Conference Agenda

Session Overview
RN06_11a_P: Global Trumpism - The Resurgence of Fascism?
Friday, 01/Sep/2017:
4:00pm - 5:30pm

Session Chair: Yuliya Yurchenko, University of Greenwich
Location: PC.3.15
PANTEION University of Social & Political Sciences 136 Syggrou Avenue 17671 Athens, Greece Building: C, Level: 3.

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The Public, the Mass Media, and Inequality: The Prospects for Resistance in the Trump Era

daniel chomsky

university of texas rio grande valley, United States of America

President Donald Trump promises to represent ordinary people. Yet his administration and his congressional allies have already signaled their intention to enact large tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. In this paper, I explore the relative influence of ordinary citizens, social movements, business interests and government officials over the mass media and political outcomes. The emergence of Occupy Wall Street generated increased attention to inequality and progressive taxes in 2011 and 2012, but President Obama also adopted inequality as an issue in his campaign for reelection. So it is difficult to determine the relative impact of social mobilization or official action in that instance. The inauguration of the Trump administration may provide a clearer test. Public support for higher taxes on the wealthy remains strong and conflicts with the policy goals of the political class. I will record every reference to taxes in the New York Times during the first months of the Trump administration, collect all sources expressing an opinion on taxes, and determine the degree to which the Times favors ordinary citizens, social movements, business figures or government officials. This study should indicate whether public views are more likely to be reported when they are represented by social movements or when they are consistent with elite preferences and interests. It should illuminate the democratic possibilities for ordinary citizens, and identify the actors who exert political influence through the mass media in general and in the more hostile environment represented by the Trump administration in particular.

The return of the national imperialist state

Joerg Nowak

The ultimate political consequence of the great financial crisis is the retreat into and renewal of the national imperialist state, centred around an authoritarian-nationalist project. But this ,return of the state’ that was never absent is deeply embedded into the neoliberal form of today´s global capitalism. It caters to working class interests of its citizens to some bigger extent (or at least promises to do so); but this remains largely a symbolic gesture. This Talmi interpellation of the national proletariat – not much unlike classical fascism – is accompanied by a profound political weakness and instability of these regimes. Not only are they haunted by their promises of welfare and employment, they also are confronted with deeply divided and fragmented state apparatuses in which different state agencies pursue radically different strategies. This goes far beyond the institutional chaos that reigned over the classic German fascism in the 1930s and 1940s with its sprawling multiplicity of state and para-state agencies, and is also completely different from the usual competition between different corporate factions that expresses itself in some extent of elite fragmentation in liberal democracies.

What is Neoliberal about Neoliberal Policing?

Malte Michael Laub

King's College London, United Kingdom

Militarisation, privatisation, tactics like stop-and-frisk and broken-windows-policing--the police appear increasingly authoritarian. Not least the cases of fatal police violence against black people and the policing of the ensuing protests in cities like Ferguson in the United States brought the topic in the middle of the public debate. Summing up recent policing transformations from increased militarisation, via a more important role for private police actors to a certain focus on the policing of poor and minority communities, the term "neoliberal policing" has found its way into both public debate and academic contributions. However, what does it mean? What is distinctive about neoliberal policing, what distinguishes it from styles of (authoritarian) policing in the past? What is the role of policing under neoliberalism?

Drawing on political economy, sociology and criminology, this paper explores the novelty of "neoliberal policing" by putting recent transformations of police into both historical and theoretical perspective. Employing a range of authors like Neocleous, Wacquant, and Bruff, the relation between the neoliberal state and policing is analysed, claiming that policing is essential for the shaping of the neoliberal society. However, neoliberal policing must not be seen as utterly new but as based on rediscovered policing styles of the past.

Massaging Capitalism: the US Right and its Political Resurgence.

Rodney Loeppky

York University, Canada

The events of November 8th, 2016 gave rise to a spectacular outcry of shock and dismay around the world. How could the US electorate bring to office a candidate so blatantly misogynistic, spiteful and politically corrosive? The turn of the Republican Party towards a demagogic figure must be placed within a political economy of the right as a space of 'resistance'. This paper seeks to explore both the contradictions inherent in the right's 'resistance' to contemporary US political trajectories, as well as the strategic aims of those who foment this 'resistance'. Since the backlash of Tea Party activists in the first term of the Obama Administration, scholars have been dissecting the motivations and authenticity of the right's most assertive groups, assessing their impact nationwide while also trying to ascertain their exact goals. This impact has been consistently downplayed and, at times, pronounced dead -- prognostications that now seem to have been unwise. Charlie Post has argued that the hard right in the US, in fact, now fills the progressive space that the Democratic Party has long since abandoned, which has bolstered their success in a way that also mystifies the Republican establishment. Nonetheless, the paper will explore how this 'progressive' movement has been nurtured along the way, strategically utilized by those seeking an austere policy agenda that promotes an less obstsructed path for capital in the US political scene. That the GOP may have got more than it bargained for in this electoral round is a secondary point -- the right wing resurgence will continue to be harnessed for the purpose of transforming the US political terrain in ways that are more conducive to enhanced accumulation.

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Kingdom of the Grail

Here is an inventive, seldom explored facet of the Norman Invasion and the gradual settling of power in the absence of Richard Coeur de Lion from his British kingdom during the Crusades. Concentrating on the mottled history of a single barony, A. A. Attanasio contrives a revenge plot and Grail legend variation so complex that they encompass two continents, the Pope, and the King.

Ailena Valaise, elderly baroness of Castle Lanfranc, is forced out of her home in 1188 by her ruthless son Guy, to wander toward the Holy Land on pilgrimage until death. Ten years later, a beautiful young girl and her entourage of knights and camels appear before the gates of Lanfranc, claiming she is Ailena herself, made young again by drinking from the Holy Grail. When all tests of her identity are tried and passed, she is accepted into the castle, her “son” Guy and his knights forced to obey her by pressure of popular belief. The reader learns quickly, however, that the claimant is actually Rachel, an orphaned Jewish girl, trained by old Ailena to counterfeit the miracle.

The device provides Attanasio with a forum for discussing several perplexing topics: false and true faith, the distance between abstract Christian chivalry and its practical application in the pursuit of power, and the reconciliation of Christian and Jewish ideologies through the expedient of noting that Jesus was a Jew. Laid over the philosophical debate are a handful of love stories: the temptation of a priest-knight by a Magdelene figure (called Madelon in the book), the anguish of an acolyte lured from his faith by Rachel’s promise to the dying Ailena, a Celtic warrior’s rough affection for the maiden, and the celibacy of a knight in honor of his castrated superior officer.

Despite the chivalric setting and the sometimes archaic language, this book is for adults. The story moves forward by a series of internalized anguished examinations of conscience; graphic scenes of death and love contrast with the general atmosphere of castles, knights, and other familiar medieval fare; and the universal premise of “acting on faith” is called into question on every occasion.Told in the present tense to back up through the layers of history, this novel succeeds on both the narrative and the philosophical level.


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There are, however, many other individuals who have some interest in the field, but who never really make an attempt to become the expert or to explain the science. Be careful not to become involved with petty quarrels and arguments as these can be blown out of proportion and become serious disagreements. Psychic Advisors are Independent Contractors and are not employees or agents of Meet Your Psychic. If you wish for selfish reasons, there may be some comeback. You may want to turn your desire into a decree. When the lover is dying in getting his or her love, this spell is adopted. So think with care of your choices. We can try, but it eventually fails, even for the most sophisticated of manipulators. Casting spells on a Friday is also most advised since this is the day of Venus and requests for love are heeded more. It helps to understand the concept of free will and that in order for free will to be actively operating in our lives we have to be able to make a choice in which direction we will go. This can be a psychic chasms neon indian mp3 powerful experience. So you might be able to get do i have psychic ability with them if you are in a bind. As this inner peace and joy emanates from you, you draw in more peace and joy to you. It also has raw manga and manga spoilers. When an image is downsized to fit the tiny screen of a cellphone, text embedded with an image is un-readable. The 8 of Pentacles when it appears next to The Hanged Psychics and god may also be telling do i have psychic ability to act quickly. Being mindful and living in the moment is when we are at our most content. I got a stunned silence. The Chariot often signifies the need to balance one's relationship with one's own ambitions. You can cast spells wherever and whenever you want. Once you have a deck, just email me - tribecatarotreader or text me (but no phone calls, sorry) on 646-241-8244 and we'll set up a time and then the reading can happen in do i have psychic ability privacy of your own home - or office, or where ever you would like. Interesting and Useful for those that use those services!. Whichever method is chosen, the advice or messages will be given to the individual in a caring and sensitive manner. The Literature of Ancient Egypt is an extensive 600-page anthology of translations covering all the major texts, not only including Egyptian mythology, but also books of maxims, poetry, religious texts and historical documents. There were at several HUNDRED people who came to my mind that I wanted to share this with. Remember to meditate on your question before clicking the button to shuffle the cards. However be aware that meditation can also make do i have psychic ability more psychically receptive because it quiets the analytical mind allowing greater awareness of the intuitive mind. Spells helps people realize and appreciate your love by pushing away any bad influences, stress or anything else that might be causing this unnecessary hindrance. Affectionately, I call it Extra Salt and Pepper:). They focus on getting do i have psychic ability the roots of your problems and easing the tension and really putting things right. Change : Exchanged 2 Strength bonus for re-rolling failed to-wound rolls for other Pyromancy powers cast in do i have psychic ability same Psychic Phase by the Psyker. Yes to dealing with emotional baggage. I almost got sucked in today because it was my birthday on the 6th and tara and norah both gave simular readings. As a result of the nuclear do i have psychic ability of Kundalini awakening, the body is supercharged with the nectar of unquenchable amrita, the orbit of the molecules within all the cells of the body actually speed up; and with all the dormant regions now fully illuminated, the brain begins to function at the subatomic quantum dimension of vijnana - the highest intuitive intelligence beyond do i have psychic ability construct of the individual mind, senses and intellect. Imagine the two of you being happy together. If the debate regarding elemental strengths and weaknesses had gone a different way, it might have a place, but as it stands, its one notable aspect (no elemental affinity) is wholly irrelevant. Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing but even when it is composing its thoughts in oral form. today announced that TEKKEN CARD TOURNAMENT will soon available in North America, Latin America, Europe and Australasia. Hope you'll find my do i have psychic ability useful, and please let me know if I can answer any specific questions totem and psychic you.

