you must be familiar with slope - intercept form ( y = mx + b ), and understand which numbers in the equation are m and b, and how to graph them. mark b on the graph, then graph the slope ( m ) from that point. inequalities are very similar, with only a few differences : - it ' s not a line of solutions as in a linear equation ; it is a solid or dashed boundary line that shows on which side all the solutions are. - shade above or below the boundary line, showing on which side all the solutions are. - change the direction of the inequality ( >, < ) if you divide by a negative number. your work by using ( 0, 0 ) as a test point. this will help you know if your answer is correct, and if you forgot to change the direction of the inequality. these videos cover the same topic, but go about solving in slightly different ways. i watched all of them, and gleaned a little more from each one. ( 1 ) from yourteacher. com - graphing using a table ( 2 ) boundary line ( 3 ) graphing using slope - intercept form, y = mx + b ( 4 ) graphing using slope - intercept form. he is fast, so pause and read the text on the board. ( 5 ) graphing using slope - intercept form


by oliver lamere retold by richard l. dieterle when the villagers found out about this they went hunting for the raccoon. as hard as he tried, raccoon could not control his laughter, and soon the villagers found him. after they shot him dead, they took his hide and fastened it to a tree trunk. commentary. " fell into the lake " — raccoons have the odd habit of taking their prey and " washing " them in water before eating them. ( few scientists actually believe that they are washing their food, but just what they are doing is a subject of speculation. ) thus the raccoon causes many other animals to take an unwilling bath, in a way that looks like a cruel joke. " raccoon could not control his laughter " — in contemporary america, raccoons are noted for the mischief they cause in invading trash cans to eat discarded food. they generally come out only in the dark when all humans are blind, but the noise they make in the course of this mischief usually gives them away, making it easy for hunters to dispatch them. " a tree trunk " — ne other waika associates tree trunks with raccoons. the association may derive at least partly from raccoons using the water that collects in tree stumps to emerse their food before eating it. however, there is probably much more to it. comparative material : a lakota story has some interesting similarities to our hocak tale. one day as hare was wandering about, he encountered a solitary lodge that looked very much like an oak tree. there inside he found an old man who had gone completely blind. the grandfather told hare that the great spirit had provided for him by giving him bags of food of the very best kind so that he would not be in want ; furthermore, a rope path had been constructed to the lake, and another one out into the woods where firewood could be gathered. hare thought this an idyllic life, and offered to trade his own eyes for the grandfather ' s lodge. the grandfather warned him, but hare would not be dissuaded. so the two of them made the trade. hare loved the easy and tasty food, but had to go to the lake to fetch some water. unlike the old grandfather, hare walked briskly and when he stumbled, he pulled half the rope down. soon he was navigating without any guide and suddenly fell down a slippery slope into the lake. later he went out to fetch firewood, but broke that


grandfather, hare walked briskly and when he stumbled, he pulled half the rope down. soon he was navigating without any guide and suddenly fell down a slippery slope into the lake. later he went out to fetch firewood, but broke that rope too, and could not find his way back. so he called upon his brother, who could always hear him, for aid. his brother brought the grandfather back and the traded back again. the old man liked the bow and arrow, but was too feeble to easily use them and was glad to be back to his lodge in the oak tree. the hidatsa story replaces raccoon with coyote. one day coyote was traveling about when he came across a lodge with a string attached to it leading down to the river bank. there he saw an old man fishing. inside the lodge was another very old man sleeping. he soon discovered that both these men were blind. the man at the river caught a fish, but coyote quietly scooped it up and brought it back to the lodge. the other man got up and began to prepare a kettle for the fish he found inside. meanwhile, the other old man noticed his fish was missing. the second man told him that he had a fish, and that they could share it, but coyote had taken the fish and eaten everything but the bones, which he threw back into the pot. when they took out the fish, they found only bones. each accused the other of having eaten it. coyote swatted each with a hot poker, and they were soon fighting one another. eventually, they realized that they had been hit with a single stick, but by then coyote had gone back to the village. stories : featuring raccoons as characters : the abduction and rescue of trickster, the were - fish, lake waksikhomigra ( mendota ) : the origin of its name, the spirit of maple bluff, bladder and his brothers, the raccoon coat, trickster and the mothers ; mentioning blind people : a raccoon tricks four blind men, hare visits the blind men, the raccoon coat, big eagle cave mystery, the roaster, eats the stinking part of the deer ankle, owl goes hunting. themes : blindness : the raccoon coat, a raccoon tricks four blind men, hare visits the blind men, big eagle cave mystery, thunderbird and white horse ; people are led astray by a raccoon : a raccoon tricks four blind men, bladder and his brothers


starting point : pedagogic resources for teaching and learning economics abstractthis article describes starting point : teaching and learning economics, a web - based portal that makes innovative pedagogic resources and effective teaching practices easily accessible to economists. starting point introduces economists to teaching innovations through 16 online modules, each containing a general description of a specific pedagogic method, theory and evidence supporting effective use of the method, classroom implementation guides, and a library of economics - based examples that illustrate use of the teaching method. in addition, each module includes an online form allowing faculty to contribute their own classroom - based teaching examples to the examples library. download infoif you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. in case of further problems read the ideas help page. note that these files are not on the ideas site. please be patient as the files may be large. bibliographic infoarticle provided by taylor and francis journals in its journal the journal of economic education. volume ( year ) : 43 ( 2012 ) issue ( month ) : 2 ( april ) contact details of provider : you can help add them by filling out this form. reading list or among the top items on ideas. access and download statistics for technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact : ( michael mcnulty ). if references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.


the anatomy of health insurance in : handbook of health economics abstractthis article describes the anatomy of health insurance. it begins by considering the optimal design of health insurance policies. such policies must make tradeoffs appropriately between risk sharing on the one hand and agency problems such as moral hazard ( the incentive of people to seek more care when they are insured ) and supplier - induced demand ( the incentive of physicians to provide more care when they are well reimbursed ) on the other. optimal coinsurance arrangements make patients pay for care up to the point where the marginal gains from less risk sharing are just offset by the marginal benefits from reduced provision of low valued care. empirical evidence shows that both moral hazard and demand - inducement are quantitatively important. coinsurance based on expenditure is a crude control mechanism. moreover, it places no direct incentives on physicians, who are responsible for most expenditure decisions. to place such incentives on physicians is the goal of supply - side cost containment measures, such as utilization review and capitation. this goal motivates the surge in managed care in the united states, which unites the functions of insurance and provision, and allows for active management of the care that is delivered. the analysis then turns to the operation of health insurance markets. economists generally favor choice in health insurance for the same reasons they favor choice in other markets : choice allows people to opt for the plan that is best for them and encourages plans to provide services efficiently. but choice in health insurance is a mixed blessing because of adverse selection - - the tendency of the sick to choose more generous insurance than the healthy. when sick and healthy enroll in different plans, plans disproportionately composed of poor risks have to charge more than they would if they insured an average mix of people. the resulting high premiums create two adverse effects : they discourage those who are healthier but would prefer generous care from enrolling in those plans ( because the premiums are so high ), and they encourage plans to adopt measures that deter the sick from enrolling ( to reduce their overall costs ). the welfare losses from adverse selection are large in practice. added to them are further losses from premiums that vary with observable health status. because insurance is contracted for annually, people are denied a valuable form of intertemporal insurance - - the right to buy health coverage at average rates in the future should they get sick today. as the ability to predict future health status increases, the lack of intertemporal insurance will become more problematic. the article concludes


##temporal insurance - - the right to buy health coverage at average rates in the future should they get sick today. as the ability to predict future health status increases, the lack of intertemporal insurance will become more problematic. the article concludes by relating health insurance to the central goal of medical care expenditures - - better health. studies to date are not clear on which approaches to health insurance promote health in the most cost - efficient manner. resolving this question is the central policy concern in health economics. download infoif you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. in case of further problems read the ideas help page. note that these files are not on the ideas site. please be patient as the files may be large. this chapter was published in : this item is provided by elsevier in its series handbook of health economics with number v : 1 : 1 - 11. contact details of provider : web page : http : / / www. elsevier. com / wps / find / bookseriesdescription. cws _ home / bs _ he / description other versions of this item : - i1 - health, education, and welfare - - health you can help add them by filling out this form. blog mentionsas found by econacademics. org, the blog aggregator for economics research : citec project, subscribe to its rss feed for this item. this item has more than 25 citations. to prevent cluttering this page, these citations are listed on a separate page. reading list or among the top items on ideas. access and download statistics for technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact : ( wendy shamier ). if references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.


financing lifelong learning abstractthis paper describes and analyzes different financial schemes to promote lifelong learning. considered are financial instruments to stimulate successful early learning, financial aid schemes and subsidization mechanisms. theoretical analyses about funding of early learning have mainly focused on vouchers. yet, the available empirical evidence is more ambiguous about the effects of vouchers than about the effects of conditional cash transfers and financial incentives for pupils and teachers. positive effects of financial incentives to pupils are not restricted to high ability pupils, as low ability students also seem to benefit. the evidence regarding the effects of subsidy forms is limited. the most prominent knowledge gaps regarding the effects of various financing schemes related to lifelong learning are the effects of vouchers in compulsory education ; financial aid schemes for students ; and entitlements and individual learning accounts. download infoif you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. in case of further problems read the ideas help page. note that these files are not on the ideas site. please be patient as the files may be large. bibliographic infopaper provided by the world bank in its series policy research working paper series with number 4569. date of creation : 01 mar 2008 date of revision : tertiary education ; access to finance ; primary education ; teaching and learning ; economics of education ; this paper has been announced in the following nep reports : you can help add them by filling out this form. citec project, subscribe to its rss feed for this item. - peter w jones, 2005. " financing for life long education : for real gdp growth in jamaica, " development and comp systems 0511022, econwpa. for technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact : ( roula i. yazigi ). if references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.


