research has yielded variable results. vincent ( 1971 ) concluded that grazing of cattle under 5 - and 6 - year - old pine plantations in poor soils had a detrimental effect on the incremental growth of pines, whereas grazing trials in the nausori highlands to determine the effect on fire hazard reduction resulted in a reduction in fuel from 2, 500 kg per hectare to 800 kg per hectare, an average cattle weight gain of 0. 24 kg per day, and no pasture deterioration despite heavy stocking rates ( gregor 1972 ). at nawaicoba, partridge ( 1977 ) reported weight gains twice this, when trees were planted at 2 m x 3 m spacing, with two rows in every five missing. in variable spacing trials, bell ( 1981 ) found slight bark damage to trees less than one year old because of trampling, when the trees were spaced 3 m apart within rows and 2. 5, 3, 3. 5, and 4 m apart between rows, the cattle being introduced into the plantation when the pines were 54 cm high. in 1982, the fpc reviewed various research projects on cattle under pines and concluded that given " the high overhead and general costs of fpc operations, commercial cattle grazing of unimproved pasture under pines, is an unlikely prospect " ( drysdale 1982, 4 ). although fuel loadings were considerably reduced, the cost of using cattle for fuel reduction was " considered unacceptably high compared with alternatives such as burning " ( drysdale 1982, 3 ). in contrast, the use of cattle as a site - preparation tool where miscanthus predominates was termed an " outstanding success " ( drysdale 1982, 8 ) because other methods of clearing the giant grass gave incomplete results, were impractical, or cost too much. because of the high cost of fencing, the long - term and extensive grazing of cattle under pines has been found to be an uneconomic proposition for the fiji pine commission, although some 480 cattle are allowed to graze under pines free of charge at drasa and tavaka - bo, and some cattle owners unofficially graze their cattle in fiji pine commission forests. native landowners are also allowed to graze cattle under their own pine plantings, subject to certain restrictions. but cattle owners also are unlikely to find fencing a profitable venture. open - range grazing with night - time penning may be a possibility. in addition, the economics of cattle grazing on improved pastures under trees in fiji still needs to be ascertained. other silvipas


to find fencing a profitable venture. open - range grazing with night - time penning may be a possibility. in addition, the economics of cattle grazing on improved pastures under trees in fiji still needs to be ascertained. other silvipastoral activities trees such as leucaena leucocephala are used as fodder in tonga and papua new guinea, where they are browsed by cattle as a dietary supplement ( watt 1980, 308 ). there is perhaps some scope for the grazing of other animals such as pigs, goats, and chickens on improved legume pastures or fallows under coconuts, commercial timber species, or other trees ( quartermain 1980 ; richardson 1983 ). in the pacific, as elsewhere, interest in agroforestry has recently grown rapidly among scientists, land - use experts, conservationists, and the development professionals of national governments and international agencies. as already noted, systems of commercial production that would now be classified as agroforestry were initiated early in the pacific ' s colonial past, particularly in the form of multistorey arrangements of coconut palms with other crops or with cattle. with regard to agroforestry systems in the subsistence sphere, this book has sought to demonstrate their prevalence and antiquity in the pacific islands. as yen ( 1980b, 91 ) comprehensively expressed it in his discussion of " pacific production systems, " there is nothing new about multi - storey cropping even though it has often been suggested to smallholders as an innovative technique they might adopt. in fact native systems have always involved such techniques in village gardens with descending storeys of palms, trees, productive vines, shrubs, herbaceous root crops, and vegetable plants and ornamentals. similarly, in swiddens, mixed species and variety plantings are themselves multi - storey. in this case such plantings also take on a successional aspect, for following the root crops, some cultigens such as banana and longer - term plants such as breadfruit and other fruit and nut trees, industrial shrubs, and vines, prolong the production of these gardens. geographers and anthropologists who have studied these sorts of indigenous systems find ironic some of the attempts made to introduce institutional agroforestry into the pacific context. on the other hand, in a time of deforestation and agrodeforestation, it is apt to encourage both of the approaches to agroforestry described in chapter 1 - the institutional approach, which generally seeks to introduce commodity - focused systems devised on


other hand, in a time of deforestation and agrodeforestation, it is apt to encourage both of the approaches to agroforestry described in chapter 1 - the institutional approach, which generally seeks to introduce commodity - focused systems devised on the basis of modern forms of analysis, and the cultural - ecological approach, which is concerned more with long - standing indigenous systems, empirically devised and deeply embedded in the cultural landscape. whether or not the two approaches can be usefully meshed remains open to question, although some forms of " progressing with the past " do seem possible ( clarke 1978 ). when attention is turned to the future of institutional agroforestry in the pacific, it can be clearly forecast that if individual smallholders are to benefit over the long term from the introduction of an unfamiliar institutionalized agroforestry system, they will need to receive an ongoing package of inputs and information, which suggests the need for some sort of extension service. unfortunately, it is acknowledged that extension work in many pacific countries is generally poor, and extension services often have only secondary ranking within ministries or departments ( hau ' ofa et al. 1980, 188 - 189 ). how to remedy this deficiency raises several complex but pervasive issues, which have been dealt with at length in a large literature and which can only be superficially treated here. with regard to the initial introduction of a new agroforestry system, it is easy - given the current popularity of agroforestry in the development world to find funding for workshops and projects, but these by their nature lack continuity, and they are often administered by staff unfamiliar with local agroforestry traditions. the pacific is littered with projects advanced in support of all sorts of good causes their collapsed remnants remain, like the military paraphernalia rust ing on beaches after world war ii. one way to incorporate continuity into projects and to move beyond reliance on inadequate extension services is to form a centralized management system for smallholders ( sometimes referred to as a plantation mode of management ). such a system has been successful in several instances, notably the efficient smallholder production of sugar so important in fiji ' s economy and also in tobacco production in that same country ( eaton 1988a ). some other attempts have been less successful. the pros and cons of the approach have been cogently summed up by hardaker et al. ( 1984a ; 1984b ) and ward ( 1984 ). aside from problems common to any project - based introduction, a


successful. the pros and cons of the approach have been cogently summed up by hardaker et al. ( 1984a ; 1984b ) and ward ( 1984 ). aside from problems common to any project - based introduction, a specific constraint to the full realization of the potential of agroforestry by institutional means relates to the disciplinary compart - mentalization that characterizes institutions concerned with land use, whereby - as the director of icraf commented - " agriculture and forestry normally fall under different ministries or, if they are under the same ministry, under separate departments, ' ( lundgren 1987, 44 ). writing specifically of the forestry sector in the south pacific, watt ( 1980, 302 - 303 ) noted that " the separation of agricultural and forestry extension services encourages the impression that agriculture and forestry are mutually exclusive alternatives rather than complementary land uses. " following on from and related to this sectoral compartmentalization is each institution ' s imperative to maximize the individual component that is the focus of that institution. in contrast, as has often been observed : the subsistence land user ' s strategy and aims are to use his labour and land resources to optimize, with minimum risk, the production of various products and services required to satisfy all his basic needs. the fundamental inadequacy of conventional - discipline - oriented institutions lies in the failure to acknowledge and understand these basic facts, strategies and aims, and in the inability to adapt to them. the aims, infrastructure, rationale and philosophy of these institutions, as well as the training of their experts, are geared to the maximization of individual components, be they food crops, cash crops, animals or trees. there is little understanding that the land user needs to share out his resources for the production of other commodities or services ( lundgren 1987, 46 ). when maximization is aimed at commercial products, as it most frequently is in the pacific, a set of sometimes contradictory processes comes into play. for example, attempts to produce cash crops while continuing to meet subsistence needs may bring agricultural involution if land is limited, or it may result in an extension of cropping onto marginal sloping lands as cash crops or cattle take over better lands. a specialization in commercial products may not be accompanied by any concomitant increase in labour availability or extension advice ( often restricted to larger producers ) on how to increase subsistence production ( ward 1986 ; yen 1980b ). even the fiji - german forestry project, which commenced in the mid1980s, appears mainly focused


activities for the past century. regardless of whether it has been the colonial or post - colonial agricultural and forestry departments or, re cently, international aid agencies, the focus has been almost exclusively on monocultural, often large - scale production for export or, in the case of timber and fuel - wood production, for import substitution. even the intercrops are usually cash crops for export or local sale. consequently, most indigenous wild species and the wide range of traditional cultivars have received little official promotion and have been the focus of only limited research. few technical experts or development entrepreneurs know enough about traditional mixed agricultural systems and their component plants to be willing or able to promote their expansion or maintenance. it is not only projects intended to develop commercial agriculture and forestry that may displace or degrade traditional agroforestry systems ; modern institutional agroforestry projects may themselves play the same role. agencies and educational institutions promoting agroforestry however, there are also movements in support of traditional systems. the growing popularization and recognition worldwide of the value of the " wisdom of the elders " ( knudtson and suzuki 1992 ) may motivate increased institutional attention to indigenous polycultural systems of agroforestry in the pacific. this section provides information on several examples of such attention and on the institutions involved ; mention has been made earlier of some of these, but they will be referred to here briefly again to provide a coherent single account. all the major universities within the pacific region ( university of guam, both of papua new guinea ' s universities, the university of the south pacific in fiji and its school of agriculture in western samoa, university of hawaii, and the developing francophone institutions in new caledonia and tahiti ) support staff with interests in traditional matters, including agriculture, agroforestry, and the management of soil and vegetation. rather than attempt a full listing of course offerings relevant to agroforestry to at least some degree, we note here only that, on the basis of current information at hand, the courses most directly focused on agroforestry are found within the geography department at the university of the south pacific in suva, fiji, and the department of agronomy and soil science at the university of hawaii in honolulu. to the best of our knowledge, the university of hawaii is distinguished by being the only university in the region to have a named professor of agroforestry, who is located in the department of agronomy and soil science. the col lege


