text stringlengths 144 682k |
|---|
EVERY revolution in its moment of triumph creates a vacuum. When victory is attained the mass passions that won it begin to flatten out. After running an abnormally high temperature, the masses start running an abnormally low one. Under many disguises the counter-revolutionary desire for normal quiet, for a juste milieu, begins to appear. In this anticlimax the revolution reaches its end.
Such was the pattern of the French Revolution of 1789; and since then every full-fledged revolution was supposed necessarily to follow it. This year is the hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Grande Révolution. A generation ago a jubilee article would have prophesied that any great future revolution would follow the accepted pattern. Meanwhile, however, the classical methods and course of revolution have changed. We see today that the new ones are as different from the old as our modern wars are different from those of Alexander or of Moltke.
The years 1789-1794 furnish the model of the primitive type of revolution. What happened then was merely a fragment of the modern revolution -- the dramatic, explosive, self-destructive stage inherent in all revolutions, primitive or modern. The three great revolutions of our day have been described over and over again. But too little thought has been given to the essential traits common to all three. The fact is that our age has had the doubtful honor of creating the type of full-grown revolution for the first time in history. These modern revolutions possess much longer breath. The energies of earlier revolutions were spent after the institutions, persons and symbols against which they had been invoked had been overturned and replaced. But the mass movements of today cut much deeper. Their programs are much more ambitious. And their prophets demand much longer periods -- longer than their own lifetimes -- to put them into effect.
Therefore after the first subjective and passionate stage there begins in modern revolutions an objective and bureaucratic stage. In fact, no word is more characteristic of contemporary revolutions than this sober word "bureaucratic," out of place as it may sound in this connection.
The leaders of the Grande Révolution had only abstract and nebulous ideas as to what the "morning after" would be like. But in our generation, which feels stifled by its vast social and economic problems, revolutions are started by daring men precisely in order to deal comprehensively with those problems. They think of the first stage of their revolutionary ascent as merely a necessary preliminary. But then they find that if they are to avoid chaos they cannot dispense with many of the inherited institutions and conditions of life. They may despise and disdain them, they may attack them whenever they feel able; but they must accept them as the material out of which they will have to build their new structure. This, in a way, makes the leaders stronger, but it also creates new dangers for them. Huge and complicated modern problems cannot be solved by the spontaneous action of passionate masses. The vacuum which appears after the first passions are spent may be salutary: it offers a chance to get rid of the excited crowds. But at the same time this anticlimax deprives the men at the top of precisely the revolutionary energies which put them there. In the second stage, the revolution must be very prudent in the use it makes of these forces. It must rely mainly on virtues of a different sort. And meanwhile the new masters will have been forced (or perhaps have rashly volunteered) to shoulder responsibilities for general prosperity and well-being to an extent never imagined by their predecessors.
A high Bolshevik of the 1924 vintage is reported once to have said: "Since 1920 we have many times discussed amongst ourselves the problem of the 9th Thermidor." This date is most important for the subject of this article. The 9th Thermidor -- the arrest of Robespierre -- that was the end of the Grande Révolution! Primitive revolutionaries like Robespierre and St. Just utilized the grandly-staged terror of that day to prevent the ebb of revolutionary passions. They were trying to fill the approaching and dreaded void with heads and corpses. Our bureaucratic and systematic revolutions bridge the horrible gap in a more rational way, avoiding thereby a repetition of the 9th Thermidor. They have found an "Ersatz" for the revolutionary emotions which have carried them thus far and no further: they have found their secret state police.
The critical hour for the masters of the new era arrives when, out of the fog of passions, the struggle for life re-emerges in its inexorable monotony, with its worries for tomorrow unchanged by all that has happened or perhaps actually made more harsh and pressing. The laws of social existence have not been annulled. Everybody is trying to cash in on the wealth of promises given, but most people do not find themselves any higher up on the social ladder. As a result, there is much criticism and grumbling about the state of the nation. The leaders and their close entourage have sobered down and see clearly what an unholy confusion now confronts them. They feel compelled to swap horses in midstream, and to perform this feat they need different and more potent supports than they have possessed heretofore.
What does a country look like when the revolutionary tide has ebbed away? While it lasts, the storm of the mass movement drowns out every other current. Each participant in the surging delirium acts as if no one possibly could think otherwise than he does. But as a matter of fact there are always many silent dissenters, some out of indolence, some out of real disagreement. And of course some join in the noise without joining in the sentiment. Thus, despite the colossal propaganda which preceded the last regular elections in Germany (March 1933), only about 44 percent of the voters on that occasion favored handing over their liberties to the totalitarian state.
In every revolution the point comes where a wide breach opens up between the jubilant and the uncommunicative. Then, as some balance and common sense is restored, the dividing line becomes blurred. More and more people, both inside and outside the Party, again feel the urge to get a hearing for their personal opinions. Men who have delivered themselves over heart and soul to mass enthusiasm now think it only fair that some attention be paid to what they think and say individually. Some people make a point of sticking to their opinions. Others have been sobered by unexpectedly finding that the revolution did not halt at precisely the right point, i.e. that it actually is affecting them adversely. Some who promoted the revolution in order to ward off this or that menace to their own private interests now threaten to become troublesome and start invoking their prestige or economic power. The budding vengeance of those against whom the revolution was aimed primarily has also to be reckoned with. Still another source of danger are the enthusiasts who keep their feelings at white heat in season and out -- the type of Roehm and Shlapnikov. There is no revolution without its Héberts, and the hate of these falls particularly on the "experts" of the old régime, whom the responsible leaders now discover to be as indispensable as ever for setting up the new order and making everyday life function smoothly. And what of these experts themselves? Their courage to undertake sabotage may not always be chastened by opportunism. Cool-headed individuals appear on the scene, scenting huge profits to be drawn from the flux of events. There is a rich growth, too, of informers. It always comes about, then, that after the victory -- or even while the fight is still in course -- the leader finds himself surrounded by a crowd of partisans who, garbed in the noble mantle of the great cause, are trying to use him in one way or another to promote their own personal ends. In combination, these types hold as much danger for the new order as would a general relapse of the masses into inertia or sullen exhaustion. They must be kept firmly in check or -- as Kerensky found -- the country will replace its new masters with ones newer still.
The National Socialist Government, victory won, exhibited the same tendencies as its Slavic seniors in revolutionary experience. That the great change had come was revealed plainly, almost ostentatiously, in the declaration with which it initiated the Winter Help Campaign of 1935-36. Every year this party drive nets many hundred millions of marks. Originally it was announced as an opportunity for all citizens to prove their public spirit and devotion to National Socialist ideals. But on this occasion the gracious donors were bluntly cautioned that their gifts were not really voluntary: gifts there must be. Almost naïvely, those in charge admitted that the new high-mindedness supposedly dominant in the era of national regeneration was not, after all, entirely dependable. In an unguarded moment they disclosed that there is only one thing which can be relied upon implicitly -- compulsion.
For some time -- in fact from the very beginning of the Third Reich -- the secret police, or Gestapo, had been the regime's instrument of compulsion. It rapidly became its chief pillar of stability and security. Like the GPU in Soviet Russia, the Gestapo undertook the task of making the state independent of changes in the human heart and soul. When the GPU and Gestapo are described as "state police" the term carries a very precise connotation -- a police for the state and against the people, who are still considered to be potentially recalcitrant and non-conformist.
Dictatorial governments of course are not the only ones which have secret police at their command. But in other countries the secret police have no powers except to watch, investigate and report; and they are themselves carefully supervised. The case of M. Chiappe, chief of the Paris Sûreté, recently demonstrated once again how touchy democratic countries are on this vital issue. The secret police of the "experimental states" derive immense power from the fact that in addition to their rôle of investigation and inquiry they have important executive duties. Their function is not merely to detect crime but to remove opposition against the development of any phase of the régime's program. And the deeper the incision into the living organism of the nation which this program entails -- socially, economically or politically -- the greater the opportunity for a vast expansion of the secret police.
Of course there are many intermediary forms between the secret police of democratic states and the secret police of the régimes which pride themselves on taking great risks today in order to build a correspondingly great future tomorrow. These intermediary forms, as in Japan or Rumania, will not concern us here. Nor is the OVRA of Fascist Italy a full-grown example of the type of secret state police developed in National Socialist Germany and Soviet Russia. This article therefore will concentrate on the latter.
Our epoch is, as has been indicated above, that of revolutions which have succeeded in reaching the bureaucratic phase. Even the terror is bureaucratic. The methods of the highly organized state police systems differ from the spectacular terrors of previous systems. They are more refined; and technical developments, from the machine gun to the microphone, have put overpowering forces in their hands. Neither the Bolshevik police nor the National Socialist police has staged a single public execution. At first, each made use of the "impulses of revolutionary conscience" which at that time were supposed or alleged to actuate everyone. In Germany recourse is still had occasionally to the "spontaneous" cruelty of the street. Not so in the Soviet Union, more seasoned in revolutionary ways.
But in fact the populace of both countries is still subjected to a continuous and active terror, directed against every individual who from any point of view makes himself inacceptable to the state. Such individuals either are "liquidated" outright or manhandled or sent to a concentration camp or crippled in their economic existence or forced to flee the country or merely confined at home (like von Papen). In sum, these various methods constitute a true terror because of their arbitrariness and the severity with which they are executed. Means of defense are extremely limited. In most cases the decision to use coercive methods is reached by the police authorities themselves, often in accord with some personal whim, without any hearings of witnesses and of course without any counsel being provided for the victim. From the moment of his arrest nothing more generally is heard of the delinquent until his fate has been decided; and often the decision is delayed indefinitely. In the Soviet Union it usually is assumed that a prisoner has been executed if his relatives bringing him fresh laundry are refused admission. In Germany, the fact that a prisoner has been executed occasionally is brought to the notice of his family by sending them by parcel post an urn containing his ashes. This kind of terror is in accord with the theory of the deterrent influence of punishment.
From time to time the Soviet Union stages a show tribunal which maintains a faithful semblance of orderly court procedure. This of course is done primarily for political reasons, domestic as well as foreign. In Germany, political "People's Courts" have been set up to satisfy possible pangs of popular conscience. In these courts the defendants are permitted ex officio counsel. But entirely apart from and above such external trappings of "justice" as these the secret police works its pleasure. It supervises the functioning of the People's Courts, and often (as in the case of Pastor Niemöller) supplements the punishments meted out there and in other civil law courts by again taking into custody those who have served their time. Nominally it cannot carry out capital punishment -- but only nominally.
Needless to say, these occult and arbitrary police doings put a great strain on everybody's nerves. The whole atmosphere of the country becomes imbued with a vague horror. The less robust of course tremble most, but even those who are strong physically often are affected. In the middle of 1921 a well-known British football player went to Soviet Russia as a tourist. In Moscow a vague feeling of the existence of some constantly impending yet unfathomable danger came to pervade his mind to such a degree that he lost the use of his legs and did not recover it until he was back in Riga. Visitors who used to know a country before it became totalitarian often are struck by the physical changes noticeable in many of the inhabitants, above all by their general apathy and the lack of expression in their faces, an uncanny contrast to the excited countenances seen in the first moments of revolutionary enthusiasm.
The terror is sharpened by the omnipresence of the secret police. The whole nation begins spying on itself. "Considering that the Soviet Union has 150 million inhabitants who are being spied upon," ran a Soviet joke, "and that there are 150 million spies to do the spying, the country must have at least 300 million inhabitants." Indeed, it is open to question which psychological influence is deeper -- the arbitrariness and severity of the actual punishment meted out to individuals or the atmosphere of ominous secrecy in which the whole populace must live from day to day and from year to year.
Every criminologist has to guard against the danger that he may cultivate more mistrust than really is called for in particular circumstances. All secret police systems, without any exception either as regards individual officials or the organization as a whole, are apt to succumb to this professional weakness. The terror thus automatically multiplies. The leaders who have set out to transform the country ideologically and materially in conformity with a certain plan must gauge correctly the public's current state of mind, its willingness to conform or its apathy. They not only are concerned about their preservation of power -- a miracle to which they never get accustomed -- but even more about the preservation of their lives. It is vital for them to detect and deal with all centers of possible resistance. But when the police systems which they set up undertake to read the minds of the people they soon begin to read almost nothing but evil thoughts. Confronted with the task of seeing that no citizen harbors any mental reservations and everybody holds himself always in a state of complete docility, they make suspicion sovereign. It ends by being sovereign not merely over the public, but over the police as well, and over their leaders.
No wonder that the catalogue of reprehensible acts constantly expands. The scent of the police on trails of possible danger becomes more and more acute, more and more subjective. Its criteria become less and less well defined. These defects should serve as a warning signal to the government and to the secret police itself; they should see that they are dipping into a barrel without a bottom. But they press forward heedlessly. In January 1922, just when he was taking over office as head of the GPU from Dzerzhinsky, Unschlicht told a foreigner that in future the organization was going to concentrate mainly on "preventive" measures. In other words, it was setting out to "eliminate" anyone who fell under a shadow of suspicion of being even passively hostile to the state. In 1926 this principle of regarding suspects as culprits was publicly enunciated by Rykov, at that time President of the Council of People's Commissars, and later the conception appeared in the criminal code of the Soviet Union. In the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten of January 28, 1939, an article which in other respects was duly cautious, and which carried the harmless title of "The rising generation of police leaders," dealt in its very first paragraph with the civil criminal police and with the "security police" (the Gestapo) in these terms: "The way of the security police leads more often than not from the evil doer to the evil deed, whereas the criminal police takes the crime as the point of departure to look for the criminal." The sense to be inferred from these words is that in the eyes of the Gestapo the suspect is enough without the crime.
The notion that the suspect is guilty makes the state police almighty; the bureaucratic terror is supreme; the conception of the state against the citizen has won. But at the same time the principle turns against itself and its adherents. "What is truth?" becomes a permanent question. In pursuit of its revolutionary aims the system must change daily the borderline between what is and what is not permissible. In Germany there often are convictions for offenses which at the time they were committed were inoffensive both in conscience and in law. A person may even run serious danger by saying something in perfectly good faith, or by seeing somebody who at the moment is quite reputable but later falls from grace, or by reading foreign books. These actions may later -- ex post facto -- make one suspect in the light of some recent "don't" and result in serious danger and harsh punishment. So far does suspicion breed suspicion that there was a legend about a former chief of the GPU, Menzhinski, that he had prepared a dossier about his own political unreliability.
Perhaps enough has been said to indicate that in essence one system of secret state police is the same as every other. All are extremist by their very nature. Still their methods of terror differ, both for internal reasons and because of different surroundings and different pasts. The Bolshevik revolution has used mass executions. The National Socialist revolution, on the other hand, has made more use of floggings. The threat of corporal punishment has the advantage of being more elastic than the threat of capital punishment. Its results are less spectacular, but it can be dealt out to larger numbers of persons and with fewer bothersome technicalities. Further, the number of persons who can be trusted to execute floggings is almost unlimited. In the first months of the National Socialist régime, the SA (Sturmabteilungen), elder brother of the SS (Schutzstaffel), had almost a monopoly of flogging. It can be argued in favor of flogging, too, that it actually produces a more rapid and deeper impression on the public than shooting. The range of possible attack is much broader and it is a more efficient instrument for maintaining power over a long period of time. It can be built up, too, as a reaction of the outraged consciences of the people, even though it may simply have been ordered by the SS or SA.
Young men, unfortunately, seem best suited to carry out terror by flogging. And so among the most serious reproaches to be brought against National Socialism and the Gestapo is that they introduce still undeveloped minds to some of the worst forms of physical brutality. Young persons degrade themselves by humiliating older and very often honorable and worthy persons who would, if they could, choose death by a bullet. The SS and SA were used chiefly, one can almost say exclusively, to carry out the pogroms of last November. Each group was accompanied by two officials, one an older man in charge of the active work, the other a "quiet" man whose duty it was to keep the group within the fixed bounds. The whole proceeding was an orderly and bureaucratic way of giving "self-expression" to "the people's soul." The Soviet terror, on the contrary, holds to the "supreme punishment." It seldom inflicts bodily mutilations, and beatings are comparatively rare, not being mandatory unless likely to produce useful results in the course of inquiries and questionings. Cruelties in Soviet concentration camps are haphazard, more thoughtless than vicious. But the German people is deliberately intimidated by the rubber truncheon, the steel rod, the rifle butt. Mortification vies in efficacy with the threat of death and with death itself.
The dilemma in which the secret police find themselves is real even though often they do not seem conscious of it. They want to impress the public unmistakably with their relentless vigilance and sternness. At the same time, they want the average citizen to work as cheerfully as if he were a free agent. As one of the aims is to make the Government popular and trusted, they are eager to create the impression of doing nothing but shield the honest citizen against hidden enemies; yet on the one hand they must constantly expand their repressive activities and, while persuading the public that au fond they are quite good-natured, must remain the incarnation of hidden terror, the potential avenger of every act of nonconformity. In both countries the secret police tends to change its official name from time to time, as if thereby it could shed its burden of accumulated public aversion. The Soviet Government in 1922 made the old Cheka a division of the People's Commissariat of the Interior and gave it the name GPU. Even so they thought best to change the name once more, to NKVD. In all, there have been three names since 1917. The name GPU is still the best known, and hence is used throughout this article. But under any name it smells no more sweet. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Bolshevik régime a movie was shown which depicted, among other activities, a meeting of the directing board of the GPU. Such a thing had never been tried before. The result was hysteria in the moving picture houses; women shrieked in the dark when the picture came on the screen, and within two days it was withdrawn. In the article of the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten quoted above care was taken to speak of the Gestapo under the disguise of the "safety police." No mention was made either of the official but ambiguous epithet "state" -- carrying the implication of something against the people -- nor of the ominous word "secret." In neither Germany nor Soviet Russia are the names of the institutions themselves or of the leaders ever mentioned casually in conversation. This is especially true with regard to the substitute chief of the Gestapo, Reinhard Heydrich. He was an intelligence officer in the Baltic Division of the Admiralty and as such had an opportunity to become an expert on GPU methods. He had to resign from the German Navy in 1931, and entered the SS. He keeps himself strictly out of the limelight, leaving all honor to his chief, Heinrich Himmler. Yet his name is known to every individual in Germany. Even Ministers of the Reich put their finger warningly to their lips if it comes up in the course of a tête-à-tête.
Government by secret police is a screw without end. Its exponents in the beginning comfort themselves with the belief that one day the success of their Great Experiment will simplify their tasks and give them something like the comparative quiet enjoyed by statesmen in the status quo countries. Today hardly any Soviet or German leader can be naïve enough to believe this. The GPU is more diligent in its work than ever, and in Germany the pressure of the Gestapo is only beginning to be fully felt.
Necessarily, the state police undo by night what they have woven by day. They defeat their own ends. Almost unconsciously the innate urge of biological self-protection asserts itself among the people. This attitude makes everybody distrust everybody else. Everybody dissimulates his convictions. Everybody avoids anyone who runs political risks through either open or secret opposition or who promises to become unpopular with the local representatives of the régime because of general apathy towards it. This sort of defensive attitude degenerates easily into blatant cowardice. Sycophantism and byzantism invariably become rampant in all totalitarian states. The result is what might be called the atomization of the nation. Each unit feels unsafe in company with any other unit. What was meant as a means of achieving union in fact produces disintegration.
True, in every human society there is a last "iron ration" of instinct for independence. Some persons have an instinctive desire for self-respect and a native prejudice in favor of justice. These will try to be faithful to themselves as long as possible and to be useful to their country, whatever the character of its rulers at the moment. But a long list of examples shows that the day comes when the state will prefer to do without all such help; then it causes them to disappear by one means or another. For many reasons -- but all of them having a single source -- the life of the country deteriorates. Then the activities of the state police are accentuated, for so, it is hoped, things will be kept going. But though every totalitarian state possesses fanatics who work far beyond their strength, there always is a greater number of people who take their work more easily. Either caution counsels them not to attract attention, or perhaps they are disgusted at heart with the lack of personal liberty in the régime. Thus it may be said that the work of the state police, constructive as it may seem at the moment, gigantic as it is in scale, sucks the vitality of the people which it holds in its hands and remains, despite all its achievements, negative.
It is commonly said that the state police come to form "a state within the state." This is not accurate. The expansive force of a state police is too great. The tendency of all such organizations is towards a saturation point where nothing logically remains for them to do but take over the totality of power. Ambitions in that direction have been attributed to the chief of the Gestapo, though nothing of the sort has been rumored in Soviet Russia. But certain conditions inside the police operate in the opposite direction. To begin with, its work is all-absorbing. The men in the high command always have the appearance of being under a very heavy strain. They are utterly concentrated on their work. Also, they usually are familiar with the limitations and drawbacks of political power as such, as well as of individual positions of responsibility. Most of them prefer the sweetness of real power behind the scenes. In many respects they must resemble a good general staff officer; they must be able to think coolly and logically, they must have patience and the gift of decision at the right moment. It is not a mere coincidence that the Prussian military aristocracy, which for many generations has provided the German Army with its best staff officers, today sends many of its sons into the Gestapo and particularly into those offices requiring hard and constant intellectual application. The work is not with regiments and divisions, but with single individuals, represented by dots connected by lines with other dots. Often it is not very different from the war games of the General Staff; and it is not much different in Berlin or Munich from what it is in Moscow or Kiev. The ranking officials as a group resemble an officers' corps more than a civil service group. Even in the Soviet Union they have a specific esprit de corps. In the first weeks of the Soviet régime some party comrades argued that it would be unworthy of the millennium to organize a new Okhrana. Yet in a short time the Government was speaking of the recently founded Cheka as one of the "angels of the revolution." In Germany nobody has dared to go quite so far, but much propaganda has been spread from mouth to mouth, especially among the younger generation, about the honor of serving in the Gestapo or of helping it.
Despite their various overtures to the public, the state police, whether in Germany or in Soviet Russia, live lives apart. Their members are feared whenever their occupation is known -- often, of course, it is kept secret. They themselves feel separated from the community as a whole, though certainly not as inferiors but rather because they are conscious of serving a special morality. The average citizen seems to them to lead a conventional sort of life, whereas they, wide-awake and indefatigable in the service of the common good, proceed according to rigid principles even if those principles are in conflict with general ethics. Nobody can judge to what extent individual impulses of sadism or revenge operate to reinforce the abstract principles which in their eyes justify them in telling lies, employing agents provocateurs, blackmailing, oppressing, taking hostages. Certain officially undesirable characteristics such as vindictiveness often recur. We can only hint here at this human side of the problem.
The state police are a beautiful handle fitted to a dirty stick. The responsible members are actuated by a spirit of dedication, by the conscious pride natural to men who in splendid isolation, convinced of their own special abilities, and putting forth enormous energies, safeguard the security of the state, require the fulfilment of its plans, and guarantee, as they believe, the nation's fundamental unity. All this might indeed be a worthy matter of pride if only it did not originate in a total absence of morals, even in direct immorality, and did not find fulfilment through instruments of horror. They are, or become, oblivious of this. What happens in the inquisition rooms, in the guardrooms, in the prison cells and in the concentration camps is, for these officials, the same sort of day's work as work in a hospital or surgery is to a doctor.
All the secret police systems pay well and give special attention to the well-being of subordinates. No amount of money, however, can ever buy for the masters of the terror the coveted certainty that everything will be done by their "executive organs" in the manner ordered or that the results will be precisely those foreseen. Certain personal instincts or subjective judgments must be relied upon to produce the required results at a given moment. On the other hand, care must be taken not to allow these instincts too free sway. This may seem a mere matter of bureaucratic discernment. But it is a matter in which decision is most difficult as well as most important. Orders must be given in a dangerous moral twilight. If there are men either at the top or at the bottom with certain propensities they are under terrible temptation to give way to them. There also is a great temptation to succumb to bribery. Such are the limitations on omnipotence! Many of the numerous petty officers, spies and hangers-on of the Gestapo and the GPU are in fact quite openly corrupt. Indeed, in this respect there is hardly any difference between the police forces of the two hostile states. With regard to the higher officers, there is no evidence of corrupt practices in the Gestapo. Sometimes, however, financial corruption exists even very high up in the GPU. In 1926, for example, 120 of the more responsible GPU officers were held prisoners in the concentration camp in Solovetsk on charges of corruption.
By virtue of their extraordinary simplicity of conception and the discipline in the higher ranks the state police acquire an almost aristocratic character. Consciousness of this is encouraged in the Gestapo in order to ward off any qualms of conscience, especially among recruits. The GPU would do the same thing if the political lingo of the country permitted. Several times Stalin has thought fit to plant especially trusted men in the GPU with the aim of softening what seemed to him, even under accepted standards, as excessive cruelty. But in time all of them became hardened and routine Chekists.
Evidently the selection of officials possessing such vast arbitrary powers must be very careful. In Germany the requirements on both the physical and the intellectual score have become stricter as time goes on. Even so, any newly-organized police system is forced to have recourse to the experienced criminologists of the previous régime. In Soviet Russia, men have even been picked out of the hated Okhrana. Both in Germany and Soviet Russia some individuals with dubious -- to say the least -- personal proclivities have secured police posts; and there can be no doubt that during the initial terror in the Soviet Union these men were considered particularly useful.
From the beginning, the SS supplied a considerable number of the state police officers, and today it forms the main reservoir for candidates. The chief of the Gestapo, Henrich Himmler, has been commander of the SS since 1929. Alongside the SS stands the much older SA, consciously designed to be its more plebeian brother. The SA is also an instrument of the state police and a recruiting agency for it. Characteristically, most of the concentration camps are under the supervision of the SA. But it would seem that the SS still has a monopoly of the major activities of the Gestapo. Picked SS men are sent to special schools where they receive both general and specialized instruction. Some of them then go on to the universities, but they live in special houses. Frequently these young men also are sent abroad to "look around." SS men belong to either the "outer" or the "inner" circle. The latter have intimate connections with the state police and with the Party; and, in conjunction with similar groups of the SA, they are usually assigned to carry out the carefully prepared special "actions" intended to be taken as spontaneous explosions of the "folk soul." This sort of occurrence has not been reported from the Soviet Union; the specific methods of terror used there do not require it. The duty of the specially trained GPU army of between 130,000 and 150,000 men is to supervise internal security, watch the frontiers, and in general serve as an adjunct of the state police. Not much is known about the recruiting methods of the GPU. But just as the Hitler Youth organization is constantly sifted in the search for suitable material for the Gestapo, so the Soviet Union seems to turn to the Komsomoltsi and the universities to find young talent.
The positive merits or demerits of Communism or National Socialism are not under discussion here. Both have arisen from precarious social, economic and political conditions, and their enemies make a mistake if they deny them historical justification. In this uncertain epoch, it is as much up to the democracies (that is, the status quo governments) to prove their right to exist as it is to the dictatorships. But it certainly is a point against the totalitarian states that they make use of a secret state police and that evidently they are congenitally obliged to do so. Though the government must needs rely on the police, it finds itself in almost the same uncertain relationship towards it as the individual citizen does. The more the secret police suspect everybody the more sure they feel that they must plant their agents even in the organs of government, both at home and abroad; install their microphones even in the government offices; and use every possible means for finding out exactly what goes on in every branch of government, even in the cabinet meetings. By nature, they disapprove of the typical routine government employee who is inclined to administrative compromises, who pays attention to purely economic considerations, and who in consequence appears to be lukewarm or even, by claiming the right to criticize certain actions on departmental grounds, indicates that he might have a tendency to criticize the system itself. The constant supervision exercised by the police over all government agencies disrupts teamwork and damages initiative and efficiency. The same fear, the same evasion of responsibility, the same lack of initiative which oppresses the ordinary economic processes of the country as a whole, lays its paralyzing hand on the government routine.
The army is peculiarly susceptible to this infiltration. At the end of the 1920's, a whole cavalry regiment left its garrison at Minsk and camped outside the town in protest against attempts of the GPU to invade its officers corps. The GPU never forgot the way the late Marshal Tukhachevsky treated this affair -- and Marshal Tukhachevsky has now been shot. In the same way, the German Army has not forgotten the violent death of General von Schleicher, nor the circumstances in which the Gestapo arranged to bring about the downfall of General von Fritsch. The abolishment of political commissars in the Red Army represented a victory of the Government and of certain party circles over the GPU and the party groups affiliated with it. Their reinstatement in 1937 is generally considered as one reason for the present unsatisfactory state of the Soviet Army.
In both countries the secret state police constantly interfere with the normal activity of the courts. They watch the activities of public prosecutors; they supervise trials and advise in judgments; and they inflict their own punishments after the regular punishments are finished. In this way the whole authority of the public judiciary is gradually obliterated, as was demonstrated in the Soviet Union when a law curtailing the powers of the GPU failed to be given any practical effect whatsoever. It is characteristic of conditions in Germany that a decree, promulgated soon after the purge of June 30, 1934, makes it impossible to hold the Gestapo responsible legally for mistakes. The authority and activities of the legal authorities and of the Minister of the Interior himself are similarly impaired by the concentration of all police powers in a single head, Heinrich Himmler. Recently the Gestapo had a hand in eliminating Dr. Schacht from the Economics Ministry, and finally from the Reichsbank, thus consummating a long-cherished ambition. In every branch of the government the Gestapo has its say.
But as the secret police interfere more and more in matters outside their original scope other state agencies come into conflict with them. Stalin sometimes fights the GPU, sometimes uses it in his fights. So far we have heard nothing of any conflicts in Germany like the one which Stalin had with the GPU in 1928-29 at the start of farm collectivization (the GPU felt it entailed grave risks for the security of the régime). But there can be no question that both in Germany and in Soviet Russia a continuous if largely under-cover conflict is always in progress between the police and various sections of the government which it serves.
The Gestapo's relationship to the "single Party" is different from its relationship to the Government. There are fewer natural causes of friction, for the Party, serving its own interests and guarding its own omnipotence, can take a more purely political view than the Government, which day by day must deal with practical problems. Sometimes when the Party feels tempted to interfere with the Government's conduct of a particular matter the Gestapo supports it; and sometimes the Gestapo turns for support to the Party. Thus the local party organizations frequently coöperated with the Gestapo in forcing non-Aryans out of their positions when the Ministry of Economics and the Reichswehr strongly disapproved of such actions. Similarly in Soviet Russia, while the Government was still maintaining a favorable attitude toward foreigners who had been granted "concessions," the Communist Party coöperated with the GPU to make their life unbearable. The National Socialist Party and the Gestapo also collaborate in revolutionary work in "democratic countries," just as the Comintern and the GPU work together in "capitalistic countries." A distinct section of the state police in Moscow exists for the purpose of coöperating with the Party in this field. In this connection reference might be made to reports that the Gestapo executed the well-timed murder of Baron Kettel, Secretary of the German Legation at Vienna, at the moment of Austria's absorption in the Reich. Thus while the accent of power jumps back and forth between government and party in all the totalitarian states, the state police often is able to weight the balance. And through all the changes, its strength and influence remain essentially intact.
Early Christianity believed that evil was the inevitable function of power. The actions of the totalitarian governments of our time reënforce that view. The more comprehensive their absolutism becomes, the more they base themselves on a conception of morality incompatible with normal ethics. They turn everybody and everything into instruments for achieving their exalted and ambitious aims, trying to set the course of history by anticipation over decades and even centuries to come. But the effort involves resort to the raison d'état, not just as an incidental aid to them in maintaining power but as the paramount principle governing their government.
Here lies the fundamental fallacy of these régimes. As the result of the all-pervading terror, their exalted programs never get beyond a stage which we might compare to laboratory tests executed under artificial and arbitrary conditions. There is no possibility either for those who direct the operation or for observers, even though they are most sympathetic and even though they are in the laboratory itself, to judge how the program would work out in a free society employing individual initiative for the accomplishment of a common task. In the years from 1918 to 1920 many leading Bolsheviks were conscious of this weakness and insisted that a "democratic" test should be applied, at least in some fields. They were defeated, but the tendency lingered on. Then Stalin, helped by the Cheka, dealt with it once for all. He proclaimed the "monolithic" party and thereby the "monolithic" state. He saved the régime. But he condemned the Bolshevik state forever to the use of crutches. The National Socialist State boasts that it avoided such illusions from the beginning. It adopted crutches not only deliberately but with enthusiasm, and it continues to use them and to strengthen them.
Propagandists for totalitarian states never refer to the state police. On occasions when the totalitarian governments feel obliged to mention their existence they claim that their actions are for the greatest good of the greatest number. Nevertheless, their function is the best substantiation of the theory that by reason of the nature of its government a totalitarian country is incapable of ever reaching the optimum of welfare which it might hope to achieve in a normal atmosphere. Totalitarian experimentation cannot escape from the fact that its prerequisite is the perversion of normal life and that the inevitable result is a sapping of the nation's spontaneous vital energies.
Admirers of the dictators are liable consciously or unconsciously to ignore the price paid by nations for their achievements. We can estimate the size of this price and guess the reason why it must be paid if for a moment we imagine that in some totalitarian state the terror suddenly were withdrawn. The government could not hold its own for more than a moment. A totalitarian government can master everything except the fact that the foundations on which it builds are artificial.
Admirers of totalitarian theory concentrate on its promises and on its successes in limited fields. They do not or will not see that terror is the prerequisite for obtaining those successes. Many of them live in some country which as a matter of course functions according to certain political and legal principles. Of course life there is not satisfactory. But those who criticize the faults of their own country and praise what they like about the dictatorships never imagine precisely what it would mean for them individually if the accepted principles of the government under which they live were to be replaced by the concepts of totalitarianism. Like people with good lungs, they consciously avoid thinking what it would be like to have tuberculosis. The great danger for freedom in the world can be summed up in the old saying that "the healthy never understand what it feels like to be sick."
Other experiments may be made with totalitarianism in other lands. But this much may be said after the experience of the last twenty years. Any upheaval planned anywhere in the name of a single man and a single party will face the practical problem of how the revolutionary program is to be realized by a free interplay of social, political and economic forces, thus avoiding the spiritual degeneration and material decomposition which result from reliance on terror. Theoretically this may not seem impossible. But actually the probabilities are against the appearance of the genius, be it of an individual or an entire nation, wise enough and strong enough to carry through such an intricate task.
You are reading a free article.
Subscribe to Foreign Affairs to get unlimited access.
Subscribe Now |
Children do not understand concept of others having false beliefs until age 6 or 7 — ScienceDaily
New developmental psychology do the job has upended decades of investigate suggesting that kids as younger as 4 decades previous have idea of intellect.
Acquiring theory of head implies comprehending how other individuals assume, which includes the skill of somebody else to have a phony belief.
In a well-known theory-of-brain experiment that consists of bogus beliefs, youngsters look at scenes involving a character named Maxi, his mother and a chocolate bar. Maxi sites the chocolate bar into a blue box and then leaves. Unbeknownst to Maxi, his mother exhibits up and moves the chocolate from the blue box into a environmentally friendly box. After Maxi’s mom leaves, Maxi returns and then the boy or girl is requested exactly where Maxi will seem for the chocolate.
By 4 years aged, kids can remedy effectively: Maxi will seem in the blue box.
But do younger kids genuinely comprehend that due to the fact Maxi did not see his mom transfer the chocolate, he falsely thinks it is nonetheless in the blue box?
The response is no, according to William Fabricius, associate professor of psychology at Arizona Condition University. For much more than a decade, Fabricius and his collaborators have carried out new experiments and have also analyzed past experiments that collectively present youngsters do not actually recognize untrue beliefs until eventually they are 6 or 7 years aged. This function will be printed in Monographs of the Society for Investigate in Boy or girl Development on September 21.
“When we overestimate what young young children fully grasp about the mind, and consequently how other folks imagine, we can hope too much from them in conditions of social conduct or general performance in university,” stated Fabricius, who is the guide writer of the paper.
A few locations to hide the chocolate bar
1 of the 1st methods the research crew analyzed what children in fact recognize about Maxi’s false perception was to include a 3rd feasible place of the chocolate bar.
In these experiments, there is a blue box, a green box and a red box. Maxi once more areas his chocolate bar in the blue box. His mother yet again moves the chocolate bar into the eco-friendly box.
When younger little ones are questioned exactly where Maxi will glimpse for the chocolate, they respond to the blue box 50% of the time and the red box 50% of the time.
“When there are only two places, 4- and 5-yr-aged children can answer the right way devoid of really understanding that Maxi has a wrong belief about the location of the chocolate bar,” Fabricius stated. “Including a 3rd locale outcomes in them guessing at prospect among the two vacant areas. Mainly because young little ones can pass the two-possibility false-belief job with out comprehending Maxi’s considered processes, this experiment does not check theory of thoughts.”
The random options kids make when there are three probable locations of the chocolate bar propose they rely on their rudimentary comprehension of observing and recognizing. This study staff has named this approach “perceptual accessibility reasoning.”
Small children use perceptual accessibility reasoning in the following way:
• Seeing sales opportunities to being aware of
• Folks who are not able to see a thing do not know about it
• Men and women who do not know will always do the incorrect thing
Based mostly on these procedures, 4- and 5-yr-previous little ones explanation that when Maxi returns, he simply cannot see that the chocolate is in the inexperienced box, so he does not know that the chocolate is in the environmentally friendly box. Therefore, children reason that Maxi will make the incorrect option and will seem in an empty spot.
When there is only a single vacant site (the blue box), small children respond to correctly by default. When there are two empty destinations (blue and red containers), they guess.
What transpires when Maxi has a accurate perception, and his mother leaves the chocolate bar alone
A different way the analysis workforce analyzed what younger young children have an understanding of about others’ ideas was to have the chocolate bar remain where Maxi set it. When Maxi returns, he has a genuine belief about wherever the chocolate is.
In this experiment, Maxi all over again puts the chocolate bar in the blue box and leaves. This time when Maxi’s mom arrives in, she leaves the chocolate bar wherever it is.
Even with just two choices — the blue and eco-friendly containers — youthful kids fail the legitimate-belief process. They incorrectly answer that Maxi will make the improper option and look in the green box.
“Perceptual access reasoning end users have an immature concept of recognizing as tied to the present condition, and do not yet comprehend that people today have reminiscences that persist across predicaments. They do not recognize that Maxi may possibly remember placing the chocolate bar into the blue box,” Fabricius reported. “The evidence from this sequence of experiments is consistent that small children do not have an understanding of psychological representation right up until they are 6 or 7 years outdated.”
What perceptual obtain reasoning indicates for preschoolers
The acquiring that young kids do not understand true or bogus beliefs and as an alternative rely on perceptual access reasoning is pertinent for how they are taught.
“There are powerful correlations between theory of brain and a kid’s capability to share, be socially acceptable and be in a position to trouble solve and prepare,” explained Anne Kupfer, director of ASU’s Child Review Lab (CSL) and co-creator of the Monograph paper.
The CSL associates with developmental psychology school to put investigation results into exercise and has applied the findings from the Monograph paper into its preschool curriculum.
“It is important for educators to know at what age a baby can at last know that how they sense, how they think or what they want are not essentially what everyone else feels, thinks or needs,” Kupfer claimed.
Sharing a toy is a prevalent condition that requires CSL employees to leverage how youthful children use perceptual obtain reasoning. Kupfer explained a circumstance in which a kid wishes a toy, but another classmate is playing with it. The youngster takes the toy and simply because they are content keeping the toy, they believe everyone is pleased. But the little one who just misplaced the toy starts off to cry, and the baby who took the toy is puzzled.
“Which is where by we occur in. In this problem we narrate what is occurring and role product responses that are centered on what the children recognize from perceptual access reasoning,” Kupfer reported. “We say to the little one who is crying, ‘I can see you are upset and saw that Johnny took the toy absent from you. Is that why you are upset?’ We then purpose product and talk to the crying baby to notify Johnny why they are upset, mainly because he took their toy. Then we immediate Johnny to look at the sad kid’s facial area and say, ‘She just told you she is upset. Why is she upset?’ Johnny can then reply, ‘Because I took her toy.'”
This case in point demonstrates how educators can aid kids study about others’ mental representations. The youngster who took the toy starts to fully grasp why they come to feel happy but the other youngster does not — a precursor to having theory of mind.
In addition to Fabricius and Kupfer, the investigation group consisted of Christopher Gonzales, who graduated with his doctorate in psychology from ASU and is now at the University of California, Davis Annelise Pesch of Tempe College Amy Weimer of Texas Point out University John Pugliese of California Point out University, Sacramento Kathleen Carroll of STARS, University student Treatment, Inc. Rebecca Bolnick of Kyrene School District Nancy Eisenberg of the ASU Section of Psychology and Tracy Spinrad of the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Relatives Dynamics.
Previous post Sibling bullying associated with poor mental health outcomes years later — ScienceDaily
Next post |
Investment in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has grown so aggressively since 2020 — from $13.7 million in sales the first half of 2020 to $2.5 billion in the first half of 20211 — that it may make you wonder how they have become so popular and why some investors are willing to spend thousands or even millions on a single NFT.
Here’s a brief rundown on what NFTs are, why some people choose to invest in them, and what risks they may pose to investors and the environment.
What Is an NFT?
In understanding what a non-fungible token is, it’s important to first understand the meaning of non-fungible. Since fungible describes something that can be evenly exchanged for a similar something, non-fungible describes something unique, which cannot be swapped out one-forone. When you buy a cup of coffee, you can choose to pay with any of the dollar bills in your pocket, because dollar bills are fungible. If you own an original painting, however, it is one of a kind, or non-fungible.
In fact, digital art is the focus of a lot of current NFT trading, although NFTs can be made for anything digital — a gif, jpeg, tweet or YouTube video, for example. The NFT itself is a unit of data that provides proof of ownership. You could think of it as a certificate of authenticity that verifies a particular person owns certain rights to that unique digital asset. This certificate is stored on a blockchain, a publicly accessible digital ledger of transactions that allows anyone to see who owns a particular NFT.
NFTs are bought and sold on a variety of online exchanges, where people can place bids or sometimes buy NFTs outright. Purchases are typically made in cryptocurrency, often ether, since many of the NFT platforms are part of the Ethereum blockchain.
Why People Invest in NFTs
It’s important to note that buying an NFT is not the same as buying the actual asset it’s tied to. Typically, the creator of the digital asset represented by the NFT retains the creative rights to the piece, including the copyright. The NFT owner has certain limited usage rights but doesn’t own the asset. So they might buy the NFT of a certain digital illustration, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s taken out of circulation. People can still see it and download it as many times as they want. For example, although a buyer purchased the NFT of the 2007 “Charlie Bit Me” video for about $761,000 in May 2021, the video is still accessible to the public through YouTube.
You might be asking yourself, “Why would anyone want to spend hundreds, thousands, millions — or any amount at all — on a video they can watch as many times as they want for free?” Good question. NFT investors may be motivated by speculation, believing that the value of the NFTs they are buying today will increase and that they will be able to sell them for more than they paid. Or they may be inspired by the cultural significance of certain NFTs, looking to own a piece of history. For example, one buyer paid $2.9 million in March 2021 to own the NFT of the first-ever tweet, uploaded in 2006 by Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey.3 Still others are art enthusiasts who see NFTs as an evolutionary landmark in art investing and want to get in on the ground floor.
The Potential Risks of NFT Investing
As with any speculative investment, the investor takes on a certain amount of risk. An NFT’s value may rise or fall in the marketplace, and the current owner may or may not find interested buyers at the time they choose to sell their investment. Also, the surge in NFT activity in 2020 and 2021 has some investment pundits wondering whether NFT investment is a passing fad or here to stay.
And the possibility of losing money isn’t the only potential negative associated with NFTs. The large amount of electricity needed to process, verify and regulate cryptocurrency transactions has triggered environmental concerns among the artists selling NFTs, as well as the investors buying them, and the broader public.
For these reasons, the future of NFT investing is uncertain. But in this moment, it continues to capture the interest of investors and art enthusiasts around the world. |
Economics 201
Case of the Day: Measuring Utility
Consider the Freakonomics feature on page 115 of the Goolsbie, Levitt, and Syverson text about the valuation of the continued presence of the Minnesota Vikings (American) football team by residents of Minnesota. (The quite complicated paper by Crooker and Fenn upon which this feature is based is available here, but you are not expected to read it unless you want to.)
1. Sports teams with large fan bases may be "public goods" in that many people can enjoy the benefits of the team without paying; they can watch the team on television, read about it in the media, and derive vicarious enjoyment from its success (when the team is successful) without making any measurable expenditure. Why does this public-good aspect of the product make it difficult to assess its value?
2. As noted in footnote 2 of the feature, this "contingent valuation method" study uses surveys to try to assess the value of a hypothetical option to people. What are the inherent difficulties of this approach? How much faith do you have in the results? Given the public-good nature of the product, can you think of any other alternative methods for valuing the team?
3. The authors of the study sent out 1,200 surveys to randomly selected residents of Minnesota, of which 42% were returned and used in the study. Based on common sense, what kinds of recipients would be more or less likely to return the survey? In other words, would you expect that the 42% of residents returning the surveys would be typical of the entire population or do you think that those choosing to respond would differ in their responses (and, in particular, in their valuation of the team) from those choosing not to respond? How might this "response bias" affect the results of the study?
4. The authors asked respondents how many Vikings games they had attended. The average response to this question was 0.33. Minnesota had about 5 million people in the late 2000s; Viking attendance was about 500,000 for the season. Respondents also reported that they watched an average of 8.2 (out of 16 possible) games on television; the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Vikings' TV rating (the share of houses with a television watching an average game) in 2009 was 38.7%. What does this information about the respondents imply about the possibility of response bias (as considered in the previous question)?
5. Suppose that you were an intern for a Minnesota legislator and were asked to assess the implications of this study for a bill to use state money to subsidize a new stadium. In a short paragraph, what would you have told her?
Answer the questions in Moodle |
There is a reason why peeing in your house is not actually a good idea - but some doctors have perpetuated the idea that urine is sterile by using that as a test for urinary tract infections.
Not that you should ever use Wikipedia for anything, but the non-expert hacktivists there botch the urine entry as further evidence. And every year the myth is debunked but it persists.
Bacteria live in the bladders of healthy women, researchers from Loyola University Chicago noted again, this time at the 114th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.
"Doctors have been trained to believe that urine is germ-free," said Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, co-investigator and dean, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM). "These findings challenge this notion, so this research opens the door to exciting new possibilities for patient treatment."
"The presence of certain bacteria in women with overactive bladder may contribute to OAB symptoms," said Evann Hilt, lead investigator and second-year master's student, Loyola University Chicago. "Further research is needed to determine if these bacterial differences are clinically relevant for the millions of women with OAB and the doctors who treat them."
"While traditional urine cultures have been the gold standard to identify urine disorders in the past, they do not detect most bacteria and have limited utility as a result," said Paul Schreckenberger, PhD, director, clinical microbiology laboratory, Loyola University Health System. "They are not as comprehensive as the EQUC protocol used in this study."
|
The Solomon lab
Fungal diseases of wheat threaten global food security
Fungal diseases are the cause of millions of tonnes in yield losses each on farms around the world. This is serious issue not only in terms of financial losses, but also when considering food security and stability. As an example, the table below outlines losses on Australian wheat farms to disease. The top four diseases in terms of losses are caused by fungal pathogens (based on 2008 prices). Using today's wheat prices, the losses from fungi in Australia exceed $1 billion dollars, and that is using effective control measures; without these losses would exceed $5 billion dollars. Thus there are many good reasons to better understand how these pathogens cause disease!
How do these pathogens cause disease?
Our laboratory focuses on two significant pathogens of wheat. Parastagonospora nodorum is a fungus that causes leaf and glume blotch disease on wheat (Septoria nodorum blotch). This disease causes greater than $100 million dollars in yield losses per annum in Australia alone and has been recently ranked as the third most important disease of wheat in this country. Traditional breeding methods for disease controls have only been partially successful at best and new and innovative anti-fungal strategies are required to prevent disease and secure Australian and global wheat supplies in the future.
Not only is P. nodorum a threat to global food security, its also extremely interesting and versatile to work with! S. nodorum can be cultured in the lab and is amenable to many common genetic techniques such as targeted gene disruption and gene overexpression. The genome sequence has been completed and extensive proteomics and metabolomics resources have been developed making P. nodorum a perfect model pathogen to better understand plant-pathogen interactions.
Electron microscope images of Septoria nodorum blotch fungus invading a wheat leaf. Photo: Kasia Clarke
The second wheat pathogen we study in the lab is Zymoseptoria triticiZ. tritici is the most important pathogen of wheat in Europe, the region that produces one-fifth of the world's wheat supply. Zymospetoria tritici is a fungal pathogen of wheat related to Parastagonospora nodorum, and is the causal agent of the most important wheat disease in Europe (Septoria tritici blotch). This single disease alone is responsible for greater than $1 billion dollars in losses each year. The disease is particularly problematic in that natural sources of resistance are difficult to source and the pathogen is very adept at rapidly evolving fungicide resistance.
Interestingly, the disease isn't currently a major problem in Australia. There are many postulated reasons for this including the possibility that European isolates of the pathogen have evolved to be more aggressive. Fortunately, Australian quarantine has prevented these isolates from entering Australia however the pathogen remains a serious biosecurity risk. Our lab is studying all aspects of the above diseases with a focus implementing this improved understanding to facilitate new and novel disease management strategies. |
From Chesterwiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
Æthelflæd - daughter of Alfred of Wessex married into the Mercian ruling elite and, restored and extended the City Walls along their modern course as part of a grand strategic plan to defeat the Danes. This image is from the Cartulary of Abingdon Abbey.
The Roman city of Chester was refortified around 907 by the Mercians. The event is recorded in the Chronicle (although versions vary) and a cryptic note from 907 that "Chester was restored" suggests more fighting (or rebuilding) in that year:
• A.D. 907. This year died Alfred, who was governor of Bath. The same year was concluded the peace at Hitchingford, as King Edward decreed, both with the Danes of East-Anglia, and those of Northumberland; and Chester was restored.
Raphael Holinshead (writing in the 1570's) also mentions the same, adding that this was when the walls were extended by Æthelflæd - daughter of Alfred and sister to the King:
• Not without good reason did king Edward permit vnto his sister Elfleda the gouernment of Mercia, during hir life time: for by hir wise and politike order vsed in all hir dooings, he was greatlie furthered & assisted; but speciallie in reparing and building of townes & castels, wherein she shewed hir noble magnificence, in so much that during hir government, which continued about eight yéeres, it is recorded by writers, that she did build and repare these Tamwoorth was by hir repared, Eadsburie and Warwike towns, whose names here insue: Tamwoorth beside Lichfield, Stafford, Warwike, Shrewsburie, Watersburie or Weddesburie, Elilsburie or rather Eadsburie, in the forrest of De la mere besides Chester, Brimsburie bridge vpon Seuerne, Rouncorne at the mouth of the riuer Mercia with other. Moreouer, by hir helpe the citie of Chester, which by Danes had beene greatlie defaced, was newlie repared, fortified with walls and turrets, and greatlie inlarged. So that the castell which stood without the walls before that time, was now brought within compasse of the new wall.
The dates here are important. Alfred has his first major fight with the Danes (under Guthrum) in 871-875 at the time that the remains of St Werbergh were tranferred to Chester. Alfred has his second major fight with a fresh wave of Danes in around 894, just after Guthrum's death. In 900 Alfred died and his son Edgar the Elder was consecrated at Kingston-upon-Thames by the archbishop of Canterbury, Plegmund (of St Plegmund's Well fame). In 902, Alfred's daughter Æthelflæd is effectively ruling Mercia and a Hiberno-Norse community settles in Wirral after its expulsion from Dublin. In 907 Chester was "rebuilt" by Æthelflæd. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records:
• "A.D. 913 ... This year by permission of God, went Aethelfleda, Lady of Mercia, with all the Mercians, to Tamworth and built the borough there in the early summer, and afterwards, before Lammas, that at Stafford. Then afterwards in the next year, that at Eddisbury in the early summer and later in the same year, in the early autumn, that at Warwick, then afterwards in the next year, after Christmas that at Chirbury and that at Wearyg (Warburton), and in the same year before Christmas, that at Runkhorn (A.D. 915)."
So if Æthelflæd was the one who rebuilt Chester why is she not better known? In the 12th century, Henry of Huntingdon declared Æthelflæd to be:
• "so powerful that in praise and exaltation of her wonderful gifts, some call her not only lady, but even king".
Henry of Huntingdon praised her (with perhaps unintended irony) as "worthy of a man’s name" and even "more illustrious than Caesar". So how did she get written out of Anglo-Saxon history?
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Æthelflæd in the thirteenth century Genealogical Chronicle of the English Kings.
Almost all of what is known of the history of Æthelflæd's times comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871–899). Multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries across England, where they were independently updated. Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of equal historical value and none of them is the original version. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfred's reign, possibly on his own instructions, while the most recent was written at Peterborough Abbey after a fire at that monastery in 1116. Almost all of the material in the Chronicle is in the form of annals, by year; the earliest are dated at 60 BC (the annals' date for Caesar's invasions of Britain), and historical material follows up to the year in which the chronicle was written, at which point contemporary records begin. There are also places where the different versions contradict each other. Taken as a whole, however, the Chronicle is the single most important historical source for the period in England between the departure of the Romans and the decades following the Norman conquest.
The earliest extant manuscript, the Parker Chronicle, was written by a single scribe up to the year 891, late in the reign of Alfred. The scribe wrote the year number, DCCCXCII, in the margin of the next line; subsequent material was written by other scribes. This appears to place the composition of the chronicle at no later than 892; further evidence is provided by Bishop Asser's use of a version of the Chronicle in his work "Life of King Alfred", known to have been composed in 893, but left unfinished. The Chronicle has a clear bias in favour of Wessex and in particular the house founded by Ecgbert, grandfather of Alfred. Any victory by Wessex is played up, while events in rival state Mercia are either downplayed, skimmed over or not mentioned at all. Chester has its own version of the Chronicle, although it is not clear exactly how this relates to the original and the Chester version is an extremely corrupt derivation of whatever its original was.
Æthelflæd is almost ignored in the standard West Saxon version of the Chronicle, in what one historian (Frederick Threlfall Wainwright) described as a "conspiracy of silence". Brief details of her actions were preserved in a pro-Mercian version of the Chronicle known as the "Mercian Register" or the "Annals of Æthelflæd" which covers the years 902-924; although the original text of that work is now lost, and all that remains are elements which were incorporated into several surviving versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle derived later. The insertion is rather crude, and the manuscript B of the Chronicle contains two completely different versions of events for the years 902–924. The first version is similar to that found in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle manuscript A, and focuses on the deeds of the West Saxon King Edward the Elder (reigned 899–924) as he conquered lands controlled by the descendants of Viking raiders. Immediately after those annals, the scribe copied a group of annals for the same years from the ‘Mercian Register". These preserve details of the part played in campaigns against Scandinavian and Welsh forces by Ealdorman Æthelred of the Mercians, and his wife Æthelflæd. A comparison of the two texts (see the links below) shows the striking differences between these two accounts of the same period of history.
Information about Æthelflæd's career is also preserved in the Irish chronicle known as the Three Fragments. According to Wainwright, it:
• "contains much that is legendary rather than historical. But it also contains, especially for our period, much genuine historical information which seems to have its roots in a contemporary narrative."
Æthelflæd was praised by later Anglo-Norman chroniclers such as William of Malmesbury and John of Worcester. Several theories have been proposed as to why Æthelflæd was effectively written out of history. One is a monastic tradition, particularly in Wessex, of seeing women only as either saints or as queens standing in the shadow of some king, and often up to no good. Another is that she was the effective ruler of Mercia, the great rival of Wessex and the Wessex scribes did not want to encourage any thoughts of Mercian independence but rather continue their official myth that it was Wessex alone that saved England from the Vikings. This is a little unfair, given that Æthelflæd was Alfred's oldest child and so firmly a member of the Wessex royals.
Early Life
Æthelflæd was born around 870, the oldest child of King Alfred the Great and his Mercian wife, Ealhswith, who was a daughter of Æthelred Mucel, ealdorman of the Gaini, one of the tribes of Mercia. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal house, probably a descendant of King Coenwulf (796–821). Æthelflæd was thus half-Mercian. Ealhswith is very obscure in contemporary sources. She did not witness any known charters, and Bishop Asser did not even mention her name in his "Life of King Alfred". In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. According to what King Alfred supposedly related to Asser, this was because of the infamous conduct of another former queen of Wessex called Eadburh, who managed to accidentally poison her own husband, although this was to be of great benefit of Alfred's grandfather Ecgbert and the Wessex scribes may have distorted the history of what actually happened. Asser had another reason for down-playing the role of queens of Wessex - Judith of Flanders married the elderly King Æthelwulf of Wessex (Alfred's widowed father) as an adolescent and was crowned queen in contravention of the custom in Wessex. After Æthelwulf's death in 858, Judith married his son and successor, Æthelbald (Alfred's brother). Her marriage with her stepson was considered scandalous by her contemporaries.
Æthelflæd’s name (spelled "Æþelflæd"), a rare mention in the B-text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, f. 30r.
According to Asser in his "Life of King Alfred", Alfred's son Edward ("the elder") and Edward's younger sister Ælfthryth were educated at court by male and female tutors, and read ecclesiastical and secular works in English, such as the Psalms and Old English poems. They were taught the courtly qualities of gentleness and humility, and Asser wrote that they were obedient to their father and friendly to visitors. This is a rare case of an Anglo-Saxon prince and princess receiving the same upbringing and it is not unlikely that Æthelflæd recieved, despite the troubled times, at least some similar standard of education. Edward was a child throughout the early wars his father fought with the Danes but was more of a soldier than also a scholar like his father. By 892, in his teens, Edward was commanding part of the Anglo-Saxon army. Whereas his father appears to use more diplomacy, Edward appears to favour a military approach to resolution of issues.
Alfred became king in April 871 although his notable efforts to revive learning did not really get underway until the 880's. This revival entailed the recruitment of clerical scholars from Mercia, Wales and abroad to enhance the tenor of the court and of the episcopacy; the establishment of a court school to educate his own children, the sons of his nobles, and intellectually promising boys of lesser birth; an attempt to require literacy in those who held offices of authority; a series of translations into the vernacular of Latin works the king deemed "most necessary for all men to know"; the compilation of a chronicle detailing the rise of Alfred's kingdom and house, with a genealogy that stretched back to Adam, thus giving the West Saxon kings a biblical ancestry. Alfred recruited scholars from the Continent and from Britain to aid in the revival of Christian learning in Wessex and to provide the king personal instruction. Grimbald and John the Saxon came from Francia; Plegmund from Chester, Bishop Werferth of Worcester, Æthelstan, and the royal chaplains Werwulf, from Mercia; and Asser, from St David's in southwestern Wales.
In her first few years Æthelflæd's parents were under considerable threat from the Vikings. In 876, when she was aged about 6, three Viking leaders Guthrum, Oscetel and Anwend, and their troops slipped past the Saxon army and attacked and occupied Wareham in Dorset. Alfred blockaded them but was unable to take Wareham by assault. He negotiated a peace that involved an exchange of hostages and oaths. The Danes broke their word, and after killing all the hostages, slipped away under cover of night to Exeter in Devon. Alfred blockaded the Viking ships in Devon, and with a relief fleet having been scattered by a storm and wrecked, the Danes were either forced to submit or again paid off. The Danes withdrew to Mercia. On Epiphany, 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise night-time attack on Alfred and his court at Chippenham, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas:
The Victorian historians and the chroniclers of Wessex tell a particular version of what happened at Chippenham, but some historians see this as somewhat detatched from the possible truth. Justin Pollard argues that Alfred was not a popular king amongst his church and nobles at the time. He had lost his first battle as king, paid-off the Vikings, debased the coinage and taxed to recover the money. He suffered from an infirmity which could have been seen a divine curse. He had been criticised by Archbishop Æthelred of Canterbury who accused Alfred (around 877) of interference with ecclesiastical affairs. Pollard argues that Æthelred of Canterbury possibly had the support of the Pope (John VIII) for a coup against Alfred. Asser's "Life of Alfred" misses out a whole year (and a whole chapeter) between the Vikings fleeing to Exeter and the attack on Chippenham - notably omitting any mention of the destruction of the Viking fleet. Asser is possibly trying his best to conceal the fact that from paying the Vikings off in 871 to the attack at Chippenham in 876 Alfred had done little if anything to improve the defences of Wessex.
