a 12th - century fortress and church of the protecting veil. another beautiful town on the banks of the volga, this is notable for its kremlin and the chambers of prince dmitry. prince dmitry, son and heir of ivan the terrible drowned here, after accidentally being dropped in a river by his nurse. the federation ' s second - largest city, 715km ( 444 miles ) northwest of moscow, is known both as a cultural center and for its elegant buildings. the city is spread over 42 islands in the delta of the river neva. in comparison to moscow, which tended to be more eastern in character, st petersburg has always retained a european flavor and was intended as a ' window to the west '. it was built by peter the great in 1703 and remained the capital for 200 years of tsarist russia. known as petrograd after the civil war, and leningrad during the soviet period, the city reverted to its original name in 1991 by popular demand. wide boulevards, tranquil canals, bridges and some of the best examples of tsarist architecture gave rise to the epithet the ' venice of the north '. although badly damaged in world war ii, much of it is now reconstructed. in june and july the city has the famous ' white nights ', when darkness recedes to a brief twilight and the city is imbued with an unusual aura. many of the most interesting sites, especially those on the left bank of the river neva, can be explored on foot. the palace square and the winter palace are among the most popular attractions for followers of russian history. troops fired on demonstrators there in 1905 and the palace witnessed the capitulation of the provisional government, allowing the bolsheviks to take the country into eight decades of communist rule. the hermitage houses the vast private collection of the tsars. the museum of the history of the city gives a comprehensive picture of st petersburg ' s history. while exploring the city the visitor will inevitably see the alexandrovskaya column. st isaac ' s cathedral is one of the biggest dome buildings of the world and, like the kazansky cathedral, houses a museum. also worth a visit is the st peter and paul fortress, a former prison that is now a popular museum. members of the romanov dynasty are buried in the cathedral of the same name. the gorgeously decorated yusupov mansion was built for the romanovs. its rooms are sumptuousy decorated in mid - 19th - century style. the mansion ' s concert hall is now a venue for recitals


of the same name. the gorgeously decorated yusupov mansion was built for the romanovs. its rooms are sumptuousy decorated in mid - 19th - century style. the mansion ' s concert hall is now a venue for recitals, theatrical productions, opera and ballet. a waxwork exhibition commemorates rasputin, who died in the building. the grand nevsky prospekt, dominated by the spire of the admiralty building, is one of the city ' s main thoroughfares and is lined by opulent buildings. these include the kazan cathedral and the church of the resurrection. the collection at the russian museum covers nearly 1000 years of russian art history. nevsky prospect crosses the fontanka river at anichkov bridge, and continues to palace square. further sights are the cathedral of st nicholas ( russian baroque ), still a working church ; the alexander nevsky monastery, the main religious center in st petersburg ; and the museums of ethnography and russian art. the homes of dostoyevsky, pushkin, anna akhmatova and rimsky - korsakov serve as museums dedicated to their former occupants. the cruiser aurora is berthed on the neva. a blank shot was fired from her bow to give a signal to start the assault on the winter palace in 1917. lenin also announced the victory of the revolution from here. the summer palaces the following palaces beyond the outskirts of st petersburg are collectively known as the summer palaces. petrodvorets is a former summer palace of tsar peter the great and is known for its beautiful cascades and fountains. it is located 34km ( 21 miles ) from st petersburg on the southern shore of the gulf of finland. the tsar designed the initial plans himself, and he appointed european and russian architects to realise his grand project, which was intended to rival versailles. oranienbaum was built as the summer residence of alexander menshikov, peter the great ' s associate. from here, alexander oversaw the construction of the kronstadt naval fortress on the nearby kotlin island. thankfully, the palace and its parkland escaped damage during world war ii. its chinese and sliding hill pavilions are exceptionally beautiful. the grand catherine palace at tsarskoye selo was built for peter the great ' s wife. the scottish architect charles cameron designed some of the interiors, although a greater number by bartholomeo rastrelli survive. pushkin spent his formative years in the town. cameron also designed the subtle buildings at nearby pavlovsk,


. the scottish architect charles cameron designed some of the interiors, although a greater number by bartholomeo rastrelli survive. pushkin spent his formative years in the town. cameron also designed the subtle buildings at nearby pavlovsk, which were intended to complement the parkland ' s beauty. the park itself, designed by the italian gonzago, is one of the finest landscaped parks in europe. the estate was originally part of tsarskoye selo, but catherine ii gave it to her son paul. although she commissioned cameron to design the estate, paul, whose relationship with his mother was strained, decided to redecorate the palace. vast and often turbulent, lake ladoga is linked to st petersburg by the river neva. valaam is the most significant of the islands in the lake ' s northern archipelago because of its ancient monastery. its golden domes suddenly rise from the mist that frequently shrouds visiting cruise ships. the founding religious community frequently suffered swedish and viking attacks during the middle ages. the present buildings date from the late 18th century. as well as being an important pilgrimage center, the monastery was a noted center for innovations in crafts and agriculture. its missionaries brought orthodox christianity to the shores of alaska. a religious community was re - established on the island in 1989, and restoration of the monastery is already under way. despite years of neglect, valaam still retains a mysterious air. south of st petersburg, novgorod was founded over 1100 years ago and was one of the most important towns of ancient russia. novgorod was the founding city of rus, the nucleus of modern russia, although kiev later became the capital. picturesquely located on the banks of the river volkhov, the city is a treasure trove of ancient architecture, with 39 cathedrals and churches. within the walls of the kremlin, st sophia ' s cathedral ( mid - 11th century ) is the oldest stone structure in the russian federation. bounded by finland and the white sea, karelia ' s landscape is a patchwork of lakes, marshes and forests, whose canopies shade abundant mushrooms and berries. the region ' s capital, petrozavodsk, is a staging post for a variety of holiday activities in the region. the small island of kizhi within lake onega is easily accessible by hydrofoil from here. the island was an early pagan center. its surviving heritage features the 22 - domed 18th - century church of the transfiguration, whose wooden structure was built without a single nail. the


lake onega is easily accessible by hydrofoil from here. the island was an early pagan center. its surviving heritage features the 22 - domed 18th - century church of the transfiguration, whose wooden structure was built without a single nail. the open - air museum is a collection of russian and karel wooden buildings from the 14th to 19th centuries. the region is ideal for adventure holidays on the shuya, suna and vama - vodla rivers. tranquil waters offering spectacular views of the countryside are suddenly interrupted by rapids cascading over glacial boulders. the white waters may be negotiated by kayak or cataraft. the suna river is excellent for fishing. the kivach waterfall along its path is especially beautiful. karel pies called kalitkas may be sampled in the local hamlets, often no more than a cluster of sturdy wooden cottages. a real sauna followed by a plunge into a river or lake is an ideal way to unwind at the end of an adventure - packed day. almost due north of st petersburg, this is the largest city within the arctic circle. this important port on the shores of kola bay is warmed by the waters of the gulf stream and is free of ice throughout the year. it was built with british assistance during world war i. the northern lights are seen here in november and december and the sports festival of the peoples of the north is held in march. the largest city in the white sea area, arkhangelsk was only opened to tourists in 1990. before the founding of st petersburg it was the first and only seaport in russia. from here, visitors may travel to the nearby village of mali kareli to view russian white stone and wooden architecture. the tract of land sandwiched between lithuania and poland on the baltic shoreline is an annexe of the russian federation. its principal town is now called kaliningrad, although it was known as konigsberg when it was the center of german east prussia. the area was ceded to the erstwhile soviet union following world war ii. the territory ' s future prosperity depends on the government ' s plans to give it special economic status. architectural remnants which survived the war mark the city ' s german heritage, such as the cathedral. the philosopher immanuel kant, the town ' s most famous son, is buried near here, and his memory is honored by the kant museum. the amber museum, housed in a restored german fortress tower, celebrates this local precious stone. the town has many attractive parks and gardens, as well


' s most famous son, is buried near here, and his memory is honored by the kant museum. the amber museum, housed in a restored german fortress tower, celebrates this local precious stone. the town has many attractive parks and gardens, as well as a zoo. nearby, svetlogorsk is a verdant coastal spa resort which has lost none of its charm. the kursche spit is a beautiful sand peninsula extending nearly 100km ( 63 miles ) along the coast, and is a rich habitat for plants and animals. once an armenian town, its low buildings still show armenian influences. especially interesting is the cathedral of the resurrection. there are several parks, four theaters, an orchestra, a race - course and a beach. rostov is the gateway to the caucasus. a popular resort with a subtropical climate and a famous health spa, it is situated on the black sea ' s eastern coast beneath the dramatic caucasus mountains. an observation tower on mt bolshoi akhun, 23km ( 14 miles ) from the town, provides a spectacular view of the town, almost all of the caucasian riviera and the surrounding mountains. there is a large riviera park with many tourist facilities and a botanical garden, founded during the last century, with beautiful, interesting trees and shrubs from all over the world. boat and hovercraft trips on the black sea are available from the town ' s port. for those who want a resort - based holiday, this new holiday center lying to the north of sochi is ideal. overlooking the black sea, it is beautifully located amongst thickly wooded hills and subtropical greenery. nearby is the dagomys state tea farm where visitors can sample the fragrant krasnodar tea accompanied by the delicious local pastries, jams, fruits and nuts whilst enjoying the spectacular mountain scenery. the mighty volga provides an additional road into the russian federation. traveling by river from kazan to rostov - on - don makes a pleasant tour. the cultural centre of the tartars, this city boasts a kremlin dating from the 16th century which, with its towers and churches, is fascinating to visit. the tartar state museum and the 18th - century mosque are also of interest. lenin ' s birthplace ; his parents ' house situated here used to be a popular museum. a major space centre, the city was founded in the 16th century around a fortress surveying the volga and samara rivers. the old town is notable for its fine turn - of - the - century buildings.


