innes national park please, login to help us hey friend, could you provide us a wikipedia url with a good description of this protected area? please, be sure that you are suggesting an english language wikipedia url ( http : / / en. wiki.... ) mark it as wrong innes is a national park on the southwest tip of yorke peninsula in south australia ( australia ), 160 km west of adelaide. innes is the largest area of native vegetation remaining on the yorke peninsula, providing habitat for 115 species of conservation significance. the narungga people occupied the yorke peninsula for thousands of years. they consisted of four clans, the kurnara of the north, the windera of the east, the wari of the west and the dilpa of the south. european colonisation of the area began in 1846 with sheep grazing near cape spencer. crops were grown on a small scale in the 19th and early 20th century. innes national park was named after william innes, who discovered commercial quantities of gypsum in the early 1900s and founded the mining town of inneston in 1913, which had a population of around 500 at its peak. gypsum was mined until 1930 when the great depression made it uneconomical, and in 1970 the town and surrounding land was sold to the south australian government, creating innes national park. some gypsum mining still continues at nearby marion bay. some of the buildings at inneston have been restored and are available as basic hire accommodation. a number of gypsum lakes are with the area of the park, but excluded so they can still be mined for gypsum if required. the park also contains a spectacular rugged coastline which contains the sites of several historic shipwrecks and two lighthouses. the sailing barque ethel, which ran aground on 2 january 1904, was well - preserved on the beach for many years but little now remains. innes national park was first proclaimed in 1970 when the first ranger in charge, mr bruce macreth was assigned to manage the park. since that time a number of rangers have served the area well including mr peter tomlin ( 1973 - 77 ), mr pearce dougherty ( 1977 - 89 ), ms katherine stephens, mr ross allen, mr colin waters, mr bryn troath, ms caroline paterson and more recently mr aaron smith. the park headquarters are located in stenhouse bay and visitors can obtain information on the park and obtain entry and camping permits at this location


ross allen, mr colin waters, mr bryn troath, ms caroline paterson and more recently mr aaron smith. the park headquarters are located in stenhouse bay and visitors can obtain information on the park and obtain entry and camping permits at this location. innes national park has 9 camping ground in the park. pondalowie campground is the main campground and has fifty sites situated in coastal mallee and sheoak vegetation. caravans and generators are permitted in the western end of the campground. casuarina campground is a quiet, tranquil campground ideal for families. eight sites located behind a locked gate require bookings and collection of the gate key from the visitor centre. access to the beach. surfers campground has ten sites located close to the pondalowie boardwalk providing access to the popular surf beach and viewing platform. shell beach campground has eight sites in this shady campground. the lovely shell beach is only a short walk from this campsite. browns beach campground has ten sites nestled amongst natural vegetation and bordered by a steep sand dune. this site is popular with people who come to fish for australian salmon at nearby browns beach. gym beach campground, accessed from the corny point road, this campground at the northernmost boundary of the park has four sites offering solitude and beach access. jollys beach campground is a small coastal camping area with approximately four sites. there are no facilities provided. stenhouse bay campground has twenty - five sites in close proximity to the beach, visitor centre, innes trading post. cable bay campground has eight sites with easy access to the beach and great views of the offshore islands. heritage accommodation is available at the historic lodges at inneston. in addition, the stenhouse bay hall is available for group bookings ( up to 30 ) and shepherds hut at shell beach accommodates four people. the main surf break at pondalowie is a popular quality wave. it consists of a combination left and right peak that breaks over a reef and snad bottom. the left is good up to about 4 '. the right starts to become good from between 3 ' to 8 ' plus. a second smaller right hand reef break known as ' richards reef ' is located 250 metres further north along the beach. it was named in honour of mr richard thomas a long time local surfer and resident of the area. not far from stenhouse bay is a break known as ' chinamans '. this is a powerful and hollow left hand reef break which breaks in shallow water and washes over a rock shelf.


the cause of insulin - dependent, permanent, diabetes in newborn babies may be a deficiency in the enzyme pancreatic endoplasmic reticulum kinase ( perk ) during a critical period of development before birth, according to a new hypothesis put forward by a team of researchers from penn state university. in this most severe type of diabetes, individuals are unable to regulate glucose normally because they have few insulin - producing beta cells in their pancreas and the remaining cells do not produce enough insulin. using special strains of mice bred to be perk - deficient, the researchers demonstrated that the lack of this enzyme blocked the proliferation of beta cells, hampered the normal functioning of beta cells, and also kept beta cells from clustering into islets. " what happens during fetal development predisposes people either to be able to maintain glucose levels normally or to have diabetes, " says team leader douglas cavener, professor and head of the department of biology. the research results will be published in the journal cell metabolism on 6 december 2006. the team, consisting of graduate students wei zhang, yulin li and kaori iida, postdoctoral fellow daorong feng, and research assistant professor barbara mcgrath, made use of the lab ' s earlier discovery that mice deficient in perk show many parallels to human sufferers of walcott - rallison syndrome ( wrs ), in which diabetes is combined with skeletal and growth abnormalities. the research provided an experimental model for investigating the cause of permanent neonatal diabetes that was more revealing than cell culture studies. " being able to develop special strains of mice that are perk - deficient in specific organs or tissues was vital to our research, " says cavener. " these mice allowed us to discover exactly how perk participates in the development and growth of the beta cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin. using genetics in this way lets the organism tell you what is important to normal function. " normally, the beta cells of the pancreas respond to high levels of glucose in the blood by producing the precursor of insulin - - proinsulin - - in the endoplasmic reticulum. inside this and other organelles, the proinsulin is assembled and modified into insulin. then the hormone is exported from the cell to stimulate other tissues to take up glucose and generate energy. perk - deficient mice differ significantly from normal mice. at birth, perk - deficient mice have only about one - half the mass of beta cells that normal mice have. during the


stimulate other tissues to take up glucose and generate energy. perk - deficient mice differ significantly from normal mice. at birth, perk - deficient mice have only about one - half the mass of beta cells that normal mice have. during the first few weeks after birth, perk - deficient mice have fewer and fewer beta cells compared to normal mice and the remaining cells do not function normally in producing insulin. by three weeks after birth, the perk - deficient mice are fully diabetic and have only one - tenth the mass of beta cells as normal mice. until now, the dominant hypothesis of the cause of diabetes in mice and humans deficient in perk was developed by heather harding and david ron, of new york university medical center, in 2001. they suggested that too much proinsulin in the endoplasmic reticulum triggers a stress response and causes many beta cells to die. the shortage of beta cells in perk - deficient mice was thought to be caused by a high death rate of those cells. data collected by the cavener team casts doubt on this hypothesis. first, they found that mice deficient in perk made new beta cells at a much lower rate than normal mice. the mass of beta cells in deficient mice only doubled during the first few weeks of life, while that in normal mice increased twenty - fold. second, the penn state group found the rate of beta - cell death in perk - deficient mice was not significantly different from that in normal mice. finally, the team did not detect molecular markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the beta cells of their perk - deficient mice. the alternative hypothesis of the penn state team is that perk deficiency blocks both the proliferation of beta cells after birth and the differentiation of those cells into fully functioning units. they found that thirty to forty percent of the beta cells of perk - deficient mice are physically unusual. the most obvious abnormality is that proinsulin is found the endoplasmic reticulum, instead of being found in or around the nucleus. apparently, proinsulin is produced as usual, but the normal modification process is blocked, leaving large quantities of proinsulin trapped inside the enlarged and distended organelle. another important finding was that beta cells in these mice do not develop into organized clusters or islets within the pancreas. normally, the protein glut2 transports glucose across plasma membranes among the islets, triggering the secretion of insulin in the


important finding was that beta cells in these mice do not develop into organized clusters or islets within the pancreas. normally, the protein glut2 transports glucose across plasma membranes among the islets, triggering the secretion of insulin in the beta cells. but without the islet architecture, communication among the beta cells breaks down and the cells fail to respond to glucose by secreting insulin. thus, perk - deficiency both hampers cell - to - cell signaling of glucose levels and greatly diminishes insulin production at the cellular level. the penn state team ' s understanding of the role of perk was advanced by additional experiments to pinpoint the time during development when perk is required. cavener ' s team found that perk must be expressed during a critical period between 13. 5 fetal days and 4 days after birth if the beta cells of the pancreas are to regulate glucose normally for the rest of the animal ' s life. perk may play an essential role in sensing fetal environment and modulating the development of beta cells in response to it. " the genetic program of the fetus and the in - utero environment work together to set up the apparatus that regulates glucose in postnatal life, " cavener explains. high - resolution images associated with this story are on the web at http : / / www. science. psu. edu / alert / cavener11 - 2006. htm last reviewed : by john m. grohol, psy. d. on 21 feb 2009 published on psychcentral. com. all rights reserved.


