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Just Add One Enormous Burning Sphere of Hydrogen Gas!
Creating and building their own toys is always fun for kids. Now it's fun for you too, because you don't have to worry about any batteries to equip these toys.
The mini solar building kit features 21 parts to build six different working models, including an airboat, windmill, puppy, and two different planes.
No tools are needed for the snap-together construction (but a diagonal cutter is recommended). While they build and play, your child will learn about the benefits of solar energy. Manufacturer recommended age: 10-15 years.
Solar Panel Output
Assembled Size ( L x W x H / mm)
airboat: 121 x 61 x 86
windmill: 154x 153 x239
puppy: 68 x 46 x 64
car: 70 x 54 x 34
plane: 154 x 61 x 94
revolving plane: 218 x 61 x 166
Unit Weight (g)
Total weight: 202.66 (including box & manual)
revolving plane: 44.72
Solar Cell Life (yrs)
12000 rpm / DC 1.2V
Power Consumption (mA)
revolving plane: 20 | <urn:uuid:86a22fb6-8d4e-4ad7-8b30-f61910a39842> | {
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Rare Disease Day is February 28 [Infographic]
Millions of Americans will join others around the world this month in observing Rare Disease Day (February 28). They hope to help draw attention to rare diseases and the unique challenges faced by the nearly 30 million Americans affected by them. Because of the rarity of their conditions, patients are often challenged to find information, knowledgeable doctors and support for their condition. One such disease is Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes (CAPS) – a serious, lifelong autoinflammatory disease that affects about one in one million people in the United States. Because there are so few CAPS patients, online resources play an important role in uniting the community. CAPSConnectsUs.com, a new educational website from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, enables CAPS patients in the United States to connect online to share their stories, encouragement and advice about managing daily challenges. | <urn:uuid:4a1d593e-aee9-4167-a0dc-79a0b932bc74> | {
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Story in the College of Arts & Sciences
Assistant Professor, Biology
Biology professor examines how the rarest plant species evolve over time in the coldest corners of Alaska.
Justen Whittall '96 is an expert on West Coast plants, particularly the ones that are hardest to find. The SCU biology professor, a native of the South Bay, studies the federally endangered Metcalf Jewelflower and California's Torrey Pines, one of the rarest pines in the world.
His early work at SCU set him on this path. "As an undergraduate, I took a course in field botany and discovered I could take what I was learning in the classroom and lab and put it to use in the field," Whittall says. "From that moment, I was hooked."
As an assistant professor in SCU's biology department, he also studies plants in the Arctic Circle; last summer, he traveled to Alaska to better understand the adaptability of plants in cold climates—an unknown factor in understanding global climate change. He and his assistants are researching the genetic basis for Arctic mustard plant adaptations. Next summer, he'll return with several undergraduates.
By putting together a genetic map of plant species, Whittall can track how plants have evolved over time. Students help in his rooftop greenhouse, making hybridizations; in the lab, isolating gene sequences; and out in the field, collecting specimens.
"I see students' eyes just light up when—instead of doing the cookbook labs taught in high school or at other institutions—at Santa Clara they get to take that information directly into a personal experience," Whittall says. "This is real science being done by Santa Clara undergraduates."
Watch a video about research in SCU's biology labs below.
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Malicious programs for computers have been around for more than 20 years. It was the birth of the Internet which really enabled these digital pests to make a breakthrough.
Until now, gaming consoles have been more or less immune to malware. Yes, there're been Trojans for the Nintendo DS console (Trojan.Nintendo.Taihen.a and .b) and for the Sony Portable Playstation (Trojan.PSP.Brick.a) but the number of victims has been small. This is because the user has to tweak the console in order for so-called homebrew software (i.e. software not certified by the console manufacturer) to run.
There's a Linux distribution available for the Sony Playstation 2 (which will also be available for Playstation 3) which just cries out for programming. However, any programs created will only run on Playstations which have the distribution installed.
Microsoft recently announced that in future, users will be able to purchase a development kit with a $99 a year registration fee - no Linux here. Programs developed using the kit will only run on Xboxes where the user has also paid the registration fee, and they can only be copied to another console as source code. From a security point of view, this is a wise decision.
I hope that things won't change much in the near future. If Sony, Microsoft , Nintendo or hackers made it possible to easily download programs developed by users via the Internet, Pandora's box would be opened. The combination of unprotected gaming consoles, the Internet and the possibility of previously unknown vulnerabilities would lead to gamers who had been immune to malware becoming a target for virus writers. | <urn:uuid:e88fe66e-fbb4-4289-b9a7-2652bda0c3ce> | {
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Software is everywhere. We love it when it makes our lives easier. We hate it when it doesn't work the way we expect—or when its design is not sufficiently intuitive or robust. Software is in our military systems—satellites, tanks, aircraft and ships—but it's also in our everyday life: toasters, automobiles, banks, and medical equipment.
Software is important and its importance is growing. Software allows us to personalize and customize many systems. It brings increasingly complex integrated circuits to life and harnesses their power to help us. It allows us to communicate more efficiently, to live in a more connected world, to operate businesses more effectively. Multi-national businesses have software-intensive enterprise systems while small businesses and individuals use the Internet for ever growing applications.
Unfortunately, there is a gap between the state of the art and the state of the practice of software engineering. Many senior managers don't understand software engineering and many software practitioners have lapsed into undisciplined, ad hoc practices. Consequently, software design, development and integration are often plagued by schedule delays, cost increases, performance problems and defects.
Data indicate that 60-80% of the cost of software development is in rework, that is, fixing defects that are found during testing. Fortunately, there is an alternative. We can reduce test and rework costs significantly if we use better design and implementation practices. We can meet schedules and we can reduce the variability and risk in software intensive programs. We can make our software teams more productive and raise the quality of their work experience if we follow disciplined engineering practices.
Commercial software products today are often riddled with defects—commonly known as "bugs"— that are introduced in the software's design and development. As our systems become more and more interconnected in networks, the stakes are rising. Defects in products that are linked to the Internet open vulnerabilities to cyber attack and exploitation. The Internet is only as secure as its weakest link.
Each year, the SEI's CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) documents thousands of commercial product vulnerabilities. Once again, however, there is an alternative. Most of these vulnerabilities are due to a modest number of root causes. We can avoid these vulnerabilities and greatly reduce the number of successful cyber attacks if software developers use the proven best design techniques of software engineering.
The SEI's core purpose is to improve the state of the art in software engineering, and to transition this work to the community so we improve the state of practice in software engineering as well. Our work is not done unless we do both parts of our job. We believe, and we have the evidence to support us, that the best way to ensure the security of software is to design, develop, and integrate software in a way that does not allow defects into software in the first place. Investments in up-front discipline and sound processes increase quality and security and decrease cost and risk.
We are part of Carnegie Mellon University, one of the nation's premier computer science and engineering institutions. Since 1984, we have been identifying, developing, and advocating practices to improve all aspects of software. At the SEI, we emphasize defect prevention through improvement of process and product quality during the early phases of system development. We believe you should design quality into software, not test and patch it.
At SEI, we're developing innovative software technologies to meet today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.
Paul D. Nielsen
Director and Chief Executive Officer
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"World Must Plan For Climate Emergency: Report"
"LONDON -- Humans may have to reset the Earth's natural thermostat and develop new technologies like reflecting sunlight back into space if climate talks fail, Britain's top science academy said on Tuesday.
So-called geoengineering was not a quick fix but may be needed to head off planetary catastrophe and so deserved more research as an insurance policy, the Royal Society said in a report, "Geoengineering the climate."
Such technologies were not an alternative to cutting emissions, however, the report stressed.
Political efforts to curb greenhouse gases are in the spotlight three months before a U.N-led meeting meant to clinch a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
"Nothing should divert us from the priority of reducing global carbon dioxide emissions and ensuring that the December meeting in Copenhagen does lead to real progress," said Royal Society President Martin Rees.
"But if such reductions achieve too little too late there will be surely pressure to contemplate a plan B," he told an audience at the launch of the report in central London."
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Health Tip: Does My Pain Mean Endometriosis?
Some common symptoms of the gynecological disorder
(HealthDay News) -- Endometriosis occurs when uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, commonly in the ovaries or fallopian tubes.
The womenshealth.gov website mentions these typical symptoms of endometriosis:
- Abdominal, lower back, or pelvic pain during menstruation or prior to it.
- Bleeding or spotting between periods.
- Pain in the intestines, bloating, constipation or diarrhea.
- Pain during or just after sexual intercourse.
- Pain during a bowel movement.
- Health Tip: Am I at Risk for Endometriosis?
October 18, 2012
- Early Study Hints at Link Between Certain Sunscreens, Endometriosis
May 17, 2012
Learn More About Sharp
Sharp HealthCare is San Diego's health care leader with seven hospitals, two medical groups and a health plan. Learn more about our San Diego hospitals, choose a Sharp-affiliated San Diego doctor or browse our comprehensive medical services.
Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:3ff12810-c4e9-4838-8955-19bf719b2575> | {
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The world is on course to warm as much as 4 degrees Celsius, or 7 degrees Fahrenheit, by 2100, prompting extreme heat-waves, severe drought and major floods as sea-level rises, warns the World Bank in a new report.
All regions would suffer, but the tropics and subtropics are among the most vulnerable and the planet's poorest people would be hit the hardest, according to the study, "Turn Down the Heat," released Sunday. The study says current global efforts, aimed at keeping warming to below a 2-degree change, don't go far enough.
"We don't have time to lose," says Rachel Kyte, the World Bank's vice president for sustainable development, urging drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She says Superstorm Sandy shows "the fragility of a lot of our infrastructure" and the need for resilient agricultural, transportation and energy systems. Her organization, which promotes growth in developing countries, commissioned the report by the Germany-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics.
The report, based on recent climate science, says the planet could reach temperatures 4 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels as early as 2060 if governments don't meet their promises to fight climate change. Even if they are fully met, it says a 3-degree increase appears likely. Global temperatures have already risen about 0.8 degrees Celsius in the past century.
The study says coastal cities could be inundated with floods, limited food supplies could cause higher malnutrition rates, and biodiversity, including coral reefs, could be irretrievably lost. It says average summer temperatures could rise 6 degrees Celsius in parts of the United States, Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East, and sea levels could rise between a half-meter and a full meter, or 39 inches, by 2100.
Skeptics say the report paints an overly dire portrait. "This report is non-science," says Patrick Michaels, director of the libertarian Cato Institute's Center for the Study of Science. He says the 4-degree warming is an "implausible outlier."
David Kreutzer, an energy economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, agrees. He also says the World Bank's recommendations, including redirecting money now spent on fossil-fuel subsidies toward solar and wind energy production, could ultimately do more harm than good for developing countries.
"Proposing energy killing climate policies for the emerging economies is like telling the emaciated to start their diet now because they may become overweight in 90 years," Kretuzer says.
Yet the World Bank's call to action echoes the urgency of other major studies. Earlier this month, at the request of the CIA, a report by the National Research Council warned that climate change is accelerating and could place unprecedented strains on U.S. military and intelligence agencies. Also this month, the International Energy Agency said the world has only about five years to make changes to avert climate change's most severe impacts.
"The World Bank report confirms that the United States' recent severe storms, droughts, heat waves, and wild fires are no coincidence, but instead are the 'new normal' of unchecked climate change," says Dan Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said in a statement that the report "reminds us that climate change is happening ....now." He called on nations to honor their commitment, made last year in Durban, South Africa, to forge a new legally binding climate agreement by 2015.
The more than 190 nations participating in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change begin a new round of talks Nov. 26 in Qatar.
Kyte says the World Bank sought the report, because its work with developing countries needs to factor in what the future will look like. She says they have the opportunity to build a more resilient infrastructure from the ground up.
"This is not rocket science," she says, adding the knowledge is there but the political will is still needed.
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: World Bank: Climate change could cause massive damage | <urn:uuid:65a2a952-d386-4d35-a6df-5ef23fc414d8> | {
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Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action
- How to Choose a Program
- View SIT Study Abroad Undergraduate Research / ISP Collection
- View the 2013 Overview Brochure (PDF, 1MB)
- View the 2013 Semester Catalog (PDF, 4MB)
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- View Our Photo Galleries on Flickr
- Academic Resources/Library
- Track Your Application Online
- US State Department "Students Abroad"
- SIT Study Abroad Gear
Most of the teaching in the program takes place in the field (a total of around 27 days). Excursions are totally integrated with readings, workshops, discussions, and lectures. In each region we visit, students are introduced to the area’s climate, geology, geomorphology, soils, and flora and fauna, as well as its human history and culture in order to instill a sense of place and provide a basis for understanding the unique management issues of each region.
Orientation: Seven Mile Beach
Students spend a five-day orientation at Seven Mile Beach, south of Byron Bay. The group camps at Linnaeus Estate, a 280-acre property with one and a half kilometers of pristine beachfront; it has been recognized as one of the most beautiful privately owned properties on Australia’s east coast. During orientation, the group reviews program goals and safety, learns about Australian cultural norms, and starts the process of establishing a group bond. Students are introduced to iconic Australian flora and fauna present on the property and learn about the climate and coastal processes of northern New South Wales.
Tasmania: A conservation hot spot
Experience stunning scenery and one of Australia’s largest conservation reserves
Tasmania is a geological and biological treasure where a billion years of earth history is exposed to view. Tasmania was the last landmass to break away from the southern supercontinent, Gondwana. Its stunning scenery, Aboriginal heritage, and conservation values have resulted in 40 percent of the state being set aside in nature reserves, including the three and a half million acre Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, one of Australia’s largest conservation reserves and one of only two world heritage areas to be listed under seven different criteria. The southwest of Tasmania is one of the last true wilderness regions of the world.
But Tasmania is a conservation hot spot in more ways than one. It has a history of bitter conflict over the use and preservation of its natural areas that is still very much alive. Tasmania has been the scene of the most epic environmental battles in Australia, which have shaped the national conservation movement. Tasmania was the birthplace of the world’s first green political party and the greens are now part of a coalition state government. The state has the highest green vote in the nation.
The program’s eight-day field trip in Tasmania includes walks in spectacular glaciated scenery and magnificent forests, which include coniferous species of Gondwanan origin, extensive rainforests, and the world’s tallest flowering plants. Students meet forest protestors who are battling to save old growth forests from logging . They also examine the competition between nature conservation and tourism on the one hand and the use of the land and resources for wood, minerals, and energy production on the other. Traveling by bus, the group visits key sites that illustrate these struggles and sustainable solutions. The excursion is led by Dr. Geoff Mosley, former head of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Dr. Mosley has been involved with the study and conservation of Tasmania for over 50 years.
Aboriginal Camping Trip
Acquire traditional ecological knowledge in the quest for sustainability.
Students have a four-day camping trip at Minyami, a large Aboriginal-owned bush property bordering Bundjalung National Park in Northern New South Wales. The excursion is led by Aboriginal guides who have long been associated with the SIT program and who enthusiastically share their knowledge of traditional and contemporary Aboriginal cultures.
While at Minyami students make traditional Aboriginal artifacts, learn traditional hunting and gathering skills, experience Aboriginal customs, and hear stories that contain lessons on how to care for and live in the environment. During this period, students also take short trips to culturally significant sites within Bundjalung National Park.
The Aboriginal Studies component of the program gives students insights into an entirely different way of looking at the environment and resources.
Sydney and Melbourne
Examine urban sustainability in two of the world’s great cities.
On the week-long field trip to Sydney and Melbourne, students see examples of sustainability initiatives in urban settings. These include visiting urban farms, such as the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies; sustainable houses (read about one remarkable example); and green office buildings such as those in Melbourne. During the spring semester, students attend Melbourne’s Sustainable Living Festival, which features lectures from many of the most prominent sustainability experts in Australia, in addition to displays of sustainable technologies.
With more than half of the world’s population living in urban areas, cities are a vital element in the study of sustainability.
Local field trips around Byron Bay
Students also undertake a number of one-day field excursions around Byron Bay and Lismore to further explore the natural environment. During these field trips, students will explore temperate and sub-tropical rainforests, sustainable house design, organic farming, permaculture, community gardens, and renewable energy technologies.
View Student Evaluations for this program: | <urn:uuid:07646711-9727-4903-9575-7a75b4034d4f> | {
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The FAA Rule Affects Canadians, Too
Wednesday June 20th 2012 - by Daryl MacIntosh
Upcoming FAA Requirements
In May of 2010, the FAA published the final rulemaking to adopt ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) technology as its primary aircraft tracking/locating system. Effective Jan. 1, 2020, aircraft operating in the majority of United States airspace must be equipped with ADS-B Out compliant equipment. Use of ADS–B Out will move air traffic control from a primarily ground-based radar system to a satellite-derived aircraft location system. Benefits to ATC include improved accuracy, wider coverage, better reliability, reduced latency, increased capacity and controller access to more comprehensive aircraft data. The current radar surveillance system that ATC has relied on for more than 50 years has now reached its capacity limits, leading to congestion and delays in some of the busiest U.S. airspace.
ADS-B in Canada
Limited ADS-B service was implemented in Canada on Jan. 15, 2009, bringing surveillance coverage for the first time to 850,000 square kilometres of high level airspace (FL290 to FL410) over Hudson Bay. About 35,000 flights a year use this airspace on routes between North America and Europe or Asia.
One of the most significant benefits ADS-B offers for this airspace is reduced aircraft separation. With appropriately-equipped aircraft, controllers can use five-nautical-mile separation instead of the 80-nautical-mile procedural separation required in non-radar airspace. ATC can handle more aircraft in the same airspace at once and controllers can offer route flexibility and approve altitude-change requests more readily.
Nav Canada expanded its ADS-B coverage over northeastern Canada by an additional 1.9 million square kilometres in 2010, and recently added another 1.3 million square kilometres over the North Atlantic (see p.18). However, the upcoming United States ADS-B requirements will affect many more Canadian aircraft operators than will Nav Canada’s ADS-B requirements. Most of us don’t need to fly over Hudson Bay, but many of us do regularly fly within U.S. airspace.
ADS-B Out Defined
Automatic: Each aircraft equipped with ADS-B Out will Automatically and continuously transmit its precise position, its velocity (vertically and horizontally), as well as its altitude and other relevant information. The system is always on and requires no pilot action for activation.
Dependent: The overall system is Dependent on each aircraft to transmit accurate data including identification (ICAO 24-bit ID), position, and velocity, together with specific integrity/accuracy quality information.
Surveillance: The system provides ATC with Surveillance capability similar to radar.
Broadcast: Each aircraft will continuously Broadcast the required data. The system does not require interrogation from ATC or from another aircraft.
Out: Although the overall ADS-B system is designed to be bi-directional, only ADS-B Out data capability is becoming mandatory.
ADS-B In capability is a key design feature of the overall ADS-B system, but the FAA did not make this capability mandatory. Many operators will, however, choose to install ADS-B In because of the significantly improved situational awareness the available data will provide to flight crews.
TIS-B (traffic information service-broadcast) and FIS-B (flight information services-broadcast offering weather data, airspace information and other services) are available as free uplinks to any aircraft that carries the correct receiving equipment.
Equipment - Technology Choices
The ADS–B Out capability regulation requires operators to install equipment into each aircraft that will provide a data link to ATC to be used for aircraft surveillance. Operators must choose between two completely different types of equipment required under this rule: a 1090 MHz extended squitter (ES) broadcast link or a universal access transceiver (UAT) broadcast link operating on 978 MHz. In addition to the broadcast link, each aircraft must also be equipped with an approved GPS to provide the required aircraft position source data.
