him to prepare for future operations while minimizing the probability of surprise from a potential threat. The ASCC is responsible for developing and providing the elements of sustainment for ARFOR within a region and for other services, based on executive agent responsibilities for common servicing. Unless directed by national authority, NGOs and PVOs will provide their respective support. Strategic logistics support is projected from CONUS and other OCONUS sites, using all national resources, including USAMC, DLA, other services, and commercial sources. The ASCC provides logistics, direction, and prioritization. The ASCC staff monitors all support activities to ensure smooth, daily sustainment of the force. The ASCC seeks to conserve Army resources whenever possible by using contractors, the host nation, or other viable sources of support. In peacetime, the CONUS support base continues to project logistics support from national resources. The ASCC monitors the support of the soldier as well. The Army personnel system and training base provide a supply of qualified soldiers into forward-deployed/forward-presence theaters or to units that may deploy into any region. The following agencies provide daily support to soldiers and their family members: • Defense Finance and Accounting Service. • Legal Services Agency. • Chaplaincy Service Support Agency. • Community and Family Support Center. • Other Army staff field operating agencies. The ASCC may coordinate augmentation of this support through other services or allies. Combat health support (CHS) of soldiers includes all services performed, provided, or arranged by the Army Medical Department to promote, conserve, or restore the mental or physical well-being of personnel in the Army and, as directed, in other services, agencies, and organizations. The surgeon general has overall worldwide responsibility for Army health care. Senior army commanders and service components must ensure their soldiers and their soldiers' family members receive these services effectively. In theater, the CHS system provides care in Echelons I through IV, ultimately leading to treatment in the US. Senior commanders ensure that the Army health care system provides preventive measures, progressive treatment, hospitalization, and evacuation of service members and their families. In developed theaters the support structure is available to support peacetime operations. This structure includes host nation, contract, and interservice support agreements. Forces conducting peacetime operations integrate their operations into this structure. When operating forces require support not present in theater or operate in an austere theater, the ASCC plans and coordinates support arrangements either unilaterally or with joint support agencies. Army commanders develop tailored support packages to provide essential support for the ARFOR. This could include functional and area army commands to provide large-scale or long-term support. These considerations provide operational-level commanders with general synchronization requirements applicable to most peacetime operations. Training for war is the Army's top priority. The ASCC provides the direction, purpose, and necessary motivation to his subordinates to successfully accomplish the training mission. The ASCC outlines his intent and then ensures that his subordinates focus on mission-essential task lists (METLs). Most missions during peacetime can be accomplished by a disciplined force proficient in METL tasks. Subordinate METLs must support the CINC's theater strategy. Historical Perspective On 5 April 1991, President Bush announced the beginning of a humanitarian assistance mission in northern Iraq to provide relief to Kurdish refugees who had fled into the mountains to avoid persecution by the Iraqi Government and military. Operation Provide Comfort was a joint and multinational operation executed with no formal agreements among agencies and countries. The threat to be countered was truly a multifaceted one. The immediate threat to the Kurdish people involved their living conditions in the mountains of northern Iraq. Temperatures day and night were below freezing. Food, water, and shelter were unavailable, and disease was running rampant through the refugee population. The secondary threat involved the continued presence of the Iraqi military and secret police. Since Iraqi military units were present in the area, the Kurds were unwilling to leave the perceived safety of the rugged mountains to receive the assistance available in the northern Iraqi cities. Under the umbrella and battle space of Combined Task Force (CTF) Provide Comfort, two distinctly different JTFs were formed. JTF-A was involved with countering the immediate physical threat to the Kurds. This JTF set up and administered the actual humanitarian assistance operation. Battle space for JTF-A was far-reaching and included the supplies and personnel from many NGOs, PVOs, and IOs; logistical assistance and personnel from units that were already in-theater for Operation Desert Storm; and logistics and personnel from Europe and CONUS. JTF-B was involved with countering the secondary threat, which was the continued presence of the Iraqi military and their effects on the Kurds. This JTF opened a security zone in northern Iraq that facilitated the return of the Kurdish people to northern cities, such as Zakho, where they could be given humanitarian assistance. The baffle space for JTF-B included combat power that was in theater for Operation Desert Storm, units and equipment from all branches of service stationed in Europe and CONUS, and units from multiple nations that had volunteered to participate in the operation. Battle space for CTF Provide Comfort also included the diplomatic efforts of the US and UN to counter the threats to the region. The ASCC goes beyond these fundamental training considerations. Since much of the operational-level EAC support structure resides in the reserve components, the ASCC must be involved with active and reserve component training as well as with joint requirements and potentially multinational training. Training during peacetime must prepare ARFOR for missions across the range of military operations and support the national defense policy of strategic deterrence. Training for leaders may be much broader than the subordinate METL indicate to ensure the leader flexibility required for conducting both warfighting and MOOTW missions. Peacetime operations take advantage of the established support structure and capabilities of the support and service support elements that sustain the routine peacetime activities. ASCC peacetime operations include, but are not limited to, security assistance, nation assistance, search and rescue, CA, NEO peacekeeping, shows of force, support to counterdrug operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The Army conducts security assistance operations to provide military articles, training, and defense-related services authorized by statute law. Security assistance is a key element of US foreign policy, with DOS as the lead agent supported by DOD. These operations are strictly controlled by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which deals with international military education and training (IMET), or the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, which deals with foreign military sales. The US Government provides security assistance on a credit or cash basis to the host nation. Senior army commanders must be careful not to commit the US Government to providing any assistance that could be construed as security assistance without following the statutory requirements. The in-country security assistance office (SAO) is the military focal point for formulating, planning, and executing these programs. Theater CINCs make significant contributions, to include supervision, support, selection, and command of SAOs. The ASCC contributes to developing assistance requirements. CONUS-based units are usually called on to provide security assistance training teams. Still, in-theater or OCONUS-based units could also provide the training. Training provides the most lasting military contribution for security assistance efforts. Security assistance officials, in rare circumstances, may direct the Army to transfer military hardware or materiel to foreign nations in response to a crisis requiring a surge of military support. Nation assistance programs promote stability and orderly progress, thus contributing to the prevention of conflict. If internal conflict has begun, the goal of nation assistance is to aid in removing its root causes. Nation assistance becomes a primary means of bringing the conflict to a successful resolution according to the internal defense and development strategy. Nation assistance consists of general missions such as assisting with development-related infrastructure projects, training health care workers, and improving the professionalism of national military forces. Nation assistance missions can generate useful good will toward the US and assist friendly governments. Search and rescue operations are sophisticated actions requiring precise execution. They may be clandestine or overt. They may include the rescue of US or foreign nationals or items critical to US national security. Rescue operations require timely intelligence and detailed planning. They usually involve highly trained special units but may be supported by general-purpose forces. Search and rescue operations may be required in peacetime as well as in conflict and war. NEOs are normally conducted to evacuate US civilian noncombatants and nonessential US military personnel from locations in a foreign (host) nation to a safe haven, preferably the US. An NEO is normally conducted to evacuate US citizens whose lives are in danger from a hostile environment or natural disaster. NEOs may also, include the selective evacuation of citizens of the host nation and third-country nationals. NEOs involve swift, temporary occupancy of an objective, perhaps using temporarily disabling technologies to minimize casualties and end with planned withdrawals. They may include the use of force. Under ideal circumstances, little or no opposition to the operation exists. Still, commanders must anticipate and plan for possible hostilities. If military forces are employed in an NEO, they usually comprise units from more than one service. The regional CINC, on being ordered to support an NEO, designates a JFC to exercise overall control of the operations involved in the NEO. Evacuation operations differ from other military operations, since direction of the operation may remain with the American ambassador at the time of the evacuation. Further, the order to evacuate is a diplomatic-- rather than a military--decision, with extensive ramifications. FM 90-29 provides details on NEO operations. Military peacekeeping operations support diplomatic efforts to achieve or maintain peace in areas of potential or actual conflict. The single, most important requirement of a peacekeeping operation is consent to the operation by all the parties to the dispute. Such consent represents an explicit agreement, permitting the introduction of a neutral third party. The US may participate in peacekeeping operations under the sponsorship of the UN or other IOs, such as the Organization of American States, or in cooperation with other countries. The UN has been the most frequent sponsor of peacekeeping operations. Peacekeeping often involves ambiguous situations that require the peacekeeping force to deal with extreme tension and violence without becoming a participant. Based on the peacekeeping mandate and the stationing agreement, specific TOR, follow-on command directives, and ROE are established. Shows of force lend credibility to the nation's promises and commitments, increase its regional influence, and demonstrate resolve. These operations can influence other governments or politico-military organizations to respect US interests and international law. These operations can take the form of aircraft and ship visits, multinational training exercises, forward deployment of military forces, and introduction or buildup of military forces in a region. The appearance of a credible, trained military force underscores national policy interests and commitment, improves host-nation military readiness and morale, and provides an insight into US values. Support to counterdrug operations complies with the national drug control strategy, complements the efforts of law enforcement agencies, and supports foreign governments. At the level of national strategy, the NCA places increasing importance on the role of DOD in controlling the flow of drugs across US borders. The objective of military counterdrug efforts is to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the US. Military support is therefore a balanced effort to attack the flow of illegal drugs at the source, while in transit, and during distribution in the US. Military counterdrug activities may also be used to support insurgencies and counterinsurgencies and to combat terrorism. Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations are unique peacetime operations because they could be conducted within CONUS. Recent examples in the US have included assistance rendered in the northwest states to contain forest fires and relief operations following Hurricanes Hugo in 1989 and Andrew in 1992. These operations fall within the category of support to domestic civil authorities. Examples of in-theater operations include famine relief efforts in Somalia and hurricane relief operations in Hawaii following Hurricane Iniki. Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations provide emergency relief to victims of natural or man-made disasters. These operations may include refugee assistance, food preparation and distribution programs, medical treatment and care, damage assessment and control, forensic identification, maintenance of law and order, reestablishment of communications networks, and sanitation/water facilities. ARFOR are committed to these operations when localities become overwhelmed by the extent of the situation and can no longer provide basic human needs and protection. The ability to respond on short notice with a wide array of capabilities is a unique attribute of the Army. The length of commitment is normally limited to the time that communities and other government and private agencies can handle continued operations by themselves. When properly executed, military participation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations has long-term positive effects. Overseas, such participation demonstrates good will and engenders mutual respect. At home, it provides soldiers the opportunity to demonstrate their skills while helping their fellow citizens. Although not a peacetime operation, CA and PSYOP are critical operations that aid commanders in accomplishing their peacetime objectives. Commanders at all levels must understand the depth and capabilities of CA and psychological support found throughout any given command. Commanders must understand the CA and PSYOP ability to support US and allied armed forces. Civil Affairs ARFOR execute CA programs to support the unified commander. During peacetime, CA support is often provided as an ancillary benefit to deployments for training. CA units are suited to both short-term and longer-term involvement. To be effective in short-term operations, these programs require continuous preparation, regional expertise, and consistent coordination between civil and military authorities. This preparation is best achieved through peacetime involvement in the theater. Psychological Operations ARFOR PSYOP forces execute PSYOP to support the unified commander and US national interests. Throughout the range of military operations, PSYOP is a vital force employed to optimize the influence of US national policy on foreign target audiences, whether neutral, hostile, or friendly. In MOOTW, PSYOP provides the commander with the capability to project the purpose and mission of US forces and to influence target audience behavior to support the commander's mission. PSYOP is a force multiplier, providing long-range, mid- to long-term support of the unified commander's intent. While classified as SOF, PSYOP is a general force multiplier. This support exists at all levels of command and operations--from strategic to tactical. PSYOP units are regionally focused and maintain extensive historical research and expertise on the sociological, economical, and religious practices and on the languages of a given AO. ARFOR PSYOP support US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and allied forces. Except for PSYOP-unique equipment and military occupational specialties (MOS), the unit of attachment sustains PSYOP elements. For PSYOP to achieve maximum effectiveness, planners must include it in the planning process early. Operations conducted in peacetime are designed to preclude the onset of conflict. Due to factors that may not be controlled, conflict may evolve. Because the transition to conflict may occur in a gradual or abrupt manner, the ARFOR commander must prepare for either eventuality. The operational METT-T assessment provides the mental process for the continuing reevaluation of the operational environment. That reevaluation aids the identification of needed Army capabilities in the event of conflict. Such identification assists national-level decision makers in determining mobilization requirements. The theater CINC organizes his AOR for orderly and rapid transition from a peacetime posture to different levels of hostility. This process is sequential and sufficiently flexible to respond to any situation. The transition process must be responsive enough to diplomatic initiatives to be halted or reversed once it has begun. The CINC must be sensitive to the fact that a prolonged state of heightened readiness for combat without action may drain resources and adversely affect morale. The ASCC translates mission orders from the CINC into plans and military operations. If mobilization is required, AMOPES--the Army system that supports JOPES--provides a disciplined planning procedure for conducting Army mobilization, deployment, planning, and execution (see also FM 100-17). The ASCC and appropriate Army commanders review the mobilization requirements established in AMOPES, CONPLANs, and OPLANs to meet the situation. C² relationships are likely to change as levels of hostility and military involvement increase. Commanders participate in joint and multinational planning efforts and coordinate and prepare ARFOR for deployment and employment. Finally, commanders contribute ARFOR ready to meet joint and multinational operational requirements and to establish a logistical base to support fielded Army units. The theater CINC, with concurrence from the NCA, determines when all or part of his AOR is in a state of conflict. Conflict is a state of hostile opposition among organized parties or groups within a nation, or between or among nations, and usually involves irregular forces to achieve limited diplomatic or military objectives. Conflict is often protracted, and irregular forces often dominate. Military actions may be confined to geographic areas. When US Army units are directly engaged in conflict, they can expect guidelines on weaponry and the degree of force authorized. Diplomatic leaders will likely limit objectives to those achievable with short, focused, and direct application of military force. Even though limited in scope, these short applications of force may be part of a campaign or major operation phased over an extended period. The NCA or the CINC may further limit the conduct of military operations to a specific geographic area. The Army's Role The Army's role in conflict is to assist a JFC in gaining control, deterring escalation, and restoring order. Conflict operations are challenging because they require a measured application of military force sufficient to accomplish the designated objectives. Typically, conflict occurs in diplomatically-charged situations within specific legal boundaries. ARFOR operate in a hostile environment with a high probability of physical confrontation; though sometimes, combat operations may not occur. Army leaders may conduct operations very similar to operations during war but execute them with both restraints and constraints placed on the use of firepower and maneuver. Senior army commanders must keep four factors in mind when considering operations in conflict: coordination, balance, planning for uncertainty, and identification of risk. Coordination is critical to establishing the basis for the operations being conducted. The Army must cooperate with other government agencies, services, and nations to deal effectively with the diplomatically sensitive situations present in conflict. Commanders must balance the combat posture and readiness of their soldiers against the volatile environment in which they function. A balance must also be struck between diplomatic goals and the scale, intensity, and nature of Army operations supporting those goals. Planning for Uncertainty Commanders must build flexibility into their plans and operations. Conflict situations are full of uncertainty as presented by both the threat and the diplomatic conditions that limit Army options. Identification of Risk Commanders must seek to increase their options while limiting the enemy's options. Successful commanders do not run out of options. Risks and gambles are part of option decisions. The decision to take risks is weighed against the mission, probability of success, available intelligence, and as many other factors as are available to the commander in his decision cycle. Operations during conflict present a challenge to Army leadership. The military, as one of four elements of national power, may not dominate events but may adapt its operations to fit those of other lead agencies. In coalition and interagency operations, the ASCC must achieve unity of effort through cooperation, liaison, negotiation, and compromise. Where practicable, agreements should be formalized in writing as TOR, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), or similar instruments. Tasks required of the ARFOR will vary relative to the success of returning the area in conflict to a state of peace. ARFOR must be flexible enough to meet a wide range of operational requirements. The conflict environment will challenge the versatility of the force. Movement and Maneuver Movement and maneuver in conflict are characterized by planning that reflects the restrictions and constraints placed on military operations. These restrictions and constraints form a set of requirements and prohibitions imposed by the NCA. They usually have a diplomatic basis that outweighs militarily preferred alternatives. The NCA articulates these restrictions and constraints in different manners. ROE are the translation of circumstances and limitations for the initiation and conduct of engagements with hostile forces. Personnel ceiling caps restrict the level of forces that can become involved in a conflict within prescribed geographical boundaries. Designated AOs define restrictions on the commander's battle space. These factors combine to influence the movement of forces into the AO. After that movement, maneuver is influenced by these same factors. Army Force In conflict, the Army force needed is a key consideration. Often, the presence of overwhelming force in the conflict area discourages enemy actions. Senior army commanders must forthrightly articulate the resources required to achieve quick and decisive victory with minimum casualties. Based upon the diplomatic situation and other competing priorities, the Army commander may have to achieve his goals with considerably fewer resources than he desires. The sequencing of major operations in this environment requires patience and a clear understanding of the diplomatic realities that apply to the particular conflict. Forcible Entry Conditions may require a forcible entry. This capability requires the staging of forces over time and space. Chapter 6 addresses some considerations for forcible entry. Among the key considerations is the element of force mix. Combat forces are key to seizing the lodgment area, but support forces become immediately critical thereafter. Strategic planners and force commanders must ensure that logistics forces and sustainment resources are deployed in theater as soon as possible to enable combat forces to conduct continuous operations. Reception and Onward Movement The mission of reception and onward movement is to integrate rapidly arriving forces and supplies into the theater without disrupting the operation's tempo. This mission must be balanced against support to current operations, as both are logistically intensive. Accordingly, the ASCC must carefully plan and execute reception and onward movement to maintain the proper balance to support arriving forces and the operation's tempo. Early base development efforts are key considerations for the Army commander. Units and facilities for the reception of forces are critical, especially in the initial phase and in an undeveloped theater. Disposition of Forces The final consideration for maneuver during conflict is the disposition of forces. Deployment of forces into their initial positions is critical. This positioning must support both current and subsequent operations as envisioned by the Army commanders. ARFOR may operate from noncontiguous bases that require the Army commander to develop lines of operation and support with a minimum amount of protection. To be able to rapidly mass his forces and prevent the enemy from gaining the initiative, the commander must have a finely tuned intelligence capability, a detailed understanding of the physical disposition of friendly forces, and a high degree of operational-level mobility. Operational-level fires during conflict revolve around two key considerations: ROE and coordination of joint fires. The types of fires permitted are likely to be limited, and the fires used will require a higher level of precision and greater reliance on temporary disabling techniques and technology. Collateral damage is less tolerable in conflict. Failure to control and limit collateral damage can endanger the long-term effects supporting stability. The Army may find itself in a supported role in the area of operational fires. For instance, the precision and depth of the fires required may dictate a predominant Air Force role. To achieve his operational objectives and complement the JFC's plan, the Army commander selects targets for Army resources to attack and nominates targets for other resources to attack. The joint coordination process is critical to ensuring that resources are not wasted and that fires create a synergistic effect. The Army operational-level commander must have an organic staff capability to plan and coordinate operational-level fires. This staff element is the DOCC. His staff must also have the capability to augment the joint staff for planning and coordinating joint operational fires. Because of potential restraints and constraints caused by concerns over collateral damages, other systems may take on a role of greater utility. Other systems' fires are designed to impair, disrupt, or delay the performance of enemy operational forces, functions, and facilities. PSYOP, SOF, EW (jamming), and other C² countermeasures are all disabling fire options. Protection of the force requires heightened awareness as conditions move toward direct confrontation. As the likelihood of confrontation increases, so does the vulnerability of the force, unless additional protection measures are implemented. Protection conserves the fighting potential of a force and is every soldier's responsibility. Protection has four components. • The first component includes OPSEC and deception operations. Successful execution of this component prevents the enemy from locating and causing harm to friendly forces. • The second component supports keeping soldiers healthy and maintaining their fighting morale. It includes protecting their equipment and supplies and taking care of their basic needs. • The third component is safety. It is a principal element and must be an integral part of all military operations. Soldiers conducting military operations are placed at risk; still, commanders must ensure that soldiers are not placed in an undue risk situation. Strong command and levels of discipline and training lessen those risks. Training in peacetime must be realistic and equate to requirements for fighting in war. • The fourth component is avoiding fratricide--the unintentional killing or wounding of friendly personnel by fire. Commanders must maintain situational awareness of the enemy and their personnel. This situational awareness, along with strong command presence, disciplined operations, and anticipation of future operations helps limit probability and occurrences of fratricide. Commanders implement the THREATCON system. Table 8-1 briefly describes THREATCONs Normal, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. The implementation decision is based upon-- • The threat assessment. • Personnel and facility criticality and vulnerabilities. • Resource availability. • Operations and morale impacts. • Damage control considerations. • International relations. • Possible terrorist retaliatory responses. The commander must recognize that information on the threat is difficult to obtain prior to an incident. Army Regulation 525-13 discusses the combating terrorism program in detail. The identification of friendly force vulnerabilities and geopolitical assets are key steps in protection. Essential facilities must be identified. Communications must be protected from interference and interception. While the basic principles for deception hold true during conflict, they are often more difficult to apply. OPSEC is significantly harder to sustain in an open society where national survival is not at stake. Deception is more difficult to achieve when the operational-level objectives have more diplomatic content than military significance. The Army commander must ensure that his deception plans support the unified command's plans and are not compromised by information leaks. The environment of conflict often appears peaceful, requiring commanders to remain vigilant to guard against complacency. Terrorism is most effective when the threat is not highly visible and surprise is likely to be achieved. Table 8-1. THREATCON Levels No credible threat of terrorist activity Low - general terrorist threat Medium - increased and more predictable threat High - when an incident occurs or when intelligence indicates an imminent terrorist action Imminent - when an incident occurs in the immediate area after a terrorist attack or when intelligence indicates a threat against a specific person or location. Command and Control During conflict, the ASCC contributes to the CINC's theater strategy of limiting hostilities. These efforts often involve direct use of military power to complement diplomatic initiatives. The principal C² problem is how to integrate US military actions with lead agencies of our own or foreign governments. The Army has a variety of operations to select from in supporting conflict situations, all of which have some common C² considerations. Military leaders conduct conflict operations without a declaration of war. The absence of this declaration restricts the structuring of the theater for operations. In MOOTW, the CINC does not establish a theater of war or theaters of operation unless it is a major conflict. Normally, he establishes smaller areas, such as a JOA, for conducting operations. Diplomatic considerations predominate over purely military requirements and constrain C². The senior military leader has a greater level of freedom than in peacetime but must coordinate closely with nonmilitary agencies. Whatever the geographic organization, the ASCC must establish clear C² structures for conducting operations in conflict. Command Relationships Command relationships and structure usually begin with existing peacetime arrangements that require a degree of transition to a state of conflict footing. Conflict planners may have to consider combined relationships. The level of international integration will affect C². The unified command structure serves as the C² structure to build upon. C² may emanate straight from the national level if operations include actions of direct strategic importance. As operations in theater transition to conflict, in-theater forces and existing C² relationships may be adequate to accomplish the mission. ARFOR from CONUS or other theaters could increase the complexity, scope, and level of forces executing operations beyond the capabilities of the normal theater structure. This would thereby require augmentation or restructuring. In austere theaters, an Army force may have to arrive in theater prepared to support itself and execute operations unassisted. Later, the theater ASCC may control all operations, or the CINC could task the ASCC to support operations while he directly controls the execution of operations through a separate operational chain of command. Army operational-level commanders are active participants in the development of all conflict plans. They may participate in deliberate planning (JOPES, Volume VI) to prepare for anticipated or potential actions. Unanticipated or rapidly developing situations may require operational-level commanders to conduct CAP. Planning for conflict, especially at the operational level, is a continuous process. Rapidly changing diplomatic conditions may change the desired objective, composition, and sequencing of conflict operations. Planners must prepare multiple branches and sequels to enhance their ability to provide timely support. Senior army commanders require a flexible force structure to enable their organization to achieve the desired strategic end. Early establishment of an ACE is critical for successful operations. ACE operations should commence within the theater of operations before hostilities. Intelligence communications established between the theater intelligence center and the national systems provide the critical intelligence that US military forces require immediately upon arrival and until tactical intelligence flow is established. Operational intelligence must support the targeting effort of operational-level fires and/or set the stage for operational-level maneuver. Success requires sound IPB. In conflict, IPB may follow the process used for a conventional battlefield or a modified process that focuses on nonmilitary information. Civilian trends are often as important as operational information. Weather analysis remains an important part of IPB. Doctrinal templates for guerrillas, surrogates, and narcotics traffickers do not exist. Intelligence personnel need different collection techniques and background information, which may require continuous updating. The process must react to the dynamics of the specific situation it supports, as well as to the worldwide situation. Intelligence agencies must exploit the full range of both US and host nation intelligence and counterintelligence production capabilities. This includes the collection and analysis of SIGINT, IMINT, and HUMINT, which are particularly valuable in determining hostile intentions. The ASCC provides theater-specific intelligence integration for the Army operational-level commander. The Army commander develops his picture of the operational area, based upon the threat he faces and the information gathered by the intelligence system. Intelligence should be the basis for all action. During foreign internal defense operations, the Army's intelligence organization works closely with the host government to develop and improve the intelligence capabilities of all security forces. During counterinsurgency operations, intelligence provides the basis for all US and host nation plans. Prior to commitment, US military forces provide specific intelligence requirements to the US national intelligence community. This ensures that national-level collection focuses on force requirements. Cooperative or multinational MI activities at the operational level are integral to effective intelligence collection and production. Army intelligence units provide technical expertise, management, and advice to develop host nation intelligence capabilities. They help establish objectives and, where desirable and feasible, develop common procedures. The Army can provide tactical intelligence support in conflict situations. ARFOR can contribute experience and expertise to establish and manage all-source intelligence operations and enhance overall management of the intelligence effort. This management of intelligence information includes data on internal unrest, on external support for insurgencies, and on host nation military capabilities, including intelligence and counterintelligence. The threat of sabotage, terrorism, and subversion requires MI staffs to focus their counterintelligence collection efforts. These efforts require close coordination with host nation police and legal officials. In countries where cooperative or multinational intelligence systems already exist, newly arrived Army tactical units normally work with the area intelligence elements on a mutual support basis. When the situation forces Army units to move frequently, they should not assume responsibility for long-term, area-oriented intelligence programs. Still, they may contribute significantly to short-term collection and production efforts. All Army personnel during conflict provide information which, when tied into the data-gathering system, can produce useful intelligence. In conflict, the ASCC tailors logistics to provide basic requirements in an austere situation. He stages logistics and uses intermediate support bases, leading to full base development if necessary. He does this with the use of HNS. Early deployment of the LSE from USAMC ensures a positive link from the deploying units to the national logistics system and may be required to fill gaps in the TOE logistics infrastructure or projected selected elements of the national/industrial base into theater. The LSE could provide an initial C² structure to orchestrate USAMC resources and the logistics efforts of contractors and HNS. The degree of development of the host nation's infrastructure has a significant influence upon the Army commander's long-range logistics operations. In an austere environment, logistics operations can take precedence over near-term combat operations. The Army commander takes a long-range view of the conflict situation and plans his logistics for the anticipated duration of combat operations, plus a transition period. He is responsible for providing HSS to ARFOR and, as directed, to other services, agencies, and organizations. These logistics responsibilities include-- • Patient evacuation and medical regulation. • Hospitalization. • Health service logistics/blood management. • Preventive medicine, dental, veterinary, medical laboratory, and combat stress control services. • Area medical support. • Command, control, and communications (C3). Logistics operations may become the primary Army weapon in conflict. Critical logistical skills supplied by the Army may allow the host nation to focus on combat requirements in the particular conflict, with little or no US Army participation. In conflict, the ASCC executes a variety of operations that contribute to the achievement of theater-strategic goals. These may include the continuation and expansion of the full range of previously discussed operations begun in peacetime, as well as attacks, raids, UW, support of insurgencies and counterinsurgencies, peacemaking, security assistance surges, and operations to combat terrorism. Sometimes operations are in response to a crisis or other rapidly developing situation. At other times operations may call for long-term planning and sequenced execution to support theater goals. Chapter 4 provides Army planning and deployment considerations for crisis situations. FM 100-17 addresses Army planning and deployment considerations across the range of military operations. Terrorism is the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear. Terrorism is intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies pursuing goals that are generally diplomatic, religious, or ideological. Combating terrorism consists of defensive (antiterrorism) and offensive (counterterrorism) actions. Antiterrorism includes all measures that installations, units, and individuals take to reduce the probability of their falling victim to a terrorist act. Antiterrorism includes those defensive measures that reduce the vulnerability of individuals and property. The extent of these defensive measures varies based on assessment of the local threat. These measures include-- • Being personally aware and knowledgeable of personal protection techniques. • Implementing crime and physical security programs to harden the target. • Making installations and personnel less appealing as terrorist targets. Counterterrorism includes the full range of offensive measures to prevent, deter, and respond to terrorism. These measures are normally carried out by SOF under the direction of the NCA. Local measures include only those actions taken to terminate an incident or apprehend individuals responsible for terrorist acts. Other countermeasures--preemption, intervention, or retaliation with specialized forces operating under the direction of the NCA--have the characteristics of attacks or raids. The Army commander may conduct actions before, during, or after a terrorist incident. Although DOS has the lead in combating OCONUS terrorism, the Army commander and his staff must understand the threat and its tactics, as well as current US policies, when dealing with terrorists. The Army may be the lead or a supporting force in an effort to combat terrorism during a specific operation. Attacks and raids can support rescue or recovery operations to destroy or seize equipment or facilities that demonstrably threaten national collective security interests. They can also support counterdrug operations by destroying narcotics production or transshipment facilities (if authorized by the NCA) or by supporting a host government's actions in this regard. The principles of combat operations directly apply. Attacks by ground, air, and naval forces damage or destroy high-value targets or demonstrate the capability to do so. Raids are usually small-scale operations involving swift penetration of hostile territory to secure information, seize an objective, or destroy targets. Attacks and raids end with a withdrawal. Successful attacks and raids can create situations that permit seizing and maintaining the diplomatic initiative. To be successful, they require the proper focus of planning, organization, training, and equipment. Attacks and raids may involve conventional forces and SOF. The JFC usually plays a larger role than the Army operational-level commander in planning and executing these types of operations. UW is a series of military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held, enemy-controlled, or diplomatically sensitive territory. UW includes, but is not limited to, guerrilla warfare, evasion and escape, subversion, sabotage, and other operations of a low visibility, covert, or clandestine nature. US military support to UW operations can include the use of both conventional forces and SOF. UW is usually a long-term effort. Techniques and tactics for certain UW operations are similar to those employed in support of insurgencies. However, support for insurgency differs from that for UW. Insurgency accomplishes strategic goals directly, whereas UW typically supports conventional operations. The difference affects the operational and strategic design of the operation. For example, operations in support of insurgencies give priority to infrastructure and diplomatic development, while UW emphasizes military actions. Insurgency and counterinsurgency are two aspects of the same process. However, they differ in execution. Insurgents assume that appropriate change within the existing system is not possible or likely. Insurgency therefore focuses on radical change in diplomatic control and requires extensive use of covert instruments and methods. Counterinsurgency uses principally overt methods and assumes appropriate change within the existing system is possible and likely. The US supports selected insurgencies that oppose oppressive regimes which work against US interests. Since support for insurgencies is often covert, many operations connected with them are special activities. Because of their extensive UW training, SOF are well-suited to provide such support. Conventional forces may be called on when the situation requires their functional specialties. Their tasks may include support and advice. The CINC may direct the ASCC to provide equipment, training, and services to insurgent forces. In the following types of operations, ARFOR can assist insurgents: • Recruiting, organizing, training, and equipping forces to perform unconventional or guerrilla warfare. • PSYOP. • Institutional and infrastructure development. • Intelligence-gathering. • Surreptitious insertion. • Linkups. • Evasion and escape of combatants. • Subversion. • Sabotage. • Resupply. The US uses its military resources to provide support to a host nation's counterinsurgency operations in the context of foreign internal defense (FID). FID is the participation by civilian and military agencies in any of the action programs another government takes to free its society from subversion, lawlessness, and insurgency. The US ambassador, through his country team, provides the focal point for interagency coordination and supervision of FID. Military support to FID is provided through the unified CINC. Military resources provide materiel, advisors, trainers, and security assistance forces to support the host nation government's counterinsurgency operations through SAOs. ARFOR operations that support a host nation conducting a counterinsurgency may include, but are not limited to, intelligence-gathering, joint and combined exercises, civil-military operations, humanitarian or civic assistance, logistical support operations, populace and resource control operations, drug-interdiction operations, and tactical operations. When in the national interest to stop a violent conflict and force a return to diplomatic methods, the US conducts peace enforcement (PE) operations with its military forces. The US typically undertakes PE operations at the request of appropriate national authorities in a foreign state or to protect US citizens as part of an international multilateral or unilateral operation. The PE force does not represent a wholly disinterested power or such a drastic commitment would not be made. However, the interests of the country or countries that provide forces for these operations are served best by a cessation of violence and a negotiated settlement. Conflict within a given area eventually affects adjacent areas. These effects are seldom desirable and can include refugee movements, arms marketing, proliferation of weapons, and environmental contamination. A further potential exists for the expansion of the conflict beyond its original boundaries. The long-range goals of a PE operation are two-fold. The first goal is to contain the conflict to prevent the destabilization of adjacent areas. The second goal is the agreement to a negotiated settlement by the parties to the conflict. This settlement must resolve the basis for the conflict and establish the foundation for the transition to peacekeeping operations and peacetime operations. The diplomatic complexities of operations to restore order require that available force be sufficient but its use be applied with discretion. The operation also requires that the forces be appropriate to the environment. The senior army commander must understand the constraints and diplomatic sensitivities of this environment and recognize that local law and customs often influence his actions. PE operations require continuous mission analysis, clear C² relationships, effective communications facilities, joint and multinational force liaison, and effective public diplomacy and PSYOP. The US accelerates security assistance when a friendly or allied nation faces imminent threat. In these surges, operations usually focus on logistical support. Geography, the magnitude of the logistics effort, and time limitations determine airlift and sealift requirements. US support to Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War illustrates this kind of operation. The Yom Kippur War demonstrates the importance of airlift in the initial stages of conflict and the follow-on strength of sealift. The CINC may direct the senior army commander to provide equipment from his command as part of security assistance surges. The senior army commander may also provide some of the logistical support (port operation and line haul units) needed to transfer surge equipment to the friendly nation. The successful termination of conflict operations leads to a return to peacetime. The unsuccessful termination of conflict endangers US interests or threatens a possible transition to war. In either case, the ASCC must be prepared for these outcomes. The ASCC plans consolidation operations to terminate combat operations and prepare the way for the use of diplomatic, informational, and economic elements of power in a peacetime environment. As the level of hostility lessens, the ASCC changes the composition of his force. He replaces those combat arms forces--essential during combat operations--with CS and CSS forces as hostilities subside. Finally, he positions nation assistance forces to complete the transition to peacetime operations. The ASCC plans an orderly redeployment of forces. This redeployment includes recovery and reconstitution of forces, which facilitates a return to peacetime activities. As a part of postoperation reporting, the commander develops lessons learned for incorporation into training during peacetime activities. Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
larvalbug bytes archives / Main Index / previous / next January, 2014 No Stone Unturned by Valerie As an entomologist, I receive a fair number of emails related to arthropods. A rather surprising question that I am asked occasionally is "where can I find insects (or spiders, or bugs)?" A mother trying to do the work for her child's science project, a frantic undergrad needing to complete his insect collection for entomology 101, or a scout trying to earn an insect badge might be examples of people who pay more attention to their computer screen than they do to the world around them, but suddenly have a definite reason to learn about the latter. It is tempting to write back with a rather condescending remark like, "Look around you." But I know that this would not help anyone and these people are sincerely seeking a real answer. They are trying to do something that they have never before attempted and are often at a loss as to where to start. If a deadline is necessary to get someone to try hard to be observant and perhaps learn a little about their environment in the process, blind snakes (Leptotyphlops dulcis) then it is a worthy incentive. Depending on the time of year and the desired quarry, I might suggest walking through fields that have not been mown, hunting bugs in the blossoms of weeds, sweep netting vegetation along lakes or streams, digging under piles of leaves or in compost bins, going out in their backyard at night, or looking in a garage or storage shed. And one of my favorite options: turning over logs or rocks. This last idea, flipping stones over to see what lies beneath, is often completely overlooked. For some reason, although it is right under our feet, many people ignore the ground, and never think to get down on their knees and look closely. Some would even be embarrassed to do so. They especially don't want to reach into the dirt to dislodge something that might harbor an unknown creature underneath. Well, yes, there is that reservation. Just think of turning over a rock and finding a rattlesnake waiting to strike into your face. Just kidding. First of all, rocks are heavy. The average person cannot budge a stone that would be big enough to hide a snake den. Second, rattlesnakes would find a much better hiding place than under a single not-so-big rock. They usually require a roomier abode. Third, rattlesnakes are not burrowing snakes, another reason they would not be in the dirt right under a rock. If you were to lift a rock and find a rattlesnake, there is a good chance it would be dead because somebody smashed it with the very rock you were holding. jumping spider (Phidippus mystaceus) hibernating Even though the rattlesnake scare is not real, there are reasons to be cautious. Never put your fingers into a crevasse or under a stone if you cannot see where they will end up. While large snakes are not likely, small creatures with fangs or stingers are definite possibilities. Fingers reaching into an animal's hiding place will trigger a defensive reaction against perceived predators, especially if the inhabitant is cornered and cannot retreat further, and their retaliation will probably hurt. Most rocks can be moved best by gripping a visible side and rolling, rather than reaching under and lifting. Another issue to take into consideration is that the space under a rock is habitat, and rather specialized habitat to be exact. Once a rock is moved, that dark, humid, safe retreat is completely exposed and subsequently unsuitable for any animal that had previously found shelter there. It is only good stewardship to have the courtesy to replace the stone, as closely to how it was found, after you have had a look. While the animals beneath the rock may have fled in terror, restoring the habitat to previous conditions will mean that it will be available for future inhabitants. As long as safety and environmental factors are addressed, there is nothing wrong with turning over rocks to discover what may be living beneath them. And there can be quite a number of possibilities. The habitat under a rock can often be like a miniature cave. If a slab of limestone is lying on hard-packed clay, there might be no room between roof and substrate, and there are not going to be any interesting inhabitants. If, on the other hand, there are nooks and crannies in the soil below, these spaces are like rooms for rent, minus the landlord and payment. All it takes is for a creature to move in and they can call the cavity "home." symphylan: an arthropod related to centipedes very tiny white silverfish It is easy to ignore rocks, and I often forget all about them as well. During spring and fall here in Texas, the weather is mild and the vegetation is host to myriad creatures, so I have to look no farther than the leaves and flowers. Bugs are flying all over and many animals are active right out in the open. But during the hot droughts of summer and the low temperatures of winter, most cold-blooded creatures take refuge. One hot summer day, I was walking on the edge of a large field where almost all the grass had turned brown. There were not even any grasshoppers to be found. I happened upon a single flat stone, only about a foot in diameter, and when I lifted it, there were several Blind Snakes underneath! These odd little reptiles look and live like earthworms, minus the slimy mucous. Vertebrates are relatively rare finds, though. Much more common are spiders, beetles and other arthropods. During the winter, some adult spiders hibernate under rocks. Jumping spiders in the genus Phidippus are a good example. I have encountered large females in their hidden retreats on very cold days from November to March. These normally very active and wary spiders are immobilized by the low temperature and can be easily studied at this time. There are also a fair number of spiders that spend most of their lives under stones. When their home is exposed, they will usually run to the closest dark area, but sometimes they will freeze for a bit, allowing the curious naturalist to get a good look. carpenter ant (Camponotus festinatus) with mealybugs The previous comment about the miniature cave description of habitat beneath a rock really seems appropriate pertaining to some arthropods. These are specialized soil dwellers that have almost no pigment and appear as white as true cave invertebrates. The most commonly encountered white creatures are usually long, thin centipedes, but sometimes other animals are found. Symphylans look similar to centipedes but are actually only distantly related and belong to a different class. Another odd little creature is a type of silverfish that is not much like the gray pests found in bathrooms and basements. These tiny white, teardrop shaped arthropods are easily seen against dark soil, but in their dark subterranean world, they have no need of camouflage pigment. There are members of this group of silverfish that are actually adapted to living in fire ant colonies, managing to somehow fool the ants into ignoring, instead of eating, them. southern yellowjacket queen (Vespula squamosa) found hibernating under a rock Normally colored insects are also often found under rocks. Many beetles prefer this hidden habitat (including bombardier beetles; you can actually HEAR them spray their noxious chemical butt juice!), as do some true bugs, crickets, cockroaches, earwigs and termites. While the majority of ants live in tunnels, most of those dig their burrows in open dirt or silt areas. A few, though, are very likely to be found under rocks. Fire ants might show up anywhere, but they are usually evident by the extra dirt piled around a rock. Some colonies of very tiny ants completely fit their little excavated nest under a rock that is only 8 inches across. There is a species of carpenter ant in our area that does not nest in wood, but in the soil, with the nest entrance often under a large, flat stone. I once found some of these golden ants under a rock attending to mealybugs. The mealybugs would need to be taken periodically to plants so that they could feed, and, indeed, I saw some ants carrying the insects. Why would the ants go through the trouble to keep mealybugs as pets? The bugs produce a sweet liquid called honeydew, which is actually their waste excreted after feeding on sap. Ants love honeydew, and these decided to bring their snacks home with them. A few other animals that are often found under stones include snails, slugs, land planarians, earthworms, scorpions, harvestmen (daddy long-legs), millipedes, pillbugs and sowbugs. One of the more interesting rock residents are queen yellowjackets. Just like the big female jumping spiders that wait out the winter under a snug stone, these large insects also find a cozy spot to hibernate. They will wait until the temperature rises enough in the spring for flight to be possible. Then the young queens will emerge, have a good meal of nectar, start building a nest, lay some eggs, and hunt for insects to feed to the first generation of workers. Once the queen has a mature brood, she can stay at the nest and concentrate on laying more eggs while her daughters go out and collect provisions for the whole colony. At the end of summer, a brood of queens and drones will be produced. After they mate, those future matriarchs will spend the winter under a rock. Although the idiom "leave no stone unturned" is usually intended to mean something more general, like explore all possibilities, or exhaust all potential leads to solving a mystery, it doesn't hurt to take it more literally. Skip the rolling stones, as they will neither gather moss nor shelter fauna. When a long-undisturbed rock is lifted, though, one never knows just what might be found underneath. larvalbug bytes archives / Main Index / previous / next
Career Opportunities in Dentistry If we’re going to discuss about career opportunities in dentistry, our first item of course will be the general practitioner or the dentist. Your work as a general practitioner mainly involves the following: 1. The removal of dental caries or decay from the teeth and filling up of the cavities; 2. Tooth extraction which includes the administration of anesthetics 3. Application of teeth sealants 4. Treatment of gum diseases by performing gum and bone surgery which includes examination of x-ray results 5. Take teeth impressions used as model for dentures to replace the extracted teeth 6. Straighten teeth through prescription braces 7. Prescribe medication when and where necessary. However as a general practitioner, you have to specialize in any of the dental specialty education recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA) before you can perform other more complex dental services; and of course to earn higher dental income. One of the most common of this specialization is the orthodontist, considered as the highest paid of all dentists. What is an Orthodontist? This is the general practitioner who furthered his studies in dentistry and became a specialist in correcting or preventing misaligned teeth and jaws. The term misaligned includes cross bites, open bites, over and under bites and many more. The orthodontist makes a diagnosis for the treatment by taking an x-ray and taking a mold of the patient’s bite to determine the specific alignment of their teeth. In high society places, the orthodontist is more commonly known as the cosmetic dental surgeon. They can be so highly in demand if the outcome of their dental works turns out fine since they will be endorsed among other members of the society which includes celebrities and movie stars. Hence they earn the prestige of being the highest paid in the dentistry profession. Educational Requirements for Dentists There are about 56 dental schools in the U.S. accredited by the American Dental Association where one can attend to become a dentist. To become accepted in any of these schools you should have at least two years of pre-dental education aside from a Bachelor’s degree in any science related subjects. However, you still have to pass the Dental Admission Test required by all dental schools as a pre-requisite for admission. Prior to being recognized as a dental graduate, all future dentists are required to achieve a certain degree of skill in various training or drill in order to graduate and become an accredited dentist. After finishing the dentistry course, you still have to pass the licensure exam of a particular state in which you will practice your dentistry profession. Each state has its own licensing agency hence the written and practical exam will differ from state to state. Once you pass, you will become qualified to take and pass the National Board Dental Examinations as the final completion of your state licensing requirement. Passing all these licensure exams will now elevate you to the status of being a Licensed Dental Practitioner. Job Outlook for Dentists: US statistics show that out of the 161,000 dentists in 2006, a majority of them are general practitioners. The rest which was estimated to be 20% are engaged in the nine ADA recognized dental specialties. The 2007 salary survey showed that a salaried dentist earned a median annual salary of $137,630 or an equivalent hourly rate of $66.17. Dentists who are self-employed are recognized as having higher earning capacity. Why Choose Dentistry as a Profession? The dentistry profession is one of those careers that can afford to give the professional a balanced lifestyle. A dentist can be his own boss, set his own time schedule and maintain his own hours to provide a balance between professional and personal life. As studies have it a large number of practicing dentists today are expected to retire within the next 20 years thus the need for new dentists will be created. If you’re a parent and you wish your son or daughter to have a well-paying and prestigious career in the future, you can orient your kids this early to aim for the dentistry profession when they grow up.
