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In order to meet Federal Exhaust Emission and Fuel Economy regulations, today's vehicles are equipped with highly sophisticated electronic engine control systems. These systems do not require periodic adjustments. The only services required on a scheduled basis are spark plug and filter replacement. Tune-ups, as we knew them, are no longer necessary.
Engine Control Computer
The computer receives information from a network of sensors and switches that convert engine operating conditions into electrical signals. Based on the information and instructions stored in the computer program, commands are then sent to three primary systems:
- Ignition System
- Fuel System
- Emission Control System
The sensors that monitor one or more of these systems include:
- Mass Airflow Sensor
- Throttle Position Sensor
- Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor
- Coolant Temperature Sensor
- Exhaust Oxygen Sensor
- Crankshaft Position Sensor
- Camshaft Position Sensor
Check Engine Light
When your check engine light comes on, you may be torn between utter panic and just wanting to ignore it and hope it goes away. That’s perfectly understandable. That same check engine light could come on for anything from a serious engine or transmission problem all the way down to a loose gas cap.
There’s a very common misconception that the trouble codes stored in your engine computer when your check engine light comes on will specifically identify a problem. It’s really more like pointing to the symptoms of a problem.
Call Yeck’s Tire & Auto Repair for help with your check engine light.
Think of taking your temperature. Say it’s 101. Your heat sensor – the thermometer – tells you that your temperature is out of the normal range. But it doesn’t tell you why you have a fever. Is it the flu or a sinus infection? You need more information; more tests.
For any given trouble code, there could be a number of causes. So your trained technician takes the trouble code as a starting point and begins a diagnostic process to determine the cause of the problem. And some problems take longer to solve than others.
When your engine management system logs a problem and illuminates the check engine light, your Bellevue service technician at Yeck’s Tire & Auto Repair will plug in a scanner, download the trouble codes and go to work tracing the cause of the problem.
That’s just the first step. That’s when your technician’s training, equipment, databases and skill get put to work diagnosing the problem and fixing it.
If your check engine light is flashing it means that the problem could lead to serious damage. You should get to your local Bellevue NE service center as soon as possible to get the problem solved. If it’s on but not flashing, you have some time to get in at your convenience.
Air and fuel are mixed together to be burned in your engine. You request how much of each you need by how hard you press on the accelerator, by going up or down a hill or by how much you are carrying in your vehicle as your drive around Bellevue. Based on how much air you need – and how much is available – your engine management computer sends the needed amount of fuel to your engine. But what if the computer is getting the wrong information about how much air is coming into your engine? Well, it would send get the wrong amount of fuel and your engine wouldn't perform the way you need it to.
The Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor measures the volume, temperature and density of the air coming into your engine. With that information, the computer calculates how much oxygen is available to burn and adjusts the amount of fuel it sends. A dirty or damaged MAF sensor will provide inaccurate air flow readings, which can lead to drivability problems, damage your catalytic converter, set off the Check Engine light and may even prevent the engine from running.
The good news is that Bellevue drivers can prevent most MAF sensor contamination. As air comes into your engine, it first passes through the engine air filter. Dust, road grime, pollen and other contaminants are captured in the filter. When the engine air filter becomes very dirty and clogged, some of the contaminants pass through the filter and hit the MAF sensor. That is how the sensor can become so dirty or damaged that it cannot accurately measure the air flow. So replacing your engine air filter as recommended will extend the life of your MAF sensor and help keep your engine running smoothly.
Now if your MAF sensor is contaminated, it may be possible to clean it with an air induction cleaning service at Yeck's Tire & Auto in Bellevue. This service also cleans your throttle body and other fuel system components. In those circumstances where the MAF sensor has been damaged, it will need to be replaced.
Approximately 12,000 gallons of air pass through your engine air filter for every gallon of fuel you burn (45,000 liters of air for every 4 liters of fuel). That's a lot of air to clean – and your air filter must be up to the job. Replacing this relatively inexpensive part will not only prevent dirt from getting into your engine, it will help keep your MAF sensor functioning properly. Your technician can easily inspect your engine air filter to see if it should be replaced. A caution: low-line air filters may actually contribute to MAF sensor failure as filter material can come loose and contaminate the sensitive sensor elements. A good quality engine air filter is your engine's first line of defense.
When your Yeck's Tire & Auto Service Advisor recommends you replace your engine air filter, you now know how much is riding on that simple part.
Evaporative Emissions Control
The oil and fuel in your vehicle give off vapors that are very harmful to the environment. Evaporative emissions control systems – EVAP for short – are mandated in all cars and trucks. The EVAP system is there to capture these vapors and direct them into the engine to be burned – kind of an on-board recycling program.
The EVAP system is a complicated network of hoses, valves, filters and such. Issues with the EVAP system are in the top 5 reasons for a Check Engine light to be illuminated. Your friendly and knowledgeable Yeck's Tire & Auto service advisor can pull the trouble codes and begin a diagnostic procedure to isolate the fault.
With the proper equipment, your technician can test the valves in order to trace a blockage. A low pressure smoke test can be performed to find any leaks. The repairs are then made to get the EVAP system working again and to reset the Check Engine light.
While EVAP problems don't generally lead to vehicle damage, the fact that they trigger the Check Engine light can mask other more problems for Bellevue residents if left unaddressed. After all, there are hundreds of conditions that can trigger a Check Engine light, but there is only one light. So if the light is on because of an EVAP issue you haven't fixed and another arises, you won't be alerted to the new condition because the light is already on.
Of course, if you live in a jurisdiction in NE that requires emissions testing to register your vehicle, you won't pass the test until you make the repairs. An EVAP trouble code could be caused by something as simple as a loose or worn gas cap, a leak in a hose, problems with a purge valve or even a rusty fuel filler pipe.
When your Check Engine light comes on, bring your vehicle into Yeck's Tire & Auto in Bellevue and let us check it out. Your Yeck's Tire & Auto service advisor will be able to diagnose the system and work out a plan to address any problems that are uncovered. There's peace of mind for Bellevue drivers that comes from knowing what is wrong and taking care of it. |
In today’s market, electric cars make up only a tiny section of overall vehicle sales. And yet that wasn’t the case when the automobile was new: in 1900, the best-selling car in the United States was powered by batteries.
So just what knocked electrics off their lofty perch? The improvement that finally put gasoline engines ahead of them can be traced directly to, of all things, a broken jaw – and, of course, more on that later.
Historians generally credit Germany’s Karl Benz with creating the first viable gasoline-powered automobile in 1885. In Massachusetts, brothers Charles and Frank Duryea, working from what they’d read about Benz’s buggy, made a prototype of their own in 1892. Three years later, they formed the first American company that built and sold cars.
Suddenly, a flood of inventors wanted in on the action. In 1896, Charles King of Detroit put an engine in a carriage and became the first to drive an automobile in that city. Three months later Henry Ford also drove on a Detroit street, in a rudimentary car he’d put together in his home workshop.
Those early cars were noisy and unreliable, but many saw a potential benefit in them: they believed a world of gasoline motorcars would be a world free of pollution. Horses dumped manure, and in major cities full of horse-drawn vehicles, the streets were paved with excrement. These new gasoline automobiles would keep the roads pristine.
Gasoline, the Alternative Fuel
But while many automakers chose gasoline, it wasn’t yet the established norm. Some companies went with steam, which was already proven in locomotives. Various inventors had tried using electric motors to power carriages since at least the 1830s, and several automakers now worked on that. At the New York Auto Show of 1902, the displays included 58 steam-powered vehicles, 58 gasoline ones, and 23 electrics.
Most steam-car companies didn’t last long. These engines were very powerful, but they were complex and expensive, there was a steep learning curve to operate them, and you had to wait for the water to boil before you could drive away.
The biggest issue with electric cars was the same as today: range. They mostly used lead-acid or alkaline batteries, and many would only run for about an hour on a charge, at top speeds of around 12 to 25 km/h.
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Several American manufacturers made electrics, including Columbia, Baker, Detroit Electric, Pope-Waverley, Babcock, and Rauch & Lang. Studebaker, which would go on to considerable success with gasoline cars, was initially electric-only.
Canada’s first was a horse-style buggy with electric motor, commissioned by Toronto attorney Frederick Fetherstonhaugh in 1893. Five years later, Toronto’s Canadian Motor Syndicate used its basic design for the battery-powered cars it offered for sale. Other Canadian electric brands included Canada Cycle & Motor (which eventually morphed into bicycle manufacturer CCM), Ivanhoe, Peck, and Tate. Even McLaughlin, which would become General Motors of Canada, briefly offered an electric car that was a Rauch & Lang with McLaughlin-built body.
Range Anxiety and Push-button Start
Just like today, electric-vehicle owners bought chargers to install at home. Several private companies set up public charging stations, often called “electric stables”. Depending on the type of station and how much of a hurry you were in, you could either plug in and wait, or swap your depleted batteries for fully-charged ones.
So why bother with charging and limited range, when you could buy a car that was just “gas-and-go”? For many drivers, it came down to the crank.
Internal-combustion engines start when the crankshaft begins to spin, moving the pistons so they draw in air and fuel. That initial spin is done by an electric starter motor today, but at the time, such a luxury didn’t exist. Instead, the driver had to set the throttle and spark timing, insert a handle into the front of the engine, and turn the crankshaft by hand.
Cranking a car could be both difficult and dangerous. If everything wasn’t set properly and the engine backfired, the crank would spin, which could break your arm. Many automakers were working on self-starters, trying everything from springs to compressed air, but nobody could get it quite right.
By contrast, you started electric cars by pressing a button. That made them popular with motorists who didn’t want to crank their cars, especially women. Even Henry Ford’s wife drove one – a Detroit Electric, since her husband’s company only made gasoline cars.
Electric Cars Eliminated… by the Electric Starter Motor
But Ford would strike the first blow at electrics with the 1908 introduction of his Model T, which he was able to price so far below his competitors that at the height of its popularity, half the cars in the world were Model Ts. By comparison, electrics were too expensive for many buyers.
And then there was that broken jaw. Henry Leland, the founder of Cadillac, was a close friend of Byron Carter, who owned the Michigan-based Cartercar Company. One day, Carter came across a woman whose Cadillac had stalled. He cranked it for her, but the handle spun and broke his jaw. Infection set in and Carter died shortly afterward. Grief-stricken, Leland was determined that his company would offer a solution.
It came through Charles Kettering, a brilliant engineer who had co-founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company – Delco, which would later become part of General Motors. Kettering had worked at National Cash Register, where he’d invented a small electric motor to eliminate the hand crank on cash machines. That was the basic design behind the electric starter he developed and licensed to Leland.
The 1912 Cadillac debuted with the self-starter, and by 1920, virtually every car on the market could start itself. Without their exclusive advantage of crank-free operation, electrics began to fade. In 1924, for the first time, the New York Auto Show contained nothing but gasoline vehicles, without any battery power in sight. A few start-ups would try over the years, but they were plagued by antiquated battery technology. It would be many decades before vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S would make electric cars into viable options for everyday drivers again.What’s old is new again. 4/4/2019 8:00:00 AM 4/4/2019 8:00:00 AM |
Improving High School Speech Activities on the Basis of Competence-Based Approach
- Hits: 154
- Рубрика: PEDAGOGICAL TECHNOLOGIES
- Article: PDF
Abstract: The article is devoted to renewal of methodical system that ensures the development of senior pupil speech. The author considers the idea of interconnected learning basic kinds of speech activity. Reliance on the practice of speech and knowledge of the theory of speech is carried at different stages of the learning process. Specific situational exercises are integrating speech acts of perception, understanding, interpretation, generation, evaluation and editing.
Key words: SPEECH ACTIVITY, KINDS OF SPEECH ACTIVITY, IMPROVEMENT OF SPEECH ACTIVITY, PERCEPTION OF SPEECH, PRACTICE OF SPEECH ACTIVITY, FUNCTIONAL STYLES OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE, SPEECH GENRE, SITUATIONAL SPEECH EXERCISES, SENIOR PUPIL, COMPETENCE-BASED APPROACH, GENERATION OF SPEECH, THEORY OF SPEECH
Ryabukhina, E. A. Improving High School Speech Activities on the Basis of Competence-Based Approach / E. A. Ryabukhina. In Philological Class. 2012. №2 (28). P. 66-70. |
Mystery of how cats lap is revealed
It is a mystery that has long puzzled cat lovers: exactly how do their feline companions lap up liquids so elegantly?
Now, with the help of high-speed cameras and a pet cat, a team of researchers think they have the answer.
They found that cats use their tongues to delicately draw up water without breaking the surface of the liquid.
The scientists, who published their study in the journal Science, say this differs from dogs, who employ a messy scooping action to quench their thirst.
End Quote Dr Roman Stocker MIT
I would say cats know more about fluid mechanics than dogs”
The team thinks cats may have adopted this more complex but neater approach because it means they are less likely to be splashed with water as they drink.Feline physics
Dr Roman Stocker, a biophysicist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, was inspired to investigate the physics of cat laps after watching his own pet Cutta Cutta as it drank.
"I realised there was an interesting biomechanics problem hidden behind that very simple action. The project then snowballed from there," he said.
Working with researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Princeton University, Dr Stocker trained a high-speed camera on his cat.
While humans and animals such as sheep or horses use suction to draw liquid upwards, and dogs curl their tongue into a cup-like shape to ladle liquid in, the footage revealed that cats use a more subtle mechanism to drink.
The scientists found that the tip of the cat's tongue curls backwards, not forwards, as it darts down towards its bowl.
Then, instead of penetrating the surface of the liquid, the tongue just lightly touches it.
Dr Stocker explains: "The fluid comes in contact with the tongue and sticks to it, then the action of the tongue being drawn upwards very rapidly creates a liquid column.
"Then, by closing its jaw, the cat captures part of that liquid."
Surprisingly, the researchers also found that the tiny hairs on the tongue, which were once thought to help cats lap, were not involved at all in the process.
To look at the mechanism in even more detail, the team created a robotic cat tongue. They found the process was down to an interplay between two forces: inertia and gravity.
Dr Stocker explained: "The creation of the water column is driven by the force inertia - the tendency of the liquid, once in motion, to keep going.
"The water column initially becomes larger in length and in volume, but at some point the weight of the column itself overcomes these inertial forces, and gravity causes the column to collapse back into the bowl."
Because of this, the cat's timing when lapping is crucial.
"There is a time when the volume of a column is at a maximum, which is at the time at which the cat closes its jaw," Dr Stocker said.
Cats vs dogs
By studying zoo animals and YouTube footage, the researchers also discovered that big cats such as tigers, leopards and cheetahs also used the same mechanism as their domestic cousins.
But Dr Stocker and his colleagues are not sure why felines have developed this sophisticated drinking mechanism, but they suspect it could be down to their dislike of water.
He explained: "The lapping mechanism of cats seems to be a lot cleaner compared with dogs, which is much more vigorous and produces more splash.
"One speculation is the face of the cat, and particularly the region around the nose and the whiskers, is extremely sensitive, therefore the cat might want to try and keep that as dry as possible."
"I would say cats know more about fluid mechanics than dogs," he added. |
An Inspiring Life Reminds Us To Never Give Up
painting ©Teresa Kogut, all rights reserved
Abraham Lincoln’s life story is one of tenacity, faith, persistence, focus, ambition, courage and drive. He is regarded as one of America’s greatest heroes due to both his incredible impact on the nation and his unique appeal. His is a remarkable story of the rise from humble beginnings to achieve the highest office in the land. Read this outline of Lincoln’s road to the White House….
- 1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
- 1818: His mother died.
- 1831: Failed in business.
- 1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.
- 1832: Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
- 1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
- 1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.
- 1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
- 1836: Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
- 1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
- 1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.
- 1843: Ran for Congress – lost.
- 1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
- 1848: Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
- 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
- 1854: Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
- 1856: Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
- 1858: Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
- 1860: Elected president of the United States.
Look at how many times Lincoln was defeated and yet every time he got up, dusted himself off and continued moving forward. Imagine what the world would be like if people such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison or Henry Ford gave up on their dreams, ideas and goals because of fear or failure. We can use their stories as inspiration for our lives. “Never give up” is easier said than done, but press on…work day after day moving towards your goals. One by one you will achieve them and over time you will find yourself living the life of your dreams.
- Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of your goal. – Henry Ford
- The boy who’s going to become a great man must not make up this mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win despite of a thousand repulses and defeats. – Theodore Roosevelt
- That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well. – Abraham Lincoln
- Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. – Thomas A. Edison
Never give up….repeat it every time you have a set-back, obstacle, or failure. Never give up…..look in the mirror and say it to yourself every morning and before bed at night. Never give up….repeat it so often that it becomes engrained in your mind and nothing seems impossible to you. When problems or obstacles do arise (and they will) you won’t even stop to remind yourself to “never give up”, you’ll just plow through.
Who’s your favorite motivator? Who’s life inspires you? Let me know in the comments below. |
In an article in the Sept. 22 issue of Nature, the team describes fossils of the earliest-known hominids, discovered in the Middle Awash region near Aramis, Ethiopia.
The material is 4.4 million years old, almost a million years older than Australopithecus afarensis, hitherto the earliest-known human ancestor.
The fossils come from a new species, Australopithecus ramidus, the skull and teeth of which looked similar to a chimpanzee.
"This species is the oldest known link in the evolutionary chain that connected us to our common ancestor with the living African apes," said White.
"The discovery takes us one major step closer to this common ancestor. When you combine these Aramis fossils with the evidence from the molecules, clearly Darwin was right--humans evolved from an African ape," he said.
In a companion paper in Nature, Giday WoldeGabriel from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and colleagues show that A. ramidus lived in a forested environment, along with a diverse fauna of monkeys, antelopes, and other woodland species.
The new research, announced jointly by Nature and the University, offers a glimpse of the earliest roots of humanity.
The first hominid fossil was found by team member Suwa at Aramis on Dec. 17, 1992. As he walked across the barren outcrops under the midday desert sun, Suwa's eye was caught by the glint of a molar tooth among the hundreds of pebbles of the desert pavement.
"I knew immediately that it was a hominid," he said, "and because we had found other ancient animals that morning, I knew it was one of the oldest hominid teeth ever found."
The team worked at Aramis during the winters of 1992 and 1993 to recover additional remains from the same geological horizon.
Seventeen hominid individuals represented by different bones and teeth (including parts of the skull, the arm, and a partial lower jaw from a child) were found among over 600 fossil remains of other vertebrate animals.
After detailed comparisons with modern and fossil apes and other early hominids, White, Suwa, and Asfaw concluded that they had recovered a species whose existence had been the subject of speculation for many years.
White, who was a member of the team that discovered the famous partial skeleton, "Lucy," said, "The discovery of these ancient fossils and their context signals a major step in our understanding of human origins."
Dating reveals that the hominids died 80,000 generations before Lucy and 800,000 years before the earliest definitive representatives of afarensis.
The discoveries of Lucy and the Tanzanian footprint trails found by Mary Leaky about 20 years ago pushed the human line back to 3.6 million years ago.
More fossils belonging to Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis, were recovered from sites along the Awash River during the past three years, including a skull.
The search for the species ancestral to afarensis has been a central goal of researchers keen to push the record of human evolution even further back into the past.
The newest fossils were found in the remote Afar depression of Ethiopia, northeast of Addis Ababa, where Lucy was found. The fossils are now housed in the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.
The Middle Awash paleon-tological fields were first explored by Maurice Taieb, a French geologist who found Lucy's resting place. Since 1981, the Middle Awash research has been conducted under the direction of Desmond Clark and White, both of Berkeley, and Asfaw of Addis Ababa.
The new species differs from A. afarensis in having smaller premolars and molars, relatively larger canine teeth, thinner tooth enamel, a more primitive cranial base, and a chimpanzee-like deciduous first molar.
"The deciduous molar from the Aramis child's jaw was a complete surprise. Its shape is so different from homologous teeth in other human ancestors that this tooth alone would have been enough to recognize a new species," said White.
While Aramis teeth and skull fragments are more chimpanzee-like, Asfaw said the Aramis hominid was clearly not a chimpanzee. "The short cranial base and the hominid shapes of the canine and elbow show us that this species had already split from the apes. It had started to evolve toward human beings."
It was during the 1960s that two Berkeley scientists, the late Allan Wilson and Vincent Sarich, compared the molecular structure of modern African apes and humans and found a startling similarity.
They suggested that the evolutionary lines leading to the chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans had split only 4 to 6 million years ago, not some 20 million years ago, as had been believed.
The new discoveries show extremely ape-like cranial and dental anatomy in a creature living in a wooded habitat, said White. This suggests to him that the new species may be the last link in the chain to the still-elusive common ancestor.
"This discovery is important because it gives us our first good look at the biology of a very ancient ancestor that sits at the root of the family tree," said White.
He said the team is eager to return to the Middle Awash this winter. Studies on pollen, carbon isotopes, fossil wood, small mammals, and sediments should fill in the tantalizing picture of the ancient habitats of the earliest hominids.
Of course, the international team of more than 20 researchers hopes to find more hominid fossils. Asfaw said that project archaeologist Yonas Beyene will excavate one promising locality that has already yielded most of a hominid left arm. He hopes to find the rest of the skeleton nearby.
A key goal of future work at Aramis will be to refine the dating and geology, said White. "We have only begun to understand this ancestor and its environment. I am sure there are more surprises in store for us," he said.
White said he hopes the team will come up with a femur and an intact skull this winter, but he adds "given the great antiquity of this site, we are still amazed at what we have already found." |
dongun - the CUP system measures chamber pressure, just as you would suspect. The values are derived by crushing a copper "crusher" rod (or lead in some cases)between a piston mounted in a barrels chamber and an external anvil. The more it is crushed, the higher the CUP (or LUP).
CUP values really don't translate to PSI values with a single multiplication factor. As Paul said, one caliber that gets 50K CUP may get 60K PSI (e.g., 280 Rem.). But some other cartridges actually have equal or lower PSI compared to the CUP. The majority of measured PSI values are higher than the CUP values. But again, not in any particular ratio.
Of all the commonly available reloading manuals, Lyman's has the best explanation of CUP and the method used. |
Many designs that appear in today’s society will circulate and encounter audiences of many different cultures and languages. With communication comes responsibility; are designers aware of the meaning and impact of their work? An image or symbol that is acceptable in one culture can be offensive or even harmful in the next. A typeface or colour in a design might appear to be neutral, but its meaning is always culturally dependent. If designers learn to be aware of global cultural contexts, we can avoid stereotyping and help improve mutual understanding between people.
Politics of Design is a collection of visual examples from around the world. Using ideas from anthropology and sociology, it creates surprising and educational insight in contemporary visual communication. The examples relate to the daily practice of both online and offline visual communication: typography, images, colour, symbols, and information.
Politics of Design shows the importance of visual literacy when communicating beyond borders and cultures. It explores the cultural meaning behind the symbols, maps, photography, typography, and colours that are used every day. It is a practical guide for design and communication professionals and students to create more effective and responsible visual communication.
Ruben Pater is a designer and researcher from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He finished the
master programme of the Sandberg institute in 2012, and as ‘Untold Stories’ he works on self-initiated and collaborative projects between journalism and graphic design. Past projects are Double Standards (2012), the Drone Survival Guide (2013), and Behind the Blue Screen (2014). His work has received several international awards and is featured in exhibitions around the world.
"Author Ruben Pater, an Amsterdam-based designer and researcher, uses ideas from anthropology and sociology in creating a surprising and educational insight in contemporary visual communication."
- New Design Magazine
“The book draws attention to the fact that every design decision automatically has a political
dimension, and that communication professionals need to take this on board. Design, after all, “cannot be disconnected from the values and assumptions in which it was created, from the ideologies behind it”, which makes this “(not so) global manual” a valuable aid, both for creators and consumers, to understanding design in the context of its easily overlooked political meaning – and to ensuring we deal with that context more responsibly in the future.”
- Form Magazine Germany
"Ruben Pater’s unpacking of the politics that underscores most design is a 21st Century companion to Quentin Fiore and Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium Is The Message and War and Peace In The Global Village."
- Steven Heller
"This anthropological and sociological look—covering all or many of the consequences of everyday design activity—is a philosophic-visual study that’s just about everything I want in a 21st-century design text. And that it’s also compact enough to fit in the pocket with my new iPhone 6s is a nice bonus."
"The Politics of Design should be put into the hands of everyone working in communication design. And also probably in the hands of everyone else since none of us can elude the work of designers. I can’t remember the last time i had such an entertaining, witty and informative publication to review."
"This little masterpiece really hit the sweet spot for me. It is a perfectly designed and beautiful manual for visual communication. Every page shows that an incredible amount of thought has been put into the book."
- Hans de Zwart
"This brilliantly written manual unveils politics in pop-culture, decodes our privileged position and shows how design inevitable becomes propaganda of our cultural limitations. Ruben Pater did a magnificent job in showing on one side a broad range of often witty examples of how our graphic language evolved over time and space, and influences our way of perceiving the world around us, at the same time he is able to contextualize the examples with a razor sharp focus, allowing the reader to decode it’s own perception. This book is an absolute must-read for every designer."
- Annelys de Vet
"It’s the kind of literature that should be handed out to all students on their first days at art school, along with all the Albers, Berger, Benjamin, and Sontag that form the backbone of the design curriculum—an up-to-date assessment of the landscape through which all modern visual practitioners must navigate."
Available on July 24th, 2018 |
Assessment of Students in Special Education
Assessment is a process by which special education teachers collect information that enable them make decisions about the students with special needs.
Currently, the main focus of assessment is on the progress of the students towards the instructional goals and on the extent to which the involved students require special education and other related services (Ysseldyke, E. J, Algozzine, B & Algozzine, R., 2006). In special education, a valid assessment measures the aspects that it is supposed to measure and always seeks to cover much of the assessable material without relying on the inference from a very small sample. As an aspect of validity, fairness is important to be noted in its own right.
It ensures that every person is entitled to receiving equal and good assessment (Assessment). Due to the fact that assessment can be relatively time and resource intensive process, the determination of validity of the assessment outcomes should be one of critical test tasks of the users and developers. Therefore, the fundamental aim of assessment validation is to determine whether the intended specific benefits are realized (Roach, T. A.). In special education, the specialists’ assessment is used in the identification of disability, eligibility determination and classification of students into the appropriate federal disability categories.
After the identification, the progress of the students is often monitored by using various tools of questionable reliability and validity. The special education facilitators need to have access to many social, emotional and academic strategies that are important in the demonstration of validity. The assessments should contain the qualities that support the evaluation of the students’ outcomes and development of education plans (Roach, T. A.). In assessment, fairness can be viewed as lack of bias, equitable treatment of the testing outcomes, fairness as an opportunity to learn and fairness in equality of testing (Reynolds, W.
R & Kamphaus, W. R., 2003). Lack of fairness invalidates the inferences about the target constructs of ethnicity, gender, race, social economic status and linguistic background. Therefore, fair assessments leads to the reduction of limitations of the educational opportunities for the students with special needs (Tony, C. M & Lam). |
The Iroquois Confederacy
In 1570 five Iroquois tribes-- Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga-- formed the Iroquois Confederacy (McCall 7). The confederacy could also be called an oligarchy, because the Iroquois became ruled by a small group of people (Doherty 12). There were 50 delegates in the confederacy, all men, each chosen by the clan mother (Doherty 18). Delegates were named sachem, of which the Onondaga had fourteen, the Cayga ten, the Mohawk and Oneida nine, and the Seneca eight. In addition to Sachem, who could vote during meetings on the Onondaga land, there were Pine Trees who were both male and female advisory council members (McCall 9) (Doherty 18). Pine Trees became advisors because of their heroic feets and accomplishments as warriors (Doherty 18). In 1715 the Tuscarora joined the league, and it was renamed the League of Six Nations (McCall 9). Benjamin Franklin was familiar with the League and helped fram many parts of the new United States government off of the Iroquois's ideas (Doherty 13). |
What is Electronic and Information Technology?
"Electronic and information technology" is a term used in the 1998 amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The term is used to define the scope of products covered under Section 508. Section 508 requires that electronic and information technology that is developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible.
Electronic and information technology includes computer hardware and software, operating systems, web-based information and applications, telephones and other telecommunications products, video equipment and multimedia products, information kiosks, and office products such as photocopiers and fax machines.
Informally, all of these devices are commonly referred to simply as "information technology," or "IT." However, from a legal standpoint, there was a need to expand upon an existing federal definition of information technology, while maintaining consistency with that early definition.
The federal agency charged with establishing this definition was the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board). Here is the formal definition of both "electronic and information technology" and "information technology" published in the Access Board's Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards:
Electronic and information technology. Includes information technology and any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information. The term electronic and information technology includes, but is not limited to, telecommunications products (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, World Wide Web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines. The term does not include any equipment that contains embedded information technology that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. For example, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment such as thermostats or temperature control devices, and medical equipment where information technology is integral to its operation, are not information technology.
Information technology. Any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. The term 'information technology' includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources.
For more information, see the articles: 'What is Assistive Technology?' and 'What is Accessible Electronic and Information Technology?' |
This anticipatory set demonstrates my knowledge of the
subject on internet cookies. I have various strategies as to how this unit
could be taught with various options for assignments based on learning
styles. This hook and hold strategy worked so well to motivate my
students and had me searching for similar ideas to implement in the other
subjects I teach. This strategy falls under the NBPTS core two;
accomplished teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those
NT = Intuitive Thinking ST = Sensory
NF = Intuitive Feeling SF =
Unit on Internet Cookies
Hook and Hold Strategies
In the anticipatory set I will pass out fortune
cookies. They will be asked to examine these cookies and I will ask
them what they can tell me about them. I hope someone will say It
holds something or a message. Then we will get into the definition
of an Internet Cookie -
Lou Montulli, who wrote the specification says that "cookie" is
a well known term to those in computer science and is used to
describe a piece of data held by an intermediary, so it was the
obvious choice when naming the new technology. It has also been
said that it was named after "Magic Cookie" which was used in the
UNIX operating system in the '70s, and also that its name is taken
from the fortune cookie because it's a little package with
Fortune cookies will have the four questions
inside them along with facts about internet cookies.
ST What is a cookie?
NT - Why do we use internet Cookies?
SF How many sites have you allowed a cookie
to be put on you PC?
NF Should web sites be allowed to use
ST Write a detailed paragraph on how cookies
NT - list the pros and cons of internet
SF In groups of four, discuss the pros and
cons of internet cookies and make a group decision on whether to use
them or not.
NF Create an internet cookie.
ST Good are there any other ways you can
think of where Internet cookies are used?
SF I can see how much thought you have put
into this assignment, keep up the good work.
NT I like the way you approached this problem
because it shows the common uses for internet cookies.
NF I like the way you have designed your
page, not only did you meet all of the requirements, you have added
your own creative touch.
ST Take a look at your home computers cookie
directory and write down all the sites you or you family
have visited. Can you tell what all the
NT Do some research on the internet finding
facts about Internet Cookies. Find out if they are bad or good.
SF Find an internet users group talking about
cookies. What are your findings? Are cookies good or bad?
NF Create a web page that will create a
ST True or false quiz on facts about cookies.
NT Small research paper on the facts about
SF Find out how many sites
NF Use at least one internet cookie in your
This lesson was very exciting to teach. Not only
is the subject so fascinating but it is something the students were
hooked into wanting to know how to create a cookie. The only thing that
I might do differently is have the students do one of the assignments
before I teach the lesson. It would be interesting to see how many
different facts about internet cookie they come up with. Internet
cookies are a hot topic and it was easy to come up with this
anticipatory set. This lesson has really made me look at other lessons
in all my subjects to see what I can do to make them as exciting as the
internet cookie lesson.
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Working on Rapid Language Development in Toddlers (WORLD)
The goal of the study is to examine the effects of teaching parents to use language support strategies on language skills in toddlers with language delays. We hypothesize that children whose parents who learn to use language support strategies at home will have greater language skills than those children whose parents do not learn the strategies.
|Study Design:||Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:||An Efficacy Trial of Milieu Teaching Language Intervention in Children With Language Disorders|
- Change from Baseline in Language Skills at 4 months. [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Preschool Language Scale-4th Edition (a norm-referenced measure of receptive and expressive language).
- Change from baseline in expressive vocabulary at 4 months. [ Time Frame: 4 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]Number of words the child says and average sentence length during a 20-minute language sample.
|Study Start Date:||September 2009|
|Estimated Study Completion Date:||December 2015|
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:||September 2015 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)|
Experimental: Enhanced Milieu Teaching
Parents receive 28 intervention sessions in which they learn to use language support strategies with their children.
Children are assessed at baseline, 4 months after baseline, 10 months after baseline, and 16 months after baseline.
Behavioral: Enhanced Milieu Teaching
Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) is a conversation-based model of early language intervention that uses child interest and initiations as opportunities to model and prompt language use in everyday contexts.
Other Name: KidTalk
No Intervention: Community Services
Children receive speech-language services in the community. Children are assessed at baseline, 4 months after baseline, 10 months after baseline, and 16 months after baseline.
The goal of the proposed project is to conduct an efficacy trial to determine whether Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) significantly improves language deficits in young children at high risk for persistent language delays. The target population is children ages 24 -36 months who exhibit significant co-occurring delays in productive and receptive language skills, who have cognitive skills within the range of normal development, and who do not have other identified disabilities. An empirically based and manualized language intervention, Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT), implemented by therapists and parents will be compared to community based "business as usual" services in a randomized experiment enrolling 120 children and their parents. Children assigned to the EMT group will receive 24, 1-hour sessions of direct intervention at home that will include teaching their parents to implement EMT procedures across activities. Children will be assessed at 4 time points (before and after intervention, at 6 months and 12 months post-intervention) allowing the description and comparison of individual language growth trajectories over a period of 18 months. In addition, we will examine the relation between language growth and emergent problems in behavior and social skill development to determine whether early language intervention can prevent these difficulties frequently associated with early language delays. Results from this study will determine the efficacy of parent-plus-therapist implemented EMT with a new population of children, provide evidence about the potential for preventing persistent language delays and secondary social effects of early language delays, and expand developmental theory linking persistent language delays to specific risk factors and behavioral outcomes. The results of this study will have specific policy implications related to early identification and the inclusion of young children with language delays as a target population for early intervention.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01975922
|United States, Tennessee|
|Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232|
|Principal Investigator:||Ann P Kaiser, PhD||Vanderbilt University| |
Christianity brought with it a group of names including Peter, James, Andrew, Nathan, David, Philip, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and a bunch of others beside the name JOHN. Why did JOHN seem to take first place among the women and men naming their children. First, John was a follower (disciple) of Jesus. Writing about himself in his own book called John, he describes himself as "...one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved." [Book of John 13:22] John also records that Jesus himself gave him the responsibility to care for his mother at the time of his death. John writes:
"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household" [Book of John 19:26-27]
Taken from The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard, Translation, Moody Press, Chicago, 1976.