Equipment Choice # 1 - 1090 MHz ES
Equipment certified for this option transmits on 1090 MHz, the same frequency as current transponders. Some Mode S transponders with ES can be certified to meet the latest ADS-B Out requirements. The 1090 MHz ES broadcast link is the internationally agreed-upon standard and is required for aircraft that fly into any other jurisdictions that utilize ADS-B. The final FAA rule requires aircraft flying at and above 18,000 feet MSL [flight level (FL) 180, Class A Airspace] to have ADS–B Out performance capabilities using the 1090 MHz ES broadcast link. This rule also specifies that aircraft flying in designated airspace below 18,000 feet MSL may use either the 1090 MHz ES or the UAT broadcast link. There are two significant disadvantages to the 1090 MHz ES system: (1) A separate 1090 MHz receiver must be installed for ADS-B In capability, as current Mode S transponders do not have ADS-B receiver capability; and (2) The 1090 MHz ES broadcast link does not support FIS–B (weather and related flight information) due to bandwidth limitations.
Equipment Choice # 2 – 978 MHz UAT
The 978 MHz UAT broadcast link utilizes a bi-directional 978 MHz transceiver which supports ADS–B In applications, including traffic information and FIS-B data including weather, temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) and notices to airmen (NOTAMs). The 978 MHz UAT is a proven and mature technology which has provided similar services in Alaska since 2001. The UAT may not be used for ADS-B Out on aircraft that fly above 18,000 feet. The FAA does encourage general aviation (GA) pilots whose aircraft always operate below 18,000 feet to opt for the 978 UAT, in order to minimize frequency congestion on 1090 MHz.
Combined Equipment Choice – 1090 Mhz ES Out with 978 Mhz In
Some operators will undoubtedly choose to install a combination solution utilizing 1090 MHz for ADS-B Out, to satisfy the regulatory requirement for flights above 18,000 feet, and using a 978 MHz UAT for ADS-B In, to benefit from its enhanced data-in capability.
Best Equipped – Best Served
ATC service has traditionally been based on a policy of “first come, first served” but the FAA is now moving towards a new policy of “best equipped, best served.” The FAA has explained that this policy change will help to reduce congestion and delays while simultaneously encouraging system users to equip their aircraft earlier than the regulation requires. By providing operational benefits to the early adopters, the FAA hopes they will then have an incentive to accelerate and expand ADS-B equipage to the rest of their fleets. ADS-B is already providing services in South Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; Philadelphia and out over the Gulf of Mexico. The installation of ground stations to serve the rest of the United States is now well underway and is scheduled to be completed by 2013. The system’s 794 ground stations should be substantially operational by 2014. The FAA expects most users will equip their aircraft during the five-year period between 2015 and the 2020 deadline.
The expected cost to equip an aircraft with a compliant system is evolving because most avionics manufacturers are currently working to modify and/or re-qualify their products to meet the latest published specifications. For GA aircraft already equipped with a WAAS GPS and a Garmin Mode S transponder, the upgrade to ADS-B Out is a relatively painless and inexpensive transponder upgrade. Most other GA aircraft owners will need to spend at least $6,000 to meet the minimum ADS-B Out requirements. The fully-installed cost for some GA aircraft will be much higher (perhaps $20,000) when the cost of a new WAAS GPS navigator and/or a new multi-function display is factored in.
The cost to equip Part 25 business and commercial aircraft will likely be much greater (perhaps $150,000) due to much higher equipment and certification costs. Typical modifications will include new (or upgraded) mode S transponders and a modified traffic collision avoidance system. Some aircraft will also require a new FMS and many will require significant wiring modifications.
ADS-B is also being adopted by a variety of countries around the world as the new standard for aircraft surveillance. Canadian operators who choose not to equip, because they don’t fly to the United States or within other ADS-B airspace, may still be affected by the new U.S. regulations. When it comes time to sell their aircraft, they may find that its value is diminished because it can’t fly within the United States. The U.S. ADS-B equipage requirement is real; the deadline is approaching, and it’s time for everyone to start paying attention.
Daryl MacIntosh is founder and president of Maxcraft Avionics. Located at the Pitt Meadows Airport, about 35 kilometres east of Vancouver, Maxcraft is one of the largest full-service avionics shops in Canada, and provides professional avionics services to operators of all types of private and commercial aircraft, including piston, turboprops, jets and helicopters. He can be reached at [email protected].
Did you know?
Trans-Canada Air Lines (later to become Air Canada) first had flight attendants in July, 1938. At first, only single women under 26 were selected, and they served small boxed lunches and cups of coffee and lemonade. | <urn:uuid:8776e806-6431-4fde-b073-d38ade0bc400> | {
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Biodiversity loss has been identified as one of the great challenges of our time. The potential demise of one-fourth or more of the Earth’s species before the end of this century represents an irreversible loss of nature and may significantly undermine the sustainable use of nature’s services. The continuing expansion of populations and economies and the urgent need to improve human well-being also place increasing pressures on biological diversity.
The need for new understanding and novel approaches to the management of wildlands and protected areas has never been greater. Scientists and practitioners within the field of Conservation Biology need specialized knowledge of their sub-discipline -- forest management, endangered species policy or wildlife ecology, for example. They also need the integrative perspective of a broadly educated scholar-practitioner who is equipped to understand interactions between natural systems and human influences. This field of study combines basic knowledge from the ecological sciences and other disciplines to drive environmental problem solving.
“There is a pressing need for a fundamental reconciliation between the conservation of natural resources and their utilization to meet human needs for food, water, shelter and recreation,†says Professor Bobbi S. Low, coordinator of the Conservation Biology field of study.
What you will study
The curriculum in Conservation Biology focuses on issues related to resource conservation and ecosystem management and creates an interdisciplinary learning environment that includes ecosystem science, social science, policy, environmental design and quantitative analysis. Coursework examines the past and present causes of species extinction and biodiversity loss, as well as the biological principles central to species conservation and sustainable ecosystem management.
As a student, you will develop quantitative and analytical skills in biometrics, economics and computer applications and gain first-hand experience through internships with government agencies and private organizations. You also will learn practical applications, ranging from the design and identification of preserves to the effective management of developed landscapes and the recovery of degraded ecosystems in developed and developing countries.
Your curriculum will educate and train you to become a scientist and practitioner within the field of Conservation Biology, where you will learn to incorporate the recognition that sustainability depends as much on managing people as on managing ecosystems.
Launching your career
The Conservation Biology field of study was developed to address the complex mix of issues related to the conservation of biodiversity and the management of ecosystems. This field of study can lead to a governmental career as a fish and wildlife biologist, remote-sensing specialist, environmental manager or wetlands ecologist. Private-sector occupational options include environmental biologist or fisheries biologist. In addition, graduates also may consider working in the nonprofit sector, where ecologists, urban foresters and habitat-restoration specialists are needed, or in academia, where research and teaching positions are well within reach.
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- The Enterprise
- The Recorder
They’re tiny. Minuscule. Full grown, they’re no bigger than a sesame seed.
But they can cause grief of such proportions that physicians are often left confounded.
They are deer ticks, Ixodes scapularis. They transmit a scourge called Lyme disease, a debilitating affliction that shares symptoms with so many other maladies it’s difficult to diagnose. Tests for the disease often turn up negative for as long as a year before registering positive. There is no vaccine. Antibiotics help, but only if the victim is placed on medications early. Otherwise, it’s a long, painful ride.
Sufferers become familiar with drugs like doxycycline (for adults), amoxicillin (for children), erythromycin (for pregnant women) and ceftriaxone, with treatment lasting 10 to 28 days. In later stages, the bacteria spread throughout the body and might cross the blood-brain barrier, making the infection more difficult to treat. Late-diagnosed Lyme is treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics, frequently ceftriaxone for a minimum of four weeks. Minocycline also is used for its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee; neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy; cognitive defects, such as impaired memory; and heart rhythm irregularities. Other symptoms include chronic fatigue and severe headaches.
Borrelia bacteria belong to a phylum of bacteria called spirochetes that have flagella tiny filaments that enable them to move around, according to information on the University of California, Berkeley website. These tick-spawned microbes invade healthy cells and organs and can transform into two alternative structures inside the body. It’s little wonder treatment is as frustrating for physicians as for the patients.
To contract Lyme disease, the victim must be bitten by an infected deer tick. The bacteria enter the skin through the bite and eventually make their way into the bloodstream. Before bacteria can be transmitted, a deer tick must take a blood meal, which can take more than 48 hours of feeding. Only ticks that are attached and feeding can transmit the bacteria. An attached tick that has a swollen appearance may indicate that enough time has elapsed to transmit bacteria. Removing the tick as soon as possible might prevent infection.
While deer ticks are the primary carriers of the disease, many disagree on an assertion that all ticks might carry some form of Lyme.
Bull’s-eyeThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta features photos on its website of the dreaded “bull’s-eye,” which forms around a tick bite. Yet, in myriad cases, victims report they never see the red circle around the bite.
“I never got a rash,” said Carole Koller of Port Republic, who had her run-in with the disease five years ago. Koller has only found freedom from her symptoms in the past few months. She and her husband, Doug Poole, just had moved to Calvert when she contracted the disease. She has horses and was clearing brush along a fence line.
“I’d heard about Lyme, but I didn’t take it seriously,” Koller said. “I had lots of ticks. I was always pulling ticks off and there were a couple of them I didn’t get. They were tiny little things. I got an itchy red spot that didn’t go away.”
Within two months, Koller was experiencing chronic fatigue and joint pain.
“I attributed it to how hard we were working,” she said. “At the time, we were going seven days a week.”
She then started getting headaches that lasted “all day, every day.” Koller went to a doctor, who prescribed antibiotics.
“I’m sorry now I wasn’t more proactive,” she said. “The doctor didn’t think it was that big of a deal. He told me my chances of getting Lyme disease were one in a thousand.”
Koller persisted in telling the doctor she needed to be tested, and, as in many cases, the test came back negative. By August of the first year, the headaches had gone away, but she began experiencing numbness in her hands.
“I thought I was losing my mind,” she said. “I started thinking, ‘Maybe this is what happens to people in their 40s who have Alzheimer’s in their 80s.’”
Koller was tested for everything from multiple sclerosis to lupus to fibromyalgia.
“By then I’d been tested again and the doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry. You have Lyme,’” she recalled. “I told him, ‘I’m just glad you found out what it was.’”
Her physician initially prescribed doxycycline for three weeks. She took it for five months.
“I had gotten to that point where pain was just shooting out of my extremities,” Koller said. “I’d had six or seven different blood tests. I took antibiotics for three weeks. They weren’t doing any good. I had pain under my fingernails, pain in my fingers, shooting pain all day long in different places. As a follow-up, I went to see Dr. [Paul V.] Pomilla at Calvert Internal Medicine Group. He put me on doxy for 60 days. Everything would initially work, but then the symptoms would come back. It wasn’t going away.”
Doctors put a PICC line port in her arm and she began receiving antibiotics through an IV every day, followed by blood tests every week. Doctors had her start chronicling where the pain was in her system every day.
“It would change every day,” she said. “After a while it all runs together. You get so used to being in pain.”
Finally, after 14 months and a plethora of treatments, she got to where she was “pretty good.” But after eight or nine months, the symptoms all came back.
“But never like that first summer,” she noted.
Koller said her medications cost as much as $1,800 a month. While her insurance paid for much of it, costs associated with her treatment spiraled.
“I don’t know how people who don’t have insurance would ever be able to afford it,” she said.
Koller said infectious disease doctors in the region are overwhelmed by the volume of Lyme cases they are facing.
“One doctor I know of in St. Mary’s is full up,” she said. “They can’t take any more patients.”
The top 10 you don’t want to be in
Maryland ranks fourth in the top 10 states for number of Lyme cases per 100,000 residents, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control for 2010.
More than 95 percent of Lyme cases come from three distinct geographic regions of the United States, including the northeastern U.S. from Maryland to Maine, parts of the upper Midwest in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and parts of northern California and southern Oregon.
Since national statistics were first taken in 1982, the number of cases reported annually has risen twenty-five-fold, and the cumulative number of reported cases now exceeds 128,000. In 1998, 16,801 cases were reported, with approximately 27 percent of cases from New York, 20 percent from Connecticut, 17 percent from Pennsylvania, 11 percent from New Jersey, 5 percent from Rhode Island, and 4 percent each from Maryland, Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
The highest incidence rates in 1998 were found in Connecticut (105 per 100,000), followed by Rhode Island (79.6), New York (25.5), New Jersey (24.0), Pennsylvania (22.9), Maryland (13.1) and Wisconsin (12.8).
More than 2,200 cases of Lyme disease were reported in Maryland in 2007, almost double the number in 2006 and a record for the state. The sharpest increases in recent years occurred in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll and Montgomery counties, but Lyme remains the top tick-borne disease in Southern Maryland. In 2008, Maryland changed its definition for Lyme disease to confirmed and probable cases.
This shifted the numbers somewhat.
Where Calvert County, for instance, registered in the top 10 counties in the state prior to 2008, its designation fell to 17th and eventually 15th place overall in the state. Charles County cases rose from 44 in 2007 to 67 cases in 2008, then spiked to 82 cases in 2009, but dropped to 33 in 2010. St. Mary’s County had 21 cases in 2008 but jumped to 67 the following year. In 2010, it registered 30 cases.
“Lyme is still a public health concern in Southern Maryland. I would say we need to be vigilant. People want to be careful and concerned,” said Sharon Nazarek, assistant director of nursing for the Calvert County Health Department.
A group formed two years ago in Southern Maryland as a networking avenue for victims of the disease. Lyme Awareness Network member and Calvert County resident Connie Sutton said they haven’t had many meetings in the past year because so many members are suffering with the debilitating effects of the disease.
“The Lyme Awareness Network is an offshoot of [a] Lyme support group that meets at Calvert Memorial Hospital,” Sutton said. “We wanted to be more active in the community, so we put a grassroots group together and would host Lyme awareness events throughout Southern Maryland. Most of us in that group have Lyme. We did pull off a few showings of the movie, ‘Under Our Skin,’ which is a Lyme documentary. We haven’t been active in the past year. A lot of people have the disease and it’s just so hard for everyone to get together and be healthy.”
Round and around“I ended up having it for five years before I even knew what it was,” said Karen Bowling of Newburg. “I went to see the doctor in 2007 for what I thought was a knee injury. The doctor took one look at me and said, ‘You have Lyme disease.’ I didn’t even know what it was. I hadn’t heard of it back then.The test she gave me was the Western blot test. It came back positive.
“I had been bitten by this tick in 2002. ... The reason I know is because I had just started working at the courthouse in St. Mary’s County. I thought it was a spider bite. It was a big, round red circle with a bite in the middle. I never saw a spider, never saw a tick. I actually went to a doctor about something else and I remember him asking me what it was on the back of my arm. I just said, ‘Oh, a spider bit me.’ By then it was almost healed. Ever since then I’ve been back and forth to the doctors. The biggest problem is finding doctors who believe in it.”
Bowling realized that if the doctors couldn’t help with the disease, she had to get help for her pain.
“I started going to pain management,” she said. “They were able to control it. I was on morphine two times a day every day. For two years I wasn’t coherent. I’m on antidepressants now, I believe, from all this crap I’ve been through. What really started it all was pain in my shoulder blade area and under my shoulder. That’s still hurting me to this day. They’ve yet to find out what that is.”
Bowling said she lost her job due to the disease. She has been denied disability by Social Security because they say there’s not enough information.
“The strange thing is, Lyme disease is in this neighborhood,” Bowling said. “I have a German shepherd, he has it also. The thing of it is, they have a vaccine for a dog. They don’t have one for humans.”
‘What chance do we have?’
Kat Cecil of Callaway knows the effects of Lyme disease all too well. Arthritis, headaches, fatigue all came to her about five years ago.
“I think I might have had it for a while before I even realized I’d been bitten by a tick,” Cecil said. “I thought I was getting early arthritis and a bunch of other things about five years ago. I had headaches forever. They would last for days. They were so debilitating I would be in bed for days at a time. I rubbed my head so hard my temples were bruised. That’s how bad they were. I was so tired, I would get up in the morning and I’d be more exhausted than I was when I went to bed. I finally went to my doctor and asked her if she could test me for Lyme. She said, ‘I don’t think you have Lyme,’ and I told her I wanted to be tested anyway. The test came back positive.”
She said she slowly recovered but still has memory loss associated with the disease.
“I’ve slowly gotten rid of the symptoms, everything except the arthritis and the memory loss — that’s the key part of it,” she said. “It’s not like I haven’t been bitten by ticks since. I have horses and a farm. ... And of course, we had ticks all through the winter, because we really didn’t have a winter.”
While Koller had one horse and one of her dogs that contracted Lyme, Cecil has managed to keep her animals free of the disease.
“I give them all their shots every year and check them every day,” she said. “None of my animals showed symptoms of having it.”
She said she put up a fence to keep out deer, which seems to have helped.
She said her cousin, who is a lawyer in Anne Arundel County, got a severe case.
“At one point they were giving him last rites,” she said. “If he, a lawyer, a man who hardly ever goes out in the wild, can get it and get that bad off with it, what chance do the rest of us have?”
Prevention is the best medicine
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends the following precautions:
-Wear long pants and long sleeves to help keep ticks off skin.
-Wear light-colored clothing to spot ticks more easily.
-When planning to be in an environment where ticks are often found, use repellent that contains at least 20 percent Diethyl-meta-toluamide DEET on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours. Parents should apply repellent to children; the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends products with up to 30 percent DEET for kids. Always follow product instructions.
-Treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents, with the pesticide permethrin, or look for clothing pretreated with permethrin.
-Avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter, and walk in the center of trails when hiking.
-Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find crawling ticks before they bite.
-Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of the body upon returning from tick-infested areas. Parents should help children check thoroughly for ticks. Remove any ticks right away.
-Remove an attached tick with tweezers by grasping it as close to the skin as possible and pulling firmly and gently straight up and washing the area well with soap and water; and
-Talk to a veterinarian about tick-control products for pets.
Alternative formulas to fight Lyme disease:
-Synergy Formulas, 251 W. Road, Campobello, SC 29322 sells a formula called Lymesode for temporary relief associated with exposure to Lyme. Go to www.synergyformulas.com.
-Teasel root has proven beneficial for people with chronic Lyme disease. Testimonials and product information can be found at www.ladybarbara.net.
-Phyllis A. and James F. Balch’s book, “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” recommends alfalfa, dandelion root, ginseng, hawthorn, horsetail, milk thistle and red clover along with garlic, kelp, Vitamin A with mixed carotenoids, Vitamin C with bioflavonoids, Vitamin E and zinc lozenges.
Websites with more info: | <urn:uuid:955c8407-e738-4494-8aaa-ccc0f623249d> | {
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Not an exhaustive definition, but true to the core meaning of the word:
-serving as, or being an essential part of, a foundation or basis; basic; underlying: fundamental principles; the fundamental structure.
-of, pertaining to, or affecting the foundation or basis: a fundamental revision.
-being an original or primary source: a fundamental idea.
-a basic principle, rule, law, or the like, that serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part: to master the fundamentals of a trade.
-strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles
The current connotation to this word applied to beliefs is actually, in many ways, contrary to the actual word itself. Those referred to as fundamentalists or "fundies" are often not fundamental in their beliefs, but actually extremists when compared to those who follow a fundamental value set within the same general belief system. I realize that the current use has grown from the use of the word referring to the fundamentalist movement, but too often the ones that seem to be getting the press are more extremist than fundamentalist in any sense of the word.