the political basis of mughal culture in bengal miniature paintings of the seventeenth - century mughal court typically depict rows of nobles neatly arranged and ranked by status, their eyes riveted on the raised figure of the seated emperor, while the latter, his head enveloped in a luminous halo, gazes benevolently over the gathered flock ( see fig. 18 ). in our efforts to reconstruct the content of mughal culture, it is well to consider the model of order and hierarchy evoked in such paintings. for mughal culture as it evolved over the course of the sixteenth century was above all a courtly and imperial culture, one that, in the manner of those miniature paintings, focused on the person and charisma of the emperor. whereas the early delhi sultans tended to rule as foreigners over a subjugated indian population, the mughals, beginning with akbar ( 1556 – 1605 ), sought to knit north india ’ s many religious and ethnic communities into a single political system. this policy, which crystallized around 1580 in the wake of the emperor ’ s abortive experiment in posing as “ king of islam, ” inclined the court to an extraordinarily accommodative, even syncretic style of politics. elaborated by akbar ’ s principal ideologue, abu ’ l - fazl, the model of imperial authority projected from the mughal court drew on both indian and perso - islamic notions of kingship. it also drew on a sasanian persian model of imperial authority, according to which virtue and order radiated outward and downward from an all - benevolent and semi - divine emperor, supported politically and ideologically by a hierarchically graded corps of soldiers - administrators, the mansabdars. while patronizing islamic institutions as was expected of any premodern muslim sovereign, akbar presented himself to his subjects in the radiant glow of an indian maharaja, appearing in public audience ( darbar ) seated on a raised platform ( jharokha ) in the manner in which traditional indian kings or images of hindu deities were presented for public viewing ( darsan ). as a result, when indian courtiers gazed upon the seated emperor, they could share a certain double vision, seeing either a pious muslim sultan or a traditional maharaja tinged with divine power, or both simultaneously. splendidly articulated at imperial courts in delhi, agra, or lahore, this hybrid model of political authority was duplicated in miniaturized form in mughal provinces. in dhaka, islam khan built a scaled - down replica of jahangir ’ s imperial court,


articulated at imperial courts in delhi, agra, or lahore, this hybrid model of political authority was duplicated in miniaturized form in mughal provinces. in dhaka, islam khan built a scaled - down replica of jahangir ’ s imperial court, complete with a jharokha. located in the inner garden adjoining the governor ’ s palace, his jharokha consisted of a window and enclosed space built on a platform elevated some twelve feet above the ground. behind the window and raised above those in the garden below, the seated governor received those admitted for private or public audience, or darbar. as a stage for enacting political rituals, the jharokha thus expressed themes central to mughal political culture : the subordination of all state servants ( i. e., both imperial appointees and bengali zamindars assimilated as imperial jagirdars ) to the governor, the corporate solidarity of the ruling class, and the precise position of each member relative to others in the graded hierarchy of state service. mimicking the court of jahangir, during formal review, officers would stand before the governor ’ s jharokha according to rank, the highest officers situated closest to the jharokha and the lowest officers furthest from it. fig. 18. “ shah jahan honors religious assembly. ” from stuart cary welch, imperial mughal painting ( new york : george braziller, 1978 ), 102, pl. 31. reprinted by permission of george braziller, inc. mughal political culture was also expressed in pervasive categories of thought. from the emperor down to the lowest servant, parties were bound together by mutual obligations articulated through the ideology of “ salt ” ( namak ), a semantically rich term expressing notions of protection and dependency that operated simultaneously at social, political, and superhuman levels. deeply embedded in the culture of the middle east, this ideology can be traced to the ancient mesopotamian world, where the akkadian phrase meaning “ to eat the salt of ( a person ) ” expressed the act of making a covenant with a person or of permitting a reconciliation with another individual. the ancient hebrews considered that they were tied to god by a “ covenant of salt, ” and that such a covenant legitimized and underwrote earthly kingship. the ancient persians, too, used the symbolism of salt in the sense of concretizing political covenants — in their case between the emperor and his corps of servants. officials serving artaxerxes i ( 465


imperial invasion of assam, for example, mughal troops once found themselves totally surrounded by the army of the ahom raja. on this occasion the commanding officer and his comrades wrapped their heads in shrouds and, preparing for death rather than surrender, cried out to the assamese : “ as we have taken the salt of jahangir, we consider martyrdom to be our blessings for both the worlds. ” this usage of the salt metaphor recalls f. w. buckler ’ s discussion, in a 1926 essay, of the importance of “ rituals of incorporation ” in the running of the mughal political system. the emperor, he wrote, within this conceptual framework, ingesting the salt of the emperor communicates the symbolic sharing in the body of the emperor, analogous to the christian ritual of communion, in which the believer ritually partakes of and thus shares in the body of christ. stands for a system of rule of which he is the incarnation, incorporating into his own body, by means of certain symbolical acts, the persons of those who share his rule. they are regarded as being parts of his body, membra corporis regis, and in their district or sphere of activity, they are the king himself — not servants of the king but “ friends ” or members of the king, just as the eye is the man in the function of sight, and the ear is the realm of hearing. finally, muslims in the imperial corps regarded salt as a substance binding them both to their emperor and to their religion, thereby combining the ancient persian sense of the “ salt of the palace ” with the ancient hebrew sense of god ’ s “ covenant of salt. ” in 1612, after defeating the last afghan chieftain in bengal to resist mughal authority, islam khan ’ s men faced the question of how to deal with their defeated muslim foes. “ it was decided, ” wrote mirza nathan, “ to extend hospitality to all the afghans in the first halting place and to distribute to them the salt of the emperor according to their status : because there was no heavier burden on the neck of a muslim than the burden of being true to the salt. ” here again clients were bound to their patron — now the emperor himself — by receiving his “ salt ” in what appears to have been a formal political ritual in which actual salt was distributed and consumed. but in the statement that there was “ no heavier burden on the neck of a muslim than the burden of being true to the salt, ” the ideology of salt is transposed to a religious context


political ritual in which actual salt was distributed and consumed. but in the statement that there was “ no heavier burden on the neck of a muslim than the burden of being true to the salt, ” the ideology of salt is transposed to a religious context in which the patron may be understood as god, imposing obligations of loyalty on his community of believers just as the emperor imposed such obligations on his subjects, or as lesser mughal officers did on their own clients. another mughal ritual of incorporation was the conferral of the imperial cloak ( khil ‘ at ) upon a subject or former enemy. authority, buckler observes, “ was exercised in virtue of this incorporation into the royal person by means of succession established by physical contact through royal clothing. refusal to acknowledge this transmission of authority, by refusing the robe of honour was an act of independence, that is of treason to the king. ” this sort of ritual was dramatically enacted at the dawn of mughal rule in bengal, when daud karrani submitted to imperial forces in april 1575. before prostrating himself in the direction of akbar ’ s capital at fatehpur sikri, the defeated bengali sultan donned a mughal sword and an embroidered belt in addition to a cloak of akbar. all of this symbolized daud ’ s incorporation into akbar ’ s person as well as akbar ’ s empire. to be sure, as political symbols the jharokha, salt, and the khil ‘ at were already present in pre - mughal bengal. both chinese and portuguese travelers to the bengal capital had described raised platforms on which the sultan sat and reviewed his officials in a manner not unlike governor islam khan chishti in his dhaka darbar. and we have noted the political usage of salt in the poetry of firdausi and amir khusrau. presumably, the early governors and sultans of bengal carried into the delta the same notions of statecraft and political legitimacy that had informed their persianized turkish forebears in khurasan and north india, including the ideology of salt. finally, the political use of the royal cloak, or khil ‘ at, was also known to the bengal sultans. in the course of an interview with a portuguese mission in 1521, sultan nasir al - din nusrat shah embraced the european captain, laughed, and promised him favors. “ then, ” narrated the european interpreter, “ he turned to me and ordered that i be given a robe that he had worn. ” but in other respects mughal political culture in bengal


shah embraced the european captain, laughed, and promised him favors. “ then, ” narrated the european interpreter, “ he turned to me and ordered that i be given a robe that he had worn. ” but in other respects mughal political culture in bengal can be sharply distinguished from that of the sultanate. down to the end of the sixteenth century, the mughal ruling class had been predominantly non - indian. in 1595, 61 percent of akbar ’ s nobility were ethnic iranians or turks, of whom the vast majority had migrated directly from iran or central asia. during the seventeenth century, however, the empire ’ s foreign character steadily diminished. by the end of that century, just over a third of the nobility were of known iranian or turkish ancestry, and fewer than a quarter of these were foreign - born immigrants. already by jahangir ’ s reign there had emerged in the imperial corps an important and growing section of muslims who, while claiming a paternal ancestry beyond the khyber, had been born in india of indian mothers. these persons not only spoke a form of vernacular hindi - urdu as their “ mother tongue ” ; they also carried with them deeply held assumptions about life and death that for several centuries had been nurtured in north india within the matrix of rajput culture. thus, for example, when the mughal governor qasim khan faced imminent defeat in a bitterly fought battle near dhaka in 1617, he personally beheaded his chief wives, after which many of his comrades similarly performed the rites of murdering their own families in one another ’ s presence. the practice of juhar, or the destruction of women and children as an alternative to suffering them to be captured by enemy forces, was a rajput rite assimilated into imperial culture through akbar ’ s policy of incorporating rajputs into the mughal corps and the inclusion of rajput women in the mughal harem. now it was carried into bengal. similarly, too, mughal officials in bengal preferred ayurvedic, or native indian, medical theory over the yunani, or greek ( “ yunani ” is a corruption of “ ionian ” ), medical system inherited by classical islamic civilization. the ailing islam khan, himself an indian muslim, requested an indian physician when he neared death. there not being one available, the governor only reluctantly accepted a muslim hakim, who was later blamed for having administered the wrong treatment and unnecessarily killing him. when the governor of bihar suffered from an illness that paralyzed half his body, the emperor jahangir sent him two