What is hyperconvergence? What is hyperconvergence?Hyperconvergence is an IT framework that combines storage, computing and networking into a single system in an effort to reduce data center complexity and increase scalability. Hyperconverged platforms include a hypervisor for virtualized computing, software-defined storage, and virtualized networking, and they typically run on standard, off-the-shelf servers. Multiple nodes can be clustered together to create pools of shared compute and storage resources, designed for convenient consumption. The use of commodity hardware, supported by a single vendor, yields an infrastructure that's designed to be more flexible and simpler to manage than traditional enterprise storage infrastructure. For IT leaders who are embarking on data center modernization projects, hyperconvergence can provide the agility of public cloud infrastructure without relinquishing control of hardware on their own premises. How does hyperconvergence differ from converged infrastructure? Hyperconvergence adds deeper levels of abstraction and greater levels of automation. What are the benefits of hyperconverged infrastructure solutions? Which workloads are strong candidates for hyperconvergence? HCI systems were initially targeted at virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and other general-purpose workloads with fairly predictable resource requirements. Over time they’ve grown from being specialty solutions for VDI into generally scalable platforms for enterprise applications, database, and private cloud, according to research firm Forrester. In a survey of infrastructure pros whose firms are planning, implementing or expanding their use of hyperconverged systems, Forrester found the most common workloads being run on hyperconverged systems are: database, such as Oracle or SQL server (cited by 50%); file and print services (40%); collaboration, such as Exchange or SharePoint (38%); virtual desktop (34%); commercial packaged software such as SAP, Oracle (33%); analytics (25%); and Web-facing workloads such as LAMP stack or web servers (17%). How is it sold? Hyperconverged infrastructure is available as an appliance, a reference architecture, or as a software-only model. Bundled capabilities such as data deduplication, compression, data protection, snapshots, WAN optimization, and backup/disaster recovery differentiate vendors’ offerings. Specialist vendors in the HCI space include Nutanix, SimpliVity and Pivot3. Big systems vendors that have entered the market include Cisco, Dell-EMC and HPE. Gartner predicts the market for hyperconverged integrated systems (HCIS) will reach nearly $5 billion – or 24% of the overall market for integrated systems – by 2019, as the technology moves toward more mainstream use. Network World
19.9 Module Gc: memory management control and statistics; finalised values type stat = { minor_words : float; promoted_words : float; major_words : float; minor_collections : int; major_collections : int; heap_words : int; heap_chunks : int; live_words : int; live_blocks : int; free_words : int; free_blocks : int; largest_free : int; fragments : int; compactions : int; The memory management counters are returned in a stat record. The fields of this record are: minor_words Number of words allocated in the minor heap since the program was started. minor_collections Number of minor collections since the program was started. major_collections Number of major collection cycles, not counting the current cycle, since the program was started. heap_words Total size of the major heap, in words. heap_chunks Number of times the major heap size was increased since the program was started (including the initial allocation of the heap). live_words Number of words of live data in the major heap, including the header words. live_blocks Number of live blocks in the major heap. free_words Number of words in the free list. free_blocks Number of blocks in the free list. largest_free Size (in words) of the largest block in the free list. fragments Number of wasted words due to fragmentation. These are 1-words free blocks placed between two live blocks. They cannot be inserted in the free list, thus they are not available for allocation. compactions Number of heap compactions since the program was started. type control = { mutable minor_heap_size : int; mutable major_heap_increment : int; mutable space_overhead : int; mutable verbose : int; mutable max_overhead : int; mutable stack_limit : int; The GC parameters are given as a control record. The fields are: space_overhead The major GC speed is computed from this parameter. This is the memory that will be "wasted" because the GC does not immediatly collect unreachable blocks. It is expressed as a percentage of the memory used for live data. The GC will work more (use more CPU time and collect blocks more eagerly) if space_overhead is smaller. The computation of the GC speed assumes that the amount of live data is constant. Default: 42. max_overhead Heap compaction is triggered when the estimated amount of free memory is more than max_overhead percent of the amount of live data. If max_overhead is set to 0, heap compaction is triggered at the end of each major GC cycle (this setting is intended for testing purposes only). If max_overhead >= 1000000, compaction is never triggered. Default: 1000000. 0x01 Start of major GC cycle. 0x02 Minor collection and major GC slice. 0x04 Growing and shrinking of the heap. 0x08 Resizing of stacks and memory manager tables. 0x10 Heap compaction. 0x20 Change of GC parameters. 0x40 Computation of major GC slice size. 0x80 Calling of finalisation functions. 0x100 Bytecode executable search at start-up. Default: 0. val stat : unit -> stat val counters : unit -> (float * float * float) Return (minor_words, promoted_words, major_words). Much faster than stat. val get : unit -> control val set : control -> unit Gc.set { (Gc.get()) with Gc.verbose = 13 } val minor : unit -> unit Trigger a minor collection. val major : unit -> unit Finish the current major collection cycle. val full_major : unit -> unit Finish the current major collection cycle and perform a complete new cycle. This will collect all currently unreachable blocks. val compact : unit -> unit = "gc_compaction";; val print_stat : out_channel -> unit val allocated_bytes : unit -> float val finalise : ('a -> unit) -> 'a -> unit;; A number of pitfalls are associated with finalised values: finalisation functions are called asynchronously, sometimes even during the execution of other finalisation functions. In a multithreaded program, finalisation functions are called from any thread, thus they cannot not acquire any mutex. let v = ... in Gc.finalise (fun x -> ...) v Instead you should write: let f = fun x -> ... ;; let v = ... in Gc.finalise f v The f function can use all features of O'Caml, including assignments that make the value reachable again (indeed, the value is already reachable from the stack during the execution of the function). It can also loop forever (in this case, the other finalisation functions will be called during the execution of f). It can call Gc.finalise on v or other values to register other functions or even itself. It can raise an exception; in this case the exception will interrupt whatever the program was doing when the function was called. Gc.finalise will raise Invalid_argument if v is not heap-allocated. Some examples of values that are not heap-allocated are integers, constant constructors, booleans, the empty array, the empty list, the unit value. The exact list of what is heap-allocated or not is implementation-dependent. You should also be aware that some optimisations will duplicate some immutable values, especially floating-point numbers when stored into arrays, so they can be finalised and collected while another copy is still in use by the program. type alarm;; val create_alarm : (unit -> unit) -> alarm;; create_alarm f will arrange for f to be called at the end of each major GC cycle. A value of type alarm is returned that you can use to call delete_alarm. val delete_alarm : alarm -> unit;;
Dental Implant Dental implants are devices that replace the roots of missing teeth, and are used to support crowns, bridges or dentures.Dental Implants are placed in your jawbone surgically. Most of the time, implants feel more natural and secure than other methods of replacing missing teeth, such as dentures. Ideal Candidate for dental implants The primary consideration for the suitability of dental implants for a particular patient is the amount and condition of the bone in the area where the implant is to be placed. With the loss of a tooth, the area of the jaw without the tooth naturally undergoes resorption, or a thinning, of the bone in that area. The less bone available in which to place the implant, the greater chance of the implant not "taking" in the region. A common type of implant, called root form implants due to their similarity in shape to a tooth root, actually undergo a bonding with the surrounding bone called Osseo integration. Without enough healthy bone at the implant site, this process cannot occur and the implant will fail. There are two solutions commonly used for highly resorbed bone in the area where the implant is to occur. The first is bone grafting. This involves undergoing a procedure that moves bone from one place in the body to another to enlarge the bone structure at the implant site. Often bone can be moved from one place in the mouth to another. Sometimes a graft from a donor or an animal or artificial bone can be used if bone from the patient is not available. Grafting usually is done four to eight months before the implant procedure, to allow the graft a chance to heal before it is disturbed with the implant process. Other important information A further consideration as to suitability for implants is the patient's general health, especially whether or not the patient smokes. Although the exact cause of the connection is not known, dentists hypothesize that the nicotine in the cigarettes, known to shut down blood vessels, interferes with the healing of the dental implants. Whatever the cause, heavy smokers are known to have a higher failure rate for implants than those who do not smoke. Other chronic conditions that affect healing, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and immunosupression can also increase the chance of implant rejection. Risks and Limitations: The greatest risk following the surgical procedures is that the implant will fail. For implants placed within the bone, most failures occur within the first year and then occur at a rate of less than one percent per year thereafter. Location of the implant can also predict the risk of failure. Implants in the back upper jaw fail most often, followed by the front upper jaw, the back lower jaw, and the most success seen in implant of the front lower jaw. Overall, the success rate for all implants runs from 90 to 95%. Most failed implants can be replaced with a second attempt. Be sure to: • Tell your dentist about any allergies you have (to foods, drugs, environmental elements) • Tell your dentist about all medications you are taking (both prescription and non-prescription) Carefully follow any instructions your dentist gives you. What are the most common benefits of dental implants? Replacing a lost tooth is vital to maintaining the overall health and function of the surrounding teeth. It helps avoid tooth migration and loss of structure. It is necessary to avoid loss of bone from the jaw in that area.When teeth are lost, the area of the jawbone that held those teeth starts to erode. Over time, you can lose so much bone that your jaw will need a bone graft to build up the bone in your jaw before your dentist can place implants or make a denture that fits properly. Tooth loss affects how well you chew and what foods you are able to eat. Many people who have missing teeth have poor nutrition, which can affect overall health. The loss of teeth can change your bite, that is the way your teeth come together. Changes in your bite can lead to problems with your jaw joint, called the temporomandibular joint. Losing teeth can lead to changes in your speech, which also can affect your self-confidence. Dental implants are an effective means of counteracting these problems. Dental implants are also very strong and provide a feel as close to a natural tooth as can be currently achieved. Further, implants reduce the impact of the lost tooth on surrounding teeth, as traditional bridge structures often require reduction (filing down) of the two adjacent teeth to hold the bridge in place with crowns. Implanting avoids such alterations to the surrounding teeth when replacing a lost tooth.Dental implants, when replacing dentures, provide even more benefits. Dentures are notorious for slipping at the worst possible moments. Poorly fitting dentures can even affect diet, restricting food selections to easily chewed foods. Dental Implants eliminate the possibility of slipping or pinching, and allow food of almost all types to be eaten (other than extremely hard foods such as chewing on ice, pits, or popcorn kernels, which is very bad for the implants and not good for natural teeth, either). In short, dental implants are the closest way to surgically restore a natural tooth to its original condition. Dental Implants Versus Alternatives Depending on your particular problem, implants can be more expensive than the alternatives (denture or bridge).While the upfront cost for implants can be more than for other types of restorations, the investment can pay off in the long run. You do not necessarily need an implant for every missing tooth. Your dentist can discuss how many implants you will need .Other benefits of implants include: Feel - Because implants are imbedded in your bone, they feel more like your natural teeth than bridges or dentures. Nutrition - You will be able to chew better with implants. Chewing can be difficult with regular dentures, especially ones that don't fit perfectly. A regular upper denture also covers your palate, which can reduce your sense of taste. What will happen at the initial consultation? At the first appointment, the dentist will examine your teeth and determine whether implants are the solution to your dental problems. Often, x-rays are necessary to discover the state of the jawbone, particularly if the teeth have been lost for some time. Dentist may even make dental models for better understanding.This information can be used to determine if implants would work for you and, if so, what particular type of implant that would be best for your situation. How are dental implant procedures performed? After placement of the implant a cover screw is put in and the wound is closed with stitches and allowed to heal. In general, placements in the lower jaw need to heal about three months, while placements in the upper jaw need to heal about six months. After healing, in a second surgical procedure, the implant is uncovered, the cover screw is removed and a healing abutment or a temporary crown is placed in the implant. Temporary crowns are generally used for esthetic reasons, when the implant is in a place that is visible. Both healing abutments and temporary crowns allow the tissue around the implant to be trained to grow around the final prosthetics tooth. After about two months the soft tissue will be healed to receive the final prosthetic tooth. Impressions are taken to make a custom abutment that takes into account the shape of the neck of the implant. The prosthetic tooth is sometimes attached to a cylinder that can be screwed into the abutment or it can be directly cemented onto the abutment. This multi-stage process, where the two surgical procedures are separated by a lengthy healing time, has proven to provide excellent stability in the final implant. Single step surgical implants are available, but skipping the healing step often loses some stability of the final implant.Immediate placement with instant crown has specific indications and may not suit every patient. How long does the surgery take? Surgery time will vary greatly depending on the number of dental implants. For each of the two visits, one implant, going very smoothly, will take a little over an hour. Time goes up proportionally from there. Where will the procedure be performed? The implant procedure generally occurs in the office of a dentist,and doesn't require special operation theatre.Though specialized equipment like physiodispensor, is needed with good sterilization control. How much pain is there? Local anesthesia avoids the pain that would be involved in the surgical procedures during implantation and uncovering of the implant fixture. Most patients state that implants involve less pain and discomfort than a tooth extraction What can I expect after dental implants? Following surgery, there will probably be some or no bleeding, controlled by biting down on some gauze. Swelling may be controlled using an ice pack. Gums are generally sore after both surgeries for seven to ten days. You may be given antibiotics to take during the period immediately following the surgery. What is the recovery period like? Many people have very mild soreness, bleeding, or swelling, which can be treated with first aid and over the counter medicines and can return to work the day after surgery. In between the first and second surgery, there is a recovery period of three to six months while the implants associate with the bone. This growth of the bones around the titanium posts may induce a few weeks of soreness. This discomfort can usually be controlled using over the counter medicine. It is very important during your recovery to practice scrupulous oral hygiene. Poor care, resulting in chronic swelling of gum tissue, is a major contributor to implant failure. You may need to see your dentist about four times a year to keep track of the implant health What is the long-term outcome with dental implants? For most people, dental implants last between fifteen and twenty-five years. They may last significantly longer, but implantation is a new procedure and data has not been gathered. Between about 5 and about 10% of implants fail, but they often can be replaced with another implant attempt. • Dental Implants • Smile Makeover • Root Canal Treatment • Teeth Bleaching
Downy Yellow Violet Viola pubescens. Some scientists believe that after green, closely related yellow was the first color developed by flowers as they evolved showiness. Bright colors help to attract insects for pollination. While it seems odd that a flower called “violet” should be “yellow,” all yellow violets have at least a tad of blue, purple, or brown, usually in the form of petal lines that are part of their insect guidance system. About a dozen yellow violet species occur in North America. Downy Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens) is found in rich, loamy soil throughout eastern and central states. Although it bears beautiful, showy blossoms, few people realize that this and other spring-blooming violets also produce viable flowers that never open. Called cleistogamous flowers, they appear lower on the plant, sometimes under the ground and often later in the season. While they may never open, they nonetheless contain all the necessary parts to produce seeds, though they are not as viable as cross-fertilized seeds. This system may have evolved because so many violets appear early in the season, when insect pollination is chancier than in the warmer, insect-rich months. Not all violets produce cleistogamous flowers. Some summer species, such as Johnny Jump Ups (Viola tricolor), bear very colorful blossoms, can easily attract insects, and do not appear to need backups. Cleistogamous, incidentally, means “closed marriage.” The showy flowers that lure insects are called chasmogamous, or “open marriage.” Click here to return to the previous page
Want to see correct answers? Login or join for free! World History Worksheets Looking for World History worksheets? Check out our pre-made World History worksheets! Share/Like This Page Filter By Grade Seventh Grade (Grade 7) World History Questions You can create printable tests and worksheets from these Grade 7 World History questions! Select one or more questions using the checkboxes above each question. Then click the add selected questions to a test button before moving to another page. Previous Page 1 of 39 Next Grade 7 New Imperialism What was added to Victoria's list of titles in 1876? 1. Empress of India 2. Queen of Ireland 3. Monarch of Canada 4. Duchess of Australia Grade 7 Medieval Europe Who built the Tower of London? 1. William the Conqueror 2. Maria Stuart 3. Henry VIII 4. Oliver Cromwell Grade 7 Roman Empire Gladiators were typically and . 1. trainers and emperors 2. patricians and plebeians 3. brother and sister 4. slaves and criminals Grade 7 New Imperialism Grade 7 New Imperialism Victoria was the last monarch in what house? 1. Windsor 2. Hanover 3. Tudor 4. Stuart Grade 7 Roman Empire Grade 7 Renaissance and Reformation Grade 7 New Imperialism Which nation colonized both India and South Africa 1. Great Britain 2. France 3. Germany 4. United States Grade 7 Roman Empire Which group conquered the Western Roman Empire? 1. Visigoths 2. Huns 3. Mongols 4. Abbasids Grade 7 Greece Who was the father of Alexander the Great? 1. Xerxes 2. King Darius III 3. Constantine 4. Philip of Macedon Grade 7 Roman Empire Which two civilizations fought in the Punic Wars? 1. The Greeks and the Romans 2. The Byzantines and the Scythians 3. The Carthaginians and the Romans 4. The Hittites and the Persians Grade 7 Latin America and Caribbean Grade 7 European History What was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire? 1. Italy 2. Rome 3. Constantinople 4. None of the above Grade 7 Ancient History Grade 7 Medieval Europe What was the name of most famous church that Justinian built? 1. The Parish 2. The Church of Christianity 3. The Church of Hagia Sophia 4. The Church of Constantine Grade 7 Latin America and Caribbean Grade 7 Latin America and Caribbean Previous Page 1 of 39 Next
previous next The Literary Sources The first descriptions of works of art in Greek literature are as old as Homer, where costly and beautiful articles are all part of the glittering world of the heroes, "a wonder to see" (Hom. Il. 5.725, etc.). As befits his relentlessly objective, brightly illuminated portrait of a competitive society of conspicuous consumers, Homer places a high premium on beauty (equated with artistic realism) and skill his authority here will bias ancient attitudes on art to the end. Thereafter, authors of all periods commonly make reference to art works, sometimes merely for "local color", but often with some ulterior motive in mind. J.J. Pollitt (Pollitt 1990) has conveniently separated these writers into four reasonably distinct groups: literary analogists, moral aestheticians, professional critics, and compilers of tradition. To take each in turn. The use of the phenomenal world for literary analogy begins with Homer's similes; as an increasingly conspicuous part of his world, works of art were gradually likewise employed, though references to sculpture are rarer than to painting or decorative art. Examples are legion, but in each case, the work of art is but a tool, a springboard for a purely literary point. Thus around 485, Pindar may contrast his winged words of praise with a sculptor's offering, "doomed to linger only on the pedestal where it stands" (Pind. N. 5. l-3), while four centuries later the literary critic Dionysios of Halikarnassos can now compare a "classic" prose style "with the art of Polykleitos and Pheidias because of its august, dignified, and grand style" (T 61). Soon, the terminology of literary criticism was widely and often sensitively employed in this way, using lists of artists specially compiled by Alexandrian or Pergamene rhetoricians (e.g. T 115). Yet one must remember that such comparisons, while illuminating Greco-Roman perceptions of Greek sculpture, were often partially conditioned by prevailing neo-classical tastes, and that the analytical terminology of one discipline is seldom transferable to another without strain. Ostensibly more independent are the literary descriptions of works of art; the genre ultimately derives from Homer's Shield of Achilles in Iliad 18. Yet even here rhetoric remains paramount: thus to Kallistratos, writing ca. A.D. 300, the iconography and style of Skopas's Maenad (Stewart 1990, fig. 547) matter little against such extravagances as these: "The statue of a Maenad, wrought from Parian marble, has been transformed into a real Maenad. For the stone, while retaining its own nature, yet seemed to depart from the law which governs stone; what one saw was really an image, but art carried imitation over into actual reality.... When we saw her face we stood speechless...." (T 114). Finally, there is the humorist Lucian (ca. A.D. l20-180). Once a sculptor's apprentice, he tells how he switched to rhetoric because Education told him: "Even if you should become a Pheidias or a Polykleitos and should create many marvellous works, everyone will praise your skill for sure, but none of your admirers, if he had sense, would want to be like you; for whoever you might become, you would still be considered a laborer, a man who lives by his hands and has nothing but his hands" (The Dream 9). His remarks on sculpture (such as, for example, T 44 and T 91) are important; he also devotes a whole essay to selecting features from various female statues to form an ideal beauty, an eclecticism typical of his age (T 58; cf. Stewart 1990, figs. 314, 507): “From the Knidia [the sculptor] takes only the head...allowing the hair, forehead, and that lovely brow-line to remain as Praxiteles made them; and the liquid yet clear and winsome gaze of the eyes shall stay as Praxiteles conceived it. But he will take the curve of the cheeks and the fore part of the face from Alkamenes' [Aphrodite] in the Gardens, plus her hands, graceful wrists and supple, tapering fingers. But the facial contour, its sides and shapely nose will be supplied by the Lemnian Athena by Pheidias, who will also furnish the meeting of the lips and the neck, taken from the Amazon. Sosandra and Kalamis shall adorn her with modesty, and with a faint, holy smile.... ” Rhetorical criticism sometimes makes moral judgements, blaming as well as praising. This moral dimension of art first interested philosophers in the fifth century, when the Sophists began to discuss representation (mimesis) in the arts and to evaluate it as a skill or craft (techne). With unabashed relativism, the Sophist Gorgias hailed deception as the aim of all mimesis, so that while rhetoric entrances the ears, "the creation of statues and the working of images furnishes a divine sweetness to the eyes" (Helen 18), persuading by a sort of magical power. Philosophers who believed in universals responded quickly: conceding the power (and danger) of techne. Plato attacked it for its third-hand mimesis of "true" reality and absolute beauty. Painting, by now increasingly powerful and impressionistic, is particularly lambasted, but sculpture does not escape unscathed, as in his stinging indictment of "doctored" proportions in the Sophist (T 135). Such deception is morally damaging, and Plato (though no philistine) has to prefer Egyptian sculpture, timeless, unchanging, and ideal (Plat. Laws 656e). To Aristotle, however, techne not merely imitates but completes nature, since it uses natural materials to create objects unknown in nature. Mimesis thereby has its own purposes, laws, and "virtues" if pursued properly and in accordance with its true function; in particular, it should aim at the mean. Such theorising had little practical effect on art itself. The notion that form may follow function indeed pervades Hellenistic art, but Aristotle's opinions hardly caused such a development, however well they may have appeared to justify it. The same goes for the last great aesthetic theory of antiquity, the so-called phantasia theory. Probably working from a definition of techne by the Stoic Chrysippos (ca. 280-207) as "a skill proceeding methodically by the aid of mental images (phantasiai)", (Long-Sedley no. 42A), its adherents held that the creative artist's intuition could penetrate as if by divine inspiration directly to the heart of his subject. It first appears in connection with the classical "Old Masters", particularly Pheidias (T 54), and Hellenistic-Roman neo-classical attitudes to art. Thus Cicero praises Pheidias's "perfection" then adds that "when he created his Zeus or Athena, he did not contemplate any persons from whom he drew a likeness, but rather a sort of extraordinary apparition of beauty resided in his mind, and, concentrating on it and intuiting its nature, he directed his art and his hand towards reproducing it" (Orator 2.9; cf. Stewart 1990, figs. 361, 372). Finally, there are the early Christian fathers, whose attacks on idolatry regularly included descriptions or catalogues of such idols, of widely varying fidelity. Fairly typical of these, though more informative than most, is Clement of Alexandria's Exhortation to the Greeks or Protreptikos, published around A.D. 200, whose fourth chapter is entirely directed against image-worship of all kinds, from primitive xoana to Sarapis and the statues of the Emperors. He regularly cites his sources but in the heat of divinely-inspired invective tends to paraphrase them sloppily. Nevertheless, his witness is crucial for the history of such important cult-images as the Samian Hera and the Alexandrian Sarapis (T 14 and 149; Stewart 1990, figs. 14-15, 632-34). Greek moral philosophy, then, gives us a series of individual intellectual perspectives on art. With the possible exceptions of Sophistic relativism, the phantasia-theory, and Christian iconoclasm it can seldom have influenced either artists themselves or their wider public, though both may at times have responded to other aspects of the intelligentsia's thinking, such as their ideas on the Gods. For example, both Pheidias and the materialistic philosopher Anaxagoras were friends of Perikles (T 47), though whether they all ever saw eye to eye is problematic. The case of Polykleitos is different. The ambience which produced his Canon (T 62, 66-9), the mathematical treatise on ideal proportion that is the first known example of professional criticism in sculpture, was fiercely competitive: the nude male was the focus, achievement of absolute beauty the goal, recognition the prize, and a treatise a prime way to assert one's claims. The intellectual roots of his work are obscure, though in architecture a long line of such books had been inaugurated by the sculptor-architect Theodoros of Samos ca. 550. Two prime ingredients may have been a workshop tradition of handing down proportional schemes for (cf. T 21), perhaps verbally or in simple diagrammatic form, plus the number-theory of the influential philosopher Pythagoras (active around 500). With mathematics in its infancy and still closely tied to geometry, sculptors and philosophers could talk the same language. Polykleitos's Canon, now lost but for two or three fragments, dominated its field for a century and more, though around 350 Euphranor and Silanion published "alternative" canons (T 117; Vitruvius 7 praef. l4), and finally in the early third century, the sculptor Xenokrates (T 145-6) wrote a treatise that attempted a historical perspective for the first time, enthroning "the new and hitherto untried canon" (T 124) of his own "master" Lysippos, as the culmination of the entire tradition. Symmetria (commensurability), rhythmos (composition), and akribeia (accuracy of detail) were Xenokrates' criteria, and his writings, now lost but probably the source for some remarks of Pliny's (T 40, T 43, T 62, T 124, T 145, T 146), were the first true art history of antiquity. This retrospective atmosphere intensified during the Hellenistic period with the sense that Greece's period of true creativity was over. Scholars turned to classifying and recording, to writing handbooks on every subject imaginable, and it was inevitable that sculpture would soon be among them. Among these compilers of tradition, Douris of Samos (active ca. 280; cf. T 124) produced a set of anecdotal and highly-colored lives of major artists, and Antigonos of Karystos (active ca. 240: cf. T 78 and T 145) combined this biographical approach with the professional criticism of Xenokrates. In the second century, Polemon of Elis wrote a critique of Antigonos, while Heliodoros of Athens published a guidebook to the Akropolis and elsewhere (T 145). Finally, in the first century, the neoclassic sculptor Pasiteles wrote five volumes on the world's masterpieces of sculpture (T 145, T 163) and Strabo included many statues in his Geography (e.g. T 21, 49). Two Romans continued the practice: M. Terentius Varro (116-28) paraphrased these Hellenistic authors extensively in his works (T 145, cf. 62, 163), and C. Lucinius Mucianus (died before A.D. 77) wrote an account of Asian antiquities. Strabo survives, but of the others only fragments remain, chiefly in Pliny's encyclopedia or Natural History, published in A.D. 77. Books 34 and 36 deal with bronzes and marbles respectively, and give us a cut-and-paste synopsis of Hellenistic and Roman connoisseurship. In book 34, brief histories of alloys, statue-types, patronage, and technique are followed by a chronological list (the only one extant) of bronze sculptors by Olympiads, beginning with Pheidias in Ol. 83 (448-445 BC) (T 1). Its accuracy, poor at the beginning, improves markedly for the fourth century, until with Lysippos' pupils in Ol. 121 (296-293 BC) "the art ceased". A classical revival by "inferiors, yet still men of repute" is put in Ol. 156 (156-153). Accounts of the major artists come next, enlivened by anecdotes from Douris and brief analytical passages from Xenokrates, then a catalogue of lesser masters and their works. Book 36 (marble sculpture) is straightforwardly chronological, from supposed beginnings under Dipoinos and Skyllis in Ol. 50 (580-577 BC) to Greco-Roman sculptors like the masters of the Laokoon and Pasiteles. Throughout, Pliny rarely offers extensive descriptions or praise other than for realism (e.g. T 124), which sits uneasily with his generally classical bias: Hellenistic sculpture is seldom mentioned and never dated. Some works were apparently selected specially to flatter the emperor Vespasian and his son, Titus (e.g. T 171). Our only other extant account of Greek sculpture was also a late offspring of Hellenistic curiosity. The traveller Pausanias wrote his Description of Greece around A.D. 170, covering Greece as far north as Boeotia. A careful, pedestrian writer, he is interested not only in the grandiose or the exquisite but in unusual sights and obscure ritual. He is occasionally careless, or makes unwarranted inferences, and his guides or even his own notes sometimes mislead him; yet his honesty is unquestionable, and his value without par. He dutifully lists sculptures of all periods, but reserves detailed descriptions and real praise for Pheidias and his pupils (T 50, 77), and for their second-century imitator, Damophon of Messene (T 156; Stewart 1990, figs. 788-92). Yet his tastes were not wholly conformist: the Athena Lemnia, not the Parthenos, "is the best of all Pheidias's works to see" (1.28.2; compare Lucian, above; cf. Stewart 1990, figs. 313, 361), and, more surprisingly, he has a special affection for certain pre-Pheidian masters, particularly Pythagoras of Rhegion, "a good sculptor, if ever there was one" (T 41) and Onatas of Aegina, "second to none of the successors of Daidalos and the Attic school" (T 38). He even appreciates archaic statues, "somewhat uncouth to the eye, but with a touch of the divine in them nevertheless" (T 7). Without Pliny and Pausanias our knowledge of Greek sculpture would be meager indeed. Yet with imagination one can flesh over the bare bones of now-vanished glories which they offer from another source, still virtually untapped: the entire span of Greek literature. Thus archaic poetry may tell us what delights the gods in their sanctuaries, and so help to unveil the meaning of kouroi and korai; classical prose writers may address the problem of the individual and polis, and so contribute to an understanding of contemporary portraiture; and a late fourth-century hymn may present an unusual picture of Dionysos and Apollo, and so lead to insights into syncretism in early Hellenistic art. The possibilities are great, the horizons as yet unmarked. hide Display Preferences Greek Display: Arabic Display: View by Default: Browse Bar:
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, for the third time, and Appius Claudius entered upon the office of consuls. The praetors determined their provinces by lot. Publius Cornelius Sulla received both the city and the foreign jurisdiction, formerly allotted to two persons; Cneius Fulvius Flaccus, Apulia, Caius Claudius Nero, Suessula, and Marcus Junius Silanus, Tuscany. To the consuls the conduct of the war with Hannibal was decreed with two legions each; one taking the troops of Quintus Fabius, the consul of the former year, the other those of Fulvius Centumalus. Of the praetors, Fulvius Flaccus was to have the legions which were in Luceria under Aemilius the praetor, Nero Claudius those in Picenum under Caius Terentius; each raising recruits for himself to fill up the number of his troops. To Marcus Junius the city legions of the former year were assigned, to be employed against the Tuscans. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus were continued in command in their provinces of Lucania and Gaul with the armies they had, as was also Publius Lentulus in that part of Sicily which formed the ancient Roman province. Marcus Marcellus had Syracuse, and that which was the kingdom of Hiero. Titus Otacilius was continued in the command of the fleet, Marcus Valerius in that of Greece, Quintus Mucius Scaevola in that of Sardinia. The Cornelii, Publius and Cneius, were continued in the command of Spain. In addition to the armies already existing, two legions for the service of the city were levied by the consuls, and a total of twenty-three legions was made up this year. The levy of the consuls was impeded by the conduct of Marcus Posthumius Pyrgensis, almost accompanied with a serious disturbance. Posthumius was a farmer of the revenue, who, for knavery and rapacity, practised through a course of many years, had no equal except Titus Pomponius Veientanus, who had been taken prisoner the former year by the Carthaginians under the conduct of Hanno, while carelessly ravaging the lands in Lucania. As the state had taken upon itself the risk of any loss which might arise from storms to the commodities conveyed to the armies, not only had these two men fabricated false accounts of shipwrecks, but even those which had really occurred were occasioned by their own knavery, and not by accident. Their plan was to put a few goods of little value into old and shattered vessels, which they sank in the deep, taking up the sailors in boats prepared for the purpose, and then returning falsely the cargo as many times more valuable than it was. This fraudulent practice had been pointed out to Marcus Atilius, the praetor in a former year, who had communicated it to the senate; no decree, however, had been passed censuring it, because the fathers were unwilling that any offence should be given to the order of revenue farmers while affairs were in such a state. The people were severer avengers of the fraud; and at length two tribunes of the people, Spurius and Lucius Carvilius, being moved to take some active measure, as they saw that this conduct excited universal disgust, and had become notorious, proposed that a fine of two hundred thousand asses should be imposed on Marcus Posthumius. When the day arrived for arguing the question, the people assembled in such numbers, that the area of the Capitol could scarcely contain them; and the cause having been gone through, the only hope of safety which presented itself was, that Caius Servilius Casca, a tribune of the people, a connexion and relation of Posthumius, should interpose his protest before the tribes were called to give their votes. The witnesses having been produced, the tribunes caused the people to withdraw, and the urn was brought, in order that the tribes should draw lots which should give the vote first. Meanwhile, the farmers of the revenue urged Casca to stop the proceedings for that day. The people, however, loudly opposed it; and Casca happened to be sitting on the most prominent part of the rostrum, whose mind fear and shame were jointly agitating. Seeing that no dependence was to be placed in him for protection, the farmers of the revenue, forming themselves into a wedge, rushed into the void space occasioned by the removal of the people for the purpose of causing disturbance, wrangling at the same time with the people and the tribunes. The affair had now almost proceeded to violence, when Fulvius Flaccus, the consul, addressing the tribunes, said, Do you not see that you are degraded to the common rank, and that an insurrection will be the result, unless you speedily dismiss the assembly of the commons.