the best of our knowledge, the university of hawaii is distinguished by being the only university in the region to have a named professor of agroforestry, who is located in the department of agronomy and soil science. the col lege of micronesia in pohnpei also has staff with active and direct interests in indigenous agroforestry. agroforestry promotion by the fiji - german forestry project, a bilateral agency, has been described in the previous section. a different approach is followed by the south pacific forestry development programme, which is a multilateral 5 - year project funded by undp, executed by fao, and now based in suva, fiji. the programme is concerned with forests and trees in 15 countries, so far particularly with forests in the larger countries, but atoll countries are making enquiries about coconuts and other multi - purpose trees. the role of the programme is to stimulate activities and provide technical advice, not to operate activities itself. for instance, it facilitated the import of seeds of superior rattan from malaysia for planting in pacific forests in order to increase their non - timber production capability. aside from technical advice, the programme acts as a focal point for information about forests and trees and publishes the quarterly south pacific forestry newsletter. it is also trying to organize the documentation of local knowledge on indigenous agroforestry, with studies planned or under way in pohnpei, fiji, kiribati, tuvalu, tonga, and other island countries. the programme has worked cooperatively with the international ngo the foundation of the peoples of the south pacific ( fsp ) on a project intended to develop sustainable forestry in local areas while slowing down or stopping rapid conversion of forests by large - scale industrial logging. this objective is based in part on selling small mobile sawmills to rural entrepreneurs and community groups so that they may develop small - scale but profitable and locally utilitarian logging, carried out in ways that avoid major environmental damage and that maintain the essential structure of the forest for traditional uses and ecological services. a us government project based in hawaii is carrying out work related to several aspects of agroforestry in hawaii, american micronesia, and american samoa. called agricultural development in the american pacific ( adap ), the project has provided agroforestry educational materials to all the public ( land grant ) colleges and universities in the american - affiliated pacific. in association with the us department of agriculture and the us forest service, adap is also developing training programmes


the project has provided agroforestry educational materials to all the public ( land grant ) colleges and universities in the american - affiliated pacific. in association with the us department of agriculture and the us forest service, adap is also developing training programmes in agroforestry. the environment and policy institute of the east - west center in hawaii maintained a strong programme of research, seminars, and publication on agroforestry for several years during the 1980s ( e. g., djogo 1992 ; nair 1984 ). although agroforestry is no longer a principal focus of its work, the institute remains a repository of a large volume of published and unpublished material on the topic. mentioned at the beginning of this chapter was the report ( clements 1988 ) of a technical meeting on agroforestry in tropical islands held at the institute for research, extension and training in agriculture ( ireta ), which is part of the university of the south pacific ' s school of agriculture in western samoa. ireta is also involved in research projects to improve or strengthen atoll agroforestry in kiribati. in the melanesian countries, with their comparatively larger natural forests, forest - resource inventories are under way or planned, generally as a cooperative, aid - funded project between the local forestry department and overseas technical personnel. the inventories are intended to provide the information base necessary for effective land - use planning and management, but now, unlike some past forest assessments, the inventory process includes collection of data on watershed vulnerability and on the indigenous ethnobotanical value of forest plants, as in the forest - resource inventory now being completed by the vanuatu forestry department with technical assistance from the queensland ( australia ) forest service and the division of tropical crops and pastures of the ( australian ) commonwealth scientific and industrial research organization ( csiro ). finally, mention should be made of the work of orstom, the french organization that promotes french scientific research in the third world, mainly in the tropics. with centres in the pacific in noumea and tahiti, orstom has sponsored work not only related to many aspects of modern development but also to traditional cultural - ecological matters, for example, with specific relevance to agroforestry, the work on the cultivars of kava ( piper methysticum ) in vanuatu ( lebot and cabalion 1986 ). contents - previous - next


plague on our shores city at war the great chinatown fireon new year ' s eve one hundred years ago, the first of a number of controlled fires were set in chinatown as a way of defending honolulu from bubonic plague, known in history as black death. next to the pearl harbor attack, the outbreak of plague was the greatest public - safety disaster in hawaiian history. the government was determined to do anything to save the city - - even burn it to the ground. last week we began a four - part series by describing the discovery of plague in honolulu and the quarantine system set up to contain it. today ' s installment chronicles the attitudes that inspired the controlled burning that preceded the great chinatown fire. the series concludes tomorrow. part i | ii | iii | iv | epilogueby burl burlingame it may have been simple bad luck, or it may have have been a white - dominated business conspiracy, or more likely it fell between the two extremes, but the chinese residents of teeming chinatown felt unfairly targeted by health authorities when black death erupted in honolulu at the cusp of the century. although thousands of hawaiian and japanese were uprooted as the board of health methodically began to burn out plague infestations in the quarantine zone, it was chinese - owned businesses that absorbed the brunt of property damage. chinese immigration to the island kingdom climbed steadily until the political coup in 1893 that unseated liliuokalani. by the mid 1890s, one in five residents of hawaii was of chinese descent, and they put down firm roots, establishing schools, newspapers, cemeteries, temples and clan societies. unlike some other groups of immigrants, however, the chinese did not assimilate into hawaiian culture, preferring instead to form a separate society. this sense of separation was expressed in the honolulu district known as " chinatown " where small businesses operated by chinese ex - plantation workers began to flourish in the 1860s. it is roughly the area bordered by nuuanu, beretania and king streets. the area was chockablock with chinese restaurants, chinese groceries, chinese dry - goods shops and other small chinese industries. in 1886, sparks from a restaurant ignited an enormous fire that leveled most of the district. excited by the urban clean slate, the hawaiian government declared new structures had to follow sanitary constraints, were to be made of stone or brick, and considered widening and consolidating the streets. the advertiser declared they had turned " a national disaster into an ultimate blessing. " it didn ' t happen


structures had to follow sanitary constraints, were to be made of stone or brick, and considered widening and consolidating the streets. the advertiser declared they had turned " a national disaster into an ultimate blessing. " it didn ' t happen. in the 14 years following the fire, chinatown landowners allowed ramshackle, quickly constructed boomtown wooden buildings to blossom in the area, looming over the narrow dirt streets and overwhelmingly primitive sanitation facilities. the lessons of the 1886 fire were largely ignored. in 1898, concerned about the swelling tide of chinese immigration, the republic of hawaii evoked the restrictions of the chinese exclusion act of 1882 even though hawaii was not yet a territory of the united states. more than 7, 000 lived in chinatown ' s 50 acres at the turn of the century, in an era when no building rose above two stories. many were japanese immigrants, jammed in structures controlled by chinese landlords, who in turn paid hawaiian and haole landowners. and chinatown had become the center of another kind of asian - controlled business as well. the census taken in december 1899 revealed the area was brimming with organized prostitution, a niche business that provided economic entre for new immigrants. in 1900, 84 percent of known prostitutes in honolulu were japanese, and nearly 100 percent of the pimps were japanese. despite the filthy squalor of living conditions, and the disdain with which chinatown was viewed by the rest of honolulu, it was an economic engine, pumping money into the pockets of landowners like bishop estate. at a time when a plantation worker made about $ 18 a month, japanese prostitutes were making hundreds of dollars. although maintaining the status quo was lucrative, the overcrowded living conditions in chinatown, coupled with a complete lack of urban planning for the area, created a neighborhood that ran with rats and insects, that had sewage and garbage lying unattended in the streets. other residents of honolulu turned up their noses at chinatown, both literally and figuratively, while the residents of chinatown had little choice but to stay where they were. the advertiser called the district a " pestilential slum. " when the city finally started to build a sewer line through chinatown in 1899, workers discovered they were digging through compacted layers of fermenting garbage. the intense odor caused diggers to slow to a near - halt. with the onset of black death, a hastily organized troupe of health inspectors went on field trips into chinatown as if it were a foreign country, and returned horrified. the district, full to bursting with shanty


