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School of Social WorkThe School of Social Work embraces the mission of Eastern Washington University to expand opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning. We are committed to placing students first and engaging community partners in improving the lives of people in need while advancing the cause of social justice. The BASW and MSW Programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
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MSW Everett Part-Time Program
Thank you for your interest in pursuing your Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at Eastern Washington University's School of Social Work. For more information please contact Chris Williams.
The next MSW cohort in Everett is scheduled to begin Summer 2017. Watch for application materials in September 2016.
Mission of the School of Social Work:
The School of Social Work is committed to the ongoing development of social work education which instills a core commitment to building a society based on social and economic justice and enhancing opportunities for human well-being. The School engages students in the acquisition of critically assessed knowledge and practice skills focused on working collaboratively and therapeutically with people.
Vision of the School of Social Work:
The School prepares social work professionals for practice in the public sector or in those private agencies which address the needs of oppressed and disadvantage populations. Students are provided with the necessary values, knowledge and skills to practice within a rural/regional/small urban service delivery system environment.Graduates assume key professional practice roles in human service agencies, community organizations, collaborative networks and change focused coalitions.
The curriculum prepares students to engage in processes aimed at empowering individuals to improve their life situation and to modify the organizational, community and societal conditions that prevent oppressed populations from obtaining a basic quality of life. Through the combined commitment of the practice community and faculty, the School prepares students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for professional social work practice; serves place-bound individuals by providing structured part-time, off-campus, programs; responds to the needs of practitioners through the provision of continuing education, staff development and consultation; and undertakes research activities which contribute to the creation and dissemination of knowledge relevant to the profession.
What will I study?
The MSW program prepares professional social workers to engage in advanced generalist practice across multiple systems and provide leadership for social justice. The curriculum consists of a foundation for generalist practice and an advanced curriculum for advanced generalist practice.
The foundation curriculum focuses on social work practice, social welfare policy and theories of human behavior in the social environment. Courses include Foundations of Professional Social Work Practice, Social Work Assessment and Practice with Individuals and Families, Societal Context of Practice and Human Development in Contemporary Environments. Biopsychosocial Bases for Human Development provides a holistic framework for understanding the ways in which biological factors interact with psychological and sociocultural processes to influence human development. Social Work Practice in a Diverse Society develops knowledge of diverse populations with whom and on behalf of whom, social workers practice. The course also explores practice principles for working with people of difference and for working in an increasingly diverse society. Social Work Intervention and Evaluation with Individuals and Families and Social Work Groups continue the development of practice knowledge and skills.
The foundation continues to prepare students for generalist practice with systems of different sizes through the course Organizational and Community Contexts of Practice. Students learn to critically evaluate and use research in their practice in the course Research Methods for Program and Practice Evaluation. Students also begin the first quarter of a six-quarter field practicum and integrative seminar near the end of the foundation curriculum.
The MSW program requires a total of 968 hours of field practicum and 80 hours of integrative seminar sequenced over the course of the program. Each student is placed in a social service agency or other public or private organization related to the welfare of people. In the placement, the student performs social work tasks in the role of a student learner. Direction and instruction are provided by a faculty member of the School, working collaboratively with a designated agency supervisor in the organization. The faculty member, the agency supervisor and the student negotiate a contract specifying student learning goals, potential field learning experiences and the means for evaluating the field learning. Agencies and organizations throughout the state of Washington in rural, urban and regional settings are used as field placements.
Students who wish to complete practicum requirements within their current or former workplace must indicate this desire to the School at the time of admission. This indication does not automatically ensure a practicum in the workplace. Consideration will be given to each request individually. Practicum placements in the workplace must conform with all of the School's existing field practicum requirements.
Courses in the advanced portion of the curriculum prepare students for advanced generalist practice with systems of all sizes. Students develop leadership skills working with clients and communities to advance social justice, particularly for socially excluded, at-risk or marginalized populations. Two required courses in SOWK 602, 603 Advanced Generalist Practice I, II present theoretical models and specific skills in engagement, assessment and intervention with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. A required SOWK 568 Proseminar in Social Welfare Policies and Programs examines the political context for decision that affect the lives of clients. One required course, SOWK 526 Research Methods II, is also part of the advanced portion of the curriculum. Students also choose 12 credits of elective courses to help focus their learning to meet their professional goals. The required Practicum and its related seminar continue throughout each quarter of the advanced portion of the curriculum.
The plan for delivering the curriculum is shown below.
The MSW curriculum comprises sequenced foundation and advanced coursework. Off-campus, part-time students complete the program in a sequenced manner over the course of three years or 12 quarters.
Emphases / Concentrations:
- Critique and implement evidence and strengths-based intervention models within an ecological practice framework;
- Form relationships with community partners to meet client needs and address barriers to social justice across systems of all sizes;
- Practice from case to cause and back to case, demonstrating an understanding of the interplay between policy and practice and the impact on client systems;
- Engage in participatory forms of applied research to solve community problems.


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For casual games it isn't needed..temple run, angry birds,etc..but if they want to port SERIOUS games over it will be needed. I tried playing GTA3 on my iphone and I couldn't manage with the touch screen. If Apple sold a reasonably priced ($40 or less) Bluetooth controller compatible for PC/Mac/Iphone I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Apple rumored to be working on a hardware gaming controller
Rumor has it that Apple is quietly tinkering with a new device dedicated to making gaming easier on iOS devices. During their 2012 iPad review, AnandTech mentioned:
I know of an internal Apple project to bring a physical controller to market, but whether or not it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen. As smartphones and tablets come close to equalling the performance of current game consoles, I feel like the controller problem must be addressed.