This is just something that bugs me when I see the word used this way all the time. | <urn:uuid:20901989-3118-4157-8d43-98fe8a2b2e30> | {
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To have gdb set the working language automatically, use ‘set language local’ or ‘set language auto’. gdb then infers the working language. That is, when your program stops in a frame (usually by encountering a breakpoint), gdb sets the working language to the language recorded for the function in that frame. If the language for a frame is unknown (that is, if the function or block corresponding to the frame was defined in a source file that does not have a recognized extension), the current working language is not changed, and gdb issues a warning.
This may not seem necessary for most programs, which are written entirely in one source language. However, program modules and libraries written in one source language can be used by a main program written in a different source language. Using ‘set language auto’ in this case frees you from having to set the working language manually. | <urn:uuid:e6e3d538-e1af-4a69-987f-7725fc621a8d> | {
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Wild: 10-13 years
Captivity: 20 years
Females: 500 lbs
Males: 710 lbs
Name of Young
- American Elk are the second largest member of the deer family. The males of one subspecies, called the Roosevelt Elk, may reach the weight of 1300 lbs. The largest member of the deer family is the moose.
- Males begin growing antlers at around 11 months of age. Their antlers are fully grown when the elk reaches 4-6 years old. The antlers are 5.6 feet across on average and can weigh up to 40 lbs.
- Newborn elk weigh about 35 lbs at birth, and they are born with spots which fade by the end of the summer. By the time they are 6 months old, they are almost the size of an adult white tailed deer.
- During the mating season male elk bugle and grunt. Females may respond to their calls with a barking noise. Males will roll in mud during the breeding season to become more attractive to the females.
Did You Know?
Elk are important to many Native American tribes. In Lakota culture the spiritual elk was a symbol of strength and courage. Another name for elk is Wapiti. This word means “White Rump” in the Shawnee language. | <urn:uuid:e4eb0482-6117-467c-aa3e-d28ee5b18564> | {
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Last week NASA astronaut Suni Williams completed 1st Triathlon, Astronomers observed a huge asteroid Vesta covered in hydrogen and private space travel got a big boost. See the top stories of the last week here.<br> FIRST STOP: Farthest Galaxy Revealed
The earliest known confirmed galaxy has been discovered with the help of cosmic lenses formed out of the warped fabric of space and time, researchers say. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17671-farthest-galaxy-discovery-gravitational-lens.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Warp Drive May Be More Feasible Than Thought, Scientists Say
Faster than light travel may actually be possible using a warp drive to bend space around a starship. New calculations suggest such a vehicle would require less energy than once thought. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17628-warp-drive-possible-interstellar-spaceflight.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Space Shuttle Endeavour Lands in L.A.
The last-ever space shuttle to take flight has made its final landing. Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet, touched down at Los Angeles International Airport(LAX) in California Friday (Sept. 21), after three day, cross-country trip from Florida. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17718-space-shuttle-endeavour-lands-los-angeles.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Touchdown! Soyuz Spacecraft Lands Safely
Three astronauts touched down safely on the steppes of Kazakhstan tonight, wrapping up their four-month mission to the International Space Station. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17627-touchdown-soyuz-spacecraft-lands-safely-with-russian-us-crew.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Asteroid Vesta Covered in Hydrogen
Astronomers studying observations of the huge asteroid Vesta by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have found that the space rock is a rich source of hydrogen, a new study reveals. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17680-giant-asteroid-vesta-hydrogen-dawn-spacecraft.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Roots of Huge Solar Explosions May Lie in 'Coronal Cavities'
NASA’s fleet of sun-watching spacecraft is investigating the causes of huge solar blasts called coronal mass ejections. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17704-solar-storms-causes-coronal-cavities.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Saturday's Fall Equinox Explained
The fall equinox occurs Saturday, Sept. 22. Here’s what exactly happens as the direct rays of the Sun slip south of the equator. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17710-fall-equinox-seasons-change-explained.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Why Humans May Be the Biggest Hurdle for Interstellar Travel
The mission to mount a voyage to another star is officially on, with a new organization, the 100 Year Starship, spearheading the effort to muster the technologies needed within 100 years. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17703-interstellar-spaceflight-challenges-humanity.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Private Space Travel Gets a Big Boost in California
As NASA's space shuttle Endeavour orbiter flew to its retirement home in sunny California today (Sept. 21), Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed legislation to bolster the commercial spaceflight sector in that state. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17720-private-spaceflight-liability-california-law.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Private Spacecraft to Launch Space Station Cargo On Oct. 7
A private space capsule's first contracted cargo mission to the International Space Station is slated to launch Oct. 7, NASA officials announced today (Sept. 20). [<a href=http://www.space.com/17706-spacex-dragon-space-station-cargo-mission.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: US Scientists to Use Chinese Moon Lander for Space Research
A cooperative deal has been inked between a U.S. group and China to use that country’s moon lander to conduct astronomical imaging from the lunar surface. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17645-us-china-moon-lander-astronomy-deal.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: NASA Astronaut Completes 1st Triathlon in Space
NASA astronaut Suni Williams ran, biked and "swam" the Nautica Malibu Triathlon remotely from the International Space Station in orbit around Earth. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17643-space-triathlon-astronaut-sunita-williams.html>Full Story</a>]<br> NEXT: Newfound Alien Planet a Top Contender to Host Life
A new super-Earth has been found in the habitable zone of a star only 49 light-years from Earth, ranking fifth on the list of best objects of interest for life. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17684-alien-planet-gliese-163c-extraterrestrial-life.html>Full Story</a>]<br> | <urn:uuid:68fc5ee0-ed1d-49d6-b33e-cd3f68fa6bf5> | {
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A group of researchers at DTU Space is developing an observatory to be mounted on the International Space Station. Called ASIM, the observatory will among other things photograph giant lightning discharges above the clouds. The objective is to determine whether giant lightning discharges affect the Earth’s climate.
The question is whether giant lightning discharges, which shoot up from the clouds towards space, are simply a spectacular natural phenomenon, or whether they alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere, affecting the Earth’s climate and the ozone layer.
In recent years, scientists at DTU Space have studied giant lightning using high-altitude mountain cameras. From time to time, the cameras have succeeded in capturing low-altitude lightning flashes which have shot up from a thundercloud. The International Space Station provides a clear view of these giant lightning discharges, and the opportunity to study them will be significantly improved with the introduction of the observatory.
The researchers will also use ASIM to study how natural and man-made events on the ground – such as hurricanes, dust storms, forest fires and volcanic eruptions – influence the atmosphere and climate. | <urn:uuid:64609457-8d80-4c2f-9854-ad43579b4866> | {
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ASK A QUESTION Hi, What is there a difference between "Me gusta" and "Me gustan"?
What is there a difference between "Me gusta" and "Me gustan"? Is one use of the words for speaking properly and the other for casually speaking? Could you give me some examples how the two phrases would be used?
Gusta is used is a singular conjugation of the verb and requires a subject that matches it in number.
Gustan is a plural conjugation and requires a subject that matches it in number
Me gusta el libro
Me gustan los libros
Here is a link to the reference article for this topic Gustar like verbs
Your question can be answered by watching Lesson 1:6 of the Learn Spanish video series.
For now, I will tell you that the difference has nothing to do with being formal or casual. Rather, it has to do with the fact that one is singular and one is plural.
Me gusta means that something is pleasing to you. For example: "Me gusta bailar", which means dancing is pleasing to me. In this case, dancing is singular, so the third person singular conjugation of "gustar" is used.
The second example would be "Me gustan los animales." In this example, animals is plural, so the verb "gustar" is conjugated to the third person plural.
I know this is a very short explanation and I hope it helps. However, you would be much better off having Paralee explain it for you in the video. Believe me, she does a much better job.
They mean the same thing except one refers to a singular topic and one refers to a plural topic.
Me gusta la banana.
Me gustan las frutas.
That was the same question i had about 3 days ago. | <urn:uuid:2398d2af-329d-4d75-ae2b-8bbab0eaa311> | {
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Special Olympics rhythmic gymnast Sara Abbott is used to beating the odds. When she was an infant, doctors said she would never walk or talk; she was not supposed to live past the age of 30; and three years ago, she weighed well over 300 pounds.
Three years ago Sara weighed well over 300 pounds and today, because of the power of sport, at age 37, she is 150 lbs. lighter.
Abbott has a rare genetic disorder, Prader-Willi Syndrome, which results in intellectual disability, and is frequently associated with insatiable appetite, low metabolism, and subsequent obesity. Yet today, at age 37, she is 150 lbs. lighter and took home three gold and two silver medals at the summer 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games in Lincoln, NE.
Abbott and her family credit her physical transformation to the dedication and support of the Special Olympics Minnesota coaching staff and the rigorous training schedule for her ball, ribbon, rope and hoop gymnastic routines. For Abbott and others just like her, Special Olympics is about more than sports – it allows people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to be more fit, make more friends, and be a special part of a team. In the process, Abbott has also become an inspiration to her family and fellow athletes.
"I want them to exercise like I did and lose weight and watch what they eat," Abbott said.
Obesity is a problem for most people with intellectual disabilities. Due to a health condition or the medications they take, the lack of opportunities to exercise and other issues, approximately 75% of adult Special Olympics athletes are overweight. In response, Special Olympics issued a call to action during its National Games Health Symposium in July.
"We have a lot of work to do," said Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver. "The health condition for people with intellectual disabilities is nothing short of a crisis – one that will not improve on its own. All of us must act. This isn't a problem for a few to handle. The solutions will come when everyone is engaged."
In its call to action, Special Olympics details steps that should be taken by various segments of the population, including the general public, health professionals and elected officials. The organization asks the public to donate their time and push their representatives to support policies that address these concerns. Healthcare providers should increase their knowledge of intellectual disability and welcome these patients into their practices.
Special Olympics hopes that if more people join its fight against obesity, more athletes will be able to find the same healthier lifestyle that enabled Sara Abbott to achieve her goals. | <urn:uuid:eebe3748-a3d1-4fbf-bcb9-6c6b539cbb97> | {
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In 1985, a high school kid is accidentally transported in a Time machine, back to the year 1955. But the actions he takes while he is there create a paradox in the Space-Time continuum. When he returns to the 1985 reality from which he was originally transported, he discovers that the paradox has altered it. This forces him to travel back to the 1955 reality once again in an attempt to rectify the actions of his own Self. He now has two Selves traveling on the same 1955 Timeline, only one of which is aware of the other. None of the people who live in these two realities are aware of anything that is taking place because they’re just characters in a movie.
There is no place in this new kind of physics both for the Field and Matter, for the Field is the only Reality. Albert Einstein
In traditional physics, the dimensions of a system are referred to as its ‘degrees of freedom’. We perceive material objects to be solid because they vibrate very slowly at the atomic level. So solid, three-dimensional matter doesn’t have a lot of freedom. But, the fact of the matter is – there is no matter. The material Universe is nothing more than a very dense form of energy. Everything that exists in this universe, from the most subtle, refined realms of energetic structures, to the densest realms of matter, is aligned in one field of energy.
String theory is a developing branch of physics that combines Quantum Physics and General Relativity into a theory of gravity. This theory attempts to describe the natural forces of gravity, matter, electro-magnetics, and weak and strong interactions, all in a mathematically complete system.
Some physicists believe that this theory is the correct fundamental description of nature. They believe that the building blocks of the Universe are not sub-atomic particles, but rather, they are a more fundamental layer of infinitesimally small filaments of vibrating energy. And these ‘strings of energy’ vibrate at different frequencies. According to this theory, we are living in a universe that has 11 dimensions, with parallel dimensions, such as sub-Space and hyper-Space, which exist alongside it. The mathematics involved in this theory point to the existence of dimensions of reality, or consciousness, which are beyond our familiar world.
Our true role is to create endlessly from the infinite storehouse of possibilities located at the virtual level. Deepak Chopra
In Quantum Physics, material objects are possibilities from which consciousness can choose. Dimensions border one another in the same way that a radio carries many different stations. But we can only experience those dimensions of which we are aware. We can only perceive of the ‘music’ that’s playing on the ‘station’ to which we attune ourselves. And we have been trained to focus on only a very small bandwidth of frequencies.
The higher dimensions are outside of our range of perception. So expanding our consciousness is the way by which we will become multi-dimensional beings. God does not exist in only one place. And neither do you.
As your Light beams in from Home, it splits like a prism and divides you into 11 different dimensions. When you are born, all 11 dimensions come in at once. The 12th dimension is your Higher Self. It remains outside of your physicality, but keeps you connected to Home and to the other 11 dimensions. As you have now moved beyond the year 2012, you will now be able to gain information from the perfect parts of you that are missing. Every one of your 11 selves will begin to become more whole within itself. This is how you will balance yourself.[ii]
On December 21 of this year, a new Earth grid was launched. This new grid is based on an entirely new frequency range, one that allows the filtration of God’s holy energy to be absorbed evenly around the world. And, when the Earth acquired a new cosmic position during the current galactic alignment, our brains automatically opened up to this new range of frequencies.
Space and Time are illusions of the third and fourth dimensions. We need only remove the veil to see the reality. But we must also believe that the reality is here to be seen.
When everyone awakens to the understanding that they have been playing a multi-dimensional character in a movie, humanity will experience the fifth-dimensional reality in which we are all now living. When the collective human consciousness acknowledges and tunes in to the higher dimensional frequencies of this reality.
In the Old Testament, there was once a collection of over one dozen texts called the Apocrypha. Derived from the Greek word apocryphal, it means ‘things that are hidden’.
King James of England imposed heavy fines on anyone who printed the Old Testament without including the Apocrypha. So it was included in the original King James version of the Bible, which was printed in the year 1611. But 250 years later, the Archbishop of Canterbury officially removed it from that version.[ii]
The Book of Ben Sira is a volume of wise proverbs that was discovered in Egypt, in 1896. It is part of these apocryphal texts. Known also as the Book of Wisdom and as The Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, this book was originally written in the language of Hebrew in the second century BC. Eventually, it was included in the Old Testament as the book of Ecclesiastes. But, before its recent discovery, no known Hebrew version existed. Some scholars even doubted its existence.
In your exploration of Bible Truth, see to it that you do not rest satisfied in the yellow clay of a few spiritual discoveries, but press on to the rich blue clay underneath. Emmet Fox
Also part of the apocryphal texts is the Book of Enoch, a massive five-volume manuscript that consists of 108 chapters.
Where the apocalyptic view of the end of Time leaves ‘the damned’ on a hellish Earth, the book of Enoch paints a very different picture.
This ancient book describes an Aquarian age in which Heaven will actually exist on the Earth. The Greek word apocalypse means ‘disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception.’
It is interesting to note that the books of Jude and Hebrews, which have both been retained in the Bible, actually quote directly from the Book of Enoch, which has not. In fact, there are over twenty books that are referred to in the Bible, but which have been excluded from it.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones.” Jude 1:14
During World War II, the ancient Gnostic Gospels were discovered in Upper Egypt. These gospels formed the basis of the teachings of the first Jewish Christians who, rather than seeking salvation from sin, sought to achieve salvation from the ignorance of which sin is a consequence.
Since the discovery of these gospels, there have been other ancient scrolls that have been located, the most famous of which were found concealed in caves on the shore of the Dead Sea, near the ruins of an old Essene settlement called Qumran.
Known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, these scrolls consist of roughly 900 texts, twenty-five percent of which is biblical scripture that includes some of the only known copies of first-century biblical documents in existence. Portions of the original Aramaic version of the Book of Enoch were discovered at Qumran. In fact, with the exception of the book of Esther, every single book of the Old Testament was discovered there.[iii] But what is most interesting is that the book of Esther is the only book that does not refer to God.
The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Saints.
Many people believe that God would never have allowed the Word to be tampered with or concealed in ways He did not want. And, they’re absolutely correct. God has allowed this to take place. If we had known these truths two-thousand years ago, we would have distorted them to such an extent that, now, when we need them the most, we would not recognize them for what they truly are.
The Judeo-Christian scriptures are a scientific treatise on universal nuclear physics, which were written in a universal metaphysical language that discloses, in minute detail, the precise formula for the attainment of Unity Consciousness.[iv] | <urn:uuid:6efa531a-3eaa-428f-b615-fb3a760384af> | {
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The first thing that comes in our mind when we see cartoon characters is that they are funny, nice and beautiful. In the last few years cartoon characters became very popular and you can see them almost everywhere. Today designers use all their skills, creativeness and of course Adobe Illustrator to make them look really awesome and attractive to us. So, if you’ve got an idea to create your own vector characters, first check our post with 14 new Adobe Illustrator Tutorials! These tutorials will be useful for beginners, intermediate and advance users of Adobe illustrator in creating vector characters and we hope it could help to expand your creativity and imagination.
Follow this step by step Illustrator tutorial to create a cute vector monster character. We’ll create the character from basic shapes to give a cute and friendly appearance then we’ll bring the character to life with gradient colours and a detailed fur effect.
Follow this step by step Adobe Illustrator tutorial to create a simple vector penguin character. We’ll be using many of Illustrator’s basic shapes to create the structure of the character, which makes this tutorial great for beginners. We’ll then make use of various gradients to really bring the character to life with depth and dimension.
Follow this step by step Illustrator tutorial to create a cute vector mushroom character with a Japanese kawaii influence. We’ll create the basic structure using Illustrator’s basic shapes, add variation in the linework to define the character then finish it all off with some vibrant colour fills.
Looking to learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator? In this tutorial we’ll use various tools and techniques to create a simple vector robot character. With this robot being made of lots of basic shapes it makes for a great tutorial for beginners to get to grips with the Illustrator application.
Follow this step by step Illustrator tutorial to create a grumpy Internet troll character. We’ll start the process with a basic pencil sketch then build up a complete vector character design with linework, colour fills and basic shading to create a funny cartoon mascot.
Learn how to create a stylized and simple character face in Adobe Illustrator with Ryan Quintal. It’s all the elipse and pen tool in this one, as we’re going to use solid colors, basic shapes, and use Illustrator’s “Width” tool to create some beautiful lines. Once you’re done, you’ll have a template that’s ready to go for a wide variety of faces for characters and animation.
Coloring a character sketch can sometimes take much longer than anyone expects. With a few layer tricks and Graphic Styles, I will show you how to create a character that is quick to ink, easy to edit and a breeze to re-color.
Make a unique character design of a European Goldfinch with paint splatters and textures. The techniques used will be Live Trace, Pathfinder, Transparency, Distort, Warp and Clipping Masks. We’ll give this character a unique look and fun personality.
Andrew is the chief editor of Splashnology blog. He has many years of experience within the web design industry and has a passion for the latest web technologies.
Subscribe to our email newsletter for useful tips and freebies. | <urn:uuid:7c8932ca-8568-4a45-9925-95cd63adb231> | {
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When complaints are leveled at most reenactors it's not as much how we dress as how we treat our faces. Facial hair is suppose to be good enough to make a reenactor look like a citizen of the old west. If you wear a hat or period looking bonnet (etc.) to cover your 21st century coiffure we can forgive the hair. Women who part their hair down the center (men part on the side) and keep it tight, make a complete picture of 19th century style. However, no matter how perfect your clothing, hair, head covering, or look, wearing large modern frames destroys that impression completely.
Historically most people didn't wear eyeglasses or spectacles. They were a sign of old age and weakness. Most people lived with their impaired vision unless they could afford spectacles. Then they usually bought a ready made pair from an eye glass salesman. In many cases people never knew they were not seeing clearly.