charles stuart ballantine born : 22 september 1897 born on september 22, 1897, at germantown, philadelphia, pennsylvania, mr. ballantine ' s interest in radio developed from a boyhood hobby to a life work. he was educated at drexel institute, and in the graduate school of harvard university, specializing in mathematical physics. during the first world war he served as an expert radio aide in the philadelphia navy yard, where he had charge of the development of the navy coil - type compass, a forerunner of radar. he discovered the " antenna effect " in coil - type systems and invented the capacity compensator for its control. in 1923 he was awarded the john tyndall fellowship in physics at harvard university. at this time he developed the principle of negative feedback to stabilize and reduce distortion in transmission circuits, modulators, amplifiers, and detectors. mr. ballantine engaged in extensive studies of detection at high signal levels, fluctuation noise in radio receivers and tubes, development of technique for sound measurements of loudspeakers and receivers, microphone calibration, and broadcast receiver design. he invented a method of stabilizing radio - frequency amplifiers by means of a wheatstone - bridge circuit, and in 1929 made important contributions to the design and use of vacuum tubes for radio receiving sets, later improving condenser microphones in such a way as to permit increased fidelity in the transmission of sound programs. one of the most widely known of his many contributions to radio was his invention of the first " throat microphone " to pick up voice sounds directly from the larynx, a device of major importance to aviators, later widely used by the army air force. he founded the ballantine laboratories in 1934 and was its president until his death. mr. ballantine joined the institute of radio engineers as an associate in 1916 and transferred to the fellow grade in 1928. he organized the philadelphia section of the institute in 1920, acting as its chairman until 1926. he served on numerous committees of the institute, and was its president in 1935. he was a member of the franklin institute, the radio club of america, the american institute of electrical engineers, and the american association for the advancement of science. he was also a fellow of the american physical society and the acoustical society of america. he was awarded the morris liebmann memorial prize by the institute of radio engineers in 1931 for his outstanding accomplishments in acoustical and electrical inventions, and in 1934 he received the elliott cresson gold medal from the franklin


in the third lesson of this course, you will learn to say how you ’ re doing, ask about others and say where you are. first, a review of what you know. you can say what something is : 1 translation : this is tea. ( this - tea. ) you can also say that something is good : 2 translation : this tea good. you can ask if something ( like coffee - kofe ) is good ( using mi ) : 3 translation : this coffee good? you can say that something is not ( emas ) good : 4 translation : this coffee good not. you can ask where ( qayerda ) something ( like the hotel - bu mehmonxona ) is : 5 translation : the hotel where? you can say where something is. 6 translation : here 7 translation : there 8 translation : at the hotel you know how to say that is good : u yaxshi }. but if you want to say that you are good, you use an ending, [ man : i am good = yaxshiman say you are good : 9 translation : good - am. in uzbek, you don ’ t need the subject pronoun, i ( men ), but you can add it for emphasis : 10 translation : i good - am. you can also use this with " post - positional phrases ". i am in the room = ( men ) bu xonadaman ( xona : room + - da : in + - man : am ) emphasizing the i by starting with men, say i am at the hotel : 11 translation : i hotel - at - am. now say i am here. 12 translation : i here - am. the word for you is siz. and - siz is the ending for saying ( you ) are. so asking where someone is goes like this : where are you? = you where - at - are? = siz qayerdasiz? 13 translation : where are you? and how would you say, you are there ( use siz at the beginning for emphasis ) : 14 translation : you are there. when you use the question word mi with the endings man and siz, it comes before these personal endings : are you good? = siz yaxshimisiz? ( yaxshi : good + mi :? + siz : are ) are you here? = siz buyerdamisiz? ( bu : this + yer : place + da : at + mi :? +


##xshimisiz? ( yaxshi : good + mi :? + siz : are ) are you here? = siz buyerdamisiz? ( bu : this + yer : place + da : at + mi :? + siz : are ) how would you ask, are you at the hotel? ( skip the emphatic siz ) : 15 translation : this hotel - at -? - are give the answer, yes, i ’ m at the hotel : 16 translation : yes, this hotel - at - am. as you know, emas is not. to negate a sentence with - man or - siz, add them to emas. so, to say you ’ re not at the hotel goes like this : i am not at the hotel = this hotel - at not - am = bu mehmonxonada emasman say you ’ re not in the room : 17 translation : this room - at not - am. let ’ s have a short phone conversation. note that when i and you are in surrounded by dashes ( - i - ), you should start the sentence with men or siz for emphasis. your colleague starts by asking if you are well. 18 translation : are you well? 19 translation : - i - am well. are - you - well? he answers, yaxshi, good, then asks where you are. 20 translation : where are - you -? tell him you ’ re at the hotel. 21 translation : i ’ m at the hotel. he says he ’ ll see you later and you hang up, before preparing for lesson 4. in the next lesson, you ’ ll learn more about postpositions and how to ask for things.


for many of us, the term “ american indian ” brings to mind stories of indians ’ mastery of agriculture, and how they gave the earliest european settlers a few pointers that may have kept them alive. american indians ’ connection to the land — land they worked and harvested before anyone else — is ingrained in their identity. but sadly, over the last century or so, many indian traditions — including their practices of agriculture and cooking — became diluted or disappeared completely. sustainable economic development became hard to come by, and poverty skyrocketed. as a result, nutrition — followed by overall health — deteriorated among native peoples. without indigenous sources of food, junk food consumption became the norm. today, american indians and alaska natives are almost twice as likely ( 39. 4 percent ) as white americans ( 24. 3 percent ) to be obese, meaning they have a body - mass index of 30 or greater. perhaps most startling of all, american indians have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the nation, 16. 1 percent, compared to other major racial and ethnic groups — and more than twice that of white americans. but could an agricultural revolution, led by the tribes ’ youngest members, reverse this disturbing health trend among indians? when agriculture lawyer janie simms hipp, herself a citizen of the chickasaw nation, looks at recent data and the growing number of agriculture projects popping up among the nation ’ s 566 federally recognized tribes, she is hopeful. for one, the number of farms run by american indians or alaska natives almost doubled between 2002 and 2007, according to the united states department of agriculture ’ s census ( the 2012 census numbers have not been released yet ). and according to the national congress of american indians, agriculture is now the second largest employer of native people in the united states. “ there ’ s this growing realization that tribes that have access to land are ramping up their agricultural production, ” hipp says. “ it ’ s still a small percentage of overall number of farms, but when you start to put the lens around it that it is in proportion to native people ’ s general population and their utilization of the land in indian country, it really starts to have a pretty profound picture. ” but hipp adds that it doesn ’ t mean these agriculture projects are economically or environmentally sustainable, not to mention the difficulty tribal leaders have in creating policies around agriculture production. these problems led hipp and stacy leeds from the university of arkansas school of law — the nation ’ s only american indian law school dean — to en


economically or environmentally sustainable, not to mention the difficulty tribal leaders have in creating policies around agriculture production. these problems led hipp and stacy leeds from the university of arkansas school of law — the nation ’ s only american indian law school dean — to envision a legal entity that could shepherd tribes through issues of food systems, agriculture and community sustainability. having most recently served as the senior adviser for tribal relations to usda secretary thomas vilsack, hipp now serves as the founding director of the university of arkansas school of law ’ s indigenous food and agriculture initiative — which will work with tribes and tribal leaders to craft policies and business models that bolster sustainable food systems not only as a means of nutrition, but as an economic driver for the community. “ there ’ s a lot of awareness, a lot of interest, ” hipp says. “ what we haven ’ t had really is a focused interest in how you govern around food and agriculture. how does a tribal chairperson craft policy that resonates among their people, but also speaks to how they will deal with food issues around the reservation? ” rethinking these issues could not come soon enough for many american indian tribes, either, given the health epidemics that have taken hold in many communities. in 2011, the cdc reported that a third of the american indians in southern arizona have been diagnosed with diabetes, and in other native communities half or more of the adult population is diabetic. a recent study found that only 16 percent of native americans have a healthful diet, a reality hipp believes is largely brought on by poverty and lack of food access. “ when you are living in a community where 80 percent of the people are unemployed and no one can afford to put in food outlets, you get in a car with other people and you drive 100 miles off reservation to get food, ” she says. “ you can ’ t make that drive every day, so you are going to by definition pick up as many foods as you can that have as long a shelf life as possible. ” for hipp, hope for the future comes from looking at the energy of young american indians. like young people in the general population, there is evidence to suggest that native youth are more interested in food issues than their parents. the nationwide future farmers of america organization counts 12, 000 american indians among its membership. on a visit last fall to a tribal college in north dakota, hipp saw four community gardens on campus, and students reported gardens starting up in the numerous tribal communities that send youth to