According to Victorian historians, Alfred spent the winter as a fugitive at Athelney before a spectacular come-back. It is unclear whether Æthelflæd and his wife were with him, but it is possible there was no other place of safety for them. Tradition holds that Alfred ordered that his troops should gather at Ecgbert's stone, the very same spot where his grandfather was reputed to have made an oath to return while heading for exile in Francia. The Victorians depicted the subsequent Battle of Edington as a great victory, wheras in fact it led to something of a stalemate.
At almost the same time as Alfred's victory over the Vikings in 878 at the Battle of Edington, Ceolwulf II of Mercia defeated and killed Rhodri ap Merfyn (c. 820–878), later known as Rhodri the Great (Welsh: Rhodri Mawr), king of the north Welsh territory of Gwynedd. War with Wales, which typically involved fighting over and raiding each others border lands was a long-standing tradition for the Mercians. In 881 Rhodri's sons defeated the Mercians at the Battle of the Conwy, a victory described in Welsh annals as "revenge of God for Rhodri". The Mercian leader was, according to the Welsh histories, "Edryd Long-Hair", almost certainly Ceolwulf's successor as Mercian ruler, Æthelred. As for Ceolwulf's fate, history is silent. By 883 he had been replaced by Æthelred but how this came about is not known - Ceolwulf simply disappears.
The Battle of the Conwy is often said to have ended the traditional hegemony of Mercia over north Wales and probably contributed to Æthelred's decision to accept the lordship of King Alfred of Wessex. This united under Alfred the Anglo-Saxons who were not living under Viking rule, and was a significant step towards the creation of the Kingdom of England. However, as will be discussed below, the rulers of North Wales would later submit to Æthelflæd and the end of Mercia is a little more complex than is often supposed.
Mercian defence strategy. The green areas are occupied by the Hiberno-Norse, while the blue are occupied by the Danes. The line of fortifications from Chester to Manchester is intended to prevent a flank/rear attack on Tamworth, the Mercian political center and protect the Dee Valley. The approximate boundaries of England for 917, 920 and 927 are shown. The establishment of a major religious and military center at Chester does seem to be part of a concerted plan. The extent to which Æthelflæd is involved needs to consider that she died in 918.
The alliance between Wessex and Mercia was sealed by Æthelflæd's marriage to Æthelred, sometime between 885 and 887. Æthelred's descent is unknown. Richard Abels describes him as "somewhat of a mysterious character", who may have claimed royal blood and been related to King Alfred's father-in-law, Ealdorman Æthelred Mucel. In the view of Ian Walker: "He was a royal ealdorman whose power base lay in the south-west of Mercia in the former kingdom of the Hwicce around Gloucester". Alex Woolf suggests that he was probably the son of King Burgred of Mercia (who had been driven out by the Vikings) and King Alfred's sister Æthelswith, although that would mean that the marriage between Æthelflæd and Æthelred was uncanonical, because Rome then forbade marriage between first cousins. When Plegmund became archbishop the "sins" of the English nobles in intermarrying had been pointed out to him, but he appareently did little to oppose it. They are mentioned in Alfred's will, which probably dates to the late 880s. Æthelflæd, described only as "my eldest daughter", received an estate and 100 mancuses, and Æthelred was left a sword. Mancus (sometimes spelt mancosus or similar) was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g, or a unit of account of thirty silver pence. Æthelflæd was first recorded as Æthelred's wife in a charter of 887, when he granted two estates to the see of Worcester "with the permission and sign-manual of King Alfred" and the attestors included "Æthelflæd conjux". The marriage may have taken place earlier, perhaps when he submitted to Alfred following the recovery of London in 886. Tradition records that on the way to her wedding, she was attacked by the Danes. This may have been an attempt to prevent the alliance between Wessex and Mercia. Æthelflæd is said to have used an old trench as a fortress and her party defeated the attackers.
During the early years of their marriage the young couple appear to have settled in London, the city that had been entrusted to Æthelred’s care by Alfred after it was recovered from the Danes. Æthelflæd seems to have taken after her father – she was a strong, brave woman and is often regarded more as a partner to Æthelred than a meek, obedient wife. Records show that couple jointly presided over provincial courts. Æthelred was much older than Æthelflæd and they had one known child, a daughter called Ælfwynn (born sometime between 886 and 889). William of Malmesbury claimed the lack of more children was due to Æthelflæd’s avoidance of sexual relations, possibly due to a fear of dying in childbirth, having had a very difficult first birth. Malmesbury (whether he is to be believed or not) writes that she was:
• "so much astonished at the pain, that ever after, she refrained the embraces of her husband for almost forty years, protesting often, that it was not fit for a king's daughter to be given to a pleasure that brought so much pain along with it; and thereupon grew an heroic virago, like the ancient Amazons, as if she had changed her sex, as well as her mind"
Wessex had adjusted to a change in ruler when Æthelflæd’s father died in 899 and was succeeded by her younger brother, Edward "the Elder", whose three wives and large number of children led to a number of succession issues. Æthelstan, the eldest son of Edward the Elder and future king of England, was brought up in their court, possibly for his own safety as Edward had re-married and thus created the possibility of yet another contested succession of the type so common in Wessex. It is even possible that there were attempts on Æthelstan's life.
Somewhere early in the 10th century, maybe as early as 902, Æthelred fell very ill and was for much of the time unable to perform an active role in either war or government.
In 911, Æthelred died and Edward took control of the Mercian lands around London and Oxford. This should have been the end of Æthelflæd’s leadership. And Edward very probably hoped for that. But Æthelflæd had clearly proved her right and ability to rule; and for the Mercian nobility, she offered the only chance to avoid extinction at the hands of the West Saxons. And so remarkably, Æthelflæd ruled in her own right. She was identified as "Myrcna hlœfdige" – Lady of Mercia. The language is important, as this was the precise equivalent of Æthelred’s habitual title of "Myrcna hlaford" (Lord of Mercia). This indicates that the Mercian rulers’ assembly did not draw any distinction between her authority to rule and that of her late husband.
The reconquest of the Danelaw continued with Edward and Æthelflæd constructing fortresses to guard against Viking attacks and protect territory captured from them. In November 911, Edward constructed a fort on the north bank of the River Lea at Hertford to guard against attack by the Danes of Bedford and Cambridge. In 912, he marched with his army to Maldon in Essex, and ordered the building of a fort at Witham and a second fort at Hertford, which protected London from attack and encouraged many English living under Danish rule in Essex to submit to him. In 913 there was a pause in his activities, although Æthelflæd continued her fortress building in Mercia. In 916 she led an expedition into Wales to avenge the murder of Mercian abbot Ecbryht and his companions, and succeeded in burning the palace of king Tewdr of Brycheiniog at Llangorse Lake and taking the queen and thirty-three others captive. Edward the Elder issued coinage with novel reverses of extraordinary designs, and it is speculated that this series of coinage was for circulation in the part of Mercia under the rule of Edward and his sister, with the design of the coinage perhaps showing the influence of Æthelflæd. No coins were actually issued with the name of Æthelred or Æthelflæd on them.
Æthelflæd and Chester
Æthelflæd had a major impact on Chester, which does not contain any memorial to her. Her connection with the city is established through her husband Æthelred who fought against the people of North Wales in the region, and possibly besieged the Vikings at the Amphitheatre. She was involved with the settlement of Vikings on the Wirral, refortified the town into a burh and extended the City Walls. She may have fought Vikings here and helped to establish the cults of Werburgh and Oswald in the city. In terms of architectural and cultural development she may have had more impact on the city than anyone else.
In 892 (or 893) a new wave of Danes again attacked Britain in force. Finding their position in mainland Europe (on the French coast) precarious as a previously civil war torn Francia began to get its act together, this new horde crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions. They entrenched themselves, the larger body, at Appledore, Kent and the lesser under Hastein, at Milton, also in Kent. The invaders brought their wives and children with them indicating a meaningful attempt at conquest and colonisation. One of their moves was a foray round the coast and the occupation of Exeter, something which must have been of much concern to Alfred given the trouble that his grandfather Ecgbert had with the Viking/Cornwall alliance. After some confused fighting a force of Vikings made a sudden dash across England and occupied Chester. The following account appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
• Þa hie on Eastseaxe comon to hiora geweorce. 7 to hiora scipum. þa gegaderade sio laf eft of Eastenglum, 7 of Norðhymbrum micelne here onforan winter 7 befæston hira wif, 7 hira scipu, 7 hira feoh on Eastenglum, 7 foron anstreces dæges 7 nihtes, þæt hie gedydon on anre westre ceastre on Wirhealum, seo is Legaceaster gehaten; Þa ne mehte seo fird hie na hindan offaran, ær hie wæron inne on þæm geweorce; Besæton þeah þæt geweorc utan sume twegen dagas, 7 genamon ceapes eall þæt þær buton wæs, 7 þa men ofslogon þe hie foran forridan mehton butan geweorce, 7 þæt corn eall forbærndon, 7 mid hira horsum fretton on ælcre efenehðe. 7 þæt wæs ymb twelf monað þæs þe hie ær hider ofer sæ comon. (As soon as they came into Essex to their fortress, and to their ships, then gathered the remnant again in East-Anglia and from the Northumbrians a great force before winter, and having committed their wives and their ships and their booty to the East-Angles, they marched on the stretch by day and night, till they arrived at a western city in Wirral that is called Chester. There the army could not overtake them ere they arrived within the ramparts: they besieged the ramparts though, without, some two days, took all the cattle that was thereabout, slew the men whom they could overtake outside the ramparts, and all the corn they either burned or consumed with their horses every evening. That was about a twelvemonth since they first came hither over sea.)
"Urnes" style runic inscription at St Johns. This is possibly graffiti originally carved on the wall of the Amphitheatre during the Viking raid of 894. As the stone is in the very base of the wall this possibly indicates significant rebuilding after 894, but quite when and for what reason is uncertain.
The Vikings possibly set up camp at the Amphitheatre, as later historians describe them as occupying the castle:
• The Danes, the following and more terrible invaders, who had been allowed by Alfred the Great to settle in Northumberland, next assailed Chester, and seized the fortress, which was circular and of red stone...
There are several things wrong with this quote, the Vikings in question were not from Northumbria, and Alfred never let them settle there, although the Vikings in Essex were re-inforced by a contingent from Northumbria. It also appears to be a propogation of the myth that Chester had a castle prior to the Normans. In later years stone from the round, red sandstone amphitheatre was robbed-out for use in the building of St Johns and it is possible that some of the re-used stone is marked with a runic inscription which the Vikings may have left behind. The reason why the Vikings made for Chester is unclear (see: Amphitheatre for a further discussion), but these Danish Vikings may have been trying to make contact with the Norwegian Vikings of Dublin. If that was the case the result could have been a desparate situation for Alfred, especially of the Vikings could establish a permanent base at Chester, occupying the Roman defences with a usable port as they had done at Exeter. If the military importance of Chester as an Irish Sea port had not been apparent to Alfred previously then it must have become so at that time. Just who led the forces opposing the Vikings is unclear and it may not have been Alfred himself. One possibility is that it was Æthelred or possibly even Æthelflæd. It could have been Æthelflæd's brother, the future king Edward the Elder (who was to die at Farndon after a later fight at an often disputed Chester) but the fact that the Wessex choniclers did not mention who was in charge, or even whether the Vikings were ousted by forces from Wessex or Mercia, suggests that it was Mercian forces who relieved Chester.
The dates of the following events are at times somewhat confusing. We can be reaaonably sure that the sequence starts with the arrival of Ingimund in the Wirral in 902 and ends with the Battle of Tettenhall in 910, but the dates of the events at Chester between these are only roughly known. This is in a large part due to the silence of the Wessex chronicles on the acts of the Mercians. Another unsolved historical mystery is the precise status of Chester before 902 and the much debated question as to whether it was inhabited or not. The history around the Battle of Chester, the Werburgh "legend" and the supposed history of St Johns suggests a continuous occupation by at least a religious community since an early date. But this seems irreconcilable with the fact that the Vikings were able to overwinter there without any mention of any ecclesiastical community being disturbed in any way.
Ingimund was a Viking who had been expelled from Ireland on 902 and had attempted to settle in north Wales where he came into immediate conflict with the Welsh. According to the Welsh Annals, Ingimund came to Anglesey and held "Maes Osmeliaun", whilst the Welsh vernacular chronicle reports that Ingimund held "Maes Ros Meilon". The site itself appears to have been located on the eastern edge of Anglesey, perhaps near Llanfaes (effectively the later site of Beaumaris) if the aforesaid place names are any clue. Another possibility is that Ingimund was settled near Llanbedrgoch, where evidence of farming, manufacturing, and trading has been excavated at a Viking-age settlement. There is reason to suspect that the Llanbedrgoch site formed an aristocratic power centre, and that it may have originated as an informal Viking trading centre just prior to Ingimund's attempted colonisation. The centre itself could have provided an important staging post between the Welsh and other trading centres in the Irish Sea region. The Welsh attacked Ingimund and he fled to the Wirral. The conflict with the Vikings is well-attested in the Welsh records but Ingimunds subsequent move to the Wirral is only based on fragmentary evidence. However, when this is seen in the context of events happening elsewhere a possible reason why the Vikings were allowed to settle on the Wirral emerges.
What is known from the Wessex version of the Chronicle is that in 902 Edward the Elder was on the point of civil war. As usual, the Wessex succession was not uncomplicated, and when Alfred died the possible claimants were Edward (Alfred's son) and Æthelwold the younger of two known sons of Æthelred I, King of Wessex from 865 to 871. Æthelwold and his brother Æthelhelm were still infants when their father the king died while fighting a Danish Viking invasion and Alfred had become king. After Alfred's death in 899, Æthelwold disputed the throne with Alfred's son, Edward the Elder. Alfreds will did not help matters as it brought up the question in the preamble:
• "When we now heard many disputes about the inheritance, I brought King Æthelwulf's will to our assembly at Langandene, and it was read before all the councillors of the West Saxons. When it had been read, I urged them all for love of me – and gave them my pledge that I would never bear a grudge against any one of them because they declared what was right – that none of them would hesitate, either for love or fear of me, to expound the common law, lest any man should say that I had treated my young kinsmen wrongfully, the older or the younger. And then they all pronounced what was right, and said that they could not conceive any juster title, nor could they find one in the will. "Now everything has come into your possession, and you may bequeath it or give it into the hand of kinsman or stranger, whichever you prefer"
As senior ætheling (prince of the royal dynasty eligible for kingship), Æthelwold had a strong claim to the throne. He attempted to raise an army to support his claim, but was unable to get sufficient support to meet Edward in battle and fled to Viking-controlled Northumbria, where he was accepted as king. In 901 or 902 he sailed with a fleet to Viking-controlled Essex, where he was also accepted as king. The following year Æthelwold persuaded the East Anglian Danes to attack Edward's territory in Wessex and Mercia, one of Edward's most important allies, as far as Cricklade, in Wiltshire. The prospect of an attack must have been evident to Edward for some time.
Werburgh's shrine at the Cathedral shown here while converted to the bishop's throne.
A hostile Viking landing on the Wirral was the last thing that Edward needed as he would be faced with enemies on two fronts. The solution may have been for Æthelflæd to come to a deal with Ingimund, alowing him to settle. This may have also involved a payment by Ingimund's Vikings, who had been engaged in the slave trade in Dublin and had possibly escaped from Ireland with their treasury. The mint in Chester appears to have been kick-started to a new level of production about this time, but the details of any deal are unknown. What is known is that Edward now retaliated with a raid on East Anglia, ravaging as far north as the Devil's Dyke and the River Wissey and forcing the enemy to return home in order to protect their own lands. When Edward withdrew the men of Kent lingered and met the East Anglian Danes at the Battle of the Holme (13 December 902). The Danes were victorious but suffered heavy losses, including the death of the "rebel" Æthelwold and of Eohric, the Viking King of East Anglia. Kentish losses included Sigehelm, father of Edward the Elder's third wife, Eadgifu of Kent. With Æthelwold dead, Edward's throne was somewhat more secure. The West Saxon chronicler who gave the fullest account of the battle was at pains to explain why Edward and the rest of the English were not present, as if this had been a subject of criticism.
A late tradition holds that Æthelflæd promoted the cult of Werburgh at Chester. Chester already had connections with Werbergh: St Johns was possibly founded in her time and her remains were relocated in Chester during the time of the first major Danish invasion. According to Henry Bradshaw (writing c.1513), Æthelflæd, enlarged the original church that is now the Cathedral in honour of St. Werburgh and transferred the original dedication to Peter and Paul to a new parish church in the centre of the city, but Bradshaw also mentions that a tablet in St John's church ascribed the foundation of the house of canons to Æthelflaed's nephew, Edmund (921-946). King Athelstan has also been credited with the foundation, since Higden (in his Polychronicon) states that there were secular canons serving St. Werburgh at Chester from the time of Athelstan until the arrival of the Normans. Of the three rival founders Æthelflæd, who, with her husband Ethelred, restored the city in 907, is the most likely, although there is no definite evidence of the existence of a church of canons dedicated to St. Werburgh at Chester before 958. In that year Edgar the Pacific, then king of the Mercians, granted to "the familia of St. Werburgh" 17 hides of land in Hoseley (Flints.), Cheveley, Huntington, Upton, Aston, and Barrow.
The problem with the re-location of Werburgh is that while it is mentioned by Bradshaw, it is not mentioned in either the brief biography written by Florence of Worcester (died 1118) nor by Goscelin, her hagiographer (who was alive in 1106). This was not Werbergh's first post-mortem journey. She died at Trentham (3 February, 699 or 700) and, according to some, was originally buried there. Existence of this nunnery is disputed and a connection with Saint Werburgh is also disputed. As for a leter Chester connection Trentham became an Augustinians monastery house from the 1150s, under the patronage of Ranulph De Gernon, Earl of Chester.
There are two versions of what followed Werbergh's burial. In the first Werburgh had apparently decided on Hanbury as her final resting place but happened to be at Trentham when she died. The nuns at Trentham refused to give up the body and even instituted security arrangements to prevent its removal. Despite this an expedition from Hanbury succeeded in "miraculously" recovering her remains. According to the second version her brother decided that Werburgh should be moved to the more important site at Hanbury. The shrine of St Werbergh remained at Hanbury until the threat from Danish Viking raids in the late 9th century prompted their relocation to within the walled city of Chester. As recorded in the Annales Cestriensis:
• In the same year, when the Danes made their winter quarters at Repton after the flight of Burgred, king of the Mercians, the men of Hanbury, fearing for themselves, fled to Chester as to a place which was very safe from the butchery of the barbarians, taking with them in a litter the body of S Werburgh, which then for the first time was resolved into dust.
The men of Hanbury may not only have feared the violence of the Vikings at Repton but may also have been concerned about the fact that the Vikings were dropping like flies from what may well have been a plague in their winter quarters.
The various people thought to be depected on the Werburgh shrine at Chester Cathedral, with blue for Mercian rulers, green for Kentish and the women in yellow. The identification of Werburgh's mother Saint Eormenhild, daughter of Ercombert, King of Kent, and his wife Saint Sexburga is somewhat speculative and in part based on the fact that many related saints are believed to be depicted.
Æthelflæd's choice of Werbergh is explainable in several ways. Historians have noted the remarkably high incidence of princess saints and abbesses descended from the Mercian line. It appears that the promotion of cults of members of the royal house was part of the Mercian policy for strengthening control of the satellite provinces. Æthelflæd's mother was Mercian and may have transmitted knowledge of how the Mercian court worked. Even the name of the saint was apt, for Werburgh in Anglo-Saxon means "Protectress of the Burh". While Werburgh's relics were traditionally believed to have already been at Chester when Æthelflæd began to promote her cult it is possible that some or all of the story of her translation to Chester is a myth.
Oswald (who had died near Oswestry) was the other saint who, together with Werburgh, Æthelflæd promoted the cult of at Chester. A late tradition holds that the cult of St. Oswald was introduced at Chester when the minster was refounded by Æthelfiæd and re-dedicated to St. Werburgh and St. Oswald in 907. It is odd to think that Werbergh, whose grandfather Penda slew Oswald in 641 at Oswestry, should come together again in this strange way. The foundations of St Oswald's church forms part of the Cathedral but nothing is known of the fabric of the Anglo-Saxon minster, except that it was beautified by Earl Leofric of Mercia (d. 1057) and his his better-known wife Godiva, who eclipsed her husbands historical deeds by simply taking off her clothes in Coventry.
Æthelflæd organised a five-week campaign against Lindsey in 909, when she successfully captured the relics of Saint Oswald of Northumbria from Bardney Abbey. Bede relates that Bardney Abbey (which he called Beardaneu) was greatly loved by Osthryth, queen of Mercia, and in about 679 she sought to move the bones of her uncle, the very pious St Oswald, to there. However, according to legend, when the body was brought to the Abbey the monks refused to accept it, because the Abbey was in the Kingdom of Lindsey, and Oswald, when king of Northumbria, had once conquered them. The relics were locked outside, but during the night a beam of light appeared and shone from his bier reaching up into the heavens. The monks declared that it was a miracle and accepted the body, hanging the King's Purple and Gold banner over the tomb. Osthryth appears in the stained glass at St Johns. Oswald's remains ended up in Gloucester (the Roman Glevum and later the Romano-British Caer Gloui) at the renamed St Oswald's Priory. This had previously been St Peter's Abbey, founded in Gloucester about 679 by Osric, ruler of the Hwicce. Several important Mercian rulers appear to have had roots in the area.
In 910 the Danes retaliated against the English attack of the previous year by invading Mercia, raiding as far as Bridgnorth in Shropshire. On their way back they were caught by an English army in Staffordshire and their army was destroyed at the Battle of Tettenhall (sometimes called the Battle of Wednesfield or Wōdnesfeld), opening the way for the recovery of the Danish Midlands and East Anglia over the next decade. The Viking dead at the battle may have included Ingmundir. Whether Æthelflæd fought in the battle is not known, although her already ill husband appears to have fought in the battle and may have been killed either at the battle or died as a result of injuries sustained. The deaths of their two kings, Halfdan and Eowils, in the battle of Tettenhall left the Scandinavian kingdom of York without a ruler. This created the opportunity for Ragnall, the grandson of Imar, a king of Dublin, to seize control by a coup in 911. Ragnald had just enough time to issue some coins in his own name before the Christian Danes opposed to his paganism drove him out. This group tried to organise an alliance with Æthelflæd, but their attempt was cut short by her death in 918.
Roman Chester - overlaid on a map of the city prior to the building of the Inner Ring Road. The extension of the City Walls by Æthelflæd is shown as a dotted line.
The walls of Roman Chester enclosed a smaller area than the current walls. Chester was re-established as a place of importance by the 10th century through the convergence of three circumstances:
• First, it was garrisoned again towards the end of the Dark Ages in the early 10th century during the course of Æthelflæd's military campaigns designed to secure the northern frontier of Mercia against the Vikings.
• Second, in reoccupying Chester, Æthelflæd made it a centre of government, one of the fortified towns which later in the 10th century developed into the central places of the newly established Mercian shires. Cheshire was thus Chester's shire, and indeed was often known as "Chestershire" until the 15th century.
• Third, the city became a centre of trade for the Irish Sea region, with a small Hiberno-Norse quarter between the remains of the Roman fortress and the River Dee. The quarter housed St Olave and huts excavated in Lower Bridge Street have been interpreted as of the bow-sided type especially associated with Scandinavian sites in England. The dedications of the two churches in the area, St Bridget and St. Olave, were also appropriate for a Hiberno-Norse community. The settlement may well have extended across the river into Handbridge, which in 1086 was assessed for tax in "carucates" rather than the hides normal in Cheshire. Carucates occurred elsewhere in the county in association with Scandinavian place-names, and appear to be evidence of Scandinavian settlement.
The "burh" system seems to have the initiative of Æthelflæd's father Alfred. He sprang into burh building after recovering from his near-disaster at Chippenham in an about turn of doing little to fortify Wessex. The were not simply fortresses but fortified communities placed at the junction of trade routes. If each burh was a market town on a trade route it would generate the wealth needed for its upkeep. Before Alfred there was much less urban living in England, with a few exceptional examples being trading ports on the coast. The Anglo-Saxons may well have even feared the ruins of the Romans. The creation of the Burh would in turn create the "Burgher" the new middle-class of citizen with independent wealth created through trade. The length of walls kept in a defensible state seems to have been consonant with a formula recorded for Wessex in the "Burghal Hidage", which stated that every hide of land assigned to the maintenance of a burh sufficed to provide one man, and that every pole (c. 5 metres) of fortress wall required four men to defend it. The formula probably applied to Chester, whose reeve in the mid 11th century used to call up one man from each hide of the county to repair the walls and bridge. Cheshire was probably notionally assessed at 1,200 hides, suggesting that the early medieval defences were c. 1,524 metres long. Though those measurements do not tally with the length of the Roman walls they would fit quite well with the postulated L-shaped arrangement. This would mean that around 1200 men would be needed to fully staff the walls. Legend has it that Bonewaldesthorne's Tower is named after an officer in the army of Æthelflæd. A Saxon watchtower most likely have stood here, but very little of the defences of that period remain above ground today, and the structure seen now is of medieval origin. "Bonewaldesthorne", may be a compound of the elements "beorn" (young warrior), "wald" (rule) and "thorn" (thornbush).
The tower at south-east corner of the City Walls, probably dates from the 13th century, was damaged 1644-6 during the Civil War, converted to a feature of the raised promenade of the wall walk in 1702-8 and repaired during various periods. It is known as Barnaby's Tower and it's predecessor would have stood at the southernmost extension of Æthelflæd's walls (as Bonewaldesthorne's Tower stood at the western) and its name may (possibly) be of Old Scandinavian origin, and/or a locational name from the hamlet of Barnaby near Guisborough (the "Guisborough Helmet" was found at Barnaby) in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Recorded as "Bernodebi" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as "Bernaldeby" in the "Cartularium prioratus de Gyseburne", dated 1231, the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century male given name "Beronwald", a compound of the elements "beorn", young warrior, and "wald", rule, and the Old Norse "byr", enclosure, settlement. The similarity between "Bonewald -" and "Beronwald" is interesting given that both towers possibly share being the end points of Æthelflæd's walls.
Æthelflæd's refortification of Chester was part of a larger strategic intent. At the time the Danes had occupied much of the North Sea coast and were in a position to threaten the Mercian political center at Tamworth. Meanwhile the Hiberno-Norse had settled in parts of Wirral and invaded much of coastal Lancashire and Cumbria. The Cheshire plain offered an easy line of approach to Tamworth assuming landings along the Dee and Mersey estuaries, so Æthelflæd and her brother built a line of "burhs" (fortified sites) at Chester, Eddisbury, Runcorn and Manchester. Upon succeeding her husband, she began to plan and build a series of fortresses in English Mercia, ten of which can be identified: Bridgnorth (912); Tamworth (913); Stafford (913); Eddisbury (914); Warwick (914); Chirbury (915); Runcorn (915). Three other fortresses, at Bremesburh, Scergeat and Weardbyrig, have yet to be located. At Chester and Manchester this involved the use of Roman fortifications, whereas at Eddisbury an Iron-Age hill-fort was re-used. The reality of the danger was emphasized in 920 when a Norse army from Dublin landed and penetrated as far as Davenport in Cheshire. With her northwest flank secure Æthelflæd was able to take part in the campaigns against the Danes who hand been driven out of much of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire by the time of her death.
A Battle at Chester
In 905 (some sources say 912), the Norsemen who had settled in Wirral revolted and attempted to take the city of Chester. The opening of the story involve a certain amount of treachery:
• At first, the Saxon inhabitants of Chester placed a force outside the city gates and then staged a mock retreat. The Norse followed and the gates were closed behind them, trapping them in the city where a great number were slain.
• Following this, the Saxons came to an arrangement with the Irish, who were "no friends of the Saxons but hated the Norsemen more" to meet with the Norse and propose to betray Chester. Unfortunately this was a double-cross and the Norse that came (unarmed) to the meeting were also slain.
Æthelflæd appeara only briefly in Asser's "Life of king Alfred". He calls her the first-born child of Alfred and his Mercian bride. The bride is not actually named and certainly not called "queen".
Their subsequent Norse attempt at taking the city took on all the elements of a farce:
• The first Norse attack upon the walls was driven off by dropping rocks upon them. The Norse answer to this was to protect their heads with wooden hurdles supported by wooden beams;
• The Saxon answer to the hurdles was to pour boiling beer on the Vikings (which of course ran through the hurdles). The Norse response to this was to cover the hurdles with animal skins;
• Fire would have been the next Saxon weapon, and the Vikings would have countered this by protecting their assault on the wall with soaking-wet sails from their ships;
• Unfortunately for the Vikings the Saxons has a secret weapon - they threw at the Vikings "all the beehives of the town". For the Vikings, trapped inside their heavy, soaking wet, hide and sail-covered siege shelters - now also filled with very agitated bees - that was enough, and the attempt on the city was abandoned.
"Ingamunds saga" (and the "Three Fragments" of the "Annals of Ireland") repeat the story as follows:
• "..But the other forces, the Norsemen, were under hurdles piercing the walls. What the Mercians and the Irish who were among them did was to throw large rocks so that they destroyed the hurdles over them. What they did in the face of this was to place large posts under the hurdles. What the Mercians did was to put all the ale and water of the town in the cauldrons of the town, to boil them and pour them over those who were under the hurdles so that the skins were stripped from them. The answer that the Norsemen gave to this was to spread hides on the hurdles. What the Mercians did was to let loose on the attacking force all the beehives in the town, so that they could not move their legs of hands from the great number of bees stinging them. Afterwards they left the city and abandoned it. It was not long before they returned."
The story of this "Battle of Chester" poses a particularly difficult historical problem, especially when taken together with the suggestion that the city have been "waste" a few years before. Taken at face value the city seems to have robust defences with walls and gates both being mentioned in the accounts. That these walls form a complete defence seems suggested by the siege tactics used by the Vikings. Once again, the problem here is that Wessex simply did not wish to record any victory of the Mercians. The story of the battle is known only from the "Three Fragments" (Fragmentary Annals of Ireland - of which there are actually five parts), which only survive as copies of copies, and it is not mentioned at all in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle.
St Barnabus and St John
On Church Lane in Bromborough, Wirrral, at the south-side beside the church porch, stands the 10th century St Barnabas Churchyard Cross, a heavily re-constructed Anglo-Saxon wheel-head cross. There are apparently some other carved stones, possibly of Saxon origin, in the garden of the nearby parsonage - but some of these appear to have been lost or incorporated into rockeries. Early chronicles suggest that the first church, and quite possibly [the monastery] were founded by Æthelflæd, sometime around 912 AD. The cross was put together from three fragments of Saxon stones that originally resided inside the church, having been found in 1863, and was re-erected beside the porch in the churchyard in 1958.
Bryant's map of Wirral gives particular emphasis to the estuary of the Dibbin, showing that it was a recognised inlet. The chapel at "Brunburgh" is one of very few religious establishments referred to as such on the map.
Bromboough is a major contender for being the later site of the Battle of Brunanburh, which was at the time pssibly the biggest battle yet fought in England. The English forces were led by Æthelflæd's foster son, and later king, Æthelstan (c.894 – 27 October 939). It is possible, but by no means proven, that Bromborough may have been the site of the "lost" burgh of "Bremesburh". Given the trouble that Edward and his sister had with Ingimund, it seems entirely reasonable that they should locate a fort close to the edge of the Viking land on the Wirral simply to keep an eye on things. The is also a record that in 912:
• "A monastery, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was likewise founded by the 'Lady of Mercia', at Brunnesburgh, [In Cheshire.] that year, which shortly after fell to decay"
Barnabas was a noted missionary and the purpose of establishing a monastery in his name close to the possible fort of Brunanburh could well have been to assist in the conversion of the Viking population of the Wirral.
Tradition ascribes the founding of an "Abbey" at St Johns to Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians in 906, although there is considerable scope for historical records to have been confused by the separate tradition which ascribes the foundation of St. John's to a much earlier Æthelred, king of Mercia (674–704), in 689. Fragments of several crosses, probably memorials dating from the 10th century, were recovered from St. John's churchyard and among the rubble of the collapsed tower in the late 19th century. Cccording to the "cross-factory" theory, the crosses, and others from Wirral and North Wales, were probably made at a workshop based on St. John's, using stone from the nearby quarry (now the bowling green down the hill). Indeed Bailey 2010 reports an unfinished cross at Chester. Such evidence suggests that St. John's was an important church in later Anglo-Saxon Chester. Links between the Chester crosses and those from Neston and Hilbre Island can be seen in that the circle diameter of the crosses are similar as are the interlace patterns. The crosses have been described as follows (by a past Bishop of Bristol):
• "It is more easy to describe these crosses negatively rather than positively. They are un-Anglican, un-Scottish, un-Irish, un-Scandinavian, they resemble most closely a head of one of the few great crosses made in Wales, known as Maen-Ach-Wynfan and the head of a cross at Diserth."
Concerning the cross heads, a printed sign in the Church says :
• "These stone crosses are reputedly from the workshop established in the quarry of St Johns by Irish - Norse traders who settled in Chester during the 10th Century. Similar crosses thought to have been from the same workshop have been found over a wide area as shown on the map."
No firm conclusion has been reached as to the relation between the "cross factory" at St Johns and the crosses located around Cheshire, especially those in areas which were subject to Viking settlement. The fact that Æthelflæd has a cross named after her at Bromborough, close to the border with the Viking settlement area and that her husband is associated with St Johns and the founding of an "abbey" on the site of the said cross factory may be co-incidence, based on folk-takes, or may indicate that Æthelflæd and her husband were trying to convert the Vikings. However, stone monuments such as crosses need to be seen in their original context and the possibility that some of these monuments have been relocated cannot be excluded. In Cheshire, very few remain in situ and reuse is high and widespread. There is also the added complication that some may have been destroyed leaving a "biased sample" behind.
With a defensive line of burh's established in the north west of Mercia, Æthelflæd and Edward could now concentrate on rolling-up the Danes in the Midlands and on the east coast.
Æthelflæd in the window at St Barnabas, Bromborough.
According to some accounts the decisive year in the war against the Danes was 917. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, as usual, concentrates on the activities of Edward. In April Edward built a fort at Towcester as a defence against the Danes of Northampton, and another at an unidentified place called Wigingamere. The Danes launched unsuccessful attacks on Towcester, Bedford and Wigingamere. The Danes had built their own fortress at Tempsford in Bedfordshire, but at the end of the summer the English stormed it and killed the last Danish king of East Anglia. The English then took Colchester, although they did not try to hold it. The Danes retaliated by sending a large army to lay siege to Maldon, but the garrison held out until it was relieved and the retreating army was heavily defeated. Edward then returned to Towcester and reinforced its fort with a stone wall, and the Danes of nearby Northampton submitted to him. The armies of Cambridge and East Anglia also submitted, and by the end of the year the only Danish armies still holding out were those of four of the Five Boroughs, Leicester, Stamford, Nottingham, and Lincoln.
Æthelflæd is hardly mentioned in the Wessex version of history, but 917 saw Æthelflæd retake Derby:
• "This year Æthelflæd, lady of the Mercians, with the help of God, before Lammas [1st August], conquered the town called Derby, with all that thereto belonged; and there were also slain four of her thegns, that were most dear to her, within the gates" (Mercian register in the entry for 917)
In 918 she retook Leicester without a fight and the Vikings of York offered their submission to her:
• "This year Æthelflæd got into her power, with God's assistance, in the early part of the year, without loss, the town of Leicester; and the greater part of the army that belonged thereto submitted to her. And the Yorkists had also promised and confirmed, some by agreement and some with oaths, that they would be in her interest..." (The Mercian Register in the entry for the year 918)
For a brief moment, she had authority not just over her own territory in Mercia, but over the Welsh, the Scandinavian East Midlands and possibly part of Northumbria, making her perhaps one of the three most important rulers in mainland Britain – the others being her brother and ally Edward the Elder king of the Anglo-Saxons and Causantín mac Áeda, (Constantine II) King of the Scots, with whom she may have also allied. Historians consider it unlikely that she was present at the Battle of Corbridge (918), but she may have sent a contingent to the battle.
Seemingly she was unstoppable, but whatever future awaited her was not to be, on June 12, 918, with Scandinavian York about to pay homage, Æthelflæd "Lady of the Mercians" took her last breath:
• "... But very soon after they had done this, she died at Tamworth, twelve days before midsummer, the eighth year of her having rule and right lordship over the Mercians; and her body lies at Gloucester, within the east porch of St. Peter's church" (William of Malmesbury)
Nobody knows how Æthelflæd died. She may have been wounded in battle, exhausted from many years' campaigning or simply succumbed to one of the many common diseases which were fatal at that time. The only detail that we have is that her body was carried the 75 miles to Gloucester and there laid beside Æthelred. Not as Malmesbury says in St Peter's (which was the older minster) but in St Oswald's Priory - refounded in 909 by Æthelflæd and Æthelred. The priory was suppressed in 1536, and became the parish church of St Catherine, but this was destroyed in a Civil War siege in 1643. Today, only ruins remain. Her tombstone is now displayed in Gloucester City Museum.
"Eithilfleith, famosissima regina Saxonum, moritur" (Æthelflæd, most famous queen of the Saxons, died) from the Annals of Ulster record for 918 TCD MS 1282 f.46v. The inclusion of the death of an Anglo-Saxon royal in the Irish annals may have been due to Ӕthelflӕd’s position as an opponent of the Norse-Gael leader Ragnall Ua Ímair (d.920/921), one of the Vikings expelled from Dublin in 902. The fragmentary Annals of Ireland, (Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale 5301-5320) also suggest that she allied herself with Constantín Mac Áeda, King of Scotland, against Ragnall at the Battle of Corbridge in Northumberland in the year of her death.
She led the Mercians so successfully that on her death in 918, her daughter, Ælfwynn, was also accepted as her successor (albeit for only six months). The uncontested transference of power from one female ruler to another was unprecedented, and it would not be repeated for another six-hundred years, when the English throne passed from Mary I to Elizabeth I in 1558. In 919, the year following the death of his sister Æthelflæd, Edgar the Elder usurped the rule of Mercia from Æthelflæd's daughter Ælfwynn. What happened to Ælfwynn after this is unknown, and it is presumed she was sent away to a convent.
By this time the northern boundary of England stretched from the Humber to the Mersey. In 919 Edgar the Elder built a new fortress at Thelwall on the Mersey some miles upstream from Runcorn. In the following years he further strengthened the line of fortifications from Chester to Manchester.
• "Kynge Edwarde made a cite at Thelewall in [th]e northe parte of [th]e Marches, nye the water of Mersee, where he put certeyne knyghtes." -Higden's Polychronicon
• "A.D. 923. This year went King Edward with an army, late in the harvest, to Thelwall; and ordered the borough to be repaired, and inhabited, and manned. And he ordered another army also from the population of Mercia, the while he sat there to go to Manchester in Northumbria, to repair and to man it. This year died Archbishop Plegmund; and King Reynold won York." -Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
In 924, Edgar the Elder died at Farndon on the River Dee just south of Chester. It appears his death was associated with some form of revolt at Chester, but the details remain unclear. It is possible that relations with the Welsh had soured since his recent construction of a burh at Cledematha/Cledemutha (believed to be Rhuddlan - and later possibly reused by Edward I) at the mouth of the River Clwyd, and that this had led to a local revolt. The ruler of Gwynedd at the time was Idwal Foel (Idwal the Bald; died c. 942) who had inherited the throne on the death of his father Anarawd around 916, but little is known of his relations with Edward. The burh at Rhuddlan (excavated in 1979-82) appears to have been a failure and was possibly an attempt to extend the teritory of Wessex/Mercia westwards into Wales.
Edward was succeeded by his son Æþelstān, notwithstanding the usual dispute over the succession. Æþelstān would also remain involved with events in the area around Chester and probably fought the Battle of Brunanburh on the Wirral, quite close to where his foster-mother's cross and religious house once stood.
Æthelflæd appears in the Genealogical chronicle of the English Kings created in the first quarter of the 14th century, before 1308, probably in East Anglia. Her daughter is not mentioned although the many children of her brother Edward are.
Hywel Dda was king of Dyfed in south-west Wales, Clydog ap Cadell probably king of Powys in the north-east, and Idwal ab Anarawd king of Gwynedd in the north-west. Hywel in particular would play a major part in the subsequent history of Wales. Significant parts of south-east Wales were already under West Saxon lordship, but in the view of historians this passage shows that the other Welsh kingdoms in north and mid Wales were under Mercian control until Edward took direct power by deposing Ælfwynn. Perhaps the Welsh can hardly be blamed for defecting to Edward, as Ælfwynn lacked the prestige and military reputation of Æthelflæd.
Even today some historians consider that Æthelflæd was nothing more than a loyal pawn in the service of her brother, Edward. Some, such as Wainwright credit Edward the Elder for almost all of the successful Mercian and West-Saxon military cooperation against the Danes. He views Edward's annexation of London and Oxford as a confirmation of Æthelflæd's acceptance of a subordinate role, and he considers Edward's 919 A.D. annexation of Mercia as a logical conclusion to this relationship. Seen another way, Edward taking control of London, Oxford and the land between the two makes military sense as this would give him a direct border with the Danelaw and mean that Mercia had a much shorter border to defend and troops from Wessex would not have to move through a relatively thin strip of Mercia.
As regards the eventual annexation of Mercia by Edward, Æthelflæd presented a serious constitutional issue and England had no way of dealing with a queen due to the laws at the time. On the one hand a woman's property generally became that of her husband, on the other, church law prevented the marriage of close relatives, although the rulers of Wessex often ignored that. One way to re-unite Wessex and Mercia would have been to marry Æthelflæd's daughter Ælfwynn back into the royal family of Wessex, but marriage between cousins was forbidden and even if that were ignored the best candiate was Æthelstan (c.894 – 27 October 939) who was of a similar age, but for reasons which have been much debated did not have any relations with women. Æthelstan probably became Edward's effective sub-ruler in Mercia when Ælfwynn was usurped. There is also some suggestion that Edward originally agreed with the transfer of power to Ælfwynn the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records Edward’s presence in Tamworth, a major Mercian royal centre, at the same time in the summer of 918.
Bernard Cornwell’s novels and the related BBC series The Last Kingdom are somewhat cavalier with the historical facts about both Æthelflæd and her relatives. Although each has the benefit of bringing to wider public notice a figure who had been written out of the historical narrative. One notable inaccuracy in the series is that Æthelflæd was never captured by the Vikings (as she was in the series) and many other details and characters are changed for dramatic effect.
Æthelflæd played a key role in the establishment of a burh at Chester, strengthening the church organisation with her promotion of the cults of Oswald and Werburgh and extending the City Walls to their present size. She was a formidable military leader and did much to help her brother Edward recover the Danelaw from Danish rule. As she was ruler of Mercia, and possibly because she was a woman, her role was downplayed in the official version of history written by the scribes of Wessex (see the comparison in the links below). She lived just as the "Dark Ages" were beginning to brighten in Chester and while much is known of her links to the city there are still gaps and possibly much is clouded by myth and folk-tales. However the main factor in her obscurity is the deliberate generation by chronicle-writers of the "Wessex Myth" that it was her father Alfred, her brother Edward the Elder and later descendents of Ecgbert who "saved England" from the Vikings.
Her arrangement with the Vikings who settled on the Wirral may have been vital in ensuring that her brother Edward could defeat his cousin Æthelwold in yet another contested succession. She died at the hight of her power, at the very point when the Scandinavian Kingdom of York was apparently considering effective surrender to her. Had she been a lesser ruler or lived just a few years longer the history of the 10th Century would have developed in a very different way, possibly with a much earlier reunion of Northumbria and York. Scandinavian York would not be reunited with the rest of England until 954 and only after long and bloody conflict.
An Alternative View
Historian Tony Sharp in The Foundation of the Chester Burh in the Tenth Century: When and by Whom? presents an alternative view to the consensus discussed above. He contends that Æthelflæd and Æthelred reconquered Chester and that the Burh was built not to protect an existing Mercian population but to defend territory which was newly acquired. He even suggests that the Burh may not have been built by Æthelflæd at all, but was re-use of Roman Chester by some combination of the Welsh, local Saxons or the Hiberno-Norse. There is some evidence that "common burdens" to maintain fortified places and bridges seem to have been universal in Mercian charters by the end of the 8th century, a century before the time when Alfred is supposed to have originated the concept.
The "truth" can only be determined by filling in the remaining blanks in the historical gap between Ecgbert's raid on Chester in 828 and Edward the Elder's death at Farndon almost a century later in 924.
Sources and Links
Further information can be found under "Related Pages" below.
Exploring the History
Æthelflæd has no personal monument in Chester, although without her the extension of the City Walls to the south and west of the original scope of Roman Chester would not exist. The Cathedral contains the much altered shrine of St Werburgh which is dated from well after Æthelflæd's time and is decorated with figures which would have been familiar to her, while the large south transept was once the semi-independent church of St Oswald. The Amphitheatre where the Vikings overwintered can still be seen, and Viking runes can be found in the stonework at St Johns, presumably robbed-out from the Amphitheatre and re-used.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: 911-918: On Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians - the sections shown in brackets are the "Mercian Register" entries.
Chronology with links
• 867: Alfred (later ‘the Great’) marries Ealhswith of Mercia. This was possibly a political marriage made in response to the Danish conquest of Northumbria the same year;
• 868: Alfred and his brother King Æthelred I go to the aid of Burgred of Mercian against a great Danish army that had invaded East Anglia;
• 870: Birth of Æthelflæd, eldest child of Alfred and his wife Ealhswith of Mercia;
• 871: Danes invade Wessex. In January, a force led by Alfred and his older brother Æthelred were defeated by the Vikings at the Battle of Reading. At the Battle of Ashdown a few days later, Alfred and Aethelred led their army to victory over the Vikings. Towards the end of January Alfred and Aethelred suffered another defeat by the Vikings at the Battle of Basing. In March, after a long and bloody battle, Alfred and King Aethelred are defeated by a Viking force at the Battle of Meretun (Marton). Æthelred died and Alfred succeeded him as Æthelred’s two sons, Aethelwold and Aethelhelm, were too young at the time to effectively rule. After the Battle of Wilton in May, the Danes were finally bought off by Alfred on the condition that they immediately left Wessex and didn’t return;
Alfred the Great(23 April 871 — 26 October 899)
• 874: The Danes force King Burgred of Mercia into exile and take control of Mercia by installing a "puppet" king Ceolwulf.
• 876: Vikings at Repton (possibly with plague). Remains of St Werburgh translated to Chester;
• 877: The Danes enforce the partition of Mercia and occupy Gloucester for some months;
• 878: In mid winter the Danes leave Gloucester and carry out a surprise attack, capturing Chippenham. Alfred is staying at Chippenham at the time and is forced to flee. In May the West Saxons defeat the Danes at the battle of Edington – they surrendered and their king, Guthrum, was forced to accept baptism and peace terms;
• 879: Death of Ceolwulf of Mercia. Aethelred of Mercia becomes ruler of ‘English’ Mercia – the south and the west;
• 886: Alfred captures London from the Danes. However, as London is technically Mercian territory Alfred puts the city in the control of Ealdorman Aethelred of Mercia;
• 887: Æthelflæd marries Aethelred at some point between 885 and 887 – she would have been 15 - 17. Aethelred’s age is not known – but he is likely to have been notably older;
• 889: Worcester is fortified as a burh, likely on the orders of Aethelred and Æthelflæd;
• 890: Aethelstan (Guthrum), dies. Plegmund becomes Archbishop of Canterbury;
• 891: The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is begun;
• 892: Hastein arrives with new wave of Vikings;
• 894: Æþelstān born, Vikings raid Chester;
• 895: A son, Aethelstan, is born to Aethelflaed’s brother, Edward and his first consort, Ecgwynn;
• 900: Alfred dies, Plegmund crowned his son Edward the Elder as king;
Edward the Elder
• 900: Alfred the Great dies, Edward the Elder becomes king of Wessex, Constantine II becomes king of Alba;
• 902902: Æthelwold persuades the East Anglian Danes to attack Edward the Elder's territory in Wessex and Mercia. Irish Norsemen, under Ingimund expelled from Dublin, establish colonies on The Wirral, at around this time Æthelred's health collapsed and Æthelflæd became the effective ruler of Mercia;
• 904: Egill Skallagrimsson born;
• 905:
• 906: Abbey of St John the Baptist (St Johns) possibly re-founded by Æthelred;
• 907: Chester refortified by Æthelflæd;
• 908: Plegmund visits Rome;
• 909: Edward the Elder despatches an Anglo-Saxon army to attack the Northumbrian Vikings and ravages Scandinavian York, Æthelflæd recovers Oswald's relics from Bardney. Asser dies;
• 910: Battle of Tettenhall: Edward the Elder, allied with the forces of Mercia, defeats a Northumbrian Viking army; Eowils and Halfdan and Ingwær, kings of Northumbria, are killed;
• 911: Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, dies and his wife Æthelflæd takes over rule as Lady of the Mercians. Æthelflæd surrenders London and Oxford and all the lands between them, frontier territory at the time, to her brother Edward of Wessex;
• 912: Chester attacked by Vikings under Ingimund; "A monastery, dedicated to St. Barnabas, was likewise founded by the 'Lady of Mercia', at Brunnesburgh, [In Cheshire.] that year, which shortly after fell to decay". Mercia under Æthelflæd captures and fortified Scargeat (location unknown) and Bridgnorth;
• 913: Edward is unable to take any offensive action during this period as he is attacked by Danish forces based at Northampton and Leicester. Æthelflæd captures and fortifies Tamworth, the historical capital of Mercia, and Stafford.
• 914: Æthelflæd fortifies Eddisbury and Warwick;
• 915: Æthelflæd fortifies Runcorn and built three further burhs on the Welsh border, including Chirbury, and likely Hereford and Shrewsbury;;
• 916: Æthelflæd sent an army against Tewdr, King of Brycheiniog (in south Wales) to avenge against the murder of a Mercian abbot and his companions. Her men destroyed the Royal crannog and captured the queen and court. Tewdr survived and made his submission soon afterwards. Aethelflaed probably held the overlordship of at least three of the Welsh Kingdoms;
• 917: Vikings retake Dublin. Æthelflæd captured Derby, a major Danish base;
• 918: The Danes of Leicester – now surrounded and isolated - surrender. Æthelflæd of Mercia enters negotiations with the Danes of York (who were threatened by the unpopular Norwegian pagan Ragnall, but dies at Tamworth; Edward the Elder takes control of her kingdom;
• 919: Ragnall ua Ímair seizes control of the Kingdom of York, Edward the Elder fortifies Thelwall and Manchester;;
• 920: Norse Vikings under Sitric Cáech attack Cheshire. Constantine II of Scotland, and the kings of Strathclyde, York, and Northumbria meet with Edward the Elder the Elder at Bakewell;
• 921: Edward the Elder fortifies Cledematha (Rhuddlan) at the mouth of the River Clwyd, Edmund born;
• 923: Plegmund dies;
• 924: Chester joins a Welsh revolt against English rule, Edward the Elder dies at Farndon and is succeeded by Æþelstān, Ælfweard dies;
Related Pages
An old postcard of Chester, as seen from the North. This shows the walls as extended by Æthelflæd. The cross-shapped set of streets mark the layout of Roman Chester.
Popular Histories
• Margaret Jones, "Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen: Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians" (2018);
• Tim Clarkson, "Aethelflaed: Lady of the Mercians" (2018);
• Jane Wolfe, "Æthelflæd : royal lady, war lady", (Chester: Fenris, 2001);
• Joanna Arman, "The Warrior Queen: The Life and Legend of Aethelflaed, Daughter of Alfred the Great" (2017);
• Don Stansbury, "The Lady who Fought the Vikings" (1993); |
How to Love a Poem
From Ada Limón at Poetry Foundation:
Because I work outside of the academic field, I don’t get the opportunity to teach very often, but when I do, I’m surprised by how many people read poems as if they can have only one meaning. In my own experience, I find it nearly impossible to hear the beauty and meditative joy of a poem’s lines, or the sensual sounds of a syllable, when I’m reading solely for narrative sense. So, I’ve come to think that one of the first things to learn about poetry is to simply relax in its mystery. We need to learn that a poem can have many meanings and that it can be enjoyed without a complete understanding of the
poet’s intent. On a good day a poem might bring you great joy, on a tough day, the same poem might reveal great agony, but the poem hasn’t changed—it’s what you have brought to the poem that has changed. The more you read a poem, the more time you spend with it, read it out loud to yourself or to others, the more it will open to you—start to wink and flirt and let you in. A poem is a complex living thing, its multiple edges and many colors are what makes this singular art form so difficult to define. There is an ancient Chinese Proverb that says, “A bird sings not because he has an answer, but because he has a song.” That is how I have come to think about poetry—that a poem isn’t a problem to solve, but rather it’s a singular animal call that contains multiple layers of both mystery and joy.
My goodness I love that. To sing not because you have an answer, but because you have a song …
This is from a longer essay, “Mystery and Birds: Five Ways to Practice Poetry”, here |
Hide Advanced Options
Courses - Spring 2022
History Department Site
Constitutional History of the United States: Since 1865
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
American public law and government, with emphasis on the interaction of government, law, and politics, and the relationship between the constitution and social forces and influences, the way in which constitutional principles, rules, ideas, and institutions affect events and are in turn affected by events. Major crises in American government and politics such as Reconstruction,the rise of corporate power, civil liberties during wartime, the New Deal era, the civil disorders of the 1960s. |
Wang Tiling
Wang tiling is a really cool concept… it’s a good way to use 2d tiled graphics in such a way that can look very organic, without discernable patterns.
The basic idea of how they work is that each tile has a type of edge. You start by placing a random tile, and then you start putting down it’s neighboring tiles. When you place a tile, the rule is you can only put down a tile that has compatible edge types (aka the tiles can go together seamlessly). Rinse and repeat and pretty soon you have tile based graphics that don’t look tiled at all.
Specifically here is a strategy I like to use for filling a grid with wang tiles:
1. Place any random tile in the upper left corner
2. Put a tile below it that has an edge on it’s top that is compatible with the already placed tile’s bottom edge
3. Continue placing tiles downward until you reach the bottom of the column
4. Now, move back to the top, move over to the next column, and now place a tile such that the left edge is compatible with the right edge of the tile it is next to.
5. Moving down, you now have to find a tile which is compatible with both the tile above it, and the tile to the left. Since there are going to be multiple tiles that fit these constraints, just choose randomly from the ones that do.
6. Rinse and repeat until the grid is filled
However, if you are in a situation where you need “random access” to know what tile to use at a specific grid cell (x,y) there is another option that I like a lot more.
In this situation, if you have 2 edge types for each of the 4 edges, that means that you need 4 bits to describe a specific tile (each bit says which type to use for an edge).
Because of this, you can generate four random bit values (0 or 1), using a pseudo random number generator that takes two numbers in and gives one number as output.
You would generate the random numbers for the coordinates:
• (x,y)
• (x+1,y)
• (x,y+1)
• (x+1,y+1)
And then use those bits as edge selections. The 4 bit number (0 to 15) then could tell you which tile to use.
The result is that you generate tiles which are compatible with their neighbors, and you don’t have to generate the whole wang tiled grid up to that point.
You get “random access” views into the field of wang tiles, and this is the technique I used in the shader toy demos below.
There is a lot more info out there (links at bottom of post) so I’ll leave it at that and show you some results I got with some simple tiles.
The tiles I used are very geometric, but if you have more organic looking tiles, the resulting tile grid will look a lot more organic as well.
Also, as the links at the bottom will tell you, if you have wang tiles where each axis has only 2 edge types, even though the number of permutations of tiles in that situation is 16 (XVariation^2 * YVariation^2), you can actually get away with just using 8 tiles (XVariation * YVariation * 2). In my example below I had to use all 16 though because I’m just generating edge types in a pixel shader without deeply analyzing neighboring tiles, and it would be a lot more complex to limit my generation to just the 8 tiles. If you can think of a nice way to generate a wang tile grid using only the 8 tiles though, please let me know!
The 16 wang tiles used:
A resulting grid:
Here’s a more complex set of 16 wang tiles:
And a resulting grid:
Links For More Info
ShaderToy: Wang Tiling
ShaderToy: Circuit Board
Wang Tiling Research Paper
Introduction to Wang Tiles
By the way… something really crazy about wang tiles is that apparently they can be used to do computation and they are turing complete. Seriously? Yes! Check out the link below:
Computing with Tiles
Leave a Reply
You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )
Google photo
Twitter picture
Facebook photo
Connecting to %s |
The ransomware
A ransomware is a malicious software that takes personal data hostage. He encrypts personal data and asks the owner for money in exchange for the decryption key.
A ransomware typically spreads in the same way as a Trojan Horse: it penetrates the system for example via Web Exploit or through email-malicious campaigns. In any case, a ransomware will try to extort money from the user, by having him buy a program to decrypt his files.
The means of fight recommended against a crypto-locker are the following:
• Disconnect infected devices from shared networks, wired or wireless.
• Change your passwords after cleaning the network.
• Make regular backups of his data, and store them offline.
• Consult a computer security expert for instructions.
* This information was collected on
Au plaisir, |
The Single Best Strategy To Use For White racism and black racism in United States
News Discuss
How can we assist learners have an understanding of George Floyd’s Demise inside the context of institutionalized racism? troubles and tactics during the inclusion of scholars with disabilities during the U.S. The topics consist of: historical By widening the scope from the inclusion dialogue, to 1 of exclusion, the authors https://racism-in-united-states26013.blogpayz.com/7609643/the-definitive-guide-to-racism
No HTML
HTML is disabled
Who Upvoted this Story |
What is the process for designing a pattern?
By C.A. Lawton | January 22, 2020
pattern blog
At The C.A. Lawton Co., the design review process begins when the customer reviews the required casting shape with our casting engineer. This consists of drawings or models of a casting-friendly pattern and one or more core boxes to produce the highest quality casting.
Technical discussions typically include tolerances required, allowable machine stock, machined and non-machined surfaces, and the castablility of the desired casting. Tooling design can vary, depending upon the pattern material, casting production process, and estimated annual usage (EAU) required.
Casting engineers and pattern makers typically utilize solidification modeling software to identify and fix potential internal problem areas.
Here are some essential items to consider when designing pattern tooling.
Pattern and Core Box Materials
Metal: Materials include aluminum and steel. The advantages are high tolerance and excellent durability. Downsides are long lead times and high costs. Metal patterns are best suited for high-production run parts (EAU 200 castings or more), such as automotive components. They require a temperature-controlled environment for storage.
Red Board: This is a hard urethane material. Advantages include high tolerance, excellent durability, and a lower cost than metal. It’s also long-lasting, less expensive, and requires a shorter lead time than metal. Red board is well-suited to high-production run parts (EAU 100-200 castings or more). Like metal patterns, it requires a temperature-controlled environment for storage.
Wood: Common materials used to create patterns are mahogany and pine wood. Advantages include moderate cost, tolerance, and lead times. Wood’s sweet spot in terms of casting quantity is EAU 10-100 castings. Wood patterns hold up best when stored in a temperature-controlled environment.
Styrofoam: Styrofoam offers the lowest cost and shortest lead time (3-4 weeks), but has a lower tolerance. It’s best suited for prototype projects and EAU of 1-5 castings. Styrofoam is a one-time use material because the pattern and core box tooling are destroyed during the casting production process.
Pattern Bottom or Insert Boards: Wood bottom or insert boards function as a “backplate” for the pattern, which is permanently mounted to the surface of the board. It secures the pattern during the casting production process as well as transportation from storage to production. Bottom or insert boards are not required for styrofoam patterns.
Rigging and Gating
Rigging: Rigging is required, so the pattern and core boxes can be moved around the casting production floor, either with a fork truck or an overhead crane. It includes locking devices or clamps on core boxes or handling straps. Rigging materials and methods are foundry specific, based on the equipment used to handle the patterns.
Gating: Gating delivers molten metal to the sand mold, where it fills the mold cavity and creates the casting. The design of the gating is calculated so that the molten metal fills the features of the mold without voids, hot spots, or other defects. Gating can be mounted permanently to the bottom or insert boards or “loose,” depending upon the pattern design.
