[ btw : i updated the sbg prompts below with some answers from the comments. ] in addition to the material i facilitated on instructional design, the staff at colchester high school wanted to work on their implementation of standards - based grading. happily, they had already agreed on the fundamentals : - we should assess students on what they know now, as opposed to what they knew when we first assessed them. - assessment should be atomized to the point that it empowers teachers and students in their remediation. this left me all the creative, interesting parts. we talked about reporting methods for keeping students apprised of their progress, both individually and as a class. we talked about the effect of sbg on retention. then we picked a concept and had pairs come up with a score of 1, 2, and 3. we debated productively about marginal scores — when a 2 turns into a 3, specifically — and concluded that, in a system this forgiving, we ' d rather underestimate a student ( who could return to improve her score whenever, wherever ) than overestimate her. we discussed, afterwards, how to construct valid, manageable assessments. i gave them four test questions, each of which, in its own way, invalidated what it claimed to measure or was unmanageable at scale. i ' ll leave them here. feel free to kick them around in the comments. the trouble with the two - step equation problem is that it ’ s also an intimidating decimal arithmetic question. if a student fails it, you don ’ t know which skill needs work. the issue with the law of sines / cosines problem is that you do not have to use the law of sines / cosines to solve it. a student can get those right without using the law of sines / cosines, especially the 30 - 60 - 90. also, the concept is too broad. if a student has a 2 / 4 on " law of sines / cosines, " how do you know which one to remediate? " quadrilaterals " is also too broad a concept. if a student has a 3 / 4 on " quadrilaterals, " do you know what the student knows about quadrilaterals? which ones she understands and doesn ' t? we decided " linear pairs of angles " is too small a concept. if every concept were this granular, we ' d have several hundred concepts to manage by semester ' s end


the nation lost an inspirational figure when bob mccall died on friday, february 26. as an artist, bob invited people around the globe to share his optimistic dreams of a human future in space. a native of columbus, ohio and a graduate of the columbus school of fine arts, mccall came out of the army air forces at the end of ww ii and established himself as a successful advertising illustrator with a number of magazine covers to his credit. but it was the notion of flying through air and space that truly inspired him. beginning in the 1950s, he produced over forty works for the u. s. air force art collection. when james webb, administrator of nasa, created an agency art program in the 1960s, bob mccall was one of the first artists invited to participate. he became a favorite with hollywood, as well, producing major paintings and posters for films such as 2001 : a space odyssey, and tora, tora, tora. mccall was perhaps best known for his murals. the space mural — a cosmic view ( 1976 ), which he painted on a south lobby wall of the national air and space museum, is perhaps the best known of all of his works. it was the first of several major murals that mccall produced for other museums and nasa facilities. in addition, his paintings appeared on a dozen u. s. postage stamps commemorating space feats. “ there ’ s a great pleasure in designing something so many people are collecting, ” he once remarked. “ my art may fade into oblivion, but the stamps and murals will last. ” lester cooke, curator of painting at the national gallery of art, once noted that bob mccall had “ … the quality and scope of imagination to travel in space, and carry us along with him. ” without artists like mccall, he explained, events in space which ordinary citizens could not see or experience “ … would remain in the realm of words, mathematical formulae and electronic signals. ” there was no danger of that, as long as bob mccall was around. tom crouch is senior curator for aeronautics at the national air and space museum.


tag | risk of heart disease how many numbers do we remember each day? phone numbers, alarm codes, passwords, bank account balances, birthdays. none of these is as important as knowing your health numbers. an up - to - date knowledge of your health numbers can literally save your life. brenda watson discusses knowing your numbers and how you can test them at home in her revolutionary heart of perfect health pbs special airing nationwide on pbs stations throughout march. the show covers the myths about cholesterol, the nutrients you need to get your health back on track and reduce your risk of heart disease, how to check your health numbers, and the simple, transformative steps you can take every day to reverse america ’ s # 1 killer, heart disease. the 3 numbers you must know the three top signs of heart disease risk are also the three top signs of silent inflammation, a chronic pre - disease state in the body that many of us have without knowing it. research is linking silent inflammation to the root of heart and cardiovascular disease, not to mention conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, alzheimer ’ s, and even certain cancers. the good news is you can reverse your silent inflammation by knowing your health numbers and taking the necessary steps to get these numbers within a healthy range. the 3 health numbers you need to know are : - cholesterol, which should be no higher than 200mg - blood pressure, which should be no higher than 120 over 80 - blood sugar ( fasting blood glucose ), which should be no higher than 85 high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar are the top 3 signs your body is in a state of silent inflammation, and they are major heart health risk markers. together these high numbers double your risk of cardiovascular disease by causing the arteries to harden and thicken, by stimulating plaque build - up along blood vessels, and by increasing bad ldl cholesterol. you should be testing yourself more often than once a year to see where your numbers are and you can perform these tests at home. you can get your cholesterol checked at lab sites online, buy your own blood pressure cuff for at - home use, and find a do - it - yourself glucose meter at your local drugstore to monitor your blood sugar levels. there is no need to wait for your annual doctor ’ s visit when you should know these numbers throughout the year to see how well you are doing in keeping them within a healthy range. check back in the next couple of days to learn more about the # 1 nutrient


need to wait for your annual doctor ’ s visit when you should know these numbers throughout the year to see how well you are doing in keeping them within a healthy range. check back in the next couple of days to learn more about the # 1 nutrient that helps reduce your risk of heart disease and helps keep your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar healthy! belly fat is usually detectible — people generally have a good idea if they tend to accumulate fat in their midsection, as opposed to their hips and bottom. but how do you know if your liver is fat? well, abdominal fat and liver fat often go hand in hand. in fact, fat from the liver can be sent to the belly, and vice versa. often, an underlying feature of both of these is inflammation, which may come from the gut. nutrients and other substances — including fat, toxins and inflammatory compounds — are absorbed from the small intestine and travel straight to the liver via the portal vein. a recent study found that obese individuals with high amounts of abdominal fat and liver fat are at increased risk for heart disease. the researchers found that liver fat is strongly associated with increased secretion of very - low - density lipoproteins ( vldl ), which contain the highest amounts of triglycerides, known to increase heart disease risk. it has long been known that abdominal fat can be dangerous. the increasing knowledge about the dangers of liver fat adds to the story, as these two go hand in hand, each setting the body up to be more susceptible to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. together, belly and liver fat mean trouble. both liver and abdominal fat can be reduced with exercise and weight loss. these steps, in addition to addressing any underlying gut dysfunction that may be contributing inflammation to the liver, can help reverse these metabolic precursors to heart disease. gut imbalance may be addressed by taking probiotics, the beneficial bacteria naturally found in the gut.


unless you ’ re taking a philmont trek in summer, when you can set your watch by the afternoon thunderstorms, it ’ s almost impossible to predict the weather. but don ’ t give up on becoming the unofficial office meteorologist just yet. simply absorb some easy - to - remember weather folklore to increase your odds of an accurate forecast. you can learn it all from learn from the handbook — on page 238, to if you step outside and see any of these signs, pleasant weather is on the way : - “ red sky at night, sailor delight. ” dust particles in dry air make the sunset glow red. - “ swallows flying way up high mean there ’ s no rain in the sky. ” high - pressure systems carry insects up into the air, and swallows follow their food aloft. - “ if smoke goes high, no rain comes by. ” smoke going straight up from your campfire means there ’ s no wind to bring storms - “ when dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass. ” cool, clear, dew - forming nights bring nice weather the next if you see any of these signs, however, better pack an - “ red sky at morning, sailor take warning. ” don ’ t expect much “ delight ” if the dry, dusty air moving toward the rising sun causes a reddish sunrise. that could mean that moist air is approaching from the west. - “ swallows flying near the ground mean a storm will come around. ” heavy, moist wings cause swallows to fly lower. - “ when grass is dry at morning light, look for rain before the light. ” the opposite is also true of dewy grass. - “ mackerel scales and mares ’ tails make lofty ships carry low sails. ” “ scales ” and “ tails ” mean rare cirrus cloud formations that alert you to changing weather. chime in : know any other weather sayings? share them in the comment box below.