sex, gender, and sport at the olympic games this summer, competitors from around the world will present dazzling displays of athleticism and sportsmanship — that is, if they meet the international olympic committee ’ s ( ioc ) sex criteria. on june 22nd, just five weeks before the opening ceremonies in london, the ioc ruled that testosterone levels will be used to determine the eligibility of olympic athletes to compete in female - only events. this ruling came as a result of the controversial and humiliating investigation of caster semenya, the south african middle distance runner whose muscular physique and brilliant win in the 800 meters at the 2009 world championships raised questions about her sex. at the time these doubts were voiced, the international association of athletics federations ( iaaf ) lacked a clear policy for investigating such concerns. semenya was subjected to invasive medical testing and was banned from competition while the investigation continued. she was reinstated in 2010 and was recently named south africa ’ s flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the london games. sex verification is not new ; questions about the “ true ” sex of olympic athletes have been raised since the 1920s, when women were first allowed to compete. tests — which counted the number of x chromosomes, or tested for the presence of sry, a gene on the y chromosome — looked for a single biological determinant of sex. in the 1960s, the ioc instituted universal testing, but ditched the mandate in 1999. single - sex sporting events exist to create fair and equal competitive environments, and in theory, sex testing protects the sanctity of these events. however, in the long history of official and non - official sex testing of female competitors, only a few men have been “ caught. ” instead, sex testing tends to uncover intersex characteristics and other disorders of sexual development ( dsd ) in women. the ioc ’ s new policy will not impose sex testing on all female athletes, but will only focus on female athletes whose sex is called into question and who are thought by an ioc or national olympic committee medical officer to have hyperandrogenism — higher than usual levels of testosterone. testosterone is a hormone naturally produced in men by the testes, in women by the ovaries, and in both sexes by the adrenal glands. if an athlete does not pass the exam, she will be prohibited from competing until she lowers her testosterone levels, either surgically or pharmaceutically. the policy is based on the beliefs that normal male and female testosterone levels do not overlap and that excess testosterone gives an unfair advantage


not pass the exam, she will be prohibited from competing until she lowers her testosterone levels, either surgically or pharmaceutically. the policy is based on the beliefs that normal male and female testosterone levels do not overlap and that excess testosterone gives an unfair advantage because of its muscle building properties. however, many have denounced the policy as scientifically flawed, questioning the supposed gap between male and female testosterone ranges. furthermore, testosterone levels alone cannot predict athletic ability because every individual body responds differently to the hormone. although most people think of sex as a simple male - female binary, there is actually profound variation in the sex of even “ normal ” people. sex can be identified using at least six markers : chromosomes, gonads, hormones, secondary sex characteristics, and external and internal genitalia. no two people have exactly the same combination of these characteristics. the controversy over the ioc ’ s ruling is indicative of much larger societal uncertainties regarding gender and sexuality. is our binary approach to sex out of date? the ioc ’ s new policy is flawed and unfair, but it has forced us to reevaluate our views. while it is tempting to think that anyone who doesn ’ t fulfill traditional sex and gender expectations is a rare exception to biological rules, we must remember that none of us are really normal. sex isn ’ t just male or female, but a complex equation of factors. there will always be athletes with natural advantages — height, musculature, mental toughness, better work ethic, the list goes on. and there will always be winners and losers, too — that ’ s a fact of sport. so should a higher than normal testosterone level disqualify a woman from competing? probably not : hormone levels don ’ t necessarily confer an unfair advantage, and they certainly don ’ t determine sex on their own. although the ioc ’ s new rule was an earnest attempt to save competitors from embarrassing physical tests, it is neither scientifically nor ethically sound. testosterone testing isn ’ t the right solution. katrina hacker is a summer intern at the montefiore - einstein center for bioethics. she is a rising senior at princeton university, where she studies the history of science. after graduation, she plans to complete a post - baccalaureate pre - med program and attend medical school.


botanical name : dioscorea villosa © steven foster wild yam plants are found across the midwestern and eastern united states, latin america ( especially mexico ), and asia. several different species exist. all of which possess similar constituents and properties. the root is used medicinally. wild yam has been used in connection with the following conditions ( refer to the individual health concern for complete information ) : | science ratings | | health concerns | and relatively consistent scientific data showing a substantial health benefit. contradictory, insufficient, or preliminary studies suggesting a health benefit or minimal health benefit. for an herb, supported by traditional use but minimal or no scientific evidence. for a supplement, little scientific support and / or minimal health benefit. wild yam has been used by herbalists as an expectorant for people with coughs. it was also used for gastrointestinal upset, nerve pain, and morning sickness. 1 eventually, it was discovered that the saponins from wild yam could be converted industrially into cortisone, estrogens, and progesterone - like compounds. wild yam and other plants with similar constituents continue to be a source for these drugs. the steroidal saponins ( such as diosgenin ) account for some of the activity of wild yam. another compound, dioscoretine, has been shown in animal studies to lower blood sugar levels. 2 an extract of wild yam was also found in a clinical trial to have antioxidant properties and raised hdl, the “ good, ” cholesterol in elderly adults. 3 contrary to popular claims, wild yam roots do not contain and are not converted into progesterone or dehydroepiandrosterone ( dhea ) in the body. 4 5 pharmaceutical progesterone is made from wild yam using a chemical conversion process. this can lead to confusion — while wild yam can be a source of progesterone, it cannot be used without this pharmaceutical conversion, which cannot be duplicated by the body. women who require progesterone should consult with their physician and not rely on wild yam supplements. up to 2 – 3 ml of wild yam tincture can be taken three to four times per day. alternatively, 1 gram of dried, powdered root can be taken three times each day. 6 some people may experience nausea or vomiting when taking large amounts of wild yam ( several times the amounts listed above ). the safety of wild


per day. alternatively, 1 gram of dried, powdered root can be taken three times each day. 6 some people may experience nausea or vomiting when taking large amounts of wild yam ( several times the amounts listed above ). the safety of wild yam during pregnancy and breast feeding has not been established. at the time of writing, there were no well - known drug interactions with wild yam. 1. lust jb. the herb book. new york : bantam books, 1974, 401. 2. iwu mm, okunji co, ohiaeri go, et al. hypoglycaemic activity of dioscoretine from tubers of dioscorea dumetorum in normal and alloxan diabetic rabbits. planta med 1990 ; 56 : 264 – 7. 3. araghiniknam m, chung s, nelson - white t, et al. antioxidant activity of dioscorea and dehydroepiandrosterone ( dhea ) in older humans. life sci 1996 ; 11 : 147 – 57. 4. araghiniknam m, chung s, nelson - white t, et al. antioxidant activity of dioscorea and dehydroepiandrosterone ( dhea ) in older humans. life sci 1996 ; 11 : 147 – 57. 5. dollbaum cm. lab analyses of salivary dhea and progesterone following ingestion of yam - containing products. townsend letter for doctors and patients oct 1995 : 104. 6. bertram t. encyclopedia of herbal medicine. dorset, england : grace publishers, 1995, 454. copyright © 2007 healthnotes, inc. all rights reserved. www. healthnotes. com learn more about healthnotes, the company. learn more about the authors of healthnotes. the information presented in healthnotes is for informational purposes only. it is based on scientific studies ( human, animal, or in vitro ), clinical experience, or traditional usage as cited in each article. the results reported may not necessarily occur in all individuals. for many of the conditions discussed, treatment with prescription or over the counter medication is also available. consult your doctor, practitioner, and / or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements or before making any changes in prescribed medications. information expires september 2008.


can occur anywhere in the world where convective storms occur. near mountainous terrain, the additional uplift often increases hail occurrences. some of the highest frequencies of hail occur in western china and northern india. hail also occurs frequently near the alps in europe, andes in s. america, and in mountainous east africa. australia also has hail, particularly in new south wales. for information on australian hail, see : http : / / www. boin. gov. au / weather / nsw / sevwx / hailfact. shtml for the 1999 sidney, australia hailstorm. the climatology of hailstorms in great britain may be seen at : http : / / www. torro. org. in the united states, hails most frequently occur in hail alley : the great plains states, especially northeastern colorado and southeastern wyoming, receive more hail yearly than any other part of the united states. the states experiencing the most frequent hail include : colorado, wyoming, nebraska, kansas, texas, and oklahoma. hail in this area of the country is most likely to fall late in the afternoon during the months of may and june and is often responsible for extensive crop loss, property damage and livestock deaths. while hail is most frequent in ne colorado, severe hail ( 3 / 4 ” or greater, or damaging ) shows highest frequencies further east, in oklahoma. geography of large hail large hail is known to farmers and insurance companies as the most destructive. in the map below, hail of 2 ” and greater is mapped. ( source : nssl, noaa ) to look for hail occurrences in any state of the united states, please go to http : / / www. nssl. noaa. gov / hazard / hazardmap. html a map of severe hail in colorado shows that not all of the state has high risk for damaging hail. however, of the 1200 reported events, clusters appear in ne colorado over the high plains parallel to the rocky mountains. distribution of severe hail in colorado. for more information on colorado hail, please go to hailstorm of 1998 is discussed at : canadian hailstorms occur most frequently to the east of the rockies in alberta, with damaging hail also occurring along the southern portions of the prairie for information on hailstorm patterns in alberta using radar, see :