a range of designs have been proposed for space habitats. some appear to be mostly artistic concepts, others are much more serious. they include : ( from wikipedia http : / / en. wikipedia. org / wiki / space _ habitat ) - bernal sphere - " island one ", a spherical habitat for about 20, 000 people. - stanford torus - a larger alternative to " island one. " - o ' neill cylinder - " island three ", the largest design. - lewis one a cylinder of radius 250m with a non rotating radiation shielding. the shielding protects the micro - gravity industrial space, too. the rotating part is 450 long and has several inner cylinders. some of them are used for agriculture. - kalpana one, reviseda short cylinder with 250 m radius and 325 m length. the radiation shielding is 10 t / m2 and rotates. it has several inner cylinders for agriculture and recreation. there are other well - known structures from science fiction literature, including - rama ( a 20x50km rotating cylinder ) from arthur c. clarke ’ s novel, rendezvous with rama - space station v ( from the movie 2001 : a space odyssey ) - babylon 5 of these, the most complete design is “ kalpana one, revised, ” which properly accounts for issues such as shielding and rotational stability. most designs presume that it is best to provide windows to admit natural sunlight, but there are many reasons to prefer artificial light sources, primarily involving heat, but also the need for shielding. for adequate shielding from radiation and meteors, the outer walls of the habitat must mass about ten tons per square meter. while transparent quartz windows could be built of this thickness, most designs involving natural sunlight use mirrors to deflect sunlight around shields of stone. but the admitted heat is the real problem ( discussed below ). in my previous posts, including our first colonies in space, life in an asteroid, and our homes, the comets, i assumed that we would tunnel into asteroids and comets, enclose and spin them for gravity if they were small enough, or build spinning structures inside them if they were too large. but while writing a sequel to my short story apophis 2029, i realized that the best choice was simply to build one or more space habitats from the raw materials of the asteroids and comets. i came to this conclusion because of considerations for effective use of space, the stresses of spinning large objects for gravity, and ( most importantly ) thermal dissipation. people consume energy in their homes


from the raw materials of the asteroids and comets. i came to this conclusion because of considerations for effective use of space, the stresses of spinning large objects for gravity, and ( most importantly ) thermal dissipation. people consume energy in their homes, workplaces, and travel. much more important, food requires a large amount of energy in the form of light for growing crops. after extensive research on plant needs, high - intensity farming, and lighting technologies, i concluded that the minimum light levels needed requires 4 kilowatts of very - high - efficiency led lights to grow the food for one person ( assuming a primarily vegetarian diet – you need more to grow additional crops for livestock ). add to that the per - capita electric consumption in the u. s. a. of about 1. 5 kilowatts, add a little more for contingencies, and i realized we need to plan on 6 kilowatts of energy consumption for every human aboard the habitat. that ’ s not too bad, especially considering that readily available solar power can easily provide such levels and at a modest cost. but energy consumption turns into heat, and heat must be radiated away. the bottom line is that we must allot 19 square meters per person of surface area assuming black body radiation at a temperature of 0 degrees c. it does not help to plant little radiators all over the surface, as they interfere with each other. all that matters is the apparent size of the habitat from a distance, and how closely it approaches the ideals of a black body radiator. of course, we could use active cooling to heat radiators to much higher temperatures while cooling the interior, but i prefer passive techniques so that a failure of the cooling system doesn ’ t rapidly result in cooking the inhabitants. there goes my idea that a million people could thrive in a cubic kilometer of comet. there is plenty of room, more than enough materials. unfortunately, their waste heat would rapidly boil their home away. also, solar light has a large content of heat – and that excess, too, must be radiated away. sunlight is not energy efficient for growing crops in a thermos bottle ( which is what a habitat in space effectively is ). so, my revised plan calls for 20 square meters of surface per person. also, to provide radiation and meteor shielding equivalent to the earth ’ s surface requires 10 tons of shielding per square meter of surface – and thus 200 tons of shield mass per person ( regolith is fine, slag works well


surface per person. also, to provide radiation and meteor shielding equivalent to the earth ’ s surface requires 10 tons of shielding per square meter of surface – and thus 200 tons of shield mass per person ( regolith is fine, slag works well and is dense, ice is best as long as it doesn ’ t boil away ). but the needed surface area and shield mass per person are constants. my earlier thoughts on structure did not consider rotational stability, and the folks that designed kalpana one came up with some very strong arguments that a spinning cylinder is best, and that the width of the cylinder should be 1. 3 times the radius. thus, a cylinder of radius 100 meters ( spinning at 3 rpm for 1 g gravity along the outer rim ) should be 130 meters wide. that gives a 1 - g living area of a little over 80, 000 square meters, a total surface area of over 144, 000 square meters, and thus a maximum population of 7, 200. this structure provides 11. 25 square meters ( 121 square feet ) per person of 1 - g living space. is that enough? it ’ s comparable to the space provided ( per person ) in many hotel rooms and cruise ships. but few couples want to live in a 242 square foot efficiency for long, although 28 sm ( 300 sf ) studio apartments are common in many expensive cities. there is no need to live only on the outer 1 - g surface. assuming 3 - meter intervals, the next level up provides 97 % of a g. surely that is adequate. and now we have 22. 5 square meters per person of available living space, equivalent to 450 square feet per couple – or 900 square feet for a family of 4. a third living level raises the per - person space to over 33 square meters – 675 sf per couple – 1350 sf for a family of four. not spacious, but certainly comfortable. humans need space for living, working, and of course for growing food. we must allot some space for office space, work space, schools. a single level should suffice ( 11 square meters per person ), partly because some people will work in the farms, or in their homes, or outside the habitat entirely ( such as in the mines, the smelters, the steel mills, the solar power satellites, etc. ). each person requires approximately 64 cubic meters for crops, but crops don ’ t require 3 - meter ceilings. allocating 2 levels for agriculture may be tight, but 3 levels is more


, the steel mills, the solar power satellites, etc. ). each person requires approximately 64 cubic meters for crops, but crops don ’ t require 3 - meter ceilings. allocating 2 levels for agriculture may be tight, but 3 levels is more than enough and provides some excess capacity for the production of meat, milk, and eggs. we need a little more space for overhead : storage, aisles, conduits for air, water, sewage. so we add an 8th level for good measure. that still leaves an interior cylinder with a radius of 75 meters as a park or recreation area. it has 3 / 4ths of a g of gravity. the opposite side is more than 500 feet overhead – it will feel spacious enough, and 15 + acres of playgrounds, hiking paths, trees, and grass will provide a little bit of earth in space. but there ’ s no need to leave the end caps – the walls of our cylinder – as bare metal. we should build offices, low - gravity facilities ( perhaps hospitals ), hotels, etc. along those walls. allocating 15 meters of depth along each end - cap for such purposes still leaves a hundred - meter - wide park, now with only 12 acres of usable space, 100 meters wide by 470 meters around. the lowest level of the end caps is a perfect place for shops and restaurants. the above ramble describes the capacity of a 100 - meter radius cylinder, spinning at 3 rpm to provide earth - normal gravity. this spin rate is often considered the maximum for a rotating space habitat, as most people ( but not all ) can adjust to it. more people can adjust to 2 rpm, and essentially everyone has no problem with 1 rpm. so how much room do we get with these and larger structures? can they be built? this table shows the size, possible population, and mass ( in kilotons or kt ) of the external steel shell, the internal steel infrastructure, and the shield ( total mass of steel shell plus rock ). note that once the steel shell reaches a mass of 10 tons per square meter, additional shielding is not needed. for a reference point, the total mass of steel in a modern aircraft carrier is about 60, 000 tons, about 20 % less than the smallest habitat. the dimensions given are of the habitable volume ; the outer walls are assumed to be an extra 5 meters in thickness to provide the volume needed to contain the shield mass ( but that extra external area raises the maximum population as well ). the thickness of the outer


given are of the habitable volume ; the outer walls are assumed to be an extra 5 meters in thickness to provide the volume needed to contain the shield mass ( but that extra external area raises the maximum population as well ). the thickness of the outer steel shell is also given, in meters, and it ranges from 3cm ( 1. 2 inches ) in the 100 meter cylinder to 1. 31 meters ( 4 feet ) in the largest. the table also shows the percentage of the asteroid apophis needed to build this structure, or alternatively the minimum size of a rocky asteroid large enough to build it. * note that the largest structure would require a nickel - iron asteroid, as there is no rocky shield mass needed. | steel shell ( kt ) | | 38 | | 105 | | 385 | | 2, 092 | | 23, 258 | | 129, 560 | | 3, 154, 722 | | steel structure ( kt ) | | 36 | | 71 | | 168 | | 519 | | 2, 584 | | 8, 117 | | 68, 166 | | total mass ( kt ) | | 1, 653 | | 3, 273 | | 7, 769 | | 24, 018 | | 119, 664 | | 376, 078 | | 3, 222, 888 | | % apophis ( 27 mt ) | | 6. 12 % | | 12. 12 % | | 28. 78 % | | 88. 95 % | | 443. 20 % | | 1392. 88 % | | 11936. 62 % | it is clear that apophis contains enough raw materials to build habitats supporting 125, 000 colonists in up to 16 structures. it is interesting that a 1 - kilometer nickel - iron asteroid ( of which there are approximately 50, 000 in the main belt ) provides enough iron that ( adding the resources of a small carbonaceous chondrite for carbon, oxygen, and water ) a 9x6 kilometer cylinder could be built, supporting over 15 million people. still larger structures may be constructed ; steel has adequate tensile strength for structures large enough to support a billion people, but they become wildly inefficient, requiring nearly 10 times the steel per person. i plan additional posts providing details on farming in space, on solar power satellites, and on the economics of life in space. it is clear that space habitats are feasible, and that commerce based upon tourism and the construction and maintenance of solar power satellites


. i plan additional posts providing details on farming in space, on solar power satellites, and on the economics of life in space. it is clear that space habitats are feasible, and that commerce based upon tourism and the construction and maintenance of solar power satellites can pay for it. the obstacles are the difficulty of the bootstrap process : - capturing an asteroid such as apophis into earth orbit - launching the tools to mine the riches of the asteroid, the tools to smelt its ores into steel and other valuable materials, the tools to shape that steel into the plates, beams, and girders needed to build things - launching the people to make it possible with enough consumables to get past the bootstrap. - designing and implementing closed - system recycling facilities capable of efficiently converting human wastes ( and crop residues ) into food, oxygen, and water. once enough infrastructure is in place, the colony should not need the addition of oxygen, water, food, or structural materials. high tech tools will be needed, including whatever is needed to construct solar cells, but the raw materials would already be in place. the earth will export technology, tools, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, and people. in exchange, the earth will receive bountiful energy from the sun, with zero carbon footprint. but that, too, will take time, energy, and especially people. in the long run, the demand for people in orbit is likely to exceed our capabilities of putting them there. and that, too, is the subject of a future post.


