3 years

Death of a Child

Page 1 of 1

YOUR COLUMNIST, always firmly convinced that choice of death is an inalienable right of a human being, was once upon a time an admirer of the Jain custom of Santhara, where a person, usually aged, decides to fast to death. He thought it a dignified and courageous exit when life has fulfilled its potential. However, the fullness of time has caused a revisitation of those views, primarily for two reasons—Santhara requires an enormous act of willpower and the adulation that accrues from it within the community might lead those who don’t possess such will to embark on it; secondly, it is a public spectacle and a person once committed to it will find it hard to reverse the decision because of the humiliation and embarrassment involved. Like most things in life, what seems gracious in principle turns out to have numerous twists and turns in practice. What should have been a spiritual journey has an in-built craving for glory since it is a public event.

This great felicitation by the community of those who go on long fasts explains how a large section of the Jain community still refuses to concede their responsibility for the death of 13-year-old Aradhana Samdariya in Secunderabad after fasting for 68 days. She had embarked on fasts stretching a few weeks earlier but 68 days was more than what her body could handle. Her parents claim they just acceded to her desire for such a long fast and the police have charged them with culpable homicide. The Hindustan Times reported a meeting of community leaders following this and quoted Jain guru Mangilal Bhandari as saying: “Nobody has a right to interfere in our fundamental rights to practise our religion. The filing of cases against the parents of Aradhana amounts to interfering in the spiritual matters of the community.”

There is a humanitarian case for not giving jail time to the parents because losing a child seems to be punishment enough, but to argue that religion absolves them of irresponsibility is arrogance. It is the mindset that would have celebrated Sati and untouchability in perpetuity. The least the community’s leaders should do is to immediately bar all non-adults from extended fasting. Instead, if they eulogise the death, it only romanticises fasting for other children.

For a country that has been at starvation levels for so much of its history, the attraction of fasting is extraordinary. The whole Independence movement was based on periodic shots of adrenalin from Mahatma Gandhi’s fasts. He made political capital out of a spiritual practice, fasted all the time, encouraged others to do it, and yet also said that fasting is ‘not altogether free from danger. I myself have before condemned fasting when it seemed to me to be wrong or morally unjustified’. Allowing a 13-year-old to go on a 68-day fast is both wrong and morally unjustified. Failing to concede this makes it criminal.


background preloader

Mental disorders in the 20th century

Facebook Twitter

Wikipedia entry on mental disorders in the 20th century. Public health. Newspaper headlines from around the world about polio vaccine tests (13 April 1955)

Public health

Mental health. Profession. A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply objective counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain.[1] The term is in essence a rather vaguer version of the term "liberal profession", an anglicisation of the French term "profession libérale".

Clinical psychology

Social work

A person who practices social work is called a social worker. Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a set of psychological and psychotherapeutic theories and associated techniques, originally popularized by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and stemming partly from the clinical work of Josef Breuer and others.

Since then, psychoanalysis has expanded and been revised, reformed and developed in different directions. This was initially by Freud's colleagues and students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav Jung who went on to develop their own ideas independently from Freud. Later neo-Freudians included Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Harry Stack Sullivan and Jacques Lacan. The basic tenets of psychoanalysis include the following: Under the broad umbrella of psychoanalysis there are at least 22 theoretical orientations regarding human mental development.

World War II

The Holocaust

Etymology and use of the term Distinctive features. Euthanasia. Euthanasia (from Greek: εὐθανασία; "good death": εὖ, eu; "well" or "good" – θάνατος, thanatos; "death") refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.

Euthanasia is categorized in different ways, which include voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries and U.S. states. Non-voluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries. Psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry.

International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems

This system is designed to map health conditions to corresponding generic categories together with specific variations, assigning for these a designated code, up to six characters long. Thus, major categories are designed to include a set of similar diseases. The ICD is revised periodically and is currently in its tenth revision. Historical synopsis[edit] Endocrinology. Endocrinology is concerned with study of the biosynthesis, storage, chemistry, biochemical and physiological function of hormones and with the cells of the endocrine glands and tissues that secrete them. Various specializations exist, including behavioral endocrinology[1][2][3] and comparative endocrinology. The endocrine system consists of several glands, all in different parts of the body, that secrete hormones directly into the blood rather than into a duct system.

Hormones have many different functions and modes of action; one hormone may have several effects on different target organs, and, conversely, one target organ may be affected by more than one hormone. Stress (biology) Walter Cannon used it in 1926 to refer to external factors that disrupted what he called homeostasis.[2] But "...stress as an explanation of lived experience is absent from both lay and expert life narratives before the 1930s".[3] Physiological stress represents a wide range of physical responses that occur as a direct effect of a stressor causing an upset in the homeostasis of the body.

Upon immediate disruption of either psychological or physical equilibrium the body responds by stimulating the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. The reaction of these systems causes a number of physical changes that have both short and long term effects on the body. Homeostasis is a concept central to the idea of stress. In biology, most biochemical processes strive to maintain equilibrium (homeostasis), a steady state that exists more as an ideal and less as an achievable condition.

The ambiguity in defining this phenomenon was first recognized by Hans Selye (1907-1982) in 1926. Outpatient commitment. Outpatient commitment refers to mental health law that allows the involuntary treatment of individuals diagnosed with mental disorders who are resident in the community rather than detained in hospital. The individual may be subject to rapid recall to hospital, including for forced treatment, if the conditions of the plan/order are broken.

This generally means taking psychiatric medication as directed and may also include attending appointments with a mental health professional, and sometimes even not to take non-prescribed illict drugs and not associate with certain people or in certain places deemed to have been linked to a deterioration in mental health in that individual. In the United States the term "assisted outpatient treatment" or "AOT" is often used and refers to a process whereby a judge orders a qualifying person with symptoms of severe untreated mental illness to adhere to a mental health treatment plan while living in the community. Implementation[edit] United States[edit] Lobotomy. Lobotomy (Greek: λοβός – lobos: "lobe (of brain)"; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy (from the Greek λευκός – leukos: "clear/white" and tome).

It consists of cutting or scraping away most of the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain. While the procedure, initially termed a leucotomy, has been controversial since its inception in 1935, it was a mainstream procedure for more than two decades, prescribed for psychiatric (and occasionally other) conditions – this despite general recognition of frequent and serious side-effects. Context[edit] Insulin shock therapy. Insulin shock therapy or insulin coma therapy (ICT) was a form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were repeatedly injected with large doses of insulin in order to produce daily comas over several weeks.[1] It was introduced in 1927 by Austrian-American psychiatrist Manfred Sakel and used extensively in the 1940s and 1950s, mainly for schizophrenia, before falling out of favour and being replaced by neuroleptic drugs in the 1960s.[2]

Electroconvulsive therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as electroshock, is a standard psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in patients to provide relief from psychiatric illnesses.[1] ECT is usually used as a last line of intervention for major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, mania and catatonia.[2] A usual course of ECT involves multiple administrations, typically given two or three times per week until the patient is no longer depressed. Anti-psychiatry. Anti-psychiatry is the view that psychiatric treatments are ultimately more damaging than helpful to patients. Psychiatry is seen by proponents of anti-psychiatry as a coercive instrument of oppression. According to anti-psychiatry, psychiatry involves an unequal power relationship between doctor and patient, and a highly subjective diagnostic process, leaving too much room for opinions and interpretations.[1][2][3] Anti-psychiatry originates in an objection to what some view as dangerous treatments.[2] Examples include electroconvulsive therapy, insulin shock therapy, brain lobotomy,[2] and the over-prescription of potentially dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.

An immediate concern lies in the significant increase in prescribing psychiatric drugs for children.[1][2] Every society, including liberal Western society, permits involuntary treatment or involuntary commitment of mental patients.[1] Psychiatric survivors movement. The psychiatric survivors movement (more broadly consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement[1]) is a diverse association of individuals who either currently access mental health services (known as consumers or service users), or who consider themselves survivors of interventions by psychiatry, or who identify themselves as ex-patients of mental health services.[2] History[edit] Deinstitutionalisation. Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability.