The best third-party attempt at hardware remotes dedicated to mobile that I've seen to date is Zeemote. but if Apple ends up providing native Bluetooth connection support for standard game controllers like the PS3's, it may circumvent the need for Apple to make anything themselves. Personally, I think the Wii remote would be best suited for the job, at least from a style standpoint.
Apple is most definitely targeting gaming consoles with the new iPad, so the possibility isn't too far-out. Still, any game which makes use of AirPlay basically turns the iOS device into a controller while the image is beamed to your TV. If this Apple project actually comes to fruition, I worry that it will be some bastardized version of the Apple TV remote that isn't remotely ergonomic like the mock-up above, but until we get some more fuel for this rumour, that's not something we have to worry about for the immediate future. Besides that, who knows if it will be used with iOS, or will just be another Apple TV peripheral.
Gamers, how much are you hurting for an Apple-approved dedicated controller? Are touchscreen controls good enough for you as they are?
Source: AnandTech
Have something to say about this story? Leave a comment! Need help with something else? Ask in our forums!
Reader comments
Apple rumored to be working on a hardware gaming controller
I'm interested, what problems did you have with the gta controls ?
I played GTA on the new iPad. Perhaps it was the larger screen, but I thought the controls of the game were really intuitive and pretty comfortable. It wasn't as great as a physical controller would be and there was a bit of a learning curve, but once I got going, I forgot I was using a touchscreen.
Re: "a new device dedicated to making gaming easier on iOS devices"
Those devices being, of course, Apple TV and the potential Apple television set. Apple doesn't need to create their own physical controller for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. The touchscreen iOS devices have their own unique control paradigm, and it has proven to be wildly successful for many types of games.
But your big-screen TV is not a touchscreen device, whether it's an Apple branded television set or a TV with an Apple TV box connected to it. That's why Apple might want to design their own physical controller. To bridge the gap from couch to TV set.
That Air play thing if my iPhone was the controller and Apple TV put the image on my flat screen. That would work for me
"Gamers" don't need or want a controller for an iOS device. "Gamers" already own a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 or a gaming PC. Gaming, at least in the sense of hardcore gamers, has never been nor ever will be an area for Apple to shine. Casual gaming, yes. But no one truly needs a remote for casual gaming.
I can tell you what I DONT want. and that I something Xbox or PS3 like. If it requires me to carry a device as big as my phone, it is fail. I can see how it might be desirable as an iPad controller, but when would it be used? The iPad is too small for a living room, and on a plane or train, too close to you.
Something that clipped onto the bottom of the iPhone, with dual analogues and a couple of buttons, or was held indepently for the iPad would be good.

subset: commoncrawl


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Survivor Season 26 Episode 5 Preview: Brandon Goes Crazy — Scary Crazy
"Brandon Goes Crazy" may sound redundant, considering this is Brandon Hantz, but next week — on Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites Episode 5 — Brandon may finally have the meltdown he's been working toward for two seasons.
He already proved himself unstable on Survivor South Pacific and he doesn't seem to have tamed that inner beast. Cochran compared him to a sociopath because he can go from murderous rage to sweetness from one moment to the next. He's already threatened to pee in the rice (and beans) if things don't go his way, and in the new promo for the March 13 episode, we see Brandon knock over the rice and have a fit, as tearful Brenda and Andrea hold each other, Dawn tries to calm him down, and poor Malcolm probably regrets ever signing up for back-to-back seasons.
As Jeff Probst puts it in his voice-over: "Every season there is one moment that no one will ever forget." And apparently that moment for Season 26 is Brandon having a tantrum.
Watch the preview below.
When he shouts "Now vote me off, bitch!" is that Phillip Sheppard he's yelling at? It looks like Phillip's back walking away. So maybe it's crazy vs. crazy. Sigh. Is there any chance for sanity to be restored this season? Some of us actually watch Survivor for the gameplay, not the reality TV drama.
UPDATE: In another promo, it looks like Brandon vs. Phillip during an immunity challenge. They shout fourth-grade insults at each other. Then Jeff — who has his hands on Brandon's shoulders, for some reason — says "We're having tribal council right now." So ... expect the "favorites" to vote out Brandon right then and there.
Catch up on more Survivor stories below:
• Survivor Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites: Shamar Is Finally Gone!
• Survivor's Allie Pohevitz: Shamar Is "Vile" and a "Waste of Life"
• Neil Patrick Harris Wants to Do Survivor! Celeb Edition Coming?
• Survivor's Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca Split!
• Survivor Recap: Who Was Booted First From Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites Season 26?
• Survivor Caramoan Fans vs. Favorites Spoilers: Early Boot List, Final 3, Who Wins


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almost 6 years ago
290 comments
Just thought i'd pop in and say hello. STAY SAFE this Halloween weekend
Just stopping by to say hi hope all is well
almost 6 years ago
192 comments
Hey Dan, hope life in TX is going good for ya!
almost 6 years ago
5590 comments
Update...Sam's been promoted to Cadet PFC (sam_56 from FireLink), but he's still on me about getting people to write to him so here's his address again. I saw on his profile page that your on his friends list and wanted to ask if you could Please send letters and cards of encouragement to him at;
Michigan Youth Challenge Academy
Attn: Cadet Pfc.Brantley, Samuel II
1st Platoon
5500 Armstrong Rd. Bldg 13
Battle Creek, Mi 49016-1099
He's got just 8 weeks left and is expected to graduate December 6 and be able to come home then.
Thank you
Tonia Jacob ~ AKA Sam's Mom/Steve's wife
Stopping by to say Hello and hope you have a Great Sunday
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almost 6 years ago
almost 6 years ago
446 comments
just wanted to drop in and say hello just got off a call when clicked on your page I see you in all that water well its late and I m felling mean so I will just say it dont you know water is bad for some things LOL wanted to say hello stay dry and stay safe
almost 6 years ago
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Just stopping by to say hey!
almost 6 years ago
2778 comments
please take care always ;)
Stopping by to say HELLO, GOD BLESS and STAY SAFE
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almost 6 years ago
you be safe too and thank you for my angel!
almost 6 years ago
6430 comments
Hey Danny! just passing to say hi and hope u have a good weekend! tc n be safe!
almost 6 years ago
94 comments
Thanks. Have a good week. And a wonderful weekend.
