storage disk with phase - change memory posted by hilbert hagedoorn on : 06 / 17 / 2011 09 : 30 am | 0 comment ( s ) ] researchers at the university of california in san diego have developed a prototype disk drive based on phase - change memory. full details over here. a new type of data storage technology, called phase - change memory, has proven capable of writing some types of data faster than conventional flash based storage. the tests used a hard drive based on prototype phase - change memory chips. disks based on solid - state, flash memory chips are increasingly used in computers and servers because they perform faster than conventional magnetic hard drives. the performance of the experimental phase - change disk drive, created by researchers at university of california san diego, suggests that it won ' t be long before that technology is able to give computing devices another speed boost. " phase - change chips are not quite ready for prime time, but if the technology continues to develop, this is what [ solid state drives ] will look like in the next few years, " says steve swanson, who built the prototype, known as onyx, with colleagues. it had a data capacity of eight gigabytes and went head - to - head with what swanson calls a " high - end " 80 gb flash drive made for use in servers. when it came to writing small chunks of data on the order of kilobytes in size, onyx was between 70 percent and 120 percent faster than the commercial drive. at the same time, the prototype placed significantly less computational load on the processor of the computer using it. it was also much faster at reading data than the flash drive when accessing blocks of data of any size. the kind of large volume, small read and write patterns that onyx excelled at are a hallmark of the type of calculations involved in analyzing social networks like those of twitter, says swanson. however, onyx was much slower at writing larger chunks of data than its commercially established competitor. ocz announces revodrive hybrid pci express ( pcie ) storage solution - 08 / 31 / 2011 04 : 15 pm well, it ' s official. we already reported about this product back at computex and hope to receive the first samples in two maybe three weeks. ocz technology announced the release of the revodrive hybri... ebay goes ssd and cuts storage power consumption by 78 percent - 08 / 04 / 2011 09 : 47 am ebay switched 100tb of hdd - based


tai chi – qi gong the chinese characters for tai chi chuan can be translated as the ‘ supreme ultimate force ’. the notion of ‘ supreme ultimate ’ is often associated with the chinese concept of yin - yang, the notion that one can see a dynamic duality ( male / female, active / passive, dark / light, forceful / yielding, etc. ) in all things. ‘ force ’ ( or, more literally, ‘ fist ’ ) can be thought of here as the means or way of achieving this ying - yang, or ‘ supreme - ultimate ’ discipline. tai chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. there are a number of so - called forms ( sometimes also called ‘ sets ’ ) which consist of a sequence of movements. many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts ( and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds ) although the way they are performed in tai chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them. for many practicioners the focus in doing them is not, first and foremost, martial, but as a meditative exercise for the body. for others the combat aspects of tai chi are of considerable interest. in chinese philosophy and medicine there exists the concept of ‘ chi ’, a vital force that animates the body. one of the avowed aims of tai chi is to foster the circulation of this ‘ chi ’ within the body, the belief being that by doing so the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. this ‘ chi ’ circulates in patterns that are close related to the nervous and vascular system and thus the notion is closely connected with that of the practice of acupuncture and other oriental healing arts. another aim of tai chi is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises. learning to do them correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about such things as balance, alignment, fine - scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the body ’ s vital center, and so on. thus the practice of tai chi can in some measure contribute to being able to better stand, walk, move, run, etc. in other spheres of life as well. many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in


run, etc. in other spheres of life as well. many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself. the practical exercises of tai chi are also situated in a wider philosophical context of taoism. this is a reflective, mystical chinese tradition first associated with the scholar and mystic lao tsu, an older contemporary of confucius. he wrote and taught in the province of honan in the 6th century b. c. and authored the seminal work of taoism, the tao te ching. as a philosophy, taoism has many elements but fundamentally it espouses a calm, reflective and mystic view of the world steeped in the beauty and tranquillity of nature. for more information link the effectiveness of qigong has been proven in china by its beneﬁcial impact on the health of millions of people over thousands of years. developing the life force, or chi, is the focus of taoism, china ’ s original religion / philosophy. the taoists are the same people who brought acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, bone setting, and the yin / yang concept to the world. for most people, the ﬁrst and foremost beneﬁt of qigong lies in the relief or prevention of chronic health problems. the range of maladies that have been helped by qigong in china include cancer, internal organ ailments, poor circulation, nerve pain, back and joint problems and general physical disease. many physical problems are at least partially due to, or aggravated by, mental or emotional stress, so the importance of the inner tranquility developed through chi gung cannot be overestimated. the practice of qigong helps manage the stress, anger, depression, morbid thoughts, and general confusion that prey on your mind when your chi is not regulated and balanced. strengthening and balancing the energy of your mind enhances your ability to detect subtle nuances and to perceive the world and its patterns at ever - increasing levels of complexity. qigong is also useful on the spiritual level. the ultimate aim of all inner taoist practices is the alchemical transformation of the body, mind, and spirit, leading to union with the tao. feeling the energy of your body makes it possible for you to understand the energy of your thoughts and emotions, and this leads to comprehending the energy of the spirit. from here it is possible to fully understand the energy of meditation


union with the tao. feeling the energy of your body makes it possible for you to understand the energy of your thoughts and emotions, and this leads to comprehending the energy of the spirit. from here it is possible to fully understand the energy of meditation or emptiness, and through emptiness it is possible to become one with the tao. according to taoism, every human being contains “ the three treasures ” — jing ( sperm / ovary energy, or the essence of the physical body ), chi ( energy, including the thoughts and emotions ), and shen ( spirit or spiritual power ). wu ( emptiness ) gives birth to and integrates the three treasures. the taoists use the all - pervasive life energy as the basis of spiritual investigation. the ultimate goal, becoming one with the tao, has been called many things, such as “ enlightenment, ” “ meeting with the father in heaven, ” “ reaching nirvana, ” and “ ultimate understanding. ” taoists feel that it is best for one to begin with the energy of the body, then progress through emotions and thoughts to spiritual power, before going for the ultimate. what is the difference between tai chi and qigong? each answer gives a progressively more complete answer. all are only partial truths, but at least they are the most accurate answers that can be given without going into excessive detail. the accurate part of the statement is this : the invisible chi or internal power aspects included within the tai chi part of tai chi chuan derive directly from one branch of the 3, 000 - year - old taoist qigong tradition, whereas taoist qigong does not come from tai chi. however, the statement is misleading because it omits buddhist or confucian qigong, which have little in common with tai chi ’ s roots in taoist qigong or taoism. this answer also involves a common error in logic : since to the western ear it sounds as if the word energy is contained in both words, they must mean the same thing. right? wrong! the qi or chi of qigong means energy, the chi of tai chi does not. in tai chi the chi means ‘ ultimate ’. to add to the confusion, the chi in tai chi and qigong are almost universally pronounced by westerners as “ chee, ” which is accurate for qigong and inaccurate for tai chi ( “ gee ” ) chuan. those who commonly both see and mispronounce tai chi as chee also tend to assume both mean the same thing, which they do not.


324 ( 8 ) : 558 - 9. - farrar g et al. defective gallium - transferrin binding in alzheimer disease and down syndrome : possible mechanism for accumulation of aluminum in brain. the lancet 1990 ; 335 : 747 - 50. - rosenberg ih, miller jw. nutritional factors in physical and cognitive functions of elderly people. american journal of clinical nutrition 1992 ; 55 : 1237s - 43s. - jenner fa. vitamins in schizophrenia. the lancet 1973, october 6 : 787 - 88. - foster hd. the geography of schizophrenia : possible links with selenium and calcium deficiencies, inadequate exposure to sunlight and industrialization. journal of orthomolecular medicine 1988 ; 3 ( 3 ) : 135 - 40. - nielsen fh. nutritional requirements for boron, silicon, vanadium, nickel, and arsenic : currently knowledge and speculation. federation of american societies for experimental biology 1991 ; 5 : 2661 - 2667. - mcbride j. the making of an essential element? agricultural research 1989, april : 12 - 13. - czeizel ae, dudas i. prevention of the first occurrence of neural - tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation. the new england journal of medicine 1992 ; 327 ( 26 ) : 1832 - 35. - mrc vitamin study research group. prevention of neural tube defects : results of the medical research council vitamin study 1991 ; 338 ( 8760 ) : 131 - 37. - cimons m. us advises folic acid use to reduce birth defects. los angeles times 1992, september 15 : a1 & a17.