over the honolulu police, was absolute. within hours, all honolulu police were withdrawn from the quarantine zone, and all questions of authority routed to the national guard. although martial law had not been officially declared, soldiers were allowed to proceed as if it had. this made it easier to ignore the rules of civil law during the medical emergency that gripped honolulu. the board of health, civilians appointed by president sanford dole, lame - duck head of a temporary republic, had absolute power over questions of life and death. chinese residents trapped by the city quarantine feared they were being singled out both in life and after death. chinese immigrants believed if they died overseas, their bones must be returned to china. the board of health ' s solution to plague deaths - - quick cremation - - left no remains for shipping. horrified chinese began to hide their ill friends and relatives from authorities. this practice not only exacerbated contagion, but likely obscured the true numbers of plague victims. a large delegation of chinese merchants and chinese consul yang wei pin and vice consul goo kim met with henry cooper, president of the board of health, who insisted any decisions regarding cremation would be made by the board. the chinese claimed the board was discriminating in favor of japanese, and cooper responded no japanese have been diagnosed with plague, and the body of a white teenager had also been hurridly cremated. cooper suggested they collect the ashes in urns for shipment back to china. as honolulu became a city at war, the battle lines of bureaucracy were being drawn. as the evening bulletin editorialized, lacking a clear chain of command while details of the new government were being hammered out, president dole had the authority to appropriate funds to battle the plague. " let there be no delay, " the paper insisted. " this is a time for action, prompt energetic action. the people are prepared to support the vigorous measures which money will forward and which must be set on foot if the battle against black plague is to be short, sharp and decisive. " burning was the apparent immediate answer. a committee of businessmen was formed to find warehouse space for goods removed from chinatown stores that were being burned down, and during the first three weeks of january, 1900, buildings were torched nearly every day. a photographer hired by the government recorded pictures of each building, and then it was set alight. honolulu firemen bookended the flames with streams of water ; soldiers and police kept crowds in line and watched for looters. the newspapers kept


- published : 12 feb 2012 - views : 396745 - author : musicisprettyneat pretty great blocked in germany. irony artist / band : kraftwerk album : the man - machine year : 1978 genre : " synthpop " / electronic wikipedia article : http : / / en. wik... man - machine may refer to : | this disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. if an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. a machine is a tool consisting of one or more parts that is constructed to achieve a particular goal. machines are powered devices, usually mechanically, chemically, thermally or electrically powered, and are frequently motorized. historically, a device required moving parts to classify as a machine ; however, the advent of electronics technology has led to the development of devices without moving parts that are considered machines. the word " machine " is derived from the latin word machina, which in turn derives from the doric greek μαχανα ( machana ), ionic greek μηχανη ( mechane ) " contrivance, machine, engine " and that from μηχος ( mechos ), " means, expedient, remedy ". the meaning of machine is traced by the oxford english dictionary to an independently functioning structure and by merriam - webster dictionary to something that has been constructed. this includes human design into the meaning of machine. a simple machine is a device that simply transforms the direction or magnitude of a force, but a large number of more complex machines exist. examples include vehicles, electronic systems, molecular machines, computers, television and radio. | this section requires expansion. | perhaps the first example of a human made device designed to manage power is the hand axe, made by chipping flint to form a wedge. a wedge is a simple machine that transforms lateral force and movement of the tool into a transverse splitting force and movement of the workpiece. the idea of a " simple machine " originated with the greek philosopher archimedes around the 3rd century bc, who studied the " archimedean " simple machines : lever, pulley, and screw. he discovered the principle of mechanical advantage in the lever. later greek philosophers defined the classic five simple machines ( excluding the inclined plane ) and were able to roughly calculate their mechanical advantage. heron of alexandria ( ca. 10 – 75 ad ) in his work mechanics lists five mechanisms that can "


in the lever. later greek philosophers defined the classic five simple machines ( excluding the inclined plane ) and were able to roughly calculate their mechanical advantage. heron of alexandria ( ca. 10 – 75 ad ) in his work mechanics lists five mechanisms that can " set a load in motion " ; lever, windlass, pulley, wedge, and screw, and describes their fabrication and uses. however the greeks ' understanding was limited to the statics of simple machines ; the balance of forces, and did not include dynamics ; the tradeoff between force and distance, or the concept of work. during the renaissance the dynamics of the mechanical powers, as the simple machines were called, began to be studied from the standpoint of how much useful work they could perform, leading eventually to the new concept of mechanical work. in 1586 flemish engineer simon stevin derived the mechanical advantage of the inclined plane, and it was included with the other simple machines. the complete dynamic theory of simple machines was worked out by italian scientist galileo galilei in 1600 in le meccaniche ( " on mechanics " ). he was the first to understand that simple machines do not create energy, only transform it. the classic rules of sliding friction in machines were discovered by leonardo da vinci ( 1452 – 1519 ), but remained unpublished in his notebooks. they were rediscovered by guillaume amontons ( 1699 ) and were further developed by charles - augustin de coulomb ( 1785 ). | simple machines | | inclined plane, wheel and axle, lever, pulley, wedge, screw | | mechanical components | | axle, bearings, belts, bucket, fastener, gear, key, link chains, rack and pinion, roller chains, rope, seals, spring, wheel | | clock | | atomic clock, chronometer, pendulum clock, quartz clock | | compressors and pumps | | archimedes ' screw, eductor - jet pump, hydraulic ram, pump, trompe, vacuum pump | | heat engines | | external combustion engines | | steam engine, stirling engine | | internal combustion engines | | reciprocating engine, gas turbine | | heat pumps | | absorption refrigerator, thermoelectric refrigerator, regenerative cooling | | linkages | | pantograph, cam, peaucellier - lipkin | | turbine | | gas turbine, jet engine, steam turbine, water turbine, wind generator, windmill | | aerofoil | | sail, wing, rudder, flap, propeller | | electronic


first mechanical calculator. this machine is considered to be the forerunner of the modern computer though none of them were built in his lifetime. study of the molecules and proteins that are the basis of biological functions has led to the concept of a molecular machine. for example, current models of the operation of the kinesin molecule that transports vesicles inside the cell as well as the myocin molecule that operates against actin to cause muscle contraction ; these molecules control movement in response to chemical stimuli. researchers in nano - technology are working to construct molecules that perform movement in response to a specific stimulus. in contrast to molecules such as kinesin and myosin, these nano - machines or molecular machines are constructions like traditional machines that are designed to perform in a task. machines are assembled from standardized types of components. these elements consist of mechanisms that control movement in various ways such as gear trains, transistor switches, belt or chain drives, linkages, cam and follower systems, brakes and clutches, and structural components such as frame members and fasteners. modern machines include sensors, actuators and computer controllers. the shape, texture and color of covers provide a styling and operational interface between the mechanical components of a machine and its users. assemblies within a machine that control movement are often called " mechanisms. " mechanisms are generally classified as gears and gear trains, cam and follower mechanisms, and linkages, though there are other special mechanisms such as clamping linkages, indexing mechanisms and friction devices such as brakes and clutches. controllers combine sensors, logic, and actuators to maintain the performance of components of a machine. perhaps the best known is the flyball governor for a steam engine. examples of these devices range from a thermostat that as temperature rises opens a valve to cooling water to speed controllers such the cruise control system in an automobile. the programmable logic controller replaced relays and specialized control mechanisms with a programmable computer. servomotors that accurately position a shaft in response to an electrical command are the actuators that make robotic systems possible. design plays an important role in all three of the major phases of a product lifecycle : the industrial revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. it began in the united kingdom, then subsequently spread throughout western europe, north america, japan, and eventually the rest of the world. starting in the later part of


technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times. it began in the united kingdom, then subsequently spread throughout western europe, north america, japan, and eventually the rest of the world. starting in the later part of the 18th century, there began a transition in parts of great britain ' s previously manual labour and draft - animal – based economy towards machine - based manufacturing. it started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron - making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. mechanization or mechanisation ( be ) is providing human operators with machinery that assists them with the muscular requirements of work or displaces muscular work. in some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools. in modern usage, such as in engineering or economics, mechanization implies machinery more complex than hand tools and would not include simple devices such as an un - geared horse or donkey mill. devices that cause speed changes or changes to or from reciprocating to rotary motion, using means such as gears, pulleys or sheaves and belts, shafts, cams and cranks, usually are considered machines. after electrification, when most small machinery was no longer hand powered, mechanization was synonymous with motorized machines. automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. in the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization. whereas mechanization provides human operators with machinery to assist them with the muscular requirements of work, automation greatly decreases the need for human sensory and mental requirements as well. automation plays an increasingly important role in the world economy and in daily experience. an automaton ( plural : automata or automatons ) is a self - operating machine. the word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. an alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation. | wikimedia commons has media related to : machines | the world news ( wn ) network, has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to user privacy. the following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for wn. com, as well as e - mail newsletters. we do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. for example, if you submit an inquiry to us or sign up for our newsletter, you may be asked to provide certain information such as your contact details ( name, e