Thanks for the add LT hope you ahve a great week be well
about 6 years ago
21360 comments
Have a Great Sunday, GOD BLESS and STAY SAFE


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What next for ocean trade?
The votes are in and the future does not look bright for a collection of marine species that are getting a pummeling from international trade. Fans of bluefin tuna sashimi and anyone outraged at the idea of taking a global stance against shark fin soup can heave a sigh of relief. Don't worry: it's business as usual.
In the build up to the 15th biannual meeting of CITES held in Doha, hopes had been high among some conservationists (I was one of them) that protection might be granted to some of the most threatened marine species that cruise the oceans in ever decreasing numbers thanks to human appetite for sushi, soup, and shark steaks.
But alas no. Despite all the scientific evidence that points towards extinction-by-overfishing, nations at the CITES meeting voted overwhelmingly not to offer any of these species international protection.
The trade in fins and meat will carry on regardless of massive, worldwide declines. Same goes for the imperiled bluefin tuna.
At the end of 2009 I helped research and write scientific reviews for IUCN and TRAFFIC of proposals to restrict international trade in 4 shark species: Oceanic whitetips, hammerheads, porbeagles and spiny dogfish (4 other sharks were also to be protected under the hammerhead proposal since their fins and meat are difficult to tell apart).
So, I've been through the data and I know the stories of all these sharks. And, trust me, they need all the help they can get.
The aim of these reports was to provide an expert analysis of the proposals to regulate and control the trade these sharks. We summarized the data and tried to make it easy for nations at the CITES meeting to make balanced and informed decisions.
I've seen the porbeagle and spiny dogfish data before – these 2 were rejected at the 2007 CITES meeting too. It leaves me wondering if the same species will keep coming up at CITES, time after time, until their numbers are so low they can be safely labelled as being "commercially extinct" i.e. don't bother going out to try and catch them.
This latest round of CITES negotiations on marine species has been the most public and – from where I'm sitting – the most frustrating and depressing.
When I set out to review the CITES shark proposals alongside a team of other wildlife trade experts, it wasn't a forgone conclusion and certainly not simply a case of "save the sharks no matter what the science says". We rigorously and objectively analyzed each species against the strict criteria set by CITES and – trust me – I could only wish the picture had been less clear cut and less desolate.
To be eligible for a trade ban under CITES, species of "commercially exploited aquatic species" (including sharks and tuna) need to have declined by somewhere between 80 and 95% from a historic baseline or by just 50% more recently.
If trade looks to be threatening the survival of a species in the wild but they don't yet meet these thresholds, then less strict trade regulations can be imposed in the hope they will stave off the need for a trade ban.
And shockingly all these sharks – except possibly a few populations of spiny dogfish that remain in reasonable shape - and bluefin tuna fall well within the trade ban criteria.
I won't repeat all the data here (if you want to know more, do check out the IUCN/TRAFFIC review documents) but here are a few of the more worrying statistics:
- Since the 1950s, oceanic whitetip sharks in the NW Atlantic and Central Pacific have declined by between 90-99%.
- Since the 19th century, hammerhead sharks and porbeagles in the Mediterranean have both plummeted by 99.9%.
- In the NE Atlantic, it took 82 years for porbeagle populations to collapse to 6% of their former abundance.
- Between 1905 and 2005, the population of spiny dogfish in the NE Atlantic population declined by 93.4 – 94.8%.
And I've not just taken the juiciest pickings of the data to try and make a point. Similar stories of demise have been going on across the ranges of these sharks.
Nevertheless all this science, all the fisheries statistics, models and projections have been ignored.
The CITES criteria are not only based on population declines. The biology of the species is also taken into account: species that are more biologically vulnerable should, according to CITES, be protected more carefully.
And sharks are some of the most vulnerable fish in the oceans. They tend to grow slowly, mature late, produce a small number of young, and live a long time.
During my research I was astonished to learn that spiny dogfish probably have the longest gestation of any vertebrate in the world. Female spiny dogfish are pregnant longer than us human beings and longer than elephants or whales. They can gestate for up to 22 months, and even after all that waiting they may only give birth to a handful of pups. That doesn't add up to a species that will cope well with commercial exploitation.
One big question that many people are currently debating is whether CITES is the right tool for conserving marine species, including sharks.
Some say this is the job of regional fisheries organizations (like ICCAT). The most vocal on this are China and Japan who seem adamant that CITES should keep their sticky beaks out.
Others say CITES lacks legal bite and with so many opt-out clauses has little effect on the species in real danger.
Nevertheless, there are a handful of sharks that have managed to get onto the CITES appendices.
At a landmark vote back in 2002, basking sharks and whale sharks were the first elasmobranchs to earn themselves international regulation, followed by great white sharks in 2004, and a trade ban in sawfish – a close relative of sharks – in 2007.
But where next for ocean trade?
Right now, I really don't know. My only hope is that all this attention and the mixed views being spread around the media will mean that the plight of the sharks and bluefin tuna – members of that unseen and largely uncared for marine world – will be higher on the interntional agenda and maybe those regional fisheries organizations will get their act together and do their job properly.
Of course as consumers we can all boycott bluefin and shark (ask where your fish and chips came from – it could be a spiny dogfish female who's been pregnant for 2 years). But I fear that might not be enough. International, top-down action will probably be needed too.
And if we don't do something there might not be any more bluefins and even fewer sharks to haggle over the next time CITES comes around.