download full text ( 640 kb ) decision - making problems in water resources are often associated with multiple objectives and multiple stakeholders. to enable more effective and acceptable decision outcome, it is required that more participation is ensured in the decision making process. this is particularly relevant for flood management problems where the number of stakeholders could be very large. although application of multi - objective decision - making tools in water resources is very wide, application with the consideration of multiple stakeholders is much more limited. the solution methodologies adapted for multi - objective multi - participant decision problems are generally based on aggregation of decisions obtained for individual decision makers. this approach seems somewhat inadequate when the number of stakeholders is very large, as often is the case in flood management. the present study has been performed to have an overview of existing solution methodologies for multi - objective decision making approaches in water resources. decision making by single and multiple stakeholders has been considered under both deterministic and uncertain conditions. it has been found that the use of fuzzy set theory to represent various uncertainties associated with decision making situations under multi - objective multiple - participant environment is very promising. coupled with multi - objective methods ( e. g. compromise programming and goal programming ), fuzzy approach has also the ability to support group decisions, to reflect collective opinions and conflicting judgments. department of civil and environmental engineering, the university of western ontario london, ontario, canada overview, multiple objectives, multiple stakeholders, decision - making, flood management civil and environmental engineering akter, taslima and simonovic, slobodan p., " a general overview of multi - objective multiple - participant decision making for flood management " ( 2002 ). water resources research report. book 4.


i am usually questioned by friends regarding java io. questions usually revolve between byte and char conversion and what determines the codepage used. my answer to them is always the same : if you are using streams you are dealing with bytes and if you are dealing with readers and writers then you are dealing with chars ( usually you specified codepage to be used or it is using system default ). i usually tell them to distrust any class named somethingstream that have any method that operates over strings ( eg. : servletoutputstream ) cause they ’ ll usually do some implicit conversion ( either using system codepage or something else out of your control ). i ’ ve prepared a diagram to clarify the main java io classes ( and their main methods also ) : on the bottom you ’ ll find stream classes, they operate on bytes so codepage here is irrelevant. in the middle you ’ ll find conversion classes : those are the ones that allow you to forcefully define a codepage, they are the bridge classes that allow you to plug a writer on an outputstream or a reader on an inputstream. you may use them to specify, for example, a codepage for writing on a tcp socket. and lastly, on top, you ’ ll find character ( and therefore string ) oriented classes : reader and writer. you may have noticed that i have included the buffered version of the stream classes. the output one provides better performance under certain scenarios. the bufferedinputstream on the other hand allows you to mark and rewind its content, something usually useful for implementing protocol interpreters.


entanglement of large whales a new area of work for the iwc is to assist countries and properly trained individuals in responding to large whales that have become entangled in fishing gear or other marine debris. entanglement of all species of large whales can occur, at varying rates, throughout their geographical range. such events create severe welfare issues for the entangled animal which may ultimately die. an additional, and very important consideration lies with the safety of teams tasked with attempting to free an entangled whale. the iwc has addressed this issue by holding two international workshops in order to develop recommendations for action. the first workshop was held in 2010 in maui, hawaii and its report can be found here. this report includes several recommendations, including to establish local response capabilities, with appropriate national authority. it developed an assessment and decision tree for structuring the response to entangled whales, and also addressed the question of euthanasia should all efforts to free an animal fail. the report of the second workshop, held in provincetown ( usa ) in 2011 can be found here. this workshop was attended by representatives from every major whale disentanglement response team in the world, and its recommendations were developed by drawing on their collective experiences. the workshop recognised the benefits that would arise from the formation of a global network of large whale entanglement response organisations, and suggested that there would be great value in the network being established under the auspices of the iwc. since the conclusion of the workshop the iwc ’ s secretariat has continued to promote the development of large whale entanglement response teams around the world by conducting a training programme, which uses the principles and guidelines, training strategy and curriculum developed by the global network at the provincetown workshop ( appendi e and f of the report ). click here to be taken to our entanglement photo gallery


the different pitch accent patterns is easily the most noticeable phonetic difference when you look at the kansaiben dialects ( and it ' s important to mention that this is a group of dialects rather than a single dialect with no internal regional variation ), so it ' s easy to conclude that this is the only real different in pronunciation between standard japanese and kansaiben. if i understand correctly you are not interested in the many differences in vocabulary and grammar between the two dialects, so i ' ll stick to phonetics and phonology. in the realm of basic phonology, modern kansaiben seems to maintain more or less the same phoneme distinctions as standard japanese. it doesn ' t have ( or at least i ' m not aware of ) distinctions that don ' t exist in standard japanese such as distinguishing an extra consonant or vowel sound. when kansaiben does seem to differ phonologically, it ' s usually deeper into the territory where these phonological differences may have already morphed into vocabulary differences. kansaiben has a noted tendency to extend short, one - mora words ( a lot of which are body part names ), into two - morae words by lengthening the vowels. oddly enough, these words also may have different pitch accents depending on the word, so ( 目, eye ) has a lh pitch, while (, hair ) has an hl pitch and ( ) blood bears a flat hh pitch. in standard japanese there are only two possible pitch patterns for these words and they can both be properly distinguished only if some particle follows that word ( because the pitch accent is relative and can only be distinguished when hearing the pitch rising or falling ). while short - vowels in one - mora words are lengthened, long vowels are sometimes shortened ( as in the long o - form of verbs ) and conversely again, a っ ( small - tsu ) sound is often replaced by lengthening of the previous vowels. but both of these changes are not as regular or sweeping as the previous one, and they seem to fall more properly into the realms of vocabulary and grammar. sometimes the boundary between phonology and vocabulary becomes quite murky, and this seems to be the case here. even the lengthening of one - mora words, which does seem to be sweeping, is probably not an enforced phonological constraint anymore, since practically any young ( as in younger than 50 years old : ) ) kansaiben speaker can easily say these words without lengthening the vowel, and


, which does seem to be sweeping, is probably not an enforced phonological constraint anymore, since practically any young ( as in younger than 50 years old : ) ) kansaiben speaker can easily say these words without lengthening the vowel, and in fact most do just that when they speak standard japanese. this is actually a tendency you everywhere in the modernized world, where mass media and higher mobilization has caused people to be bilingual in both their dialect and the standard language. this means that even if your dialect lacks some phoneme that is present in the standard language, when you borrow that word into your dialect you ' re much more likely to keep this phoneme as - is, since you can pronounce it anyway. but there is one phonological feature of kansaiben ( besides the accent ) which is strikingly different from standard japanese and cannot be attributed to vocabulary : devoicing of vowels. i think the video jkerian linked makes this quite apparent : when tokyo chicken and osaka dog pronounce ( chopsticks ), they don ' t only differ by the pitch accent they use, but also by how much they elide the last vowel of the word. tokyo chicken sometimes discards the vowel completely ( saying [ haʃ ] instead of [ haʃi ] ), but osaka dog will always pronounce it. in general, devoicing of the vowels / i / and / u /, which is so common in standard japanese, is much more rare in kansaiben. what ' s more interesting, is that even if it does occur, it may not necessarily occur in the same places as in standard japanese, since the pitch accent does have some influence on whether a vowel gets elided or not. in this case, if tokyo chicken would have said with the same pitch accent as osaka dog ( or if it just said 橋 or in tokyo dialect, like it did later ), the vowel / i / would never get devoiced.


look for the best html books to get you up to speed or hone your skills? html is easy to learn, understand, and master. partnered with css, it is the building block of all web design and development today. if you are just starting out learning web languages, a html crash course is where you want to start. it ’ s best to first develop both your traditional html and css skills, then move on to building a working knowledge of what ’ s new with html5 and css3. html and css : design and build websites this book is one that delivers html and css in a way that makes it accessible to everyone – hobbyists, students, bloggers and professionals. it is primarily aimed at those new to the subject. if you ’ re looking for a great book to introduce web design and development to someone, then this one is a definite winner. extremely visual in nature and beautifully designed, this book presents concepts and codes with full - colour diagrams, figures and screenshots. the information is well organised and explained in a very easy to follow manner. it covers relevant topics that go beyond html, including deploying your file and incorporating google analytics into your site. the # 1 book on this list for good reason. read more.. head first html with css & xhtml the head first series is renowned for presenting information to beginners in a clear, fun and informative manner. the book is a breeze to follow and introduces its audience to html through examples, case studies and flowing text. it manages to take the conceptually easy but sometimes difficult to grasp topics of html, xhtml and css and break them down into a way that anyone can follow. if you ’ re concerned about your ability to gain a solid understanding of html and css or feel other ‘ technical ’ books in this list are too much, then grab this html book and you won ’ t look back. read more.. html, xhtml, and css, sixth edition another well written and easy to understand html book, aimed at entry - level web designers and full of great examples. it is an easy read that successfully introduces its audience to html & css, and small enough that you can pretty much read the whole thing in a day. cleanly designed and well laid out, this one will have you up and running in no time. read more.. html, xhtml, and css : your visual blueprint for designing effective web pages this is a unique guide


