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All kinds of animals, including fish, frogs, rats, sharks, dogs, cats, farmed animals, fur animals and in some cases even non-human primates, are harmed as part of a student’s education. This harmful use of animals occurs at pre-university levels for teaching general principles of biology, and at university level, as part of the formation of candidates in many fields, including psychology, biology, human and veterinary medicine, pharmacology, dentistry, and health care.
At times, animals are killed purposely to provide body parts, such as organs, tissues or cells. In other cases, whole animals, dead or alive, are supplied to students. Dissections are among the most common practices. This consists of cutting into the body of a pre-killed animal, generally to teach anatomical structures. Animal experimentation includes a variety of procedures on live animals. Vivisection is one of the most frequent practices. It consists of cutting into live animals, and is often followed by injecting chemicals to monitor the effects on the organisms, or to practice surgery skills. Other procedures, which may or may not result in the death of the animal, are observations on the effects of starvation or differently depleted diets on animal behaviour, infection development, and host resistance.
In 2013 , an estimated 228,759 animals were killed for education and training of Canadian post secondary students (1), however this number is believed to be grossly underestimated because institutions are not required by law to keep track of the number of animals used for education. The number of animals who die during the procurement process is also not counted.
HARMFUL USE OF ANIMALS
Procedures involving animal use in teaching are approved in Canada by university Animal Care Committees (ACCs). To be accepted, a procedure needs to comply with the guidelines of the ACCs, corresponding in most cases to the guidelines established by the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). Following these guidelines, alternatives should be sought before animal use is agreed upon. However, no strict procedure is required for the instructors to prove that no valid, non-harmful animal use alternatives are available. In addition, procedures involving pain and distress are allowed by these committees as part of students curricula.
Furthermore, most animal use in education can be said to be harmful to the animals, following the definition of harm adopted by the International Network for Humane Education (2). This definition considers not only physical harm, but also any limitations to animal freedoms that may cause fear, stress or discomfort. Elaborating on this definition, harm to animals occurs not only when animals are experimented on and killed, but in most steps leading to their procurement, such as during their capture and transportation, as well as when animals are prevented from engaging in their normal behaviours when housed and bred in captivity.
Blatant examples of harm endured by animals bred to be used by the educational system have been witnessed by an undercover investigator from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). An investigation of a US biological supply company revealed cats packed so tightly in transport cages that their flesh protruded through the wire mesh. The killing of the cats was supposed to happen as they were introduced into a gas chamber. However, several of them were observed to have survived this horrific experience, moving their paws (which were tied down) and clenching their teeth on the sponges stuffed into their mouths as employees prepared them for embalming. In the same manner, many rats were seen kicking furiously even after their skin was pulled back from neck to mid-section (3).
In addition to direct harm to individuals, the use of animals in education can be harmful to animal populations and the environment. Certain animals, like frogs and sharks, are often taken from their natural environment, leading in some cases to species depletion and the disturbance of ecosystems. (4)
IMPACT ON STUDENTS
The negative consequences on the students themselves, as well as the learning environment, should not be dismissed. Students who do not approve of the harmful use of animals in education are often faced with what they see as their only choices: performing the activity of which they disapprove and trying to block their feelings, dissociating themselves from the action (with the potentially severe consequences this may have on their psyche) (5), or, instead, choosing a field in which they won’t be asked to performed such acts. The latter, although less damaging psychologically, results in a dramatic loss for science of motivated, critically-thinking students who have a high degree of respect for life.
Students who do not have any objections to using animals are also subject to the negative consequences of a “hidden curriculum” (6). Indeed, by being educated in an environment where animals are mere learning tools and killing is the norm, students become accustomed to the idea that it is acceptable, and in certain situations even encouraged, to use and kill other sentient beings, solely for human interests. This contributes to the shaping of attitudes that may affect not only the students’ personal life choices, but also their future careers. For example, studies of veterinary students have shown that the harmful use of animals leads to a mechanism of desensitization (7) (8), which is certainly not in the best interest of their future patients. Researchers who have been taught harmful animal use are also most likely to perpetuate the use of animals in research and testing, in opposition to the search for humane alternatives. Any animal regulatory body concerned with a reduction of animal use in research and testing should consequently strongly favour the use of alternatives in education.
- (1). Statistics from the Canadian Council on Animal Care http://www.ccac.ca
- (2). Policy on the Use of Animals and Alternatives in Education. International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE) http://www.interniche.org/policy.htm
- (3). The PETA guide to animals and the dissection industry http://www.petakids.com/lanimaldisindust.pdf
- (4). The Use of Animals in Higher Education. J. Balcombe, Humane Society Press, pages 32-33.
- (5). The psychological effect on students of using animals in ways that they see as ethically, morally and religiously wrong. T. Capaldo, NEAVS, 2001.
- (6). The Hidden Values: Ethics and the Use of Animals in Education. Thales Trez, Master Degree Thesis, University of Leuven, 2001.
- (7). Vets learn to be hard, 10 March, 2000, BBC news http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_673000/673033.stm
- (8). Psychological Issues in the Educational Use of Animal Experimentation, V. Pomfrey, BSc (Hons), Dip. Nat. Sci. | <urn:uuid:29200bea-d3ee-4a22-8c7b-0f40573f60c2> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://adavsociety.org/animal-use/in-education/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506121.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401192839-20200401222839-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.953782 | 1,407 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Two identical spheres are connected by an elastic tether. The tether obeys Hooke's Law for ideal springs. At a particular moment in time, the tether is in a straight line, at its resting length, neither stretching nor contracting. This assembly is then placed into a circular orbit around the Earth, and oriented so that a line drawn from one sphere through the tether and the other sphere points directly at the Earth.
Give a qualitative description of the motion of the two spheres relative to each other over time.
In my mind the nearer to earth sphere tries to go faster, but as it gets ahead it begins to pull the other along. The nearer loses energy (and pulls away from the earth) to the further (which gets nearer to the earth.) Then they end up at the same distance from the earth with the one that was closer in the front.
Either that or the system ends up with enough rotational momentum that it begins to tumble.
Posted by Jer
on 2005-04-13 19:28:16 | <urn:uuid:6b1b56dd-c52a-45b3-844e-991512e3e7bd> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://perplexus.info/show.php?pid=2998&cid=22458 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221217951.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180821034002-20180821054002-00118.warc.gz | en | 0.938473 | 208 | 4.0625 | 4 |
What is Narcolepsy?
A person with this condition is unable to resist going to sleep or taking a nap. Symptoms include:
- Ongoing periods where you have an unstoppable need to go to sleep, are unable to stop yourself from going to sleep, or napping multiple times in the same day. You might be sitting and talking to someone and suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the conversation.
- This has been happening at least 3 times per week for 3 months or more.
- You might have sudden loss of muscle tone (called cataplexy) that usually happen after laughing or joking. For example, after you laugh, your knees suddenly buckle and you can't stand up, or you head droops down toward your shoulders.
- You might have sleep paralysis where you are unable to move or speak for a brief period of time when you are falling asleep or first wake up.
- You might have very realistic hallucinations right before you fall sleep or right after you wake up.
How common is Narcolepsy?
This is a pretty rate condition that happens in less than well under 1% of the general population. It happens to both males and females, but might occur a bit more in males.
What are the risk factors for Narcolepsy?
This condition is more common in those who sleepwalk, who have an REM sleep behavior disorder, or who grind their teeth and clench their jaw (known as bruxism) than in the general population. Medical conditions that affect the immune system, head traumas, or sudden changes in the awake-sleep cycle (a new job, stress, etc.) may also increase risk of developing this condition. There is also a strong genetic factor where it can run in families.
What other disorders or conditions often occur with Narcolepsy?
This condition can occur with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, obesity, and sleep apnea.
How is Narcolepsy treated?
There is currently no cure for this condition. The most common treatments include medication and lifestyle changes.
Medications may include stimulants that help keep the person awake during the day and antidepressants, which can help reduce the loss of muscle tone issues, as well as hallucinations.
Lifestyle changes to manage the symptoms may include setting a sleep schedule where the person goes to sleep and gets up at the same time every day (no changes between weekdays and weekends), taking short 15-20-minute naps a few times a day on a set schedule, getting regular exercise (not too close to bedtime), and avoiding nicotine (smoking) and alcohol. | <urn:uuid:e7fc7aec-d921-4583-ab5c-bfec6a0f1a5d> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://www.gulfbend.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=561&cn=100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463605485.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170522171016-20170522191016-00061.warc.gz | en | 0.952506 | 537 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Eating More Fish Linked to Reduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer
We already love seafood like salmon and shrimp for their heart, brain, and immune health benefits, but a new European study is giving us one more reason to order the catch of the day. Turns out, consuming more fatty, oily fish and lean, white fish could lessen our risk for colorectal cancer, too.
Researchers analyzed the eating habits of more than half a million participants from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study for approximately 15 years. Subjects were specifically asked about their dietary intakes of both fatty and lean fish during this time.
Stay up to date on what healthy means now.
Participants who consumed more of both types of fish on a regular basis—somewhere between 3.5 oz. and 7 oz. per week—had a seven percent lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who did not. Researchers believe this has something to do with the high omega-3 fatty acid content of several popular types of fish, like salmon, trout, and sea bass.
This is a major discovery, as colorectal cancer is the second most prevalent type of cancer for men and third for women globally. It is also on the rise in young adults, with a 90 and 124 percent expected increase in cases, respectively, for those 20-34 years old in the next decade.
Looking for delicious, easy ways to eat more fish?
- This Is Our Most Popular Fish Recipe on Pinterest (And It Isn’t Salmon)
- How to Buy the Best Fish
- 50+ Seafood Recipes Under 300 Calories
The current recommendation for fish consumption in the U.S. is at least 8 oz. per week, or the equivalent to two, 4-oz. servings. However, a recent study from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found Americans are seriously missing the mark.
Researchers monitored the consumption of various animal proteins in America for almost two decades and found only 15 percent of Americans are actually meeting the weekly recommendations for fish consumption. Most of us were consuming about half the recommendation, on average. The study also found that while we are consuming less than we did 20 years ago, we are still eating too much processed meat (which is considered carcinogenic by the World Health Organization).
The Bottom Line
The authors of this study mentioned they are still unsure as to why fish consumption decreased one’s risk for colorectal cancer, and more studies need to be conducted before touting both fatty and lean fish as a way to prevent this type of cancer. However, it looks like we could all benefit from consuming a little more fish (and a little less processed meat!), as there are plenty of other science-backed reasons to enjoy fresh-caught and frozen fish.
Source: Read Full Article | <urn:uuid:de51e460-c04a-4e68-a901-ac1de049d02d> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://crynfiction.com/food-trends/eating-more-fish-linked-to-reduced-risk-of-colorectal-cancer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987750110.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20191020233245-20191021020745-00351.warc.gz | en | 0.964149 | 585 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Use of TransAT to study air-lift system for oil extraction
Overview: In the air-lift oil-extraction technique (upper image), gas is injected at the bottom of a hydrocarbon production pipe reducing the gravitational pressure drop in the well. With this, the produced oil flow rate in the pipe is increased. Gas lift is a widely employed Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique to boost production from depleted wells, and its efficiency could have enormous financial impacts. Gas is injected from valves of variable complexity attached to the pipe wall, which generates large bubbles.
The challenge: The challenge is to optimize the nature of the bubbly flow in the pipe, since it seems that gas-lift efficiency can be improved by injecting rather small bubbles. Gravitational pressure drop is then reduced because: (i) the rise velocity of small bubbles is lower, and hence the residence time and void fraction in the pipe are higher, (ii) small bubbles are more evenly distributed in the pipe, which increases the gas void fraction, and (iii) small bubbles postpone the transition from bubbly flow to slug flow, which is an undesirable operating condition for gas-lift.
TransAT Solution: Interface tracking techniques (ITM) were first tested to track bubble dynamics in a prototype idealized riser, as shown in the 2nd image left, even if phase-average models would have been cheaper. Immersed surface Technology (IST) combined with Block-Mesh Refinement (BMR) are used to simplify the meshing of complex gas-injection mechanisms as shown next in the real case from CNPC. Unsteady RANS (or V-LES) turbulence modeling provide a more faithful picture of the flow, in particular when use is made of ITM’s, which is a more adequate model combination. To get an efficient solution in terms of quality-response time, the phase-average N-Phase model was preferred at the end for the CNPC case to calculate the void fraction of gas in gas lift valve as shown in left. Here the density is decreased by gas injection and the mixture of oil and gas will be lifted by bottom pressure. Different diameters of the valve were considered to improve the flow rate of oil.
InfoExpert: Contact our expert
Dr Mathieu Labois
Tel. + 41-44-445-4072 | <urn:uuid:db3e043b-4b6c-4cff-8338-44a9ccb5ad68> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://ascomp.ch/china-oil-gas-corp-2/?id=325 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084892699.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180123211127-20180123231127-00614.warc.gz | en | 0.940957 | 478 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Digital Technologies For Resilience
This site houses information and resources developed by FHI 360, with grant funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, to support resilience practitioners and the broader development community to identify digital technologies that have the potential to enhance resilience outcomes, particularly in Asia.
Currently, you can find an inventory of more than 100 digital technologies that are being used for resilience, as well as a tool to help you more effectively plan to use digital technologies and conduct due diligence on digital technology providers.
We also hosted two workshops on this subject in Bangkok. The second Digital Technologies for Resilience Workshop was held on November 27-28. 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. You can also find more information about and outputs from the first Digital Technologies for Resilience Workshop that we hosted in Bangkok, Thailand on November 14-15, 2017.
We have also helped to set up local country chapters for those with an interest in learning and sharing about tech for resilience in a number of countries around the globe.
What do we mean by resilience?
"Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities and systems to survive, adapt, and grow in the face of stress and shocks, and even transform when conditions require it. Building resilience is about making people, communities and systems better prepared to withstand catastrophic events—both natural and manmade—and able to bounce back more quickly and emerge stronger from these shocks and stresses." Source: The Rockefeller Foundation | <urn:uuid:26d41ba9-b208-4ca9-a7b8-129296eea216> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://sites.google.com/view/digitaltech4resilience/home | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585696.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20211023130922-20211023160922-00494.warc.gz | en | 0.938815 | 289 | 2.703125 | 3 |
You don't need to attend the United Nations climate change conference to know what's really going on.
Ignoring the fallacies behind the "science" of man-made global warming, a new U.N. report on "climate justice" says the U.S. and other countries owe $24 trillion in "climate debt" to the rest of the world. The report, "Climate Justice for a Changing Planet," argues that the United States is "historically the largest global emitter" of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore has the biggest "debt" to pay.
President Obama seems prepared to accept this bogus claim by attending the United Nations conference on December 18.
The U.S. failure to pay, argues leftist Canadian writer Naomi Klein, has already produced "climate rage" and a "global movement for climate justice" led by Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales. The implication is that if the U.S. doesn't pay up, protests and even violence could break out.
In a statement, the Morales regime declared that "What we call for is full payment of the debt owed to us by developed countries for threatening the integrity of the Earth's climate system, for over-consuming a shared resource that belongs fairly and equally to all people, and for maintaining lifestyles that continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of the poor majority of the planet's population."
In other words, Americans are supposed to feel guilty over having a successful industrial economy. It is a system that has produced more wealth for more people than any in human history.
A detailed proposal from Bolivia says "a wealthy minority," presumably in the U.S. and other "rich" nations, "has already over‐consumed a considerable amount of environmental space," thus "denying it to the poorer majority who needs it in the course of their development."
Naomi Klein describes the proposed payments as "reparations."
But as startling as the figure of $24 trillion sounds, a separate report from the U.N. Environmental Program says the cost could be as high as $45 trillion. It is estimated that "a package to address climate change and energy development needs at the global level may require US $45 trillion up to 2025," it says.
The March 2009 "Global Green New Deal" report says that the global financial crisis is an opportunity to usher in a new international socialist order. "The rules of financial architecture and of global environmental governance are being simultaneously re-written in 2009," the report explains. "We believe that there is a unique historical opportunity now to create the basis of a new Green Economy that is able to allocate natural capital and financial capital in a far more effective and efficient manner into the foreseeable future. We must not miss this chance to fundamentally shift the trajectory of human civilization."
The author of this report was Professor Edward B. Barbier of the University of Wyoming. His "Global Green New Deal" report was prepared in consultation with the U.S. Presidential Climate Action Project, a little-known entity launched by the University of Colorado whose advisory board includes ousted White House communist "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones. World Net Daily highlighted Jones' role in the group in a November 30 story by Aaron Klein.
Co-authored by Barbara Adams and Gretchen Luchsinger, the most recent United Nations report on "climate justice" says "because the world's richest countries have contributed most to the problem, they have a greater obligation to take action and to do so more quickly." Paying a "climate debt" is the way to make sure that "extreme imbalances in development are evened out."
"China now produces the largest amount of overall national emissions, topping the United States," the report says. "But this figure must be qualified by the fact that China's population is four times as large as that of the United States, making its per capita emissions rate roughly 75 percent less."
Hence, the U.S. is still the chief culprit and should pay the most.
The report was launched in conjunction with the U.N. climate change conference now taking place in Copenhagen and is designed for the consideration of policy makers and non-governmental organizations. It is being distributed by the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service.
"Given the escalating pace of global warming," the report argues, the world "now has to act with far greater urgency…" But change is possible only with "major economic and political rearrangements around the core principles of equity and sustainable development."
These are euphemisms for destroying private property rights and the free enterprise system and creating a global socialist superstate.
Under a heading about the need to "transform the systems and institutions that have created climate change," the authors say that "tinkering around the edges" will not suffice and that "Governance and development models should be built around notions of justice and equity, with the objective of working for the planet and people as a whole, and evening out imbalances that are not sustainable. It is not enough to talk about low-carbon pathways through technology, for example, without also rethinking current models of production, global trade and consumption patterns."
Proposals for "climate change financing" include a Comprehensive World Climate Change Fund, into which payments could be made, and a global carbon tax.
The ATTAC movement says, "Change the system, not the climate!" ATTAC, which stands for the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens, favors global taxes on currency transactions.
A more detailed article on "climate justice" explains that "It isn't simply a matter of asking the rich world to pay for the devastation climate change is causing in the developing world. As a report recently launched by World Development Movement and Jubilee Debt Campaign points out, 'climate debt' questions a global free market system which has pushed many developing countries into high carbon pathways that they now need to find a way out of."
This is about as clear as it gets―free markets will give way to a worldwide socialist state, created under the guise of solving a climate crisis that does not really exist.
The authors, Nick Dearden and Tim Jones, attempt to throw cold water on Lord Christopher Monckton's contention that this amounts to a blueprint for "world communist government." However, they acknowledge that the proposal does imply "fundamental changes in the global economy" and the "radical redistribution of the world's resources."
Do you think we can count on the major media attending the conference to report on the real agenda behind the event? | <urn:uuid:dd65c4d7-1be6-415c-ae3f-dc4723953a45> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.conservativetruth.org/article.php?id=1464 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042987662.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002307-00213-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957325 | 1,338 | 2.75 | 3 |
75% of all serious mental disorders start before the age of 25 and until only recently, specific treatments for young people have been neglected.
The poor mental health of young people is now receiving more attention and services are being set up to tackle this problem. At Warwick Medical School we have assembled a group of leading academic experts in the field to explore this area of such importance. Our course is designed to educate and inspire health care workers interested in the field.
Topics covered include: -The rationale, problems and solutions to providing specific care to young people with mental health problems. -Novel approaches to working and engaging young people in treatment. -Updates on management of common mental disorders in young people including mood disorders and emerging psychotic disorders.
This interactive course uses a mixture of teaching methods, including group work, practical exercises, and talks from WMS academics such as include Professor Max Birchwood and Professor Swaran Singh.
A certificate of course attendance and course completion will be will be issued by the University of Warwick.
This course is designed for those involved in working with young people with mental health problems. The course would suit NHS professionals including interested GPs, psychiatrists, nurses and allied health professions. It may also be of interest to professionals working in the third sector who have a good working knowledge of the area. It focuses on theory, models and new approaches to the assessment and management of youth mental health difficulties. | <urn:uuid:528f3aab-109a-45ea-b49a-a7ef32bc3f40> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.findamasters.com/search/masters-degree/i369d4504c44491/youth-mental-health-master-class | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719416.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00469-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968176 | 285 | 2.640625 | 3 |
By Andreas Loudaros Historically, the Church of Constantinople is the only Church that has the right to set up new Autocephalous Churches because of the inability to convene an Ecumenical Council. With the exception of the Church of Cyprus and, of course, all the Ancient Patriarchates, all other Autocephalous Churches and Patriarchates were “born” in Constantinople.
For the first time in the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church, that was about to change when the Phanar took the decision – deemed as astonishing even today – to share that prerogative with the other Churches.
Simply put, by that time the issue of autocephaly was handled exclusively by the Phanar without the slightest consent of other Churches. Under the new regulation, the Phanar had to obtain their consensus. Eventually, the Tomos of Autocephaly would be issued by consensus not only of the Ecumenical Patriarchate but also of all the other Churches and Patriarchates.
However, by that time Constantinople was “giving birth” and had to “introduce” the new sister Church to the Orthodox family. From now on, under the new system, the family’s consensus had to precede the birth.
Read the full article in English HERE
Read the original article in Greek ΕΔΩ | <urn:uuid:1fbfa230-7c4f-4529-bcf9-d0490090c82d> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://orthodoxia.info/news/kiev-moscows-trojan-horse-to-conquer-constantinople/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233511364.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20231004084230-20231004114230-00741.warc.gz | en | 0.974312 | 277 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Today is Digital Learning Day which is part of a campaign to improve teaching and learning through the use of digital tools and technology.
Edutopia has a great article today entitled "Seven Digital Learning Tips for Students" that list and explain seven attributes that students should have or need to develop for successful online learning.
Considering how much learning, whether formal or informal, is done on line, these are important tips and attributes.
This list complements my list of "10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have" and "10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future."
Edutopia is a great resource for educators, especially in regards to best practices, project based learning, digital learning, classroom management, assessment, and technology integration. | <urn:uuid:a1a4268d-a36b-404d-9e80-d5e90ff6bfcd> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2012/02/digital-learning-tips-for-students-from.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247484772.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20190218074121-20190218100121-00189.warc.gz | en | 0.918424 | 147 | 3.109375 | 3 |
|franc comorien (French)|
فرنك قمري (Arabic)
no longer used
|Banknotes||500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs|
|Freq. used||25, 50, 100, 250 francs|
|Rarely used||1, 2, 5, 10 francs|
|Central bank||Banque Centrale des Comores|
|Printer||Banque de France|
|Mint||Monnaie de Paris|
|Source||The World Factbook, 2012 est.|
|Pegged with||euro = 491.96775 francs|
The franc (French: franc comorien; Arabic: فرنك قمري; sign: CF; ISO 4217 code: KMF) is the official currency of Comoros. It is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes, although no centime denominations have ever been issued.
The French franc became the currency of Comoros after the islands became a French protectorate in 1886. In 1891, Sultan Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) issued coins denominated in centimes and francs which circulated alongside French currency. In 1912, the Comoros became a province of Madagascar, which was also a French possession. French banknotes and coins circulated in the colony. Apart from an emergency issue of small change notes in 1920, the French currency circulated alone until 1925.
On 1 July 1925, the French government formed an agreement with the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas to create the Banque de Madagascar, headquartered in Paris, and granted it a private monopoly to issue currency for the colony of Madagascar. The Malagasy franc (French: franc malgache) was equivalent to the French franc and French coins continued to circulate as Madagascar had no coins of its own until 1943.
When the Comoros became a separate French territory in 1945, the name of the issuing bank was changed to the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores (still headquartered in Paris). A branch office opened in Comoros in 1953. While the banknotes were changed to reflect the new status of Comoros, the coins were not changed and bore only the name Madagascar. On 26 December 1945, the Madagascar-Comores CFA franc was established and its value was fixed at 1.7 French francs. Old Madagascar coins and banknotes continued to circulate as this new currency. On 17 October 1948, the CFA franc was revalued to 2 French francs.
In 1950, the French government took over majority ownership of the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores. On 1 January 1960, the French franc was revalued, with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc. (Décret n°59-1450 du 22 décembre 1959) The new exchange rate was 1 Madagascar-Comores CFA franc = 0.02 French francs (50 Madagascar-Comores CFA francs = 1 French franc).
On 26 June 1960, Madagascar gained independence from France, and the Institut d'Émission Malgache (headquartered in Antananarivo) was created to issue currency only for Madagascar. Madagascar left the CFA zone effective 1 July 1973.
On 23 November 1979, the government of Comoros signed the Accord de coopération monétaire entre la République Française et la République fédérale islamique des Comores, a monetary cooperation agreement with France, making Comoros part of the franc zone (but not part of the CFA franc zone). This agreement provided for the establishment of a system of fixed parity between the French franc and the Comorian franc and free convertibility between the two currencies, guaranteed by the Comorian central bank's opening of an operations account (compte d'operation) at the French Treasury (Trésor public) to handle all exchange transactions. Sixty-five percent of the foreign exchange reserves of Comoros are held in euros in this account. This account is similar to overnight deposits with the French Treasury: it may bear interest and may, in special circumstances, post a negative balance. However, to prevent this account from showing a lasting overdraft, a number of preventative measures have been set up.
The stability of the Comorian franc is founded on tight monetary and credit discipline, underpinned by two specific safeguard measures: the central bank is required to maintain 20% foreign-exchange cover of its sight liabilities, and the government is not allowed to draw more than 20% of the previous year's budget receipts from their central bank funds. The ministers of finance of the franc area (France, the CFA zone and Comoros) meet biannually. The agreement between France and the Comoros is essentially the same as the agreement France has with the CFA Zone. It is a continuation of a relationship of monetary cooperation between the two countries that has existed for more than a century.
Until 1994, the Comorian franc was pegged to the French franc at the rate of 50 Comorian francs to 1 French franc. This was changed on 12 January 1994, when the currency was devalued in concert with the CFA franc devaluation. however, the Comorian franc was devalued 33⅓% to a new rate of 75 Comorian francs for 1 French franc, while the CFA franc's new rate was 100 CFA francs to 1 French franc. With the creation of the euro in January 1999, the Comorian franc was pegged, at its prevailing rate, to the new currency. The exchange rate is now 491.96775 Comorian francs to 1 euro.
European Monetary Union
- the agreements are unlikely to have any material effect on the monetary and exchange rate policy of the Euro zone
- in their present forms and states of implementation, the agreements are unlikely to present any obstacle to a smooth functioning of economic and monetary union
- nothing in the agreements can be construed as implying an obligation for the European Central Bank (ECB) or any national central bank to support the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs
- modifications to the existing agreements will not lead to any obligations for the European Central or any national central bank
- the French Treasury will guarantee the free convertibility at a fixed parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
- the competent French authorities shall keep the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Economic and Financial Committee informed about the implementation of the agreements and inform the Committee prior to changes of the parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
- any change to the nature or scope of the agreements would require Council approval on the basis of a Commission recommendation and ECB consultation
The statutes of the Central Bank of the Comoros (Banque Centrale des Comores / البنك المركزي القمري Al-Bank al-Markazi al-Qomori) state that its board of directors shall have eight members who are chosen from the Comorian Government, the French Central Bank (Banque de France) and the French government. The post of Deputy Director of the Central Bank of the Comoros is held by a Banque de France official, who is responsible for monetary policy. Since 19 November 1999, all the central bank's official rates have been pegged to the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA) leading to a stabilisation of interest rate differentials with the euro. The BCC applies a compulsory reserves system (30% of deposits) and a bank monitoring system. The headquarters are located in Moroni, and the current bank governor is Mer Said Ahmed Said Ali.
In 1890, Sultan Said Ali of Bambao, Ngazidja issued bronze 5 and 10 centimes and silver 5 francs. The coins were struck in Paris to the same specifications as the corresponding French coins. The three coins ceased to be valid in theory in 1912 but the lower two denominations were still turning up in general circulation as late as 1930. The two bronze coins are frequently used for magico-religious purposes. All three coins bore similar inscriptions, including the date 1308 AH, which corresponds to the Gregorian calendar years 1890/91 AD.
In the 1920s, a shortage of coins led to the issuance of private tokens by the principal colonial company on Ngazidja and a sugar plantation on Mayotte. Denominations included 25 and 50 centimes and 1 and 2 francs. Aluminium and bronze were used in these tokens.
In 1964, coins were introduced specifically for use in the Comoros, replacing the Madagascar coins previously in use. Aluminium 1, 2, and 5 franc and aluminium-bronze 10 and 20 franc coins were issued. In 1975, nickel 50 francs were introduced, followed by nickel 100 francs in 1977 and nickel 25 francs in 1981. Nickel-plated-steel replaced nickel after 1990. The Institut d'Émission des Comores issued coins between 1975 and 1977, whilst the Central Bank has issued coins since 1981.
Until 1975, only French appeared on Comorian coins. Since then, Comorian has also been used.
|Coins of the Comorian franc|
|1 franc||23 mm||aluminum|
|align=center||2 francs||2.2||27 mm||aluminum|
|5 francs||3.75||31 mm||aluminum|
|align=center||align=center||10 francs||22 mm||aluminum bronze|
|align=center||25 francs||3.9||20 mm||nickel|
|align=center||align=center||50 francs||6||24 mm||nickel|
|align=center||align=center||100 francs||10||28 mm||nickel-plated steel|
General circulation Comorian coins have always been minted by the Monnaie de Paris. This is indicated by the cornucopia mint mark on the coins, visible to the left of the date, although this was omitted from the 1994 50 franc piece at the request of the Comorian government. The coins are manufactured at their facility in Pessac, Gironde.
The 5-franc coin is nicknamed reali, referring to the Spanish real; the 2-franc coin is nicknamed nusu, meaning "half", and the 1-franc coin "robo", meaning "quarter". The 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-franc coins are rarely used because of their low value. The 25- and 100-franc coins contain the phrase "Augmentons la production alimentaire" (Let's increase food production). The 5-franc coin contains the phrase "Conférence Mondiale sur les Pêches" (World Conference on Fishing). Both of these phrases are references to programs by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Comoros is one of 114 countries that have issued FAO coins. More information on FAO coins can be found here.
The first Comorian paper money was issued in 1920. It consisted of an emergency issue of Madagascar postage stamps fixed to card to allow them to circulate as money. Denominations of 50 centimes and 1 franc were issued.
Loi ordinaire 62-873 du 31 juillet 1962, Article 12, allowed the Banque de Madagascar et des Comores to continue issuing notes in Comoros after Madagascar began issuing its own currency but, beginning 1 April 1962, they had "COMORES" overstamped on them. Denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were issued. As per Décret 64-1038 du 07 octobre 1964, banknotes without the overstamp ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 1964.
The overstamped notes circulated until 1976, when 500, 1000 and 5000 francs were introduced by the Institut d'Émission des Comores, the 50 and 100 franc notes being replaced by coins. The central Bank took over production of paper money in 1984. 2500 and 10,000 franc notes were introduced in 1997, followed by 2000 francs in 2005. The 2,500-franc note was demonetized on 31 January 2007.
Comorian banknotes are printed by the Banque de France at their paper mill in Vic-le-Comte and their printing works in Chamalières, both in Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne. The 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 franc notes dated 2005 and 2006 contain the EURion constellation, along with other improved security features to make them more difficult to counterfeit.
|Current KMF exchange rates|
|From Google Finance:||AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD|
|From Yahoo! Finance:||AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD|
|From XE.com:||AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD|
|From OANDA:||AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD|
|From fxtop.com:||AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD|
- Abal Anrabe Abdou Chacourou (2003). Franc comorien (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-7475-4843-0
- Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
- Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
- (in French) Banque Centrale des Comores official site
- (in French) Text of the 1979 Comorian Agreement of Monetary Cooperation at Banque de France
- Council Decision of 23 November 1998 concerning exchange rate matters relating to the CFA Franc and the Comorian Franc
- Franc zone information at Banque de France
- (in French) Franc zone information at Banque de France (in French, but more extensive than the English version)
- (in French) Central Bank of Madagascar
- Images of Comorian banknotes at Islamic Banknotes
- Numismatics of Comoros
- Numismatics of Comoros by Dr Iain Walker
- Coins of Comoros
- Comoros at Ben's FAO Coins collection
- (in French) La fabrication des monnaies utilisées par les Comoriens
- (in French) "Les Monnaies à Madagascar", Louis Molet
- A table of conversion rates between the euro and the Comorian franc | <urn:uuid:ea5ab40c-0daa-4788-80a2-893a0b2e2c9b> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comorian_franc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323588246.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20211028003812-20211028033812-00581.warc.gz | en | 0.887045 | 3,105 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Starting in late afternoon on 23 October 1942, vehicles rolled out from under their camouflage nets and started line up in their assigned positions. From the front to the east, you saw for about thirty miles behind the front lines, vehicles driving east to get into their places. The way the system worked, you saw parallel lines of traffic, so allow for the mass movement that was needed. As the sun was setting, you had the infantry divisions moving into their assigned places. From "right to left" you had the 9th Australian Division, the 51st Highland Division, the 2nd New Zealand Division, 1st South African Division, and the 4th Indian Division (an old North African veteran). Following the infantry divisions were the 1st Armoured Division and the 10th Armoured Division. Supporting artillery units included the 1st RHA and the 104th RHA. Towards the south you had the 50th Division and the 44th Division. You also had a Greek Brigade and then the 7th Armoured Division. The 1st Free French Brigade was to their left. That night there was a large moon, almost full. As it became dark, they served food to the men in front. tapes were put in place to show the line that they would follow. As the transport had moved into place, you lost the road noise that they had previously heard. Everything became quiet, as the men waited for the time to move forward. Soon, the men could hear the sound of aircraft approaching from the east. They were British bombers. soon, you could see the flashes of the "long-range guns" firing. At 9:40pm, there was a great sound of field artillery firing. Soon, the artillery fire from guns firing "rapidly" and in large numbers could be heard.
The infantry moving forward were heavily loaded with ammunition and some grenades. They had food, pick or shovel, and four sand bags. They had to carry all that and still be ready to fight. The men quickly took their initial objectives, but they were surprised by the effort required to clear mines. On the far right of the attack was the 2/24th Battalion. They found that they were taking 25pdr rounds that were falling short. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Australian Official History. | <urn:uuid:b471ec65-db48-4d99-8e81-1e4d49eef78e> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | http://panzer-abwehr.blogspot.com/2019/10/second-el-alamein-starting-on-23.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347390442.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20200526015239-20200526045239-00412.warc.gz | en | 0.994104 | 468 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Appendix B: Control tips for common nuisance species in New York
Click here for "Wildlife Damage Management Fact Sheet Series--Snakes" from Cornell University
This account will focus on the four species that are often found near homes; the common garter snake, eastern milk snake, black rat snake, and northern
water snake. There are 17 species of snakes in New York. Eight of them are
statewide. Listed below are the species found throughout the state, and the
rarest species, because three of them receive special legal protection.
New York is home to two endangered snakes (Eastern massasauga and queen snake),
one threatened species (timber rattlesnake), and two species of special concern
(eastern hognose snake and eastern worm snake). Although the category, "species
of special concern" does not give any extra protection, it does show that
the population is low enough to worry biologists.
For more information and color photographs, see Cornell's wildlife damage
management fact sheet about snakes.
Nonvenomous snakes, usually docile:
- Common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. Common
- Eastern milk snake, Lampropeltis t. tiiangulum. Common
- Northern brown snake, Storeria d. dekayi
- Smooth green snake, Liochlorophis vernalis
- Northern redbelly snake, Storeia o. occipitomaculata
- Eastern ribbon snake, Thamnophis sauritus
- Northern ringneck snake, Diadophis punctatus edwardsii
Found only in certain parts of the state—
- Black rat snake, Elaphe o. obsoleta (found only in scattered pockets,
upstate). Common near homes.
- Queen snake, Regina septemvittata. (rare, in scattered pockets
in western New York). Endangered.
- Eastern hognose snake, Heterdon platirhinos (coastal plains and
Hudson River Valley). Species of special concern.
- Eastern worm snake, Carphophis a. amoemus (coastal plains and
north to Albany county). Species of special concern.
- Shorthead garter snake, Thamnophis brachystoma (southern tier
Nonvenomous, aggressive (found statewide):
- Northern water snake, Nerodia s. sipedon. Common
around homes with nearby ponds.
Venomous, defensive (found only in certain parts of the state):
- Eastern massasauga, Sistrurus c. catenatus (rare, in Onondoga
and Genessee counties only). Endangered.
- Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus (rare, in lower Hudson Valley,
parts of western New York, and the southern Adirondacks). Threatened.
- Northern copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen (lower Hudson
How to tell a nonvenomous snake from a venomous one in New York:
||Pupil: like a cat's eye, vertical
|No pit between the eye and nostril
||Pit between the eye and nostril
(the 3 venomous snakes in NY are all pit vipers)
|Shape of head variable, often slender
||Broad, triangular-shaped head
|Scales underneath the tail, toward the tip,
|Scales underneath the tail, toward the tip,
Black rat snake: Up to 4 1/2 feet long.
Garter snake: 2–4 1/2 feet, usually
Milk snake: Up to 4 1/2 feet long. Sometimes
confused for the copperhead.
Water snake: Up to 4 1/2 feet long.
Signs of their presence:
- Water snakes often sun themselves on boat docks.
- Milk snakes and black rat snakes are frequently found in barns.
- On cool days, you may find snakes (especially the black rat snake) resting
on top of the heating ducts in buildings heated with forced hot air.
- Sounds: Silent, except for the rattlesnake, which rattles, and the milk
snake, which may also vibrate its tail if annoyed.
- Scat: Elongated, whitish. The scat of a black rat snake may be large.
- Large shed skin (over 2 foot long): Probably from a black rat snake.
- Evidence of their feeding: Hard to identify, because they swallow their
- Garden and crop damage: None, because they are strictly carnivores.
- Building damage: None, because they use only existing holes and entryways,
and don't create others.
Carnivores. Black rat snakes eat mostly small rodents and birds. Garter snakes
eat mostly earthworms, but also slugs, amphibians, fish, crayfish, insects,
small birds, other snakes, and carrion. Milk snakes eat rodents and other snakes.
Water snakes eat mostly fish, also amphibians, insects, and crayfish. Other
snakes add spiders, bird eggs, and rabbits to the menu.
Typical activity patterns:
Social style: Solitary, but may hibernate with other snakes, even those of
Daily activity: Mostly diurnal. Milk snakes are usually nocturnal.
Hibernator? Yes. Snakes will often hibernate (usually from October/November
to March/April) in a large group that may include snakes of different species.
Migrates? No, but they do move to hibernating site.
Distribution in NY and the Northeast: The common garter snake, milk snake,
and water snake are common throughout New York. The black rat snake is only
found in certain spots in upstate New York. There is another species of garter
snake (the shorthead garter snake) that is common, but only in the southern
Black rat snake—woods, fields, rocky
hillsides, river bottoms. Often found in barns or other areas that are home
Garter snake—wide variety of moist areas,
from woodlands to marshes to fields.
Milk snake—usually seeks brushy or woody
cover in many of same habitats favored by black rat snake. Also often found
in barns or other areas that are home to rodents and other snakes.
Water snake—rivers, brooks, wet meadows,
ponds, and swamps, preferably still or slow-moving water, in areas with overhanging
branches and rocks (for cover and basking). Common near dams and bridges. Often
suns on boat docks.
Black rat, garter, and milk snakes will follow
their prey into barns and houses, usually in basements but sometimes attics.
That's especially true for the black rat snake, because it's an excellent climber.
Most snakes prefer sunny areas where rock or wood piles and other debris provide
cool, shaded hiding places. They move from sunny to shady areas to regulate
their body temperatures.
Territory and home range: Not generally territorial, but snakes are faithful
to den sites ("hibernacula") in their home range. They'll reuse these
sites from year to year, and are sometimes found in large numbers. This makes
them vulnerable to habitat destruction and persecution.
Pair bonding style: Polygamous.
Mating dates: Black rat: May–June.
Garter: first few warm days after emerging from hibernation, usually mid-March–May,
then mates again in the fall before entering hibernation. Milk snake: June.
Water snake mates in April–May and again in the early fall.
Egg-layers: Black rat and milk snakes lay
eggs in loose soil, decaying wood, or sawdust or manure piles. Black rat snakes
lay their eggs from May through early July. Milk snakes lay theirs in mid-June–July.
Live young: Garter and northern water snakes.
Birthing/eggs hatch dates: Garter snakes
give birth July-early September. Northern water snakes give birth in August-early
October. The eggs of the black rat snake hatch between July and September, those
of the milk snake from late August-October.
Clutch size: Black rat snake: average 14
(6–24). Garter: av. 14–40 (3–85). Milk snake: av. 13 (6–24).
Northern water snake: av. 20–40 (10–76).
Weaning dates: Young are able to fend for themselves at birth or upon hatching.
Common nuisance situations:
Time of year: Spring through fall.
Snakes don't damage buildings or eat crops. They only enter buildings through
existing holes, cracks or "doors" (such as an open window). Some people
are afraid of snakes. Others welcome them, because some snakes eat mice and
rats and help to control those pest populations. Remember, however, that if
a snake can get into a home, so can other creatures.
What are they doing?
- These snakes sometimes hibernate in buildings, especially the basements
of old houses with stone foundations. They usually enter houses through torn
screens, open basement windows, cracks in the foundation, or through gaps
next to pipe and cable entrances.
- They follow prey (mice, insects) into cellars, crawl spaces, attics, barns,
sheds, garages. They may also be found in wood piles and debris, in heavily
mulched gardens, and under shrubs, tarps or planks. They seek cool, damp,
- Their presence may frighten or annoy people. Several species, including
the garter snake, may emit a foul and musky smell when handled.
- Disease risks: salmonellosis (food poisoning).
- Injury risks: nonvenomous snakes have tiny teeth. They leave a faint, U-shaped
bite mark. Their bites rarely hurt much or cause problems, with the exception
of the northern water snake, which is known for its nasty bite. Few people
encounter New York's venomous snakes, and fewer still are bitten—and
even then, the bites are rarely fatal. A bite from one of New York's venomous
snakes (copperhead, massasauga, timber rattlesnake) will swell, hurt, and
turn black and blue. Children and the elderly are at greatest risk for a severe
reaction. If bitten, remain calm and get medical help. Do not use a commercial
snake bite kit; they tend to do more harm than good.
De-bunking myths about snakes:
- If bitten by a venomous snake, do NOT try to suck out the poison. Do not
slice the wound. Get medical help.
- Snakes don't dig. They can't make holes.
- The milk snake and northern water snake (both non-venomous) are often confused
for the copperhead or the water moccasin (both venomous).
Legal status in New York:
The black rat snake, garter snake, milk snake, and northern water snake are
unprotected. As are New York's other snakes, except:
Queen snake: Endangered.
Timber Rattlesnake: Threatened.
Remove their food sources:
- Grains, pet food, and bird seed will attract mice, insects, and other species,
which then attract snakes. Keep these foods in mouse- or insect-proof containers.
Exclude insects and mice from your buildings.
- Reduce the amount of mulch in your garden, around trees and shrubs (again,
this will discourage mice and other potential snake food).
Reduce their shelter:
- Mow closely around the building.
- Remove wood piles, junk, and piles of rocks.
- Don't plant right next to the foundation, because that provides cover for
snakes and many pests.
Prevent them from entering building:
- Seal all openings that are larger than 1/4" with mortar, expanding
foam, cooper mesh (Stuf-Fit®), 1/4" hardware cloth, or sheet metal.
- Fences may keep them out. Use 1/4" hardware cloth. The fence should
be 3 ft. high, buried 1 ft. deep, with the bottom edge bent outward into a
"L"-shaped shelf that sticks out at a 90° angle to prevent the
snakes from slipping under the fence. Fences are more likely to work well
around a small area. Otherwise, high maintenance needs may make this impractical,
because some snakes would be able to travel through chipmunk tunnels that
pass under a fence.
- Although snakes cannot create holes, they will use holes that were made
by rodents and other animals. To prevent the problem from happening again,
you may need to identify the maker of the holes and exclude them, too.
Direct capture methods and live traps for non-venomous snakes:
- Pick them up, wearing heavy leather gloves for protection. Support the
snake's entire body to keep it calm. Hold snakes behind the head, to keep
them from biting you.
- With care, snakes can also be captured with a "snake stick,"
which is a catchpole modified for snakes. A forked stick can also be used
(carefully!) to pin down a snake.
- They can be scooped into a garbage can using a scoop or shovel.
- To live trap water snakes, add a brick-sized piece of Styrofoam to a minnow
trap (so the trap will float, allowing the snake to surface for air). Bait
with about a half-dozen minnows. Attach a rope to the trap for easy retrieval,
then float it in near the shoreline.
- If the snakes can't be found, you can lure them to a spot where they can
be easily captured. Place piles of damp towels or burlap sacks on the floor,
near the walls. Cover the pile with a dry burlap bag to keep it moist. In
a few days, return to the pile during the middle of the day, when the snakes
are most likely to be there. Scoop up the pile with a large shovel, put it
into a large garbage can, and carry it outside.
- Several variations on the above technique: Use a board or a piece of plywood
instead of the pile of towels or burlap sacks. Place some decomposing grass
clippings on top of the board, which should be 1" off the ground. Dead
mice or mouse droppings placed underneath the board will help to attract snakes.
Check every few days. This technique works well with garter snakes and black
rat snakes, but is not as effective with water snakes.
- Create a reptile tube trap, based on a technique suggested by HSUS animal
capture consultant, Dave Pauli. Inside this trap, the temperature should be
just right for the snake—more appealing than the surrounding area. The
trap is a piece of thin-walled PVC tubing that's 2–3 ft. long. Drill
a few 1/8" air holes along the length of the tube. Cap one end. In cold
weather, place a disposable hand warmer, battery-operated electric sock, or
heating pad in the far end of the tube, along with some soft cotton rags.
If you have fresh rodent droppings, you may want to toss a few in there, too.
(In hot weather, substitute an ice pack or cold, wet rag for the heat source.)
Then drill a 1" hole into a cap and use it to cover the other end of
the tube. Although the snakes can leave the trap, they usually stay inside
because it's more comfortable for them. You can install a one- way valve by
affixing a 1 1/2" stiff plastic circle over the inside of the cap. The
snake can push its way in, but can't leave easily. (This trap also works with
other reptiles, such as lizards.)
- Glue boards designed for mice will also catch smaller snakes. You may be
able to release the snake unharmed by pouring a little bit of cooking oil
onto it. Some biologists believe the oil harms the snakes.
- Only experienced snake-handlers should capture venomous snakes. They're
often handled using a catchpole and then transferred into a sturdy container.
Using a one-way door to exclude snakes from a building:
- Technique developed by wildlife consultant William Bridgeland. Roll aluminum
insect screening into a tube, then attach it over the entry hole, which is
usually found in the foundation. Angle the tube up slightly, and flatten its
outer end a bit. Leave the tube in place for at least two weeks while snakes
are active (summer). Don't substitute another material for the insect screening.
Snakes may use scent to find their entry holes. Insect screening scatters
odors, which would make it harder for the snakes to locate the entry hole,
but other materials might retain their scent and direct the snakes back to
the opening. If they find the opening, they may be able to get back inside.
For NWCOs with a commercial pesticide applicator license:
- There's a repellent, Snake-A-Way, registered for use against rattlesnakes
in New York. Its effectiveness varies greatly depending on the species.
Preferred killing methods:
First, discuss the situation with your customer. Is it really necessary to
kill the snake? (And remember, is it legal?) Would removal and exclusion be
sufficient? If not:
- Shooting, using bird shot (target the head)
- Stunning and decapitation
For more information: | <urn:uuid:0a23a0ad-c12b-4030-b707-19484a0239aa> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://nwco.net/08-AppendixBNuisanceSpecies/8-15-Snakes.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657125488.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011205-00045-ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904581 | 3,810 | 3.21875 | 3 |
2688ac/1088ha LNR, SPA, SSSI
Grid ref: TQ 911 837 (click for o/s map)
Mouse over links for pictures; click for detail page.
Stretching more than eight miles from Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness, Southend's foreshore – the area lying between normal high and low tide marks, also known as the intertidal zone – is internationally important for migrating birds, and for that reason has been declared a Local Nature Reserve.
In winter, its mudflats serve as a feeding ground for large numbers of birds that migrate to the Essex estuaries from their less hospitable breeding grounds further north. The sheer numbers of birds and their movement as they retreat before the advancing tide make for a tremendous spectacle. You can expect to see flocks of waders such as knot or dunlin wheeling and circling, along with lapwing, curlew, redshank and grey plover. Ducks that feed here include teal, mallard, wigeon and shelduck.
There are fewer birds in summer, some resident like shelduck, oystercatchers, ringed plovers and redshanks, and others, like the common and little terns, that arrive here in spring and stay on to breed.
Southend pier is a good vantage point for watching terns plunge diving for food in summer, and on cold days in the winter you may see a variety of divers, grebes and other sea birds out on the estuary, and possibly purple sandpipers around the pier itself.
If you don't have your own binoculars or telescope, you can use telescopes positioned all along the seafront and on the pier
Viewable from many points along the seafront from Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness, and from Southend pier.
Train to Southend Central or Shoeburyness, then work back along the front as the tide drives the birds westwards towards Two-Tree Island, returning from one of the other stations.
Accessible at all times.
Winter for large numbers of birds feeding on the mudflats –best viewed when the tide is low, so check tide tables before you visit. | <urn:uuid:ad2dd154-08f2-45df-9d10-ab3ae5842031> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://wildessex.net/sites/Southend-on-Sea%20Foreshore.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814292.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180222220118-20180223000118-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.935283 | 470 | 2.546875 | 3 |
We all want to be happy in our lives, don’t we? But what does it really mean to be happy and what is the science behind it?
For centuries, philosophers and scientists have grappled with the idea of happiness, and how you measure it in people. And although happiness is something we all look for in our lives, sometimes we find it tricky to describe.
Look at how we measure success: we use numbers, like Gross National Product (GDP), which tells a story about how rich (or poor) we are as a country.
But did you know one country, Bhutan, values happiness so much that it measures its success by how happy everyone is? Rather than counting up how much money everyone has, they find out how happy each person feels, leading to an overall measurement of Gross National Happiness. Pretty cool eh?
But what is the actual science behind happiness? What happens in our brains and our bodies to make us feel happy? And what can we do to alter this?
Happiness is partly genetic
The latest scientific research tells us that happiness is a mixture of how happy you are with your life and how good you feel day-to-day. These are generally pretty stable throughout our lives because about 50% of our general happiness is determined by our genes. That means that we inherit some of our ability to feel happy from our parents, via our genetic makeup.
The good news is that around 40% of our happiness is made up of things we have some control over. That means there are things we can do to improve our general happiness, but before we go into that, let’s dig deeper into those chemicals in our brains that are responsible for our feeling of happiness.
The chemicals in our brain that determine our happiness are not straightforward. There isn’t just one particular chemical in a certain amount that will make us happy. Instead, the levels of “happiness hormones” like dopamine and serotonin, are different in each person and will vary from one day to the next.
Let’s take serotonin first. This is a neurotransmitter which means that it’s like a chemical messenger. It’s created in the brain and in the intestines, but it’s circulated in your blood throughout your central nervous system.
Serotonin is a big part of the science of happiness and is often known as the “happiness chemical”, because the more serotonin you feel, the greater your feeling of confidence and well-being. On the flip side, people who have low levels of serotonin circulating in their bodies, are more likely to report low mood and even depression.
Serotonin is a chemical that is more abundant when you feel valued by those around you. As social animals, this feeling of connectedness is an important part of happiness.
Can you increase your serotonin levels? Yes! Getting lots of sunshine, exercise and cuddles all help to increase serotonin levels naturally. Likewise, you can even try visualising something that makes you happy and that might help you to feel those happy vibes!
Dopamine, another neurotransmitter, is produced in the brain and circulated around the body to affect your heart rate, your blood pressure, and even your experience of pain.
But unlike serotonin, dopamine is released by your body like a reward for something great, like when you’ve reached a goal or had an amazing game of football. You experience something wonderful and your body rewards you by rushing your body with this feel-good hormone, making you feel happy and fulfilled.
Can you increase your dopamine levels? The answer is, yes! Exercise is a great way to do this; so is getting enough sleep and eating healthily.
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that’s released when you experience positive physical or emotional contact with another human being and fills you with feelings of calm, trust and security.
It’s the hormone that’s vital to parent-child relationships, particularly in breastfeeding, childbirth and early bonding, but it can also be experienced between friends and when you fall in love.
Can you increase your oxytocin levels? Yes, of course you can! It’s literally as easy as giving someone you love a great big hug.
Endorphins are the body’s natural pain relievers and are produced in the pituitary glands and the central nervous system.
And as if relieving pain wasn’t amazing enough, endorphins actually increase your experience of pleasure. Just like dopamine, they’re released when you’ve experienced something nice, like playing a great game or eating a delicious cake. When you do sport, you get a rush of endorphins which can make you feel a great sense of well-being.