situated here used to be a popular museum. a major space centre, the city was founded in the 16th century around a fortress surveying the volga and samara rivers. the old town is notable for its fine turn - of - the - century buildings. the volga shoreline and the nature reserves of the zhiguli hills are accessible from samara. formerly stalingrad, the victory museum celebrates the victory over the nazis, and the whole city is a monument to the year - long battle that took place there. tours to the battlefields are available. the town stands at the confluence of the volga and don rivers. boat trips and fishing tours taking in both rivers are possible. visits to outlying cossack and volga - german villages provide a glimpse of the region ' s history. the urals, siberia & the far east the birthplace of former russian president boris yeltsin. the city is also historically important as the last resting place of the romanov royal family, murdered during the bolshevik revolution. covering an area of over 12, 800, 000 sq km ( 4, 000, 000 sq miles ), siberia contains unimaginably vast stretches of marshy forest ( taiga ). this ' sleeping land ', the literal translation of its name, possesses a million lakes, 53, 000 rivers and an enormous wealth of natural resources. although the temperature in winter falls well below freezing point, the weather in summer can be very warm. tourism is less developed than elsewhere in the russian federation and some parts are still not accessible. however, much of the region has been opened up, including sakhalin island and the chukchi peninsula just across the bering strait from alaska. the taiga is within easy reach of many of the region ' s cities. air - hopping is one way of discovering the wilderness. a famous alternative is the trans - siberian railway, the longest continuous railway in the world, a journey which is one of the greatest travel adventures. the line cuts through an area bigger than western europe, crossing a landscape which includes arctic wastes, tundra and steppe. the most scenic part of the journey is between irkutsk and khabarovsk. irkutsk is over 300 years old and owes much of its development to its location on the tradeways to mongolia and china. at the end of the last century, the city began to take on the aspect of a ' boom town ' when trade in gold, fur and diamonds suddenly created new wealth. it was to irkutsk that many 19th - century revolutionaries,


china. at the end of the last century, the city began to take on the aspect of a ' boom town ' when trade in gold, fur and diamonds suddenly created new wealth. it was to irkutsk that many 19th - century revolutionaries, such as the decembrists, were exiled. the university of irkutsk was the first establishment of higher education in eastern siberia. today, as in former times, this important siberian city is one of the world ' s biggest suppliers of fur. the town lies on the banks of the angara, the only outflowing river from lake baikal. the lake is accessible from irkutsk by hydrofoil during the summer. statistics about baikal are astounding ; with a depth of 1637m ( 5371ft ) it is the world ' s deepest lake. its surface area equals that of belgium and the netherlands put together. it is 25 million years old, and it would take three months to walk around its 2000km ( 1243 mile ) shoreline. the purity of its water is maintained by millions of tiny crayfish, providing a habitat for a wide variety of fish, including sturgeon, loach, grayling and omul ( a type of salmon ), one of many species unique to baikal. its shores are a feeding ground for wildfowl and the occasional bear. freshwater seal colonies are found around the ushkan islands in the center of the lake. olkhon island is the site of primitive rock drawings and a unique necropolis of an ancient siberian tribe whose members are thought to have been ancestors of indigenous north americans. the local climate is often harsh ; the surface of the entire lake often freezes over in winter ( trains were moved across the ice during the russo - japanese war ). the sarma wind can sink boats and rip the roofs off buildings. while the human race now dominates the lake, it remains to be seen whether it will be a responsible custodian of the region ' s flora and fauna. many of the inhabitants of the buryat republic are buddhists. dozens of picturesque temples ( datsans ) sprang up round lake baikal after empress elizabeth, peter the great ' s daughter, recognized the buddhist religion in the russian federation. although most datsans were destroyed during the 1930s, many of their treasures were preserved in the russian orthodox church in ulaan ude, the capital. the sandalwood buddha, on display in the town ' s exhibition hall, is said to have been made with the buddha


destroyed during the 1930s, many of their treasures were preserved in the russian orthodox church in ulaan ude, the capital. the sandalwood buddha, on display in the town ' s exhibition hall, is said to have been made with the buddha himself sitting as a model. founded as a garrison town, yakutsk is capital of the vast sakha ( yakutia ) autonomous republic. today it is a major scientific center for permafrost research. the republic ' s landscapes range from alpine meadows to moss - covered tundra, with sandy deserts close to the arctic zone. this is pioneer country, complete with gold - mining settlements. the largest industrial center of eastern siberia and an important transport junction is located on the amur. the town ( founded in 1858 ) was named after the scientist khabarov. the red brick houses in the center have curious roofs shaped like pine needles, and are intermingled with the constructivist architecture of the 1930s. worth a visit is the regional museum, which offers an insight into the different cultures of the amur people. a military and naval port, vladivostok was opened to foreign visitors in 1990. as a gateway to the pacific and the east, the town has enormous commercial potential. it is within easy reach of the ussuriysk taiga, a unique habitat for plants of the pre - glacial period, as well as tigers, leopard, bison, boar and bears.


materials enable the ideas of scientists to meet the needs of engineers. research into the relationships between the atomic structure of materials and their physical and mechanical properties, both in the united states and elsewhere, is leading to exciting new alloys and compounds that can be designed to exhibit a wide range of useful properties. for this reason a number of federal agencies, including the department of energy, department of defense, department of commerce, and advisory bodies, such as the office of science and technology policy and the national research council, have identified materials as a critical technology vital to our nation ' s national security and economic competitiveness. the integrated materials research laboratory ( imrl ) enables sandia to develop new and superior materials that meet government and industrial needs. this 140, 000 square foot building houses most of the advanced materials research and development functions at sandia. the facility integrates research from the atomic scale, through the development of electronic devices, to full scale mechanical components. the experimental work is augmented by advanced computer modeling and simulation techniques, another area of sandia ' s expertise. a wide variety of types of materials will be investigated : advanced metallic alloys, semiconductors for electronic and photonic applications, high temperature superconductors, ceramics, metals with properties tailored for improved resistance to friction, wear, corrosion and erosion, etc., and laser, optical and dielectric materials. the imrl has been built outside of sandia ' s secure area to facilitate technical cooperation with researchers from industry and universities. the new four story building has permitted sandia to bring together some 250 materials researchers previously scattered about the campus. it also includes space for postdoctoral researchers and guests from other organizations, facilitating the collaborative generation of new ideas, and the subsequent transfer of novel pre - competitive technologies to practice. the imrl is strategically located with our microelectronics development, compound semiconductor research and robotics manufacturing science and engineering laboratories. this drives the integration of materials research with advanced microelectronic component development creating a set of leading edge facilities in what may be termed an integrated microsystems technology park. we have developed a variety of solution chemistry routes to ceramic powders in order to control such important powder properties as particle size, agglomerate structure, dopant levels, and impurities. the ability to control powder properties is important because the microstructural and electrical properties of ceramics are strongly influenced by the nature of the powder used in their fabrication. this solution processing approach is illustrated above for the sandia - developed process to prepare high field zno varisto


sure - fire strategies for handling difficult students - grades : prek – k, 1 – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8 this article was excerpted from learning to teach... not just for beginners : the essential guide for all teachers by linda shalaway. effective teachers discipline with encouragement and kind words much more often than rebukes or reprimands. the goal is to help students feel good about themselves and their behavior in the classroom. inevitably, though, misbehavior happens. when it does, keep the collected wisdom of experienced teachers in mind : - take a deep breath and try to remain calm. it ' s natural to be overcome with frustration, resentment, and anger. but when you are, you become less rational, and your agitation becomes contagious. - try to set a positive tone and model an appropriate response, even if it means you must take a few moments to compose yourself. acknowledge that you need time to think, time to respond. " this is upsetting me, too, but i need a few minutes to think before we talk about it. " - make sure students understand that it ' s their misbehavior you dislike, not them. " i like you, jason. right now, your behavior is unacceptable. " - give the misbehaving student a chance to respond positively by explaining not only what he or she is doing wrong, but also what he or she can do to correct it. - never resort to blame or ridicule. - avoid win - lose conflicts. emphasize problem - solving instead of punishment. - insist that students accept responsibility for their behavior. - try to remain courteous in the face of hostility or anger. showing students that you care about them and their problems will help you earn their respect and establish rapport. - treat all students respectfully and politely. be consistent in what you let them say and do. be careful not to favor certain students. - be an attentive listener. encourage students to talk out feelings and concerns and help them clarify their comments by restating them. - model the behavior you expect from your students. are you as considerate of your students ' feelings as you want them to be of others? are you as organized and on - task as you tell them to be? are your classroom rules clear and easy for students to follow? - specifically describe misbehavior and help students understand the consequences of misbehavior. very young children may even need your explanations modeled or