Community mental health service. Homelessness. Although The Bowery once was synonymous with homelessness, it has since become an avenue of high-priced luxury condominiums that jockey for space with its past. Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT has been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including mood, anxiety, personality, eating, substance abuse, tic, and psychotic disorders. Many CBT treatment programs for specific disorders have been evaluated for efficacy; the health-care trend of evidence-based treatment, where specific treatments for symptom-based diagnoses are recommended, has favored CBT over other approaches such as psychodynamic treatments.[3] However, other researchers have questioned the validity of such claims to superiority over other treatments.[4][5] History[edit] Philosophical roots[edit]

Psychiatric medication. Antidepressant. Benzodiazepine. Lithium (medication) Antipsychotic. Chlorpromazine. Eugenics. Compulsory sterilization. World War I. Shell shock.


How often do people set New Year's Resolutions only to break them with a short period of time. Unfortunately, their motivation can quickly fade. That's why partnering with others to write your memoirs will help you stay on track while enjoying the process. In the Memoir Writer's Mentoring program, you'll receive the support you need to stay on task with writing your Memoirs.

Legacy Coach -- Sign up for our coaching program where you will participate on a weekly call, led by author and legacy expert, Lyn Fisher. Every other week will be group story sharing and writing ideas, and the other two weeks will feature great tips for massaging your stories, making them a more enjoyable read for others.

Memoir Partner #1 -- When you the Memoir Writer's group, you'll be assigned a partner with whom you will share weekly calls share you'll share ideas and encourage each other to "keep writing!"

Memoir Partner #2 -- We encourage you to ask a family member or friend to join you in this project. Once a week, you'll share stories, helping each other to remember the special people, places and events in your life.

NOTE: Memoir Partner #2 can either join our program, be assigned a Memoir Partner #1, and participate in the weekly calls, or he/she can ask a family member to join them in this project. Having two or more partners is invaluable.


Vah Rudania is a mechanical construct in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is one of the four Divine Beasts. Vah Rudania is made from Ancient Sheikah technology; it takes the form of a giant salamander and is found on Death Mountain in the Eldin Mountains. Ganon sent Fireblight Ganon to corrupt it, transforming it into one of the main dungeons. Link must defeat this boss to free Vah Rudania.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

One hundred years before the events of Breath of the Wild, Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, his daughter, her Knight Link, along with four other Champions sought to seal Ganon through the use of the Divine Beasts and Guardians. Daruk, the Goron Champion, was in charge of controlling Vah Rudania.

Remembering his previous defeat at the hands of the Divine Beasts, Ganon sent out aspects of himself to subvert the Sheikah's technology with his evil power. Daruk met his demise by Fireblight Ganon, who then assumed control of Vah Rudania for the next one hundred years. Using the Divine Beast's power over fire and magma, Fireblight Ganon terrorized the Gorons with volcanic eruptions from Death Mountain.

A century after the Great Calamity, Ganon's increasing influence causes Vah Rudania to rampage the mountain once again, causing several volcanic eruptions and raising the temperature of the area to a dangerous degree, unbearable for any travelers not wearing protective gear against extreme heat. The frequent eruptions also conflict with the Gorons' mining operations, as several of the mines, used to excavate ore in order to later trade with other settlements, become far too dangerous to operate due to the amount of lava pouring down from Death Mountain's crater. To make matters worse, Ganon's influence causes dozens of monsters to nest and set up outposts dangerously close to Goron City. These events begin to directly threaten the Gorons' way of life, with decreased mining operations and the very welfare of their city and people in danger from not only the worsening eruptions, but from Vah Rudania and Ganon's monsters. If left unchecked, both Death Mountain and Goron City potentially face destruction from Vah Rudania's rampage.

Eventually, a reawakened Link sets out to free Vah Rudania from Fireblight Ganon's control. With the help of Yunobo, Daruk's grandson, the Hylian hero forces the Divine Beast into the crater of Death Mountain, allowing him to board it and slay Fireblight Ganon. This frees both Vah Rudania and the spirit of Daruk, with the latter taking control of the former once more. After giving Link his power and sending him on his way, Daruk guides Vah Rudania out of the crater, where it activates its main cannon and trains it on Hyrule Castle. Soon after, the eruptions on Death Mountain cease and the area becomes much more peaceful and safe, allowing the Gorons to resume their mining operations. When Link engages Calamity Ganon within the castle, Daruk has Vah Rudania fire a massive laser to weaken the monstrosity.

Like the other Divine Beasts, Vah Rudania's name is based on a Sage from a past installment in Legend of Zelda series. Rudania is a reference to and an anagram of the name of the Goron Sage of Fire, Darunia, from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

The general likeness of Vah Rudania is that of a salamander. However, some of his morphological characteristics resemble much more ancient reptiles; the large plates on his back resembling those of Stegosaurus, and the large club-like structure at the end of his tail resembling that of Ankylosaurus. This is rather fitting, as multiple bosses and enemies from the different Death Mountains from earlier games are either labelled as or appear to be dinosaurs, i.e. various incarnations of (King) Dodongo being labelled as or resembling a dinosaur. It also resembles the Dodongos from Twilight Princess albeit much larger in size.


My research interests include the physics of…
  • Relativistic particles in plasmas—“runaway” electrons in tokamaks
  • Tokamak plasma disruptions—prediction, avoidance, mitigation, and impact
  • High magnetic field, compact fusion devices—concepts and diagnostics
  • Transformation optics and optical black holes—new!

Runaway Electrons

My PhD thesis work focuses on the physics of “runaway” electrons (REs) in tokamak plasmas. Interestingly, in a plasma, the probability of one particle colliding with another decreases as the particle’s speed increases. This means that, given a strong enough electric field in a plasma, a fast electron can overcome friction and “run away” to relativistic energies! While REs are a neat plasma phenomena, they can also hit the wall of the plasma chamber and cause serious damage. Thus, the ultimate goal of this field of research is to know enough about RE evolution to avoid them in future fusion devices.

We generated REs in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, which has a strong enough magnetic field for REs to emit visible synchrotron radiation. In close collaboration with the Plasma Theory group at the Chalmers University of Technology, I have studied how synchrotron spectra can indicate RE energies and how synchrotron images—like those shown below—can give insight into RE spatial and temporal dynamics. Currently, I am looking at what information can be gained from polarization measurements of synchrotron emission.

Tokamak Plasma Disruptions

Fusion-grade tokamak plasmas can have temperatures over 100 million  Kelvin and carry currents over 1 million Amps! Therefore, they carry a lot of thermal and magnetic energy. Confining a donut-shaped plasma in a “magnetic bottle” can sometimes lead the plasma wriggling out of control and expelling its energy over milliseconds; this is called a plasma disruption. For future power-generating tokamaks, disruptions need to be predicted in advance and avoided—or their effects mitigated if avoidance is impossible.

To better understand the physics of disruptions, I have studied radiation asymmetries from mitigation of “healthy” and “sick” C-Mod plasmas, measured profiles of “halo” current as disrupting plasmas touch the vacuum vessel wall, and built databases for new machine learning applications to disruption prediction algorithms. Runaway electrons—mentioned above—can also be caused by disruptions. See the impact of runaways with the vacuum vessel wall in the figure below.

High Field, Compact Fusion

A future fusion power plant will have to confine a plasma with a high enough pressure for a long enough time in order to produce net energy, i.e. more power output (from fusion reactions) than input (to run the device). In the past, the main focus of the fusion community was to make the device really big—more plasma means more power. However, big machines are costly. Recently, advancements in high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets allow another path: compact (cheaper) devices with high magnetic fields, strong enough to balance high plasma pressure. This was the inspiration for the conceptual ARC pilot plant, as well as MIT’s newest innovation, the net-energy SPARC tokamak.

During my time at MIT, I got to work on—and inside!—the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. With the highest magnetic field in a tokamak, C-Mod broke the world record for stored plasma pressure on its last day of operation, 30 September 2016. Since then, I have helped update the ARC design—see the rendering—to include a novel divertor design and robust heat exhaust management system. In addition, I have explored the feasibility of neutron diagnostics for a high-field, compact, SPARC-like device.

