dates stored in column 1 of the data frame for labels. see the r documentation for details. after generating a plot, r provides options for adding new data. the 90 - day moving average is plotted on stock index graphs published in the wall street journal. a moving average is the average value of the preceding n data items. how about displaying the moving average of the s & p 500 over the preceding 90 days? in r ' s nomenclature, a " moving average " is a " filter " ( an equation ) applied to a " time series " ( the s & p 500 index values ). r ' s filter ( ) function is complex, providing many different data processing options. fortunately, the actual commands for creating a 90 - day moving average data set are tiny compared with what standard programming languages might require : > coef90 = 1 / 90 > ma90 = filter ( sp500value, rep ( coef90, 90 ), sides = 1 ) the first line defines a weighting factor for the data in the filter : each day ' s s & p 500 value will represent 1 / 90 of the moving average. the second line creates the moving average data set. the rep ( ) function " repeats " the 1 / 90 coefficient 90 times ( including 90 days of s & p 500 data in the moving average ). the sides = 1 parameter specifies to include only the trailing data points in the moving average ( which is how financial moving averages are always calculated, because we cannot foresee the future ). add the moving average data ( variable ma90 ) to the existing plot as green line using the r > lines ( ma90, col = " green " ) figure 5 shows the result. figure 5. s & p 500 close price and 90 - day moving average histograms are plots that show the distribution of a set of values. it ' s easy to use r to look at the distribution of daily gains ( and losses ) for the s & p 500 in the sample data set. first, you must calculate the daily percent change for each day. you can ' t do this for the first day in the data set, so the size of the percent gains array will be one unit less than the size of the sp500value array. here ' s one method for directing r to create the daily percent gain array, based on knowledge ( gained using a unix wc command ) that the data set consists of 2, 664 total points : > yesterday = sp500value [ 1 : 2663 ]


one method for directing r to create the daily percent gain array, based on knowledge ( gained using a unix wc command ) that the data set consists of 2, 664 total points : > yesterday = sp500value [ 1 : 2663 ] > today = sp500value [ 2 : 2664 ] > changepercent = 100 * ( today / yesterday - 1. 0 ) here, the new variable yesterday is the set of s & p 500 values ( excluding the last day ), and the new variable today is the set of s & p 500 values offset by one day ( excluding the first day ). hence, the two variables are aligned such that today [ i ] represent yesterday ' s and today ' s s & p 500 price. this allows application of an equation using yesterday ' s and today ' s prices, which is in the third line : the calculation of the percent that the s & p 500 index changed from yesterday to today. now you can plot the histogram ( figure 6 ) : > hist ( changepercent, breaks = 10, main = " s & p 500 daily percent change " ) figure 6. the s & p 500 daily percent change breaks parameter tells r approximately how many bins to create while sorting the data. in this case, i asked for 10 bins, but r produced a plot with 13 bins spaced 1 percent apart. r uses the suggested value as a guideline, but in its default mode chooses a bin spacing and number of bins that yields a plot that is easy to comprehend based on the input data. in this case, the data was such that a bin spacing of 1 percent produced bins with divisions on the whole numbers, and the 13 required bins was close to the requested 10 bins, so r produced its plot accordingly. experiment with different break values to see how this works. for cases where you require a specific set of bin break points, specify a list of values for the breaks parameter. in this case, r will produce bins bounded precisely at the specified values. looking at the histogram plot, you can see that in the past 10 years, on most days the s & p 500 either rose or declined by less than 1 percent ; but it rose on more days than it declined. an interesting question : does a correlation exist between the stock market ' s movement one day and its performance the next day? in other words, if the stock market rose yesterday, is it likely to rise today? to gain some


days than it declined. an interesting question : does a correlation exist between the stock market ' s movement one day and its performance the next day? in other words, if the stock market rose yesterday, is it likely to rise today? to gain some insight on these questions, analyze the daily percent change data further using the following r commands : > changepercentyesterday = changepercent [ 1 : 2662 ] > changepercenttoday = changepercent [ 2 : 2663 ] > mydf < - data. frame ( x = changepercentyesterday, y = changepercenttoday ) > myfm < - lm ( y ~ x, data = mydf ) > plot ( changepercentyesterday, changepercenttoday, main = " daily change correlation " ) > abline ( coef ( myfm ), col = " red " ) > summary ( myfm ) this looks complicated, but it also illustrates how much work just a few lines of r code can do. the first two lines create today percent change variables such that changepercentyesterday [ i ] is aligned with changepercenttoday [ i ], permitting calculations and plotting using yesterday ' s change and today ' s change. the third line creates a new data frame ( mydf ) that has as its x data the values stored in changepercentyesterday and as its y data the values stored in changepercenttoday. the fourth line uses r ' s lm ( ) " linear model " statistical function to perform a linear fit of the data in mydf. next, it plots the raw data ( yesterday ' s change versus today ' s change ) using plot ( ), with yesterday ' s percent change plotted as the x value and today ' s percent change plotted as the y value. the abline ( ) function adds a red " best fit " line to the graph based on the y - intercept and slope coefficients calculated by the lm ( ) function, yielding the plot in figure 7. figure 7. the s & p 500 daily change correlation finally, the command summary ( myfm ) produces a text summary of the linear regression analysis performed by call : lm ( formula = y ~ x, data = mydf ) residuals : min 1q median 3q max - 6. 92396 - 0. 59826 0. 01474 0. 59522 5. 64824 coefficients : estimate std. error t value


= mydf ) residuals : min 1q median 3q max - 6. 92396 - 0. 59826 0. 01474 0. 59522 5. 64824 coefficients : estimate std. error t value pr ( > | t | ) ( intercept ) 0. 04402 0. 02185 2. 015 0. 044 * x - 0. 01498 0. 01939 - 0. 772 0. 440 - - - signif. codes : 0 ' * * * ' 0. 001 ' * * ' 0. 01 ' * ' 0. 05 '. ' 0. 1 ' ' 1 residual standard error : 1. 127 on 2660 degrees of freedom multiple r - squared : 0. 0002243, adjusted r - squared : - 0. 0001516 f - statistic : 0. 5967 on 1 and 2660 df, p - value : 0. 4399 you probably need a background in statistics to interpret all of this accurately, but looking at the graph, there does not appear to be a strong correlation between the s & p 500 ' s yesterday and today change. what the market did yesterday doesn ' t seem to strongly affect what happens today - - though the correlation is nonzero. the negative slope of the best fit line suggests that the market had a slight tendency to reverse, or correct, a portion of the previous day ' s movement, over the 10 - year data period. r provides several options for graphical presentation of three - dimensional data, including 3 - d perspective plots, color - coded images, and contour maps. to demonstrate r ' s 3 - d capabilities, i downloaded united states house price index data published by the office of federal housing enterprise oversight ( ofheo ). the data set used for the analysis is the percent that house prices have increased over the past five years in the nine regions the ofheo defines for the united states. the ofheo presents its data in a table. however, a table doesn ' t clearly depict the geographical distribution of the " housing bubble. " to produce a 3 - d representation of the five - year house price index data, i created a 51 - by - 30 - element grid that approximates the geographical size and position of the nine ofheo regions. then, using a perl script, i created an input data set for r that assigns the price index for the region to each grid point. hence, the r input


that approximates the geographical size and position of the nine ofheo regions. then, using a perl script, i created an input data set for r that assigns the price index for the region to each grid point. hence, the r input file consists of 51 x 30 = 1, 530 data points. for areas on the grid that are not part of the united states ( for example, the ocean ), the data values are na, which tells r not to display data for that position in the 3 - d plot. the r commands that produce an image representation of the house price data are : > dv < - read. table ( ". / ofheo5yr. gridfine ", header = false ) > z < - dv [, 1 ] > attr ( z, " dim " ) = c ( 51, 30 ) > image ( z, col = topo. colors ( 50 ), axes = false ) the first line reads the 1, 530 - point data file. the second line assigns the values read to variable z. next, the attr ( ) function alters the dimension ( " dim " ) attribute of the z variable to arrange its data in the form of a two - dimensional array with 51 rows, each containing 30 data values. finally, the image ( ) function generates an image of the z data, using 50 colors in the topo color scale to represent the varying z values. figure 8 shows the results. figure 8. the plot of five - year regional house price changes topo color scale assigns violet to low values, with blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink assigned to successively higher values. the image shows that the change in housing prices is not at all evenly distributed across the united states geographically. persp ( ) function provides another view of the same data : this code tells r to generate a 3 - d perspective image of the z data, viewing the image with no rotation ( theta = 0 ) and tilted 60 degrees from the horizontal ( phi = 60 ), with no box around the image, coloring the mesh yellow. figure 9 shows the plot. figure 9. the perspective plot of five - year regional house price changes perhaps more clearly, the perspective plot shows that the large increases in house prices in the past five years have occurred on the west coast and in the northeast, while the middle of the united states hasn ' t seen significant home price increases overall. this backs up alan greenspan ' s assertions that there is not a national housing