When looking for period specs here's a simple guide:
Oval lenses generally start just before 1800 and go into the 1920's. Rectangular or oblong lenses are before 1800 to 1890's with octagonal appearing by 1840 to 1890's as well. Round glasses where not worn in the "old West!" Round Lens shapes where from before 1760 up to 1820. These round lenses never came back until about 1910. (The "temples" make the biggest difference when dating, however!)
Bridges between these styles of lenses may differ as well. The most common style of Bridge for the Old West impression spectacles were the crank design (1800 to 1880) an upside-down "u" with straight arms connected to the lens frame. Although the "K" style and the "X" type, with two pieces of the metal crossing in a long "u" shape(1800 to 1900), touching at the center may have had about the same era, it hasn't shown up as much in the samples viewed. An earlier style is a common upside-down long "u" connecting the frames and is called an arch (pre 1750 up to 1860). Styles most commonly available post Civil War include the scroll (1870 to 1920), "W" (1895 to present) and coil spring style 1900 to present). Nose pads did not become common until after 1900 with an exception of the Spring pad that began about 1850.
Temples are the clue to the age of the spectacles in most cases. For our period, and the most common samples surviving is the short lived design of the loop to loop slider (1840 to 1880). Next were the pin & slot slider (1790 to after 1870). and the long straight temple design 1820 to 1880). Pre 1850 are the short and straight temples and the hinged at center style. From 1770 to 1900 there was the "turn pin" style. Any spectacles that have the wrap around the ear or riding bow style, date after 1890 to present!* The temples aren't complete unless they also have a "final" which is the end design.
Temple finals vary also! Two styles in the Old West; small open teardrops (1820 to 1890) and flat beavertails (1770 to 1900). The others are: large round open rings (before 1750 to 1800), small round open rings (1790 to 1830), large open teardrops with wider temples (1770 to 1830), medium open teardrops 1790 to 1850), and small droplets (1890 to present). see previous images.
The connecting hinges where the temple connects to the lens frames will be bulkier in early styles. Most spectacles made before 1870 were hand crafted and numbers may be found stamped on the edges near the hinge that give the salesman a clue to what eye problem the individual may have. Some lenses may even be etched with a number as well.
Colored glass was used and usually for special reasons. The "D" frame glasses with side lenses that swivel to the front are usually dark blue or black and were made for people riding the trains in the 19th century. Shooter's specs were amber colored and "frosted" with a clear center. Green also seems to be surfacing..
I know you spent hundreds of dollars for those modern eyeglasses and
you hate contact lenses, but consider that many of the above eyepieces
or their equivalents can be purchased at an antique store for $20 to
$45 each and your prescription added for another $65 or so. That's
still less than what you paid for your 20th century styles.
(Prices tend to vary depending on the person making them fit modern perscriptions)
This is not the last word on the subject, only a guide. I found much of my research after looking at many original spectacles owned by Jim Miller, William Dunniway and other friends as well as listening to their "expertise" and research from the books listed below.
In regard to wrap around temples on
spectacles, I refer you to U.S. Patent # 139,909 by G.W. Meigs of
Hartford,CT. He received a patent on wrap-around temples on June 17,
1873. He notes in the patent description that these temples were
previously made only in Europe by trained craftsmen who hand forged each
temple from spring steel and then hand-shaped the hinge connection with
files. Meigs method used spring steel wire with the hinge connection
(and ball on the other end) added separately. All single wire
wrap-around temples I have examined appear to have been made using this
method. I have all U. S. patent information on spectacles and eyeglasses
for 1873 and earlier, and wrap-around temples do not appear in any of
the other drawings. Nor do they appear in any trade catalogues prior to
this date. I have verified this information with Dr. William Rosenthal,
author and spectacle consultant to the Smithsonian and owner of the
world's largest collection of spectacles, and with Jeff Handley, curator
of the American Academy of Ophalmology Museum of Opthalmology in San
Francisco, home of the largest museum collection in this country.
Alan has been visiting museums in preparation for his book on spectacles (a brief mention of his project and an article about spectacles appeared in the March 1998 issue of Art and Antiques Magazine.) | <urn:uuid:76c3f6df-1c56-4974-9c52-88b48f7a5ca2> | {
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What is Compression? Compression is the reduction in size of data by converting it to a format that requires fewer bits. Most often compression is used to minimize storage space (on a hard drive, for example) or for reducing transmitted data over a network.
SALARY COMPRESSION It was the consensus of the Committee that specific recommendations for salary increases could only be made after fundamental issues were addressed: 1) What is salary compression?
Using a Compression Gauge These simple devices can tell you a great deal about the health of your engine. In fact, when used properly and interpreted correctly, a compression tester will reveal just about all you could want to know about your vehicle.
An Oracle White Paper . October 2011 . Advanced Compression with Oracle Database 11g
3 Why Compression? •Raw media file sizes tend to be large-Audio •sample-based, with relatively high sampling rates-Audio example: •172.266 KB/sec => 44, 100 Hz sampling rate, 16 bit samples, stereo-Motion video/still images •stores each image (e. g. , frame) in its color space (e. g ...
DCT-based Video Quality Evaluation---Final Project for EE392J Feng Xiao Winter 2000 Abstract Lossy compression methods make the widespread distribution of digital video possible at the cost of introduction of artifacts.
Contents iv Literature Number: BPRA065 List of Figures Figure 1: A copy machine that makes three reduced copies of the input image [Y]..... 2 Figure 2: The first three copies generated on the copying machine Figure 1.
Techniques for Managing Large Data Sets: Compression, Indexing and Summarization
Table Compression in Oracle . Database 10g Release 2 . An Oracle White Paper May 2005
AJR:189, November 2007 1175 AJR 2007; 189:1175-1178 0361-803X/07/1895-1175 © American Roentgen Ray Society Choy et al. MRI of Thoracolumbar Spine Musculoskeletal Imaging•Technical Innovation Axial Compression Frame for MRI of Thoracolumbar Spine Daniel S. J. Choy 1 Gian Paolo Tassi 2 Richard ... | <urn:uuid:1502eb19-fbec-4322-a5b8-94caf0cb1608> | {
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Topics - Topics - Cape Fear Museum
Cape Fear Museum
Cape Fear Museum
The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is the oldest history museum in the state. Founded in 1898, its first collections included confederate relics and grew to collections of images and artifacts that shaped the history, science and cultures of Southeastern North Carolina.
The museum, which began with one room staffed by volunteers, is accredited by the American Association of Museums and has more than 50,000 objects. It was founded by a group of Wilmington women who wanted to preserve memories of the Civil War.
Collections include objects relating to cultures of the Lower Cape Fear region, which is defined as a 50-mile radius around Wilmington, including all of New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties and parts of Columbus, Bladen, Sampson, Duplin and Onslow counties.
Photographs to household items and industrial tools are housed in the museum, and special exhibits are both rotating and ongoing. The Michael Jordan Discovery Gallery is an ongoing exhibit that encourages youth to explore nature and the environment. A Maritime Pavilion, another ongoing exhibit, showcases watercraft people have used in the area.
Hours: Winter: Winter: Closed Monday. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Summer (Memorial Day through Labor Day): Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission: $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, college students and Military personnel, $4 for youth ages 3 to 17 and free for children under 3. The first Sunday of each month is free for New Hanover County residents, and admission is always free for Cape Fear Museum members.
Recent Articles About Cape Fear Museum
Published May 4, 2013
The museum wants to give free admission to all children younger than 5.
Published March 29, 2013
It's clear that the political philosophy is different in Raleigh. What's not clear is that this shift toward “smaller government” will benefit North Carolina.
Published March 25, 2013
It's nothing personal against the N.C. Biotechnology Center, said McCrory's budget director, Art Pope.
Published March 1, 2013
On Sunday, March 3, participating attractions (see list below) open to New Hanover County residents free of charge.
Published February 21, 2013
Cape Fear Museum Associates is hosting Vintage and Vine, an epicurean evening
Published February 15, 2013
The event will feature an array of hors d'oeuvres and desserts from chefs and students, as well as entertainment and auctions. | <urn:uuid:0499bc02-a9e6-4428-bd35-e27904f913fb> | {
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Skeletal: Bone and Cartilage
UCLA faculty studying stem cell and musculoskeletal disease seek to discover better ways to regenerate bone and cartilage. Our multidisciplinary team has expertise in reconstructive surgery, musculoskeletal, developmental, and stem cell biology, molecular pathology, material and clinical science, and bioengineering. Together, they identified a key growth factor (Nell1) that helps “jumpstart” the body’s own stem cells to repair lost or damaged bone and cartilage tissues. This discovery could have significant implications for treating trauma patients with significant musculoskeletal injuries and can also be used to treat or “reactivate” stem cells in aged populations with osteoporotic bone loss or cartilage loss from “wear and tear” and osteoarthritis.
Our faculty have successfully combined Nell1 with specially engineered scaffolds to activate stem cells in order to regenerate bone in long bone models like the arms and legs, the spine, and parts of the skull in non-human animals. Nell1 also dramatically promotes healing in joint cartilage models. Currently, work is being conducted to identify and develop ways to deliver Nell 1 to injured joints in a minimally invasive way.
Remarkably, Nell1 also significantly harnessed mesenchymal or connective tissue stem cells in bone marrow to form new bone in osteoporotic models. Since most clinical osteoporosis therapies work to prevent bone loss rather than build new bone like Nell1, the Broad Stem Cell Research Center is sponsoring work to develop the promising application of Nell1 to activate bone forming stem cells in osteoporosis patients.
In addition, using unique stem cell isolation protocols, the UCLA team was the first group to efficiently isolate significant numbers of perivascular or specialized blood vessel stem cells from routine cosmetic liposuction material. This finding opens the door for easily obtaining large numbers of purified stem cells for both immediate and future use. Our faculty discovered that combining Nell1 with perivascular stem cells increases stem cell survival and markedly enhances musculoskeletal tissue repair. This finding paves the way for efficiently isolating a patient’s own stem cells from liposuction and then reapplying those cells with Nell1 to maximally “jumpstart” the reparative process after injury. | <urn:uuid:020d8e6e-3481-48a4-863d-5b95fa6e7678> | {
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ETO Gitarama Project: Make a Difference (MAD)
Project ER : Education Rwanda
In the summers of 2004,2005 & 2006, a group of youth and adults traveled to Gatenga,Rwanda in Africa on a service project that involved working directly with several villages to primarily address three main issues:
- The training of teachers in the development of moral/educational programs for children, teaching them about unity and peace and how to work with children to apply these and other virtues in their daily lives.
- Working with village elders in the development of agricultural co-ops to assist in the production of food for purposes of more adequately feeding their families and also for providing a means for making a living.
- Teaching mothers and a few interested fathers about health and nutrition and how to provide inexpensive balanced meals for their families and steps to take to prevent disease.
In one village where the group was stationed there is an elementary school with over 800 students. Each small classroom is crowded to overflowing with at least 60 children.
This school is very poor and lacking everything thatwe, in this society consider essential and required as our basic right for the promotion of learning. For example, the school lacks enough desks so there is not enough room for all the children to sit down. Many have to stand up throughout their classes. We are in the process of raising funds for this school and the first priority request from the director of the school is for student desks.
Other financial needs include the building of latrines. Currently the school’s latrines are inadequate - only four latrines for the use of 863 students!
Other needs include pens for writing. Many students lack pens and must wait to borrow a friend’s pen after the friend has finished using it.
Books are another need.The school has no library books or room for housing them.
Many children come from poor families and do not eat all day. The director would like to be able to eventually establish a lunch program. Some help for this latter project might come from the UN World Food Program, but there would still be a need for salaries for cooks to prepare the meal.
As you can see there are many needs. We hope that you will be able to help improve the learning and living environments for these children. Our first project is buying desks. The school uses bench style desks where three children sit on each bench. The principal of the school tells us that they will need 105 more benches to replace those that are old and to add those that are lacking. Each bench costs about $40 Canadian to buy. Cost for all desks would be over $4,000! That is an ambitious goal but we are hopeful. For more information, please contact:
Step One Services Society (SOS) | <urn:uuid:0c54bfe3-ac28-43b4-8ef2-fffdd77cc286> | {
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learn about and because it can probably fit 5 pages. My
bibliography is on the ending of the report, my teacher helped me
with it because I didn't
know how to do it. Cancer is the name for
tumors that are malignant. Malignant tumors do not respond to
body mechanisms that limit growing. Malignant tumors show a not
normal cell structure the same functional specialized cells. Also
cancer cells growing in laboratory tissue culture do not stop
growing when they touch each other on a glass or other solid
surface but grow in masses several layers deep they are said to lack
Loss of contact inhibition accounts for two other
characteristics of cancer cells invasiveness of surrounding tissues
and metastasis spreading via the lymph system or blood to other
tissues and organs. Cells are typically controlled by growth factors
competence factors that stimulate cells to enter the beginning phase
of cell replication and progression factors that insure completion of
the replication cycle. The unrestricted growth rates of cells are due
to the activation and lack of inhibition of oncogenes. They are
cancer causing genes.
Cancer tissue that grows without limits competes with normal
tissue for nutrients kills the normal cells by nutritional deprivation.
Cancerous tissue also causes secondary effects with the symptoms
of a malignant growth caused by the pressure of the growing tumor
against surrounding tissue or the metastasis of cancer cells and
their invasion of other organs. Cancers are graded as to degree of
malignancy on a scale of one through four the distinction between
even benign and malignant neoplasms is obscure. All organs and
tissues are susceptible to cancer.
A lot of human cancers may be caused or at least triggered by
various chemical agents. Alkylating agents are thought to have a... [continues]
Cite This Essay
(1999, 10). Cancer. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Cancer-19933.html
"Cancer" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Cancer-19933.html>.
"Cancer." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Cancer-19933.html. | <urn:uuid:bf3597fe-5678-4211-ac16-68c9255cc35f> | {
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The value chain analysis describes the activities the organization performs and links them to the organization’s competitive position. Value chain analysis describes the activities within and around an organization, and relates them on analysis of the competitive strength of the organization. Therefore, it evaluates which value each particular activity adds to the organization’s products or services (Recklies 2001). Value chain analysis can be used to describe the activities within and around the organization, and relate them to the competitive strength of the firm (its ability to provide value for money products and services). Thus, the approach rests upon the need to identify separate organizational activities and assess their value added. The importance of organized activities and systems becomes clear. The various resources (people, machinery, information, etc.) must be deployed into activities, routines and systems that produce the necessary value. The ability to perform particular activities and manage the linkages between activities is the key source of competitive advantage (Lowson 2002). Activities that add value are divided into two categories. These are primary and support.
Primary activities are primarily concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service. They can be grouped into five main areas:
Inbound logistics (receiving, storing and distributing the inputs to an organization)
Operations (transforming inputs into outputs)
Outbound logistics (storing and distribution and delivery of product and service combinations)
Marketing and sales (means by which consumers are made aware of an can purchase products and services)
Service (activities that enhance the value of a product or service)
Each primary activity is linked to support activities, which help to improve their effectiveness or efficiency.
Procurement (the... [continues]
Cite This Essay
(2010, 08). Value Chain Analysis. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 08, 2010, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Value-Chain-Analysis-382277.html
"Value Chain Analysis" StudyMode.com. 08 2010. 08 2010 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Value-Chain-Analysis-382277.html>.
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Below is an extract from the introduction to my book - hope this provides the explanation you're looking for:"Each word ending is presented on a separate page with the following key principles to help the reader to remember whether the word ending is masculine or feminine.
1. Each word ending is written in blue for masculine words and pink for feminine words.
2. Each page has a tab with the word ending (blue for masculine words, pink for feminine words) so that it can be used like an address book.
3. For masculine words, the page background and tab are blue. For feminine words, they are pink.
4. Each word is accompanied by a memorable drawing of a common item, to connect the word and its ending with either masculine or feminine."
Strangely enough, yesterday evening, quite independently, I was thinking about creating flashcards too! I use them frequently with my French students who are learning English - for most people, used appropriately they are an excellent learning method!
Best wishes - Hilary
Thank you Hilary! Simple and effective!
I'm trying something now - translating book reviews and just selecting two or three common words or phrases to put on flash cards - rather than *every* new word I'm not sure about or don't know. Not so overwhelming that way (read: staying clear of having a method grind to a (temporary) stop).
Have you ever seen the segment on France 2's "En toutes lettres" in which the contestants and celebrity participants have to determine if words are masculine or feminine? You guessed it - they have a heck of a time, too! (They have to answer 9 in a row correctly, or the next participant has to start from scratch.) The show is great for vocabulary. Merci encore, Michael
Sounds like a good idea! I tend to try and learn/ teach about 10 things on flashcards at a time - more than that can become overwhelming! Mind you, one of my students is determined to learn the 300+ most common English verbs, so she's got about 40 flashcards, but we work through them five at a time.
No TV at the moment Michael, waiting until I can afford to buy and install a satellite dish, necessary here to receive any TV apparently. Have TV, orange box, but no satellite dish. They say patience is a virtue :-). So, no, not seen "En toutes lettres" but understand the difficulty many French people have, even having learned them from the year dot!
Bonne continuation et bon courage!! - Hilary (most words ending in ion = F, and age = M)
You can watch episodes of En toutes lettres via the France 2 website. (Not being in France, I obviously have no access to any programmes except via the Internet.) It will be nice to have plenty to choose from, though, when the dish is in place!
Here is an interesting article - obviously applies to any language:
http://ezinearticles.com/?German-Words:-How-to-Use-a-Vocabulary-Box... Maybe it will be helpful to your students!
Now, I'll let you continue the countdown to the New Year (as I type)! Michael | <urn:uuid:49eca3f5-f4d5-4d40-a1fd-248abc057920> | {
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Ticino - Geography
The canton of Ticino is located still quite far from the sea, but its climate is nevertheless greatly influenced by the Mediterranean, which thus distinguishes it greatly from the other regions of Switzerland. The impressive number of sunshine hours and the high average temperatures favour the good maturing of the grapes. The plentiful rainfall, although they are a blessing on one hand, can also be a danger on the other. As the risk of hailstorms is quite important in the region, it forces the winegrowers to take good measures, using anti-hail nets.
January: 1.9°C / 35.4°F
July: 21.3°C / 70.3°F
Year: 11.7°C / 53°F
Rainfall: 1750 mm./yr. (68 in.)
The highest in Switzerland.
The annual hours of sun exposure:
Between 2100-2286 hrs.
More than anywhere else in Switzerland.
Altitudes vary from 220 m.(722 ft.) near Locarno to plots at over 500
m. (1640 ft.) in mountain valleys. | <urn:uuid:19cfb4ac-2b0b-404a-a327-d03668d17949> | {
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The spunky and popular Dora The Explorer takes kids on an exotic adventure with the LeapFrog Explorer Learning Game Dora the Explorer. Travel far and wide and learn about the cultures, food, clothing, terrain and native wildlife of Egypt, China, Australia and Peru. Along the way, little learners ages 4 to 7 can work on some Spanish vocabulary basics like numbers and colors. The content of this LeapFrog book focuses on foreign language, social studies, multi-cultural understanding and map skills, but this robust learning experience feels more like fun than anything. Works with LeapPad Explorer learning tablets and Leapster Explorer game systems. LeapFrog device sold separately.
- Bring faraway places to life with Dora the Explorer as you learn about the cultures, animals and landscapes of 4 different countries and expand your Spanish vocabulary
- Travel the world and learn about the cultures of Egypt, China, Australia and Peru
- Learn about local animals, food, clothing, landscapes and more
- Teaches Spanish vocabulary, social studies and culture plus map skills
- Manufacturer's Suggested Age: 4 Years and Up
- Educational Focus: Letters and Numbers
- Number of Activities: 8.0
- Includes: Game Cartridges
- Learning Platform: Leap Frog Leappad2, Leap Frog Leappad, Leapster Explorer
- Interacts With: Electronic Learning System
- Material: Plastic
- Dimensions: 1.25 " L x 1.77 " W x 0.46 " T
- Product Weight: 0.21 Lb.