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by dr. mercola junk food is contributing to skyrocketing rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, and even strokes - - and not just among adults. food and beverage companies spend $ 2 billion a year promoting unhealthy foods to kids, and while ultimately it ' s the parents ' responsibility to feed their children healthy foods, junk food ads make this much more difficult than it should be. a new campaign, we ' re not buying it, is now underway to help expose deceptive marketing to children, debunk industry claims, and highlight the latest research, in the hopes of ending this assault on today ' s youth, and i ' ll explain how you can get involved, too, below. does your child recognize the " golden arches "? most toddlers recognize the sign of mcdonald ' s " golden arches " long before they are speaking in full sentences. because they are often raised on french fries, fast - food hamburgers and orange soda, or if " raised " is a bit of a stretch, are taught that french fries, chicken fingers and soda is an acceptable meal. have you noticed that even in " regular " restaurants the kids ' menu options are almost always entirely junk food like pizza, macaroni and cheese or fried chicken strips? of course kids will probably prefer these foods if that ' s what they ' re offered ; these foods are manufactured to taste good, and most kids aren ' t going to opt for a spear of broccoli over a french fry - - until they ' re old enough to understand the implications of the choice, and assuming you have taught them about the importance of eating healthy foods along the way. in many ways society is set up against you on this one. as the interagency working group on foods marketed to children ( iwg ) reports : - the fast - food industry spends more than $ 5 million every day marketing unhealthy foods to children. - kids watch an average of over 10 food - related ads every day ( nearly 4, 000 / year ). - nearly all ( 98 percent ) of food advertisements viewed by children are for products that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. most ( 79 percent ) are low in fiber. so even under the best circumstances, your kids will probably be exposed to the latest " cool " kid foods, and this is what marketers are banking on. then, when you go to the grocery store, your child will have a meltdown if you don ' t give in and buy the cereal with their favorite


to the latest " cool " kid foods, and this is what marketers are banking on. then, when you go to the grocery store, your child will have a meltdown if you don ' t give in and buy the cereal with their favorite cartoon character on the box, or the cookies with brightly colored chips. if you ' re a parent, it ' s certainly easier to just give in, but it ' s imperative to be strong as shaping your child ' s eating habits starts very early on … your child ' s taste preferences are created by age 3 research shows when parents fed their preschool - aged children junk foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, it had a lasting impact on their taste preferences. all of the children tested showed preferences for junk foods, and all ( even those who were just 3 years old! ) were also able to recognize some soda, fast food and junk food brands. the researchers concluded what you probably already suspect : kids who were exposed to junk food, soda and fast food, via advertising and also because their parents fed them these foods, learned to recognize and prefer these foods over healthier choices. this does have an impact on their health, as nutrients from quality foods are critical in helping your child reach his or her fullest potential! one study from british researchers revealed that kids who ate a predominantly processed food diet at age 3 had lower iq scores at age 8. 5. for each measured increase in processed foods, participants had a 1. 67 - point decrease in iq. as you might suspect, the opposite also held true, with those eating healthier diets experiencing higher iq levels. for each measured increase in dietary score, which meant the child was eating more fruits and vegetables for instance, there was a 1. 2 - point increase in iq. the reality is, the best time to shape your kids ' eating habits is while they ' re still young. this means starting from birth with breast milk and then transitioning to solid foods that have valuable nutrients, like egg yolk, avocado and sweet potatoes. ( you can easily cross any form of grain - based infant cereal off of this list. ) from there, ideally you will feed your child healthy foods that your family is also eating - - grass - fed meats, organic veggies, vegetable juice, raw dairy and nuts, and so on. these are the foods your child will thrive on, and it ' s important they learn what real, healthy food is right from the get - go. this way


, organic veggies, vegetable juice, raw dairy and nuts, and so on. these are the foods your child will thrive on, and it ' s important they learn what real, healthy food is right from the get - go. this way, when they become tweens and teenagers, they may eat junk food here and there at a friend ' s house, but they will return to real food as the foundation of their diet - - and that habit will continue on with them for a lifetime. this is what happens when you let marketers dictate your kid ' s diet … the state of most kids ' diets in the united states is not easy to swallow. as iwg reported : - nearly 40 % of children ' s diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats. - only 21 % of youth age 6 - 19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day this is a veritable recipe for disease, and is a primary reason why today ' s kids are arguably less healthy than many prior generations. obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure - - these are diseases that once appeared only in middle - age and beyond, but are now impacting children. the u. s. centers for disease control and prevention ( cdc ) estimates that by 2050, one in three u. s. adults will have diabetes - - one of them could be your child if you do not take steps to cancel out the messages junk - food marketers are sending and instead teach them healthy eating habits. make no mistake, the advertisers are doing all they can to lure your child in. in fact, last year the food and beverage industry spent more than $ 40 billion, yes billion, lobbying congress against regulations that would decrease the marketing of unhealthy foods to kids. you can do a lot of persuading with $ 40 billion, which may explain why food manufacturers are allowed to get away with so much - - like putting pictures of fruit all over product packaging when the product actually contains no fruit. a 2011 study by the prevention institute even found that 84 percent of food packages that contain symbols specifically intended to help people choose healthier foods did not meet even basic nutritional standards! in fact, 57 percent of these " better - for - you " children ' s foods were high in sugar, 95 percent contained added sugar, and 21 percent contained artificial colors. so you need to be very wary when buying any processed foods for your kids, even the "


of these " better - for - you " children ' s foods were high in sugar, 95 percent contained added sugar, and 21 percent contained artificial colors. so you need to be very wary when buying any processed foods for your kids, even the " healthy " ones, as they will most certainly contain large amounts of fructose with very little to offer in the way of healthy nutrition. help fight back against junk - food marketers and stand up for kids ' health the prevention institute ' s " we ' re not buying it " campaign is petitioning president obama to put voluntary, science - based nutrition guidelines into place for companies that market foods to kids. you can sign this petition now, but i urge you to go a step further and stop supporting the companies that are marketing junk foods to your children today. ideally, you and your family will want to vote with your pocketbook and avoid as much processed food as possible and use unprocessed raw, organic and / or locally grown foods as much as possible. your children should be eating the same wholesome foods you are - - they don ' t need bright - blue juice or deep - fried " nuggets " any more than you do. if you and your kids are absolutely hooked on fast food and other processed foods, you ' re going to need some help and most likely some support from friends and family if you want to kick the junk - food lifestyle. besides surrounding yourself with supportive, like - minded people, you can also review my article " how to wean yourself off processed foods in 7 steps " or read the book i wrote on the subject, called generation xl : raising healthy, intelligent kids in a high - tech, junk - food world. finally, my nutrition plan offers a step - by - step guide to feed your family right, and i encourage you to read through it now. you need to first educate yourself about proper nutrition and the dangers of junk food and processed foods in order to change the food culture of your entire family. to give your child the best start at life, and help instill healthy habits that will last a lifetime, you must lead by example. children will simply not know which foods are healthy unless you, as a parent, teach it to them first.


atlas faust, md dark matter and dark energy these are two words you often hear thrown around and more often that not i come across people who don ’ t know precisely what they are or even that they are two quite different things. so here we go. when you take a look at a galaxy you see a certain characteristic known as gravitational lensing where light is warped in a certain way by mass. from this you can deduce an estimate of the mass of the galaxy. however when we compare this to the mass we estimated based on the concentration, size and distribution of visible mass within the galaxy we find the two numbers to be at odds and not only this but the greatest curving of space time is found in the spaces between objects where nothing can be seen. the difference in masses is believed to be caused by the elusive dark matter, so called because it warps spacetime like regular matter but is completely invisible ( hence the dark ). all in all dark matter constitutes 23 % of the mass - energy density of the universe and a worrying 83 % of the total amount of matter. the universe is made chiefly of stuff you cannot see. dark energy is also the answer to a problem, behaving somewhat like the x value in an algebraic equation we ’ re forced to solve. the problem lays in the fact that the universe is continuing to expand at an ever increasing rate and we have no idea why. when you think about it it really doesn ’ t make any sense, you would expect the universe ’ s expansion to slow down or at least stay constant but unfortunately this isn ’ t the case. thus we call this mysterious energy that is causing the increasing the rate at which the universe expands “ dark energy ”. we really know so very little.