“ ” conspicuous by their absence from rand ' s list of virtues are the “ virtues of benevolence, ” such as kindness, charity, generosity, and forgiveness. | — stanford encyclopedia of philosophy | “ ” how do you read fiction and come up with a political philosophy? it ' s fiction! objectivism is a " philosophy " formulated by novelist ayn rand. it has various tenets, but is best known for defining self - interest as a moral virtue. as one might imagine, objectivism is very popular amongst those who hold a me - first view of the world. it lets them say, " hey, i ' m not being a selfish jerk, i ' m following a philosophy! " objectivism has not met wide acceptance in academia. when they bother to comment on it at all, academic philosophers usually dismiss it as a rather juvenile imitation of a real philosophy. it is nevertheless very popular, and informs the beliefs of a great many libertarians and assorted whackjobs. although it shares some beliefs with conservatism, it has not had much influence on that branch of politics due to its radical, anti - traditional, atheist nature ; see, for example, whittaker chambers ' s criticisms of atlas shrugged. objectivism introduces religious elements that were previously accessible to atheists only via some forms of communism, viz., an inability to define any non - self - serving epistemology and a violent idiocy on the part of believers. it was called objectivism because, as rand was the single smartest person in the history of the world, anything she said had to be objective. objectivism has some life outside rand ' s shadow. while its largest faction is represented by the ayn rand institute, led by rand ' s pet chihuahua intellectual heir leonard peikoff, an " open " faction exists outside rand ' s circle, led by david kelley and his group, the atlas society. the debate over how much of objectivism is dependent on rand ' s writings and how far it can go beyond that is a fierce one that has engendered numerous purges and bitter catfights over the years. although it may not be striking, there is a difference between what people consider the philosophy of objectivism to be today and ayn rand ' s personal life four decades ago. no greater example of this can be seen than in the bitch - fighting between the ayn rand institute and the atlas society. paul ryan, the 2012 republican candidate for vice president, told a meeting of


depravity who make demands upon you, announcing that they have and seek no reasons, proclaiming, as a license, that they ' just feel it ' — or those who reject an irrefutable argument by saying : ' it ' s only logic, ' which means : ' it ' s only reality. ' | — galt speech, atlas shrugged | “ ” there is one word that is forbidden in this valley : the word ' give. ' objectivism holds, basically, that everyone should live by their own effort, neither accepting gifts from others nor giving them, as both actions are considered moral weaknesses. it attempts to apply the principles of laissez - faire to right and wrong. for rand the individual ’ s life has supreme value and self - interest determines ethics. therefore, objectivism holds that all forms of altruism are irrational and immoral, even if they are done voluntarily. for example, they consider mother teresa immoral ( just like christopher hitchens did, although for different reasons ). in situations like the prisoner ' s dilemma each objectivist will try to benefit at the expense of the other and both will lose out. rational individuals in prisoner ' s dilemma type positions should see cooperation and altruism is the better strategy. different people ’ s self - interest frequently conflict and it is in our long term self - interest to act altruistically. there will be times when we need other people to act altruistically towards us. not only this but it keeps no account of public goods or externalities or the fact that property is extremely hard to define. the closest known relative to objectivism is the sith code, which also sees giving to and loving other human beings as irrational. mercy and humility are also frowned upon, and rand went to lengths to alter the definitions of these words to prove it. there is a major contradiction in objectivist ethics : each person, according to rand, is correct in believing that he or she is the only thing of value in the world. logically, there cannot be more than one sole source of value - - but rand ' s followers barely ever use logic, anyway. “ ” the source of property rights is the law of causality. | — galt speech, atlas shrugged | objectivism holds that free - market capitalism is superior to any other economic system, partially because it holds property rights to be grounded in reason, and partially because capitalism is held to be the only system in which it is possible for laws to be objective (


objectivism holds that free - market capitalism is superior to any other economic system, partially because it holds property rights to be grounded in reason, and partially because capitalism is held to be the only system in which it is possible for laws to be objective ( because there is only one law allowed, aka. " don ' t touch my stuff " ). objectivist politics either disregard or are unaware of the iron law of institutions. in the case of the economy, this law states that when not constrained by regulation, people or corporations will gain money and influence at the expense of the economy as a whole ( e. g., goldman sachs, bear stearns, aig, fannie mae... the list goes on ). conflicts with science quantum physics and relativity some objectivists like david harriman and leonard peikoff actually seem to have a problem with modern physics, especially quantum mechanics due to its probabilistic nature. the breakdown of classical mechanics - style causality at the quantum level doesn ' t square with rand ' s vision of causality. this has led to declarations by objectivists that modern physics is " corrupted " or " tainted " by a " kantian influence " and " bad philosophy " in general, in addition to various crank " refutations " of quantum physics and denial of some theories like relativity ( which was petr beckmann ' s specialty ). realism in psychology rand ' s notion that we can observe reality directly ( known in philosophy as direct or naive realism ) is refuted by the current consensus in neuroscience, psychology, and the cognitive sciences ( which accepts various forms of indirect or representative realism ). in the cognitive sciences, raw input is called " bottom - up perception " and the way the brain interprets this input is called " top - down perception. " the visual, auditory, etc. cortices essentially " reconstruct " the input from their respective sense organs, meaning there is always some element of top - down interpretation of raw stimuli. thus, we do not experience reality directly but in some sense a perceptual facsimile of reality constructed by the brain. a simple example of this is the fact that the image formed on your eye ' s retina is upside - down, but the visual cortex flips it right - side up. there are numerous other examples as well, including hallucinations and cognitive illusions. ayn rand also expressed doubts about the validity of the theory of evolution. indeed, while objectivism itself shares much in common with


flips it right - side up. there are numerous other examples as well, including hallucinations and cognitive illusions. ayn rand also expressed doubts about the validity of the theory of evolution. indeed, while objectivism itself shares much in common with social darwinism, what she didn ' t like ( that is, that according to the evolutionary theory, there is no real difference between human beings and animals, or that it might dilute or downplay personal responsibility ) reminds of other right - wing criticisms of evolution. environmental science because the magic of the free market can solve any problem, capitalism cannot cause environmental damage. and even if it did, nobody owns the environment, so caring about it would be immoral! thus, anti - environmentalism is a common position among randroids and they promote the usual associated pseudoscience and denialism on issues such as ddt, acid rain, and global warming. rand herself was also known for denying the link between smoking and cancer, then got a good taste of karma after being treated for lung cancer in 1974. strange definitions “ ” ' when i use a word, ' humpty dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ' it means just what i choose it to mean — neither more nor less. ' objectivists commonly take a word, change its meaning to fit their needs, and then complain that no one else is using their definitions. this has often led to confusion in debates, as neither side knew that they were both speaking two different languages. some commonly warped words include : - altruism : the objectivist definition is "... that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self - sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value. " it ' s based mainly upon auguste comte ' s ( who coined the term " altruisms " ) definition of altruism : " self - sacrifice for the benefit of others. " translated from the jargon, rand is trying to say that " altruism " is acting like a doormat and only working for others without consideration of one ' s own needs. naturally, few people have such a view on life ; even fewer do who actually practice it, and at that point only do to get something in return. in normal - speak, altruism is simply acting to benefit humanity. like most straw men, the " altruist " movement feared by randroids cannot defend itself because it doesn ' t