Home Flora of Panama (WFO) Name Search Markup OCR Documents Project Name Data (Last Modified On 5/15/2013) Flora Data (Last Modified On 5/15/2013) Contributor W. G. D'ARCY Description Herbs, shrubs, trees, lianas or epiphytes, often armed; stems with bicollateral bundles, latex absent, alkaloids often present. Leaves alternate or paired, estipu- late, simple or pinnately compound, entire or variously lobed, glabrous or pubescent with simple, dendritic, stellate, scutellate, and often glandular hairs,4 sometimes armed, degenerate stomata present, sometimes with single guard cells. In- florescence terminal or axillary, often becoming lateral, a panicle, raceme, fascicle or sometimes a solitary flower, bracts or bracteoles sometimes present. Flowers complete, mostly perfect but the first flowers sometimes staminate, rarely dioecious, from small to very large, sometimes fragrant, (4-) 5 ( -9) -merous, actinomorphic or zygomorphic; the calyx gamosepalous, prefloration valvate or complete, the apex lobed or truncate, splitting or stretching to permit egress of Habit Herbs, shrubs, trees, lianas or epiphytes Description Stellate hairs (stellae) may be sessile or stalked, the stalks being multiseriate and terminated by branches or arms (radii) which come off at one point in one plane (porrect) or at many angles (multangulate). Beyond the point of radii insertion the axis is continued by a midpoint which may bear a terminal gland. The radii may be few (pauciradiate) or very numerous (echinoid). Stellae which develop stout woody stalks are bristles, and the radii are usually visible at the apex at some stage of development. Still stouter stalks are referred to as thorns or spines and may be needle-like (acicular) or hook-like (recurved). Seithe (1962) has elucidated developmental sequences of these trichome types. Stellate pubescence is referred to as sparse, dispersed or dense, dense pubescence being when the radii of neighbor- ing stellae overlap, dispersed when there is a general covering of stellae but the midpoints do not overlap and sparsely pubescent indicates scattered stellae widely separated from one another. flower or fruit, sometimes circumscissile, sometimes with an epicalyx of a series of secondary teeth or umbos or a basal swelling, often accrescent in fruit; corolla sympetalous, prefloration valvate, induplicate valvate, imbricate or quincuncial, rarely incomplete, tubular, tubiform, campanulate or rotate; the stamens borne on the corolla tube, mostly 5 or reduced to 4, 2, or 1 and staminodes sometimes present, filaments sometimes appendaged, the anthers mostly 2-loculed for part or all of their length, the thecae parallel and connected, the anthers longitudinally dehiscent or opening by terminal pores; the ovary superior (partly inferior in Solandra), of 2 united carpels, and the locule number sometimes increased or reduced by proliferation or reduction of the septum, a hypogenous or rarely perigynous disc sometimes present; ovules mostly many in each locule, tenuinucel- late, anatropous or slightly amphitropous, the placentae elaborated, mostly axile; the style terminal on the ovary, slender, simple, the stigma small or relatively large and elaborated. Fruit mostly a berry or capsule; the seeds often compressed, rarely winged or pubescent, the embryo straight or curved and peripheral, terete or flattened, not plicate; the endosperm fleshy. Distribution The Solanaceae includes some 80 genera of diverse form. The family is strongly centered in America south of the United States with many species of a few genera in Africa. Species are found in most parts of the world and several isolated genera occur in Australia. Note Seven of the genera include more than fifty species. Only four genera-Lycium (80-90 species), Physalis (100), Solanum (over 1,400), and Datura (15 )-occur both in America and across the Old World, but several genera are common to America and the Far East, and Schwenkia occurs in both America and Africa. Only about a dozen monotypic genera and only nine genera with two or three species are generally recognized today. Some 14 endemic genera occur in temperate South America. The type is Solanum L. The family includes important food (potato, capsicum, tomato, lulo, pepino, ground cherry), drug (belladonna, atropine, tobacco, vodka, mandrake), and ornamental (petunia, tree potato, galan de noche, browallia, nicotiana, lycium, cestrum, orchid-flower) species as well as a host of noxious weeds (nightshades, bittersweet, arana gato, etc.). Although some species grow to large size, none are known for their wood. Reference Bentham, G. & J. D. Hooker. Solanaceae. In "Genera Plantarum." 2(1): 882-913. 1873. Danert, S. 1957. Die Verzweigung als infragenerische Gruppenmerkmal in der Gattung Solanum L. Kulturpflanze 15: 275-292. Dunal, M. F. Solanaceae. In A. P. De Candolle, "Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis." 13(1): 1-690. 1852. Seithe, A. Die Haararten der Gattung Solanum L. und ihre taxonomische Verwertung. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 81: 261-336. 1962. Wettstein, R. von. 1895. Solanaceae. In A. Engler & K. Prantl, "Die Natlirlichen Pflanzenfamilien." 4 (3a): 4-38; Nachtrage 292-293. Key a. Anthers dehiscing by terminal pores (sometimes longitudinally as well). b. Anther connectives strongly thickened and evident the whole length of the anther; inflorescence arising at a dichotomy of the stem; fruit pendant on an elongate axis; calyx lobes present and in flower not splitting at the sutures ...... 6. Cyphomandra bb. Anther connectives not thickened, not evident the whole length of the anther (dorsal surface of anthers may be 'darkened); inflorescence variously situated; fruit erect or pendant; calyx lobes present or absent, often splitting at the sutures, lateral teeth sometimes present. c. Calyx with 10 vascular ribs, the apex truncate, stretching to permit egress of corolla and fruit, up to 10 teeth often arising from the side of the calyx; peduncles mostly wanting; leaves simple, entire ...... 11. Lycianthes cc. Calyx with 5 vascular ribs, mostly splitting at the sutures to permit egress of corolla and fruit; (4- )5( -6) apical teeth mostly present; peduncles mostly present; leaves often compound, lobed or toothed ...... 20. Solanum aa. Anthers dehiscing longitudinally without apical pores. d. Stamens 4 or fewer; flowers mostly narrowly tubular or salverform; plants terrestrial. e. Fruit a dry capsule; seeds less than 0.8 mm across; weak or sprawling herbs mostly less than 50 cm tall. f. Corolla tubular, the lobes minute; calyx less than 3 mm across ...... 18. Schwenckia ff. Corolla salverform, the lobes conspicuous; calyx more than 4 mm across ...... 1. Browallia ee. Fruit a berry, juicy, custardy, fleshy or hard and leathery; seeds more than 1 mm across; tree, shrub or erect herb (sometimes flowering turoin) mostly more than 50 cm tall. g. Fruit custardy and leathery or fleshy, more than 15 mm across; seeds prismatic; flowers more than 20 mm long; anthers rounded or emarginate; tree or shrub ...... 3. Brunfelsia gg. Fruit a juicy, shiny berry, less than 12 mm across; seeds compressed discoid; flowers less than 20 mm long; anthers pointed, often apiculate; herb or subshrub rarely tree ...... 21. Witheringia dd.Stamens 5 or more; flowers of various shapes; plants terrestrial or hemi-epiphitic. h. Flowers more than 8 cm long. i. Terrestrial herbs or shrubs; flowers not yellow; leaves membranaceous; corolla lobes with elongate tips. j. Ovary and fruit elongate, 2-loculed; flowers pendulous; calyx markescent ...... 2. Brugmansia jj. Ovary and fruit rotund, 4-loculed, flowers held erect or at an angle to the ground; calyx circumscissile ...... 7. Datura ii. Vines or epiphytic shrubs; flowers yellow; leaves coriaceous; corolla lobes crenate to fimbriate without elongate tips ...... 19. Solandra hh. Flowers less than 8 cm long. k. Corolla tube less than 9 mm long, corolla mostly rotate or broadly campanulate. 1. Calyx accrescent and enveloping the fruit. m. Corolla rotate, the margin unlobed; fruiting calyx mostly invaginated at the base ...... 16. Physalis mm. Corolla rotate or campanulate with manifest lobes; fruiting calyx not invaginated at the base. n. Fruiting calyx completely enveloping the fruit, the berry not tightly filling the calyx; anthers rounded; herb ...... 8. Deprea nn.Calyx tight against the berry wall, the berry emerging at the apex; anthers pointed; herb or sub-shrub ...... 21. Witheringia 11. Calyx not enveloping the fruit, if accrescent then the lobes flaring wide or recurved. o. Anthers tightly coherent by lateral grooves and ventral pubescence; seeds pubescent; leaves mostly compound ...... 12. Lycopersicon oo. Anthers free (sometimes connivent); seeds glabrous; leaves simple; mostly entire. p. Calyx conspicuously accrescent, in fruit the lobes deltoid, wide- flaring; corolla rotate; berry black ...... 9. Jaltomata pp. Corolla hardly accrescent, in fruit the lobes neither deltoid nor wide-flaring; the berry not black. q. Calyx deeply lobed, fruit not exceeding the calyx lobes; hemi-epiphytic shrubs ...... 13. Markea qq. Calyx not deeply lobed, fruit greatly exceeding the calyx; terrestrial herbs, rarely high climbing. r. Flowers white or nearly so; fruit a dry or fleshy berry; anthers rounded, not apiculate ...... 4. Capsicum rr. Flowers yellowish, brownish, purplish, etc., rarely white; fruit a juicy berry; anthers pointed, often apiculate ...... 21. Witheringia kk. Corolla tube more than 10 mm long, corolla mostly tubular, tubiform, or narrowly campanulate, not rotate or broadly campanulate. s. Viscid pubescent herbs; seeds minute; cultivated plants. t. Plants erect, more than 60 cm tall; flowers arising from a solitary leaf (bract); calyx lobed about halfway down; fruits more than 15 mm long ...... 14. Nicotiana tt. Plants sprawling, less than 60 cm tall; flowers arising from a pair of leaves (bracts); calyx lobed to near the base; fruits less than 12 mm long ...... 15. Petunia ss. Plants not viscid pubescent; herbs, shrubs, trees or vines; seeds 0.5 mm or more across; cultivated or wild plants. u. Fruit not exceeding the calyx lobes; hemi-epiphytes. v. Inflorescence a congested, spherical panicle; apical, ovuliferous portion of ovary contracted into a stylar base; corolla narrowly tubular, only slightly (4-8 mm) exserted from the calyx and pubescent with simple hairs ...... 17. Rahowardiana vv. Inflorescence more or less open, not spherical; ovary not apically contracted into a stylar base; corolla tubular or campanulate, if tubular then long-exserted from the calyx and pubescent with stellate hairs. w. Corolla narrowly tubular, conspicuously stellate pubescent outside, corolla lobes imbricate ...... 10. Juanulloa ww. Corolla campanulate or broadly tubular, puberulent with simple hairs or glabrous outside; corolla lobes valvate ...... 13. Markea uu. Fruit greatly exceeding the calyx (calyx sometimes deciduous); terrestrial shrubs or herbs. x. Calyx deciduous, fruit with spines or tubercules, more than 12 mm across; leaves mostly lobed or sinuate margined; corolla tubiform, flaring at the apex ...... 7. Datura xx. Calyx persistent; fruit smooth, less than 12 mm across; leaves entire; corolla narrowly tubular, sometimes expanded but not flaring at the apex ...... 5. Cestrum
History - OnThisDay - April 26th. 1319 - King John II of France April 26th. 1319 marks the birth of John of France. This took place at Le Mans, France. His parents were King Philip VI of France and Joan of Burgundy, also called Joan the Lame. He was thus a brother of inter alia Philip, Duke of Orleans. Love and Marriage At first, there were rumors of a marriage between John of France and Eleanor of Woodstock, sister of King Edward III of England. However King Philip VI of France invited John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia to Fontainebleau. As a part of a treaty, John had to marry Bonne of Bohemia. On July 28th.1332, at the Church of Notre Dame in Melun, the wedding between John of France and Bonne of Bohemia was celebrated. They would have 10 children together. Bonne of Bohemia died in 1349. On February 19th. 1350, John married Joanna I, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. She was the widow of Philip of Burgundy and the mother of Philip I, Duke of Burgundy. She and King John II of France would have 3 children, who all died young. Rumors were spread by Charles II of Navarre, of a romance between King John II of France and Charles de la Cerda. When John became King, La Cerda accompanied him on all his official journeys to the provinces. Finally la Cerda was murdered on January 8th. 1354. The King's grief on La Cerda's death was overt and public. In 1332, John became Duke of Normandy. This was very difficult because many nobles allied with the English. In 1342, John was in Avignon at the coronation of Pope Clement VI. In 1346 and the following years, Black Death killed the majority of the population. It was so deadly that John had to leave the country until it ended. John became King of France on August 22nd. 1350. During his reign he gave 11 pardons. One of his major pardons during the war was to King Edward III of England. In 1355, the Hundred Year's War flared up again. Edward, the Black Prince, son of King Edward III of England, took an army through In September, King John II of France and Edward the Black Prince met each other near Poitiers. The French lost this battle and there were royal prisoners. King John was held in various palaces in England, he also was taken to the Tower of London. In 1360, King John could return to France to collect the ransom. On July 1st. 1363, King John announced that he would voluntarily return to captivity in England after he heard that his son Louis I, Duke of Anjou was escaped. King John was greeted in London with parades and feasts. A few months after his arrival he fell ill with an unknown malady and he died on April 8th. 1364. His body was returned to France and interred in the royal chambers at the Saint Denis Basilica. Source pictures: Wikipedia
Neil's Recipe for a Hotbox - Brilliant for rooftop gardens The trick in hot-box composting is to first generate the heat and then retain it. If the temperature of the material can be raised high enough (say 55-60 deg C) then the material will start to break down and weeds and weed seeds will be killed. At 55 deg the rate of breakdown can be such that the volume of the material can be reduced by 50% in 1 week. This is a useful to avoid huge piles of partially composted material building up over the year. Once the hot-box has stopped 'cooking' the material can be removed and used as a mulch or stacked for later use in a normal compost heap. The process is a 'batch' process with the box being filled and emptied about once/week. Any pile of fresh grass cuttings will get warm after a few hours but it is only the interior that gets slightly warm -the outside stays cold due to the heat loss and the generation of heat stops due to a lack of oxygen in the pile of material as it compresses down. In hot box composting the heat is retained by placing the material in an insulated box - these can be made from whatever is available -in the Fairlie garden these are wooden boxes built from scrap wood and plywood with a 20mm (approx) layer of expanded polystyrene insulation between two layers of wood. (The inside layer of wood can be dispensed with if necessary however the insulation will eventually get damged and crumble) The box should have a sufficient volume to ensure there is enough material to generate the heat. The wooden hot boxes in the Fairlie garden are approx 600mm x 600mm x600mm. The boxes also have lids and bases lined with the insulating material and a lid to keep out the rain. An alternative (and much cheaper!) hot box can be made by obtaining 3 polystyrene fish boxes (with lids) from your local fishmonger/supermarket - These boxes are approximately 800mmx 400mm x25mm and are normally 'dumped'. Knock/cut the bases out of 2 of the boxes and stack them (the boxes are moulded to stack on each other) so that you have a larger box the height of 3 of the individual boxes - this is to ensure that you have sufficient volume of material. Tape the 3 boxes together with duct tape. Retain the lids (which are usually slightly thinner material and cut 2 of them down so that they can slide down inside your pile of boxes. The third lid is fitted as normal. This gives a better insulated lid which can slide down as the volume decreases (a stone will help!) and an insulated rain-proof lid. The wooden boxes can be painted as required and the fish-boxes can be painted with masonry paint to allow them to 'blend in'. The wooden boxes will last quite a while but the fish boxes will eventually crumble and break but they are free and easily replaced and are ideal to try out the technique for little or no cost. The mix of material that is placed in the hot box is fairly critical. FRESH grass cuttings are the key with other garden composting material added (about 50% by volume) to allow air to be retained instead of it all packing down - the pile of material should be slightly damp but not wet (the natural dampness of the grass-cuttings is usually sufficient) and full of air which is required for the process. The material should be turned over to aerate it about once/day - this will let some heat out but once it really starts to cook it will soon heat up again. Some experimentation with the proportions of the mix may be required. A small insulated box (about 400mm x 400mm x 400mm) at our demo garden at the Scottish Garden Show was started on a Wednesday evening for the show and by Saturday morning had reached 65 deg F and halved in material volume. It was so hot you could not place your hand inside.... Neil's Recipe for a Wormery Materials for a wormery Basically a wormery is a wooden box with a lid to keep out the rain wtih drain holes in the base. No rocket science here! The best material to use to build a wormery is scrap wood e.g pallets. (make sure the wood hasn't been treated though, as this can damage the worms). Plastic boxes can be used as in commercially available wormeries but these suffer from condensation and it is very easy to end up with the worms 'flooded-out'. Tiger/Brandling/litter worms can be purchased or found in a mature compost heap or in another worm bin. Making Your Wormery Make the box about 2ft x 1 ft with a depth of about 18 inches (not critical!) Make a lid to cover the box or just use a plastic sheet (old fertiliser bag?) weighted down with wood to keep out the rain. Make the base with with wire mesh or if it is made out of wood bore plenty of drainage holes around the bottom. The worms won't leave as long as there is food available. This gives drainage if required but keeps out moles etc. Fill the box with 8-10cm layer of coarse sand or gravel and on top of this place a layer of moistened bedding material, such as mature compost, manure or leaf mould. Put at least 100 worms into the bedding and add a litre of chopped food to one side of the bin. Cover the bedding and food with a well soaked newspaper. Put the lid back on and leave for at least two weeks without disturbing it, to allow the worms time to settle. Caring for your wormery The worms main source of food should be kitchen scraps and waste, although this should be combined occasionally with garden waste and weeds to vary their diet. Avoid feeding them meat, citrus peel or fish. Once the worms have settled-in feed them by making a small 1 inch deep trench in the bedding and bury the kitchen waste. You can kill worms by overfeeding them, so don't feed them until the previous batch of food has decomposed. Keep the wormery covered to keep out fruit flies and never allow it to dry out or get too hot. You may produce more kitchen waste (at least to start with) than the worms can consume - just compost the excess waset as normal. Once they are thriving if you still have too much kitchen waste then make a bigger/another box and transfer you workers. If your wormery begins to really smell, then it is probably too wet. and you should mix-in some brown (dry) material - dry leaves/straw. If your wormery seems too dry mix-in some green material (wet grass cuttings). As a guide you should just be able to squeeze 3-4 drops of water out of a handful of the material. Gradually the box will start to fill up - once it is full (6 months? depending on box size and how active the worms are then the top layer (6 inches?) will contain all the worms and uneaten food and the bottom will contain the worm compost. Scrape off the top layer into another container and harvest your worm compost. Add new bedding material to the wormery and put the old top layer (with all your workers) into the wormery and start again. This worm compost can be sprinkled on beds and raked-in or mixed with other soil (max 10% by volume). Any excess compost that is produced can be put into sacks in a cool dry place and be stored ready for use.
Gregory X (Teobaldo Visconti) c1210–76, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1271–76. Read Also: • Gregory XI noun 1. (Pierre Roger de Beaufort) 1330–78, French ecclesiastic: pope 1370–78. • Gregory XIII noun 1. (Ugo Buoncompagni) 1502–85, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1572–85, educator and innovator of the modern calendar. noun 1. 1502–85, pope (1572–85). He promoted the Counter-Reformation and founded seminaries. His reformed (Gregorian) calendar was issued in 1582 • Gregory XIV noun 1. (Niccolò Sfandrati) 1535–91, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1590–91. • Green-strength noun 1. Foundry. the tensile strength of greensand. 2. Metallurgy. the tensile strength of an unsintered compact.
English Literature Of Mice And Men Of Mice And Men HideShow resource information • Created by: Anna Fox • Created on: 19-05-12 12:37 Of Mice And Men Themes The mouse had dreamed of a safe, warm winter and is now faced with the harsh reality of cold, loneliness and possible death. There is a parallel here with George and Lennie's joyful fantasy of a farm of their own, and its all-too-predictable destruction at the end of the story. Perhaps it is also meant to suggest to us how unpredictable our lives are, and how vulnerable to tragedy. The two main themes in 'Of Mice and Men' - foreshadowed by the reference to Burns' mouse - are loneliness and dreams. They interlock: people who are lonely have most need of dreams to help them through. Study the table below, showing both the loneliness and the dreams of each of the main characters. You could use a table like this as the basis for an exam answer about themes in Of Mice and Men. 1 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 1: George and Lennie camp in the brush by a pool, the night before starting new jobs as ranch hands. George finds Lennie stroking a dead mouse in his pocket. He complains that caring for Lennie prevents him from living a freer life. We find out that Lennie's innocent petting of a girl's dress led to them losing their last jobs in Weed. 2 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 2: When they arrive at the ranch in the morning, George and Lennie are shown around by old Candy. They meet their boss and, later, his son, Curley - George is suspicious of Curley's manner and warns Lennie to stay away from him. They see Curley's pretty and apparently flirtatious wife and meet some of their fellow workers, Slim and Carlson. 3 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 3: Later that evening, George tells Slim about why he and Lennie travel together and more about what happened in Weed. The men talk about Candy's ancient dog, which is tired and ill. Carlson shoots it, as an act of kindness. George tells Candy about their dream of getting a piece of land and Candy eagerly offers to join them - he has capital, so they could make it happen almost immediately. Curley provokes Lennie into a fight, which ends up with Lennie severely injuring Curley's hand. 4 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 4: The following night, most men on the ranch go into town. Crooks is alone in his room when Lennie joins him. They talk about land - Crooks is sceptical, not believing that George and Lennie are going to do what so many other men he's known have failed to do, and get land of their own. Yet when Candy happens to come in as well, Crooks is convinced and asks to be in on it too. Curley's wife arrives. She threatens Crooks and an argument develops. Crooks realises he can never really be part of George, Lennie and Candy's plan. 5 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 5: Next afternoon, Lennie accidentally kills the puppy that Slim had given him by petting it too much. He's sad. Curley's wife finds him and starts talking very openly about her feelings. She invites Lennie to stroke her soft hair, but he does it so strongly she panics and he ends up killing her too. He runs away to hide, as George had told him. Candy finds the body and tells George. They tell the other men - Curley wants revenge. 6 of 7 Of Mice And Men The Plot Chapter 6: Lennie hides in the brush by the pool. He dreams of his Aunt Clara and the rabbits he will tend when he and George get their land. George finds Lennie and talks reassuringly to him about the little place they will have together - then shoots him with Carlson's gun. When the other men find George, they assume he shot Lennie in self-defence. Only Slim understands what George did and why. 7 of 7 Bethany Cunningham Really good, really helped and very detailed especially on the themes! Similar English Literature resources:
Further Mechanics: Momentum and Collisions HideShow resource information • Created by: Tree • Created on: 24-12-11 00:22 Momentum and Collisions Momentum is a measure of 'unstopability' which originates from a simple thought experiment. If a body has a large mass but low velocity (Lorry), is it easier to stop than a small mass/high velocity body (Bullet). The truth is that both are difficult to stop suggesting that 'unstopability' is determined by both velocity and mass. Momentum (kgms-1) = mass (kg) x velocity (ms-1) P = mv Momentum is a vector quantity meaning that its direction must be indicated. Worked Example 1.1 What is the momentum of a body of mass 40kg, traveling at 1.5ms-1 due West? P = mv P = 40 kg x -1.5 ms-1 = -60 kgms-1 Worked Example 1.2 What is the momentum of a raindrop of mass 0.065g falling at 9 ms-1 if a wind blows horizontally at 12 ms-1? Horizontal Component of Velocity: 12 ms-1 Vertical Component of Velocity: 9 ms-1 Using Pythagoras, the velocity can be calculated: v^2 = 9^2 + 12^2 v = 15 ms-1 The direction of the velocity can be calculated: Angle to vertical = tan-1 (12 / 9) = 53 degrees to the vertical. Using P = mv, the momentum can be calculated: P = mv P = 0.065 EXP -3 x 15 P = 9.8 EXP -4 kgms-1 at 53 degrees to the vertical. Newton's Second Law of Motion and Momentum Change Newton's Second Law of Motion states that: The resultant force F exerted on a body is proportional to the rate of change of linear momentum of that body. The form of the second law applied in unit 1 is F = ma. This can be related to the statement above: a = dv… No comments have yet been made Similar Physics resources: See all Physics resources »See all Momentum and Impulse resources »
Excerpts from ‘Orality and Literacy’ Posted in Uncategorized by Lina A.Hadi on July 20, 2011 Visual presentation of verbalized material in space has its own particular economy, its own laws of motion and structure. Texts in Various scripts around the world are read variously from right to left, or left to right, or top to bottom, or all these ways at once as in boustrophedon writing, but never anywhere, as far as is know, from bottom to top. Texts assimilate utterance to the human body. They introduce a feeling for ‘heading’ in accumulations of knowledge: ‘chapter’ derives from the Latin caput, meaning head ( as of the human body). Pages have not only ‘heads’ but also ‘feet’, for footnotes. References are given to what is ‘above’ or ‘below’ in a text when what is meant is several pages back or further on. The significance of the vertical and the horizontal in texts deserves further study. Kerkhove (1981) suggests that growth in left-hemisphere dominance governed the drift in early Greek writing from right-to-left movement, to boustrophedon movement (‘ox-plowing’ pattern, one line going right, then a turn around the corner into the next line going left, the letters inverted according to the direction of the line ), to stoichedon style (vertical lines), and finally to definitive left-to-right movement on a horizontal line. All this is quite a different order from anything in the oral sensibility, which has no way of operating with ‘heading’ or verbal linearity. Across the world the alphabet, the ruthless efficient reducer of of sound to space, is pressed into direct service for setting up the new space-defined sequences: items are marked a. b. c, and so on to indicate their sequences, and even poems in the early days of literacy are composed with the first letter of the first word of successive lines following the order of the alphavet. The alphabet as a simple sequence of letters is a major bridge between oral mnemonic and literate mnemonics: generally the sequence of the letters of the alphabet is memorized oraly and then used for largely visual retrieval of materials, as in indexes. (Ong, 2002, 99) Ong, W (2002) Orality and Literacy. New York: Routledge Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s %d bloggers like this:
Inflammation – putting out the fire Inflammation can affect anywhere in our bodies. Externally we see swelling, redness and pain usually as a result of a sprain, insect bite, cut or graze. Internally, it can be caused by poor diet, lifestyle choices, stress, autoimmune disorders, disease, aging, injury or exposure to toxins and chemicals. Many inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, joint and muscle pains, digestive disorders such as Crohn’s Disease and IBS, migraine, asthma, eczema, fibromylagia, lupus (SLE) can be helped by adopting a low inflammation diet and herbal and nutritional support to reduce the immune response casuing the inflammation. Inflammation is often associated with an over reactive immune response. Given that 2/3 of our immune system is in our gut it makes sense to be careful with our gastrointestinal system and what we put into it. Chronic inflammaion leaves us at an increased risk of heart disease and artheroclerosis, cancers, depression and anxiety, weight gain. It also leaves us more susceptible to disease and infection. Do you ever wake up feeling stiff, sore and achy ? Most people think this is just part of getting older or that they may have some arthritis but it can be a strong sign of systemic inflammation. If you feel like this, or have an inflammatory disorder call to see how I can help you. There are many safe and effective herbs and supplements such as hops, turmeric, selenium and zinc which can quench the inflammation fire and do so without the risks often associated with pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories such as Nurofen and Celebrex. Email or call 02 4567104 for your free anti-inflammation diet and information sheet. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Skip to main content - Smaller Text \| + Larger Text Gardening Tips For Seniors The aspects of gardening for seniors benefits their health and well being while being therapeutic and allowing them to stay active and productive. A few good words of advice for seniors who garden is to warm up by doing a few stretches before starting any gardening activities and working with your garden tools. Doing this will help reduce any muscle soreness you may experience later on. * Also, drink plenty of liquids (avoiding alcohol), to keep your body well hydrated. * Be sure to take care of cuts, bruises scrapes and insect bites right away to help avoid infection. * Try and work in the garden early in the morning or late in the day to avoid blazing midday sun and heat which can make even the healthiest senior ill or weary. * Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and add a hat, gloves to cover exposed skin and use sunscreen to protect against sunburn and sun damage. However, in addition to these tips, it is also important to know your limitations. When you start to feel fatigued, take a break for a few moments. Also, try rotating your gardening tasks every half hour or so, as this will help you to use your larger muscles and be less taxing on those smaller muscles that you really may not be aware that you're putting stress on until you become uncomfortable later on. Also avoid using tools that will put you in awkward body positions. If possible, take advantage of the new breed of ergonomic garden tools which are designed to reduce strain and injury because they work in conjunction with your body movements. These garden tools are pretty near perfect for the senior gardeners, due to the fact that they are lightweight and sturdy, thus giving better control. The shorter handles on ergonomic tools gives better leverage control while the longer tool handles give much better power and are better for jobs requiring full body motion. Another gardening tip for seniors is to keep your tools sharp, well oiled and in good working condition. This will help avoid resistance when using them and cut down on the manpower needed to execute certain tasks. Remember that proper body positioning will minimize muscle soreness and fatigue. Here are a few safety tips and easy steps that seniors should take into consideration when gardening to avoid injury and minor aches and pains: * Be careful with power tools because even the smallest ones can become a burden in worn and weary hands. * Bend at the knees and hips to help avoid injury * Try to work below shoulder level when possible and keep tour elbows partially bent while gardening * Definitely avoid twisting the forearm back and forth. Instead, try to work with your hands in a neutral position. * Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands * Plant vertical or raised garden beds to avoid bending or stooping * Use adaptive tools ,garden tools can be modified to suit the needs of older people * Provide yourself with shaded areas for working whenever possible * Finally, if memory abilities are becoming affected, secure gates and fences can be an enormous advantage by helping to keep seniors with memory troubles secure while still allowing them to indulge in gardening. What will I receive? 1. Comparison of Drug Cost Variation Between Drug Plans 4. Sports Telemedicine Save Families Time and Money
CBE team designs improved catalysts for hydrogen chemistry Share this story: Manos Mavrikakis and Jeff Greeley Chemical and Biological Engineering Assistant Professor Manos Mavrikakis (left) and Graduate Student Jeff Greeley (right) identified a (large image) Writing in the journal Nature Materials, Graduate Student Jeff Greeley and Chemical and Biological Engineering Assistant Professor Manos Mavrikakis identify a new class of near surface alloys (NSAs) that bind hydrogen atoms loosely.The weak bonds are useful for catalysis because they make subsequent reactions easier. A standard rule for weak bonds is that a higher energy cost is paid in breaking up the H2 molecule, but by using density functional theory calculations, the team has determined a new class of NSAs that can yield superior catalytic behavior for hydrogen-related reactions. “We found that selected NSAs offer an exciting exception to this rule by simultaneously allowing weak hydrogen binding and low H2 dissociation barriers. Weak binding of hydrogen, in turn, can make subsequent reaction steps easier, thereby allowing lower temperatures to be used for reactions on these NSAs,” Mavrikakis says. Near surface alloys that react at lower temperatures with higher selectivity would be a boon to many chemical and pharmaceutical processes. The team believes their discovery could be used to design an NSA that binds carbon monoxide weakly. When combined with the properties of improved hydrogen dissociation the alloy could be useful as a robust fuel-cell anode. The methodology was developed in the UW College of Engineering in order to identify nanostructures for easy hydrogen chemistry but has a broad base of application and could be applied to identify promising catalysts for a variety of other chemical reactions. NSAs can be prepared with state-of-the-art nanosynthesis techniques allowing for layer-by-layer control of the desired nanostructures.