in the past five years have occurred on the west coast and in the northeast, while the middle of the united states hasn ' t seen significant home price increases overall. this backs up alan greenspan ' s assertions that there is not a national housing " bubble, " but there appear to be " signs of froth in some local markets. " r provides several options for saving your work. first, when you execute the q ( ) function to quit your session, r asks : save workspace image? [ y / n / c ] : y to save your current r session state ( so that next time you run r in that same directory, your starting status will be identical to that of the current session ). enter n to exit without saving the current session state, or c to continue the current session. r provides a capability to plot directly to png, jpeg, and pdf files through its display setting options. to plot to a file instead of to the r graphics window, execute the pdf ( ) function prior to any r plotting function. for example : > png ( " myimage. png " ) > persp ( z, theta = 0, phi = 60, box = false, col = " yellow " ) you can also invoke r by using scripts. this permits the integration of r into automated data analysis processes. here ' s an r script that reads the s & p 500 data file and produces a png image of the data : dv < - read. table ( ". / sp500. txt ", header = false ) png ( " sp500. png " ) plot ( dv [, 2 ], type = " l " ) q ( ) the command line to execute the script ( named gspc. scr ) is : r - - no - save < gspc. scr > gspc. log - - no - save flag tells r not to save the script ' s session. the text output produced by the script is sent to file gspc. log. r is a powerful, mature, and very well documented gnu open source project. though the language syntax is a bit unusual, knowing just a few commands lets you quickly generate quite impressive data products. r ' s base documentation consists of six manuals, the pdf versions of which comprise 1, 700 total pages. the documents are included with the windows r executable installation download, but they must be downloaded separately for linux / unix and macos platforms. " an


the world economy is being reshaped by new technologies, services, and trading relationships. much of this dynamism is fuelled by ambitious developing - world nation - states like brazil, india and south africa. as governments, businesses and regional blocs in the global south expand their horizons, they increasingly bypass rich northern states. but is this south - south cooperation any more progressive or less selfish than the more familiar and hegemonic north - south relationship? the idea of south - south cooperation started to influence the field of development studies in the late 1990s. it was fuelled by a growing realisation that poor nations might find appropriate, low - cost and sustainable solutions to their problems in other developing countries rather than in the rich north. it drew on clear examples of existing waste and alternative opportunity ; for example, if african farmers need boreholes to access water, it surely makes more sense to access indias huge pool of expertise than to send expensive european water engineers. the concept quickly spread from the seminar room to the policy chamber. by 1997, britains new department for international development ( dfid ) explicitly aimed under its first minister, clare short to withdraw from its aid programmes any requirement to use british service providers. the intention was to encourage recipient governments to spend the aid more effectively especially on solutions sourced from other developing nations. by the early 2000s, some forward - thinking developing nations themselves were incorporating this altruistic principle into their foreign policies. luis ignacio lula da silvas brazil is just beginning to make africa part of its wider effort to build the countrys global profile ; recently it granted fellow - lusophone mozambique a project to install and staff its own factory producing anti - retroviral hiv drugs, thus reducing its reliance on expensive imports. china and africa an even more potent example of south - south cooperation is the peoples republic of china. chinas presence in africa goes back centuries : archaeologists digging in the ruins of africas great medieval trading states at timbuktu and great zimbabwe have found fine porcelain and other evidence of a trading network that spanned half the world. after the prc was founded in 1949, the new state based its relations with the developing world on a defined doctrine, the five principles of peaceful coexistence ; it also used its own legacy of colonial aggression and experience of liberation to forge links with the african nation - states emerging from colonial rule. china in the 1960s lacked the resources of the cold - war superpowers, but still invested significant energies in support of independent africa. the prc, driven by


and experience of liberation to forge links with the african nation - states emerging from colonial rule. china in the 1960s lacked the resources of the cold - war superpowers, but still invested significant energies in support of independent africa. the prc, driven by perceived ideological, anti - imperialist affinities, dispatched chinese technicians to nominally leftist states to provide military training, modest economic aid and infrastructural monuments to socialist solidarity. the era of liberation wars in the 1970s saw china choose sides and patronise its favoured forces, as in angola. this interest receded in the 1980s as chinese development efforts were diverted inwards. but the post - tiananmen period gave earlier ideological bonds a fresh twist : the hostility of many african leaders to democratic pressures and ( especially ) western, hegemonic conceptions of human rights chimed with chinas own preconceptions. throughout the 1990s, china increased its aid to african governments and resumed its earlier rhetoric of mutual respect and concern for diversity a discourse that resounded strongly in a continent highly attuned to the perceived neo - colonial reflexes of the former ruling powers. in return, beijing received recognition of its sovereignty over taiwan, indifference to its human - rights abuses, and support in international organisations. in 2000, a new china - africa cooperation forum agreed a joint economic and social programme, one that lent a developmental and commercial slant to the five principles. china has subsequently been well in advance of the g8 by cancelling $ 10 billion of the debt it is owed by african states ; at the second sino - africa business conference in december 2003, china offered further debt relief to thirty - one african countries, as well as opening the prospect of zero - tariff trade. the tensions in what might be called chinas developmental evangelism in africa are evident. the ideological underpinnings retain some potency and the principle of non - interference in domestic politics persists. but as chinese commercial interests dominate the relationship, the strain of avoiding entanglement in ethically and politically complex questions increases. for china, insensitivity to human - rights abuses can be finessed as respecting cultural diversity, but this gets harder in a more open, regulated trading environment. rapid economic growth in china in the last decade, coupled with oil exploration and economic diversification in west - central africa, has created new links. more than 60 % of african timber exports are now destined for east asia ; 25 % of chinas oil supplies are now sourced in the gulf of guinea region. china - zimbabwe :


economic diversification in west - central africa, has created new links. more than 60 % of african timber exports are now destined for east asia ; 25 % of chinas oil supplies are now sourced in the gulf of guinea region. china - zimbabwe : a special relationship but china is moving beyond merely securing essential inputs to acquiring stakes in potentially productive african enterprises. zimbabwe is a prime example of the kind of place where china likes to do business. in return for bailing out robert mugabes regime with injections of cash, machinery, equipment and military supplies, chinese state - owned enterprises have assembled a portfolio of shares in some of zimbabwes prize assets. in buying a 70 % stake in the zimbabwes only electricity generation facilities at hwange and kariba, and stakes in the national railway, the chinese have stepped in where other developing nations ( even libya ) have feared to tread. and on a micro - level, chinese entrepreneurs are quickly supplanting small - scale retailers and local manufactures on harares streets. zimbabwes deteriorating political situation and asset - hungry officials may deter most private investors, but the chinese government can instruct managers of state enterprises to take the risk, rely on good intergovernmental relations to guarantee investment flow, and depend on state coffers to absorb any loss in the last resort. chinas lack of domestic political criticism, meanwhile, frees its government and companies from reputational risks and pressures that can leave western - based companies exposed. informed, responsible shareholders might be cautious about backing state - led projects in sudan or mauritania which rely on a brutally - enforced stability ; such issues have little visibility to the chinese public. chinas new hard - nosed africa policy gives it a strong incentive to circumvent the kind of multilateral aid and investment agendas promoted by britains tony blair and gordon brown at the g8 summit, with their inconvenient governance concerns and transparency provisions. as china moves towards becoming the third - largest investor in africa, its unilateralism will impact on the internal continental map. the south african alternative amidst the dynamism of the east asian economies, it is tempting to forget that the continent itself is generating an economic powerhouse. south africa, freed of its apartheid - era isolationist shackles, has become an interested and aggressive explorer of the rest of the continent. the south african model is mixed : private companies led the charge into the new mobile telecommunications sphere, household names like shoprite followed across the continent, while para - statals ( state - owned


an interested and aggressive explorer of the rest of the continent. the south african model is mixed : private companies led the charge into the new mobile telecommunications sphere, household names like shoprite followed across the continent, while para - statals ( state - owned enterprises ) are also active. thabo mbekis economically liberal instincts have been contained by the job - loss fears of his leftist coalition partners, and he has commercialised rather than fully privatised key state enterprises such as the power utility eskom. this entity has reinforced mbekis peace plan for the democratic republic of congo by committing its own $ 500 - million investment to the inga dam, the 3, 500 - megawatt hydroelectric facility on the congo river. this project would undoubtedly light up the drcs cities but eskoms greatest benefit is probably tying the potentially huge electricity resource into a regional grid which would feed much - needed power supplies to south africas industrial zones. this project aptly sums up the dual nature of developing - world investment in africa. is such investment, as mbeki would have it, good for all involved or is it simply a new wave of economic colonisation which will leave most of africa with as few benefits as in the past? as the developing nations themselves come to rival the investment presence of the g8 and former colonial powers in africa, it is salutary to recall that south - south cooperation may be more efficient and less wasteful than the wests grand gestures but it is no less self - interested.


a tsunami is a series of waves most commonly caused by violent movement of the sea floor. in some ways, it resembles the ripples radiating outward from the spot where stone has been thrown into the water, but a tsunami can occur on an enormous scale. tsunamis are generated by any large, impulsive displacement of the sea bed level. the movement at the sea floor leading to tsunami can be produced by earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions. most tsunamis, including almost all of those traveling across entire ocean basins with destructive force, are caused by submarine faulting associated with large earthquakes. these are produced when a block of the ocean floor is thrust upward, or suddenly drops, or when an inclined area of the seafloor is thrust upward or suddenly thrust sideways. in any event, a huge mass of water is displaced, producing tsunami. such fault movements are accompanied by earthquakes, which are sometimes referred to as “ tsunamigenic earthquakes ”. most tsunamigenic earthquakes take place at the great ocean trenches, where the tectonic plates that make up the earth ’ s surface collide and are forced under each other. when the plates move gradually or in small thrust, only small earthquakes are produced ; however, periodically in certain areas, the plates catch. the overall motion of the plates does not stop ; only the motion beneath the trench becomes hung up. such areas where the plates are hung up are known as “ seismic gaps ” for their lack of earthquakes. the forces in these gaps continue to build until finally they overcome the strength of the rocks holding back the plate motion. the built - up tension ( or comprehension ) is released in one large earthquake, instead of many smaller quakes, and these often generate large deadly tsunamis. if the sea floor movement is horizontal, a tsunami is not generated. earthquakes of magnitude larger than m 6. 5 are critical for tsunami generation. tsunamis produced by landslides : probably the second most common cause of tsunami is landslide. a tsunami may be generated by a landslide starting out above the sea level and then plunging into the sea, or by a landslide entirely occurring underwater. landslides occur when slopes or deposits of sediment become too steep and the material falls under the pull of gravity. once unstable conditions are present, slope failure can be caused by storms, earthquakes, rain, or merely continued deposit of material on the slope. certain environments are particularly susceptible to the production of landslide - generated earthquakes. river deltas and steep underwater slopes above sub - marine canyons, for instance, are likely sites for landslide - generated earthquakes