Can you increase your endorphins? You bet! Best way is to do some exercise that you love. Maybe whack up the music and get dancing, or get your football boots on and go for a kick-about.
Happiness is about more than just chemicals
Although some of our ability to experience general happiness comes from our genetics, the great news is that happiness isn’t fixed.
That means that with effort and consistency, we can improve our happiness levels, a bit like how we can affect our overall health by getting lots of exercise and eating the right food.
There are certain habits that have been proven to change people’s levels of happiness chemicals. Practising gratitude, building close relationships, helping others in need, getting enough sleep and exercise and eating healthy food, are all proven to improve your brain chemistry and improve your day-to-day happiness.
What do you find makes you instantly happy? Does it give you that exciting buzz, or does it fill you with that lovely feeling of safety and calm?
Mindfulness has been proved to be a great way to keep happy. If you haven’t heard of mindfulness, it’s the practice of doing an activity you can get fully immersed in so that your mind calms down and you feel those lovely happiness hormones in your body.
Our “Think and Tinker” box has some amazing activities to fully immerse you, get your hands and brains focusing, and give you that rush of satisfaction when you’ve completed each task.
- A rubber band racing car kit – build-it then optimise its performance.
- Cool Catapults – build a variety of different types of catapults then see which one shoots the furthest.
- A go-slow marble run (Jumbo only) – see how slow you can make the marble go and time it with your collectable digital timer.
- Well, well, well (Jumbo only) – Create a pulley system for a well and see how fast you can scoop all the water. | <urn:uuid:f884e4ad-8432-4b45-bb85-a2285fb97aa1> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://curiosity-box.com/2022/03/14/the-science-of-happiness-whats-behind-the-smile/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517018.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517063528-20220517093528-00005.warc.gz | en | 0.948399 | 1,476 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Zeiss Cirrus Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Optical coherence tomography produces very high-resolution cross-sectional images of the retina, optic nerve, and cornea. OCT works much the same way as ultrasound, except that it uses light instead of sound waves to create the images. It does not require any contact with the tissue being imaged, meaning that nothing touches your eye. OCT is tremendously useful for diagnosing and monitoring many eye diseases, including macular degeneration, glaucoma, macular edema, macular hole, and epiretinal membrane.
Optos P200C Wide-field Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope
The Optos P200C ultra wide-field scanning laser ophthalmoscope captures high resolution digital images of up to 82% of the retina in about one quarter of a second. This instrument uses low-powered red and green lasers to scan the different layers of the retina, and then assembles the scans into a composite image for the doctors to view. Images from previous visits can easily be viewed beside the current image in order to look for changes inside your eyes. Optos images (known as “Optomaps”) are useful in diagnosing and following almost any eye condition that affects the retina, such as retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein or artery occlusion, choroidal nevus, and many others.
Canon CR-1 Mark II Digital Retinal Camera
Canon’s digital retinal cameras benefit from the company’s wealth of experience in photography. Rather than ultra wide-field images like Optos’s, the Canon retinal camera zooms in on the optic nerve and macula to produce incredible close-up photos of these two important areas at the back of the eye. These photographs are helpful in following patients with diseases such as glaucoma or macular degeneration. They are also relatively easy to obtain on children, and we often use them to look inside the eyes of even very young kids who may have trouble sitting still.
Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer
The Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer is the gold standard for assessing peripheral vision. This instrument is critically important in testing patients for glaucoma, but it can also detect vision loss from a wide range of other conditions ranging from stroke to medication toxicity. We often use it to verify that patients have enough peripheral vision to be able to drive safely.
Welch Allyn Spot Vision Screener
The Spot Screener is a hand-held instrument that estimates prescription and checks for eye misalignment in patients age 6 months and up. It screens both eyes at once in a matter of seconds from a distance of one meter away, meaning there is no need to put your face close to the instrument and hold still. It is great for squirmy young kids, patients with sensory issues such as autism, and people in wheelchairs. | <urn:uuid:4ec63bdb-6b3e-40ce-97aa-b77f46d66a48> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.vistaeyecare.ca/technology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575484.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922094320-20190922120320-00475.warc.gz | en | 0.917156 | 613 | 3.0625 | 3 |
- Apr 21, 2021
On April 22, 2021, in celebration of Earth Day, we are proud to introduce our new global 3Rs department. The 3Rs department, whose name comes from the circular economy principles ‘Reduce – Reuse – Recycle’, is responsible for segregating, weighing and analyzing waste. It was developed to help us solve this problem, and help us reach our goal of being waste-free by 2025.
As of 2015, approximately 6300 metric tons of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. Waste has a negative impact on the environment, climate change and public health. When wildlife can’t discern the difference between what is waste and what is food, they inevitably consume the waste and can’t properly process it. This doesn’t tell the whole story, however. Waste can have direct and indirect impacts on local communities that live next to or close by a waste dump.
Last year, we successfully removed all single-use plastics from our inventory in the midst of a global pandemic, a goal we set out for ourselves in 2018. As we continue to push forward and learn more about what it takes to move towards a circular economy, we now understand the need for properly managing and disposing of our waste. As part of our 2030 agenda, Iberostar is committed to being waste-free by 2025, a commitment that requires a department dedicated to ensuring that happens.
3Rs teams will gradually be formed at each of our hotels and resorts, as we will centralize waste management from all areas of the hotel under one specific and specialized team. These teams will be formed by hotel staff and their key function is to support a system of continuous improvement in the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste by analyzing the waste generated in each area. Recommendations will be made and shared continuously with the hotel management to improve processes.
As we continue to reflect on the importance of our planet on Earth Day, we want to celebrate the newly-formed department helping us protect it. | <urn:uuid:2cf56379-10ee-4d9d-9512-5254f4eab1d5> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://waveofchange.com/our-global-3rs-department/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046150307.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20210724160723-20210724190723-00119.warc.gz | en | 0.961083 | 439 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The simulation finds the appropriate angular velocity time histories required to raise the glass from ground level to the table height in a straight 45 degree trajectory.
The "Build Robot" command constructs the robot from inputs, and "Go!" starts the simulation.
The plot menu allows to generate plots of the angle and angular velocity time histories for the two arms.
The angles are measured from inertial horizontal and the angular velocities are of dextral reference frames aligned with the two arms.
· MATLAB 7.9 or higher | <urn:uuid:9ef15f78-6643-4a72-8f3a-7b7c6b4fb559> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | http://www.downscripts.com/robotarm_matlab-script.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257396.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523204120-20190523230120-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.808722 | 107 | 3.265625 | 3 |
In this guitar lesson you will learn how to play hammer ons and pull offs. Hammer ons and pull offs are fundamental techniques of the guitar. A hammer on is played by bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. It’s the opposite of a pull off which is played by “pulling” the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note. This lesson is aimed at beginners. | <urn:uuid:08f1a99b-9d7d-4394-905f-610bb4a77770> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ovationguitars.com/soundroom/article/hammer_ons_pull_offs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710196013/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131636-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957093 | 105 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Calculations with different methods
- 1128.869 miles
- 1816.739 kilometers
- 980.960 nautical miles
Vincenty's formula calculates the distance between latitude/longitude points on the earth’s surface, using an ellipsoidal model of the earth.Haversine formula
- 1127.058 miles
- 1813.824 kilometers
- 979.386 nautical miles
The haversine formula calculates the distance between latitude/longitude points assuming a spherical earth (great-circle distance).
Estimated flight time from Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) to Tupelo Regional Airport (TUP) is 2 hours 38 minutes.
Time difference and current local times
The time difference between Nantucket and Tupelo is 1 hour. Tupelo is 1 hour behind Nantucket.
Carbon dioxide emissions
Estimated CO2 emissions per passenger is 151 kg (334 pounds).
Nantucket to Tupelo flight map.
Frequent Flyer Miles Calculator
Nantucket (ACK) → Tupelo (TUP). | <urn:uuid:d58fbdf0-830f-470b-8983-8cc03c9c9206> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/ack-to-tup/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987813307.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20191022081307-20191022104807-00419.warc.gz | en | 0.691995 | 230 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Pressure means pressing an opposing
player who has with ball, trying to force a mistake.
Pressure requires alertness,
effort, intensity, and anticipation. It requires a commitment
to winning the ball back. Just wanting to is not enough.
effort and desire! It does not “just happen.”
Get it back! The player who loses the ball must
work extra hard to quickly get it back. It’s your fault – make it right!
Pressure means playing tight. The time to press
hard is right when an opponent is receiving the ball – don’t wait till it is
under control! Tight usually means within touching distance of the opponent
– not 2-5 meters away
Work as a team. Single players cannot press
Loose pressure is worse than no pressure at all.
It does not push the opponent into mistakes, and it takes defenders out of
Pick your spots. Pressure can be applied all
over the field, in selected areas, or both depending on circumstances
Don’t jump in
with reckless challenges. (see
1st Defender section above)
and when to press
Fields are divided into
three zones: defending, midfield, attacking. Most teams
always press the player with the ball immediately in the defending and
midfield zones. Some also press in the attacking zone.
Full field pressure
can be a tremendous weapon. It can lead a team to dominate even a
more skillful and talented opponent. But it demand tremendous fitness and
Full field pressure also
requires the team to play a high line (see “Pushing up”
below), making the field shorter and giving pressing midfielders and
strikers a smaller area to cover.
Teams that cannot press all
through the game can still increase the pressure for a period of time: many
teams press for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of the game, after half time,
and if possible in the last ten minutes.
Pressure is all about
energy and commitment. Defenders will crack if pressure is
exerted long enough! | <urn:uuid:63d97792-585d-492f-bc17-32c5ed3e09e5> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | http://www.smartsoccerguide.com/pressure.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987824701.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20191022205851-20191022233351-00258.warc.gz | en | 0.902643 | 443 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A Closer Look at Abstract Expressionism: Was it hazardous to the Lives of the Practicing Artists?
Several of the artists painting in this style in New York City (Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock) became alcoholics. Others committed suicide. Nervous breakdowns and depression were common amongst this group of painters. Was there a link between the style and these health issues? What was it about the style that may have encouraged physical and mental decline in its practictioners? This course will explore the lives of artists practicing abstract expressionism in the 1940s and 50s. We'll study the art forms that influenced abstract expressionism and learn more about how the style differed from artist to artist. And we'll take a closer look at how the style affected the health and well-being of the painters who championed it. | <urn:uuid:ab4b218b-d8dc-42eb-9865-97c6c4fba3c5> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://artexposureinc.com/lectures/62 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891812880.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20180220050606-20180220070606-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.962107 | 177 | 3.125 | 3 |
At Calvert Cliffs, visitors look forward to encountering sharks’ teeth
- Comments are closed for this article.
This summer, two boys made the find of their young lives on a Chesapeake Bay beach.
The boys were combing the shoreline for fossils at Calvert Cliffs State Park in southern Maryland, where waves tumbled the fractured jumble of ancient geology at their feet. Like most visitors, they sifted through the sand in search of shells, bones, and teeth — traces of life that became embedded in the cliff formation millions of years ago.
In the meantime, a gift was on its way from another direction.
A short stretch inland, a pond spilled into a small stream that emptied directly onto the beach. The flow had dislodged the soft wetland soil and picked up a few things along the way.
In the shallow pool that formed where the stream met the Bay, the boys made an impressive discovery — teeth from a monstrous prehistoric shark.
"Two big Megalodon teeth just came drifting out," said park manager Karen Jarboe.
The name Megalodon itself means "big tooth." The Megalodon was a powerful marine predator, similar to a great white shark but reaching lengths of more than 50 feet. The diagonal length of its teeth can top 7 inches.
"People wait their whole lives to find something like that," Jarboe said. "It's not just skill. It's luck."
But a trip to Calvert Cliffs State Park, a member of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, will definitely bump up the odds.
Fossil hunting is the main draw at this park because its short stretch of beach is part of the unique cliff formation exposed along a portion of the Bay's western shore. The cliffs rise like a white wall above the beach, streaked with gray layers of clay at mid-height and reddish layers of bog iron near the base.
Water churning against the cliffs pulls sediment and fossils into the Bay. Megalodon teeth are rare, but smaller teeth from sharks and crocodiles, as well as beautiful bits of ancient snails and shellfish, are quite common.
Unlike much of the Chesapeake shoreline, where a low-lying landscape seems to drift into the water, the cliffs here create a sheared edge hundreds of feet above the Bay. Yet these cliffs and the land around them were once completely submerged.
"The majority of the fossils are from the cliffs because they are eroding," Jarboe said. "But the fossils are everywhere because this whole area was underwater."
On a quiet fall morning, Jarboe spotted a number of fossils along the tideline. There are tiny sand dollars, delicate white disks whose survival through the millennia seems miraculous. The fan-shaped shells with wide ribs are Chesapecten, an extinct scallop.
Jarboe also picked up pieces of Ecphora, Maryland's official state fossil. The patterns of ridges on these fragments look mysterious, but were once part of the spiral markings on the shell of a sea snail.
Even the oyster shells here are a piece of ancient history. They are relatively large, with a rosy sheen.
"Lots of people don't realize these are fossilized oyster shells," Jarboe said. "Oysters formed differently back then, and they have a notch or dip that modern oysters don't have. Also, there were a lot more oysters then, in general, and on this beach you are more likely to find the old shells than the modern ones."
Jarboe has been coming to the cliffs since she was child but said she never got the knack for spotting teeth.
"You visualize the tooth and watch the wave line, and they'll float along as the water moves. But think small. Not Megalodon. At least that's how I was taught," Jarboe said.
The fossils at Calvert Cliffs got their start 8 million to 18 million years ago during the Miocene Era, when the world was a radically different place.
This part of the Chesapeake was connected to what would later become North Africa, where portions of the modern shoreline contain fossils that match those in Calvert Cliffs.
It was also a warm, wet place. The Atlantic Coastal Plain was flooded and the Susquehanna, Potomac, and Patuxent rivers were carving ancestral paths to the sea.
"Sediment from the Piedmont and the Appalachians were washed along and laid down to form the cliffs here," said Stephen Godfrey, curator of paleontology for the nearby Calvert Marine Museum.
When marine creatures died, they sank into the sediment and became buried by incoming layers. Over millennia, the water receded and the land rose. "The remainders of animals living here at that time are entombed in the cliffs," Godfrey said.
The Calvert Marine Museum, about 15 minutes from Calvert Cliffs State Park, is also a member of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network and a perfect companion stop for fossil hunters.
The museum details the story of the cliffs with a computer animation that shows shifting seas and shorelines and a peek into the lab where dedicated volunteers help to clean and preserve important finds. A restoration of a 35-foot Megalodon skeleton, with gaping jaws and a full set of teeth, will impress visitors of all ages.
A large glass case features local fossils, from mollusks and other marine animals, along with early forms of land mammals like rhinoceros, pigs and camels.
"This is our field guide," Godfrey said. "People can bring their fossils in here and match them up."
Researchers have identified about 600 species from the cliffs, most are extinct. But new creatures are still being discovered and occasionally there is a spectacular find.
In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle exposed a baleen whale skull displayed at the museum and this past spring beachcombers alerted Godfrey's team to a remarkably intact skull from a dolphin.
The Calvert Cliffs formation runs for about 35 miles, beginning in lower Anne Arundel County and stretching south through Calvert County to the mouth of the Patuxent River.
Most of the shoreline is privately owned, so Calvert Cliffs State Park is a treasured spot for both locals and day-trippers.
Its beach is a gentle two-mile walk from the parking area, following a small stream through the woods as it widens into a dramatic pond flush with wetland vegetation and then drains past a small beaver dam into the Bay.
"To me, it really captures the heart of Calvert County," Jarboe said, "the forest, the wetlands, and the Bay itself."
The park is quieter in the fall, which makes it a great time to linger on the beach and enjoy more than 1,000 acres of woodlands and 13 miles of trails.
Bring a small bag, a pail, or wear pants with deep pockets, so that a trace of the Chesapeake's past can go home with you.
Calvert Cliffs State Park
Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, MD, is open sunrise to sunset daily, year-round. The park also features nature trails, picnic areas, playground equipment and opportunities to fish or hunt. Bicycles and horses are permitted on the service road.
Note: Because of the danger of the landslides caused by cliff erosion and the serious injuries that can result, climbing upon and walking beneath the cliffs is prohibited.
Admission is $5/vehicle for Maryland residents; $7/vehicle for out-of-state residents.
For information, call 301-743-7613 or visit www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/.
Calvert Marine Museum
Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, MD, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Admission is $7/adults; $6/seniors, military & AAA members; and $2/ages 5–12. Children younger than 5 are free.
The museum's staff is happy to help the public identify unusual fossils from Calvert Cliffs. Call 410-326-2042 x28 to make an appointment.
For information, call 410-326-2042 or visit www.calvertmarinemuseum.com.
For information about other sites in the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, visit www.baygateways.net.
- Category: Conservation + Land Use
By submitting a comment, you are consenting to these Rules of Conduct. Thank you for your civil participation. Please note: reader comments do not represent the position of Chesapeake Media Service.
Comments are now closed for this article. Comments are accepted for 60 days after publication. | <urn:uuid:0c6fc8cc-662a-4767-9884-401bb7693400> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://bayjournal.com/article/at_calvert_cliffs_visitors_look_forward_to_encountering_sharks_teeth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607369.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170523045144-20170523065144-00181.warc.gz | en | 0.954082 | 1,852 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Diving is a very safe sport, as long as you follow all the rules. And there are a lot of rules: about how deep you can go, how long you can stay down and when not to throw altitude changes into the mix. It's about the accumulation of gas in your blood, and DARPA wants to use technology to help Navy divers turn into Aquamen.
Here's the deal with diving: water weighs a lot. And when you're under the water, your lungs and chest have to be able to expand with all of the water above you pushing down on them. The only way to do this without wearing a pressurized suit is to inhale air at the same pressure as the water around you, which is what divers do. This is generally not a problematic thing, except that the high pressure air forces gas into your tissues, and when you go up and the pressure on your body decreases, that gas will start to expand and form bubbles. If you're not careful and those bubbles get too big and end up in your joints and brain and eyeballs, they can cause you to pop like a bottle of champagne.
Recreational divers try to prevent all of this bad stuff from happening by carefully keeping track of how deep they go and for how long, by ascending slowly to allow pressurized gas to be exhaled before it gets dangerous, by spending time on the surface between dives so that gasses don't build up in their tissues, and by not flying for 24 hours after a dive. The military, however, isn't diving recreationally, and it's looking for ways to use technology to make it safe for humans to do things underwater that rec divers would consider to be crazy and suicidal. Here's what DARPA wants to be possible in an "extreme combat dive profile:"
- Insertion via military free fall from 35,000 feet altitude.
- Combat dive down to 200 feet for at least 120 minutes.
- Surface and immediately begin a second dive of variable, increasing depth to 200 feet for at least 20 minutes without needing to decompress.
- Extraction in an unpressurized aircraft to 14,000 feet altitude.
Arguably, the free fall insertion from 35,000 feet is the least dangerous thing on this list, which should tell you something about how risky this sort of thing is. What DARPA is looking for is some sort of technological solution that combines "control algorithms, physiologic sensors, gas sensors, and gas control components" in an "integrated microsystem device" that "enables extreme combat diving with limited risk of complications." The device will accomplish this by continually analyzing a diver's blood with a compact ultrasound array to check for bubble formation, and then administering small amounts of nitric oxide when necessary to help counter the problem.
This is part of DARPA's 2013 solicitation for Small Business Innovation Research proposals, which is how DARPA communicates that they have something really cool that they'd like to have happen and someone should just go out and make one already. Often with things like this that do somehow manage to happen, commercialization eventually follows, meaning that at some point, recreational scuba diving could get much safer for everyone. | <urn:uuid:03ee8b76-3378-45fb-b24e-cd22a52dc6b5> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://www.dvice.com/archives/2013/01/darpa_wants_tec.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931009777.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155649-00157-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954297 | 649 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Bar & Measure
Like language, we hear and read music in a linear fashion. We comprehend all but insignificant portions of such linear information only if it is organized into digestible amounts that our minds can process. Bars or Measures are among the symbols that organize music information into uniform segments of time – somewhat like periods, commas, etc. in language – so it is visibly and audibly comprehensible. In notated music Bars are indicated by a simple vertical line running through the lines of the staff. Typically, one bar is the smallest temporal unit containing the meter – often incorrectly called “beat” – of the song.
In this little example if one taps along with each syllable of “Yan-kee Doo-dle” one taps four times before arriving at the first Bar line. These four taps, or Beats, comprise one bar (the first) of this song. All the Bars of the song that follow also will have the same number of beats. Even at the last measure of this example, on the word “pony”, while there are only two pitches and two syllables to sing, we will still tap four beats, and the measure will last exactly as long as the measures in which we sing more than two pitches and syllables. The terms Bar and Measure are used almost completely interchangeably. “Bar” is, perhaps, slightly more colloquial than “Measure”, and non-musicians would more likely refer, e.g., to a “four-bar phrase” rather than to a “four-measure phrase”. One finds these terms in music copyright infringement opinions, typically to identify common portions of songs (e.g., Dorchester v. NBC, 1959) and to support determinations of infringement (the greater number of bars in common between two songs, the greater the likelihood of a finding of infringement. | <urn:uuid:6fcfda49-f027-4ac6-8795-e7c8ce6e588f> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://blogs.law.gwu.edu/mcir/2018/12/20/barandmeasure/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153739.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20210728154442-20210728184442-00125.warc.gz | en | 0.951891 | 392 | 3.578125 | 4 |
OverviewMauna Loa is often over shadowed by it's northern neighbor, Mauna Kea, which is only 112 feet higher. Mauna Kea has the distinction of being the highest point in the state and thus receives much more attention. Mauna Kea has a road to it's summit which makes it more accessible and very popular and the mountain also has a more visible profile than Mauna Loa.
From Hilo, Mauna Loa appears to be nothing more than a rather large hill. However, Mauna Loa is so large, that it in fact is more like a region than a singular mountain and in fact is also the world's largest mountain (see discussion below)!
"Mauna Loa" means "Long Mountain" in the Hawaiian language and its summit figures prominantly in ancient and modern Hawaiian religous practices. Historically, the mountain has been among the planet's most active volcanoes, with the most recent eruption ocurring in the spring of 1984. The summit of Mauna Loa is located within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
"Largest" Mountain in the WorldBy far and away, Mauna Loa is the largest mountain in the world. From the ground, it only appears to be a small hill because the slopes of the peak are so gentle. Mauna Loa is known as a shield volcano because such volcanoes are similar to a shield lying on the ground, and always have very gentle slopes.
An Oregon State Study (the link is now gone) claims that Mauna Loa is composed of 68,750 to 79,343 cubic kilometers of material, or 16,494 to 19,035 cubic miles of material, of which only a small part is above the ocean.
So, how big is Mauna Loa? It is approximately 375 times the size of Mount Hood, and has quite a bit more rock than either the entire Cascade or Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, or to fill the Grand Canyon 18 times!
In addition to the 5000 meters/16,000 feet of the mountain that is under the ocean, it is also known that Mauna Loa depresses the sea floor 8000 meters/26,000 feet. This makes the volcano's summit about 17000 meters/56,000 feet above its base by some measurements, although that is a somewhat dubious definition of a mountain base. In any case, Mauna Loa rises at least 33,000 feet above the sea floor, making it the first or second highest mountain in the world above its base. Its sister peak, Mauna Kea is the other contender and which peak is actually higher above its base is often contended.
Routes OverviewMauna Loa Trail
The Mauna Loa Trail is the longest, but interestingly, the most popular trail on the mountain. The trail is long, but not overly steep or difficult. It can be hot since there is no shade available for much of the route, and it is almost always cold on top. There are two cabins to stay in along the way. The total round trip distance is 43.2 miles assuming you visit both the summit cabin and the true summit, and usually takes 3-4 days. Four is recommended.
If you are staying overnight on Mauna Loa (which almost everyone would have to), you are required to register at the Kilauea Visitor Center, where you will receive the latest information about the cabins, water, weather number of people on the trail, etc.
The Observatory Trail is steeper than the Mauna Loa Trail. It is also much shorter and only 12.4 miles round trip. The route can be completed in a day, but many will want to camp at the Summit Cabin which is definitely recommended. The trail will climb to a junction after 3.8 miles. From the junction, the true summit is reached by following the trail 2.5 miles to the right, or the Summit Cabin is reached by heading 2.1 miles to the left.
In addition to the above, there is the historic Ainapo Trail which was built by ancient Hawaiians. The Ainapo Trail is 20.4 miles round trip to the Mauna Loa Summit Cabin and usually takes three days. With 7600 feet elevation gain, this is the steepest and most difficult of the three trails to the summit of the mountain.
Getting ThereMauna Loa is on the island of Hawai'i (Big Island). There are two airports on the Big Island, located at Hilo and Kona. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is 30 miles from Hilo airport and about 96 miles from Kona airport.
Mauna Loa Trail
To get to the trailhead, located the signed road off Highway 11 not far west of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitor center. Drive for 11.5 miles and park. In February 1995, we waited about an hour for a ride up to the trailhead. Hitching is possible, but can be slow.
From downtown Hilo, drive up the Saddle Road (Highway 200) about 29 miles to Pu`u Huluhulu and turn left (south). Continue 18 miles to the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory. There is a parking lot for hikers using the trail. There isn’t much traffic on this road, so hitching can be difficult, and most rental cars aren’t allowed on the road.
The Ainapo Road begins at the cattle guard located on the Mauka side of Highway 11 in Ka`u, near the 40.5 mile mark. It is open during daylight hours only. You may park at either end on unvegetated sides of road and at the trailhead.
Historic Ascents of Mauna LoaThe summit of Mauna Loa was visited by prehistoric Hawaiians for ceremonial purposes. They constructed the Ainapo Trail from their closest village, Kapapala to the rim of Moku'aweoweo caldera. The Ainapo Trail had a series of shelters that were stocked with drinking water and fire wood. The Hawaiian method of ascent involved moving upslope in easy segments to lessen fatigue and to allow proper acclimatization. Footwear for the climb usually involved wrapping the feet with tea leaves or merely going barefoot. The major stages were a series of overnight camps, complete with small, warm, thatched houses and supplied with food water and firewood. Smaller stages were areas used as frequent rest stops in natural rockshelters, caves and lava tubes. Ascents of Mauna Loa by prehistoric Hawaiians were made during summit eruptions, when the godess Pele was present to honor her with chants, prayers and offerings.
The first non-Hawaiian credited with climbing Mauna Loa is Archibald Menzies. Menzies was the surgeon/naturalist for the 1791-1795 Voyage of Discovery led by Captain George Vancouver of the British Navy. An expedition set out on Feb. 6 1794 from Kealakekua Bay with Chief Luhea in a large double hulled canoe that belonged to King Kamehameha. Menzies reached the summit of Mauna Loa on Feb. 16, 1794 where he used barometric readings to calculate the summit elevation at 13,564 ft. An excerpt from Menzies journal:
"We managed to boil the chocolate in a tin pot over a small fire made of our walking sticks, and each had his share of it warm, with a small quantity of rum in it, before we went to bed. ...as it was agreed we should all sleep together to keep ourselves warm, we joined together everything we had for our general covering, made pillows of hard lava, and in this [way] was passed the night... Febuary 16. Next morning, at sun-rise, the Thermometer was at 26 degrees and the air was exceedingly keen and piercing... About 11 in the forenoon we arrived at the mouth of an immense crater... [we] crossed over this rugged hollow after a hard struggle, and by noon got to the highest part of the mountain, on the western brink of the great crater, where I observed the Barometer..."
Red TapeA free backcountry permit is required and must be obtained by each party intending to overnight in the backcountry (including staying at the cabins) of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. They are issued on a first-come basis and can be collected at the Kilauea Visitor Center no earlier than the day before your climb. Their phone number is 808-985-6000. Office hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily.
For those climbing the Ainapo Trail (see Routes Overview), permission must be obtained from the State of Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife to stay at the Halewai Shelter. Their phone number is 808-974-4221. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hikers continuing to the summit need to register with the National Park Rangers (808 985-6000). Day use of Ainapo trail does not require a permit, however, hikers are required to contact Kapapala Ranch at 808-928-8403 to obtain the combination for the locked gate.
Be aware that the Mauna Loa Strip Road is sometimes closed for day use during the fire season. When the road is closed, the combination to the locked gate will be provided to those parties using the Mauna Loa backcountry overnight.
When To ClimbMauna Loa can be climbed at anytime of the year. Spring and fall are often said to be the most comfortable times to make an ascent, but snow in winter and spring can actually be an added attraction.
The tropical nature of the Hawaiian Islands lends little caution to the hazards involved in climbing Mauna Loa. Be prepared for winter conditions all year round. Yes, it really does snow in Hawai'i. It can snow at anytime of the year, with the months of December through March seeing the most accumulation and emperatures at night usually fall below freezing. There is little shade available on the mountain and sunlight is intense at the higher elevations so sunglasses and sunscreen are essential.
It has been reported that snow has piled up as deep as 6-9 feet in the summit area, but this is very rare. In contrast to some other mountain areas, the higher you go, the drier the weather becomes, and on average, the summit area is much drier (but colder) than the slopes below.
CampingThere are two free campgrounds in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Namakani Paio is right on the Hawai'i Belt Road (Highway 11) and is about a half a mile from the begining of the Mauna Loa Strip Road. There are also cabins at Namakani Paio operated by Volcano House lodge.
Volcano House lodge is across from the Visitor Center right on the rim of Kilauea Crater. The village of Volcano also has several lodges, B & Bs, and a general store to stock up on provisions.
On the mountain itself, there are very few campsites available due to the rocky nature of the peak. Nearly everyone stays in the cabins instead of camping.
There are three huts available for public use on Mauna Loa. Pu'u Ula'ula (Red Hill) at 10,035 feet on the Mauna Loa Trail. Mauna Loa Summit cabin is at 13,250 feet on the Cabin Trail at the edge of Moku'aweoweo Caldera, directly across from the actual summit.
Halewai shelter is at 7,750 feet and is located in the Kapapala Forest Reserve, three miles from the trailhead of the Ainapo Trail.
Mountain ConditionsCurrent trail conditions can be obtained by calling the Kilauea Visitor Center at 808-985-6000.
The Mauna Loa Observatory is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather/solar observatory on the north slope of Mauna Loa with live web-cams and up to the hour weather reports from several sources.
Weather and climate data for the Mauna Loa Slope Observatory is below. *National Weather Service Data 1955-2006. This weather station is at 11,140 and at the Observatory Trailhead. Expect it to be about 10 degrees colder at the summit of Mauna Loa or at the Summit Cabin.
|MONTH||AVE HIGH||AVE LOW||REC HIGH||REC LOW||AVE PRECIP (in)|
External LinksHawaii Volcanoes National Park Homepage
Mauna Loa Weather Observatory
The excellent Mauna Loa Trail Guide to trekking on Mauna Loa can be obtained online. It was written by a National Park Service volunteer by the name of Lisa Peterson and it is the definitive guide to the trails on Mauna Loa. It includes detailed mileage, notes on history and extensive information about the geology of Mauna Loa and eruption histories. | <urn:uuid:64b647eb-60cf-4e07-9c40-4d36f2de8465> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.summitpost.org/mauna-loa/151296 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413558067114.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017150107-00277-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950204 | 2,715 | 3.546875 | 4 |
- published: 05 Jan 2015
- views: 40541
In the second installment of the 'Technically Speaking' series, Tom Bruington, mining engineer with Sandstorm Gold, discusses the tools and concepts behind mineral exploration. Tom’s lesson covers both simple and more complicated exploration techniques ranging from mapping to geochemistry to drilling.
As the name suggests, Mineral Exploration Geologists work in the mineral exploration industry, searching for new discoveries of minerals containing metals like gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc.
A short introduction that showcases the Silver, Gold, and Platinum group metals prospecting and exploration. It demonstrates examples of geological methods and analysis used to justify the extensive investment of mining precious metals ore. This is the Geologist's focus on the world of precious metals. The series intends to showcase the variety of career opportunities across all disciplines within the unique and exciting world of the precious metals industry. ipmi.org
This talk by Jun Cowan and Brett Davis (Orefind) was given on the 21st of May, 2018, at the Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC), Perth, for the Applied Multi-scale Structural Analysis in Mineral Exploration Workshop organised by TeamWA and Geoconferences, and sponsored by Orexplore (www.orexplore.com).
Prospecting in a heavily mineralized quarry and high grade mineral found in the quarry an a massive gold quartz vein 20 meters north of the contact zone! Hope everyone enjoyed the video on finding gold, mineral specimens, mineral exploration and gold mining in British Columbia, Canada. This video was made possible by our patrons support! Thank you to our patrons! Here is the link: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/911mining Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/911mining Website: https://www.911mining.com Business Inquiries: [email protected] Thank you and happy gold mining! 911 Mining & Prospecting Co
Highlights of the 2018 work program in BC. Geology FTW! Mineral exploration, grass roots prospecting and diamond core drilling. It was an amazing season, hope you enjoy!
Revision Lecture for IndAS 106 - Exploration for & Evaluation of Mineral Resources for CA Final - FR New Syllabus Students
Footage of Dando drilling rigs being used in mineral exploration projects around the world. Visit www.dando.co.uk/product-categories/mineral-exploration-drilling-rigs/ to view Dando's full range of mineral exploration drilling rigs.
Prospecting some new showings and sampling multiple showings for assays some are new and some are re samples for over limits. We had removed about a dozen other samples before the start of the video and in total we got 26 samples. In the video we explain how to sample and what we use when sampling when doing prospecting and hard rock sampling by hand. Most of these outcrops are heavily Mineralized carrying good values of free gold, silver and copper. This sampling is part of a 2018 and 2019 program we are doing so we won't have my assay results till all the samples are sent in once we do that we will update the video description with some of the results. Hope everyone enjoys the video and stay tuned for more! This video was made possible by our silver, gold & platinum patrons support! ...
Goldspot Discoveries is at the forefront of artificial learning and machine learning in the mineral exploration business.
Mineral system exploration using geophysics. Presented by Mike Dentith (University of Western Australia) at the Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (ASEG) Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2015. Video reproduced with presenters' consent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condor Consulting YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/EducationalGeophysicsGeologyVideos-Condor Condor Consulting Website: http://www.condorconsult.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Full Series List: AMA 2017- "Application of Airborne Geophysics to Minerals Exploration in Alaska" Workshop: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUfG7j4Lhdsf3T3P9UBkTks8FUE97-eCI AEGC 2018- "AI/Machine Lear...
An ultra high grade gold vein found in a heavily mineralized outcrop! Solid mineral vein panned out to reveal high grade gold, platinum, palladium, silver and other minerals! Vein contains multiple high grade sulphides and free gold! Hope everyone enjoyed the video on mineral exploration and gold mining in British Columbia, Canada. This video was made possible by our patrons support! Thank you to our patrons! Here is the link: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/911mining Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/911mining Website: https://www.911mining.com Business Inquiries: [email protected] Thank you and happy gold mining! 911 Mining & Prospecting Co
Landsat - Aster - WorldView3 Tutorial y ejemplo de procesamiento a distintas escalas, selección de targets y mapeo. Remote Sensing Processing / Mineral Exploration Different scales for a complete exploration study. José Manel Lattus Geólogo Consultor en Sensores Remotos http://www.srgis.cl Música: José Manuel Lattus http://www.chiclo.cl
In this video Benedikt Steiner presents the application of stream sediment sampling in mineral exploration. The study area is mountaineous, prospective for Sn-W-LCT and polymetallic deposits and comprises a number of first and second order streams, well-developed point bars and other upstream obstacles which present good sampling locations. A prime reconnaissance exploration tool, stream sampling aims to evaluate the geochemistry of catchment areas and therefore allows to rapidly screen tenement areas at low cost. Modern trace element geochemistry can provide further alteration and lithological indicators required in the definition of mineralisation systems. | <urn:uuid:1e4b5423-fa87-423a-95ad-690f6189dfee> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://upge.wn.com/?from=offshoredataexploration.com&ads=1&title=Offshore+data+exploration&auto=Offshore+data+exploration&author=system&template=cheetah-photo-search%2Findex.txt&query=Offshore+data+exploration&pagenum=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141169606.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124000351-20201124030351-00626.warc.gz | en | 0.838974 | 1,254 | 2.546875 | 3 |
What was ancient Egypt like? In this movie, you’ll learn about the ancient Egyptians, how they lived, and what remains from their lives today. You’ll explore this civilization’s ruins, such as the Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx, and artifacts they left behind. You'll find out about hieroglyphics, mummies, papyrus, and more. Who were Tutankhamen ("King Tut") and Cleopatra? What was the Rosetta Stone? Watch the movie to find out!
In this multi-day lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades K-5, students use BrainPOP Jr. resources to explore basic knowledge of Ancient Egyptian traditions. Students will also become familiar with the historical period of Ancient Egypt and work in small groups to complete several different activities related to Ancient Egypt. Note – This series of activities is not designed to be taught in a single day. It is best to spread it out over the course of a week or two, depending on your schedule. This is also meant to be part of a larger study on Ancient Egypt, and should be considered a supplement to a unit, not a complete unit in itself. This lesson plan is aligned to Common Core State Standards. See more »
This page contains information to support educators and families in teaching K-3 students about ancient Egypt. The information is designed to complement the BrainPOP Jr. movie Ancient Egypt. It explains the type of content covered in the movie, provides ideas for how teachers and parents can develop related understandings, and suggests how other BrainPOP Jr. resources can be used to scaffold and extend student learning. See more »
In this set of activities adaptable for grades K-3, parents and educators will find ideas for teaching about ancient Egypt. These activities are designed to complement the BrainPOP Jr. Ancient Egypt topic page, which includes a movie, quizzes, online games, printable activities, and more. See more » | <urn:uuid:eba62021-f56e-49d0-9c44-6f123625249a> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://educators.brainpop.com/bp-jr-topic/ancient-egypt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375096579.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031816-00221-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945935 | 405 | 3.734375 | 4 |
In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets. Since that time, The Satanic Temple has become a regular voice in national conversations about religious freedom, disestablishment, and government overreach. In addition to petitioning for Baphomet to appear alongside another monument of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas, the group has launched campaigns to include Satanic "nativity scenes" on government property in Florida, Michigan, and Indiana, offer Satanic prayers at a high school football game in Seattle, and create "After School Satan" programs in elementary schools that host Christian extracurricular programs. Since their 2012 founding, The Satanic Temple has established 19 chapters and now claims 100,000 supporters. Is this just a political group perpetuating a series of stunts? Or is it a sincere religious movement?
Speak of the Devil is the first book-length study of The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of "political Satanism" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom. Though the group gained attention for its strategic deployment of outrage, it claims to have developed beyond politics into a genuine religious movement. Equal parts history and ethnography, Speak of the Devil is Laycock's attempt to take seriously The Satanic Temple's work to redefine religion, the nature of pluralism and religious tolerance, and what "religious freedom" means in America.
-From Oxford University Press | <urn:uuid:265c7878-5484-4fee-99ce-174ea5bb134b> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://thesatanictemple.com/products/hardcover-book-speak-of-the-devil-how-the-satanic-temple-is-changing-the-way-we-talk-about-religion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510520.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20230929154432-20230929184432-00856.warc.gz | en | 0.930769 | 336 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Engineering students at Harvard University have developed a cell phone app that, when paired with an ordinary metal detector, can be used effectively to detect land mines. Instead of just beeping when it passes over a metal object, these enhanced metal detectors present the shape of the object found below ground:
Land mines, with their circular construction and trigger pin, have an ovoid signature. The system designed by Jayatilaka and Gajos shows one red dot for every beep of the metal detector. With passes over a buried object, the picture shows an increasingly complete outline of the object’s shape, giving the de-miner an evermore detailed picture of what may be buried there.
“Using only audio signals is a huge source of inefficiency. The operator has to figure out whether it is harmful or not harmful. If they are not completely sure, they have to go down on their hands and knees and excavate every piece of metal as if it were a land mine,” explained Jayatilaka.
The students hope that their invention can be used by cash-strapped de-mining operations around the world.
Link via Popular Science | Photo: Justin Ide/Harvard University | <urn:uuid:5cf1269c-e4a2-4989-9746-6d882534c478> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.neatorama.com/2011/05/09/app-for-detecting-land-mines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443736679756.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001215759-00052-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928215 | 247 | 3.34375 | 3 |
||The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. (September 2011)|
|Electricity · Magnetism|
The magnetic field is the area around a magnet in which there is magnetic force. Moving electric charges can make magnetic fields. Magnetic fields can usually be seen by magnetic flux lines. At all times the direction of the magnetic field is shown by the direction of the magnetic flux lines. The strength of a magnet has to do with the spaces between the magnetic flux lines. The closer the flux lines are to each other, the stronger the magnet is. The farther away they are, the weaker. The flux lines can be seen by placing iron filings over a magnet. The iron filings move and arrange into the lines. Magnetic fields give power to other particles that are touching the magnetic field.
In physics, the magnetic field is a field that passes through space and which makes a magnetic force move electric charges and magnetic dipoles. Magnetic fields are around electric currents, magnetic dipoles, and changing electric fields.
When placed in a magnetic field, magnetic dipoles are in one line with their axes to be parallel with the field lines, as can be seen when iron filings are in the presence of a magnet. Magnetic fields also have their own energy and momentum, with an energy density proportional to the square of the field intensity. The magnetic field is measured in the units of teslas (SI units) or gauss (cgs units).
There are some notable specific kinds of the magnetic field. For the physics of magnetic materials, see magnetism and magnet, and more specifically diamagnetism. For magnetic fields made by changing electric fields, see electromagnetism.
The electric field and the magnetic field are components of the electromagnetic field.
H-field[change | change source]
Physicists can say that the force and torques between two magnets are caused by magnetic poles repelling or attracting each other. This is like the Coulomb force repelling the same electric charges or attracting opposite electric charges. In this model, a magnetic H-field is produced by magnetic charges that are 'smeared' around each pole. So, the H-field is like the electric field E which starts at a positive electric charge and ends at a negative electric charge. Near the north pole, all H-field lines point away from the north pole (whether inside the magnet or out) while near the south pole (whether inside the magnet or out) all H-field lines point toward the south pole. A north pole, then, feels a force in the direction of the H-field while the force on the south pole is opposite to the H-field.
In the magnetic pole model, the elementary magnetic dipole m is formed by two opposite magnetic poles of pole strength qm separated by a very small distance d, such that m = qm d.
Unfortunately, magnetic poles cannot exist apart from each other. All magnets have north/south pairs which cannot be separated without creating two magnets each having a north/south pair. Also, magnetic poles do not account for magnetism that is produced by electric currents nor the force that a magnetic field applies to moving electric charges.
H-field and magnetic materials[change | change source]
- See also: demagnetizing field
The H-field is defined as:
- (definition of H in SI units)
With this definition, Ampere's law becomes:
where If represents the 'free current' enclosed by the loop so that the line integral of H does not depend at all on the bound currents. For the differential equivalent of this equation see Maxwell's equations. Ampere's law leads to the boundary condition:
where Kf is the surface free current density.
which does not depend on the free currents.
The H-field, therefore, can be separated into two[Note 1] independent parts:
where H0 is the applied magnetic field due only to the free currents and Hd is the demagnetizing field due only to the bound currents.
The magnetic H-field, therefore, re-factors the bound current in terms of 'magnetic charges'. The H field lines loop only around 'free current' and, unlike the magnetic B field, begins and ends at near magnetic poles as well.
Notes[change | change source]
- A third term is needed for changing electric fields and polarization currents; this displacement current term is covered in Maxwell's equations. | <urn:uuid:83c45931-4146-4376-8cfa-7eb9391b9e73> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_field | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461995.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00191-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918859 | 921 | 4.21875 | 4 |
Table of Contents
How to read this graph
- The graph shows the worldwide development of electricity produced per person by individual sources in the years 2000-2019, as well as a comparison of selected world regions. Values are given in kWh of electricity produced per person per year.
- All graphs have the same vertical axis, so for regions with low average consumption per person, the filled part occupies only a minimal portion of the graph.
- However, the per capita comparison does not account for the different sizes of the regions, so the right column completes the regions’ share of total global electricity generation in 2019. The supplementary infographic, Electricity generation in world regions, compares regions in terms of total electricity generation.
Comments on the graph
- Electricity production per person in the Czech Republic in 2019 was 8,066 kWh, significantly higher than the averages in the regions shown, except for the USA. The Czech Republic is also a significant exporter of electricity, so the average electricity consumption per person was lower, at 6,891 kWh. Even this value is more than double the world average.
- Globally, electricity production increased by 75% between 2000 and 2019, while at the same time, the global population has grown by 1.6 billion people. In per capita terms, electricity generation increased by 39%, and in absolute terms, there was an increase in electricity production by all electricity generation sources except in the nuclear sector. The share of coal in electricity production fell slightly (from 37.9% to 35.2%), and the percentage of nuclear power fell even more significantly (from 16.9% to 10.5%). In contrast, there was an increase in the share of natural gas (from 18.2 % to 23.5%) and renewable sources (from 19.5% to 27.3% due to the development of wind and solar power plants).
Trends of individual regions observed from the graph:
- In the European Union, electricity consumption is virtually unchanged per capita, but there is a significant substitution of coal for renewables in electricity generation.
- Electricity consumption per person in the USA has fallen slightly but is still many times higher than the world average. Since 2007, there has been a decrease in the share of coal in electricity production, which is, however, being replaced mainly by natural gas, as well as partly by renewable sources.
- In China, the per capita electricity consumption increased fivefold between 2000 and 2019, with average consumption already at 82% of the European Union average. There has been an increase in the capacity of all sources of electricity generation, yet coal is still the dominant source in China, with a 62% share. On a per capita basis, China generated 3,180 kWh from coal in 2019, which is the most of the regions shown. By comparison, the Czech Republic produced 3,439 kWh per person from coal in the same year.
- India has more than doubled its per capita electricity generation over this period, but this production is still less than a third of the global average. Coal is still the dominant source of electricity generation, with a 72% share, while other sources are also gradually developing.
- The Rest of the World represents a very diverse group, where electricity production per person in some countries exceeds the USA (i.e., in Canada or the oil countries of the Middle East). In contrast, in many other countries, it is lower than in India (usually in African and some Asian countries).
- The chart shows the electricity produced in each region, not consumed. For example, in the case of the Czech Republic, net exports make up almost 15% of the electricity produced. However, for the prominent regions in the graph, imports and exports are practically negligible: below 1% for all regions.
- Electricity represents only a fraction of total energy consumption; for example, most energy used for transport or heating is not included in the graph (as it is direct fossil fuel combustion, not electricity).
- The chart does not include other renewable sources with a marginal share of production (e.g. geothermal energy), accounting for 0.4% of electricity production worldwide.
- The base for the infographic is data from the Ember organization (formerly known as Sandbag). It is an independent climate think-tank focused on supporting the transition from coal to clean sources of electricity.
- Ember relies primarily on Eurostat data for the European Union, national databases for the US, China, India and other major countries, and the US Department of Energy’s International Data Section for the rest of the world.
- One of the main activities of the Ember think tank is the publication of reports on electricity production in the European Union. In 2020, it also published a report on global electricity production. The infographic’s base is the dataset attached to this report.
- The infographic uses population data from the United Nations.
Related infographics and studies
Want to see more? Check out other topic-related infographics and studies: | <urn:uuid:cdc8b5fd-6bae-4b29-a495-8ef9ee8535ba> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://factsonclimate.org/infographics/electricity-per-capita-world | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510888.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20231001105617-20231001135617-00141.warc.gz | en | 0.945541 | 1,023 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The Satoshi Revolution: A Revolution of Rising Expectations.
Section 2 : The Moral Imperative of Privacy
Chapter 5: Implementing Crypto Privacy
by Wendy McElroy
Privacy, Anonymity, and Pseudonymity (Chapter 5, Part 1)
It is often said that there is a tradeoff between privacy and security…. Security is defined as the state of being free from danger or threat. One threat is assault. How is one made free from assault by being assaulted at an airport?…. How is one made free from the threat of being harassed or charged with a crime by the State by the State’s knowing every move you make, every statement you make, and every financial transaction you make? I say that your security is going DOWN, not up. The State can fend off terrorists by the ordinary methods of policing if it had a mind to. It doesn’t. It prefers to expand into a totalitarian monster.
— Mike Rozeff
Privacy will determine the future of cryptocurrencies. Will they continue to enhance individual freedom, or will they become a government tool of social control?
Privacy is a human need, which is why the battle over its control is so intense. Constant surveillance makes it difficult or impossible for individuals to forge intimate family and romantic bonds, to create, to vote their conscience, to sexually explore, to discover who they are politically and religiously, to experiment with drugs, or to dissent without danger. Personal privacy is also the greatest barrier to government power, which rests on government knowledge.
“Only criminals need to fear government surveillance” is a common response to the defense of privacy. But every peaceful person is a criminal with something to hide. Why? They have exceeded the speed limit, taken an illegal drug, smuggled cheap booze or cigarettes across a border, made “unauthorized” additions to a house, fibbed to a customs official, understated their income on a tax form, or violated one of the tens of thousands of other laws that criminalize harmless behavior. Government makes criminals of us all. As Ayn Rand explained, “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.” Thus, all individuals are under control.
The assault on privacy also harms society as a whole. Consider freedom of speech. I remember being in a restaurant when a relative went on a post-9/11 rant about how the U.S. was beginning to feel like Cuba, from which he escaped. His wife tried to silence him, declaring in an adamant whisper, “You can’t say those things in public.” She was nervous as she glanced around to see who could have heard. Surveillance and informants make people reluctant to express opinions that could be used against them in a legal or political manner. Property can be seized, families destroyed, and prison ensue. Why would anyone speak out if his children could lose a parent as a result?
The killing of free speech is one of many political repercussions of destroying privacy. Privacy is a key characteristic that distinguishes a totalitarian, Kafka-esque society from a free one. Can you shut your front door and be safe from invasion? Everyone agrees that criminals should not break through your locks and treat your body and possessions as their own. Why are government agents entitled to do the same thing? They are nothing more than the for-hire workers of an employer whose authority comes because enough people give the employer a thumbs up to invade and steal. They are criminals sanctioned by consensus.
Until recently, many incursions on privacy have been prevented for no other reason than they were difficult to enforce. And, then, technology arrived. Even with its notorious incompetence, government is now able to surveil as never before, and many people have grown afraid or complacent, as the mass frisking at airports proves.
The government assault on privacy benefits from a Big Lie: namely, privacy is now impossible because government surveillance is omnipotent, omniscient. Resistance is futile. Privacy is so last century. Balderdash. First of all, technology has always empowered the individual more than it has the government. Second, there is a world of difference between “difficult” and “impossible.” Privacy is certainly more difficult in the 21st century, which only means it takes work. Individuals need to assert actively what they once could take for granted in order to end the ongoing rape of their data.
What Should You Do?
No one answer exists. How to handle personal information is up to the lifestyle and goals of each individual.
Before answering, however, some distinctions are useful: privacy versus anonymity, for example. Privacy is the ability to keep personal data or activities to yourself; you close the door while using the washroom, for example; the activity is not shameful but neither is it for the world to see. Anonymity is when your activities are transparent to the world but the fact that you are the one acting is not. Rick Falkvinge, founder of the first Pirate Party, elaborated, “The typical example would be if you want to blow the whistle on abuse of power or other forms of crime in your organization without risking career and social standing in that group, which is why we typically have strong laws that protect sources of the free press. You could also post such data anonymously online through a VPN, the TOR anonymizing network, or both. This is the analog equivalent of the anonymous tip-off letter, which has been seen as a staple diet in our checks and balances.”
Another distinction: there are two types of data — private and public. If data is private – for example, if it is kept behind closed doors or within a limited circle of personal transmissions–then it can remain private. If data is publicly displayed, however, the practical ability to control it is lost. If I discuss my sex life on a public bus, for example, I have no business denouncing a blabby eavesdropper who passes on my experiences. Unfortunately, a great deal of personal data becomes public through no fault of the person it describes. Government vigorously mines information on everyone from birth, and well-meaning parents register children for everything from medical care to government entitlements.
Happily, cryptocurrency transfers are the data under discussion; they combine the best aspects of private and public data. They are protected by encryption and anonymity or pseudonymity, while remaining transparent. This is a new expression of data that needs to be protected in new ways, both from government and from malicious hackers.
The most effective tactics may well be technological, but this article does not address them. The tactics change constantly and quickly in response to government or hacking threats. And, frankly, although some tactics are simple, like spreading assets over a number of wallets, understanding other tactics requires a technological sophistication that I do not possess.
Instead, the article points to variations on privacy strategies that have been used for decades, if not for centuries. Pick and choose, but it may be best to use them all because the regulatory wolves are circling. Here is a sampling:
Obfuscate or “hide in plain sight.” One way for a person to preserve privacy is to be so inconspicuous or subtle that he is almost unnoticeable. Blend in, or become invisible. Sometimes obfuscation involves participating in so much noise that an eavesdropper cannot distinguish your signal from any other. An example might be sending only modest payments across the blockchain so the transactions join with hundreds of thousands of similar others, all of which are of scant interest because of the small amounts. Other times, obfuscation means masking activity through mixers or tumblers that further anonymize transactions. The anonymization carries a risk, however. It can constitute a red flag to eavesdroppers.