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Palouse Prairie Foundation plants & animals

Animals of the Palouse

The distinctive ecosystem called Palouse Prairie is more than just plants. Wildlife was abundant. Deer and elk fed on the Palouse Prairie plants, but bison were rare. Small mammals such as ground squirrels, gophers, and voles were common. Badgers, hawks, and owls fed on these prey species, and hummingbirds pollinated some of the more brightly-colored flowers. The Brewer's sparrow, which depends upon shrub thickets for nesting, was once abundant in the Palouse, but it has become extremely rare and now must rely on sagebrush stands outside of the region. In the spring, huge flocks of the sharp-tailed grouse gathered on dancing grounds, where male birds danced to attract females. Many other important members of the Palouse Prairie community were less obvious. A variety of insects played important roles pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds.

The environment below the surface of the soil also teemed with life. Fungi, bacteria, algae, and invertebrates recycled matter, breaking down the massive underground root systems of plants that died. The activities of these organisms affected and were affected by soil fertility and texture in complex ways. Areas with especially deep, moist soils provided habitat for giant earthworms that reached up to 3 feet in length! These worms were found nowhere else in the world. It is not known whether they still exist in the Palouse. They have not been seen in recent decades, in spite of several attempts to find them.

Plants and Animals of the Palouse Palouse Prairie Species Information

Palouse Prairie Species taxonomy


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IsraelTreasure main

Divers Find Gold Coin Treasure

Divers in Israel haul largest trove of gold coins in the coutry's history from ancient harbour seabed

A group of five divers have discovered the 'priceless' treasure in the ancient port city Caesarea, located on Israel's Mediterranean coast, a press release of the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday.

'At first they thought they had spotted a toy coin from a game and it was only after they understood the coin was the real thing that they collected several coins and quickly returned to the shore in order to inform the director of the dive club about their find,' the statement read.

Using a metal detector, the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority's divers recovered almost 2,000 gold coins in different denominations, dating back the Fatimid period (909 to 1171).

A winter storm is believed to have exposed the treasure and the Israeli Antiquities Authority hopes that future excavations will help to put the find into an archaeological and historical context and even unveil more treasures.

'There is probably a shipwreck there of an official treasury boat which was on its way to the central government in Egypt with taxes that had been collected,' Kobi Sharvit, director of the marine archaeology unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said, thrilled by the recent discovery.

'Another theory is that the treasure was money belonging to a large merchant ship that traded with the coastal cities and the port on the Mediterranean Sea and sank there,' he said.

Sharvit cocnluded that the challenge now lies in further developing the area for tourists and divers while ensuring that all divers are accompanied by inspectors or inspectors from the dive club to preserve the site.

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A Look at Geometry in Grade 10: Circles

From Handal, et al. (2013), a diagram which includes technological knowledge, also a consideration for math teachers, or any teacher using 21st century learning.

Pedagogical content knowledge is a type of knowledge that is unique to teachers, and is based on the manner in which teachers relate their pedagogical knowledge (what they know about teaching) to their subject matter knowledge (what they know about what they teach) (Cochran, Kathryn, 1997). This concern seems especially pertinent for math teachers. I attempt to show how subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are both essential in getting students to the point where they can be assessed on a circles problem in grade 10 academic math.

Teachers are reminded at the outset that while knowing the subject is one essential ingredient, so is knowing your students and your age group. Students must be known individually, to become familiar with how they see the concepts, in their own words. This means that in a normal class setting, students must be able to be able to express themselves without fear of judgement. The teacher also needs to be familiar student IEPs, the supports in their school (student success teacher, guidance counsellors, social workers, and so on).
The teacher is urged to also try some geometry problems on their own. More than informing one’s content knowledge, the teacher is also learning to anticipate problems that may arise that affect lesson planning. According to Aslan-Tutak and Adams (2015), a lack of content knowledge robs teachers of being able to properly assess students real needs and strengths in the classroom.

This article takes a look at geometry in grade 10 and is written to raise awareness of the possible connectedness of aspects of geometry to other parts of the math program, and to also discuss implications for the learner.

In the Analytic Geometry strand, the Ministry (2005) gives as two of its overall expectations for the course MPM2D (Academic 10 Math):

  1. By the end of the course, students will model and solve problems involving the intersection of two straight lines;
  2. By the end of the course, students will solve problems using analytic geometry involving properties of lines and line segments.

Addressing both circles and the activity here involving them, the specific expectations look like this:

  1. By the end of the course, students will develop the formula for the midpoint of a line segment, and use this formula to solve problems.
  2. By the end of the course, students will  develop the formula for the equation of a circle with centre (0, 0) and radius r, by applying the distance formula for the length of  a line segment, d^2 = (x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2.
  3. By the end of the course, students will determine the radius of a circle with centre (0, 0), given its equation; write the equation of a circle with centre (0, 0), given the radius; and sketch the circle, given the equation in the form x^2 + y^2 = r^2.

Grade 10 appears to be the first and last time circles are covered as a relation. I would also tell students about a circle centred at the point (h, k), whose equation, (x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2 is not that different from the distance formula shown above.

Student maturation. The chidren in this grade would generally be between 15-16 years old, and in most cases, maturationally ready to tackle math questions of some degree of complexity, even though impusivity is still an issue for most students at that age (Price, 2005). According to Price (2005), while impulsivity can be seen as a problem for adolescents of this age group regardless of their proficiency in math, she would also say that it can be regarded as an asset, that adolescent passion should be taken advantage of, and directed toward productive ends.

A task such as the three-point circle described below takes advatage of this passion, by subjecting a well-known property of circles to scrutiny. Beginning a rich task with a question starting with “Is it always true that three points always make a circle?” invites the student to try and make the idea fail. And of course, it does, sometimes. The student can then be asked, under what conditions does the idea fail, and can we re-state the conjecture that “three points make a circle” into something that is always true?

Big idea: Any three points can be used to form a circle if they are not on the same line. A rich task or rich assessment built on this will take with it a substatntial amount of the analytic geometry strand, and can wind up being among the last topics covered in a unit. The idea of three points making a circle is an old geometry problem. A much simpler, but less interesting, circle problem would be to have 3 points all some distance r from the origin to make a circle, which still loses none of the grade 10 content. Whenever I teach grade 10, I aim for a circle with an arbitrary centre, since so much of grade 10 math is embedded in it.

Rich problems such as this can be considered along the way as the result of a series of lessons. The sequence must be determined by the teacher

This can be either performed by the student using either geometry software, or using pencil and paper. It has been my experience that the latter option requires more time for the student, and more instructional time for the teacher, especially if the circle is not at the origin, which it likely won’t be given the prior requirement of “any three points”. This almost always requires the equation (x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2, since the centre will be at some arbitrary point (h, k) rather than the point (0, 0).

It has been my experience that some learners take very well to this problem, while others are in need of assistance. If time is too tight, and students generally did well in the Quadratics strand, you might consider letting your students use Geometer’s Sketchpad to help solve the problem. Below, is a video where I demonstrate and discuss the use of Sketchpad for this problem.