This lays the foundation for the use of the name JOHN among those mother's of the Christain faith. It was this disciple that was considered the "closest" to Jesus. Not only that, but he was given the responsibility to care for the mother of Jesus, Mary. John also is credited with writing five books of the New Testiment, thus making him one of the leading figures of the first generation of Christians. Thus, a Christian mother would want to name at least one male child JOHN. She would also want to name at least one daughter MARY. Now remember that the language these names would have been written in was LATIN. The Latin alphabet did not include the letter "J". It had the letters (sounds) "O", and "A", and "H". Therefore, the name JOHN would have been written in the Latin as "IOAN". This begins the groundwork for our surname JONES as early as 300 AD. |
Hydrogen bonding is an electrostatic attraction or force which is always present between a partial positive hydrogen atom and a highly electronegative atom such as between hydrogen and oxygen or hydrogen and fluorine etc. Hydrogen bond is comparatively a weak bond and always denoted by a dotted line.Hydrogen bonding is present in those molecules only which have hydrogen atom and highly electronegative atom such as fluorine chlorine oxygen and nitrogen etc. A hydrogen bond can be break by providing the amount of energy about 25-30 kj/〖mol〗^(-1) to it.
The hydrogen bond has the strength about twenty times less than that a covalent bond.Which means a covalent bond is comparatively very strong bond with respect to hydrogen bond.The molecules of hydrogen atom and fluorine atom are bonded with one another in a zig zag manner.Also the hydrogen bond is always stronger than simple dipole-dipole force.Hydrogen bond has many properties and applications.In hydrogen bonding it is necessary that partial positive atom will always hydrogen as the name of bonding shows hydrogen bonding.But partial negative atom may be any highly electronegative specie.
A crystal of sodium chloride Contains a face centered cubic (F.C.C) Shape.Each sodim ion is surrounded by six chloride ions and similarly each chloride ion is surrounded by six sodium ions.The distribution of both the ions is in the way that sodium ions are placed at six corners of the octahedron and the chloride ion is placed at the centre of this octahedron and these joined to one another and in this way form a huge structure.The distance of all chloride ions fom one sodium ion with which they are directly attached is same but both the sodium ions and choride ions are not joined to one another by pairs.Any independent molecule does not exist in the structure of sodium chloride.But in vapour phase of sodium chloride it is possible that an independent molecule of sodium chloride can exist.In the structure of sodium chloride it is clear that Eight chloride ions are present at the corners of cube.Eight cubes are attached with each chloride ion.Each unit cell contains four sodium chloride units.A distance of 5.6A^0 is present between two nearest same atoms which is necessary and the distance of two adjacent ions of different types or kinds is 2.815A^0. |
This October, the Social Mobility Memos blog at Brookings tackled a topic that is top of mind for many American families and politicians alike: paying for college. In their Big Ideas for Reforming College series, Brookings experts and guest writers proposed ideas that could lead to a more cost-effective college education system that promotes social mobility. Here’s what they came up with:
1. Pay for everyone to go to college
How can we improve access to college for everyone? Make it free, says Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Goldrick-Rab praises the “progressive effects” of a free, inclusive system of public higher education that would help families obtain economic security, stating that “tearing down the price and bureaucratic barriers will matter most to the poorest people, who have made very little progress accessing college under the current system.”
2. Give Pell Grants to students who are ready to succeed
Senior Fellow Isabel Sawhill says that much of the federal money that is currently being allocated to higher education isn’t being used effectively. Her solution: Make federal financial assistance via Pell Grants more conditional on student performance. Counselling high school students on what is required to do well in college and assuring financial support only to those who achieve a basic level of proficiency would both encourage more learning in high school and improve outcomes once students are enrolled in college, says Sawhill.
3. Provide college students with mentors in addition to money
Nonresident Fellow Brad Hershbein affirms that while free college could certainly help many students, the barriers to college completion extend far beyond a lack of money to pay for it. In order to ensure that students (especially those from low-income backgrounds or who are first-generation college attendees) are actually completing their degrees, he says we must invest in mentorship programs and other services designed to promote college success in addition to providing more traditional financial aid.
4. Make going to college be more like hiring a general contractor
To make college more affordable, we need to completely rethink what college means, says Senior Fellow Stuart Butler. He suggests replacing the traditional four year, in-person brick-and-mortar college experience with a “general contractor” model, through which the contractor (college) “assembles a collection of courses from different places and delivers them in different ways.” This model, says Butler, would enable students to pursue degrees better tailored to their interests and needs—as well as to their home and employment situations.
5. Lower the risk of investing in college with Income Share Agreements
The issue with college today, says Fellow Beth Akers, isn’t rising tuition prices or the debt incurred by those who pay them—it’s the risk associated with investing in a college degree. Though she stresses that “degrees still pay large dividends for the typical student,” many end up sinking money into programs that provide little or no return on their investments.
Her solution: help students insure themselves against bad financial outcomes by utilizing private sector Income Share Agreements (ISAs) that will allow them to fund their studies by selling “shares” in their future earnings. Under the ISA framework, if a student’s degree proves to be worthless, he or she will pay back little or nothing; but if it ends up being valuable, he or she will end up owing their lender a lot. Either way, says Akers, “the payments are, by construction, affordable.”
6. Make college affordable through income-based loan repayments
Despite a recent glut in coverage of the student debt crisis, University of Michigan Professor Susan Dynarski posits that the real problem isn’t the debt students leave college with, but how they’re expected to repay it. Payments are inflexible and due soon after graduation, when many student have low or variable incomes. This, says Dynarski, can lead to financial distress for many young borrowers.
The solution, she says, is a federally-administered income-contingent loan system through which students could pay back their loans based on their actual earnings. According to Dynarski, this system would ease financial struggles for many, and “would provide insurance against poor outcomes in the labor market, to which low-income, first-generation students are particularly vulnerable.”
7. Move from a debt-based to an asset-based approach to financial aid
“The real college debt crisis,” argue University of Kansas’ Melinda Lewis and William Elliott III, “is in how student borrowing may be compromising higher education’s potency as an engine of equal opportunity,” and that it’s time to shift the discussion away from how to manage college debt to how to start saving early for college.
They suggest moving from a debt-based to an asset-based approach to financial aid through the use of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs). CSAs, say the authors, start bridging the college affordability gaps early in a child’s life, and can even help shape students’ future levels of engagement and achievement.
8. Use human resource bonds to fund college
Though former Johns Hopkins University Senior Researcher Arnold Packer agrees that a college education is important for both individual students and society generally, he stresses that “prior life stages—pregnancy, infancy, preschool, school years (K-8), adolescence—are critical to [students] being ready for college at 18.”
In order to ensure that students are part of a “learning society” long before they enter college, he suggests setting up 20-year term human resource bonds that ultimately end with funding college tuition. This initiative would be similar to successful “Pay for Success” programs that have “yielded attractive returns … by reducing prison recidivism, foster care, health costs, and other government expenditures.”
Read the full Big Ideas for Reforming College series here.
Ariana Motazed contributed to this post. |
2. Surname of Lebbaeus.
3. He was the brother of John.
7. He taught the Ethopian eunich about Jesus.
9. We don't know much about him.
10. He was Peter's brother.
1. He betrayed Jesus for silver.
3. He was the son of Zebedee.
4. He was a tax collector.
5. His name meant "rock".
6. He was a Cananite.
8. He doubted Jesus was risen from the dead.
© 2003 BibleSchoolResources.Net This worksheet may be duplicated freely for non-commercial use only so long as the copyright statement is not removed and contents are not altered or extracted for use elsewhere. |
The USS Gato (SS-212) was a class of attack ships named after the Gato catshark, which is a shark found off of the west coast of Mexico. She was a diesel-electric submarine, powered by 4 – V16 diesel engines supplied by General Motors. As was common at the time for diesel-electric submarines, the naval ship had to occasionally surface to recharge its batteries and take on oxygen. The Gato could officially dive to depths of 300 feet as the hull technology wasn’t to the point to safely dive further.
She launched August 21, 1941 and commissioned in February 1943 as the lead ship of the large Gato class of submarine in the United States Navy. During WW2, there were a total of 77 Gato-class subs and Balao-class submarines that were used heavily.
The Gato-class subs were significantly improved over the T-class with the addition of forwarding torpedo tubes and improved endurance, which was critical while traveling across the Pacific Ocean. The range of the SS-212 was approximately 11,000 nautical miles while on the surface which allowed it to stay on patrol for 70-80 days.
Her first wartime patrol began in April 1942, leaving from Pearl Harbor to the Marshall Islands. June 1943 where the Gato was involved in Battle of Midway, along with patrols around Truk and the Solomon Islands. In the Solomons, Gato supported coast watchers and intelligence services, making several landings to deliver supplies and personnel.
The Gato recorded sinking five enemy ships, awarded with 13 Battle Stars during and received the Presidential Unit of Citation.
July 25, 1960, the SS-212 was sold for scrap.
History for the SS-212, U.S.S. Gato
|8/21/41||Electric Boat||Mrs.R.E. Ingersoll||12/31/41||CDR William G. Myers||Scrapped 1960|
|1||William G. Myers||Pearl Harbor||4/42||51||0/0||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|2||William G. Myers||Pearl Harbor||7/42||50||1/9,300||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|3||Robert J. Foley||Pearl Harbor||11/42||48||0/0||0/0||Brisbane|
|4||Robert J. Foley||Brisbane||1/43||44||4/27,600||3-½/11,500||Brisbane|
|5||Robert J. Foley||Brisbane||3/43||72||0/0||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|6||Robert J. Foley||Pearl Harbor||9/43||50||0/0||0/0||Brisbane|
|7||Robert J. Foley||Brisbane||11/43||54||3/21,100||2/8,544||Brisbane|
|8||Robert J. Foley||Brisbane||2/44||60||3/17,300||2/6,070||Pearl Harbor|
|9||Richard M. Farrell||Pearl Harbor||4/44||48||0/0||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|10||Richard M. Farrell||Pearl Harbor||7/44||49||0/0||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|11||Richard M. Farrell||Pearl Harbor||1/45||45||2/4,700||2/3,125||Pearl Harbor|
|12||Richard Holden||Pearl Harbor||4/45||52||0/0||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
|13||Richard Holden||Pearl Harbor||7/45||61||1/800||0/0||Pearl Harbor|
Recommended Reading & Watching:
USS Gato Memorabilia: |
Today's bird is an endangered species: the Piping Plover. Scientists estimate that there are about 8,000 Piping Plovers left on Earth. They suffer from a mix of habitat encroachment and from the effects of climate change, which are altering their migration patterns and could potentially destroy even more of the beachfront where they live. You can read more about Piping Plovers and how to help them here.
I took this picture on October 21, 2012 at Mustang Island State Park near Corpus Christi. |
The land that now makes up the Town of Ware was originally granted to John Read in 1716. He named the district ?The Manour of Peace?and established an early settlement there. As the town grew and flourished, the current name of Ware was adopted. It is believed to have its roots in the Native American word ?Nenameseck? for the weirs or fish traps that were used at the base of the falls on the Ware River. The town?s seal commemorates this fact and activity, depicting the taking of salmon from a productive spot just below the falls.
Early settlement of the district was focused in Ware Center (located on Route 9), an area somewhat west of where the Main St. shopping district is now located. As the colonies expanded west, commercial travelers along the Bay Path found Ware to be a convenient stopping point. A vigorous service economy replete with numerous inns and taverns was soon established. By the early 18th century, attention had focused on the potential for industrial development to be powered by the abundant waters of the Ware River as it rushed over the falls near the eastern edge of town. Jabez Olmstead and Judah Marsh are named among the early industrialists who built saw and grist mills on the river and its tributaries. To Read and learn more click the globe icon to link to The Town of Ware'sd Homepage.
126 Main St Ware, Ma. 01082 (Use www.mapquest.com to retrieve directions) |
Many times I get asked: What are NGOs? The answer is usually a bit more complex than you’d expect.
But before going into my own definition, let me share with you some definitions by some renowned sources. So here they are:
“A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government.”- www.UN.org
“A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group which is organized on a local, national or international level.” – www.NGO.org
“A nongovernment organization is an association which is based on the common interests of its members, individuals, or institutions has no governmental status or function, and is not created by a government, nor is its agenda set or implemented by a government.” – www.SIL.org
“Private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development” – www.WorldBank.org
Now the problem is, none of the above is complete or accurate, here is why:
The UN definition misses out that such organizations should have a cause for the benefit of the community and that they should be not for profit. According to UN definition, most private sector companies would fall under the category of “NGOs”, which is obviously incorrect.
The NGO.org definition misses out that they should not be initiated, managed or has members of NGO bodies. Moreover, it limits the to “voluntary” work, while in reality there are thousands of NGOs that have paid staff.
The SIL.org definition also misses out on the not for profit part, thus once again being an inadequate definition.
The World Bank definition misses out on many factors. Their definition misses out on the fact that should not be initiated, managed or has members of NGOs, nor that they should be not for profit. Just to name a few that is.
In this context, after further research, discussions and meetings with stakeholders from NGOs, I’ve managed to identify the components that one can use as a checklist to check if the organization in study is an NGO or not. Here are the components or attributes if you’d like to call them so:
Is a legal entity founded by natural or legal persons.
Not initiated nor managed by any government.
Doesn’t accept membership of governmental bodies.
Works to fulfill community needs rather than profit, i.e. not for profit.
Can be based on voluntary work, paid staff or both.
Using the above, I can assure you that you’d be able to clearly identify what is an NGO and what is not. You can put them in a definition as follows:
“An NGO is a legal entity founded by natural or legal persons that is not initiated nor managed by any government nor does it accept membership of governmental bodies. An NGO works to fulfill community needs rather than profit, i.e. not profit, and it can be based on voluntary work, paid staff or both.”
Thus, the following organizations are not, and should not, be considered as NGOs or labeled as such: UNDP, ESCWA, UNESCO, ILO, OPEC, FAO, Arab League.
I hope that clarifies the issue for you and I look forward to hear your feedback on the definition.
Last month I’ve given a lecture/session titled “Project Management for NGOs” to the PMI Lebanon Chapter as part of their monthly lectures.
In this context, I thought of sharing it with you. So below you’ll find the session description, learning outcomes and the link to download the presentation for your own knowledge and entertainment…. let me know what you think! 🙂
The world today has hundreds of thousands of active NGOs majority of which are project and program based and depend on ongoing grants and funding to secure resources for their projects. With grants and funding summing up to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the amounts being lost on failed projects, unmet objectives and re-work is counting up to tens of millions of dollars.
Many leaders of NGOs consider this as a reasonable and un-escapable price to pay due to the fact that it is hard to recruit enough qualified project and program managers in the NGO field due to the short period of engagement, low wages with respect to private sector and lack of well identified project management training, tools and techniques.
With thousands of program managers, program coordinators, project managers, project coordinators, assistant program and project managers and so on and so forth, there is a huge gap to be filled for both the organizations and the individuals working in them.
What many don’t realize is that PMP standard can apply to NGOs by simply matching many of the terminology that is used by PMP with those present in NGOs. This lecture will help you understand how.
Lecture Learning Objectives:
Understand and Define an NGO
Identify the Numerous Types and Fields of Work of NGOs
Understand the NGO Project Life Cycle in Most NGOs
Map NGO Project Related Terminology with PMI’s Terminology
I have recently been awarded the Ambassador for Peace certificate by the Universal Peace Federation and so it was a delightful surprise to know that I joined a network of leaders from all walks of life all around the world in further promoting Peace, Inter-religious and human development.
Consequently many started asking me, “So what does it really mean? What do you do?” …so here’s a small briefing about it hoping it will quench your curiosity 🙂
What is an Ambassador for Peace?
Ambassadors for Peace are part of a global network of leaders representing thereligious, racial and ethnic diversity of the human family, as well as all disciplines of human endeavor. They stand on the common ground of shared principles and arecommitted to the path of promoting reconciliation, overcoming barriers, and building peace.
So what is the Ambassador for Peace Award?
The Ambassador for Peace award honors achievement and signifies a new appointment to a mission to serve the common good.
What do Ambassadors for Peace do?
Exemplify the ideal of living for the sake of others.
Promote universal moral values, strong family life,inter-religious cooperation, international harmony, renewalof the United Nations, responsible mass media, and the establishment of a global culture of peace.
Transcend racial, national and religious barriers.
Contribute to the fulfillment of the hope of all ages, a unified world of peace, wherein the spiritual and material dimensions of life are harmonized.
Serve as members on national, regional and global peace councils promoting and safeguarding world peace.
Develop a broad strategic alliance of partnerships among individuals, educational institutions, organizations, reli-gions, corporations, the media and governments.
So I hope you all join me in this life long journey of serving the community, being at peace with ourselves, families and community and further promoting ethical values.
Name of the Organization: International Labour Organization
Motto: Promoting Jobs, Protecting People
To promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work
Create greater opportunities for women and men to decent employment and income
Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all
Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue
Field of Interest:
Global jobs crisis
Social protection floor initiative
Realizing the Millennium Development Goals
Social Justice and a Fair Globalization
Date of Origin: April 1919
The ILO was created in 1919, as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.
The Constitution was drafted between January and April, 1919, by the Labour Commission set up by the Peace Conference, which first met in Paris and then in Versailles. The Commission, chaired by Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in the United States, was composed of representatives from nine countries: Belgium, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It resulted in a tripartite organization, the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.
It has been a while since I took the time to sit and write something for my blog, but I promise you that 2011 will be more abundant in posts than 2010 and I will do my best to keep the posts at as good a quality as they have been and better! 🙂
After asking around and checking the posts I have on my blog, I realized there has been a good vibe in general towards the series of posts on “International Clubs & Secret Societies” and many raised questions to know better about those clubs and societies.
In this context, and to take things one step further, I will be posting a series of posts on International Organizations. I will be selecting those that have been affecting our lives more than others, in one way or another. From UN related organizations (being a majority) to health organizations to Human Rights Organizations to Technical/IT/Engineering/Education…etc.
My aim in doing research and preparing for those posts is to provide an easy and quick way for people to get to know better about International Organizations all in one place without having to do much readying or researching. Yet by far it wont be a comprehensive list of organizations so your input and requests are highly welcomed if you would like me to post about any specific organization of interest.
Some of the organizations I have already in mind are World Bank, IMF, FCC, IEEE, FAO, ILO, Amnesty International, International Red Cross, UNDP, ITU, ESCWA, UNRWA…etc
Stay tuned for those quick-bite posts and I’m looking forward for your feedback, just tell me when you like’m and tell me when you don’t! 😀 |
Oberlin College which was named Oberlin Collegiate Institute until 1850, is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. In 1833, Presbyterian ministers John Jay Sipherd and Philo P. Stewart founded the institution as a college preparatory institute to promote Christian values. Oberlin's progressive history began during the antebellum period. In 1835 it became the first predominantly white collegiate institution to admit African American male students and two years later it opened its doors to all women, becoming the first coeducational college in the country. In 1862, Mary Jane Patterson earned a B.A. degree in education from Oberlin, becoming the first African American woman to earn a degree from an American college. Other black women had graduated earlier but did not receive the collegiate degree (BA). Oberlin continued to be an important institution for African Americans for the next century. By 1900, one third of all black professionals in the U.S. had undergraduate degrees from Oberlin.
Oberlin’s commitment to the abolition of slavery made it a welcoming and safe environment for 19th Century black students. As part of the Underground Railroad, Oberlin’s intricate network of back road routes and safe houses, the college and town provided refuge for fugitive slaves bound for Canada. In 1858, students, faculty, and residents of Oberlin and nearby Wellington, Ohio rescued a runaway slave John Price from U.S. marshals, and transported him to freedom in Canada. The incident which became known as the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, received significant press coverage. One year later three African American residents of the town of Oberlin, Shields Green, Lewis Sheridan Leary, and John Anthony Copeland, participated in John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry.
Oberlin College continued to promote social and racial justice for the next century. During the early 1960s its campus chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) joined other activists in Cleveland sit-ins and boycotted Ohio businesses that practiced segregation. During the decade the college also invited civil rights leaders like Roy Wilkins of the NAACP and Malcolm X of the Nation of Islam. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at Oberlin on numerous occasions throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965 Dr. King was the college's commencement speaker. Just before his address Oberlin officials awarded him an honorary degree of humane letters.
In the 1970s Oberlin College officials celebrated its abolitionist legacy with Cameron Armstrong's “Underground Railroad Monument,” a sculpture of a railroad track emerging from the ground reaching skyward. The city's Martin Luther King Park contains other monuments honoring the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue and the Harpers Ferry Raid.
Over the years, Oberlin has also produced several prominent 19th and early 20th Century African American leaders including scholar William Sanders Scarborough and activists Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell. More recent graduates include former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Malik Fenty, and New York City, New York Congresswoman Yvette Diane Clarke. In 2010 the campus had 2,850 students of whom approximately 10% were African Americans.
Roland M. Baumann, Constructing Black Education at Oberlin College: A Documentary History (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2010); Stephanie Y. Evans, Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007); Michele Valarie Ronnick, ed., The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough: An American Journey from Slavery to Scholarship (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005); http://www.oberlin.edu.
BlackPast.org is an independent non-profit corporation 501(c)(3). It has no affiliation with the University of Washington. BlackPast.org is supported in part by a grant from Humanities Washington, a state-wide non-profit organization supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the state of Washington, and contributions from individuals and foundations. |
SAN DIEGO — The unique composition of a mother’s breast milk could play a role in reducing infant food allergies, UC San Diego researchers announced Tuesday.
The study, conducted in collaboration with Canadian researchers, focused on human milk oligosaccharides, also called HMOs. Not found in infant formula, HMOs are the third most abundant solid component to breast milk, following lactose and fat.
The sugar molecules aren’t digested, but instead guide development of infant gut microbiota, which previous research suggests strongly influences allergic disease.
With data and milk samples from 421 infants and their mothers, researchers found that 14 percent of kids displayed sensitization to one or more foods at age 1. Sensitization doesn’t necessarily indicate an allergy, though it is a strong predictor.
HMO composition appeared to play a role in which infants developed food sensitization, said Lars Bode, associate professor of pediatrics at UCSD’s School of Medicine. The individual composition of breast milk HMOs is determined by a variety of factors, including lactation stage, gestational age, maternal health, ethnicity, geographic location and breastfeeding exclusivity.
“Our research has identified a beneficial HMO profile that was associated with a lower rate of food sensitization in children at one year,” Bode said. “To our knowledge, this is the largest study to examine the association of HMOs and allergy development in infants, and the first to evaluate overall HMO profiles.”
Additional research should determine underlying biological mechanisms, scientists said, and whether HMO modification may be used to therapeutically reduce food allergies.
The recent study was based on milk samples taken three-to-four months after birth then analyzed at UCSD. Later, 1-year-old children were given skin prick tests to determine sensitivity to common food allergens.
Participants were already part of the CHILD Study, launched in 2008 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence to track nearly 3,500 Canadian mothers and children from pregnancy to school age. |
How to Write an Academic Article: Useful Tips
If you want to know how to write an academic article, you will find the following tips very useful. Keep on reading to find out more about academic writing.
- Set a Clear Goal
Before writing an academic article, you should clearly realize why you are doing it. If you can answer this question, it means that you are self-determined and your purpose is clear. In case you are not sure about it, you should set a goal that should be followed. Ask yourself why do you want to write an article? What different do you want to make? Are you doing it because you want to make a contribution to some specific area or is it just a part of your research work?
The other important issue is to realize what journal you are writing for. It is very important because each journal has its own format and requires articles that fit their style. Consequently, you have to be able to make your article suitable to meet all the requirements and expectations in all areas: content, format, structure, writing style, and focus. In order to reach it, you are recommended to get familiar with articles of other scholars who have been published in the journal recently.
Having a clear understanding of what you are doing and why you are doing it will help you reach the desired result. It will help you both make specific achievements in the research field and improve your self-confidence towards your future work. If you are motivated enough, it will be easier for you to get the work started and, eventually, done. Academic article writing is a long process and it is important not to lose motivation during work.
- Get Idea about Academic Writing by Reviewing Articles in the Journals
Start your work by checking some articles from the field you are working in. Check how they are written, formatted, and structured. It will give you a general understanding of how to write a journal article. Pay particular attention to the abstract. Usually, it is started with providing a rationale for your research and ends with statement of contribution. Consequently, you need to provide a similar structure by clearly stating why you are doing your research and then providing information about the contribution your research can make to the existing knowledge.
In addition, check how other sections are written, what components they consist of, how topic sentences are incorporated into the main text, and how the argument is provided. Check the articles and compare them in terms of their structure and the approach taken to their writing. After that, define which style is the most appropriate for you and for the specific journal you are writing for and try to stick to it. In addition, if the articles are close to your research, you can even cite some of them in your work.
- Write Your Article
How do you start an academic article? This question is often asked by writers. Our recommendation is to start with an outline. The outline is an important part of writing as it forms the backbone of your future paper. Still, if you do not like wasting time on outlines and you can easily complete your paper without an outline, you can go to write at once. It is up to you what approach to choose, but outline helps not to miss anything in the process of writing.
Think in advance about how many sections will be in your article, how long they will be, what other subsections may be needed, etc. It will help you divide the word count between sections proportionally.
- Get the Feedback
Usually, feedback is provided at the end of work. However, to make sure that you are on the right track, it is recommended to ask other people competent in the field to give their ideas about your work at the early stages. If you want to achieve a positive result, be ready to make numerous revisions of your work.
- Develop Writing Goals
One of the most important writing tips for an academic journal is to plan your time effectively and set clear writing goals. A clear goal means that you have to limit yourself intentionally in order to reach maximum productivity. Without a doubt: “Completing a chapter before Sunday 12:00” sounds better than: “Completing a chapter sometime next week”. Such an approach may seem a bit too harsh for some writers but it is a good way to get the task done properly and on time.
- Write with Other People
It does not mean that you have to work on your article with other researchers. It only means that you are recommended to communicate with other people who are also working on their articles for the journals. In such way, you will be able to pay attention and even solve some issues that seem frustrating to you. Besides, you may get a necessary understanding of how to write properly and avoid mistakes.
If you work step-by-step, you have a higher chance to do much in a short period of time. Many writers believe that working on many things at once will bring better results than doing bit for a bit. It is a wrong judgment and it may eventually lead to missed deadlines.
- Make Short Preparation before Writing
This step is merely motivational and it can set the right tone for your work. Start your writing by answering some simple questions, such as: What articles have you already completed? What are your short and long-term goals? What are you going to achieve? etc.
You can plan your work by writing down the goals. For instance: “I will complete writing Introduction till Monday 14:00” or “I will write 600 words of chapter 1 till 20:00 today”. Such self-motivation leads to success and timely completion of daily portions of work.
As it was mentioned before, the most important is to set specific goals, as they help track the progress of your work and evaluate the extent to which it is done. Such approach towards work will help you see the real situation and adjust your plan considering all the delays and possible complications.
- Make Improvements Based on the Feedback
If the final version of the paper returned to you with numerous comments and requests for revision, do not panic and get upset. It is a normal working process. In such case, you will have to check the comments and define what areas need improvement. You can make a list of revision comments starting from the most to least serious. If your paper is rejected, it does not mean that it is a failure. It means that some areas can be made better for your article to become perfect.
If you find some comments unjustified or confusing or if you think that some parts do not have to be revised, you should discuss such areas with other researchers first to see what they think about it. You can also discuss the comments with the publisher and explain why some areas are what they are and why the changes do not seem to be valid.
Remember that revision is not a task for a far future. You need to do it as soon as you can and resubmit your article in the shortest terms possible.
- Remain Persistent and Self-Confident
You may have these qualities in your arsenal already. If no, you need to develop them because it is the only way you can get the task done properly and ensure that you make everything right.
- Put Your Well-Being at the First Place
Among all academic journal writing tips, this one may be called the most important. There is no use of an article you cannot complete because you are sick or exhausted. Do not work overtime. Plan your work in such a way that you also have time for rest. Still, do not postpone with your work at the same time. You can relax and have all time for you after your work is done.
Common Articles Writing Mistakes
How to write an academic article for publication? Many students who lack such writing experience ask this question. It is not surprising that some of them or even most of them make similar mistakes during the writing process. Despite some personal issues the writers may have with their articles, there is a list of three common mistakes many students do. These mistakes can be easily avoided if you know about them. So, here they are:
- Inappropriate writing level of a paper
The problem here is that many writers think that when they insert headings from a dissertation into a paper written at a high school level, it will look more professional. Headings like “Hypothesis” may not be appropriate for the article and it will not make the paper look better but rather ridiculous. Some other writers think that taking chapters from a dissertation and making a few changes in it will make a good research article. It may be so in rare cases but in most instances it does not work because a good research article is an article written from scratch. If you want to reach success in writing, you have to make sure that you create each its section separately. In such way, you will be able to connect all parts of the paper logically and make a good piece of writing.
- Lack of properly formulated purpose
Many writers of research articles provide superb pieces of writing. They present interesting ideas, flawless content, they format their papers in the best manners but there still remains place for a big “BUT”. But for what? Some writers fail to answer this question in their papers. Such papers are easy to understand but, at the same time, it is difficult for the readers to comprehend why it is done. In order to avoid this mistake, you need to make sure this question is properly answered in the article.
- Abstract duplicates the introduction
Remember that abstract and introduction are two different sections and they have to contain different information. During submission, abstract is more important as it presents the work and the decision to publish the article or not may depend on it. So, allowing enough time for abstract writing leads to success.
Order best academic article written by a seasoned writer!
Ask for Professional Assistance
Articles writing is a challenging task. If you do not know how to write an academic article properly, you may have serious problems with completing your task. Our services will help you get an article you want. We have rich experience writing academic articles and we will definitely meet your expectations. Do not hesitate to ask us for help if you need it because professional assistance is a great chance to get your work done in a fast and professional manner. |
Brookhaven National Laboratory was one of 13 science institutions to fund a unique physics program in Africa. The first African School of Fundamental Physics and its Applications brought together 65 students from around the world, including more than 50 from African countries, for three weeks of lectures, discussions, and career-building sessions focused on particle physics experiments, accelerators, and technology.#IMG1#
Most of the students who attended the August 1-21 event at the National Institute of Theoretical Physics in Stellenbosch, South Africa, are pursuing or have completed advanced degrees in physics but lack opportunities to gain specialized knowledge in subatomic physics.
Brookhaven, along with 12 other institutions in the United States, Europe, and Africa, helped pay for the school, including the students’ travel expenses.#IMG2#
Students attended lectures by experts in the particle physics field and participated in small group discussions. They also learned about the benefits of particle physics to society from experts such as Jim Gates, a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. On their last day, students attended a career workshop where they learned which particle physics institutions offer fellowships and what job opportunities exist.
“It is often the case in Africa that even the best students do not have the needed support to bubble to the top, to acquire the necessary skills to be competitive at the international level,” said Brookhaven physicist Ketevi Assamagan, who is on the school’s international organizing committee and was a lecturer for the program.
Assamagan, who was born in the Central African nation of Gabon and works on the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, said he experienced those challenges firsthand.
“It was particularly important for me to do something, to be part of something where I could help resolve some of the challenges that students from Africa face,” he said. “It is not to suggest that this particular school has solved all the issues — not at all. However, it is hoped that this school was useful in terms of networking, which in turn will help prepare the students to find practical answers to many issues that they may need to resolve.”
The organizers hope this will be the beginning of a tradition; they plan to host the school every two years.
More information can be found at the African School of Physics website.
2010-1997 INT/EXT | Media & Communications Office |
Oxygen Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
Majid Ali, M.D.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by dysfunctional oxygen metabolism in the brain resulting from toxicities of foods, environments, and thoughts. In 1994, I proposed the oxidative model of Alzheimer’s disease in my book RDA Rats, Drugs and Assumptions. Some years later I expanded that model to focus on oxygen homeostasis and designated it as The Oxygen Model Alzheimer’s Disease. I provided the scientific basis of this model in my book Oxygen and Aging (2000). This is a unifying model that: (1) integrates all verifiable aspects of the prevailing models of the disease; and (2) offers a rational and scientifically sound integrative management plan. The core tenet of the model is that all relevant oxygen-related issues must be addressed to maximize the potential benefits.
Ten years later, the need and clinical value of this model should be far clearer. In August 2010, a special panel at the National Institutes of Health reviewed all available literature on the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and confirmed what I have known for years: there are no effective drug therapies for the disease. Consider the following quote from a report on the panel’s conclusion published in The New York Times of August 28, 2010: “But the jury’s verdict was depressing and distressing. So far, nothing has been found to prevent or delay this devastating disease, which ceaselessly kills brain cells, eventually leaving people mute, incontinent, unable to feed themselves, unaware of who they are or who their family and friends are.” Some weeks earlier the Times had reported that PET brain scan and a spinal fluid protein test can predict with near certainty the development of Alzheimer’s disease ten to fifteen years earlier.
Theories of Alzheimer’s Disease
Below, I list the prevailing theories of Alzheimer’s disease.
1. The cholinergeic hypothesis
2. The amyloid hypothesis
3. The TAU hypothesis
4. The inflammatory hypothesis
5. The autoimmunity hypothesis (vaccines)
6. The genetic hypothesis
7. The Oxidative Model (which I published in 1995)
8. The Oxygen Model of dysox hypothesis in Oxygen and Aging in 2000. oxygen
A deep examination of each theory shows that its underlying mechanisms are related to cellular dysox (dysfunctional oxygen metabolism. Specifically, dysox it includes derangements of : (1) oxygen-driven cellular energetics; (2) oxygen-driven detox pathways; (3) oxygen signaling for cellular development, differentiatiomn, and demise; and (4) oxygen detergent functions.
Since publishing this model, my colleagues at the Institute of Integrative Medicine and I have applied it in the care of over fifty patients in varying stages of the disease. We observed fair to modest results in many patients with early and intermediate stages of the disease, but failed to help any patients with advanced stages of the disease. |
Science related activities make our little learners understand and internalise new concepts, becoming a lifelong memory for them. Our grade IV students went through such an experience last week. Relating to their science lesson about bones in the topic ‘Moving and Growing’, they were encouraged to drink Milk. Milk is an essential part of our diet, especially in the growing years. It is important for the our youth to intake a good amount of milk every day. Hence, in the “Healthy drink activity” grade IV students made healthy and yummy milk chocolate drinks. They shared their drink with the staff as well and acknowledged the blessings of Allah. |
Why Food Enzymes Are Important
Plant enzymes are important because they are capable of digesting food before the body’s own digestive process begins. In other words, plant enzymes can enhance the digestion of food and the delivery of nutrients to the blood even if you have a compromised immune system. The same cannot be said of animal enzymes such as pancreatin.
Everyone agrees that proper nutrition is crucial to the maintenance of a healthy body. However, most healthcare practitioners overlook the true cause of many nutritional disorders. It is assumed, quite mistakenly, that digestion occurs automatically and the correction of a nutritional disorder simply requires matching the right nutritional supplement to the condition. For example, vitamin C for colds, vitamin A for viruses and herbal laxatives for constipation. While this treatment may relieve patients symptoms, the relief is only temporary because the underlying problem of faulty digestion is ignored. Healthcare practitioners who want to effectively manage health problems that are related to nutritional imbalances must consider each person’s ability to digest food. Unfortunately, most clinicians give little or no thought to the role of enzymes in digestion, despite overwhelming evidence of their importance.