Avoid Centralized Exchanges and Other Data Sharing Centers. If a person wants government to have his financial data, then he should just mail it in an envelope to the government. Of course, signing up with an exchange, like Coinbase, saves a stamp. Centralized exchanges are now an arm of the government. Moreover, they carry their own risks, including bankruptcy or other reasons for withholding funds. Nevertheless, there are good reasons for using exchanges; they permit futures trading and other Wall Street niceties, for example. But decentralized exchanges are preferable; exchanges outside the U.S. or other crypto-hostile nations are preferable, as are ones that do claim jurisdiction over private keys. Even then, wealth should be moved in and out as quickly as possible, without allowing the third party to control it for longer than necessary.
Find Discreet Ways to Cash Out. The crypto veteran Kai Sedgwick wrote,
“Bitcoin transactions are semi-anonymous: every transaction on the blockchain is broadcast publicly and visible for all eternity, but the owner of each wallet is unknown. Tying addresses to real-world identities is now relatively easy for the powers-that-be, because everyone has to cash out somewhere, and that usually involves linking bitcoin addresses to bank accounts.” Don’t. As much as possible, deal with people one-on-one. Seek venues that exchange crypto for gift cards to stores you regularly use, such as grocery stores. Be inventive in avoiding the banks and centralized exchanges; they are the “trusted third parties” that Bitcoin was designed to obsolete.
Use a Privacy Currency. Dozens and dozens of private currencies exist, with several being solid. Although most of them use different techniques to preserve privacy, anonymity is a theme. The founder of Zcash explained the philosophy behind that particular privacy currency. “We believe that privacy strengthens social ties and social institutions, protects societies against their enemies, and helps societies to be more peaceful and more prosperous…. A robust tradition of privacy is a common feature in rich and peaceful societies, and a lack of privacy is often found in struggling and failing societies.”
Zip It on Public Forums. Public forums, like Facebook or Twitter, are monitored and mined by government and corporations. They are collection points for data, even if a person tries to post anonymously. If social media is necessary for professional reasons, then use it to the bare minimum. Never post anything on social media that you wouldn’t put on the front page of the New York Times, and that includes crypto forums.
Be Careful in Writing Down Information. Do not write down your private keys, for example, without having a secure, undisclosed place to store them.
The government is coming for crypto, which means it is coming for users. Its front line attack will be an attempt to eliminate privacy; it realizes privacy is the backbone of cryptocurrency as a freedom tool, even when users do not. Now it the time for heightened vigilance. To paraphrase the comedienne Lily Tomlin, “No matter how paranoid I get, it is never enough to keep up.”
[To be continued next week.]
Reprints of this article should credit bitcoin.com and include a link back to the original links to all previous chapters
Wendy McElroy has agreed to ”live-publish” her new book The Satoshi Revolution exclusively with Bitcoin.com. Every Saturday you’ll find another installment in a series of posts planned to conclude after about 18 months. Altogether they’ll make up her new book ”The Satoshi Revolution”. Read it here first. | <urn:uuid:5f49182d-89f4-40a1-a0bc-1c76fa3c90c1> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://bit-coin-news.info/news/the-satoshi-revolution-chapter-5-privacy-anonymity-and-pseudonymity-part-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027330907.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190825215958-20190826001958-00509.warc.gz | en | 0.956358 | 2,375 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The Importance of IIoT in a Smart Factory
In the manufacturing sector, the rise of Industry 4.0 is evolving at a rapid pace and technological advancements are the backbone of this evolution. Key technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Automation and Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) are essential. As part of connected and adaptive manufacturing, Smart Factories are a new opportunity to adopt exciting technology in order to achieve demanding production goals.
Smart Factories rely heavily on smart manufacturing, with the use of data, they are a highly digitalised and connected production facility. They are designed to drive the adoption of digital manufacturing processes and create better outcomes for productivity, delivery, reduced labor and energy costs.
As part of Industry 4.0, new technologies will be introduced as part of intelligent manufacturing and they can also be found in Smart Factories, for example:
- Adopting robotics at a deeper level such as drones that would replace current human workloads.
- Use of machine learning to analyse data gathered by sensors and monitoring devices in order to make real-time decisions to improve the efficiency of production.
- Utilising IIoT to create a system of connected devices with predictive capabilities to make autonomous decisions based in an intelligent, decision-making environment.
IoT focuses a lot more on connectivity, data analytics and automation as part of a huge digital ecosystem. “In IIoT technology, sensors are attached to physical assets,” says Robert Schmid, Deloitte Digital IoT Chief Technologist. “Those sensors gather data, store it wirelessly, and use analytics and machine learning to take some kind of action.”
IIoT can transform linear manufacturing supply chains into interconnected digital supply networks (DSN), making factories more efficient, saving on costs and reducing risk for human operators.
The most notable feature of IIoT systems is the use of sensors to detect, for example, if a machine goes down or reaches a temperature that’s too high, sensors then track the source of the issue and trigger a service request. This is known as ‘Predictive Manufacturing’, a fascinating system that converts data into information and make intelligent decisions about the machine or process. | <urn:uuid:f9757404-ac5c-463a-ba9f-f2ade431f96a> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://manufacturingdigital.com/smart-manufacturing/importance-iiot-smart-factory | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500251.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20230205094841-20230205124841-00256.warc.gz | en | 0.91608 | 464 | 2.875 | 3 |
Have an Answer?
Elementary school, middle school, and high school teachers.
Elementary school teachers generally teach all subjects, while middle school and high school teachers usually teach a specific subject.
Post secondary school teachers also teach a specific subject in community college, universities, and or private institutions.
Vocational school teachers are typically specialized in a field of study and also teach a specific subject or even multiple subjects pertaining to your occupational field.
Additional teachers include:
-teaching English to international students
-teachers of different subjects (e.g.) math, English, science, etc. | <urn:uuid:2d8dfd94-4291-4c3a-8c74-dba99becfce1> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | https://www.studentmentor.org/questions/education/what-are-the-different-types-of-teachers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948514238.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20171212002021-20171212022021-00462.warc.gz | en | 0.936583 | 124 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Is TRAPEZOHEDRA valid for Scrabble? Words With Friends? Other games?!
Definitions of TRAPEZOHEDRA in various dictionaries:
- noun - a polyhedron whose faces are trapeziums
There are 12 letters in TRAPEZOHEDRA: A A D E E H O P R R T Z
To search all scrabble anagrams of TRAPEZOHEDRA, to go: TRAPEZOHEDRA?
Rearrange the letters in TRAPEZOHEDRA and see some winning combinations
12 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
9 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
8 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
7 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
6 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
5 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
4 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
3 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
2 letters out of TRAPEZOHEDRA
Contextual use of TRAPEZOHEDRA
What's nearby TRAPEZOHEDRA
Lookup in Wiki for TRAPEZOHEDRA
Anagrammer is a game resource site that has been extremely popular with players of popular games like Scrabble, Lexulous, WordFeud, Letterpress, Ruzzle, Hangman and so forth. We maintain regularly updated dictionaries of almost every game out there. To be successful in these board games you must learn as many valid words as possible, but in order to take your game to the next level you also need to improve your anagramming skills, spelling, counting and probability analysis. Make sure to bookmark every unscrambler we provide on this site. Explore deeper into our site and you will find many educational tools, flash cards and so much more that will make you a much better player. This page covers all aspects of TRAPEZOHEDRA, do not miss the additional links under "More about: TRAPEZOHEDRA" | <urn:uuid:7780043e-385d-425e-90d7-f40f19de64d7> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.anagrammer.com/scrabble/trapezohedra | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549423901.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170722042522-20170722062522-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.837756 | 428 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ratified the initial version of the standard for Wireless Local Area Networks known as IEEE 802.11 in 1997 (IEEE Standards, 2004). Belonging to the same family of standards as the Ethernet, it was labeled “Wireless Ethernet” and considered an appropriate networking technology for offices because it did not rely on cables. Although burdened by a lack of strong security (Fluhrer, 2001) and lower throughput compared to its wired equivalent, IEEE 802.11 was a success. The cost of manufacturing 802.11 chipsets fell quickly, and 802.11 found its way from desktop PCs to laptops and next generation cellular phones. Wi-Fi, a consumer-friendly moniker for 802.11, was adopted and the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), a nonprofit international association, was formed in 1999 to certify the interoperability of Wi-Fi products. WECA changed its name to the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2002 (Wi-Fi Alliance, 2004). The two main components of Wi-Fi networks are the wireless clients and the Wi-Fi access points, which are the wireless equivalent of Ethernet hubs. Clients equipped with Wi-Fi can communicate wirelessly with nearby access points that link them to each other, to the local wired network and to the Internet. Clients can also communicate with each other without access points (assuming their radios are within range) in a so called “ad hoc” mode (IEEE Std. 802.11, 1999). Newer IEEE specifications include 802.11g, which enables clients and access points to connect to each other at speeds of up to 54 Mbps; and 802.11i, which employs advanced authentication and encryption algorithms to protect against unauthorized users that attempt to gain access to private networks (IEEE Standards, 2004). Standard 802.11i also protects the confidentiality and integrity of wireless sessions, which are usually susceptible to eavesdropping and hijacking attacks. The term “Wi-Fi hotspot” is now being used to describe any area where Wi-Fi connectivity is available via nearby access point. Public hotspots can be found in airport lounges and shopping malls, in coffee shops and restaurants, and in hotels and exhibition centers. Wi-Fi users, which include business travelers as well as casual users, can use their portable devices in these hotspots to access e-mail, their corporate intranets and the Internet. Users can browse the Web, use instant messaging and location-based services, place cheaper voice-over-IP calls and conduct videoconferences. Nevertheless, such practice is still not commonplace (Stone, 2003). | <urn:uuid:6f4f3917-3143-4160-a8c8-72848677dea6> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/peer-peer-wireless-network-confederation/18105 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189471.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00624-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938535 | 542 | 3.765625 | 4 |
A smart city uses information and communication technologies to:
- enhance quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services,
- reduce costs and resource consumption, and
- improve contact between citizens and government.
Quality data are essential for smart cities
Knowing about your citizens and how they move on an ongoing basis will help you make good decisions and communicate them effectively
Traditional surveys are increasingly expensive and onerous. Getting a real sense of your city's changing demographics and how those different demographic groups interact with your city over time is difficult using surveys. That’s why we set out to create technologies that unify passively-collected data, so that they can bring insights to your city's decision processes and communication practices. | <urn:uuid:729c29f5-003e-4d00-8b74-62fff5d0f3c3> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://transportfoundry.com/smart-cities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891812579.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20180219091902-20180219111902-00153.warc.gz | en | 0.887299 | 146 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Most readers will remember Dr. Sam Osmanagich, the fringe researcher who alleges that some hills in Bosnia are actually the world’s largest and oldest manmade pyramids. Well, in the latest edition of the Ancient Mysteries & Advanced Archaeology Review, a fringe publication, Osmanagich makes some rather astonishing claims about his “pyramids.” Now they are no longer simply ancient structures but miraculous healing devices capable of medically inexplicable cures.
The article in question appears to be identical to one Osmanagich published at Ancient Origins last year. Regular readers will remember that Osmanagich claims to be an archaeologist but took his Ph.D. from his university’s political science department in order to avoid the more stringent requirements of the department that oversees archaeology.
Osmanagich writes that the caverns he has dug beneath one of the hills in an attempt to excavate what he believes to be manmade tunnels act as a perfect shield for “cosmic rays.” But more than that, they also contain “beneficial electromagnetism,” high levels of ultrasound, and 60,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter (presumably of air and not dirt). These conditions, he said, enable to pyramid to have five positive effects on human beings: increased lung capacity, glucose level normalization, blood pressure normalization, “general condition” improvement, and aura improvement. Yes, auras.
These claims Osmanagich has made before, but the evidence he provides for them is, frankly, upsetting.
He starts by telling the story of a Czech girl who suffers from a pulmonary disease that had reduced her lung capacity by nearly 50%. The girl sought treatment from a Dr. Peter Hadjuk, whom Osmanagich describes as a pulmonary specialist. I can find only one Czech doctor of that name, an alternative medicine practitioner and hair-replacement specialist. The doctor treated the girl with vitamin C and sent her to Osmanagich to have a “negative ion” treatment under the so-called “pyramid.” Her lung capacity supposedly almost doubled after two visits, so much so that she became a volunteer and helped Osmanagich excavate the pyramid.
What kind of quack uses vitamin C and “negative ions” to treat “inflammatory cysts”?
The “Chief Physicist” at a Prague hospital sent volunteers to have their blood glucose measured. Without explaining any of the safeguards put in place to control the experiment, the “physicist” reported that the subjects saw their glucose drop by as much as half, and the “effect” supposedly lasted for two weeks. A Turkish woman claimed that her high blood pressure subsided after she started taking regular vacations – sorry, after she started making regular pilgrimages to Osmanagich’s excavation.
No effort was made to determine whether other, natural underground locations would produce similar effects, nor was there any indication that anyone checked to see how the participants’ lifestyles and treatment programs may have affected the outcome.
But the most ridiculous claim has to be that the supposed pyramids change the “auras” of people who visit—but only those who visit one time or regularly (but not semi-frequently). The “aura” did not change for people who work at the site daily, nor for people who don’t believe in auras, as measured by Russian scientist “Vladimir” Korotkov’s aura scanning equipment:
In 15% of cases (permanent staff and volunteers) the bioenergetic layer was stable, continuous, with no major changes. The least powerful results occurred in people who declared themselves as "skeptics" (resistance to the idea of pyramids in Visoko) or who wore inadequate clothing (for example, artificial fibers, PVC, instead of natural cotton or woolen clothing).
Ah, yes: The “magic” only works if you really believe in it. If you don’t subscribe to Osmanagich’s ideas, you don’t get any healing magic. Who knew the ancients were so prescient as to devise a system whereby their wisdom and goodness transfer only to those who support Sam Osmanagich?
For the record, Osmanagich was actually referring to Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, a physicist and “bioelectrographer” at the various St. Petersburg institutions. Korotkov claims to have developed a more sensitive version of the 1970s fad of Kirlian photography to capture humans’ natural “energy” fields that could be used to diagnose physical and mental conditions. He claimed to have photographed the soul leaving the body, and can diagnose the person’s emotions at death by reading their post-mortem auras. He’s a quack who makes bizarre claims about auras. No wonder Osmanagich likes him.
I'm an author and editor who has published on a range of topics, including archaeology, science, and horror fiction. There's more about me in the About Jason tab.
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Please read all applicable terms and conditions before posting a comment on this blog. Posting a comment constitutes your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions linked herein. | <urn:uuid:523b7a67-7637-4788-ac7f-6f691834cd35> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/sam-osmanagich-claims-bosnian-pyramids-have-new-age-magical-healing-powers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257396.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523204120-20190523230120-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.945616 | 1,147 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents With Alcohol and Other
Drug Use Problems
Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents With Alcohol and Other Drug Use Problems
Mark G. Myers,
Ph.D., and John F. Kelly, Ph.D.
Mark G. Myers, Ph.D., is a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, California, and staff psychologist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.
John F. Kelly, Ph.D., is associate director of the Addiction Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and assistant professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Cigarette and alcohol use often develop concurrently, and smoking is especially common among youth treated for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders. Special considerations for adolescent smoking cessation treatment include peer influences, motivation, and nicotine dependence. Little research has addressed smoking cessation treatment for youth with AOD use disorders, but the few available studies suggest that tobacco cessation efforts are feasible and potentially effective for this population. Findings to date suggest that adolescents with AOD use disorders may benefit more from relatively intensive multicomponent programs rather than brief treatment for smoking cessation. Additional research is needed to further address the inclusion of tobacco-specific interventions for adolescents in AOD use disorder treatment programs.
Key words: Alcohol and tobacco; alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use, abuse, and dependence; smoking; gateway drug; nicotine dependence; adolescent; youth; high-risk youth; alcohol and other drug use (AODU) treatment method; smoking cessation treatment; co-treatment; intervention; brief intervention; motivational interviewing; peer relations; treatment outcome
Studies examining the origins of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use problems (i.e., AOD abuse and dependence) consistently find that cigarette smoking is closely related with AOD use. Because the use of psychoactive substances significantly escalates during the high school years (Johnston et al. 2006), most research in this area has focused on high school–aged youth (e.g., 14–18 years old). Although researchers have identified a broad range of factors that influence the initiation and progression of tobacco and AOD use, peer influences are particularly salient given the key developmental tasks of this period (e.g., establishing an identity separate from ones’ family). Ethnic and regional variations exist in the development of psychoactive substance use, yet adolescents typically start using cigarettes or alcohol prior to other drugs (Ellickson et al. 1992). Tobacco and alcohol, often referred to as “gateway drugs,” are among the first substances consumed by adolescents. This is likely influenced by their ready availability along with other sociocultural (e.g., peer influences, acculturation) and biological factors (e.g., family history of substance use disorders) (Vega and Gil 2005).
As with alcohol, adolescent cigarette smoking is strongly associated with illicit drug use (e.g., Eckhardt et al. 1994). In addition to more frequent use of illicit drugs, youth who consistently smoke throughout adolescence are at significantly greater risk for marijuana and other drug abuse or dependence (Vega and Gil 2005). Much of the research in this area has focused on concurrent use of cigarettes and alcohol, which predicts a variety of problems, both during adolescence and beyond. For example, it has been found that youth who smoke and drink have an increased risk of having difficulties at school, delinquency, and use of other drugs (Hoffman et al. 2001). Adolescents who report consistent smoking and drinking have higher rates of deviant behavior and violence and are more likely to have legal and substance use problems in their 20s than those who consistently drink but do not regularly smoke (Orlando et al. 2005). The authors of the latter study noted, “…while it is common during adolescence to drink but not smoke, it is very unusual to smoke and not drink” (Orlando et al. 2005), suggesting that smoking is a reliable marker of adolescent alcohol use.
This article examines the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescents with AOD use problems, smoking cessation efforts in this population, and special considerations for adolescent smoking cessation treatment, including peer influences, motivation, and nicotine dependence. This article concludes with a brief review of studies evaluating smoking cessation treatment for adolescents with AOD use problems and a discussion of the implications of these findings.
OF CIGARETTE SMOKING AMONG ADOLESCENTS WITH AOD USE PROBLEMS
Research consistently demonstrates a link between adolescent smoking and psychiatric problems, in particular major depressive disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, and AOD use problems (e.g., Brown et al. 1996). Few studies have focused specifically on smoking in clinical samples1 of adolescents treated for AOD use problems. (1 A clinical sample refers to study participants recruited from inpatient or outpatient treatment settings.) In an initial investigation of smoking among such adolescents (Myers and Brown 1994), 85 percent reported current (i.e., within the past 30 days) cigarette smoking at treatment entry, of whom 75 percent were daily smokers and 61 percent smoked 10 or more cigarettes daily. The frequency and intensity of smoking in this clinical sample was substantially higher than for adolescents in the general population. When these subjects were interviewed again 2 years following treatment, both prevalence of current smoking and average daily cigarette consumption by smokers had decreased, yet both remained very high. Heavier smokers at the time of treatment were more likely to report respiratory problems (e.g., bronchitis, pneumonia, and respiratory tract infections) at the 24-month followup, suggesting that health consequences from smoking may appear relatively early for these youth. In addition, rates of smoking were not associated with relapse to AOD use, suggesting that even adolescents abstinent from AODs remained at risk for continued cigarette use and related health problems.
In a subsequent report (Myers and Brown 1997), we examined the persistence of cigarette smoking 4 years following treatment for participants from the initial study, at which time these youth were, on average, 20 years old. Consistent with other reports indicating that cigarette use is a highly persistent behavior, 80 percent of those who smoked at the time of treatment were still smoking 4 years later. Those who had stopped smoking by the 4-year follow-up assessment reported lower rates of AOD involvement than those who continued to smoke. Thus, our studies to date underscore the fact that youth treated for AOD abuse are a heavy cigarette-smoking population, that smoking persists following treatment, and that smoking-related health problems already are evident during adolescence. Further, these initial studies provided suggestive evidence that smoking cessation does not detrimentally influence substance use outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of interventions to address tobacco use among these youth.
Figure 1 The overlap between adolescent alcohol and cigarette use is illustrated by data from Statewide surveys of 7th to 12th grade students in New York State. Evaluation of concurrent use of alcohol and cigarettes indicated that approximately one-third of current drinkers smoked, whereas approximately 95 percent of current smokers used alcohol.
SOURCE: Hoffman et al. 2001.
SMOKING CESSATION EFFORTS
Information regarding self-initiated efforts to change smoking behaviors suggests that adolescent smokers frequently consider quitting smoking and, as such, may be amenable to intervention. Studies of general population and school samples consistently find that adolescents often want to stop smoking and frequently attempt smoking cessation yet seldom succeed in maintaining long-term abstinence. We recently examined smoking cessation among youth in treatment for substance abuse (Myers and Macpherson 2004). The majority (63 percent) of adolescents in the study had previously attempted to quit smoking yet reported difficulties staying abstinent—70 percent had returned to smoking within a month of quitting. The frequency and duration of smoking cessation efforts for this substance-abusing sample was comparable to findings with adolescent smokers from community-based studies (e.g., Burt and Peterson 1998; Pierce et al. 1998). Overall, adolescents tend to return to smoking relatively soon after cessation attempts, indicating the potential value of tobacco-focused interventions to enhance and support abstinence from smoking.
ADOLESCENT SMOKING CESSATION TREATMENT: DEVELOPMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
Developmental differences between adolescent and adult smokers pose significant challenges for designing effective youth-specific interventions (Mermelstein 2003). Interventions targeted at adolescents must thus include content appropriate to key developmental differences between youth and adults (c.f., Milton et al. 2003). Peer influences and motivation for change are especially important considerations for any adolescent-focused tobacco use intervention and are particularly salient for youth with AOD problems. Adolescents also appear to differ from adults in characteristics of nicotine dependence (Colby et al. 2000). Another important issue to include in treatment is that the extent of dependence is found to influence cessation outcomes.
Studies consistently find that adolescents who associate with smoking peers have less success with quitting. The high smoking rates among AOD-abusing youth indicate that addressing peer influences may be particularly important with this population (Myers 1999). Adolescents strongly identify with their friends and peers, a phenomenon central to an adolescent’s development of a self-image distinct from one’s family (Greenberg et al. 1983). As such, the role of peers in adolescent smoking can be understood as part of an adolescent’s social identity (e.g., how youth view smoking in relation to self and others) and peer selection rather than solely as “peer pressure” (Ennett and Bauman 1994). For instance, cigarettes take on a social role by providing adolescent smokers a method for meeting and interacting with others. The social function of smoking may be particularly powerful for AOD-abusing adolescents, whether they currently are using substances or are abstaining, because their peer group likely will include many smokers. For example, being around smokers may lead to perceived pressure to smoke or may give rise to cravings.2 (2 A strong perceived desire or urge to smoke.) Because smoking is a normative behavior for AOD-involved youth, particular attention should be focused on youth perceptions regarding the acceptability of smoking, adolescents’ beliefs about the social role of cigarettes, beliefs regarding the relationship between smoking and other drug use (e.g., enhanced effects), and skills to resist temptations to smoke.
Motivation can be understood as a shifting state of desire to change, and, as such, promoting and enhancing the motivation to quit smoking is a central issue for both adolescent and adult treatment. Adolescents may have lower interest in quitting smoking than adults because they are less likely to have incurred subjectively noticeable negative consequences from smoking, and tobacco-related health problems tend to accrue gradually over a long period of time. For youth with AOD-related problems, the normative status of smoking may serve to dampen interest in quitting. In addition, those youth receiving treatment for a substance use disorder (and their parents) are likely to view smoking as a “lesser evil” compared with AOD use and, thus, a lower-priority issue. Incorporating client-centered motivational enhancement techniques3 as part of treatment is therefore likely to be particularly important when addressing smoking in the context of AOD use disorder treatment, because these youth may have little initial desire to change their smoking behavior (Myers 1999). (3 Motivational enhancement techniques refer to therapeutic strategies designed to increase the likelihood of an individual engaging in and maintaining behavior change. Motivational interventions incorporate the client-centered principles of empathy, acceptance, and positive regard. ) As such, smoking intervention for AOD-abusing adolescents should address motivational obstacles to initial participation and include techniques to increase and sustain motivation for change.
Most adolescents smoke cigarettes less often and in smaller quantities than adults. Despite lower levels of consumption, studies to date suggest that adolescent smokers, especially daily smokers, experience nicotine dependence, and the majority report experiencing withdrawal symptoms4 upon cessation (Colby et al. 2000). (4 Common withdrawal symptoms that occur within 24 hours after stopping smoking include irritability, anxiety, poor concentration, insomnia, and depression.) Available evidence also indicates that, as with adults, youth with higher levels of nicotine dependence have greater difficulty quitting smoking (Colby et al. 2000). Yet, the extent to which features of nicotine dependence are similar between adult and adolescent smokers is not yet well established. Treatment of adult smokers typically incorporates medication, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (e.g., transdermal nicotine patch). However, research has not yet established whether NRT and other medications are appropriate and effective for tobacco cessation among youth. Because a majority of AOD-abusing youth appears to be daily smokers, nicotine dependence should be addressed in the course of intervention. This can be accomplished by educating adolescents regarding the features of nicotine dependence (e.g., anticipating withdrawal symptoms), teaching strategies for coping with urges and withdrawal, and providing medication if appropriate (see Brown et al. 2003).
SMOKING CESSATION TREATMENT FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH AOD USE PROBLEMS
Adolescent smoking cessation treatment has received growing attention over the past decade, yet few studies have focused on youth with AOD problems. We identified four published treatment studies relevant to this population, each of which addressed key developmental issues, including motivation, peer factors, and nicotine dependence.
The largest study to date of smoking cessation with high-risk youth is Project Ex, an intervention designed for and delivered in continuation high schools5 (Sussman et al. 2001). (5 Continuation high schools are part of the California public high school system and serve youth who are diverted from the traditional high schools for reasons such as behavior problems and poor academic performance.) Continuation schools serve high-risk youth, thus their students have a substantially higher prevalence of tobacco and AOD use than students in traditional high schools.
The intervention included eight sessions delivered over a 6-week period. A motivational approach was employed, such that students initially were not asked or required to quit but rather prepared for their quit attempt. Program content included examining reasons for smoking and quitting, education about the effects of tobacco and nicotine, coping skills, strategies for maintaining abstinence, and relapse prevention. It also included alternative medicine strategies and “talk shows” to make the intervention more appealing to youth.
The program was assessed by randomly assigning schools to one of three conditions: intervention alone, intervention with a school-as-community component 6 (Sussman et al. 2001), and a no-treatment control. (6 The community component was designed to promote school-wide changes in attitudes toward smoking as a means for facilitating cessation efforts.) Three hundred and thirty-five smokers from 18 continuation high schools participated in the study. Follow-up assessment 5 months after the program quit day indicated a significant difference between treatment conditions; 17 percent of smokers in the treatment conditions reported having quit smoking for the last 30 days, compared with just 8 percent of those in the no-treatment control condition. Project Ex is one of the first studies to demonstrate the benefits of smoking cessation interventions with high-risk youth. Although this intervention’s content was developed and implemented with high-risk youth rather than youth diagnosed with AOD use disorders, its content may well apply to AOD-abusing youth.
Motivational Intervention for Adolescents With Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders
A recently completed treatment study compared the effectiveness of an intervention designed to enhance motivation to quit with a brief advice condition for smoking cessation in adolescents admitted for psychiatric hospitalization for any axis I condition other than a psychotic disorder (e.g., schizophrenia) (Brown et al. 2003). The motivational intervention consisted of two 45-minute sessions. The first session involved examination of the pros and cons of smoking and quitting, followed by feedback regarding peer influences, nicotine dependence, adolescent attitudes toward smoking, and costs of smoking. The second session incorporated feedback about the effects of smoking on appearance, pulmonary health, and measurement of lung function. This session ended with discussion of a plan for changing cigarette use. Participants in the motivational interview condition also received a manual that outlined skills for preventing relapse to smoking and that described strategies for coping with negative moods. In addition, participants received up to six brief counseling phone calls during the initial 6 months following hospitalization and parents received up to four phone counseling sessions. Finally, in order to further address nicotine dependence, eligible participants in this motivational intervention condition received up to two 8-week supplies of transdermal nicotine patch therapy.
The brief advice condition was designed in accordance with current clinical guidelines for smoking cessation, and participants were given 5 to 10 minutes of advice about quitting smoking. Participants received a clear recommendation to quit smoking, information about the negative health effects of smoking, and advice for quitting (e.g., setting a quit date). Eligible participants also received a single course of transdermal nicotine patch therapy.
The study included 191 adolescents who were randomly assigned to receive either motivational enhancement or brief advice and were followed for 12 months after discharge from the hospital. Several outcomes were compared across treatment conditions, including proportion attempting to quit smoking, duration of longest quit attempt, smoking abstinence rates, and smoking rates (cigarettes per day). Overall, no significant differences were observed between the treatment conditions on frequency of quit attempts or rates of abstinence, suggesting that the motivational intervention had no more effect on smoking than brief advice. Cessation rates reported for this study (9 to 14 percent of participants in each condition were abstinent for the prior week at follow-up assessments) were comparable to those of the no-treatment conditions of the other studies reviewed herein, suggesting that this brief motivational intervention had little effect on smoking in this clinical population. Although a similar intervention with a nonclinical sample of adolescents has shown positive findings (Colby et al. 2005), adolescents with concurrent substance use and other psychiatric disorders may require more intensive intervention than provided in this study.
Cigarette Smoking Intervention for Adolescents in AOD Abuse Treatment
In response to the need for smoking interventions targeted to youth with AOD use problems, we conducted a series of studies on this issue. The first study focused on designing and implementing a smoking intervention with this population (Myers et al. 2000). Subsequently, we conducted a controlled comparison study of the previously developed intervention (Myers and Brown 2005).
The initial study (Myers et al. 2000) aimed to produce a treatment manual and demonstrate the feasibility of providing a tobacco-focused intervention in the context of treatment for AOD use disorders. Design of the intervention was based on available research regarding influences on adolescent smoking cessation and persistence, developmental issues, and factors specific to AOD-abusing youth. Each version of the intervention addressed these primary considerations, and subsequent applications were modified in response to prior experience and participant feedback. In keeping with the client-centered, motivational approach underlying the intervention, participants were asked to set their own goals for change, with smoking cessation representing one of several possible outcomes. The final version of the intervention consisted of six, weekly, hour-long group sessions integrated within existing programs for treatment of adolescent AOD use disorders. Content included strategies for increasing motivation for change, training in behavioral strategies for reducing cigarette use, skills for managing urges to smoke, and preventing relapse to smoking. Social aspects of adolescent smoking were addressed, with an emphasis on obtaining peer support for quitting smoking and skills for refusing offers of cigarettes. Commonalities and differences between adolescent experiences with AOD use versus cigarette use were also discussed.
Thirty-five adolescents participated in this pilot project and were followed for 3 months following completion of the smoking intervention. Analyses found that 3 months after treatment, 6 of 28 (21 percent; 17 percent of original sample) participants reported abstinence from smoking for at least the prior 7 days. Forty-six percent of participants reported at least one quit attempt following participation. Further, no relationship was found between attempting to quit smoking and extent of AOD use. These findings provided initial support for the feasibility of this approach, and evidence that providing a client-centered, motivation-enhancing, tobacco intervention in the context of AOD treatment was not detrimental to AOD-related treatment outcomes for adolescents.
The efficacy of this intervention was subsequently assessed in a controlled outcome study (Myers and Brown 2005). Fifty-four adolescents recruited from AOD use disorder treatment programs were assigned either to receive the intervention or to a waitlist control condition. Those assigned to the control condition were offered access to the intervention after completing study participation. Participants were followed for 6 months after completing the smoking intervention and were compared across conditions on rates of quit attempts and abstinence from smoking. Analyses were conducted employing an intent-to-treat approach, whereby all participants who entered the study were included, with those lost to follow-up considered as not having attempted cessation and not abstinent. No differences were found across groups for frequency of cessation attempts. However, compared with individuals in the control condition, treatment participants were more likely to report past-week abstinence from smoking at the end of treatment (4 percent versus 38 percent, respectively), at the 3-month follow-up (4 percent versus 31 percent, respectively), and at the 6-month follow-up (4 percent versus 15 percent respectively) (see Figure 2). That a statistically significant difference was found only for abstinence at 3 months posttreatment may reflect the small sample size and consequent limited statistical power. This study provided initial evidence for the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention delivered in the context of adolescent substance use disorder treatment.
Figure 2 Proportion of adolescents abstinent from smoking for at least 7 days across treatment and control conditions at the end of treatment and at 3- and 6-months’ followup. Compared with individuals in the control condition, treatment participants were more likely to report past-week abstinence from smoking at each of the three followups.
SOURCE: Myers and Brown 2005.
Summary of Findings
The evolution of smoking treatment for adolescents with AOD-related problems is in its early stages. The few relevant treatment studies indicate that tobacco use interventions for this population are feasible and potentially effective. Findings to date suggest that adolescents with AOD use disorders may benefit more from relatively intensive multicomponent programs rather than brief treatment for smoking cessation. It is noteworthy that all of the treatments reviewed focused on client-centered approaches to motivating changes in smoking behavior and, in contrast with standard adult treatment, did not require cessation. Motivational approaches thus could be especially important for engaging adolescents in treatment. The studies showing significant effects included interventions delivered in group rather than individual sessions. This finding may reflect that adolescent social factors may be more salient and effectively addressed in a group, rather than individual, format. Finally, offering a tobacco-focused intervention as an integral part of AOD treatment may serve to reduce barriers to participation and alter normative attitudes regarding tobacco use.
These conclusions must be tempered by considering the limitations of the studies reviewed. Project Ex, the study with the strongest outcomes, did not specifically focus on adolescents diagnosed with substance use disorders. As such, further research is needed to establish whether this same program would prove effective among youth with AOD use disorders. Generalizing the findings of these studies is further complicated by gender and ethnic composition differences across studies. Finally, the two studies conducted with youth treated for AOD use disorders included small samples and as such require replication with larger samples.
IMPLICATIONS FOR ADOLESCENT AOD USE DISORDER TREATMENT
Cigarette and alcohol use share common etiological factors and often develop concurrently. Smoking is especially common among youth treated for AOD use disorders and appears to persist at least into early adulthood. Despite the potentially severe health consequences of concurrent tobacco and alcohol use and the possible benefits of early intervention, little research has addressed treatments targeted at this population. The few available studies suggest the feasibility and utility of addressing tobacco use among youth with AOD problems. When considered in concert with findings that client-centered adolescent smoking cessation efforts do not appear to detract from AOD use outcomes, the current evidence is cause for optimism. However, the dearth of studies and limitations of current research serve to emphasize the need for additional research to address the inclusion of tobacco-specific interventions for adolescents in AOD use disorder treatment programs.
Work on this paper was supported by an Independent Scientist Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA–017652). Dr. Myers’s research on smoking treatment for alcohol and other drug–abusing adolescents was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA–11333) and the California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (7RT–0135).
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.
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Vega, W.A., and Gil, A.G. Revisiting drug progression: Long-range effects of early tobacco use. Addiction 100:1358–1369, 2005. PMID: 16128725 | <urn:uuid:9ebddf35-b716-41ef-9c40-ad8c5fd8e994> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh293/221-227.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461650.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00157-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933172 | 6,279 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Supermassive black hole + supermassive black hole = super-SUPERmassive black hole!
Supercomputer models of merging black holes reveal properties that are crucial to understanding future detections of gravitational waves. This movie follows two orbiting black holes and their accretion disk during their final three orbits and ultimate merger. Redder colors correspond to higher gas densities.
To read more about this phenomenon, read the article over at Universe Today right here. | <urn:uuid:804e939a-4c5b-48bb-a186-cc192309ea40> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2012/10/07/the-merging-of-two-supermassive-black-holes-video/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422120453043.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124172733-00158-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.855317 | 89 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Book review: Bush Toys, Aboriginal Children at Play, by Claudia Haagen
Posted by Lisa Hill on June 16, 2013
A little while ago I posted about my curiosity as to whether or not there was a concept of ‘toys’ in nomadic lifestyles so I was very pleased yesterday when I stumbled across a whole book devoted to the topic. The Bayside Library Service at Sandringham deserves to be congratulated because it’s the only library in metropolitan Melbourne that I’ve ever been in, that has a dedicated section of books about indigenous issues. Amongst the treasures there, which include fiction and non-fiction books by indigenous authors; reference books; and books about indigenous issues by non-indigenous authors such as Dr Henry Reynolds and Dr Lyndall Ryan; I found Bush Toys, Aboriginal Children at Play, by Claudia Haagen, which was written for the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, to document their collection of artefacts.
It is a scholarly work, and unfortunately the photographs are really too small to use with classes at school, but it is a very useful book for teachers interested in extending their background knowledge about the lifestyles of Aboriginal children. The new Australian Curriculum includes three cross-curriculum ‘priorities’, one of which is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, and (as I said in my previous post) one of the science topics includes Year 2 students identifying toys from different cultures that use the forces of push or pull. This book shows me that Aboriginal children did indeed have toys and games like that, and a wealth of others besides.
The Contents page gives an indication of the book’s scope:
- First Toys: rattles and rings
- About camp: playing house; story games; drawing sticks for tracks and other sand games; dolls
- Bush tucker: bags and baskets; fire sticks and digging sticks; fishing gear
- Hunting and fighting games: spears and spear games; parrying games and mock fights; disc rolling and spearing; shields; missiles and mud balls; spearthrowers; boomerangs; other weapons (bow and arrow; stone axes; throwing sticks; darts; shanghais)
- Playing with sound: bullroarers; percussion toys; strings and whistles
- Water play: mud balls and mud slides; canoes; rafts
- Community play: ball games (composite balls; football; throwing and pursuit games); hockey; bowling or ‘jeu de boules'; spinning games; playing sticks; skipping; marbles; ‘board games'; airborne and returning toys; fireworks
- Other toys: hoops, tick-cat and quoits; whimsical toys and other figures; driving toys (trucks, rollers and trailers).
As you can see from the list, there are toys and games which may derive from contact with European children, but the collection is diverse, gathered from museums around Australia. It necessarily reflects records of Aboriginal societies constructed by Europeans over time, so the collection is incomplete and is filtered through European eyes. Any games that were associated with secret ceremonies would never have been revealed to European observers either. Not only that, but interest in the lives of children is a fairly recent topic of research and much of what is available has survived only by chance. This is especially so because many games were played without equipment (you only have to think of hide-and-seek or chasey) and most toys were ephemeral. They were often thrown away when the game was over; and if they were made from plants they soon degraded when exposed to the elements. In general, Aboriginal cultures did not focus on ‘keeping’ or ‘owning’ or ‘treasuring’ toys. Things were shared communally and left behind without regret when the community moved on.
But what is common to all of these toys and games – and probably universally to toys and games from hunter-gatherer and pre-industrial societies all over the world – is the concept of ‘transformation’ – that is, taking an object from its environment and giving it a new purpose, for the purpose of play.
As in European societies, as ‘adults in preparation’, children played with miniature versions of adult artefacts, often gendered : little canoes, shields, hunting weapons and fishing gear for the boys, while the girls had tiny versions of equipment needed to ‘play house': they had cute dolls made of grass and string, painted with clay and of course they had mini coolamon to carry them in. For mimicking food-gathering they had digging sticks, bags and baskets (which put me in mind of those miniature supermarket trolleys we see today), and the book has a photo of kids who’d built a mini shelter to construct their little imaginary world – complete with a play fire pit to cook food.
Girls played skipping games ‘before ever they saw the white man’s skipping-rope used’ (p.87) and Daisy Bates saw boys playing with marbles with a species of nut. They had slingshots too, and balls made of pandanus leaves, while both genders had toys for running, jumping and throwing, for messing about and for making a noise. Story games were used to teach unique aspects of their culture: there was a leaf game in which girls rearranged groupings of gum leaves to learn kinship relationships and the ‘right behaviour’ that goes with them.
I have just bought a copy of this book from Fishpond to use at school (see the link below), but something the Australian Museum could very usefully do would be to set up a virtual exhibition that could be accessed by school children across Australia, using the photographic collection that they already have and curating it online with kid-friendly captions.
Author: Claudia Haagen
Title: Bush Toys, Aboriginal Children at Play
Publisher: National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 1994
Source: Bayside Library Service
Fishpond: Bush Toys: Aboriginal Children at Play | <urn:uuid:bf79ea70-815d-4eae-bae8-39cfe9daaf6e> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://lisahillschoolstuff.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/book-review-bush-toys-aboriginal-children-at-play-by-claudia-haagen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931007501.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155647-00051-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968308 | 1,254 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Believe it or not, you deal with hurdle rates in your day-to-day life.
You probably don’t think of it this way. You almost certainly don’t use the term (if you do, reconsider your party conversation immediately). But even though hurdle rates are an essential part of business and finance, they’ll pretty quickly sound familiar.
What Is A Hurdle Rate?
The hurdle rate is the minimum return that a business needs before it will launch a project or other form of investment. This is otherwise known as the target rate, the required rate of return or the minimum acceptable rate of return.
A company uses the hurdle rate to decide whether to make an investment, such as launching a new project or buying a security. Before a company moves forward with an investment it must expect a rate of return that matches or exceeds the hurdle rate. An investment that returns below the hurdle is typically considered either too risky to justify or, in some cases, unprofitable compared to other alternatives.
A company may set its hurdle rate institutionally, establishing a general rate of return that it requires from viable projects. In the alternative it might also use a project-specific hurdle rate, analyzing each project based on current circumstances.
What Key Factors Determine a Hurdle Rate?
A company sets and evaluates the hurdle rate based on a combination of factors, including but not limited to:
Cost of Capital
This is what it will cost the company to get the money it will use on this investment. Costs of capital include the interest rate on any borrowed money, taxes and shareholder returns.
Alternative Investment Opportunities
Other projects and investments the company is considering. For example, if a company has an opportunity with an anticipated rate of return at 5%, it will likely require that any alternative meet or exceed that return. This is not always part of a formal analysis, but a company may consider it nonetheless.
Risk of the Investment
The risk premium associated with this investment. The higher the chance of loss, the more profitable an investment must be in order to justify it, and the higher the risk premium.
Base Rate of Return
The rate of return for a zero-risk investment. Typically, this is the rate of a 10-year Treasury bond. Since this is always available, a company will need any project to meet or exceed this return. This is part of the calculation for risk premium.
The Project’s Rate of Return
Otherwise known as the Internal Rate of Return (the IRR), this is what the company expects to get back from its investment. It compares the IRR to the hurdle to decide whether an investment is sound.
How Do You Calculate a Hurdle Rate?
The standard formula for calculating a hurdle rate is to calculate the cost of raising money, known as the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), then adjust this for the project’s risk premium. This gives your hurdle rate. You then calculate the anticipated return, the IRR, and compare it to the hurdle. This gives you your cost/benefit analysis.
This is how much it costs the company to acquire capital. It is the calculation of how much, on a per-dollar basis, a company needs to return to its investors for every $1 it raises. It is the key component of the hurdle because the WACC is the bottom line. If a company, say, needs to pay its investors 5 cents for every dollar raised, then it cannot accept an investment which returns less than 5%.
While getting into the full calculation of WACC is beyond the scope of this article, the formula proportionally weighs a company’s three main forms of financial obligation: Equity (shares), debt and taxes. It is expressed as:
WACC = ((Total Value of Shares/Total Value of the Company) * Rate of Return on Shares) + [((Total Value of Debt/Total Value of the Company) * Interest on Debt) * (1 – Tax Rate on Company)]
The important thing for a hurdle calculation is this: The WACC is ultimately what it costs to raise money after accounting for taxes and debt. No investment is worthwhile unless it returns at least that amount.
The risk premium is expressed as a percentage, and is how much more you expect an investment to return based on the risk that it will fail. A high-risk venture would have a considerably higher risk premium, for example, indicating that you should demand a larger return in exchange for the risk of losing your money.
Like the WACC, fully discussing risk premium calculation is beyond the scope of this article, however the basic formula is expressed as:
Premium = Return on Investment – Return on Risk Free Investment.
So, for example, let’s say you have $10,000 to invest. You could invest it in Treasury Bonds, the typical safe investment option. Let’s assume they’re paying 3% currently, so you would make $300. You could also invest in Grow Co., a potentially risky stock. The riskier you consider Grow Co., the more you would want to get in return for your investment. Your risk premium would be the amount you’d like Grow Co. to pay you above and beyond a Treasury Bond.
If, for example, you want $1,000 back, your premium would be: $1,000 – $300 = $700. You want a 7% premium for investing in this risky stock.
Calculating the Hurdle
To calculate the hurdle you combine these two factors. A company’s hurdle for any given project is its WACC (how much it needs to make off an investment to pay its shareholders) plus the risk premium for the project (how much more it demands from that project based on the likelihood of loss). This represents the bottom line adjusted upward for risk of failure.
Occasionally a firm will also account for inflation, particularly for long-term investments or if high rates of inflation are expected. Finally, depending on the circumstances, a company might adjust its hurdle based on alternative investment opportunities. If it already has an existing investment opportunity, it might require any new project to meet or exceed the previous offer before considering it.
Let’s consider an example of the hurdle rate in action.
Widget Co. has the opportunity to invest in a new factory. It expects that with the expanded capacity it can increase sales, leading to an 8% return on its money per year. It has a WACC of 4%, meaning that after accounting for debt and taxes its investors expect profits of 4 cents on the dollar. Widget Co. anticipates a low risk that its additional widgets won’t sell, putting that premium at 2%.
Its hurdle, therefore, would be:
• WACC (4%) + Risk Premium (2%) = 6%
Since Widget Co. expects that its new factory will generate a higher rate of return, it can invest confidently.
On the other hand, let’s say Widget Co. has a corporate portfolio with a mutual fund that historically returns a steady rate of 9% a year. In this case, the company might adjust its hurdle to 9%, on the theory that no project is worth investing in unless it can beat this alternative.
The new factory, at an 8% rate of return, would fail to meet this standard.
What Are the Limitations of a Hurdle Rate?
There are two significant limits to the hurdle rate.
The first is risk adjustment. Risk premiums, despite their formula, are closer to an art than a science. You can never be certain whether an investment will succeed or fail. Although expressing risk premiums as a number gives the impression of certainty, at the end of the day this is simply someone exercising their best judgment.
The second, and bigger, limit on using the hurdle is that it favors high-percentage returns. This can often mask more net-lucrative investments based on the size of the initial investment. For example, someone who invests $100 and gets back $20 in profit has realized a 20% return. Someone else who invests $500 and gets back $50 in profit has only realized a 10% return.
A hurdle analysis would tell you that the first investment is twice as good as the second, even though the second investment netted substantially more money.
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The space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station are separately flying around the Earth until Friday, and they can be seen as a pair of bright lights in the sky at certain times over the next few days.
Weather permitting, the orbiting objects should be visible to the naked eye throughout the United States and Canada, according to SpaceWeather.com. It's a special opportunity to see the two largest man-made objects in the sky at once.
Atlantis undocked from the space station early Wednesday, ending a week-long stay to supply the outpost with spare parts. The shuttle is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Friday morning at 9:44 a.m. EST (1444 GMT).
Several sites can tell you when the two spacecraft are visible from your location between now and landing day:
Seeing a satellite from Earth isn't that rare: The myriad communications satellites flying around Earth regularly appear at night as stars that look to be transiting across the heavens. But the shuttle and station are both larger than any other vehicle in orbit, and should appear much brighter than the average satellite.
On a good night, the station approaches magnitude -5 in brightness, which rivals the planet Venus and is more than 25 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
© 2013 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com. | <urn:uuid:a2b526ad-b393-47ad-a112-c91321fbfe9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34155142/ns/technology_and_science-space/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696384181/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092624-00085-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93188 | 283 | 3.078125 | 3 |
If you like keeping track of a company's income and expenses but also want to hold a position with significant responsibility and authority, management accounting could be the job for you. This article will teach you about the profession of management accounting, from a management accountant's job responsibilities, skill set and formal educational requirements to the professional designations that can help you get ahead, as well as the career ladder for a management accounting job.
Management accountants work for public companies, private businesses and government agencies. They may also be called cost accountants, managerial accountants, industrial accountants, private accountants or corporate accountants, but all perform similar functions within a company. Indeed, preparing data for use within a company is one of the features that distinguishes a management accountant's job from other types of accounting jobs, such as public accounting.
Instead, you'll be recording and crunching numbers for internal review to help companies budget and perform better. In conjunction with other managers in the company, you may help the company choose and manage its investments. Management accountants are risk managers, budgeters, planners, strategists and decision makers. They do the work that helps the company's owner, manager or board of directors make decisions.
As a management accountant, you'll likely supervise lower-level accountants who handle a company's basic accounting tasks, such as recording income and expenses, tracking tax liabilities and using these data to prepare income statements, cash flow statements and balance sheets, but in a smaller firm, you might perform these tasks yourself. A management accountant will analyze these basic data and make forecasts, budgets, performance measurements and plans, then present them to senior management to assist in its operational decision making.
A management accountant may also identify trends and opportunities for improvement, analyze and manage risk, arrange the funding and financing of operations and monitor and enforce compliance. They might also create and maintain a company's financial system and supervise its bookkeepers and data processors. Further, management accountants may have an area of expertise, such as taxes or budgeting.
The most fundamental skills you need in order to be a management accountant are an aptitude for and interest in numbers, math, business and production processes, and helping to manage a business, says Steve Kuchen, executive vice president and CFO of PacificHealth Laboratories.
Management accountants need a solid foundation in hard accounting skills, including knowledge of basic accounting, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and basic tax principles, says William F. Knese, vice president of finance and administration and CFO of Angus-Palm, a Worthington Industries company. "Management accountants expand this base of skills to include knowledge of cost accounting and, my favorite, finance tools such as discounted cash flow," he says. "Since management accountants function inside a business, they need a good grounding in economics and the softer skills such as communication and presentation skills, writing, persuasion and interpersonal relations skills," he adds.
You also need to be able to see your organization's big picture, says Ben Mulling, CFO of TENTE Casters, Inc. "Management accounting is all about helping your users and the company make the best decision possible given the information available to them," he says. "This includes making decisions such as capital investment, operational structuring and foundational risk assessments."
Finally, you'll need leadership and management skills. You need to be persuasive and convincing, and be educated in both human capital management and financial capital management, according to Lon Searle, CFO of YESCO Franchising LLC. "Presentation, education technology and information technology skills are also critical. Less critical but also important is a knowledge of social media, marketing and sales," he says.
All four of the management accountants interviewed said that the minimum requirement to becoming a management accountant is a bachelor's degree. Knese says a good undergraduate education is important for developing critical thinking skills. Mulling adds that while the typical management accountant will possess a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, your degree doesn't have to be in one of these subjects to obtain a Certified Management Accountant certification.
Knese's undergraduate degree is in English; he acquired the educational background to become a management accountant when he completed coursework in economics, business, accounting and finance as part of an MBA program. Searle says that prospective management accountants should expand their studies beyond those of a traditional financial accountant.
There are two major professional designations for management accountants; obtaining one of these designations may help you to command a higher salary.
The first is the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation, offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). You can earn this designation if you complete a bachelor's degree, pass the two-part CMA exam and acquire two continuous years of professional experience in management accounting or financial management.
The second is the Chartered Global Management Accountant designation, offered by the American Institute of CPAs in conjunction with the London-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. The credential has only been offered since the beginning of 2012. At its inception, the CGMA program offered the credential based on experience alone; starting in 2015, there will also be an exam requirement.
Mulling, Kuchen, Knese and Searle are all CMAs. Searle is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), while Mulling is also a CPA and Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP). Kuchen is a CMA only, but says it is a very good idea to be a CPA as well as a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). Knese is also a CPA and a Certified Financial Manager (CFM). "Each of these required passing a standard rigorous examination and meeting experience requirements. I value each of these credentials," he says.
Management accountants often begin their careers as staff accountants to learn the fundamentals of accounting and how a business functions, Kuchen says. Searle notes that they may also start out as analysts. From these roles, they may advance to become senior accountants or senior analysts, then to accounting supervisors, to controllers, to chief financial officers. However, Mulling says, the career ladder can go in many different directions depending on your individual goals. He says management accounting usually starts with obtaining a bachelor's degree and then working toward a CMA certification.
Mulling says management accountants often make their mark at companies as vital decision-makers and have opportunities to advance in many different areas. He says the best way to advance is by volunteering to work on various projects and decision-making tasks in your company to increase your knowledge of the company and your role in its success. He also recommends getting involved in your profession at the local or global level. He says the Institute of Management Accountants provides that opportunity and also helps professionals create a network for career opportunities, skill enhancement and decision support. Kuchen adds that devising new systems, business processes and analyses that save the company money and help it run more efficiently, along with showing an interest in and aptitude for cost accounting, will help you advance.