Mostly, I will emphasize the benefits of a pencil-and-paper solution. And in the next video below, I demonstrate the use of an old fashioned geometry set and paper. The background music in this video is public domain, and there is no dialog, so feel free to turn off the volume (or turn it up). Since I was emphasizing technique in this video, I did not use graph paper.

A suggested lesson sequence to get to this point of the course (each of these could be one or more periods of lessons, covering other Big Ideas along the way):

  1. Solving lines and linear systems — point of intersection: a) Solve by substitution; b) Solve by elimination (this could take several periods)
  2. Midpoint of a line segment (can teach length of a line segment during this time to help confirm what we obtain from the formula \left( \frac{x_2 - x_1}{2}, \frac{y_2 - y_1}{2}\right) is really the midpoint) (1-2 periods)
  3. Solving quadratic systems (in Quadratic relations, the part on expansion of factors and solving is essential; however, the quadratic formula is not needed for this activity). (a couple of weeks)
  4. The equation of a circle a) centred at the origin (x^2 + y^2 = r^2) and b) centred at (h, k): (x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2. Remind students of some properties of circles. For example, the circle is a collection of all points which are the same distance r from a centre point. (this can be 2-3 periods)
  5. A look at chords, along with major and minor arcs (optional, but is helpful in establishing a terminology for the three point/circle problem). Don’t spend a lot of time on this — it is not in the Ministry, but it is in some Ministry-approved grade 10 texts for the current curriculum.
  6. Students would need to play with trying to get three arbitrary points to make a circle for about 1 period to agree on what steps they would need to confirm the point/circle problem. They would either use software such as Sketchpad or a geometry set, but the decision must be made for the whole class. Students consolidate on what the steps ought to be to solve this problem. If software is used, I would add to the problem: find the full equation for the circle, its radius, and the centre point. If pencil and paper is used, after students have struggled, and an algorithm is decided upon, you might consider demonstrating a complete solution either on the board or using a document camera.
  7. Once the class agrees to an algorithm, 1-2 periods would be spent on a rich task (possibly a summative). If pencil and paper is used, the question is still do-able by grade 10 students, but I find not everyone can identify the centre with algebra, and usually end up estimating the position of the centre from the graph drawn. Thus, the there would also be a loss of accuracy in computing radius. (I would give a level 4 for the algebra; level 3 for estimating).

For the latter topic, that is, the algebraic solution to finding the centre from three points on a circle, I would suggest a PDF I wrote for my students, which demonstrated a sample calculation as they were working on their problem, given to them, or demonstrated the some days before the assessment, especially if anyone is having problems. Not all steps are shown in this handout, and the student is advised to perform the steps themselves. They would also be given a worksheet to practice on. It is from the PDF above mentioned that students began to point out the resemblance between the general circle equation and the distance formula, because both are used in the activity.

Supporting the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Going though with the pencil-and-paper method teaches students several things which would not be seen on a computer system:

  • Students see that there is now a broader use for expanding and solving quadratics, that isn’t part of the strand on quadratic relations, but uses techniques that are not foreign to it.
  • It is one opportunity to prepare students for the kind of math they may encounter in grade 11 Functions, grade 12 Advanced Functions, and Calculus and Vectors.
  • This is the last treatment students get with circle relations before university. It is no longer covered in grades 11 and 12, but such relations (and much more) are covered in first-year university texts.
  • Students see that there are parallels that can now be drawn between solving for a linear system and solving for a quadratic system — you still need two equations with the same two unknowns, for one thing.
  • What has preceeded shows that the unit must be very carefully planned to do this activity. But once done, the reward is an activity that captures a substantial part of grade 10 academic math.

Supporting high teacher efficacy.

In this page, I have covered most of the high points of this sort of lesson, and described in some detail much of the most difficult parts of it through videos and external documents.

In this page, I have told teachers how to prepare themselves and their students with suitable content knowledge, as well as what pertinent expectations are covered in the analytic geometry strand, as well as informing teachers of the maturational readiness of students, and how impusivity, re-directed as passion, can be used as an asset to student learning.

What I have not mentioned is that it is crucial that teachers must constantly assess their students in the “for” and “as” learning phases, through observations, conversations, as well as products. Most periods should not end without some kind of assessment of this nature. This is because, with this math, finding out where your students are in their learning is critical to understand next steps for planning. The consolidation phase could be a math congress where students share their findings, ask each other questions, and, with some guiding questions and information from the teacher, come to an agreement as to their general findings.

For teachers to be successful  in this strand, they would be best off with problem-based learning (PBL), using problems of varying degrees of open-endedness. This would be done for all or most lesson on the way to this one. PBL should be in the “Action” part of the 3-part lesson. Each lesson should not go without a consolidation phase (Ministry, 2010), where students share and explain their work, while answering questions.

Another aspect of geometry is covered by another video I did, one on quadrilaterals, with the question being: “Is it always true that midpoints on a quadrilateral make a parallellogram?” To see the answer, you have to accept rectangles and squares as special cases of parallellograms:

Aslan-Tutak, Fatma, and Thomasenia Adams. “A Study Of Geometry Content Knowledge Of Elementary Preservice Teachers.” International Electronic Journal Of Elementary Education, vol 7, no. 3, 2017, pp. 301-318.

Cochran, Kathryn (1997). Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Teachers’ Integration of Subject Matter, Pedagogy, Students, and Learning Environments [online] Available at: https://www.narst.org/publications/research/pck.cfm [Accessed 24 Jul. 2017].

Handal, Boris et al. (2013). “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Secondary Mathematics Teachers – CITE Journal.” Citejournal.Org, http://www.citejournal.org/volume-13/issue-1-13/mathematics/technological-pedagogical-content-knowledge-of-secondary-mathematics-teachers/.

King, P. (2015). “Draw A Circle With Any Three Non-Collinear Points.” Youtube, 2015, https://youtu.be/ZdPQA6eSZD0.

King, P. (2017). “Grade 10 Academic – Is It Always True That 3 Noncollinear Points Make A Circle?” Youtube, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRoAbbhuwoU.

Ontario Ministry of Education, Office of the Secretariat. (2010). Communication in the Mathematics Classroom (Vol. 13, Capacity Building Series). Toronto, ON: Queen’s Printer.

Ontario Ministry of Education (2005). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10 Mathematics (Revised, 2005). Toronto: Queen’s Printer, Ontario.

Price, L. F. (2005). The Biology of Risk-Taking. Educational Leadership, April(2005), 22-26. Retrieved July 22, 2017.


the band

the band

Role of the Observer is an American progressive rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The band’s line-up includes Nick Leach (lead guitar, vocals, piano), Tyler Rhodes (guitar, vocals), Max Leach (drums, percussion) and Nate Epperson (bass guitar, samples.)
Founded in 2012, the group has been known to take a conceptual approach to their writing. With influences ranging from classic rockbands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, King Crimson to newer progressive bands like Porcupine Tree, Tool, Mastodon, and Opeth, their sound is nothing out of the ordinary. Their exceptional musicianship brings the listener across all ranges of rhythms and their shows are an audible special that is sure to keep the listener on their feet.
Role of the Observer has released two full length concept albums which are now available on iTunes and for free download at . In early 2014 Max Leach joined the group on drums. Since, the groups sound has developed in exciting ways and they plan to release a third album this fall.

NIck Leach

Tyler Rhodes

Max Leach

Nate Epperson


Open Position

Adjunct Faculty (Graduate/Undergraduate)

Instruction for graduate level courses requires a Ph.D. in a related area of study or at minimum, a Master’s degree with significant work experience in the related field.  Responsibilities include developing and providing lectures; provide daily assignments, and evaluation of student’s academic progress.  This is not an all inclusive list of positional responsibilities. Divisions will have access to all application materials and will contact qualified candidates as courses become available.

Qualified candidates are invited to send their cover letter, Curriculum Vita/resume, and a list of professional references to shujobs@sienaheights.edu.  In the subject line of the email, please reference if you are interested in instructing undergraduate or graduate level courses and your areas of expertise.

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Siargao Island

(photo by K. V. Chua)
Siargao Island An island sitting right next to the Philippine Deep, one of the world's deepest trenches. What with its Pacific reef wave called Cloud 9, Siargao attract surfers from all over the world. CNN Go ranked it as 8th best surfing destination internationally.


Start Racing

Once you have completed your basic level 1 & 2 course in dinghy sailing you may well enjoy recreational sailing and cruising and the club is pleased for you to do so. However, many of the members enjoy the thrill and challenges that racing offers and the club runs 2 or 3 races a week depending on the season. There is no doubt that participating in racing will develop your sailing skills to a higher level in the shortest period of time. This will involve considerable practice on the water but the presentation below provides theoretical as well as a practical guide and tips to racing at Attenborough.