Our foundry experts and patternmakers are ready to coach your team through your next project. Why not contact us to discuss your needs? |
7th December 2019
Facial Flushing 101: Possible Reasons Your Face Gets Red (+ Useful Solutions)
It can be embarrassing when your face starts turning red and you have no control over it. Whether it's facial flushing that happens within seconds or a condition that leaves your face flushed or with red patches, it's good to know what could be causing it to happen.
Keep reading to learn more about what causes facial flushing and whether you can do anything about it.
Facial Flushing That's Considered Blushing
When you have a physiological response to an emotion. Such as being angry, sad, or embarrassed.
People blush when given a compliment or criticism. The recipient of the feedback will have a warmth or heat flood over their face with a measurable temperature increase in the cheeks and forehead area.
Often as one starts to blush, they'll become anxious. Fearful others are noticing the facial flushing and as a result, end up blushing more and for longer.
One of the best ways to deal with blushing is to learn control over your breathing. And immediate emotional response instinct for either "fight or flight',
Most people will find their blushing is fairly harmless and it quickly goes away. Some have experienced extreme cases of facial flushing that appear to be blushing but is brought on due to a medical condition.
The cause of rosacea is unknown but it is most often seen in middle-aged people (30-50 years) and is characterized by pimples, redness and visible blood vessels in the cheek and nose area of the face.
It can be triggered by weather, stress, drastic change in temperature, medications, and certain foods.
There are four phases of rosacea that have been identified:
Phase 1 is the pre-rosacea phase where the skin on the cheeks and nose are flushed for a short period of time but longer than blushing.
Phase 2 is the vascular phase where the skin on the cheeks and nose can become inflamed with noticeable swelling and you may be able to see tiny blood vessels under the epidermal surface.
Phase 3 is referred to as the inflammatory phase where swelling becomes worse, small bumps appear and there may be discharge from the pustules.
Phase 4 is late phase where some individuals develop an almost calloused skin that is thicker than usual and remains red for extended periods of time even after the flare-up is over.
Antibiotic creams may be prescribed by an attending physician. They will tell you the best way to care for your skin. Most recommend having a healthy skin care routine in between flare-ups if you do have rosacea and can prevent other skin conditions for those with already healthy skin.
Exercise, Alcohol and Allergies
Many people will find they experience facial flushing when working out or doing strenuous physical activity. As the body temperature rises from exertion the body sweats and the skin becomes flushed. This process can cool the body down and is healthy as long as there isn't excessive sweating and overheating.
Alcohol consumption can also lead to facial flushing, especially if the individual has a sensitivity to alcohol. Many don't even realize that they are sensitive to certain alcoholic beverages.
Food sensitivities and allergies can also cause a facial flushing response.
Taking Care of Your Biggest Body Part
Your skin is your largest organ and tends to take the most wear and tear from the outside world. Facial flushing is nothing to be embarrassed about and usually not a danger to your health but if you have any concern about the cause you should always seek an expert opinion.
You can minimize the damage from daily life by taking care of your skin every day. Connect with us to learn how we can help your skin look and feel it's best.
Book Your Treatment Today
Book Now
Call Now
Book Now |
Position of England and France before the Military powers
M. Brunet"s speech in the French Assembly on the Congress of Brussels.
• 4.99 MB
• English
Diplomatic review , [London
War, Maritime (International
The Physical Object
Pagination8p. ;
ID Numbers
Open LibraryOL19165180M
They went to Havana, in Spanish Cuba, where they took passage for England on the British mail steamer. The policy of Irish neutrality during World War II was adopted by the Oireachtas at the instigation of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera upon the outbreak of World War II in was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids by aircraft that missed their intended British targets and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by Allies and Axis alike.
Pre-revolutionary France was a jigsaw of lands which had been haphazardly aggregated over the preceding centuries, the different laws and institutions of each new addition often kept intact. The latest addition was the island of Corsica, coming into the French crown's possession in ByFrance comprised an estimated 28 million people.
The Rise of Monarchies: France, England, and SpainOne of the most significant developments in the three centuries leading up to the Renaissance period was the collapse of feudalism.
This social and economic system had emerged during the ninth century in the Carolingian Empire (pronounced care-eh-LIN-jee-ehn), which was centered in the region that is now France.
England’s Protestant religion put it at odds with neighboring Catholic Spain and, to a lesser extent, France. Spain was involved in military plots against England and Elizabeth came under pressure from home to become involved with defending other Protestants on.
Blake M. asks: Does the queen of England have any real power anymore or is her position just ceremonial at this point. A short while ago we wrote about the fact Queen Elizabeth II needs neither a passport nor driving license thanks to a quirk of British law.
But what other powers does the Queen of many titles have and what could she. Imperial Cycles: Bucks, Bullets and Bust Date: JanuSunday, Late City Final Edition Section 7; Page 1, Column 3; Book Review Desk Byline: By MICHAEL HOWARD; Michael Howard is the Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University Lead: LEAD: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS Text: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS.
Economic Change and Military. Considering factors such as globalization and military advancement, Professor David Stevenson examines the political and diplomatic landscape of Europe before the outbreak of World War One.
Europe in the early 20th century had known no great war, involving all the Continent’s major Powers, since the fall of Napoleon. The Military: France had extensive assets available to continue its resistance against the Axis powers.
The French Fleet was the most notable of these; France possessed two of the world’s most. Dunkirk is a small town on the coast of France that was the scene of a massive military campaign during World War II.
During the Battle of Dunkirk. Assuming that you mean "how did it lead to Napoleon's wars with other European powers", the answer is that Napoleon's wars against Austria, Britain, Prussia and several Italian States were a.
Download Position of England and France before the Military powers FB2
A great power is a nation or state that, through its great economic, political and military strength, is able to exert power and influence not only over its own region of the world, but beyond to others. In a modern context, recognized great powers first arose in Europe during the post-Napoleonic era.
The formalization of the division between small powers and great powers came about with the. The book deals with the politics, social background within Germany, France and England from the invasion of Poland to Norway, and the military reasoning leading to the eventual invasion of France.
The French position is dealt with very well, and the British dithering is also detailed; which in many ways led to the collapse of France in such a /5(85). ENDNOTES [] Statement by Prime Minister Chamberlain in House of Commons, Ma Diplomatic correspondence between Georges Bonnet, France's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Léon Nöel, French Ambassador in Warsaw on Ma reveals: "The British Ambassador informed me on March 30 that a question would be put to the British Government next day in the.
Description Position of England and France before the Military powers PDF
France was the vanguard of the movement that gave civic and legal equality to the Jews. Napoleon’s conquest of the German states led to emancipation in some of them, but after his defeat, Jews faced a series of legal setbacks. Full emancipation of Jews throughout In art criticism: Art criticism in the 18th century: Enlightenment theory.
"Futile" is the word that best describes the judgment presented to the British public regarding the First World War. From the war memoirs of the s and s to A.
Details Position of England and France before the Military powers FB2
Taylor's illustrated Author: Benjamin Schwarz. Britain, France & The American Civil War. While many may think of the American Civil War as a contest that occurred only between the North and the South, the conflict was in some ways an.
The Fifth Republic is the name of France’s current government. It began inafter a coup at the hands of the French military in colonial Algeria convinced officials in Paris to dissolve Author: Lorraine Boissoneault. The defeat of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in against Duke William II of Normandy, later called William I of England, and the following Norman conquest of England caused important changes in the history of Britain.
William ordered the Domesday Book to be written. This was a survey of the entire population, and their lands and property, to help in collecting taxes. Starting from the Reformation to the late 80's this book covers the reasons for the rise and fall of the great powers.
The Bourbon Monarchies, Hapsburgs, Napoleon, Holy Roman Empire/Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire, Britain, Nazi Germany, /5. Wars of the Roses () -- A series of civil wars in which two royal houses (families) fought for control of England.
The House of Lancaster (Tudor family) defeated the House of York. English Civil War (–) -- Actually three related civil conflicts between the English Parliament and its supporters against the Royalist.
On the military spending patterns of Great Powers in particular, see J. Hobson, “The Military-Extraction Gap and the Wary Titan: The Fiscal Sociology of British Defence Policy ,” Journal of European Economic Hist no. 3 (). Plan for peace (reduce arms) 2. Reduce the likelyhood for any future World War (no secret alliances) 3.
believed in self determination-- freedom for people who. Short answer which can no doubt be expanded on by others with more knowledge and time: Treaty's and attitudes.
Anglo-Japanese Alliance between UK and Japan was signed in and ended in Explains why Japan fought in the first war and was not bound in the second. Washington Navel Treaty and subsequent agreements treated Japan as a second rate power compared to UK and USA.
France - France - Economy: France is one of the major economic powers of the world, ranking along with such countries as the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Its financial position reflects an extended period of unprecedented growth that lasted for much of the postwar period until the mids; frequently this period was referred to as the trente glorieuses.
War with China: Ascending Powers, Expansionism and the Use-of-Force. Strobe Driver, Nov 22views. (England, France and Russia) Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.
Back to World War One and wars involving the United States - Home Page Back to Table of Contents - World War I. If you have come here from someone else's web site and are stuck inside their frames, click here here to get out.
Note: You may have to reload the web pages several times to get all the images to load because of slow connection speed, servers "timing out" and assorted reasons.
Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the great powers. The term was first applied post World. France is a kingdom located in Western Europe, in the French Region, and could be one of the most (if not the most) interesting and entertaining nations to play in EUIV due to its powerful military and amount of flavor allows for the player to make mistakes with usually limited consequences.
Due to its military and sheer size, taking down France as an outside nation can be. The empire’s value is estimated at 5 million pounds.
Russia, France, and England are listed as the directors of the reorganization. The caricature refers to the Ottoman Empire, which was increasingly falling under the financial control of the European powers and had lost territory.
By English monarchs (of mixed Franco-Norse descent) were pushing back, and for a few short years after England’s infant king Henry VI also nominally ruled France. Dominant at last among Europe's Great Powers, Britain was firmly established by with France, Russia, Ottoman Turkey and China as one of the world's great imperial powers.
A .Central Powers. An alliance during World War I that originally consisted of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Other nations, including Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, joined later. Schlieffen Plan.
A German military plan, formulated inthat addressed how Germany should handle the threat of a war on two fronts with Russia and France. In short. |
The Development of the Brain Between the Genders in The Lord Of The Flies Essay Example
The development of the brain is very different between the genders in many ways. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, several young boys get stuck on an island after their plane has suddenly crashed. Some main characters include Piggy, the “voice” of the group, Ralph, the leader, and Jack, the villain. An important detail to notice is that there is no parents, adults, or rules. As they spend more time in this environment conflict starts to arise. The boys savage attitude should specifically be blamed on the biological factors such as emotional and brain development.
One biological factor that led to this performance is gender. According to Gregory L. Jantz, founder of the Center for Counseling and Health Resources, “Males on average tend to be less inclined to sit still for as long as females and tend to be more physically impulsive and aggressive”. This supports the claim that the boys behaviour is partly blamed on gender because if it were females there would not have been as much chaos and trouble. The way their brains are set up are different causing unlike outcomes. During the teenage years, “The brain releases dopamine when something makes us feel good, the strength of this “feel good” response helps explain why teens often give in to impulsive desires” (Mascarelli). This chemical is accountable for many bad decisions the boys have made.
Although some may say that it was environmental factors that caused a savage behaviour here is why this claim is flawed. In between the novel it reads, “Only Percival began to whimper with an eyeful of sand and Maurice hurried away. In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand.” This reveals that even before they were on the island the boys had bad behaviour only now there was no one to correct them. This also weakens the opposite claim by pointing out that boys are more aggressive and are more apathetic.
Clearly it is genetic factors that causes such a catastrophic behaviour in the boys. All of these ideas fit together demonstrating that the real reason the boys had such a savage behaviour was all biological.
|
Introduction of Charlie Munger
Charlie Thomas Munger was born on 1st January, 1924 as is considered as one of the most well-known American Lawyer, businessman, financial expert and Philanthropist. Being vice chairman of Berkshire Hathay, that is being controlled by Warren Buffet, Charlie has always been seen a partner of Warren Buffet. He is well known worldwide as a rock star having dynamic financial expertise. Charlie remained chairman of Wesco Financial Cooperation from the year 1984 to 2011.
The concepts and ideas of Charlie are considered as a guideline in the world of investment. However, in the University of CALTECH, Peter suggested Charlie to deliver lecture. Charlie gave ideas about management of investment, various expert opinions and philosophical ideas. After writing several books he became well known as a Story Teller being quick in his intellect. He was born in year 1924, the tail end of year Pig, which was a considered as a year of fertility and virility. He believes that the humility of leaders is the essence of life. A person must never be arrogant in his conduct with others.
Warren Buffet and Charlie infallible for each other?
Charlie claimed that it never happened that Buffet and Charlie had a serious argument as a conflict on any issue. The real definition of Humility was given as knowing what someone doesn’t know. Everyone must know the edge and level of his competency. He believed that if someone doesn’t know his competency level, he can never be successful.
Sense and Investing
Charlie Munger on Common Sense
He says that the common sense in usually not so common in people. Every person has a different sense of judging the things and look them in different perspectives. The explanation of common sense was related to a surgeon, who was the friend of father of Charlie. The person was a genius because of his superb intellect and significant common sense. Most of the problems looks very complex at first sight. However, if a person looks at the problem keenly, he realizes that the problem is not that difficult.
Understanding the problem is itself doing it half solution. Most of the people having common sense considers the problem as simple and apply all possible tricks to make it simpler. Charlie always loved big ideas. It’s a general perception that, the more the idea is bigger, the more complex is its solution. People using common sense deals the biggest problems with ease and perfection.
Charlie always dealt all big issues using his common sense and was always successful in resolving them with ease. There are no academic and territorial bounds to resolve any issue problem provided a person uses all his means. It has been observed that there is no great reward of integrating various subjects. The struggles involved in such problems are quite big and the reward most of the times is not equal to the efforts involved. Charlie believes that a person should always move on high elevation road since it has less traffic.
The problems needs to be identified at the point where the ideas are in conflict. The problems if resolved by common sense are same as taking high road instead of a crowded one. The discovery of Einstein of E= mc2 seemed to be quite a simple invention. However, the relations derived from it and the practical implementations of it are very vast. A man should have operate at a broad range.
Social Sciences has No-linearity
Charlie related the example of a person having hammer in his hand and tries to fix in all nails. A lot of effort is required to fix in all nails. There are many big problems in world that are solved by very simple tricks. Charlie saw many huge problems solved in a simple manner in his life. To fit in conclusion at proper places leads to the solution. The ordinary discourse is always a dangerous thing.
The social sciences in America is taught poorly according to Charlie. The solution suggested that the all the social scientists must sit together to find out the solution to all problems. The concept of selling large number the things at lower price rather than selling a few at high price is a part of Capitalistic Life. A person must see the interplay between all things considering various factors. The world as a whole is full of opportunities. One of the way to increase sales was to employ agents by bribing them by money. A person must learn with time considering all possible complexities.
But the question is that is there any possibility to fix all these social problems. According to Charlie, there is a possibility to fix all these problem but there is no likely hood that these will be fixed. Answer to all such questions is No. It may happen eventually after sometimes. Charlie quoted an example of a guy who said “You are smart and I am Right”. There is an extreme praise in liberal art.
It is not necessary that the academia tolerates forever. Most of the studies indicates that the Social Science is a linear effect. In the present world the present social sciences are extreme nonlinear. However, it was an extreme non real fact of social science in the past.In the past, there was no use of computers and the only means to carryout various functions was by means of a calculator. There are a lot of people who tries to fix many social problems.
The dependence of financial instruments and their determination
The concept of attempted false precision is considered terrible. Charlie had a firm belief that it is better to be precisely right then precisely wrong. The main problem initially was to handle multiple inputs when without use of proper programmable functions. Tom exclaimed that he constructed a financial instrument by building a house on Tropical Island about 20 years ago which was insured by a good insurance policy. Charlie rejected the idea of Tom of constructing a financial instrument. The concept was to regard it as an immoral act in economics.
These are same people who employs such concepts with extreme social complexity. They have created complexities, hurricane danger and uses deeply immoral ways to create financial instruments. Such people create super complexity and are considered despicable. There are a few academics who tries to explain Berkshire Hathaway’s success. The need was to solve the problems. Charlie quoted that “Market efficiency seems quite different from banks of Charlie and Banks Hudson”.
Comparison of University Education system of CALTECH with others
Charlie believed that everything is better of its graduates as compared to others. He exclaimed that it was just unbelievable that they were better in physics, made better diagrams and knew less about the change of face of water. Tom related the Metropolitan show of previous night. In the last part, orchestra was played by Benjamin Franklin. He had a broad and extensive impact that helped Americans to fight against French.
Are we competing with ourselves instead of the competition?
Charlie saw the Fundamental tensions among people. There was a need to moral disciplined. It is a common fact that every economists thinks about compound interest. The practical application in real world indicated that an investor claimed that his “Supply of coal was infinite”. On being asked it was not quite infinite.
The investors must always have good common sense and should be able to take decisions at the right time using all his senses. The investment by any firm is the most significant part that needs to consider, keeping in view all important factors. Most of the financial and economic experts used only their common sense to resolve many huge problems.
Leave a comment
|
Let’s Do It PL
What is “Inheritance”?
Object-Oriented Programming is built on 4 big principles and one of them is Inheritance. Thanks to this mechanism, developers can easily create objects that have a relationship between them. Also, Inheritance is a very important key to understand other principles.
Object-Oriented Programming started a new era in the coding world. After it was found, developers became capable of putting anything in the real world into the code world. Even we can fly some birds into our codes.
Let’s start with putting a parrot inside of our codes. We can simply create an object named Parrot and we can just create some methods on behalf of its actions and some variables on behalf of its attributes. We can declare a color variable in that object and decide its color and/or create a method named fly() and it is done. Our parrot is ready to fly by just calling the fly() method.
What about we want to create also an object named Sparrow? We should also do almost the same things when we create the Parrot object. We will add a color variable and a fly() method that almost all birds have. Now, we have 2 objects that have some common variables and methods. Can we say they do not have any relationship? No, right? As a human, we know they both are birds and share some common attributes but the computer cannot understand that connection between them. For creating this “Parrot-Bird” relationship, we use Inheritance.
For achieving that, we are using the “extends” keyword simply adding after class name and adding inherited class name.
public class Parrot extends Bird{
That’s it. Now our computers also know Parrot is a Bird and it can do whatever Bird can do.
IS-A Relationship
Simply, Inheritance lets us create an IS-A relationship between objects. For example:
• Parrot IS-A Bird
• Whale IS-A Mammal
• Rose IS-A Flower
• Chess IS-A Game
IS-A relationship is also named a “parent-child” relationship. But why we are creating these relationships? Actually, we are gaining many benefits from those relations. Let’s explain verbally first. A Parrot can fly because it IS-A Bird, right? So, if the Parrot class extends the Bird class, it means the Parrot class has the same methods and variables too. Let’s show that in an example:
public class Bird { String color; public void fly(){
System.out.println("Bird is flying in the sky freely");
public void tweet(){
We have a class named Bird which has a color variable and fly() and tweet() methods. Let’s create a Parrot class too:
public class Parrot extends Bird{
public void talk(String word){
As we see, there is a talk() method but no fly() method in the Parrot class so is that mean Parrot cannot fly and only talk? No, because it inherits that method from Bird class or simply it has that method because Parrot IS-A Bird. Let’s create an object and check it can fly or not?
public static void main(String[] args) {
Parrot parrot = new Parrot();
//Output: Bird is flying in the sky freely
There are no compiler errors or wrong output so it is perfectly fine because Parrot IS-A Bird thanks to the relationship that we create between them.
Superclass and Subclass
We successfully created classes that use Inheritance. In the coding language, we call these classes with different names. “Subclass” name is given to the class that inherits some methods from another class and the class that is inherited by that subclass is named as “Superclass”. Then in our example, the Bird class is a superclass and the Parrot class is a subclass. So, in simple words:
Inheritance is a mechanism that allows subclasses to inherit methods and variables from superclasses and use them.
Through Inheritance, a subclass can inherit all members of a superclass like variables, methods, and nested classes but cannot inherit constructors because constructors cannot count as a member of a class. If we want to do that we should invoke the superclass’s constructor inside the subclass’s constructor with the “super()” keyword. Let’s do this in an example to understand better:
public class Bird {
public Bird() {
System.out.println("This is a bird");
public Bird(String color){
System.out.println("This is a " + color + " bird");
public class Parrot extends Bird{
public Parrot(String color){
The Parrot class’s constructor has super(color) so it invokes the Bird class’s one-parameter constructor by sending the color variable as a parameter. So we created a Parrot class and used the Bird class’s one-parameter constructor. Let’s create a Parrot object and check what will happen:
Parrot parrot = new Parrot("yellow");//Output: This is a yellow bird
We could also write super() instead of super(color) to call the no-parameter constructor of the Bird class.
Private Fields and Final Class
There are some situations that we don’t want to inherit some variables or methods, moreover, we need a class that cannot be inherited by any subclass. As we know from the Encapsulation principle, private variables or methods cannot be used outside of their classes. So it means cannot be inherited too. If we want to keep away class members from inheritance we should change their access modifiers to private, or maybe default or protected depending on the situation.
A class cannot be private because a private class is cannot be reachable which makes it useless. So if we try that, it shows us an error like “private is not allowed here”. Then, how can we avoid inheritance at the class level? The solution is creating a “Final Class” or simply making that class’s access modifier to final. With that, that class becomes a non-inheritable class.
final class Bird {
public class Parrot extends Bird{ //compiler error shows this line
If we do that, we will get an “error: cannot inherit from final Bird” message in the console.
Inheritance Types
Inheritance can be done in different ways. Let’s check them out one-by-one.
1-Single Inheritance
Example Schema of Single Inheritance
Example Schema of Single Inheritance
If a superclass is inherited by only one subclass, this is called “Single Inheritance”. We used this inheritance type from the beginning so it should be clear now.
2-Multilevel Inheritance
Example Schema of Multilevel Inherştance
Example Schema of Multilevel Inheritance
Being a superclass doesn’t mean, that class cannot be a subclass. If a superclass of a subclass inherits another class, it is called “Multilevel Inheritance”.
public class Animal{
public class Bird extends Animal{
public class Parrot extends Bird{
In the example, we see a Parrot class that extends Bird, on top of that the Bird class extends Animal class. So we have a “grandparent-parent-child” relationship here but in Java, the child class cannot directly access the grandparent class’s members.
3-Hierarchical Inheritance
Example Schema of Hierarchical Inheritance
Example Schema of Hierarchical Inheritance
If a superclass has more than one subclass, it is called “Hierarchical Inheritance”.
public class Bird{
public class Parrot extends Bird{
public class Sparrow extends Bird{
In this inheritance type, both Sparrow and Parrot classes can inherit all members of Bird and use them but cannot access each others’.
4-Multiple Inheritance
Example Schema of Multiple Inheritance
If a subclass has more than one superclass, this is called “Multiple Inheritance” but this inheritance type can only achievable by using interfaces. Java is not supporting Multiple Inheritance to reduce complexity and to simplify the language.
“instanceof” keyword
Sometimes we can need information about inheritance like “is Parrot a Bird?”. To asking this, we use the “instanceof” keyword. This action returns a boolean value that is true or false.
System.out.println(parrot instanceof Bird);
//Output: true
Inheritance makes our codes reusable which is one of the goals of Object-Oriented Programming. We can just use Inheritance to reuse other classes’ methods and variables to avoid rewriting them. Also, Inheritance supports other OOP principles like Abstraction and Polymorphism very much and this situation makes Inheritance the key point which connects all principles.
Passionate with coding, In love with learning, ambitious to implementing them to his life. |
What Type of Whitewash to Put on Fruit Trees?
Sunscald, sometimes referred to as southwest injury because it usually occur on the south- and west-facing sides of the trunk, tends to affect young or thin-barked trees when they are leafless in winter. It can also affect heavily pruned trees if the trunk is exposed to intense sunlight and experiencing temperature fluctuations. Sunscald damage, which appears as discoloration, cracking or sunken areas on bark, causes stress to the tree and creates an opening for pests and disease. Sunscald problems are avoided by tree painting with whitewash or a certain type of paint.
Whitewash Paint for Fruit Trees
Sunscald is commonly described as affecting thin-barked trees, but an article published by the Utah State extension service argues that it more accurately could be said to affect young trees of some species, and is a non-issue with thick-barked trees. Unfortunately, susceptible trees include several popular kinds of fruit trees, including apples, cherries and peaches.
Painting the trees with whitewash, to minimize the temperature fluctuation that causes sunscald, is a traditional and effective treatment. To make a whitewash paint for fruit trees, Oklahoma State's extension service recommends a whitewash mixture made by dissolving 1 pound of salt in 2 gallons of water, and then slowly stirring in 10 pounds of hydrated lime.
If you don't want to make your own, the University of California's Integrated Pest Management program suggests diluting a white or light-colored interior latex paint with an equal amount of water and using that to cover vulnerable tree trunks. Use interior latex only: Oil-based paints are not suitable for use as tree trunk paint because they can injure the bark and wood; and exterior latex paints contain antimicrobial ingredients that are potentially harmful to trees.
Applying Tree Trunk Paint
Although the south and west sides of the tree are generally the only parts of the trunk and scaffold branches prone to sunscald damage, all sides are painted for the sake of uniformity. Whitewash or paint is applied with a brush, cloth or sponge, or for larger jobs, with a sprayer. The paint or whitewash should cover an area on the trunk that extends from the soil level to at least 18 inches above ground level and should cover the trunk and bottom 12 inches of each low scaffold limb. Do not whitewash trees less than two years old.
Tree Wrap vs. Whitewash
Tree wraps are also potentially used to protect a tree's trunk and lower branches from sunscald and are sometimes considered more attractive and thus more appropriate for home landscapes than trunk paint. In late fall, the wrap material is placed on the tree trunk, with the material overlapping itself by about one-third. The wrap should extend from the soil surface to just above the lowest branches and be taped to itself to remain in place.
The tree wrap is removed in spring once the tree has leafed. Inspect and replace the wrap periodically on vulnerable trees, since tree wrap left on a trunk too long can girdle the tree or harbor pests. Trunk guards are installed around trees to protect trunks from animal feeding or mechanical injury, and depending on their nature, may offer protection from sunscald.
Minimizing the Need for Sun Protection
Observing certain practices when selecting and caring for trees will help to minimize the potential for sunscald and may eliminate the need for painting or whitewashing. Choose plants well suited to the specific site conditions and plant new trees so they are oriented in the same way they were previously grown will help to prevent sunscald.
Drought-stressed trees are more vulnerable to sunscald injury than healthy trees, so water the trees deeply whenever rainfall is inadequate. Cover the tree's root system with a layer of organic mulch about 3 inches thick to maintain moisture around the root system. Finally, gradually thin out a dense canopy or prune to reduce the tree's size over several years to avoid a drastic, sudden increase in the amount of light reaching the trunk. |
1. ジョン買った本
2. ジョン買った本
The book John bought
This is true in double-subject constructions as well:
1. ジョン高い理由
2. ジョン高い理由
3. ジョン高い理由
4. ジョン高い理由
The reason John is tall
1. ジョン買った店
2. *ジョン買った店 (ungrammatical)
The store where John bought the book
• 7
– eltonjohn
Jun 26 '15 at 13:06
• 8
– user1478
Jun 26 '15 at 20:52
• 2
In the last two sentences using を, they both strike me as grammatical, but the meaning shifts -- sentence 2 parses out to "the store that bought John's book". Nov 13 '15 at 7:14
• 1
Please see my comment above :-)
– user1478
Nov 13 '15 at 10:39
• Interestingly enough, can be used in 文語 Japanese where in modern, oral Japanese only is usually acceptable (我々が心), as is obvious in a bunch of place names (written -- e.g. 関ケ原, 霞ヶ関 etc). Maybe and where more broadly interchangeable in different times / regions, but only clearly remained so in the case of relative clauses in modern / standard Japanese ?
– desseim
Aug 31 '19 at 17:34
It's just standard GA-NO conversion.
'Japanese that [Japanese don't know]'
• 9
– ithisa
Sep 14 '13 at 23:26
Your Answer
|
You are here
Second Street Bridge
-A A +A
1886, King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company. 2nd St. over the Kalamazoo River
The bridge was built by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the nineteenth-century's most important bridge-building firms. Zenas King, founder of the company, designed and patented in 1861 a much-improved bowstring truss, which first met with skepticism because it used less iron than earlier metal trusses. His design proved to be strong as well as inexpensive, and his company became one of the largest iron bridge companies in the nation. For the Allegan bridge, the builder used a double-intersection Pratt truss structure of wrought iron and structural steel; the bridge is 18 feet wide and 225 feet long. There are eighteen wrought-iron truss verticals with diagonal bracing, wood beams and planking, iron finials on the end posts, latticed metal handrails, and a wood-floored pedestrian walkway. It is one of the largest King double-intersecting Pratt through trusses remaining in the United States. Following a local effort to save the structure from demolition, the bridge was restored in 1983 with monies from the U.S. Department of Transportation's secondary road funds administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation. It won a National Historic Preservation Presidential Award through the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for bridge preservation in 1988.
Writing Credits
Kathryn Bishop Eckert
What's Nearby
Kathryn Bishop Eckert, "Second Street Bridge", [Allegan, Michigan], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—,
Print Source
Cover: Buildings of Michigan
Buildings of Michigan, Kathryn Bishop Eckert. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 270-270.
, , |
The sentence:
Nora, prueba este plato _______ [yourself].
The answer says "ella misma", but I definitely know that's wrong. However, I don't know if it'd be "tu misma" or "ti misma".
• The correct answer would be "tu misma". However I cannot explain what is the difference (and why ti misma is not correct)
– user19397
Jun 7 '18 at 5:12
The answer as to why it is not ti can perhaps be gained from the entry in the dictionary of the RAE
1. pron. person. 2.ª pers. m. y f. sing. Forma que, precedida de preposición, designa a la persona a la que se dirige quien habla o escribe. Ya no trabajan para ti. Tenés que preocuparte más por ti.
2. pron. person. 2.ª pers. m. y f. sing. coloq. Designa a una persona
So you see from the first definition that ti would normally be preceded by a preposition. The etymology is from the Latin dative tibi which is usually translated into English as to or for you.
The answer key in your book would be correct if there weren't a comma after the name. Then the sentence would be a description of what Nora is doing:
Nora prueba este plato ella misma. | Nora tastes / is tasting this dish herself.
But you are right, with the comma included, the sentence becomes an order (imperative mood):
Nora, prueba este plato tú misma. | Nora, taste this dish yourself.
It would be less ambiguous with an exclamation point. That would make it super clear that an imperative is intended.
Now, how do we know when to use "tú misma" and when to use "ti misma"? Both are used to add emphasis. If the personal pronoun is a subject pronoun, use "tú misma." If it's an object pronoun, use "ti misma."
1. Subject. Example:
Vas a tener que lavar los trastes tú misma. | You're going to have to wash the dishes yourself.
2. Object. Examples:
Si quieres que valoren tu trabjao, debes empezar por respetarte a ti misma. | If you want others to value your work, you should start by respecting yourself.
Trata de hacerlo por ti misma. | Try to do it by yourself.
Bottom line (simple rule of thumb): if there's a preposition, you need "ti misma." I put the prepositions in the examples in boldface to make them stand out.
Note: There are a few pronouns that happen to have the same form as subject and as object, for example "ella misma."
Your Answer
|
Woman in shorts wearing white sneakers tying shoe
Learn all about athlete's foot
Learn about what athlete’s foot is and how you can catch it. Find out about itchy foot and other symptoms of this foot disease and how you can treat it.
What is Athlete’s Foot?
You don’t have to be an athlete to catch it! Athlete’s foot, also called tinea pedis or alipunga, is a highly contagious fungal infection that affects the skin on your feet but can spread to your toenails and even hands.
It starts with an itchy foot and is easily caught through direct contact with an infected person, sharing bedlinens, touching towels or clothing infected with the fungus or walking barefoot in common areas, like gyms, swimming pools, communal showers and changing rooms. You are more likely to get foot diseases like this if the skin on your feet is damaged or if you have wet or sweaty feet. The fungi thrives in warm, moist conditions, so you should avoid wearing damp socks and shoes. That’s why it’s most commonly found in athletes!
Athlete’s foot often occurs between your toes, but it can also affect the soles and sides of your feet. Athlete’s foot usually starts on one or both of your feet, but you can unwittingly spread it to your hands or other areas of your body simply by scratching or picking at the infected parts of your feet.
Athlete’s foot symptoms
Athlete’s foot is contagious, and is accompanied by annoying symptoms. Thankfully, this skin fungal infection can be easily treated. You might be suffering from athlete’s foot if you have these symptoms:
• A burning and itchy sensation on your toes or foot, especially after you take off your shoes and socks.
• You have scaly, very dry, cracked or peeling skin.
• You notice a splitting, softening and whitening of the skin between your toes.
• You have cracked skin on the sole or heels of your foot.
• You have blisters on your feet. Some types of athlete’s foot can also be accompanied by blisters or ulcers.
• You have smelly feet. This symptom can be caused by yeast and bacteria that can also spread on your feet.1,2
Athlete’s foot treatment
You should always try to start the treatment as soon as you notice the symptoms. Athlete’s foot can be easily treated with over-the-counter topical antifungal medications, which come in the form of creams, sprays and powders.3 Antifungal medication for athlete’s foot can be bought from your local pharmacy, high street shops and supermarkets, or purchased online. Antifungal medication effectively attacks the primary types of fungi responsible for causing a fungal infection, including dermatophytes. They are easy to apply and penetrate into your skin to stop fungal growth, kill the fungi and thus relieve your symptoms.
When to see a doctor
If you find that you can’t get rid of the infection with over-the-counter medications, ask your doctor for a prescription. You might need other topical or oral antifungal medications. You should also see a doctor if:
• You are pregnant or elderly. Antifungal medications might not be suitable for you so the doctor can recommend an alternative therapy.
• You are in a lot of discomfort.
• You experience skin redness in your foot, which can feel hot and cause a lot of pain. This might be a more serious infection than athlete’s foot.
• You have diabetes. Foot problems for people with diabetes can be more serious. Athlete’s foot can lead to other bacterial infections.
• Your immune system is weakened. 4
Athlete’s foot prevention
If you think you might be at risk of catching an athlete's foot, follow simple rules that can help you avoid catching the infection in the first place or stop it from returning.
You should:
• Always dry your feet carefully, especially between your toes. Dab them dry rather than rubbing them.
• Wear clean socks every day and change them if it’s hot or after playing sports. Cotton socks are the best.
• Take your shoes off at home to let your feet “breathe”.
• Use a separate towel for your feet and wash it regularly.
• Wear sandals when you can. 5
You should avoid:
• Scratching affected skin. This can spread the infection to other parts of your body.
• Walking around barefoot especially in the locker rooms, swimming pools and communal showers.
• Sharing towels, socks or shoes with other people
• Wearing the same pair of shoes for two days in the row.
• Wearing shoes that make your feet hot and sweaty. 6
1. Check if you have athlete's foot, in: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/athletes-foot/
2. Tinea Pedis, in: Hainer, B.L., Dermatophyte Infections, in: American Family Physician 2003, vol. 67, Number 1
3. A pharmacist can help with athlete's foot, in: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/athletes-foot/
4. See a GP if…, in: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/athletes-foot/
5. How you can help treat and prevent athlete's foot yourself, in: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/athletes-foot/
6. Ibid. |
Employment Law
Beyond establishing an economic relationship between employer and employee, work provides a powerful structure for organizing social and cultural life.
The employment relationship is more than the exchange of labor for money. In U.S. society, self-worth, dignity, satisfaction, and accomplishment are often achieved by one's employment responsibilities, performance, and rewards.
The development of employment law demonstrates the importance of work. Since the 1930's, employees have aquired more legal rights as federal and state governments have ecacted laws that give them the power and authority to unionize, to engage in Collective Bargaining, and to be protected from discrimination based on race, gender, or disability. |
A lot of time and also information enters into making Covering Rugs. They’re durable pieces of art that are painstakingly crafted for months on end before discovering a location in your home. Found in a variety of colors, designs, and regions, Afghan rugs have quickly become a symbol of tradition and culture. Read on below to discover the incredible history of Afghan rugs and how they came to be.
Handmade Afghan Rugs – A Brief History
Rug making, also known as carpet weaving, has been a part of Afghanistan’s history for centuries. Afghan rugs are more than decoration; they are an iconic symbol, representing a country of many cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
Afghan rugs, like Afghanistan itself, represent a diverse range of cultures and artistic sensibilities. With some drawing heavily on Persian influences, others from more Oriental styles, and still others reflecting the unique war history of Afghanistan, an Afghan rug is both an amazing piece of art and a pinnacle of craftsmanship. Continue reading below to learn how an Afghan rug is made!
How to Make an Afghan Rug
Making an Afghan rug is a painstakingly slow process. They take months to make, woven by hand and individually crafted to be unique. Additionally, there are many different styles to choose from based on different tribal traditions in various regions. Regardless of where they are made, though, the process is relatively similar. Below is a summary of that process:
– Making the wool thread through the process of hand spinning, and then wrapping it to form skeins.
– Preparing the wool in a mordant bath, so it will take to the dye.
Dying the wool with natural dyes made of vegetables, plants, etc and then allowing it to dry before use.
– Weaving by knotting and cutting the threads individually on upright looms. This is the longest process of all, and the most variable depending on design. However, it usually takes months to complete large rugs.
– Selling the rugs in markets for people to enjoy all over the world!
It may not appear hard, but rug making is a truly beautiful process. That’s why, when you purchase one, you are buying a unique piece of art!
Now, let’s explore some of the different types of Afghan rugs.
Bokhara (sometimes spelled as Bokhara or Bukhara) are hand-knotted rugs made by expert artisans. Featuring intricate oval or diamond shaped motifs and complex traditional designs, Bokhara rugs are lavishly soft and made from 100% ethically sourced New Zealand Wool/ Belgian Wool.
Royal Bokhara rugs are distinct for their color, mostly red but sometimes also found in green, ivory, or grey hues. They feature symmetrical octagon patterns and diamond motifs and can also be described as a “Window pane” design.
Kunduz rugs are handmade rugs found in the villages of Northern Afghanistan, in or around the town of Kunduz. The Kunduz rug is usually a deep-red hue and features geometric designs and features.
Khal Mohammadi rugs are typically characterized by their copper color, tidy appearance, and decorative, flat finish on either end. Khal Mohammadi rugs are considered to be exceptional in a few ways. Unlike other rugs, Khal Mohammadi rugs aren’t named after their place of origin; in-fact, their name derives from the legendary icon that created this magnificent design. In actuality, Khal Mohammad is an Ersari Turkmen who is known as an innovative rug producer and master dyer from Northern Afghanistan. Khal Mohammadi created this design while he stayed in Afghanistan. Most Khal Mohammadi rugs made today are woven around the town of Kunduz, located north of Afghanistan.
Leave a Reply |
Rachele Nieri 1,2 Valerio Mazzoni 1 Shira D. Gordon 3 Rodrigo Krugner 3
1 Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’adige, Italy
2 Department of Biology University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
3 USDA-Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, USA
The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis, is an important vector of Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of Pierce’s disease of grapevine. GWSS control relies mainly on insecticides; therefore, an alternative method, such as vibrational mating disruption, is required. However, knowledge of GWSS intraspecific communication is necessary to evaluate applicability of such methods. Mating behavior and associated vibrational signals were described in different social contexts: individuals, pairs, and one female with two competing males. Behavioral analysis showed that GWSS mating communication involved the emission of three male and two female signals, with specific roles in two distinct phases of mating behavior, identification and courtship. Mating success depended on vibrational duets between genders, which were temporarily interrupted in the presence of male rivalry. Male rivalry behavior involved the emission of three distinct rivalry signals. Two rivalry signals resemble female signals and were associated with replacement of the female in the duet by the rival male. The third rivalry signal was emitted by competing males. Data suggested that rival males used mimicry and hostile signals to interrupt the ongoing duet and gain access to a female. In the future, knowledge acquired from this study will be essential to develop a mechanical mating disruption method for GWSS control.
Published on February 18, 2017 by JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCES |
Forming a friendly relation with ourselves is at the core of counselling practices, which aim to create a holistic open dialogue between mind, emotions and body that can enable life opportunities for growth. However, creating this constructive inner discourse is not an easy task, since we often tend to be more unfriendly with ourselves than with others. This unfriendly or ‘critical’ attitude within ourselves has been defined in various ways within counselling and psychotherapeutic traditions. Gendlin (the father of the Focusing approach) defines it as the ‘inner critic’, a disciplinary and authoritarian voice present in each of us that, depending on biological, social and cultural influences, may be more powerful in some people than in others. For Freud is the ‘Supergo’, ‘animus’ for Jung, the ‘internal critic’ or a ‘partial self’ for other scholars. They all seem to agree on the fact that this part of ourselves is a sort of punitive presence that can bring along damaging self-criticism and even irrational and upsetting feelings, such as guilt.
So, what can we do when we recognise the Inner Critic?
Once we are aware of it, the next step would be to acknowledge it as a controlling presence that often comes from outside. It could be an external conditioning coming from the environment (culture, family, history, geography etc.) that does not belong to us. In that case, we could gently and mockingly push it away, for example by saying “come back when you have something new to say” (Gendlin, 2003: 98). Another way to deal with it, could be to try to connect emphatically to it. In doing so, we recognise it as a “partial self” that needs to be nurtured. Therefore, we can try to accept it as an integral part of ourselves that is present in each of us. So, instead of deriding it or rejecting it, we could try to build a relationship with it.
Overall, whatever strategy we decide to adopt, the need to explore the ‘inner critic’ and to understand how we interact with it, seems to form the basis for fruitful relational work within counselling practices, that can help us gain acceptance and respect for ourselves as a whole.
• Gendlin, E. T. (2003). Focusing. 3rd ed. London, Sydney, Auckland, Johannesburg: Rider.
• Jung, C. (1960). The structure and dynamics of the psyche. The collected works of Carl Jung. Volume 8. Trans. by Hull, R.F.C. London: Routledge and Kcgan Paul.
• Freud, S. (1923). Das Ich and das Es. Vienna: Internationaler Psycho-analytischer Verlag, W. W. Norton & Company.
• Cornell, A. W. & McGavin, B. (2003). A focusing student and companion manual. Berkeley: CA: Calluna Press.
• Greenberg, L. S., Rice, L. N. & Elliot, (1993). Facilitating emotional change. The moment- by-moment process. New York: Guilford Press. |
Somaliland is situated to the east of the Horn of Africa and shares borders with the Djibouti Republic to the west, Ethiopia to the south, the Gulf of Aden to the north and Somalia to the east. The population is estimated at 3.5 million; 55% of this population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, while 45% live in urban areas or rural towns. The population is dispersed between Hargeisa, which is the capital and other towns such as Burao, Borama, berbera, Erigabo, Gabiley, Baligubadle, Saylac, Odeweyne and Las Anod.
The region’s main resources come from selling camels, livestock, goats and sheep to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf States, through the port of Berbera. The accusations against the supposed contamination of the animals have been an influence on Somaliland’s depending more and more on shipments sent by citizens of this nation living in the Diaspora. As promised, they send 300 million dollars annually.
Somaliland declared its independence after overthrowing the military dictator Said Barre, in 1991. After this date, the territory, which had been a British protectorate, a transitional form of government was created, based above all on using clan elders as an equalitarian representation.
Somaliland still remains without receiving recognition from the international arena as a legitimate state; therefore, it cannot appeal to the World Bank or to the International Monetary Fund to receive help that would allow it to reduce the poverty and unemployment that affects the population. Nonetheless, Somaliland has received great support by the international community in its intentions of achieving its independence.
Despite multiple petitions, the African Union remains without assuming a clear position on this matter, because it feels that an alteration of the African borders could bring more instability to the continent and therefore prefers keeping the colonial borders intact. |
COVID-19 Information Center
Diabetic Dog Diet
Date Published: 02/17/2010
Date Reviewed/Revised: 05/03/2018
By now you know that diabetes mellitus is about a lack of insulin and a need to balance insulin given by injection with dietary nutrients, especially sugars, fats and proteins. Regardless of the patient's species, there are some basic principles that hold true for the dietary management of diabetes mellitus. First, the obvious: the pet must like the food and reliably eat it. For most diabetic dogs, the excessive appetite typical of the disease ensures this but after regulation is achieved and appetite is more normal, it is important that the dog eats on a dependable schedule. Insulin is typically given only after the pet has eaten so the food should taste good and the pet should want to eat it. Second, the food must be of quality and quantity to maintain a good body condition so that the dog is able to build muscle and a healthy amount of body fat. Some diabetic dogs are very thin while others are too fat. It is important to tailor the diet to the individual rather than to adhere to rigid dietary rules.
Photo by VIN
The ultimate goal is to feed the dog two similar meals a day, approximately 12 hours apart, with less than 10 percent of the total nutrients for the day coming from treats. Insulin is given within an hour of eating each meal and this schedule should be maintained with as much regularity as possible.
Fiber comes in two types: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibers, such as beet pulp, guar gum, psyllium and fructooligosaccharides form a gel that holds water inside the bowel contents potentially softening stool. They also serve as probiotics, which means they resist digestion higher in the tract and are presented to the bacteria of the large bowel. These large bowel bacteria break down the fiber-containing nutrients to feed not only themselves but also to feed the animal's colon cells, improve bowel circulation, and generally contribute to bowel health. The problem is that viscous stool leads to a higher post-meal sugar surge in the bloodstream, which is exactly what we do not want. Insoluble fibers, such as cellulose, bulk up the stool, which can be stimulating to the colon. Insoluble fiber is not digested by the colon bacteria and does not offer calories to the pet that has consumed them.
After a meal, the starches and sugars taken in with the food lead to a postprandial surge in blood sugar level. Since the diabetic dog is dealing with runaway blood glucose levels 24 hours a day, meals, as necessary as they are, raise blood sugar even further. Our goal with dietary therapy is to blunt this effect. Insoluble fiber in the diet helps accomplish this by slowing the digestion and transit of the food in the gut. Too much insoluble fiber, however, will give the pet a false sense of being full and reduce appetite, which may not be what we want if the pet is underweight. So what are we looking for in a food? If the dog is overweight, we probably want a higher fiber diet (say greater than 15 percent of the dry matter as fiber) but for a more average dog we want a moderate amount of fiber (5-15 percent of the dry matter). The fiber content noted in the guaranteed analysis will likely not specify if the fiber is soluble or insoluble; you will need to check the ingredient list to be sure.
To calculate the percentage of fiber in a diet on a dry matter basis, look for the crude fiber and the moisture content amounts on the guaranteed analysis on the food label. The moisture content is the amount of water in the food on an as fed basis expressed as a percent (what percent of the food you are feeding is actually just water). Take the moisture content and subtract from 100 to get the dry matter content of the food (the part of the food that is actually food and not water). For example, if the moisture content is 75 percent (typical canned food) then the dry matter is 25%. Now take the crude fiber value from the guaranteed analysis on the label and divide by the percent dry matter. Example: crude fiber on the label is 2%, moisture content is 75%. This means dry matter is 25 percent and 2 divided by 25 = 0.08 or 8 percent. Our hypothetical canned food is 2% fiber as fed but 8% on a dry matter basis. When comparing foods, always compare on a dry matter basis so as to compare apples to apples.
High Digestibility Diets: Probably not the Best Thing
There are numerous diets on the market designed for dogs with sensitive stomachs. These foods typically are designed for easy digestion and absorption. While this is helpful to the dog with digestive issues, easy digestion and absorption amounts to higher blood glucose levels after eating. This is probably not the best thing for a diabetic dog.
Similarly, soft moist foods are preserved and flavored with sugars. These, as you might guess, raise postprandial blood sugar readily and are poor choices. These diets are not as common as they once were and should not be confused with canned foods.
Low Fat
A common issue that accompanies diabetes mellitus is elevated triglycerides (fats) in the bloodstream. In humans, this is the doorway to vascular disease, cholesterol deposits, heart disease, and stroke. Dogs do not generally have to contend with these issues but dietary fat becomes more relevant if the dog is one of the 30% for whom pancreatitis is believed to have damaged the pancreas and led to the diabetes in the first place. If pancreatitis is in play or if the patients circulating triglyeride level is high, then fat restriction is going to be a must. Further, L-carnitine supplementation may also be of benefit as this nutrient is helpful in fat transport and metabolism. Fat-restricted diets may not be a good idea for very thin diabetic dogs, however.
Other Concepts
As long as the diet is consistent, it is generally possible to work with it in achieving diabetic regulation. Here are some additional tips:
• If the dog has an additional medical problem that requires a specific diet in its management, then this trumps the suggestions for diabetic management.
• As long as a reputable food that has passed AAFCO feeding trials is being fed, it should not be necessary to add nutritional supplements.
• Ideally, a brand of food with a fixed formula is preferred to one with an open formula. Foods with an open formula stick to their prioritized ingredient list on the label and to the guaranteed analysis minimums and maximums, but the exact ingredient amounts are not fixed. A fixed formula food uses specific amounts of each ingredient every time in every lot. In general, non-prescription diets are open formula diets.
Your veterinarian can help you choose the most appropriate food for your diabetic dog. There are several commercial diets made just for this purpose or you may elect to find one on your own. You can also contact a commercial pet nutrition service for further help. Ask your veterinarian if you need assistance. |
Top Benefits of Cold Therapy After Injuries
Sports injuries occur every other day during sports or exercising due to poor training practices. They might be acute injuries such as sprains and strains or chronic injuries in sport obtained after a long time of practicing a sport. There are many methods to deal with an injury, and one of those methods is cold therapy.
The Cold therapy method, also known as cryotherapy, reduces swelling, soreness, and inflammation during injury. It involves the use of coolants such as sprays, ice packs, ice baths, and whirlpools. It is a therapy treatment method used for sports injuries. It consists of applying ice on the area immediately; it should be applied at least 24-72 hours, and the process reduces the recovery time. Visit site to learn more about methods.
Donjoy Iceman
This is a Cold Therapy technology that helps in reducing pain and swelling, enhancing recovery and rehabilitation. It provides extended cold therapy to ensure that a variety of protocols and indications as directed by a professional are provided. The temperatures are accurate and consistent than other competitive cold therapy technologies in the same configuration. Donjoy Iceman is consistent in quality, with 20 years of providing cold therapy solutions and dedication in ensuring customer interaction and feedback.
The Cold Therapy Idea
The process is necessary to protect damaged tissue and is crucial in preventing further injury and damage to tissues. The idea is to immobilize the area with a sling or sprint and wearing a support/brace or various sport taping techniques. Rest is also recommended to allow the injured tissues to heal and also in changing training activities.
During An Injury
When an injury occurs, ice is applied immediately to cool the tissues, reduce metabolic rate and cause vasoconstriction of the surrounding blood vessels. The aim is to control the bleeding, swelling, and inflammation. The ice should not be applied on the injured part for more than 20 minutes, and the compression should be done after every 1-3 hours. There should be an interchange of applying ice and heat.
Ice allows the muscles to relax and increase stretching preventing muscle spasms. Ice reduces swelling and pain. This, in turn, reduces muscle spasms and the cells getting destroyed therefore decreasing the cell metabolism rate. Compression to the injured area reduces swelling and ensures that blood vessels narrow when the body is injured and moderated.
Benefits of Cold Therapy After Injuries
Why is cold therapy necessary for the body?
• To reduce pain
• Necessary in arthritis treatment
• Reduction of migraines
• Enhances metabolism
• Necessary after vigorous sports and exercises
• Improves body and muscle and repair
• Athletes use the method to enhance recovery after physical exercise.
• Increases energy
• Enhances sleep
• Increases the body’s capacity to deal with stress
A professional should determine if you need cold therapy. Cold compresses have been used to deal with minor injuries after exercises or sports. They are also necessary for muscle relaxation and in use during different injuries such as sprains, strains, pulled muscles, and ligaments. The method is crucial for body and muscle repair and enhancing metabolism, necessary for the whole body. |
Sign in
Download Opera News App
What banana contains that you never imagined of
Banana is a fruit that grows near tropical rainforests. All parts of the plant, including the fruit, leaves, "false stem," stem, flowers, and roots, can be used as medicine. In North America, most of the available bananas are from one specific variety. However, there are many varieties available around the world. Bananas have been grown as crops for thousands of years.
"Bananas are high in antioxidants, which can provide protection from free radicals, which we come into contact with every day, from the sunlight to the lotion you put on your skin," Flores added.
Banana contains chemicals and sugars. Some of these sugars act like fiber, which can help to regulate the gastrointestinal system. The chemicals might act like antioxidants and decrease swelling. Bananas also contain potassium and other vitamins and minerals.
Content created and supplied by: EntertainmentHouse (via Opera News )
Banana North America
Load app to read more comments |
No Images
Filling a tooth does just that, it fills the area where part of the tooth is missing. The filling material is held in place by what is left of the original tooth.
When there is too little of the original tooth left, the filling placed becomes unpredictable. Some large fillings may last quite a while, some do not last at all. There is no way to know what will happen other than to place the filling and take a chance on what happens.
More reliably, a crown (cap) holds on to the remaining original tooth structure. While there are too many variables to predict exactly how long a crown or a filling will last, a crown will last notably longer.
Choosing a filling is not choosing bad treatment, it is just unpredictable. If the filling lasts forever you did not need a crown. If it does not last you can get the crown knowing there is no other choice.
One important exception to consider:
Teeth that are to be crowned do not necessarily require root canal treatment first. However, if a tooth requires a root canal there is an additional, significant reason for choosing a crown rather than a filling to restore the tooth once the root canal is completed.
A tooth that has required any treatment (even a small filling) may eventually fracture. If a root canal has been necessary and the tooth fractures it will generally break along the root of the tooth. The tooth can't be restored if this happens. So, even though the root canal has been successful the tooth is lost and even more treatment is needed to replace it. A crown will help prevent such root fracture, a filling will not.
At your convenience, let’s meet and discuss if a crown is right for you. |
The Qur'an
Apologetic Paper (Joseph Smith) - May 1995, cont.
F: The Qur'an's Supposed Universal Qualities
Another claim by Muslims for the authority of the Qur'an is its universal application for all people and for all time. Yet is this the case?
There are many who believe that the Qur'an follows so closely the life and thought of the Arab world during the 7th-9th centuries, that indeed it was written for that specific environment, and not as a universal document for all peoples. suras 16:103; 26:195; and 42:7 point to its uniquely Arabic character.
In fact, the Qur'an, rather than being a universal document served to provide personal advantages for Muhammad. Examples of this can be found in suras: 33:36-38 (Zayd and Zaynab), 50-52 (rotation of wives and special privilege of Muhammad), 53-54 (privacy of Muhammad, and non marriage to his widows) and 66:1 (abstaining from wives or honey?-see Yusuf Ali's note no.5529). Why would a document written for the benefit of all of humanity refer to personal incidents of one man? Do we find similar examples in the previous scriptures and prophets?
Indeed, it seems that Muhammad was the right prophet for the Arabs. He took their culture and universalized it. Take for instance these three examples:
1. The Arabs gloried in their language; Muhammad declared it the divine language, maintaining that the everlasting tablets in heaven recorded the original revelations in the Arabic script. Yet, he seemed to forget the fact that all the previous scriptures were written in Hebrew and Greek and not Arabic.
2. The Arabs gloried in their traditional practices and customs of the desert; practices such as predatory war, slavery, polygamy, and concubinage. Muhammad impressed upon all these usages the seal of a divine sanction. Yet it is these very areas which have proved such a stumbling-block to the western world ever since, as they reflect little of the ethos of the preceding scriptures; an ethos which guides the laws and practices of much of the modern world today.
3. The Arabs gloried in the holiness of Mecca. Muhammad made it the only portal whereby men could enter paradise. Yet there is no extra-Qur'anic documentation that Mecca was much more than a small nondescript hamlet until well into the 7th century. It was not situated on the coast, nor did it have an adequate water supply, like its neighbour Taif, which, unlike Mecca, was well-known as a rest-stop on the caravan routes.
Therefore, one can say that Muhammad took the Arab people just as he found them, and while he applied some new direction, he declared much that they did to be very good and sacred from change (Shorrosh 1988:180).
There are other examples of a specific Arabic influence on the Qur'an; two of which are the status of women, and the use of the sword.
F1: The Inferiority of Women in the Qur'an
Women in the Qur'an have an inferior status to that of men. While the Qur'an permits women to participate in battle, it also allows a Muslim husband to cast his wife adrift without giving a single reason or notice, while the same right is not reserved for the woman. The husband possesses absolute, immediate, and unquestioned power of divorce (suras 2:224-230 and 33:49).
Women are to be absolutely obedient, and can be beaten (or scourged) for being rebellious in sura 4:34 (Yusuf Ali adds "lightly," yet the Arabic does not allow this inclusion). No privilege of a corresponding nature is reserved for the wife. Men have double the inheritance of women (sura 4:11,176). In addition to the four wives allowed by law, a Muslim man can have an unlimited number of slave girls as concubines (or sexual partners) according to sura al-Nisa 4:24-25.
Even paradise creates inequalities for women. suras 55:56; 56:36 and 78:33 state that paradise is a place where there are beautiful young virgins waiting to serve the "righteous" (sura 78:31). These virgins, we are told, will have beautiful, big, lustrous eyes (sura 56:22); they will be Maidens who are chaste, who avert their eyes out of purity (sura 55:56, Yusuf Ali's note no.5210), and have a delicate pink complexion (sura 55:58, Yusuf Ali's note no.5211). Nowhere are we told what awaits the Muslim women of this world in paradise: the Muslim mothers and sisters. One wonders who these virgin maidens are, and where they come from?
With Qur'anic pronouncements such as we have read in the preceding chapters it is not surprising that much of the Muslim world today reflects in its laws and societal makeup such a total bias against women?
Though statistics are hard to find, we do know that, currently, of the twenty-three countries with the worst records of jobs for women (women making up only ten to twenty percent of all workers), seventeen are Muslim countries (Kidron 1991:96-97). Similarly, of the eleven countries with the worst record for disparagement of opportunity between men and women, ten are Muslim states. The widest gaps were found in three Muslim countries: Bangla Desh, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt (Kidron 1991:57).
Another revealing statistic shows that of the twelve states with the worst records for unequal treatment of girls, seven are Muslim states. The bottom three listed are UAE, Bahrain, and Brunei (Kidron 1991:56).
While one may justifiably argue that this is not representative of true Islamic teaching, it does show us how those in Muslim countries, using the Qur'an as their foundation treat their women, and what we might expect if we were living in that type of environment.
With this kind of data before us we need to ask whether the Qur'an is God's absolute word for all people for all time, and if so, then why only half of the world's population (its males) receive full benefit from its laws, while the other half (its women) continue in an unequal relationship?
Does not the previous revelation, the Bible, have a more universalistic and wholesome concern for women? Take for instance Ephesians 5:22-25 where we find the true ideal for a relationship, saying: "husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her." This scripture demands a sacrificial love by the husband, one which puts the interests of the loved one before that of his own. This sacrificial love is best explained in 1 Corinthians 13:1, 4-8.
It is understandable, then, why so many people in the West see Islam as an archaic and barbaric religion, which forces people back into the mentality of the middle ages, where women had no rights or freedoms to create their own destiny, and where men could do with their wives as they pleased.
F2: The "Sword" Found in the Qur'an
Concerning the 'sword' in the Qur'an, the testimony of Islam today is that of a religion which condones violence for the sake of Allah.
Though many Muslims try to deny this, they have to agree that there are ample examples of violence found not only within the Qur'an, but also exemplified within the life of the prophet Muhammad.
Muhammad needed a livelihood for himself and those who had come with him from Mecca. Thus he undertook a number of "expeditions," sending groups of his soldiers out to raid Meccan caravans in order to find booty.
Though there was a rule in the Hijaz at that time not to fight during the "holy month," Muhammad, nonetheless sent a number of his troops to raid an unsuspecting trading caravan. This caused havoc in his own camp because a Meccan had been killed in the month in which bloodshed was forbidden. Promptly another 'convenient revelation' came which authorized the attack (read sura 2:217).
Later on, in 624 C.E., after having been in Medina for two years, a Meccan caravan of 1,000 men was passing close to the south-west of Medina. Muhammad, with only 300 men went out to attack it at the battle of Badr. He defeated the Meccans, and consequently received tremendous status, which helped his army grow.