at that point only do to get something in return. in normal - speak, altruism is simply acting to benefit humanity. like most straw men, the " altruist " movement feared by randroids cannot defend itself because it doesn ' t exist. while comte did advocate something like this ( " live for others " ), people declined to obey his dictum. - mercy : leonard peikoff defined mercy as " unearned forgiveness. " this basically means that if your enemy is on the battlefield, unarmed, and begging for mercy, it would be immoral to let him live. in this sense objectivism is diametrically opposed to the christian concept of salvation by unmerited grace. - reason : this one has actually at least two different meanings in objectivist writings. one is pretty close to the usual meaning of the term. but objectivism also argues that you must use your reason in order to be happy, which is kinda like trying to open your garage door with your driver ' s license. in this second, shifted ethical / political sense, it then roughly means " absence of ethical concerns regarding one ' s decisions. " outside the objectivist funhouse, people who have no concern for the ethics of their decisions are called " sociopaths. " - mind : the mind is an essential part of rand ' s justification of property rights. alas, her argumentation is weird ( it ' s basically bad locke ) and ends up bearing almost no relationship with the usual concept of mind. also, taxation and redistribution are " mind enslavement, " apparently. to avoid such peculiar, loaded rhetoric, many other libertarians such as nozick rather argue in terms of " self - property " than " mind, " the idea being the same but less hypocritical. - evil : because of the objectivist ethical system, this word is given a meaning that is at least slightly different from everyday use. but rand also used it to disparage thinkers she disagreed with, solely on the basis of their philosophical ideas. and then randians complain that she isn ' t taken seriously by academia. wacky positions many objectivists, at least during ayn rand ' s lifetime, more than three decades ago, held that cigarette smoking is a moral obligation. objectivism ' s views on art and music tend to reflect rand ' s own personal tastes, seriously constructing a philosophical basis in which the art and music rand liked is moral, while anything else is not. one wonders what some of them think


obligation. objectivism ' s views on art and music tend to reflect rand ' s own personal tastes, seriously constructing a philosophical basis in which the art and music rand liked is moral, while anything else is not. one wonders what some of them think of rush ( the band ), whose drummer neil peart wrote lyrics inspired by rand but whose music was clearly not of the type approved by the ever - so - rational miss rand, even though she was alive when rush were making their best, most heroic, and most individualism - celebrating music. just for lulz and to confuse people ( including her dim - witted intellectual heir ), ayn rand decided she didn ' t like libertarians and declared that they plagiarized her ideas when it suited them and besmirched her name when it didn ' t. a criticism of ayn rand so obvious it ' s really kind of impressive that anyone follows her is based around a quote we already mentioned above : “ ” there is one word that is forbidden in this valley : the word ' give. ' again, ayn rand holds the position that it is immoral to give, or to receive aid to another of any kind. she explains this in an interview in 1959, where she specifically says that man must not live for others, and that altrusim is immoral. this can be criticized on several grounds. firstly, this means that it is immoral to be a child, or to raise a child, since a child requires constant attention and aid from the parents. this probably explains why rand never had children, and also means that if the human species adopted this, we would be gone after one generation. another criticism is that we are more - or - less not evolved to think this way. aside from her strange definition of altruism, rand would take a low position on evolutionary ethics, which is essentially the idea that we are evolved to act in the interest of the group as much as ourselves. this is why most people, cultures, and ethical systems don ' t consider self - sacrifice to be immoral, although randian philosophy says that it is. a stunning example of this problem, especially if you ' re finnish, is the case of simo hayha. hayha was a sniper in the finnish white army during the winter war against the soviet red army who killed 505 enemies, survived temperatures as low as - 40c and numerous attempts to kill him both by carpet bombing and by assaults of infantry and mechanized units. the actions of hayha were instrumental


white army during the winter war against the soviet red army who killed 505 enemies, survived temperatures as low as - 40c and numerous attempts to kill him both by carpet bombing and by assaults of infantry and mechanized units. the actions of hayha were instrumental in preventing the finnish from losing the winter war, which prevented them from being taken over by the soviets. when asked to explain actions like these ( partly since actions like these happened in atlas shrugged ) randroids respond with a rather dehumanizing, and frankly insulting, response that the person is not acting out of group interest, but is instead expecting to survive and is trying to gain self - respect or popularity. but alas, if he didn ' t care enough to do such a thing finland would have gone red. and ol ' ayn wouldn ' t have liked that, would she. see also - neo - tech, one of objectivism ' s loony - fringe offshoots. - the video game bioshock, whose setting is an objectivist " utopia " gone horribly wrong. it contains so many ayn rand references that it may as well be considered a re - write of atlas shrugged, but as some would hold, far more realistic. discounting the splicers, plasmids, and giant men in diving suits protecting little girls that is. at the very least, it is far more fun. - laveyan satanism, which is essentially ayn rand in a goat mask. - ari watch - the atlasphere ( find the randroid of your dreams! ) - objectivism forums discuss " the rationalwiki " - apparently they don ' t like us either. ( note the lengthy and pointless catfight over the meaning of " skepticism. " ) - criticisms of objectivism - ayn rand contra human nature - a blog dedicated to refuting objectivism - the unlikeliest cult in history, skeptic article by michael shermer that appears as a chapter in his book why people believe weird things - massimo pigliucci : about objectivism part i : metaphysics, part ii : epistemology, part iii : ethics, part iv : politics - objectivism and the corruption of rationality, e - book by john scott ryan - ↑ the green room with paul provenza – season 2, episode 4 - ↑ but this might be an example of psychological projection, as many academics also have a problem understanding the importance of matching socks. - ↑ http : / / www. nationalreview. com / flashback / flashback200


– season 2, episode 4 - ↑ but this might be an example of psychological projection, as many academics also have a problem understanding the importance of matching socks. - ↑ http : / / www. nationalreview. com / flashback / flashback200501050715. asp - ↑ the atlas society versus ayn rand institute - ↑ is paul ryan for or against ayn rand? cnn. com, august 14, 2012. - ↑ - ↑ causality, ayn rand lexicon - ↑ the ineffable carrot and the infinite stick an atheist ' s view of morality - ↑ http : / / www. cbc. ca / world / story / 2008 / 10 / 23 / greenspan. html - ↑ see david harriman ' s lecture the crisis in physics and its cause as well as peikoff ' s weird science. - ↑ there is, of course, debate in these fields as to the exact implications of these phenomena on the philosophy of mind, however, they tend to flatly reject the naive form of realism. perception and hallucination by charles mccreery provides further explanation and counterexamples. see also ayn rand contra human nature ' s series the cognitive revolution and objectivism for more criticisms relating to psychology. - ↑ ayn rand and evolution - ↑ ayn rand institute on evolution - ↑ reject environmentalism, not ddt, ari - ↑ against environmentalism, ari - ↑ altruism, aynrandlexicon. com - ↑ definitions of altruism from the philosopher who coined the term. - ↑ the sociology of the ayn rand cult, murray rothbard - ↑ why don ' t more objectivists love the rock band rush? - ↑ rush - 2112 - live 1976 - part 1 of 2 - ↑ http : / / www. youtube. com / watch? v = 1ooksv _ sx4y - ↑ this tactic is generally applied to any act of kindness. for example, saving your children from being hit by a car by throwing yourself in front of it is only moral because of your selfish desire to have your children live on, rather than concern for their own lives. it ' s essentially the objectivist version of goddidit. - ↑ see the wikipedia article on laveyan satanism.


“ ” are you thinking what we ' re thinking? telepathy is the alleged transfer of information between individuals ' minds without any apparent detectable connection ( physical, electronic, electromagnetic ). despite considerable testing, " telepathic " individuals have been unable to show true telepathy. several governments have studied telepathy with the intention of either using it as a secure means of communication or as a method of obtaining information by " reading minds ". telepathic mind - reading has often been performed as a stage act. many telepaths simply use suggestive questions to put ideas in the mind of their subjects ( as demonstrated by derren brown in numerous performances ). science fiction stories have used telepathy as a plot device countless times, but quite often it is electronically aided. the modern cell phone comes pretty close to doing the job. a simple explanation? in some cases, people may well think the same thing, due to the same external influences. for example, if one takes a busload of people on a trip through the countryside, it is likely that the individuals will share thoughts about fields, farms, livestock etc later in the day. this accounts for twins ' " telepathy ", as they are often raised in the same environment, with the exact same influences and many shared experiences. affirmation bias also accounts for why people remember apparent " telepathy " and coincidence, but not the numerous examples to the contrary. - ↑ interview with a techno - enabled telepathy believer. - ↑ http : / / www. mindhacks. com / blog / 2009 / 05 / us _ military _ pours _ mi. html


each year the american government pays $ 5 billion in subsidies, known as “ direct payments, ” to rice, feed, cotton, and soybean farmers. as the economic downturn continues and washington ’ s budget troubles intensify, those payments have become harder to justify, especially since farmers have weathered the weak economy especially well : the u. s. department of agriculture estimated that net farm income in 2011 was the second highest on record. so in october top legislators on the house and senate agricultural committees proposed eliminating many of the subsidies, saving $ 23 billion during the next decade. just one catch : the plan would replace the old subsidies with a new one that could cost at least as much. as congress reduced the amount spent on direct payments, it would change a subsidy known as the average crop revenue election ( acre ) program. the new formula would modify a 2008 program designed to allow farmers to take additional subsidies for most of their crops by giving farmers more taxpayer money anytime per - acre revenues for certain crops fell below recent averages in their states. but as farm revenues boom, the prices of many crops covered by acre are breaking records. as montana state university agricultural economist vincent smith explained in a blog post for the american enterprise institute, that means “ taxpayers would pay already wealthy farmers to maintain record profits — at a time when millions of americans are jobless and not making a profit at all. ” and when prices went down, the payments would go even higher. “ add it up, ” smith noted, and “ over ten years, there would be no cuts from ag subsidies at all, just a switch in how they are received. ”