day. cleanly designed and well laid out, this one will have you up and running in no time. read more.. html, xhtml, and css : your visual blueprint for designing effective web pages this is a unique guidebook that takes a visual approach to teaching professional technical topics. full of screenshots detailing key html & css techniques, this book is logical, comprehensive and well thought out. this html book is a great primer and its depth is second to none, aimed at both beginners and more advanced designers alike. it covers topics such as search engines, css hacks, and common pitfalls as well as providing a wealth of html knowledge. direct and to the point, without the expected dryness, it is highly rated and popular among web enthusiasts. read more.. sams teach yourself html and css in 24 hours sure, you could cram an entire book and learn html and css in 24 hours if you really wanted to. if you look past the title ( as i generally do with these types of books ) you ’ ll find a clear, well - written book of lessons. each one builds upon the previous, allowing beginners to learn the essentials from the ground up. aimed at those truly new to html and css, this book will have you understanding the languages in no time at all. this book does skip some important topics however, and the constant advertisements were quite unnecessary. read more.. html & css : the complete reference this is the most comprehensive, complete and up to date reference book for css and html. perfect if you don ’ t want to learn as a complete novice and prefer to follow a detailed and technical approach. this book comes complete with a thorough index and list of attributes as well as solid examples of code usage. it will teach you enough of the fundamentals and syntax of the languages while acting like a reference point for more advanced users. read more.. html & xhtml : the definitive guide this is a definitive guide to html and is definitely one you ’ ll want in your collection. very popular and well received, well - written and informative. great as a starting point or for reference material you ’ ll continue to use long after its first read. this book covers every tag and related attributes, provides a solid introduction to the fundamentals of html and web design, and good information on trends and browser compatibility. read more.. html a beginner ’ s guide


w. mentor, j. d., ph. d. role of media presented " experts " in minor problems with the search methodology became apparent during the process of data coding. the columbine incident included the use of bombs and an attempt to use explosives to destroy parts of the building. as a result, media reports often referred to " bomb experts. " mention of this type of expert accounted for 28 of the 125 columbine stories. another factor that increased the number of stories was that as these incidents became larger news events, the media would use hints of new information as hooks to motivate the viewer to stay tuned. these hooks, placed at the end of a news report that presented expert commentary on issues unrelated to school shootings, led to an increased number of stories that contained the requested search terms. frequency of nbc stories related to school shootings on october 1, 1997, luke woodham opened fire on classmates in pearl, mississippi. while not the first school shooting of the year ( shootings in florida and alaska had been previously reported ), this was the first school shooting to receive more than a single mention on nbc news. nbc ' s coverage of these shootings began with a statement that was not supported by their news coverage over the previous ten months. tom brokaw introduced the story. " almost every week now, it seems, some peaceful place in america is rocked by a teen - age crime so violent it is difficult to fathom. tonight it ' s a small town in mississippi, a 16 - year - old boy with girlfriend problems " ( nbc nightly news, october 1, 1997 ). over the next three weeks nbc news mentioned the incident in seventeen news broadcasts. the next school shooting occurred on december 1, in paducah, kentucky. forty - five stories mentioned the shootings over the next three weeks. coverage of the paducah shooting, like the pearl stories and those that would follow, included the definition of, and introduction to, an individual who became a hero as a result of his or her actions. another theme that began to emerge was related to questions regarding whether or not to try the teen shooter as an adult. jonesboro was the site of the third school shooting ( march 24, 1998 ). nbc news broadcast eighty - five shooting related stories over the next three weeks. it is interesting to note that one of the jonesboro stories included a description of an arkansas incident in which two students were wounded by a sniper shooting from a wooded area ( nbc news at sunrise, december 16,


related stories over the next three weeks. it is interesting to note that one of the jonesboro stories included a description of an arkansas incident in which two students were wounded by a sniper shooting from a wooded area ( nbc news at sunrise, december 16, 1997 ). surprisingly, this was the only mention of an incident that appears to be very similar to the jonesboro shootings a few months later. on april 25 a teacher was shot and killed at a school dance in edinboro, pennsylvania. this story, somewhat merged with the jonesboro stories, was mentioned in fourteen broadcasts, bringing the total stories, from march 24 to may 8, to ninety - nine. while we might expect that the cumulative impact of these incidents would result in an increasing number of stories, the increase in coverage was greater than that which could be explained by the overlapping coverage of several similar incidents. the jonesboro stories made only passing reference to the previous incidents and none of the ninety - nine stories had the previous incidents as a major focus. on may 21, 1998, another school shooting occurred in springfield, oregon. this story was mentioned in seventy - five broadcasts over the next eight days. the trial of luke woodham, the pearl shooter, began june 2. the trial resulted in thirty - nine stories, over twice the number of stories that originally discussed the shootings. another shooting, resulting in the wounding of two school employees, occurred on june 15. twelve broadcasts discussed this incident. the jonesboro trial began august 9, resulting in fifteen additional stories related to the jonesboro shootings. the columbine incident occurred on april 28, 1999. this story resulted in one hundred thirty - nine stories within eight days. at the end of three weeks the shootings had generated two hundred and eighty stories. a simple count of news stories indicates that nbc news increased their coverage with each incident. the total number of stories went from 17 for the first incident to 45 for the next. the jonesboro shootings resulted in 85 stories over a three - week period. the springfield shooting was the subject of 75 stories, now compressed into eight days following the shooting. finally, the columbine shootings generated 139 stories in the eight days following the incident. interestingly, although the news coverage had significantly increased with each new incident, the information provided had not necessarily increased at the same rate. many broadcasts now included brief mention of the incident, often mixed with non related stories. for example, the today show and dateline nbc would often include program notes such as " ahead in this


the information provided had not necessarily increased at the same rate. many broadcasts now included brief mention of the incident, often mixed with non related stories. for example, the today show and dateline nbc would often include program notes such as " ahead in this hour, we ' re going to talk about school violence. that terrible story about the school shooting in arkansas is just one of many lately, and if you ' re a parent, it has to be a cause for great concern. in just a few moments, we ' re going to ask a school safety expert about what can be done about it " ( today, march 25, 1998 ). these teases increased with each incident. nbc news had determined that these stories " had legs. " surette ( 1998 ) writes of stories that have " consonance " with other events. a story that fits with established themes is more likely to be selected as newsworthy. repeated instances of extreme violence in schools created a clear opportunity for connecting these incidents to one another. at times it seemed that the lines between these stories had blurred, perhaps in an effort to increase the level of consonance. this research attempted to examine the coverage of a single event. this blurring of lines made this task more difficult that it would have been if the jonesboro shootings had been an isolated incident. however, if it was an isolated incident, it is clear that there would have been far fewer stories. figure 1 : comparison of expert presentation by incident as mentioned above, it appears that the media altered their presentation of experts in their coverage and analysis of the columbine incident. their reliance on experts, as indicated in figure 1, was greatly reduced relative to the total number of stories. it seems logical to assume that the media, in their effort to fill close to 1400 stories related to a single incident, would increase their reliance on experts. instead, when hooks and stories related to bomb experts are removed, the number of stories in which experts were quoted remained relatively constant. this finding merits further study. jonesboro - dominant themes and presentation of experts on march 24, 1998, two students opened fire on their classmates at westside middle school in jonesboro, arkansas. this was the third highly publicized school shooting of the school year. in the months prior to the jonesboro shootings similar incidents had occurred in pearl, mississippi and paducah, kentucky. expert commentary was offered to viewers on the night of the jonesboro shooting. professor david halperin of the john jay college of criminal justice, said that


jonesboro shootings similar incidents had occurred in pearl, mississippi and paducah, kentucky. expert commentary was offered to viewers on the night of the jonesboro shooting. professor david halperin of the john jay college of criminal justice, said that " these are - - are angry, violent kids who are - - who feel very powerless. and the gun gives them a sense of total power. " the reporter, jim avila, responded in a voiceover, " that may be the thinking. but tonight, in jonesboro, arkansas, very little makes sense at all " ( dateline nbc, march 24, 1998 ). this brief dialogue is representative of an issue that is apparent in this analysis of news coverage of the events in jonesboro. rather than make an effort to understand the professor ' s statement, and probe for more information that might help the viewers understand the events of the day, the reporter quickly dismisses the statement. key themes - cause much of the media interest centered on the question of " why? " the media looked for answers, but did so in a way that was not likely to yield helpful information. experts were called upon to provide insight, but they provided limited information in a context that prevented an thorough discussion of events. the focus of the " cause " question may be on youth violence in general or the actions of the boys involved in the jonesboro shootings. the general and individual issues often overlapped as an effort was made to place these boys into predetermined categories. the " why " includes an examination of societal and individual factors, again, with an effort to categorize the behavior of these boys. the categorization efforts were so strong that, in essence, the media made little effort to specifically understand why 13 - year - old mitchell johnson and 11 - year - old andrew golden did these shootings. the following quote provides an example of the tendency to generalize and categorize, in spite of the expert ' s efforts. this quote is from a dateline nbc interview with a social worker who has spent hundreds of hours interviewing children who kill. dr. miller : the one truth is... that they have had within them, as a result of early experiences, a great deal of rage. the rage is more often than not related to very serious physical and sexual abuse. now, i ' m not talking about abuse to the inner child or any - - i ' m talking about gross, basic abuse. curry : ( voiceover ) again, dr. miller does not