Knese's career provides an example of one of the many possible professional paths for management accountants. He started out as a public accountant and earned the CPA credential, then advanced to management accounting and earned the CMA credential. Finally, when he became CFO, he earned the CFM credential. "I worked in financial statement preparation, product costing and profitability, corporate treasury and finance, mergers and acquisitions, risk management and benefit plans. I have worked for both public and private companies, and I wanted to learn as much about the business and accounting world as I could," he says.
Knese says he differentiated himself and advanced in his career through certification and continuing professional education. "A career is advanced through demonstrated competency and through visibility," he says. "Visibility comes from the good work you do that is noticed by leaders and influencers. Careers are advanced because people ask for the chance to show what they know and what they can do."
Searle says lower-level accountants and analysts can advance by demonstrating analytic, leadership and financial skills. "Playing a key role in operational decisions and special projects is how management accountants set themselves apart from the traditional financial accountant," he says.
Depending on the type of company, management accountants need to demonstrate expertise in different areas, according to Searle. "In a manufacturing environment, the management accountant needs to demonstrate abilities in lean manufacturing and/or Six Sigma to progress quickly. In a technical field, the professional might need to take on duties in developing systems or managing technical education projects," he says.
Searle adds that management accountants are often called upon to monitor marketing efforts or act as analysts on special projects. These experiences can prepare them for additional management responsibilities either in finance or general management.
The Bottom Line
"A person who can solve problems, think creatively and persuade others will have a promising career in management accounting," Searle says. If you want to take your number crunching job to a higher level, management accounting might be a good fit. | <urn:uuid:90a4009c-feb3-4ccf-b3b5-cb63ebbcd19a> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.investopedia.com/articles/professionals/041713/what-management-accountants-do.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131296603.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172136-00073-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960674 | 1,882 | 2.71875 | 3 |
We know palm honey as the food product obtained from the sap (fluid carried by the conducting tissues of plants) of a number of different palm species. However, there is a clear distinction depending on their place of origin.
Palm Honey from the Canary Islands
Canarian Palm Honey is a typical product of La Gomera island (Canary Islands, Spain), obtained from the sap of the Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis). This sap is commonly known as guarapo.
It’s a type of syrup that’s obtained from the heart of the Canary Island date palm. With an intense flavour and a dark colour, it’s used in the making of many typical desserts of the Archipelago.
As for its production, the inhabitants of La Gomera climb to the top of the palm trees to get the guarapo: they must cut the top leaves to reduce layers and so that the sap can be channeled to the outside of the palm tree. Once the fluid has been collected, it’s boiled by slow cooking until obtain the palm honey.
Although this honey is only produced in La Gomera, it’s distributed across national territory and part international. Outside Spain, in central Chile, we can also find a type of palm honey: a sweet syrup kind, which is extracted from the sap of Jubaea chilensis, the Chilean palm.
Palm Honey from Chile
This sap, like its Canarian version, is reduced with a large amount of sugar. It’s currently marketed with a specific composition: palm sap and coconut juice with added cane or corn. Chilean Palm Honey is also used as a dessert accompaniment, as well as a fruit sweetener.
This type of natural, healthy and great-tasting honey is rooted to the traditions of southwestern South America’s own food traditions; consumed by a large sector of Chileans. | <urn:uuid:efb0b78f-07ea-4228-a6e1-4690b9c271a2> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://www.canarius.com/blog/tag/palm-honey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860127983.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161527-00181-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956457 | 396 | 3.203125 | 3 |
John the Baptist
John the Baptist (first century C.E.) was a Jewish Nazirite regarded by Christians as being a prophet and forerunner of Jesus Christ. The New Testament describes John as a preacher who baptized his followers in the waters of the Jordan River. Most famously, it is said that he baptized Jesus of Nazareth thereby (according to Christian accounts) fulfilling the biblical prophecy that Elijah would "come first" to usher in the arrival of the Messiah (Malachi 3:1).
The Christian gospels equate John the Baptist with Elijah himself (Matt. 17:12-13). However, the scriptures also suggest a counter-narrative in which John did not fully recognize Jesus' authority. Instead, John continued to lead his own separate following. Several New Testament passages indicate there was some distance between John's followers and the early Christians (John 3:25-26; Luke 5:33; Acts 18:24). In the year 31 C.E. or early 32 C.E., John was beheaded at the command of Herod, at the request of Herodias.
- 1 John the Baptist in the New Testament
- 2 Jewish Views of John the Baptist
- 3 The Mandaeans
- 4 John the Baptist in Eastern Orthodox Church
- 5 John the Baptist in the Roman Catholic Church
- 6 John the Baptist as a patron saint
- 7 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- 8 Notes
- 9 External links
- 10 Credits
The community of John the Baptist became known as Mandeans, and they continue to exist to this day.
John the Baptist in the New Testament
The Gospel of Luke provides the only account of the infancy of John the Baptist. It states that John was the son of Zechariah and Elisabeth (the cousin of Jesus' mother Mary), making John a relative of Jesus. Furthermore, the gospel states that John's name and office were foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah while Zechariah was performing his functions as a priest in the Temple of Jerusalem. Since Zechariah was a priest of the Abijah division, and his mother, Elisabeth, was also of a priestly family (Luke 1:5), it is said that John consequently automatically held the priesthood of Aaron, giving him authority in Jewish eyes to perform baptisms, although this rite was generally reserved to new converts to Judaism. (The fact that the Essenes practiced frequent ritual ablutions lead some to conclude that John may have been influenced by Essene tradition.)
According to Luke, John was born about six months before Jesus, and that Zechariah’s disbelief over the birth of his son rendered him mute, which was restored on the occasion of John's circumcision (Luke 1:64).
Luke implies that John was a Nazirite/Nazarite from his birth (Luke 1:15)—refraining from wine and other strong drink—and the synoptics agree that he spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judea, in the wilderness between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matt. 3:1-12). The Gospels add that he led a simple life, clothed only with camel's hair and a leather girdle around his loins, and eating little more than just locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4). The early church fathers John Chrysostom (347-407 C.E.) and Saint Jerome (c. 347-120 C.E.) believed that John had been brought up from his infancy in this manner, as Matthew 11:18 describes.
According to the Gospel of John, when John the Baptist was thirty years of age, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius (28 C.E.), John began his ministry by proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, preaching repentance, and the turning away from selfish pursuits. The synoptic gospels make no such claim, but agree with the Gospel of John that John the Baptist gathered a large following, and induced many persons to confess their sins, and whom he then baptized in the River Jordan.
It is also said that John the Baptist denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them not to assume their heritage gave them special privilege (Luke 3:8). He warned tax collectors and soldiers against extortion and plunder. His doctrine and manner of life stirred interest, bringing people from all parts to see him on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands whom repented.
Jesus and John the Baptist
One of those whom John baptized is reportedly Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Gospel of John (but not the Synoptic Gospels), John initially excused himself from this action by saying, "I need rather being baptized by you," but Jesus declared that it became them to fulfill all righteousness, and John complied. The Gospel of John states that the next day John publicly announced Jesus as the Lamb of God, who “takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:19-29), and that John's office as forerunner ended with the baptism of Jesus, though he continued for a while to bear testimony to the messiahship of Jesus. The other three Gospels state that John baptized Jesus shortly after Jesus presented himself, and they make no indication that John's ministry had ended, even making further references, later in the text, to John the Baptist continuing to have followers that were independent to those of Jesus.
John is traditionally honored on account of his testimony, especially at the initial baptism. Yet evidence points to only half-hearted support for Jesus. There is no record that John ever cooperated with Jesus. They seem to have founded rival groups. Quarrels broke out between John's disciples and Jesus' disciples (John 3:25-26), and while John obliquely praised his greatness, he kept his distance: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30). John went his own way and ended up in prison, where, according to Matthew's gospel, he voiced doubts about Jesus: "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" (Matt. 11:3) Jesus answered in disappointment, "Blessed is he who takes no offense at me." (Matt. 11:6) The Baptist movement remained a separate sect, continuing on after John's death. A small population of Mandaeans exists to this day; they regard Jesus as an impostor and opponent of the good prophet John the Baptist—whom they nonetheless believe to have baptized him.
According to Matthew's account, Jesus had assigned a role to John, that of Elijah the prophet, whose return Jews believed was to presage the Messiah. (Matt. 11:14) The absence of Elijah was an obstacle to belief in Jesus. (Matt. 17:10-13) John the Baptist was highly thought of by the Jewish leadership of his day. It must have disappointed Jesus greatly when John did not accept that role—he even denied it (John 1:21)—because it made his acceptance by the religious leaders of his day that much more difficult.
John's imprisonment and beheading
John the Baptist's public ministry was suddenly brought to a close—after about six months—when he was cast into prison by Herod Antipas (not to be confused with Herod the Great), whom he had reproved for taking his brother Philip's wife Herodias (Luke 3:19). Herod had married Herodias contrary to the Mosaic Law and John vehemently protested this, which led to his arrest. Even though Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the many people who regarded John as a prophet. When Herod made an oath in the presence of his guests to reward Heorodias' daughter for the excellence of her dancing before the crowd, it provided an excuse to murder John. Herod promised to grant Heorodias' daughter whatever she might ask.
Prompted by her mother, she requested the head of John the Baptist on a platter:
- And she went out, and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptizer.” And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” (Mark 6:24-26)
Herod complied for under the Law he was bound by his oath.
John was imprisoned in the Machaerus fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, nine miles east of the Dead Sea. Here he was beheaded around 31 C.E. or early 32 C.E. His disciples, after consigning his headless body to the grave, told Jesus all that had occurred (Matt. 14:3-12). John's death apparently came just before the third Passover of Jesus' ministry.
The Gospels do not say where John was buried. In the time of Julian the Apostate, however, his tomb was shown at Samaria, where the inhabitants opened it and burned part of his bones. Some Christians, who carried them to an abbot of Jerusalem named Philip, saved the rest. Shi’a Muslim tradition maintains that the head of John the Baptist is interred in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.
In later times, it was said that the Knights Templar also had possession of the head of St. John.
The John the Baptist Movement
The gospel of John has evidence that John and Jesus had parallel and rival ministries (John 3:22-4:3). Acts 18:24-19:7 recounts the conversion of a Jew named Apollos, who "knew only the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25). This may be evidence that the John the Baptist movement continued after his death. Given John's higher social status in Jewish society, it is not surprising that some Jews regarded Jesus as no more than a dissident disciple of John. (Thus some Jews thought Jesus to be the resurrected John (Mark 6:14-16; Matt. 14:2). A common scholarly view is that the Jesus movement grew out of a larger John the Baptist Movement. Jesus' movement was the smaller, and the gospels' frequent praise of John can be explained by the early Christian efforts to recruit followers of the Baptist, like Apollos.
Indeed, the primary critical viewpoint on Jesus and John the Baptist is that the gospels attempted to Christianize the Baptist or make John declare Jesus' superiority to him. The primary vehicle for this is the unverifiable story of Jesus' baptism. Thus in Mark 1:9-11, the revelation at the Jordan was for Jesus only; John did not see it. John does not testify to Jesus in Luke's account of the baptism, possibly because the fact that John had not testified to Jesus was too well known in the circles around Luke to be contradicted. (Instead, it is Luke's mother Elizabeth who gives testimony in Luke 1:41-45). In Luke, John only hears stories of Jesus' miracles when he is in prison. The gospels of Matthew and John seem to take the greatest pains to have John the Baptist accede to Jesus' superiority at the baptism scene.
John and his movement remained outside the Kingdom of Christ. When Jesus addressed a delegation of John's followers in the context of his doubts, he says, "He who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he [John]" (Matt. 11:11). A fair assessment, according to D. F. Strauss, was that John the Baptist "detained a circle of individuals on the borders of the Messiah's kingdom, and retarded or hindered their going over to Jesus."
Jewish Views of John the Baptist
John the Baptist is not recognized as a prophet in Judaism. However, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (38-100 C.E.) in Jewish Antiquities (book 18, ch. 5, para. 2) records the following view of John the Baptist:
- Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. (Whiston Translation)
From the context, it would seem that in Josephus's account John was executed around 36 C.E. Divergences between Josephus's presentation and the Biblical account of John include the following:
- John's Baptism is not for the repentance of sins, as opposed to Mark 1:4.
- John is executed to prevent "mischief," rather than to please Herod's wife's daughter.
- Jesus is not mentioned in relation to the Baptist.
Josephus's passage is quoted by Origen in Contra Celsum in the early third century, and again by Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century.
Prophecies Pointing to John the Baptist in the Hebrew Scriptures
The book of Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament canon and the last book of the Neviim (prophets) section in the Jewish editions. Malachi 3:1 reads: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."
Most Jews, whether in the times after Malachi or in modern times, look for a messenger to prepare the way of the Lord immediately before his coming. The long succession of prophets finds its ending in Malachi, and the concluding words of the book of Malachi, subjoined with an admonition to remember the law of Moses, import that the next prophet would be that "messenger" or forerunner of the Messiah. Malachi identifies him with Elijah. John, who lived in the wilderness clothed in a garment of camel's hair, may have consciously regarded himself as following in the footsteps of Elijah of old. It is also possible that one reason for the fervor surrounding the John the Baptist movement was that many Jews saw him as the fulfillment of that prophecy.
The Biblical passage that is commonly read by Christians as a prophecy of John the Baptist is Isaiah 40:3-5 which states:
- A voice cries out in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
This passage is cited in Matthew 3:3, either as a Christian explanation of John's work in the wilderness or a recollection of John's own preaching as he prepared the way for the Messiah to come.
The followers of John the Baptist later became organized as an independent sect, now known as the Mandaeans.
Today, the Mandeans believe John the Baptist, called Yahya in the Sidra d-Yahia (Book of John), was the last and greatest of the prophets. While Mandaeans agree that he baptized Jesus (Yeshu), they reject the latter as either a savior or prophet, viewing John as the only true Messiah.
According to the text of the Ginza Rabba, John died at the hand of an angel. The angel appeared as a three-year-old child, coming to John for baptism. John knew the angel for what it was, and that once he touched its hand, he would die immediately. John performed the baptism anyway, and died in the process. Afterwards, the angel covered John's body with mud.
John the Baptist in Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox teach that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge figure between that period of revelation and Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his death, John descended into Hell and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming.
The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order of the church year, which begins on September 1:
- September 23 - Conception of St. John the Forerunner
- January 7 - The Commemoration of St. John the Forerunner (main feast day, immediately after Epiphany on January 6)
- February 24 - First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- May 25 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- June 24 - Birth of St. John the Forerunner
- August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
John the Baptist in the Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church remembers St. John the Baptist on two separate feast days:
- June 24 - The Birth of St. John
- August 29 - The Decollation (Beheading) of St. John
- September 23 - Zechariah and Elisabeth, parents of St John, the Lord's Precursor, are commemorated on this day; the Eastern Church (see above) also celebrates his conception.
John the Baptist as a patron saint
Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of French Canada. The Canadian cities of Saint John, New Brunswick, and St. John's, Newfoundland were both named in honor of Saint John. His feast day is June 24, celebrated in Quebec as the Fête nationale du Québec.
He is also counted as the Patron of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Latter-day Saints believe that John the Baptist appeared in Pennsylvania, as a resurrected being, to Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829, and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood. They also believe that John's ministry was foretold by two prophets in the Book of Mormon: Lehi (1 Nephi 10:7-10) and his son, Nephi (1 Nephi 11:27; 2 Nephi 31:4-18).
- Walter Wink, John the Baptist in the Gospel Tradition (Cambridge University Press, 1968), 81.
- David Strauss, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (reprint, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972), 226-27.
All links retrieved August 3, 2022.
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Encyclopedia
- John the Baptist Jewish Encyclopedia
- The Witness of John the Baptist Authentic Christianity
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Leonardo da Vinci’s is famous for his art and inventions — but also his detailed maps, like this one of Imola, Italy. It was a feat of technological and symbolic imagination. And the map is completely accurate as well.
Drafting 1502’s equivalent to a “satellite” map was a huge undertaking, and Leonardo succeeded to pull it off. His early map helped Italian politician Cesare Borgia construct an idea of the town of Imola that was far more accurate than most up-to-date maps. Through the use of careful measures of angles and pacing out distances using a primitive odometer, Leonardo managed to produce a map that was very close to accurate.
This map — an “ichnographic” map — was a step forward in portraying how maps could work to represent geography. Though it’s marked with some inaccuracies, it’s precise for the time and pushed forward the art of map making. Leonardo’s Imola survives, even today, an exceptionally useful guide to the city. | <urn:uuid:a5e339cf-0b2c-4538-81d1-2fc710c54a9a> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.fiz-x.com/thats-how-leonardo-da-vinci-made-a-google-map-in-1502/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243990584.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20210513080742-20210513110742-00548.warc.gz | en | 0.971849 | 220 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Presently, there is an unresolved dispute regarding real estate billionaires who pay lower income rates than their employees. At the same time, they give advice on the amount of income tax that other people should pay (Hannon, 2015). The dispute lies in the inadequacies of the prevailing codes that allow the wealthy to accumulate vast properties yet they pay little or no tax. A point worth noting is that most of the tax avoidance scams are perfectly legal. In recent years, there have been claims that financial experts have come up with numerous theories that allow real estate tycoons to accumulate property without meeting their tax obligations. Unfortunately, middle-income earners continue to pay high income taxes, despite earning much less. In effect, there is a perception in the United States that the rich avoid paying taxes, while the relatively poor pay through the teeth. The current taxation system is, thus, unfair. Ideally, those who earn more should pay higher taxes than those who earn less. However, real estate investors in the United States continue to evade the taxman, as middle-income earners drive the economy with their taxes. Therefore, there is a need to level the playing field and distribute the tax burden equitably to ensure that the government gets the revenues it requires to meet its obligations without oppressing any section of the society, while favoring the other.
There have been claims that tax avoidance is beneficial to both individuals and firms alike. One of the prominent concepts is “No Income Means No Tax,” which means that the biggest income tax loophole is the definition of an individual’s income (Petrova &Ling, 2008). The majority of the people assume that their income is their salary and bonuses. However, the wealthy perceive salary as trivial if at all they receive any, because their riches come from the appreciation of their real estate investments among other assets. It is worth noting that the wealth of real estate magnets increases by hundreds of millions annually. Unfortunately, tax codes do not define this appreciation is as income. Therefore, it is not subject to income tax (Trumny, 2016). Further, the taxes due from real estate income are effectively taxed lower than those on salaries and bonuses. In addition, increases in the value of shares in the real estate sector are not liable to taxation, unless one sells them. If they remain unsold, the owners do not account for them. This is advantageous to real estate investors, since no matter how much their wealth increases on paper, they do not have to pay the government a penny until they seal a sale.
In essence, the prevailing tax system in the United States does not impose taxes on wealth. Typically, real estate investors receive small salaries relative to their total compensation for their shares. The ownership share is the carried interest. Notably, it receives a preferential treatment as capital gain instead of income tax. When real estate investors’ tax bill is due, they owe the federal government twenty 20% of the long-term capital gains tax rates, rather than the 39.6% tax applicable to ordinary income (Hannon, 2015). A clear example is the loophole that Mitt Romney exploited when filing his tax returns based on capital gains during his tenure at Bain Capital.
Unfortunately, Congress’ efforts to find a solution to this issue have been futile, because of lobbyists who are unwilling to pay more tax. Recently, Donald Trump, a U.S. presidential candidate, refused to release his tax returns. He claimed that he could not comply since he is under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit. Trump’s empire sits on a racket with loopholes, several tax breaks, and deferrals that tend to make the real estate developers extremely rich by eliminating most of their tax obligations. Trump plays a tricky, two-step strategy to evade taxes. For example, he claims in his Financial Disclosure Report that he made around 10.3 million dollars from his property (Trumny, 2016). However, when it was time to pay property taxes, he argued that his property was worth USD1.36M. Besides, he won big because of charitable tax deductions that allow the property owners to impose permanent conservation measures. These tax evasion strategies are common among real estate moguls who can afford the services of tax lawyers. Therefore, they exploit the available tax breaks, thus, protecting their wealth.
The Real Investment Trust was formed with the objective of holding properties by providing the investors with the opportunity of investing in real properties. However, by providing waivers on the corporate level income tax on REITS to make the scheme more attractive the congress created a tax avoidance loophole. This is because the liquidation of the real estate assets was difficult and one was entitled to paying estate tax before the sale of the property (Yinger, Bloom& Boersch-Supan, 2016).
According to Yinger et al., the income from equity and debt investments receive preferential treatment, for instance, there are discrepancies in the classification of income from cash flow during the hold and sale period which impacts the rate at which the investors pay taxes (2016).Also, the income tax is considered an ordinary tax while the interest and ordinary income are taxed at a rate similar to the taxpayer's marginal rate. The capital gains from the net profits upon sale also get taxed at the taxpayer's marginal rate. Besides, there are tax consequences arising from state’s regulations and tax requirements and the investors are required to file in the state they have invested as long as there is a state income tax.
Tax experts have proposed several ideas that could help correct the issue of tax avoidance in real estate and, hence, increase federal revenues. Some of these strategies include adjusting real estate depreciation schedules to match the economic conditions and limiting the percentage of the property financed with the developer’s own equity (Armstrong, Blouin, Jagolinzer & Larcker, 2015). This would mean that only the manufacturers would have the permission to deduct the expense of capital equipment in the year of purchase. The reform from the multi-year depreciation deductions to the first year expensing would help spur economic growth for every dollar of revenue lost, because it would remove the current tax code bias. Consequently, it could increase productivity and create jobs for Americans. Besides, a reduction of the incentive to donate to charity to avoid taxation could result in a drop in the number of itemizers, hence, increasing tax revenues in the country. It is worth noting that real estate investors would continue to itemize and benefit from tax deductions. However, their subsidy would be much lower than it presently is, because of the significant reduction in tax rates.
The above-mentioned solution to tax avoidance in the real estate sector is pragmatic. However, tax experts and economists argue that the reforms should include additional legislation action to prevent tax evasion (Armstrong et al., 2015). Therefore, there is no consensus yet on the way forward on an issue that have left many poor Americans feeling conned by their government. In the meantime, wealthy real estate owners continue to enjoy their riches, as the debate on the topic ranges on with no solution in sight. Clearly, tracking real estate transactions and sharing the tax residency information to enable the IRS to cross-reference individual tax records and identify those avoiding paying the proper fees is a viable solution to the problem. Indeed, it could force real estate moguls to comply with tax regulations, since they know that all their details are under IRS scrutiny. Besides, reporting every real estate transaction directly to the IRS would ensure that there are no illusions of getting away with the sale of the property, because of the continuing crackdown. However, such reforms might not be effective without the necessary legislation. Therefore, Congress must go beyond self-interest and pass tax laws that enhance equity.
Discussion on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee Initiative and Institute of Medicine (IOM) that led to "Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." The work of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Committee Initiative in collabo...Implementation-of-the-IOM-Future-of-Nursing-Report …Read Article
Scenario 1 The scenario is associated with the choice involving finishing classes in order to get promoted at a current job or shifting and joining another organization which pays better. Working in a company for eleven years is a quite a ded...Critical-Thinking-Essay-Example-|-Problem-Solving- …Read Article
One of the best books written by Raymond Carver's is what is known as ‘What We Talk about When We Talk about Love.' It was written in 1981 and is made up various short stories from different authors. One of the short stories has the sam...What-We-Talk-About-When-We-Talk-About-Love-Analysis …Read Article | <urn:uuid:93e9672d-818c-4ec4-8893-429f12f6cd7a> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://mypaperhub.com/blog-post.php?id_blog_post=305 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323584886.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20211016135542-20211016165542-00357.warc.gz | en | 0.965897 | 1,774 | 2.78125 | 3 |
By the USANA ANZ
If you have child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia, you’ve probably already heard about the encouraging effects of omega-3 fish oils on these conditions. And, you may also know that oily fish is the richest source of omega-3 fats. But if your kids don’t like the strong taste of fish and you don’t fancy forcing a sardine down your child’s throat (joking!) twice a week, a good quality fish oil like BiOmega™ Jr. might help.
Omega-3 fats like these are important for a whole host of functions including eye health and for the correct running of parts of the brain used for memory, learning and reasoning behaviour. In the body, DHA is concentrated in the brain. The two most important omega-3s in human health are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Here’s what we know about omega-3s and how they impact children’s mood, learning and behaviour…
ADHD and low omega-3s
Children with ADHD are more likely to show symptoms of having low blood levels of omega-3s, such as dry skin and hair and excessive thirst. Some studies have shown that increasing omega-3 levels reduces the severity of ADHD-type behaviour such as difficulty in focusing and paying attention in some children, too.
Fish oil and behaviour
Australian research published in The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, found improvements in parents’ ratings of their children’s hyperactivity and inattention after being given fish oil. However, the children’s teachers’ didn’t agree with the improvements seen by the children’s’ parents.
Other studies have linked fish oils with improvement in reading ability. One particular research, led by the University of Oxford in the UK, showed that some children with reading difficulties displayed improved reading after taking fish oil. And in the group of children with the lowest 10 per cent reading ability, reading age improved the most. So, it may be that getting enough omega-3s may help children catch up with peers.
Although other research had linked benefits of omega-3s in children with conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia and developmental coordination disorder, this was the first research to show positive results in children from the general school population.
Adult studies have suggested that as an adjunct to treatment, fish oil might help with depression. Both EPA and DHA help to carry messages from outside into cells. And, since both EPA and DHA occur together naturally, may be that the human brain would benefit from a combination of the two. Studies are ongoing and more research is needed to confirm the role of omega-3s in children and this kind of mood disorder.
All in all, research suggests that taking a supplement of omega-3s may improve attention, brain function and self-control, attention and behaviour in children who don’t get enough omega-3s via diet.
Could your kids be low in omega-3s?
The modern western diet tends to be short on omega-3s; foods rich in these essential fats include oily fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel and organ meats such as brains. As oily fish tends to have a strong taste – and we’re not sure how many kids would want brains on toast – the average child could well be short on these vital nutrients.
Fish oil: safety
Fish oil is generally considered safe unless your child has a sensitivity to fish, has a bleeding disorder and or/is taking a blood thinning medicine. They vary a lot in their content and quality. BiOmega Jr. is a great choice because it has:
1. High levels of EPA and DHA – two of the most important constituents in omega-3 fats
2. Is a pharmaceutical grade fish oils supplement
3. Is distilled to be free from mercury.
A good quality fish oil is a good way to ensure adequate omega-3s and is generally safe unless your child has a sensitivity to fish oils or has a bleeding disorder, or/is taking a blood-thinning medicine or unless advise not to take such a supplement by a medical professional.
Vitamin supplements should not replace a balanced diet.
USE ONLY AS DIRECTED, ALWAYS READ THE LABEL
Labels: #omega-3sforlittlies, behaviour, BiOmega Jr., children, DHA, EPA, fish oil, kids, learning, mood, omega-3s, usana | <urn:uuid:ab7eb95c-72c5-4501-9353-7e17c995d792> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://usanablognz.blogspot.com/2014/09/omega-3s-and-childrens-learning.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647576.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180321043531-20180321063531-00288.warc.gz | en | 0.938457 | 967 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Irritable Bowel Syndrome – IBS is a common condition or the disorder that affects the digestive system. It is usually a lifelong problem, which can have a big impact on your everyday life.
The exact cause of this syndrome is unknown. According to the patients’ records, it has been related to oversensitive nerves in the gut, hormonal changes, and a family history of IBS. Other triggering factors include improper diet, stress, poor sleep, and viral, bacterial or parasitic infections in the gut.
This condition may last for days, weeks or even for months at a time. On average, this syndrome affects between 6 to 18% of people worldwide.
There are three types of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- IBS with constipation.
- IBS with diarrhoea.
- IBS with alternating constipation and diarrhoea.
Symptoms of IBS
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a combination of abdomen discomfort or pain and trouble with bowel habits. Therefore, the common symptoms of IBS include
- Feeling sick.
- Lack of Energy.
- Stomach cramps.
- Hard or loose stool.
- Change in the bowel movements.
- Lower abdominal pain and discomfort.
- Discharge of clear or white mucus in the stool.
The following steps need to be taken for IBS diagnosis:
- Stool sample examination.
- Cut out certain foods in case of any allergies.
- Perform colonoscopy.
- Get your blood tests done to prevent celiac diseases.
There is no specific cure for IBS. The doctor can advise about making some lifestyle changes. Changes in the diet can help ease symptoms. Home remedies can go a long way in treating the ailment.
There is no particular cure or treatment for this disorder, but it can be reduced by changes in the diet by increasing dietary fibre or carbohydrates and use some medicines to control the symptoms.
Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more about Irritable Bowel Syndrome, its causes and its symptoms. | <urn:uuid:183e45ca-eafe-45e1-b55f-a1aa02923a67> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://byjus.com/biology/ibs-symptoms/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499831.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20230130232547-20230131022547-00229.warc.gz | en | 0.874222 | 464 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Okra is green vegetable that grows best outside during the summer. You can start your okra seeds indoors in preparation for planting in your garden. Just make sure to care for the seeds properly during germination and as the young plants mature. The best time to plant your okra in your garden is two to three weeks after the last spring frost for your area.
When to Start Okra Seeds
Start your okra seeds indoors anywhere from mid-March to mid-April, depending on where you live. It takes four to six weeks for the seeds to germinate and grow strong enough to transplant outside, so count back three weeks from the expected last frost date, and you'll know when to start the seeds.
Choose a Container
Select a container or seed tray with good drainage for starting your okra seeds indoors. You should also use sterilized soil or potting mix to help protect your emerging seedlings from fungi and diseases. You can also treat the okra seeds with captan to help prevent damping off, a common fungus that attacks seeds as they start to grow. Captan is available at your local garden supply; follow the package application directions.
Plant the Seeds
Fill the trays or container to 1 inch from the top with moistened potting soil in preparation for your okra seeds. Sow the seeds about 1/2 inch apart and then press them slightly into the soil with any flat sterile object. You can dip the end of a metal spatula into boiling water and use it to tamp the seeds in place. You'll need to cover the okra seeds with more moist potting mix up to just beneath the rim of your container. Firm the soil again to help the okra seeds make a good connection.
Plastic wrap over the top of the container or seed tray will help keep the moisture in place. You can also insert the container inside a plastic bag for moisture retention. The best place to sit your seed container is on top of your refrigerator. The bottom of the container will stay consistently warm, night and day. Okra seeds do not need sunlight to germinate; just keep the soil in the container moist. A few sheets of newspaper over the top of the container will also help insulate the seeds.
After the Seeds Sprout
After several days, your okra seeds should begin to sprout. When they do sprout, remove the newspaper and the plastic wrap and place them in a sunny window or beneath fluorescent grow lights. The tubes of the grow lights should not be more than a few inches above the containers, or your okra plants may grow up spindly. Move the young okra plants away from the window at night to keep them safe from colder temperatures. Your okra plants also need darkness to grow; eight hours a night is sufficient. Room temperature water will help your okra plants grow; keep the soil moist but not wet. | <urn:uuid:bb075043-183a-4150-8bcd-ba145adc2e9f> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://www.gardenguides.com/134160-can-okra-seeds-started-indoors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578531984.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190421140100-20190421162100-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.916019 | 593 | 3.109375 | 3 |
A febrile seizure is a convulsion that occurs in some children with a high temperature (fever). The vast majority of febrile seizures are not serious. Most occur with mild common illnesses. Full recovery with no permanent damage is usual. The main treatment is aimed at the illness that caused the fever.
What causes a febrile seizure and who has them?
A febrile seizure is sometimes called a febrile convulsion. Any illness that causes a high temperature (fever) can cause a febrile seizure. Most occur with common illnesses such as ear infections, tonsillitis, colds, flu and other viral infections. Serious infections, such as pneumonia, kidney infections, meningitis, etc, are much less common causes.
About 5 in 100 children have a febrile seizure sometime before their 6th birthday. They most commonly occur between the ages of 6 months and 3 years. They are rare in children aged under 3 months and over the age of 6 years.
What does a febrile seizure look like?
Febrile seizures are classified into three types:
Simple febrile seizure: the most common type - occurs in about 15 out of 20 cases
Febrile seizures most often occur early in the illness when the child's temperature is starting to rise.
The child may look hot and flushed and their eyes may appear to roll backwards. They may appear dazed. The body may go stiff and then generally twitch or shake (convulse). The child becomes unconscious and unresponsive. Some children may wet themselves during the febrile seizure.
It does not usually last long. It may only be a few seconds and it is unusual for it to last more than five minutes. The child may be sleepy for some minutes afterwards.
Within an hour or so the child will usually appear a lot better. This happens when their temperature has come down. Another feature of a simple febrile seizure is that it does not recur within the same febrile illness.
Complex febrile seizure - occurs in about 4 out of 20 cases
This is similar to a simple febrile seizure but has one or more of the following features:
- The seizure lasts more than 15 minutes; and/or
- The seizure recurs within 24 hours or within the same febrile illness; and/or
- The child is not fully recovered within one hour. This does not mean the seizure lasts more than an hour but that it takes more than an hour for the child to look and behave more like their normal self; and/or
- The seizure has focal (used to be called partial) features. This means that rather than a generalised twitch or shaking, only a part of the body may shake - for example, just one arm or just one leg.
Febrile status epilepticus - occurs in less than 1 out of 20 cases
This means the febrile seizure lasts for longer than 30 minutes.
What first aid should I do for a febrile seizure?
- Note the time it started.
- Lay the child on their side with their head tilted back slightly (the recovery position). This will make sure the child doesn't swallow any sick (vomit) and helps to keep their airway clear.
- Do not put anything into their mouth or shake the child.
- When the seizure stops, try to lower the child's temperature to make them more comfortable. To do this, take off their clothes (if the room is warm). When the child has recovered enough to swallow, give a drink and some paracetamol or ibuprofen. However, there is no evidence that lowering the child's temperature will prevent further seizures.
What should happen after immediate first aid?
Call an ambulance if a seizure lasts more than five minutes (this includes small twitching movements, even if large jerking movements have stopped).
You should also contact a doctor urgently, or ring for an ambulance if:
- This is the first time the child has had a seizure.
- The child does not improve quickly once a short seizure is over.
- Another seizure starts soon after the first one stops.
- The child has difficulty breathing.
- The child was not fully conscious before the seizure or one hour afterwards.
- You are worried the child may have a serious illness as the cause of the high temperature (fever). See the separate leaflet called Fever in Children (High Temperature) for details of symptoms to look out for.
No treatment is usually needed for the seizure itself if it stops within a few minutes. However, treatment may be needed for the infection causing the fever.
In all cases, the child should be seen by a doctor as soon as possible after a seizure. This is to check the child, diagnose the underlying illness and provide any treatment if required.
Sometimes the seizure lasts longer and a doctor may give a medicine to stop it. For example, a doctor may put a medicine called diazepam into the child's back passage (rectum) or a medicine called midazolam into the side of the mouth. These medicines are absorbed quickly, directly into the bloodstream, from within the rectum or mouth, and stop a seizure. Sometimes the parents of children who are prone to recurrent febrile seizures are taught how to use one of these medicines. They are then given a supply to have in case a further febrile seizure occurs.
Is a febrile seizure dangerous?
Although alarming, a febrile seizure in itself is not usually dangerous. Full recovery is usual. Most illnesses which cause high temperature (fever) and febrile convulsions are the common coughs, colds and viral infections which are not usually serious.
Can febrile seizures be prevented?
It may seem logical that if you keep a child's temperature down during a feverish illness it may prevent a febrile seizure. However, there is little scientific evidence to prove that this is so.
However, a fever may make your child feel uncomfortable and irritable. The following are things that you can do that may bring the temperature down and make your child feel more comfortable:
- You can give paracetamol to lower a temperature. You can buy paracetamol in liquid form, or melt-in-the-mouth tablets, for children. It comes in various brand names. The dose for each age is given with the medicine packet. Note: paracetamol does not treat the cause of the fever. It merely helps to ease discomfort. You do not need to use paracetamol if your child is comfortable and not distressed by the fever, aches or pains.
- Keep the child very lightly dressed, or take all their clothes off if the room is warm.
- Give lots of cool drinks.
Will it happen again?
Only one seizure occurs in most cases. However, a second seizure may occur during a future feverish illness. A future febrile seizure is more likely if the first occurs in a child younger than 15 months, or if there is a family history of febrile seizures in close relatives (father, mother, sister, brother). Once the child is past 3 years old, the chance of having more than one seizure becomes much less likely.
Does a febrile seizure cause any permanent damage?
Full recovery is usual with no after-effects. One study that followed children who had a febrile seizure found that: "Children who had febrile seizures did at least as well as, if not better than, children without febrile seizures on measures of intelligence, academic achievement, behaviour and working memory."
Is a febrile seizure a type of epilepsy?
No. Febrile seizures and epilepsy are two different conditions.
- The cause of a febrile seizure is related to the feverish illness and is not due to epilepsy or any brain abnormality.
- Epilepsy causes seizures without a high temperature (fever). There is a separate set of leaflets explaining epilepsy in more detail.
About 2 in 100 children who have a febrile seizure develop epilepsy in later childhood. This is very slightly higher than the chance of epilepsy developing in children who have not had a febrile seizure. But this is probably because a small number of children are prone to develop both epilepsy and febrile seizures. So, having a febrile seizure does not cause epilepsy to develop.
Should a child who has had a febrile seizure have immunisations?
Yes. Immunisations are very important for your child's health. A febrile seizure is extremely unlikely to happen again after a future immunisation.
Further reading and references
Feverish illness in children - Assessment and initial management in children younger than 5 years; NICE Guideline (updated August 2017)
Febrile seizure; NICE CKS, October 2013 (UK access only)
Sadleir LG, Scheffer IE; Febrile seizures. BMJ. 2007 Feb 10334(7588):307-11.
Offringa M, Newton R, Cozijnsen MA, et al; Prophylactic drug management for febrile seizures in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Feb 222:CD003031. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003031.pub3.
Syndi Seinfeld D, Pellock JM; Recent Research on Febrile Seizures: A Review. J Neurol Neurophysiol. 2013 Sep 254(165). doi: 10.4172/2155-9562.1000165.
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Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Patient Platform Limited has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our conditions. | <urn:uuid:19da0cac-678d-4967-ac05-dd385fed8ad3> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://patient.info/health/fever-in-children-high-temperature/febrile-seizure-febrile-convulsion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209980.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20180815063517-20180815083517-00360.warc.gz | en | 0.918576 | 2,148 | 3.890625 | 4 |
JOHN OF SALISBURY: English ecclesiastic, and bishop of Chartres; b. at Salisbury between 1110 and 1120; d. at Chartres (54 m. s.w. of Paris) Oct. 25, 1180.
He was of humble Saxon origin, but in 1136 left his native land to study in France, especially in Paris. Among his teachers there were the famous Abelard, Robert of Melun, and Alberic of Reims. After studying dialectics at Paris for two years, he went to Chartres, where for three years he heard the lectures of William of Conches, and later studied under Richard l'Évèque, Hardewin the German, Theodoric, Peter Elias, and others. He returned to Paris and began the study of theology, his teachers being Gilbert de la Porrée, Robert Pulleyne, and Simon of Poissy. Despite bitter poverty, he spent twelve years in France, passing the latter portion of the time with his intimate friend Peter, abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Moutier la Celle near Troyes, through whom he became acquainted with Bernard of Clairvaux. This powerful head of the Cistercians brought John to the attention of Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, who had fled from England to escape Stephen. When the archbishop was able to return to his see, John was invited, in 1148 or the beginning of 1149, to act as his chancellor or secretary. He was a firm defender of the spiritual and secular supremacy of the pope and of the independence of the clergy, regarding these principles as the means of protecting mankind against the injustice of the secular arm and the consequences of sin. He sought to carry out his doctrine in practical ecclesiastical life, even though his views that only the Roman Catholic hierarchy could unfold the blessings of Christianity aroused the opposition of the court and of the bishops, the latter regarding themselves as peers of the realm rather than as subject to a distant pope. The increasing age and infirmity of the archbishop brought additional ecclesiastical responsibilities upon John, while he was able to render many important political
The most important and comprehensive work of John of Salisbury was his Policraticus sive de nugis curalium et vestigiis philosophorum, written in 1159 and dedicated to Thomas Becket. It is a system of ecclesiastical and political economics and ethics based on Christianity and the wisdom of the ancients, and designed to lead from the triviality of secular and court life to a true knowledge and government of the world. In his book the author wove from his wealth of experience both a picture of actual life and the ideal of true Christian living, in which the Church should rule and lead all mankind as the guardian and representative of divine law and true human justice. The Policraticus, the first great theory of the State in the Middle Ages, exercised an influence on Thomas Aquinas and Vincent of Beauvais. It was first edited, apparently by the Brethren of the Common Life, at Brussels about 1480. Immediately after the Policraticus John wrote the Metalogicus, which may be regarded as its continuation; this was also dedicated to Thomas Becket. This work, which is in four books and which was first edited at Paris in 1610, is a presentment of true and false science, in which the author castigates not only contempt of science, especially of logic, but also false and sophistic scholasticism. These aberrations of his contemporaries were compared with the sound views of Plato and the academic school, and especially with Aristotle, whose Organon John of Salisbury was the first in western Europe to know and use. His earliest work was his Entheticus (Eutheticus, Nutheticus), sive de dogmate philosophorum, written about 1155, and consisting of a philosophical and satirical poem in 928 distichs, dedicated to Thomas Becket. The first part contains a critical presentation of the basal concepts of the Greek and Roman philosophers, who are unfavorably contrasted with the higher truth of Christianity. The second part exhorts Thomas to consider the plight of the threatened and afflicted Church, and describes the lamentable condition of England. The poem is extant in only two manuscripts, and was first edited by C. Petersen at Hamburg in 1843. John was likewise the author of a Historia pontificalis, embracing the years 1148-52 and written about 1165 as a supplement to the chronicle of Sigibert and his immediate successors. The fragment begins with the Council of Reims, which John attended, and breaks off abruptly in the middle of a sentence discussing the events of 1152. The only edition is that by W. Arndt in MGH, Script., xx (1868), 515-545.
The minor works of John of Salisbury were his Vita Sancti Anselmi, written in 1163 as a supplement to Eadmer's larger biography of Anselm and designed as an aid in the projected canonization of the saint at the Council of Tours, and his Vita et passio Sancti Thomae, composed shortly after 1170 as an argument for the canonization of Thomas Becket. His letters, collected by him in four books, although the present collection of 327 is contained in two parts, are of great importance both for his biography and for the ecclesiastical history of his time, since they are addressed to popes (Adrian and Alexander III.), to princes, and to many ecclesiastical and secular potentates. The first edition of J. Masson (Paris, 1611) contained only 302 letters, but others have since been discovered. A number of additional works have been ascribed to this author. Some titles may refer to treatises now lost, while certain others may represent individual chapters of the Policraticus. A complete edition of the works of John of Salisbury (not without flaws) was published by J.. A. Giles (5 vols. PEA, Oxford, 1848) and reprinted in MPL, xcix.
The best sources of knowledge are his own
works, particularly his letters in vol. i. of Giles' edition,
ut sup. Two lives are those by H. Reuter, Johannes von
Salisbury, Berlin, 1842; K. Schaarschmidt, Johannes
Saresbariensis nach Leben und Studien, Schriften und
Philosophie, Leipsic, 1862. Consult further: K. Pauli,
in Zeitschrift für Kirchenrecht, 1881, pp. 265 sqq.; R. L.
Poole. Illustrations of the History of Mediaeval Thought,
chaps iv.-vii., London 1884; W. Stubbs, Seventeen
Lectures on the Study of . . . History, lects. vi.-vii., ib,
1886; P. Gennrich, in ZKG, xii (1893), 544-551; J. H.
Overton. The Church in England, i. 207, 217, 218, London,
1897; Histoire littéraire de la France, xiv. 89-161; Ceillier,
Auteurs sacrés, xiv. 675-680; Neander, Christian Church,
iv. 194-195, 357-358, 415 et passim; DNB, xxix. 439-448.
Calvin College. Last modified on 10/03/03. Contact the CCEL. | <urn:uuid:1ce8f223-0220-4c3f-9c3b-5ffb7b1eaa48> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc06/htm/iii.lvii.lxxviii.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038089289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20210416191341-20210416221341-00527.warc.gz | en | 0.95847 | 1,580 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Volume 6 | January 2023
Human-Centered. Solutions Driven.
Leadership Roles for Plant Floor Success
By Carlos Real
When human labor is a significant component in a manufacturing process, improving the production system obviously depends, to a good extent, on functions linked to the operation on the production floor. Aside from the main function, who is the operator, functions like: front line supervisors, support engineering functions, technical functions, production, manufacturing and maintenance managers, material handling and logistics functions, heads of departments and up to the plant manager and other senior management or direction functions within operations, are integral to improving the system.
People performing these functions can fit in illustrative roles (not related to the production environment) depending on their day-to-day activities and mindset related to continuous improvement.
Function 1: The Firefighter
Oriented mainly at tackling deviations from the expected results on the operation’s performance. Quality defects, delays on the production schedule, late shipments, material shortages, priorities in scrap or accidents are some examples. Firefighters jump from problem to problem to “put out the fire”. An experienced firefighter on the production floor is skillful in organizing and executing reaction plans and working toward corrective actions. The value provided by the firefighter is in fixing problems. A person who is mainly focused on this type of role tends to deal with urgency regularly and is mainly concerned with the result (output) of the manufacturing system.
Function 2: The Police Officer
As we evolve along with the people we lead and interact with, we should be able to translate our learning, relying less on fixing problems and overall experience from dealing with situations on the production floor, to robust controls and standards to be implemented and followed in the manufacturing process.
Assuring process controls and standards are working as intended to prevent problems, requires us to observe, be vigilant and react to any deviations. These activities are like those of a police officer. In the same way stopping at a stop sign when driving is a control to prevent car crashes and organize vehicle flow, we have standards to follow in our process to prevent different problems. And in the same way police will observe drivers and react to any skipping a stop sign, in the manufacturing process we need also to be a presence that continuously sends the message that standards must be followed without exception and promptly react to any deviation we find by reminding people of the expected behaviors. This will prevent problems in the output of our production process.
Performing planned and structured audits to confirm standards is an option but there are other alternatives to validate standards are being followed. There are amazing examples of how visual controls and other tools are successfully used around the industry, great practices which indicate, just by observing the process, if standards are being followed.
A manufacturing facility with industrial vehicle traffic, besides having pedestrian aisles clearly defined and a large STOP sticker in the floor at every intersection, implemented the standard of pointing left and right with the finger as you turn your head in the same direction to check no industrial vehicles are coming before crossing. This way it is easy to confirm that people look both ways when they are in an intersection and that they do it consciously.
Organizations that focus on avoiding deviations from standards as part of their culture are constantly trying to find ways to make standards easy to understand, apply and confirm.
Function 3: The Teacher
Even though finding ways to make it easy for the organization to confirm standards are being followed is of great importance, the stability of the production process cannot depend only on the level of vigilance you keep over people. An organization that intends to keep making progress towards the continuous improvement direction, needs to rely on people. Individuals on to the production floor should follow the agreed upon standards not because they will be sanctioned if they don’t, but because they truly believe that is the right thing to do.
A factor necessary to have people embrace a standard and make it part of his or her culture is to explain the reason why such standard is important. The leader must explain very clearly not only what the expectation of the behavior is, but also why it is important. Providing the background, sharing experiences, discussing the potential consequences to internal and external customers, asking for opinion and challenging people to openly discuss alternatives or downsides of the required behavior is a way to have people digest the requirement and find true sense in the conduct we are asking her or him to adopt. The standard should be followed because its value is understood, and we must be the teachers driving the understanding.
As a teacher, besides delivering knowledge, it is critical that our actions reflect those standards we are teaching. We should model the behaviors we ask from others. We send a powerful positive message when we walk the talk and a negative one when our actions don’t align with what we are asking from other members of the organization.
Being able to switch efficiently to any of these roles (Firefighter, Police Officer or Teacher), depending on the situation at hand, is a great way to contribute the organization’s stability and continuous improvement. We must, however, continue to be leaders by helping others grow with the understanding of the value that comes from following the defined standards, procedures and established rules. By helping others understand the value of behaving according to the organization’s principles, we can drive drive continuous improvement. This way we will be delivering knowledge and contributing to the cultural growth of the people around us and the central role will be that of a teacher. | <urn:uuid:c64df6fc-0344-4e63-a2f6-2cbece292552> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://sandalwood.com/qrv6-teacher/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224650409.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20230604225057-20230605015057-00425.warc.gz | en | 0.949325 | 1,120 | 2.546875 | 3 |
When Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, nothing like it had ever been seen before. Heralded by the insidious whine of Stuka dive-bombers, seven divisions of Panzers rolled across the border supported by motorized infantry. While tanks were punching gaping holes through Polish lines and racing on at speed towards Warsaw, defenseless refugees were machine-gunned by the Luftwaffe and lines of communication torn to ribbons as mayhem spread.
This was Blitzkrieg (or 'lightning war'), the art of mechanized warfare. This book looks at the development of the Panzer concept, and the building and deployment of the Corps through the eyes of those who fought in it, and of those who fought against it. It tells the story of the singular breed of men who formed the spearhead of the world's most ruthless and efficient military machine, and how they ultimately came to be defeated. | <urn:uuid:26708a0a-7fe8-4911-af91-72dd2a29b409> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://books.telegraph.co.uk/Product/Nigel-Cawthorne/Blitzkrieg/15762908 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141740670.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204162500-20201204192500-00699.warc.gz | en | 0.980982 | 186 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Depression and why some of us are SAD
I am warning you, this is going to be a long one! But it’s interesting, I promise.
There is a lot of confusion and mixed opinions when it comes to depression. Some people use the term inappropriately, to describe what is in fact grief (the feeling of sadness that humans, and presumably other animals, experience after a loved one has died, for instance), others tend to label depressed individuals as “weak”, “selfish”, “useless”, “cowards” etc.
At the same time, for the past 30 years, there have been extremely important discoveries in the field of affective disorders, which have helped eliminate many misconceptions and laid the foundation for a better understanding of what this set of disorders (affective disorders) are and what is actually happening in the brain of the ones “affected”. Moreover, according to some new theories, depression is in fact an evolutionary advantage in situations such as physical illness and dominance. When the body is sick it needs time and energy in order to recover, so the organism experiences depression in order to avoid activity and focus on recovery; in nature, many animals with a dominant status are forced (by a variety of factors) to occupy a lower hierarchical level, in which case “depressive” behaviours such as avoiding eye contact or sexual contact helps reduce the risk of attack by other dominant, more powerful individuals. There are many theories, as you can see, and this article is meant to present and analyse some of them.
We should start by clarifying a very important aspect: depression is different from grief. While the latter is a normal reaction to some external factor(s) with a negative emotional impact on our day-to-day lives, and dissipates by itself after a certain period of time, depression is a pathological, abnormal condition (either in its own right or as a symptom of other metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases). However, it should be noted, and this is one of the key concepts in understanding depression, that the way individuals interpret and react to various external events, which affect their mood, differs, which means that some individuals have a stringer predisposition to depression than others. Now, why is that? A variety of factors, both genetic and epigenetic (developmental, such as child abuse, neglect) play a role and often act synergistically, but we will deal with them (especially, the genetic factors) a bit later in the article.
Different types of depression
Major depressive disorder, also known as “the classical depression”, which is characterised by insomnia, anorexia and lack of joy and interest in things. At the opposite side of the spectrum, there is atypical depression, which manifests itself through increased sleepiness, weight gain and anxiety. Dysthymia is another form of depression, more difficult to diagnose, due to the fact that it presents itself with mild depressive symptoms. All these types discussed so far have been categorised as monopolar.
Bipolar depression refers to a kind of depression accompanied by periods of mania – manic episodes are characterised by elevated, euphoric mood, impulsiveness, hyperactivity and even psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions). A case described by Dick Swaab in his book “We are our brains – from the womb to Alzheimer’s” portrays a woman, who developed mania following the death of her husband. She would talk and laugh hysterically, call the police in the middle of the night for no reason and eventually began to make up stories about people whom she had never met before, but who she believed were longtime friends of hers. After her manic episodes disappeared as a result of treatment, she developed severe depression. Luckily, her story has a happy ending, as she made a full recovery.
Bipolar depression is also associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), characterised by extreme mood seasonal swings. In this article, I have dedicated an entire section to SAD, so I am not going to delve into it for now. Given all these particularities of BD, it is often regarded as a separate disorder (bipolar disorder or manic disorder), rather than another type of depression. As there are so many things to mention about depression, I will leave BD for future article.
In order to be diagnosed with depression, one must have at least one of the two main symptoms: persistent sadness and marked loss of interest, as well as at least five secondary symptoms: disturbed sleep (either increased or decreased), disturbed appetite (increased or decreased), fatigue, poor concentration, feeling of worthlessness and excessive guilt, suicidal thoughts.