Bluefin No Vote
This week, international negotiations are raging over a group of species that conservationists say are being pushed towards extinction. The cause of the problem: uncontrolled trade.
Votes are already coming in and the first big result is a NO VOTE on a potential ban trade in Bluefin Tuna. The trade will go on. Japan must be thrilled.
The plan – proposed by Monaco – had been to add the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna to appendix I of CITES – the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora.
Every two years, CITES members meet to decide which species should be added, removed, or upgraded on their lists that offer endangered animals and plants protection from international trade. Appendix I means a global trade ban. Appendix II means global regulation, aimed to keep the trade well within sustainable limits.
If the tuna vote had been Yes, it would have put a halt – for now – on legal trade in Bluefins from the Atlantic. Who knows what the consequences might have been: the black market might have carried on supplying anyone who wanted sushi. A new breed of sushi tourism might have opened up in Mediterranean countries that catch Bluefins (this was going to be a ban on international trade, not on catching them).
But Japan, Canada and a number of poorer nations voted against the proposal. And so the trade will continue, and we've missed a chance to help make sure there will still be Bluefins cruising the Atlantic in years to come.
And this is all despite overwhelming evidence that there are now few enough of these fish left in the oceans to meet CITES' stringent rules for a global trade ban.
Many claim that the tuna is being watched over by ICCAT – the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, so CITES isn't needed. But perhaps a more appropriate acronym could be the International Conspiracy to Catch All Tunas.
ICCAT set annual catch limits based on scientific data. These are not low enough and are often exceeded.
If you want a balanced and thorough overview of the Bluefin situation, I urge you to have a read of IUCN and TRAFFIC's review of the CITES proposal to ban the trade. They have crunched a huge volume of data and offer a neat summary of the whole deal.
There's a small chance the Bluefin No vote will be overturned at the end of the meeting. But it doesn't seem likely.
We'll have to wait and see if the Bluefins turn up again in the next round of CITES discussions in 2 years time.
Meanwhile, there are other threatened marine species under the CITES spotlight this week. A group of shark species have been proposed for trade regulation – not ban – under CITES. They include Oceanic Whitetips and Hammerhead sharks, both heavily exploited for their fins.
I'll be watching especially closely, since I was involved in writing reviews of the CITES shark trade proposals.
I can only hope these opportunities to help protect ocean biodiversity won't also be thrown away.
Quest of the curly-tailed horses
A few weeks ago at the University Library, here in Cambridge, I made a rather wonderful discovery. I uncovered a forgotten hero of underwater filmmaking (and I found some seahorses).
I was doing some research for my next book proposal (and no, I'm not going to say what it's about yet), and I did my usual trick of browsing a few books up and down from the one I came for. Unlike many other research libraries, the UL lets you walk among many of the shelves which means you often stumble on hidden treasures you weren't expecting.
It's interesting to see what books the library staff have chosen to catalogue together, using their baffling numbering system that seems determined to keep me wandering the shelves, cursing under my breath when the clockwork egg timer on the light runs out, plunging me into mid-isle darkness.
This time, on a shelf of natural history books I had passed by before, I noticed a title that set my eyes popping:
"Quest of the curly-tailed horses."
How did I manage to miss this one when I was researching Poseidon's Steed?
I was kicking myself. Surely, I'd been exhaustive in my search for seahorsey literature, and yet here was a neat volume, with a cute seahorse on the frontispiece. Of course the curly-tailed horses came right home with me that day. And over the following week I devoured the book in blissful evening installments while wallowing in the bath (one of my guilty pleasures).
And to my surprise, it wasn't just the seahorses in this book that I adored, but my discovery of the man who wrote it. This book, it turned out, was the autobiography from the 1960s of an important, but virtually forgotten character in the world of underwater filmmaking and exploration: Noel Monkman. And what a life he led.
Monkman was born in New Zealand at the turn of the 20th century. The book begins in his troubled childhood spent in sullen boarding houses, being shifted from place to place by his father who attempted to keep him away from his mother after she made the unpardonable decision to continue with a music career instead of devoting herself to family life. Times were very different back then.
In delightful early chapters, Monkman describes his time spent on the New Zealand coast where he made friends with a local maori boy and together they discovered the extraordinary wildlife of the beach. They built a rock corral on the shore and filled it with their favourite creatures, including the curly-tailed horses.
They must have been Big-Belly Seahorses, Hippocampus abdominalis, since it's the only species native to New Zealand. And at up to around 30cm or a foot from head to tail, these are the biggest seahorses in the world.
An amusing section in Chapter 6 describes his frustrations in trying to persuade the seahorses to eat. He offered them fish, bits of mussel, and all his own favourite foods: cake, biscuits, strawberry jam, plum pudding, apples, pears and plums. He even thought – being horses – he should try them on oats or bran. But no. The seahorses were having none of it.
Eventually, though, he cracks the puzzle of what seahorses eat, writing:
"As I lay beside the pool watching them, I noticed that occasionally one or other of them would turn slowly sideways as if watching something; then there would be a sudden flick of the head as if it had given a dainty little sneeze."
Sneezing seahorses. What a lovely image!
And how thrilled he was when he discovered the seahorses were feeding on minute animals.
"The worry about food for the curly-tailed horses had ushered us into a world of wonders."
I'm not going to give too much more away because a big part of why I loved this read was knowing nothing at all about Noel Monkman before I started and uncovering so many gems along the way.
What I will say is that his childhood love of the seashore, and seahorses, stayed with him and through a series of jobs and adventures, work as a portrait photographer, building laborer and concert cellist, until Noel Monkman eventually found himself exploring the Great Barrier Reef in the 1930s accompanied by his wife, Kitty, making the first ever underwater films of the world's biggest reef.