as you tell them to be? are your classroom rules clear and easy for students to follow? - specifically describe misbehavior and help students understand the consequences of misbehavior. very young children may even need your explanations modeled or acted out. - be aware of cultural differences. for example, a student who stares at the floor while you speak to him or her would be viewed as defiant in some cultures and respectful in others. - discourage cliques and other antisocial behavior. offer cooperative activities to encourage group identity. - teach students personal and social skills — communicating, listening, helping, and sharing, for example. - teach students academic survival skills, such as paying attention, following directions, asking for help when they really need it, and volunteering to answer. - avoid labeling students as " good " or " bad. " instead describe their behavior as " positive, " " acceptable, " " disruptive, " or " unacceptable. " - focus on recognizing and rewarding acceptable behavior more than punishing misbehavior. - ignore or minimize minor problems instead of disrupting the class. a glance, a directed question, or your proximity may be enough to stop misbehavior. - where reprimands are necessary, state them quickly and without disrupting the class. - when it ' s necessary to speak to a student about his or her behavior, try to speak in private ; this is especially true of adolescents who must " perform " for their peers. public reprimands or lectures often trigger exaggerated, face - saving performances. when personalities clash... sometimes, despite our best intentions, we find ourselves actively disliking one of the students in our charge. the student may be rude, disrespectful, disruptive, obnoxious, or otherwise annoying. it ' s just human nature ; some personalities clash. but instead of feeling guilty about our feelings, we can take positive steps to improve them, says school psychologist and teacher shelley krapes. here are some of her suggestions : - try to understand where the behavior is coming from. is the student distressed by a death, divorce, new baby, learning disability, or some other overwhelming experience? speaking to the student ' s parents or guardian may shed light on underlying causes and help you develop sympathy through understanding. - help yourself manage negative feelings by reflecting on a past situation in your life where a similar conflict occurred. discuss the situation with a friend or by writing your thoughts in a journal. making and


was the race to the moon real? ; june 1994 ; scientific american magazine ; by logsdon, dupas ; 8 page ( s ) twenty - five years ago, on july 20, 1969, neil a. armstrong took the first footsteps on the surface of the moon. that event marked a political and technological victory for the u. s. in its cold war rivalry with the u. s. s. r. in the years that followed, the soviet government insisted that the soviet union had never planned a lunar landing. hence, it argued, the contest to send humans to the moon was a onesided exercise. the reality is otherwise ; recently declassified information from that era and testimony of key participants in the soviet space program under khrushchev and brezhnev prove that the moon race was indeed real. new evidence reveals that personal rivalries, shifting political alliances and bureaucratic inefficiencies bred failure and delays within the soviet lunar - landing program. in contrast, the american effort received consistently strong political and public support. the national aeronautics and space administration and its contractor teams also benefited from a pool of skilled and highly motivated workers and managers. despite an early soviet lead in human space exploration, these factors, along with more generous and effective allocation of resources, enabled the u. s. to win the competition to be first to the moon.


displaying 1 - 13 of 13 links africaadapt is a bilingual ( english / french ) network of african researchers, policymakers, civil society organisations and local communities that encourages information sharing on climate change adaptation for africa. the network publishes information on its activities including workshops, innovation funding, radio programmes in local languages and news services for mobile phones. it also publishes video, audio and photo stories to present community perspectives on climate change adaptation methods. it links to key organisations and publications on adaptation in several fields including agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy, water and health. this site provides access to a suite of climate related observations, projections and predictions for the african continent. of particular interest are the up - to - date seasonal predictions and the african monsoon bulletin. there is also a searchable archive of climate data and research activities detailed in french. acmad also offers ' on the job training ' in climatology. the website is also available in french. the amma programme aims to study how the west african monsoon affects meningitis and malaria epidemics. while it focuses on one weather system, the climate factors it looks at can be generalised to other environments. for example, it examines how wind, dust, rainfall, temperature and humidity, amongst others, affect mosquito density and malaria or meningitis epidemics in people. the website also offers a key resource for researchers in the form of an open - access bibliographic database containing more than 250 scientific articles. this site provides access to reports of projects and case studies conducted as part of the international assessments of impacts and adaptations to climate change in multiple regions and sectors ( aiacc ) initiative. a searchable database of projects by country, region, and sector contains some of the final reports in pdf format. the projects cover adaptation in almost all sectors, with five projects with final reports in southern africa, one project in eastern africa and three projects in western africa. the site also provides accessible summaries of each project, as well as updates posted throughout the duration of the studies. this online resource captures current articles, reports, papers and books sourced from nongovernmental organisations and development agencies such as actionaid, southsouthnorth, the international institute for environment and development and the world bank. the site features short summaries and links to full papers, all of which are relevant to adaptation in sub - saharan africa. the climate prediction centre ' s african desk aims to create a partnership between the united states ' national centers for environmental prediction ( ncep ) and the african meteorological


and links to full papers, all of which are relevant to adaptation in sub - saharan africa. the climate prediction centre ' s african desk aims to create a partnership between the united states ' national centers for environmental prediction ( ncep ) and the african meteorological services to encourage exchange of data and train meteorologists. the website contains weather summaries, rainfall, monsoon predictions and various short and long term weather forecasts. the african desk also hosts two visitors at a time for training in climate change monitoring and predictions methods. this organisation aims to encourage dialogue and the sharing of good practice by policymakers and opinion leaders on the future of agricultural growth in africa. it covers topic areas such as climate change, land use, policy processes and science, technology and innovation. the website publishes free to access publications, lists of relevant events and fellowships, and online discussions on issues including small - scale agriculture. it also provides access to resources for policy engagement, such as policy briefs, and a regularly updated list of relevant organisations and websites. the guardian environment website publishes news and commentary on environmental issues such as climate change, energy, ethical living, food and recycling. it also provides blogs, job listings and multimedia, including audio and video podcasts. users can comment and are encouraged to join discussions. the website also aggregates relevant news from members of the guardian environment network, which brings together the world ' s best environment websites including scidev. net, china dialogue, real science and the world resources institute. this non - profit organisation aims to develop sustainable ecological farming in africa and india. icrisat ' s mission is " to help empower 600 million poor people to overcome hunger, poverty and a degraded environment in the dry tropics through better agriculture ". icrisat ' s biopower initiative aims to ensure that bioenergy research benefits the poor. its activities include analysing bioenergy trends and understanding their repercussions for the poor, and enabling governments to formulate pro - bioenergy policies that benefit poor people. this site is maintained by the kenya meteorological department and contains short term weather forecasts, seasonal forecasts, and agro - meteorological data. other climatological data is available from the website upon request. the southern african regional climate outlook forum ( sarcof ) is a regional seasonal weather outlook prediction and application process adopted by the fourteen countries of the southern african development community ( sadc ) member states. the site provides access to weather forecasts and climate predictions and features weather warnings, mid - season rainfall analysis and rainfall


print version issn 0001 - 3765 an. acad. bras. cienc. vol. 84 no. 3 rio de janeiro sept. 2012 epub july 10, 2012 cassius r. santanai ; gabriela m. bochioi ; luiz dos anjosii iprograma de pos - graduacao em ciencias biologicas, departamento de biologia animal e vegetal ( bav ), universidade estadual de londrina, caixa postal 6001, 86051 - 990 londrina, pr, brasil iidepartamento de biologia animal e vegetal, universidade estadual de londrina, caixa postal 6001, 86051 - 970 londrina, pr, brasil we evaluated the distribution of abundance of three species of warblers in the southern portion of the brazilian atlantic forest ( baf ) : tropical parula ( parula pitiayumi ), the golden - crowned warbler ( basileuterus culicivorus ) and the white - rimmed warbler ( basileuterus leucoblepharus ). three types of forests comprise this region of the atlantic forest : seasonal semi - deciduous forest ( sf ), mixed rain forest ( mf ) and dense rain forest ( df ). these forest types occur at different elevations : sf ranging from 200 to 800 m, mf ranging from 800 to 1, 200 m and df ranging from sea level up to 2, 000 m. we used point counts in fifteen study areas distributed in the three forest types. the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula had higher abundances in mf, and their abundance was positively correlated with the elevation. the golden - crowned warbler did not present a significant difference in abundance among the forest types, and no correlation between abundance and elevation was found. we suggest that the difference in the occupancy of the forest strata by the golden - crowned warbler is because this species is more generalist and thus less sensitive to variations in the vegetation structure among the forests types when compared to the other two warbler species. key words : abundance, atlantic forest, basileuterus, distribution, elevation, warblers. nos avaliamos as distribuicoes de abundancia em tres especies de parulideos na porcao sul da mata atlantica do brasil : a mariquita


basileuterus, distribuicao, altitude, parulideos. studies on variations in bird distribution and abundance along elevational and latitudinal gra - dients are common in the ornithological literature ( e. g. terborgh 1971, 1977 ). regarding the family parulidae, we can find studies on the effects of elevation on the population distribution in north and central america ( kepler and parkes 1972, morse 1979, hutto 1985 ). lanning et al. ( 1990 ) studied the distribution of the colima warbler ( vermivora crissalis ) and observed variations in population size and habitat occupancy of another three parulidae species in an elevational gradient between 1, 700 and 3, 000 m at the border between mexico and the united states. blake and loiselle ( 2000 ) reported higher numbers of warbler species at lower elevations between 50 and 1, 000 m in the central coast of costa rica. in south america there are about 60 parulidae species. these birds, known as warblers, can be divided into two groups ( ridgely and tudor 1989 ) : migrants ( in north america ) and residents, which are mostly basileuterus. little is known about the distribution of these species along elevational gradients in brazil, although ridgely and tudor ( 1989 ) mention general trends in their occupation. according to these authors, the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula occur in mountainous areas, up to 1, 600 m and 2, 500 m, respectively. the golden - crowned warbler presents a wide elevational distribution up to 1800 m ( ridgely and tudor 1989 ). in this study we analyzed the distribution of abundance of these three parulidae species in three different forest ecosystems in the southern brazilian atlantic forest ( baf ), which occupy different elevations : mixed rain forest ( mf ), dense rain forest ( df ) and seasonal semi - deciduous forest ( sf ). variations in the abundance of these species according to elevation are expected, although they tend to co - exist in the three forest types. this study was conducted in areas of continuous forest of the baf in the state of parana, southern brazil, covering the three forest types : mf, df and sf. fifteen areas were sampled. three of these areas represent some of the larger continuous portions within their respective forest types in the parana state : parque nacional do iguacu ( 185, 000 ha ) in