majestic trumpeter swans are dying of lead poisoning in unusually high numbers, the northwest raptor & wildlife center, a sequim - based wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization reported wednesday. “ we have personally treated at least six cases of fatal lead poisoning in olympic peninsula trumpeter swans just this winter, which is likely only a fraction of the number of poisoning cases in the wild, ” said matthew randazzo of the center. “ all of these swans were shown to have ingested lead ammunition, which is poisonous across a wide range of species. if these swans had died in the wild, it ’ s likely that their carcasses would have been consumed by scavengers such as bald eagles, who then could have been poisoned as well. trumpeter swans are migratory winter residents of the olympic peninsula. they are on average the largest native species of bird in north america. they were once hunted nearly to extinction, but have been successfully reintroduced in canada and the united states despite a widespread prevalence of lead poisoning within the species. swan - watching draws crowds of photographers to the skagit valley, and to the reifel bird sanctuary in british columbia ’ s fraser delta, each winter. a homesteading family at remote lonesome lake in b. c. ’ s coast range, the turners, helped restore trumpeter swans by feeding them during winter months. “ the northwest raptor & wildlife center was founded by lifelong hunters and gun owners and we are extremely thankful to all of the responsible sportsmen and women who make donations of venison, salmon and grouse for our animals ’ diet, ” said the center ’ s director - founder jayne moore. “ we are not anti - hunter at all. we just want to inform the public that there are many ammunition options available to all hunters, and we advise all gun lovers and sportsmen to avoid toxic lead ammunition completely and get it out of the food chain. and, added randazzo, “ the side effects of lead ammunition use include the slow, painful and pathetic deaths of unintended animals such as swans and eagles. that is an outcome that no one, from vegans to trophy hunters, wants to see. ”


here ’ s the second of three posts on the shifting ethics of climate change, timed with recent events in durban. the first, about the changing facts of cumulative emissions, and what this means for historical arguments for action, is here. this post considers arguments for action that employ talk of emissions rights or the call for equal per capita shares. some moral arguments for action on climate change depend not on the past but the present. they get us past a certain sort of recrimination – an objection to historical arguments on the grounds of a lack of foreknowledge on the part of the west – and move us all in the direction of equality with a clear and green conscience. you might think, for example, that however we got to where we are, the benefits and burdens associated with using fossil fuels ought now be shared out equally. that ’ s what human beings ought to do with a limited, scarce and common resource. maybe this is something you think follows from reflection on distributive justice or fairness. maybe it has to do with emissions rights, which follow in a way from the rights that some argue all human beings have – rights to a secure and free life, for example. if there are ‘ safe ’ emissions levels, if we can think clearly about the planet ’ s sinks as common resources to be divided up equally, then it follows pretty sharply that everyone on the planet has an equal right to emit within those safe limits. perhaps you think in terms of a greenhouse budget, that some maximum concentration of greenhouses gasses in the atmosphere is acceptable, and we must divvy up the shares that remain equally, and take care to stay under that limit. ( here ’ s peter singer, arguing for a ‘ fair deal on climate change ’ ; you can read more details in ‘ one atmosphere ’ in his book, one world. ) whichever of these lines you choose to take, given the enormous levels of emission per capita in the west, it ’ s been argued on almost all sides that the west has an obligation to reign in its consumption, bringing it down and in line with others whose use of the planet ’ s common resources is less reckless. this, anyway, is part of the thinking behind such things as the contraction and convergence model, advocated with gusto by aubrey meyer and the global commons institute and endorsed by a very large number of people and organizations, as a means to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions equitably. the idea is that some safe global emissions ceiling is set, everyone has an equal


expanding economies could be on board the global climate negotiations scheduled for 2009. ” angela merkel president of germany 2008 but, again, the facts are changing. around ten years ago, this was, and some places it still is, the model used for thinking about contraction and convergence : the idea is that, fairly rapidly after 2000, developed countries have a steep drop in emissions to make, while china, india and the rest of the world can grow a bit, meeting us in 2030, where we all cruise downwards, eventually to nearly preindustrial levels in one hundred years or so. ( edit : note that the gci has new models, updated for the current state of play, with new, challenging emissions reductions. you can see those, and the gci ’ s dim view of the durban platform, here. ) the trouble is that, in 2012, the world looks much different than it did just ten or even five years ago. the developed world has not undertaken a programme of rapid per capita emissions reduction, and china, india and the rest have not just grown a bit, with their emissions likely to flatten out and on course to meet us on the way down in 2030. while it is a mixed bag, with some countries taking steps to lower emissions rates, and indeed emissions dipping in places during the recession, the trend in global emissions has always been upwards – the global increase is now 45 % on 1990 levels, coincidentally the date of the ipcc ’ s first assessment report. according to a report published by the european commission in september and another by the international energy agency this year, 2010 was a record year in terms of increasing emissions. the long term annual average increase in emissions from 1990 is 1. 9 %, but in 2010 the increase was 5. 8 %, the largest jump ever recorded. this was driven partly by increases in china of 10 % and india of 9 %, as well as rises in the developed world, notably the usa. how far have we strayed from the lines on that graph? the usa ’ s emissions have not dropped sharply, but increased by 11 % on 1990 levels. china did not slowly grow, but passed the us as the world ’ s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in 2006. amazingly, again according to the european commission, china ’ s per capita emissions could equal us levels by 2017 – it ’ s thought china has already overtaken france and spain. china has promised not to let itself reach us levels, and its investment in renewables is huge, but it is


, china ’ s per capita emissions could equal us levels by 2017 – it ’ s thought china has already overtaken france and spain. china has promised not to let itself reach us levels, and its investment in renewables is huge, but it is astonishing to think that a country with a billion more people in it could match the united states in its bloated per capita emissions rates in just 5 years. it ’ s growth on an extraordinary scale. the trouble with the moral equation and present emissions is not just this mess of facts, but the time we have left between now and 2030. it made sense at the start of this century to talk about emissions rights and equal per capita shares, which we might divvy up and keep under a safe emissions limit. as we move closer to the point of convergence, the 2030 deadline and the so called safe threshold, our ability to do the right thing, our room for moral manoeuvring, wanes. emissions rates, on this model, should have begun falling rapidly in the west 5 or 10 years ago, but they have generally increased. per capita emissions in the developing world had a bit of breathing room, but were not expected to rocket up past our own, already excessive levels. kant ’ s dictum, ought implies can, is something worth reflecting on in this connection. it makes sense to say that we ought to do something only if we actually can do it. it makes sense to call for climate justice, to demand that emissions be shared out equally among the people of the world beneath some safe threshold, only if this is something we in fact can do. there is now at least the possibility that it is now too late to do the right thing — it might already be too late for the lcds and small island states, who are calling for an immediate deal and even tougher targets. as the space on the graph between us and 2030 compresses, and the lines we have to contemplate riding out become steeper and steeper and therefore further and further from the realm of the physically possible, the possibility that it ’ s too late is genuinely before us. facts here intrude on morality, and sometimes the possibility of doing the right or just or equitable thing can slip beyond our grasp if we let it. this kind of thing isn ’ t entirely outside our experience. suppose you ’ re at an office party, your friend has been drinking, and you know he ’ s going to make a fool of himself as he walks towards the


if we let it. this kind of thing isn ’ t entirely outside our experience. suppose you ’ re at an office party, your friend has been drinking, and you know he ’ s going to make a fool of himself as he walks towards the boss. you ’ ve got a few moments to grab his arm and save him from trouble he doesn ’ t deserve. but in that moment, at a certain point, it becomes too late for you to act, and in a single quiet breath, all your inner reflection about what you ought to do changes, passes from a live practical question to something theoretical, to a moot discussion of what you might have done or should have done. maybe it becomes regret. we ’ ve all felt that, that sense of a chance slipping away. it ’ s possible to have that feeling about sharing out emissions rights. it ’ s possible to have that feeling about this part of the moral dimension of climate change. we ’ ll turn to sustainability arguments, which depend on the future, not the past or present, in the next post. meanwhile, i ’ d like to know what you think about arguments for equal emissions rights. what i ’ m contemplating is that calls for equal rights to emit will at some point bang up against so called ‘ safe emissions thresholds ’. what do we do when it ’ s too late to for ‘ climate justice ’? there are further thoughts to be had about morality in extremis. as it gets harder and harder to do the right thing, as ‘ safe ’ emissions pathways get more and more steep, is there room to excuse ourselves, and say that equal emissions rights are just beyond us? i ’ d say no, but it ’ s hard to square that with other things that seem true.


recently, i visited bangladesh to find out how you feed a country that has half the population of the united states squeezed into an area the size of the state of iowa. one thing is for certain : no one can do it alone. during my trip, i witnessed how partnerships among a broad range of stakeholders — the rome - based un agencies, the government of bangladesh, donor countries, civil society and the private sector — are coming together to change the way we address chronic hunger. the u. s. government is supporting partnerships that deliver food, including fortified vegetable oil, in conjunction with health and other interventions that help ensure our programs translate into better nutrition outcomes. good nutrition is crucial during the first 1, 000 days — from the mother ’ s pregnancy through the child ’ s second birthday — because it affects lifelong mental and physical development, iq, school achievement, and, ultimately, work capacity and income generation. thus, nourishing children not only enables individuals to achieve their full potential, but creates the conditions for nations to grow and prosper. this is one of the reasons why nutrition is the critical link between feed the future and the global health initiative, the game - changing presidential initiatives that address global hunger and maternal and child health as part of a broader strategy to drive sustainable and broad - based growth. we know that we have to look at child malnutrition in new ways to accelerate progress toward the first millennium development goal of halving poverty and hunger by 2015. we know that better targeting and implementation of nutrition programs can greatly increase the effectiveness of our assistance and, most importantly, the ability of all children to thrive. we also know, as secretary hillary rodham clinton stated at the “ 1, 000 days : change a life, change the future ” event in new york last month, that prevention is better, and less expensive, than treatment. the u. s. government is leading programs that focus on preventing malnutrition before it occurs. core components of this new approach aim at improving the quality and use of health services, caretaker behaviors and dietary intake. pregnant women and lactating mothers attend monthly pre - and post - natal services and nutrition education sessions while children up to 24 months are weighed and provided with basic care. sick or malnourished mothers and children are treated or referred for additional care. mothers and babies receive supplementary food in addition to a household food ration. as the international community recognizes, we need comprehensive approaches that draw from a broad toolbox in order to prevent and treat malnutrition effectively.