to what some historians might consider outlandish neologisms. interest was developed in group dynamics, in the behavior of small groups, in mass psychology, in competition and cooperation, and in other forms of human behavior with which the historian must on occasion be concerned. the use of scientific analogies likewise continued. certain patterns of thought developed by the natural scientists had attracted or repelled social scientists and humanists since the days of isaac newton and john locke. within the memories of many of us, historians had been looking for law, for dynamic interpretation. edward p. cheyney developed a concept of law in history. henry adams professed to see in the physicists ' second law of thermodynamics the doom of man ' s intellect. others pondered over concepts of relativity, uncertainty, and the immaterial nature of matter. historians in some instances were no longer so confident that they could discover just how eigentlich things might have gewesen. during this period of fragmentation, however, the tradition of synthesis was by no means forgotten. there was a deliberate interest in continuing it and, incidentally, in arresting the chaotic influence of specialization and fragmentation upon the historian ' s capacity to generalize. various efforts were made in the early years of the twentieth century to restore the desire and the power to scan wider horizons. one of these was the use of a civilization concept such as employed in different ways by arnold toynbee, charles and mary beard, and later by william mcneill. another very significant instrument for this purpose was the culture concept borrowed not from scholars in belles - lettres, but adopted in broader terms from social anthropologists. as i have found this cultural concept one of the most useful aids available to historians in developing the synthesis, which is one of their main responsibilities, i propose to dwell upon some of its implications for members of this association. the term " culture " used in this sense is all - inclusive, embracing as it does all the behavior patterns employed by any given society. it also supplies the concept of a unity greater than even the sum of its definable parts. into such a synthesis can be fitted any specialized, any personal, or any national experience. each of us can relate his interest to any such concept of image, national character, or gestalt that appeals to the individual ' s sense of the all - embracing. viewing any specific problems in the light of such over - all interpretation supplies whatever each of us may do with a maximum of significance and interpretive meaning. there


, or gestalt that appeals to the individual ' s sense of the all - embracing. viewing any specific problems in the light of such over - all interpretation supplies whatever each of us may do with a maximum of significance and interpretive meaning. there are various types of cultural definitions, but one in particular can be especially useful : namely, i believe, the design most indicative of the nature and the identity of any society. this is its plan of operation, the force or influence that organizes it and keeps within it a semblance of recognizable structure and order. in highly complicated societies this plan takes the form of government, the customs of rule, of the exercise of authority, of the structure of power. a culture therefore may be known as a democracy, an empire, a totalitarian state. any such designation is not merely derived from constitutional institutions, but it embraces attitudes, ideas of community identification, and social as well as political relationships. the distinguishing characteristic of the society known as the united states of america is the fact that it is a democratic culture dedicated to a self - government in which all are technically involved and in which this interest is demonstrably central to the self - identification of the people. it can be used as the hallmark of the culture. this use is appropriate likewise because a basic, if not the basic, historical problem in this culture is how a society expanding so quickly in so large an area became and has remained self - governing. the study of this problem has involved me and many others in working out the process of the evolution and the operation of this culture and has also concentrated much interest on a particular phase of it, namely the stresses and strains that eventually led to the destructive social war of 1861 - 1865, which nearly destroyed it. this culture concept, which has dominated and determined the history of the united states, is broader and older than the boundaries of the united states would imply. it has involved consideration of the european origin of folkways and institutions. the proper definition of this broader field of analysis is the anglo - american culture, including much that evolved in the british isles and was transported to america. there it was transplanted and eventually matured in a new society. the employment of this very broad culture concept is extremely useful not only in overcoming the disadvantages of fragmentation but in quickening the capacity for synthesis. likewise, it has sharpened our understanding of historical process by giving greater opportunity for more sophisticated conceptualization of certain of our historical responsibilities. setting significant chronological limits to the study of the evolution of the anglo - american


but in quickening the capacity for synthesis. likewise, it has sharpened our understanding of historical process by giving greater opportunity for more sophisticated conceptualization of certain of our historical responsibilities. setting significant chronological limits to the study of the evolution of the anglo - american cultural patterns shows how old many of these patterns actually are. customs of local self - government and representative lawgiving and lawmaking processes involving the beginning of election procedures go back into the " good customs of the realm " of england, some of which originated among the british tribes and antedate history. folkways deriving from the various invasions of britain and from phases of the religious transformation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries stimulated popular interest in participation in government and produced the beginnings of something like political parties. in other words, the basic patterns of community organization and self - consciousness, together with an operating power structure of self - government, were created and developed in england. during the period of the folk migration across the atlantic ocean that resulted in the establishment of the american colonies, these cultural patterns were transported across the sea. consequently, much of the time there was little invention involved : the migrants took what they knew, imported it when they could, and used it with a minimum of adjustment. this process of adaptation therefore emphasized the sense of age that characterized the customs of even those in a new world. the american phase of the anglo - american cultural evolution was separated by both time and space from the parent culture in a fashion difficult to understand in this age of television and jet propulsion. this distance and the difficulty of communication meant that the same qualities of intrepidity and enterprise that brought colonists across the sea would stimulate their long - accustomed habits of self - government to the point where they would employ another cultural pattern long in use. not only had the british developed a habit of community self - rule and a search for consensus, but there was also a pattern of violent change in government. regicide and revolution in some form had occurred in england about once a century from the days of the norman conquest, and in the seventeenth century two full - fledged revolutions, the puritan and the glorious revolution, had occurred, the latter with an interesting american phase that indicated a growing jealousy of american self - governing autonomy and promised that perhaps a light weight would be assigned to european authority. the possibly inevitable rupture came at the end of the eighteenth century when, in the interesting years of the age of reason, american colonial leaders, impatient at certain limits imposed on their cherished autonomy, found themselves involved in violence just about a


. the possibly inevitable rupture came at the end of the eighteenth century when, in the interesting years of the age of reason, american colonial leaders, impatient at certain limits imposed on their cherished autonomy, found themselves involved in violence just about a century after the glorious revolution of 1688. their experience with the responsibilities and confusions of complete autonomy subsequent to 1783 led the erstwhile colonies to seek a new surrogate in place of the crown and empire. they constructed a curiously wrought instrument that they invented probably at the only time and place where such a feat, up to this point, could have been contrived. they created a federal system in which the power structure was divided and modified by a series of checks and balances described in an unprecedented document, the constitution of the united states. despite their care, however, its authors did not foresee the problems involved in the choice and conduct of those exercising power, particularly executive power. the new federal republic was to have its capacity for order and definition of identity complicated by its ecology. its area was so great, its population so scattered, and its wealth and variety so fabulous that the question began to concern the thoughtful few : could such a people so situated practice the art of self - government? was the surrogate that was substituted for the crown adequate? the size of the republic and the variety of the ecological characteristics soon demonstrated that the so - called political federalism described in the constitution was much more intricate than a mere political federalism. the american society was a cultural federalism, not so much a federation of political units fused into a republic as a federation of varying groups identified by attitudes, customs, and community associations and combined in a society. this variety of elements produced differences of views that in turn could be used as points of dispute and debate in the periodic elections required to determine the exercise of power decreed by the constitutions, federal and state. as the decades of the nineteenth century wore on, it became apparent that this product of the age of reason was not too successful in dealing with all the confusions of this rapidly growing state, and the question began to arise as to whether the confusion was not reaching a point at which it would no longer be possible for even the capacity of this self - governing society to control it and to maintain orderly self - government. had conditions tending to disorder reached a degree at which it was no longer possible for men to control them? in 1861 - 1865 the outbreak of the social war seemed to indicate that such was the case - - just about one century after


self - government. had conditions tending to disorder reached a degree at which it was no longer possible for men to control them? in 1861 - 1865 the outbreak of the social war seemed to indicate that such was the case - - just about one century after the last appreciable outbreak of violence, the american revolution. at the moment we happen to know much about this last episode because we have just passed through a four - year period of centennial commemoration in which many of the historical guild actively participated. and from this four - year period we have learned much about the nature of this anglo - american culture pattern, particularly its now predominantly american phase. we have learned, or we should have learned, a great deal about the antecedents of violence and the phenomena that accompanied its outbreak. perhaps in 1966 it may be well to make reference to some of these attendant circumstances. in the first place it is appropriate to point out what may not appear to be a truism to all of us : that we are too prone to think backward in history and to shape conclusions by what we find in the past. to use the example of 1861 - 1865, when the bitter war between the union and the confederacy was fought, it was easy to assume that this conflict between two well - defined forces must have been inevitable and have been inexorably building up during a long range of time variously defined. but the closest kind of study of the outbreak of the conflict and the antecedent years presents evidence that the dominant situation was confusion. there was not one south but several, and in the end the south presented by no means a united front in the confederacy. and it can hardly be said that there was any north until sumter. in fact, so great was the confusion that there were not just two alternatives, war or peace, but several. it is convenient to characterize this situation as the operation of a third force, for wherever there seems to be a convergence of two forces there are probably one or more others at work that may at any time intervene and produce a different combination. in the past this third force had on occasion been some form of compromise, and so usual had been this intervention that many in 1860 felt sure it would operate again. the confusion was too great, however, and until the last minute a variety of alternatives might have taken over. in the end i feel that a series of accidents rather than destiny, or great forces, or any deus ex machina decided the issue. eventually, after bitter and expensive conflict, the republic right