types : mf, df and sf. fifteen areas were sampled. three of these areas represent some of the larger continuous portions within their respective forest types in the parana state : parque nacional do iguacu ( 185, 000 ha ) in the sf, floresta nacional de irati ( 3, 500 ha ) in the mf and area de preservacao ambiental de guaraquecaba ( 192, 000 ha ) in the df. four areas are smaller ( between 656 and 1, 000 ha ), but also legally protected. another five areas are not protected, but are also as well preserved as the conservation units ( table i ). the three forest types studied differ in biotic and abiotic characteristics. in the df, where our study areas were distributed from sea level up to 800 m ( although this forest type can reach 2, 000 m ), annual rainfall and average temperatures are high. there is no obvious dry season and the rainfall is well distributed throughout the year. the complex canopy is composed of a great variety of plant species ( around 700 species of trees are found ), displaying an abundance of epiphytes and large biomass of bamboo and vine tangles ( morellato and haddad 2000, oliveira - filho and fontes 2000 ). the mf, which occupies elevations ranging from 800 to 1, 200 m, is dominated by a single plant species : araucaria angustifolia, which represents more than 40 % of the individual trees. this type of forest is poor in bamboo and vine tangles, but rich in epiphytes. the annual average temperatures and rainfall are lower than those found in the df, and there is no distinct dry season ( mazza et al. 2005 ). the sf, ranging from 200 to 800 m in elevation, is dominated by a few plant species, of which aspidosperma polyneuron, tabebuia heptaphylla and peltophorum dubium are noteworthy. this type of forest is rich in vine tangles and bamboo, but poor in epiphytes. the average annual rainfall is similar to that observed in the mf ; however, the average temperature is similar to that in the df. a distinct dry season of 160 days can be observed in this type of forest ( morellato and haddad 2000, oliveira - filho and fontes 2000 ). bird sampling methods point counts were performed to obtain the abundance data in all study areas ( blondel et


of 160 days can be observed in this type of forest ( morellato and haddad 2000, oliveira - filho and fontes 2000 ). bird sampling methods point counts were performed to obtain the abundance data in all study areas ( blondel et al. 1970, vielliard and silva 1990, bibby et al. 1992, anjos 2007 ). this method was applied establishing six points along a trail at a distance of 200 m of each other. another six points were set along another trail located at least 300 m from the first one ( replicate ). thus, each sampling site considered in this study was represented by 12 sampling points distributed in two trails. the samplings on each site were conducted on consecutive days. more than one site was sampled in larger areas such as parque nacional do iguacu ( where four trails of six points were sampled ). the sampling occurred seasonally over a two year period, totaling 16 sampling days in almost all studied areas, or 96 sampling points at each site. samplings at each point were conducted in the morning, starting with the early bird activity in the day. the points were sampled in sequence, inverting the starting point at each season. each point count was surveyed for fifteen minutes, which was also the interval between the sampling points. thus, the sampling on each track ended 2 h 45 min after the first point. visual and / or auditive records were considered within an estimated radius of 100 m, and each breeding pair or group was considered as one contact. a standard schematic form allowed the observer to avoid repeating records of an individual at the same point. to determine the abundance of each species at each sampling site the ponctual index of abundance ( ipa ) was obtained ( blondel et al. 1970, bibby et al. 1992, anjos 2007 ). this index was calculated for each species by dividing its number of contacts by the total number of points sampled in each site ( blondel et al. 1970 ). a non - parametric kruskal - wallis ( h ) test was applied to evaluate differences between the median values of the species ' i. p. a. for the different forest types. the correlation significance between the values of i. p. a. and the elevation of the sampling sites for each species was evaluated using a spearman rank correlation test ( rs ). results and discussion all three species occurred in the three forest types. however, only the golden - crowned warbler occurred in all sampling sites ( table i ). the


sites for each species was evaluated using a spearman rank correlation test ( rs ). results and discussion all three species occurred in the three forest types. however, only the golden - crowned warbler occurred in all sampling sites ( table i ). the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula presented significantly higher i. p. a. medians in the mf ( kruskall - wallis, h = 10. 3, p < 0. 01 and h = 11. 4, p < 0. 01, respectively ). regarding the golden - crowned warbler there was no difference in median values of i. p. a. among the forest types ( kruskall - wallis, h = 3. 2, p = 0. 20 ). the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula showed significant positive correlations between abundance and altitude ( rs = 0. 70, p < 0. 01 and rs = 0. 73, p < 0. 01, respectively ) ( fig. 1 ). no correlation was found for the golden - crowned warbler ( rs = - 0. 12, p = 0. 65 ) ( fig. 1 ). the data obtained suggest that elevation affects the abundance of the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula in the southern portion of the atlantic forest ; both presented greater abundance at higher elevations. this result proves to be similar to that found for several warbler species of temperate northern hemisphere forests such as the painted redstart ( myioborus pictus ), the oliver warbler ( peucedramus taeniatus ), the yellow - rumped warbler ( dendroica coronate ), the colima warbler ( vermivora crissalis ) and the crescent - chested warbler ( vermivora superciliosa, now in the genus parula ), which increased in occurrence with the increasing elevation ( hubbard and crossin 1974, morse 1979, lanning et al. 1990 ). the data obtained for the southern portion of the atlantic forest show a more similar pattern to temperate regions than to tropical zones considering the study of blake and loiselle ( 2000 ) in costa rica, where the abundance of parulidae was higher at lower elevations ranging from 50 m to 1, 000 m. however, it is noticeable that the atlantic forest is not homogeneous, and these species are actually more related to the mf, which occurs at higher elevations and latitudes. thus, although the geographic distribution of


from 50 m to 1, 000 m. however, it is noticeable that the atlantic forest is not homogeneous, and these species are actually more related to the mf, which occurs at higher elevations and latitudes. thus, although the geographic distribution of these species comprises large portions of the atlantic forest in the southern and southeastern brazil ( ridgely and tudor 1989 ), biotic and abiotic characteristics of the forest types influence variations in their abundance ( anjos 2002 ). variations in abundance were not detected for the golden - crowned warbler, suggesting a higher tolerance of this species to spatial variations of the environment. the reasons why the golden - crowned warbler was more tolerant to variations along the baf than the other two species are not clear. the explanation may lie in the occupation of the forest strata ( ridgely and tudor 1989 ) : the white - rimmed warbler is commonly found in dense undergrowth of rainforests, the tropical parula preferentially occupies the canopy of trees in the upper strata, and the golden - crowned warbler is often observed in mixed flocks present in the middle and lower strata. considering that the three species are predominantly insectivorous, the fact that the white - rimmed warbler and the tropical parula are more restricted to specific strata of the forest ( lower and higher, respectively ) could possibly reduce their ability to seek prey in different forest types where the vegetation structure presents more variations. the golden - crowned warbler, which forages in the forest middle stratum, could be more generalist than the other two species in relation to the occupancy of the arboreal strata ( mendonca - lima et al. 2004, chatellenaz 2008 ), and therefore less sensitive to changes in the vegetation structure. financial support for this study was obtained from conselho nacional de desenvolvimento cientifico e tecnologico ( cnpq ) through the mata atlantica program, and from fundacao araucaria ( curitiba ). research grants for the authors from cnpq ( 133549 / 07 - 0 ; 305593 / 07 - 2 and 201476 / 07 - 0 ) and from fundacao araucaria were received during the period. we thank the instituto ambiental do parana ( 36 / 07, 51 / 07 ; curitiba ) for permissions to conduct research in the reserves, and the owners of private lands where some sites are located. we also thank k. cockle for


thank the instituto ambiental do parana ( 36 / 07, 51 / 07 ; curitiba ) for permissions to conduct research in the reserves, and the owners of private lands where some sites are located. we also thank k. cockle for the valuable suggestions. f. l. favaro and e. v. lopes helped during the field work. anjos l. 2002. forest bird communities in the tibagi river hydrographic basin, southern brazil. ecotropica 8 : 6779. [ links ] anjos l. 2007. a eficiencia do metodo de amostragem por pontos de escuta na avaliacao da riqueza de aves. rev bras orn 15 : 239 - 243. [ links ] bibby c, burguess nd and hill da. 1992. bird census techniques. british trust for ornithology and the royal society for the protection of birds. london : academic press. [ links ] blake jg and loiselle ba. 2000. diversity of birds along an elevational gradient in the cordillera central, costa rica. auk 117 : 663 - 686. [ links ] blondel j, ferry c and frochot b. 1970. la methode des indices ponctuels d ' abundance ( ipa ) ou des releves d ' avifaune par " stations d ' ecoute ". alauda 38 : 55 - 71. [ links ] chatellenaz ml. 2008. ecologia alimentaria de dos especies simpatricas del genero basileuterus en el noreste de argentina. hornero 23 : 87 - 93. [ links ] hubbard jp and crossin rs. 1974. notes on northern mexican birds. nemouria, occas. pap. delaware mus nat hist 14 : 1 - 41. [ links ] hutto rl. 1985. seasonal changes in the habitat distribution of transient insectivorus birds in southeastern arizona : competition mediated? auk 102 : 120 - 132. [ links ] kepler cb and parkes k. 1972. a new species of warbler ( parulidae ) from puerto rico. auk 89 : 1 - 18. [ links ] lanning d, marshall jt and shiflett jt. 1990. range and habitat of colima warbler. wilson bull 120 : 1 - 13. [ links ] mazza cas, santos je


