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From Earlham Cluster Department
McKayla's Journal
Science Matters, Chapter Questions
This is a place to post all questions over the chapters we read in Science Matters.
- Questions #1: Energy and the Universe: 23/1/2011
The second law of thermodynamics states that "energy always goes from more useful to less useful forms" (27). Hazen also defines useful as concentrated. If energy is more concentrated it is more useful and vice versa. From what I understand, energy that can be used is energy that can be made to do a desired work, such as pushing down a pistol. The lost energy due to friction and waste heat are unusable and therefore un-useful. Is this correct? Could you clarify this?
On pages 30-31 Hazen maintains that mass is another form of energy. Einstein's very well-known equation is E = mc2 . Could you give an explanation of how mass is related to energy. I know it's well known but a more thorough explanation would help a lot.
Do batteries use a form of convection? How do batteries work to store energy and release it over time? Are batteries efficient?
Could a car be double powered with two engines, one that runs on higher heat and the other that runs on cooler?
Could you do a refresher on the equation force = mass X acceleration. Basically, what units are those measurements in and how does the answer help scientists?
On page 5 there is a diagram of Stonehenge. Could you explain where the light goes and what indicates the passing of time more thoroughly? (Also, may we go there?)
How is it true that the Universe regular and predictable and systems move towards disorder at the same time? Are those two concepts separate?
- Questions #2:
How do you express latitude with only the degree and a decimal? (i.e. What is the calculation?)
What do the letters used in the global reference frame denote?
- Questions #3: The Atom: 07/02/2011
All matter is made of atoms that are indivisible. Is the age-old tale that splitting an atom causes an atomic explosion really true? If so, how does it work? If not, how is an atomic explosion generated? Are atomic explosions only man-made events or could they happen on their own in the natural world?
There was a mention about exciting electrons to push them to outer valence shells. Could you illustrate how this happens? How can an electron be excited with energy and moved to an outer layer if each valence shell must be filled with a set level of atoms?
Does each electron have a unique path even if it is with another electron in the same electron shell?
What is antimatter? Is antimatter composed of things that are not atoms, but anti-atoms? What happens when matter and antimatter meet?
The Future of Science and Technology for Society
- In your view what are the three most important challenges facing society in the near term (say 50 years)? Why are each of these so important? What does science have to offer for each? What does technology have to offer for each? Your entry should clearly address which are science based and which are technology based. You can describe both science and technology approaches for each of the problems you identify.
It goes without saying that the next fifty years will encompass a plethora of new advances in science and applications in technology. The three most important challenges facing society in the near term will be ones that prevent instabilities. To be more specific, it is in the interests of the prevailing systems of power to finance and encourage researchers to come up with solutions to problems that have the potential to generate civil war and political unrest. The three most important challenges will be concentrated on manipulating the natural world to relieve or eliminate the dependence of all nations on oil, to create ways to make and bring fresh water to all portions of the world population, and to create more efficient, safer methods of mass transportation.
The first challenge is important because governments are investing a lot of money and risking countless lives in wars whose central importance is to have access to the oil that is used to create the majority of electrical power in their respective countries. Lives will be saved because those individuals will not be sent into a war. Human rights will be upheld because tyrannical dictators will not be installed who have agreements with the US to not jeopardize the US's access to oil. Furthermore, turning from a non-renewable resource and investing in the technology to draw energy from a renewable resource will sustain itself. For this problem, science is concerned with researching the creation of energy, focusing on the reactions of atoms they had not studied with that prerogative in mind. Technology uses the discoveries of science to create efficient, low-cost machines that harvest the new forms of energy scientists have studied and proposed engineers should and could harvest.
The second challenge is important because of the real fear of water wars. With growing populations, hoarding of fresh water by countries, and the problem of distribution, water wars could turn desperate people into perpetrators and victims of widespread violence. Science could investigate the natural process to desalinize water present in the water cycle and research how desert plants gain and store water. Technology could use the information uncovered from science to come up with machines to cheaply and efficiently extract the salt from sea water and therefore make more drinkable water available in general and in places where it usually is not available. As well, technology could improve and create new ways to transport fresh water. They would use the laws of the natural universe - such as gravity, physics, and thermodynamics - to do so.
The third challenge is important because public transportation is not being used efficiently and cities, specifically in the US, are not laid out in an efficient nor compact manner to make them accessible to everyone regardless of income. Science could discover new ways to get energy from alternative sources or gain more information on the current system to more efficiently continue to use it. Science could examine the migration patterns of animals, specifically ants and birds, to question whether their systems of movement work to organize masses of people efficiently. Scientists could also investigate where most people go on a regular basis and traffic patterns to give the information to technology makers. Technology could then come up with viable routes and use enough vehicles to transport the correct amount of people. Technology could also refine transport to accommodate the change from oil energy to alternative energy
Atmosphere I
- Which specific aspects of climate change did the designers of atmosphere choose to focus on?
Today, climate change is synonymous with global warming. If scientists talk about solutions to climate change, they are talking about ways to reduce the rate at which the planet is warming. To make something clear, climate is different than weather; weather is unpredictable and varies daily while climate is used to describe the measure of an entire atmospheric system over a large period of time. A colder winter is therefore possible when world temperatures collectively rise. Due to the proliferation of global warming literature, some individuals forget that climate change can also describe trends in global cooling. The majority of the Atmosphere Exhibit at the Science Museum kept with the concerns of today by focusing on aspects of global warming. There were interactive displays that described how an excess of carbon dioxide can accumulate in the atmosphere. There was an interactive game that introduced a viewer to the technologies that help decrease carbon dioxide output, increase efficiency, utilize alternative sources of energy and increase awareness of energy usage.
- How well sourced was the science and technology discussed in the kiosks?
I was not explicitly made aware of research sources the kiosks got their information from. However, I could have been distracted by the wealth of information I did not know and the high level of engagement with each kiosk to pay attention to any small print or spoken references by the automated speaker when the game ended.
- What was the most surprising thing you learned?
All the information was interesting. There is no clear winner for most surprising though. The journey through the history of climate change interested me. I learned that La Nina and El Nino account for extremes in weather in cycles. I read about the Little Ice Age that took place from 1350 to 1850. Not that far ago, the Thames completely froze in the winter and people could ice skate on its surface with relative safety. I wonder how cold that had to be. I am really happy it does not snow here that much any longer, especially since it is winter right now. Other interesting facts have to do with later dates. The Ice Age caused the Norse peoples to migrate South to warmer climates. I also learned that dragon flies the size of seagulls and three-foot long scorpions evolved because of high levels of oxygen in the air. Because the air was less humid, large reptiles were able to dominate the Earth.
- Which of the interactive kiosks did you find most engaging? Why?
The interactive kiosk I found most engaging was the game about Thames river level rising. Based on a lot of studies, the water levels of the River Thames were expected to rise between two different estimates. Entire housing districts were at risk along the river. The object of the game was to build up protective barriers to protect the most amount of houses with a set building budget. The game had a time limit. It was engaging because it was limited by time, restricted by budget, and was based upon varying sets of conflicting data about climate change, which I think is the basic formula for development that combats the effects of climate change. I felt like I had to account for many factors. The pace was quick.
- Which of the interactive kiosks did you find least engaging? Why?
I found the carbon cycle interactive kiosk to be least engaging. Users were supposed to place a block on a point on the grid to learn how different aspects of the carbon cycle worked. However, one of the blocks did not work. The animation was slow as well. I was bored with the speed and how elementary the animations were. I guess I am attracted to flashy, quick paced, and exhibits that mentally engage me.
Greenland Review
In the United Kingdom, part of each citizen's taxes goes toward funding the arts. This is problematic because the people who allocate all this funding may channel more funds to art with messages they support. It would make sense if plays that challenge the existing power structures received little if any funding from this arena at all. Furthermore, It would make sense that some plays change their endings and original writing to appear less challenging to the prevailing hegemony. Greenland was a play that had the potential to present a lot of problems to the audience. It could increase the scope of the problem to cause a sense of helplessness. It could present different arguments that would need different strategies of action to assure the continuance of humanity and other living creatures on this planet. It could confuse the audience. It could empower the audience. As a viewer who was not used to the government-funded arts, I was doubly skeptical because the play itself was being performed at a government building as well. The Royal National Theatre had the potential to be class-exclusive, artistically stagnant, and full of unbearable snobbery. Greenland itself, I thought, would work present an argument to work around the existing oil-powered infrastructure because today government is concerned with business and the biggest business is oil.