Enzymes are present in all living animal and plant cells. They are the primary motivators of all natural biochemical processes. Life cannot exist without enzymes because they are essential components of every chemical reaction in the body. For example, they are the only substance that can digest food and make it small enough to pass through the gastrointestinal mucosa into the bloodstream. Three very broad classifications of enzymes are:
Food enzymes — occur in raw food and, when present in the diet, begin the process of digestion
Digestive enzymes — produced by the body to break down food into particles small enough to be carried across the gut wall
Metabolic enzymes — produced by the body to perform various complex biochemical reactions
In the 1930’s, Edward Howell, MD, the food enzyme pioneer, found that there is a difference between plant enzymes and those that are produced by the body. He was convinced that plant enzymes in food and supplements have a different function in human digestion. With this theory, he began isolating and concentrating plant enzymes from their sources. He found the difference is that food enzymes begin digesting food in the stomach and will work for at least one hour before the body’s digestive system begins to work. For this reason, enzymes should be considered essential nutrients. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and food manufacturers are removing them from food to gain shelf-life.
Dr. Howell was particularly impressed by the way the ingestion of raw food slowed the progress of chronic degenerative diseases and spent his professional life postulating and then validating his theories. |
Do you remember getting your first car? How amazing was that sense of freedom? You could go where you wanted, when you wanted, with anyone you wanted. Many people who have hearing loss have this same type of experience when they invest in their first hearing aids.
How can getting your first pair of hearing aids compare to getting your first car? Even though there are obvious advantages to being able to hear better, there are some not-so-obvious ones that will help you keep your independence. It so happens that your brain’s functionality is significantly impacted by loss of hearing.
To show how well your brain will respond to change, consider this: You’re on the way to work, following the same way you always take. As you go to make the first left you discover that the road is blocked. How would you respond? Would you just give up and go back home? Unless of course you’re searching for a reason not to go to work, probably not. Finding a different way to go is most likely what you would choose to do. For as long as your primary route was closed this new route would become your new routine. If this new route ended up being even more efficient, you would substitute the old one with it.
Inside your brain, when normal functions are not working the same thing occurs. The brain reroutes its processing along with alternative pathways, and this re-routing process is defined as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity can help you master new languages, or in learning new abilities such as martial arts or developing healthy habits. Little by little, the physical changes in the brain adjust to correspond to the new paths and once-challenging tasks become automatic. While neuroplasticity is usually beneficial for learning new skills, it can also be equally as good at causing you to you forget what you know.
Neuroplasticity And Loss of Hearing
Hearing loss is the perfect example of how neuroplasticity has a negative impact on your day-to-day life. As explained in The Hearing Review, The pathways in your brain will immediately begin to get re-purposed if they quit processing sound according to research done by the University of Colorado. This is something you might not want it to be working on. The connection between hearing loss and cognitive decay can be explained by this.
The areas of your brain which are responsible for hearing will get re-purposed for other functions such as vision and touch. The available resources inside your brain used to process sound are diminished and so is your ability to understand speech.
So, if you are repeatedly asking people to repeat themselves, loss of hearing has already started. In addition, it may be a more substantial problem than damage to your inner ear, it’s probable that the neglected loss of hearing has caused your brain structure to change.
How Hearing Aids Can Help You
This ability of your brain has a positive and a downside. Neuroplasticity may make your loss of hearing worse, but it also improves the overall performance of hearing aids. Because your brain has the ability to regenerate tissue and to reroute neural pathways, you can maximize the technology at your ear. Hearing aids encourage mental growth by stimulating the parts of the brain linked with loss of hearing.
The American Geriatrics Society published a long term study, in fact. Cognitive decline was reduced in people with hearing aids, according to this study. The study, titled Self-Reported Hearing Loss: Hearing Aids and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Adults: A 25-year Study, followed over three thousand adults over the age of 65. What the scientists discovered was that the rate of cognitive decline was higher in those with hearing loss compared to those with healthy hearing. However, people that used hearing aids to correct their hearing loss displayed no difference in the rate of cognitive decline as compared to those with normal hearing.
The best part of this study is that we can validate what we already understand about neuroplasticity: the brain will manage functions according to the current need and the amount of stimulus it is given. In other words, you need to, “use it or lose it.”
Retaining a Youthful Brain
The brain is powerful and can adapt itself at any time regardless of your age. You should also take into consideration that hearing loss can accelerate mental deterioration and that this decline can be reduced or even averted by wearing hearing aids.
Hearing aids are not cheap over-the-counter amplification devices, they are sophisticated hearing technology. According to leading brain plasticity expert Dr. Michael Merzenich, by challenging yourself to engage in new activities, being active socially, and perhaps practicing mindfulness you can increase your brain’s performance regardless of your age is.
To guarantee your quality of life, hearing aids are a must have. Becoming isolated and withdrawn is common for people with hearing loss. If you would like to remain active and independent, invest in a pair of hearing aids. Keep in mind that if you want your brain to stay as young as you feel it needs to continue processing sound and receiving stimulation. |
Hopeful Treatment of Depression
Living with depression is like watching a black and white movie, in the era of full color. You know that color exists, but no matter how hard you try, you simply can’t see it.
If you suffer from depression, you are certainly not alone. Affecting nearly 1 in 10 adults, depression is the second most common type of mental health disorder in America. And, while your depression may cause you to feel lonely, isolated and hopeless, it is important to know that depression is a very treatable condition.
Our Specialized Treatment of Depression
At A New Beginning, our team of experienced clinicians, specializing in the psychotherapeutic treatment of depression, are trained to not only assess your symptoms of depression, but more importantly, to identify and then resolve the underlying causes of your depression.
Using well-researched approaches, our team will help you to develop new, more effective emotional and life coping skills that will successfully allow you to alleviate and/or manage your depression, so you can engage in the rich “full color” life you deserve!
Our specialized team may use one or more of the following research-based techniques in the treatment of your depression:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
- Experiential Therapy
- Family-of-Origin / Bowenian Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Nutrition Therapy (using food as medicine to organically boost your mood)
Many Forms of Depression
While depression can come in many forms, the following three types of depression are the most common:
Major Depression is the name for the type of depression most people think of, in which someone is very sad, tired, hopeless, and uninterested in activities that were once pleasurable. Recurrent thoughts of death or self-harm may accompany these symptoms. These symptoms last for at least several weeks and tend to interfere with everyday life.
Dysthymia is characterized by the same symptoms of major depression, however a person is consistently affected by these symptoms for at least two years. People with dysthymia tend to struggle with pervasive low self-esteem and feelings of hopelessness that life will never be enjoyable.
Bipolar Depression is typified by vacillations in a person’s mood, such that they swing from feeling depressed to feeling abundantly energetic (aka manic). These periods of mania are often characterized by increased self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, easily distracted, and increased interest in pleasurable and/or high-risk behaviors. A person may cycle between depressed and manic states over the course of a few days, weeks, or even months.
While seemingly daunting and perhaps a bit overwhelming, if you recognize yourself in any of the descriptions profiled above, please contact our team at A New Beginning. There is a beautiful life out there, …we’d like to help you find it! |
Routine Dental Visits
Keep Your Smile Clean and Healthy
Just like an adult, your child should receive regular cleanings and checkups once every 6 months (twice a year). Our goal is to make these visits fun and easy for your child. Some children may need to come in more than twice a year if they have an increased risk for tooth decay or other conditions.
After your child’s first visit, regular teeth cleanings should begin around age 3. Even if your child never gets cavities, regular cleanings by a dental professional remove buildup that brushing and flossing alone can’t remove.
What Happens During a Pediatric Dental Checkup?
When you bring your child to our pediatric dentistry office in Amarillo for a regular cleaning and checkup appointment, our caring doctor will review your child’s health history, perform an oral exam, take any needed dental X-rays, and gently clean and polish the teeth.
Regular checkups are key to assessing and treating changes in your child’s oral health. After reviewing your child’s medical history, your pediatric dentist will examine the teeth, jaws, and soft tissues to ensure that everything is healthy. In accordance with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s guidelines, X-rays will only be advised when they are necessary to protect your child’s dental health. No scans will be taken without the explicit permission of a parent or caregiver.
Your doctor will discuss any recommended treatment with you and your child to ensure that everyone feels comfortable before moving forward. We take care to use simple explanations and pictures to help children understand their oral health. X-ray findings will be shown and discussed as well. We may also recommend orthodontic treatment, dietary changes, or other treatments when necessary to protect and improve your child’s health.
Cleanings and Treatments
After the examination, your child’s teeth will be cleaned and polished by a skilled member of our dental assistant team. Our staff specializes in motivating children to care for their smile, and we will teach your child how to properly take care of their teeth. The cleaning is usually followed by a fluoride treatment for added protection against tooth decay. If you and your dentist decided on another treatment, such as sealants to protect the teeth, that treatment might also be applied during the same appointment.
Top Benefits of Fluoride
Fluoride is a natural mineral found in your bones and teeth, as well as in water, soil, plants, and rocks. When used in dentistry, it strengthens enamel and prevents cavities. Benefits include:
- Reverses early signs of tooth decay
- Prevents the growth of harmful bacteria
- Slows down mineral loss in tooth enamel
- Rebuilds weakened tooth enamel
Maintain Space in the Dental Arch
If a baby tooth falls out too soon, or if a baby tooth needs to be extracted due to decay, a dental spacer can be used to maintain space in the dental arch. A space maintainer is custom-made by a dentist and attached to a nearby tooth. This prevents other teeth from sliding into the space that’s being saved for the permanent tooth.
Hear From Routine Dental Visits Patients
These patients can tell you about the firsthand experience undergoing routine dental visits at our office.
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America loves a good story. Some stories, however, inspire us so much that fiction is accepted as the truth. Have you seen Elvis lately? Sadly, there are some who still report that they have spotted him. The government DID NOT create the Aids problem, and we DID land a man on the moon! A lot of energy has gone into spinning sometimes ridiculous conspiracy theories that ultimately taint a true history. Conspiracies are alternative stories about a real events. These stories develop because a part of our society refuses to accept the official explanation. The beloved iconic Elvis could not possibly be dead, and walking on the moon was unimaginable, many thought. As far as the Aids conspiracy, many citizens historically don’t trust the government anyhow. It is not a giant stretch to see how an angry tale of blame was spun. Some conspiracy theories stay in the public’s mind, and others fade away. The problem is that the ones that fade away are the conspiracies that we need to remember.
The conspiracy theories about John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Marilyn Monroe’s death are examples of alternative stories that are possibly plausible. Perhaps Lee Harvey Oswald was not alone in the murder of Kennedy, and could there also be a widespread network of conspirators involved? Did Marilyn Monroe die of an overdose as officially reported, or was she murdered by people close to JFK? Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared over the Pacific in 1942, and officially, that was the end of the story. In 1942, however, we were at war with Japan, and Earhart’s plane was flying over enemy territory. It is not difficult to imagine a conspiracy theory connecting her disappearance with the Japanese. In fact, the strongest Earhart theory is that the Japanese either shot her plane down or it crashed, and she and Fred Noonan, her navigator, were captured by the Japanese, tortured and eventually executed. These conspiracy stories, and others, are in our recent memory and are still in the public discourse. As far as our American history, they have not been resolved.
Conspiracy theories thrive on being unresolved. Here are a few that have surfaced in the last 150 years, and they range from pure fantasy to believable, and somewhere in between:
Roswell – In July 1947 Roswell, New Mexico was the scene of a bizarre incident. The military claimed that a crash involved a high altitude balloon, but eyewitnesses said something else. Within a few hours the news media were announcing that the Roswell crash was a legitimate UFO, and some of the bodies recovered were definitely not human. Three so-called creatures resembled humans but smaller, and with larger heads and spindly limbs. The conspiracy blames the federal government with covering up the true facts, and not releasing the bodies to be independently examined. The evidence here is thin, at best.
Martin Luther King – In April 1968 Martin Luther King was murdered and James Earl Ray was quickly arrested and admitted to killing him. Within three days, Ray recanted his confession. Later, civil cases agreed that Ray had not murdered King, but instead pointed the finger at Lloyd Jowers, a local bar owner. King’s family also believed Ray’s story, but the government did not. The official report said that Ray was not only the killer, but he most likely had been stalking King. The King family believed that the government was involved in his murder. Other researchers suggest that a larger network of conspirators had been planning to murder King, and Ray was just the hit man. There’s not enough evidence to support that Martin Luther King’s murderer was anyone other than James Earl Ray. Ray was never released from jail and he passed away in 1994.
Philadelphia Experiment – This conspiracy is difficult to imagine, but in 1943 it was claimed that the U.S. Naval ship the USS Eldridge, became invisible. In the previous year over 1,000 Allied ships had been sunk by German U-boats, and some have argued that the U.S. Navy was trying to come up with a counter-measure to the U-boat attacks. At the time, Albert Einstein was employed by the Navy, and had been working on his Unified Field Theory. His theory had to do with the science of warping space and time, and it may have included the science of making objects invisible through an electro-magnetic field. According to the story, this field was created on the Eldridge, and it surrounded the entire ship. Witnesses’ claim that a greenish fog appeared and covered the vessel. The Eldridge then completely vanished and reappeared at the Norfolk Naval base, which was 300 miles away. It vanished again and then reappeared back at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. The ship sustained no damage, but according to eyewitnesses, some sailors caught fire and others were partially embedded in the steel of the ship. The U.S. Navy denied both the existence of the experiment, or any details related to the so-called incident on the Eldridge. This story sounds far-fetched and possibly because of its fictional nature, it has not resonated with support from this generation.
General George Patton – The flamboyant general of World War II was mysteriously killed in a vehicle accident shortly after the war ended. Patton had demonstrated his careless streak many times, but in this situation, he was not even driving. Some suggest that the outspoken general was silenced because of his Anti-Soviet views, or because he might publicly divulge war secrets. He had loudly suggested that the U.S. should continue the war and invade the Soviet Union. Official reports about the accident have disappeared. Patton’s driver said the Army truck that slammed into them had been waiting. Patton suffered a broken neck and later died of a blood clot in the hospital. The three other passengers were not injured, and an autopsy was never performed on his body. There are a number of interesting facts surrounding Patton’s death, but no clear definitive proof that his death was anything other than an accident. However,the conspiracy theory continues to persist.
Civil War – The claim that England started the war is another theory with thin, or no, credible evidence. Apparently, since the Revolutionary War, England had been plotting to take their colony back. By starting a Civil War the North and South would each shatter the other physically and economically. Once this was done the English military would easily invade the nation and take over.
Russian (Bolshevik) Revolution – It is widely accepted that the government takeover, and the execution of Tsar Nicholas and his family, was done by radical Bolshevik revolutionaries. The alternate theory is that the Russian revolution was planned and financed by American and British banks, and that Lenin and Trotsky were front men used by the two nations. The two countries wanted communism, which was known as an economic loser, to be installed. The theory is difficult to grasp, but there is growing research to support this theory.
Pearl Harbor – Sunday, December 7, 1941 is the day the Japanese attacked an unsuspecting U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet which was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation later that day, saying about the attack “a date which will live in infamy,” and then asked Congress to declare war with Japan. The alternative story is that FDR and others in his administration were well aware of the Japanese intent to bomb Pearl Harbor, and did nothing. According to the conspiracy, the Roosevelt administration wanted war, and the American public was not ready to support our involvement. The Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor would assure that the American public would support our involvement in the war.
There is some proof to support this conspiracy. Our military had cracked the Japanese code two months prior to Pearl Harbor; they had deciphered a number of Japanese messages suggesting the attack. Based on research obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, researchers also suggest that FDR’s administration had intentionally provoked the Japanese to attack by freezing her assets in the United States, closing the Panama Canal to Japanese ships, and halting important exports to Japan. Research also suggests that America had entered into a secret alliance with Great Britain to defeat Germany, and this alliance was made before we had even entered the war. This makes for an interesting story, but it seems unlikely that FDR’s administration wanted to go to war, especially since the nation was unprepared militarily.
The interesting thing about conspiracy theories is that they balance between fiction and non-fiction, and just simply leave us wondering. There are two conspiracies, one in the 19th, and the other in the 20th century, that are probably factual, at least in part. Their stories are far more sinister than the death of Marilyn, or the whereabouts of Elvis, or even the murder of JFK. They present believable plots about the takeover of our nation’s government.
In April and May 1865 our nation’s capital was gripped by fear surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Just weeks before the war officially ended Lincoln was murdered and his Secretary of State was nearly beaten to death. Nine conspirators were caught and tried. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth was hunted down and shot to death in a barn in Caroline County, Virginia. Four of the conspirators, including a female, were hanged in July 1865. The rest of the gang quickly spilled the beans that the plan had included murdering Vice President Andrew Johnson and General Ulysses Grant. That is the official story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, and then there is the conspiracy of the Knights of the Golden Circle.
The KGC began before the Civil War began and was initially established to support and expand slavery and slave territories. The confederation of slave’s states would include the Southern states, Cuba and Nicaragua. According to the conspiracy, hundreds of thousands of Americans, not just Southerners, were members of the KGC. Some reports suggest that in addition to John Wilkes Booth, and all of the conspirators, several of Lincoln’s own cabinet and Jefferson Davis himself were members of the organization. The initial plan of the group was to push the South to secede from the Union, intentionally starting the war. The KGC was convinced of the invincibility of the South. In the election of 1860 the KGC placed their bets on Lincoln, simply because they thought that he was incompetent and illiterate. Lincoln, as President of the Union, would pose no problem to the South’s plans of seceding from the Union, they thought.
When the war went sour, the KGC decided that it was worth a last ditch effort to take out the Union leadership. There is a growing amount of work that supports that John Wilkes Booth was not the man killed in the Caroline County barn. It is also difficult to ignore the legitimacy of the KGC network, and its relationship to the Confederacy. Some researchers have argued that the KGC was also well financed, but offered little credible evidence. It is plausible, however, that the KGC was involved in both Lincoln’s death, and a larger conspiracy to develop a new nation based on a slave economy.
There are numerous Lincoln conspiracies. The most logical one was that the Confederacy, in some fashion, was behind his death. Another theory suggested that Edwin Stanton was the mastermind. Stanton was in Lincoln’s Cabinet and served as Secretary of War, and disagreed with the President over many issues, but particularly Lincoln’s Reconstruction plans. As a lawyer he had lost a major case when he represented the Catholic Church. Some felt that the church was so troubled by Lincoln’s poor handling of the case that they could have conspired to murder him. Lincoln’s own Vice President, Andrew Johnson has even been the focus of some conspirator researchers. Johnson and Booth were friendly, even sharing the same mistresses. Booth had even visited Johnson on several occasions just prior to Lincoln’s death. These theories all make for good stories, but fall short in evidence.
Major General Smedley Butler was the highest ranking U.S. Marine Corps officer in the service, and, at his death, was the most highly decorated Marine in the history of the United States. So, when Butler testified before Congress that a group of businessmen had approached him about leading a military coup to overthrow FDR’s administration, that got the attention of the entire nation.
In 1933 the nation was in the grips of the Great Depression. Germany was also facing severe economic hardship and their unemployment rate was at 33%. In that same year Hitler’s Fascist regime came into power and made many promises about improving the lives of its citizens. These promises impressed certain people and groups. Hitler pledged that he would quickly reduce the numbers of unemployed, and he kept that promise. His government, however, was also rounding up Jews, closing their businesses, and confiscating their personal possessions. These actions may have also impressed the elite group of American businessman. All of those accused denied the charges and the media called Butler’s accusations a colossal joke, fantasy and “no truth in the story at all.” The New York Times went further and in an editorial characterized it as a “gigantic hoax.”
The House of Representatives, however, did not agree. After two months of investigating, the House Committee admitted that much of what General Butler had said was alarmingly true. There was even proof that a military march on Washington had been planned. Despite this, no one was prosecuted and no one’s reputation was destroyed, or even damaged, including General Butler. The entire matter, referred to as the Business Plot, was simply forgotten and allowed to go away. World War II was on the horizon and Americans began to focus on the war, and probably never looked back.
The American public is fascinated with conspiracies. Many of us are driven to find the truth, while others simply enjoy being entertained by a new twist in an old tale. A constant spinning of an interesting story will do that. There are certain conspiracy theories from our past, whose larger meaning we need to reconsider and analyze. If the North had lost the Civil War and the KGC and its mission were real, the result would have been unimaginable. Equally, it is difficult to imagine World War II America without Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is much that we can learn from the past, and some conspiracy theories may provide valuable insight into our society.
Knights of the Golden Circle: Secret Empire, Southern Secession, Civil War, by David C. Keehn
The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking TRUE Story of the Conspiracy, by Jules Archer
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart,
by Candace Fleming
Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisiblity, by
William L. Moore, Charles Berlitz |
To fight against cancer, researchers are continuously working to find out newer ways. They are upgrading the current methods to treat cancer. Recently, researchers at the University of Tennessee’s Space Institute have developed a Femtosecond laser. Scientists are hoping to use it as a weapon against cancer.
Christian Parigger, associate professor of physics at the University of Tennessee, and his colleagues have developed a femtosecond laser which pulses at speeds of one-quadrillionth of a second. Femtosecond laser can non-invasively diagnose, map, irradiate and burn cancer cells and tumors.
Once the cancer infected area is precisely targeted, the intensity of the femtosecond laser needs to be increased only, in order to burn off a tumor. Because the laser is more exact and quicker than those used currently, this technology has the potential to treat cancer in out-vision procedure.
Lead researcher Christian Parigger said, “Using ultra-short light pulses gives us the ability to focus in a well confined region and the ability for intense radiation. This allows us to come in and leave a specific area quickly so we can diagnose and attack tumorous cells fast.”
The technology can be especially helpful to treat brain cancer. It can easily radiate through the skull. In fact, this technique won’t heat up or damage adjacent healthy tissues. Now, researchers are working very hard to bring the system to market.
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Anarchist FAQ/What is Anarchism?/5.5
A.5.5 Anarchists in the Italian Factory Occupations
After the end of the First World War there was a massive radicalisation across Europe and the world. Union membership exploded, with strikes, demonstrations and agitation reaching massive levels. This was partly due to the war, partly to the apparent success of the Russian Revolution. This enthusiasm for the Russian Revolution even reached Individualist Anarchists like Joseph Labadie, who like many other anti-capitalists, saw "the red in the east [giving] hope of a brighter day" and the Bolsheviks as making "laudable efforts to at least try some way out of the hell of industrial slavery." [quoted by Carlotta R. Anderson, All-American Anarchist p. 225 and p. 241]
Across Europe, anarchist ideas became more popular and anarcho-syndicalist unions grew in size. For example, in Britain, the ferment produced the shop stewards' movement and the strikes on Clydeside; Germany saw the rise of IWW inspired industrial unionism and a libertarian form of Marxism called "Council Communism"; Spain saw a massive growth in the anarcho-syndicalist CNT. In addition, it also, unfortunately, saw the rise and growth of both social democratic and communist parties. Italy was no exception.
In Turin, a new rank-and-file movement was developing. This movement was based around the "internal commissions" (elected ad hoc grievance committees). These new organisations were based directly on the group of people who worked together in a particular work shop, with a mandated and recallable shop steward elected for each group of 15 to 20 or so workers. The assembly of all the shop stewards in a given plant then elected the "internal commission" for that facility, which was directly and constantly responsible to the body of shop stewards, which was called the "factory council."
Between November 1918 and March 1919, the internal commissions had become a national issue within the trade union movement. On February 20, 1919, the Italian Federation of Metal Workers (FIOM) won a contract providing for the election of "internal commissions" in the factories. The workers subsequently tried to transform these organs of workers' representation into factory councils with a managerial function. By May Day 1919, the internal commissions "were becoming the dominant force within the metalworking industry and the unions were in danger of becoming marginal administrative units. Behind these alarming developments, in the eyes of reformists, lay the libertarians." [Carl Levy, Gramsci and the Anarchists, p. 135] By November 1919 the internal commissions of Turin were transformed into factory councils.
The movement in Turin is usually associated with the weekly L'Ordine Nuovo (The New Order), which first appeared on May 1, 1919. As Daniel Guerin summarises, it was "edited by a left socialist, Antonio Gramsci, assisted by a professor of philosophy at Turin University with anarchist ideas, writing under the pseudonym of Carlo Petri, and also of a whole nucleus of Turin libertarians. In the factories, the Ordine Nuovo group was supported by a number of people, especially the anarcho-syndicalist militants of the metal trades, Pietro Ferrero and Maurizio Garino. The manifesto of Ordine Nuovo was signed by socialists and libertarians together, agreeing to regard the factory councils as 'organs suited to future communist management of both the individual factory and the whole society.'" [Anarchism, p. 109]
The developments in Turin should not be taken in isolation. All across Italy, workers and peasants were taking action. In late February 1920, a rash of factory occupations broke out in Liguria, Piedmont and Naples. In Liguria, the workers occupied the metal and shipbuilding plants in Sestri Ponente, Cornigliano and Campi after a breakdown of pay talks. For up to four days, under syndicalist leadership, they ran the plants through factory councils.
During this period the Italian Syndicalist Union (USI) grew in size to around 800 000 members and the influence of the Italian Anarchist Union (UAI) with its 20 000 members and daily paper (Umanita Nova) grew correspondingly. As the Welsh Marxist historian Gwyn A. Williams points out "Anarchists and revolutionary syndicalists were the most consistently and totally revolutionary group on the left . . . the most obvious feature of the history of syndicalism and anarchism in 1919-20: rapid and virtually continuous growth . . . The syndicalists above all captured militant working-class opinion which the socialist movement was utterly failing to capture." [Proletarian Order, pp. 194-195] In Turin, libertarians "worked within FIOM" and had been "heavily involved in the Ordine Nuovo campaign from the beginning." [Op. Cit., p. 195] Unsurprisingly, Ordone Nuovo was denounced as "syndicalist" by other socialists.
It was the anarchists and syndicalists who first raised the idea of occupying workplaces. Malatesta was discussing this idea in Umanita Nova in March, 1920. In his words, "General strikes of protest no longer upset anyone . . . One must seek something else. We put forward an idea: take-over of factories. . . the method certainly has a future, because it corresponds to the ultimate ends of the workers' movement and constitutes an exercise preparing one for the ultimate act of expropriation." [Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas, p. 134] In the same month, during "a strong syndicalist campaign to establish councils in Mila, Armando Borghi [anarchist secretary of the USI] called for mass factory occupations. In Turin, the re-election of workshop commissars was just ending in a two-week orgy of passionate discussion and workers caught the fever. [Factory Council] Commissars began to call for occupations." Indeed, "the council movement outside Turin was essentially anarcho-syndicalist." Unsurprisingly, the secretary of the syndicalist metal-workers "urged support for the Turin councils because they represented anti-bureaucratic direct action, aimed at control of the factory and could be the first cells of syndicalist industrial unions . . . The syndicalist congress voted to support the councils. . . . Malatesta . . . supported them as a form of direct action guaranteed to generate rebelliousness . . . Umanita Nova and Guerra di Classe [paper of the USI] became almost as committed to the councils as L'Ordine Nuovo and the Turin edition of Avanti." [Williams, Op. Cit., p. 200, p. 193 and p. 196]
The upsurge in militancy soon provoked an employer counter-offensive. The bosses organisation denounced the factory councils and called for a mobilisation against them. Workers were rebelling and refusing to follow the bosses orders -- "indiscipline" was rising in the factories. They won state support for the enforcement of the existing industrial regulations. The national contract won by the FIOM in 1919 had provided that the internal commissions were banned from the shop floor and restricted to non-working hours. This meant that the activities of the shop stewards' movement in Turin -- such as stopping work to hold shop steward elections -- were in violation of the contract. The movement was essentially being maintained through mass insubordination. The bosses used this infringement of the agreed contract as the means combating the factory councils in Turin.
The showdown with the employers arrived in April, when a general assembly of shop stewards at Fiat called for sit-in strikes to protest the dismissal of several shop stewards. In response the employers declared a general lockout. The government supported the lockout with a mass show of force and troops occupied the factories and mounted machine guns posts at them. When the shop stewards movement decided to surrender on the immediate issues in dispute after two weeks on strike, the employers responded with demands that the shop stewards councils be limited to non-working hours, in accordance with the FIOM national contract, and that managerial control be re-imposed.
These demands were aimed at the heart of the factory council system and Turin labour movement responded with a massive general strike in defence of it. In Turin, the strike was total and it soon spread throughout the region of Piedmont and involved 500 000 workers at its height. The Turin strikers called for the strike to be extended nationally and, being mostly led by socialists, they turned to the CGL trade union and Socialist Party leaders, who rejected their call.
The only support for the Turin general strike came from unions that were mainly under anarcho-syndicalist influence, such as the independent railway and the maritime workers unions ("The syndicalists were the only ones to move."). The railway workers in Pisa and Florence refused to transport troops who were being sent to Turin. There were strikes all around Genoa, among dock workers and in workplaces where the USI was a major influence. So in spite of being "betrayed and abandoned by the whole socialist movement," the April movement "still found popular support" with "actions . . . either directly led or indirectly inspired by anarcho-syndicalists." In Turin itself, the anarchists and syndicalists were "threatening to cut the council movement out from under" Gramsci and the Ordine Nuovo group. [Williams, Op. Cit., p. 207, p. 193 and p. 194]
Eventually the CGL leadership settled the strike on terms that accepted the employers' main demand for limiting the shop stewards' councils to non-working hours. Though the councils were now much reduced in activity and shop floor presence, they would yet see a resurgence of their position during the September factory occupations.
The anarchists "accused the socialists of betrayal. They criticised what they believed was a false sense of discipline that had bound socialists to their own cowardly leadership. They contrasted the discipline that placed every movement under the 'calculations, fears, mistakes and possible betrayals of the leaders' to the other discipline of the workers of Sestri Ponente who struck in solidarity with Turin, the discipline of the railway workers who refused to transport security forces to Turin and the anarchists and members of the Unione Sindacale who forgot considerations of party and sect to put themselves at the disposition of the Torinesi." [Carl Levy, Op. Cit., p. 161] Sadly, this top-down "discipline" of the socialists and their unions would be repeated during the factory occupations, with terrible results.
In September, 1920, there were large-scale stay-in strikes in Italy in response to an owner wage cut and lockout. "Central to the climate of the crisis was the rise of the syndicalists." In mid-August, the USI metal-workers "called for both unions to occupy the factories" and called for "a preventive occupation" against lock-outs. The USI saw this as the "expropriation of the factories by the metal-workers" (which must "be defended by all necessary measures") and saw the need "to call the workers of other industries into battle." [Williams, Op. Cit., p. 236, pp. 238-9] Indeed, "[i]f the FIOM had not embraced the syndicalist idea of an occupation of factories to counter an employer's lockout, the USI may well have won significant support from the politically active working class of Turin." [Carl Levy, Op. Cit., p. 129] These strikes began in the engineering factories and soon spread to railways, road transport, and other industries, with peasants seizing land. The strikers, however, did more than just occupy their workplaces, they placed them under workers' self-management. Soon over 500 000 "strikers" were at work, producing for themselves. Errico Malatesta, who took part in these events, writes:
"The metal workers started the movement over wage rates. It was a strike of a new kind. Instead of abandoning the factories, the idea was to remain inside without working . . . Throughout Italy there was a revolutionary fervour among the workers and soon the demands changed their characters. Workers thought that the moment was ripe to take possession once [and] for all the means of production. They armed for defence . . . and began to organise production on their own . . . It was the right of property abolished in fact . . .; it was a new regime, a new form of social life that was being ushered in. And the government stood by because it felt impotent to offer opposition." [Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas, p. 134]
Daniel Guerin provides a good summary of the extent of the movement:
"The management of the factories . . . [was] conducted by technical and administrative workers' committees. Self-management went quite a long way: in the early period assistance was obtained from the banks, but when it was withdrawn the self-management system issued its own money to pay the workers' wages. Very strict self-discipline was required, the use of alcoholic beverages forbidden, and armed patrols were organised for self-defence. Very close solidarity was established between the factories under self-management. Ores and coal were put into a common pool, and shared out equitably." [Anarchism, p. 109]
Italy was "paralysed, with half a million workers occupying their factories and raising red and black flags over them." The movement spread throughout Italy, not only in the industrial heartland around Milan, Turin and Genoa, but also in Rome, Florence, Naples and Palermo. The "militants of the USI were certainly in the forefront of the movement," while Umanita Nova argued that "the movement is very serious and we must do everything we can to channel it towards a massive extension." The persistent call of the USI was for "an extension of the movement to the whole of industry to institute their 'expropriating general strike.'" [Williams, Op. Cit., p. 236 and pp. 243-4] Railway workers, influenced by the libertarians, refused to transport troops, workers went on strike against the orders of the reformist unions and peasants occupied the land. The anarchists whole-heartedly supported the movement, unsurprisingly as the "occupation of the factories and the land suited perfectly our programme of action." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 135] Luigi Fabbri described the occupations as having "revealed a power in the proletariat of which it had been unaware hitherto." [quoted by Paolo Sprinao, The Occupation of the Factories, p. 134]
However, after four weeks of occupation, the workers decided to leave the factories. This was because of the actions of the socialist party and the reformist trade unions. They opposed the movement and negotiated with the state for a return to "normality" in exchange for a promise to extend workers' control legally, in association with the bosses. The question of revolution was decided by a vote of the CGL national council in Milan on April 10-11th, without consulting the syndicalist unions, after the Socialist Party leadership refused to decide one way or the other.