The Medinans participated in further battles, some of which they won (i.e. the battle of the trenches) and others which they lost (the battle of Uhud). In fact, Muhammad himself is known to have conducted 27 battles and planned 39 others.
Muslims, however, continue to downplay any emphasis on violence within the Qur'an, and they emphatically insist that the Jihad, or Holy War was only a means of defence, and was never used as an offensive act. Sahih Muslim III makes this point, saying, "the sword has not been used recklessly by the Muslims; it has been wielded purely with humane feelings in the wider interest of humanity" (Sahih Muslim III, pg.938).
In the Mishkat II we find an explanation for Jihad:
"[Jihad] is the best method of earning both spiritual and temporal. If victory is won, there is enormous booty and conquest of a country which cannot be equalled to any other source of earnings. If there is defeat or death, there is ever-lasting Paradise and a great spiritual benefit. This sort of Jihad is conditional upon pure motive, i.e. for establishing the kingdom of Allah on earth (Mishkat II, pg.253) Also in Mishkat II we learn with regard to Jihad, that: Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: To whichever village you go and settle therein, there is your share therein, and whichever village disobeys Allah and His Messenger, its one-fifth is for Allah and His Messenger, and the remainder is for you (Muslim, Mishkat II, pg.412)."
The claim that Muslims acted only in self-defense is simply untrue. What were Muslims defending in North Africa, or Spain, France, India, Persia, Syria, Anatolia or the Balkans? These countries all had previous civilizations, many of which were more sophisticated than that of Islam, yet they all (outside of France) fell during the conquests of Islam in the first few hundred years, and their cultures were soon eradicated by that of Islam. Does that not evidence a rather offensive interpretation for Jihad?
We can understand the authority for this history when we read certain passages from the Qur'an, which, itself stipulates a particularly strong use of violence. The full impact of invective against the unbeliever can be found in sura 9:5 which says, "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay those who join other gods with Allah wherever you find them; besiege them, seize them, lay in wait for them with every kind of ambush..." Of like nature is sura 47:4 which says, "When you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads, until ye have made a great slaughter among them..."
Similarly sura 9:29 states: "...Make war upon such of those to whom the scriptures have been given as believe not in Allah, or in the last day, and who forbid not what Allah and his apostle have forbidden... until they pay tribute..." And in sura 8:39 we find, "And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression. And there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do."
The murder of between 600-700 Banu Kuraiza Medinan Jewish males by the sword, and the slavery of their women give testimony to this sura (Nehls pg.117)
According to the Dictionary of Islam we read:
"When an infidel's country is conquered by a Muslim ruler, its inhabitants are offered three alternatives:
1. the reception of Islam, in which case the conquered became enfranchised citizens of the Muslim state
2. the payment of Jizya tax, by which unbelievers obtained "protection" and became Dhimmis, provided they were not idolaters, and
3. death by the sword to those who would not pay the Jizya tax."
(Dictionary of Islam, pg. 243).
War is sanctioned in Islam, with enormous rewards promised to those who fight for Allah, according to sura 4:74. Later in verse 84, Muhammad gives himself the divine order to fight. This is the verse which is the basis for calling Islam "the religion of the sword" (Shorrosh 1988:174).
In sura 5:33 the Qur'an orders those who fight Allah and his messenger to be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off; or they can be expelled out of the land. In sura 48:16-17, we read that all who die "fighting in the ways of the Lord" (Jihad) are richly rewarded, but those who retreat are sorely punished.
The first blood shed under Muhammad was carried out by a blind disciple named Umair, who stabbed and killed a woman named Asma while she slept suckling her baby because she had criticized Muhammad with poetic verses. Upon hearing of this Muhammad said "Behold a man that hath assisted the Lord and His prophet. Call him not blind, call him rather 'Umair,' the seeing." (Nehls pg.122).
Therefore, when those of us who are Christians read these suras, and see the example of the prophet himself, we find a total rejection of the previous teachings of Jesus who calls us to live in peace and put away the sword. We then are incredulous when we hear Muslims claim that Islam is the religion of peace. The record speaks for itself.
For those countries who aspire to use Islamic law, statistics prove revealing. According to the 1994 State of the World Atlas, while only five northern countries (i.e. western) are categorized as "Terror States" (those involved in using assassination, disappearances and torture), twenty-eight of the thirty-two Muslim states fall into this category (except UAE, Qatar and Mali) (Kidron 1991:62-63).
Furthermore, it seems that most Muslim countries today are following the example of their prophet and are involved in some sort of armed conflict. It is difficult to know where the truth lies. While the West documents and publishes its criminal activities openly, the Muslim countries say very little. Lists which delineate where each country stands in relation to murders, sex offenses and criminality include most of the western countries, yet only four Muslim countries out of the thirty-two have offered statistics for the number of internal murders, while only six out of the thirty-two have offered a list of sex offenses, and only four of the thirty-two have divulged their level of criminality. Therefore, until more Muslim countries are willing to come forward with statistics, it is impossible to evaluate the claim which they make: that western states have a higher degree of degradation and criminality than that of Muslim states.
We do know, however, that in the 1980's, of the fourteen countries who were involved in ongoing "general wars," nine of them were Muslim countries, while only one was a non-western Christian country.
Why, we wonder, are so many Muslim countries embroiled in so many wars, many of which are against other Muslims? Muslims answer that these are not good examples because they are not authentic Muslim states. Yet, can we not say that to the contrary, these countries do indeed follow the examples which we find so readily not only within the text of the Qur'an, but within the life of the prophet, and in the history of the first few centuries of Islam. Muhammad's life, and the Qur'an which he gave to the world, both give sufficient authority for the sword in Islam. While this may cause the 20th century western Muslim to squirm uncomfortably, it cannot be denied that there is ample precedent for violence within their scriptures and within their own history. What we choose to ask, however, is whether the witness of violence within Islam exemplifies the heart of a loving and compassionate God, one who calls Himself merciful; or whether it rather exemplifies the character of 7th century Arabia, with all its brutal desert tribal disputes and warfare?
Compare the opposing concept of Jesus:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one kilometre, go with him two kilometres. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:38-44)
So what can we say about the authority of the Qur'an? Can we say it is a divinely inspired book sent by Allah for all of humanity, for all time? Can it claim supernatural as well as literary qualities, which not only place it above other revelations, but point to its divine origins? Much of what I have offered you here points to the fact that the Qur'an lacks in all three qualities, and seems to reflect more the life and times of its supposed mediator than that of the heart of a universal God. The idolatrous tendency of Muslims towards the Qur'an, as well as the confusion of its literary makeup, and the special conditions given to Muhammad, point to a book put together by one man, or as we now know, a group of much later men, than an inspired piece of God's revealed word.
If one were to contrast the 66 books of the Bible written over hundreds of years by at least 40 different authors, with the Qur'an which came through one man, Muhammad, during his lifetime, there would be no contest as to which was the superior literature. In the final analysis, the Qur'an simply does not fit the breadth of vision, nor the literary style or structure of that found in the Old and New Testament. To go from the Bible to the Qur'an is to go from the superior to the inferior, from the authentic to the counterfeit, from God's perspective to that of an individual, caught up and controlled by his own world and times.
I end this section with a quote from an expert on the Qur'an, Dr. Tisdall, who says:
"The Qur'an breathes the air of the desert, it enables us to hear the battle-cries of the Prophet's followers as they rushed to the onset, it reveals the working of Muhammad's own mind, and shows the gradual declension of his character as he passed from the earnest and sincere though visionary enthusiast into the conscious imposter and open sensualist." (Tisdall 27)
G: The Collation, or Collection, of the Qur'anic Text
We now take the discussion concerning the authority for the Qur'an away from its makeup and ask the question of how it came to us. We will give special emphasis on the problems which we find with its collation. We will also ask why, if it is the Word of God, so much of its content is not only self-contradictory, but is in error with the facts as we know them? From there we will then consider where the Qur'an received much of its material, or from where many of its stories were derived. Let's then begin with the alleged collection of the Qur'anic text.
Muslims claim that the Qur'an is perfect in its textual history, that there are no textual defects (as they say we have in our Bible). They maintain that it is perfect not only in its content and style, but the order and script as we have it today is an exact parallel of the preserved tablets in heaven. This, they contend, is so because Allah has preserved it.
Therefore, the Qur'an, they feel, must be the Word of God. While we have already looked at the content and style of the Qur'an and found it wanting, the claim to its textual purity is an assertion which we need to examine in greater detail.
G1: The Periods of Revelation
According to Muslim Tradition the "revelations" of the suras (or books) were received by the prophet Muhammad, via the angel Jibril (Gabriel) within three periods. The first is referred to as the 1st Meccan period, and lasted between 611-615 C.E. During this time the suras contain many of the warnings, and much of the leading ideas concerning who Allah is, and what He expected of His creation (i.e. suras 1, 51-53, 55-56, 68-70, 73-75, 77-97, 99-104, 111- 114).
The 2nd period, referred to as the 2nd Meccan period (between 616-622 C.E.) had longer suras, dealing with doctrines, many of which echoed Biblical material. It was during this time that Islam makes the claim of being the one true religion (i.e. suras 6-7, 10-21, 23, 25-32, 34-46, 50, 54, 67, 71-72, 76).
The third period, referred to as the Medinan period (between 623-632 C.E.) centered in Medina and lasted roughly ten years, until Muhammad's death in 632 C.E. There is a distinct shift in content during this period. Divine approval is given for Muhammad's leadership, and much of the material deals with local historical events. There is a change from the preaching of divine matters, to that of governing. Consequently, the suras are much more political and social in their makeup (suras 2-5, 8-9, 22-24, 33, 37, 47-49, 57-59, 60-66, 98, 110).
G2: The Method of Collection
While there is ongoing discussion concerning whether Muhammad ever received any revelations, there is considerably more skepticism concerning whether or not the Qur'an which we have today is indeed made up entirely of those revelations which he did supposedly receive.
Many Muslims ardently contend that the Qur'an which is in our hands today was in its completed form even before the death of Muhammad, and that the collation of the texts after his death was simply an exercise in amassing that which had already existed. There are even those who believe that many of the companions of the prophet had memorized the text, and it is they who could have been used to corroborate the final collation by Muhammad's secretary, Zaid ibn Thabit. If these assertions are true, then indeed we do have a revelation which is well worth studying. History, however, points to quite a different scenario, one which most Muslims find it difficult to maintain.
Muslim Tradition tells us that Muhammad had not foreseen his death, and so had made no preparations for the gathering of his revelations, in order to place them into one document. Thus, according to tradition, it was left up to Muhammad's followers to write down what had been said.
Al Bukhari, a Muslim scholar of the 9th-10th century, and the most authoritative of the Muslim tradition compilers, writes that whenever Muhammad fell into one of his unpredictable trances his revelations were written on whatever was handy at the time. The leg or thigh bones of dead animals were used, as well as palm leaves, parchments, papers, skins, mats, stones, and bark. And when there was nothing at hand the attempt was made by his disciples to memorize it as closely as possible.
The principle disciples at that time were: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abu Musa, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, all of whom were close companions of Muhammad.
According to Sahih Bukhari, during the years following Muhammad's death, passages of the Qur'an were lost irretrievably when a number of reciters died at the Battle of Yamama. This incident together with the Qur'an's automatic completion as a revelation, now that its mediator had passed away, compelled a companion of the prophet named Hazrat Omar to suggest to the current caliph, Abu Bakr, that the existing revelations be collected.
Initially the aging caliph demurred, as he was not willing to do what the prophet had not done. However, he later changed his mind, due to the crisis caused by the death of the reciters at Yamama. The secretary of Muhammad, Zaid ibn Thabit was commissioned by Abu Bakr to collect the sayings of the prophet and put them into a document.
G2i: Zaid's Collection
Zaid's reply, according to Bukhari, is interesting. He is purported to have said that it would have been easier if they had demanded that he shift a mountain then collect the suras of the Qur'an. The reason for this rather odd statement becomes obvious when we find that, in his search for the passages of the Qur'an he was forced to use as his sources the leg or thigh bones of dead animals, as well as palm leaves, parchments, papers, skins, mats, stones, bark, and the memories of the prophet's companions (Bukhari, vol.6, pg.477).
This shows that there were no Muslims at that time who had memorized the entire Qur'an by heart, otherwise the collection would have been a simple task. Had there been individuals who knew the Qur'an by heart, Zaid would only have had to go to any one of the companions and write down what they dictated. Instead, Zaid was overwhelmed by the assignment, and was forced to "search" for the passages from these men who had memorized certain segments. He also had to refer to rather strange objects to find the ayas he needed. These are hardly reliable sources for a supposed "perfect" copy of the eternal tablets which exist in heaven.
What evidence, we ask, is there that his final copy was complete? It is immediately apparent that the official copy of the Qur'an rested on very fragile sources. There is no way that anyone can maintain with certainty that Zaid collected all the sayings of the prophet. Had some of the objects been lost, or thrown away? Did some of the ayas die with the companions who were killed at the battle of Yamama? We are left with more questions then answers.
In Sahih Bukhari (volume 6, page 478) Zaid is quoted as saying that he found the last verses of sura 9 (verses 128 and 129) from a certain individual. Then he continues by saying that he found this verse from no-one else. In other words there was no-one else who knew this verse. Thus had he not traced it from this one man, he would not have traced it at all!
This leads us to only one possible conclusion: that we can never be sure that the Qur'an which was finally compiled was, in fact, complete! Zaid concedes that he had to find this one verse from this one man. This underlines the fact that there was no-one who knew the Qur'an by heart, and thus could corroborate that Zaid's copy was complete.
Consequently the final composition of the Qur'an depended on the discretion of one man; not on the revelation of God, but on an ordinary fallible man, who put together, with the resources which he had available, what he believed to be a complete Qur'an. This flies in the face of the bold claim by Muslims that the book is now, and was then, complete.
Zaid's text was given to Hafsah, one of the wives of Muhammad, and the daughter of Umar, the 2nd Caliph. We then pick up the story with the reign of Uthman, the 3rd Caliph.
G2ii: Competing Collections
In Sahih Bukhari, (vol. 6, pg.479) we read that there were at this time different readings of the Qur'an in the different provinces of the Muslim world. A number of the companions of Muhammad had compiled their own codices of the text. In other words, though Zaid had collated the official text under Abu Bakr, there were other texts which were circulating which were considered authoritative as well.
The two most popular codices were those of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, whose manuscript became the standard for the area of Iraq, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, whose manuscript became standard in Syria.
These and other extant codices were basically consistent with each other in their general content, but a large number of variant readings, many seriously affecting the text, existed in all the manuscripts such that no two codices were entirely the same (which we'll talk about later).
In addition, the texts were being recited in varying dialects in the different provinces of the Muslim world. During the 7th century, Arabic was composed in a so-called scriptio defectiva in which only the consonants were written. Since there were no vowels, the vocalization was left to the reader. Some verbs could be read as active or passive, while some nouns could be read with different case endings, and some forms could be read as either nouns or verbs.
G3: The Standardization of One Text
Consequently, during the reign of Uthman, the third Caliph, a deliberate attempt was made to standardize the Qur'an and impose a single text upon the whole Muslim community.
The codex of Zaid ibn Thabit, taken from the manuscript of Hafsah, was chosen by Uthman for this purpose, to the consternation of both Mas'ud and Ibn Ka'b. Zaid ibn Thabit was a much younger man, who had not yet been born at the time Mas'ud had recited 70 suras by heart before Muhammad.
According to Muslim tradition Zaid's codice was chosen by Uthman because the language used, the 'Quraishi dialect,' was local to Mecca, and so had become the standard Arabic. Tradition maintains that Zaid, along with three scholars of the Quraishi tribe of Mecca, had written the codice in this Quraishi dialect, as it had been revealed to Muhammad in this dialect. Linguists today, however, are still at a quandary to know what exactly this Quraishi dialect was, as it doesn't exist today and therefore cannot be identified. Furthermore, the dialect which we find in the present Qur'an does not differ from the language which was current in other parts of the Hijaz at that time. While it makes for a good theory, it has little historical evidence with which to back it up.
A further reason for the choice of Zaid's codice, according to tradition, was that it had been kept in virtual seclusion for many years, and so had not attracted the publicity as one of the varying texts, as had the codices of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Ironically, by virtue of their popularity, Mas'ud's and Ka'b's codices were rejected as sources for the final Qur'an and supplanted by the codice of an individual who neither had the notoriety, nor the experience, and whose text (as we shall soon discover) had never been selected as authoritative by the prophet, as had the other two.
Consequently, copies of Zaid's codice were then sent out and dispersed throughout every Muslim province, while all the other manuscripts were summarily destroyed.
It is evident from this discussion that the final choice for an authoritative text had little to do with its authenticity, but had more to do with the fact that it was not a controversial manuscript. It is also evident that there were no two Qur'ans which existed at that time which were exactly alike. This tradition tells us that other whole copies did exist, yet not one of the other texts were spared the order for their destruction. We must conclude that the destruction of the other manuscripts was a drastic effort to standardize the Qur'anic text. While we may have one standard text today, there is no proof that it corresponds with the original. We can only say that it may possibly be similar to the Uthmanic recension, a recension which was one of many. Yet, what evidence is there that in all instances it was the correct one? We don't know as we have no others with which to compare.
G4: The Missing Verses
This then brings up another difficult problem: how can we be sure that what Zaid ibn Thabit included in his codice (or manuscript) contained the full revelation of Muhammad's revelation? The fact is we simply cannot. We are forced to rely on Muslim tradition to tell us. Yet, interestingly, it is Muslim tradition which informs us that Zaid himself initially cast doubt on his own codice.
G4i: Sura 33:23
According to Sahih Bukhari (volume 6, pg.79), despite the fact that Zaid's text had been copied out and sent to the seven different cities, Zaid suddenly remembered that a verse which the prophet had quoted earlier was missing from his text. Zaid is quoted as saying that this missing verse was verse 23 of sura 33, which says, "Among the believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah." So he searched for the verse until he found it with Hussaima ibn al Ansari.
Thus, we find that after the copies had been sent out claiming to be the only authentic and complete copies of the Qur'an available, Zaid, and he alone, recorded a verse which was missing; a verse which, once again, was only found with one man.
This resembles the previous occasion where a verse was only found with one man. The conclusion is obvious: initially all of those seven copies which were sent out to the provinces were imperfect. But even more concerning is the fact that it was due to the recollection of one man, and the memory of another that the Qur'an was finally completed. Once again it is obvious that there simply could not have been any man at that time who knew the whole Qur'an by heart. This is yet another instance which contradicts the argument posed by Muslims that the Qur'an had been memorized by certain men during the early days of Islam.
But of more importance is the troubling question of whether there were perhaps other verses which were overlooked or were left out. The answer to this question can be found in another of the authoritative traditions, that of Sahih Muslim.
G4ii: The Verse on Stoning
Muslim maintains that key passages were missing from Zaid's text. The most famous is the verse of stoning. All the major traditions speak of this missing verse. According to Ibn Ishaq's version (pg. 684) we read:
"God sent Muhammad, and sent down the scripture to him. Part of what he sent down was the passage on stoning. Umar says, 'We read it, we were taught it, and we heeded it. The apostle [Muhammad] stoned, and we stoned after him. I fear that in the time to come men will say that they find no mention of stoning in God's book, and thereby go astray in neglecting an ordinance which God has sent down. Verily, stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery."
Therefore, according to Umar, the stoning verse was part of the original Qur'an, the revelation which Allah sent down. But now it is missing. In many of the traditions we find numerous reports of adulterous men and women who were stoned by the prophet and his companions. Yet today we read in the Qur'an, sura 24:32 that the penalty for adultery is 100 lashes. Umar said adultery was not only a capital offence, but one which demanded stoning. That verse is now missing from the Qur'an, and that is why Umar raised this issue.
Muslims will need to ask themselves whether indeed their Qur'an can claim to be the same as that passed down by Muhammad to his companions? With evidence such as this the Qur'an in our possession today becomes all the more suspect.
G5: The Variations Between the Codices
Yet that is not all. Another glaring problem with Zaid's text is that it differed from the other codices which coexisted with his.
Arthur Jeffery has done the classic work on the variants of the early codices in his book Materials for the history of the Text of the Qur'an, printed in 1937. The three main codices which he lists are those which we have referred to earlier, and include:
1. Ibn Mas'ud ('Abd Allah b. Mas'ud) (died 653), from Kufa, in Iraq. It is he who is reported to have learned 70 suras directly from Muhammad, and was appointed by Muhammad as one of the first teachers of Qur'anic recitation (according to Ibn Sa'd). Mas'ud became a leading authority on the Qur'an and hadith in Kufa, Iraq. He refused to destroy his copy of the Qur'an or stop teaching it when the Uthmanic recension was made official.
2. Ubayy b. Ka'b (died 649) a Medinan Muslim who was associated with Damascus, Syria. Prior to that he was a secretary for the prophet, and was considered by some to be more prominent than Mas'ud in Qur'anic understanding, during the prophet's lifetime. Ubayy's codice had two extra suras. He destroyed his codice after the Uthmanic recension.
3. Abu Musa (died 662), a Yemenite, though his codice was accepted in Basra, where he served as governor under Umar. His codex was large and it contained the two extra suras of Ubayy's codex, and other verses not found in other codices (Jeffery, pp.209-211).
In addition to these three Jeffery classifies 12 other codices belonging to the companions of the prophet, which were considered as primary.
One of these Ali b. Abi Talib (d.661) a cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, is said to have been the first to collect the Qur'an after the prophet's death, and to have arranged the suras in some sort of chronological order.
According to Jeffery, there were thousands of variations between the different codices.
G5i: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's Codex
Take for instance the codice of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, a very close companion of the prophet, according to the traditions. As we know it was he who refused to hand over his manuscript after the order went out from Uthman for all existing copies to be burned.
There is much evidence today to show that, in fact, his text is far more reliable than Hafsah's manuscript, which we know to be the one collated by Zaid ibn Thabit. Ibn Mas'ud alone was present with Muhammad when he reviewed the content of the Qur'an every year during the month of Rammadan.
In the well-known collection of traditions by Ibn Sa'd (vol. 2, pg.441), we read these words:
"Ibn Abbas asked, 'Which of the two readings of the Qur'an do you prefer?' [The prophet] answered, 'The reading of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.' Verily the Qur'an was recited before the apostle of Allah, once in every Rammadan, except the last year when it was recited twice. Then Abdullah ibn Mas'ud came to him, and he learned what was altered and abrogated."
Thus no-one knew the Qur'an better then he did. In the same tradition by Ibn Sa'd (vol. 2, pg.442) it says:
"No sura was revealed but I [Mas'ud] knew about it and what was revealed. If I had known anyone knowing more of the book of Allah than me, I would have gone to him."
Ibn Mas'ud lays claim here to be the foremost authority of the text of the Qur'an. In fact, it is Sahih Muslim (vol. 4, pg.1312) who informs us that Mas'ud knew seventy suras by heart, and was considered to have a better understanding of the Qur'an then the other companions of the prophet. He recited these seventy passages before the prophet and the companions, and no-one disputed with him.
In Sahih Bukhari (vol. 5, pgs.96-97) we read that Muhammad himself singled out Abdullah ibn Mas'ud as the first and foremost authority on the Qur'an.
According to Ibn Sa'd (vol. 2, pg.444) Mas'ud learned his seventy suras while Zaid was still a youth. Thus his authority should have been greater as he knew so much of the Qur'an long before Zaid became a man.
Arthur Jeffery in his book points out several thousand variants taken from over thirty "main sources." Of special note are those which he found between the codex of Ibn Mas'ud and that of Zaid ibn Thabit. He also found that Mas'ud's codex agreed with the other codices which existed at the expense of Zaid's text (while we don't have the time to go into all the variations, it might be helpful if you could obtain a copy of Arthur Jeffrey's book: Materials for the history of the Text of the Qur'an).
According to Jeffery, Abu Mas'ud's Codex was different from the Uthmanic text in several different ways:
1. It did not contain the Fatiha (the opening sura, sura 1), nor the two charm suras (suras 113 and 114).
2. It contained different vowels within the same consonantal text (Jeffery 25-113).
3. It contained Shi'ite readings (i.e. suras 5:67; 24:35; 26:215; 33:25,33,56; 42:23; 47:29; 56:10; 59:7; 60:3; 75:17-19) (Jeffery 40,65,68).
4. Entire phrases were different, such as: a.sura 3:19: Mas'ud has "The way of the Hanifs" instead of "Behold, the [true] religion (din) of God is Islam." b.sura 3:39: Mas'ud has "Then Gabriel called to him, 'O Zachariah'", instead of the Uthmanic reading: "Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary." c.Only his codice begins sura 9 with the Bismilah, while the Uthmanic text does not ("bismi 'llahi 'l-rahmani 'l-rahim" meaning, "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate").
5. Finally, the order of the suras in Ibn Mas'ud's codex is different from the Uthmanic text in that Mas'ud's list arranges the suras more closely in order of descending length.
G5ii: Ubayy Ka'b's Codex
Ubayy Ka'b's codex also had variations. Though there are those who disagree, it seems to have been less important than Ibn Mas'ud's, as it was not the source of any secondary codices.
It included two suras not found in the Uthmanic or Ibn Mas'ud's texts: the surat al-Khal', with three verses, and surat al-Hafd, with six verses (Jeffery pg. 180ff). Al-Fadl b. Shadhan is said to have seen a copy of Ubayy's 116 suras (rather than the 114 of Uthman's) in a village near Basra in the middle of the 3rd century A.H. (10th century C.E.).
The order of suras in Ubayy's codex is said to have differed from that of Uthman's.
G6: Conclusions on the Collation of the Qur'anic Text
These variations in the codices show that the original text of the Qur'an cannot have been perfect. The fact that a little known secretary (Zaid ibn Thabit) was chosen as the final arbiter of the Qur'anic text points to possible political interference. The admission by this secretary that the task of collating the verses was unduly daunting and his consequent pronouncement that one verse was initially missing from his finished text (sura 33:23) while another verse, according to authoritative sources, is still missing (the stoning verse) puts even more suspicion on its authenticity.
On top of that, the many variations which exist between Zaid's text and those of supposedly more authoritative collators (Mas'ud and Ka'b) can only add to the perception of many today that the Uthmanic Qur'an which we supposedly have today leaves us with more doubt than assurance for its authority as the perfect word of God.
Yet that is not all. We also know from Muslim tradition that the Uthmanic Qur'an had to be reviewed and amended to meet the Caliph's standard for a single approved text even after Uthman's death. This was carried out by al-Hajjaj, the governor of Kufa, who made eleven distinct amendments and corrections to the text, which were later reduced to seven readings.
If the other codices were in existence today, one could compare the one with the other to ascertain which could claim to be closest to the original. Even Hafsah's copy, the original from which the final text was taken, was later destroyed by Mirwan, the governor of Medina. But for what reason???
Does this act not intimate that there were problems between the other copies, possibly glaring contradictions, which needed to be thrown out? Can we really believe that the rest were destroyed simply because Uthman wished to have only one manuscript which conformed to the Quraishi dialect (if indeed such a dialect existed)? Why then burn the other codices? If, as some contend today, the other codices were only personal reminisces of the writers, then why did the prophet give those codices so much authority during his lifetime? Furthermore, how could Uthman claim to judge one from the other now that Muhammad was no longer around?
There are certain scholars today who believe that Zaid ibn Thabit and his co-workers could have reworked the Arabic, so as to make the text literately sophisticated and thus seemingly superior to other Arabic works of its time; and thus create the claim that this was indeed the illiterate Muhammad's one miracle.
There are others, such as John Wansbrough from SOAS, who go even further, contending that all of the accounts about companion codices and individual variants were fabricated by later Muslim jurists and philologers. He asserts that the collection stories and the accounts of the companion codices arose in order to give an ancient authority to a text that was not even compiled until the 9th century or later.
He feels that the text of the Qur'an was so fluid that the multiple accounts (i.e. of the punishment stories) represent "variant traditions" of different metropolitan centres (such as Kufa, Basra, Medina etc.), and that as late as the 9th century a consonantal textus receptus ne varietur still had not been achieved. Today, his work is taking on greater authority within scholarly circles.
Unfortunately we will never know the real story, because the originals (if indeed they ever existed) which could have told us so much were destroyed. All we have are the copies written years after the originals by those who were then ordered to destroy their originals. There are, therefore, no manuscripts to compare with to give the current Qur'an authenticity, as we have with the Bible.
For those who may wonder why this is so important, let me provide an example: If after I had read this paper out-loud, everyone was to then write down all I had said from memory when they returned home, there would certainly be a number of variations. But we could find out these variations by putting them all together and comparing the many copies one against the other, as the same errors would not be written at the same place by everyone. The final result would be a rendering which is pretty close to what I had said originally. But if we destroyed all of the copies except one, there would be no means of comparing, and all precision would be lost. Our only hope would be that the one which remained was as close to what I had said as possible. Yet we would have no other rendering or example to really know for sure.
Consequently, the greater number of copies preserved, the more certitude we would have of the original text. The Qur'an has only one doctored manuscript to go on, while the New Testament has over 24,000 manuscripts in existence, from a variety of backgrounds, from which to compare!!! Can you see the difference?!
It is therefore quite clear that that which is known as the Textus Receptus of the Qur'an (the text considered authoritative in the Muslim world today) cannot lay claim to be the Textus Originalis (the genuine original text).
The current Qur'anic text which is read throughout the Muslim world is merely Zaid's version, duly corrected where necessary, and later amended by al-Hajjaj. Consequently, the 'official' text as it currently stands was only arrived at through an extended process of amendments, recensions, eliminations and an imposed standardization of a preferred text at the initiative of one caliph, and not by a prophetic direction of divine decree.
In conclusion one can safely say that there is relative authenticity of the text in the sense that it adequately retains the gist and content of what was originally there. There is, however, no evidence to support the cherished Muslim hypothesis that the Qur'an has been preserved absolutely intact to the last dot and letter, as so many Muslims claim (For further reading see Jam' al-Qur'an, by Gilchrist).
Yet, even if we were to let the issue rest, concerning whether or not the Qur'an which we have now is the same as that which Muhammad related to his followers, we would still need to ask whether its authority might not be impinged upon due to the numerous errors and contradictions which can be found within its pages. It is to that question that we now proceed. |
how to pronounce idealism
how to improve pronunciation of idealism
press buttons with phonetic symbols to learn about each sound.
press Play to play an example pronunciation of idealism.
video examples of idealism pronunciation
An example use of idealism in a speech by a native speaker of american english:
“… doing it's all idealism you know and and …”
meanings of idealism
1. The practice or habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things; treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards or patterns;—opposed to realism.
2. The property of a person of having high ideals that are usually unrealizable or at odds with practical life.
3. An approach to philosophical enquiry, which asserts that direct and immediate knowledge can only be had of ideas or mental pictures.
words with pronunciation similar to idealism
words that rhyme with idealism |
7 Interesting Facts About the Basking Shark
Possibly one of the most interesting shark species in the ocean, the basking shark is unparalleled with its awesomeness.
Out of all types of sharks out there, the basking shark is one of the weirdest. Large enough to make you fear with trembling yet so harmless that it’s hard to believe.
The second-largest shark in the ocean, only after the whale shark, have a lot to say. If you are interested in learning more about these gentle sea giants, here’s your chance. These are the most interesting facts about the basking shark.
Related: Fun Great White Shark FactsFun Tiger Shark Facts | Fun Hammerhead Shark Facts
If you are curious to learn more about other shark species, head on over to our article Different Types of Sharks!
Basking Shark Facts
Interesting Basking Shark Facts
1. Basking sharks are cosmopolitan migratory species
Basking sharks are found all around the world, therefore the term cosmopolitan migratory species. They prefer warm-temperate waters, but they have been spotted in much warmer waters around the equator, too.
Basking sharks are found along continental shelves but they are no strangers to entering brackish waters, either. They migrate from cold to warm waters during the winter, and in the opposite direction in the summer.
Basking sharks got their name because they are often seen near the surface almost looking like they are basking in the sun. The other reason they migrate, except the need for warmer waters, it’s because they follow the concentration of plankton, their primary source of food.
2. Basking sharks feed on zooplankton
The basking shark is one of the three known species of plankton-eating sharks, along with the whale shark, and the megamouth shark. They are filter feeders, a group of animals that feed by straining food particles from the water.
The basking shark feeds on zooplankton, as well as very small fish and invertebrates. They swim forwards with their mouths open where the food it’s filtered through their gill rakers. One basking shark filters around 450 t of water per hour, swimming at a speed of 3.1 km/h (1.9 mph).
3. They are the second-largest extant shark species
Basking sharks are one of the largest animals in the ocean. They regularly reach around 8 m (26 ft) in length, with some individuals reaching size up to 11 m (36 ft).
Historical data shows, even though based just on sightings, that some individuals may reach over 12 m (39 ft) in length. However, today’s studies have confirmed that seeing basking sharks of that size is highly unlikely.
4. Basking sharks are not aggressive, nor harmless to people
Despite its size and overall appearance, the basking shark does not pose threat to humans. In fact, it plays an important part in ecotourism. It’s well known that basking sharks are not aggressive and tolerate people, but you still need to be careful.
5. Basking sharks have few natural predators
It’s no surprise that a shark of that size does not have many natural predators. Basking sharks have nothing to fear for except from great whites and orcas.
6. They are listed as vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List
The basking shark population had been abundant, however, after the mass by-catches in the 1990s and 2000s, their numbers rapidly started to decline.
Basking sharks were easily caught due to their peaceful nature, their slow swimming speed, and their abundance in the ocean.
Commercially, they served a lot of purposes. Their meat is used as food, their fins as ingredients for shark soups, and their liver for oil.
All those things contributed to the basking shark becoming vulnerable species. Today, the basking shark has been protected and any kind of commercial fishing, or trading its products is forbidden.
7. Little is known about the basking shark reproduction and life cycle
When it comes to reproduction, sharks are still a mystery for us. Basking sharks are no different. Little is known about their reproduction cycle, how they mate and where they go to give birth.
What we know, however, is that their gestation period lasts more than a year, probably between two to three years. They are ovoviviparous, which means they are developed as eggs and stay inside their mother until they are ready to born as live pups.
The lifespan of the basking shark is still unknown. We still don’t have any useful data, but scientists believe it to be around 50 years. |
home | australia.gov.au | about this site | sitemap | feedback | help
Go to www.australia.gov.au - Government Services for Australians Culture and Recreation Portal Culture and Recreation Portal home
On this site On contributor websites
whats new cultural resources internet resources contributor services event finders advanced search search help
Monday, 25-Feb-02 14:41:28 EST Space Chinese New Year: the Year of the Horse
cultural resources
spacer spacer
ausculture newsletter
Discussion lists
Event finders
Grants database
International resources
Net Projects
Training directory
spacer spacer spacer spacer
spacer spacer
Subscribe now!
More info
ausculture-newsletter is our free email newsletter bringing you the latest on culture, recreation and online issues.
spacer spacer spacer spacer
The Year of the Horse
At midnight on 11 February 2002, the Chinese Year of the Snake will end and the Chinese community in Australia will welcome in the Year of the Black Horse. Happy Chinese New Year!
The Chinese tradition follows a different calendar to the calendar followed in Australia - Australia follows the Gregorian calendar.
Although the People's Republic of China follows the Gregorian calendar for its day-to-day business, the dates of the Chinese New Year and other important festivals are determined by the Chinese calendar.
The Chinese calendar is thought to have been invented by Emperor Huangdi, nearly 3000 years BC.
Many different varieties of calendar have been used by different cultures
The Chinese calendar is not the only one which differs from the Gregorian. There are many different varieties - the Islamic Calendar, the French Revolutionary Calendar, the Mayan Calendar, the Hebrew Calendar, and the Druid calendar all have different ways of calculating the passage of time.
The passing of time came to be measured according to the movement of objects in the heavens - like the moon revolving around the earth or the earth revolving around the sun - because these objects moved in regular, predictable ways and that movement could be measured.
Gregorian: earth around the sun
For example, the Gregorian year is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and the idea of a month came about from the measurement of the moon's revolution around the earth - although our months no longer coincide with that revolution.
Islamic: moon around the earth
The Islamic calendar is still based on the movement of the moon around the earth, but doesn't have anything to do with the earth's movement around the sun.
Year of the HorseThe Chinese calendar
In the Chinese calendar an ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354 or 355 days and a leap year 383, 384 or 385 days. Leap years are determined by counting the number of new moons between the 11th month in one year and the 11th month in the next year. If there's 13 full moons then a leap month must be inserted. In the Chinese calendar, the year 2001 had a leap month!
The other interesting thing about the Chinese calendar is that it doesn't count years continuously as the Gregorian calendar does. It works in 60 year cycles and each year has a name made up of two parts. The first part is a Heavenly stem and the second part is a Earthly branch.
These different calendars mean that Australians, with a diverse multicultural community, always have something to celebrate!
The Chinese in Australia
Chinese people first came to Australia in large numbers during the Gold Rush in the 1850s and 60s and many Chinese-Australian families can trace their settlement in Australia to that time. Monuments and buildings developed by Chinese settlers serve as reminders of the long history of Chinese immigration to Australia. Examples remain in towns like Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria and memorabilia is displayed in museums like the Chinese Museum in Cohen Place, Melbourne, and the Golden Dragon Museum in Bendigo - and of course in our vibrant Chinese-Australian communities.
Australians have not always been welcoming to Chinese immigrants. On the gold diggings there were a number of instances of violence against Chinese prospectors - the most well known is probably Lambing Flat (now called Young) where thousands of Chinese were run off the diggings by non-Chinese. The diggers argued the Chinese used too much precious water and were taking opportunities away from Europeans.
The White Australia Policy
The desire to remove Chinese immigrants and labourers from Australia, and to prevent more from arriving, had plenty of supporters. By the late 1800s all Australian colonies had passed legislation restricting the immigration of Chinese people. This anti-Chinese feeling grew to include all non-Europeans - including Japanese, Indians and Kanakas (Pacific Islanders).
In 1901, one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia was the Immigration Restriction Act which was designed to make it virtually impossible for non-Europeans to immigrate to Australia. The Act required that immigrants pass entrance tests in European languages.
Britannica Online says, "The essential clause of the Act, rather than naming particular races or groups for exclusion, provided for a dictation test in a European language to be administered to prospective immigrants; an East Indian with a knowledge of English could be given a test in French, German, or, if need be, Lithuanian".
(Source: "Immigration Restriction Act" Britannica Online
Arthur Calwell, Australia's Minister for Immigration in the 1940s and, later, leader of the Australian Labor Party, said in his autobiography "Be Just and Fear Not" (Hawthorn, Vic. Lloyd O'Neil in association with Rigby, 1972.), "Some people talk about a multiracial society without knowing what the term really means, while others talk about it because they are anxious to change our society. No matter where the pressures come from, Australian people will continue to resist all attempts to destroy our white society."
However, the attitudes of Australians towards non-European immigration did change. Beginning with the end of the White Australia Policy in 1966 an increase of non-European immigrant numbers under the Whitlam Government in the 1970s continued with the Fraser Government through to the 1980s to create a multicultural, multiracial, tolerant and diverse society.
(Source: Department of Immigration Migration Fact Sheet 5, http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/05policy.htm, accessed 1 February 2000).
The Chinese community in Australia is in itself diverse in its origins - many were originally from the People's Republic of China, but others have emigrated to Australia from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Some have been in Australia for generations, others are new arrivals.
As a result of unrest in the People's Republic of China which culminated in the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, 25,000 Chinese students were granted Australian residency.
Australia's biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have famous Chinatowns - Dixon Street in Sydney, and the area around Little Bourke Street in Melbourne - which are a hub for restaurants, Chinese grocery stores and other small businesses, and centres for the celebration of festivals such as Chinese New Year.
Horse Year of the Horse
Chinese New Year, pronounced in Chinese as "xin nian", occurs on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. There are different version of the story behind the development of the Chinese zodiac, but all the versions are based around a race called by an Emperor to determine the animals to be represented. The cunning Rat hitched a ride on the back of the Ox and crossed the winning line first. The Rat was followed (in order) by Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
According to the Chinese zodiac, you take on the characteristics of the animal associated with year of your birth, but those characteristics are also influenced by what time of day you're born, what fixed element you belong to (water, metal, wood, fire, earth), as well as the influence of Yin and Yang.
The Year of the Horse in 2002 will not be a peaceful year. Horse years are notorious historical turning points - turbulent, untamed, and chaotic. However, this horse year is said to be marked by increased commercial activity and interest in outdoor pursuits and physical exercise. People born in the Year of the Horse are typically cheerful, skilful and perceptive. They are popular, talkative, confident and intelligent, manage their money well and love their freedom.
Horse years in the 20th century are 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and 2002.
The Chinese-Australia community holds a variety of events to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Horse. Ever since 1979 the 92 metre long Great Dragon (Dai Loong) has appeared in the streets of Melbourne in Chinatown and he, and the 80 people it takes to carry him, appeared at the Chinese New Year celebrations. While in Sydney festivities stretch to two weeks and include a grand parade, Dragon boat and sedan chair races and night markets from 26 January to 17 February 2002. The Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will be presenting a Chinese New Year Party at Darling Harbour's Chinese Gardens of Friendship on Sunday February 10.
The Perth Mint has released a silver proof coin series to celebrate the Year of the Horse.
Links: Chinese zodiac and calendars
Links: The Chinese in Australia
Links: White Australia and multicultural Australia
^ Go to top
Home | About | What's New | Cultural Resources | Internet Resources | Contributor Services | Event Finders |
Feedback | Sitemap | Copyright © 2002 | Disclaimer | Help | Privacy | Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts | |
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Flickr Commons
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Flickr Commons
When the Trilateral Commission – a group of political and business leaders, journalists, and academics – met in Singapore recently, many expressed concern about the decline of American leadership in Asia. Every Asian country now trades more with China than with the United States, often by a margin of two to one. That concern has been exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s recent imposition of tariffs and expressions of contempt for multilateral institutions. A frequently heard question in Singapore: Will US leadership in Asia survive the Trump years?
History provides some perspective. In 1972, president Richard Nixon unilaterally imposed tariffs on America’s allies without warning, violated the framework of the International Monetary Fund, and pursued an unpopular war in Vietnam. Fear of terrorism was widespread, and experts expressed concern about the future of democracy.
The following year, David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski created the Trilateral Commission, which meets once a year to discuss such problems. Contrary to conspiracy theories, the Commission has little power; but, like other informal channels of “track two” diplomacy, it allows private citizens to explore ways to manage thorny issues. The results can be found in its publications and on its website.
In Singapore, there was no consensus about Asia after Trump. For example, Indian and Chinese members held different positions about the role of China’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure projects. Some Asians and Americans differed over the prospects for a successful resolution of the Korean nuclear crisis, as well as the larger question of whether a China-US war is inevitable. And some Europeans wondered whether the current global uncertainty reflects the rise of China or the rise of Trump.
The US can recover its leadership after the Trump years if it relearns the lessons of using power with others as well as over others
My own guess, which I warned the group might be wrong, is that the US can recover its leadership after the Trump years if it relearns the lessons of using power with others as well as over others. In other words, the US will have to use its soft power to create networks and institutions that will allow it to cooperate with China, India, Japan, Europe, and others to deal with transnational problems – for example, monetary stability, climate change, terrorism, and cyber-crime – that no country can solve unilaterally. That will require overcoming the unilateral policies and attitudes associated with the rise of Trump.
As for the rise of China, contrary to current pessimism, the US will retain important power advantages that will last longer than even an eight-year presidency, should Trump be reelected. The first is demography. According to United Nations data, the US is the only developed country expected to contribute to global population growth by 2050. China, the most populous country now, is projected to lose the top spot to India.
The second advantage is energy. A decade ago, the US seemed hopelessly dependent on imported energy. Now the shale revolution has transformed it from an energy importer to an exporter, and North America may be self-sufficient in the coming decade at the same time that China is becoming more dependent on energy imports.
Technology is a third advantage for the US. Among the technologies that will convey power in this century are biotechnology, nanotechnology, and the next generation of information technology, such as artificial intelligence and big data. According to most experts, while China’s capacity is improving, the US remains the world leader in research, development, and commercialization of these technologies.
Moreover, in terms of the research base, America has a fourth advantage in its system of higher education. According to a ranking by Shanghai Jiatong University, of the top 20 universities in the world, 16 are in the US, while none are in China.
A fifth American advantage that is likely to outlast the Trump era is the role of the dollar. Of the foreign reserves held by the world’s governments, just 1.1% are in renminbi, compared with 64% for the dollar. When the International Monetary Fund included the renminbi in the currency basket underpinning its unit of account, Special Drawing Rights, many believed the dollar’s days were numbered. But the renminbi’s share of international payments has slipped since then. A credible reserve currency depends on deep capital markets, honest government, and the rule of law. None is likely in China in the near future.
Sixth, the US has geographical advantages that China lacks. The US is surrounded by oceans, and Canada and Mexico remain friendly, despite Trump’s mistaken policy of undercutting the North American Free Trade Agreement. China, on the other hand, has borders with 14 countries and territorial disputes with some of the most important, such as India, Japan, and Vietnam. This limits China’s soft power. And while geography gives China land-based power projection over the South China Sea, the US has no territorial claims there and enjoys naval supremacy over the remaining 95% of the world’s oceans.
But, most important, the US and China are not destined for war. Neither poses an existential threat to the other. When World War I began, Germany had surpassed Britain in 1900, and British fear of German intentions contributed to the disaster. By contrast, the US and China have time to manage their many conflicts and need not succumb to hysteria or fear.
The US retains not only the power advantages described above, but also its alliances with Japan and South Korea. In any upcoming talks with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, Trump will have to take care to prevent the Kim regime from achieving its long-standing objective of weakening those alliances.
In Singapore, I quoted Lee Kuan Yew’s response to a question I once asked him about whether China would surpass the US. He said “no,” because while China had the talents of 1.4 billion people to draw upon, the openness of the US allowed it to tap and combine the talents of 7.5 billion people with greater creativity than China could. If that openness survives, American leadership in Asia, and elsewhere, will most likely survive as well.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
Joseph S Nye
Joseph S Nye is a professor at Harvard and a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace.
2 replies on “Will US leadership in Asia survive the Trump years?”
Comments are closed. |
How Long Do Alpacas and Llamas Live?
Alpacas and Llamas are domesticated camelid mammals from South America. Camelids are known as camels without humps, and there are four kinds of them. Alpacas and llamas are the domesticated camelids and the guanacos and vicunas are not domesticated.
Alpacas and llamas live generally for 15-20 years. The oldest known alpaca lived to 28 years, while the oldest recorded llama lived to 30. Domestic camelids usually live longer than their wild counterparts.
In this article, let’s talk about everything you need to know about how to help your llamas and alpacas have a long and healthy life. And if there’s ever a problem, please make sure you contact your local livestock veterinarian.
Here’s How Long Alpacas Live
Alpacas live for up to 20 years, and the longest lifespan of a domesticated alpaca recorded is 28 years.
There are two breeds of alpacas:
• Huacayas are the more common type and account for up to 90% of all alpacas. They have bright and soft fibers commonly used in knitting and crocheting.
• Suris are known for fibers with high luster and are smooth and silky.
For over six thousand years, humans have domesticated alpacas, and there are over 200,000 alpacas in about 19 countries. They are gentle, curious, and very social. When properly trained, they are also great to have as pets.
When Alpacas are threatened or in distress, they usually spit at a distance of up to 10 feet and when competing with other Alpacas.
Alpacas are so gentle that they do not bite or spit at people, except they are being abused, and they also hum. One of their spectacular habits is using a particular place as their bathroom instead of random spots on a farm.
Here’s How Long Llamas Live
Llamas typically live about 15 years, though many can live up to 20 years old. The oldest known llama is 30 years old.
Llamas are descendants of the guanaco family and a South American camel family known as Camelidae. Llamas also do not have humps like camels. They are slender, with long necks and legs, small heads, short tails, and big pointed ears.
A group of llamas is called a herd. Llamas are intelligent and social animals.
However, they have limits, and when you try to stress or overload them, they will lay on the floor, spit and refuse to move. They are easy to train and can also be domesticated as a pet. They usually do not bite or spit at people, except when agitated, and this is mainly to other llamas, and they wrestle each other using kicks and necks.
Factors Affecting the Lifespan of Alpacas and Llamas
Alpacas and llamas are farmland or domesticated animals, and like every other animal of their kind, many factors can affect or reduce their lifespan. These factors can be psychological, physical, or health-related, but they pose considerable threats to an animal’s well-being and longevity.
Disease factors affecting their lifespan
There are many infectious diseases that can affect your camelid’s lifespan. The diseases vary from contactable disease, inherited or congenital issues, and deformities. All these factors may cause harm and/or affect their lifespan. Here are the six most common issues for camelids.
1. Jaw misalignment
2. Clostridial diseases
3. Parasitic worms
4. Diarrhea
5. Skin diseases
6. Gestational mortality
Disease #1: Jaw Misalignment
The teeth of these animals, especially the alpaca, can also grow too long, causing a jaw misalignment, and too short teeth can lead to difficulties in feeding. Their toenails and teeth can be trimmed, but only by a medical expert to allow them to feed correctly and stay healthy.
Medical experts should also remove their fighting teeth from 18 months to avoid fatalities.
Disease #2: Clostridial disease
After they’re born, crias should be vaccinated against clostridial diseases. The four main clostridial diseases are:
• Botulism
• Pulpy-kidney
• Tetanus
• Blackleg
By four weeks of age, they should get the vaccines against those diseases. After that, they can get on the regular vaccination schedule with the rest of the herd.
Disease #3: Parasitic Worms
Parasitic worms in these animals can cause many health complications like anemia and pale skin.
You can check for worms by analyzing animal manure (you can send their manure to a lab to do this – or you can do it yourself). You can also worm the whole herd every six months or so, but it’s best to do so under strict medical guidance.
Your veterinarian can recommend an adequate worming medication based on an analysis of the worms in your herd’s manure.
Disease #4: Diarrhea
Diarrhea, sometimes called scours, can become complicated especially in crias. If left untreated, diarrhea and scours can lead to dehydration and death. In cases like this, veterinary advice should be sought as fast as possible.
Disease #5: Skin diseases
Shearing your herd, regularly can help notice changes in their skins before it gets critical for you to control the situation.
One common skin condition is caused by flea bites. Fleas can hide under their fiber and cause them constant pain and discomfort.
Injuries might heal slower due to skin breakdown. And in cases where waste materials contaminate the fur, the wounds can get infected and lead to more complications.
Disease #6: Gestational mortality
Alpacas breed once every year, with a gestational period of 242 to 345 days, delivering just one offspring at a time. A New Zealand study recorded a 25.7% rate of pregnancy loss after 30 days of gestation in alpacas and 9.6% to 16.7% losses after 120 days of gestation (source).
So while gestational mortality isn’t a proper disease, it still affects the overall lifespan of camelids.
It takes about 7 hours to complete the birthing process, and their babies are called crias. The crias are weaned at six to eight months of age.
Females are sexually mature and able to reproduce at 15 months; however, the males take longer and can begin to mate at 36 months old.
The abortion rates are due to infectious diseases, and the demographics of this occurrence vary from 10 to 70%, depending on the area.
According to PubMed, a variety of infectious diseases are the causes of neonatal mortality rates in camelids (source).
Physical factors affecting their lifespan
Physical factors affecting their lifespan generates from infected injuries sustained during fights, environmental effects on their health, and activities they are made to perform by their owners. Here are the most common factors that affect camelid lifespan.
1. Habitat
2. Waste contamination
3. Size
Factor #1: Habitat
Habitats can be full of poisons, toxins, house diseases, or hide predators that can all affect a camelid’s lifespan.
Alpacas and llamas are from the mountains of South America. That’s where most of them still live, though many now live on farms or ranches in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and the Netherlands. Alpacas and llamas live longer in herds on farmlands than alone in small pens, while the wild camelids die earlier from constant attacks from predators.
The oldest living alpaca lived with its family in a herd until its death from old age-related complications.
Llamas and alpacas are generally found on farmlands, mountains, or small pens owned by animal lovers. But wherever they are kept must be free from toxic plants, snakes, paints, freshly fumigated enclosures, lead, copper, predators, and algae infestation.
Factor #2: Waste contamination
Waste means flies, infection, and disease.
The tail and rear end part of their legs should be constantly fleeced, as waste materials can get stuck on the fur in these parts and cause fly strikes. Examine your animal frequently and shear as needed to prevent fly strikes because it makes the animals uncomfortable and restless, which can lead to stress and illness.
Factor #3: Size
Smaller animals are more likely to die from predator attacks, or smaller-sized animals may indicate an underlying issue (disease or absorption issue) that can also affect lifespan.
The smallest member of the camel family is the Alpaca. They are smaller than the other camelids, which doesn’t affect how long they live because they are not reared for strenuous activities. They are up to 4 to 7 feet long, and they weigh up to 143lbs (120 – 225 cm in height and 65 kilograms in weight).
Llamas weigh around 285 to 450 pounds, they are commonly known to be used as beasts of burden by the peoples who lived in the Andean mountains. They grow up to 6 feet tall and have their average height at 5 feet and 9 inches.
Over the years, studies show that this activity as a beast of burden may reduce a llama’s health and lifespan. Eventually, it may even make them get too weak to go on long treks up mountains. They can safely carry up to 30 percent of their weight and can trek up to 12 miles easily.
Diet factors affecting their lifespan
Alpacas and Llamas are both vegetarians. They only feed on greens and hay. There are precautions to be taken for a Llama’s diet based on their diabetic nature and other diet-related conditions that affect both llamas and alpacas. Here are the four most common dietary issues that affect camelid lifespan.
1. Poinsous plants
2. Malnutrition
3. Vitamin deficiencies
4. Weight loss
Dietary Factor #1: Poisonous Plants
There are many toxic variations of plants available on planet earth. Since alpacas and llamas are vegetarians, there is a very high chance that they might come into contact with them.
Herders are advised to take careful precautions on the grazing areas of their camelids and the kinds of grass that are being fed to them, as this can gravely reduce their lifespan or cause sudden death.
They should also be protected from consuming toxic plants and materials that can cause harm to their health or early deaths.
Some of the things you should never feed a llama include:
• animal products of any kind
• chocolates
• avocado
• kale
• potatoes (nightshade family plants)
These food items can cause diarrhea and other complications to their health.
Dietary Factor #2: Malnutrition
Malnutrition is an issue for all living things, camelids included.
These animals are covered with fur all around, and when they are malnourished, it might not be as easy to tell. Malnutrition can become chronic and cause them to fall sick or even die.
Therefore, it is good practice to regularly check their weight, run your hands on them to feel their skin, check the back legs for brambles and burrs, and ensure that there are no collections of waste materials in them to avoid fly strikes.
Dietary Factor #3: Vitamin Deficiencies
To avoid bone-related diseases like rickets and poor growth and development (which directly affect their lifespan), it is advisable to make sure your animals get adequate vitamins and micronutrients. You may even want to give them vitamins A, D, and E boosts.
Dietary Factor #4: Weight Changes
Always check your herd’s weight regularly and check for weight loss or gain patterns. This can be a symptom of one of many severe complications about to happen, or a related psychological problem.
Weight loss or gain can be especially problematic if it’s a sudden thing. Always consult your veterinarian if you have a concern about weight loss or gain.
How to Care for Alpacas and Llamas Health for Longer Lifespans
The following guidelines are ways to ensure that your alpacas and llamas reach the highest lifespan expected, stay healthy, and produce well. Always seek further medical advice and expertise from authorized and licensed vet doctors as needed.
Llamas and Alpacas vaccinations usually start during the first week of birth, with two boosters at three weeks intervals.
• In habitats where venomous snakes and liver flukes are dominant, vaccines like C novyi, C sordellii, C chauvoei, and C septicum are essential.
• They should also get clostridium perfringens type C and D and tetanus toxoid when due because it is crucial to their growth and dealing with infections or illnesses that may arise.
• At three months, the alpacas and llamas should get their first vaccination against snake envenomation and liver flukes and given a booster after three days and then regular shots as advised by the vet doctor.
After that, your camelids can get their regular vaccinations as recommended by your veterinarian. Your vet will be able to tailor vaccination recommendations for local needs.
Neonatal Cria Care
Crias are delicate, beautiful creatures who don’t all make it. Therefore, neonatal cria care is vital to minimizing the mortality rate of your herd.
The most essential routine cria check includes:
• checking cria weight
• performing a single dipping on their navels three times within 24 hours of birth
• using tinctures of iodine (%7) or chlorhexidine (0.5%).
Within 2 hours of birth, Crias must be up on their feet and reaching for their mother’s mammary glands (udder) to nurse every one to two hours.
Take their weights at birth, because an indication of a healthy cria is if they have doubled their weight after a month.
Taking blood samples at birth is also a good idea in some circumstances. This is the right time to check for the transfer of cholesterol antibodies for diseases that can be dangerous for crias. This can be done by your vet if they’re on hand for the birth.
Parasites can be found worldwide, and they can make animals sick. Sick animals with parasites may have weight loss, anemia, less lustrous fiber, or other symptoms.
Pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole, ivermectin, and anthelmintics are currently viewed as safe and effective in controlling parasitic infections in these animals. However, some ruminant species like these have developed a resistance to parasitic infections. This can make parasite control hard if not impossible. In case of parasite-resistance, work with your veterinarian to keep your herd healthy.
In places where liver flukes are a huge problem, clorsulon or albendazole are highly effective for alpacas and llamas and need to be used every eight weeks to eradicate them completely.
The above-listed care practices are sure ways to help you keep your herd happy – and prolong the lifespan of your alpacas and llamas. Because as backyard homesteaders, we want our animals to reach their expected lifespan or even surpass them (like the oldest living alpacas and llamas).
On the other hand, neglecting your animals can cause disastrous effects to their health and reduce their lifespan by a huge gap or cause immediate death. So please don’t ever do that. If you can no longer care for your animals, please surrender them responsibly to someone else (or a shelter) who can.
Can Alpacas or Llamas Die from Loneliness?
Alpacas and llamas are herd animals. They thrive by being among a family and having either a dominating figure or being a herd member and will die if they have to live alone.
The animals will be constantly sad and stressed if there is no other alpaca or llama to socialize with. They can develop health complications from not feeding well or moving about regularly and from inactivity, eventually leading to their death. At least three llamas or three alpacas should be together on a farm or be domesticated, to evenly distribute the alpha and supporting herd roles.
But if you just want to know which is nicer between llamas and alpacas? Make sure you read this article I wrote on which one is better (for which situation).
Do Alpacas Get Along With Other Animals?
Alpacas are very social animals. They get along well with other animals of other species and also their kind. They can be reared with other farmland animals, like llamas and sheep.
Alpacas and llamas can be kept with most other animals. You do need to be cautious about spacing while pasturing, especially alpacas. Alpacas are small and can get injured if they get caught up between cows or horses while feeding.
Goats and alpacas get along but should not be kept together because some medicated goat food types might be toxic for the alpacas, and the only way to prevent them from having some is by keeping them apart in separate pens.
Want to know how many alpacas you should get? Read this article I wrote about how many alpacas you really need.
Do Llamas Get Along With Other Animals?
Llamas also get along with other animals, as they are usually used to protect herds of animals like alpacas, sheep, goats, and other farm animals.
They are bold and confident animals that guard against predators and other external factors. Llamas also get along well with some dogs. They are also playful and social around each other and usually have their shared space for exercise and leisure.
For more information about alpacas and llamas living with other animals, make sure you check out this complete guide I wrote about keeping various animals and types of livestock together.
Key Takeaways: Alpacas and Llama Lifespans
Llamas and alpacas are great to have as pets. They help ward off threats to other farm animals, improve the health of humans, are easy to train and care for, and live for up to 15-20 years or more. They also produce great fiber, manure, and other resources that improve everyday living around a backyard homestead.
So not only can they be a great addition to your homestead, they can also enrich your life for up to several decades.
Speaking of enriching – make sure you read this article next on how to use alpaca poop especially to fertilize your backyard homestead and garden. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy your camelids, your garden, and your whole backyard setup at the same time. Happy homesteading!