Their story echoes the famous explorations of another husband and wife team, Hans and Lottie Hass, and yet few people have heard of the Monkmans.
When I finished his book and began looking around online for more information about what happened to Noel Monkman, I was shocked to find so little.
So, I definitely recommend you track down a copy of Quest of the curly-tailed horses. Monkman led an extraordinary life with tireless dedication and ambition who we could all learn a thing or two from, and his book gives a vivid insight into what life was like back then. He truly is someone worth remembering.
A few more details:
- Noel Monkman died in 1969
- He wrote another book, Escape to Adventure, which is next on my reading list.
- This is the only other description of Monkman's life and works I've found online so far. Don't read it until after you've finished Quest of the curly-tailed horses, otherwise it might spoil the ending.
Marine reserves good news for penguins
When it comes to measuring the benefits of marine reserves (or Marine Protected Areas aka MPAs, or marine parks, or no take zones, or whatever you want to call them) it's usually fish populations or marine habitats that we focus on. Now it seems that protecting areas of the sea from fishing pressure can very quickly help ocean predators – including penguins.
A new study from South Africa reveals that when a 20km stretch of ocean – not a lot really – was declared off-limits to fishing fleets, a local colony of African penguins spent on average 30% less time out fishing for themselves. Within 3 months of the fishing ban, the penguins found more to eat inside the protected area now that the human hunters weren't competing for fish.
Spending less time hunting for their dinner is good news for penguins because it cuts down their exposure to other ocean predators that are partial to a penguin-dinner including great white sharks, orcas and cape fur seals.
At the same time, another penguin colony 50km away weren't so lucky. With no protection of their local fish stocks, they had to spend longer in the sea finding enough food for themselves and their youngsters.
African penguins are considered to be vulnerable to extinction, so it's certainly very encouraging that they can benefit so rapidly from the careful siting of relatively small marine reserves.
Hopefully more reserves like this will be created to help secure the penguins' future.
In detail:
- African penguins, also known as the black-footed penguin live on the SW coast of Africa.
- They are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist.
- Population declines are mainly blamed on overfishing of their target prey including sardines and anchovies by purse-seine fleets.
- In 2000, a catastrophic oil spill affected nearly half the entire population of African penguins and spawned the world's largest sea bird rescue operation.
- The paper by Pichegru et al is published in the journal Biology Letters.
Protect Chagos
Did you know that the world's largest coral atoll is British, and that it could become the world's largest marine reserve?
Those are two impressive facts and they apply to the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, some 300 miles south of the Maldives.
The coral reefs of the chagos are among the most untouched and healthy reefs left on the planet, mainly because they happen to be a long way from any major human settlements.
I'm writing this post partly just to tell you about the Chagos – if you haven't already heard of them – and also to ask for your help.
We have until Feb 12th – this Friday – to show support for the protection of the Chagos Archipelago and all the thousands of marine species that live there. The UK government – in a rare demonstration of expansive environmental thinking – is considering plans for a marine reserve that could cover 500,000 square kms. That is truly huge and far, far bigger than any other marine reserve anywhere today.
Containing hundreds of coral species and thousands of fish species (including, it's thought, important tuna breeding grounds), this area is of extraordinary biodiversity value. And yes, as I've mentioned a few times already, this is the International Year of Biodiversity, so what better time to make this monumental pledge to the natural world.
Specifically, there are three proposals under consideration:
- Strict protection for the entire archipelago i.e. no fishing at all, anywhere
- Moderate protection for the entire area, with some deep sea fishing allowed
- Protection of only the "most important" areas of reef
Conservationists are united in their support for option one. Over 10,000 members of the public have already showed their support, signing a petition urging the UK government to Protect Chagos.
The Chagos archipelago is part of the British Indian Ocean Territories and consists of 55 islands, including Diego Garcia, home to a joint UK/US military base since the early 1970s when the native Chagosians were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles. This, quite rightly, stirred up a huge human rights debate that continues to rage on today.
I don't mean to brush the human issues aside, but I'm not going to talk more about it in this post. Only, I do want to point out that plans for a marine reserve should not go against plans to allow Chagosians to return. If or when that happens, there is flexibility in the marine reserve plans to make allowances for the native islanders to come back and make a sustainable living from the seas around the archipelago. So this isn't a case of people versus wildlife – there should be room (to some extent) for both.
Please join over 10,000 other people in signing a petition calling for the highest level of protection in the proposed marine reserve: no fishing at all.
I've signed it. And I urge you, dear, thoughtful, planet-loving readers, to do the same.
And don't just take my word for it. Here is veteran environmental campaigner Tony Juniper saying much the same things as me.
The story of the red grouper
As I mentioned in my last post, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. And what better way to start things off than with a neat study from Florida telling us why some fish species are especially important.
This is the story of the red grouper.
As their name suggest, these chaps are usually red. They can grow to over a metre from head to tail although 50cm (or nearly 2 feet) is more common. They can apparently live for up to 25 years, which is quite a lot for a fish. And like many other fish, red groupers are sex shifters: they are all born as females and after between 7 and 14 years they reajust their sexual organs, transforming into fully-functioning males.
The warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and central west Atlantic, between North Carolina and Brazil, are where the red groupers call home. And it now turns out these fish help to build and maintain their complex reefy habitats.
"Red groupers are the Frank Lloyd Wrights of the sea floor" said the study co-author Susan Williams, from University California-Davis.
Felicia C. Coleman from Florida State University's Coastal and Marine Laboratory led the study in the West Florida Shelf, sending both scuba divers and mini-subs down to spy on the red groupers. The researchers watched on as the fish got busy, digging great holes in the seabed to live in – up to a few metres wide and deep. The fastidious fish then keep their homes neat and tidy, ejecting mouthfuls of sand and sweeping the rocks clean with their tail.