australian museum marine invertebrate collections the marine invertebrate collection contains specimens from all invertebrate groups except molluscs, insects and spiders. crustaceans are animals that have : - a segmented body with a hardened shell - seven or more pairs of appendages for feeding, moving and reproduction - limbs which generally have two branches - two pairs of antennae - gills for breathing polychaetes are animals that typically have : - a long, basically cylindrical body - a body segmented both internally and externally - a pair of leg - like appendages ( not jointed ) attached to every body segment about the collection the current focus of the collection is on polychaetes ( segmented worms ) and crustaceans ( lobsters, crayfish, prawns, crabs, seed shrimps, barnacles, slaters and pill bugs ) which reflects the research interests of the marine invertebrate staff. the marine invertebrate collections contain registered specimens, microscope slides, scanning electron microscope ( sem ) preparations and photographic images. they include various marine invertebrates, and all other invertebrates except molluscs, insects and spiders, including freshwater and terrestrial representatives. the specimens contained in the collections are predominantly from new south wales, australia and the indo - pacific the type collection comprises more than 9000 type lots, including more than 2000 primary types ( types are the original specimens on which the first description of a species is based ). in addition to the registered collections there are also additional unsorted and unidentified collections, categorised by various taxonomic levels. combined with the australian museum research library the section also houses one of the largest collections of books and journal reprints in australia providing taxonomic information on many invertebrate groups. this resource is available for use by scientists, students and the public by appointment. the reprint collection is currently being entered onto a computerised bibliographic database. marine invertebrate collections - overview of taxonomic groups held dr stephen keable, collection manager, marine invertebrates


it ' s hard to understand from our knowledge of greek, egyptian, and other early civilizations with written records how such a magnificent site could not have been discovered by the spanish. yet until its discovery in the 1911, machu picchu, " the lost city of the incas, " remained forgotten for 400 years. actually, machu picchu was not a city at all. it was probably built by pachacuti inca as a royal estate and religious retreat in 1460 - 70. its location — on a remote secondary road in nearly impassable terrain high above the urubamba river canyon cloud forest — almost ensured that it would have no administrative, commercial or military use. any movement in that direction to or from cusco and the sacred valley upriver would have been by other inca roads, either the high road near salcantay or by the lucumayo valley road. travel was restricted on these roads except by inca decree. after pachacuti inca ' s death, machu picchu remained the property of his allus, or kinship group, who were responsible for maintenance, administration and continued building. as an extraordinary sacred site ( location as well as buildings ), it surely was visited by topa inca and the last great ruler, huayna capac, although each in turn built their own estates and palaces. but few outside the inca ' s retainers would have known of its existence. the inca : " information ' s gotta be restricted " of course the compound would have required a steady supply of outside goods. machu picchu, like most inca sites was undergoing constant construction and must of had a resident crew of builders as well as attendants, planters, and others. so in order to really understand how machu picchu remained a secret, it ' s necessary to understand how inca culture constricted travel and information. the inca were a completely ordered an regimented society. although great numbers of people were moved around for corporate state projects and resettlement, once at a location, they didn ' t move. the royal roads were reserved for official travel. the incas were able to control their remarkable state system through a pyramidal hierarchy with information and direction flowing down through 10 overseers to 100, to 1000 and so on. we know from historical writing and the archaeological record that the incas did not possess a written language, although, they must have used some symbols and perhaps diagrams. we also know that the quipu ( collection of colored strings and knots ) was extensively used for accounting and


historical writing and the archaeological record that the incas did not possess a written language, although, they must have used some symbols and perhaps diagrams. we also know that the quipu ( collection of colored strings and knots ) was extensively used for accounting and record keeping. but quipus need highly trained interpreters to read them, and the spanish were unable to locate or interrogate even one of these specialists. the inca also maintained a class or guild of verbal historians. but with the catastrophic collapse of inca state structure following the arrival of the spanish, these historians were scattered and forgotten. but machu picchu was mostly forgotten even before the spanish came. small pox was the conquistadores ' advance guard. huayna capac and an estimated 50 percent of the population died of small pox sometime around 1527. inca government suffered, and after a period of turmoil, the empire fell into civil war over inca secession. machu picchu was probably abandoned at this time — both because it was expensive to maintain and with most of the population dead from war or epidemic, it was hard to find the labor to keep it up. conquistadores : if it ain ' t gold, we don ' t care the pizarros arrived in cusco in 1532. the first wave of spanish were mostly illiterate, uneducated adventurers who had little interest in anything besides wealth and power. by the time scholars and administrators arrived, knowledge of machu picchu had been lost. manco inca staged a country wide rebellion in 1536. after a failed siege of cusco, manco, along with remnants of the court, army and followers, abandoned his headquarters at ollantaytambo. fleeing back into the remote vilcabamba beyond machu picchu, he burned and destroyed inca settlements and sites accessible to the spanish including llatapata at the start of the trail to machu picchu from the urubamba river. but by that point it hardly mattered. the machu picchu trail and the site itself would have been long overgrown and the approach blocked by seasonal landslides that so hinder backcountry travel in peru. beyond personal observations and many trips to machu picchu, i have borrowed heavily from the excellent work of john hemming, john rowe and johan reinhart. their writings are a must for anyone attempting an understanding of the inca and the centuries of cultural development that preceded them. lost city of the incas : the story of machu picchu and its builders


not just for kids the hunt for falling leaves... nature ' s color on the ground by mary catherine ball being a reporter, i am always looking for an adventure. last week, i found one. i left work to go on a simple journey, but it turned out to be much more. first, i crossed a mud - ridden stream. then, i came face to face with flying creatures, fighting to get near me. i even endured webmakers spinning my hair into a shiny maze. where did i go? into the woods, of course. why? i wanted to gather some fallen leaves. my luck was good that day. i was able to spy lots of different kinds of leaves lying on the ground. some were leaves i had never seen. some were still green, while others were changing to their autumn colors. have you ever hunted for leaves? i wonder if you know the names of five of the trees that live in your neighborhood? i bet the answer is no. well, me neither. so i had five of the leaves analyzed. i had found the leaves from an oak, a beech, a sweet gum tree and more. now, i invite you to make this journey. narrow body with pointy edges narrow body with pointy edges may grow berries good for sap & color 3 distinct leafs may grow nuts this is your task... travel to the deep, dark woods ( in the daylight ) to find these 5 leaves. cut out the page and take it with you. make sure you can match your discovery with mine. happy leaf - hunting! stone soup october 9 ( 11 : 30am ) - enjoy lunch and a show. after you eat peanut butter & jelly, watch stone soup, performed by the lost caravan. lunch is at noon ; show starts at 12 : 30. chesapeake music hall, off rt. 50 approaching the bay bridge : 410 / 406 - 0306. all aboard october 9 & 10 ( 2pm ) - chug a chug to zany brainy for train fun. listen to stories and sing railroad songs. build your own trains. ages 3 +. zany brainy, annap. harb. ctr. : 410 / 266 - 1447. tiny tots fall for nature tues. oct 12 ( 10 : 30am - noon ) three - to five - year - olds ( and their adult ) hike into the woods to hear autumn stories, gather leaves and make a craft. bring a bag lunch to enjoy w / apple cider @ king


( 10 : 30am - noon ) three - to five - year - olds ( and their adult ) hike into the woods to hear autumn stories, gather leaves and make a craft. bring a bag lunch to enjoy w / apple cider @ king ' s landing park, huntingtown. $ 3 rsvp : 800 / 735 - 2258. spooky stories in the woods tues. oct. 12 ( 10 : 30 - noon ) - hike with a ranger to a clearing in the woods. listen to autumn stories and drink warm apple cider. gather leaves to make a craft. bring a bag lunch. kings landing park, huntingtown : 410 / 535 - 5327. musical minds wed. oct. 13 ( 4 - 4 : 45pm ) - music makes the world go round. so sing, listen to stories and play musical instruments. ages 2 - 4. chesapeake children ' s museum, festival at riva. $ 8. 50 ; rsvp : 410 / 266 - 0677. nature designs deadline oct. 15 - create your favorite nature scene out of clay or on paper to win prizes. age categories are 3 - 5, 6 - 8 and 9 - 12 years. place winners win nature books or statues. all art forms accepted. take your masterpiece to wild bird center, annapolis harbour center : 410 / 573 - 0345. tiny tots get in touch with mother nature sat. oct 16 ( 10 - 10 : 30am ) tiny tots ( 2 - 3 w / adult ) learn nature by touch, feeling the many different textures rough and soft in the world around us. @ battle creek cypress swamp, prince frederick : 800 / 735 - 2258. | issue 40 | volume vii number 40 october 7 - 13, 1999 new bay times | homepage | | back to archives |


here ' s a fine think - piece by susan cain that praises some introversion as indispensable for creativity. to some great extent, socrates and jesus were solitary men. and the wisdom they shared with us couldn ' t have been captured in group reports or multi - authored articles. not only that, we live in a society that discourages, in so many ways, thinking for ourselves. we defer so readily to public opinion, fashion, and what the experts say and the studies show. most studies that show stuff have a lot more than one author. most books that change our lives have only one, and we don ' t live in a time when many are being written. just about every good play or novel or painting, of course, has its source in the vision of a single artist. we also see, of course, that in the disciplines that require deep thought and personal interpretation ( such as philosophy — especially political philosophy — and history ), articles almost only have one author. technical and scientific reports usually have more authors than they do pages. if we want learning to be personal, personal thought has to be encouraged and rewarded. and persons, of course, have to be held personally responsible for both what they ' ve learned and the ways in which they have expressed their thoughts. in a class dealing with " real books " ( such as ones written by plato or kant or jane austen or pascal or simone weil ), i find that the best students get less than ten percent of what ' s really going on, and " what ' s gotten " differs dramatically from student to student. if they had to produce a multi - authored paper, the result would be flattened out to what they can explain to each other. it goes without saying the good students would be particularly shy about expressing their most unconventional thoughts to each other, especially ones that have to do with god, love, death, and such to the other group members. they would also be shy about being too enthusiastic or " erotic " about what they ' ve read to others who just didn ' t work as hard or care as much as they did. ( all this is why i can ' t stand " peer review " as even a stage in evaluating student papers. ) it also goes without saying that the natural result is for good students to have quite different views on the truth and significance of what they ' ve read — in part, due to what else they ' ve read and their personal experiences. how could they possibly write a conclusion based on some consensus that ' s