Needless to say, this promise of "workers' control" was not kept. The lack of independent inter-factory organisation made workers dependent on trade union bureaucrats for information on what was going on in other cities, and they used that power to isolate factories, cities, and factories from each other. This lead to a return to work, "in spite of the opposition of individual anarchists dispersed among the factories." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 136] The local syndicalist union confederations could not provide the necessary framework for a fully co-ordinated occupation movement as the reformist unions refused to work with them; and although the anarchists were a large minority, they were still a minority:
"At the 'interproletarian' convention held on 12 September (in which the Unione Anarchia, the railwaymen's and maritime workers union participated) the syndicalist union decided that 'we cannot do it ourselves' without the socialist party and the CGL, protested against the 'counter-revolutionary vote' of Milan, declared it minoritarian, arbitrary and null, and ended by launching new, vague, but ardent calls to action." [Paolo Spriano, Op. Cit., p. 94]
Malatesta addressed the workers of one of the factories at Milan. He argued that "[t]hose who celebrate the agreement signed at Rome [between the Confederazione and the capitalists] as a great victory of yours are deceiving you. The victory in reality belongs to Giolitti, to the government and the bourgeoisie who are saved from the precipice over which they were hanging." During the occupation the "bourgeoisie trembled, the government was powerless to face the situation." Therefore:
"To speak of victory when the Roman agreement throws you back under bourgeois exploitation which you could have got rid of is a lie. If you give up the factories, do this with the conviction [of] hav[ing] lost a great battle and with the firm intention to resume the struggle on the first occasion and to carry it on in a thorough way. . . Nothing is lost if you have no illusion [about] the deceiving character of the victory. The famous decree on the control of factories is a mockery . . . because it tends to harmonise your interests and those of the bourgeois which is like harmonising the interests of the wolf and the sheep. Don't believe those of your leaders who make fools of you by adjourning the revolution from day to day. You yourselves must make the revolution when an occasion will offer itself, without waiting for orders which never come, or which come only to enjoin you to abandon action. Have confidence in yourselves, have faith in your future and you will win." [quoted by Max Nettlau, Errico Malatesta: The Biography of an Anarchist]
Malatesta was proven correct. With the end of the occupations, the only victors were the bourgeoisie and the government. Soon the workers would face Fascism, but first, in October 1920, "after the factories were evacuated," the government (obviously knowing who the real threat was) "arrested the entire leadership of the USI and UAI. The socialists did not respond" and "more-or-less ignored the persecution of the libertarians until the spring of 1921 when the aged Malatesta and other imprisoned anarchists mounted a hunger strike from their cells in Milan." [Carl Levy, Op. Cit., pp. 221-2] They were acquitted after a four day trial.
The events of 1920 show four things. Firstly, that workers can manage their own workplaces successfully by themselves, without bosses. Secondly, on the need for anarchists to be involved in the labour movement. Without the support of the USI, the Turin movement would have been even more isolated than it was. Thirdly, anarchists need to be organised to influence the class struggle. The growth of the UAI and USI in terms of both influence and size indicates the importance of this. Without the anarchists and syndicalists raising the idea of factory occupations and supporting the movement, it is doubtful that it would have been as successful and widespread as it was. Lastly, that socialist organisations, structured in a hierarchical fashion, do not produce a revolutionary membership. By continually looking to leaders, the movement was crippled and could not develop to its full potential.
This period of Italian history explains the growth of Fascism in Italy. As Tobias Abse points out, "the rise of fascism in Italy cannot be detached from the events of the biennio rosso, the two red years of 1919 and 1920, that preceded it. Fascism was a preventive counter-revolution . . . launched as a result of the failed revolution" ["The Rise of Fascism in an Industrial City", p. 54, in Rethinking Italian Fascism, David Forgacs (ed.), pp. 52-81] The term "preventive counter-revolution" was originally coined by the leading anarchist Luigi Fabbri.
As Malatesta argued at the time of the factory occupations, "[i]f we do not carry on to the end, we will pay with tears of blood for the fear we now instil in the bourgeoisie." [quoted by Tobias Abse, Op. Cit., p. 66] Later events proved him right, as the capitalists and rich landowners backed the fascists in order to teach the working class their place. In the words of Tobias Abse:
"The aims of the Fascists and their backers amongst the industrialists and agrarians in 1921-22 were simple: to break the power of the organised workers and peasants as completely as possible, to wipe out, with the bullet and the club, not only the gains of the biennio rosso, but everything that the lower classes had gained . . . between the turn of the century and the outbreak of the First World War." [Op. Cit., p. 54]
The fascist squads attacked and destroyed anarchist and socialist meeting places, social centres, radical presses and Camera del Lavoro (local trade union councils). However, even in the dark days of fascist terror, the anarchists resisted the forces of totalitarianism. "It is no coincidence that the strongest working-class resistance to Fascism was in . . . towns or cities in which there was quite a strong anarchist, syndicalist or anarcho-syndicalist tradition." [Tobias Abse, Op. Cit., p. 56]
The anarchists participated in, and often organised sections of, the Arditi del Popolo, a working-class organisation devoted to the self-defence of workers' interests. The Arditi del Popolo organised and encouraged working-class resistance to fascist squads, often defeating larger fascist forces (for example, "the total humiliation of thousands of Italo Balbo's squadristi by a couple of hundred Arditi del Popolo backed by the inhabitants of the working class districts" in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922 [Tobias Abse, Op. Cit., p. 56]).
The Arditi del Popolo was the closest Italy got to the idea of a united, revolutionary working-class front against fascism, as had been suggested by Malatesta and the UAI. This movement "developed along anti-bourgeois and anti-fascist lines, and was marked by the independence of its local sections." [Red Years, Black Years: Anarchist Resistance to Fascism in Italy, p. 2] Rather than being just an "anti-fascist" organisation, the Arditi "were not a movement in defence of 'democracy' in the abstract, but an essentially working-class organisation devoted to the defence of the interests of industrial workers, the dockers and large numbers of artisans and craftsmen." [Tobias Abse, Op. Cit., p. 75] Unsurprisingly, the Arditi del Popolo "appear to have been strongest and most successful in areas where traditional working-class political culture was less exclusively socialist and had strong anarchist or syndicalist traditions, for example, Bari, Livorno, Parma and Rome." [Antonio Sonnessa, "Working Class Defence Organisation, Anri-Fascist Resistances and the Arditi del Popolo in Turin, 1919-22," pp. 183-218, European History Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 2, p. 184]
However, both the socialist and communist parties withdrew from the organisation. The socialists signed a "Pact of Pacification" with the Fascists in August 1921. The communists "preferred to withdraw their members from the Arditi del Popolo rather than let them work with the anarchists." [Red Years, Black Years, p. 17] Indeed, "[o]n the same day as the Pact was signed, Ordine Nuovo published a PCd'I [Communist Party of Italy] communication warning communists against involvement" in the Arditi del Popolo. Four days later, the Communist leadership "officially abandoned the movement. Severe disciplinary measures were threatened against those communists who continued to participate in, or liase with," the organisation. Thus by "the end of the first week of August 1921 the PSI, CGL and the PCd'I had officially denounced" the organisation. "Only the anarchist leaders, if not always sympathetic to the programme of the [Arditi del Popolo], did not abandon the movement." Indeed, Umanita Nova "strongly supported" it "on the grounds it represented a popular expression of anti-fascist resistance and in defence of freedom to organise." [Antonio Sonnessa, Op. Cit., p. 195 and p. 194]
However, in spite of the decisions by their leaders, many rank and file socialists and communists took part in the movement. The latter took part in open "defiance of the PCd'I leadership's growing abandonment" of it. In Turin, for example, communists who took part in the Arditi del Polopo did so "less as communists and more as part of a wider, working-class self-identification . . . This dynamic was re-enforced by an important socialist and anarchist presence" there. The failure of the Communist leadership to support the movement shows the bankruptcy of Bolshevik organisational forms which were unresponsive to the needs of the popular movement. Indeed, these events show the "libertarian custom of autonomy from, and resistance to, authority was also operated against the leaders of the workers' movement, particularly when they were held to have misunderstood the situation at grass roots level." [Sonnessa, Op. Cit., p. 200, p. 198 and p. 193]
Thus the Communist Party failed to support the popular resistance to fascism. The Communist leader Antonio Gramsci explained why, arguing that "the party leadership's attitude on the question of the Arditi del Popolo . . . corresponded to a need to prevent the party members from being controlled by a leadership that was not the party's leadership." Gramsci added that this policy "served to disqualify a mass movement which had started from below and which could instead have been exploited by us politically." [Selections from Political Writings (1921-1926), p. 333] While being less sectarian towards the Arditi del Popolo than other Communist leaders, "[i]n common with all communist leaders, Gramsci awaited the formation of the PCd'I-led military squads." [Sonnessa, Op. Cit., p. 196] In other words, the struggle against fascism was seen by the Communist leadership as a means of gaining more members and, when the opposite was a possibility, they preferred defeat and fascism rather than risk their followers becoming influenced by anarchism.
As Abse notes, "it was the withdrawal of support by the Socialist and Communist parties at the national level that crippled" the Arditi. [Op. Cit., p. 74] Thus "social reformist defeatism and communist sectarianism made impossible an armed opposition that was widespread and therefore effective; and the isolated instances of popular resistance were unable to unite in a successful strategy." And fascism could have been defeated: "Insurrections at Sarzanna, in July 1921, and at Parma, in August 1922, are examples of the correctness of the policies which the anarchists urged in action and propaganda." [Red Years, Black Years, p. 3 and p. 2] Historian Tobias Abse confirms this analysis, arguing that "[w]hat happened in Parma in August 1922 . . . could have happened elsewhere, if only the leadership of the Socialist and Communist parties thrown their weight behind the call of the anarchist Malatesta for a united revolutionary front against Fascism." [Op. Cit., p. 56]
In the end, fascist violence was successful and capitalist power maintained:
"The anarchists' will and courage were not enough to counter the fascist gangs, powerfully aided with material and arms, backed by the repressive organs of the state. Anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists were decisive in some areas and in some industries, but only a similar choice of direct action on the parts of the Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour [the reformist trade union] could have halted fascism." [Red Years, Black Years, pp. 1-2]
After helping to defeat the revolution, the Marxists helped ensure the victory of fascism.
Even after the fascist state was created, anarchists resisted both inside and outside Italy. Many Italians, both anarchist and non-anarchist, travelled to Spain to resist Franco in 1936 (see Umberto Marzochhi's Remembering Spain: Italian Anarchist Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War for details). During the Second World War, anarchists played a major part in the Italian Partisan movement. It was the fact that the anti-fascist movement was dominated by anti-capitalist elements that led the USA and the UK to place known fascists in governmental positions in the places they "liberated" (often where the town had already been taken by the Partisans, resulting in the Allied troops "liberating" the town from its own inhabitants!).
Given this history of resisting fascism in Italy, it is surprising that some claim Italian fascism was a product or form of syndicalism. This is even claimed by some anarchists. According to Bob Black the "Italian syndicalists mostly went over to Fascism" and references David D. Roberts 1979 study The Syndicalist Tradition and Italian Fascism to support his claim. [Anarchy after Leftism, p. 64] Peter Sabatini in a review in Social Anarchism makes a similar statement, saying that syndicalism's "ultimate failure" was "its transformation into a vehicle of fascism." [Social Anarchism, no. 23, p. 99] What is the truth behind these claims?
Looking at Black's reference we discover that, in fact, most of the Italian syndicalists did not go over to fascism, if by syndicalists we mean members of the USI (the Italian Syndicalist Union). Roberts states that:
"The vast majority of the organised workers failed to respond to the syndicalists' appeals and continued to oppose [Italian] intervention [in the First World War], shunning what seemed to be a futile capitalist war. The syndicalists failed to convince even a majority within the USI . . . the majority opted for the neutralism of Armando Borghi, leader of the anarchists within the USI. Schism followed as De Ambris led the interventionist minority out of the confederation." [The Syndicalist Tradition and Italian Fascism, p. 113]
However, if we take "syndicalist" to mean some of the intellectuals and "leaders" of the pre-war movement, it was a case that the "leading syndicalists came out for intervention quickly and almost unanimously" [Roberts, Op. Cit., p. 106] after the First World War started. Many of these pro-war "leading syndicalists" did become fascists. However, to concentrate on a handful of "leaders" (which the majority did not even follow!) and state that this shows that the "Italian syndicalists mostly went over to Fascism" staggers belief. What is even worse, as seen above, the Italian anarchists and syndicalists were the most dedicated and successful fighters against fascism. In effect, Black and Sabatini have slandered a whole movement.
What is also interesting is that these "leading syndicalists" were not anarchists and so not anarcho-syndicalists. As Roberts notes "[i]n Italy, the syndicalist doctrine was more clearly the product of a group of intellectuals, operating within the Socialist party and seeking an alternative to reformism." They "explicitly denounced anarchism" and "insisted on a variety of Marxist orthodoxy." The "syndicalists genuinely desired -- and tried -- to work within the Marxist tradition." [Op. Cit., p. 66, p. 72, p. 57 and p. 79] According to Carl Levy, in his account of Italian anarchism, "[u]nlike other syndicalist movements, the Italian variation coalesced inside a Second International party. Supporter were partially drawn from socialist intransigents . . . the southern syndicalist intellectuals pronounced republicanism . . . Another component . . . was the remnant of the Partito Operaio." ["Italian Anarchism: 1870-1926" in For Anarchism: History, Theory, and Practice, David Goodway (Ed.), p. 51]
In other words, the Italian syndicalists who turned to fascism were, firstly, a small minority of intellectuals who could not convince the majority within the syndicalist union to follow them, and, secondly, Marxists and republicans rather than anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists or even revolutionary syndicalists.
According to Carl Levy, Roberts' book "concentrates on the syndicalist intelligentsia" and that "some syndicalist intellectuals . . . helped generate, or sympathetically endorsed, the new Nationalist movement . . . which bore similarities to the populist and republican rhetoric of the southern syndicalist intellectuals." He argues that there "has been far too much emphasis on syndicalist intellectuals and national organisers" and that syndicalism "relied little on its national leadership for its long-term vitality." [Op. Cit., p. 77, p. 53 and p. 51] If we do look at the membership of the USI, rather than finding a group which "mostly went over to fascism," we discover a group of people who fought fascism tooth and nail and were subject to extensive fascist violence.
To summarise, Italian Fascism had nothing to do with syndicalism and, as seen above, the USI fought the Fascists and was destroyed by them along with the UAI, Socialist Party and other radicals. That a handful of pre-war Marxist-syndicalists later became Fascists and called for a "National-Syndicalism" does not mean that syndicalism and fascism are related (any more than some anarchists later becoming Marxists makes anarchism "a vehicle" for Marxism!).
It is hardly surprising that anarchists were the most consistent and successful opponents of Fascism. The two movements could not be further apart, one standing for total statism in the service of capitalism while the other for a free, non-capitalist society. Neither is it surprising that when their privileges and power were in danger, the capitalists and the landowners turned to fascism to save them. This process is a common feature in history (to list just four examples, Italy, Germany, Spain and Chile). |
If you have red, itchy patches on your cheeks, prepare to be paranoid: According to a new theory, you might be allergic to your cellphone. Researchers have discovered that a growing number of people are developing a nickel allergy that can be provoked by cellphone use. Here, a quick instant guide to the phenomenon:
What kind of symptoms should I be looking for?
A rash or skin lesions on your cheek, jawline, and ears. In severe cases, oozing and scarring also occur.
I have that! What's wrong with me?
You may be allergic to nickel, the mineral used in most cellphones' buttons. Approximately 17 percent of women and 3 percent of men are affected, says Dr. Luz Fonacier, a dermatologist at the Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., who presented her findings at a recent meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
How would I develop an allergy to nickel?
Prolonged exposure. While long hours spent pressing a cellphone to your face could be a factor, a more common trigger is the wearing of cheap jewelry. Girls who pierce their ears before age 10 are at high risk of developing sensitivity to the mineral, says Dr. Fonacier. The pigments used in temporary tattoos can also cause similar allergic reactions.
What can worried cellphone users do?
Buy a hands-free device or a phone cover to prevent contact with the nickel-laden keys, suggests Dr. Clifford W. Bassett at Fox News. "Utilize the speaker phone option, whenever possible," he adds.
Why are people developing these allergies now?
Now that we live in "cleaner, safer, more disease-free environments," says Kate Dailey at Newsweek, our immune system has less to do and ends up turning on "substances once considered safe." Furthermore, children are being exposed to "foreign substances" at earlier ages. "It's all just another reason to keep those cell phones and temporary tats away from young hands." |
The Maize Diversity Project
Panzea was an NSF-funded project called "Biology of Rare Alleles in Maize and its Wild Relatives". During the project, we investigated the connection between phenotype (what we see) and genotype (the genes underlying the phenotype) - of complex traits in maize and its wild relative, teosinte, and specifically in how rare genetic variations contribute to overall plant function. These studies enriched our knowledge of evolution, sustainable agriculture, and genetic diversity and conservation. Over the 10 years of the project, we trained many new scientists at all levels and generated key resources for the public, teachers, and scientific researchers.
The Maize Diversity Project was the result of a combined effort from six different labs. Click to find out more about us.
Find out more about our Education and Outreach. |
Edutainment is a learning system that has been growing in popularity. For many people, it never seemed like education and entertainment could have the same goals and targets. However, the implementation of entertainment into the education system (hence the creation of edutainment) has not only made learning more fun, but it has also helped students easily retain what they are taught.
Education is essentially the way through which people start creating a good life for themselves in the future. It is through learning that one gets to acquire the skills needed to perform a given task properly. This means that it is only through education that we get the knowledge required to get an excellent job in the future.
This is the reason why education has always been seen as a serious process. Students are required to be laser-focused in class so that they can attain good grades. Every understudy realizes that graduating with top honors and getting a job to ensure financial security. This means that everyone in school sees why education is essential hence understands the seriousness required therein.
Education is often seen as a process through which knowledge growth, a sense of responsibility, and maturity are cultivated in students. Learning helps prepare students for employment as well as proper self-growth. On the other hand, entertainment usually has a single purpose; to amuse given persons, it seems like a source of meaningless fun and nothing much.
The modern education spectrum is making changes to this view. Teachers understand that implementing entertainment in the learning process makes the students lively and more interactive. With new technology revolutionizing the learning process, students can easily access an essay writing service and have all their school tasks appropriately catered for.
This is why there has been a growing need for a system that gets these students willing to learn rather than assign their class tasks to paid professionals. Edutainment is seen as the way to go. It highly increases student participation in class. This is important as it helps them easily retain what they learn. Here are some ways of combining entertainment and education:
Jigsaw puzzles can be an excellent tool for introducing entertainment into the learning process. These puzzles usually present students with a practical problem that needs to be solved. When the students accept the challenge and conquer the given obstacle, the sense of accomplishment they get makes the problem fun and worthwhile.
It is true that learning theories in class can be very dull as the students lack the visualization side of the process. It is one of the reasons why students zone out and stop paying attention to the teacher. This is why teachers are highly encouraged to introduce an active/playful side to the teaching process.
Role-playing is one of the activities that actively immerse the students in the learning process. When teaching grammar and vocabulary, utilizing games and role-playing helps liven up the class and improve student satisfaction. Role-playing also becomes a lot of fun as the students feel like they are teaching themselves instead of sitting and listening to the teacher.
While physical education was usually assigned to the educational spectrum’s fringes, studies show that extracurricular activities are very vital for learning. Especially when it comes to those in middle and elementary school, physical education helps teach them skills that are essential in life.
Through sports and other extracurricular activities, students learn the art of working in tandem with others. Teamwork is a critical aspect of life. Sports also help these kids learn other essential things such as hard work, self-discipline, and communication and coordination.
Use of technology
The use of visual media is one thing that has made learning much more fun. The implementation of technological devices into the classroom has helped students to visualize what they are studying actively. It provides students with a means to interact with what they are being taught through a computer screen. The main benefit of this process is that it makes learning fun. It also ensures the students do not easily forget what they learn.
Studies have shown that education and entertainment are not mutually exclusive. It is possible for students can be entertained as well as educated at the same time. Teachers should make an effort to implement entertainment in their tutoring sessions. This blog looks at how teachers can implement entertainment into the education system without compromising the process’s learning part. |
If you’re publishing a book or have already done so you will need an ISBN beforehand, these ISBNs are something we see upon the back of every book, but we tend not to pay that much attention to them, that is until we need to organize one for our own book.
Well the ISBN or International Standard Book Number is a 10 digit or (more recently) a 13 digit number which identifies each and every book for libraries, book sellers and publishers. Originally it started off with a nine digit number in the late sixties which changed to 10 and then just over ten years ago they increased the digits to thirteen to keep up with the increase in publishing.
The standard ISBN will tell you a lot about the book and its author, it will of course tell you the title, the author, the genre, location of the publisher and format of the book itself.
When you look at an ISBN the numbers normally look something like the one below
If we use the above example ISBN, you can see how the number breaks down (it is of course the same for other ISBNs too).
978 - The number starts with 978, this shows the number actually is an ISBN (currently the ISBN can only start with either 978 or 979).
1 – This represents the language of the book (1 being English).
9994970 – This represents the publisher or imprint.
2 – This represents the edition and format of the publication.
6 – This is the check number and validates the reset of the number, it being calculated using a modulus 10 system.
The ISBN is normally found on the back page of printed books and on the inside flap of a dustjacket (for dustjackets, it is common to see them on either the front or rear flap and also the back page). As part of the ISBN you will also normally find a barcode for the price of the book, the barcode of the book is made up of a five digit number which indicates the currency (with the first digit) and then the value of the book with the following four digits.
The barcode above begins with 5 (which is for USD) and a cost of $27.99
So, you will need an ISBN to publish your book, if you use Amazon’s KDP they will give you one if you publish with them, however, their version is only good for their platform and if you want to publish your book anywhere else you will need to purchase your own ISBN. It stands to reason, that the publishers who give you an ISBN for free will restrict you to using their channels for publication.
What you need to be aware of is how many ISBNs you may need, you will need one per format and if you take the free ones given by some publishing services you’ll need to buy regular ISBNs for the publishers where you need to provide your own. This can leave you in the position of having one paperback edition that has two separate ISBNs.
Having a free ISBN can sometimes be a reason for a traditional book store not to stock your book, the free ISBN will identify the online print-on-demand company as your publisher, and this can get in the way of growing the possible reach of your book. However, if you plan to do all of your marketing through the likes of Amazon alone, then it may not be that big a deal to you. Just remember that if you do use your own ISBNs you can change a great deal more of the data about your book assigned to them.
So how do you get an ISBN?
In the USA you need to purchase your ISBN from Bowker and the UK is from Nielsen, all other countries can be found through the International ISBN Agency https://www.isbn-international.org/
You can only use an ISBN once and don’t need separate ones for different countries, you do (as we mentioned earlier) need one ISBN per format, so the same novel would need separate ones for the eBook, paperback and hardback versions of the book.
Currently you can buy ISBNs singularly or in batches of 10, 100 or 1000.
The latest prices are
1 = $125
10 = $295
100 = $575
1000 = $1500
The most obvious choice for buying is as a batch of 10, this covers your eBook and printed books, it also gives you options for the future for any new editions/publications (most authors will publish more than one book in their career).
Book cover designers.
All information within this website (including its blog) is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. JD&J Design LLC does not make any warranties about the reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information in this website is strictly at your own risk. JD&J Design LLC is not liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of this site and information. |
No matter how good the technology, there's always room for improvement. In concrete terms, this means that diesel-powered vehicles in the future will consume one third less fuel and emit one third less carbon dioxide than they do today. Modern diesel-powered vehicles already emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer. This is equivalent to fuel consumption of less than four liters per 100 kilometers.
Experts forecast that almost 30 million cars will be produced in China in 2019 alone. The awareness generated by the Experience Clean Diesel Tour today will help cut down on energy and pollutants in the future. |
Getting people to do their best work, even in trying circumstances, is one of managers’ most enduring and slippery challenges. Indeed, deciphering what motivates us as human beings is a centuries-old puzzle. Some of history’s most influential thinkers about human behavior—among them Aristotle, Adam Smith, Sigmund Freud, and Abraham Maslow—have struggled to understand its nuances and have taught us a tremendous amount about why people do the things they do.
Such luminaries, however, didn’t have the advantage of knowledge gleaned from modern brain science. Their theories were based on careful and educated investigation, to be sure, but also exclusively on direct observation. Imagine trying to infer how a car works by examining its movements (starting, stopping, accelerating, turning) without being able to take apart the engine.
Fortunately, new cross-disciplinary research in fields like neuroscience, biology, and evolutionary psychology has allowed us to peek under the hood, so to speak—to learn more about the human brain. Our synthesis of the research suggests that people are guided by four basic emotional needs, or drives, that are the product of our common evolutionary heritage. As set out by Paul R. Lawrence and Nitin Nohria in their 2002 book Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices, they are the drives to acquire (obtain scarce goods, including intangibles such as social status); bond (form connections with individuals and groups); comprehend (satisfy our curiosity and master the world around us); and defend (protect against external threats and promote justice). These drives underlie everything we do.
Managers attempting to boost motivation should take note. It’s hard to argue with the accepted wisdom—backed by empirical evidence—that a motivated workforce means better corporate performance. But what actions, precisely, can managers take to satisfy the four drives and, thereby, increase their employees’ overall motivation?
We recently completed two major studies aimed at answering that question. In one, we surveyed 385 employees of two global businesses—a financial services giant and a leading IT services firm. In the other, we surveyed employees from 300 Fortune 500 companies. To define overall motivation, we focused on four commonly measured workplace indicators of it: engagement, satisfaction, commitment, and intention to quit. Engagement represents the energy, effort, and initiative employees bring to their jobs. Satisfaction reflects the extent to which they feel that the company meets their expectations at work and satisfies its implicit and explicit contracts with them. Commitment captures the extent to which employees engage in corporate citizenship. Intention to quit is the best proxy for employee turnover.
Both studies showed, strikingly, that an organization’s ability to meet the four fundamental drives explains, on average, about 60% of employees’ variance on motivational indicators (previous models have explained about 30%). We also found that certain drives influence some motivational indicators more than others. Fulfilling the drive to bond has the greatest effect on employee commitment, for example, whereas meeting the drive to comprehend is most closely linked with employee engagement. But a company can best improve overall motivational scores by satisfying all four drives in concert. The whole is more than the sum of its parts; a poor showing on one drive substantially diminishes the impact of high scores on the other three.
When it comes to practical implications for managers, the consequences of neglecting any particular drive are clear. Bob Nardelli’s lackluster performance at Home Depot, for instance, can be explained in part by his relentless focus on the drive to acquire at the expense of other drives. By emphasizing individual and store performance, he squelched the spirit of camaraderie among employees (their drive to bond) and their dedication to technical expertise (a manifestation of the need to comprehend and do meaningful work). He also created, as widely reported, a hostile environment that interfered with the drive to defend: Employees no longer felt they were being treated justly. When Nardelli left the company, Home Depot’s stock price was essentially no better than when he had arrived six years earlier. Meanwhile Lowe’s, a direct competitor, gained ground by taking a holistic approach to satisfying employees’ emotional needs through its reward system, culture, management systems, and design of jobs.
An organization as a whole clearly has to attend to the four fundamental emotional drives, but so must individual managers. They may be restricted by organizational norms, but employees are clever enough to know that their immediate superiors have some wiggle room. In fact, our research shows that individual managers influence overall motivation as much as any organizational policy does. In this article we’ll look more closely at the drivers of employee motivation, the levers managers can pull to address them, and the “local” strategies that can boost motivation despite organizational constraints.
The Four Drives That Underlie Motivation
Because the four drives are hardwired into our brains, the degree to which they are satisfied directly affects our emotions and, by extension, our behavior. Let’s look at how each one operates.
1. The drive to acquire.
We are all driven to acquire scarce goods that bolster our sense of well-being. We experience delight when this drive is fulfilled, discontentment when it is thwarted. This phenomenon applies not only to physical goods like food, clothing, housing, and money, but also to experiences like travel and entertainment—not to mention events that improve social status, such as being promoted and getting a corner office or a place on the corporate board. The drive to acquire tends to be relative (we always compare what we have with what others possess) and insatiable (we always want more). That explains why people always care not just about their own compensation packages but about others’ as well. It also illuminates why salary caps are hard to impose.
2. The drive to bond.
Many animals bond with their parents, kinship group, or tribe, but only humans extend that connection to larger collectives such as organizations, associations, and nations. The drive to bond, when met, is associated with strong positive emotions like love and caring and, when not, with negative ones like loneliness and anomie. At work, the drive to bond accounts for the enormous boost in motivation when employees feel proud of belonging to the organization and for their loss of morale when the institution betrays them. It also explains why employees find it hard to break out of divisional or functional silos: People become attached to their closest cohorts. But it’s true that the ability to form attachments to larger collectives sometimes leads employees to care more about the organization than about their local group within it.
3. The drive to comprehend.
We want very much to make sense of the world around us, to produce theories and accounts—scientific, religious, and cultural—that make events comprehensible and suggest reasonable actions and responses. We are frustrated when things seem senseless, and we are invigorated, typically, by the challenge of working out answers. In the workplace, the drive to comprehend accounts for the desire to make a meaningful contribution. Employees are motivated by jobs that challenge them and enable them to grow and learn, and they are demoralized by those that seem to be monotonous or to lead to a dead end. Talented employees who feel trapped often leave their companies to find new challenges elsewhere.
4. The drive to defend.
We all naturally defend ourselves, our property and accomplishments, our family and friends, and our ideas and beliefs against external threats. This drive is rooted in the basic fight-or-flight response common to most animals. In humans, it manifests itself not just as aggressive or defensive behavior, but also as a quest to create institutions that promote justice, that have clear goals and intentions, and that allow people to express their ideas and opinions. Fulfilling the drive to defend leads to feelings of security and confidence; not fulfilling it produces strong negative emotions like fear and resentment. The drive to defend tells us a lot about people’s resistance to change; it’s one reason employees can be devastated by the prospect of a merger or acquisition—an especially significant change—even if the deal represents the only hope for an organization’s survival. So, for example, one day you might be told you’re a high performer and indispensable to the company’s success, and the next that you may be let go owing to a restructuring—a direct challenge, in its capriciousness, to your drive to defend. Little wonder that headhunters so frequently target employees during such transitions, when they know that people feel vulnerable and at the mercy of managers who seem to be making arbitrary personnel decisions.
Each of the four drives we have described is independent; they cannot be ordered hierarchically or substituted one for another. You can’t just pay your employees a lot and hope they’ll feel enthusiastic about their work in an organization where bonding is not fostered, or work seems meaningless, or people feel defenseless. Nor is it enough to help people bond as a tight-knit team when they are underpaid or toiling away at deathly boring jobs. You can certainly get people to work under such circumstances—they may need the money or have no other current prospects—but you won’t get the most out of them, and you risk losing them altogether when a better deal comes along. To fully motivate your employees, you must address all four drives.
The Organizational Levers of Motivation
Although fulfilling all four of employees’ basic emotional drives is essential for any company, our research suggests that each drive is best met by a distinct organizational lever.
How to Fulfill the Drives That Motivate Employees
The reward system.
The drive to acquire is most easily satisfied by an organization’s reward system—how effectively it discriminates between good and poor performers, ties rewards to performance, and gives the best people opportunities for advancement. When the Royal Bank of Scotland acquired NatWest, it inherited a company in which the reward system was dominated by politics, status, and employee tenure. RBS introduced a new system that held managers responsible for specific goals and rewarded good performance over average performance. Former NatWest employees embraced their new company—to an unusual extent in the aftermath of an acquisition—in part because the reward system was tough but recognized individual achievement.
Sonoco, a manufacturer of packaging for industrial and consumer goods, transformed itself in part by making a concerted effort to better meet the drive to acquire—that is, by establishing very clear links between performance and rewards. Historically, the company had set high business-performance targets, but incentives had done little to reward the achievement of them. In 1995, under Cynthia Hartley, then the new vice president of human resources, Sonoco instituted a pay-for-performance system, based on individual and group metrics. Employee satisfaction and engagement improved, according to results from a regularly administered internal survey. In 2005, Hewitt Associates named Sonoco one of the top 20 talent-management organizations in the United States. It was one of the few midcap companies on the list, which also included big players like 3M, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Dell, and IBM.
The most effective way to fulfill the drive to bond—to engender a strong sense of camaraderie—is to create a culture that promotes teamwork, collaboration, openness, and friendship. RBS broke through NatWest’s silo mentality by bringing together people from the two firms to work on well-defined cost-savings and revenue-growth projects. A departure for both companies, the new structure encouraged people to break old attachments and form new bonds. To set a good example, the executive committee (comprising both RBS and ex-NatWest executives) meets every Monday morning to discuss and resolve any outstanding issues—cutting through the bureaucratic and political processes that can slow decision making at the top.
Another business with an exemplary culture is the Wegmans supermarket chain, which has appeared for a decade on Fortune’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” The family that owns the business makes a point of setting a familial tone for the companywide culture. Employees routinely report that management cares about them and that they care about one another, evidence of a sense of teamwork and belonging.
The drive to comprehend is best addressed by designing jobs that are meaningful, interesting, and challenging. For instance, although RBS took a hard-nosed attitude toward expenses during its integration of NatWest, it nonetheless invested heavily in a state-of-the-art business school facility, adjacent to its corporate campus, to which employees had access. This move not only advanced the company’s success in fulfilling the drive to bond, but also challenged employees to think more broadly about how they could contribute to making a difference for coworkers, customers, and investors.
Cirque du Soleil, too, is committed to making jobs challenging and fulfilling. Despite grueling rehearsal and performance schedules, it attracts and retains performers by accommodating their creativity and pushing them to perfect their craft. Its employees also get to say a lot about how performances are staged, and they are allowed to move from show to show to learn new skills. In addition, they get constant collegial exposure to the world’s top artists in the field.
Performance-management and resource-allocation processes.
Fair, trustworthy, and transparent processes for performance management and resource allocation help to meet people’s drive to defend. RBS, for instance, has worked hard to make its decision processes very clear. Employees may disagree with a particular outcome, such as the nixing of a pet project, but they are able to understand the rationale behind the decision. New technology endeavors at RBS are reviewed by cross-business unit teams that make decisions using clear criteria, such as the impact on company financial performance. In surveys, employees report that the process is fair and that funding criteria are transparent. Although RBS is a demanding organization, employees also see it as a just one.
Aflac, another perennial favorite on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” exemplifies how to match organizational levers with emotional drives on multiple fronts. (For concrete ways your company can use its motivational levers, see the exhibit “How to Fulfill the Drives That Motivate Employees.”) Stellar individual performance is recognized and rewarded in highly visible ways at Aflac, thereby targeting people’s drive to acquire. Culture-building efforts, such as Employee Appreciation Week, are clearly aimed at creating a sense of bonding. The company meets the drive to comprehend by investing significantly in training and development. Sales agents don’t just sell; they have opportunities to develop new skills through managing, recruiting, and designing curricula for training new agents. As for the drive to defend, the company takes action to improve employees’ quality of life. Beyond training and scholarships, it offers benefits, such as on-site child care, that enhance work/life balance. It also fosters trust through a no-layoff policy. The company’s stated philosophy is to be employee-centric—to take care of its people first. In turn, the firm believes that employees will take care of customers.
The company examples we chose for this article illustrate how particular organizational levers influence overall motivation, but Aflac’s is a model case of taking actions that, in concert, fulfill all four employee drives. Our data show that a comprehensive approach like this is best. When employees report even a slight enhancement in the fulfillment of any of the four drives, their overall motivation shows a corresponding improvement; however, major advances relative to other companies come from the aggregate effect on all four drives. This effect occurs not just because more drives are being met but because actions taken on several fronts seem to reinforce one another—the holistic approach is worth more than the sum of its constituent parts, even though working on each part adds something. Take a firm that ranks in the 50th percentile on employee motivation. When workers rate that company’s job design (the lever that most influences the drive to comprehend) on a scale of zero to five, a one-point increase yields a 5% raw improvement in motivation and a correspondingly modest jump from the 50th to the 56th percentile. But enhance performance on all four drives, and the yield is a 21% raw improvement in motivation and big jump to the 88th percentile. (The percentile gains are shown in the exhibit “How to Make Big Strides in Employee Motivation.”) That’s a major competitive advantage for a company in terms of employee satisfaction, engagement, commitment, and reluctance to quit.