Depending on the number of these symptoms, as well as the degree to which they manifest, monopolar depression can be sub-divided into: sub-threshold depression (fewer than five secondary symptoms; no treatment needed), mild depression (fewer than five, but in excess secondary symptoms), moderate depression (more than five, plus functional impairment between mild and severe depression) and severe depression (most of the secondary symptoms and also true psychotic symptoms – yes! they can occur in severe monopolar depression as well, not just BD).
Biochemical pathways and brain systems involved in depression
In Ancient Greece, there was a biochemical theory of depression. It was believed that depression was caused by the failure of liver to eliminate toxic substances from the digested food, resulting in the accumulation of “black bile” (melan means “black” and chole means “bile”, which give the words melancholy). Biochemical theories nowadays have at their core three monoamines, which I am sure you are all familiar with: noradrenaline (a neuromodulator very similar to adrenaline) and serotonin and dopamine.
These two substances have long and diffuse projections throughout the nervous system and in levels lower than otherwise normal, they are said to be involved in affective disorders. For example, drugs such as Reserpine, used to treat the positive symptoms of schizophrenia by depleting dopamine (and also serotonin and noradrenaline) elicited depressive symptoms in schizophrenic patients.
Therapies involving monoamines
The idea is, you want to higher levels of monoamines in order to treat depression. Enzymes involved in the monoamine re-uptake mechanism from the synaptic cleft back into the presynaptic level and enzymes involved in the monoamine metabolism, such as monoamine oxidases (MAO) are the most common targets for the majority of anti-depressants.
- Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) and selective noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitors (SNRI) – Prozac (Fluoxetine), Zoloft (Sertraline), Celexa (Citalopram), Paxil (Paroxetine) block serotonin reuptake and Effexor/Viepax/Trevilor/Lanvexin (Venlafaxine), Cymbalta (Duloxetine) inhibit the noradrenaline reuptake enzymes. For those of you who are currently under this treatment, be careful! Side-effects such as sexual dysfunction, insomnia, increased aggression and self-harm/suicide can occur. Moreover, SSRI are not so effective. They have a very long induction, which means that it takes a long time (2-3 weeks) for the therapeutic effects to start working, during which time there is a high risk of suicide (due to depression). They also have a placebo effect of 50%, which is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it works, but raises the question whether the monoamine hypotheses is really that valid in the case of depression.
- Tricyclic antidepressants – also block the reuptake mechanism, resulting in more monoamines in the synaptic cleft. Amitril (Amitriptyline), Aventyl/Norpress/Noritren (Nortriptyline) and Tofranil (Imipramine) are a few examples. They are derived from Phenothiazines (such as Chlorpromazine), which are antipsychotic drugs (used to treat schizophrenia). Some of the side-effects are: chronic pain and suicide overdose.
- MAO inhibitors – Nardil/Nardelzin (Phenelzine), USAN (Thanylcypromine), Marplan/Enerzer (Izocarboxazid) and Amira/Aurorix/Clobemix (Moclobemide) are very effective and widely prescribed for in major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder, although the first three pose the high risk of hypertensive crisis and death if the patient is consuming cheese or wine.
The big problem with these drug therapies is dependence – if antidepressants, especially Paroxetine and Venlafaxine are administered for a long period of time and then stopped, the patient is likely to experience Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, characterised by flu-like symptoms, motor and cognitive disturbances.
An alternative to pharmaceutical treatments is represented by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TSM) of the cortex, electroshock therapy – this is, apparently, very effective, BUT might result in impaired memory – and gene therapies. The latter refers to the insertion, via a vector or a plasmid, of genes that encode neurotransmitter molecules, receptor proteins or neurotrophic and neuroprotective substances. Given that many variations in genes for chemical messengers in the brain are responsible for the predisposition of certain individuals to depression, gene therapies, although still at a developing stage, provide powerful approaches to the treatment of affective disorders.
Over-activation of the stress axis
Another theory for the development of depression, which goes hand-in-hand with the “monoamine hypothesis” is that in depressed individuals there is an exaggerate amount of cortisol (a steroid) in the blood, which can affect the brain. Basically, our brains react to stressful situations by producing some hormones in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland (hypophysis), which eventually result in the production of cortisol. In turn, cortisol acts on these structures to inhibits their activity and, thus, preventing further increases in its level – this is an example of a negative feedback mechanism.
In normal people, a stressful situation will result in increased levels of cortisol, but this steroid will then revert to its normal levels. In depressed individuals, the stress axis (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) becomes hyperactive and, as a result, a stressful event will result in the overproduction of cortisol.
In excess, cortisol affects brain structures involved in the control of emotions and fear, such as the cingulate cortex and amygdala (which explains the anxiety symptoms experienced by people suffering from atypical depression) and memory, such as the hippocampus, which explains the cognitive dysfunctions. Moreover, the activity in the prefrontal cortex, which normally inhibits the hypothalamus (overactive in depression) is decreased by cortisol. So, really, it is like a vicious circle.
Why is the stress axis hyperactive in the first place? Possibly due to decreased sensitivity of the cortisol receptors to cortisol, which might be the result of genetic as well as developmental factors (previously mentioned).
Monoamines play a role here, as increased levels of monoamines (by the administration of antidepressants) can determine neurogenesis in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, so these areas can function properly again and can, thus, inhibit the hypothalamus, so no longer hyperactivity of the stress axis!
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Although I am planning to write about bipolar disorders in another article, I thought it is worth discussing SAD in this article as well, given that so many people, especially those living in the Northern hemisphere, suffer from it.
In the References section there is a document called “The recent history of seasonal affective disorder (SAD)”, which is a transcript of the 2013 Witness Seminar in London. I highly recommend this reading for two reasons: it is full of remarkable, extremely important information regarding SAD and the participants at this seminar included personalities such as Prof. Josephine Arendt, Prof, Norman Rosenthal, Prof. Alfred Lewy, Prof. Rob Lucas, who are pioneers of the SAD diagnostic criteria and underlying causes (for instance, Rosenthal is the first psychiatrist who diagnosed SAD).
As many of you probably know, and sadly from personal experience, SAD is a seasonal mood change disorder, a type of bipolar disorder, which determines depression during the autumn/winter seasons and hypomania during summer. In order to understand SAD, we must remember a few things about the circadian rhythm, which I have previously discussed in two articles: Why “sleep” and Even flies sleep and learn. In short, we have an internal, genetic “clock” inside our brains (in the Suprachiasmatic nucleus – SCN), which determines the body to function in an approximately 24-hour cycle and which is also entrained by the light-dark cycle. This is not only a circadian (day-night) clock, but also a seasonal clock, which means that changes in the environment (especially light and temperature) across the year entrain this clock and determine physiological and psychological changes in our bodies.
In SAD, there is an abnormal secretion of melatonin (the hormone that triggers sleep, when it is dark outside). Light inhibits this hormone: cells in our retina, which are not coding for visual information, send projections via a distinct pathway than the rods and cones. These cells, containing the peptide melanOPSIN, project via the retinohypothalamic tract to the SCN, “telling” the brain that it is dark outside, so the brain (SCN) determines the synthesis and release of melatonin from the pineal gland. When there is light outside, the production of melatonin is inhibited. The duration of melatonin secretion is also affected by the circannual changes – long secretion in short days and short in long days. The scientists who took part in the Witness Seminar discovered that melatonine production was increased during the depressive/winter phase and that sunlight decreased its production, thus, alleviating the symptoms of depression in SAD. A note here, sunlight is an effective treatment for SAD, not ordinary room light. This explains why, during winter, when people tend to spend more time indoors, their levels of melatonin increase. The reasons why room light does not inhibit melatonin production are the intensity of light (sunlight is five times more intense than room light) and spectral differences. More about SAD and bipolar disorder in a future article!
I hope this article made sense and that you enjoyed reading it!
SAD – Pdf of The Witness Seminar transcript
Beatty, 2000. The Human Brain – Essentials of Behavioural Neuroscience. Sage Publications. Inc., pg.464-471
Dick Swaab, 2014. We are our brains – From the womb to Alzheimer’s. Penguin Books, pp. 112-122
Image by Damaris Pop | <urn:uuid:57816d19-7b0b-4985-9a9d-488e87f11116> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://finding-neuron.com/tag/prozac/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945183.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20230323194025-20230323224025-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.943446 | 3,165 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Various D.C. residents have reported that during recent trips to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, a curious group of college students have been roaming the halls in isolation and whispering such bizarre things as, "Adam and Eve had a pet Tyrannosaurus Rex -- and here's the skeleton!"
We know what you're assuming, but no, they're not Canadians.
The Washington Post has confirmed that these very special people are Professor David DeWitt's Advanced Creation Studies class from Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, up for their annual field trip to the nation's satanic science museum.
DeWitt and his students are Creationists, who "take their view of natural history straight from the book of Genesis, believe that scientific data can be interpreted to support their idea that God made the first human, Adam, in an essentially modern form 6,000 to 10,000 years ago."
Right, so the conceit here is to take every scientific development in natural history and fudge around with the dates to make them correlate with events in the Bible, thereby making the Bible true. Factual evidence is always a bonus, but not required:
Modern creationists don't deny the existence of dinosaurs but believe that God made them, and all animals, on the same sixth day that he created man. In fact, [Liberty professor Marcus] Ross's only real beef in the fossil hall is with the 30-foot lighted column that is a timeline marking 630 million years of geology. As a young-Earth creationist, he asserts that the vast majority of the rocks and fossils were formed during Noah's flood about 4,000 years ago. Most paleontologists date the T-Rex to 65 million years ago.
So if you see a group of college students' heads explode all at once inside the Natural History Museum, it's because their brains had finally given up. | <urn:uuid:a4cd93bf-d7c9-4495-8616-3b1821ad913c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Creationists-Take-Over-Natural-History-Museum-Scoff.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721595.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00424-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959252 | 383 | 2.59375 | 3 |
This course is an extensive introduction to Python for Information Analysis and Visualization. This course targets Individuals who have some essential expertise in programming and wish to take it to the next degree. It introduces how to operate with unique knowledge constructions in Python and covers the most well-liked Python info Evaluation and visualization modules, such as numpy, scipy, pandas, matplotlib, and seaborn.
Python is actually a superior-amount programming language. You will discover the basic syntax and data buildings in Python. We display and run codes inside of Ipython notebook, which is a fantastic Resource giving a strong and successful natural environment for interactive and exploratory computing.
More often than not, you will need to handle info that's soiled and unstructured. You will understand numerous ways to scrub your facts like making use of regular expressions.
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The program was particularly supportive of me while I had been endeavoring to learn new product, I have and may keep on to propose this class/NYC Information faculty.
Python may create graphics simply employing “Matplotlib” and “Seaborn”. Matplotlib is the most well-liked Python library for generating plots and other 2D knowledge visualizations.
This class is a comprehensive introduction to Python for Information Evaluation and Visualization. This course targets people who have some standard expertise in programming and need to acquire it to the subsequent level. It introduces how to operate with diverse info buildings in Python and covers the most well-liked Python info analysis and visualization modules, together with numpy, scipy, pandas, matplotlib, and seaborn.
I took the first giving of knowledge Science utilizing Python a handful of months ago, and definitely propose it to anybody who loves fingers-on Understanding with some direction. Let me clarify: Final year, I took Coursera’s Device Mastering/Intro to Details Science classes and did properly, but didn't do a fingers-on project that would help me to retain lots of information. But this class expected me to choose a detailed project and existing it to your Stay audience, who then identified whether I did perfectly or not.
Seaborn is actually a Python visualization library based on matplotlib. It provides a high-degree interface for drawing statistical graphics.
We use Ipython notebook to show the effects of codes and change codes interactively all over the class.
We use Ipython notebook to demonstrate the effects of codes and change codes interactively through the class.
Python also can crank out graphics easily using “Matplotlib” and “Seaborn”. Matplotlib is the most popular Python library for generating plots as well as other 2D info visualizations.
Right after 20 hours of structured lectures, students are inspired to operate on an exploratory knowledge Evaluation project dependent on their own pursuits. A project presentation demo will likely be arranged Later on. | <urn:uuid:6e384caa-9903-4508-a804-4c064d8a6287> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://statisticsprojecthelp41740.blog2learn.com/11526413/facts-about-python-homework-help-revealed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647883.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180322112241-20180322132241-00158.warc.gz | en | 0.936591 | 733 | 2.703125 | 3 |
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AFNS) — Nearly one in five adults, or 43 million Americans, has a diagnosable mental disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Contrary to many other brain disorders, effective treatments are available for mental disorders.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time of year to bring awareness to mental health issues and available resources.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, many factors can contribute to mental health issues. This includes biological factors, life experiences as well as family history of mental health problems.
Mental health affects everyone. It influences thoughts, feelings and actions. The state of one’s mental health can determine how they make decisions, interact with others and cope with daily stressors. Mental health is a factor of overall wellbeing, much like physical health.
Air Force mental health clinics are critical to the health and readiness of beneficiaries and family members. Services include mental health assessment, education, consultation and treatment through a variety of evidence-based therapeutic exercises. This includes both individual and group therapy.
Mental health assessment
The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics is the Defense Department mandated pre-deployment assessment and is administered to all service members within 12 months of deployment.
The assessment establishes a neurocognitive baseline. This is used to measure potential cognitive changes in individuals exposed to a concussive event.
In the event of a traumatic brain injury, the baseline is used to determine changes in cognitive functioning for assessment of a service member’s return to duty status.
The Air Force Family Advocacy Program implements programs to prevent and treat domestic abuse, child abuse and neglect. The program provides training, consultation services and program and policy development.
While nearly 50 percent of people with a treatable behavioral health disorder do not seek care from a behavioral health professional, 80 percent visit their primary care manager at least once annually.
The Air Force is changing primary care teams to better address behavioral health needs. The Behavioral Health Optimization Program is a primary care behavioral health program. Through BHOP, behavioral health personnel are integrated into primary care clinics to provide the right care. BHOP is available to all active-duty service members, retirees and their family members. | <urn:uuid:25e5caaf-6a25-43e2-b93a-b4a3c34e8268> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb/2016/05/06/putting-mental-health-in-focus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250616186.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20200124070934-20200124095934-00289.warc.gz | en | 0.930997 | 463 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Warfare patterns of the Assiniboine to 1809
Doige, Gary Blake
This study examines the warfare patterns of the Assiniboine from the time of their separation from the Yanktonai division of the western Sioux to 1809. Its focus is upon the changing patterns of warfare and alliance that emerged between the Assiniboine and other native peoples of the northern plains and woodlands. It thus seeks further understanding of this war complex by examining, not only the patterns of conflict and alliance, but also the changing geography of trade in which they appear to have been embedded. The study terminates in the early years of the nineteenth century with the demise of the alliances which the Assiniboine had forged with their Blackfoot neighbors to the west and the village Indians of the upper Missouri to the south. This saw the collapse of the extensive commercial sphere that they had earlier carved out, and led to new patterns of conflict from which the Assiniboine benefitted little. The study concludes that, following the introduction of European influences, warfare was largely a function of economic and political motives, although the motives of status, glory or revenge did play a part. | <urn:uuid:2b96713a-d4cc-4b91-b382-2875336a6bec> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/handle/1993/3546 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474737.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20240228143955-20240228173955-00833.warc.gz | en | 0.954065 | 237 | 2.71875 | 3 |
If you have been doing a specific type of exercise this summer, it may be time to integrate complementary activities into your training program. Although you may not be interested in doing a triathlon, the three activities, running, cycling and swimming, make for excellent cross-training exercises. Cross-training refers to different aerobic activities that provide essentially the same cardiovascular conditioning benefits.
If you have been doing a specific type of exercise this summer, it may be time to integrate complementary activities into your training program. Although you may not be interested in doing a triathlon, the three activities, running, cycling and swimming, make for excellent cross-training exercises. Cross-training refers to different aerobic activities that provide essentially the same cardiovascular conditioning benefits. However, performing three different endurance exercises reduces the risk of both physiological and psychological problems, namely overuse injuries and boredom.
While running and cycling both involve the leg muscles, running emphasizes the rear thigh (hamstring) muscles, whereas cycling emphasizes the front thigh (quadricep) muscles. Also, running requires weight-bearing exercise from a standing posture, whereas cycling requires weight-supported exercise from a sitting position. These activities are therefore highly compatible and complementary from a muscle-use perspective.
Swimming involves both the upper body and legs, but the majority of propulsive power is produced by the chest, back and arm muscles. Unlike running and cycling, swimming is performed from a horizontal body position and in a fluid medium. Swimming and cycling eliminate the landing forces and shock absorption associated with running, which further enhances their value as cross-training activities.
I recommend three cross-training sessions a week for beginning exercisers and as many as six cross-training sessions a week for more advanced exercisers. For example, a sensible beginning fitness program may feature cycling on Mondays, swimming on Wednesdays, and running on Fridays. A more advanced cross-training schedule may include cycling on Mondays and Thursdays, swimming on Tuesdays and Fridays, and running on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Even though cross-training reduces the risk of overuse injuries, I recommend some specific strategies for further enhancing exercise safety.
To reduce shock to the feet, legs and lower back, run on softer surfaces, such as wooded paths, stone dust jogging paths, athletic fields or composition tracks. Also, invest in well-designed running shoes that fit properly (loose in the toe and snug in the heel) and provide appropriate motion control. Running shoe store personnel can advise you on the best shoe for your foot type.
Try to run during cooler times of day, and in shaded areas whenever possible. Avoid running on the sides of roads and beaches, as these sloped surfaces place uneven stress on feet, legs and hips, which increases injury potential.
A good bicycle is basically a one-time investment that pays years of health/fitness benefits if used properly and regularly. Most cycle shop owners are experts at selecting the bicycle that best fits your cycling needs and body dimensions. Essential cycling accessories include a well-fitted helmet, water bottle, padded bike shorts, tire pump, spare tubes and (possibly) biking shoes.
Always ride with traffic, preferably on roads with relatively wide shoulders and bike as often as possible on designated bike paths or non-vehicle areas.
If you prefer off-road cycling, you will definitely exercise your upper body muscles along with your legs, and you will travel more varied terrain. However, you typically have a higher risk of spills, so learn the ropes from experienced trail riders before venturing into wooded areas by yourself.
Whether you prefer pools, lakes or ocean waters, it is advisable to swim with a partner whenever possible. Also, swimming in shallow (4 to 5 feet) water is always safer than swimming in deeper water. Swimming parallel to shore makes more sense than swimming out and back in large bodies of water.
Swimmers have several options for exercising in the water. While the crawl stroke is most effective and efficient, periodically interspersing periods of backstroke, breaststroke or sidestroke can make the swimming session more enjoyable by changing the pace, as well as by involving different movement patterns and muscle groups.
In terms of training duration, I recommend about 20 to 30 minutes of running, about 20 to 30 minutes of swimming, and 40 to 60 minutes of cycling. These are only suggested time frames, and beginners should start with shorter exercise segments before progressing gradually to longer duration training.
Mixing up your aerobic activities can offer physiological and psychological benefits that enhance your exercise experiences and facilitate higher fitness levels this summer. And if you don’t particularly enjoy running, cycling or swimming, substitute canoeing, kayaking, walking, skating, or even tennis for your aerobic activities.
Wayne L. Westcott, PhD., teaches exercise science at Quincy (Mass.) College and consults for the South Shore YMCA. He has written 24 books on strength training. | <urn:uuid:22389a0a-2710-4967-8daf-f2439e47c87e> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://danvers.wickedlocal.com/x7660167/Keeping-Fit-Mixing-it-up-can-enhance-your-fitness-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267868237.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20180625170045-20180625190045-00422.warc.gz | en | 0.951653 | 1,006 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Continuing the Schwerner Legacy
It only takes a little more than a couple of hours to get from Philadelphia, Mississippi to Indianola. But, that drive, just a short 125 miles, tells a tale of the history of social justice in our country and, along with it, the story of the role of Alpha Epsilon Pi Brothers can – and should – play in repairing our world.
By now, it’s pretty well known what happened in Philadelphia, MS. In 1964, Brother Michael Schwerner (Cornell, 1961), along with two co-workers (James Chaney and Andrew Goodman) were killed by the Ku Klux Klan in response to their civil rights work, which including promoting voting registration among African American, most of whom had been disenfranchised in Mississippi since 1890. You can read more about Brother Schwerner and his story in the Lion article, reprinted from 2006, below. Brother Schwerner was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2014.
Brother Schwerner set the stage for the next generation of activists and helped shine a light on an unimaginable life being lived in our own country. His story was commemorated in the Oscar nominated 1988 film, Mississippi Burning. His memory should be a blessing. His legacy as a hero and role model is secure.
But, travel North along Mississippi State Route 19 and West on MS-12. Travel through Mississippi towns like Ducant, Tchula, and Belzoni. Skip 56 years forward from 1964 as you drive. The cars have changed; the roadside diners and gas stations look different. The Mississippi Delta looks and feels a little different now. Where 19th century cotton plantations once were there are now empty buildings, created by large agribusiness corporations in the last century and subsequently abandoned as the economy moved elsewhere.
This is the highway into Sunflower County in Mississippi. This is the highway which tracks the legacy of Mickey Schwerner. When you get into Indianola, go a half mile past the B.B. King Museum (Indianola was the blues legend’s birthplace). Pull into city hall and ask to see the Mayor.
And there, likely wearing his trademark Hawaiian shirt, you’ll get to meet Brother Steve Rosenthal (Memphis, 1974). In a town which is nearly 80% Black, an AEPi Brother searches for racial and economic justice each day.
“My grandfather was a stowaway on a freighter from Lithuania in 1910. He eventually got a cart and his goods and worked his way down Highway 61 and came to Indianola in 1913. He became the local department in Indianola. I grew up here but always wanted to do something else,” said Brother Rosenthal.
“As a kid, I was shy. Painfully shy. Growing up Jewish in the strongly Christian-minded bible belt…my social skills weren’t the greatest. We knew that we were different. Not better than anyone because we’re Jewish but we knew we were different.”
In 1970, Brother Rosenthal left Indianola to attend Memphis State and study Industrial Engineering. “I was shy and small in stature. I was 4’ 10” and weighed 78 pounds when I got to Memphis State. Early my freshman year, I met David Fineberg. He could tell by the shoes I was wearing that I was out of place. He just took me by the hand and showed me the way. He said, ‘Us country boys have to stick together.’ Looking back, I think it is fair to say that I wouldn’t have survived at Memphis State if it wasn’t for AEPi. I was so used to being in the background, but they pushed me into leadership roles that without them, I never would have taken. I was even elected president of IFC one year.
One of Steve’s chapter Brothers was Sam Blustein who went on to become Supreme Master in 2010. “You knew Sam was going places. He was a great leader and one of the best people I knew. We always had the highest fraternity GPA but that was probably just because of Sam.”
At the time, Memphis State (now known as the University of Memphis) was gaining a national reputation. “I was pushed to become a leader by my Brothers but all of us thought we were going to change the world. When I walked into AEPi, most of our members were from New York and the east coast. We were very diverse, and I developed relationships with people who I never would have before without AEPi. Those relationship building skills were so important to me then…and still today. I came out of my shell and realized that I could thrive as a part of a team dedicated to making a difference for ourselves and everyone.
Our members had a bigger perspective than just the place we were at that point in time. That made me look bigger. I came home from college with a ponytail and I was a wild and crazy liberal. But, I saw, maybe clearer than ever before, the racial separation in my own hometown. I saw that, when our store was closed on Saturdays, the Black community could only go to other Black-owned businesses. No one else wanted them. And I realized how wrong it was.”
After graduation, Brother Rosenthal worked in retail management for several years but returned to Indianola when his father became ill. “I thought it would be temporary, but I never left.” He ran the family store until its closing in 2001 but he knew there was still more to do. “Being in retail in a small town, you can’t be political. But, enough was enough. After the store closed, I worked as a New York Life sales rep for eight years and I saw that I could make a difference in the community and verbalize my views.”
After the sitting Mayor raised his own salary by 60 percent, Brother Rosenthal took him on in the next election and won with 80 percent of the vote. And, he’s continued to win every year election since then.
“I knew that I needed to create change in our community. We are the most impoverished areas of the most impoverished state in the country. This became my focus when I first got elected. We needed to bring up everyone. I heard about the Harlem Children’s Zone program in 2008 and it became a part of President Obama’s campaign. He started this idea of building Promise Communities and the Kellogg Foundation funded the concept. The idea is to teach and train participants to duplicate a pipeline of services. For example, starting with an expectant mother and making sure she is getting the care she needs and then, when she has the child, making sure the child is well cared for and given the programs they need. Look, we’ve never had a problem with a lack of programs, we just never connected them throughout the pipeline. (To learn more about this program, check out the 2010 documentary film, Waiting for Superman).
We applied to become a Promise Community in 2010 and in 2011, we got a call that we were one of 10 communities – and one of only two rural communities — in the country to receive funding.”
“This,” Brother Rosenthal says proudly, “will be one of my legacies. We did exactly what the program was designed to do. We got the program in place in 2012 and it now employs around 250 people – many of them are graduates of the program themselves. We’ve gotten two extensions of the program funding from the Kellogg Foundation.
You have to embrace the hardship to raise up the community. We all have to acknowledge our role in creating the hardship and recognize that we need to help make the changes necessary. Now, we’re focusing on improving literacy rates in my town.
A few years ago, our community had only a 60% pass rate for third grade literacy tests. That’s even after everything we had done with the Promise Community initiative. I believe that if you can read well, the other stuff is easy. We focused in on this problem. We got involved with Teach for America and we actually focused on trying to improve our system. We’ve turned it around. We’re at a 93% passing rate now.”
Fifty-six years have passed since Mickey Schwerner was killed for trying to register Black Americans to vote and 125 miles from where his body was found, one of his AEPi Brothers is creating a legacy in the community based in similar values. “Both of my kids (a son – and a fraternity Brother — and a daughter) live in Indianola now,” said Brother Rosenthal. “That’s my legacy. I’m working double hard to create opportunities for our children to want to come back here and call this home.
How can a white man keep getting elected Mayor? It boils down to relationships and taking care of people. That’s why I do this.”
“That sad history of Mickey Schwerner started right here in the Mississippi Delta. We were at the epicenter of the civil rights movement and all of the violence that came with it. But, I think one of the things I learned over the years and, especially, in AEPi is that if we make the world better, it makes us better.”
There are a lot of twists and turns on the road from Philadelphia to Indianola. But, even though there’s a lot of distance and time separating them, you can see the road stretch from one to the other.Go back to cover | <urn:uuid:9056a399-a5c8-45e4-ae50-4a88be3a39e8> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://www.aepi.org/the_lion/winter-2021/continuing-the-schwerner-legacy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710764.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20221130124353-20221130154353-00845.warc.gz | en | 0.983292 | 2,003 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Pokémon Go pushed Augmented Reality, or AR, into the mainstream, sending 500 million people around the world chasing cartoon characters on their phones. But now, in a unique multi-disciplinary collaboration, it’s making the leap from entertainment to education.
A new fusion of augmented reality, gaming technology, and anatomy is giving physiotherapy students at the University of Melbourne access to cutting-edge technology to take a look inside the human body by projecting different layers of muscles and bones over the top of a volunteer ‘patient’. It provides an inside view of how the body works as it moves in real time.
The technology, called the Augmented Studio, is designed to radically enhance the teaching of physiotherapy where students currently use their knowledge of anatomy to understand how muscles work beneath the skin of a patient because they can’t see through them. But the Augmented Studio, developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne, bridges the gap between that theory and practice.
By using tracking sensors mounted on a scaffold it projects images of our muscles and skeleton directly onto a volunteer. The images automatically follow the shape and movement of the body, giving students in the studio space an interactive all-round view of how our bodies work. It can even allow them and their teachers to “draw” on the projected image to make information and action more explicit.
“What we are doing is overlaying virtual models of what we look like underneath our skin and synchronising that with real human action,” says Dr Thuong Hoang, who is a Research Fellow at the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural Users Interfaces, at the University of Melbourne.
The Augmented Studio was built by Dr Hoang, computer engineer Zaher Joukhadar and Phd student Martin Reinoso, who adapted Microsoft’s Kinect body sensing and tracking device as well as “RoomAlive” projection technology; both of which were originally designed for computer gaming. Once a person steps into the projection space and forms a T-shape with their arms outstretched, the trackers lock on to them and the projected image conforms to their shape and movement.
At the moment the projected ‘overlay’ doesn’t show how our muscles actually move when we contract and relax our muscles. Instead, it tracks the body and movement at the joints. But eventually Dr Hoang wants to add in ‘animation’ that can show the actual movement of muscles as the model moves.
University of Melbourne physiotherapy lecturer Dr David Kelly says the students quickly embraced the technology during pilot sessions in 2016, which are continuing in 2017. He says the combination of live movement and interaction, in which students could actually move and feel the model’s limbs, helps them to grasp the relationship between their learned anatomy and how it works dynamically.
“For first year students it can be really hard to bring together anatomical knowledge with how the body actually works because it can be difficult to visualise. But when they see a real person who they can interact with, while also seeing the muscles and skeleton projected over the top, combined with the ability to draw and write on the body, it all becomes much easier for the students to learn about how the body moves,” says Dr Kelly, from the Melbourne School of Health Sciences.
The Augmented Studio also provides a more visual and intuitive way of learning that Dr Kelly says will benefit those students who naturally learn more easily by direct visualisation, rather than through reading and listening. “There has always been a group of students that struggle because the limited ways in which we have to teach may not conform to how they learn best,” he says.
Developments in AR, which seeks to use technology to enhance what we can already see, hear and feel in the real world, are far ahead of chasing GPS tracked Pokémon. There are viewing devices such as glasses that can overlay what we see with three-dimensional graphics, video and holograms, and we can generate projections like games that people manipulate by moving our hands.
The big advantage of the Augmented Studio over advances like 3D holograms is that the students can actually touch and move the body, making it a much more interactive experience. They also don’t have to wear headgear, which means it could potentially be used in bigger settings with larger numbers of students.
“It has always been hard to capture the dynamic side of how our anatomy works, so the difference here is the high level of interaction you can achieve. The student can, for example, ask the model to kick and they can then look at variations from different angles at what is happening as someone kicks,” Dr Kelly says.
The Augmented Studio is still in early-stage development and Dr Kelly would love to see it migrate to using muscle animations. Dr Hoang is also working to develop a system for the student interaction with the model to be automatically recorded onto their tablets so they can have a permanent record of what they were learning.
Another challenge is to find a way to make the studio more transportable and quicker to set up. At the moment the studio can work very effectively in a dedicated tutorial space where it could be permanently set up, but Dr Kelly says a more portable set up would increase its flexibility for teaching.
The Augmented Studio is an extension of Dr Hoang’s earlier work exploring how Virtual Reality and body tracking could be used to help guide body movement for dance and marital arts students. Arising from a collaboration between the Physiotherapy department’s Teaching and Learning director, Associate Professor Louisa Remedios and Professor Frank Vetere, Director of Microsoft Social NUI, Dr Hoang started working with the physiotherapy department on developing a teaching aid. He then realised that Virtual Reality, in which you are immersed in an entirely created world, wasn’t suited to teaching physiotherapy that is very hands on.
“When we got into the class rooms we had to change our thinking. VR just wouldn’t work in the tactile environment in which they learn and practice,” Dr Hoang says. It was when he noticed that students kept referring back to anatomy charts when they were practicing on each other that he started thinking of using Augmented Reality to put the virtual muscles on the body
Dr Hoang is now working on extending the tracked projection technology to various health and fitness areas, and even in performance art. He says that using tracking sensors with projections it is possible to create guides that show people how to position their bodies for practising fitness, sport and dance.
Using virtual reality headsets he and PhD student Martin Reinoso have already developed a prototype that allows a martial arts teacher to remotely instruct students on the right position to hold. By using body tracking and linked headsets student can match their movement to align with those of their teacher. There is also scope to project information on our own body’s performance, such as heart rate and breathing, so it is visible either on our projected selves or on a nearby surface.
“The innovation we have created isn’t just limited to the fixed information that we have been projecting so far. If can be used to project dynamic information onto yourself or any surface around you,” Dr Hoang says. “All of what I’m dreaming of is very possible.”
Dr Hoang and his team will be running a demonstration of the Augmented Studio system at Melbourne Knowledge Week as part of the Digital Studio at the University of Melbourne on May 2.
Banner image: Supplied. | <urn:uuid:2b8eea97-78f0-4571-9b15-021fa4b90e61> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/augmented-reality-getting-under-the-skin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463615105.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170530124450-20170530144450-00052.warc.gz | en | 0.956826 | 1,553 | 3 | 3 |
Manipulating light with movement: Cumulus (dimming), Eclipse (darken), Lunar (reflect).
Do we understand what happens when we dim the lights? And to what extent could the dimming become part of the design? Exploded View shows that the key factor is to move the light source closer to the object or further away. After all, the sun never fades; it is the earth that moves closer and further away, causing the light to reflect, change colour, dim or die. Ultimately the experiment has led to a series of lamps representing different approaches: Cumulus, which dims through layering; Eclipse, which keeps the light contained or sets it free; and Lunar which plays with reflection. | <urn:uuid:36228741-c03f-47da-8a67-587aab56c9a5> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://cn.idnworld.com/automat/Vantot-ExplodedView | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107892062.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20201026204531-20201026234531-00551.warc.gz | en | 0.942833 | 145 | 3.4375 | 3 |
The National Atlas of the United States displays several hundred layers of GIS data for the United States. The data is organized into the following categories.
Agriculture (Information about Farms, Livestock, and Crops) Environment (Information about hazardous sites) People (Information about crime rates, economy, food stamps, jobs, mortality rates, population density, etc.) . . . → Read More: United States National Atlas
The NASA Astronauts have been taking photographs of various world cities at night from the Space Shuttle. These images are a great way to visualize urban growth and transportation networks of cities. They also provide some insight into how cities in different countries develop. Some cities are constructed on a nice grid . . . → Read More: World Cities At Night From Space
Database of approximately 15,000 Aeronautical Terminal Procedure Charts for the United States. These charts consist of Airport Diagrams, Instrument Approach (IAP) Diagrams, Arrival (STAR) Diagrams, and Departure (DP) Diagrams for large and medium sized airports in the US and its territories. These diagrams provide standard procedures for navigating to and from the airports.
Low Altitude Enroute Charts are used for aircraft navigation below 18,000 feet in the United States. The charts show the locations of radionavigations aids (VORs, etc.), airports, intersections, airways, etc. Unlike Sectional, these charts do not show ground topographic and visual navigation features.
High Altitude Enroute Charts are used for aircraft navigation above 18,000 feet in the United States. The charts show the locations of radionavigations aids (VORs, etc.), airports, intersections, airways, etc. Unlike Sectional Charts, these charts do not show ground topographic and visual navigation features.
Flightwise has put together a great collection of near real-time flight tracking tools for Google Earth. These tools display a wealth of information about each flight, such as the location, altitude, heading, speed, Departure time, Estimated Arrival time and aircraft type. In addition, the aircraft are displayed in Google . . . → Read More: Real Time 3D Flight Tracking | <urn:uuid:7b793685-a4d5-48e5-9cd5-2f3a5e5011c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gelib.com/category/transportation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698238192/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095718-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.858839 | 455 | 2.734375 | 3 |
“Who is the brown woman? How does she live defined almost solely by her skin colour and all the history it carries? How do we carry racism deep within us even when we think we don’t? These are questions that require deep thought and reflection, and that’s what Otherness encourages us to do. In a world increasingly divided along the lines of colour, despite its apparent modernity, here’s a hard look at the realities that lurk within us, both as individuals and as a society.”
Thus goes the blurb of the recently released book ‘Othernees: Souls of Brown Women’ by author De. B. Dubois. In a brief chat via email, she explained to me the overarching theme of her book and also the social construct regarding skin color and a woman’s identity.
Lopa Banerjee: What, according to you, is ‘the woman of color’? How would you define it in terms of the societal construct, in terms of the realities we see around us? And most importantly, how did it affect you as the author of this book?
De. B. Dubois: According to me, and for the topic of the book “Otherness”, the (textbook) definition of “Women of color” (singular: woman of colour, sometimes abbreviated as WOC) is a phrase used to describe female persons of colour. The term is used to represent all women of non-white heritage, often with regard to oppression, systemic racism, or racial bias.
In the preface, I have mentioned that “Otherness” is an appropriation of William Edward Burghardt “W. E. B.” Du Bois’: The Souls of Black Folk. This book “Otherness” is written from my perspective as a student of sociology, design culture, design research and art, during my Master thesis (research work done on “Perception of Beauty”), where I was examining Eastern and Western print advertisements and how these visuals sub-consciously constructs and constricts our perception of good and evil. For example, if you see a film – any given film – the protagonist is visually represented as someone beautiful compared to the antagonist. Often times, terms such as “ugly”, “dark”, “dirty” and “brown” are associated with either the way the antagonist looks like, or the way the antagonist behaves. Sub-consciously we are allowing visual media to tell us what is to be considered clean (white), dirty (brown), and evil (black). This colour signification is very complex and has been thrown at our sub-conscious through centuries of artwork, literature, religion et al. And the problem of colour is far more devastating in terms of iconoclasm than any other problem – to the point that it white washes any coloured existence. Shockingly, as coloured people, we tend to idolise whiteness at some point.
So, if I have to define the societal construct in terms of the realities we see around us, simply, it would be this: “They don’t like you. They don’t dislike you. You are different. Sooner or later the difference scares people.”
As an Indian Bengali, I am no white person. I might be tall, I might be “paler” than the average Indian, I might even speak three European languages – but visibly I am Brown. Therefore I stand with not just first hand experience of this:“They don’t like you. They don’t dislike you. You are different. Sooner or later the difference scares people.” but also as a witness to other brown-women around me. Especially the ones who were adopted as a baby, and only know the West as their home, and culture; when I get to hear these brown women (my friends who are perfectly integrated within these “white countries” – growing up as a western children with non-coloured parents), phrases such as: “I wish I was fair like you…” – it effects me on a level that simply cannot be expressed in words.
To find out more about author De. B. Dubois and her books, do visit her Goodreads page: | <urn:uuid:089fcf59-a5a4-4f51-96b5-335075ff0417> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://mistressandhermuse.wordpress.com/2017/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584350539.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20190123193004-20190123215004-00286.warc.gz | en | 0.960866 | 911 | 2.53125 | 3 |
It can be difficult as an Indigenous artist who is differently abled navigating within the world of art institutions. Even when the best efforts are put into accommodations, curators and directors often lack the perspectives that differently abled people and Indigenous communities experience. As a result, galleries can be very ineffectual at accommodation, while providing superficial solutions that aren’t necessarily driven by the needs of the artist. In addition, there can be a lack of culturally sensitive communication; the use of gentle reminders can be fantastic for people who have lived with intergenerational trauma.
For many years, the apparent answer for art institutions in Canada seemed to be the tokenization of just a few representatives of BIPOC and disabled artists. The only option was a narrow and forced representation that excluded a multitude of realities while portraying the institutions themselves as inclusive. In the 1960s and ’70s, some Indigenous artists became groundbreaking representatives, like Daphne Odjig, Norval Morrisseau and Kenojuak Ashevak, but these were few and far between. For decades to come, this handful of artists defined Indigenous art for a generation of curators and gallerists. These artists, by their genius, created their own unique aesthetics that came to define the idea of what Indigenous art is “supposed” to resemble. Their seminal works have become a stereotype that the community is still fighting to break. I see artists such as Rebecca Belmore and her brother Michael Belmore, as well as Barry Ace and Robert Houle, take on that challenge: they have an interpretation rooted in their culture, but with a contemporary eye to materials and form, while creating the modern Indigenous urban aesthetic.
I experienced the consequences of these stereotypes while trying to find funding agencies to develop my work. What I encountered on my path looking for assistance was a predefined colonial view of what Indigenous art was made of: leather, sinew and beads were funded—packing tape was not. It was only recently that funding agencies relaxed this definition to include non-traditional materials.
As a multiple-chemical-sensitive person—which is a person who cannot tolerate volatile organic compounds found in paints, adhesives and perfumes—the resources that I use are limited and innovative at the same time. Living with multiple chemical sensitivities, I have to avoid exposure to toxic materials. This means that the materials I use must have a low toxicity; packing tape fits this criteria, so I use it. University arts programs usually want to use certain “professional” materials, such as oil-based paints, which are frequently the most dangerous for me. I am more likely to use non-toxic children’s materials, and in this country there is a snobbery around the use of “professional” materials when creating artworks. On the one hand, my work ends up being unique in the arts scene for using non-traditional materials, but on the other hand, I am unable to work with the traditional materials that conform to the collective image of what is Indigenous art. I can’t work with commercially tanned hides or glues, such as those used in more traditional wearable Indigenous art, for the same reasons: because they can also release harmful volatile organic compounds due to chemical tanning processes or chemicals added. I struggle to work with paint because of the fumes, so I can hardly produce the classic Woodland School painting style. Instead, I hand-carve discarded floor and wall ceramic tiles to create mosaics. I use cellophane and packing tape to construct my wearable art, because as a disabled artist I require these lightweight, inexpensive and non-toxic materials which have become the cornerstone of my art practice. But many agencies still define Indigenous art as simply a collection of “tried and true” styles of painting, allowing only for different adaptations of traditional attire and beadwork and excluding all novelty. Preservation of tradition is important, but by considering only the “traditional” styles, we restrain the creativity of our community and cater our art to be more appropriate for an anthropology museum than for a modern art gallery.
Don’t get me wrong, tradition and memory are fundamental for Indigenous communities to form an intrinsic part of our identities, but by using these archetypal representations of Indigenous art alone, as the only possible interpretation of our experience, we become amorphous tokens, stripped of our individual identities. In reality, our identities are current, modern and ever-changing toward the future. There’s a need to remove the idea of that romanticized image of a Native on horseback as an entrée in commercial galleries; we need to broaden our horizons at all levels, from street-front souvenir shops to high-end galleries in luxury hotels.
There are a handful of us who reach visibility and gain access to Canada’s mainstream art scene. Publishers will frequently only bother getting to know one representative of these marginalized communities and call it a day. At one point, I encountered a big name in one of our national art spaces and they had no idea about the Sixties Scoop. This prompted many questions from me: How can someone who chooses who is going to represent my community be allowed to be so ignorant of it? How can they understand how the trauma from the residential school system influenced the development of Indigenous generations since? I wondered, if his inclusion was so shallow, then how could he understand the perspective of disabled artists? Of any group facing marginalization? What do galleries do to compensate for this lack of perspective? Galleries will grant minimal access to disabled people and call themselves inclusive even though there are many outside who are trying to be heard. Galleries will grant minimal access to disabled people and call themselves inclusive—even though there are many still with disabilities on the outside who feel they continue to be forcibly excluded.
These efforts are appreciated, but are not really representation. For instance, land acknowledgements performed by settlers, which can be seen as symbolic lip service and token representation, rather provide an example of the few ignoring the many. The most powerful acknowledgements I have heard come from galleries who bring in local Indigenous Elders speaking to their lived experiences. Real representation will only come when galleries employ Indigenous and/or disabled curators to choose the representatives of our own communities.
One solution might be a national disabled arts gallery, such as Toronto’s Tangled Arts + Disability but with a national scope and the funding to match. It will be interesting to see how the former Indefinite Arts Centre in Calgary will grow and develop on the national level, now that it has been rechristened as the National accessArts Centre for artists with disabilities. The arts community held an event called The Republic of Inclusion during Canada’s 150th celebrations in Ottawa, which brought together people from all over the country from all disciplines of the arts. This became an incubator to empower disabled artists to excel and push their careers forward. Participants in the conference were able to talk to five members of the Canada Council and learn what resources were available to them. The establishment of a permanent institution could expand on this initiative to provide space and resources for those in need and provide fertile ground to bring together all the disciplines and allow for collaboration among those of us who are so often surrounded by systemic barriers. A national gallery whose focus is to help disabled people overcome societal barriers could continue the renaissance of disabled arts demonstrated by the work done by The Republic of Inclusion.
Recently I was approached by a reporter who was looking for a disabled Indigenous artist who could speak French comfortably in an interview. He was looking because the only artist he knew who fit the description had passed away. Just having one go-to person from a marginalized community is not enough. I thought then that if we had funding for a national gallery for disabled artists as a whole, it would allow for more direct communication between artists and those who wish to hear their perspectives.
The good news is that certain galleries, curators and arts organizations are doing it right. This is by no means and exhaustive list: Arts Accessibility Network Manitoba is providing a mentor program, bringing together experienced artists with the up-and-coming. Tangled Art + Disability in Toronto, which travels to other cities with exhibitions and brings artists from all over the country to exhibit with them, provides funding for support persons and creative solutions to remove barriers and excel at communication; Creative Users Projects, a weekly newsletter, brings together opportunities for disabled artists from across the country; and Bodies in Translation, created by Revision: The Centre of Art and Social Justice at the University of Guelph, is an extensive research project and database involving disabled artists.
Curators such as Sean Lee, Sylvia June Dreaver and Tobaron Waxman all make the effort to provide an inclusive space for disabled Indigenous artists. These curators seek out BIPOC and disabled artists to include them in many group exhibitions and panel discussions. In some respects, being a BIPOC or disabled artist means you are an activist. At the intersection of being disabled and BIPOC, you must advocate for yourself, and for some that advocacy grows to include their whole community. Some of these artists take their message to the street. For instance, Syrus Marcus Ware, one of the core-team member of BLM Toronto, helped coordinate the painting of BLM imagery on Toronto’s streets, continuing his advocacy for defunding the police. Similarly, Christi Belcourt, a Michif artist who travelled Canada with the “Water Is Life” anti-pipeline movement, is also a powerful activist for her community and Indigenous rights.
“It’s not the wheelchair that’s the problem, it’s the building with stairs that’s the problem,” says Yvette Cenerini, a disabled francophone artist from Winnipeg. She has said that we are entering a disability arts golden age. There’s more visibility than ever before of the diversity for both artists with disabilities and Indigenous artists. Galleries are seeking out more diverse visions and intersections. They have begun to foster marginalized groups and amplify powerful, diverse voices by asking us not only what our access needs are, but also what we think and how we feel. And as artists do, we will tell you that through our art.
This essay was written with assistance from Mariano Sequeira and Lucille Dumont. | <urn:uuid:287f3f8f-42bb-40ac-a90e-c0199379beaf> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://canadianart.ca/essays/on-tokenization-funding-and-being-an-indigenous-artist-who-is-differently-abled/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703506697.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20210116135004-20210116165004-00782.warc.gz | en | 0.967005 | 2,121 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Americans are stuck in chairs and on the couch, spending eight hours a day with their metabolic engines barely idling, according to data from sensors that scientists put on nearly 2,600 people to see what they actually did all day.
The results were not encouraging: Obese women averaged about 11 seconds a day at vigorous exercise, while men and women of normal weight exercised vigorously (on the level of a jog or brisk uphill hike) for less than two minutes a day, according to the study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
If you included moderate exercise, such as yoga or golf, folks of normal weight logged about 2.5 to 4 hours weekly, according to the data. In part, that’s good news: federal recommendations for adults include 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity coupled with muscle-strengthening exercise.
Still, the data sketch a nearly supine population profile, with days marked by long hours of sedentary behavior, particularly for those who are overweight or obese.
“We’ve engineered physical activity out of our daily lives and that’s causing the health disparities that we have in this country,” said the study’s lead author, Edward C. Archer, a nutrition and obesity researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “How you spend your day determines whether you store your food as fat or store your food in your muscle, healthfully.”
The data part of a study testing whether an indirect measure of energy expenditure, based on metabolism of water, stood up to other measurements in the field -- or on the couch, as it turns out. It did, and depressingly so.
For the obese, the study confirms what has been known for some time -- they are stuck in a “vicious cycle” of inactivity and weight gain, said Archer.
The difference between those who were overweight and those with a normal range body mass amounted to four to six minutes of moderate to vigorous activity, the study showed.
Although socioeconomic data were not included in the paper, previous research has shown that low-income people, particularly single mothers, are most likely to falling into a low-exercise lifestyle, in part from the demands of work and from the condition of recreational facilities in their neighborhoods.
“Ultimately the greatest inequalities we have is in our health behaviors,” he said.
Studies have shown that maternal obesity leads to obesity in children, he noted. But the lifestyle of all children could use some changes, to keep the cycle of inactivity and obesity from perpetuating itself, he added.
“We drive our kids to school; they sit at a desk all day long; then they sit at home playing video games, then they go to sleep,” he said. “Unfortunately, we live most of our life going from chair to chair to chair. And if we can change that, just a little bit, we can have a massive impact on our healthcare costs.” | <urn:uuid:6c1e0a67-67c6-4609-bb84-f0e43badea0d> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/la-sci-sn-exercise-sedentary-20140221-story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049278244.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002118-00039-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964847 | 613 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The Algeria Declaration were a set of agreements between the United States and Iran to resolve the Iran hostage crisis, brokered by the Algerian government and signed in Algiers on January 19, 1981.The crisis arose from the takeover of the American embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, and the taking hostage of the American staff there. By this accord the 52 American citizens were set free and able to leave Iran.
Among its chief provisions are:
The US chief negotiator was Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher,while the chief Algerian mediator was the Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Benyahia accompanied with a team of Algerian intelligence including Prime Minister Mohammed ben Ahmed Abdelghan and Mr Rashid Hassaine.
|This Iranian history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|
|This Algerian history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|
|This article relating to the history of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| | <urn:uuid:1211a95e-f6ba-499d-b6c9-0064ed1cd9c2> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://wikimili.com/en/Algiers_Accords | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247490107.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219122312-20190219144312-00522.warc.gz | en | 0.965183 | 213 | 3.09375 | 3 |
THE Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998, marking the effective end of the Northern Ireland Troubles and delivering peace between nationalists and unionists. But beyond the traditional Orange and Green blocs, how did smaller ethnic minority communities experience the new era? The Detail’s Steven McCaffery reports.
THE peace process has been a success story, but like all stories, there are two sides to it.
The anniversary of the political deal carved out on that famous Good Friday 15 years ago has focused on the successful ending of large scale violence and the subsequent efforts to secure stable power-sharing government between former foes.
But a leading umbrella group for ethnic minorities says the people it represents have experienced increased violence since the emergence of the peace process, as well as a failure by the new Stormont administration to adequately respond.
Today The Detail examines the figures for attacks on ethnic groups and asks how politicians and the justice system have addressed victims’ needs.
The first substantial race relations legislation only reached Northern Ireland in 1997, just one year before the signing of the Agreement.
Now campaigners say a long-awaited Racial Equality Strategy, which should be Stormont’s key policy tool to tackle racism, has been “effectively frozen” since 2007 with the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister yet to deliver a new framework.
“Our experience of the Good Friday Agreement is one step forwards, two steps backwards,” says Patrick Yu, Executive Director of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (Nicem).
“The issue here is that, with the Good Friday Agreement, we are talking about the two communities only.
“That is the trouble all the time.
“Others fall through the gap.
“We are agreed that the Good Friday Agreement benchmark was the cessation of all violence, but if you look at the organised racist attacks over the last ten year period, you have to ask why are paramilitaries continuing to attack ethnic minorities?”RACISM HITS THE HEADLINES
The success in bringing the Troubles to an end in 1998 after decades of bitter conflict was hailed internationally, and while it represented a mammoth achievement, the more peaceful era soon showed evidence of a growing trend of racist attacks and intimidation.
Media coverage of incidents began to rise and a mood of public concern grew when some of the first hard data on the issue emerged in response to questions tabled in the House of Commons.
Those early figures showed racist incidents reported to police rose from a base of 25 in 1997, to reach 260 by 2000-01.
A string of factors was blamed – the end of large scale violence was helping attract greater numbers of economic migrants, they often chose cheap rented housing in deprived areas where far right groups sought to stoke tensions, and where the presence of paramilitaries added a menacing edge.
As a result of a series of headline-grabbing bouts of racist violence, often involving loyalist elements, Northern Ireland became controversially branded Europe’s ‘race-hate capital’.
The rates of attacks have remained high to the present day, however, statistics in the newly released Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report suggest current levels of racist crime are comparable, if not below the average rates in England and Wales.
But the same study notes that many racist incidents go unreported, while in Northern Ireland the presence of paramilitaries has heightened the fears of vulnerable communities.
Census figures published in December 2012 revealed that while Catholics were once Northern Ireland’s minority community, they are now reaching level pegging with those from a Protestant background.
Today, Northern Ireland’s `new minority’ is its ethnic groups and its growing community of economic migrants.
And reviewing the last 15 years from their perspective provides an alternative history of the Good Friday Agreement.NEW CYCLE OF VIOLENCE
The Belfast agreement brokered in 1998 did not mark the end of Northern Ireland’s turbulent history, but the beginning of a new twist in the political rollercoaster of the peace process.
By 2003 the agenda was dominated by the efforts of the British and Irish governments to revive the stalled power-sharing government, when fresh Assembly elections saw the DUP and Sinn Féin top the poll, representing a significant step in their rise to power.