difference between siberian tiger and bengal tiger although many think that siberian and bengal tigers have their own species, they are actually subspecies of the panthera tigris. these tigers both eat some of the same animals and can eat a very large amount of meat each day. it would take humans weeks to consume the amount of food that they do per day. both of these tigers are very beautiful and have different colors and shades. one interesting notion is that they both have stripes on them and both are huge cats that pounce on their prey instead of chasing it. although these beautiful tigers look slightly the same to one another and are mistaken for the same, you can tell which is which by their location. this is one of the main and key differences between the two. bengal tigers can be found in india as well as burma and bangladesh. on the other hand siberian tigers can be found mostly in russia now, and a few in china and korea. the reason north korea ad china don ’ t have as many anymore is because they are being killed by illegal poachers. the habits of these two beautiful creatures are somewhat the same and yet very different. one thing we will discuss is their eating habits. both of these tigers eat a large amount of meat a day and siberians in particular can consume up to 200 pounds in one day. they both eat animals like pigs and deer, amongst other things. siberian tigers will kill bears when they can ’ t find their normal food, usually brown bears. bengal tigers like to stay in the brush, tropical jungles and tall grasses. siberian tigers enjoy being alone and mark their territory using their pee or scratches and also cover a huge territory of almost 400 acres. these tigers are in serious trouble of becoming extinct. not only is there a small number of these two tigers left, but they are also being shot down and poached for their fats, furs and bones to make chinese medicine. siberian tigers are thought or assumed to only exist in numbers of about 400 in the wild and only a mere 500 that are held captive in zoos and such. bengal tigers, on the other hand, are also endangered and there are known to be about 3, 000 tigers or so left. this means that shortly both species of tigers are set to disappear forever in relatively short span of time if nothing is done to save them from extinction. - both of these tigers consume a lot of meat each day, sometimes reaching 200 pounds of meat a day. - they both also commonly eat pigs and deer an avoid contact with humans. -


using a new measure of poverty which adjusts for area costs of living, in - kind benefits, health care costs and other factors, the census bureau released a new report today ( reported buy cialis - poverty / 51108410 / 1 ″ > here in usa today ) showing that the number of people in poverty is about 49. 1 million, 6 % higher than the 46. 2 million originally estimated in september. the demographics of poverty have shifted as well. fewer blacks and children live in poverty but the new numbers show more poverty among whites, asians, hispanics and the elderly. depending on what side of the political spectrum you are on, these numbers can be interpreted as an indictment that more federal and state poverty aid is needed, or that the current system, regardless of how generous it is, is not particularly effective at getting people out of poverty. of course, an unemployment rate hovering at 9 percent doesn ’ t help matters. but the debate about how to deal with poverty often centers around the question, “ what more should government be doing? ” more tax credits? more food stamps? new programs? free diapers? the more important, but often ignored question is, “ what should the government stop doing that creates barriers for the poor? ” earlier this year, ncpa published a report detailing the challenges faced by the poor in obtaining reasonably - priced services or using their own talents to provide income - producing services. these challenges are often a result of state or local restrictions and requirements that limit competition. for example : - licensing requirements for child care services make it difficult for low - income families to afford child care so they can work ; these requirements also create barriers to individuals who wish to earn an income through caring for children in their own homes. - zoning regulations that require minimum lot sizes, expensive building material, or prohibit modular homes make housing unaffordable for the poor. - regulations that prohibit transportation alternatives such as jitneys, or limit the number of cabs allowed in a city increase the cost of transportation for those without cars. these regulations also create barriers for individuals who wish to start their own transportation services as a source of income. the census report also found higher poverty rates in urban areas than in rural areas due to cost of living differences. this is not suprising considering that it is more common for large cities and suburbs to impose restrictions that limit access to affordable services for the poor. just as there are alternative ways of measuring poverty, there are also alternative ways ot addressing poverty. sometimes it can be


migrants to the united states are a diverse population. this diversity, captured in various migration theories, is overlooked in empirical applications that describe a typical narrative for an average migrant. using the mexican migration project data from about 17, 000 first - time migrants between 1970 and 2000, this study employs cluster analysis to identify four types of migrants with distinct configurations of characteristics. each migrant type corresponds to a specific theoretical account, and becomes prevalent in a specific period, depending on the economic, social and political conditions. strikingly, each migrant type also becomes prevalent around the period in which its corresponding theory is developed. this paper studies the impact of internal migration and remittance flows on wealth accumulation and distribution in 51 rural villages in nang rong, thailand. using data from 5, 449 households, the study constructs indices of household productive and consumer assets with principal component analysis. the changes in these indices from 1994 to 2000 are modeled as a function of households ’ prior migration and remittance behavior with ordinary least squares, matching, and instrumental variable methods. the findings show that rich households lose productive assets with migration, potentially due to a reduction in the labor force available to maintain local economic activities, while poor households gain productive assets due to a reduction in the consumption burden and an influx of remittances. regardless of wealth status, households do not gain or lose consumer assets with migration or remittances. these results suggest an equalizing effect of migration and remittances on wealth distribution in rural thailand. background : human cadavers are crucial to numerous aspects of health care, including initial and continuing training of medical doctors and advancement of medical research. concerns have periodically been raised about the limited number of whole body donations. little is known, however, about a unique form of donation, namely co - donations or instances when married individuals decide to register at the same time as their spouse as whole body donors. our study aims to determine the extent of whole body co - donation and individual factors that might influence co - donation. methods and findings : we reviewed all records of registrants to the university of hawaii medical school ’ s whole body donation program from 1967 through 2006 to identify married registrants. we then examined the 806 married individuals ’ characteristics to understand their decision to register alone or with their spouse. we found that married individuals who registered at the same time as their spouse accounted for 38. 2 percent of married registrants. sex differences provided an initial lens to understand co - donation. wives were more likely to co - donate than to


spouse. we found that married individuals who registered at the same time as their spouse accounted for 38. 2 percent of married registrants. sex differences provided an initial lens to understand co - donation. wives were more likely to co - donate than to register alone ( p = 0. 002 ). moreover, registrants ’ main occupational background had a significant effect on co - donations ( p = 0. 001 ). married registrants ( regardless of sex ) in female - gendered occupations were more likely to co - donate than to donate alone ( p = 0. 014 ). female - gendered occupations were defined as ones in which women represented more than 55 percent of the workforce ( e. g., preschool teachers ). thus, variations in donors ’ occupational backgrounds explained co - donation above and beyond sex differences. conclusions : efforts to secure whole body donations have historically focused on individual donations regardless of donors ’ marital status. more attention needs to be paid, however, to co - donations since they represent a non - trivial number of total donations. also, targeted outreach efforts to male and female members of female - gendered occupations might prove a successful way to increase donations through co - donations. prior work has modeled individuals ’ migration and remittance behavior separately, and reported mixed empirical support for various remittance motivations. this study offers an integrated approach, and considers migration as a mechanism for selection in a censored probit model of remittance behavior. this approach leads to different conclusions about the determinants of remittance behavior in the thai internal migration setting. to the extent that these determinants capture different remittance motivations, as prior research has presumed, the analysis also provides varying support for these motivations. these results suggest that migration and remittance behavior are interrelated, and it is crucial for an analysis of remittance behavior to control for the selectivity of migration. students of social inequality have noted the presence of mechanisms militating toward cumulative advantage and increasing inequality. social scientists have established that in - ‐ dividuals ’ choices are influenced by those of their network peers in many social domains. we suggest that the ubiquity of network effects and tendencies towards cumulative advant - ‐ age are related. inequality is exacerbated when effects of individual differences are multi - ‐ plied by social networks : when persons must decide whether to adopt beneficial practices ; network externalities, social learning, or normative pressure influence adoption decisions ; and networks are homophi


is exacerbated when effects of individual differences are multi - ‐ plied by social networks : when persons must decide whether to adopt beneficial practices ; network externalities, social learning, or normative pressure influence adoption decisions ; and networks are homophilous with respect to individual characteristics that predict such decisions. we review evidence from literatures on network effects on technology, labor markets, education, demography, and health ; identify several mechanisms through which networks may generate higher levels of inequality than one would expect based on dif - ‐ ferences in initial endowments alone ; consider cases where network effects may amelior - ‐ ate inequality ; and describe research priorities. to evaluate the distributional impact of remittances in origin communities, prior research studied how migrants ’ selectivity by wealth varies with migration prevalence in the community or prior migration experience of the individual. this study considers both patterns, and examines selectivity separately in low and high prevalence communities and for first - time and repeat migrants. based on data from 18, 042 household heads in 119 mexican communities from the mexican migration project, the analyses show that ( i ) first - time migrants in low prevalence communities come from poor households, while repeat migrants in high prevalence communities belong to wealthy households, and ( ii ) higher amounts of remittances reach wealthy households. these results suggest that repeat migration and remittances may be mechanisms for wealth accumulation in the study communities. descriptive analyses associate these mechanisms with increasing wealth disparities between households with and without migrants, especially in high prevalence communities. the study, similar to prior findings, shows the importance of repeat migration trips, which, given sustained remittances, may amplify the wealth gap between migrants and non - migrants in migrant - sending communities. the study also qualifies prior findings by differentiating between low and high prevalence communities and observing a growing wealth gap only in the latter. we describe a common but largely unrecognized mechanism that produces and exacerbates intergroup inequality : the diffusion of valuable practices with positive network externalities through social networks whose members differentially possess characteristics associated with adoption. we examine two cases, the first to explicate the implications of the model, the second to demonstrate its utility in analyzing empirical data. in the first, the diffusion of internet use, network effects increase the utility of adoption to friends and relatives of prior adopters. an agent - based model demonstrates positive, monotonic relationships, given externalities, between homophily bias and intergroup inequality in equilibrium