not related to very serious physical and sexual abuse. now, i ' m not talking about abuse to the inner child or any - - i ' m talking about gross, basic abuse. curry : ( voiceover ) again, dr. miller does not know andrew golden or mitchell johnson, and none of the parents has any known history of physical or sexual abuse. but in every other case he ' s worked with, he says there is a family secret the child is harboring. curry : in all the cases you ' ve dealt with? dr. miller : in all the cases i ' ve dealt with. curry : every single one? dr. miller : virtually every one. i can ' t think of one now where there wasn ' t something like this ( dateline nbc, march 30, 1998 ). ms. curry pointed out that dr. miller did not know the boys or their families. however, the generalization effort continued. dr. miller, led by ms. curry, went on to describe the prevalence of brain injury in kids who display extreme violence. ms. curry discussed the link between guns, emotional distress, and violence. as she asks about the girlfriend as trigger, ms. curry attempts to lead dr. miller to an explanation of behavior specific to the jonesboro case. dr. miller : there is usually some specific incident that triggers it. curry : how often is that trigger something to do with a girlfriend? dr. miller : it ' s very often has to do with a girlfriend or a wife or a mother. curry : ( voiceover ) though no one knows for sure what happened in the arkansas case, mitchell johnson was believed to be extremely upset when candace potter, who he considered his girlfriend, reportedly broke up with him. dr. miller says mitchell ' s reaction was another sign that something was amiss. dr. miller : it ' s very unusual, in my experience, for a 13 - year - old to be that taken with another 13 - year - old that their whole life would depend upon that relationship. curry : ( voiceover ) and dr. miller says that in general, a child who is on shaky ground emotionally can become dangerous if he has access to guns. dr. miller : identity is very much tied into the ability of some folks to possess a gun. it tells them they ' re real men ( dateline nbc, march 30, 1998 ). as we see in this quote, dr. miller resists the attempt to explain this event as a result of a 13 - year old '


a gun. it tells them they ' re real men ( dateline nbc, march 30, 1998 ). as we see in this quote, dr. miller resists the attempt to explain this event as a result of a 13 - year old ' s frustration over a failed relationship. as a result of this interview viewers may begin to define mitchell johnson as an abused, brain damaged, emotionally unstable child with a gun. while this may be true, any effort to understand mitchell johnson is mere speculation, especially if we base our search for answers on this interview. the rush to understand this tragedy, through categorization and generalization, prevents us from truly understanding the behavior of these boys. the easy availability of guns was another theme that was discussed in many broadcasts. the culture of gun use, especially in the south, was a related theme. the " southern culture " theme was first raised on march 25 in a today show interview. although the expert failed to support the theory raised by katie couric, the theme returned the next morning. in the following dialogue, which comprises nearly the entire march 26 interview, ms. couric quickly moves through each of these topics. dr. gregory kowalski ( auburn university ) : good morning, katie. couric : you - - you say that the way these two boys began their shooting spree was very reminiscent of deer hunting. what do you mean by that? dr. kowalski : well, in a sense that the way they went out, you know, with the camouflage outfits. they had their line of fire set up. and, of course, the children came out in that line of fire. so it ' s very much like sitting in a deer stand and attracting deer to come in, you know, for the kill. couric : are you a proponent of the theory that somehow the fact that these school shootings have taken place in the south is indicative of a - - of a southern culture that - - that might, i don ' t know, be more permissive of this kind of activity, or somehow encouraged by the - - by the acceptance of guns and hunting? dr. kowalski : well, it ' s more accepting of guns and hunting. i don ' t think it ' s more promiscuous in terms of what governor huckabee said in terms of killing people. but because there is certainly a rite of passage oftentimes associated with the hunting culture, and the south does kind of go ahead and expound the notion of the gun culture much


of what governor huckabee said in terms of killing people. but because there is certainly a rite of passage oftentimes associated with the hunting culture, and the south does kind of go ahead and expound the notion of the gun culture much more vigorously than just about every other part of the country, except for the west. couric : what about the idea that those under 21, it ' s perfectly legal for them to possess rifles and - - and - - and other guns that are used in hunting? do you think there will be an outcry to change that law? dr. kowalski : well, i would hope so, although i don ' t think that ' s the issue here. i mean, omni - - omnibus crime bill does goes ahead and prohibit the use of handguns, the carrying and possession of handguns. but over the shoulder weapons, like rifles and so on, are not included in that, and perhaps they should be. and there probably should be more rigorous control exactly of the age of the child engaged in the hunting experience, and the teaching of hunting should be perhaps more closely regulated. couric : ok. dr. gregory kowalski, thanks very much ( today, march 26, 1998 ). the interview with professor kowalski was tightly controlled. hunting, southern culture, gun availability, goodbye. the issues were determined prior to the interview. in fact, professor kowalski was contacted specifically because nbc producers, after scanning the auburn university media guide, determined that dr. kowalski had expertise in the area of " southern gun culture " ( kowalski, 1999 ). the interview began with an effort to define the events as " reminiscent of deer hunting. " couric opens this line of inquiry by referring to a prior statement allegedly made by professor kowalski. in fact, professor kowalski does not know where ms. couric got that information ( kowalski, 1999 ). another theme common to nbc ' s coverage of the jonesboro shootings was related to the influence of the media. natural born killers, the basketball diaries, mortal combat, and other movies or video games were mentioned as violent media images that appeal to youth in general, as well as to andrew golden and mitchell johnson. stone phillips, on dateline nbc, introduced a story on violence and the media. this interview, quoted at length, is an example of media resistance to a theory that is repeatedly raised by experts and lay people. john larson reporting : ( voiceover ) in 12 hours your kids or grandkids will likely sit down for


media. this interview, quoted at length, is an example of media resistance to a theory that is repeatedly raised by experts and lay people. john larson reporting : ( voiceover ) in 12 hours your kids or grandkids will likely sit down for a little saturday morning cartoon. watched many lately? after cartoons they may want to play a few video games. played many lately? or maybe your kids are into music videos. seen many lately? but do violent images like these actually make children more violent?... larson : ( voiceover ) rall huseman, a psychology professor at the university of michigan, studied a group of 800 children for more than 20 years. he says the effects of too many hours in front of violent programming lasts a long time. mr. huseman : what we found in this study was that boys who were watching more tv violence when they were six, seven, eight, nine years old, grew up in their 20s to be more aggressive.... larson : in your study, were you measuring the other factors? mr. huseman : yeah, we looked at all sorts of factors in childhood, the socioeconomic background, the intellectual capabilities of the child, the kinds of child rearing. larson : you can still see that media played a roll? mr. huseman : yes. larson : ( voiceover ) but surely all kids are not affected the same way. aggressive images are one thing, but does that really lead to violence? larson : did you watch a lot of violence as a kid? i mean, bugs bunny... mr. huseman : i watched a fair amount of violence. larson : roadrunner. lone ranger, depending on the generation. mr. huseman : yes. larson : do you think it made you more violent? mr. huseman : i think it made me more likely to respond aggressively in certain situations than i otherwise would have been, yes. larson : the reason i bring it up is - - is because you ' re not a convicted felon, you ' re not in jail, and p - - many parents out there would say, ' well, you know, he probably had a pretty good family, and he was able to somehow distinguish between tv and movies and real life. so, you know, lighten up. ' mr. huseman : well, you know, i - - i think everything you say it true, but why are we finding a relation between early tv violence viewing and


movies and real life. so, you know, lighten up. ' mr. huseman : well, you know, i - - i think everything you say it true, but why are we finding a relation between early tv violence viewing and adult violence and aggression? larson : ( voiceover ) there are many other studies that find the same thing. this network, nbc, does not produce programs for young children, but nbc has been outspoken in challenging the validity of studies linking tv and violence. in fact, one study done in 1982 by nbc, involving 3200 children and teen - agers, concluded there is no " causal connection between television violence and the development of aggressive behavior patterns. " nbc claims studies linking media violence and aggression are fatally flawed. the network says those studies do not prove cause and effect. for instance, nbc says, if tv is such an important factor in causing violence, why do two different cities, whose residents see the same tv programming, detroit and windsor, canada, have such different crime rates? and if tv is so important, why does japan, whose cartoons are often violent, have a lower crime rate than we do? ( dateline nbc, september 25, 1998. ) at times the reporter appears to be badgering his guest. at one point in the interview mr. larson challenges dr. huseman by asking whether he watched violent programs, including bugs bunny and the roadrunner, as a kid. dr. huseman responded that he had and larson pointed out that the invited expert watched violence and didn ' t end up in prison. at one point, arguably playing the devil ' s advocate, larson tells the expert to " lighten up. " dr. huseman doesn ' t fall for the bait and restates the relationship between early violence viewing and adult violence. mr. larson then moved to a second expert, this one pointing out that " kids spend many more hours with their family and their - - and their teachers than they do watching television. therefore, anybody who tries to insulate tv as the single guilty party is barking up the wrong tree. " finally, the broadcast defended network television as they quote a " recent study by ucla, funded by the broadcast industry, [ that ] found the level of violence on prime - time has gone down over the years. and on cable tv, some of the most violent programs are often the most watched. for instance, the premium channels, the better - known movie channels for which people pay a premium to see un - edited movies.