In a series of experiments, the research team temporarily kept groupers away from their excavated abodes (by putting a cage around them), showing just how well they maintain their burrows.
And it turns out that this meticulous housekeeping creates important three-dimensional habitat that many other species rely on, giving a boost to biodiversity wherever red groupers are present; it clears areas of hard rock for corals and sponges to settle on and provides hiding places for spiny lobsters and dozens of other fish species including many that we like to eat such as snappers.
No-one has yet experimented with taking away red groupers permanently to test out this theory; somehow that doesn't seem like a very good idea, these days. But this study from Felicia Coleman and colleagues gives us a strong hint that all would not be well if red groupers were to disappear. In their own habitat-building way, they could well be what ecologists call "key-stone species".
So, without the red groupers it seems likely that a whole host of other species would suffer.
And in the end that's why red groupers really matter.
In detail:
- Red groupers – Epinephelus morio – are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is a fairly low threat category but means they are certainly not safe. Many populations are considered to be overfished, especially parts of the Gulf of Mexico, and despite a few recoveries declines have been particularly bad in some areas.
- They are ambush predators, sneaking up on their prey and swallowing it whole, including shrimp, octopus, squid, fish and crabs.
- Other key-stone species include sea otters and starfish. They exert a disproportionate influence (for their size and abundance) on the rest of the ecosystem mainly because of their voracious appetites.
- The red grouper paper can be downloaded for free from the Open Fish Science Journal.
A new decade for biodiversity
I welcomed in the new decade under a stunning blue moon here in Cambridge, and it's got me to wondering whether the brand new year, and decade, that lie ahead of us might also be full of other rare and beautiful things.
2009 was undoubtedly the year when more people than ever before began paying attention to the problems of climate change. It was incredible to see these issues climb so high in the international agenda, even if the outcome might not yet be what most of us were hoping for.
But has all the talk about climate change distracted us from many of the other threats to the natural world?
Biodiversity – the wonderful diversity of wild species and the threats they face from human actions – is an issue that has been patiently waiting in the wings, waiting for the UN to push in out onto centre stage in 2010. Because this year is the UN International year of biodiversity.
The question is, will the dwindling populations of so many important, breathtaking, extraordinary species command as much global attention in 2010 as the climate change debate did in 2009.
Perhaps, if we're lucky.
Coming up in the following months are a few major international meetings that could decide the fate of some of the world's wildlife.
The international trade in bluefin tuna – highly prized for Japanese sushi – could be banned in March at the latest conference of CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Following the failure last November of management bodies to take bold steps to help stop these magnificent fish being hunted to extinction, CITES could be the bluefin tuna's last hope. But will countries with a vested interest in the trade be prepared to vote for a ban? The pessimist in me says, not likely.
Also on the agenda at the CITES meeting will be a group of sharks that conservationists fear are being driven towards extinction by demand for their meat and most notably their fins, to be made into the Asian delicacy sharks fin soup. I've been working for the last 6 weeks assessing the proposals to have hammerheads, oceanic whitetips, spiny dogfish and porbeagle sharks join a trio of awesome sharks that already have trade restrictions – the basking sharks, whale sharks and great white sharks.
I'll be blogging more about sharks and tuna this year, so watch this space.
Then, November will see another landmark UN meeting and with it another opportunity to make global deals that could help secure the future of the planet, this time at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Back at the Rio Earth summit in 1992 nations pledged to put a halt to the loss of biodiversity. And they were going to do it by 2010.
Everyone knows that this has not happened – no where near it. We are barely even starting to understand how human actions are affecting biodiversity, let alone figure out ways of stopping extinction.
So this meeting will be a tricky one, but could be vital if a way forward for global action against extinction is to be found.
But ultimately what I hope this coming year will do is help people appreciate why biodiversity matters, just like many people in 2009 began to realise why climate change matters.
The link between biodiversity loss and our own lives may not be as obvious as the threats from climate change, but there are so many ways in which we depend on healthy, diverse, functioning ecosystems. And that's something else I'll be writing about more this year.
For now, Happy New Year to you all. May 2010 be full of rare and beautiful things for us all.
Merry Xmas Tree Worms
Christmas is here and I couldn't resist writing about one of the most festive ocean inhabitants, the Christmas Tree Worms.
It's their outrageous headgear that gives the Christmas Tree worms their name. Most of the worm we don't see. They hide their rather normal-looking segmented bodies inside boulders of coral. But each worm has a pair of frilly bits called radioles, which they poke out of their burrows to sift food and oxygen from the water.
These scuba-divers' favourites can put on eye-popping multicoloured displays on coral reefs, like forests of miniature Christmas trees.
Creep up slowly on one and it will stay out and let you peer closely at its extraordinary spiraled protuberances that can be yellow, orange, brown, blue, red, or white or almost any colour at all. Waft a current of water past them and they flicker out of sight. (I admit that I like to watch for a while, then play magician, waving my hand above them and watching them disappear).
So, how do these festive critters take up home in coral in the first place? Well, they may look like nothing but feather dusters, but these hermaphrodite worms come fully equipped with reproductive organs and from time to time will shed sperm and eggs into the sea in the hope they will collide with each other, mixing the gene pool up a little. The resulting larvae then drift through the water for a while before finding a patch of coral they like the look of, settling down and building a chalky tube to live in. The coral polyps then grow around the worm until it is embedded inside the coral skeleton.
And of course these critters don't come out only at Christmas, but you can see them decorating reefs all year round.
As well as looking irresistibly pretty, Christmas tree worms might help to protect corals from attack by canivorous crown-of-thorn starfish, shoeing away any hungry predators that get near, tickling and irritating their sensitive undersides.
Anyway, I think that's enough facts for Christmas (although do scroll down to the end for some more if you want them), so I wish you all a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS 2009 and leave you with some more photos of these wonderful beasts. Enjoy!