: 1 - 18. [ links ] lanning d, marshall jt and shiflett jt. 1990. range and habitat of colima warbler. wilson bull 120 : 1 - 13. [ links ] mazza cas, santos je, mazza mcm, mattos pp and rachwal mfg. 2005. caracterizacao ambiental dos componentes estruturais da paisagem do municipio de irati, parana. bol pesq des embrapa florestas colombo 25 : 1 - 45. [ links ] mendonca - lima a, hartz sm and kindel a. 2004. foraging behavior of the white - browed ( basileuterus leuco - blepharus ) and the golden - crowned ( b. culicivorus ) warblers in a semidecidual forest in southern brazil. ornitol neotrop 15 : 5 - 15. [ links ] morellato lpc and haddad cfb. 2000. introduction : the brazilian atlantic forest. biotropica 32 : 786792. [ links ] morse dh. 1979. habitat use by the blackpoll warbler. wilson bull 91 : 234 - 243. [ links ] oliveira - filho at and fontes mal. 2000. patterns of floristic differentiation among atlantic forests in southeastern brazil, and the influence of climate. biotropica 32 : 793 - 810. [ links ] ridgely rs and tudor g. 1989. the birds of south america vol. 1 : the oscine passerines. the united states : oxford university express, 516 p. [ links ] terborgh j. 1971. distribution on environmental gradients : theory and a preliminary interpretation of distribution patterns in the avifauna of cordillera vilcabamba, peru. ecology 52 : 23 - 40. [ links ] terborgh j. 1977. birds species diversity on an andean elevation gradient. ecology 58 : 1007 - 1019. [ links ] vielliard jem and silva wr. 1990. nova metodologia de levantamento quantitativo da avifauna e primeiros resultados no interior do estado de sao paulo, brasil. in : iv encontro nacional de anilhadores de aves. recife. universidade federal de pernambuco pe, brasil, p. 117 - 151. [ links ] cass


version impresa issn 0259 - 9422 herv. teol. stud. v. 67 n. 1 pretoria 2011 faculty of theology, university of pretoria, south africa one of the presumptions of this article is that most of the people in the nascent ' christian ' communities were ordinary people struggling with questions of living under harsh conditions in a country that was occupied by an enemy force. another presumption is that the history of these ordinary people from antiquity needs to be heard. the article aimed, with the help of archaeology, cultural anthropology, social history of antiquity, literature of the time as well as other disciplines, to create a social context of jesus and his disciples. the article approached the gospels in the new testament from the poor, the majority of people living in the 1st century roman empire. it gives a brief analysis of one of the poverty texts, namely matthew 6 : 2534. by means of interviews, stories of villagers in tanzania, as well as their interpretations of the gospel texts, have been documented. the people of kinywang ' anga serve as a test case for reading the ' do not worry ' exhortation in the matthean passage. reading the text with the poor ' almost half the world over three billion people live on less than $ 2. 50 a day ' ( poverty facts and stats ; shah 2009 ). ' do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear ' ( mt 6 : 25 ). the new testament was written during a time when poverty was a reality for almost everyone. even now, after 2000 years, poverty is still present as one of the world ' s biggest problems. however, biblical scholarship today is done, more often than not, by those privileged with varying degrees of wealth, who do not themselves belong to any of the poorest classes of people. this fact leads to the questions : do we understand the life of the poor enough to comprehend, for example, how they would hear the words of jesus when he asked them not to worry about tomorrow? how did the audience, who heard this proclamation, whether in galilee or later, elsewhere in roman empire, react to these words? how does a village community consisting of poor people react to these words? traditionally, biblical studies have concentrated on the texts. these texts were written by the literate elite and represent the view of the privileged few. most certainly the authors of the gospels had some education and held positions of some status in


react to these words? traditionally, biblical studies have concentrated on the texts. these texts were written by the literate elite and represent the view of the privileged few. most certainly the authors of the gospels had some education and held positions of some status in their communities, which gave them the time and the skills to be able to write these texts. the history of the early jesus movement, that later developed into the religion called christianity, is usually written based on these texts composed by the elite. as a biblical scholar i, too, was taught to always keep the textual evidence at the forefront. ' exegetes work with texts ', it was said. theories were not considered as important as the texts were. within scholarly circles it became almost standard to analyse the texts in short pericopes, ' single units ' as the smallest ones were called. this kind of working model was especially favoured in historical jesus studies, where scholars tried to draw a believable and understandable figure of jesus of nazareth by ascribing these single units to jesus or by simply leaving them out if they seemed too problematic or were clearly later than jesus. however, i quickly learned three important things. firstly, there is no text without context. the single units have never been ' single units ' except for the scholars working with these texts. they were not delivered as short sayings and anecdotes by anyone or to anyone. therefore it is not possible to understand any of these sayings, anecdotes, or short stories except by reading them within their original context. linguistic analysis of single words and their etymologies are of no value if you do not know the context. the text always belongs to a context. besides, the results of such investigation are not very trustworthy even if one could, with convincing argumentation, present a collection of authentic words of jesus ( which is not the case ). 1 nobody ' s message, programme or thinking can be persuasively represented just by collecting various words and anecdotes and then using them to sum up the whole : no matter what criteria for testing the sayings are used, scholars still need to move beyond the sayings themselves to a broader context than a summary of their contents if they are to address historical questions about jesus. harsh criticism of the way many jesus scholars investigate the single sayings of jesus is given by richard horsley ( 2008 : 131145 ), who bases his critique on the examination of the memory and the gospels as ' social memory ' rather than


harsh criticism of the way many jesus scholars investigate the single sayings of jesus is given by richard horsley ( 2008 : 131145 ), who bases his critique on the examination of the memory and the gospels as ' social memory ' rather than ' containers of data '. every text and every moment of oral proclamation and performance makes best sense within its context. overman ( 1996 ) writes : the whole story of matthew is a crucial context and, in fact, an absolute necessity for understanding smaller parts or units of the gospel. the story itself, written by the author as best we can reconstruct it, is the first place a sensible reader will look for clues and for a context that will help supply meaning to words, instruction, and stories in the gospel. and there is little doubt that cross - cultural analogies, and stories and events from our own time, can indeed help to shed more light on the gospel texts, their meanings, and their application. secondly, i learned that it is much easier to know the context of jesus than jesus himself. we know a great deal about the roman empire in 1st century palestine. we have trustworthy information about the cultural context that jesus and his disciples lived in. with the help of archaeology, cultural anthropology, social history of antiquity, literature of the time as well as other disciplines, we can create the social context of jesus and his disciples. it is much more difficult to place the figure of jesus into that context. thirdly, the gospels, as we have them today, are not in their original form. originally, they were distributed in both oral and written forms, with several different forms of each, depending on the context. the gospels also differ from other contemporary literature because of the fact that, although authored by the elite, they do contain some traditions that have been produced by ordinary people, even poor people. this seems to me to be especially true in the sayings gospel q and the gospel of mark and on some occasions the gospel of matthew and the gospel of thomas. even the theologically constructed gospel of john contains some traditions that might have been born in rural peasant circles and the gospel of luke based his admittedly elite gospel on earlier traditions found in q and mark. thus, as horsley ( 2008 : 31 ) writes, the gospels ' are some of those rare historical cases of literature that represents the view from below '. most of the people in the nascent ' christian ' communities were ordinary people struggling with questions of living under harsh conditions in a country that was occupied by


the gospels ' are some of those rare historical cases of literature that represents the view from below '. most of the people in the nascent ' christian ' communities were ordinary people struggling with questions of living under harsh conditions in a country that was occupied by an enemy force. their history needs to be written. horsley ( 2008 : 2124 ) makes an interesting distinction between ' standard history ' and ' people ' s history ' and applies this distinction to new testament studies. to use his terms, my study would be a ' people ' s history '. in this article the focus is not on theological concepts or the rise of christian beliefs. the focus is rather on the poor, the majority of people living in the 1st century roman empire. in choosing this focus i have approached the gospels from the viewpoint of the poor. what follows is a necessarily brief analysis of one of the poverty texts that i chose for the interviews amongst people living in poverty today. a more detailed study will be forthcoming in my book on the same subject. in these interviews, i listened to the stories of the villagers as well as their interpretations of the gospel texts and documented them on a voice recorder. findings from this field research amongst the poor living in villages in tanzania in the spring of 2010 will be studied further and then compared to current biblical scholarly investigations concerning the poverty texts. one example text, matthew 6 : 2534, will be presented here from a contextual standpoint, that is, from the perspective of the materially poor. the field research in tanzanian villages one contemporary setting to read the poverty texts within the context of poverty is tanzania. in many places in africa, especially in rural areas, people still live in a pre - industrial, agrarian society. in many villages, there is no electricity and virtually no motor vehicles or telephones. some tribes still live in a gatherer society whilst some tribes are nomadic. but most of the rural people are peasants who make their living from agriculture. they have tiny fields and a small number of cattle that affords them, in normal times, a modest living for themselves and their families. most people do not produce anything for sale and almost nobody gets a salary. also, in recent times hiv and aids has struck the african continent, especially sub - saharan africa, more heavily than any other part of the world, making, at worst, one in every four adults hiv - positive ( unaids 2008 ). 2 i chose to focus on the villages in the iringa district in the middle of tanzania because of my earlier contacts in