Related Questions
Can Alpacas Be Pets? When properly trained, alpacas can be excellent pets. They can be taught tricks and manners. They can sometimes even live inside the home with their owners because they are herd animals that need fellowship with other alpacas constantly to avoid loneliness and its complications. Therefore, they need farmland environments to thrive, but they are cute, fluffy, and social animals that can be well trained like every other pet. Read more about keeping alpacas as indoor pets here in an article I wrote.
How Long did the Oldest Alpaca and Llama live? The oldest alpaca lived on a farm for 28 years before its death, which was natural and not from complications or diseases. In comparison, the oldest llama lived for 30 years before its natural death too. However, some old rearers of the animals have claimed to have llamas and alpacas that lived beyond these ages. These were never officially recorded or proven to be true.
How Often Should Alpacas Be Sheared? Alpaca fleece should be sheared once every year to improve their comfortability. The same goes for the llamas, and in the southern states, the huacayas are shorn twice every year. The factors involved in this are the density of the fleece, and when it’s normal, the adult alpacas produce 10lbs of fleece per year. Shearing their fleece regularly reduces the weight they carry on their body and helps them move about freely.
Cite this article as: “How Long Do Alpacas and Llamas Live?” Backyard Homestead HQ, 7 July 2021,
• Britannica, Encyclopædia. “Llama.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 May 2021,
• Britannica, Encyclopedia. “Alpaca.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 May 2021,
• Cebra, Christopher, et al. “Llama, and Alpaca Care.” ScienceDirect, 2014,
• “Health and Care.” Penn State Extension, Accessed 25 June 2021.
• “Llama: National Geographic.” Animals, Accessed 25 Junethemthem1.
By Kimberly Starr
|
Essay on Understanding Burnout from a Cognitive Approach
• Category: Behavior, Psychology,
• Words: 2829 Pages: 11
• Published: 09 November 2020
• Copied: 139
Within research there are many components to address including but not limiting to synthesizing a school of thought to support and contribute to the chosen research topic. The research topic and literature should be analyzed and evaluated through relevancy, efficacy, currency of scientific research, methodologies, and practice. Additionally, a theoretical foundation should be chosen, and the study is designed as well as addressing any ethical concerns, principles, methods on collecting data and approved instruments. Lastly, exploring the need for research, citing relevant research and how results can have practical use.
1.1 Research Topic
The research topic that has been chosen to be explored is: “How mental health therapists improve the process in providing services to children and families, while working in a multi system of care”. Specifically exploring and assessing linking developmental variables that cause burnout, turnover and/ or termination as well as conceptualizing mental processes and the effects of how individuals evolve and acclimate over time.
The research will be used to explicitly explore mental process of managing workload and preventing burnout and to understand how mental process affects how individuals change over time, creating profiles based on the information received and information on improving the process for mental health therapists characteristics or profile to understand how therapist can aid in feedback in a collaborative setting would be interesting to understanding childhood upbringing and to conceive a perspective of parental style and how the child to employee develops and in turn will aid in further understanding of parenting styles, techniques and effects in the evolving generations (O’Dell, Brownlow & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist 2018).
The theoretical framework that will be utilized throughout the study will be cognitive psychology influenced by Jean Piaget (cognitive processes) and Erick Erickson (psychosocial stages). By understanding values, principles, subject matter, and research methods (Blass, 2009) will set the foundation of research for the chosen topic.
Principles and values of developmental psychology to will be assessed for the proposed
topic for how and why humans respond in accordance to psychosocial stages and cognitive stages. In application developmental psychology evaluates mental abilities (Bray, 2010). Developmental psychology can enhance research with school of thought of cognitive psychology which focuses on analyzing cognitive abilities, researchers can evaluate cognitive functions and how deficits of cognition can affect behaviors thus being able to provide additional support in those specified areas.
Supplementary assessments of relevancy, efficacy, currency of scientific research, methodologies, and practices within cognitive psychology will provide further support and contribution to the research topic. In developmental psychology researchers are wanting to understand how and why humans change of time: each chronological stage as well as assessing and individual’s development overtime the use of cognitive psychology can be used in aiding in explaining stages of develop as illustrated as the needed ability to learn quickly, show competence and the ability to adapt; all skills that are learned at an early age of development (Wallace, Quetsch, Robinson, McCoy, & McNeil, 2018) as well as suggesting that those individuals who experience a deficiency these physiognomies to perform will develop burnout, report on having less satisfaction in their jobs and causing behaviors that are indicated as lacking ability to provide service to fidelity.
The relevancy of understanding of topic is become more needed as the medical field is evolving into a more collaborative approach based on the past research that indicates numerous wraparound services/ collaboration of therapist is effective and highlights the need to examine fidelity of the systems of care and delivery which will be identified in my research as a gap in the research benefits( Labouvie-Vief, 2015). Wraparound services are services that can be provided in the home and in the community and offer individualized care based on the needs of the client and family (Renzaglia-Weir, 2006). Plans are goal orientated based and are developed and individualized constructed by strengths.
The efficacy of the study would indicate further advancement to developmental psychology, superfluous navigation of workload and treatments as well as instilling long lasting changes for the clients being served and comparing to other treatment options will experience less time in treatment (Hodges, 2004).
The currency of scientific research is constantly evolving. When it comes to directions of psychology and the concepts that enhance the growth; there are many modalities that are influential factors. Articles written by Bray (2010) and Confer, Easton, Fleischman, Goetz, Lewis, Perilloux, & Buss (2010) write with the intent of providing a prospective of change; with a more collaborative approach to solve problems and an understanding to improve theories and make discoveries there are no limits to restrain research.
Bray (2010) he concludes the best practice is done in a collaborative setting and those who can conceptualize a multi-facet approach such as one having a collected approach. Bray further writes that psychology has evolved based on theories as well as other personal influences which concludes the idea that concepts will emerge and evolve over time.
Confer, Easton, Fleischman, Goetz, Lewis, Perilloux, & Buss (2010) they express the idea of exploring reality and meanings within the capacity of psychology and that it should be a perspective from multiple angles. They then further expand on the history of evolution as well as the modifications that the field of psychology has endured over the years and how many ideas of reality and their meanings play and continue to play a role in today’s society. Final thoughts from Confer, Easton, Fleischman, Goetz, Lewis, Perilloux, & Buss (2010) is as long as there are advancements in society there will always be modification in evolution psychology as it further attempts to explain learning, adaptation, genetics and how people communicate with one another.
The methodologies and practices within in cognitive psychology is the exploration and expansion of understanding mental ability and processes as individuals develop mental processes in theory should as well however there are events/ situations/ risks factors that may impose a deficit for individuals; by recognizing deficits and collaborating a plan individuals can address said deficits become successful as well as for those on track for normal cognitive stages will be able to enhance skills. Additionally, Halbert (2018) suggests that having discussions of communication, accommodation and group dynamics are utilized in support as a means to model a similar topic that would focus on mental health providers and creating a profile or understanding of individuals based on cognitive development and abilities.
Cognitive psychology in a developmental lens will allow for research to explain cognition and inform any effects of brain damage on normal cognition. When abnormalities are formed or discovered treatment plans can be made vice versa when an individual exhibits high cognitive ability how does one function without compromising other domains of functioning.
Does cognition play into the effect of informing understanding of brain damage and/ or on normal cognition as past research has alluded to is that there is not enough research to conclude that what one theory is that environment does not play contributing factor and thus any theory is subjective(Confer, Easton, Fleischman, Goetz, Lewis, Perilloux, & Buss, 2010).
2.1 Analytical Literature
The Summon database was utilized to obtain literature due to ability for obtaining outsourced documents. Other data based that were utilized in obtaining information: PsycINFO Database, Google Scholar, and Capella’s Database A-Z. Keywords that were identified: collaborative care, cognitive psychology- Piaget, psychosocial psychology- Erickson, burnout, personal growth, communication, self-esteem, benefits of wraparound services.
The following literature suggests and supports my topic in explaining benefits of collaborative care as well as burnout within therapist and the associated characteristics per employees that experience burnout however do not expand on cognition and psychosocial stages (Ariyanto, Muluk, Newcombe, Piercy, Poerwandari, & Suradijono, 2018).
Interprofessional collaboration is an up and coming approach that has been deemed to
have many benefits however there is little to know research on the effects that therapists endure when providing services to the clients they serve (Helton, Funke, & Knott, 2014). By utilizing a developmental approach and understanding characteristics, the research could aid personal growth and prevent burnout and continually provide success to clients.
The Epistemological of social engagement and social theories can influence the collaboration with the understanding that there are factors that might be affected by: gender, age, socioeconomics, experience in the work field and cognitive deficits.
The axiology of the study can aid in the support of how individuals interact and how behaviors can be influence by others based on levels of cognition and psychosocial stages based on a needed evaluation of needs contingent on performance and characteristic traits of a common goal as well as how coworkers communicate and navigate through conflict (Helton, Funke, & Knott, 2014).
Paradigms are constantly being challenged and changing when applying grounded theory methods to research; it can be simply explained as a general way of interpreting information.
When using the terminology of qualitative and quantitative there are differences of how data is interpreted regarding relationships. Gathering additional data and using ontology, epistemology, and methodology one can know that those concepts are insistent with qualitative approaches (Hall, 2013).
When knowledge, values and understandings do not line up grounding theory methods can become convoluted and thus having data that is inconsistent and in turn having a non-desirable reputation.
In person evaluation it is important to have a qualitative approach however my current agency focuses on quantitative outcomes which then makes the job duties challenging when being pressured with X amount of productivity needing to be rich without compromising the quality of work.
3.1 General Research Approach
The suggested theoretical foundations upon the study is being designed to understand and explore the gap in literature. Elaborating on theories and concepts of developmental psychology: cognitive and psychosocial as well as parallel considerate of evolution and personal growth. The general research approach will be a qualitative approach utilizing in-depth interviews/ narrative and a needs assessment.
Participants will be humans who are in adulthood (18 yrs. & older) and assumed that being a mental health therapist has obtained a master’s degree or higher. Thus, demonstrating the basic cognitive skills: sensorimotor, preoperational, and concrete operational; what the study will be referenced is the formal operational skills: logical thinking, hypothetical/ future oriented thinking, and ability to create hypotheses and test.
The study will use standard multiple regression to answer and analyze cognitive abilities and psychosocial skills. The psychosocial stages being evaluate in the participants will be: young adulthood 19-40 (intimacy vs isolation) (relationships/love), middle adulthood 40-60 (generativity vs stagnation) (work and parenthood/care) and 65+ (ego integrity vs despair) (reflection on life/wisdom) (Clark, 2010). Research will identify and analyze age of participants, length of experience in the field as well as current cognitive stage and psychosocial stages. Additional questions that will be asked would be if there are any current risk factors and if so, what preventive measures have been taken.
The ethical steps and principles that you will employ during the research study will be set and adhered by the standards of the American Psychological Association and Capella University IRB, including appropriate boundaries, ethical principles, and application (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Research will need to be approved by the IRB and follow all guidelines such as seeking approval for appropriate participants and not cause harm. The population being studied: mental health therapists do not fit the criteria for vulnerable populations and will take appropriate precautions to not cause harm to the participants. Ways to eliminate harm will inquire and recruit volunteers, have the participants leave the interview at any time as well as provide full disclosure of the study and provided resources in the community that would be able to offer support to the process after the session. The data being collected will be in the form of an interview and needs assessments by this writer.
The research study will be planned and reviewed by peers, mentors, and the IRB as a preventative method for any misleading results. Researchers will be educated on ethical principles and code of conduct (APA, 2016) and will follow guidelines to protect all involved participants. Researchers will not release any information about the participants, keep all information behind two locking mechanisms, remove all identifying information and shred information when no longer needed.
Additionally, all research can provide significant data to management in understanding how practitioners contribute to program development. However, with all applications there can be undesirable outcomes such as presenting research to therapist and management and thus resulting in interagency conflict or contribute to a revolution to decrease motivation to continue to work. Overall the practical implications of this study provide further insight to agencies as well as statewide programming.
The study will refine/ add to developmental theory as well as to advance scientific knowledge with a further understanding of effective communication, agency expectations, best practices on how to work in a team setting. It shall be expected that improvement of the agency process as well as provide appropriate reflection of the mental health provider to further ensure growth of psychosocial stages and the need for additional developmental stages to occur or be refined.
When discussing validity in the psychology world there is terminology and concepts that rely as well as overlap in structure; psychometrics is different from a validity scale in a test of personality. Psychometrics is the measurement tool that collects data to make an informed decision such as a diagnosis whereas the validity of a personality test is based on the opinion of the test taker and based on their responses will compute a personality style. Assessments that I am considering utilizing are Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Beck depression scale, Standford-Binet Intelligence Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel.
Scales that are considered personality test would be the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or the Beck depression scale both test rely on the individual taking the test to answer to the best of their ability however validity is always challenged by several factors such as self-reporting bias meaning that the test taker is taking the questionnaire based on what they seem like are appropriate answers to line up with their wants of a personality whereas psychometric testing is based on evidence collected such as many Intelligent quotient (IQ) tests like the Standford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018).
Using American Educational Research Association (AERA)standards that focus on validity would be standard 8.2 “rights and responsibilities of test taker” which has been described as frontloading information to the individual taking the test/questionnaire, etc. (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014). When educating a test taker processes and intentions should be discussed as well as answer all questions that may arise.
One advantage of validity scales is receiving data and being able to have a direction of treatment however disadvantage concerning the use of validity scales could be recognized as questionnaires being misleading if the tester does not understand the test or answers questions incorrectly thus providing inaccurate data (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2018). The position that I take on using and interpreting validity scales on a measure of personality is that there should be assessments from the provider and from the individual who is receiving services this is to increase validity from multiple perspectives in order to provide the best interventions for treatment.
4.1 Research and Application
The need for research within developmental psychology has been indicated by the gap in research. Additionally, by addressing the gap in literature results can aid in practical use in the field. Theoretical implications that research can provide to the field of developmental psychology and children and adolescent development is understanding adult roles and their own development while providing wraparound services.
Further understanding of working mental health therapist working in a team setting will aid in providing added information of stages of cognition: communicate, understand goals and roles to indicate a delay or enhancement and to what degree if any (Traynor, Dobbins & DeCorby, 2015) as well as to explore procedures to maintain cohesiveness between all parties involved as a means to mitigate or prevent challenges in the workplace as factors indicated as: miscommunication, decision- making and burnout.
It can be suggested that mental health therapist are constantly in conditions highly stimulus and having to learn to acclimate in order to continue to provide services to clients; these therapists are interacting with new individuals and new situation in every encounter is original challenge of cognitive ability suggesting that individuals have the following skills: creative thinking, can embrace ambiguity, high levels of emotional intelligence and can shift focus. Exploring the emotional tasks at an early age (Social- Emotional Development) can cause advanced effects that are viewed negatively as well as correlating perceptions of an absence of early life exposure to high demands which could potentially have a lack of knowledge of systems and interpreting concepts thus having negative outcomes and vice versa. Individuals communicate based on cognitive abilities to remember/ process as well as psychosocial stages in which individuals communicate; analyzing routine tasks and those tasks that are new and could contribute to stress.
Practical implication from the research would provide significant data that developmental psychology will aid in understanding how therapist contribute to program development by increasing: workplace comradery, employee retention/longevity as well as personal growth and confidence by providing an opportunity of reflection of a mental health therapists in different psychosocial stage(s) and analyzes of further development.
The alternative: the research could present interagency conflict or contribute to a revolution to decreased motivation to continue to work. Individuals who are able to navigate through conflict demonstrate higher levels of cognition as well as reflect appropriate cognitive stages suggesting that through events in life will alter development and influence future perspectives and behaviors. Further research is needed to understand the balance of intrapsychic conflicts as well as how interpersonal relationships depend on the development of one’s self, specifically referencing Erickson psychosocial stages of development (Clark, 2010).
5.1 Conclusion
The study will attempt in understanding how mental health therapist improve the process in providing services to children and families, while working in a multi system of care while to creating a profile to predict lack of feedback from mental health therapy through the analysis of cognitive and psychosocial stages, and the control variables of gender, ethnicity, social economics and years in services. Doing so would aid research in recognizing employees who have low job satisfaction and/or burnout and aid in agencies who experience high turnover.
|
Taking Care of Earth Essay
Published: 2020-04-22 08:06:56
618 words
3 pages
printer Print
essay essay
Category: Art
Type of paper: Essay
Hey! We can write a custom essay for you.
All possible types of assignments. Written by academics
With greed, anything is possible. Humans are capable of killing each other to take control of oil wells, take over oily nations and the worst, humans, to have big profits from oil, do not think of the pollution it causes, especially to air and water. It also damage the habitat of ocean creatures when the oil is to be rigged and extracted. Without oil, no one would be too greedy to have it. 3. 1. Growing population causes loss of biodiversity.
Agriculture is considered by some agro-ecologists to be probably the single most important factor contributing to the general global decline in biodiversity. (Biodiversity Loss and Public NA) 3. 2 Ecosystem gets destroyed and becomes imbalanced caused by too many humans on earth. Humans must interfere with the natural ecosystem in order to survive and to support the growing number of lives on earth. Humans cause genetic erosion on plants and animal when humans force greater production and greater frequency of hatching to gain money and feed the earths population.
To reduce the above mentioned effects of growing population on earth, humans must think of sustainable way to exist and to continue to exist. This means reducing pollutants, garbage, protecting the environment and conserve any natural resources possible. This means no dumping garbage or candy wrappers in the drain, recycling of used motor oil, recycling water and everything recyclable, turning off lights and other electrical appliances when not needed.
Biodiversity Loss and Public Health;. Manila Bulletin 18 Mar. 2007: NA. Questia. 22 May 2008 .
We can write your paper just for 11.99$
i want to copy...
People also read |
La Bomba
Mass and Salad
Thousands of different reasons might have encouraged a sixteen-century musician to board a ship in a journey towards the New World, taking with him nothing but his family and the most precious musical compositions of his collection.
So we find around 1598 the Portuguese Gaspar Fernandes and the Spaniard Pedro Bermúdez at Guatemala cathedral as organist and chapel master, respectively. Along with his position as organist, Gaspar Fernandes was entrusted with collecting, organizing and coping into choir books the music that Guatemala cathedral had acquired over the previous hundred years.
The Missa de Bomba by Pedro Bermúdez was included in one of those books that Fernandes copied in 1602. This book has been lost but the piece survives thanks to a copy made by Manuel José de Quirós, chapel master at the same cathedral, in 1760.
Musical parody is a common practice of the Renaissance period and consists simply in employing and varying an existing musical them in a new setting. Thus, Bermúdez’s Missa de Bomba uses the initial them of the Ensalada La Bomba by Mateo Flecha “el viejo” (the elder). The Ensalada (salad) is a poetic-musical form that mixes different rhythms, languages and topics in a, although mostly religious, very humorous way.
Mateo Flecha “el viejo” is considered to be, along-with Pedro Villa, the most important salad composer of the sixteenth century. His salad La Bomba (The Pump) tells the story of a shipwreck whose desperate crew screams and cries seeking divine salvation. Pump! Pump the water out! shouts the first phrase, as they hope to empty the boat.
Our program includes both La Bomba salad and the Missa de Bomba, along with other works by composers whose music was played in Guatemala cathedral, including Gaspar Fernandes, Francisco Guerrero and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
I Fedeli performs this program with four mail solo singers, four wind instruments (two cornettos, trombone and dulcian), harp and organ, all instruments well documented in Guatemala and Puebla cathedrals where both Bermúdez and Fernandes worked.
|
Aristotle Research Report #15: Taking up Aristotle's Causes
In recent times, Aristotle is often criticized for holding back the progress of science for two thousand years. (As Armand Leroi argues in his book The Lagoon based on the research of scholars like David Balme, Allan Gotthelf, and James Lennox, this is rather wrongheaded, given that Aristotle founded the science of biology!) One of the ways Aristotle is alleged to have gone astray is in his "doctrine of the four causes" (especially, we're told, the so-called "final cause" which involves impossibilities like backward causation); although I'm always suspicious when someone attributes a "doctrine" to Aristotle, it's worth looking carefully at what Aristotle actually said instead of relying on shallow or antagonistic summaries.
First, even the term "cause" can be misleading, since in modern physical sciences it conjures up images of billiard balls and inclined planes. The Greek word here is αἰτία, which I prefer to translate as "ground": looking at things from the perspective of epistemology, we can ask ourselves about the grounds for explaining why something is the way it is.
Second, the names for the four cases (efficient, material, formal, and final) come from Latin, which always worries me because Latinate terminology often bakes in assumptions from Neo-Platonism and scholastic theology. Let's take them one by one. (I base much of what follows on the fine analysis by Monte Ransome Johnson in his book Aristotle on Teleology.)
The efficient cause maps most closely to our modern notion of causation. The term that Aristotle often uses is ὅθεν, literally "whence" or "from which". For Aristotle, this is the active entity that brings a thing into being or that makes a thing change. Typically this active entity is external to the "passive" entity that is made or changed: the parents make a baby, the builder makes a house, etc. However, the active entity can also be internal: the person who deliberates brings about their own actions. For details, see On Nature (the "Physics"), Book 2, Chapter 3.
The material cause brings to mind our modern theories of materialism, whether reductive or eliminative. Yet let's look at Aristotle's examples from the same book: a syllable is made up of letters, a living body is made up of liquids and solids, a plant or animal is made of its various organic parts (hand, eye, heart, etc.), and even a conclusion in logic is made up of its premises. Clearly, these grounds are not all material in the modern sense.
The formal cause is in Greek the εἶδος or what I prefer to translate as the "way of being" or identity of a thing. The strange technical phrase Aristotle uses is τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι or "what it has been to be a thing", which in Latin philosophy was translated as "essentia" (whence "essence" in English). One example from Aristotle is the musical octave: what it is to be the octave is to have a ratio of two to one. Similarly, the form of a house is the architectural plan according to which it was built. In biology, the εἶδος is a living being's βίος or way of life.
This brings us to the final cause. Many scholars have written books and articles on this topic, but in brief this is what Aristotle calls τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα or "that for the sake of which". Grammatically this phrase can be used with the dative case in the sense of the aim of something or with the genitive case in the sense of the beneficiary of something. For example, Aristotle says that the eye is for the sake of the activity of seeing (the "aim" or function or adaptive value of the eye is seeing); he also says that the activity of seeing is for the sake of the animal that sees because it is beneficial to have sight (e.g., to find food or avoid prey).
Here is a simple example that summarizes these different grounds for a given phenomenon. Think of a feast or a trip to your favorite restaurant: the thing that moves you to go (the "efficient cause") is hunger; the meal is made up out of food and drink (the "material cause"); the activity of eating and of course talking with other people is part of the human way of life (the "formal cause") since we are social animals who engage in discourse; and that for the sake of which you and your fellow revelers participate (the "final cause") has two aspects: the aim is living well (eudaimonia) and the beneficiaries are the people involved. With regard to the last two of these grounds, we can contrast the human way of eating with that of, say, a herd animal like cattle, who graze in the same field but don't have reason-and-speech (λόγος) and therefore eat together for the sake of living but not for the sake of living well (cf. Nicomachean Ethics 1170b11). Here the "formal cause" and "final cause" give different grounds for a similar phenomenon based on the natures of the beings who engage in the activity.
There's much more to say on this topic, of course, but this little outline at least gives a sense of the issues involved.
(By the way, I just finished reading the last book on my list for the research underlying Complete Yourself: Aristotle on Human Fulfillment; now I have only a few dozen individual scholarly articles to work through. I'm getting there...)
Peter Saint-Andre > Journal |
It Takes a World to End a Pandemic
Great article for discussing the production of scientific knowledge, shared knowledge, and also the new knowledge and technology theme.
Scientific Cooperation Knows No Boundaries—Fortunately
Infectious diseases, it is commonly said, know no borders, and neither does the knowledge needed to fight them. Scientists around the world routinely share information and collaborate across borders. The current pandemic has scientists working together on platforms such as Slack, and using new tools, such as machine learning, to rapidly detect the novel coronavirus in tests that use large amounts data from multiple sources. This outbreak has demonstrated in real time how scientific understanding can indeed be a global public good.
Who Should Be Saved First? Experts Offer Ethical Guidance
This article gets into a lot of the relevant issues of medical ethics and uses appropriate ethical language in the discussion. I’m working with this in my class today (remotely). Here’s the worksheet I’m using today.
TOK day 53
This also connects to some questions that came up after Hurricane Katrina put a hospital in New Orleans in a situation in which it had to make similar decisions about life and death.
12 Katrina Hospital Ethics
Who Gets the Ventilator?
Lastly, there is a recent Freakonomics Podcast about this very question that brings together a variety of perspectives on this question.
Link to page
Italians over 80 ‘will be left to die’ as country overwhelmed by coronavirus
Please ignore the sensational headline but the article connects to many discussions that relate issues around ethics and public policy. This is a real life application of a form of “trolley problem” playing out in real life. This goes back to some of the choices faced by a hospital in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When forced to make decisions about whose lives to save, how do we decide?
“The criteria for access to intensive therapy in cases of emergency must include age of less than 80 or a score on the Charlson comorbidity Index [which indicates how many other medical conditions the patient has] of less than 5.”
The ability of the patient to recover from resuscitation will also be considered.
One doctor said: “[Who lives and who dies] is decided by age and by the [patient’s] health conditions. This is how it is in a war.”
An algorithm that can spot cause and effect could supercharge medical AI
How do we make better use of this piecemeal information? Computers are great at spotting patterns—but that’s just correlation. In the last few years, computer scientists have invented a handful of algorithms that can identify causal relations within single data sets. But focusing on single data sets is like looking through keyholes. What’s needed is a way to take in the whole view.
How to Counter the Circus of Pseudoscience
“That is also the case for other health professionals whose practice is based on science, like qualified dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists. Guidelines are revised, advice is reversed — on blood pressure, diet, hormone replacement, opioid prescribing. This can be immensely frustrating for patients, even though it is what we must do to provide the best possible treatment.”
Soon We’ll Cure Diseases With a Cell, Not a Pill | Siddhartha Mukherjee | TED Talks
How are models used in medicine? How does a faulty or limited model negatively impact our approaches to treating the human body? Really great TED talk about these questions
This is why you shouldn’t believe that exciting new medical study
Freakonomics Podcast: Bad Medicine, Parts 1, 2, and 3: The Story of 98.6, Drug Trials, and Death Diagnosis
Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
“By some estimates, medical error is the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. How can that be? And what’s to be done? Our third and final episode in this series offers some encouraging answers.”
Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare
Book about medical reaseach, common fallacies and problems, and what makes good science when it comes to medicine. Worth reading just for the introduction.
“Medicine shouldn’t be about authority, and the most important question anyone can ask on any claim is simple: ‘how do you know?’ This book is about the answer to that question. There has been a huge shift in the way that people who work in medicine relate to patients. In the distant past, ‘communications skills training’, such as it was, consisted of how not to tell your patient they were dying of cancer. Today we teach students – and this is a direct quote from the hand-outs – how to ‘work collaboratively with the patient towards an optimum health outcome’. Today, if they wish, at medicine’s best, patients are involved in discussing and choosing their own treatments. For this to happen, it’s vital that everyone understands how we know if a treatment works, how we know if it has harms, and how we weigh benefits against harms to determine the risk. Sadly doctors can fall short on this, as much as anybody else. Even more sadly, there is a vast army out there, queuing up to mislead us”
Screen Shot 2016-09-28 at 10.07.44 AM.png
“We are trying to teach children that stories are usually an unreliable basis for assessing the effect of treatments,” Nsangi explained, adding that stories amount to anecdotal evidence. The kids are also learning to watch out for the perverting effects of conflicts of interest, and to recognize that all treatments carry both harms and benefits and that large, dramatic effects from a treatment are really, really rare. |
Equation for rate of change in mass
Force, mass and acceleration are everyday words, but are often used inaccurately. Force is a Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object in the same straight line of the It is summarized by the equation: Force ( N) = mass (kg) the performance of a rocket. A large fraction (typically 90%) of the mass of a rocket is propellant, thus it is important to consider the change in mass of the vehicle as it accelerates. where $ \dot{m}$ is the propellant mass flow rate, we have How to Calculate. Step 1: Subtract one value from the other. Step 2: Then divide by what? Percentage Change: Divide by the Old Value; Percentage Error:
The mass flow rate of a system is a measure of the mass of fluid passing a point in the ( ˙ m) system per unit time. The mass flow rate is related to the volumetric 13 Oct 2019 So, the first thing to determine when finding the percent of change is whether Mass percentage represents the concentration of a sample. mass of moving fluid we should use so we use a different form of the equation. Newton's 2nd Law can be written: The Rate of change of momentum of a body is Einstein interpreted the combination gamma * m0 to be the mass of an object in motion. This is why the equation is usually quoted simply as E = mc2. Newton's second law of motion defines force as the product of mass times Multiplying both sides of this equation by time: force x They are related by the fact that force is the rate at which momentum changes with respect to time (F = dp /dt). 12 Jan 2018 12.3.1 Rocket Equation in Gravity-free Space . Solution: We shall analyze the momentum changes in the horizontal direction, which we call the x -direction. bottom is opened to let the sand flow out at the constant rate. /s.
Siyavula's open Physical Sciences Grade 12 textbook, chapter 7 on Rate And we can graph the data (Figure 7.5) and hence determine the rate of the reaction. Figure 7.7: A change in mass indicating the loss of a gas (photo by tjmwatson
The mass flow rate is the change in mass per unit time. I This physics video tutorial provides a basic introduction into mass flow rate and volume flow rate. Skip navigation a) Compute the rate of change dm/dt of the mass m(t) that flows through a cross-section of the pipe of normal area A with speed v. b) Assuming that this mass rate dm/dt show more A pipe has variable cross-section of area A and carries a flow of compressible. gas with density ρ which depends on the position along the pipe. The mass flow rate () is defined as the amount of mass flowing through a cross-section per unit time. The mass flow rate of a fluid flowing in or out of a pipe or duct is proportional to the cross-sectional area (A) of the pipe or duct, the density of the fluid (ρ), and the velocity of the flow (V). The time rate of change of this mass is then . dM dt. Therefore, V dM d dV dt dt = ∫ρ (3) Now, we need to develop a result for the net rate of entry of fluid into the control volume through the control surface. For this, we consider the differential area element . dA. If the In physics, jerk or jolt is the rate at which an object's acceleration changes with respect to time. It is a vector quantity (having both magnitude and direction). Jerk is commonly denoted by the symbol j {\displaystyle j} and expressed in m/s 3 ( SI units ) or standard gravities per second ( g /s).
Rearrange the formula to solve for the mass (m) and then for the volume (v). Start with the formula This steady rate of change is called the constant of variation.
13 Nov 2019 of derivatives from the previous chapter (i.e. rates of change) that we Determine all the points where the following function is not changing.
Percentage Change: show that change as a percent of the old value so divide by the old value and make it a percentage: So the percentage change from 5 to 7 is: 2/5 = 0.4 = 40%.
That slope is knows as the rate of change. The slope of the line that connects the points of the line. The rate of change to the coordinates of y to coordinates of x in slope can found out if the coordinates of any two points is given. The mass flow rate is the change in mass per unit time. I This physics video tutorial provides a basic introduction into mass flow rate and volume flow rate. Skip navigation
Mass balance equations are formal statements of the and/or where the rate of change is important, mass balances are written in terms of rates rather.
Key Points Reaction rate is calculated using the formula rate = Δ[C]/Δt, where Δ[C] is the change in product concentration during time period Δt. The rate of reaction can be observed by watching the disappearance of a reactant or the appearance of a product over time. Now, rate of change of momentum means change in momentum with respect to time is defined as force. F = dP/dt = d(mv)/dt. Now, momentum can be changed in a number of ways. Mass remains constant and velocity changes. In this case formula will become; F = d(mv)/dt = m*dv/dt = ma (I’m explaining this a later on.) rate of change in monentum = (mv - mu /t) where ‘m’ is mass, ‘u’ is intital velocity, ‘v’ is final velocity and ’t’ is time. = m( v-u) /t =ma since a (acceleration)= v-u/t
Calculating percentage change and expressing an increase or decrease. ( ΔV / | V1| ) * 100 = ((V2 - V1) / |V1|) * 100 = percentage change. Positive percentage |
1920-1921 Ad - History
1920-1921 Ad - History
World History 1920-1921 AD
Finland Independent, Ireland Granted Home Rule, Kapp Putsch Fails, Gandhi -Independence Movement, Palestine Becomes British Mandate, Syria Becomes French Mandate, Prohibition Begun, Participate in League of Nations rejected, Women's Suffrage, Modern Turkey Founded, Aircraft Sink Battleship, Washington Naval Convention, US Burea of Budget, Reza Khan Ruler of Persia, Mongolion People's Government, Faisal Iraqi King, Immigration Quota, Treaty of Dorpat
1920 Finland Gains Independence Form Ussr -(12/6/20) Finland declared its independence on December 6th, 1917. First, however, a civil war ensued between Finnish Bolsheviks and their opponents. The opponents won after a difficult fight. In 1919, war broke out between Finland and the Soviet Union. The conflict was resolved by the Treaty of Dorpat, signed on October 14, 1920. This treaty reaffirmed Finland's independence.
1920 Ireland Granted Home Rule -(12/23/20) The British Parliament passed the Government Act. The Act called for the creation of separate parliaments in Northern and Southern Ireland. Each part of Ireland was also to retain its representation in the British Parliament. The Act was accepted in Northern Ireland. In the South, the Irish independence movement Sinn Fein won all but four seats in the new parliament.
1920 Kapp Putsch Fails -(3/13-17/20)Right wing forces, led by Wolfgang Kapp, attempted to overthrow the Weimar government. When the Socialists and Communists called a general strike, the leader realized they could not successfully overthrow the government.
1920 Gandhi Leader of Indian Independence Movement -Gandhi began a nationwide speaking campaign to enlist support for the non-cooperation movement. Indians were urged to boycott foreign goods, schools, law courts, official functions and the military. The Congress organization approved Gandhi's program and converted the movement into one whose official goal was the attainment of self-rule for India by peaceful and legitimate methods.
1920 Palestine Becomes British Mandate-Under terms agreed to at the Versailles Conference, the British government was given the mandate for Palestine. The conditions of the mandate were to be based on the terms set forth in the Balfour Declaration, with the exception that the Declaration would not apply to the area of Transjordan.
1920 Syria Becomes French Mandate -The Syrian National Congress declared its complete independence. However, Syria had been promised to the French. The League of Nations officially confirmed the French mandate, and French forces took Damascus by force. They had previously created a separate state out of Lebanon, which had a substantial Christian population.
1920 Prohibition Begun-(1/16/20) The Senate and House overrode the veto of President Wilson and enacted into law a bill outlawing the production, sale and transportation of all forms of liquor.
1920 Participate in League of Nations rejected-(11/19/20) On November 19th, the US Senate voted 53-38 against the Versailles Treaty. Approval would have resulted in American participation in the League of Nations. This participation was opposed by many as an infringement on American sovereignty.
1920 Women's Suffrage-(8/26/20) With the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, women finally gained the right to vote.
1921 Modern Turkey Founded -During World War I, Turkey had sided with Germany and Austria-Hungary; and as one of the defeated powers, the Ottoman Empire was forced to give up its remaining non-Turkish lands. On May 19th, one of Turkey's few heroes of the war, Mustapha Kemal Pasha, began organizing resistance to the further dismemberment of Turkey by the victorious powers. This led to his dismissal by the Sultan. Mustapha Kemal Pasha then went on to establish a Nationalist party. The Nationalists put forth a multi-point program including self-determination, security of Constantinople, opening of the Dardanelle Straits, rights for minorities and non-capitulation to any additional demands made by foreign powers.
The Nationalists won a subsequent election, and their program was adopted by the Parliament. In an attempt to stop the increasing influence of the Nationalists, the allies occupied Constantinople in March 1920 and dissolved the Parliament. The Nationalists then set up a provisional government at Ankara. In June, the Greeks initiated open warfare against the Nationalists. In August, the Sultan's government agreed to and signed the Treaty of Severes, actions which were denounced by the Nationalists. On January 20th, the Nationalists adopted a set of fundamental laws that became the foundation of the modern state of Turkey. These laws provided for the sovereignty of the people, a parliament elected by male suffrage, and a president with extensive powers.
1921 Reza Khan Becomes Ruler of Persia- (2/22/21) Reza Khan arrived in Teheran on February 22, commanding an army of 4,000 troops. His forces toppled the government and he became the new leader of Persia. His government renounced its agreement with the British. Reza Khan then entered into an agreement with the Soviets that called for the Soviets to withdraw from Persia and allowed Persia to abrogate all concessions. In 1925, Reza Khan became Reza Shah Pahlavi. He followed a policy of modernization and development in Persia.
1921 Mongolean People's Government Established -(7/6/21) With the support of the Soviet Union, the Mongolian Peoples Revolutionary Government was established. The new government was established after the White Russians were defeated.
1921 Faisal Becomes Iraqi King -(8/23/21)The British received the mandate for Iraq. An insurrection resulted,which lasted six months, until the British were able to put it down, in December 1920. In June 1921, Emir Faisal, formerly the King of Syria, arrived in Iraq. Faisal was soon proclaimed King of Iraq. He remained on the Iraqi throne until 1933.
1921 Immigration Quota -(5/19/21) For the first time, the United States passed a restrictive immigration quota. The quota was designed to maintain the "character" of the United States. It apportioned immigration certificates based on the population of the United States in the year 1910.
1921 US Burea of Budget -In 1921, President Harding established the Bureau of the Budget. The bureau, for the first time, placed formal restrictions on the spending of government funds. The Bureau of the Budget later became the Office of Management and Budget.
1921 Washington Naval Convention -(12/13/21)The United States, Britain, Japan, France and Italy met and agreed on a treaty limiting naval powers. The treaty called for a ratio of naval ships of 5 to 5 to 3 to 1.7 to 1.7. Thus, for every 5 large ships of the US and Britain, Japan could have 3 ships, and France and Italy, 1.7. The United States agreed to scuttle 30 war ships as a result of the treaty.
1921 Aircraft Sink Battleship -(9/23/21) The US Battleship "Alabama" was sunk on September 23rd, by Army Air Service. The battleship, which had to be destroyed anyway, was the subject of a test to determine the effectiveness of planes against ships. Leading the attack was Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. Mitchell claimed that surface ships were doomed when facing aircraft.
Developed on Indian Territory
Courtesy of Tulsa Historical Society & Museum
Flu Season
In the United States, 𠇏lu season” generally runs from late fall into spring. In a typical year, more than 200,000 Americans are hospitalized for flu-related complications, and over the past three decades, there have been some 3,000 to 49,000 flu-related U.S. deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A flu pandemic, such as the one in 1918, occurs when an especially virulent new influenza strain for which there’s little or no immunity appears and spreads quickly from person to person around the globe.
The early 20th century in Ireland was dominated by Irish nationalists' pursuit of Home Rule from the United Kingdom. The issue of Home Rule was shelved with the outbreak of World War I, and in 1916 Irish republicans staged the Easter Rising against British rule in an attempt to establish an independent republic. Growing support amongst the Irish populace for the republican Sinn Féin party saw it win a majority of Irish seats in the 1918 general election. On 21 January 1919, Sinn Féin followed through on its manifesto and founded an independent Irish parliament (Dáil Éireann), which then declared an independent Irish Republic. [13] The Dáil called on the public to boycott the RIC, while the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began attacking police barracks and ambushing police patrols. In September 1919 David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, outlawed the Dáil and augmented the British Army presence in Ireland. [14]
After the First World War, there were many unemployed ex-servicemen in Britain. British Unionist leader Walter Long had suggested recruiting these men into the RIC in a May 1919 letter to John French, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. [15] The idea was promoted by French as well as by Frederick Shaw, Commander of the British Army in Ireland. The RIC's Inspector General, Joseph Byrne, was against it. He resisted the militarization of the police and believed ex-soldiers could not be controlled by police discipline. In December 1919, Byrne was replaced by his deputy T. J. Smith, an Orangeman. On 27 December, Smith issued an order authorizing recruitment in Britain. [15] The advertisements appeared in major cities calling for men willing to "face a rough and dangerous task". The first British recruits joined the RIC six days later, on 2 January 1920. [15]
Recruits Edit
About 10,000 were recruited between January 1920 and the end of the conflict. [16] [17] [6] About 100 were recruited each month from January to June 1920. The recruitment rate rose from July, when the RIC was given a large pay raise. [18] The RIC began losing men at a high rate in the summer of 1920, due to the IRA campaign. On an average week, about 100 men resigned or retired while only 76 recruits enlisted to replace them. More police were needed, but enough replacements could not be found in Ireland on average, the RIC recruited only seven Irishmen per week. [19] The intake of British recruits steadily rose and then surged from late September, following the widely publicized Sack of Balbriggan. [18]
This sudden influx of men led to a shortage of RIC uniforms, and the new recruits were issued with khaki army uniforms (usually only trousers) and dark green RIC tunics, caps and belts. These uniforms differentiated them from both the regular RIC and the British Army, and gave rise to their nickname: "Black and Tans". Christopher O'Sullivan wrote in the Limerick Echo on 25 March 1920 that, meeting a group of recruits on a train at Limerick Junction, the attire of one reminded him of the Scarteen Hunt, whose "Black and Tans" nickname derived from the colours of its Kerry Beagles. [20] Ennis comedian Mike Nono elaborated the joke in Limerick's Theatre Royal, and the nickname soon took hold, [20] persisting even after the men received full RIC uniforms.
The new recruits were trained at Gormanstown Camp near Dublin, most spending two or three weeks there before being sent to RIC barracks around the country. In general, the recruits were poorly trained for police duties and received much less training than the existing Irish RIC constables. [21]
The vast majority of Black and Tans were unemployed First World War veterans in their twenties, most of whom joined for economic reasons. [22] The RIC offered men good wages, a chance for promotion, and the prospect of a pension. [23] According to historian David Leeson, "The typical Black and Tan was in his early twenties and relatively short in stature. He was an unmarried Protestant from London or the Home Counties who had fought in the British Army [. ] He was a working-class man with few skills". [24] The popular Irish claim made at the time that most Black and Tans had criminal records and had been recruited straight from British prisons is incorrect, as a criminal record would disqualify one from working as a policeman. [22] According to Jim Herlihy, author of The Royal Irish Constabulary – A Short History and Genealogical Guide, 10,936 Black and Tans were recruited, of whom 883 (8%) were born in Ireland. [6] Based on RIC recruitment data stored in the British Public Record Office at Kew, William Lowe estimates that 20% of Black and Tans, and 10% of auxiliaries, were Irish, with 55% of these giving their religion as Catholic. [5]
The British government also founded a new Auxiliary Division of the RIC, which was also composed mostly of British recruits. While the Black and Tans were recruited into the RIC as regular constables, the Auxiliaries were an offensive "paramilitary force composed of ex British military and naval officers, dressed in distinctive uniforms and organised in military style companies. officially temporary cadets paid and ranked as RIC sergeants". [25] At least some of the crimes attributed to the Black and Tans were actually the work of the Auxiliaries. [26] However, sometimes the term "Black and Tans" covered both groups. [3]
Black and Tans served in all parts of Ireland, but most were sent to southern and western regions where the IRA was most active and fighting was heaviest. [27] By 1921, Black and Tans made up nearly half of all RIC constables in County Tipperary, for example. [27] Few were sent to what became Northern Ireland, however. [27] The authorities there raised their own reserve force, the Ulster Special Constabulary. For the most part, the Black and Tans were "treated as ordinary constables, despite their strange uniforms, and they lived and worked in barracks alongside the Irish police". They spent most of their time manning police posts or on patrol—"walking, cycling, or riding on Crossley Tenders". [28] They also undertook guard, escort and crowd control duties. While some Irish constables got along well with the Black and Tans, "it seems that many Irish police did not like their new British colleagues" and saw them as "rough". [29]
Alexander Will, [30] from Forfar in Scotland, was the first Black and Tan to die in the conflict. He was killed during an IRA attack on the RIC barracks in Rathmore, County Kerry, on 11 July 1920.
The Black and Tans soon gained a reputation for brutality. [31] [32] In the summer of 1920, Black and Tans began responding to IRA attacks by carrying out arbitrary reprisals against civilians, especially republicans. This usually involved the burning of homes, businesses, meeting halls and farms. Some buildings were also attacked with gunfire and grenades, and businesses were looted. Reprisals on property "were often accompanied by beatings and killings". Many villages suffered mass reprisals, including the Sack of Balbriggan (20 September), Kilkee (26 September), Trim (27 September), Tubbercurry (30 September) and Granard (31 October). [33] [34] Following the Rineen ambush (22 September) in which six RIC men were killed, police burned many houses in the surrounding villages of Milltown Malbay, Lahinch and Ennistymon, and killed five civilians. [35] In early November, Black and Tans "besieged" Tralee in revenge for the IRA abduction and killing of two local RIC men. They closed all the businesses in the town, let no food in for a week and shot dead three local civilians. On 14 November, Black and Tans were suspected of abducting and murdering a Roman Catholic priest, Father Michael Griffin, in Galway. His body was found in a bog in Barna a week later. From October 1920 to July 1921, the Galway region was "remarkable in many ways", most notably the level of police brutality towards suspected IRA members, which was far above the norm in the rest of Ireland. [22] The villages of Clifden and Knockcroghery suffered mass reprisals in March and June 1921.
Members of the British government, the British administration in Ireland, and senior officers in the RIC tacitly supported reprisals as a way of scaring the population into rejecting the IRA. In December 1920, the government officially approved certain reprisals against property. There were an estimated 150 official reprisals over the next six months. [36] Taken together with an increased emphasis on discipline in the RIC, this helped to curb the random atrocities the Black and Tans committed for the remainder of the war, if only because reprisals were now directed from above rather than being the result of a spontaneous desire for revenge. [37]
Many of the activities popularly attributed to the Black and Tans may have been committed by the Auxiliary Division or 'old' RIC constables. For instance, Tomás Mac Curtain, the Mayor of Cork, was assassinated in March 1920 by local RIC men under the command of an Inspector General who had been a 'plague on the local Catholic population'. The Burning of Cork city on 11 December 1920 was carried out by K Company of the Auxiliary Division, in reprisal for an IRA ambush at Dillon's Cross. [38] The shooting dead by Crown forces of 13 civilians at Croke Park on Bloody Sunday, in retaliation for the killing of British intelligence officers was carried out by a mixed force of military, Auxiliaries and RIC, though it is not clear who initiated the shooting. [39] In the aftermath, "The army blamed the Auxiliaries and the Auxiliaries blamed the regular police". [40] Most Republicans did not make a distinction, and "Black and Tans" was often used as a catch-all term for all police groups.
Reaction Edit
The actions of the Black and Tans alienated public opinion in both Ireland and Great Britain. Their violent tactics encouraged the Irish public to increase their covert support of the IRA, while the British public pressed for a move towards a peaceful resolution.
In January 1921, the British Labour Commission produced a report on the situation in Ireland which was highly critical of the government's security policy. It said the government, in forming the Black and Tans, had "liberated forces which it is not at present able to dominate". [37] Edward Wood MP, better known as the future Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, rejected force and urged the British government to make an offer to the Irish "conceived on the most generous lines". [41] Sir John Simon MP, another future Foreign Secretary, was also horrified at the tactics being used. Lionel Curtis, writing in the imperialist journal The Round Table, wrote: "If the British Commonwealth can only be preserved by such means, it would become a negation of the principle for which it has stood". [42] The King, senior Anglican bishops, MPs from the Liberal and Labour parties, Oswald Mosley, Jan Smuts, the Trades Union Congress and parts of the press were increasingly critical of the actions of the Black and Tans. Mahatma Gandhi said of the British peace offer: "It is not fear of losing more lives that has compelled a reluctant offer from England but it is the shame of any further imposition of agony upon a people that loves liberty above everything else". [43]
More than a third left the service before they were disbanded along with the rest of the RIC in 1922, an extremely high wastage rate, and well over half received government pensions. Over 500 members of the RIC died in the conflict and more than 600 were wounded. Some sources have stated that 525 police were killed in the conflict, including 152 Black and Tans and 44 Auxiliaries. [6] This figure of total police killed would also include 72 members of the Ulster Special Constabulary killed between 1920 and 1922 [44] and 12 members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. [45]
Many Black and Tans were left unemployed after the RIC was disbanded and about 3,000 were in need of financial assistance after their employment in Ireland was terminated. [46] About 250 Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, among over 1,300 former RIC personnel, joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Another 700 joined the Palestine Police Force which was led by former RIC head, Henry Hugh Tudor. Others were resettled in Canada or elsewhere by the RIC Resettlement branch. [46] Those who returned to civilian life sometimes had problems re-integrating. At least two former Black and Tans were hanged for murder in Britain and another (Scott Cullen) wanted for murder committed suicide before the police could arrest him. [47]
Due to the Tans' behaviour in Ireland, feelings continue to run high regarding their actions. The term can still stir bad reactions because of their remembered brutality. [48] One of the best known Irish Republican songs is Dominic Behan's "Come out Ye Black and Tans". The Irish War of Independence is sometimes referred to as the "Tan War" or "Black-and-Tan War." This term was preferred by those who fought on the anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War and is still used by Republicans today. The "Cogadh na Saoirse" ("War of Independence") medal, awarded since 1941 by the Irish government to IRA veterans of the War of Independence, bears a ribbon with two vertical stripes in black and tan. [49] [50]
…The movie industry of the early 1900s, during the silent film era, was not the star-centered commercial enterprise it is today. Most actors, in fact, labored in obscurity. And film makers liked it that way. The film studios then were out to produce a cheap, standardized product and part of the strategy was to keep actors anonymous and low paid. But that was about to change…
In early September 2007, a rare sports trading card depicting the famous Pittsburgh baseball player Honus Wagner was sold at auction to an anonymous private collector for a $2.8 million — a record sales price.
Tulsa Race Massacre begins
Beginning on the night of May 31, 1921, thousands of white citizens in Tulsa, Oklahoma descended on the city’s predominantly Black Greenwood District, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing hundreds of people. Long mischaracterized as a race riot, rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre stands as one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the nation’s history.
In the years following World War I, segregation was the law of the land, and the Ku Klux Klan was gaining ground—not only in the Jim Crow South, but across the United States. Amid that charged environment, Tulsa’s African American community was nationally recognized for its affluence. The Greenwood District, known as 𠇋lack Wall Street,” boasted more than 300 Black-owned businesses, including two movie theaters, doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
LISTEN:lindspot: Tulsa Burningਏrom The HISTORY® Channel and WNYC Studios
On May 30, 1921, a young Black man named Dick Rowland entered an elevator in an office building in downtown Tulsa. At some point, Rowland was alone in the elevator with its white operator, Sarah Page. It’s unclear what happened next (one common version is that Rowland stepped on Page’s foot) but Page screamed, and Rowland fled the scene. The next day, the police arrested him.
Rumors about the incident spread quickly through Tulsa’s white community, some members of which undoubtedly resented the prosperity of the Greenwood District. After a story published in the Tulsa Tribune on the afternoon of May 31 claimed that Rowland had attempted to rape Page, an angry white mob gathered in front of the courthouse, demanding that Rowland be handed over.
Seeking to prevent a lynching, a group of some 75 Black men arrived on the scene that night, some of them World War I veterans who were carrying weapons. After a white man tried to disarm a Black veteran and the gun went off, chaos broke out.
Over the next 24 hours, thousands of white rioters poured into the Greenwood District, shooting unarmed Black citizens in the streets and burning an area of some 35 city blocks, including more than 1,200 Black-owned houses, numerous businesses, a school, a hospital and a dozen churches. Historians believe as many as 300 people were killed in the rampage, though official counts at the time were much lower.
By the time Governor James Robertson declared martial law, and National Guard troops arrived in Tulsa by noon on June 1, the Greenwood District lay in ruins. Survivors of the massacre worked to rebuild the neighborhood, but segregation remained in force in Tulsa (and the nation) and racial tensions only grew, even as the massacre and its lingering scars were left largely unacknowledged by the white community for decades to come.
In 1997, the Oklahoma state legislature created the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 (later renamed the Tulsa Race Massacre Commission), which studied the massacre and recommended that reparations be paid to the remaining Black survivors. City officials continue to investigate the events of May 31-June 1, 1921, and to search for unmarked graves used to bury the massacre’s many victims.
Timeline of the Roaring 20s
The Charleston swept the nation, and Time magazine was founded.
In 1924, the first Olympic Winter Games took place in Chamonix and Haute-Savoie, France J. Edgar Hoover was appointed the first director of the F.B.I. Vladimir Lenin died, and the trial of Richard Leopold and Nathan Loeb shocked and riveted the country.
The Scopes (Monkey) Trial was 1925's top news story. Flapper dresses were all the rage for modern women, and those women were called flappers the American entertainer Josephine Baker moved to France and became a sensation and Hitler's "Mein Kampf" was published, as was F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
The year 1927 was a red-letter one: Babe Ruth set a home run record that would stand for 70 years the first talkie, "The Jazz Singer," was released Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in the "Spirit of St. Louis" and the BBC was founded.
The most significant development in men’s fashion occurred in two unique kinds of trousers: the Oxford bags and the plus-fours. Oxford bags grew in popularity around 1924-25 when undergraduates at Oxford adopted these wide-legged trousers. Though the origin of the style is contentious, it is generally agreed that it derived from the trousers that rowers on Oxford’s crew teams pulled on over their shorts, and you can see how The Bystander satirized this in 1924 (Fig. 2). The original style was about 22 inches wide at the bottom, several inches wider than the average men’s trouser leg. Oxford undergraduates began wearing these around the university and soon the style spread. As the style spread, so too did the width of the trouser legs until at one point they reached up to 44 inches wide. The trousers were made out of flannel and came in a variety of colors. They were mostly worn by youths – perhaps the male counterparts of the flapper – and became a favorite of Britain’s “Bright Young People,” a group of wealthy, aristocrats known for their antics in London’s nightlife.
The other development in menswear in the twenties was the plus-fours. Plus-fours developed out of ordinary knickers – short-legged trousers that gather around the knee – and like Oxford bags were a bit baggier version of their precursor. They had four extra inches of material (hence the name) but instead of extending the trouser leg, they still fastened around the knee and the extra material hung over the band, creating the baggy look as seen at a racecourse in 1920 (Fig. 3). Often worn with a sweater, plus-fours were popular golf attire, but much like how tennis-wear crept into casual womenswear, this style was also popular daywear for men, as was tennis-wear for men, too. You can see the casual way men dressed to play tennis, though some still wore ties in 1920 (Fig. 4).
Fig. 1 - Artist unknown. Fashion Plate, 1920-1939. New York: Costume Institute Fashion Plates. Source: The Met Digital Collections
…On April 27th, 1947, more than 58,000 fans packed Yankee Stadium to honor former New York Yankee baseball star Babe Ruth… It was 20 years since he had set baseball’s most revered record — hitting an unheard-of 60 home runs in one season — and it was more than a dozen years since he had been an active player… Still, on this Babe Ruth Day, the fans loved him…
Watch the video: Советская Россия 1920-1921 гг. и английский шпион. (January 2022). |
This Year Will Be The Year of Art.
Art involves a selection of human tasks that are intended to share theoretical concepts and also emotional power. It consists of the production of music, cinema, painting, sculpture, and also various other works of art. It also consists of using technical efficiency, creative creativity, and also the presentation of beauty. While some forms of art are considered a lot more legitimate than others, it is important to note that the majority of types of art are not necessarily works of premium quality. Despite the sort of art, there is a broad variety of expressions in numerous media.
An interpretation of art can be as simple as this: Z and also Y need to be non-empty disjunctions. To put it simply, Y can not entail Z. Therefore, to certify as an art type, Y must instantiate Z, but not vice versa. A basic affirmation of either Z or Y is sufficient. Nonetheless, the 3rd condition prevents collapse into classical definitions. For that reason, art is a category that does not need any kind of kind of denotation to be art.
Basically, the concept of art is an anthropomorphic point. The historic concept of art mirrors the social context in which it was developed. Thus, it is essential to comprehend the partnership between the two ideas in order to figure out which is more appropriate for our times. It is essential to recognize that there is a deep connection between art and life which it can be recognized in different ways. It is not a coincidence that art and also life share similar qualities.
The meaning of art is a philosophically dubious one. The primary job of scientific research is to describe perceptual processes that result in pleasure. According to Danto, the term “art experience” is a restricting presumption, as it restricts the variety of human experiences. On the other hand, the interpretation of art has evolved right into an entire system, with each kind of art including different aspects. It is important to identify that a musician needs to be able to reveal a certain type of visual experience in order to create a great piece of art.
Socrates inquired about the definition of art: “Art is the replica of look and truth of things. This is a generalized meaning of art, which he stated was a sort of art.” However an interpretation of art isn’t restricted to appeal. It can likewise be an efficient tool for creating recognition as well as advertising peace. By doing this, it can help us build bridges between individuals. But defining it is an uphill struggle.
Although the definition of art is arbitrary, the concept of art has a basic purpose: to communicate ideas. By definition, art is the expression of emotion and also suggestions. Its role belongs of society. It additionally has several other features, including social, financial, and also restorative. It is a component of culture. In addition to visual and also useful values, art is a way of connecting and sharing. In other words, it shows the culture and the economy.
While art can inspire the visitor to really feel several feelings, some people are driven to develop their own artworks because of their very own inner imaginative drive. It might be more attracting a single person than to an additional, but it is not the same for every person. It can affect people in a different way. An individual that is inspired to develop art is more probable to produce artworks than a person that does not. And this is true in a lot of cases, but in general, the two kinds of art are different. Some forms of art are developed for particular objectives, while others are suggested to evoke a psychological response in viewers.
There is no one meaning of art. A form of art may be seen by an audience as a method to communicate a spiritual experience. Other types of art are more probable to hurt people. Sometimes, art mirrors a visual worth. For example, a musician might develop an installation in a public place. A musician may make use of a tool to share a message. In the case of a piece of music, the singer may play songs to get the interest of the target market.
Traditionally, masterpieces are classified according to their beginning and also the nature of the tool. For example, the language used by an artist in a paint can be a representation of an individual’s feelings and opinions. It can be carried out or shown in any kind of space. Usually, an art piece is a mix of different types. The intent of art is to attract its aesthetic value. This is not an extensive list.
The aesthetic arts are a subset of the creative disciplines. In the aesthetic arts, it consists of art and various other forms of culture. For instance, a person can share himself via painting. She or he can additionally convey their feelings by utilizing images and also other media. These works of art are called “visual arts”. They typically include images, music, as well as sculpture. Simply put, they are “art”. They are developed via making use of colors. This is a kind of imagination that is used to share one’s identification.
It is a means of sharing one’s imagination. The musician can utilize the creative capacity to express the feelings of others. This kind of art is not just stunning, yet it can likewise damage cultural obstacles. It is thought about used arts. One of the most common forms of art are photography, style, and also haute couture. The objective of an artist is to develop a job that people feel good around. It is a form of expression. Some artists likewise share their creativity through making use of colors.
Words art has several collotypal definitions. It is additionally known as a skill. The term belongs to “imaginative”. A master of this ability is an artist, that can produce a masterpiece that has a certain significance. The purpose of an artist is to reveal the feeling in a picture. This strategy is an excellent way to share a message as well as connect suggestions. The goal is to share the feeling in the form of an image.
In the past, art has been defined as a skill or skill that has been produced by humans. During the Renaissance, artists were deemed highly competent artisans and also aspired to resemble them. The concept of art is different from that these days’s age. There are many types of art. It can be restorative, or can just be attractive. It can be called anything that stirs the feelings of an individual. In the contemporary globe, the word “art” was utilized to mean any type of kind of artwork that is created by somebody. acrylic paints artist
Other than being a device, art can be a way to express feelings. There are several types of art that share the feeling of an artist. It can be an image or a novel. It can likewise be a dancing. These types of art are not just essential in that they are a mirror of the feelings of a person. The function of art has actually evolved from a tool to a medium to promote well-being in a society.
Leave a Reply
|
AI A Level
When AI is not so Intelligent
Using AI to Predict Student Performance
As Deep Analysis’s most recent analyst, I wanted to start by writing on a topic close to my heart. Many years ago, like many of my fellow high school students this time of year, I waited, with eager anticipation, on my A-level results. The grades received in these exams determine whether or not students can confirm a place at the university of their choice. I was fortunate to receive the grades I needed to secure a place at Imperial College to read for a Physics degree. Had I not received the grades necessary, I may have secured a place at another institution or maybe none at all.