How to Make Big Strides in Employee Motivation
The Role of the Direct Manager
Our research also revealed that organizations don’t have an absolute monopoly on employee motivation or on fulfilling people’s emotional drives. Employees’ perceptions of their immediate managers matter just as much. People recognize that a multitude of organizational factors, some outside their supervisor’s control, influence their motivation, but they are discriminating when it comes to evaluating that supervisor’s ability to keep them motivated. Employees in our study attributed as much importance to their boss’s meeting their four drives as to the organization’s policies. In other words, they recognized that a manager has some control over how company processes and policies are implemented. (See the exhibit “Direct Managers Matter, Too.”)
Direct Managers Matter, Too
Employees don’t expect their supervisors to be able to substantially affect the company’s overall reward systems, culture, job design, or management systems. Yet managers do have some discretion within their spheres of influence; some hide behind ineffective systems, whereas others make the most of an imperfect model. Managers can, for example, link rewards and performance in areas such as praise, recognition, and choice assignments. They can also allocate a bonus pool in ways that distinguish between top and bottom performers. Similarly, even in a cutthroat culture that doesn’t promote camaraderie, a manager can take actions that encourage teamwork and make jobs more meaningful and interesting. Many supervisors are regarded well by their employees precisely because they foster a highly motivating local environment, even if the organization as a whole falls short. On the other hand, some managers create a toxic local climate within a highly motivated organization.
Although employees look to different elements of their organization to satisfy different drives, they expect their managers to do their best to address all four within the constraints that the institution imposes. Our surveys showed that if employees detected that a manager was substantially worse than her peers in fulfilling even just one drive, they rated that manager poorly, even if the organization as a whole had significant limitations. Employees are indeed very fair about taking a big-picture view and seeing a manager in the context of a larger institution, but they do some pretty fine-grained evaluation beyond those organizational caveats. In short, they are realistic about what managers cannot do, but also about what managers should be able to do in meeting all the basic needs of their subordinates.
At the financial services firm we studied, for example, one manager outperformed his peers on fulfilling subordinates’ drives to acquire, bond, and comprehend. However, his subordinates indicated that his ability to meet their drive to defend was below the average of other managers in the company. Consequently, levels of work engagement and organizational commitment were lower in his group than in the company as a whole. Despite this manager’s superior ability to fulfill three of the four drives, his relative weakness on the one dimension damaged the overall motivational profile of his group.• • •
Our model posits that employee motivation is influenced by a complex system of managerial and organizational factors. If we take as a given that a motivated workforce can boost company performance, then the insights into human behavior that our article has laid out will help companies and executives get the best out of employees by fulfilling their most fundamental needs. |
Given recent headlines and racial conflicts, it’s easy to conclude that attitudes about immigration in the U.S. are rooted in racism and prejudice. The Muslim travel ban, Charlottesville protests, and the rescission of DACA all appear to confirm a racist anti-immigrant bias.
While there may be public sentiment for reducing immigration, research by SPA Assistant Professor Matthew Wright and his colleagues indicates Americans may actually be less anti-immigrant than it would appear.
Reconsidering Traditional Thinking
Much of the academic scholarship tends to support the notion that individuals’ attitudes toward immigration policies are related to how they feel about specific groups.
“There’s a great deal of scholarship tying what we’re seeing to a broadly nativist reaction, meaning white native-born people attributing things they don’t like to immigration,” said Dr. Wright. “We’re trying to add a little balance to that perspective.”
Dr. Wright and his team delved into the role of group prejudice vs. alignment with what are often viewed as traditional American values. Their findings suggest that this anti-immigration stance is fueled more by values and misperceptions about groups than what’s traditionally considered racism.
“Our research indicates that people are not motivated by racial bias to the degree that the literature generally assumes,” said Wright. “We think that it’s more likely that people are driven by their values in the sense of broad principles such as following the law, learning basic English, or assimilating to some minimal degree.”
Wright and his team elicited opinions about immigration with a hypothetical situation involving individuals of different ethnicities. When asked if a person should be allowed to immigrate, participants were less likely to say yes when the individual was Latino than if he were German or Chinese. Further, the biases went away if the interviewer provided additional information, such as that the individual speaks English, is a hard worker, and came to the country legally.
“People can often appear like they’re thinking or acting ethnocentrically, but in reality, if it’s just based on misinformation or an incorrect stereotype that can be countered by information, then that’s very different from people lashing out against immigrants,” explains Wright. “Our interpretation is that there is not a real strong animus at the heart of these attitudes.”
Looking to the Dreamers
The rescission of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a prime example of how values influence public opinion. It seems contradictory, but many people who strongly support ending DACA are also opposed to deporting the children in question. In this situation, the illegal immigrants were brought here by their parents through no choice of their own.
“People are very sensitive to how the question is asked,” said Wright. “You will get a more positive response if you ask about Dreamers than if you ask about illegal immigrants.”
Removing the Abstract
If Professor Wright’s premise is correct, attitudes about immigration rest more on whether the immigrants exhibit values aligned with public opinion. Value judgements, misperceptions, and commonly held stereotypes are much more easily addressed than deep-seated hatred and racism.
“The question for us is whether America, white people, are just fundamentally ethnocentric and prejudiced, and we’re saying no,” said Dr. Wright. “Some people are. A relatively small percentage of people are, and they’re not going away. In many ways, they are louder than ever, but that’s not most people. The American public is not as anti-immigrant as we are often tempted to believe.”
Are you interested in developing policy-based solutions to immigration and homeland security? American University’s School of Public Affairs Master’s programs help you build a career with a purpose. Visit http://www.american.edu/learnmorespagrad/ to learn more about AU’s Master of Public Policy or Master of Science in Terrorism and Homeland Security Policy. |
Along with facial expressions, tell-tale variations in facial blood flow that causes reddening and whitening of the skin can also give an indication of people’s emotions. To take advantage of this, 2AI Labs developed a special pair of glasses designed to enhance a person’s color vision to better enable them to perceive the oxygenation and hemoglobin variations in another person’s face, and thus their emotional state. The glasses are now finding a variety of applications, from medical to security.
Evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi believes that color vision in primates evolved in order for us to detect social cues, emotions and the states of our friends or enemies. When conversing with a person, blushing indicates he/she is embarrassed and if the blood drains from the face, it indicates the person is scared or apprehensive.
Changizi says the human eye is specifically tuned to see blood, and the amount of oxygen in blood, right through the skin. “We can often tell when someone is sick, and even what ails them, merely by looking at them.”
So following this theory, he and his colleagues at 2AI Labs have been developing special glasses to visually enhance for the user oxygenated blood and blood pooling, and thus amplify the social cues that allow us to perceive emotions more clearly. The glasses are called O2Amps (O2 for oxygen, Amp for amplification). |
People suffering from chronic pain, regardless of the exact nature of said pain, are most likely in search of a method of relief in any way they can get it. No matter the exact causes behind your pain, you may want to consider enlisting the aid of a local pain management clinic.
Take a quick look at some of the conditions a pain management clinic in Gainesville GAthat might be able to help you with, along with some definitions and common symptoms:
• Arthritis – The word arthritis actually stems from two Greek words; arthro for joints, and itis for inflammation. From that information, you should be able to draw the obvious conclusion that arthritis is the inflammation of joints, causing swelling, pain, and in extreme cases, disfigurement in the affected areas. There are over one hundred types of arthritis that we know of, so specific conditions may vary.
• Fibromyalgia – While the exact nature of fibromyalgia remains unknown, it is believed to have contributing factors including those that are psychological, genetic, and neurobiological in nature. Its most characterizing symptoms are chronic and widespread pain as well as a heightened and painful response to pressure. Other symptoms may also include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, and stiffness in the joints.
• Tension Headaches – Tension headaches are actually the most common type of headaches suffered by most people. Pain generally originates in the lower back of the head, neck, eyes, or other related muscle groups and radiates up into the head. About 90% of all headaches are tension related, and many people suffer from chronic tension headaches.
• Chronic Pain – Another somewhat unexplained condition is chronic pain syndrome. As there is no full understanding of what causes chronic pain in many people, there is no way to treat the condition itself. Rather, the symptoms are treated as well as possible. Many people suffering from chronic pain report a general reduction of symptoms and an improved quality of life when undergoing regular treatment.
Listed above are just a few of the many pain related conditions that might be affecting you. For more information on one local clinic that may be able to help your particular condition, visit Southern Pain and Spine Associates. |
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The topic foreign minister is discussed in the following articles:
...for supervising the execution of policy may lie with the head of state or government, a cabinet or a nominally nongovernmental collective leadership, the staff of the country’s leader, or a minister who presides over the foreign ministry, directs policy execution, supervises the ministry’s officials, and instructs the country’s diplomats abroad.
Once trained, career diplomats serve their foreign ministry abroad or staff it at home. Foreign ministries are similarly organized. They are led by the foreign minister, who is usually a member of the cabinet or dominant political body. In most countries, except those governed by dictatorships, he often belongs to the legislative body, though the U.S. secretary of state does not. Some states...
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Fermilab is an enduring source of strength for the US contribution to scientific research world wide.
A proposed new accelerator complex at Fermilab would open up the Intensity Frontier of particle physics.
By Leah Hesla
October 11, 2001
“Depending on your point of view, “Project X” is either an inspired choice—mysterious! intriguing!—for the name of a big science project, a ridiculous title—scary! confusing!—or a placeholder until a better name comes along.
The $1.8 billion complex would send a beam of protons down a linear accelerator, propel them to either 3 or 8 billion electron volts (GeV), and smash them into a target, creating a gusher of particles: Kaons. Muons. The most intense beam of high-energy neutrinos ever created. And, at the other end of the scale, intense beams of heavy, low-energy nuclei, useful for getting to the bottom of entirely different problems.
These distinctive particle types would be sorted and shipped to different detectors for experiments aimed at answering fundamental questions: How did matter come to dominate the universe? Do electrons and other leptons change into each other, the way the three types of neutrinos do? What the solutions to those questions have in common can be summed up in one word: Intensity.
“…the Intensity Frontier. This is where Project X would make its mark.
Intensity refers to the number of particles that accelerator physicists can cram into a beam. More particles mean more collisions with the atoms in a target. The more collisions that take place the more likely it is that an exotic event, incredibly rare but with crucial implications for physics discovery, will show its face.
‘If you want to find something very, very rare,’ says Fermilab physicist Bob Tschirhart, who has spent much of his physics career on the track of the rarest of particle events, ‘you have to take lots and lots of samples and cleverly avoid subtle fakes.'” |
The Zip drive is a data storage device. The company Iomega published it in late 1994.
Higher capacity Zip disks must be used in a drive with at least the same capacity ability. Generally, higher capacity drives also handle all lower capacity media. However, it is slower to write data on a 100 MB disk with a 250 MB Zip drive than with a 100 MB Zip drive.
Zip disks are thicker than 3.5" (9 cm) floppy disks. Nevertheless, zip disks are quite similar in appearance to regular floppy disks. This means the Zip drive slot is large enough to accept such a floppy disk. |
Hindi translation of 'antagonism'
Antagonism is hatred or hostility.शत्रुता nfदुश्मनी nfघृणा और विरोध की भावना nf
...a history of antagonism between the two sides.
Copyright © 2014 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Example Sentences Including 'antagonism'
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
The antagonism was mutual and grew stronger over the decades.The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
Indeed, this was one of the main causes of the continuing antagonism between the two organizations.THE HERBALIST: Nicholas Culpeper Rebel Physician (2004)
Nor can the class antagonism be ignored.THE FOUR NATIONS: A History of the United Kingdom (2002)
She doesn't dilute their isolation, mutual antagonism and dependence so much as frame it.Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There is also the growing antagonism between Junior and Senior.The Sun (2013)
Watching them express their mutual antagonism once again in the ring will not be for the faint-hearted.Times, Sunday Times (2014)
From the heights of retirement he has long understood how the antagonism of two men fuelled the sport.Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The report notes: 'The desire to pursue longstanding political antagonism is being given priority over improvements to services for the public.Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In proportion as the antagonism between classes within the nation vanishes, the hostility of one nation to another will come to an end.Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1: From the Beginning to 1715 (1995)
Trends of 'antagonism'
In Common Usage. antagonism is one of the 10000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
View usage for:
'antagonism' in Other Languages
British English: antagonism NOUN
Antagonism between people is hatred or dislike between them.
There is still much antagonism between the two groups.
Translation of antagonism from the Collins English to Hindi |
The Language of Music Revealed
A Real Easy Way for ANYONE to Learn to Read and Write Music
by Barry A. Kolman
View First 25 Pages:
- Number of Pages: 301
- ISBN-10: 1612331289
- ISBN-13: 9781612331287
- Year: 2012
Music & Fine Arts, Education
There are millions of self-taught musicians in this world. Some can't read a stitch of music and can only play by ear. If this describes you and you want to learn how to read and write music in a step-by-step, easy to follow fashion, you have come to the right place. Knowing the fundamentals of music will make playing even more fun. This book is also designed for all those non-musical types who are taking a college music fundamentals course and don't have a clue about what is going on. This book will come to your rescue. Music professors teaching such a course will find this text perfect for their students.
Just reading about music fundamentals won’t do much for you. You’ve got to jump in and begin to write music. At the end of each chapter, there are exercises for you to do to see if you’re catching on. Informational (occasionally entertaining) icons in the left margin guide you along as you learn to read and write music.
Click here for Accompanying Audio Files (large 41MB zip file)
"Barry Kolman describes his useful, well-written book as: 'a real easy way for anyone to learn to read and write music.'....this book is a good text that makes the subject anything but dry. Kolman’s inventive writing keeps the material interesting. I find this book to be useful for adult beginners and suggest that music teachers keep it on hand. Even advanced students sometimes need a few pointers and exercises on music theory."-Maria Nockin
This article originally appeared in Issue 37:4 (Mar/Apr 2014) of Fanfare Magazine.
About The Author
Dr. Barry Araújo Kolman is Professor of Music at Washington and Lee University and has been teaching and conducting orchestras for 35 years. At W&L, he teaches music fundamentals (a course he introduced to the curriculum), conducting, clarinet, and conducts the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra. He has guest conducted throughout the world and has recorded several CDs which are commercially available. Maestro Kolman graduated with high honors and received his Doctorate of Arts in Conducting along with the Dean's Citation for Excellence from the University of Northern Colorado. He lives with his wife Grace in Virginia, and has six children. |
Celebrate Sukkot with Shalom Sesame: Learning About the Sukkah and Enjoying the Beauty of Nature
“Shalom Sesame ®,” “Sesame Workshop®,” and associated characters, trademarks, and design elements are owned by Sesame Workshop. © 2013 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.
Sukkot commemorates the time when the Jewish people wandered in the desert and lived in temporary shelters. It's a harvest festival, and during this weeklong celebration we spend time outdoors in a sukkah, a makeshift structure covered with branches to look just like the huts our ancestors used. It's also a chance to move beyond the material comforts of home to connect with family and nature.
Together with your children, watch the videos below, "Noam’s Sukkot" and “Kids Talk About Sukkot” by Shalom Sesame. Then try some of the discussion ideas and activities suggested by Reform Jewish educators to further extend the lessons learned in the videos. If you wish, share your experiences and ideas in the comments sections below!
Appreciating what we have
The holiday of Sukkot lasts for eight days, during which we try to spend as much time as we can outdoors. This means giving up some of the comforts of home - air conditioning, clean floors, and comfy couches. Ask your kids what surprised them during their time spent outside - any new realizations about nature? What did they learn to appreciate?
Creating a special space
It is also customary to recite blessings over ritual objects: the yellow lemon-like etrog and a collection of three special branches called the lulav. It is traditional to unite these "four species" and shake them in all directions, symbolizing the creation of a special space. Ask your children what makes your home in the sukkah different from your usual home. What makes the sukkah special? Why is it important to set aside time and dedicate it to building and living in a sukkah?
In this video, Israeli children talk about how they help their families when it's time to build a sukkah. Building a new house can seem like a daunting task, but when everyone pitches in, the workload lightens up and the process is more fun. Help your child identify his strengths. Is he artistic? Good at building? How can he use these talents to help with the sukkah project? Also ask him to think about the strengths of other family members (mom, dad, and siblings). Everyone can play an important part during Sukkot!
Learning from Mother Nature
Sukkot is a time when we - quite literally - immerse ourselves in nature. Choosing to socialize, eat, and even sleep outside makes us not only appreciate the homes we have, but also the natural beauty that surrounds us. Ask your kids about their favorite part of nature, and why they appreciate it. Why is it important to spend so much time outside, especially during Sukkot? How can we incorporate nature into our daily lives?
Setting up your sukkah
A sukkah can come in any shape or size. Even if you don't have access to a sukkah, it's easy to get creative with some temporary dwellings. Set up a fort in the backyard and camp out with the kids for a night. Or, if you're a city-dweller with limited outdoor space, there are more practical options (what kid doesn't love to build a pillow fort?).
Taking your own nature trek
Take a walk together through nature, away from the hustle-and-bustle of everyday life. Try collecting different pieces of nature on your stroll - twigs, colorful leaves, dandelions, and even dirt! You can use these pieces of nature to create art and decorate your sukkah with them. When you look on the walls of your sukkah, you will all remember the nature trek. After all, the best pieces of art are ones that represent shared memories.
Food, glorious food!
We may not think too much about harvesting in modern times, but it used to be a really important season for our ancestors. Talk with your kids about how people used to grow their own food and plow their own fields. The whole cycle of seasons required a lot of hard work, patience, and appreciation. Now is a good time to talk about where your food comes from. Liven up the lesson by going apple- or pumpkin-picking.
Imagine You Were There
Imagine that you and your group are about to go on a journey through the desert. How will you travel, and who will come with you? What will it be like to sleep in a small hut and look up at the stars? Write down what you and your students imagine you might discover on this adventure, and draw pictures of your temporary home in the desert.
From the tree to the market
Noam's family has an etrog farm. Watch the video together and discuss what happens to the etrog from the first time you see it on the tree. You can ask the children to draw the etrog on its journey from the tree to the market, cut up the pictures that represent each step and create a sequencing card game. This is one of the ways children can learn that things we often take for granted are the result of a process and the efforts of many individuals.
In some Jewish communities an item that was used to perform one mitzvah, like the etrog, is recycled to be used for another mitzvah. Together, insert cloves into the etrog and then let it dry for a few weeks. Show members of your group how they helped transform the etrog into a fragrant spice that can be used for the havdalah ceremony at the end of Shabbat.
Night Lights: A Sukkot Story - On a dark night full of many mysterious sounds, Daniel and his older sister Naomi set out to sleep in their family sukkah. Because there is no outlet to plug in a night light, Daniel and Naomi come to see the stars above as the same night lights the ancient Israelites used on their journey in the desert.
Shalom Sesame: "Noam’s Sukkot"
Shalom Sesame: "Kids Talk About Sukkot"
More videos from Shalom Sesame:
For more Shalom Sesame videos, activities, and other materials, visit our friends at Shalomsesame.org. |
How To Take Action On POTUS’ Coding Advice
Earlier this week, President Obama delivered his last State Of The Union address. Just two minutes into the hour-long speech, President Obama mentioned coding and students! My ears perked up as Couragion is on a mission to help kids gather critical STEM competencies such as coding. So of course, I was excited that the topic would be part of the address.
Later in the address, when he was speaking about the progress that has been made toward ensuring that ‘every American get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job’, Obama mentions that the nation should build on its current progress by ‘offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one’.
In our interactions with schools and districts, we see many already tackling this challenge with electives and/or after-school programs that focus on learning to code. Some districts, such as the Los Angeles Unified School District, are even going as far as offering ALL students in kindergarten through 12th grade instruction in computer science. However, less than 10 percent of schools nationwide are offering computer science.
So if your students or offspring do not have access to in-school computer science training, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with online resources that you can use to help in working towards Obama’s coding goal…
- Code.org – we love the ‘hour of code’ sample exercises that use popular characters from Star Wars or Frozen to introduce even your youngest kids to the world of coding.
- Unity 5 – This cool resource enables kids to learn coding by developing games. What kid doesn’t love games?
- Scratch – this resource is great because it combines online programming with a community whereby kids can program and share interactive stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world.
- Made With Code Projects – a Google resource that we like as it has coding projects that span several interest areas from music to fashion to art to dance.
We deliver tips and resources like this in our app along with samples of careers that kids can have in the computer science field. We agree with Obama that every kid should get access to STEM training such as coding but we also feel that kids need to understand how such training will apply to their future and what types of career opportunities it opens for them.
Photo Credit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/12/10/president-obama-first-president-write-line-code |
By Nancy Penrose
Sometimes trees grow so large they can no longer support their own weight. This is a common problem with a mature tree or big trees that have multiple trunks or large canopies. Trees with branches attached in a “V” shape can have similar issues. The problem can be exacerbated during winter months, when rain and snow increases the weight of a tree’s foliage. Strong winds will also make the situation worse.
Too much weight can also occur when a tree has long and heavy limbs, particularly if they grow downward or horizontally.
If a tree has been planted in shallow or compacted soil, support difficulties can occur as well.
When a tree can’t support itself properly, it can fall, which can lead to property damage and personal injuries.
Pruning is one way to keep tree weight down. However, at some point, cables and braces may be necessary to give a tree the additional and permanent support it needs.
Cables, which are placed high in the tree, reduce branch movement and breakage. Braces are installed below or above the branch that needs support. Many times, cables and braces are installed together.
Both cables and braces come in a variety of materials and strength. Depending on the tree, some will need a single cable, while others will require multiple cables placed in the shape of a box or triangle. How many braces are used will also depend on the tree and branch that needs support.
After installing a cable or brace, make sure to check it for weather damage throughout the year.
If you’re worried about a tree on your property, ask a big trees specialist about your tree care options. Someone with big tree experience will know whether or not the tree can be saved with additional support, or if it would be more cost-effective to purchase a new tree. If cables and braces can save your tree, a big tree expert can show you what type of support to use and where to place it.
Nancy Penrose is owner of Big Trees Inc. (http://www.bigtreesupply.com), (tree nursery Snohomish, WA), one of the largest Seattle tree nurserys, specializing in large trees for sale and transplant tree service. Learn more about tree care at http://bigtreesupply.com/tree-care-maintenance/ and for more tips on tree care or installation go to snohomishbigtrees.com. See our video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_x12IYgYbg and connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Trees-Inc/193731105108 |
In poetry, stanzas are visual groupings of lines. A group of two lines is called a couplet. A three line stanza is called a tercet. A four line stanza is a quatrain, and a five line stanza is a quintet. Two other common lengths are a sestet, six lines; and an octave, eight lines.
For instance, you might break a fourteen line poem into three quatrains and a couplet, or into an octave and a sestet. Not only would the resulting poems look different on the page, their different looks would probably be reflected in the ways they develop their themes, and the ways they use sound to complement meaning.
If you know in advance that you want to write your poem in tercets, you can simply begin writing and thinking in three line units. Or you might write a twelve line poem with no stanza breaks and later divide it into four tercets, or three quatrains, or six couplets. Having done so, you could go back and make some revisions to adjust the original content to the new form.
While poets often make stanza divisions by counting lines into groups of equal length, they also create line groups of irregular length, which function much like paragraphs in prose. In fact, these groupings are often called verse paragraphs. A few short verse paragraphs could be followed by a longer one, then another short one, and so forth. This more organic and flexible approach is especially suited to free verse because it allows the shape of the poem to evolve naturally as the poem is formed.
As you read, notice how stanzas are used in the poems you most enjoy. Then, in your own poems, try out different patterns. Experiment with numeric groupings and with verse paragraphs. For example, you could divide one poem three different ways and ask members of your discussion group to help you choose among them. |
Body Image is how we see ourselves, think about our bodies, and feel in our own skin. It can relate to any physical characteristic or trait such as weight, shape, size, hair color or texture, skin tone, etc.
A positive body image is defined as seeing yourself as you truly are (no distortion); feeling comfortable in and about your body; not spending a lot of time trying to change your physical body; and appreciating your body as it is and what it does for you.
A negative body image is defined as having a distorted view of your body or specific body part; feeling uncomfortable, embarrassed, or ashamed about your body; spending lots of time, money, or going to extreme measures to changing your body; and believe that a perceived “flaw” is a sign of personal failure.
Some of the most common influences on body image in today’s society include media (TV, magazines, models, celebrities, and advertisements), peers, family and friends. Many messages that we see and hear tell us that we are not good enough the way that we naturally are, and will be “better” if we change, which contribute to negative body image.
However, more positive body image messages are appearing in the media that encourage us to celebrate ourselves and our bodies just as we are.
Campus Wellness provides educational programs to bring awareness about body image and offers suggestions on how to improve your own body image.
Additionally, students can also meet with counselors at the Center for Counseling and Student Development to discuss body image concerns. |
The Hasidic movement started in the 1700's (CE) in Eastern Europe in response to a void felt by many average observant Jews of the day. The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (referred to as the "Besht," an acronym of his name) was a great scholar and mystic, devoted to both the revealed, outer aspect, and hidden, inner aspect of Torah. He and his followers, without veering from a commitment to Torah, created a way of Jewish life that emphasized the ability of all Jews to grow closer to Gd via everything that we do, say, and think. In contrast to the somewhat intellectual style of the mainstream Jewish leaders of his day and their emphasis on the primacy of Torah study, the Besht emphasized a constant focus on attachment to Gd and Torah no matter what one is involved with.
Early on, a schism developed between the Hasidic and nonHasidic (i.e., Misnagdim, lit. "opponents") Jewish movements, primarily over real or imagined issues of halachic observance. The opposition was based on concern that the Hasidim were neglecting the laws regarding appropriate times for prayer, and perhaps concern about the exuberance of Hasidic worship, or a concern that it might be an offshoot of false messiahs Shabbtai Zvi or Jacob Frank. Within a generation or two, the rift was closed. Since then, many Hasidic practices have influenced the Misnagdim, while the Misnagdim, in turn, moderated some of the extremes of early Hasidism. Nevertheless, the dispute between particular groups of Hasidim and Misnagdim continues to this day, especially in Israel.
Today, Hasidim are differentiated from other Orthodox Jews by their devotion to a dynastic leader (referred to as a "Rebbe"), their wearing of distinctive clothing and a greater than average study of the inner aspects of Torah.
There are perhaps a dozen major Hasidic movements today, the largest of which (with perhaps 100,000 followers) is the Lubavitch group headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. Other groups include the Bobov, Bostoner, Belzer, Gerer, Satmar, Vizhnitz, Breslov, Puppa, Bianer, Munkacz, and Rimnitz. In Israel, the major Hasidic groups besides the Lubavitch include: Gor (Gerer), Viznitz and Bealz (Belzer). |
The essential components to consider when designing interiors are balance, accentuation, harmony, proportion, and rhythm.Interior design and interior decorating are frequently mixed up for being a similar thing, however, the terms are not totally tradable. Interior design is a calling that requires particular tutoring and formal preparing including space arranging, furniture plan, and engineering.
An interior decorator does not have that formal preparing and concentrates on the style and the surface appearance of a space.
Who you would enlist relies upon whether you have any auxiliary work or space wanting to be done or you require somebody to design the style as it were. See more about the contrasts between inside outline and inside beautifying.
ELEMENTS OF DECOR :
Your initial step ought to be to choose a style for your home inside. This will advance the outline guideline of solidarity and congruity, thinking about the whole home with a binding together topic. It can be as straightforward as picking easygoing rather than formal, conventional rather than contemporary.
Contrast and assortment add visual enthusiasm to a room. Remember cadence with rehashing components of similar shading, surface, or design, and a movement of sizes or hues. Blending designs in home style is one of the further developed parts of the inside outline.
The accompanying infographic diagrams the fundamental standards of home enhancing and is intended to help even the apprentice creator execute the vision they've generally longed for. |
You don’t have to be a scientist to do science.
By simply running a free program, you can help advance research in medicine, clean energy, and materials science.
By running Rosetta@home on your computer when you're not using it you will speed up and extend our efforts to design new proteins and to predict their 3-dimensional shapes. Proteins are the molecular machines and building blocks of life. You can read more about protein folding and design here.
Follow us on Twitter: @rosettaathome
Rosetta@home is not for profit.
Join Ralph@home to help improve this project.
Another publication in Nature describing the first de novo designed proteins with anti-cancer activity
A report was published in Nature last week describing the first de novo designed proteins with anti-cancer activity.
These compact molecules were designed to stimulate the same receptors as IL-2, a powerful immunotherapeutic drug, while avoiding unwanted off-target receptor interactions. We believe this is just the first of many computer-generated cancer drugs with enhanced specificity and potency.
R@h participants provided computing for forward folding experiments used in this study which helped validate designs. We'd like to congratulate and thank all R@h volunteers who contributed to this work! Thank you!
Read the full article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0830-7 (PDF)
14 Jan 2019, 22:58:59 UTC · Discuss
Nature article on IPD work voted ‘2018 Reader’s Choice’
Readers of Nature’s News & Views selected an article about our work as their 2018 Reader’s Choice!
The article, written by Roberto Chica of University of Ottawa, does a fantastic job detailing our recent publication on de novo fluorescence-activating proteins — and the challenges of de novo protein design more generally.
4 Jan 2019, 1:06:51 UTC · Discuss
New publication in Nature: programmable heterodimers
A new report was recently published in Nature describing the design of proteins that mimic DNA.
Using computational design, heterodimeric proteins that form double helices with hydrogen-bond mediated specificity were created. When a pool of these new protein zippers gets melted and then allowed to refold, only the proper pairings form. They are all-against-all orthogonal. With these new tools in hand, it may be possible to construct large protein-based machines that self-assemble in predictable ways.
Read the full article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0802-y (PDF)
We'd like to thank all Rosetta@home volunteers who contributed computing resources used in this work. Thank you!
4 Jan 2019, 0:57:58 UTC · Discuss
De novo design of self-assembling helical protein filaments
Another de novo design publication was released today describing the design of micron scale self-assembling helical filaments based on previously designed repeat proteins for which R@h participants contributed computing towards. Although R@h was not directly used for this study, R@h participants provided computing for related research. Thank you all for your continued contributions.
Read more here in Science.
9 Nov 2018, 19:40:30 UTC · Discuss
De novo design of jellyroll structures
Sorry for the late post. Last week the Baker lab and collaborators published the first example of proteins designed with non-local beta strand topology.
You can read more about this study here and the publication here.
Thanks to all Rosetta@home participants who contributed to this research.
8 Nov 2018, 23:02:02 UTC · Discuss
©2019 University of Washington |
Acid reflux or more commonly called heartburn is a chronic digestive disease. This condition happens when there is an accumulation of bile or acid in the esophagus. If it happens a couple of times a week or for weeks, the constant passage of acid can irritate your esophagus causing it to inflame. This inflammation can break down the lining of the esophagus and cause ulcers, narrowing of the esophagus, or Barrett’s esophagus which is a pre-cancerous condition.
About Acid Reflux
Acid reflux is very common in middle-aged and older populations. Although younger populations have been developing this condition at an alarming rate. There are some factors that can increase the odds of developing heartburn like obesity, smoking, asthma, and caffeine intake. However, a reversal in the lower and mid-back can increase the pressure on the stomach and the esophagus, inhibiting the stomach muscles reflex activity.
What’s even more interesting is that an abnormal curvature of the low and mid-back can increase pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves that come out of the spine that is responsible for every human body function. This pressure can be very harmful to the nerves and affect the function of the digestive system.
Causes of Acid Reflux
Acid reflux is also referred to as heartburn. When you have heartburn for a long period of time, it can damage your esophagus and in some people it can even cause cancer. This is a serious condition that can be way more severe than just discomfort.
The most common causes of acid reflux are the lfollowing:
- Hiatal hernias – this is when your stomach is pushing through a hole in the diaphragm called hiatus. The stomach can press on that part of the esophagus and cause food and acid to come back up.
- Obesity – Excessive fat can put pressure on your stomach and promote acid flow from your stomach to the esophagus.
- Poor eating habits – If you eat a lot of fatty and spicy foods this can cause acid reflux.
- Pregnancy – growing another human inside you can push your organs up and cause heartburn.
There are other things that can be linked to acid reflux like:
- Poor posture
- Some medications
Symptoms of Acid Reflux
Symptoms and signs of acid reflux include:
- Acidic taste in mouth
- Chest pain
- A choking feeling in throat
- Feeling like the esophagus is blocked
- Difficulty swallowing
- Burning sensation down the throat
How Chiropractic Can Help With Acid Reflux
Getting regular spinal adjustments can help normalize and reactivate the nerves supply to your abdomen. This will start healing the damage in the esophagus and stomach once nervous activity increases and blood and nutrients start flowing again.
When there is more normal nervous supply to your abdomen it can strengthen your stomach muscles and reduce the pressure that is placed on it.
By using precise measurements of your spinal curvatures, chiropractors can restore these curvatures to their normal position. This will decrease the pressure on your spinal nerves and the esophagus.
Other Ways You Can Relieve Acid Reflux
- Eat smaller meals and more frequently in your day
- Eat slowly to allow your body to digest
- Avoid fried, spicy foods
- Wait three hours after eating a meal to exercise or lie down
- Take daily probiotics to improve the healthy gut biome
- Strengthen your abdomen muscles to help relieve pressure on the stomach.
Chiropractic Care In The Orlando Area
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20 Aug Cookies and Data Privacy
That’s the Way the [Computer] Cookie Crumbles: Computer Cookies and How it Affects Data Privacy
If one does not consent, the pop-up will remain, and the user may not be able to access the website. Most of the time, users will mindlessly give their consent in order to immediately access the website, without really understanding the consequences of such act.
Cookies are text files used by a website which are saved on a user’s computer they store the website’s name and an ID that would identify the user. Cookies can also store other information such as traffic data (i.e., the amount of time spent on a website) and content data (i.e., links clicked while using the website, the settings set on the website, the accounts logged into). These cause concern for private individuals and consumers.
There are several types of cookies, some of which are session cookie, persistent cookie, and third-party cookie. Session cookies are present only while a user is navigating a website and disappears when the user closes the web browser. This allows a website to remember a user when they navigate from one page to another within the website. These are typically used in online shopping.
Persistent cookies, also known as permanent cookies, are saved on a user’s computer until its expiration. It stores the information and settings of a website frequently visited and allows the website to remember the user and their preferences during his or her subsequent visits. These are used in remembering one’s preferences and login details in their web browsers. This is also why users see advertisements regarding products or services they have recently or frequently search.
Third-party cookies are those installed by third parties, such as advertising companies that manage the banner ads on websites, which collect certain data for research purposes such as consumer behavior, demographics, and the like.
When cookies stored in a device are able to uniquely identify a user through the device or combined with unique identifiers or other information received by the servers such as IP addresses, it is considered as personal information. This causes concern for those who value their privacy. This is where GDPR steps in and helps regulate the collecting and processing of such information.