minute a variety of alternatives might have taken over. in the end i feel that a series of accidents rather than destiny, or great forces, or any deus ex machina decided the issue. eventually, after bitter and expensive conflict, the republic righted itself - - but that was a century ago. this description of the concept of american self - governing culture, which we have used in our search to overcome fragmentation and to re - establish synthesis, and of the observable tendency to periodic resorts to violence to change our patterns of self - government, not only indicates an interesting paradox, but also gives us food for thought as we ponder certain problems which today ' s necessities call upon us to face and which we may illustrate by asking ourselves certain questions in this year of 1966. since that holiday season when channing asked his questions, nearly a half century ago, many more things have changed than the fashions of history writing about which we have just been thinking. many new conditions of life have appeared and have added much to the complexity of our task and thus to our responsibility. now wars seem never to end, and where there is no war there may be racial tension, for a world - wide reorientation of peoples is in process. the energy of the atom has been released ; population is exploding. time and space seem no longer to be limiting concepts ; man not only stands on the verge of outer space, but on occasions walks in its vastness. a mechanism is replacing the human brain in some forms of computation. we are told that the genetic code has been broken and that the universe has lost its parity and is lopsided. we are reminded that upon occasion when some basic irregularity, operating contrary to the accepted laws of the universe, has been discovered, such observation can be the prelude to significant new knowledge. a drift in the perihelion of the orbit of the planet mercury was eventually accounted for when the general theory of relativity was formulated. with all these aberrations and incongruities may we not be on the eve of certain discoveries in human knowledge? at any rate this wide variety of new circumstances carries us far away from the days of white and channing, and certainly into a period of new responsibility. in the light of this possible new experience we are justified in asking questions, even as channing asked them - - though they will be of a different nature. the main question that we raise is this : if we are on the verge or in the midst of certain basic changes, not only


we are justified in asking questions, even as channing asked them - - though they will be of a different nature. the main question that we raise is this : if we are on the verge or in the midst of certain basic changes, not only within our culture but within the cultural structure of the world, what should be the centers of our scholarly interests? further, if we grant that there are few questions more significant than whether self - government can be maintained in the world in general and in the united states in particular, we have a closely correlated series of queries. among today ' s circumstances most vigorously suggesting questions of this character are a number connected with the power situation in our self - governing culture. the desire for power has intensified in the lives of so many people. rivalries, conflicts, tensions are everywhere and seemingly increasing. despite our pride in our capacity for self - government, we may at times wonder whether we are keeping up. there are signs that we have a confidence in our political capacity that may have been more adequate in other times, and that we may be depending upon a changing power and status. for our security ' s sake do we know enough about the history of this american self - governing culture of ours, of the nature and the location of the power that is operated within it? many calls are made upon us for the use of our power from within and without our society. and there is no certainty as to our answers to these calls. much in fact is at stake. for if we exert too little power, we may become anarchic ; if we contrive too much, we could become totalitarian. in either case we would be abandoning our basic culture pattern. do we know enough about the evolution of our power of self - government? can political institutions defined in the age of reason remain adequate in an age when reason is more in the background? do we know enough about and do we understand the process of power choice and power change as revealed in our history? do we understand our changing techniques of choice and decision making, of our attitudes toward the responsibilities of self - government, of the dynamics of our political emotions? do we have adequate information about the types of people who seek political power and how they achieve it? do we realize sufficiently the dangers involved in operating self - government in times of increasing change? do we understand the changes and the rhythms in the exercise of the powers of self - government? are we aware of the implications of the rhythm of our power distribution, caused by our custom of inducing


in operating self - government in times of increasing change? do we understand the changes and the rhythms in the exercise of the powers of self - government? are we aware of the implications of the rhythm of our power distribution, caused by our custom of inducing an artificial crisis every four years by putting the executive and legislative power up for possible change? do we realize that every so often confusion can increase to the point where it threatens men ' s understanding of and capacity to handle it, as in 1861 - 1865? what within the historian ' s range of recognition of events and behavior trends can he identify and interpret for society ' s benefit, because of his capacity to think in time? our experience in 1861 - 1865 was that in those times there were so many signs pointing in so many directions that the observers and the analysts of that day were quite beyond their depth. do we not have a greater capacity for observation and analysis today, and are we using it? in times such as these when there are signs of shifts in the power structure that could prove drastic, is it not essential to know the nature of the relationship between prevailing custom and the power structure? it does little good to any society to think that it is behaving as though it were independent and self - governing and then to wake up to find it is not. finally and most important, as political change is generally determined by cultural change, have we command of sufficient skill in directing human mechanisms to make certain that we calculate and operate an efficient adjustment of political to social change so that self - government can proceed with safety? when channing asked his questions in 1920 they were phrased in terms of achieving and maintaining human welfare and happiness. the questions we ask today are rather expressed in terms concerned about continuing efficient self - government and ensuring its survival. having asked these questions, how well equipped are we to answer them? to do so, we need more than a skill at simple narrative. these complex times demand sophisticated analyses that will place new obligations upon us to develop our intellectual potential. do we have it at our command? we have a much more formidable foundation of fact at our disposal upon which to erect a structure of interpretation and synthesis. so many more historical facts are now available. we know about many more individuals and types of individuals. much more information has been collected by statistical techniques. the behavioral sciences have mobilized much knowledge about human behavior. advances in the natural sciences are again tempting the historian into the alluring realms of geisteswissenschaft as he dreams of discovering genetic codes shaping the destiny of


been collected by statistical techniques. the behavioral sciences have mobilized much knowledge about human behavior. advances in the natural sciences are again tempting the historian into the alluring realms of geisteswissenschaft as he dreams of discovering genetic codes shaping the destiny of societies and wonders about the effects of living in a universe that has lost its parity, in an age sometimes called absurd. not only have we many more facts at our command, real or fancied, but there is new equipment in the realm of gadgets. we are entering the years of the computer. now million - dollar machines are housed in computer centers and tended by programmers. it is too soon to be very dogmatic about how useful this type of automation may be, but historians are so far behind in their reporting and analysis that we must investigate to the best of our ability its potential as an instrument of historical retrieval and conceptual discovery. we are so frustrated for want of a break - through that no device should go untried. meanwhile, we must not forget that we can experiment with certain fresh concepts, new patterns of thought. individual scholars should be concerned with much greater spans of time. evolution is an extremely slow process. its slow - moving changes involve much more of adaptation than innovation. there are much less orderly process and much more haphazard confusion in human behavior. there is a greater variety of alternative action possible in even the simplest program set by determining forces. in fact, there are much less determinism and a higher frequency of accident in the processes of change. historians, fortunately, not only have these data, these instruments, and these concepts, but a growing number of scholars are using them. within the last few years there has been a veritable renaissance in the study of this principal element in the american self - governing culture, namely the power structure and its fluctuation. numerous studies encouraged by the social science research council and its committees, supported by foundation grants, are being carried out at the harvard center for the study of the history of liberty in america, at the university of michigan consortium, at california, at illinois, at rutgers, and at the university of pennsylvania, and elsewhere. these projects are much more comprehensive in type than the more narrowly defined political and constitutional history studies current at the beginning of the century. much attention is paid to the manifold influences and subtle character of the determinants of this basic behavior. research of this type is contributing much to our ability to answer the questions we are raising in 1966. while we enjoy advantages such as these


century. much attention is paid to the manifold influences and subtle character of the determinants of this basic behavior. research of this type is contributing much to our ability to answer the questions we are raising in 1966. while we enjoy advantages such as these to aid us in answering the questions we are now raising, we should, nevertheless, be aware that we are not doing all that we should to prepare the next generation to use such advantage in the quest. we may advisedly give more thought to the educational policies and programs of our graduate schools, particularly at a time when so many new such schools seem to be springing into being. more than a century ago we took over the ph. d. program from the german university system almost without thought and with little adaptation, and we have too long avoided its reconsideration. our current ph. d. training often falls between two stools. it might be a degree in course, such as a law school degree, or it might be an adventure in freedom, wherein, after an experience of discovery, the student presents his results for evaluation and judgment. the program that we usually follow, however, can well be a tertium quid. herein a certain number of requirements are set, exercises prescribed, and examinations administered. undue emphasis is placed on the learning process - - learning under observation, and surveillance if you will. there is too little opportunity to fashion concepts of the history of human behavior in the form of problems that must be formulated, analyzed, and understood. in these days of increasing enrollments in graduate schools, numbers seem to enforce a formalized program that can be administered almost by tabulation without very much individual attention. to the gifted this often means a degree that provides less than it should ; to a considerable number it may mean a degree more prestigious than they deserve. graduate faculties may well ask themselves if there should not be two degrees so that in one of them there may be real opportunity to develop more elements of sophisticated analysis, such as are suggested by these questions, while the other should concentrate upon methodology and practice both in teaching and research. also i think graduate faculties may well expand their thinking into the realms of postdoctoral facilities in universities. there should be more opportunities available to scholars who have been teaching for a while to come back to the university for a few weeks or for a term or two to study intensively new techniques and new findings and to engage in colloquia on current problems in historiography. here there would be new acquaintances and new ideas, new dialogues


