text
stringlengths 198
621k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 95
values | url
stringlengths 15
1.73k
| file_path
stringlengths 110
155
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.65
1
| token_count
int64 49
160k
| score
float64 2.52
5.03
| int_score
int64 3
5
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Git is one of the most popular version control systems and is quickly gaining prominence. It is used on multiple cloud hosting services, including Amazon’s EC2 and Heroku, and has vibrant usage among top open source communities.
Which means that if you want to make use of Amazon or Heroku’s awesome server power or contribute your code to an open source project, you have to know how to participate by using git.
How Git works
Git is an open-source version control system (meaning, it’s free!) that allows developers to track changes made on their code files throughout the lifetime of a project. Git is designed such that it views your code files like a “tree” and allows you to do cool things like create a “branch” where you work on some of the files without affecting the “trunk” code base until you are sufficiently convinced that the changes you are making are good and won’t break the rest of the tree.
If you are alone working on a project git is a great way to track the changes you make and also safeguard yourself from making a silly mistake that breaks your web app or, worse yet, accidentally delete months of work.
Where Git really excels, however, is for projects where more than one developer is working on the code. The tree-like architecture we described above allows many developers (up to hundreds!) to work on a project at the same time without the code devolving into one big hairy mess.
Git was initially created by Linus Torvalds to be used on Linux kernel development with a large, distributed team of developers. Since the Linux kernel project is very large and the development was distributed among developers all over the world, Torvalds designed Git so that it would be fast and good at distributed version control. The beauty of Git is that it allows developers to easily merging changes into the master code base and encourages developers to be experimental, because Git allows you to make changes locally and not have to push to a centralized repository until you are ready.
How is Git different from other version control systems?
Git is a great version control tool because it’s lightweight and straightforward to use, and it provides incredible compression and speed.
Since Git is so popular, and the Git community is so robust, thanks in large part to the popularity of Github, learning Git is one of the best things you can do in your process of learning development.
Excited to start using Git? Look out for our newsletter on Wednesday that will help you git up and running. | <urn:uuid:f52c9bab-37a7-43bf-a173-f58905ecc87f> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://skillcrush.com/2013/02/18/git/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500823634.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021343-00342-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947595 | 533 | 2.953125 | 3 |
"And the people that were there saw that there was none other boat there save the one into which the disciples had entered, and that Jesus went not into the boat, but His disciples." [v.22]
And why is John so exact? Why didn’t he say that the multitudes having passed over on the next day departed? He desires to teach us that Jesus allowed the multitudes to suspect what had happened–if not openly, then in a secret manner. For he says, "They saw that there was none other boat there but one, and that Jesus went not into it with His disciples."
And embarking in boats from Tiberias, they "came to Capernaum seeking Jesus." [v. 24]
What else then could they suspect, except that He had arrived there by crossing the sea on foot? For it was not possible to say that He had passed over in another ship. For the Evangelist says, "There was one [boat] into which His disciples entered." Still, when they came to Him after so great a wonder, they did not ask Him how He crossed over or how He arrived there. They did not understand this great sign. But what say they?
"…Master, when did You come here?…" [v. 25]
We should not think that the "when" is here used by them in the sense of "how." But it is worth while also to notice here the uncertainty of their impulses? Those who said, "This is that Prophet" and were anxious to" take Him and make Him a king," now no longer admire Him for His former deeds, but demonstrate their astonishment when they have found Him. They sought Him, desiring again to enjoy a table like the first.
Under the guidance of Moses, the Jews passed over the Red Sea. But that case is widely different from this. He did all with prayer and as a servant, but Christ with absolute power. There when the south wind blew, the water yielded so as to make them pass over on dry land; but here, the miracle was greater. (Exodus 14:21) For the sea retaining its proper nature so bare its Lord upon its surface, thus testifying to the Scripture which says, "Who walks upon the sea as upon a pavement." [Job 9:8].
And with reason, when He was about to enter into stubborn and disobedient Capernaum, did He work the miracle of the loaves, as desiring not only by what took place within, but also by the miracles which were wrought without the city, to soften its disobedience. For was it not enough to soften even any stone, that such multitudes should come with great eagerness to that city? Yet they had no such feeling, but again desired food for the body; for which also they I are reproached by Jesus.
Let us then, beloved, knowing these things, give thanks to God for things of sense, but much more for things spiritual; for such is His will. He gives the former because of the latter, leading in by these the more imperfect sort, and giving them previous teaching, because they are yet gaping upon the world…
From St. John Chrysostom’s Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, Homily 63, NPNF, s. 1, v. 14, pp. 357-358. | <urn:uuid:6529eca6-10dc-4a33-8e9f-16cacdd029a3> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://lacopts.org/articles/treasures-of-the-fathers-first-sunday-of-amshir/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375096773.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031816-00268-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987588 | 696 | 2.6875 | 3 |
[Philadelphia? 1832]. 8pp, caption title (as issued). Disbound, lightly toned. Else Very Good.
The first Jackson administration, "bad as it is, is not so bad as what it presages for the future." Until Jackson, "No push for power had been made, by any President, such as to threaten annihilation to all the other branches of government." His autocratic ways are antithetical to Republican government. "He tolerates no difference of opinion, and knows no other standard of merit, than devotion to himself."
Wise & Cronin 494. OCLC 25738335 [as of November 2011]. Not in Miles or AI. Item #28313 | <urn:uuid:bee1a1b7-48b9-4b95-95fc-804702e07172> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://www.lesserbooks.com/pages/books/28313/andrew-jackson/to-the-people-of-the-united-states | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814801.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20180223154626-20180223174626-00599.warc.gz | en | 0.929921 | 145 | 2.546875 | 3 |
I recently added a fascinating book titled Technology Trap to my Book Library. Author Carl Benedikt Frey has done some important work in partnership with Michael A. Osborne evaluating the impact of automation on the Future of Work. In this new work of applied history, Frey draws on past revolutions to look at possible corollaries. It was Winston Churchill that said: The further Backward you Look, the Further Forward you can See. That quote has stuck with me, prompting my Looking back to see Ahead. Here is the book abstract:
From the Industrial Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence, The Technology Trap takes a sweeping look at the history of technological progress and how it has radically shifted the distribution of economic and political power among society’s members. As Carl Benedikt Frey reveals, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth and prosperity over the long run, but the immediate consequences of mechanization were devastating for large swaths of the population. Middle-income jobs withered, wages stagnated, the labor share of income fell, profits surged, and economic inequality skyrocketed. These trends, Frey documents, broadly mirror those in our current age of automation, which began with the Computer Revolution.
I find the corollary compelling. Frey takes us on a journey from pre-industrial times to current day. Innovation flourished in pre-industrial times – but labor-replacing technology was blocked by the ruling class in an effort to avoid societal unrest. It took a competitive trade environment to shift that prevailing view of technology.
As the factory system replaced the domestic system in Britain, technology increasingly became labor-replacing. In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the working class suffered. This period is referred to as Engels’ Pause: the period of constant wages in the midst of rising output per worker. Estimates of British GDP, output per worker rose by 46% between 1780 and 1840. Over the same period, the real wage index rose by only 12%.
Child labor rose during this period, as labor-replacing technology was simple enough to be used by children. After the Steam engine became economically viable in 1850, complexity rose and adults with a new set of skills were required: this ended Engels’ Pause and led to the advancement of our human development. This advancement continued through the Second Industrial Revolution, gaining considerable momentum on the strength of the great inventions (Electricity, Internal Combustion Engine, and Telephone). In this period, technology augmented labor versus replacing it.
As we advanced into the computer revolution (also referred to as the Third Revolution), technology increasingly became labor replacing. As we look ahead, this next wave of automation – based on current trajectories – looks to be labor-replacing as well. The book explores the corollaries between this historical view and our emerging future. Are we in another period of Engels’ Pause? Will Governments block technology to avoid societal unrest? Will this lead to competitive disadvantage in trade that shifts their position – mirroring what happened in the early days of the First Revolution? It is not a stretch to consider that the great divergence – the period after the Industrial Revolution, when the West grew much wealthier than the rest of the world – could reverse itself as China marches toward innovation leadership and a position of dominant world power.
I highly recommend this provocative look at our historical journey and its potential foreshadowing of what’s to come. | <urn:uuid:c0659339-70c4-47a3-9db3-7e0139d8767d> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://frankdiana.net/2019/09/19/technology-trap/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250595282.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20200119205448-20200119233448-00392.warc.gz | en | 0.944383 | 690 | 2.765625 | 3 |
- Education and Science
The Higgs Boson (In Ten Minutes)
The Standard Model of Particle Physics
Often referred to as "The Theory of Almost Everything", the Standard Model explains the interaction of subatomic particles as governed by three of the fundamental forces: Electromagnetic force, the Strong force, and the Weak Force. The fourth, Gravitational Force, is excluded from the Standard Model.
So, what is the Higgs Boson?
Theorized in 1964, the Higgs Boson is thought to be a fundamental particle which, in a severely simplified explanation, confirms the existence of the field which gives elementary particles mass. While this may not seem like much initially, it is absolutely pivotal to the Standard Model of Particle Physics and the confirmation of the Higgs Field is tantamount to validating the entire Standard Model.
The Higgs Boson, then, is the essential particle which proves the existence of the Higgs Field, which in turn validates the final untested area of the Standard Model and opens the door to explaining the inconsistencies between the Standard Model and General Relativity as well as an entire new world of "Post-Standard Model Physics."
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
The LHC is the highest-energy particle collider in the world. Constructed at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland and completed in 2008, its purpose is primarily to prove the existence of the Higgs Boson and a number of other theoretical particles and interactions. Residing within a 17 mile-long tunnel, the LHC is undoubtedly one of the most complex scientific facilities ever constructed, and one of the most expensive with a price tag of 4.75 billion USD.
Theory and Discovery
The Higgs mechanism was theorized in full in 1964 by three separate groups of physicists, including Peter Higgs, Robert Brout, Francois Englert, Gerald Guralnik, C. R. Hagen, and Tom Kibble. However, the original proposition of the mechanism was made two years earlier by Philip Warren Anderson without a relativistic model.
After 30 years of theory and experimentation, on March 14th of 2013 CERN confirmed that a particle initially discovered a year prior by two independent groups was very likely the Higgs particle.
Nobel Prize in Physics 2013
In 2013, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Peter Higgs and Francois Englert "for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of the mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider."
-"The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2013/>
Satellite View of CERN
Why does it matter?
Other than justifying the longest running and most expensive bit of research in the history of physics, the apparent discovery of the Higgs Boson explains mass as it exists in the universe. Without the Higgs Field, all elementary particles would simply fly about at the speed of light and be completely unable to interact. This would not allow for the formation of stars, or even atoms. Life would not exist. It is the answer to one of the most crucial questions in physics, and it changes the game entirely.
The confirmation of the Higgs opens up the world of physics to a number of critical questions and next-steps, including the possibility of an explanation of Dark Matter.
Note from the Author
I understand entirely that I've chopped down the explanation of an incredibly complex area of science, and I am certain that the temptation to verbally eviscerate me for my oversimplification will exist in some readers. I urge you to resist the compulsion to cross the line from constructive criticism into the realm of verbal attack. I am not a physicist, just a regular person who finds the machinations of the universe to be utterly fascinating.
In short, go easy on me. If you do like what you see, feel free to track me down on Facebook, or visit my home page for more ways that tiny little whatchamacallits are responsible for absolutely everything.
For a more in-depth look at the Higgs
- The Higgs Boson Explained
The higgs boson explained in its relationship to the Standard Model, general relativity, and quantum mechanic as well as its association with mass.
© 2013 JG11Bravo | <urn:uuid:71b6272a-233b-4b91-9e7f-c24e7055910d> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://hubpages.com/education/The-Higgs-Boson-In-Ten-Minutes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806760.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20171123070158-20171123090158-00426.warc.gz | en | 0.925303 | 954 | 3.296875 | 3 |
When the muscles of the heart lose the ability to contract with sufficient force, cardiomyopathy is the result. The potential causes of cardiomyopathy are many; the condition can be a result of poor nutrition, viral infections, or adverse immune system reactions. Cardiomyopathy is often a step down the dangerous road towards congestive heart failure, where a lack of proper heart function can be fatal without prompt medical assistance.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) can dramatically improve the quality of life for those who suffer from cardiomyopathy. A small-scale study on the effects of CoQ10 in daily 100mg doses showed extremely promising results. 82 percent of the subjects in the study showed immediate short-term improvement following CoQ10 therapy, and their survival rate after two years was 62 percent. Compare this to the conventional survival rate of just 25 percent.
Congestive Heart Failure
This is the technical term which applies when your heart is simply not pumping hard enough to provide oxygenated blood to your entire body. The most common symptoms of CHF include fatigue, shortness of breath, and water retention in both the lungs and lower body. CoQ10 can make a large positive difference for sufferers of congestive heart failure when combined with other medication and therapy. According to studies, CoQ10 leads to reduced hospitalization rates, lessened heart failure symptoms, and an overall improvement in quality of life.
Another clinical study tracked men and women suffering from low ejection fraction (i.e. volume of blood pumped from the heart) and low levels of CoQ10. Three months of aggressive CoQ10 supplementation resulted in an average increase of 24 to 50 percent in the amount of blood flowing from their hearts. Congestive heart failure patients should consult with their doctors about incorporating coenzyme Q10 into their treatment plans; a daily dose of 300 to 600 mg can be highly effective.
A daily dose of 120 mg of CoQ10 can help prevent the reoccurrence of cardiac events for individuals who have suffered a heart attack and have problems with blood clots. A year of CoQ10 therapy starting immediately after a heart attack is effective in reducing the risk of both fatal and non-fatal heart attacks. You should speak to your doctor about starting CoQ10 therapy as soon as possible following a heart attack. | <urn:uuid:ca537aa0-9343-4d50-8fe2-14af91f7e65f> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://www.noahhealth.org/coq10-congestive-heart-failure-and-cardiomyopathy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267159570.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20180923173457-20180923193857-00424.warc.gz | en | 0.932552 | 479 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Hospitals may be able to reduce the risk of infection by opening windows on wards, a study published in Building and Environment Journal suggests.
Scientists at the University of Leeds studied the flow of air in a typical NHS hospital ward with two rows of up to 30 beds.
By using carbon dioxide as a tracer gas to simulate the spread of airborne infections, they were able to show that ventilation was good when windows were open.
But when the windows were closed the risk of airborne infection increased four-fold.
Lead investigator Dr Cath Noakes, from the university's School of Civil Engineering, revealed that even on wards that have been subdivided into smaller areas, the structure and ventilation are still 'fundamentally the same'.
'There is a big push on energy in buildings and it worries many of us who work on indoor air quality,' she revealed.
'There is a danger that we could be adapting our buildings to improve efficiency without thinking how it might affect patients,' Dr Noakes said.
The government advises hospitals to ensure wards have six air changes per hour, but when windows are closed this drops to just 1.5 hourly air changes.
Dr Noakes suggested that hospitals may be able to overcome the problem by introducing simple mechanical ventilation in the winter months. | <urn:uuid:7abc72b2-233a-4081-ab09-6adf55952be8> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a23802/opening-windows-on-wards-cuts-infection-risk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501173761.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104613-00199-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965948 | 259 | 3.234375 | 3 |
If you look for Kathmandu on Google Earth, one historical monument will stand out distinctly. You will see a green patch amidst a chaotic maze of buildings and as you zoom in, the white temple in the middle of the patch gets visible. Ironically, Rani Pokhari, a 17th century monument works as a clearer navigation point than other latter structures.
Built by king Pratap Malla in memory of his favorite son Chakravartendra Malla, Rani Pokhari - as the monument and the premises are known - is not a natural pond. “The queen was inconsolable after the death of her son, so Pratap Malla dug out this pond that was in the outskirts of Kathmandu then,” said Pushkar Pd Rajbhandri, Professor, Culture Department at Tribhuwan University. Water was brought from various pilgrimage sites in India and Nepal to fill the large crater. “Heartbroken by her son’s death, the queen became ill and was unable to go on a pilgrimage. So the water was brought from holy sites like Muktinath and Badrinath among many others,” said social entrepreneur and culture expert Anil Chitrakar.
In his book History of Nepal, first published in 1877, author Daniel Wright mentions that Pratap Malla built “the temple of “family deity” in the middle of the tank”. However, the present structure of the temple isn’t the original one. “The architecture, especially the dome reflects more of the Mughal era style, even the material used, vajra (mixture of brick powder and lime) was used post 1850s,” said Chitrakar. According to Rajbhandari, the original temple had Shikhar style roof and that terra cotta was used to build the temple. “You can still find traces of statues made of terra cotta around that temple. A huge earthquake struck Kathmandu valley in 1890, so my guess is the temple might have been re-built after it got damaged in that quake,” Rajbhandari added.
Besides the central statue of the Shiv lingam, the temple has statues of many other deities. Tara Kapali, who married into a family of priests who have been caretakers of Rani Pokhari for the last six generations, says that there are statues of Bal Gopal, Lord Surya riding a horse, Bhairav, Garud and other avatars of Lord Vishnu in the temple.
Another significant statue that both Chitrakar and Rajbhandari mention is the huge statue located south of the temple. “The statue has Pratap Malla along with his two sons – Mahipatendra and Chakravartendra – on top of an elephant,” added Rajbhandari. Though it has gone through certain changes Rani Pokhari has stood the test of time as one of the most beautiful landmarks in an increasingly concrete Kathmandu. | <urn:uuid:19036f8f-f047-4c98-a6c8-335527f0899d> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | http://ecs.com.np/heritage/a-royal-heartbreak | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496667442.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20191113215021-20191114003021-00261.warc.gz | en | 0.9689 | 628 | 2.921875 | 3 |
European Astronomical Society (EAS)
29 June 2020
The beautiful mess in Abell 2255
An international team of astrophysicists led by Andrea Botteon from Leiden University, the Netherlands, has shed light on one of the most intricate objects of the radio sky: the galaxy cluster Abell 2255. Thanks to the incredible detailed images obtained with the European radio telescope LOFAR, the scientists have been able to observe details never seen before of the emission from the cluster. The halo in Abell 2255 is not smooth, but contains numerous filaments that have not been seen previously. The result has been presented today at the virtual annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) and will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The observations carried out with the LOFAR radio telescope are changing the picture that astrophysicists had on galaxy clusters. Despite their name, clusters are not only composed by hundreds of galaxies spread over millions of light years that are bound together by gravity, but also contain particles moving at speeds close to the speed of light that are able to emit radiation in the radio band, when they interact with the cluster magnetic field. These radio emissions, that extend from cluster centers for millions of light years and are produced when two clusters of galaxies collide, have been called radio halos due to their generally spherical and smooth appearance.
The halo in Abell 2255 appears to be anything but smooth, though. First author Botteon: “We discovered the existence of numerous filaments within the halo emission that have not been seen previously. This was possible thanks to LOFAR, which has a sensitivity and angular resolution much higher than the radio telescopes that have observed galaxy clusters in the past, and also because the discovered filaments emit most of their radiation in long radio wavelengths, precisely those detected by the LOFAR antennas.”
The filamentary structures observed by LOFAR at the center of Abell 2255, here reported in red. These radio emissions are due to trails of particles and magnetic fields released by the galaxies during their motion inside the cluster (credits: Botteon et al. (2020) – LOFAR – SDSS).
Radio halos are still enigmatic sources for astrophysicists. One of the most accepted hypotheses on their origin is that they form due to the turbulent motions generated in the cluster gas, triggered when two clusters collide. In this framework, the new observations could provide valuable insights on radio halos.
“The filaments discovered by LOFAR could form exactly as a consequence of these turbulent motions,” says Gianfranco Brunetti of INAF-Bologna (Italy) and second author of the study. “Another possibility that we are considering is that the filaments originate from the interaction between the galaxies, which move at speeds of many hundreds of km/s inside the cluster and the plasma that produces the radio emission of the halo.”
“The filamentary nature of the emission shows the importance of turbulent magnetic fields, as the bands of emission are likely to follow the threads of magnetic fields,” adds team member Marcus Brüggen from the University of Hamburg, Germany.
But there is much more in the LOFAR images of Abell 2255, where radio signals coming from regions very distant from the cluster center are also observed. Astrophysicists believe that these emissions trace shock waves that propagate outwards at great distances and are able to accelerate energetic particles and amplify magnetic fields. In this peripheral environment the emission from the hot intergalactic gas is extremely weak, at the limits of the capabilities of the current instruments that observe in the X-rays and of the Planck satellite. Therefore, radio observations give the unique opportunity to reveal the motions of matter in unexplored cluster regions.
“In order to study how far the radio emission extends in the cluster, in the past few months LOFAR has carried out an even deeper observation of Abell 2255,” says co-author Reinout van Weeren from Leiden University, the Netherlands. “One of the goals is to understand if the radio emission extends also beyond Abell 2255, tracing the gigantic cosmic web that connects clusters of galaxies in the Universe.”
The article presenting these results is currently in press in The Astrophysical Journal with the title The beautiful mess in Abell 2255, by A. Botteon, G. Brunetti, R. J. van Weeren, T. W. Shimwell, R. F. Pizzo, R. Cassano, M. Iacobelli, F. Gastaldello, L. Bîrzan, A. Bonafede, M. Brüggen, V. Cuciti, D. Dallacasa, F. de Gasperin, G. Di Gennaro, A. Drabent, M. J. Hardcastle, M. Hoeft, S. Mandal, H. J. A. Röttgering, A. Simionescu. | <urn:uuid:73feab3c-1ad8-4efb-b5bb-e9ab73baa8e9> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://easmeeting.kuoni-congress.org/2020/06/29/the-beautiful-mess-in-abell-2255/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703522150.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20210121004224-20210121034224-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.932607 | 1,054 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A number of factors determine the effect alcohol has on individuals - why different people consuming the same amount react differently or why the same person can have different reactions on different occasions.
Speed of Drinking - The more rapidly the beverage is ingested, the higher the peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The liver metabolizes about 1/2 ounce of alcohol per hour.
Presence of Food in the Stomach - Eating while drinking slows down the absorption rate. When alcoholic beverages are taken with a substantial meal, peak BAC may be reduced by as much as 50%.
Body Weight - The larger person has more blood and requires greater amounts of alcohol to reach a given BAC.
Drinking History/Tolerance - Increasing amounts of alcohol are needed to result in the physical and behavioral reactions formerly produced at lesser concentrations, if there is a long history of drinking.
Environment - There may be differences in alcohol's effects, depending upon where one drinks (e.g., local bar, with family, hostile environment, etc.).
The Drinker's Expectations - Many people become intoxicated on less alcohol merely because they have that expectation before they begin drinking.
General State of Emotional and Physical Health - Many people seem more susceptible to the effects of alcohol when they are extremely fatigued, have recently been ill, or are under emotional stress and strain. The usual amount of alcohol may result in uncomfortable effects.
Sex Differences - Given the same amount of alcohol and proportional body weight, females will generally have a higher BAC than their male counterparts, due to less body fluid to dilute the alcohol and more body fat.
Females are generally more affected by alcohol just prior to menstruation.
Females taking birth control pills or medications containing estrogen may remain intoxicated longer than those who do not, due to the liver's function of metabolizing both.
Other Drugs - Prescription, over-the-counter, illicit and unrecognized drugs all have potential reactions with alcohol. One should be aware of the additive and synergistic effects when these drugs are mixed with alcohol.
Alcohol and Other Drug Related Services for U of I Students
Alcohol and Other Drug Office (AODO) - 333-7557
- Provides resources on alcohol and other drug, as well as individual consultation or assessment appointments with a Drug and Alcohol Counselor.
McKinley Health Center / Health Education Unit - 333-2714
- Provides educational resources on alcohol and other drugs
Counseling Center - 333-3704
- Provides individual counseling, as well as a self-assessment workshop for alcohol and drug concerns.
Each agency provides confidential treatment for substance abuse. Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous are twelve-step organizations, which provide services at no charge.
201 S. Neil Street Champaign, IL 61820
Champaign, IL 61820
Prairie Center - (inpatient)
122 West Hill Street Champaign, IL 61820
Prairie Center -
718 W. Killarney Street Urbana, IL 61801
809 W. Church Street Champaign, IL 61820
- Carle (Outpatient)
For other related questions, please call the Alcohol and Other Drug Office at 333-7557. | <urn:uuid:fa156d3c-30e3-4e1a-84a1-ef431ec3c764> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/alcohols_effects.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510272256.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011752-00075-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896291 | 666 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Sounds are perceived as louder when accompanied by visual movement
journal contributionposted on 2023-06-09, 06:16 authored by Marcello Maniglia, Massimo Grassi, Jamie WardJamie Ward
In this study, we present three experiments investigating the influence of visual movement on auditory judgements. In Experiments 1 and 2, two bursts of noise were presented and participants were required to judge which was louder using a forced-choice task. One of the two bursts was accompanied by a moving disc. The other burst either was accompanied by no visual stimulus (Experiment 1) or by a static disc (Experiment 2). When the two sounds were of identical intensity participants judged the sound accompanied by the moving disc as louder. The effect was greater when auditory stimuli were of the same intensity but it was still present for mid-to-high intensities. In a third, control, experiment participants judged the pitch (and not the loudness) of a pair of tones. Here the pattern was different: there was no effect of visual motion for sounds of the same pitch, with a reversed effect for mid-to-high pitch differences (the effect of motion lowered the pitch). This showed no shift of response towards the interval accompanied by the moving disc. In contrast, the effect on pitch was reversed in comparison to what observed for loudness, with mid-to-high frequency sound accompanied by motion rated as lower in pitch respect to the static intervals.The natural tendency for moving objects to elicit sounds may lead to an automatic perceptual influence of vision over sound particularly when the latter is ambiguous. This is the first account of this novel audio-visual interaction.
- Accepted version
Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available | <urn:uuid:73cbc6e0-2c13-4dca-a561-bd85bcd4e7ec> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://sussex.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Sounds_are_perceived_as_louder_when_accompanied_by_visual_movement/23444162 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100476.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20231202235258-20231203025258-00325.warc.gz | en | 0.9586 | 352 | 2.859375 | 3 |
With increasing frequency, patients are being asked to make complex decisions about cancer screening, prevention, and treatment. These decisions are fraught with emotion and cognitive difficulty simultaneously. Many Americans have low numeracy skills making the cognitive demands even greater whenever, as is often the case, patients are presented with risk statistics and asked to make comparisons between the risks and benefits of multiple options and to make informed medical decisions. In this commentary, we highlight 10 methods that have been empirically shown to improve patients’ understanding of risk and benefit information and/or their decision making. The methods range from presenting absolute risks using frequencies (rather than presenting relative risks) to using a risk format that clarifies how treatment changes risks from preexisting baseline levels to using plain language. We then provide recommendations for how health-care providers and health educators can best to communicate this complex medical information to patients, including using plain language, pictographs, and absolute risks instead of relative risks.
Every day, oncologists and their patients are confronted with difficult decisions about what type of treatment patients should receive. For example, breast cancer patients must first decide on what type of surgery to undergo and then whether to undergo adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Early-stage prostate cancer patients must decide between active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, and radiation (external beam or brachytherapy). Those diagnosed with thyroid cancer must decide whether to have radioactive iodine therapy. These types of decisions are “preference sensitive,” meaning that the “right” treatment depends on a given patient’s preferences—on the relative weight the patient gives to the risks and benefits of the treatment ( 1 , 2 ). However, for patients to make trade-offs between risks and benefits, they must first understand the risks and benefits of treatments. Thus, to ensure that oncology is practiced at its best, oncologists must use effective means of communicating this information to their patients.
Yet, patients often have difficulty understanding the types of health information required for such decisions. First, they often lack the health literacy needed to understand the words that their doctors use when describing medical alternatives. Patients even have difficulty comprehending many of the educational materials they receive from health providers. Although an average American reads at eighth grade reading level ( 3 ), health education materials are often written at a high school or college reading level, making the information contained in them inaccessible to the targeted audience ( 4 ).
Second, many patients have low numeracy skills, leaving them less able to derive useful meaning from the numerical information often presented in such materials (eg, risk and benefit statistics) ( 5 ). To put the issues of low numeracy into perspective, approximately half of the adults in the United States are unable to accurately calculate a tip ( 3 ), and 20% of college-educated adults do not know what is a higher risk—1%, 5%, or 10% ( 5 ). Thus, when an oncologist tells a patient that his or her 5-year chance of survival is 85% or if an educational pamphlet informs patients that the risk of nausea from chemotherapy is 55%, many patients will not understand such statistics well enough to use them as part of making an informed decision.
In this article, we highlight 10 methods that have received empirical support for improving patients’ understanding of risk and benefit information and/or their decision making and provide recommendations for how best to communicate complex information to patients (see Box 1 ). Our discussion focuses on methods that we believe are particularly relevant for decision support and is not a systematic review of the relevant literature. Although most of the cited research in risk communication methods has been conducted in the context of patient education materials, the same principles should apply when physicians discuss treatment options with patients.
Use plain language to make written and verbal materials more understandable.
Present data using absolute risks.
Present information in pictographs if you are going to include graphs.
Present data using frequencies.
Use an incremental risk format to highlight how treatment changes risks from preexisting baseline levels.
Be aware that the order in which risks and benefits are presented can affect risk perceptions.
Consider using summary tables that include all of the risks and benefits for each treatment option.
Recognize that comparative risk information (eg, what the average person’s risk is) is persuasive and not just informative.
Consider presenting only the information that is most critical to the patients’ decision making, even at the expense of completeness.
Repeatedly draw patients’ attention to the time interval over which a risk occurs.
The risk communication methods described here focus on how to communicate information when there are high-quality evidence-based statistics relevant to the decision at hand. Presenting patients with this type of information is especially critical when patients are confronting “preference sensitive decisions” ( 6 ), meaning that the choice involves trade-offs (eg, between quality and length of life or between different aspects of quality of life) where the right choice will depend on the importance a patient gives to these trade-offs. The uncertainty that patients commonly feel about such decisions may be decreased by providing quantitative information regarding the risks and benefits of each treatment option. Thus, this article focuses on how to best present relevant data to patients in ways that improve understanding and decrease biased decision making.
It is important to note, however, that we do not address how to present the uncertainty that is inherent in clinical data. In clinical medicine, high-quality data are often scarce or have wide confidence intervals. When data are available, they can be contradictory or have multiple interpretations. Presenting data uncertainty is extremely difficult, and only a very few articles have addressed this issue [see Politi et al. ( 7 ) for a review of this literature]. In fact, in this review article ( 7 ), Politi et al. specifically state “… we know very little about the optimal approaches and outcomes of communicating different types of uncertainty.” This is a highly undeveloped area, and more research is needed before we will know whether it is beneficial to present data uncertainty to patients and, if so, how to best do so.
Risk Communication Strategies That Have Shown Strong Evidence for Improving Patient Understanding and Decision Making
The risk communication strategies we discuss in the following section (“Recommendations 1–3”) have been tested in many studies and have shown strong evidence for improved patient understanding and decision making. Thus, we feel confident about making strong recommendations for the risk communication methods described in this section. Few, if any, studies have tested whether risk communication methods work differently in men and women, and gender differences have not typically been reported in studies that test risk communication in both women and men. Thus, we have no evidence that suggests that the recommendations would differ by the gender of the reader. Thus, we believe the recommendations apply equally to men and women.
Recommendation 1: Communicate Using “Plain Language”
The practice of cancer education must rise to the challenge of designing and employing communications that use plain language. Plain language generally refers to materials that are written in a simplified manner so that people of low literacy (eighth grade or lower level of education) can read them and process the information. This can be achieved in part through reduction or elimination of clinical and statistical jargon; the use of well-structured, logically sequenced, and focused information; and through the use of graphic design or a page layout that makes the material easier to read (eg, more white space, use of subheadings) ( 8 ). Research has shown that when materials are written in plain language, people understand the content better ( 9 ).
Recommendation 2: Present Statistical Information Using Absolute Risk Rather Than Using Relative Risk or Number Needed to Treat Formats
A common challenge for presenting risk information to patients is how to present the statistical information, particularly in situations when clinicians are trying to describe how a medical intervention decreases the risk of cancer. Consider, for example, risk communication with women who, based on their Gail model score ( 12 ), are at elevated risk of being diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and are eligible to take tamoxifen (or raloxifene if they are postmenopausal) to reduce their primary cancer risk. When describing the risk reduction such women would achieve by taking a chemoprevention drug, clinicians can quantify the risk reduction in multiple ways. They could use relative risk and tell her that her risk of breast cancer would be reduced by 50% if she took the drug. Alternately, they could provide a woman with her absolute risk and tell her that her 5-year risk of breast cancer could be reduced from 4% to 2%. Finally, they could use a “number needed to treat (NNT) format” and tell a woman the number of patients who would need to take a chemoprevention medicine to prevent one diagnosis of invasive breast cancer.
Each of these formats differs in patients’ ability to understand the information and how the information influences their perceptions of risk, as shown by Sheridan et al. ( 13 ). The authors found that NNT was the most difficult format for patients to understand and recommended it never be the sole way information is presented.
Furthermore, research has consistently shown, both in the context of making psychological and medical decisions, that changes in risk appear larger when presented using relative risk than when using an absolute risk ( 14–17 ) and that the treatments were viewed more favorably when presented in terms of relative risk ( 18 ). This use of relative risk information can inappropriately lead patients to believe that a treatment is more effective than what has been empirically proven. Additionally, several studies have found that medical students and practicing physicians were more likely to recommend treatment (eg, chemotherapy) if the information was presented using relative risks (compared with absolute risks or NNT) ( 19 , 20 ). Given these findings, we strongly recommend that risk information be consistently presented to patients using absolute risks.
Recommendation 3: Using Pictographs to Communicate Risk and Benefit Information
Presenting probabilistic information in graphical format, in addition to numerical format, increases people’s understanding and may affect their decision making ( 21 ). However, there are many types of risk graphics (eg, horizontal and vertical bar graphs, pie charts, and pictographs)—so which one to use? Several considerations need to be taken into account ( 22–24 ). For example, the type of statistic being presented (eg, effectiveness of a drug over time vs likelihood of experiencing impotence as a result of treatment) can make certain formats more vs less effective ( 22 , 23 , 25 ). Another consideration is the time frame for which information is presented. For example, if just one number is being presented (ie, presence of side effects for prostate cancer 2 years after treatment), a pictograph (also called image matrix or icon array; see Figure 1 for an example of a pictograph) would be fine. However, it may be more difficult to show change in risk pattern over time with a pictograph compared with a line graph.
A growing body of research has conclusively shown that when communicating individual statistics, pictographs are more quickly and better comprehended than other graphical formats and can help to prevent patients from being biased by other factors ( 26 , 28–32 ). Part of the appeal of the pictographs is that they visually represent the risk as a frequency rather than a probability while simultaneously conveying both the numerator and the denominator—those affected and those not affected. Pictographs have also been shown to be more effective than pie graphs in communicating verbatim knowledge (ie, the exact number presented in the graph) and more effective than bar graphs (and equally effective as pie graphs) at communicating gist knowledge (ie, the main point of the message but not exact numbers) ( 29 ). Based on this evidence, we give our highest support for the use of such graphics whenever patients must think in depth about statistics.
Risk Communication Strategies That Have Shown Preliminary Evidence for Improving Patient Understanding and Decision Making
Early evidence suggests that the following strategies affect knowledge and decision making. However, the data are preliminary or contradictory, and more research needs to be conducted.
Recommendation 4: Consider the Impact of Presenting Statistical Information Using Frequencies Rather Than Percentages
When presenting information, is it better to present data using frequencies or percentages? Taking another example, when describing the risk of impotence from a radical prostatectomy to prostate cancer patients, urologists could say that 60% of men who undergo a radical prostatectomy experience impotence. Alternatively, urologists could describe this as impotence occurring in 60 out of 100 men. Research has been inconsistent in demonstrating whether people understand risk information better, if risks are presented in frequencies (eg, five out of 100 people experience a side effect) rather than percentages (5% of patients experience a side effect). In some studies, the use of frequencies improved the understanding ( 33 , 34 ), whereas in one study frequencies and percentages showed equivalent understanding among patients ( 35 ).
Regardless of the knowledge differential, the choice between frequencies and percentages can affect how people perceive the risk of treatment. For instance, in the study conducted by Peters et al. ( 36 ) to test whether presenting frequencies or percentages affected people’s perception of risk, participants were asked to imagine that they had severe headaches that required them to miss work. They then read about a medicine that decreased the frequency of headaches. Participants read about the efficacy of the drug and the accompanying side effects either in percentage or frequency formats. For example, the risk of a side effect was described as “10% of patients get a bad blistering rash” or as “10 out of 100 patients get a bad blistering rash.” Lower numeracy participants perceived the medicine as less risky when the information was presented using percentages than when presented in frequencies. This reduction in perceived risk arose only in part because people had difficulty understanding percentages. It also occurred because “10%” feels more abstract to people, and thus less worrisome, than “10 out of 100.”
Finally, people prefer to receive information presented in frequency formats over receiving data using percentages ( 34 ). Given these data, we recommend, though not strongly, that communications about cancer risks and treatment benefits be presented using frequency formats.
Recommendation 5: Highlight the Incremental Risks Associated With Treatment Distinctly From Baseline Risks
When discussing treatment complications or side effects, it is essential that patients can differentiate between baseline risks (risks they would face regardless of an intervention) and risks associated with treatment. For example, one side effect of taking tamoxifen is an increased risk of experiencing hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Yet, postmenopausal women already have an increased risk of these symptoms even if they do not take tamoxifen. If a patient was told that she had a 70% risk of menopausal symptoms if she took tamoxifen, it is likely that she would believe that the drug solely was responsible for the risk and fail to recognize that much of that risk was unrelated to the intervention.
Patients presented with risk communications that only describe the total risk of complications in a treatment group are prone to mistakenly perceive the entire risk as being caused by treatment. One way to prevent this problem is to separate baseline and incremental risk information. For example, an initial pictograph could display the patient’s baseline risk. Once the magnitude of that risk has been absorbed by the patient, a second pictograph could add a new color to represent the additional people who would experience the side effects because of the treatment ( Figure 1 ). We conducted two studies—one an analysis of more than 600 women at high risk of breast cancer who were considering that they were taking tamoxifen for chemoprevention ( 26 ) and a second using a hypothetical scenario and treatment decision ( 37 ) and found that this method reduced worry about the risks of side effects of medication and reduced perceived likeliness of experiencing a side effect. Of note, we also found that to facilitate knowledge, the incremental risk approach must be combined with the use of pictographs ( 26 , 37 ).
Recommendation 6: Be Aware That the Order of Presenting Risks and Benefits Can Alter Risk Perceptions
When describing both risks and benefits to patients, one has to choose whether to begin with the risks or to begin with the benefits—a seemingly mundane choice, except that the choice actually matters. In a recent study of a tamoxifen prophylaxis decision aid, we discovered that when the risks of tamoxifen were presented after the benefits, participants perceived the risks as more worrisome and more common ( 38 ). The risks, by coming last, triggered what behavioral scientists call a “recency effect” ( 39 ). Furthermore, knowledge was higher (as four of six questions were about the risks). These effects occurred even though patients read both sets of information within minutes of each other. Cancer clinicians and educators need to be aware that order of presentation can have a major effect on both patient knowledge and risk perceptions.
This problem of a recency effect may appear to be insurmountable. When explaining treatments to patients, clinicians need to start somewhere, and some piece of information needs to come first and some must come last. Whatever choice a clinician makes, therefore, creates the possibility that patients’ judgments and decisions are being influenced by recency effects.
Nevertheless, this problem can potentially be minimized by taking a moment to briefly review the information for patients. The initial discussion of risks and benefits might be relatively lengthy, as patients grapple with new and frequently unfamiliar information. But a quick summary can help put all this information back into patients’ minds, keeping the early information from receding into the background. Indeed, our next recommendation presents one way to accomplish this goal—by providing patients with a table summarizing the information most relevant to their decisions.
Recommendation 7: When There Are Numerous Risks and Benefits, Conclude With Summary Tables
Many cancer prevention drugs and treatments have numerous risks and benefits associated with them. When presented on multiple pages, or over a lengthy conversation, such information is hard to remember. One option that can facilitate memory, and make it easier for patients to compare alternatives, is to include a summary table at the end of patient materials that concisely reminds patients of the relevant attributes and the risk and benefit statistics. In a recent study, we presented information about five risks and two benefits of tamoxifen and raloxifene to patients considering these medicines for breast cancer chemoprevention ( 27 ). We found that patients who received a summary table were more interested in looking for more information about chemoprevention, talking with their doctor about chemoprevention, and taking tamoxifen or raloxifene than those who did not receive a summary table ( 27 ). However, we did not find substantial differences in gist knowledge (ie, their knowledge regarding whether the medication caused a statistically significant increase or decrease in risk). We recommend including summary tables in any complex patient information materials as a method to reduce the cognitive burden on patients and encourage patient–clinician communication.
Recommendation 8: Recognize That Comparative Risk Information Is Persuasive Not Just Informative
Whenever cancer educators present personal (or tailored) risk data to people who are considering screening or preventive behaviors, a question arises regarding whether to compare the individual’s risk to the absolute risk faced by the “average person” (ie, average risk of the relevant population—an example is the average woman’s risk of breast cancer is 13%). In the literature, this type of information is called “comparative risk” information ( 40 ). Comparative risk information may be helpful to patients because it allows relatively hard to evaluate personal risk statistics to be compared against a meaningful standard ( 41 , 42 ). Without this type of information, it may be difficult for people to know how to feel and react to statistical information ( 43 , 44 ). However, it can also potentially bias decision making by altering how a person interprets his/her own risk.
Comparative risk information has some similarities with relative risk information in which the risk information has a powerful impact on decision making by turning the patient’s attention away from the more informative absolute risk information. It differs from relative risk, however, in both source and presentation format. Comparative risk information involves presenting one or more supplemental absolute risk statistics to highlight differences in risk related to the individual characteristics of the target patient vs relevant populations. These statistics are usually the average risk of the population as a whole or a relevant demographic subset (eg, women or adults older than 60 years) derived from population-based studies. By contrast, relative risk presentations tend to come from clinical trials where there is a natural comparison group (ie, control groups) and translate the observed difference in risk into percentage change in risk or odds ratios, thereby obscuring the level of absolute risk.
There have been several studies that have shown the power of comparative risk perceptions in comparison with people’s absolute risk ( 40 , 45 , 46 ). In these studies, comparative risk was typically a better predictor of worry and behavior ( 40 , 45 , 46 ). However, even within one of these studies ( 45 ), the role of absolute and comparative risk varied. In this study, women’s worry about cancer was best predicted by their absolute risk perceptions rather than by comparative risk perceptions. Furthermore, they found that in people who had already been diagnosed previously with cancer, absolute and comparative risks were equally predictive of cancer worry. These articles ( 40 , 45 , 46 ) suggest that people’s judgments and behaviors are often related to how they view their own risk compared with others. However, much more research is needed to better understand whether or how providing participants with comparative information changes risk perceptions and behavior.
In fact, providing comparative risk information could have harmful effects on decision making. In one study that used a hypothetical vignette ( 47 ), we gave women risk information that made them feel as if they had either a below average risk of breast cancer or a higher than average risk of breast cancer. Participants who were told that they were at higher than average risk of developing breast cancer rated the effectiveness of a preventive medication higher and were more likely to endorse taking the drug than those who were told they had below average risk ( 47 ). We argue that this belief is nonnormative because participants in both groups should have viewed the drugs equally effective as the absolute risk reduction for breast cancer was equivalent for both.
People’s decisions regarding the efficacy of treatments should not be based on how their own risk compares with the risk of someone else. Rather, such decisions should be based on whether the benefits of the intervention outweigh its risks for an individual patient. Comparative risk information is a powerful influence on risk perceptions and can bias decisions, though it is informative. Although this area certainly needs more research, we are currently quite wary about including average risk information in educational materials.
Recommendation 9: Consider That Less Information May Be More Effective
When designing patient education materials, there is an understandable tendency to err on the side of presenting too much information for the sake of comprehensiveness. However, recent studies have shown that presenting more information can be distracting and prevent people from focusing on the key pieces of information that is needed for decision making ( 48–50 ). We ( 50 ) tested this proposition in three recent articles by Zikmund-Fisher et al. ( 49–51 ) using the online decision-making tool Adjuvant! Online ( 52 ), version 8 ( www.adjuvantonline.com ), as a model. Currently, Adjuvant! Online is frequently used by breast oncologists to determine estimates of the 10-year outcomes of breast cancer patients who choose each of four possible therapeutic options: no adjuvant therapy, hormonal therapy only, chemotherapy only, and both chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Adjuvant! Online provides estimated risk statistics regarding 1) baseline survival assuming no adjuvant treatment, 2) incremental survival with three different types of adjuvant therapy (hormone therapy alone, chemotherapy alone, and combined hormone therapy and chemotherapy), 3) mortality from breast cancer, and 4) mortality from other causes ( Figure 2 ). Although providing all of this data allows for “a complete picture” to be presented, it requires patients to process a large amount of information, including some redundant statistics and some treatment options that may not be relevant to the patient’s particular clinical situation. For example, women who are diagnosed with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer typically receive a strong recommendation to begin hormone therapy because it offers large risk reductions for such patients with relatively low risk of serious side effects. Thus, the decision that estrogen receptor–positive patients face often boils down to a binary choice between hormonal therapy alone vs a combination of hormone therapy and chemotherapy.
Zikmund-Fisher et al. found that simpler presentations that focused on this binary choice ( 50 , 51 ) and showed only survival information ( 49 ) (an example is shown in Figure 3 ) resulted in improved understanding and greater sensitivity to the magnitude of risk reduction. We believe that this line of research provides compelling early evidence that health educators and clinicians need to tightly focus their communications by either deciding a priori what information is most essential for patients to make an informed decision or by exploring preferences with patients so that the choice set can be simplified.
Recommendation 10: Repeatedly Reinforce the Time Interval Over Which a Risk Occurs
As important as it is to simplify risk communications to facilitate comprehension, there is one detail that needs to be repeatedly reinforced in risk communications, the time interval during which the risk occurs. A risk is defined as the ratio of events observed to the total population size during a certain period. Unfortunately, patients (and likely clinicians) can easily ignore the time element of a risk and simply focus on the magnitude of the ratio. As a result, a patient who learns that he has a 17% lifetime risk of prostate cancer tends to have an intuitive “gist” that the risk is larger, and hence more concerning, than if he is presented with a 5% 10-year risk of prostate cancer.
Presenting risks using visual displays does not solve this problem, because most visuals draw patients’ attention to the risk ratio and do not visually show time at all. Even pictographs, our recommended risk graphic format (see “Recommendation 3”), relegate time details to easy-to-miss textual legends. Also, graphs that plot risk over time, such as survival curves, are not immune to this effect. In a pair of studies ( 53 , 54 ), we showed that people tend to perceive a treatment to be more effective when its risk reduction is shown in a 15-year survival curve graphic instead of a 5-year curve.
Because inattention to time appears to be a robust phenomenon, we urge cancer risk communicators to always describe the relevant time intervals clearly. In fact, when risks are constant over time, communicators can consider presenting the same risk at different time intervals (eg, this is your 5-year risk, your 10-year risk, and your 20-year risk), which may help to draw patient attention to how risk accumulates over time.
In this commentary, we have provided evidence-based recommendations for communicating information to patients either in written or spoken form. Our commentary is limited in that it is not a systematic review of the relevant literature. Instead, we have chosen to focus both on some of the most commonly agreed recommendations (eg, absolute vs relative risks, use of pictographs) and some newer more novel approaches to risk communication. However, others might have chosen other factors to describe.
We believe that it is the responsibility of all cancer educators, decision aid developers, and clinicians to be familiar with the growing body of rigorous research that has tested effective methods of presenting probabilistic information, so that patients can use it to make an informed decision. We hope that our illustrative review of the empiric evidence on how probabilistic information can best be presented to patients will motivate widespread use of these techniques, thereby improving the decision making experience of cancer patients.
National Institutes for Health (P50 CA101451 to PAU and AF; R01 CA87595 to PAU). | <urn:uuid:de6ed1b0-f8c6-453a-a1b6-bad5776b69da> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article/103/19/1436/899532/Helping-Patients-Decide-Ten-Steps-to-Better-Risk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171232.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00035-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94292 | 5,788 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Written by Vidhi Jain, a grade 7 student
‘Solstice’ a word that derived from the Latin word meaning the stalled sun. Solstice is a moment in the year when the Sun’s apparent path is farthest north or south from Earth’s Equator.
The Winter Solstice takes place when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice a year, once in each hemisphere.
There are two types of solstice, summer solstice which occurs in June, and winter solstice which occurs in December.
The winter solstice is the solstice that marks the onset of winter, at the time of the shortest day, about 22 December in the northern hemisphere and 21 June in the southern hemisphere. It is known to celebrate the longest hours of darkness or the rebirth of the sun and is believed to hold powerful energy for regeneration, renewal, and self-reflection.
It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere’s winter.
Another term you might have come across is the great conjunction – this is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn when the two planets seem to be closest together in the sky. They are named “great” for being by far the rarest of the conjunctions between naked-eye planets. Do you know when the great conjunction occurred last? The most recent great conjunction occurred on 21 December 2020(Yes, your right it’s the same day as the winter solstice) and the next will occur on 4 November 2040.
During the 2020 great conjunction, the two planets were separated in the sky by 6 arcminutes at their closest point, which was the closest distance between the two planets since 1623. Well, at least one good and the exciting incident that took place in the year 2020. And if you’re wondering how often the great conjunction occurs then here is the answer to your question. Some websites say it has been nearly 400 years, while others say it’s been almost 800 years. Indeed, the last time these two planets appeared so close was on July 16, 1623, when they were only 5 arc minutes apart (that’s actually 397 years ago). Here is another shocking news, Google is using its logo Monday to not only celebrate the first day of winter but a rare celestial event. The Monday doodle honors the Winter Solstice, which takes place on December 21. Other than that, It also commemorates the Great Conjunction.
To conclude, I’d like to say let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. | <urn:uuid:451d4445-a209-4846-b3ae-cc2eaee66c83> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://ikidyounot.in/what-is-the-winter-solstice-and-the-great-conjunction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103036099.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220625190306-20220625220306-00649.warc.gz | en | 0.959055 | 592 | 4.03125 | 4 |
Debris disks are a collection of dust grains and planetesimals around a star and are thought to contain the remnants of planet formation. Directly imaging debris disks and studying their morphologies is valuable for studying the planet formation process. In some stellar systems that have a directly imaged debris disk, there are also directly imaged planets. Debris disk structures like gaps and asymmetries can show the gravitational e↵ects of planets that are below the brightness threshold for being detected via direct imaging.
Download count: 0 | <urn:uuid:e88d294d-303d-4c8d-8ba0-c6fefca5a68b> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://keep.lib.asu.edu/items/148011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585837.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20211024015104-20211024045104-00224.warc.gz | en | 0.923742 | 107 | 3.421875 | 3 |
There was a 49 per cent increase in the number of excess winter deaths in England and Wales last year, new figures show.
Provisional data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that 36,700 excess deaths occurred during the winter of 2008/09 - the highest figure since 1999/2000.
Most of the excess deaths occurred in over-85s and in women, which is largely explained by the fact that more women than men reach the age of 85.
According to the ONS, more people always die in the winter months as a result of cold temperatures and seasonal illnesses such as influenza.
Age Concern and Help the Aged said that the figures should act as a 'deafening wake-up call'.
Andrew Harrop, the charity's head of policy, commented: 'It is a national scandal that the UK has more older people dying in winter, compared to the rest of the year, than countries with more severe weather such as Sweden and Finland.
'If cash-strapped older people turn down the heating during a colder winter, this can easily lead to a rise in the numbers affected by cold-related illnesses, which contribute to the thousands of excess winter deaths each year.'
Mr Harrop urged the government to do more to tackle fuel poverty, which affects one-third of older households at present. | <urn:uuid:48935ecd-ebb3-437d-880c-9aeb0258429a> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a18879/last-year-saw-rise-in-winter-deaths/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593208.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722100513-20180722120513-00496.warc.gz | en | 0.970142 | 275 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Cooley On Cars
Car Tech 101: Making diesels cleanBrian Cooley looks at new technologies that could make diesel engines a lot cleaner in the future.
[MUSIC] For ages, derided as slow and more noticeably, filthy, automotive diesel engines went in for a big makeover over the last couple of decades. Common rail injection is a form of fuel injection that can spritz diesel into the cylinders at very high PSI in very precisely controlled bursts. That kind of control of the amount of fuel, and how often it sprays into the cylinder, combined with turbo charging Revolutionized both the power output and CO2 emissions coming out of diesel engines starting in the late 90s. Around 2006, ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel became the norm in the UK, Europe and US. It reduced the dirty sulphur content in diesel fuel from 500 parts per million to 15. Taking that out reduces the energy content in to the gallon of fuel slightly. But primarily sets the stage for a key pair of cleaning technologies to kick in. Selective Catalytic Reduction puts a special catalytic converter in a diesel car's exhaust system. System. Inside that can is sprayed a mist of urea fluid that combines with heat and the special metal surfaces in the catalytic converter for a reaction that scrubs diesel emissions way down in several key areas. The down side of SCR is that you have to add this expensive plumbing to the car's underside and refill the car's supply of urea fluid from time to time. Typically at 10 to 15,000 mile intervals. Some dealers will do it for you as a courtesy during routine service, or you could do it yourself with a bottle of the stuff from Amazon or an auto parts store. It's like adding washer fluid, but it's one more thing to fiddle with. [MUSIC] The TDI from Volkswagen. Right about now, we should have smelled something fishy. VW was meeting stringent, new US diesel emissions standards from 2009 on. Without SCR on most of its diesels, which seemed like a trick no other car maker could pull off. As we now know, they weren't pulling it off either. These events are deeply troubling. Retrofitting one of these bulky complex SCR exhaust systems and urea tank To the effect that TDI VWs and Audis out there is one way VW may have to address the current cars that are on the road and violating emissions standards. But what if diesel exhaust could be cleaned up before it's even exhaust? That's what they're working on at the Oak Ridge National Labs where they're developing diesel engine tech that injects fuel into the cylinder early in the combustion cycle. Something which almost defies the definition of a diesel. That along with a new breed of sensors demands the fuel timing precisely based on nuanced real time measurement of cylinder pressure could be a big breakthrough. The diesel engine is, by its nature, a dirty beast, but its fuel flexibility, lovely torque, and high MPG keep it an important player in combustion auto engine. Even if keeping it there requires a constant stream of new cleaning tech. [MUSIC] More car tech, demystified, right now, at CNETOnCars.com. Click on CarTech 101. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO] | <urn:uuid:39153fe8-5ff2-4b81-8481-863b0edb14c0> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/videos/car-tech-101-making-diesels-clean/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948738.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180427002118-20180427022118-00579.warc.gz | en | 0.952886 | 680 | 2.75 | 3 |
We move the world to protect animals
We end the suffering of animals
Why? Because animals have a right to live free from pain.
How? By tackling cruelty and suffering worldwide.
Today we’re working on projects like this worldwide – helping governments and communities to protect and care for their animals.
Did you know? 3,000 dogs used to be culled every year in Cali, Colombia for fear of rabies. We persuaded the government to sterilise dogs instead. The number of strays fell by 25%. Dog bites reduced. And when the project ended, 10,000 people paid to sterilise their dogs, rather than returning to culling.
We help the world see how important animals are to all of us
Why? Because millions of people depend on animals.
How? By demonstrating the vital relationship between people and animals.
Today we’re campaigning for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, and over 2 million people, 330 animal groups and dozens of governments have already pledged their support.
Did you know? In 2013 we successfully moved the United Nations to include animal welfare in resolutions for the first time – a victory that will lead to policy change worldwide.
We inspire people to change animals’ lives for the better
Why? Because we all have the power to improve animal welfare.
How? By moving communities and governments to stop animal suffering.
Today We are providing firefighters with vital equipment to rescue animals from the flames in the Amazon fires and giving suffering animals life-saving treatment and shelter..
Did you know? We’ve been moving the world to protect bears for more than 20 years. In India, Turkey and Greece, we’ve helped to end bear dancing – for good.
We put animals on the global agenda
Why? Because a sustainable future for the planet can only be achieved if both animals and people are part of the solution.
How? By being part of the big global debates on how we live within the world's resources now and in the future.
Today we’re helping shape the UN's Sustainable Development Goals that all countries need to adopt from 2016, to ensure animal protection is not forgotten.
Did you know? In 2013 we persuaded UN Member States to adopt animal protection language in two General Assembly Resolutions (on agriculture and disaster risk reduction). For the first time this places animal welfare at the heart of policy and decision making at the United Nations. | <urn:uuid:c8847b39-3903-4942-9ccf-b8ddc5cbe0bc> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/about/our-beliefs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370507738.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402173940-20200402203940-00174.warc.gz | en | 0.91815 | 497 | 2.609375 | 3 |
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort insists that poor peanut plant stands in Georgia may not necessarily be due to seed quality.
Environmental conditions play a role, especially on peanuts planted in early to mid-April. Monfort said any soils under 68 degrees can cause problems for the seed, likely a delay in growth, which can lead to a lack of uniform plant stands in the field.
“If you plant something in the ground and the soil temperature is less than 68 degrees, it’s going to take more than two weeks to come up instead of the normal five days. With good, warm soils, 70-degree soils with good moisture, peanut plants will typically pop up in five days,” he said.
Growers tend to blame bad seed, he said, but even good seed won’t sprout in bad conditions. Poor plant stands are problems early in the season, either in late April or early May, when environmental conditions may be cool, excessively wet and generally not ideal.
Not always the culprit, poor seed quality can be addressed before planting. Monfort encourages farmers to check their seeds and make sure they are “nice, uniform-looking seed,” not shriveled or riddled with black spots and insect damage.
“Compare it (peanut seed) to a pack of roasted peanuts. Open it up and put it in your hand. If you want to eat it, it probably is good enough to plant,” he said. “It’s the same seed, one just has a seed treatment on it. The other has been processed for eating, but it’s the same quality. If you look at it and say, ‘Good night! I wouldn’t want to eat that,’ then in all reality, it’s probably not that great of a seed.”
Once growers receive their seed for the upcoming year, Monfort is adamant that the seed should not be left out in the sun. Leaving peanut seed uncovered during the heat of the day, or otherwise unfavorable conditions, can slowly drop the germination level over time.
If growers have an issue after planting and believe replanting is the answer, Monfort recommends calling the local UGA Extension agent first for a second opinion.
“They’ll help diagnose problems and determine whether the farmer does need to replant, or if they have enough plants to suffice for a decent yield. Some people think they’ve automatically got to replant, but they don’t always have to. Peanuts tend to compensate quite a bit,” Monfort said.
Peanut planting in Georgia typically starts in the latter part of April or early May. Growers should wait for the soil temperature to reach 68 degrees or higher for three straight days before beginning planting. | <urn:uuid:38c5913b-f148-4678-84bd-7d0de5308884> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://agfax.com/2016/02/12/georgia-peanuts-cool-soils-likely-to-blame-for-poor-stands/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257361.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523184048-20190523210048-00045.warc.gz | en | 0.946862 | 588 | 2.796875 | 3 |
For easier reading, we may use three-letter acronyms to refer to vehicles.
- OHV: Off-Highway Vehicle. A two-, three-, or four-wheeled vehicle that has a motor and is designed for riding on unpaved surfaces. OHVs are also commonly known as ORVs.
- ATV: All-Terrain Vehicle. A type of OHV with low-pressure, knobby tires designed for riding on unpaved surfaces. ATVs typically have four wheels. Three-wheeled ATVs are illegal in many states.
- OHM: Off-Highway Motorcycle. A type of motorcycle equipped for certain off-road sports. These motorcycles may or may not be “street-legal.”
- UTV: Utility Terrain Vehicle. A type of OHV where the driver and a passenger can sit side-by-side in the vehicle. They are most commonly known as UTVs (Utility Terrain Vehicle, Utility Task Vehicle, or just Utility Vehicle) or Side-by-Side Vehicles. UTVs are not designed for use on paved surfaces.
The general information in this course applies to all types of OHVs. Much of the specific information, however, applies primarily to ATVs and OHMs. | <urn:uuid:c3e341ae-b9f8-4485-89bc-853d705f00b4> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://www.offroad-ed.com/westvirginia/studyGuide/Commonly-Used-Terms/401052_161635/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057202.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20210921101319-20210921131319-00104.warc.gz | en | 0.958189 | 263 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.
The newly discovered galaxy cluster is called DLSCL J0916.2+2951. It is similar to the Bullet Cluster, the first system in which the separation of dark and normal matter was observed, but with some important differences. The newly discovered system has been nicknamed the "Musket Ball Cluster" because the cluster collision is older and slower than the Bullet Cluster.
Finding another system that is further along in its evolution than the Bullet Cluster gives scientists valuable insight into a different phase of how galaxy clusters - the largest known objects held together by gravity - grow and change after major collisions. Researchers used observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope as well as the Keck, Subaru and Kitt Peak Mayall telescopes to show that hot, X-ray bright gas in the Musket Ball Cluster has been clearly separated from dark matter and galaxies.
In this composite image, the hot gas observed with Chandra is colored red, and the galaxies in the optical image from Hubble appear as mostly white and yellow. The location of the majority of the matter in the cluster (dominated by dark matter) is colored blue. When the red and the blue regions overlap, the result is purple as seen in the image. The matter distribution is determined by using data from Subaru, Hubble and the Mayall telescope that reveal the effects of gravitational lensing, an effect predicted by Einstein where large masses can distort the light from distant objects.
In addition to the Bullet Cluster, five other similar examples of merging clusters with separation between normal and dark matter and varying levels of complexity, have previously been found. In these six systems, the collision is estimated to have occurred between 170 million and 250 million years earlier.
-Megan Watzke, CXC
Please note this is a moderated blog. No pornography, spam, profanity or discriminatory remarks are allowed. No personal attacks are allowed. Users should stay on topic to keep it relevant for the readers.
Read the privacy statement | <urn:uuid:0f3c9c3d-6e74-4bdb-9946-94150e920049> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/366 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164692455/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204134452-00089-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947046 | 449 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Home | Health & Fitness | Women's Issues
The estimated risk for rape survivors developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is 49%. The risk for those beaten or experiencing physical assault is 31.9%, whilst the risk for others who experienced sexual assault is 23.7%. Given these figures, it is no wonder women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, as they are statistically significantly more likely to experience sexual assault.