Transformation Optics for Black Holes

The mathematical existence of black holes is one of the most amazing consequences of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Astronomical evidence suggests that there are many super massive objects in our universe, sitting at the centers of galaxies and colliding to produce gravitational waves; these are very likely black holes. However, we will not likely have the chance to visit one in our lifetimes. A field of research called transformation optics aims to study black holes in the lab by tailoring optical media to have black-hole-like properties.

My good friend Andrew Turner and I submitted two short pieces to Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative essay competition. Andrew’s brainchild, “Black Holes, Entropy, and the Arrow of Time,” won fourth place! And my hope of “Building a better black hole demonstration” led to our newfound interest in and exploration of optical black holes. Hopefully another publication is coming soon!


Australia holds the title to the 5th tallest residential tower

Sitting at 322 meters tall and housing 527 residential apartments, Q1 is recognised as Australia's and the Southern Hemispheres tallest residential building. The design of Q1 was inspired by the spirit and lifestyle of Australia with a sculptural shape that reflects elements of the Olympic tourch and the iconic Sydney Opera House.
Q1 was a collaborative architectural effort between The Buchan Group and Sunland Group and features a two storey observation deck and a steel spire that can been seen from up to 200 kilometers away and is illuminated at night.


Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 12.COM 11.b.8

The Committee

  1. Takes note that Côte d’Ivoire has nominated Zaouli, popular music and dance of the Guro communities in Côte d’Ivoire (No. 01255) for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

Zaouli is a popular music and dance practised by the Guro communities of the Bouaflé and Zuénoula departments of Côte d’Ivoire. A homage to feminine beauty, Zaouli is inspired by two masks: the Blou and the Djela. Its other name, Djela lou Zaouli means Zaouli, the daughter of Djela. In a single event, the practice brings together sculpture (the mask), weaving (the costume), music (the band and song) and dance. There are seven types of Zaouli masks, each translating a specific legend. The bearers and practitioners include sculptors, craftspeople, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and the notables (the guarantors of the community’s customs and traditions). Zaouli plays an educational, playful and aesthetic role, contributes to environmental preservation, conveys the cultural identity of its bearers and promotes integration and social cohesion. Transmission occurs during musical performances and learning sessions, when amateurs learn under the supervision of experienced practitioners. The viability of Zaouli is ensured through popular performances organized two or three times a week by the communities. The traditional chiefdom, the guarantor of traditions, also plays a key role in the transmission process and inter-village dance competitions and festivals offer further opportunities for revitalization. Research and documentation activities are also underway.

R.1:   The element is a traditional performing art that was originally practised on festive occasions only, but which is now also practised during funerals. The bearers and practitioners are clearly identified and the responsibility of the traditional authorities with regard to the element is indicated. Transmission occurs through learning sessions and by means of observation and imitation during performances. The file demonstrates that the element plays an important role in education, conveys a sense of beauty, strengthens gender relationships and social integration, provides a form of entertainment and plays an environmental role.

R.2:   The inscription of the element would promote all the cultural practices and expressions related to the element and contribute to dialogue and social communication between the communities of the Guro region, at the national and international levels. Its inscription would also contribute to raising international awareness of the importance of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and create a favourable environment for the blossoming of talents and human creativity.

R.3:   The viability of Zaouli is enhanced through the identification of talented performers during popular performances and their continued learning under experienced practitioners. Despite the limited resources available from the State for implementing a safeguarding policy, inter-village dance competitions and festivals are organized, and Zaouli is also part of celebrations at the national level. The Guro communities have been at the centre of all the initiatives and will be involved through the chiefdoms, community or village organizations and associations. The safeguarding measures proposed comprise a plan focused on inventorying and awareness-raising activities, the dissemination of documents, digitization efforts, scientific meetings and activities geared at the revitalization of handicrafts. To support the implementation of the safeguarding measures, Côte d’Ivoire plans to create a federation of Zaouli practitioners and a local management committee.

R.4:   The Guro communities that act as the bearers and practitioners of Zaouli were fully involved in all stages of the preparation of the nomination file through their spokespersons and representatives. The communities have given their free, prior and informed consent, as is attested to by the signatures that are formalized in a document attached to the nomination file. Their voluntary participation is demonstrated, including in the proposals for the safeguarding measures. The consent for the nomination was followed by a libation ceremony devoted to the ancestors. Both official and traditional authorities are represented in the process.

  1. Further decides that, on the basis of the information provided by the submitting State to the Committee at its present session concerning the extract from the inventory, the following criterion for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is satisfied:

R.5:   The element has been registered in the National Inventory of Cultural Heritage since 2016. The inventory is managed and regularly updated by the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie. The updating is carried out in collaboration with local communities, groups and associations. The description of the element, along with information on the relevant communities, locations and viability of the element are provided.

  1. Inscribes Zaouli, popular music and dance of the Guro communities in Côte d’Ivoire on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity;
  2. Invites the State Party to ensure that efforts to work with the communities, groups and individuals concerned with the element are carried out in close consultation and cooperation with them, and reminds it that top-down approaches that may unduly influence the traditional and spontaneous organization of the practice are not in line with the spirit of the Convention;
  3. Reminds the State Party that inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity does not automatically imply financial assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund, and that any requests for financial assistance to implement safeguarding measures should follow the due procedures outlined in the Operational Directives.


A. Rizzi/DeA Picture Library

Minerals are essential to the life of plants and animals. Most plants get minerals from the soil. Animals, including humans, obtain mineral nutrients from plants, vegetables, and fruits or from the milk, eggs, and meat of plant-eating animals. Industry is equally dependent upon an abundant supply of minerals.

A mineral is defined as a naturally occurring solid that has a definite chemical composition and an ordered, usually crystalline, atomic structure. Minerals form through inorganic, or nonliving, processes. The elements in a mineral may be metallic or nonmetallic. There are several thousand known types of minerals; approximately 100 of these make up the main mineral components of rocks.

By this definition, the resin amber and the fuels coal, petroleum, and natural gas are not true minerals. These substances were formed from organic substances—animal or vegetable matter—that once lived on the Earth.

The science of mineralogy is concerned with the minerals that make up the rocks, clays, sand, and similar materials of the Earth. Mineralogy includes the study of the physical and chemical properties of minerals, their forms, and the various ways in which they are distinguished from one another.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The important metallic and nonmetallic mineral beds that are mined today were deposited over long periods of geologic time as a result of such natural phenomena as weathering and erosion. Other processes contributing to the concentration of minerals in the Earth are sedimentation, precipitation, and evaporation of water bodies, as well as the circulation of groundwater.

Mineral Identification

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mineralogists identify and classify minerals by certain physical properties. The most basic of these are hardness, color, luster, streak, and the way the mineral breaks when struck with a hammer or other external force. Other properties used to distinguish minerals include elasticity and strength, specific gravity, radioactivity, and thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties. Luminescence, or the emission of light, sometimes permits rapid detection of some minerals, including some uranium ores.

  Mohs hardness scale and observations on hardness of some additional materials

The hardness of a mineral is how resistant it is to scratching. Hardness is a very useful property in mineral identification and is usually stated in terms of the Mohs scale. This scale ranks 10 common minerals in ascending order from the softest to the hardest. They are: (1) talc; (2) gypsum; (3) calcite; (4) fluorite; (5) apatite; (6) orthoclase; (7) quartz; (8) topaz; (9) corundum; and (10) diamond. The degree of hardness a mineral is assigned is based on the relative ease with which one mineral is scratched by another or by another object, such as a steel tool. For example, a mineral that can scratch orthoclase but is itself scratched by quartz is ranked between 6 and 7 on the Mohs scale.

Courtesy of the MacFall collection; photograph, Mary A. Root/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Minerals occur in a great variety of colors. However, the color of a mineral can vary not only from one mineral to another but also within the same mineral (or mineral group). In general, metallic minerals tend to not vary in color, while most nonmetallic minerals show wide variance. Because of this, it is important to know in which minerals color is consistent, so color can thus be relied on as an identifying property. Among the nonmetallic minerals that display fairly consistent color are malachite (green), turquoise (greenish blue), azurite (blue), and sulfur (yellow).