Powerpoint iconView Start Racing presentation.

You will need either Microsoft PowerPoint software or the Powerpoint Viewer software that can be downloaded directly from the Microsoft website.

Club races normally start at 19:00hrs on Wednesdays and 14:00hrs and 16:00hrs on Sundays (March to October). REMEMBER this is the actual start of the race, so you would be well advised to allow plenty of time to get changed, prepare your boat and get to the start line.

All you need to be is a club member. In terms of experience, you can be self taught or had formal training, but you should be at RYA Level 2 standard or above. Other than that, just turn up with your boat, or use one of the club boats.

  1. Prepare your boat: It's a good idea to be on the water 10-15 minutes before the start of the race. This gives you plenty of time to get to the start line and view the course and plan your start. The course is either displayed in the race hut behind teh club flagpole.
  2. Signing on: sign-on, usually in the race hut. Sign-on details may vary but you will always need your name, sail number and class.
  3. Note down the course: The course is displayed as a sequence of buoy numbers. Each number is in green (starboard/right) or red (port/left) back ground to indicate from which side the buoy should be rounded. So a buoy number with a red background should rounded anti-clockwise (i.e. the port side of the boat nearest the buoy). All the buoys must be passed in the correct sequence and rounded from the correct side. If you are not good at remembering numbers, it's a good idea to write them down somewhere on your boat.

Flags are the primary means of starting a race. In addition to flags a horn is nearly always used. The first horn blows 5 minutes before the start when the calss flag is raised. At 4 minutes another sound signal Flag I or P is shown; at 1 minute to go a sound signal and lowering of I or P flag. At 0 minutes the class flag is dropped and a sound signal given. If there is more than one start this point will signal start of next 5 minute sequence.

A race will be a number of laps around the course. Generally at ASC this will range from 3-6 laps, but just keep racing until you cross the finish line and hear a single horn sound as you cross the line.

Long books have been written about dinghy sailing rules and regulations, but you don't need to study these to get started in racing. For your safety and that of other sailors, you should make yourself aware of the basic principles of dinghy racing.

  1. Do not hit another boat.
    If you hit another boat (or force it to alter course to avoid you when you do not have right of way) then you must take a penalty or be disqualified. The normal penalty is a 720 degree turn, in other words 2 tacks and 2 gybes. Even if you are the right of way boat, you may be in the wrong if there is a collision, so a right of way boat may have to take a penalty turn as well. A right of way boat must do all it can to avoid a collision. If it doesn't it must take a penalty, but if it's done all it can and still cannot keep clear then it doesn't need to take a penalty.
  2. Starboard tack has right of way.
    A starboard tack boat is one which has the wind on the starboard side. Therefore its boom will be on the port side. A port tack boat approaching a starboard tack boat has usually two choices, either tack onto starboard tack or go round the stern of the starboard tack boat.
  3. Windward boat must keep clear.
    The windward boat is the one nearest to the wind. He must keep clear of the boat to leeward, and this means all of him, including his boom and rigging. Therefore, if sailing with your boom well out you need to be quite a bit away to stop your boom hitting the hull, head or rigging of the chap to leeward!
  4. Boats on the outside at a buoy must keep clear of boats inside.
    This rule only applies when you are approaching a buoy, which is defined as within 2 boat lengths of it. The boat on the inside is allowed room to round the buoy without hitting it, so the boat on the outside must keep clear. Therefore the inside boat will often call 'Water at the mark!' when approaching the buoy, warning the other boat to keep clear.
  5. Hitting a Buoy
    The penalty for hitting a buoy is a 360 degree turn, or one tack and one gybe. If you hit a buoy and do not take a penalty you will be disqualified.
  6. Obstructions
    There are a number of rules regarding obstructions. An obstruction is obviously a grass bank, but it could equally be another racing boat that you have to keep clear of. If you need to change course to clear an obstruction you are entitled to ask for room to do so, likewise, if someone asks for room you should give it to them. The most common call is 'water to tack'. If someone calls this to you, you should tack immediately.
  7. Other Rules
    There are many other rules and sub clauses, but mainly they define when and how the above rules are applied, so for starting out these rules are all that is required.


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Types of Ocean Pollution

written by: Dr Mike C•edited by: Sarah Malburg•updated: 6/2/2011

We live on an ocean planet where the seas cover almost 2/3 of the surface. Much of the pollution that we produce finds its way into the sea. This article looks at some of the types of ocean pollution which stem from man's activities, but also arise from natural processes.

  • slide 1 of 4

    The Solution To Pollution

    A friend of mine who happens to be a radiochemist once remarked to me that “the solution to pollution is dilution"; he was only being partially serious. Ocean covers two thirds of the surface of the planet and the depth can range from a few meters in the near coastal zone to 10,923 m at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, off the Marianas Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Given that the surface of the Earth covers approximately 510 million square kilometers, it gives an idea of the volume of seawater on the planet (which has been estimated as 1.5 billion cubic kilometers), so my friend’s flippant comment does have some mileage to it.

    The world ocean has been described as the ultimate sink for pollution since ultimately, any material which is released into the river system (and many sewage systems around the world) will exit into the sea. This article will consider the types of ocean pollution that may occur and indicate their sources.

  • slide 2 of 4

    Definition Of Ocean Pollution

    Before getting into an identification of the types of pollution that end up in the ocean, we need to understand what is meant by pollution in this context. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, marine/ocean pollution "refers to direct or indirect introduction by humans of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries), resulting in harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrances to marine activities including fishing, impairment of the quality of sea water and reduction of amenities."

    This definition cites the "hazard" as being an important criterion, but also involves a human component. In a sister article, the topic of marine eutrophication was discussed and it is clear that this potentially harmful problem can be a natural occurrence.

    Of course, land-based pollution sources such as the combustion products from oil, gas, and coal based power stations (for instance), may be pushed high into the atmosphere and ultimately settle or get washed by rain into the oceans.

  • slide 3 of 4

    Types of Ocean Pollution

    From what has gone before, it will come as no surprise that the ocean plays unwilling host to a vast array of types of ocean pollution. The most obvious types of pollution are the ones that make the news such as the recent oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico which caused loss of life and widespread damage to the environment involving hefty clean-up bills. Rig accidents and tanker sinkings may make the news, but rare, minor spillages such as oil tankers purging their tanks, may also harm the local environment. Following the Gulf War, the UNEP set up a program to monitor the marine environment in the region (ROPME) for petroleum hydrocarbon and heavy metal pollution. It involved an active ocean pollution monitoring campaign. This was necessary because of the deliberate pollution of the environment by burning oil fields carried out by Iraq.

    Maritime wrecks can pose an ocean pollution hazard because of harmful products used in the vessel (fuel, for instance), but also because of the cargoes that they may be carrying. As the hulks decay, they can also cause severe (local) heavy metal pollution.

    Deliberate, illegal dumping in the sea probably represents the most significant pollution hazard since it is unregulated and often times believed that the most dangerous waste pays the best premium. Certain types of dumping do remain legal (for instance, of dredged material) and these are regulated under the London Dumping Convention.

    Until 1982, the dumping of certain radioactive waste at specific sites by civilian nuclear authorities was permitted. The world’s military powers have also dumped reactor cores in certain seas and of course, some nuclear powered vessels have been lost in accidents. This practice made sense since dump sites were well away from civilization and fishing activities, sources were supposedly sealed and seawater makes a good shield for any radioactivity that may have seeped out.

    Much concern has been expressed about the fate of polythene bags that escape into the marine environment. Apart from the physical hazard that the plastics may cause, the breakdown products of the hydrocarbons that produce them may also be harmful.

    This article just scratches the surface of this topic, but for the sake of future generations and the marine ecosystem, the solution to pollution better not be dilution!

  • slide 4 of 4

    1. The Challenger Deep -
    2. Volume of the Earth’s Oceans -
    3. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development -
    4. NOLA Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010 -
    5. London Dumping Convention -
    6. Ocean Disposal of Radioactive Waste -
    7. National Geographical; plastics in the ocean -


An underwater welder must demonstrate not only welding skills but also the commercial diving qualifications. Underwater welders are also known as the offshore welders and they must be having the ability to control and manage the heavy welding equipments in the hazardous working environment. This article will discuss in details the career path of the underwater welder and also inform any aspiring underwater welder on what he/she should do in order to pursue their career in this field.

What are the responsibilities of an underwater welder?

They are required to work with the different types of welding equipments following the specific procedures laid down to complete the required task. Some of the duties they are required to do include: inspection and non destructive testing, underwater photography, underwater cutting, drafting, fitting and rigging. Sometimes, the underwater divers are required to work with the project planning managers. They are required to give them assistance in the management field and public relations as they are required to have good communication skills besides the interpersonal skills they have that normally assist them to work well with other employees.