Post traumatic stress disorder is characterized by intense fear, a sense of helplessness, or horror. It can affect all areas of a person's life, their emotions, mental wellbeing, and physical health. And symptoms are generally worse in situations, like rape and abuse, where the trauma was deliberately initiated against those involved.
A person with post traumatic stress disorder may re-live the traumatic events, having flashbacks or other reminders and images that intrude on their waking hours, or in dreams and nightmares. These reminders may also trigger physical symptoms, such as heart palpitations or chills. Or emotional problems, like anxiety, depression, and dread.
People with post traumatic stress disorder may avoid any reminders of the trauma, whether that is people associated with the experience, or places, or even thoughts of the trauma. They can distance themselves from family and friends, and withdraw from everyday activities and things they used to enjoy.
Relationship problems are common for survivors of rape and sexual abuse. Some survivors avoid intimacy, others avoid sex, and some avoid both, and create patterns in their lives where those coping mechanisms are maintained. But sufferers of PTSD who did not experience any sexual abuse can also have problems in their relationships, or in social situations.
Another characteristic of post traumatic stress disorder is being on guard all the time, and suddenly feeling anger or irritability. There can be problems with sleeping and concentrating, and sufferers may be startled easily. Self destructive behaviours, such as gambling, risky sex, drug use, alcohol abuse, or other problems like dangerous driving, may be present. Depression, disassociation, or other mental health problems can develop.
Not all of these characteristics may be present in PTSD, and the degree to which one experiences them may vary also. And PTSD may not develop until months or years after the trauma. Particularly in relation to abuse in childhood, symptoms of PTSD can pass, then reappear later in life. This can make it difficult to recognize when PTSD is occurring, as survivors may not associate their current feeling and behaviours with pas events.
Each time symptoms appear, however, they provide an opportunity for healing. Post traumatic stress disorder can be treated, using a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
Whilst medications were not thought to help in the treatment of PTSD in the past, they have been found to be beneficial now, probably due to newer ones being available. The SSRI's (selective serotonin uptake inhibitors) zoloft and paxil are both approved by the FDA for treating PTSD. And newer antidepressants like effexor and serzone are also beneficial, and tend to be used when the patient does not tolerate paxil and zoloft, or those medications aren't effective.
There are 3 types of psychotherapy that can be used to treat PTSD. These are exposure management, cognitive therapy, and anxiety management. A combination of all 3 may be used, or one individually. Each person is different in what they will respond to.
In exposure therapy, patients confront, in a safe therapeutic environment, the situations, people, and memories associated with the trauma. People with PTSD usually avoid this very thing, but by working through the trauma in this way, exposure therapy is actually very effective at healing PTSD.
Cognitive therapy helps in the process of understanding how our thoughts affect our feelings, and provides ways of shifting negative thinking. Negative thinking can perpetuate a mental prison where joy and interconnectedness is no longer felt. Changing those dynamics can provide a new framework with which to process the trauma, and allow healing to occur.
In anxiety management, skills are learnt that help one cope better with the symptoms and triggers of post traumatic stress disorder. They can help reduce the intensity of the symptoms, though they need to be practised to be effective. Anxiety management techniques can be very helpful in controlling anxiety whilst doing exposure therapy. Some techniques used include relaxation, breathing techniques, assertiveness training, and positive thinking and self talk.
Article Source: http://articles-4-free.com
For more articles on anxiety and depression, click here. Rebecca Prescott runs the article directory, www.ArticleHealthandFitness.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
Powered by Article Dashboard | <urn:uuid:983bb327-161a-4973-a747-3a322ae35217> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | http://articles-4-free.com/Article_Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder--Rape--and-Sexual-Abuse_11713.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540490972.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20191206200121-20191206224121-00026.warc.gz | en | 0.939899 | 965 | 3.375 | 3 |
A little over 100 years ago, Broadway theater was just getting started in New York City. In its early days you could catch a musical such as "Black Crook" for $2 a seat. Although it was criticized heavily back then, the Broadway style of theater kept gaining popularity amongst the middle class. Nowadays it is not surprising to find a Broadway dancing and theater school in most big cities around the world. Musical theater enthusiasts attend a range of classes at these school to learn about what makes Broadway theater so special or in the hopes of becoming the next Broadway star.
Definition and Origins
Broadway dance can be defined as the incorporation of ballet, jazz and modern dance styles with theater and singing. At its beginnings, people were intrigued with Broadway theater because it was the first time dance was an integral component of a play's plot. Because theater critics did not approve of Broadway as a serious type of theater in its first few decades, its creators were known as "gypsies" until successful productions proved otherwise. Some of the earliest recognized Broadway dance choreographers include George Balanchine, Robert Alton and Gower Champion.
Broadway dance is different from other styles because the fusion of ballet, jazz and modern allows for unconventional movements and unusual use of body parts. The use of theater props such as canes, top hats and gloves is also very popular in Broadway productions, allowing once again a variety of movements previously unexplored in theater or dance productions. Finally, what makes Broadway dance contrast with other dance styles is that is also blends in acting and singing, meaning that Broadway dancers also need to be actors and singers.
Many Broadway dance productions focus on jazz rather than ballet or modern dance. Popular Broadways plays that focused on jazz include "Chicago," "Moulin Rouge," "Hair" and "Mamma Mia." Movements such as jazz hands, the use of props and incorporation of personality and story-telling in jazz dance choreography are also found in most Broadway dance productions. The style of music is also being heard in some productions, although it does differ slightly depending on the storyline and general mood of the production.
Once Broadway musicals took off and gained popularity as a recognized artistic form of theater, some of the most talented multidisciplinary dancers-singers-actors became celebrities. Famous Broadway personas include Lillian Russell, DeWolf Hoppe, Anna Held, Marilyn Miller, Jack Donahue, Ray Bolger, Fred and Adele Astaire, Gertrude Lawrence, Ethel Merman, Mary Martin and Alfred Drake. | <urn:uuid:9bcc954e-c03d-4c60-a86d-f565c132c430> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://ourpastimes.com/what-is-a-broadway-dance-12563248.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195526536.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20190720153215-20190720175215-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.958369 | 521 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Physical therapy is an important aspect of someone’s life. Whether dealing with injuries or mental health dysfunction, your physical health keeps you on the run. Seeking out physical therapy can benefit your mental health and as well as physical health. As a starter, you will also find emotional and encouraging support from your physical therapist along with the prescribed exercises.
Moreover, the prescribed exercises are specially designed to hit the triggers that improve mental health associated with anxiety, depression, and despair. You can see quick results by performing appropriate workouts and understanding how they are helpful to your body. Your social well-being and everyday physical activities get improved. You might find it hard to believe that your regular exercise can lead to long and healthy life keeping your heart and mind young as ever.
Let’s discuss how these physical therapists are being potentially helpful in your life.
Physical Therapy and Your Mood
Commonly, people suffer severe mental health issues after an accident or trauma, thus seeking medical help and psychological help as well. However, very few people know that their mental health can be treated without attending tens of sessions to a psychologist every week. They visit any renowned physical therapy doctor and end up securing their mental health in a good way.
P5 performance therapy center encourages such people to help themselves improve their energy and well-being without facing any hassle. They should have a clear decision.
Physical therapy improves functional mobility that leaves a positive impact on the body’s biochemistry. When you exercise, there is a hormone called serotonin that controls your emotions, increases and boosts the body’s endorphin levels. The end result is that your sleeping patterns enhance, regulate your mood, and prevent damage risk to the brain.
Physical Therapy for Depression
Depression is common and has been there for ages. People nowadays find psychological help more often than they were in past years. There are medicines, and psychotherapies available to catch up with depression. However, not everyone finds the best treatment and gets past their trauma for life. Exercise and physical therapy, on the other hand, gives you a feeling of achievement which leads to enhancing positive self-beliefs and protecting you from negative self-recognition.
Moreover, visiting a place where people get together for an activity that boosts your energy also increases your social connection and improves your health. Along with proper support from peers and family, this sense of achievement and activity interventions demonstrate a positive impact on individuals’ mental health than taking antidepressants all the time.
How to Consume 45 Minutes of Physical Therapy to Help with Anxiety
No matter how much time you spend thinking about how to overcome your mental health issues, you will only end up feeling unfulfilled. You know that exercise is restorative and you can give it a try to understand the depth of how much it is beneficial. However, the question here is that how ample time you should give to gain the results? The answer is pretty simple. There is no way that you can measure the dosage of your activity.
No physical therapy center suggests you do excess and gain more. You have an adequate number of minutes and steps per week. The recommended dosage is three times per week and a 45 to 60 minutes session each time. In almost 10 to 14 weeks, you would see the results.
In the end, it all depends on how you perceive it. Sometimes, your current depression doesn’t allow you to see positivity rather, it transforms you into a negative self-observer. Physical therapy is way much better than having a prescribed load of medicines or long-term psychological sessions. | <urn:uuid:1bfd0a6a-609b-4a4b-9f24-d5ef719908ad> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://doctorsgallery.net/how-physical-therapy-improves-mental-health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224654012.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20230607175304-20230607205304-00214.warc.gz | en | 0.956332 | 732 | 2.515625 | 3 |
HVAC Ducts Routed in Floor Slabs: problems, hazards, diagnosis, repair
SLAB DUCTWORK - CONTENTS: Problems with HVAC air ducts placed in or below concrete floor slabs. Water entry, rodents, mold, other contaminants are common issues in in-slab ductwork. This article describes the causes, the troubles caused, and it suggests some remedies.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
HVAC ductwork in floor slabs: this article describes heating and air conditioning ducts that have been placed in or beneath concrete floor slabs.
HVAC air ducts located inside concrete slab floors invite a surprisingly broad range of building problems that fall into two broad categories: functional troubles such as lack of air flow or collapsed ductwork, and environmental problems such as radon, odors, flooding, mold, insects, and where transite - cement asbestos - ductwork was used, asbestos particle contamination.
Here we catalog and illustrate the common problems found with in-slab ductwork & how those hazards may be recognized. We describe steps taken to repair or abandon in-slab air ducts.
Problems with HVAC air ducts placed in or below concrete floor slabs
How to Recognize that heating or air conditioning ducts have been routed through or beneath a concrete floor slab
HVAC air ducts located inside concrete slab floors invite a surprisingly broad range of building problems that fall into two broad categories: functional troubles such as lack of air flow or collapsed ductwork, and environmental problems such as radon, odors, flooding, mold, insects, and where transite - cement asbestos - ductwork was used, asbestos particle contamination.
Sketch above was provided courtesy Carson Dunlop Associates a Toronto Ontario home inspection educator and home inspection firm.
It's easy to recognize that in-slab or below floor slab HVAC ducts are or were used in the design of a building's heating or cooling air duct system, and it's not difficult to evaluate the condition of those ducts by a combination of visual inspection and observation of operating problems (lack of air flow) or environmental problems such as odors.
Steps in detecting the presence of in-slab HVAC ductwork
Recognize that the building uses air ducts for heating, cooling, or both
Observe the presence of air supply or return registers in the lowest floors of the building
Observe that the lowest floors of the building were constructed as concrete slab on grade. Note that in some buildings the lowest floor may have been constructed as a wood framed structure on-grade or over a very low, inaccessible crawl space rather than on a concrete slab.
Simply stomping on or tapping the floor may suggest that the floor itself is not set directly on concrete, or you may deduce the probable floor construction by inspection of the building exterior (presence of crawl space vents) or building dimensions (first floor is located more than a foot above grade level.
Using a hand-held camera for HVAC duct inspection
We have had good success inspecting the condition of in-floor and in-slab HVAC ducts using a simple digital camera that can be placed or held into the duct to take a quick look where a person's head cannot possibly fit for inspection.
Our photos just below demonstrate exploring the condition of an air duct in a concrete floor slab by inserting our camera (with wide angle lens) into the duct system through a floor register.
Naturally you won't see every inch of the duct this way and you could miss collapses or other in-slab duct problems.
Check the air handler and other mechanical system components
An additional and important indicator of a building HVAC duct design that makes use of in-slab air ducts is illustrated at our photo and is explained in more detail just below.
Take a close look at the air handler (blower unit) located on the lowest floor of the building, often in a basement or on occasion in a crawl space.
Inspecting the warm air furnace shown in the left side of our photographs, we noticed that both the bottom of the furnace itself and an air duct appeared to penetrate the floor slab of the building.
Below in an additional photo you'll see what we found - the return air plenum of the furnace was located below slab and below ground, as well as return air ductwork - both had been flooding.
HVAC Air Ducts Routed in Concrete Floor Slabs - why they are trouble
Our photo just above and our investigation photo (shown at left) illustrate how you may spot an air duct routed through the building floor slab and how you may spot trouble too.
In this case the furnace return air plenum was also located below the concrete floor. The air duct system in this building had been subject to periodic flooding, as illustrated in our second photo (below right).
A description of the health and functional problems that may be traced to air ducts that were routed in a concrete floor slab as well as our advice on how to properly abandon and seal in-slab air ducts are found at DUCT in CONCRETE FLOOR.
There we describe concerns with ductwork run in floor slabs in the article above, including risks of air duct collapse that interferes with air flow through the system, water leaks into the in-slab duct system (not a problem unique to transite ducts), and rodent or insect infestations or even mold contamination.
Hopefully needless to say, flex duct should never be buried underground nor set into concrete slabs.
Catalog of Functional Problems Found in In-Slab HVAC Ductwork
Air Flow Problems in HVAC Ducts Due to Collapsed in-Slab Ductwork
Air flow rates of heating or cooling air delivered by in-slab ductwork can become substantially reduced and ultimately blocked completely by
rodents or other animals that may invade the ductwork, nesting or even dying therein
crushed or collapsed ducts in the slab
debris loaded in-slab ductwork
water flooded in-slab ducts
At left and below, reader-contributed photographs of problems in spiral metal ductwork routed in a concrete floor slab illustrate collapsed blocked ductwork (photo at left) and severe rust, and HVAC duct flooding history (below left) .
In both of these spiral metal ductwork photos (left and below left) you can see actual holes in the duct bottom - admitting ground water, vermin, other contaminants.
We discuss and illustrate disconnected heating or air conditioning duct defects at DUCT CONNECTIONS. We also show additional images of the interior of crimped or squashed flexduct at DUCT DAMAGE, MECHANICAL.
Rust flakes from rusty heating or air conditioning ducts themselves are unlikely to be much of a health hazard - these particles are pretty big, not easily airborne,
and probably won't be found at high levels in indoor air except in unusual circumstances. But rust in ducts is a problem indicator, showing
quite clearly that the duct system has been wet.
Dust & normal air duct debris: The chief components of house dust, which will certainly collect within a duct system
include fabric fibers and skin cells, often also including starch fragments and other organic debris.
Watch out: The combination of organic debris
within a duct system and water (indicated by rusty ducts or duct registers) indicates a possible risk of mold or bacterial hazards
within the air conditioning or heating system. Since blowing air through the system can pick up and distribute these hazards
to occupants of the building, wet or previously-wet duct work is a potential health hazard to building occupants.
Condensation, Water & Flooding Problems in HVAC Ducts Placed In or Below Concrete Floor Slabs
Water accumulates in in-slab or below-floor air ducts from
condensation during the cooling season, exacerbated if the ductwork is being used for air conditioning and more so if it is inadequately insulated
leaks into the duct system from ground water seeping under the floor
leaks into the duct system from nearby plumbing drain defects
actual area flooding of the home (photo below left)
In addition to blocking air flow, moisture or water in the duct system invites allergenic or pathogenic mold growth therein as well as bacterial or other health hazards that can be transmitted to the occupied space in the building as air moves through the duct system.
Inspect in-slab ductwork first through the floor registers (above left) and better, using a good light or mirrors or a camera system such as the Chim-Scan or plumbing drain camera.
The mud in the air duct shown above confirmed a history of building flooding that sent flood waters inside the HVAC duct system.
Catalog of Environmental Problems Found in In-Slab Air Ducts Used for Building A/C or Heating Systems
Indoor Air Quality Problems Traced to In-Floor Slab HVAC Ducts
Air quality hazards of in-slab duct systems include rodent infestations in ductwork, dirt and debris accumulation which then is returned to the building indoor air or that serves as a breeding ground for pathogens, radon gas hazards, and water leaks into the duct system which can in turn generate a
mold or bacterial hazard or can cause softening, collapse, and blockage of the in-slab transite pipe duct. All of these are described individually and in greater detail within this article.
While there are companies offering duct cleaning and duct sealing services, we remain cautious
that such a "sealing" project creates a false sense of confidence that no remaining duct issues exist, causing the
occupants to miss the discovery of future leaks and in-duct problems. A description of the health and functional problems that may be traced to air ducts that were routed in a concrete floor slab are found
at DUCT in CONCRETE FLOOR.
Asbestos Hazards Found at In-Slab HVAC Ductwork
Transite pipe, which contains significant percentage of asbestos fibers, was often used for heating ducts and on occasion heating
and cooling ducts in older buildings. Transite pipe used as HVAC ducts or air ducts for heating and air conditioning was often installed buried in a concrete floor slab - methods that placed
the asbestos-cement transite piping below or in a building floor slab.
Asbestos-containing transite pipe HVAC ducts were also used
in exposed areas such as shown in the crawl space photograph at the top of this page. And transite pipes were also used as flues or chimneys for some heating equipment, usually where gas fired heaters were installed.
Transite Duct Asbestos Hazards: if used for air ducts transite pipe may be a an asbestos hazard, particularly where the ducts become softened by water exposure (such as air ducts located in floor slabs), potentially releasing asbestos fibers into the building air.
Dirt & Debris Collection Hazards in HVAC Ducts Placed in Floor Slabs
Our photos below illustrate very dirty, debris-laden HVAC air ducts. At below left you will also see evidence of rodent infestation in the duct - a collection of seeds probably left by a squirrel or mouse. At below right the fiberglass-duct was invaded by plant roots and appears to be collapsing.
Don't panic about dirt or debris in HVAC ducts. It is normal for some dust and debris to collect within the air handling system, though by installing and maintaining air filters at the air return registers you can minimize debris and dirt in the ducts themselves. (See AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS).
"Normal" dust and debris we find inside of air ducts is dominated by fabric fibers, skin cells shed by human occupants, perhaps some food or starch granules, and if the ducts are made from fiberglass, fiberglass particles will be present.
Watch out: however if these duct debris materials are wet from any water source they may become a breeding ground for mold or other pathogens, and of course if the ducts are invaded by rodents or flooded by sewage they are unsanitary and are a health hazard to building occupants.
Mold Hazards Occurring in Slab-Routed Heating or Cooling Ducts
Because an air duct routed through a floor slab is more likely to contain moisture from condensation or water from leaks or floods, that moisture, combined with normal organic dust and debris found in ductwork can increase the chances of mold contamination in slab-ductwork.
Watch out: don't assume that because mold has been detected in an HVAC duct system that the mold is the principal source of IAQ hazards in the building.
Modest amounts of Cladosporium sp. are quite common in air handlers where condensate blows off of the cooling coil.
And mold isolated from a duct system may have entered from a far more serious mold reservoir located elsewhere in the building. Expert investigation may be warranted. See MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT, HIRE ?.
Odor & Smell Problems Traced to HVAC Ducts Routed in or below floor slabs
The catalog of odors and gases in buildings that may be traced to an origin in the ductwork is lengthy and includes both odors/gases that originate within the duct system itself and odors or gases that are transported between building areas by the HVAC system.
In addition to the aesthetic issues of mold, rodent, or sewer gas smells, these, along with odorless gases such as carbon monoxide can be serious even potentially fatal
Take a look at the dirt and black sludge on the bottom of the air duct visible through this floor register. We suspected that the duct system had been repeatedly flooded by ground waters, possibly including organic debris or even sewage that could contribute to an indoor odor complaint.
Radon Hazards Occurring at In-Slab HVAC Duct Systems
Radon entry through in-slab duct systems: can occur in areas where radon is present at problem levels in the soils.
In particular, because a return air duct is often at negative pressure (when the blower is operating), the movement of radon
gas from the soil into the building air through a leaky in-slab duct can be significant, certainly greater than the movement
into the building from other openings such as through a basement slab crack.
The EPA and the U.S. Geological
Survey have rated every county in the United States as Zone 1 to 3 for radon risk. Links to state maps with county by-
county risk levels can be found at www.epa.gov/
The EPA recommends that all homes
in Zone 1 counties be built with radon-resistant features,
which can be easily upgraded to a radon remediation system
Seal ducts and air-handling units Where Radon Gas is Present. Placing any
return-air ductwork under the concrete slab is not
recommended, since this will tend to draw radon
into the ductwork and distribute it around the house.
If supply ductwork must pass through a subslab space,
it should be seamless or sealed airtight with durable
aluminum tape or duct mastic.
Rodent Problems: Rats, Mice, Snakes, other Animal Contamination in HVAC Ducts Routed in or Below Floor Slabs
During a careful site inspection you may find reason to look further into the air duct system interior for contamination rodents. At left our photograph illustrates such an example: the presence of maple leaf seeds and other organic debris entering the HVAC duct chaseway. At below right is one of the (dead) mice along with mouse droppings found in an HVAC air duct and air handler system.
Potential health concerns from mice and rats include not only fleas or odors, but potential pathogens such as hantavirus.
Sewer gas leaks into HVAC ducts located in or below floor slabs
Sewer Gas entry into the HVAC duct system through in-slab transite asbestos ductwork:
A reader (Conrad) provided us with the photographs and case history of the successful track-down of sewer gas odors in a building.
See SEWER GAS ODORS
The case began with a complaint of sewer gas odors in the building's heating duct work system.
As reader Conrad discovered while tracking down the odor of sewer gas that was appearing in a home's in-slab ductwork, placing in-slab ducts close to sewer piping (or septic system piping ) invites any future sewer gases leaking out of the piping right into the HVAC duct system.
The owner tracked the sewer gas odor that was coming out of the building's heating ducts to a break in the sewer piping located in the same floor.
The repair of the sewer gas odor involved jack-hammering out the floor slab, removing and replacing the leaky cast iron sewer pipe, and repairing the floor. Because of the inconvenience and cost of relocating these air ducts or converting to an alternate heating distribution method, the owner elected to retain the transite in-slab floor ducts.
This case of cast iron drain leaking sewer gas into a transite asbestos heating air duct is illustrated in more detail
at CAST IRON DRAIN PIPING and details about the case including more pictures and notes on how the building owner tracked the sewer smell to the basement floor slab (and transite heating ducts in the slab) can be read
at CAST IRON DRAIN LEAK, ODOR, REPAIR.
Watch out: sewer gases may include multiple hazards including the risk of exploding methane gas and possible bacterial pathogens as well as VOCs that can be a respiratory irritant.
How to Install (or not-install) HVAC Ducts in Slabs
Common Original Installation Mistakes for In-Slab Ductwork
Based on a history of complaints of contaminants entering in-slab HVAC ducts, the choice of this design is at best a higher-risk approach to heating and air conditioning duct installation in buildings and at worst, a catastrophe that should have been avoided entirely.
A review of in-slab ductwork installation guidelines from several manufacturers and HVAC contractors can inform us about what goes wrong from the start with in-slab duct systems. Here are some errors during original in-slab ductwork installation that show up as trouble later. You'll notice that most of these address water entry or condensation in the duct system.
Too-Deep In-Slab HVAC Duct Instsallations: the HVAC duct system must always be located above the high water table for the soils below the building. Otherwise duct flooding and contamination are likely.
Too-Fast Disasters in Duct-Slab Installation: experts warn that the weight of thick slab pours onto metal and some other duct materials can cause the duct to partially or even totally collapse during pouring and construction of the surrounding concrete slab. Concrete around in-slab ducts needs to be poured in a sequence of layers or steps with allowance of intervening time to permit each layer to set up and harden.
In-slab HVAC Duct Float-Up: if the duct slab system is not tied down before a concrete pour it may float-up causing high and low spots, water accumulation spots, or even disconnection of the duct segments leading to partial blockages and future leaks into the systerm.
In-Slab HVAC Duct Vapor Barriers: in laying out the in-slab duct system vapor barriers must be provided between the ductwork and the surrounding gravel fill, insulation, and concrete; Omitting the vapor barrier invites moisture into the in-slab duct system. In more than 40 years of building inspection, disassembly, and forensic investigation, I [DF] have not once encountered the presence of a vapor barrier nor even insulation around an in-slab duct system built in the 1940s through the 1980's.
In slab HVAC duct slope: In-Slab duct system trenches that are not sloped to a drain point will permit water to accumulate in the duct at low spots where it breeds mold, bacteria, or other pathogens. Curiously none of the installation procedures we reviewed included a detail on how water was to be removed from the in-duct slab low point much less how its presence was to be detected.
In-slab HVAC duct reinforcement: Inadequate structural reinforcement around in-slab duct systems can result in crushing or settlement and thus breaks and leaks into and out of the duct system.
In-Slab HVAC Duct Sealers: the interior surfaces of some in-slab air duct systems is coated with a sealant after placement or installation; experts advise that a water-based sealant should not be used in underground duct installation, presumably because the designers know perfectly well that future water entry or condensation is likely to occur - an event that will damage the sealant inviting further leaks and contamination.
Bauman, Fred, and Tom Webster. "Outlook for underfloor air distribution." [PDF] Center for the Built Environment (2001). - Note: this article is about usign crawl spaces not under-slab ductrwork. The authors, arguing for the benefits of this system, in our opinion, fail to address any of the common problems found with HVAC ducts routed through rarely-entered, less rarely-inspected spaces. Abstract: Underfloor air distribution (UFAD) is an innovative technology that uses the underfloor plenum below a raised floor system to deliver space conditioning in offices and other commercial buildings. The use of UFAD is increasing in North America because of the benefits that it offers over conventional ceiling-based air distribution.
Carino, Nicholas J., and Mary Sansalone. "Detection of voids in grouted ducts using the impact-echo method." ACI Materials Journal 89, no. 3 (1992). Abstract: The impact-echo method was used to detect simulated voids in grouted post-tensioning tendon ducts cast in a 1-m (39.4-in.) thick concrete wall specimen. The study was part of a program sponsored by CANMET (Ottawa) to evaluate nondestructive test methods based on stress wave propagation. The locations of the voids in the ducts were not known until after their results had been reported to the principal investigator of the project. The impact-echo method successfully located most of the voids. The study provided impetus for additional experimental and analytical studies to better understand the interaction of stress waves with voids in cylindrical duct. It also highlighted the need to increase testing speed and develop a method to automate signal interpretation.
JLC Online, "Abandoning Old Underslab Ductwork", Journal of Light Construction, Retrieved 12 Sept 2015, original source: http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/forum/jlc-online-expert-forums/building-science/839-abandoning-old-underslab-ductwork
Koschenz, Markus, and Viktor Dorer. "Interaction of an air system with concrete core conditioning." Energy and Buildings 30, no. 2 (1999): 139-145. Abstract: In Europe, hydronic concrete core systems are being increasingly used for room conditioning systems. The concrete slab acts as heat accumulator and permits dissipation of the load using, for instance, cooling towers. When using such systems the external climatic conditions limit the achievable water temperature. The convective loads, however, directly affect the room air temperature and reduce the storable part of the load. The ventilation system also has a large influence on the energy related operation of such a system. Moreover, the dimensions of the concrete slab and the layout geometry of the water pipes, especially the spacing, are important factors for the design of the system. A model is described which can be used to illustrate the transient two dimensional heat flow in such a construction. This method is suitable for simple hand calculations, but can also be integrated into existing building simulation programs without having to modify the program code. Thus, the complete system can be designed for practical applications to ensure optimum operation. In addition, this paper describes the interrelationship between heat storage capacity and pipe geometry. Finally, criteria are listed for suitable application of concrete slab cooling and further aspects are listed that need to be considered in connection with these systems.
McGill Air Flow, LLC., "Uni-Coat™ Installation Guidelines for Installing Underground Duct", McGill AirFlow, LLC, McGill AirFlow Headquarters
One Mission Park
Groveport, Ohio 43125
614/829-1200, Email: [email protected], Website: mcgillairflow.com, the U.S. Company has offices in many U.S. states, - retrieved 12 Sept 2015, original source: http://www.mcgillairflow.com/textDocs/uniCoat/uc_install.htm
Park, Robert, and William L. Gamble. Reinforced concrete slabs. John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
Schickert, Martin, Martin Krause, and Wolfgang Müller. "Ultrasonic imaging of concrete elements using reconstruction by synthetic aperture focusing technique." Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering 15, no. 3 (2003): 235-246. Abstract: The main purpose to use ultrasonic pulse echo techniques for concrete are the following testing B;problems:
Injections faults in tendon ducts because they lead to a loss of the basic protection of the tendon steel and can result in corrosion damage
Compaction faults or honeycombing because they reduce the concrete strength. They influence the static stability beginning from a diameter of about 50 mm.
Sullivan, John F. "Air duct boot." U.S. Patent 4,773,197, issued September 27, 1988.
Werner, Henry H., "Concrete slab and embedded duct structure." U.S. Patent 2,783,639, issued March 5, 1957. - partial excerpt: Heretofore in building constructions employing reinforced concrete slabs as structural units for the floors and the like, in order to provide the necessary services for the building, such as electric lighting, telephones, radio, inter-communications, radiant heating and cooling, air conditioning and soundproofing and the like, many expedients have been followed. Some have resorted to the installation of an underfloor duct system in afill on top of the structural concrete slab for distribution of the wiring. Such ducts are necessarily shallow in order to avoid excessive fill and because of the cost they are spaced considerable distances apart, for example, four to six feet. Thus they cover only a minimum of floor space, and allow minimum flexibility.
Zhu, Jinying, and John S. Popovics. "Imaging concrete structures using air-coupled impact-echo." Journal of engineering mechanics 133, no. 6 (2007): 628-640.
How to Seal or (Best) Abandon HVAC Ducts Routed In or Below a Floor Slab
Two principal approaches to correcting hazards associated with environmental or heating or air conditioning system functional problems traced to air ducts in floor slabs are discussed here:
Application of an internal sealant to the air ducts - possibly useful, with caveats described below.
We do not recommend this approach as there are questions about its thoroughness, durability, reliability.
Abandonment of the floor slab ductwork entirely, filling in the in-slab ducts and installing alternative heating or cooling distribution system(s) above-grund: very much the preferred approach, but probably more costly
Our starting point for proper abandonment of the in-slab air duct system shown at left was this floor register in the home's garage. Years of accumulated organic and other debris (odors, IAQ complaints) combined with a modest radon gas concern to lead a prior owner to begin abandonment of this duct system.
But he had left floor registers open to the building - failing to close them off (we fill with concrete) and inviting ongoing IAQ problems.
Duct Interior Sealants: apply an internal transite HVAC air duct sealant
There are spray coating duct-sealants that some contractors offer as an in-duct sealant/spray. The contractor extends a spray wand into the HVAC ducts to deliver a coating that, if perfectly successful, can prevent or at least reduce the risk of asbestos fiber release into the building air. And Andrew Oberta has described standards methods for repairing asbestos-cement products including underground transite piping.
A down-side with in-slab ductwork is the difficulty in accessing for application of the spray and difficulty in inspection in the future to see what's going on inside the duct: collapsing walls, sealant falling off of duct interior, flooding, mold, asbestos-releasing scraps, rodents, etc.
Our in-slab air duct photo (left) shows evidence of a history of floods in the duct system as well as rodents (the rodent poison).
A second concern is that even if the coated transite air duct interior surfaces appear to have been treated successfully, especially with in-slab ducts we are not assured that the in-slab ducts remain clean, dry, and undamaged in the future nor that the transite duct interior coating remains bonded to the duct surfaces.
See SLAB DUCTWORK
But given the history of concerns with the product, in particular with in-slab ducts, we would give strong consideration to abandoning in-slab ductwork entirely.
Reader Question: best way to seal in-slab ducts when abandoning them - how to minimize radon hazards in the slab ductwork
Dan, I have Sub Slab air returns in my Tucson home (my delivery ducts are above slab) which appear to be rectangular metal ducting. I have Radon levels of about 5.5+ if I leave the air handler fan always on and about 3.5 if I leave it off (we're not into the cooling season yet so I have the option of having it not run at all for now). I don't have a problem abandoning the returns as I can raise the air handler and build a new plenum below and make returns that vent directly into the room.
However sealing for Radon, I'm thinking I'd like to put a high density plastic sheet or panel in the vent and then pour concrete over that rather than just using concrete, less permeable to gas. Have you seen anything like this done?
I agree with your plan to abandon the in-slab ducts. Not only are there the issues we've discussed in the article above, but where radon gas is a concern, the fact that the ducts are at negative air pressure when the HVAC system is running increases the risk of radon gas entry into the home.
I appreciate too your interest in making a well-sealed abandonent procedure for the slab ductwork. But I'm not sure of the practicality of placing a plastic sheet or panel in the vent. If you mean simply covering the vent opening into the building with plastic in the process of filling the whole duct, that's reasonable. But I don't think it'd be easy to line the entire duct in that manner - because of what I usually find is limited access.
You could alternatively hire a duct sealing company to spray the whole duct interior with a plastic coating/sealant before filling the entire HVAC duct with concrete throughout its run.
My OPINION, which is just that as we have no data, is that the lining step is unnecessary. If you fill the duct completely with concrete it ought to be at least as well sealed as the rest of the basement floor slab where there are no ducts.
Further, 5.5 pCi/L is a very low level, as the action level is just 4 pCi/L - I'm not sure that added and costly measures would be justified. (We realize the true radon level number varies by weather, season, and more significantly air movement patterns in the building.)
1. completely fill the return ducts with concrete
2. seal any other basement slab cracks or other obvious radon entry points
3. perform a long term measurement, for a year, or else for shorter intervals representing seasons when there are likely to be more upwards air currents in the home (upstairs windows open, heating season, exhaust fans in use).
4. Based on the results of 3, do nothing else, or if necessary, install a mitigation system (sub-slab suction exhaust)
(May 15, 2014) Rod said:
No, it would be to cover the opening of the duct, not to try and line the duct. Do you really have to fill the whole thing?
If I felt like I had a more serious radon problem, I'd be tempted to try and plug each end of the returns and stub a 4 - 6" pvc pipe through the plug so I could use the existing duct space as part of the slab depressurization system, since it's obviously leaky.
Anyway I was hoping to construct plugs in the duct not fill it.
Reply: why fill the whole in-slab duct
Rod, a reason for filling the whole duct is to prevent other duct cavity areas from taking up radon from the soil below and leaking it into the home. But sure, if a duct runs under a sound, un-cracked slab, you could just fill the duct opening.
See "How to Abandon in-slab and other transite asbestos HVAC air ducts" and the accompanying photos in the article above. With a good seal of concrete and no cracks, the addition of a plastic sheet isn't helping and might be a source of cracks.
(Sept 11, 2014) Rob said:
What would you do once the ducts are sealed? How would you run heat to the closed off areas?
Reply: getting heat into areas of abandoned in-slab ducts
We describe various alternatives in this article series - the best solution to getting heat into the areas no longer served by in-slab duct depend on the building and what's most convenient:
- new ducts through walls, ceilings
- conversion to forced hot water
- spot heat using electric baseboard
How to Abandon in-slab and other transite asbestos HVAC air ducts
We recommend abandoning in-slab HVAC air ducts, including transite asbestos cement HVAC ducts, reasoning that there are multiple indoor air quality and potential health as well as functional concerns with such installations.
We described concerns with ductwork run in floor slabs in the article above, including risks of air duct collapse that interferes with air flow through the system, water leaks into the in-slab duct system (not a problem unique to transite ducts), and rodent or insect infestations or even mold contamination.
The photos below illustrate a continuation of abandonment of the in-slab air duct whose floor register was illustrated at the start of this section.
Our photos above illustrate how we prepared for sealing of ductwork run in a concrete floor slab. Working at the air supply register we used metal scrap to form a support for a section of drywall cut to fill the air supply register. We pushed this assembly down about 2-inches into the register in order to allow for a 2-inch thick concrete plug (shown below).
Even if the in-slab transite air duct system appears to be in "good condition" there is risk of asbestos fiber release (though in our OPINION the fiber release from intact cement asbestos materials is probably quite low).
Even if the transite air ducts look ok now, the risk of future leaks, infestations, and damage remain, and risk exposure of the building occupants to the problems described here. In addition, where the transite ducts have become softened by water entry or have suffered mechanical damage, there is a risk of increased level of airborne asbestos in the building served by the ductwork.
Our photo (left) illustrates the last stage of an in-slab heating system air duct that we abandoned and sealed, using concrete. Rather than try to fill the entire in-slab duct, we used the combination of metal scraps and drywall to provide a backer for concrete (shown in photos above).
We then poured into the air register opening in the concrete floor slab.
In other sections of this home the concrete floor, originally covered with carpeting, was re-covered using ceramic tile, adding a final layer of sealant as well as a cosmetic improvement.
When abandoned, in-slab ductwork of any material can usually be left in place. However where radon gas is an issue, we seal the ducts at the air delivery registers in the building floor slab, as well as sealing any slab cracks that may allow radon gas to enter the building at increased levels.
Reader Question: what's the best way to abandon in-slab ducts? What about other water leaks up through the slab or foundation?
Wow!! We finally found someone who understands our struggles with in floor ducts. I'm really hoping you can help.
Bought a house 8 years ago built in 1960, thought it was great that the basement had in floor ducts so it would be warmer in the winter.
Photo at left of a wet and rusted and grubby in-slab duct supply register bottom is from InspectApedia.com files.
That winter we purchased two furnaces, one for the main floor and one inverted one for the basement. Spring thaw came and we heard water bubbling in the ducts and it was overflowing on the floor. The previous owners didn't disclose of this problem but anyhow, it's our problem now.
For the past eight years we've had water in the ducts during spring thaw or when we've had torrential rain. We've been the human sump pumps with our shop vac that has an aspirator that takes the water out of the ducts out the window to our yard.
We didn't want to fill it in we like the feature and we just bought a new furnace. But fast forward to our current state and we are finally waving the white flag. We've added two sump pits in the house and we're still getting water in the ducts. We've had quite a winter season with significant snow fall, we're getting older and don't want to keep pumping out water not including the health risk we've been exposed. Good thing we're not in the basement too often and the furnace is set at 57 degrees so it only turns on when it's really cold.
We would like to fill it in with concrete, we've had a structural engineer look at our basement and he recommended a certain mix of concrete but didn't mention about the metal rebar. Do you insert that only on the vents or the whole area? There is no one in our area that is an expert on this so we're hoping you can help or direct us to someone that can.
Also, do you think that when we fill the ducts with concrete, would the water seep through our walls instead?
Thank you for your time and we look forward to your reply, - S. & G. L. 3/13/2013
Let's divide your question & our comments into some subtopics:
Structural reinforcement requirements when filling in-slab ducts with concrete?
I cannot imagine why it would be necessary to install re-bar or any other structural reinforcement into the in-slab duct openings before filling the ducts with concrete.
But the purpose of this material was not at all structural.
Rather it was to hold in place a backer (I used a section of drywall) to place about 3-inches down into the floor register opening so that I wouldn't need much concrete to fill and seal just the floor opening itself.
As you will read below, the decision about whether to just seal the register openings in the slab or to fill in the entire duct passage depends on several variables. In the example home to which my photo (at left) pertains, no area of the original concrete slab was left with cracks or openings that made us worry about contaminants entering the building through the duct passage. The finish flooring (other than in the garage) was ceramic tile as you can see in our photo.
We filled the HVAC ducts at the supply registers and then sealed that surface by installation of a new ceramic tile floor. There were not worrisome slab cracks, the slab upper surface is above grade, and there was no history of water entry coming up through the slab ducts into the building. Your case and your worry are different.
Best way to abandon in-slab HVAC ducts where water leaks are a concern
Indeed in some of our photo examples I have sealed in-slab HVAC ducts just at the supply register - but I only did this in a location (a dry garage floor) where there was no evidence that I might be leaving a dangerous reservoir of sewage, mold, dead rodents, bacteria under a floor up through which (via other cracks or openings) contaminants might enter the home.
Fill in the duct passage in homes with water entry problems. Other approaches to sealing or abandoning in-slab HVAC ducts are discussed in the article above, but overall, in my OPINION best would be to fill the entire in-slab duct channel with concrete; a high-portland cement mix will be most-resistant to water passage, but we'd best keep these limitations in mind so you're not disappointed after this repair:
Debris on the sides and bottom of the in-slab ducts will most likely prevent a really good water-tight bond between the four sides of the new concrete (or round sides if your ducts are round) that is poured through the duct system.
Water leaks may continue: depending on other building details such as the height of the upper surface of the floor slab above ground, water pressure and quantity in soils around the home, and surely some other factors I haven't yet thought-of, it is indeed possible that once you fill this channel running through the slab the same water problem will simply reappear at other slab penetrations or even higher up on the building foundation walls (if the building foundation also is partly below grade-level).
Therefore your worry about an ongoing water problem is appropriate. Without more details about your home, its site, roof drainage, surface contours, the actual sources of water that has been entering the home through the in-slab ductwork, I can't be confident I've got a complete understanding of your situation, but here are some things you should consider:
How to make sure water does not come into the building through the slab or foundation
Fill in the entire in-slab duct run: In addition to filling the entire slab duct passage (because we expect that to significantly reduce leak openings into the slab from below even if it won't fully seal them) also
Consider installing a sump pit and sump pump at the low-end of the ductwork, making sure that the bottom of the sump opening is well below the bottom of the slab. Pipe the sump pump discharge to a location where when it disposes of water that water won't just run back around the foundation. If you have frequent power outages you may need battery backup or even generator backup for your sump.
You are balancing the risk of water flooding the building through the sump pit (during a power loss) with the benefit of lowering the water table under the ducted and leaky slab. This is not the best choices for all cases like yours (it depends in part on the assessment of whether or not you can seal the slab and don't risk other water entry), and in general sumps are not my first choice for de-watering a basement or floor slab. Butt sometimes the cost-benefit of a sump pump is appealing.
Of course don't bury the sump - make a safe cover and keep this system accessible for inspection & repair. The sump can provide extra insurance against water leakage up through the remains of the filled-in slab ductwork; also depending on site conditions and building construction, a sump can actually lower the water table under an area of building leakage.
Fix the water sources outdoors: it is almost always most effective to find and fix the water entry source from outside the building, rather than waiting for it to enter and then pumping it away. That means paying attention to roof runoff, surface grading, and any other sources of outdoor water and snowmelt.
Watch out: when ground is frozen it is almost entirely the top surface contouring that determines where surface water, roof runoff, and snowmelt water goes. Don't pile snow up against the house where it forms a water trap.
Please see the diagnostic questions & answers on heating or air conditioning ducts under or in concrete slabs now found
at SLAB DUCTWORK FAQs
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Use the "Click to Show or Hide FAQs" link just above to see recently-posted questions, comments, replies, try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.
The Home Reference Book, a reference & inspection report product for building owners & inspectors. Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a ten percent discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Just enter HRBUS10 in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
Note: InspectAPedia.com ® editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Home Inspection Report writing materials, including the Horizon Software System that manages business operations, scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones.
The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors
Thanks to Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, for assistance in technical review of the "Critical Defects"
section and for the photograph of the deteriorating gray Owens Corning flex duct in a hot attic. Mr. Cramer is a Florida home inspector and
home inspection educator.
Thanks to Jon Bolton, an ASHI, FABI, and otherwise certified Florida home inspector who provided photos of failing Goodman gray flex duct in a hot attic.
Air Diffusion Council, 1901 N. Roselle Road, Suite 800, Schaumburg, Illinois 60195, Tel: (847) 706-6750, Fax: (847) 706-6751 - [email protected] - www.flexibleduct.org/ - "The ADC has produced the 4th Edition of the Flexible Duct Performance & Installation Standards (a 28-page manual) for use and reference by designers, architects, engineers, contractors, installers and users for evaluating, selecting, specifying and properly installing flexible duct in heating and air conditioning systems.
Features covered in depth include: descriptions of typical styles, characteristics and requirements, testing, listing, reporting, certifying, packaging and product marking.
Guidelines for proper installation are treated and illustrated in depth, featuring connections, splices and proper support methods for flexible duct. A single and uniform method of making end connections and splices is graphically presented for both non-metallic and metallic with plain ends."
The printed manual is available in English only. Downloadable PDF is available in English and Spanish.
Owens Corning Duct Solutions - www.owenscorning.com/ductsolutions/ - provides current HVAC ductwork and duct insulating product descriptions and a dealer locator. Owens Corning Insulating Systems, LLC, One Owens Corning Parkway, Toledo, OH 43659 1-800-GET-PINK™
"Flexible Duct Media Fiberglas™ Insulation, Product Data Sheet", Owens Corning - see owenscorning.com/quietzone/pdfs/QZFlexible_DataSheet.pdf "Owens Corning Flexible Duct Media Insulation is a lightweight, flexible, resilient thermal and acoustical insulation made of
inorganic glass fibers bonded with a thermosetting resin."
"Air Conditioning & Refrigeration I & II", BOCES Education, Warren Hilliard (instructor), Poughkeepsie, New York, May - July 1982, [classroom notes from air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and repair course attended by the website author]
Fiberglass: Indoor Air Quality Investigations: Fiberglass in Indoor Air, HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation
"Design and Installation of Residential Flexible Ductwork Systems", Georgia State Construction Code, retrieved 8/12/12, original source: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/development/constructioncodes/publications/1ONE.pdf, [copy on file as GA_Ductwork_Code.pdf] The information presented in this document comes primarily from sources in the International Mechanical Code including referenced standards and Georgia Amendments.
International Mechanical Code, 2000 Edition, with 2001, 2004 & 2005 Georgia Amendments
Flexible Duct Performance and Installation Standards (3rd ed.) – Air Diffusion Council
Manual D—Residential Duct Systems – Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)
HVAC Duct Construction Standards—Metal and Flexible (1995 ed.) – Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association, Inc. (SMACNA)
Uniform Mechanical Code, 2003 Edition, Appendix A: Standard for Installation of Factory-Made Air Ducts
Florida Mechanical Code, Section 610: Air Distribution Systems
Thanks to Indoor Air Care Corp., for their photograph of flooded flex-duct. The Southhampton NY company can be reached at 866 580-MOLD
ASTM E1368, ASTM Standard Practice for Visual Inspection of Asbestos Abatement Projects
ASTM E2356, ASTM Standard Practice for Comprehensive Building Asbestos Surveys
Nguyen, Tuan ; Hamilton, Jill, " Asbestos in Crawl Spaces", Corporate author: Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme CA, Oct. 1999, web search 6/11/12, PDF source: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA370467, Abstract : This document has been developed for use by Navy Asbestos Program Managers (APM), industrial hygenists, Safety and Health Managers, and facility managers to address asbestos contamination in crawl spaces. The contents provide direction for managing and abating asbestos hazards in these areas. Section 1 contains primarily the technical and regulatory requirements. Sections 2 and 3 are checklists with detailed discussions for clean-up or abatement in crawl spaces. These augment the NFESC Field Procedure Manuals for Managing Asbestos Abatement Demolition and Renovation Contracts, TM-2210-ENV and TM-2211-ENV, respectively. Section 4 lists the regulatory and technical references.
"Radon Basics", Q&A article, Solar Age, April 1984, includes advice for radon-resistant construction for an underground house built of concrete
"Radon Basics-PDF", Q&A article, Solar Age, April 1984, includes advice for radon-resistant construction for an underground house built of concrete
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: [email protected]. The firm provides professional home inspection services & home inspection education & publications. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The Home Reference Book & illustrations from The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop Associates' provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material.
The Illustrated Home illustrates construction details and building components, a reference for owners & inspectors. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Illustrated Home purchased as a single order Enter INSPECTAILL in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
TECHNICAL REFERENCE GUIDE to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment, useful for determining the age of heating boilers, furnaces, water heaters is provided by Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto - Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Technical Reference Guide purchased as a single order. Just enter INSPECTATRG in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on these courses: Enter INSPECTAHITP in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
The Horizon Software System manages business operations,scheduling, & inspection report writing using Carson Dunlop's knowledge base & color images. The Horizon system runs on always-available cloud-based software for office computers, laptops, tablets, iPad, Android, & other smartphones
Support InspectApedia.com & See Fewer Advertisements
From Google's Contributor website: Contribute a few dollars each month. See fewer ads. The money you contribute helps fund the sites you visit. | <urn:uuid:4c8e3d97-6bc2-4c6d-b114-970ed2ddda1e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://inspectapedia.com/aircond/Ducts_in_Slabs.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717954.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00557-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932066 | 11,662 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Specialized OCD & Anxiety Treatment
What is “just right” OCD?
“Just right” obsessions are thoughts and/or feelings that something is not quite right or that something is incomplete. You may feel very uncomfortable when confronted with situations where objects are misaligned or in disarray or when something does not appear perfect.
“Just right” OCD symptoms involve more of a sense of “incompleteness” rather than the need to “avoid harm” seen in more typical OCD symptoms. “Just right” symptoms are more likely to be experienced as discomfort or tension rather than anxiety. Both “just right” and other kinds of OCD involve an overwhelming sense of doubt that leads to compulsions. People with either “just right” or other kinds of OCD both know that their thoughts are unwarranted, but can not shake the nagging feeling that ‘perhaps they are wrong.’ In both “just right” and other kinds of OCD, doing the compulsion reduces anxiety, making the person more likely to seek relief through their compulsion the next time the feeling happens.
Individuals with obsessions about symmetry and exactness may have magical thinking associated with their concerns. For example, they may worry that their mother will have accident unless things are in the right place. In other cases, the need for symmetry may just “feel right” and not be accompanied by magical thinking (e.g. just makes the person uncomfortable).
How are “just right” symptoms triggered?
A list of possible triggers could be endless. But, the following are some general categories of common triggers:
Treatment for "just right" OCD
The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for Just Right OCD is to teach you that you can manage the anxiety associated with obsessive thoughts about symmetry or perfection without performing compulsions or rituals to fix or arrange objects. You will learn a type of CBT called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Treatment will include education about Just Right OCD and how it is maintained, cognitive strategies that will help you respond differently to anxiety and intrusive thoughts, and behavioral strategies to help you delay and/or eliminate compulsive behaviors. ERP/CBT will help you face your anxiety and discomfort about things not being “just right” and practice new ways of responding to anxiety. With practice and experience facing your discomfort, you will find yourself less disturbed by the feelings of incomplete and more able to cope with anxiety and urges.
People suffering from "Just Right" OCD are encouraged to seek treatment from a mental health treatment provider that specializes in the treatment of OCD. OCD specialists are equipped and prepared to treat a wide array of OCD subtypes, including "Just Right" OCD . Like all types of OCD, "Just Right" can be treated with a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention. Contact Lauren Pellizzi to start treatment. | <urn:uuid:6365d56b-c449-43c7-8519-a85fa1ff190b> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | http://www.anxietytherapyredbank.com/just-right-ocd.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178364932.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20210302221633-20210303011633-00455.warc.gz | en | 0.937324 | 604 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Environmental officials and experts are cautiously celebrating a recent rise in the monarch butterfly population, which has suffered a stark decline in recent years due to a variety of factors. The population of monarchs who made their annual trip to Mexico this past December increased three-and-a-half times from the previous year, but the totals are still far below those from two decades ago.
“This December, the butterflies covered 10 acres (about 4 hectares), compared to 2.8 acres (1.13 hectares) in 2014 and a record low of 1.66 acres (0.67 hectares) in 2013.”
Because monarch butterflies clump together densely under forest canopies when they arrive in Mexico, they are measured by the amount of land they cover rather than the individual number of insects. Researchers were optimistic at the end of 2014, when the number of acres they occupied started to rebound, and are pleased they rebounded even more this year.
The Infowars Life Lung Cleanse Plus is back in stock at 50% off with double Patriot Points and free shipping! | <urn:uuid:1ba47aef-fb74-4a38-b2fa-84376d2e3180> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://www.infowars.com/humans-almost-killed-off-the-monarch-butterfly-but-now-the-population-is-rebounding/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655878753.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20200702111512-20200702141512-00059.warc.gz | en | 0.955901 | 218 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Pregnancy and childbirth are perfectly designed by nature and are safer now than ever before. This is not because doctors and hospitals manage them, but because modern hygiene and general health have improved. If a healthy pregnant person allows nature to take its course, their baby and their body are well protected.
Only a small percentage begin pregnancy with health problems (such as diabetes) or develop problems during pregnancy or birth (such as high blood pressure). These circumstance may call for medical interventions—such as medications, inductions and cesarean delivery— which help make pregnancy and birth safer.
Truth 2: For most, giving birth at home or in a birth center with a midwife is as safe as—or safer than—at a hospital.
You may hear that you should see a doctor for prenatal care and give birth in a hospital to ensure that you and your baby are safe. In reality, for a healthy laboring parent and baby, medical interventions are more likely to cause a problem than keep birth safe. For example, many doctors and nurses believe that continuously monitoring the baby's heartbeat in labor makes labor safer for babies, so they use it routinely. However, decades of research show that this practice does not reduce the number of babies who have problems or die. It does, however, lead to more cesarean births. Continuous electronic fetal monitoring makes birth riskier with no benefit to babies. The medical approach of expecting problems, combined with restrictive hospital policies, can make it more challenging to give birth in a typical hospital.
Midwives are experts in natural, safe and healthy pregnancy and birth. They are trained to recognize problems, refer to a physician if medically necessary and handle emergencies or transfers as needed. Midwives generally practice based on evidence that shows birth usually happens best without interference. In countries where midwives provide primary care for healthy pregnancies, fewer mothers and babies die or experience problems than in the United States.
Truth 3: There are many ways to find comfort in labor without drugs, and this search for comfort helps move labor along.
Pain serves an important purpose in labor: To help facilitate better labors. Pain compels you to actively seek comfort.
When allowed and encouraged, you will naturally move, moan, sway, change your breathing patterns and rock to cope with contractions, eventually finding the right rhythm for your unique needs. Such active comfort seeking helps the baby move down the birth canal and keeps labor going. As contractions get stronger, the body releases endorphins—nature's narcotic—to ease pain.
Comfort methods like activity and rest, eating and drinking, showering and bathing, receiving continuous emotional and physical support, massage, relaxation and applying heat and cold are more available to those who give birth outside of a hospital setting and/or are attended by midwives. In hospital births, where you are often unable to move freely and use natural comfort measures during labor, it's no surprise that most people choose an epidural!
This article was adapted from Giving Birth with Confidence. Read this valuable resource for more information on choosing a caregiver and birth site as well as preparing for labor, birth and early parenting. | <urn:uuid:2db39882-54b4-48bc-8ce7-4ad57c2a8181> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.lamaze.org/childbirth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296948632.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20230327123514-20230327153514-00545.warc.gz | en | 0.953386 | 641 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The lack of emotion regulation in people with autism spectrum disorders, as with cognitive impairment in general, causes some behaviors that may be challenging for their family and people in their environment (aggression, self-injury, outbursts, defiant attitude…).
What is self-regulation in autism?
Self-regulation, defined as the organization or modulation of affective, mental, and behavioral responses, has been conceptualized to include control over emotional experiences and expressions (i.e., emotion regulation), cognitive or mental processes (i.e., executive function), and approach/withdrawal behaviors (i.e., …
Can children with autism self regulate?
For many children, self-regulation is hard to master, but for kids on the autism spectrum, it can seem insurmountable, singling them out and creating barriers to their learning.
Do people with autism have emotional dysregulation?
Being unable to control or regulate your emotions in a stressful environment can be particularly disruptive in the workplace. Called emotional dysregulation, this reaction is often seen in people on the autism spectrum.
What does regulation mean in autism?
Emotional self-regulation is the ability to adapt behavior when engaged in situations that might provoke emotions such as stress, anxiety, annoyance and frustration. A person with strong emotional regulation skills can: Notice when they become emotionally charged. Consider the consequences of their response.
What are examples of self-regulation?
What is self-regulation?
- regulate reactions to strong emotions like frustration, excitement, anger and embarrassment.
- calm down after something exciting or upsetting.
- focus on a task.
- refocus attention on a new task.
- control impulses.
- behave in ways that help you get along with other people.
What do you mean by self-regulation?
Self-regulation can be defined in various ways. In the most basic sense, it involves controlling one’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts in the pursuit of long-term goals. More specifically, emotional self-regulation refers to the ability to manage disruptive emotions and impulses.
What is commonly meant by sensory regulation?
Sensory Regulation: Allows children to maintain an appropriate level of alertness in order to respond appropriately across environments to the sensory stimuli present.
What are some self-regulation strategies?
Common Self-Regulation Strategies
- Organizing and transforming information. outlining. summarizing. …
- Goal setting and planning/standard setting. sequencing, timing, completing. time management and pacing.
- Keeping records and monitoring. note-taking. …
- Rehearsing and memorizing (written or verbal; overt or covert) mnemonic devices.
What are examples of things that might cause a person with ASD to become dysregulated?
What Triggers Anxiety for an Individual with ASD?
- Waiting for and/or riding the school bus.
- Before and after school time.
- Transitions throughout the day (place to place, person to person, topic to topic)
- Physical education.
What are the emotional impacts of autism?
Emotions and autistic children
Autistic children often find it hard to: recognise emotions, facial expressions and other emotional cues like tone of voice and body language. show and manage their own emotions. understand and respond to other people’s emotions – they might lack, or seem to lack, empathy with others.
What is dysregulated behavior?
What Is Dysregulation? Dysregulation, also known as emotional dysregulation, refers to a poor ability to manage emotional responses or to keep them within an acceptable range of typical emotional reactions. This can refer to a wide range of emotions including sadness, anger, irritability, and frustration.
What is behavioral dysregulation?
Behavioral dysregulation, which refers to behavioral ER strategies that are harmful, can include (but are not limited to): drinking alcohol to cope with problems, binge eating, extreme social reassurance seeking, and non-suicidal self-injuries (NSSI).
What are emotional regulation skills?
It refers to the ability to effectively exert control over our emotions through a wide range of approaches. With emotional regulation skills, you can influence which emotions you have as well as how you express them. Some people are better at regulating their emotions than others.
What are some coping strategies for autism?
Physical coping strategies may include flapping, rocking, twirling in one spot, or any other physical repetitive movement. Some individuals with ASD have reported a ‘need to flap’ at times of stress, and that the movement has the effect of relieving anxiety. | <urn:uuid:4e6cbf18-a3f4-4bf1-835d-bb0a16b9051f> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://wylderjames.com/hereditary-diseases/how-does-autism-affect-self-regulation.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522556.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518215138-20220519005138-00688.warc.gz | en | 0.946433 | 962 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Leading to Reading
I'm always looking for ways to bring accessibility into the classroom. Sometimes that means finding sites that teachers can use, maybe with some modification, to assist their students.
Leading to Reading is, "A free resource to help parents and childcare providers develop the language skills of their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Available in English and Spanish."
The site is divided into 3 main sections: Babies and Toddlers (Ages 0-2); Pre-Schoolers (Ages 3-5); Grownups. The collection of interactive options for both toddlers and pre-schoolers is extensive. These include nursery rhymes, games, lullabys, finger plays, songs, art, and exploratory activities.
What I like best here are the books and stories. There are small books that could easily be translated into braille, and a wonderful collection of online books to be read aloud to children. Even for the toddlers, words in the stories are highlighted onscreen as they are read.
It is hard to imagine a more engaging set of early literacy activities than those found here, and the quality is first rate. There is absolutely no commercial advertising on the site.
Click this link to visit the Leading to Reading website at http://www.rif.org/leadingtoreading/en/. | <urn:uuid:24d620b3-0c16-4557-9db1-46ebdcfc740c> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | http://www.fredshead.info/2008/03/leading-to-reading.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514574532.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190921145904-20190921171904-00162.warc.gz | en | 0.954252 | 273 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Analysis: Tracing The History Of Iraq From Its Earliest Days Of Civilization To The Present
History and Culture of Iraq
NEAL CONAN, host:
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington.
All of us studied about Mesopotamia in grade school. The word is Greek; it means `the land between two rivers,' in this case, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Today, that land is known as Iraq. There is a great deal of news about Iraq these days, and later in the program, we'll bring you up to date on the latest developments at the United Nations in New York and on Capitol Hill here in Washington.
But first, a conversation on the history, culture, religion, literature and the politics of Iraq. If you were born in Iraq, if you've lived there or traveled there, we'd like to hear your impressions. What was special or peculiar to this Islamic secular nation?
Our phone number is (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. Our e-mail address is [email protected].
How was Iraq created? Who have been its rulers? What ethnic groups live there? What languages are spoken, and what's every day like? And how did Saddam Hussein rise to power?
Joining us now on the line from New York is David Fromkin. He's the author of "A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East." He's a professor at Boston University.
And welcome to TALK OF THE NATION.
Professor PETER FROMKIN (Boston University): Thank you.
CONAN: We're going to try to conduct our conversation more or less along chronological lines, and while our primary interest is in the 20th century, Professor, can you remind us of the enormous contributions to civilization of the Sumerians?
Prof. FROMKIN: It was the Sumerians who invented civilization. They came to the southern part of the land we now call Iraq. We don't know who they were or where they came from. Their language group is not one that we recognize from any other. Whoever they were, they were immensely talented. We know what they looked like and what they dressed like, and they looked very much like people there do today, and they dress very much like the way we dress and they ate and drank pretty much the same things that we do.
Their enormous skill was their ability to deal with the rivers, the rivers and irrigation. They found soil there that was immensely rich because it was the accumulation of hundreds of years of silting. The rivers were unpredictable, so it took great skill and complexity on their part to devise systems for dealing with the water, and out of that society grew the world's first civilization, civilization in the sense that it had cities, it had towns, it had villages. It had all sorts of agriculture. It had division of labor.
It was able to create an enormous agricultural surplus because of the soil they had learned to deal with, and that, in turn, enabled them to initiate trade, and they became wealthy and they invented so many things. Some people think they invented the wheel. But the most--from my point of view as an historian--the most important thing they invented was writing, and because people could write, history began.
CONAN: How or where are people in modern Iraq of this ancient legacy? Is this a part of modern culture?
Prof. FROMKIN: That's something I really can't speak to. I don't know. I doubt it very much, though.