or referred for additional care. mothers and babies receive supplementary food in addition to a household food ration. as the international community recognizes, we need comprehensive approaches that draw from a broad toolbox in order to prevent and treat malnutrition effectively. in addition to working to improve our programs on the ground, we are increasing the quality and scope of our food assistance commodities. we recently established a pilot effort to introduce and field - test new or improved micronutrient - fortified food aid products. we are also pursuing innovation around the nutritional content, product composition, and packaging of food products delivered through humanitarian assistance programs. congress made $ 14 million available to support these two efforts in fiscal year 2010. the american people will continue to provide emergency food aid assistance to vulnerable populations. and we are working with top researchers to help ensure that the food aid provided has a high nutritional value. with tufts university ’ s school of nutrition, we are examining nutritional needs and how we can best meet those needs — be they in bangladesh or the great lakes of central africa — where i ’ ve seen incredible work being done. the study includes a scientific review of current enrichment and fortification technologies, a review of methods for delivery of micronutrients and an active consultative process that involves industry, academic and operational experts. ultimately, it will provide recommendations on how to meet the nutritional needs of vulnerable populations with food aid assistance in a cost - effective manner. while we expect that some time will be necessary to implement the recommendations, make the necessary changes in formulations, and test new products, our purpose is clear : we are committed to delivering high - quality, nutritious food assistance to people in need. as reaffirmed in the committee on world food security nutrition side event last week, nutrition science has pointed the way to interventions that are basic, low - cost and effective. there is political will to scale up nutrition, align our efforts and measure our results. as secretary clinton has emphasized, we must use this remarkable opportunity to make a measurable impact on child hunger and malnutrition.


what ’ s cooking wednesday : holiday sugar spike have you visited our exhibit “ what ’ s cooking, uncle sam? ” don ’ t wait! the exhibit closes on january 3, 2012. are you in a sugar coma yet? if not, there ’ s still time to make some sweet desserts straight from the records of the national archives. these favorite cookie recipes ( below ) come from the 1966 forest service fire lookout cookbook, part of the holdings of the national archives at seattle. they look pretty delicious — let us know if you try any of them! lucky for you, we are not sharing the forest service ’ s recipe for peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches topped with grated carrot. these aren ’ t the only holiday - ready recipes in the national archives. americans love their sweets and we ’ ve got lots of dessert recipes. even during hard times, when sugar was rationed to six tablespoons per day, americans found ways to cook something sweet. in 1918, the u. s. food administration recommended using “ molasses, corn syrup, maple syrup, glucose, maple sugar, corn sugar, honey, raisins, dates or figs. ” a recipe for “ war time strawberry shortcake ” uses three cups of strawberries but only three tablespoons of sugar. in the records of the u. s. department of agriculture is a recipe for “ fruit cake, ” published in aunt sammy ’ s radio recipes, a popular book for housewives who listened to the radio show. this recipe called for raisins, currants, citron, sugar, cider, jelly, sour cream, and molasses — so it was pretty sweet! there were 16 ingredients total, including 1 / 2 pound of butter. by the 1930s, recipes also tried to make more with less, so the ” inexpensive christmas cake ” had only 10 ingredients — one of those was boiling water. and, rather oddly, 1 / 2 pound of salt pork. things get even sweeter with the presidents. the truman family pound cake has one pound of sugar in it... and one pound of butter. this is just for the cake and doesn ’ t include the icing! we have a recipe for “ praline ice cream bombe ” from president ford that has only 5 ingredients : ice cream, whipping cream, praline paste, hazelnuts, and chocolate. and president carter enjoyed “ peanut brittle, ” which featured his beloved peanuts and three cups of sugar and one cup of white corn


panama ’ s san lorenzo forest reserve is around the size of manhattan. for two years, this small area was host to 102 scientists, working together to count everything that crept and crawled. they came from 17 countries, and converged upon a half - hectare of the forest, about the size of half a rugby pitch. they dug into the soil, and ascended into the 40 - metre - tall treetops with ropes, balloons, and a giant crane. they unleashed fogs, set up sticky traps, and hacked into pieces of wood. together, they were part of the largest ever systematic attempt to answer a disarmingly simple question : in a patch of tropical rainforest, how many species of insects and other arthropods are there? after collecting the critters in 2003 and 2004, and analysing the material for eight years, they got an answer : 6, 144 species in that patch of forest. using computer simulations to scale that up, they estimate that the entire 6, 000 - hectare manhattan - sized forest is home to around 25, 000 arthropod species. when the fruit bat pteropus allenorum was finally described by scientists, it was already extinct. one specimen of the bat was shot in samoa in 1856, skinned, stored in alcohol, and shipped to the united states. it spent the next 153 years, inconspicuous and ignored, on a shelf in the academy of natural sciences in drexel university. when bat specialist kristofer helgen visited the museum, he immediately recognised that it was a new species. sadly, it was too late. there are no fruit bats in samoa nowadays, so the jar on the shelf represents our only encounter with this now - extinct animal. the fruit bat ’ s story isn ’ t an original one. the beetle meligethes salvan was collected from the italian alps in 1912 and sat in frankfurt ’ s senckenberg museum until it was described in 2003. in the intervening time, the valley from which it came had been almost entirely destroyed in the process of building a hydroelectric power plant. biologists searched in the nearby valleys but couldn ’ t find it. the beetle may be extinct. these examples show that the shelves and drawers of the world ’ s museums are among the planet ’ s most diverse habitats — ecosystems brimming with different species, many of which have never been seen before. people often think that discoveries are made when biologists see new species in the field, and immediately recognise them as such. that ’ s largely not


most diverse habitats — ecosystems brimming with different species, many of which have never been seen before. people often think that discoveries are made when biologists see new species in the field, and immediately recognise them as such. that ’ s largely not true. field biologists often collect their specimens en masse, taking them back to their respective institutions, and keeping them in storage until they get a chance to peer at them properly. this means that many of the planet ’ s new species are sitting pretty in jars and drawers, gathering dust while they wait to be formally described. how long is this shelf life? for the bat, it was 153 years, and for the beetle, 92. on average, it ’ s around 21 years, according to a new study from benoit fontaine from the natural history of museum in paris. a. ervi attacks a pea aphid, by alexander wild in a british lab, a wasp has become ( locally ) extinct. and then, another wasp follows it into oblivion. that ’ s odd because these two insects are not competitors. they don ’ t attack one another, and they don ’ t even eat the same food. they do, however, remind us that it ’ s very hard to predict how the decline of one species will affect those around it. some consequences are obvious. if an animal goes extinct, its loss will cascade up and down the food web, so that its predators will suffer but its prey will probably thrive. but food webs are webs for a reason, rather than a set of isolated linear “ food chains ”. consequences can ripple across, as well as up and down. if wasps didn ’ t exist, picnics would be a lot more fun. but the next time you find yourself trying to dodge a flying, jam - seeking harpoon, think about this : without wasps, many of your ingredients might not exist at all. irene stefanini and leonardo dapporto from the university of florence have found that the guts of wasps provide a safe winter refuge for yeast – specifically saccharomyces cerevisiae, the fungus we use to make wine, beer and bread. and without those, picnics would be a lot less fun. s. cerevisiase has been our companion for at least 9, 000 years, not just as a tool of baking and brewing, but as a doyen of modern genetics. it has helped us to make tremendous scientific progress and drink ourselves into stupors, possibly at the same time. but despite its


9, 000 years, not just as a tool of baking and brewing, but as a doyen of modern genetics. it has helped us to make tremendous scientific progress and drink ourselves into stupors, possibly at the same time. but despite its significance, we know very little about where the yeast came from, or how it lives in the wild. the wild strains do grow on grapes and berries, but only found on ripe fruits rather than pristine ones. and they ’ re usually only found in warm summery conditions. so, where do they go in the intervening months, and how do they move around? they certainly can ’ t go airborne, so something must be carrying them. stefanini and dapporto thought that wasps were good candidates. they ’ re active through the summer, when they often eat grapes. fertilised females hibernate through the winter and start fresh colonies in the spring, feeding their new larvae with regurgitated food. in the digestive tracts of wasps, yeasts could get a ride from grape to grape, from one wasp generation to the next, and from autumn to spring. when rachel carson wrote her famous book silent spring, she envisioned a world in which chemical pollutants killed off wildlife, to the extent that singing birds could no longer be heard. pesticides aside, we now know that humans have challenged birds with another type of pollution, which also threatens to silence their beautiful songs – noise. a man - made world is a loud one. between the din of cities and the commotion of traffic, we flood our surroundings with a chronic barrage of sound. this is bad news for songbirds. we know that human noise is a problem for them because some species go to great lengths to make themselves heard, from changing their pitch ( great tits ) to singing at odd hours ( robins ) to just belting their notes out ( nightingales ). we also know that some birds produce fewer chicks in areas affected by traffic noise. now, julia schroeder from the university of sheffield has found one reason for this. she has shown that loud noises mask the communication between house sparrow mothers and their chicks, including the calls that the youngsters use to beg for food. surrounded by sound, the chicks eat poorly. “ city noise has the potential to turn sparrow females into bad mothers, ” says schroeder. even though most spiders are harmless to us, many people suffer from a crippling fear of them. imagine then, what a grasshopper must feel. the threat