, or merely continued deposit of material on the slope. certain environments are particularly susceptible to the production of landslide - generated earthquakes. river deltas and steep underwater slopes above sub - marine canyons, for instance, are likely sites for landslide - generated earthquakes. tsunami produced by volcanoes : the violent geologic activity associated with volcanic eruptions can also generate devastating tsunamis. although volcanic tsunamis are much less frequent, they are often highly destructive. these may be due to submarine explosions, pyroclastic flows and collapse of volcanic caldera. ( 1 ) submarine volcanic explosions occur when cool seawater encounters hot volcanic magma. it often reacts violently, producing stream explosions. underwater eruptions at depths of less than 1500 feet are capable of disturbing the water all the way to the surface and producing tsunamis. ( 2 ) pyroclastic flows are incandescent, ground - hugging clouds, driven by gravity and fluidized by hot gases. these flows can move rapidly off an island and into the ocean, their impact displacing sea water and producing a tsunami. ( 3 ) the collapse of a volcanic caldera can generate tsunami. this may happen when the magma beneath a volcano is withdrawn back deeper into the earth, and the sudden subsidence of the volcanic edifice displaces water and produces tsunami waves. the large masses of rock that accumulate on the sides of the volcanoes may suddenly slide down slope into the sea, causing tsunamis. such landslides may be triggered by earthquakes or simple gravitational collapse. a catastrophic volcanic eruption and its ensuing tsunami waves may actually be behind the legend of the lost island civilization of atlantis. the largest volcanic tsunami in historical times and the most famous historically documented volcanic eruption took lace in the east indies - the eruption of krakatau in 1883. tsunami waves : a tsunami has a much smaller amplitude ( wave height ) offshore, and a very long wavelength ( often hundreds of kilometers long ), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a passing " hump " in the ocean. tsunamis have been historically referred to tidal waves because as they approach land, they take on the characteristics of a violent onrushing tide rather than the sort of cresting waves that are formed by wind action upon the ocean ( with which people are more familiar ). since they are not actually related to tides the term is considered misleading and its usage is discouraged by oceanographers. these waves are different from other wind - generated ocean waves, which rarely extend below a dept of 500 feet even in large storms. tsunami waves


they are not actually related to tides the term is considered misleading and its usage is discouraged by oceanographers. these waves are different from other wind - generated ocean waves, which rarely extend below a dept of 500 feet even in large storms. tsunami waves, on the contrary, involvement of water all the way to the sea floor, and as a result their speed is controlled by the depth of the sea. tsunami waves may travel as fast as 500 miles per hour or more in deep waters of an ocean basin. yet these fast waves may be only a foot of two high in deep water. these waves have greater wavelengths having long 100 miles between crests. with a height of 2 to 3 feet spread over 100 miles, the slope of even the most powerful tsunamis would be impossible to see from a ship or airplane. a tsunami may consist of 10 or more waves forming a ‘ tsunami wave train ’. the individual waves follow one behind the other anywhere from 5 to 90 minutes apart. as the waves near shore, they travel progressively more slowly, but the energy lost from decreasing velocity is transformed into increased wavelength. a tsunami wave that was 2 feet high at sea may become a 30 - feet giant at the shoreline. tsunami velocity is dependent on the depth of water through which it travels ( velocity equals the square root of water depth h times the gravitational acceleration g, that is ( v = √gh ). the tsunami will travel approximately at a velocity of 700 kmph in 4000 m depth of sea water. in 10 m, of water depth the velocity drops to about 35 kmph. even on shore tsunami speed is 35 to 40 km / h, hence much faster than a person can run. it is commonly believed that the water recedes before the first wave of a tsunami crashes ashore. in fact, the first sign of a tsunami is just as likely to be a rise in the water level. whether the water rises or falls depends on what part of the tsunami wave train first reaches the coast. a wave crest will cause a rise in the water level and a wave trough causes a water recession. seiche ( pronounced as ‘ saysh ’ ) is another wave phenomenon that may be produced when a tsunami strikes. the water in any basin will tend to slosh back and forth in a certain period of time determined by the physical size and shape of the basin. this sloshing is known as the seiche. the greater the length of the body, the longer the period of oscillation. the depth of the body also controls the period of os


determined by the physical size and shape of the basin. this sloshing is known as the seiche. the greater the length of the body, the longer the period of oscillation. the depth of the body also controls the period of oscillations, with greater water depths producing shorter periods. a tsunami wave may set off seiche and if the following tsunami wave arrives with the next natural oscillation of the seiche, water may even reach greater heights than it would have from the tsunami waves alone. much of the great height of tsunami waves in bays may be explained by this constructive combination of a seiche wave and a tsunami wave arriving simultaneously. once the water in the bay is set in motion, the resonance may further increase the size of the waves. the dying of the oscillations, or damping, occurs slowly as gravity gradually flattens the surface of the water and as friction turns the back and forth sloshing motion into turbulence. bodies of water with steep, rocky sides are often the most seiche - prone, but any bay or harbour that is connected to offshore waters can be perturbed to form seiche, as can shelf waters that are directly exposed to the open sea. the presence of a well developed fringing or barrier of coral reef off a shoreline also appears to have a strong effect on tsunami waves. a reef may serve to absorb a significant amount of the wave energy, reducing the height and intensity of the wave impact on the shoreline itself. the popular image of a tsunami wave approaching shore is that of a nearly vertical wall of water, similar to the front of a breaking wave in the surf. actually, most tsunamis probably don ’ t form such wave fronts ; the water surface instead is very close to the horizontal, and the surface itself moves up and down. however, under certain circumstances an arriving tsunami wave can develop an abrupt steep front that will move inland at high speeds. this phenomenon is known as a bore. in general, the way a bore is created is related to the velocity of the shallow water waves. as waves move into progressively shallower water, the wave in front will be traveling more slowly than the wave behind it. this phenomenon causes the waves to begin “ catching up ” with each other, decreasing their distance apart i. e. shrinking the wavelength. if the wavelength decreases, but the height does not, then waves must become steeper. furthermore, because the crest of each wave is in deeper water than the adjacent trough, the crest begins to overtake the trough


the u. s. environmental protection agency has issued action plans to address the potential health risks of two chemicals used in making polyurethane polymers, adhesives, sealants and coatings. both plans focus on “ the potential health effects that may result from exposures to the consumer or self - employed worker while using products containing uncured ( unreacted ) diisocyanates ( e. g., spray - applied foam sealants, adhesives, and coatings ) ” and from incidental exposures to the general population. the plans identify a range of actions the agency is considering under the authority of the toxic substances control act. “ there has been an increase in recent years in promoting the use of foams and sealants by do - it - yourself energy - conscious homeowners, and many people may now be unknowingly exposed to risks from these chemicals, ” said steve owens, assistant administrator for epa ’ s office of chemical safety and pollution prevention. | osha regulates workplace exposure to diisocyanate compounds. | the two new plans are the latest in epa ’ s program of chemical action plans launched in 2009. epa is also currently crafting an action plan for siloxanes. uncured compounds at issue diisocyanates are used to make polyurethane polymers. most polyurethane products, such as foam mattresses or bowling balls, are fully reacted ( cured ) and not of concern. adhesives, coatings, spray foam and other products, however, continue to react while in use and may contain " uncured " diisocyanates to which people may be exposed, according to epa. diisocyanates are known to cause severe skin and breathing responses in workers who have been repeatedly exposed to them. the chemicals have been documented as a leading cause of work - related asthma, and in severe cases, fatal reactions have occurred, epa says. the occupational safety and health administration currently regulates workplace exposures through permissible exposure limits. epa plans to consider the potential risks from consumer exposure to these chemicals. the spray foam industry notes that “ persons developing sensitivity to isocyanates may have dangerous systemic reactions to extremely small exposures, including respiratory failure. ” in a report on respiratory protection, it notes : “ mdi should be not be heated or sprayed except with strict engineering controls and personal protective equipment. ” possible actions to address concerns associated with tdi, mdi and related compounds include : - issuing rules to gather data on significant