has gone down over the years. and on cable tv, some of the most violent programs are often the most watched. for instance, the premium channels, the better - known movie channels for which people pay a premium to see un - edited movies. " the problem, as defined by mr. larson, in the presence if not with the support of experts, is cable, rather than network tv. finally, in an apparent effort to suggest a cure, larson suggests that " children with strong religious beliefs are less inclined to be violent " ( dateline nbc, september 25, 1998 ). the use of leading questions is another common tactic apparent in the analysis of media reports. it seems safe to assume that reporters recognize the difference between a leading question and a reflective response. the fact that they so often choose the former prevents the airing of honest interpretations, ideas, and feelings. the following dialogue, in which the comments of only the reporter are included, clearly illustrates the effort to frame, and limit, debate. the interview was with eric holder, the deputy attorney general of the united states. although mr. holder offered brief responses to each statement, like tim russert, we will ignore what he had to say. this, at least in this case, is not done out of disrespect for mr. holder. mr. russert : one of the researches i have seen indicates that there are obviously tens of millions of kids who come home to empty houses. either the dad doesn ' t live there anymore or mom and dad are both working. mr. russert : and millions of kids are watching " the jerry springer show " in the afternoon. mr. russert : so turn off " jerry springer. " mr. russert : video games - - the level of violence in video games is overwhelming, as i monitor my own sons ' games. mr. russert : and availability of guns - - 12 percent of the children in the united states say they have brought a gun to school. how do we deal with that? how do we detect it? and if we observe it, what do teachers and students and families do about it? mr. russert : millions of parents are watching this program this morning, and they ' re as bewildered as you and i am about why this is happening, this insensitivity to violence, this callousness about human life, this changing culture. can the department of justice really do anything, or is it something that must be done in each and every family? mr. russert


is happening, this insensitivity to violence, this callousness about human life, this changing culture. can the department of justice really do anything, or is it something that must be done in each and every family? mr. russert : when will we receive this justice department report? mr. russert : do you expect or fearful of more copycat school killings? ( meet the press, may 24, 1998 ). clearly, tim russert had a lot on his mind. if he were a recognized expert on the issue of school violence, it might have been helpful for him to expound on his views. the truth is, these statements were made while an expert was available. the expert input was, literally, reduced to a serious of " mm - hmm ' s. " meet the press, in contrast to the today show, provides a format in which in depth discussion of issues can take place. again, an opportunity to more clearly understand the issues was missed. it is interesting to note that the previous dialogue was sandwiched between questions regarding the ken starr hearing and investigations regarding campaign contributions. nbc news, in the effort to inform viewers about causes for the jonesboro shootings, focused on certain topics. themes of guns, violence, and media ran throughout their coverage of this story. an effort to categorize the behavior of the shooters was also apparent. criminology theory allows multiple, and overlapping explanations for criminal behavior. those of us who teach in sociology or criminology are familiar with students who attempt to explain an individual ' s behavior through the use of a single theoretical construct. the media makes the same error. we may never understand the true motivation for the behavior of mitchell johnson and andrew golden. we can be sure that their behavior was motivated by a variety of factors. an effort to categorize their behavior ignores the fact that this exact combination of factors is unlikely to repeat itself. this is not meant to suggest that we are helpless in the effort to reduce the potential for similar events in the future. understanding, and informed reaction, occurs only after we are willing to accept the unique nature of each incident of school violence. key themes - cure we now turn to the issue of " cure, " which includes pro active measures as well as reactions specific to mitchell johnson and andrew golden. as discussed in the last section, the " why " includes an examination of societal and individual factors. the same is true in relation to the discussion of efforts to prevent another act of school violence such as we saw in jonesboro


johnson and andrew golden. as discussed in the last section, the " why " includes an examination of societal and individual factors. the same is true in relation to the discussion of efforts to prevent another act of school violence such as we saw in jonesboro. as with many of our efforts to develop logical and effective crime control policy, in the jonesboro case the link between " cause " and " cure " is not very strong. while discussion of " cause " included societal factors, the media presentation of " cure, " especially in relation to the specific events in jonesboro, has focused on punishment and deterrence. one key theme in the area of " cure " was closely tied to concerns regarding guns. cure related comments were related to metal detectors, uniformed police, and other school - based measures. these issues were raised repeatedly, nearly always by reporters. there was never an instance where an expert raised the issue of metal detectors. this issue was discussed by experts only in reaction to a question or statement made by the interviewer. for example, ronald stephens, the director of the national school safety center, was interviewed by katie couric on the today show. the following interaction followed his comments about recognizing signals that may point to a possibility of school violence. couric : so - so, students really need to be taught the warning signs. so when students like - - like these kids hear a child or a teen - ager talking about a potentially violent act, they can know how to assess it and how to report it to the proper people. mr. stephens : exactly. it ' s important to follow up on any kind of rumors or threats that might be out there. take a look at incidents that may have happened in the community the weekend before. because oftentimes, these circumstances spill over from the community into the school, and vice versa ( today, march 25, 1998 ). mr. stephens, who is a regular commentator on the issue of school violence, discussed an intervention that is directly related to the culture of the school. his suggestions focused on behavior and an effort to recognize precursors to school violence. ms. couric responded, " what about things like metal detectors and increased security force at schools? " a similar dialogue occurred on the nbc nightly news. reporter robert hager introduced william riceman, " an expert on youth violence. " mr. william riceman : the first thing parents need to do is go into their child ' s bedroom. everything a child is or wants to be is on their walls ;


hager introduced william riceman, " an expert on youth violence. " mr. william riceman : the first thing parents need to do is go into their child ' s bedroom. everything a child is or wants to be is on their walls ; it ' s a reflection of that. hager : schools are trying. ninety - six percent make visitors sign in, 53 percent control access to buildings, but only 1 percent use metal detectors every day. the above dialogue between katie couric and ronald stephens provides a good example of a reflective statement. ms. couric ' s reflection was so accurate that mr. stephens ' response was " exactly, " followed by a more thorough elaboration of his opinion. the fact that ms. couric derailed the conversation with the metal detector question should not detract from the fact that this interview allowed the expert the opportunity to state his opinions. at other times the reporter is less generous. as evident in the interview with mr. riceman, the reporter ignored the expert ' s comments and seamlessly moved from the role of parents to the reactions available to security minded schools. the final " cure " related theme was evident in the discomfort regarding the sentences these young men would receive. one report referred to " the very adult crimes of murder " ( nbc news at sunrise, august 11, 1998 ). two reporters used the term " premeditated murder ' as they discussed juvenile sentences ( dateline nbc, august 23, 1998 ; nbc nightly news, august 11, 1998 ). it was clear that nbc news realized that this was a theme that resonated for many americans. interestingly, experts were not asked, and did not volunteer, to discuss the sentencing issue. however, the frequency in which the issue of sentencing was raised by reporters, without expert commentary and knowledge, may have diverted attention from more substantial recommendations made by experts who were attempting to understand these incidents in the hope of developing a reasoned response. several issues related to the role of media presented experts became apparent in the coverage of school shootings. one issue is related to the expertise and motivations of " experts. " some experts, regardless of political motivation, represent the dominant ideology that supports " get tough " policy initiatives. these individuals are often employed within the criminal justice system. others are more overt in their ideological stances, whether conservative or liberal. others, without reference to ideology, stand to profit from certain policy initiatives. other experts, often with university affiliations, present facts and evidence presumably without ideological motivation


system. others are more overt in their ideological stances, whether conservative or liberal. others, without reference to ideology, stand to profit from certain policy initiatives. other experts, often with university affiliations, present facts and evidence presumably without ideological motivation. finally, the network employs individuals who may be seen, and presented, as experts. for example, nbc provided ms. wendy murphy, " msnbc senior legal analyst, " as an expert in a discussion on school safety. each of us has an ideological grounding that becomes active in our presentation and interpretation of events. the news media presents experts from a range ( perhaps not a wide as we would like ) of ideological viewpoints. however, these experts are typically presented with little evidence, aside from their statements, that they are motivated by a particular ideology. this leads to questions regarding the motivation of the news provider as well as the expert. this also leads to an opportunity for the motivated expert. in some cases the experts appear to have multiple motives for appearing on television. for example, ronald stephens is a frequent contributor in the nbc news coverage of these events. dr. stephens is also the director of the " national school safety center. " this is an organization, associated with pepperdine university, whose " objectives are implemented by conducting training programs and providing technical assistance for education and law enforcement practitioners as well as for legislators and other key governmental policyshapers " ( nssc, 1999 ). although beyond the scope of this research, it would be safe to suggest that many nssc initiatives and actions often support themes typical of the dominant ideology. however, relative to similar organizations, nssc is not clearly classified by ideology. for example, the " justice policy institute " is positioned as a relatively progressive " private non - profit organization whose mission is to reduce society ' s reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems " ( jpi : 1999 : 1 ). the ideological stance of the justice policy institute is relatively clear to visitors of the organization ' s web site. however, this is not clear to the average television news viewer. this can lead to a biased presentation of events. for example, vincent schiraldi, of the justice policy institute, was quoted in a story broadcast by nbc news at sunrise ( march 27, 1998 ). he commented on the lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of trying juveniles as adults. his comments were followed by a supportive statement regarding the negative lessons learned in prison. this statement was made by dan macallair, who was reported to be