the potential to turn sparrow females into bad mothers, ” says schroeder. even though most spiders are harmless to us, many people suffer from a crippling fear of them. imagine then, what a grasshopper must feel. the threat of venomous fangs isn ’ t something that the insects can shrug off. it ’ s a perpetual danger that chemically alters their bodies, triggering changes that ripple through an entire ecosystem. now, dror hawlena from yale university has found just how far - reaching these changes can be. in an elegant experiment, he showed that the fear instilled by spiders can extend into the very soil, affecting how quickly leaf litter decays. hawlena raised red - legged grasshoppers in outdoor enclosures, half a metre wide. half the enclosures contained a single nursery - web spider, whose mouthparts had been glued shut, so they couldn ’ t actually kill any of the hoppers. their presence, however, was felt. last september, i travelled to peru to meet a fascinating scientist who is mapping the amazon by plane. the piece was published in wired uk earlier this year, and i ’ m reprinting it here now. this was one of the most enjoyably things i got to write last year. i hope you enjoy it too a small, twin - propeller plane flies over the amazon rainforest in eastern peru. the scale of the vegetation is extraordinary. the tree canopy stretches as far as the eye can see — an endless array of broccoli florets bounded only by haze and horizon. greg asner, 43, has seen the rainforest from this vantage point many times before, but he still stares out of the window in rapt fascination. this patch of forest in the tambopata national reserve is rich with life, even by the amazon ’ s standards. a 50 - hectare patch of forest — the size of as many rugby pitches — contains more plant species than the whole of north america. “ we might as well be exploring mars, ” says asner. “ these are areas where no human has ever been. there ’ s no access. ” access isn ’ t a problem for asner. behind him are three state - of - the - art sensors of his own devising which, as the plane flies along, take the forest ’ s measure. “ we ’ re trying to do something really new, ” he says. “ this world is changing and it requires science that isn ’ t incremental. ” using the technology he ’


the plane flies along, take the forest ’ s measure. “ we ’ re trying to do something really new, ” he says. “ this world is changing and it requires science that isn ’ t incremental. ” using the technology he ’ s developed, asner is mapping the shape and size of the trees, down to individual branches, from two kilometres above. he can measure the carbon stored in trunks, leaves and soil. he can even identify individual plant species based on the chemicals they contain. with wings and lasers, asner is conducting one of the most ambitious ecology studies ever staged. he accumulates more data in a single hour than most ecologists glean in a lifetime. with this data, he aims to influence governments, steer the course of climate - change treaties and save the forests over which he soars. it turns out that if you unleash giant snakes into a place that didn ’ t previously have giant snakes, the other local animals don ’ t fare so well. that seems obvious, but you might be surprised at just how badly those other animals fare. since 2000, burmese pythons have been staging an increasingly successful invasion of florida. no one knows exactly how they got there. they normally live in south - east asia and were probably carried over by exotic wildlife traders. once in america, they could have escaped from pet stores or shipping warehouses. alternatively, overambitious pet owners could have released when they got too large for comfort. either way, they seem to be thriving. with an average length of 12 feet ( 4 metres ), the pythons are formidable predators. they suffocate their prey with powerful coils, and they target a wide variety of mammals and birds. the endangered key largo woodrat and wood stork are on their menu. so are american alligators ( remember this oft - emailed photo? ). conservationists are trying to halt the spread of the giant snakes, out of concern that their booming numbers could spell trouble for local wildlife. michael dorcas from davidson college thinks they are right to be concerned. in the first systematic assessment of the pythons ’ impact, dorcas has found that many of florida ’ s mammals have plummeted in numbers in places where the snakes now live. a leaf falls from the rainforest canopy, but it never hits the ground. instead, it becomes trapped by nets of sticky fungi. while other lost leaves litter the forest floor, this one has joined the jungle ’ s mezzanine level – a layer


a leaf falls from the rainforest canopy, but it never hits the ground. instead, it becomes trapped by nets of sticky fungi. while other lost leaves litter the forest floor, this one has joined the jungle ’ s mezzanine level – a layer of litter suspended in mid - air and hanging by a thread. the fungi belong to a single genus called marasmius, which extend networks of root - like filaments through the air. they act like a web that catches falling matter from the branches above. they have gone unappreciated, but jake snaddon from the university of oxford has found just how important they can be. by snaring leaves, the fungi provide room and board to insects, spiders and other canopy creepy - crawlies that might otherwise be confined to the ground. when snaddon removed the fungi, the numbers of these animals plummeted by 70 percent. i ’ ve got a new piece in nature about a newly discovered species of “ yeti crab ” that farms bacteria on its arms, then eats them. it lives in the deep ocean, near seeps that belch out methane. the bacteria living on its bristly arms ( hence the name “ yeti crab ” ) feed off the seeping gases, and the crab encourage the bacteria to grow by rhythmically waving their arms. go to nature to read the full piece. meanwhile, i loved this quote from lead author andrew thurber, which gets across how much there is left to discover about the oceans : “ it was a big surprise. there ’ s a tonne of them, they ’ re not small, and they ’ re six hours off a major port in costa rica. ” ( photos by andrew thurber )


14 pages matching indefinite article in this book what people are saying - write a review review : cohesion in englishuser review - soraia ferreira - goodreads well it ' s a good book, they explain every thing in a really detailed way. can ' t say i enjoyed it because it ' s about grammar but it ' s content is good read full review all 6 reviews » review : cohesion in englishuser review - ara - goodreads that was really dense. historical importance aside, there are probably more accessible ways to get this information now. read full review other editions - view all adjectives adjunct adverbs alice anaphoric anaphoric reference answer cataphoric chapter clausal ellipsis clausal substitution cohesive relation conjunctive relations context of situation contrast deictic demonstrative discourse distinction element elliptical clause elliptical form elliptical group endophoric english environment epithet example exophoric reference explicit expressed fact finite functioning as head going grammatical hence hypotactic hypotaxis indefinite article instances interpretation j. b. priestley john kind language lexical cohesion lexical ellipsis lexical item lexical verb lexicogrammatical linguistic mass nouns meaning modal modifier negative nominal group nominal substitute non - elliptical non - finite noun numerative occur operator ellipsis paratactic particular patterns plural polarity possible preceding text prepositional present presupposed clause presupposed group presupposed item presupposition pro - verb pronoun reference item referential repudiated semantic relation sense sequence simply speaker specific speech substitution and ellipsis tense textual texture thing tion tonic types of cohesion typically verbal ellipsis verbal group verbal substitute whereas word from google scholar william с mann, sandra a thompson michael canale, merrill swain - applied linguistics edward gibson - 1998 - cognition all scholar search results » jane morris, graeme hirstt - computational linguistics jstor : cohesion in english cohesion in english, halliday & hasan cohesion in english citeulike : cohesion in english ( english language ) who is the author of " cohesion in english "? - - britannica online... building coherence and cohesion : task - oriented dialogue in english... connector usage in the english essay writing of native and non... english teaching forum online – bureau of educational and cultural... hausarbeiten. de : a functional perspective of cohesion in english...


as i continuously promote, it is critical that children have the opportunity to learn, play and explore outdoors. as adults we need to do all we can to ensure that children have opportunities to develop their brains in healthy, natural and safe environments. there are numerous benefits to brains of all ages as a result of spending time in nature as i have shared in your brain needs nature and this fun one that includes a video called, nature deficit disorder by kqed quest. it is especially important and beneficial for young developing brains to experience and learn outdoors. for this reason i am thrilled to share the following article from audubon magazine. it is a great pleasure to work with the extremely talented and dedicated people and spend time at the schlitz nature audubon nature center. it has been a particularly great honor to collaborate on a project to create the naturally developing young brains packet with lorna hilyard and pattie bailie, mentioned in this article. i am certain you will enjoy reading the experience expressed by one dad after his son spent only two weeks in the nature preschool. the center is remarkable. the best part is, they serve as a model and help other programs implement nature into programing. in fact 10 % of the proceeds from the sale of the nature brain packets goes directly toward increasing nature preschool experiences for more children. an exciting nature - based curriculum for preschoolers developed at the schlitz center in wisconsin is spreading to classrooms across the country — and even to sesame street. by susan cosier published : january - february 2012 " bailie, a 20 - year veteran of early childhood and environmental education, says, “ there ’ s such a connection between spending time in the natural world and the developing brain. ” recent research bears her out, though it ’ s an understudied field. noticing differences between objects, like seeds and burrs, helps wire the brain, nurturing initial math and pre - reading skills that develop from the ages of one through four. “ they learn observation skills after just a few months, ” says bailie. “ parents will tell me, ‘ i can ’ t believe what my child sees now. ’ " studies also show that just 20 minutes spent outdoors improves concentration in children with attention - deficit hyperactivity disorder as much as, if not more than, medication. that ’ s in addition to the physical benefits of exercise and exposure to vitamin d ( which helps build strong bones ). " read more it would be great to hear your experiences with children as a result of spending time outdoors