his life can be, and i believe should be, one of growing capacity to discover, understand, and communicate satisfying analyses of human behavior, and not, as too often happens, a temptation to abdicate his most meaningful function. the historian should furthermore use his wisdom and his imagination to advance hypotheses, to project himself beyond his tested data and conclusions based thereon, and to establish advanced positions in the world of research, even at the risk of having to admit on occasion that he may be wrong. as in so much of prime significance for human existence, ingenuity, daring, and cultivated strength are major essentials. as we seek the answers to these questions of 1966, we as historians are dependent on no one for our philosophical instruments ; as we think in time we devise our own, and by their use we can experience the past, reconstructed and relived in our own consciousness. we owe it to ourselves, therefore, to use these instruments of our own invention in an original fashion, confident that thereby we can discover truth perhaps obscure to others. if we do this to the extent of which we are capable, we may provide the knowledge indispensable for the successful continuance of our culture. a half century ago channing asked his troubled questions in terms of the possibility of progress ; today we ask them in terms of the possibility of survival. if we are to answer these questions with any degree of success, we must recognize that we have an intellectual capacity of our own, not fully realized, which we can develop. to do so we must declare our philosophical independence and raise the standard of our own intellectual identity. roy f. nichols 1. edward channing, " an historical retrospect, " american historical review, xxvi ( jan. 1921 ), 202. [ back to text ] text scanning : jstor text proofing and correction : liz townsend 8 / 1 / 00 text encoding and annotation : robert townsend 1 / 15 / 01 version © 2001, american historical association


johns hopkins medicine office of communications and public affairs media contact : joanna downer april 22, 2004 genome - wide screen reveals new tricks of old genes process shows how mounds of data can be effectively managed johns hopkins scientists have successfully used new techniques to search the yeast genome for genes that help keep copied chromosomes together, protecting the integrity of the organism ' s genetic material during cell division. by combining two genome - wide screens, the researchers were able to narrow down the dozens of genes identified by the first screen to just 17 that made both cut - offs - - a number small enough to be cost - and time - efficient to consider in some detail. their report appears in the april issue of molecular biology of the cell. " data created from new genome - scanning techniques can be overwhelming. reading all there is to know about 50 genes to figure out what new knowledge may be lurking in the haystack is very difficult, " says forrest spencer, ph. d., associate professor in hopkins ' mckusick - nathans institute of genetic medicine. " but by overlapping information from two screens, we were able to figure out what mother nature was trying to tell us that wasn ' t too complicated for us to understand. " while the researchers had hoped their screens would reveal new genes and their functions, they instead identified genes previously linked to two other aspects of shepherding genetic material during cell division. fifteen of the highlighted genes were already known to help ensure the accuracy of copied dna and two help move chromosomes to opposite ends of the dividing cell. but the researchers ' results give these " old " genes new jobs, associating them with cohesion, the little - understood process of keeping a chromosome and its copy together until the cell is ready to split in two. if the " sister " chromosomes aren ' t kept together, both copies could end up on one side of the dividing cell. another problem is that the copies could undergo extra rearrangements, risking loss of important genes. " if there ' s no cohesion, the cell will die, " says spencer. " however, if the process sometimes works and sometimes doesn ' t, some cells survive but their genetic material gets scrambled. " it ' s that sometimes - yes - sometimes - no problem that spencer and her team are trying to figure out, in part because it ' s interesting biology, but also because genetic instability plays such a big role in the development of cancer in humans. no one knows exactly at what point errors enter the genetic material and aren ' t fixed, but the intricacies


in part because it ' s interesting biology, but also because genetic instability plays such a big role in the development of cancer in humans. no one knows exactly at what point errors enter the genetic material and aren ' t fixed, but the intricacies of chromosomes ' manipulation during cell division seem a good place to start. postdoctoral fellow cheryl warren, ph. d., started the search by screening 5, 916 yeast genes - - all at once - - for ones needed for survival in the absence of a gene called ctf4, already known to be a critical component of cohesion. twenty - six genes popped out of this screen, a type known as " synthetic lethal " since the yeast survive the loss of either one, but not both, genes. however, the synthetic lethal effect of some, if not many, of the genes from this screen would be due to problems other than faulty cohesion, the researchers knew. " we had to do something else to get a manageable starting point, " says warren. so, using a technique she developed to identify whether a gene ' s loss causes the genetic material to become scrambled, warren tested those 26 genes to see which of them seemed most likely to contribute to genetic instability through their involvement in cohesion. in these experiments, markers were scattered throughout the yeast ' s genetic material so she could easily tell if pieces of the genome moved or went missing when a gene was knocked out. only 17 of the 26 identified genes caused genetic instability when missing from the yeast genome. fifteen of those genes are involved in double - checking whether newly formed strands of dna matched the cell ' s original genetic material and calling in " repairmen " as needed ( a process called the " s - phase checkpoint " ). the other two genes are part of the machinery previously known to help move the two sets of chromosomes to opposite sides of the dividing cell. " by using both screens, we got a number that was small enough to follow - up on, and yet large enough to reveal a trend, " says warren. " this is the first evidence that proteins involved in checking the dna sequence are also involved in keeping sister chromosomes together, and it ' s a great starting point for understanding more. " the research was funded by the national human genome research institute, the national institute for general medical sciences, and the national heart, lung, and blood institute, all components of the national institutes of health. authors on the report are warren, spencer, mark eckley, marina lee, joseph hanna, adam hughes, brian pe


the student ' s eyes drift to the classroom window and the teacher ' s voice fades from consciousness. the daydream begins. it ' s a familiar scene, one we have likely both experienced as students and struggled against in our students as teachers. but daydreaming is not what it might seem. recent research in both psychology and neuroscience makes clear that daydreaming is an essential part of mental processing, reasoning and, yes, even learning. 1. daydreaming is the mind ' s natural state the most common view of the human mind assumes that our normal way of thinking consists of concentrated focus upon immediate tasks at hand. but researchers have found that this is not the case. daydreaming is now considered to be the normal state of our minds, with focus appearing as a break from the more common mind wandering. a recent study has found that our mind wanders forty seven percent of the time we are awake with very few activities not equally peppered with natural periods of daydreaming. another study has shown that the parts of the brain stimulated during daydreaming consist of the " default network " regions of the brain that are associated with most higher level mental activity. this suggests that we have evolved specifically to be a daydreaming species. it is even more telling that those who suffer injuries to the region of the brain in which daydreaming occurs suffer from a lack of spontaneous speech and thought. the fact that daydreaming is the natural state of the human brain suggests that those who take most naturally to daydreaming will best exhibit the skills necessary for successfully navigating the human world. far from representing a lack of discipline, daydreaming is a hallmark of a healthy and active human mind. 2. critical thinking and intelligence aside from the " default network ", one of the main regions of brain used during daydreaming consists of the " executive network ", the region of the brain associated with complex problem solving. before this was revealed, for example through the 2009 study at the university of british columbia, it was commonly thought that the " executive network " was only active during focused problem solving. as this study suggests, a healthy amount of daydreaming is connected to improved critical thinking capabilities, an invaluable characteristic in successful learners. it has also been shown that daydreaming is dramatically more present in those considered to be of superior intelligence when compared with learners of average intelligence. one study suggests that the improved integration of the default and executive