I am ambivalent after seeing the production. I feel the theatre went out of its way to foster intelligent debate and continuing research, which indicated a government-led imperative to increasing the education of its citizens. A positive feature was the refutation of the element of 'belief'. As a quote at the beginning of the play stated, scientists disagree about when and how much warming will occur, not whether it is happening at all. Despite all this good, I feel the play was disheartening because it illuminated how large a scope the problem is and illuminated that there is not one solution. We are unable to predict the future and are presented with challenges, although few, to decrease our impact on this Earth. So, although it was very intelligently written and impressively performed I left the theatre feeling helpless and unsure of what to do. This is not the mindset of an individual who will go out of her or his way to decrease their impact and encourage others to do the same.
I felt that if there was a list of sources the play used available for purchase, it would be more accurate. I felt that if the audience was assured that the massive amounts of paper, plastic, water, and electricity came from environmentally friendly sources, the plays message would have been taken to heart. For example, the paper could have been paper that was recycled from other sources, the plastic could have been twice used plastic, the water could have been reused for each production, and the electricity could have been provided from solar panels or wind turbines. In that way the medium would have been effective to convey the theme.
Overall, it was a visually impressive production that presented the bleak picture many of us succumb to either through how seemingly powerless we as individuals are or how much work science and technology must do to present more of the patchwork solutions that are needed in this various world.
Reflections on Climate Change
Recently, we as a class have done readings to increase our scientific literacy, have explored an interactive exhibit about climate change, have gone to the theatre to see a new play about global warming, have listened to a podcast about young people ambivalent and confused about climate change, have travelled to famous places where scientific discovery took place, and have explored different areas of science. These methods - readings, museums, theatre, radio, and travel - cover a vast majority of methods through which individuals not in science careers receive their information. Another method of information gathering is television. The masses elect representatives that express the views they have formed after being bombarded with all this information, some of it misleading and many of it confusing. A scientifically illiterate society will be damaging to our future as funding is cut for programs the public does not know much about to form a logical opinion about.
- What do you believe the take-away message to be?
From all of these venues of information, I think the take-away message is to gather as much information as possible, to strive to understand that information, and to decrease one's carbon footprint now in ways one can until more research yields even more patchwork solutions or until the oil infrastructure is overturned by a global coalition of nations and individuals. With the price of disheartening depression about finding any positive in the future at all, the underlying message is to not subscribe to positive ideology because as much as we would like to think there was one giant solution to it all it currently does not exist yet and there will need to be many different solution in many different regions of society.
- Which of the modalities did you find most effective at communicating that message: reading, museum, or theatre? Why?
I, personally, felt the theatre was the most effective means of communicating that message to myself. I was entertained by the acting and special effects and I was engaged with heavy ideas. I feel that a short, compact, entertaining mode of communication is effective at getting the majority of the points across to individuals (who have the money for theatre tickets, of course). Reading and going to the museum give you the information at a slower pace and you may not read or see everything you need to in order to get a wide picture of the situation. In addition, the scientific jargon may be a bit heavy to wade through for the average individual who is, by definition, scientifically illiterate.
- What's different about the message here in England than what you hear in your home country about climate change? Different than at Earlham?
In England, I was surprised to find a society so engaged with alleviating the negative environmental consequences that come with today's industrialized society. I suppose it is because the area, being an island, is so small that negative effects on the environment are immediately felt. In addition, the nation is invested in improving the health of its citizens. Therefore, chemical emissions are a negative financial burden to tax payers in the country and governmental policy reflects that. My host mum told me that recycling is a norm here and if she does not recycle, the recycling employees will go through her trash to sort it and tell her about it. This proactive environment that puts environmental concerns near the front of policy objectives directly conflicts with that of my home country, the United States of America. There, we have politicians who deny that the planet is warming outright. These representatives are negative to any environmental policy if it causes a financial burden to businesses, increases governmental expenditure, or creates new bureaucracies. It would be unfair to say they are adverse to the welfare of citizens because they do not protect the environment their constituents live in and therefore everyone's health. Instead, they are concerned with the welfare of individuals because companies may have to cut jobs to account for the added expenses of being less detrimental to the environment. Therefore, there are more individuals and families without the means to procure the basic necessities of life. In the United States, keeping the economy afloat and managing to not accrue governmental debt are the two main imperatives. There are two parties in direct opposition who advocate different methods to achieve generally the same end. Within the party whose central objective is to keep the economy afloat and decrease the financial debt for running the government, there are a small faction of ill-informed individuals who refute all scientific findings about the reality of global warming and the ensuing threats to humanity and other living things. Due to the enormity of the United States, there is not as massive of a movement for recycling, composting, and household technology powered by alternative forms of energy as in the United Kingdom. At Earlham, the majority of the students have the intention and motivation to enact real change that will decrease their footprint on the environment and this objective is reflected in a campus-wide recycling program and environmentally friendly technologies in academic buildings. The difference between the UK and Earlham is that the UK is burdened with the enormity of their domain whereas the smaller scale of Earlham allows more discussion and policies. All three environments - the UK, the US, and Earlham - are subjected to financial limitations and the obscurity and very early environmental technologies.
Kew Gardens
- What science do they do at Kew?
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew is a vast organization with researchers stationed around the world. Around 700 scientists are employed by the organisation in total. The work is organized into research teams with certain objectives. For example, the Millennium Seed Bank Project team works to conserve endangered plant and fungal species, to promote educational awareness about the issue, to understand the potential values of plants, and to implement the sustainable agriculture of plants in areas that depend on them for their socio-economic well-being. Other teams include Madagascar, UK Overseas Territories, Mycology, Monocots III: Orchids, and Large-scale Syntheses to name a few. Kew scientists are a major part of new plant discoveries and plant research. One major task they undertake is sequencing plant DNA. In the Independent, Jonathan Owen wrote "Kew Scientists Lead Fight to Save Orchids from Extinction: Global Team to Freeze Seeds from 2,000 Species". If we lose plant species, we also potentially lose vast arrays of medicine, food, and a more stable environment. In the nursery at Kew, workers pollinate and preserve many plant species.
- What evidence of scientific underpinnings did you find in the displays?
The Order Garden displays plants by their order. All displays of plants and fungi listed their respective scientific names and their common names. Several displays had panels with a paragraph or two of information. These organized displays and educational panels provided evidence of the science behind the beautiful displays.
- Why is it important to society, that is why should society support the work Kew does?
Plant science is important to society for a variety of reasons. Some plants have natural healing properties. Other plants provide the missing information and properties that can help to cure chronic diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. Flora and fungi are vitally important to the natural balance of Earth systems. Losing species could be disastrous to humanity, other living beings, and to the maintenance of an environment with the ability to maintain life. Kew also informs the public through their educational programs, tours, displays, and events. This fosters an appreciation for science, increases the amount of individuals who are scientifically literate and therefore more adept to support viable policy plans, and inspires further generations to become plant, fungi, and environmental scientists. A society that supports botanical research and conservation projects is a society that puts education at its forefront and gives itself the tools for further medical and environmental research.
- What are the principle near-term and long-term benefits that are likely to accrue from their work? Another way to ask this question is who benefits from their research and why?
People suffering from illnesses that do not yet have a complete cure or any cure at all benefit from the research on plants and fungi at Kew because certain plants have unknown beneficial properties. The plants and fungi lost that are threatened with extinction can be saved for future research. Knowledge itself is increased due to the lengths scientists go to understanding these living beings and researching the family connections they fall under. The general public increase their knowledge after attending the workshops, talks, and tours Kew holds regularly. Student groups benefit from learning new things, from seeing plants and fungi from around the world, and from gaining inspiration to undertake their own work in this field of science. Mirroring our architecture on the natural shapes and properties of plants and creating cities populated with many plants, fungi, humans, and other living things together helps create a healthier and longer-lasting biosphere for all.