for good students to have quite different views on the truth and significance of what they ' ve read — in part, due to what else they ' ve read and their personal experiences. how could they possibly write a conclusion based on some consensus that ' s more than a bunch of feel - good banalities? good students do, of course, learn from each other through conversation. part of a great class is something like a socratic dialogue — keeping in mind that the participant closest to socrates ( me ) dominates the discussion in various ways. the community of learners doesn ' t mean that all the learners are equal in the ways relevant to actual learning. in the end : the student paper should be a rather solitary, introverted effort, although not one so introverted that the author is not excited about the possibility that the truth can be shared in common. " shared in common " in the socratic sense is a long distance from groupthink or what ' s usually meant by collaborative learning. another problem with " group projects " as a learning tool is that our society already rewards being witty and fashionable and pleasing to others far too much. it also already rewards too much shirkers whose main talent is taking credit for the real work of others. let sucking up be saved for the actual world of business. it ' s not a skill that should be rewarded by college credit. here ' s another problem : collaborative learning is also often an excuse for professorial laziness. why read twenty papers when you can read five ( written by groups of four )? the group dynamic also means that the papers will only be so good or so bad, and that means that the professor won ' t be taxed by a product that is too " outside the box " of what ' s expected. if you ever sign up for a class that ' s a mixture of powerpoint presentations based on some textbook followed up by group projects and presentations, immediately drop it and ask for your money back. the philosopher rousseau was against taking the idea of dispersing wisdom to everyone characteristic of the enlightenment too seriously because the real goal of that approach is the production of a vain and pseudo - sophisticated herd of seemingly meritocratic techno - elitists. the philosopher — or the genuinely enlightened person — is always a law unto himself. he ' s almost always not characterized by the ambiguous virtue of working well with others.


report highlights declining health of caribbean corals 7 september 2012 : a new international union for conservation of nature ( iucn ) report highlights that average live coral cover on caribbean reefs has declined to just 8 % of the reef today, compared with more than 50 % in the 1970s. the report stems from a workshop held by the global coral reef monitoring network ( gcrmn ) at the smithsonian tropical research institute in the republic of panama, from 29 april - 5 may 2012. according to the report, rates of decline on most reefs show no signs of slowing. however, many reefs in the netherlands antilles and cayman islands have 30 % or more live coral cover. the causes of these regional differences in reef conditions are not well understood, beyond the role of human exploitation and disturbance. carl gustaf lundin, director, iucn global marine and polar programme, notes that the major causes of coral decline include overfishing, pollution, disease, and bleaching caused by rising temperatures resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. iucn has recommended local action to improve the health of corals, including limits on fishing through catch quotas, an extension of marine protected areas ( mpas ), a halt to nutrient runoff from land, and a reduction on the global reliance on fossil fuels. [ iucn press release ] [ publication : tropical americas coral reef resilience workshop : executive summary ]


wednesday, january 30, 2013 summary : this book discusses : * where to look for birds close to home - - often - overlooked spots in cities and suburban neighborhoods that can be bird magnets * how to get deeper by studying the birds around your home and participating in citizen science and conservation projects * green birding listing challenges and groups the green birder can get involved in * includes advice on how to adapt your equipment to a new style of birding and how to attract more birds to your home garden. recommendation : a brief but detailed overview on the subject. 2 ) pagel, mark. wired for culture : origins of the human social mind. 2013. w. w. norton. paperback : 416 pages. price : $ 18. 95 u. s. summary : a unique trait of the human species is that our personalities, lifestyles, and worldviews are shaped by an accident of birth — namely, the culture into which we are born. it is our cultures and not our genes that determine which foods we eat, which languages we speak, which people we love and marry, and which people we kill in war. but how did our species develop a mind that is hardwired for culture — and why? evolutionary biologist mark pagel tracks this intriguing question through the last 80, 000 years of human evolution, revealing how an innate propensity to contribute and conform to the culture of our birth not only enabled human survival and progress in the past but also continues to influence our behavior today. shedding light on our species ’ defining attributes — from art, morality, and altruism to self - interest, deception, and prejudice — wired for culture offers surprising new insights into what it means to be human. recommendation : for those with an interest in human social evolution.


something astonishing is happening in china. an unfolding story that one chinese friend told me, “ could be a turning point in conservation and wild bird protection in china. ” on sunday 11 november local people discovered many sick and dying oriental storks ( ciconia boyciana ) at beidagang reservoir, tianjin ( just 30 mins from beijing by train ). these globally endangered birds - with a restricted range in east asia – had been poisoned illegally by poachers using a chemical called carbofuran that, although banned in the eu, canada and many other countries, is commonly available and used, legitimately, as a pesticide all over china. the storks were possibly unintended victims of well - organised and, sadly, all - too common poaching activity intended to catch swans, ducks and geese for the restaurant trade. carbofuran is mixed with cereal, or given to fish in small man - made pools. birds lose consciousness after eating the bait, are caught by hand and injected with an antidote. the victims are then shipped – usually alive – to restaurants, primarily in southern china. the demand for wild birds is high and they are sold as a delicacy, with many consumers, particularly in southern cities like guangzhou and shenzhen, believing that wild birds taste better than farmed produce, and they are prepared to pay a premium. a wild goose or swan can fetch several hundred yuan ( 100 yuan = 10 gbp ). the business is highly profitable. the scale of this activity in china, and the range of methods used by poachers to catch wild birds, are covered in an excellent, but sobering, article in the most recent issue of goose bulletin. the authors estimate that between 80, 000 and 120, 000 ducks, swans and geese are caught illegally in china for the restaurant trade every year. so what makes the recent case involving oriental storks at beidagang such a big deal? the answer is the incredible public reaction, led by local people and driven by social media. the events unfolding at beidagang, although desperately sad, could have been much worse were it not for some dedicated and brave individuals. local birders, together with volunteers, officials from the forestry administration, police and even firemen have been working together to help catch, treat and care for these birds. they have set up 24 / 7 patrols to deter the poachers. all of this has been transmitted on social media and the coverage has gone viral. the chinese micro -


have been working together to help catch, treat and care for these birds. they have set up 24 / 7 patrols to deter the poachers. all of this has been transmitted on social media and the coverage has gone viral. the chinese micro - blogging service, weibo, has over 500 million users ( on a par with the global membership on twitter ) and activists have been providing regular updates that have been ‘ re - tweeted ’ by a growing band of followers. as i write this post, the latest update has been ‘ re - tweeted ’ over 900 times to more than a million users in less than one hour. this is leading the traditional print and visual media. already, we are seeing articles relating to this poisoning incident in chinese and english language media, both local and national. all of this follows a recent outcry against the illegal trapping and hunting of wild birds in china, also led by social media. three weeks ago a brave undercover journalist released a shocking video about hunters using spotlights to confuse migrants in hunan province before gunning them out of the sky. the chinese public was outraged and weibo was alive with condemnation of the hunters and also criticism of the authorities for being slow to act. shortly after this major outcry, local birders discovered over 2km of illegal mist nets at beidagang, the site of the current oriental stork tragedy. local activists, many of whom are now on site trying to save the storks, led a ‘ day of action ’ involving over 60 volunteers, and even the chinese army, to take down illegal mist nets in the reedbed. this was covered by local and national tv as well as print media. due to these two events, the number of articles relating to illegal bird trapping and hunting nationwide has exploded. the campaign to eradicate the illegal hunting of birds is gaining momentum. and the scale of the reaction by ordinary chinese people all over the country has been overwhelming, demonstrating clearly that the vast majority of chinese people care deeply about their wild birds. it will be very hard for the authorities to ignore. none of this would be happening without the incredible dedication, passion and energy of a small number of volunteers at beidagang. there are many people involved but a special mention must go to xunqiang mo ( aka “ nemo ” ), a local student, and jingsheng ma, who have personally led the effort to cut down the illegal nets and are now leading the ongoing operation to save the oriental storks. they


lady liquor : the racial implications of the " disease " model of alcoholism earlier in this series i wrote about the notion that the desire for intoxication may be universal, and how that connects with the “ disease model ” of addiction. the disease model, as far as i can tell, first gained traction as an idea in the 1930s with the formation of alcoholics anonymous. groups similar to aa, such as the washingtonian movement and the oxford fellowship ( which aa cofounder bill wilson attended before forming his own voluntary fellowship ) had existed prior to aa ' s formation, but aa took off in a way they never did, for a variety of reasons. alcoholism wasn ' t recognized as a disease by medical and psychiatric associations until the 1950s – but the disease model is now pretty firmly entrenched in our understanding of chemical dependency. personally, i don ' t think it ' s an accident that aa was formed just a few years after prohibition ended. its formation represented a fundamental cultural shift – one that recognized prohibiting the sale of alcohol had not solved any of the problems that concerned temperance leaders, including the way problem drinking affected families. it still prescribed total abstinence from alcohol, just not for the entire population. and while temperance leaders placed more of the blame for problem drinking on alcohol itself – and the people who sold it – than on the drinkers, heavy drinking was still viewed as a moral failure rather than a medical problem. in the decades after the advent of aa, many cities ' laws against public drunkenness were thrown out or softened, and instead of being thrown into drunk tanks, people found stumbling around or sleeping it off in public spaces were taken to detox and rehab facilities – a problematic policy shift in itself since people who aren ' t ready for rehab won ' t benefit from it but still, arguably, a change for the better. all of that resulted from a movement that has attempted to make addiction a morally neutral, medical issue and has argued for treating people with addiction issues with compassion rather than dismissive contempt. but our understanding of addiction, through the disease model lens, has evolved in odd ways. ( it occurs to me, for instance, that if 12 - step recovery programs don ' t necessarily view addiction as a moral problem, they promote a faith - based – and therefore “ moral, ” in some sense – solution. ) in the 1980s, researchers began investigating a potential link between addiction and genetics – and almost immediately started talking about whether genetics would explain why some races or nationalities had higher incidences of problem drinking than others