##valuable characteristic in successful learners. it has also been shown that daydreaming is dramatically more present in those considered to be of superior intelligence when compared with learners of average intelligence. one study suggests that the improved integration of the default and executive networks developed through their continual exercise through daydreaming significantly contributes to the formation of increased intelligence. it ' s a truism that our " dreams ", by which we usually mean our goals and desires, provide motivation in life. what is less recognized, however, is the central role played by the process of daydreaming in envisioning and imaginatively experiencing the lives we wish to lead and people we want to become. our goals and desires are what they are because we have spent time freely living through our daydreams what it would be like to achieve them. for these reasons, daydreaming in learners is related to higher levels of ambition and a deeper sense of motivation. freely imagining " what you would do if... " is far from idle. having envisioned scenarios and played out possible events gives us an increasing sense that we can handle them. in this way the imaginative anticipation that often occurs in daydreaming contributes as much to a robust sense of confidence as it does to a healthy motivation. think about it this way, daydreaming is a training ground for your mind where it plays through and sometimes struggles with scenarios it has not experienced or wants to react differently to in the future. though successful training certainly doesn ' t guarantee success during the real event, it does provide a mental preparedness and a firm sense that no matter what may occur we can deal with it. for this reason some of the most confident learners are also those with the healthiest daydreaming lives. 5. increased insight did you ever wonder what causes that moment of insight when something suddenly clicks or a solution becomes clear? the answer is a lot of hard work on the part of your brain that goes unnoticed. moments of insight, those sudden revelations that seem to come from nowhere, are long prepared for through the brain ' s ongoing hidden organizing and processing. daydreaming, as a mental state activating both the default and executive networks of the brain, plays an important role in that organizing and processing. what you may think is just your mind drifting is actually your mind actively forming connections between information, synthesizing what was previously only chaos, and preparing the ground for the moment when things suddenly fit into place. once we appreciate this we see that daydreami


may think is just your mind drifting is actually your mind actively forming connections between information, synthesizing what was previously only chaos, and preparing the ground for the moment when things suddenly fit into place. once we appreciate this we see that daydreaming is just as productive as spending an hour working on a difficult math problem. recent work has shown that spending less time on the problem and more time letting our mind wander could contribute to getting the answer faster. benjamin baird and jonathan schooler at the university of california at santa barbara have shown, as discussed in an article in the new yorker, that spending time daydreaming after first being given a task leads to more insightful responses to the task than focus and concentration do. in his book blink : the power of thinking without thinking, malcolm gladwell discusses the phenomenon of " thin - slicing ", the mind ' s jumping to conclusions based on surprisingly little information. despite what we tend to assume, gladwell demonstrates that jumping to conclusions based on limited information is often statistically the most reliable way to arrive at the right decision. for example, cook county hospital changed the way it diagnoses heart attacks to focus on less information. here is how gladwell describes this part of the book on his website : " they instructed their doctors to gather less information on their patients : they encouraged them to zero in on just a few critical pieces of information about patients suffering from chest pain - like blood pressure and the ecg - while ignoring everything else, like the patient ' s age and weight and medical history. and what happened? cook county is now one of the best places in the united states at diagnosing chest pain. " the key point about thin - slicing is that its effectiveness depends upon two factors. knowledge, especially when derived from experience, and mental integration that allows for swift access to the knowledge and experience we have gained. if we return to our image of daydreaming as the training ground of the mind, the increased integration it imposes on knowledge and experience we have collected improves our ability to successfully jump to conclusions based on little information. it makes us more successful thin - slicers and improves our split - second decision making. 7. improved problem solving what is problem solving? from what we have already said we might suggest it is an effective use of the default and executive networks of the brain resulting in increased intelligence, critical thinking, insight and thin - slicing. the argument that the integration of default and executive networks results in improved problem solving is offered by the author of daydre


is an effective use of the default and executive networks of the brain resulting in increased intelligence, critical thinking, insight and thin - slicing. the argument that the integration of default and executive networks results in improved problem solving is offered by the author of daydreams at work : wake up your creative powers, amy fries, in an article at psychology today : "... your mind - wandering capacity is like that computer program - it can get to solutions that your conscious mind just can ' t see. " in general daydreaming makes us better thinkers. being better thinkers makes us better learners. the traditional view of daydreaming understands it as a form of escapism. we are unhappy or uninterested in where we are and so imagine we are somewhere else. it is important, this view assumes, to resist this escapist urge and instead cope with the world as it is. it turns out, however, that daydreaming is itself a central element of our mental coping mechanisms. as already mentioned, daydreaming provides the brain with the exercise course where it can secretly play out different solutions to problems. more than this, however, those precious daydreaming moments allow us the conscious rest necessary to face difficult tasks or situations with a fresh mind. yet, during these seeming moments of rest, the brain is still hard at work beneath the surface organizing potential responses without the generally awkward interference of conscious thought. researchers such as eric klinger have shown that children who weave an imaginative story around their play are likely to be happier at play and to play longer. it is easy to generalize this point to adults as well, the ability to tell ourselves imaginative stories about the world and our own lives through daydreaming makes even the tedious or downright painful parts of our life more enjoyable. in learning the ability to cope with challenging, frustrating or boring tasks is a key ingredient for success. 9. mental elasticity coping is a key element of mental elasticity, the ability to shift our thought and behavior smoothly in response to changing situations and information. daydreaming, as the practice ground for mental processing, greatly increases the mind ' s ability to smoothly shift in the face of unanticipated events and situations. so while daydreaming clearly contributes to organizing information and experience we have already learned, making the learned material more useful by improving our ability to apply it, it also enhances our response time in the face of the unexpected. recent research has shown that children with a


five - minute break between each segment of work. after four such segments of work and breaks you take a longer break of fifteen minutes. this technique ' s surprising ability to increase productivity depends upon the mind ' s limited power of concentration with moments of daydreaming rest needed between periods of increased mental control. what it suggests is that teachers would do well, not only to appreciate the importance of daydreaming for successful learners, but even to organize lessons so as to actively encourage short breaks for daydreaming. 13. connection to class material learning is nearly impossible if students do not feel connected to the material they are learning. students have to care about what they learn to be the most successful learners. this connection to the material involves imaginatively playing with the material through which students rearrange and experiment while finding ways to connect it to their wider concerns, life, and fantasies. for this reason students who actively daydream, especially when they are encouraged to incorporate class material into their daydreams in whatever way they like, are much more successful learners. 14. increased empathy and emotional intelligence one of the most important skills for people in general, let alone learners, is what we might call the " moral imagination ". the moral imagination is the ability to think oneself into another person ' s shoes, to imagine what it would be like to be them. this skill is necessary if one is to expand one ' s sense of sympathy and empathy, but it is also a key element in problem - solving and reading comprehension. if a student is to understand a text or solve a problem what is required is creatively putting themselves in the place of the characters in the text, or in the sphere of life that most naturally relates to the problem to be solved. for this reason emotional intelligence, the ability to have a varied and complex emotional life through engagement with and response to the emotions of others, is a central if unexpected element of all mental processing and learning. it is just this ability to imagine our way out of our own situation and into that of another that daydreaming develops and encourages. for this reason not only are daydreamers more empathetic and emotionally open people, they are also better at comprehending literary and historical texts. 15. improved self - knowledge since the time of socrates it has been thought that coming to know ourselves is both a major goal and the foundation of all truly successful learning. we can think about daydreaming as carrying out a dialogue with ourselves. in contrast, watching television or playing video


time of socrates it has been thought that coming to know ourselves is both a major goal and the foundation of all truly successful learning. we can think about daydreaming as carrying out a dialogue with ourselves. in contrast, watching television or playing video games primarily involves an external exploration or dialogue, one that can involve learning but doesn ' t often involve reflective self - discovery. if we are to be successful learners we need to have a robust sense of our interests, our goals and the talents or skills we wish to have. this intimately involves the imaginative self - exploration only a healthy daydreaming life can provide. clearing out distractions and allowing time for reflective thought is a great way to tap into your creativity. < a href = " http : / / zenhabits. net / creative - habit / " > being alone with your thoughts < / a > is oftentimes a prerequisite for the kind of outside - the - box that ' s necessary for artistic expression. although loneliness can be a contributing cause of depression, < a href = " http : / / www. jstor. org / discover / 10. 2307 / 1131927? uid = 3739936 & uid = 2 & uid = 4 & uid = 3739256 & sid = 21101521304683 " > studies have found < / a > that time spent in solitude can actually ward off depression in adolescents. a 1997 study found that although teens didn ' t describe solitude as a positive experience, many reported increased feelings of well - being afterwards. when you ' re away from people, technology, work and the myriad distractions of everyday life, you can finally take time to breathe and just be. use your alone time as a chance to clear out your cluttered mind and just get back in touch with yourself. it ' s tough to stop and take stock when you ' re constantly on the go and spending time with friends, family or classmates. taking a little " me " time gives you an opportunity to get away from distractions for long enough to reflect on your relationships and the course of your life so that you can determine what changes, if any, you may want to make. once you become more comfortable with the idea of being alone, doing activities like shopping, seeing a movie, or hiking by yourself can actually be enjoyable. you can do whatever < em > you < / em > want without having to adhere to anyone ' s preferences, schedule or expectations. you might discover