CONAN: OK. Well, for those of us whose knowledge of Mesopotamia may have ended more or less where it began back in eighth-grade social studies class, if we move to the 20th century, can you tell us when and how modern-day Iraq was created?
Prof. FROMKIN: Yes. What we call Iraq today was ruled, as was the rest of the Arab Middle East, by the Turkish-speaking Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire ruled for centuries until 1914, when the First World War broke out. For not very good reasons, the Ottoman Empire decided to join in that war, and threw in their lot with Germany. They lost. Great Britain, in negotiation with her allies, won that war. Great Britain, at the end of the war, had an army of a bit more than a million men in the Arab Middle East, and Britain, therefore, drew the new map of the Middle East. The old one was a blank.
The Ottoman Empire collapsed in the war. There was now this enormous blank map to be filled in with lines for frontiers and states. And in the course of that decision-making, the British decided to take three Ottoman provinces and--Basra, Baghdad and Mosul--and put them together and call them one country. They'd never been one country before, but the British created them as one country for reasons that suited the British and their allies.
CONAN: Where did the word `Iraq' come from?
Prof. FROMKIN: It means something like, `well-rooted,' in Arabic; in other words, ancient, a thing with ancient roots, and that is a reference, of course, to the origins of civilization there in Sumer.
CONAN: Now again, to some degree, did a popular culture--a lot of us are aware of the Arab revolt--Lawrence of Arabia and all of that--were the promises made to the Arabs as part of the Arab revolt--did that play a part in the post-war re-creation of the Middle East?
Prof. FROMKIN: It's a matter of controversy among scholars as to whether the British actually did make any promises, any binding promises to the Arabs. I myself think they did not, but others disagree. There is no doubt, however, that a number of the currents that make for today's Iraq and its problems and all date from that period because lots of things were going on.
Yes, the British, having decided, during the First World War, that the Moslem world, on religious grounds, was going to fight against them, decided to try to develop some native force, as it were, that would be on their side, and their notion was to sponsor Arab nationalism as vs. the Muslim religion. Now as it turned out, that is, indeed, a split within the Arab world--religious-oriented Iran as vs. secular-controlled Iraq now. And there is, of course, the split between the religion that Iran has, the Shiite religion, and--but the fact is that the nationalists turned out to be as anti-British as the Muslim religious leaders were, so in effect, that didn't help, but it did start one of the great discords, as it were, within the Arab world, the religious approach vs. the secular approach.
CONAN: Now the British, after they created Iraq after the First World War, who did they install as its head?
Prof. FROMKIN: They installed as its head Faisal, the son of Sharif Hussein, the guardian of the holy places of Mecca and Medina. Faisal had fought on the British side of the war. He was of the relatively small minority that did. He was also someone who was willing to work with the British. Faisal had been promised, or thought he had been promised, by some British representatives, the throne of Syria, and the British did their best to install him in it, and he did, indeed, go to Syria as king. But the French, to whom Syria-Lebanon were allotted by the peace conference, threw him out, and there was apparently nothing for him to do.
He was in exile when the British came up against the problem of unrest in what is now Iraq, because in 1921 and '22, the British, having demobilized their forces, there was disorder and there were tribal raids. People still aren't quite sure what it was all about. It may have been about not wanting to pay taxes. But in any event, the British found it difficult to restore order and felt that they needed some native figure whom they could put on the throne.
CONAN: Well, Faisal wasn't an Iraqi.
Prof. FROMKIN: No, he wasn't, but at that time--well, first, remember there was no Iraq then. There had not been. There was still these three provinces the British were--they were putting them together and putting Faisal on the throne at the same time. And at the time, there were those who spoke of an Arab nation, not nation-state divided as we are in the rest of the world. And if you are following that definition--I mean, if you say there is an Arab nation, then this was one of the pieces of the Arab nation and there was no reason why Faisal shouldn't have it.
In any event, the British organized a referendum in the country as to whether they wanted him as their king. Not surprisingly, the way the election was conducted, Faisal won, and he was installed and legitimized by a League of Nations so-called mandate, or trusteeship, which entrusted England with the task of guiding Iraq to independence.
These are three groups, once again, are three provinces that were quite different. You had the Kurds in the north, you had the Sunnis in the middle and you had a Shiite population in the south, and the great metropolis that they had, such as it was, was Baghdad, a predominantly Jewish city. So you had quite different groups of people, and the British were undertaking to make one country out of it in large part because of yet a new factor in world politics which had really just come to the fore, and that was oil. They wanted to create a system that would protect the exploitation by Western companies of the oil of Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq.
CONAN: Well, Faisal, the first king, was also the first to be overthrown.
Prof. FROMKIN: It wasn't that Faisal. It was his grandson.
CONAN: Aha! So the dynasty lasted a couple of generations.
Prof. FROMKIN: Yes. Again, it's slightly misleading because Faisal's son died at a very, very young age, had barely had time to--I mean, his reign was a very brief one, indeed. And searching my mind for people's ages--but the Faisal who was overthrown was very young, indeed, and was, in fact, underage, one would say. There was a regent for him.
CONAN: OK. Now how does all of this tie to the present situation today?
Prof. FROMKIN: Well, first, many of the forces that were unleashed at that time are still there. The secular nationalism vs. religion, the Sunni vs. the Shiite, and the long-standing conflicts between the people who live in Iran and the many peoples who lived and flourished in Iraq, lots of these things are there. But what I think is probably most important to think about in today's conflict is that Iraq, though it's 80 years old, was, in its origin, an artificial state. One could make an argument--should they lose another war--one could make an argument that perhaps they ought to be broken up into their separate and more coherent parts.
CONAN: For our listeners who might want to learn more about the history of Iraq, are there some books you might recommend?
Prof. FROMKIN: Yes. Fouad Ajami's "The Dream Palace of the Arabs," J.D. Kelly's book, "Arabia, the Gulf and the West"--very strong on the oil things--and for the origins of Iraq, a good biography such as that by H.V.F. Winstone of Gertrude Bell, the extraordinary English lady who, in large part, created the modern state of Iraq.
CONAN: Well, we'll find out--that's quite an interesting story, too. We'll put those titles on our Web site, so if you didn't grab a pencil in time to scribble down the names and the authors, you can look them up later at www.npr.org on the TALK OF THE NATION page.
David Fromkin, it's very good of you to spend some time with us this afternoon.
Prof. FROMKIN: Thank you.
CONAN: David Fromkin is author of "A Peace to End All Peace," a professor at Boston University, and he spoke to us from his home in Manhattan.
When we return from a short break, more about Iraq's more recent history, and a sample of some of the poetry. We'll take more of your calls, too: (800) 989-TALK. That's (800) 989-8255. The e-mail address, [email protected]. It's TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington.
We're talking about the history, culture, religion and the government of Iraq from its creation to the present. Have you ever visited there? What impressed you? Call us with your stories and your questions: (800) 989-8255. That's (800) 989-TALK. Or send us [email protected].
And let's go to Bob, who joins us on the line from Minneapolis.
BOB (Caller): Thank you. I spent just six months there, roughly six months, stamping passports and issuing visas, but a rather prominent gentleman was our first secretary, political officer, a gentleman named Herman Iles(ph). I'm sure your guest is familiar with him.
CONAN: This is some time ago.
BOB: In the mid-50s.
CONAN: In the 19--so 50 years ago.
BOB: Roughly, yes. But I had some questions about Iraq. First, your introduction concerns the Sumerians. I wonder if any of the Sumerians remain among the Marsh Arabs, or has Saddam extinguished them?
CONAN: Well, let us get somebody on the line with us who is more expert than I am and who may be able to answer some of these questions. Joining us now from member station WAMU here in Washington is Edmund Ghareeb, a distinguished professor at the School of International Service at American University, co-author of "War in the Gulf, 1990-91: The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict and Its Implications."
Edmund Ghareeb, it's nice to have you back on the program.
Professor EDMUND GHAREEB (American University): Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be with you.
CONAN: Can you answer Bob's question?
Prof. GHAREEB: Yes. I mean, the Sumerians as a distinct people, as a community, no longer survive, but there's no doubt that there is Sumerian people mixed along with other peoples who had moved into Iraq, invaded Iraq--with the Arcadians, with the Babylonians, with the Syrians--and the Iraqi people are the descendants of all the peoples who lived in Iraq since time immemorial.
CONAN: He was asking specifically about the Marsh Arabs, who lived in the very wet, reedy places at the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Are they still existing, or, as he asked, have they been extinguished?
Prof. GHAREEB: The Marsh Arabs are still there, although the area where they used to live has been reduced in size a great deal, partly as a result of the Iran-Iraq war, as a result of the fighting, the destruction of much of the area, and also in part as a result of the diversion of water to irrigate other parts of Iraq. And there was a plan in the '50s, which was drawn by British and American engineers to divert water from the Tigris and the Euphrates, from Shat al-Arab, away from the marshes, and that has affected that area.
BOB: Can I ask another question?
CONAN: One more, sure. Go ahead.
BOB: Yes. Concerning the holy cities, the Shia holy cities, Abbas, Hussainiyah, Najaf and Karbala--what will become of them if there is conflict? Has Hussein generally made them into secular places, or are they still Shia holy cities?
Prof. GHAREEB: They are--especially the shrines, they are still Shiite holy shrines, holy cities to the Shia from all over the world. Najaf and Karbala are very important cities in the history of Shiism, and while there was, however, during the 1991 uprising, there was a great deal of damage to some of the shrines, particularly in Karbala, but these have been rebuilt, in fact, by the central government.
BOB: And a third question.
CONAN: Last one.
BOB: Concerning the north, Barzani's section of the...
Prof. GHAREEB: KDP?
BOB: ...of the north.
CONAN: Of Kurdistan, yes.
BOB: Of Kurdistan, yes. The Mosul oil fields should be part of Turkey. This was the Mosul province of Turkey, but the British needed the oil. That's my view of how Iraq was organized, with the Mosul, Baghdad and Basra provinces. But Barzani is a very venal fellow. Is he dealing both with Ankara and with Baghdad to make sure he siphons off as much money as he can, as the illegal oil moves from Mosul to Turkey?
CONAN: Just to say that Mr. Barzani is the head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, one of the two big parties in Kurdistan, and controls roughly half of the Kurdish area, but Edmund Ghareeb, why don't you go ahead?
Prof. GHAREEB: Yes. First of all, I'm not so sure I'd buy the idea that Mosul belongs to Turkey. Mosul, in fact, historically has been an area that's inhabited mostly--the old Mosul province--by Arabs, by Turkoman, and also by large numbers of Kurds, Christians, Assyrians and Chaldeans. So I do not know why Bob would say that it belongs to Turkey. Turkey made a claim on part of the Mosul province, since it was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in fact, there was an agreement that was ultimately reached in 1926 under the League of Nations which said that Mosul belongs to Iraq, and ultimately the state was formed, as we've heard, from these three provinces.
But there's no doubt, however, Bob was correct when he thought that oil was a factor, because originally, the Mosul province was supposed to go to the French mandate, to the area under French mandate, which was Lebanon, Syria and it would have been Mosul, but since the British were interested in oil, they wanted Mosul to be part of Iraq, the area under their control.
And one other point I want--if I may, I would like to mention...
Prof. GHAREEB: ...is that Iraq has existed historically as a distinct entity during certain periods within more or less its present boundaries, and there were periods, however, when it was also the heart of a much larger empire, and it was also a core, or a small part, of larger empires that were ruled from other places at other times, so it's very difficult to really say that it did not exist. But historically, there are also borders that existed, physical borders to a certain extent, because in the north, you have the mountains, and to the west and south you have the desert, and these sort of form natural barriers as well.
CONAN: Well, Bob, thanks very much for the call.
We were talking earlier with David Fromkin about the first leader of modern-day Iraq, King Faisal, and since his grandson, I guess, the government has been overthrown something like 23 times over the past 80 years. Just in a broad question, why such instability?
Prof. GHAREEB: I think that Iraq, because of the composition of the population--Iraq is one of the most unique countries in the region and the world in terms of its ethnic and religious makeup. It's also because it's, in part, a legacy of foreign rule over that area, first by the Ottomans. Iraq--one of the things that we have to remember--for a long time became an arena for fighting between the two large Muslim empires in the Middle East at that time. You had the Safavid Shiite Iranian empire in Iran, and you had the Ottoman Sunni empire in what's today Turkey and much of the Middle East. And the two fought for control over the Islamic world, and certainly Iraq was an important arena, and that became a source of tension.
Then when the British came, that was an additional factor because the British tried to impose their own will and their interests upon the population, which rejected them. As we heard from Professor Fromkin, the Islamists first opposed the British, and later on, the nationalists opposed them as well, and the British used a policy of divide and rule in order to continue to dominate the country that ultimately contributed to the 1958 revolution.
And in addition to that--and maybe this is something we can get into a little bit later--is the question of the ethnic mix of the country. One interesting thing is that when King Faisal came to Iraq, he asked--Faisal the First--he asked some of his advisers to write memos to him on how to deal with the Iraqi population, and each one did. But he ultimately, himself, wrote one in which he said, `Unfortunately, in Iraq, what I see is that I see Shiites, I see Sunnis, I see Kurds, I see young nationalists, I see tribal chiefs, I see Jews, I see Christians, I see Azeris. I see different ethnic groups, and each one of them sort of--either they want to rise to the top and control the country, some of them, or they are not willing to see themselves as a part of the larger whole.' He said, `Unfortunately, I do not yet see in Iraq an Iraqi people.' And to a certain extent, there is an element of truth in that.
CONAN: Joining us now on the line from London is Simon Henderson. He's written a biography of Saddam Hussein called "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq."
And, Simon Henderson, welcome to TALK OF THE NATION.
Mr. SIMON HENDERSON (Author, "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq"): Hello.
CONAN: Obviously, no conversation about Iraq could exclude the man who's been running the country now for some 20 years. Give us, if you would, a sense of who this man is, when he was born, what his childhood was like.
Mr. HENDERSON: Well, this is reasonably well chronicled, but it's not terribly clear how much is truth and how much is myth. But to an extent, that doesn't really matter because if the truth has been twisted into myth, it's the myth we're living with now. He was born in 1937, and so one of the formative experiences in his early childhood, which he probably didn't realize about at the time, was the attempt by an Iraqi nationalist army officer in 1941 when there was already a war between the British, who were in control of Iraq at the time, and Germany. And there was an attempted coup by this officer called Rashid Ali, and this was put down--Rashid Ali was pro-German. I think it's arguable whether he was pro-Nazi, but he was anti-British.
Saddam Hussein was four years old at the time. He subsequently said it was a formative experience in this life. I don't think we need to say he couldn't have done--he was only four years old, but I would imagine as he grew up, he was told about this and how unfair it was that the British were there and how brave Rashid Ali had been to try and seek independence from the British. And so this was him in his early years. When he's slightly older, at the age of 21 in 1958, this was when the monarchy was overthrown. And it's not terribly clear whether Saddam had a direct role in this. I think not. He was merely a bystander. But this started at the time when he became a political activist in the Ba'ath Party, obviously, another very formative experience.
CONAN: Well, let's turn to Edmund Ghareeb there. Tell us a little bit about the Ba'ath Party, its origins and what it aimed to do.
Prof. GHAREEB: The Ba'ath Party is a unique party in the Middle East. It was born not in Iraq, actually, but in Syria. It was founded by two teachers who were educated in France at the Sorbonne. One is a Christian Syrian. The other one is a Muslim Sunni Syrian. The two believed that--were nationalists. They were very much opposed to the domination and control of the region by the British and by the French. They were very much opposed to the idea of the division of the Middle East by these two powers in accordance with the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and they were very much determined to try to modernize the Arab world and to unite the Arab world. This was, in fact, the message of the Ba'ath leaders. They emphasized unity, freedom, Arab freedom, Arab unity, and also, they advocated a mild form of socialism.
So basically, the party was formed initially in Syria. It attracted some students, some teachers from among the Palestinians, a few Lebanese, Jordanians and a few Iraqis. Actually, the speaker of the Iraqi parliament today, Saadoun Hammadi, who comes from the city of Karbala, a Shiite city in southern Iraq, was actually one of the early founders of the Ba'ath Party, and he went back to his city of Karbala and founded a cell in Iraq. The Ba'ath Party was very tiny. It began to operate in Iraq in the '50s, and they played an important role during the latter part of the '50s and ultimately contributed to overthrow a prime minister of Kassem. And then they seized power in 1963. They were ousted very quickly, and that was also a formative period because that was one of the periods when they were determined after that that if they ever come back to power, they were not going to be pushed out again. And in 1968, they launched a coup which was led by Bakr, who was assisted by Saddam Hussein, and they came to power and they have been in power ever since.
CONAN: We're speaking with Edmund Ghareeb from American University. Also on the line with us from London is Simon Henderson, author of "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq." And you're listening to TALK OF THE NATION, which is coming to you from NPR News.
And let's see if we can get a listener involved. Barbara joins us now on the line from Kansas City.
BARBARA (Caller): Yes. My husband and I lived in Iraq '88 to '90, and I thought I'd just share a couple of experiences. One was that we would often--I always wore a cross when we were in Baghdad, and we would have people sometimes that were working in our house or in other places kind of pull me aside and say, `I'm a Christian, too.' They wanted to share that. We know certainly under the dictatorship that there was a lot of struggle going on for the people. There was a lot of hardship, and the people are suffering a lot. But they would often say, `Well, my cousin is in Detroit,' or `I love Americans.' And we found that in 1990, we saw on the news when all of the difficulties started right before the Gulf War that we could see some English-speaking friends of ours that were pulled forward, and they would be marching and have signs, and the news would interview them, and they'd say, `We hate Americans,' when I knew they really didn't, but they had teen-age sons and they didn't want them sent to the front line. So often, the marchers that Americans see on the television are being--they don't know what they're marching for. They sometimes can't read the signs. But they get free food or they get paid, and they're just told to get on the bus. And if they don't mind, if they don't follow the instructions of a few of the leaders, sometimes their sons are sent to the front line or sometimes they're executed.
CONAN: When did you leave, Barbara?
BARBARA: We left in 1990 before...
CONAN: Just before.
BARBARA: We were there between the wars, if you will.
CONAN: I see. OK. Thanks very much for the call. We appreciate it.
BARBARA: Thank you.
CONAN: And, Simon Henderson, as we're talking about that period, Saddam Hussein--we were talking about the time he came to power. Did he always have a vision for Iraq? He's always spoken about having a sense of Iraqi history and his place in it.
Mr. HENDERSON: Yes. It's hard to tell when he got a grand vision, but I think he did think he had a vision and a role. And he actually achieved power at a comparatively young age. After all, when Bakr was the leader of the coup which seized power in 1968, Saddam was 31. Bakr chose Saddam as his chief lieutenant, his number two. And within a matter of weeks or months, it became clear that the real force at the time was Saddam. And at that time, I'm told by friends who lived in Baghdad, Saddam often used to sort of wander around the streets without any bodyguard or hardly a bodyguard and sort of chatting to people, feeling the pulse of the nation, but also, beginning to build up his own ego. Now this seems to me that he--so he did have the sense that he was a particular Iraqi, had a particularly--challenge for he, himself, to rule Iraq. And I think this is one of the contributory factors which has made him so ruthless, but he didn't want political opposition which might affect this destiny. So, in fact, although he's been ruthless and terrible to a whole range of Iraqis--in fact, some of the ones which he's been most ruthless to were the other political activists around about him who he saw as rivals.
CONAN: Edmund Ghareeb, Mr. Henderson mentioned Saddam Hussein's ego. It brings to mind the phrase `cult of personality.'
Prof. GHAREEB: There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is a leader who believes he has a unique role to play and not only in Iraq, but also in the Arab world and in the region as a whole. Saddam Hussein, in fact, has helped transform Iraq; in some ways, in very positive ways, but in other ways, in very, very negative ways. Saddam Hussein embarked on a program to eradicate illiteracy in the country, to build hospitals, schools, universities in Iraq. He's played, especially in the early period, a very important role in liberating women and establishing a secular government. At the same time, he also was a very ruthless, very brutal authoritarian leader who did not brook any opposition and crushed any attempt to unseat him and move him out of power.
CONAN: We have to say goodbye now to Simon Henderson. Thanks very much for being with us.
Mr. HENDERSON: Thank you. Goodbye.
CONAN: Simon Henderson, a former journalist for The Financial Times. His book is "Instant Empire: Saddam Hussein's Ambition for Iraq." We spoke to him from his home in London.
We'll have more with Edmund Ghareeb and the history of Iraq when we come back from a short break. (800) 989-8255. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Tomorrow, Ira Flatow talks with the director of the National Institutes of Health, Ilias Zerhoui is--excuse me, Elias Zerhouni. That's on the next "Science Friday."
Today we are talking about Iraq. In a few minutes, we're going to bring you an update on the latest developments at the United Nations and here in Washington on Capitol Hill. But right now, on the line with us from the studios of WAMU in Washington is Edmund Ghareeb, a professor at the School of International Service at American University.
And let's go right to the phones. Our next caller is David, who's in his car in Falls Church, Virginia.
DAVID (Caller): Hello.
DAVID: Thanks for the chance to be on the air.
DAVID: I lived in Baghdad for two years, 1988 to 1990, and one memory I have that's most striking was the extraordinary level of brutality that permeated Iraqi society, thanks to Saddam Hussein. For example, it was customary that if someone criticized the government, the penalty was, of course, death. And I spoke with the legal adviser to the American Embassy about this matter, and he modified that a little bit. He said, `Look, if it's an ordinary farmer, a fellaheen or something, we simply beat him badly for about six months and let him go. But if he has any position of power, then he is executed. And if he's prominent enough, we'll also execute innocent members of his family.'
Just a question I have is this. This tradition of brutality seems to have been around for a long time in Baghdad, and I go back to the days when, for example, King Faisal's family was butchered and what happened to Kassem later on. Can you give any explanation for why this happened? And I'll take my answer off air.
CONAN: Thanks very much for the call, David. Before you go, David, what were you doing there?
DAVID: I was in the American Embassy.
CONAN: OK. Edmund Ghareeb.
Prof. GHAREEB: Well, I think there's no doubt that in Iraqi history, there's been a tradition sometimes of the harshness, but this is something that's not unique to the Iraqis or to the Iraqi population. If you take a look, for example, how the Ottoman Empire ruled or how some of the shahs ruled in the region, there has been a tradition, to a certain extent, of putting down opposition with ruthlessness. But at the same time, I think it's also important to remember that what we saw in Iraq in the modern period is that there was a great deal of tension--societal tension, ethnic tension, political tension, ideological tensions...
CONAN: And `ideological tension' seems to be the cue word. We seem to have lost our line to WAMU, where Edmund Ghareeb is. And, well, we were planning to keep him on the line with us for just a couple of minutes more, and we apologize for losing him so abruptly, and we thank him very much for his time. Edmund Ghareeb, a distinguished professor at the School of International Service at American University, co-author of the book, "The War In The Gulf, 1990-91: The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict and Its Implications." And again, his name was Edmund Ghareeb.
This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
Copyright ©2002 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2000.
This transcript was created by a contractor for NPR, and NPR has not verified its accuracy. For all NPR programs, the broadcast audio should be considered the authoritative | <urn:uuid:da853b86-2cf8-4a40-8816-7b6951d08b23> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/transcripts/2002/sep/020919.conan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701166739.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193926-00190-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984477 | 7,657 | 2.875 | 3 |
Academic scholarship may not generally lend itself to moving or inspirational writing, but there are exceptions. Edward Gibbon’s, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, is probably the greatest work of history written in the English language (Hugh Trevor-Roper) and a literary masterpiece praised for its narrative clarity, biting irony and elegant prose. It was a book that woke people up to a whole new way of viewing antiquity, especially in relation to the development of religious institutions – the Christian church in particular. It was also the defining work of history that came out of the European Enlightenment.
Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa’s Advanced Political History of Tibet deals with events, places and personalities that have, of course, less resonance or significance to the rest of the world, especially at the moment when China is being hailed internationally as the next global superpower, and the issue of Tibet has been relegated to a kind of oblivion, more distant and inconsequential (it sometimes appears) than a chariot race at the Hippodrome in ancient Constantinople.
But within it’s own more modest niche of intellectual relevance, Shakabpa’s history should be seen as an inspirational work, one that opened the eyes of Tibetans to their historical past, the memory of which had been systematically and near-effectively erased by Communist propaganda and mind-control (xinao, literally “brainwashing”).
HISTORY IN TOTALITARIAN TIBET
Under Chinese totalitarian control, Tibetans had been subjected to an overpowering indoctrination campaign to make them believe they possessed no history of their own other than a sporadic narrative of slavery and barbarism from which they had been “liberated” by the PLA in 1950. In addition to this and other forms of daily political and psychological indoctrination, the entire population, for roughly over two decades (from 1959 to the early 1980s) endured (at one time or the other) starvation, forced labor, torture, executions and a succession of mass campaigns that reached a crescendo with the savagery and destruction of the Cultural Revolution. By the time Mao died the Tibetan people had been culturally, intellectually and spiritually reduced to a near catatonic state.
A trickle of rumors and disconnected stories, vague and sporadic at best, somehow made its way out of Tibet, even during the height of the Cultural Revolution. But with the slight opening up of the country in the late seventies and early eighties the exile-capital of Dharamshala finally began to get hard information on what had really happened inside Tibet. It was also around then that people in Tibet were finally allowed to communicate with relatives and friends abroad.
An official in the exile government received a message from a cousin who was a senior Communist cadre in Sichuan province. This cadre had attended a special high-level meeting where Shakabpa’s “false” history of Tibet had been discussed. He heard that the “Dalai counterrevolutionary faction” (talé lokchoe shoga) in India had published a very dangerous and subversive book. He asked his relative in India to secretly send him a copy of the book through a trusted courier.
This and other similar incidents made the government-in-exile realize that people inside Tibet wanted to read Shakabpa’s history. At the time the book was printed by the Tibet Cultural Printing Press in Dharamshala. It was cheap but the quality of the printing and paper was woefully substandard. It was also inconvenient for any sort of covert distribution as the book consisted of two thick volumes. But many copies were somehow secretly smuggled into Tibet. I was told that it was later reprinted in Japan in a compact one-volume edition, exclusively for distribution within Tibet. A special thin lightweight paper was used and the font and page size considerably reduced.
In subsequent years, in discussions with other “new arrivals” from Tibet, who had read the book, I received the definite impression that Shakabpa’s history had been not just informative or intellectually enlightening, but possibly even therapeutic in a psychological sense. One person from Lhasa described how he had felt after reading Shakabpa’s history: “nye saypa nang-shing jhe song”, or “it was like being awakened from sleep”. A well-known Tibetan scholar and incarnate lama, Rakra Thupten Chodhar, in a verse of praise for Shakabpa’s history, wrote “You who have taken up and sung this unblemished song of our history/ Have awakened many beings from enduring sleep.”
In his 1973 memoir, Awakenings, the neurologist Oliver Sacks tells the story of the victims of the 1920’s sleeping-sickness (encephalitis lethargica) epidemic, which caused them to remain in a bizarre and deep catatonic states for entire lifetimes. Sacks, who worked in a long-term care facility for these patients used the new drug L Dopa which managed to wake them up, almost miraculously, from decades of “sleep.” In a sense, Shakabpa’s book became the cultural and intellectual L Dopa for Tibetans who had manage to survive Communist Chinese rule but had been intellectually traumatized by the experience.
In the years that followed, Tibetans inside Tibetan once again began to produce works on their history, literature, culture and much else. What was impressive was not only the generally high-standard of these works but also the prolificacy, the sheer quantity of books, journals and articles that came out from Tibet, despite the repressive political atmosphere and state censorship, which though not as totalitarian as before, is still a permanent (though mutating) feature of the Tibetan intellectual landscape. Perhaps it would not be incorrect to say that Shakabpa’s history was probably one of the seminal intellectual inspirations, or at least a vital factor that contributed to the unleashing of this enormous intellectual and cultural energy in Tibet.
THE ADVANCED POLITICAL HISTORY
The publication of the English translation of Shakabpa’s two-volume Advanced Political History of Tibet, (which first appeared in Tibetan in 1976), has been eagerly awaited by all students of Tibetan history, especially those like myself who, regrettably, find it easier to read English than Tibetan. Of course, we have had the English language one volume, Tibet: A Political History published by Yale University Press, since1967. It was, without doubt, the most comprehensive one volume history of Tibet we had till then.
Nonetheless, since the Advanced History was published over nine years after the ‘67 Yale history, the author had sufficient time not only to revise, correct and update his initial treatise but also enlarge on it considerably. The structures of the two works are fairly similar, but the Advanced History has a great deal more detail and information. The unhurried pace of the writing of the Advanced History allows Shakabpa to expound on his various source materials, even digressing now and then to make comparisons between some of them on certain dates or facts, which contributes to the readers understanding of the breadth and diversity of Tibetan historical writing.
The first chapter on the “Origins, Culture and Traditions of Tibet”, at more than a hundred dense pages, is by itself a substantial text-book on Tibetan civilization, providing an astonishing wealth of information that even present-day specialists on some these subjects might find useful. Of the many sections (and sub sections) in this chapter alone – all compulsive reading – my favorite is the section “Lhasa the Capital”, where Shakabpa lays out detailed accounts of all the major temples, monasteries, mosques, church (the former), stupas, public buildings, courthouses, monuments, cairns, markets, roads, alleys, bridges, dams, canals, springs, and even the history of the famous giant prayer flag poles (dharchen), which were well-known landmarks in the Lhasa of yesteryear, like the famous Cornhill maypole in London destroyed by Oliver Cromwell.
As only a Tibetan would, Shakabpa describes the various prominent features of the Lhasa landscape essentially by their preternatural resemblance to each of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism (tashi-ta-gye), which for all Tibetan, especially the devout pilgrims, are important components of their sacred (geo-mystical) vision of that holy city. In describing “Lhasa’s residents, of high, low, or middle station, (who) were completely carefree”, he does not forget to include the ubiquitous beggars, and recounts how they would spend their mornings begging for food, after which they would sing songs in the street and get drunk by the evening, which he regards as “a marvelous thing.” I have recounted this at some length to give the reader a feel for Shakabpa’s encyclopedic knowledge of Tibet, his traditional, non-western outlook, and the touch of humor and humaneness, present throughout the book.
The full title of the English translation is One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet, by Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa and translated and annotated by Derek.F. Maher. Published by Brill Tibetan Studies Library, Leiden in 2010, the book has been ably translated by Maher who is the Associate Professor and Director of the Religious Studies Program, at East Carolina University.
There are some minor errors in the translation: “mepo dhampa” Gandhi should not have been translated as “grandfather” Gandhi. The Tibetan term is generally used to mean “founding father” or “father of the nation.” This sentence “The governor of Sikkim, Sir Charles Bell, came to Lhasa to deliver a letter on behalf of the Indian Ambassador” should be “The Political Officer of Sikkim, Sir Charles Bell, came to Lhasa to deliver a letter on behalf of the Viceroy of India.” The phrase “Annual taxes which Castle and estates had to pay…,” should have used the word “district” or “district headquarters” instead of “castle.” The Tibetan world “dzong” can mean castle, but not in this instance. “…The phrase “British government owner of India” should be “government of British India”. Also “makchi” is commander-in-chief not “minister of defense”.
Maher has problems with some of the contractions that Shakabpa uses which is sometimes difficult even for native Tibetan speakers, if they are unacquainted with the source terms. For instance Maher translates “dochi” as Do governor. This is actually the contraction for “do-may chikyap,” or “ the Governor-General of Eastern Tibet”. In the same way Maher’s “do region” should have been translated as Eastern Tibet or Kham. Shakabpa’s contraction of Chakpori is rendered by Maher as “Jakri” mountain, and Ramoche tsuglakhang as “Rache” tsuglakhang, which might be a problem for the non-Tibetan reader.
The English spelling of people and place-names are unnecessarily confusing. Maher should perhaps have stuck to the system used in the Yale history, where Tibetan names were written in the basic phonetic system that earlier scholars on Tibet as Charles Bell, Hugh Richardson and others had used. The Yale history also provides a very useful transliteration of Tibetan names (Wylie system) in the index, which nails down the Tibetan spelling. Maher could have followed this system and used the actual Tibetan script in the index, which is possible these days.
Hence in Maher’s translation the 13th Dalai Lama’s prime minister, Shatra Paljor Dorje, is written as Shedra or Shedrawa Peljor Dorje. The famous merchant Pangdatsang is rendered variously as Pomda, Pomdabu and Bomdawu. The Dalai Lama’s nephew Drumpa is given as Bhumpa, the resistance leader Andrug Gompo Tashi is written as Amdruk Gompa Tashi, and the Quoshot Mongol ruler of Tibet, Lhasang (or Lhazang) Khan is written as Lozang Khan.
The suffix “wa” or “pa” that often occurs at the end of a name just means “of” or “from” and perhaps should not be included in the translated English text, as they could confuse. The exception being names where such suffixes have become intrinsic through usage. I have put the suffixes in parenthesis to highlight the problem: Shedra(wa) Peljor Dorje, Ngapo(pa) Ngawang Jikme, Namse’ Ling(pa),Tsarong(pa), Gapzhi(wa), Tretong(pa), and the mouthful Troggawo(wa). But this is offered as a suggestion for the reader’s comprehension, and not as a correction.
While on the name of Tretong or rather Tethong, I think it is incumbent on Western (and Chinese) academics not to supplant the specific English spelling that Tibetans themselves have used (since the beginning of the last century) for their names, especially surnames: Tethong, Tsarong, Shatra, Surkhang, Pangdatsang and so on. Melvyn Goldstein in his The Demise of the Lamaist State also transgresses with Norbhu for Norbu, Cawtang for Chogten, Canglocen for Changlochen, Tricang for Trijang, Jayan for Jamyang and Trentong for Tethong.
Maher strays from the norm in spelling certain place-names: Pakri for Phari, Zhikatse’ for Shigatse, Du..ne’ for Thuna, “Trashi” lhunpo for Tashilhunpo, and Gulok for Golok. Tibetan pronunciation of Chinese and Indian place names should not have been carried over to the translation, as “Lendru” for Lanzhou (or Lanchow), “Drungchin” for Chongqing (or Chungking) and “Drintu” for Chengdu. Kurseong, in Darjeeling district is given as “Kharshang”, though Maher correctly renders Shakabpa’s contraction “Ka-Bug” as Kalimpong. There is also some confusion with the names of British officials. Shakabpa’s Mr. Pal and Mr. War are probably A.W. Paul and J.C. White.
Maher cannot avoid the problem that even Tibetans have with the lack of spacing between printed words, which sometimes causes people to read suffixes for prefixes (and vice versa) among other things. Maher’s Elha Gyari should be E’ Lhagyari, Tögar Pön Gapzhi should be Tö Garpon Gapzhi, Gartong Tsen should be Gar Tongtsen and Lhato Tori Nyentsen should be Lha-totori-Nyentsen.
THE HISTORIAN’S PURPOSE
Shakabpa, in the introduction to this book, is clear about his purpose in writing his history. He did not see it just as a “neutral” academic work but as a means of making the world understand the true independent status of Tibet. I may be challenged on this, but I am convinced that this patriotic declaration of intent gives Shakabpa’s work its intellectual clarity and strength. Whether you agree or disagree with him on this one or other statement or opinion, it is clear that Shakabpa has no hidden agenda, nor that he is laying claims to the kind of rarified objectivity that quite a few academics in Tibetan studies insist on making about their work, which I feel only serves to demonstrates the accuracy of Lun Xun’s observation that “whoever thinks he is objective must already be half drunk.”
Shakabpa in his introduction clearly tells us that the inspiration to write his history was a patriotic one. In January 1946 he traveled to India and Nepal with his family on a pilgrimage, at the cusp of the freedom struggle, the year before India became independent. Shakabpa was in Bombay at the time when the Congress organized a mammoth political rally at the Gateway of India where Nehru, Patel, Sarojini Naidu and other nationalist leaders addressed the enormous gathering. Shakabpa was profoundly moved by the experience, and by the passion and dedication of the Indian people. It was then that the idea of writing a political history of Tibet first began to take shape.
He had earlier, in 1931 as a junior official in Lhasa, been summoned by his uncle the senior minister Trimon, who presented him with a pristine khadag and a large collection of documents relating to the 1914 Simla conference, which Trimon had attended as assistant to the Prime Minister Shatra. After a long conversation Trimon told his young nephew that he should study these important documents and consider writing a political history of Tibet. Shakabpa mentions that he enjoyed reading biographies, histories and the Gesar epic, but he did not take his uncle’s request seriously at the time. His later Indian experience finally focused his mind on the idea of writing a political history of Tibet.
This is perhaps a convenient point to provide the reader a brief account of Shakabpa’s official career. He became a tsepon or Finance Secretary, in 1939, and also headed the national mint at Drapchi. In 1947 he headed the Tibet Trade Mission that visited India, China, USA and Britain which had a “two-pronged aim to develop trade relations with the West as well as propagate (the fact of) Tibet’s independence.” He met and spoke with such world leaders as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Secretary of State General George Marshal, Prime Minister Clement Attlee, and also Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. In September 1950, Shakabpa was sent by the Tibetan government to open negotiations with China, to forestall the imminent invasion of Tibet by Communist China. But his efforts were to no avail and a month later on 6th October 1950 the PLA attacked the small Tibetan force at Chamdo. Shakabpa remained in India after the invasion and began to write his political history.
In Kalimpong he also joined forces with Gyalo Thondup and another official and launched the “Tibetan Welfare Organization” to carry on the freedom struggle from outside. This clandestine organization managed to provide support to resistance groups within Tibet, and also made the first connection with the CIA. After the 1959 Uprising, Shakabpa and Gyalo Thondup travelled to New York to present Tibet’s case before the General Assembly of the United Nations. Through the sponsorship of Ireland and Malaya, and the support of the United States and other nations, three resolutions on Tibet were eventually passed. In 1963 Shakabpa resigned from official duties to complete his history. He died on February 23, 1989.
Because of Shakabpa’s “patriotic declaration of intent” that I mentioned earlier, and the deep love for Tibet that manifestly pervades his work, I have on occasion heard Shakabpa being referred to as a “nationalist historian”, with the unstated pejorative that accompanies the label. Besides the fact that patriotism is here being confused with nationalism, I think that such a viewpoint demonstrates a lack of understanding of the political mentality of people who lived in a pre-modern society. Orwell wrote that “… the abandonment of the idea that history could be truthfully written is peculiar to our own age” by which Orwell meant the age of modern nationalism – of Hitler, Stalin, even Mao – and by extension the present era of Chinese neo-nationalism: from the official minzuzhuyi to the fenqing phenomenon.
Shakabpa comes from an age far earlier than the period of the Great War that Orwell was discussing in that passage, not in time of course, but in the pre-industrial and medieval nature of traditional Tibetan society and government. Because Shakabpa is such a capable historian and moreover as his book first came out in English, many readers unconsciously assume that he was someone with a modern or Western education. And this where I find reading Shakabpa such a fascinating experience.
His patriotism is of an old fashioned kind, lacking the self-righteous vitriol of the modern nationalist. He is incapable of the kind of calculated dishonesty and aggressive, even abusive language that pervades present-day Chinese writing on Tibetan history. Shakabpa is so old world that when discussing the emperors of China, the leaders of the PRC, or even the much hated Manchu ambans, he provides proper titles and does not allow himself any passing barb or ideological labeling, so ubiquitous in “nationalist” historiography in general, and which at times, even slips through in Western academic writings on Tibet.
Shakabpa, like many other Lhasa aristocrats, seemed to have been involved in the factional politics of his time. In the forties he belonged to the group supporting the Taktra regency and was opposed to the former regent, Reting. Yet in his history he is conscientiously fair to both sides, as Hugh Richardson notes: “Tsipon Shakabpa, although to some extent parti pris as an important official and as a kinsman of the Changkyim bKa’-lon bla-ma whom the ex-regent had brusquely dismissed from office in 1940, provides well-informed and balanced information.”
Later in Kalimpong, Shakabpa allied himself with the Dalai Lama’s brother Gyalo Thondup and they were sometimes in disagreement, if not competition, with the exiled Prime Minister Lukhangwa. Yet Shakabpa not only describes, at great length, the many occasions that Lukhangwa courageously stood up to the Communists in Lhasa but also his later work in Kalimpong in attempting to unify Tibetan refugees and exiles, and petitioning the government of India to allow the Dalai Lama sanctuary in India. I mention this since I had earlier written critically of the exile leadership (including Shakabpa and Gyalo Thodup) for its shabby treatment of Lukhangwa, especially during the period before his death.
Corrections and revisions are part of any scholar’s intellectual regimen, though perhaps not to the point where one feels obliged to highlight earlier mistakes. But Shakabpa is painfully honest. One example, in the Advanced History Shakabpa “confesses” to an error in his previous work. “I wrote that Regent Demo was susceptible to occasional mental disorders. That statement was mistaken. The person referred to as the ‘crazy Demo’ seems to have lived from 1825 until 1860. He did not serve as the regent.”
The native historians we have had in the 20th century from Africa, India, the Middle East and even China, were (or are) all scholars educated in a modern if not Western milieu. Probably the only non-Western contemporary historian we have who was completely educated and formed in his own traditional society is Shakabpa. In this he is a rara avis, a curiosity, a genuine throwback to a pre-nationalistic age, where for all its many drawbacks, the idea “that history could be written truthfully…” as Orwell points out in his essay “Looking Back at the Spanish War”, … had not been entirely abandoned.
TIBETAN HISTORICAL TRADITION
The fact of Shakabpa being a traditional historian is important for Tibetans to appreciate. It goes to demonstrate that, accomplished as Shakabpa was as a historian, he did not emerge from an intellectual vacuum. That, despite propaganda to the contrary, Tibet had a long and sophisticated tradition of history writing, on which, in large measure, Tsepon Shakabpa built his great work.
The late scholar on Tibet and Bhutan, Michael Aris of Oxford had this to say of the Tibetan historical tradition “… it is clear that, by comparison with many other peoples of the east or west, they (Tibetans) maintain a high level of historical consciousness and a deep sense of the vitality of the living past”. He also points out the intellectual rigor of that tradition “For instance when writing his monumental history of Amdo, The Ocean Annals, (dhepter gyamtso) completed in 1865, the author Dra-gon Konchog, provides a list of no less than six hundred or so sources he had consulted for this work.”
To get a feel for this enormous “ocean” (gyamtso) of indigenous historical writing one should browse through Tibetan Histories, by Dan Martin, a former student of Taktser Rimpoche and an accomplished Tibet scholar. This bibliography provide valuable information on over seven hundred Tibetan-language historical works. The listing does not include biographies, and old Tibetan works of historical nature and documentary sources generally referred to as the Dunhuang documents. This book is out of print but you can access it on Google books. The author has also worked on updating and correcting his opus, even adding another couple of hundred entries. Dan Martin also provides a useful breakdown of the various genres in Tibetan historical writing, which readers will find enlightening. Also invaluable in this regard is “Tibetan Historiography” by Leonard W.J. Van der Kuijp in the collection, Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, a recommended vade mecum for all Tibetan scholars, historians, poets and writers.
One of the reasons that led to Gibbon being called “the first modern historian of ancient Rome” was his unprecedented and extensive use of primary sources, among other things. Shakabpa’s work is invaluable to us because of the enormous archival sources he had access to (and which he fully utilized in his tome) and which probably no Tibetan historian till then, and certainly no Western scholar had had the opportunity to use. The most important of these are, of course, the various official archives in Lhasa and other centers and monasteries, now inaccessible to exile Tibetan and international scholars, but which in recent years have been partially and intermittently opened to a select few Chinese and Tibetan academics. Shakabpa also gained access to other sources such as the royal archives in Bhutan, Kathmandu and Sikkim, the Bihar Research Society Library in Patna, the National Archives in New Delhi, and other libraries and archives in London, New York, Washington D.C., and Paris.
Though a traditional scholar Shakabpa was able to personally meet and draw upon the knowledge of international experts as Peter Aufschnieter, the anthropologist Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark, Hugh Richardson, R.A Stein, Guiseppe Tucci, Rahul Sankrityayan, Turrell Wylie and Luciano Petech. He also seems to have met such present-day scholars as Mathew Kapstein and David Jackson (both of whom pleasantly surprised him by speaking to him in Tibetan) and others.
Of course Shakabpa’s access to the important Tibetan personalities in modern Tibetan history was, enviably, in a class of its own. But he was even able to consult and discuss his work with a large number of great Tibetan scholars and historians. First of all there was his uncle the minister Trimon who was a participant in the Simla conference, as well as the 13th Dalai Lama’s physician Ngoshi Jampa Thubwang who accompanied His Holiness to Darjeeing. Later there were other eminent scholars as Trijang Rimpoche, Khunu Tenzin Gyaltsen Rimpoche, Dhingo Khentse Rimpoche, Dudjom Rimpoche, Banyak Athing, and many others that Shakabpa unfailingly acknowledges and thanks throughout his book.
Besides the affinity to Gibbon in his pioneering use of primary sources, Shakabpa’s history might be lauded for its literary merits. I am not qualified to make this evaluation but many Tibetan intellectuals whose judgment I respect, and indeed his own translator, were struck by how “The book is quite beautifully written, with rich poetic expression, extensive vocabulary, and often clever and amusing adages and similes. The Tibetan text makes very wide use of quotations, and so as the narrative moves through the centuries, it employs many distinct styles of Tibetan.”
THE SHAKABPA LECTURES
Of course, as much as I do not read Tibetan well enough to appreciate Shakabpa’s qualities as a writer, there are many young Tibetans who would find it daunting, for one reason or the other to plough through the massive Advanced History, even in its English translation. For them and for all the older Tibetans who may be literate in their own language but find it difficult to read scholarly tomes, I can provide a solution that is not only convenient and enjoyable, but eminently traditional as well.
In 1985 Shakabpa gave a lengthy series of lectures at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) at Dharamshala. For about two months, from March 22 to May 18 he lectured daily, probably from nine to three (four?) pm, five days a week. It wasn’t really a lecture series in the Western academic sense but more of an expository teaching, of the kind that Tibetan lamas give to their follower, where using a Buddhist work, say Nagarjuna’s Commentary on Bodhicitta (jangchup semdrel), the lama will read passages from the text and then launch into lengthy explanations.
I don’t know of any lama who has done this for approximately 250 near-continuous hours as Shakabpa did in Dharamshala. He read passages from his Advanced History and then analyzed and expounded on the events and personalities at length, and explained his source materials. He also went into lengthy discussions on controversies and even associated gossip and rumors, which he could not have included in his book. Unlike religious teachings, Shakabpa also took questions, first thing in the morning, on what he had discussed the previous day. It was all wonderfully fascinating stuff. And the very fortunate thing is that the LTWA made high quality audio recordings of this work, now available on DVD/CD.
I have downloaded the digital files on my IPod and listen to them when I’m at the gym or I am driving, especially long distances. I would strongly advise all Tibetans to buy the CD’s from Dharamshala. I know many Tibetans in Europe and America have parents who feel bored, lost and isolated living in the West. Even if, let us say, your pala or amala may not be intellectually inclined, just hearing Shakabpa’s voice, his impeccable Tibetan and his Lhasa dialect, should give them much joy. He is not a dry-as-dust pedant, but someone with a great sense of fun, and a fund of amazing stories and anecdotes about their homeland, many of which they’ve probably never heard before. At one point Shakabpa even sings the old accountant’s song – for he had started his official career in the financial department. His voice quavers slightly, but considering his then 78 years, he manages surprisingly well. A notebook and pencil are essential for profitable listening. Just the incidental information he unconsciously drops throughout the lectures adds up to a treasure trove (ter-dzoe). Did you know bananas grew in Tibet and were called “hangla”?
A CRITICAL DISAGREEMENT
I find it difficult to find fault with an author who has given me so much knowledge and even pleasure. Once upon a time I might have frowned on Shakabpa’s inclusion of dragons and snow-lions in his list of Tibetan fauna, but these days I am just delighted at the impressive textual references he unearths to support such improbabilities; one of them even being a pecha published by my grandfather, a biography of the 6th Dalai Lama, in which there is mention of one of his entourage seeing such a fabulous beast.
But if I have to take issue with Shakabpa on one thing, it is on his view that the “patron-priest” (cho-yon) relationship was a mutually beneficial alliance that a free and independent Tibet maintained with the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and later the Manchu Qing Dynasty. And that only during the latter period of the Manchu Empire and under the Nationalist government “a perverse understanding of the preceptor-patron relationship between China and Tibet developed,” and Tibet’s independent status was violated.
Of course, Shakabpa was unbending in his insistence on the issue of Tibetan independence, which is directly at odds with present day advocates of cho-yon who only require Tibet to be an “autonomous entity” within the PRC. Nonetheless, what Shakabpa fails to grasp is that such a relation between a militarily and economically powerful empire and a weaker dependent state, even if the latter received some form of spiritual consideration, even respect, is essentially a relationship between unequal partners, hence a relationship between an overlord power and a protectorate or a colony.
Of course, there were instances in the relationship, as between the Ming court and the 5th Karmapa, when Chinese sovereignty over Tibet was non-existent, as the authoritative scholar on Sino-Tibetan relations, Elliot Sperling, pointed out to me. We also have the historical case that official exile publications often cite, where the Shunzhi emperor received the 5th Dalai as an equal sovereign. But such instances were the exception. The overriding reason why such a pernicious relationship as the patron-priest institution was accepted on the Tibetan side, besides the fact of China’s military dominance, was the economic and political advantages it conferred on the Tibetan clergy.
But Shakabpa as a traditional scholar, steeped in his Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, regarded the relationship as a unique one without parallel in Western history, and that “…(the) Westerners’ manner of approaching political affairs cannot explain this situation.” Shakabpa may be excused for this conviction as even a European writing on Tibetan history as Michael Van Walt claims that Tibet’s Cho-Yon relationship with the Yuan and Qing was sui generis, or without origins in any other system. Van Walt cites Shakabpa, but perhaps a reading of European history would have been in order.
Theodor Mommsen in discussing the Roman province of Judaea noted that the region “… had long before the Roman period developed under the government of the Selucids the so-called Mosaic theocracy, a clerical corporation with the high priest at its head, which, acquiescing in foreign rule and renouncing the formation of a state guarded the distinctiveness of its adherents, and dominated them under the aegis of the protecting power.” Then we have the long conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, and every other possible variation on the patron-priest relationship being played out in European politics, up to the time of Mussolini and the Lateran Treaties (1929) when the sovereignty, power and position of the Holy See was finally settled, ending the “Roman Question.”
CRITICISM, “STRUGGLE” & POLITICS
The most hostile and extensive body of critical writing on Shakabpa’s history has come largely from inside the PRC. In exile society there was, for a time, much show of appreciation for the man and his work but little intellectual discussion. In the last couple of decades, he has been studiously ignored. The Tibetan world these days is one filled with awards and honors, but I don’t think Shakabpa ever received anything, official or otherwise. Hence this review essay is my one-man Festschrift for Tibet’s greatest modern historian. Perhaps I should use the term Gedenkschrift, since this is more in the way of a memorial than a celebration.
Such a memorial, recalling his unequaled contribution to Tibetan historiography is necessary since he was attacked, posthumously, a few years ago, with a degree of viciousness and dishonesty that even his Communist Chinese critics could not quite achieve. A former member of the exile-parliament and scholar from Amdo, Hortsang Jigme, accused Shakabpa, in print, of basing his entire history on writings and manuscripts stolen from the great Amdo scholar and poet, Gendun Chophel (GC). He claims that the aristocrat Kapshopa had acquired drafts of GC’s historical texts and had divided up these copies of GC’s writings with Shakabpa who used them in his Political History. Hortsang Jigme does not provide anything in the way of credible evidence to back up his claims. One “proof” he offers is that that the full title of GC’s work is The White Annals: A History of Greater Tibet as Concerns its Political Traditions, but that strangely enough Shakabpa’s work “…has the title Tibet: A Political History, on the cover of his book”. The irrefutable connection between the two books presumably being the two words “political” and “history”. Hortsang Jigme sarcastically remarks “…isn’t this a sign of knowing how to steal, but not knowing how to cover it up.” The overall language and reasoning of Hortsang Jigme’s diatribe serves only to remind us of the nastiness, the dishonesty and the mind-numbing inanity of Cultural Revolution rhetoric, that even after four decades still unfortunately lingers on in Tibetan political and intellectual discourse.
Simpleminded Tibetans believe that GC had built an airplane out of leather and wood and even flown it over the Jangthang. Within this corpus of fantastic tales about GC, is one that he had written a political history of Tibet that absolutely and incontrovertibly proved Tibet’s independence and which on production before the UN would have compelled China to leave Tibet. Tragically this history was lost or stolen. Even some educated Tibetans buy into this story, or at least a part of it. Samten Norboo who translated the White Annals into English mentions in his introduction that “According to the testimony of Professor Ngawang Jinpa of St.Joseph’s College, Darjeeling, this large compilation had been completed and the manuscript in the custody of Mr. Ma-nang A-po, an associate of the author. Unfortunately we have lost track of the manuscript, following the demise of Mr.A-po.”
Probably the most authoritative account of GC’s life during this tragic period is the one written by Sherab Gyatso, who was his student, close friend and constant companion, especially during the last years of his life. (Note: this is not the geshe Sherab Gyatso who was GC’s dialectics teacher at Drepung) “This biography has been cited by Western and Tibetan scholars who have written about GC’s life and works.” Sherab Gyatso mentions that GC’s aristocratic patron and close friend Horkhang, put together and copied such works as the White Annals from GC’s notes and jottings. During his imprisonment GC sent a message to Horkhang telling him to stop his copying and write at the end of the history, “The unfinished composition of the Tibetan history is concluded for the time being.” No further reference is to made to the history by Sherab Gyatso. There are only two other biographical accounts of GC by people who actually knew him personally and were around him during this period. One is by his student and patron Horkhang (who published The White Annals), and the other Rakra Thupten Chodar, an incarnate lama who studied under him. Both biographies make no mention of GC’s manuscript being stolen, much less by Shakabpa.
Sherab Gyatso only mentions Shakabpa once and that in a very positive light “One day I received a letter from prison. GC had written, ‘I have heard that Shakabpa is well acquainted with Tagdra (the regent). See if you can ask for my release through him.’ I visited Shakabpa, who said, ‘The case has been sent to Neushar Thuptan Tharpa, the official of the Foreign Affairs office. Now it won’t take long.’ Just as he said GC got out of prison after about seven or eight days.”
Sherab Gyatso mentions what happened after his friend’s release “At about this time, the cabinet of the Tibetan Government gave GC a coupon to get three khal of grain and a little money for tea and butter per month.”.
Professor Donald Lopez who has authored two books on GC’s writings does not mention any official conspiracy to steal GC’s manuscript or to prevent him from writing his history. Lopez states that after GC was released from prison “The government eventually provided him with rooms behind the Jokhang, above the Ministry of Agriculture, along with a stipend of money and grain, with the instruction that he resume work on The White Annals. He did not do so. Anecdotes from this period deal for the most part with his heavy drinking…”
But the most convincing argument against GC’s work being stolen by Shakabpa is that whatever historical material GC had, and whatever he had written, was exclusively about the early imperial age. Shakabpa on the other hand only devotes one chapter to this period. In this chapter his sources are the standard Tibetan histories, and Western and Chinese sources. On a number of occasions he quotes from Gedun Chophel’s White Annals, and respectfully refers to the author as “khewang” or “great scholar”. The bulk of Shakabpa’s history, is based on archival material, which he had access to as an official, and which Gedun Chophel as a “mendicant” poet and scholar from distant Amdo, absolutely did not.
Why didn’t the government-in-exile speak out against this attack on its official history and official historian? In 1988, Shakabpa, in the most respectful way possible, expressed his disagreement with the Strasburg Statement. I was told he was in tears when he heard that the Dalai Lama had surrendered the cause of an independent Tibet. That same year he and another scholar, Yonten Gyatso, co-authored a small booklet that they printed and secretly distributed throughout Tibet, “urging the Tibetan people to continue their struggle for independence”. In the atmosphere of sycophancy and intrigue in Dharamshala, such an initiative could have been deliberately misconstrued as “opposing the Dalai Lama” (Gyalwa Rimpoche la ngogoe), and it is possible that the attack on Shakabpa had official approval, if not encouragement. Another Tibetan who opposed the Strasburg Statement (namely myself) was also attacked by Hortsang Jigme, this time in a pamphlet in 2003. This publication even featured an official introduction by the kashag secretariat, seal and all.
RE-AWAKENING TIBETAN HISTORY
Hence Shakabpa’s history can be read not merely as a record of the past but as a powerful revolutionary document, that even now, twenty-two years after the author’s death, is deeply disturbing to Beijing, and which frustrates and confounds those Tibetans attempting a final handover of Tibetan sovereignty to China.
One reason why so many in exile seem so unconcerned, so blasé about giving up the struggle for independence stems, in large part, from their appalling ignorance of Tibet’s history. It is not just that history was and is so badly taught in Tibetan schools, but also arises from the near absence (these days) of history being valued as an intellectual or literary activity. If you go to the website of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, our premier academic institution, you will find it divided into ten departments, including even a Science department – but no History.
It is this ignorance of, even contempt for, history which I feel is the source of those bizarre statements emanating from the likes of our former prime-minister Samdong Rimpoche, as that “the Tibetan issue is the internal affair of China”, and from the Dalai Lama that Tibet had to be a part of China because it was a “landlocked country.” In the past the Gelukpa church regarded history as an unnecessary distraction, and discouraged monks and geshes from reading historical works. When His Holiness visited Paris in 1984 he was received by such eminent French Tibetologists as R.A. Stein, Madame Macdonald and others at the Institut National des Langues et Cultures Orientales (INALCO), one of France’s grands établissements. They showed him the research they had been conducting on ancient Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang, a specialty field of French scholars in the world of Tibetan Studies. His Holiness, I believe, told them that it would be more useful if they studied Buddhist texts.
I began this long essay by describing how Shakabpa’s history seemed to have helped awaken all those people in Tibet who had been reduced to a “catatonic”, or to put it in Buddhist terms a near “yidak” or “preta”, condition under Communist indoctrination and oppression. But it has become evident that since 1987, 1989, 2008, and now this year, the people in Tibet are all wide-awake. Their courage, commitment and sacrifices have more than demonstrated this to the whole world.
This time around it is those of us in exile (especially the leadership) who need to be awakened from our current sleep-walk along a very treacherous path. But, of course, there is no need to look far for a bracing wake-me-up and a fresh set of directions. In the last line of the author’s preface, Shakabpa tells us exactly what he wants his history to accomplish: “It is my fondest wish that this book will be like a compass that indicates the path to recovering our independence.”
(This essay was written during my residency at the International Writer’s Program at the University of Iowa. I would like to thank the Writer’s Program and the Shelly & Donald Rubin Foundation, for their support. Professor Elliot Sperling took time off from his busy schedule to go through my work and offer valuable criticism and suggestions.)
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MOONS – AN ADVANCED POLITICAL HISTORY OF TIBET, is available at: www.brill.nl.
Chinese Communist propaganda has, on little evidence, insisted on describing traditional Tibetan society as a “slave society.” Marxist theory of historical materialism identifies five successive stages of human history, the second stage being “slave society”. Since pre-revolutionary China was, according to official Communist doctrine, on the more advanced third stage of “feudalism”, Tibet could be depicted as being an entire historical stage behind China – even feudal China.
I received this information in a telephone conversation with Dzachutsang Sonam Topgyal, a former prime-minister of the exile government, who was the secretary of the Department of Information of the exile government, when Tibet first began to open up in the mid eighties.
Karma Gyatsho, “Tsepon Wangchuk Deden shakabpa (1908-89): A Brief Biography”, Tibet Journal, Vol XVI No.2 Summer 1991, Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamshala.
H.E Richardson “The Ra-sgreng Conspiracy of 1947”, in Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson. Proceedings of the International Seminar on Tibetan Studies Oxford 1979. Editors Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, Aris & Philips Ltd. Warminister England, 1980.
Jamyang Norbu, “Moulting of the Peking Duck”, Tibetan Review, April 1979.
Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet, Brill Tibetan Studies Library, Leiden, 2010. p. 565
Dan Martin (with Yael Bentor), Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language Historical Works, Serindia, London, 1997.
Brag-dgon Dkon-mchog-bstan-pa-rab-rgyas (b. 1800/ 1-1866), Deb-ther Rgya-mtsho (A mdo Chos-‘byung, Yul Mdo-smad-kyi Ljongs-su thub-bstan Rin-po-che Ji-ltar Dar-ba’I tshul Gsal-bar brjod-pa deb-ther Rgya-tsho). Published with Added English title: The Ocean Annals of Amdo, ed. By Lokesh Chandra (new Delhi 1975), in 3 volumes.
Dan Martin. Ibid.
Theodor Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire. First published 1885, republished 1909, Barnes & Noble, USA, Page 161.
Hortsang Jigme, Drang den gyis lus pae slong mo wa. (The Beggar Beguiled by Truth), Chapter 16. “A Brief Inquiry Into the Question of Who Wrote Tibet: A Political History.”
Samten Norboo, The White Annals (translation) LTWA Dharamshala, 1978. p 11.
Irmgard Mengele, dGe-‘dun-chos-‘phel: A Biography of the 20th-Century Tibetan Scholar, Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamshala, 1999. This work is based on the biography of Gedun Chophel written by Sherab Gyatso in 1972 and published in the Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, Dharamshala, 1973 .
Mengele, p. 17
Mengele p. 74
Mengele. p. 68
Mengele. p.72
Donald S. Lopez Jr. The Madman’s Middle Way. University of Chicago Press, 2006. P45.
Tsipon Shakabpa, & Yonten Gyatso, The Nectar of the Immortal Gods Inducing Recollection in the Bretheren Living at Home in the the Three Provinces of Tibet and Living in Exile. Published by the authors and distributed secretly in Tibet. 1988.
Hortsang Jigme, Jam dbyangs nor bu rjes ‘brang dang bcas pa’i grib ma dgrar lang la brtags pa’i tshoms, Dharamshala, 2003. | <urn:uuid:4090a51c-eea1-4fa6-9031-623e0933b4f7> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.jamyangnorbu.com/blog/2011/12/06/shakabpa-and-the-awakening-of-tibetan-history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00058.warc.gz | en | 0.963073 | 11,134 | 2.671875 | 3 |
What Is VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask)?