- Battery: no battery used
- June 11, 2010 | <urn:uuid:71a0c4f4-eaa9-468f-b304-79cf4dd5bdbd> | {
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Do you do some type of daily editing or daily oral language review? Could your students use more practice solving word problems? Why not save precious teaching time and practice them at the same time! This 194 page packet includes daily editing problems for 38 weeks (190 school days!!!) Common themes (apples, penguins, Seuss, etc.) and books (Frog and Toad, Tacky, etc.) are included. The first half of the packet includes punctuation and capitalization errors only with the suggestion to circle sight words. The second half of the packet does add spelling errors to increase difficulty.
What a wonderful product! Can't wait to use it with my students :)
February 3, 2013
Killing two birds with one stone LOVE IT editing and then maths!! Has made my group time more focussed Thanks!! And given me Time !!
January 21, 2013
Thank you! Great resource!
January 15, 2013
We do these together - very helpful.
January 15, 2013
Wonderful! I already notice how my students understand end marks as well as when and where a sentence starts!
January 6, 2013
These are wonderful and very thorough. They are a little tough for my students but overall very good!
December 31, 2012
I really love this idea. I was making my own last year and decided to go with the pre-made. I couldn't get it to work in our classroom this year...but I think it was more the specific dynamics of our classroom this year and not the product. :)
December 10, 2012
these are fantastic...but i knew theywould be cuz you're AWESOME!! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR CREATIVE HARD WORK!! :)
December 9, 2012
Awesome- I appreciate all the effort you put into this huge resource
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
Just wanted to share something with you. I purchased this unit a few months ago and I can't tell you how much I have loved it! The kiddos have loved it, too. I have used them each morning for morning work. It helps me see several things... phonics rules application, computation, reading comprehension, and visualization reading strategy. We just finished standardized testing and I truly think that this daily exercise made such a difference for some of them ... Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for sharing that! You just made my day. :-) Would you mind if I quoted you on my blog?
April 22, 2012
I would really like to purchase this unit but I noticed you have a bunch of the same questions on one sheet. I would love to have a "teacher copy" that has one copy of each question so that it isn't that many pages. I could make myself a mini book. Am I making sense? (haha) Would you be able to do that? :)
I'm sorry, I don't have it in that format. I made it this way so it would be easier to copy and distribute daily. Only 4 fit on a page anyway. I just hand myself out a copy and paste it in every morning just like the kids do and it works great. Hope you can make it work.
March 5, 2012
Thanks for responding so quickly to my request for a second set of these. Yes, a set written at the second grade level would be perfect for my teaching situation. I could use the original set with my first graders & the second grade set for my 2nd graders. Perfect! Thanks again!
Yes, it is still on sale. I just tried it and it said $12. I clicked on the title and it opened the detailed screen. Did you do it that way?
November 25, 2011
Hey, I purchased your Daily Editing Word Problems. I would like a single copy of each day instead of 4 of the same on each page. I am using the board to write the problem instead of having the class have their own copy.
Thanks so much. I love your blog. Thank you for all the great ideas. This is my first year in grade 1 after teaching 2nd for 8 years.
I'm not sure what 20% you are referring to. I am not having a sale right now.
August 30, 2011
I love this file! I teach second grade and think the problems might be too easy for my students. If I buy the file, would you be able to email me the word version of it so I can change the numbers to make the math problems more difficult? If not, I understand...just thought I'd ask. | <urn:uuid:9b367433-d40a-41b3-a00c-6c6a267b2b12> | {
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Opportunities to prevent the infection are being missed in hospitals across Britain, charities said.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most common cause of meningitis in young babies, triggering an estimated 500 cases a year.
The infection can be prevented by giving antibiotics to at-risk mothers during delivery.
Researchers who looked at data from 202 of the 222 Neonatal Units across Britain and the Republic of Ireland insist that up to 50 per cent of case could be avoided if more mothers were given the drugs.
But they found that many women were not even warned about the infection.
The warning was made by the charities Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) and Group B Strep Support.
Many women carry the infection without showing any symptoms.
Although there are no reliable figures for how many have GBS one in 10 people carry a form of meningitis infection at some point in their lives.
“At risk” women include those whose temperatures spike during labour, who give birth more than 18 hours after their water breaks or who have had another child who suffered from the infection.
Babies under 12 months of age are 38 times more likely to contract the infection than older children or adults.
Dr Paul Heath, from St George’s University of London, who led the team which analysed the figures, warned: “The early treatment of meningitis in babies appears to vary widely across Britain.”
Christopher Head, chief executive of the MRF, said: “(We are) very concerned by the lack of awareness of GBS infection and the potential inconsistencies in the treatment of the disease.”
The organisation is launching a new research project to improve recognition and treatment of meningitis in young babies.
Around 1,000 children under the age of one develop meningitis in Britain and the Republic of Ireland every year. | <urn:uuid:ea24e736-4889-466e-a027-ccf5c98327b3> | {
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They show how David Joy, of the British Embassy in Buenos Aires, contacted his Chilean counterpart Raul Schmidt to discuss tensions with Argentina before filing a restricted memorandum on March 5 1982.
Chile and Argentina had long been in dispute over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands in the Beagle Channel at the southern tip of South America and had come to the brink of war in 1978.
According to the documents, as revealed by BBC World's Spanish language service, Mr Schmidt told Mr Joy that Argentina's sovereignty disputes with Chile and Britain both stemmed from the country's desire to have a naval base further south.
"The Schmidt thesis is based essentially on the Argentine Navy's need of a strategic port further south than its current and most secure port, Puerto Belgrano, (south of the province of Buenos Aires)," one document states.
"The obvious option Ushuaia was not satisfactory from a security point of view because it is under constant Chilean surveillance.
"Therefore the Argentines are, according to Schmidt, desperate to have some other secure port further south, a goal that could be satisfied by having access to the islands south of Beagle or the Falklands. In this context, he believes the sovereignty disputes are linked."
On March 15 the report, headed 'A Common Burden with Chile?', was received and distributed to Colin Bright, manager of the South American section of the Foreign Office, and other senior officials.
Handwritten notes were then added to the documents, suggesting the British were open to the idea of negotiating an agreement for an Argentine naval base on the Falklands just two weeks before the war began.
One scribbled note states: "I think we are agreed that the Argentine interest in South Atlantic security is part of her wish to gain sovereignty over the islands. But it's only a small part. After all, if all they wanted was a naval base we could easily accommodate them."
Another in different handwriting comments: "Could we easily accommodate the Argentines on a naval base? Because this is the sort of idea which we should have in mind if negotiations do resume."
Argentina long disputed rulings that the islands in the Beagle Channel were
Chilean but finally recognised them as such in 1984 following papal | <urn:uuid:9d9b8d0c-6c13-4a5a-a0ac-1784e53d89b8> | {
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Binod P Bista
Foreign Policy Expert, NepalThe revision issue of indo-Nepal treaty of peace and friendship’, considered unequal by most Nepalis, was first raised publicly by Prime Minister Kirti Nidhi Bista in the year 1969 terming it as obsolete and outdated. The argument put forward for its revision had to do with India not abiding by the related clauses of that treaty (article II requires that both governments inform each other of any serious friction or misunderstanding with any neighboring state likely to cause any breach in the friendly relations subsisting between the two countries”). Letter exchanged with the treaty (July 1950-same date as the treaty) stipulates clearly that the two governments shall consult with each other and devise effective counter-measures” to deal with the threat from a foreign aggressor. India had taken two unilateral actions during its war with China in 1962 (along Ladakh region) and with Pakistan in 1965 (disputed region of Kashmir) without informing Nepal on both occasions despite the treaty obliging both parties to do so. Even later in the year 1971, India’s direct involvement against Pakistan for Bangladesh independence without Nepal’s knowledge breached the important article of that treaty.
Almost forty years down the line in 2008, the Prime Minister-in- waiting Puspa Kamal Dahal, terming Indo-Nepal 1950 treaty as unequal from a security relation point of view called for scrapping it off. He also called for a revisit and review of several other treaties such as the Mahakali treaty of 1996. Now a look at the clauses of the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty that hurt the sentiments and pride of Nepalis who chose to remain independent at the cost of progress and prosperity.
The provisions that offend Nepali national sensibilities are those giving India a say in Nepal’s purchase of military equipment from a third country and granting India ‘first preference’ for industrial and natural resource projects in Nepal. Such provisions are clearly inconsistent with Nepal’s exercise of full sovereignty. Also the reciprocity sought by the treaty between a nation of over one billion population (India) and a mere 27 million people (Nepal) in according the same privileges to the nationals of both countries (articles VI and VII) poses a serious problem to Nepal in spite of a stipulation in the letter exchange for preventing unrestricted competition necessary for some time. The revision or signing of a new treaty with India, for which there are ample takers of this view in India, would not only restore full sovereignty to the Nepalis but also commence the beginning of a new partnership with Nepal’s closest friend and neighbor, India. Moreover, the 1950 peace and friendship treaty was signed towards the end of Rana oligarchy by the last Rana Prime minister Mohan Shumshere JB Rana which was not even distantly representative of the people, it was natural that the treaty included several clauses that tried to encroach upon Nepal’s sovereignty.
Successive governments under democratic polity since 1990 allowed foreign governments’ resident envoys to travel to any part of the country and offer donations or charities to educational, health and other social agencies without receiving prior approval and accompaniment of the government. That action coupled with the practice of weak government leaders seeking foreign advice and support in petty but internal matters such as resolving political disputes among nationally elected representatives of political parties has largely eroded Nepal’s sovereign status hard earned by their predecessors at a great cost and sacrifice. Increasing intervention in Nepal’s internal affairs by all foreign actors in the past decade or so has remained a major irritant in Nepal’s otherwise best relations with foreign countries. There is a need to resolve these unwarranted issues through astute diplomacy and tact.
The study of international relations requires that it be viewed as a dynamic concept that is changing over time. The pace of change, however, is contingent on bigger powers, more so with the sole super power of today. The establishment of Security Council of the United Nations with two distinct types of membership, permanent and non-permanent, explains the concept of bigger power and lesser power better. Obviously, impact and influence of foreign policies of lesser powers is utterly limited when it comes to exercising it in the international scene. Although larger countries in the region such as India and China in Asia, Brazil and Argentina in South America or Nigeria and South Africa in Africa do exert some amount of influence in their areas yet when that regional dispute or conflict takes the shape of an international character, other stronger powers get into action encroaching (even stunting) upon their ability to influence the events there. For lesser powers it is even difficult to maintain their neutrality and exercise real independence, much less influence, in vital matters requiring decision at the global level
The people of Nepal must never forget that the country’s survival and progress as an independent and sovereign nation is possible only by maintaining best of relations with both of its contiguous neighbors, India and China. History is witness to it. This reality gives a clear message that even before contemplating an action, bilateral or otherwise and however beneficial to the people, Nepal must ever remain cognizant of the changing perceptions and priorities of her neighbors and take timely actions (or make adjustments) to be in line with the changing needs for protecting her national interest. A discourse on emerging challenges of Nepal’s foreign policy will remain incomplete (and perhaps useless) if it were not to try to take into full account the challenges faced by its two neighbors. Since it would neither be possible nor desirable to get into an in-depth analysis of real as well as perceived challenges of two most populous nations having to confront a myriad of internal and external issues. For the purpose of this paper and seminar, brief extract of views however limited, from observations and comments made by known experts through seminars and some publications is considered sufficient.
India related issues:
India’s foreign policy challenges can be summarized briefly on the following lines: Challenge of securing peaceful atmosphere in the subcontinent but also achieving satisfactory economic growth, curbing terrorism, promoting peace and human security as well as a right strategy to deal with the US, the only superpower, Pakistan, China and the other Asian states in the new era. Challenges are many but strategies for confronting these challenges are limited because with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, India’s strategy of nonalignment and close relations with the Soviet Union (Russian Federation) has lost much of its relevance. Internal problems, growing poverty, corruption, and poor infrastructure, and security challenges from Pakistan may constrict India’s role to the South Asian region only.
China related issues:
China’s foreign policy challenges extracted from observations made by experts can be laid down as follows: China is now in a delicate, sensitive and painful period of transition thus needs to maintain stable foreign relations while going through a learning curve. In the short and mid-term China would pay special attention to improving its relations with developed countries, particularly USA and with its neighboring countries for the modernization program and building a well-off society in an all round way by 2020. China’s major foreign policy challenge pertaining to the United States lies in generating responsible strategic policies that in demonstrated performance do not induce strategic uneasiness in the United States or to its allies to which it is committed to in the Western Pacific.
Nepal’s greatest challenge:
It is evident that Nepal’s immediate neighbors’ preoccupation in the twenty first century seems to be finding a right strategy to deal with the sole superpower, the US. It is needless to state that they have a larger role and responsibility in securing a peaceful and stable environment in their region. For sustaining their stupendous economic growth, they will be competing against each other for energy and markets under a stable regional environment. This necessitates that both need to cooperate at a certain level. It is all the more essential that smaller neighbors of the Asian region like Nepal maintained friendly and harmonious relations with both countries as their interest can be easily compromised when these giants find commonality in their larger interest. Owing to a transition phase in the formulation of foreign policy measures of both India and China, the situation is extremely volatile and sensitive. Any slip up by smaller countries in the region in their relations with these regional powers could extract a heavy price endangering national sovereignty.
For countries like Nepal, owing to its geopolitical situation (often considered as a buffer state between its two giant neighbors, India and China), scope and ability to play an effective role in international relations is greatly restricted. As things are, diplomacy should be the viable option for advancing Nepal’s relations with its neighbors as well as the rest of the world for safeguarding its national interest including enhancing socio-economic development of the nation.
Of the four major instruments (fifth one, namely imperialism and colonialism, has become out of context today and thus not considered for now) for the promotion of national interests outlined in most textbooks, it is hardly possible for countries like Nepal to think ‘war as an instrument’ or use ‘economic instrument’ or get into ‘propaganda and political warfare as instruments’. Given the present context, viable option would be to work on ‘diplomacy’ as an instrument of national policy Before getting into the discussion of the appropriateness of diplomacy for exercising Nepal’s foreign policy, it might be worthwhile to digress a bit on the definition given to it by the representatives of Super Powers during 1940s which is as follows:
General Joseph W. Stilwell (known as “Vinegar Joe”), the top American Military Commander in the China-Burma-India theater; calling himself as a ‘deckhand diplomat’ had said, “It is a serious business. A lot of big figures indulge in it and a host of little ones trail along. The term diplomat to the average American evokes a vision of an immaculately dressed being- pen stripe pant, spats, cutaway and topper-and a coldly severe and superior manner which masks the lightening like play of the intellect…”-The Stilwell Papers, edited by Theodore H. White (William Slaon Associates, 1948). Joseph Stalin from a different background seems to have described the art of diplomacy as: ‘A diplomat’s words must have no relations to actions-otherwise what kind of diplomat is it? Good words are a mask for the concealment of bad deeds—quoted in David Dallin, The real Soviet Russia (Yale University press 1944).
Whatever the definition, a diplomat is supposed to function on the following broad areas: representation, negotiation, reporting and protection of interests of a nation. Harold Nicolson (whose book diplomacy has become a classic) has given emphasis on three developments of the Nineteenth and twentieth centuries which have greatly affected diplomacy. Growing sense of community of nations, increasing appreciation of the importance of public opinion and rapid increase in communication have provided opportunities as well as challenges to diplomacy.
Nepal may need to resort to structured (normal channels) diplomacy as well as personal diplomacy Notwithstanding the advantages and disadvantages of personal diplomacy (practiced during critical periods of the events leading to World War II-Churchill and Roosevelt for Atlantic Charter (vision for post war settlement); with Chiang Kai Shek, Stalin; Churchill, Stalin and Truman, Potsdam Conference 1945- punishment to the defeated), and a regular practice followed by Nepal in conducting high level dialogue with India’s senior officials as well as China’s, resorting to this mechanism at a critical moment might prove to be better than following the normal channels. Such a practice would require a proper combination of diplomats functioning at different circumstances. Although the appointment of Ambassadors is considered to be political decision making yet one cannot expect the bureaucrats to perform outside of the normal channels. Personal diplomacy would thus require suitable persons who can read the minds of the government leaders accurately and perform expeditiously and always in the best interest of the country and its people. Nepal must ever remain alert to the demands and aspirations of its neighbors and act in a proactive manner to either douse smallest of their doubts or help prevent any untoward incident affecting it.
Nepal is destined to be in a 24-hour working schedule simply for its survival as an independent and sovereign nation. Besides, Nepal needs to make judicious use and application of its scarce but invaluable resources including water resources; protection and preservation of its natural environment including bio-diversity artistic and cultural legacy for choosing a pragmatic course for socio-economic development. While a bad internal decision on the use of public goods and resources would push back Nepal into a state of further underdevelopment causing rampant poverty and social unrest, lack of imagination in its bilateral relations with its immediate neighbors could easily land Nepal in an intractable situation taking decades to unwind unfavorable consequences and regain its composure. This is the biggest foreign policy challenge for Nepal. ( Concluded).
(This paper was presented by the author at a seminar organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs, Nepal, November 14, 2011. Thanks to the author and the organizer: Chief Editor.
1. L.F. Stiller, S. J, Prithvinarayan Shah in the light of Dibya Upadesh: 1968
2. Leo E. Rose, Nepal Strategy for survival: 1971
3. Norman D. Palmer and Howard C. Perkins, International relations-the world community in transition: 1985 (Indian Edition)
4. Indian Foreign Policy in the 21st century: Prospects and Challenges. | <urn:uuid:a8b02cb8-c375-4a96-82ea-396e56f88aeb> | {
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Teacher's Resources - A Question of Ritual
For the people of the ancient Americas as for many other humans worldwide, ceremonies formed a bridge between their world and that of deities and spirits. Through sacred rituals they communicated to their gods and ancestors their hopes for a bounty of food, protection from the potential disasters wrought by nature or political enemies and general good fortune, thus forming a bridge between the living and the metaphysical.
In the Mesoamerican and Andean belief systems, many different rituals involving dances, ceremonies, festivals and games were performed to maintain a sense of order and balance and to create the conditions necessary for prosperous human cultures to unfold. Much has been made of the evidence for the practice of human sacrifice in both regions; certainly it appears to have been practiced, as it was in certain civilizations all over the world, including Imperial Rome, the early Celtic settlements of Western Europe, and many others.
What is more interesting and fruitful to pursue with students is an exploration of the possible belief systems that gave meaning to the CLOTH & CLAY objects, such as this ritual incense burner from Teotihuacan, an ancient Mexican culture.
Classroom Activities and Projects (recommended ages are in italics and are approximate)
1. 12 -16: In groups or as individuals, students can research the symbolism of the mountain in ancient American cultures, investigating such areas as sacred geometry, layout of cities and ritual sites, pyramids, and rituals. The results of the research can result in essays, as well as drawings and 3-dimensional models.
2. 12 -16: Within a larger project comparing the beliefs of ancient peoples around the world, students can investigate those of the ancient Americas, including shamanism, use of psychotropic plants, and human sacrifice, tying these practices to the religious beliefs of the cultures practicing them. Class discussions can touch on how easy it is to sensationalize these practices, and the importance of putting them in context with the larger belief systems of the civilizations under review.