scholarship — a ph. d. or other doctoral degree that requires advanced work beyond the master ’ s level, including the preparation and defense of a dissertation based on original research, or the planning and execution of an original project demonstrating scholarly achievement ; schools could classify certain degrees that had historically been treated as first professional degrees as either “ professional practice ” doctoral degrees ( as in the case of medical degrees, for example ) or master ’ s degrees ( as in the case of advanced, nondoctoral degrees in theology ). professional practice — a doctoral degree conferred upon completion of a program providing the knowledge and skills for the recognition, credentialing, or licensing required for professional practice ; or other — a doctoral degree that does not meet the definition of the research / scholarship or professional practice doctorate. to ensure comparability with previous years, for 2007 – 2008 and 2008 – 2009 the humanities indicators counted as doctorates all of those degrees classified by postsecondary institutions as “ doctorate degree, ” “ doctorate degree — research / scholarship, ” or “ doctorate degree — other. ” the hi treated as “ master ’ s and professional degrees ” those degrees classified by schools as “ doctorate degree — professional practice, ” “ first professional degree, ” or “ master ’ s degree. ” for academic year 2010 – 2011, nces eliminated the “ first professional degree ” category. the agency now requires schools to use the three - category system described above to classify all advanced degrees other than master ’ s degrees. back to content note on the data used to construct degree - related indicators the data that form the basis of these indicators are drawn from the u. s. department of education ’ s national center for education statistics ’ ( nces ) higher education general information system ( hegis ) and its successor, the integrated postsecondary educational data system ( ipeds ), through which institutions of higher learning report on the numbers and characteristics of students completing degree programs ( as well as a variety of other topics ; for more on this major data collection program, see http : / / nces. ed. gov / ipeds / ). the hegis / ipeds degree - completion data going back to 1966 have been made accessible to decision - makers, researchers, and the general public by the national science foundation ( nsf ) via its online data analysis tool webcaspar. the nsf has traditionally used the nces data to tabulate science and engineering degree awards as part of science and engineering indicators program, which since 1973 has issued a biennial


science foundation ( nsf ) via its online data analysis tool webcaspar. the nsf has traditionally used the nces data to tabulate science and engineering degree awards as part of science and engineering indicators program, which since 1973 has issued a biennial report designed to provide public and private policymakers with a broad base of quantitative information about the u. s. science, engineering, and technology enterprise. the nsf has developed a set of standardized disciplinary categories that can be used across the various data sources it relies upon to construct its indicators. because the nsf focuses on trends in science and engineering education, its disciplinary classification is most detailed in these areas. the utility of the nsf system for the purposes of the humanities indicators ( hi ) is limited. for example, the nsf scheme does not distinguish between the academic study of the arts, considered by the hi to be part of the humanities, and art performance. the hi thus cannot include in its tally those degrees conferred in the areas of musicology, art history, film studies, and drama history / criticism. moreover, while the hi considers such disciplines as archeology, women ’ s studies, gay and lesbian studies, and holocaust studies to be part of the humanities field, nsf categorizes them as social sciences. additionally, nsf places interdisciplinary degrees in areas such as general humanities and liberal studies in a broad “ other ” category that includes degrees for many disciplines that are not within the purview of the humanities as conceptualized by the hi. consequently, such interdisciplinary degrees, along with those mentioned above, cannot be captured in humanities degree counts from 1966 to 1986. for 1987 and later years ( 1995 and later for data on the race / ethnicity of degree recipients ), however, nsf also categorizes earned degrees according to the more detailed classification of instructional programs ( cip ), which permits a more precise count of humanities degrees ; that is, a count that includes degrees in all those programs that are part of academic disciplines included within the scope of the humanities for the purposes of the hi. ( for an inventory of the disciplines and activities treated as part of the humanities by the hi, see the statement on the scope of the “ humanities ” for purposes of the humanities indicators. ) the cip was first developed by nces in 1980 as a way to account for the tremendous variety of degree programs offered by american institutions of higher learning and has been revised three times since its introduction, most recently in 2009 ( this version is referred to as “ cip 2010 ”


coded data are used. in the case of several of the degree - related indicators, the humanities are compared to certain other fields such as the sciences and engineering. the nature of these fields is specified in the statement on the scope of the “ humanities ” for purposes of the humanities indicators. these broad fields do not encompass all postsecondary programs. therefore, where fields are being compared in terms of their respective shares of all degrees, the percentages will not add up to 100 %. also, none of the graphs showing change over time in the share of degrees awarded to members of traditionally underrepresented ethnic / minority groups includes a data point for the academic year 1999, because the nces did not release data for that year. the degree counts presented as part of the hi do not include “ second majors ” because nces began collecting data about these degrees only in 2001. the hi deals separately with the issue of second majors in figure ii - 1c ( “ humanities bachelor ' s degrees earned as ‘ second majors, ’ 2001 – 2010 ” ). data on the number of students completing minors are not collected as part of ipeds, but such information was compiled for selected humanities disciplines as part of the american academy of arts and sciences – sponsored humanities departmental survey ( hds ; see the hds final report, page 8, table 12 ). back to content


professional computer community and adopted as the ieee - 696 computer bus standard. for all intents, the altair bus consists of the pins of the intel 8080 run out onto the backplane. no specific level of thought went into the design, which led to such disasters as shorting from various power lines of differing voltages being located next to each other. a further oddity was that the system included two unidirectional 8 - bit data buses, but only a single bidirectional 16 - bit address bus. a deal on power supplies led to the use of + 8v and + 18v, which had to be locally regulated on the cards to ttl ( + 5v ) or rs - 232 ( + 12v ) standard voltage levels. altair 8800b computer front panelthe altair shipped in a two - piece case. the backplane and power supply were mounted on a base plate, along with the front and rear of the box. the " lid " was shaped like a c, forming the top, left and right sides of the box. the front panel, which was inspired by the data general nova minicomputer, included a large number of toggle switches to feed binary data directly into the memory of the machine, and a number of red leds to read those values back out. programming the altair was an extremely tedious process where one toggled the switches to positions corresponding to an 8080 opcode, then used a special switch to enter the code into the machine ' s memory, and then repeated this step until all the opcodes of a presumably complete and correct program were in place. when the machine first shipped the switches and lights were the only interface, and all one could do with the machine was make programs to make the lights blink. nevertheless, many were sold in this form. roberts was already hard at work on extra cards, including a paper tape reader for storage, extra ram cards, and a rs - 232 interface to connect to a proper terminal. software main article : altair basic around this time roberts received a letter from a seattle company asking if he would be interested in buying its basic programming language for the machine. he called the company and reached a private home, where no one had heard of anything like basic. in fact the letter had been sent by bill gates and paul allen from the boston area, and they had no basic yet to offer. when they called roberts to follow up on the letter he expressed his interest, and the two started work on


principal investigator ( s ) : marx, gary t. summary : this study is part of the university of california ' s five - year study of anti - semitism in the united states. as a result of the outbreak of black rioting during the summer of 1964, it was decided to expand the proposed black subsample of the national sample to a larger black oversample in order to study the climate of opinion in the black american community. these black respondents were selected by drawing five samples : one general metropolitan sample and four urban samples from chicago, new... ( view full summary ) persistent url : http : / / dx. doi. org / 10. 3886 / icpsr07002. v1 one or more data files in this study are set up in a non - standard format, such as card image format. users may need help converting these files before they can be used for analysis. these data are available only to users at icpsr member institutions. you will be asked to log in prior to downloading the data. this study was originally provided by icpsr. icpsr provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community. data use tutorial ( introduction for new users )


all systems secure kettering researcher develops a new communications architecture and protocol for safety critical systems in automotive applications that will make driving more safe and less costly for car companies. when you slam on your brakes unexpectedly while driving, do you worry that your car may not stop? do you wonder if your airbag will actually deploy correctly, given the infrequency of its use, or if your door might spring open during a collision, exposing your body as your car careens out of control? as a nation with highways jammed with drivers, most of us don ' t realize what sort of technology goes into safety systems on the cars we drive, such as brakes, steering and stability. we know they are probably expensive but short of that, as long as the safety system works, most of us are happy. when we lease or purchase a new vehicle, we typically assume it is safe to drive, since it has passed federal and state regulations. but the work in developing the dependable technology that helps a car stop or glide safely and smoothly over rough terrain is complex, highly sophisticated and very expensive for automakers to incorporate into your vehicle. kettering university ' s juan pimentel of the electrical and computer engineering dept. is fully aware of how difficult it is to develop dependable systems in cars. dependability is an important concept that involves safety, reliability, availability and security. what makes his most recent research exciting is that his dependable, simple and cost - efficient system not only works well with traditional combustion engines, but also with hybrid vehicles and electric propulsion systems, which may one day replace the cars we drive today. over the past several years pimentel has worked in the field of controller area networks ( can ) to develop an architecture and protocol for highly dependable ( otherwise known as safety - critical ) systems in automobiles. by definition, controller area networks work in conjunction with other electronic systems inside cars for various operations, such as braking and steering. unfortunately, there are no dependable systems on the market that are simple and inexpensive. so pimentel went about researching and developing an architecture and protocol he calls flexcan, which is based on can protocol and is suitable for highly dependable systems. pimentel also integrated safecan into his system, which deals with error detection and fault management of buses and nodes used to communicate electronically with other system components inside a vehicle. what does all this techno mumbo jumbo mean? in simple terms, pimentel has developed a highly dependable system that is simpler and cheaper for automakers to