, the diffusion of internet use, network effects increase the utility of adoption to friends and relatives of prior adopters. an agent - based model demonstrates positive, monotonic relationships, given externalities, between homophily bias and intergroup inequality in equilibrium adoption rates. in the second, rural / urban migration in thailand, network effects reduce risk to persons whose networks include prior migrants. using longitudinal individual - level migration data, we find that network homophily interacts with network externalities to induce inequality in migration rates among otherwise similar villages. sociological research often examines the effects of social context with hierarchical models. in these applications, individuals are nested in social contexts — like school classes, neighborhoods or villages — whose effects are thought to shape individual outcomes. although applications of hierarchical models are common in sociology, analysis usually focuses on inference for fixed parameters. researchers seldom study model fit or examine aggregate patterns of variation implied by model parameters. we present an analysis of thai migration data, in which survey respondents are nested within villages and report annual migration information. we study a variety of hierarchical models, investigating model fit with dic and posterior predictive statistics. we also describe a simulation to study how different initial distributions of migration across villages produce increasing inter - village inequality in migration. this paper studies how increasing migration changes the character of migrant streams in sending communities. cumulative causation theory posits that past migration patterns determine future flows, as prior migrants provide resources, influence, or normative pressures that make individuals more likely to migrate. the theory implies exponentially increasing migration flows that are decreasingly selective. recent research identifies heterogeneity in the cumulative patterns and selectivity of migration in communities. we propose that this heterogeneity may be explained by individuals ’ differential access to previously accumulated migration experience. multi - level, longitudinal data from 22 rural thai communities allow us to measure the distribution of past experience as a proxy for its accessibility to community members. we find that migration becomes a less - selective process as migration experience accumulates, and migrants become increasingly diverse in socio - demographic characteristics. yet, selectivity within migrant streams persists if migration experience is not uniformly distributed among, and hence not equally accessible to, all community members. the results confirm that the accumulation and distribution of prior migrants ’ experiences distinctly shape future migration flows, and may lead to diverging cumulative patterns in communities over time. this paper investigates how migrant social capital differentially influences individuals ’ migration and cumulatively generates divergent outcomes for communities. to combine the fragmented findings in the literature,


shape future migration flows, and may lead to diverging cumulative patterns in communities over time. this paper investigates how migrant social capital differentially influences individuals ’ migration and cumulatively generates divergent outcomes for communities. to combine the fragmented findings in the literature, the paper proposes a framework that decomposes migrant social capital into resources ( information about or assistance with migration ), sources ( prior migrants ), and recipients ( potential migrants ). analysis of multi - level and longitudinal data from 22 rural villages in thailand shows that the probability of internal migration increases with the available resources, yet the magnitude of increase depends on recipients ’ characteristics and the strength of their ties to sources. specifically, individuals become more likely to migrate if migrant social capital resources are greater and more accessible. the diversity of resources by occupation increases the likelihood of migration, while diversity by destination inhibits it. resources from weakly - tied sources, such as village members, have a higher effect on migration than resources from strongly - tied sources in the household. finally, the importance of resources for migration declines with recipients ’ own migration experience. these findings challenge the mainstream account of migrant social capital as a uniform resource that generates similar migration outcomes for different groups of individuals or in different settings. in nang rong villages, depending on the configuration of resources, sources and recipients, migrant social capital leads to differential migration outcomes for individuals and divergent cumulative migration patterns in communities. a review of the sociological research about gender and migration shows the substantial ways in which gender fundamentally organizes the social rela - tions and structures influencing the causes and consequences of migration. yet, although a significant sociological research has emerged on gender and migration in the last three decades, studies are not evenly distributed across the discipline. in this article, we map the recent intellectual history of gender and migration in the field of sociology and then systematically assess the extent to which studies on engendering migration have appeared in four widely read journals of sociology ( american journal of sociology, american sociological review, demography, and social forces ). we follow with a discussion of these studies, and in our conclusions, we consider how future gender and migration scholarship in sociology might evolve more equitably. employing longitudinal data from thailand to replicate studies of cumulative causation, we extend current knowledge by measuring frequency of trips, duration of time away, level of network aggregation ( village or household ), and sex composition of migrant networks to estimate a model of prospective migration among men and women in thailand. we find that trips and duration of time away have distinct influences upon migration ;


creating great photographs can be a snap as long as you follow some of the key compositional rules and guidelines. in our composition & perspective course we not only reveal these rules, but we offer many tips and techniques for adding true creative touches to your photos. we will teach you how to break away from old habits and become more creative. - understanding and using the rule of thirds - using the focus and recompose technique - effective use of lines, angles, curves and negative space - recognizing patterns and making use of the full camera frame - how choice of lens affects perspective - fixing composition after you ' ve taken the shot this course is suitable for individuals looking to improve their photos through the use and understanding of better composition. - you may bring your camera along but it is not mandatory no one has rated this yet. why don ' t you be the first? in order to access the student notes for this course, please follow these steps : henry ' s school of imaging workshops are quick, informative programs covering a variety of imaging topics. find out more check out our tips and tricks blog for great insight on taking better photos no matter your experience level. view tips and tricks contact us toll free at 1 ( 888 ) 574 - 0250 or email @ example. com © 1996 - 2013 cranbrook glen enterprises ltd. all rights reserved. view your full shopping cart for taxes and shipping.


p. o. box 98199 washington, dc 20090 - 8199 the famous cambrian explosion - a rapid diversification of animal groups about 550 million years ago - assumes a rather diminished significance when mapped to the full tree of life. update : yes, i made the diagram myself, by modifying this. that ’ s a very nice illustration to put it in perspective. thanks! i have briefly seen videos on youtube about the subject of the cambrian explosion, and i had a question burning in my head. why was the cambrian explosion a threat to the darwinian theory? maybe, the cambrian explosion is just a metaphor for the evolution and advancement of new forms with complex body parts that simply are modified ontogenetically through natural selection and mutation. the reason why the cambrian event may be problematic for darwinian evolution is that within canonical darwinian theory is the assumption that phylotypic change occurs gradually, and is selected at each change. for the changes that occurred around the cambrian event, hundreds of millions of years would be required if later evolutionary changes scale linearly in time. niles eldridge et al proposed punctuated evolution which allows for rapid phylotypic change spaced with phylotypic stasis, one of the causes is hyppothesized to be geographical isolation which is often associated with an extinction event. the systematics plot above is a bit misleading in that the large blue branch is all bacteria. i don ’ t think that it would come as a shock to anyone that there are many more species of bacteria than metazoa. the cambrian event affected the multi - cell body plans, and in a very significant way. its effect on bacteria is not preserved in the fossil record. therefore, to indicate that the cambrain even affected only the branch indicated is not positively supported in the fossil record. after some consideration, i have decided to move myrmecos back to its original location : i apologize for … i ’ ve posted all i ’ m going to say about pepsigeddon here. and while you ’ re doing that, i have answered the monday mystery back at my tried and … eristalis, the drone fly easily mistaken for a bee, eristalis is in fact a clever mimic … i would like to point out that when an australian says “ pot plant “, they mean house …


deep point of view refers to getting inside your character and writing almost from their first - person perspective. it ’ s pov that connects the reader to the character ’ s emotions, letting the reader become closer to the story, more involved. even without “ deep pov, ” you can tighten your writing by being aware that every word counts. each word, phrase, paragraph, scene, and chapter should work together to progress your story either by revealing gmc or dropping a clue that will help the reader understand something at a later point. deep pov ties emotion to actions and reactions, and connects the current action to what ’ s going on inside the character ’ s head ( introspection, emotion, reaction ). since people think in specifics, letting our characters think in specifics brings the reader closer to that character and why they ’ re thinking what they ’ re thinking at that exact moment. when you ’ re deep in a character ’ s pov, the character doesn ’ t keep secrets from himself ( a suzanne brockmann tip i learned many moons ago ). deep pov lets the reader experience the story... instead of someone telling them the story. very simple changes subtly change a sentence from “ telling ” into “ showing ” and bring us closer to the character, giving us insight into their world. as writers we ’ re consistently told to avoid using “ telling ” words and phrases : felt, saw, heard, just as, plus, because, knew, little does she know, without thinking, however, she continued, he thought, she realized, couldn ’ t help but, can ’ t help noticing. but why? as a writer, have you dissected your favorite type of book and looked at the type of sentence structure that excites you as a reader? she knew she had to run, but it felt like her feet were stuck in quicksand. run. now. make your quicksand feet move before you ’ re dead. the first sentence is very passive. ( very telling, as if i ’ m telling you how a third person felt. ) several years ago, the second example would have appeared in italics. it ’ s as if the character is talking to herself. let ’ s think about this for a minute. if we ’ re in a character ’ s pov, we ’ re already in their … you got it! we ’ re already in their thoughts. so write as if you ’ re thinking. when thinking, we ’ re not formal. we use


we ’ re in a character ’ s pov, we ’ re already in their … you got it! we ’ re already in their thoughts. so write as if you ’ re thinking. when thinking, we ’ re not formal. we use the same verbiage. we think in the same phrases. my writing “ style ” is to italicize for emphasis and when the character is directing a thought at themselves ( i. e. : i can run ). deep pov through setting if the description doesn ’ t impact the character, it won ’ t impact the reader. setting is more than just describing the landscape or type & color of the furniture. it ’ s the tone of your characters ’ surroundings and the attitude in which they think about it. if a man walks into a room and notices the paisley print curtains, he better be an interior designer or those curtains better look just like the set at his mother ’ s house. it ’ s not “ in - character ” for the average joe to notice curtains. the same goes for a heroine standing on her porch and describing the surroundings she sees every day. the author needs a reason for the heroine to be thinking about her surroundings. at least one of your characters will be very familiar and comfortable with their corner of the world. the other will be observing not only the new locale, but also the way another character moves through it. setting includes the observations about the actual way things look vs. the way things make a character feel. one or two words throughout a character ’ s thoughts can set the tone of your book and give you an excellent backdrop. a few quick examples : it rained on them. vs rain pelted them like ice shards. they got in the rental car trying to get warm. vs they were both soaked to the skin, making him wish he ’ d rented a car with warming seats. let the reader experience the story instead of telling them the story... when an author “ lists ” what a character is doing, they are viewing the scene from somewhere else - - meaning another character or an omniscient pov ( and the author usually ends up “ telling ” what ’ s happening instead of “ showing ” the action ). by “ list ” i mean what they do through the scene step - by - step. to get deep pov, the author concentrates more on emotion and / or why the character is consciously thinking about his own movements. combining action, emotion and scene pulls the reader in and keeps them turning pages.