Definition Of VLSM
VLSM, standing for Variable Length Subnet Mask, occurs when subnet design uses multiple masks in the same network. It means that more than one mask is used for various subnets of a network or a single class A, B, C.
VLSM is equivalent to subnetting subnets, which means that VLSM enables network engineers to divide the IP address space into subnet hierarchies of different sizes. So VLSM allows network engineers to create subnets with varying host counts with only small numbers of addresses being wasted.
VLSM is used to increase the availability of subnets because subnets can be variable in size. It is also defined as a subnetting process for a subnet.
Implementation Process Of VLSM
In VLSM, subnets use block sizes as required, so subnetting needs to be used multiple times.
If the administrator has the IP 192.168.1.0/24, you can assign the department’s wise IP by following these steps:
Step 1. For each segment, select the block size, which is greater than or equal to the actual requirement. The essential requirement is the sum of the host address, broadcast address, and network address. List possible subnets:
Step 2. Arrange all segments in descending order according to the block size from highest to lowest requirements.
Step 3. The available highest IP must be assigned to the highest requirement, so Sales and Purchasing receive 192.168.1.0/25.
Step 4. The next segment requires IP to handle 50 hosts. The IP subnet with network number 192.168.1.128/26 is the second-highest and can be assigned to 62 hosts.
Step 5. The next IP subnet 192.168.1.192/27 meets the account department’s requirements because it has 30 valid host IP that can be assigned to 26 computers.
Step 6. The last segment needs 5 valid host IP, and the subnet 192.168.1.224/29 meets the subnet, with a mask of 255.255.255.248 as required.
VLSM VS FLSM
- Subnets: In VLSM, subnets are variable in size with a variable number of hosts, making the IP addressing more efficient. But in FLSM, all subnets are equal in size with an equal number of hosts.
- Waste of IP addresses: VLSM wastes fewer IP addresses than FLSM.
- The corresponding IP addresses: VLSM is the best choice for public IP addresses, while FLSM is the first option for private IP addresses.
- Usage of subnet mask: VLSM uses various subnet masks, while FLSM uses the same mask.
- Configuration and management: VLSM is simple in configuration and management, but FLSM is complicated.
- Routing protocols: VLSM supports classless routing protocols, while FLSM supports both classless and classful routing protocols.
VLSM is a critical technology in modern network design. After reading this article, you must have a general understanding of VLSM, including its definition, implementation procedures, and the difference between VLSM and FLSM.
Previous ArticleWhat Is DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol? Summary: Have you ever heard of VLSM? What does it stand for? Today's article will give detailed information about VLSM....
Next ArticleWhat Is DFS – Distributed File System? Summary: Have you ever heard of VLSM? What does it stand for? Today's article will give detailed information about VLSM....
About Bitwar Data Recovery
3 Steps to get back 500+ kinds of deleted, formatted or lost documents, photos, videos, audios, archive files from various data loss scenarios.Learn More | <urn:uuid:7c06166e-e50a-4f78-90b3-c2344bf85ba7> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.bitwarsoft.com/fr/what-is-vlsm-variable-length-subnet-mask.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500628.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20230207170138-20230207200138-00851.warc.gz | en | 0.885458 | 823 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Encourage good practice habits by giving regular and regular study times and help and encouragement when needed. Listen to English cassettes – music with an English song or story for example. Use education games like puzzles and other spelling making games to play with the child. See appropriate English DVD / VCD / television programs suitable for the age and level of students.
Animated movies on DVD with language options can be very good choice. Use English lessons for kids when the child is already familiar with the story, it will help you. It teaches your child to learn in the class. See pages in your book. Ask them to identify pictures and name items | <urn:uuid:f298f802-54df-4467-a91c-bd84f66dde4e> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://5careers.com/useful-tips-to-improve-english-with-your-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583509170.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20181015100606-20181015122106-00132.warc.gz | en | 0.930701 | 129 | 3.953125 | 4 |
Soldiers surviving roadside bomb blasts in Iraq report higher rates
of posttraumatic stress disorder, worse general health, and more somatic and
other symptoms than those who have other injuries or were unharmed, said Col.
Charles Hoge, M.C., a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research, and colleagues, in the January 31 New England Journal of
PTSD, not mTBI, Links Blasts to Physical Symptoms
However, those increased symptoms, reported three to four months after
leaving Iraq, may be more related to the PTSD that often accompanies a
life-threatening event than to any brain injury, they said (see Careful
Diagnosis at Time of Injury is Key to Recovery).
Hoge and colleagues also concluded that medical personnel treating mild
traumatic brain injury (mTBI) should call it by its familiar civilian
name—"concussion"—and tell soldiers that they are
likely to recover.
Blasts cause more casualties than bullets in Iraq. A 2007 study by the Army
found that explosions caused 78 percent of combat injuries and that head and
neck injuries accounted for 30 percent of those injuries.
Some symptoms that follow blast experiences (such as irritability, fatigue,
sleep problems, or forgetfulness) are not exclusively attributable to a brain
injury, and may also have psychiatric associations such as PTSD or depression,
The researchers surveyed two Army infantry brigades—one from the
service's active component and one from the National Guard—three to four
months after they returned from a year in Iraq.
Soldiers who lost consciousness, reported altered mental status (that is,
were "dazed and confused"), or who couldn't remember their injury
were considered to have mTBI. The soldiers were also assessed for combat
exposure, somatic symptoms (with the PhQ-15), depression (with the PhQ-9), and
some additional symptoms like memory, balance, concentration, and
irritability. Data were self-reported, and no clinical examinations were used.
Nearly all (95.5 percent) of the respondents were male.
Of the 2,525 soldiers who completed the survey, 124 (4.9 percent) reported
at least a brief loss of consciousness, 260 (10.3 percent) claimed an injury
with altered mental status, and 435 (17.2 percent) recorded other injuries not
involving loss of consciousness or altered mental status.
Severity of TBI, judged by self-report, was associated with greater
incidence of PTSD. Of those who lost consciousness, 43.9 percent met PTSD
criteria, compared with 27.3 percent of those with altered mental status, 16.2
percent of those with other injuries, and 9.1 percent of the uninjured.
However, adjusting for PTSD and depression eliminated any initial
association between mild traumatic brain injury and physical health symptoms
(except for headache), reported Hoge and colleagues.
"These findings highlight the nonspecificity of postconcussional
symptoms," said Hoge in an interview. "If the problem was TBI,
we'd find these associations in PTSD and non-PTSD cases equally."
But that's not what the Army researchers found. For instance, regardless of
the source of their injury, soldiers with PTSD recorded mainly high scores on
the PhQ-15, a measure of current somatic complaints, while those without PTSD
had much lower scores, said Hoge.
Furthermore, concussion also occurs in other settings, such as sports, but
doesn't automatically produce PTSD. Athletes don't avoid reminders of their
injury, they beg to get back into the game and "re-experience" the
setting in which it happened. The difference lies in the context of the
"PTSD does not occur in football concussions, so it's not the
concussion itself that produces PTSD," he said. "PTSD occurs after
motor vehicle accidents and in combat because of the threat that accompanies
the injury. Memory encoding occurs in traumatic context."
Furthermore, there are many reasons other than concussion why soldiers
would be dazed and confused during combat, he added.
Yet symptoms of the two conditions don't match perfectly, said a
neuroscientist who has studied TBI.
"mTBI is a different entity than PTSD although there is a partial
overlap in symptoms," said Harvey Levin, Ph.D., a professor in the
departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurosurgery, and
psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, in an interview. "For
instance, the axonal injury that characterizes TBI is not part of the clinical
picture of PTSD, as far as we know."
Hoge's study was "impressive," said Levin, but it is limited
(as Hoge also states) by a lack of imaging, clinical verification of injuries,
and data on posttraumatic amnesia.
"Also the study shows very high rates of PTSD—two to three
times civilian rates, which may reflect prolonged intense stress in combat
soldiers," not just the effects of the blasts, said Levin.
In an editorial accompanying Hoge's article in NEJM, Richard
Bryant, Ph.D., of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia,
refers to two possible mechanisms connecting TBI with PTSD. A biological model
suggests that neural networks regulating anxiety might impair capacity to
regulate the fear reaction. A cognitive model argues that mTBI could impair
cognitive resources, leaving the patient less able to "engage
appropriate cognitive strategies, which results in a greater incidence of
PTSD," he said.
"There are no reliable means to differentiate between symptoms
involving impaired awareness that are caused by severe stress or mild
traumatic brain injury, so differential diagnosis is problematic," wrote
Bryant. Loss of consciousness, being dazed, or amnesia for the event"
can be attributed to acute stress responses" as well as any
physical cause, wrote Bryant.
However, some fear that splitting the physical from the psychological
effects of the blast could imply that subsequent PTSD or depression was"
all in the head."
"Physical injury can produce psychiatric symptoms, and some
psychological diagnoses may have neural consequences," said Levin.
"[Bryant] is characterizing the psychiatric disorders of depression
and PTSD as nonbiologically based conditions of the brain," Robert
Hales, M.D., M.B.A., professor and chair of psychiatry at the University of
California, Davis, told Psychiatric News. "At the same time he
speculates how TBI may worsen or prolong PTSD or major depression because of
the brain injury."
Hales is a West Point graduate and served as an infantry officer before
going to medical school at George Washington University while still on active
duty. Following psychiatry training in the Army, he was subsequently assigned
to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He does not dismiss the aftereffects of
"In my experience, it can have profound effects on mood, memory,
motivation, and cognition," he said. "But 'concussion' is
associated with less severe consequences. Mild TBI is a less stigmatizing and
more accurate term that explains what happened to the brain. Also, if mTBI
leads to increased incidence of PTSD, that can lead to higher rates of
depression, suicide, and other chronic illnesses."
"We want to avoid giving the wrong message," said Col. Elspeth
Cameron Ritchie, M.C., psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general, in
an interview. "A head injury has many consequences, and we are still
learning how they manifest over time."
Hoge does not minimize the consequences of mTBI but wants to place it in
context. "At the point of injury, medics should check for other injuries
or neurological symptoms," he told the Pentagon's Military Health System
conference in February in Washington, D.C..
"Once in medical facilities or on return home, the soldier should be
educated to normalize the outcome and promote the expectation of recovery. Use
the term 'concussion.' And say that there is every evidence that it is like
any other concussion, with a good prognosis. Protect patients from unneeded
and undefinitive diagnostic tests."
Hales said that simple self-reporting is not enough to catch injuries
following blasts. Fellow soldiers or squad leaders should be asked about how
their buddies acted.
Both the course and treatment of mTBI and PTSD differ, said Levin.
"Generally, mTBI patients get better over time while PTSD gets
worse," he said. "So reassurance and patient education are helpful
right after the injury, but three or four months later, with comorbid PTSD,
they are not sufficient."
"Experience with auto accidents shows that long-term cognitive
impairments are possible, so patients should be followed for several
years," said Hales. "you have to treat the symptomatology
regardless of the etiology."
Department of Veterans Affairs' clinics now screen all veterans of fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan for TBI, illustrating yet another quandary for
soldiers and a weakness in a self-reporting system.
"If you want to stay in the service, you want to minimize any
deficits, but once you're out and you want help or compensation from the Va,
you want to maximize symptoms," said Hales.
"Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in U.S. Soldiers Returning From
Iraq" is posted at<http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/5/453>.▪ | <urn:uuid:5f9fcfd3-8cd7-4616-abb1-e1b347e54e4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=111668&RelatedNewsArticles=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704117624/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113517-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951174 | 2,060 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in North America, extending 2,320 miles in length. Its watershed drains all or part of 32 states (and two Canadian provinces), its drainage basin encompassing 1.1 million square miles. It runs from Lake Itasca in Northern Minnesota to New Orleans.
River systems have always been highways of travel and trade. What changed over time was the frequency of river travel, the number of people engaging in it, the kind and quantity of goods, the method of propulsion, and the size of river craft. River transportation increased with increases in European explorers, trappers, traders, and settlers.
At first, settlers tried to imitate the Indian canoe, but while it did accommodate the moving of people, the canoe was unsuitable for cargo or more than a few passengers. Additionally, the canoes had a short lifespan because of manufacture, mostly fastened logs, deerskin, and birch bark. Rafts were similarly fashioned. River travel by canoe or raft was something to avoid during flood seasons or in rapids, and passengers may have found exciting the collision with sub-surface impediments.
Later, as the number of river settlements increased, more sophisticated boats began to appear —many of which mimicked lake or ocean-going craft, albeit with much shallower drafts. The first craft to depart from the Indian style canoe was the pirogue, introduced by French traders/trappers. This boat was heavy, hard to control, unreliable, and short-lived, but this basic design led to the batteau. The batteau was much like the pirogue, only with tapered bow and stern, a wider middle, and made from lighter wood. The batteau was much easier to handle in rough water.
Some of these boats required a crew of 18 men, most about half that, but smaller versions were suitable for two men. With an increase in settlements and river travel came the river pirates who operated in gangs and often employed several boats to overtake batteau’s and overwhelm the crew. River pirates not only hijacked the cargo, they more often than not murdered the entire crew. Hostile Indians were also a problem; they had an interest in the shipments, of course, but they killed mainly for the fun of it and made no distinction between passengers or crew.
The addition of sails on batteau came in handy when traveling upstream, depending on wind direction, of course. Still, they were particularly useful in the lower Mississippi when winds were prevalent for most of the day. The next innovation was developing river barges, which were essentially rafts constructed over two pirogues’ hulls, the over deck forming a wide platform for cargo. River barges going downstream with the current were more challenging to control, particularly given their length (up to 60 feet) and a width of about 20’. But high demand for riverboats created an industry within river settlements among those skilled in the craft of boat-building, particularly near sawmills. The lumber trade was particularly profitable for this reason. In the upper Mississippi, flatboat operations faced seasonal restrictions. They could float down the river only during high water periods, and upon arrival, they were broken up and sold as lumber scrap.
The years following the Revolutionary War was a period of exceptional growth in the southeastern United States. Several factors prompted such developments: the Louisiana Purchas (1803), its subsequent exploration by Merriweather Lewis and John Rogers Clark (1803-1806), the invention of the steam engine and its application to river travel, and by the network of southern rivers, which included the Mississippi, Alabama, Apalachicola, and Chattahoochee. Rivers, river settlements, and riverboats boosted trade and western migration. John Fitch’s experiment with steam-powered boats was unsuccessful in the late 1780s, but Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston’s steamboat in 1807 proved that such vessels were useful in moving cargo and profitable in moving people.
Most steamboats were paddlewheel boats. They all shared a standard design: wooden hulls, paddlewheels placed to port and starboard or abaft the stern, coal or woodburning furnaces and boilers, and copper tubes to channel the steam. While these steamboats shared a typical design, they had different purposes. For example, tow-boats moved barges, ferries carried people, wagons, livestock, snag-boats cleared the rivers of navigational hazards, packets took goods, mail, passengers, and fuelers resupplied steamboats with wood, coal, or coal oil. There was also the so-called showboat.
Showboats were floating palaces, with theaters, galleries, ballrooms, and saloons. They provided isolated river settlements with excitement and entertainment, but showboats were rare compared to other steamboats. Of all steamboats, packets were the most numerous because they were cargo boats and passenger’s vessels. Most packets had an upper deck reserved for first-class passengers, although traveling by packet was far from luxurious because of their crowded and somewhat cramped conditions. The lower deck of packets was reserved for transporting livestock and people who could not afford a first-class ticket.
Steamboats reduced the travel time on America’s rivers, but river travel was still dangerous. Indian attacks, although infrequent, resulted in the loss of cargo and human life, but an even greater danger was boiler explosions —which were often spectacular. Steamboats thrived until the arrival of railroads. In 1823, the United States had 23 miles of track; by 1880, there were over 93,000 miles of track.
Human beings are risk-takers (i.e., gamblers). According to archaeologists, gambling in ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Japan, China, and North and South America dates back to around 2,000 years before the common era. They also claim that weighted dice provides evidence of cheating. Scientists also say that dice is the oldest gambling implement, often carved from sheep bones and human knucklebones. More recently (between 500-1500 A.D.), gambling was an accepted pastime in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In the 1200s, France outlawed gambling, but it continued to exist unlawfully between 1215-1270.
During the crusades, Christian knights were permitted to gamble, but men of the lower classes received punishments, often whippings, for engaging in similar activities. One consequence of the crusades was that British knights returned to England with long-legged Arabian horses, bred with sturdy mares to produce racehorses. From this, betting on horse races became a popular pastime in the British Isles.
Scientists also note that long before the arrival of Europeans in America, native populations were heavy gamblers —which in many cases included betting on the outcome of sports contests. A modern-day analyst might point to similarities between Indian ishtaboli and football, hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. Indians would often bet everything they owned on a particular outcome.
Gambling in America took on new forms after the arrival of Europeans. When people migrate to new lands, they take all they know —including their cultural traditions and social norms. French settlers were famous for betting on checkers, playing cards and billiards. British settlements tended to gamble on horse racing, cockfighting, and bull baiting. In 1612, King James I created a lottery to help fund the settlement in Jamestown. In America, British colonies used lotteries to raise funds to finance the building of towns and roadways. None of this suggests that all colonists favored or approved of gambling. Pilgrims and Puritans fled to North America in the 1620s to escape religious prosecution; they generally disapproved of gambling as sinful.
Is gambling sinful, or is it merely a pastime for fools? British-American aristocrats gambled away all their belongings (estates, banks, and titles) so often that it became a significant problem. According to C. W. Johnson in The Law of Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Checks, etc. (1839), massive transfers of lands and titles so disrupted the British and Colonial economies that Queen Anne issued a proclamation in 1710 that made large gambling debts “void and of no effect.” In other words, gambling debts could not be collected or legally enforced.
Gambling, whether sinful, has psychological implications. People who gamble compulsively, who risk their fortunes and that of their heirs, are believed to harbor severe character defects. Famed American golfer Bobby Jones never turned professional because his mother emphasized to him her belief that “true gentlemen” do not golf for money —so he never did.
In the mid-to-late 1700s, a surge of evangelical Christianity swept through England, Scotland, and the North American colonies —a period often referred to as the “Great Awakening.” Gambling was pronounced “sinful” and dangerous to society; it was up to religious leaders to help stamp it out. In 1774, the Continental Congress sought to encourage frugality, economy, and industry by issuing the “Articles of Association,” which urged colonists “[to] discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially all horse racing, and all kinds of games, cockfighting, exhibitions of shows, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments.”
Of course, the foregoing was “official policy.” In reality, colonial officials tolerated gambling as long as it did not upset the social order, even though Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia incorporated Queen Anne’s Statute to prevent gambling from getting out of hand. In the mid-1800s, after the Third Great Awakening, moralists pressured state legislatures to restrict sinful behavior. State legislatures passed laws that restricted gambling, drinking, and strumpets. State lawmakers made some exceptions for “respectable gentlemen,” which, given how we define “gentleman,” seems incongruent. So-called Blue Laws even restricted certain secular activities on the Sabbath. Such laws never inhibited anyone’s appetite for sinful pleasure; they only drove immoral behavior underground. Conversely, everyone knew that the city of New Orleans was hell’s gateway and the people living there were proud of it. In 1823, Louisiana attempted to harness Satan by legalizing several forms of gambling, which was very profitable for gamblers and the state.
On the surface, mainstream society shunned these sinners, but if polite society couldn’t see it, there was no reason to complain. Many gambling establishments (and their wicked companions) disappeared into side streets, alley-ways, in mostly ethnic minority sections of town, or shantytowns, where polite society never went anyway. Since there was never any polite society in New Orleans, city residents embraced their wickedness (and still do) and made it part of its tourist industry.
There is a natural association of sinful pursuits. People tend to gamble more freely (recklessly) while consuming alcohol, so it was (and still is) a practice to offer cheap liquor to gamblers. And, along with the gambling and the booze came harlots seeking their share of the market. Gambling houses/saloons and the dancehall girls produced tawdry establishments in the riverbank towns. In turn, they created unacceptable conditions with men shooting and stabbing one another over card games and strumpets. Waterfront conditions were intolerable and objectionable to the townspeople.
Andrew Jackson’s presidency (1829-1837) focused on social issues and social morality. It was a time when gambling scandals were so prevalent that Jackson championed an end to most legal gambling in the United States. Private and public lotteries were prone to fraud and scandal. Many southern legislators objected to lotteries on moral grounds, and by 1840, banned in the southern states. By 1862, only two states had legal lotteries: Missouri and Kentucky. Many, however, were reinstated after the Civil War to raise revenues.
When towns along the Mississippi River began passing ordinances that outlawed gambling and prostitution in the mid-1830s, creative sin merchants decided to move their operations to riverboats, which was incredibly resourceful considering the tens of thousands of miles of water highways upon which no one had jurisdiction. Despite the public’s clamor for a more righteous society, however, there seemed to be no lack of interest in reading the menu.
The sin peddlers reasoned that given the fact that riverboats were efficient methods for transporting goods and centers for trade, because trade centers attract people with money, and because water travel was often tedious, why not entertain passengers with the wickedness of their own choosing? Gamblers flocked to the riverboats, some of whom were excellent gamblers, many more who were card sharps and cheats. The existence of scam artists was well known to everyone, but it never prevented the separation of money from foolish men. Another motivating factor for moving gambling establishments offshore was that in 1835, the good folks of Mississippi lynched five-card sharks caught in the act of cheating.
Not every river town denounced the sin industries. Some river towns embraced them. New Orleans was probably the pièce de résistance from open cities, but there were others: Biloxi, Natchez, and Vicksburg stand out as for their depravities. Initially, saloons, brothels, and gambling halls were little more than lantern-lit tentage, dirt floors, and a bar consisting of a complete board resting on two or three whiskey barrels. Brothels were small cots in a wagon bed, and gambling tables were rickety tables, a few chairs, and dirty, dog-eared playing cards. Eventually, these were replaced by wooden buildings with false fronts to make them seem grander than they were, and brick buildings replaced these with ornate bars, wall mirrors, and chandeliers. Brothels became elegantly appointed parlor houses professionally managed by experienced tarts, some of whom augmented their “cut of the take” by gambling with their clients.
Over time, with fewer riverboats operating on the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Columbia, and Sacramento rivers, enterprising investors began creating “resorts” along the coastal Gulf of Mexico. These were rather up-scale establishments where wealthy clients (and their ladies) could find entertainment, where they could enjoy mild weather, luxuriate in posh hotels, and enjoy gorgeous gardens. In such places as these, managers kept the cardsharps away, and the stakes were much higher. During the day, “gentlemen” and their ladies could participate in lawn bowling, billiards, sailing, and hunting. After dusk, there was fine dining and dancing. After escorting his lady back to their room, a gentleman could return to gamble and, perhaps, engage a pricey call girl for some post-gambling relaxation. In Biloxi, Natchez, and Vicksburg, professional gamblers made a ton of money from vacationing bankers and captains of industry. There was no limit to the decadence a respectable banker from New York Topeka could pursue —as long as the cost was never an issue.
After civil war reconstruction —when southern society reemerged from the shadows when railroad service made overland travel less dangerous, people abandoned the riverboats. They flocked in droves to Mobile and New Orleans. Respectable New Orleans businessmen began investing in communities such as Covington, Slidell, and Mandeville.
American gambling surged in the post-Civil War period. People gambled on everything imaginable, from things that moved —including how fast it could go and how high it could jump— to boxing, flea and frog jumping, bull and bear fighting, dog fights, and rodeo contests. Leading gamblers included such notable personalities as Bat Masterson, Luke Short, who promoted horse racing and boxing, perhaps the greatest gambler/swindler of them all, George Devol.
George Hildreth Devol (1829-1903) was born in Marietta, Ohio. At age ten, he ran away from home and became a riverboat cabin boy. We remember him as a gambling cheat, con artist, and a street fighter who plied his trade on riverboats and railroad lines that traveled between Kansas City and Cheyenne. He was an associate of Canada Bill Jones, an Englishman who arrived in the United States already an accomplished scam artist. Jones perfected “Three Card Monte,” from which he made as much as $200,000 in one Kansas City sitting (about a week). Some claim that Devol made over two million dollars in forty years of gambling along the Mississippi River, a tidy sum for the mid-to-late 1800s.
Jefferson Randolph (Soapy) Smith (1860-1898) was a gambler, con artist, and racketeer who made his money by fleecing the gullible out of their cash from Texas to Alaska —born in Georgia to a wealthy family that met with financial ruin after the American Civil War. In 1876, the family moved to Round Rock, Texas, for a fresh start and where Jeff began his career as a confidence man. After Smith’s mother died in 1877, the 17-year-old left home—but not before witnessing the death of Texas outlaw Sam Bass in 1878. Smith found his way to Fort Worth, where he formed a close-knit gang of shills and thieves to do his bidding. He quickly gained a reputation as a crime boss. Smith became known as “Soapy” from his method of swindling people out of their money. Gang members included such men as Texas Jack Vermillion and “Big Ed” Burns.
Soapy’s forté was the so-called “short game,” where swindles were quick or needed little setup or assistance. The short game included the shell game, three-card monte, and the “big mitt,” which was their term for a rigged poker game. Smith’s nickname came from the short con where he sold bars of soap. He wrapped some of these in money (ranging from a single dollar to a crisp $100 bill). People would buy the soap for a dollar, thinking that they had a realistic opportunity to win the big prize. Someone always won the $100 purse, but that someone was still one of Smith’s shills.
Part of Smith’s success in running con games and criminal gangs was his ability to make friends with politicians and key officials in the city hall. In 1887, Smith had his fingers in most illegal activity in Denver, Colorado—including gambling and prostitution. He made a lot more money than the bribes he paid to city hall officials and corrupt police officers. Smith met his end in Skagway, Alaska, shot to death by vigilantes.
Lottie Deno (Carlotta J. Thompkins) (1844-1934) was famous for her gambling skills and pluck in Texas and New Mexico. She was born in Kentucky and traveled extensively before migrating to Texas. Notably, when her well-off family lost their wealth during the Civil War, Lottie learned to gamble out of necessity. Historians argue about her early life, but there is no question about her gambling skill. Lottie arrived in San Antonio, Texas, in 1865, initially a house employee at the University Club.
When her lover, Frank Thurmond, fled the city accused of murder, Lottie soon followed, and the pair traveled throughout the western frontier, moving from one gambling house to another in such places as Fort Concho, Jacksboro, San Angelo, Fort Worth, and Fort Griffin. It was at Fort Griffin that Lottie’s reputation took off, where Lottie helped grizzled buffalo hunter’s part with their hard-earned gold. It was also where Lottie became associated with John “Doc” Holliday. In addition to her gambling, she operated saloons and brothels. After marrying Frank Thurmond, the couple settled in Deming, New Mexico, where they invested in real estate, mine ventures, ranching, streetcar business, and banking. By the time of her death in 1934, she was a very wealthy woman.
Dona Maria Gertrudis Barcelo (1800-1852) was born in Sonora, Mexico—some say from French stock—who moved with her parents from central to northern Mexico, known as the Province of New Mexico. In 1823, “Tules” married Manuel Sisneros, with whom she had two sons. Despite her marital status, Tules retained her own name. In 1825, Tules was fined by Mexican authorities for operating a gambling salon for miners in the Ortiz Mountains. Eventually relocating to Santa Fe, she opened another gambling saloon. From this central New Mexico location, her saloon entertained many Americans traveling along the Santa Fe Trail. Some lauded Tules for being someone who ran a house where open gambling, drinking, and smoking were available to anyone. Others criticized her and a drunk with loose morals—she was alleged to have had a long-term affair with New Mexico’s governor, Manuel Armijo. Some claimed that she was physically gorgeous; others said that she was haggish. One thing everyone agreed on is that she excelled at three-card monte.
Despite tales told about her by others, Tules jealously guarded her name in Santa Fe. On two occasions, she sued people for slander. She may not have been too bad, though. The U.S. Army borrowed money from Tules in 1846 to help pay the salaries of invading troops. She also exposed a conspiracy aimed at the U.S. Army that, in all likelihood, prevented a massacre of American soldiers. When Tules passed away on 17 January 1852, she had a massive fortune of $10,000. Her funeral was elaborate and criticized for being too much fanfare for a whore. Thinking about Tules and her critics, it makes one wonder who is the worst sort of person.
Riverboat gambling ended when trains replaced the often dangerous steam-powered boats navigating America’s largest rivers. Old west gambling ended with closing the frontier and the rise of anti-saloon temperance movements in the early 1900s. Following prohibition, state after state passed legislation outlawing casino gambling; Nevada stood alone bucking federal pressure. Today, gambling remains with us on cable television, in Nevada, Mississippi, aboard ocean-going passenger liners, in New Jersey, and off the coast of Texas. Lotteries are back, as well —many tied to raising money to support our failed education system. We haven’t outgrown prostitution, either (which remains unlawful in most locations), and drinking alcoholic beverages (although regulated in some states) is as popular today as it ever was in the mid-1800s. Psychologists tell us that gambling and drinking isn’t a problem until humans begin doing these things excessively. In any case, we know that human beings have yet to outgrow their preferred vices.
- Blevins, D. From Angels to Hellcats: Legendary Texas Women, 1836-1880. Mountain Press, 2007.
- Chavez, F. A. Dona Tules: Her Fame and Her Funeral. El Palacio Press, Vol.
- Crump, T. Abraham Lincoln’s World: How Riverboats, Railroads, and Republicans Transformed America. New York, Continuum Press, 2009.
- Devereaux, J. Pistols, Petticoats, and Poker: The Real Lottie Deno, No Lies or Alibis. High Lonesome Books, 2009.
- Twain, M. Life on the Mississippi. Bantam Books, 1883.
The steamboat General Slocum explosion killed 958 people and injured 175 more. Between 1811-1851, 21% of river accidents were caused by exploding boilers. The lifespan of the average steamboat was five years. Between 1830-1839, 272 steamboats were destroyed after less than three years of service. Added to this danger was irresponsible captains, who risked their boats and their passengers’ lives by racing one another down the waterways.
According to some psychological studies, risk-taking is a consistent personality trait suggesting that certain individuals will take similar risks across a wide range of situations. Risk-taking, however, is not confined to gamblers alone. Farmers take risks every year when they plant their fields in the spring with the expectation of a marketable crop at the end of the growing season. Modern people take risks every time they get into an automobile or board a plane. The issue is “acceptable risk,” taken in most cases without much thought of possible consequences. In seeking to decrease their risk of loss, professional gamblers developed methods of cheating, generally referred to in this post as scams, cons, or swindles. See also: Personality and Risk-Taking, Bernd Figner, Columbia University, and Elke Weber, Columbia University, 2015.
Bull baiting was a blood sport in which a bull was tethered in a ring or pit into which dogs were thrown. The dogs were trained to torment the bull, which responded in its defense by goring the dogs. Spectators would bet on how many dogs the bull would kill. Great fun, apparently.
Incorporated in English Common Law, this prohibition prevails even today in American law. Queen Anne, however, was also known for her enjoyment of horse racing (and boxing).
There were “three” great awakenings in US history. The first between 1720-1770; the second between 1790-1820; the third between 1850-1900. In the first, a renewal of religious devotion mirrored the broader movements taking place in Germany, England, and Scotland. In the second, primarily movements initiated by Baptist and Methodist leaders. The third was marked by religious and social activism.
In 1781, Samuel A. Peters’s Connecticut history listed restrictive Sabbath rules in New Haven, printed on blue paper. The blue color represented “rigidly moral” pronouncements.
American rodeo evolved from a Spanish tradition that dates to the 1500s when vaqueros competed in wrangling events and bullfighting.
Known by several names (3-Card Marney, 3-Card shuffle, Follow the lady, Find the Bee), three-card monte is a con game in which the victim (mark) is tricked into betting a sum of money that they can find the “money card.” It is a short con in which the outside man pretends to conspire with the mark to cheat the inside man while conspiring with the inside man to cheat the mark. John N. Maskelyne explained the game in his book, Sharps and Flats —the sharps being the cheaters and the flats being cheated.
The character Miss Kitty Russell in the long-running radio and television program Gunsmoke was based on Lottie Deno. | <urn:uuid:5f5c6f1a-9eab-49cb-a115-796959d61813> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://thoughtsfromafar.blog/2020/11/30/old-west-vice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320300805.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220118062411-20220118092411-00111.warc.gz | en | 0.975367 | 5,712 | 3.9375 | 4 |
In today’s world, all sectors are striving to optimize production processes aiming to get the maximum benefit with minimum investment. In the agricultural industry, a tool for increasing the efficiency of all stages of production is the introduction of the so-called precision farming. The concept of precision farming implies the use of various technologies, including remote sensing with the help of satellites, to reduce labor and material costs while increasing the quality and quantity of the product.
Satellites are one of the main tools for managing land effectively since satellite images make it possible to assess reliable field data remotely. The main advantage of remote methods is the large coverage and the ability to quickly obtain the necessary information for smart decision-making, including data on crop state based on vegetation indices – CI index (chlorophyll index). In ground sensing, labor costs are much higher and the entire process is longer and more complicated.
Remote sensing is a method of obtaining information about an object or phenomenon without direct physical contact with that object. In the modern understanding, the term mainly refers to technologies of airborne or spaceborne sensing of the area for the purpose of detection, classification and analysis of objects on the earth’s surface, as well as the atmosphere and the ocean, by means of distributed signals (e.g. electromagnetic radiation). It is divided into active (the radiation is first emitted by an aircraft or space satellite itself) and passive remote sensing (the radiation by the Sun is used).
Basically, remote sensing satellites “read” electromagnetic ration in the infrared, visible, microwave, and ultraviolet wavelengths radiated or reflected from the Earth’s surface. Taking multiple images of the Earth’s surface in more than one wavelength (multispectral imaging) satellites enable collection of invaluable data that couldn’t be obtained from ordinary photographs.
Since different features like water, soil, vegetation, etc. reflect the light in a different wavelength when sunlight falls on them, it enables classification of generated satellite imagery with each feature highlighted in a different way for further analytics.
Modern agriculture uses different optical sensors to measure crop reflectance for plant state tracking. Such sensors are satellites, UAVs, and ground-based devices. The sensors evaluate various crop conditions by using specific wavelengths, from monochromatic to multi-spectral (up to 10 wave bands) and hyperspectral (over 10 wave bands).
By emitting the light of specific wavelengths at crop leaves, sensors measure the type and intensity of the light wavelengths reflected from the leaves back to the sensors. The results of such measurements are usually represented in the form of vegetation indices, including the famous NDVI, Chlorophyll Index, LAI, and many others.
Hyperspectral remote sensing shows great potential and makes it possible to improve in the classification of different types of crops, extract data on biophysical and biochemical contents, evaluate nutrient content, and detect abiotic and biotic stresses. Hyperspectral remote sensing technology makes it possible to map different types of crops in terms of physiological characteristics in different spectral bands.
Chlorophyll index among the most used and effective indices in modern farming. The reason being is that chlorophyll itself is what gives plants their green color. More importantly, this pigment enables plants to absorb the sunlight which is then converted into sugars and starches via a process of photosynthesis. Therefore, chlorophyll content is a great litmus paper when it comes to analyzing crop health.
Measuring the spectral reflectance of chlorophyll in plants with the help of satellites, growers can easily monitor the state of their crops. For this, the chlorophyll ag index is used. If interpreted correctly, the index can offer valuable insights on crop development, which can be used for detection of nutrient deficiencies in plants, Nitrogen fertilizer application planning, yield prediction, and more.
For example, the Green Chlorophyll Index can be successfully used for a wide range of plants. Green Chlorophyll Index formula is the following: CI green = ρNIR / ρgreen – 1 = ρ730/ρ530 – 1. Basically, it’s the ratio of the chlorophyll’s reflectance in the NIR band over the reflectance in the green band.
Vegetation indices data can be accessed via different farm management software. One of them is EOSDA Crop Monitoring. The platform offers a variety of features alongside different vegetation indices for a comprehensive field analytics.
As for the chlorophyll index, the tool uses one based on the red-edge band – ReCl. This particular chlorophyll index is a great helper when creating a precise map of a field for variable-rate application of fertilizers. Because chlorophyll content directly depends on nitrogen level in plants, this index enables detection of field areas with yellow or shed foliage.
ReCI is best to use during active vegetation development and not when the plants are reaching the last maturity stage.
Overall, modern possibilities of remote sensing technology go sky high. Farmers can now monitor their fields and crops sitting at home or in the office. Just a couple of clicks and you can find out what your field needs, where, and how much. Such remote and smart management of farmland results not only in processes optimization, abundant yields, and saved time and money, but also in sustainable development of agriculture as an industry. | <urn:uuid:d66fe499-886c-4807-8feb-7144aa9e14b2> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.eathappyproject.com/high-tech-how-it-transforms-crop-management-methods/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764494826.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20230126210844-20230127000844-00201.warc.gz | en | 0.898916 | 1,096 | 4.03125 | 4 |
People with personality disorders tend to be inflexible, rigid and manipulative. Although most feel that their behaviors are justified and perfectly fine, they often have a tunnel-vision view of the world and have problems connecting with others in socially acceptable ways. Here are examples of a few.
Borderline Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
- Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
- A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
- Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
- Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in.
- Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
- affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
- Chronic feelings of emptiness.
- Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
- Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a term that has replaced sociopathy, and psychopathy, in the DSM IV manual to describe a disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
- Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
- Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure.
- Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.
- Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.
- Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.
- Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations.
- Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
The individual is at least age 18 years.
There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotions and attention-seeking, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval, usually beginning in early adulthood. People affected by HPD are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. HPD affects four times as many women as men. It has a prevalence of 2–3% in the general population and 10–15% in inpatient and outpatient mental health institutions.
HPD lies in the dramatic cluster of personality disorders. People with HPD have a high need for attention, make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions, and crave stimulation. They may exhibit sexually provocative behavior, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others. Associated features include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own needs. | <urn:uuid:a1b72bf2-753d-46d2-acb2-caf41559b19d> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | http://www.laytoncenter.org/our-services/common-problems/personality-disorders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703506697.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20210116135004-20210116165004-00535.warc.gz | en | 0.940457 | 783 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Bouncing a Ball
Using a large ball ask your child to stand still and use two hands to throw the ball down, to make it bounce on the floor in front of them and then catch it as it rises up again. Emphasise the importance of keeping their eye on the ball .
Tell them they have 30 seconds to bounce and catch the ball as many times as they can, counting out loud as they go. They only count if they catch! Can they beat their score?
Heads and Tails Game
Play a game of ‘heads and tails’. When you shout ‘heads’ your child has to throw their ball in the air and catch it. When you shout ‘tails’ your child has to bounce the ball on the floor.
Play with a partner
Play throw and catch with a partner but the ball must bounce once between each player.
Throw, bounce and catch. | <urn:uuid:07c2d19f-1db7-4f69-b302-7fc16ed50399> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.bwis.org.uk/physical-activities-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652663019783.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220528185151-20220528215151-00751.warc.gz | en | 0.974305 | 198 | 3.796875 | 4 |
The impact of sleep on recovery after stroke
Most people know the importance of a good night’s sleep and the benefits that sleep can have on our brains. Sleep is vitally important for the brain health of all people and allows our brains to function properly. It facilitates learning, allows us to recharge and keep our body and minds healthy.
Sleep is especially important for those who have suffered a stroke. It is common for patients to have poor health after a stroke, but patients with better sleep quality tend to recover more quickly. This is because a good night’s sleep improves neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to ‘re-wire’ itself and re-learn movements and functions).
Unfortunately however, our ability to get a good quality night’s sleep is also impacted by stroke. Many people find it more difficult to get good quality sleep after their stroke. This can feel frustrating and have an impact on a person’s mood.
To further complicate matters, many stroke survivors will suffer from some degree of post stroke fatigue, meaning that they need to sleep throughout the day. However, even if sufferers sleep for long periods, they are not getting enough high quality sleep. Instead, their sleep tends to be broken and not the deep sleep which is vital for learning and recovery.
Ideas to improve quality of sleep
‘Sleep hygiene’ refers to simple but effective steps which can be taken to improve quality of sleep, and includes:
- Avoiding caffeinated drinks such as tea/ coffee, which act as a stimulant;
- Reinforcing a regular night time sleep schedule, such as a warm bath or reading a book;
- Limiting the use of electronic devices with bright screens (mobile phones, tablets and laptops) at night;
- Using noise cancelling headphones;
- Keeping your bedroom dark with blackout curtains;
- Ensuring your bedroom is at a cool temperature.
Exercise is not only an excellent way to facilitate stroke recovery, but can also improve your quality of sleep. Relaxing your mind and body with gentle exercise such as yoga or walking can help improve sleep quality, as can breathing exercises and medication.
Getting exposure to natural light every day, especially in the morning, can help regulate sleep, so a morning walk can be particularly effective.
Recovering from a stroke takes time and patience. It is important to be kind to yourself, reflect on the improvements you have made (however small) and allow yourself the time you need to rest.
Help and Support
It is important to remember that you are not alone. There are a range of organisations providing help, support and advice for people who have suffered from a stroke, as well as support for their families and loved ones.
Headway, the Brain Injury Association offers advice to people who have suffered all types of brain injury, including stroke.
Different Strokes is an amazing charity for people who have suffered from stroke and are passionate about helping younger stroke survivors and their families
To discuss symptoms of brain injury, or for help and support, call 0808 800 2244 or email [email protected]
A wealth of information can also be found at the Stroke Association and the NHS.
How can a legal claim help?
Embarking on a legal claim can seem incredibly daunting, particularly if you are struggling with the symptoms of stroke. At Bolt Burdon Kemp we understand the impact a stroke can have on your life and we work hard to provide support and care throughout every step of the claim’s process.
We are able to recommend care workers to provide day to day support and assistance with daily tasks. Interim payments can provide financial security and peace of mind if your employment has been affected. Our friendly team of solicitors are always available to talk, so for guidance or advice call us on 020 3603 3818. | <urn:uuid:40b491c3-e98e-4a87-ac04-b10e3b430bec> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://staging.boltburdonkemp.co.uk/our-insights/posts/the-impact-of-sleep-on-recovery-after-stroke/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363215.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20211205160950-20211205190950-00216.warc.gz | en | 0.959538 | 800 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Many have dreamed of the day when water, not gasoline, will power automobiles, and engineers have long believed that a hydrogen-fed device called a "fuel cell" holds the greatest promise for making that come true.
It was with at least some irony, then, that the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday announced a major breakthrough by a company that after five years has figured out how to make a fuel cell run not on water, but on gasoline.
In their announcement, officials predicted a future in which drivers could fill their cars at a gas station, then speed off under electric power, making little noise, creating almost no pollution and getting twice the gas mileage they do today.
They also suggested that the breakthrough could be a bridge to the day when natural gas, corn-based ethanol or some other fuel could replace gasoline.
"This breakthrough puts us on the road to a new generation of transportation, pollution-free power at double the fuel economy," said Secretary of Energy Federico Pena at a Washington news conference.
Pena said that competitively priced cars with fuel cells powering electric motors could be on the road as soon as 2005, and Chrysler has promised a prototype by 1999.
Just as alluring, the technology could be used even sooner to make cheap electricity in any homeowner's basement with an appliance no bigger than a dishwasher.
Some, however, are disappointed that the government's long search for alternative fuels seems to be headed right into a barrel of oil.
"Fuel cells are a 21st Century technology, and gasoline is a 20th Century fuel," said Jason Mark of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Others warn that costs still have to be reduced by a factor of 10 even as remaining technical problems, such as size, are overcome. The goal of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, a cooperative program between the federal government and automakers, is to create cars that are far more efficient with no sacrifice in performance.
"A significant step has been taken, but in a two-mile race, we're still only about 100 yards off the starting line," said Chrysler spokesman Tony Cervone.
The breakthrough announced Tuesday does not concern the fuel cell itself. The darling of energy wonks, fuel cells create electricity through chemical wizardry which was, in fact, first discovered in the 19th Century.
Instead, it tackles the problem of finding a source for the hydrogen used in the fuel cell.
A partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and Arthur D. Little Inc., a Massachusetts energy company, developed a way to combine the oxygen in air with gasoline--which is essentially carbon and hydrogen--to create pure hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
During a demonstration run last week, a prototype created enough electricity to drive a midsize car, prompting Tuesday's announcement.
"One of the problems we have with electric vehicles is the problem of recharging batteries and the fact they don't give us much distance," Pena said. "This breakthrough allows us to use an infrastructure that already exists, the corner gas station."
Fuel cells are not new.
In 1839, a British barrister with a penchant for electrochemistry held a demonstration of his "gas battery." At the august London Royal Institution, he showed that combining oxygen and hydrogen could produce electricity.
The idea didn't find much application until aerospace engineers had to figure out a way to provide electricity to spaceships. NASA made great strides in developing what were by then called fuel cells for the Apollo program, using tanks of compressed hydrogen and oxygen.
On Earth, the oxygen can be readily extracted from the air. The hydrogen, however, is more problematic.
Just last month, the CTA rolled out three new buses that will soon be plying Chicago streets under fuel cell power. The buses, however, have to be refueled from giant tanks of pure hydrogen kept in a bus barn.
The greatest source of hydrogen, of course, is water. Theoretically, at least, the energy in sunlight could be used to break apart the hydrogen and the oxygen in the water molecule to supply the hydrogen for a car with a fuel cell.
That day, which some say will mark the dawn of a hydrogen-based economy, is far off, at best.
For the last five years, Little has worked on a method of extracting hydrogen from gasoline.
The method mixes gasoline vapor with oxygen to create hydrogen, but also carbon monoxide, which is poisonous to both people and the fuel cell itself. Using technology developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, the carbon monoxide is further reformed into carbon dioxide, which is harmless to the machine, at least.
Emissions of carbon dioxide, a "greenhouse gas" believed to contribute to global warming, are expected to be about half of those from a conventional combustion engine.
Tuesday's announcement came a day before President Clinton was expected to announce how the U.S. plans to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gasses, by far the greatest in the world. | <urn:uuid:cc34c2f5-f03f-428c-b9a1-56035645854a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-22/news/9710220081_1_fuel-cell-hydrogen-and-carbon-dioxide-electricity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280668.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00145-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964332 | 1,025 | 3.25 | 3 |
CINCINNATI—It’s the season for grilled hot dogs with relish, mounds of potato salad and margaritas with salted rims.
But University of Cincinnati heart experts say you may want to lay off the high-sodium smorgasbord to maintain good health.
“Reducing the amount of sodium you consume can help lower high blood pressure or prevent it from developing in the first place,” says Imran Arif, MD, a cardiologist with UC Physicians. “Keeping your blood pressure at healthy levels is important because high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the United States.”
Increased salt intake causes more fluid to be retained in the blood vessels. This increased volume of blood requires the heart to work harder to pump blood to all the tissues in the body, resulting in hypertension, or high blood pressure.
Now, new information shows it’s even more of a problem when dining away from home.
A new report released last week by the Center for Science in the Public Interest detailed which restaurants are worst when it comes to sodium-packed meals.
Some of the dishes contained four times the amount of salt needed daily in a single serving.
Arif, assistant professor in the division of cardiovascular diseases, says it is best to eat less than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day, but some populations—like African-Americans who are generally at risk for hypertension, middle-aged and older adults and people with high blood pressure—need less than 1,500 milligrams per day.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the average American consumes an average of 3,436 milligrams of sodium daily.
But it’s not salt from the shaker that is causing the big problem.
The AHA says people in the U.S. get up to 75 percent of their sodium from processed foods like tomato sauce, soups, condiments, canned foods and prepared mixes.
“It’s important to be aware of natural sodium content in foods when you are trying to lower your intake,” Arif cautions. “Read the labels to make proper nutrition choices and avoid products that are high in sodium.”
But even though it is important to watch these numbers, Arif says controlling your sodium intake doesn’t have to be a bummer during summer nights out on the town or picnics in the park.
“Just choose your food selectively,” he urges. “Don’t add extra salt—use pepper or lemon juice to add flavor instead—and be familiar with low-sodium foods before you get there.”
He adds that it is OK to “special order” your meal at a restaurant, being specific about how you want your food cooked and requesting that no salt be added to your dish during preparation.
“Without all the salt, it may take some creativity when preparing a savory meal or some willpower when ordering at a local bistro, but your heart will thank you for it in the long run,” Arif says. | <urn:uuid:2fbba96c-b6aa-47ea-a042-c0e0ebad0802> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/8587/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398444228.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205404-00097-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924084 | 655 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Murray A. Straus
Our colleague, Murray Straus, the internationally influential professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire and founder of the field of family violence research and of the Family Violence Research conference, died May 13, 2016, at the age of 89.
Murray Straus Brief Biography
Beginning in the 1970s, his surveys established that people were far more likely to be assaulted and injured by members of their own family than they were by strangers, fundamentally changing popular and academic conceptions about crime and crime prevention.
He devoted much of his later career to the study of spanking and corporal punishment, accumulating evidence that spanking was associated with increased subsequent aggression among children and reduced warmth between them and their parents, among other negative side effects.
He pioneered techniques for getting information about sensitive topics such as being the victim or perpetrator of family violence in national household and telephone surveys. His Conflict Tactics Scale, which he revised over the years, became the standard approach for gathering information about child and spouse abuse, and one of the more widely used instruments in social science.
His findings led him to the conclusion that, although women suffered more serious consequences than men from domestic aggression, women perpetrated a considerable amount of violence in intimate relationships that also needed to be addressed in public policy if families were to be made safe.
Early in his career he specialized in rural sociology and the measurement of family interaction. But he became interested in family violence as a result of planning a meeting of the National Council of Family Relations in Chicago in 1968 in the wake of police brutality there at the Democratic Convention. He decided that to engage with the issues of the day they needed to assemble a panel on the connection between families and societal violence. He went on to show that people exposed to violence in their families of origin were considerably more likely to engage in violence as adult s and to support public policies such as capital punishment and military intervention.
He was of the opinion that spanking, even when used in moderation, taught that hitting and violence were appropriate and even necessary responses when a person believed someone else’s misbehavior needed correction. He concluded, based on his research, that parents should be taught to never spank children. He strongly endorsed and provided much of the scientific evidence to back efforts to ban corporal punishment, a ban which has been adopted by over four dozen countries.
Dr. Straus spent most of his career, from 1968 until his death, at the University of New Hampshire, much of it as director of the Family Research Laboratory, after previous positions at Washington State University, University of Wisconsin, Cornell and the University of Minnesota. He received his bachelors and doctoral training at the University of Wisconsin.
He was an energetic and prolific scholar, authoring 15 books and hundreds of scholarly articles. Among the most widely cited were “Behind Closed Doors” and “Beating the Devil Out of Them.”
He was also a devoted teacher who trained and mentored dozens of scholars, including many of the current luminaries in the field of family violence, as director for 30 years of a post-doctoral fellowship program funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
He served as president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the National Council on Family Relations, and the Eastern Sociological Society, and was active in numerous other academic organizations.
He was the recipient of many awards, among others from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the National Association of Social Workers and the American Sociological Association.
He was known as a warm and engaging person who enjoyed collaborating with colleagues and supervising students. He assembled two large international consortia, involving dozens of scholars in over 30 countries to conduct cross-national comparative surveys on dating violence and parental disciplinary practices.
Dr. Straus was born in New York City on June 18, 1926, to Samuel and Kathleen (Miller) Straus. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Dunn Straus, his children by a previous marriage, Carol Straus and Dr. John Straus, his stepchildren David Dunn and wife Kathy, Lisa Dunn, Thomas Dunn and wife Linda, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. | <urn:uuid:3bd2417f-c71d-4203-aaee-bdec69620352> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://cola.unh.edu/family-research-laboratory/conference/remembering-murray-straus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145654.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20200222054424-20200222084424-00110.warc.gz | en | 0.981431 | 849 | 3.03125 | 3 |
[Note: This is a single part of what will be, by my classification, about 240 compact tribal histories (contact to 1900). It is limited to the lower 48 states of the U.S. but also includes those First Nations from Canada and Mexico that had important roles (Huron, Micmac, Assiniboine, etc.).
This history's content and style are representative. The normal process at this point is to circulate an almost finished product among a peer group for comment and criticism. At the end of this History you will find links to those Nations referred to in the History of the Mattabesic.
I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Blair A. Rudes to this history. Dr. Rudes has done extensive work with the Golden Hill Paugussett and his forthcoming "Holding Ground along the Housatonic: Paugussett Land Loss and Population Decline from 1639 to 1899" included as a part of "Varied Landscapes: 300 Years of New England Algonquian History" edited by Jack Campisi and William Starna is a "must read" for anyone seriously interested in the history of the Algonquin tribes of western Connecticut.
Using the Internet, this can be more inclusive. Feel free to comment or suggest corrections via e-mail. Working together we can end some of the historical misinformation about Native Americans. You will find the ego at this end to be of standard size. Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to your comments...Lee Sultzman]
Western Connecticut between the Housatonic and Connecticut River Valleys.
Although some estimates have ranged as high as 20,000, the combined total of all of the Mattabesic tribes in western Connecticut in 1600 was probably near 10,000 living in as many as 60 villages. Just before the arrival of the first English colonists at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, three major epidemics swept across New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Since the migration of several thousand Pequot-Mohegan into eastern Connecticut at this time masked the losses of the original tribes, the effect on the native population in Connecticut is not entirely clear. The best guess is there were about 5,000 Mattabesic in 1620. Contact with the Dutch and English became frequent after this, and disease took a steady toll - smallpox in 1633-35 being a major killer.
In the years immediately following the Pequot War (1637), the lands of the Mattabesic tribes adjoining the Connecticut River and the coastline of western Connecticut were taken by English settlement. There was little warfare involved with this displacement. A few tribes were conquered and incorporated into the Mohegan, but as a rule, the others separated into small
groups and moved west to the Housatonic Valley and were absorbed by the Paugussett tribes. By 1700 the native population in western Connecticut had fallen to less than 1,000, but because settlement was slow to expand into this area, the Mattabesic still controlled over 500,000 acres. This, of course, did not last very long. By 1800 encroachment, fraud, intermarriage, disease, and migration had reduced the Mattabesic to 77 people living on 1,700 acres at the tiny reservations at Golden Hill, Turkey Hill, Naugatuck, and Schaghticoke. After another century of attrition, there were only 20 Mattabesic.
Currently, the Golden Hill Paugussett and Schaghticoke are recognized only by the state of Connecticut and not the federal government. Golden Hill at Trumbull, Connecticut is the oldest Indian reservation in the United States, but its size has been steadily reduced over the years until there are only 0.26 acres. In 1979 the Golden Hill Paugussett, who have a membership of 120, used a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs to purchase 108 acres near Colchester, Connecticut. The Schaghticoke (or Scaticook meaning "branching waters place" and NOT to be confused with the other Schaghticoke in New York which was Mahican) have a 400 acre reservation near Kent, Connecticut. Their 350 members are descendants from a mix of Paugussett and several other Mattabesic tribes. Other descendants of the Mattabesic can still be found among the Stockbridge and Brotherton Indians in northern Wisconsin.
The Algonquin tribes in Connecticut west of the Connecticut River apparently did not have a collective name for themselves. Mattabesic is the name of a single village along the Connecticut River, and its use to describe this group of independent tribes is entirely arbitrary. Various other names (none of which has proven satisfactory) have been: Paugussett, Quiripi, Skeetambaugh, Wampano, and Wappinger. For historical reasons, the Wappinger, who lived in New York on the east side of the lower Hudson River, have been covered as a separate tribe.
Algonquin. R-dialect. All of the Mattabesic tribes spoke a common language which has been called either Quiripi or Wampano. It is identical to the dialect spoken by the Metoac tribes of central Long Island and the Wappinger on the east side of the lower Hudson River.
Hammonasset - mouth of the Hammonasset River. Villages - Pashesauke, Pataquasak, Pattaquonk, Pocilaug.
Massaco (Mussauco) - near Simsbury and Canton. Villages - Massaco, Weataug.
Menunkatuc - on the coast near Guilford. Village - Menunkatuc.
Paugussett Proper (Milford Indians, Pangusset, Paugasuck, Paugeesukq) - east side of the Housatonic River as far north as Waterbury. Villages - Capage (Cupheag, Cuphege), Mattituck, Meshapock, Metichawon, Naugatuck, Paugussett, Squantuck, Wepowaug (Woronock).
Peaquanock (Pauquanuch, Pisquheege, Poquannuc, Poquaunnuch) - west of the Housatonic as far north as Danbury. Villages - Aspetuck, Pequannock, Pisquheege, Ramapo, Sasqua (Sacoe, Sahwoke), Saugatuck, Titicus, Uncowa (Uncaway, Uncoma, Unkawa).
Podunk - east side of the Connecticut River near East Windsor and East Hartford. Villages - Appaquag, Hockanum, Namaroake, Naubuc, Newashe (Nawaas), Peskantuk (Peskeomskut), Podunk, Scanticook (Scantic, Skaticook).
Poquonock - west side of the Connecticut River near Windsor Locks. NOTE the similarity of this name to the Pequannock west of the Housatonic River.
Potatuck (Poodatook, Pootatuck) - Housatonic Valley between Newtown and Woodbury. Villages - Bantam (Panteam, Peatam), Nonnewaug, Pomeraug (Pomperaug), Potatuck.
Quinnipiac (Quiripi) - New Haven Bay and the rivers emptying into it. Villages - Mautunsq, Mioonktuck, Montowesa, Quinnipiac, Totoket.
Sicaog (Saukiog, Sukiang) - downtown Hartford. Village - Suckinuk
Tunxis - Farmington River west of Hartford). Villages - Pequabuck, Tunxis, Woodtick.
Wangunk (Udagunk, Wongunk) - both sides of the Connecticut River between Hartford and Haddam. Villages - Cockaponset, Coginchaug, Cossonnacock, Machamodus (Machemoodus), Matianuck, Mattabesic, Mattacomacok, Pocowset, Pyquag (Pyquang).
Weantinock (New Milford Indians, Ouantencok, Oweantinuck, Wyantineck, Wawyachtenokse) - Housatonic Valley above Danbury. Villages - Pahquioke, Weantinock, Waramaug.
Mattabesic tribes allied with the Pequot in 1633:Massaco, Menunkatuc, Pequannock, Quinnipiac.Mattabesic tribes allied with the Pocumtuc after 1650:Newashe, Poquonock, Peskantuk, Sicaog.Mattabesic Reservations and Communities after 1700:Coram Hill, Derby, Farmington, Lonetown (Redding), Milford, Naugatuck, Turkey Hill, Golden Hill, Schaghticoke (Pachgatgoch, Pishgachtikuk. Pisgochtigoch, Scaticook, Scutcuk).Mattabesic Reservations and Communities after 1800:Golden Hill, Naugatuck, Turkey Hill, Schaghticoke.
It is not uncommon to run across some mention of the Wappinger, Paugussett, and Mattabesic Confederations, but these political organizations never really existed. In fact, the Mattabesic were not even a tribe within the usual meaning of the word but instead a collection of a dozen, or so, small tribes which shared a common language, culture, and geographic area. The name of the Mattabesic comes from a single village on the Connecticut River near Middletown, but beyond their hereditary sachems whose authority was usually limited to a few villages, the Mattabesic tribes did not have a unifying political structure. It also does not take a great deal of arithmetic to realize that, with 60 villages and 10,000 people, their villages were small, and the population of many of the individual tribes was less than 500.
The Mattabesic political organization was fairly typical of all coastal Algonquin between the Canadian Maritimes and North Carolina in 1600 - highly organized confederations like the Narragansett, Pequot, Mahican, and Powhatan being the exception rather the rule. WHile this could be interpreted as a lack of political sophistication, the absence of central authority among the Algonquin indicates that, as a rule, they usually managed to live in peace with one another and had little need for the complex political structures required by warfare. This was difficult for the Europeans to understand. Since their own society had evolved from centuries of war and strife, they could not comprehend a people who did not have a hierarchical power structure leading upward to some ultimate supreme authority. As a result, the Dutch and English kept trying to find "someone in charge" to sign treaties. This eventually forced some of the Algonquin to change, but in 1600 their villages were small and, for the most part, unfortified. They grew corn, beans and squash in the river valleys during the summer and moved in a fixed pattern with the seasons to other locations for hunting and fishing. The Mattabesic also manufactured a superior type of wampum which was traded with other tribes.
Hidden behind Long Island to the south, the Mattabesic did not have contact with Europeans until Dutch fur traders from New Netherlands (the Hudson Valley in New York) began to explore the southern coast of New England after 1610. They first met the Paugussett and Peaquanock at the mouth of the Housatonic River and soon afterwards began to trade with the other Mattabesic tribes to the east along the coast and the lower Connecticut River. By 1622 the Dutch had built a permanent trading post near present-day Hartford from which they intended to trade with all of the tribes in Connecticut. However, the Pequot had other ambitions. Determined to dominate the area's trade, they attacked some Mattabesic near the trading post. The Dutch seized a Pequot sachem and held him for ransom and, it can be presumed, promises of better behavior. However, the Dutch took the ransom and then killed their prisoner, after which, the Pequot retaliated by burning down the post. Ultimately, for purposes of mutual economic benefit, both sides decided it was best to "kiss and make up," but afterwards, the Dutch made no further attempts to prevent the Pequot's domination of the other tribes in the area.
The highly-organized Pequot immediately set about their work. Later that same year, they fought a war with the Narragansett to seize territory in western Rhode Island and to keep this powerful rival away from the Dutch. Having accomplished this, they paddled across Long Island Sound to subdue the Metoac to gain control of the wampum trade and then expanded north and west to subjugate several small Nipmuc and Mattabesic tribes in Connecticut. While the Dutch looked the other way at the Pequot conquests, they were becoming concerned about the possibility of competition from the new English colony in eastern Massachusetts. In 1627 they sent a representative to Plymouth. The result was a treaty with the English giving the Dutch a trade monopoly along the southern coast of New England and Connecticut Valley. This agreement lasted for only three years until the more militant Puritans began settling in Massachusetts. As the balance of power shifted in favor of the English, the treaty was disregarded. In 1633 Boston traders established a trading post at Windsor, Connecticut which, because it was just upstream from the Dutch at Hartford, intercepted most of the furs from the north which formerly had been going to the Dutch.