any other part of the world, making, at worst, one in every four adults hiv - positive ( unaids 2008 ). 2 i chose to focus on the villages in the iringa district in the middle of tanzania because of my earlier contacts in the area and the support of the finnish evangelical lutheran mission society as well as tumaini university. their familiarity with village life in the district was very useful when arranging visits to local villages where people speak mainly swahili and their own tribal languages, like hehe, bena or kinga. 3 the focus during the visits to the villages was twofold. firstly, i wanted to become familiar with the social structure of the village. i asked the village chief or executive secretary the following kinds of questions : how many people live in the village? do all villagers belong to the same tribe or kin? what do villagers do for a living? what professions or occupations do they have? how many villagers work outside of the village? how and why, do villagers keep contact with neighbouring villages and towns? what are the major problems in the village? 4 in light of the issues regarding land ownership in the gospels it was especially interesting to learn that in tanzania, the land was appropriated by the state in the 1960s. the older generation still remembers the time when the land was either owned by a tribe or by kin, or was free to anyone. nowadays people pay rent for the land they want to cultivate. this data works not only as a necessary context for reading the poverty texts with the villagers, but offers a comparison to the hypothesis regarding the origins of q, namely that it was supposed to have originated in the galilean villages where loss of land was prevalent. secondly and most importantly, i discussed the poverty texts with the villagers. i call this discussion a ' reading ' but the texts were not read from a book with leather covers, but rather performed in narrative style. in tanzania the oral culture and narrative tradition is still alive and well. by telling the stories from memory i tended to get their first reactions, which may have been different had i simply read to them from the bible. some of the villagers were non - christians, so they were not too closely acquainted with the stories beforehand. even the christians heard the stories differently compared to the way they heard them from pastors and evangelists or even in liturgical sermons. i had hoped to have a lively discussion of the poverty stories in the gospels and that i most certainly did. often the religious authorities ( a pastor, an evangelist or some other religious leader


them from pastors and evangelists or even in liturgical sermons. i had hoped to have a lively discussion of the poverty stories in the gospels and that i most certainly did. often the religious authorities ( a pastor, an evangelist or some other religious leader ) were present, but i politely asked them not to take part in the discussions, given that they are professionals and i wanted to hear the voices of ordinary people. they agreed to my request and were politely quiet, but i usually had to visit their home afterwards so that they did not feel left out. i also asked the people gathered at the meeting place to set aside their understanding of the story if they had already heard it and to listen as if they were hearing it for the first time in their lives. at each meeting, there were 2050 people present from both genders and all ages and approximately 1015 of them took part in any given discussion. at this point, there are some things that i ask the reader to keep in mind before reading the following field report section. as a foreigner in mid - tanzania, with a different way of life, i come from a completely different world than the one they inhabit. some of them had never seen a white person before. i did not speak their language and had to rely on a translator, who belonged to one of their own tribes. as an outsider i was treated politely and perhaps regarded with some authority given that, in every situation, i was given the seat of honour directly beside the village chief or some other authorities. there is a big difference when an outsider arrives in a village and leads a discussion compared to someone that they know doing the same thing. i had to ask many questions in order to gain an understanding of village life ; an understanding that i am sure was quite different from their own lived reality. an outsider usually sees things more from an overall viewpoint than insiders do. village life in kinywang ' anga the village of kinywang ' anga was one of my first sites. i had initially chosen to perform the story of the rich man and lazarus, luke 16 : 1931, but after discussing with the village ' executive secretary ', 5 the text seemed inappropriate to village life. even in terms of the bible the story is located in a more urban setting. in kinywang ' anga, nobody had luxurious clothes and it would have been hard for them to imagine that there were any such people who could have eaten so well as the rich man in the story. the village was one of the poorest in the


. however, the women were dressed in colourful textiles for the meeting with me, carrying babies tied on their backs. approximately 50 % of the population comprises children. 6 according to the standards of the world bank, the people in kinywang ' anga live in absolute poverty, that is, under $ 1. 25 a day ( the world bank group 2010 ). do not worry in kinywang ' anga ( mt 6 : 2534 ) after learning all of this background information, i decided to change the gospel passage to be performed to matthew 6 : 2534, the do not worry passage. 7 i thought it was a very challenging story in the context of life in kinywang ' anga, where people sometimes have no food at all, clothing is meager and they have enjoyed the ' pure ' 8 water from the pipes for only a couple of years now. most years they have enough food, but it is quite simple and not very nutritious. most probably the situation in 1st century galilee ( or in any rural environment in the roman empire ) would not have been any better, but it certainly could not have been much worse. in kinywang ' anga the context for this gospel passage is totally different compared to my own country of finland as well as most western countries and perhaps closer to the conditions experienced by those living in 1st century galilean villages. the meeting took place in an outside area in the shade. during the time of year that we met, the ' flowers of the field ' were very beautiful and everything was green ; the ' birds of the air ' flew over us and sang ( mt 6 : 26, 28 ). a lively discussion followed the performance of the text. the discussion was opened by an elderly man who said that, ' maybe jesus spoke these words, because he found that the people had very little faith. he wanted to teach them about faith '. i suppose that what the man meant by ' faith ', was, trust in god ' s care, but i am not sure. another man said, ' jesus found people so keen on material things, that they forgot the spiritual things and god. they were concerned about food, clothes and other things, but not god '. a woman said that if someone came to say such words to her, she would think that this person has something dishonest in mind. ' it would be better if somebody would tell me a better way how i could manage my life in order to get things and not to say " do not worry


words to her, she would think that this person has something dishonest in mind. ' it would be better if somebody would tell me a better way how i could manage my life in order to get things and not to say " do not worry " '. another continued and said that such a person would be considered ' mentally disabled ' by the villagers. the lutheran evangelist interjected, saying that : ' some worry is understandable, because we need many things, but one should not worry about things that are beyond one ' s ability to influence or control, for example weather. it is, however, good to plan your future '. when i asked if they knew anyone who did not worry about tomorrow, they strongly denied knowing such a person. the same elderly man who started the discussion, said : ' jesus knew the people and their problems and needs, so he wanted to give them a change, a new perspective, a new way of thinking '. i asked, what would happen, if they stopped worrying about daily food and drink and clothing and just trusted in god? someone said that then life would be very bad. another said that it is a matter of faith. if the people believed what jesus said and stopped working they would have thought everything comes automatically, without human involvement, if they just believed. a young woman with a baby said : ' the speech of jesus must have divided the people in two groups : others had faith and thought that " this is true, why worry ", whilst the others thought " this is not possible ". faith is the main topic of jesus ' speech '. one man said that if you trust god, you will have everything you need. in further discussion over sodas, we found a solution together for this problematic text. if a person is worried, they soon become depressed and are not a joy to their friends and relatives. it is therefore better not to worry too much about worldly things that you cannot do anything about, but instead to rejoice with family and friends for all the good we have. most of the scholarly commentators of the do not worry text do not discuss it in the context of the poor, although some features in the saying refer to this issue. 9 for example, jesus speaks of the grass of the field that is thrown into an oven. the poor often used grass as a fuel in the oven to cook bread, because wood was so scarce ( malina & rohrbaugh 2003 : 51 ). also, the figure of gentiles as ' striving


into an oven. the poor often used grass as a fuel in the oven to cook bread, because wood was so scarce ( malina & rohrbaugh 2003 : 51 ). also, the figure of gentiles as ' striving for all these things ' is understandable in a context where gentiles usually represent the rich who have better and easier lifestyles than local villagers. 10 it is important to note that the religious and cultural memory of the people in kinywang ' anga is not identical with the social memory of the 1st century galilean villagers. key terms in the passage such as ' heavenly father ', ' solomon in all his splendor ', ' gentiles ', ' strive first for his kingdom and his righteousness ', would have resonated with 1st century jewish listeners differently from the tanzanian poor, who would be without an important context for understanding the passage. in kinywang ' anga it became clear to me that the do not worry passage makes no sense at all in a village where people are living in ongoing poverty. the villagers tried to find a spiritual message in the saying, maybe because it was not reasonable to live a careless life, as jesus seemed to be advising. they interpreted the saying in the light of the kingdom of god ( v. 33 ), which they seemed to have understood within a spiritual context. but what about people who have already lost the basic necessities that were needed for living : the sources of food and drink ( field, cattle ), access to water supply ( such as a well ) and the possibility of making or purchasing adequate clothing? in kinywang ' anga i met one person who fit this description ; he was a young man behaving strangely, dressed even more poorly than the villagers and seemingly suffering from one or more severe illness. according to the locals he was mentally ill. during the spring of 2010 i also visited the palestinian territories in the west bank. although i did not read this particular passage with the palestinians, i discussed the kingdom of god with them. as muslims their understanding was also spiritual, but compared to the people in kinywang ' anga, their understanding was much more concrete. the kingdom of god for them was ' doing god ' s will ' and therefore not only a spiritual entity. quite the contrary, the palestinians, who suffered from injustice by the israelites, understood the kingdom of god as a movement of oppressed people who have god as their shelter when they do god ' s will