3. 12 - 16: Research on the Day of the Dead, a yearly festival in Mexico that takes place in early November, provides insight into ancient and contemporary religious beliefs and rituals. By studying this and other festivals, students who are growing up in the secular societies of the West can develop an understanding of life in a deeply religious culture. Similarly, students who are themselves rooted in a religious culture can learn about other belief systems.
In its original form, this festival took place during Miccailhuitontli (late summer) in the Aztec calendar, and celebrated the life cycle, honouring the newly dead and the ancestors. Today the day corresponds to All Saints Day in the Christian calendar.
Students working in groups can present the results of their research to the class, with each group covering different aspects of the festival such as the variety of forms taken by the festivities, the combined Christian/pre-Christian elements, and the significance of ofrendas, calaveras and other related objects. | <urn:uuid:45964684-0e7b-4afe-9a67-a3dadf9ff5d0> | {
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The use of beta-alanine to produce muscle carnosine offers a way to increase anaerobic exercise potential and is likely to add to the effects of creatine in some exercise settings. First discovered in the early 1900s, beta-alanine and histidine are the two components of carnosine. Histidine is already present in large quantity within skeletal muscles, so it is beta-alanine that acts as the rate-limiting factor in carnosine conversion.
A buildup of metabolic waste limits muscle contraction, with hydrogen ions being the worst. This is primarily true of our fast fibers, which are most sensitive to hydrogen ions and extremely susceptible to fatigue. If the hydrogen ions can be buffered, muscle strength can be maintained for a longer time before fatigue sets in. Anyone, including bodybuilders, involved in exercise where lactic acid buildup is the limiting factor stands to benefit from beta-alanine. In the gym, this benefit may translate into more reps with a given weight.
Carnosine is very effective at buffering the hydrogen ions responsible for producing the lactic acid burn. Studies have shown that increasing muscle carnosine by supplementing beta-alanine may delay fatigue and improve the muscular aspects of athletic performance.
Research also indicates that beta-alanine increases lactate threshold, improves the ability to maintain maximal power output during high-intensity exercise, and decreases neuromuscular fatigue. By elevating carnosine level, nerves fire at a faster rate. For example, instead of one’s body operating at 80% the day after exercise, carnosine may help it perform closer to the highest possible levels. Beta-alanine is mainly useful for athletes who are constantly using the same muscles,without the ability to take a break and recover for a few days. | <urn:uuid:04af6252-1903-4e24-bd6d-109f9b9e0f8b> | {
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Pathogens put squeeze on Florida citrus industry
Government seeks new solutions after giving up on eradication of bacterial disease
State and government officials are gearing up to release a Citrus Health Response Plan
(CHRP) for Florida, after calling a halt
to efforts to eradicate the bacterial disease citrus canker
. Meanwhile, Florida's citrus growers are facing a new, potentially more devastating threat -- a bacterium called citrus greening
, which has wiped out the citrus industry in many parts of Asia.
After 2005's hurricane Wilma, which helped transmit citrus canker
, officials estimated that it would be necessary to rip out roughly a third of Florida's citrus-growing acreage to continue with eradication efforts, which require removing all trees within 1,900 feet of an infected tree. The cost: $1.7 billion. Eradication "just wasn't practical or feasible any longer," Philip Berger
, national science program leader at the USDA's Center For Plant Health Science and Technology
, told The Scientist
Now, Florida farmers are dealing with another pathogen, citrus greening. Also known as huanglongbing (Chinese for "yellow shoot disease"), the bacterium was identified for the first time in Florida in September 2005 and is now present across the southern half of the state. Spread by the citrus psyllid insect, the disease has wiped out the citrus industry in many parts of Asia, including China and Thailand, and now threatens Brazil, which has the world's largest citrus industry.
Fruit from canker-infected trees isn't pretty, but it can still be juiced and thus remains commercially valuable. But citrus greening dramatically shortens the lifespan of citrus trees, making fruit inedible as the tree sickens. "Not too many pathogens kill plants -- this one does," says Allan Dodds
of the University of California at Riverside, who moderates plant diseases on ProMed Mail
And while canker is fairly easy to detect, greening is tougher to spot. Symptoms can mimic those of nutrient deficiencies. The bacterium that causes the disease, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus
, invades the phloem, but it is not clear where it goes after that, and it has never been cultured in the lab. PCR tests have been developed to identify the bacterium, but are only capable of detecting it in symptomatic trees, Ron Brlansky
of the University of Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences' Citrus Research & Education Center
in Lake Alfred told The Scientist
Measures spelled out in the draft CHRP, written by USDA/APHIS and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Plant Industry, focus largely on ensuring that new citrus plant stock is free of both diseases, and require that citrus stock or budwood sources be grown in insect-proof structures featuring double entry doors with positive pressure air displacement. Nursery industry officials have estimated that building such a greenhouse for 175,000 young trees would cost $2.5 million.
In the meantime, scientists like Brlansky are working hard on getting the word out to growers on how to manage citrus greening, which he calls "our number one priority."
With "judicious spraying," the disease can be controlled, Chester Roistacher, an emeritus professor at the University of California-Riverside who has worked internationally on citrus greening and other citrus diseases, told The Scientist
. "Where you do not have a good control program, your trees will live anywhere from five to eight years and die." But because the disease is new to Florida, he noted, it's not yet clear how frequently groves will have to be sprayed.
Yet another danger is waiting in the wings -- citrus tristeza virus (CTV). The virus has been present in Florida for years without causing serious damage. But the brown citrus aphid
), which can spread the virus more aggressively than its standard Florida vector, Aphis gossypii
, recently arrived in Florida. "It's a much more effective vector," said Dodds. He predicts that the strains of CTV endemic to Florida will gradually become more virulent as Toxoptera
spreads. Such CTV strains can cause stem pitting, which reduces the commercial value of citrus fruit.
Links within this article
Citrus Health Response Plan
"USDA determines citrus canker eradication not feasible," Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, January 11, 2006.
J. Woodall, "Our food is dying," The Scientist
, March 2006.
Philip H. Berger
Center for Plant Health Science and Technology
Citrus Research & Education Center
Brown citrus aphid | <urn:uuid:d5d07c7d-235b-4845-b8d4-e9b3199667f0> | {
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Fashion, as even we khaki-wearing office types know, is all about trend setting. Flapper dresses in the 20s. Shoulder pads in the 80s. Skinny jeans that make men look like wobbly, newborn gazelles in the 2000s. It's a business built on thinking a few years ahead, and sometimes dragging the country places we didn't know we wanted to go.
So perhaps its appropriate that clothing was one of the first American manufacturing industries to take a truly post-industrial turn in the late 20th century. U.S. textile mills began closing in the 1970s, and by the 1990s apparel production was in full collapse. The Bureau of Labor Statics has produced a great online feature tracking the last 20 or so years of the domestic fashion industry, including graph below illustrating the way jobs simply evaporated here thanks to competition from abroad. Between 1990 and 2011, 80 percent of apparel manufacturing jobs disappeared.
This has been a tragedy for workers and factory towns. But it's been triumph for consumers, because it's kept clothing cheap. The black line on the graph below is the consumer price index, which measures inflation. That colorful tangle at the bottom is all apparel. The price of a basic shirt was pretty much arrested in the 1990s, when all those jobs headed overseas. For better or worse, that's the bargain we've made.
In the meantime, what we've been left here in the states is essentially a high-margin knowledge industry. J. Crew, Ann Taylor and the like are a lot like Apple, with design and marketing concentrated here in the states, and production outsourced to factories in Asia. The safest jobs in the industry, as shown in the graph below, are the relatively small coterie of designers and custom tailors -- high skilled professionals and service industry workers. Production jobs are expected to continue sailing offshore, where it can simply be done more productively.
But is it possible that fashion has fallen behind the times, supply chain wise? Offshoring was the hot thing in manufacturing for the last two decades. Now, everyone is talking about on-shoring, where companies use automation to bring more of their assembly work back home to ultra-efficient factories. Is that a development we could see one day in clothing? Hard to say. But if the Pentagon can actually build that unmanned sewing machine they're working on, I wouldn't rule it out. | <urn:uuid:5ca87a95-736f-4a3c-96c6-8683ee116a00> | {
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During the REBELLIONS OF 1837, the bank annoyed local commercial interests and, partly as a result, the Commercial Bank of the Midland District expanded more rapidly in the 1840s. During the 1850s, the bank held the government account, provided significant short-term capital for railway development and, in the boom years, recklessly speculated in land and railways. The bank never recovered from the 1857 economic collapse, losing the government account in 1864 and entering trusteeship in November 1866. Despite its great contribution to the development of Canadian commerce, it became a casualty of the very process it had helped facilitate: the transition from MERCANTILISM to an industrial economy.
Author PETER A. BASKERVILLE | <urn:uuid:18e71f29-2644-4585-91bd-ba96c2c6466c> | {
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The term Roman Catholic first appeared in the English language in the 16th century to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others. It has continued to be widely used in the English language ever since, although its usage has changed over the centuries. It is now even used to distinguish different groups of Catholics who recognize the Pope, e.g., those who belong to the Western (i.e., Latin Rite) Church from those who belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches.
The Catholic Church consists of 23 autonomous Churches — one "Western" and 22 "Eastern" — governed by two sets of Codes of Canon Law. To refer to all 23 autonomous Churches together, official Church documents often use the term "Catholic Church" or, less frequently, the term "Roman Catholic Church". The usage that makes the term "Roman Catholic" mean members of the Latin Rite or Western Church to the exclusion of those who belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches does not appear in recent documents of the Holy See.
In popular usage, "Catholic Church" is usually understood to mean the same as "Roman Catholic Church". In some compound forms such as "Roman Catholic Worship", the term is used to differentiate Western practices.
The roots of the term Roman Catholic may be traced to the differences between English Catholics who remained loyal to the Pope from those who acknowledged the Elizabethan Settlement which re-established the Church of England’s independence from Rome in 1559.
The terms "Romish Catholic" and "Roman Catholic", along with "Popish Catholic", were probably originated in the English language by Protestants (who at times called themselves Protestant Catholics) who were not willing to concede the term Catholic to their opponents without qualification.
The reign of Elizabeth I of England at the end of the 16th century was marked by conflicts in Ireland. Those opposed to English rule forged alliances with those against Protestant reformation, making the term Roman Catholic almost synonymous with being Irish during that period, although that usage changed significantly over time.
Like the term Anglican, the term Roman Catholic came into widespread use in the English language only in the 17th century. The terms "Romish Catholic" and "Roman Catholic" were both in use in the 17th century and "Roman Catholic" was used in some official documents, such as those relating to the Spanish Match in the 1620s. There was, however, significant tension between Anglicans and Roman Catholics at the time (as reflected in the Test Act for public office). Even today, the Act of Settlement 1701 still prohibits Roman Catholics from becoming English monarchs.
The official and popular uses of the term Roman Catholic in the English language grew in the 18th century. Up to the reign of George III, Catholics in Britain who recognized the Pope as head of the Church had generally been designated in official documents as "Papists". In 1792, however, this phraseology was changed and in the Speech from the Throne, the term "Roman Catholic" was used.
By early 19th century, the term Roman Catholic had become well established in the English-speaking world. As the movement that led to Catholic Emancipation through the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 grew, many — though not all — Anglicans and Protestants generally began to accept that being a Roman Catholic was not synonymous with being disloyal to the British government. While believing that in the past the term Roman Catholic may have been synonymous with rebel, they held that it was by then as indicative of loyalty as membership in any other Christian denomination. The situation had been very different two centuries before, when Pope Paul V forbade English members of his Church from taking an oath of allegiance to King James I, a prohibition that not all of them observed.
Also in the 19th century, prominent Anglican theologians such as Palmer and Keble supported the Branch Theory, which viewed the universal Church as having three principal branches: Anglican, Roman and Eastern. The 1824 issue of The Christian Observer defined the term Roman Catholic as a member of the Roman Branch of the Church. By 1828, speeches in the English parliament routinely used the term Roman Catholic and referred to the "Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church".
In the United States, the use of the term Roman Catholic and indeed the number of Roman Catholics began to grow only in the early 19th century, given that in 1790 there were only 100 Roman Catholics in New York and some 30,000 in the whole United States, with 29 priests. As the number of Roman Catholics in the United States grew rapidly from 150,000 to 1.7 million between 1815 and 1850 — mostly by way of immigration from Ireland and Germany — the clergy followed the people to serve them, and Roman Catholic parishes were established. The terms "Roman Catholic" and "Holy Roman Catholic" thus gained widespread use in the United States in the 19th century, both in popular usage and within official documents. In 1866 President Andrew Johnson attended a meeting of the Council of the Roman Catholic Church.
American Catholics, who by the year 1900 were 12 million people and had a predominantly Irish clergy, objected to what they considered the reproachful terms Popish and Romish and preferred the term Roman Catholic.
In the early 20th century, the use of the term Roman Catholic continued to spread within the United States and Canada, to refer to individuals, parishes and their schools. For instance, the 1915 Report of the Commissioner of Education of the United States had a specific section for "Roman Catholic Parish Schools". By 1918, legal proceedings in state supreme courts (from Delaware to Minnesota) and laws passed in the State of New York used the term "Roman Catholic parish".
By the middle of the 20th century the use of the term Roman Catholic was widely established in the United States and a 1957 survey by the United States Census Bureau determined that 25% of the US population applied the term Roman Catholic to themselves.
The term Roman Catholic is generally used on its own to refer to individuals, and in compound forms to refer to worship, parishes, festivals, etc. Its usage has varied, depending on circumstances. It is sometimes identified with one or other of the terms "Catholic", "Western Catholic" (equivalent to "Latin Catholic"), and "Roman-Rite Catholic".
In popular usage, "Catholic" usually means "Roman Catholic", a usage decried by some, including some Protestants. "Catholic" usually refers to members of any of the 23 constituent Churches, the one Western and the 22 Eastern. The same meaning is attributed also to "Roman Catholic" in documents of the Holy See, talks by Popes and in newspapers.
When used in a broader sense, the term Catholic is distinguished from "Roman Catholic" which has connotations of allegiance to the Bishop of Rome, i.e. the Pope. In this broader sense, "Catholic" also refers to many other Christians, especially Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans, but also to others, including Old Catholics and various independent Catholic Churches, who consider themselves to be living within the "catholic" tradition. They describe themselves as "Catholic", but not "Roman Catholic" and not under the authority of the Pope.
"...the individual becomes Eastern Catholic, not Roman Catholic".
Similarly the Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth states that
"...not all Catholics are Roman Catholics and there are other Catholic Churches",
using the term "Roman Catholic" to refer to Western Church members alone. The same distinction is made by writers in the Eastern Catholic Churches. That this view is not the only one, especially perhaps at popular level, is shown by the use of terms such as "Byzantine Roman Catholic" and "Maronite Roman Catholic" as self-identification by individuals or as the name of a church building. Additionally, in other languages, the usage varies significantly.
Although the Catholic Church has Western and Eastern branches, many, even Catholics, are unaware, or only dimly aware of this fact, partly because, outside the Middle East, Eastern Catholics are a small fraction of the total number of Catholics.
When referring to worship, the term Roman Catholic is at times used to refer to the "Roman Rite", which is not a church but a form of liturgy. The Roman Rite is distinct from the liturgies of the Eastern Catholic Churches and also from other Western liturgical rites such as the Ambrosian Rite, which have a much smaller following than the Roman Rite.
An example of this usage is provided in the book Roman Catholic Worship: Trent to today states:
"We use the term Roman Catholic Worship throughout to make it clear that we are not covering all forms of Catholic worship. There are a number of Eastern Rite churches that can justly claim the title Catholic, but many of the statements we make do not apply to them at all.".
Compared to the Roman Rite, the other Western liturgical rites have little following. Hence, the Vatican department that deals with forms of worship (including music) in the Western Church often issues documents that deal only with the Roman Rite. Any involvement by the Holy See in questions of Eastern liturgies is handled by a different department.
Some of the writers who draw a contrast between "Roman Catholics" and "Eastern Catholics" may perhaps be distinguishing Eastern Catholics not from Latin or Western Catholics in general, but only from those (the majority of Latin Catholics) who use the Roman liturgical rite. Adrian Fortescue explicitly made this distinction, saying that, just as "Armenian Catholic" is used to mean a Catholic who uses the Armenian rite, "Roman Catholic" could be used to mean a Catholic who uses the Roman Rite. In this sense, he said, an Ambrosian Catholic, though a member of the Latin or Western Church, is not a "Roman" Catholic. He admitted, however, that this usage is uncommon.
When the term "Roman Catholic" is used as part of the name of a parish it usually indicates that it is a Western parish that follows the Roman Rite in its liturgy, rather than, for instance, the less common Ambrosian Rite, e.g. St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, Oyster Bay, New York. The shorter term "Catholic" may also appear in parish names and "Roman Catholic" sometimes even appears in the compound name of Eastern Catholic parishes, e.g. St. Mary's Byzantine Roman Catholic Church.
All Catholic parishes are part of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction, usually a diocese (called an eparchy in the canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches). These jurisdictions are usually grouped in ecclesiastical provinces, headed by a metropolitan archdiocese. All dioceses and similar jurisdictions — Eastern and Western — come under the authority of the Pope.. The term "Roman Catholic archdiocese" is formally used to refer to both Western and Eastern Churches. As of January 2009, there were 630 Roman Catholic archdioceses, Western and Eastern.
The terms "Catholic Church" and "Roman Catholic Church" are names for the entire church that describes itself as "governed by the successor of Saint Peter and by the bishops in communion with him". In its formal documents and pronouncements the church most often refers to itself as the Catholic Church or simply the Church. In its relations with other churches, it frequently uses the name "Roman Catholic Church", which it uses internally also, though less frequently. Some writers such as Kenneth Whitehead and Patrick Madrid argue that the only proper name for the Church is "the Catholic Church".
Some Catholic writers such as Kenneth Whitehead argue that the proper name of the Church is the "Catholic Church" rather than the "Roman Catholic Church". Kenneth Whitehead and Patrick Madrid argue that the term "Roman Catholic" has Anglican origins and that the term is used to leave open the possibility that there are other "Catholic" churches.
The name "Roman Catholic Church" is occasionally used by popes, bishops, other clergy and laity, who do not see it as opprobrious or having the suggested overtone. The use of "Roman", "Holy" and "Apostolic" are accepted by the Church as descriptive names. Some US states and the country of England require the Church to use the legal name "Roman Catholic Church". At the time of the 16th-century Reformation, the Church itself "claimed the word catholic as its title over Protestant or Reformed churches". It believes that it is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
Throughout the years, in various instances, official Church documents have used both the terms "Catholic Church" and "Roman Catholic Church" to refer to the worldwide Church as a whole, including Eastern Catholics, as when Pope Pius XII taught in Humani Generis that "the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing". However, some Easterners, though in communion with the Bishop of Rome, apply the adjective "Roman" to the Latin or Western Church alone. Representatives of the Catholic Church are at times required to use the term "Roman Catholic Church" in certain dialogues, especially in ecumenical milieu, since some Protestants consider themselves authentic instances of Catholic faith.
In the 21st century, the three terms Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Catholic Church continue to appear in various books and publications, and scholarly debates on the proper form of reference to the Catholic Church within specific contexts continue. For instance, the Catechism of the Catholic Church does not contain the term "Roman Catholic Church", referring to the Church only by names such as "Catholic Church" (as in its title), while the Advanced Catechism Of Catholic Faith And Practice states that the term Roman is used within the name of the Church to emphasize that the center of unity of the Church is the Roman See.