Education and other requirements

Find a School

The first requirement is a commercial dive certification. This certification is offered by many schools offering the diving courses. Moreover, there are other requirements that cannot be overlooked even if an individual has vast experience in the field so as to be given the certification. Such requirements include the ability to use and handle the variety of diving equipments, underwater inspections, diver communications, diving physiology, emergency procedures and the hyperbaric chamber operations.

The welder-divers are required to have welding skills with a rating of AWS D3.6 standard, and with the knowledge and abilities to prepare and set up welds. Most welding courses offered at the educational facilities in the country are approved by the American Welding Society and therefore an underwater welder can benefit from his/her underwater welding skills as he/she will be recognized. Internationally recognized training in underwater welding is exclusively given in US by Commercial Diving Academy.
The underwater welders are required to be in good physical condition and there is no age limit. Most companies require individuals who can pass the physical examinations. In order to maintain the certification, the underwater welders are required to undertake periodic examinations.

Wage potential

It is not easy to generalize the earnings potential of underwater divers due to the fact that they depend on many factors. They are paid for the individual projects and some of the factors that influence their earnings potential include: the project duration, hazard levels, the dive methods employed employer and the divide grade. Welding has been categorized as an occupation for the commercial divers by U.S. Bureau of labor statistics and the reported annual average salary in 2009 was $52540.

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Photo Credit:  miquelsi


The above statement is made quite often when discussing coffee.  Although not strictly untrue, it is also not reflective of the reality of the field.

Each individual is entitled to like or dislike anything they taste (subjective – matter of taste).  But fields of specialism create and maintain a more specific criteria for quality based on wider input.  There is an accumulation of ideas and standards that are relative to that product, a framework for judgement (objective- tangible).

It is however more complicated than this statement allows for.  I will attempt to navigate the grey areas and offer what I see as a structure that cradles the journey of tasting speciality coffee.

I am effectively revisiting my “quality” post, which explored the wider idea of what makes a coffee “good”.   This article is a more specific exploration of what defines quality within the framework of speciality coffee.

Firstly, I need to explain what I mean by the term speciality.   This term can be used to describe a coffee that wins a national Cup of Excellence competition right through to Jamaican Blue Mountain; and even to describe beans with added hazelnut flavouring.

I am referencing “speciality coffee” in alignment with the goals of programs such as the Cup of Excellence or the SCAA and SCAE, competitions such as the world barista championships, and the world brewing championships. There is also a ground roots movement that is less easy to define, shops and roasteries whose goals are aligned with these organisations but may have a different approach to achieving these goals.  There seems to be a relationship between the two, they affect each other.

So what is it that makes a coffee exceptional?

I would posit that some of the basic requirements involve eliminating negative aspects, so a good coffee can, in certain ways, be defined by what it does not have – lack of flavour taints, lack of over-roasted flavour (although under roasted coffee doesn’t allow for a full development of flavour- so roast is obviously a part of the equation – a complex one).  Exceptional quality is not yet guaranteed though.  For this process only really suggests that a cup be bland and palatable.  It requires much more than this to become a great cup of coffee.

This is where character comes in, arguably the most important assessment of a coffee’s quality, but it is also the least easy to define singularly.  Basically the judgement of a coffee becomes about what it intends to achieve.

You would not judge a washed Bourbon variety from a Rwandan co-op on the same merits as a washed Typica variety from a particular Bolivian farm, this is very important because broader terms like balance of flavour, balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, etc, must become more targeted.  They must assess character.  A light, citrousy coffee may be more acidic and bitter with less body and sweetness. But it works with in the context of the character, and actually aids the success of that coffee.  Therefore its type of balance is different but equally as successful as a round, nutty coffee with hints of red fruit that is sweeter and less acidic.   A good or great coffee is not ONE thing.

Interestingly, there can be some exceptions to the rules.  Certain flavours that are commonly noted as taints could also possibly present themselves as a positive part of naturally processed coffees.  This is because benchmarks for quality have been based off of the back of washed or pulped coffees.  There is a call in the industry to assess natural processed coffees separately from washed or pulped coffees such as what happened in this years Late harvest Brazil Cup of Excellence.

An objective idea of quality and what positive character types are is still needed in order to curb a descent into relativist chaos – otherwise I easily could argue that a coffee’s character actively intends to be furry, astringent, gravely and burnt.  Does this mean it is then good because I have managed to justify the cup according to a certain character?  Well, no.  This is where the system cuts in and says it’s plain bad.

Previous history of what we have accredited as good in speciality coffee is also required as a strong foundation upon which to test a coffee.  This foundation does develop, evolve and change.  As we experience more flavour within one area our appreciation of certain other flavours changes.

For example, if I have tasted many different coffees from farms in El Salvador that are washed Bourbon varieties, I have built up a catalogue of what I think is good about this type of coffee.  I then taste a new farm or a new crop from a well known farm, it displays much of what I value in a coffee of this type, but it has a unique acidity or interplay of complex flavours that are rare and thus make it very special.  Rarity and uniqueness as elsewhere are highly valued.  Established boundaries need to leave room for new and exciting discoveries.  The pursuit of quality in coffee is not merely an attempt to mimic the past but is actually a search for perfection. (even if that perfection is subjective)

An intuitive reaction to a coffee being “good” is still part of the equation and possibly one of the main driving forces of where coffee is going.  One could use the character argument to imply that we could train ourselves to appreciate the nuances of the dark roast flavours or musty flavours, for example.  Our area of the industry realised that coffee had other amazing flavours to offer and decided that those balanced clean and more complex results were very desirable.  Maybe when I tasted my first real speciality coffee I simply realised that my taste pared up with what this field has defined as good, (subjective – my taste) rather than an absolute universal correctness of flavour.

There is still much heated debate and differing of opinion on which specific characteristics and complexities make a certain cup “better”.  There is not a simple agreement on quality, and there shouldn’t be.  Subjectivity will always share part of the stage.  It will help drive the industry forward, but it cannot dominate leaving us with no structure for quality.

For people new to speciality coffee, the worthwhile information for them isn’t whether the person serving it finds it tasty (taste-subjective).  It is more important to communicate what the field’s idea of quality will mean for them, to inform them that the coffee will not taste how they may expect “coffee” to taste.  There will be acidity and all sorts of unique, complex flavour.  Also, that the exact qualities that are valued will be relative to provenance and other variables (objective-tangible).

They may like it or they may not.  They may want to try another coffee or two, making sure they were just not that keen on the character of one particular coffee.

Ultimately, the journey of discovery when questioning the quality of a cup, not to mention questioning the enjoyment of that cup, never fails to leave me fascinated and excited.  It is a journey that is wonderful in the beginning and ever more engrossing with every cup I taste.

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Here’s a fun fact about koalas: something like 90 percent of them have Chlamydia! Normally it doesn’t cause any problems, but when they get stressed it leads to raging, uncontrollable diarrhea and a condition called “dirty tail.” So maybe don’t cuddle them like we all know you want to. Also, “Dirty Tail” sounds like a deep cut from a Nickleback album. 3.3/5

Afghan Biscuits

afghan biscuits

These are made from flour, sugar, butter, crushed cornflakes, and cocoa powder, with a walnut on top. These don’t really have anything to do with Afghanistan. They’re from New Zealand. They look pretty good. I never really considered that New Zealand had it’s own food. I wonder what else New Zealand has. Electricity? Cars? A space program? 3.8/5

Harry Dresden

Harry Dresden

Now this is a wizard. From knocking a werewolf across Chicago with Play-Doh, to stealing all the souvenirs from the Crucifixion out of a treasure room in Hell, to murdering all the vampires in the world, to making a zombie from the fossilized remains of Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex, this is a guy who keeps finding new ways to say yes to the question: Is what I’m planning going to be awesome? 4.9/5

Quentin Coldwater

Quentin Coldwater (one of the best character names in all of fiction, by the way) is one of the titular magicians in Lev Grossman’s The Magicians series. He kind of grew up with his readers. He went from a high school graduate who was kind of a douche and was super-depressed all the time in the first book, to a thirty-something with back problems who was kind of a douche and was super-depressed all the time in the last one. Man, there is a lot of self-insert fanfic about me that I didn’t even bother to write. 4.0/5

Gooey Butter Cookies

gooey butter cookies

This are cookies principally made by a few St. Louis bakeries, and, most importantly, by me, Stuff Rater. It’s kind of plug-and-play in that the recipe calls for a box of cake mix, but you can use any flavor you want until you get things like orange cookies, or carrot cookies, or butter pecan cookies with no extra work and everyone thinks you’re some kind of cookie genius. Please don’t look up the recipe for these. With every other person that knows how to make these, I become less and less special until people don’t have to invite me to things in the hope I will bring cookies. 4.9/5


Into the Cave

Caves in Romania were always an interest to the local people who lived there and among outsiders who heard of the stories people told. Many of the locals looked at caves as “hide outs and fortifications,” and this led to an increased interest in cave exploration (p. 33). Romanian caves have been mapped since possibly one of the first caves was documented, the Veterani Cave in 1692. People believe that “caves hide treasures buried by haiduci, the local outlaws” (p. 33). Maybe these stories are true or maybe Romanians are great storytellers; either way, who doesn’t love a great cave story or a local legend that leads into some true treasure finds? The treasure that I am talking about is not gold, silver, or even jewels that I would imagine the locals describing; the treasure is instead, a cave full of bones.