1998 ). he commented on the lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of trying juveniles as adults. his comments were followed by a supportive statement regarding the negative lessons learned in prison. this statement was made by dan macallair, who was reported to be affiliated with the " center on juvenile justice. " this report, using two experts that appear to be in agreement, failed to mention that the center for juvenile justice is affiliated with the justice policy institute and that schiraldi and maccallair are, respectively, the director and associate director of the " center on juvenile and criminal justice. " similarly, and in the opposite ideological direction, ms. jeanne allen, of the " center for education reform, " was quoted in a nbc news at sunrise ( may8, 1998 ) report about firearms in schools. her comments, like those of schiraldi and maccallair, were little more than brief sound bites. as with the other examples, her motives and affiliations are unclear to the average viewer. research indicates that ms. allen is the president of the center for education reform, an organization whose primary interest appears to be in the areas of " school choice " and charter schools. her biography, found on the organization ' s web site, provides no evidence of her expertise in the area of school violence or guns in school ( cer, 1999 ). it is important to question whether viewers have heard of the justice policy institute, the center for education reform, or the national center for school safety. of course, we have heard of the national rifle association and are able to filter the comments of an nra representative according to our own beliefs. similarly, we are aware of the opinions of the aclu. representatives of the better known organization face difficulties when they seek to provide their messages to a skeptical public. in contrast, " experts " with affiliations to lesser - known organizations are able to speak without similar limitations. the media, in defining events, is similarly liberated from overt ideological connections. another issue related to the ideology and utilization of experts is apparent in the presentation of experts with conflicting opinions. an interview on the saturday today show provides an example of what we refer to as " dueling experts. " in this case one of the experts appears to act as a hired gun for the show ' s co - host. jody applegate, saturday today co - host, is interviewing author charles ewing, bill modzeleski, the director of the department of education ' s safe schools program, and wendy murphy, who is introduced as


show ' s co - host. jody applegate, saturday today co - host, is interviewing author charles ewing, bill modzeleski, the director of the department of education ' s safe schools program, and wendy murphy, who is introduced as " the senior legal consultant for msnbc. " dr. ewing suggested that there is an increased level of youth violence and that this issue is receiving greater attention as this violence comes to schools and is directed at students. ms. applegate responds with a question for mr. modzeleski. applegate : bill modzeleski, are young people more violent or are we just seeing this particular kind of violence more and more? mr. bill modzeleski ( us department of education ) : i think that basically what we ' re seeing is that there has been an - - a general reduction of youth violence in the united states. as the previous speaker mentioned, i think that it ' s the location of the crime which has highlighted this type of incident. applegate : wendy murphy, do you agree with that, a general reduction in violence among young people? ms. wendy murphy ( msnbc senior legal analyst ) : well, actually, he ' s right, that the overall number of violent incidents has gone down a bit, and partly that ' s due to demographics. the youth population has, in fact, gone down. but what we do know is that children at a much younger age are committing more violent offenses. so while the numbers in fact may be lower, the type of violence is much more grave. ( saturday today, may 23, 1998. ) in this dialogue the nbc expert steps in to support a statement made by the reporter. although not specifically saying that youth are more violent, ms. murphy ' s statement diminishes the force of the statement mr. modzeleski was trying to make. criminologists often ask why the fear of crime, and public perception of the frequency of crime, is consistently greater that the reality? mr. modzeleski is attempting to address this question. ms. murphy, while agreeing with his statement, refers to much younger children committing more violent offenses. this example of dueling experts illustrates two issues. first, this dialogue provides another example of the media ' s use of the term " expert. " in the previous dialogue we heard from an author, who is a psychology professor. we also heard from the director of a federal program. finally, we heard from an expert employed by the network that was providing


s use of the term " expert. " in the previous dialogue we heard from an author, who is a psychology professor. we also heard from the director of a federal program. finally, we heard from an expert employed by the network that was providing the news and analysis. not only do we have an on camera duel, but a debate regarding the relative expertise of these experts. a second issue is related to the intensity of these on screen discussions. if the goal is to encourage a loud and contentious argument between the guests, like the jerry springer show but arguably more civil, we cannot expect to learn about the issues. several transcripts provided an example of the power associated with being the last speaker in an interview that must quickly wrap up to go to commercials. this power is not always used to extend commentary on the issue of school violence. for example, tanya metaska, who was introduced as " the chief lobbyist for the national rifle association, " was interviewed on the today show. couric : and, very quickly, ms. metaksa, you can have the last word. ms. metaksa : ok, katie, despite - - despite our critics, the nra promotes safety, rebuilds personal responsibility and protects freedom. and we ' ll keep doing that, and mr. clinton will keep banning guns, because that ' s his passion. and - - after all, it ' s just one of his passions. ( today, april 9, 1998. ) this comment illustrates the ideological nature of comments, as well as the motivation to make statements with no relevance to the issues the expert was invited to discuss. although made at a time in which the interviewer was attempting to exercise her control in an effort to end the interview, the situation was actually one with few controls. ms. metaska ' s this statement was made in a situation that allowed little chance of rebuttal. bill modzeleski, who was quoted above, was also given a " last word " opportunity. earlier in the interview he had been cut off, and disagreed with, by another expert. he had remained relatively quite after that point. the reporter may have felt that he had earned a chance to speak, or that his potential for contribution had been undermined by the other guests. applegate : bill modzeleski, you can have the last word on this subject. what can we do about this? mr. modzeleski : i think there ' s a lot that we could do about it. i bel - -


it ' s still a rare event. going overboard, doing excessive extremes like this, of arming our teachers, is the wrong way to go " ( today, may 26, 1998 ). as a result of his regular television appearances dr. fox, of northeastern university, is one of the most recognized criminologists in the country. perhaps he is allowed to speak because of his, in part media created, stature. another possibility is that dr. fox, with his extensive media experience, is able to recognize and resist the effort to frame events and, in effect, put words in his mouth. professor fox has been helpful to the media. as such, they are less likely to question his responses. the media relies heavily on dependable sources of information and are less likely to challenge sources that they will call upon in the future. as a result of relying on these insiders, who, more often or not are state agents, standard approaches to understanding and responding to crime are reinforced ( chermack, 1997 ). this poses a catch - 22 problem for experts who may be seen as expendable. unless an expert is able to develop a relationship with the media, he or she has the potential for being abused. however, an honest evaluation of events may impede the effort to develop this relationship since this honesty may run counter to the story the media is constructing. barak ( 1988 ) began to define the role of the " newsmaking criminologist. " this role requires more than a willingness to be available for interviews. the criminologist is likely to be more satisfied with his or her media performance, and be less likely to be a pawn in the media ' s efforts to define events, with advance planning. the newsmaking criminologist should have a clear idea of how the newsmaking enterprise works in order to effectively function in that environment. televised media seeks to entertain. although they are attempting to cover a news story from a variety of angles, they are always aware of the potential for channel surfing. when the goal is to entertain, rather than inform, the newsmaking criminologist intent on educating is at a distinct disadvantage. another issue, which is apparent in the many " one - liners " or " sound bites " that are repeatedly replayed by the media, is that the expert has no control over the context in which his or her statements are used. the expert may have to become adept at carefully delivering sound bites that efficiently communicate the desired statement. this study indicates that expert statements, more


by the media, is that the expert has no control over the context in which his or her statements are used. the expert may have to become adept at carefully delivering sound bites that efficiently communicate the desired statement. this study indicates that expert statements, more often than not, are short and freestanding sound bites that are added, perhaps in an effort to legitimize the story, between comments and information provided by the reporter. the expert comments may be edited so that, outside of the original context, the comments are very different than intended. the contribution of experts often falls short of the goal of increasing our understanding of important issues. at times these " experts " don ' t even speak for themselves. instead, their statements are paraphrased by reporters. at other times the reporter will refer to unnamed " experts, " who have previously commented on the issues at hand. at other times the expert ' s contribution is questioned and / or minimized, typically by a reporter with little knowledge of the issue. while this questioning can be supported with a standard " devil ' s advocate " exemption, it is interesting to note that reporters are quick to question some statements while others, no more accurate or insightful, are not challenged. the " news " is created by journalists who select facts created for them by individuals ( surrette, 1998 ). before entering into the enterprise the newsmaking criminologist should be aware of the media ' s efforts to create an interpretation of events that may not be consistent with the view of the individual expert or of experts in general. experts who seek to advance a view that is not consistent with that of the newsmaking enterprise will face the challenging prospect of providing " facts " that are acceptable to the media and therefore more likely to be included in the news media ' s interpretation of events. barak writes that " by participating in the newsmaking process as credible spokespersons, criminologists can work to redefine the parameters of acceptable or favorable themes about crime and justice " ( 1988 : 577 ). we believe this statement is true today, although this examination of the efforts of experts indicate that the statement may be a bit idealistic. this is especially true if our newsmaking attempts rely on opportunities presented by network news media. the newsmaking criminologist preparing the enter this arena is placed in a difficult situation in which he or she is asked to respond to questions that may have little relation to the expert ' s area of expertise. this fact alone is sure to limit the strength of the expert