The streak of a mineral is the color of the powder produced when a piece of the mineral is rubbed against the surface of rough, unglazed porcelain. Streak tends to be more useful than color in identifying a mineral. Two samples of the same mineral will generally have the same streak, even if those samples display different colors.

Related to the color of a mineral are its luster, or the way it looks in reflected light, and its streak. The two main types of luster are metallic and nonmetallic. Minerals with a metallic luster are generally opaque, meaning that light is reflected from the surface and does not pass through. The cut or polished surface looks shiny, as if it were made of metal. Minerals with a nonmetallic luster can transmit light to some extent. Though some may be shiny, these minerals do not resemble metal. There are several types of nonmetallic lusters. These lusters include vitreous, or glassy, as seen with quartz or garnet; pearly, which describes the pearl-like iridescence of minerals such as talc; resinous, descriptive of the plastic appearance of sphalerite; greasy, having the oily appearance observed in minerals such as graphite; silky, as seen with malachite; and adamantine, which describes the flashing diamond-like brilliance of minerals such as cerussite.

Cleavage and Fracture

© Wendell E. Wilson

The crystal structure of a mineral—that is, the way its atoms are bonded together—determines the way it breaks. Cleavage is the tendency for a mineral to break along flat surfaces; this occurs because the bonds between the atoms are weaker in the direction of breakage. The mineral mica has cleavage in one direction and splits into thin, flat sheets with smooth surfaces. Calcite has cleavage in three directions, producing six-sided polyhedrons.

In some minerals, the bond strengths between the atoms are fairly equal in all directions. These minerals do not display cleavage; they do not break along flat surfaces in any particular direction. Instead, these minerals break into irregular pieces. The tendency for a mineral to break this way is called fracture. Quartz is an example of a mineral that displays fracture rather than cleavage.

Major Groups of Minerals

Minerals are classified based on both chemical composition and internal (crystal) structure. Among the major groups are: (1) native elements; (2) sulfides; (3) sulfosalts; (4) oxides and hydroxides; (5) halides; (6) carbonates; (7) nitrates and iodates; (8) phosphates; (9) borates; (10) sulfates; (11) tungstates and molybdates; and (12) silicates.

Several thousand separate mineral species have been identified by mineralogists. About 100 of these make up the major mineral components of rocks and are termed the rock-forming minerals.

Native Elements

Most minerals are composed of two or more elements, but about 20 consist of only one element. These are called native elements, and they can be divided into three large groups: metals, metalloids (also called semimetals), and nonmetals. The most abundant of the native metals are gold, silver, copper, and platinum. Native iron commonly occurs in meteorites, but in the Earth native iron is combined with other elements. Mercury, lead, tin, and zinc are other metals found in the native form. The native metalloids are divided into two main groups based on common structures; one group includes antimony, arsenic, and bismuth, while the other group includes the relatively uncommon selenium and tellurium. Carbon (which exists in two native forms—graphite and diamond) and sulfur are the two most important native nonmetals.

Sulfide Minerals

Courtesy of the Ted and Elsie Boente Collection; photograph, John H. Gerard/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The sulfides include the majority of ore minerals from which metals are obtained. Thus, lead sulfide forms the mineral galena; silver sulfide, argentite; and zinc sulfide, sphalerite. These minerals are often found together as ores.

Courtesy of Ted Boente; photograph, John H. Gerard/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Two important sulfides of arsenic are realgar and orpiment. Antimony sulfide is called stibnite. Antimony is alloyed with lead for casting the type metal used in printing. The mineral cinnabar is a sulfide of mercury. Molybdenum, a metal that is used in alloy steels, is obtained from molybdenite, a sulfide of the metal.

Courtesy of Joseph and Helen Guetterman Collection; photograph, John H. Gerard

Three other iron sulfides, all differing slightly in chemical composition, are pyrite, marcasite, and pyrrhotite. Pyrite is known as fool’s gold because its brilliant yellow luster somewhat resembles that of flakes of native gold.

Emil Javorsky/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The copper sulfides exist as minerals called chalcocite and covellite. Many ore bodies consist of sulfides containing both copper and iron. These include the minerals bornite and chalcopyrite.

Sulfosalt Minerals

Andrew Silver/U.S.Geological Survey

Oxide and Hydroxide Minerals

Photo 1/DeA Picture Library

The oxides and hydroxides are oxygen-bearing minerals. The oxide group includes the silicon oxide quartz, also called silica. One of the most common minerals, quartz occurs in many areas in a variety of forms. Semiprecious gem stones of quartz include amethyst, tigereye, agate, and onyx. Siliceous sinter, or geyserite, is an impure quartz deposited by hot springs and is a form of opal. The fire opal has an internal iridescence of intense orange to red.

Diatomaceous earth, or diatomite, was formed from the siliceous shells of diatoms, microscopic algae found in fresh water and seawater. It is also called kieselguhr and tripolite. The powdery substance is used for insulating and filtering material and in the manufacture of polishing and scouring powders. Another abundant oxide of silicon is tridymite.

Mineral Information Institute

Among the oxides of metals that exist as minerals are cuprite, or copper oxide; zincite, or zinc oxide; cassiterite, or tin oxide; and rutile, or titanium oxide. Pyrolusite, or manganese oxide, is the chief ore of manganese. Among the ores of iron are the oxides hematite and magnetite. Lodestone, a form of magnetite, is a natural magnet. Ilmenite, which exists in large deposits, is a mixed oxide of iron and titanium. It is a chief source of the titanium used as a paint pigment and as a purifier in alloys.

Aluminum oxide, known in mineralogy as corundum (and in an impure form as bauxite), exists in two transparent and colored gem forms—sapphire and ruby. Emery, a black granular corundum mixed with iron minerals, is used in a powdered form in abrasives for grinding and polishing. Spinel is a mixed oxide of magnesium and aluminum, and chromite is an iron and chromium oxide that makes up the chief ore of chromium. Chromium is one of the major components of stainless steels.

The leading radioactive minerals, sources of such elements as radium, thorium, and uranium, include uraninite, carnotite, and autunite. They are all complex oxides of the radioactive and other elements and usually contain lead. Pitchblende, in which mineral radioactivity was first discovered, is an impure form of uraninite.

The hydroxides are low-temperature minerals typically formed from products of aqueous alteration or from hydrothermal vents. Among the hydroxide minerals are the aluminum ore bauxite and limonite, an iron ore containing hydrated iron oxides.

Halide Minerals

The halide minerals, which are soluble in water, are naturally occurring inorganic compounds containing the negatively charged ion of one of the halogens (chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine). The halides account for relatively few minerals, but some of them have commercial value. The most outstanding of these is sodium chloride, or common salt. It is known in its mineral form as halite.

Potassium chloride makes up the halide mineral sylvite, the chief source of commercial potassium. Sylvite is found in large deposits in the famous Stassfurt mines in Germany; it is also found in southwestern New Mexico in the United States. Other essential potassium-based halides include carnallite, which is a hydrous chloride of magnesium and potassium, and kainite, which contains hydrated potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate.

Fluorite, sold commercially as fluorspar, is composed of calcium fluoride. It is used as a flux in metallurgical processes. The rare, clear crystals of the mineral are valuable in making lenses and prisms for optical systems used with ultraviolet light. Cryolite is a fluoride of aluminum and sodium.

Carbonate Minerals

Eric L. Heyer-Grant Heilman

The carbonates make up one of the largest groups of minerals. Among these is the plentiful mineral called calcite, or calcium carbonate. Large transparent crystals of calcite are called Iceland spar. This chemically pure, clear calcite—capable of producing double refraction of light—is used in prisms for polarizing microscopes and similar optical instruments.