The peace process brought with it a new lexicon, introducing unfamiliar words such as decommissioning and D’Hondt. New phrases also peppered reportage, with calls for “all-party talks”, “parity of esteem”, “power-sharing” and warnings of “no guns, no government”.
But the year also stands out as the first moment of the post-Agreement era when the issue of race attacks gripped the popular mind for a sustained period.
The news agenda bristled with reports of frightening incidents across Northern Ireland.
The episodes were widespread: a Muslim family forced to flee their Co Armagh home after an attack by a mob armed with baseball bats, a Portuguese man beaten unconscious on the street in Co Tyrone, an African man beaten in the face with a brick in Belfast and two pregnant women forced from their homes.
There was a debate about how society should respond, and calls for greater legislative protections.
Attacks were taking place in a wide range of localities, both traditionally nationalist and unionist, but a number of themes emerged including the frequency of attacks in loyalist areas.
South Belfast had by far the largest ethnic minority population of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies, with over 4,000 people in 2003.
And loyalist districts in that part of the city were to be identified as hotspots for attacks.
One explanation was the availability of cheap rental accommodation in many loyalist areas, including those known as the Village, Sandy Row and Donegall Pass.
The once close-knit communities, ravaged by decades of violence and social deprivation, were portrayed as being traditionally suspicious of outsiders, and were identified as longstanding strongholds of loyalist paramilitarism.
Right wing groups including the National Front and Combat 18 had in the past been routinely linked to sections of loyalism, but 2003 also marked a period when such organisations sought to make political inroads in loyalist areas.
The White Nationalist Party (WNP) was among those that launched a leafleting campaign in loyalist communities, using racist propaganda that attacked the standing of ethnic minorities.
In October 2003 the Electoral Commission rejected an application by the WNP to stand for election, ruling that its title was likely to cause offence.
Right-wing organisations that heaped vitriol on immigrant communities were blamed for escalating tensions, as were loyalist paramilitaries who were to be implicated in orchestrating beatings and pipe bombings against minority groups.
Official reports, including by the Independent Monitoring Commission which studied the activities of terrorist groups, confirmed the role of paramilitaries in a string of attacks.
But some senior loyalist voices spoke out.
In January 2004 Nicem’s Patrick Yu issued a joint statement with David Ervine, the then leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), which is aligned to the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The men condemned racist attacks and made a detailed series of recommendations to tackle such hate crime.
Within weeks, however, a disturbing new development took place when a leaflet was circulated around Donegall Pass in south Belfast.
The Chinese community was a prominent part of the local area but was targeted in the threatening propaganda sheet entitled “Yellow Invasion”.
It read: “I firmly believe that it is our duty to defend our community and our Protestant way of life within it. The influx of yellow people into Donegall Pass has done more damage than 35 years of the IRA’s recent campaign.”
The document listed Chinese businesses and added: “If a racist is someone who puts their own people, culture and heritage first…then we should be proud to be branded a racist.”
The Chief Constable Hugh Orde said the pamphlet was the work of loyalist paramilitaries.
The leaflet emerged against a background of attacks on families in the area and was widely condemned.
Anna Lo, who is now an elected representative at the Stormont Assembly, was then spokesperson for the Chinese Welfare Association and said that 60 Chinese families had once lived in the Donegall Pass area, though intimidation had seen that number drop to 23 out of the area’s 800 households
In April 2004 a fresh controversy erupted when loyalists objected to a modern new apartment complex in the nearby Sandy Row area of the city.
Another anonymous leaflet claimed the building was home to ethnic minorities, Catholics and “republican spies”.
Several hundred people marched on the site in a controversial demonstration which was widely criticised, despite claims by unionist representatives that tensions were being raised by a small minority.
Former residents of the complex recounted fleeing the area following the appearance of sectarian and racist graffiti.
The episode marked a further spike in news coverage that for a year had provided evidence of Northern Ireland’s growing problem of racist violence.
Groups such as Nicem warned, however, against a narrative that implied the issue was a problem confined only to loyalist areas and argued for a need to tackle racism across society, as well as battling issues such as deprivation which it said was among the underlying causes of such violence.
Nevertheless, loyalist paramilitaries were heavily implicated.
And in March 2005 the Loyalist Commission, a group representing a wide number of loyalist organisations, responded by launching a campaign which declared: “Loyalist or racist? You can’t be both.”
Loyalist leaders blamed the violence on small disaffected groups and publicly condemned their actions.
In a separate development, other political representatives were accused of sending confused messages.
They were warned that their efforts to explain concerns in their communities over the pace of change risked fuelling inaccurate perceptions of race issues.
The Alliance Party’s Naomi Long, who at the time sat on Belfast City Council warned: “There is a racist element manipulating the very real problem…[but]…it is not good enough for councillors to repeat propaganda – they need to challenge it. Problems of poverty and deprivation existed in Northern Ireland long before we had a large ethnic minority community, so let’s not make them scapegoats for our problems.”
Levels of racist attacks remained high and in 2009 the issue again resurfaced.
In March, Polish and Northern Ireland football fans clashed around a World Cup qualifier match, but there were subsequent attacks on migrant families living in south Belfast.
It is estimated that around 50-70 people, mostly Polish, were forced to leave their homes.
In June that year more than 100 Romanian people fled their homes in the south of the city after a spate of racist attacks that attracted international headlines.
The victims, made up of 20 families living in a small number of houses, were rushed to a church hall before further temporary accommodation was found in a leisure centre.
The images of terrified women clutching young children as they were bussed to safety caused widespread shock.
The attacks took place in loyalist areas but police denied an orchestrated campaign.
Nevertheless, the events were widely condemned, not only by political leaders in Northern Ireland, but by the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown who urged that all possible protection be given to the families.
A grim narrative had developed in Northern Ireland – the ebb and flow of the peace process was now regularly interspersed with high profile outbreaks of racist violence.
But what did it mean?THE PEACE PROCESS – A TIME OF CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY
A report published by the University of Ulster in 1997 was billed as one of the first major research projects on Northern Ireland’s ethnic minorities and it found that “the relative size of all of them is increasing substantially”.
The study made a series of recommendations, including the need for clearer data to assess the needs of ethnic groups, but it also gauged their experience of violence.
Its survey found that 44% of individuals from minority groups experienced verbal abuse, while over half of Chinese people interviewed had suffered criminal damage to their property.
But at a time when much of society was optimistic about the potential of the emerging peace process, the report contained surprising views from within minority communities.
“The vast majority of respondents thought that things had changed in Northern Ireland since the paramilitary ceasefires of August 1994," it said.
“Half of those questioned felt that these ceasefires, and the consequent changes, will make things worse for their community.”
Police data recording hate crimes and less severe hate `incidents’, reveals that the trend of attacks continued to remain high throughout the last decade.
The figures for racist `incidents’ available from 1997-2012 shows the rising trend experienced over the last 15 years.
The sharp increase around 2004 is attributed to a change in how data was gathered, but could also signal a rise in cases as a result of the racist leafleting campaign in south Belfast during that period.
The upward trajectory for racist `incidents’ is also apparent in the police figures provided for recorded racist `crime’ – but there is some evidence of a levelling out of the numbers of cases.
Nicem notes, however that South Belfast bucks the trend where reported crime with a racist motivation peaked in 2008/09 with 131 cases, before dropping to 89 in 2010/11, only to rise again to 102 cases in 2011/12.
Additional statistical evidence is released in the latest edition of the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report, which provides a detailed study of trends and developments in the peace process.
The document published by the Community Relations Council and written by Dr Paul Nolan notes “it is notoriously difficult to arrive at an accurate assessment of hate crime”.
It cites a 2012 report by the Home Office which cautioned that “research suggests that hate crime is hugely under-reported”, with victims fearful of reprisal attacks and doubtful of the ability of the authorities to take effective action.
Hate crime covers a range of offences in the UK including attacks with a racial motive, those targeting victims because of their sexual orientation, attacks on the disabled, transphobic and religious attacks. Northern Ireland includes a sixth category, sectarian hate crime, which involves not just a religious but also a political dimension.
Across the UK victims can now decide if a crime is to be recorded as a hate crime, with the police then responsible for registering the status, with evidence subsequently assessed by the Prosecution Service.
The Peace Monitoring report notes the power of high profile cases to shape opinion and raise concerns over hate crime.
But it adds that the “overall rates for hate crime have been diminishing over the past two years and in the past year there have been decreases within each of the six hate crime types”.
It details an overlap in hate crime – where for example attacks on the Polish community are recorded as racially motivated, even though police say at times the motive could be religious or sectarian.
The report records that the burning of Polish flags on loyalist bonfires in July 2012 “occurred in loyalist areas where part of the motivation for the attacks comes from the association of Polish people with Catholicism”.
Significantly, the report also asks if Northern Ireland has more hate crimes than other places.
It says the number of hate crimes in 2011-12 was 1,567, representing 3.3% of the total for England and Wales (47,748).
When measured against population size, Northern Ireland hate crime is above the average.
The proportion of crimes in England and Wales classed as hate crimes is 1.1%, but in Northern Ireland the proportion is higher at 1.4%.
But the report finds: “If however sectarianism is excluded, so that the measurement is in line with that used across the UK – only counting crimes linked to race, sexual orientation or disability – then the percentage in Northern Ireland is much lower: only 0.6% of all crimes in the region are in these categories.”
On the prosecution of hate crime, the Peace Monitoring report cites four critical reviews, including two from the Criminal Justice Inspectorate, a publication by the Institute for Conflict Research and a study commissioned by Nicem.
While the Criminal Justice (No 2) Order of 2004 allowed for tougher sentences where hate crimes were identified, figures from 2010 found only 13 cases where prosecutors brought the court’s attention to the “aggravated by hostility” motivation, and 11 cases where a judge had imposed an enhanced sentence.
Later figures for 2007-12 matched the trend identified for 2004-10, when “from the 13,655 incidents and 9,355 crimes reported to the PSNI only 12 successful prosecutions were reported for crimes aggravated by a hate factor”.
But the Monitoring Report says further examination and better data are required to track cases from their being reported as hate crimes by victims, to their passing through the various stages of the justice system.
It notes that of the 728 hate incidents dealt with in 2011, only 15% were treated as being `aggravated by hostility’ by the time they reached court.
But nevertheless in 86% of the cases a prosecution went ahead – but “without any hate motivation ascribed”.
The report highlights the inability of the justice system to currently provide a clear picture of the management of hate crime and says a better system must be established to determine where blockages occur.
But it adds: “In the meantime, the three reports mentioned above suggest that it is the criminal justice system itself which is in the dock.”
Nicem responds to the overview of hate crime figures, and the comparison with rates in Britain, by noting that the number of incidents reported to police does not represent the full picture.
Patrick Yu says: "I think the bigger point is that it is only the very small percentage of people who feel confident enough to report hate crime.
“So it doesn’t reflect the reality of the situation.
“I think all agencies agree that race hate crime, in particular the reporting of the crime, is only the tip of the iceberg."
He also says the tackling of racism has to be championed by government.THE ROLE OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
The Stormont administration led by the DUP and Sinn Féin has been criticised, including by Prime Minister David Cameron, for its failure to produce a blueprint for tackling sectarianism.
But Nicem notes that a strategy to combat racism is also gummed-up in the Stormont works, and has been for years.
The Racial Equality Strategy was stalled in 2007 when the Northern Ireland parties rejected the ‘Shared Future’ blueprint tabled by during a period of Direct Rule from London.
Stormont’s subsequent Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) Programme was heavily criticised by civic society and a replacement has yet to be agreed by the DUP and Sinn Féin.
Divisions between the two parties deepened as a result of the recent crisis over the restrictions placed on flying the Union flag at Belfast city hall and the outbreak of loyalist protests and violence.
In 2010 the Racial Equality Strategy was decoupled from the wider project to tackle sectarianism.
Stalled discussions involving a Racial Equality Panel recommenced in September 2012, and met again in December, with plans due for a further meeting in April.
But Nicem believes there is little evidence of it being prioritised by government.
In one of its many critiques, Nicem said: “The freezing of the Racial Equality Strategy and its accompanying departmental action plans has severely limited the realisation of rights of the black and minority ethnic communities in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life.”
In a recent query, Nicem also asked the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) to detail the current timetable for updating the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 to keep pace with advances in the law in Britain – a move which the Assembly agreed to review as far back as 2009.
The OFMDFM replied: “A potential programme of reform of our equality legislation is being considered within the Department. The Race Relations Order is part of this potential programme.
“We will also consult on possible legislative change as part of the consultation process on the new Racial Equality Strategy.”
The latest Census figures for Northern Ireland showed the Protestant community has dropped below 50% for the first time, sitting at 48% against the 45% of people from a Catholic background.
Northern Ireland no longer has a “majority community”.
Demographic trends suggest the gap between the traditional Orange and Green blocs is to narrow still further in the years ahead, meaning they are now effectively on a par.
The census revealed that 1.8% (32,400) of the Northern Ireland population belonged to minority ethnic groups in 2011, more than double the proportion in 2001 (0.8%).
Around 2% of the population is now made up of other European nationalities, with the largest proportion originally from Poland.
So how will Northern Ireland treat its ‘new minority’?THE FUTURE
Groups representing smaller communities in Northern Ireland have reached out to their neighbours, with joint campaigns, rallies, and shared cultural events to consolidate the predominantly positive relationships and help dismantle divisions where they exist.
Good work is being done to celebrate difference and build relationships.
But lobby groups believe political leaders must forge ahead to combat persistent prejudice.
In a report compiled by Nicem, its document opens with a quote from black civil rights champion, Martin Luther King: “Legislation cannot change hearts and minds, but it can stop the heartless.”
Fifteen years after the equality pledges made in the Good Friday Agreement, Patrick Yu says the future direction of the Stormont administration should be clear.
“Ethnic communities feel threatened at times of political upheaval,” he says.
“When larger groups in society become frustrated, it is not uncommon for them to look at ethnic minorities as an easy target.
“We want greater action.
“The government should protect ethnic minorities, in terms of the law, and policy.” | <urn:uuid:363d1bba-0ce2-4a16-a54b-af9449c4eaa5> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://thedetail.tv/articles/racism-the-good-friday-agreement-and-northern-ireland-s-new-minority | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107889173.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20201025125131-20201025155131-00647.warc.gz | en | 0.966091 | 4,637 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Francesco Corbetta (c. 1615 - 1681, in French also Francisque Corbette) was an Italian guitar virtuoso, teacher and composer. He worked at the royal court of Louis XIV in Paris and then left for London. He is considered to have been one of the greatest virtuosos of the Baroque guitar.
Corbetta published five surviving books of music for the five-course guitar. His first book includes mostly strummed dance music, while the later books exhibit a great mastery over the combination of strummed and plucked textures. Corbetta's earlier compositions follow the Italian tradition, but his last two publications are firmly in the French style. These publications also included important information for continuo playing on the guitar.
Corbetta was also influential as a teacher. His students included such successful guitarists as Robert de Visée, Giovanni Battista Granata, and Remy Médard, as well as Queen Anne of Great Britain, and King Louis XIV of France.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply. | <urn:uuid:a0470d5b-a8e8-430a-8760-780105a7bf96> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.guitarhoo.com/artist/Francesco+Corbetta | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122720.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00605-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963467 | 240 | 2.578125 | 3 |
For horizontal directional drilling, the first “D” in the acronym HDD is the key to the success of this versatile trenchless technology — without the directional capability, HDD could never have achieved the impact in utility construction that it has over the last 20-plus years.
Drilling equipment has advanced rapidly since the first compact HDD models developed specifically for utility work became commercially available in the late 1980s. But perhaps no component of the HDD system has changed as dramatically as the equipment to track a drill unit’s drill head and provide information to adjust the path of the pilot hole as it is drilled.
From walkover electronics to wireline and now gyro steering technology, HDD installations can be more accurate and capable of longer distances and greater depths to install larger diameter product.
Today’s walkover systems are more accurate than earlier models, and increased depth capabilities of newer products allows walkovers to be used instead of wireline systems for some installations.
Depending on job requirements, most utility projects with small- and medium-size drilling equipment (generally those with 5,000 to 90,000 pounds of pullback) use the basic steering technology of early drill units: the orientation of a slant-face drill head is monitored by a crew member with a hand-held, walkover receiver that provides information about the location and orientation of the drill head, and that information is used to make steering corrections.
The first tracking receivers were modified locators that provided audible signals when the face of the drilling head was in the 12 o’clock position or deviated from 12 o’clock. Crew members often marked each length of drill string to visually indicate when the face was at 12 o’clock.
“The accuracy of today’s walkover tracker equipment is superior to previous units,” said Mike Dvorak, electronics account manager at Ditch Witch. “Equipment improvements have made various applications easier because of improved accuracy, offset tracking and drill through abilities.”
Siggi Finnsson, Directional Control Inc. (DCI) sales and marketing manager, said the ease of use of today’s walkover equipment helps contractors train people faster.
“A focus for walkover systems is to improve productivity,” said Finnsson. “More operating frequencies have also been introduced to help deal with interference.”
Manufacturers continue to make improvements to enable walkover models to effectively make on-grade installations.
“Locating systems capable of gravity-flow installations have been around since the late 90s, and the increase in the number of gravity sewer installations using HDD can be attributed to more accurate locating systems,” said Finnsson.
Ditch Witch’s Dvorak said on-grade installations are the most recent of new applications for directional drilling.
“New and improved technology offers more precision and accuracy that is needed for on-grade drilling,” he added.
When walkover guidance systems are not practical or job conditions make their use impossible, wireline steering tools are the most widely used alternative. Wireline systems often require the use of a Tensor TruTracker grid system to eliminate or reduce the effects of magnetic interference.
Steve Cornwall, vice president of Sharewell HDD sales and services, said the most important advance for the magnetic guidance wireline steering tool has been the improvement of the software used with wireline systems.
“This has lead to the use of ‘micro-coil’ and other faster, more accurate capabilities,” Cornwall explained. “A micro-coil is a compact circle of surface wire placed in an uncongested area, like a grassy median on a busy interstate highway. This allows the operator the ability to ‘true-track’ without laying wire across the road.”
Cornwall said that probably the best example of steering accuracy for HDD is an intersect project in which two pilot bores meet and intersect.
“This type of project,” he said, “is attainable with several different types of steering systems and has expanded the ability of contractors to successfully complete jobs that previously were thought to be too difficult to achieve.”
Every locating system — whether walkover, wireline or gyro — has its applications and limitations. The challenge of contractors and suppliers is to match the right system to the project in order to maximize success.
Danny Crumpton, Inrock’s technical sales guidance manager, observes there has been an increase in applications where using surface coils are not possible, usually on deep water crossings where environmental concerns are an issue. New developments eliminate the need for wire grids on the surface.
“The beacon tracking system (BTS) allows engineers to reach out by 300 feet past the edge of where the coils would have to be stopped, giving greater range and tracking capabilities,” said Crumpton. “Equipment can be placed in a specific location and surrounding areas are not disturbed. It is much quicker to setup and is environmentally friendly.”
John English, president of Horizontal Technology Inc., believes misinformation about available steering tools is a by-product of the rapid growth of the HDD industry.
“In order to compare steering systems and select the right one for a job, it is necessary to ask questions,” he said. “Any magnetic steering system is comprised of four components: the steering tool, guidance software, secondary verification system and the guidance technician, who will set up and operate the first three.”
Owners and contractors must select the equipment best suited for each project.
English said the growth of HDD is directly related to the development of a secondary (tracking) verification system.
“The advent of surface tracking allowed HDD to move into more congested areas where the vast majority of construction takes place,” said English. “This is accomplished by creating a precise magnetic field on the surface and using the algorithms of the steering software to locate the steering tool’s position below the artificial magnetic field. The more precise the surface set up and the higher the intensity of the field the more accurate the readings. The most accurate system requires the use of a DC current through a surface wire precisely placed along each side of the drill path. Whichever steering tool or software system is used, the DC surface tracking system is the most flexible and accurate.”
English emphasized that perhaps the most important component of a magnetic steering tool system is its operator.
“There is no alternative for training and experience,” he said.
Jim Cloud Jr., president of Slimdril International, said gyroscopic guidance tool systems (GST) are an option to magnetometer wireline systems. GST systems use highly-accurate gyroscopic sensors to establish measurements relative to the earth’s true north and are not affected by natural or man-made magnetic anomalies,
“Gyro systems have been in use for many years, but most applications have been to locate existing pipelines,” said Cloud. “Slimdril introduced the HDD gyro steering tool to the United States and currently is the only company in the industry offering this technology.”
Cloud said an important benefit of GST steering equipment is the stability of sensors during drilling and rotating, providing highly-accurate (plus or minus 0.04 degrees) measurements relative to the earth’s true north and are unaffected by magnetic anomalies.
“I believe,” said Cloud, “we will see HDD projects that were not feasible or possible prior to recent steering tool advances.”
What Suppliers Say About Their Products, Services
Digital Control Inc., Siggi Finnsson, sales and marketing manager: DCI offers a range of products, with the basic model being a walkover tracking model up to the top-of-the line model which includes wireline and magnetic guidance capabilities. All systems have walkover capabilities. Ease of use and increased productivity has been a particular focus for DCI as well as more locating frequencies and more advanced locating methods such as real time locating and target steering.
DCI has offered gravity-flow installation since the late nineties and this is a standard capability for all but the most basic systems. We anticipate there to be an increase in gravity-flow installations and have made that capability inherent to most DCI systems.
DCI’s entire product line consists of three-dimensional field view locating systems, commonly referred to as “ball in the box” locating in the industry. This is the closest thing available to seeing the drill head moving through the ground. The locating systems are intuitive and easy to operate with ions or menus. They feature real-time locating which improves productivity and makes for more accurate bores. Newer systems have a common user interface and design language so that a transition from one system to another requires very little adaptation. Transmitters are available in different frequencies and depth ranges which should meet most of the requirements of today’s typical HDD bores.
DCI continues to develop ancillary technologies such as the TensiTrak Pullback and Pressure Monitoring System which is used to monitor product pull force and annular drilling fluid pressure.
Ditch Witch, Mike Dvorak, electronics account manager: The 8500 tracking system has features that are not available on other walkover systems. The ability to locate the beacon without finding the front and rear “ghost” signals is a key to quick and accurate locates. Another key feature is the 8500’s “drill through” mode that allows the driller to drill not only to the tracker, but also beyond the tracker. This feature is very important when crossing busy streets and highways, and when there are obstacles in the bore path. The offset locating feature also can be used to track the beacon when obstacles are in the bore path.
The accuracy of the tracking electronics is key to making grade bores. The Ditch Witch 8500TK is superior in its accuracy for use in on-grade installations. In addition, Ditch Witch manufactures downhole tools that are specifically designed for on-grade applications.
Horizontal Technology Inc., John English, president: We are a global horizontal directional drilling (HDD) company and supplier of a comprehensive range of HDD machines, drilling tools and equipment. We also provide HDD guidance services, HDD inspection and monitoring services, magnetic steering tools, wireless steering tools, down-hole pressure tools, high torque motors, tri-cone drill bits, rock reamers, PDC rock reamers, hole openers, PDC hole openers, under reamers, split bit reamers, drill pipe, non-magnetic collars, jetting assemblies and pipe rollers.
“What sets us apart,” said English, “is that we are not promoting one system over another. Our goal is to provide the best steering service available because that is what is most beneficial to the HDD industry. There is no alternative for training and experience, and we consider our professional guidance technicians the industry’s best.”
Inrock, Danny Crumpton, technical sales guidance manager: Inrock is recognized as a global leader in providing HDD performance drilling tools, equipment and services solely dedicated to the development of dynamic HDD. Inrock is a pioneer in HDD rock-drilling projects.
The ParaTrack 2 Steering System has many advantages, underground track, intersect technology, single wire and the ability to lay coil configurations out that previously were unthinkable. Operating cost is reduced because there is no need for welding machines and personnel. It also allows for deeper depths with better accuracy.
ParaTrack 2 allows the field engineer to lay surface coils out that are offset from the bore path, and having a return leg of the coil far away. Single-wire applications in specific job sites allow the engineer to lay out a coil quickly. The ParaTrack 2 system has successfully tracked bores to depths greater than 1,000 feet.
Sharewell, Steve Cornwall, vice president HDD sales and services: The cold truth about MGS wireline steering tools is they all have the same accuracy. What sets Sharewell apart from others is our personnel in the field operating steering systems for our customers. Experience is the key to any successful job, and we have some of the most experienced field people in the industry.
As HDD projects become more complicated and difficult, we will find ways to overcome the limitations of any steering system. Challenging projects force us to expand our abilities to meet the needs of our clients.
SlimDril International Inc., Jim Cloud, president: SlimDril offers both magnetic steering tools with magnetic tracking and the Drillguide gyro steering tool (GST).
At this time Slimdril International is the only company in the industry offering gyro steering tools. Drillguide GST sensors provide nearly continuous communication from downhole to the surface The GST accurately measures the azimuth and inclination which provides the drilling crew a real-time survey of the drilling progress and facilitates corrective steering actions when needed.
Drillguide software incorporates a bore planning component that works off of established GPS coordinates to enable the drilling crew to more precisely follow the designed bore-hole curvatures, especially important in congested rights-of-way and other sensitive locations where other technologies have difficulty achieving the required accuracy. SlimDril will continue to advance this technology, and make it the most accurate and feasible tool in the industry.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Digital Control Inc., (800) 288-3610, www.digital-control.com
Ditch Witch, (800) 654-6481, www.ditchwitch.com
Horizontal Technologies, (713) 774-5594, www.horizontaltech.com
Inrock, (713) 690-5600, www.inrock.com
Sharewell, (800) 637-6461 or (713) 983-9818, www.sharewell.com
SlimDril International, (281) 391-5800, www.slimdril.com | <urn:uuid:bec04d7e-dd07-45d8-b66a-ea9f422eb2fc> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://ucononline.com/2010/09/08/rigonomics-steering-tools-continue-to-lead-hdd-revolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818689975.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170924100541-20170924120541-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.933579 | 2,911 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Le Figaro, a French daily newspaper, recently carried an article on China’s increasing influence over the European electric power supply network. The article quoted from the World Energy Markets Observatory (WEMO) report of 2018, that Capgemini, a French consulting firm headquartered in Paris, had published. China, according to the report, is “the world’s second largest consumer of energy, the leading emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), a significant energy equipment supplier, and a key player in critical resources. It has also become an important investor in electric companies.”
The report pointed out that a key strategy of Chinese expansion in Europe is to increase its control or influence over the continent’s electric power supply network. Chinese investment has already gained access to the electric sectors of Portugal, Italy, Greece, Malta, and the United Kingdom. It was due to the opposition of the German government that China did not have success in Germany. For energy experts, the control of the power supply network is of great strategic importance. Moreover, China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels, and is in a leading position in the field of wind energy. The Chinese government is currently investing in large-scale research and development of electricity storage and aims to export Chinese-made batteries to the world in the near future.
However, the problem is that in the process of producing the above-mentioned green energy products, Chinese companies will emit a large amount of greenhouse gases. In addition, China also exports a large number of its own thermal power plants. In addition, the Chinese government will obviously be unable to achieve its goal of CO2 reduction, which is the total coal-fired power generation of less than 1,100 gigawatts, by 2020.
Source: Radio France International, November 6, 2018 | <urn:uuid:f176ea09-e73e-498f-b361-5bdce1e1b82e> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | http://chinascope.org/archives/16672 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662525507.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220519042059-20220519072059-00729.warc.gz | en | 0.960942 | 387 | 2.734375 | 3 |
NC1178: Impacts of Crop Residue Removal for Biofuel on Soils
(Multistate Research Project)
NC1178: Impacts of Crop Residue Removal for Biofuel on Soils
Duration: 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2019
Statement of Issues and Justification
The growing importance of renewable energy, specifically as biofuels, is indicative of the insatiable energy demands of the globalizing and growing world economy but hidden in this is the high economic and environmental costs of fossil fuels. In his State-of-the-Union address on 23 Jan. 2007, President Bush enthusiastically proposed to cut U.S. gasoline consumption by up to 20% by 2017 through an increase in ethanol production to 35 billion gallons a year, or a fivefold increase over current ethanol production requirements. There are now 217 North American ethanol plants, with 87 % primarily sited in the Corn Belt of the Midwest. Most of the existing ethanol plants are corn grain-to-ethanol refineries. The long-term goal is to produce 60 billion gallons of ethanol per year to replace 30% of the ground transportation fuel demand of the U.S.
To meet these demands, the use of crop residues is being considered as a source of lignocellulosic feedstock for producing ethanol (Wilhelm et al., 2004), although it is not yet a routine practice (Johnson et al., 2004). However, in 2013, about 14 million gallons will be produced by up to four production plants across the USA (Schnefp and Yacobucci, 2013; EPA, 2013). The National Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) estimates that 16 billion gallons of cellulosic fuel or 44 % of renewable fuels will necessarily be required from cellulosic sources (Schnefp and Yacobucci, 2013). The production of these fuels will require more intensive use (intensification) of agroecosystems and agricultural lands.
One ton of corn stover or any other cellulosic biomass could theoretically produce 100 gallons of ethanol. An annual production of 60 billion gallons of ethanol from cellulosic biomass would require 600 million tons of biomass per year. The overall goal for ethanol production is to procure 1 billion tons of biomass for the U.S. (Somerville, 2006) and about 4 billion tons for the world. The current rate of residue production from all crops is about 500 million tons in the U.S. and about 4 billion tons in the world. Some analysts argue that 300 million tons of corn residue could be harvested for meeting the U.S. ethanol demands. Similar to the U.S., 34 straw-burning power plants were being built at the end of 2006 in rural areas in China with a capacity of producing 1.2 million kW of power. The straw-burning power industry is likely to grow in China and associated geographic regions. Of the 600 million tons of straw produced annually, China plans to use 300 million tons to produce energy. India, which produces about 440 million tons of crop residues annually, also has plans to build straw-burning power plants. When crop residue is removed from soil, there is increased potential for erosion, reduction in soil organic C (SOC) pools, and deterioration of soil properties, resulting in a subsequent decline in soil quality, reduction in crop yield, and decrease in local and regional water quality (Simpson et al., 2008).
Crosson (1984) estimated a monetary loss in the U.S. from soil erosion due to reduced cropland productivity to be 40 million dollars in a given year. In 2001, den Biggelaar et al. (2001) estimated the loss at $55.6 million. Others, Crosson (1986) and Pimentel et al. (1995), have estimated the loss to be over $100 million. The results vary depending on the erosion rates, climate, and crop prices for the years covered in the study. For many soils, continued erosion results in degraded and reduced topsoil thickness. Reduced crop yields occur as root restrictive layers, such as fragipans, subsoil horizons with a large amount of clay, or coarse sand become closer to the soil surface (Langdale et al., 1985).
Offsite damages to the environment caused by soil erosion and subsequent deposition of sediments in the U.S. are considerable (Pimentel, 1992). Deposition of eroded soil materials in surface water bodies such as reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and streams cause a decline in water quality, reduce environmental quality, and decrease the functional life expectancy of reservoirs. Eroded sediments often contain not only soil materials from the organic surface soil which are enriched in nutrients and C, but often include commercial and/or organic (animal waste) fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural pharmaceuticals (from animal waste).
Management practices such as residue removal affect soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Soil organic C is one of the critical indicators of development of soil physical, chemical, and biological properties (Blanco-Canqui et al., 2013). If management practices increase SOC, the physical, chemical, and biological properties are positively affected, and vice versa. Excessive removal of crop residues, particularly corn stover, can adversely affect SOC pools, soil quality and exacerbate the problem of soil erosion. Residue removal increases the susceptibility of the soil surface to crusting/increased surface sealing because of rainfall-induced consolidation and abrupt wetting and drying (Or and Ghezzehai, 2002). Residue mulch increases aggregation (Mochizuki et al., 2008), improves soil hydraulic properties (Strudley et al.2008) and intercepts raindrops responsible for crust-forming processes such as detachment of soil particles and dispersion of surface aggregates. Crusts are thin soil surface layers about 5 cm thick (USDA-NRCS, 1996), but they are denser and less permeable than the underlying soil layers. Because of their greater strength and low permeability, crusts can modify soil surface processes, restricting seedling emergence (Baumhardt et al., 2004), reducing water infiltration and aeration (Wells et al., 2003), and increasing surface runoff (Bajracharya and Lal, 1998) thus inducing a greater level of soil erosion with long-term detrimental effects on plant growth (Maiorana et al., 2001).
Some researchers have estimated that ranges of about 30% (Nelson, 2002), 40% (Kim and Dale, 2004), and 58% (Lindstrom et al., 1979) of the total corn stover production in the U.S. Corn Belt region may be available for biofuel production. These removals are, however, based mainly on the residue requirements to reduce soil erosion risks and not on the needs to maintain soil quality, crop productivity, or SOC pools. Allowable removal rates of corn stover based on the need to reduce soil erosion in the U.S. Corn Belt region are site-specific (Lindstrom et al., 1979; Nelson, 2002; Kim and Dale, 2004). Thus, the quantity of stover that must be retained on the soil to maintain soil quality and SOC storage or retention is also likely to depend on site-specific conditions such as tillage and cropping system (Kladivko, 1994), duration and intensity of management (Karlen et al., 1994), soil properties (Gupta et al., 1987), as well as agro-ecosystem and climate (Salinas-Garcia et al., 2001). Knowledge of the threshold levels of stover removal in relation to the numerous soil ecosystem services is urgently needed to design residue management options for biofuel production while maintaining soil and water quality as well as enhancing SOC pools and sustaining agricultural productivity.
While studies on the interacting effects of traditional tillage systems vs. residue management on soil properties are many (Larson et al., 1978; Lindstrom et al., 1979; Kladivko, 1994), changes in SOC dynamics resulting from differential corn stover removal are not well documented. The magnitude of the impacts of crop residue removal on SOC dynamics and related properties can be variable depending on soil textural characteristics, management, and climate (Karlen et al., 1994). Many of the soils of the North Central region possess silty surface textures which are naturally more susceptible to physical degradation and reduction in SOC pools. Decline in soil organic C concentration and deterioration of soil structural properties as a result of stover removal can be significant. Several studies in the Midwestern U.S. Corn Belt region including those from Iowa (Larson et al., 1972), Indiana (Barber, 1979), Minnesota (Allmaras et al., 2004; Wilts et al., 2004), Wisconsin (Karlen et al., 1994); and Ohio (Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2007) have shown that stover removal may reduce the SOC concentration. In other regions, reductions in soil organic C concentration due to stover removal may, however, be small or not significant (Hooker et al., 2005). The SOC concentration is also positively correlated with aggregate stability (McVay et al., 2006). Stover removal may then degrade soil physical properties and reduce SOC pool. In South Dakota, Hammerbeck et al. (2012) reported that stover removal reduced mean weight of diameter of both 0.84-2.0 mm water-stable aggregates and >19.2 mm dry aggregates from no-till corn-soybean rotation after 8 yr of management. The same study found that stover removal reduced concentration of soil organic matter and particulate organic matter in all aggregate size fractions.
An increase in stover removal rate may also increase soil temperature fluctuations (Sharratt, 2002), increase evaporation (Flerchinger et al., 2003), and decrease plant available water (Moebius-Clune et al., 2008), all of which are variables that can impact soil productivity from year to year. Stover removal impacts on crop yields, and therefore, soil productivity, can be inconsistent. Stover removal may (Wilhelm et al., 1986; Varvel et al., 2008) or may not (Karlen et al., 1994) reduce crop yields, depending on the management and site-specific conditions. Excessively wet and cold soils during the germination period under stover mulch may delay emergence and reduce crop yields in some soils (Swan et al., 1994). Furthermore, stover removal may not affect corn yield in fertile and flat soils (Karlen et al., 1994), particularly in the short term, but it may rapidly reduce corn yield in sloping and erosion-prone soils. In Ohio, removal rates of 50 and 75% resulted in a 1.95 Mg ha-1 decrease in grain yield, and 100% removal decreased yield by 3.32 Mg ha-1 on a silt loam with 10% slope, but differences in grain yield due to stover removal were not significant in flat clayey and silt loam soils (Blanco-Canqui and Lal, 2007). In eastern Nebraska, averaged across four years, each Mg ha-1 of stover removed reduced grain yield by 0.1 Mg ha-1 and stover yield by 0.30 Mg ha-1 (Wilhelm et al., 1986). Another study in eastern Nebraska found that, averaged across five years, 51% stover removal consistently reduced grain and stover yield (Varvel et al., 2008). The above studies were conducted under rainfed conditions. Published data on stover removal impacts on grain and stover yield for irrigated conditions are practically unavailable. Furthermore, the cited studies illustrate the range in effects of residue removal that can occur in the North Central Region of the U.S.
Blanco (2013) published a recent review article, examining options for replenishment of SOC that will be lost from soils following crop residue harvest. The possibilities reviewed in this paper were the addition of cover crops to no-tillage (single or multiple species), addition of animal manures or compost, the return of bioenergy byproducts such as biochar to the soil, and finally, the addition of perennial bioenergy crops to the landscape. Note that there are very few studies that currently examine the removal of residue plus the intensification of the cropping system through these additional inputs, but rather, these are practices with a long and known history of increasing SOC pools. The predicted rapid expansion of the demand for crop residues for bioenergy will create a market, and thus more incentive to study such intensified systems.
Previous work by members of NC-1017 and NC-1178 has demonstrated the importance of storing SOC (through increasing organic matter) for improving soil quality, including soil physical properties such as improved water holding capacity (Lal, 1999). However, a strong connection between soil erosion and the global C balance has not been well established. There is also a need for developing sound methodology for obtaining a quantitative estimate of the actual distribution of soil C on various eroded and non-eroded landscapes in the Midwest. Also, there is a need to examine the alternative of intensified agroecosystems as a source for feedstock. It was recognized during the Kyoto Protocol that net emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and CH4 could be decreased by either reducing emissions or by increasing the rate of C sequestration or retention in soils. Agricultural soils are one of the largest reservoirs of C, and thus have a great potential to mitigate the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere (FAO, 2001). Evaluation of the C pool in soils is difficult because of its heterogeneity in time and space (FAO, 2001). The global loss of C because of erosion is estimated to be in the range of 150 to 1500 million tons per year (Lal, 1995; Gregorich et al., 1998; Lal, 2003) but the processes are not well understood. Erosion is a selective process involving detachment and transport of the light soil fraction consisting of SOC and clay (Sharpley, 1985). The fate of eroded soil particles is complex depending on many parameters including soil properties, landscape elements and properties, drainage net and soil management. Many of the soil particles eroded are moved down slope and may remain in the same field or watershed for a considerable length of time. However, this movement results in increased spatial variability of soil properties across the landscape, especially soil organic matter and those elements of environmental concern that are associated with it - carbon and nitrogen (Schumacher et al., 1999).
This proposal outlines a project designed to help better understand changes in soil quality including soil degradation resulting from crop residue removal and the impact of intensified agroecosystems on soil health and soil carbon dynamics for biofuel production and animal production systems. It will also provide needed data on the changes in the soil C reservoir related to intensive land use and residue removal for some of the major soils in the North Central region. This study will contribute to our understanding of soil-landscape processes with the potential to provide data that will contribute to improved management of our soil and water resources. We view this approach as a natural progression related to the past research efforts of NC-174, NC-1017, and NC-1178.
Knowledge gained from the proposed research will contribute to a more quantitative understanding of the effects of intensified agroecosystem management (crop residue removal) on global C balance; erosional processes; the amounts and landscape distribution of C and organic matter; and changes in soil quality. The proposed regional research project will provide information that can be used to enable sustainable management of natural resources in different ecosystems, over the varying climates and soil landscapes that occur in the participating states. The findings from this project can provide baseline information on soil sustainability impacted by possible climate change such as increased intense rainfall events, decreased total precipitation, and increased temperatures.
Related, Current and Previous Work
Society demands that current agricultural systems to be environmentally sound. This vision may be realized through system diversification and intensification to mitigate negative impacts on environmental quality and enhance agroecological services. Modern agriculture promotes specialization in the form of a monoculture row cropping system for simplification of planting, management and harvesting. However, this traditional agriculture system is increasingly facing environmental challenges giving the climate change and the extreme cycles of dry and wet conditions. Therefore, a new shift in current agriculture systems is imperative to reduce stress on soil and ecological functions. Studies of agroecosystems over the past several decades documented the negative ecological and environmental impacts of high intensity monoculture agriculture (Dore et al, 2011). One of the approaches to mitigate ecological negative impact is ecological intensification and diversification of agroecosystem. Ecological intensification has generally considered to be based on the use of biological regulation to manage agroecosystem (Dore et al., 2011). Diverse multispecies agroecosystems have been proposed as viable alternatives to low diversity monoculture systems to sustain agricultural productivity into the future (Kirschenmann, 2007). Like other natural and semi artificial ecosystems, agroecosystems can provide services, such as soil C sequestration or retention and other physical and biological benefits. The intensification of agroecosystem provides these services, which are not always guaranteed through traditional agricultural systems. The intensification and diversification of agroecosystem by introducing perennial crops and or cover crops for example relative to annual crops that offer a low-input, less polluting, and more efficient alternative to annual monocultures for enhancing ecological services and sustaining system productivity for multiple added value products such feedstock for bioenergy production (Tilman et al., 2006). Perennial polycultures also produce more ground cover to reduce soil erosion (Pimentel et al., 1987); minimize nutrient leaching (Dinnes et al., 2002) and sequester more carbon in soils (Follett et al., 2012; Freibauer et al., 2004). It has been argued that the mission of multi-objective agriculture could be best achieved by using biological regulators mechanisms at different levels, such as, crop management, cropping system design, landscape layout, and management inputs (Matson et al., 1997; Mediene et al., 2011).
The current trend in providing feedstock for bioenergy is focusing on the use of crop residue (i.e., corn residue) for cellulosic ethanol production. This approach can have significant short and long-term environmental impacts and degradation of soil health and water quality. Offsite damages to the environment caused by soil erosion and subsequent deposition of sediments in the U.S. are considerable (Pimentel, 1992). Deposition of eroded soil materials in surface water bodies such as reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and streams caused a decline in water quality, reduced environmental quality, and decreased the functional life expectancy of reservoirs. Eroded sediments often contain not only soil materials from the organic surface soil which are enriched in nutrients and C, but often include commercial and/or organic (animal waste) fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural pharmaceuticals (from animal waste). To mitigate such potential damages new agroecosystem that include perennials and cover crops need to be considered to provide multiple ecoservices that include protection of soil, water quality, providing feedstock sources, and protection of wild life habitat. In intensified agroecosystem, one of the main benefits is nutrient use efficiency and cycling by reducing for example nitrogen loss due to access water leaching or greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the carbon footprints from fossil fuel input (Galloway et al., 2008; Spiertz, 2010). The oversimplification of current agriculture cropping systems and the emphasis on mono-annual cropping system coupled by intensive tillage and other synthetic fossil fuel based input led to ignoring of the biological nature of plant-soil relationship and the potential negative impacts on soil and environmental quality. To restore the role of biological regulator, the agroecology has emerged in reaction to such specialization by placing biological component back in the system (Altieri, 1989). The natural ecosystem can provide an excellent model for the development and implementation of agroecosystem to enhance and maximize soil and environmental services to sustain soil health, increases soil C sequestration or retention, and reduce greenhouse gases emissions (Altieri, 202; Vandemeer, 2003). The concept is based on the assumption that natural system is more adaptable to the changes and constraints of regional conditions. The incorporation of certain aspects of natural system into agroecosystem would eventually improve and enhance services of agroecosystems that include productivity stability and other ecological functions such as biodiversity, SOC pools, soil physical properties, etc. (Fukai, 1993).
Past and future NC-1178/NC-1017/NC-TEMP-1017/NC-174/NCT-199 research efforts are summarized in Table 1 (see attached). The sequence represents a natural progression from studying soil productivity-erosion relationships to determining C distributions, dynamics and sequestration, and changing management in eroded landscapes.
During the first 5-year phase of the NC-174 project (1983-1988) we identified and documented the effects of erosion on soil properties and corn or small grain yield for research sites located in 11 states (Table 1). Five years of data were collected to better document the effects of weather on the interaction between soil properties and corn yield in the north central United States. First phase achievements included 13 refereed journal articles and chapters in books. Once the database was enlarged, emphasis was placed on selection of management and restoration alternatives at either the initial or a new research site (Table 1, phase 2). The NTRM (Nitrogen, Tillage, Residue and Management) and EPIC (Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator) models were used in conjunction with the existing data base collected during the initial phase of the NC-174 project to identify factors limiting crop productivity of each soil series investigated. The models were used to evaluate long-term effect of management and restoration alternatives prior to field testing.
The second phase (Table 1) of the project (1988-1993) was to field test the practices selected to maintain or enhance current productivity and to determine the extent to which productivity of eroded soils can be restored. Phase 2 outputs included 25 journal articles and chapters in books.
The third phase (Table 1) of the project (1993-1998) determined threshold soil property values for the restoration of productivity and quality of eroded soils to initial levels. Third phase accomplishments included 74 refereed journal articles and chapters in books.
During the fourth phase (Table 1) of the project, from 1998 to 2003, we examined the erosional and landscape impacts on soil processes and properties as well as assessed the management effects on eroded soil productivity and the quality of soil, air, and water resources. Achievements during phase 4 of the project included 70 refereed journal articles and chapters in books.
In the fifth phase (2004-2009) (Table 1) the main focus was on C distribution and sequestration within the landscape. This focus was integrated with the previous phase by examining the impact of management and erosion on C distribution within the landscape and related to soil quality and productivity. Fifth phase achievements included 84 refereed journal articles and chapters in books. The fifth phase included representation external to the North Central region including participants from Guam and Manitoba.
The sixth phase (2009-2014) (Table 1) builds on previous achievements by examining the role of crop residue removal on factors affecting crop productivity and C sequestration or retention. The findings from these studies are being linked to existing studies that relate management and erosion on C distribution within the landscape to soil properties associated with soil quality and productivity. At this time, sixth phase achievements include 26 refereed journal articles and book chapters.
The seventh phase (this phase, 2014-2019) will build on work and achievements from the sixth phase but will also include the impacts of utilizing cover crops and perennial crops in intensifying land use in agronomic systems that are being included in biofuels production. This work will evaluate the impacts of continuous biomass removal on soil C distribution and soil properties that impact land management and soil erosion on landscapes common to the region.
There is currently only one multistate project that is related to our proposed project. This project is NCERA-059 (Soil Organic Matter: Formation, Function and Management).
NCERA-059 is an unfunded committee that does not coordinate joint research across participants. The objectives of NCERA-059 are broad and diverse. These include: 1) Coordinating research collaborations and information exchange on the biochemistry, biological transformations, and physical/chemical fractions of soil organic matter; 2) Identifying and evaluating indicators that can be used to assess soils as a resource for ecosystems services; 3) Conducting outreach activities to scientists in relate disciplines and practitioners to promote the ecological management of soils, including practices that repair or sustain functionally important SOM fractions in both managed and undisturbed systems; 4) Co-sponsoring symposia at national and international meetings; and 5) Interacting with other regional committees. NC-1178 currently has one individual who is also a member of NCERA-059. The two multistate committees have been in communication with each other and have jointly participated in combined meetings in the past.
Nationally, there are two projects that have some relationship to our proposed project. These are S-1048 (Assessment of the Carbon Sequestration Potential of Common Agricultural Systems on Benchmark Soils Across the Southern Region Climate Gradient) and SCC-083 (Quantifying Linkages Among Soil Health Organic Farming and Food). Both are located in the Southern Region.
S-1048 coordinates joint research across participants. Its main objective is to directly assess the soil C sequestration potential of common agricultural and natural ecosystems of varying ages on Benchmark soils across the southern climate gradient. Its sub-objectives include: 1) Evaluate the effects of land use, crop rotation, tillage practice, soil texture and ecosystem age/rotation duration on soil C concentration, content and sequestration and related soil physical and chemical properties; 2) Quantify and understand the physical and chemical processes that relate to and control soil C sequestration; and, 3) Investigate spatial variability issues associated with soil C content and sequestration.
SCC-083 is similar to NCERA-059 in that it is an unfunded committer that does not coordinate joint research across participants. Its objectives include: 1) Coordinate activities and information exchange among researchers involved in active projects designed to quantify the impact of conservation tillage, cover crop, crop rotation, and soil amendment practices on soil health and food quality in organic farming systems; 2) provide opportunities for experienced and new organic farming researchers to establish collaborative projects designed to identify linkages between organic farming practices, soil health and food quality; 3) Conduct outreach activities that provide unbiased scientific information on the impact organic farming can have on soil health and food quality at local, regional, national and international scales; and, 4) Interact with the multi-state research coordinating and information exchange committee NCERA-059 and other regional committees dedicated to enhancing the soil resource base in organic farming systems.
Based on a current CRIS search, there are no other current research projects noted that are not related to one of the above regional efforts or to the current NC-1178 project. Results from past research in this area has been covered in the Related, Current and Previous Work section above.
Evaluate the impact of intensifying agroecosystems inputs (e.g., cover crops, perennial crops) on maintaining/enhancing soil organic C, soil quality, productivity and the environment.
Assess management effects (e.g., crop residue removal, tillage) on soil organic C, GHG emissions, soil erosion, and productivity.
MethodsObjective 1. Evaluate the impact of intensifying agroecosystems inputs (e.g., cover crops, perennials) on maintaining/enhancing soil organic C, soil quality, productivity and the environment. Most states will participate in Objective 1. It is recommended that each participating state, a minimum of two sites with contrasting agroecosystems, but similar soil-landscape relationships will be sampled. For most states the least disturbed ecosystem will be native grass or timber, depending on the location in the NC and other Multi-State regions. The other site will be an intensively managed agroecosystem used for continuous row crop or wheat production, and the integration of cover crops or perennial grasses within the study design. All treatments will be established, if possible, in a randomized completed block design, with a minimum of three plots (replications) per treatment. Initial (baseline) soil C data will be collected prior to treatment establishment (Olson, 2013). Three soil cores should be collected from center of each plot/treatment with a 120-cm long, 6-cm diameter solid steel sampling tube containing a 5.7-cm acetate contamination liner to a recommended minimum depth of 1 meter (sampling depth may depend on thickness of soil root zone and presence or absence of carbonates). In the laboratory, the cores will be cut into 5-cm, 15-cm, or 30-cm sections and core bulk density will be determined on each section. Each core section will constitute one soil sample. The soils will be air-dried and crushed to pass a 2-mm screen. The soil profiles will be described using standard procedures and sampled as described above. Particle-size analysis, pH, bulk density, total C, particulate organic matter (POM), and SIC (if carbonates are present) or SOC (if carbonates are not present), and moisture at time of sampling will be completed for each sample. A minimum of three cores will be collected per treatment to compensate for soil variability within the local study area. No less than two cores will be collected per treatment to account for variability. Preference will be given to section the cores by defined depth increments rather than by horizon because it is simpler to later compile the data to calculate C mass in the soil. Horizons are not the same thickness from plot to plot or treatment-to-treatment. The depth increments will not be less than 5-cm and will be selected based on the soils and treatments being studied. Ideally, the first one or two increments from the surface should be 5-cm because of the expected rapidly changing differences due to management practices. Deeper in the profile, the increments will be at least 15-cm. Addition of cover crops and perennials to intensified agroecosystems may have more rapidly change concentration of labile C fractions or POM than on total C, a detailed characterization of SOC components will be done. Analysis of coarse and fine POM will be performed on the whole soil and aggregates following the procedures outlined by Cambardella and Elliot (1992). All the cores collected from a given study will have the same depth increments for ease of comparing treatment effects. Approximately 10-15 g subsamples will be further ground to pass a 100 mesh screen for C analysis. The C content of soils will be adjusted for soil bulk density and reported as kg C /m3 or Mg C/ha/m if sampled to 1 meter and as kg C /m2/ root zone depth or Mg C/ha/root zone depth if carbonates are present. A procedure manual will be developed to accommodate regional soil (such as presence or absence of carbonates) and weather differences to insure as much uniformity in sampling procedure and laboratory analyses as possible. The impact of different agroecosystem treatments on several soil parameters and soil quality indicators such as, soil surface physical properties The impact of crop residue removal on soil surface physical properties including cone index, infiltration, air permeability, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and wet aggregate stability will be evaluated for the control. The surface air permeability will be measured with an air permeameter (Ball and Schjonning, 2002; Grover, 1955). Surface soil saturated hydraulic conductivity will be measured with a tension infiltrometer (Clothier and Scotter, 2002; Wooding, 1968; Lowery and Morrison, 2002). A minimum of three of each of these measurements of soil physical properties will be made in each plot. Data from physical property measurements will be analyzed with appropriate statistical method(s). In addition, other soil quality indicators such soil aggregate stability (Guzman and Al-Kaisi, 2011) and microbial biomass C (Horwath and Paul 1994) will be determined. It is recommended that soil samples for aggregate stability be collected for the top 15 cm using golf course cutter of 15 cm long and 15 cm in diameter (Guzman and Al-Kaisi, 2011). The soil will sieved through 8-mm sieve at filed moisture condition and left to air dry on brown paper. Aggregate fractions can be separated by wet sieving or dry sieving with set of sieves range between 4 to 0.053 mm in diameter. Soil C can be evaluated for each fraction size. Aggregate associated C must be based on sand-free fraction by determining sand content for each aggregate faction size. The soil samples for microbial biomass will be collected for the top 15 cm. Soil samples can be collected using hand probe. The soil samples should be kept in 4o C if they are not processed immediately in the same day. Soil samples must be processed the next day by removing the soil samples from the cold storage to the laboratory and sieve soil samples through 2 mm sieve. Microbial biomass C will be determined by using the procedure by Horwath and Paul (1994). Objective 2. Assess management effects (e.g., crop residue removal, tillage) on soil organic C pools, GHG emissions, soil erosion, and productivity. All states will participate in Objective 2. In each participating state, a minimum of two sites with contrasting ecosystems but similar soil-landscape relationships will be sampled. For most states the least disturbed ecosystem will be native grass or timber, depending on the location in the NC and other Multi-State regions. The other site will be an intensively managed agroecosystem used for continuous row crop or wheat production. Different rates of crop residue management, to be implemented on replicated plots, will include selected rates of removal and addition of crop residue from the previous year. The percentage of stover mulch cover in each plot will be estimated using the line transect or photograph method or equivalent methods (Sloneker and Moldenhauer, 1977; Lowery et al, 1984). Soil sampling and soil analytical procedures used for Objective 1 will also be used for this objective. Greenhouse gas (GHG-CO2, N2O and CH4) emissions rates will be measured following sampling protocol of GRACEnet Chamber-based Trace Gas Flux Measurement (Parkin and Venterea, 2010). Two PVC rings (30 cm diameter and 10 cm tall) will be installed in each plot to a depth of approximately 6 cm. In each plot one ring will be placed directly in the plant row. The other ring will be placed between plant rows. Flux measurements will be performed by placing vented chambers (30 cm diameter and 10 cm tall) on the PVC rings and collecting gas samples 0, 30, and 60 min following chamber deployment. At each time point chamber headspace gas samples (10 mL) will be collected with polypropylene syringes and immediately injected into evacuated glass vials (6 mL) fit with butyl rubber stoppers. GHG concentrations in samples will be determined with a gas chromatography (GC) instrument.