The documentation for the Peștera Ponor-Plopa did not start until 2001 and this is located near Anina in Caraș-Severin (p. 5). Inside of this cave is another cave called The Peștera cu Oase. Both caves are located in the Carpathian Mountains in the southwestern part of Romania. Because this mountain range is huge and spans into neighboring countries of Eastern Europe, many speleological clubs developed in the 1970’s in order to understand the cave systems better. They established themselves in order to explore, document, and protect their karst systems. It is great to know that many people are interested in further expanding their knowledge of the caves and cave systems. Many of these caves have lots to offer about our past lives and cultures especially if human remains are found.

The Peștera cu Oase is literally called, “The Cave with Bones” (p. 8). This is a generic name that was used in order to keep this particular site of the cave system safe while it was explored. The main people involved in exploring Peștera cu Oase were Ștefan Milota, and Laurențiu Sarcină; both of these people are principle members of the Pro Acva Grup in Timișoara, which is an explorer’s club. Adrian Bîlgăr is also on the team of explorers. Oana Moldovan was from the Institutul de Speologie who was able to establish a connection to Erik Trinkaus from Saint Louis in order to help with the human mandible. Moldovan became the leader of the Romanian team. She organized the financing, legal matters, and helped to organize the project. Most of the field work was done in three seasons starting from 2003 and ending during 2005, and was followed by furthered documentation and analysis.

The three main people who were involved in this project from the start were Erik Trinkaus from the United States, Silviu constantin from Bucharest, and João Zilhão from Spain. These three helped to organize Life and Death at the Peștera cu Oase: A Setting for Modern Human Emergence in Europe that was written by the different members of the project that I have used as my monograph to obtain this information. There are 33 contributors for this project listed right after the contents page in the beginning of the book. Without each and every one of them, I don’t believe that this project could have taken place.

The archaeologists seemed to have much experience even if they had never worked on an excavation site like this one. Between the main people involved, it seemed that many of them had quite an interest in this project for various reasons and worked hard obtaining detailed and accurate information. In fact, some of them even had to learn how to scuba dive because there was a lot of water that hid the entrance of the cave. Although I did not get an exact history lesson of where the people studied or for how long it took for them to receive their education, all of them had official addresses of where they attended studies or work experience listed into the “contributors” part of the book. All of the different places of studies included Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In order to support the work of this project, there were many people who thankfully sponsored it. The first was the Institutul de Speologie “Emil Racoviță” in both Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest, Romania. Other sponsors include the Washington University in Saint Louis, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for the Anthropological Research, The Leakey Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Other contributors to this project included Ricardo Rodrigo and João Zilhão from the Instituto Portugues de Arqueologia, Hélène Rougier from the Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Silviu Constantin from the Romanian National Council for Academic Research, and lastly the National Agency for Scientific Research. All of these people and organizations were listed in the preface of the book. We can see that much of the research and project was worked on by many different people who took interest in this project.

It’s kind of funny for me to note that the project didn’t appear to be one that many people at first found interesting. The American, Erik Trinkaus was emailed by Moldovan asking for advice and he basically told her to document everything she finds but that it wouldn’t be of much importance. Trinkaus did, however, agree to meet the archaeologists and flew to Europe, laying his eyes on the first skull found in the cave. Upon seeing the skull, Trinkaus agreed it appeared to be much older than he had originally anticipated and decided there should be further examination of the origins than his beginning advice. He took a sample and sent it to the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit for AMS dating and the results were 35,200 14C BP (p. 8). This mandible was dated twice, and this date was agreed upon for all those involved. Trinkaus decided he would participate in the project, with the motivation of potentially finding more human remains or artifacts.

What I think helped further to excite people about the site was when Trinkaus “completed the first report on the Oase 1 mandible, published in 2003, in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA” and also later was published in the Journal of Human Evolution (p. 10). This was the first step to raising awareness of the find. What else I believe helped to spread the word was when Constantin, the editor  of the Theoretical and Applied Karstology asked “Moldovan for a rapid communication article on the Oase discoveries” and it was also published (p. 10). I think it is important that when a discovery is made that it is shared with the community in order for the community to first know about it and secondly to support it. How is the project going to be supported if nobody knows about it? All projects of this size and magnitude must be financially assisted as well as spiritually, physically, and mentally embraced; last but not least, the project must be supported by the community! If the community does not support it, then the project may not get done and there will be plenty of information that human civilization will fail to learn about.

There were many things about this site that made it incredibly interesting such as scuba diving to enter into the cave and a ladder was set up in order to climb into the higher parts. There were sinkholes and small passageways that the archaeologists and those on the field had to enter through in order to get there. How the cave was originally found was that Milota, Bîlgăr, and Sarcină noticed “fresh air coming through a small fissure” and “opened a narrow passageway onto a set of galleries that had remained closed, protected, and pristine since the end of the Pleistocene” (p. 7). The opening is near where they found the first skull along with many other bones. These bones were mostly cave bear bones and they were documented.

During the field seasons, the archeological “crew was joined for periods of time by friends and cavers, who camped near the cave opening to watch over the equipment and, for those who caved, help with the work inside” (p. 12). The unexplored cave contents were definitely in need of protecting because anything moved or missing from its original place would have altered the entire project; not to mention replacing supplies is often not inexpensive. Another great concern is that “illegal international trade in bear skulls is rampant in Romania” and this unfortunately sounds like a major problem (p. 9). Romania is a country that has a high bear population, and it is unfortunate that people want only their skulls. I don’t know if bears in Romania are poached, but if they are, many poachers don’t care about the animals sacrificed for their human profit. The cave bones would have been an easy target; therefore, I am proud that these people camped outside of the cave and gave their services. They were trying to stop any looters and protect the site and archaeologists as much as possible. I believe that they did. By doing this, they also become a part of the project’s preservation, and what a great project to be a part of!

Because it was a cave, it was dark and there needed to be light. The archaeologists rented a generator but the cord was not long enough to get enough light to see, and instead they used their headlamps. The light for the photographs was “furnished by special photographic speed lights” (p. 11 – 12). The lighting was a major problem during the entire time of excavating, along with cell phone reception.

It must have been quite a challenge to be working in the dark along with entering and exiting. To get into the cave, it took about an hour, and to leave the cave, it took about 3 hours because of the “added luggage – bones to transport outside, sediments to sieve in the river, rocks and excavation debris to store in out-of-the-way parts of the system” (p. 15). So not only were they working essentially in the dark, but they were removing materials out of the cave for further examination and trying not to damage the items in the process. Special materials and supplies were purchased in order to keep the remains safe during transportation.

This project does appear to be mostly about cave bears; however, the reason this project started was because of the first human skull found lying in situ upon the emergence into the cave. Questions were then asked like: how old is the skull, what was the age of death, and what is it doing in what appears to be a bear’s hibernation den? Will there be more human remains? Other questions started to emerge such as how old is the cave? What happened to the bears that led them to their death? Because cave bears are extinct, it was a perfect site for trying to understand this. More than 5,000 faunal bones were collected and analyzed.

The background information for this site dated the cave to approximately 46,000 cal BP, which helped to preserve the cave that the bears left behind partly due to the sinkhole. Wolves and hyenas started to frequent the cave soon after by scavenging for remains. No more activity is recorded after 44 ka cal BP because “a low-energy flooding event created the Panta Strămoșilor bone jumble” (p. 123). Humans entered the scene shortly after this time. The origins of the human remains were not able to be fully confirmed in reference to the cave system. The humans may have lived in a different part of the cave. After they died, they eventually washed down the drainage system into the place that the bear remains resided. The cave was quite an active area.

There were many different methods involved, mostly excavation and dating of the archaeological finds. They dated many things using the standard method of carbon dating. The cave was placed into grids that were “1 meter2 and then they were subdivided into 0.25 m2 excavation units (A, B, C, and D)” (p. 26). Though they did count how many items they used in each dating project and even discarded things that may have been contaminated. The excavation was also done methodically.