In detail:
- The Latin name for Christmas Tree worms is Spirobranchus giganteus meaning 'enormous spiralled gills'. How apt.
- Christmas Tree worms are serpulids, a type of polychaete worm.
- Their radioles grow to about an inch tall.
- There are considered to be two subspecies of S. giganteus, one living in the Indo Pacific the other in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Both subspecies come in a range of colourmorphs.
- Study of the protective role of Christmas tree worms. De Vantier et al, 1986.
- Study of the different colours of Christmas tree worms. Song, 2006. The most popular colour is white.
- Christmas tree worms can live for over 40 years.
Life goes deep
Now that I'm back from snowy adventures in the Swiss Alps (under the guise of giving a graduate seminar on science communication – not bad at all) I must tell you about the latest episode of the BBC's Life series. Because this week they went underwater again, and it was brilliant.
Centre of attention were the invertebrates, a crazy diverse group of ocean critters that get up to all sorts of tricks and never fail to amaze.
Among them were big-brained Australian Giant Cuttlefish.
We watch on as the huge males (up to half a metre long plus tentacles) attempt to woo the opposite sex by putting on a flashy colour display and getting in raucous fights with each other over who's boss.
Less well-endowed cuttlefish males adopt a very different strategy for passing on their genes to the next generation: cross-dressing. Not very macho, admitedly, but it does the job nicely. By mimicking female colouration, the little males can wander into the mating arena without being chased off. The dominant male thinks he's lucked out with another female showing up, while in fact the intruding male gets a chance to nip in and mate with the real female. Clever, eh?
Sticking with the cephalopods, we also revisit the Giant Pacific Octopus we met in the first taster episode.
The female lays thousands of eggs inside a cave, tending them like a conscientious farmer tends his crops. It's such a gargantuan effort for the female that as soon as her young have hatched, she dies. But now we discover that the story of the octopus doesn't end there.
We get a glimpse of the gruesome reality of what goes on beneath the waves when a giant Sunflower Star (a huge variety of starfish) arrives on the scene – sped up by time-lapse photography – crawls into the cave and drags out the dead mother octopus using thousands of sucky tube feet. Sunflower Star plus a gang of other scavengers swarm over the dead body getting a good feed. It's not pretty, but it is important, otherwise the oceans would soon fill up with dead octopodes lying about the place.
Scavenging echinoderms also make an appearance in an extraordinary Antarctic scene (you can watch this clip outside the UK). The time-lapse photography is simply stunning, as we watch the sea floor crawling with colourful starfish (and rather terrifying three-metre carnivorous worms). All very pleasant until we find out what brought them there: a dead baby seal. But like I said, the world needs its carrion-eaters, scavengers and recyclers to clear things up for us.
In this underwater episode of Life we also see jellyfish eating jellyfish, peep at some on the invertebrate wonders of the coral reefs (including boxer crabs – so cool!), and watch on as herds of spiny Spider Crabs gather together by the thousand to moult and, pairing up, they tumble across the floor in a tight mating clinch.
And I'm now convinced that I don't ever want to find myself amid a gang of Humbolt squid. If ever there was a creature in the ocean to be a bit wary of, then these are most definitely them.
A razor-sharp, flesh-ripping beak and 70,000 hooks on each one: that's quite enough to put me off. And it seems they are very clever beings, communicating with flashes of red across their bodies.
But I would like to go diving beneath the Antarctic sea ice. Hang on for the making-of segment at the end of the episode to find out how the film crew took the astonishing footage of the starfish scavengers. An enormous drill makes a tunnel through eight-feet of ice, opening up an eerie blue doorway for the divers to plunge through to another world, somewhere I would certainly like to visit.
And so, once again, the BBC have gathered together some eye-popping footage that serves to remind us just how wonderful, diverse and surprising the oceans can be.
Thank you BBC.


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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Following a regular season opening loss to Stratford, the Berkeley Lady Stags softball team is suddenly playing like butter.
They are on a roll.
The Lady Stags broke open a 2-2 tie against West Ashley with four runs in the third and three in the fourth and held off a late Wildcats rally to win 9-6 in action last week. Brooklyn Stone went the distance for the win.
Peyton Svagerko smacked a pair of three-baggers and drove in four runs to lead the team. Jessica Stanley chipped in with a double and a triple of her own and two RBIs in the win.
Blake Ponder had three base hits and a pair of RBIs.
In the loss to the Lady Knights, Berkeley battled back from a 12-3 deficit to make the game close, and set the stage for two big wins last week.
"If you could call it a good loss, it was," said BHS Coach Boogie Grooms, who had to scramble after losing three starters to injury before the March 8 contest with West Ashley. "We battled back and put ourselves in a position to win. We just came up a little short."
Against Timberland, the Lady Stags broke out the big bats, posting a 15-3 win over the Lady Wolves. Jessica Stanley picked up the win in a complete game, and Payton Pinson led the offensive charge with a homer and three RBIs.
Ashtin Kullnat had a pair of hits, including a single and a double with 2 RBIs.
Tiffany Welch had a pair of doubles and Kristin Bennett two triples to lead the Lady Wolves.
Berkeley plays at home this week against Goose Creek, hits the road for a rematch with West Ashley, and closes out the week on Friday at home looking for a measure of revenge against Stratford.
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The last of the series of public events scheduled by the 1912 Courthouse Tragedy Centennial Committee will be presented on Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m. in the historic Carroll County Courtroom. There is no admission fee and everyone is welcome.
On March 28, 1913, Floyd Allen and his son, Claude, died in the electric chair in the Richmond Penitentiary. This, the final act in the sad drama of the Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy, brought to a close the death and destruction that occurred here 100 years ago.