Ordinary limestone consists largely of calcite. Marble is composed of crystalline, metamorphosed limestone. The various colors in marble are created by chemical impurities or by veins of other minerals. The stalagmites and stalactites found in caves usually consist of calcite. Marl is an impure limestone that is imperfectly hardened. Chalk is a soft fine-grained limestone formed in the oceans from deposits of the shells of tiny sea animals.

Magnesite is a magnesium carbonate. It frequently occurs mixed with calcite, forming a calcium magnesium carbonate called dolomite, or dolomitic limestone. Two copper carbonates are malachite and azurite. An increase in the water content of azurite, which is blue, can change it into malachite, which is green. Both crystals are used in jewelry.

B.M. Shaub

The carbonate of iron appears as the mineral siderite. It is the major commercial iron ore in Great Britain. Manganese carbonate, called rhodochrosite, occurs usually as a gangue mineral with other ores.

Nitrate and Iodate Minerals

Nitrates and iodates comprise a small group of compounds found almost exclusively in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. These minerals are structurally related to the carbonate minerals. The nitrates of potassium and of sodium exist respectively as niter, or saltpeter, and soda niter, or Chile saltpeter. Nitrates are used in the manufacture of explosives and fertilizers. Much rarer than nitrates, iodates are yellow minerals. Among the iodates are lautarite and dietzeite.

Phosphate Minerals

Courtesy of Professor George Rossman, California Institute of Technology

The phosphate minerals are naturally occurring inorganic salts of phosphoric acid. Although hundreds of phosphate mineral species are recognized, most are quite rare. The most abundant and important of these is apatite, a phosphate of calcium that contains fluorine. An impure form of apatite is the phosphate rock used in fertilizers. A complicated phosphate mineral is monazite, found in beach and river sands. It is a source of the rare-earth metal cerium, which is used in solid-state electronic devices. The gem turquoise is a basic hydrous phosphate of aluminum and copper. Vanadates, compounds of vanadium and oxygen, and arsenates resemble phosphates in their crystal structure.

Borate Minerals

The borate minerals are naturally occurring compounds containing the elements boron and oxygen. Most borates are rare, but some form large deposits that can be mined commercially. Most borate minerals are found in dried-up basins fed by waters rich in borate-bearing volcanic material. Such basin deposits (beds) are generally found in desert regions, such as in some parts of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley in southeastern California. These beds yield the borates kernite, borax, ulexite, and colemanite. Borate minerals also can be found in metamorphic carbonate-rich environments. Among the borate minerals in these settings are boracite, ludwigite, sussexite, and kotoite.

Sulfate Minerals

Photograph by Sandy Grimm. Houston Museum of Natural Science

Sulfates, which are insoluble in water and are related chemically to the saline minerals, include a barium compound called barite; celestite, an ore of strontium; and alunite, a basic aluminum and potassium sulfate. Gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate, is the source of plaster of Paris. Transparent crystals of gypsum, known as selenite, split in thin cracks. When calcium sulfate is found uncombined with water, it is called anhydrite. Polyhalite is a hydrous sulfate of potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Sodium sulfate, sold commercially as Glauber’s salt, exists in the hydrated form as the natural mineral mirabilite. Epsom salts—hydrous magnesium sulfate—occurs as the mineral epsomite; for commercial purposes, however, the product is manufactured from other magnesium minerals.

Tungstate and Molybdate Minerals

Salts of tungstic acid and molybdic acid are respectively called tungstates and molybdates. Tungsten (or wolfram), a metal used in the manufacture of electric lightbulbs, steel alloys, and magnets, is obtained chiefly from two minerals. These are scheelite, or calcium tungstate, and wolframite, which is a mixed tungstate of the elements manganese and iron. Wulfenite is a lead molybdate; it is a minor ore of lead and molybdenum.

Silicate Minerals

A. Rizzi/DeA Picture Library

  Major elements in Earth's crust

The most widespread and numerous minerals are the silicates, which consist of silicon and oxygen combined with potassium, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, and many other elements. Silicates make up about 95 percent of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. They comprise the major constituents of most igneous rocks and are prominent in sedimentary and metamorphic rock as well. Silicates have been identified in rock samples from the Moon as well as from meteorites and asteroids. Also, silicates have been detected on the surfaces of Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

Feldspars make up the most prominent group of silicates. They include orthoclase, a potassium and aluminum silicate; albite, which contains sodium instead of potassium; and oligoclase, which contains calcium in addition to sodium.

Another important silicate group includes the micas. Muscovite is the transparent mica used as an insulating material in the manufacture of electrical equipment and consists primarily of silicate of potassium and aluminum. In the form of isinglass, mica is used in devices such as stove doors and lantern shields.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A second common mica is biotite, which contains magnesium and iron; it is usually dark green, brown, or black. Another mica is lepidolite, a fluosilicate of potassium, aluminum, and lithium. Lepidolite is one of the few ores that contains the metal lithium.

Runk/Schoenberger—Grant Heilman

The pyroxene family contains a series of rock-forming minerals, as do the feldspar and mica groups. Two common pyroxenes are diopside, a silicate of calcium and magnesium, and augite, which contains some iron and aluminum. One variety of pyroxene is spodumene, a lithium aluminum silicate. It is sometimes found in a clear, pink crystal form called kunzite, which is used as a gem. A green variety is called hiddenite. Jadeite is another pyroxene. A true jade, it is sometimes called Chinese jade.

Photograph by Sandy Grimm. Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Other silicates form such gems as tourmaline, zircon, and topaz. Beryl, the chief ore of beryllium, is an aluminum and beryllium silicate. The emerald—whose green color is due to chromium traces—and the aquamarine are crystal forms of beryl.

A more complicated group of silicates, closely related to the pyroxenes, is the amphibole family. A variety called hornblende, containing aluminum, may occur in long, fiberlike crystals to form one kind of asbestos. Another kind of asbestos is a fibrous variety of the mineral serpentine, called chrysotile. It is the chief commercial source of asbestos. Serpentine is a hydrous magnesium silicate.

Similar to serpentine in composition is talc, the source of talcum powder. Soapstone, or steatite, is an impure variety of talc. Slabs of it are used for laboratory tabletops. Talc and soapstone are ingredients of paint, ceramics, and paper.

The mineral kaolinite is a hydrous silicate, somewhat like talc, but containing aluminum instead of magnesium. The majority of clays consist of impure kaolinite, formed from the decomposition of feldspar rocks. Bentonite is a type of clay that was formed from the decomposition of volcanic ash.

Zinc silicates include willemite, which is employed in laboratory experiments because ultraviolet light renders it fluorescent. Hemimorphite, or calamine, is a hydrous zinc silicate sometimes utilized as an ore of zinc. Zeolites such as stilbite are hydrous silicates of aluminum with calcium and sodium bases. They are used as molecular sieves to separate chemicals.

Minerals in Earth’s Rocks

Geologists broadly classify the Earth’s rocks as sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rocks form from sand, clay, or other materials that were deposited by water, wind, or glacial action. Igneous rocks form from volcanic magma, or molten rock within the Earth. Metamorphic rocks were originally sedimentary or igneous but were later modified by heat and pressure or other natural processes.

The most common sedimentary rocks are sandstone and shale. The chief mineral of sandstone is quartz. If the rock contains significant amounts of feldspar, it is called arkose. The shales are composed chiefly of the clay minerals such as kaolinite, with the addition of quartz and mica. When calcite or aragonite is present, the shales are graded as limestones.

One of the chief igneous rocks is granite, which is made up of crystals of quartz and feldspar, usually mixed with other minerals. It is one of the most frequently used building stones.

When the magma within the Earth is extruded through a volcano or fissure at the Earth’s surface, it is called lava. There are two common types of lava—a dark, heavy variety called basalt and the lighter rhyolite, which is usually a pale shade of green, red, or gray. Olivine, augite, and feldspar are among the minerals commonly found in basalts. Rhyolites may include varieties of quartz and feldspar.

Obsidian is a glasslike igneous rock rich in silica that is produced when certain kinds of lava cool so rapidly that the individual minerals do not crystallize. The rock is usually black; varieties containing hematite may be red or brown, while other varieties may be gray, yellow, or green.