melnea a. cass ( 1896 - 1978 ) melnea cass boulevard in lower roxbury is named for one of boston ’ s most beloved and effective advocates for african americans in boston. she was relentless in her pursuit of educational and economic opportunities and racial justice for her community. known as the “ first lady of roxbury, ” melnea cass ’ s activities ranged from volunteering on committees, serving on boards, and accepting city - appointed commissions, to giving money to students who graduated from school. born in richmond, virginia in 1896, melnea agnes jones ’ s father worked as a janitor, her mother as a domestic worker. melnea ’ s father wanted a better life for his children, including a proper education, so he moved the family to boston ’ s south end when melnea was five years old. she attended the boston public schools. three years later, her mother died and the children ’ s “ aunt ella ” stepped in to take care of them. she soon moved the girls to newburyport, massachusetts, under the care of amy smith where melnea attended grammar school. melnea returned to boston to attend girls ’ high school for one year when aunt ella, recognizing her niece ’ s striking intelligence, found the money to send melnea to st. frances de sales convent school in rock castle, virginia, a catholic school for african american and native american girls. melnea jones graduated in 1914 as the valedictorian of her class. returning to boston, melnea looked for work as a salesgirl. denied opportunities because she was african american, she took a position as a domestic worker until her marriage in 1917 to marshall cass, a soldier in the army during world war i. their first child, marshall, was born while marshall sr. was away on duty ; when melnea ’ s husband returned from the war, the casses had two more children, marianne and melanie. at about this time, melnea cass became involved in her community as an activist. with her mother - in - law ’ s encouragement, when women achieved the right to vote in 1920 melnea helped organize african american women to register and cast their first vote. at the same time, she encountered william monroe trotter, one of boston ’ s most militant civil rights activists. melnea cass was deeply influenced by his lectures, protest meetings, and his newspaper, the guardian. she joined the naacp and volunteered what time she could while raising her children. by the 1930s, melnea cass was a force for positive change in rox


today is the second day of the urban agriculture summit 2013 ’ transformative solutions on how we feed people in the urban era ’ currently being held in linkoping, sweden ( 29 - 31 january ). so why this specific gathering on urban agriculture? a recent un report estimated that the earth ’ s population will increase by 40 % and exceed 9 billion people by the year 2050. simultaneously, 80 % of the world ’ s population will live in cities. this rapid urbanization goes together with a rapid increase in urban poverty and urban food insecurity. with traditional farming practices and increases in consumption, the earth ’ s arable land will soon no longer be sufficient to produce enough food for the growing population. urban agriculture can provide a complementary strategy to reduce urban poverty and food insecurity and enhance urban environmental management. urban agriculture is primarily concerned with seven specific matters : - the transformation of an area from rural to urban farming practices ahead of actual urban physical expansion ; - the efficient use of vacant and under - used land at the urban core and within - the increase in individual and community food security within urban neighbourhoods and urban regions - the generation of jobs and small enterprises in urban areas ; - the reuse of urban waste for food, fuel and greening ; - the greening of the city through tree - planting, community gardens and other such landscape uses ; and - the expansion of the sense of community in urban areas. the contribution of urban agriculture to food security and healthy nutrition is probably its most important asset. urban agriculture in the dakar region of senegal alone generated 450 million dollars in 2011, supplying 45 percent of the city ’ s food supply and in lubumbashi, congo, one hectare of market gardens provides livelihoods for 20 producers, 70 labourers and 150 small - scale vegetable traders who, in turn, supply 10, 000 consumers. food production in any city is in many cases a response of the urban poor to inadequate, unreliable and irregular access to food, and the lack of purchasing power. growing your own food can save household expenditure ( poor people in poor countries generally spend a substantial part of their income ( 50 – 70 % ) on food ). although urban agriculture may function as an important strategy for poverty alleviation, it also has a social role to play with impacts on social integration and community building. the city of sydney currently has 15 community gardens which are run by the community and used for growing herbs, flowers, vegetables and fruit and for conserving rare plants and seeds. the capital growth programme, funded by the mayor


integration and community building. the city of sydney currently has 15 community gardens which are run by the community and used for growing herbs, flowers, vegetables and fruit and for conserving rare plants and seeds. the capital growth programme, funded by the mayor of london and the big lottery, and run by london food link has helped get around 99, 000 people growing on 2, 012 new community food gardens, with 82 % in the more deprived parts of london. women too constitute an important part of urban farmers, since agriculture and related processing and selling activities, among others, can often be more easily combined with their other tasks in the household. although in most cities in developing countries an important part of urban agricultural production is for self - consumption, surpluses are being traded. often the more perishable and relatively high - valued vegetables and animal products and by - products are favoured. in urban agriculture, production and marketing tend to be more closely interrelated in terms of time and space than for rural agriculture, thanks to greater geographic proximity and quicker resource flow. a third role for urban agriculture is its part in the urban ecological system. a growing city will produce more and more wastewater and organic wastes. for most cities the disposal of wastes has become a serious problem. urban agriculture can help to solve such problems by turning urban wastes into a productive resource. farmers may use wastewater for irrigating their farms when they lack access to other sources of water or because of its high price. technologies such as hydroponics or organoponics, drip irrigation, zero tillage etc. substantially reduce water needs and health risks and are very interesting for the urban environment and can indeed be found in many cities. urban agriculture may also positively impact upon the greening and cleaning of the city by turning derelict open spaces into green zones and maintaining buffer and reserve zones. whilst not a panacea for the world ' s food problems, urban agriculture does seem to have a role to play in one way or another ( be it economic, social or environmental ) in both developed and developing countries. 1. fao, rome 2012. growing greener cities in africa. first status report on urban and peri - urban horticulture in africa. 2. united nations department of economic and social affairs / population division, new york 2012. world urbanization prospects : the 2011 revision


to those unfamiliar with christian apologetics and the lingo that often goes with it, when the subject comes up it is not uncommon that the uninitiated get the proverbial deer in the headlights look over what is being discussed. presuppositionalism? evidentialism? cumulative case? one could ask, " i thought apologetics had to do with defending the faith? " therefore, for the uninitiated, this article will deal with the various methods of apologetic practice by defining them first, and then by providing some exponents of each method. three of the methods have already been given above, to which will be added classical apologetics, as well as the reformed variety. the method termed classical apologetics really amounts to a two - stage defense which starts with the existence of the person of god, and then when that is successfully established, stage two proceeds to provide rational evidences for other subjects under consideration. the respected roman catholic theologian thomas aquinas is a prime example of one who espoused a classical approach to the defense of the christian faith. he began his defense with the " five ways " to argue for god ' s existence starting with " argument from motion, " and then ( 2 ) " the nature of efficient cause, " ( 3 ) " possibility and necessity, " ( 4 ) " the gradation to found in things, " and ( 5 ) " the governance of the world. " 1 afterward he would spend the next five volumes of his magnum opus arguing about topics ranging from the substance of angels to the essence of law to the plurality of wives. in the nineteenth century another classical apologist would emerge whose arguments for god ' s existence and special creation continue to be cited unto the present. the british philosopher william paley argued that it was one thing to be walking along and stub one ' s foot upon a stone and ask why it was there, and to be walking along and stumble upon a watch and ask the same question. in the former instance no one necessarily question where the stone came from, given that there is nothing extraordinary about seeing a rock out in the open. conversely, in the latter instance finding a watch where one would not otherwise suspect a watch to be would not only raise questions of why it was there, but where it came from, and who ultimately made it. when all things are considered, " the inference, we think, is inevitable ; that the watch must have had a maker ; that there must have existed, at sometime, and at some place


but where it came from, and who ultimately made it. when all things are considered, " the inference, we think, is inevitable ; that the watch must have had a maker ; that there must have existed, at sometime, and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers, who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer ; who comprehended its construction, and designed its use. " 2 perhaps the most recognized and respected classical apologist in modern times is none other than theologian and philosopher william lane craig. 3 craig ' s approach to classical apologetics is similar, and yet different, than previous apologists in the respect that his two - fold approach incorporates the role of the holy spirit in his " knowing " and " showing " defense of the faith. to craig the holy spirit is the self - authenticating person who confirms to the believer that what he subscribes to by placing his faith in the christian message is true. then the roles of argument and evidence are used in subsidiary ways to reasonably help the adherent understand what it is that he believes. according to craig, when a christian is asked by a non - believer why it is that he believes what he does, the believer should respond by saying that he knows christianity is true because of the abiding presence of the spirit, and that he can show the non - believer that it is true by external argument and evidence. nevertheless, the latter is non - effective without the former doing a work in the life of the non - believer first. yet, it is up the non - believer to accept god ' s invitation to allow that work to take place, and then solidify the decision by the evidence. 4 the classical approach to christian apologetics has much in common with other apologetic methods, including evidential and cumulative case apologetics. its strengths are its reliance ' s upon both the holy spirit ' s work to confirm internal truth to the believer, as well logical argumentation ( e. g., the kalam cosmological, design, moral, and teleological ) to develop understanding. several respected christian apologists have been and are classical apologists, and their work should be considered when developing one ' s own personal apologetic. evidential apologetics amounts to what the title implies : real, tangible, historical, archaeological evidence are the prerequisites necessary for establishing the truth claims of christianity. one difference it has with the classical method of apologetics is assertion that it is a one - step approach to defending the


title implies : real, tangible, historical, archaeological evidence are the prerequisites necessary for establishing the truth claims of christianity. one difference it has with the classical method of apologetics is assertion that it is a one - step approach to defending the faith, rather than the two - step approach. rather than arguing for god ' s existence first, and then proceeding to other apologetic issues, the evidentialist merely allows the evidence to speak for itself, given the situation. moreover, the evidentialist relies heavily on probability, " since absolute certainty lies only in the realms of pure logic and mathematics, where, by definition, one encounters no matters of fact at all. " 5 gary habermas, a proponent of evidential apologetics sums up the position by giving seven tenets which the evidentialist generally follows. 6 first and foremost, the evidentialist ' s " chief interest " is " the postulating and developing of historical evidences ( one species of propositional data ) for the christian faith. " 7 in habermas ' case, he abides by a " minimal facts strategy, " whereby he attempts to assert the veracity of the christian faith by finding minimal areas of agreement with the unbeliever that is accepted as true, and then expanding upon those facts. second, the evidentialist differentiates between history and brute facts, and allows the latter to interpret themselves according to the context. third, the evidentialist has not problem in engaging in " negative " apologetics, which seeks to counter the claims of those making false or misleading statements about christianity. fourth, the evidentialist, like the classicist, admits the fundamental role of the holy spirit to change the mind of the non - believer. if the spirit is not present, then no amount of evidence presented will make a difference. fifth, evidentialists assume that there is common epistemological ground between believers and unbelievers, which is why an unbeliever can be challenged to change his mind based on the evidence. sixth, the role of the holy spirit not affects the unbeliever, but the believer as well in strengthening his understanding of the faith. seventh, most evidentialist are flexible, if not " eclectic, " in their approach to dealing with unbelief. evidential apologetics, like classical apologetics, offers many valuable tools to help the believer break down the barriers of those who have erected empirical walls as the standard necessary to convince the unbeliever of christian claims.