The advantages of using methods such as the original look and see, excavation, piecing the bones back together, and dating the bones are all beneficial to the overall project and long term goals. Looking and seeing is absolutely the best first step because we must visually acknowledge our surroundings and make educated guesses about what the site contains.

Excavation of the bones is a vital part of any archaeological site because things such as artifacts are not just on the surface, but get buried by time. The also get moved by animals, or in this case, by gravity along with water movement in the cave. Once artifacts are unburied, they must be dusted off in order to see them better. Some use water washing which was used in this instance. “The bones were unwrapped, washed in water, set to dry in plastic trays, labeled with square number plus either quadrant letter or specimen number, and then sorted anatomically” (p. 30). After these items were cleaned at the laboratory (which was a hotel room), they were logged into their spreadsheet that was updated when newer information was obtained. Keeping track of each item is absolutely vital and making sure they were coded correctly is equally as important. It seems that this indeed happened during this project. The final storage area for the remains are at the Institutul de Speologie “Emil Racoviță” in Bucharest for permanent curation (p. 15).

After the bones were cleaned, they tried matching the bones with the original animal or human remains they had found. They ultimately found 99 bear skulls and remaining bones (p. 135), 2 human skulls, a fox skull (p. 181), a domestic goat found at the end of a passage (p. 120), a hyena (p. 167), a deer (p. 189), and wolf remains (p. 173). There were also an abundance of small animal remains that still happen to frequent the cave. One of the rodents even “developed a taste for the chocolate bars brought into the cave for the excavators” (p. 185). So we must note first that the site is still occupied by living animals. Next, we can see that there was a broad array of faunal remains that could help with interpreting how the diet of the animals were along with the people and possible changes in the world. These remains are important for understanding the environment of the past, especially environments that may have changed and we are still learning about; also including environments that were isolated from the rest of the world because of things like communism, or a lack of funding or interest.

The regional importance of the site is that the human remains were not quite modern. Although not all the questions that the archaeologists asked were answered, there is still much to investigate about how these humans lived. Only two human skulls were found, no neck bones, and the total teeth between these two human remains counted to 11. It is important to note that diet was examined by the remains found using DNA sampling. The question came up of possible diet change around this time along with the cave itself going through a massive change. Along with comparing the skulls to other skulls found around the world that aged around the same time, they made hypotheses that the humans during that time interbred with people of different races and learned more about trapping for food and didn’t rely on plants as much. The archaeologists were also trying to figure out where the humans had been camping. I would have liked more examination around the site or even near the spot where they dived in order to reach the cave. The other regional importance is that these remains are some of the oldest remains in Eastern Europe. These archaeologists and scientists have analyzed and debated their findings but all agreed that these bones are the earliest directly dated human remains in Eastern Europe.

What is also important to note about the human remains is that Oase 1 is “diagnostically ‘modern’ in its overall morphology, whether considered phenetically or cladistically in a late Middle and Late Pleistocene context, but it presents a couple of unusual features, shared with few or none of the other early modern human mandibles” (p. 256). This would suggest crossbreeding between different types of people! What a great thing to discover and attempt to learn more about. Oase 2’s traits “possesses a number of archaic features but is not typical of either the archaic or the modern human groups” (p. 311). This is interesting because these skulls were found together, and both have unique attributes to them that make them all the more a mystery that I would like to solve or at least get a clearer answer to. I believe the archaeologists were expecting to find more human remains than they did. I believe they were looking for artifacts, but they only found the two skulls.

We don’t know how the humans died, but we do know that they were fairly young because of the testing for the ages of them. Their genders are not specified. For the Oase 1 mandible, they estimated the age of death was around 20 years old, give or take (p. 237). There is more information about Oase 2 because they were able to piece back together the cranium almost entirely. The established age of death for Oase 2 was approximately 15 to 18 years of age (p. 269-271). Also for Oase 2, they determined that the gender of the skull was either a “male with a short mastoid process, or a female with a rather large face. We prefer to consider Oase 2 as being of indeterminate sex” (p. 271). It is important to note that these human remains were compared to other bones dated to approximately the same time period. I find it very interesting that these two skull ages were approximately the same. To me, this suggests that they were in or near the cave around the same time in their lifespan. I wonder what was happening to these two people and if they even knew each other. Humans are social creatures so I find it strange that no more human remains were found. This of course is simply my own speculation and cannot be proved without further evidence. If water didn’t run through the cave and moved anything, perhaps artifacts would have been found?

Measurements of the bones were taken in order to compare the measurements with other bones not from this site but that dated to around the same time period. Along with measurements, there were also dating techniques. Carbon dating, radiocarbon dating, and ESR dating (Electron Spin Resonance) were used on many of the faunal remains. Some ancient DNA testing known as (aDNA) was used on some of the faunal remains as well.

Because the project is still fairly new, the project does represent a much needed study because we do not know much about cave bears considering that they have been extinct for thousands of years. We can look at modern day bears in order to compare between the two, and Romania does have a lot, but we simply don’t know why the bears went extinct and this is a very huge nest that leaves a lot of information to be collected and interpreted. What the scientists thought may have happened is that they got trapped during hibernation or they didn’t have enough fat stored up to survive the hibernation.

All of these techniques used are extremely important and beneficial to the rest of the culture and the world. They absolutely are scientific and reliable ways of not only practicing archaeology, but of analyzing the results, especially when using the date testing. We have fine technology in place that is fairly accurate considering what we know right now, and what we keep discovering in ways of improvement. It seems that everything was tagged and labeled and documented regarding where it was found, and all of these steps make for good archaeology.

There are many things to think about with this site because there was just so much information to work with. The only problem that I have is what to do with what I have learned? I chose this particular site is because I have known about it for quite some time, but I have not had the opportunity to look more deeply into it until now. The reason for my interest is because I am from Romania and I am trying to understand my past better and learn about the current culture there and what a better way to learn about it than a final project?

My first thoughts were what I had learned about from our class reading assignment book regarding how sites are supposed to be excavated and analyzed. When looking through all the pictures of the book, I couldn’t help but to notice that Ștefan Milota when holding the Oase 2 face was barehanded (p. 9). From everything I had learned about contamination, I would have wanted the archaeologists to use some sort of glove when handling the remains. I understand that the cave may have simply been too hot and humid and this was simply not possible, but what about when the remains were taken out of the cave?

I am overall impressed with the field work done and how all the people came together in order to preserve and understand this site. I learned so much about archaeology and the ways that the approaches were done in this instance seemed ethical and done properly. I am saddened that it took so long for more people to become interested, but I am glad that they finally did. I wish the funding would have been more because the laboratory was a hotel room, and this doesn’t seem like a great place to have a laboratory. I understand that many laboratories are not permanent, but if hotel cleaners are doing their job, they would still request to come into the rooms, and what if they touched something or moved it? Everything else seemed to be fine. Those two things were the only things that stuck out to me as kind of strange; overall I was very impressed with this project and hope that they continue to analyze the finds and keep the remains in a safe place. Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to visit Bucharest again, which is my city of origin and visit the museum. That is a goal for sure.

Reference: Life and Death at the Peștera cu Oase: A Setting for Modern Human Emergence in Europe. Edited by Erik Trinkaus, Silviu Constantin, João Zilhão. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press. 2013.

Professor’s Notes: Interesting report of exploratory work and research done in the Romanian cave. I found the dating techniques used on the human skull and mandible to be fascinating. Unfortunately, these remains as well as the fauna specimens seem to have been moved and mixed during flooding episodes. Another interesting part of your report was how they set up the lab in their hotel room. This was a crafty but risky move. Getting in and out of the cave each day must have been long and hard work as was working in the dark. Your criticisms at the end of the report sections were good. It also would have been good to see a better presentation of the RC dates from the human remains. How is this site now being protected?

Scoring: Introduction: 10. Purpose: 15. Background: 15. Method: 17. Data: 18. Interpretations: 16. Total 91

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We all have pivotal, defining moments in our lives. Often our greatest challenges and heartbreaks hold valuable cues pointing to our true purpose.

My family life was fraught with difficulties and losses. The moment I hit adolescence, I began seeking answers through psychology and spirituality. For many years, I embraced learning and meaningful lessons through my hardships, but still, I had the sense there was something blocking my capacity to fully express myself and my gifts.

Then, several years ago I experienced the most painful event of my life, and it cracked my heart and life wide open. The two most transformative steps I took during my tough time, were to slow way down, and to face into my shadows (my fears, limiting beliefs, repressed feelings) . When we shed a spotlight on our shadows, they no longer drive our life. Slowing down, suspended my habitual ways of thinking and doing and allowed space for deep well-being to surface and point the way to my greater potential.

Slowing down is the first step to activating change.