Turning to the Pequot for support against the English, the Dutch purchased land from them (which actually belonged to the Mattabesic) and built a fortified trading post (House of Good Hope). In 1635 the English countered with a fort of their own (Saybrook) at the mouth of the Connecticut, and the Dutch were cut-off. English settlement of Connecticut began the following year. Many of the Mattabesic along the river (including a faction of the Pequot who would separate to become the Mohegan) welcomed the English as an opportunity to rid themselves of the Pequot thereby setting the stage for the Pequot War (1637). The first blow was actually struck by epidemic. Beginning in 1633 among the tribes in eastern Massachusetts, smallpox spread through the native populations of New England and reached Connecticut in 1634. Ignoring their losses to epidemic, the Pequot met the new English settlement along the Connecticut first with threats and then small-scale violence. An English retaliatory raid during the summer of 1636 escalated the confrontation to open warfare the following spring.
Although reduced by smallpox and the recent defection of the Mohegan, the Pequot commanded the allegiance of 26 tribes and were still formidable. However, in May of 1637, a combined force of English, Mohegan, and Narragansett commanded by Captain John Mason destroyed the main Pequot fort at Mystic and massacred 700 of its inhabitants. After this defeat, many of the Pequot's Mattabesic, Metoac, and Nipmuc allies suddenly switched sides, and the Pequot were forced to abandon their villages and flee west towards the Dutch settlements on the Hudson. Few of them made it. On July 13th, Mason and the Mohegan caught up with a large group of Pequot and their sachem Sassacus who had found refuge at the Pequannock village of Sasqua (Fairfield, Connecticut). Mason and his men surrounded the Peaquanock fort which was hidden in a swamp, but after some negotiations, 200 Pequannock (mostly women and children) were allowed to leave. However, the Pequot were well-aware of the fate awaiting them and refused to surrender.
In the battle which followed, 20 Pequot warriors were killed. Another 60, including their sachem Sassacus, escaped and managed to reach the Mohawk. The Mohawk killed Sassacus and sent his head to the General Court at Hartford as a token of their friendship with the English. The Pequot War ended with the near annihilation of the Pequot as English soldiers and their native allies hunted down the last survivors. Those not killed were either sold as slaves to the West Indies or placed under the jurisdiction of the Mohegan who did not treat them well. In general, the Mattabesic were pleased by the outcome of war but did not realize at first they had exchanged one master for another far more dangerous. Immediately after the war, English settlement swept down the length of the Connecticut Valley and then west along the shore of Long Island Sound: New Haven 1638; Bridgeport 1639; and Stamford 1641. For the Mattabesic, Paugussett, and other tribes in the area, the native allies of the English soon proved as aggressive and dominating as the Pequot.
The Narragansett invaded the eastern end of Long Island and conquered the Metoac tribes to assume the Pequot's former role in the wampum trade. However, the Mohegan were even more dangerous. Backed by their alliance with the English, they began to threaten many of the neighboring Mattabesic and Nipmuc and forced them to pay tribute. Even the Narragansett became alarmed at the growing power of the Mohegan and in 1640 formed an alliance with the Tunxis and Pocumtuc to oppose them. Meanwhile, the English colonists in New England had become divided over politics and religion between the Puritans (Mohegan allies) and the dissident settlements of Roger Williams in Rhode Island (Narragansett allies). When the English colonies in Connecticut and Massachusetts joined forces in 1643 with the formation of the New England Confederation, Rhode Island was excluded, and the Puritans had succeeded in isolating Williams and the Narragansett. At this point, the Narragansett decided to act on their own. They attacked the Mohegan but were defeated in a decisive battle at Shetucket.
After this, the Mohegan were clearly the dominant tribe in southern New England and acted as "enforcers" to insure that English settlement could push west from the Connecticut River unopposed. For the most part, the tiny Mattabesic tribes were helpless against the combination of the English and Mohegan. This became especially apparent after some Mattabesic warriors from western Connecticut tribes joined the Wappinger against the Dutch (Wappinger War 1643-45). Although the Dutch were nearly overwhelmed at the start of this conflict, things changed dramatically after two companies of Mohegan scouts and Connecticut colonists commanded by Captain John Underhill joined the fighting in 1644. A combined Dutch-English attack on a Siwanoy village near Greenwich, Connecticut that year killed almost 700 people, exactly the same number as the much better known massacre of the Pequot at Mystic seven years earlier.
Before a peace was signed in 1645, at least 1,600 Wappinger and their allies had been killed. After this experience, very few Mattabesic were willing to challenge either the English or the Mohegan. The Massaco, conquered by Mohegan in 1654 and forced to pay tribute, were eventually absorbed by the Mohegan who then sold the Massaco lands to English settlers. Several Mattabesic groups near the Massachusetts border (Newashe, Peskantuk, Poquonock, and Sicaog) tried to break free by attaching themselves to the Pocumtuc in western Massachusetts, who since they were at war with the Mohawk, needed every ally they could find. The Mohegan, however, kept pressuring these tribes which led an exchange of raids between the Mohegan and Pocumtuc during the winter of 1658-59. When the Mohawk finally forced the Pocumtuc to abandon the Connecticut River in 1665, many of their Mattabesic allies retreated east with them and ultimately ended up as part of the Abenaki in northern New England.
However, the other Mattabesic tribes in central Connecticut did not fight and, as they were dispossessed by settlement, began to move west towards the Housatonic Valley. For the most part, there was no exodus of tribal units. Instead, the Mattabesic nearer to the Connecticut River tended to melt away by separating into family units which were then absorbed by the Paugussett and other Mattabesic along the Housatonic, a rugged area which remained relatively unsettled until the 1700s. Other groups collected for a time in mixed native communities at Farmington and Naugatuck. After 1637 English settlement had also extended down the coast and taken land from the Paugussett and Peaquanock at the mouth of the Housatonic. By 1658 the settlements at Fairfield and Stratford had taken so much land, the Peaquanock petitioned the General Court at Hartford to set aside some land for them alone before the colonists took it all. The following year Connecticut created Golden Hill, the first Indian reservation in the United States.
With the exception a few Podunk warriors, the Mattabesic took no part in the general uprising in Massachusetts and Rhode Island known as the King Philip's War (1675-76). Many of the southern New England tribes disappeared entirely or left the region as a result of this conflict. By 1680 there were only 1,000 Mattabesic left in Connecticut, at least half of whom were members of the Housatonic tribes (Paugussett, Peaquanock, Potatuck, and Weantinock). As white encroachment continued, the General Court in 1680 established two additional 100 acre reservations for the Paugussett: Coram Hill (Shelton) and Turkey Hill (Orange). In addition to the three small reserves, several mixed Mattabesic communities, such as the Paugussett village at Naugatuck and Tunxis settlement at Farmington, were still managing to maintain themselves on a rapidly shrinking land base. Only the Weantinock and Potatuck in extreme west and northwest portion of Connecticut had retained anything approaching their original territory. However, even these small holdings quickly slipped away and passed into white ownership.
During the next century, almost all of the Mattabesic lands in Connecticut would either sold or taken over by the state - in many cases without native knowledge or consent. Even when the transfers were legal, the circumstances were often questionable since the native signatures appearing on the deeds show a clear pattern of increasingly sloppy signatures and the probable use of alcohol. Located near the English settlements at the mouth of the Housatonic, the Pequannock and Paugussett were the first to feel the pressure. Between 1680 and 1750, a combination of fraud, harassment, and encroachment forced many of the native families at the Golden Hill reservation to leave. Some moved north to the native settlement of Lonetown near Redding. One group, the Ramapo (Peaquanock), apparently ended up in the mountains of northern New Jersey which still bear their name. From the beginning, the Paugussett never liked the land at Coram Hill because it was stoney and poor for growing corn. They sold 20 acres in 1714 to a white man who apparently liked rocks and the remainder by 1735. However, Golden Hill was a more valuable land, and by 1760 the four families who had stubbornly refused to leave had only six of the original 80 acres, all but 1/2 acre of which had already been allotted to colonists under the presumption the Golden Hill Indians would soon be extinct.
Unfortunately, some whites did not wait for extinction, and in August of 1763, they destroyed the remaining wigwam and forced the last two families to leave. The Connecticut General Assembly appointed a committee to deal with the situation. Its first recommendation was that the land be given to the colonists and the Golden Hill Paugusset and Peaquanock be compensated with other land. This was rejected. A second report suggested returning all eighty acres to the Paugussett, but for obvious reasons, this also failed to gain approval. Finally, after two years of deliberation, twenty of the original eighty acres were returned in 1765 to the Paugussett: twelve acres (Nimrod Lot) and eight acres (Rocky Hill Lot - the name leaves little doubt why they got this piece of land). The last Paugussett lands at Naugatuck were sold in 1812, and the Turkey Hill Reserve went on the block in 1826. Currently, the Golden Hill Reservation consists of exactly 0.26 acre - barely enough for a single house.
Other than token payments, all that the Mattabesic tribes in Connecticut usually received for their land was the opportunity to become Christians. Shortly after settlement, English missionaries had started working among the Mattabesic. As a general rule, the eastern Mattabesic groups which had avoided absorption by the Mohegan or Pocumtuc (Hammonasset, Menunkatuc, Quinnipiac, Podunk, Tunxis, Wangunk) gathered near Farmington which, by 1770, had became a mostly Christian community. In time these mixed communities evolved into the Brother Towns (later known as the Brotherton) and also included Mohegan, Narragansett, Niantic, Pequot, Massachuset, Metoac, and even a few Paugussett. However, Christian or traditional, Native Americans were no longer welcome in Connecticut, and feeling this, some of the converts left for the Christian Mahican communities near Stockbridge in western Massachusetts. At the invitation of the Oneida in 1788, the Mahican minister Samuel Occum left with 250 Brotherton Indians from Connecticut and Long Island and resettled in New York.
West of Connecticut River and north of the coastal settlements at Fairfield and Stratford, the Weantinock and Potatuck were protected from the advance of "civilization" until 1700, but afterwards were forced to either sell or deed away almost all of their land. The first Weantinock cession occurred in 1703 and the Potatuck did likewise two years later. By 1729 Weantinock had surrendered most of their original territory. In 1731 a large group of the Christian Pequannock and Paugussett left Naugatuck under Gideon Mauwee (a.k.a Mahwee or Maweseman) to settle at the old Weantinock hunting camp on the Housatonic at Schaghticoke (Kent, Connecticut). Within the next few years, the settlement at Schaghticoke became a refuge for Christians from the western Mattabesic groups (Paugussett, Pequannock, Potatuck, Weantinock). The Mattabesic still practicing their traditional religion, for the most part, remained at Naugatuck, Golden Hill, and Turkey Hill. By 1740 Schaghticoke had a mixed population of almost 600, but the residents were dissatisfied with their Connecticut missionaries and turned instead to the Moravians at Shekomeko just across the border in New York.
In 1743 a Moravian mission was established at Pachgatgoch (or Pishgatagotch - the German version of Schaghticoke). Schaghticoke in 1744 had almost 2,000 acres, and in 1748 the Peaquanock at Lonetown exchanged the last of their lands at Redding for 200 acres bordering Schaghticoke. Unfortunately, Connecticut's colonists did not approve of the Moravian version of Christianity, and many of them wanted both the mission and reservation closed. Because of this, there were continuous problems with squatters and encroachment, and in both 1749 and 1751, the Schaghticoke deeded away more of their land. To slow this, Connecticut formally established the Schaghticoke reservation in 1752, but the problem continued. During 1758-59 the Potatuck sold their remaining lands at Newtown and Woodbury, but by this time nearly all of them were at Schaghticoke which had become overcrowded. Some Potatuck left in 1762 and followed the Housatonic north to the Mahican villages near Stockbridge. The situation in Massachusetts was little different. In 1786 the last group of Stockbridge (including the Mattabesic living among them) left and resettled with the Oneida in New York where the Mattabesic contingent was reunited with those who had left with the Brotherton. In 1822 the Stockbridge and Brotherton, as well as their Oneida hosts, were forced to move again ...this time to northern Wisconsin where their descendents still live today.
When the Moravian mission closed, some of the Schaghticoke migrated to the Moravian mission at Gnadenhuetten near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Apparently, they were never comfortable in this new location, and by 1790 most had returned. However, by this time there were few Mattabesic left in Connecticut. In 1798 the population at Schaghticoke was only 67, and by 1801 it had fallen to 35. They still had 1,200-1,500 acres, but only because most of it was unsuitable for farming. The State of Connecticut took over the management of their land and, in caring for its charges, managed to reduce Schaghticoke to its present size of 400 acres. The Schaghticoke have a lawsuit pending over this. The census of 1850 listed only 400 Native Americans in Connecticut, all Mohegan. By 1910 there were only 22 Mohegan, 20 Mattabesic, and 66 Pequot (108 total), and it would seem that the original residents of Connecticut had just about completed their "ride into the sunset." However, the report of their demise proved somewhat premature. The 1990 census listed 6,634 people in Connecticut who identified themselves as Native Americans.
First Nations referred to in this Mattabesic History: | <urn:uuid:14d04529-e92b-4edd-86e2-7cf6ce2ee02c> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.dickshovel.com/matta.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660996.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00248-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967279 | 6,362 | 3.46875 | 3 |
PHOTOS: LT. TERRY ROWE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116852; TERRY ROWE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA114030
When Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar–a veteran of World War I–arrived in Italy to take command of 1st Canadian Corps, he was introduced to the battlefields of the Moro River and The Gully (Clearing The Gully, January/February).
Strome Galloway, who was in temporary command of the Royal Canadian Regiment, recalled the visit in his memoirs: “Crerar stood in the frozen mud. Behind him was the shattered farmhouse which served me as my battalion headquarters and leaning on his walking stick he shifted his gaze from left to right and back again. ‘Why it is just like Passchendaele,’ he murmured. Since none of us had been at Passchendaele, and some of us were not even born then we could not challenge his assessment. So we nodded in agreement and heard even more about the mud of Flanders, the rainfall in the Ypres Salient, the misery of trench warfare as the general’s mind went back more than 25 years….”
Crerar’s attempt to compare World War II in Italy to the battles of 1917 made him seem old-fashioned and out of touch to the young veterans who believed their war was unique, but Crerar was surely right. After two weeks of intense combat–with very heavy casualties–the Canadians had advanced some 2,500 yards, captured acres of muddy ground and a stretch of road that was still visible to enemy positions. Their comrades in the 8th Indian, 2nd New Zealand and 5th British divisions had similar experiences while grinding out small advances of little operational significance. Orsogna–like Ortona–was still in enemy hands and there was no realistic prospect of reaching Pescara, further to the north, and the lateral road to Rome.
Despite the failure of Operation Semblance–Montgomery’s last effort to reach the Pescara-Rome highway–two factors fuelled the requirement to continue the offensive. General Harold Alexander, the Army Group Commander, was preparing to launch what would become known as the first battle for Rome, including an attempt to secure Monte Cassino. Eighth Army was therefore ordered to “maintain pressure” in an effort to tie down German forces in the Adriatic sector. The second factor, which was specific to the Canadians, was the need to secure Ortona as a port and rest area before the Italian winter arrived in earnest.
And so on Dec. 19, 1943, orders were issued to resume the offensive, and this time Ortona itself was the objective. The divisional and corps intelligence reports tried to offer encouragement, suggesting that “having lost control of the (Cider) Crossroads, the enemy is likely to fall back…abandoning Ortona.” However, no combat soldier believed such forecasts. Front-line German commanders were advising a withdrawal to the north before more battalions were destroyed, but General Joachim Lemelsen, the German 10th Army’s commander, disagreed. He believed the time had come “for the thorough annihilation of the British 8th Army.” No ground was to be given up until arrangements for a full-scale attack had been completed. Hitler, who was now micro-managing his forces in Italy, was far more concerned about the Allied threat to Rome and decided against a buildup on the Adriatic. He did, however, reject any suggestion of a withdrawal from the strong defensive positions on the Orsogna-Ortona front.
Canadian historians have usually focused their account of the battles of late December on the street fighting within Ortona. Descriptions of the tactics used by 2nd Brigade in clearing the town are frequently coupled with complaints that Ortona should have been bypassed–something critics maintain would have forced the enemy to withdraw from town. Since bypassing the town was precisely the task assigned to 1st and 3rd Canadian infantry brigades as well as a brigade of the 8th Indian Div., such comments help to confuse rather than clarify the Ortona story. The enemy certainly knew the Allies were attacking on a broad front and initially just one battalion was committed to defending Ortona, while four battalions were resisting the Canadian and Indian advance west of the town.
Major-General Chris Vokes regrouped his forces before launching the new attack. The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada took over the coastal road from the Hastings and Prince Edward Regt. with orders to advance on Ortona in support of the main thrust to be made by the Loyal Edmonton Regt. The Hasty Ps rejoined 1st Bde. to begin the advance to Point 59, a prominent hill overlooking the coast north of Ortona.
The Loyal Eddies, with a squadron of tanks from the Three Rivers Regt., began the advance at noon on Dec. 20. Fighter-bombers were available to hit known gun positions on what proved to be the last opportunity to use air support before the weather curtailed operations. The artillery fired enough smoke shells to screen the advance from observed enemy fire, but enemy engineers had laid enough mines and explosive charges to slow down any advance. The lead tank on the left side of the road was “destroyed by a demolition charge of some 200 tons of TNT. The tank was lifted 20 feet in the air and landed on the other side of the road. All crew members were instantly killed.”
The other three tanks in the troop struck the minefield and lost their tracks without suffering casualties. Fortunately, the right flank troop was able to support the infantry and the Loyal Eddies were able to establish themselves at the south end of Ortona. They made contact with a company from the Seaforths that had fought its way along the coast road before strengthening its position by deploying a Saskatoon Light Infantry medium machine-gun platoon as well as a troop of six-pounder anti-tank guns. Surprisingly, the enemy decided not to counter-attack. The Eddies had taken 17 prisoners from the 4th Para Regt. and inflicted other losses on the enemy’s forward troops, but this time the German commander was determined to avoid the patterned response that had weakened the German battalions at the Moro River and in The Gully.
Historian Eric McGeer, the author of a battlefield guide to be published this year, suggests visitors should follow the Contrada Santa Lucia, a road along the top of Vino Ridge, which was captured by the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in the battle for The Gully. The road dips down into The Gully before joining the Orsogna-Ortona lateral road and it offers an exceptional view of the approaches to Ortona. During our visit to the area, a steady rain limited visibility. However, the problem presented by the natural defences of the town was readily apparent. Ortona sits on a promontory that is protected by deep ravines.
The Loyal Eddies and Three Rivers battle group began advancing at 7 a.m. on Dec. 21. The diary of the Loyal Eddies records the start of street fighting, noting that “the enemy is well supplied with machine-guns in dug-in positions behind stone barricades. Hand grenades are being used by both sides. Tanks are hampered by demolitions and mines, but they are providing covering fire….”
Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Jefferson, the commanding officer of the Loyal Eddies, divided the town into four sectors, numbered clockwise from the south. He hoped to seize control of both southern sectors, but resistance on the left was too strong so he reinforced success with tanks and infantry that managed to press forward to the first city square, the Piazza Porta Caldari, by nightfall. “Owing to casualties, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment reorganized on a three-company basis.”
Today, the wide street leading north from the square, the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II, is a pedestrian avenue lined with fashionable shops. In December 1943, the enemy had turned it into a killing zone. The narrow side streets were blocked by rubble from demolished buildings. Snipers and machine-gun posts covered every approach, and anti-tank guns were positioned to fire down the side streets if tanks tried to advance with the infantry.
As the operational report noted, “no two houses were defended alike.” However, there were plenty of automatic weapons and grenades available to each section of enemy paratroopers. “Houses, which were not occupied, were booby-trapped or had delayed charges placed in them with time fuses.”
House-to-house fighting began in earnest on Dec. 21 and lasted until the town was clear a week later. On the morning of the 22nd, the Seaforths provided a company to support the advance by the Loyal Eddies. By afternoon, after the strength of enemy resistance became clear, Brigadier Bert Hoffmeister sent the balance of the Seaforths into Ortona to take over the western part of the city. The next day–as the battle for Ortona intensified–the Hasty Ps attempted to “burst out” to the north along a “thumb-like feature that ran northeast towards the coast road north of Ortona.”
Brig. Dan Spry reported that the attack by the Hasty Ps struck “a whole German paratroop battalion, hitting the middle company and destroying it. They also took prisoners from other companies,” setting the stage for what the regimental history of the 48th Highlanders of Canada correctly describes as “one of the most daringly conceived and executed one-battalion enterprises of the Canadian campaign–in either Italy or Normandy.”
The ground over which the 48th Highlanders advanced forms a narrow ridge between the valley cut by the Ricco River and the ravine forming the western rampart of Ortona. Their objective was the high ground opposite the village of San Tomasso, a feature that dominated the area to the north and west of Ortona. The padre of the 48th described the position as “cemetery ridge” because of all the casualties–German and Canadian–but on the afternoon of Dec. 23 it looked as if the 48th Highlanders had broken through the enemy defences without suffering a single casualty.
The day began with a “man-sized issue of rum with tea which tasted like Moro River mud as a chaser.” Delays in clearing the start line postponed the H-Hour until late in the afternoon when the last light was fading from the December sky. Lt.-Col. Ian Johnston preferred to postpone the advance until first light, but Spry insisted “the attack had to be made at once–even in darkness.” The regimental history describes the scene: “The Highlanders were risking their survival as an effective fighting force on the factor of surprise. Everything was sacrificed to surprise–all their supporting arms and even their own anti-tank guns and mortars. They would take only Bren guns and grenades, their Tommy guns and rifles…. It just might succeed, if it did it would win Ortona.”
The battalion began to follow a footpath, picked out from an air photo. They moved silently–in single file–through a “vineyard tangle which was cut and criss-crossed by small ravines and gullies.” A steady rain and a loud firefight back at the start line helped the advance until everything came to a halt. The lead company had reached a house occupied by German paratroopers. “With the quick silent reactions of raiding Mohawks, Major John Clarke and his picked men soundlessly killed one man outside the house, covered all exits and then leaped into the midst of a Nazi Christmas party.” Thirteen paratroopers were taken prisoner before the advance resumed. A second house yielded six more paratroopers and then, despite fears that the vanguard was well and truly lost, the objective was reached without a shot having been fired!
The battalion dug in after sending a large fighting patrol back towards the start line on a track that Johnston hoped might be used to bring tanks and support weapons forward. The patrol ran into a German battle group that was blocking the track, and was forced to return to Cemetery Ridge. The 48th Highlanders were isolated and on their own. An all-around defensive position was created and the vital link between a British field regiment and its borrowed Forward Observation Officer was tested.
On the morning of Dec. 24, the German commanders faced a difficult choice. The position on Cemetery Ridge gave the Canadians the opportunity to direct observed fire over a wide area. Within Ortona, the Loyal Eddies and the Seaforths, supported with great determination and skill by the Three Rivers tank squadrons, had seized two thirds of the town, and were preparing to clear the rest. It was surely time for the Germans to withdraw to a new defensive line a few kilometres to the north, a move that would have forced the Canadians to mount a new set-piece attack.
Such rational decision-making was apparently impossible in the German army and instead two additional battalions were committed to battle, one in Ortona and a second directed at the Indian brigade fighting its way forward on the Canadian flank. The defenders of Cemetery Ridge would have to wait their turn. The Edmonton war diary noted the changed situation in the entry for Dec. 24. “The enemy resistance stiffens, fresh troops reinforce the garrison, a flame-thrower is used against us…. House-to-house fighting continues in the very narrow lanes and streets while our artillery shells the coast road, the cemetery and targets on our left flank. Our three-inch mortars do very excellent work in close support of the riflemen. Seventy-five reinforcements arrive….”
The Seaforths also received a “large number of reinforcements” which were badly needed as “there had been no sign of the enemy weakening.” The Canadians were to spend Christmas Day locked in a grim struggle that seemed to have no end. A new and determined effort was required to liberate Ortona and seize ground that would shield the town from observed enemy fire.
The story of how Ortona was liberated will continue in the next issue. | <urn:uuid:9f98c6db-7169-48f1-aee7-c508d412b3be> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://legionmagazine.com/en/2007/03/into-ortona/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178364932.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20210302221633-20210303011633-00411.warc.gz | en | 0.979911 | 3,022 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Windows 95 changed the way that consumers saw personal computing, and it heavily influenced future versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Over twenty years later, you can expect to see significant changes and improvements, to the point where those who weren’t exposed to older technology don’t have any clue what it is. Nowhere is this more painfully true than watching how teens react to Windows 95.
You can watch the video here.
Considering how these teens weren’t even born when the operating system was released, it’s no surprise that they have no clue what they’re looking at. When it’s said that they’re looking at Windows 95, they remark that it looks “prehistoric,” “dull,” and even “ancient.” Some of the older teens, on the other hand, are more appreciative of the legacy that Windows 95 started, despite agreeing that in its infancy, the Windows operating system was a bit on the primitive side compared to today’s modern tech environment.
Here are some observations from this video:
- They don’t know how to turn it on. Many of the teens didn’t know how to turn the PC on and off. They were immediately drawn to the large power button on the CRT monitor, and it took them quite a while to figure out how to turn the main component on.
- Windows today is more refined than it was in 1995. Several of the teens in the video notice how Windows 95 is a bit on the unrefined side. This is simply due to the fact that Windows 95 was one of the first Windows operating systems, and has since become more polished. The teens mention that Windows 95 has a similar interface compared to what they’ve been working with, sporting familiar features like Internet Explorer, the Recycle Bin, and the Start menu.
- Not having WiFi is like a crime. When they open up Internet Explorer, the teens immediately notice that there’s no WiFi. They are in complete and total shock that it doesn’t have wireless Internet. If you think about it, it’s a perfectly natural response. These teens have had wireless Internet for their entire lives. They never knew the days of dial-up web connection. It just goes to show that convenience is a major player in the modern tech environment, and that the biggest cause for concern with new technology is that it might be unavailable while offline.
- Today’s tech is easier to use by the consumer. At one point, the video’s narrator discusses how DOS systems work. The teens are completely dumbfounded by how complicated the process of issuing commands and prompts to the machine sounds. One of the girls makes a solid observation: “If users of consumer technology, like iPhones or iPads, had to enter in commands to open apps, nobody would use them.” Technology has grown with the end-user in mind, with easy-to-use technology being the most popular with the general populace.
Isn’t it insane to think about how far technology has progressed in just twenty short years? Where will technology be decades from now? Do you have any fond memories of Windows 95? Let us know in the comments.
See how your friends react to Windows 95 by opening this link on their browser: https://win95.ajf.me/win95.html | <urn:uuid:8b3e3b90-8b20-46c4-86c6-206fbc83eece> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://www.vcsolutions.com/95-as-in-1995-watch-todays-teenagers-react-to-windows-95/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195530250.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20190724020454-20190724042454-00024.warc.gz | en | 0.953243 | 708 | 3.125 | 3 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
A hospital school is a school operated in a hospital, generally a children's hospital which provides instruction to all primary and secondary grade levels. These schools help children regain academic progress during periods of hospitalization or rehabilitation. The schools are most often accredited and run by the local public school system, funded by the state, and are based on the same curriculum and testing mandated by the state as is practical for the students. Enrollments are low when compared to traditional schools and teachers much provide instruction for many grade levels.
- See also: Prison education
- Boarding schools
- Correctional institutions
- Residential care institutions
- Treatment facilities
- ↑ includeonly>"Hospital School provides routine, relief for sick children", WRAL-TV, 2008-11-27. Retrieved on 2008-11-27. | <urn:uuid:9b18743d-0bbc-473e-8722-24efad8dcd86> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Institutional_schools | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00203-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928597 | 184 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Updated: Sep 17, 2019
The (Second) Boer War** was fought from 1899-1902 in present day South Africa. The war was fought between Britain (who controlled the Cape Colony) and the Dutch-descendant Boers (who controlled the territories of Transvaal and Orange Free State). Despite initial victories by the Boers, the British ultimately triumphed, leading to their control of South Africa.
** There were actually two conflicts known as the "Boer War". This entry specifically deals with the Second Boer War (1899-1902), as that is a much more common quizbowl topic than the First Boer War (1880-1881).
By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge, patterns that will help you answer more tossups. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on "The Boer War"
In December of 1895, British statesman Leander Starr Jameson led an unsuccessful raid from British controlled Cape Colony into the Boer controlled Transvaal in hopes of sparking an uprising of British uitlanders (foreigners) living in the Transvaal against the Boer government of Paul Kruger. Following the raid’s failure, German Kaiser Wilhelm II sent a congratulatory telegram to Kruger (the so-called Kruger Telegram) leading to heightened tensions between the British and the Boers and ultimately leading to the Second Boer War.
The British suffered three devastating losses to the Boers in the span of a week, most notable at the Battle of Colenso. This so-called “Black Week” led to the firing of British military commander Redver Bullers who was replaced by Lord Roberts.
Herbert Kitchener was the British military commander during the Second Boer War who succeeded Lord Roberts. He is known for his brutal scorched earth tactics as well as his use of barbed wire and concentration camps to control Boer civilians. Those concentration camps were heavily criticized by British reformer Emily Hobhouse who formed the Fawcett Commission to investigate the conditions and in the disease-ridden camps.
SIEGE OF MAFEKING
Mafeking was (along with Ladysmith and Kimberley) one of the three major siege battles of the Second Boer War. His leadership during the siege made a national hero of British commander Robert Baden-Powell who later went on to fame as the founder of the Boy Scouts.
TREATY OF VEREENIGING
The 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging ended the Second Boer War. The treaty ceded control of the previously Boer territories of Transvaal and Orange Free State to the British.
Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out:
* This site from the BBC details the Boer Wars and examines them in the context of the larger history of South Africa.
* This site details Kitchener’s Boer concentration camps, including the story of Lizzie van Zyl whose treatment in the camps was the focus of much of Emily Hobhouse’s writings.
* The Brief History Podcast did an episode that tells the story of both Boer Wars. Listen here:
* This short video is a nice summary of the Boer Wars:
Want to learn a ton more quizbowl information, compete on thousands of questions and generally have a blast this summer? Come to Qwiz Quizbowl Camp! Come Qwiz with us!
Questions? Have a great idea for a future Qwiz5? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]
Love this Qwiz5? Don’t forget to subscribe for updates and share this with your friends through the links below! | <urn:uuid:52ecc0fc-16d8-4cd1-b293-3076f5adc3be> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.qwizbowl.com/post/qwiz5-quizbowl-boerwar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178385984.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20210309030723-20210309060723-00346.warc.gz | en | 0.950321 | 840 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Those of us who’ve never donned a lab coat for any length of time tend to envision the study of science as something like a linear progression from ignorance to knowledge.
One day, we thought the earth was flat. Then, a bunch of discoveries were made, some of them involving ship-sails sighted over the horizon, and eventually a new view took hold.
Reality, of course, is messier. Science, though it lays claim to a brilliant method that has yielded a great deal of knowledge (not to mention relief from disease and disaster and other ills), is done by humans, after all.
THE PERFECT THEORY: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle Over General Relativity
So it’s rare that the path to knowledge is a smooth one. There’s always turbulence along the way, some backtracking, unnecessary detours driven by missed clues or overgrown egos.
Pedro Ferreira, an Oxford astrophysics professor, captures this halting dance in “The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle Over General Relativity.” Ferreira’s book traces the general theory of relativity from its origins in the remarkable brain of a then-unheralded patent clerk through the countless scientists who have tried to squeeze real-life meaning out of Albert Einstein’s brilliant, maddening equations.
The book is also as much about the people behind the theories as the theories themselves.
Part of “The Perfect Theory’s” strength lies in its pacing. Ferreira has a writer’s sense for when he’s getting a bit too technical (general readers will be fine but those possessing an entry-level grasp of relativity, cosmology, and quantum mechanics might get a bit more out of the book), and always leavens the science with intriguing glimpses at the underlying psychological and sociological forces driving scientific progress.
In particular, he specializes in highlighting the many ways the geniuses behind the last century’s most astounding physical and astronomical findings fell victim to all sorts of biases and narrow-minded preoccupations that prevented them from seeing things as they really are.
He covers the countless arguments colorfully. At one point, referring to a mid-century debate over the origins of radio signals buzzing in the sky, Ferreira writes, “It was a clash of cultures pitting the highbrow theoretical astronomers, versed in mathematics and physics with elegant yet odd theories that explained the whole universe, against the tinkerers, the radio operators who built kits and played with electronics.”
This divide is found throughout. One of the reasons the history of astronomy and physics is so fascinating is that some of the most important theories of both fields couldn’t be tested empirically when they were first developed, simply as a result of technological limitations (plenty still can’t be — don’t get an empirically minded astronomer started about string theory).
Especially in the earlier days of relativity, before black holes were even known by that name, many astronomers made careers out of playing around with Einstein’s equations, seeing what bizarre objects popped out, and then wondering whether these objects corresponded to real-world astronomical phenomena or were mere mathematical artifacts.
In some cases, researchers got very attached to the ideas of objects they knew they couldn’t prove existed — or rejected objects suggested by the math when they didn’t fit neatly into certain scientific preconceptions. The celebrated physicist John Wheeler, for example, recalled, “For many years this idea of collapse to what we now call a black hole went against my grain. I just didn’t like it.”
Wheeler not only would be converted to a black-hole believer but would go on to be widely credited for coining the term itself. It’s remarkable to think that such a brilliant man opposed this idea simply because it “went against [his] grain.” But it won’t surprise anyone who reads “The Perfect Theory” and comes to realize not only how tricky it can be to study things that can’t be directly observed, but how much room this state of affairs leaves for human error. | <urn:uuid:6dbda2cd-7bec-4e81-8ffc-f488c80d3ba6> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2014/02/04/book-review-the-perfect-theory-century-geniuses-and-battle-over-general-relativity-pedro-ferreira/ikgsg0eKEPU2upIHipdyqL/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500833115.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021353-00053-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943981 | 881 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The economic arguments for strong and immediate action on climate change are compelling. Yet politicians have failed to grasp the magnitude of the crisis.
In 2006, Sir Nicholas Stern, a former Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the British Treasury delivered a landmark report on the economic impacts of climate change.
The central tenet of Stern’s review was that unless we invest 1% of global GDP per annum in measures to prevent climate change it would cost us 20% of global GDP.
Stern has since upwardly revised his estimate to 2% of global GDP as a response to the worsening prognosis about climate change from the scientific evidence.
He has publicly castigated politicians for their failure to grasp the magnitude of the crisis.
‘Do the politicians understand just how difficult it could be? Just how devastating a rise of four, five, six degrees centigrade would be? I think not yet.’
In an interview with British newspaper The Guardian he slammed the attempts of some politicians to discredit the science.
‘We’re the first generation that has had the power to destroy the planet. Ignoring that risk can only be described as reckless. There are many half-baked attempts to naysay the science, but they always unravel on inspection,’ said Stern.
Similarly in Australia, the Garnaut Climate Change Review has looked at the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy with similarly strong advocacy for action on climate change.
‘Australia’s interest lies in the world adopting a strong and effective position on climate change mitigation,’ he said.
Garnaut said climate change would be an economic disaster for Australian agriculture.
By 2050, unmitigated climate change would mean major declines in agricultural production across much of the country, including a 50% reduction in irrigated agriculture in the Murray-Darling basin. By 2100, irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling basin would decline by 92%, he found.
There are other economic risks.
Climate change threatens the Great Barrier Reef, a tourist Mecca that brings billions of dollars to Queensland each year and employs thousands of people.
Climate change is also bringing about rising sea levels. About 85% of Australians live on our coasts. A recent report found as many as 247,000 existing residential buildings valued up to $63 billion are potentially at risk from a 1.1 metre sea level rise.
You'll automatically become a member of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation | <urn:uuid:f0a36448-7407-47de-8aef-8dbfe270224a> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://www.nswnma.asn.au/undeniable-economic-impacts-of-climate-change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583510415.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20181016072114-20181016093614-00190.warc.gz | en | 0.956283 | 514 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Bruckner: Symphony, Issue 8
Anton Bruckner's Eighth Symphony (1890), one of the last of the great Romantic symphonies, is a grandly complex masterpiece. This book explores this many-faceted work from several angles. It documents the complicated and often misunderstood history of the symphony's composition and revision and provides an accessible guide to its musical design. It demonstrates, by means of a study of well-known recordings, how performance styles have evolved in this century. It also revisits the conventional wisdom about the various versions and editions of the symphony and comes to some provocative new conclusions.
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Placing the Eighth Symphony
The genesis and evolution of the Eighth Symphony
The musical design and symphonic agenda of the Eighth
The Adagio and the sublime
The 1887 version and the 1890 version
The 1892 edition authorship and performance practice
Other editions - View all
A-Wn Mus Adagio added aesthetic Anton Bruckner bars begins Berlin Brahms brass Briefe Bruck Bruckner Problem Bruckner's Eighth Symphony Bruckner's manuscript Bruckner's music Bruckner's revisions Bruckner's symphonies cadential century chord chromatic coda composer's composition conductors contrast cresc critical Dahlhaus December dominant dynamics Eduard Hanslick Eighth Symphony Ernst Kurth Example exposition Finale Floros Fourth Symphony Franz Schalk Furtwangler genre Gollerich and Auer Graflinger Haas's edition harmonic horns interpretation Josef Schalk Korstvedt Kurth langsamer later Laurence Dreyfus Leopold Nowak letter Levi Levi's Linz main theme major Manfred Wagner manuscript scores Max Auer ment minor monic motive move movement Munich notably Nowak Oberleithner opening theme orchestration passage performance phony play published recapitulation reprise revised version rhythm Robert Haas Schalk und Anton Scherzo second thematic group Seventh Symphony strings sublime tempi tempo third timpani tion tonal tonic key trans triad Trio trumpets Vienna Philharmonic Wagner tubas Weingartner wrote | <urn:uuid:8c47528f-db5f-4d1a-87d4-ba18d2e908d7> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | https://books.google.com/books/about/Bruckner_Symphony.html?id=f9wx27TgxWAC&hl=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189734.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00527-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.791983 | 452 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Preventing Zoonotic Diseases
Proper Personal Hygiene
- Wash hands before and after animal handling.
- Do not eat or drink in the animal housing areas.
- Wear coveralls, farm specific clothing or laboratory coats when handling animals.
- Avoid handling sick animals or animals with lesions unless gloved.
- Wear a mask if you are allergic to animal hair or dander or if feed or bedding dust is present.
- If you are sick, DO NOT enter the agricultural animal facilities. You are more susceptible to other infective agents and you may transfer pathogens to the animals!
- Routinely wear gloves when cleaning animal area.
- Note progression of any illness. Report illnesses to your supervisor.
- Inform physician of your animal related activities.
- Keep animal housing areas well organized and clean.
- Avoid urine and fecal build-up. Dry feces result in fecal dust which may be inhaled.
- Clean rooms have a lower likelihood of horizontal or zoonotic transfer.
- Proper ventilation protects the animal and workers.
- Clean feed and bedding from floors. Litter attracts vermin which may introduce a zoonotic disease into the facility.
- Observe animals for health status on a daily basis.
- Report sick or dead animals.
- Note health problems such as diarrhea, difficulty breathing, depressed, immobile.
- Take extra caution in cleaning the areas around ill animals. Don’t spread possible pathogens.
- Isolate affected animals as appropriate.
- Record history or progression of animal disease. | <urn:uuid:55b5b2fd-7f31-48f0-b227-bd50832455db> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://research.illinois.edu/regulatory-compliance-safety/preventing-zoonotic-diseases | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948126.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426105552-20180426125552-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.822716 | 326 | 3.609375 | 4 |
City, The (Part II)
- Publication date
- Public Domain
- Digitizing sponsor
- American Institute of Planners, through Civic Films, Inc.
Contents. A plea for community planning, which contrasts the awesome conditions of human living in a modern industrial city with (1) the serenity of life in an eighteenth-century New England village and (2) the architect's and engineer's concept of the model community, as typified by the federal government's resettlement experiment at Greenbelt, Maryland, and the privately developed one at Radburn, New Jersey.
Life in the New England village of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century is described. There are slowly unfolding views of an old water wheel, a covered bridge, the swimming hole, and other scenes characteristic of the period. A town meeting is shown in session; the speaker at the meeting talks of the village way of life and his remarks are illustrated by views of people at simple handicraft tasks.
The transition to the modern industrial city is made by the merging of a shower of sparks from the smithy's forge with those from a Bessemer converter in a modern steel mill. The scenes change to smokestacks against the sky, to molten slag flowing down the dump, and to the miserable company houses. Children walk along the crude wooden sidewalks. One child narrowly escapes death when he and his companions run across a railroad track in front of a train. A woman pumps water a few feet from an outdoor toilet, hangs the washing in a smoke-filled atmosphere, and shovels coal into an outmoded kitchen stove. Such symbols of industrialism as smokestacks, locomotives, and steam shovels are shown as the musical tempo is accelerated and the commentator echoes the phrases "better and better" and "faster and faster."
Now attention is turned to the great metropolis, New York. Dwarfed by the skyscrapers, human beings mill through city streets, push out of subways, and squeeze through seemingly endless lines of mid-town traffic. The music works up to a screech symbolic of the nervous tension and speed of life in the metropolitan business center. An office scene of long rows of girls at typewriters is accompanied by a chorus of dictationÑmechanical and impersonal. The environment in which children live and play is depicted by scenes of a street accident in which an ambulance takes away the victim, of boys who play stick ball in the street, steal rides on trucks and streetcars, rummage through garbage, and dive from a dock for a swim in a dirty river.
At the lunch hour people gulp coffee and eat sandwiches in an atmosphere of confusionÑsandwiches are slapped together, toast bounces out of a toaster, and pancakes pour automatically on an automatic griddle. Workers return to work through streams of traffic. Long lines of people wait at clinics and dispensaries. At the end of the day the crowds begin to pour out of buildings and start home. Crowds of pedestrians, a traffic jam, traffic officers, traffic signals, together with a shrill, wrenching musical score, create a sense of confusion and tension.
Then comes Sunday. The business district is deserted, but on the highway cars move in a constant stream. Caught in a traffic jam a driver sits and waits. A family picnics on the roadside as the traffic whizzes by. Cars crash bumpers; a car plunges over a cliff.
The next section of the film is the architect's and engineer's solution to the problem. Scenes of Boulder Dam, power lines, research laboratories, airplanes, and streamlined trains convey the impression that science in modern society can provide a way to better living. Modern highway designs are shown as new developments in beauty and safety. There is an aerial view of a well-patterned community which the commentator calls "a green city" built away from crowded metropolitan conditions. In a modern factory employees are shown in a leisurely conducted dining room. Employees walk happily to homes of modern design with adequate lawn space. Recreation facilities are symbolized with views of horseback riding, bicycling, softball games, swimming, gardening, and fishing. An electric stove and an electric washing machine show that much of the drudgery has been taken from housework. The community newspaper comes off the press and is delivered to the front porch. Shopping is done at a modern market; the vegetables, the commentator explains, come from nearby farms. Families leave "the green city" by automobiles for recreation at the golf course, the swimming pool, the skating rink, and the ocean beach. A concert platform, a medical clinic, and a school are shown as parts of the community facilities. Views contrasting "model" housing with crowded tenements, and children playing in large playgrounds with children playing in the dirty street are accompanied by the statement, "Take your choice." Scenes of "cities in which people are always getting ready to live . . ." are followed by scenes of the life that the picture suggests is possible in "a green city."
Appraisal. Very good for (1) contrasting New England village life in the late eighteenth century with modern metropolitan life, (2) suggesting the undesirable urban living conditions produced by industrialization, and (3) indicating the achievement of a more satisfactory life through resettlement of metropolitan populations in planned suburban communities. Should be useful in giving an understanding of (1) some of the human problems associated with the change from a predominantly agrarian to an industrial society and (2) the part science and engineering may play in restoring an environment favorable to good living.
The film deals in a dramatic way with an important social problem. Bold photographic contrasts and powerful commentary and music emotionalize the problems. It should be recognized that the film's presentation of the problems and their solutions is oversimplified.
Photography and sound are excellent.
Ken Smith sez: Directed by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke (who later went on to craft Choosing For Happiness), and with a score by Aaron Copland, this is probably the closest thing to pure social propaganda ever produced in the U.S. The New England town of colonial times is depicted as a kind of Shangri-la, where there was "balance." Contemporary life, on the other hand, is depicted as dirty, noisy and confusing, as we are shown dead trees and muddy children in Pittsburgh and Homestead, Pennsylvania; slum kids and frantic hustle-bustle in midtown Manhattan; and hopeless summer weekend congestion on Rt. 35 in New Jersey. Happily, "the age of rebuilding is here," and as the film concludes we are whisked away to a New Deal "green city" of tomorrow (Greenbelt, Maryland), complete with happy white people and a laundromat. "Here, science serves the worker," the narrator proclaims. "Just watch us grow. The scales won't hold us soon!" Wasn't that the problem in the first place?
¥ 8:56:57:21- 8:57:41:15
Good series of shorter shots of factory town. Images of smoke pillars dissolve into more smoke stacks billowing smoke which then moves into pan across river to various angles of dark, dusty town.
¥ 8:57:41:28- 8:58:00:03
A continuation of the previous shot.
Medium close ups of impoverished homes with smoke stacks in the background. Quick pan across the densely packed homes.
¥ 8:58:00:08- 8:58:08:14
People ascending wooden steps between houses with smoke stacks in the background. Documentation of squalid living conditions in Homestead, Pennsylvania, a steel town near Pittsburgh.
¥ 8:58:08:18- 8:58:19:01
Shot of back of dilapidated homes with mud running through the back yards which cuts to street with similar homes on a hill, crowded streets, and dozens of smoke stacks in the distance.
¥ 8:58:43:07- 8:58:59:14
Great image of children running to the railroad tracks which cuts to a train racing forward.
¥ 9:04:10:21- 9:04:38:12
Quick, extremely low angle shots of city sky srapers which ends with a pan down a sky scraper to see people walking along the busy sidewalk. Nice fast-paced cuts.
¥ 9:06:04:19- 9:06:29:00
Series of short shots of city children playing in the streets of the ghetto. Some make go carts, others collect things from the trash, some hang onto the back of the moving garbage trucks, and others make fires on the dark, back streets.
¥ 9:10:20:22- 9:10:33:02
Good image of extremely crowded city streets. Urban crowd scene.
¥ 9:12:30:10- 9:12:47:18
Starts with 1930s cars moving along a highway and cuts to images of the houses and billboards that separate the houses from the highway and moves into more images of the strange billboard ads and safety tips along the highway (one is a wooden, grinning painted police officer with the words "Death Corner, Drive Carefully" beneath him). Good fast pace.
Good shot of the wooden police officer which cuts to a roadside ad for beer and sanwichesÑa tall, wooden figure leans against a telephone poll and carries a "BEER" sign.
¥ 9:15:15:26- 9:15:23:08
Camera pans over factory to show the distance between factory and residential neighborhoods.
¥ 9:16:08:26- 9:16:22:21
Clean children move towards the camera on bicyclesÑin the background is their suburban school. They ride along paths through their new planned community (Greenbelt, Maryland). Final overhead view of bicycles approaching well-kept homes.
- Closed captioning
- United States
- Run time
Subject: no mention of
Subject: Aaron Copeland score
Subject: A film made with care
and lack of planning is amply shown. The human benefits of well planned cities and communities is also viewed. For 1939, everything about this production-filming,editing,narration,script, music,& directing-is masterfully done. Too bad many of things said have not been accoplished due to expediency and greed.
Subject: Good City/Bad City
Uploaded by [deleted account] on | <urn:uuid:5701bb20-5e05-446d-89af-0735e456fc76> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://archive.org/details/CityTheP1939_2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496671411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20191122171140-20191122200140-00543.warc.gz | en | 0.943308 | 2,186 | 2.625 | 3 |
Smart Blocks: Siftables
MIT grad student David Merrill and his team created a set of computerized toy blocks, called Siftables, that are aware of each other. Because the blocks are aware of their own orientation and (to some extent) surroundings, they can interact with each other. For example, around 2:30, Merrill shows a demo of addition via blocks -- by moving around blocks labeled "2" and "3" as well as "+" and "=", the blocks can sum themselves, forming a sort of interactive math problem.
Merrill's Siftables demo is only seven minutes long, but it shows great promise -- for learning, play, music, photo display, and many other applications. When these blocks become commercially available, you can bet they'll be the newest must-have toy. Check it out: | <urn:uuid:f40735da-3e2e-406b-95ed-0a4b11a3dc9d> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://mentalfloss.com/article/21038/smart-blocks-siftables | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500815861.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021335-00045-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957994 | 172 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The non-motile male and female gametes produced in flowering plants are brought together for fertilisation by a mechanism called __________.
Male gametes and female gamete are produced by pollen grain and embryo sac respectively and both are non-motile. Pollination is the mechanism which brings both the gametes together for fertilisation in flowering plants. Syngamy is an event in fertilisation where the gametes fuse (egg and sperm), parthenogenesis is a process of formation of fruits without fertilisation. Apomixis is asexual reproduction in plants. | <urn:uuid:adacdeb0-da43-401b-823a-2b4a25ca02db> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://byjus.com/question-answer/the-non-motile-male-and-female-gametes-produced-in-flowering-plants-are-brought-together-for-9/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224656675.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20230609100535-20230609130535-00168.warc.gz | en | 0.916865 | 123 | 3.546875 | 4 |
According to WHO, Mental Health is defined as the circumstances in which individuals feel prosperous.
Good mental health is characterized by:
• The ability of the individual to know its potential and maximize the potential
• The ability of the individual to overcome the pressing situation he faces
• The ability of individuals to work productively and profitably in the workplace,
family, community, and friends
Mental health is as important as physical health. Both
must be equally guarded.
In life, we have times when we feel depressed, sad, or scared.
Often those feelings disappear with the completion of the problems we face.
But sometimes it develops into a more serious problem. That matter
can happen to any of us.
Each individual has a different way of dealing with every problem
faced him. Somebody can get back from the setback while there are people
others who may feel overwhelmed by it … | <urn:uuid:f7c5a57d-c742-4711-ab66-c20a8973b51a> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://www.roren2018.com/category/uncategorized | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593142.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722080925-20180722100925-00578.warc.gz | en | 0.956994 | 185 | 3.21875 | 3 |
For additional information, contact our Public Information Coordinator's Office.
Water Conservation Program
Woodinville Water District’s Water Conservation Program Woodinville Water District's Water Conservation Program began in 1991 in compliance with a state mandate to water utilities to implement a conservation program. In 1989, the State Department of Health began requiring water systems to include conservation in their comprehensive plans. Water systems experiencing growth in demand are now mandated by the State Department of Ecology to implement conservation programs before seeking new water rights. In addition, other changes in the regulatory environment highlighted the financial and environmental costs of developing new water resources and made acquisition of supply more uncertain. For water systems like Seattle's that would otherwise have needed a new source of water because of growth, conservation is a viable and cost effective resource.
As a purveyor of Seattle Public Utilities, we are able to work cooperatively with Seattle’s Resource Conservation Office and the other purveyors on programs that benefit the entire region. Part of the rate charged by Seattle pays for their administration of regionally beneficial conservation programs. Purveyor and Seattle Public Utilities staff worked together to develop the Long Range Regional Conservation Plan.
Conserve at Work
Water Smart Technology is a water conservation program for regional commercial, industrial and institutional customers brought to you by local water providers in the Saving Water Partnership, including Woodinville Water District. You can receive financial assistance for both technical studies and financial incentives to install water conservation technologies that make it cost effective for your business to realize the benefits of water efficient technologies, enhance productivity and see substantial savings on your utility bills!
Conserve at Home
Most of Woodinville Water District’s programs target outdoor water consumption during our peak demand season (May - Sept.) Water consumption regionally averages around 150 million gallons per day (mgd) and peaks in the summer time around 260 mgd. Consumption has reached as high as 334 mgd in July 1970, but with regional conservation education efforts, internal showerhead retrofit programs, plumbing code changes, and landscape code changes, consumption has been considerably reduced. In Woodinville Water District's service area, winter consumption averages 3-4 mgd, with our summer peak around 10 - 11 mgd. While these figures seem high when you compare it to regional figures, Woodinville Water District's residential service area encompasses an area that is largely rural, with many lots being in the 1-5 acre range. A large amount of landscaped area increases our summertime consumption dramatically. Woodinville's population has grown considerably over the past several years and yet consumers have reduced their consumption. In the past, peak consumption has been as high as 12 mgd. We have prepared tips for you to use to save water both indoors and outdoors.
Also Home Water Works is a new web site with a home water use calculator. The site is sponsored by the national Alliance for Water Efficiency. Here’s the link: http://www.home-water-works.org/calculator. If you have questions that haven’t been answered on our website, please call our Public Information and Conservation Program Office at 425.487.4102.
Conserve at School
We offer several fun and exciting classroom presentations for schools in our local area. Please see our Education Page for more information. | <urn:uuid:86362e91-dc56-42c8-9336-2934de9bc932> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://www.woodinvillewater.com/how-to/conserve.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578528433.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190420000959-20190420022959-00403.warc.gz | en | 0.934053 | 672 | 2.953125 | 3 |
knees of the Virgin ; after the same.
The Repose in Egypt ; after Chapron.
The Crucifixion ; after N. Poussin.
POILLY, NICOLAS DE, the younger, was born in
Paris in 1675. He was the third son of Nicolas
the elder, and studied painting under Mignard and
Jouvenet. Among his pictures are ' Calvary,' en-
graved by himself, and ' Jesus waited on by Angels,'
painted for the Refectory of the Abbey of S. Martin
des Champs. He died in 1747.
POILLY, NICOLAS JEAN BAPTISTE DE, the son of
Jean Baptiste de Poilly, was born, according to
Nagler, in Paris in 1712. He was intended by his
father for an engraver, but lie did not long follow
that branch of art. He engraved a few portraits,
after C. N. Cochin, some of which are dated 1753 ;
one of his prints bears the date 1758.
POINDRE, JACOB DE, a portrait painter of Malines,
was born at Malines in 1527, and was a scholar of
his brother-in-law, Marc Willems. He painted a
few historical pictures, but attached himself more
particularly to portraiture. He went to Denmark,
and painted imaginary portraits of some of the
kings. He died in Denmark in 1570.
POINSART, J., a French engraver, flourished
about the year 1630. He was principally employed
by the booksellers, for whom he executed several
plates of views of cities, castles, &c. Among other
prints by him is the 'Entry of Charles II. into
POINTE. See DE LA POINTE.
POISSON, Louis, a French painter, who worked
at Fontainebleau about 1610, where he was custodian
of the pictures. He was succeeded by his son
PIERRE in 1613, and in 1643 by his grandson JEAN.
POITREAU, ETIENNE, a French landscape paint-
er, born at Corbigny. He was received into the
Academy in 1739, and died in 1767
POITTEVIN. See LE POITTEVIM.
POL, , of Limburg, is the author of some
miniatures executed in 1409 in a prayer-book of
the Duke of Bern, in the Bibliotheque Ste. Gene-
vieve, and in a ' Joseplms ' of the year 1410 in
the public library of Paris. Of these miniatures
Mr. J. A. Crowe says, " They remind us of later
productions of the Van Eycks in the originality of
conception, the peculiar embodiments of form, and
the remarkable tendency to realism which they
POL, CHRISTIAAN VAN, a flower and arabesque
painter, was born at Berkenrode, near Haarlem, in
1752. In 1782 he went to Paris, where he obtained
a great reputation for his paintings in arabesque.
He ornamented in this manner the chateaux of
Bellevue, Chantilly, and St. Cloud. He also painted
flower-pieces in oil, and occupied himself occasion-
ally in painting groups of flowers on snuff-boxes,
which are of considerable merit. He died in 1813.
POLACK, SOLOMON, a miniature painter, born at
the Hague in 1757, who settled in England, and
exhibited at the Academy almost every year from
1790 to 1835. He practised for a time in Ireland,
about 1795. He designed and etched the plates
for a Hebrew edition of the Bible. He died at
Chelsea in 1839.
POLACK, MARTIN THEOPHILUS, a Pole by birth,
who gained his reputation in the Tyrol, where he
was painter to Duke Leopold, and after his death
in 1632 to Cardinal van Madruz. His masterpiece
is to be found in the church of the Servites at
Innsbruck, and a few of his works are at Trent.
POLANCO, . Two brothers of this name
are mentioned among Spanish historical painters.
Scarcely anything is recorded of them, except
that they studied under Francisco Zurbaran, and
flourished at Seville about 1646. It is said
that their works were so like those of Zurbaran,
that they were often mistaken for his. This is
borne out by the pictures in the church of San
Esteban, at Seville, where Zurbaran painted the
' St. Peter and St. Stephen,' but where the ' Mar-
tyrdom of the Patron Saint,' the ' Nativity,' and
the ' St. Fernando,' are by the brothers Polanco.
They also painted several large pictures for the
sacristy of the convent of St. Paul, in the same
city ; and ' The Angels appearing to Abraham,'
' Tobit and the Angel,' ' Jacob wrestling with the
Angel,' ' Joseph's Dream,' and ' St. Teresa conducted
by Angels,' the last for the church of the Guardian
Angel, belonging to the Barefooted Carmelites and
the Franciscan Friars.
POLANZANI, FELICE, (or POLANZI,) an engraver,
was born at Andale, near Venice, about the year
1700, and is believed to have been living up to
1771. He chiefly resided at Rome, where he en-
graved a set of twenty-two plates, representing the
' Life of the Virgin,' from designs which are by
some attributed to N. Poussin ; but from their
resemblance to the style of J. Stella, they are more
probably after the works of that painter. He also
engraved after Van Dyck and various other masters.
The following prints are perhaps his best :
A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
The Bust of a Woman ; after C. Cignani.
The Bust of a blind Musician ; after Marco Bencjiali.
The Virgin and Infant Christ ; after G. ffogari.
An old Man holding a Money-bag ; after the same.
An old Woman warming her hands ; after the same.
POLAZZO, FRANCESCO, a Venetian painter, born
in 1683. He was a pupil of Piazetta, and painted
portraits and historical subjects, though he was
better known as a restorer of pictures. He died in
POLESTANUS, ANDREA, who was a native of
Italy, and apparently a painter, has left a slight
etching of a Bacchanalian subject, a composition
of many figures, from his own design. It is signed
with his name, and dated 1640.
POLETNICH, J. F., an engraver, resided in
Paris about the year 1760, and was still living in
1780. He executed several plates after the works
of Van Dyck, Boucher, La Grenee, and others.
POLIDORINO, IL. See RUVIALE.
POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO. See CALDARA
POLIDORO VENEZIANO. See LANZANI.
POLLACK, LEOPOLD, a still-life and genre painter,
born at Lodenitz in Bohemia about 1806 or 1809.
He studied in Prague, Munich, and, in 1833, in
Rome. He painted scenes of Italian life, in which
he took Eiedel for his model. Some of his pictures
have been engraved by Handel, Straucher, and
others. He died'in 1880. Works :
The Shepherd Boy.
Shepherdess with Lamb.
Zuleika (from Byron).
POLLARD, ROBERT, an English engraver, born
at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1755. He began life as a
silversmith ; then, after receiving some instruction
from Richard Wilson, he painted landscapes and
sea-pieces. He finally devoted himself to en-
graving, working in various manners, and fre-
quently reproducing his own designs. His latter
years were passed in poverty, and shortly before
his death he handed over to the Royal Academy
the records of the Incorporated Society of Artists,
of which he was the last surviving member. He
died in 1838. Amongst the plates after his own
designs the best are :
The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green.
At Fault (a hunting scene).
Lieut. Moody escaping from the Americans.
POLLASTRINI, ENRICO, was born at Leghorn
in 1817. He was a pupil of Bezzuoli, but was
also a diligent student of the old masters, as his
paintings bear witness. He had, however, much
originality of conception ; he was a good draughts-
man and a fair colourist. He was first professor
and afterwards president of the Academy of
Florence. He died in that city in 1876. Works :
The Raising of the Widow of Nain's Son. (Church of
the Soccorso, Leghorn.)
The Death of Ferruccio.
Death of Duke Alexis of Medici.
Inundation of the Serchio. (Modern Gallery, Florence.)
Pia dei Polomei.
Death of St. Joseph.
St. Lorenzo giving Alms.
The Battle of Legnano.
The Exiles of Siena.
POLLEN, JOHN HUNGERFORD, born in Old
Burlington Street, November 19, 1820, son of
John Pollen of Rodbourne, Recorder of Winchester,
and nephew of Charles Robert Cockerel!, R.A., the
celebrated architect. He was educated at Eton
and Christchurch, and became fellow of Merton
and Senior Proctor in 1851. On joining the
Catholic Church in 1852, he studied painting and
antiquities at Rome, having made two journeys
to Greece and to the East a few years before.
In 1855 he became Professor of Fine Arts at
the Catholic University, then just founded by
Dr. (afterwards Cardinal) Newman. It was on
leaving Oxford that he gave his attention seriously
to the pursuit of art as a profession. He had no
technical training, and, although in a very few
years he attained a high proficiency as a water-
colour painter, he did not pursue this branch of art,
and his works are comparatively little known. It
is as a decorative artist and architect that he will
be best remembered as a producing artist. He
undertook the decoration of the Merton Chapel,
Oxford, in the year 1850, and was practically the
first to re-introduce fresco painting into England.
In 1856 he designed and decorated the University
Chapel at Dublin in the Byzantine style, and in
1857 collaborated with Rossetti, Burne-Jones, and
others in decorating the Oxford Union. It was in
1850, while carrying out the decorations and
painting of the Chapel at Merton, that he made
the acquaintance of young Millais, whose success
he very confidently prophesied. During the years
1862, 1863, and 1864 he carried out the building
of the Catholic Chapel at Rhyl, the decorations at
Blickling Hall for the Marquess of Lothian, and
the decorations at Alton Towers for Lord Shrews-
bury. In 1862 he won a prize in a competition
for the decorations for the new War Office. These
decorations were never carried out, owing to the
style of the building being changed from Gothic
to Palladian. From 1863 to 1876 he was one of
the keepers of the South Kensington Museum,
and drew up the catalogues on furniture and
woodwork and gold and silversmiths' work, on
which the reputation he enjoyed for many years
as the leading authority on these subjects was
based. In 1862 he served on the jury of the
Great Exhibition, and completed the decorations
for the Marquess of Ormonde at Kilkenny Castle.
In 1876 he built a house for Lord Lovelace on
the Thames Embankment.