with unbelief. evidential apologetics, like classical apologetics, offers many valuable tools to help the believer break down the barriers of those who have erected empirical walls as the standard necessary to convince the unbeliever of christian claims. habermas ' the historical jesus and robert van voorst ' s jesus outside the new testament ought to be in every christian ' s personal libraries to assist them when attacks are made against jesus ' existence. in fact, when it comes to historical evidence, the evidential apologist would be the person to consult to garner information to counter the critical claims of those who oppose christian theism and the historicity of jesus. the cumulative case method for doing apologetic work amounts to multi - pronged approach to presenting one valid argument. in other words, depending on the question or criticism, which does not necessarily have to begin with god ' s existence, will also depend on which approaches to take to provide an answer. the end result of combining, in cumulative sense, all the propositions is thought to provide one solid answer or rebuttal. in short, cumulative case apologetics is as eclectic, if not more so, than the evidentialist approach to apologetics. four elements seem to characterize the cumulative position beginning with the idea that " the argument for theism and christianity is an informal one, not a formal one. " 8 put otherwise, one is not likely to find a logical syllogism being offered to defend any particular belief. instead, one will find the cumulative apologist presenting a broad range of information addressing the subject, with the express hope that combination of all information will provide a sufficient response. second, and commensurate with the previous point, cumulative case apologetics " is a broadly based argument that is drawn from a number of elements in our experience, which in turn either require explanation or point beyond themselves. " 9 third — which also demonstrates what appears to be the disorganization inherent in the approach — " none of the elements that constitute this case has any priority over any other. " 10 again, depending on the question or criticism will also depending on where the defense begins to make its case. fourth, the cumulative case " is not simply a defense of god ' s existence or theism, it is an apologetic for christianity. " 11 again, depending on the argument will depend on where the apologetic argument begins. although several well - known individuals have embraced a cumulative approach to christian apologetics, 12 of the five most common methods, it seems to


is an apologetic for christianity. " 11 again, depending on the argument will depend on where the apologetic argument begins. although several well - known individuals have embraced a cumulative approach to christian apologetics, 12 of the five most common methods, it seems to present the most difficulties at actually making a defense, if for no other reason than its lack of coherency. on the other hand, there is something to commend this approach, and that stems from the fact that despite the seeming disjointed prongs in the method, each prong is intended to work to strengthen any potential weaknesses than any given contributor to the argument might have. there is no doubt that truth is its ultimate object, but arriving at that destination may be more difficult than other apologetic approaches where there is a definitive starting point and fewer indirectly related contributors that could sidetrack the journey. presuppositional apologetics is distinctly different from the previous methods already discussed. whereas the former allude to scripture and then argue from various philosophical or evidential points of view in an effort to persuade the non - believer of the validity of the christian worldview, the presuppositionalist explicitly starts his argument by presupposing the truthfulness of the bible and then proceeds to make his case. any knowledge, evidence, or wisdom ultimately must have biblical sanction, otherwise it is considered something that does not glorify god, much less is absolutely true to reality. cornelius van til is the one credited with the development of this method. a later exponent of the presuppositional method was greg bahnsen. just prior to his death in 1995 summed up presuppositionalism in his book always ready. his words are worth quoting in their entirety to further explain just what this kind of apologetic represents and strives to accomplish. he wrote : one thing that ought to be remembered about presuppositionalism is that it does not frown upon the use of evidence to defend the christian faith. in fact, presuppositionalists encourage it. it is that evidence, philosophy, and logical argumentation are to be placed beneath the authority of scripture, which is deemed as a declaration of the mind of god, who ultimately gives meaning to evidence found to support the christian discovery of the truth. believing in the existence of god by disregarding the demand by some to provide tangible evidence is perhaps the best way to describe reformed apologetics in its fundamental form. it ' s not that the reformed apologists frowns upon the use


discovery of the truth. believing in the existence of god by disregarding the demand by some to provide tangible evidence is perhaps the best way to describe reformed apologetics in its fundamental form. it ' s not that the reformed apologists frowns upon the use of evidence to support god ' s existence ; it ' s that he does not find it necessary. his position is that one is perfectly rational for believing in god without having to actually prove it by resorting to external, empirical means to do so. this method postulates at least three reasons to support its rationality : ( 1 ) the impracticality of evidence for the majority of true believers ; ( 2 ) intuitive awareness of god ' s presence in the believer ' s life ; and ( 3 ) the quality of postivie belief in god versus the negative belief in doubt. the impracticality of evidence for the majority of true believers simply means that very few believers have the ways or means to validate their belief, and yet they still believe. at all ages, from young to old, those who believe in god do so despite the fact that none of them have read the great philosophers of the past, nor have considered the latest arguments and " science, " which according to some should be examined in order to make such a rational decision. yet, many of those believers are normal, reasonable, productive citizens of society, who if someone was to charge them with being irrational, simply because they asserted their belief in god, would be thought to be irrational themselves. to have an intuitive awareness of god ' s presence in one ' s life is something that cannot be measured by empirical means. it is something that is perfectly normal, given that god himself cannot be measured empirically, given that he is a metaphysical being. it is because of the intuition — which is at times greater in some people than others, simply because of the maturity of the person — or interaction of god with the human soul, as god regenerates and sanctifies the person unto himself, that the person concludes that what is happening is beyond the physical realm. it is supernatural, and the supernatural is personal. physical evidence merely affirms the experience, yet without it no harm is done. commensurate with intuitive awareness is the positive belief in a personal god rather than the negative belief in doubt. the idea here is to work in reverse from that which is commonly done in scientific laboratories, where skepticism and doubt rule the day, as they deal with inanimate objects rather than persona beings. since


personal god rather than the negative belief in doubt. the idea here is to work in reverse from that which is commonly done in scientific laboratories, where skepticism and doubt rule the day, as they deal with inanimate objects rather than persona beings. since personal qualities and attributes cannot be measured in a petri dish, and since god is a personal, to the reformed apologist it only makes sense to deal with persons as persons rather than impersonal things. and since that requires the other person ' s involvement in the discovery, then to short - circuit the process through a one - way inquiry based on skepticism and doubt is certainly not the way the normal person would treat other relationships. this article has attempted to explain the five major ways that christian apologists conduct their craft. each one contributes something of value to the quest to not only provide an answer to the questions and attacks upon the christian faith, as well as obey the divine mandate found in 1 peter 3 : 15 to do so. as far as capro is concerned it would lean in the direction of the presuppositional method. but, that in no way discounts the validity of the other methods as well. it merely asserts what it believes is the proper starting place for apologetics, and then alludes to other more evidential means when necessary. ultimately, though, it is up to the individual to decide for himself where he will begin. the key to remember, though, is that one must being somewhere. and by doing so not only will the christian be in obedience to god ' s command to give an answer for what he believes, he will enjoy the blessing, satisfaction, and challenge of probing more deeply into that which so many christians have neglected, namely their faith. 1 thomas aquinas, summa theologica, 5 vols. ( new york : benzier bros., 1948 ), 1 : 13 - 14. 2 william paley, natural theology ( boston : gould and lincoln, 1860 ), 6. 3 others of equal notability are r. c. sproul, alister mcgrath, j. p. moreland, and ravi zacharias. 4 william lane craig, reasonable faith ( wheaton : crossway, 1994 ), 48. 5 john warwick montgomery, history, law, and christianity ( edmonton : canadian institute for law, theology, and public policy, inc., 2002 ), 64. 6 i say generally because as habermas notes, " like the other methods, evidentialism can be rather eclectic in


it starts in the laboratory our laboratory was established over 35 years ago and was one of the first in the us to clone orchids. hundreds of thousands of orchid seedlings and clones are produced by our laboratory each year. by producing our own plants we are able to assure you that they are true to name and virus free. our “ shoot - proliferation ” method takes a longer time to produce an orchid plant, but greatly reduces the chance of any mutations in our clones. in order to keep our laboratory as clean as possible, it is only open to laboratory personnel. then the growing room this is but one section of shelves in the “ growing room ” of the laboratory. plants are carried through three stages - seed flask, transplant flask, and final flask. we do not have lists of flasks for sale, but we can sometimes supply your needs. the inventory constantly changes, so contact us regarding your needs. final step - the greenhouse once they leave the laboratory, our orchid plants are cared for in one of our 18 greenhouses. ( the greenhouses are open to the public, so please stop by and visit us. ) as each plant grows it is periodically repotted to allow it to reach maturity. the following is an estimate of the time until flowering for standard cattleya orchid plant : - 2. 5 " pot - 2 to 3 years - 3 " pot - 2 years - 3. 5 " pot - 1 to 2 years - 4 " pot - near blooming size - 12 to 18 months - 5 " pot - blooming size - within 12 months