So, this year, the COVID pandemic presented unique problems for the UK Government’s Department of Education. Without being able to sit their final exams, how could students confirm their places and go on to study at university? Naturally, the government turned to technology to solve the problem. Computer models are used all the time to make predictions; they are critical to weather forecasts, provide guidance in economic forecasting and budgeting. So why not utilize AI to solve the problem?
Throwing AI at a Problem
AI has become such a common term it would be easy to think that the addition of a little AI can improve everything. The reality is that no organization ever became more successful by going out and purchasing a ‘bucket load of AI.’ AI does not have any intrinsic value until it is applied to a specific business problem.
While there were slight differences in how things were managed elsewhere in the UK, I will focus on England. (Which is, after all where I originally hail from). Because students did not sit their final exams, their teachers were asked to supply the following information regards students studying a particular subject, e.g., History:
• An estimated grade – the grade the teacher expected the student to receive if they had completed the exam
• Student ranking – an assessment of how the student ranked when compared to every other pupil in their class
This information was then inputted into an algorithm and combined with additional information, critically the prior performance of students in the same subjects from the same schools from the previous three years.
Be Careful what you Assume
Now, here’s where things get messy. The assumption was that the exam results of schools would be consistent with those in previous years. This information was given more weight than the teachers estimated grade because it was felt that teachers were likely to be more generous in predicting a student’s performance, leading to a more significant proportion of students attaining the higher grades.
While on the surface, this would appear to be a reasonable hypothesis, there are some scenarios that it fails to accommodate:
Scenario #1 – A bright student at an underperforming school
If a particularly bright student just happens to attend a poorly performing school, they would be more likely to have their grades lowered through no fault of their own.
Scenario #2 – A school demonstrating continuous improvement in student performance
If a school had seen consistent, rapid improvement in test scores in the last few years, this trend would not continue due to the assumption mentioned earlier that the predicted results would be consistent with previous years rather than extrapolating an upward trend.
Another critical factor is that predictive computer models are good at predicting things in aggregate, but their accuracy tends to degrade when asked discrete questions. For example, a weather forecast can tell me if it will rain tomorrow in my area but will struggle to predict precisely how much rain will fall in my garden and at what time. In this case, while a variance of a grade here or there does not seem a lot, the variation is not experienced evenly with specific students or with schools consistently more disadvantaged than others.
AI fails to get a passing grade
The result of this exercise was that nearly 40% of all grades were lowered by at least one grade, e.g., a student expecting an A in a given subject was given a B. Such a downgrade could have serious ramifications.
A Level AI
Figure 1 – How estimated grades were affected (Source: Ofqual)
Ultimately, it would appear that the UK’s Department of Education has reversed its decision and will, after all, use the teacher’s estimated grades. However, this decision has come too late for some who have already lost their place and may have to defer starting their course until next year.
What can we learn from this?
AI, like many technologies, is a tool, and, like many tools, merely possessing it does not make things better. I can use the same golf clubs as Tiger Woods, but I shouldn’t assume that I can just turn up on the first tee at US Masters at Augusta,
Think of AI as a new employee. Useful, but it needs to be provided with clear instructions to be productive. So, if you are considering incorporating AI, the bear in mind the following:
1. Adding AI won’t always improve the results, it may just cost you more money
2. AI cannot miraculously turn bad data into good results
3. Think long and hard about the assumptions you make, as these can come back and bite you
4. AI will only do what you tell it to do, so don’t blame the AI if you don’t like the answers it gives you
In conclusion, AI, like any new technology, should only be deployed where it offers tangible business value and not merely because it’s cool.
Leave a Comment |
Why Is Mold Dangerous?
One of the problems that homeowners always try to avoid is mold. By the time homeowners spot molds growing either on a wall or ceiling, they panic. That’s because molds are a type of fungus, and they’re usually called the unwanted intruders in your house.
Molds can grow indoors and outdoors, but they grow best when they’re indoors. Actually, they are a significant part of the ecosystem since they help decompose dead animals and plants. But, if they grow inside houses or offices, they pose major problems.
Every day, you are normally exposed to molds floating in the air. They float in small amounts, which makes them harmless. These floating mold spores can get into your house through your doors and windows, HVAC vents, clothing, and, sometimes, can even brought by your pets. As they enter your home, their growth depends on your home’s indoor conditions. They usually clasp unto your fabrics, wood surfaces, windows, kitchens, or bathrooms. If they settle on a damp area in your house, that’s when they start multiplying.
When you have molds growing inside your house, they will release plenty of spores into the air, which you can inhale easily. Once you inhale large amounts of mold spores, you become at risk of acquiring health problems.
Overall, molds should not be welcomed nor be overlooked when seen indoors. They may look like simple, harmless dirt, but they are actually dangerous. Here are the main reasons why molds are dangerous and should not be ignored:
1. Mold Poisoning
When you’re exposed to plenty of molds in your household, there’s a greater chance for you to suffer from mold poisoning. Molds can easily enter your body. They can enter through your nose, mouth, skin, or even through the food you eat. The longer they stay in your house, and especially in your body, they release poisons that can cause serious health problems.
You may have to look out for some of these symptoms, which may be caused by mold poisoning.
• Nose bleeding
• Headache
• Nausea
• Rashes or itching
• Asthma
• Fragrance sensitivity
• Night sweating
While these symptoms may pinpoint other health problems, these may be an indication that you need to detox your body from molds, especially if you’ve seen certain parts of your house with mold growth. A health blog, Sick of Being Stuck, published an article about the proper supplements you can take to start your mold detox. If you’ve felt the mentioned symptoms all at once, it may also be time to consult your doctor right away.
2. Allergies
Another common health problem caused by mold is allergies. Symptoms for mold allergy may be milder than mold poisoning, but that doesn’t mean this should be overlooked. Allergies can happen to a person due to the airborne substances released from the molds, which are then inhaled by your respiratory tract.
Symptoms for mold allergy include runny nose, frequent sneezing, watery eyes, itchy nose, and scratchy throat. If you already have asthma, getting mold allergies may cause you to have frequent asthma attacks. In this case, you need to call for a mold remover company’s help to eliminate all the molds in your house as soon as possible.
3. Breathing problems
The longer those molds stay in your house, the more time they have to multiply and release more spores and toxic compounds in the air every day. Over time, molds will produce irritants, allergens, and mycotoxins, which will create breathing problems in the household, especially for your family members who already have existing lung conditions.
These allergens will trigger your nose and throat, and eventually enter your lungs, which can start you having allergies, asthma, and becoming easily sensitive to dust and dirt.
4. Aspergillosis
There are actually multiple types of molds, and all these types can grow in one area. However, there’s no way you can differentiate one from the other through your naked eye, unless you look them up on a microscope. Nonetheless, it’s not necessary for you to be able to distinguish each type as long as you eliminate all of them out of your house.
The most common types of molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. Out of the three, Aspergillus is the one that causes the most health problems. Aspergillosis is the term used when this type of mold is inhaled by humans. Some people can inhale spores from this mold without getting sick or feeling any breathing problems. But, those who already have an existing lung problem or have a weaker immune system are more prone to get infected by Aspergillosis easily.
Aspergillosis’s most common symptoms include shortness of breath, headache, sudden weight loss, fever, and, sometimes, cough with blood in it. If you’re feeling these all at once, consult your doctor immediately.
5. Sinusitis
When those mold spores find their way into your sinus cavity, your immune system will release this chemical called eosinophils as a way of fighting off the spores. This chemical can trigger sinusitis and irritation within your sinus. Moreover, it may be difficult to alleviate this type of infection since your sinus cavity is an excellent environment for the fungus to settle in.
Symptoms of sinusitis include a runny nose, swelling in the nasal cavity, coughing, poor sense of smell, headache, and body ache. It’s best to seek medical attention immediately so you can know whether you have acute sinusitis or chronic sinusitis. Plus, they’ll also recommend medications to alleviate the symptoms.
The Bottom Line
With the health problems that molds bring into people’s homes, it’s more than enough reason that you should regularly check your home for any sign of mold growth. Your home is supposed to be your family’s safe place away from the outside condition, so it’s your responsibility to ensure you keep it that way.
Not only do molds cause health problems, but they can also bring a negative impact on your house’s quality. The more molds you have in your walls, roof, or ceiling, the more your house’s foundation is at risk of damage, weariness, or, worse, collapse. That is why it’s vital that you call a professional contractor’s help to perform home maintenance and repairs at least quarterly. This way, molds will have a hard time growing indoors, and your family will be safe from serious health problems, and your house’s quality can last for a long time.
HealthStatus Crew
Leave a Reply
|
Distance Computation in MD Simulations
Once a density function is computed by SOLVATE and the parameters defining f are stored in the file boundary.lis, any MD-program can access that file and use f to compute boundary forces acting on water molecules near the surface of the solute/solvent system. This force is always a function of the distance to that surface, which therefore must be computed efficiently. In this section we describe how this can be done to an accuracy sufficient for most purposes.
For the computation of the distance r between the location of a water molecule, , and the surface point closest to we first have to find that surface point. We assume that, from the construction of f as a sum of few gaussians, this surface point is sufficiently close to the intersection of a line through , the direction of which is given by the gradient , with the surface . So we have to compute that intersection point.
Since this cannot be done analytically, and to avoid a possible (but slow) iterative method, we approximate f for points on the line defined above beween and the intersection point. In that region, f(solid white line) is by construction (a sum of gaussians, red, dashed lines) dominated by the gaussian next to (thin, vertical line) and thus can be approximated by a simple (one-dimensional) gaussian function g (white dashed line),
The parameters k, a, and , which define g, are obtained from the value , the gradient , as well as the second derivative along the gradient, (where J is the Jacobian matrix of f at ),
The intersection point , approximated by requiring , can now be calculated analytically, and the distance r we are interested in reads
As a rule of thumb, all distances required in an MD simulation are computed with an error smaller than 0.2 Å, which becomes even smaller (0.02 Å) for water molecules close to the surface.
Through a similar approximation, also the average curvature of the solvent at the intersection point, which may enter the boundary forces as a second parameter, can be obtained.
Go to Editor View |
Biogas & Bio-methane > 13 Good Reasons for Biogas Injection
13 Good Reasons for Biogas Injection
One of the most auspicious applications of biomass is the generation of biogas. In mid-2008 roughly 4,000 plants existed in Germany alone, in which biogas was created through fermentation. Innovative technologies are available on the market, allowing biogas to be upgraded to natural gas quality – also called “biomethane” or “bio-natural gas” – and to be fed into the natural gas grid.
This process makes possible the replacement of conventional natural gas in many areas, thus representing an important contribution to climate protection. Currently, around 16 plants feed biomethane into the natural gas grid in Germany. Several other projects are currently being planned or constructed, with a very clear growth trend.
1. Biomethane protects our climate
Biomethane (or bio-natural gas) extracted from biomass can replace fossil-based natural gas. It can in this way abate the emissions from greenhouse gases, and thus achieve an important contribution to a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy economy.
CO2 sources are known to be a primary cause of global warming. Natural energy sources like biomethane release only as much CO2 as is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants as they mature. Thereby, the ideal circumstances for climate-neutral energy consumption become conceivable.
The utilisation of agricultural waste through biogas generation can make a further contribution to climate protection. The fermentation of liquid manure and the subsequent output in the field reduces the potential of global warming. This positive consequence is unique to biogas production. It is for this reason that biogas and biomethane can be seen as having a more positive influence on the global climate balance than other forms of biomass currently in use.
2. Biomethane reduces import dependency
Some 97 percent of Germany’s oil and over 80 percent of the country’s natural gas is imported. A large portion of these imports originate in countries whose future political stability remains incalculable. In light of such deterministic geopolitics, the strategic relevance of a secure energy supply has increased in Germany and the EU.
Biomethane is created from indigenous, renewable resources and organic waste products. Legitimate prognoses project a sufficient amount of resources for biomethane to supply 10 percent of Germany’s demand for natural gas by 2030. These calculations take into consideration Germany’s overall energy goals for the future. This state of affairs would allow the country to import less natural gas, and to significantly increase energy security simultaneously.
3. Biomethane stimulates regional development
The production of biogas from regional resources creates jobs, especially in agriculture, supply logistics, engineering, and plant construction and maintenance.
In particular, this allows local farmers to profit from resulting developments in related “non-food” sectors of local economic development. These sectors provide increased planning security and create an opportunity for alternative sources of revenue.
As plant operators or partial plant owners, the commercialisation and injection of biogas allows farmers to become direct beneficiaries of overall regional economic prosperity. Technology-related occupations in Germany are created, not only to satisfy domestic demand for German biogas technology and German know-how, but also in the German export market.
4. Biomethane is eco-friendly
A variety of organic materials can be used in biogas plants exclusively, or in combination with others, withoutsubstantial technical alternation to the facility. Typically, crops commonly used for the generation of energy are processed together with biogenic waste, thus providing site-specific adaptability of the energy mixture used.
The cultivation of energy crops is generally associated with the formation of monoculture. However, due to the diversity of resources that can be used for the production of biogas, this is no longer a necessary concern. Moreover, farmers tend to be interested in cultivating a large variety of plants in order to ensure fertility of their cropland.
Existing research projects in this area tend to focus primarily on the implementation and accelerated cultivation of various energy crops. Furthermore, new cultivation methods are being field-tested, and thereby adapted to local conditions.
The production of biomethane necessitates comprehensive understanding of the preservation of biodiversity, contextualised within a multifaceted landscape. The cultivation of fuel crops for the production of biogas is capable of being integrated into existing agro-ecosystems, and provides opportunities for the responsible use of natural resources.
5.Biomethane secures patterns of material flow at a local level.
The generation of biogas creates a simple and ecological means of harnessing the solar energy preserved within plants, and thereby sustaining the circulation of nutrients locally.
Anaerobic digestion of biomass generates biogas, which can be converted into energy. A digestate is created as a byproduct comprised of all non-digestible substances and all mineral deposits contained within the biomass. In addition to basic nutriment composites found in plants, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium, unused trace elements are also measurable.
Biogas plants are always located in close proximity to areas where biomass is cultivated. This circumvents the need for energy-intensive transportation of energy crops to the plant location, and minimises the cost of redistributing the byproduct throughout surrounding cropland. The byproduct can be used as a commercial fertiliser, thus reducing the costs associated with the regular purchase of manufactured fertiliser. The use of all biogas byproducts ensures the optimisation of the value-added chain of this resource.
6. Biomethane comes from natural processes
The technical procedure for creating biogas reflects a natural process sequence. Naturally occurring bacteria break down the biomass in the fermenter, similar to the way nutrients are digested in the stomach of a cow. As the bacteria separate the natural fibres of the biomass, biogas emerges as long molecular strands of hydrocarbon. These strands are comprised of roughly 55 percent methane, with the remaining percentage represented in great part by carbon dioxide, as well as minimal amounts of trace gases such as ammonium and hydrogen sulphide.
However, unlike the process in the cow’s stomach, technical processes capture the biogas generated, preventing it from entering the atmosphere.
The energy source in biogas is methane. Once biogas is sufficiently processed to the quality and purity of natural gas it can be injected directly into the natural gas grid. The release of carbon dioxide resulting from the subsequent burning of biomethane is counterbalanced by the retrieval of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during energy crop cultivation, thus neutralising the atmospheric effects of the process as a whole.
7. Biomethane stabilizes the energy system
The supply of biogas and biomethane can be maintained all year round. Slurry, manure and organic waste resulting from food processing continue to accumulate. Similarly, harvested biomass is stored in silos designed to be large enough to maintain the necessary supply of energy from biogas throughout the year.
Thus, the production of biogas and biomethane makes an important contribution to a stable and reliable energy supply. The regularity of supply has the ability to balance the fluctuating electricity production originating from alternative renewable energy sources such as wind and photovoltaic.
This advantage is increased by the ability to inject the gas directly into the existing natural gas grid and to use it independently from its production location.
8. Biomethane uses existing infrastructure.
Once they have been processed, no difference exists between the practical applications of biogas and biomethane and their fossil-based counterparts. That is, biomethane can be injected into the existing natural gas infrastructure, and can be used by conventional technical devices as well.
This means that many appliances used within the residential, industrial or transport sectors can be powered by environmentally friendly biomethane without having to invest substantial amounts of additional resources into the conversion of existing system technology. Thus, the financial burden placed upon the political economy by the integration of biogas and biomethane is minimal.
9. Biomethane is versatile
Biomethane is more flexible in its application than any other renewable source of energy. Its ability to be injected directly into the existing natural gas grid allows for energy-efficient and cost-effective transport. This allows gas grid operators to enable consumers to make an easy transition to a renewable source of gas.
The diverse, flexible spectrum of applications in the areas of electricity generation, heat provision, and mobility creates a broad base of potential customers. Biomethane can be used to generate electricity and heating from within smaller decentralised, or large centrally-located combined heat and power plants. It can be used by heating systems with a highly efficient fuel value, and employed as a regenerative power source in gas-powered vehicles. The utilisation of biomethane as a source of energy is a crucial step toward a sustainable energy supply.
10. Biomethane supports efficient combined heat and power systems
Of the estimated 4,000 biogas plants in operation in Germany in the beginning of 2009, only a small portion utilised the energy content of their biogas efficiently. In the majority of cases, biogas was only used for electricity production. The production of heat, which represents some two-thirds of biogas energy output, remained unused due to a lack of viable heat-related applications in the site area.
The upgrading and injection of biogas into the natural gas grid allows biomethane to be brought to other areas, in which the heat generated can be used alongside the electricity generated. The heat generated from biomethane can be used for all forms of household, commercial and industrial applications. These so called combined heat and power systems are, from the perspective of climate protection, the most efficient applications of biogas and biomethane.
The conversion of biogas to biomethane only makes sense in cases where the plant is of a minimum size. New and existing small-scale biogas plants have the option to transport biogas generated, by way of a micro-gas grid, to a larger, more centralised location where the biogas can be processed and fed into the central grid.
11. Biomethane is a highly efficient biofuel
Biomethane can play a central role in the development of biofuels due to its high energy output per hectare of arable cropland. The complete utilisation of the plant generates a high output comparable to the projected future output of Biomass-to-Liquid (BtL) fuels (see graph).
The production of first generation biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol and vegetable oil) is solely based upon the oil, sugar or starch content of plants. Biomethane production can increase the value of first generation biofuels if the remaining byproducts (mash, straw/mulch) are utilised.
Yield of biofuels in km per hectare (source: FNR 2008)
In comparison to second generation BtL-biofuels, which will only become commercially viable in the future, biomethane is an existing way to fuel gas-powered vehicles without technical modification.
12. Biomethane brings partners together
In addition to fully developed technical conceptualisations, the success of biogas injection projects heavily depends upon the development of a practical business model. Having affiliates in the related fields of agriculture, plant construction, and areas of business, such as finance and energy economics, provides an opportunity for the consolidation of know-how and capital for purposes of project realisation. This consolidation facilitates a synergistic relationship among professional players throughout the added-value chain. These players represent the key to further optimisation and exploitation of potential for efficiency. The participating affiliates profit from a lasting return on their investment.
The early integration of external players such as local administrators, residents and environmental organisations can help subjugate conflicts of interest, establish common goals, and develop comprehensive solutions. Central to this process is the exploitation of all merits of the injection of biogas in order to ensure a lasting contribution to the development of a sustainable energy system.
13. Biomethane is the intelligent option for the future
In addition to prevailing methods of biomethane generation currently in use involving the anaerobic digestion of biomass, research has been conducted in recent years to identify an alternative means of production. The acronym SNG stands for “Synthetic Natural Gas”. It can be created using coal, lignite, or biomass (Bio-SNG). In contrast to biogas production from anaerobic digestion, the biomass in this case is metabolised through thermo-chemical processes. Following the gasification of organic materials, the gas is converted from its raw form into a synthetic gas, methanised, and eventually processed into its final form.
Bio-SNG can also be injected directly into the natural gas grid. Although processes of anaerobic fermentation typically use forms of biomass that have high water content, and are easily metabolised by bacteria, Bio-SNG will primarily employ wood and other more solid forms of biomass such as miscanthus or straw. The type of technology used for Bio-SNG plants allows for the construction of larger plants with greater output potential than those currently in use today. Bio-SNG installations are anticipated to become marketable as early as 2015.
The parallel use of both methods for biomethane production presents an interesting option for the future. The combination of the two processes allows all possible raw organic and waste materials to be efficiently converted into a natural gas substitute which can be used within the natural gas grid. The current generation of biogas by way of anaerobic digestion, and the subsequent treatment and injection procedure, is the first step toward developing a comprehensive strategy for climate neutral gas injection. This strategy will allow biomass to be integrated into the energy system in an efficient and environmentally friendly fashion.
More information >> |
Saliva is a clear substance that is secreted by the six main glands in the mouth. It is the saliva that keeps the mouth moist when speaking. This transparent substance also helps digestion and is good for the digestive system. It is interesting to know that saliva is also useful for maintaining the health of the gums and teeth. Join us to learn more about the benefits of saliva.
1. Eliminate oral contaminants: Bacteria, viruses, and yeasts accumulate in the mouth and attach to the gums, tongue, and teeth. These infections cause many problems for oral health. Saliva clears all of this from the inside of the mouth and sends it out of the body through the digestive tract.
2. Protects the mouth, teeth, and gastrointestinal tract: Saliva neutralizes the acids in the foods and beverages we eat.
3. Prevention of tooth decay: Toothache is a problem that even thinking about it can be awful. One of the benefits of saliva is that it protects the teeth against the acids in the mouth.
4. Formation of healthy plaques in the mouth: The proteins in saliva lead to the production of a useful plaque in the mouth. Saliva first cleans the germs and lesions on the teeth and then covers them with a kind of plaque.
5. Disinfection and healing of mouth ulcers: Lip biting or sores in the mouth are common. Another benefit of saliva is that it helps to heal these sores.
6. Helps to digest food more easily: Amylase in saliva breaks down starch sugars into smaller portions to make them easier to digest in the stomach.
7. Benefits of saliva for diagnosing the disease: Saliva in the mouth is essential. Dry mouth can lead to an imbalance in this area and affect a person’s health. If your mouth is dry and you do not have enough saliva, you must investigate the cause. Dry mouth can be caused by diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes, or immune disorders.
8. Identify the person: One of the benefits of saliva is the ability to identify a person. DNA in oral tissue is also found in salivary tissue.
Saliva can increase for a variety of reasons. If you have an infectious disease, too much saliva will be secreted. Stress and anxiety, the use of new dentures, and pregnancy can also lead to increased salivation.
If you are taking certain medications, saliva secretion may increase. Drugs such as clonazepam affect the salivary glands and increase salivation. Bell’s palsy or nerve and facial paralysis, mercury, or arsenic poisoning, diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, and oral diseases are other causes of increased saliva. This method is used to identify the person in question.
There are several reasons for a decrease in saliva. One of the reasons for the decrease in saliva is the use of various drugs. If you have gastrointestinal problems or high blood pressure, taking medication can cause dry mouth.
Consumption of caffeinated beverages, smoking, and alcohol consumption is also effective in dry mouth. However, aging, respiratory problems, and dehydration can also cause dry mouth.
0 replies
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!
Leave a Reply
|
Writing essays is very different from writing different sorts of essays. It’s required to have a proper framework to make it a lot easier for the composition writer to continue writing the paper without getting worried on how best to organize the essay and what should be highlighted. Generally, a fantastic structure will help the author to follow the length of the essay. Listed here are some basic steps which you could follow to develop a frame for your essays.
The initial step is to discover the right essay topic, that needs to be written in line with the topic of the paper. It is necessary that you know the subject of the newspaper since in that manner, you can ascertain the theme that you will use for the essay.
The upcoming important point is to arrange the essay in this way you will be able to highlight the main points. You need to be in a position to separate the areas of the essay logically and arrange them according to the topic and the period of this essay. It’s much better to write down your method of composing the article so that you will not overlook it.
The introduction paragraph is one of the first things you will write on your own essay. This paragraph will function as the introduction to the entire essay. In order to provide a debut paragraph the right quantity of focus, you need to use powerful writing style. The words you’ll use for the introduction has to be quite clear and be well chosen so that they will attract the reader’s attention in a positive way.
The first sentence needs to have a topic which will provide enough information regarding the essay topic. This will not simply offer some advice but may also draw the reader’s interest. By way of instance, if you would like to write to a conversation about the stock market, you’ll need to ensure that your first sentence are all about the stock market and does not use the term inventory as a description of whatever else. This way, the reader will probably be interested to read the whole article which will contain the first sentence.
The second sentence will function as the decision of the very first paragraph. But it should have exactly the same content as the first sentence. The next sentence is generally the introduction of the essay which will inform about the duration of this essay. The previous sentence is usually the conclusion of the article and will include the information that was previously presented in the essay.
Finally, the last sentence is to emphasize the main point which was discussed in this article. These are some suggestions that will allow you to organize your own essays.
In summary, you should follow the following steps buy an essays when writing documents. With a suitable structure and the right structure, your composition will turn out to be really successful. |
ASP.NET Core 5.0 MVC claims based authentication and authorization Edit
Murugan Andezuthu Dharmaratnam | 08 February 2021 | 512
Difference between authentication and authorization
First, let's understand what is identity and access. Identity is who someone is & Access is whether you have access to a resource. Let's also understand what is digital identity. Digital identity is data that uniquely describes a person or a thing and contains information about the subject's relationship.
Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or determining who you are. Authorization is the process of checking whether the user has the right to access particular resources in the system or in simple words what you are allowed to do. Authentication always happens before authorization. Even when you are accessing the web application as an anonymous user you are authenticated as an anonymous user.
Different scenarios in which identity is used
1. Individual User Account : Individual user accounts are used for simple asp .net application, small and medium businesses and consumer apps
2. Active Directory (AD) : Active directory is used in on premises enterprise applications. Within an organization Active Directory maintains a list of users and all the applications that use Active Directory within that organization check the active directory for authentication and authorization. Its mainly used for single signon within the organization
3. Active Directory federation services (ADFS) : ADFS is used in on premises application with remote users.
4. Azure Active Directory (AAD) : Azure AD is an enterpeise cloud based identity and access management solution. It can sync with on prem AD and provide authentication to cloud based applications
The main difference between ASP.NET Core 5.0 Identity and earlier versions (ASP.NET 4.x.) is that HttpContext.User is of type System.Security.Principal.GenericPrincipal in ASP .Net 4.x and is of type System.Security.Claims.ClaimsPrincipal in ASP.NET Core 5.0. There are only minor differences the fundamental properties associated with identity has not really changed.
ASP.NET 4.x and earlier used to use role-based authentication. Whether the user can access a resource was based on the roles assigned to the user. For example, If I had a method ManageUsers and I had limited access to the method to only users with role admin, then only administrators could access that method |
Unit testing nowadays is pretty much always done using a technique called example-based testing. The method is simple; we run a series of examples against an algorithm, and we validate that we get the expected result.
public void GivenThree_WhenCalculate_ThenFiveIsReturned()
// Given
var input = 3;
// When
var result = Calculator.Calculate(input);
// Then
Assert.Equal(5, result);
This technique is relatively easy to understand and implement. However, it's far from being all rainbows and unicorns. In this article, we'll go over property-based testing, an alternative approach that shines where example-based testing tends to fall short.
The main problems with those tests are that:
• They don't scale
• They don't help you find edge cases
• They are brittle
• They don't explain the requirement
• They tend to be too specific to the implementation
We all do this
If you are like most of us, mortals, you are probably terrible at using TDD, which means that in the best-case scenario, you add your tests after coding the actual method. Moreover, I bet that you write an empty test shell calling your method under test, take the output, and then write your assertion with that value. Let's be honest. The temptation to reach a better code coverage is just too strong that we have all done it at some point. Then, if you have a bug in your code, you effectively only coded a buggy test.
Property-based testing
Property-based testing is an alternative approach that can deal with all the shortcomings of example-based tests. However, it's by no means a full replacement, as example-based tests are still excellent in many cases. The best approach is to have the right mix of the two in your test suite.
What's a property
When we are talking about properties here, we don't mean properties of C# classes. We use the term property here in a more abstract way. Think of it as a characteristic, trait, attribute, feature, or quality of an algorithm.
Simple definition:
A property is a condition that will always be true for a set of valid inputs.
Testing method
The first thing to do when you want to create a property-based test is to understand and represent the relationship between inputs and outputs. Then, use randomly generated inputs to express deterministic expected results.
Said like that, it seems complex, but you'll see, it's more straightforward than it sounds.
Let's try the technique with a simple example; the Add method. The signature looks like this.
int Add(int number1, int number2);
If you try to test this method with examples, you'll never be done for sure, as there's an infinite combination of numbers that you can add together. So how can we be sure that our Add method is behaving correctly in every situation?
First, try to think of what makes the addition different from the other mathematical operations like subtraction and multiplication.
The first property is called commutativity. For those of you that don't have a math major, here is a simple definition:
When I add two numbers, the result should not depend on the order of the parameters.
2+3 = 3+2 // True
2-3 != 3-2 // False
2*3 = 3*2 // True
This property is true for addition and multiplication, but not for subtraction. Translated to a test in C#:
// When
var res1 = Add(input1, input2);
var res2 = Add(input2, input1);
// Then
Assert.Equal(res1, res2);
The second property is called associativity.
When I add two numbers, the order of the operations doesn't matter.
(2+3)+4 = 2+(3+4) // True
(2-3)-4 != 2-(3-4) // False
(2*3)*4 = 2*(3*4) // True
Again, this property is true for addition and multiplication, but not for subtraction. Translated to a test in C#:
// When
var res1 = Add(Add(input1, input2), input3);
var res2 = Add(input1, Add(input2, input3));
// Then
Assert.Equal(res1, res2);
The third and last property of the addition that makes it unique is called identity.
Adding zero is the same as doing nothing.
2+0 = 2 // True
2-0 = 2 // True
2*0 != 2 // False
At last! We found something to differentiate the addition and the multiplication. Translated to a test in C#:
Assert.Equal(Add(input, 0), input);
With three simple tests, we've been able to cover an infinite number of examples. With these, it's impossible to write an implementation of the Add method that doesn't behave properly. That's precisely the way mathematicians define concepts. They describe the properties. If you look up the definition of the addition, you'll find something interesting. It's defined as commutativity, associativity, and identity. |
[L. umbra, shade.] A shade or screen used as a protection from the rays of the sun or from rain. It is formed of strips of whalebone or steel fastened to a stick or hollow iron rod and covered with silk, cotton, or alpaca. Umbrella silk is made chiefly in Lyons and Crefeld. - The umbrella tree is an American magnolia with white flowers and rose-colored fruit, the leaves being crowded on the top of the flowering branch in an umbrella-like circle. |
Technical analysis of the diffuser
Now, I believe you all have heard of diffuser and know what it is and where it is located, but how many of you actually know how the diffuser works?
The diffuser is responsible for creating the majority of the car’s downforce and is located towards the rear of the car’s floor as it slopes upwards.
Written by Ive Bauk, Edited by Aiden Hover
This ‘professionally’ drawn picture represents the simplified side profile of an F1 car’s floor. The green area shows low pressure air. The orange part shows the start of the diffusers effect. As the floor slopes up, there is more volume for the air to fill and so it begins to accelerate in order to fill the widening gap. Therefore, the diffuser is speeding up the air, sucking the air under the floor as it reduces air pressure. Lastly, the red area represents the end of the floor at which point the air matches the pressure under the rear wing and is almost ambient, reducing drag.
In summary, the diffuser sucks air from under the car and pushes it out the other side at a higher speed. It’s not as simple as that, however, as this process not only creates downforce, but drag. This is where teams get creative in order to reduce the drag. The main objective is to smooth the air flow around the car, but each team has two very big obstacles in achieving this. The rear tyres create lots of large vortices due to their smooth curved shape which destroy the gentle air. Teams attempt to seal air affected by the diffuser from the tyres, some examples of this are the double diffuser and the blown diffuser. The double diffuser was the invention which helped win Brawn GP their championship in 2009 as Honda designers found a loophole in the FIA’s new rule set which aimed to reduce aero. They were able to section the diffuser allowing the bottom part to be affected by the dirty air from the tyres whilst the top section reamined safe and secure. The FIA subsequently banned this technique for 2010.
Brawn GP’s 2009 car
To get around this, RedBull implemented their blown diffuser. In this case, the team would get around the issue by directing the exhaust gases towards specially designed slots within the floor which would seal the diffuser and split the air into two parts of flow. This was quickly copied by Ferrari and McLaren, as was the case with Brawn GP in 2009.
RedBull’s 2010 car
Moving into more recent seasons, teams attempted to clean the flow of air around the diffuser with highly complicated wings and flaps all around the floor. This worked, but would create much more dirty air for the car behind which would severely hamper the effectiveness of the following car’s aerodynamics. The FIA have reduced the team’s freedom with this area for 2021 in an attempt to fix this, but McLaren seems to have found a way around this. Click here to find out more.
Follow DIVEBOMB on all our socials:
One comment
Leave a Reply |
Epilepsy & Its Effects on Equilibrium in Canines
Many dogs experience befuddlement during seizures.
BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
Epilepsy is an oft-seen neurological ailment characterized by repeated seizures. It can appear in canines of all breeds. Although the condition is more prevalent in males, female dogs sometimes experience epilepsy, too. If your dog experiences an epileptic seizure, you might notice problems with his equilibrium.
Seizures and Dogs' Brains
Epileptic seizures in dogs begin in their cerebrums, brain structures that garner details that dogs encounter, whether through their sense of smell or eyesight. When dogs experience epileptic seizures, it's because of a malfunctioning of their cerebrums' neurons, according to veterinarian Debra Eldredge and Kim Campbell Thornton, authors of "The Everything Dog Health Book." When neurons malfunction in seizures, dogs no longer have command over their brains and bodies.
Seizures and Equilibrium
When dogs go through seizures, it commonly throws their equilibrium off. Their sense of balance frequently goes out the window. This often results in their falling to the ground. If you ever notice any issues in your pet's balance, take him to a veterinarian immediately, as he might have epilepsy. Canines generally begin exhibiting signs of epilepsy when they're young -- between 1 year and 5 years in age, says Darlene Arden, author of "Small Dogs, Big Hearts."
Common Symptoms of Seizures
If your dog is exhibiting any signs of equilibrium problems, perhaps through walking in an abnormal manner or falling down, get him veterinary attention -- stat. You also might see other common symptoms of seizures, such as panting, rigidness of the body, uncharacteristic vocalizations and excessive salivation. Some indications of seizures are subtle, too, says Matthew Hoffman, author of "Symptoms and Solutions." If a dog is going through a seizure, he might seem disoriented for a while. He might shiver slightly, too.
Other Medical Conditions and Balance
Epilepsy isn't the only medical condition that can affect canine equilibrium, so never make any assumptions. Problems with the middle ear, for instance, often lead to seizurelike behaviors, including balance difficulties, says Jordan Herod Nuccio and Elaine Waldorf Gewirtz, authors of "The Everything Natural Health for Dogs Book." When a dog has a middle ear disorder, his brain nucleus might trigger an irregular positioning of his head. This might trigger severe balance problems. Some worried dog lovers might confuse this for a seizure, although it isn't. Many other varied health issues can bring upon balance loss in dogs, including idiopathic vestibular disease. Find out what the culprit of your pet's equilibrium problem is by taking him to the veterinarian for an immediate checkup. |
Behavioural theories of the firm
Behavioural theories
A Behavioural Theory is an assessment of the internal thought processes and heading of firms, utilizing a scope of models and various presumptions about the individuals working inside a firm.
In old-style financial aspects, the hypothesis of firms depends on the suspicion that they will look for benefit expansion. However, in reality, chiefs and proprietors may act unexpectedly.
Social (Behavioural) Hypotheses of the Firm include:
Firms Size/Esteem:
A few directors may just target working in a significant and apparently fruitful firm which gives more esteem and respect. Chiefs might be propelled to demonstrate their activities are productive. This can make firms seek after objectives which have a prominent. It might clarify why firms continue with ventures which may not be alluring. There is an expense to relinquishing past choices.
Proprietors wish to amplify benefits. However, labourers don't. Since proprietors don't have impeccable data, labourers and directors can pull off choices that don't amplify benefits.
Co-employable/moral concerns:
A few firms might be set up with totally different viewpoints to the conventional model of benefit amplification. In co-employable firms, the objective is to augment the government assistance everything being equal. In this model, thoughts of charitableness worry for nature and labourers government assistance may clarify numerous choices. The firm may likewise be set up with specific magnanimous points.
Human feeling/inclination:
The monetary model of a thorough financial man expects that people try to augment their monetary government assistance with an intelligent decision. Notwithstanding, in reality, we are impacted by human feeling. This could be separation dependent on predisposition and bias. Or then again, it could be an unreasonable extravagance and the apparent insight of following the group. For instance, in resource bubbles, contract organizations can become involved with loosening up their loaning measures and loaning home loans to those in danger of default.
The analysts of Behavioural Theories accept that large organizations are mind-boggling associations comprised of a wide range of partners.
Partners are bunches comprised of individuals who each have a personal stake in the movement of business. Models include:
- Managers utilized by a business and different representatives
- Shareholders are individuals who have a stake in a business
- Customers
- The government and its organizations
Each gathering of partners will have various targets or objectives.
The prevailing gathering at any second can concentrate on their own destinations. For instance, cost and yield choices might be taken at a nearby level by administrators, with investors taking just a far off perspective on the organization's exhibition and system.
Instances of options to maximizing profit:
Satisficing conduct:
This happens when organizations focus on the least worthy degrees of accomplishment as far as income and profit.
Sales (yield) expansion:
It is selling as much as possible without making a misfortune. At sales expansion, there are typical benefits or no supernormal benefits.
Sales (income) expansion:
The goal of expanding deals income as opposed to benefits was created by market analyst William Baumol whose work concentrated on the conduct of director controlled organizations.
Annual pay rates and advantages are connected to deals income as opposed to benefits.
Companies outfitted towards amplifying income are probably going to utilize value separation to remove additional income and minimal benefit from buyers.
A business may likewise intend to amplify deals income instead of benefits since it wishes to hinder the section of new firms.
If a firm chooses to intend to boost deals income as opposed to benefits, one of the results may be a decrease in the cost of the association's offers since the pace of benefit is probably going to be lower.
Administrative Fulfilment Model:
If an association's directors are hoping to boost income instead of benefit, this will prompt an alternate cost and yield blend. Expecting that the association's expenses continue as before, a firm will pick a lower cost and flexibly a higher yield when deals income amplification is the principal objective.
Shopper surplus is higher with deals income augmentation since yield is higher and the cost is lower. Maker surplus is more prominent when benefits are amplified.
Three reasons why a business may embrace destinations other than benefit expansion
- Desire the pickup and secure market share
- Social/moral/natural destinations
- Need to create income during a financial downturn
Two results of this for various partners:
- Possible fall in the offer cost and lower profits in the present moment for investors.
- Consumers may address lower costs if a firm moves from benefit expansion.
One case of a business accepting those options:
Pubs were concentrating on developing income and keeping up income when receiving to changing buyer spending habits and inclinations. For example, rivalling low-evaluated liquor accessible from the general stores.
Final Thoughts:
A Behavioural Hypothesis of the Firm was one of the most significant works in the field of association considers, helping establish frameworks for the field while all the while being affected by it. As the field has developed, it has been affected by various inside and outside powers, victories and disappointments, making it useful in an expert and institutional sense (having PhD projects, diaries and offices in its name), yet in some cases to the detriment of scholarly intelligibility.
It ought to be noted, in any case, that the field began with scarcely any reasonable language and structure and from that point, nearly without any preparation, created a few essential commitments that affected not just the advancement of the field of association concentrates however other insightful trains, for example, financial aspects and humanism as well. It subsequently may well, sometime in the not so distant future, by and by discovering a structure, a centre arrangement of thoughts and points of view to expand on. Nothing (generally) originates from nothing, yet the field overcame starting troubles and the obstructions related with being "in the middle of", as opposed to soundly inside, academic orders.
The "behavioural hypothesis of the firm" venture offers us a lot of thoughts to expand on. Maybe the festival of the five many years of the historical backdrop of the development and its thoughts would be a decent event for association researchers to think how to commend the development in the soul of the supporters themselves (referring to the convention one expands on instead of one's own achievements). Therefore, long viewpoints on the pastBehavioural theories, are vital for long dreams for what's to come.
1100 Words
Sep 14, 2020
3 Pages
Looking for a professional
Order Now |
Coronavirus and Cyber Attacks
Whenever a world event brings panic and anxiety, criminals attempt to take advantage of the situation. Not even the U.S. Health Department is immune from these criminal attacks as their site was hit recently in an attempt to take it offline in the middle of this pandemic. Unfortunately, criminals have no moral codes. Due to a huge influx of people trying to get current and correct information on the event, hackers have been using this pandemic to their advantage. There have been phishing campaigns, malware, ransomware and even malicious android apps trying to cause additional havoc and steal your personal data. Be safe out there, double check your e-mails and don't download anything that is not from a trusted source! If you need assistance, feel free to contact ETV Software, we are available for remote support.
Ransomware Worst Case Scenario
Ransomeware attacks are growing in strength and severity each year. When a ransomware virus hits your business, it encrypts all your files locking them behind a password that only the ransomware's creators know. Modern ransomware will try and shut off your anti-virus programs and will even try and encrypt any files and backups you might have on your company's network. What does a ransomware attack look like in practice? Look no further than the city of Baltimore for a worse case scenario.
On May 7th, Baltimore city computers picked up a ransomware virus which jumped from computer to computer and city department to city department. The first indication of trouble came when the city's email went down unexpectedly. As the virus locked down more and more computers, additional city systems such as payment gateways, water billing, and the city government's internet connected phones went down one after another. Baltimore's Information Technology department was all but powerless to quickly fix the compromised systems. Their only option was to take most of the city's unaffected networks offline to prevent the ransomware from spreading.
Ten days later, with most of Baltimore's government departments shutdown or doing what business they can without the use of their computer systems, there is still no end in sight. In one of his latest statements on the ransomware attack, Baltimore's mayor noted that they hoped to have some government functions back to normal "within a matter of weeks" while some city departments might take months to restore normal. Imagine if your business wasn't going to be able to function for weeks or months.
Fortunately, while large city governments are usually slow to react and take months or years to respond to new threats, you can make sure your business is well protected by taking a few relatively low cost steps:
1. Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus on all your computers. Some ransomware will try to disable your anti-virus, but by staying up-to-date, you increase the chances that a ransomware attack is stopped before it ever begins.
2. Keep your computers and your applications updated. Ransomware, like most viruses, tends to prey on computers and servers running out-of-date software. Both Microsoft and Apple constantly release security updates, as do most serious software companies. Keeping up with security updates can sometimes be even more important than running a good anti-virus program.
3. Most importantly, make sure that your business is keeping at least a week's worth of off-site, offline backups. By copying your data to a safe location outside of your office space and by keeping those backups separate from your normal network, you greatly increase the chances that you can quickly restore your files even if your office does get hit by a ransomware attack. Off-site backups are also an excellent way to protect your company from physical disasters like fires, water leaks, or damage caused by storms.
4. If you do get hit by ransomware, call a qualified internet technology company immediately. Some forms of ransomware are easier to recover from than others. Depending on which exact virus found your network, it can even be possible to roll back the attack if you act quickly enough.
If you have questions about ransomware attacks or protecting your business with an automated backup plan, ETV Software can help.
Tyler, TX Businesses Are Being Hit With Devastating Ransomware
This is a Public Service Announcement from ETV Software
We have been receiving a record-number of ransomware inquiries from local businesses around the East Texas area.
The attacks have the potential to shutdown businesses for days or even destroy a business altogether.
Ransomware spreads through email attachments and bad software downloads like a normal virus, but unlike a regular virus that just tries to spy on you or delete your files, ransomware locks you out of all your files using a complex password that only the hackers have.
Ransomware is also increasingly locking companies out of their local backups which makes recovering from an attack much more difficult.
The more sophisticated ransomware viruses are even getting clever about when they attack businesses.
Instead of triggering immediately once they get on one of your computers, they will spread silently to all the computers in your business and then only start locking down files at the end of the workweek so they have time to lock everything down over the weekend.
Worse, while many viruses are created by hackers just to see what damage they can do, ransomware has become a business in itself.
Once your files are encrypted by an unguessable password, the hackers will pop up a intimidating screen demanding payment to get your files back.
They usually want to be paid in Bitcoin, the online-only digital currency, and the ransom demand for files usually starts around $10,000. For large organizations like hospitals, that asking price sometimes extends into the millions of dollars.
There are some things you can do to help protect your company from ransomware attacks:
Step 1.
Have a comprehensive on-site and off-site backup plan. The quickest and most cost effective way to deal with ransomware is to have the luxury of being able to restore your files yourself instead of paying the hackers thousands of dollars to do so.
This requires your company to keep daily backups that are stored where the ransomware can’t reach them.
Step 2.
Have quality anti-virus software running on all your computers. At the end of the day, ransomware are just scarier, more damaging form of the viruses that have targeted computer users for decades.
Even the best anti-virus program won’t catch everything, which is why backups are still important, but they will help make sure your business can fend off most ransomware attacks before they even start.
Be careful about opening email attachments from unknown sources.
Always use strong passwords and use a standalone password manager instead of storing passwords in your browser.
Safer Internet Day "Together for a better internet"
Safer Internet Day “Together for a better internet”
10 Tips For Staying Safe On The Internet
Malware And Its Impact On Your Business
Malware is a tiny risk with a giant impact on small businesses...
One thing that is sure to put your business on halt is being attacked on a technological level. Our businesses today rely more and more on the internet to survive and flourish. If you lose your data, your inventory, your customer information, this could be a turning point for your company, but not in a good way. This is a never-ending threat because just like our useful technology, the tactics of criminals continue to gain sophistication. More and more organizations are becoming a target; from small and new companies to the federal government. No one is immune to losing their data, money and even reputation on the internet today. It's not a matter of IF it's going to happen, its WHEN, and more importantly how you handle that situation if you let your companies data become susceptible to threats. Not only are small businesses at risk, but larger businesses often become a target. Interestingly enough, some of the top targets for cyber attacks are financial services, information and communications technology, manufacturing, retail, and professional services. According to the 2018 IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, a data breach in 2017 ended up costing the businesses affected an average of $3.7 million.
Other organizations that are often affected by malware are state capitals and local governments. The fact of the matter is that cybercrime is everywhere. This may all be a daunting realization if you are a new business, or even an older business just now beginning to take the step to better security. If you ever need assistance in improving your security or getting rid of an attack that has already happened. give us a call or check out our website for more information! |
Analyses networks
gnmanalyse [--help][-q][-quiet][--long-usage]
[dijkstra <start_gfid> <end_gfid> [[-alo NAME=VALUE] ...]]]
[kpaths <start_gfid> <end_gfid> <k> [[-alo NAME=VALUE] ...]]]
[resource [[-alo NAME=VALUE] ...]]]
[-ds <ds_name>][-f <ds_format>][-l <layer_name>]
[[-dsco NAME=VALUE] ...][-lco NAME=VALUE]
The gnmanalyse program provides analysing capabilities of geographical networks in GDAL. The results of calculations are return in an OGRLayer format or as a console text output if such layer is undefined. All calculations are made considering the blocking state of features.
dijkstra <start_gfid> <end_gfid>
Calculates the best path between two points using Dijkstra algorithm from start_gfid point to end_gfid point.
kpaths <start_gfid> <end_gfid>
Calculates K shortest paths between two points using Yen’s algorithm (which internally uses Dijkstra algorithm for single path calculating) from start_gfid point to end_gfid point.
Calculates the “resource distribution”. The connected components search is performed using breadth-first search and starting from that features which are marked by rules as ‘EMITTERS’.
-d <ds_name>
The name and path of the dataset to save the layer with resulting paths. Not need to be existed dataset.
-f <ds_format>
Define this to set the format of newly created dataset.
-l <layer_name>
The name of the resulting layer. If the layer exist already - it will be rewritten.
The network to work with (path and name).
Dataset creation option (format specific)
Layer creation option (format specific)
Algorithm option (format specific) |
I need to make a raster from a polyline shapefile. However, when I use gdal_rasterize (either directly or through QGIS), all my lines are drawn one pixel wide, while I need them to be drawn with the stroke weight of 3. I've examined the documentation at http://www.gdal.org/gdal_rasterize.html, but couldn't find a parameter to do so.
I have in mind some workarounds, but is there a simpler way to do so? My workarounds are: - render a raster 9 times smaller and blow it up - write a script that reads the raster and outputs a 3x3 block into another raster whenever it reads a non-zero pixel
• You could potentially use a buffered geometry to get your results, although that is not a certain solution.
– user10353
May 18 '14 at 23:21
• I recommend to make a feature request for gdal_rasterize. It feels reasonable that it could be made to utilize at least partly the style definitions configured with OGR_STYLES gdal.org/ogr/ogr_feature_style.html.
– user30184
May 19 '14 at 5:47
Hope this one helps.
Use GDAL rasterize to conver polyline to raster, then it is possible to run r.neighbors with a 3 (by 3) sized neighbourhood. see also in this post.
This is my result on some lines drew on WGS84. This is only a snapshot but the method works for all featurs and/or raster cells. Original polyline colored yellow, in black are the polyline to raster result. Then layered underneeth in red is the last raster with a 3 pixel "buffer".
It quite similar to the workaround you have suggested, but enable you to drop scripting and use GRASS tool instead. I find it to be most intuitive way to handle such a problem.
Line features do not have a width in GIS. It is the styling that makes them thicker (as you need it).
You can make a buffer around your line elements to get polygons with a defined width.
But note that this is in map units, while the width of the line is in pixels.
Your Answer
|
Researchers interpret the world from various philosophical paradigms. The philosophical paradigms form the base of knowledge which is the fundamental starting point to guide research inquiry and comes before the choice of methods. This philosophical paradigm is known as ‘epistemology’ which is concerned with various ways of knowing and learning about the social world and trying to understand how people can know about reality. The use of epistemology guides the methodology in any research which is how the researcher goes about obtaining the necessary information to validate the main research question. It also provides a philosophical background for deciding what kind of knowledge is legitimate. More specifically, epistemology is the theory of knowledge which justifies knowledge. Therefore, the choice of epistemology allows the researcher to stand on a definitive ground of the knowledge that is pertinent to the research question.
There are various epistemological paradigms depending on researcher’s own way of viewing the world. Some believe in a realist viewpoint and some see the world from constructivist perspective. Before embarking on an exploration of the research questions, a fundamental distinction needs to be made between the realist and the constructivist paradigms. The realist approach interprets the world with evidence, facts and figures. It also sees the world from the scientific point of view which asserts that science is capable of viewing reality. Constructivist approach, on the other hand, describes and interprets the world from the observed truth.
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research: Wiley Online Library.
Organization, 4(3), 215-247.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. London: Sage.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1998). Strategies of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research (Vol. 2). Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage. |
Pinworms: Symptoms and Diagnosis
It is not uncommon for horses to get infected by pest and parasites on a normal basis, but how should you deal with it? Parasites can cause acute medical problems as well as chronic debilitation. They may be responsible for diarrhea, intestinal impact (colic), and poor performance. One type of parasite that infects most horses is then called pinworms.
What Are Pinworms?
Adult pinworms are white worms and can grow as long as 15cm. They usually live in a horse’s right dorsal colon. Female pinworms lay yellow eggs around the horse’s anus to perianal pruritus (itching of the tail). Afterwards, they die. A sticky substance with the eggs is usually found around the infected horse’s anus. This leads to the worm being then passed in droppings. In three to five days, dislodged pinworm eggs will become infectious.
How do Horses Get Infected by Pinworms?
Pinworms’ life cycle is different from other parasites in the gastrointestinal system. The one that causes infection is its eggs. Horses get infected when they swallow pinworm eggs. It happens if they come in direct contact with the eggs from an infected horse. It can also happen if they happen to swallow the eggs on pasture or hay that have fallen off from an infected horse. There is no intermediate host in the body, and no migration by any other organ.
Signs and Effect of Pinworms
A horse that always rubs its butt is the most common clinical symptom of pinworms. Pinworm is then found with colic. Also, it is visible with horses suffering from appetite loss and severe depression.
Can you see worms in horse poop? There are instances that you will. You might see the parasites themselves in the droppings. It is unusual the horses have worms. Usually, pinworms metabolized in the gut. If you see the worms, you need to identify and treat them with the appropriate wormer.
Where does the itch come from? Pinworm uterine fluid in their eggs can cause skin irritation. Either by direct contact, or through immunological reaction, all these can cause itch. This may explain why some horses itch severely while others show no reaction.
How to Treat Pinworms
Natural Treatment
Any toxic load on animal system will compromise the liver and kidney. These chemicals are then cleaned out of the system via the normal metabolic process. Any toxic that is not removed is usually stored in fat. It will be then released out from the system through poop. Herbs is usually used to help detox from the negative effects of chemical drenching. Helping your animal manage worm loads is a realistic goal and is then done using a variety of approaches.
We have listed, few common alternative aids. These have anti parasitic and vermicide effects.
• Wormwood
• Chinese Rhubarb
• Tansy, Burdock
• Flax Seed
• Cloves and Garlic
Create a mixture of traditional anti-parasitic herbs. It is best to choose the one that works by toning up the gut wall while helping remove worms at the same time. Daily use makes the gut safer than ever and horses are more capable of handling normal worm load. These herbs are usually mixed with raw apple cider vinegar. Specific dosages are then given in a set program over weeks.
Aloes, Elecampane and slippery elm powder is usually used to heal damage to the lining of the gut. This makes the environment and GIT ecology much healthier.
These Natural Treatment is an alternative aid for horses that are very sensitive. There is no herbal remedy that can kill all worms and record a blood test with a zero count. Worms developed along with the digestive ecology of all animals. Any infestation can be regulated with cleanliness and proper care so that it does no harm to the animals.
Managing the Environment
Managing the environment is still considered as a natural remedy. Worm cycles are usually interrupted by dry periods and frost. Thus, the likelihood of herd infestation is then lowered. Always, keep the manure under control. This is especially if you have a high animal population on small acreage. Make sure you allow good rest periods in paddock. Follow proper methods of grazing (with sheep or cattle) is always recommended. You can use bio dynamic soil sprays, basalt, and dolomite. This is to condition the soil is also part of managing the whole system in balance.
Clinical Treatment
Chemical wormers are very strong as they kill worms quicker than killing the host. If pinworm is then confirmed, treat your horse with an oral wormer that pinworms are sensitive to. Pyrantel based wormers like Strongid-P used by a double dose. This should be then repeated every six to eight weeks. After cleaning, you can apply Vaseline on the skin surrounding your horse’s bottom after cleaning. This will help reduce the number of eggs that stick to the skin. In US and New Zealand, pyrantel or oxfendazole only killed adult pinworms. These are pinworms who had survived treatment with ivermectin or abamectin.
Sellotape Test Procedure
Another way to test for pinworm is to take a sellotape impression from under the horse’s tail. Sellotape is a sticky tape test for worms.
To do this, take a 4 “long, clear sticky tape and firmly press it onto the skin around the anus (not the hair). Collect the sample in the morning, ideally before 9 am. Pinworms are most active at night. Thus, this will give the best chance of detecting any activity that is present. Fold the tape in half and on the sticky side. For best results, perform the tape test three days in a row, and then take the pieces of tape to your veterinarian. Your vet can look at the tape under a microscope to see if there are any pinworm eggs.
Leave a Comment
Scroll to Top |
The foam you see in a horse’s mouth is usually caused by them salivating. Although this is normal, salivating can also be link to oral pain. It can lead to mouthiness and licking. This also usually happens during feeding time when saliva production increases.
Oral pain in horses’ age two to three years are quite common. Foals usually shed 16 baby teeth and erupt 16-20 permanent teeth. When some of those baby teeth stay too long in place, they can become loose, sharp, or otherwise painful to the horse. Baby teeth and new permanent teeth are quite soft and very easy to develop its edges into sharp points.
Reasons of Horse’s Foamy Mouth
In some cases, a foaming in the mouth can signify a medical condition requiring a visit from the vet. Clinical syndromes that can cause profuse salivation are the following:
Vesicular stomatitis
Vesicular stomatitis is a foreign animal disease affecting horses, cattle and swine. It causes oral vesicles marked by excessive salivation and chomping.
Chemical irritation on the Mouth
This results from horses grazing on plants that have sharp awns, spines, burs, and etc,. It may have substances that can cause irritation in the mouth.
Slaframine Poisoning
It is usually associated with a pasture or hay that has fungus. Rhizoctonia leguminicola fungus may grow in contaminated hay. This fungus causes excess salivation, lacrimation, colic and diarrhea. This is not life threatening, to be precise. No treatment is necessary, except changing the horses’ feed.
A Sign of Stress or Exertion
A horse that is usually overworked may produce foam. That is the body’s mechanism for trying to cool itself down faster which is necessary for a flight animal. A tense horse will foam in his mouth.
A Sign of Illness
If you see a horse with red or pink-tinged foam, consider it a call for help. Red or pink foam means that there is likely blood present somewhere. This should be check by a veterinarian for further assessment.
A Sign of Relaxation
In Equine World, seeing foamy mouths in horses is usually considered to be a good thing. Dressage enthusiasts look for happy foam. Happy foam is a relaxed horse that is on the bit and engaging with the rider. A horse with proper dressage form that uses its whole body will also produce more saliva.
Choking on Unknown Substance
Horses can get up to all sorts of shenanigans in the pasture, including eating things they shouldn’t. If your horse is acting strange in the pasture, they may have a stick or other foreign body lodged in their throat. This will also cause coughing and foamy mouth. If you think this is the case, call your veterinarian right away!
Eating, Drinking, and Chewing
Horses with foams are just okay during this activity. Lathering help horses eat and digest the vast quantities of dry food that they have to consume in a day. In return, they produce between 3 and 10 gallons of saliva a day. Hypersalivation is the excessive production of saliva – your horse may drool and dribble.
A Sign of Rabies
An infected horse or any animals has the tendency to have foamy mouths. Horses with rabies can exhibit a wide variety of symptoms, and individual cases may vary. Since it’s transmitted through saliva, infected horses are a risk to humans and animals. You can prevent this by having them vaccinated.
Horse’s Bit
Bit is a piece of metal that is usually attached to a bridle. It fits in a horse’s mouth – resting over the tongue on gaps between teeth called “bars”. If a horse is chewing on the bit, the excess saliva will often dribble from their mouths and churn up some foam.
Uncommon Diseases
Equine viral arthritis
It is often confused with other equine respiratory diseases. This virus can cause permanent damage to young horses and their offspring.
Borne disease
This virus can cause paralysis and death, particularly to horses and sheep.
Non-transmissible diseases:
• Musculoskeletal deformities – whether a horse was born with them or they’re a result of injury to the face or neck
• Mouth deformities
• Tongue deformities
Is it good for Horses to have Foamy Mouths?
Most likely. Foams on horses’ mouth indicate a physical reaction from its rider and a relaxed state of mind. Horses chew more gently, move their tongue and swallows that’s why they salivate. This is which in turn helps the relaxation of the jaw and poll. It also means that their jaw softens and that the horse is accepting the bit. It lets the saliva flow rather than tightening his mouth. All in all, it is a positive trait.
3 Ways to Have your Horse with a Foamy Mouth
1. Make sure your horse has a good posture. You have to worry about how he lifts his back and bends his neck to crane. This is so that the salivary duct is not inhabited and the mouth does not dry out.
2. Some riders will give their horses a bit of apple or a sugar cube before a competition. Eating encourages the saliva to flow.
3. Give them something to chew on, as this produces excess saliva.
Leave a Comment
Scroll to Top |
Women Scientists That Revolutionized Female Sexuality
The following female scientists helped thousands of women challenge the social norms around gender and sexuality, understand their bodies better, and get to know themselves better.
The Woman Post | Carolina Rodríguez Monclou
Listen to this article
Here are six scientists and sex educators who provided valuable inputs to help women achieve orgasm and understand their bodies better.
Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard promoted gender equality, denied that sexual pleasure was the fruit of sin, and argued that the blood that truly stained was not that of menstruation but that which was shed during wars. She was a woman far ahead of her time, primarily in her views on the importance of sexual gratification for women. Without fear of the patriarchal authority of the time, this nun made the first descriptions of the female orgasm, studied the sexual organs of male and female, and dared to state that pleasure, far from being the exclusive patrimony of men, was a matter of two.
Miriam Menkin
The scientist became the first person to fertilize a human egg in the laboratory. However, the success of Menkin, a graduate in histology and comparative anatomy, was a long-distance career. Many universities and laboratories did not admit women in her time, and others had a very small quota for them to participate as researchers. In 1994, alongside Dr. John Rock, Menkin announced that they completed a series of in vitro fertilization (IVF) experiments in the journal Science after six years of trying the procedure in their laboratory at the Free Hospital for Women in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell was not only the first Australian to specialize in urology. She also described the complete anatomy of the clitoris with all its elements in 1998. The doctor included the corpus cavernous as part of the pyramidal structure and linked its relationships with the urethra and vagina in her description. The only human organ designed for pleasure has been her obsession. The doctor has focused much of her research on studying the famous G-spot.
Helen S. Kaplan
In 1980, Kaplan began to talk about the Triphasic Model of human sexual response. Baptized with the name of its creator, the sexologist H. Kaplan, it is based on studying the different phases of the human sexual response in three periods divided into desire, arousal, orgasm, and resolution. With this theory, she emphasizes the influence of the psychological aspect on the sexual experience. She also explained the desire functions as the stimulus before genital contact. Her contribution expanded the effectiveness of sex therapy, giving greater importance to the psychological aspects.
Shere Hite
The sex educator debunked myths about the female orgasm. For example, she explained that masturbation and the role of the clitoris are vital steps to reaching climax. Her research was crucial for sex therapy and female sexuality. Hite interviewed 3000 women and revealed that most don't orgasm from intercourse. As Psychology Today explains, "The Hite Report told women that it was normal to not orgasm during intercourse and that, instead, the vast majority of women need direct clitoral stimulation to orgasm."
Virginia E. Johnson
Virginia's field of research was physiology and sex therapy. She is considered the first woman to study sexual dysfunctions scientifically. Her efforts in her lab, analyzing heart rate and brain activity during sexual activity, broadened humanity's understanding of sexual pleasure and dysfunction. But it is also worth noting that thanks to her contributions, sexual therapy, and couples’ therapy gained greater respectability in the clinical field.
More Articles |
Lipids Definition, Structure, Properties, Types, Examples, and Functions
It is common to discuss fat as if it was a villainous substance that is bent to destroy our diets. However, they...
Sourav Bio avatar
Sourav Bio
This article writter by Sourav Bio on November 29, 2021
· 11 min read >
Lipids Definition, Structure, Properties, types, Examples, and Functions
It is common to discuss fat as if it was a villainous substance that is bent to destroy our diets. However, they are beautiful tiny molecules composed of three hydrocarbon tails that are attached to a small coathanger-like molecule known as Glycerol. Similar to the other big organic molecules they perform crucial functions in the biology of both humans and other living things. (Also numerous recent diet studies suggest that sugar can cause many more health issues that fat!)
Fats are one of the types of lipid, a class of molecules that are bonded due to their ability not mix with water. Lipids are generally nonpolar, hydrophobic, and comprised of hydrocarbon chains, however there are variations to this that we’ll discuss in the next section. Different kinds of lipids have distinct designs, and consequently, different functions in living organisms. They, for instance, store energy, act as insulation and cell membranes, make layers of water-resistant leaves and are the building blocks of hormones such as testosterone.
What are lipids? / Lipids definition
Lipids (Greek term: lipos-fat) are extremely important for the body because they are the most concentrated form of energy, in addition to their importance in the structure of cells and different biochemical processes. Lipids are a diverse group of substances and, as such it is challenging to pinpoint them accurately. Lipids can be described as organic compounds that are insoluble in water, and soluble with organic solvents (alcohol and ether. ) and possibly connected to fatty acids and used by living cells. Contrary to polysaccharides, proteins or nucleic acid, lipids do not constitute polymers. In addition, lipids are small molecules.
Types of lipids
Lipids broadly categorize (modified to Bloor) as simple complex, complex, derived and miscellaneous lipids. They further subdivided into various categories.
1. Simple lipids
Ester of fatty acids containing alcohols. They are mostly of two kinds
a. Fats and oils (triacylglycerols)
They are fatty acid esters that contain glycerol. The distinction between oil and fat is purely physical. So the oils are liquids whereas fat is solid at room temperature.
b. Waxes
Esters of fat acid (usually lengthy chains) with alcohols that are not Glycerol. These alcohols could be either aliphatic or the alicyclic. Cetyl alcohol is typically present in the waxes. These are the ingredients used to make candles, lubricants and cosmotics polishes, ointments and polishes.
2. Complex (or compound) lipids
These are esters of fatty acids that contain alcohols that have other groups like nitrogenous base, phosphate, carbohydrate, protein , etc. They are further classified according to the following order
(a) Phospholipids
They are a source of phosphoric acid, and often nitrogenous bases. It is also a source of alcohol and the fatty acids.
(i) Glycerophospholipids: These phospholipids contain glycerol as the alcohol e.g., lecithin, cephalin.
(ii) Sphingophospholipids: Sphingosine is the alcohol in this group of phospholipids e.g., sphingomyelin.
(b) Glycolipids
These lipids are made up of the fatty acid, carbohydrate, and nitrogenous base. Alcohol is called sphingosine so they are referred to as glycosphingolipids. Glycerol and Phosphate aren’t present e.g. cerebrosides Gangliosides.
(c) Lipoproteins
Macromolecular complexes of lipids that contain proteins.
(d) Other complex lipids
Lipopolysaccharides, aminolipids, and Sulfolipids are just a few of the complex lipids.
3. Derived lipids
They are the derivatives derived from the hydrolysis of groups 1 and 2 lipids that have the properties of lipids. They include glycerol, as well as various alcohols as well as fatty acids diacylglycerols and mono-glycerols, the lipid (fat) liquid vitamins, steroids, ketones and hydrocarbons.
4. Miscellaneous lipids
They include a variety of compounds with the properties of oils e.g. carotenoids hydrocarbons like pentacosane (in honey bees’ wax) as well as terpenes and others.
NEUTRAL LIPIDS: Lipids that are free of charge are known as neutral Lipids. These include monodi-, tri- and triacylglycerols. They are cholesterol as well as cholesteryl esters.
Properties of Lipids
• Lipids could be liquids or solids that are not crystallized at the temperature of room.
• The pure fats are colorless and odorless and in tasteless.
• They are organic molecules that have a lot of energy.
• Insoluble in water
• Solutable in organic solvents such as alcohol and chloroform as well as acetone, the benzene and others.
• There are no Ionic charges
• Solid Triglycerols (Fats) have high percentages of saturated fat acids.
• Liquid Triglycerols (Oils) contain high levels of unsaturated fatty acids.
1. Hydrolysis of triglycerols
Triglycerols are similar to other esters. They interact with water and create their carboxylic acid as well as alcohol- a process that is known as hydrolysis.
2. Saponification:
Triacylglycerols can be hydrolyzed using different methods, but the most well-known one is using an alkali solution or enzymes known as lipases. Saponification is the term used for alkaline hydrolysis since one of the results from the process is a soap, typically sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids.
3. Hydrogenation
Double bonds between carbon and carbon of unsaturated fatty acids could be hydrogenated through the reaction of hydrogen to make saturated fat acids.
4. Halogenation
Unsaturated fatty acids (whether they are free or mixed as esters in fats or oils react with halogens via an addition to their dual bond(s). The reaction causes discoloration of the solution of halogens.
5. Rancidity:
The term”rancid” is used to refer to any oil or fat that has a sour smell. Oxidation and hydrolysis can cause rancidity. The oxidative runcidity is common in triacylglycerols with unsaturated fat acids.
Lipids structure
• Lipids are composed of the elements Carbon Oxygen, Hydrogen and Carbon however, they have a smaller proportion of water than other molecules like carbohydrates.
• In contrast to proteins and polysaccharides, the lipids aren’t polymers, they are monomeric and do not repeat.
• They are made of two compounds: Glycerol and Fatty Acids.
• A glycerol-containing molecule is made from three carbon atoms, with an”hydroxyl” group attached and hydrogen atoms taking up the other positions.
• Fatty acids are made up of an acid group located at one other end, and the hydrocarbon chain that is typically identified by the letter ‘R’..
• They could either be unsaturated or saturated.
• A saturated fatty acid occurs when every possible bond is formed by the Hydrogen atom in the sense that there aren’t any C=C bonds.
• Unsaturated fatty acids however contain C=C bonds. Monounsaturated fatty acids contain one C=C bond. Polyunsaturated fatty acids polyunsaturated contain several C=C bonds.
Structure of Triglycerides
• Triglycerides are lipids that consist of a single glycerol molecule that is bonded to 3 fatty acid molecules.
• The bonds that connect the molecules are covalent. They are known as Ester bonds.
• They form by a condensation reaction.
• They are equally distributed across the molecule, allowing hydrogen bonds are not formed with water molecules, which makes them insoluble in water.
Lipids function
It is well-known that lipids play a crucial role in the regular functioning of cells. They not only function as extremely low storage forms of energy, they also play an integral part to the structure and function of the cell membranes as well as organellar membranes. Lipids play a number of roles like:
• They are the most concentrated fuel reserves in our human body (triacylglycerols).
• Lipids form the basis of membrane structure. They regulate membrane permeability (phospholipids and cholesterol).
• They provide a source of fat-soluble Vitamins (A, D, E and K).
• Lipids are essential as cellular regulatory agents of metabolism (steroid hormones, prostaglandins).
• Lipids shield organs within the body, act as insulation materials and provide form and a smooth appearance to the human body.
• Buoyancy
• They functions as hormones.
• They function as the structural component of the body. It also provides the hydrophobic barrier which allows partitioning of the aqueous content of the cell as well as subcellular structures.
• Lipids are a major source of energy for animals, as are the seeds that are high in lipids.
• The enzymes that are activated, for example. glucose-6-phosphatase, stearyl CoA desaturase and o-monooxygenase, and b-hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase (a mitochondrial enzyme) require phosphatidylcholine micelles for activation.
Lipids monomer
Glycerol as well as fatty acids form monomers of the lipids. Lipids comprise waxes, oil and fats. Some are used to aid in energy storage. Other types of cushion bony regions of the body.
• A sugar alcohol composed of two polyols that result from saponification of fats as well as oils. It is used principally as a metabolic intermediary and an essential structural component of the main types of biological lipids, triglycerides and phosphatidylphospholipids.
• Sugar alcohols are the polyol class that is distinguished by being water-soluble, white organic compounds having general chemical formulas of (CHOH)nH2. Sugar alcohols can be made through the hydrogenation process of sugars.
• Glycerol is a colorless flavorless, odorless, viscous sweet-tasting polyol having the chemical formula C3H8O3.
• This is known as a trihydric alcohol because it is composed from three carbon atoms. every one of two ends carbon atoms are bound by two hydrogen atoms as well as an hydroxyl group. The central carbon atom is linked with a hydrogen atom as well as an group of hydroxyl. This is what makes glycerol water-soluble (readily draws moisture) and is soluble in water and alcohol.
• The melting temperature is 18degC.
• Their boiling point is 290°C.
• It is sweeter than sucrose i.e. 75% sweeter than sucrose.
Fatty acid
• A fatty acid is a subunit of fats, oils and waxes.
• It is a reference to any long chain of hydrocarbons that has one carboxylic group, and an the aliphatic tail.
• It is created through the degrading of fats (usually phospholipids or triglycerides) in a process called hydrolysis.
• Fatty acids form a subset of the lipids. The other major kinds of lipids include Glycerol, Glycerophospholipid, Sphingolipid, sterol lipid, as well as prenol lipid. They are organic molecules that happen to be easily and easily soluble in nonpolar solvents (e.g. ether) however not in polar solvents (e.g. water).
• A fatty acid can be represented as R-COOH in which R is the absorptive moiety, and COOH is an carboxylic group (making the molecules one of acid).
• The formula for the general formulation is as follows: CnH2n+1COOH. Nearly all natural fatty acids possess an even amount of carbons. This is due to the fact that they are made using two carbons at a every time malonyl CoA is added to.
• The fatty acids are classified in two main categories based on the type of the covalent bond: (1) unsaturated fat acid as well as (2) saturated acid fatty.
Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
• If there are just single bonds between carbons that are adjacent to each other within the hydrocarbon chain, it is considered to be saturated. (The factor that fat acids are saturated is hydrogen. In saturated fats the atoms of hydrogen as numerous as are possible are bound to carbon skeleton.)
• If the hydrocarbon chain contains two bonds and a double bond, the fatty acid can be classified as unsaturated since it is now containing fewer hydrogens. If there’s just one double bond within a fatty acid it’s monounsaturated. However, if there are several double bonds it’s polyunsaturated.
• Double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids, as with other double bonds, may exist in either a trans or trans configuration. In the cis configuration the two hydrogens that form bonds are on the same side, whereas in a trans configuration they are located on opposing side (see the section below). A double bond in cis causes an elongation or kink in the fat acid, an aspect which has significant implications for the behaviour of fats.
• Tails of saturated fatty acids are straight, meaning that fat molecules that are saturated tails are able to pack tight against one another. This packing tightness results in fats that remain solid at the temperature of room (have an extremely high melting temperature). In particular, the majority of the butter’s fat is saturated fat.
• Contrary to this, cis-unsaturated fat acid tails bend because of the cis double bond. This makes it difficult for fat molecules that have at least one or more cis-unsaturated acid tails to pack tight. Therefore, fats that have unsaturated tails are typically liquid at temperatures of room temperature (have relatively low melting point) They are often referred to as oils. For example, olive oil is mostly composed of unsaturated fats.
Examples of lipids
A variety of lipids can be included in your daily food routine. Other kinds of lipids develop naturally within the body. However they are made the lipids are a vital element of our lives and our overall health. There are various kinds of lipids. Examples of lipids are butter, ghee and cheese, vegetable oil cholesterol, and various steroids, waxesand phospholipids along with fat-soluble vitamins. These compounds share similar properties, i.e. insoluble in water, and soluble within organic solvents, for instance.
Here are a few examples of lipids that you could find within your body, and where they can be found in a balanced diet.
Fats are the most significant category of lipids. They are also known as triacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, and Glycerolipids. There are a variety of fats. Certain kinds of fats are unhealthy when consumed in large amounts including saturated fats, whereas others are best avoided such as trans fats. Omega-3 fats in foods, however, may reduce the risk of having heart attacks.
Type of FatBasic InformationWhere to Find It
Saturated FatsSolid substance when it is at room temperatureAnimal foods (butter, meat, cheese, milk, etc.)Tropical oils (palm oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil)
Unsaturated Fats (monounsaturated)Liquid when it is at room temperatureVegetable oils (olive, peanut, canola oils)
Unsaturated Fats (polyunsaturated)Two types of fats: Omega-6 and Omega-3Plant-based oils (Omega-6: sunflower, sesame, corn, soybean, and safflower oils)
Seafood (Omega-3: shellfish, salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies, and trout)
Nuts and seeds: (Omega-3: walnuts, flaxseed, soybeans)
Trans Fats (trans polyunsaturated fatty acids)Hydrogenated fats make foods crispy
Processed foods (potato chips, crackers, cookies)
Dressings and spreads (salad dressing, margarine)
There are a variety of lipids that naturally occur in your body , as the steroid cholesterols. Although they appear different from other lipids they are insoluble when in water. Here are a few examples of steroid lipids
Type of SteroidFunction in the Body
CholesterolAssists with digestion
EstrogenFemale hormone
TestosteroneMale hormone
Bile SaltsLipids found in human intestinal bile
CortisolProduced in response to stress
Waxes are a different kind of naturally occurring lipids. They have melting points of high (40 ° Celsius) and are useful as candles or sealants. Certain waxes are found inside the human body as well as those produced by animals, insects, and even plants.
Type of WaxWhere to Find ItFunction
BeeswaxBeehivesForms honeycombs and protects larvae
EarwaxHuman earsProtects insides of ears
CutinSurfaces of plant leavesStops water from evaporating from the leaves; protects and seals the plant.
Preen waxFeathers of birdsPrevents water from penetrating feathers; keeps bacteria from growing
Lipids are fat-soluble vitamins. It’s essential to maintain an equilibrium of these kinds of lipids to maintain the body in good working order. Individuals with low levels or imbalanced levels of vitamins may supplement the body’s functions.
Examples of fat-soluble vitamins are:
Type of VitaminFunction in the BodyVitamin-Rich Foods
Vitamin AAssists immune function, vision, and reproductionColorful fruits and vegetables
Whole milk
Liver and organ meat
Vitamin DEnhance how intestines absorb calcium, zinc, phosphate, iron, and magnesiumFatty fish (tuna, salmon)
Egg yolks
Sunlight exposure
Vitamin EProtects the human heart and helps protect the body from free radicals (keeps cells healthy)Nuts, seeds, vegetable oils
Vitamin KAllows blood to clot; may aid with bone strength in elderly peopleLeafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collards, romaine, green leaf lettuce, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)
The final class of lipids is the phospholipids. They are present in many cell membranes, and they provide a protective layer that covers cells and their outer membrane. The foods that contain phospholipids are:
Type of PhospholipidFunction in the BodyVitamin-Rich Foods
PhosphatidylcholineAids neural processes (learning and reasoning)Red meat
PhosphatidylserineRegulates heartbeat and bone repairPoultryCarrots
PhosphatidylethanolamineMaintains neural tissue (cognition and memory)Dairy productsChocolate
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are lipids made of?
Lipids consist of a glycerol molecule which is linked by three different fatty acid molecules. This lipid is known as triglyceride.
Q2. What are the functions of lipids?
Lipids play a crucial function in the body. They’re the primary structural element that makes up the membrane of cells. They aid in creating energy and hormones that are produced by our body. They assist in proper digestion and digestion of food. They can be a beneficial component of our diet when taken in the right quantities. They also play a significant function in the process of signalling.
Q3. Are fatty acids lipids?
Fatty acids are a common component of complex Lipids
Q4. Are steroids lipids?
Steroids are lipids as they are insoluble and hydrophobic within water. However, they are not similar to the lipids because they have a structure that is composed of four rings that are fused.
Q5. What elements makeup lipids?
Lipids are made up of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen atoms. They also occasionally, they also include nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other elements.
Q6. What are examples of lipids?
Examples of lipids are waxes, oils, fats and specific Vitamins (such like A D K, E or A) hormones, as well as the majority of the cell membrane which isn’t composed of proteins.
Q7. What are the building blocks of lipids?
Glycerol and fatty acids are the basic building blocks of fats (lipids).
Q8. Where are lipids made in the cell?
In the case of excess carbohydrates, they are transformed into triglycerides which are the result of the creation of fatty acids by the acetyl-CoA molecule in a process known as lipogenesis. The process occurs in the endoplasmic retina. In both fungi and animals one protein that is multi-functional handles all of these processes while bacteria make use of multiple distinct enzymes. Certain kinds of unsaturated fat acids are not able to be produced in mammalian cells, consequently, they should be consumed as a component of the daily diet for example, omega-3.
Acetyl-CoA also plays a role in the mevalonate process, that is responsible for the production of a diverse assortment of isoprenoids. These comprise important lipids like cholesterol and steroids.
Q9. How are carbohydrates and lipids similar?
Both are composed from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Both are broken down to provide fuel sources Both have structure-related functions. For example, carbohydrates are sugars and starches. Likewise, oily lipids are comprised of oils, fats, and waxes.
Q10. In which form are most dietary lipids found?
Triglycerides. Triglycerides account for over 95 percent the lipids found in the diet. They are typically found in foods that are fried including butter milk, cheese and a few meats. Triacylglycerols naturally occur in a variety of foods, including olives, avocados, corn and nuts.
Are you stuck with a problem?
Get involved!
No comments yet
More From Microbiology
Join the Newsletter
|
Bird Traps
These traps are set ostensibly to catch corvids (such as crows and magpies) but can just as easily catch raptors (such as buzzards, pegrerine falcons and goshawks). Clam, Larsen and Ladder traps are placed throughout the spring, often on open moorland close to tree cover.
A captive “call bird” is used to draw other birds into the trap. All suffer terrible physical and mental harm, exposed to the elements and unable to hunt, feed their young or return to their mate, until the gamekeeper finally attends to kill them.
The law on use of corvid traps is changing, following a campaign by Wild Justice. Please follow them for updated information on the legal case on the General Licensing of corvid traps. This has been a protracted legal battle and has raised great awareness of just how many wild birds suffer “casual killing” in the UK.
In 2020, the Hunt Investigation Team reported an illegally mutilated call bird and a hypothermic fox cub in a Larsen trap on National Trust land (Outseats) in the Peak District. The Moscar gamekeepers admitted to the RSPCA that they had set the traps, without the landowner’s consent. The misuse of Larsen traps is vastly unreported and causes untold suffering. Monitoring is always needed during the spring/summer months.
• Please report the accurate location (date, grid ref, location and description) of any bird traps found.
• Monitor for injured and suffering wildlife. If birds are held captive without food, water or shelter, or if they are injured, they should be protected by the Animal Welfare Act. Document wherever possible and seek immediate vetinary advice.
• Monitor for signs of illegality: raptor capture, use of carrion as bait, use of any bird other than a corvid as bait, lack of water/food/shelter, lack of regular inspection.
• Use FOI requests to determine if the landowner has a valid license for corvid traps. There is a high chance they do not.
Here is one example of a Peak District gamekeeper being convicted for using such traps illegally.
See also the excellent group Against Corvid Traps for more info.
%d bloggers like this: |
Climate action on the federal level is unlikely for the next four years, but states can do a lot on their own to reduce emissions and grow clean energy. Recent bipartisan compromises to advance clean energy in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan show that state leaders see the writing on the wall: renewables are becoming cheaper by the day and present tremendous opportunities for economic development.
Wyoming is another case altogether, though. For starters, the coal-heavy state does not have a renewable energy standard that mandates utilities purchase a certain amount of renewable energy. In fact, the state seems to be going in the opposite direction. A bill filed last Tuesday by a group of Republican state legislators would prohibit utilities from purchasing electricity from large-scale solar or wind installations. It would fine utilities that do not procure energy from an approved list of sources: coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, rooftop solar, nuclear or oil.
Wyoming depends on fossil fuels for everything from income to energy to tax revenue. In 2015, the state produced 42 percent of all coal mined in the country. That same year, almost 90 percent of electricity in the state came from coal. Taxes on oil, gas and coal production are the state’s primary source of revenue.
But coal isn’t everything. Wyoming is one of those rare states that could churn out both huge sums of fossil fuels and renewable energy — specifically wind. What electricity Wyoming doesn’t produce from coal comes from wind. Developers want to build large-scale wind farms and sell the electricity they generate across state lines. By 2030, Wyoming could produce enough wind energy to power 3.4 million American homes. And yet, state legislators are trying to halt the growth of wind power.
As the energy transition marches on, policymakers in fossil fuel-heavy states have to contend with difficult questions. Do they continue with business as usual, or do they take advantage of new opportunities for job creation in their states? Wyoming employs nearly 8,000 people in clean energy and energy efficiency. There’s no doubt these industries can drive economic growth.
|
Email Signup
Creating Rustic Looks
Scumble is a thin application of opaque color scrubbed over an area to change the tone, temperature or value.
Yes. There are four common types of strokes for stenciling.
Circular: Use a circular stroke to achieve an evenly shaded print. Move the loaded brush in a clockwise direction, focusing on the outside edge of the cutout area. The circular stroke is recommended when using dry brush paint. If acrylic paints are used, care must be taken to remove excess paint from the brush and to keep a light pressure on the brush to prevent smudged prints.
Image for answer 2
Pouncing: A pounced stroke is ideal for beginners, as it will not readily cause a smudged print. Apply the paint in an up-and-down pouncing motion. The more you pounce, the more solid or opaque the print will become.
Image for answer 3
Sweeping: Use a back-and-forth sweeping stroke to create a directional print. This stroke is especially effective in large cut out areas, or when using a flat stencil brush. Use caution - too much paint on the brush can result in a brush-under smudge.
Image for answer 4
Rolling: The stencil roller can by used with one or two shades of paint. A darker color can then be added to accent ares of the stencil or for the second overlay. The finished print will not have outside edge shading.
Image for answer 5
Combination: A combination stroke blends pouncing, circular and sweeping strokes. This is a secondary stroke added after the stencil is first rolled on the surface. Then certain design elements can be added using a different technique.
Never mix mediums or alcohol with Leather Studio™ paint as it will break down the paint and make it not as flexible.
Tape the edges of your fabric to get a more secure mount when using stretcher bars. This will also help prevent your fabric from slipping.
Load a flat brush with Thicket and Sunflower. Make guidelines in a "v" to help keep the top of your leaf even.
Begin at one guideline with the flat side of the brush. Have the green side of brush to the outside. Touch down with brush.
Push and wiggle the stroke.
Begin turning brush as you get to tip.
Turn and slide as you pull brush up to chisel edge.
Make both sides of the leaf in this same way.
To make a turned edge on the leaf: Begin making a leaf in the same way, as you get to the middle of leaf, pull brush up to chisel.
Twist brush 180 degrees and flip to other side.
Make another shell-shaped petal on the left side of the rose bud.
Continue adding the shell-shaped petals below the bud until you have painted four petals.
Clean up the bottom of the bud by restroking over the bottom stroke.
Paint a comma stroke on each side of the bud, ending on the chisel.
Make a comma stroke just under the bud for the last petal of the rose.
Bridges are partitions within the design of the stencil. Stencils without bridges are called "bridgeless" or "theorem-style" stencils.
Reverse painting refers to the technique where painting is done on the back of clear glass (such as a plate) but is seen through the glass from the front. Therefore, the design is painted in reverse, with details first and basecoat last. When you have painted a clear glass plate with this technique, food can be placed onto front of plate.
You may try adding weight to the dry stencil between uses. Lay a sheet of waxed paper over the stencil then load it up with heavy books, etc.
Displaying results 11-20 (of 432)
Questions? Ask an Expert |
Press "Enter" to skip to content
Social Media Activism on the Rise
Last updated on November 19, 2020
Since March, social media has become a huge influence on teenagers’ political involvement and civic engagement. Social media provides widespread, easy to access news sources which educate teens on politics, social justice, and the upcoming election. Apps like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. can be a useful tool to access information and news about the world, but that doesn’t mean that they are entirely positive. Using social media as your main news source may give biased or misleading information. Reposting false news stories on popular media such as Instagram can be harmful because they give readers a warped sense of the world and what needs to be done politically.
In a recent survey sent to Northwest School students grades 6-12, almost 30% of 41 respondents use some form of social media as their main news source. Additionally, 78% of students reported that the rapid rise of information on social media over the summer has impacted their political involvement. Although this is a good thing, as more teenagers have been involved in politics and activism, it can be harmful if dishonest information is spread. It is necessary for us to recognize that getting involved politically is much more than just a “trend” circulating on social media. As human beings, we have a responsibility to get involved and fact checks all of our resources before posting information publicly. It is amazing that the rise of news on social media has allowed people to get involved, but involvement should not end with a share or a repost. Posting information online once a week does not give an excuse to stop caring when we aren’t behind a screen.
Performative activism has also been a very prevalent issue during the quarantine. Performative activism is when someone engages in activism to increase their “social capital” rather than because they care about the cause. One example of performative activism would be sharing an informational post about racism and then participating in cultural appropriation. With the rise of information and resources regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, white teenagers often try to create a “woke” image of themselves online. This becomes dangerous when that same activism is not translated into offline involvement. Political activism is not about becoming immersed in movements when they are popular in order to fit in. It is about appreciating the lives of others and genuinely caring about our world. Social media has allowed for more performativity to go unnoticed, as it has become so common.
When Northwest students were asked about how social media impacted their political involvement, there was no general consensus. Many people believe that social media can spread fake news, push political ideas onto young people, and does not make a huge difference offline. However, many students also reported that social media is a community-based source, spreads information quickly to a wide audience, and allows for healthy debate from people of differing perspectives.
When it comes to this issue, there is not a right or wrong answer. Activism does not end with a hashtag or alike, and social media is inherently performative to some extent. We must remember to use the information we learn on Instagram and Twitter and apply it to our daily lives. Things like campaigning, signing petitions, and writing letters to our government officials can make a genuine difference politically. Social media can be a wonderful tool and a great place to start, but it can also be misleading and harmful.
Be First to Comment
Leave a Reply
%d bloggers like this: |
Mixing It: Diversity in World War Two Britain
Research output: Book/ReportBookpeer-review
8 Citations (Scopus)
During the Second World War, people arrived in Britain from all over the world as troops, war-workers, nurses, refugees, exiles, and prisoners-of-war-chiefly from Europe, America, and the British Empire. Between 1939 and 1945, the population in Britain became more diverse than it had ever been before. Through diaries, letters, and interviews, Mixing It tells of ordinary lives pushed to extraordinary lengths. Among the stories featured are those of Zbigniew Siemaszko - deported by the Soviet Union, fleeing Kazakhstan on a horse-drawn sleigh, and eventually joining the Polish army in Scotland via Iran, Iraq, and South Africa - and 'Johnny' Pohe - the first Maori pilot to serve in the RAF, who was captured, and eventually murdered by the Gestapo for his part in the 'Great Escape'. This is the first book to look at the big picture of large-scale movements to Britain and the rich variety of relations between different groups. When the war ended, awareness of the diversity of Britain's wartime population was lost and has played little part in public memories of the war. Mixing It recovers this forgotten history. It illuminates the place of the Second World War in the making of multinational, multiethnic Britain and resonates with current debates on immigration.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press
Number of pages330
ISBN (Electronic)9780192572356
ISBN (Print)9780198735762, 9780192895219
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2018
Dive into the research topics of 'Mixing It: Diversity in World War Two Britain'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Cite this |
Chemicals Of Concern: A War On Science Is Bad Environmental Policy
So-called environmentalists, if nothing else, should be credited for their creativity in their war on chemicals.
For decades now, self-appointed protectors of the Earth have used a variety of methods to frighten policymakers and consumers into abandoning chemicals that pose little or no harm to people or the environment, but whose benefits to society and even the environment are undeniable. From lawsuits to scare campaigns on social media, these zealots try to rid American commerce of certain chemicals through any means necessary.
In recent years, environmentalists have taken their crusade to the state level, where a “blame and shame” campaign has taken hold in some legislatures. Through the passage of “Chemicals of Concern” laws, some states are sending very confusing signals to consumers.
While no one will disagree that listing dangerous chemicals is in the public interest, these state Chemicals of Concern lists fail because they are not based on sound science. In most cases, states just import findings from other jurisdictions — like Europe — where regulators don’t use real-world risk to conduct their assessments.
A “list of lists” leads to many false positives. Often times, perfectly safe chemicals end up on state concern lists based on a single determination by a European regulatory body or activist group.
Politicizing Science
One such example is a class of chemicals called silicones. In recent years, the European Union has adopted rules to restrict certain uses of silicones, which are found in thousands of consumer products from smartphones to winter coats. The EU’s decision to target silicones in personal care products has been roundly criticized for an incomplete assessment of the scientific evidence, an over-reliance on dubious computer models rather than real-world field tests, and a misguided regulatory philosophy that fails to properly consider the probability of actual harm.
Extensive studies by government agencies in Australia and Canada, as well as peer-reviewed research, have concluded that silicones present no risk to human health and do not constitute a long-term threat to the environment.
Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that silicone materials — including three specific types, D4, D5, and D6 — are safe, the EU has refused to alter its stance. Even worse, the EU’s approach — thanks to state Chemicals of Concern laws and lists — is spreading to the U.S.
Chemicals Of Concern
States that lack the technical expertise or financial resources to conduct their own scientific impact studies often turn to larger government bodies, like the EU, when formulating their regulatory policies. As a result, the EU’s flawed approach to silicones has led several states to add D4, D5, and/or D6 to their Chemicals of Concern lists without adequate scientific scrutiny.
For example, as of last year, Maine listed D4, D5, and D6 as meriting special oversight. When regulators were urged to reconsider their determination based on exhaustive scientific evidence, officials responded that, while D6 would be delisted in light of the lack of evidence, D4 and D5 would remain listed. Why? Not because of the science, but solely because of the EU listing these as substances of very high concern. Maine ignored Canada’s determinations on the same substances.
It’s not just Maine — other states are basing their classification of D4, D5, and D6 on the EU’s policies as well. Minnesota, Vermont, and Oregon have similarly designated certain silicones as Chemicals of Concern because of the EU’s determination.
Imposing needlessly strict regulations on silicone materials threatens to impact important sectors of our economy. D4, D5, and D6 play a central role in the production of numerous silicone polymers that improve the quality, durability and safety of thousands of products while reducing prices for consumers.
Saving Lives With Silicones
Silicones coat airbags (which saved at least 2,756 lives in 2016), preventing them from deteriorating over time and keeping them gas-tight under pressure. Silicones are key components of LED light bulbs, which use about 90% less energy than incandescent lighting and generate more than $30 billion in savings for consumers.
Solar panels and wind turbines use silicones. The medical industry uses silicones so widely used that it’s virtually impossible to visit a hospital without touching silicone materials of some kind — whether it’s in medical tape, electronic covers, syringe coatings, IVs, catheters, bed cushions, breathing masks, ECG leads, CT machines, or any number of other medical items.
These products conserve energy and save lives.
Environmental regulation must follow science, not blacklist chemicals based on incomplete information. When U.S. state policymakers blindly import the worst of the EU’s regulations without scrutinizing the underlying reasoning, they are perpetuating policies that damage our economy, hurt consumers, waste energy and cost lives.
• Pociask is president and CEO for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit educational and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on Twitter @ConsumerPal.
Click here for more Commentary and Opinion from Investor’s Business Daily.
Source link
Originally posted 2019-09-19 23:25:26.
No comments.
Leave a Reply
error: Content is protected !! |
Scripture Truth Banner
Bible Study
I Chronicles
Book 13 of 39 in The Old Testament
I Chronicles
The books of Chronicles deals mainly with the Southern kingdom of Judah. The first book covers the period from king Saul to the end of king David’s life.
Author & date
Because of the similarity of the language between the books of the Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, students conclude that the Chronicles were compiled by Ezra.
A. Genealogies Ch.1-9
1. Adam to Noah’s Sons Ch.1:1-4
2. Descendants of Noah’s sons Ch.1:5-27
3. Abraham to Israel Ch.1:28-34
4. Descendants of Esau Ch.1: 35-54
5. Descendants of Judah Ch.2:1-55
6. Descendants of David Ch.3:124
7. Further descendants of Judah Ch.4:1-43
8. Descendants of Reuben Ch.51:1-26
9. Descendants of Levi Ch.6:1-81
10. Descendants of Issachar Ch.7:1-5
11. Descendants of Benjamin Ch.7:6-12
12. Descendants of Naphtali Ch.7:13
13. Descendants of Manasseh Ch.14-19
14. Descendants of Ephraim Ch.7:20-29
15. Descendants of Asher Ch.7:30-40
16. Further descendants of Benjamin Ch.8:1-28
17. family & descendants of Saul Ch.8:29-40
18. The returned exiles Ch.9:1-34
19. Saul’s family Ch.9:35-44
B. Saul Ch.10
1. The death of King Saul Ch.10
C. David Ch.11-20
1. David & his mighty men Ch.11-12
2. David & the ark Ch.13-16
3. David’ desire to build a Temple Ch.17
4. David’s victories Ch.18-20
D. Temple Preparation Ch.21-29
1. David’s numbering Ch.21
2. Instructions to Solomon Ch.22
3. Duties of the Levites Ch.23
4. Duties of the priests Ch.24
5. Duties of the Musicians Ch.25
6. Duties of the Gatekeepers Ch.26
7. Various Divisions Ch.27
8. David’s instructions to Solomon Ch.28
9. The Gifts for the Temple Ch.29:1-20
10. David’s death & Solomon’s succession Ch.29:21-30
a. The LXX translation
In the Hebrew Bible the two books of Chronicles were one book. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek it was split into two. The LXX translators gave the books the title; ” Things omitted”. Meaning that they were a supplement to Samuel & Kings. But they are much more than that
b. Message
Dr. Bullinger puts it like this: “In the former books [Samuel & Kings] they are regarded from a man’s standpoint; here they are viewed from a divine standpoint.” |
What type of router do I need?
By on
What type of router do I need?
Need a router for your home or office, but know absolutely nothing? Read about routers, speeds and types of wireless and what to do on a tight budget.
If you've been playing with networks as long as we have, you'd remember when router cost tens of thousands of dollars. Today, you can buy a router for less than $100. But what are you buying? What do those specifications mean? Our router jargon buster will help you choose the best router for your business.
What is a router?
A router is a network device that acts as a broker. When a device is connected to a network, it needs to be given a unique address on the network and communications between devices need to be managed so that there aren't any clashes. The router does all of this by managing wired and wirelessly connected devices.
Wired connections
Most routers let you connect devices to your network with an Ethernet cable. Modern routers come with two types of wired connection; 10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet.
Gigabit is the fastest connection - it's rated as 10 times faster than 10/100 connections. If you plan to move lots of large files between computers on your network, it's worth investing in a dearer router that supports Gigabit connections.
Most routers offer four wired connections. If you're planning to connect more than four wired devices, then you may need to spend a little more and look for a router that has more ports.
Wireless Connections
Although wireless networks have been around for a while the standards are still evolving. Here's a brief rundown of the different wireless standards that you'll see on the side of a router box
802.11b: This was the first, widely used wireless networking system. It offered up to 11Mbps of speed and uses the public 2.4GHz wireless frequency range. It's still popular with wireless hotspots and is supported in modern routers for connecting older computers.
802.11g: One of the problems with 802.11b was speed. 802.11g delivered a significant speed bump to 54Mbps over the 2.4GHz band.
802.11a: This was the first popular wireless standard that used the 5GHz frequency. Like 802.11g it was rated at a speed of 54Mbps never really got a lot of traction as it wasn't backwards compatible with the popular 802.11b.
802.11n: 802.11n upped the ante with speeds of up to 600Mbps and support for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. When you read about "dual-band" routers - these support both frequencies. Cheaper routers only support 2.4GHz. A handy extra with dual-band routers is that they make it possible to create two wireless networks - one for business and one for guests.
802.11ac: As the newest wireless standard, 802.11ac is not surprisingly the fastest. We recently covered the ins and outs of 802.11ac (http://www.bit.com.au/News/303144,office-networks-what-you-need-to-know-about-80211ac.aspx) so we won't repeat that.
Buying scenarios
Now that you're armed with the information in plain English what are your choices? Here are three scenarios to help you.
If you're on a tight budget, connectivity is king and performance is secondary. A router with only 10/100 Ethernet and single band 802.11n is likely to cost less than $100 and will get you connected.
If wireless performance is the main thing and you won't be connecting wired devices, then a dual-band wireless router will suffice.
If your budget can stretch, then a dual-band router with Gigabit ethernet will deliver the fastest performance on both wired and wireless connections.
Copyright © BIT (Business IT). All rights reserved.
Most Read Articles
What would you like to see more of on BiT?
How To's
Photo Galleries
View poll archive
Log In
| Forgot your password? |
Simple paper 'litmus' test detects disease, infection
Harvard Wyss Institute
A bandage that changes colour if a wound turns septic, environmental sensors or even cheap, portable tests for infectious diseases such as ebola could be a reality in the near future, thanks to a technique that allows simple DNA tests to be printed onto paper.
A result of a collaboration between two teams at the Wyss Institute lead by core faculty members James Collins, PhD, and Peng Yin, PhD, the test goes beyond the simple chemistry used in such applications as pregnancy tests -- instead, it embeds synthetic gene networks into the paper. These paper strips can then be freeze-dried and stored at room temperature for up to a year, to be dampened when required for use.
The tests are made using standard equipment and commercially available cell-free systems, which are embedded on to the paper along with fluorescent and colour-changing proteins. A new, special gene switch, called a "toehold switch" is also included, which is activated when it detects the presence of specific RNA -- such as, for example, the specific RNA code for the ebola virus. This then triggers the protein to change colour, effectively diagnosing the presence of the virus.
"We've harnessed the genetic machinery of cells and embedded them in the fiber matrix of paper, which can then be freeze dried for storage and transport -- we can now take synthetic biology out of the lab and use it anywhere to better understand our health and the environment," said lead author Keith Pardee, PhD.
The reason the test works so effectively is down to that toehold switch, co-invented by Alex Green, PhD, and Yin. It can be programmed to only interact with very specific, intended targets -- to precisely detect almost any kind of RNA target, then turn on protein production. And many different toehold switches can operate simultaneously in the same cell, which could then be programmed to carry out multi-step functions.
Although some medical knowledge would be required to effectively use the tests, their accessibility could make a huge difference -- they could cost as little as four cents each to develop.
You can watch some videos about the development of the test below, and read the full paper, "Toehold Switches: De-Novo-Designed Regulators of Gene Expression", online in the journal Cell. |
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is an efficient and valuable tool for evaluation and optimization of UV decontamination units. UV reactors are used in a variety of fields, such as decontamination of drinking water, industrial processes, ballast water and wastewater treatment. CFD can help map the fluid flow and UV radiation field of complex geometries, and provide detailed insight into the path and dose of microbial organisms.
The simulation initially solves the flow field, and accounts for turbulent dispersion. Post-processing of the flow field provides valuable information about pressure losses, and highlights ill-defined flow patterns, such as flow separation and recirculation zones. The model also simulates the UV radiation field and can be adjusted to accurately capture the influence of wall emissivity, diffuse reflection, and Ultraviolet Transmittance (UVT).
The microbial are simulated as discrete solid particles, and the absorbed dose is calculated as a function of retention time in the radiation field and the local radiation intensity. Applying a sufficiently high number of particles supplies the user with a statistical analysis regarding mean-, maximum-, minimum-, and standard deviation of dose. With the use of a log-inactivation curve of the relevant microbial, the results can also account for RED (Reduction Equivalent Dose). This may then readily be used for evaluating unit performance and comparisons.
Through post-processing it is possible to isolated single particles, which may be used to pinpoint the root cause of potential dose variation, supplying additional highly valuable data regarding the operation of the UV-reactor. |
the Robot Construction Kit
Connecting Components
This tutorial will teach you:
• How to create a data driven component and
• how to connect multiple components.
The data driven component that is designed in this tutorial waits for incoming messages and outputs their content once it receives a message. The incoming messages will be produced by the producer component from the previous tutorials.
The final setup will look like:
Producer/Consumer Setup
Create a consumer component
The consumer component has already been created together with the producer component in one of the previous tutorials.
The consumer component’s part of the orogen specification (~/dev/tutorials/orogen/messages/messages.orogen) looks as follows:
task_context "Consumer" do
property "config", "message_driver/Config"
input_port "messages", "message_driver/Message"
port_driven 'messages'
The component should allow to receive messages on an input port, and to call the updateHook only when it receives a message.
The ‘port_driven’ statement allows you to specify ports, where incoming data triggers a call to the updateHook of the task (more details in the documentation).
Update the consumer component’s header file as follows:
#include <message_driver/MessageDriver.hpp>
class Consumer : public ConsumerBase
friend class ConsumerBase;
message_driver::MessageDriver *mpMessageDriver;
In the consumer component’s source file, update the constructors as follows:
Consumer::Consumer(std::string const& name)
: ConsumerBase(name),
mpMessageDriver(new message_driver::MessageDriver())
Consumer::Consumer(std::string const& name, RTT::ExecutionEngine* engine)
: ConsumerBase(name, engine),
mpMessageDriver(new message_driver::MessageDriver())
delete mpMessageDriver;
In the same file, implement the updateHook, so that every incoming message is printed to stdout, using the existing printMessage function of your ‘message_driver’ library.
void Consumer::updateHook()
message_driver::Message message;;
Build your component with ‘amake’.
Connecting multiple components
You have designed a component that produces messages and a component that consumes messages. To connect them, you will use the Ruby scripting interface. Create a file connect.rb in your component’s script folder (~/dev/tutorials/orogen/messages/scripts) with the following content:
require 'orocos'
require 'readline'
include Orocos
Orocos.initialize 'messages::Producer' => 'message_producer',
'messages::Consumer' => 'message_consumer' do
message_producer = Orocos.name_service.get 'message_producer'
message_consumer = Orocos.name_service.get 'message_consumer'
# Never assume that a component supports being reconnected
# at runtime, it might not be the case
# If you have the choice, connect before the component is
# even configured
message_producer.messages.connect_to message_consumer.messages
Readline::readline("Press ENTER to exit\n")
The call to ‘connect_to’ for an output port allows you to connect it with an input port. By default, a data connection is created, but you can also specify the type of your connection explicitly. Check the documentation for more details on that topic.
Run it
Run your ruby script
ruby connect.rb
If everything has been done correctly, you will eventually see the consumer printing messages to the console, in the periodicity you set on the message producer:
[20110803-10:59:55:068] Message from MessageDriver
[20110803-10:59:56:068] Message from MessageDriver
[20110803-10:59:57:068] Message from MessageDriver
[20110803-10:59:58:068] Message from MessageDriver
Press ENTER to shut your script down – the script does the cleanup itself once it leaves the block.
In this tutorial, you have learned to:
• Create a component that is triggered upon receiving incoming data, i.e. you know now how to design a port/data driven component.
• Run two components using a single ruby script.
• Connect two components by connecting an output and an input port with a default data connection.
Progress to the next tutorial. |
Study Guide
Homecoming Money
By Cynthia Voigt
Mo' money, mo' problems, right? Not exactly. Dicey has the opposite issue: Lack of money means a whole lot more problems for her family.
Empty Pockets
When this whole journey starts out, the Tillerman family doesn't have much money. Momma lost her job, she hasn't paid the rent, and times are just tough—this is why they're going to see rich Aunt Cilla. Someone with money can help them… or so they're hoping, anyway. When Momma leaves the kids in the car and wanders off, they haven't got much cash to their name. Like at all:
Altogether, they had eleven dollars and fifty cents, more than any one of them had ever had at one time before, even Dicey who contributed all of her babysitting money, seven dollars. (1.1.52)
Yes, it's 1981, so eleven dollars goes a bit father than today, but still—this is the equivalent of being broke, make no mistake. Walking for weeks with barely any money in your pocket and almost no way to earn more is really tough, and Dicey quickly learns that "the whole world was arranged for people who had money—for adults who had money" (1.5.83). For the Tillermans, then, cash represents security. If they have enough money they can eat and keep going. But when they run short on dough, life starts to look a whole lot bleaker.
Breaking the Law
Even though the Tillermans are lacking in cash, Dicey refuses to steal money. She's a little more lenient when it comes to food, but taking money is absolutely out of the question:
"Stealing isn't right," Dicey said.
"Not even if you're hungry?" Sammy argued.
"You're not hungry, not really hungry," Dicey said. "We never stole things. Tillermans don't have to steal." (1.5.117-119)
You might think that Dicey is being a little militant, but really all she's saying is that, as bad as things are, she still has standards. Even though life hasn't dealt the Tillerman kids a fair hand, she is determined to get to where she needs to go honestly and sees no need for them to compromise who they are as people in order to do so.
Louis has the exact opposite opinion. He justifies the money that he and Edie stole from her father by saying that rich people—like dear old dad—don't need it. And it's just fine when poor folks take a little off the top:
"He reminded me of your father, didn't he, Edie? Isn't that just what your father would do? Then, he pulls out a wallet a foot thick, crammed with bills. He peels off a couple and goes out, still complaining about his bad luck. I say good luck to whoever walked off with his lunch[…] Big guys like that, with thick bankrolls—they've got so much that they don't know what to do with it. And they're always the first ones to call in the police on little guys. Like us. Like you." (1.5.73)
This is the same excuse that James gives when he steals twenty dollars from Stewart. Hey, he's got "sweaters and guitars" (1.8.44), so he doesn't really need the money. But Stewart gives James the same reasoning as Dicey: Sure, they need the money, but you can't take things that don't belong to you. Stewart wants to be a "good man" (1.8.65), not just someone who survives another day. Those things matter, you know.
Money is Power
Later, when the kids get to Bridgeport and Dicey has to rely on Cousin Eunice to buy things for them, she starts to feel a bit powerless. Her survival is based on getting Cousin Eunice to support them, and that's not a position she likes to be in. So when Dicey starts earning and saving money again, she starts to feel in control:
Having money made a difference. It woke Dicey up. She began to think of how she could earn more during the day when everybody was gone. She could easily spend less time on housework if she pushed herself to be faster and more efficient. If she did that she could have some time for earning. Dicey felt like her old self again.
Dicey liked her work, she liked making money. The money in the shoebox began to mount up. Dicey's spirits mounted with it. (1.11.86, 105)
If the kids have money, they can be in control of their own destinies. They don't have to rely on other people—especially adults who may or may not like them—in order to make their way in the world. As long as she has money in her pocket, Dicey knows she has options. And since she starts out with so little with their mom bounces, but manages to get so far, she knows what a big difference a little cash can make.
This is a premium product
Tired of ads?
Join today and never see them again.
Please Wait... |
Advanced Technology
Intraoral Camera
Digital X-Ray Imaging
A digital x-ray is taken with a sensor instead of film. This means the image is captured immediately and shown on a computer screen. There is no waiting on developing and the images are enhanced by computer software aiding in diagnosis. Digital x-rays also produce significantly less radiation than conventional x-rays using film.
Rotary Root Canal Therapy
When a tooth becomes infected causing pain, a procedure to remove the infected nerve tissue is commonly called a root canal. We use a specialized electric hand piece to aid in this removal. The procedure can be completed quicker and more comfortably with this instrument.
Digital Panoramic Imaging
We use this technology to take a x-ray that produces a panorama image of the upper and lower jaw. It shows all the teeth, jawbone and temporo-mandibular joints. This image is projected on the computer screen. The image can be enhanced by the computer software. The digital technology produces a sharper more detailed image than film and also uses less radiation. This machine can also take images of the teeth for cavity detection without having anything in the mouth. This feature helps small children and those patients with a sensitive gag reflex. |
The kitten’s development 1/2
This post is also available in : French German Italian
We dedicate this article to the humans who accompany the orphan kittens in their development.
The main behavioral learnings are made during the first months of life of the kitten. The first weeks are the most important in his development, we evoked it in our article about the development of the cat’s behavior.
Within three months, the weight of his brain quintuple and reached the weight of the brain of a grown-up cat ; the number of nervous connections multiplies, and those who are stimulated will be kept according to what experiments the kitten while the other will disappear.
Some periods are more convenient than others to the fundamental learnings, but they are often short. The kitten learns by observation (hunting for example), and by imitation (he does at the same time : if his mom shows herself sociable with the humans, he will do the same).
The phases of the kitten’s development
The phases of the kitten’s development about which we speak today are the prenatal phase and the neonatal phase ; the phase of socialization and the puberty will be the object of another article.
The prenatal phase
The cat is expecting youngs ; the gestation lasts between 62 and 65 days. Our kitten is not born yet, but the living conditions of his mom already have an influence on him :
• a put under stress cat will often give birth to stressed kittens also
• a badly fed cat will often give birth to kittens which can have development or behavior disorders (aggressiveness, fear, …)
The neonatal phase
That’s it, the kitten is born ! This phase lasts from the birth to the opening of the eyes. When he’s born, the kitten is deaf and blind. His eyelids are stuck, and the canal of his ears also. He spends the big part of his time sleeping, and the little remaining time sucking. He’s completely dependent on her mother.
It looks like this small kitten doesn’t do much, but during his sleep, his hormones are hyperactive : his nervous system and his sensory system undergo big upheavals, all his body is in perpetual evolution. It is thus extremely important not to wake him while he’s sleeping, because sleep is essential in his good growth.
newborn kittens are blind and deaf
The young kitten is capable of crawling and of turning to a source of heat, but doesn’t still manage to regulate his physical temperature. The sucking and rooting reflexes are instinctive : the kitten sucks as soon as he has something in the mouth, and as soon as the head meets an obstacle, he pushes it. He thus stimulates the milk production so by leaning on his mom’s belly. And he chooses his favorite teat ! The kitten cannot relieve himself spontaneously yet : his mom has to lick his perineal area after every meal to stimulate the micturition or the defecation.
The cat takes at once to his youngs, and the youngs takes to their mother after a few days. This privileged and exclusive link is reassuring : it favors the exploration of their environment by kittens while the dependence led by the same link of attachment prevents them from going away too much. As soon as a kitten is too much taken away from her mother, he shows signs of stress and ill-being. The momcat present signs of concern also and does everything to get him back to the nest. She calms down only when she is sure that all her babies are present. Exception made by deaf cats, any cat will answer the cries of distress of a kitten.
don't disturb sleeping kittens
The eyes of the kitten open between the 2nd and the 16th day. He hears from the 5th day, but his ears open only between the 10th and the 15th day. We’ll see him beginning to sit down towards 12 days, to walk towards 17 days, and to scratch himself the ear with the back paw towards 21 days.
How is the kitten going to keep evolving ? What learnings does he still have to do ?
We’ll tell you everything in our next article !
what do I still learn ?Pixie, April 2014
Sources :
Philippe Bocion «Le développement du comportement du chat» (training)
Valérie Dramard «Le comportement du chat» (book)
Thanks to our friend Alexandra for the photos and the video of the kittens born at night from 30 to 31 March 2017.
12 thoughts on “The kitten’s development 1/2
1. Sammy and Teddy
A wonderfully informative article………..they are so tiny and helpless and truly need their Moms or a knowledgeable “foster person” to help them at first to survive…….such precious little faces!
Hugs, Pam
Leave a Reply
|
it’s anyone’s call
it’s anyone’s call
• a competition where the outcome is difficult to predict or judge
• a situation where all possible outcomes are equally likely
Example Sentences
1. I think this year’s election would be anyone’s call. Both the candidates seem to have an equally divided support base.
2. The fight between the two boxing champions could be anyone’s call. Both the boxers are equally matched.
3. I guess its anyone’s call on who would win tonight’s game. Both the teams have been performing well and are in the form of their lives.
4. “Who do you think will win the race today?” “Well, its anyone’s call, really.”
5. Its anyone’s call on which way the results will go. Either way, we have to be prepared for the next step.
6. At the halfway stage of the big match, it was anyone’s call on who would win. Both were playing well and were evenly placed.
The phrase most likely originated in sports where a referee had to “make a call”, or take a decision. When there was a close situation and a decision was difficult to make, it was referred to as “anyone’s call”, implying that no one’s information was better than any other person’s.
I Share your thoughts
Add your thoughts
Write & Win
Idiom of the Day
quantum leap
Meaning: to make a significant improvement or dramatic advancement
Latest Thoughts
Keep in Touch
Copyrights © 2022 - The Idioms - All Rights Reserved.
Copy Link |
Population level evolutionary processes can occur within a single organism when
Population level evolutionary processes can occur within a single organism when the germ line contains a mutation that confers a cost at the level of the cell. to the inherited allele in that they restore the VCA domain name. This indicates massive selection against the truncated germ line allele. No single somatic allele becomes KW-2449 fixed in the circulating T cell populace of either brother indicating that a regulated step in maturation of the affected cell lineage is usually severely compromised by the germ line allele. Based on the obtaining of multiple somatic mutations the known maturation pathway for T-lineage cells and the known defects of T cells and KW-2449 precursor thymocytes in mice with truncated WASP we hypothesize that the presence of truncated WASP (WASPΔVCA) confers an extreme disadvantage in KW-2449 early developing thymocytes above and beyond the known cost of absence of full-length WASP and that the disadvantage likely occurs through dominant KW-2449 unfavorable competition of WASPΔVCA with N-WASP a protein that otherwise partially compensates for WASP absence in developing thymocytes. Introduction The cells comprising a multicellular organism reproduce and compete in particular local environments very much as perform free-living microorganisms. When hereditary differences occur within a cell type progression can ensue inside the web host organism. The traditional exemplory case of this sensation is certainly cancers – a somatic mutant develops and boosts in frequency Rabbit Polyclonal to Sodium Channel-pan. in accordance with cells from the germ series genotype because of a selective benefit in the neighborhood environment. In cancers selection at the amount of the cell type differs from selection at the amount of the web host organism as the role from the affected cell enter the multicellular organism reaches odds with making the most of the amount of its progeny cells. We present an example involving a germ series allele leading to disease on the known degree of the complete organism. As opposed to cancers leading to mutations in this example the somatic mutations that increase in frequency due to selection at the level of the cell also confer benefit to the whole organism. This coincident benefit means that identifying the strength timing and local environment in which the somatic mutation(s) confer advantage will contribute to a better understanding of how the affected cell type normally functions within the multicellular organism. For genetic hematopoietic diseases somatic mutations that are corrective at the level of the whole organism may have a special propensity to reach high frequency in the cell populace. This is because a successful somatic mutant with higher fitness relative to hematopoietic cells transporting the inherited allele has long survival and a long-term influence around the organism’s fate. In addition hematopoietic cells function throughout the body allowing compensatory somatic mutants to impact the organism systemically. However somatic mutations can only benefit the whole organism to the extent that at the level of the cell type selection on a newly arising somatic mutant is usually strongly positive and that selection against the germ collection allele occurs early enough in the cell lineage that sufficient divisions remain for any mutation-corrected allele to increase in frequency in the cell populace. Here we describe a situation where the balance of these two factors is usually such that not one but many somatic mutations are detected. This occurred independently and in parallel in the T cell populations of two brothers who share the same germ collection mutation of the gene mutations is usually mitigated by somatic reversion or somatic second site mutation [7]-[13]. WASP couples extracellular stimulation of the cell to quick intracellular remodeling of the actin-based cytoskeleton (examined in [14]). WASP is usually expressed only in white blood cells; its closely related homolog N-WASP is usually broadly expressed. Both proteins presume an autoinhibited (closed) conformation in resting cells [15]. WASP’s function in cytoskeletal rearrangement is best comprehended in T lymphocytes. In these cells activation occurs when antigens bind to the T cell antigen receptor (T cell receptor; TCR). WASP is usually then recruited to the newly generated immunological synapse between the antigen presenting cell and the T cell [16]. At the immune synapse activating mediators such as the lipid phosphoinositol 4 5 (PIP2) and cdc42 a GTPase bind to WASP releasing autoinhibition and unmasking WASP’s.
Comments are closed. |
The spread of modern racism
Two topics that seems to forever plague American society are race and heritage. From the theft of this land from Native Americans, all the way to the atrocities of the slave trade, hatred has definitely divided our society.
The Irish, Italians and Jews underwent harsh treatment upon their arrival to America at the turn of the twentieth century.
There is an ongoing verbal assault against Latinos and blacks of Haitian descent today.
Among the arguments that top the list is that immigrants are cheap to hire, can’t drive and bring disease.
However, one does not have to dredge up past incidents for examples of racism. It is alive and flourishing today in Tallahassee. Bigotry and stereotypes circulate through Florida A&M University, grace the walkways of Florida State University and echo throughout Tallahassee Community College. In fact, racial discrimination on all fronts has slowed the evolution of Tallahassee.
Why are all the clubs in Tallahassee geared towards different races?
It has become a common practice for people to refer to Friday’s at Baja’s as “white night.” The Saturdays are called “black night” or “urban night.” Why can’t people of all races who share the same interests “vibe” with each other on any night?
One would be completely ignorant to believe that everyone in their race cares about progression. Some of your most dangerous enemies lurk in your inner circle.
It would be just as careless to assume that all other races are adversaries. You might pass up your soul mate because you closed the doors on a different race.
Instead of referring to an associate of a different color as “my white or black friend,” why not just call them your friend?
If that person has your back and holds you down like they should, then that is all that matters. True friendship, honor and loyalty are lacking in society across the whole color spectrum.
As much as we all cry about racism and how it is prevalent in our society, let’s take more steps to end it.
Every time we utter a stereotype we set the cause of equality backwards. Every black person is not a “gangster,” just as every white person is not “square.” Every black individual does not smoke blunts and drink forties, and every white individual doesn’t snort coke and listen to heavy metal.