pali proper names - i - - iccha sutta. - wishes it is which hold the world prisoner ; by subjugating them, liberty is gained. s. i. 40. - icchanangala sutta - idagalissara. - a village in south india where kulasekhara had an encampment in his fight with the sinhalese forces ( cv. lxxvi. 149 ). - iddhi sutta - iddhikatha. - the second division of the pannavagga of the - iddhipada samyutta. - the fifty - first division of the samyutta nikaya ( s. v. 254 - 93 ), consisting of eight chapters. it is the seventh section of the - iddhipada sutta / vagga - iddhivaddhana. - one of the palaces, occupied during his lay - life by sumana buddha. bua. 125 ; bu. v. 22 gives other names for his palaces. - iddhiya. - see itthiya. - idhalokika sutta - ilanga. - see sena ilanga and - illisa jataka ( no. 78 ) - ina sutta. - deals at length with the disadvantages, both material and moral, of poverty and consequent indebtedness. a. iii. 351 - 4. - inandapada. - a damila chieftain whom kulasekhara enlisted as his ally. he was a troop leader in uccankuttha. cv. lxxvii. 74ff. - indadvara. - one of the fourteen gates of pulatthipura built by parakkamabahu i. ( cv. lxxiii. 160 ). - indaka ( sutta ) - indakhila sutta. - like a tuft of cotton - wool or a ball of thistledown, wafted by every wind, are recluses and brahmins who do not understand, as they really are, the facts of ill ; like an indakhila, unshakable, unquakable, are those who do so understand. ( s. v. 443 - 5 ). - indakuta. - a peak near rajagaha, the abode of the yakkha indaka. the buddha once lived there. ( s. i. 206 ). - indapatta ( indapattana, indapattha ) - indasama. - a


when i heard the news that i was selected to be the new hire for the payson fire department a few years back, i was, to say the least, excited and unknowing. i had envisioned the flashing lights, red flames and as we have all seen on television, a chance to pull the lost child from that burning building. well much to my surprise 75 to 80 percent of all emergencies we encounter are actually medically related. so with that in mind, i have decided to digress from my normal articles that discuss fire and injury prevention, and discuss what we encounter and do the most. i would like to discuss over the next few months, topics that involve medical emergencies, their warning signs, emergency treatment procedures, and what to do in the first few minutes. i chose to discuss stroke as my first topic for no rhyme or reason other than it came to mind first. a stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. when that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood ( and oxygen ) it needs, so it starts to die. about 780, 000 americans each year suffer a new or recurrent stroke. that means, on average, a stroke occurs every 40 seconds. stroke kills more than 150, 000 people a year. that ' s about one of every 16 deaths. it ' s the no. 3 cause of deathehind diseases of the heart and cancer. on average, very 3 to 4inutes someone dies of stroke. of every five deaths from stroke, two occur inen and threen women. americans will pay about $ 65. 5 billion in 2008 for stroke - related medical costs and disability. some stroke risk factors are hereditary. others are a function of natural processes. still others result from a person ' s lifestyle. you can ' t change factors related to heredity or natural processes, but those resulting from lifestyle or environment can be modified with the help of a health care professional. if you notice one or more of these signs, don ' t wait. stroke is a medical emergency. call 9 - 1 - 1 or your emergency medical services. get to a hospital right away! sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body ; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding ; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes ; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination ; and sudden, severe headache with no known cause. be prepared for an


one side of the body ; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding ; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes ; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination ; and sudden, severe headache with no known cause. be prepared for an emergency keep a list of medications and allergies in your pocketbook, wallet or purse. the payson fire department ' s " vial of life " is great for this. include phone numbers for relatives, friends, and physicians. not all the warning signs occur in every stroke. don ' t ignore signs of stroke, even if they go away. check the time. when did the first warning sign or symptom start? you ' ll be asked this important question later. if you have one or more stroke symptoms that last more than a few minutes, don ' t delay. immediately call 9 - 1 - 1 so emergency personnel can quickly be sent for you. if you ' re with someone who may be having stroke symptoms, expect the person to protest - enial is common. don ' t take " no " for an answer. insist on taking prompt action. therapy used on ischemic strokes can be effective within three hours of onset to slow or stop damage. in june 1996 the fda approved tissue plasminogen activator ( t - pa ) as the first treatment for strokes caused by arterial blockages. this " clotbuster " is inserted into the femoral artery near the groin and then threaded up into the brain to directly dissolve the blood clot, thereby limiting or stopping the damage to the brain cells. new research studies show that women may have traditional symptoms less often than men do, and they may be more likely to experience and report an alternative symptom first. this discrepancy may cause women to delay seeking help. don ' t wait. a woman coming into the emergency department with facial weakness is quickly sent off for brain imaging, but when the main complaint is shortness of breath or fainting, it may be that neither the woman nor even emergency room personnel suspect a stroke. in addition to or instead of the traditional stroke signs, women may also experience loss of consciousness or fainting ; shortness of breath ; falls or accidents ; sudden pain in the face, chest, arms or legs ; seizure ; sudden hiccups ; sudden nausea ; sudden tiredness ; sudden pounding or racing heartbeat ( palpitations ). for further information on the prevention, causes and treatment of stroke call the american stroke association at 1 - 888 - 4


cycling terminology for the amgen tour of california riders : in professional cycling the racers are generally called riders as opposed to racers or cyclists. route map : the course or path the riders will take from start to finish. some stages will have laps where riders will repeat the same few blocks within the stage. stage 8 has 5 laps before the finish. stage profile : maps the ascents and descents along a stage. it is often fun for fans to see the riders on a climb where the rider ' s speed slows slightly ( or coming around a corner ). rolling neutral start : riders begin at a start line but do not begin racing until a few blocks or miles into the route ( the distance varies ). a neutral start is used if the start area conditions are narrow, crowded, or unsafe for race conditions. a neutral start is also sometimes used as a show of respect. stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 all have neutral starts this year. kom ( king of mountain ) : first rider to the top of a designated climb on the race route. riders receive points, the rider with the most points wins the king of the mountain ( kom ) ( climber ' s ) jersey. the jersey transfers each day to the rider with the most points overall. there may be more than one kom point in a stage, stage 4 has 6 koms. sprint : first rider to a designated sprint line on the race route. riders receive points, the rider with the most points wins the sprint ( green ) jersey. the jersey transfers each day to the rider with the most points overall. there may be more than one kom point in a stage, stage 2 has 3 sprints. leader : there will be a current leader out on course while the race is taking place, but the overall leader ( yellow jersey ) is the rider with the lowest ( fastest ) overall time for all stages. the winner of each day ' s stage is called the stage winner, not the leader. feed zone : a designated area on the route where team staff must pass out food bags ( musettes ) to the riders containing food. water may be handed to riders through team cars throughout the stage. breakaway : 1 to a few riders who are leading the race and ahead of the main peloton peloton : the main pack of riders chasing the lead breakaway. podium girls : a tradition in professional cycling to have 2 beautiful women present the awards to the riders at the finish of every stage. podium : each day the top three


peloton peloton : the main pack of riders chasing the lead breakaway. podium girls : a tradition in professional cycling to have 2 beautiful women present the awards to the riders at the finish of every stage. podium : each day the top three riders finishing the stage are awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd prizes on the podium. then the 6 overall classification jerseys are awarded. classification jerseys : awards for best type of rider in a field. this year the tour of california will feature 6 classifications : leader ( fastest overall time, yellow jersey ), most courageous ( by vote, white jersey ), mountain ( climber, red polka dot jersey ), sprint ( fastest sprinter, green jersey ), best young rider ( under the age of 23, orange jersey ), most aggressive ( most combative / competitive, black jersey ). as the stage race progresses the overall classification winner is presented with his jersey after each stage and will wear the jersey at the start of the next day ' s stage. view the official 2012 jerseys. stage race : a cycling race consisting of more than one day of racing, where points and time is tallied every day to determine an overall winner at the end of the race. the 2012 amgen tour of california will have 8 stages. bib number or dossard : please read an earlier pedal dancer post : word of the day : dossard


leiomyosarcoma of stomach, small and large intestine in dogs leiomyosarcoma is an uncommon cancerous tumor, which, in this case, arises from the smooth muscles of the stomach and intestines. it is an extremely dangerous and painful disease that affects mostly older dogs ( more than six years old ), though all breeds are equally predisposed to leimyosarcoma. moreover, the cancer has a tendency to metastasize to other sites in the gastrointestinal tract and other body organs. symptoms and types most symptoms are related to gastrointestinal tract, including : - weight loss - blood in stool ( hematochezia ) - gas ( flatulence ) - stomach growling, or rumbling sound ( borborygmus ) - feeling of incomplete defecation ( fenesmus ) the exact cause for this cancer is currently unknown. you will need to give a thorough history of your dog ’ s health, including the onset and nature of the symptoms. he or she will then perform a complete physical examination, as well a biochemistry profile, urinalysis, and complete blood count ( cbc ) - - the results of which are usually within normal ranges. however, in some dogs with advanced forms of the disease, few abnormalities, including anemia, abnormally highly number of white blood cells ( leukocytosis ), and abnormally low glucose levels ( hypoglycemia ) may be noted. other diagnostic procedures include abdominal x - rays and ultrasounds, which help to identify changes in the stomach and intestinal walls, such as thickening of the wall. contrast radiography, meanwhile, is used to enhance visualization of tissue and improve localization of the tumor. endoscopy is another valuable tool for direct visualization of the affected areas. this is performed with an endoscope, a rigid or flexible tube inserted into the esophagus down to the stomach and intestines. as well as visually inspecting the region, the veterinarian will remove a sample of the affected area ( stomach and / or intestine ) for biopsy to confirm diagnosis. surgery remains the treatment of choice, which involves resection of the tumor mass along with some normal tissue. however, the extent of metastasis ( such as in the liver ) is a critical factor for final prognosis. living and management in cases of metastasis to other body organs, prognosis is very poor, where survival may only be a few months


of metastasis ( such as in the liver ) is a critical factor for final prognosis. living and management in cases of metastasis to other body organs, prognosis is very poor, where survival may only be a few months. surgery may improve survival rates in some animals, but will require complete removal of the tumor mass. following the surgery, you will have to take your dog for routine checkups, x - rays, and abdominal ultrasound every three months. some dogs may also require special, easily digestible diets, as well as painkillers to alleviate soreness. strictly adhere to the veterinarian ' s guidelines watch for recurrence of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal distention, and abdominal pain in the dog. the growth of pathogens away from the original site of the disease an increase in the number of white blood cells ( abnormal ) low amounts of glucose in the blood the occurrence or invasion of pathogens away from the point where they originally occurred the prediction of a disease ’ s outcome in advance an in - depth examination of the properties of urine ; used to determine the presence or absence of illness a procedure of imaging internal body structures by exposing film passing stool with blood in it the digestive tract containing the stomach and intestine the movement of gas in the gut that causes noise. the process of removing tissue to examine it, usually for medical reasons. the exiting of excrement from the body ; bowel movements. the process of making something larger by dilating or stretching it the tube that extends from the mouth to the stomach a type of instrument that is used to look inside the body a condition of the blood in which normal red blood cell counts or hemoglobin are lacking.