The GDPR was enacted to balance the privacy rights of individuals with the rights of organizations and governments to collect and use data for business and administrative purposes by emphasizing on transparency, security, and accountability from data controllers such as the websites, which collect and process information on its users.
The Philippines, while not a signatory to the GDPR, provides for an extraterritoriality effect when personal information of users who are part of the EU are being processed when users’ behavior within the EU are being monitored by a controller or processor who is not part of EU. |
Rwanda’s Genocide Not Forgotten
This past weekend marked the 19th anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. On April 6th, Hutu extremists began a killing spree that started with political opponents of the government. Over the next several days and weeks, the world stood by as the campaign spread to include door to door slaughtering of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the country’s capital, Kigali. The atrocities continued for 100 days and left approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers dead.
In the aftermath of the massacre, the international community cried out calling it one of the worst human tragedies in history.
Years later, Rwandans continue to live on under the shadow of the genocide. Human rights organizations call for more to be done to stop present atrocities occurring on the continent -- such as in Darfur and the Democratic republic of Congo.
Carina Tertsakian, is a senior researcher for the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. She noted that the Rwandan genocide was one of the most horrific episodes in recent history -- not only on the African continent, but worldwide.
“You would think that this should send the influence, international responses, to other conflicts in Africa,” she said. “At the time, a lot of people were saying never again. We can’t let this happen again, yet we have seen in a number of other countries very serious conflicts in which large numbers of civilians have been killed.”
Tertsakian named the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur, Sudan as examples of present day crisis situations.
The Human Rights Watch researcher said it’ll take a while before international policies are put in place to prevent large scale atrocities of this kind. Tertsakian explained there is no blanket formula that would apply in all cases.
“But one of the important lessons that we can draw from the Rwandan genocide is that we should heed warnings. In the case of Rwanda, in the months leading up to the genocide in 1994, there were very clear signs that the people in power at that time were mounting a campaign of ethnic persecution of people from the Tutsi ethnic group. There were very virulent anti-Tutsi messages going out in the media. There were all kinds of preparations that were underway, and the warning bell was struck by several people, several organizations including our late colleague, Alison Des Forges, who tried desperately to alert not only the US government but other member states of the UN, but despite this nothing was done until it was far too late,” said Tertsakian.
Tertsakian said 19 years is a short period of time to even think about recovering from such horrors.
“When you look at other countries and the history of the last few decades, other atrocities that have taken place, not least the holocaust, it takes in my view, at least one or two generations for a country to even begin to recover. So I think it would be entirely unrealistic to expect Rwanda in 19 years to have got over that,” explained Tersakian.
But she said what has been remarkable in Rwanda since 1994 is that the country has pulled itself back on its feet in many respects. Tersakian pointed out that Rwanda is a functioning country where the infrastructures have been rebuilt. She said the country has progressed in economic development. Tersakian cautions however, while Rwandans have made strides in moving on with their lives, the deeper scars and trauma of the genocide will take much longer to go away. |
halfmoon, (Medialuna californiensis), edible Pacific fish of the family Kyphosidae (order Perciformes). Some authorities place it in the subfamily Scorpidinae, as distinct from the other Kyphosidae, which are known as sea chubs. Halfmoons are bluish gray in colour, with dark gray fins. They normally reach a length of about 30 centimetres (1 foot). They inhabit Pacific coastal areas from Oregon to the Gulf of California and are caught in large numbers by commercial fishermen.
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From formal displays in the Four Seasons garden to the naturalistic plantings in the bog garden, the gardens and grounds of Virginia House provide a rich tapestry of texture and color throughout the year. It took twenty years for Virginia Weddell, working with noted landscape architect Charles Gillette, to create the eight acres of picturesque gardens at Virginia House. Today, nearly 1,000 types of ornamental plants thrive throughout formal and naturalistic gardens. Extensive English and American boxwood plantings lend structure and create a sense of both mystery and tranquility. Hollies, southern magnolia, and red cedar frame in distant views.
Creating a landscape and garden worthy of and suitable to Virginia House challenged landscape architect Charles Gillette's (1886–1968) ability to marry history, art, and gardening on a single rolling acre of land. Gillette's success would be both professional and personal. His synthesis of Italian and English gardening styles at Virginia House resulted in a garden uniquely American. His passion to please his clients resulted in a lifelong friendship with the Weddells. Gillette, who intermittently vacationed with the Weddells was the executor of their estate upon their deaths in 1948.
When Alexander and Virginia Weddell retained Charles Gillette in 1927 to design "The Pleasances," he was already well established in Richmond as a residential landscape designer. Formal training between 1909 and 1916 at the Boston firm of landscape designer Warren Manning (1860–1938) gave Gillette critical early experience in the creation and maintenance of large estates. Indeed, Manning himself had assisted Frederick Law Olmsted in creating the great landscape at George Washington Vanderbilt's French chateau, Biltmore (Asheville, NC).
At Virginia House, Gillette created a series of terraces to deal with the steep pitch of the land. By 1930 the old salmon brick used to create retaining as well as decorative walls was festooned with crossvine, roses, and creeping fig to reinforce the feeling of great age. A narrow linear canal or rill and connecting fountained pools added strong spatial organization and linkage between the various garden rooms, and the use of traditional English garden plants from pinks to cedars of Lebanon set the stage for statuary from Florence, a basin unearthed near the Alhambra palace in Spain, a fifteenth-century baptismal font from France, and many other decorative elements the Weddells would send home from various duty posts around the world over the next twenty years.
Nineteen thirty-nine would see the addition of eight more acres of land from which the rose, azalea, and tea gardens would be created. Passionate about gardening and dedicated to his clients, Gillette created in the new world what often took generations in the old. |
Tinnitus is a condition that involves constant ringing in the ears. This condition can be very mild or it can be very severe, and in some cases even interfere with one’s overall hearing. Tinnitus itself is not a disease or illness but rather is a symptom of another underlying cause, typically damage to the inner ear or any of its small parts. It may also be the result of illness, age, or even problems in the neck.
While not serious, tinnitus can get worse over time or it can be improved if the underlying cause of this ringing is addressed. Damage to the inner ear can be fixed with surgery, and medications can alleviate the discomfort and ringing. If the tinnitus is the result of neck pain or other problems, addressing these issues can also help to alleviate tinnitus.
Connection Between Neck Problems and Tinnitus
Because there are so many causes of tinnitus, it’s often difficult for doctors to understand why sufferers hear this ringing, buzzing, clicking, or other such noises that are common with the condition. In some cases, damage to the nerves around the ears can cause the brain to hear phantom sounds or cause the nerve endings to be constantly stimulated.
Neck problems can also cause tinnitus as the neck and shoulders along with the lower areas of the skull and jaw are connected to the auditory nerves. The neck serves to support the head and the skull bones, and damage to these areas can cause the sensation of tinnitus. Neck injuries or damage can cause problems with the temperomandibular joint or TMJ, the joint on the side of the head in front of the ears, and this in turn can cause tinnitus. If the neck is not supporting the head properly, this joint can get damaged or worn and in turn, a person can experience tinnitus.
Neck injuries can also result in injuries to the nerves of the ear as these nerves run from the inner ear through the neck and to the motor cortex. If a person suffers a neck injury they may not connect this with resultant ear damage, but these nerves are protected by the muscles of the neck and when they are compromised, tinnitus may result.
Tumors and other illnesses in the neck can also damage or affect these auditory nerves and in turn, result in tinnitus.
Treating Neck Problems and Tinnitus
As said, tinnitus is not a disease itself but a result of other conditions so addressing these can help to alleviate symptoms. Tumors of the neck can be removed with surgery or treated with radiation therapy, as per a doctor’s advice. Often damage to the TMJ can be addressed with rest or medication.
Other neck injuries may also require rest so that the auditory nerves that have been damaged can also heal. There are treatment options available when tinnitus is the result of neck injury but understanding these causes of the condition is the first step. |
The samango monkey is South Africa's only exclusively forest dwelling primate and represents
the southernmost extent of the range of arboreal guenons in Africa. The main threats
to South Africa's forests and thus to the samango are linked to increasing land-use pressure
and increasing demands for forest resources, resulting in deforestation, degradation and
further fragmentation of irreplaceable habitats. The species belongs to the highly polytypic
Cercopithecus nictitans group which is sometimes divided into two species C. mitis and C.
albogularis. The number of subspecies of C. albogularis is also under debate and is based
only on differences in pelage colouration and thus far no genetic research has been undertaken
on South African samango monkey populations. In this study we aim to further clarify
the number of samango monkey subspecies, as well as their respective distributions in
South Africa by combining molecular, morphometric and pelage data. Overall, our study
provides the most comprehensive view to date into the taxonomic description of samango
monkeys in South Africa. Our data supports the identification of three distinct genetic entities
namely; C. a. labiatus, C. a. erythrarchus and C. a. schwarzi and argues for separate
conservation management of the distinct genetic entities defined by this study. |
Background: Shallots (wild garlic/Osghordion) with the scientific name of Allium hertifolium, is one of the most famous plants from the Alliaceae family. For a long time, shallots have been used as a source of food and medicine in Iran. The active ingredients of the plant could be referred to agapentagenin, allicin, omega-3, omega-6, and minerals such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese. This study was conducted to compare shallots in the traditional and modern medicine in order to make a better use of this precious plant.Methods: To collect appropriate data, resources and articles in trustworthy databases (e.g. Cochrane library, PubMed, Google Scholar) and traditional literature (e.g. Makhzan-ul-Adwiah, Canon, Zakhireh-ye Khwarazmshahi) were studied. Subsequently, the findings were reviewed, classified, and reported in a tabular format.Results: Shallots are rich in fatty acids and minerals with many pharmacological effects such as its effect on the respiratory and nervous system and blood dilution, as reflected in the modern medicine. However, certain effects as mentioned in traditional medicine (e.g. anti-warts, anti-lipoma, anti-kidney stone, and its diuretic effects) are not covered in research studies of the modern medicine.Conclusion: Depending on its natural habitats, shallots have different pharmacological effects for which many usages are mentioned in traditional medicine. Some of these effects have been investigated in modern medicine; however, further evaluation of its safety and dosages for clinical use is necessary. Furthermore, some cases have not been studied in modern medicine, which could be the basis for future research. |
- Portrait of Sarah Kaplan during World War II
- Accompanying note: "Sarah Kaplan was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps who served under General Patton in the Battle of the Bulge as a nurse. She was discharged in [February] 1946. Her husband Samuel Kaplan was the first doctor to practice in Venice [Florida] and later became instrumental in starting the first hospital there. The Kaplans came to Venice in 1949 and for decades were the only Jews who lived there."
- 1 photonegative - b&w - 5 x 4 in.
Learn more about the MOSAIC collection » |
Nawābshāh, town, Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The town, originally called Nasrat, is connected by road and rail with Karāchi, Hyderābād, and Sukkur. A growing industrial centre, it manufactures small boats, refined sugar, soap, and cotton and silk textiles. A government college in the town is affiliated with the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology. The chief crops of the surrounding area are cotton, millet, sugarcane, and fruit. Pop. (1998 prelim.) 183,110.
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Why do we have national public holidays? What does each—and what do all—contribute to our common life as Americans? The American Calendar series explores the purpose and meaning of our civic holidays, showing how their repeated celebration helps unite and identify us as a people and attaches us to our country.
Celebrating George Washington
Why should a nation that loves equality single out one man for special honors? Examine the words and deeds of the “Father of Our Country” and consider the qualities of leadership needed for the flourishing of our nation. |
West Virginia, United States — When you think of geothermal, West Virginia probably doesn’t come to mind. But a team of researchers at Southern Methodist University, funded by Google.org, has found that geothermal resources in the state are capable of supporting large-scale power plants for baseload electricity production.
The SMU Geothermal Laboratory recently said it has increased its estimate of West Virginia’s geothermal generation potential to 18,890 megawatts (assuming a conservative 2% thermal recovery rate). The new estimate represents a 75 percent increase over estimates in MIT’s 2006 “The Future of Geothermal Energy” report and exceeds the state’s total current generating capacity, primarily coal based, of 16,350 megawatts.
Of course, it is highly unlikely that much geothermal will get developed. But the analysis suggests that West Virginia could be a good spot for some large-scale power plants.
The West Virginia discovery is the result of new detailed mapping and interpretation of temperature data derived from oil, gas, and thermal gradient wells – part of an ongoing project to update the Geothermal Map of North America that SMU’s Geothermal Lab Director David Blackwell produced with colleague Maria Richards in 2004. Temperatures below the Earth almost always increase with depth, but the rate of increase (the thermal gradient) varies due to factors such as the thermal properties of the rock formations.
“By adding 1,455 new thermal data points from oil, gas, and water wells to our geologic model of West Virginia, we’ve discovered significantly more heat than previously thought,” Blackwell said. “The existing oil and gas fields in West Virginia provide a geological guide that could help reduce uncertainties associated with geothermal exploration and also present an opportunity for co-producing geothermal electricity from hot waste fluids generated by existing oil and gas wells.”
The high temperature zones beneath West Virginia revealed by the new mapping are concentrated in the eastern portion of the state (Figure 1). Starting at depths of 4.5 km (greater than 15,000 feet), temperatures reach over 150°C (300°F), which is hot enough for commercial geothermal power production.
Traditionally, commercial geothermal energy production has depended on high temperatures in existing subsurface reservoirs to produce electricity, requiring unique geological conditions found almost exclusively in tectonically active regions of the world, such as the western United States. Newer technologies and drilling methods can be used to develop resources in wider ranges of geologic conditions. Three non-conventional geothermal resources that can be developed in areas with little or no tectonic activity or volcanism such as West Virginia are:
- Low-Temperature Hydrothermal — Energy is produced from areas with naturally occurring high fluid volumes at temperatures ranging from 80°C (165°F) to 150°C (300°F) using advanced binary cycle technology. Low-Temperature systems have been developed in Alaska, Oregon, and Utah.
- Geopressure and Co-produced Fluids Geothermal – Oil and/or natural gas produced together with hot geothermal fluids drawn from the same well. Geopressure and Co-produced Fluids systems are currently operating or under development in Wyoming, North Dakota, Utah, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
- Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) – Areas with low natural rock permeability but high temperatures of more than 150°C (300°F) are “enhanced” by injecting fluid and other reservoir engineering techniques. EGS resources are typically deeper than hydrothermal and represent the largest share of total geothermal resources. EGS is being pursued globally in Germany, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. EGS is being tested in deep sedimentary basins similar to West Virginia’s in Germany and Australia.
“The early West Virginia research is very promising,” Blackwell said, “but we still need more information about local geological conditions to refine estimates of the magnitude, distribution, and commercial significance of their geothermal resource.”
A summary of the research can be found here.
Funding for the research was provided by Google.org’s RE<C initiative. As part of an effort to deploy baseload, renewable energy technologies, Google has made a number of investments in geothermal companies including AltaRock Energy and Potter Drilling.
If you’re in the mood for a longer panel discussion, check out the video below. It features Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt and Google.org’s Dan Riecher talking about the company’s clean energy investment strategy.
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””] |
AkihitoArticle Free Pass
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Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Akihito - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
(born 1933). Upon the death of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito in January 1989, his son, Crown Prince Akihito, automatically assumed the throne. The new era of Heisei, Achieving Peace, began. The prince had already proved himself an effective spokesman for Japan during extensive travels abroad. At home he gave evidence of more democratic leanings than were customary in the royal house. (See also Hirohito.) |
Potato - Pink Eye or Brown Eye
Fact Sheet Page 725.00 Date 8-1978
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION NEW YORK STATE CORNELL UNIVERSITY
by Otto Schultz and Monika Crispin
Dept. of Plant Pathology, Cornell University
Nature and Importance
Pink eye is characterized by pink to brown blotches on the skin, usually around the eyes at the apical (bud) end of tubers. When the disease is severe, a shallow, reddish brown rot occurs beneath the discolored areas. Pink eye is often prevalent on varieties such as Kennebec and Superior, which are highly susceptible to verticillium wilt, and commonly occurs during and after a wet harvest season. As a rule, the disease is not commercially serious in tablestock or seed potatoes stored under cool, relatively dry conditions. Tuber appearance may be somewhat marred, but the affected skin and superficial rot usually dry up. However, in the case of chipstock held at warm temperatures and high relative humidity, pink eye often opens the door to secondary soft rotting bacteria, which frequently cause extremely heavy losses.
Pink eye is caused by a bacterium, Pseudomonas marginalia, which lives in the soil on dead organic matter. Under moist conditions at the end of the season, the bacterium invades tubers, which show symptoms after they are harvested. As far as is known, Pseudomonas marginalia is not seedborne.
Symptoms and Effects
The pinkish brown blotching mentioned above shows up readily on moist, freshly dug tubers, but is usually difficult to notice on dry, unwashed potatoes. In severe cases, a reddish brown decay extends a few millimeters (2-3) into the flesh. The rot may be confused with that caused by late blight, but it is not granular and is more superficial than the latter. If tubers are kept cool and dry, the only symptom commonly encountered is scaly, flaky skin over the affected areas. However, tissue weakened by pink eye is often invaded by soft rotting bacteria if potatoes are held at warm (above 45° F) temperatures and high relative humidity. The end result is often the slimy, foul-smelling decay typical of bacterial soft rot.
Unexpectedly wet weather obviously cannot be circumvented in humid areas such as the Northeast. But selection of well-drained soils will help to reduce the effects of excessive rains. In irrigated regions, restriction of soil moisture at the end of the growing season is feasible and to be recommended. Because of the frequent correlation between pink eye and verticillium wilt, it is wise to avoid planting highly pink eye susceptible varieties on fields that have a history of serious wilt problems. Wilt-resistant varieties should be resorted to if land availability prohibits such a choice. If possible, tubers should be kept cool and dry after harvest to prevent further development of pink eye and secondary soft rot problems.
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The device – known as TESS – is being developed in South Australia with the help of an AUD $400,000 government grant to take it from prototype to commercial reality.
The TESS device stores electricity as thermal energy by heating and melting containers full of silicon. The high latent heat capacity and melting temperature of silicon makes it ideal for the storage of large amounts of energy.
Latent Heat Storage Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Whalley said storage was the next big challenge for energy generation worldwide.
“Renewable energy sources generally spill energy due to supply and demand mismatches, so we’ve designed the TESS device to capture this ‘spilt’ energy for later use or release to the grid,” Whalley said. “Our system also means that energy consumers will be able to purchase stored electricity off-peak at low tariffs, which ultimately means cheaper energy.”
A key benefit of the TESS device is its ability to handle an increasing workload from 500 kW applications through to an industrial scale of up to several hundred MWh – enough to power about 7,000 homes for a day.
The patented device is small enough to fit inside a 20-foot shipping container but is readily scalable as demand requires.
TESS is suitable for grid and off-grid applications and has been designed to overcome the intermittent nature of renewable energies, such as wind and solar, by providing a stable energy output suitable for base load power.
It can be integrated anywhere within an electricity network and is suitable for commercial and industrial businesses where heat and electricity are required, such as hotels, schools and hospitals.
“After three years of research and development, our key objective now is to complete building a commercial prototype of the TESS device and start showcasing its potential to global markets,” Whalley said.
A commercial prototype will be ready in early 2016 to be used as a selling tool to potential clients, and Whalley said devices would initially be built to meet the needs of individual sites rather than mass produced.
The Australian Government grant, through its Entrepreneur’s Programme, has been matched by Latent Heat Storage shareholders to generate $800,000 of total project funding.
Whalley said the commercial introduction of energy storage systems would encourage more renewable energy generation, such as wind farms and solar arrays.
“Energy prices are increasing around the world while storage technology costs are reducing, so we’re approaching the tipping point where energy storage systems are finally becoming commercially viable,” he said. “We are developing an energy storage system to meet market demand … we anticipate that this will result in exponential growth of the energy storage market worldwide.”
Lead image credit: Latent Heat Storage. |
THE RELIGIOUS HOUSES OF RUTLAND
The religious houses of Rutland were few and of small importance.
There was indeed no independent monastery built in this county after the
Conquest: the small priory of Brooke, for Austin canons, being only a cell to
the priory of Kenilworth. The Benedictine monks of St. Georges de Boscherville had a cell at Edith Weston from the 12th century till the end of the
14th. Only three hospitals, at Tolethorpe, Great Casterton, and Oakham, can
be traced, though there are doubtless others of which no record remains. A
college at Manton, founded by Sir William Wade in 1356, completes the
number of religious foundations, the short-lived college at Tolethorpe being
treated as a refoundation of the hospital.
The manors of Manton and Tixover were given by King Henry I to the
abbey of Cluny about 1130; but they were always held directly by the abbot,
and leased by him to seculars until the time of their confiscation by Henry V
in 1414. (fn. 1) No priory was ever built in connexion with either of them.
||The history of these manors may be clearly traced
through Sir George Duckett's Charters and Records of
Cluni. With the manors of Letcombe Regis, Berks., and
Offord Cluney, Hunts., they were reckoned as de mensa
abbatis Cluniacensis, after the priories of the order in
England. Richard II issued letters patent to the
abbot's tenant in 1397 to hold them in the same way
that they had hitherto been held; but in 1401 they
were seized by Henry IV, with other property of aliens,
and never restored. Negotiations and letters passed
for several years between the abbot and the king, in
the hope that a sale might be effected: but no terms
could be arranged agreeable to both parties, and the
manors were finally confiscated in 1414. The Cluny
records are supported by Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 49,
which states that the manors were the gift of Henry I
to Cluny, and were held in 1276 by Humbert de
Montferaud from the abbot. |
Teaching and Learning Signing Exact English
For Teachers of Sign Classes
TEACHING AND LEARNING SIGNING EXACT ENGLISH
An Idea Book, 1983, by G. Gustason. Revised 2011, by Patrice Stephenson
Comprehensive manual in a three ring binder used by teachers in conjunction with Signing Exact English text. Its five sections contain: 1) Background Information; 2) Ideas, Rules, Activities; 3) Two Sample Beginning Curricula, A and B; 4) Word Groups; 5) Sign Families with Practice Sentences. Also included are worksheets, charts, sample tests-everything to assist instruction in sign classes. Covers beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. |
A frequent question in today’s high school English classroom is how "the classics" fit into our 21st century curriculum. Students ask, "How is this relevant to me?" and complain that the literature they are reading in class is outdated and difficult to understand. Therefore, my project embraces a few canonical texts that are most frequently used in America's schools and presents them in an innovative way that students will not only understand, but engage on a critical level. Based on emerging research in the education field, my project explains how modern technology and the techniques of parody and satire can be used in combination with one another to make literature come alive. For example, texts such as Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick can be spun from new and even humorous perspectives. Models for three class projects involving these texts are described and linked, including a YouTube parody video, a digital modern adaptation poster, and a Twitter account featuring a character from a novel. By creating these projects myself, I am presenting ways that students can access literature right where they are, yet pushing them to think critically and creatively about important themes found in works that continue to stand the test of time.
Integrated Language Arts Education
Dr. Tim Murnen
First Advisor Department
Second Advisor Department
Shelton, Ashley N., "The Power of Parody and Satire in the 21st Century English Classroom" (2014). Honors Projects. 131. |
This an ideal location for engaging students in the Geography, Science and History curriculums. They will gain a great undersatanding of their place in time and space. The natural and built heritage features on the farm provide a resource for skills and knowledge development. The activities promote open, critical and responsible attitudes and contribute to the students active construction of their own understanding. The principles which underpin the organic food production system on the farm are a means for connecting students to ‘food’ and also to Nature. The education programme which can be tailored to the schools’ specific needs strives to promote care of the earth and a sustainable future for all species.
There seems to be a greater interest in learning the skills of growing your own food or sourcing local and/or organic food. At Cloncannon Biofarm we share those skills of working with Nature in organic food production. The visiting community group can choose from a number of farm tours relating to various themes |
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was born into a lower middle-class family in France. His father was a tailor and his mother worked as a seamstress. At a young age he wanted to be a singer, however due to his family’s financial concerns, he went to work in a porcelain factory until a new mechanized procedure was developed in the factory. The factory went bankrupt so Renoir went to attend art school, working to paint fans and signs as decorative art to pay his bills while in school.
He studied under Charles Geyre with new friends: Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille. Through Monet, his roommate for a spell, Renoir was connected to other notable artists, such as Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne. Together they began experimenting with painting en plein-air outside, and like Monet, Renoir was penniless through his early career, despite generous support from Jules Le Cœur and family, a fellow artist. Unlike Monet, Renoir’s early works found favorable audiences at the Salon. His first successes include the following:
La Esmerelda (1864), based on Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre-Dame that was featured in the Salon, a first for Renoir. He later destroyed the painting -above is a copy.
William Sisley (1865) – a commissioned portrait of his friend and fellow artist, Alfred Sisley’s wealthy father.
Lise with a Parasol or just simply Lise (1867)
In Summer (1868)
These latter three paintings feature Lise Tréhot as the female figure, Renoir’s mistress and model for many of his early paintings. The painting Lise won acclaim at the Salon. In total, she appeared in more than twenty of Renoir’s early paintings, several of them in the nude. Renoir fathered a child out of wedlock with Lise in 1870, however the child was given away to a wet-nurse. Renoir never acknowledged his daughter, Jeanne, as his child, but he did secretly financially support her all of his life. Little is known about the relationship between Renoir and Lise, however they separated in 1872 and it was said that Lise never spoke to Renoir again. She eventually married and raised several children.
In 1870, Renoir was drafted to serve in the military for the Franco-Prussian War, however illness soon sent him back home. In 1874, Renoir was part of the first Impressionist exhibit. He exhibited many of his early great works, however in order to remain financially stable, Renoir started painting portraits upon commission to survive.
Claude Monet painting in his garden at Arganteuil (1873)
The Grand Boulevards (1875)
This painting uniquely displays an out of focus street in Paris, around the time that the boulevards were widened. The street is filled with activity, shortly the effects of industrialization take hold.
Bal du moulin de la Galette “Dance at Le moulin de la Galette” (1876)
The painting portrays an evening out for working class people in Paris, filled with dancing, drinking, and eating. Note the lighting of the sunset through the trees as it appears on the party-goers. We can almost hear and see (peripherally) the sounds and motion of the people in the crowd when viewing this painting. The painting is currently held by a private and anonymous collector. It is currently on the list as one of the most expensive paintings ever sold ($78M in 1990). Prior to that it was owned by the wealthy and well-connected American, John Whitney, whose widow sold it to a wealthy Japanese manufacturer who professed at one point a desire to burn the painting, luckily financial troubles caused him to sell it in 1990.
The Swing (1876)
Madame Charpentier and Her Children (1878) – this was Renoir’s first big breakthrough
By the late 1870s and 1880s, he had secured a name for himself. This new financial security allowed him to travel to Algeria, as well as Italy and throughout France, to meet the great European artists of the day. While in Algeria he contracted pneumonia which permanently damaged his respiratory system.
Portrait of Alphonsine Fournaise (1879)
Boating on the Seine (1879)
By The Water (1880)
The Two Sisters, on the Terrace (1881) – note the elder sister was actually a young French actress and the younger is unknown. The two were not related.
Le déjeuner des canotiers “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880–1881)
This painting was showcased at the Impressionist exhibit in 1878, and won great acclaim. It featured a variety of Renoir’s friends and patrons enjoying themselves at a high-class restaurant which had recently opened its doors to all groups of people, a novelty in the 19th century. A still-life of fruit and wine sits on the table. The French art patron Gustave Caillebott is seated in the lower right, and Aline Charigot, Renoir’s future wife, is playing with a dog in the foreground on the left (Renoir replaced a different woman who was annoying him with Aline in the painting). A panoply of other art historians, painters, and patrons are depicted in the painting. Note the casual attire of the people in the painting. It is a masterpiece of the Impressionist era, one of Renoir’s best. Duncan Phillips, the grandson of an American banking and steel family, was obsessed with acquiring the painting and in 1923, he purchased it, in an effort to build his collection of modern art. Today it remains the most popular work in his foundation’s collection – The Phillips Collection – in Washington DC. The location of the activity in the painting is the The Maison Fournaise in Chatou west of Paris along the Seine. Renoir also completed an earlier painting at this location below:
Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1879)
Children at the Beach at Guernsey (1883)
The Large Bathers (1884-1887)
Renoir spent three years completing this painting, studying various sketches and pieces of architecture. His hope was to harmonize the classical modes of painting, like Raphael, with the new Impressionist. Notice the sculpted, classical style of the nude women in the painting (one is Renoir’s future wife, Aline), and contrast those sharp characteristics with the blurred, shiny Impressionistic background. Two women bathe in the background, while the action occurs in the foreground, where one woman reaches to splash the other two from the river, one preparing to shield herself, the other covering herself with a towel.
Renoir grew disillusioned with Impressionism over time, and as such his style evolved, though his work always remained lush, indulgent, and voluptuous.
Dance at Bougival (1883)
Tamaris, France (1885)
The Farm at Collettes (1908-1914)
In 1890, Renoir married Aline Charigot, one of his models and a dressmaker who was twenty years his junior. Like Monet, Renoir had a child out of wedlock with Aline named Pierre (born in 1885), who later became a notable stage and film actor. They had two other children together: Jean Renoir, the great film director, and Claude Renoir who also became an artist of ceramics.
By 1892, Renoir was stricken with arthritis which severely limited his mobility. Yet he continued to paint, and was at one point quoted as saying: “The pain passes, but beauty persists.” He moved to a warmer Mediterranean climate along the French Riviera in a town called Cagnes-sur-Mer in southeastern France, where he lived on a luxurious home he had built called “Las Collettes.” He had a stroke in 1912, yet Renoir still continued to paint. His wife, Aline, died in 1915. In 1919, Renoir traveled to the Louvre to see his paintings hung alongside the masters. He died at his home in Cagnes-sur-mer in 1919. Renoir had completed thousands of paintings in his lifetime. |
Alexandra Kollontai 1914
First Published: Försvarsnihilisten, November 1914;
Source: Alexandra Kollontai: Selected Articles and Speeches, Progress Publishers, 1984;
Transcribed: Sally Ryan for marxists.org, 2000;
Proofed: and corrected by Chris Clayton 2006.
When the workers' International last met in Basle in 1912 in order to raise its voice in protest against the threat of a world war, which might have broken out as a result of the events in the Balkans, everyone was filled with confident hope. World war seemed impossible.
While solidarity and the brotherhood of peoples unites the workers of every nation, while there exists that unity of objectives that marked the Basle Congress and draws together the proletariat of states both large and small, the working class has no need to fear Landsknechte and the bloody wars that accompany them. Then the old imperialist-capitalist world would not dare to provoke a war, for should war break out, the 'red spectre' would appear on the scene to terrify bourgeois society.
This was what we, socialists, believed as recently as two years ago. But now world war has become a fact, with all its horrors, suffering and barbarity. These have exceeded anything that even the most grotesque fantasy could have imagined. World war broke out at the very moment when an international congress was to be held in Vienna. This congress was to discuss yet again the important question of how socialists in every country could avert war, and how the organised working class was to avoid falling into the trap of the imperialists-capitalists. Until only very recently, until the start of the war, it seemed completely impossible that the clear Marxist world outlook of the Social-Democrats could be infected with bourgeois chauvinism. One might have thought that the materialist understanding of history and the clear perception of class contradictions possessed by Social-Democrats would serve as a scientific compass guiding the workers along the correct path, even during a hurricane of chauvinism.
However, amidst all these considerations, Social-Democracy overlooked one important factor: it underestimated the moral influence of the old bourgeois world on the mood of the populace. It failed to take sufficiently into account the present, well-prepared, treacherous policy being pursued by the supporters of the class interests of imperialism. It turns out that the governments of the bourgeois states understood popular psychology better than the very representatives of the democratic and working-class masses!
The national feelings artificially stimulated by the capitalists and junkers of every country in the world with the help of the church and the press, and which are also preached in the schools, at home and in society, would appear to be more deeply entrenched among the people than the internationalists realised. The imperialist-capitalist world skilfully manipulates people's national sentiments in order to drive its own national population into the ready-prepared lethal trap of war. And when irrational and blind chauvinism proved insufficient to provoke a militarist mood among the people, the authorities had recourse to other methods in order to fool the people – including the proletariat – and attract it onto its side so that it would take part in a bloody war. All the capitalist states are now assuming the disguise of an attractive idealism in order to justify their rapacious imperialist policy.
The Germans, it would seem, are raising the sword not in order to eliminate their rivals on the world market, but in order to overthrow Russian tsarism!... The English and the French, so we are told, are merely seeking to avert the threat to the world presented by the German police state and German militarism! And the Russians, if you please, are sending their sons into the battlefield not in order to satisfy their pan-Slavism, but in order to liberate Galicia and Serbia, and also in order to save the republican system in France and democracy in Belgium! Thus tsarism is fighting for republicanism, and the Junkers in Prussia are sacrificing the blood of their sons in order to 'liberate Russia from the yoke of absolutism'. This is an amusing caricature which, in other circumstances, would reduce us to laughter, but which now, amidst blood and tears, is turning into a major historical catastrophe.
People talk of 'the right of each people to self-defence'. Each state naturally tries to present itself as having begun the war in order to preserve and defend its culture, and not in order to fill the purses of the capitalists.
Culture! Yes, culture is indeed man's most precious possession. But is it not war that threatens the very existence of culture? Is it not because of war that magnificent old forests (the forests just outside Paris, for example, which constitute one of its most attractive features) are ruthlessly destroyed? Is it not war that destroys the best historical monuments and works of art? Finally, are there any 'cultural values' which are worth the cost of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of human lives?
People talk of culture, but is it not war that gives rise to the most horrific barbarity? The slaughter of the sons of the people, of the children of the proletariat, grows with every day. The human mind is incapable of grasping the sum total of all the misery, deprivation and suffering of the people. The basest, most bestial instincts rise to the surface. Militarism and the inhuman cruelty and blind discipline to which it gives birth rule the world. No one gives any thought any more to men's most valuable possession-life itself. And this is called 'defence of culture'!
What will be the outcome of this dreadful blood-letting? Will the workers derive any benefit from the war, even in the case of victory in just one country? Even if it were possible to ensure the payment of war reparations by the defeated states whose countries lie in ruins, part of this money would immediately go into the pockets of the capitalists, while the rest would have to be used to rebuild the shattered economy. Want and misery will reign supreme everywhere after this world war, even in those countries that emerge the victors. Everywhere there will be an increase in the number of people unfit for work: invalids, the sick, the mentally deranged and orphans. Worst of all, however, war will subsequently affect to some degree or other the development of the productive forces of all the belligerent countries.
Disaster and bankruptcy, debt and unemployment will reduce the purchasing power of the people, and this will have a paralysing effect on the normal development of the forces of production. This is, for us, the heaviest blow of all: our hope for the rapid realisation of our dream concerning the future of mankind is closely bound up with the continuing unimpeded development of all the productive forces. Any delay in this development means that our best hopes are postponed to some unspecified date in the distant future.