Measurement of Progress and Results
- Enhanced understanding of soil-landscape processes thus contributing to improved management of soil and water resources.
- Documentation of changes in the soil C pool and surface soil physical properties related to biomass/feedstocks management for selected major soils in the NC and other participating regions.
- Identification of most sensitive SOC pool fractions that influenced by soil and biomass management practices.
- Contributions of information for use in decision aides designed for evaluation of biofuel production systems applied to marginal lands.
- Analysis of the effects of landscape positions on soil erosion, SOC distribution, and soil physical properties.
- Scientific publications, guidebooks, and fact sheets that address the specific benefits of crop residue management practices on soil and crop productivity as well as environmental quality.
- Organization of workshops and meetings designed to extend information to land managers and policy makers.
Outcomes or Projected Impacts
- Reduced soil degradation in previously eroded landscapes. Information generated in this project will provide an analysis of the interaction of crop residue management impacts on soil organic C and soil surface properties critical to sustained biofuel and crop production applicable to a wide geographic region. We will have a better understanding of changes in surface soil properties resulting from intensive cropping and residue removal for biofuel production on soil quality among selected agroecosystems.
- An increase in scientific knowledge concerning soil-landscape processes. Knowledge generated in this project will be useful for documenting economic and environmental benefits for adoption of conservation based biofuel production systems that enhance soil organic C and soil surface properties that sustain crop productivity in eroded landscapes. This information will foster improved management of our resources and enhanced environmental quality.
- Biofuel and conservation policies and management practices based on science based information. Information generated from this project will provide information based on regional coordinated experiments that can be used by policy makers and land managers to make informed decisions about policies and production practices that apply to erodible landscapes.
Milestones(2014): Site selection/treatment modifications at existing sites
(2016): Mid-term Review
(2018): Completion of sample and laboratory analyses
(2018): Workshops and meetings; Begin posting of findings on project website and state agricultural experiment station and extension service web sites.
(2019): Project Completion
Projected ParticipationView Appendix E: Participation
Results will be presented in refereed publications and in posters and symposia at National Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. We will also provide the information to collaborating agencies such as the NRCS and various federal, state, and local agencies. Findings will be posted on websites devoted to the transfer of information to the general public including University websites and our project website. Additionally, committee members will extend this information at workshops, local field days, field tours, and through preparation of fact sheets. The Committee will also organize a symposium on residue removal impacts on soil quality at either the SSSA or SWCS annual meetings in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The Regional Technical Committee will follow the operational procedures listed in the State Agricultural Experiment Directors, CSREES and ESCOP document entitled "Guidelines for Multistate Research Activities" revised and dated April 2002. The voting membership of the Regional Technical Committee includes one representative from each cooperating agricultural experiment station or institution appointed by the director and a representative of each cooperating USDA-ARS research unit or location. The administrative advisor and the CSRS representative are non-voting members. All voting members of the Technical Committee are eligible for office. The offices of the Regional Technical Committee include the Chair, the Vice-Chair and the Secretary. The chair, secretary, and secretary-elect will be elected by committee membership and serve for one year. The secretary will assume the chair position upon the completion of the term of the chair. The secretary-elect will assume the secretarys position when the vice chair assumes the chairs position and then the chairs position. The annual meetings will be hosted by the chair at his/her location or at a location determined by the committee membership.
The duties of the Technical Committee are to coordinate work activities related to the project. The Chair, in accord with the Administrative Advisor, will notify the Technical Committee of the time and place of the meeting will prepare the agenda and preside at meetings of the Technical Committee and Executive Committee. He or she is responsible for preparing the annual progress report and coordinating the preparation of regional reports. The Vice-Chair assists the Chair in all functions and the Secretary records the minutes and performs other duties assigned by the Technical Committee or Administrative Advisor. The Chair appoints subcommittees as needed. Annual meetings will be held by the Technical Committee, as authorized by the Administrative Advisor, for the purpose of conducting business related to the project.
One of the tasks of the Committee is to seek external funding for strengthening research and teaching components. The Committee members will prepare and submit grant proposals for seeking funding support from several sources including USDA(NRI), USEPA, and industry. The focus of the grant proposal(s) will be conducting research on the impact of harvesting crop residues on: (1) mass balance of C,N and water, (2) structural properties including crusting and
surface sealing,(3) gaseous emissions including C dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, (4) soil erodibility and erosion.
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Wooding, R.A. 1968. Steady infiltration from a shallow circular pond. Water Resour. | <urn:uuid:d706a052-2946-416b-a5ae-935242448731> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://www.nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/16096 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607704.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170523221821-20170524001821-00105.warc.gz | en | 0.874032 | 13,360 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Chapter 9 Assessment
Economic Growth in Western Canada
The Canadian government embarked on six major initiatives to stimulate growth in Western Canada throughout the late 1800s.
Your task is to complete a chart that shows the six major initiatives of the Canadian government.
Explain the government’s purpose for each of these initiatives.
- Download the Economic Growth Chart.
Please save your work to a file on your desktop so that you have a copy to refer back to.
- Click on one of the links provided to download the document.
- You will then be able to view the Economic Growth Chart worksheet.
- surveyors in the 1870s
- establishment of the North West Mounted Police
- National Policy: Transportation
- National Policy: Immigration
- National Policy: Economy
- Identify which initiative you think had the most significant effect on the development of growth in Canada’s West. Explain one reason to support your choice.
- Identify which group was most harmed by the government initiatives. Explain one reason to support your choice.
In your final product, be sure you have
described the government’s purpose for each of the initiatives in the chart
identified which initiative was most significant to the development of West Canada and provided a reason for your choice
- identified which group was most harmed by the government initiatives and provided a reason for your choice | <urn:uuid:3fa9589c-d420-47d9-8822-9f5b3d1f6bc9> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://moodlehub.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=52491 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510730.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20230930213821-20231001003821-00878.warc.gz | en | 0.933322 | 289 | 3.484375 | 3 |
One of the most prominent tasks that the redactor of the Bible undertook was teaching the lessons of monotheism, at least the monotheism of the Israelite Cult. His pedagogic skills are phenomenal. The redactor did not teach by pasting sermons and lectures into the text because he knew lecturing is a poor methodology for explaining to the illiterate masses who would hear the verses but not read them. (Most of the world, perhaps 98% or 99%, were illiterate.) The redactor taught using the method of storytelling, embedding the lessons within the tale. Theology, history, life lessons, and even genealogies could be recalled if the Israelite could remember the story.
Certain motifs or storylines were repeated to reinforce or to emphasize lessons. When the redactor repeated these motifs, they became mythos, recurring narratives that take on significant meanings above and beyond individual lessons.
Not only can mythos be found across the entire Hebrew text, but the narrative will appear from the most simplistic plot to some of the most complicated depictions of Israelite belief. The easiest example of a simple plot motif is the famine story forcing our patriarchal family to go to a foreign kingdom for food only to have the matriarch taken to the royal harem. Abraham and Sarah go down to Egypt in Gen. 12:10-20 and to the kingdom of Gerar in Gen. 20:1-18. Isaac and Rebecca go down to Gerar in Gen. 26:1-11.
All three are essentially the same story. If they are the same, then why did the redactor keep all three when one telling without contradiction would have been just as clear? First, he had three stories and he chose to keep all three. Second, the mythos of the three stories – the merit of worshipping Yahweh, the power of Yahweh God, and the reward of obeying Yahweh – are three fundamental lessons taught in the Book of Genesis about the belief system of the Israelite cult. Hearing these stories repeated, the Yahweh believers learned that these lessons have an emphasis over other teachings.
The use of mythos is one of the fundamental building blocks of the redactors of the corpus. Consider how almost every religious system begins teaching children the tenets of the religion – by telling stories. Therein lies the power of mythos in human culture across time, generations, and geography. | <urn:uuid:7b37218c-5333-43ab-b075-617b99e81f26> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://glennjacob.co/tag/literary-criticism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578721468.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20190425134058-20190425160058-00144.warc.gz | en | 0.952055 | 496 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Previous abstract Next abstract
Our knowledge of the faint end of the stellar luminosity function has been limited until relatively recently to the local region within 10 pc of the sun, encompassing stars within a broad range of metallicities and population types. Large areas could be covered with photographic plate proper motion surveys, for example, but only to modest limiting magnitudes. CCDs covering over 300 square arcminutes and capable of 27th magnitude stellar photometry are now becoming common on large telescopes. Although the sky coverage is limited, very deep multicolor CCD surveys are currently being exploited as a means of sampling the population of intrinsically faintest stars out to distances approximating the M-dwarf disk scale height. The importance of proper color calibration of these CCD surveys to statistical studies of M star populations will be emphasized. A comparison will be made between the findings of one recent and one on-going deep 4-meter CCD survey of high galactic latitude fields with the predictions of the solar neighborhood luminosity functions of Dahn et al. 1986, AJ 91, 621; Henry and McCarthy 1993, AJ 106, 773; and Kirkpatrick et al. 1994, Ap.J.Supp., in press.
Wednesday program listing | <urn:uuid:ab4ab069-1d61-4e9d-8a98-84f0eefb97d8> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://aas.org/archives/BAAS/v26n2/aas184/abs/S5107.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440645298065.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827031458-00036-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.88994 | 250 | 2.90625 | 3 |
There are two places in a cell
is stored: the vast majority of it is in chromosome
s in the nucleus
; but a small amount is in each mitochondrion
, the energy factories scattered around the cell. All multicellular
and some single-celled organism
s have this distribution: they are called eukaryote
The nuclear DNA and the mitochondrial DNA are independent of each other. The mitochondria are believed to have originally been free-standing organisms that entered into symbiosis with the nuclear cell: so are the chloroplasts, a third place in plants and some other eukaryotes that also has independent DNA. The chromosomes are divided and both parents contribute to their offspring's chromosomal DNA (in those species which reproduce sexually, which is almost all). But any mitochondria in the sperm cell are gone by the time it is fused into the ovum, so only mitochondria from female cells are passed onto the next generation.
Humans have 37 genes in their mitochondria, in a total of only 16 569 base pairs. Compare this to the genome in the chromosomes, estimated as anywhere between 35 000 and 150 000 genes. (I don't know what the latest estimate from the Human Genome Project is, but any of these figures dwarf 37.) [Update 11 Feb.: between 26 000 and 40 000 according to figures released today.] All the genes are essential. Nevertheless it does mutate like any other DNA, and sequences can be compared to determine parsimonious trees of presumed descent.
Because mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, is inherited through the maternal line, it is never diluted by sexual recombination, and if it mutates at a fixed rate, that may be used as a molecular clock to estimate actual ages of divergence of the lineages obtained. Scientists have attempted to calibrate the clock by looking at isolated populations where the date of arrival can be checked archaeologically; and on the other side of the scale by comparing humans to chimpanzees.
When this was done in 1987 it gave rise to the Out of Africa theory, which already exists as a node, so I won't go into it here. The mtDNA evidence suggests the common maternal ancestor of all modern humans lived between 150 000 and 250 000 years ago, in Africa (because African DNA is by far the most diverse): this common ancestor is called Mitochondrial Eve (another existing node I'm not going to duplicate here).
There are some problems with mtDNA study: the molecular clock has been called into doubt as wildly unreliable; there was a 1991 study showing paternal mtDNA could survive sexual fusion; and a 1999 study even suggested paternal and maternal mtDNA could undergo sexual crossover.
Omigod I've just looked at Out of Africa and it's a one-and-a-half line write-up of the Karen Blixen book. There are also no write-ups for nuclear DNA and multiregional... Feel free to beat me to them. (Update: I've done Out of Africa now.) | <urn:uuid:79a1ae7f-3600-4b9c-a964-51e89763e369> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://everything2.com/title/Mitochondrial+DNA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00048-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951709 | 617 | 3.984375 | 4 |
In this post, you’ll be learning about the different types of diodes, their symbol, physical look and their practical applications in Electrical circuits.
List of Contents
The Normal or General purpose Diode
The normal or general purpose diode is used in power supplies for rectification purposes. The rectification process involves conversion to ac to dc. The process of rectification involves two or four diodes.
Practical application: Your mobile phone and laptop charger involve a combination of general purposes diodes that.
A special purpose diode that is operated in reverse bias to obtain a fixed voltage. It is widely employed in electronics as a voltage regulator. Learn more about Zener diode.
The Schottky diode features very small power loss and is widely employed in high-frequency devices.
Tunnel: Used in oscillator and microwave
It is a special purpose diode employed in HF applications. It is widely employed in oscillators and microwave amplifiers. Learn more about Tunnel diode.
The most popular type of diode which operates in forward biasing. LED is an optical diode which emits light during it operation. Learn 3 Basic concepts on LEDs. During their operation LEDs also requires a current limiting resistor. You can also learn the calculations for current limiting resistors.
Just like LED, a photodiode belongs to an optical class. The device operates in reverse bias. Under ordinary condition its resistance is very high, thus restricting current flow through the circuit. The exposure of light on surfaces diminishes the resistance, thus allowing the current flow through it.
Laser diode emits monochromatic coherent light. It is widely used in medical and engineering industries for design and testing the stability of components. Other applications involve curring, welding, and target aiming.
A voltage controlled capacitor that finds its applications in HF receivers and resonant circuit tuning. Learn more about Varactor diode.
It behaves like a resistor in forwarding bias, while a constant capacitor in reverse bias. Learn more about PIN diode. | <urn:uuid:f287ee50-640c-431b-8b57-aff71f7cf8b2> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://www.electricalengineeringvideos.com/electronics/different-types-of-diodes-and-their-applications/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583662690.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20190119054606-20190119080606-00499.warc.gz | en | 0.914024 | 420 | 3.890625 | 4 |
Rizal’s First Trip Abroad
3 May 1882
Rizal left Philippines for the first time Spain. He boarded the Salvadora using a passport of Jose Mercado, which was procured for him by his uncle Antonio Rivera, father of Leonor Rivera. He was accompanied to the quay where the Salvadora was moored by his uncle Antonio, Vicente Gella, and Mateo Evangelista.
4 May 1882
He got seasick on board the boat.
He conversed with the passengers of the ship; he was still feeling sea-sick.
6 May 1882
He played chess with the passengers on board.
8 May 1882
He saw mountains and Islands.
9 May 1882
Rizal arrived at Singapore.
10 May 1882
He went around the town of Singapore and maid some observations.
11 May 1882
In Singapore, at 2 p.m., Rizal boarded the boat Djemnah to continue his trip to Spain. He found the boat clean and well kept.
12 May 1882
He had a conversation with the passengers of the boat.
13 May 1882
Rizal was seasick again.
14 May 1882
On his way to Marseilles, Rizal had a terrible dream. He dreamed he was traveling with Neneng (Saturnina) and their path was blocked by snakes.
May 15 1882
Rizal had another disheartening dream. He dreamed he returned to Calamba and after meeting his parents who did not talk to him because of not having consulted them about his first trip abroad, he returned traveling abroad with one hundred pesos he again borrowed. He was so sad and broken hearted. Soon he woke up and found himself inside his cabin.
17 May 1882
Rizal arrived at Punta de Gales.
18 May 1882
At 7:30 a.m., he left Punta de Gales for Colombo. In the afternoon, Rizal arrived at Colombo and in the evening the trip was resumed.
26 May 1882
Rizal was nearing the African coast
27 May 1882
He landed at Aden at about 8:30 a.m. He made observation at the time.
2 June 1882
He arrived at the Suez Canal en route to Marseilles.
3 June 1882
He was quarantined on board the Djemnah in the Suez Canal.
6 June 1882
It was the fourth day at Suez Canal and was still quarantined on board of the boat.
7 June 1882
Rizal arrived at Port Said. In a letter to his parents, He described his trip en route to Aden along the Suez Canal.
11 June 1882
Rizal disembarked and, accompanied by a guide, went around the City of Naples for one hour. This was the first European ground he set foot on.
12 June 1882
At ten o’clock in the evening, the boat anchored at Marseilles. He slept on board.
13 June 1882
Early on the morning he landed at Marseilles and boarded at the Noalles Hotel. Later he around for observation.
14 June 1882
His second in Marseilles.
15 June 1882
He left Marseilles for Barcelona in an express train. | <urn:uuid:25e5aabb-6e13-47fa-92b9-490e3b649637> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.knights-of-rizal.org/travels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337625.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005105356-20221005135356-00457.warc.gz | en | 0.986813 | 713 | 2.9375 | 3 |
It is increasingly hard to find situations where programs don't need to use some kind of parallelism. Most modern applications require concurrency and the full performance of modern hardware can only be exploited by concurrent programs. Despite this, most development tools don't support the unique challenges that parallel programming poses.
One of these challenges is the unit testing of parallel programs, where we expect the tests to be run multiple times, with different schedulings. This document explores this problem and provides a possible solution in the form of a concrete tool for Java programs.
Different schedules can be caused by inserting instructions into the program code that randomly slow the threads down. This is done by instrumentation. To decide where to insert the instructions, the Java Memory Model was used.
To determine how many times a test should be run, parallel coverage metrics are used. The metrics are based on parallel events or fault detection algorithms for parallel programs. Several parallel coverage metrics are presented and were implemented.
The tool uses a Java Agent for modifying the code under test and is integrated into the JUnit 4 testing framework. The solution is measured and it is concluded that it can be effectively used to detect faults in parallel programs. | <urn:uuid:cfe81dda-db69-493a-a903-5ef78ab89166> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://diplomaterv.vik.bme.hu/en/Theses/Parhuzamos-program-unittesztelese | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578528430.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20190419220958-20190420002958-00281.warc.gz | en | 0.93839 | 239 | 2.6875 | 3 |
County map of New Jersey. County map of Maryland and Delaware.
1874 (dated) 15 x 12.5 in (38.1 x 31.75 cm)
A beautiful example of the legendary American map publisher Samuel Augustus Mitchell Jr.'s 1872 map of the states of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The map is divided into two parts. The upper map covers the entire state of New Jersey along with portions of adjacent Pennsylvania and New York. The lower map covers the states of Maryland and Delaware and show parts of adjacent Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Chesapeake Bay is rendered in full. This map also identifies various cities, towns, rivers and an assortment of additional topographical details. Map is color coded according to political boundaries with elevation rendered by hachure. One of the more attractive American atlas maps of this region to appear in the mid-19th century. Features the vine motif border typical of Mitchell maps from the 1866 - 1882 period. Prepared by S.A. Mitchell for inclusion as plate nos. 24 in the 1874 issue of Mitchell's New General Atlas. Dated and copyrighted, 'entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1872 by S. Augustus Mitchell in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.'
Samuel Augustus Mitchell (March 20, 1792 - December 20, 1868) began his map publishing career in the early 1830s. Having worked as a school teacher, Mitchell was frustrated with the low quality and inaccuracy of school texts of the period. His first maps were an attempt to rectify this problem. In the next 20 years Mitchell would become the most prominent American map publisher of the mid-19th century. Mitchell worked with prominent engravers J. H. Young, H. S. Tanner, and H. N. Burroughs before attaining the full copyright on his maps in 1847. In 1849 Mitchell either partnered with or sold his plates to Thomas, Cowperthwait and Company who continued to publish the Mitchell's Universal Atlas and Mitchell's General Atlas. By about 1856 most of the Mitchell copyrights were bought by Charles Desilver who continued to publish his maps, many with modified borders and color schemes, until Mitchell's son, Samuel Augustus Mitchell Junior, entered the picture. In 1859, S.A. Mitchell Jr. purchased most of the copyrights back from Desilver and, from 1860 on, published his own New General Atlas. The younger Mitchell became as prominent as his father and published atlases well into the late 1880s when most of the copyrights were again sold and the Mitchell firm closed its doors for the final time.
Very good. Minor overall toning. Blank on verso.
Rumsey 2483.017 (1870 edition). | <urn:uuid:2b6ab143-5861-4cbb-b2a1-28a3328f01ce> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/mddenj-m-1874 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267861980.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20180619060647-20180619080647-00010.warc.gz | en | 0.95486 | 573 | 2.640625 | 3 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021)
|• Body||Municipal council|
|• Mayor||Jack Mikkers (VVD)|
|• Municipality||117.81 km2 (45.49 sq mi)|
|• Land||109.99 km2 (42.47 sq mi)|
|• Water||7.82 km2 (3.02 sq mi)|
|Elevation||6 m (20 ft)|
|• Density||1,414/km2 (3,660/sq mi)|
|• Metro region||355,230|
|• Brabant CMSA||1,932,055|
|Time zone||UTC+1 (CET)|
|• Summer (DST)||UTC+2 (CEST)|
|Click on the map for a fullscreen view|
's-Hertogenbosch (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌsɛrtoːɣə(m)ˈbɔs] (listen)), colloquially known as Den Bosch (pronounced [dɛm ˈbɔs] (listen)), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of the Maas river and near the Waal.
The city's official name is a contraction of the (archaic) Dutch des Hertogen bosch [dɛs ˈɦɛrtoːɣə(m) ˈbɔs] — "the forest of the duke". The duke in question was Henry I of Brabant, whose family had owned a large estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh. At age 26, he granted 's-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is, however, the traditional date given by later chroniclers; the first mention in contemporaneous sources is 1196. The original charter has been lost. His reason for founding the city was to protect his own interests against encroachment from Gelre and Holland; from its first days, he conceived of the city as a fortress. It was destroyed in 1203 in a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland, but was soon rebuilt. Some remnants of the original city walls remain.
In the late 14th century, a much larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat, through which the rivers Dommel and Aa were diverted. 's-Hertogenbosch became the birthplace and home of one of the greatest painters of the northern Renaissance period, Hieronymus Bosch. The town suffered a catastrophic fire in 1463, which the then (approximately) 13-year-old Bosch probably witnessed; presumably, this fire provided inspiration for the fiery hell-scapes that would later make Bosch famous.
Until 1520, the city flourished, becoming the second largest population centre in the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. The city was also a center of music, and composers, such as Jheronimus Clibano, received their training at its churches. Others held positions there: Matthaeus Pipelare was musical director at the Confraternity of Our Lady; and renowned Habsburg copyist and composer Pierre Alamire did much of his work at 's-Hertogenbosch.
Eighty Years' War
The wars of the Reformation changed the course of the city's history. It became an independent bishopric. During the Eighty Years' War, the city took the side of the Habsburg (Catholic) authorities and thwarted a Calvinist coup. It was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic, who wanted to bring 's-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. The city was successfully defended against Prince Maurice in 1601 and again in 1603, but the city eventually fell in the 1629 siege led by Frederick Henry.
Thirty Years' War
|Source: Lourens & Lucassen 1997, pp. 45–46|
In the years of Truce, before the renewed fighting after 1618, the fortifications were greatly expanded. The surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, and the fortress, deemed impregnable, was nicknamed the Marsh Dragon. The town was nevertheless finally conquered by Frederik Hendrik of Orange in 1629 in a typically Dutch stratagem: he diverted the rivers Dommel and Aa, created a polder by constructing a forty-kilometre dyke and then pumped out the water by mills. After a siege of three months, the city had to surrender—an enormous blow to Habsburg geo-political strategy during the Thirty Years' War. This surrender cut the town off from the rest of the duchy and the area was treated by the Republic as an occupation zone without political liberties (see also Generality Lands).
Louis XIV to Bonaparte
After the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV of France. In 1794 French revolutionary troops under the command of Charles Pichegru attacked the city. It was only weakly defended, and fell after a short siege. Pichegru then crossed the rivers and put an end to the Dutch Republic.
In the Batavian Republic, that was established in 1795, both Catholics and Brabanders at last gained equal rights. From 1806, the city became part of the Kingdom of Holland and from 1810, it was incorporated into the First French Empire. It was captured by the Prussians in 1814.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The next year, 1815, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant. Many newer and more modern fortresses were created in the vicinity of the city. A new canal was built, the 'Zuid-Willemsvaart', which gave the city an economic impulse. Trade, manufacturing and industry grew. Until 1878, it was forbidden to build outside the ramparts. That led to overcrowding and the highest infant mortality in the kingdom.
At the end of the 19th century, the very conservative city government prevented industrial investment to avoid an increase in the number of workers and the establishment of educational institutions: students were regarded as disorderly. As a result, the relative importance of the city diminished.
World War II and after
One of the few official Nazi concentration camp complexes in Western Europe outside Germany and Austria was named after 's-Hertogenbosch. It operated from January 1943, to September 1944 and was known to the Germans as Herzogenbusch (see List of subcamps of Herzogenbusch). About 30,000 inmates were interned in the complex during this time, of whom about 12,000 were Jews. In the Netherlands, this camp is known as 'Kamp Vught', because the concentration camp was actually located at a heath near Vught, a village a few kilometres south of 's-Hertogenbosch.
It was conquered by the Germans in World War II in 1940 and occupied by them for over four years. The allies struck back—the railway station was bombed by planes of the Royal Air Force on 16 September 1944. The city was liberated between 24 and 27 October 1944 during Operation Pheasant by British soldiers of Major-General Robert Knox Ross's 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division after Major Donald Bremner of the 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, of 158th Infantry Brigade, had already routed the enemy on 23–24 October.
After the war, 's-Hertogenbosch was modernized, like many other cities in the Netherlands. It was probably only geography that shielded the old town from rigorous reconstruction in those early years. Just in time, the pendulum swung over to protecting the history of the city. In 1956, the council wanted to demolish the Moriaan, the oldest brick building in the Netherlands, to give traffic better access to the market square. The permit was refused by the government and instead the building was restored, starting in 1963. Later, city councils became much more aware of the value of historic buildings and from about the turn of the millennium, the historic fortifications are also given much attention by the authorities.
The population centres in the municipality are: Bokhoven, Crevecoeur, Deuteren (former village), Dieskant, Empel, Engelen, Gewande, 's-Hertogenbosch, Hintham, Kruisstraat, Maliskamp, Meerwijk, Orthen (former village), Oud-Empel, and Rosmalen.
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).
|Climate data for Gemert-Bakel|
|Average high °C (°F)||4
|Average low °C (°F)||−1
|Average precipitation mm (inches)||69
|Average precipitation days||8.8||6.3||5.8||4||6||6.7||7.8||8.7||8.2||7||5.4||8.8||83.5|
The city of 's-Hertogenbosch has become a center of industry, education, administration and culture. It is currently the fourth city of North Brabant. It is home to many national and international businesses such as Heineken, Epic, Tyco International, SAP and many others. The Jeroen Bosch Hospital is the biggest employer in the area, with over 4,000 employees.
's-Hertogenbosch is home to a variety of events such as the theatre festival Boulevard, Jazz in Duketown, and hip hop in duketown, the start of the Tour de France (1996), Tour Feminin (1997), the International Vocal Competition, November Music (a contemporary music festival) and the UNICEF Open (formerly the Ordina Open) grass court tennis tournament (in the nearby town of Rosmalen). There are also over 350 restaurants, pubs and cafés to be found in the city.
's-Hertogenbosch is also home to the European Ceramic Work Centre. This is a juried international ceramic residency where they invite artists, designers and architects from around to the world to explore the medium of Ceramics. This program was initially started in 1991 and continues to this day.
The spoken language is Maaslands (the variant spoken in 's-Hertogenbosch is called Bosch which is placed among the Central North Brabantian dialects, although other classification systems also describe it as East Brabantian), which is very similar to colloquial Dutch.
The Noordbrabants Museum is a provincial museum with an overview of works that Vincent van Gogh made in Brabant. The Design Museum Den Bosch is a modern art museum. The Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, is dedicated to the work of Hieronymus Bosch. Other museums include the Swan Brothers' House and Museum Slager. Also the National (Dutch) Carnavalsmuseum Oeteldonks gemintemuzejum is located in the city. In the near future a new museum will be opened about the fortresses of the town and in general in Europe. The house where the famous painter Hieronymus produced his paintings can be visited on the market square.
's-Hertogenbosch has a strong carnival tradition. In its current form the story and symbolism dates from 1881 to 1883. In these years some citizens created the legend of "Oeteldonk", whereby the city was renamed to Oeteldonk for the three day carnival. "Donk" is a reference to a dry place in the marsh. The frog is widely used as a symbol during the 's-Hertogenbosch Carnival. It's also a symbol of the Oeteldonk marsh. It was also a remark aimed at Bishop Godschalk from Den Dungen, where 'Van den Oetelaar' was a common family name. He had wanted to forbid the traditional festivities of Shrove Tuesday that often led to excesses.
Oeteldonk is a village and therefore every inhabitant is a farmer or a 'durske' (a girl or young woman), eliminating class differences. The village is headed by the Mayor "Peer vaan den Muggenheuvel tot den Bobberd". Each year the mayor of 's-Hertogenbosch hands over his authority to the Mayor of Oeteldonk. On Sunday at 11:11 AM the Mayor of Oeteldonk then receives Prince Carnaval "Prince Amadeiro XXVI" at Oeteldonk central station. From there a parade of all carnival clubs escorts the company to the town hall.
The citizens of 's-Hertogenbosch wear traditional outfits throughout these days. A so-called boerenkiel is worn and every year patches are designed according to that years theme which can then be stitched onto the outfit. The boerenkiel is often combined with a traditional farmers bandana and a long scarf in the colors of Oeteldonk. The tradition of the Boerenkiel and / or Bandana is very different from the carnival traditions in the rest of the Netherlands. Other aspects like the parade, the temporary name and the temporary flag (for Oeteldonk red, white and yellow) are very similar.
's-Hertogenbosch was founded as a fortified city and that heritage can still be seen today. After World War II, plans were made to modernise the old city, by filling in the canals, removing or modifying some ramparts and redeveloping historic neighbourhoods. Before these plans could come to effect, however, the central government declared the city a protected townscape. Most historic elements have been preserved. In contrast to cities like Rotterdam, 's-Hertogenbosch also survived the Second World War relatively unscathed. Much of its historic heritage remains intact, and today there are always renovations going on in the city to preserve the many old buildings, fortifications, churches and statues for later generations.
The city center
The city center has a cosy atmosphere because of the almost continuous ramparts that still surround it. It has been molded by the multiple rivers that convene on 's-Hertogenbosch, giving the center its strange street plan so different from the usual grid plan where streets meet at right angles. The center is dominated by Saint John's Cathedral (Sint-Janskathedraal in Dutch), which dates from c. 1220 and is best known for its Brabantine Gothic design and the many sculptures of craftsmen that are sitting on almost every arc and rim along the outside of the cathedral. In 2010 an extensive restoration was completed, undoing the damage of many years of wear-and-tear and acid rain.
On the central square is the oldest remaining brick house of the Netherlands, 'de Moriaan', which was built at the beginning of the 13th century. In the 1960s, de Moriaan was renovated to its former glory based on a famous 16th-century Dutch painting called 'De Lakenmarkt van 's-Hertogenbosch' ('The fabric market of 's-Hertogenbosch'). The town hall is an original 14th-century Gothic building. After the town was conquered by the Dutch Republic in 1629, it received a new facade in the style of Dutch Baroque architecture. It showcased the authority of the new masters, just like the new town hall in Maastricht would.
Hidden below the old city is a canal network called the Binnendieze, which once spanned 22 km (14 mi). It started out as a regular river, the Dommel, running through the city in medieval times. Due to a lack of space in the city, people started building their houses and roads over the river. Later, the Binnendieze functioned as a sewer and fell into disrepair. In recent decades, the remaining sixth part of the old waterway system has been renovated, and it is possible to take several guided subterranean boat trips through it.
's-Hertogenbosch has an extensive and almost complete fifteenth-to-seventeenth-century city fortification. It was made to profit from the city's strong defensive position, lying on a sandy hill in the center of a large swamp fed by many rivers. This also caused that the main ramparts were preserved, because they were crucial in keeping out the water. In 2004 the city was awarded the title European Fortress City of the year. In the years that followed it restored many of the city defenses to much of their old glory.
Apart from small sections of medieval walls, the main structure of the fortification is a late-medieval (fifteenth-century) wall. The upper sections were removed when cannon became more powerful, and polygonal bastions were added, some after the conquest by the republic. Most of these have not been restored to their original height, but do maintain their brick walls. The citadel in the north west of the city does retain its original height. Around the city itself many other fortresses can still be seen.
In the north east of the old city, the hexagonal gunpowder magazine, called Kruithuis is located close to the citadel. It is one of only a handful that still exist in the Netherlands, and was built when the city was still part of the Spanish Netherlands. It is planned to become the museum of fortress 's-Hertogenbosch. One of the bastions of the fortress now houses the mini museum Bastionder. It has been dug out in a bastion of the south side. On the inside it shows a unique wrought iron cannon, and an older bastion that was walled in by the current one.
On the south side of the city, the city center and walls still border the Bossche Broek, an old polder that could never be made dry. In 1995 the dyke of the Dommel broke and an enormous amount of water entered the polder. It also flooded and blocked the main Dutch highway A2. In order to prevent this in the future, the area was rearranged to store excess water in case of emergencies. In 2006 the area had been furnished with higher dikes and locks that allowed a controlled flooding of the polder and some adjacent areas in case of emergency.
The Bossche Broek is now a 22-hectare (54-acre) nature reserve, that stretches all the way to Vught. It is connected to the Moerputten and Vlijmens Ven, with which it forms a Natura 2000 area. Rare species in the area are the scarce large blue and the European weather loach. The Moerputten sports the Moerputten Bridge, a 600 m long nineteenth century railway bridge and engineering feat. However, what is really unique about the area is its close proximity to the city center.
The Lutheran Church, 's-Hertogenbosch is no longer used as a church.
The city has one professional football club, FC Den Bosch. It is the 1967 successor of the professional branches of BVV (Bossche Voetbal Vereniging) and Wilhelmina. Both of them still exist as amateur football clubs. As a successor of BVV FC Den Bosch can claim the national championship of 1948. This championship led to the construction of stadium De Vliert, which at one time had a capacity of 30,000. Due to the less successful years that followed, the capacity is now only 8,500 visitors. FC Den Bosch was the first club of Dutch international player Ruud van Nistelrooy.
's-Hertogenbosch is more successful in field hockey. It is home to top club HC Den Bosch. The women's team in particular is a dominant force in the Dutch field hockey competition. The professional basketball club New Heroes Den Bosch is also very successful. The city's rugby club is called The Dukes and dates from 1974. It is located at a very scenic location at the foot of the city walls. Because of the limited space, the club plays on artificial turf and part of the accommodation is subterranean. The Dukes has the most junior members. It became the national rugby champion in 2008.
As regards events the city is host to the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, a combined ATP Tour and WTA Tour grass court tennis event played two weeks before the Wimbledon Championships. The World Archery Championships and World Para Archery Championship were held here in June 2019. During these combined World Championships two separate venues were used: the Parade and the rugby fields of The Dukes. All finals took place in the arena at the Parade. The Parade is a historic square surrounded by high trees, situated at the foot of the nearly seven-hundred-year-old Saint John's Cathedral in the attractive center of 's-Hertogenbosch.
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020)
The Zuid-Willemsvaart runs from the Meuse just north of the city towards Maastricht via Helmond and Weert. In 's-Hertogenbosch it runs through the city proper, south east from where a bastion has been cut off from the citadel. Because of this route it was impossible to widen it further than for ships of CEMT class II. Therefore, the Máxima Canal of 8 km was dug just east of the city, creating a shortcut from the canal to the Meuse suitable for ships of CEMT class IV. On the remaining part of the Zuid-Willemsvaart west of the city is the industrial harbor of 's-Hertogenbosch. A marina is located in the center.
's-Hertogenbosch is situated on the busy A2 motorway, the most important north–south connection of the Netherlands. This connection was established with the opening of the Dieze Bridge in 1942. From 1961 the Utrecht-'s-Hertogenbosch section was 2 times 2 lanes. In 1970 the A2 was rerouted to the east of the city. In 1989 it finally became a controlled-access highway. In 1996 the section between 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven became a controlled-access highway. The situation in Maastricht was only solved in 2016, when the Koning Willem-Alexandertunnel was opened. On the east–west axis 's-Hertogenbosch is on the A59 motorway. The A65 motorway between 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg is a regional highway, but is not completely access-controlled.
's-Hertogenbosch railway station is on the Utrecht–Boxtel part of the railway stretch between Amsterdam and the Dutch industrial/tech center near Eindhoven. As a consequence north–south trains depart every ten minutes. On the Tilburg–Nijmegen railway trains run on a more modest schedule. 's-Hertogenbosch railway station is also a major station for Arriva buslines that serve the city and most of its suburbs. Other stations within the limits of the municipality are 's-Hertogenbosch Oost railway station and Rosmalen railway station. Vught railway station is actually closer to the city center than that in Rosmalen.
's-Hertogenbosch has attempted to adapt to the growing popularity of the bicycle in Dutch cities. A reasonable amount of bike paths has so far been constructed in the town. In 2011, the city was chosen as Fietsstad 2011—the top bike city of the Netherlands for 2011. The details of the report were less jubilant and showed that it was really a prize meant to stimulate 's-Hertogenbosch to take further action; Hugo van der Steenhoven of the Fietsersbond: "In the past years Den Bosch has spent much energy, ambition, creativity and money to give cycling an enormous boost. This is a big achievement for a city where bicycle use is lower than in the rest of the Netherlands" (cyclist union).
's-Hertogenbosch has multiple vocational universities called Hogeschool in Dutch. The HAS Hogeschool of about 3,500 students is focused on agricultural and food technology. Avans Hogeschool is located in 's-Hertogenbosch and two nearby cities. The AKV St. Joost is an art academy that is now part of Avans and dates back to 1812. Fontys Hogeschool also offers some education in the city. The Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS), located at the Mariënburg Campus in the center of 's-Hertogenbosch, and provides a number of data science programs at graduate (MSc) and post-graduate level (PhD). It is a department of the Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University.
In secondary education the City Gymnasium is a gymnasium (school) that originated from the Latin school of the city. It is comparable to a grammar school and can trace its origin back 1274. The same type of education and all other types of secondary education are offered by a number of large institutes.
Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in 's-Hertogenbosch, with somewhat more than 40% of the population counting themselves as belonging to it. Even so, attendance at mass is significantly lower than 40%. Therefore, the only big church in the city center still in use by the Catholic church is St. John's Cathedral. Smaller churches in use by the Roman Catholic church are: St. Anne's Church in Hintham, St. Anne's in Deuteren, St. Lambert's in Rosmalen etc.
The Protestant religion has seen its share of believers in the city fall from 20% to about 4%. It is based in the Great Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is a new church in town. It is based on St. Catherine's Church.
The Arrahma Mosque has been built by the Moroccan community. The Turkish community has the Orhan Gazi Mosque.
Public thinking and public service
- Erasmus (1484–1497), priest and humanist scholar
- Macropedius (1487–1558), a Dutch humanist, schoolmaster and Latin playwright
- John Slotanus (died 1560), a Dutch Roman Catholic polemical writer
- Johannes Chrysostomus vander Sterre (1591–1652), an ecclesiastical writer and abbot
- Johan Bax van Herenthals (1637–1678), the governor of the Dutch Cape Colony 1676/1678
- Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande (1704–1775), governor of Essequibo and Demerara
- Petrus Josephus Johannus Sophia Marie van der Does de Willebois (1843–1937), a Dutch jonkheer, politician and Mayor of 's-Hertogenbosch
- Joseph Sweens (1858–1950), an RC missionary bishop in South Nyanza in German East Africa
- Christiaan Cornelissen (1864–1942), a Dutch syndicalist writer, economist and trade unionist
- Henk Sneevliet (1883–1942), a Dutch Communist, active in both the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies
- Frans Teulings (1891–1966), a Dutch politician and economist
- Pieter Godfried Maria van Meeuwen (1899–1982), a Dutch judge and a politician
- Jan de Quay (1901–1985), a politician and psychologist; Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1959/1963
- Bert Röling (1906–1985), a Dutch jurist and founding father of polemology, the study of war
- Louis van de Laar (1921–2004), a Dutch politician and historian
- Bram Stemerdink (born 1936), a retired Dutch politician and army officer
- Don Burgers (1932–2006), a Dutch politician, mayor of 's-Hertogenbosch from 1989 to 1996
- Marco Kroon (born 1970), soldier with the Korps Commandotroepen
- Matthijs van Miltenburg (born 1972), a politician, municipal councillor 2010/2014 and MEP 2014/2019
Science and business
- Gerardus Mercator (ca.1520–1530), a geographer, cosmographer and cartographer
- Wilhelm de Raet (ca.1537-1583), a Dutch hydraulic engineer and master builder, worked in Lucca
- Willem 's Gravesande (1688–1742), a Dutch academic, mathematician and natural philosopher, developed the laws of classical mechanics
- Gerard Troost (1776–1850), a Dutch-American medical doctor, naturalist and mineralogist
- Jacob Moleschott (1822–1893), physiologist and writer on dietetics and scientific materialism
- Diederik Korteweg (1848–1941), a mathematician, co-wrote the Korteweg–de Vries equation
- Jacob R. H. Neervoort van de Poll (1862–1924), an entomologist specialising in Coleoptera
- Peter Reijnders (1900–1974), a photographer and film director; co-founded the theme park Efteling
- Frans de Waal (born 1948), primatologist, ethologist and academic
- Hieronymus Bosch (ca.1450–1516), painter of the Early Netherlandish painting school.
- Hubert Gerhard (ca.1540–1620), a Dutch sculptor
- Abraham van Diepenbeeck (1596–1675), a Dutch painter of the Flemish School
- Theodoor van Thulden (1606–1669), a painter and engraver of altarpieces and portraits.
- Quirinus van Amelsfoort (1760–1820), a Dutch painter of allegories, history and portraits
- Karel Sluijterman (1863–1931), a Dutch architect, furniture designer, interior designer, illustrator, ceramist, book binding designer and professor
- Anton Sistermans (1865–1926), a Dutch baritone, singer of lieder and oratorios
- Sophie van der Does de Willebois (1891–1961), a Dutch ceramist
- Charles Bolsius (1907–1983), painter and woodworker
- Willem van den Hout (1915–1985), a Dutch writer of the Bob Evers series of children's books
- Jos van Veldhoven (born 1952), a Dutch choral conductor
- Leon de Winter (born 1954), writer and columnist
- Oscar van Dillen (born 1958), a Dutch composer, conductor and instrumentalist
- Henri Smulders (1863–1933), a sailor and team silver medallist at the 1900 Summer Olympics
- Sjef van Run (1904–1973), a Dutch footballer, appeared 359 times for PSV Eindhoven
- Wim van Heumen (1928–1992), a field hockey coach and municipal councillor 1970/1992
- Gijs van Heumen (born 1952), a retired field hockey coach, son of Wim
- Cees Schapendonk (born 1955), a former football striker with over 510 club caps
- Sophie von Weiler (born 1958), a retired Dutch field hockey forward, team gold and bronze medallist at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics
- Arnold Scholten (born 1962), a retired football midfielder with over 440 club caps
- Marcel Brands (born 1962), a former professional footballer, former Director of Football at Everton F.C.
- Fred van der Hoorn (born 1963), a Dutch former footballer with over 500 club caps
- Manon Bollegraf (born 1964), a former professional female tennis player
- Annemarie Verstappen (born 1965), a female former freestyle swimmer, team silver and double bronze medallist at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Mijntje Donners (born 1974), field hockey player, with 234 caps for the Dutch National Women's Team, and team silver and bronze medallist at three Summer Olympics
- Anthony Lurling (born 1977), a Dutch former footballer with 587 club caps
- brothers Geert-Jan Derikx (born 1980) & Rob Derikx (born 1982), field hockey players, team silver medallists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Henri van Opstal (born 1989), a Dutch kickboxer
- Robin van Roosmalen (born 1989), a Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist
- Maikel Scheffers (born 1982), wheelchair tennis player, bronze medallist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Andy Souwer (born 1982), a Dutch welterweight shoot boxer and mixed martial artist
- Maartje Goderie (born 1984), a Dutch field hockey player, twice team gold medallist at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics
- Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel (born 1987), a Dutch field hockey player, team gold and silver medallist at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics
- Marianne Vos (born 1987), a Dutch cyclo-cross, road, track and mountain bicycle racer
- Kenny van Gaalen (born 1988), a Dutch sidecarcross rider
- Toon Greebe (born 1988), a Dutch darts player
- Patrick van Aanholt (born 1990), a Dutch professional footballer with over 280 club caps
- Michiel van der Heijden (born 1992), a Dutch mountain biker and Cyclo-Cross Rider.
References and notes
- ‘Metropolitan region Waalboss’
Stedelijke regio streekplan Waalboss
143,733 – 's-Hertogenbosch
84,954 – Oss
46,498 – Waalwijk
43,165 – Heusden
25,638 – Vught
11,242 – Maasdonk
- "Samenstelling van het college" [Members of the board] (in Dutch). Gemeente 's-Hertogenbosch. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- "Postcodetool for 5211HH". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand". StatLine. Statistics Netherlands. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; Regionale kerncijfers Nederland" [Regional core figures Netherlands]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- "De grenzeloze regio". Sdu uitgevers. 2007. ISBN 9789012124577.
Het BBP van BrabantStad ligt op 14.7% van het nationale BBP. In de regio liggen Philips, de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, de Universiteit Tilburg en de HAS Den Bosch. De regio heeft 1.4 miljoen inwoners. Er is veel R&D, ICT, automotive, logistiek en agribusiness.
- Coetzee, Daniel; Eysturlid, Lee W. (2013). Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers. ABC-CLIO. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-313-07033-4.
- Knight, Charles Raleigh: Historical records of The Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment. Vol I. London, Gale & Polden, 1905, pp. 69-70
- "Rory Bremner salutes his East Lancashire war hero dad". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
- Climate Summary for Gemert-Bakel (closest city on record)
- "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on June 3, 2013.
- "Over Ons". Jeroen Bosch Ziekenhuis. 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- Swanenberg, Jos; Swanenberg, Cor (2002). Oost-Brabants. Taal in stad en land, 7. (in Dutch). Den Haag: Sdu Uitgevers. ISBN 9789012090100. OCLC 783055844.
- "Oeteldonk – Oetelpedia" (in Dutch). Oetelpedia.nl. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
- "De stichting van Oeteldonk en de decennia daarna (1882-1945)" [The foundation of Oeteldonk and the subsequent decades] (in Dutch). Oeteldonksche Club van 1882. 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- Teletijd.nl: 'De Moriaan' before and after renovation
- Painting: De Lakenmarkt van 's-Hertogenbosch
- Teletijd.nl: Kruithuis inner court
- "The Worlds Ugliest Buildings – AOL Real Estate". Realestate.aol.com. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
- "Geschiedenis van The Dukes". Retrieved 2021-12-09.
- "Den Bosch fietsstad van 2011" ['s-Hertogenbosch bicycle city 2011] (in Dutch). NOS. 2011-11-17.
- AKV|St.Joost Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- JADS Archived 2017-03-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- "Kerkelijkheid en kerkbezoek, 2010/2013". Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek.
- Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14 (1913), John Slotanus, retrieved 10 February 2020
- David A. Granger. "Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande: Guyana's greatest governor?". Stabroek News. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4 (1913), Abraham van Diepenbeeck, retrieved 10 February 2020
- The Encyclopedia Americana, Diepenbeeck, Abraham van, retrieved 10 February 2020
- IMDb Database retrieved 10 February 2020
- Lourens, Piet; Lucassen, Jan (1997). Inwonertallen van Nederlandse steden ca. 1300–1800. Amsterdam: NEHA. ISBN 9057420082. | <urn:uuid:4d630fde-f7f5-47ba-b696-41f021eb0aeb> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_Bosch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500094.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20230204044030-20230204074030-00625.warc.gz | en | 0.934306 | 9,364 | 2.578125 | 3 |
A Program focusing on the managerial leadership role as an integrating activity aiming to satisfy the needs of people at work, create an organizational climate in which people work willingly and effectively, and to assist in the achievement of the goals of the organization.
It is through the process of management that the efforts of an organization are coordinated, directed, controlled and guided towards the achievement of organizational goals. Management and leaders need to strike the right balance between the elements and influences of individuals, of groups, of the organization and the environment. Appropriate management and leadership styles must be adopted to successfully deal with the internal and external factors which impact upon the organization. Effective decision making, motivation and handling is essential and it is the duty of management and responsibility of leadership to set and at the same time guide the organization to the attainment of its objectives.
This Program relates management and leadership in the context of organizational behaviour and provides an integrated view of theory and practice to indicate how performance may be improved; and discusses managerial and leadership science and their implications for action in practice.
Course Outline Summary
Module 1 - The Nature of Management
Module 2 - The Process of Delegation
Module 3 - Managerial Behaviour and Effectiveness
Module 4 - The Nature of Leadership
Module 5 - Styles of leadership
Module 6 - Management Control and Power
Module 7 - Organisation Development
Module 8 - Organisational Change
Module 9 - Management Development
Module 10 - Organisational Effectiveness | <urn:uuid:2da0b40b-a28f-48d0-9c94-2f6676857545> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.panafricaskills.co.ke/index.php/graduate-diplomas/management-leadership | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296949093.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20230330004340-20230330034340-00785.warc.gz | en | 0.905784 | 294 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Emotional IQ counts for twice as much as IQ and technical skills combined in determining who will be successful, according to a report from Harvard Business School.
This surprising finding indicates that emotional intelligence isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a required characteristic to forming successful relationships. It’s arguably one of the essential leadership skills of the 21st century, and the good news is that it can be learned.
So, what is emotional intelligence? In short, it’s the ability to be aware of, understand, manage, and express your emotions, and handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. A renowned expert on the topic is the author and psychologist Daniel Goleman, who with his partner, Richard Boyatzis, came out with the now-mainstream concept of the Emotional Competency Framework. This idea is comprised of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills.
Conscious leaders need to stay relevant to the times. As work tasks are increasingly moved to robots, AI, and automation, it’s more critical than ever for leaders to be in touch with emotions and feelings. Life takes on a different and higher meaning when you experience the thrill of accessing your humanity. Here’s why a conscious leader in the 21st century places so much value on emotional intelligence and how you can embody it, too.
1. CONSCIOUS LEADERS ADAPT TO EVOLUTION AND EXPAND THEIR MINDSET
Evolution is pushing forward with or without us. As a result, the world is furiously changing and calling for bold social reform and environmental solutions to address growing challenges. Politicians and leaders of industry have to expand their mindsets and take the words of Albert Einstein seriously when he said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Many organizational change initiatives fail; in fact, only around 30 percent are said to succeed. The reason? Change experts suggest new structures and new systems, but leaders and people within these systems don’t change. You can’t change the world, change an organization or system, unless the people operating these systems change first.