Fibonacci at Kew
The Xstrata Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens follows the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical phenomenon that describes many natural growth patterns in nature. Basically, the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence is the sum of the two previous numbers. The sequence looks like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 and so on. There is a Fibonnacci grid along each walkway truss. The spacing of the diagonals on the truss is dictated by the sequence. Therefore, there is a higher construction density at the ends that carry the most weight. [IMG]http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/mckayla34/Study%20Abroad%20in%20London%202011/DSCI02522.jpg[/IMG]
Technology and Sustainability Talk
On the 15th of February, I attended a lecture by Charlie Peck entitled "Technology and Sustainability, Oxymoron or Synergy?". The talk focused on the relationship between technology and environmental sustainability. Two main questions arose. First, does the further evolution of technology have an adverse effect on the health of the environment? Some examples of this include electronic waste, energy technology that pollutes the environment further, inefficient and fossil-fuel powered transportation, more complex and disjointed technologies, increased human dependency on technology and subsequent skill loss, an increased gap between the rich and the poor, more narcotics that cause more health harm and are more addictive than the current ones, a standard of living that takes more energy to sustain, and energy intensive technologies that become symbols of wealth and status. Second, can new technological developments serve to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, clean and create fresh water without putting deadly chemicals in the environment, devise ways of transportation that do not rely on fossil fuels and are efficient, produce energy from sources that do not rely on fossil fuels, and increase the ability for people to communicate and organize. The talk was efficient in that it did not get caught up in the whether or not global warming is occurring debate. It focused on discussing the technologies that respond to changes in the environment and the technologies that can be adapted to human societies to make them more efficient. While organized in a logical manner, the strongest parts of the presentation were the graphs and illustrations of the main concepts. In particular, the graph that represented the disjointed way society adopts new technological developments such as the radio and the mobile phone was illuminating. It made me think about the relative speed of technological evolution and the time lapse society takes to adopt those developments. I also enjoyed the model of the electric car with regenerative braking. More diagrams would have served the lecture better. Also, adding animations to the power point would have helped. For example, many slides had a lot of text that the speaker talked about one-after-the-other. If the power point had only listed the point he was talking about when he was talking about it, I think people would have paid more attention because they would not have read ahead and then lost attention in what was a very informative talk. The hand-models the speaker used were very great at explaining main points. Overall, this was a talk that hit a lot of points, made me aware of new technologies that are working to move towards an environmentally sustainable urban society, alerted me to the problems of some technologies, and fit into the reduce-reuse-recycle model for environmental sustainability.
Perhaps there is room for a part two that addresses the feasibility of substantial change within a very limited infrastructure. For example, "Who Killed the Electric Car" is a film that questions why we have the technology to make this fantastic technology available to all but suddenly stopped hearing information about it. Because oil companies have the most profits and have the most lobbyists in government, it makes sense for them to not fund, not give television coverage to, and pay off scientists to not release new information. How far can we use the market to enact beneficial environmental change for all? Two other films of interest are "Zeitgeist" and "Zeitgeist: Addendum". This may get into a conspiracy talk, but we have to wake up and call on these companies to let go if we want the millions of people that are going to perish from decreased food yields in desert climates, intense storms, and extensive flooding to survive. Does economic profit trump communal human health and survival? This is another talk for another day.
Astronomy and the Cosmos
Chapter 10
A star's ultimate defeat and, it could be argued, its final death occurs when the anti-gravitational force of its electrons can no longer sustain the strong gravitational pull of the star's center. The area then becomes a black hole. Because matter can neither be created nor destroyed, what, then, is a black hole?
Is there an animation that illustrates the birth and death of a star?
When the male feminist slam poet came to Earlham to perform, he told his audience about a new form of energy called nuclear fisson (or fusion) that he was studying at MIT. What is this and can we use this process to extract energy without damaging the environment?
If the moon were to crash into the Earth (say we were developing expensive flats on its surface and the moon had structural failure) would the Earth decrease in size? This question comes from the statement that the moon was formed from an asteroid crashing onto its surface and getting rid of a lot of its material to form the moon.
Chapter 11
Are the properties of anti-matter misrepresented by science fiction and new movies such as 'AstroBoy'? Mainly, these tales maintain that if matter and anti-matter come into contact, an atomic explosion capable of destroying our entire planet will occur. That seems silly if dark matter is more abundant in the universe than baryonic matter and both exist simultaneously. Are anti-matter and dark matter the same thing?
Why did Einstein withdraw his cosmological constant theory? Does it not keep with the cosmological expansion finding by Hubble? If not, why? If so, how?
Could you explain how the book explains time using minutes and seconds?
Cells and DNA
Chapter 15
Could you go over the different types of chemical bonds? Covalent, Ionic, Hydrogen, etc.
Explain the electron hook model. What shapes does carbon take when hooked together with lots of other carbon molecules?
Are enzymes proteins only? What is the difference between an enzyme and a catalyst? Do enzymes speed up, slow down, prevent, begin, and control the rate of reactions in the cell?
Chapter 16
Where are nucleotides produced??
I am still unsure about what, exactly, a protein is. Could you clarify how using matching pairs of nucleotides (A, T, G, C, U) with mRNA and tRNA produces proteins? The illustration on page 283 is confusing. Does the tRNA attract amino acids floating around in the cell in a specific chain? Then does the entire structure fold to create a protein? I guess just explain that picture. I want to know what tRNA does.
The book mentioned a lot of contraversial topics, but neglected to talk about stem cell research. Is the stem cell the first cell created when a mother and father (meiosis) cell join? Can the cell then be trained to make different body parts?
The Code and Evolution
Chapter 18
Due to recent developments in science and technology, the relationships between creatures have been verified. An often quoted statement for the support of evolution is that human beings and chimpanzees have DNA that is 98% similar to each other. This confirms that our closest relative on the tree of life is the chimpanzee. Can there ever be any DNA research on creatures that existed at an earlier time in Earth's history? This question is about the viability of the molecular clock.
On page 320, there is an illustration of different trilobites throughout history. Is the more complex trilobite the one with more body segments? Are trilobites born with a set amount of body segments? Do trilobites accumulate body segments as they age? Are males different from females?
Do species evolve over time to go from simpler forms to more complex forms suitable for the environment or have species stayed the same?
Paper Topic
Science, Technology, and Depression
According to an article in the New York Times, 5 to 10 percent of Americans experience depression every year and around 15 percent will suffer from it during their lifetimes. The CDC released a report in 2006 and 2008 by analysing their Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System survey data from 2006 and 2008. According to the report by the CDC, 9.0 percent of the 235,067 adults were depressed. This included 3.4 percent who met the criteria for major depression. States varied in their rates of depression. 4.8 percent of the North Dakota population were depressed and 14.8 percent of the population of Mississippi were depressed.
There has been a lot of controversy whenever a mental health condition is medicalized. Some have argued that finding scientific solutions to depression, such as drugs, does not allow the depressed individual to confront his or her own emotions. The patient merely becomes dependent on the medicine or treatment until he or she needs to take a higher dose and/or the medicine becomes ineffective. A high rate of suicide has been attributed to some anti-depressant medications because once off the dosage the individual must confront the past/current history/circumstances OR must live with the chemical imbalance that resulted in the depression. Since he or she has bottled up the feelings OR has become unable to deal with the negative feelings, he or she becomes more unable to deal with reality and suicide is a large risk. Some medicines do not work for some individuals. In a recent article in the metro, brain implants that deliver electric shocks to a specific part of the brain when the machine senses something is wrong have been used on chronic individuals with a large rate of success. Depression can be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters, have its root in a psychological reason, and/or crop up, seemingly, without any cause whatsoever. This wide spread condition has not yet been figured out.
The problem is linked to psychology and science in a way that is confusing for many people. Throughout my research, I hope to present the science of depression in a clear manner and introduce/explain new technologies such as medicines and brain implants that are being used to treat this condition. Hopefully, the paper will clarify the chemistry, biology, and genetics that lead to depression to present a clearer view of the technologies that have been used, are being used now, and may be used in the future. I hope I (and other readers) will benefit from a clearer view of the science and technology of depression.
I think this is a good topic with lots of interesting material in the areas of science, technology and society; carry on!
DNA "fingerprinting" [without the finger prints?] : Variable number tandem repeats, or VNTR, are sequences of nonsense DNA located at specific places in the genome. The amount of VNTRs at a specific location in the DNA varies from person to person. There can be any from a few to about 250. Scientists take an individual's DNA, split it down the middle by using restriction enzymes, then place the strands in a gel where they then pass an electric current through it. The shorter pieces more more quickly through the gel while the longer pieces move more slowly. Radioactive molecules tag each half (or segment) of DNA. At the end after the current is turned off, a photographic film is placed on top and as the molecules decay a picture is generated. In an ideal situation where there is one individual's DNA, the lines will be the same length because the double helix was cut down the middle and both sides are the same length. When the lines are different, there is more than one set of DNA. This seems awfully complicated, time consuming, and expensive to do. Do scientists compare these line lengths to the defendant to determine whether or not he or she committed the act he or she is accused of committing? I just don't see how this is very accurate. Also, could you draw a picture to illustrate this process?
What does the image produced by using electrolysis on STRs look like?
For same-sex marriage, could the DNA of an ova be extracted and replaced with the DNA of a spermatozoa? Then could the other male's spermatozoa be used to fertilize the egg? Could the DNA in sperm be extracted and replaced with the DNA from an ova? Then could that sperm be used to fertilize that egg? Could we do that and has it ever been done?
First STC Question
Page 35, Question #1
Technological advance has often undermined established businesses. Most recently, the growth of Internet-based e-commerce has posed a threat to conventional retail firms. Can you think of other business enterprises that the Internet may damage or even destroy? Should anything be done to prevent this from happening?