Ground Source Heat Pumps Extracting Underground Heat to Provide Heating & Hot Water What are Ground Source Heat Pumps? Ground Source Heat Pumps use pipes buried in the ground to extract underground stored heat (solar energy) and compress it to heat your property and/or provide hot water. This heat can then be used to heat radiators, underfloor or warm air heating systems and hot water in your home. This can deliver excellent fuel savings and significant carbon emissions reductions. Despite seasonal weather, the ground stays at a fairly constant temperature under the surface, so the heat pump can be used throughout the year. Installing a ground source heat pump could lower your fuel bills, especially if you replace conventional electric heating. You may also be eligible to generate income through the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Ground Source Heat Pump Installer Dorset Jon Longhurst Heating Plumbing Dorset Area Map Renewable Energy Advice As fully trained installers, the Jon Longhurst team cover Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and all other areas in Dorset and can advise you on all aspects of ground source heat pumps and their suitability to your requirements. Our dedicated support team will explain the process to you, and advise on where the pipes and exchangers can be fitted. As more and more people are considering how to be kinder to the planet and how to reduce their energy bills – ground source heat pumps can help to lower your carbon footprint. We actively promote the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources in the UK and are happy to share advice with our customers, without obligation. To find out more call the Jon Longhurst renewable technologies experts or visit the Energy Saving Trust website section on ground source heat pumps. Gas Safe Register 189046 Worcester Bosch Accredited Installer HETAS Registered Installer OFTEC Member Renewable Energy Experts For no-obligation advice on Ground Source Heat Pumps and renewable energy call Jon Longhurst on 01202 302040 Contact Jon Longhurst
The Kedarnath miracle - When a stone saved Mahadev! Kedarnath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and situated near the Mandakini River in India in a valley of the Garhwal Himalayas, was constructed in the 8th century and folklore has it that Shree Adi Shankaracharya himself , oversaw the building of the shrine. Considered as one amongst the holiest temples in India, it is on the must-see list of every devout Hindu. For the trekkers, this place with its beautiful landscapes and challenges is nothing short of a paradise. What pains you today is the unfortunate turn of events that has led the temple to be nearly destroyed and thousands of life and livelihoods swept away overnight. What initially started as a heavy shower on Saturday night on June 15th 2013 in the Garhwal region eventually became something beyond everyone’s imagination. Early Sunday, the tragedy began when a cloudburst happened upstream in the valley. What followed was incessant rains leading to huge floods that took everything along with them . A cloud burst happens when clouds come under huge pressure due to getting stuck in a valley. The result is them’ bursting’ thereby causing the entire water in them to drain down in an instant! While the table tennis has started on whom to blame, whether the govt for its corrupt policies that allow the builder-mafia nexus, who cause irreparable damage to the environment, to thrive. Or the rains, which have been recorded as the highest ever in this region in the last 43 years or so. Environmentalists state the widespread and almost unregulated expansion of giant hydro-electric projects in the region, the incessant construction of roads to serve the burgeoning tourist population, the adverse effect on the fragile ecosystem in the region due to growing human presence and pollution as the major causes for the devastation that Uttarakhand has been subjected to. The administration is of the view that this is solely Nature’s fury. This debate seems to continue in our living rooms as thousands of lives hang on by a tight rope. As more and more stories come of how the stranded pilgrims spent three days without food, how they collected rainwater and used to distribute the precious water through bottle caps, with each individual consuming one cap of water twice daily, the magnitude of the tragedy just seems to grow! However there is a debate of another kind that has reared its head once again admist all of this. To believe or not to believe. Is there a god or is religion just superstition. Is there a God’s hand in the rock stopping just before the temple or was it pure coincidence. "Call it a miracle but the Nandi statue and the other idols in the temple are intact," said a Kedarnath temple committee official post the event."In fact, those pilgrims who were in the temple during the tragedy also survived. But the destruction all around the temple has been terrible," said the official The atheists say, “If there was god in the first place, why would the tragedy happen. So much of destruction , pain and sorrow. Which god gives that. Now what’s idiotic is to assume that the rock that saved the temple from being washed away is an act of god. It is just coincidence. Now these people will start worshipping the rock too. One should not visit such places only if there is so much danger lurking!”. To this the sadhus have a counterargument ,“This was bound to happen. Just a day prior to the floods, the administration forcibly removed a Kali mata statue (who is the guardian deity of this region) for a hydro project. Look what unfolded in the guardian’s absence. Even in the past when such a move was made we have witnessed terrible tragedy. But sadly these patterns will never be noticed by non-believers”. While we leave this debate for some other day, there is a very simple logic why things happen. If you disturb the ecosystem that you live- in, exploit her for your own selfish needs, she will get back like a woman scorned! If you introspect more ,what you will eventually realize that this just the universal law. The law of Karma. And it’s definitely not just for acts against humans. This spiritual law governs us all and the most definitely the environment around us because we impact it and vice-versa. Hundreds have died and thousands are fear trapped in what remains a huge pile of debris. Every year the temple gets lakhs of devotees and a prompt disaster management system (Human Hand) is the least one can expect rather than leave that to Ram bharose( The God’s Hand). It is too much an ask from him i feel, even the lord would agree! The kumbh mela also is another annual event which sadly sees stampedes happen year after year. Mumbai itself becomes a huge disaster zone every year during monsoons, something which I personally experience and it just becomes frustrating year on year. Even today in the train there were lives hanging on to the doors, simply because in Mumbai you don’t commute, you get transported like chicken. With such a huge population and strain on existing systems there will always be mishaps and tragedies waiting to happen. Having a system that prevents them from happening in the first place is still miles ahead for us to even imagine, develop and implement. However instead of indulging in loose talk, let’s divert our energies to build a foolproof disaster management system so that the common man--believers and non believers included, can at least survive to tell the tale! And yes we can then enjoy their debates over god too, on local trains , in print , on national television as to whether a stone indeed saved Mahadev…High time we saved Mankind first! Anonymous said… Anonymous said… Very well written. Anonymous said… Not a bad idea but I suppose saving the nature is and should be our first priority. Nature is the GOD - no matter how intelligent we become nature will have its final say as its fury is always bigger than what we anticipate. Whilst the people are indulging in loose talk as you say - the Alokananda dam is however trying to change the course of the nature and this is a loose decision. Yeah? sonali said… very well written... Anonymous said… I don't know if some of you are a fan of the Mahadev series but Lord Shiva himself says " Nature never judges what's fair or unfair to someone, all it knows is to maintain the balance". Anonymous said… Law of Karma -- be aware of it. For every action (good or bad) there is equal and opposite reaction. Anonymous said… This is a true sign for the destruction caused by humans and how environment and nature when being modified by our thoughtless minds get the whiplash from her. It has a lot of scientific significance behind it if you explore it from the micro perspective or the sookshma sdhithi. The removal of durga idol or the changes happening in the environment are not just physical but rather there is alot of change in energy happening behind it. These concectrated idols or even the mountains itself acts as a chakra system where rishis and sadhus who knew the science of yoga have descipated thier energy(pranic energy) through meditation (proven by scientist as in the gaama and theta waves). When such subtle energy in the environment get changes its natural that every action would have an equal and opposite reaction. Popular posts from this blog
External radiation therapy for prostate cancer By Dr. Elie Haddad Oncologist Radiothérapeuthe – HARTMANN Centre Prostate cancer is the most common human cancers over 50 years in France with 70 000 cases and 9000 deaths annually. It often develops slowly and can currently be early diagnosed by a physical examination and a blood test (PSA, prostate specific antigen). The processing means are numerous and effective. They use either surgery or radiotherapy or hormone therapy or ultrasound. The choice of treatment depends on each case: age, results of biopsies, PSA, results of radiological and scintigraphic investigations, as well as the general condition of the patient. The aim is to get the best control of the disease by producing minimal side effects related to treatment. External radiation therapy is one of the most commonly used means. Both are current techniques conformal radiotherapy and volumetric modulated radiation therapy guided by the intensity image. External radiation therapy is done with devices called particle accelerators that can be delivered with very high precision and externally (without touching the patient) a dose of X rays of very high energy, able to reach a target located deep preserving healthy organs nearby. How acts radiation therapy? Radiation act by breakage of DNA strands of chromosomes, which prevents cells from dividing: at the end of their life cells die without having produced other cells, causing the disappearance of the tumor over time. Most normal cells are able to repair the breaks caused by radiation and recover a normal life and a division of capacity. This mode of action explains both the onset of action of X-rays (which is not immediate but takes several weeks to occur), the contemporary side effects of the action of radiation on normal cells, and the usual lack of serious consequences on normal tissues due to repair phenomena. How to prepare an external radiotherapy treatment? The radiation therapist doctor reviews the file and determines the volume in which he wishes to deliver the rays and the total dose and fractionation (number of sessions). The rays are emitted from a machine located near the patient; they cross the skin to reach the tumor. first carried out a tracking of the prostate tissue that is to be irradiated and of the organs to be protected. The tracking is performed in three dimensions through a scanner said centering or simulation, which is performed in the processing position with restraints. Scanner centrage radiotherapie The doctor proceeded to contouring of the above volumes and decides the dose to be delivered in each volume, and then intervene physicists and dosimetrists to calculate and optimize radiotherapy technique. How is the treatment processing? The radiation treatment is conducted in short sessions that are repeated 35-40 times for a total dose of 70 to 80 grays (unit dose). The rhythm is daily, 5 days a week and each session lasts about 10 to 15 minutes; the treatment is performed by skilled manipulators called radiotherapy. In positioning control during treatment are carried out by X-ray scanner or integrated into radiotherapy machine. What are the side effects of radiation therapy? Side effects during treatment are related to the irritation of the prostate adjacent organs or the bladder, rectum, urethra and anus. Radiotherapie prostate et rectum This is frequent urination and sometimes compelling, rectal congestion can lead to hemorrhoidal signs of burning on urination and more frequent nocturnal sunrises. These irritations disappear after the end of treatment but can be minimized by a significant hydration and a suitable diet. Fatigue may occur after treatment, it depends on several factors Late side effects that can occur several months after the end of treatment are rare thanks to the precision of the irradiation technique; it comes with proctitis issuance of mucus or blood during stool and cystitis with belly pain and bleeding in the urine. Their frequency is low around 1à3%. erection disorders are delayed and affect 30% of patients. Advantages of external radiotherapy This technique avoids the need for surgery and general anesthesia, and the risks related thereto. A priori, it gives less urinary and sexual complications than surgery. The patient does not need to be hospitalized. It is equally effective in terms of local recurrence over periods of 5 to 7 years. However, its efficacy is possibly lower than the surgery on longer delays. Disadvantages of external radiotherapy Its adverse effects are related to the impact of radiation on healthy cells. These are temporary or permanent nature and depend in particular dose and location of radiation, the irradiated volumes and the patient’s general condition and its radiosensitivity. They can be minimized by optimizing the radiation therapy. major problem in case of failure of this treatment, he will permanently rendered impossible subsequent use prostatectomy, because of local tissue remodeling associated with poor wound healing caused by large doses of radiation that requires effective radiotherapy. External radiation therapy is recommended as an alternative to other treatments for cancers identified the stages below T3 (T1 or T2) *, localized (confined to the gland) or not, but without remote extension. For advanced stage T3 cancers, is the solution recommended as an accompaniment to hormone therapy 2 to 3 years, this protocol provides significant gains in survival. It can also be recommended to reduce the pain caused by the existence of metastases. Q1: Can not feel the tumor or to detect by imaging. ; T2: confined to the prostate. ; T3: spread out of the prostate capsule. ; T4: spread to surrounding structures (other than the seminal vesicles): rectum, pelvic wall, bladder. Few bibliograhical elements (French):
How to Gain Skills Step One: Identify the skills in occupations that interest you. List your desired occupations and the education needed for that occupation. You can find the education requirements for each occupation at Working in Canada. List the skills you possess that are required for that occupation. List the skills you need to acquire for that occupation in the Occupational Skills (pdf) worksheet. Step Two: Look at what the schools offer. Step Three: Track Your Research on Schools. Use the School Research Worksheet (pdf) to record what you learned from talking with schools. Step Four: Choose Education Options. Hopefully you have found several education options that fit your goals. How do you choose? Think about the research you did about occupations and schools.
The British government announced on Tuesday that it has authorized an investment of £60 million in Reaction Engine’s Skylon spaceplane. The funding boost comes after a successful feasibility test of a core component of the spacecraft’s revolutionary engine managed by the European Space Agency (ESA) last November and will be used to further develop the revolutionary SABRE engine, which is designed to power the Skylon into orbit and back without the need for outside boosters or tanks. The Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) is a scramjet. That is, it reduces the propellant load because it acts as a jet while in the atmosphere and a rocket in space, so it doesn't have to carry as much oxygen to burn the liquid hydrogen fuel. It’s an idea that’s been around since the 1950s, but getting it to work involves overcoming a major technological hurdle. The problem is that the limit of the engine is how hot it gets. Above a certain point, even the best metal alloys soften and melt. At hypersonic speeds, the air is coming into the engine at 25 times more force than that of a Category 5 hurricane and the heat is like something blasting out of a cutting torch. Paradoxically, before it can be burned, the air needs to be cooled dramatically, so it passes over a series of heat exchangers that use the cryogenic hydrogen fuel to cool it down from 1,000° C (1,832 ° F) to minus 150° C (minus 302 ° F) in 1/100th of a second. “Ambient air comes in and is cooled down to below freezing in a fraction of a second,” explained Mark Ford, head of ESA’s propulsion section. “These types of heat exchangers exist in the real world but they’re the size of a factory. The key part of this is that Reaction Engines has produced something sufficiently light and compact that it can be flown.” When the technology passes to the practical phase it will be used to power the 85-meter (278-ft) Skylon, a true spaceplane designed to take off and land from a conventional runway. Source: ESA View gallery - 11 images
Policy Files One of the truly novel things about Java is that security is built into the language. As described in , the Java VM can verify class files and Java's security manager can impose limits on what classes do. In early versions of Java, it was necessary to implement security policies programmatically by writing a Java security manager class and using it in your app. A major shift occurred in Java 1.2, when a new declarative security system was added. This system allows you to write policy filestext-based descriptions of permissionswhich are much simpler and don't require code changes. These policy files tell the security manager what to allow and disallow and for whom. With security policies you can answer questions such as: "If I download a program from somewhere on the Internet, how can I prevent it from stealing information on my computer and sending it back to someone else?" "How can I prevent a malicious program from disabling my computer or erasing data on my disk?" Most computing platforms have no answer for these questions. In early versions of Java, much of the buzz had to do with the security of applets. Applets generally run with security restrictions that prevent them from doing questionable things such as reading from or writing to the disk or contacting arbitrary computers on the network. With security policy files, it's just as easy to apply applet-style security to any app without modifying it. Furthermore, it's easy to fine-tune the access you grant. For example, you can allow an app to access only a specific directory on the disk, or you can allow network access to certain addresses. Understanding security and security policies is important, so we'll cover it here. However, in practice, you probably won't use this facility yourself, unless you are writing a framework for running apps from many unknown sources. Java Web Start is an example of such a framework. It installs and updates Java apps over the Web with user-definable security restrictions. The Default Security Manager By default, no security manager is installed when you launch a Java app locally. You can turn on security using an option of the java interpreter to install a default security manager. The default security policy enforces many of the same rules as for applets. To see how this works, let's write a little program that does something questionable: it makes a network connection to some computer on the Internet. (We cover the specifics of network coding in s 13 and 14.) //file: EvilEmpire.java import java.net.*; public class EvilEmpire { try { Socket s = new Socket("", 80); catch (SecurityException e) { System.out.println("SecurityException: could not connect."); If you run this program with the Java interpreter, it makes the network connection: C:\> java EvilEmpire But since this program is "evil," let's install the default security manager, like this: C:\> java -Djava.security.manager EvilEmpire SecurityException: could not connect. That's better, but suppose that the app actually has a legitimate reason to make its network connection. We'd like to leave the default security manager in place, just to be safe, but we'd like to grant this app permission to make a network connection. The policytool Utility To permit our EvilEmpire example to make a network connection, we need to create a policy file that contains the appropriate permission. A handy utility called policytool, included with the JDK, helps make policy files. Fire it up from a command line like this: C:\> policytool You may get an error message when policytool starts up about not finding a default policy file. Don't worry about this; just click OK to make the message go away. We now add a network permission for the EvilEmpire app. The app is identified by its origin, also called a codebase, described by a URL. In this case, it is a file: URL that points to the location of the EvilEmpire app on your disk. If you started up policytool, you should see its main window, shown in Screenshot-2. Click on Add Policy Entry. Another window pops up, like the one shown in Screenshot-3 (but with the fields empty). Screenshot-2. The policytool window Java ScreenShot First, fill in the codebase with the URL of the directory containing EvilEmpire as shown in the figure. Then click on Add Permission. Yet another window pops up as shown in Screenshot-4. Choose SocketPermission from the first combo box. Then fill out the second text field on the right side with the network address that EvilEmpire will connect to. Finally, choose connect from the third combo box. Click on OK; you should see the new permission in the policy entry window, as shown in Screenshot-3. Screenshot-3. Adding a policy entry Java ScreenShot Screenshot-4. Creating a new permission Java ScreenShot Click on Done to finish creating the policy. Then choose Save As from the File menu and save the policy file as something memorable, such as EvilEmpire.policy. You can quit policytool now; we're all done with it. There's nothing magical about the policy file you just created. Take a look at it with a text editor, which shows the simple syntax of the policy we created: grant codeBase "file:/c:/Projects/Exploring/" { permission java.net.SocketPermission "", "connect"; You can eschew policytool entirely and just create policy files with a text editor, if you're more comfortable that way. Using a Policy File with the Default Security Manager Now that we've gone to the trouble of creating a policy file, let's use it. You can tell the default security manager to use the policy file with another command-line option to the java interpreter: C:\> java -Djava.security.manager -Djava.security.policy=EvilEmpire.policy EvilEmpire EvilEmpire can now make its socket connection because we have explicitly granted it permission with a policy file. The default security manager still protects us in other ways, however. EvilEmpire cannot write or read files on the disk except in the directory it came from, and it cannot make connections to any other network addresses except the one we specified. Take a moment and bask in this warm fuzzy feeling. In , you'll see policytool again when we explain signed applets. In this chapter, codebases are identified by URLs, which isn't the most secure option. Through tricky network shenanigans, a clever forger may be able to give you code that appears to be from somewhere it's not. Cryptographically signed code is even more trustworthy; see for details.
Cancer Of The Vagina Easy Guide To: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment And Prognosis Vaginal Cancer Pictures of vaginal cancers Picture Of Vaginal Area Cancer Of The Vagina What Is Vaginal Cancer? How Common Is It? Are There Different Types? What Are The Causes? What Are The Symptoms? How Is It Diagnosed? How Is It Treated? What Happens After Treatment? How Likely Is A Recurrence? Can Vaginal Cancer Be Prevented? What Is The Survival Rate? What Is Benign Vaginal Disease? Breast Cancer Guide Cancer Guide Cervical Cancer Endometrial Cancer Ovarian Cancer Fallopian Tube Cancer Vulva Cancer In This Section: Survival Rates Remission And Cure Prevention Advice Thermography Screening Related Articles: Female Reproductive System What Is Vaginal Cancer? It is cancer which forms in the tissue of the vagina. The vagina is a muscular tube which connects the entrance of the body (vulva) to the the opening of the womb (cervix)(image). It is the passageway for fluids to enter the body (sperm) and to leave the body (menstrual blood). The wall of the vagina is elastic enough to expand so that a baby can pass down it during a vaginal birth. How Common Is It? Cancer of the vagina is very rare and accounts for less than 2 percent of all gynecologic (female) cancers in America. In 2011 there were just over 2,500 new cases and 780 deaths attributed to the disease. In the United Kingdom the figure is 250 new cases a year and about 80 deaths. If cancer is to occur in the reproductive area, it is much more likely to occur first in the cervix or vulva and only then to spread to the vagina. Sometimes cancers which start in the bladder, ovaries, uterus and rectum spread to the vagina. Are There Different Types? Yes, there are 2 main types. Nearly 85 percent of cases are known as squamous cell carcinoma and this is more common in women over the age of 60. The squamous cells are thin flat cells which occur naturally in the lining of the vaginal wall. Cancer which starts here spreads slowly and usually stays in the vagina. When discovered early it is highly curable - if not found early, it can spread to the liver and lungs. The other type of cancer is adenocarcinoma which accounts for nearly all the remaining cases. It most often found in women under 30 and is more likely to spread to other organs. The other extremely rare types of vaginal cancer are malignant melanoma and sarcoma. What Are The Causes? Causes of vaginal cancer: Scientists still do not know the true cause of primary vaginal cancer (cancer that starts in the vagina), specifically they do not know what causes squamous cell carcinoma. As vaginal cancer is so rare there is little information on possible risk factors. However experts believe the following factors may play a role: Fluid Collection Collection of fluid in the upper part of the vagina irritates it, eventually leading to cancer. Exposure to the hormone DES (diethylstilbestrol) while still in the mother's womb. The drug was given to some women in the 1950s to prevent miscarriage. One in every 1,000 women born with DES exposure will develop adenocarcinoma, usually between the age of 17 and 21. Women with a past history of the following may also be prone: 1. Trauma to the vagina. 2. Syphilis. 3. Vaginal warts. 4. Frequent episodes of vaginitis. 5. Prolapse of the vaginal wall. 6. Human papilloma virus (HPV infection). 7. Cervical cancer or a history of abnormal cell growth in the cervix. 8. Radiotherapy to the pelvic area. This is a very rare complication of radiotherapy. See also: General cancer causes for an overview. What Are The Symptoms? Symptoms of vaginal cancer: Very often there are no signs and cancer may only be discovered during a regular Pap test. The following are a list of symptoms which may occur (one or more occur in 80 percent of cases), but they can also indicate other conditions: 1. A lump which can be felt in the vagina. 2. Bleeding or other discharges between menstrual periods. Discharges may be foul smelling. 3. Painful intercourse. 4. Pelvic pain. 5. The need to strain with bowel movements (tenesmus). 6. The need to urinate more frequently, particularly at night. There may also be blood in the urine and pain when passing. How Is It Diagnosed? The initial diagnosis will be made through a pelvic exam and Pap test. If cancer is suspected the next step is to learn about the type and location of the cancer as well how far it has progressed. This will determine the type of treatment plan put in place. Further diagnostic tests such as a biopsy and colposcopy will define the extent of the cancer. Other tests such as an intravenous pyelogram (IVP), X-ray, proctosigmoidoscopy (to view the rectum) and cystoscopy (to view the bladder) may also be ordered. Lymph nodes in the groin area will also be checked for signs of cancer by a lymphangiogram, but more frequently these days by an MRI scan. See vaginal cancer diagnosis for a further explanation. How Is It Treated? Vaginal cancer treatment can include any of the following options: • Surgery. Radiation Treatment. Chemotherapy Treatment. • Participation in cancer clinical trials. Traditionally surgery is the most common choice of treatment for women with cancer of the vagina. Choices range from minimally invasive to complicated, extensive operations. These procedures include: Laser Surgery This uses a laser beam instead of a knife to destroy cancer cells. This is an option for stage 0. Wide Local Excision This cuts out the cancer and a safe margin of healthy tissue around it. Skin grafts may be needed to repair the vagina. Vaginectomy This surgery removes the entire vagina. It is often combined with a radical hysterectomy and is only performed when cancer has spread outside of the vagina. Pelvis lymph nodes are also likely to be removed. Pelvic Exenteration This is a very serious radical procedure which removes the uterus, vagina, rectum, bladder and lower colon. As 10 percent of patients die during or immediately after surgery it is usually only considered as a last resort. It may be considered in cases of recurrent vaginal cancer. Radiation Therapy Some women may only be offered radiation while others will be recommended surgery combined with radiation. There are 2 ways of giving radiation for vaginal cancer. The first is external radiation where the beam is aimed directly as the affected spot. Internal radiation (brachytherapy) involves inserting radioactive device into the vagina for a set number of days. Brachytherapy can be given to women with very early stages of the disease or it may also be given as a follow-up treatment to external radiation. If surgery or radiation cannot control the cancer, chemotherapy drugs may be offered. As it is not clear whether chemo has much affect on vaginal cancer, it is rarely given as a treatment on its own. It may be used in combination with radiation to enhance the overall effect. Clinical Trials Cancer clinical trials experiment with new methods of treatment which are not yet standard or available to non-participating patients. To see which trials are open for vaginal cancer near you, contact the American Cancer Society or the National Cancer Institute. What Happens After Treatment? After therapy your doctor will want to monitor you very closely. Follow up visits will include pelvic exams and pap tests. There may also be some X-rays and lab tests to check for signs of recurrences or side effects to cancer treatments. Almost all treatments, including radiation and surgery will have side effects. Some will last for a few months, others may last a lifetime. The vaginal tissue is likely to be delicate and prone to injury, scarring or tightening. This is why some women are advised to use vaginal dilators. These are smooth cylinder shaped pieces of plastic which are inserted (in the privacy of your own home) into the vagina and gradually help to stretch the vaginal muscles. Typically they are bought as a set and the woman works her way up, gradually increasing the size of cylinder she inserts. Once cancer has occurred it is very important to ensure you keep your health insurance in place. Although no one likes to think of it, a recurrence is always possible. How Likely Is A Recurrence? If cancer returns after treatment this is known as a recurrence. It may be that the cancer was resilient to the treatment or that the therapy missed some cancerous cells which remained behind. If it comes back in the same place it is known as a local recurrence. If it comes back in a distant organ such as the lungs it is known as a distant recurrence. Unfortunately the prognosis (outlook) for women with vaginal cancer recurrence is not good. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), studies indicate that only 10 percent of women with recurrences are saved by surgery or radiation. Most recurrences occur in the first 2 years after original treatment. If the cancer returns in the central pelvic area then radiation therapy and pelvic exenteration present the best chance of survival. Women with recurrences may be advised by their doctor to take part in NCI trials for recurrent vaginal cancer. Those trials can be listed according to location, drugs used and type of medical intervention. Can Vaginal Cancer Be Prevented? Without knowing the exact cause of vaginal cancer, preventative care is aimed at spotting it early, rather than prevention (vaginal cancer prevention). The best way to do this is to have regular Pap smear tests. This still also applies to women who have had a hysterectomy. As vaginal cancer grows slowly a pap test every 2 to 3 years is considered acceptable. If you have more risk factors, such as exposure to DES or HPV then you should be screened more often. Women who are sexually active with multiple partners should consider getting the HPV Gardasil vaccine. Originally approved for women to prevent cervical cancer it has now been approved to prevent vaginal and vulva cancer as well as their precancerous conditions. Other HPV vaccines are still in development. See also: cancer prevention. What Is The Survival Rate? The following is a list of the 5 year survival rates for women who live at least 5 years after vaginal cancer is diagnosed. It is important to note that many go on to live much longer than 5 years and many are in fact cured. The numbers are based on the National Cancer Institute's SEER database. They take into account all types of vaginal cancer diagnosed between 1990 and 2004. They predict how a large number of people will react to a disease; they do not predict the outlook for each individual. Other factors may affect your personal prognosis such as your age, general health and reaction to individual treatments. 5 Year Survival Rates: Stage 1 : 84 percent Stage 2: 75 percent Stage 3 and 4: 57 percent For more information see: vaginal cancer survival rates as well as vaginal cancer stages. What Is Benign Vaginal Disease? Benign vaginal disease is also called vaginal carcinoma in situ or vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN). VAIN is considered a precancerous condition, rather like endometrial hyperplasia or vulva intraepithelial neoplasia. There are 3 types of VAIN: VAIN1, 2 and 3. VAIN3 indicates the furthest progression to real cancer. VAIN is more common in women who have had a hysterectomy and those that were previously treated for cervical cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), the precancerous stage. Most of the time women with VAIN experience no symptoms except light spotting after sexual intercourse. It is usually discovered through a routine Pap test. A vaginal colposcopy and biopsy will establish a definite diagnosis. The standard treatment is surgical removal. If only a minor area is affected the biopsy might also be considered a cure. If several areas are affected part or the entire vagina may need to be removed. Laser surgery has become accepted as another form of treatment and is usually carried out under general anesthesia. One treatment is all that is usually necessary and recovery takes about 4 to 6 weeks. Other Useful Guides Recommended Health Screenings For Women: Tests for every decade. The Female Body: Understanding how your body works. Hospital Departments Explained: Including oncology for cancer. Health Questions For Women: Hundreds of Q&As on popular topics. Female Reproductive Problems: Vaginal discharges and pain compared. Return to Homepage: Womens Health Advice original content Copyright. All rights reserved.