“ moral, ” in some sense – solution. ) in the 1980s, researchers began investigating a potential link between addiction and genetics – and almost immediately started talking about whether genetics would explain why some races or nationalities had higher incidences of problem drinking than others. again, it was offered as a morally neutral alternative to existing stereotypes about weak - willed, shiftless or mean drunks, particularly those in certain minority groups ( native americans, and to a much, much, lesser extent, irish - americans ). brown university epidemiologist stephen buka, in a paper discussing health disparities as they relate to substance abuse, notes that there is greater genetic variability within major racial groups than between them and that racial disparities in health status. research on ethnicity and race as they relate to heavy drinking is intrinsically problematic, if not impossible to conduct, because these are plastic concepts that change with society ; discussions about the ethnic connection to drinking invariably group all native americans ( on both continents ) into one single ethnic category ; in the same discussions, the irish are presented as genetically distinct from all other european ethnicities. the same way that evolutionary psychology ( or at least, bad reporting on evolutionary research ) often conveniently reinforces sexist stereotypes about the role of men and women in the 21st society, genetic explanations for alcoholism tend to reinforce preexisting stereotypes about certain ethnic groups and races – in the case of both native americans and ( now fully assimilated, but still cheekily stereotyped ) irish - americans, these are stereotypes that date back centuries before the discovery of dna ; stories about the purported “ out - of - control ” drinking habits of native americans date back to the first interactions between white explorers and natives, with the former presenting their own drinking norms as refined and in control. socioogist and social worker richard thatcher, author of the 2004 book fighting firewater fictions : moving beyond the disease model of alcoholism, argues that both the disease model and the “ firewater myth ” not only cast native american people in the most essentialist terms, but considers problem drinking from the social, cultural and economic realities with which many indigenous people cope – perpetuating a racist status quo and leading many young people to believe they will eventually, inevitably become alcoholics themselves. that becomes a self - fulfilling prophecy, particularly in cultures ( thatcher ' s work focuses on indigenous people in canada ) where no effort is made to address the other societal factors that lead to problem drinking. people drink for a lot of reasons : to celebrate, to grie


- fulfilling prophecy, particularly in cultures ( thatcher ' s work focuses on indigenous people in canada ) where no effort is made to address the other societal factors that lead to problem drinking. people drink for a lot of reasons : to celebrate, to grieve, to relax and, i would argue, we sometimes drink, too much, too heavily, to bear the unbearable, including systematic racism ( not just on the part of indigenous peoples, but other racial minorities as well ). while removing moral judgment from that coping mechanism is a step in the right direction, treating alcoholism as a disease separate from the social and historic factors that brought it about in the first place gives societies license to continue not addressing those factors. it gives dominant groups a pass to perpetuate the racist status quo, rather than helping to improve the living conditions and economic prospects of native people. where alcohol dependence and ongoing marginalizing intersect is where the discourse — and the treatment — should be centered. previously : race, marketing, and uneasy relationships comments11 comments have been made. post a comment. have an idea for the blog? click here to contact us! www. petathome. eu ( not verified ) suraj ( not verified ) suraj ( not verified ) sarahbcknr ( not verified ) anonymous ( not verified )


intellectual disability begins in childhood. people with intellectual disability have limits in their mental functioning seen in below - average intelligence ( iq ) tests and in their ability to communicate, socialize, and take care of their everyday needs. the degree of disability can vary from person to person. it can be categorized as mild, moderate, severe, or profound. some causes of intellectual disability can be prevented with proper medical care. children diagnosed with an intellectual disability are most successful when they get help early in life. if you suspect that your child may have an intellectual disability, contact your doctor. several hundred causes of intellectual disability have been discovered, but many are still unknown. the most common ones are : biomedical causes resulting from : - abnormal genes inherited from parents - errors when genes combine, such as down syndrome and fragile x syndrome - nutritional deficiencies - metabolic conditions, such as phenylketonuria ( pku ), galactosemia, and congenital hypothyroidism - developmental brain abnormality, such as hydrocephalus and brain malformation - infections during pregnancy, such as : - behavioral issues during pregnancy, such as : problems at birth, such as : - premature delivery or low birth weight - baby doesn ’ t get enough oxygen during birth - baby is injured during birth factors during childhood, such as : - nutritional deficiencies - illnesses or infections that affect the brain, including meningitis, encephalitis, chickenpox, whooping cough, and measles - exposure to lead, mercury, and other toxins - head injury or near drowning - social factors, such as child stimulation and adult responsiveness - educational deficiencies a child could be at higher risk for intellectual disability due to any of the causes listed above, or due to intellectual disability in other family members. if you are concerned that your child is at risk, tell your child ' s doctor. symptoms appear before a child reaches age 18. symptoms vary depending on the degree of the intellectual disability. if you think your child has any of these symptoms, do not assume it is due to intellectual disability. these symptoms may be caused by other, less serious health conditions. - learning and developing more slowly than other children of the same age - difficulty communicating or socializing with others - lower than average scores on iq tests - trouble learning in school - inability to do everyday things like getting dressed or using the bathroom without help - difficulty hearing, seeing, walking, or talking - inability to think logically the following categories are often used to describe the level


scores on iq tests - trouble learning in school - inability to do everyday things like getting dressed or using the bathroom without help - difficulty hearing, seeing, walking, or talking - inability to think logically the following categories are often used to describe the level of intellectual disability : - iq 50 - 70 - slower than normal in all areas - no unusual physical signs - can learn practical skills - reading and math skills up to grades 3 - 6 - can conform socially - can learn daily task skills - functions in society - iq 35 - 49 - noticeable delays, particularly speech - may have unusual physical signs - can learn simple communication - can learn elementary health and safety skills - can participate in simple activities and self - care - can perform supervised tasks - can travel alone to familiar places - iq 20 - 34 - significant delays in some areas ; may walk late - little or no communication skills, but some understanding of speech with some response - can be taught daily routines and repetitive activities - may be trained in simple self - care - needs direction and supervision socially - iq < 20 - significant delays in all areas - congenital abnormalities present - needs close supervision - requires attendant care - may respond to regular physical and social activity - not capable of self - care if you suspect your child is not developing skills on time, tell the doctor as soon as possible. your doctor will ask about your child ’ s symptoms and medical history. a physical exam will be done. standardized tests may be given that measure : - intelligence — iq tests measure a person ’ s ability to do things such as think abstractly, learn, and solve problems. a child may have intellectual disability if iq test results are 70 or below. adaptive behavior — these are skills needed to function in everyday life, including : - conceptual skills like reading and writing - social skills like responsibility and self - esteem - practical skills like the ability to eat, use the bathroom, and get dressed children with intellectual disability have a higher risk for other disabilities such as hearing impairment, visual problems, seizures, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or orthopaedic conditions. additional testing may be needed to check for other conditions. talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for your child. treatment is most helpful if it begins as early as possible. treatment includes : - early intervention programming for infants and toddlers up to age three - family counseling - human development training, including emotional skills and hand - eye coordination - special education programs - life skills training, such as preparing food, bathing - job coaching - social opportunities - housing services to help


debt ceiling to allow u. s. debt to hit historic level in early 2013 while there have been and continue to be a significant number of hands wringing over the fiscal cliff, which takes effect on december 31, perhaps the real issue is coming very early in 2013 : the u. s. debt ceiling. the fiscal cliff is being discussed on every business report on television, radio, internet blogs and print media. as you most likely know, fiscal cliff is the name given to the event associated with the simultaneous expiration of the bush - era tax cuts, the increase in the payroll tax and the immediate reduction of federal government spending. for reference, here are links to apmex ’ s special reports n the fiscal cliff. fiscal cliff is but the beginning while the sudden and significant impact of multiple changes in the economy is surely creating anxiety and uncertainty in both the personal lives and business of americans, this is likely only the beginning of issues as the united states begins to respond to the “ new normal ” following the great recession. however, the next increase in the federal debt ceiling – the maximum amount the u. s. may borrow as set by congress – will establish the maximum u. s. federal debt at about $ 18 trillion. while this is, of course, a huge level of debt and the largest debt of any country, the u. s. also has the world ’ s largest economy. the question that each country must address is “ how much debt can this country afford? ” the answer depends on a number of factors and is often measured in the ratio of debt to gross domestic product ( gdp ) of the borrowing country. historically, for the u. s., this ratio has generally been between 30 percent and 65 percent, from 1950 until the beginning of the great recession in 2008. u. s. debt is at historically high and dangerous levels when the next debt ceiling is set by congress, most likely in early 2013, presuming borrowing to the ceiling and low gdp growth, the u. s. debt to u. s. gdp ratio will most likely be about 120 percent, a level more than double the historical levels since 1950. how does this compare to other countries? below is a table of several key countries around the world. also, here is a complete list of countries with debt to gdp levels provided by the international monetary fund. the history and the current status of the u. s. debt ceiling during world war i in 1917, the u. s. congress passed a law requiring congressional approval on the aggregate debt