' and therefore not only a spiritual entity. quite the contrary, the palestinians, who suffered from injustice by the israelites, understood the kingdom of god as a movement of oppressed people who have god as their shelter when they do god ' s will. the kingdom of god was equivalent to the intifada. william r. herzog ii ( 2010 ) has written : in the hierarchy of rural life, then, there are two thresholds at which peasants may lose their previous status, and it is at these moments that they will resist their decline most fiercely. ( herzog ii 2010 : 5152 ) quoting james c. scott ( 1976 ), he concludes that : when threatened with the loss of their land and the security of their village, they will form movements and perhaps even rebel. the same is true when peasants reach the second, more desperate threshold, ' when the subsistence guarantees within dependency collapse ', and the relative stability of tenancy gives way to the perilous life of a day laborer. ( james c. scott 1976 : 3940 ) this had obviously not happened in kinywang ' anga, where most people still had the security offered by village life and their small farms. in the palestinian territories, in contrast, the people had suffered from injustice and loss of land. the life of many palestinians had become very difficult. in that context it is much easier to imagine how they would react to the exhortation ' do not worry '. especially young men would eagerly join any movement resisting the unjust oppressor. they could stop worrying about the questions of daily life and strive for the movement that they believed brings justice, peace and welfare. 11 the context of do not worry in the gospels in the gospels we can find three groups where jesus ' words on not worrying about daily life could have been understood and maybe even hailed as good news. the first one is the group of landless peasants, who had quite recently lost all their property to some rich landowners, probably absentee landlords, as a result of debts they were not able to pay. such people would have quickly fallen under the sustenance level and their future was either to become slaves, beggars, criminals, bandits or some other social outcast. these are just the kind of people who might form movements for resistance. if the group believed that their plight triggered an eschatological turn in the immediate future, some kind of a collapse of the normal system of social stratification leading to the possibility of shared goods, they could have


might form movements for resistance. if the group believed that their plight triggered an eschatological turn in the immediate future, some kind of a collapse of the normal system of social stratification leading to the possibility of shared goods, they could have heard the words of jesus as a proclamation of power. however, in the literal context of matthew ' s gospel there are no clear indications that the words should be understood this way. the do not worry passage is a part of the sermon on the mount and although the gospel of matthew also contains an apocalypse later in chapter 24, it would be a stretch to read the chapter 6 passage in light of this. rather, the verbal context of matthew leads one to think about one ' s relation to property rather than to the end times. preceding mattew 6 : 2534 the evangelist talks about almsgiving ( 6 : 14 ), prayer, including central petitions concerning daily living ( 6 : 515 ), fasting ( 6 : 1618 ), 12 storing property or treasures ( 6 : 1921 ), envy, or the evil eye ( 6 : 2223 ) 13 and the impossibility of serving both god and mammon ( 6 : 24 ). in chapter 7, the themes change from property to one ' s relationships with other people. therefore, it seems to me that, at least in its matthean context, jesus ' words would not have made sense as an eschatological proclamation. in the context of q this might have been possible, but the sequence of q ( its different phases and the social context of q ) are still debated so much that it is not possible to enter into that discussion in this article. the second possible group for whom jesus ' do not worry saying would have been understandable was in a group made up of ' itinerant charismatic preachers '. the earliest followers of jesus were supposedly people living in galilean villages where jesus ' proclamation of the kingdom of god was welcomed and understood as a liberating action that would soon free them from subjugation to the roman empire. heavy taxation, wars, punishments and other consequences of the occupation were a tremendous burden on the peasant population. the message of the kingdom of god was spread from village to village by jesus ' disciples, who had left their earlier lives ( whether voluntarily or under pressure ) and lived solely on the support of villagers who accepted the movement ' s message. these are the people that were sent to proclaim the kingdom of god without carrying a purse, a bag or sandals ( lk


lives ( whether voluntarily or under pressure ) and lived solely on the support of villagers who accepted the movement ' s message. these are the people that were sent to proclaim the kingdom of god without carrying a purse, a bag or sandals ( lk 10 : 112 ). 14 itinerant, wandering charismatic preachers did not need to work for their living. they did not have to worry about their living in the same way that peasants who were dependent on their crops did. they adopted a lifestyle, which made them free from worries concerning agricultural production. therefore, they were like the birds in the sky. they trusted the benevolence of the people in the villages that they visited, some of whom might have been their relatives or friends ( the most popular reason for going to nearby villages and towns for tanzanian villagers is to visit relatives and friends ). however, this interpretation also fits much better in the rural context of q and not so well into the more urban context of the gospel of matthew. 15 also, matthew places the q material concerning the itinerant preachers elsewhere in the gospel, not in the sermon on the mount. it is still important to know that matthew, when including material from q into his gospel, took these texts as a larger entity of texts dealing with property and poverty and placed them in jesus ' longest speech in chapters 57. the third group of people for whom the do not worry saying makes sense can be found in the immediate context of the speech. the geographical context was naturally the city where the gospel of matthew was written. the majority of modern scholars locate the gospel geographically to syria16 and suggest that it was written in antioch, the third largest city of the roman empire at the time ( e. g. meier 1982 : 2227 ; luz 1985 : 7374 ; stambauch & balch 1986 : 145 ; stark 1996 : 147162 ; brown 1997 : 21213 ; carter 2008 : 21 ). 17 andries van aarde ( 2007 ) writes : the matthean jesus ' exposure of the power of the roman empire ( and that of the temple authorities ) does not mean that gentiles are excluded from god ' s inclusive basileia or that the marginalized now included were only israelite peasants. the ' lost sheep of the house of israel ' pertain to both israelites and non - israelites and include people such as : - the economically poor who are without family support ( such as those referred to in mt 19 : 21 ), - the socially homeless ( such as


house of israel ' pertain to both israelites and non - israelites and include people such as : - the economically poor who are without family support ( such as those referred to in mt 19 : 21 ), - the socially homeless ( such as a ' partriarchless ' woman divorced by her husband in mt 19 : 9 and the children without parents mentioned in mt 19 : 1315 ), - and ethnic outcasts ( such as the canaanite mother in mt 15 : 2128 and the roman centurion in mt 8 : 513 and mt 27 : 54 ). seen from the perspective of israel as a covenantal family, the above group were marginalized and those were the kind of people who could be among the crowds that followed jesus ' from galilee and the decapolis and jerusalem and judea and from across the jordan ' ( mt 4 : 23 ). they were those who were granted god ' s goodness because of god ' s righteousness, the ' last who became the first ' ( mt 20 : 115 ). ( van aarde 2007 : 423 ) in light of understanding the gospel of matthew as proclaiming the kingdom of god, not only as anti - roman, but also inclusive of the marginalised people, both israelites and non - israelites, the do not worry saying makes sense in its matthean context and becomes more understandable from the viewpoint of the poor. the poor in the gospel of matthew were not ordinary israelite peasants living in small farms, but people with no family support and no home and even from different ethnic origins. according to matthew, they formed the audience of the sermon on the mount ( 4 : 2325 ). jesus says to them that they should first strive for the kingdom of god and his righteousness. when these outcasts are accepted as true members of the family - like community of jesus ' followers, they do not have to worry about their future, because they will be the ' last who became the first '. the community will take care of their material needs. choosing kinywang ' anga as a test case for reading the do not worry exhortation was challenging : i did not have any idea how the poor peasant farmers in the village would comprehend the passage. i must say that it was first a disappointment that they did not seem to understand it any better than i did. the saying made no sense in their context. however, the test case study helped me to see that most probably it was as difficult to understand in 1st century


it was first a disappointment that they did not seem to understand it any better than i did. the saying made no sense in their context. however, the test case study helped me to see that most probably it was as difficult to understand in 1st century galilean villages as in an african village nearly 2000 years later. the poor who first heard these words were not poor peasants still working in their tiny fields and worrying about daily sustenance. however, if these kind of people lose their security as a result of oppression ( that is ' persecution ' in the new testament ), as has happened in the west bank, the exhortation becomes empowering for them in uniting them for struggle for their own rights. with the example of kinywang ' anga i wanted to show the usefulness to biblical scholarship, to say nothing of the necessity, of getting to know people living in poverty and to understand their living conditions. of course, tanzania is not 1st century palestine. it is, however, much closer to it than the western world where most scholarly work on the bible is done. for me my visits to the african villages gave me new insights into the bible and helped me to understand how large the cultural gap is between our world and the new testament world of the poor. did i gain a better understanding of the poverty texts? no, quite the contrary. unfortunately, it is not possible to present more examples here, but it is my hope that the one presented in this article makes it clear how hard it is to understand the words of jesus or the evangelists, not to speak of applying those words to our own modern lives. brown, r. e., 1997, an introduction to the new testament, doubleday, new york, london, toronto, sydney, auckland. ( the anchor bible reference library ). [ links ] carter, w., 2008, matthew, storyteller, interpreter, evangelist, rev. edn., second printing, hendrickson, peabody, massachusetts. [ links ] funk, r. w., hoover, r. w. & the jesus seminar, 1993, the five gospels : what did jesus really say? the search for the authentic words of jesus, macmillan, new york. [ links ] hanson, k. c. & oakman, d. e., 2008, palestine in the time of jesus : social structures and social conflicts, 2nd edn., fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] herzog, w., 2010, ' why peasants responded to jesus ',


, d. e., 2008, palestine in the time of jesus : social structures and social conflicts, 2nd edn., fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] herzog, w., 2010, ' why peasants responded to jesus ', in r. a. horsley ( ed. ), christian origins. a people ' s history of christianity 1, pp. 47 - 70, fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] hoffmann, p., 1972, studien zur theologie der logienquelle, neutestamentliche abhandlungen, neue folge 8., verlag aschendorff, munster. [ links ] horsley, r. a., 2008, jesus in context : power, people & performance, fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] kloppenborg verbin, j. s., 2000, excavating q : the history and setting of the sayings gospel, fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] luz, u., 1985, das evangelium nach matthaus 1 ( mt 17 ). evangelisch - katholischer kommentar zum neuen testament. band i / 1., benziger verlag, zurich, einsiedeln, koln ; neukirchener verlag des erziehungsvereins gmbh, neukirchen - vluyn. [ links ] malina, b., 2001, the new testament world : insights from cultural anthropology, 3rd edn., revised and expanded, westminster john knox press, louisville, kentucky. [ links ] malina, b. j. & rohrbaugh, r. l., 2003, social - science commentary on the synoptic gospels, 2nd edn., fortress press, minneapolis. [ links ] meier, j. p., 1982, ' antioch ', in r. brown & j. p. meier ( eds. ), antioch and rome : new testament cradles of catholic christianity, pp. 1186, chapman, london. [ links ] meier, j. p., 2001, a marginal jew : rethinking the historical jesus. volume three : companions and competitors, the anchor bible reference library, doubleday, new york, london, toronto, sydney, auckland. [ links ] nolland, j., 2005, the gospel of matthew : the new international greek testament commentary, eerdmans publishing co., grand rapids, michigan and paternoster press,