As I faced my deepest fears, I discovered my greatest gifts. As I integrated my cumulative training, life experiences and wisdom, I discovered my soul purpose. Once we have integrated the various parts of our self, alignment with our soul purpose may arrive naturally, and even quietly. A new found freedom, vitality, and sustainable self-connection emerged in my work, and my life. I want the same for you.


Does graphing a rational function help to solve a practical problem?

Expert Answers
justaguide eNotes educator| Certified Educator

Drawing the graph of a function can be a very good idea to determine the roots of a function, which can be found by noting the values of the variable that make the value of the function equal to zero. This is especially important in cases where the function is of a higher degree and it is not possible to find the roots manually.

The use of graphs can also provide an approximate idea of the roots; this provides a way of verifying if the roots determined by other methods are right or not.

The graph of the function allows us to see the slope that is made by it and note how the values of the function are changed by changes in the value of the variable. So, we can determine things like is the value of the function directly or inversely related to the value of the variable, is the function defined for all values of the variable, etc.

neela | Student

A rational function is of the form y =f(x) = P(x)/Q(x), where P(x) and Q(x) are the polynomials.

A graph can help to solve a problem (a) dealing with rational function which is in the form of an equation  and find the roots . Graph can give us the solution, where the graph intersects with x axis.( b) To find or estimate the value of the ordinate y = f(x) at x = a, we can use a graph. (c) The continuity of y = f(x) could be judged by a graph. The discontinuity points are those values of x for which denominator becomes zero. The graph can detect the infinite jumps in ordinates and points of discontiuity if any. (d) The graph helps easily to identify in which interval f(x) is increasing or decreasing, (d)  The graph helps us to locate where the value of the function attains maximum and minimum. These are some of uses of the graph.

The graph has its demerits as well. The accuracy of the graph is always subject our choice of scale. We can not go for any abnormally small scale or very  large scale. We have to choose  suitable scale to fit the graph on a  given  location (usually paper).

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If y=(a+2)x+7 is parallel to y=3x-4, find the value of a.

Expert Answers
electreto05 eNotes educator| Certified Educator

Two lines are parallel if their slopes are equal.

The equation of a line is as follows:

y = mx + b

Where m is the value of the slope of the line and b is the intercept.

So that for each of the above lines, their slopes are:

y = (a+2)x + 7      →     m = (a+2)

y = 3x – 4             →     m = 3

Now we match the values of the slopes and isolate the value of a:

a + 2 = 3

a = 3 – 2

a = 1

General note:

If the lines are parallel, the slopes are equal:

m1 = m2

If the lines are perpendicular, the product of the slopes is equal to -1:

m1 . m2 = - 1   or   m1 = -1/m2

aishukul | Student

When two lines are parallel, their slopes are always equal. The formula in the problem is the slope-intercept formula. y=mx+b. M stands for the slope's value and b stands for the y-intercept.

To find this, since the slopes of parallel lines are equal, that means the first formula's slope must be 3 since the second formula's slope is 3. Therefore, what value of a will give you three?

1+2=3. Therefore, a equals 1.

y=3x+7 and y=3x-4. The slopes are the same. Thus, the answer is 1.

shonasharma | Student

two lines are parallel if they have the same slope/gradient

the general equation for the straight line is:

y=mx + c

where m is always the gradient and c is your constant/y intercept

so, if the lines are parallel, the gradient should be same( the coefficient of x in your general equation should be same)

now, y=(a+2)x + 7

and y=3x - 4

so one equation has it clear that the coefficient of x is 3( that means 3 is the gradient). Hence, 3 must be the gradient of the other equation too.

so, we assume that a+2=3

what plus 2 will give us 3?

that's simple addition or subtraction we deal with and your answer is 1!


Inside Science

11 February 1989

Subatomic forces

Subatomic structure and quarks
The delta-double-plus particle
Field Lines between quarks
A decaying Z particle
What happens when a neutron decays

Inside the atom, particles interact through two forces which are never felt in
the everyday world. But they may hold the key to the Universe

ATOMS, the basic building blocks of life, are mainly empty. If the nucleus of
an atom were a centimetre across, then the electron cloud that surrounds the
nucleus would be a kilometre away. So why, when you bang your fist against a
brick wall, does it hurt? The answer is “because of the electromagnetic force”
– one of the four fundamental forces of nature that we met in Inside Science
No. 15.

These four forces are all that physicists need to explain the workings of the
everyday world, the Universe at large, and the inside of atoms. Gravity is the
most familiar force, and holds matter together in the form of planets, stars
and galaxies. The electromagnetic force binds matter on the much smaller
atomic scale. It holds the electrons in place around the nucleus, and it holds
the atoms themselves in place alongside their neighbours. It is
electromagnetic interactions between atoms within a brick that prevent its
compression when you hit it, and transmit the impact back into your hand.

The electromagnetic force is not enough, however, to explain all the behaviour
of matter on the subatomic scale. Two additional forces operate deep within
the atom. Moreover, although these forces are not apparent at larger scales,
they have played a part in establishing the Universe as it is today.

Finding forces

Strong attraction

HOW do we know that these forces exist? One clue comes from the basic
structure of matter. Atoms consist of a cloud

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Anatomy of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Previously known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA)

For juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, the most important part of your anatomy to understand is the joints. JIA affects the various joints, and the affected joints won't be the same from patient to patient. Which joints become inflamed or swollen depends mostly on the type of JIA your child has.
Illustration of the body with joint areas highlighted

  • Polyarticular tends to affect the smaller joints (eg, fingers, wrists), although it can affect load-bearing joints, such as the knees.
  • Oligoarticular tends to affect the larger joints (eg, knees, ankles). This type was previously known as pauciarticular.
  • Systemic affects joints large and small

The spine's joints can be affected by JIA. There's a particular subtype of pauciarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis that affects primarily the spine: juvenile ankylosing spondylitis.

To learn more about ankylosing spondylitis, please visit our Ankylosing Spondylitis Condition Center.

In polyarticular JIA, the spine's joints can also be affected. Usually, arthritic symptoms and signs are found in the neck (cervical spine). It's not as common for this type of JIA to go into the upper back (thoracic spine) or low back (lumbar spine).

This article will talk about the joints in your spine that can be affected by JIA. It will describe the components of the joints.

Cervical Spine Joints
To reiterate, polyarticular JIA can affect the neck (cervical spine).

At the top of your spine—at the place where your spine and skull come together—you have the C1 and C2 vertebrae. The 'C' stands for cervical, and doctors number each of the vertebrae to make it easier to talk about where there are problems in the spine.

C1 and C2 also get other names, though: C1 is the atlas vertebra. In Greek mythology, Atlas was doomed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. The atlas vertebra, as the first vertebra in your spine, is what your head rests on (you can think of your head as an entire world, if you'd like).

C2 is the axis vertebra. It has a special bony projection that serves at the pivot point for C1, so since it helps the atlas rotate, it's called the axis. The special bony projection is the odontoid process, also known as the dens. It's labeled as the dens in the drawing below.

altas axis

The atlantoaxial joint can be affected by JIA, although researchers have found that only 2% of children with JIA show effects of it at the atlantoaxial joint when the disease first develops.

The facet joints in the cervical spine can also be affected by JIA. The facet joints are also called the zygapophyseal joints. As all joints in your body do, the facet joints help you move and are very key in your flexibility.

Although this description is of facet joints, the details apply to many other joints in the body. It's good to keep that in mind when thinking about how JIA can affect other joints, such as the fingers, wrists, and knees.

The facet joints have cartilage around them. The cartilage is there to protect bones as you move, and it makes it easier for your bones to move. The cartilage around joints is called hyaline cartilage, which is the most common type of cartilage. It is made of collagen fibers; collagen is a type of protein.

Surrounding the joint is a very, very thin lining called the synovium membrane. The whole joint—cartilage and all—is covered by a thin membrane called the synovium. The synovium produces synovial fluid, which is what truly helps your joints move well. The synovial fluid lubricates the cartilage and bone.

In juvenile idiopathic arthritis, white blood cells, which are supposed to help our bodies fight infection, can turn against the synovium and cause inflammation. Because of that inflammation, the body releases certain chemicals, and those chemicals thicken the synovium. Swollen joints are caused by the thickened synovium.

Thoracic and Lumbar Spines
It's rare for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis to go into the thoracic (upper or mid-back) or lumbar (low back) spines). It is possible, though. Those spinal regions also have facet joints, just like the cervical spine, so those joints can be affected by JIA.

Updated on: 05/30/17
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Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Symptoms May Include Painful, Swollen, Stiff Joints
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Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Symptoms May Include Painful, Swollen, Stiff Joints

The hallmark symptoms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) are painful, swollen, stiff joints. In the spine, this type of inflammatory arthritis may affect the cervical spine; the neck.
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