a 5th century medallion showing what is perhaps the only portrait we have of galla placidia ( 388 - 450 c. e. ), the last ( and the only ) western roman empress. the inscription says " domina nostra, galla placidia, pia, felix, augusta, " that is " our lady, galla placidia, pious, blessed and venerable. " a contemporary of such figures as saint augustine, saint patrick, attila the hun, and – perhaps – king arthur, placidia had the rare chance of being able to do something that past roman emperors never could do ; take the empire to its next stage which was to be, unavoidably, its demise. as i was preparing this essay on empress galla placidia, i found myself giving an impromptu talk on the subject to my students in chemistry on the last lesson before christmas. later on, i thought that i could write my essay in the form of that talk. so, here it is. it is much expanded in comparison to what i said to my students on that occasion, but still it maintains the essence of it. i have added headings and some figures. introduction : chemistry of an empire i think there won ' t be a lecture in chemistry, today. we are close to christmas, there are just a few of you, and so it is better to skip a long and boring lecture ; we ' ll have it after the pause for the holidays. so, we could simply leave for a coffee but, maybe, we could use this time we have in a different way. you know, there is a subject that i work on when i have some free time : roman history. so, i was thinking that, instead of giving you a lecture in chemistry, i could speak to you about that. how would you like to hear the story of a roman princess who married a barbarian king and then became empress of rome? now, i see from your faces that - yes - you would like to be told this story! but note that perhaps it is a subject that is not so far from chemistry as you might think. you see, civilizations can be seen as huge chemical reactions and you know that chemical reactions tend to flare up and then subside ; it is what we call " chemical kinetics, " you have studied that. the same happens for empires ; they tend to flare up and then disappear ; that ' s what happened to the roman empire, as you know. so, civilizations and chemical


it is what we call " chemical kinetics, " you have studied that. the same happens for empires ; they tend to flare up and then disappear ; that ' s what happened to the roman empire, as you know. so, civilizations and chemical reactions can be studied using similar methods ; it is a field of science that goes under the name of " system dynamics ". in a sense, there are forces pushing people to do things just like there are forces pushing molecules to react. in chemistry we call those forces “ chemical potentials ”, about people we might use the term “ destiny ” or " karma " or something like that. but perhaps the difference is not so great. but don ' t worry about equations. i said that today i was going to tell you a story, and i am going to do it. it is the story of galla placidia ; born a roman princess, then queen of the goths, and, in the end, empress of rome. it is a great story of love, sex, and war. so, let ' s start! the fall of rome. now, i am asking you to close your eyes and forget for a moment where you are. forget that you are in a classroom, forget that you are students of chemistry, forget that you live in the 21st century. try to imagine something that existed way back in time : ancient rome in the first years of the 5th century of our era, fifteen hundred years ago. yes, rome, the eternal city, the center of the world, the cradle of civilization, the place all the roads lead to. at the beginning of the 5th century, rome is still the largest city of europe ; the capital of the western roman empire. think of the city as stretched over its seven hills ; surrounded by the massive aurelian walls, full of marble palaces, markets, amphitheaters, gardens, and fountains. the roman senate still holds sessions in the curia and gladiators still fight in the arenas, as they have been doing for centuries. but, with the 5th century, things have changed a lot for the empire. the victorious armies of old are gone ; the emperor himself doesn ' t even live in rome any longer. he stays in the small town of ravenna, protected by the marshes that surround it. and, in 410 a. d., rome is under siege. imagine that : outside the walls of rome there is a whole nation : men, women, children, horses and cattle. tens of thousands of


protected by the marshes that surround it. and, in 410 a. d., rome is under siege. imagine that : outside the walls of rome there is a whole nation : men, women, children, horses and cattle. tens of thousands of people who have marched there all the way from the north : the visigoths. they are led by their king, alaric, and now they are besieging rome. while the emperor, honorius, is hiding in ravenna, the only barrier that keeps the barbarians out of the city is the circle of the ancient aurelian walls. but that cannot last forever. without an army to defend the walls, the outcome of the siege could be only one. in august of 410, the barbarians broke in and they sacked rome. that date was to be remembered in history : the most powerful city in the world, the “ eternal ” city, had fallen. the shock for the event reverberated for centuries. among other things, it inspired augustine ' s " the city of god, " still well known today. now, how was that the largest city in the world, the eternal city, had ended up taken and sacked by a band of barbarians? it was just the final point of a decline that had been going on for centuries. you know that the peak of the roman empire had been at some moment in the second century a. d. after that period, it had been all downhill : civil wars, barbarian invasions, epidemics, famines and all that. not a smooth process, of course. there had been very difficult periods and periods when the empire seemed to be able to recover. on the whole, the western empire had managed to remain all in one piece up to the end of the 4th century. but, with the 5th century, things were to change and, this time, the empire would never really recover. edward gibbon gives us an especially poignant report of these events in his “ decline and fall of the roman empire ”. in the year 405 ( perhaps ), europe saw a very cold winter – so cold that it froze the waters of the rhine river. that river had been the eastern border of the empire for centuries. it had been chosen after that the romans had been defeated by the germans at teutoburg, long before. but when it froze, a great number of barbarians crossed over. that was the end of the border fortifications ; the romans simply couldn ' t defend them any more. the walls were abandoned and left to crumble


at teutoburg, long before. but when it froze, a great number of barbarians crossed over. that was the end of the border fortifications ; the romans simply couldn ' t defend them any more. the walls were abandoned and left to crumble to dust for ever and ever. it was an epochal change ; from then on, the barbarians were inside the empire and they would stay there. in the great turmoil of those years, a large band of barbarians marched directly towards rome. in 406 ad, they were met at the foot of the appennini mountains, at the city of faesulae, by what gibbon calls " the last army of the republic ". the romans had gathered there all the forces they could muster and they succeeded in stopping the barbarians. trapped in a narrow valley, the barbarians were nearly all killed or taken prisoners and sold as slaves. their king, radagaisus, was captured and beheaded. these events are still remembered as legends in the area where the battle was fought. it was a great victory for rome and in particular for the general who had been leading the roman army : flavius stilicho, magister militum, commander in chief of all the imperial forces. but there was a problem : successful generals are never liked by suspicious emperors. besides, stilicho was a barbarian himself, a vandal, and that didn ' t make him popular with the romans. so, soon after the battle, emperor honorius had stilicho executed for treason. that was a big mistake, a very big one ; you might say that honorius had shot himself in the foot with his crossbow. by then, the roman army was composed mainly of barbarians and, with their chief, stilicho, betrayed and killed, most of them deserted. the army melted away and many of those who had deserted joined the army of king alaric. now, you can understand how it was that rome was left undefended and it ended up falling to the barbarians. galla placidia : roman princess what i have been telling to you is the history of the fall of rome as we can read it in the texts of the chroniclers. actually, very little is left of those events in terms of contemporary sources ; most of what we have was written decades, if not centuries, after the events. so, we need to put together all the sources we have to try to understand what was exactly happening. and there is a human side to the events that goes beyond the fact that


we have was written decades, if not centuries, after the events. so, we need to put together all the sources we have to try to understand what was exactly happening. and there is a human side to the events that goes beyond the fact that rome was in decline and that it eventually fell. we can just barely imagine what was the atmosphere in rome during the two years of the siege, what people thought and how they saw an event that - by all means - they must have found incredible ; actually impossible. rome had not been besieged for a thousand years, it was the greatest city in the known world. that it would fall to a petty barbarian lord, that was.... come on. it just couldn ' t be! the problem is that when people face something that doesn ' t fit with the way they think the world should be, they tend to ignore it. if they can ' t, they may go crazy. and the romans went crazy. they tried whatever they could think of. they raised a new emperor, someone named priscus attalus, with all the pomp involved. but the barbarian king was unimpressed. then, they sent to him a delegation of senators, and they told the king how numerous the romans were. to that, alaric answered, solemnly ( i figure ) “ the thicker the hay, the easier it is mowed ” now, tell me if this is not the stuff legends are made of! at this point, the romans really went crazy. yes, they went nuts, bananas, watermelons, whatever you like to call that condition. they started looking for a culprit, a scapegoat, someone to blame. now, you remember that emperor honorius had accused his general flavius stilicho of treason ; that is, of being colluded with the barbarians. that was already an effect of rampaging paranoia. but, in the besieged rome, paranoia went up of a few notches. someone noticed that stilicho ' s widow, serena, was in rome. if her husband had been a traitor, well, she had to be a traitoress. serena was the cousin of emperor honorius, a noblewoman of high rank. but when paranoia becomes the rule, it generates pure evil. serena was accused of treason, sentenced to death by the senate, and executed by strangling. it is at this point that we have the first appearance of galla placidia in history as an adult, she was around


generates pure evil. serena was accused of treason, sentenced to death by the senate, and executed by strangling. it is at this point that we have the first appearance of galla placidia in history as an adult, she was around 20 years old at that time. we are told by the chronicler zosimus that the execution of serena was done " with galla placidia ' s consent. " we have a little story to tell, here. let ' s go back of a few years, when placidia ' s father, theodosius 1st, " the great " was the last roman emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western part of the empire. he had two male children, arcadius and honorius, to whom he left the empire. arcadius took the east and honorius the west. but theodosius had also a younger daughter, galla placidia, who got nothing. then as now, being female is not an asset when it is question of inheriting an empire. but theodosius may have understood that his two male children would not make good emperors ( they didn ' t ) and so he kept placidia in reserve, sort of ; something that turned out to have been a smart move. theodosius left placidia in care of his best general, flavius stilicho, who raised her in his household, with his wife serena who was also theodosius ' niece. so, in the years of the siege, placidia was in rome, probably staying with her foster mother, serena. now, we can barely imagine a situation in which the senate decides to sentence to death the cousin of the emperor, as serena was. but placidia was of even higher rank in terms of nobility. she had the title of " puella nobilissima. " i think you know enough latin to translate this as " most noble girl, " which is, of course, the equivalent of what we call " princess " today. so, in a sense, the senators got cold feet with their idea of killing serena and they asked to the highest rank noble in rome, placidia, to take the responsibility of what was, in effect, a legalized murder. and they were asking her to agree on the murder of someone who was both her foster mother and a close relative. we can ' t say, of course, what passed in placidia ' s mind at that time. we can ' t