Siim Sepp

Gneiss is the most common metamorphic rock. It is derived from either sedimentary rock, such as conglomerate, or igneous rock, such as granite. Gneiss is composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica or hornblende.

Schists are the second most common metamorphic rocks. They were apparently formed by the partial recrystallization of shales under the action of heat and pressure. A major type is mica schist. It is composed essentially of quartz, usually combined with muscovite or biotite mica.


What is health anyway? (3)

Most people believe that symptoms happen at the beginning of a disease.  This is completely and totally untrue.  Symptoms are not a sign of the beginning of an illness, rather, symptoms tell you that something has been wrong for a long time, long enough to build up to a point of causing you pain.  Symptoms do not tell you that you just got sick… symptoms tell you that you have been unhealthy for a long time.  Examples:  Kidney stones result from 7 to 10 years of kidney malfunctions.  Cancer, as much  as 20 to 25 years of latency.  Heart diseases, 10 to 15 years… etc.

So, if you wait for symptoms or pain to show up, the first symptom might be your last, example, a fatal heart attack!

Is science good or bad? (2)

Over the course of time, people have learned to treat many diseases and pestilences that prevailed in the past, and have changed their life by trying to bring under control the factors arising outside their own bodies.  But unfortunately this has failed as we see our system of health care being dismantled little by little.

The main reason for our failure to maintain and improve our health resides mostly in that disease which still plagues people arises from internal rather than external causes.

What is a subluxation?

As stated previously, cycles are the basis for our very existence.  The interference with the cycle can cause disorder, dysfunction, disease and death.  The single interfering factor within your body that can lead to serious consequences all the time is a subluxation.

A subluxation by definition is the movement of a spinal bone (called a vertebra) out of its proper position, so that it puts pressure on a nerve, thus interfering with the normal flow of mental impulses through the spine to and from all the organs and tissue of the body.

Dis-ease… what’s that?

When there is a vertebral subluxation which alters the e-mail coursing through your nerve system and creates junk-mail and spam, dis-ease happens.

Dis-ease is the term used to described the in-coordination and malfunction of the cells of the body due to lack of proper communication from the brain cells and the rest of the cells of the body.

At the stage of dis-ease, the body’s cells malfunction and break down.  They cannot reproduce themselves in a healthy way any longer.

Signs, symptoms and even pain will eventually appear.  The person’s symptoms are then grouped in categories and a disease (which is essentially a group of symptoms) is now labeled.

Question:  “What to do now?

What’s your answer?

Amazing isn’t it?

Now what?


Ream Theories and Beliefs in Middle Eastern, Ancient Greek/Egyptian, and Chinese cultures

This research paper should include a works cited page (not included in 10 pages) in MLA format.
Please use as many human experiences as possible as a source (dreams other people around you had), not only internet and book sources.
Do not make it too research based, throw in dreams people had from different cultures as possible, and compare them.
Please contact me if you have ANY questions.


Bellevue is a city located in King County, Washington, across Lake Washington from Seattle, the state’s largest city. Home to over 122,000 residents, Bellevue is the fifth-largest city in the state and the largest suburb city of Seattle. Bellevue is the sixth-wealthiest community in the state of Washington based on per capita income, and has been named repeated as one of the best cities in the United States to live, work, and start a business in, and has continually been ranked in the top-ten of best cities in the country.

Bellevue was first founded in 1859 and was a small, rural area, with little development economically despite sitting on the suburbs of one of the fastest-growing port cities on the west coast (Seattle). Things began to change during the Second World War, as industrial production at Seattle ports and foundries skyrocketed to help the war effort.

This led to a housing boom in Bellevue, particularly after the construction of the Lake Washington Floating Bridge, which cut travel time between Seattle and Bellevue down considerably and helped the city begin growing. In 1953 it was incorporated as a city, and has continued to grow at a rapid pace ever since. At the time of its incorporation, Bellevue was home to just under 8,000 residents.

During the summer months, average daily highs in Bellevue only reach into the mid-to-upper 70’s, though temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s are not unheard of. This usually makes auto transport easier, since the weather is nicer. As a Pacific Northwest city,

Bellevue sees plenty of rain, but snow is generally uncommon during the winter months which also helps keep auto transportation prices lower and carrier availability and interest higher. Lows usually drop down into the upper 30’s and lower 40’s during the winter, with daily highs usually in the high 40’s and low 50’s.

Local References

Bellevue Zip Codes Include:


Music Perception through Localized Tactile Input: What Parameters of Musical Pieces are Perceived when Delivered via Localized Tactile Input

University essay from Luleå/Department of Arts, Communication and Education

Abstract: Can music be experienced without it being heard audibly? Musicians and listeners talk about feeling the music or music’s feel but what are these feelings? One way to isolate this part of the musical experience is to consider: what musical parameters can be detected and perceived if musical pieces only where delivered via localized tactile input to one hand? This essay focuses on tactile perception of recorded music, when it can only be physically felt. An experiment with experienced musician subjects where asked to report in writing on experiences of musical pieces being delivered only tactically to their hand. Results show that multiple musical parameters such as pulse, dynamics and expression are indeed possible to extract and perceive. Results also show that other parameters such as pitch, harmony & form are harder to extract even though it still is possible to partially perceive it. The reasons for these difficulties and other phenomena are discussed.


113 SRes 162 ES: Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to childhood stroke and recognizing May 2013 as “National Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month”. U.S. Senate 2013-06-04 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. Res. 162 In the Senate of the United States, June 4, 2013. RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to childhood stroke and recognizing May 2013 as National Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month.
Whereas a stroke, also known as cerebrovascular disease, is an acute neurologic injury that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted by a clot in the artery or a burst of the artery; Whereas a stroke is a medical emergency that can cause permanent neurologic damage or even death if not promptly diagnosed and treated; Whereas stroke occurs in approximately 1 out of every 3,500 live births, and has an overall annual incidence of 4.6 per 100,000 children age 19 and under; Whereas a stroke can occur before birth; Whereas stroke is among the top 12 causes of death for children between the ages of 1 and 14 in the United States; Whereas 20 to 40 percent of children who have suffered a stroke die as a result; Whereas stroke recurs within 5 years in 10 percent of children who have had an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke; Whereas the death rate for children who experience a stroke before the age of 1 year is the highest out of all child age groups; Whereas there are no approved therapies for the treatment of acute stroke in infants and children; Whereas approximately 60 percent of infants and children who have a pediatric stroke will have serious, permanent neurological disabilities, including paralysis, seizures, speech and vision problems, and attention, learning, and behavioral difficulties; Whereas those disabilities may require ongoing physical therapy and surgeries; Whereas the permanent health concerns and treatments resulting from strokes that occur during childhood and young adulthood have a considerable impact on children, families, and society; Whereas not enough is known about the cause, treatment, and prevention of pediatric stroke; Whereas medical research is the only means by which the people of the United States can identify and develop effective treatment and prevention strategies for pediatric stroke; and Whereas early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric stroke greatly improves the chances that the affected child will recover and not experience a recurrence: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate— (1)recognizes May 2013 as National Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month; (2)urges the people of the United States to support the efforts, programs, services, and organizations that work to enhance public awareness of pediatric stroke; (3)supports the work of the National Institutes of Health in pursuit of medical progress on the matter of pediatric stroke; and (4)urges continued coordination and cooperation between the Federal Government, State and local governments, researchers, families, and the public to improve treatments and prognoses for children who suffer strokes.


text.skipToContent text.skipToNavigation

Sydney College of English

關於 Sydney College of English

Sydney College of English (SCE) has been internationally recognized as a top quality independent school for over 30 years. As a foundation member of English Australia and first to be accredited by NEAS, their mission is to provide the most productive, informative and fun learning experience for their students. Established in 1987, Sydney College of English (SCE) is one of Australia’s most enduring providers of English language training. Other providers have come and gone and many others offer a range of different courses outside of English language tuition.