by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe The answer to this age-old question may be closer to answering now than it has been for centuries. From time immemorial our ancestors would have gazed at the magnificent spectacle of the Milky Way arching across the night sky and asked the question "Are we alone in the vast cosmos?" The same question continues to be asked in the present day. If it can be firmly established that we are not alone in the Universe the implications for humanity will be profound. It could be even more important if it is shown that alien life in the form of microorganisms exist in our midst, perhaps continuously raining down on our planet. In either case, whether as alien microbes at home or alien intelligence on distant planets, the realisation that we will mark an important turning point in human history. The much publicised scientific developments recent months – the Rosetta Mission to comet 67P/C-G, the New Horizons Mission to Pluto, a Russian billionaire’s support for SETI, and the Kepler Mission discovery of an "Earth twin" orbiting a distant star – all spell out a single cosmic truth. Homo Sapiens as a sentient species appears to be hard-wired to seek out its cosmic origins, perhaps intuitively sensing that we cannot be alone. First and foremost we must ask the question: How did life arise? Not just on the Earth, but anywhere in the Universe? Does life emerge spontaneously on every Earth-like planet by processes involving well-attested laws of physics and chemistry? Or did the first-ever origin of life involve an extraordinary, even miraculous intervention? These questions are beginning to acquire a new sense of urgency in recent times. The first requirement for the emergence of creatures like ourselves would be for the existence of rocky planets with water and an atmosphere generally similar to Earth. In 1995 Cambridge-based astronomer Didier Queloz together with Michel Mayor discovered the first planets outside our solar system. The first of these so-called exoplanets orbited a star 50 light years away in the constellation of Pegasus; it was a giant planet with a mass similar to Jupiter located too close to its parent star for any life to be possible. In 2009 NASA launched its orbiting Kepler telescope, which was specifically designed to discover planets which are the size of Earth. The detection process involved tracking down minute blinks (dimming) in the star’s light when a planet transited periodically in front of it during its orbit. Within a few months of its launch the Kepler project, with a team led by William Borucki discovered 5 new planets with sizes ranging from that of Jupiter to Neptune and slightly smaller. The tally of these so-called exoplanets has steadily increased including amongst the detections a few Earth-like planets on which life may be possible. The most recent to hit headlines is Kepler 452b, a planet slightly larger than the Earth and orbiting around a sun-like star within its habitable zone, a region where liquid water on the planet’s surface and an atmosphere is possible. This new discovery has sparked off a huge wave of popular interest in the possibility of life existing outside our Earth . Extrapolating from the sample of present detections the estimated total number of habitable planets in the galaxy is reckoned to be in excess of 144 billion! Most of these planets orbit very long-lived red-dwarf stars that are nearly twice as old as the sun. On many of these planets one might speculate that life may have begun, evolved, and perhaps long since disappeared. Another related enterprise that has captured the news recently is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence using arrays of radio telescopes to scan the skies for evidence of intelligent signals. Over half a century ago Philip Morrison and Giuseppe Cocconi first drew attention to the possibility of searching the microwave spectrum of cosmic sources for intelligent signals and suggested particular frequencies as well as a set of potential targets. The SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) began tentatively in 1960 and was first supported by NASA, and later by a host of private or semi-private entrepreneurs. With the exception of a single brief and mysterious "Wow!" signal discovered in August 1977 there has been a deathly silence across all of the prospective sources that been scanned. There could be a case for saying that the lack of progress in this venture was the result of organisations like NASA backing off. This may have been the thinking behind Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s 100 billion dollar SETI initiative that has just been announced with much pomp. Buying more telescope time, increasing the range of wavelengths, enhancing detector sensitivity and extending sky coverage have been argued as prerequisites if a breakthrough within a decade is to be achieved. But a positive result from SETI would be contingent on the emergence and widespread dispersal of primitive life capable of evolving into intelligent creatures. How often does this happen? The idea that microbial life springs up de novo on billions of Earth-like habitable planets is an unproven, and most likely erroneous proposition. Such a belief is an extension of the canonical "primordial soup theory" for life’s beginnings on the Earth, which is a dogma with no hard evidence to support it. If there was a deep principle of nature that drove inorganic systems towards the emergence of primitive life, the evidence for this would have long since been discovered in the laboratory. With a whole raft of calculations showing grotesquely small a priori probabilities for the transition from non-life to life only two options remain. The origin of life was an extremely improbable event that certainly occurred on Earth (because we are here!) but will effectively not be reproduced elsewhere. In that case we would indeed be hopelessly alone. Or, a very much vaster cosmic system than was available on Earth, and a longer timescale was involved in an initial origination event, after which life was transferred to Earth and elsewhere by processes that present writer and the late Sir Fred Hoyle discussed many years ago - panspermia. The discovery of microorganisms occupying the harshest environments on Earth continues to provide support for this point of view. Transfers of microbial life from one cosmic habitat to another requires endurance to space conditions for millions of years. The closest terrestrial analogue to this latter situation exists for microbes exposed to the natural radioactivity of the Earth. Quite remarkably microbial survival under such conditions is now well documented. Dormant microorganisms in the guts of insects trapped in amber have been revived after 25-40 million years. More direct experiments exposing bacteria and viruses to space conditions and discovering high rates of survival continue. Viruses mounted on the outer surface of a Russian sounding rocket and fired through the atmosphere were recently found to survive. All this goes to show that arguments used in the past to ‘disprove’ panspermia on the grounds of survivability during interstellar transport are seriously flawed. Another lead in this story has come from the study of interstellar dust clouds that has been conducted over several decades. The list of organic molecules present in interstellar clouds has increased dramatically in number since their first discovery in the 1970’s and so also has their degree of complexity. Decisive evidence for complex aromatic and aliphatic carbon-based molecules (ring molecules and long chain molecules) exists everywhere in our galaxy, and even beyond in galaxies as far away as 8 billion light years. Whilst all such data still tends to be interpreted cautiously avoiding "biology" with the suggestion that we may be witnessing "primordial soup-type events" on a cosmic scale, it is cosmic biology that remains by far the most attractive logical option. This is further evidence of panspermia in action - the complex organic molecules in interstellar space being degradation produces of iterant bacteria and viruses. Comets in our solar system have been the target of several space missions since 1986 following ESA’s Giotto successful mission to Halley’s comet. The Giotto mission showed clearly that the prevailing theory that comets are dirty snowballs had to be abandoned in favour of comets rich in organic molecules, and most likely also containing viable bacteria and viruses. More recent explorations of comets, culminating in the Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/C-G, have yielded a formidable body of evidence all showing consistency with the existence in comets of the seeds of life. Interestingly a comet called Lovejoy has recently been found to be releasing methyl alcohol at the rate of some 300 bottles of wine every second. Undoubtedly the product of bacterial fermentation. The reluctance of some scientists to endorse these discoveries lies not in the quality of the data but in a desire to maintain a conservative position in relation to life on Earth and its purely terrestrial origins. It is perhaps only in this way that public funding of their research projects (and livelihoods!) can be assured. Although the Earth was demoted from its privileged position physical centrality in the Universe over 500 years ago (and not without anguish) the trend to regard life as being centred on our home planet has persisted almost to the present day. But a paradigm shift with far-reaching consequences is imminent now and public support seems also to be growing. During the past decade tantalising evidence of microorganisms currently entering Earth has accumulated, but has been largely ignored and not pursued. The currently available data was acquired from relatively inexpensive projects that involve balloon flights to the stratosphere and recovery of infalling cometary dust. The first in a series of such experiments was conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation in 2001 and 2006 with staggering results - indicating an inflow of microorganisms at the rate of a tenth of tonne per year. Some years later a team of investigators in the University of Sheffield led by Milton Wainwright obtained very similar results. It is obviously of the utmost importance that these experiments are repeated by independent bodies but this has not happened so far. More expensive and sophisticated investigations need to be carried out even on the samples collected so far, if we are to prove beyond doubt that these microbes are unequivocally alien. The sad truth is that funding for such vitally important experiments is well nigh impossible to secure. Compared with other Space Projects for solar system exploration the budgets involved here are trivial and the scientific and societal pay-off could be huge. Our ultimate goal must be to confirm that Darwinian evolution takes place not just within a closed biosphere on our minuscule planet Earth but extends over a vast and connected volume of the cosmos. Over the past few years there has been a gradual realisation that life must be a truly cosmic phenomenon; and many people who were antagonistic to this idea in the past are beginning to voice contrary opinions about what should be done to cope with the realisation that life exists outside the Earth. In Davos, Switzerland in 2013, the world’s business leaders and politicians met to discuss global risks and challenges that would confront humanity in the next 10 years. One of the top 5 global "risks" to be identified was the discovery of extraterrestrial life. This discovery it is reckoned would profoundly influence the entire future of humankind. The prevalence of life of any kind outside our cosy Earth raises issues connected not only with science, but with psychology, sociology and even religion. To some religious groups the realisation that the site of our "creation" was located outside the Earth may cause conflicts with theology. Earth-centred theologies and philosophies may need to be revised. The discovery of intelligent life outside Earth, if that happens, poses the most serious problems of all, calling for fundamental revisions and readjustments of our perceptions about ourselves. Even the mere proof that such extraterrestrial intelligence exists will seriously erode our perceived position of unrivalled supremacy in the world. And if extraterrestrial intelligence is indeed found to be resident nearby, and contact thought imminent, the situation might become analogous to the fear that primitive tribes may have had regarding the prospect of encounters with more civilised conquerors. There is, however, a practical application that follows if ongoing input of viruses and bacteria is confirmed. In the near future it will become clear that bacteria and viruses coming to the Earth from outside could sometimes pose serious threats of pandemic disease, not only to humans, but also to plants and animals. This is connected with an idea Fred Hoyle and I explored as early as 1979 - that most of the pandemics throughout history were driven from space with the arrival of new viruses and bacteria. With all the data that is currently available across a wide spectrum of disciplines, I believe there is an urgent need for the possibility of bacterial and viral ingress from space to be taken seriously. Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe is Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, and Honorary Professor at the University of Buckingham and a Visiting By-Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Peradeniya. He is the author of over 25 books and 350 scientific papers, 65 in the journal Nature. He latest books are, Comets and the Origin of Life (2011), A Journey With Fred Hoyle (2103), The Quest for Our Cosmic Ancestry (2014), Where did we come from? (2015) animated gif Processing Request Please Wait...
Thursday, November 19, 2009 On Original Intent On Original Intent Their lately has been an out cry for original intent in interpretation of the U.S Constitution. We should return to the U.S, Constitution as established by the Founding Fathers. The problem you have is who original intent do you return to, the limited self government of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson believed the U.S. Government should be a collection of 13 loosely joined agrarian republics’, yet it was Jefferson that purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French. Alexander Hamilton believed that the Secretary of the Treasury should serve as a sort of Prime Minister in the tradition of the British Cabinet (like the British Chancellor of the Exchequer). Do you remove The Bill of Rights? The framing members to the Constitutional Convention had not felt it necessary to include a Bill of Rights in the framing document. The Bill of Rights was added as a series of amendments to increase the likely hood that the Constitution would pass. The Tenth Amendment, which is the one most of the limited government proponents point to, was not a part of the Constitution from the framing. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The single greatest power given by U.S. Supreme Court, the power of Checks and Balances, whereby any two division of government have a check over the other two was a creation of our second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Marshall. He created the power out of whole cloth in the case Marbury v. Madison[1]. The power can not be found in the framing document, its text or any of the amendments to the Constitution. George Washington was the father of our country but John Marshall was our nanny. If limited self government is the model then Dred Scott[2] was a good decision. Before the Civil War the Bill of Rights only applied to the Federal Government and not to the States. States were legally permitted to discriminate against their citizens, limited in their powers only by their state constitutions. Do we really want to return to a government where the President of the United States could rightfully say to Joseph Smith, “Gentleman, your cause is just but I can do nothing for you..” [1] (see
RNA discovery could help boost plant heat, drought tolerance Scientists have discovered a ribonucleic acid, or RNA, that can increase the thale cress plant's resistance to stress from drought and salt. The discovery could help illuminate a new pathway to engineering drought- and salt-tolerant plants, including food crops, said Dr. Liming Xiong. "This is the first finding of a long non-coding RNA, or lncRNA, that regulates plant tolerance to adverse, non-physiological external factors," Xiong said. The lncRNA his team discovered in thale cress plants existed in low numbers under non-stress conditions, but levels increased when the plants encountered drought or salt stress, he said. Manually increasing the level of the lncRNA showed corresponding increases in drought and salt tolerance compared with plants where the lncRNA level was unaltered according to Science daily. Ancient amphibian had mouthful of teeth ready to grab you In research, Professor Robert Reisz, Distinguished Professor of Paleontology, explains that the presence of such an extensive field of teeth provides clues to how the intriguing feeding mechanism seen in modern amphibians was also likely used by their ancient ancestors according to Science daily. Individuality drives collective behavior of schooling fish New research sheds light on how "animal personalities" -- inter-individual differences in animal behaviour -- can drive the collective behaviour and functioning of animal groups such as schools of fish, including their cohesion, leadership, movement dynamics, and group performance. These research findings provide important new insights that could help explain and predict the emergence of complex collective behavioural patterns across social and ecological scales, with implications for conservation and fisheries and potentially creating bio-inspired robot swarms according to Science daily. For centuries, scientists and non-scientists alike have been fascinated by the beautiful and often complex collective behaviour of animal groups, such as flocks of birds, schools of fish, and herds of wildebeest. Animals often group together and time and coordinate their behaviour as it may provide them with protection against predators and help in finding food. Often, those spectacular collective patterns emerge from individual group members using simple rules in their interactions, as compelling experimental and theoretical work has shown. New hope for reef fish living in a high CO2 world Just as when a camera lens comes into focus, the latest research sharpens understanding of the implications of ocean acidification on reef fish behaviour, yielding promising results for their current and near-future survival. Largest Ichthyosaurus fossil ever discovered is found to have a foetus still INSIDE the womb The foetus of an Ichthyosaurus has been discovered still inside the womb 200 million years after its mother died during pregnancy. The 3.5 metre (11ft) pregnant ichthyosaur lived at the time of the earliest dinosaurs during the early Jurassic period. Scientists said the incomplete embryo was less than seven centimetres long and consisted of preserved vertebrae, a forefin, ribs and a few other bones according to Daily mail.
Sunburn treatment \| After sun skin care Article in images Protecting yourself from the sun: why do you need to protect yourself from the sun? Why do we need to protect ourselves from the sun? Let's get one thing straight, the sun is our friend. Without the sun, we'd all be depressed. Our whole body actually needs sunlight because it's good for our mental and physical health. "For example, our bodies make Vitamin D from sunlight," says dermatologist, Dr Joëlle Sébaoun. "Without it, we'd suffer from rickets, osteoporosis and fatigue." But the sun is also dangerous... Skin cancer on the rise in the UK Tanned skin has been fashionable since the 50s. Cancer Research UK reported that over the past thirty years, skin cancer cases have increased more rapidly than any other form of cancer in the UK. "We know that people from all areas of the UK take advantage of cheap flights to have holidays in hot climates." Dr Julie Sharp of Cancer Research UK told The Daily Mail, "And our surveys have shown that an alarmingly high number of holiday-makers aim to come home with a suntan at any cost - even if it means getting burnt. "But sunburn doubles the risk of malignant melanoma and the kind of sunbathing binges that happen when people go abroad and bake on the beach are particularly dangerous." Unusually middle class women are more likely to suffer from skin cancer than working class women or those with lower incomes. However, Cancer Research estimates that ALL women have a 1 in 60 chance of developing a malignant melanoma in their lifetime. With statistics like these, protecting ourselves from the sun is an absolute must. Beauty Editor Rank this page: Don't miss... 7th episode: How to stay in shape while enjoying the company of your friendsSpring Into Shape: Bright Workout Gear Burberry Prorsum London Fashion Week spring/summer 2014Tone your whole body with Jade! Latest… 21/09/2017 Slick to sleek: How to take care of greasy hair Lowlights vs Highlights PRP injections: The Kim Kardashian blood facial Eyebrow shaping See all Beauty guides Louise Redknapp rounds up the hair trends at LFW See all Beauty videos Don't miss out! ...Join our newsletter Get the wewomen latest straight to your inbox Find us on...
Grenada, is a country located at Caribbean, it has an area of 340 Km2, so it is one of the smallest countries in the world. Grenada, with a population of 107,317 people, it is one of the least populous country in the world and it has a high population density, con 316 people per km2. The capital is St. George's and its currency is East Caribbean dollars Grenada is holding the 181 position by nominal GDP. Its national debt in 2015 was 814 millions of euros903 millions of dollars, ( 91.75% debt-to-GDP ratio) and its public debt per capita is 7,617 € euros per inhabitant8,451$ dollars per inhabitant. In terms of the human development index (HDI) of Grenada, which is the index used by the United Nations to measure the progress of a country, was 0.754 points in 2015, leaving it in 80th place in the table of 188 countries published. If the reason to visit Grenada are business, you must know it's in the 138th of the Doing Business ranking , which provides objective measures of business regulations for local firms. In the tables at the bottom of the page, you can see more information about the economy and demography of Grenada, if you want to see information about other countries click here Grenada Economy GDP Mill. € [+]2016918M.€ GDP Mill.$ [+]20161,016M.$ GDP per capita [+]20168,555€ GDP per capita [+]20169,469$ Debt [+]2015814 M.€ Debt [+]2015903 M.$ Debt (%GDP) [+]201591.75% Debt Per Capita [+]20157,617 € Debt Per Capita [+]20158,451$ Deficit [+]2015-11 M.€ Deficit [+]2015-12 M.$ Deficit (%GDP) [+]2015-1.22% Gov. Health Exp. (M.€) [+]2015230.6 Expenditure (M.$) [+]2015255.9 Education Expenditure (M.€) [+]200320.5 Education Expenditure (M.$) [+]200323.2 Education Expenditure (%Bud.) [+]200310.81% Gov. Health Exp. (%Bud.) [+]20149.21% Expenditure (%GDP) [+]201525.99% Expenditure Per Capita [+]20152,159€ Expenditure Per Capita [+]20152,395$ Education Expenditure P.C [+]2003201€ Education Expenditure P.C [+]2003227$ Gov. Health Exp. P.C. [+]2014182€ Gov. Health Exp. P.C. [+]2014242$ S&P Rating [+]10/31/2014NR Corruption Index [+]201656 Fragile States Index [+]201563.4 Doing Business [+]2017138º Exports [+]201629.8 M.€ Exports [+]201633.0 M.$ Exports % GDP [+]20163.25% Imports [+]2016317.1 M.€ Imports [+]2016351.0 M.$ Imports % GDP [+]201634.54% Trade balance [+]2016-287.3 M.€ Trade balance [+]2016-318.0 M.$ Trade balance % GDP [+]2016-31.29% Density [+]2016316 Population [+]2016107,317 Immigrant stock [+]20157,057 Remittance received (M.$) [+]201529.6 % Immigrant [+]20156.61% Remittance sent (M.$) [+]20152.7 Emigrant stock [+]201565,812 % Emigrant [+]201561.61% HDI [+]20150.754 Birth Rate [+]201519.02‰ Fertility Rate [+]20152.13 Crude death rate [+]20157.12‰ Life expectancy [+]201573.52 Number of homicides [+]20148 Rate Homicides per 100.000 [+]20147.5 Environment and Energy CO2 Tons per capita [+]20154.76
We're a little crazy, about science! You are what you eat: Immune cells remember their first meal immune system Scientists have identified the trigger for immune cells’ inflammatory response — a discovery that may pave the way for new treatments for many human diseases. Immune cells play essential roles in the maintenance and repair of our bodies. When we injure ourselves, immune cells mount a rapid inflammatory response to protect us against infection and help heal the damaged tissue. “While this immune response is beneficial for human health, many human diseases (including atherosclerosis, cancer and arthritis) are caused or aggravated by an overzealous immune response.” “A greater understanding of what activates the immune response is therefore crucial for the design of novel therapies to treat these inflammatory disorders,” said Lead researcher Dr Helen Weavers. “Our study found that immune cells must first become ‘activated’ by eating a dying neighbouring cell before they are able to respond to wounds or infection. In this way, immune cells build a molecular memory of this meal, which shapes their inflammatory behaviour.” The team’s research used the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) to study how a particular immune cell (the macrophage) becomes activated in order to respond to injury or infection. Using the fly allowed researchers to make time-lapse movies of the dynamic behaviour of the immune cells as they migrate within a living organism. It also allowed them to easily manipulate different genes and signalling pathways within the fly, to test which genes are important for immune cell behaviour. Using genetics, the researchers dissected the mechanism by which the molecular memory is generated within the immune cell. Ingestion of the dying cell activates signalling via a calcium flash, which leads to an increase in the amount of an important damage receptor Draper in the immune cell. High levels of this receptor enable the ‘primed’ immune cell to sense the damage signals that entice them towards a wound during inflammation. Without this priming, the cells are blind to wounds and infections. “Our work has important implications for human health, given that the pathology of many human diseases is often caused by an inappropriate inflammatory response.” “Understanding how one signal (in this case a dying cell) can influence the ability of an immune cell to respond to a subsequent signal is a major step towards finding novel ways to clinically manipulate immune cells away from sites of the body where they are causing the most damage,” Professor Paul Martin said. “Using flies to study human disease might seem at first glance to be a rather strange approach, but this is an exciting advance in our understanding of immune cell behaviour, and takes us a step closer to designing novel therapeutic ways to influence immune cell behaviour within patients in the clinic,” Professor Will Wood said. Helen Weavers, Iwan R. Evans, Paul Martin, & Will Wood (2016). Corpse engulfment generates a molecular memory that primes the macrophage inflammatory response Cell DOI: But enough about us, what about you? You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
The Rule of Law Must Prevail - Assignment Example The rule of law is an observance of the principle that “ours is a government of laws and not of men”. The principle cannot be explained in mathematical formula. It is articulated in various shades and colors but its essence is that all persons, from the highest official of the land down to the lowest level of citizenry, must respect the laws and nobody no matter how great and painful might he have suffered in the hands of his persecutors or oppressors, must resort to the rule of law rather than taking the law into his hands. It is a weapon of reason and civility. In a democratic society, disputations are heard and settled under the rule of law in the forum of the courts of justice. It is one of the admirable attributes of a system of government that if a person feels he has been aggrieved, he does not have to take the law into his hands or resort to the use of force for the vindication of his injury. The courts are there to hear and act on his complaint. The right to bring action against an adversary is an exhaust valve to relieve the pressures of personal disagreements that might otherwise explode in physical encounter. It is necessary not only for upholding one’s claims when they are unjustly denied but also for the maintenance of peace among incipient antagonists. Without the right to litigate, conflicting claims cannot be examined and resolved in accordance with one of the primary purposes of government, which is to provide for a just and orderly society (Aguirre 22). In the case of Villavicencio vs. Lukban (39 Phil. 778 at 786 and 787, March 25, 1919) the Supreme Court castigated a City executive for expelling alleged prostitutes from Manila and dumped them against their will in Davao. The Court said that such act constitutes a wanton violation of the principle that “ours is a government of laws and not of men. ” Said the Court: “Law defines power. Centuries ago Magna Carta decreed that . . . No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be seized of his freehold, or liberties, or free customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. We will sell no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either justice or right . . No official, no matter how high, is above the law. The courts are the forum which functionate to safeguard individual liberty and to punish official transgressors. . . ” (Villavicencio, supra at 786 and 787). The rule of law is one of the characteristics of a representative democracy whose essence is popular representation and ultimate control by the people, one which derives all its powers, directly or indirectly, from the great body of the people and is administered by persons holding their offices for a limited period or during good behavior. A representative government is one wherein the powers and duties of sovereignty are exercised and discharged for the common good and general welfare of the people by few people, their representatives. That is the essence of democracy. This however is the fear of many people in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, the erosion of civil liberties in the guise of legimate legislative enactments to increase power in combating terrorism because as perceived as such , rule of law per se has nothing to do with justness or fairness of the laws but simply that the legal system must uphold the law. The law may be harsh but it is the law and like death, it spares no one. There is a danger that the government will use its power in the furtherance of arbitrary powers rather than genuinely deals with terrorism. Many governments are reviewing their laws and security policies and procedures to do or be seen doing something about terrorism resulting to the aggregation of powers of the executive and conversely, derogation of the fundamental rights of the people. The assault on the civil rights of the people is more serious than the attacks of the World Trade Center. Accumulation of arbitrary powers by the government to do what it wants over an individual is a threat to the way of life of the people. The feigned attempts to deal with terrorism are overkill, a dangerous accruement of authority and influence. In the United Kingdom, several legislations were passed to combat terrorism in disparagement of a person’s civil liberties. Social Security Act of 2001 attacked rights to privacy and confidentiality of financial records. Without a warrant, government officials are authorized to demand from banks and other financial institutions any information regarding a person. The rights to presumption of innocence and security of property are also violated by The Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002 where the litigants are not on equal footings because the other party is the government. The government has more resources and access to records during investigation and worst has the authority to freeze the assets of a private individual. The Act authorizes the State to seize property based on probabilities alone that the property were acquired through unlawful means which ordinarily under the rule of law must be established beyond reasonable doubt. Further, the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2005 imposes an offense or violation on anyone suspected of involvement on terrorist activities which is regarded by law enthusiasts as an infringement of the right to liberty. Under such law, the government may issue control order set forth authoritatively on someone where the police may conduct arrest and detain a person up to 4 days on mere suspicion thus denigrating Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights that entitles a person whose civil or political rights and freedoms have been infringed to an effective right to go to courts for remedy. As there are no charges imposed, a person subject of a control order does not go to trial. Any accusations and evidences are kept back from the arrested persons or their lawyers. It is indubitably clear that the Act is an attack on the rights of a person protected under the Constitution, such as presumption of innocence, the right to trial and the right of a person to know the accusations or charges and evidences against him. Furthermore, it was fortunate the proposed bill, The Identity Cards Bill was not passed otherwise, it could have denied a person from the needed services in life because the said proposed bill could have compelled a person to own an identity card required in all dealings including opening a bank account and the government can nullify the card anytime at its caprice under a system of centralized national identity registry, creating a record of the people’s identity and activities. Under the proposed bill, the government will maintain a database of the peoples’ finger marks and scanned iris and the cards to validate the authenticity of a person. The people of UK could have lived a life under surveillance of day-to-day activities thus, depriving them further of their rights to privacy and presumption of innocence (Hammerton, Prime Recent and Proposed Attacks on Civil Liberties in the United Kingdom – a list). The rule of law is based on the principle of legality that a law to be valid must be in conformity or harmony with reason. The rule of law is established through the principle of absolute supremacy over arbitrary power. The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon are perhaps a case of utmost urgency to entitle a public entity the power to take actions which intervene with the rights or freedoms of individuals. However, it should not undermine the possibility for the courts to determine whether or not such power exists and if so and found unlawful, provide effective remedies. Judicial decisions provide the means for the determination of rules of law. An independent judiciary is a manifestation of the rule of law. The ultimate responsibility of securing respects for the law and that the law applies equally to all citizens is enthroned in the judiciary. The rule of law is a basic governing principle under the constitution which precludes individuals and government from transcending the supreme law of the land. It requires both the state and individuals to submit to the supremacy of the law, thereby building protective stratum on individual’s rights and liberties. It cannot be overstressed that in a constitutional government, the rule of law must prevail. The Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to which all persons, including the highest official of the land, must defer. From this cardinal postulate, it follows that the three branches of the government must discharge their respective functions within the limits of authority conferred by the Constitution. Under the principle of separation of powers, neither Congress, nor the President, or the Judiciary may encroach on fields allocated to the other branches of government. However, under the doctrine of checks and balances, any excessive exercise of the power given them may be checked by the others in accordance with the mode prescribed by the Constitution. The purpose of the principle of checks and balances is not only to put a halt to the excesses of one department but equally to make the erring department keep itself within the boundaries as mandated by the Constitution. In this regard, the term “rule of law” serves to regulate governmental powers, free from arbitrariness and abuse for the government to function rationally Rule of law” also means procedural justice. Justice and legality are achieved by consistently applying the rules and procedures that build the legal order. These rules and procedures must be impartial, transparent and consistent. Absence of procedural justice may set a killer free, where evidences were illegally obtained and the prosecution failed to present convincing evidence to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. In this way, substantive justice must give way to procedural justice. The end does not justify the means where the basic rights of the accused protected under the Bill of Rights were violated. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the U. S. Constitution which are referred to as civil liberties. The ambit of these rights is still subject to debate in numerous cases in the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, these civil rights continue to serve as the central elements of the rule of law that limits government action and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens. The 9th Amendment protects other rights that a citizen may possess although these rights are not specifically written in the Constitution because it provides that the Bill of Rights is not an exclusive list of rights (Abboud, Civil Liberties Key Component of Rule of Law). In a modern market economy, the rule of law is an essential component. To allocate resources, modern market economy relies on market prices and as its core, the system of free enterprise. It is important that rule of law must exist to promote a healthy relationship between the state and the economic agents thereby enhancing development and economic efficiency. The rule of law functions as a power regulator in delimiting the state’s discretionary interference on economic activities, and also regulating the behaviour of other economic players, the individuals and the enterprises. The rule of law is fundamental in creating an orderly free enterprise. Contract will be enforced effectively and property rights will be protected. Sustainable economic growth would ensue. The rule of law plays an important role in the phenomenal economic success of Chinese communities such as Hong Kong and Singapore. The rule of law is not the law itself. While the law is just a component of the rule of law, the rule of law is the excellent component of democracy. It is an ideal, the apotheosis of something that one hopes to attain. It is the reason why the law must be respected, obeyed and upheld. It must be the spirit behind any legislative enactment. That is why in statutory construction, the law must be interpreted not by its letters but the spirit, by the supposed undying selflessness of intention of the legislators chosen by the people. However, laws should not be construed as the rule of person because rule of law is not rule of person. In a representative democracy, under the rule of person, law is the product of the lawmaking body, the legislators, if left unchecked by the Constitution may lead to despotism or authoritarianism; while under the rule of law, law is the product of the judiciary’s “legal reasoning” (Bo Ll, Constitution and the Rule of Law). It is all-encompassing. It includes not only the substantive and formal or procedural aspect of law, the extrinsic and extrinsic quality of the law, but it is the embodiment of the fundamental emotional and activating principle determining the character of the people. It is the heart and spirit of the law that guide the destiny of a nation. With it alone, is enough reason for the rule of law to prevail. Leave a Reply
Genomics, virtual reality and ethics: how progress will affect us Four key individuals shaping the world of tomorrow offer their insights into the most significant developments Listen to this article What do you think? Swift changes in technology — from the development of driverless cars and robotics to the collection of increasingly large amounts of data — are transforming the way we live. We asked four distinguished thinkers who are shaping that future through their scientific and academic research, writing and entrepreneurship, to predict what aspects of this new industrial revolution will affect us most. Will women benefit or lose and which ethical questions will we have to answer most urgently? Prof Paula Hammond Prof Paula Hammond, head of the department of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Her research seeks to deliver ant-cancer therapies in a more targeted and therefore less destructive manner. She says that gene editing to address genetic disorders and cancer is a key emerging technology. “Genomics as medicine is really where it’s at.” She cites Crispr, a gene-editing tool that was named breakthrough of the year 2015 by Science magazine, as an example. This technology will raise broad ethical questions and prompt difficult and personal questions for parents-to-be, especially mothers. “We need to ensure that enabling science doesn’t go beyond the concept of helping mankind. From governments to the general public, this is something we all have to engage in,” Prof Hammond says. Many women, including Martha Lane Fox, the UK web pioneer and government adviser, feel women need to be part of creating technology if their problems are to be addressed. Prof Hammond takes a broader view, believing that diversity in general is the key. “The diversity of the people I work with not only changes the way we approach problems but it changes the kind of problems we approach.” Alec Ross Alec Ross, former senior adviser for innovation to Hillary Clinton when she was US secretary of state, and author of The Industries of the Future, believes robotics, advanced life sciences, the codification of money, cyber security and big data will affect economic and social change. “I think the commercialisation of genomics will have as much impact on our lives over the long-term as the rise of the internet,” he says. “We are going from a world which today has 16bn internet-connected devices, to one that in 2020 is going to have 40bn,” he adds. However, the US and Europe risk falling behind if the west continues to cling to its outdated educational institutions, Mr Ross warns. “People say government is slow to change; nothing is slower to change than education and this is really what puts the working and middle classes in Europe and the US in a disadvantaged position.” In a world of increased artificial intelligence and automation, we are going to see enormous changes in labour, with machines increasingly replacing humans, says Mr Ross. But some labour that will not be replaced will grow in importance. Here, Mr Ross believes those with strengths traditionally seen as “female” may hold an advantage. “A workplace where a greater premium is placed on attributes like emotional intelligence ultimately benefits women in the executive ranks.” Amali de Alwis Amali de Alwis, chief executive of Code First: Girls, a social enterprise tackling the lack of women in technology and entrepreneurship through community courses, networking events and corporate activities, says: “There is no such thing as a non-tech industry these days.” Ms de Alwis believes this is the year of virtual and augmented reality. “Pretty much every single company is launching some sort of virtual or augmented reality headset,” she notes, pointing to the Oculus Rift, HTC’s Vive and Google’s VR headset for smartphones. Houzz, a website and online community dedicated to architecture and design, wants to use virtual reality to allow people to experience what is about to be built. But the technology’s impact will reverberate far beyond entertainment and interior design, with “applications for surgery and the inspection of oil pipelines”, Ms de Alwis says. In the US, immersive virtual reality has already been shown to reduce pain in burn victims. Could headsets in the labour ward be next? Personal passions for Ms de Alwis include crypto currencies and blockchain (the same decentralised ledger book that underpins bitcoin). But it has potential for use in applications other than currencies, such as Leanne Kemp’s Everledger, which tracks diamonds, so making them far more difficult to steal. Prof Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen Prof Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen, deputy head of the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, says 3D printing will enter the mainstream within the next five to 10 years. She also cites big data as an emerging trend. “People are no longer designing products but entire systems,” she says. But as technology such as 3D printers becomes cheaper and more sophisticated, it also provides people with the power to do harm. “When we are educating designers the ethics are very important,” says Prof Ahmed-Kristensen. She points to the example of 3D printing being used to create weapons. “There’s a need to understand how a product fits into an infrastructure, including ethics, social responsibility and cultural sensitivity. From a design and engineering perspective, either we start with the need or the technology, but we need to understand the human aspect of it: how women and men use the technology.”