The Internet has provided a way for individuals and organizations to connect, network, discuss, learn, and conduct commerce. The last item, commerce, is sometimes in competition with store-front businesses. New companies and companies that serve as forums for individuals to list and sell items may replace conventional stores completely. Consumers prefer to purchase internet goods and services instead of buying from stores. However, the Internet can also be a tool for businesses faced with failure in the advent of the Internet. In response to the popularity of buying-on-line, many companies have set up websites complete with the address of the outlet, useful phone numbers, a list of the people in charge, a description of the business, details of sale promotions, and on-line buying catalogues. People from all over the world can search for products on-line and find stores in their local areas. This Internet visibility increases the profits of the business by increasing its consumer base and popularity. For businesses who do not use the Internet or are smaller establishments, the Internet has caused their business to go out of business.
Tourism agencies, hotel firms, and the auto industry also face losing their consumer base and their businesses with the advent of the Internet. Individuals now have the ability to use a search engine to find activities, learn about the area, and purchase tickets without contacting a travel agent. Individuals can book hotels with the click of a button and plan out their vacations independently. Tourism agencies have the potential to become obsolete to all but the most wealthy of consumers. Second, hotel firms are experiencing both an economic downturn and the replacement of their services by companies such as Airbnb and, to a smaller extent, Couch Surfing. Instead of constructing large hotels and employing maintenance staff, clerks, cooks, maids, pool cleaners, concierges, and hospitality staff, home-owners can now list their own property as a place to rent during peoples' vacations. Third, the auto industry is becoming less and less profitable as gas becomes more expensive and Internet companies such as Zimride, Zipcar, and Streetcar provide vehicle access for individuals without the need to actually buy a car or truck of their own.
Should anything be done to prevent this from happening? This is a very complicated question. In one arena, economic efficiency and environmental benefits are being derived from companies such as Zipcar and Airbnb. For example, less exhaust is emitted into the atmosphere when each person does not own their own car and using existing buildings for visitor lodgings does not require the costly and environmentally damaging construction of hotel facilities. However, jobs are lost. Entire towns that relied on industries such as the auto-mobile industry are suddenly without their main provider of income to sustain their local economy. The vast hotel staff also lose their jobs. The question of how to employ these skilled and unskilled individuals drastically needs to be addressed before technology such as the Internet is embraced with open arms. There are many aspects to the question that should be continually addressed by varying people and speciality areas to counter the negative outcomes of displaced and absent consumers.
Second STC Question
Page 56, Question #2
A person with a heart problem may need a pacemaker but be unable to pay for it. What, then, is the source of effective demand for this technology? Who ultimately pays for it and why?
There are many examples of the less able to "pay" in societies being shut off from innovations that could save and improve their lives. I will name two others.
One example concerns the current monetary economic system and ethical values when individuals do not have the monetary means to provide for their needs. Milton Friedman spoke at a forum entitled "On Self-Interest and the Profit Motive". Towards the end of the lecture, the floor was opened for questions and a young white male college student raised his hand. The student stated that an elderly man from Ohio was unable to pay his electric bill. Because of this, the electric company shut off his power and the elderly man died. Who, the student asked, was to be held responsible for the man's death? Friedman replied that the blame did not lie with the electric company. The blame rested with the man's friends and neighbours who did not help the old man pay his bill.
Another example concerns a health epidemic and the systematic denial of resources to those who most need it most because they are unable to "pay". The AIDS crisis in poorer countries on the African continent results in the death of countless individuals. They do not necessarily die due to the AIDS virus itself, but from health complications a decreased immune system brings with it. This death toll would not be at the rate it is if the people could afford the costly treatments that are now available for the disease. Furthermore, some academics have said that research into AIDS has not progressed at the rate necessary to save lives because AIDS is a problem in the lives of people who do not have the capital to fund the research efforts of scientists and researchers. Some academics have even stated that the social positions of the people affected by AIDS - gay men and black people - has hindered any progress.
The flow of money through the current economic system is supposed to sufficiently allocate the world's resources to the people that desire them most. Instead of equally and efficiently distributing the world's resources to all people, a monetary hierarchy forms. Those with the most monetary capital can afford the best medical treatment, the best food, the cleanest water, and, any material object they wish to possess while those unlucky enough to be without such capital starve to death. People are dying not because there is not enough food to feed every person, but because the current system denies such basic human rights to people. This individualistic society forces humans to exist as individuals responsible for their own well being. The poor are demonized, disrespected, and abandoned while the rich, who may be rich due to the transfer of stocks rather than any scientific, technological, artistic, or cultural benefit they help bring about in society, are rewarded with abundance.
Is it right for a person to be denied a life-saving pace-maker because he or she cannot afford it? Is it right for people to experience hunger while the world experiences a food surplus? Is it right for 1% of the population to own more than 40% of the world's wealth?
Some may respond that the current system rewards innovation and encourages competition. The best products are produced and the largest advances in science and technology come about. In the STC textbook, however, this optimistic simplistic view of the picture is derailed simply because it is the society the science and technology exist within that determines what these disciplines discover and do. A society that has a wealthy class will be interested in giving those people the most benefit because those scientists, engineers, and researchers will be able to support themselves off the salaries the wealthy purchasers supply to them. In the current system the source of effective demand for a product lies in the hands and interests of the wealthy class while the ones who most need the innovations lose because they are the least likely to afford it.
We have to reconsider our ethics.
Third STC Question
Page 92, Question #2
Most economically advanced countries have technical assistance programs that are used to upgrade the technological levels of poorer countries. Under what circumstances might these programs be harmful? How might these programs be shaped to better meet the needs of poor countries?
Volti makes an interesting and compelling point in the chapter entitled 'The Diffusion of Technology' when he discusses appropriate technology. "Unfortunately," he states, "many of the technologies that have been developed in the economically advanced nations have been designed to save labour, not to maximize its use" (Page 82). He then presents the story of small mills that maximized labour, but increased company costs and distorted the markets. If the aim of technology is to 'advance' a poorer nation, one must ask what the definition of an 'advance' is, why there is a necessity for 'advancement' and what repercussions will this 'advance' have on the poorer nation as a whole.
An 'advancement' could be the level of innovation and entrepreneurship in a country. This 'advanced' country, then, will increase the wealth of some of its individuals and establish its place in global markets.
Another 'advancement' could be to decrease the level of poverty. As mentioned in the quote above, many technologies are labour-saving devices rather than labour-utilizing devices. A labour saving device replaces human labour and therefore eliminates, rather than creates, jobs. With no way to accumulate money, the economy of a poorer country stagnates and many of its citizens are left without a way to provide for their basic needs. An 'advanced' country, in this way, would decrease poverty by providing jobs to increase the standard of living for its citizens.
From these two examples of 'advance', the circumstances for when these technical assistance programs may become harmful become apparent. Harmful technical assistance programs eliminate jobs, create further poverty, and decrease the vitality of the nation's local economy. Contrarily, not having technical assistance programs could keep the job sector and business diversity in the poorer country small and non-existent, not creating jobs in the first place. Technology and society interact in complex, non-simple forms and a prediction of what could happen can hardly be accurate.
An assessment of the complex interplay of the poorer country's economy and its larger population is essential to bring appropriate technologies where they are most needed. Working with natives of the poorer country would also be helpful. It is most often the citizens of the country who know what their country needs.
Fourth STC Question
Page 134, Question #2 When the demand for a new medical technology exceeds the supply, what should be used to determine who gets it? A lottery? The ability to pay? The "merit" of the recipient? Might it be better to limit the development of new technologies in order to forestall the need to make these choices?
Rudi Volti relays the historical events surrounding the emerging technological progress of kidney dialysis. Because demand for kidney dialysis greatly exceeded the supply of the machines, a committee was set up in Washington State to decide who would have access to the new life-saving technology. The Admissions and Policy Committee from the Seattle Artificial Kidney Center was composed of a lawyer, a minister, a housewife, a labour leader, a government official, a banker, and a surgeon, as well as two physician-advisors (122). The intent was to reflect the community as a whole. The committee then set up several criteria including not accepting children nor adults over the age of 45. According to one report on the criteria the patients were judge on, categories included "sex of patient, marital status and number of dependants, income; net worth; emotional stability, with regard to patient's ability to accept the treatment; educational background; nature of occupation; past performance and future potential, and names of people who could serve as references" (122). Critics of the committee rejected the fact that life-and-death decisions were being made based on the subjective worth of the individual and pointed out that criteria did not give good chances for poorer people nor many ethnic groups.
First, I want to say that I do not support life-and-death decisions being made that condemn an individual to death because of his or her identity and perceived worth to society. I would like to live in a world in which medical care is available to all regardless of cost or inability to pay.
If, like the committee in Washington State, I had to choose which method would need to be implemented to to restrict access to medical technologies because the demand of the patients greatly exceeded the supply of the treatment, the most random form, a lottery, is what I would support.