european decorative arts and sculpture portions of an armor garnituremade in augsburg, germany, europe artist / maker unknown, german. attributed patron : holy roman emperor maximilian ii, ruled 1564 - 1576. etched and partially blackened and gilded steel ; brass ; leather ( replaced ) ; velvet ( replaced ) 1977 - 167 - 20a - - jbequest of carl otto kretzschmar von kienbusch, 1977 an armor garniture is a complete suit of armor with a set of exchange elements designed to adapt the basic unit to different uses, such as tournament or battle. this armor is part of a great garniture that included over five hundred pieces. it is believed to have belonged to the holy roman emperor maximilian ii ( ruled 1564 to 1576 ). the other related components of the garniture are preserved in the historisches museum der stadt in vienna, austria. social tags [? ] 1500 ' s [ x ] armor [ x ] arms and armor [ x ] augsburg [ x ] etched [ x ] european [ x ] germany [ x ] steel [ x ] vicscottiii [ x ] [ add your own tags ] * works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.


quarks are completely confined within protons and neutrons : a phenomenon that we do not completely understand. the artist ' s view below represents the two interlinked phenomena that drive confinement : the long - range correlations in the physical vacuum that surround the proton and excludes the color - field emanating from quarks and the extremely strong gluon - fields between the quarks. to make progress on confinement we need to separate these two effects and study each individually. one way to do this is to make a much larger system of quarks and gluons where the role of the vacuum at the surface of the larger system is much reduced. such a large system can be produced by compressing or heating nuclear matter so that the neutrons and protons begin to overlap. as the boundaries between each neutron and proton disappear, a large volume of a new state of matter should be formed - the quark gluon plasma ( qgp ). the strong interactions between quarks and gluons dominate the properties of the qgp, and because of the larger volume of the system, the influence of the correlated vacuum is much reduced. collisions between two heavy nuclei take place at relativistic heavy ion collider ( rhic ). our first results from phenix indicate that the plasma may be formed in these reactions. leading the evidence for the qgp is the reduced yield of particles at high transverse momenta ( pt ). these particles predominantly come from rare, high - momentum collisions between quarks and gluons ( partons ) that occur in the hot, early stage of the reaction. as high momentum partons travel through the forming plasma, they are predicted to lose a considerable fraction of their energy. outside the collision zone high - momentum partons fragment into hadrons, and any energy - loss in the plasma softens the hadronic spectrum, i. e. lowers the measured yield of hadrons at high - pt. the first high - pt spectra from au + au collisions measured by phenix at rhic were published in 2001 with the key observation that the high - pt spectra are softer in central than in peripheral collisions. because a central reaction would produce a larger volume of qgp, this result is consistent with the hard - scattered parton losing energy in a qgp. the overall caution remains that a heavy - ion reaction is a very complex, challenging environment. a strong case for the existence and properties of the qgp must rely on a broad range of


sheet music - purpose and use sheet music can be used as a record of, a guide to, or a means to perform, a piece of music. although it does not take the place of the sound of a performed work, sheet music can be studied to create a performance and to elucidate aspects of the music that may not be obvious from mere listening. authoritative musical information about a piece can be gained by studying the written sketches and early versions of compositions that the composer might have retained, as well as the final autograph score and personal markings on proofs and printed scores. comprehending sheet music requires a special form of literacy : the ability to read musical notation. nevertheless, an ability to read or write music is not a requirement to compose music. many composers have been capable of producing music in printed form without the capacity themselves to read or write in musical notation — as long as an amanuensis of some sort is available. examples include the blind 18th - century composer john stanley and the 20th - century composers and lyricists lionel bart, irving berlin and paul mccartney. the skill of sight reading is the ability of a musician to perform an unfamiliar work of music upon viewing the sheet music for the first time. sight reading ability is expected of professional musicians and serious amateurs who play classical music and related forms. an even more refined skill is the ability to look at a new piece of music and hear most or all of the sounds ( melodies, harmonies, timbres, etc. ) in one ' s head without having to play the piece. with the exception of solo performances, where memorization is expected, classical musicians ordinarily have the sheet music at hand when performing. in jazz music, which is mostly improvised, sheet music — called a lead sheet in this context — is used to give basic indications of melodies, chord changes, and arrangements. handwritten or printed music is less important in other traditions of musical practice, however. although much popular music is published in notation of some sort, it is quite common for people to learn a piece by ear. this is also the case in most forms of western folk music, where songs and dances are passed down by oral — and aural — tradition. music of other cultures, both folk and classical, is often transmitted orally, though some non - western cultures developed their own forms of musical notation and sheet music as well. although sheet music is often thought of as being a platform for new music and an aid to composition ( i. e., the composer writes the music down )


- special reports - the magazine mount everest is located in southern asia ' s great himalayan mountain range, straddling the border of tibet and nepal. global positioning indicates the mountain continues to grow a few fractions of an inch each year and to move slightly to the northeast due to the shifting of tectonic plates. mount everest is the highest point on earth. satellite - based technology pinpointed its height at 29, 035 feet in 1999. everest ' s upper slopes are so high that the atmosphere there contains just one - third of the breathable oxygen found at sea level. at 28, 250 feet, mount k - 2 in kashmir is the world ' s second - highest peak. mount everest was named after sir george everest, a british surveyor who spent 25 years of his life mapping the indian subcontinent. everest most likely never saw the mountain himself, but his triangulation theories allowed successors to locate its summit in 1852. in tibet, the mountain ' s name is chomolungma, or ` ` goddess mother of the world. ' ' in nepal, the mountain ' s name is sagarmatha, or ` ` goddess of the sky. ' ' sir edmund hillary and tenzing norgay became the first recorded climbers to scale everest in 1953. nepalese guide appa sherpa holds the record for most successful ascents at 17. new zealand mountaineer mark inglis became the first double amputee to reach the summit in 2006. in may, 71 - year - old katsusuke yanagisawa reportedly became the oldest man ever to climb the mountain. about 200 climbers have died while making attempts on everest, including several this year. sources : kalamazoo gazette, may 31, 2007.


the uncanny valley appears pretty frequently in these pages, at least in presentation — like the disembodied baby head above, for instance, or the wonderfully horrible telenoid. these robots and others represent the gulf in our robot affinity that gapes open when machines approach a certain level of human likeness. masahiro mori described this phenomenon 42 years ago, when he was a robotics professor at the tokyo institute of technology. his paper was largely unnoticed for decades, but more recently it has become a touchstone for robotics, especially as they become more lifelike. but the paper was never published in english in its entirety, for whatever reason. now here it is, in a new translation approved by mori and appearing in ieee spectrum. mori notes the eerie sensation that arises when we are tricked into thinking an artificial limb is real, and then realize it ’ s not — it “ becomes uncanny, ” and we lose our affinity for it. he expresses this phenomenon in a graph. “ i have noticed that, in climbing toward the goal of making robots appear human, our affinity for them increases until we come to a valley, which i call the uncanny valley, ” the new translation reads. he also charts our affinities and lack thereof for still and moving objects, noting that our affinity is pretty high for a stuffed animal or a humanoid robot. but movement is key to our affinity — a humanoid robot would not move like a human, so it would be incredibly creepy, he says. “ imagine a craftsman being awakened suddenly in the dead of night. he searches downstairs for something among a crowd of mannequins in his workshop. if the mannequins started to move, it would be like a horror story, ” he writes. a still corpse is also down in the valley. at the deepest point : zombies. five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month ' s energy - focused issue. also : how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world ' s smallest arcade, and much more.