Learn how to Beat Depression and Improve the Quality of Your Life A prognosis of Chronic Kidney disease (CKD ) may result in serious psychological distress because it is understood to cause permanent impairment of renal function and premature mortality. A study explored the prevalence of depression as well as the influence of other psychosocial factors on depression, among CKD patients. Researchers found that those who had sleep disturbances, reported having no religious beliefs, followed no regular exercise regimen, and were diagnosed with stage three or above CKD demonstrated a significantly higher risk of depression than individuals who did not meet outlined criteria. Findings identify that depression was higher in the Kidney Community, especially those at stage three through stage five. By identifying Chronic Kidney Disease in patients with a higher risk of depression, individuals can partner with their healthcare providers to adopt appropriate provisions that manage their personal circumstances and rehabilitation. Depression should not be considered an individual weakness. It can cause close relationships to suffer, family connections to strain, and can have negative health ramifications. Depression is an understandable personal struggle that can impact the way an individual looks at life, and in turn is likely to affect how s/he does during pre-dialysis periods and while on dialysis. Strategies to combat depression include manageable exercise, walking, fish oil supplements, prescribed anti-depressant medication, and talk therapy. Strive to find ways to inspire yourself to live life and grasp every moment with anticipation. Still, the best way to manage depressive thoughts is to talk to your healthcare team, tell them exactly how you are feeling, and together, work with them to develop a treatment plan. Read more: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23557031 Recommended Readings: There are some easy choices that can lead to a healthier life You must select a collection to display. How to Combat Depression by Controlling your Thoughts
The idea it was named after Wednesday, November 02, 2005 Robin Hood Gates Bill Gates is donating bast amounts of his own money to fight malaria. In fact, he founded the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to help the poor people some time ago, and he has been putting money from his own pocket on it since then. You can't argue with things like that. At the end of 2004, 107 countries and territories had areas at risk of malaria transmission. About 3.2 billion people lived in areas at risk of malaria transmission. An estimated 350-500 million clinical malaria episodes occur annually. At least 2.7 million die per year from Malaria. Malaria is responsible for one in four global child deaths. These deaths could be prevented by means which are simple, effective and available. Malaria is almost overlooked in the media with all the focus on AIDS, cancer, avian flu, anthrax threats, etc... That's because malaria, unlike those listed, typically occurs somewhere far away, or simply in places none cares about. Billy is pumping money into fighting a disease that is known as a killer of the poor. According to, Ted Turner set an example for Gates: Ted Turner, the founder of Cable News Network, set an admirable example when he pledged $1 billion over 10 years to support United Nations programs aiding refugees and children, clearing mines and fighting diseases. Likewise, Rockefeller was despised because of his monopoly. Now he is best remembered for his generous donations for National Parks, libraries, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Being so rich, it doesn't seem so difficult to donate a fraction of your fortune. But before doing such a critic, ask yourself, how much time and money have you philantropically donated yourself to a good cause? In contrast, Paul Allen spent $200 million on a yacht that has two helicopters. It costs him $20 million a year to keep the thing and he's never on it. Gates has given $20 billion to fight AIDS and now this to malaria. Of the two, who would you fault as the selfish bastard? Others could argue that these good deeds are just for good publicity or any other reason. It might be true, but who cares if so? No one suffering from malaria cares at all why he made the donation, or whether he is rewarded in some way. I don't like the means he used to obtain so much money. Lies, coercion, traps, monopoly, antitrust are words that just come to mind. But he is robbing the rich (basically everyone on the planet who is 'rich' enough to pay for software and derivatives), and giving the money off to the poor. A modern day Robbing Hood if you will. I'm sure that those rich people he stole the money from wouldn't have spent their money so well. Taking all into account, it's clear to me now that, sometimes, the end justify the means... And I take my hat off to him, he´s done an excellent job! Post a Comment << Home
In the Bible there is a story about two sisters, Mary and Martha, who were visited by Jesus. Luke 10:38-42 tells us that when Jesus arrived, Mary sat attentively listening to Him, while her sister Martha was “distracted” with all the preparations that had to be made. Jesus questioned her, “Martha, Martha. Why are you worried and upset over so many things? Only few things are needed. Really only one.” I know many people who are “distracted” over all the preparations that need to be made leading into Christmas. The word distracted in this story is a Greek word, περιεσπᾶτο (periespato). It is the only time the word is used in the entire Bible. The meaning of the word is “cumbered.” It is where we get our English word encumbered. Picture a messy strand of Christmas lights. TangledIt literally means, “To be tangled up.” As you approach Christmas are there things that have you tangled up? Distractions that have you worried and upset? It is so easy to lose sight of those few things that are really needed. Instead, we search for the right present, the best party, and the perfect tree. All at the expense of the “few” things. Our periespato leads to a sense of hurry and scurry, until we reach the end of the season and realize we missed its meaning and its moments. Take some time today and identify those few things that need your attention and then seek to eliminate the distractions. Leadership Begins at Home, As you prepare for Christmas, what are the “few” things that need your attention? Comment Below … Author: Randy
Rhenium-Osmium Isotope Systematics of Carbonaceous Chondrites See allHide authors and affiliations Science 27 Jan 1989: Vol. 243, Issue 4890, pp. 519-522 DOI: 10.1126/science.243.4890.519 Rhenium and osmium concentrations and Os isotopic compositions of eight carbonaceous chondrites, one LL3 ordinary chondrite, and two iron meteorites were determined by resonance ionization mass spectrometry. Iron meteorite 187Re/186Os and l87Os/l86Os ratios plot on the previously determined iron meteorite isochron, but most chondrite data plot 1 to 2 percent above this meteorite isochron. This suggests either that irons have significantly younger Re-Os closure ages than chondrites or that chondrites were formed from precursor materials with different chemical histories from the precursors of irons. Some samples of Semarkona (LL3) and Murray (C2M) meteorites plot 4 to 6 percent above the iron meteorite isochron, well above the field delineated by other chondrites. Murray may have lost Re by aqueous leaching during its preterrestrial history. Semarkona could have experienced a similar loss of Re, but only slight aqueous alteration is evident in the meteorite. Therefore, the isotopic composition of Semarkona could reflect assembly of isotopically heterogeneous components subsequent to 4.55 billion years ago or Os isotopic heterogeneities in the primordial solar nebula.
Flashgun Guide Number. What is The Flashgun Guide Number? The Flashgun Guide Number is a number given to a specific Flashgun at a specific ISO rating to help calculate the required "ƒ", (aperture) setting for a camera in certain conditions! To calculate the correct "ƒ" number for your camera to match the Flashgun three criteria need to be known. (1) The guide number of the Flashgun in meters or feet, (usually found in the specifications documentfor the Flashgun or marked on the Flashgun itself). (2) The distance to the subject from the flashgun in Meters or Feet. (3) The ISO speed being used. To calculate the "ƒ" number, divide the Guide Number by the Subject Distance. For example: A Flashgun with the guide number of 20 in Meters, (64 in feet), at ISO 100, with a subject at a distance of 2.5 Meters, (8 feet), would give an answer of ƒ8, (Guide Number 20 ÷ 2.5 Meters = ƒ8). However at ISO 200, (a faster film speed) the calculation changes to, Guide Number 28 ÷ 2.5 Meters= ƒ11. You could of course use this simple aperture calculator link button... ISO Guide Number Formula: The formula or calculation for a Guide Number is derived from a known ISO value and Guide Number and is attained like so... Take the example given where the known ISO value is 100 and the Guide Number is 20, to get an answer of 20 from 100 the formula is... The square root of 100 = 10. The Guide Number 20 ÷ 10 = 2, so the key factor in this instance is "2" hence 2 x 10 = 20. To find the Guide Number for ISO 200 the following applies... √ 200 x 2 = 28.284, the nearest whole number to this is 28, so the Guide Number for ISO 200 is 28. The reason we have to use a formula in this way is because we are dealing with aperture sizes and it is a common mistake to think that doubling the ƒ number halves the amount of light when in fact it is a factor of one quarter. Because the aperture area is usually round, (not perfectly round because the aperture is made up from a number of overlapping elements enabling the hole to change size) the ƒ number is calculated as the area of a circle and to double circle area the following formula applies... Example: To double the aperture size from ƒ16 to ƒ11 the formula is √16² ÷ 2 = 11.314, the nearest whole number to this is 11 so double the aperture size is ƒ11. Light Path Distance: It should also noted that the distance used in the formula is the distance the light has to travel from the Flashgun to the subject, not the distance the camera is away from the subject. If "Bounce" flash is used, (for example refracting off of the ceiling) the distance to the subject is greatly increased due to the nature of the path the light has to travel. Using the same set up example, if the Flashgun head was tilted to 45 degrees the distance the light travels to the subject would increase to 3.54 Meters even though the camera is still only 2.5 Meters away. The calculation for the aperture setting now becomes, Guide Number 20 ÷ 3.54 Meters = 5.65 at ISO 100. The nearest available ƒ number is ƒ5.6 which is now a bigger aperture than the previously used ƒ8 in fact it is double the area. Flash to image diagram Flashgun set 2.5 Meters from subject. Sample ISO distance guide number chart ISO Distance Guide Number Chart. Example apeture areas Examples of relative aperture sizes ƒ8 is half the area of ƒ5.6 but twice the area of ƒ11. Aperture made up of sements The aperture centre is made up from overlapping segments so it is not perfectly round. Bounce flash example diagram This shows the difference in length when using "Bounce" Flash even though the subject is the same distance from the camera. Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional. Hosted on All trademarks and copyrighted material are property of their respective owners
Shutting Off the Water? All members of the household should know where the main water shutoff valve is located in the home and how to use it. In an emergency, shutting off the water can be crucial to prevent more serious water damage from taking place. In most homes, the valve is adjacent to the water meter. Additionally, as noted in the toilet problems section, most fixtures have individual shutoff valves located in their supply lines. All valves should be periodically checked to ensure they are working properly.
Cuba Gooding Jr: 'Red Tails is a very important story' The actor says he learned a lot about African-American history from Red Tails. Cuba Gooding Jr has suggested that his new film Red Tails tells a very important story. Red Tails is based on the struggles of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of segregated African-American pilots who flew missions in World War II. Gooding expressed hope that the movie will teach audiences about the important role African-Americans played in the war. "Whenever there's a story of African-American contribution, specifically in the war efforts, I jump all over it. To me, it's a healing film for a nation," the star told Parade. "I don't care if you're black, white, whatever, you feel proud to know that our country has created such warriors." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below He went on to describe Red Tails as a passion project, saying: "I look at this movie as my love letter to the men and women in our armed services. No matter how screwed up the politics are and war is in general, what they are doing is selfless and heroic and should be celebrated because they provide the freedoms we enjoy." Gooding also revealed that he personally learned a great deal about the history of African-Americans from the movie. "At the time, the army was segregated, so they had an all-black airbase, which meant that the chefs were black, the doctors were black, the mechanics were black," he recalled. "It was a community of black people back in a time that was so close to slavery and they were doing everything for themselves. It blew me away." The star, who led last year's New York City Veteran's Day parade, added: "I also learned that in every major war effort in American history, there have always been black participants. From the Indian Wars, Civil War, WWI, WWII. I didn't know that." Red Tails, which is produced by George Lucas, opens on January 20 in the US. A UK release date has not yet been announced. > George Lucas: 'Hollywood doesn't support black movies' Watch a Red Tails trailer below: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, The Commuter Liam Neeson's new film is basically Taken on a train And Non-Stop on a train for that matter. Fantastic Four Kingsman director wants to reboot Fantastic Four Han Solo who's scruffy looking? Star Wars Han Solo director Ron Howard teases a classic location This is one for the diehards. Jennifer Laurence, Javier Bardem, Mother Jennifer Lawrence loves that mother! is so polarising "There is no middle ground." Wonder Woman trailer still Will Gal Gadot play evil Wonder Woman in Flashpoint? Watch your back, Aquaman. IT's Pennywise inspires a creepy-ass Halloween cake The Croods So, The Croods 2 is actually still happening But in three years' time. Jake LaMotta during Raging Bull 25th Anniversary Robert De Niro pays tribute to boxer Jake LaMotta LaMotta was the real-life inspiration for Raging Bull. Jennifer Lawrence in mother! 10 ways mother! is different from 'the book' Yes, there IS a book. Sort of. kirsten dunst Kirsten Dunst accidentally got high filming new movie "I've never been that stoned in my entire life."
ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel Updated on July 13, 2011 The Latin periodical from Cologne Mercurius Gallobelgicus published in 1592 was the first journal to be published in the world on a semi-annual basis. This was followed by the English journal Oxford Gazette which was published on a regular basis. In 1690 the first newspaper in the US Publick Occurrences both Foreign and Domestick was published, but it was soon suppressed as it did not have a license which was mandatory in Massachusetts. Boston news letter which commenced in 1704 had a longer existence and published news until 1776, but faded out of the scene probably due to late publishing of news and absence of quality. The first major colonial newspaper was new England courant, which was started in 1721 by James Franklin, elder brother of Benjamin Franklin. By the time American Revolution took place there was nearly 89 newspapers. As most of them opposed the stamp act, they were anti-royalist in outlook. Republican newspapers were partisan and devoid of objectivity or accountability. Even when the ownership shifted to private enterprise, their outlook was basically anti-establishment. The first really modern newspaper was the New York Herald which was started in 1835 and New York Tribune in 1841 but it was in 1851, New York Times was started by Henry Raymond and George Jones. What made them stand out from the competition was balanced writing and high writing standards. By the 20th century what started out as investigative journalism soon came to be derided as muckraking. Though to a large extent it was due to the sensationalism which crept into newspapers in the 19th century, the yeoman service done by Ida Tarbell, and Upton Sinclair introduced a strong social commitment in newspapers, particularly among the smaller ones. Mainstream newspapers like New York Times and Washington Post which depended largely on advertisers for revenue displayed a conservatism which has been criticized by people like Chomsky. In fact after the great depression, there was newspaper consolidation all over US. Smaller newspapers disappeared from the scene giving way to giant newspaper establishments which were big in every sense of the word, in size influence and profit. But by the 60s newspapers like I.F.Stones weekly, The Village Voice and The Nation found part of what came to be known as the alternative press. This was a welcome change as mainstream newspapers content were becoming more and more the voice of the vested interest. The next major change was the emergence of the internet. Newspapers not only became online but changed the way events were reported. For the first time peoples participation in news reporting gave rise to blogs and a new genre called citizen journalism. This was facilitated largely due to technological marvels like digital cameras and convergence technology. Journalism is on the threshold of the next major leap in development. Though technological changes might change the face of journalism in the digital age; its spirit remains the same---the perennial quest to freely express and inform without fear or favor without compromising on truth. Submit a Comment No comments yet.
(877) 629-6972 info@mycomputerworks.com In today’s society technology has become a key part of day to day life. We need technology to talk to loved ones around the world, help diagnose and treat various medical conditions, keep track of finances, and many other uses. With all of this personal information being shared through technology, it can become nerve-racking. How do you keep intruders from getting to this information? A password. A strong password. Most of today’s society evolves around Wi-Fi (a wireless frequency that is used to provide the transfer of data or network connections). The use of Wi-Fi is great because you don’t have to be “hard lined” to a modem or router. Meaning, it allows you to use your internet connection wherever you may be in your household, work, or even at Starbucks. However, most Wi-Fi needs a password to access the wireless frequency. We’ve asked our professional tech support team for tips on how to create a Wi-Fi password that will help keep unwanted people off of your network. A rule of thumb when creating a password, whether it is Wi-Fi or even your personal technological device, is to use a mix of numbers, letters, and if possible, some symbol characters. You should never use your name, family member names, date of birth or a street address as a part of your password. These are usually the first words the hacker will use to try and crack your password. • Let’s start with a basic password: • To boost this password, add letters and then capitalize some of those letters: • You can further boost the password by adding special characters in place of letters: • To finally increase the security even more, randomly place those numbers throughout the password: The difference between the basic password and the final password is that the basic password has 39,304 possibilities whereas the final password has 81,138,303,245,565,435,904 possibilities. My Computer Works research shows that the higher the possibilities for word variations, the harder it is going to be for a hacker to crack your password. If you have more questions or are worried your password may not be up to par, give us a call at (800)-935-6704.
Curiosity rover captures incredible snap of Martian moon moving across the sun creating a mini-eclipse “Nasa’s Curiosity rover continues to impress – sending back more snaps of Mars eclipses and a particular pyramid shaped rock. A new extraordinary photograph of one of the Red Planet’s two moons as it passes across the sun has emerged. The photo shows Deimos, Mars’ smaller moon, moving over the sun to create a partial eclipse on Monday. asdfMartian eclipse: This picture was taken from the surface of Mars by the Curiosity rover and shows the moon Deimos moving across the face of the sun on September 17 The first pictures of the Martian mini-eclipses were revealed last weekend when Phobos, the larger of the two moons, just jutted into Mars’s view of the sun. In that picture Phobos appears to be taking a ‘bite’ out of the sun whereas in the latest photo of Deimos, the smaller moon darkens the sun much more clearly. Phobos measures 14 miles in width while Deimos has a width of just eight miles but the larger moon seems bigger when seen from Mars because it orbits so much closer. Phobos orbits 5,800 miles versus 14,580 miles for Deimos, reported NBC. asdfPhobos: The first pictures of the Martian mini-eclipses were revealed last weekend when Phobos, the larger of the two moons, just jutted into Mars’s view of the sun, seen here Phobos and Deimos are closer to Mars than our moon is to Earth, so they shoot across the sky relatively quickly. Phobos takes less than eight hours to circle Mars. Deimos takes about 30 hours to make the trip. And while Mars may be a little further away from the sun than we are here on Earth, it would still be damaging to look directly into its light from the Red Planet. If Curiosity pointed its regular lens straight at the sun, it could have been destroyed. So instead the rover used a neutral density filter, cutting down the sun’s intensity by a factor of 1,000, according to NBC News. Besides the mini-eclipses, Curiosity is concentrating on an intriguing pyramid shaped rock the size of a football. The rock carries the honour of being the first to be examined by rover’s robotic arm. asdfCurious: The rover is concentrating on this intriguing pyramid shaped rock the size of a football. This new photograph was released on Friday 21 asdfPatriotic: This view of the United States flag medallion was taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens ImagerThe flag is one of four ‘mobility logos’ placed on the rover’s mobility rocker arms asdfTraditional: A plaque bearing several signatures of U.S. officials, including that of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden is seen on Mars rover Curiosity’s deck It lies about halfway from the rover’s landing site, Bradbury Landing, to a location called Glenelg. Nasa hopes this will give them a new insight into the structure of the red planet, and also allow cross-checking of the two instruments. The rock has been named ‘Jake Matijevic’ after a Nasa employee who recently passed away. Also among the new photos sent back were snaps of Curiosity itself – a view of its U.S. flag medallion, as well as the traditional presidential plaque.” Tagged , , , , , , , Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s %d bloggers like this:
An In-depth Look Into the Role of 23 Οκτ 2013 (πριν από 3 χρόνια και 11 μήνες) 82 εμφανίσεις William Wood April 29, 2004 An In depth Look Into the Role of Medicinal Uses of GM Bacteria At the beginning of the 20th century, some of the biggest breakthroughs in modern medicine came in the form of antibacterial agents. Some of thes e like penicillin are names that most people recognize. However others including cephalosporin, streptomycin and the bacitracins in the 1930s and 40s were key players in the fight against bacterial agents that cause sickness (Hutchinson, 1998). After the se antibacterial agents, came many other medincines, including the introduction of vaccines. Vaccines also began to prove very helpful against some of the most raging diseases that faced the world, including polio, and small pox. However, over the years many of the original strains of bacteria that penicillin, cephalosporin, along with the many others that originally worked against, have started to become resistant to the very antibiotic that originally killed it. Through the over prescribed use of antib iotics, along with the inevitability that eventually one strain of bacteria would become resistant to its antibiotic, the need now is for drugs that can over come this resistance and kill of harmful bacteria. With the world’s ever increasing population, a long with the introduction of antibiotic resistant bacteria, the need for another source of antibiotics, vaccines and medicines has become quite prevalent. This need may be met through the use of bacteria in creating medicinal products. There are two mai n ways of using bacteria to create medicines, both of which relate quite closely. The first way is by means of genetically modifying a bacteria. Genetic modification of an organism can be defined as the alteration of an organism through the introduction of one or more foreign genes by a particular method of gene introduction (Genetic Modification, 2004). The other is to actually bioengineer the bacteria. Bioengineering is the use of an organisms natural processes to produce beneficiary products, some o f which include medicines. Through the years biotechnology has become used increasingly to help fight the newly emerging plague of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is for this reason that these two uses of bacteria are both very important for the medici nal needs of the world. Medicinal GM Bacteria: Genetically altered bacteria are one of several kinds of organisms that are used to produce many different types of medicinal products, including vaccines, growth hormones, blood clotting factors and insul in (Genetic Modification, 2004). However, one of the first main questions that arises when looking for an organisms to harvest medicinal products out of is, “Why bacteria?” Since bacteria are found in numerous quantities in about every environment concei vable, including in the body, they make prime candidates for genetic modification (Grace, 1997). Also bacteria don’t really have many ethical issues that arise when wanting to alter their genetic code. Another very important reason on why bacteria is u sed is because of their replication rate. In just one day, with a single transgenic bacteria, one could thousands or millions of copies of that bacteria. Once you have one altered bacteria with the medicinal gene in it, soon one would have millions of ha rvestable antibiotic producing bacteria. Lastly, bacteria are one of the easier organisms in which to introduce a medicinal gene into the bacteria’s genetic code. Bacteria have two different ways in which they are genetically modified. Bacteria can ei ther be modified to produce a greater amount of a useful product, such as an antibiotic, or they can be made to produce an entirely different or new drug (Biotechnology, 2004). However, scientists must first get the gene that produces the antibiotic into the bacteria and there are a few different ways that scientists go about producing genetically modified bacteria. One of which is a gene gun, or the microinjectile approach. A gene gun is used to literally “shoot” tiny gold or tungsten balls that are coa ted with the gene of interest, into a bacteria, introducing the wanted gene into the bacteria. Once the gene is in the bacteria, the bacteria is then able to take up the newly introduced gene through DNA recombination into its own genetic code and begins to synthesize it. Another option to make GM bacteria is through recombinant DNA splicing. This technique uses restriction enzymes to cut a wanted gene out of the host’s DNA. The same restriction enzymes are then applied to a host bacteria’s plasmid, a llowing the restriction enzymes to cut the plasmid into the same sequence as the foreign gene. The cut gene is then introduced to the bacteria’s plasmid. Since, both the gene and the plasmid were cut with the same restriction enzyme, they both have the s ame end sequences. These “sticky ends” can then recombine to form a bacteria plasmid with the wanted gene (Glick, 1994). The bacteria are then tested for the antibiotic and the ones that identify positive for having the inserted gene. Positive identific ation is acheived either by color identification, by protein assays that specifically look for protein products of the cloned gene, or lastly, by DNA hybridization that uses a probe which specifically binds to the target gene (Glick, 1994). After the plas mid is identified to have the wanted gene, the plasmid is reintroduced to a bacteria, which takes it up and begins producing the wanted medicinal product (Grace, 1997). Once the gene has been inserted into the bacteria’s plasmid, one of two paths can taken. The bacteria can either be taken, or injected by a patient or it can be left to replicate and produce its medicinal product in a huge vat. The medicinal product can then be harvested from the bacteria and purified for further use. Several uses o recombinant DNA technology include antibiotic processing and vaccine engineering. In antibiotic engineering, the antibiotic would be inserted into the bacteria and as replication and synthesis of the proteins in the bacterial plasmid are produced, so i s the antibiotic. Engineering vaccines is also pretty much like antibiotic engineering, except that rather for putting in a gene that is going to produce an antibiotic or medicine against a gene, one inserts the viral coat protein gene into the bacteria. Then during protein synthesis the protein makes the viral coat protein that can then be purified and injected into a sick An important reason for doing all this modification of bacteria is the cost and safety issues that arise with it. When a medicine that is produced by a gene is produced in a laboratory setting, there is a lot of time and money that goes into making that drug. However, if that same drug can be placed into a bacteria so that the bacteria produces it, the cost and effort to make that drug drastically drops (IBAC, 2004). Many safety issues are also put to rest. Since only the drug that is produced from the GM bacteria and not the actually bacteria is injected into a person, the person has a lot less chance to contract a ase from the host. This considered safe because the drug has not been modified in any way only the bacteria. One alternative to the GM bacteria is to harvest the medicine from the original cell, but since most of these cells are blood born, there is a ch ance that unwanted viral agents may be transmitted to the patient, which increases the risk for the Medicinal Biotechnology: As previously stated, biotechnology is the use of an organism to develop or create new drugs through the alteration o f that organisms molecular, and cellular properties (Brower, 2004). This is somewhat different from genetic modification because biotechnology does not necessarily add in new genes to produce a medicine. Sometimes biotechnology simply alters the drug to improve its performance. However, if a virus or bacteria becomes tolerant to an antibiotic produced by a GM organism, one must call upon biotechnology to help alter the inserted gene, so that the GM bacteria may produce an effective drug to combat the re sistant disease causing bacteria. In today’s world, scientists are using a combination of transgenic bacteria and biotechnology to design new drugs to “outsmart” the AIDS virus, testing gene therapy techniques and developing anti microbials based on frogs (Brower, 2004). However, in order to get these modified drugs one must first alter the original drug producing gene. There are several kinds of techniques that scientists use to make these altered genes. A few of these are through recombinant DNA, comb inatorial biosynthesis, and combinatorial chemistry. Recombinant DNA practices, were already previously described, so there is not a lot of need for it be addressed in much depth again. Briefly, however, recombinant DNA technology is the use of restricti on enzymes to cut a plasmid and a gene in the same sequence in order for the bacterial plasmid to take up the gene. Combinatorial biosynthesis is very useful because it allows for an already known producing organism to be modified or combined w ith secondary metabolism genes to create unnatural gene combinations (Hutchinson, 1998). This particular method has been shown to be particularly successful with polyketide synthase genes. These genes are derivatives of medically important macrolide anti biotics (Hutchinson, 1998). The importance of this procedure came about when genetically hybrid bacteria containing one of more genes from another organism was shown to be able to produce novel antibiotics (Hutchinson, 1998). This led to the introducti on of ‘hybrid antibiotics’ not necessarily for medicinal purposes, but through the use of genetically modified bacterial systems the potential for medicinal uses of this procedure is fast approaching (Hutchinson, 1998). Interestingly, combinatorial biosyn thesis has the potential to be able to introduce polyketides to serve as handles for combinatorial chemistry (Hutchinson, 1998). Combinatorial chemistry is a new technique that allows for the creation of many molecules and then testing them rapidly for de sirable properties (Brower, 2004). Because of the speed in which combinatorial chemistry occurs it is hopeful that the delivery of more drug like compounds is likely (Wijkmans, 2002). By using well designed combinatorial strategies, it is thought that th e speed in which new antibiotic leads, along with potentiators of antimicrobial action that will be discovered, will be increased. One final approach for making GM bacteria is by making third generation vaccines through nucleic acid immunization. Nucleic acid immunization if one of the newest approaches to rallying the immune system into fighting pathogenic invaders and to date it has proved to one of the most powerful techniques available (Hasan, 1999). This form of immunization uses live attenuated mic robes, killed whole pathogens, purified whole pathogen proteins, component vaccines of immunogenic polysaccharides or sub units, and genetically engineered live recombinant vector vaccines to help fight off pathogens (Hasan, 1999). The type of vaccine tha t is used in this form of treatment is usually a form of DNA or RNA that encodes the immunogen or immunogens of interest and that are expressed as a protein by once synthesized by the host cell (Hasan, 1999). Since it is already know that plasmid DNA onc e injected, produces a wide range of both humoral and cellular responses (Hasan, 1999), nucleic acid immunization is a very important means of patient treatment. For this treatment to work with the efficiency that it was originally hoped to provide, bacte ria altered to carry DNA expressing plasmids is the best vaccination vector (Hasan, 1999). The other possibility was to inject just the DNA plasmid, but using the entire bacteria was shown to work better (Hasan, 1999). In order to get the vaccine into th e body, the general means of delivery is by means of a needle (Hasan, 1999). The DNA is injected by the needle into the muscle and different layers of skin (Hasan, 1999). The other alternative is to use a gene gun to bombard the epithelial layer of the s kin with the vaccine (Hasan, 1999). However, this is not the more common application technique since historically the needle has been the primary means of injecting a vaccine, along with it being fairly inexpensive. With the production of any medicinal products through biotechnology, both consumer and patient safety must be ensured. One of the common questions that is often asked about medicinal GM products is do the current regulations give enough protection to the consumers (Grace, 1997)? It is the ability of the laboratories that are producing medicinal GM products to ensure effective, pure, and safe products to the consumer Dier, 1999). By producing high quality products with a high level of quality control, the laboratories that make me dicinal GM drugs, can look at the way in which they assure high qualities as a business asset (Doblhoff Dier, 1999). It is this asset that will in turn allow them to increase their profit margin, along with easing the public’s worries over their own safet Within the United States, the main governmental that produces guidelines and regulations for biotech agencies is the Food and Drug Agency (FDA), While in Europe the governing body is the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products with its Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (EMEA CPMP) (Doblhoff 1999). These two bodies produce guidelines and regulations that the companies producing medicinal products GM must adhere too. However, there is no international agency set up to r egulate production. The main fear of the public is that since at this point there is no uniform internationally agreed upon guidelines for quality control, the biotech agencies that are producing medicinal GM products have to be individually regulated by the market that they are producing for (Doblhoff Dier, 1999). What companies need is one common set of guidelines that will make it so companies can design their plants and procedures in accordance with the quality of the internationally policies and the n have free range to market their drugs. By doing this you make both the producers and consumers happy. In this day and age the consumer of medicinal GM biotech products receives the majority of his news from the media (Grace 1997). However, be cause of the sometimes biasness found in the media, the concerns of the public were not eased. Many concerns over quality and safety always come up when referring to GM organisms, but it’s a little different when dealing with GM bacteria. With the use of transgenic bacteria, its not always the altered organism that is used in the medicine. With most cases it is a purified drug that is unaltered from its original state. The only real difference is that it was not created in its original organism. important concern that has arisen is the patenting of the techniques to make GM bacteria along with the specific drug that is made by the transgenic bacteria is over what can and can not be patented. Through this fight, the companies that produce the ucts, along with the people that require their products all end up getting hurt. Since through legal litigation drugs and techniques can caught up for sometimes years, the technology remains unused. Although the world’s sick are fighting a b attle against an enemy that is overcoming the weapons that are used to defeat it, the fight against pathogens and disease causing agents has some new help. Through the introduction of genetically modified bacteria and the development of biotechnologies th at are able to alter, amplify and insert antibiotic genes into bacteria, the war on antibiotic resistant bacteria and new diseases is no longer looking so impossible to win. By creating genetically modified bacteria that are able to express human otics, scientists are now able to create more of the antibiotics that they need at a lower cost and greater efficiency. Also techniques such as recombinant DNA insertion, gene gun insertion, combinatorial biosynthesis, combinatorial chemistry and nucleic immunization are beginning to give hope to the people in need of new and better antibiotics. Although bacteria will always be able to become resistant to antibiotics specific to them, these new techniques provide a means to if not create new antibiot ics, at least alter and combine the ones we already have to create antibiotics able to combat resistant strains. The biggest fight that the world’s populations will have to overcome is to trust in GM manufactured medicinal products. With the population increasing at an alarming rate, along with the number of pathogens that are just waiting to infect someone, the source for safe and effective medicinal products will almost certainly have to come from transgenic and biotechnologically produced organisms. Works Cited Biotechnology in Medicine. Biotech Bytes Box: Biotechnology in medicine. 22 Feb. Brower, V. What Is Biotechnology?. What is biotechnology? 22 Feb. 2004. er, O., and Rudolf, B. (1999). Quality control and assurance from the development to the production of biopharmceuticals. Tibtech Genetic Modification. 22 Feb. 2004. Glick, B.R., and Pasternak, J.J. (1994). Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA. ASM Press. Washington, D.C. Grace, E.S. (1997). Biotechnology Unzipped: Promises and Realities. Jose ph Henry Press. Washington, D.C. Hasan, U.A., Abai, A.M., Harper, D.R., Wren, B.W., and Morrow, W.J.W. (1999). Nucleic acid immunization: concepts and techniques associated with third generation vaccines. Journal of Immunological Methods , 1 hinson, C.R. (1998). Combinatorial biosynthesis for new drug discovery. Current Opinion in Microbiology , 319 IBAC: Moving Genes Around. The Biotechnology Question. 22 Feb. 2004. Wijkmans, J., and Beckett, J. (2002). Combinatorial chemistry in anti infectives research. Drug Discovery Today , 126
Cerebrospinal Fluid CSF Cushions Your Brain Protecting It From Injury Cerebrospinal fluid, artwork Cerebrospinal fluid, artwork. Getty Images/SCIEPRO Cerebrospinal fluid, also known as CSF, is a clear, colorless fluid that flows through the brain and spinal cord, surrounding and cushioning it from injury. CSF has the same consistency as water and delivers nutrients to your central nervous system (CNS). Cerebral spinal fluid is produced by the choroid plexus, in the ventricles, or hollow spaces, in your brain. CSF is completely replaced every few hours and carries away waste material. Analysis of the Cerebrospinal Fluid - Lumbar Puncture Procedure Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid helps to diagnose diseases, including infectious diseases of the central nervous system, causes of brain hemorrhages, immunological disorders, and cancer. Fluid is obtained by performing a lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap. During a lumbar puncture a long, thin, hollow needle is inserted between spaces in your spinal cord to obtain a sample of fluid. You may feel some pressure and a little bit of soreness as the needle enters your body. After the fluid is removed you will be asked to lie flat for an hour or more after the test. This is to prevent a headache. If you do develop a headache, it may last up to a couple of days after the test. If your headache lasts for more than a week you should contact your doctor. If you develop a high fever, severe headache, sensitivity to light, vomiting, or have tingling or numbness in your legs, you should contact your doctor. The CSF is analyzed for its pressure, appearance, protein, glucose, cell count and identification of cells present. It is stained for microscopic examination and cultured to look for bacteria and other infectious organisms. Other chemistry tests include looking for tumor markers, looking for amyloid beta 42 and tau protein in Alzheimer's disease, myelin basic protein in multiple sclerosis, and various other assays. Diseases Detected With a Lumbar Puncture Infectious diseases such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites can infect the central nervous system. The most common infections of the CNS include: Hemorrhagic diseases that can be determined by an analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid include intracranial bleeding due to stroke, high blood pressure, and aneurysm. Immunological disorders can disrupt the central nervous system with inflammation, production of antibodies, and the destruction of the myelin sheathing around the nerves. Common immunological disorders include: Primary tumors of the brain or spine can be detected with an analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. It can also detect cancer that has metastasized to other areas of the central nervous system. A lumbar puncture is very important for people who may have a brain lymphoma because the lymphoma cells often spread into the cerebrospinal fluid. CSF analysis can be used to determine the type and grade of cancer. Common Symptoms of Brain Tumors Affecting the CSF Often the symptoms of a brain or spinal cord tumor vary. Cancer may cause an increase in the pressure in the skull or block the flow of spinal fluid. This may cause headaches, confusion, problems with balance, or walking. It may also cause problems with bladder control. These are symptoms that may prompt a lumbar puncture and CSF analysis to be done. Injections into the CSF for Treatment of Brain or Spinal Cord Cancer A lumbar puncture may be used to deliver chemotherapy medication to treat brain or spinal cord cancer. This process is known as intrathecal chemotherapy. It is used in treatment of some types of leukemia or lymphoma. The procedure, which typically takes 20 minutes, includes numbing an area of skin over your spine. A needle will be gently inserted, and the chemotherapy will be injected through the needle into the CSF. A benefit of this process is that there are very few post-chemotherapy side effects. Some side effects may include a headache. CSF Analysis, LabTestsOnline, American Association for Clinical Chemistry, October 30, 2015. Continue Reading
July 18, 2012 Wellness Wednesday-Brain Food We all know that what we eat affects the way our body looks, and even the way it feels, but did you know what you eat can also have an effect on the way your brain functions? For a while now, doctors, psychologists, nutritionists have all been telling us to load up on certain foods and it will impact how alert we are or how we react in certain situations, but is that really true? We use it in every avenue of life... our brain! It's a major organ and an extremely metabolic one at that, which means it's very hungry and actually very picky. The health of our brain doesn't depend on how much we feed it, but what we feed it. For example it's not how much fat, but which fats. The same thing for goes for probably the most important brain food; carbs. "Our brain uses carbs as it's main source of energy," says Leah Kittle, a Registered Dietitian with U.T. Medical Center. While things like candy and sugary soda can make you feel more alert, you usually have a rush, then a major fall. For long-lasting brain power you need to think healthy. It's the leafy greens, raw veggies, bright produce, and basic grains that we may not line up to put on our plates, that Kittle says are the basics of brain food. "Our brain uses all the nutrients from all he foods we eat and the best guidelines we can give is follow the food guide pyramid and get lots of whole grains and fruits and veggies," she says. There is a lot of hype around specific foods, especially blueberries or bananas. While they do boost our brain's power, Kittle says they aren't any better than anything else lining the produce isle. "Blueberries and bananas are a great source of antioxidants but so are all fruits and veggies. Some research shows that antioxidants may help prevent some degenerative brain disease later in life like Alzheimer's or dementia. They just can help our brain function at optimum capacity," she says. Lean proteins are another thing that help with brain function. But with these, there are some that seem to be better than others. "The fish has Omega 3 fatty acids, flax seeds, and those Omega 3's are important for brain functions so that is why you hear about them," says Kittle. Kittle says even more important than the lunch you pack is the breakfast you consume. The way you fuel your body to start the day may be most critical in enhancing your mental capabilities. So, there is such thing as brain food, but it's no brain science to figure out what will make you most alert. It simply boils down to a healthy diet. "Anytime you don't eat well, your body isn't going be functioning as well as it should, that's not just your brain that is all your organs," says Kittle. Nutritionists say a healthy diet can boost our brain in other ways. Several studies show that a diet high in those bad fats could be a major cause of depression and aggression. This of course is aside from the obvious, which is the fact that bad fats are directly linked to an expanded waistline, heart problems, and even certain cancers. 1 comment: 1. If you want to live a healthy life so you can follow some dieting rules. As above provide a batter description to manage our dieting program and get a well body fitness. Russell Solomon Let me know what's up??