I do not support forestalling the development of these technologies because everybody cannot take advantage of them. There are expensive steps in technological advance until the machine/treatment becomes cheaper and more easily applicable to the entire public and those should not be hindered.
Fifth STC Question
Page 149, Question #5 For many people, the longstanding "nature vs. nurture" debate has tilted in the direction of the former. Why has this happened? Are you more inclined to give primacy to one over the other? Is this dichotomy even a useful way of evaluating the contributions of genetic endowments and environmental influences?
In the subsection entitled "Cloning, Present and Future", Rudi Volti mentions the possibility that wealthy private doners may contribute funds to have themselves cloned. Motivations could be varied; an unrestrained curiosity, a genetic twin human to serve as his or her own personal organ farm, a strong desire for recognition when a successful human cloning project succeeds due to their status as the sole sponsor, a desire to see what a copy of him or her self would look like, and an over-inflated ego are all possibilities. After talking about Dolly and the very real possibility for human cloning, Volti ends the subsection by warning that while clones are biologically identical they are not carbon copies of their single parent. For example, human identical twins are not always identical; one twin may be left handed while the other is right handed (145). "Animals cloned in laboratories often differ considerably in both appearance and behaviour from the animal from which they were cloned," he states (143). Volti reminds his audience that "these differences stem from biological processes that are still not well-understood, along with environmental influences that begin in the womb and continue to shape an organism throughout its life" (143). These statements about cloning along with evidence that the womb is the first environment a foetus is exposed to that shapes his or her identity, behaviours, and morphology, confirm a fallacy with the nature vs. nurture dichotomy present in dialogues that have important social and scientific repercussions today.
Historically, human society has embraced the schism between nature and nurture to reject a more holistic nature plus nurture pluralism due to social conditioning that encourages people to support the concept of human differentiation. In the last subsection of the chapter entitled "The Ethics of Genetic Intervention", Volti explains that eugenics moved from an emphasis on individual merits and traits to group merits and traits, a racist concept. "According to the majority of eugenicists," he retells, "the white race occupied the pinnacle of human development while all others were arrayed at lower places of the hierarchy" (147). Furthermore, "the sexes too could be divided according to their general abilities, with women on average presumed to have lower intellectual capabilities than men, although they were deemed to be superior in the lesser qualities of empathy and nurturance" (147). The groups supported "negative eugenics", a process that would prevent those "inferior" people from having children to eventually result in their final elimination from the human population as a whole, rather than "positive eugenics", which encouraged "superior" people to have more children to ensure merit genes were possessed by a majority of the population. Such practices resulted in mass genocide, one example being the Nazi Holocaust of 6 million Jews and the reproductive sterilization of 350,000 people (148).
The problem with discussions about nature and nurture have stemmed from our unwillingness to view the natural world as complex and still largely unknown, the difficulty and controversy to examine our own social, political, and economic structures that lead to many "problem" individuals, and our unconscious acceptance of the hegemonic forces that support hierarchy, dualism, and hostile group-vs-group mentalities. Hence, instead of looking at the entire problem, people are quick to blame individual faults on unchangeable genetic facts rather than changeable environmental forces. The simplicity with this move is that an individual whose criminal behaviour is in his or her genes cannot be changed and the problem is not addressed. In addition, science has become an accepted and trusted way of viewing the world and finding truth. In a young industry such as genetics and because the base of scientific knowledge is constantly changing as new things that were previously unknown are discovered, relying on an individuals genetic code is seen as the most logical manner to understand an individual when it is often not.
Personally, I support a more holistic approach where nature and nurture are interacting factors in the development of a human being. I would not place percentages on them to see which is "more" influential because I do not personally believe that is of the utmost necessity. The change in detrimental environments and the introduction of holistic, effective health care is important (not deciding which affects a person more or whether or not a person may become ill with a certain ailment at a later point in life).
For the final question, my answer would be no. A dichotomy is not the way to look at the entire picture. It is limiting and ill informed.


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subset: commoncrawl


text: Im getting the raw value of the combo box. splitting by ',' and putting in an array. then taking the length of the array to get the no of selections in the multi select combo. But its not working because ',' exists even in the names of the list in combo for ex:US,alu.xls or US-123,#.xls help me out


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As more information becomes available about the use of particular essential oils for specific aromatherapy applications, the known compounds of importance become benchmarks for quality that soon become paramount in the perception of the oil's market value. Essentially, the compound levels evolve into a quality-metric in the marketplace.
An example of this would be an expectation of a high level of carvacrol in oregano oil (Origanum vulgare) or kavalactones in kava kava (Piper methysticum) extract. It is these compounds that are often considered to be the active ingredients (from the allopathic point of view) and they become the key ingredient of importance, and thus, the market drivers.
Recently (2/9/2010) the BBC News ran the story 'Frankincense – a cure for cancer?' which discusses the discoveries from joint field research between an overseas immunologist and medical scientists from the University of Oklahoma. The immunologist, Mahmoud Suhail, has observed that frankincense oil arrests the spreading of cancer and induces already cancerous cells to close themselves down.
He is quoted to say "Cancer starts when the DNA code within the cell's nucleus becomes corrupted. It seems frankincense has a re-set function. It can tell the cell what the right DNA code should be.
"Frankincense [oil] separates the 'brain' of the cancerous cell – the nucleus – from the 'body' – the cytoplasm, and closes down the nucleus to stop it reproducing corrupted DNA codes."
While that information seems promising for many, the balance of the article goes on to discuss the non-holistic ideology behind current efforts to isolate the responsible compound, although they probably wouldn't say it that way.
Basically, they admit that the frankincense oil works by itself, but they are attempting to narrow the list of the 17 possible agents (isolated compounds occurring within the oil) down to one. The reason they give is that some of the compounds (although they didn't name them) are allergenic, so it cannot be administered as a whole oil.
Meanwhile, the current alternative to a treatment that is possibly allergenic is bombardment with radiation that is so toxic every hair on one's body falls out, along with fingernails and toenails which turn completely black just prior to falling out. Yet medical science doesn't want to administer something to which someone might have an allergic reaction?
Makes you wonder if these guys ever heard the term 'therapeutic margin' in their long years of medical studies? Surely they have, but the bottom line isn't about possible allergens, it's about isolating a compound that they can pillage from nature and then patent as a pharmaceutical. Then they will spend millions of dollars on research to see if a 'nature identical' (lab created) compound will do the same thing, but cost a lot less than cultivating frankincense, and then they won't have to bother with nature at all.
In the meantime the demand for frankincense oil will increase and the prices will rise sharply. The good news for the aromatherapy world is that after the dust settles, the prices for frankincense will probably level out to a reasonable point because the pharmaceutical manufacturers aren't interested in continuing to use something natural. The bad news is that while they are positioning themselves to control one of the most valuable markets in the health industry, people will continue to choose to undergo chemotherapy because they don't feel like they have another choice.
In the article, the 'tiny' doses of isolated compounds that they discuss administering are never quantified, nor is the method of administration, but it does state that in the next few months they will have identified the compound within frankincense oil that eliminates cancer, or at least some types of cancer.
So, in the short term the increase in demand for frankincense oil will drive the price up once the news really spreads, and there will be a newly-named market driver that has an expected level within the oil. That percentage will become the new benchmark that will be expected of a quality oil.
Of course, with human nature as enterprising as it is, this new information will lead to increased cases of chemical adulteration of some of the oil on the market to raise its value by adding enough of the newly-important isolate to the truly distilled oil to provide a standardized product with a stable market value. Therefore, increased testing measures will become necessary to be assured of pure frankincense oil, but that is a matter for another post.


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EDMONTON - Edmontonians hated the threat that Oilers owner Daryl Katz delivered with his trip to Seattle and his followup news release that stated it's prudent to explore moving the team if a deal can't be worked out on a downtown arena.
At once, the anti-arena faction scoffed at Katz. They claimed he's bluffing, that there's no way Katz would ever leave such a fine hockey market as Edmonton, that this is about grinding dollars out of a gullible public and pliable city council.
But Katz's trouble isn't just with those who have never supported a downtown arena deal and never will. It's with those city councillors and private citizens who have supported the downtown arena project and/or who love the Oilers. This group exploded with outrage on Twitter and talk radio.
As a result, the arena deal today is a big, ugly, stinking, collapsing mess.
But thank goodness for that. It's about time. Not a moment too soon, either.
This arena deal will go nowhere unless the Katz Group starts saying in public what it's long been saying in private, even if Katz's message is profoundly unpopular at times.