Most of their adult students undertake English study for a variety of purposes, including some very specific purposes. These include further studies at university in Australia or simply to improve their workplace competitiveness in health professional fields. Sydney College of English offers a diverse range of NEAS accredited courses in a flexible format which makes it possible for students to achieve real goals specific to their individual needs. It also takes special care to ensure that life beyond the classroom is always comfortable and exciting, thanks to their vibrant mix of students from over 50 countries and a dedicated student services team who are always happy to assist students with any enquiries or concerns. Sydney College of English is located between Sydney’s university precinct and Darling Harbour as part of a unique cultural hub. The institute is within walking distance of the campuses of the University of Sydney, the University of Technology (UTS), and Notre Dame University.

該學校接受雅思成績 Sydney College of English
Right Arrow現在就預約
English Australia 的成員
-33.87931, 151.19915 Level 3, 579 Harris Street,Sydney,New South Wales,2007 Australia
Sydney Main Campus
地址：Level 3, 579 Harris Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007 Australia

  • 輸入科目並自清單中選擇


Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich: Theoretician and Revolutionary

In a pamphlet titled What Is to Be Done? (1902) Lenin argued that only a disciplined party of professional revolutionaries could bring socialism to Russia. In 1903, at a meeting of the Russian Social Democratic Labor party held in London, the party split into two factions, the Bolsheviks, headed by Lenin, and the Mensheviks (see Bolshevism and Menshevism ). Lenin continued to be the chief exponent of Bolshevik thought in the long struggles for supremacy against Plekhanov , Kautsky , and other less radical Marxists. With the outbreak of revolution in 1905, Lenin returned to Russia. His view that the Bolsheviks should take part in the second duma prevailed in 1907, but he left Russia later that year and subsequently mostly engaged in complex theoretical disputes.

Lenin was in Switzerland during the early years of World War I. In his view the war was an imperialist struggle; since imperialism was the final stage of capitalism, it was a historical necessity that the war would offer opportunities for a revolution of the proletariat. Consequently, Lenin urged the proletariat to oppose the war by an international civil war against the capitalist class. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of Feb., 1917, the German government allowed Lenin to cross Germany en route from Switzerland to Sweden in a sealed railway car. By aiding his return to Russia, the Germans hoped (correctly) to disrupt the Russian war effort.

Lenin concluded that Russia was now ripe for a socialist revolution, arguing that the moderate provisional government represented the bourgeoisie whereas the soviets represented, in his words, a revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry. In July, 1917, after an abortive mass uprising in Petrograd, Lenin was forced to flee to Finland. Although the Bolsheviks were represented only by a minority in the first all-Russian Soviet congress (June, 1917), they soon gained decisive power. In Nov., 1917 (October according to the Old Style), the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, who had returned to Petrograd, overthrew Kerensky 's weak and disorganized regime and established a Soviet government.


Can Wide Receiver Height Impact Fantasy Football?

I love me some Antonio Brown, but maybe not as much in fantasy football anymore.

Being tall has its benefits. Iâ€™m not necessarily a giant, but at 6â€™1â€™â€™, I can reach anything in my kitchen with ease, and can usually see over people in a crowded area. Yes, thatâ€™s the definition of a humble brag.

Itâ€™s no different at the wide receiver position in football. In fact, being tall while playing wide receiver for a living matters a lot more than it does as an Editor-In-Chief of a sports analytics website. I know â€“ shocking.

Just like I posed in my article yesterday on wide receiver 40 times, the question here is â€œhow muchâ€? How much does height play a role in wide receiver success? Is it overrated? Underrated? Worthless to look into?

Naturally, I wanted to find some answers.

Short Receivers: The Idea

The idea here is simple: wide receivers under six feet tall arenâ€™t as effective on the football field when compared to their taller peers.

Iâ€™d say thatâ€™s a fairly obvious statement to make. Just like Iâ€™m better at getting the crock pot down from the top shelf in the kitchen than my fiancÃ©, Calvin Johnsonâ€™s going to have a better time catching passes with a guy covering him compared to DeSean Jackson.

Again, the question isnâ€™t whether or not thereâ€™s an advantage â€“ there is. The question is how much of an advantage does a tall wide receiver have compared to a short one?

To scratch the surface of this deep question, I decided to take a look at each drafted NFL wide receiver since the year 2000, filtering out those who were taller than six feet in height. Using this formed group of small wide receivers, my next objective was to see how they performed throughout their careers (and in the case of many, how theyâ€™ve performed thus far in their careers).

Like the 40-yard dash study from yesterday, I used numberFireâ€™s Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) metric to judge a playerâ€™s overall performance. Itâ€™s a much cleaner and accurate approach than looking at yards, touchdowns or receptions, as it looks at down and distance and game situations to measure the point contribution a player makes with his catches. We do have a metric called Target NEP as well, for the record, which looks at how well a player performs on all targets.

For a deeper understanding of our Net Expected Points metrics, check out our glossary.

Since 2000, the NFL has seen 454 receivers selected in the NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Reference. Of these 454 receivers, 104 of them were shorter than 72 inches (six feet). Keep in mind that height data varies from source to source, so that number may be off by a few players depending on where itâ€™s being pulled from.

Nevertheless, roughly 23% (give or take a couple of percentage points) of wide receivers selected in the NFL Draft since the year 2000 have been, well, shorter than me. But theyâ€™re much better at football than I am. Well, most of them.

Short Receiver Production

As I mentioned, I wanted to look at how this group of 104 small guys performed by looking at their Reception NEP. Initially, I wasnâ€™t concerned with where the players were drafted. Rather, I just wanted to see how these smaller receivers did on the field.

Before we go on, I should note that I made this group into 105 in order include the most famous small boy in all the land, Wes Welker. He was undrafted, and therefore didn't make the initial group. It wouldn't be right to omit one of the best short receivers in the game, so I included him.

Since 2000, the average wide receiver Reception NEP season has been a little over 39 points. In other words, it would seem like the typical wide receiver (undrafted ones, too) would contribute 39 points for his team when looking at receptions only. However, that average is skewed a bit from the top performances â€“ the median of the data is actually just over 29 points. So for the purposes of what I call an â€œaverage wide receiver seasonâ€, I used 35 Reception NEP as my mark.

Keep in mind that the average season for a wideout includes data from guys who were hurt, as well as players who only caught a pass or two. But that doesnâ€™t matter â€“ itâ€™s essentially what youâ€™d expect an average wide receiver to score in a given season.

In relation to the short wide receivers, I looked for three things during data collection: number of seasons played, highest Reception NEP season and number of seasons over 35.00 Reception Net Expected Points. To put this another way, the data collection included how many years the wide receiver had played in the NFL (many wide receivers in this group are still playing), as well as his best season and how many years he performed above average.

In total, there have been 320 small wide receiver seasons â€“ seasons where a short wide receiver caught at least one pass â€“ since 2000 among all players who were drafted (and Wes Welker). Some players, like Syndric Steptoe (probably the best name in the history of life), played in just one season despite being selected in the NFL Draft. Others, like Richmond Flowers of Tennessee-Chattanooga, did nothing in the NFL and donâ€™t even have their own Wikipedia page.

Out of the 320 short pass-catcher seasons, 148 were deemed â€œabove averageâ€ â€“ about 46.2% of the seasons analyzed involved a receiver accumulating a Reception NEP total of more than 35 points.

I wouldnâ€™t say this is a bad thing, especially when you consider the disadvantage a short wide receiver inherently has on a football field. And moreover, a lot of short wide receivers are drafted later than taller ones (only seven sub-six foot wideouts have been drafted in the first round since 2000, about 12.7% of all first-round wide receiver selections), so itâ€™s clear the talent level isnâ€™t the same as what youâ€™d potentially see from an average receiver.

But something a little alarming was the lack of upside these wide receivers have shown in terms of production. Itâ€™s not that theyâ€™ve been meaningless to the game of football â€“ itâ€™s that thereâ€™s a possibility that, naturally, their ceiling is capped by their unfortunate height.

As I said, I marked down the top Reception NEP seasons by each wide receiver in this 105-person group. The best short wide receiver season since 2000 was Wes Welker's 2011, where he totaled 146.44 Reception Net Expected Points. Steve Smith's 2005 campaign came close, as he contributed 143.33 points through receptions for the Panthers that year.