Pollen's artistic production divides itself into
three heads. First, his water-colours, characterized
by a delightful simplicity and freshness in colour,
resulting in his rendering certain effects of
Italian sky and landscape with extraordinary
success. His oil-colour only attained a high
degree of success on rough canvas, on which he
obtained effects akin to those of tapestry. The
best of these works is the series at Alton Towers,
which are marked by great skill and movement
in the composition, archaeological fidelity, a high
standard of drawing, and a rare sympathy of treat-
ment in the sense that he successfully preserves,
without any false archaism, the naivete of mediseval
treatment ; the charm of the complex ornamen!
in the borders of these so-called tapestries is
very marked ; and in the decorations at Rhyl,
Blickling, Dublin, and Kilkenny are an extra-
ordinary wealth of fancy in the treatment of ara-
besques and in the use of children, animals, and
flower forms in decoration. In the Blickling
ornaments will be found the germ of much that
later on successfully developed in the Arts and
Crafts Movement of thirty years later. There can
PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS.
be little doubt that, in spite of the technical
shortcomings due to want of early training, the
influence of Pollen, exerted through his abundant
fancy and invention, and still more from the rigid
and correct taste which governed all his produc-
tion, was very great on his contemporaries, and
the effect of his influence as a producer, and
later as a tutor and examiner, is to be seen far
beyond Great Britain. The Art Nouveau Move-
ment abroad, while productive of much that is
pure abortion, owes its finer results largely, first,
to the pre-Raphaelite Movement in England, and,
next, to the Arts and Crafts Movement of a genera-
tion later. It was to the recognition of the restrain-
ing standard in mediaeval and Renaissance art that
the merit of Pollen's work was largely due. He
seemed to work with equal ease and certainty
whether producing original work, as at Blickling
and Kilkenny, in the Renaissance spirit of
Holbein, as at the Reigate Priory, or the Jacobean
and Tudor style, as at Ingestre and Studley.
Some of Pollen's work as a writer on furniture
and woodwork has been superseded as to details
of historical accuracy and scholarship by the more
elaborate researches of later scholars, but the main
lines of tastes and classification of merit laid
down in his earlier works have been generally
accepted as final, and are not likely to be upset
Pollen was an occasional exhibitor at the Royal
Academy and Grosvenor Gallery. A H P
POLLET, VICTOR FLORENCE, painter and en-
graver, was born in Paris, November 22, 1811.
He was a pupil of Paul Delaroche and of Richomme.
In 1838 he won the grand prize of Rome and went
to Italy, where at first he painted more in water-
colours than he engraved. Later on, however, he
completed several excellent plates. He gained
honours at the Salon both as painter and engraver,
being decorated with the Legion of Honour in
1855. He died in 1883. Works :
Venus ; after Titian.
Artless and Worldly Love ; after the same.
II Suouatore ; after Raphael.
Birth of Venus ; after Delaroche.
Maid of Orleans ; after the same.
Bonaparte in Italy'; after Raffict.
Emperor of Austria ; after Winterhalter,
Empress of Austria ; after the same.
POLLINGER, FELIX, an animal painter, born at
Munich in 1817. His pictures of birds had some
merit. He died at Funfhaus, near Vienna, in 1877.
POLMARES. See SANTIAGO PALOMARES.
POLO, BERNARDO, a painter of fruit -and flower
pieces, resided near Saragossa towards the end of
the 17th century. He painted his subjects from
nature, and his pictures were highly esteemed both
at Saragossa and Madrid. According to Zani, he
worked in 1680 and died about 1700.
POLO, DIEGO, 'the elder,' was born, according
to Palomino, at Burgos in 1560. He studied at
Madrid, under Patricio Caxes, and was a reputable
painter of history. There are some of his works
in the Escorial, and in the palace at Madrid, in
which city he died in 1600. The pictures by
which he gained his reputation are the portraits
of the kings of the Goths ; a painting of ' St.
Jerome chastised by an Angel for taking too much
pleasure in reading Cicero ' ; and a ' Penitent
POLO, DIEGO, ' the younger,' the nephew of the
elder Diego, was born at Burgos in 1620, and was
a scholar of Antonio Lanchares. He acquired an
admirable style of colouring by studying the works
of Titian, in the royal collection ; and painted
several pictures for the churches at Madrid, of
which the most esteemed are the ' Baptism of
Christ,' in the church of the Carmelites ; and the
' Annunciation ' in Santa Maria. He also excelled
in portraiture. He died in 1655.
POLONY, ZAKARIA, was an obscure engraver,
who resided in Paris about the year 1615. Among
other prints we have by him a slight etching,
representing 'Queen Margaret lying in state, in
the Faubourg St. Germain,' Paris.
POLYDOR. See GLAUBER, JOH.
POLYGNOTDS, the earliest of the greater mas-
ters of ancient Greek painting, was a native of
the island of Thasos, and a younger contemporary
of Panaenus. He flourished from 480 to 430 B.C.,
and came to reside at Athens about 463. He was
the son and pupil of Aglaophon the elder, and was
the first painter who raised the art into an inde-
pendent position, instead of one of subordination
to architecture and sculpture. Endowed with a
taste for poetry as well as painting, he had not
only stored his mind with the beauties of the
' Iliad ' and the ' Odyssey,' but had studied all the
epic poems then extant, which furnished him with
the mythological subjects with which he adorned
the temples and porticoes of Athens, Delphi, and
other cities of Greece. The Amphictyonic Council
decreed by way of recompense that Polygnotus
should be maintained at the public expense when-
ever he came ; and the Athenians voted him their
Pliny is lavish in his eulogies on the powers of
this painter. According to that writer, he was the
first artist who gave an air of ease and grace to his
figures, dressed his females in rich and elegant
vestments, and, above all, characterized his heads
with an expression which was entirely unknown
before him. There undoubtedly remained in his
work much crudity and deficiency as compared
with the freedom of nature ; but his style was
idealistic and grand, and Aristotle assigns to him a
similar position in art to that occupied by Homer
in poetry. He repeats the designation ij0oypa<f>oe
('mind-painter'), which had already been applied
to him, and says that he painted men better than
they are. He gave proof of his extraordinary
capacity in vanquishing difficulties in his cele-
brated picture of ' Cassandra.' He represented the
daughter of Priam at the moment she had been
brutally outraged by the Telamonian Ajax. The
face of the unfortunate captive was partially
covered with a veil, but the glowing blush of con-
fusion was visible in her countenance, which dis-
played all the symptoms of insulted modesty. This
performance is alluded to by Lucian in discussing
the features of his perfect woman. " Polygnotus,"
he says, " shall open and spread her eyebrows, and
give her that warm, glowing, decent blush which
so inimitably beautifies his 'Cassandra.' He like-
wise shall give her an easy, tasteful, flowing dress,
with all its tender and delicate folds, partly
clinging to her body, and partly fluttering in the
wind." The picture in question was the part of a
A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
larger one, or perhaps of a series, representing the
'Trial of Ajax by the Greeks'; it adorned the
Poecile (ironciX?; area, or 'painted portico') of the
Agora at Athens.
The particular work which induced the Athenians
to receive Polygnotus into citizenship has been
conjectured to have been a portion of the decoration
of the Temple of Theseus. In that of the Dioscuri
(Castor and Pollux) he depicted 'The Story of the
Daughters of Leucippus.' But the works which
brought him the greatest renown were those repre-
senting scenes from the ' Iliad ' and ' Odyssey,'
which he painted in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi,
which Pausanias so admired six hundred years
after, and which have gone by the name of ' The
Iliad and Odyssey of Polygnotus.'
In the Poacile at Athens he painted also the
' Battle of Marathon.' In the foreground of the
picture the Greeks and Persians were represented
combating with equal valour; but in the middle
distance, the barbarians were seen flying to the
Phoenician ships, which were visible in the distance.
In this painting Polygnotus allowed himself all the
license of the Grecian poets. Minerva, the tutelary
goddess of the Athenians, and Hercules, are made
to descend from heaven ; the town of Marathon is
personified by a genius, and Theseus is drawn from
the shades of death to witness the battle. This
master was fond of compositions which admitted of
a great concourse of figures. It was probably the
taste of the period at which he lived, a taste which
did not long survive.
POLZONB, SOIPIO, a painter born at Gaeta in
1556. He studied at Naples, and then went to
Rome, where he gained some repute as a por-
trait painter. Among his portraits were those of
Gregory XIII., Sixttis V., and many of the Car-
dinals. He died at Rome in 1594.
POMARANCE, CRISTOFORO DALLE. See RON-
POMARANCE, NiocoL6 and ANTONIO, (or IL
POMAKANCIO). See ClECIGNANO.
POMAREDE, SILVIO, was a native of Italy, who
flourished from 1736 to 1768, and engraved some
plates, which he marked with his initials. Among
them were four of the ' Triumphs ' of Petrarch, viz.
those of ' Time,' ' Fame,' ' Death,' and ' Religion,'
after Bonifazio Veneziano ; and some of the por-
traits of painters for the Florence Gallery. He
engraved also some plates for the ' Museo Capito-
lino,' and many of those for Ficoroni's ' Maschere
sceniche e Figure comiche d'antichi Romani,' pub-
lished at Rome in 1736.
POMEDELLO, GIOVANNI MARIA, who was a
goldsmith and medallist, besides painter and en-
graver, belonged to the school of Vittore Pisano,
and lived at Verona from 1519 to 1534. He
painted a ' Virgin before the Cross,' in the Church
of San Tommaso in that city (1524), and there is
a pen-and-ink sketch by him of ' The Ruins of the
Coliseum,' in the Vienna Belvedere. Among his
engravings are ' Hercules strangling the Lion,'
and ' The Abduction of Deianeira.'
POMEY, Louis, French painter, born in Paris
in 1825 ; became a pupil of Gleyre ; also of
Willems and Lobrichon. Since 1867 was a
regular contributor to the Salon, his work in
genre and portraiture being careful and scholarly.
He obtained an honourable mention in 1889. He
died at Gerardmer, September 7, 1891.
POMMAYRAC, PIERRE PAUL DE, a miniature por-
trait painter, was born in 1818 at Porto Rico, of
French parents. He was a pupil of Gros, and also
studied miniature painting under Mine. Lizinska
de Mirbel. He died in 1880. Among his portrait
miniatures the following may be named :
The Empress Eugenie.
The Prince Imperial.
The Princesse Mathilde.
Queen Isabella of Spain.
Cardinal Guibert (oil).
Mdlle. Chancy (oil).
POMMERENCKE, HEINRICH, was a successful
portrait painter of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was
born and brought up in poverty, but exercised his
talent for art so ably that he was enabled to pur-
sue his studies at Berlin. He went to Paris also,
and had the good fortune to paint the portrait of
Helena, Duchess of Orleans, by which he gained
the protection of the reigning Royal Family. After
'the Revolution of 1848 he returned to Schwerin,
where he painted many excellent pictures for the
Grand Duke. He died in 1873.
POMPADOUR, JEANNE ANTOINETTE POISSON,
Marchioness of, was born in Paris in 1721, and in
1741 married M. Le Normand d'Etioles. In 1745
she became the mistress of Louis XV., who created
her Marchioness of Pompadour, and over whom
her influence was paramount until her death, which
took place at Versailles in 1764. She was one of
the most accomplished amateur etchers of the 18th
century. Having commissioned Jacques Guay to
engrave from the designs of Vien and Boucher a
series of gems with symbolical and allegorical
subjects commemorative of the victories of Louis
XV., she etched them for distribution among her
friends. The original series consists of fifty-two
plates, entitled ' Suite d'Estampes gravees par
Madame la Marquise de Pompadour, d'apres les
pierres gravies de Guay,' and includes the por-
trait of Louis XV., and that of Madame de Pom-
padour as ' Minerve protectrice de la gravure en
pierres pre'cieuses.' To the collection was after-
wards added 'Les petits Buveurs de lait,' 'Le
petit Faiseur de boules de savon,' and ' La petite
Mendicante,' after the designs of Boucher, three
plates of ivories, and a frontispiece to an edition
of Corneille's tragedy of ' Rodogune,' which was
printed in 1759 in her apartments in the palace
of Versailles. This last was designed by Boucher,
and the plate was retouched by C. N. Cochin. The
whole of the plates afterwards passed into the
hands of Basan, and were published in 1782, after
having been touched probably by Cochin. They
are fully described in Leturcq's 'Notice sur Jacques
Guay,' Paris, 1873.
PONCE-CAMUS, MARIE NICOLAS, was born in
Paris in 1778. He was instructed by David, and
painted historical subjects, among which were
' Napoleon at Ostend ' in 1810 ; ' Napoleon and
Prince Charles,' 1812, now at Versailles ; ' Alex-
ander and Apelles,' and others. He died in 1839.
PONCE, NICOLAS, a French engraver, was born
in Paris in 1746, and died there in 1831. He was a
pupil of M. Pierre, the painter, and of Fessard and
Delaunay, the engravers. His works are rather
numerous, as he was enployed on several of those
grand publications which do honour to the French
nation : such as ' Le Muse'e Laurent,' ' Le Cabinet
de Choiseul,' ' La Galerie du Palais Royal,' ' Les
Campagnes d'ltalie ; ' the folio edition of ' Racine,
PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS.
by Didot ; ' Lee Illustres Frangais,' with fifty-six
plates ; ' Les Bains de Titus et de Livie,' in seventy-
five plates; and ' La Guerre d'Amerique,' conjointly
with Godefroy. He was the editor of the Bible
with 300 engravings after Marillier ; and dedicated
to Louis XVIII. the beautiful edition in quarto of
the ' Charter.' He also wrote and translated several | <urn:uuid:81ab90a6-dec6-41ee-bfdc-7938296be558> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/michael-bryan/bryans-dictionary-of-painters-and-engravers-volume-4-ayr/page-38-bryans-dictionary-of-painters-and-engravers-volume-4-ayr.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363510.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20211208114112-20211208144112-00570.warc.gz | en | 0.958768 | 6,769 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Bifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hyperopia, and/or astigmatism.
Benjamin Franklin is generally credited with the invention of bifocals. Serious historians have from time to time produced evidence to suggest that others may have preceded him in the invention; however, a correspondence between George Whatley and John Fenno, editor of The Gazette of the United States, suggested that Franklin had indeed invented bifocals, and perhaps 50 years earlier than had been originally thought. Since many inventions are developed independently by more than one person, it is possible that the invention of bifocals may have been such a case. Nonetheless, Benjamin Franklin is certainly among the first to wear bifocal lenses, and Franklin’s letters of correspondence suggest that he invented them independently, regardless of whether or not he was the first to invent them.
John Isaac Hawkins, the inventor of trifocal lenses, coined the term bifocals in 1824 and credited Dr. Franklin.
Original bifocals were designed with the most convex lenses (for close viewing) in the lower half of the frame and the least convex lenses on the upper. Up until the beginning of the 20th century two separate lenses were cut in half and combined together in the rim of the frame. The mounting of two half lenses into a single frame led to a number of early complications and rendered such spectacles quite fragile. A method for fusing the sections of the lenses together was developed by Louis de Wecker at the end of the 19th century and patented by Dr. John L. Borsch, Jr. in 1908.
Today most bifocals are created by molding a reading segment into a primary lens and are available with the reading segments in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most popular is the D-segment, 28 mm wide. While the D-segment bifocal offers superior optics, an increasing number of people opt for progressive bifocal lenses.
Bifocals can cause headaches and even dizziness in some users. Acclimation to the small field of view offered by the reading segment of bifocals can take some time, as the user learns to move either the head or the reading material rather than the eyes. Computer monitors are generally placed directly in front of users and can lead to muscle fatigue due to the unusual straight and constant movement of the head. This trouble is mitigated by the use of trifocal lenses or by the use of monofocal lenses for computer use.
Research continues in an attempt to eliminate the limited field of vision in current bifocals. New materials and technologies may provide a method which can selectively adjust the optical power of a lens. Researchers have constructed such a lens using a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between two glass substrates. | <urn:uuid:ff84eb68-9e13-45ac-adc9-97012bd48ce7> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.baystateeyeleominster.com/products/bi-focals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499949.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20230201180036-20230201210036-00663.warc.gz | en | 0.96264 | 627 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Inexpensive colored glass coming to solar harvesting windows
Two MIT researchers have developed a simple method to use "organic solar concentrators" — colored glass — to create windows framed by solar cells that can "increase the electrical power obtained from each solar cell 'by a factor of over 40'". The concentrators not only make it possible to create windows (albeit colored ones) that let in some light while also harvesting solar power, but are also much less expensive than intricate mechanical systems used to rotate existing solar panels.
The MIT solar concentrator involves a mixture of two or more dyes that is essentially painted onto a pane of glass or plastic. The dyes work together to absorb light across a range of wavelengths, which is then re-emitted at a different wavelength and transported across the pane to waiting solar cells at the edges.
In the 1970s, similar solar concentrators were developed by impregnating dyes in plastic. But the idea was abandoned because, among other things, not enough of the collected light could reach the edges of the concentrator. Much of it was lost en route.
As "sixswitch" said in the MeFi thread
: "I just can't believe it took this long for someone to go from 'Hey, this Space Lego piece is bright along the edge' to building this."
Dye-coated glass to channel energy into solar cells
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged electricity
. Bookmark the permalink | <urn:uuid:4affaa1d-8318-4838-8592-14dce8d70de4> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/07/15/inexpensive-colored.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246658376.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045738-00291-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953382 | 303 | 3.328125 | 3 |
At Shikshalaya, we use study technology as a method of instruction. Study is a process of knowing how to read and understand data so that you can use it in your life. Successful study leads to self-satisfaction and success.
The Study Technology
It is only unsuccessful when you hit barriers to study and don’t know what to do about them. These barriers, enough to make a slow learner out of any student, are the only reasons one gets distracted or can’t concentrate.
Study Technology is discovery of L.Ron Hubbard, renowned humanitarian, author and educator. His research led to many breakthroughs in the field of literacy and education. His study technology is used by over a million students and teachers in schools and groups throughout the world. Study technology gives full understanding and application of subject and students excel. All our students score Grades A+ and A.
In Shikshalaya , you won’t find teachers lecturing while students rotely take notes. You will find students actively engaged in learning, studying independently and moving at the speed that is right for them. You’ll see lively one-on- one and small group discussions on works of literature, art, science or current events. You’ll see students creating clay models to explain and demonstrate a concept. A student giving a presentation on a topic he’s just researched. And students heading to the science lab or out into the world to test or explore a theory.
The Shikshalaya Program is designed to help students relate what they’re learning to how they will use this information to succeed in life, and you’ll find our students living their education from the moment they walk into our school. Our faculty excel at keeping students motivated and on track with their studies, and you can be assured that each student receives highly personal attention—every academic program is individually designed to best cater to the student's academic needs and interests. Each student at Shikshalaya is treated as an individual, and we seek to help all of them find their own purpose and use for their education. | <urn:uuid:29773149-9b89-471e-8f3b-318f6d3fafe2> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.shikshalaya.org/studytech/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794870082.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180527190420-20180527210420-00191.warc.gz | en | 0.959303 | 434 | 2.828125 | 3 |
June is LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, how far we’ve come in the advancement of equal rights, and to recognize the work that’s yet to be done.
In the early morning hours on June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. The raid escalated to physical and verbal violence against the patrons and a riot against the police formed. Demonstrations and ongoing conflict with the NYPD continued for six days.
While raids of gay bars and violence against LGBTQ+ people were common in the 1950s and 60s, the events at Stonewall quickly became national news and sparked our modern-day LGBTQ+ liberation movement.
To honor Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, Silvia Rivera, and other LGBTQ+ activists who played significant roles at Stonewall and went on to lead the fight for civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, this post explores three moments of LGBTQ+ history that happened in Pennsylvania both before and after the Stonewall Uprising.
We start in Western Pennsylvania with Billy Strayhorn. Though born in Dayton, Ohio on November 29, 1915, Strayhorn spent his early childhood and young adult years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before moving to New York City.
A pianist and composer, he is perhaps best known for his collaborations with Duke Ellington, such as “Take the ‘A’ Train.” The two met in Pittsburgh in 1938 and worked together for nearly three decades.
Strayhorn was an openly gay black man, which was revolutionary for his time. From 1939 to 1948, he lived with his partner Aaron Bridger in a Harlem rowhouse which is still standing today.
In addition to being open about his sexuality, Strayhorn was active in the advancement of civil rights. Together with Ellington in 1941, Strayhorn wrote arrangements for Jump for Joy, a musical that challenged racist representations of African Americans and starred an all-Black cast. In 1963, Strayhorn wrote and conducted the song “King Fought the Battle of ‘Bam” to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.
Moving to Central Pennsylvania, we look to 1974. In this year, Governor Milton Shapp formed a task force to address issues faced by the commonwealth’s gay and lesbian constituents.
Months later, on April 23, 1975, Governor Shapp signed an executive order to end discrimination of LGBTQ+ employees in state government. Pennsylvania was the first state in the nation issue such protections for LGBTQ+ people.
In 1976, the task force was formally recognized as the Pennsylvania Council for Sexual Minorities and lasted for about 10 years. This was another national milestone, as the council was the first governmental body in the United States to change state policy to better protect LGBTQ+ people and address HIV/AIDS.
Finally, we head to Philadelphia to celebrate community history in Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1989, Kiyoshi Kuromiya founded Critical Path AIDS Project, a local organization that provided comprehensive services for people with HIV. Critical Path was first based in Kuromiya’s home in Philadelphia neighborhood Fitler Square and published some of the first internet resources about HIV/AIDS.
The organization has since moved to Center City, and though Kuromiya passed away in 2000, Critical Path AIDS Project (now called Critical Path Learning Center continues to serve its local community, promoting health and digital literacy.
Uncovering Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ+ History
Billy Strayhorn, the members of the Pennsylvania Council for Sexual Minorities, and Kiyoshi Kuromiya are just a few of many LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians who have done and continue to do amazing things in their communities.
PHMC, in partnership with the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, is currently researching and documenting Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ historic sites and events.
This week’s post was written by Ashley Famularo. Ashley is a graduate student at University of Leicester pursuing a Master of Arts in Socially Engaged Practice in Museums and Galleries. In addition to their studies, Ashley is Collections Assistant at The Hershey Story Museum, volunteers and serves on the steering committee for the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, and is assisting PHMC and the History Project research and document LGBTQ+ sites in Pennsylvania. | <urn:uuid:8e2c8746-c19a-4460-b134-6907ada44b40> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://pahistoricpreservation.com/lgbtq-pride-month/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141181179.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125041943-20201125071943-00605.warc.gz | en | 0.965648 | 916 | 3.25 | 3 |
A calorie is described as a unit of energy which our body needs to function. However, too many calories can be bad, but how many calories should we be consuming each day? Different amounts of daily calories do different things and the amounts vary from person to person. It all depends on things like your gender, weight, height, age, and activity level.
To maintain the weight you are currently, you need to consume enough calories to balance out the calories you are burning.
- For women- on average about 2000 calories a day
- For men- on average about 2500 calories a day
To lose weight you need to consume less calories than the amount that you burn each day.
- For women- on average about 1500 calories to lose 1 pound a week
- For men- on average about 2000 calories to lose 1 pound a week.
Every food has a calorie count, some are very high in calories and others are low in calories. It is important to know what these foods are so you can better track your calories if you are trying to lose or maintain your weight. Even foods that are healthy for you can be high in calories.
- High calorie foods- oils, butters, fried foods, sugary sweets, avocadoes, quinoa, nuts, whole grains, dark chocolate, and raisins.
- Low calorie foods- fruits and vegetables such as romaine lettuce, spinach, celery, corn, broccoli, and oranges. | <urn:uuid:3e319328-8d1b-449c-a4f1-8fc86b8aa028> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://motivatelakecounty.com/2020/06/17/calories-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487608856.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20210613131257-20210613161257-00305.warc.gz | en | 0.932787 | 298 | 2.96875 | 3 |
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is humanity’s original spiritual practice. Before there were religions, or priestesses and priests, there were tribal shamans. Shamans undertake a trance journey into mythic realms to directly experience revelations from the Divine, in the form of compassionate helping spirits.
Some anthropologists date shamanism back to humanity’s Stone Age. Other anthropologists believe shamanism arose before the end of human evolution. There is archaeological evidence of shamanism beginning around 40,000 years ago. Certainly the cave paintings and petroglyphs of the Stone Age speak of the same mysteries of ecstasy, empowerment and healing shamans experience today.
We also know that shamanism is extremely ancient because it is found in tribal societies on all the continents. This hints that shamanism developed as a cultural practice before the global diaspora of the human family. Shamanism has been documented in cultures throughout Native America, particularly in the Amazon River basin, in Asia, especially in Korea, throughout Siberia, in the Arctic among the Inuit, or Eskimos, among the Australian Aborigines and other Pacific peoples, in many parts of Africa, in ancient Scandinavia and the Baltic nations, and even today among the last remaining tribal culture in Europe, the Saami or Laplanders.
Shamanism has survived every cultural shift from the Neolithic through the Industrial Revolution and into the post-Modern era for one reason: shamanism works. The healing methods used by shamans are amazingly, miraculously, mysteriously effective. Shamanic healing methods are also astoundingly similar throughout all of these widely separated regions.
The unique aspect of shamanism, found among all of these diverse people, is the shamanic journey. Shamans experience a journey out of their bodies and into the mystic realms of spirit. In these magical realms, wise animals, deities and ancestors in spirit form empower the shaman, and assist the shaman to help and heal other people as well. Most people enter these realms only through myths or dreams. But shamans enter the realms of spirit at will, going into shamanic trance by listening to rapid drumming, rattling or song.
Shamans experience a layered cosmology, in which our everyday world, our realm, is in the middle, with worlds below us, and worlds above us. These other realities transcend the limitations of space and time. The lower worlds are generally the realm of spirit animals and plants, embodied oversouls of entire species, compassionate allies and helpers. The worlds above us are the realm of wise spirit teachers, ancestors and deities. Both worlds, upper and lower, are places shamans go for lessons in healing, wholeness and power.
Only in our world, the physical realm, is there suffering. In both the upper world and the lower world, the spirits are compassionate and loving towards people. The upper and lower world spirits are motivated to heal those who suffer here in the middle.
In addition to the upper worlds and the lower worlds, there is a hidden dimension of this middle realm, where the hidden folk such as Elves, Faeries, Dwarves and other spiritual beings known from folklore live. And this hidden dimension of our middle world is also home to the individual spirits of rocks, plants, trees, rivers and other natural features of our world. Shamans believe that all beings are alive with consciousness, and all beings have spirit. Shamans will often speak to the spirits of trees, or fire, or rocks and hills, to consult them and learn wisdom from them.
Shamanism Ireland Shamanic Reiki Healing | <urn:uuid:b5bb2745-e2d4-4981-bb13-762123648055> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | https://www.shamanic-reiki-healing.com/shamanism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267158279.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20180922084059-20180922104459-00403.warc.gz | en | 0.938643 | 730 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Anyone preoccupied with language would find Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations of interest.
In his famous Philosophical Investigations, conducted throughout the 1940s, Wittgenstein explored the concepts of meaning, understanding, proposition, logic, and consciousness, among other things. By analyzing linguistic forms of expression, Wittgenstein set to understand the essence of language, its function, and its structure, and to answer the question “What is language?” Wittgenstein was interested in the logic of language, exactness, regularity and contradictions. Logic presents the order of possibilities, he argued.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language” (p. 47).
“The fundamental fact here is that we lay down rules, a technique for a game, and that then when we follow the rules, things do not turn out as we had assumed. That we are therefore as it were entangled in our own rules. This entanglement in our own rules is what we want to understand” (p. 50).
“Language is a labyrinth of paths,” Wittgenstein argued (p. 82).
“If language is to be a means of communication there must be agreement not only in definitions but also in judgments” (p. 88).
Wittgenstein also theorized that it’s human agreement that decides what is true and what is false in any particular language. He also explored more complicated matters like what happens in translation, and how do words refer to sensations? Is our vocabulary inadequate? He then pondered about the extent to which our sensations are private (p. 89). Later in the book Wittgenstein questioned what emotions are outside language, and what experiencing meaning versus experiencing a mental image is.
About lies, he had this to say: “Lying is a language-game that needs to be learned like any other one” (p. 90).
“Is thinking a kind of speaking?” the philosopher asked (p. 107). Is talking to oneself (internal speech) a private language?
“When I think in language, there aren’t ‘meanings’ going through my mind in addition to the verbal expressions: the language is itself the vehicle of thought” (p. 107). Wittgenstein argued that “The thoughts are already there and we merely look for their expression” (p. 108). To think and to mean are different, he explained, because meaning is not a mental activity (p. 172). Later in the book he expounded that “The mind seems able to give a word meaning” (p. 184).
Wittgenstein was intrigued by the mental processes involved in linguistic expression, and questioned whether talking without thinking was possible, and if so, what that entailed. “Speech with and without thought is to be compared with the playing of a piece of music with and without thought” (p. 109).
How do individuals communicate their mental images to others, and what methods of representation are available to communicate and exert influence? Wittgenstein was preoccupied with questions like these.
“Grammar tells what kind of object anything is,” he argued (p. 116).
“The purpose of language is to express thoughts,” he added (p. 139). And “Language is an instrument. Its concepts are instruments.” (p. 151)
“Words are also deeds,” (p. 146) and “To have an opinion is a state” (p. 151).
“A proposition, and hence in another sense a thought, can be the ‘expression’ of a belief, hope, expectation, etc. But believing is not thinking,” he clarified (p. 152).
In psychology he thought that “Here explanation of our thinking demands a feeling” (p. 156).
However, “Talking (whether out loud or silently) and thinking are not concepts of the same kind; even though they are in closest connection,” he concluded (p. 217).
Wittgenstein also stressed just how seeing and interpreting are different from one another, and emphasized the importance of context in understanding human experience. “Do I really see something different each time, or do I only interpret what I see in a different way? I am inclined to say the former.” “To interpret is to think, to do something; seeing is a state,” Wittgenstein argued (p. 212).
Excerpts from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations published in translation by Macmillan in 1953 (250 pages). | <urn:uuid:eba619f6-0d0a-4f36-adfe-206098a92589> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://simonadavid.com/category/language/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337490.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004085909-20221004115909-00649.warc.gz | en | 0.958764 | 985 | 3.8125 | 4 |
This reading log can be used for independent reading in the classroom or assigned reading at home. Students use the log to set and monitor their reading goals, record rages read, and respond to their reading using the sentences starters provided. At the end of each week, students self-assess to see if they are on track to meet their goal. You can mark each entry as to whether or not credit was given, and give feedback and an overall score at the end. The log was particularly designed for the independent reading portion of Read180, but would also be ideal for any other reading intervention that includes independent reading. To see samples of this resource, click on the green "preview" button above.
*Printable PDF of independent reading log
*Editable Word version of independent reading log
*Google Form version of independent reading log which can be shared with students. A spreadsheet can easily be created of the information collected, sorted by student name (or any other entry field), downloaded, and printed if needed.
Find More Classroom Forms & Tools Here | <urn:uuid:82075d80-74f5-49b3-bb41-57f41d5335cb> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Independent-Reading-Log-with-Reading-Responses-385727 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376823550.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20181211015030-20181211040530-00343.warc.gz | en | 0.9574 | 215 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Brelich's Snub-nosed Langur
This species has a sacculated stomach to assist in the breakdown of cellulose. The black
snub-nosed langur has a dental formula
of 2:1:2:3 on both the lower and upper jaws (Ankel-Simons, 2000). The adult has a
pelage color of golden on the brow, chest, and inner surfaces of the upper arms (Bleisch
et al., 1993). The adult also has a long tail, which is black and tipped on the end
white (Bleisch et al., 1993). The distal limbs, sides of the neck, and top of the
head are black (Bleisch et al., 1993). The hands and feet are blackish (Groves,
2001). The adult has ears, which are tipped white, and the back is brown on the upper
portion then blends down the back to a gray color (Bleisch et al., 1993). The face
of the adult is bare and is white in color tinged slightly blue (Bleisch et al., 1993;
Groves, 2001). Adult males have red hair on the back and head (Bleisch, 1991). Adult
males also have white a scrotum and nipples (Bleisch et al., 1993; Bleisch, 1991;
Ren et al., 1996/1997). Juveniles are lighter than adults being more of a gray
color and infants are all white when born (Bleisch et al., 1993). The average body
mass for an adult male is 14 kilograms and for an adult female it is 8 kilograms
Brelich's snub-nosed langur is found in the country of China. This species is found in
Guizhou province in the area surrounding Fanjing Mountain in the Wuling Mountain
range (Bleisch et al., 1993; Bleisch and Xie, 1994; Groves, 2001). This species
lives in forests of mixed deciduous and evergreen broadleaf trees and deciduous
broadleaf trees (Bleisch et al., 1993; Xie et al., 1998). Brelich's snub-
nosed langur is found in the zone of Fanjing mountain between 1,500 and 2,200 meters
(Bleisch et al., 1993; Bleisch, 1995).
Brelich's snub-nosed langur is a folivorous
species. This species also consumes leaf buds, flower buds, fruits, seeds, bark, and insect
larvae (Bleisch et al., 1993; Bleisch, 1995). Brelich's snub-nosed langur
consumes leaf petioles of the species Fagus longipetiolata and Acer spp.
(Bleisch et al., 1993; Bleisch, 1995). Leaves eaten by this species tend to be
relatively high in available protein, but not total protein or NDF fiber content (Dierenfeld
et al., 1994; Bleisch et al., 1998). Flowers bubs of Cornus
controversa have been found to be consumed by this species (Bleisch, 1995). Fruits
and seeds of the genera Prunus, Dendrobenthamia, and Sorbus
are eaten by Brelich's snub-nosed langur (Bleisch, 1995). The diet of this species varies
from season to season (Bleisch and Xie, 1998; Bleisch et al., 1998). During the
winter the majority of the food eaten is leaf buds and in the spring leaves are the primary
food consumed (Bleisch and Xie, 1998). During the summer leaves are still the primary
food consumed but fruits and seeds are consumed at a higher rate (Bleisch and Xie,
1998). During autumn the primary food consumed is leaf buds, but flower buds of the
genus Magnolia and leaves are also consumed (Bleisch and Xie, 1998; Bleisch,
1995). During the months of November and December a large amount of the diet consists
of parts (flower buds, leaf buds, and leaf petioles) of four Magnolia spp. even
though magnolias are rare in their range, suggesting that this is a very important plant in
the diet of Brelich's snub-nosed langur (Bleisch, 1995). This species is in competition
with humans, Homo sapiens, for the magnolia buds who use collect the buds for
medicinal oil (Bleisch and Xie, 1994). The proportion of leaves in the diet varies from
7% in January through March to 93% in April through June (Bleisch and Xie, 1994).
Fruits and seeds are highest (35% of the diet) in the diet from July to September (Bleisch
and Xie, 1994; Dierenfeld et al., 1994; Bleisch et al., 1998). Fruits and
seeds of the genus Dendrobenthamia comprise 25% of the total diet from July to
September (Bleisch et al., 1998). This species prefers the leaves of the genera
Evodia, Euonymus, Tilia, and of the species Prunus
vaniotii (Bleisch and Xie, 1998, 1994). Brelich's snub-nosed langur prefers the leaf
buds of Tilia, the fruit and seeds of Dendrobenthamia angustata, and
flower buds of Magnolia spp. (Bleisch and Xie, 1998). This species consumes
plants with a high total of amino acids and a high content of essential acids (Xie and
This is a diurnal and semi-terrestrial species, but it leans more to being arboreal only coming down to the ground when
there is an absence of appropriate trees (Bleisch et al., 1993). Unimale groups range in size from 5 to 10 individuals and all-
male groups range in size from 2 to 5 individuals (Bleisch et al., 1993). Band size
for this species can be up to 400 individuals (Bleisch and Xie, 1998; Bleisch, 1995).
Bands do not have a fixed range, rather all bands can move throughout the entire
available habitat (Xie et al., 1998). Groups tend to have longer day range and
fewer daily rests during the winter months (Bleisch, 1995). Groups tend not to range into
the lower elevations, but will go there after a severe winter storm (Bleisch, 1995). Groups
will sleep in broadleaf evergreen trees with dense foliage (Rowe, 1996).
Humans, Homo sapiens, are the main predators of Brelich's snub-nosed langur
(Bleisch, 1991). Also humans clear forests that this species lives in reducing the available
habitat (Bleisch, 1995). Snares set for other animals by humans may accidentally trap this
species (Bleisch, 1995).
Brelich's snub-nosed langur moves through the trees quadrupedally, and also tends to
leap between trees when moving quadrupedally (Bleisch et al., 1993). This
species also occasionally uses semi-brachiation. (Bleisch et al.,
This species has a multi-tiered social system much like that found in Pygathrix bieti. The basic group is a unimale
group composed of one male, a few breeding females, juveniles of both sexes, and infants
(Bleisch et al., 1993). These unimale groups come together to form bands that
range and rest together (Bleisch et al., 1993). Bleisch et al. (1993)
hypothesized that the size of the bands are determined by temporal and spatial
distribution of resources (Bleisch et al., 1993). All-male groups are found on the
out-lying areas of the bands (Bleisch et al., 1993). Young males emigrate to the all-male groups (Rowe, 1996).
One hypothesis on why the unimale groups come together to form bands is for
thermoregulation purposes; since Brelich's snub-nosed langur lives in a cold environment
it would be advantageous for individuals to sleep together and rest together to conserve
heat (Bleisch and Xie, 1998). Also large bands may form because the food trees are
highly clustered because a large patch of food is more easily exploited by a large group
(Bleisch and Xie, 1994).
alarm call: This call sounds like "waa-gek" (Rowe, 1996).
social grooming: This is when one
individual grooms another and is used to reinforce the bonds between
Brelich's snub-nosed langur gives birth to a single offspring. The birth season for this
species is from April to May (Kirkpatrick, 1995).
Ankel-Simons, F. 2000. Primate Anatomy. Academic Press: San
Bleisch, W. 1991. Preliminary comments on the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey
(Rhinopithecus brelichi). Asian Primates. Vol. 1(3), 4.
Bleisch, W.V. 1995. Conservation of the Guizhou golden monkey. in Primate
Research and Conservation. eds. W. Xia and Y. Zhang. China Forestry Publishing
Bleisch, W. and Xie, J. 1994. Ecology and behavior of Guizhou golden monkeys
(Rhinopithecus brelichi). (abstract) XVth Congress of the International
Primatological Society. Bali-Indonesia, 279.
Bleisch, W. and Xie, J. 1998. Ecology and Behavior of the Guizhou Snub-nosed Langur
(Rhinopithecus [Rhinopithecus] brelichi), with a Discussion of
Socioecology in the Genus. in The Natural History of the Doucs and Snub-nosed
Monkeys. ed. N.G. Jablonski. World Scientific Publishing: Singapore.
Bleisch, W., Cheng, A.S., Ren, X.D., and Xie, J.H. 1993. Preliminary Results from a
Field Study of Wild Guizhou Snub-nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus brelichi).
Folia Primatologica. Vol. 60, 72-82.
Bleisch, W.V., Liu, Z.-M., Dierenfeld, E.S., and Xie, J.-H. 1998. Selected nutrient
analysis of plants in the diet of the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus
[Rhinopithecus] brelichi). in The Natural History of the Doucs and Snub-nosed
Monkeys. ed. N.G. Jablonski. World Scientific Publishing: Singapore.
Burton, F. 1995. The Multimedia Guide to the Non-human Primates. Prentice-
Hall Canada Inc.
Dierenfeld, E.S., Liu, Z., Xie, J., and Bleisch, W. 1994. Field sampling and laboratory
analytical techniques for optimum nutritional data: The Guizhou snub-nosed monkey as
an example. (abstract) XVth Congress of the International Primatological
Society. Bali-Indonesia, 363.
Groves, C.P. 2001. Primate Taxonomy. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington,
Kirkpatrick, R.C. 1995. The Natural History and Conservation of the Snub-nosed
Monkeys (Genus Rhinopithecus). Biological Conservation. Vol. 72, 363-
Ren, R.M., Kirkpatrick, R.C., Jablonski, N.G., Bleisch, W.V., and Le, X.C. 1996/1997.
Conservation status and prospects for the snub-nosed langurs (Colobinae:
Rhinopithecus). Primate Conservation. Vol. 17, 152-159.
Rowe, N. 1996. The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. Pogonias Press: East
Hampton, New York.
Xie, J. and Bleisch, W. 1995. The influence of amino acid content on selection of food by
Guizhou golden monkeys. in Primate Research and Conservation. eds. W. Xia
and Y. Zhang. China Forestry Publishing House: Beijing.
Xie, J.H., Bleisch, W.V., and Wang, C.M. 1998. Habitat utilization by Guizhou snub-
nosed monkeys, Rhinopithecus brelichi. (abstract) XVIIth Congress of the
International Primatological Society. University of Antananarivo, Madagascar,
Last Updated: June 22, 2007.
[Primate Fact Sheets] | <urn:uuid:590e2197-b699-4809-9b8c-9478880ee4ee> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.theprimata.com/rhinopithecus_brelichi.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257646602.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20180319062143-20180319082143-00552.warc.gz | en | 0.831789 | 2,715 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Forensics Degree FAQs
Do I Need a Degree to Work in Forensics?
Nearly all forensic scientists need a bachelor's degree to get a job. Some occupations require a graduate degree in forensics, but most positions in law enforcement only need a four-year degree.
If you find a school that only has some forensics classes, as opposed to a formal forensics degree program, you can major in biology or chemistry as an alternative. There are some forensics positions that will hire candidates with two-year degrees and train them under direct supervision of more experienced technicians.
What Are the Requirements for Acceptance Into a Forensics Degree Program?
Any community college, technical school, university or online college will ask applicants for a high school diploma or equivalency degree. Many two-year schools offer forensics degree programs, especially at technical schools that focus on science-based subjects.
There are some universities and colleges with forensics degree programs, but you may have to major in biology, chemistry or criminology, or take classes in these subjects. If you have questions about admissions, contact the school's admissions department.
What Topics Are Covered in Forensics Degree Programs?
Forensics is about gathering data and analyzing it to determine if there is any link to a crime. Much of the study revolves around biology and chemistry, as well as human anatomy and how the body interacts or reacts to certain substances and situations. Students also learn about criminology and law enforcement in addition to taking classes in psychology, sociology, statistics, anthropology and mathematics.
What Kind of Careers Are Available in Forensics?
Careers in forensic science depend on what interests you most. As you study the curriculum, you will be better able to pinpoint a more specific job title.
Although forensics has to do with the justice system, you could have a career as a crime laboratory analyst, a crime scene examiner, a medical examiner, a forensic engineer or technical assistant. Each of these jobs requires a general background in forensics. However, they vary in relation to the classes you take and the amount of college you need to complete. For example, a medical examiner often requires a medical degree, or a four-year degree in biology or chemistry and a residency with a forensic emphasis.
What Is Required of Someone Who Works in Forensics?
Forensic science students should be comfortable working in demanding, time sensitive situations and with all kinds of gruesome materials, as much of the work comes from crime scenes. You should have a thorough understanding of biology and chemistry, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with peers and cooperate well when working in teams.
What Salary Range Can I Expect From a Career in Forensics?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor estimates that the median salary for forensic science technicians is over $20 per hour, or about $40,000 per year. Some forensics jobs pay more depending on the government agency or local law enforcement department, while other jobs related to forensics, such as medical examiner, pay more. | <urn:uuid:f4771c0d-8328-4de7-9255-dbbe63929b86> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.academicinfo.net/forensics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209650.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814225028-20180815005028-00437.warc.gz | en | 0.938346 | 617 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Critics of these figures point to two main issues. Firstly, the Credit Suisse figures calculate wealth as assets minus debts, so the bottom 1 per cent of the world wealth distribution actually have a negative net worth.Update: The Onion makes this contribution to the story:
But people with negative net worth can include students, with student debts but who are about to enter a high paying job and people who have just purchased a house and whose equity is less than the mortgage outstanding. Should these people be counted as impoverished?
Oxfam directly addresses this issue, pointing out that if you take out net debt then the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent rises from around US$400 billion to US$1.5 trillion. This means the wealth of the bottom half is roughly equal to the richest 56 individuals in the world.
While this figure is not as dramatic as focusing only on the richest eight people, it still shows enormous disparities in wealth.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Yes, wealth disparities are pretty big
I haven't paid too much attention to the Oxfam claims about wealth distribution (you know, that 8 men control the same wealth as the poorest 50% of the world), but Peter Whiteford has looked at the criticisms of the methodology and notes this: | <urn:uuid:7aa2f3cc-b115-4360-be44-256dc645f8bf> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | http://opiniondominion.blogspot.com/2017/01/yes-wealth-disparities-are-pretty-big.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818693459.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20170925220350-20170926000350-00648.warc.gz | en | 0.954271 | 257 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Gender, diversity and inclusiveness
Diversity is one of UNDP’s core values and is integral to the delivery of our mandate. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to “leave no one behind”, and this extends to our UNDP employees. We believe that achieving our mission will require a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive workforce where the dignity of each individual is respected to the utmost, free from any form of discrimination or abuse.
The 2030 Agenda envisions a world in which “every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barrier to their empowerment have been removed”.
We are committed to removing all such barriers not only for those we serve, but for all women and gender non-confirming employees at UNDP. This includes maintaining full gender parity at each grade level.
B. LGBT+ inclusion
UNDP is equally committed to ensuring an inclusive environment for all of its LGBT+ personnel. This includes addressing concerns and risks related to the mobility required for UNDP jobs.
C. Strategy for Advancing Diversity and Inclusiveness
With about 15 percent of the world’s population living with some sort of disability, promoting an inclusive development agenda for those with disabilities is an important prerequisite for the SDGs. In fact, advocating for people with disabilities has been identified as a critical component of UNDP’s poverty eradication efforts.
UNDP is committed to making sure those with disabilities receive equal access to UNDP employment opportunities and the chance to thrive within the organization.
To reach this goal, UNDP has worked to pursue understanding about disabilities among managers and staff, to provide reasonable accommodation as well as targeted employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
UNDP/UNV Talent Programme for Young Professionals with Disabilities
The first of its kind in the UN system, UNDP and UNV launched this programme jointly to offer young people with disabilities the chance to acquaint themselves with the UN system as well as to build a pipeline of talented young professionals with disabilities fully equipped to contribute their skills and knowledge toward achieving the SDGs. Participants are employed as UN Volunteers for a period of 12 months, with the possibility of extension for another 6-12 months.
(a) Be a person living with a disability;
(b) Be no more than 35 years of age;
(c) Written fluency in English. Knowledge of other Official UN languages is an advantage (French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese);
(d) Completion of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or enrolment in a Bachelor or Master’s degree in a field related to the UNDP’s mission.
D. Anti-racism and discrimination:
UNDP is committed to the eradication of racism and to supporting geographical diversity among its personnel. As part of its work in achieving this goal, UNDP has paired up with the United Nations People of African Descent (UNPAD) to establish a chapter within UNDP.
UNDP is also guided by a policy of zero tolerance for harassment or discrimination whether based on gender, race, sexual identity or disability as well as a robust policy for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct. | <urn:uuid:8cb21c56-b7ee-4995-96a5-70a46d676dc9> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.undp.org/careers/gender-and-diversity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104277498.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220703225409-20220704015409-00798.warc.gz | en | 0.941574 | 670 | 2.875 | 3 |
Activity time: 20 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Handout 1, Why Go to Church?
- Index cards
- Writing utensils
Preparation for Activity
- Consider why you belong to your congregation. Be prepared to share with the group.
Description of Activity
Participants discuss reasons why people, including atheists, belong to a religious community.
Ask participants to say why they come to this faith community. If their answer is "Because someone makes me," then ask what they most like or value about it. Then ask why they think the adults they are closest to come. Express appreciation for the varied reasons the youth offer.
Distribute index cards and writing implements. Invite participants to write the reasons they come to their congregation-not just their top reason, but all the reasons-on the cards. Every reason gets its own card. Also, write down the reasons the adults closest to them come, again with each reason on a separate card. Allow time for all reasons to be written down.
Invite participants to spread out all the cards they have written on the floor or a table and group them into categories: for example, if one reason is "pot luck dinners" and another is "holiday parties," these could be grouped under the category Social Gatherings. If some reasons fit in more than one category, allow the youth to problem-solve. Creating labels for categories can help clarify groupings.
Once the cards have been categorized (and there may be categories of one), create a tally on newsprint of the reasons for coming and the numbers associated with each category. Are the results what the youth would have predicted? Would the results differ if they polled the whole congregation? If so, how might they differ?
Distribute Handout 1, Why Go to Church? How do these results of a nationwide U.S. poll differ from this group's? Are there ways they could agree more than it seems at first? For example, "freedom to pursue my own spiritual path" is not a doctrine, but could fit under the category Doctrine/Beliefs because the person values the support the congregation provides to her beliefs.
Ask, "Looking over the reasons you gave for yourselves and your families to come to your congregation, how many of them could apply to atheists? Could atheists and agnostics find support and opportunities at Unitarian Universalist congregations in all the categories the youth identified? Would there be barriers for their involvement in the congregation?"
Ask the youth what religions offer people. Add or summarize that religions help us discern meaning and purpose in a context of caring community. Would some atheists and agnostics want this as well as some believers?
Including All Participants
If any participants have mobility issues, a table would be preferable to the floor for this activity. | <urn:uuid:14171408-5797-4f3f-9f7a-2ff7a33a1d2b> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/bridges/workshop19/191016.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623488273983.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20210621120456-20210621150456-00531.warc.gz | en | 0.946607 | 574 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Two devastating hurricanes hit the southern and southwestern regions of the United States as the summer of 2017 was winding down, causing fatalities and displacing people and animals.
On August 25, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 4 storm, dumping some 50 inches of rain on Houston before drenching southwestern Louisiana. Even after the record rainfall stopped, flooding continued to destroy homes and endanger people, pets, and other animals. The death toll climbed to at least 70, and the hurricane caused an estimated $75 billion in damage.
Two weeks later, on September 10, Hurricane Irma barreled across Florida, hitting the Keys as a Category 4 storm before weakening and moving along the state’s west coast. The storm caused dangerous flooding and storm surges and left more than 6 million people without power.
As those back-to-back hurricanes wreaked havoc, Alley Cat Allies sprang to action to ensure community cats and other animals were rescued and cared for. We deployed an expert bilingual disaster response team to assist with rescue, veterinary care, and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) of community cats. We also provided critical supplies and emergency funds to local organizations to support their relief efforts.
- Hurricane Harvey One Year Later
- Alley Cat Allies Grant Supports USVI Hurricane Recovery
- Alley Cat Allies Grant Aids Cats as Recovery from Hurricanes Continues
- Revisiting Hurricane Harvey Recovery Efforts
- Animals and People Can Be Safely Sheltered Together | <urn:uuid:2a36c65a-aa4f-4629-bf19-821307db3af6> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/disaster-response/2017-hurricane-response/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267155561.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20180918150229-20180918170229-00503.warc.gz | en | 0.930716 | 298 | 2.5625 | 3 |
EARTH-MOON DYNAMICS PAGE
Earth-Moon dynamics has long been a neglected subject. At a time when the subject could have been scientifically examined in depth, science began to focus on outer space. As a result, the study of the Moon and its importance to the Earth in so many ways has been badly neglected. The Moon has forged the Earth’s surface and, as a result, helped to create its atmosphere. It has twinned with the Earth to form a dual-planet system which revolves around the barycentre and, as a result we have a tidal sea, without which evolution might not have taken place. This lack of serious study has led to most of our ideas about the Moon and its relevance to the Earth relying on folklore and ancient observations. On the following pages are the synopses, with extracts of five articles which put the subject into modern perspective. All are written by
Dan Green BSc(Hons) Earth and Planetary Science
The articles have been written to put the subject of Earth-Moon dynamics into the public domain. It is hoped that students will become interested. For this reason, copies of the features are available at nominal costs. To request the full article, for personal use only, contact the author at the e-mail address given at the end of the site.
Would we have had evolution without the Moon?
The Moon is currently moving away from the Earth at the very slow rate of 3.8 cm per year. It has been moving away from the Earth ever since its formation more than 4 billion years ago. During the first billion years of its existence its contribution to the evolution of the Earth was immeasurable due to the enormous mutual gravitational effect.
Excerpt from feature: The recessional rate must have been higher the further back in time we go because to extrapolate back the current 3.8 cm yr-1 recessional rate, the existing mean distance of the Moon of 384,400 km would need more than the 4.6 billion years for which the Earth is accepted to have been in existence. In fact, if the rate of 3.8 cm yr-1 had been constant over the Earth’s lifetime, the mean distance of the Moon from Earth currently would be 174,800 km. If we extrapolate the recessional rate back in time on an exponential basis, using N = No.e-λt (exponential decay) we obtain a recessional speed of some 10 km yr-1. That is to say the Moon’s orbit, initially, recessed at this 10 km yr-1 rate and gradually slowed down. On this basis it appears that the Moon has been closer to the Earth throughout most of its lifetime and the further back in time we go, the closer it was. Importantly, however, since the gravitational effect of a body is inversely proportional to (the square of) its distance, the much closer Moon had a greater gravitational pull on the Earth.
As the Moon receded, the gravitational pull, relax, pull effect declined but it still contributed to evolution by being part of the dual-planet Earth-Moon system. This dual-planet system revolves around a pivotal point known as the barycentre and it is this pivotal action which causes the tides on Earth – another massive contributing factor to evolution. This is discussed in this 3200 word article which also explains why it is that the Moon alone cannot possibly be the cause of the tides.
Lecture 1: The Moon’s contribution to evolution – without going around the Earth or spinning on its axis
One of the illustrations accompanying this feature. It graphically analogises the Earth and Moon orbiting around a common pivotal point and indicates why the Moon appears to orbit the Earth yet does not turn on its own axis.
Excerpt for feature: If we take the most rational explanation of the movement of the Moon away from the Earth, i.e. ever since their original formation, then it follows that when it was formed the Earth and Moon were in close proximity, even in contact. This means that as the Moon began to orbit the Earth, it orbited extremely rapidly, since its speed equates with its orbital speed today. Let me mention at this stage that neither the sizes nor the densities of the Earth and the Moon are known for the time in question. Various values of the orbital parameters, speed, etc., can be calculated but the calculations have to make too many assumptions to be considered as absolute. However, it is safe to assume that when the proto-Earth/Moon became a dual planetary system the early Moon rapidly orbited the Earth at about the time of their formation. It continued to do so as it gradually moved away from the Earth as its orbit expanded.
It is a misconception that the Moon spins on its axis and this article, in the form of a lecture, explains, with illustrations, how it does not. Also explained is the barycentre, around which the dual-planet Earth-Moon system rotates, the possible formation of the Moon itself and why it is that the Moon’s gravity could not possibly cause the tides. This illustrated article is 2800 words long
Lecture 2: The eccentricity of the Moon’s orbit
The moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical orbit but, how elliptical? There is a simple formula for calculating the ellipticity. However, if you use some of the ‘official’ figures you get the wrong answer. Why? Because one of the foci of the elliptical orbit of the Moon is assumed to be the centre of the Earth which is wrong. The focus for calculation should be the barycentre, deep within the Earth. This 750 word short essay, in lecture form, explains how the error occurs and what the true ellipticity is.
The Wobble of the World
Within the Earth, the location of the barycentre moves correspondingly from P1 to A1 and P2 to A2 as the Moon moves from perigee to apogee.
The world wobbles because there is a pivotal point within the Earth around which the dual-planetary system of the Earth and the Moon rotates. This pivotal point is known as the barycentre. However, the barycentre is constantly moving backwards and forwards in one direction on a daily basis and another on a nine year basis. The result is that the world wobbles.
Excerpt from feature: Both the Earth and the Moon have mass, the Earth having a mass some 80 times greater than the Moon. Since both have mass, they both have gravitational attraction and the total gravitational attraction between the two bodies is 3.9 x 1020 Newtons. This gravitational force holds the two bodies together like the bar between the two ends of a barbell. With a normal barbell there is a position along the bar that could be described as the point of balance. This would normally be the centre of the bar, i.e. equidistant from the extreme ends of the barbell because the bells of the barbell are of equal weight. This is not so with the Earth-Moon barbell.
The movements of the barycentre, why, how and the extent to which it moves, are explained in this illustrated, 1200 word article
Spiral Gravity - it makes the world go around
Gravity spirals out from a rotating mass and lags with increasing distance.
Any body with mass has gravitational attraction. This gravitational attraction, or gravity, diminishes in strength the further away one is from the body mass. Gravity is usually graphically depicted as a straight line either from a single body mass or between any two body masses. With a rotating body, however, the gravitational attraction not only diminishes with distance, but also lags as the distance from the body increases, giving rise to spiralling gravity.
Excerpt from feature: Yet, as can be ascertained from our own orbiting Moon, some of the orbiting bodies are speeding up. How do we know this? Well, we fall back on Kepler’s Third Law which he postulated after carrying out his work as mentioned above. It has been confirmed by NASA that the Moon’s orbital distance is increasing at a rate of 3.8 cm per year. Not a lot, but, according to Kepler’s work, this means that the speed of its orbit is increasing also and, if the speed of the orbit is increasing, it beggars the question where does the additional momentum come from? That is not a difficult one to speculate on, it has to be the Earth. In the future, we will be able to see if other orbiting bodies are speeding up but, for the time being, our technology does not enable that to take place today.
The effect of the spiralling gravity is to maintain natural satellites in their orbits as is evidenced by the prograde satellites throughout the outer reaches of the solar system.
Formation of the Earth and the Moon, Tides and Gravity
World Record Low Heart Rate
Beware Spanish developers!
Powered by counter.bloke.com
Page constructed: 16th January 2003 - modified 28th June 2011 | <urn:uuid:44508ac0-9c22-410f-b9dc-cb169a83088d> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://homepage.ntlworld.com/trevor_green/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207925274.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113205-00108-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956279 | 1,888 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Create a post from the types below.
Real-World Decisions Based on Systems of Linear Equations
Resource: Systems of Linear Equations Your Turn (Numbers file)
Required Materials: iPad, Numbers app, Safari, Internet access
Description: I created this resources for my College Algebra courses to use after introducing and examining the methods to solve systems of linear equations. The students work in groups of two to complete this activity. There are research and analysis components:
- research two truck-rental companies (and costs) 🚛
- research two restaurants that serve pizza (and costs) 🍕
- compile all data and write the systems of linear equations to model the companies and restaurants
- analyze the systems of equations and write the solutions
Outcomes: After completing this resource, the students can discuss their results and expand their findings by applying this type of analysis to other comparisons that they may encounter in the real-world.
Let me know what you think about this resource in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:e4819881-6ec3-496f-a2df-6a5c7c511911> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://education.apple.com/en/resource/250010943 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233511364.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20231004084230-20231004114230-00735.warc.gz | en | 0.917019 | 223 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Degeneration: the effects of climate change
Amongst the many threats to the survival of the human species, climate change is perhaps now the greatest. It is no longer just environmental experts who are speaking out about the dangers of our colossal wastage, huge consumption of fossil fuels and the over-pollution of our atmosphere – whole countries have started to realise that what they do is affecting the world and will affect the future of how we live if we continue to live without ecological consideration.
This series of edits was designed to reflect the process of environmental degeneration that climate change, as a result of human impact, has had on the Earth. The first five colours portray the planet in its original, full beauty, a time prior to the existence of humans. The sixth image depicts our current experience of the world. However, the seventh and eighth show the distorted nature of what we are rapidly hurtling towards if things are not changed soon. And if they are not changed then complete environmental degeneration, as an excess of emissions and waste cause our climate to change permanently, could result in the eventual dissipation of the environment altogether. This is set out in the final image which falls away from the rest of the group, reflecting the irrevocable damage that humans could have on the environment if we continue to remain passive on the issue of climate change.
Climate change, due to an increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, can affect temperature and rainfall can and has led to higher water levels and more flooding recently. In Fairbourne, a village in Wales, people may have to be ‘climate refugees’ in as little as 26 years, if rising sea levels rupture sea defences and force them to leave their homes. Sea levels around the UK have risen by 15.4cm since 1900, and they could continue to rise up to 19 inches by 2020, according to a report published in the journal Environment Research Letters. Fairbourne is a neighbourhood of 850 residents, and it might be the first community to be entirely vacated and dismantled, with any signs of human existence erased. But it surely won’t be the last.
Britain may have just declared a climate emergency, and as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said, it certainly is a “huge step forward”, but it means nothing if real action is not taken. Labour’s motion has challenged the government to obtain net-zero emissions before 2050 and to achieve a “zero waste economy” within the next six months. Parliament’s declaration of a national environment and climate emergency comes as a result of recent demonstrations held by the activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) in London and the rousing addresses of the Swedish sensation Greta Thunberg around the world. Thunberg is impressively young and at age 15 she began fighting for urgent action to end climate change, protesting outside the Swedish parliament. Despite her young age, she speaks with a mature conviction that climate change must be dealt with immediately for the sake of current and future generations and she is inspiring leaders and entire countries all over the world today.
Recent heatwaves in the UK may have been enjoyed by many, but they might not be something to celebrate too soon. After the unseasonably warm flush of weather during February this year, blazes broke out all over the country at Arthur’s Seat (Edinburgh), Saddleworth Moor (Manchester) and Ashdown Forest (East Sussex). In addition, warm weather too early can cause some animals and insects to come out of hibernation prematurely, meaning they often cannot find food and are forced to return to hibernation. But their fat reserves are too low and when they re-emerge from dormancy their bodies are noticeably weaker.
There are some who are doubtful over whether or not the unseasonably hot days are actually a result of climate change, and Martin Bowles, a meteorologist from the Met Office says that climate change cannot be the direct cause as, “we’re talking about the weather, not the climate.” But, he adds that “it is a sign of climate change. There’s been a gradual increase of temperatures over the last 30 years so the extreme weather has also been increasing.” The media coverage of the heatwave presents it as something to triumph about, but many think that these pre-seasonal summery days should be a warning to us all and that they should urge us on to limit global warning and our greenhouse gas emissions. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas says it’s time for the public debate to open up – “not about whether our climate is changing, but what we’re going to do about it.”
Jess Jones is a First Year Classics students at Trevelyan College. For more information about her art, contact her on her university email.