2. CONSCIOUS LEADERs USE ALL THREE HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CENTERS
As a child, our cognitive intelligence is promoted above everything else. We enter an educational system that values logical thinking, knowledge, and linguistics, and prepares us through technical skills to function in a society that values the same. The creative arts are down-played and are usually the first to be cut when budgets are tight. It’s no wonder that leaders who come from traditional schooling systems, traditional MBA programs, and Ivy League institutions are programmed to use only one of the three intelligence centers (head, heart, and body). We are trained in making decisions and communicating from our rational, objective head-center while bypassing the tender wisdom of the heart and the experienced intuition of our gut.
3. CONSCIOUS LEADERS REPLACE COMPETITION WITH RELATIONSHIPS
As we gradually leave behind the systems, traditions, and machine mentality of the Industrial Age and open our hearts and minds to the emerging human-centric organization, the focus shifts to building relationships. Authentic connections are formed through clear and effective communication, integrity, trust, inclusion, and diversity. It’s what the workplace and the world are desperate for right now. Simple acts of kindness, respect, and empathy can determine the level of your employees’ engagement and loyalty.
4. CONSCIOUS LEADERS TRUST RESEARCH AROUND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Over the past few decades, mounting evidence has suggested that the potential for a leaders greatness is directly linked to high emotional intelligence. The University of Maryland found that 71 percent of hiring managers found EQ to be more important than IQ. Some of the attributes of high EQ leaders include being able to build solid relationships and inspire others, an ability to handle high stress levels, and those of others, someone better-equipped to manage and resolve conflicts, and a person more likely to lead by example.
In the start-up world, this trend is becoming increasingly evident. Investors aren’t just looking for the next big idea; they’re also greatly concerned about the team. If they think the founder and the team won’t have the leadership potential to weather the rough-and-tumble of entrepreneurship, they might pass on investing. They are seeking mature leaders with people skills.
5. CONSCIOUS LEADERS CREATE AND INNOVATE
Artists aren’t the only creatives. Leaders must also allow creativity to flow freely to create the change needed to bring the world to wholeness. These are leaders who understand the power of the journey — through experimentation, questioning, listening, exploring, reflection, transformation, collaboration, and co-creation. Implementing these changes requires a “beginner’s mind” and a willingness to keep the channels of innovation open at all times. As a colleague of mine likes to say, “Innovation is not something we do; it’s something we are.”
6. CONSCIOUS LEADERs HEAL AND UNITE — NOT DIVIDE
Violent acts are no longer happening in far-off places. They’re happening in schools, churches, and workplaces all around us.
Leaders of companies have an additional role to play: that of the healer. As they deal with the horrific aftermaths of shootings, opioid epidemics, health pandemics, political turmoil, and terror threats, they will need a plan in place to support employees, families, and the broader community. In times such as these, people look to leaders for strength, heart-centered action, and words of solace. This requires an empathetic and compassionate leader who is conscious of broader issues beyond the business they lead. | <urn:uuid:1e8545f8-a2de-489f-9433-b2ebf0f1d71b> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://real-leaders.com/6-ways-to-succeed-as-a-conscious-leader/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655890181.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20200706191400-20200706221400-00172.warc.gz | en | 0.93803 | 1,242 | 2.65625 | 3 |
A century before the first computer was developed, an Englishwoman named Ada Lovelace laid the theoretical groundwork for an all-purpose device that could solve a host of mathematically-based problems. Widely credited as being the first-ever computer programmer, Lovelace's pioneering work is explored in a new exhibit that opens today (Oct. 13) at the Science Museum, London, in the United Kingdom.
The date of the exhibit's opening wasn’t chosen at random. Tech geeks around the world are commemorating Lovelace's achievements today, as they do every year in mid-October — a day known as Ada Lovelace Day. The new exhibit features models of early calculating machines, detailed notes and handwritten letters that tell the story of Lovelace's groundbreaking ideas.
Born Augusta Ada Byron in December 1815, Lovelace was the daughter of renowned poet George, Lord Byron and his wife, Anne Isabella Noel. She married William King-Noel, First Earl of Lovelace in 1835 (hence her last name). [In Photos: Ada Lovelace Exhibit at London's Science Museum]
When Lovelace was a teenager, she visited the home of Charles Babbage, a mathematician and mechanical engineer, who was working on his Difference Engine, a calculating machine designed to solve complicated mathematical problems. Lovelace took a keen interest in the machine and in mathematics more generally, according to Tilly Blyth, lead curator of the Ada Lovelace exhibition, who said in a statement that the subject both "fascinated and enthralled" the young Lovelace.
Her early fascination with mathematics and the complex machines used to solve equations eventually led her to take a much closer look at the principles behind another machine that Babbage proposed to build, the Analytical Engine. In 1842, Lovelace translated into English a detailed account of this machine, as described by the Italian mathematician (and later Prime Minister of Italy) Luigi Menabrea.
Lovelace's translation of Menabrea's account was published alongside her extensive notes about the Analytical Engine and its potential uses. Included in her notes was an algorithm that the machine could use to calculate Bernoulli numbers (a set of rational numbers often used in number theory, or arithmetic). Many consider Lovelace's algorithm to be the first computer code ever created, because it was the first logical set of steps developed for use with a specific machine.
But in addition to coming up with the world's first computer code, Lovelace also foretold the coming of the computer age. Her notes on the Analytical Engine relay an important message: Complex mathematical machines can do a lot more than crunch numbers. She predicted that Babbage's contraption might solve any problem that could be expressed using logistical symbols — such as the creation of complex musical scores.
Lovelace's notes are on display at the new exhibit, as are a collection of her personal letters and several portraits of the Victorian-era computer programmer. Also on display are Babbage's intricate drawings of the Analytical Engine, as well as a part of this calculating machine (which was never fully built), as well as other inventions.
The Science Museum will host the Ada Lovelace exhibit until March 2016. | <urn:uuid:a09ef80b-f7db-4acc-b341-06ddbc54c9f0> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.livescience.com/52470-ada-lovelace-museum-exhibit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514572289.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190915195146-20190915221146-00110.warc.gz | en | 0.965714 | 671 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Perchloric acid is one of the strongest acids known. At room temperature, aqueous solutions up to 72% do not have significant oxidizing power, and the corrosive properties are very similar to other mineral acids. However, the oxidizing power increases with concentration and temperature. Concentrated perchloric acid (72%) heated above 150⁰C is a strong oxidizer, and reacts violently with organic material, which has resulted in devastating explosions in the past.
The monohydrate of perchloric acid (85%) is a good oxidizer at room temperature.
Anhydrous perchloric acid is highly unstable, explodes upon contact with organic material, and explodes spontaneously at room temperature after storage for a few days. Its preparation should be avoided.
Perchloric acid forms an azeotrope with water at a concentration of 72.5% perchloric acid. Therefore, aqueous solutions do not form anhydrous perchloric acid by evaporation. However, dangerous anhydrous perchloric acid can form when an aqueous solution is subjected to strong dehydrating conditions such as exposure to concentrated sulfuric acid, acetic anhydride, or phosphorous pentoxide.
At elevated temperatures, vapors from perchloric acid can condense on surfaces in the ductwork of the hood, where they form perchlorate salts that are often highly shock-sensitive and that pose a serious explosion hazard.
Perchloric acid reacts with alcohols and certain other organic compounds to form highly unstable and explosive perchlorate esters.
If you know of or suspect that perchloric acid digestions have been performed in a fume hood not specifically designed for perchloric acid, inform Facilities and Services about the location of the hood.
Rinse off affected skin immediately with copious amounts of water for about 15 min; if necessary, use the safety shower. Remove contaminated clothing.
Use the eye wash to rinse the eye thoroughly for at least 15 min, occasionally lifting upper and lower eyelids and rolling the eyeballs.
Move into fresh air immediately.
Do not induce vomiting. Rinse mouth with water.
If any symptoms persist after following first aid procedures, seek medical attention immediately. Provide the medical team with the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for perchloric acid.
Spills of perchloric acid must be cleaned up thoroughly; dried acid residues can cause unexpected explosions in the future. The spill should be neutralized immediately with sodium bicarbonate or other inorganic acid neutralizer. Sweep up the neutralized spill with a non-flammable material and then clean the spill area thoroughly with water.
Do NOT use rags, paper towels, or sawdust to soak up perchloric acid spills. Such materials may spontaneously ignite once dried out. Likewise, spills on wood may present a fire hazard after the liquid dries.
In the event of a fire, the best extinguishing agent is water.
Store perchloric acid with other inorganic acids and away from organic chemicals and reducers, especially alcohols, glycerol, and hypophosphites. The containers should be stored in secondary containment preferably made from glass, porcelain, ceramic, or other non-absorbing, non-combustible material.
Limit stored quantities to what is needed for the next 6-12 months; do not store perchloric acid over extended periods of time.
Dispose of bottles with discolored perchloric acid solutions immediately.
Inform DRS if crystals have formed around the neck and cap of the bottle.
Collect all perchloric acid and contaminated waste and dispose of it through DRS. The UI codes are 587 for perchloric acid and 50043 for debris contaminated with perchloric acid.
Schilt, A. A. Perchloric acid and perchlorates, G. F. Smith Chemical Company: Columbus, OH, 1979.
Muse, L. A. Safe Handling of Perchloric acid in the Laboratory, J. Chem Educ. 1972, 49, A463-A464.
Furr, A. K., CRC Handbook of Laboratory Safety, 4th ed.; CRC Press LLC: Boca Raton, Florida, 1995.
NRC (National Research Council). Prudent Practices in the Laboratory. Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards. National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 2011.
Pitt, M. J. In Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 6th ed.; Urben, P. G. Ed.; Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd: Oxford, 1999; Vol. 1, pp 1352-1364. | <urn:uuid:4464fbb3-89c1-4396-9d70-266e0e2db1b8> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.drs.illinois.edu/Page/SafetyLibrary/PerchloricAcid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945183.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20230323194025-20230323224025-00638.warc.gz | en | 0.893473 | 969 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The United Nations(UN)’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is annually observed across the globe on 25th November to create awareness about the violence and abuse against women and girls around the world. The day also aims to prevent violence against women and promote basic human rights and gender equality.
The theme of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2022 is “UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls”.
i.The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/54/134 in 2000 and proclaimed the 25th November of every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
ii.The first-ever International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was observed on 25th November 2000.
Why November 25?
i.Since 1981, Women’s rights activists across the globe have been observing 25 November as a day against gender-based violence.
ii.The day (25th November) was chosen to honour the Mirabal sisters, four sisters from the Dominican Republic, 3 of whom – Patria, Minerva and María Teresa were murdered in 1960 for opposing the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo (el Jefe) (1930-1961).
UNiTE campaign – 25th November – 10th December:
The observance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women marks the launch of UNiTE campaign (25th November – 10th December), a 16 days of activism which concludes on International Human Rights Day (10 December).
- Since 2008, The UNiTE campaign is annually led by the UN Secretary-General and UN Women.
To prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls(VAWG) around the world.
Call for a global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities for discussion on challenges and solutions.
“UNITE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls”, the theme of 2022, aims to mobilise all society to become activists to prevent violence against women, to support women’s rights activists and to support feminist movements across the globe to resist the rollback on women’s rights and call for a world free from VAWG.
The UNiTE campaign has proclaimed the 25th of each month as “Orange Day” to raise awareness and take action to end VAWG.
- Orange, the bright and optimistic colour, represents the future free from VAWG.
UN’s Efforts against VAWG:
i.The UNGA adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 18th December 1979, which entered into force as an international treaty on 3 September 1981.
- By 1991, almost 100 nations agreed to be bound by the provisions of the convention.
ii.The UN adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in 1993, the first international instrument explicitly addressing violence against women, providing a framework for national and international action.
UNODC & UN Women Report: Women & Girls are more at risk to be killed at Home:
According to a new study by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) and UN Women, in 2021, for every hour, more than 5 women or girls were killed by someone in their own family.
- The report was released ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25, 2022).
i.Among all the women and girls killed in 2021, 56%(45000 out of 81000) were killed by intimate partners or other family members. This data shows that home is not a safe place for many women & girls across the globe.
ii.The study also shows that 11% of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.
iii.In Africa, the rate of gender-related killings in the private sphere was estimated at 2.5 per 100,000 female population in 2021, compared with 1.4 in the Americas, 1.2 in Oceania, 0.8 in Asia and 0.6 in Europe.
About UN Women:
UN Women, created by UNGA in 2010, is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Executive Director– Sima Bahous
Headquarters– New York, United States of America(USA) | <urn:uuid:17d152f9-3d9d-4b10-85b9-0289cd88d28b> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://affairscloud.com/international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women-2022-november-25/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711064.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20221205232822-20221206022822-00128.warc.gz | en | 0.942573 | 922 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Choosing the right location for planting strawberries.
When it comes to planting strawberries, location is key. Here are some important factors to consider:
Sunlight: Strawberries require at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. Look for a location that gets plenty of sun and has good air circulation.
Soil quality: Choose a location with well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. Avoid planting in areas with heavy clay soils or low-lying areas that may be prone to flooding.
pH level: The ideal soil pH for strawberries is between 5 and Test the soil in your chosen location and amend it as necessary to bring it within this range.
Water source: Strawberries need regular watering, especially during hot, dry spells. Make sure your chosen location has easy access to a water source.
Disease and pest pressure: Depending on your area, strawberries may be prone to certain diseases and pests. Consider the pest and disease pressure in your region and choose a location that is less likely to be affected.
Space: Strawberry plants need room to spread out, so make sure you choose a location with enough space to accommodate the number of plants you want to grow.
By considering these factors, you can choose the best location for your strawberry patch and set yourself up for a successful harvest.
Preparing soil for strawberry plants.
You are excited to start your strawberry garden and want to ensure the soil is prepared properly for the plants to thrive. Here are some steps you can take:
Choose a sunny location: Strawberries prefer full sun, so choose a location in your garden that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Clear the area: Remove any weeds or plants from the area where you will be planting your strawberries. This will prevent competition for nutrients and water.
Test the soil: It’s important to test the soil to determine its nutrient content and pH levels. Strawberries prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH between 5 and You can purchase a soil testing kit at your local garden center or send a sample to a lab for analysis.
Amend the soil: Based on the results of your soil test, you may need to add amendments to improve the soil quality. Strawberries prefer well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter. Adding compost, aged manure, or peat moss can help improve soil structure and provide nutrients for the plants.
Consider raised beds: If your soil is heavy clay or drains poorly, you may want to consider planting your strawberries in raised beds. This will provide better drainage and allow you to control the soil quality more easily.
Add fertilizer: Strawberries are heavy feeders and will benefit from regular applications of fertilizer. Choose a balanced fertilizer with equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and apply according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Prepare the planting holes: Dig holes about 18-24 inches apart and about twice as wide as the root ball of your strawberry plants. Make sure the holes are deep enough to accommodate the roots without bending or crowding them.
Selecting the best strawberry varieties for your area.
When it comes to selecting the best strawberry varieties for your area, there are a few key factors to consider. These include:
– Climate: Different strawberry varieties thrive in different climates. Some varieties prefer cooler temperatures, while others can handle heat and humidity.
– Soil type: Strawberry plants prefer well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. However, some varieties are better suited to particular soil types (e.g. acidic soils).
– Disease resistance: Certain strawberry varieties are more resistant to diseases than others. This can be particularly important if you’re growing strawberries in an area that is prone to fungal or bacterial infections.
– Yield and taste: Of course, you’ll want to select varieties that produce good-sized, flavorful berries.
Some popular strawberry varieties that are well-suited to different growing conditions include:
– ‘Albion’: A day-neutral variety that is known for its high yield, large berries, and sweet flavor. Best suited to areas with mild winters and summers.
– ‘Chandler’: A well-known June-bearing variety that produces large, flavorful berries. Thrives in cool, coastal areas.
– ‘Eversweet’: Another day-neutral variety that is known for its long fruiting season and sweet, juicy berries. Can handle warmer temperatures.
– ‘Ozark Beauty’: A June-bearing variety that is disease-resistant and produces large, firm berries with a sweet flavor. Tolerates heat and humidity well.
When selecting strawberry varieties for your garden, it’s always a good idea to consult with experts at your local nursery or cooperative extension service. They can provide valuable advice on which varieties are best-suited to your particular growing conditions.
Planting strawberry plants.
You have decided to plant some strawberry plants in your garden and you know this requires careful planning and execution. Here are some tips on how to successfully plant strawberry plants:
Choose the right location: Look for a spot in your garden with well-draining soil and full sun exposure. This will help your plants grow strong and healthy.
Prepare the soil: Make sure the soil is loose and moist before planting. Add plenty of compost to enrich the soil and help retain moisture.
Plant at the right time: Strawberry plants should be planted in the early spring or late summer to early fall. Avoid planting in the heat of summer or during freezing temperatures.
Space your plants appropriately: Plant your strawberry plants about 18 inches apart and in rows about 3 feet apart. This will give them enough room to grow and spread out.
Mulch your plants: Add a layer of mulch around your plants to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. Straw or other natural materials work well for this.
Water and fertilize regularly: Water your plants regularly and make sure they are getting enough nutrients. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer every few weeks during the growing season.
Monitor for pests and diseases: Keep an eye out for pest and disease problems and take action as needed to protect your plants.
Proper watering and fertilization techniques for strawberries.
Strawberries need a moderate amount of water to thrive, but they do not like to be waterlogged. Overwatering can cause root rot and other diseases, so it’s important to water them correctly.
First, it’s important to note that strawberries do best when watered consistently instead of sporadically. It’s better to water them deeply once a week than to give them short, frequent watering sessions.
When you water your strawberries, aim to get the water directly onto the soil and avoid getting water on the leaves or fruit. This can help prevent fungal diseases.
Strawberries are heavy feeders and require regular fertilization to produce healthy fruit.
The best time to fertilize strawberries is in the early spring, right after they’ve started to grow. Use a balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, and follow the package instructions for the correct amount to use.
As the plants start to flower and fruit, you can give them a boost with a high-potassium fertilizer, such as 0-0-6 This will help the fruit develop fully and improve the plant’s overall health.
It’s important not to over-fertilize strawberries, as this can lead to excessive vegetative growth and a decrease in fruit production. Follow the package instructions carefully and avoid using more fertilizer than recommended.
Overall, proper watering and fertilization techniques play an important role in the success of your strawberry plants. With regular care and attention, you can grow healthy, productive plants and enjoy fresh, delicious strawberries all season long.
Managing pests and diseases in strawberry plants.
As an enthusiastic gardener and horticulturist with an agricultural background, the health and productivity of my plants are of utmost importance to me. Managing pests and diseases in strawberry plants can be challenging, but with the right approach, it is possible to keep them healthy and thriving.
Here are a few tips on managing pests and diseases in strawberry plants:
Prevention is key
Preventing pests and diseases is always preferable to treating them. To prevent pests and diseases, keep your strawberry plants healthy by providing them with good soil, proper watering, and adequate sunlight. Also, removing weeds and other debris helps to avoid pest and disease infestations.
Identify pests and diseases
Identifying pests and diseases is the first step towards appropriate management. Pest infestations can be identified by closely inspecting the leaves and fruits, while diseases may cause yellowing of leaves, wilting, or discoloration of the plant.
Use natural remedies
Natural remedies such as companion planting or insect-repelling herbs can help deter pests without using toxic chemicals. Intercropping with plants like marigolds or mint is an effective way to ward off pests like aphids and spider mites. Also, using organic pesticides or homemade solutions made from garlic, neem oil, or dish soap can help control pests.
Sanitize tools, containers and soil
Sanitization of tools, containers, and soil is critical in preventing or controlling the spread of diseases. Clean and sterilize tools, pots or trays, and soil to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.
Remove and dispose of infected plants
If individual plants are affected by disease, it is best to remove them immediately to avoid spreading the infection to other plants. Infected plant debris should also be disposed of appropriately, away from other plants, to reduce the risk of spreading the disease.
In conclusion, Managing pests and diseases in strawberry plants requires ongoing observation, care, and attention. Preventing pests and diseases before they occur is the best approach, but if infestations or diseases do occur, appropriate intervention and management can maintain healthy and productive plants.
Tips for harvesting and preserving strawberries for longer shelf life.
Harvest in the morning: The best time to harvest strawberries is in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. This helps to preserve the delicate texture and flavor of the fruit.
Handle with care: When harvesting, be careful not to damage the fruit by pulling or twisting the stems. Instead, use scissors or a sharp knife to cut the stem just above the fruit. This reduces the risk of bruising or crushing the fruit.
Store in a cool place: After harvesting, store the strawberries in a cool place, preferably at 32-36°F/0-2°C. This reduces the risk of spoilage and extends the shelf life of the fruit.
Do not wash the fruit: It is important to not wash the strawberries until you are ready to use them. Washing them beforehand can result in excess moisture which leads to quick spoilage.
Freeze for long-term storage: If you have an excess of strawberries that you cannot use before they spoil, consider freezing them. Simply wash, slice, and freeze strawberries on a baking sheet before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag. They will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer and can be used for smoothies, baking or cooking.
Use vinegar wash: A vinegar wash is a great way to remove mold and bacteria, therefore extending the fruit’s shelf life. Mix 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water and soak the strawberries for 5-10 minutes. Rinse and dry gently with a paper towel. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Make jam or preserves: Making homemade jam or preserves is a great way to utilize excess strawberries and extend their shelf life. Simply cook strawberries with sugar and lemon juice, and store the jam or preserves in a sterilized jar. They will last up to a year if stored properly.
By following these tips, you can extend the shelf life of your strawberries and enjoy the harvest for weeks or months to come. | <urn:uuid:39035898-de49-43f9-abee-f62b2fc2fc90> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://marylandlawnandgarden.com/growing-plants/how-to-grow-strawberry-plant-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510781.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20231001041719-20231001071719-00497.warc.gz | en | 0.921994 | 2,482 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Yesterday's Muse Books prepared a catalogue a short time ago headed October 2014 Catalog. In the antiquarian book trade, two months ago counts as new. While the catalogue does not have a specific topic, we can tell you that 127 of the 171 items are listed under the heading “Americana.” Of these, they focus primarily on early English settlement. So, the largest concentration is concerned with the Plymouth colony, which then spreads out to items elsewhere in Massachusetts, and then to New England, and finally, to a few items from points in America farther away. Almost all of the items pertain to colonial times. The remaining 44 are a complete mix, a miscellany of just about anything that can be found in 44 items. Here are a few of the books to be found in this selection.
We start with an important account of the founding and early years of the Plymouth Colony by their most significant leader. Item 106 is the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Vol. III of the Fourth Series. It includes Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, Now First Printed from the Original Manuscript. Though published in 1856, two centuries after Governor Bradford died, it is the first printed appearance of Bradford's narrative, written from 1630-1647. Bradford had become a follower of the reformers turned separatists while still a boy in England, and barely reaching adulthood, joined them when they moved to Holland for religious freedom. When the decision was made to move to America, he was one of the first group, sailing on the Mayflower. He helped choose Plymouth for the first settlement. Due to his natural leadership qualities, when the colony's first governor, John Carver, died only a few months after their landing in Plymouth, Bradford was chosen to succeed him. He would continue to serve as Governor for most of the time from 1621 until his death in 1657. In his account, Bradford describes the years in Holland, the difficult crossing on the Mayflower, the terrible first winter when half of the settlers died, the help from local Indians that saved their lives, and the later development of the colony. Bradford's manuscript was lost during the American Revolution, being located years later in London. Priced at $495.
Item 102 is a biography of a man similarly important to the new colonists. William Brewster was a generation older than Bradford. It was in Brewster's home in Holland that the young Bradford lived until receiving an inheritance at the age of 21. Brewster was the only member of the Separatists with a university education. In Holland, he operated their printing press, turning out religious tracts. Brewster also traveled with the first group of settlers on the Mayflower. As the Pilgrims had no minister with them, Brewster served as the colony's religious leader until the first pastor arrived in 1629. Brewster also was an important adviser to Gov. Bradford, surviving until the year 1644. Item 102 is Chief of the Pilgrims: or, the Life and Time of William Brewster, Ruling Elder of the Pilgrim Company That Founded New Plymouth... published in 1857. $295.
Item 9 is a history of the Plymouth colony by Francis Baylies, published in 1830: An Historical Memoir of the Colony of New Plymouth, four volumes covering various time periods from 1620 – 1691. This covers the period from the founding of the colony to its annexation into the larger Massachusetts Bay colony. This copy contains the notation “Jane E. Brewster from her brother Henry C. Brewster. Christmas 1919.” The Brewsters were direct descendants of founder William Brewster. $295.
The Pilgrims had the misfortune of landing in Plymouth during a particularly harsh winter. However, it was not the only tough winter, while others have been mild and gentle. Here is a chance to learn about them all for those first two centuries. Item 63 is Early American Winters, 1604-1820 by David M. Ludlum, published by the American Meteorological Society in 1966. $35.
Cotton Mather was the most important religious figure in New England during the first quarter of the 18th century. Third generation in the line of the preaching Mathers, he was essentially a moderate between more fundamentalist and reformist theologies of the day. Despite a notable career, he is likely most remembered today for his tacit approval of the horrific Salem witch trials. His biblical understandings led him to believe there were evil spirits out there, and who was more likely to be one than some old hag who acted like a witch? Three decades later, Mather preached his last sermon, a remembrance of another man of God: The Comfortable Chambers, Opened and Visited, upon the Departure of That Aged and Faithful Servant of God, Mr. Peter Thatcher, the Never to be forgotten Pastor of Milton, Who made his Flight thither, on December 17, 1727. Cotton Mather would make his own flight thither just two months later. This last sermon was published in 1796. Item 67. $175.
Lincoln may have emancipated the black slaves, but evidently not the white ones, according to this book by Guy Fitch Phelps, published by the Christian Witness Co. in 1913: Seventy Traps of White Slavers by Which They Trap Girls. Phelps makes some stunning revelations, such as there are more than 700,000 white slavers in the U.S. and they are as thoroughly organized as Standard Oil. The head man is known as the “Big Chief,” and they execute those who violate their rules. There are clearing houses where girls, average age 17, are bought and sold, prices ranging from $3.50 - $1,000. These girls can be found at places like dance halls (not surprising) and ice cream parlours (huh?). Item 166. $35. | <urn:uuid:00428666-fd5b-4156-aa04-baad60cc3e84> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.rarebookhub.com/reviews/1697 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794867995.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20180527024953-20180527044953-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.974686 | 1,209 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Motivation and management style
There is a greater emphasis on participative management styles and people management skills deeper sense of satisfaction and higher levels of motivation. Employees motivation in organizations: an integrative literature motivation and management practices and motivation and broader leadership style / behaviours. Motivation approach schultz’s leadership style revolves around gaining the trust, admiration and motivation to other people who in turn repay in working harder. Leadership and motivation unit 11 2 human behaviour is as much a reflection of the differences between individuals as it is a reflection of their similarities. The basics: what are the four factors of motivation let’s begin with the four factors that are the basics of motivating anyone leadership style. Motivation and leadership each of the leadership theories, styles and concepts we have such as preferred leadership styles and employee motivation. The motivation for management is power and profit leadership is different because it is “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who.
Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including management styles and motivation get access to over 12 million. The role of leadership style in employee engagement focus on one aspect of talent management, motivation, that leads to some of these desired. Newsletters employee motivation and leadership style volume: january 2011 by doug van dyke, leadership simplified, wwwleadershipsimplifiedcom there are a host of. The six leadership styles for effective team performance daniel goleman (2002) created the six leadership styles and found, in his research, that leaders used one of. Their operation, procedure in order to provide sufficient abstract—this research chose auditing field as a case study to investigate and evaluate the overall.
Motivation and leadership in social work management: a review of theories and related studies in order to inspire motivation developing a leadership style is. Great leaders choose their leadership styles like a golfer chooses a club: with a clear understanding of the end goal and the best tool for the job. Leadership theories, styles and types can have a powerful effect on motivating employees this article will help you develop the correct business leadership skill.
Measuring the impact of leadership style and employee empowerment on perceived organizational reputation by leadership style motivation, and behavior. Learn more about how to draw forth the inspiration and motivation in the people you leadership inspiration characteristics of a successful leadership style. Free article from wwwlearnmanagement2com about management styles however this type of management style can decrease motivation and increase staff turnover. Management styles and theories | a comparison comparing management styles laissez faire style could raise the employee motivation if the employee has a.
Does leadership style affect employee work on employee work performance and motivation leadership style that encourages employees to take part. Full-text (pdf) | this mixed methods study aimed to examine the relationship between the adopted leadership style and employees motivation in a private petrochemical.
Motivation and management style
A look at how autocratic, democratic and lassiez-faire management styles affect employee motivation & productivity in the workplace. Get information on management styles find the latest management techniques this style of management is often also unable to fully inspire the motivation of.
Motivation leadership change management: patrick dixon on leadership strategies, leadership styles and motivation tools, team motivation, war for talent. Nurse leaders develop a certain leadership style to effectively oversee responsibilities, which can have a direct impact on employee motivation and teamwork. 2 leadership, motivation & team building leadership introduction leadership issues definition another theory gives the four main leadership styles as:. Behavioral management theory was developed in response to the need to account for employee behavior and motivation the shift moved management from. The role of leadership in employee motivation idah naile leadership style in motivating the teaching staff to be committed to their work.
Leadership style could influence the different level of motivation however, throughout a lifetime, changing ambitions and leadership style influences. An effective leader must understand the basic needs of employees, peers and his superiors learn in detail how leadership is used as a means of motivating others. The relationship between leadership styles and leadership styles and motivation of manager in the organizations in amman – jordan moreover, this study. | <urn:uuid:6a69b61d-ede6-487d-96c3-902238ac609c> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://cdtermpaperjwon.shvkxir.us/motivation-and-management-style.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583512501.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20181020013721-20181020035221-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.929893 | 834 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Previous article: Excel 2013 Regression Analysis How To
Watch the video or read the steps below:
Excel Regression Analysis Output Explained
In the previous article, I explained how to perform Excel regression analysis. After you’ve gone through the steps, Excel will spit out your results, which will look something like this:
Excel Regression Analysis Output Explained: Multiple Regression
Here’s a breakdown of what each piece of information in the output means:
EXCEL REGRESSION ANALYSIS OUTPUT PART ONE: REGRESSION STATISTICS
- Multiple R. This is the correlation coefficient. It tells you how strong the linear relationship is. For example, a value of 1 means a perfect positive relationship and a value of zero means no relationship at all. It is the square root of r squared (see #2).
- R squared. This is r2, the Coefficient of Determination. It tells you how many points fall on the regression line. for example, 80% means that 80% of the variation of y-values around the mean are explained by the x-values. In other words, 80% of the values fit the model.
- Adjusted R square. The adjusted R-square adjusts for the number of terms in a model. You’ll want to use this instead of #2 if you have more than one x variable.
- Standard Error of the regression: An estimate of the standard deviation of the error μ. This is not the same as the standard error in descriptive statistics! The standard error of the regression is the precision that the regression coefficient is measured; if the coefficient is large compared to the standard error, then the coefficient is probably different from 0.
- Observations. Number of observations in the sample.
EXCEL REGRESSION ANALYSIS OUTPUT EXPLAINED PART TWO: ANOVA
- SS = Sum of Squares.
- Regression MS = Regression SS / Regression degrees of freedom.
- Residual MS = mean squared error (Residual SS / Residual degrees of freedom).
- F: Overall F test for the null hypothesis.
- Significance F: The significance associated P-Value.
The second part of output you get in Excel is rarely used, compared to the regression output above. It splits the sum of squares into individual components (see: Residual sum of squares), so it can be harder to use the statistics in any meaningful way. If you’re just doing basic linear regression (and have no desire to delve into individual components) then you can skip this section of the output.
For example, to calculate R2 from this table, you would use the following formula:
R2 = 1 – residual sum of squares (SS Residual) / Total sum of squares (SS Total).
In the above table, residual sum of squares = 0.0366 and the total sum of squares is 0.75, so:
R2 = 1 – 0.0366/0.75=0.9817
EXCEL REGRESSION ANALYSIS PART THREE: INTERPRET REGRESSION COEFFICIENTS
This section of the table gives you very specific information about the components you chose to put into your data analysis. Therefore the first column (in this case, House / Square Feet) will say something different, according to what data you put into the worksheet. For example, it might say “height”, “income” or whatever variables you chose.
The columns are:
- Coefficient: Gives you the least squares estimate.
- Standard Error: the least squares estimate of the standard error.
- T Statistic: The T Statistic for the null hypothesis vs. the alternate hypothesis.
- P Value: Gives you the p-value for the hypothesis test.
- Lower 95%: The lower boundary for the confidence interval.
- Upper 95%: The upper boundary for the confidence interval.
The most useful part of this section is that it gives you the linear regression equation:
y = mx + b.
y = slope * x + intercept.
For the above table, the equation would be approximately:
y = 3.14 – 0.65X1 + 0.024X2.
If you prefer an online interactive environment to learn R and statistics, this free R Tutorial by Datacamp is a great way to get started. If you're are somewhat comfortable with R and are interested in going deeper into Statistics, try this Statistics with R track.Comments are now closed for this post. Need help or want to post a correction? Please post a comment on our Facebook page and I'll do my best to help! | <urn:uuid:7e670af4-81a0-4b33-a22c-2ee6844c612e> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://www.statisticshowto.com/excel-regression-analysis-output-explained/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084887832.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20180119065719-20180119085719-00142.warc.gz | en | 0.833362 | 991 | 3.828125 | 4 |
In May 2015 the Australian federal government started a TV advertising campaign to educate the public on the dangers of methamphetamine also known as “ice.” This $9 million advertising campaign depicts the violence that ignites when a family uses ice. The Australian government also put $20 million aside to use for ice awareness for the next two years. Along with this strategy, the Commonwealth Government has established the National Ice Taskforce, which will work with government agencies, communities and expert groups to analyze and address existing efforts to improve public awareness, health and law enforcement policies to combat the rising use of ice in Australia.
Australia’s media and politicians agree that the country is facing an ice epidemic. The term “ice” refers specifically to one form of methamphetamine powder that is crystallized and more potent than the other forms. This particular form of meth has been used prevalently throughout the country and is gaining popularity. Australia has one of the highest meth use rates in the world — the highest among English speaking countries. Approximately two percent of Australians over 14 years of age has used methamphetamines, according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS). This rate is about three to five times higher than that of Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Odyssey House, one of Australia’s largest drug addiction treatment services, reports that 40 percent of the drug users entering their program claimed that methamphetamines were their main drug of choice, which has increased from 33 percent in 2013.
Powder methamphetamine use had decreased between 2010 and 2013, but the reported use of ice (crystallized methamphetamine) has more than doubled. Of the population that uses methamphetamines, approximately half of them use ice.
Another alarming factor in this epidemic is the recent rise in the purity of the drug. Between 2009 and 2013, the average purity of meth powders and crystallized methamphetamines that have been found in seizures in Victoria increased from 12 percent to 37 percent and 21 percent to 64 percent, respectively. The price of crystal meth in the country is also the highest in the world, which has contributed to a surge in organized crime units increasing their trade of the drug. Australian police have reported raiding almost 750 meth labs in 2014 and expect there to be more for 2015. These labs have also been blamed for contaminating the environment because, reportedly, cooks have been dumping the highly toxic byproducts of meth production in water systems and national parks. For every two pounds of meth that is produced, there is about 20 pounds of toxic waste that is left.
The new ad campaign exaggeratingly portrays the menacing and psychotic side effects of crystal meth use and the increase in purity found in ice specifically has attributed to the appearance of these harmful side effects of ingesting meth among its users. Some common side effects include:
Last year, $150 million worth of meth was intercepted while being shipped from China into Australia. China is the leading supplier of meth-producing chemicals in the world and the entire South-East Asia region has become entrenched in the war on meth. By informing the public of the gravity of the crystal meth epidemic and the dangers it brings to the lives of its users, the country will continue to fight the war on ice.
Methamphetamine addiction is a global problem not only in Australia, but in the United States well. Sovereign Health Group is among the leading treatment providers in the country. We offer various inpatient and outpatient treatment programs for patients who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, mental health disorders and a combination of the two known as dual diagnosis. If you know someone who is struggling with drug addiction and is in need of treatment, please contact us through online chat or over the phone. One of our treatment specialists will assist you in finding the right treatment option for you.
Written by Benjamin Creekmore, Sovereign Health Group writer | <urn:uuid:7fec1bf5-1e36-4430-8d94-1f7897a62f80> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.sovhealth.com/addiction/australian-government-launches-new-advertising-campaign-combat-meth-epidemic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424148.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170722202635-20170722222635-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.964345 | 782 | 2.984375 | 3 |
How Things Work
In part one of this briefing, Ian Brown sets the scene for the regulatory issues that are rapidly arriving for the internet of things.
Plummeting electronics and communication costs have set the stage for a rapid expansion of the internet of things (IoT) – the many everyday physical items that now have sensors and network links, enabling them to remotely share data about themselves, their users and environment. In the next decade, technology companies and consulting firms expect tens of billions of IoT devices to be deployed, with an annual economic impact in the trillions of dollars.
Companies manufacturing IoT devices are only one part of a broader ecosystem of organisations developing the IoT. The data created by devices can be shared via communications networks, platforms (including social media sites), and accessed and controlled by third-party applications – often running on users' smartphones (which themselves contain an increasingly diverse range of sensors).
This article examines the concepts, technologies, and societal changes influenced by the IoT and related technical developments – which include convergence, cloud services, data analytics, the proliferation of sensors, measuring and monitoring humans, machines and things – that are leading to a shift from human-to-human communications, to machine-to-machine and everything-to-everything communications.
Please sign in with your IIC login to read this article in full | <urn:uuid:a141a5bf-8ad0-42f1-b61e-88e7e8862059> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://www.iicom.org/intermedia/intermedia-past-issues/intermedia-september-2015/how-things-work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583705737.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20190120102853-20190120124853-00408.warc.gz | en | 0.925846 | 270 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Going to the hospital is a leading cause of death in this country. Nearly 100,000 people die each year because of illnesses they get from being inside hospitals.
Nearly one in 20 patients entering a U.S. hospital ends up with an infection they didn't have to start with, unrelated to their initial problem. You might say there is an epidemic of hospital errors.
A group of California hospitals has been teaming up in an experiment to implement some basic public health procedures inside hospitals to prevent infections and deaths.
More than 160 hospitals are sharing ways to prevent infections over a three-year program.
The campaign began more than a year ago and the number of pneumonia cases linked to hospital ventilators has dropped by 40 percent in that time.
Dr. Eugene Grigsby is president of the National Health Foundation, a nonprofit participant in the campaign. He says that the biggest challenge will be making sure that everyone on hospital staffs, including doctors, follows best practices.
“You do it eight, nine, 10, 12 times and there’s a tendency to say 'Oh I know how to do this' without following the checklist," Grigsby says. "And so systematically it’s like washing the hands – 'Oh I know I’m supposed to wash my hands – I’m in a hurry, there’s an emergency, I need to get to this patient.' No, you need to wash your hands first.”
While handwashing may seem like an obvious safety precaution for hospitals, Grigsby says the reality is much bleaker.
"Focus on hand-washing is a tremendous effort across hospitals," Grigsby says. "You'd be surprised how many professionals, and particularly unfortunately physicians, do not wash their hands from patient to patient."
The new campaign also establishes more effective procedures for testing incoming patients for infection. Previously, some patients would enter a hospital and spread their infection, unbeknownst to doctors or staff, Grigsby says.
California’s Regional Hospital Associations and Anthem Blue Cross also have joined the effort. The state Department of Public Health estimates that 12,000 people die each year in California from hospital-related infections.
Grigsby says that their hospital campaign has already saved 800 lives, but the ultimate goal is to completely eliminate hospital acquired infections.
Audio: KPCC’s Shirley Jahad talked about the effort with Dr. Eugene Grigsby, president of the National Health Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving patient safety. | <urn:uuid:c05e8fb5-e43a-4f79-b7b0-b2e6a245fad1> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/08/24/28417/three-year-effort-aims-cut-back-hospital-related-i/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510261249.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011741-00406-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952056 | 521 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Technically this photograph of Labidomera clivicollis (swamp milkweed leaf beetle) doesn’t qualify as a “one-shot”, as I did take a few other shots as well. However, this was the only shot out of the handful that I didn’t throw away. It’s not perfect—the right front and left rear legs are raised awkwardly, and the lighting is a bit harsh. However, the important parts of the beetle are in focus, the composition is acceptable (with all parts of the beetle within the frame), and there is pleasing value contrast between the orange and black body of the beetle, the green plant on which it sits, and the clear blue sky in the background. The plant’s flowers have even added a smidgen of pink. All of the other photos lacked either focus or composition, neither of which are easily “fixable” in post-processing. The difficulty in getting a better photo is a result of the beetle’s refusal to settle down and stop walking and my lack of desire to spend an inordinate amount of time waiting for this to happen as opposed to finding the insect I was really looking for (more on that in a future post).
I found this beetle on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) in Hickman Co., Kentucky. As the common name suggests, swamp milkweed is one of the main hosts for this rather large beetle (at least, by leaf beetle standards). However, they can and do feed and develop on other milkweeds, especially common milkweed (A. syriaca), and even related genera such as swallow-wort (Cynanchum) and twinevine (Funastrum) (all belonging the family Asclepiadaceae).
Labidomera clivicollis is part of the orange and black milkweed mimicry complex, which includes monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes spp.), large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), small milkweed bug (Lygaeus kalmii), milkweed assassin bug (Zelus longipes), and others. Most of these insects have evolved mechanisms for avoiding or detoxifying cardenolides (produced by milkweed as a defense against herbivores) and sequestering them within their bodies for their own defense against predators. This represents a classic example of a Müllerian mimicry ring, in which multiple insect species—sometimes from different families and even different orders—share a common warning color. Predators learn to avoid these colors and, thus, avoid all of the species within the mimicry ring.
© Ted C. MacRae 2014 | <urn:uuid:d2e53445-9937-4db1-a259-10ca9f61c5fc> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/one-shot-wednesday-swamp-milkweed-leaf-beetle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818689028.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20170922164513-20170922184513-00249.warc.gz | en | 0.961944 | 570 | 2.578125 | 3 |
You’re probably aware that aerial arts involves acrobatic dancers and athletes performing stunning and awe-inspiring feats high above ground.
But as a student, you may be wondering – what exactly counts as an aerial art form, and what are the different ways to learn them?
There are a wide variety of aerial apparatuses which have a variety of names – aerial fabric (also called tissu or silks), aerial hoop (lyra), trapeze, hammock (sling), and rope (corde lisse) are some of the most commonly taught apparatus at any circus studio, though you may certainly see others offered.
At Stomping Ground Studio, we offer classes in two very different aerial apparatuses – aerial tissu (or silks) and lyra (aerial hoop).
If you know you’d like to try out an aerial class but are debating exactly how to get started, we’ve got some advice.
Below, we’ve collected some of the key features of training in both tissu and lyra so that you can decide which is a better fit for you.
First off, let’s start with a brief definition.
Lyra – or aerial hoop – is a metal ring (most frequently made of steel). They might be wrapped in a soft tape or left bare, with metal exposed. They also come in a wide variety of sizes, perhaps barely big enough for your body to fit through or large enough to comfortably accommodate multiple performer’s limbs and torsos. Lyras are most commonly rigged as either single or double point, meaning that the hoop’s central overhead anchor is either from one spot or two.
What people like
Making bendy shapes with your body. Lyra is a great apparatus for showcasing flexibility. The sturdy metal structure offers something solid to hold onto while its circular shape allows limbs to press or extend at a distance from each other.
A chance to rest. Because there is a “bottom bar” – the part of the hoop that is closest to the ground – you can always come to a seat in the lyra to take a little breather in between poses. This sets lyra (and trapeze) apart from many other apparatuses that simply hang in one vertical line.
Ability to partner up. Lyra is one of the most common aerial apparatuses that you’ll see used in duo performances. Specially sized lyras made for two people are widely available, and partner lyra technique is taught in many studios.
A quicker learning curve. It’s possible to learn a wide repertoire of lyra skills in just a few classes. This might make lyra a good fit for you if you are interested in learning Instagrammable poses or creating choreography for a performance right away.
Spinning! For some of us, spinning is downright fun! Plus, it can also make for a great featured element in a performance. Though you can spin on a vertical apparatus, the job is much easier on a lyra simply because there is less material weighing you down towards the floor.
What people don’t like
Metal is hard. Though the firm metal of the hoop does help to give you a solid grip, it also takes a little time to build up the right callouses. And you will need those callouses. Lyra can be tough on your hands, knees, elbow pits or any other body part that presses into the hoop. Be prepared for some weird bruises!
More static, less dynamic. We firmly believe that any apparatus can be used dynamically. However, when you’re just starting out, the way your body will be moving on a lyra will be different than on a vertical apparatus. If you love the feeling of moving through space and swinging your limbs around you, you might prefer the dynamic movements that are well suited to vertical apparatuses.
A quicker learning curve. While learning a lot quickly may be a perk for some, it can also lead to boredom for others. Most of the new shapes and techniques you will learn on a lyra will come up front, and be expanded and perfected over time.
How to progress
Train your flexibility. We recommend a combination of active flexibility (lifting or lengthening areas of the body with your own strength) and passive (sitting in a stretch for an extended period of time). With greater bendiness, you’ll be able to take lyra shapes to their fullest potential.
Spinning tolerance. Spinning does not come naturally to everyone. If it makes you feel a little queasy or uneasy, take it slow and try to build your tolerance over time. Learning the dance technique of “spotting” or training yourself to focus on a fixed point on your body can help.
Strengthen your hands. Holding onto a metal circle for minutes at a time can get exhausting. Work on improving your ability to grip by holding weights (or even full grocery bags) and stretching your fingers and wrists often.
Try different types of lyras. There’s a lot of variety, so be sure to expand your horizons, if you’re able. You may find that you only like taped lyra and don’t like gripping bare metal, or vice versa. You may prefer a single-point to a double-point. But you’ll only know if you try!
What people like:
An athletic experience. Because you cannot take resting poses as easily as on a lyra, many people find tissu a more challenging athletic experience. If you enjoy cardio or endurance sports, this may be a good fit for you.
Dynamic movement. A vertical apparatus, like tissu, has a movement all its own. Fabric can move – or be moved – in any plane, in any direction, fast or slow, like a whip or like taffy. Students that enjoy moving with their whole bodies in a variety of movements seem to appreciate this about tissu.
Solving puzzles. In order to perform many moves on aerial tissu, your body has to move one way, at one time, towards a place, and arrive in a certain way. Learning fabric can be sort of like a logic puzzle for your body. For many students, the best part of a tissu class is trying to figure out all the different pieces of a new move – or, eventually, creating their own wraps and positions.
What people don’t like:
A steep learning curve. Tissu can be a particularly intimidating apparatus to learn. It’s vertical (no rest breaks), requires endurance (which you may or may not have lots off), and it’s slippery (requires good grip strength. While there are several fundamental moves and shapes on tissu, learning just the basics can take several classes, weeks, or months. You may not always leave your first classes feeling like the champ you are.
Considerable upper body strength. To do pretty much anything on fabric, you’ve got to have a strong upper body. Your core must stabilize you, and your arms, back, chest, and shoulders have to work to pull your entire body weight against gravity. It will certainly be built over time as you continue your training. Students rarely come to their first class able to complete a full pull-up, so don’t sweat it!
Going upside down. Some people love it. And some definitely don’t. Unlike on lyra, where there are many shapes you can make while keeping your head pointing up (or at least sideways), one of the fundamental skills of tissu is gaining comfort with inverting, when your head is the lowest part of your body. If even the thought of this sends you into a panic, you should expect to take things one tiny step at a time.
How to progress
Increase your upper body strength. One of the best possible things you can do to improve your skills on vertical apparatus is to get better at pull-ups. Hang from a pull up bar. Hold yourself at the bar with bent arms and with straight arms (shoulders engaged). Hold yourself and slowly lower down. Repeat until you can pull yourself up. Then repeat, repeat, repeat…
Challenge your comfort with going upside down. If inverting makes you nervous, start to play with going upside-down in slow, safe ways. Have a friend spot you in a handstand or headstand or do them against an empty wall. Try out a slow-paced aerial yoga class, and allow the aerial sling to give you all the support you need to tip back.
Everything on both sides! When you approach tissu, it’s often to one side of your body. Your teacher may have you climb, tie in your foot, or hook a knee on one side. Do it on the other side too. For the folks in the back – DO IT ON THE OTHER SIDE TOO. You may see many advanced aerialist who can perform a beautiful skill on their right but UGH what’s that on the left? You may be a beginner, but you don’t have to be lazy! Do both sides.
Pay attention to theory. As you are learning wraps, pay attention to not just how to get to them but also how they work. What is keeping you locked in? What doesn’t work? The more you pay attention to the puzzles behind the moves, the more you’ll be able to experiment and pick up new skills as you progress.
When in doubt… Do both!
While many people may find they have a preference between one apparatus or another, the beginning of your aerial education is the perfect time to try several.
At Stomping Ground Studio, you can take a class in tissu or in lyra OR try a mixed apparatus class where time will be split between the two apparatuses.
Whichever you choose, we recommend a minimum of three classes within three weeks to get the best feel for the apparatus that works best for you.
Stay tuned for more tips on getting the most out of your first aerial class! | <urn:uuid:07e6ed8a-fb74-4c2e-b4aa-535110fd848b> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://stompinggroundstudio.org/tag/handstands/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057417.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20210923044248-20210923074248-00115.warc.gz | en | 0.943952 | 2,094 | 2.6875 | 3 |
The inchman (Myrmecia forficata) is a species of bulldog ant that is native to Australia. The ants are recorded in the south eastern part of the country, but are most often found in Tasmania. The inchman is the most poisonous of the bulldog ants, ranging from about 15 to 25 millimeters long, but less aggressive than the Jack jumper ant. These ants are purplish-brown, with a black abdomen. Their large size gave them their name, although most are slightly smaller than the traditional inch (25.4 mm). Their nests may be inconspicuously hidden under a rock or in a small hole.
As with many species of bulldog ants, the inchman are usually solitary when they forage, though they live in colonies like most ants.
The inchman is a carnivore and a scavenger. They sting their victims with venom analogous to stings of wasps, bees, and fire ants. Their venom is some of the most powerful in the insect world. The reputation for being the most venomous ant is possibly due to the tendency of the toxin to induce anaphylactic shock. It is this which kills the victim.
The symptoms of the stings of the ants are similar to stings of the fire ants. The reaction is local; swelling, reddening and fever, followed by formation of a blister. The heart rate increases, and blood pressure falls rapidly. In about 3% of cases, the sting causes anaphylactic shock. Treatment is very similar to wasp and bee stings.
- ^ Simon G A Brown, Qi-Xuan Wu, G Robert H Kelsall, Robert J Heddle and Brian A Baldo, Medical Journal of Australia (MJA 2001; 175: 644-647)
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Myrmecia forficata|
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Chakra Owen Sound - According to the Hindu tradition, the chakras are centers of biophysical or metaphysical energy inside the human body. There are 7 fundamental chakras, and many consider in additional lesser chakras situated inside the body. Several modern day believers have drawn parallels between the key organs of the endocrine system plus the chakra system.
A collection of lotus flowers ascending the spine to the crown of the skull symbolize the 7 essential chakras. Every chakra has an element, and an associated colour plus source of energy and each lotus has a particular amount of petals. As the chakras proceed from the lowest to the highest, they govern increasingly spiritual functions. As an individual becomes more spiritually aware, they get in contact with the upper chakras one by one. The bottom chakra connects with probably the most fundamental physical issues, whilst the highest represents enlightenment.
The Root Chakra is said to be positioned at the foot of the spine. It's thought to symbolize basic instincts, survival and emotions of security. The root chakra is associated with the element of earth and the colour red. It's regarded to be a 4 petal lotus.
The Sacral Chakra is said to reside in the pelvis or the groin. It is associated to emotions, sexual power and creativeness. This chakra is associated with the element water and the colour orange and is represented by a six petal lotus flower.
In the area where the thorax and the abdomen meet is positioned the Solar Plexus chakra. It governs absorption, psychological function as well as power. The solar plexus chakra colour is yellow and its' component is fire. It is symbolized by a 10 petal lotus.
The Heart Chakra is said to control empathy and fondness and is associated with the chest area incorporating the lungs. The heart chakra is related to the colour green and the component of air. Its lotus has 12 petals.
The Throat Chakra is related to self-expression, growth and communication. It's represented by a 16 petal lotus and is related to the component of sound or life and the colour blue.
Another name for the Brow Chakra is the third eye. It controls perception and instinct and it represented by a two petal lotus. Its colour is indigo and it is linked to the component of light or time.
The Crown Chakra is thought to characterize the head of religious awareness or to be the link to the divine. Symbolized as a violet or white lotus with a thousand petals, its related element is space or thought.
Click to Download the pdf | <urn:uuid:6219db09-0699-4bcf-9738-d083ea178bbd> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://owensoundnaturopathicclinic.com/owensound/236/chakra_owen_sound.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267161098.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180925044032-20180925064432-00250.warc.gz | en | 0.934705 | 548 | 2.953125 | 3 |
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