There is controversy about the name "Roman Catholic Church" because of its use by some outside the Church to suggest that the Church in Rome is only one part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This argument is linked especially with the Anglican Branch Theory, (i.e., that the Church in communion with the Pope is only one branch of a divided Catholic Church, of which the Eastern Orthodox Church and Anglicanism are the other two branches).
In 1864, the Holy Office rejected the Branch Theory, affirming in a letter written to the English Bishops that the Roman Church is not just a part of the Catholic Church and stating that "there is no other Catholic Church except that which is built on the one man, Peter ...." In 1870, English bishops attending the First Vatican Council raised objections to the expression "Holy Roman Catholic Church" which appeared in the schema (the draft) of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith. These bishops proposed that the word "Roman" be omitted out of concern that use of the term "Roman Catholic" would lend support to proponents of the Branch Theory. While the Council overwhelmingly rejected this proposal, the text was finally modified to read "The Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church".[note 1]
The Second Vatican Council did not use the term "Roman Catholic Church", and in one important passage replaced it with an equivalent phrase, "the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in union with that successor", while also giving in a footnote a reference to two earlier documents in which the word "Roman" was used explicitly.
The Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium declares that the phrase "Roman Church" has been applied in the Tridentine Profession of Faith to the Church itself, the Church "governed by the successor of Saint Peter and by the bishops in communion with him". Even as far back as 1208 the adjective "Roman" was applied to the Church "outside which we believe that no one is saved".
While the phrase "Roman Catholic Church" does not appear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Advanced Catechism of Catholic Faith and Practice states that the term "Roman" is used within the name of the Church to emphasize that the centre of unity of the Church is the Roman See.
Some Eastern-rite Catholics reject the description of themselves as "Roman", even though they're a part of the Catholic Church. Others are proud to call themselves Roman Catholics, and "Roman Catholic" sometimes even appears in the compound name of Eastern Catholic parish churches, e.g. St. Mary's Byzantine Roman Catholic Church. | <urn:uuid:d72a13f2-15ec-4d10-9549-3aadab748360> | {
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The Jewish Museum, one of the world's largest and most important institutions devoted to exploring the remarkable scope and diversity of Jewish culture, was founded in 1904 in the library of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where it was housed for more than four decades. In 1944, Frieda Schiff Warburg, widow of the prominent businessman and philanthropist, Felix Warburg, who had been a Seminary trustee, donated the family mansion at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street to the Seminary for use as the Museum.
Located along New York's Museum Mile, this elegant former residence has been the home of the Museum since 1947. A sculpture court was installed alongside the Mansion in 1959, and the Albert A. List Building was added in 1963 to provide additional exhibition and program space. In 1989, a major expansion and renovation project was undertaken. Upon completion in June 1993, the expansion doubled the Museum's gallery space, created new space for educational programs, provided significant improvements in public amenities, and added a two-floor permanent exhibition called Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey . The expanded Jewish Museum preserves the French Gothic chateau-style exterior of the original Warburg Mansion, which was designed by architect Charles P.H. Gilbert and completed in 1908.
Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated the first gift of 26 objects of fine and ceremonial art to the library of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America with the suggestion that a Jewish museum be formed. Subsequent gifts and purchases have helped to form the Museum's distinguished collection and develop the concept of the institution, whose mission has been to preserve, study and interpret Jewish cultural history through the use of authentic art and artifacts, linking both Jews and non-Jews to a rich body of values and traditions. Today, The Jewish Museum's permanent collection, which has grown to more than 26,000 objects -- paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, ethnographic material, archaeological artifacts, numismatics, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media materials -- is the largest and most important of its kind in the world.
The Jewish Museum regularly presents large temporary exhibitions of an interdisciplinary nature. Such exhibitions often employ a combination of art and artifacts interpreted through the lens of social history in order to explore important ideas and topics. The Museum's highly successful The Dreyfus Affair: Art, Truth and Justice (1987), Gardens and Ghettos: The Art of Jewish Life in Italy (1989), From Court Jews to the Rothschilds: Art, Patronage and Power 1600-1800 (1996), ASSIGNMENT: RESCUE, The Story of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee (1997) and Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture 1890-1918 (1999) are examples of this type of exhibition.
The Museum is also known for its exhibitions of fine arts interpreted in the context of social history, such as Painting a Place in America: Jewish Artists in New York, 1900-1945 (1991) ; social history exhibitions such as Bridges and Boundaries: African Americans and American Jews (1992); and monograph shows of significant artists such as Camille Pissarro (1995), Marc Chagall (1996), Chaim Soutine (1998) and George Segal (1998). The Museum also regularly presents the works of contemporary artists in group exhibitions such as Too Jewish? Challenging Traditional Identities (1996) and one-person shows like Bordering on Fiction: Chantal Akerman's "D'Est" (1997). Its education department presents a diverse and wide-ranging array of programs for individuals, groups, families and schools.
For nearly a century, The Jewish Museum has illuminated the Jewish experience, both secular and religious, demonstrating the strength of Jewish identity and culture. Its unparalleled collection and unique exhibitions offer a wide range of opportunities for exploring multiple facets of the Jewish experience, past and present, and for educating current and future generations. It is a source of education, inspiration and shared human values for people of all cultures.
Explore The Jewish Museum's history in 100 Years at The Jewish Museum: A Timeline (1904 - 2004). | <urn:uuid:1cc49e40-fbbb-4917-b559-881df0c4b132> | {
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We all love a story of ancient treasures, long-lost, found again. Whether it’s the Antikythera mechanism, or ancient coins (curious coincidence – this report includes comments from curator of archaeology at Manx National Heritage Allison Fox, who was in my A-level Physics class for a year back in the 1980s – it’s a small world) or rare Roman armour, it doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to be an academic specialising in ancient knowledge of astronomy or a military historian to understand the special significance of such finds.
So too with ancient bottles. Occasionally a shipwreck with a few intact bottles turns up. One has been in the news in the UK recently, with the forthcoming auction of bottles found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Opinion on the quality of such bottles can vary. In the last few weeks they have been described by Tom Stevenson as being for “historical interest, not pleasure”, but speaking last year of bottles from the same find, Essi Avellan MW tasted them and declared them to be “very much alive and remarkably fresh”. Whether or not the quality is good, however, we can be reasonably certain that the prices these bottles will fetch are likely to be very high. Old, rare, shipwrecked bottles clearly generate some interest. We are fascinated by the story, and I for one am prepared to ‘buy into’ the story. In other words, part of me understands why people want these bottles, in the same way I can understand why others find ancient coins and other treasure troves to be of interest.
But what about bottles submerged not centuries ago, and not because of some fateful storm and shipwreck, but on the whim of the winemaker? Do these incite the same interest?
Franck Labeyrie, proprietor of Château du Coureau in Bordeaux, already has a track record of selling wine that has been submerged, the cuvée in question a white wine which sees out six months on the sea bed in the famous lagoon at Arcachon. He has been experimenting with more extreme submersions recently though, with an attempt to sink bottles into an Atlantic trench at a depth of 1000 metres. Reading this report (in French) it seems as though he failed at his first attempt, having experienced difficulties, first with the increased pressure at 200 metres dislodging the cork, secondly a technical difficulty with the robot submersible. Not to be dissuaded, he will try again. The ‘experiment’ is bankrolled by Michel Rolland, a family friend, who I assume is content to pay for the second try. In the meantime though, my ‘gimmick’ alarm bells are ringing very loudly indeed. Especially when I learn that the wine he sinks in Arcachon sells for 2-3 times the usual price.
More recently, the team from Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion have been trying, but this time not with bottles, but with a tiny wooden cask, as reported here (in French again). Remarkably, Bruno Lemoine, director of the château, claims he was inspired by stories of wines aging well at sea (Bandol, Madeira, the wines of Cos d’Estournel, etc.). Somebody should tell him the wines were on a ship at the time though, not thrown overboard! The 56-litre barrel seems to have been lined with stainless steel, nevertheless – surprise, surprise – the Cuvée Neptune as it has been named is better than the wine aged on land in a similarly small cask. Naturally it seems to have enjoyed some ‘osmosis’ with the sea, no doubt picking up some delicious salty flavours along the way. Needless to say, my gimmick alarm is going like the clappers at this one.
If you were a winemaker, would any of this convince you to begin aging your wine underwater? And as a consumer, would you be prepared to shell out more for Cuvée Neptune against Cuvée Tellus, the wine from the barrel stored on land? | <urn:uuid:b2fcfa94-d947-4f55-bf6a-9dcdfdae3977> | {
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Over 8,000 websites created by students around the world who have participated in a ThinkQuest Competition.
Compete | FAQ | Contact Us
In this project, our team has been instructed to create a website that enables other people or students to read, think, and understand the principles of integers. On this website, you will find links to pages that support information on multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting integers, in whole numbers and in fractions.
19 & under
Math > Algebra | <urn:uuid:6630817e-b558-4dd1-8acd-8aaa922aac48> | {
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Think bamboo ... think exotic
The very thought of bamboo conjures up images of exotic tropical scenes - tall, green bamboo forests gently swaying in the soft, warm breeze. Bamboo has helped humankind since time began for shelter, weapons, food, and medicine. Something about bamboo fulfills a basic human need of getting back to nature and a more simple life.
12,000 Documented species & varieties
Bamboo is actually a grass that grows to a harvestable height between 3 - 5 years. Some species grow up to 2 feet per day. After harvesting, bamboo does not require replanting, it has an extensive root system that continually sends up new shoots, naturally replenishing itself, making it one of the most renewable resources known.
Bamboo Walk, Jamaica
No old growth forests are touched, no trees are cut.
Bamboo is 16% harder than maple wood, 1/3 lighter in weight than oak, yet in some instances as strong as steel. Bamboo holds the promise of a sustainable, cost effective, and ecologically responsible alternative to the widespread clearcutting of our old growth forests.
The bamboo we use Phyllostachus, Pubescens, more commonly referred to as "Moso"is grown 500k west of
Bamboo is not only a "plant" it's a way of life.
We have been bitten by the "bamboo bug". We don't know why but it seems everyone involved in bamboo is so passionate about it - it must be contagious. Bamboo is such a beautiful and useful plant, not to mention an ecologically friendly material. | <urn:uuid:8fe6aa95-5c55-4ad5-b97c-2f6c642b3d09> | {
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Until the Aswan High Dam was built, Egypt received a yearly inundation - an annual flood - of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians did not realise this, but the flood came due to the heavy summer rains in the Ethiopian highlands, swelling the different tributaries and other rivers that joined and became the Nile. This happened yearly, between June and September, in a season the Egyptians called akhet - the inundation. This was seen by the Egyptians as a yearly coming of the god Hapi, bringing fertility to the land.
The first signs of the inundation were seen at Aswan by the end of June, reaching its swelling to its fullest at Cairo by September. The flood would then decrease in size around two weeks later, leaving behind a deposit of rich, black silt. The amount of silt left behind due to the height of the Nile determined the amount of crops that the Egyptians could grow - if the inundation was too low, it would be a year of famine.
The Egyptians learned a method of measuring the height of the Nile known as the Nilometre.
Although all Nilometres used by the Egyptians had a single obvious purpose, to mark the highest point of Inundation, they were constructed in one of three different formats -- a slab or pillar, a well or a series of steps. All three were calibrated using the same unit of measurement, the cubit; the Egyptians broke the cubit into smaller units, which allowed them to keep remarkably accurate records, perhaps more accurate than would have been warranted for the purposes of merely agriculture and taxation.
The Nilometre on Elephantine Island near the First Cataract deep in southern Egypt always held supreme importance. It was the first outpost where the floods exerted themselves and the first to know when they were over, but the religious significance of the might might have overshadowed its strategic location. It was the home-place of Khnum, the ram-headed god of Inundation. During the Eleventh Dynasty a sanctuary was built on the island specifically to celebrate Inundations. A new Nilometre replaced a much older one at the edge of Khnum's Temple during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty; somewhat later, in Dynasty Thirty, a riverside terrace and another Nilometre was added to the nearby Temple of Satet, one of Khnum's celestial consorts. When Egypt fell to Rome, that did not mean an end to Nilometres on Elephantine Island, for Khnum's Nilometre received a new calibrated staircase and a granite roof from the Romans.
-- Ralph Vaughan, Nilometers: Measuring the Universe
The Nilometres were usually a series of steps by the Nile, where the water level against the steps would show how high the Nile would rise and records of the maximum height of the inundation could be taken. There are Nilometres at the temples at Elephantine, Philae, Edfu, Esna, Kom Ombo and Dendera. These were build through pharaonic times up until Roman times. There was even a Nilometre built during early Islamic times at el-Rhoda in Cairo, which was possibly the site of an ancient Nilometre, though it used a pillar rather than the usual steps.
The ancient Egyptians viewed Sirius as the bringer of new life. This was because Sirius was newly visible in the sky at the time of the flooding of the Nile River, the life-giving inundation which yearly fertilised their crops.
The inundation was also around the time that the Egyptians noticed the rising of the 'dog star' Sirius. The goddess Sopdet (Sothis) was the personification of this star, represented as a woman with a star as her headdress, or as a seated cow with a plant between her horns (just as Seshat's hieroglyph might have been a flower or a star.) Her star was the most important of the stars to the ancient Egyptians, and the rising of this star came at the time of inundation and the start of the Egyptian new year. She was linked closely with Isis, just as her husband Sah (the star Orion) and son Soped were linked with Osiris and Horus.
Isis' sister Nephthys is also somewhat linked to the inundation - in one particular tale, she represents the desert while Osiris represents the inundation itself. When the Nile flood is high enough to reach the desert, flowers bloom in the barren red land. In the story, Osiris and Nephthys have a drunken union, where Osiris leaves behind his garland of melilot flowers. As the inundation was a sign of fertility, Osiris and Nephthys were thought to have had a child - Anubis, god of mummification.
Now because the Ancient Egyptian calendar was slightly out of step with the solar and lunar year - the Egyptian calendar was out by 6 hours. As time went on, the inundation came occasionally during the season of akhet, so the Egyptians relied on the star, rather than the season, as the herald of both the new year and the yearly flood.
The other two seasons were peret (growing) and shemu (harvest). During the growing season (after the inundation had receded, if not exactly in the season according to the calendar) the Egyptians planted their crops - around October and November - and tended to the fields. The Egyptians watered their crops using an irrigation system of canals or by bringing water to the fields in basins or by using the shaduf, which is still in use in Egypt today, to raise water from the river to the bank of the Nile. By the time the Nile reached its lowest level, some time around March or April, the crops would be ready for the harvest.
During the inundation, though, there was nothing to do for the Egyptian farmer. Rather than doing nothing for a whole season, the Egyptians would do other tasks rather than paying tax. (Tax was usually taken out of the crops that the farmers grew, and during inundation, the farmland was covered by water!) During the Old Kingdom, this work took on the form of working on building pyramids.
This was not done, as originally and incorrectly thought, by slave labour. In fact, it was done by Egyptian citizens who had little else to do for one season a year. These men were also 'paid' for their work - workmen at the pyramids of the Giza Plateau were given beer, thrice daily - five kinds of beer and four kinds of wine!
If Egypt had a drought or a year of plenty, it was the will of the Nile god Hapi. The Egyptians gave him offerings and worship to hopefully bring a good flood that wasn't too high or too low. They celebrated the 'Arrival of Hapi', hoping that their houses wouldn't be washed away, or that the Nile would rise enough to provide both water and silt for the farmland. But the Egyptians, despite being able to measure the flood, couldn't change the situation if the Nile's waters weren't at the required level. To them, the inundation was truly in the hands' of the gods.
Who are we?
Tour Egypt aims to offer the ultimate Egyptian adventure and intimate knowledge about the country. We offer this unique experience in two ways, the first one is by organizing a tour and coming to Egypt for a visit, whether alone or in a group, and living it firsthand. The second way to experience Egypt is from the comfort of your own home: online. | <urn:uuid:40a922c3-bf31-46e4-ae3c-63d90ee50283> | {
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National Museum of Vietnamese History
What we say:
The National Museum of Vietnamese History is housed in a magnificent example of Indochinese architecture, which was until 1910 the French consulate and the residence of the governor general.
The building was also home to the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (EFEO), during which time it became a museum to exhibit EFEO finds. Over time the building deteriorated, and it was not until the early 1930s, following a seven-year renovation, that what you can see now was realised. The entrance gives on to an impressive two-storey rotunda with exhibits all around and in many galleries to the rear.
The contents are as fascinating as the building. The ground floor traces Vietnam's ancient history, from the first Neolithic finds through to those of the 15th century. Some items date back as far as 10,000 BC and feature more than just the requisite pottery shards and axe heads. The jewellery, tools and household items archaeologists have unearthed -- along with human and animal remains -- paint a compelling picture of the people who inhabited the region long ago, and provide a sense of how they are tied to Vietnam's modern inhabitants. There's also an excellent selection of bronze drums dating back as far as 500 BC. Ancient military history is also touched on. Corny dioramas of famous battles aside, some of the wooden spikes used by Tran Hung Dao to skewer the Mongolian fleet in 1288 are on display.
The upstairs of the rotunda has a small though impressive collection of Champa pieces -- if you missed the Champa Museum in Da Nang, now is your chance. The rest of the second floor goes from the 15th century up to the 20th. Some familiar sights are here in terms of temple statuary and pearl-inlay furniture, but the statue of Guan Yin -- the 'thousand armed, thousand eyed' manifestation of the Bodhisattva -- is second only to the one in the Fine Arts Museum
Other unusual exhibits include a scroll from the 1920s adorned with the characters for Long Life written 100 different ways. There's also a sculpture garden on the west side of the building where some old pieces have been left to suffer the ravages of acid rain, including a stellae bearing the oldest epitaph in Southeast Asia, dating from the 3rd century AD.
There's a charge for photographing the exhibits, and the price goes up if you want them to open the displays to eliminate the glare. Guided tours are available on request.
More details1 Trang Tien St, French Quarter, Hanoi
Opening Hours: Daily 08:00-16:30
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August 10, 2010 > Free vision curriculum guides available
Free vision curriculum guides available
Submitted By Natalie Wolfrom
In today's economy, educational tools are expensive for both students and educators. School textbook prices have risen alarmingly in recent years; depending on the subject, a single elementary textbook can range in price from $30 to $100.
For 30 years, the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Museum of Vision has provided educational materials for physicians, teachers, and parents interested in teaching children about the eye, vision, and ophthalmology. The museum has created an entire curriculum to teach children about the fascinating and spectacular science of vision. The museum's materials are suitable for ages 10-14, but can be adapted for other age groups.
The free teacher workbooks created by the museum focus on the human eye, the differences between human and animal vision, perspective, and how the brain processes images like optical illusions and 3D. The guides are filled with discussion points and fun interactive activities. Each guide can be downloaded at www.museumofvision.org/education and is free of charge:
Eye Openers: Exploring Optical Illusions is designed to help educators teach basic concepts of vision including binocular vision, persistence of vision, and eye-brain connection. It includes activities for youngsters and provides appropriate handouts.
Animal Eyes(r) describes the basic concepts of vision and explores the amazing eyes of the animal kingdom. The booklet teaches about the human visual system, how human eyes differ from animal eyes, seeing in the dark, and color vision.
Art and Vision: Seeing in 3D(r) describes the concepts of vision and special visual techniques that help to create the illusion of depth. It includes sections on size scaling, overlapping, atmospheric perspective, and linear perspective.