For your art or photography to be featured, or to voice your opinion on any upcoming issue related to art or photography, email our Art and Photography editor Becky Percival at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:dcb9519a-3a1f-4052-8822-2d929fdea520> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://www.thebubble.org.uk/culture/art-photography/degeneration-the-effects-of-climate-change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347439213.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20200604063532-20200604093532-00304.warc.gz | en | 0.957144 | 1,039 | 3.375 | 3 |
Technological advancements in military impacted warfare
Benchmark d: connect developments related to world war i with the onset of worldwar ii 7 analyze the causes and effects of worldwar i with emphasis on: c the role of new technologies and practices including the use of poison gas, trench warfare, machine guns, airplanes, submarines and tanks. Machine guns dominated action during world war i, but the war accelerated technological advances in military vehicles that would radically transform the nature of battle. 7 scientific advances that came out of world war i the united states entered the great war 100 years ago today here's how that conflict led to a century of innovation. Identify new military techniques used during world war i analyze information from videos, a letter, and photographs to determine how technological advancements affected how world war i was fought compared to.
Technological advancements prior to the war set the stage for the tactical doctrine that would characterize the conflict the new tactical needs of the war meant that the battlefields of the first. The impact of advances in technology on the conduct of warfare can be characterised into a number of dominant trends, namely, quest for extension of range of weapons, volume and accuracy of fire, system integration, concentration of maximum fire power in smaller units and increasing transparency in the battlefield. Yet despite their prominence in modern battlefields, the greatest impact of drones will be felt in the future at least, that’s the argument from michael c horowitz, sarah e kreps, and matthew. The future of technology in warfare: from drone swarms to vr torture geopolitical developments have raised fears of another world war technological advances mean it should at least be over quickly.
Aguerrilla warfare became more prevalent with advances in surveillance technology bthe use of iron created the first battleships in the history of warfare cmilitary advancement on the western front made the german blitzkrieg effective. The impact of military technology in world war 1 the first world war revolutionised the way wars were fought combat morphed from a rapid, noble and relatively ephemeral thing to a completely new type of combat. The new normal: technological advancement in the civl war posted on december 20, 2012 by christopher hager nineteenth century america was marked by rapid advancement and these striking technological innovations changed america and transformed the country into a modern state.
Advances in military technology timeline created by redratfish in history 500 this was brough to america by paleo-americans and used to hunt animals in war however, it could be a dangerous weapon 500 technology advances through the years. History of military technology jump to military leaders came to view continued advances in technology as the critical element for success in future wars -term military funded rocketry, ballistic missile, and later space research rocket science was only beginning to make impact by the final years of the war. How have technological advances in the 20th century changed the course of war update cancel small arms fire can't impact a bomber flying 30,000 feet above ground, and smart bombs don't usually miss how has modern technology changed the way war is fought since the 20th century.
Technological advancements in military impacted warfare
The impact of the industrial revolution on warfare of war historians often call the american civil war the first truly modern war it showed the effects of the technological advances in industry and agriculture, which were to the effects of the industrial revolution on the military were slow in coming in his book war and the rise of. During the cold war, both the soviet union and the us were in a military race to out-do each other, and military technology developments during that period have outweighed any other in history it was the constant threat of all-out nuclear devastation that kept both sides driven to develop a weapon or defence system that could attack or protect with equal or heightened measure. Military aircraft in world war ii included bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance airplanes, as well as a limited number of cargo transports, gliders, blimps, and even jets aircraft of various kinds had played a highly visible, but relatively minor role in world war i, but during world war ii they. Data: recent naval history is replete with examples of how technological advances have impacted the navy's structure, organization and operation while missions changed little, the means of.
War advances military science and technology at the expense of other science and technology atomic bombs, poison gas, biological weapons all had the greatest advancement during wars high-yield crop development, cancer research, alternative energy, all advanced during peaceful times. Impact of technology on conduct of warfare vinod anand, senior fellow,idsa armies that could reach further, hit harder, and get there faster usually won, while the range-restricted, less well-armed, and slower armies lost.
Of all of the technological advances made by the time of the civil war, the rifle made the biggest impact the rifle was created long before the civil war it was used in limited numbers and typically by specialized troops during the revolutionary war. Between 1917 and 1918 a revolution in military affairs took place which, it is contended, was more than merely that: rather it amounted to a military revolution which was the most significant in the history of warfare to date, and remains so. The 21st century has witnessed faster communication times and closer international networks, increasing the number of people engaged in warfare and complicating the dynamics of it. | <urn:uuid:3750402d-e729-4686-a663-3f78c68adf2e> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://tchomeworkvcsd.soalmatematika.info/technological-advancements-in-military-impacted-warfare.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039746061.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20181119171420-20181119193420-00514.warc.gz | en | 0.951972 | 1,090 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The opportunity of Black History Month
For people of African ancestry who identify as Black, recent world news has provoked disturbing and hurtful images of aggression, privilege and white supremacy. Those images have an undeniable impact on the mental health and well-being for many people in our communities.
February is Black History Month and it’s a time to enhance the rich and diverse history of African and Black culture. It’s also a time to highlight much of the Black excellence that occurs every day in our school communities. These explorations are not limited to this month, rather quite the opposite. It is important for all of us to consider the achievements of Canadian Black history throughout the year.
At the same time, we must also reflect on and take action around the roles we all play in upholding practices, policies and structures that perpetuate systemic anti-Black racism in our systems, including within our schools, which are often barriers to good mental health and well-being for Black students.
Resources to support ongoing learning and engagement about Black history, anti-Black Racism, and mental health
While we all find unique ways to mark Black History Month, let’s also consider how our approaches impact the mental health and well-being, of ourselves and others. Below are resources, including some from School Mental Health Ontario, to help support your school community to engage in meaningful conversation, engagement, and action.
- Did you know that there were segregated schools in Ontario, the last of which closed in 1965? Learn more about anti-Black racism.
- When having conversations around anti-Black racism, it’s ok to say “I don’t know.” Here are some tips and conversation starters.
- These lessons and activities can help you educate about anti-Black racism.
- Knowledge Bookstore is a Canadian bookstore where you can find books with positive representations of Black characters.
- Have you considered the impact on Anti-Black Racism on Black Mental Health and Well-Being? Black Mental Health Day is on March 1, 2021. | <urn:uuid:5db13b39-e638-4ca4-acd5-7b5741561aaf> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://smho-smso.ca/blog/the-opportunity-of-black-history-month/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500983.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20230208222635-20230209012635-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.951111 | 420 | 4.09375 | 4 |
The social realm includes how we interact and deal with people. Getting along with others will create a greater sense of human respect. As long as we live on Earth, we must associate with other people. Hating people does nothing but limit your availability and credibility as a human being. Human interaction is important for the human experience. A study on the effects of human interaction was performed back in the 1800’s. The study consisted of new born babies at an ophanage. Babies were divided into two groups; (Group A) Contact Group, (Group B) Non Contact Group. Nurses would feed both groups of babies, however, only group A would get any affection or attention after the feeding. Babies in Group B cried more, developed illness, and when they grew older suffered more emotional and physical problems than the babies in Group A. The research concluded that it is essential that humans have contact with each other in order to feel complete and secure. Feelings of loneliness, or being unloved can influence a person to become bitter, depressed, insensitive to others which could ultimately negate the wellness continuum.
The spiritual realm is important for attaining optimal wellness, however, due to the complexity of philosophies and religions it is difficult to describe. Spirituality is the faith of believing in something greater than thyself. Spiritually could be described as being a relationship among energy and spirit. The purest form of energy is love. Love is the most powerful healing source in the universe. To truly love unconditionally can do more for the human spirit than anything in the world. With unconditional loves comes the acceptance of life and all that goes wrong. Having faith can calm the fears, hostility, cynicism and negativity that many of us hold onto each day.
Illness can be developed through our minds. Negative attitudes and the way we handle stress can influence the onset of disease. People who are angry, hateful, violent, depressed and/or spiteful have a higher risk of developing hypertension, arthritis, cancer, obesity, anurysms and other illnesses. Being able to cope with daily situations can improve your outlook on life and help to create a more loving attitude toward others. Relaxation, meditation, biofeedback and self-hypnosis are methods that can be used to reduce stress and to handle emotional “blow outs.”
There are many parts of the wellness continuum. Prioritizing the realms will help provide balance within your life. When a particular realm is neglected or over developed then imbalance can occur shifting the balance continuum, which could result in illness or disease.
Daryl Conant, M.Ed | <urn:uuid:b755faf3-7669-44fd-acce-23e0650c50db> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://darylconant.com/2012/11/the-wellness-continuum-part-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578584186.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190423015050-20190423041050-00526.warc.gz | en | 0.958494 | 530 | 2.609375 | 3 |
MCSA Basutoland Mission
Following the formation the Methodist Church of South Africa (MCSA) in 1931, the work of the Primitive Methodists in the south of Lesotho was absorbed into structures that had already been established by the Wesleyan Methodists in other parts of the country. Furthermore, several new senior ministers were appointed to join Rev Moses Maribe, either in the late 1920s or 1930s. They included the Revs Isaiah Bokako, John Mokitimi and Philemon J. Rampou- who, in 1944, became the first resident Superintendent of the Basutoland Mission.
Although these pastors tried to establish strong foundations for the new Methodist Church in Lesotho, they were severely hampered by inadequate funds, personnel and oversight. In consequence, growth of the Basutoland Methodist Mission in its first two decades was spasmodic at best: retrenchment often followed advancement, new buildings were left incomplete, class leaders were poorly trained, visits by ministers to outlying congregations were too infrequent and some areas of the country had to be abandoned altogether. Perhaps symbolic of this poverty and instability was the fact that, by 1947, the only substantial Methodist building in the country was the church at Mafeteng. A more telling outcome of these years, however was the fact that hundreds of Methodist converts gave up their membership to join other churches.
The Methodist Conference was aware of its neglect of the Lesotho mission, however, and in 1947 it began to redress the situation. A new superintendent, the Rev Thomas A. Elliot, was appointed; a ‘Basutoland Mission Committee’ was established to provide him with active assistance; two additional ministers were appointed, at Quthing and Leribe; and a ‘Bible woman’ was assigned to work at Mount Moorosi. In addition, the single circuit which formerly served the whole country was divided into five circuits- Leribe, Maseru, Mafeteng, Quthing and Qacha’s Nek. All these initiatives were enabled by newfunding from the Conference’s Missionary and Extension Fund. This fund also helped to finance new buildings and repairs so that, by 1952, a large new church had been built at Leribe, the church at Quthing and the manse at Mafeteng were completed and a spacious sandstone manse for superintendent was built at Maseru. More attention was also given to the training of class leaders and to the formation of lay groups such as Woma’s Auxiliary. One gets some flavor of the work during these years- and of the challenges posed by the migrant labour system, which by now was producing a net outflow of Methodist converts- from a 1952 review by Elliot: | <urn:uuid:3edbd84a-f8b1-48a2-aa8e-4b317232f957> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://ccl.org.ls/hoc/mcsa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668699.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20191115171915-20191115195915-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.986754 | 565 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the topic: MyView on the Long Holidays. You should write at least120 words following the outline given in Chinesebelow:
The further development of economy in Chinahas brought the more entertainment and leisure topeople's life. A case in point is the long holiday suchas the National Day, in which people can spend oneweek or so enjoying themselves in different ways, especially going shopping and traveling. It has beenagreed that the long holiday may bring much morebenefit to both the customer and the businessmen.
On the other hand, however, the long holiday also brings much expectable problems to thesociety. First, too many visitors in the long holidays have caused the strain in traffic. Second, the visitors like to go to the well-known interesting places, which may lead to the seriousdamage to the nature and the scene.
In my view, people need such long holidays, and what really matters is how to guide peoplein their entertainment. For example, it is advisable that people try to avoid going shopping ortraveling in the rush days. Anyway, the long holiday is a good idea of satisfying both the peopleand the merchants. | <urn:uuid:6925196c-784e-4f66-87e2-4cd075601a83> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | http://www.rrrawg.live/new/p1285845/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670512.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20191120060344-20191120084344-00361.warc.gz | en | 0.881544 | 256 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The area in and around Antrim town is no stranger to conflict. From the 4th Century AD it was a centre that would be attacked at different stages by a range of Viking marauders and Celtic clans, but by the end of the 16th Century it was already being referred to by some as ‘Gall-Antrum’ translating as ‘Antrim of the English’. Even a strong element of local support for the 1798 Rebellion never removed this Anglo-Irish identity, indeed in the Rebellion’s aftermath it would solidify and strengthen. By the advent of Home Rule being first proposed in 1886 the area, like the County as a whole, was firmly Unionist. As a local newspaper remarked in 1912 ‘Belfast has today five of the greatest industries of their kind in the world, and it is the third part in the Kingdom. All this has been done under the Act of Union. Why should every other part of the country have worked similarly and prospered under the same laws?’. Ulster was prospering under the Union, and with it so was Antrim and its surrounding countryside and villages including Randalstown, Crumlin and Glenavy. It and its people had no desire to risk that by changing their relationship with England.
The Ulster Covenant campaign was enthusiastically received locally. On Ulster Day Antrim Town Unionists gathered at the Protestant Hall before marching as a body (the very language indicating the militaristic character present in the periphery of the day and of events to come) to meet the Muckamore Unionist Club. A mass gathering then took place at Millrow Presbyterian Church where a cross denomination service took place, after which the Covenant was signed back in the Protestant Hall. Almost every house in Antrim is recorded as displaying a Union Flag. Further West in Randalstown proceedings where similar, and again men gathered to march to several services. In the aftermath of the services a procession once again formed up and made its way to Shane’s Castle where sports were held.
‘Sports’ was a commonly used term of the day for drilling and related activity, and there is no doubt that local Unionists were immersed in such activity. The Ulster Volunteer Force envisaged in late 1912 and formalised in January 1913 was slow to take the mantle of the sole Unionist military vehicle. Unionists Clubs were the main stay of activity for many during the year. In June 1913 Randalstown Unionist Club held a fete at Shane’s Castle which actually was simply a cover for a drill competition and display. Drill squads from Unionist Clubs in Randalstown and Muckamore were joined by squads from Ballymena and Queens Island Belfast, with each competing for an overall prize. On the day a Mr Davis from Holywood Unionist Club adjudged Randalstown B Squad the worthy overall winners.
In September 1913 an advisory Board was appointed for the Ulster Volunteer Force, and with it came renewed efforts to mobilise the body and increase the membership. A series of reviews were announced where Carson would be inspecting Volunteers, beginning in Kilkeel on 17th September and ending on 4th October in Armagh City. Among the engagements where four County Antrim venues on 20th of September including Ballyclare, Loughanmore, Antrim and Randalstown. In Loughanmore Volunteers were inspected at the home of Lieutenant General Sir William Adair, the overall Commander of the entire County U.V.F. In Antrim the town is recorded as being lavishly decorated and a massive fete was arranged in the Castle grounds of Viscount Massereene to raise funds for the Unionist cause. The volunteers present are once again recorded as being inspected doing various drill movements. Finally at Randalstown the Lisburn Standard reported that the front of the market-house was the setting for a muster of 500 of the local force. This final of the day’s reviews saw Carson tell the Randalstown rally that the spirit of the Ulsterman never dies, and whether it be long, or whether it be short, they would carry on their struggle not for a day, but for year after year.
Just a week prior to the Antrim inspections, the official U.V.F. returns for County Antrim to Headquarters dated 12th August detailed four County divisions; South, East, Mid-Antrim and North, numbering a total of 6285 men. Within the Southern division it included Randalstown district with 268 men. This was broken down between Hillstown with 54, Randalstown with 94, Magherabeg with 34, Staffordstown 49 and Ballydrummaul with 37. Antrim district numbered 149 split between 130 in Antrim and 19 in Muckamore. Crumlin had 134 men with 103 at Crumlin and 31 at Gartree; while Glenavy had 123 men at 7 different centres including 78 at Glenavy, 15 at Ballydonaghy, 5 at Crewe and 10 at Fourscore. Killead had 52 men listed between British, Gortnagallon, Aldergrove, Dungonnell and Ballynadrenta.
The Regimental structure for the County had not been fully formalised at this stage, however eventually a South Antrim Regiment was put in place under the command of Lieutenant – Colonel H.A. Pakenham, consisting of three distinct Battalions. The 1st was centred on Lisburn while the 2nd encompassed the area running from Dunmurray down to Aghalee. The 3rd Battalion of the South Antrim Regiment Ulster Volunteer Force was the ‘Antrim’ Battalion, with its main centres Antrim and Randalstown, also stretching down to and encompassing Killead, Dundrod, Glenavy and Crumlin.
The Officer in Command of the 3rd South Antrim Battalion, ‘Antrim’, was the 12th Viscount Massereene and Ferrard, the ornately named Algernon William John Clotworthy Skeffington. Born in 1873, by the formation of the Volunteers the Viscount had already had substantial military experience. After enlisting in the cavalry regiment 17th Lancers in 1895, he was promoted to Captain in 1900 and until 1902 served in the Boar War. During this short period he was wounded and received two mentions in dispatches, and was later decorated DSO (Distinguished Service Order). He had retired from the service in 1907, but would later re-enlist with many of his own men upon the outbreak of the Great War, serving at the rank of Major with the North Irish Horse. Second in Command was W.H. Webb, a linen manufacturer from Randalstown who also was the president of the local Unionist Club. Upon the Viscount’s return to the Army he would assume the command of the Battalion. Adjutant was a Captain Richardson.
The company areas within the Battalion covered Randalstown, Antrim, Muckamore, Dungonnell, Crumlin, Gartree, Glenavy, Ballyhill and Dundrod. A, B and C companies where all within the greater Randalstown area, with A coy having 5 sections, the first 3 being Randalstown itself and the 4th and 5th Ballylurgan. B Company also had 5 sections stretching into the Staffordstown area, with C Company’s 4 sections having 2 based in Hillstown, 1 in Caddy and 1 in Ballydrummaul. One of the Randalstown Commanders was brother of W.H. Webb, Oswald Brooke Webb. Glenavy was under the command of Dr Arthur Museen, Dungonnell A. Greer, Muckamore under the command of S. G. Haughton, and H. B. Murray over one of two Antrim companies. Webb, Mussen and Murray had all been prominent members of the County Antrim organising committee of the UVF that had been appointed in the fledgling days of the Force on 20th December 1912.
The district also had two post houses within its boundaries for the use of the Ulster Signalling and Despatch Riding Corps. In Antrim, codenamed AN, Mrs Haughton was post mistress in the Protestant Hall. In Crumlin Miss English was post mistress in the Camlin House office in Main Street. At its peak strength just after the outbreak of the War, the 3rd Antrim Battalion would be the largest in the South Antrim Regiment with 1567 volunteers.
By late 1913 the various units were openly drilling and participating in such events as route marches and socials. Church services for Volunteers were a very common occurrence from this stage on. At a service for the Ulster Day anniversary in Muckamore Parish Church Volunteers from Antrim, Dungonnell and Muckamore Companies all attended, while in February 1914 a large church service took place at Glenavy, where Volunteers from Glenavy, Crumlin, Gartree, Fourscore, Crew and the Mount all marched to the Parish Church under the command of the Regimental Commander.
In early March the Randalstown Companies of the U.V.F. met at the Market Yard where all 13 sections of the 3 local Companies were reviewed before taking part in a drill competition. One man from each section was judged as being the best in their unit and each was awarded a medal. At the close of the Saturday activity W.H. Webb and O.B. Webb entertained the estimated 420 men at a smoking concert. Just a few days later the annual general meeting of Antrim Unionist Club was presented with a report on the local Volunteers stating that they now had two companies consisting of 227 Volunteers, all of whom were most efficient.
A notable feature of the activity of the entire South Antrim Regiment is the large number of occasions that the whole body was gathered together. True military competency was adjudged to require large bodies of men to be training together, and to this end the Regiment was more active than most others within Ulster. Men of the third Battalion first joined with comrades from the 1st and 2nd Battalions in March 1914, where a camp of instruction was held at the home of Regimental Commander Pakenham. The Langford Lodge setting ,just a few miles from Crumlin, involved around 130 regimental officers being given instruction in a variety of military subjects and manoeuvres. The camp began with a 9.30 am march to Gartree Church on the Sunday, after which dinner was served at camp at 1 o’clock. Monday’s schedule for the men included classes on Musketry, section drill, advance guard and a lecture on ‘Company in attack’. A mark of the importance of the occasion was the attendance of General Sir George Richardson, General Officer in Command of the Volunteers, on the Tuesday to make an inspection.
On the 13th April the South Antrim men were once again graced by the presence of Sir Edward Carson, this time to receive the presentation of Regimental and Kings Colours. The 3rd battalion was presented standards by Carson himself, as were the 2nd battalion (1st Battalion Lisburn had received colours some time previously). Around 80 nurses, primarily from the 3rd Battalion, also took part in the proceedings where the Belfast Newsletter reported almost 3000 men were on parade. The same report remarking that all of the troops were equipped with bandoliers, belts and haversacks and that the men of the 3rd Battalion were particularly striking. They alone wore slouch hats, each with a small red plume and a badge inscribed with the letters ‘3rd S.A.’. Carson presented the 3rd Battalion with its colours, the King’s colour being the gift of Lady Massereene and the Regimental colour purchased via a collection from across the Battalion area. Carson’s address to the men concluded with the rallying cry that ‘It was the spirit of the men behind the walls of Derry that held the city, and it is your spirit that is going to hold Ulster for us’.
In July the entire 3rd Battalion participated in a parade and church service within the grounds of Antrim Castle, over 1200 being said to be lined out on a part of the facility formerly known as the cricket ground. The area was no stranger to the use of volunteers having been regularly used by the Antrim contingent of the Battalion as a parade ground. A small medical corps of 24 nurses also attended under a Mrs Collins, with a crowd of 3000 spectators present at the proceedings.
After the outbreak of the Great War the Battalion was still very active, with yet another joint engagement with the rest of the Regiment taking place on Monday 3rd August. In the Regiments largest ever muster, over 3000 volunteers took part in a massive mimic battle near Stoneyford, with It reported that many of those taking part had to march considerable distances to the setting from early morning. The scenario for the day was that a force was advancing south to attack an enemy based at Hillsborough, with the role of the 3rd Battalion being that of the advancing enemy. Under the charge of Viscount Massereene, the proceedings were viewed by Antrim Divisional Commander Adair and Colonel Hacket Pain from Headquarters. The men were drenched during torrential down pours during the manoeuvres which lasted over six hours.
With the advent of War many Volunteers who were reservists immediately returned to service, whilst many others also enlisted prior to the formation of the 36th Ulster Division. Enlistment for the entire duration of the war was high in the area, as indicated by several surviving sources. Antrim 1st Presbyterian Church alone recorded 123 parishioners joining the ranks, while Antrim 2nd Presbyterian Church recorded 44 and Randalstown Old Congregation recording 81.
The majority of 3rd Battalion Ulster Volunteers who enlisted ended up within the ranks of the 11th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, including several prominent officers. One of the most notable is one of the Randalstown Company Commanders Captain Oswald Webb. The commander of D Company died from wounds received on the 1st July at the Battle of the Somme. The Webb family would not be the only one to be touched by the events of the Somme. The localised basis of recruitment for Kitcheners Army would unfortunately ensure that every street and rural community that had been under the banner of the 3rd battalion South Antrim Regiment Ulster Volunteer Force would have first hand experience of the death and injury inflicted during the Great War. | <urn:uuid:4c0dede7-1137-4721-af4c-50f11066723e> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | http://quincey.info/?p=587 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587606.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20211024204628-20211024234628-00232.warc.gz | en | 0.982663 | 3,011 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Poliomyelitis is viral disease caused by an enterovirus known as poliovirus and is well known for its role in causing paralysis, especially in infants. While most infections are asymptomatic, viral particles that gain entrance into the central nervous system can replicate in neurons and destroy cells that govern muscle function resulting in flaccid paralysis.
Epidemics involving the disease, also known as polio, have stuck the human race throughout history. The emergence of polio vaccines in the mid 20th century, however, has given public health organizations the tools needed to eradicate the disease. Worldwide immunization efforts have reduced worldwide cases from the hundreds of thousands to less than a thousand per year. With the Western Hemisphere and Europe declared polio-free in 1994 and 2002 respectively, the virus only remains endemic in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. If successfully eradicated, polio will be one of only three diseases eradicated in history—the others being smallpox and rinderpest which were declared eradicated in 1979 and 2011 respectively.
Virology and Taxonomy
Host Immune Response
[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.
Created by Jake Morgan, student of Tyrrell Conway at the University of Oklahoma. | <urn:uuid:cd10407d-3bc2-46ee-b2d4-db720b847033> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php?title=Poliomyelitis&oldid=90122 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922411.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031181658-20201031211658-00240.warc.gz | en | 0.904626 | 327 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Robert MacFarlane’s fifth book, Landmarks, is a celebration of language and landscape, and the various ways in which nature writers have responded to particular topographies and natural phenomena. For some time now I have become increasingly interested in ‘place’, both rural and urban, and how it relates to ‘memory’, and in how the words we use for different places might be considered cultural-linguistic memories. Macfarlane shares similar concerns, demonstrating how certain place words function as ‘topograms — tiny poems that conjure scenes’ (6) or how others ‘are eldritch, acknowledging a sense or our landscapes not as settled but as unsettling’ (7) and in his accounts of his travels he is alert to how place can evoke a sense of the uncanny, in ‘convergences that pressed at the limits of coincidence and tended to the eerie’ (13). The attuned linguistic responses to landscape of the various authors discussed by Macfarlane are grounded in, if not the uncanny, then in similarly difficult to account for experiences.
Macfarlane argues that the progress and acceleration of modernity has resulted in a word-loss every bit as dramatic as species loss. His view is that we are losing the language needed to articulate our relationship with nature, and that the various nouns that have gathered over the centuries in regional dialects, their roots often buried deep in precursor languages, to describe specific aspects of the landscape and our place within it, are being forgotten, collectively culled from our linguistic memory.
Language deficit leads to attention deficit. As we further deplete our ability to name, describe and figure particular aspects of our places, our competence for understanding and imagining possible relationships with non-human nature is correspondingly depleted. (p.24)
Macfarlane’s fairly bleak suggestion that rationalism has resulted in a disenchantment with landscape and the natural world, his claim that ‘in modernity, mastery usurps mystery’ (p.25), is counter-balanced by the hope he sees in language, which he argues ‘is fundamental to the possibility of re-wonderment’ (25), and in those who have toiled through literary endeavour to express their relationship with nature and landscape.
Macfarlane seems most interested in writers whose lives are non-conformist and whose works are generically transgressive, outsiders who push at the borders of linguistic and stylistic possibility in order to articulate a particular vision or relationship with a landscape. Each chapter focuses on a particular topography and on an author that has influenced Macfarlane’s understanding of that landscape. There is a concern here for the differing ways in which we perceive landscape, with vision in both a literal and metaphysical sense. It is a motif that turns up in Macfarlane’s account of the ‘accidental magic’ brought on by ‘mountain illusions’ (68), and that recurs in his description of J.A. Baker’s evocation of the perspective of a peregrine falcon, and once again in Macfarlane’s argument that the childish imagination perceives multiple landscapes, magical and metaphorical, contiguous with the rational adult world. In the beginning of his chapter, ‘Hunting Life’, Macfarlane gives a demonstration of how J.A. Baker developed his abstract, modernist prose style, by imitating it and then working backwards towards a more straightforward description of the images and events being depicted. By doing so, Macfarlane shows us how we can learn to see nature in new ways through contact with the unique visions that are bound up in such literature and language.
The chapters are interspersed with glossaries of lost or endangered landscape words, a word-hoard of the type discussed in his opening chapters. It was puzzling to know how to approach these word lists. I found myself skipping back and forth, looking first for words I recognised, and then for words which came from East Anglia, my home region, or the West Country, where I grew up. It reminded me, strangely, of a book I was obsessed with in my early teens by A.D. Mills called Dorset Place-Names. This gem of a book, which I picked up in the “local interest” section of a long lost independent bookseller on Shaftesbury High Street, listed alphabetically the names of every town, village, river, monument, and significant feature on the 1:50000 ordnance survey map of Dorset, along with their origins and meanings. Like this book, MacFarlane’s glossary reminds us that the place names around us are loaded with meanings we have forgotten, such as the word winterbourne, an ‘intermittent or ephemeral stream, dry in the summer and running in winter, usually found in chalk and limestone regions’ (123), which I recognised from a number of villages prefixed with the word in the chalk downs close to my childhood home. The glossaries remind us of the vast repository of language, a recorded memory of nouns, available to us to describe the precise phenomena of the natural world should we chose to re-engage with it.
Macfarlane’s call is for us to develop a more attentive relationship with the natural world, offering up the likes of Richard Jeffries’s meticulous observations of suburban nature and John Muir’s wild abandonment to the trees of the Sierra Nevada as inspirational examples of the sorts of the connections we can form with landscapes. As my reading of Landmarks progressed I found myself paying more attention to the birds visiting my suburban garden and to the wildflowers that have propagated in the gravel on my drive. The long neglected Observer Books of my childhood, relics of a time when children were expected to look outwards to the natural world, to be in rather than on the world, have been dusted off, along with my father’s lightweight field glasses. Macfarlane has written an oddly personal, affecting, transformative book, in sparkling and eloquent prose. This is literary criticism, nature writing, and memoir all rolled into one. It is both scholarly and conversational, and like the many books and individuals discussed in its chapters, it refuses to conform. | <urn:uuid:6bc99838-4981-4967-b39e-e33dd294f80f> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://www.iainrobinson.com/?tag=language | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221215404.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20180819224020-20180820004020-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.952109 | 1,304 | 2.53125 | 3 |
By Matthew ParkinsonDownload Tutorial
Dealing with Medium and High carbon steels
When making a knife or any edged tool a high or medium carbon steel is needed. This kind of alloy is sometimes called “spring steel” or “tool steel”. When working with these steels the higher the carbon content and the higher the alloying content the more sensitive the steel will be to working in the correct temperature ranges. Some of these alloys can be red hard (a temperature range that the steel is hard to work) or red short (a temperature range that the steel is prone to cracking or crumbling) generally these problems are more common in high alloy steels, simple high carbon steels tend less to these problems but will develop large grain size if over heated or held at high temperature. Large grain size weakens the steel, is detrimental to the cutting ability of the finished knife or tool.
The best way to avoid damaging the steel you are working with is to know what alloy you are working with. Look that alloy up on line, or in one of the many reference books. Find out what that alloy is prone to, (if it is red short or red hard) what the hardening and temper ranges are. (you will need this info later) how ever with all of these alloys there are a few things that should be done. First Do not soak the steel in the forge, second do not heat the steel to a higher temperature than is necessary to work it, and third as you forge closer to finished shape work at progressively cooler temperature And finally normalize the steel before finishing the knife (filing grinding etc). To normalize heat the steel to critical temp, this temp can be found by using a magnet to find the curire point,(the point that heated steel turns nonmagnetic) critical temp is a few hundred deg. Higher than the curie point. Heat to critical and let cool in still air to about 400 deg F.(the temp that the steel regains magnetism is generally sufficient), do this three times ( or cycles) this will reduce the grain size break down any carbides that might have formed, and soften the steel making the grinding/filing easier.
In the USA Steel alloys are graded using two main systems, the first is a numeric based system (SAE, AISI) in this system there are 4 or 5 digits that determine the alloy, the first two determine the alloy content and the last two or three the carbon content, theses are called points, 100 points equals 1 percent by weight of carbon so 1050 steel would be a simple carbon steel (10=simple carbon steel) with .50% carbon content. The minimum carbon content to make a good knife is about 40 points (.40%) and the maximum is around 1%.
The second grading system is the letter number system of tool steels, theses are specialty alloys that were developed for a purpose so with in one set of steels (O series for example) there can be a total change of alloys with similar fished properties. Some of the more common steels in this system are O1,W1,W2 ,L6,S7 and D2. Many of these steels can make very good knives but some can also be very difficult to work.
Steps in forging a self handled or full tang blade
Steps in forging a blade to shape.
Step 1 forge the point
Step 2 forge the profile of the blade
Step 3 forge in distal taper (distal taper is taper in thickness from base of blade to point)
Step 4 forge in bevels
Step 5 set in the tang or grip area
Step 6 shape tang/grip area
Step 7 cut off knife from bar.
Step 8 refine the end of the grip/tang
Steps in forging a hidden or partal tang knife
Set in Tang
Cut off and forge Tang to shape
Bevel cutting edge
Grind Bevels/Ricasso (Blade is ready for heat treating)
Fit and shape guard
Drill antler/Polish and glue to complete knife
Forging the shape
Begin by deburring the end of the bar, easing the edges is sufficient. Now take a forging heat on the point of the bar,( a forging heat is a bright orange heat) set the end of the bar on the far edge of the anvil and hammer the top corner back into the bar. Every other heat forge the thickness back in line with the parent bar. By rotating 90DEG and hammering the flats (work both sides of the flats)
Forging in the point in this way avoids fish mouth. ( the end of the bar folding over it’s self, forming a crack) when working with off size stock forging a point as you would in square stock will lead to fish mouth. As the center of the bar will not move as fast as the out side. Once the bar has been taken to a point begin refining the shape of the profile into the perform of the blade shape. Take care as you forge in the shape that the flats do not get wider than the parent bar and that the bar stays flat.
Once the shape is forged in taper the thickness (distal taper) the point of the blade should be about 1/8”or a little under, and taper to the parent bar thickness at the hilt side of the blade. To taper the blade take a forging heat, and forge the point down to about 1/8” then work back toward the hilt tapering the flats, re forge the profile as needed.
Forging in the tang
Once profile is forged to shape, set in the tang using a spring fuller or the corner of the anvil. Be sure to account for the amount of growth in length due to beveling, if a certain length is desired bevel the blade first then sent in the tang once the blade is to length. The tang should remain ½ to 2/3 the width of the blade at this point, cut off leaving 1-2 inches of stock after the step forged in from the spring fuller for a partial tang. Then, forge out the tang to a taper 1/3 to ½ the length of the handle, for a stub style tang. If making a through tang or full tang knife. Be sure to leave more material on the knife when cutting off and forge the tang out to 1-2” longer than the finished knife handle. The extra length can always be easily trimmed off but adding length is much more difficult.
- Use the end of each heat to flatten the blade before re-heating.
- Only work the steel down to a bright red heat. DO NOT soak the steel at a high temperature in the forge.
Forging in bevels
Begin forging in the bevels at point of tang, to do this angle the cutting edge side of the blade on the anvil and strike at this same angle, strike as near to the edge as possible and once a bevel is established shallow out the angles and begin working higher up on the blade to shift the bevel up the side of the blade until it reaches the spine. If leaving a ricasso pinch out the beginning of the bevel by hammering inline with the edge of the anvil and drawing out the edge. Once pinched in the ricasso should NEVER be on the anvil when forging the bevels in.
Because the edge is expanding as it is forged thinner, the blade will curve away from the edge. Correct this at the end of each heat, when the blade is still in the reds by setting the spine of the knife on the anvil and firmly hammering the edge back to straight .As the bevels are forged in be sure to work both sides evenly. Flip the blade over and work the other side keeping the same angle used on the first. It is best to work both sides in the same heat, but if this proves difficult a workable option is to alternate side to side from one heat to the next. As the bevels are forged in concentrate on keeping the edge centered the bevels even and of an even thickness , forge the bevels to a thickness about that of a dime at the edge.
Refining and Straightening
Working cooler (dull orange-dull red heats) refine the shape in bevels using a lighter hammer with little crown. Use light blows with hammer to even out the edge. Work both edges down to even thickness, then refine the bevels and flatten the blade by sighting for thick spots or bends. work only on the facets or the bevels never on the spine. Soap stone or chalk can be used on the edge to help sight the blade for flat/straight. Work cooler as final shape is reached, The last 2-3 heats of each section of the blade should be in the reds. This will help reduce grain size and leave the steel in it’s softest state for grinding. Once the blade is as straight and flat as possible, take a normalizing heat. To normalize, heat the whole blade to non-magnetic and cool in still air.
- After normalizing, clamp blade point side down in vice to cool.
- Sighting the blade against a light colored wall can help to see inconsistencies in edge and bends in the blade.
Steps to Forging a Self Handled Dagger
1) draw a taper
2) profile blade
3) forge in bevels
4) cut off
5) shape grip
6) grind, polish and heat treat.
Steps to Forging a Hilted Dagger
1) draw a point on bar
2) profile blade shape
3) bevel edges
4) set in tang
5) forge out tang
6) grind/polish and heat treat.
7) make and assemble handle
(steps three and four may be reversed.)
Dagger Handle Construction Methods
This style of knife has a tang that is the full width and length of the grip. Bolsters are common, but guards and pommels are not. The grip is made up of two slabs pinned and glued to the tang. Self handled knives also fall into this category. This is a strong handle design, but is prone to moisture damage.
This style of knife has a tang that passes partway through the grip and is pinned or glued in place. Guards and bolsters are common but pommels are not. This style is almost always used with antler crown grips. This is a sturdy and stable method, but in some designs can lead to a poorly balanced knife.
This style uses a tang that passes through the length of the grip. Guard bolsters and pommels are common. The end of the tang is secured on this style by peening, threading into the pommel, with the use of a decorative nut or in some cases by pinning. This is a very strong construction method when designed properly. Even most Western swords use this style of construction.
Beveling Double Edged Blades
Forging the bevels on a double edged blade is much the same as on a single edged blade just done on both sides. The tick is to forge all four facets at the same angle and all four facets of the diamond must be worked evenly. You can work from the tang to the point or from the point to the tang. Again use the same angle in all 4 facets. The blade will not curve if the bevels are forged in evenly each heat. This is a good indicator that you are forging evenly. Be sure to match hammer angle to angle the bar is held to anvil on ALL FOUR facets. Carefully forge the bevels up to the ricasso (if present) or into the tang if no ricasso is present. Work the edge down to 1/16” or so and forge the bevels until the spine to the edge is one plane of a flattened diamond.
Tips for beveling
Flatten and straighten at the end of each heat. Work only the flats of the bevels to straighten.
Cork screw is caused by changing angles from facet to facet. To correct set the height of the twist down and forge high up on the bevel increasing angles. Work both opposing facets.
Using a worn coarse grit belt, grind the edge on the flat platen or contact wheel of the grinder. Clean up the profile of the blade, re-shaping the tip as necessary, until the blade is even and centered. Next, run the blade edge vertically on the grinder so all grind marks run vertically on the edge. Next, use a small wheel attachment on the grinder to even out tang junction or grip area of knife. If a small wheel attachment is unavailable, use files to refine shape of the tang or grip. The joint area between the tang and blade should be at least a 1/8 radius (1/4 inch circle), ideally with no tool marks crossing the edge. This will prevent stress risers from forming and make for a stronger blade.
Once profiling is complete, begin grinding the bevels using a worn coarse grit belt on the flat platen. After the scale is stripped off use a fresh grit belt to grind the bevels flat with the edge up. When grinding everyone has a weak side and a strong side. Begin grinding with your weak side and match your stronger side to it, as this provides more control. Grind the bevels down until the spine is centered and even, the edge is of even thickness and about the thickness to of a dime. If the design has no hard plunge cuts, move to an 8- inch contact wheel with a 120 grit belt and grind the bevels vertically, until all coarse grit marks are removed. If the design calls for a hard plunge, re-grind on the flat platen. First grind using 120 grit, then grind with 220 grit. At this point the blade is ready for heat treating.
- If tang is not square to center line of blade, file or grind until even or square.
- If blade edge is of uneven thickness side to side or along one edge this can cause warping during hardening and will making sharpening difficult. Regrind thicker sections to match, adjusting the angle of bevel to keep spine centered.
Basic Heat treating
Basic heat treating for knife making is a three step process, it is the heat treating that is the most important part of making a knife. It is heat treating that turns a Knife shaped object into a knife. Step one normalizing, step two hardening, step three tempering.
normalizing, heat the blade to a orange heat and let cool to still air down to a black heat, do this three times . this will remove any stresses built up by grinding, reduce the grain size, and leave the steel in the best condition to be hardened.
Hardening is heating the blade to critical temp.(the temp. at with all carbon is in solution with the iron) and quenching it (in most cases in oil.) this will force the steel into it’s hardest state. Critical temp varies from alloy to alloy (usually between 1450-1550 DEG F) to find critical, heat the steel and check it with a magnet, the temp at which it looses magnetism is called the curie point, about 100deg above this point is critical. In practice quenching from the point that the steel looses magnetism is close enough. judging the temp by color is affected by ambient light so even if when using a steel you are familiar with it is a good Idea to check the temp using a magnet. Heat the blade to this point and quench the blade in oil, quench the blade, edge down or tip first in oil, do not angle the blade when entering the quench or the blade will warp. For most steels vegetable or peanut oil works fine and is non toxic, motor oil can also be used,(fresh not used). For a more consistent quench and when working with faster hardening steels a commercial quenchant like Parks-50 should be used. Quench the blade until all color is gone from the blade then let cool to room temperature. Check the edge using a file to be sure the blade hardened, if the file “skates “ then proceed to tempering. If the file “bites” the blade didn’t harden, reheat to a slightly higher temp and requench then check again. If the blade still isn’t hardening the edge may have decarburized, lightly grind the blade and check again if it is still not hard the steel you are using may not have enough carbon to harden.
Step three Tempering.
Tempering is heating the steel to 150-1000 deg F. This will take away the brittleness along with some of the hardness in the steel. The tempering temps will vary depending on the alloy used , size and type of knife being made. For the most part a temper of 300-450 Deg F for an hour is common. Hardness in steel is measured using the Rockwell C scale (RC) this scale ranges from RC30 (unhardened steel) to about RC70 for a med sized knife (6-8” blade) a hardness of around RC58-60 is about right a smaller knife can be harder (RC58-62) and a larger knife should be a bit softer.(RC52-58)
Temper ranges for common some common blade steels
(Temper ranges found online from various manufactures websites)
Understanding what is happening to the steel during heat treating allows the bladesmith to know when it is safe “to get away with something” and when it isn’t. It also allows the bladesmith to find solutions to the problems that crop up from time to time when working with new steel. Understanding the basics of metallurgy can inform you of what a digital controlled oven is necessary for some steels, and what steels can be appropriate to your equipment.
Steel is defined as iron alloyed with carbon. All modern steels have alloys other than carbon, but all steels must have carbon present to be steel.
Definition of terms:
- Hardness is a measure of a resistance of a material to deformation. For steels, this is measured on the Rockwell C Scale.
- Hardenability is a measure of the steel’s ability to reach hardness, both absolute hardness (at surface) and in depth of hardening (hardness at center).
- Toughness is a measure of the steel’s ability to withstand stress (resistance to shock, flexibility, deformation, etc)
- Each different alloying metal will change the properties of the steel. What each alloy and what different alloys together can do is a lifetime of study. As such, I will not go into further detail other than to say that most alloys are present to change the qualities of the steel (i.e. finer grain, higher hardenability, etc.).
Steel is a crystalline material and can form several distinct structures within that matrix. The first structure is ferrite, which is pure iron crystals in the steel with cementite (iron carbide) binding up the vast majority of the carbon. Ferrite is a body-centered cube of 9 atoms (8 iron atoms at the corners and one iron atom in the center) in which metallic alloys such as nickel can replace one or more of the iron atoms. When steel is heated above its “critical” temperature, a structure called austenite is formed. This is a face-centered cube of 14 iron atoms (again, metallic alloys can replace iron atoms in the structure), which can hold up to 2% carbon by weight between the iron atoms. For the most part, austenite is only present at temperatures above the austenizing temperature (beginning at 1375˚F). When quenched, austenite becomes martensite, which is hardened steel. Martensite is formed when austenite is “frozen” in the quench and is structured as a body centered tetragonal.
The goal of heat treating for bladesmiths is to free up the carbon from carbides and take it to solution with the iron (austenite) then quench to freeze the carbon into solution. In practice this is 3 main steps; normalizing, hardening, and tempering. The purpose of normalizing is to break up carbides, reduce grain size, and allow the ready formation of austenite. This will allow for a shorter soak time at temperature during hardening and finer grain martensite after quenching. Normalizing is defined as heating to the upper transformation point (about 1400-1500˚F) and slow cooling to the lower transformation point about (about 900˚F). Multiple cycles of normalizing can have greater benefits.( this is also called thermal cycling.)
The hardening step consists of heating to above the upper transformation point and cooling within a prescribed rate of time (quench). The length of time between heating and cooling is determined by the alloy (speed of quench). This rate can be found in a TTT (Time-temperature Transformation) chart. When mapped on a TTT chart the hardening curve will look like a nose. So long as the steel is cooled below the tip of the nose within the allowed time, it will harden. The TTT chart also shows the exact upper and lower transformation points, as well as the austenizing point used to generate that curve. After hardening the steel will mostly be martensite with residual carbides, and in the case of the higher-alloy steels there is often some retained austenite as well. Once quenched, the steel is in a highly stressed state. It is very hard, but also very brittle. By tempering (heating between 250-1100˚F) much of the stress is relieved , a portion of any retained austenite is converted to martensite and the overall hardness is lessened. As the hardness is lessened, the brittleness is lessened, and toughness is increased. A second cycle will temper both the original and newly formed martensite and convert more of the retained austenite to martensite. If the temper cycle is repeated 3 times 90% or more of the retained austenite will be converted to tempered martensite. For the average knife steel this isn’t really necessary since low-alloy steels have almost zero retained austenite after quenching. For blades made from high-alloy steels it can be worth the extra effort, and in some cases is actually necessary.
My method is to begin tempering 50 degrees below the finishing temper (i.e. a temper of 375˚F would be started at a temper of 325˚F). Soak at the lower temperature for 1 hour, remove and let cool. Then re-set the oven for 25 degrees higher, temper for 1 hour, remove and let cool. Then complete a final temper at 25 degrees higher, temper for 1 hour, remove the blade and let cool.
Steels come in three classes: hypo-eutectoid (less carbon than eutectoid), eutectoid, and hyper-eutectoid (more carbon than eutectoid). The eutectoid point (roughly 0.75% carbon by weight) in steel is the point at which the amount of carbon present has “saturated” the low temp material but is not yet sufficient for the formation of “free” carbides. In un-hardened steels all of the material should be pearlite, which is a mixture of ferrite (pure iron) and cementite (iron carbide). Below the eutectoid point the material will be a mixture of ferrite and pearlite and above the eutectoid point the material will be a mixture of pearlite and free carbides.
Hypo-eutectoid steels contain between 0.01% to 0.75% carbon by weight. Those steels above 0.4% carbon will harden and tend to be rather tough, though not especially hard. Addition of other alloys can improve hardness and hardenability. The hypo-eutectoid steels are generally easy to forge, grind, and heat treat.
Eutectoid steel is the range right around 0.75% carbon by weight. These steels will harden well and tend to be forgiving when working with them, but do not have the added toughness of hypo-eutectoid steels without added alloys. These are the best steels for beginning bladesmiths due to their forgiving nature and relatively high performance.
Hyper-eutectoid steel is between 0.75% to 1.25% carbon by weight. These steels can yield the highest performance because the excess carbon can form various carbides. They are almost always found with high alloy content, especially such carbide-formers as chromium, vanadium, and tungsten. When treated properly these steels have the best edge-holding and wear-resistance properties, but they are temperamental to work with and react poorly to overheating. Good knowledge of metallurgy and proper control of forging and heat treating temperatures are a must before delving into this group.
After heat treating regrind the blade using a 120grit belt (remember to keep the blade cool) grind the edge thickness to the finale dimension before sharpening. The thinner behind the edge the knife is the easier it will be to sharpen and the better it will cut, but the weaker it will be. In general a thickness of 0.010-0.025 is appropriate for most knives, skinner or chefs knives should be below 0.010 and large choppers can be closer to 0.030. Once the thickness is established then move to the 220 grit belt and then the 400 grit. (or begin hand sanding at any point) Begin hand sanding starting with one grit lower than the last grit used on the grinder. Sand at an angle to the last grit until and even surface is achieved with no lines left from the last grit, then move on to the next grit. Again at an angle to the last grit sand until all mark of the last grit are removed. The last grit used should run length wise on the blade for the best finish.
For a brighter finish, the blade can be polished using a buffing wheel. Charge the wheel with emery and buff the blade. Clean the emery off with acetone and buff with green chrome.
A word of warning here the buffer is a very dangerous tool , do not present an edge to the wheel or it will catch on the wheel and be thrown. Knife makers have been seriously injured when a blade they were buffing caught and was thrown at them.
Fitting of a Guard or Bolster
Begin by laying out center line on the guard with a scribe. Next, using calipers measure the width and thickness of the tang. Mark the width on the guard centered were the tang will pass through. Then find the center and scribe a line there. Off the center line mark lay out the slot. Use a drill one fractional size under the thickness of the tang. Mark and punch the outside holes, ½ the thickness of the drill bit from the outside lines. Center punch and mark the width of the drill bit from the last center punch mark. Drill out the center punched marks. Use a needle file, to cut away the web of material between the holes. Now file the slot to size using the scribed lines as a reference. Once the tang passes through the slot, file a radius to allow the shoulder of tang to seat fully. A rotary tool or graver can be used to a cut a pocket to seat the blade into, for a cleaner transition. Mark this after the blade is seated, by tracing the blade on the guard with the scribe, then cut away inside the lines. Check the fit often and only remove enough material so that the blade just seats. once fit, the guard can be shaped as desired.
Fitting the Grip
Draw the tang on the handle material. Mark a center line on the side 90Deg. from this. Use a square to continue these lines to the top of the material. Using these lines as guides, clamp the material in a drill press and use a slightly undersized bit, drill out the slot for the tang. Clamp the grip in a vice and carefully heat the tang of the knife to around 900 DEG F. Then use the tang to burn out the slot for a perfect fit. If the blade has been heat treated be sure not to heat the tang past the junction to the guard as this will result in having to re-heat treat the blade. If this is a concern, a bar of steel may be shaped to match the tang and is used to burn out the handle material. Once the tang is fit, draw in the profile on the marked side of the handle. Using a band saw or belt grinder, rough in the shape to these marks (at this point if a pin is included in the design fit that then continue). Repeat for the other 2 facets. Then, round and shape the grip as desired. Check the fit between the guard and handle. Adjust as necessary. Hand sand the handle/grip to about 400 grit for the best finish.
- When hand sanding wood always sand with the grain.
- Lightly wetting the wood between grits will raise the grain and achieve a finer finish
- Adding Pins to the Grip
With the handle profiled to shape and well fit up to the guard, mark where the pins will be placed. Using the proper sized drill bit drill pin holes in the grip (pin holes should be drilled on size IE 1/16” thick pin use a 1/16” drill bit). Now assemble the knife and use a long clamp to keep it together. Use the holes in the handle as a guide to drill the holes in the tang to match. Cut a piece of pin stock 1 inch longer than the width of the grip. Rough up the pin with coarse paper and taper one end. Bend the last ¼-1/2 of the un-tapered end over 90Deg. Insert the pin in the hole and check the fit of assembly.
If the fit is off, carefully file away excess material or use a spacer to restore the fit-up. Leather works well as it will compress and take up any inconstancies when the pin is driven in. Once glued up the leather will be stable and sealed from moisture.
Fitting Antler Handles
Prepare the antler crown or point by using a drill to remove pithy center Antler that is obtained from sheds will generally have less pith than antler obtained from kills. Shape and round the end of the antler., and Remove any sharp projections using a fresh 120 grit belt on the grinder. Hand sand the surface to a grit of 220-420 and buff using a loose wheel and rouge. Use a small file or rotary tool (Dremmel, Fordem, etc.) to relieve the hole for the tang if necessary. (The tang can also be reshaped to fit.) once the tang fits, file the face to meet cleanly with the guard.
After re-polishing, assemble the knife and re-check all fit ups. Disassemble the knife and lay out all parts in order and in the proper orientation. Mask off the blade with tape (be sure to keep the blade in the proper orientation ) and set the guard back on the tang. Mix up epoxy and coat the tang. Move the guard and get epoxy under it. Next, coat the inside of the grip and anywhere the grip will contact the guard; along with the spacers if any are used, insert the tang onto the grip. Clean off excess epoxy and let set up by clamping in a vice point up. Once the epoxy is set, scrap off any remaining epoxy, Re-polish the grip and seal. Remove the tape from the blade and clean with WD-40, acetone, or denatured alcohol. The blade, guard, and grip can now be waxed or oiled.
- A brass chisel can be used to clean off excess epoxy that has hardened on the blade without scratching.
- Applying WD-40 to a rag will ease in removing excess epoxy.
- A coat of wax on areas that epoxy shouldn’t be will add in cleaning it off
- Mix a good amount of epoxy. (Mix more than is necessary; better too much than too little.)
- Fill the cavity in the antler almost to the top.
- Spread epoxy on the tang and on any surfaces that contact each other.
- Clamp in a vice point up. do not move the knife until the epoxy is set up.
- Once the epoxy is set, but before it is fully hardened, any remaining epoxy can be more easily removed with a wooden or brass scraper.
The first edge on a newly finished knife should be cut in with the grinder to establish a secondary bevel. Once this is done, the edge can be re-sharpened or further dressed with stones.
On all knives with a secondary bevel (basically anything other than Japanese style work and razors), there are three types of edge: flat ground, convex, and concave (hollow ground edge), Most production knives have a flat ground edge of 15o to 25o. A flat ground edge can be easily re-sharpened and cuts well, Most custom knife makers use a convex edge of the same basic angle of 15-25. This type of edge is just as sharp as a flat edge, but it is stronger, and able to hold an edge longer. It is how ever slightly more difficult to re-sharpen with hand stones. The concave edge is a style that works well for some knives, such as meat cutting knives, that a steel will be used to sharpen but is of limited utility for an everyday knife as it is a relatively weak edge, will dull quickly and is impossible to re-sharpen with hand stones.
As said most custom knife makers use a convex edge, to set this type of edge the blade is ground on the slack belt of the grinder. ( I generally cut the edge with a 120 grit belt making sure to cool the edge frequently. ) Hold the knife edge down at a 10o angle, (as measured from the center line of the blade to the grinder) starting at the base of the blade press in slightly, and take one continuous pass along the whole edge. Cool the blade down and repeat these steps on the opposite side. Continue this process alternating sides until a burr (wire edge) develops all along the edge.
At this point move to a finer belt (220 grit) and continue alternating sides. Then, use 400 grit belt to re-polish the edge. Afterwards strop the edge on the buffer to remove the bur. The knife should be sharp. If the edge is not sharp after buffing, re-cut the edge at a slightly steeper angle and go through the steps again.
For Greater performance of the edge, the edges should be honed with oil or water stones. On a grinder or when sharpened with a dry stone heat is introduced into the cutting edge. The amount of heat introduced is enough to fully anneal the steel for up to 10 microns (a shaving edge is 1 micron or below) even is no color is seen on the blade. By honing away the annealed material using an oil or water stone (the oil or water will carry the heat away from the edge preventing damage) the edge performance will be greatly improved.
There are many different wraps that work well for a knife handle, and many materials that work well for wrapping. Para cord, leather lacing and silk cord all work well.
When planning some styles of wrap is a good idea to drill a hole in the end of the handle to secure the end of the wrap in.
The frap wrap
Begin by cutting off twice what is needed to wrap the grip loosely. Now take one end of the cord and tape it in place along one side of the grip so that is runs from the blade to the butt of the handle. Now tape the other end of the cord, to the reverse of the handle so that is runs from the butt of the handle to the blade. Form a loop with the second end around the top of the handle. Now tightly wind the cord around the handle until you reach the butt of the handle. Form a second loop and pull the extra cord through using the taped end. Pull of both ends to tighten the wrap then use a razor knife to trim the extra cord (cut extra off one of two turns in for a cleaner finish that will not fray)
Prepare the handle by drilling a hole in the end. Then cut two and a half the amount it takes to loosely wrap the grip. Find the center of the cord and make a loop pull the loop tight over the blade side of the grip. Pass the two ends over each other and flip the knife over pull tight and repeat until end of grip. Be sure to pass the same side over the top each time. When you reach the butt of the knife pass the two ends through the hole and wrap one to each side of the hole then tie a knot. Pass the ends of the trough the hole and tie a second knot. trim and glue ends or leave long as a lanyard
Grinders, two wheel and three wheel styles
- Wayne Goddard
- $50 Knife Shop
- Wonder of Knife Making
- Jim Hrisoulas
- The Master Bladesmith
- The Complete Bladesmith
Machinery Handbook – (Pub.) Industrial Press | <urn:uuid:c235162d-716a-423f-b62b-25f3edad8b91> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://dragonsbreathforge.com/2019/11/intermediate-bladesmithing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104248623.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220703164826-20220703194826-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.908885 | 8,084 | 2.828125 | 3 |
What Is Oral Hygiene
Oral hygiene, as described by various dentists and hygienists, is necessary not only for the health of your mouth but also for your general health on the whole. Cleaning of teeth and gums, to make them free of bits of eatables and infections, ensure you in getting rid of the problem of bad breath and bleeding gums. You can get the knowledge of oral Hygienic techniques from the hygienist or dentist near your home and know about the points if infection and decay which are much sensitive to the infection of any kind if not cleaned properly everyday. Dentists usually suggest for cleaning your teeth and gums after every meal, if possible, or else twice a day to remain free from the problem of infection or decay or tooth loss ultimately.
Practicing good oral hygiene
- You should maintain the oral hygiene of your teeth and gums in order to maintain the health of your whole structure. They not only let you feel healthy and strong but also enable you speak and eat properly in your routine life.
- You should adopt regular safety measures to save your teeth and gums by brushing them regularly for good oral hygiene otherwise you may have to experience various problems to your mouth. These problems include bad breath, bleeding gums, decaying teeth and ultimately loosing your decayed teeth.
- The prolonging problems of the mouth such as infection and decay can be controlled if cleaning the teeth and gums from the very initial stage i.e. from the childhood. It will save you from spending money on the problems that may hurt you much if not taken care at proper time.
- Eating balanced diet, cleaning teeth twice a day daily, using fluoride products etc. are some of the precautionary steps that can be taken to prevent the oral hygiene problems of your mouth.
- You should visit your dentist or hygienist regularly to avoid any type of decay or infections in your teeth and gums well in time.
Maintaining oral hygiene at later stage Maintaining the oral hygiene properly is not an expensive process and does not need much of resources and efforts if you continue the cleaning your teeth and gums since your childhood. But, if you have not cared much of the oral hygiene of your mouth in your initial age, even then you can maintain it by cleaning your teeth after every meal and using fluoride products for disinfecting your teeth and gums, to keep them free any oral problems. Thus, oral hygiene is very essential for us to maintain not only the health of your mouth but also the health of your complete structure. Take care and be tension free. | <urn:uuid:0937f2ee-85e3-4fd1-a86a-ac21a6a6a990> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://trivology.com/what-is-oral-hygiene/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593438.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722174538-20180722194538-00504.warc.gz | en | 0.950592 | 535 | 3.234375 | 3 |
70 years after the iconic big cats went extinct in the country, wild tigers are being reintroduced to Kazakhstan. In the past, tiger reintroduction projects in other locations, such as nature reserves in India, have been implemented in areas where tigers still live – albeit in severely diminished populations. It will be several years before the WWF-supported project is ready on the ground, as the landscape is modified and prey animals are also reintroduced. The first wild tigers are expected to arrive in 2025. If this project proves successful, it would stand as the first instance in which wild tigers have been revitalized in a region from which they had gone extinct for nearly a century.
Although tigers once inhabited a vast area that included most of Asia, they have lost 90 percent of their historic range and have become isolated in scattered populations throughout the continent. Between 1900 and 2017, the global wild tiger population fell from 100,000 to 3,900. In Kazakhstan, poaching and encroaching human development have impacted both tigers and their native prey, such as the kulkan, or wild donkey, and bactrian deer. Reintroducing these animals is only one part of the process. “[Preparing for the tiger reintroduction] means tackling poaching and illegal activities, having well-trained and equipped rangers, thriving prey populations and engaged local communities,” said Ekaterina Vorobyeva, the director of WWF-Russia’s Central Asia program.
The tiger reintroduction project, which is set to operate in the Ili-Balhash region, is also an exercise in international cooperation. “Thanks to years of close collaboration between Kazakhstan and Russian conservation experts, we have now identified the best possible territory in Ili-Balkhash for the restoration of a thriving wild tiger population,” said Igor Chestin, the director of WWF-Russia. “Our continued cooperation will be key in the successful creation of a new reserve, the restoration of rare native species and, in a few years’ time, achieving an unprecedented trans-boundary relocation of wild tigers to central Asia.”
Via The Guardian | <urn:uuid:2c7cf013-919c-4ca0-b25f-7ee003a45c1e> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://inhabitat.com/wild-tigers-are-returning-to-kazakhstan-after-70-year-absence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912205600.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190326180238-20190326202238-00102.warc.gz | en | 0.950999 | 429 | 3.515625 | 4 |
To discuss transportation, we must agree on what the goals of a transport system are
People love mass transit. By this, I mean there are a lot of people who, either for historical or emotional reasons, love transit as a good in itself, rather than a means to various ends.
As The Onion put it so brilliantly, 98 Percent of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation for Others. The satire is funny, but also true.
To really discuss the future of public transit (and in particular mass transit) in the face of a technological revolution in mobility, it is vital to look not at Transit, but the goals we have for it, as well as the general goals we have for all our transportation.
This is a foundational article, to be the basis for future articles on where transportation is going. It does not try to make too many points, but rather lays the ground rules. I welcome input on improvements to these goal lists.
Some of those goals are the goals of the traveller. Others are goals of the city or society. Sometimes those come into conflict.
The Traveller's Goals
- Short and predictable travel times, with minimal waiting
- Flexible departure times
- Reliability and availability
- Low cost
- Pleasant travel: Comfortable, smooth, seated, peaceful, private, healthy, fun
- Ability to do things on the trip
- Specialized needs of some travellers:
- Access, regardless of disability
- For low mobility people, minimal walking
- For groups, good support of group travel desires
- Socialization (with other commuters)
- Ability to carry goods
- Visibility for sightseeing
- Full RV function for road trippers
- More pleasant spaces when walking (including less pollution and noise on streets)
- Protection of civil rights (freedom, privacy, etc.) during travel
- Moral convictions about some of the social goals -- for example many will seek low emissions, safety for others etc. for altruistic reasons and the good feelings they generate
Or in concise form: Quick, predictable, reliable, available, safe, pleasant, cheap, easy, with parcels, non-destructive and ideally green.