To get a deal, the Katz Group has to win public support, and there's only one way to do that, by actually having an open dialogue with the public. Maybe you can build a business empire by taking over a dozen drugstore chains in private negotiations, but nobody gives a hoot about drug stores and the public isn't being asked to pay anything in those deals.
A different approach is required on a downtown arena deal. Right now, not even the staunchest supporter of a downtown arena on city council knows what the Katz Group truly needs to make a deal. This has left them in an impossible spot. Why would they fight for a deal when they don't know what the deal is? They can't support thin air.
Of course, the Seattle threat was a risky step for the Katz Group. Katz has now damaged a compact that existed between him and his most important supporters, Oilers season ticket holders. The compact went like this: if you fans have patience, if you support the Oilers in down times when the team is losing, this will give management time to rebuild the team properly with the high draft picks that come with finishing low in the standings.
Edmonton fans took up this deal by filling Rexall Place even as the team bottomed out three years in a row. But the Oilers are now loaded again, having drafted first overall picks Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov.
For Katz to now suggest that all bets are off with the future of the team in Edmonton when his lease at Rexall is up in 2014 is a slap in the face to the Oilers faithful.
But, at the same time, this is the real Katz we're finally seeing here. He's no Oilers saviour, no hero of the city, just a guy looking out for his own interests. If you had him on a pedestal, you were wrong to put him there. Better that he speak his mind so we know where we all stand.
And, yes, maybe Katz is bluffing, as Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux made clear he did to get an arena deal in Pittsburgh. "It wasn't a possibility," Lemieux told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about his threats to move the team. "We had to do a few things to put pressure on the city and the state, but our goal was to remain here in Pittsburgh all the way."
Katz could be doing exactly the same thing here. Or it could be that Katz would get so ticked at Edmonton and enticed by another city that he'd sell or move the team.
My take? Edmonton is a strong hockey market, but it hasn't always been so, and it might not be down the road if the local economy again tanks. This is something Katz must factor into his thinking on a deal that is to stretch for 35 years.
But to make his case, Katz must first open up his books to city council's main negotiators. Once city council has a better idea of where the Oilers stand financially, the Katz Group must come before city council and make its case in public.
What does the Katz Group need to proceed? We all need to know, the sooner, the better.


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Difference between revisions of "User:Serge"
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Revision as of 15:39, 14 July 2006
Full Name
Serge Maandag
Playing around and enjoying creative approaches to problems.
Current Kit
Sony DSC-S75 Camera
Manfrotto tripod and camera head
A pair of good eyes
I'm somewhat of a dinosaur on the panotools mailing list. I joined in 2001, at which time I did not know GUIs for the panorama tools existed. Therefore I painstakingly tought myself how to optimize and stitch using script files on a msdos command line. As soon as I had discovered PtGui, I gladly paid a few bucks for it and never used the command line scripting again. Since up until today I only own a camera that does not have a decent exposure lock and I don't have a wide lens, I am well skilled in colour balancing and rubber stamping in Photoshop.
My panorama home page is This one, but I'ts 4 years old and it has not been updated since. It will be once I bought a decent kit.
To see one of my more original approaches to view a panorama, click Image:Serge_maandag_stacked_fotos.jpg.
Other Interests
3d photography. I take 2 images a few centimeters apart from each other, line them up on my computer and print them out as anaglyph images (red-blue glasses) or next to each other for parallel viewing. To line up the images I use the panorama tools optimizer. I'll add the procedure to this wiki later.


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I like the open / pini approach.
For the north/south problem, North has bears and south has penguins. Ma soweli / ma waso could work. After all, "artic" means, literally, "land of bears" from its greek root.
Other option is considering north as the magnetic pole, the way compasses point to, as the default direction. So tawa nasin, towars the way would be north and "nasin ante", simply the other way, south
I live in southern Spain
Mi lon ma Epanja pi nasin ante


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Extra Large:
Hi Natasha, Thanks for the large harness for our mastiff Jade, received it a couple of days ago. Thank you very much for the plastic buckle also, it will make a great spare if we need it. Comment by Guy - this was paid for separately
I must say these harnesses are far the best I've seen and even our local vet says how comfortable they look on the dog. I can certainly say that they work really well even when pulled at 20mph by a 9 stone mastiff (bless her). We use the handle on the back to support her full weight when she gets out of our estate car to save her legs after a walk. If you need a testimonial for the harness please let me know and I would be pleased to send one through for your site. Kind Regards, Mark, UK
Hi everyone, My order arrived here in Thailand today,the quality of the harness and lead is fantastic and the fit is perfect Buster says thanks too Your service is second to none,top quality products a very fast service and very helpful staff! Many thanks to you all, Keith Waters from P.Buriram, Thailand


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Browsing College of Science by Author "Ramadurai, Sivaramakrishnan"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Cell cycle-dependent mobility of Cdc45 in living cells determined by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Broderick, Ronan; Ramadurai, Sivaramakrishnan; Togashi, Denisio M.; Ryder, Alan G.; Langowski, Jorg (Public Library of Science, 2012)Eukaryotic DNA replication is a dynamic process requiring the co-operation of specific replication proteins. We measured the mobility of eGFP-Cdc45 by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) in vivo in asynchronous ...


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Fujitsu Australia CTO Craig Baty has advised the service provider's human resources and finance teams on workplace IT trends as the company prepares to recruit locally.
Speaking at an AIIA meeting last week, Baty said the company expected to hire 1000 staff and long-term contractors in the next 18 months.
Half of those would replace departing employees, while 500 newly created positions would support recent deals with NBN Co and customers in the government and banking sectors.
Baty told iTnews that that Fujitsu had 5000 staff in Australia and New Zealand, where it had a typical attrition rate of 10 percent.
He expected Fujitsu to seek administration, marketing, engineering, project management and sales staff, with an increasing focus on creative and analytical approaches to "conversational data mining" as the market for cloud services grew.
"We're growing," he said. "The challenge is to find people who have the skills we need in the future."
Commencing late last year, the former analyst conducted a "number of workshops" for Fujitsu's human resources and finance teams about industry trends and how they may affect hiring and the workplace.
Citing reports by McCrindle, Gartner, and the media, Baty identified four categories of technology users: digital natives; immigrants; slaves; and refugees.
"At a younger level – generations X, Y, and Z – the computer is becoming central to everything they do," he told iTnews. "At the other end, the workplace is ageing."
"It's not like all of a sudden, you're going to hire all of gen Y in a day … we're still hiring people in their 60s and we hire a lot of people in their 50s."
"It's a pretty even split of who's there to employ," he noted, but "over a period of time, [the challenge] is about how to get hold of gen X, Y, and Z in a skills shortage."
Baty mused that younger workers would likely demand a wider range technology options, including the ability to choose their own workplace machines.
He warned AIIA meeting attendees of the 'consumerisation' of enterprise IT, with workers demanding access to the corporate network via their tablet, smartphone and laptop devices.
Gen Y workers, born in the 1980s to mid-'90s, expected an "always-on" world in which the answer to any question was only ever "three clicks away", he said.
"[Younger workers have] set themselves an expectation … [but] the technology they have at home far surpasses what they need in the office.
"There's an attitudinal issue," he said.
Australian organisations have faced the so-called 'BYO Computing' trend with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Legal firm Norton Rose, for example, supports the connection of personal mobile devices to its information systems and is considering a future in which staff also bring in laptops and other PCs.
Jetstar allows employee-owned iPhones, iPads and MacBooks to co-exist with enterprise hardware on its network.
Meanwhile, Suncorp has reportedly decided not to refresh its fleet of 20,000 PCs in favour of a fully virtualised, BYO Computing program.
Baty predicted that Australian enterprises would begin offering employees allowances to purchase the computing device of their choice within five years.
Fujitsu currently allowed employees to connect to its corporate network from their own devices via a secure virtual private network.
But although its BYO policy was "quite flexible, within certain guidelines", Baty said Fujitsu was "unlikely to [offer BYO allowances] in the short term".
"We have made significant investments in existing infrastructure," he explained. "But there is market pressure."
"It's the sort of thing we're going to put in our own planning. Giving people the capability to choose which device they're using is a key step – and we do that."


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- Article
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August 24, 2020China
The White House has taken a tough approach to Chinese state media, but its actions may prove counterproductive.
June 16, 2020Sub-Saharan Africa
The U.S. protests following the police killing of George Floyd have spurred solidarity among many Africans, who have expressed widespread outrage against police brutality.
April 29, 2020Coronavirus
President Trump has turned to the Defense Production Act to deal with a shortage of critical medical supplies created by the coronavirus pandemic. What does the law do?
April 6, 2020Sub-Saharan Africa
The Trump administration has largely continued U.S. policies in Africa aimed at building economic ties, political stability, and health care, but it lacks a strategy for the continent's looming geopo…
March 24, 2020Coronavirus
A group of international health experts found in 2019 that the world wasn't ready for a pandemic. This year's coronavirus outbreak has shown they were right.