. and they were asking her to agree on the murder of someone who was both her foster mother and a close relative. we can ' t say, of course, what passed in placidia ' s mind at that time. we can ' t even be sure that she actually approved anything. we know about this story only from a line written by zosimus, a greek who wrote more than a century after the events. but, if it did happen, it was the first political decision taken by placidia in her life ; something that may give us some idea of her way of thinking. possibly, she simply cracked under the stress of the moment. but she may also have reasoned that opposing the senate would have made no difference. they had already decided on that crazy idea of killing serena, what was to stop them if they were to get even more crazy and decide to kill also placidia? after all, she was stilicho ' s foster daughter ; she could have been a traitoress, too. so, maybe placidia just didn ' t try to fight a battle she couldn ' t win. it was her style : don ' t fight the unavoidable. we ' ll see that it will resurface more than once, later on. placidia could be flexible, adapt and thrive even in very difficult situations. with the execution of serena, the supposed traitoress, we may imagine that the romans expected that the visigoths would vanish in a puff of smoke. but, of course, that didn ' t happen. in 410 a. d. the visigoths broke in, they sacked rome, and not just that : they took a very big prize : galla placidia herself ; puella nobilissima, half sister of the ruling emperor. the chroniclers don ' t mention anything like placidia being dragged away from her palace, kicking and screaming – actually they are totally silent on this point. probably, that means something. we don ' t have to think that placidia was happy to join the barbarians but, again, she didn ' t try to avoid the unavoidable. we can ' t even exclude that she may have felt safer with the barbarians than with the treacherous roman senators. at least, as far as we know, the visigoths treated galla placidia with all the honors due to a puella nobilissima, a roman princess. the visigoths stayed in rome for just three days. as sack


least, as far as we know, the visigoths treated galla placidia with all the honors due to a puella nobilissima, a roman princess. the visigoths stayed in rome for just three days. as sackings go, theirs was rather mild. they burned and sacked a few buildings but, mainly, they ransacked what gold and silver they could find and then they left, heading south, with the idea of reaching africa and of settling there. they were taking galla placidia with them. after a long and slow trip, they arrived to the southernmost tip of the italian peninsula, but they couldn ' t cross to africa because a storm destroyed the ships they had assembled on the coast. then, king alaric died and legend has that he was buried under the riverbed of the busento river, together with his share of the gold sacked in rome. another event that rings of legend. people are still looking for that treasure, today! at this point, stranded in southern italy and short of food, the visigoths had no choice but to go back, slowly retracing their road. they were led by their new king, athaulf, half brother of alaric. the travel to southern italy had weakened them considerably and, when they arrived close to rome, they couldn ' t even dream to sack the city again. they kept moving on and, eventually, they stopped in southern france, by then largely abandoned by the roman empire. and, on the way, placidia married athaulf, perhaps in italy, or perhaps in narbonne, in france. that was in 414, four years after the fall of rome. placidia was around 25 at that time. the royal marriage so, we have arrived to the royal marriage ; it is something that most of us seem to be very interested in! i think you are all visualizing the galla placidia and athaulf getting married and, indeed, it must have been something special. it was celebrated with great pomp and high roman festivities. we even have a description of the magnificent gifts that were given to placidia from the booty that the goths had captured in rome. the wedding speech was given by a roman senator, priscus attalus, who had been claiming the title of emperor from the time of the siege of rome. attalus even sang a song at the wedding ; you know, that was something : think of having an emperor singing


senator, priscus attalus, who had been claiming the title of emperor from the time of the siege of rome. attalus even sang a song at the wedding ; you know, that was something : think of having an emperor singing at your wedding! galla placida, the roman princess, now gladly took for herself the title of “ queen of the goths ”. i say “ gladly ” because she never reneged that title later in life, no matter what happened to her – and we ' ll see that a lot of things happened. but why that? i mean, she already had the title of roman princess, she had good possibilities to marry a would - be emperor and become empress herself. why would she want to become queen of a barbarian nation? in addition, think that athaulf was the brother of alaric, the king who had sacked rome. if you can imagine the daughter of an american president marrying the brother of osama bin laden, well, then you can get some idea of what kind of decision placidia took. of course, 1500 years after the event, we can ' t say what passed in galla placidia ' s mind and we can ' t exclude that there was a romantic element in her decision. that brings up the question of whether athaulf was a handsome man, but we have no portraits of him. we don ' t even know how old he was at the time of this marriage. we know that he had been married before, he had four children from his first wife, but we have no idea of what happened to her. so, we can only say that, probably, he was older than placidia, but that ' s about it. we know much more about placida, but we don ' t have a portrait that we can attribute to her, either. nevertheless, if we want to understand this story, we have to figure out in our minds the faces of these characters. i am sure that you have been “ seeing ” in your minds both placidia and athaulf – our minds are made in this way ; we can ' t avoid that. think of when you speak over the phone with someone you never met – you can ' t avoid to build up a portrait of him or her in your mind. but we do know something about placidia ' s face. we can see it in some coins minted during her later reign as empress. the problem is that these portraits are anything but realistic.


a portrait of him or her in your mind. but we do know something about placidia ' s face. we can see it in some coins minted during her later reign as empress. the problem is that these portraits are anything but realistic. it is the same problem we have with cleopatra, the egyptian queen. we tend to think of cleopatra as a very beautiful woman, but we don ' t have a portrait that we can attribute to her for sure. so, looking at her face on coins, well, she looks frankly ugly. but, of course, those portraits on coins were not supposed to be anything realistic and we can happily continue imagining cleopatra with the face of elizabeth taylor, who interpreted her in an old hollywood movie. now, about placidia, it is the same problem we have for cleopatra. if placidia looked the way she is shown on some coins, well, ahem...... we might pity poor athaulf who had to marry her. but, as for cleopatra, these coins are not supposed to be realistic. actually, different coins show different faces for placidia ; so we can reasonably be sure that, in most cases, whoever made the portrait didn ' t have a chance to see the empress in the face. in the end, the closest thing we have to a portrait of placidia is a gold medallion ; one of a couple, the other showing her half brother, honorius. i think we can say that it gives us at least some idea of what placidia looked like. looking at it, we see that she had fine features and a slender neck under her elaborate hairdo. surely, we have good reasons to imagine her as a beautiful woman ; after all, her mother, galla, had been said to be the “ fairest woman in the roman empire. ” in the end, if you like to imagine her as audrey hepburn playing the role of the princess in that old movie, " roman holiday, " i ' d say, why not? so, let ' s go back to the imperial marriage. we have two handsome people getting married : athaulf and placidia, but, of course, that can ' t be the whole story. what we can say is that people do things for many reasons : sometimes because of logic, sometimes they act on impulse. but don ' t forget that real life is not a fairy tale. you know that love is a chemical reaction and that chemical reactions have a way to go on by


do things for many reasons : sometimes because of logic, sometimes they act on impulse. but don ' t forget that real life is not a fairy tale. you know that love is a chemical reaction and that chemical reactions have a way to go on by themselves if there is a chemical potential driving them. and, as we said before, this potential is something that we may call “ destiny ” if we like. and i think that in this case there was a very strong potential that was leading athaulf and placidia to react with each other, to marry. king arthur and placidia now, i would like to ask you a question. can you think of another figure who was trying to do something similar to what placidia was doing, just in that period ; that is, a roman marrying a barbarian? it takes a small jump of imagination to connect galla placidia to this figure. can you make it? think about that for a moment and the name will come to your mind. that name you know very, very, well : it is king arthur! yes, king arthur, the legendary hero. we can ' t say for sure that he actually existed. at least, historians say that there is no proof that he ever existed. but that doesn ' t mean that he didn ' t exist and if he existed there is a reasonable chance that he was a contemporary of galla placidia, during the 5th century. at that time, britain had ceased to be part of the roman empire and it is likely that placidia never came to know the name of a petty barbarian king – arthur – who ruled part of a remote northern island. arthur, on his part, surely knew little of the events that took place in the far away roman empire. but, curiously, arthur and placidia – contemporary or not – may have followed similar paths in their lives. i am mentioning this movie to you just to show how we can still “ feel ” quite a lot about an age as remote as the 5th century. the arthurian cycle pervades our culture still today even though, as i said, we can ' t even be sure that a king named arthur ever existed. but the fifth century was a great generator of legends. think of the nibelungenlied, the saga of the nibelungs. you know that story ; you know the names of the characters : siegfried, hagen, kriemhild. it comes from the same period, the 5th century ad and it echoes