" green " energy, it ' s all green... so it ' s clean! public power ' s " green " energy - why choose " green " energy? public power is now offering 100 % " green " energy. " green " programs are helping america become energy independent. public power offers 100 % green energy, whereas our standard rate provides only 20 % green energy. customers who enroll with our " green " energy program will receive a certificate from public power acknowledging their contribution to america ' s future. if you had a choice?... what is " green " energy? in the united states, most of our electricity is generated by pollution sources like coal - fired plants, which pollute our environment with millions of tons of carbon dioxide ( co2 ). people can now power their homes a cleaner way ; with " green " energy, 100 % of a home ' s monthly electric will be generated from alternative renewable energy sources that have a zero imprint on our environment. green energy is produced in a way that has less of a negative environmental impact than conventional sources such as the burning of fossil fuels. examples of green energy include solar, wind, geothermal and hydro. the use of green energy reduces negative impacts to the environment and decreases harmful greenhouse gas emissions. we all contribute to the release of harmful greenhouse gases ; the good news is that it ' s not too late to make a difference and reduce the harmful effects of common daily activities such as driving our cars, air travel, and cooling and heating our homes. a higher standard public power is promoting renewable portfolio standards ( rps ) in order to get an increased usage of renewable energy and the development of renewable products. an rps is a statewide benchmark for the percentage of electricity that must come from green, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. continued development of renewable resources is largely driven by the adoption of these standards. by purchasing our " green " energy product you would be helping promote renewable portfolio standards. public power is a proud supporter of rps with our commitment to offer up to 16 % renewable energy in all of our markets. how does " green " energy work? green energy is derived from naturally - occurring sources. this energy can be replenished as wind, solar, and hydroelelectric power. to help spread the sale of green energy, a system was established that separates green energy into separate parts. green energy is separated by : the electricity produced by a renewable generator and the renewable " attributes " of that generation. these


experimental fusion research pppl fusion research centers on the national spherical torus experiment ( nstx ), which is undergoing a $ 94 million upgrade that will make it the most powerful experimental fusion facility, or tokamak, of its type in the world when work is completed in 2014. experiments will test the ability of the upgraded spherical facility to maintain a high - performance plasma under conditions of extreme heat and power. results could strongly influence the design of future fusion reactors. the laboratory develops components and scientific data for iter, which represents the largest step to date toward the development of a commercial fusion reactor. iter, whose name is latin for “ the way, ” is being built in cadarache, france, by the european union, the united states, china, india, japan, korea and russia. the facility is designed to produce 500 million watts of fusion power for at least 400 seconds by the late 2020s to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as a source of energy. pppl conducts research on the use of liquid lithium to help keep fusion reactions hot. the laboratory ’ s lithium tokamak experiment ( ltx ) is the world ’ s first experimental fusion facility to have liquid lithium covering all its walls to absorb plasma particles that escape from magnetic confinement. the shiny metal keeps the particles from re - entering the plasma as a cold gas, retains impurities that can cool the plasma and halt fusion reactions, and prevents damage to the plasma - facing walls. included in this research are experiments led by princeton university engineer bruce koel on the behavior of lithium and other wall materials.


almost as soon as moving pictures began telling stories, they drew upon literature for ideas — popular poems, shakespeare ’ s plays, and later novels and short stories provided the basis for many films, and continue to do so to this day. finding in - depth criticism about these films, and the works that inspired them, can be challenging — until now. this guide will help you find critical essays on movies, their literary sources, and the art of film adaptation. the first step is finding films that have been adapted from literary works. the following resources are an excellent place to start : based on the book this site, from the mid - continent public library, allows you to look up novel / film combinations. you can search by author, book title, movie title, or the year the film was released. movie adaptation database from the university of california at berkeley, a searchable database for movie and book titles. the literary filmography : 6, 200 adaptations of books, short stories and other nondramatic works. leonard mustazza. entries are listed alphabetically by title of the original work and include the author, year of first publication, literary prizes, and a brief synopsis, followed by film title, credits, and availability on vhs or dvd. sources include books, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and poems. covers english - language works only. there are two approaches to finding criticism about a particular book or author : check the library catalog. doing a subject search on the author ’ s name ( last, first ) will bring up books about the writer ’ s life and works. see the humanities department research guide literary criticism for high school and college students to find online and print resources, as well as helpful information about writing a research paper. adaptations : from short story to big screen. stephanie harrison. do a title search to pull up information about a particular film. under the heading “ awards & reviews, ” click on the link for “ external reviews ” for links to different reviewers. a gateway to reviews of movies past and present. the reviews come from a variety of media outlets, including the new york times and roger ebert, and occasionally include foreign press sources. this online version annually indexes 150 film and television periodicals from 30 countries cover - to - cover and 200 other periodicals selectively for articles on film and television. the periodicals range from the scholarly to the popular. contains citations to articles, film reviews and book reviews published between 1976 - 2001. found a good citation in the indexes above, and want to get hold of


mathematics for the environment published january 18th 2011 by chapman and hall / crc – 679 pages published january 18th 2011 by chapman and hall / crc – 679 pages mathematics for the environment shows how to employ simple mathematical tools, such as arithmetic, to uncover fundamental conflicts between the logic of human civilization and the logic of nature. these tools can then be used to understand and effectively deal with economic, environmental, and social issues. with elementary mathematics, the book seeks answers to a host of real - life questions, including : a truly interdisciplinary, concrete study of mathematics, this classroom - tested text discusses the importance of certain mathematical principles and concepts, such as fuzzy logic, feedback, deductive systems, fractions, and logarithms, in various areas other than pure mathematics. it teaches students how to make informed choices using fundamental mathematical tools, encouraging them to find solutions to critical real - world problems. the book can be recommended to all those readers who are interested in applied mathematics as well as to those who do not think of themselves as mathematicians yet being interested in laws and relationships in which mathematics may be a helpful tool. — herbert s. buscher, zentralblatt math 1211 the book is heavily referenced … there are many detailed exercises designed to highlight how mathematics can be used to explain natural phenomena and human behavior and its consequences. … this book could serve as a text for courses in applied mathematics and a resource for study material in many other subject areas … — maa reviews, july 2011 mathematics is connected to everything else earth ’ s climate and some basic principles one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century edison ’ s algorithm : listening to nature ’ s feedback fuzzy logic, filters, the bigger picture principle consequences of the crime : suburbia ’ s topology a toxic consequence of the crime hubbert ’ s peak and the end of cheap oil resource wars : oil and water the co2 greenhouse law of svante arrhenius economic instability : ongoing causes necessary conditions for economic success the mathematical structure of ponzi schemes dishonest assessment of risk one reason why usury should again be illegal what is mathematics? more basics the definition of mathematics used in this book the logic of nature and the logic of civilization cycles and scales in nature and mathematics the art of estimating we all soak in a synthetic chemical soup thomas latimer ’ s unfortunate experience what ’ s in the synthetic chemical soup? synthetic flows and assumptions the flow of information about synthetic flows you cannot do just one thing : two examples mathematics : food, soil, water,


in a synthetic chemical soup thomas latimer ’ s unfortunate experience what ’ s in the synthetic chemical soup? synthetic flows and assumptions the flow of information about synthetic flows you cannot do just one thing : two examples mathematics : food, soil, water, air, free speech the " hour glass " industrial agriculture machine industrial agriculture logic vs. the logic of life fast foods, few foods, and fossil fuels genetic engineering : one mathematical perspective toxic sludge is good for you! oceans : rising acidity and disappearing life stocks, flows and distributions of food my definition of food choices : central vs. diverse decision making mathematics and energy how much solar energy is there? solar energy is there, do we know how to get it? nuclear power : is it too cheap to meter? net primary productivity and ecological footprints npp, soil, biofuels, and the super grid the brower – cousteau model of the earth how heavily do we weigh upon the earth? mining and damming : massive rearrangements fish, forests, deserts, and soil : revisited the cousteau – brower earth model fuzzy logic, sharp logic, frames, and bigger pictures sharp ( aristotelian ) logic : a standard syllogism measuring truth values : fuzzy / measured logic definitions, assumptions and the frame of debate humans in denial — nature cannot be fooled — gravity exists the bigger picture principle the dunbar number the sustainability hypothesis : is it true? the dunbar number public relations, political power, and the organization of society political uses of fear confronting fear ( and apathy ) : organizing your community for self - preservation and sustainability math and nature : the nature of math one pattern viewed via geometry and numbers : mathese the square numbers of pythagoras the language of mathematics : mathese a general expression in mathese : a formula for odd numbers an important word in mathese : σ sentences in mathese : equations with σ and a dummy variable induction, deduction, mathematical research, and mathematical proofs what is a mathematical proof? what is a deductive system? originalidad es volver al origen axioms and atoms molecules and atoms ; the atomic number and the atomic mass number of an atom scaling and our first two axioms for numbers our first axiom for numbers number 1 : its definition, properties, uniqueness the definition of multiplicative inverse our second axiom for numbers if …, then …. our first proofs return to the problem : how many protons in one gram of protons? what is a mole?


definition, properties, uniqueness the definition of multiplicative inverse our second axiom for numbers if …, then …. our first proofs return to the problem : how many protons in one gram of protons? what is a mole? scaling up from the atomic to the human scale five more axioms for numbers associativity, identity, and inverses for + commutativity of + and * what patterns can be deduced in our deductive system? playing the mathematics game rules for playing the mathematics game the usual rules for fractions are part of our deductive system can you tell the difference between true and false patterns? one of the oldest mathematical patterns a short story and some numberless mathematics relations defined as collections of ordered pairs transitive and reflexive relations relations that are functions a set of social rules for the warlpiri people the section rule the mother relation rules the marriage rules the father relation rules cultural contexts in which mathematics is done counting social security numbers among other things permutations : order matters there are n! permutations of n distinct objects counting connections : order does not matter equivalence relations and counting using equivalence relations to count combinations : order does not matter additional counting problems box models : population, money, recycling some population numbers counting people in the world a fundamental axiom of population ecology counting people in the united states basic mathematical patterns in population growth schwartz charts are box - flow models our first population model : simple boxes and flows three basic operations : addition, multiplication, and exponentiation defining logarithm functions computing formulas for doubling times logarithms to any base further study : more complicated models and chaos theory the world ’ s human population : one box box models : money, recycling, epidemics some obvious laws humans continue to ignore a linear multiplier effect : some mathematics of money multiplier effects arising from cycles : the mathematics of recycling a simple model of an influenza epidemic chance : health, surveillance, spies, and voting chance : health and news if you test hiv positive, are you infected? chance and the " news surveillance, spies, snitches, loss of privacy, and life is someone watching you? why? living with a police escort? i ’ m not worried, i ’ ve done nothing wrong identity theft, encryption, torture, planespotting encryption mathematics and identity protection extraordinary rendition = kidnapping and torture planespotting : a self - organizing countermeasure the cia did not anticipate bigger pictures and the cia voting in the 21st century stealing elections is