Acknowledging and respecting the idiotic labels and stereotypes concocted by previous generations hinders our forward progression.
It is a new day in America. Though we cannot remove the tarnish that covers our history books, we can certainly write fresh new pages.
We are all humans who have the same common goals. In no way, shape or form does hating the next human’s skin tone benefit their attainment.
Besides, we all turn the same color when we get put into the ground.
Life is too short.
Love each other.
Aaron Drucker is senior newspaper student from Miami. He can be reached at |
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
The friendly house sparrow has learned to take advantage of its human neighbours and can often be found hopping around outdoor restaurant tables.
14cm to 15cm
21cm to 25.5cm
24g to 38g
House Sparrow
What does a house sparrow look like?
The house sparrow tends to present a rather unkempt appearance, with its plumage worn bushy and loose. It has a large head and a stout, prominent bill, which is black during breeding season and grey at other times. On top of pink or brown legs, the house sparrow has a broad, stocky body that is brown on top with dark streaks, and greyish underparts. Females lack the black bib and grey cap characteristic of males, and are drabber in general. They also lack the strong plumage patterning of the male and from a distance appear dull brown above and off-white below. Juveniles are similar to the female.
Male left, female right
Male left, female right
What does a house sparrow sound like?
Calls include the familiar chattering “cheep” or “chirp.” The song is a succession of chirps.
Gary Elton, XC617108. Accessible at
What does a house sparrow eat?
The house sparrow will primarily feed on seeds, berries and small insects. It is also often found loitering around the tables of outdoor cafes looking for food scraps. The bill of the house sparrow is strong enough to crack open seed cases whilst still being delicate enough to catch insects.
House Sparrow
Did you know?
The house sparrow hybridises with the Spanish sparrow around the Mediterranean, resulting in hybrid populations of ‘Italian sparrows’ in Italy.
Where can I see house sparrows?
House sparrows have lived alongside people for centuries and can be found close to human populations in both rural and urban settings. In late summer, the urbanites sometimes travel to the countryside to feed on the ripening grain fields.
Signs and spotting tips
In flight, the house sparrow is somewhat clumsy, with continuously whirring wingbeats and an up and down drilling flight pattern. It is distinguishable by a broad white wing bar.
House Sparrow flying
House Sparrow flying
How does a house sparrow breed?
House sparrows are gregarious in nature and will form flocks for roosting, feeding and dust-bathing. This sociability also extends to the mating season, because although they generally pair for life, house sparrows are known to be rather promiscuous, with one DNA study finding that 15 percent of chicks were from a bird different to the parents. House sparrows take advantage of their urban environment and nests will be built under roof tiles, in air ducts, and various recesses. A good nest site will be used several years running. Females will lay 3-5 eggs and can raise up to 4 broods a year.
How long do house sparrows live for?
The average lifespan of a house sparrow is 3 years.
Do house sparrows migrate?
House sparrows are generally a sedentary resident. Juveniles rarely wander more than a few kilometres from where they were born. However, there have been a few cases of British-ringed birds being recovered in France.
For a guide on the migration habits of sparrows, check out this article.
Threats and conservation
Given that they are common around human settlements, it is easy to believe that house sparrows are one of the more numerous birds in Britain. However, their numbers have declined rapidly in recent years, in some areas by as much as 99%. The cause of this is currently unknown, but cats are certainly responsible for killing large numbers of juvenile house sparrows.
What is a group of House Sparrows called?
Known collective nouns for a group of House Sparrows are as follows:
• a humiliation of house sparrows
• a subdivision of house sparrows
General collective nouns for a group of Sparrows may also be used:
• a crew of sparrows
• a flight of sparrows
• a flutter of sparrows
• a host of sparrows
• a meinie of sparrows
• a quarrel of sparrows
• a tribe of sparrows
• an ubiquity of sparrows
Similar birds to a House Sparrow
Articles featuring the House Sparrow
Other birds in the Old World sparrows family
Get the good stuff
Get the latest BirdFacts delivered straight to your inbox |
Active Immunity Definition:Active immunity is often a resistance to condition by means of the development of antibodies with the immune system
As opposed to passive immunity, where by antibodies are injected into an organism during pregnancy or these are artificially acquired, energetic immunity demands a strategy of education immune cells to recognize and counteract overseas bodies.Traditionally, a germs or virus enters an organism and begins causing deterioration via its reproductive activities. The destruction becoming completed to cells releases a sign to immune cells that something is wrong. The immune cells surround the overseas bodies and digest them, to get rid of them through the organism. Concurrently, write college entrance essay the immune method learns which proteins are current on these invaders, and prepares antibodies, or modified proteins, which encapsulate and recognize these foreign organisms.
Immune cells are ?trained? to acknowledge these invaders aided by the lymph nodes and various other immune platform tissues. At the time the original infection is cleared out, the immune cells keep their coaching inside the kind of antibodies sure for their cell membranes. Therefore, whenever they come across the invader another time, the antibody will routinely bind on the proteins in the floor in the invader. This offers the organism a effortlessly obtained immunity, other than a passive immunity conferred from the introduction of antibodies.Numerous autoimmune conditions are induced by a malfunction on the active immunity techniques. It is relatively typical considering that the method is imperfect. At times, the immune cells will learn to discover proteins the human body makes as ?invaders?. Then, when immune cells experience cells of the system with specific proteins, they may assault. This really is the premise of all autoimmune ailments.
The growth within the very first thriving vaccine, back while in the 1790s, was an enormous progress to professional medical science produced achievable by Edward Jenner. Jenner noticed that cow maidens experienced a peculiar resistance to a awful illness which was growing to be an epidemic. The cow maidens, experiencing been uncovered towards the animal method of smallpox (referred to as cowpox), wouldn’t demonstrate the remarkable signs of most individuals. Usually, smallpox would present alone with small boils everywhere in the system. The cow maidens didn’t present these signs. Their resistance towards ailment was offered with the active immunity they received to smallpox.The cowpox virus, simply being linked to the smallpox virus, contains a equivalent form, in addition to very similar antigens. The cow maidens, currently being uncovered to your cow with cowpox, would regularly catch the virus on their own. As opposed to smallpox, cowpox offers a a great deal better survival charge and fewer brutal signs or symptoms. The immune technique would learn how to yield antibodies to your cowpox antigen in this particular infection. One time the infection had handed, the immune method would keep some of these antibodies that will help detect the virus on the foreseeable future. Simply because the antigens of smallpox and cowpox are so similar, cow maidens with active immunity to cowpox would also indicate an active immunity to smallpox. As a result, one time infected with the smallpox vaccine, the maidens would demonstrate couple of to no signs since the virus was cleared from their methods.
When you are aware of how to
Essays are typically categorized into formal and informal.
achieve success at school essay writing, it will be easier for you to succeed with other aspects of writing.
Leave a Reply
|
It’s all about Ultraviolet Light (or just UV Light or even just UV). UV light comes in a whole range of “colours” that we can’t see. Some birds, animals and insects can see it. It’s what we could call High Energy Light, and its high energy can sunburn you or destroy some materials (especially plastics) if they are left exposed to it for a long time.
Only about 10 -15% of all minerals glow when subjected to UV light. They are the Fluorescent Minerals. UV stirs up electrons in the mineral’s atoms, and they jump to a higher than normal orbit. But Physics requires them to go back to where they came from, and when they do that they release the extra energy they got from the invisible UV as visible light. We call this Fluorescence. This, and the following explanation of phosphorescence, are hugely simplified.
Some of the electrons in certain fluorescent minerals do something else as well. They wait for a while before dropping back, and keep doing it after the UV lamp has been turned off. That causes their rock to continue to glow after the UV light is turned off. This is Phosphorescence, sometimes called afterglow. Phosphorescence dies away sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Usually you only get a fleeting view of it because it soon becomes so dim that the human eye can’t see it. (A camera can!) Phosphorescence can be a similar colour to the fluorescence it follows, but can also be quite different. Images captured by a camera can be quite spectacular.
Can you imagine going to see a fireworks display in the middle of the day? Daylight would completely swamp the fireworks colours and you wouldn’t see anything (except the smoke). It’s like that with fluorescence and phosphorescence – you can only see them at night or in a dark room. Sunlight contains many UV colours, the commonest called UVA, UVB and UVC. UVC is filtered out by the atmosphere and so doesn’t make it to the ground. UVA and UVB get through. Therefore many minerals out there in the hills fluoresce all day every day – but you can’t see them doing it. You have to wait until after dark and create your own UV with a UV lamp. UV lamps can make all three of those common UV colours. UVC (also called short wave UV) is widely used to kill germs, UVB (or mid-wave UV) surnburns you and so is used in solariums, and UVA (or long wave UV) is used in clubs and discos to make your clothes and your teeth glow. They all cause mineral fluorescence, but UVC makes about 10 times as many minerals glow as the other two do.
OK. So Fluorescence, although weak, shows up nicely in a dark room with a good UV lamp. However, Phosphorescence is tens, hundreds or sometimes thousands of times dimmer than the fluorescence it replaces when the UV lamp is turned off. It is often hard to see even before it dies away. It can be very difficult, usually impossible, to tell exactly what colour it is, especially if there is more than one colour (which can happen when there is more than one mineral in the rock). It’s like being outside when some clouds start to go across a full moon. Initially you can just make things out, but you have no idea what colour they are. Then as the moon goes behind a cloud your scene gets dimmer and dimmer and soon you can’t see anything at all.
Photographing Fluorescence and Phosphorescence
Think about fireworks again. You can see them “live”, or on a screen, or in a photo. Seeing them live is best, but usually you can’t do that and you need to rely on someone filming or photographing. Sometimes the filming or photographing is good, sometimes it’s not, and so what you see can range from terrific to terrible. It’s the same with photographing fluorescence and phosphorescence. Photographing fluorescence is challenging. There are many terrible photos of it around, especially on eBay. Photographing phosphorescence, however, is much more challenging. You have to turn the UV lamps off and immediately open the shutter. A typical setting for my fluorescence photos is [ 1 sec @ f5.6 @ ISO100 ]. A typical setting for my phosphorescence photos is [ 30 sec @ f3.5 @ ISO4000 ]. Based on these settings, the total exposure value for the phosphorescence photo is 3,840 times that for the fluorescence photo.*
The brightness of fluorescence and phosphorescence can vary greatly from rock to rock. One fluorescing rock might light up the whole area around it whilst another, held at the same distance from the same UV lamp, might show just the tiniest almost imperceptible glow. So why are all my photos almost uniformly bright? Have I only included photos of brightly glowing rocks? There are two views on what is the right brightness of a fluorescence photo. One view is that your exposure setting should give an image as near as possible to what you see when you look at the rock under a similar UV lamp. Thus, brightly fluorescing rocks should produce beautiful bright photos, and weakly fluorescing rocks should result in uninteresting dull photos or no photo at all. The other view is that the exposure settings you use should produce the nicest possible image. My view is the second one. I justify it by referring to the magnificent images produced by the Hubble Telescope. Whatever object Hubble is photographing, the astronomers use exposure settings that will result in the best possible images. If my rock is fluorescing even a little bit I want my photo to show that fluorescence in the best possible light. (Sorry!) The first photo below shows a rock whose fluorescence is so weak that some people would classify it as of no interest and not worth photographing. I disagree! The second photo has many times the total exposure of the first, and shows details of the weak fluorescence.
Fluorescence page - first very darkFluorescence page
Photographing phosphorescence, which is usually both fleeting and orders of magnitude dimmer than fluorescence, would be pointless if the photo had to show exactly what is seen by the unaided eye. Indeed, a lot of phosphorescence can’t be seen at all by the unaided eye, just as hundreds of billions of stars and galaxies can’t be seen without the help of telescopes and astronomical cameras. But dim fluorescence and phosphorescence are as real as distant stars and galaxies and can be photographed to give photos that are just as valid and just as arresting as any bright fluorescence photo.
The first photo below shows the phosphorescence you see very soon after the UV is switched off. Before you’ve had time to have a good look at it, it fades away to what seems to be nothing at all. It’s actually still phosphorescing, but below the threshold of the human eye. However, with a wide aperture, a high ISO and plenty of time, a good camera will accumulate an image like that shown in the second photo.
Fluorescence page - second very dark
Fluorescence page - SW PH used twice
The Photo on the Home Page
2289-P21-SW,MW-FL+PHOS-V2These four little pyramid shaped rocks broke just the way they are when I sledged a larger rock. The field of view of the photo is about 12cm (4.5 in). This is a complex photo. It contains four distinct “glows”: Short Wave fluorescence and phosphorescence as well as Mid Wave fluorescence and phosphorescence. Mid Wave fluorescence and phosphorescence in these rocks are both dimmer than their Short Wave counterparts by a factor of around 2. As indicated above phosphorescence is dimmer by a factor of 1000 – 2000.
Here is how I got the photo:
The settings on the camera (tethered to a MacBook Air running Helicon Remote and Helicon Focus) were set for MW phosphoresence, [30 sec @ f3.5 @ ISO 1250] . The MW lamps were placed closer to the rocks than the SW lamps. The MW lamps were switched on. After about 20 seconds, the SW lamps were also switched on. After another few seconds the UV lamps were swtched off and the shutter opened, but this was the tricky part. Fluorescence will swamp phosphorescence if left on for more than a brief moment after the shutter opens. So after opening the shutter it was necessary to switch off all the UV lamps a tiny fraction of a second later, thus allowing the camera to see the SW and MW fluorescence for perhaps a tenth of a second, then the SW and MW phosphorescence for the rest of the 30 seconds. This took a lot of practice and many failures. Some parts of the photo are blurred because it wasn’t possible to do automatic focus stacking. Shown below are the four glows photographed individually (you can see the full sized images here):
Back to TOP
* If your maths isn’t too rusty, the amount of light reaching a camera’s sensor varies directly as the shutter speed and ISO and as the square of the aperture diameter (or inversely as the square of the f number). So increasing the shutter time by 30 times, increasing the ISO by 40 times, and increasing the aperture diameter by 1.6 (= 5.6/3.5) means the total exposure value for the phosphorescence photo is 30x40x1.6×1.6 or 3840 times that for the fluorescence photo. |
Liberty Street Economics
« | Main | »
October 2, 2015
Crisis Chronicles: Defensive Suspension and the Panic of 1857
Sometimes the world loses its bearings and the best alternative is a timeout. Such was the case during the Panic of 1857, which started when a prestigious bank in New York City collapsed, making all banks suddenly suspect. Banks, fearing a run on their gold reserves, started calling in loans from commercial firms and brokers, leading to asset sales at fire-sale prices and bankruptcies. By mid-October, banks in Philadelphia and New York suspended convertibility, meaning they would not allow gold to be withdrawn from their vaults even while all other banking services continued. Suspension then swept the nation as part of a defensive strategy, supported by local business interests, to prevent the Panic from spreading. While the suspensions appeared successful and few banks ended up failing, President Buchanan was outraged by what he viewed as yet another corrupt banking practice. He proposed making suspension a “death sentence” for banks as a draconian incentive to encourage safer banking practices. In this edition of Crisis Chronicles, we describe the Panic of 1857 and explain why businesses pushed for national suspension to save themselves.
Paper Bubbles and Premonitory Symptoms
The outpouring of gold from California starting in 1849 fostered a period of prosperity in the 1850s. Spurred by migrations to the West, the decade saw a massive expansion of the railroads and the accompanying financial speculation by bankers and British investors. Robert C. Kennedy notes that “railroads were the backbone of the economic growth, with the construction of over 20,000 miles of track during the 1850s. They were aided by state land grants and financed by government bonds, stock sales on Wall Street, and foreign, particularly British, investments. . . . The number of banks almost doubled from 1850 to 1857. . . . Particularly important was New York City, the nation’s financial center and home to the Stock Exchange.”
The mood of the nation, however, turned a bit darker in the summer of 1857. Van Vleck (The Panic of 1857, page 60) quotes the New York Herald in June of that year: “What can be the end of all this but another general collapse like that of 1837, only upon a much grander scale? The same premonitory symptoms that prevailed in 1835-36 prevail in 1857 in a tenfold degree. Paper bubbles of all descriptions, a general scramble for western lands. . . . The worst of all these evils is the moral pestilence of luxurious exemption from honest labor which is infecting all classes of society.”
Like a Cannon Shot
The start of the Panic of 1857 is attributed to the closing of a New York City bank owned by the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company on August 24th. The announcement of the bank failure
“struck on the public mind like a cannon shot. An intense excitement was manifested in all financial circles, in which bank officers participated with unusual sensitiveness and want of self-possession. Flying rumors were exaggerated at every corner. The holders of stock and commercial paper hurried to the broker and were eager to make what a week before they would have shunned as a ruinous sacrifice. Several stock and money dealers failed. . . . Every individual misfortune was announced on the news bulletins in large letters.” (J.S. Gibbons 1858)
It did not help that bonds and stocks issued by railroads had been heading down over the course of the summer and that this decline had contributed to the bank’s failure. The question then was what other banks were vulnerable to dropping railroad securities prices.
Fears of runs on their gold compelled banks to call in their loans to brokers and commercial firms and withdraw their deposits in other banks in hopes of building their gold holdings. Commercial firms were forced to sell assets at such deep discounts that many ended in bankruptcy, which in turn made banks more aggressive in calling loans. The telegraph meant that the panic swept quickly across the country.
By September 26th, banks in Philadelphia suspended the right to withdraw gold. New York banks held on until October 13th, when a large run that day caused all but one bank to suspend. Most other banks in the country soon followed. Countrywide suspension would last two months, with New York City banks not resuming payment in gold until December 14th.
Banks Go Defensive
Calomiris and Schweikart note that the suspensions in Philadelphia and New York led to defensive suspensions in the rest of the country that were encouraged by commercial interests. Firms gave up the right to pull out their gold in order to eliminate the need for banks to call in loans, which would “cause customers to go bankrupt or to sell off merchandise at ‘fire sale’ prices, which can result in bank losses as well. Suspension did not force banks to shut down; it allowed banks to choose which deposits and notes to redeem and permitted them to accumulate reserves gradually without calling in loans en masse.” Suspension forced the country’s banking system to work through paper-based transactions for two months and the fact that few banks failed suggests it was a good strategy.
Indeed, Calomiris and Schweikart argue that the rest of the country’s response was a lesson for New York City banks. Had they suspended earlier, “they might have been able to extend the necessary loans to keep the securities market afloat. Focusing on their banks’ reputations, rather than the health of the markets as a whole, the bankers chose the path of tight credit, falling prices, and commercial failures.”
Not Everyone Agreed
But the use of defensive suspensions to quell the panic wasn’t approved of by all. In December of that year, President James Buchanan focused on the Panic in his State of the Union. He argued for states to “require that the banks shall at all times keep on hand at least one dollar of gold and silver for every three dollars of their circulation and deposits, and if they will provide by a self-executing enactment, which nothing can arrest, that the moment they suspend they shall go into liquidation. I believe that such provisions, with a weekly publication by each bank of a statement of its condition, would go far to secure us against future suspensions of specie payments.” He then pushed this point by saying that the remedy might be done at the national level. “Congress, in my opinion, possesses the power to pass a uniform bankrupt law applicable to all banking institutions throughout the United States, and I strongly recommend its exercise. This would make it the irreversible organic law of each bank’s existence that a suspension of specie payments shall produce its civil death. The instinct of self-preservation would then compel it to perform its duties in such a manner as to escape the penalty and preserve its life.”
So, would Buchanan’s bank death-sentence for suspending convertibility have altered bank practices enough to make them less vulnerable to the Panic of 1857 or would the inability to suspend have caused much more economic damage throughout the country from the initial loss of confidence in New York City? Let us know what you think.
Klitgaard_thomasThomas Klitgaard is a vice president in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group.
In a free market economy, when a company cannot meet contracted obligations, it is violating its contract and its customers should have recourse to legal remedy, such as through bankruptcy. Buchanon was aiming in the right direction, but better to have freedom and rule of law. (Some banks may set up rules with their customers that allow temporary suspension, if customers agree.) America erred early on in its history in its government’s giving banks special treatment. And we have suffered from doing this ever since. In a true free market, banks necessarily police one another. Canada’s great success exhibits many of the elements of this.
Any count of financial crisis thereafter can be taken as positive response to the 2nd question. No matter whether it is payment in specie or paper, banks’ inflows of money are gradual, whilst in a crisis withdrawals happen all of a sudden. Any widespread attempt to restore liquidity by cutting credit entails a lasting process to cash in assets, which is unable to match the urgency to pay short term deposits, and hence is doomed to fail. So that the very concern monetary authorities have always had for bank runs ever since is the acknowledgement to this assertion.
This was a great read. If Buchanan’s moratorium on suspension and his demand for increased liquidity/capital by the banks was promulgated prior to the Panic of 1857 it certainly would have made the banks less vulnerable and possibly alleviated the need for suspension all together. A highly leveraged bank or any entity for that matter is only a swift wind away from bankruptcy or even worse extinction. Buchanan’s policies would have decreased leverage by the banks and concurrently the amount of outstanding loans but also the potential for profit. This would have ensured that the banks were less susceptible to the decline of the railroad boom since they would have been less invested in it due to the Buhcanan’s liquidity requirements. However, I disagree with the blanket prohibition on suspension because under the right circumstances suspension is necessary to avoid the entire collapse of our economic system. Suspension should be employed only under exigent circumstances and this must be a remedy of last resort and certainly not one that should be within the banks’ discretion to effect. I believe suspension was far too harsh a remedy for the Panic of 1857. It is worth highlighting that flooding the market with capital rather than restricting withdrawals has proven to be a more effective combatant to a stark decline in the market and the subsequent panic that follows.
The comments to this entry are closed.
About the Blog
Economic Research Tracker
Most Viewed
Last 12 Months
Comment Guidelines
Please be brief: Comments are limited to 1500 characters.
Send Us Feedback
Disclosure Policy
|
On “Delayed Gratification”
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by all sorts of media, thanks to technology. It might be merely browsing through our phone, strolling through the mall, or watching television — the truth is that we are constantly exposed to new stimuli, all day, every day. Some firms suggest that the average individual is exposed to 5,000 ads per day, to give you an idea of how intense it can be. While we might not consciously absorb and digest every particular advertisement that we are exposed to — it certainly doesn’t mean that we didn’t view it on some level.
Of course, there’s a good reason for that. Advertising wouldn’t be such an incredibly large sector if it wasn’t sufficient. The truth is that many individuals “fall” for advertising, meaning that they often purchase items that they see advertisements for, whether they are the specific demographic that the ad was targeting or not.
We live in a world now where if we hear about a product that we might be interested in — we can search for it immediately, and within a couple of clicks — that product can arrive at your door in several days. Similarly, if you like a song, you can use an app to find out what the song is, and purchase the album immediately digitally. While we used to have to spend time and energy to go to locations and seek out what we desire, the process is now a lot simplified. In this manner, the advertising sector, in many respects, appeal to the concept of instant gratification.
Why shouldn’t it? These days, all it takes is one click to view a specific media, purchase a particular product, or have a particular experience. Advertising is simply appealing to the way that the modern world works, and is a response to the fact that technology has changed the way that the world works.
What Is Instant Gratification?
Instant gratification is the idea that if you have a desire, you should fulfill it immediately. Instead of waiting for a specific time or place to experience this gratification — you might seek it out ASAP. Of course, this served human beings well before, in the sense that we have biological urges to eat, drink, and sleep, to remain healthy.
For example, in the earlier evolutionary days of human beings, instant gratification worked, because thirst would lead us to seek out water instead of forgetting that need to drink, or lead us to hunt because of hunger, instead of ignoring that we required nutrients and nourishment. The urge for the “instant gratification” of sex would ultimately lead to the procreation, which would lead to human beings growing in population.
Of course, these days, those urges have shifted, and our urges might now include the urge to check our e-mail/texts, binge-watch a TV show, or read an entertainment blog. While our desires might have shifted dramatically, the base idea of the “pleasure principle,” where human beings immediately try to seek out pleasure as soon as possible, still exists.
What Is Delayed Gratification?
However, the idea of delaying gratification is the opposite — where a human being decides to postpone the “pleasure”, or gratification, for a specific reason. There are many reasons to do this, and some might choose it to do for one reason or various reasons. Regardless, there is little doubt that delayed gratification can improve your life. Let’s examine some of the ways that delayed gratification can be substantial, in more ways than one.
Delayed gratification might be more simple than you realize. It might involve NOT purchasing that item that you desire, NOT having sex with someone tempting you, or NOT giving in to that drink, even if you want it badly. Delayed gratification is a concept that more people should be aware of because it can be essential to success.
The concept isn’t just about one particular part of your life, either. Delayed gratification can help your friendships, relationships, your personal life, your professional life, and much more.
Importance Of Delayed Gratification
The chances are that you’ve already experienced how fulfilling delayed gratification than be — you just may not have worded it the same way, or thought much about it. Delayed gratification might be that one dessert that you waited weeks for because you’ve been watching your calories. It also might be that one drink you grab with an old friend, that tastes even better because you stayed longer after work to make sure that you finished your professional obligations first. Delayed gratification might be the sex that you have with your partner, but only after you two took the time out to heal the emotional issues in your relationship first.
For example, instant gratification can be thought of in terms of fast food. When you go straight to a fast food place, instant gratification comes in the form of a quick burger that might satisfy your taste buds. However, is it good for your health? The truth is that fast food is notoriously unhealthy. While there is nothing wrong with having a sweet tooth, overeating candy/sweets can lead to diabetes.
Everyone is familiar with being a child and having parents say “eat your veggies.” While vegetables might not be “gratifying” to many — in the long run, it is, because you can live a longer and healthier life. There is more evidence than ever that even suggest that fast food can be as addictive as drugs.
It isn’t even just about physical health, either, believe it or not. For example, fruits and other superfoods can genuinely help our mental health, while there are studies that suggest that fast food can cause mental health to deteriorate.
The point is this: if you are used to eating fast food once a day, and you decide to stop this habit — it could lead to a healthier life. Even if you stop eating fast food once a week, it can still help. The idea here is that the simple concept of delayed gratification could affect your life expectancy.
Let’s say that you are working at a job, but eventually, want to start your own business. Every day, you wake up and work diligently at your workplace, whatever sector or industry that it is in, and deliver results for a paycheck. After one or two weeks, you receive a paycheck for your hard work.
Now, to start a business, you need money. The idea here is that you would put aside money from this paycheck, and every other paycheck, to eventually start your own business, and control your financial future.
Your financial goals then require delayed gratification. It means that when your friends are going on vacation for the weekend, you might have to say no, even though you want to go. If you’re going on expensive dates to improve your social life and network — you might have to sacrifice this to start your own business. Whether your vice is expensive meals, expensive alcohol, a hobby that you love, or otherwise — these things, although they are gratifying, must be delayed.
Let’s imagine that you do decide to delay all of these things. Every time you are tempted to gratify yourself, you don’t, and you end up saving enough money to start your own business. Eventually, even though it takes a lot of work and time — you save up enough to start your own business, and now control your financial future. You might reward yourself NOW, after delaying all the gratification, because you finally reached your goals. In this manner, you have implemented delayed gratification to motivate yourself to reach certain milestones.
The Concept Of Work
The truth is that often times when you are building a company, for example, there are many hurdles. For example, you might see a famous musician, and it may “seem” as though they became successful overnight. However, you might not realize that this particular musician has been working behind the scenes for years in order to be in the spotlight now, and receive the accolades that he or she does.
It’s effortless to think about the founder of a startup that is worth millions or billions of dollars, and think about how amazing their life must be. However, many times, these individuals have created many other companies that have failed before. Of course, if they fell victim to the concept of instant gratification — they would not have persevered.
Here’s a great example: there is a company called Instacart. For those who are unaware, it is a grocery delivery service that delivers groceries on the same day. Think of the word “Instacart” — doesn’t it make you think of instant gratification? You might imagine that the company took the same route, right? Some guy thought of a same-day grocery service, and became rich overnight…right?
Well, the truth is that you couldn’t be more wrong. The founder of Instacart is a young man by the name of Apoorva Mehta, and he had 20 failed startups before he finally succeeded! There is little doubt that Mr. Mehta is a brilliant and accomplished young man, who worked for some of the most well-known technology companies in the world. However, he wanted more.
He could have felt after the first failure, that it was over. He could have thought, “Oh well, I tried to start one company, but it didn’t work out.” Instead, he tried to start five more companies. After all of these failures, he could have decided that it wasn’t in the cards. He didn’t. He kept going and kept trying. Now, Instacart is valued in the billions.
Potential Predictor
The truth is that most logical human beings understand delayed gratification on some level, because it is a concept that reveals itself in almost every aspect of life. We are taught at a very young age about risk and reward, and the idea that if we complete all our homework, that we get to stay up late or play video games, for example.
The concept extends further in life, as well. While we might receive a credit card that allows us to spend money on something that will immediately satisfy us — it won’t be a smart idea in the long run because it affects our credit score, and has the potential to drive us into debt, which can then even cause more issues.
If we want to be a doctor or lawyer, we understand delayed gratification in the form of time. We sacrifice years in school because we know that there is a respectable occupation that will be in demand that pays a “guaranteed” salary in the future. In this manner, while others might be working at less stable jobs but having more fun during the weekdays and weekends — law students and medical students are busy studying hard for a better financial future. In this manner, they are using the concept of delayed gratification because they believe that their life will be better off for it.
There are now studies that suggest that if an individual is able to delay gratification, it could be a true potential predictor of success. This particular study was a comprehensive one, that involved over 2500 participants and utilized machine learning, as well.
It’s easy to see that the world can be a place full of temptations. If you are in a committed relationship, you might think about the instant gratification of sex with an ex, or a new potential partner. If you are on a dedicated diet, you might be tempted with the idea of having that fatty/unhealthy food, whether it’s a burger, dessert, milkshake, or something else. If you are trying to start your own business, it might be tempting to spend your money a certain way instead of saving up money to eventually open your own business. The point is simple: delayed gratification has its benefits, and could even be considered a potential predictor of future success. No matter who you are, you should consider incorporating delayed gratification into your own life.
|
No such thing as free parking: Nationwide study demonstrates high environmental cost
No Such Thing As Free Parking
The first comprehensive estimate of parking spaces in the U.S. found that the energy and materials used to create parking spaces has a significant environmental impact. Credit: JSmith Photo via flikr
The 250 million cars and trucks on America's roads get a bad rap for being environmentally unfriendly. Climate scientists say that automobiles add an array of greenhouse gases and harmful particulates into the Earth's atmosphere, yet little research has been done to estimate the impact parking spaces -- where those automobiles spend 95 percent of their time -- have on our planet.
"I think it's a surprisingly unknown quantity," said Donald Shoup, a UCLA professor and author of the book "The High Cost of Free Parking." "[Parking] is the single biggest land use in any city. It's kind of like dark matter in the universe, we know it's there, but we don't have any idea how much there is."
Civil engineers at the University of California, Berkeley recently published the first comprehensive estimate of parking spaces in America and found that the and materials associated with creating hundreds of millions of parking spaces has a significant .
The group had already published a study aimed at finding the environmental impact of America's total transportation infrastructure, but when they tried to estimate the impact of the nation's automobile infrastructure, they were forced to use the only existing national parking spaces study -- a count of just the 100 million metered parking spaces in the United States. A number of other environmental engineers were quick to call out the obvious limitations of using such a small number and convinced the team to attempt the first ever nation-wide count of parking spaces.
"We got some feedback from people saying 'We think you guys are drastically underestimating the amount of parking spaces in the United States,'" said researcher and lead author of the study Mikhail Chester.
Chester pointed out that if there are 250 million cars in the country, obviously there must be at least that many spaces for people to park at home -- add in spaces for work and shopping and it becomes apparent that there must be many times more than 100 million parking spaces. The researchers' estimates included things like street side parking, building code requirements, parking garages, lots in megastores like Walmart and Target and then parking spots at work and home.
Even defining a parking space is a difficult task, so the group focused on several primary groups of paved spaces; free and metered on-street spaces; surface parking, or ground spaces like those found in front of big box stores and in people's driveways; and multi-story parking structures.
Because of all the uncertainties, they decided to examine the environmental impact of five different scenarios for parking. The first scenario was limited to only the 100 million metered parking spaces in the previous study. The next three scenarios examine what the group considers to be the most likely situation -- that there are somewhere around 800 million parking spaces in the United States, or nearly three official parking spaces for every car on the road.
“The environmental effects of parking are not just from encouraging the use of the automobile over public transit or walking and biking,” the group stated in their paper, “but also from ... activities related to building and maintaining the infrastructure.”
Explore further
Researchers count lots of parking lots
Provided by Inside Science News Service
Citation: No such thing as free parking: Nationwide study demonstrates high environmental cost (2010, December 1) retrieved 19 January 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2010-12-free-nationwide-high-environmental.html
Feedback to editors |
Basic Information on How Powdered Metals are Made
January 25, 2018
Powder metallurgy is a topic that most people probably aren’t intimately familiar with. Yet, here at PM Distributors we have come to know how important it is firsthand. Today’s discussion is going to be a more general topic as to how powdered metals are actually made. We’ll eventually dip a little bit into the benefits that they can offer you, but first we’ll lay down the process.
Making Powdered Metals
The first thing you need to realise is that powder metallurgy is actually a deep and advanced topic. Fortunately, we’ll be focusing on just the first step in the process — creating metal powders. Metal powders are most commonly produced in four different ways. We’ll look closely at each process while providing information as to why each process is utilised.
1) Atomisation: The first process that we will look at is atomisation. This process starts when a molten, metal stream is poured through a special container. A gas is then injected into the stream, right before it is expunged from the initial nozzle. The reason this is done is so that the molten metal can hit turbulence and spread into a rapid array of smaller droplets that freeze before they come into contact with anything. This process is used in order to develop metal powder comprised of iron, brass, bronze and other metals with lower melting points.
2) Solid-State Reduction: For this process, you’ll see your metal ore crushed and mixed with a material, most likely carbon, before being fed through a furnace. Within the furnace we will see a reaction which reduces both the carbon and the oxygen level within the powder. After this is done, we’ll see the remnants of the surviving material pushed through a special sieve in order to sort and produce the powder. There is no purity control on this process and as such you need a high-quality ore in order to get it started the right way.
3) Centrifugal Atomisation: Finally, centrifugal atomisation closes off our list. In this type of fabrication, you’ll have your molten metal pushed through a revolving, perforated container — typically some sort of tray or cylinder. The machine then rotates at varying speeds so as to separate and allow the droplets of the metal powder to form before being sorted.
High-Quality Metal Powder
As you can see, there is quite the work that goes into developing the metal powder that we so often use for our work. Powdered metal coating is the way for you to improve the value and durability of your products while keeping budget and quality at the top of your considerations. Here at PM Distributors, we can put the right powdered metal materials in your hand in order to make a difference to your projects and tasks.
Optimized by: Netwizard SEO |
Has any party controlled 3/5ths of the seats or more? If not what was the highest percentage or ratio of seats controlled?
• You might ask about proportions and not just percentages: As the senate was smaller in the past. Also do you want to limit the question to after teh 17th amendment
– James K
Oct 26 '20 at 7:11
• 1
Also, why just the GOP and the Democratic Party? The Democratic Party arose from a split within the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1830s and the Republican Party originated on March 20, 1854. Oct 26 '20 at 9:18
The most overwhelming majority in the Senate was in the selection of Senators in 1866/7. In the wake of the civil war, the Republican party held 57 seats and the Democrats held 9. These Senators were all selected by State Legistatures.
The largest number of seats held in absolute terms is 76 held by the Democrats to the Republican 16 (and 4 seats going to minor parties), in 1936 during the period of the New Deal.
Have either party controlled 60 seats or more?
Comment: There have only been 50 states since August 21, 1959. I'll answer in terms of 60% of the seats rather than 60 seats, and I'll call this "super-dominance". Another key marker is 2/3 of the Senators, the number of votes needed to override a veto. This is a supermajority.
TL;DR: Super-dominance (a party holding 3/5 of the Senate seats) has happened several times. A party has even held a supermajority quite a few times.
There have only been 50 states since August 21, 1959. I'll answer in terms of 60% of the seats rather than 60 seats. The answer to this question is many times, starting with the second half of the very first Congress, in which pro-administration Senators held 18 of the 26 seats (69%). Parties had not yet formed, but factions most certainly had. The pro-administration faction eventually became the Federalist Party while the anti-administration faction eventually became the Democratic-Republican Party. Neither of those parties exist anymore.
The pro-administration faction continued to hold a majority (but not necessarily super-dominant) of the Senate seats through the second and third Congresses. Parties became a recognized thing in the fourth Congress, with the Federalists holding 20 out of the 30 seats (67%). The Federalists were super-dominant in the fifth and sixth Congresses, but then started falling out of favor. In the eight Congress, it was the Democratic-Republican Party that was super-dominant.
The Democratic-Republican Party continued to be super-dominant through to the 18th Congress. By that time the Federalist Party was essentially gone. The 19th Congress saw the Democratic-Republican Party split into pro- and anti-Jacksonian factions, neither of which was super-dominant. These factions became parties in the 25th Congress, in which the Democratic Party (the pro-Jacksonians) held 35 of the 52 seats (67%). After that, no party was super-dominant until the latter half of the 30th Congress, during which the Democratic Party held 38 of the 60 seats (63%).
The Democratic Party dominated until the onset of the Civil War, sometimes holding a supermajority of the Senate seats. The onset of the Civil War resulted in several vacant Senate seats and saw the birth of the Republican Party. The Republican Party held a supermajority of the non-vacant seats by the end of the 37th Congress. The Republican Party continued to dominate, in a supermajority sense, through the 38th to 43rd Congresses, and were the majority party in the 44th and 45 Congresses. Their majority ended with the 46th Congress.
No party would be super-dominant until the 56th Congress, when the Republican Party held 53 of the 88 non-vacant seats (60.2%). The Republicans remained super-dominant (in some cases holding a supermajority) until the 62nd Congress. Control switched back and forth, with no party super-dominant until the 67th Congress, where the Republicans held 59 of the 96 seats (61.5%). The Republican Party remained the major but not super-dominant party until the 73rd Congress, the start of the Great Depression. By the end of the 73rd Congress, the Democratic Party was super-dominant, holding 60 of the 96 seats. The Democrats held 72 of the 96 seats (75%) at end of the 74th Congress. This Democratic supermajority continued through to the 77th Congress.
Control switch multiple times, with no party being super-dominant, between the 78th and 85 Congresses. By the end of the 86th Congress,the Democrats became super-dominant, holding 66 of the 100 seats (one seat shy of a supermajority). This super-dominance continued through to 90th Congress, including a brief supermajority at the start of the 89th Congress. Democratic dominance, and occasionally super-dominance, continued until the 97th Congress. No party has been super-dominant since the 94th Congress.
• 3
"No party has been super-dominant since the 94th Congress." However, there were two periods during the 111th Congress (April 30, 2009 - August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 - February 4, 2010) when the Democratic caucus (including two independent senators who caucused with the Democrats) had 60 seats.
– user102008
Oct 27 '20 at 4:35
• 1
Also worth noting that the filibuster rule was not always 60%. For a long time earlier it was two-thirds.
– ohwilleke
Nov 17 '21 at 1:38
You must log in to answer this question.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged . |
Train Drawing with Choo Choo: The First Choo-Choo Clipart Album is Here!
Train drawing is a popular hobby in Korea.
The practice is especially popular in the rural areas, where children are more likely to be taught to draw by older adults.
Train drawing has gained popularity in Japan, too.
In Japan, train drawing is often seen in train stations and on trains and trains.
Train art is often used as a form of entertainment and art form.
Train painting has been popular for over 2,000 years in Japan.
Train artists have been creating realistic train artworks for over 100 years.
Choo choos are the first Choo Choo clipart album.
In the Choo Chan clipart video, a young boy named Choo Chung makes his own Choo CHOO clipart.
In this clipart Choo, the boy looks into a train carriage and sees a train station.
A train is approaching and the boy says, “Come on, go train!”
A train comes and the train station is decorated with a train with a Choo CHOONG sticker on it.
The train station appears as a large circle on the ground, with a station sign on top of it.
Choon Chung also makes the Choon CHOONG clipart train.
The clipart was created by the Choos and the Chool Choos, who are also called the Choko Choo or Chool Choo, and is the oldest Choo Chong clipart record.
Train Choo is a traditional Choo choo and train drawing has been a part of the tradition in Korea for centuries.
Choos can make Choochochocho clipart and train drawings.
Train choos have always been in charge of the train designs and designs of trains, and Choochoos make Choon choos train designs.
Train design is one of the oldest train art forms in the world, and trains are also a part that the Chokoes have designed.
Train designs are usually done in black ink on paper, which can be made with chalk, and the paper can be thinned or thinned and painted with various colors.
Train designers in Japan have long used train designs for their train designs, and train choos often draw trains with the train designers.
Train Choos train drawings are typically done in the summer months when trains are not operating and Choos usually draw trains during the winter months.
Train trains are popular in Japan for many reasons.
It is a good way to have fun when traveling, and it is fun to see the trains in the winter.
Train stations and train stations are popular places for train choo choos to live, work, and play.
The Choochi train station in Tokyo is a famous train station with many train chooing and train painting.
Train station and train station designs are popular for ChooChoos and ChokoChoos to live in Japan and to work and play in Japan’s train stations.
Train drawings are an easy way to express emotions in the train.
Train train designs are a part in the culture of Japan.
Chokoos can create ChooCHOchocho clips, train designs on trains, ChooCHOON, train choops and ChOOCHO.
Train Design and Train Choos Chokos Choos are famous for their Choochan clipart albums, ChOOCHO, train choo, and choos designs.
Choko choos can also draw train chooses and train designs in Choko Chan and Chokcho Choko styles.
Train and train trains have been a popular and successful way to travel and live in Korea and Japan.
This is especially true in Japan where train and train travel has become a very popular way of life.
Train journeys are fun, but trains also have an interesting history in Korea, where trains have a unique history.
The first Choon Chan cliparts were made in the early 1800s in Chosong, Korea.
This famous train and Choon choo style is called ChooChan.
The early Choo Chaons also used Choo chaons, or chong choos, as a name for trains.
In Chosongs famous train stations, trains are often decorated with Chok Choon, ChokChoo, Choko Chaon and Chyo Choo stickers on the front of the cars.
Chosos Chokons are the oldest and most popular train styles in Japan!
Train Chokochos Choks ChokonChooChoo chooses train choopers train choosen by train chooper Choo chi is a Chok choos traditional Chok choo in the Choco Choko style.
Choks chaos are a popular train style in Japan because of their versatility and easy-to-use design.
TrainCho choops Chochocho choopers are train chooppers, or train choppers, which are designed to take people anywhere.
Train chokos |
by BACC Rag staff
Cheating on Your Homework Banned
According to Websterʼs dictionary, cheating means “to deal with dishonesty for oneʼs own gain.” Academically, it means to represent someone elseʼs work as yours. You can have someone else do your work for you, copy from a person, or even paraphrase an essay done by your friend; it is still called cheating.
Cheating on homework assignments is something that a kid does at one point or another during their time in school. Cheating shows someoneʼs inability to complete their work on time, and it represents bad study habits among students. Cheating will not get you very far, and it will hurt you more than it helps. Since students learn and get used to relying on others for work, it will be harder to get back on their own feet. This will be apparent in their test grades, where cheating is not a viable option.
The act of cheating has been around for generations, but the number of people who do it has increased in the years passed. This is because of many different reasons. One is that students today have access to many more things, since we have easy access to a computer with Internet. With the Internet, pupils can easily research and copy information from the internet. Students can also easily email each other their homework assignments.
Another very common cause of cheating is procrastination. With computers, Xboxʼs, PlayStationʼs and other entertainment systems, students tend lose track of their work, and play games or go on social websites like My-Space and Facebook instead.
By Mr. Lakhaney
TOK Teacher
Leave a Reply
You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )
Google photo
Twitter picture
Facebook photo
Connecting to %s |
Adrian Rubin Analyzes Recent Trends in Access to Education
The advances in technology have transformed every facet of education, from access to financing and everything else in between. According to World Bank, Edutech Blog, the modern trends disrupting education and ICT include: mobile learning, teacher-generated open learning, personalized learning and one-to-one computing. Personalized learning is the use of technology based structured teaching to bridge the learning gaps and learning styles.
Under the program, classrooms are transformed into a system with contents and training pedagogy focused on student’s needs. Education stakeholders can aptly use the teacher-generated open content to empower teachers and encourage them to create effective learning resources. Several online platforms have been availed that allow teachers to edit and customize teaching materials to match the student’s style and pace of learning.
It is believed that this highly disruptive resource may supplant the traditional textbook as a key learning resource. When that happens, teacher-generated open content will question certain aspects of intellectual property and copyright laws. Recent advances in hardware and software deployments have given rise to indispensable, mobile smart phones. Using these devices, learners can bypass fixed line technology and directly access inbuilt computing capabilities and the internet.
One of the most popular global ICT trends today is providing personal information appliances to learners. The one-to-one policy recommends the use of one laptop, tablet or computer per child. Its aim is to create a learning environment hinged on universal access to technology and personal learning devices. All these ICT programs are instrumental in advancing learning since computers and internet have become widely available in schools and classrooms across the world.
According to Education Encyclopedia, in 1999, a staggering 99% of all teachers in the US had access to school computers. Internet connections were also widespread with statistics indicating 63% of classrooms and 95% of schools having the connections. The whole essence of ICT in education is designed to create an environment that promotes flexible exploration. Learners can use the platform to investigate problems and create interactive presentations. The other benefits include:
• Boundless education resource
• Platform to summarize and present findings
• Platform to encourage collaboration and distance learning
Financing Education
Education is critical to the success of any society. Besides promoting learning, education is the key to a successful career. There are, however, challenges that make the dream elusive to a sizable segment of the population. According to Cornerstone University, the challenges include: rising cost of tuition; increased privatization of colleges and universities and declining completion rates. High college tuition is increasingly weighing down the essence of obtaining a college degree.
The cost factor is worsened by a reduction in the number of well-paying jobs, rising unemployment and the ever-growing burden of student loans. In spite of the situation, there is every reason to earn a college degree. Americans with college degrees are better compensated in the workplace. Statistics indicate that people with a bachelor’s degree earn up to $500,000 more in their lifetime compared to those with a high school diploma.
Students must therefore seek easy and affordable ways to finance their education. According to Business Dictionary, here are 6 ways students can fund their higher education:
1. Apply for need based educational grants
Students who can demonstrate financial need can apply for non-repayable educational grant. The grant request is forwarded to the recipient’s university or college financial aid office.
2. Internship and apprenticeship
Students can take advantage of job opportunities that come with attractive incentives like paid internships and apprenticeships. The on-work programs allow students to take part time or summer classes while gaining crucial work experience.
3. Private loans
Private loans can be sought from family, friends, acquaintances and other private entities. The terms of the loan will vary from one party to the other, most come with either variable or fixed interest rate. You may need a co-signer with good credit to obtain approval.
4. Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans
This education loan program is guaranteed by the Department of Education under the auspices of the US Federal Government. The loan covers tuition and education related expenses.
5. Direct PLUS loans
Direct Plus loan program is also supported by the US Federal Government and features flexible credit requirements. The education loan program carries a fixed interest rate of 7.9%.
6. Scholarship
Scholarships are grants awarded on the basis of academic achievement or other such accomplishments. For example, the newly unveiled Adrian Rubin Scholarship is awarded to eligible youths to help offset college tuition. The $1200 education scholarship comes at a time when college tuition is increasingly getting out of reach. The Scholarship is administered by the Adrian Rubin Foundation.
Peer to Peer Lending and Private Lending Info |
Microbe build-up on Greenland could mean more ice loss says research
Greenland ice sheet
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland Ice Sheet could be under threat from microbes on its surface multiplying faster than they are washed away in a warming climate, according to new research from Aberystwyth University.
The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest mass of ice in the northern hemisphere.
It covers an area about seven times the size of the United Kingdom and reaching up to 3 km (2 miles) deep.
Its surface harbours a wealth of microbial life, including algae, which can change the ice’s colour by photosynthesising and storing carbon during summer months.
These carbon deposits are removed by natural wash-off by meltwater.
Newly-published analysis in the journal Nature Communications by Aberystwyth University scientists concludes that the amount of these deposits increases faster than they are washed away.
Read full article… |
What Is NFT? How Non-Fungible Tokens Work?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible token and is a digital asset that represents ownership of real-world items including art, music, video clips and real estate, etc.
Technically, NFT follows blockchain technology and it empowers cryptocurrency but keep in mind that it is not a currency. Moreover, the asset is speculative enough and not all investors can handle it appropriately.
Leave a Reply
|
Can sugar make you forgetful? Slow your brain? A recent study suggests sugar sabotages learning and memory. Whilst we are familiar with the ‘too much sugar causes obesity’ message, little attention has been paid to its impact on mental health. This is changing.
New Zealanders consume a whopping 57.5 kg of sugar a year1, more than double the intake recommended by the World Health Organisation. That’s about half a cup a day. Imagine pouring half a cup of sugar into a pile every day, for 365 days! You would have a sugar mountain.
So, what’s the link between sugar and memory? Neuroscientists have long known that short-term memory problems are associated with the slowing of blood flow to the memory-crucial hippocampus during the ageing process. Recently, Scott Small of the Columbia University Medical Centre discovered high blood sugar levels created the same problem. A consistently high sugar level causes the body to pump out excess insulin, causing inflammation and excess oxidants, stressing the brain. It’s true that coffee with sugar may have you up and running in the morning, but over the long term, consuming a large volume of sugar, or foods that are quickly converted to sugar by your body, will prematurely age your brain.
Look out for the hidden sugars – fructose added to soft drinks, in bread, condiments, sauces, and so on. Check those food labels. Nutritionists are particularly concerned, not about the naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants, but by the high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative.
For brain health, look for low-sugar, nutritious and delicious alternatives. You will soon notice sharper, clearer thinking.
1 The New Zealand sugar (fructose) fountain: Time to turn the tide. Thornley, McRobbie, & Jackson (2010). |
Tag: how to lift up heavy furniture
1. How to move heavy furniture
While everyone is inside protecting the NHS, it's important to remember to avoid injuries. Although we have outlined some basic principles here, we know that any heavy furniture moves can be risky and complicated. We urge our readers to do their own research and thoroughly evaluate the job at hand! At this time we are all doing our best to avoid unnecessary injuries, so we hope some of these basics can get you going. Two people attempting to lift a heavy cabinet. Attempting to move heavy furniture, especially if you’re alone, can be awkward and inconvenient. Trying not to damage the piece of furniture you’re moving, all while avoiding bumping into other household appliances can be somewhat of a hassle. There are, however, several techniques you can implement to save yourself from hauling hefty items around and potentially straining your back. Whether you’re moving home or simply repositioning an item of furniture, use these tips as inspiration for some safer moves:
• Use furniture sliders
Sliders are made of either single-part or multi-part plastic so that the furniture can be pulled with ease across most surfaces. Place a slider under each corner of the furniture, such as the legs of a dining table, creating a barrier between that and the floor. Available to purchase from most DIY and hardware shops, sliders work by reducing friction to allow for smooth movements across your surface without the risk of damage.
• Try moving blankets
Moving blankets are an alternative to sliders. Although they are generally used to wrap up the entirety of a piece of furniture for protection, placing the whole blanket underneath and holding onto one side will allow you to easily slide the item to the new location.
• Break furniture down into smaller parts
Although more time consuming, you can always make furniture sleeker and lighter by removing any detachable features. When moving a sofa, for instance, you can usually remove the feet. The same principle applies to other items - unscrew and dismantle any legs, knobs, shelves and racks. Move these smaller items separately to rebuild them in the new location.
• Opt for a moving dolly
A moving dolly is one of the most convenient methods of transporting furniture. With a square platform and four wheels, an item can be placed on top and wheeled to its new position. Alternatively, a hand truck is an L-shaped mechanism that stands upright with wheels on the bottom. With a handle on the top, you wheel the base under the piece of furniture and tilt the handle towards you so that it’s leaning backwards in order to wheel it around.
Ideas for lifting up heavy furniture
Moving furniture may require you to lift separate units completely off the ground, as opposed to merely sliding them across the room. Lifting heavy furniture is sometimes impossible if the weight of the item exceeds how much you are able to lift without risk of injury. Although, certain devices can be of aid in the lifting process. Shoulder dollies, for example, are carrying straps designed to take some of the weight off your back when you lift. Usually, two people will stand either end of the piece of furniture and attach it with straps which connect to a harness. The harness allows you to utilise your stronger muscle groups and gives you more leverage. Manual lifting procedures often boil down to these key principles:
1. Bend at your knees (not your waist)
Squat down at your knees as opposed to bending over and potentially harming your back, as the majority of the weight will rest on your legs and arms as you rise to stand.
1. Carry the object close to your body
Don’t attempt to walk while holding the furniture with outstretched arms. Ideally, you want to carry the item as close to your body as possible. This will help you to maintain your balance by transferring some of the weight to your upper arms and shoulders, instead of just your forearms.
1. Don’t twist your body in the lifting process
It’s important not to writhe around while carrying a piece of furniture, as twisting and fast movements can result in a drop. When you need to turn your body, lead with your hips and let your feet follow. Ensure that you can always see where you are going - lack of vision can lead to an accident.
How to get heavy furniture upstairs
The safest and most efficient way to move heavy furniture upstairs is by creating a makeshift ramp. You can do this either by folding up some moving blankets and placing them on each step, or by building a sturdy alternative like a plywood ramp. Then, implement the following steps with assistance: Step 1: Lower the longest surface of the piece of furniture onto the ramp. Make sure that the pathway up the stairs is completely clear. Step 2: Hold the bottom corners of the item and push it up the ramp. If you attempt to pull it up from the top of the item, there’s a chance it will slide off the ramp. Step 3: Attach a strap or a rope around the item and have a person at the top of the stairs hold it and guide it up the ramp. Communication is key to ensuring that each push or pause is made in unison.
How to remove carpet dents from heavy furniture
Small dents in carpets are caused by heavy and continual pressure from items such as large display cabinets. Place a few ice cubes in the dents and wait until it melts. Absorb any excess water with a sponge and use either a coin or spoon to lift the carpet fibres. You can also steam the dents on top of a piece of cloth with an iron before lifting the fibres. Your carpet will be looking as good as new in no time.
Stay safe, stay home, Fern xx
Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest | Instagram
1 Item
Show per page |
The visual aspect of this exercise is so impactful. It really resonated with me that I was participating from another perspective rather than being told what had occurred during colonization, and the experience really captured the idea of intergenerational trauma to today’s current events.
Katie B
The delivery of the historical content was the best I’ve seen. They get you immersed in the story right away, with in depth explanations of the terrible things that happened to Indigenous people. They really make reflect and question on how we can be better moving forward.
I requested this activity for the all the staff in my organisation to experience at the same time. I knew that having this shared learning experience would help to set a thoughtful and empathetic tone for the start of a new school year as many of us have not learned the history of Canada through the lens of Indigenous Peoples. The facilitators at Kairos were well-prepared, warm, and friendly which made us feel comfortable and open to learning about the truth. The sharing circle was incredibly powerful too as it gave us connections to each other as we reflected on the experience.
Natasha B
KAIROS has successfully managed to see a global pandemic not as a barrier to delivery, but as an opportunity to adapt and enhance their strongest teaching tool. The Virtual KAIROS Blanket Exercise is equally as engaging, and even more visually impactful with the inclusion of narratives through multimedia.
Clifford M
I have always found KAIROS Blanket Exercises do be deeply impactful for deepening my understanding of the harm and horrors experienced by Canada’s Indigenous people since colonization. I found, to my absolute surprise that the virtual KBE was, in some ways, even more impactful than in person. I highly recommend this exercise, either virtual or in person, if you are at all interested in deepening your understanding of Canada’s untold history, and Canada’s amazing Indigenous people.
Zoë S |
© 2022 KWIT
4647 Stone Avenue, Sioux City, Iowa 51106
Business: 712-274-6406
Studio: 1-800-251-3690
Email: info@kwit.org
A Station for Everyone
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
Available On Air Stations
How nuclear power figures into a green energy future
When I say the words clean energy, you may think about wind turbines or solar panels. What about nuclear power plants? That $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill recently signed by President Biden, it sets aside money to invest in cleaner sources of energy. That includes wind and solar. It also includes nuclear energy. So what role can nuclear power play in helping the country reduce or even eliminate carbon emissions into the environment? We asked Ernest Moniz for his insights. Moniz served as energy secretary under President Obama. He's now president and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative. And it's important to note he also currently advises and serves on the boards of three companies with stakes in the nuclear and energy sectors. When we talked, I asked him first for his reaction to the recent climate conference in Scotland and the commitment made by the U.S. at that gathering to reduce carbon emissions sharply.
ERNEST MONIZ: Well, it's very tough. I mean, we've taken a very tough objective for 2030, which is a reduction by about 50% - 50% to 52% to be precise - relative to 2005. And then, of course, for 2050, we've chosen for - to strive for net zero, meaning essentially no additional greenhouse gas load in the atmosphere. And these are tough. Certainly, to get there, we will absolutely need to continue the strong decarbonization of the electricity sector in particular.
FOLKENFLIK: What do you envision as the role of nuclear energy in our efforts to reach that goal you just described, the net-zero carbon?
MONIZ: Well, nuclear energy today is by far the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the United States. That's a fact. That's indisputable. You mentioned the infrastructure bill, and there were two pieces in there for nuclear. One of them was $6 billion to help keep running the existing nuclear plants. And that was in recognition of their contribution to addressing climate. And if nuclear is to be a significant contributor to continuing to address climate change, we will need to build on top of the existing fleet some of these new technologies.
FOLKENFLIK: I grew up in the beaches of Southern California not far from San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. You recently co-authored an op-ed in the LA Times with another former energy secretary, Stephen Chu, arguing for keeping open California's last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, which is set to close in 2025. Why do you think that's a good idea?
MONIZ: Well, first of all, we acknowledge right up front that the agreement to terminate Diablo Canyon in 2025, it was a very complex, multi-stakeholder process. And, you know, we're not naive in thinking that - in fact, we say it would be at least as complex to go back and to modify. However, we also say that, you know, even in these few years since that agreement was reached, a lot has changed. Just in the last years, I think we have come close to a consensus that wind and solar and batteries need to be complemented by what is often called firm power. That is power that's available anytime you want it. Wind and solar do suffer the vagaries of the weather, for example. In fact, just recently in the U.K., there was a dramatic problem by the winds in the North Sea being essentially stagnant for quite a while.
FOLKENFLIK: You know, there's also the question - people aren't crazy to be worried about safety issues involving nuclear plants, right. I mean, you think Three Mile Island, you think Chernobyl, you think Fukushima. These things happen. What do you say to address the concerns of Americans who think about the dangers, think about the fact that we haven't figured out how to deal with the toxic waste thereby created in sustaining some of these nuclear power plants?
MONIZ: Yeah. The safety issue, first of all, the Chernobyl and Fukushima and Three Mile Island are very, very different types of events. And without underplaying it, but Three Mile Island - it's important to recognize that there was essentially no exposure to the public. Obviously, it was a disaster as far as the reactor goes, and there was certainly occupational exposures. But since then, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the United States certainly has upped the ante in terms of safety. And there's every indication that the plants are running quite safely.
On the other hand, the radioactive waste, there is no way to avoid that. If you are doing a nuclear fusion plant that is fissioning - breaking up uranium to produce the energy, you will produce fission products. Those are lighter nuclei that are radioactive. They dominate the radioactive and heat profile of the waste for a couple of centuries at least. And there's no way to avoid that. So I agree that addressing the nuclear waste issue is extremely important.
I would mention - and this may sound like science fiction to some, but it's not - there have also been remarkable strides taken in the last years in nuclear fusion where you bring together very light nuclei and fuse them together, releasing an enormous amount of energy. And the fusion process of providing nuclear energy does not have that long-lived highly radioactive waste problem, nor does it have any risk to the public in terms of safety. So fusion would be a tremendous advance. I believe the scientific question about whether or not we can produce power plants will be answered in this decade. So I'm hoping that towards the end of this decade, we'll be able to demonstrate that process and begin to understand what the costs are in the real world.
FOLKENFLIK: That was former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, president and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative. Secretary Moniz, thanks so much for joining us.
MONIZ: Thank you, David. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.