, london, toronto, sydney, auckland. [ links ] nolland, j., 2005, the gospel of matthew : the new international greek testament commentary, eerdmans publishing co., grand rapids, michigan and paternoster press, london. [ links ] overman, j. a., 1996, church and community in crisis : the gospel according to matthew, the new testament in context, trinity press international, valley forge, pa. [ links ] sanders, e. p., 1985, jesus and judaism, scm press, london. [ links ] sato, m., 1988, q und prophetie : studien zur gattungs - und traditionsgeschichte d. quelle q., wunt 2, 29, mohr, tubingen. [ links ] scott, j. c., 1976, the moral economy of the peasant : rebellion and subsistence in southeast asia, yale university press, new haven. [ links ] shah, a., 2009, poverty facts and stats, viewed 05 april 2010 from http : / / www. globalissues. org / article / 26 / poverty - facts - and - stats. [ links ] stambauch, j. e. & balch, d. l., 1986, the new testament in its social environment, library of early christianity, westminster press, philadelphia. [ links ] stark, r., 1996, the rise of christianity : a sociologist reconsiders history, princeton university press, new jersey. [ links ] unaids, 2008, ' report on the global aids epidemic ', viewed 05 april 2010, from http : / / www. unaids. org / en / knowledgecentre / hivdata / globalreport / 2008 / 2008 _ global _ report. asp. [ links ] van aarde, a. g., 2007, jesus ' mission to all of israel emplotted in matthew ' s story, neotestamentica 41 ( 2 ), 416436. [ links ] van tilborg, s., 1972, the jewish leaders in matthew, brill, leiden. [ links ] pikku - kaari 20 b, 70420 kuopio, finland received : 23 apr. 2010 accepted : 16 aug. 2010 published : 07 june 2011 note : dr sakari hakkinen is participating as a research associate of prof. dr andries g. van aarde, honorary professor at the faculty of theology of the university of pretoria, south


: 16 aug. 2010 published : 07 june 2011 note : dr sakari hakkinen is participating as a research associate of prof. dr andries g. van aarde, honorary professor at the faculty of theology of the university of pretoria, south africa. 1. the work of the jesus seminar resulted in the publication of funk, hoover and the jesus seminar 1993. not even this work, even though born from the co - operation of numerous biblical scholars, represents the final truth on what the historical jesus once said. the debate still goes on. 2. according to the 2007 estimations of unaids ( a joint united nations and world health organization program on hiv and aids ) in the southern parts of africa of the adult population ( 1549 ) 25 % 28 % were infected by hiv. in the tanzanian area i visited, the estimation was the worst in the country, 15. 7 % of the adult population. 3. i am very grateful to tumaini university for assigning two assistants, rev. aleck mhanga and rev. yekonia koko to me as well as for the use of a car during my stay in mid - tanzania. 4. the data i acquired in the field has been tabulated, but is not presented here for practical reasons. 5. kinywang ' anga ' s village chief was not present. i was told that he might join us later ( or perhaps he had something else to do ). i did not meet him at all. instead, the executive secretary gave me all the information i needed and i noticed that he also had some authority in the village and was considered to be one of the wealthiest men in the village with his herd of 25 cows. in my opinion, the ' executive secretary ' in every tanzanian village is the modern equivalent of the ' scribes ' in galilean villages. both the executive secretaries and the galilean scribes ( and later rabbis ) were responsible for the village archives and official documents. see hanson and oakman ( 2008 : 166167 ). 6. the office of the village chief was quite stark. it had a table and a chair, a wooden bench and a tiny shelf, that seemed to hold some papers and a huge cardboard box containing condoms! 7. the saying is originally from q and thus is also in luke 12 : 2234. parts of the text can be found also in p. oxy p. 655, which contains saying 36 of the gospel of thomas. 8. visitors and foreigners in tanzania


is originally from q and thus is also in luke 12 : 2234. parts of the text can be found also in p. oxy p. 655, which contains saying 36 of the gospel of thomas. 8. visitors and foreigners in tanzania are advised not to drink the water that comes out of these pipes. 9. for example, meier ( 2001 : 517 ) takes for granted that jesus is warning about the dangers of wealth, as if the people worrying about their daily life would seek wealth. this seemed not to have been the situation amongst the villagers in kinywang ' anga. nolland ( 2005 : 305316 ) speaks about ' hard work to earn enough to purchase the cloth ' and ' jesus can assume that his hearers will share his aesthetic judgment that natural beauty outshines the most artful of human productions '. 10. this came to me when i was visiting the villages. as a foreigner, i was viewed by them as being ' rich '. 11. there were also some muslims attending the discussion in kinywang ' anga, but they did not differ from the other villagers in terms of their attitude to work or worrying. 12. from a poor person ' s perspective, fasting is a very interesting phenomenon. if people were already poor and were enduring what amounted to forced fasting, jesus ' advice to put oil on their heads and to wash their faces must have sounded very strange indeed. the saying is more suited to an urban environment and possibly in a society whose members are not suffering from poverty. 13. the concept of the ' evil eye ' referred to envy ( malina 2001 : 108133 ). 14. the synoptic sayings source q was probably composed and used by galilean villagers from several villages that formed a network consisting of twofold followers of jesus : itinerant missionaries and settled disciples of jesus ( e. g. hoffmann 1972 : 329333 ; sato 1988 : 379380 ). for other scholars promoting the wandering ( charismatic ) missionaries and their localised allies ( or leaders? ), see kloppenborg verbin ( 2000 : 179184 ; deviating claims : 184196 ). 15. the gospel was most probably written for a community living in an urban environment. urban locale may be suggested by 26 uses in the gospel of ' city ' compared to four of ' village ' ( brown 1997 : 212 ). 16. syria is added in matthew 4 : 24 to mark ' s description of jesus '


environment. urban locale may be suggested by 26 uses in the gospel of ' city ' compared to four of ' village ' ( brown 1997 : 212 ). 16. syria is added in matthew 4 : 24 to mark ' s description of jesus ' activity. also, the early jewish gospel of the nazarenes, which is related to matthew, circulated in syria. in syria, the jesus - believing jews were called ' nazoraioi ', the greek term used in matthew 2 : 23 ( luz 1985 : 74 ; brown 1997 : 212 ). 17. the main arguments for antioch are ( 1 ) ignatius of antioch seems to have known and probably cited the gospel of matthew ( the citation is not clearly from matthew, however ) ; ( 2 ) the didache quotes matthew and is located by most scholars in antioch ; ( 3 ) the first two chapters of the fourth ezra ( later known as the fifth ezra ) quoted from matthew ; ( 4 ) antioch as a greek - speaking city that had a relatively large jewish population fits well with the conditions mentioned in the jewish gospel written to a mixed audience in greek and ; ( 5 ) the dominant influence that matthew ' s gospel would have in subsequent christianity suggests that it served as the gospel of a major christian church in an important city, such as antioch. according to brown ( 1997 : 213 ), the most persuasive evidence stems from the correspondence of the internal evidence. brown argues quite convincingly that the gospel was addressed to a once strongly jewish christian church that had become increasingly gentile in composition and j. p. meier has shown how the history of christianity in antioch fits that situation. there were probably more jews in antioch than in any other place in syria and their ceremonies attracted many gentiles ( josephus, war 7. 3. 3 ). also, paul ' s mission to the gentiles began in antioch, but the community there seems to have later been led by more conservative jews, as paul lost the battle ( described in gl 2 ) and departed antioch in the 50s. overman ( 1996 : 1617 ) suggests a galilean city ( perhaps capernaum or sepphoris ), followed by at least d. harrington, a. j. saldarini and a. segal ( who thinks both a galilean environment and antioch are possible ). galilee belonged formally to syria. tilborg ( 1972 ) suggests alexandria, but overman ( 1617 ) quite convincingly denies this possibility. overman also provides other suggestions given by


they have worked for almost seven years in secret. most people did not know that the work in ray goehner ' s materials characterization department at sandia national laboratories was contributing important information to the fbi ' s investigation of letters containing bacillus anthracis, the spores that cause the disease anthrax. the spores were mailed in the fall of 2001 to several news media offices and to two u. s. senators. five people were killed. sandia ' s work demonstrated to the fbi that the form of bacillus anthracis contained in those letters was not a weaponized form, a form of the bacteria prepared to disperse more readily. the possibility of a weaponized form was of great concern to investigators, says joseph michael, the principal investigator for the project. this information was crucial in ruling out state - sponsored terrorism. in fall of 2001, the fbi considered how to best investigate the anthrax letters. the agency convened two blue ribbon exploratory panels, and sandia ' s name came up during both panels for its expertise in electron and ion microscopies and microanalysis over the range of length scales from millimeters down to nanometers. the first spore material from the letters arrived at sandia in february of 2002. sandia faced some uncertainty in working on this type of investigation. researchers signed nondisclosure agreements and agreed to make themselves available to government agencies on short notice when called to give information. joseph michael, transmission electron microscopy ( tem ) lab owner paul kotula, and a team of roughly a dozen others examined more than 200 samples in those six and a half years. they received samples from the letter delivered to the new york post, to former sen. tom daschle ( d - s. d. ), and to sen. patrick leahy ( d - vt. ). the samples looked different, in part because of how the samples were prepared, which made examination initially difficult. when bacillus anthracis spores are weaponized, the spores are coated with silica nanoparticles that look almost like lint under the microscope. the " lint " makes the particles " bouncier " and less likely to clump and fall to the ground. that makes the spores more respirable and able to do more damage, says michael. weaponization of the spores would be an indicator of state sponsored terrorism. " initially, scanning electron microscopy [ sem ] conducted at another laboratory, showed high silicon and oxygen signals that led them to