But Smiff is just one of 10 short wide receivers have hit the 100 Reception Net Expected Points total in a single season over the last 14 years. The others? Santana Moss (best season was 137.04 Reception NEP), Antonio Brown (120.20), Lee Evans (119.38), Greg Jennings (115.32), Laveranues Coles (114.54), DeSean Jackson (109.75), Pierre Garcon (109.62), and Santonio Holmes (109.44).

Moreover, of these receivers, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, Wes Welker and Antonio Brown are the only ones with multiple 100-plus Reception Net Expected Points seasons. Brown has two, Smith and Jennings have three, and Welker has four. So, in total, there have been 18 instances of a wide receiver shorter than two yards in height hitting 100 Reception Net Expected Points in a single season since 2000. Thatâ€™s a little over one per year.

Is a 100 Reception Net Expected Points score important at wide receiver? No, itâ€™s rather arbitrary, but as I mentioned in my article yesterday, itâ€™s typically the mark of an elite receiver season. There are usually 10 to 15 wide receivers hitting it each year, and thereâ€™s been a total of 190 of these types of Reception NEP seasons over the last 14 years.

These short wide receivers, in other words, own just 9.5% of the high-end, elite wide receiver seasons since 2000. Meanwhile, as I showed earlier, approximately 23% of wide receivers in the league are under six feet tall.

Fantasy Football Impact

Instead of focusing on the actual NFL Draft and whether or not a short wide receiver will be successful in the league, letâ€™s think of this from a fantasy football perspective. Because Reception NEP looks at a receiverâ€™s contribution on catches only, it will often correlate nicely with fantasy success. But unlike fantasy points, Reception NEP data isnâ€™t skewed by odd scoring systems, making it more reliable.

One thing you have to keep in mind here is that Iâ€™m not deeming short wide receivers undraftable in fantasy football. However, weâ€™ve seen that thereâ€™s an average of just one 100-plus Reception Net Expected Point season from these smaller receivers each year. We've also seen the territory dominated by just a few small receivers, and each of those receivers (outside of Smith) have benefitted from having stellar quarterback play (Brady, Rodgers, Favre, Manning, Roethlisberger)

I donâ€™t know about you, but I donâ€™t want to be the one trying to find that receiver come draft time.

Thatâ€™s why Iâ€™d have a hard time going in a small receiverâ€™s direction early in a fantasy draft. Typically the height of a receiver is embedded in his performance, and therefore that receiver will have a lower average draft position. But weâ€™re seeing players like Percy Harvin, Antonio Brown, Randall Cobb and Pierre Garcon make a name for themselves, surely resulting in higher costs come draft time.

Itâ€™s not as though there are six short wide receivers in the league, and youâ€™re choosing from one of them. There are plenty of them. And personally, I'd rather take my chances with a taller guy who can get separation and not have to rely so heavily on quarterback play and speed.


§ 5100.22. Consultation and education.

 The administrator shall, in discharging his duties under the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966, provide the court or mental health review officer with:

   (1)  Education and training regarding principles and practices of mental health services.

   (2)  Administrative consultation regarding the nature and availability of approved and designated mental health facilities and services.

   (3)  Case consultation if so ordered by the court or mental health review officer.


A relatively inexperienced crew of two astronauts and a cosmonaut blasted off Wednesday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a five-month mission on the International Space Station.

German Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, NASA's Serena Aunon-Chancellor and Russian Sergei Prokopyev of Roscosmos shot into the sky in warm, dry conditions at 1112 GMT.

They should dock at the space station on Friday.

The trio only have a total of one previous space mission between them -- 42-year-old Gerst's debut mission aboard the ISS was in 2014 -- making this one of the less experienced space station crews in recent times.

Prokopyev, 43, will serve as the crew's flight commander for the two-day journey to the orbital lab despite having never flown into space before.

Aunon-Chancellor, 42, who followed her father into engineering before training to be an astronaut and is also a practising doctor, was only confirmed by NASA for the mission at the beginning of the year.

The rookie's late inclusion into the mission came at the expense of Jeanette Epps, who would have been the first African-American to serve on a long-term mission aboard the space station had she flown as expected.

NASA did not explain the change.

Gerst, who will be commanding the space station for the first time during his mission, referenced the steppe scenery in central Kazakhstan on Twitter Wednesday as he warmed up for the flight.

"L-6 hours. On our way to the suit-up building. Got a great farewell from our friends and families. Crew is doing great. Looking at unimpressed camels on the side of the road. #horizons," he tweeted.

According to ESA, Gerst will be only the second person from the agency to take command of the lab in the 17 years crews have occupied the station. Belgian Frank De Winne took charge of the station during a mission in 2009.

Football fever has gripped the ISS in the build-up to the World Cup in Russia beginning next week and the Soyuz rocket that propelled the trio into space was emblazoned with the tournament's promotional emblem.

Moreover, Prokopyev said at the pre-launch press-conference that the ISS crew would stage their own football match on the day of the final on July 15.

"The composition of the teams will be international," Prokopyev said Tuesday.

Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov returned to Earth on Sunday with an official football that he kicked around on the ISS and which may be used during a match, Russian news agencies have reported.

The space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,000 miles per hour) since 1998.


No message available, Or messages are expired already.

Well I finally got myself a RZR after a lot of searching and mulling things over I landed on a ’17 XP4 1000. Was planning on getting a new XP4T but after learning that those are geared taller I decided we would be better off with the 1000. Plus I saved over $5k on this lightly used one vs buying a new 4T.
So the first owner left it all stock so now I’m wondering what should I address right away on these, I think I’ve read something somewhere about clutch pucks (whatever those are) so can someone explain this? I took it out on maiden ride yesterday and I felt like the clutch was a little on the loud side, under heavy load climbing steep hill there was a loud hum or whine then coming back down hills at speed there was an odd whining noise, that may be the wrong word but it’s the best I can explain.
I’d also love it if there were a more positive and earlier engagement of the trans if that’s even possible. All SxS I’ve ever rented felt the same as this and I’d love to resolve that if it’s even possible.

Utah RZR Rentals


Introducing the SimScale Public Projects Library

BlogAbout SimScaleIntroducing the SimScale Public Projects Library

The vision of the SimScale platform is to provide engineers and scientists with an efficient and flexible access to powerful modelling and simulation technology.

SimScale Project Library

Recently, a new feature has been added to the platform that contributes to the efficiency of work with SimScale: the Public Projects Library.

It enables users to browse a variety of publicly available simulation projects and search within them. Once a specific project is found, it is possible to copy and import it into your own workspace with a single click and gain access to the detailed simulation setup and the results.

Why is that efficient? Starting something from scratch is more time-consuming than adapting an existing solution. This holds also true for setting up a numerical analysis.

During the work with customers and testers from the Early Access Program, we realized that users got up to speed much faster up on speed when they started with example simulations than starting with an empty interface.

public projects

The project library now provides the opportunity to store these example projects in a conveniently accessible way. More and more projects are added every day.

How it works. The screenshot above shows a part of the project library, either accessible within the platform or here.

Simply type in keywords of the analysis required. For example, laminar, structural or hex-dominant—the library will automatically show you the relevant projects.

Clicking on one of the projects shows more information on the simulation—among others, the metadata shown in the figure below. If the simulation fits your purpose, clicking on “Actions” and then “Copy” while being logged in to the platform is enough to get the project into your personal workspace.

The project will be instantly visible within the personal workspace. Now, all details of the simulation are accessible and the user can see how exactly it has been set up including the CAD file, mesh, and results.

Therefore the library enables the user to start with an existing simulation rather than setting up everything from scratch.

The workflow of the SimScale platform makes it possible to import a library project, create a mesh for another geometry, change the mesh and start another run of the simulation. This means getting the relevant results much faster.

In essence, this efficient working means ‘getting things done’—and this is what the projects library is about. We are looking forward to your opinion and feedback to further improve the library.

Back to the Blog