encryption, torture, planespotting encryption mathematics and identity protection extraordinary rendition = kidnapping and torture planespotting : a self - organizing countermeasure the cia did not anticipate bigger pictures and the cia voting in the 21st century stealing elections is a time honored tradition a simple solution exists two modest proposals what exactly is economics? it takes the longest time to think of the simplest things a preview of two laws of nature three kinds of economists the human economy depends on nature ’ s flows of energy and entropy nature ’ s services and human wealth : important calculations how we treat each other : how we treat nature — the tragedy of the commons mathematical concepts and economics new mathematical patterns : self - organizing systems finding a niche : habits and habitats the concept of money financial wealth and real wealth is financial collapse possible now? follow the money are you paying more or less than your fair share of taxes? financial growth vs. fish growth fractional reserve banking : an amazing mathematical trick distributed vs. centralized control and decision making farms : to be run by few or by many? utilities : muni or investor - owned? linux vs. microsoft medicine for people or for profit or both? a little history an example of the need for fuzzy logic : the definition of poverty energy and thermodynamics energy and the first law of thermodynamics the first law of thermodynamics entropy and the second law of thermodynamics early statements of the second law of thermodynamics algebraic statement of the second law of thermodynamics so what is entropy and can we measure it? some applications of the second law of thermodynamics : power plants and hurricanes hiking up a mountain understanding entropy with a little mathematics the financial mathematics of loans, debts, and compound interest simple and compound interest : a review how much does a debt really cost you? buying on time and / or installment plans. amortization. the four important numbers : p, r, r, n examples of individual debt : rent - to - own, credit cards, and loans information flow in the 21st century investigative journalism requires cash thesis : the range of debate is too narrow now time series test and multiple source test measuring the range of debate distractions and illusions media literacy : censorship and propaganda filters and censors censorship : external and internal conclusion and epilog : where are the adults? martin walter is a professor in the department of mathematics at the university of colorado at boulder. dr. walter is a sloan, woodrow wilson, and national science foundation fellow


right now, the accelerator is stopped for the annual maintenance shutdown. this is the opportunity to fix all problems that occurred during the past year both on the accelerator and the experiments. the detectors are opened and all accessible malfunctioning equipment is being repaired or replaced. in the 27 - km long lhc tunnel, surveyors are busy getting everything realigned to a high precision, while various repairs and maintenance operations are on their way. by early march, all magnets will have been cooled down again and prepared for operation. the experimentalists are not only working on their detectors but also improving all aspects of their software : the detector simulations, event reconstruction algorithms, particle identification schemes and analysis techniques are all being revised. by late march, the lhc will resume colliding protons with the goal of delivering about 16 inverse femtobarns of data, compared to 5 inverse femtobarns in 2011. this will enable the experiments to improve the precision of all measurements achieved so far, push all searches for new phenomena slightly further and explore areas not yet tackled. the hope is to discover particles associated with new physics revealing the existence of new phenomena. the cms and atlas physicists are looking for dozens of hypothetical particles, the higgs boson being the most publicized but only one of many. when protons collide in the lhc accelerator, the energy released materializes in the form of massive but unstable particles. this is a consequence of the well - known equation e = mc2, which simply states that energy ( represented by e ) and mass ( m ) are equivalent, each one can change into the other. the symbol c2 represents the speed of light squared and acts like a conversion factor. this is why in particle physics we measure particle masses in units of energy like gev ( giga electronvolt ) or tev ( tera electronvolt ). one electronvolt is the energy acquired by an electron through a potential difference of one volt. it is therefore easier to create lighter particles since less energy is required. over the past few decades, we have already observed the lighter particles countless times in various experiments. so we know fairly well how many events containing them we should observe. we can tell when new particles are created when we see more events of a certain topology than what we expect from those well - known phenomena, which we refer to as the background. we can claim that something additional and new is also occurring when we see an excess of events. of course, the bigger the excess, the easier


certain topology than what we expect from those well - known phenomena, which we refer to as the background. we can claim that something additional and new is also occurring when we see an excess of events. of course, the bigger the excess, the easier it is to claim something new is happening. this is the reason why we accumulate so many events, each one being a snap - shots of the debris coming out of a proton - proton collisions. we want to be sure the excess cannot be due to some random fluctuation. some of the particles we are looking for are expected to have a mass in the order of a few hundred gev. this is the case for the higgs boson and we already saw possible signs of its presence last year. if the observed excess continues to grow as we collect more data in 2012, it will be enough to claim the higgs boson discovery beyond any doubt in 2012 or rule it out forever. other hypothetical particles may have masses as large as a few thousand gev or equivalently, a few tev. in 2011, the accelerator provided 7 tev of energy at the collision point. the more energy the accelerator has, the higher the reach in masses, just like one cannot buy a 7000 chf car with 5000 chf. so to create a pair of particles with a mass of 3. 5 tev ( or 3500 gev ), one needs to provide at least 7 tev to produce them. but since some of the energy is shared among many particles, the effective limit is lower than the accelerator energy. there are ongoing discussions right now to decide if the lhc will be operating at 8 tev this year instead of 7 tev as in 2011. the decision will be made in early february. if cern decides to operate at 8 tev, the chances of finding very heavy particles will slightly increase, thanks to the extra energy available. this will be the case for searches for particles like the w ’ or z ’, a heavier version of the well - known w and z bosons. for these, collecting more data in 2012 will probably not be enough to push the current limits much farther. we will need to wait until the lhc reaches full energy at 13 or 14 tev in 2015 to push these searches higher than in 2011 where limits have already been placed around 1 tev. for lhcb and alice, the main goal is not to find new particles. lhcb aims at making extremely precise measurements to see if there are any weak points in


higher than in 2011 where limits have already been placed around 1 tev. for lhcb and alice, the main goal is not to find new particles. lhcb aims at making extremely precise measurements to see if there are any weak points in the current theoretical model, the standard model of particle physics. for this, more data will make a whole difference. already in 2011, they saw the first signs of cp - violation involving charm quarks and hope to confirm this observation. this measurement could shed light on why matter overtook antimatter as the universe expanded after the big bang when matter and antimatter must have been created in equal amounts. they will also investigate new techniques and new channels. meanwhile, alice has just started analyzing the 2011 data taken in november with lead ion collisions. the hope is to better understand how the quark - gluon plasma formed right after the big bang. this year, a special run involving collisions of protons and lead ions should bring a new twist in this investigation. exploring new corners, testing new ideas, improving the errors on all measurements and most likely the final answer on the higgs, that is what we are in with the lhc for in 2012. let ’ s hope that in 2012 the oriental dragon, symbol of perseverance and success, will see our efforts bear fruit. to be alerted of new postings, follow me on twitter : @ gagnonpauline or sign - up on this mailing list to receive and e - mail notification.


this paper provides observations of physical fitness testing in texas schools and physical education teachers ' insights about large - scale testing using the fitnessgram [ r ] assessment ( cooper institute, 2007 ) as mandated by texas senate bill 530. in the first study, undergraduate and graduate students who were trained to observe and assess student fitness testing in grades 3 through 12 provided observations. in the second study, physical education teachers responded to selected interview questions during a focus group discussion. from the observations and responses, specific themes emerged related to teachers knowledge and training about conducting fitness testing and managing data, students ' knowledge and motivation, support and resources far conducting fitness assessments, and complexity of the fitness situation. key words : behaviors, perceptions, physical education teachers physical fitness and physical activity levels in children and adolescents have long been a topic of interest, especially to physical educators, exercise scientists, health agencies, and private organizations dealing with sport and fitness ( safrit, 1990 ). knowledge that children and adolescents in the united states are more obese and possibly less physically fit than their counterparts in other developed nations has been highlighted for more than two decades ( see dinubile, 1993 ; freedson, cureton, & heath, 2000 ; seefeldt & vogel, 1989 ). a number of nationwide youth fitness school - based physical education programs have been developed over the past 50 years, during which time several reports critically examined the strengths and weaknesses of the fitness batteries used in the programs ( e. g., freedson et al., 2000 ; keating, 2003 ; safrit, 1990 ; safrit & wood, 1995 ). hence, examining physical education classes or fitness assessment protocols to improve the experiences of all those involved is not a new concept ( e. g., stewart, boyce, elliot, & block, 2005 ). the beneficial impact of fitness testing programs, components, and certain test items has met with some skepticism due to the increased number of overweight children and adolescents and overweight, inactive adults ( keating, 2003 ; u. s. department of health and human services [ usdhhs ], 2008 ). findings from a few studies suggested that high physical fitness during childhood and young adulthood is related to a healthy risk factor profile later in life ; however, youth physical activity levels do not necessarily influence cardiovascular disease in later life ( harris & cale, 2006 ; twisk, kemper, & van mechelen, 2002a, 2002b ). education, government, healthcare, and business institutions, as well as parents and families should share