of buses and nodes used to communicate electronically with other system components inside a vehicle. what does all this techno mumbo jumbo mean? in simple terms, pimentel has developed a highly dependable system that is simpler and cheaper for automakers to incorporate into their vehicle while sustaining the high quality of research necessary to create systems to protect drivers in case of emergencies. his work enhances the current can protocol used in the industry today, which is very different from what other companies and firms are currently doing. his architecture and protocol rely on commercially over the shelf ( cots ) can components available on the market. this is vastly different from other companies as they work in developing safety critical systems from scratch, which is costly and often times passed on to the automaker and thereby the consumer, due to the complexity involved in creating a system that works effectively. " to make these systems work efficiently and effectively, one needs an approach that considers all aspects of development and usage to achieve dependability at various levels. " for pimentel, the can protocol available in today ' s market still holds great potential and opportunity. " i want to build on and enhance what ' s already available in terms of can systems, since the basic operation of these systems works well, " he explained. " but i am going about utilizing these components with a little different twist. in previous years, you had specialists who worked in various capacities for safety critical systems, but not all specialists knew what the other was doing. thus, they didn ' t have afull understanding of how these systems worked in conjunction with each other in the broad range of operation, for example, in automotive applications, or how their work in this field affected the work of other engineers. " to address this trend, which has several pitfalls in pimentel ' s eyes, he approached the development of his system and protocol ( called flexcan and safecan ) from an interdisciplinary perspective, or what others might term a holistic approach. this method is new to safety critical systems development, one that utilizes pimentel ' s interdisciplinary training and experience. " to make these systems work efficiently and effectively, one needs an approach that considers all aspects of development and usage to achieve dependability at various levels, " he said. " flexcan considers advances and component availability in the following fields : application domain, embedded systems, protocols and networks, safety and reliability, real - time systems and systems engineering. " the development of flexcan began three years ago and is now at a stage that allows use of the system for


hyperactivity, also referred to as attention - deficit hyperactivity disorder or adhd ( a - d - h - d ), is a condition that occurs when excessive levels of impulsiveness, inattentiveness, and hyperactivity characterize a child ' s behavior. although children can be diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, most experts agree that inattention and hyperactivity generally go hand and hand. hyperactivity is far from rare, and it occurs in boys more often than in girls. the condition is usually first noticed by teachers, because the child ' s activity and restlessness tend to impair schoolwork. hyperactive children refuse to sit still, and often fidget or squirm in their seats during class. they ' re prone to outbursts of temper, find it difficult to follow instructions, and have trouble remembering their assignments. they typically disrupt class, are involved in fights, have a poor self - image, and have a hard time making friends. one unfortunate aspect of the condition is that parents and teachers sometimes blame the child ' s problems in school on lack of effort, and this only complicates matters. fortunately, hyperactive children generally respond extremely well to treatment, which may consist of counseling, special education programs, or medication. for more information, consult a local health care professional.


why we are the lasers... from our earliest beginnings in the nineteenth century when the lamp of knowledge was emblazoned on our college seal, to the one hundred and fifty years of torchlight parades, light has been a part of lasell ' s rich history. it is in this tradition of light, and the pursuit of knowledge and excellence, that our athletes bear the name lasers. lasers are by definition a source of intense energy. therefore, like a laser, our athletes are fast, focused and intense on the fields and courts of athletic endeavor. it all began with the light. legend has it that in the spring of 1851, a group of individuals gathered together and as the sun rose in the sky, illuminating bragdon hill, these individuals with a laser - like focus, made the decision to found a new school. as the founders, known as boomers, put shovels into the rocky new england soil, sparks flew and the flame of knowledge was ignited for a new generation of students. the lamp of knowledge was emblazoned into the college seal. early in the history of lasell college, the tradition of the torchlight parade took hold, with seniors marching through the campus, proudly holding high their burning torches, illuminating the academic path for future students as they passed on these symbols of light to the students who would succeed them... and the flame of knowledge continues to burn brightly here at lasell, where being " ignorant of defeat " is the way we live. with the intensity of a laser, lasell ' s growth and prominence has continued its boom for over 157 years, and in all that time, our torch has never dimmed - - our flame of knowledge has never stopped burning brightly - - and our seniors continue to pass the torch to those they leave behind, as through their actions and deeds they bring light to the world wherever they go. it is time to shine the light on the lasers. now is our boom - time. never before have we had more reason to hold high the lasell torch, lighting the way for the world to see. who will lead us? who will carry the torch the highest? who will bring the light, and guide the lasers to victory? who will take the burning intensity of the lasers and make it come alive? it will be our torchbearer... it will be our symbol of the light... it will be our spark to victory... it will be boomer! boomer will lead us ; boomer will light


fragmentation occurs when one cell in an embryo experiences a problem. in most situations, a cell with a problem simply dies. in embryos, however, these cells seem to break apart instead. often, dna - containing cell fragments will fuse with other cells in the embryo, transferring extra chromosomes to those cells. the researchers wanted to know whether they could use these odd behaviors to reliably distinguish a healthy embryo from a doomed one. they took 75 human embryos that had been frozen at the single - cell phase and cultured them in petri dishes for two days, taking a microscopic snapshot of each embryo every five minutes. [ see video of the developing embryos ] these snapshots were then strung together into time - lapse movies, which the researchers analyzed for the timing of various cell - division phases. of the 75 original cells, 53 survived four days, which represents the zygote stage of embryonic development. of those, 45 were usable for genetic analysis. about 75 percent, or 34 of the 45 cells surviving to the zygote stage, had the wrong number of chromosomes. the abnormal cells showed more variations in their cell - division cycles than normal cells, the researchers found. while normal cells all developed at similar paces, abnormal cells lagged behind or sped ahead in the divisions of the first, second and third cells. combining data about the abnormal timing with other signs that something has gone wrong ( such as fragmented dna and asymmetrical cell sizes within a developing embryo ) could reliably show which cells have the right number of chromosomes and which don ' t, the researchers report. the findings offer some insight into why early human development is so likely to go wrong, pera said. other animals don ' t have so many problems, she said. mice, for example, make mistakes in embryo development only about 1 percent of the time. researchers have long thought that perhaps humans have so many problems because women ' s eggs degrade with age, pera said. but in the current study, only 20 percent of the embryos showed these kind of errors. much more frequent were so - called mitotic errors, which occur later in development, after sperm and cell fuse and the embryo begins to divide. " that so many errors are being made after the egg and the sperm come together, that appears to be kind of special to humans, " pera said. a california - based biotech company has now licensed the embryo - watching technology and is going to begin testing it in fertility clinics, pera


volume 9, issue 2 tricks of the trade in and out download this issue learning about differential equations from their symmetries application of mathsym to analyzing an ordinary differential equation in the previous section we used a scaling symmetry to help understand the solutions of a pair of differential equations. in each case, the scaling symmetry was found by inspection. here i present the computation of the complete set of point symmetries for two additional differential equations. our third example is a nonlinear ordinary differential that we analyze using its two symmetries. the final example is the partial differential equation known as the cubic nonlinear schrodinger equation. example three is the ordinary differential equation that arises in the study of nonlinear water wave equations. i also show that we can use its two symmetries to begin to learn something about the structure of its solutions. mathsym returns a system of equations, the determining equations, whose solutions generate the symmetries of equation ( 8 ). internally, the mathsym package denotes all independent variables in an equation as and dependent variables as. this way it can be run on systems of equations with arbitrary numbers of independent and dependent variables without needing to know how to treat different variable names. furthermore, constants are represented as internally and printed as. with this notation, constants are treated correctly by mathematica ' s differentiation routine dt. mathsym ' s output is the following list of determining equations. with the output from mathsym we can continue our analysis of equation ( 8 ). first, we solve the determining equations : the functions and determine two symmetries that can be used to convert equation ( 8 ) into two integrals. the reader is directed to similar computations for the blasius boundary layer equation which appear on pages 118 - 120 of. we begin by considering the symmetry that occurs because of the term. setting and produces a transformation and. we next look for two quantities that do not change under this transformation. obvious choices are and. if we assume that is a function of and write the differential equation for that arises by insisting that satisfy equation ( 8 ), we find this is a standard reduction of order for autonomous equations that may be found in a sophomore differential equations text such as. this equation in and has a symmetry that is generated by the constant appearing in equations ( 9 ) and ( 10 ). from this symmetry we can derive new variables and and consider as a function of. in terms of and, equation ( 11 ) becomes we have now converted the problem of solving the original equation into


written by adam on mar 16, 2006 food dictionary : chop, mince, dice, grate to chop or not to chop, that is the question. whether ' tis mincing or dicing in the mind to chiffonade the basil to outrageous perfection. to grate, perchance to shred - aye, there ' s the rub. oh fair henckel ' s - - knife on my block. be all my ingredients remembered. epicurious and hamlet, bring us this latest batch of food words.... words.... words.... words that tell us how we are cutting our ingredients. do we chop, grate, mince, dice, or shred? chop : cutting food into small, bite - sized pieces mince : to cut food into very small pieces. note : minced food is smaller than chopped food dice : to cut food into tiny cubes grate : to reduce a large piece of food to small particles or thin shreds by rubbing it against a coarse, serrated surface, shred : to cut food into narrow strips by hand or by grater or food processer. interesting. so you can grate with a grater and you can also shred with a grater.