However, apart from all the horrors of war and mass murder, apart from the disruption of the national economy and the lowering of the cultural level, war has a particularly unfavourable effect upon the position of the working class and its objectives insofar as the whole of mankind will be divided (albeit for a short time) not into classes, according to the basic tenet of the Social-Democrats, but into nations. This reduces the impact of one of the most powerful weapons that the proletariat is called upon to wield, namely the solidarity of the workers' International.
Nonetheless, this dreadful war has already taught us a great deal. It has provided us with several painful lessons which we must fully recognise in order to benefit from them in the future.
The war has shown us that the workers' party made a great mistake in underestimating the danger of militarism and offering too weak a resistance to its influence. The principled position of the Social-Democratic parties on the question of how the workers are to behave in case of war was too ill-defined, too imprecise. The resolutions adopted by the International worked to the benefit of nationalist trends. Now, however, when German Social-Democracy has allowed itself to be fooled by the Prussian Junker state and is pursuing a mistaken tactic in support of war, it has become clear that it will be the duty of the future International to state its position on this issue clearly and precisely and to determine upon a firm, clearly defined revolutionary tactic as regards the threat of war. There can be no doubt that, as soon as this dreadful war is over, all the workers' parties will have the task of mounting a campaign against militarism. This task will continue to face us for many years to come. However, the ways and means to be used by Social-Democracy to defeat the spirit of militarism will become clear only with time.
In any case we are wholly convinced that the struggle against militarism is at the same time a struggle for our ideals: all wars impede the further development of the productive forces, weaken the sense of the solidarity of the international proletariat and encourage the spread of chauvinism, and thus they delay the great day when working class will finally be liberated. However a systematic struggle against militarism is a task for the future, this does not mean that socialists should be passive towards war today. Today also we can and should intervene in the bloody events taking place in the world and make our voices heard in favour of the most rapid possible peace under the slogan: 'An end to cannibalistic mass murder?' We Social-Democrats have no interest in and draw no benefit from the fact that ever more hundreds of thousands of our brothers are sacrificing their lives for the glory of their bourgeois-capitalist homelands. We need these lives in order to create that army which will fight imperialism and capitalism.
Thus our immediate task is to unite all our forces in order to achieve the quickest possible peace, and our task for the future is to wage a relentless struggle against militarism and strengthen the spirit of international solidarity among the workers. In the face of the bloodthirsty chauvinist atmosphere now reigning throughout the world, socialists from every country must redouble their efforts and confidently proclaim: 'Down with war! Down with militarism! Down with blind chauvinism! May those international forces which will bring final victory to the working class flourish and triumph!'
1. This is reference to the Extraordinary International Socialist Congress of the Second International, convened in Basle on 24-25 November, 1912. The congress was called in order to consider ways of opposing the approaching threat of world imperialist war, and was attended by 555 delegates. The congress adopted a manifesto opposing war. The leaders of the Second International, who had voted for the adoption of the manifesto, subsequently betrayed it after the First World War began and supported their own imperialist governments.
2. The Vienna congress of the Second International was to take place in the summer of 1914. This congress was seen as particularly significant as the date when it was to be held coincided with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the First International, and the 25th anniversary of the Second International. The congress agenda was to include the most important issues relating to the position of the working class and its struggle against imperialism, the problems of war and militarism in the context of the tragic international tension that existed in the middle of 1914. The outbreak of war prevented the socialists from holding the Vienna congress.
3. German Social-Democracy – the leading party in the Second International – abandoned the interests of the proletariat as soon as war was declared and defended its own imperialist fatherland. On 4 August, 1914, the Social-Democratic faction within the Reichstag voted with the bourgeois parties to allocate 5,000 million marks to the Kaiser's government for military expenditure. |
A plan has been announced by federal officials to remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act in Wyoming, which would move wolf management to the state and allow for a shoot-on-sight policy for wolves in roughly 90 percent of the state.
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released it’s Final Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Peer Review Summary Report of the state’s management plan that calls for Wyoming to keep a minimum of 10 breeding pairs and 100 wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park. Wolves will be considered trophy animals in the Northwest part of the state and predators that could be killed everywhere else …at any time, by anyone.
Wyoming was excluded from the states where protection has already been lifted because its previous plan wasn’t considered viable.
The report has left scientists split over whether or not the plan is consistent with recovery efforts.
According to a scientific review, “[T]he Plan, as written, does not do an adequate job of explaining how wolf populations will be maintained, and how recovery will be maintained. It is clear that more than one panelist believes that there is a need for explicit buffering, and better explanations of the adaptive processes that will be used in managing down the wolf populations.”
The FWS’ plan is also being opposed by conservation groups. According to WildEarth Gaurdians, the plan would reduce the current population, which is now at an estimated 343, by half, isolate packs, allow hunting in migration routes and threaten wolves that leave national parks. Unfortunately, they’ll miss the big sign that says “Now Leaving Yellowstone: You are Totally Screwed.”
The plan still has to be approved the Wyoming Legislature. If passed, it could be open season on wolves next fall.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments until January 13, please submit one at regulations.gov opposing the delisting of wolves in Wyoming and asking for a science-based plan that will allow wolves to fully recover and sign Defender’s of Wildlife’s petition.
Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. |
By: Paula Golden, President of Broadcom Foundation
Chronicling the first 75 years of the Digital Revolution, Innovators author Walter Isaacson wrote, “it is teamwork, not rugged individualism that ignites groundbreaking innovation in science and technology.”
The Broadcom MASTERS®, the premier national middle school competition organized by Society for Science & the Public, is a direct descendent of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, which was founded toward the end of World War II when Isaacson’s story begins. The Westinghouse Science Talent Search was created in 1942 to nurture and elevate a generation of science and engineering innovators. Baby Boomers like me remember running in from backyard play on Friday evening to catch the official announcement of the science talent search winner on our black and white television.
When it was founded in 1942, STS competition awarded a prize to the “Top Boy” and “Top Girl.” Then inexplicably in 1948, the competition dropped these designated awards, and winners during the second half of the 20th century tended to be predominantly male. In the 21st century, this trend has shifted to more females in the STS winner’s circle as the number of female competitors increased.
Women make up the vast pool of our nation’s untapped STEM talent, and they are being encouraged to enter professions that once were deemed male-oriented STEM careers. Notwithstanding this good news, male students are still three times more likely than female students to be interested in pursuing a college major or career in STEM.
It is well known that young women gain or lose interest in STEM subjects by the 8th grade and that encouraging and mentoring young women where they naturally congregate is critical to influencing the elective education choices that they make in high school. Just go to any middle school and you will see girls moving in ‘pods.’ Girls like to talk, to share, to engage each other in common interests and to enjoy social processes that, while natural for them, have not been formally incorporated into STEM pedagogy.
To address this, Broadcom Foundation partners with other community and nonprofit stakeholders to bring the excitement of science and engineering to the programs that reach girls in their everyday lives: in afterschool programs like Girls, Inc., out of school group activities such as Girl Scouts and competitions such as the Broadcom MASTERS. In these programs, the key to building an interest in STEM is through a girl’s inclination to socialize with other girls and collaborate in teams.
With educators citing collaboration and communication as two of the four 21st century skills, along with critical thinking and creativity, it
makes sense to tap into young women’s natural inclination to work together and collaborate in teams in order to inspire long-term interest and excitement in STEM subjects. In doing so, STEM-minded girls will be inspired and encouraged to apply their natural gifts to stay excited about science, technology, engineering and math into high school, college – and beyond.
About Broadcom Foundation
Broadcom Foundation supports programs that inspire, educate and deploy the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators who will take on the Grand Challenges of the 21st century. By creating equitable access to STEM education, all young people can explore, excel and ultimately chose career paths in STEM subjects and become next generation of innovators have the critical 21st century skills that they need to succeed in a global work environment.
Broadcom Foundation focuses its advocacy of STEM education on “Project-Based Learning,” and teamwork, which provides the philosophical underpinnings of its signature programs: Broadcom MASTERS® and Broadcom Presents: Design_CODE_Build. |
Diplomat TN Kaul's 'serious affair' with a Chinese girl and what all went behind 1954 Indo-China agreement on Tibet
Though Kaul was asked to return to India immediately, he took four weeks to come back to Delhi.
- Total Shares
History is often politically distorted and it is sometimes only decades later that one discovers it.
The image that successive governments left of the Panchsheel Agreement is that it was ‘the best thing’ that Nehru did. Unfortunately, the facts do not tally with the myth.
Worst-negotiated treaty: Historical documents, recently opened to the public, shed some light on how the accord was arrived at (Photo: Twitter)
The ‘five principles’ were just a small preamble of the ‘Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India’, signed on April 29, 1954 in Beijing by Indian Ambassador N Raghavan and Zhang Hanfu, the deputy foreign minister of China; it was about mutual trading and pilgrimage rights.
On May 15, Nehru admitted to Parliament that the agreement had settled the fate of Tibet, a peaceful independent nation, which was suddenly deprived of its autonomy: “So far as Tibet is concerned, it is a recognition of the existing situation there,” Nehru stated.
For the Prime Minister, the most important feature of the Agreement was not the fate of the Tibetans, but the ‘wider implications for world peace’.
During the debate which followed, most of the members from the Congress and the Communist Party were enthusiastic in their endorsement of the agreement.
Acharya Kripalani, however, strongly attacked the government policy: “We feel that China, after it had gone Communist, committed an act of aggression against Tibet.”
A few years later, Kripalani would call the Agreement, “Born in Sin”.
Historical documents, recently opened to the public, shed some light on how the accord was arrived at; retrospectively, it is clear that it has been the worst-negotiated treaty post-Independence. Whatever position and advantages India had in Tibet were lost week after week during the four-month hard talks in Beijing, while the border issue was left hanging …it is still pending 64 years later.
One incident which has never been related outside South Block needs to be related.
Indian Ambassador N Raghavan and Zhang Hanfu signed the deal in April, 1954 (Photo: Twitter)
On March 13, 1954, NT Pillai, the secretary general of the ministry, wrote to the Prime Minister about the private life of the glamourous Indian Chargé d’affaires in Beijing who had written to Nehru about his private life.
TN Kaul, the Chargé d’affaires, was having a ‘serious affair’ with a Chinese girl and wanted to marry her.
The secretary general was deeply upset: “Every foreign service officer is expected to obtain the government's permission before he marries a foreigner.
Had Kaul been an unmarried man, a widower, or divorcee, his request for permission to marry a Chinese girl would have caused us enough worry, if only because we know nothing of the antecedents of the girl.”
Not only did Kaul have a lawfully wedded wife and two children, but more critically for India, he was conducting tricky negotiations with China.
Even in normal times, this is called a ‘honey trap’; in this case, India’s relations with Tibet and the fate of the common border depended on the outcome of the talks.
Pillai rightly pointed out: “If the new partner is to be a foreigner, even the legality of the alliance is open to doubt, and the government cannot by according their administrative approval, legalise what is not permissible under the law.”
Pillai said that in the case of Shankar, he was sent back to his province, “We cannot treat Kaul very differently. At the same time I do not suggest we should threaten him with expulsion from the ICS.”
A month before, the PM was told about TN Kaul's 'serious affair' with a Chinese woman ( Photo: RIA Novosti when he was ambassador to Soviet Union)
Pillai considered Kaul’s request for two months’ leave ex-India on the conclusion of his duty in Peking unreasonable: “It is his duty to return to India and report to us on the negotiations in which he has participated. With his past record, he will not, we hope, shirk his obvious duty.”
Was the intransigence of the Chinese negotiators connected to the fact that they had a hold on Kaul?
It is difficult to say for certain. In any case, it was unheard of that a senior diplomat, holding crucial talks for his nation, could have at the same time, an affair with an ‘unknown’ lady from the opposite side.
The Prime Minister immediately replied to Pillai’s note: “I would like Kaul to return to India as soon as possible without waiting for end of Tibetan talks which I presume are nearing completion.”
The next day, Ambassador Raghavan took over the negotiations. Though he was asked to return to India immediately, Kaul took four weeks to come back to Delhi.
The PM ‘spoke’ to him; he was however transferred as joint secretary in charge of China, where he officiated several years.
Later, he became ambassador to Soviet Union, America and foreign secretary.
India not only lost its advantages in Tibet, but it missed an incredible opportunity to settle its border with China; a gentle neighbour was lost while the guilty officer was forgiven… and promoted.
Is there another country in the world where this could happen?
(Courtesy of Mail Today) |
Kids these days are spending less time outside, opting for the entertainment of media and technology from the comfort of the indoors. Evidence from child research has shown that young kids need a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity to stay healthy. On top of that, exposing kids to an outdoor-oriented lifestyle helps their cognition, social development, and overall wellbeing.
With statistics showing that only 1 out of 10 Australian children play outside, how can parents make sure screens aren’t trapping their kids?
Integrate Them into Fun Outdoor Environments
Exposing your children to spaces that are fun and interesting can make them more likely to want to spend time in them. For instance, a school in Brisbane with decked out and well-maintained playground equipment would have a higher chance of engaging school kids to play during their breaks or after class.
Finding activities and locations that are attractive enough to peel them away from their gadgets is the first step, and once they start getting into the swing of things, it’ll be easier to form healthy habits.
By going to fun places that other families enjoy, it also helps them to be more comfortable socializing with other kids. Once they find playmates, they will have more incentive to return and even start considering other excursions. As long as you supervise them but give them the leeway to get in the dirt and climb freely, they can continue to see these activities as better uses of their time.
The whole pull of video games is their ability to evoke feelings of adventure and excitement, so being able to replicate this in real life takes some exploration. Bring them on trips and try new things with them, and you’ll be able to feed into their innate desire for fun and controlled adrenaline.
Doing these things while they are young is the best time because habits and attitudes are still more moldable. Show them that there are so many things to see in the world and it will show how confining being still really is.
Don’t feel limited about where you can take them, either. Studies show that kids who travel with their families end up doing better in school and having a higher cultural awareness. With more avenues for them to discover things, a healthy balance can be developed.
Get into Sports with Them
Sports activities are generally beneficial for youths, but using it as a bonding tool can help motivate their drive to keep being active. Multiple studies have shown that children emulate their parents’ behavior, so getting into an active lifestyle yourself creates an environment that is more conducive for them to get sporty.
By taking on sports, not only are you able to have a shared interest with your kids, but you can be a prime example for them and show the good that physical activity can do. Even if your child ends up wanting to do a different sport than you, make sure you give them the tools and encouragement to further pursue that lifestyle.
By utilizing these tactics, you can ensure that your children are growing up healthier and more fulfilled. With more time playing outside, they can become well-rounded individuals while having fun. |
If you wish to send email messages using an email address with your domain, make sure that the provider will provide you with usage of their SMTP server. The aforementioned is the software system allowing e-mail messages to be dispatched. SMTP is an abbreviation for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and it addresses all outgoing emails from programs, webmail and contact forms. Every time a message is sent, the SMTP server confirms with all the DNS servers throughout the world where the emails for the receiving domain name are taken care of and when it obtains this data, it connects into the remote POP/IMAP server to check if the recipient mailbox is available. When it does, the SMTP server delivers the message body and then the receiving server delivers it to the mail box in which the recipient can open it and read it. Without having a SMTP server on your end, you won't be allowed to mail out messages at all. |
Malacostraca | Decapoda
Holthuis, L.B. 1980. (Ref. 8)
Size / Weight / Age
Max length : 14.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 114955); max. reported age: 2 years (Ref. 114955)
Benthic; depth range 20 - 90 m (Ref. 8), usually ? - 50 m (Ref. 801)
Climate / Range
Tropical; 30°N - 12°S, 47°E - 129°E
Indian Ocean: from Kuwait and Pakistan to Bangladesh. Pérez Farfante recognizes 2 subspecies: Parapenaeopsis stylifera stylifera from Persian Gulf to India and Sri Lanka and Parapenaeopsis stylifera coromandelica from east coast of India to Indonesia.
From coast to depths of 90 m, but usually down to 50 m on muddy or sandy-mud substrates (Ref. 801). Omnivorous bottom feeder, mainly feeding on crustaceans, mud and detritus, vegetable matter, gastropods, bivalves, diatoms, and sand particles. Higher feeding intensity observed with sexual maturity (Ref. 106981). Also Refs. 833, 106504 (Ref. 114955).
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 114614)
CITES status (Ref. 94142)
Threat to humans
| FisheriesWiki |
Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models
Low vulnerability (10 of 100) |
Democracy In America, Alexis de Tocqueville, 1831
It is unnecessary to say that in the chapter which has just been read I have not pretended to give a history of America. My only . object has been to enable the reader to appreciate the influence that the opinions and manners of the first immigrants have exercised upon the fate of the different colonies and of the Union in general. I have therefore cited only a few detached fragments.
I do not know whether I am deceived, but it appears to me that by pursuing the path which I have merely pointed out, it would be easy to present such pictures of the American republics as would not be unworthy the attention of the public and could not fail to suggest to the statesman matter for reflection. Not being able to devote myself to this labor, I am anxious at least to render it easy to others; and for this purpose I append a short catalogue and analysis of the works which seem to me the most important to consult.
At the head of the general documents which it would be advantageous to examine, I place the work entitled: Historical Collection of State Papers and Other Authentic Documents, intended as materials for an hystory of the United States of America, by Ebenezer Hazard. The first volume of this compilation, which was printed at Philadelphia in 1792, contains a literal copy of all the charters granted by the Crown of England to the emigrants, as well as the principal acts of the colonial governments, during the first period of their existence. One can find there, among other things, a great number of authentic documents on the affairs of New England and Virginia during this period. The second volume is almost entirely devoted to the acts of the Confederation of 1643 This federal compact, which was entered into by the colonies of New England with the view of resisting the Indians, was the first instance of union afforded by the Anglo-Americans. There were several other such compacts, up to the one of 1776, which led to the independence of the colonies.
The Philadelphia historical collection is in the Library of Congress.
Each colony has, besides, its own historic monuments, some of which are extremely curious, beginning with Virginia, the state that was first peopled. The earliest historian of Virginia was its founder, Captain John Smith. Captain Smith has left us a quarto volume, entitled The general Historie of Virginia and New-England, by Captain John Smith, some time Governor in those Countries, and Admiral of New England; printed at London in 1627. (This volume is to be found in the BibliothŠque royale.) . Smith’s work is illustrated with very curious maps and engravings which date from the period when it was printed. The historian’s account extends from 1584 to 1626. Smith’s book is well thought of and merits being so. The author is one of the most celebrated adventurers who has appeared in a century full of adventurers; he lived at its end. The book itself breathes that ardor of discovery, that spirit of enterprise, which characterizes such men; there one finds those chivalric manners which are often mingled with trade and made to serve the acquisition of riches. But what is remarkable about Captain Smith is that he combined the virtues of his contemporaries with qualities which were alien to most of them; his style is simple and clear, his accounts have the mark of truth, his descriptions are not elaborated. This author throws valuable light on the state of the Indians at the time of the discovery of North America.
The second historian to consult is Beverley. Beverley’s work, a volume in duodecimo, was translated into French, and published at Amsterdam, in 1707. The author begins his narrative in 1585 and ends it in 1700. The first part of his book contains historical documents, properly so called, relative to the infancy of the colony. The second affords a most curious picture of the state of the Indians at this remote period. The third conveys very clear ideas concerning the manners, social condition, laws, and political customs of the Virginians in the author’s lifetime. Beverley was a Virginian, which leads him to say, in opening, that he begs the reader “not to examine my work in too critical a spirit for, since I was born in the Indies, I cannot aspire to purity of language.” Despite this colonist’s modesty, the author shows throughout his book that he vigorously supports the supremacy of the mother country. Numerous instances of that spirit of civil liberty that has since then inspired the English colonies in America are also found in Beverley’s work. Evidence of the divisions which so long existed among them and delayed their independence is likewise to be found. Beverley detests his Catholic neighbors in Maryland more than the English government. This author’s style is simple, his descriptions are often full of interest and inspire confidence. The French translation of Beverley’s history may be found in the BibilothŠque royale.
I saw in America, but was unable to find in France, another work which ought to be consulted entitled The History of Virginia, . by William Stith. This book affords some curious details but I thought it long and diffuse.
The oldest as well as the best document to be consulted on the history of Carolina is a work in small quarto, entitled The History of Carolina, by John Lawson, printed at London in 1718. This work contains, in the first part, a journey of discovery in the west of Carolina, the account of which, given in the form of a journal, is in general confused and superficial; but it contains a very striking description of the mortality caused among the savages of that time by both smallpox and the immoderate use of brandy; with a curious picture of the corruption of manners prevalent among them, which was increased by the presence of Europeans. The second part of Lawson’s book is devoted to a description of the physical condition of Carolina and its products.
In the third part the author gives an interesting description of the customs, habits, and government of the Indians at that time. Wit and originality are often to be found in this part of the book Lawson’s history concludes with the Charter granted Carolina in the reign of Charles II. This work is light in tone, often licentious, and presents a complete contrast to the very serious style of works published at the same time in New England. Lawson’s history is an extremely rare volume in America, and cannot be acquired in Europe. Nevertheless, there is a copy in the BibliothŠque royale.
From the southern I pass at once to the northern extremity of the United States, as the intermediate space was not peopled till a later period.
I would first mention a very curious compilation, entitled Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, printed for the first time at Boston in 1792, and reprinted in 1806. This work is not in the BibliothŠque royale, nor, I believe, in any other library. This collection, which is continued to the present day, contains a great number of very valuable documents relating to the history of the different states of New England. Among them are letters which have never been published, and authentic pieces which had been buried in provincial archives. The whole work of Gookin concerning the Indians, is inserted there.
I have mentioned several times, in the chapter to which this note relates, the work of Nathaniel Morton, entitled New England’s Memorial; sufficiently, perhaps, to prove that it deserves the attention of those who would be conversant with the history of New . England. Nathaniel Morton’s book is an octavo volume, reprinted at Boston in 1826. It is not in the BibliothŠque royale.
The most valuable and important authority that exists on the history of New England is the work of the Rev. Cotton Mather, entitled Magnalia Christi Americana, or the Ecclesiastical History of New England, 16201698, 2 vols., 8 vo, reprinted at Hartford, in 1820. I do not believe it is in the BibliothŠque royale. The author divided his work into seven books. The first presents the history of the events which prepared and brought about the establishment of New England. The second contains the lives of the first governors and chief magistrates who presided over the country. The third is devoted to the lives and labors of the evangelical ministers who during the same period had the care of souls. In the fourth the author relates the institution and progress of the university at Cambridge (Massachusetts). In the fifth he describes the principles and the discipline of the Church of New England. The sixth is taken up in retracing certain facts which, in the opinion of Mather, prove the merciful interposition of Providence in behalf of the inhabitants of New England. Lastly, in the seventh, the author gives an account of the heresies and the troubles to which the Church of New England was exposed. Cotton Mather was an evangelical minister, who was born at Boston and passed his life there. His narratives are distinguished by the same ardor and religious zeal which led to the foundation of the colonies of New England. Traces of bad taste often occur in his manner of writing; but he interests because he is full of enthusiasm. He is often intolerant, still oftener credulous, but he never betrays an intention to deceive.
Sometimes there are even brilliant passages, and even true and profound reflections, such as these: “Before the arrival of the Puritans,” he says (Vol. I, chap. iv, p. 61 ), “there were more than a few attempts of the English, to people and improve the parts of New-England, which were to the northward of New-Plymouth; hut the designs of those attempts being aimed no higher than the advancement of some worldly interests, a constant series of disasters has confounded them, until there was a plantation erected upon the nobler designs of christianity [sic]; and that plantation, though it has had more adversaries than perhaps any one upon earth; yet, having obtained help from God, it continues to this day.” .
Mather sometimes softens the severity of his story with touches of warmth and tenderness: after talking of an English woman who, with her husband, was brought to America by religious zeal and shortly after died from the fatigue and suffering of exile, he adds: “As to her virtuous spouse, Isaac Johnson, he tried to live without her, and being unable to, he died” ( Vol. I, p. 71 ) [sic] . Mather’s book admirably portrays the times and country he wishes to describe. Desiring to show us what motives led the Puritans to seek a refuge beyond the seas, he says:
“Briefly, the God of Heaven served as it were, a summons upon the spirits of his people in the English nation; stirring up the spirits of thousands which never saw the faces of each other, with a most unanimous inclination to leave all the pleasant accommodations of their native country, and go over a terrible ocean, into a more terrible desart, for the pure enjoyment of all his ordinances. It is now reasonable that before we pass any further, the reasons of this undertaking should be more exactly made known unto posterity, especially unto the posterity of those that were the undertakers, lest they come at length to forget and neglect the true interest of New-England. Wherefore I shall now transcribe some of them from a manuscript, wherein they were then tendred unto consideration. “‘First, It will be a service unto the Church of great consequence, to carry the Gospel into those parts of the world, and raise a bulwark against the kingdom of antichrist, which the Jesuites labour to rear up in all parts of the world. “‘Secondly, All other Churches of Europe have been brought under desolations; and it may be feared that the like judgments are coming upon us; and who knows but God hath provided this place to be a refuge for many, whom he means to save out of the General Destruction. “‘Thirdly, The land grows weary of her inhabitants, insomuch that man, which is the most precious of all creatures, is here more vile and base than the earth he treads upon: children, neighbours and friends, especially the poor, are counted the greatest burdens, which if things were right would be the chiefest earthly blessings. “‘Fourthly, We are grown to that intemperance in all excess of riot, as no mean estate almost will suffice a man to keep sail with his equals, and he that fails in it, must live in scorn and contempt: hence it comes to pass, that all arts and trades are carried in that . deceitful manner, and unrighteous course, as it is almost impossible for a good upright man to maintain his constant charge, and live comfortably in them. “‘Fifthly, The schools of learning and religion are so corrupted, as (besides the unsupportable charge of education) most children, even the best, wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, are per- verted, corrupted, and utterly overthrown, by the multitude of evil examples and licentious behaviours in these seminaries. “‘Sixthly, The whole earth is the Lord’s garden, and he hath given it to the sons of Adam, to be tilled and improved by them: why then should we stand starving here for places of habitation, and in the mean time suffer whole countries, as profitable for the use of man, to lye waste without any improvement? “‘Seventhly, What can be a better or nobler work, and more worthy of a christian, than to erect and support a reformed particular Church in its infancy, and unite our forces with such a company of faithful people, as by a timely assistance may grow stronger and prosper; but for want of it, may be put to great hazards, if not be wholly ruined. “‘Eighthly, If any such as are known to be godly, and live in wealth and prosperity here, shall forsake all this to join with this reformed church, and with it run the hazard of an hard and mean condition, it will be an example of great use, both for the removing of scandal, and to give more life unto the faith of God’s people in their prayers for the plantation, and also to encourage others to join the more willingly in it.'”
Later, in stating the principles of the Church of New England with respect to morals, Mather inveighs with violence against the custom of drinking healths at table, which he denounces as a pagan and abominable practice. He proscribes with the same rigor all ornaments for the hair used by the female sex, as well as their custom of having the arms and neck uncovered. In another part of his work he relates several instances of witchcraft which had alarmed New England. It is plain that the visible action of the Devil in the affairs of this world appeared to him an incontestable and evident fact.
At many points this book reveals the spirit of civil liberty and political independence that characterized the author’s contemporaries. Their principles in matters of government are in evidence throughout. Thus, for example, we find that in the year 1630 [sic], . ten years after the settlement of Plymouth, the inhabitants of Massachusetts contributed 400 pounds sterling toward the establishment of the university at Cambridge.
In passing from the general documents relative to the history of New England to those which describe the several states comprised within its limits, I ought first to mention The History of the Colony of Massachusetts, by Thomas Hutchinson, Lieutenant-Governor of the Massachusetts Province, 2 vols., 8vo. There is a copy of this work at the BibliothŠque royale, a second edition printed at London in 1765. The history by Hutchinson, which I have several times quoted in the chapter to which this note relates, commences in the year 1628 and ends in 1750. Throughout the work there is a striking air of truth and the greatest simplicity of style; it is full of minute details. The best history to consult concerning Connecticut is that of Benjamin Trumbull, entitled A Complete History of Connecticut, Civil and Ecclesiastical, 16301764, 2 vols., 8vo, printed in 1818, at New Haven. I do not believe that Trumbull’s work is in the BibliothŠque royale. This history contains a clear and calm account of all the events which happened in Connecticut during the period given in the title. The author drew from the best sources, and his narrative bears the stamp of truth. His remarks on the early days of Connecticut are extremely interesting. See, especially, in his work, “The Constitution of 1639,” Vol. I, chap. vi, p. 100, and also “The Penal Laws of Connecticut,” Vol. I, chap. vii, p. 125.
The History of New Hampshire, by Jeremy Belknap, is a work held in merited esteem. It was printed at Boston in 1792, in 2 vols., 8vo. The third chapter of the first volume is particularly worthy of attention for the valuable details it affords on the political and religious principles of the Puritans, on the causes of their emigration, and on their laws. Here we may find a curious quota- tion from a sermon delivered in 1663: “New England must always remember that she was founded with a religious and not a commercial aim. Her visage shows that purity in doctrine and discipline is her vocation. Let tradesmen and all those who are engaged in heaping penny upon penny remember that religion and not profit was the aim in founding these colonies. If there is anyone among us who, in his valuation of the world and of religion, regards the former as thirteen and the latter as only twelve, he is not inspired by the feelings of a true son of New England.” The . reader of Belknap will find in his work more general ideas and more strength of thought than are to be met with in other American historians even to the present day. I do not know whether this book is in the BibliothŠque royale.
Among the central states which deserve our attention for their early origin, New York and Pennsylvania are the foremost. The best history we have of the former is entitled: A History of New York, by William Smith, printed at London in 1757. There is a French translation, also printed at London, in 1767, one vol., duodecimo. Smith gives us important details of the wars between the French and English in America. His is the best account of the famous confederation of the Iroquois.
With respect to Pennsylvania, I cannot do better than point out the work of Proud, entitled the History of Pennsylvania, from the original Institution and Settlement of that Province, under the first Proprietor and Governor, William Penn, in 1681, till after the Year 1742, by Robert Proud, 2 vols., 8 vo, printed at Philadelphia in 1797. This work is deserving of the especial attention of the reader; it contains a mass of curious documents concerning Penn, the doctrine of the Quakers, and the character, manners, and customs of the first inhabitants of Pennsylvania. As far as I know, there is no copy at the BibliothŠque.
I need not add that among the most important documents relating to this state are the works of Penn himself and those of Franklin. These works are familiar to a great many readers. I consulted most of the works just cited during my stay in America. Some were made available to me by the BibliothŠque royale, and others were lent me by M. Warden, author of an excellent book on America, former Consul General of the United States at Paris. I cannot close this note without expressing my gratitude to M. Warden.
The original copyright for Alexis de Tocqueville’s, “Democracy In America,” Translated by Henry Reeve, 1899, is held in the Public Domain because its copyright has expired. Formatting of this digital copy of Democracy In America Copyright © 2011 Steve Farrell and The Moral Liberal. Non-commercial, educational use of individual chapters is encouraged with a live link back to the original copy at The Moral Liberal and a courtesy note to the editors. |
For generations, the energy industry has been solving highly complex technological and logistical problems, enabling development, growth and prosperity across the world.
But even by this dynamic industry’s standards, the first half of the 21st century is proving to be a testing time. Energy use continues to soar while the challenges of climate change, air quality, energy security and affordability make capacity expansion more challenging than ever.
Meeting the many competing demands will take new thinking – and perhaps an unprecedented level of collaboration. Chowa (pronounced cho-wah), a traditional Japanese approach to collaborative problem-solving, could be the answer.
A question of reality
Global demand for energy is expected to expand by 0.7% each year through to the middle of the century.
There are many factors that will determine how we will power the world, but, fundamentally, we can all agree that the energy mix of the future must be reliable, affordable, efficient and clean.
Mitigating climate change is a key consideration, but so is overcoming intermittency of renewable energy and navigating the socio-economic realities of the world we live in. While renewables comprise an ever-increasing share of our power generating capacity as we work towards a cleaner and more environmentally friendly future energy mix, by 2050, globally, 74% of our primary energy demand is expected to still be met by coal, oil and gas.
Thanks to a collaborative approach among companies, governments, and communities, technology is not only making power generation overall more efficient – it is reducing the environmental impact of the entire power generation industry.
For example, natural gas-fired power generation offers reliable, cleaner energy with turbines, such as the Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems 501JAC, delivering ever-greater efficiency – now at more than 64% and continually rising. New compressor technology will make liquefied natural gas (LNG) production more efficient, further increasing accessibility and affordability. In fact, much of Asia’s use of LNG - excluding Japan, South Korea and Taiwan - is expected to grow by 42% by 2020, offering the hope that cleaner energy can be produced for all.
Meanwhile, for countries still relying on coal power, technological advancements commercialized in the last 10-15 years have helped to prevent harmful emissions – not only CO2, but also mercury, NOx, SOx, and particulate matter.
Furthermore, the International Energy Agency says carbon capture and storage could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 19%. In December 2016, Petra Nova, the world's largest carbon capture, utilization and storage facility in the power sector, became fully operational.
A joint venture between JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration and NRG Energy, the plant strips CO2 from a slipstream of flue gas from one of NRG’s W.A. Parish coal-fired generating units near Houston, Texas. The CO2 is then pumped to a depleted oilfield more than 80 miles away and piped underground to force out hard-to-reach oil deposits. It remains in the ground afterwards.
In an example of collaboration along the entire energy value chain, the power plant and oilfield operators removed more than one million tons of CO2 in the first ten months of the plant’s commercial operation. This is equivalent to powering more than 100,000 homes emissions-free for a year. Ultimately, they are expecting to capture upwards of 1.6 million tons of CO2 from flue gas every year, and boost oilfield production significantly, already increasing production from 300 barrels per day to more than 5,000 per day.
Research and innovation continues to drive the extraordinary growth of renewables too. Wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy are transforming the makeup of the sector in many countries. Only recently MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and Clemson University in South Carolina announced that all testing and verification of the gearbox and main bearings for the world’s most powerful wind turbine (the V164-9.5 MW) will be carried out at the University’s state-of-the-art 15 MW test bench.
But one thing is clear – the foreseeable future is not a question of renewables or thermal power, it is renewables and thermal power. And collaboration between the two is essential.
Which brings us back to chowa, a philosophy at the core of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group. As MHI Chairman Hideaki Omiya said, “close relationships and cooperation with our employees, customers, partners, suppliers and government will be fundamental to the future of our business.”
Collaboration may come in various forms, including sharing technological expertise, implementing best practices, and developing new technologies. A constant quest for improvement, pragmatism and partnership are at the heart of chowa and as a Strategic Partner at CERA Week, MHI Group will be bringing both to the many conversations that will take place at this year’s event.
As delegates gather to debate the future of energy and work to deliver on the promise of clean, reliable, efficient, and affordable energy for all, it is clear that working together has never been more important.