cardiovascular disease in later life ( harris & cale, 2006 ; twisk, kemper, & van mechelen, 2002a, 2002b ). education, government, healthcare, and business institutions, as well as parents and families should share the responsibility for u. s. children ' s and adolescents ' health and fitness ( austin, fung, cohen - bearak, wardle, & cheung, 2006 ). positive attempts to make large - scale changes include legislation such as texas senate bill ( sb ) 19, requiring students in publicly funded elementary and middle schools to participate in physical activity ; sb 42, that schools implement a coordinated health program ; or sb 530, mandating fitness testing of grade 3 - 12 students ( e. g., kelder et al., 2009 ). however, there is limited information about the issues and barriers teachers and administrators face when making these changes ( e. g., green & thurston, 2002 ). by documenting testing errors and best practices during large - scale fitness testing, a comprehensive understanding may guide future endeavors to ensure accountability and success. thus, this paper reports on teachers ' experiences during the texas state - mandated physical fitness assessments conducted in the second year of implementation. through anecdotal reports, experiences, and observations from physical education teachers and trained college students who conducted the mandated fitness testing, we provide an understanding of the issues and barriers to conducting physical fitness assessments and maintaining annual statewide physical fitness data. this paper entails two separate studies, ( a ) the observations of undergraduate and graduate students trained to use the fitnessgram [ r ] / activitygram [ r ] assessment tools ( cooper institute, 2007 ) and ( b ) physical education teachers ' thoughts and opinions about the state - mandated fitness testing program and the fitnessgram / activitygram assessment tools. the themes and the concerns that emerged from these investigations are presented here to aid future large - scale fitness testing. study 1 : testing observations the research team included one graduate student and eight undergraduate students enrolled in the department of kinesiology, health promotion, and recreation at the university of north texas ( morrow, martin, & jackson, 2010 ). all were trained in fitnessgram test administration, which included reading the training manual, watching an accompanying dvd demonstration, completing the online certification, hands - on training at the cooper institute and the university of north texas, and practice testing at two local middle schools prior to beginning the study. in addition, team members were trained to use standardized testing forms that listed specific criteria for fitnessgram test items


hands - on training at the cooper institute and the university of north texas, and practice testing at two local middle schools prior to beginning the study. in addition, team members were trained to use standardized testing forms that listed specific criteria for fitnessgram test items ( e. g., 15 - m pacer [ progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run ], 20 - m pacer, curl - up, pull - up, etc. ). they also practiced observing and recording errors in the testing procedures. expertly trained testing teams of two to four people traveled to schools to either observe teachers administer the fitness test items twice within a 2 - week period or observe teachers administer the fitness test items and then within 2 weeks re - administer the same test items ( for additional information on the protocol see morrow, martin, & jackson, 2010 ). hence, at least two team members were present in each session to record observations of teacher - administered testing or to conduct the testing. they recorded daily observations journals and test results on the standardized fitnessgram testing forms. recruiting and scheduling schools schools were recruited through telephone, email, fliers, and in - person meetings with teachers and district physical education representatives. elementary school teachers showed the most interest in study participation and signed up quickly for the research. they were placed in one of two groups : the teacher - administered fitness group, or the teacher - administered followed by expert team - administered fitness group. many elementary school physical education teachers already incorporated fitness testing elements into their curriculum and devoted entire units to teaching the fitnessgram test battery ; these factors provided an ideal opportunity for them to schedule time to participate in the study. recruiting middle and high school teachers and their students was difficult due, in part, to the physical education and physical activity requirements defined in sb 530 ( morrow, martin, & jackson, 2010 ), which are different from those for elementary schools. the physical activity requirements for elementary school ( first through fifth grades ) are 30 min / day or 135 min / week ( 45 min three times per week ) or 225 min over 2 weeks ( 45 min three times the first week, and 45 min twice the second week ). only four of six semesters of physical education were required in middle school ( sixth through eighth grades ), and the high school physical education requirement was 1. 5 years. not all students were required to enroll in physical education at the middle and ' high school levels. at some schools, nonphysical education students were released from other classes to complete the mandated physical education fitness testing. conversely, other schools opted to


for over ten years, raising a reader has been a leader in evidence - based literacy programming for young children. outcome data demonstrate that raising a reader effectively develops family reading habits and, by doing so, helps young children enter school ready to learn. raising a reader affiliates across the nation reflect the unique needs of their communities, enhance use of existing community services ( particularly local libraries ), and have a lasting impact on the lives of the children and families they touch. - 75 % increase in the number of parents who shared books with children five or more times per week ( norfolk, va ; 2004 ) - raising a reader five - year - olds in head start scored 69 % higher in pre - reading and 59 % higher in book knowledge than other head start five - year - old or older children. ( san francisco county, ca ; 2003 ) - 350 % increase in the percentage of spanish - speaking parents taking their preschool children to the library at least once per month ( santa clara county, ca ; 2001 ) “ one of my greatest concerns is that very young, low income families often have nothing but a television as a means of receiving information and enjoyment. often the reading / language skills assessed inchildren of these families are at the lower end of normal — rar turns this around! ” - - educator, multnomah county, or “ one local mother told us that her 8 year - old could not read and that she herself did not graduate from high school, but that her 4 year - old was learning to read because of raising a reader. she also shared that because of raising a reader, she was learning to read and she had been inspired to go back to school to get her ged. ” - - sarah bishop, united way of southampton roads, norfolk, va “ a family who participated in the library event had never taken their children to the library. the parents now have a library card and have returned to the library on their own. ” - - jeanne chisena, northeast michigan community service agency ( nemcsa ), alpena, mi “ raising a reader gives spanish speaking parents the ability to practice reading basic english in the privacy of their home which begins to build confidence to read outside the home. ” - - dawn ryan, preschool teacher, aspen, co raising a reader does more than just give children books in the hopes they will be read. rar helps families learn to share books so they can understand the delight that comes with reading ( ‘ book cuddling ’ ) and the power they have to help


mapping tutorial : zoom and navigation the tools for moving around inside the map are in the first section, on the left - hand side of the toolbar. zoom : click - drag with the mouse to zoom in graphically. click on the icon, then click - drag on the zone that you wish to enlarge. see also the navigation map section above. if the mouse has a scroll wheel, this will allow you to zoom in and out. move map : click - drag with the mouse to move around inside the map. click on the icon, then click - drag on the map to move in the desired direction. using this button is optional ; you can move around the map just with a click - and - drag. reframe : returns to the initial extent of the map. after zooming or moving around, click on the icon to return to the initial view of the map. search : locate a geographic unit by typing in its name or part of its name. click on the icon, type in the name or part of the name of the geographic unit you wish to locate, and then click on search. a list of geographic units containing the search term will appear. choose the geographic unit that you wish to see on the map from this list. see next : selection » see previous : « views and geographic levels


there has been a flurry of recent commentary concerning amazon drought – some of it good, some of it not so good. the good stuff has revolved around a recently - completed interesting field experiment that was run out of the woods hole research center ( not to be confused with the woods hole oceanographic institution ), where they have been examining rainforest responses to drought – basically by using a very large rainproof tent to divert precipitation at ground level ( the trees don ’ t get covered up ). as one might expect, a rainforest without rain does not do well! but exactly what happens when and how the biosphere responds are poorly understood. this 6 year long field experiment may provide a lot of good new data on plant strategies for dealing with drought which will be used to improve the models and our understanding of the system. the not - so - good part comes when this experiment is linked too directly to the ongoing drought in the southern amazon. in the experiment, older tree mortality increased markedly after the third year of no rain at all ( with around 1 in 10 trees dying ). since parts of the amazon are now entering a second year of drought ( possibly related to a persistent northward excursion of the itcz ), the assumption in the independent story ( with the headline ‘ one year to save the amazon ’ ) was that trees will start dying forest - wide next year should the drought continue. this is incorrect for a number of reasons. firstly, drought conditions are not the same as no rain at all – the rainfall deficit in the middle of the amazon is significant, but not close to 100 %! secondly, the rainfall deficits are quite regionally variable, so a forest - wide response is highly unlikely. also, the trees won ’ t all die in just one more year and could recover, depending on yearly variation in climate. while this particular article is exaggerated, there are, however, some issues that should provoke genuine concern. worries about the effects of the prolonged drought ( and other natural and human - related disturbances ) in the amazon are indeed widespread and are partly related to the idea that there may be a ‘ tipping point ’ for the rainforest ( see this recent article for some background ). this idea is exemplified in a study last year ( hutrya et al, 2005 ) which looked at the sharp transition between forest and savannah and related that to the coupling of drought incidence and wild fires with the forest ecosystem. modelling work has suggested that the amazon may have two vegetation / regional climate equilibria due to vegetation and climate tending to reinforce each other


transition between forest and savannah and related that to the coupling of drought incidence and wild fires with the forest ecosystem. modelling work has suggested that the amazon may have two vegetation / regional climate equilibria due to vegetation and climate tending to reinforce each other if one is pushed in a particular direction ( oyama and nobre, 2003 ). the two alternative states could be one rainforested and wet like today, the other mainly savannah and dry in the eastern amazon. thus there is a fear that too much drought or disturbance could flip parts of the forest into a more savannah - like state. however, there is a great deal of uncertainty in where these thresholds may lie and how likely they are to be crossed, and the rate at which change will occur. models go from predicting severe and rapid change ( cox et al, 2004 ), to relatively mild changes ( friedlingstein et al ( 2003 ) ). locally these responses can be dramatic, but of course, these changes also have big implications for total carbon cycle feedback and so have global consequences as well. part of that uncertainty is related to the very responses that are being monitored in the whrc experiment and so while i would hesitate to make a direct link, indirectly these results may have big consequences for what we think may happen to the amazon in the future. special thanks to nancy kiang for taking the time to discuss this with me. update : whrc comments on the articles below.