added : 06 / 17 / 2009 this site is an animation of the light dependent ( oxygen generating ) reactions of photosynthesis. note that the mechanism depicted is for prokaryotes and differs somewhat from what occurs in eukaryotes. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 this site provides an excellent presentation on this difficult topic. in topic 1, students look at the components of chemiosmosis in the bacterium paracoccus denitrificans in which they step through animations of electron transport, proton gradient, and a added : 06 / 17 / 2009 this site is an excellent introduction to thermodynamics as it applies to living organisms. in topic 1, students make decisions for a paramecium living in a petri dish that will determine if it will have enough energy to survive and reproduce. students wi added : 06 / 17 / 2009 these learning materials address the dynamic processes of photosynthesis that are found in the chloroplast. they include the light reactions ( cyclic and non - cyclic of photosystems i & ii ) and the non - light limited reactions of the calvin cycle. structure of the chloroplast is included and the many images and flash movies are provided as downloadable files. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 this website covers cell biology all in animation. cell structure with descriptions of each part, dna structure, an animated overview of water chemistry, the light and dark reactions of photosynthesis are all presented in this website. you are also able to see cells broken apart and explained, molecules in structural form, and the ph scale describing acidic and basic. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 tutorials on energy conversions, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, proteins, dna, rna, dna replication, protein synthesis, and mutation. complete with illustrations and animations. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 this website includes interactive learning with animation, movies, and tutorial links. it is created to help in teaching and the learning of science. topics include basic chemistry, mitosis, meiosis, photosynthesis, and virology. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 interactive animated tutorial that demonstrates photosynthesis, develops understanding of the organelles and compounds at work, describes the light and dark reactions and photorespiration. added : 06 / 17 / 2009 these problem sets are part of the university of arizona biology project. they are located in the biochemistry section. each problem set gives a multiple choice question ; incorrect answers take student to a tutorial


* ( under construction ) ninety five theses and the revolution that followed by thomas leckwold martin luther ' s ninety five theses on the power and efficacy of indulgences was nailed to the castle church in wittenberg, in now modern day germany, on october 31, 1517. this document was a protest that strongly criticized the practice of selling indulgences of the roman catholic church, known here after as the church. the document was a challenge to church authority that set forth events that permanently changed the religious, political, and social factors of central europe, and led to a series of wars using the pretext of faith, and the role of the church in the political structure of western europe. luther ' s document was not meant to be a call to revolution, but the social conditions, and economic factors, along with religious convictions did set in motion a revolution and subsequent conflicts in central europe. cairo ’ s fortress on the mountain by david w. tschanz cairo residents call it the qal ' at al - jabal, the fortress on the mountain, or just al - qal ' ah, the fortress. the rest of the world simply calls it “ the citadel. ” for nearly a millennium it has stood as a silent sentinel, residence, and symbol of power. standing on its battlements, and looking westwards provides a view of over 4500 years of architectural marvels from the mosque of sultan hasan, just below to the pyramids of giza across the nile. from atop this fortress the awesome sweep of history is a vivid reality. it is a view that must have given even the sultans who ruled from here, cause to reflect. member article : armenian warriors, japanese samurai by dr. armen ayvazyan armenian historiography contains considerable information about ancient and medieval armenian military ideology. in the works of fifth century historians pavstos buzand and movses khorenatzi, the commands and legacy of the armenian sparapets ( commanders in chief ) to their successors articulate in detail the obligations and responsibilities of armenian warriors. their norms of conduct share striking similarities with the system of values of the japanese samurai codified during the 16th to 18th centuries, as well as with later medieval west european chivalry of the eight to 14th “ fight and offer your life for the armenian world just as your brave forefathers did, consciously sacrificing their lives for this homeland … ” member article : byzantine military pragmatism vs. imperial prejudice :


7. praxeological prediction praxeological knowledge makes it possible to predict with apodictic certainty the outcome of various modes of action. but, of course, such prediction can never imply anything regarding quantitative matters. quantitative problems are in the field of human action open [ p. 118 ] to no other elucidation than that by understanding. we can predict, as will be shown later, that? - - other things being equal? - - a fall in the demand for a will result in a drop in the price of a. but we cannot predict the extent of this drop. this question can be answered only by understanding. the fundamental deficiency implied in every quantitative approach to economic problems consists in the neglect of the fact that there are no constant relations between what are called economic dimensions. there is neither constancy nor continuity in the valuations and in the formation of exchange ratios between various commodities. every new datum brings about a reshuffling of the whole price structure. understanding, by trying to grasp what is going on in the minds of the men concerned, can approach the problem of forecasting future conditions. we may call its methods unsatisfactory and the positivists may arrogantly scorn it. but such arbitrary judgments must not and cannot obscure the fact that understanding is the only appropriate method of dealing with the uncertainty of future conditions. [ p. 119 ]


lockheed ’ s missile and space division designed the yo - 3a as a nearly silent observation aircraft. the united states army used the plane to spot nighttime enemy activity and direct artillery fire during the war in vietnam. a downward - facing periscope equipped with night vision and infrared ( heat sensing ) capabilities allowed the aircraft ’ s forward observer to spot activity on the jungle floor, even in nearly complete darkness. the yo - 3a and it ' s prototype, the qt - 2 represent represented the first use of aerial stealth technology in combat. unlike the stealth aircraft we know today, the qt - 2 and yo - 3a were not designed to hide from radar, but to hide from human detection. the plane ’ s muffler - equipped engine drove a special slow propeller that eliminated the buzzing sound typical of propeller aircraft. this let the yo - 3a operate almost unheard by people on the ground. lockheed project manager, stanley hall described the aircraft ’ s noise as “ the gentle rushing sound of the ocean surf ”. the museum ’ s aircraft, 69 - 18005, was the sixth of just 11 aircraft constructed. it served in vietnam from 1970 – 1972 before it was sold to an aviation school. the museum acquired the aircraft in 2010 from mr. bruce elliot of la connor, wa. the yo - 3a exhibit tells the story of this highly unique aircraft and looks at the sources of airplane noise and ongoing efforts to quiet them down.


dietary carbs are currently regarded as the culprit for most modern human diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases. indeed, numerous studies demonstrate the association between over consumption of carbs and a high percentage of blood sugar problems, obesity and cognitive impairments among modern humans from all age groups. consequently, carb - bashing today is at an all - time high. many people develop carb phobia and low or no carb diets are now the darling of the media. so it seems, the two most popular dietary methods are currently carb or calorie restriction. most, if not all diets are based on either one or both methods. yet, in spite of the growing awareness of the hazards of over consumption of carbs and calories, the rate of weight gain, obesity and blood sugar related diseases is still accelerating. to make matters worse, people who follow extreme low calorie or low carb diets often face unpleasant symptoms including mental and physical fatigue, chronic cravings for carbs ( in particular sweets ), loss of libido and severe mood swings. bodybuilders, who try to slim down via low calorie low carb diets, often face similar adverse symptoms in addition to loss of muscle mass and strength. obviously, something must be wrong with the assumption that chronic carb and calorie restriction is the practical solution for most of modern disease. even though the idea of carb and calorie restriction may very well work theoretically, in practical terms ( in vivo ) it fails. the purpose of this article is to shed some light on the critical role of dietary carbs in human metabolism as well as to challenge the notion that carbs aren ' t essential for human survival. finally, conclusions are presented together with some practical methods as to how to take advantage of dietary carbs for reaching a desired metabolic potential to build lean tissue ( including muscles ), burn fat and increase energy production. maximum oxygenation is a biological term that describes maximum energy production from metabolic processes that require oxygen. active individuals, including athletes and bodybuilders, should note that maximum oxygenation is a principal key to maximum performance. the upcoming paragraph may be somewhat technical. nevertheless, understanding this topic could mean the difference between average and superior capability to build muscles and ignite energy. living organisms derive most of their energy from oxidation - reduction ( redox ) reactions, which involve the transfer of electrons to the respiratory chain complex ( an aerobic energy - yielding metabolic process