Pictured: Grand River Dam Authority, Grand River Energy Center Unitv 3, 500MW Combined Cycle Power Plant, Chouteau, Oklahoma. First M501J gas turbine to be installed in the Americas, first 60Hz power plant to reach 62% efficiency in the world. Image courtesy of the Grand River Dam Authority. |
The galaxy Arp 220 is actually two galaxies that have been caught in the act of merging. Astronomers think that many galaxies, including our own Milky Way, have undergone similar collisions during their histories. Although the process of galaxy collision is important and common, what happens during these encounters is not very well understood. For example, it seems likely that massive black holes (or perhaps binary black hole pairs) will form during the interactions, as the two galaxies' nuclei approach each other. Watching the process unfold helps scientists understand the evolution of the Milky Way, and, for that matter, the morphologies and distributions of galaxies throughout the universe. Arp 220, at a distance from earth of only about 250 million light years, and with a luminosity equal to that of about a trillion suns, has become the prototype for studying the merger process.
A team of seven SAO astronomers, Kazushi Sakmoto, Junzhi Wang, Martina Wiedner, Zhong Wang, Alison Peck, Qizhou Zhang, Paul Ho, and David Wilner, and a colleague, used the Submillimeter Array (SMA) to probe the two nuclei in Arp 220. The unequaled spatial resolution of the SMA at submillimeter wavelengths allowed the team to study the gas and dust in regions small enough to discover embedded structures. Indeed, they report that the dual nuclei are surrounded by a disk of gas a few thousand light-years in size, and that one of these nuclei contains warm dust apparently heated by nearby supernovae, consistent with there being active star formation present. The other nucleus, however, is different -- it is more compact, luminous, and its black hole seems to be actively accreting material (although an unusual kind of massive starburst might also explain the observations). The new results are a dramatic demonstration of the power of high spatial resolution studies at submillimeter wavelengths, and reveal the complex interactions, star forming activity, and black hole processes that can occur when galaxies collide. |
There’s talk of robots and AIs taking on jobs in many different industries. Depending on how much stock you place in that, it might still be fair to say the more creative fields will remain firmly in the hands of humans, right?
Well, we may have some bad news for you. Robots are now painting our murals.
Estonian inventor [Mihkel Joala] — also working at SprayPainter — successfully tested his prototype by painting a 30m tall mural on a smokestack in Tartu, Estonia. The creative procedure for this mural is a little odd if you are used to the ordinary painting process: [Joala] first takes an image from his computer, and converts it into a coordinate grid — in this case, about 1.5 million ‘pixels’. These pixels are painted on by a little cart loaded with five colours of spray paint that are able to portray the mural’s full palette once combined and viewed at a distance. Positioning is handled by a motor at the base of the mural controlling the vertical motion in conjunction with tracks at the top and bottom which handle the horizontal motion.
For this mural, the robot spent the fourteen hours trundling up and down a set of cables, dutifully spraying the appropriate colour at such-and-such a point resulting in the image of a maiden cradling a tree and using thirty cans of spray paint in the process.
Continue reading “Robot Graffiti”
This is a solution to global warming. This solution will also produce electricity, produce rain in desertified areas, and transform the Sahara into arable land capable of capturing CO2. How is this possible? It’s simple: all we need to do is build a five-kilometer tall, twenty-meter wide chimney. Hot air, warmed by the Earth’s surface, will enter the base of the chimney and flow through turbines, generating electricity. From there, air will rise through the chimney, gradually cooling and transferring energy from the atmosphere at Earth’s surface to five kilometers altitude. This is the idea behind the Super Chimney, It’s an engineering concept comparable to building a dam across the Strait of Gibraltar, a system of gigantic mirrors in Earth’s orbit, or anything built under an Atoms for Peace project. In short, this is fringe engineering.
This is also, ‘saving the world with wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men.’
The idea of building tens of thousands of fabric chimneys, placing them all around the globe, and cooling the Earth while sequestering carbon dioxide is fantastic. Ideas are simple, implementation is something else entirely. There are also obvious problems with the physics presented in the Super Chimney presentation, but these problems don’t actually make a Super Chimney impossible. We need more eyes on this, so we’re opening this one up as an Ask Hackaday. What do you think of this audacious scheme, and is it even possible?
Continue reading “Ask Hackaday: Saving The World With Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men” |
Team Number: 087
School Name: Shiprock High School
Area of Science: Medicine and Health
Project Title: Allergies
Our (Sharon Tsosie & Shawna Nez) project is about allergies. We are going to be learning about how allergies are caused and how they affect people. Allergies mean a collection of symptoms caused by an immune system to substances that do not trigger an immune response in most people. An allergy is caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system leading to a misdirected immune response. There is no way to prevent allergies, but avoiding known triggers may prevent symptoms.
The results we hope to get out of our project is to learn the different types of allergies that affect humans and animals. There are so many allergies throughout the world. Some may not even be prevented by medication or shots.
What we learn now is that children have asthma when they are born. The youngest a child ever got asthma is two years old. Asthma depends upon how many agents activate a person's symptoms and how sensitive the lungs are to asthma. |
Motivation seems like a very tricky thing for many people, parents included. Motivational speakers make a great living out of presenting it as a mysterious art, mastered by the few, that will bring you endless prosperity if you “get it”.
One main challenge with motivation is that it is mostly subconscious. We find ourselves wanting to do or to achieve something, but when the time comes to actual do it or take steps towards achieving it, we snooze. This is frustrating and reinforces a negative identity of being incapable, undisciplined losers. We punish ourselves, blame our parents or circumstances, and try the next thing, but…
Motivating other people is further complicated by the involvement of more than one subconscious mind. We want someone else to do or to achieve something, so we try to communicate that to them. What happens all too often is that our message gets distorted – lost in translation – and they end up doing or achieving something else. This, in turn, creates frustration and bad vibes on both sides.
Many hierarchies rely on a “chain of command”. This includes schools, government departments, armies, religious organizations and corporations. Each person in the organization has an official title, an official job description and a set of official authorities, which they use as the main method of motivating other people. If you have ever worked in a hierarchical system, you know this does not always produce the desired outcome and that very often, what happens in the organization is very different from the organization’s stated vision and mission.
Regrettably, many families also function in a top-down manner, sort of like an army unit. One parent is the General or Admiral, the other is the Second-in-Command (the ranks may change for different circumstances) and they children rank anywhere from Foot Soldier to Sergeant, depending on their position in the family and their level of responsibility.
The command-and-control style in families often produces results that are vastly different from those intended by the “commanding officers”. Children are not very good at obeying orders and those who are often carry them out without enthusiasm and with no creativity, which just produces a different kind of undesirable outcomes.
And that is because of the way motivation works. On the surface, government agencies, armies, schools, companies and families operate by rules, procedures and ranks, but in reality, they are operated by human beings who follow the “chain of incentives” instead. Each person in the system has a personal agenda, a personal set of values and those strange, uncontrollable thoughts called “feelings”.
In his wonderful book The Goal, Eliyahu Goldratt writes that company employees live by the rule “Tell me how you will measure me and I will tell you how I will behave”. At their personal level, all that matters are the incentives that apply directly to them, whether their “commanding officer” or the organization benefit or not. Organizations that can translate their global objectives into “a language of personal incentives” each human being understands will succeed. Those that try to force their staff members to comply will do badly and eventually disappear.
Of course, families are no different.
In another wonderful book, The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry tells the story of a planet on which a king and a mouse live. The king tells the little prince that he sees himself ruler of the universe, including all the stars. He says the stars obey his every command immediately, as do all of his other subjects. He can even make the sun set. But when the little prince wonders about this awesome power the king has to rule over everything, this is what the king says:
“If I ordered a general to fly from one flower to another like a butterfly, or to write a tragic drama, or to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not carry out the order that he had received, which one of us would be in the wrong?” the king demanded, “The general, or myself?”
“You”, said the little prince firmly.
“Exactly. One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform”, the king went on, “Accepted authority rests first of all on reason. If you ordered your people to go and throw themselves into the sea, they would rise up in revolution. I have the right to require obedience because my orders are reasonable.”
Many parents, often supported by school counselors and other advisors, choose to use Behavior Management or Behavior Modification techniques. Basically, this means that they tell their children about the potential consequences of their actions, as in, “Little Johnny, if you pee on the carpet again, you will be sent to your room”.
But who cares about the carpet?
Who will be sending little Johnny to his room for what will seem to the poor fellow like hours and hours, because kids have no notion of time?
Cue Michael Jackson – Who’s bad?
You got it. Mommy. She is horrible. She is mean. Mean Mommy.
So little Johnny will find some other sneaky outlet for his need for attention, which was the point to begin with. He will tear the leaves off the pot plants, pinch the dog and spill his milk at the table. Because little Johnny wants attention and that is not something he can get when he is by himself … in his room … alone.
You see, motivation always has a source and that source can be us or someone else. When the source is us (internal motivation), we do stuff and we are happy about it. When the source is someone else (external motivation), we may or may not do what the source wants and we may or may not like it. It depends if it is also something we want to do.
Kids are no different, so we need to understand what “makes them tick”. Luckily, that is generally quite easy, even though they have a very low ability to describe it themselves.
Here is a better way to handle the situation above.
Mommy says to herself, “My poor baby. What have I done to make him do this?” Then, she remembers she has been promising little Johnny for a few hours now to come and play on the carpet. She realizes that peeing on the carpet was his way of (excuse the pun) relieving himself from the feeling of utter helplessness and loneliness he was feeling as a result. After all, Mommy forbids him to climb the living room furniture to reach his toys, which she put up there when he “misbehaved” last time while playing with them.
So Mommy says to little Johnny, “Oh, my goodness, you’re all wet. Let’s get you cleaned up and dry again. Then, we’ll just put a towel over the carpet and play together.”
When Johnny is in dry clothes again, Mommy looks around, notices the toys on the living room cabinet and takes them down, saying, “Did you want your toys, Johnny? I’m sorry, but I forgot to bring them back down for you. What do you want us to do together?”
Young people are not very verbal, so their incentives can be a lot more intuitive, even physical. A good example could be that you come in from a day’s work exhausted and all you want is a glass of water. You plonk yourself in a chair and cannot bring yourself to get up again. You call your nearest child to get you a glass of water, but that is what YOU want.
So you hug her warmly and say, “Hi Madeline, I’ve missed you. Would you like to pour me a glass of water and tell me about your day?”
The hug and the promise of attention happen before you get what you want and provide your child with plenty of incentive. Madeline gets them for being your daughter, so the glass of water is almost her idea and make her feel it is the least she could do for all the good stuff she is getting.
So you see, motivation is not very mysterious, even if it is an art. It involves focusing on the other person, respecting their positing in life, their relationship to you, their abilities and their experience and giving them a good personal reason (or more) to do what you ask. |
Learn to Play Harmonium (DVD)
A Harmonium is a free-standing musical keyboard instrument similar to a Read Organ or Pipe Organ. It consists of free reeds and sound is produced by air being blown through reeds resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion. The air is supplied by hand-operated bellows alternately depressed by the player. The Harmonium represents a harmonious blend of the Western and Indian music.
This DVD Learn to Play the Harmonium comprises of basic lessons tailored in a way that you can learn and practice playing the harmonium within the comfort of your home.
Length: 68 Mins
Regions: NTSC All Regions |
is an organ transplant But there are far more patients on waitlists for a transplant than there are donated hearts Even if a patient receives a new heart complications can arise The ideal solution would ... - Read More
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The term a brighter future might be a cliché but in the case of ultra small probes for lighting up individual proteins it is now most appropriate Researchers at the U S Department of Energy ... - Read More
The first room temperature light detector that can sense the full infrared spectrum has the potential to put heat vision technology into a contact lens Unlike comparable mid and far infrared detectors currently on the ... - Read More
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Virginia Tech faculty engineers and students are unravelling fundamental chemical and health properties of the chemical that contaminated the drinking water for the residents of West Virginia Fueled by a $50 000 National Science Foundation ... - Read More
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In a significant advance for the growing field of synthetic biology Rice University bioengineers have created a toolkit of genes and hardware that uses colored lights and engineered bacteria to bring both mathematical predictability and ... - Read More
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Chemistry2011 is an informational resource for students, educators and the self-taught in the field of chemistry. We offer resources such as course materials, chemistry department listings, activities, events, projects and more along with current news releases.
The history of the domain extends back to 2008 when it was selected to be used as the host domain for the International Year of Chemistry 2011 as designated by UNESCO and as an initiative of IUPAC that celebrated the achievements of chemistry. You can learn more about IYC2011 by clicking here. With IYC 2011 now over, the domain is currently under redevelopment by The Equipment Leasing Company Ltd.
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Card index of a hereditary file with the city of Frankfurt, 1934/35
Since 1933, the authorities introduced a systematic registration of the population under genetic aspects in order to implement Nazi racial policy. Welfare authorities of any kind provided personal data concerning their foster. children and clients to both the municipal and state authorities. The data that was filed could be used freely against those concerned for purposes of sterilization, marriage licenses, adoption, public service careers or nationalization.
In 1935/36 the Frankfurt genetic register contained 100,000 entries and approximately 170,000 files for a population of 555-857 inhabitants. In 1937/38 the genetic register contained 230.000 entries, the hereditary archives consisted of 250.000 files. Thus, half of the population of Frankfurt was already registered.
Request of the Lauterbach district office, department for hereditary health and racial hygiene, to also indicate the addresses of mentally sick etc., 19th October 1934
The groups of the population designed to become the first victims of the Nazi racial
policy underwent systematic registration: mentally sick, mentally deficient, deaf and
dumb, blind, children brought up under the social welfare stem and ,,alcoholics".
The head of Giessen department for hereditary health and racial hygiene of the
Hessian Chamber of Physicians, Dr. med, Heinrich Wilhelm Kranz, who later became
a lecturer with the universities of Giessen and Frankfurt a.M., was one of the leading
representatives of racial hygiene during the 'Third Reich".
The new institute for Hereditary and Racial Research in Giessen, 1937
In 1938, the institute under the head of Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Kranz, inaugurated in January 1936, was formally affiliated to the university of Giessen. The tasks of the institute holding three medical assistants and at least three further medical and nine non-medical posts, was not confined to research and science. The "Landesstelle für die erbbiologische Bestandsaufnahme" (regional authority for the genetic registration) and the "Eheberatungsstelle des staatlichen Gesundheitsamtes" (marital counselling bureau of the stateoperated sanitary board), responsible for the district of Upper-Hesse, were also part of the institute. In 1939, the archives included data from more than 450.000 individuals. In the marital counseling bureau, approximately 1,800 persons were registered per year.
The registration of hereditarily diseased clans by the mental hospitals, by Dr. Wilhelm Stemmler, 1936
Dr.Wilhelm Stemmler was head of the newly established Wiesbaden based "department for hereditary and racial hygiene" of the province of Hesse-Nassau. In his function and with the support of local commissioners, he organized the genetic registration in all institutions of the province. Emphasizing the importance of his duty he explained: "It someone says that funds should be used for equally necessary tasks like e.g. the support of the youth hostels and similar projects, we may also ask what youth hostels are good for if nobody doesn't take immediate measures within the scope of hereditary and racial hygiene, in older to ensure that only hereditarily healthy individuals come into such youth hostels and not those young people that are mentally or physically crippled." (Speech 1936) |
An interesting lecture is coming up at the Hatfield Marine Science Center on the latest methods of allowing non-target fish to escape shrimp nets.
From what we gather, the idea of using artificial light to allow non-target fish to “see their way out,” thereby escaping shrimp nets, was an idea that was born during a moment of common sense clarity among fishermen shooting the breeze on deck far out at sea.
Capitalizing on early experiments running LED’s mounted on shrimp nets, Bob Hannah, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Resources Program
Development, has picked up the ball and is running with artificial light as a bycatch reduction technology, along with possible refinements for the ocean shrimp (Pandalus jordani) trawl fishery.
Hannah’s lecture is set for Thursday, December 11th, 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM in the Guin Library at HMSC. |
Abies × vasconcellosiana, also known as Portuguese hybrid fir is a natural hybrid of west Himalayan fir (A. pindrow) and Spanish fir (A. pinsapo). J. do Amaral Franco found it in 1945 in Pena Park, Sintra, Portugal.
Description. Portuguese hybrid fir is a large tree which will grow to mature heights of 60 feet (18 m) or more. Its needles resemble those of A. pindrow, but are shorter and blunt, 0.8 to 1.2 inches (20 – 30 mm) long and 0.08 to 0.1 inch (2 – 2.5 mm) wide with a few stomatal bands beneath. The seed cones are cylindrical in shape, 4.7 to 6 inches (12 – 15 cm) long and 1.6 to 2 inches (4 – 5 cm) broad, dark purple in color when young, maturing brown.Attributed from: Aris Auders and Derek Spicer, RHS Encyclopedia of Conifers; ©2012 Kingsblue Press |
Cats-healers – the treatment of cats, what cats treat how cats treat people – All about cats and cats
Cats-healers: buy the beast and be healthy!
Scientists say that people who have home lives a cat, turn to doctors for help five times less likely than those who have a furry pet in the house no. This is not surprising: since ancient times, the healing abilities of cats were known in many countries, and later the doctors even invented the feline – treatment for many ailments it is with cats and without drugs and other methods of medical intervention. Some scientists argue that cats treat us due to their unique psychic abilities, some are celebrating a special healing aura of these animals, however the mechanism of this treatment and not important, because one conclusion: after the cat will lie down next to your sore spot, the pain significantly subsides, and you are on the mend. And if in doubt, treat a cat with any illness, try to check.
How cats treat people?
It is believed that cats possess many medicinal methods that can apply, being close to the owner. This “massage” legs and “warming up” when the cat lays down on a sore spot, and “exposure” healing waves. It is assumed that biological effects on females much more than males, and that cats treat stress, diseases of the nervous system and diseases of the internal organs. Also cats can sleeptalkers, osteoarthritis, sciatica and other orthopedic diseases.
However, the treatment of cats depends on what kind of breed is your pet. Different animals can have different impacts on our body, and if you want to know what kind of cat treat your illness, here is a rough list:
long-haired cats (Angora. Persian. Siberian. Burmese, etc.) – excellent “neurologists” who are coping with irritability, depression and insomnia host,
separately, Persian cats can effectively treat osteoarthritis and joint pain
short-haired and hairless cats are specialized in diseases of the kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal tract,
Siamese cats manage to kill all pathogenic germs in the house, so their owners never get sick with flus and colds.
In any case, the treatment of cats begins with the fact that you have to take the pet into my arms and pet her through your fingers and the palm of the cat will bring you the healing effect. In severe cases cats come and lie on your sore spot independently.
How cats treat people themselves?
If a cat feels that you need her help, she will be able to accurately determine your sore spot and lie down on it, or at least for him to cuddle. In this case the animal cannot be considered to be Intrusive and to banish it, but the cat will not mind: if she believes that she needs to treat you, she will do it persistently, so simply will not leave.
Another important method of treatment is rumbling. Thus cats treat stress, and simultaneously improve the condition of the bone tissue and promote rapid cell regeneration. This, incidentally, proved by scientists, who determined the frequency of vibration of the rumbling cats – between 22 and 44 Hz there are the healing wave!
And, of course, treatment of cats is largely based on the energy exchange between the animal and its owner. If you have fallen on the cat’s soul, not only give you the energy, but also specifically to increase their ability to bio-energy to heal you from any illness.
Well, if you don’t know whether the cat treat your illness, remember that these animals literally “prescribed” for those who suffer:
heart disease (myocardial infarction),
stomach ulcer or gastritis
bronchitis, pneumonia, flu,
neuroses and nervous disorders: if a cat feels that you are angry or upset, it will be even obsessive, to relieve your stress and prevent a disaster to your health!
In addition, cats can reduce high blood pressure, relieve headaches and even contribute to… rapid healing of wounds and injuries. And even if not known for certain how cats treat people, this is not important, the process of “therapy” will always be very pleasant for you, because you will be able to spend a few quiet minutes, stroking my pet and feeling her love for you. And even if after this treatment you have to go to the doctor, no doubt about it: the usual doctor finds your condition is a significant improvement! |
Aaron Burr led a highly controversial political career that culminated in one term as the third vice president of the United States. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Burr fought in the Revolutionary War and practiced law before turning to politics. He served as a U.S. senator from New York from 1791 to 1797, and received the vice presidential nomination from the Republican Party in 1800. Burr tied with Thomas Jefferson, and the election was thrown to the U.S. House of Representatives for a decision. After holding 36 votes, the House finally chose Jefferson as president and Burr vice president by a one-vote margin. This resulted in the passage of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which requires the electoral college to use separate ballots for president and vice president.
In July 1804 Burr mortally wounded his political opponent, New Yorker Alexander Hamilton, in a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. Indicted in New York and New Jersey, Burr fled to the South. When Congress reconvened in November of that year, Burr returned to Washington, D.C., to complete his duties as president of the Senate. He was never tried for Hamilton's death.
Increasingly isolated from his party, Burr failed to be renominated as vice president and also lost a bid for governor of New York State. With his political career in decline–-and heavily in debt–-Burr promoted a scheme to form a republic in the Southwest. For this conspiracy, Burr was arrested in 1807 and tried for treason; however, he was acquitted of the charges. He left the United States and spent the next four years in Europe, avoiding creditors and promoting various personal projects. Burr returned home in 1812 and resumed his New York law practice. Although he avoided the political arena, he maintained an interest in the western and southern territories and in the future of Mexico. The former vice president died in 1836 at Port Richmond, Staten Island. |
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 30.3 million people have diabetes, or some 9.4% of the US population. Type 1 diabetes sufferers’ pancreases make very little insulin or none at all. Without insulin—the hormone that enables blood sugar to enter the cells in your body where it can be used for energy—blood sugar can’t get into cells and dangerously builds up in the bloodstream.
Known for its immune-boosting and disease-fighting benefits, this Chinese herb has several positive diabetes studies behind it. Researchers have found that ginseng slows carbohydrate absorption; increases cells’ ability to use glucose; and increases insulin secretion from the pancreas. A team from the University of Toronto has repeatedly demonstrated that ginseng capsules lower blood glucose 15 to 20 percent compared to placebo pills. These are the best superfoods for people with diabetes.
Yin and Yang are complementary opposites used to describe how things function in relation to each other and to the universe. They are interdependent—one cannot exist without the other, and they have the ability to transform into each other.3 The traditional Yin-Yang symbol (Figure 1) depicts the Yin (the dark side) flowing into the Yang (the light side) and vice versa. The dots within each side symbolize that there is always a bit of Yin within Yang and a bit of Yang within Yin; there are no absolutes. All physiological functions of the body, as well as the signs and symptoms of disease, can be differentiated on the basis of Yin and Yang characteristics.
Conventional cow’s milk: Conventional cow’s milk and dairy products should be eliminated, especially for people with type 1 diabetes. Dairy can be a fantastic food for balancing blood sugar if it comes from goat’s, sheep or A2 cows. But stay away from all other forms of dairy because the A1 casein produced by conventional cows will harm the body and trigger an immune response similar to gluten. When buying dairy, only purchase raw and organic products from pasture-raised animals.
Depending on the severity of diabetes, an individual can keep control on his/her disease using diet alone, diet & oral hypoglycemic drugs, and diet & insulin. While a mild diabetic can practice disease control with diet alone, a severe diabetic might need to practice diet control along with insulin administration. Whatever the method of controlling diabetes, routine and reliability should be strictly pursued. A person suffering from diabetes should have limited amount of carbohydrates and fats along with moderate amount of protein in the diet. High-fiber diet like vegetables, whole wheat products, oats, whole legumes prove to be more beneficial. Let us have a look at what all should be had and what all should be avoided.
The NIDDK has played an important role in developing “artificial pancreas” technology. An artificial pancreas replaces manual blood glucose testing and the use of insulin shots or a pump. A single system monitors blood glucose levels around the clock and provides insulin or a combination of insulin and a second hormone, glucagon, automatically. The system can also be monitored remotely, for example by parents or medical staff.
Alternative: “The reason I use food-based supplements is because they most closely help correct what I see as the problem: The food we’re eating is lacking in nutrients,” DeLaney says. “If their vitamin D is low, it tells me all their fat-soluble vitamins are low.” She uses cod liver oil along with high-vitamin butter oil to restore these deficiencies.
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Also called weight-loss surgery or metabolic surgery, bariatric surgery may help some people with obesity and type 2 diabetes lose a large amount of weight and regain normal blood glucose levels. Some people with diabetes may no longer need their diabetes medicine after bariatric surgery. Whether and for how long blood glucose levels improve seems to vary by the patient, type of weight-loss surgery, and amount of weight the person loses. Other factors include how long someone has had diabetes and whether or not the person uses insulin.1
Type 1 diabetes is a particularly unpleasant condition. It occurs when the pancreas ceases to produce the insulin needed by the body to metabolize sugar and, until the invention of artificial insulin injections, it was as deadly as cancer. Type 2 is the less severe form of the disease, where the body produces insufficient insulin; it can often be managed through diet alone.
Another factor to consider when determining when to take your diabetes medicines is how well you can follow the regimen your doctor recommends. For any drugs to be effective, you have to take them. Ideally, your medication schedule should be incorporated into your daily routine; only having to remember to take your diabetes pills once a day may make things easier for you. Not much evidence is available that taking saxagliptin and glipizide at different times will provide a better blood-glucose-lowering effect. The most important thing is to take them regularly and without missing any doses. In addition to taking the diabetes medicines you’ve been prescribed, other ways to help improve your blood glucose levels are to engage in healthy lifestyle habits, such as regular physical activity and a healthy diet.
Dr. Steven Lin is a dentist who focusses on the mouth-body connection. Through ancestral nutrition, the oral and gut microbiome, and epigenetics, his programs aim to prevent chronic dental and systemic disease. His book 'The Dental Diet', will be released on January 18'. To receive free updates on functional oral health from Dr. Lin, subscribe to his newsletter below. |
- 1 What kind of graph should I use for my science project?
- 2 What are the 3 types of graphs in science?
- 3 How do you make a science exhibition chart?
- 4 What is data chart for science project?
- 5 Why is a graph better than a table?
- 6 How do you graph biology?
- 7 Whats is a graph?
- 8 What is a conclusion in science?
- 9 What is a graph in science?
- 10 Why do we graph in science?
- 11 What are the types of graph?
- 12 How can I make my chart attractive?
What kind of graph should I use for my science project?
Your basic choices are bar graph, line graph, pie chart, or scatter plot. BAR GRAPH – This is the most common type for science fair projects. PIE CHART – Pie charts are good for projects that have qualitative independent variables and have generated data that can be expressed as percentages of the total.
What are the 3 types of graphs in science?
Using Graphs in Science Three commonly used types of graphs are bar graphs, circle graphs, and line graphs. Each type of graph is suitable for showing a different type of data.
How do you make a science exhibition chart?
How to Make a Chart for a Science Fair Project
- Collecting Data. The first step when making a chart for your science fair project is to collect and organize data.
- Choosing a Chart. You must select a type of chart based on the type of information you wish to present.
- Creating a Chart. When you make your chart, you must consider the variables.
- Highlighting Components.
What is data chart for science project?
In science, charts normally show lists of numbers or other information that can be compared. They are a great tool for keeping track of information while you are working on your project. Just fill it in as you get your data for the project.
Why is a graph better than a table?
According to Stephen Few, graphs reveal more than a collection of individual values. Because of their visual nature, they show the overall shape of your data. This is when you should use graphs instead of tables: The message is contained in the shape of the values (e.g. patterns, trends, exceptions).
How do you graph biology?
How to make a graph
- Identify your independent and dependent variables.
- Choose the correct type of graph by determining whether each variable is continuous or not.
- Determine the values that are going to go on the X and Y axis.
- Label the X and Y axis, including units.
- Graph your data.
Whats is a graph?
In math, a graph can be defined as a pictorial representation or a diagram that represents data or values in an organized manner. The points on the graph often represent the relationship between two or more things.
What is a conclusion in science?
Your conclusions summarize how your results support or contradict your original hypothesis: Summarize your science fair project results in a few sentences and use this summary to support your conclusion. Include key facts from your background research to help explain your results as needed.
What is a graph in science?
A graph is a way to look at a lot of data in a short, picture-like way. Graphs make it easy to establish trends or patterns. The type of graph is determined by what type of study is being done. The independent variable is usually on the x-axis and the dependent variable is usually on the y-axis.
Why do we graph in science?
Graphs are a common method to visually illustrate relationships in the data. The purpose of a graph is to present data that are too numerous or complicated to be described adequately in the text and in less space. If the data shows pronounced trends or reveals relations between variables, a graph should be used.
What are the types of graph?
Types of Graphs and Charts
- Bar Chart/Graph.
- Pie Chart.
- Line Graph or Chart.
- Histogram Chart.
- Area Chart.
- Dot Graph or Plot.
- Scatter Plot.
- Bubble Chart.
How can I make my chart attractive?
Then choose the chart most appropriate for your data.
- 2) Sort bar graph data so it’s intuitive.
- 3) Shorten Y-axis labels.
- 4) Remove background lines.
- 5) Remove default line margins.
- 7) Stay away from 3D effects.
- 8) Delete the legend if it’s not necessary.
- 9) Include branded colors.
- 10) Add a shaded area to a line chart. |
Past Lectures and Symposia
The Lost Painting of Classical Antiquity
Educated people tend to think of Pompeii’s frescoed walls as ranking among the highest achievements of Greco-Roman antiquity. Leonard Porter, a New York City-based painter, put the matter in perspective during a tour of the National Gallery of Art exhibition, Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples, and in a generously illustrated lecture at the Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia.
Porter, who himself works in the classical tradition, observed that the mural decoration at Pompeii is typically derivative and workshop-level, reflecting rather than rivaling the great achievements of Greek painters of preceding centuries. Indeed, Porter emphasized in his lecture, while brilliant works of sculpture and architecture from antiquity have survived, nothing rivaling the masterpieces of painting described by ancient authors has ever been found.
Yet this reality hardly detracts from the immense charm of the richly-hued paintings at Pompeii and nearby sites, or at Nero’s Domus Aurea in Rome, where a higher level of artistry is evident. Porter also noted the convincing evidence pointing to remarkable technical advances on the part of Greek painters in the areas of perspective and foreshortening — and even in the employment of light and shade, as opposed to just line and silhouette, in modeling the figure. Porter discussed changing notions of ancient painting since the Renaissance, which largely reflected the amount of archeological evidence available to artists in different periods. He described how more or less imaginative attempts to reconstruct it have influenced modern (i.e., post-medieval) Western art.
The lecture, co-sponsored with the Alexandria Association, and the exhibition tour took place on March 16, 2009.
Death, Politics and Memorials
The poet and editor Joseph Bottum’s essay Death and Politics has been hailed as a seminal achievement since it appeared in the June/July 2007 issue of First Things.
The essay analyzes death’s metaphysical ramifications for politics, and leads us to the idea of community not just as an association of the living, but of the living, the dead, and those yet to be born. The essay’s ramifications for the public realm, which is the fundamental expression of community, could not be more profound.
A lecture-symposium sponsored by the National Civic Art Society and Georgetown University’s Toqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy allowed Bottum to further explore modernity’s response to death, while offering a critique of two major commemorative landscapes, Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, DC, and Arlington Memorial Cemetery. Three distinguished respondents — National Endowment for the Arts chairman Dana Gioia, New Criterion co-editor and co-publisher Roger Kimball, and architecture historian and liturgical scholar Denis McNamara — commented on Bottum’s lecture, entitled “Living With the Dead, Why Cities Need Cemeteries and Nations Need Memorials.” This extraordinary, well-attended event took place on March 17, 2008, at Georgetown University’s InterCultural Center Auditorium.
The Society sponsored an important and well-attended symposium, Architecture of the Whole: Additions to Historic Buildings and Neighborhoods, in October 2006.
Speakers included the late Professor Paul Spencer Byard of Columbia, a highly influential exponent of preservation grounded in a modernist art-historical outlook, and Professor Steven W. Semes of Notre Dame, who advocates reinforcing the historic character of a given place through the design of architectural additions. Other speakers included Calder Loth of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and Sharon Park, then in charge of administering the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, the standard preservation template.
The symposium took place as part of the Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference presented by Restore Media at the Washington Hilton. First Lady Laura Bush wrote a gracious letter of welcome to symposium participants.
The Society also organized a tour of Washington sites illustrating the issues raised at the symposium.
Henry Hope Reed Capitol Luncheon and Lecture
Henry Hope Reed is the historian of architecture and decoration who, more than anyone, set the stage for the current resurgence of the classical tradition in the arts.
The Society is honored to count Reed among its founding members and to have sponsored a luncheon celebrating his culminating work, The United States Capitol: Its Architecture and Decoration, in the Capitol’s magnificent Lyndon Baines Johnson Room. This important event took place on December 1, 2004.
After receiving a brilliant introduction from Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Reed delivered a concise and captivating illustrated lecture about the Capitol.
The Henry Hope Reed Capitol Luncheon and Lecture event was made possible in part through the generous support of Messrs. Andy del Gallo and Kevin Roustazad of Eastern Memorials and Mr. Christopher Forbes.
Alexander Stoddart, Monumental Sculptor
In April 2004, the Scottish Classical sculptor Alexander Stoddart spoke about the counter-cultural nature of his vocation in a postmodern age.
Stoddart, who collaborated with architect John Simpson in the sculptural decoration of the new Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, is also known for his civic monuments in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Atlanta, and Princeton, New Jersey. The American Arts Quarterly has hailed Stoddart as “clearly the most important British sculptor of his generation.”
Sponsored by the Society, the Stoddart lecture took place at the Arts Club of Washington.
John Simpson, Classical Architect
The Society’s first event was an October 2002 lecture by the distinguished London-based classical architect, John Simpson, designer of the new Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, as well as extensive renovations at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and other noteworthy institutional projects. The lecture took place at the Cosmos Club in Washington.
A mannerist and eclectic in the tradition of his compatriots Soane and Nash, Simpson places great emphasis, like other architects in the Prince of Wales’s circle, on solid masonry construction. His Queen’s Gallery project was very favorably reviewed in the British press. |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of the first large-scale federal survey designed to provide detailed health information about the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island population in the United States. The project, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), was conducted in 2014 through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH) and the CDC.
In 2014, NCHS conducted the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey (NHPI NHIS). The NHPI NHIS was a survey in which about 3,000 households containing one or more NHPI residents were surveyed by NHIS field staff using the 2014 NHIS instrument. The NHPI NHIS was an unprecedented opportunity to collect rich and accurate information from a large NHPI sample about the health of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in all 50 states.
The NHPI NHIS was patterned after the NHIS. The NHIS is the nation’s largest in-person household health survey and is a primary tool for monitoring the health of the nation. The survey collects information on health status and conditions, disability, access to and use of health services, health insurance coverage, immunizations, risk factors, and health-related behaviors.
Population of focus: Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander individuals
Links to resource:
Organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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