countries with debt to gdp levels provided by the international monetary fund. the history and the current status of the u. s. debt ceiling during world war i in 1917, the u. s. congress passed a law requiring congressional approval on the aggregate debt outstanding of the united states. prior to this, congress was required to approve each and every debt offering. since 1950, there have been 95 changes to the debt ceiling ; since 2000 there have been 13 changes, or about one per year. you can read about the history of the u. s. debt ceiling or see a listing of all changes to the u. s. debt ceiling, use table 7. 3. since 2000, the increases in the u. s. debt ceiling have been larger than in previous years as the united states borrowed more to finance the 2000 dot - com bust, the wars in afghanistan and iraq, and the federal support of the great recession of 2007 – 2008. the current status of the u. s. public debt and the debt limit is shown in the charts below. the u. s. debt has increased by more than 15 percent since january 2011. the current u. s. debt is very close to the u. s. debt ceiling of about $ 16. 5 trillion and, accordingly, congress will be required to take action very soon. the u. s. debt has increased $ 2. 1 trillion, or about 15percent, in just two years since january 2011. despite the large increase, the federal government has almost borrowed to the limit. the u. s. debt ceiling must be raised in the very near future, most likely in a few months. as the chart below shows, at the end of october 2012, only about $ 172 billion remained available under the u. s. debt ceiling. in november 2011, federal borrowing increased by $ 119 billion, and if that were the borrowing rate for november 2012, almost all of the available u. s. debt availability would be consumed. note : in an article in the wall street journalon december 12, 2003, it was reported that the u. s. treasury currently has only about $ 67 billion remaining in borrowing capacity. the red line represents the total borrowing capacity of the united states that is above the current aggregate outstanding u. s. debt. since january 2012, u. s. borrowing has increased such that the remaining availability has declined each month, leaving the availability in november 2012 at just $ 172 billion. here is the u. s. treasury monthly statement of the public debt of the


. since january 2012, u. s. borrowing has increased such that the remaining availability has declined each month, leaving the availability in november 2012 at just $ 172 billion. here is the u. s. treasury monthly statement of the public debt of the united states. gold and the u. s. debt in 2012 and beyond with much debate on the fiscal cliff and future debate on the debt ceiling, the end result will be that the u. s. will most likely continue to be in a period of very high federal debt relative to the gdp. this relationship cannot be changed in a year and perhaps not even in five years. the europeans are ahead of the united states in addressing their debt to gdp issues with greece, portugal, ireland and italy. spain will most likely become a problem as well. the solution in europe has been the same as the solution in the u. s. : the central banks create more currency to keep the economy from falling even further. a recent article in barron ’ s, titled “ is bad news still good news for gold? ” randall forsyth, the author, in the last paragraph says as long as authorities try to do whatever it takes to hold the system of fiat currencies and indebted governments from flying apart, paper money will continue to lose value relative to the traditional store of value, gold.


i like projects. i really liked this project. the pipe insulation roller coaster project is one of the most enjoyable projects i ' ve ever used in class. it was my second year teaching physics. during the unit on energy, the book we were using frequently used roller coasters in their problems. we even had a little " roller coaster " to use with photo gates. i thought we could do better. my original idea was to get some flexible hot wheels tracks and make some loop - de - loops and hills. turns out a class set of hot wheels track is pretty expensive. on an unrelated yet serendipitous visit to my local big box hardware store, i ran across the perfect ( and cheap! ) substitute : pipe insulation!. for $ 1. 30 or so you can get six feet of pipe insulation - which doubles nicely as a marble track1 when you split the pipe insulation into two equal halves. it ' s really easy to cut pipe insulation with a sharp pair of scissors. just be sure you don ' t buy the " self - sealing " pipe insulation, which has glue pre - applied - it ' s more expensive and it ' d turn into a sticky mess. at first i planning to simply design a one - period long investigation using the pipe insulation ( my original ideas morphed into the pre - activity for this project ). as i started to think through the project more and more, i realized we could go way bigger. and thus, the pipe insulation roller coaster project was born. building the coasters in groups of three, students were given 24 feet of pipe insulation ( 4 pieces ), a roll of duct tape2, and access to a large pile of cardboard boxes3. all groups had to adhere to a few standard requirements : - construction requirements - the entire roller coaster must fit within a 1. 0m x 2. 0m rectangle4. - there must be at least two inversions ( loops, corkscrews, etc. ). - all 24 feet of pipe insulation must be used. - the track must end 50 cm above the ground. in addition to meeting the above requirements, students were required to utilize their understanding of the work - energy theorem, circular motion, and friction to do the following : - determine the average rolling friction, kinetic energy, and potential energy at 8 locations on their roller coaster. - determine the minimum velocities required for the marble to stay on the track at the top of all the inversions - determine the g - forces the marble experiences


friction, kinetic energy, and potential energy at 8 locations on their roller coaster. - determine the minimum velocities required for the marble to stay on the track at the top of all the inversions - determine the g - forces the marble experiences through the inversions and at least five additional corners, hills, or valleys. - the g - forces must be kept at " safe " levels5. - rolling friction, kinetic energy, and potential energy - the potential energy ( ) is easy enough to find after measuring the height of the track and finding the mass of the marble. the kinetic energy is trickier and can be done by filming the marble and doing some analysis with tracker, but since the speed of the marble is likely to be a little too fast for most cameras to pick up clearly, it ' s probably easier ( and much faster ) to simply measure the time it takes the marble travel a certain length of track. i describe how this can be done in a previous post, so check that out for more info. that post also includes how to calculated the coefficient of friction by finding how much work was done on the marble due to friction - so i ' ll keep things shorter here by not re - explaining that process. - pro - tip : have students mark every 10 cm or so on their track before they start putting together their coasters ( note the tape marks in this pic ). since d in in this case is the length of track the marble has rolled so far, it makes finding the value for d much easier than trying to measure a twisting, looping roller coaster track. - this is also called the critical velocity. that ' s fitting. if you ' re riding a roller coaster it ' s pretty critical that you make it around each loop. also, you might be in critical condition if you don ' t. while falling to our death would be exciting, it also limits the ability to ride roller coasters in the future ( and i like roller coasters ). since we ' re primarily concerned with what is happening to the marble at the top of the loop, here ' s a diagram of the vertical forces on the marble at the very top of the loop : so just normal force ( the track pushing on the marble ) and gravitational force ( the earth pulling on the marble ). since these forces are both acting towards the center of the loop together they ' re equal to the radial force : when the marble is just barely making it around the loop ( at the critical velocity ), the normal force goes to zero


the marble ). since these forces are both acting towards the center of the loop together they ' re equal to the radial force : when the marble is just barely making it around the loop ( at the critical velocity ), the normal force goes to zero. that is, the track stops pushing on the marble for just an instant at the top of the loop. if the normal force stays zero for any longer than that it means the marble is in free fall, and that ' s just not safe. so : then when you substitute in masses and accelerations for the forces and do some rearranging : there you go. all you need to know is the radius of the loop, and that ' s easy enough to measure. of course, you ' d want a little cushion above the critical velocity, especially because we ' re ignoring the friction that is constantly slowing down the marble as it makes its way down the track. - an exciting roller coaster will make you weightless and in the next instant squish you into your seat. a really bad roller coaster squishes you until you pass out. this is awesomely known as g - loc ( g - force induced loss of consciousness ). with the proper training and gear, fighter pilots can make it to about 9g ' s before g - loc. mere mortals like myself usually experience g - loc between 4 and 6g ' s. as i mentioned, i set the limit for pipe insulation roller coasters at 30g ' s simply because it allowed more creative and exciting coaster designs. while this would kill most humans, it turns out marbles have a very high tolerance before reaching g - loc. raise the stakes students become fiercely proud of their roller coasters. they ' ll name them. brag about them. drag their friends in during lunch to show them off. seeing this, i had students show off their creations to any teachers, parents, or administrators that i was able to cajole into stopping by for the official testing of the coasters. i even made up a fun little rubric (. doc file ) for any observers to fill out for each coaster. this introduces some level of competition into the project, which gives me pause - though from day one students generally start some friendly smack talk about how their coaster is akin to the millenium force while all other coasters are more like the woodstock express. the students love to show off their coasters, and it seems the people being shown enjoy the experience as well. assessment is massively