- Serve the goals of the individual traveller
- Make optimal use of given infrastructure, and reduce costs of maintaining it or creating new infrastructure
- Meet the traveller's goals so they will use group transport
- Safety for others -- the traveller's goal of safety is somewhat more selfish
- Lower emissions per passenger
- Low public cost
- Enforce urban planning decisions (controversial)
- Reduce other negative externalities of travel
- Treat people equally
- Ensure equal transportation availability for lower income people, seniors, the disabled and minorities
Or in concise form: High throughput, pleasing, popular, cheap, safe, green, equitable, accessible and fitting city plans
You will note that some things like "reduce traffic congestion" are not listed here. That a means as well -- reducing congestion helps shorten travel times and make them more predictable, and increases throughput and fairness. And of course "share vehicles" is quite explicitly not on this list, rather it is a means to some of these ends.
People and society also want goods to move. The goals are not identical, but fairly similar. They are usually subordinate to the goals for human transportation, though we generally want to give goods lower priority in any battle of the goals.
Details on the goals
With the list there, let me provide a few more details on the various entries. In finding our answers, it's immediately clear that there are trade-offs between these goals. There can be conflict between individuals and between individual and societal goals.
Short and predictable travel times, with minimal waiting
This is very high on the list, obviously even surpassing safety when you consider the reckless way many people drive. The desire for short travel times is extremely strong, and on some trips, the variation can almost be added to the travel time. For example, when going to an appointment that can't be missed, if the trip can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, you must leave 30 minutes in advance. Waiting adds to travel time but it also hurts satisfaction. People would rather a 30 minute trip than a 20 minute trip with 10 minutes waiting, as that seems more wasteful.
In the counter direction, the fact that everybody carries an entertainment device with them has made waiting more palatable, and also helped provide information to reduce uncertainty in times.
As noted, this would go first if it weren't for the fact that people routinely compromise it for faster speeds, lower costs and other things. Another type of safety is personal safety from other riders and people on the street, felt most strongly by women or people who live in places where it is dangerous to walk.
Flexible departure times
One of private transport's greatest attractions is that it leaves precisely when you wish. Clearly trains that come every 10 minutes are vastly preferred to ones every hour. At the extreme, hourly frequency can be like adding an hour to the travel time.
In addition, this means service to everywhere, at all times of the day, to fully meet this goal. Ideal transportation departs precisely when you want to leave, at any time of day or year.
Certain levels of low reliability are unacceptable. Car breakdowns, transit breakdowns, strikes, weather -- whatever the cause. Most travellers need an alternative method available (like Uber) even if expensive, in all but the most extreme situations. Short of that, poor reliability adds unpredictability to the travel time.
It is hard to place cost on a priority list. What's clear is that transport is important enough that the vast majority of Americans and Europeans accept the very high cost of car ownership -- around $7,000 or more per year -- to get what they want.
Pleasant travel: Comfortable, smooth, seated, peaceful, private, healthy, fun
Almost nobody doesn't want these, and obviously they are a large part of the popularity of private transportation. Even so, public transit can range in experiences from overcrowded standing on packed buses with bad AC and bad suspension to reserved business class train seats with waiter service. Most transit lines, to increase capacity, abandon seating at rush hour but usually have it off peak.
There really are many goals here, some which compete with one another, such as fun vs. peaceful. However, to make the list more concise, I combine them into one.
Ability to do things on the trip
Previously, one of the major disadvantages of the car was you had to drive. The robocar removes that.
Specialized wants and needs
These are things wanted by many travellers, but not all
Access, in spite of disabilities
This is an individual goal, for those with the disability. Not all riders care directly about this but they may care for moral reasons.
For low mobility people, minimal walking
The amount of a trip that is walking can be seen two ways. Mostly people do just care about total trip time, and walking often increases that. On the other hand, many enjoy walking when it adds only modest trip time -- except if weather is bad. Those of limited mobility however may not be able to do a walk of any significant difference even on a nice day.
In addition, for certain people, things like stairs or inability to roll may make a transport method entirely unusable or very difficult.
For groups, attention to their wants
Some travel as families or groups. They desire to be together and socialize together, and wish privacy and safety for their group. They usually expect lower pricing per person.
A small number when discussing the transition from mass transit to private transportation, regret the loss of the group experience and social interactions on a regular commute. I believe this is a fairly small contingent, but it is real.
For some, exercise
Many will say it is good for them to be forced to walk more, that the availability of door to door transportation, while more pleasant and faster, hurts their health. While riders can elect to walk some of the route, people find it easier if they are "forced."
People wish to carry goods, including large and heavy items, on some of their trips. They wish minimal walking, no stairs, space to put the goods, security for them and ease of placing them in and out of a vehicle.
People also like to have goods with them, such as stuff for their children, and have access to them on every trip.
Tourists and road trippers like to see the view
Some travel for the sake of travel, or want the full function of an RV, though usually more in rural settings
People like to express themselves as they travel, which gives them a desire for choice and to display their choice and wealth as they travel. While this is often seen as a petty want rather than a need, it is quite probable more is spent on this than is currently spent on all public transportation.
More pleasant spaces when walking (including less pollution and noise on streets)
This sits on the border of traveller desires and social ones. The travellers want the city to be a pleasant place to travel and live, particularly in the areas they will walk, so they don't want other people's transportation to hurt that. People would prefer to be able to freely cross streets as they please. This is sometimes seen as a societal goal, but there is no person who would not prefer pleasant streets, and so the social goal is mostly an aggregate of individual desires. People also live on streets (and often try to live on cul-du-sacs) and relax, eat and recreate on or next to streets.
When I travel, I want to retain my freedom, my privacy and other civil rights.
There are things people want not so much for themselves, but to work to make the world as they wish it. As such they will care about pollution even if they won't breathe it and many other things. Many punt these decisions to the realm of public policy, but others alter their own actions based on them.
The Social Goals
Meet the traveller's goals as they are human goals
The primary goal of any transportation system is to give satisfactory transportation to the people. While other goals may alter how this is done, it should never be forgotten that this is the prime purpose, to be accountable to the people. Give the people what they want unless there is a compelling reason otherwise.
Optimal infrastructure use
The most compelling goal for mass transit is throughput. Getting more people through a given bit of infrastructure -- land, tunnel, road etc. This mostly matters at peak demand times. We want to get the most out of the roads and tunnels we have, and reduce the cost of anything new that has to be built. They are a shared resource that should be shared well.
Attract riders to systems which meet the social goals
In addition to the broad goal of giving the people what they want, if social goals are met by group transport, it is often forgotten that to do this it is essential to be good enough so that people want to use it. Otherwise they abandon it for other forms, negating realization of the goals. This is related to the primary goal, but sets a specific sub-goal within it to attract the critical mass necessary.
Safety for others
Everybody is concerned about their own safety, but the government needs to protect public safety, particularly for people not even using the transportation system.
Lower emissions per passenger
Nobody wants pollution next to them, but society has an interest in reducing the emissions for each passenger. This is related to the energy used by each passenger, electric energy and liquid fuel energy can be quite different, even from place to place. In some places, electricity comes mostly from burning coal, the biggest killer of all the energy sources.
Travellers want low cost for themselves, but society also wants to minimize expenditure of public money. Many government-run transport systems deliberately run at a significant loss to their farebox revenues. In addition, infrastructure building and maintenance has a cost, as do many externalities whose costs should ideally be factored in.
Enforce urban planning decisions
Sometimes transportation goals will be set aside to meet other goals designated more important. Transportation that the people want may be blocked or impeded to meat goals of an urban plan. Limiting transit stops encourages more dense transit-oriented-development. Cities like to control growth. These factors are controversial because they mean deliberately making the transportation worse to meet another goal.
I give this factor only minimal coverage here, even though such factors actually contribute a great deal to debates on cities and transportation. They are worthy of their own articles, but the key is to understand when something meats a transportation goal, and when it modifies transportation as a means to promote a non-transportation goal.
Reduce other negative externalities of travel
Negative externalities are costs born outside the system. Pollution is just one, though it's the one we talk about most with transportation. But there are others, including noise, the safety of those not using the transportation, and harm to the character of our streets and neighbourhoods.
Treat people equally
People aren't so good at that so society tries to do better.
Ensure equal transportation availability for lower income people, seniors, the disabled and minorities
In many cases public transit is cheaper than private, and is subsidized, sometimes heavily, to become the only affordable means of transportation for some people. Societies don't like to leave anybody unable to move.
The lower level goals
Of course, transportation itself is a means rather than a goal. Our real goals are more like the famous hierarchies of needs from Maslow and others, but the reality is we often have to travel to get food and things, to socialize, and to earn the money to get those things. As such, transportation sits as one of the "fundamental means" of life in modern society. While our true goal might be the things we buy with money, and earning money the means by which we buy them, this quickly takes us to our world where most (but far from all) means of earning money involve travel by somebody. Socialization in-person, with other than the people you live with also requires travel by somebody.
Now that we've got the goals...
I welcome suggestions of additional goals we have in how our transportation works. But not things which are actually means to deeper goals. In addition, of some of these goals are actually means, point that out. It could be said that there is only one goal -- satisfaction -- and that goals like speed and reliability are just means to that, but I have selected these goals as a happy medium. If we just have satisfaction with the trip as a goal, it doesn't teach us very much about how to attain it. At the same time there certainly are transportation systems which lack some of the goals but still satisfy their users, in some cases because they haven't been taught to want more.
With the goals established, we get to examine how well all the existing transportation modes -- walking, cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, private scooters, vans, trains and boats -- along with the new modes -- VTOL aircraft, ride-hail, bikeshare, dockless scooters, delivery robots, robotaxis, robovans and more -- fit with these goals. | <urn:uuid:c2b7c375-a5ac-4db4-b2de-a51d1f56ecbe> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://ideas.4brad.com/comment/19652 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738944.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20200812200445-20200812230445-00332.warc.gz | en | 0.960805 | 3,155 | 2.515625 | 3 |
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” (Genesis 4:1)
Here is Eve’s testimony concerning the first child born to the human race. To understand it, we need to recall God’s first promise: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; [He] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). These words, addressed to Satan, promised that the woman’s “seed” would destroy Satan. Thus, that seed would have to be a man, but the only one capable of destroying Satan is God Himself. Eve mistakenly thought that Cain would fulfill this promise, and when he was born, she testified: “I have gotten a man—even the LORD” (literal rendering).
Over three millennia later, essentially the same promise was renewed to the “house of David,” when the Lord said: “Behold, [the] virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:13-14). The definite article reflects the primeval promise that the divine/human Savior, when He comes, would be born uniquely as the woman’s seed, not of the father’s seed like all other men. His very name, Immanuel, means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). He is “the Word...made flesh” (John 1:14).
While questions have been raised about the precise meaning of almah (Hebrew word translated “virgin”), there is no question in the New Testament: “Behold, [the] virgin [Greek parthenos, meaning virgin and nothing else] shall be with child” (Matthew 1:23). “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman” (Galatians 4:4). “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). HMM
Days of Praise Podcast is a podcast based on the Institute for Creation Research quarterly print devotional, Days of Praise. Start your day with devotional readings written by Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. Henry Morris III, and Dr. John Morris to strengthen and encourage you in your Christian faith. | <urn:uuid:13a9a3b9-89bd-436c-97a6-c453f4096d42> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.icr.org/article/god-with-us/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764494936.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20230127033656-20230127063656-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.962852 | 564 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Copyright © University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.
Why do this problem?
invites pupils to develop a systematic way of working and offers the opportunity for discussion in pairs, small groups and the whole class. For some learners, having a 'real' context might provide motivation to solve the problem.
Of course, you may wish to introduce this problem in the context of the scores of a local event, rather than the Olympics. This may help many pupils engage in the solving of the problem.
Whatever the context, at first you could invite pupils to guess what the half time score was to the match. Take a few suggestions and then ask them to try and find all the possibilities. Give time for pupils to work in pairs on the task and look out for those children who are beginning to work in a systematic way.
After a suitable length of time, draw the whole group together and ask them how they are making sure they don't miss out any possibilities. You may wish to ask certain pairs to share their ways of working with the whole group. It might be handy to suggest that each different possibility is written on a separate strip of paper as this might aid later discussions.
Give them longer to work on the problem then bring everyone together once more to discuss findings. You could ask each pair how many different possible scores they think there are - they are unlikely to agree! This is where having the scores written on strips is useful as you can stick them on the board, or ask members of the class to hold them, then invite everyone to sort them
or re-order them. In this way, a system is imposed on the scores and any missing ones can be identified quickly.
You can then challenge pairs to find the possibilities for the $3 - 3$ match, using a similar system. The experience of working on the $4 - 2$ result all together should give them more confidence to tackle the second match in their pairs.
How do you know that may have been a half time score?
How can you be sure that you have found ALL the possible half time scores?
Suppose the final score was a draw, what then?
You could ask "If there are $24$ possible different half time scores what could the final score have been?".
Some pupils may prefer to start with games where there are fewer goals, for example $0 - 1$, $1 - 0$, $1 - 1$ etc so that there are fewer possible half time scores. | <urn:uuid:c693fcba-71c1-4458-8110-89478fe99bf3> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://nrich.maths.org/7408/note?nomenu=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440645294817.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827031454-00202-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954387 | 505 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Researchers at Stanford University are ready to try their promising new cancer vaccine on human patients. Dr. Ronald Levy (whose research lead to the drug Rituximab) and his team have achieved some impressive results after treating mouse models with lymphoma. In a study published in January, 2018 in Science Translational Medicine, Levy and his team injected very small amounts of two different innunoenhancing agents directly into solid tumors to activate the t-cells inside. The process “taught” the t-cells to deal with the specific type of cancer they were exposed to; not only did they kill the tumor they were injected into, but some then went in search of identical tumors in other parts of the body and dispatched them as well.
This is called a “targeted” therapy, and eighty-seven of ninety mice in the study were lymphoma-free after the initial shot. The other three had recurrences, but were treated a second time and the cancer disappeared. Areas of metastases were eliminated as well. One of the agents that was used has been approved for use in humans and the other agent is currently being used in a lymphoma trial. The treatment also achieved similar results for breast, colon and skin cancers in mouse models.
Ordinary vaccines prepare the immune system to target invaders before they enter the body, but cancer vaccines are given after diagnosis. The immune system reacts differently to cancer cells because they are produced by the body; as such, it doesn’t consider them the same type of threat as a virus or a bacteria. Dr. Levy envisions a time when such a vaccine will be a cheap and effective treatment for a variety of cancers. | <urn:uuid:c30caa80-df19-429d-a840-fa11ac983854> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://drdrew.com/2018/cancer-vaccine-successful/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100603.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20231206194439-20231206224439-00528.warc.gz | en | 0.980364 | 345 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Whether you’re curious to uncover why your bunny is pulling out its fur or contemplating the addition of a mouse to your extended family and eager to know whether a male or female would be a better choice, critters of all species and sizes are accompanied by a wide array of behavior questions that leave us baffled. But they don’t have to. Demystifying behavior is as easy as 1, 2, 3 — especially when you’re armed with answers from professionals who work with them day in and day out!
Q: Are rabbits aggressive?
A: “Most rabbit aggression is based in fear,” said Katie Rainwater, MA, DVM, of Birds and Exotics Animal Care in Mount Pleasant, S.C. “As prey animals, rabbits are programmed for flight, fight or freeze when faced with something that makes them fearful. Rabbits that are not routinely handled may become fearful and aggressive when approached, leading to thumping, biting and scratching behavior. Hormonal influence in both bucks and does can also complicate the situation.”
For the full article, pick up the 2012 issue of Critters USA or click here to buy the issue. | <urn:uuid:843f5442-0b2f-418d-bf7c-46add64c6711> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://www.petcha.com/50-critter-q-and-as/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171629.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00291-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956674 | 243 | 2.8125 | 3 |
For the past four years, Tom Irwin has talked to countless people about the tragedy of childhood lead poisoning. Especially before the Flint crisis put lead issues back in the headlines, he often would be met with the incredulous response, “But haven’t we solved that problem already?”
It’s a fair question, says Irwin, director of CLF’s New Hampshire Advocacy Center. “We’ve known that lead is a dangerous toxin, especially for kids, for decades, even before it was banned from paint in 1978. But unfortunately, the answer to the question is still no.”
That answer frustrates Irwin because lead poisoning is an entirely preventable problem, so there’s really no good reason for why several hundred new cases are diagnosed in New Hampshire every year – nearly 750 in 2016, as reported in the State’s most recent data. According to the Centers for Disease Control, any exposure to lead is dangerous to children. When left untreated, even low levels of exposure can cause irreversible health problems, such as loss of IQ and cognitive and behavioral impairments.
Irwin himself was troubled to realize the magnitude of the lead poisoning problem after evaluating environmental justice (EJ) issues in New Hampshire in 2013. At the time, an anonymous donor had reached out to Irwin, wanting to know the most significant EJ issues facing the state and how they could help. But there was no clear answer to the question, because, unlike Massachusetts or Rhode Island, New Hampshire lacks an established EJ advocacy community. Irwin suggested to the donor that CLF conduct an assessment. The goal: to understand the key issues in the state and who they impact, and where advocacy needs were going unmet.
Irwin spent the next several months talking with stakeholders, from public health experts, to State employees, to city workers in the state’s largest cities, Nashua and Manchester. “I asked each person who else I should speak with and followed those leads,” he says. The interviews ultimately added up to about 35 people, who identified a range of issues that span the state’s rural and urban populations and echo those of EJ communities everywhere: substandard housing, transportation challenges, lack of access to healthy food, and poor working conditions.
But the issue of childhood lead poisoning stood out. With the oldest housing stock in the country, inadequate screening of children across the state, and a high rate of kids being exposed, New Hampshire clearly had a problem. And, while lead poisoning affects children across all demographics, it hits low-income and communities of color the hardest. “You’ve got kids who are already facing economic and other challenges,” Irwin says. “Add the permanent impacts of lead poisoning – learning deficiencies, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems – and we’re just creating another barrier to breaking the cycle of poverty.”
While advocates had worked successfully on the issue in the past, lowering the State’s regulatory “action level” from a blood lead level of 20 micrograms per deciliter to 10, little progress had been made since. “New Hampshire’s laws weren’t up to the task,” Irwin says. “People working on lead were doing the best they could working within the system to protect our kids. But many said they had just been worn down and had given up on further improvements to our laws.”
Navigating the intricacies of law and policy, however, is what CLF does best. Irwin had already identified a core group of stakeholders through his assessment, and they soon began meeting to share information, develop a strategy, and engage in advocacy efforts.
“We knew we needed to update our laws to better protect New Hampshire kids,” Irwin says. In 2015, with Senator Dan Feltes as their primary legislative champion, they set out to do just that. But facing strong opposition to some key proposed changes, the effort resulted in only modest improvements to New Hampshire’s lead laws but also, importantly, the establishment of a Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention and Screening Commission.
Irwin, with other key stakeholders, became a member of the new Commission, which spent the next 18 months evaluating the problem before issuing recommendations. Its work became the framework of an ambitious new bill introduced in early 2017. Irwin knew this bill would be a tougher battle. In addition to requiring blood lead testing for all one and two year olds, it proposed aligning the State’s regulatory action level with the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended level of 5 micrograms per deciliter, addressing lead in drinking water in schools and childcare facilities, and establishing a fund to assist landlords in eliminating lead hazards.
Last May, after a series of public hearings, committee meetings, and successful votes by the New Hampshire Senate and House, the bill stalled in the House Finance Committee. Irwin was concerned. “That’s typically a troubling sign for any piece of legislation,” he says. “But instead, with strong legislative champions like Representative Frank Byron, the committee worked to make the bill stronger.” After taking up the legislation again last fall, the Finance Committee sent it back to the full House for a vote in early January. It passed with overwhelming bipartisan support before being approved by the Senate. In February, Governor Sununu signed the bill into law, with Irwin and his partners looking on.
Even when things looked positive, Irwin took nothing for granted. The stakes were too high. “There were numerous champions for this bill, from elected officials to public health and housing advocates, to affected families who were willing to share their stories,” he says. “Citizen advocacy was also crucial. CLF’s New Hampshire constituents repeatedly stepped up to voice their support and make it clear to legislators that action
Irwin isn’t pausing to savor this victory for long, however. “There’s more work to do,” he says. “Too many people don’t understand the hazard that’s lurking in their home. Unsafe renovation practices pose a threat, and lead in water deserves more attention. And kids will still fall through the cracks of the stricter testing requirements. We need to address those issues proactively.”
Persistence, partnership, and policy expertise have been key to Irwin’s success in strengthening New Hampshire’s lead laws. But it all started by simply being willing to listen. As a result, many more kids in the Granite State have a shot at a healthy childhood. | <urn:uuid:f69693f6-b7c0-4759-8fc7-6d0aca51825d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.clf.org/conservation-matters-articles/stopping-childhood-lead-poisoning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370504930.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20200331212647-20200401002647-00290.warc.gz | en | 0.971551 | 1,368 | 2.734375 | 3 |
*NEW in 2022* Supporting All Students in New York State Career and Technical Education Programs
This guide provides a holistic overview of best practices, informed by the most current data on CTE enrollments and educational outcomes for CTE concentrators in New York State secondary schools.
The Four A's of Managing the Placement and Service of Students with Disabilities in the CTE Classroom
While many educators see CTE as a logical placement for students who are otherwise academically unsuccessful, the CTE teacher is too often unprepared for serving this population. This article discusses this issue and includes an easy, four-step model CTE teachers serving students with disabilities can use to be more effective overall.
Status of the professional preparation of teachers serving learners with disabilities in career and technical education programs
This study was designed to assess instructors’ level of training prior to entering the classroom and their comfort level in providing instruction to individuals with disabilities.
Transitioning to Life After High School - NCLD
Transition planning is critical to preparing students with disabilities for life after high school, and some states are starting early.
The Role of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Teacher in Preparing Students with Disabilities for Transition
College Preparation for Students with Disabilities: Know Your Needs
Students with Disabilities and the Transition to Work - Routledge
This book describes how students with disabilities experience higher education and the transition to the workplace.
Forward together National Center for Learning Disabilities
Helping educators unlock the power of students who learn differently.
Obstacles and Opportunities - Creating Career and Technical Education Pathways for Students with Disabilities
In New York State, students with disabilities are among the populations most at risk of dropping out and/or not graduating from high school. While no fix can single-handedly address the disparity in graduation outcomes, high school-level CTE may help close the gap.
Transition Plans | Teach Special Education
Transition plans are a required component of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students who are 14 years of age and older.
Strategies for Creating Work-Based Learning Experiences in ...Schools for Secondary Students With Disabilities
Studies have found that youth with disabilities lack opportunities for work-based experiences during their secondary school careers.
Special Needs Students in Career and Technical Education: Resource
A Tennessee committee composed of state and local representatives of CTE, special education, and school counselors conducted a study related to services for special needs students in CTE. The mission was to determine and address barriers to appropriate placements of special education students in CTE programs and to write and implement suggested guidelines for school personnel. This resource can serve as a tool in the process of developing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and in modifying competencies for special needs students.
Using Technology to Support 10 Executive Functioning Skills
This article describes how teachers can help students develop some of the most critical executive functioning skills.
Thriving in Trade School with a Disability
This article covers the benefits of vocational education, potential careers, and laws that protect both students and employees with disabilities.
Preparing Students with Disabilities for Trade School
Trade schools offer vocational programs for students with disabilities as an alternative to two- and four-year colleges.
How CTE Could Improve Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities
Policymakers should consider CTE programs as a viable option for improving outcomes of students with disabilities because they often thrive under such programs. The blog highlights a report by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that showed students with disabilities had a 70% higher chance of graduating from CTE programs than from traditional high schools. The Huffington Post/The Blog. August 2013.
Centers, Government Offices, and Organizations
Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)
The Center on Technology and Disability
This website includes an extensive collection of evidence-based resources and learning opportunities related to assistive technology.
Education - Center on Disability and Development
The Career & Technical Education Special Populations Resource Center (CTSP) provides access to career and technical education (CTE) and special populations-related multimedia CTE information for parents, teachers, parents, and other education professionals throughout Texas.
National Association of State Directors of Special Education
NASDSE is a premier membership organization that supports state leaders of special education throughout the United States. Its mission is to improve individual and organizational success for state leaders of special education by providing relevant services that guide positive systemic change and results, thereby supporting students with disabilities to live, learn, work and participate in their communities.
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Through research, advocacy, and action, NCLD works to create a society in which every individual possesses the academic, social, and emotional skills needed to succeed in school, at work, and in life.
U.S. Department Of Education Office Of Special Education And Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
OSEP is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts.
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) / Monitoring & State Improvement Planning Division (MSIP) State Lead, IDEA Part B and Part C
View a list of IDEA Part B and Part C contacts by state. | <urn:uuid:91ed03ed-9824-4eb9-b115-d02feca0983c> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://nyctecenter.org/students-with-disabilities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296950383.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20230402043600-20230402073600-00599.warc.gz | en | 0.938332 | 1,114 | 2.859375 | 3 |
EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURE ON TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CERAMICS
Parameters of microstructure and their influence on friction and wear of ceramics
The main disadvantage of Ceramics as compared to Metals and Polymers is their low toughness. Toughness is a bulk mechanical property of a material however it correlates with its wear resistance particularly when the wear is a result of abrasive action caused by cracking. Finer grain structure results in increased toughness and better wear resistance. Grain size also determines the surface finish quality, which may be achieved by grinding and polishing operations. Fine grain structure allows decreasing the size of the surface micro asperities after the surface finish operation resulting in lower coefficient of friction.
Critical flaw size (the size of a flaw that results in rapid fracture)
Effect of flaw size on the fracture strength of a ceramic material is expressed by the Griffith equation:
KIC - stress-intensity factor, measured in MPa*m½; a - the flaw size;
Y - geometry factor.
According to the equation flaws of lower size result in increased material toughness and higher wear resistance.
Flaw size is generally proportional to the grain size.
Homogeneous distribution of the matrix particles size and pores size, second phase particles (toughening particles) incorporated between the matrix particles, aid phase (binders, etc.) locating at the grains boundaries results in lowering the flaw size and consequently in increase of the fracture strength (according to the Griffith equation).Higher fracture strength causes higher wear resistance.Bulk homogeneity of the microstructure allows creating fine and homogeneous surface finish with low content of surface flaws.High quality surface possess low coefficient of friction.
Manufacturing processes forming microstructure of ceramics Powder preparation
Powder characteristics such as particle shape (spherical, irregular), average particle size, size distribution determine the ceramic grain size and the amount and size of the pores.
Compaction (shape forming)
The value of the applied pressure, the method of its application (Uniaxial (Die) Pressing, Isostatic Pressing, Injection Molding, Extrusion, Slip Casting, etc.) and the amount of binders and other additives (plasticizers, lubricants, deflocculants, water etc.) determine the pores size and the residual internal stresses.
Diffusion proceeding during sintering process causes the pores to diminish or even to close up resulting in densification of the ceramic material. The bonding and other second phases are distributed between the grains of the main ceramic phase. The matrix grains may grow during the sintering process. Thus sintering process determines the final grains and pores size and the physical and chemical homogeneity.
Effect of surface characteristics on tribological properties of ceramics
Friction characteristics (coefficient of friction, wear) are strongly dependent on the type of the lubrication regime (boundary lubrication, mixed lubrication, hydrodynamic lubrication).The lubrication regime is determined by the ratio of the lubricant film thickness to the surface roughness Ra.Rough ceramic surface with relatively large microasperities causes direct contact between the rubbing surfaces and results in high coefficient of friction and increased wear.High surface finish quality allows to improve the tribological characteristics of ceramics. Ceramics are brittle and they wear by fracture mechanism, which is characterized by formation of cracks in the subsurface regions surrounding the wear groove. The volume of the lost material is higher than the volume of the wear track. Thus wear of brittle ceramics results in roughening the surface. The effect of roughening during friction is lower in toughened ceramics.
Sintering defects, surface machining, impacts during friction, embedded particles introduce surface flaws, which lead to fracture cracking and increase wear.
Surface composition and tribochemical reactions
Ceramic surface may adsorb molecules of the environmental gases and liquids. Such surfaces with modified composition may have different coefficient of friction. Coefficient of friction of ceramics in vacuum is commonly higher than that in air. Hydration of Oxide ceramics in a humid atmosphere also results in changing their coefficients of friction and wear. Wear of hydrated silicon nitride and silicon carbide is decreased. Wear of hydrated Alumina ceramics and Zirconia ceramics is increased due to chemisorption embrittlement.Surface of Non-oxide ceramics oxidizes in the presence of Oxygen in the environment. The oxidation is enhanced at increased temperatures. Oxide film on the surface of a non-oxide ceramic decrease the coefficients of friction serving as a solid lubricant.
Methods of modification of ceramic surfaces
Plasma oxidizing - a method of surface oxidation by elemental Oxygen supplied to the ceramic surface by plasma.
Ion nitriding and carburizing - a method of introducing nitrogen (nitriding) or carbon (carburizing) atoms into the ceramic surface by means of plasma (glow-discharge).
Ion implantation - a method of introducing a material into a ceramic surface by electrostatically accelerated ions.
Laser densification - a method of heating the ceramic surface layer by a laser beam resulting in closing the pores between the ceramic powder particles.
Electron beam densification - a method of heating the ceramic surface layer by an electron beam resulting in closing the pores between the ceramic powder particles.
Chemical etching - cleaning the ceramic surface by acids.
Sputter etching - bombarding the ceramic surface by accelerated plasma ions,
which vaporize the surface molecules.
Effect of lubrication on tribological properties of ceramics
Lubricants decrease coefficient of friction and reduce wear of the rubbing Parts. Lubricants remove the heat generated by friction.
This function is particularly important for ceramics since they have lower thermal conductivity and usually produce more heat due to relatively high coefficient of friction.
Lubricants remove wear debris from the rubbing surfaces.
Lubricants also protect the ceramic surface from the environment.
Liquid hydrocarbon lubricants are commonly used for relatively low temperatures (up to 392ºF/200ºC). Silicone oils may be used up to 570ºF (300ºC).
Solid lubricants may be used for lubricating ceramics in various forms: suspensions in liquid lubricants, dry powders, Dispersions in gases, coatings. Requirements to solid lubricants properties: good adhesion to the ceramic surface, low shear strength in the sliding direction and high compression strength in the direction of the load (perpendicular to the sliding direction).Substances used as solid lubricants: graphite, molybdenum disulfide, boron nitride, Poly tetra fluoro ethylene (PTFE), calcium fluoride- barium fluoride eutectic. Maximum work temperature some of the solid lubricants is low (PTFE:392ºF/200ºC). Other lubricants may withstand up to 1508ºF/820ºC (calcium fluoride-barium fluoride eutectic).
Vapors of some organic substances may serve as lubricants for ceramics. The vaporized molecules of such lubricant reach the ceramic surface react with it and form on its surface a film possessing low coefficient of friction.
Copyright © 2018-2020 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. Developed by Therithal info, Chennai. | <urn:uuid:adb227bb-7953-4632-9600-8ac755f727e3> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://www.brainkart.com/article/Effect-of-Microstructure-on-Tribological-Properties-of-Ceramics_6368/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998440.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20190617063049-20190617085049-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.891918 | 1,545 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Premium Care. Personal Touch
Tinnitus Evaluations & Management
Get the Buzz on Tinnitus
Each year about 1 in 10 adults nationwide has an episode of tinnitus that lasts longer than 3 months. Tinnitus is not a disease. Instead, it is a symptom that something is wrong with your auditory system. The problem may exist somewhere in your ear, in the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain or in the parts of the brain that make sense of sounds. Because tinnitus can arise from so many conditions, ranging from hearing loss to high blood pressure to medications, diagnosing the cause or causes can be a challenge. For many people, the ringing in their ears begins for no obvious reason.
Often, people are told by their physician that they “have to live with it” and “there’s nothing we can do for it.” While it is true that there is no known cure for tinnitus, there are ways to help people manage it and provide relief. Tinnitus affects everyone differently, and our goal is to learn about you and your unique situation. Our treatment options include education and counseling, hearing devices and sound therapies that are specifically designed for each individual patient.
We start off with a comprehensive tinnitus evaluation which includes a thorough case history, a comprehensive evaluation of your auditory system, tinnitus testing and educational counseling. Together, we can determine the best course of action to provide you with relief for your tinnitus.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but it also can sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high pitched or low pitched. You might hear it in either one or both ears. Roughly 10 percent of the adult population of the United States has experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the past year. This amounts to nearly 25 million Americans.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus (pronounced tin-NY-tus or TIN-u-tus) is not a disease. It is a symptom that something is wrong in the auditory system, which includes the ear, the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, and the parts of the brain that process sound. Something as simple as a piece of earwax blocking the ear canal can cause tinnitus. But it can also be the result of a number of health conditions, such as:
- Noise-induced hearing loss
- Ear and sinus infections
- Diseases of the heart or blood vessels
- Ménière’s disease
- Brain tumors
- Hormonal changes in women
- Thyroid abnormalities
Does having tinnitus mean I have hearing loss?
Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of hearing loss. It also can be a side effect of medications. More than 200 drugs are known to cause tinnitus when you start or stop taking them.
People who work in noisy environments—such as factory or construction workers, road crews, or even musicians—can develop tinnitus over time when ongoing exposure to noise damages tiny sensory hair cells in the inner ear that help transmit sound to the brain. This is called noise-induced hearing loss.
Service members exposed to bomb blasts can develop tinnitus if the shock wave of the explosion squeezes the skull and damages brain tissue in areas that help process sound. In fact, tinnitus is one of the most common service-related disabilities among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pulsatile tinnitus is a rare type of tinnitus that sounds like a rhythmic pulsing in the ear, usually in time with your heartbeat. A doctor may be able to hear it by pressing a stethoscope against your neck or by placing a tiny microphone inside the ear canal. This kind of tinnitus is most often caused by problems with blood flow in the head or neck. Pulsatile tinnitus also may be caused by brain tumors or abnormalities in brain structure.
What is the source of the sounds in my head?
Although we hear tinnitus in our ears, its source is really in the networks of brain cells (what scientists call neural circuits) that make sense of the sounds our ears hear. A way to think about tinnitus is that it often begins in the ear, but it continues in the brain.
Scientists still haven’t agreed upon what happens in the brain to create the illusion of sound when there is none. Some think that tinnitus is similar to chronic pain syndrome, in which the pain persists even after a wound or broken bone has healed.
Tinnitus could be the result of the brain’s neural circuits trying to adapt to the loss of sensory hair cells by turning up the sensitivity to sound. This would explain why some people with tinnitus are oversensitive to loud noise.
Tinnitus also could be the result of neural circuits thrown out of balance when damage in the inner ear changes signaling activity in the auditory cortex, the part of the brain that processes sound. Or it could be the result of abnormal interactions between neural circuits. The neural circuits involved in hearing aren’t solely dedicated to processing sound. They also communicate with other parts of the brain, such as the limbic region, which regulates mood and emotion.
Can I prevent tinnitus?
Noise-induced hearing loss, the result of damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear, is one of the most common causes of tinnitus. Anything you can do to limit your exposure to loud noise—by moving away from the sound, turning down the volume, or wearing earplugs or earmuffs—will help to lessen the likelihood that you will experience tinnitus.
Treatments for Tinnitus
Hearing aids often are helpful for people who have hearing loss along with tinnitus. Using a hearing aid adjusted to carefully control outside sound levels may make it easier for you to hear. The better you hear, the less you may notice your tinnitus.
Counseling helps you learn how to live with your tinnitus. Most counseling programs have an educational component to help you understand what goes on in the brain to cause tinnitus. Some counseling programs also will help you change the way you think about and react to your tinnitus. You might learn some things to do on your own to make the noise less noticeable, to help you relax during the day, or to fall asleep at night.
Tabletop Sound Generators
Used as an aid for relaxation or sleep. Placed near your bed, you can program a generator to play pleasant sounds such as waves, waterfalls, rain, or the sounds of a summer night. If your tinnitus is mild, this might be all you need to help you fall asleep.
Wearable Sound Generators
These are small electronic devices that fit in the ear and use a soft, pleasant sound to help mask the tinnitus. Some people want the masking sound to totally cover up their tinnitus, but most prefer a masking level that is just a bit louder than their tinnitus. The masking sound can be a soft “shhhhhhhhhhh,” random tones, or music.
What’s Next in tinnitus treatment?
Widex Zen Tinnitus
Zen is available in all Widex Moment, Evoke, Beyond and Unique hearing and tinnitus devices at all price points.
ZEN tones are inspired by the relaxing effects of music. ZEN plays random, chime-like tones that can be used for relaxation and for making tinnitus less noticeable. With stress named as one of the most common factors involved with tinnitus, relaxation and stress reduction are vital elements in effective tinnitus management.
ZEN is available in all Widex EVOKETM, BEYONDTM, and UNIQUETM hearing and tinnitus devices at all price points.
For some people with tinnitus, counseling and the use of hearing and tinnitus devices with ZEN may be the key to reclaiming your life. The effect of using ZEN can be immediate, but for most, it will take some time. ABC Hearing will help you set realistic goals and can adjust the ZEN program if needed.
The ZEN program is for daily use. You can use it to avoid complete silence to reduce your focus on the tinnitus. It can also be used for meditation and relaxation purposes.
Widex researchers, designers, audiologists, and engineers have been committed to helping people suffering from tinnitus, all of whom have been affected by frequent or persistent hearing disruptions. We are proud of our unique approach, which provides millions of people with a promising option for tinnitus management.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
What is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?
Every day, we experience sound in our environment. Normally, these sounds are at safe levels that don’t damage our hearing. But sounds can be harmful when they are too loud, even for a brief time. These sounds can damage sensitive structures in the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
NIHL can be immediate, take a long time to be noticeable, temporary or permanent, and it can affect one ear or both ears. Even if you can’t tell that you are damaging your hearing, you could have trouble hearing in the future. Regardless of how it might affect you, noise-induced hearing loss is something you can prevent.
Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)
What are the Signs of NIHL?
When you are exposed to loud noises you may slowly start to lose your hearing. Over time, sounds may become distorted or muffled, and you might find it difficult to understand other people when they talk or have to turn up the volume on the television. Extremely loud bursts of sound can rupture the eardrum or damage the bones in the middle ear.
Loud noise exposure can also cause tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing, or roaring in the ears or head. Tinnitus may subside over time, but can continue constantly or occasionally throughout a person’s life. Hearing loss and tinnitus can occur in one or both ears. | <urn:uuid:9fb5cc87-89a4-477f-8b58-e04502358732> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://pinnacleaudiologysf.com/tinnitus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334992.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927064738-20220927094738-00207.warc.gz | en | 0.941797 | 2,160 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Eugenius II was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1821 to 1822. Prior to his election as Patriarch, he was Archbishop of Anchialos in Bulgaria.
Eugenius was among the Archbishops held as hostages by Mahmud II along with Patriarch Gregory V when the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821. On 10 April 1821 Gregory V was deposed and hanged by the Turks in the central gate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Archbishop Eugenius, still a prisoner at the time, was elected as the new Patriarch under the name Eugenius II.
Preceded by Gregory V
Patriarch of Constantinople 1821-1822
Succeeded by Anthimus III | <urn:uuid:959156c3-ad00-4642-8829-0bedf24964dd> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/Religion/PatriarchEugeniusIIOfConstantinople.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802771164.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075251-00161-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980449 | 150 | 2.625 | 3 |
First 711 words of the document:
How is the ultrastructure of different cells related to their functions?
Each cell in existence has different structures that aid them in functioning efficiently. Cell
structure can be defined as the components a cell has which help it to perform its different functions.
The relation between ultrastructure of a cell and its function is in terms of the organelles present,
size, shape etc.
Components of a cell such as the nucleus, cell membrane and the cytoplasm are present in
every cell and in most cases serve the exact same functions. However other components of the each
type of cell are specialised to order to work as efficiently as possible.
For instance; the red blood cells which transport oxygen around the body and carbon
dioxide out of the body has specialised structures which enable it to transport resourcefully and
quickly. The biconcave shape of the red blood cell provides it with a large surface area to volume
ratio. The larger the surface area to volume ratio means that the oxygen bonds to the haemoglobin
faster. The shape of the red blood cell also allows them to travel through any vessel; meaning that
because they are small and rounded they can pass through even the smallest capillary. The
haemoglobin; which is the oxygen carrying protein in the blood cell, aids the carrying of oxygen in the
blood, the fact that the red blood cells have more room to carry haemoglobin. It also has a thin
membrane that allows easy diffusion to occur.
If the red blood cells weren't specialised in this way they wouldn't be able to transport
oxygen around the body efficiently. The muscles that require oxygen wouldn't be able to work as
they can no longer respire in order to produce energy. For example if the red blood cells had just a
regular circular shape they would be unable to fit through small capillaries and wouldn't be able to
travel as quickly. People with sickle cell anaemia have abnormally shaped red blood cells, in contrast
to the biconcave shape of the regular red blood cells, they have a crescent shape. This makes the red
blood cells more vulnerable to getting stuck in small capillaries and also breaks into pieces which
disrupt the flow of blood to the body restricting the amount oxygen being transported around the
body. The shape of the red blood cell also restricts the amount of oxygen it can carry further
reducing the oxygen concentration it delivers to the body.
Nerve cells also have special adaptations that allow them to transport messages to the next
nerve cell in order to send information across the body. Nerve cells have a very long axon meaning
that can deliver messages a long distance. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheith (fat containing
cells, insulating layer) which conducts the impulses by saltatory conduction; a process which assists
the transmission of an impulse along an axon, when the current reaches an area where there are no
fat containing cells on an axon, and must jump across the strip. The myelin sheith contains an organelle
called the nodes of Ranvier which have concentrated sodium channels which allows the impulse to
jump from node to node. This increases the speed of the impulse sending the message faster. The
synapse at the ends of the nerve cells ensures that the impulse can only travel in one direction. The
presynaptic cleft produces a chemical neurotransmitter which stimulates the receptors on the post
synaptic cleft and so therefore the impulse can only travel in one direction. Some nerve cells can
undertake summation, where several nerves synapse to the same neuron (such as in the eye).
Without the specialised structure of nerve cells they would be unable to transmit impulses
around the body so quickly meaning that information cannot be sent around the body as quick as it
might need to be sent. For example if the axon weren't very long it would take longer for the
Other pages in this set
Here's a taster:
impulse to travel. Also if there were no synapses the impulses may travel the wrong way sending the
message back instead of forwards. For instance if someone was to burn their hand a message would
be sent quickly to remove the hand from the hot item to prevent further damage, if this message
wasn't sent quick enough, there would be a lot more damage done. Similarly if the impulse travelled
the wrong way it would also take longer.…read more
Here's a taster:
The ultrastructure of cells allows them to carry out their functions efficiently. If all cells were
the same no organism would be able to survive as the cells would be incompetent and would be
unable to carry out any of their functions properly.…read more | <urn:uuid:0ef8ce9c-ffc1-469d-9200-a1d695577e2d> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://getrevising.co.uk/resources/how_the_ultra_structure_of_different_cells_relates_to_their_function | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170741.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00620-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944664 | 1,004 | 3.84375 | 4 |
present industrial and household "revolution" occurred after people began to use electricity.An automation, that is, most of the human resources replaced various devices.
Automation of production processes has led, in particular, to increase productivity and reduce production costs.This is due to the widespread introduction of the automated systems of planning, design and management of any process, as well as the use of automated machine tools with program management instead of "manpower".Cost reduction, in turn, led to a decrease in selling prices for the most diverse products.If still relatively recent, many kinds of home appliances were very expensive and were available
only to well-endowed men, but now they can be found in almost every household.
Automation can improve the quality of products, fully or partially release the person from direct involvement in production, hazardous to their health.However, where the requirements of technological regulations requires special precision and sterile cleanliness (for example, certain activities related to the space industry, production of high purity reagents, etc.), are trying to implement fully automated, with no human intervention.
Automatic increasingly covers the advertising and tourism, and trade.Until relatively recently, in order to buy a ticket to the theater, train or plane, it was necessary to be in cash, and stand in line.Now there are many sites on the reservation and sales of tickets, working around the clock.The same can be said about the payment of travel packages, various utilities, fees, goods in shops.Automation makes it possible to do so without leaving home, having only access to the Internet.
This is not a complete list of the enormous changes that have brought into our life scientific and technological revolution, one of the main features of which is the automation.Even people with a rich imagination can hardly predict what other "surprises" we will present automation in the coming years, the more than a decade.Perhaps in the future a person will not have to go to work, perform household chores, as for it will all be done by robots.But this is only speculation. | <urn:uuid:2557f65e-ccb5-4259-8508-0cb1dc8f7b4e> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://howded.com/en/pages/248635 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218190181.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212950-00338-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958968 | 418 | 2.71875 | 3 |
via Japan Times / April 11, 2015 / A remote-controlled robot inserted to survey the inside of the No. 1 reactor at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has stopped functioning, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
As a first step in the utility’s effort to remove melted nuclear fuel from the bottom of the unit’s primary containment vessel, the shape-shifting robot was sent in Friday morning to find the exact location of the highly radioactive debris.
Set to cover some 20 meters of the first floor on the first day, the robot began its trip at around 11:20 a.m. but halted at around 2:10 p.m. after completing two-thirds of the route, Tepco said.
The utility said footage from the robot’s camera shows it passed an opening leading to the vessel’s basement, where the molten fuel is believed to have ended up after the core meltdowns occurred after the March 2011 quake and tsunami. | <urn:uuid:16314cc3-4875-4f47-9d43-c3efcf1249cb> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | http://fukushimaupdate.com/survey-robot-breaks-down-inside-fukushima-no-1-reactor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232256958.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20190522203319-20190522225319-00329.warc.gz | en | 0.945109 | 203 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Devir Brown, Celeste Lopez
Colombian Exchange is the exchange of animals, plants, and culture.
Triangular trade is the trading between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
The middle passage was most likely a musty old boat with a lot of Africans wondering when they are gonna be free again. -___-
Why did the Americas use Africans instead of Natives for their slaves???
They used Africans as slave because they thought that the Africans were immune to all their diseases. | <urn:uuid:b2a42dcc-2acb-4cdd-aa1c-10e23757a9d9> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://www.smore.com/jtmf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257646178.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20180318224057-20180319004057-00606.warc.gz | en | 0.941369 | 102 | 3.15625 | 3 |
(Click on coin images to see larger version)
Gold Coinage of Colorado during the Territorial Period
Prior to 1864, it was legal for private individuals to mint gold coins of their own design. Since the value of an individual coin was based upon its intrinsic value of precious metal, coins of accurate fineness and weight manufactured by private firms were usually accepted at full value. In fact, several privately-issued gold coins were more readily accepted in certain regions than were Federal currency.
Most issuances of private gold coins were made in association with discoveries of major gold deposits. Beginning with the unexpected finding of gold in Georgia and North Carolina in 1828, scores of private minters produced millions of dollars worth of gold coins in denominations ranging from a quarter dollar through $50 gold slugs.
The last gold mining region in the United States where it was still legal to mint pioneer gold coins was the Territory of Colorado, during the period 1860-1862.
The Mayer collection is the finest, and most comprehensive group of these coins extant. This website illustrates examples of all of the known coins and patterns minted in Colorado during the territorial period and is organized by minter as follows:
The first company to actually make working dies for the minting of gold coins in Colorado was the Denver City Assay Office. In April or May of 1860, this firm produced a few patterns $5.00 pieces as well as a $20 uniface pattern. All of the reported examples are struck in copper. No gold coins were minted by the firm.
W.J. Howard's Assay Office in Central City, ca. 1862
The dies for the Denver City Assay Office pattern gold tokens were engraved by Winslow J. Howard, a jeweler and watchmaker who arrived in Denver City early in 1860. Luckily, Howard was also a collector. He managed to collect an example of a pattern or coin from each of the four Colorado minters. It is believed that the actual striking of the coins was done by Cord Brothers Jewelers. It is probable that a $10 coin was also produced, but no examples are known to have survived. Beside the physical evidence of the few patterns that do survive, little else is known of the Denver City Assay Office.
Denver City Assay Office, $5.00 Pattern Token:
It is known that the dies for the Denver City Assay Office pattern gold 'tokens' were engraved by Winslow J. Howard, a jeweler and watchmaker who arrived in Denver City early in 1860. Howard was the first person to collect an example of a pattern or coin from each of the four Colorado minters.
The obverse of the Denver City Assay Office piece shows a mountain peak with trees at its base and two birds flying on the left. The words DENVER CITY ASSAY OFFICE, separated by two six-point stars, encircle the mountain.
There are several varieties of the reverse design. The most 'common' shows a crossed miners pick and shovel with a gold-mining pan above. Below is the fraction 917/1000, the fineness of Colorado gold. FIVE TOKEN CITY ASSAY OFFICE and the date 1860 complete the imagery.
Denver City Assay Office, $5.00 Pattern with Counterstamp:
Denver City Assay Office patterns are extremely rare. Six or seven $5.00 pieces and one or possibly two $20 patterns are all that still exist. It is thought that a $10 coin was also envisioned by the company founders, but no coin or pattern of this denomination has ever been located.
This unique $5.00 pattern (K-1a) was counterstamped by punching two, five-point stars into the tokens obverse. It is not known if this was done during the testing phase, or at a later date by persons unassociated with Denver City Assay Office.
This piece was unknown until 1954, almost one hundred years after its creation. It was discovered in the estate of a newspaper editor from Colorado Springs and ended up in the Henry Clifford Collection before being purchased by Mr. Mayer in 1981.
Denver City Assay Office, $5.00 Kratz Pattern Token:
The third variety of Denver City Assay Office $5.00 is the so-called 'Kraatz' reverse (K-2). This version has an American eagle very similar to that on the standard $5.00, with the word 'Kraatz' stamped below. Only two specimens are known. As with all Denver City Assay Office patterns, these pieces have a plain edge.
Despite extensive research it is not known who 'Kraatz' was, or if the name even refers to a person, rather than a place or company.
The workmanship on the eagle is much finer than that on the tokens mountain scene, suggesting a different person engraved the eagle. Because the tokens reference to mining and coinage have been replaced on the reverse with the Kraatz design, this piece could be considered a souvenir of early Denver rather than pattern coinage.
Denver City Assay Office, $5.00 Serpentine Pattern:
It is not know what the Denver City Assay Office coiners meant when they called their issue a 'five token' rather than a 'five dollar' coin. Possibly they wanted to avoid any entanglement over counterfeiting issues. But as long as they made their 'tokens' of full weight and value equal to a $5.00 gold coin, they had nothing to worry about under existing law.
The reverse on two or three specimens of the DCAO $5.00 (K-3) exhibits a whirl pattern. This 'serpentine' design is the result of tooling marks made on the back of several coins during the manufacturing process; it is not a die-struck design.
Winslow Howard reported in 1886 that the DCAO pieces were struck by Cord Brothers Jewelers, an early Denver firm. Unfortunately, the records of this company were also destroyed in the big fire of 1863.
Denver City Assay Office, $20.00 Pattern:
The rarest Denver City Assay Office piece is the $20 pattern (K-5), with Mr. Mayers being the only reported specimen. A second piece may exist, but the pattern is still so rare than prior to 2002, no color photograph of the piece existed; only a graining black-and-white reproduction from 1981.
The design on the $20 token is basically the same as that on the $5.00, except no birds grace the mountain scene. It is worth comparing the mountain (or portion of a mountain, according to some critics) on the $5 and that on this $20: they are different engravings, done at different times, and with subtle differences in placement of trees and other scenery.
The reverse of the $20 is blank. Apparently by the time a $20 reverse die was needed, the prospective business, like many other early territorial partnerships, had collapsed. All that is left of those dreams and ambitions are these five copper tokens from the Denver City Assay Office, 1860.
By far the most successful private minter in the Pikes Peak region was the Leavenworth, Kansas, firm of Clark, Gruber & Co. The banking portion of the firm's operation opened for business in Denver City on July 10, 1860, making it one of the earliest banking houses in Colorado Territory.
The Clark, Gruber & Co. Bank and Mint was built at the corner of McGaa (now 16th) and G Street (now Market Street). The lots were purchased from friends of the Clark brothers in Leavenworth. The two-story multi-purpose building was constructed for $5,000.
An 1863 check from the Leavenworth office for $1,500. Revenue stamp tied by Union Pacific Ry cancel.
A large portion of the firm's business was in raw gold: gold dust, gold nuggets, gold ore, even rough ingots. Within a few months, it became apparent that the expenses and danger of shipping the gold to the Mint in Philadelphia were too high. After determining that it was legal to issue coinage with a gold content worth more than its face value, the company obtained the equipment and dies needed to strike coins.
The highly regarded Leavenworth, Kansas, mercantile and banking firm of Clark, Gruber & Co. determined to establish a mint in Denver and issue gold coins valued at $2 1/2, $5, $10, and $20. With machinery and equipment bought in Philadelphia and New York, production began in July 1860.
In December 1859, Milton Clark traveled to Philadelphia and New York City to obtain dies and machinery to operate the new mint. The equipment, shown above, was shipped by rail to Leavenworth City, Kansas Territory; it then was carried in oxen-drawn wagon to Denver.
The Clark, Gruber Mint was soon processing over $2,000 in gold dust daily, which they paid for in their own coinage or drafts. The minting equipment operated day and night eventually producing over $3 million in coins which became the dominant form of regional currency.
The Clarks wanted the obverse of their $10 and $20 coins to have an image of Pikes Peak, with the reverse designed to look similar to regular U.S. coinage. A few supposed die trials exist that picture a very triangular mountain, including the examples above in copper and white metal.
For additional Clark, Gruber & Co. pattern coins, see the page here.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1860 $2.50 Coin:
Each coin actually contained more gold than its United States government counterpart, with an intrinsic value slightly higher than its face value. This feature made the new coins immediately popular in a region where there was a shortage of coins but an abundance of gold dust and gold nuggets.
Clark, Gruber & Co. coins circulated widely throughout the western states for over 40 years. In 1906 a Clark, Gruber $20 piece was pulled from circulation and redeemed for its gold content. It is estimated that about one thousand coins still exist, in nine varieties. Mintage figures are unknown though it is reported that the mint produced $120,000 worth of coins during its first three months of operation.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1860 $5.00 Coin:
Most Clark, Gruber 1860 quarter-eagle ($2.50) and half-eagle ($5.00) coins were weakly struck, meaning the center portion of the design did not fill the dies completely. This loss of detail is most noticeable in the hair around Miss Liberty's ear.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1860 $10.00 Coin:
The most famous of all Clark, Gruber coins is the so-called "Mountain ten" of 1860 showing a highly stylized view of Pikes Peak. The mountain is still triangular in shape, but less geometric and more like a volcano than other designs.
The $10.00 eagle was the first denomination struck by the mint and was most people's introduction to "Pikes Peak gold." A newspaper reporter invited to the striking of the first coins observed that "the little engine that drives the machinery was fired up, belts adjusted ... and 'mint drops' of the value $10 began dropping into a tin pail with a most musical clink. About a thousand were turned out at the rate of 15 or 20 a minute." Today, fewer than 75 "mint drops" are known.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1860 $20.00 Coin:
Even larger and more spectacular than the "Mountain Ten" was Clark, Gruber's "Mountain Twenty" coin. This large double eagle was slightly larger and heavier than the standard $20 U.S. gold coin of the era. There are fewer than twenty genuine specimens extant but counterfeits abound.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1861 $2.50 Coin:
In 1861 Clark Gruber had new dies engraved for all four denominations. Gone was the design showing Pikes Peak as a volcano. It was replaced by an image of Miss Liberty, making the coinage almost identical in appearance to federal coinage. Only the words "Pikes Peak" on Liberty's headband showed the coin originated thousands of miles from the Philadelphia mint.
The 1861 $2.50 coin from Clark, Gruber mint is probably the most common of the series with approximately 200 specimens known.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1861 $5.00 Coin:
Despite their similarly to federal issue $5.00 half-eagles, the Clark Gruber specimens are not quite as finely made as those struck at the Philadelphia mint. Notice how much larger the numeral "6" in the date is than the numeral "8."
The minters also changed the composition of metal slightly. The 1860 coins were virtually pure gold which caused them to wear easily. In 1861, Clark, Gruber alloyed the gold to harden the coins slightly. They kept the total amount of gold in the gold the same so that it actually contained $5.03 worth of gold.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1861 $10.00 Coin:
One result of eliminating Pikes Peak from the obverse of the coin was that the date could now be moved to the front of the coin rather than on the reverse as in the 1860 series. Like other private minters, Clark Gruber measured their coinage against the standard of the federal mint, trying to make their product look as close as possible within legal constraints.
Clark, Gruber & Co., 1861 $20.00 Coin:
The 1861 Clark, Gruber $20.00 is considered to be the most finely engraved of all privately minted gold coins including those minted in California, Georgia and North Carolina as well. Other than the change of text on Liberty's headband, it is a near exact duplicate of James Longacre's impressive design for the United States double eagle, one of the most recognizable and beautiful coins of the nineteenth century.
It is not clear when Clark, Gruber ceased minting operations. There is some evidence the company made coins in 1862 using dies dated 1861.
Dr. John Parsons was a multi-talented medical doctor from Quincy, Illinois, who ventured west to Colorado Territory in 1859. Parsons, who also was a botanist and a hard-rock miner, had a strong background in metallurgy. In the summer of 1860, he moved to the Tarryall Mining district in South Park, where he assayed gold ore for placer miners.
Tarryall ca. 1860s
In 1861, after securing dies and equipment, Parsons returned to Tarryall, this time with a coin press mounted in the back of a wagon. In that summer, the towns of Hamilton and Tarryall were home to more than 6,000 miners. Parsons located his minting wagon at the mouth of Tarryall Creek, just west of the two towns.
It is reported that Parsons charge a fee as high as 20% to the miners wishing to convert their gold dust to coin. Thus a miner would receive a $5.00 coin in exchange for $6.25 of gold dust. Parsons left Tarryall before October 1861 and moved to Denver where he became active in several projects, notably a water-ditch company.
Dr. Parsons, 1850-O Half-Dime Overstrike:
It remains unknown where Dr. Parsons had his dies made or who made them. However, ten to twelve die trial pieces exist and were likely struck in the process of setting up the coining press. The piece above was struck on a United States 1850-O half-dime and as such is unique. This small silver coin was used because it is close in size to the gold $2.50 coin Parsons' wished to mint.
Dr. Parsons, 1855-O Half-Dollar Overstrike:
Only about eight of the Parsons $2.50 die trials are known. They are found on blank flans, half-dimes, dimes and the unique example shown above which was struck on a Liberty seated half-dollar.
Dr. Parsons, $2.50 Coin:
The obverse of the Parsons $2.50 and $5 gold piece shows a six-stamp, quartz reduction mill. Basically, this machine pulverized ore to aid in the extraction of the gold. The device portrayed is very similar to an actual example that was built in Buckskin Joe, a nearby town where Dr. Parsons owned a mining claim. That mill has been preserved and is shown below.
However, the die engraver make a mistake in the spelling of Dr. Parsons name by leaving off the terminal "s" on the coins. Below the mill is the Spanish word "oro," meaning "gold." The coin's reverse shows an American eagle and shield, similar to federal coinage of the time. The words "Pikes Peak Gold" surround the eagle with the denomination below. Fewer than ten examples survive of the Parsons $2.50 coin.
Dr. Parsons, $5.00 Coin:
According to contemporary reports, Parsons struck a "significant" number of $2.50 and $5.00 coins which circulated as far away as Denver. However, only four to six examples survive of the $5.00 denomination.
The obverse is on the $5.00 coin is similar to the $2.50 except that the first initial of Parsons name has been lengthened to "Jno." The reverse design is also similar but with the denomination changed to "Five D."
The final Colorado minter to be discussed is also the one that we know the least about. Newspaper reports state that Conway was a jeweler and watchmaker as well as a banker. The J.J. Conway mint struck $2.50, $5.00 and $10.00 gold coins in the summer of 1861 in Georgia Gulch near present-day Breckenridge. The dies were discovered in a Denver attic in 1924 and now reside in the collection of the Colorado Historical Society.
All three denominations of Conway's coins exhibit the simple obverse letter-punch design: "J.J. Conway & Co., Bankers" with two six point starts as spacers. The reverse designs incorporate a punch of denomination as well as "Pikes Peak " and text for the denomination. Although no date is given, it is clear that they were produced in July and August of 1861.
J.J. Conway & Co., Bankers, $2.50 Coin:
There are only seven Conway quarter-eagles reported.
J.J. Conway & Co., Bankers, $5.00 Coin:
Conway coins circulated as far south as Ft. Union, New Mexico, where five of the fifteen known pieces, including this coin, were recovered from a single site in the 1960s.
J.J. Conway & Co., Bankers, $10.00 Coin:
The $10.00 Conway gold coin holds the distinction of being the rarest of the Colorado gold coins with three examples known. Of these, two are now in the Smithsonian collection after having resided in the U.S. Mint cabinet for many years. This example is the only known in private hands.
This coin was found at Ft. Union, New Mexico in the 1960s along with several other Conway pieces. It was evidently left there by someone associated with the Colorado Volunteers who were assigned there in 1862 to stop a Confederate army from invading Colorado. The matter was resolved with the Federal victory at Glorieta Pass when the Confederates were forced to retreat to Texas.
J.J. Conway & Co., Bankers, Ft. Union Gold Button
The melted gold button, or cupel, was reportedly found in the burned-out ruins of the sutler's shop at Fort Union. It weighs 620 grains, meaning that it contained about 1.4 ounces of gold. A possible combination of Conway coins that melted would equal that weight would be two $2.50,two $5.00 and one $10.00.
Website: Richard Frajola
Text: Dr. Lawrence Lee and Richard Frajola
Photography: David McCarthy, Dr. Dan Kagin
This exhibit of Colorado Territorial coins is currently on display at the Colorado Historical Society through August 2009.
Richard Frajola (September 2008) | <urn:uuid:7ede3793-6898-4238-b544-041562d4bfad> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://www.rfrajola.com/mayergold/mayergold.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247479885.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216045013-20190216071013-00465.warc.gz | en | 0.967178 | 4,241 | 3.125 | 3 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.