January 15, 2020Nigeria
The recent unlawful detention of a journalist and politician is the latest in a series of moves by Muhammadu Buhari's administration that weaken the rule of law.
January 6, 2020Iran
The Trump administration's killing of an Iranian military commander in Iraq raises questions about its legality under domestic and international law.
November 15, 2019South Africa
Recent attacks that appeared to target immigrants have underscored South Africa's struggle to combat violence and limit tensions with the rest of the region.
October 4, 2019Japan
The United States and Japan have agreed to a trade deal, but critics say the deal isn't as good as what it replaced.
September 9, 2019Afghanistan
President Trump's announcement to halt peace talks in Afghanistan gives U.S. negotiators a chance to correct three critical mistakes.


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Saw this and it really bothered me, although by this time it really shouldn't have.
At any rate, store your bookmarked sites on your desktop (use the export function under bookmarks), just in case MS decides to uninstall your Chrome and/or Fire Fox.
If this is true then Microsoft has descended to new lows.
Guess they need to be slapped with another AntiTrust charge to refresh their minds.
I used to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. Then one day it became quite evident that Microsoft hadn't been updating or maintaining IE for quite a while. I moved on to other internet browsers. Now they have the gull to tell me to switch back? No thanks.Edit: I didn't like that they abandoned their software, and I don't trust to them not abandon it again.
The message from your link - "You already have Microsoft Edge – the safer, faster browser for Windows 10" - strikes me as merely (unwanted in my case) marketing. Wouldn't really call it a warning. It'll probably get them some extra Edge users - some people will believe whatever you throw in front of them.
I can't really see them arbitrarily uninstalling currently patched Chrome or Firefox, seems like that would be crossing "The Line." Never hurts to keep your bookmarks backed up anyway though.
Thanks for the post, always interesting.
it doesn't warn you to not install stuff. it's just an ad. blatantly false ad, mind you.
and annoying as the log in ad that i keep getting in the notification centre promoting some ms account login thingy (i think)
Microshit can shove it!
Update, September 12th 4PM ET: Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge this particular warning won't appear in the final October update. We have updated the article to reflect this is simply being tested.
In other words: let's see if we can already get away with murder... oh, we still can't? Ooops. Never mind people, it was all a joke, nothing to see here, go back to whatever you were doing (crap!).
I think it's about time that somebody stepped up and took MS to task.... and an AntiTrust charge might just do that and bring MS back to Earth, because it seems of late that MS thinks it is God... or should I say a certain CEO thinks he is.
Truly, what with forced updates; 'Suggestions', or should I say blatant advertising on the Start Menu and in File Explorer, MS had already descended to new lows. This new low means that MS will alienate even more users and perhaps even lose some market share as disenchanted users migrate to Mac OS-X or Linux.
Thing is, I don't see the so-called 'Suggestions'. I installed Win10 Spy Disabler, which disables them, along with other annoying crap built into Win 10, and, as I recently discovered, Automatic Updates as well. For mine, users should take/use every precaution to prevent MS snooping and forcing stuff down their throats... creating the 'Walled Garden', so to speak.
LOLIn other words: let's see if we can already get away with murder... oh, we still can't? Ooops. Never mind people, it was all a joke, nothing to see here, go back to whatever you were doing (crap!).
You posted this while I was still writing, but yeah, I was going to say something similar. The problem is, however, while MS seems to be outwardly backtracking, it most likely isn't inwardly. After the most recent MS updates I had several programs uninstalled: Right Click Enhancer; Speccy; Everything; NordVPN and TeraCopy.... not to mention Winstep Xtreme and several Stardock apps.
While the latter ones 'may' have been unintentional [though now I doubt it], the ones I mentioned beforehand have previously been uninstalled on other machines of mine. I also recall somebody else a while back posting about Updates uninstalling his copy of Speccy
Frankly, it comes across as though MS doesn't want some 3rd party apps on its 'flagship OS', and therefore will uninstall them during Scheduled Maintenance [which now I also have disabled] and/or Windows Updates. Like I said before, let's all do whatever it takes as users to slow down MS's march towards a Walled Garden, and hopefully as a united group we can prevent it.... like vote with our wallets if need be.
Microsoft has forgotten it was DOS that got them to where they are today. The purpose of a operating system is to run the computer(basically) programs. Somebody needs to come out with an operating system that let's you do this. Run programs, not just Microsoft programs oh wait they have it, and it's called Linux.
Microsoft has forgotten it was DOS that got them to where they are today. The purpose of a operating system is to run the computer(basically) programs. Somebody needs to come out with an operating system that let's you do this. Run programs, not just Microsoft programs oh wait they have it, and it's called Linux.
The problem with Linux becoming mainstream is that there are too many variants, and as such, there aren't enough major software developers willing to create for Linux because of it. While Adobe's Photoshop, for example, may run on Mint and Ubuntu, it may not on Red Hat and others. However, if the core variations between the distros were minimised so that various softwares ran on all of them, then perhaps the Linux OSes could rise to the fore.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Linux as I like Ubuntu and Mint a lot, it's just that I find myself coming back to Windows when I need various softwares to edit videos and etc. I'd love it if developers like Ashampoo and Stardock would create their software for Ubuntu, though, then I doubt I'd want or need to switch back to Windows.
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A message from the Rebel Alliance follows article.
The Weaponization of the U.S. government against non-compliant citizens continues today with the U.S. Department of Labor now targeting Peter Thiel:
(Via CNN Money) The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit Monday against Palantir, a data software startup said to be valued at more than $20 billion, for allegedly being biased against hiring Asian candidates.
The secretive startup was cofounded by Peter Thiel, an investor and Facebook board member who has emerged as perhaps the most prominent Donald Trump supporter in the tech industry. Thiel is also known for backing lawsuits against Gawker Media, which forced the company to sell itself.
According to the Labor Department lawsuit, Asian job candidates "were routinely eliminated in the resume screen and telephone interview phases despite being as qualified as white applicants."
[…] In a statement, Palantir called it a "flawed statistical analysis" and pledged to "vigorously defend" itself. (read more)
~ A Message From The Rebel Alliance ~
Do you think it is coincidental that Peter Thiel is suddenly sued by the DoL a few months after publicly putting his influence on the line politically? If so, that's a very naive position.
The President Obama Treasury Department already admitted to the targeting of political opposition, Tea Party Groups, through the IRS. President Obama claimed "not a smidgen of corruption", the IRS commissioner was fired, IRS division head Louis Lerner plead the fifth, and replacement IRS head John Koskinen apologized for what he initially called a "rogue operation based entirely in Cincinnati".
However, it was later proved this wasn't just a rogue operation.
Catherine Engelbrecht (True The Vote) was one of the IRS targets, and recent admissions by Washington DC politicians showed that Congressman Elijah Cummings did, in fact, conspire to use the IRS to target her. Remind yourself:
Elijah Cummings is still in office. The issue seemingly ignored.
Those who support the DC UniParty do not necessarily view the weaponization of government as a negative issue. The weaponization itself helps those in positions of power to keep control of the electorate through the apparatus of government. But the issues therein begin to amplify exponentially when you consider the ramifications of this path.
It was only yesterday when a popular radio host was taken off the air for discussing the possibility of Hillary Clinton's declining health condition. In essence, speaking uncomfortable truth, and/or challenging government is now punishable by censorship or worse.
Lest we too soon forget Nakoula Basseley Nakoula; the YouTube film maker who was necessarily blamed by Hillary Clinton for anxiety leading up to the Benghazi
protests violent attack.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was actually arrested and imprisoned – and even Politico admits he was nothing but a pawn needed to retain a lie presented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But the actual truth doesn't give him that year of his life back, does it?
To our brothers and sisters who might generally disagree with our politics, we ask you to think carefully about this rapidly dangerous political construct so many have ignored too long.
This vote on November 8th isn't just about selecting a president, you are making a critical decision about your own freedom.
Everything may seem like competitive snark and Brangelina quibble until there's a knock on your business, your livelihood, or worse yet – the door to your home….
When you see that justice is measured, not by due process, but by compulsion; when you see that in order to invoke your sixth amendment right to due process, you need to obtain permission from representatives who rebuke the constitution; when you see that justice is determined by those who leverage, not in law, but in politics; when you see that men get power over individual liberty by graft and by scheme, and your representatives don't protect you against them, but protect them against you; when you see corruption holding influence and individual liberty so easily dispatched and nullified – you may well know that your freedom too is soon to perish.
Borrowing from Mike Vanderboegh – This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can't be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won't be done. The Founders' Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.
But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.
And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.