scene step - by - step. to get deep pov, the author concentrates more on emotion and / or why the character is consciously thinking about his own movements. combining action, emotion and scene pulls the reader in and keeps them turning pages. another outside character can ’ t know the true emotional reaction of what ’ s happening to the characters involved in the scene, and an omniscient pov places an interpretation upon the feelings the characters are experiencing. the following is from my new book dangerous memories ( title may change ) coming from harlequin intrigue. the first paragraph is how not to write an active scene, followed by what i actually wrote. not active, not deep pov levi watched while people ran to safety at the funeral. he needed to get joseph ’ s daughter to safety so he ran through the flower arrangements and tackled her to the ground. he watched the wreaths fall onto the casket as roses and rain pelted them. dangerous memories ( hopefully active and half - way decent ) levi hurdled a flower arrangement to get her to safety faster. he should have listened to himself earlier and stood next to her. he heard the shot. choices? either hit the dirt or run like those in his peripheral vision. he leapt in a flying tackle to take joseph ’ s daughter down with him. he ’ d pushed hard off the slippery grass, heavily landing on top of jolene. he turned as much as he could to take the brunt of the fall. their bodies slid off the fake - grass rug, into the mud. wreath stands fell onto the casket. roses and other flowers fell on their heads. rain pelted them like ice shards. levi rolled on top of her, keeping his weight on his elbows and knees, using the bullet - proof vest he wore to shield her heart. if it were only that easy. can you tell a difference? the first paragraph tells the same information, but doesn ’ t get my heart racing like the section from my book. there ’ s one last thing you need to know about “ telling ” - - always remember when it ’ s used correctly, it can be a good way to cut to the chase and get the information you need onto the page in the quickest fashion. bottom line? be aware of how you ’ re writing and manipulate how it affects the scene and what you want the reader to feel as a result of reading it. which example do you prefer? let me know in your comment and i ’ ll put your name in the hat for


how you ’ re writing and manipulate how it affects the scene and what you want the reader to feel as a result of reading it. which example do you prefer? let me know in your comment and i ’ ll put your name in the hat for some texas magnets. i can ’ t include everything so … for more examples of “ deep pov ” go to my website article ( soon to be posted on my own updated website. ) angi morgan writes “ intrigues where honor and danger collide with love. ” she combines actual texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. hill country holdup went on sale the very night it won the rwa golden heart® award and is a bookseller ’ s best & romantic times best first series book nominee. her second harlequin intrigue®,. 38 caliber cover - up, is a gayle wilson award of excellence nominee. website connect on facebook fb fan page goodreads get lost in a story breathtaking romantic suspense a picture a day copyright 2012 angi morgan - - all rights reserved, please obtain written permission before use. today is another day of our march speedbo. find out more about speedbo and our exciting weekly prizes here. comment today for a chance to win! winners announced in the weekend edition.


classroom activities for teaching sedimentary geologythis collection of teaching materials allows for the sharing of ideas and activities within the community of geoscience teachers. do you have a favorite teaching activity you ' d like to share? please help us expand this collection by contributing your own teaching materials. subject : sedimentary geology - 1 match general / other - sedimentary textures - sedimentary structures - stratigraphy lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, seismic stratigraphy - depositional environments continental, marginal - marine, shelf - slope environment, deep marine environment - facies and facies models - techniques of sedimentary geology - sediment transport and deposition results 1 - 12 of 12 matches new approaches to field - based analysis of stratigraphic sections part of activities paul myrow, colorado college this is a field - based project that is designed to teach students how to interpret processes of deposition and paleoenvironments from outcrop. designing sedimentary geology courses around field projects with realistic scenarios part of activities bosiljka glumac, smith college sedimentary geology courses can be structured around field projects that take advantage of the local geology and are placed within realistic situations to demonstrate the relevance of the work that sedimentologists... identifying facies in a transgressive sequence from the mid - atlantic coast part of activities david krantz, university of toledo the transgressive coastal sequence will be explored by students in an activity based on high - resolution seismic profiles collected off assateague island, maryland and virginia. use of a lab - field couplet to link rock classification and facies interpretation part of activities allison tumarkin - deratzian, temple university students examine hand samples in the lab, then describe formations and interpret facies succession at a local outcrop. linked lab and field components doubly reinforce understanding of course concepts. designing a sedimentary geology course around field - based class projects that yield publishable research part of activities james ebert, suny college at oneonta field - based research projects can be the heart of a course in sedimentary geology. course content, organization, readings and laboratory experiences are dictated by the nature of the specific project. less content... from grains to basin : an example of a project - based sedimentology exercise part of activities fraka harmsen, california state university - fresno to help make the connection between thin - section and outcrop, students undertake a field oriented project in ridge basin, california. using field trips to local rivers to enhance student understanding of deposition


of activities fraka harmsen, california state university - fresno to help make the connection between thin - section and outcrop, students undertake a field oriented project in ridge basin, california. using field trips to local rivers to enhance student understanding of depositional environments part of activities alex simms, oklahoma state university - main campus the purpose of this activity is to take advantage of modern rivers to teach basic principles in sedimentology and interpreting past deposits. the students first observe the sedimentological features of a modern... using data from the experimental earthscape facility ( jurassic tank ) to visualize basin - scale stratigraphic architecture part of activities tom hickson, university of st. thomas students use digital imagery from an experimental subsiding sedimentary basin to visualize the controls on basin - scale facies architecture, walther ' s law, and sequence stratigraphic concepts. students must... virtual field trip to the book cliffs part of activities ann holmes, university of tennessee - chattanooga, the problem - based learning techniques have been applied to geological datasets collected and published about the cretaceous book cliffs exposures in utah. using computer spatial technologies ( geoplus petra ) for subsurface geological analysis part of activities dave barnes, western michigan university the lab project is a culminating activity ( following work with conventional core and petrophysical logs ) in which the students compile a subsurface " project " using computer spatial technology software,... delta environments and paleogeography part of activities maya elrick, university of new mexico - main campus one of the most basic and useful aspects of stratigraphy is reconstructing paleogeography using correlated stratigraphic columns. this lab introduces students to the reconstruction of deltaic paleoenvironments... bedforms to facies to prediction : walther ' s law and sequence stratigraphic analysis, blackhawk formation, utah part of activities tom morris, brigham young university this field exercise challenges students to apply their knowledge of bedforms to interpret facies within a vertical section of the blackhawk formation, utah. the students draft a vertical succession of the outcrop...


background of the compost tea brewer there are two people who should be recognized for their involvement in this process : what we are exploring with the compost tea brewing system is very similar. it will dramatically change how we grow plants and how we perceive and interact with the earth. this is an exciting time to be living and involved in this search for solutions and understanding. some important ideas to always have in mind when thinking about and dealing with the brewing process and its application to plants and the soil are : 1. we are at the very beginning of the process of knowing and a lot of conclusions may be wrong — there is not yet enough data. the process that carl rubenberger began was one of taking compost plus food for microbes, placing it in clean water ( no contaminants i. e. chlorine, which kills bacteria ), and adding a machine. now this process of multiplying the population of biolife in the compost becomes a biological army to protect, extend the nutrients, water intake and change chemicals around the plant to a useable form. what is the process and why is it so effective? plants take energy from the sun during the process of photosynthesis and convert it into foods they need to sustain themselves. one of the very important recent findings was that 50 % of this food is used by the plant internally to grow and sustain itself. the other 50 % of foods ( sugars / carbohydrates ) coats the outside of its leaves, twigs, trunk and roots to feed an army of microbes to protect it from pathogens ( disease - causing army ) and extend its root system to pick up more nutrients. this is the natural process between plants, sunlight, micro and macro - organisms and the soil, etc. we have hybridized / changed plants from all over the world and for a number of reasons within this new environment, the plant is not naturally functioning at 100 %. now the plant is stressed either within the soil or above ground. because the new plant is not producing the foods it naturally needs, predators move in to eat this injured or starving, weak plant. with the preceding information you can see most of our plants are not functioning at 100 % either because of the soil or location. it ’ s very similar to people who aren ’ t getting enough food for nourishment or live in an area where war or natural disasters are occurring. they do not have the basic foods or environment they need to grow and sustain them without disease. if we have plants that are