In memorial, the Centennial Commemoration Committee and the Carroll County Historical Society will present a program by local author and historian Ron Hall on "The Final Days of the Allens." Hall, who retired from public speaking on the subject a few years ago, will return to the courthouse this final time to speak on the Tragedy.
The audience will hear of the final acts, thoughts, and words of the doomed father and son. The program will include numerous period photographs and details never before revealed. Music about the tragedy will be presented including an original song, "Floyd's Lament," written by a local musician.
For additional information, please contact the Carroll County Museum at (276) 728-4113 or by e-mail at email@example.com


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International Baccalaureate Program (IB)
Saint Benedict's and Saint John's participate in International Baccalaureate, a program assisting high school students to fulfill requirements of various national systems of higher education. High school students who have received the IB diploma and/or certificates are eligible for credit and/or advanced placement as determined by the appropriate academic departments. Prospective students should direct the International Baccalaureate Office to send testing results to the Admission Office prior to matriculation. Consult the Office of the Registrar, the Academic Advising Office or the Office of Admission for current departmental policies. See policies below
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You may have noticed things look a little different around here - we've switched to a new platform (XenForo) and have some new forum styles and features. This how-to guide will help you find your way around. If you find anything that looks strange, post it in this thread.
Red eye camerea?
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History of abortion in America
Published On: Mar 27 2013 11:13:21 AM CDT Updated On: Apr 28 2014 09:01:47 PM CDT
The House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday banning all taxpayer money for abortions. Take a look at the history of this hot-button issue in America.
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Other than taking BA, what have you been told to do to try (or heard of others trying) to prevent pre-e in a second pregnancy? Have you found or heard of anything that was successful?
I have read a lot on vitamin d, vitamin e and c...even coq10. But, of course, it seems like a lot of the research is mixed.


text: Maybelline Orange Edge ColorSensational Vivids Lip Color ($7.49 for 0.15 oz.) is a brightened, medium-dark orange with strong red undertones and a luminous sheen. Maybelline Vibrant Mandarin is very similar–it doesn't read quite as glossy but you don't need both. MAC Scarlet Ibis is close in color but matte in finish. MAC Sail La Vie is mostly matte and a touch lighter. OCC Psycho is a bit more orange and matte. See comparison swatches.


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According to reports provided by the Aiken Department of Public Safety:
A 32-year-old Aiken woman was detained for driving under the influence on Thursday after officers saw her vehicle drive up onto a concrete median on Hitchcock Parkway. The woman smelled strongly of alcohol and exhibited signs of intoxication. She was taken into custody after failing multiple field sobriety tests.
A 57-year-old Aiken man was detained for shoplifting on Thursday after he entered a store, selected several items and tried to exchange the items for money at the store's customer service counter.
An unknown woman took a clothing item from a store on Laurens Street on Wednesday without paying.
A wireless receiver was reported missing from the Aiken Community Playhouse on Newberry Street on Thursday.
Gunshots were reported on Maurice Terrace in Hahn Village on Thursday. Officers investigated but found no evidence of shots fired.
A vehicle break-in was reported on Greenville Street on Thursday. The owner reported a purse missing.
According to reports provided by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office:
A Columbia woman was detained for disorderly conduct on Thursday after officers found her asleep in her vehicle parked on Edgefield Road in North Augusta. The woman exhibited signs of intoxication and was taken into custody.
A North Augusta woman reported on Thursday that someone made multiple unauthorized transactions on her bank card.
A Warrenville man reported on Thursday that someone broke into his home on Green Acres Park Lane and took a gun, a cellphone, a purse and shoes.
A vehicle break-in was reported on Cherokee Drive in North Augusta on Thursday.
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National Organic Standards Board Announces Spring 2013 Meeting and
AMS No. 028-13
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WASHINGTON, February 25, 2013 The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is collecting public comment at
in advance of its spring meeting in Portland, Oregon, April 9-11.
The meeting of the board, which occurs twice a year, provides a public forum for the organic community to weigh-in on issues concerning organic production and processing. The upcoming meeting will take place at the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, 921 Southwest 6th Avenue, Portland, OR 97204.
During the meeting, the board will address several petitions pertaining to changes to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, including amino acids proposed for use in organic pet food, sulfuric acid, polyoxin D zinc salt, and tetracycline use for fire blight control in apple and pear production. The board will also hear updates from the aquaculture working group as part of their ongoing work on organic aquaculture. The agenda of topics and current proposals are available at
(select April 9-11, 2013 from the drop-down menu).
Written comments on the proposals can be submitted until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at
. While the meeting is open to the public, the National Organic Program invites those interested in sharing comments orally at the meeting to register in advance. Pre-registration to provide oral comments must be completed by March 19. More information about commenting requirements is available at
The NOSB is an advisory committee of organic industry and stakeholder representatives established by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. The board recommends whether a substance should be allowed or prohibited in organic production or handling, assists in developing standards for substances to be used in organic production, and advises the Secretary of Agriculture on other aspects of the organic regulations. Twice a year in the spring and fall, the board convenes to listen to public comments, discuss specific items pertaining to organic agriculture, and vote on recommendations for the National Organic Program to consider. Currently, the NOSB has seven subcommittees working on various topics of interest to the National Organic Program. The subcommittees are: Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification; Crops; Handling; Livestock; Materials; Policy Development; and the ad hoc Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
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*Requires a device running iOS 8. Your Mac and iOS device must be signed in to the same iCloud account.
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Click the green button in the upper-left corner of the window to go full screen when using Apple apps like Safari and Mail. Or press Control-Command-F to go full screen even faster.
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We'll help you choose exactly the right products and accessories.
- 8024 0835
The best way to shop from your iPhone or iPad.
Use the new Apple Store app to shop, research, read ratings & reviews and find a nearby Apple Premium Reseller.