With profound appreciation for your time and attention, and the warmest of personal regards.


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The Vampire Diaries' Caroline Forbes may have resisted Klaus' temptations, but can she resist the lure of college boys?
"We will see other male characters in the series that will be in college and that are good looking. So, there's definitely opportunity for temptation or flirting or whatever young freshman in college do," Candice Accola tells TVGuide.com in the video below. "But Caroline is still holding onto her relationship with Tyler."
Vampire Diaries! S.H.I.E.L.D.! Grimm! See our favorite "super-"shows
When we last saw Caroline, she had graduated high school with her best friends by her side. But the one person missing? Her love Tyler (Michael Trevino). After a brief visit to surprise Caroline for prom, Tyler left town to avoid the threat of his enemy Klaus (Joseph Morgan). But on his way out of Mystic Falls, Klaus told Caroline, "Tyler is now free to return to Mystic Falls. He's your first love. I intend to be your last — however long it takes."
So why is Tyler still absent when the CW series returns? And when they do eventually reunite, will their love remain?
The Originals' Charles Michael Davis is one of our fall TV crushes! See who else made the list
"They definitely care for each other, but we'll see that things have changed," Accola says. "It does parallel what young relationships go through when they move to college and are in two separate places. You're trying to figure out yourself and your life and your path and trying to meet other people. It's a lot for a relationship to withstand. So, we'll see how long she's able to do that."
Is that good news for Klaus-Caroline fans? Not exactly. Watch the video below to find out why:
The Vampire Diaries premieres on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8/7c on The CW.
(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, one of the CW's parent companies.)


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On Friday following a rather unproductive day in the office I took the tube to Angel and caught the 38 bus in order to meet some friends in a very residentially located boozer on the borders of Hackney and Dalton. A mutual friend of Swineshead and myself, Rochelle, had come all the way down from up t'North for work reasons and was now happy ensconced on the pub with another mate, Belinda and a further three other birds, Cath, Laura and Savannah. I felt a bit like Ziggy entering the Big Brother house, except I didn't say 'daddy's home' to the front door and proceeded to act like a testosterone filled bollock with hair thin lips and a penchant for conversing over the top of my 'yeah, that'll do' little bummer boys tattoo.
So far so good, I caught up with Rochelle and Belinda's comings and goings and chatted to Savannah, a former Melody Maker journo but now attempting to un-cuff herself from a dubious women's magazine. The Flowers was slipping down nicely (that's the beer, not actual fucking flowers, dear reader) when Swinsehead arrived with his missus, Theresa. Crowded round a tiny table in a rapidly filling pub I mentally acknowledged each cigarette I slid from my packet and the smoky atmosphere with a certain degree of pre-emptive nostalgia. A pleasant evening ensued, beers were appearing with splendid regularity and I did some laughs to boot. In time to catch the last tube Belinda and I caught a cab from the pub to Angel. The fucking cabbie wasn't prepared to take her on to West London, as she's a fucked knee I hung about to make sure she was able to find a ride back home before I hopped on the tube for a head-lolling trip back to my flat.
On Saturday, as is usual at the weekends, I woke up, annoyingly, at my usual weekday time and found getting back to sleep a non-starter. Why does this happen? Even if I go to bed early during the week I've no desire to get up, but when I am in a position to lie in, I can't be fucked. Bloody human condition.
I did a shit load of washing; my priority was to bleach Myfwt's blob spillage off the bedclothes and shove the lot into the machine. I would like to make it abundantly clear that such thing bothers me not a jot, had she (or indeed, I) grumbled an arc of beer slurry all over the Egyptian cotton I'd be a little more concerned. After a blast on Lara (got fucking stuck again) breakfast (smoked trout on toast) and the F1 qualifying, I made the usual Saturday trudge to fucking Sainsbury and spent my hard earned on essentials. My mind turned to the evening, the last time I'd be able to smoke a cigarette in a pub without getting fined £50, for fucks sake.
I'd arranged to meet Frank and Robert in my local, despite the beer not being up to much -lagers, no ales- the music has improved lately beyond belief and it has an edgier atmosphere that the usual Frank and I frequent. The pub wasn't too full, surprising for a Saturday, made more so by my expectation to see lots of smokers mournfully gazing at their fingers. It was 7pm, I had 5 hours to wolf down as many cigarettes as my endangered heart desired before becoming an outlaw for crying out loud. This was ridiculous, obscene, even.
Frank and Robert appeared a bit after 7, we chatted away, those two had been at boarding school together, you know what they say about what happens at boarding school (if you don't it's a word that sounds like 'thuggery') but Frank and Robert no more doff the brown hat than I. Indeed, they seem to have had quite a good time of it. When I was little if I misbehaved I was threatened with boarding school, a nightmare proposition, but I couldn't help feeling as if I missed something. Robert and I reviewed our Glastonbury experience; it transpired he'd had a better lot than I but I agreed it had sort of been worth it for the bands and company.
The beer and cigarettes were going down fast, as was the evening, we had a few frames of pool before finally settling down as the minutes ticked toward midnight. Frank bought a round of fucking tequila's which we demolished in between objections, I fucking hate the stuff, and the evening was closed with some Jack Daniels and coke. At 11.45 Frank and I bought one last pack of cigarettes from the machine before it gets slung onto the scrap heap. Ritually we pressed the Malboro red button together and split the pack. I lit my last ever cigarette in an English pub at 11.56 and drew heavily on it. When finished I crushed the butt into the soon to be defunct ashtray and for some reason, known only to myself, stole a pair of shot glasses as a way of exacting some sort of revenge. I was pissed rotten.
We said our farewells and I quite literally staggered the short distance home. I was even too bollocksed to eat or roll a joint so I went straight to bed.
Predictably I woke up at the usual time for bloody work but managed to get back to sleep until midday. I watched a rather average Grand Pricks, save a few moments of raw excitment, ate some kippers with a couple of cups of tea, tried to get Lara back on course and after failing did some writing, the fruits of which you're now reading. I have a dose of the screaming brown hot shits to boot, probably due to over indulgence and a lack of food.
This evening I'm going to cook some sausages and make a broccoli and cauliflower bake and avoid alcohol. I don't want to, I just should. Stick with my self imposed programme and all that. Doubtless I'll watch Big Brother and turn in early as tomorrow it's bloody work. Again.
On Radio 4 yesterday afternoon someone said life is like a Hen Ladder, shit from top to bottom. I laughed. I don't find it so funny now. I mean I can't even fucking well smoke in a pub anymore. Wankers.


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Silver Eagle Gallery, established in 1974, specializes in Authentic Native American Jewelry and Contemporary Sterling Silver Jewelry as well as Crystals, Gems & Minerals from around the world. Silver Eagle Gallery began in Wisconsin in 1974 as a dream of Craig and Deborah Nelson. They wanted to present the work of Native American artists in a way that avoids clichés and stereotypical thinking. A small retail space was leased in the fall of 1974. The Nelson's mission was to honor the artists, the work, and the culture of Native Americans. Relationships with over 200 talented Native American artists from over 20 tribes developed over the years resulting in a large and impressive collection of art and jewelry. The second Silver Eagle was opened in 1996 in beautiful Naples, FL on the Gulf of Mexico. In 2004, another gallery was added in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Highlands, North Carolina. Silver Eagle became a family business when son Ben, daughter Heather, and daughter-in-law, Mia became gallery managers and buyers. Silver Eagle continues to have a strong emphasis on authentic Native American art. Our website and showrooms in Naples, FL and Highlands, NC offer an impressive and extensive collection.
Silver Eagle has an exceptional inventory of handcrafted sterling silver jewelry for men and women including bracelets, earrings, pendants, rings, belt buckles, and necklaces. Our pieces are handcrafted from sterling silver, American Turquoise, Mediterranean Red Coral, Gaspeite, Onyx, Mother of Pearl, Spiny Oyster Shell, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Tiger's Eye, Opal and many other treasures from the earth. Top Native American Artists from tribes including the Navajo, Hopi, Santo Domingo and Zuni are well represented. You will find an impressive collection of modern and traditional works.
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Penang Hokkien Mee
>> Wednesday, September 12, 2007
This is one of the best Penang Hokkien Mee (a.k.a. prawn mee) I've ever tasted. Each bowl of this noodles costs at least RM10! Yeah man, it's no joke! :lol:
My friend's aunt was the cook behind this fabulous dish ;) In it were noodles, pork slices, small prawns, large prawns, squid slices, hard-boiled eggs slices, kangkung, beansprout, pork ribs, chilli sambal, & fried shallots! *yums* You can't get it anywhere else man...but her house! Hahahaha... :lol:
p/s: Readers who want the recipe, drop a comment & we'll see if we could get it for u from her aunt :P
- Ruth