Sentence Examples • In others there are imperfections in rhythm, conventionalities of language, obscurities or over-subtleties of thought, which mar the reader's enjoyment. • Propertius is a less accomplished artist and a less equably pleasing writer than either Tibullus or Ovid, but he shows more power of dealing gravely with a great or tragic situation than either of them, and his diction and rhythm give frequent proof of a concentrated force of conception and a corresponding movement of imaginative feeling which remind us of Lucretius. How would you define rhythm? Add your definition here. comments powered by Disqus
Maths Blasters At Bethersden Primary School, we have been learning our mental maths skills through our ‘Maths Blasters’ programme. This is a high energy, quick paced and fun way to learn different strategies needed to complete the trickiest of maths questions. We use a variety of different resources, including, an interactive whiteboard, count down games and maths aerobics! Maths Blasters have successfully improved our children’s mental maths skills and Ofsted agree, with our latest inspection stating that ‘pupils are currently learning more effectively as a result of daily ‘maths blasters’ sessions, which enable teachers to identify gaps in pupils’ learning’. Ofsted also agree that our pupils enjoy mathematics lessons and many say it is their favourite subject! Activities to try at home • Run around – lay large digit cards or word cards on the floor and the children run to the area of the room, in response to mental arithmetic type questions. • Chinese whispers – children pass on a sum and the end person in the chain has to show the answer either using digit cards or a whiteboard. • Bingo – grids can be drawn up for the children to input sets of numbers to concentrate on tables facts, multiples, number bonds as well as problem solving. • The police inspector – this is a variation of the game ‘Guess my number/ shape?’. A child is given or picks a number and is then ‘interrogated’ by the teacher or another child. The rest of the class can be constables and can write down the evidence as it is given (scrap paper, whiteboards) and can discuss the correct answer. The constables can be encouraged to ask the ‘suspect’ questions too. • Who wants to be a millionaire? – A child sits at the front of the class with and is asked a question by the teacher or another pupil. They can either answer it, or phone a friend (some teachers actually use play phones), or ask the audience! The friend can only answer by offering a strategy that could be used. When asking the audience the class could have their fans, digit cards or white boards and show their answers.
The Kea in flight is a potent symbol of empowerment and freedom. This inspiring and majestic bird and many other species rely on our proactively conserving biodiverse regions. Corballis Communication is a keen supporter of saving biodiversity in our threatened natural environment and contributes annually to named organisations that undertake conservation projects of Earth defence battles. The Kea Conservation Trust The kea (Nestor notabilis) is found in the mountains of New Zealand – it is the world’s only mountain parrot. Sociable and smart, they have learnt to survive their harsh habitat using extraordinary curiosity and an omnivorous diet. Many people have seen them as a nuisance, so numbers have sharply depleted. The kea is an endangered species. The Kea Conservation Trust helps conserve wild kea in their natural habitat. It is registered as a charitable entity under the Charities Act 2005 (registration number CC29701) in New Zealand. Tony Corballis lived in NZ’s Southerns Alps in the 1980s and is both a lover of the kea and a strong voice for habitat conservation efforts. The Orangutan Foundation International Orangutans are found in Southeast Asia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They are the most vivid example today of a species threatened by human expansion and depletion of biodiverse regions for exploitation. Orangutans are mostly found in peat swamp forests, tropical heath forests, and mixed dipterocarp forests. They eat ripe fruit, young leaves, bark, flowers, honey, insects, vines, and the inner shoots of plants. Along with bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas, orangutans are remarkably similar to humans in terms of anatomy, physiology, and behaviour. Deforestation is one of the greatest crimes humanity has committed. Supporting species such as the Orangutan directly supports the preservation of biodiverse forest habitat. What are animals thinking and feeling? Passionate and logical ecologist Carl Safina discusses in a compelling TED talk what animals experience in this world we share. Find out more about Carl Safina’s amazing scientific and other work. Earth Defence Projects Client Earth Client Earth are a group of activist lawyers who work to protect our natural environment through litigation, advocacy and recognising and supporting science. Their decisions are purely based on the best research there is and policy analysis. They act legally and opportunistically to both influence decision-makers in big industry and government, and similarly in court. Conservation campaigns can be so much more powerful when backed up by the power of law. Client Earth are considered by Corballis Communication to be among the world’s greatest heroes, and Corballis Communication has supported this charity for over five years. Earth Justice Earth Justice is a group of brave and dedicated lawyers who believe that despite environmental challenges being greater than ever, many countries have strong environmental laws that can be more strictly enacted to fight back against reckless exploitation of our planet. They therefore hold those who break such laws accountable for their actions and put into action what many people only preach. Erin Brockovich This is the woman who Julia Roberts played in a film about her life. Erin had the courage to confront the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in 1993 as a relatively uneducated legal clerk. She took on a groundwater contamination case in California, where anti-corrosion chemicals from the cooling towers of the local Compressor Station had leaked into the environment. The USD 333 million settlement was the largest in US history. And so began Erin’s life as one of the most courageous defenders of our environment. Listen to her chatting about her efforts. Free coaching for Earth defenders Tony Corballis offers communication performance coaching – at no cost whatsoever – to anyone dedicating their careers to fighting against those guilty of climate change denial, natural resource contamination and exploitation, or attacks on biodiverse regions such as rain forests and the oceans. Make contact today, clearly detailing your area of work.
Greater India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Indianized kingdom) Indian Cultural Sphere Greater India Indian cultural zone.svg Indian cultural extent Light orange: Southeast Asia culturally linked to India, notably Burma, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Champa (Southern Vietnam), Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. Yellow: Regions with significant Indian cultural influence, notably Afghanistan, China's Yunnan, the Philippines. Southeast Asia Indianized kingdoms devaraja, Harihara Angkor, Borobodur Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil South Asia Buddhism Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka Hinduism Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Sri Lanka East Asia Buddhism transmitted to East Asia China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia Central Asia Buddhist monasticism Central Asia (Afghanistan · Uzbekistan) The term Greater India is most commonly used to encompass the historical and geographic extent of all political entities of the Indian subcontinent, and the regions which are culturally linked to India or received significant Indian cultural influence. It had to varying degrees been transformed by the acceptance and induction of cultural and institutional elements of India. Since around 500 BCE, Asia's expanding land and maritime trade had resulted in prolonged socio-economic and cultural stimulation and diffusion of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs into the region's cosmology, in particular in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.[1] In Central Asia, transmission of ideas were predominantly of a religious nature.[2] By the early centuries of the common era most of the principalities of Southeast Asia had effectively absorbed defining aspects of Hindu culture, religion and administration. The notion of divine god-kingship was introduced by the concept of Harihara, Sanskrit and other Indian epigraphic systems were declared official, like those of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and Chalukya dynasty.[3][4] These Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability.[5] To the north, Indian religious ideas were accepted into the cosmology of Himalayan peoples, most profoundly in Tibet and Bhutan. Buddhist monasticism extended into Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other parts of Central Asia, and Buddhist texts and ideas were readily accepted in China and Japan in the east.[6] To the west, Indian culture converged with Greater Persia via the Hindukush and the Pamir Mountains.[7] Other uses European designations The concept of the Three Indias was in common circulation in pre-industrial Europe. Greater India was the southern part of South Asia, Lesser India was the northern part of South Asia, and Middle India was the region near the Middle East.[8] The Portuguese form (Portuguese: India Maior[8][9][10][11]) was used at least since the mid-15th century.[9] The term, which seems to have been used with variable precision,[12] sometimes meant only the Indian subcontinent;[13] Europeans used a variety of terms related to South Asia to designate the South Asian peninsula, including High India, Greater India, Exterior India and India aquosa.[14] However, in some accounts of European nautical voyages, Greater India (or India Major) extended from the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala) to India extra Gangem[15] (lit. "India, beyond the Ganges," but usually the East Indies, i.e. present-day Malay Archipelago) and India Minor, from Malabar to Sind.[16] Farther India was sometimes used to cover all of modern Southeast Asia.[14] Until the fourtheenth century, India could also mean areas along the Red Sea, including Somalia, South Arabia, and Ethiopia (e.g., Diodorus of Sicily of the first century BCE says that "the Nile rises in India" and Marco Polo of the fourteenth century says that "Lesser India ... contains ... Abash [Abyssinia]")[17] In late 19th-century geography, Greater India referred to British India, Hindustan (Northwestern Subcontinent) which included the Punjab, the Himalayas, and extended eastwards to Indochina (including Tibet and Burma), parts of Indonesia (namely, the Sunda Islands, Borneo and Celebes), and the Philippines."[18] German atlases distinguished Vorder-Indien (Anterior India) as the South Asian peninsula and Hinter-Indien as Southeast Asia.[14] Greater India, or Greater India Basin signifies "the Indian Plate plus a postulated northern extension", the product of the Indian–Asia collision.[19] Although its usage in geology pre-dates Plate tectonic theory,[20] the term has seen increased usage since the 1970s. It is unknown when and where the India–Asia (Indian and Eurasian Plate) convergence occurred, at or before 52 Million years ago. The plates have converged up to 3,600 km (2,200 mi) ± 35 km (22 mi). The upper crustal shortening is documented from geological record of Asia and the Himalaya as up to approximately 2,350 km (1,460 mi) less.[21] Nationalist movement Here the use of Greater India refers to a popularization by a network of Bengali scholars in the 1920s who were all members of the Calcutta-based Greater India Society. The movement's early leaders included the historian R. C. Majumdar (1888–1980), the philologists Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890–1977) and P. C. Bagchi (1898–1956), and the historians Phanindranath Bose and Kalidas Nag (1891–1966).[22] The term Greater India, whether aligned or separate from the notion of ancient Hindu expansion into Southeast Asia, was linked to both Indian nationalism[23] and Hindu nationalism.[24] Indianized kingdoms Ruins of Ayutthaya in Thailand which was named after Ayodhya The concept of the Indianized kingdoms, a term coined by George Coedès, describes Southeast Asian principalities that flourished since the early common era as a result of centuries of socio-economic interaction having incorporated central aspects of Indian institutions, religion, statecraft, administration, culture, epigraphy, literature and architecture.[25] Iron Age trade expansion caused regional geostrategic remodeling. Southeast Asia was now situated in the central area of convergence of the Indian and the East Asian maritime trade routes, the basis for economic and cultural growth. The earliest Hindu kingdoms emerged in Sumatra and Java, followed by mainland polities such as Funan and Champa. Adoption of Indian civilization elements and individual adaptation stimulated the emergence of centralized states, and the development of highly organized societies. Ambitious local leaders realized the benefits of Hinduism and Indian methods of administration, culture, literature, etc. Rule in accord with universal moral principles, represented in the concept of the devaraja, was more appealing than the Chinese concept of intermediaries.[26][27] The exact nature, process and extent of Indian influence upon the civilizations of the region is still debated by contemporary scholars. Debated most is whether it was Indian merchants, Brahmins, nobles or Southeast Asian mariner-merchants who played a central role in bringing Indian concepts to Southeast Asia. Debated is the depth of the influence of traditions for the people. Whereas early 20th-century scholars emphasized the thorough Indianization of Southeast Asia, more recent authors have tried to argue that this influence was limited and affected only a small section of the elite.[28] Hinduism, authority and legitimacy The pre-Indic political and social systems in Southeast Asia were marked by a relative indifference towards lineage descent. Hindu God kingship enabled rulers to supersede loyalties, forge cosmopolitan polities and the worship of Shiva and Vishnu was combined with ancestor worship, so that Khmer, Javanese, and Cham rulers claimed semi-divine status as descendants of a God. Hindu traditions especially the relationship to the sacrality of the land and social structures inherent in Hinduism's transnational features. The epic traditions of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa further legitimized a ruler identified with a God who battled the demonic forces that threaten the ethical order of the world.[28] Hinduism does not have a single historical founder, a centralized imperial authority in India proper nor a bureaucratic structure, thus ensuring relative religious independence for the individual ruler. It also allows for multiple forms of divinity, centered upon the Trimurti the triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, the deities responsible for the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe.[29] Butuan, Champa, Dvaravati, Funan, Gangga Negara, Kadaram, Kalingga, Kutai, Langkasuka, Pagan, Pan Pan, Po-ni, Tarumanagara and Tondo had by the 1st to 4th centuries CE adopted Hinduism's cosmology and rituals, the devaraja concept of kingship, and Sanskrit as official writing. Despite the fundamental cultural integration, these kingdoms were given autonomy by the Indian mainland states to function independently.[30] Adaption and adoption It is unknown how immigration, interaction and settlement took place, whether by key figures from India or through Southeast Asians visiting India who took elements of Indian culture back home. It is likely that Hindu and Buddhist traders, priests, and princes traveled to Southeast Asia from India in the first few centuries of the Common Era and eventually settled there. Strong impulse most certainly came from the region’s ruling classes who invited Brahmans to serve at their courts as priests, astrologers and advisers.[31] Divinity and royalty were closely connected in these polities as Hindu rituals validated the powers of the monarch. Brahmans and priests from India proper played a key role in supporting ruling dynasties through exact rituals. Dynastic consolidation was the basis for more centralized kingdoms that emerged in Java, Sumatra, Cambodia, Burma, and along the central and south coasts of Vietnam from the 4th to 8th centuries.[32] Art, architecture, rituals, and cultural elements such as the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata had been adopted and customized increasingly with a regional character. The caste system, although adopted, was never applied universally and reduced to serve for a selected group of nobles only.[33] States such as Srivijaya, Majapahit and the Khmer empire had territorial continuity, resilient population and surplus economies that rivaled those in India itself. Borobudur in Java and Angkor in Cambodia are, apart from their grandeur, examples of a distinctly developed regional culture, style and expression.[34] Mainland kingdoms Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest Hindu temple in the world • Funan: Funan was a polity that encompassed the southernmost part of the Indochinese peninsula during the 1st to 6th centuries. The name Funan is not found in any texts of local origin from the period, and so is considered an exonym based on the accounts of two Chinese diplomats, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying who sojourned there in the mid-3rd century CE.[37]:24 It is not known what name the people of Funan gave to their polity. Some scholars believe ancient Chinese scholars transcribed the word Funan from a word related to the Khmer word bnaṃ or vnaṃ (modern: phnoṃ, meaning "mountain"); while others thought that Funan may not be a transcription at all, rather it meant what it says in Chinese, meaning something like "Pacified South". Centered at the lower Mekong,[38] Funan is noted as the oldest Hindu culture in this region, which suggests prolonged socio-economic interaction with India and maritime trading partners of the Indosphere.[39] Cultural and religious ideas had reached Funan via the Indian Ocean trade route. Trade with India had commenced well before 500 BC as Sanskrit hadn't yet replaced Pali.[39] Indian author Dr. Pragya Mishra even postulates: "Funan Was One Of The Colonies Established By Indians Within Cambodia..." in his essay "Cultural History of Indian Diaspora in Cambodia".[40] Funan's language has been determined as to have been an early form of Khmer and its written form was Sanskrit.[41] • Chenla was the successor polity of Funan that existed from around the late 6th century until the early 9th century in Indochina, preceding the Khmer Empire. Like its predecessor, Chenla occupied a strategic position where the maritime trade routes of the Indosphere and the East Asian cultural sphere converged, resulting in prolonged socio-economic and cultural influence, along with the adoption of the Sanskrit epigraphic system of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and Chalukya dynasty.[40][42][43] Chenla's first ruler Vīravarman adopted the idea of divine kingship and deployed the concept of Harihara, the syncretistic Hindu "god that embodied multiple conceptions of power". His successors continued this tradition, thus obeying the code of conduct Manusmṛti, the Laws of Manu for the Kshatriya warrior caste and conveying the idea of political and religious authority.[3] • Champa: The kingdom of Champa (or Lin-yi in Chinese) controlled what is now south and central Vietnam since approximately 192 CE. The dominant religion was Hinduism and the culture was heavily influenced by India. By the late fifteenth century, the Vietnamese — proponents of the Sinosphere — had eradicated the last remaining traces of the once powerful maritime kingdom of Champa.[45] The last surviving Chams began their diaspora in 1471, many re-settling in Khmer territory.[46][47] • Kambuja: The Khmer Empire was established by the early 9th century in a mythical initiation and consecration ceremony by founder Jayavarman II at Mount Kulen (Mount Mahendra) in 802 CE[48] A succession of powerful sovereigns, continuing the Hindu devaraja tradition, reigned over the classical era of Khmer civilization until the 11th century. Buddhism was then introduced temporarily into royal religious practice, with discontinuities and decentralisation resulting in subsequent removal.[49] The royal chronology ended in the 14th century. During this period of the Khmer empire, societal functions of administration, agriculture, architecture, hydrology, logistics, urban planning, literature and the arts saw an unprecedented degree of development, refinement and accomplishment from the distinct expression of Hindu cosmology.[50] • Mon kingdoms: From the 9th century until the abrupt end of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in 1539, the Mon kingdoms (Hariphunchai, Pegu, Pagan) were notable for facilitating Indianized cultural exchange in lower Burma, in particular by having strong ties with Sri Lanka.[51] • Sukhothai: The first Tai peoples to gain independence from the Khmer Empire and start their own kingdom in the 13th century. Sukhothai was a precursor for the Ayutthaya Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam. Though ethnically Thai, the Sukhothai kingdom in many ways was a continuation of the Buddhist Mon-Dvaravati civilizations, as well as the neighboring Khmer Empire.[citation needed][52] Island kingdoms • Salakanagara: Salakanagara kingdom is the first historically recorded Indianized kingdom in Western Java, established by an Indian trader after marrying a local Sundanese princess. This Kingdom existed between 130-362 CE.[53] • Kalingga: Kalingga (Javanese: Karajan Kalingga) was the 6th century Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Central Java, and together with Kutai and Tarumanagara are the oldest kingdoms in Indonesian history. • Malayu was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom. The primary sources for much of the information on the kingdom are the New History of the Tang, and the memoirs of the Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing who visited in 671 CE, and states that it was "absorbed" by Srivijaya by 692 CE, but had "broken away" by the end of the eleventh century according to Chao Jukua. The exact location of the kingdom is the subject of studies among historians. • Srivijaya: From the 7th to 13th centuries Srivijaya, a maritime empire centred on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, had adopted Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism under a line of rulers from Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa to the Sailendras. A stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism, Srivijaya attracted pilgrims and scholars from other parts of Asia. I Ching reports that the kingdom was home to more than a thousand Buddhist scholars. A notable Buddhist scholar of local origin, Dharmakirti, taught Buddhist philosophy in Srivijaya and Nalanda (in India), and was the teacher of Atisha. Most of the time, this Buddhist Malay empire enjoyed cordial relationship with China and the Pala Empire in Bengal, and the 860 CE Nalanda inscription records that Maharaja Balaputra dedicated a monastery at Nalanda university near Pala territory. The Srivijaya kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century due to various factors, including the expansion of the Javanese, Singhasari, and Majapahit empires.[54] • Tambralinga was an ancient kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nagara Sri Dharmaraja (Nakhon Si Thammarat). Early records are scarce but its duration is estimated to range from the seventh to fourteenth century. Tambralinga first sent tribute to the emperor of the Tang dynasty in 616 CE. In Sanskrit, tambra means "red" and linga means "symbol", typically representing the divine energy of Shiva. • Medang Mataram: Medang i Bhumi Mataram Kingdom flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was first centered in central Java before moving later to east Java. This kingdom produced numbers of Hindu-Buddhist temples in Java, including Borobudur Buddhist mandala and the Prambanan Trimurti Hindu temple dedicated mainly for Shiva. The Sailendras were the ruling family of this kingdom in an earlier stage in central Java, before being replaced by the Isyana Dynasty. • Kadiri: In the 10th century, Mataram challenged the supremacy of Srivijaya, resulting in the destruction of the Mataram capital by Srivijaya early in the 11th century. Restored by King Airlangga (c. 1020–1050), the kingdom split on his death; the new state of Kediri, in eastern Java, became the centre of Javanese culture for the next two centuries, spreading its influence to the eastern parts of Southeast Asia. The spice trade was now becoming increasingly important, as demand from European countries grew. Before they learned to keep sheep and cattle alive in the winter, they had to eat salted meat, made palatable by the addition of spices. One of the main sources was the Maluku Islands (or "Spice Islands") in Indonesia, and so Kediri became a strong trading nation. • Majapahit: The Majapahit empire, centred in east Java, succeeded the Singhasari empire and flourished in the Indonesian archipelago between the 13th and 15th centuries. Noted for their naval expansion, the Javanese spanned west—east from Lamuri in Aceh to Wanin in Papua. Majapahit was one of the last and greatest Hindu empires in Maritime Southeast Asia. Most of Balinese Hindu culture, traditions and civilisations were derived from Majapahit legacy. A large number of Majapahit nobles, priests, and artisans found their home in Bali after the decline of Majapahit to Demak Sultanate. • Galuh was an ancient Hindu kingdom in the eastern Tatar Pasundan (now west Java province and Banyumasan region of central Java province), Indonesia. It was established following the collapse of the Tarumanagara kingdom around the 7th century. Traditionally the kingdom of Galuh was associated with the eastern Priangan cultural region, around the Citanduy and Cimanuk rivers, with its territory spanning from Citarum river on the west, to the Pamali (present day Brebes river) and Serayu rivers on the east. Its capital was located in Kawali, near present-day Ciamis city. • Sunda: The Kingdom of Sunda was a Hindu kingdom located in western Java from 669 CE to around 1579 CE, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Central Java. According to primary historical records, the Bujangga Manik manuscript, the eastern border of the Sunda Kingdom was the Pamali River (Ci Pamali, the present day Brebes River) and the Serayu River (Ci Sarayu) in Central Java. Indian cultural sphere The term Indosphere encompasses the full extent of Indian linguistic and cultural influence in Asia in a non-geographical sense, and is a common linguistics term.[55] Cultural sphere Some of their formulations were inspired by concurrent excavations in Angkor by French archaeologists and by the writings of French Indologist Sylvain Lévi. The scholars of the society postulated a benevolent ancient Indian cultural colonisation of Southeast Asia, in stark contrast — in their view — to the Western colonialism of the early 20th century.[57][58][59] By some accounts Greater India consists of "lands including Burma, Java, Cambodia, Bali, and the former Champa and Funan polities of present-day Vietnam,"[66] in which Indian and Hindu culture left an "imprint in the form of monuments, inscriptions and other traces of the historic "Indianizing" process."[66] By some other accounts, many Pacific societies and "most of the Buddhist world including Ceylon, Tibet, Central Asia, and even Japan were held to fall within this web of Indianizing culture colonies"[66] This particular usage — implying cultural "sphere of influence" of India — was promoted by the Greater India Society, formed by a group of Bengali men of letters,[67] and is not found before the 1920s. The term Greater India was used in historical writing in India into the 1970s [68] Cultural expansion Expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia. A defining characteristic of the cultural link between Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent was the adoption of ancient Indian Vedic/Hindu and Buddhist culture and philosophy into Myanmar, Tibet, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaya, Laos and Cambodia. Indian scripts are found in Southeast Asian islands ranging from Sumatra, Java, Bali, south Sulawesi and part of the Philippines.[69] The Ramayana and the Mahabharata have had a large impact on South Asia and Southeast Asia. However, the Mahabharata has faded from the memory of many Southeast Asian nations and is not as widely known as the Ramayana.[citation needed] Shared traditions One of the most tangible evidence of dharmic Hindu traditions is the widespread use of the Añjali Mudrā gesture of greeting and respect. It is seen in the Indian namasté and similar gestures known throughout Southeast Asia; its cognates include the Cambodian sampeah, the Indonesian sembah, the Japanese gassho and Thai wai. Cultural commonalities Religion, mythology and folklore Architecture and monuments Linguistic influence Sanskrit and related languages have also influenced their Tibeto-Burman-speaking neighbors to the north through the spread of Buddhist texts in translation.[77] The spread of Buddhism to Tibet allowed many Sanskrit texts to survive only in Tibetan translation (in the Tanjur). Buddhism was similarly introduced to China by Mahayanist missionaries sent by the Indian Emperor Ashoka mostly through translations of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit texts, and many terms were transliterated directly and added to the Chinese vocabulary. Many Sanskrit loanwords are also found in Austronesian languages, such as Javanese particularly the old form from which nearly half the vocabulary is derived from the language.[78] [79] Other Austronesian languages, such as traditional Malay, modern Indonesian, also derive much of their vocabulary from Sanskrit, albeit to a lesser extent, with a large proportion of words being derived from Arabic. Similarly, Philippine languages such as Tagalog have many Sanskrit loanwords. Linguistic commonalities • Siamese ancient city of Ayutthaya also derived from Ramayana's Ayodhya. See also 2. ^ "History of India and Greater India". Collège de France. Retrieved December 20, 2016. 3. ^ a b "As in Heaven, So on Earth: The Politics of Visnu Siva and Harihara Images in Preangkorian Khmer Civilisation". academia edu. Retrieved December 23, 2015. 9. ^ a b (Azurara 1446) 16. ^ (Caverhill 1767) 19. ^ (Ali & Aitchison 2005, p. 170) 22. ^ a b (Bayley 2004, p. 710) 23. ^ (Keenleyside 1982, pp. 213–214) Quote: "Starting in the 1920s under the leadership of Kalidas Nag - and continuing even after independence - a number of Indian scholars wrote extensively and rapturously about the ancient Hindu cultural expansion into and colonisation of South and Southeast Asia. They called this vast region "Greater India" – for a region which had been influenced by Indian religion, art, architecture, literature and administrative customs. Indeed, Congress leaders made occasional references to Greater India while the organisation's abiding interest in the problems of overseas Indians lent indirect support to the Indian hope of restoring the cultural and spiritual unity of South and Southeast Asia." 57. ^ (Bayley 2004, p. 712) 73. ^ McGovern, Nathan (2010). "Sacred Texts, Ritual Traditions, Arts, Concepts: “Thailand”". In Jacobsen, Knut A. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Volume 2 ed.). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 371–378. 74. ^ McGovern, Nathan (31 August 2015). "Intersections Between Buddhism and Hinduism in Thailand". doi:10.1093/obo/9780195393521-0128. Retrieved 25 July 2017. 77. ^ van Gulik (1956:?) 78. ^ See this page from the Indonesian Wikipedia for a list 79. ^ Zoetmulder (1982:ix) Further reading External links • Rethinking Tibeto-Burman – Lessons from Indosphere • THEORIES OF INDIANISATION Exemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia (Insular Southeast Asia), by Dr. Helmut Lukas Retrieved from "" This content was retrieved from Wikipedia : This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article "Greater India"; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA
Touch Screen Panels - Information About How Do They Run and What Models Can You Find? Touch screens are beginning to arise in more gadgets these time. Most of us are aware of touch screens through our very own smart phones, or handheld tablets computer systems. Today, we're needs to read these brand-new alternatives in all of our personal computer monitors, televisions and even video game systems. Just how did these screens happen, just how do it works? The touch screen provides two functions that are main. It enables someone to interact straight using what try presented, in place of being forced to incorporate an function that is indirect for example a mouse. Since people are starting to take touch screen units, there can be a more substantial demand for their own production. In 1971 a professor for the institution of Kentucky, named Sam Hurst, conceived the very first touch sensor known as "Elograph." In 1972 he provided this start up business as "Elographics." In 1977 Siemens company granted economic support for this program to generate initial cup touch sensor user interface, which would end up being later on known as the "touch screen." There were different varieties of touch screens created with time. The difference that is biggest among them will be the means the monitor detects an individual. · The "resistive development" produced by Elographics comprises of five main equipment; cathode ray tubing, glass screen, sensitive and painful coat, a separator dot, and cover sheet that is conductive. These touch that is resistive reply to touch force. Thus digit strategies, fingernails, along with a stylus might be used. The word, "resistive" refers to the means the system registers the touch with the individual. A very good factors is these panels are not affected by outside factors such as for example dirt or drinking water. This sort of cheaper touch screen is among the most widely used due to its versatility and durability. · a wave that is surface-acoustic identifies a touch because of the reduction of the acoustic indicators in the point of contact editor on the monitor. These represent the sophisticated with the three screens. Although, they could be damaged by particles or drinking water. · Capacitive touch screens store electrical charges. And whenever the screen is moved, a fair quantity of cost\|amount that is fair of} is attracted to the point of enquiries. These sections have to be handled with a finger. They usually have high performance and clarity just isn't affected by outdoors thing. Exactly like some other electronics such as television's and personal computers, touch panels are beginning becoming small and much lighter. Additionally more electronic devices that are starting to hold this panel strategy, that may take the destination or whatever you today see "ordinary electronics" such as for instance refrigerators, in our automobiles, fountain beverage equipments in fast-food dining and room program regulation sections that enable all-in-one protection and room control. These programs lets you control home and security functions because of the tip of your finger. Several techniques enable you to even forward these control configurations your cell phone and handheld tablets. With exactly how quickly the technologies is progressing, there is absolutely no telling what otherwise are accessed by a touch screen section. Leave a Reply
Understanding a bully: Most bullies are insecure and bully to build their self-esteem and feel powerful. Many bullies were physically or emotionally abused or they’ve witnessed the abuse of other family members. Some bullies were formerly bullied themselves. They are taking out their anger on others or just doing what was done to them. Spending too much time watching violent shows or playing violent games can cause the feeling that aggressive behavior is acceptable. Bullies want to feel superior by controlling others. They target ones who are shy and less likely to stand up for themselves. Some bullies are jealous and bully to bring someone else down. Some bullies are just bored and use harassing others to entertain themselves. Bullies are often intolerant of those who are different. Some bullies want to impress others with their power and think it is a way to earn admiration. No comments:
How it Works In Europe, every year there are almost 3,000 fatalities and 100,000 injuries in road traffic accidents directly attributed to drivers following too closely to the vehicle in front. One major factor is the driving population's lack of knowledge of vehicle stopping distances at different speeds. The other is the drivers’ inability to judge such distances accurately. A recent study showed that only 9% of drivers could get to within 10% of the correct braking distances for a car moving at 30mph, 50mph and 70mph. Further, only 5% of motorists could get close to judging how far this distance was in real terms when asked to mark them out. The majority of drivers (66%) underestimated the distance involved - some by up to 75 percent. The Decals The TailGuardian system uses specially designed 'intelligent' signs that can be quickly and easily applied to the rear of vehicles. When following a vehicle displaying such signs, a warning will reveal itself to other drivers who are following too closely. The concept works by using filtering algorithms to enhance parts of the sign at the perception threshhold which the brain “ignores” beyond a specific distance. By calibrating the images differently, each “warning sign” becomes “pre-programmed” to appear at a correctly set safety distance, whilst remaining apparently “invisible” outside that distance. The medium of delivery - as an inexpensive, adhesive sign - makes the TailGuardian a simple option for employers, manufacturers, drivers, fleet managers and insurers to protect their staff, passengers, goods and vehicles. See for yourself... e. info@tailguardian.com
Biofeed Technology Why Selenium is required in the animal diet? As all livestock the higher animals cannot synthesize selenium, virtually all of it must be obtained from the diet. Grains and feed crops are the main nutritional of selenium. But unfortunately, due to the uneven distribution of selenium on the earth’s crust (selenium constitutes about 0.09ppm of the earth’s crust), the selenium content of most major grains and food crops are highly variable and often exceedingly low. Even if elemental selenium may be adequately present in soils, but factors which include acidic pH, heavy cropping soil leaching, porous and sandy soil texture, incomplete aeration due to water-logging can promote the formation of insoluble complexes of elemental selenium and sodium selenite with iron hydroxide which inhibits uptake by plants. The Soil selenium level in United States are generally low soil selenium levels and therefore suggests that selenium levels in pastures and grains will also be low. Forages and crops cultivated east of the Mississippi, in the Gulf State, North Western, North Eastern and the Great Lakes regions are relatively low in selenium content. Physiological Roles of Selenium in Animal Nutrition: 1- Improves antioxidant status: Selenium acts as a cellular antioxidant and inhibits the oxidation of lipids. Selenium protects tissues and cell membranes by preventing the formation of free radicals that cause cellular damage. Selenium as a component of the powerful antioxidant enzyme glutathionine peroxidise (GSH-Px, each molecule contains four selenium atoms), acting to destroy harmful hydrogen peroxide in the body and converts it into water before they can attack the cell membrane. The enzyme glutathionine peroxidise regulates biosynthesis of chemical messengers including leukotrienes and prostaglandins involved in the immune response. Selenium is one of the key antioxidants to fight oxidative stress, which results from the cellular process of converting feed to energy, oxidative stress is prevalent in today’s high producing herds, and is associated with high energy rations, heat-treated feed stuffs and diets high in aflatoxins. An enhanced antioxidant defense system prevents opportunistic diseases from developing and improves growth performance. 2- Immune Response: Improve antioxidant status results in better immune function, increasing immunoglobulins concentrations, reducing oxidative stress and improving antibody titers. 3- Regulates the effects of thyroid hormones: Selenium plays a vital role in regulating the effects of thyroid hormone on fat metabolism and other related effects on growth development and thermal control. The thyroid hormone iodothyronine 5’-edeiodinase (a seleno-protein) is essential to keep calves warm when born in cold weather as the hormone stimulates heat production in the brown adipose tissues. 4- Reproduction: Selenium acts as an essential part of biologically active seleno-protin involved in sperm structure. A healthy selenium status will promote reproduction performance, as well as better transfer of selenium to the developing embryo and fetus, which leads to improved disease resistance in early life. Advantages of L(+)Selenomethionine as a Superior Source of Selenium: 1- Selenium from Bioseleno in the form of L(+)Selenomethionine is exactly the same as those found in all natural foods and feeds consumed by mammals. L(+)Selenomethionine is a molecularly integrated single chemical entity, containing selenium in place of sulfer in the molecule of the essential amino acid methionine. This compound is directly incorporated into the body proteins (muscle tissues, milk and egg) by metabolic pathways similar to those of methionine. 2- Selenomethionine is 100% bioavailable for absorption and does not require digestion process. It is a “ready-to-use” from and is highly retained for a longer period in the animal body. 3- Selenomethionine is not only stable in the intestine environment, but also in the volatile rumen environment. The microbes in the rumen will convert the inorganic selenium salt back to elemental selenium and when excreted it causes pollution to the environment. The selenomethionine is protected from reduction and antagonism during digestion for both monogastric and ruminant animals. 4- Retention of selenomethionine in animal tissues is longer than any other seleno-amino acids like selenocysteine or selenomethylcysteine. In times of oxidative stress, the stored selenium in selenometheionine can be degraded rapidly providing fast synthesis of the selenium –dependant glutathionine peroxidise. This enzyme is pivotal in maintaining selenium homeostasis and many antioxidant metabolism. The Disadvantages of Inorganic Selenium e.g. sodium selenite and sodium selenate as sources of selenium. • Unnatural nutritional forms of selenium, less absorbed, poorly retained, less metabolized and toxic. • Inorganic selenium absorption is via simple diffusion, while selenomethionine absorption occurs as an active transportation through the amino acid pathways. Poorer absorption means less utilization. • More antagonisms between minerals and interfere with absorption by forming unavailable complexes. • Pro-oxidant properties lower animal performance.
Solo disponible en BuenasTareas • Páginas : 5 (1143 palabras ) • Descarga(s) : 0 • Publicado : 9 de septiembre de 2010 Leer documento completo Vista previa del texto The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age ofDiscovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolutionbegan in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England's terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, Pennines, and Yorkshire Dales) andin the south west (for example, Dartmoor and the Cotswolds). London, England's capital, is the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. England's population is about 51 million, around 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, and is largely concentrated in London, the South East and conurbations in the Midlands, theNorth West, the North East and Yorkshire, which developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. Meadowlands and pastures are found beyond the major cities. The Kingdom of England—which after 1284 included Wales—was a sovereign state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union put into effect the terms agreed in the Treaty of Union the previous year, resulting in a political union withthe Kingdom of Scotland to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1800, Great Britain was united with Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the Irish Free State was established as a separate dominion, but the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act in 1927 reincorporated into the kingdom six Irish counties to officially create thecurrent United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The name "England" is derived from the Old English name Engla land, which means "land of the Angles".The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages. The Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea.According to the Oxford EnglishDictionary, the first known use of "England" to refer to the southern part of the island of Great Britain occurs in 897, and its modern spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested mention of the name occurs in the 1st century work by Tacitus, Germania, in which the Latin word Anglii is used.The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested that itderives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. How and why a term derived from the name of a tribe that was less significant than others, such as the Saxons, came to be used for the entire country and its people is not known, but it seems this is related to the custom of calling the Germanic people in Britain Angli Saxones or English Saxons. An alternative name for England is... tracking img
Emperor penguins stay in large huddles to stay warm in frigid Antarctica; new observations found the animals' movement is similar to a rush hour traffic jam. A research team used a mathematical model to map out how the penguins interacted with each other, an Institute of Physics news release reported. The researchers found individual penguins needed to move less than an inch (two centimeters) in order for their neighbor to react and step closer to maintain the protective huddle. The movements "flow through the entire huddle like a travelling wave and play a vital role in keeping the huddle as dense as possible," the news release reported. The system can also help multiple smaller groups meld together into one. The team determined in a past study that the movement is not constant, but takes place every 30 to 60 seconds. "Our previous study showed how penguins use travelling waves to allow movement in a densely packed huddle, but we had no explanation as to how these waves propagate and how they are triggered," Co-author of the study Daniel Zitterbart, from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), said. In order to confirm their findings the team compared a mathematical model (that had previously been used to study traffic jams) with video of a real penguin huddle. The researchers found the difference between a penguin huddle traffic jam was that the movement of the penguin group usually came from an individual that created a gap that needed to be filled in, called a "threshold distance." The estimated threshold distance (two centimeters) is about "twice the thickness of a penguin's compressive feather layer," which suggests the penguins strive to touch feathers without putting too much pressure on each other. Male emperor penguins are responsible for incubating their eggs in the negative 58 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 50 degrees Celsius) temperatures during breeding season.
Electricity and Gas for the World! Choosing IDT Energy Electricity has become a fundamental fact of life since the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison over 100 years ago. It is such an integral part of life that most people probably give it little thought during their busy days, but it is important to know and understand where our electricity, which we are so dependent upon, comes from. There are many possible sources for the production of electricity. Electric power plants can produce electricity using coal, oil, or nuclear fuel. They can also be powered with renewable sources like energy from wind, solar panels, or hydroelectric dams. In the US, as of 2010, the vast majority of electricity was produced using fossil fuels, about 70%, with about 24% from natural gas and 45% from coal. Nuclear power contributes about 19% while 6% comes from hydroelectric power sources. Wind produces about 2% of the country’s electricity, and biomass, solar and other renewable sources are negligible. In New York State, where IDT Energy brings to consumers electricity and natural gas, the percentages are as follows as of 2008 statistics: Coal produces about 14% or New York’s electricity, while natural gas generates about 28%, a significant amount less than the amount of fossil fuels used to produce electricity in the US as a whole. New York makes up the difference by getting more of its electricity form nuclear and especially hydroelectric sources, with about 31% from nuclear power and 18% from hydroelectric dams. Just as in the rest of the country renewable sources of electricity make up a tiny percentage of the total generation of electricity with about 2% from biomass and less than 1% coming from wind and solar at almost zero. Deregulation and IDT Energy Utilities supplying electricity and gas power to New Yorkers and residents of several other states were deregulated about a decade ago. The intent of the legislative bodies that chose to deregulate the energy markets was so that competition would be fostered among the suppliers, improving service and prices for customers. In order to understand deregulation it is important to know that energy service has two components, the supply of the energy and its delivery. Deregulation gave consumers the power to choose their energy supplier, while the delivery of the energy remained within the purview of the established and regulated utilities. This means that today, for many New Yorkers, although Con Edison is still the company that delivers their power, the supplier of energy is determined by the consumer. IDT Energy is a qualified supplier of energy to the people of New York, and in partnership with local utility companies, which in some cases, but not all, is Con Ed, can supply residents with the energy they need at competitive prices and excellent service. Although the local utility still delivers the electricity and gas to its customers, consumers have the right to pick the supplier which meets their needs best, helping to drive down prices and improve quality of service. There is no need to do anything other than pick up the phone to make the switch to IDT Energy, or any other supplier of electricity and gas which services your area. Where your power comes from needn’t be such a mystery. Now that there is the possibility in New York for consumers to choose their power supply company, IDT Energy is striving to keep the public informed about all the issues surrounding electricity, natural gas and their uses. At IDT Energy we believe this knowledge should extend to how these power sources are produced. In the case of electricity there are many methods of production. Electricity can be made at hydroelectric power stations, by solar or wind energy, by burning fossil fuels, and other methods. In most cases, with the notable exception of solar power, the primary energy source must somehow cause a generator to rotate, where mechanical energy is turned into electrical energy. At a hydroelectric plant the rushing water turns the generator using the force of gravity which pulls the water down, causing the turbine to rotate and the generator to turn. Other power plants use the same principles but using different sources of energy. Past Meets Future at IDT Energy In order to arrive at the world we live in today, which is powered to a great extent by electricity, it took many people who toiled in the pursuit of knowledge and the discovery of ways to use that knowledge to the benefit of mankind. Benjamin Franklin, with his famous kite and key experiment, first realized that lightning was electricity. Thomas Edison worked for years perfecting the first long-lasting incandescent light bulb. Nikola Tesla worked tirelessly to discover ways to generate, transmit and use alternating (AC) current over long distances. Since those days of invention, discovery and progress we now take for granted the great, pioneering work or these inventors and scientists. Today, companies like IDT Energy help people to get the most out of these great achievements of the past by delivering the amazing source of energy, electricity, to our doorsteps today. Part II: IDT Energy and How Your AC Works IDT Energy New York continues the explanation of how your air conditioner keeps you and your family really cool. The coolant arrives at the compressor as a cool, low pressure gas. As its name implies, the compressor squeezes the gas, which raises its temperature. The fluid then leaves the compressor as a hot, high pressure gas which flows into the condenser. The fins of the condenser act like a radiator in a car and help the heat disperse faster. Then the coolant leaves the condenser as a much cooler liquid now under high pressure. This liquid goes into the last part of the air conditioner, the evaporator, through a narrow hole. When it comes out the other side the pressure drops and the liquid begins to evaporate back into a gas. While the liquid changes to a gas, evaporation, heat is remove from the air around it. The fins of the evaporator are there to enhance this process. Inside the evaporator a fan helps to further distribute the cool air created by this process throughout the house. IDT Energy hopes that having a better understanding of your air conditioner will help you use it more efficiently and with more appreciation for the work it does to keep us comfortable in the hot, humid New York summertime. Part I: How Your AC Works One of the most beloved of all appliances, especially in New York City in the summer is the air conditioner. IDT Energy would like to take readers on a little tour of how these wonderful devices work. First off, it is good to know that air conditioners work the same way as refrigerators, the only difference being the scale on which they work. The main principle involved is the use of a volatile liquid, meaning a chemical that easily changes form liquid to gas and then back again. This is referred to as the coolant. The coolant is used to transfer the heat which is found inside the home, and remove it to the outside. There are three main parts to an air conditioner. Two of the parts, the compressor and the condenser are usually found on the outside part of the air conditioner. The third part, the evaporator, is inside the house. New York State offers its residents a great program designed to help them save money while saving energy and reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses which are released into the environment. The program is called Home Performance, and together with Energy Star the goal is to help New Yorker’s save as much as 40% of their energy costs during the winter months. The program is sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, (NYSERDA), which hopes to improve the energy efficiency of any style or size homes and save homeowners as much as $600 per year. The program works by sending out a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Accredited Home Performance contractor who will assess the efficiency of the home by checking and measuring all aspects of its energy use, such as insulation, air infiltration levels, heating/cooling systems, appliances and lighting. The specialists will also check ovens, water heaters, and other devices and equipment to make sure that there are no dangerous leaks of carbon monoxide into the house. At the completion of the assessment the BPI contractor will describe what improvements can be made, how much those improvements will cost, and what kinds of financial incentives exist and can be made available to homeowners to make those changes. Incentives might include low-interest financing and other means by which the needed improvements can be made without the homeowner incurring and undue burden. “There’s no better time than now to change the way we use energy in our homes,” says Peter R. Smith, president of NYSERDA. “Energy costs continue to rise and conserving energy is essential. For some New Yorkers, that may mean building an energy-efficient home, making an existing home more efficient, or following simple energy savings tips. No matter what the measure, every bit counts. IDT Energy is pleased to bring to the attention of energy consumers the variety of ways New Yorkers can take advantage of innovative programs which are available to help save money and protect our environment. IDT Energy Offers Choice Whenever we consider make purchases, let’s say for a new refrigerator, music center, or washing machine, we carefully compare products, prices, service, how well the product meets our needs, and other aspects. Today we are lucky that because of deregulation in New York consumers can make the same evaluation before choosing their energy provider of natural gas and electricity. At IDT Energy there exist several options available for its customers to choose from so that the service that they choose is perfectly suited to their individual needs. Included in this decision can be whether or not you want your electricity to come from resources which are renewable and sustainable, which we call “buying green” at IDT Energy. It is important to understand that your utility bill is composed of two separate parts, one for delivery and the other part for supply. In the case of electricity the two components are about equal, or 50% each of the entire bill. For natural gas more of the cost comes from supply, about 75%, with the remaining 25% going towards the delivery fee. Until deregulation the state government regulated the price of natural gas and electricity, and the utility company was responsible for both components, supply and delivery. Today the two parts are separate and consumers have been empowered to seek out the best deals they can find on supply. The local utility will continue to deliver your power and gas, read the meter, and provide service for problems that sometimes arise. The utility is where you turn to deal with emergencies, too. Your bill will also continue to come from the utility, with the price of both the supply and delivery itemized for your convenience. Just like you would research the best deals, best service and best quality for anything you might purchase, now you can apply your same high standards to purchase your power for your home, and IDT Energy urges you to consider its 20 years of experience supplying thousands of satisfied customers with electricity and natural gas. Lumenhaus Visits New York City IDT Energy in New York was excited to see the famed Lumenhaus of Virginia Tech make a stop in Times Square in New York City as part of its national tour. The solar-powered, net-zero energy, 650 square foot home was a featured part of the United States Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon back in October, 2009 and is off to Madrid, Spain this coming June for the Solar Decathlon Europe. Many hundreds of pedestrians stopped by the house to discover the unique design of this home which uses sliding walls to incorporate the use of natural light to the max. There is a geothermal loop which contributes to heating the home, and double-hit solar panels can produce extra electricity. Just about everything in the house can be controlled by iPhone.
This sweat-powered biofuel cell could create better wearable devices Engineers at the University of California at San Diego have created a stretchable sweat-powered biofuel cell, and it could enable better wearables. The biofuel cells use energy from sweat to generate 10 times more power per surface area than other biofuel cells that are used in wearables. The researchers claim it could be used to How squid ink could make going to the dentist painless Squid ink could be used as a new imaging method at the dentist to check for gum disease, according to new research from the University of California at San Diego. Combining squid ink with light and ultrasound, engineers at UCSD have created a new dental imaging method that can painlessly and non-invasively examine a patient’s Could this temperature sensor reduce power consumption in medical devices? A new temperature sensor that runs at 113 pW could make wearables and even implantable medical devices less power dependent, according to research from the University of California at San Diego. The temperature sensor, developed by electrical engineers at UCSD, uses about 628 times lower power than state-of-the-art power sources and is 10 billion times This retinal prosthetic could restore sight in blind people University of California San Diego engineers have collaborated with the startup company Nanovision Biosciences to create nanotechnology and wireless electronics that can be used as a retinal prosthesis. The prosthesis is designed to help restore the ability of retinal neurons to respond to light. This is not the first example of prosthetic retinas. Current retinal
Return to the Purplemath home page The Purplemath Forums Helping students gain understanding and self-confidence in algebra powered by FreeFind Find a Salem, MA Precalculus Tutor Subject: ZIP: 7 Subjects: including Precalculus, Calculus, Algebra 2, Algebra 1 Salem, NH Marc S. ...The topics learned in middle school prealgebra form a foundation of math skills that are used in every math course that comes later in high school and college curricula. This means that if you let your student continue to struggle with fraction arithmetic, arithmetic using negative numbers, fact... 17 Subjects: including Precalculus, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus Cambridge, MA 4 Subjects: including Precalculus, Calculus, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 Sharon, MA Maggie M. ...Preparing students for the 10th grade MCAS exam requires that students are proficient in both Algebra I and Geometry. For those students who struggle with Algebra I, I often tutor them in this area on a regular basis. I have previously taught Algebra II at the high school level. 5 Subjects: including Precalculus, Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 Haverhill, MA Tobias D. ...Since earning my bachelor's degree I have taught science to a wide range of students, in both formal and informal settings, here in Massachusetts and abroad. I began as a teacher in an after-school program at a small non-profit organization in Cambridge, and later became the program director at ... 11 Subjects: including Precalculus, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus Waltham, MA Feedback \| Error?
From Trackway To Motorway Most of us all know that historically Leicester was built where the River Soar could be forded and later, bridged. The Romans drove their long distance route from the Devon coast across Britain to Holton-Beckering near Lincoln using this crossing point to establish the town of Ratae Corieltauvorum as a key point along what they called the Fosse Way. Romans marchingTrackways had, however, existed in Britain long before the Romans arrived and it may well be that parts of the Fosse Way had existed as ancient trackways many centuries before. Water transport had become important long before land travel to central areas of the country like Leicestershire became popular. Thus we can still trace the route of an ancient trackway leading out of Leicester, by way of what is now Scraptoft Lane, up over the Tilton plateau making its way to Stamford and the River Welland. In other parts of the county we also find traces of old pathways linking up with rivers such as the Wreake and the Soar. Gartree Road, running south east out of the city towards the Welland, was certainly used by the Romans but is in reality a good bit older. Its route is not only traceable but still largely in use either as a road or pathway along almost its entire length. Not quite as easy to trace is the road which the Romans used to link their town of Ratae Corieltauvorum to their fort near Mancetter on the Watling Street which we now know as the A5. This route passed through the vicinity of Glenfield and Ratby but the exact route is difficult to determine. We do know however that the forts along the stretch of border between current day Leicestershire and Warwickshire were well fortified. This was done in the aftermath of the famous rebellion of Queen Boadicea (or Boudicca) who met her end somewhere near Nuneaton. High up on this border country, further to the south, we find High Cross, where the Fosse Way traverses Watling Street. In Roman times many regarded this point as the dead centre of England, though the commemorative monument there is of a much later date. Today we live in the age of rapid road transport, yet Fosseway and Watling Street are still in use. The M1 and the M69 are entirely twentieth century creations but still follow in the cart ruts of those ancient trackways. Roger Blackmore
"Democracy" (1919) Song Poem by William Mill Butler Music by Carrie Jacobs-Bond, 1862-1946 [Source: 151/149@Levy] 1. Great mother of a newborn race, All earth shall be thy dwelling place; Democracy, thy holy name Shall not the continents aflame, Shall thrill the islands of the sea, And keep thy children ever free. 2. From God's eternal universe Shall thou remove the primal curse Which man upon his fellowman Imposed since first the world began; Away with slaves, deprived of rights And lily-fingered parasites! 3. For thus God's newworld purpose we Can, step by step, unfolded see; Columbus sailed, at His behest, From lands by wicked kings oppressed-- God's instrument, to search the earth And find the place for Freedom's birth. 4. And Washington, America's undaunted son, Whose spirit, caught beyond the blue, Encompassed France and Europe too, Until the purpose of the Lord Was plainly written with the sword. 5. Today the climax of the fight; A world embattled for the right, We brave the tyrant's frenzied hour Till shattered thus shall be his pow'r And all the world made safe for thee-- Hail, glorious Democracy!
ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel Online Government: A More Open Democracy Updated on March 25, 2013 Hey, person reading this. I have a question for you. Are you satisfied with how our government works? Good, neither am I. I think that's why congress is rated lower than cockroaches in terms of popularity. What if there could be a better way? A way that allows for a lively debate and for ordinary citizens to play an enhanced part. How would this be possible? One thing makes this possible: The internet! A more inclusive process Imagine if every citizen could vote for bills or resolutions. No longer would a relatively small number of Americans make decisions for the rest. It would finally be a government ruled by the people! Situations like this wouldn't happen anymore: Most Republicans in congress are against universal background checks for arms purchases. The polls show that Americans support it with a percentage of 91%. No longer would that be possible. There are some inherent issues with this plan, of course. Let's look at that. Could we turn into Greece? The inherent problem with allowing the populace decide every decision is that there's the possibility that they'd choose only the things that benefit themselves and would not care if they could not pay for them. This has been the age-old discussion when it comes to democracy. Sometimes, it can go too far and politicians will create a proletariat of sorts. They will start to make decisions for the lower class and it becomes a viscous cycle and only creates more poverty because people are consistently relegated to ignorance, and oddly, the politicians are, as well, because of the disconnect they have created between them and the populace. So, how would we avoid this? It's possible that we would still elect congressmen. They would be the ones to propose the bills and the dynamic would shift where they would have to figure out how the populace would vote on each particular bill. Also, it might be set up where congressmen still hold a certain amount of a vote. So, the populace vote would count for 50% of the total vote count, and the congressmen would hold the other 50% of the power. The details could be worked out, but it would really go toward fixing the dysfunction in congress. How would it be secure? Obviously, the main problem with this approach is fraud. This is why we haven't set up online voting for elections yet. I assume we will in the future because it would increase participation and be much cheaper. But, how would we verify citizens? A certain program would be set up where citizens would have to take pictures of their social security card or drivers license or both. Perhaps a broad, single government account would be set up and would be used for all government sites. This would allow for notifications to be sent to each voter, as to when certain bills would be voted on, among other things. Where this could lead... This could lead to many things. For instance, the government could live stream a lot more of their events. Instead of them being the ones talking and negotiating, we can could citizens participate, as well. Perhaps we could had experts invited too. Currently, there's almost and iron curtain between us and our government. We elect them and then they go do what they want for their term. That just doesn't seem right to me. There are numerous roadblocks to this happening The one body who would have to change congress. So, you can see why I'm not terribly optimistic about this ever happening. I do hope, that as our country gets younger and more technologically advanced, we will continue to embrace new ways of communicating. Not only with our friends and co-workers, but with our government officials, as well. This is just a thought. This is just a thought I had recently. Wouldn't it be nice for us to be able to participate in government in a more direct fashion? Let me know what you think in the comments. 0 of 8192 characters used Post Comment • pramodgokhale profile image pramodgokhale 4 years ago from Pune( India) Article seems to be innovative. Who will listen to You? Why? If the governments become transparent and functions then Bureaucrats will have no work. political rhetoric and self made Messiah of the people will have no place on the earth.How will they survive and their luxury ? On line government does not mean , some demand is given and get all solutions automatically, never, you mean efficiency because it is on line , ground realities are different. In India we are pushing many government transactions online but government neglects. Yes, illegal things will get eliminated and any online deal will considered valid. Please tell me experience in USA and EU. thank you Sir,
Sunday, December 30, 2012 Bareheaded Polish Jews in traditional garb in a Polish church? This is the demonstrations to which it refers. From the Israelite. 1. Can you clarify who was slain? Was this a funeral? 2. From the Wiki links - enough background to get the gist: "On 27 February 1861 a Warsaw crowd protesting against the Russian rule over Poland was fired upon by the Russian troops.[22][23] Five people were killed. " "By February 27, 1861, national feeling had risen so high in Poland that the government called out the military; five victims fell in the Krakowskie Przedmieście, Warsaw, and their burial and the memorial service were turned into patriotic demonstrations, in which, for the first time, "the Old Testament Brethren" of the Poles participated as a community. Though it was Sabbath, three rabbis, including Jastrow, joined the funeral cortège; at the memorial service in his synagogue, also on a Sabbath, Jastrow preached his first Polish sermon, which aroused such great enthusiasm that on Sunday his auditors reassembled and took it down at his dictation. Circumventing the censor, they distributed ten thousand manuscript copies within a week." 3. Rev. Dr. M. Jastrow was giving a memorable Thanksgiving sermon in English just a few years later in America. Related Posts with Thumbnails
Hump Day 3/8/17 The Watering Hole, Saturday, June 20, 2015: Blame Anything But Racism By 1852, the State of South Carolina was fed up with the Government of the United States and voted to secede from the Union. They forbore exercising the right of secession they claimed “in deference to the opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding States.” That was from the first sentence of South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession. They felt that Slavery was one of their “domestic institutions” and that the refusal of the Northern States to return runaway slaves, as actually required by the Constitution, constituted a breach of the agreement of the original thirteen colonies to be governed under it. So they declared their Independence in much the same manner (and at times quoting) as the Colonies did in our famous Declaration of Independence. (Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Nicholas Cage stole it once and pinned the theft on another guy.) There is no question that Slavery was a part of the Southern Heritage they defend to this day. And to defend Slavery is to defend the idea that some people, in particular black people, are less than human and can be treated morally and legally as property. That heritage is represented to this day by the Confederate Flag, in one form or another. (The “Stars and bars” come in various forms. One was the official National Flag, while another variation formed the Battle Flag.) To many of us, when you proudly display the Confederate Flag, you are insisting that the South was right on Slavery and the North was wrong. This is why the South has the reputation it does for being the home of racists. That does not mean, nor does anyone in the North truly believe, that everybody in the South is a dyed-in-the-wool racist. It does mean that racists can live in the South and not be bothered over their views. So when a young white supremacist decided to callously murder nine unsuspecting, unarmed black citizens in one of the most famous landmark black churches in American history just because they were black, and for no other reason, the conversation ought to include the subject of racism, and why it is so acceptable to so many people in the South. (Whether or not examples of racism can be found in other parts of the country is completely irrelevant and beside the point. The discussion needs to be about the openly accepted racism in the South.) But conservatives are trying to divert from that topic and blame anything but racism as the reason Dylann Storm Roof killed all those people. People who hadn’t done a thing wrong to him. People who let him sit among them before he told them, “You have to go.” Once pictures of him wearing flags of the white-ruled nations of South Africa and Rhodesia went public, there was no doubt in any right-thinking person’s mind that this massacre was motivated by racial hatred. So it should come as no surprise that Conservatives reject the racism motivation and cling to their guns and bibles, to borrow a phrase. [NOTE: FTR, what I am about to write I fully intended to write before I sat down to watch Friday night’s Bill Maher show. I didn’t get the idea from him any more than he got his idea from me.] “We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun,” [President Obama] said at the White House. Besides the clearly displayed racism shown in the massacre, guns are another issue the Right Wing refuses to discuss openly and fairly. But we can get to what the National Rifle Association (NAMBLA) has to say another time. And quoting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after four black girls were killed in the bombing of a black church in Birmingham, Ala., 52 years ago, he said the lessons of this tragedy must extend beyond one city and one church. He cited Dr. King’s words that their deaths were a demand to “substitute courage for caution,” and urging people to ask not just who did the killing but “about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.” It seems Dr. Martin Luther King’s niece and Fox News Channel contributor, Alveda King, would disagree. [NOTE: Full disclosure/confession/cry-for-help. For reasons surpassing all logical thought, Alveda King decided to follow me on The Twitter. I’m guessing after I questioned her there she’ll be re-thinking that decision. Cool.] She made a truly bizarre leap of logic to conclude that the Charleston Massacre was linked to abortion. You heard me right. Abortion. Okay, maybe you didn’t hear me. Maybe you heard a voice in your head you thought was mine. You should get that checked. And Alveda King should get hers checked, too. Is there something they’re serving in the green rooms at Fox that makes their contributors come out and say bat shit crazy things on live television? There is no doubt at all that this massacre was motivated solely by racism. None. Zero. But Rick Perry cautions us to wait, we don’t have all the facts. It may turn out drugs were involved. You heard me right. Drugs. (Maybe the drugs are why you can hear me. I know that’s why I can hear you.) That’s after he “misspoke” and called the massacre an “accident”. Sweater vest aficionado and Presidential Delusions-Filled former Senator Rick Santorum believed it was an attack on our religious liberty, even though at the time he said that it was known this was a purely race-motivated attack. US Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham, currently running for First Lady, sat down with other women on The View to stress the shooting was an attack on Christianity (it most certainly was not), though he seemed to express doubts about whether or not race had anything to do with it (it most certainly did). Fox & Friends invited Bishop E.W. Jackson who jumped to the conclusion that because this happened in a church, it’s clearly an attack on Christianity. They completely ignore the comments the killer made prior to opening fire on almost everyone in the church (reloading several times) and cold-bloodedly telling one survivor that he was letting her live so she could tell everyone what happened. Which she did. And she said he did it because they were black, and for no other reason. Also believing the motivation was unknown, SC Gov Nikki Haley emphasized the fact that the shooting took place in a house of worship, without mentioning the racism openly displayed by the killer. NRA Board Member Charles Cotton even went so far as to blame Pastor and SC State Senator Clementa Pinckney for the dead saying his opposition to guns prevented them from being saved. The leaders of Gun Owners of America, father-son duo Larry and Erich Pratt, also blamed Rev Pinckney. But none of these people on the right want to blame the murders on Racism. Some allow that it may or may not have been a factor (Yes. It clearly was. The killer himself said so to the person he let live so she could tell us why he did it.), but they always reach for something else to blame. And the only logical reason I can think of for why they do it, is because deep down, they don’t want to admit they feel the same way Dylann Storm Roof did. They sympathize with Roof’s racist rantings, but they can never say so publicly. Others probably will. (I’m guessing Rush Limbaugh is going to cross the line on this one sooner or later.) Because they don’t want the South’s history with Slavery and their undying support of it, their view of it as one of their domestic institutions, to come under scrutiny again. South Carolina still proudly flies the battle flag their army followed when they killed more US Soldiers than any other army in our nation’s history. Maybe we should reconsider our decision to stop them from seceding. And they can take all those people who think racism isn’t a problem with them. The United States will recognize the birthright citizenship of any SC citizen who wishes to remain here in the states. Racists need not apply. UPDATE: The Perry campaign insists that from the context, it’s clear Governor Perry meant to say “incident,” not “accident.” This is our daily open thread. Feel free to talk about Racism or any other topic you want, in case that one is a little too uncomfortable for you.
Artificial Intelligence News from 15 September 2017 - How to Get a Job in AI or Machine Learning (by Ed Tittel) Computer scientist Arthur Samuel is rumoured to have said that machine learning is an aspect of his field that gives "computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed." That's why machine learning is also considered an element of artificial intelligence, or AI, which deals more generally with how computers can figure things out for themselves. Essentially, the idea is that, given a good set of starting rules and opportunities to interact with data and situations, computers can program themselves, or improve upon basic programs provided for them. In the mid-1980s, computer scientists hoped to reshape computing and the ability of computers to understand and interact with the world. There was a huge infusion of interest, enthusiasm and cash at that time, but AI did not change the world as we knew it then. Over time, AI was found to be suitable for a relatively narrow set of computing tasks, such as creating viable configurations for complex computes. But AI neither set the world on fire nor redefined its boundaries and shape. More than 30 years later, AI in general and machine learning are enjoying a spectacular renaissance. These technologies are being successfully applied to deal with all kinds of interesting problems in computing, and are enjoying a broad range of success. Notable accomplishments for machine learning include email filtering, intrusion detection, optical character recognition and computer vision. Machine learning and AI have proven quite effective in applying computation statistics to use data analytics to make predictions and spot trends. Machine learning is hot, hot, hot Because some companies build or use technologies that employ machine learning and AI, there has been considerable demand for skilled and knowledgeable researchers and developers. But if anything explains a sudden, sharp spike in demand for such people, it's the increasingly pervasive use of predictive analytics across many fields of business. Most of the Fortune 500, and a great many other companies and organizations outside that fold are now using predictive analytics to seek a competitive edge or to improve their overall ability to deliver goods and services to customers, clients or citizens. Individuals trained in machine learning are now in considerable demand across the entire employment spectrum. That explains the six-figure salaries that are increasingly the norm for those who land such jobs. Of course, for many who already work in IT or who are heading in that direction, this raises the question of "how can I get a job in AI or machine learning?" The answers are straightforward, if somewhat labour-intensive and time-consuming. • The traditional approach: Get a degree • Make the most of MOOC offerings • Hands-on is where learning gets real • When you're ready to rock, let the world know Read the full article at For more AI News Podcasts please visit Artificial Intelligence News from 15 September 2017 - Chatbots With Machine Learning: Building Neural Conversational Agents (by Dmitry Persiyanov) Artificial Intelligence News from 15 September 2017 - AI's Threat to Traditional Banking Models (by Charlie Muirhead)
Forget Bigfoot. We’ve Got El Jefe. One of the world’s largest cats prowls the American Southwest—and almost no one knows it’s there. Photo: USFWS/Center for Biological Diversity Signs of a mysterious beast are popping up across the American Southwest: a tail captured on a trail-cam, a blur seen in the wilderness. Jaguars, according to legend, are shape-shifters. Mayans considered them envoys of the underworld, a symbol of the unknown. You know that feeling you get when you’re alone in the woods, like you’re being watched? For Arizonans, that could be El Jefe. El Jefe is the first of these “ghost cats” to be spotted in the United States since 2009. Jaguars, the biggest, baddest felines in the Western Hemisphere, are typically associated with the rainforests of South and Central America, but they once romped from California all the way to Louisiana. Americans systematically eradicated them from the country in the 1800s, when it was thought the only good predator was a dead one. As late as 1913, you could still earn $5 (about $123 in today’s dollars) from the government for turning in a jaguar pelt. Despite some 200 years of persecution, fragmented habitat, and more humans per square mile than this continent has ever seen, our nation is still home to at least one of the most elusive animals on earth. Earlier this month, Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity released 41 seconds of video depicting an adult male jaguar hotfooting it through the Santa Rita Mountains just outside Tucson. El Jefe, which is Spanish for “The Boss,” may be the only one of his kind this side of the Mexican border. I have to say, this video shocked me. I write about animals for a living, and I had no idea that jaguars ever ranged this far north—let alone that there’s one traipsing through our lower left corner this very minute. I mean, we’re talking about an apex predator here. This animal can weigh more than 200 pounds and is armed to the nines with claws built for taking down tapirs and jaws strong enough to crunch through sea turtle shells. It’s also the only cat in the Americas that can roar. To be clear, I’m not suggesting a jaguar is going to kill you in your sleep. They’re actually quite shy. But they’re also magnificent, charismatic, exotic megafauna. And all this makes me wonder: Why aren’t we making a bigger deal of it? Sure there have been various media reports, mostly local or in environmental publications, but for perspective, consider this: Animal Planet has produced nine seasons of Finding Bigfoot. In 2015, the History Channel aired a two-hour special called “Breaking History: Bigfoot Captured” (though he obviously wasn’t). There’s even a “Bigfoot Cam” that broadcasts a lifeless field devoid of sasquatches 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Spike TV is offering $10 million to anyone who can prove that Harry from Harry and the Hendersons exists. Do you have any idea how much jaguar science and conservation $10 million could buy? “You could basically lock up the survival of the jaguar indefinitely,” says Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, CEO of Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization. And yet the Arizona feline—our very own living, breathing jungle cat—doesn’t even have a Facebook page. (Yes, big cats can have Facebook pages.) Although jaguars are only slightly more plentiful than sasquatches in the United States, Rabinowitz says their numbers are likely in the tens of thousands between Mexico and northern Argentina. In all, the species spans 18 nations and two continents and enjoys the best genetic diversity of any large carnivore on earth. But its continued existence is very much up in the air. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists Panthera onca as near threatened and believes its total population is decreasing. Though the cats are extremely good at avoiding humans, they’re still hunted for their meat and hides in many areas. More often, they’re killed as retribution for eating livestock. And habitat loss remains an ever-present threat. Jaguars have been protected in the United States under the Endangered Species Conservation Act (now the Endangered Species Act) since 1972, but the legislation came wayyyy too late. It went into effect almost 10 years after an Arizona hunter shot the last known female. According to Marit Alanen, a government biologist with the Arizona Ecological Services Office, a draft recovery plan for the cat is in the works and may be available to the public this spring. But Rabinowitz, one of the scientists who pushed for the jaguars’ original listing, thinks the battle for the species’ existence ultimately lies elsewhere. It comes down to logistics. The only American jaguars to be seen in recent years have been young males—before El Jefe, there was Macho A and Macho B, both of which are now dead—and the reason is simple. Young males strike out to conquer new lands and to avoid aggression from larger males. Reproductive females require less territory and stay closer to home. According to Alanen, the closest breeding population of jaguars is thought to be about 130 miles south of the U.S.–Mexico border, a long way off. This dispersal behavior, which is similar to that of the mountain lion, is why Rabinowitz thinks it unlikely that a breeding population of jaguars will ever again establish itself stateside. “It’s not impossible,” he says, but it’s about as likely as the mountain lion reestablishing itself in the Northeast—not very. You can’t set up a self-sustaining population on Y chromosomes alone. What we can do is ensure the species continues to exist elsewhere. Organizations like Panthera do that by supporting conflict mitigation programs that teach locals how to prevent jaguars from preying on livestock. They also facilitate corridor initiatives that provide the animals room to run, hunt, and breed. Here at home, I don’t expect everyone to trade their Gone Squatchin’ T-shirts for Gone Jaggin’ merchandise. But wouldn’t it be cool if we gave the mysterious animals that are disappearing before our very eyes the same attention we give those that almost certainly don’t exist? Join Us

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