"I am very appreciative of the [educational] materials. I know that they would be very helpful for me in teaching my students about the eye and its wonders," said Scott A. Blanchard, teacher at the Biscotti Educational Center, in Macomb, Michigan.
Those interested in getting the curriculum guides can download the free PDF version online by visiting www.museumofvision.org/education. Once there, click on the link "Read More" found under any of the three booklets. A new page will open with the appropriate booklet information. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a free downloadable version of the booklet.
The Museum of Vision is an educational program of The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It is the only institution in the United States whose sole purpose is to preserve the history of ophthalmology and celebrate its unique contributions to science and health. For more information on the Museum of Vision, visit www.museumofvision.org. | <urn:uuid:20e532c4-d0b0-497c-ac2f-22ae4cdcec34> | {
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OLD UNION, TX (LIMESTONE COUNTY)
OLD UNION, TEXAS (Limestone County). Old Union is just south of Farm Road 3371 and twelve miles southeast of Groesbeck in southeastern Limestone County. It was named for an early interdenominational church. Its population was estimated at 100 in the mid-1930s. A church, a sawmill, two other businesses, and several scattered houses marked the site in the late 1940s, by which time the number of residents had risen to 150. In the 1980s and early 1990s the community's population was reported at twenty-five, and only the church and cemetery were shown on maps of the area.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl, "OLD UNION, TX (LIMESTONE COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hto08), accessed May 25, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. | <urn:uuid:21ee9afc-4d02-4d7b-96b9-c85c101973af> | {
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M. K. Hurd, ASCE Member
Back to "For the Record"
Civil engineering students from Illinois and Purdue universities in May staged what is believed to be the world's first concrete canoe on the Inland Sea, a tiny lake in east-central Illinois. The Illinois canoe weighted in at 360 lb (163 kg) compared to a mere 125 lb (57 kg) for the Purdue canoe. Although pre-race odds heavily favored Purdue, Illinois emerged the victor winning three of five heats on the 1240 ft (317 m) course. (Note that the conversion is incorrect. But, since 317 m translates to 1040 ft, the "2" was probably a typo.) Fastest time for an individual heat was 2 minutes, 46 seconds. (We travel this distance today in approximately one half that time.) The two schools were about evenly matched as to the number of students dunked in the lake but the Illinois win was attributed to greater expertise with the paddles.
Both canoes were made of ferro cement, a special form of reinforced concrete, made of several layers of small-gage wire-mesh reinforcement embedded in a thin section of rich mortar. (Sounds pretty much like the "adaptive reinforcement" that we use today.) Differing from ordinary reinforced concrete, its behavior approaches that of a homogeneous material, and some designs have been made based on the assumption of equal tensile and compressive strength. (Why didn't we read this before we started in 1986? This is the assertion that we made in our 2001 design report; it only took us 15 years to come to that conclusion.)
The whole affair began nearly two years ago when University of Illinois civil engineering students under the guidance of Professor Clyde Kesler, a fellow of ASCE, built the "Mis-Led." They used #3 reinforcing bars bent and welded at each end of the canoe to make the gunwales and keel. A single rib of #3 bar was welded to the gunwales and keel at mid-length. Four layers of chicken wire (At least we referred to this in the late '80s as a "poultry restraining device" to give our reinforcement's name a high-tech ring.) were placed over this frame.
A stiff mortar was troweled onto the wire mesh. Final thickness of the the hull averaged 0.5 in. (13 mm). No forms were used.
When Professor John McLaughlin, member of ASCE and head of civil engineering at Purdue, told his students of the Illinois achievement, they decided to build their own canoe and to challenge Illinois to a race. With guidance from Charles H. Scholer, and Robert H. Lee, members of ASCE and civil engineering professors at Purdue, the ASCE Student Chapter took on the project, adapting plans for a conventional racing canoe. Unlike the Illinois team, Purdue created a mold of insulating foam plastic to the exact contours of the canoe's interior and covered it with thin plastic sheeting. (Wait a minute! I know a lot of schools who claim to have done this first.) Over this they assembled their reinforcement to the desired shape. They also used four layers of chicken wire netting (There they go again stealing our claim to multi-layered "adaptive reinforcement."), with supplementary reinforcement of #2 bars laid along the keel and gunwales. Their lightweight mortar was plastered onto the mesh to create an average shell thickness of 0.375 in. (10 mm).
Foamed polystyrene plastic blocks, built in at each end and encased within the mortar shell, provided positive buoyancy for the Purdue canoe. (Well, at least we've made some progress in this regard. But, after 30 years, I guess that we should.)
First prize was a slender shaft of exposed aggregate concrete, mounted on a sawed concrete base and topped by a plaster-of-paris canoe model. Another trophy, created by the Purdue ASCE group, was a concrete "life preserver" made of normal weight concrete so heavy that two men were required to lift it. (Hey, I want one of these babies in our trophy case. To heck with those shiny gold cups that they give out now. - Maybe I can get Illinois or Purdue to put them on e-bay and get ASCE to make a bid. These keepsakes would certainly make nice trophies for the 150th anniversary.)
Cheered by the success of this first race, the two student groups expressed the hope that the concrete canoe race might become an annual event with participation by other ASCE Student Chapters within canoe-hauling distance of a point halfway between West Lafayette and Champaign-Urbana. How about it Rose, Notre Dame, Northwestern, etc. (No one could have imagined how far we would come.)
Back to "For the Record" | <urn:uuid:c1754776-00dc-4559-a9e1-947f5798e839> | {
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MSc in the Technology and Analysis of Archaeological Materials
The application of scientific techniques to the study of archaeological remains is an increasingly important dimension of archaeological research. Using suitable analytical methods, it is possible to uncover patterns associated with the selection and provenance of raw materials, the manufacturing processes behind archaeological objects, the technical knowledge of past craftspeople, the direction and tempo of past trading patterns and/or the persistence of particular cultural traditions. Scientific information often allows degrees of resolution that cannot be obtained through simpler stylistic comparisons or historical research.
This MSc programme aims to bridge the gap between archaeology and science by integrating both a detailed training in the use of scientific techniques for the analysis of inorganic archaeological materials and a solid background in the anthropology of technology. By the end of the degree, students should have a good understanding of the foundations of the most established analytical techniques, practical experience in their application and data processing, as well as the ability to design research projects that employ instrumental analyses to address archaeological questions.
Teaching and research include the use of thin-section petrography, metallography, optical and electron microscopy and microanalysis (SEM/EDS and WD/EPMA) and bulk chemical analysis (XRF and ICP), and their application to the study ceramics, glass, stone, metals and metallurgical debris. In addition, we introduce and discuss strategies for data processing and interpretation, as well as relevant archaeological theory, using archaeological and ethnographic examples from across the world.
The degree is typically a full-time, one-year programme (commencing in September) although it is also available on a part-time basis. It is designed for graduates in archaeology with an interest in scientific methods. It is also suitable for conservators and others concerned with archaeological collections, and for science graduates who have, or are willing to acquire, a good understanding of archaeology. | <urn:uuid:edd6fa19-9558-4c5e-af74-00934c4e3b00> | {
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Narrator: This is Science Today. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives. In fact, the genetic codes of chimps and humans are 99 percent identical.
Pollard: One percent difference doesn't sound like a lot, but then you have to remember that there's about 3 billion letters in the genome, so 1 percent is still millions of letters.
Narrator: Katie Pollard is an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco's Institute for Human Genetics.
Pollard: Fifteen million human-specific changes have happened in the last 6 million years. So, it's not completely trivial to go through each of those and think about what difference it might have made.
Narrator: Pollard and her colleagues are comparing the genetic sequences of humans and chimps more closely than ever to find out what is it about our genes that enables us to develop uniquely human capabilities. In fact, Pollard created a software program that can tease out such information from DNA.
Pollard: We want to use these techniques to try to figure out which of those 15 million changes are the ones that most likely made a difference.Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin. | <urn:uuid:78edda4d-d6c5-4155-a2bd-5d173775c07d> | {
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Here's the buzz on bugs this summer: Because of all the rain we've had, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is predicting one of the worst mosquito seasons in recent history. So how do you protect your children from being a mosquito snack? Parents can decrease a child's risk of being bitten by using insect repellent.
"The most effective type of repellent on the market contains DEET, a pesticide that works by masking our release of carbon dioxide and body odor. That's what mosquitoes are attracted to," says Robert Edelman, M.D., professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the Travelers' Health Clinic at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "When putting insect repellent on children, use a product with a DEET concentration of no more than 10 percent," adds Dr. Edelman.
DEET was developed by the U.S. government in the 1940's. Its chemical name is N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide. Some people worry about the toxicity of DEET. Therefore, they may opt to use insect repellents that contain plant oils, like citronella, soybean or eucalyptus, as the active ingredients. Studies of these products, however, show they are not as effective as DEET in preventing mosquito bites.
Repellents vary, they come in many different forms, including liquids, creams, lotions and sticks. They also have different concentrations of the active ingredient. "It's important to read the label and closely follow the directions," says Dr. Edelman.
It is not necessary to put insect repellent on children every time they venture outdoors. Dr. Edelman says mosquitoes are most active in the early morning and late evening, making these good times to consider repellent. Also, he says it is a good idea to use repellent when children play in a wooded area or near water. "Avoid applying the repellent to a child's face or hands to reduce eye and mouth contact, and never put it on a cut or irritated skin," he says.
Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors. Dressing children in light colors, like white or tan as opposed to navy blue or black, may decrease their chance of being bitten. In addition, pants, long sleeve shirts and socks reduce the amount of exposed skin, cutting the risk of getting a mosquito bite.
In the United States, mosquitoes are mostly just a nuisance, but in much of the world, their bite can cause serious illnesses and even death. Overseas, almost 700 million persons are infected each year with mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria, dengue fever and encephalitis. | <urn:uuid:7a3156eb-1bcc-475b-b512-96ba4f56f9f2> | {
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Oikos - Cooperação e Desenvolvimento
- Date submitted: 1 Nov 2011
- Stakeholder type: Major Group
- Name: Oikos - Cooperação e Desenvolvimento
- Submission Document: Download
Full SubmissionThe Global Challenge of Food Security in the Twenty-First Century By: João José Fernandes Population growth, increased global GDP and the consequent change in consumption patterns, price volatility, market failures, water scarcity, land degradation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity in ecosystems, climate change and in some regions political instability and social upheaval, are some of the factors that condition the agro-food systems in the coming decades. According to the latest projections, world population, now 7 billion people will reach 8.1 billion in 2030 and 9.2 billion in 2050 (FAO, 2009ai). Virtually all population growth will occur in developing countries (DCs), where the soil and water resources are already facing enormous pressure. In 2006, the population suffering from food insecurity amounted to 854 000 million (FAO 2008ii). In 2009, the population with food insecurity rose to 1.02 billion due to the rising of prices seen in 2008 (FAO, 2009biii). The origin of this trend reversal is the rise in grain prices caused by a set of stressors: drought breaks in production and exporting countries (Australia, Canada), speculative capital in agriculture commodities, rising oil prices and increased demand for cereals ? whether stating the result of demographic pressure ? or the result of demand for raw materials for the production of biofuels. In the future, this combination of factors ? now understood as cyclical ? can become a structural trend. Indeed, demographic pressure and the expansion of consumption in emerging economies, the depletion of fossil fuels (Pick Oil), climate change, soil erosion and soil degradation, advancing desertification and water scarcity are factors that strongly condition the demand for and supply of food in the medium and long term. How to Answer the Challenge of Global Food Security? Facing the enormous challenges of food security, two main trends are perceived. The first marked by technological optimism, the second championing the enlargement of the market role, as a panacea for all ills of resource scarcity and environmental degradation. These two trends, with more or less charitable empathy for the poor, mark the mainstreaming economic thinking. Limits of Technological Innovation Approach Between 1950 and 2000, world population grew from 2.5 billion to 6 billion people, but the world economy expanded sevenfold. In terms of agriculture, growth in productivity per hectare on the level of cereals rose from 1.1 to 2.7 tons. The application of scientific knowledge to agriculture (advances in genetics and improved agronomic practices), coupled with powerful economic incentives to farmers, has allowed an enormous expansion of world agricultural product. At the level of genetic advances, there is the effort of finding varieties with greater capacity for channelling the photosynthates to the seed. In terms of agronomic practices, expansion of irrigation areas, the intensive use of fertilizers and control of diseases, insects and weeds. However, while in the period from 1950 to 1984 the cereal production rate has expanded faster than population growth, increasing production of cereals per person by 34% since 1984 grain output growth was exceeded by population growth. This drop was not more noticeable only due to increased Efficiency in the cereals conversion process into animal protein (Brown, 2005iv). But is technological innovation the master key and sufficient to meet the challenge of sustainable use of soil and feed a growing population? In our view, investment in technological innovation may be important but faces major difficulties. Therefore, we are inclined to a more integrated and comprehensive approach. In fact, there are two main obstacles to an answer based solely on technology: - 1st The current technologies? reserve, available to farmers to increase productivity is almost exhausted, at least for the major powers cereal producers?. As mentioned above, the techniques used during the last decades have extensively explored the genetic potential, in order to increase the percentage of photosynthates that is forwarded to the growth of the seed. - 2nd A paradigm shift would require increasing the Efficiency of the process of photosynthesis, something out of the current possibilities. It is the Efficiency of photosynthesis, which, coupled with the availability of agricultural land, defines the quantity of food that the earth can produce. As Lester Brown notes (Brown, 2005), the advances made until now in genetic engineering and biotechnology are not promising signs in this line of research, limiting the focus on plant tolerance to herbicides, resistance to insects and diseases. To a lesser extent, there were some results about the resistance to drought or salt tolerance. These advances allow only marginal gains in terms of agricultural productivity. Given the physical limitations placed on increasing the Efficiency of photosynthesis ? and thus to the increased productivity of the soil ? that the current technological paradigm does not seem able to overcome, we must choose complementary strategies for the expansion of agricultural output. One possible approach is the increase of multiple cropping, i.e. more than one crop per year. In some Asian countries the challenge is to maintain this practice, but countries like the U.S. can gain considerable production with the encouragement of this practice. This will require a reorientation of agricultural research for the development of technologies that enable the acceleration of the maturity cycles of crops from the first and second planting seasons. Another way to increase food production to increase water productivity. The construction of small systems to capture and store rainwater, as well as the development of precision irrigation techniques may prove to be an excellent contribution to conserve the existing irrigation areas, or even to contribute to its expansion. Land productivity can also be increased through the use of crop residues for the production of food, as the case of corn or cane straw of rice and wheat for animal feed, thereby allowing a second crop on the same land. In some parts of the world as in Africa, investment in transport and storage infrastructures could play an important role in increasing food production, facilitating the transition from subsistence farming to agriculture with great economic and productivity increases. These two measures are essential for the efficient link from producers to markets. Finally, it is necessary to find strategies to a more sustainable agriculture, or facilitate the decoupling of product per hectare (Santos, 2009v), given the level of non-renewable resources that produce damage to the natural environment (fertilizers, pesticides, etc...). Sustainable agriculture, particularly relevant in marginal agricultural land implies a more efficient use of resources and the copy of the natural processes at the level of nutrient cycling, nitrogen fixation, soil remediation, and use of natural enemies to control pests. In addition, we need a greater investment in human and social capital, particularly in developing countries. The training of farmers will help to self-sufficiency and the improvement of their agricultural practices, the focus on social capital is decisive for the increase in scale, integrated management of watersheds and forests, as well as access to credit and markets for small producers. The Market Limits The creation of markets for all ecosystem services assumes that the commercial interaction between economic agents will reveal the value of services inducing the appropriate incentives to the production, while the ecosystem management organizes itself in order to respond to these incentives. In our opinion, this solution is not applicable in all situations. There are other complementary solutions and, in certain circumstances, more feasible. There are three grounds: - 1st The market failure does not occur only by the lack of commercial value to some of the services, but also due to the lack of protection of the rights of some stakeholders, including future generations. - 2nd The creation of markets focuses on the scale of the service, to the detriment of the ecosystem scale. Ecosystem services, object of value, are only the "discrete and identifiable end products" (Kroeger e Caseyvi). Thus, the ecological functions underlying ecosystems are not subject to valuation. - 3rd Moreover the fact that there are some barriers to the creation of markets as it is the case for some of the services of forest ecosystems. For example, refer to the complexity of the services of biodiversity conservation, the volatility of other services such as carbon sequestration, risks of future losses, the need for long-term monitoring, the impossibility of exclusion in the case of pure public goods such as air quality or climate, and the high transaction costs, e.g. costs of certification of carbon sequestration, which add to the cost of providing the service. The barriers to the creation of markets for some ecosystem services, the need to incorporate all ecosystem services in the decisions of managers, coupled with the need to protect the rights of interested parties who have no voice, as is the case of future generations, lead us to complementary solutions able to ensure effective governance of ecosystems, to be combined in different proportions and whose validity must be assessed according to specific circumstances. We emphasize, in addition to the creation of markets, the regulation by the state, the (re)defining and protecting of the rights of different individuals and groups, the accountability of managers (civil liability, or "societal license to operate"), the definition of new forms of organization for an ecosystem-wide management, or instruments such as green taxes and public payments for environmental services. Finally, it is noted that, even if the solution is the creation of markets, state intervention can be decisive. One of the classical situations is the need for intervention by the states in terms of defining property rights. There are no markets without clear and respected property rights. It is usually the state to define these rights and make them comply, namely through the exclusion of non-owners. Thus, following Bromleyvii, we can say that "while market processes can be used instrumentally after a previous definition of socially desirable environmental conditions, we cannot leave the market to decide on how clean should be our water or our air. The market is also not able to turn out how much biodiversity should be preserved for future generations. " Thus, we cannot accept technological innovation and market instruments as sufficient to solve all the challenges of sustainable food security. They are certainly necessary conditions but not sufficient. Which role for Sustainable Consumption? An increase of production which corresponds to the expected consumption as a function of population growth and increased purchasing power is problematic. First, because in the coming decades we will face constraints on natural resources such as soil or water and secondly the increased production and agricultural productivity is only sustainable if it does not result in irreversible losses of biodiversity and increased emissions of irreparable greenhouse gases (GHG). Thus, the solution should be found in a balance between a more eco-efficient agriculture and more sustainable consumption. The term "sustainable consumption" entered the international agenda through Agenda 21, the action plan for sustainable development adopted by 179 heads of state at the Rio Summit in 1992. However, the concept of sustainable consumption is far from obtaining a broad consensus. The first problem is related to the perception of the ultimate (or motive) of the act of consuming. The utilitarian approaches value consumption as a means to increase the utility (welfare) and the decisive factor is the information and knowledge that enable rational utility maximization. In this context, the instruments for sustainable consumption are a certification of "green" consumption and tax incentives to the consumption of "environmentally friendly? products. The scale of the analysis is the individual. It is also in the light of this scale that we situate the psycho-social approaches to consumption. Under this paradigm, the consumer arises as a response to a stimulus of the social or psychological needs. The consumption is then a kind of "identifier" of personality and social group membership. In this context the sustainable consumption emerges as driven by social marketing, aiming at the promotion of an ?environmentally friendly lifestyle"; consuming a "green" product often promoted by a ?celebrity?, "is part of belonging to" a ?tribe?. More recently, some movements have been characterizing the consumption as an act determined by the supply-infrastructure (by supply chains). The scale of analysis becomes the society; consumption is understood as a routine habit, almost imperceptible. Sustainable consumption is then to be distinguished not only by individual preference for consumption, but by the initiatives ? usually at the local level ? aiming at overcome the constraints that are imposed by the format of the global supply chain of goods and services. An example is the local initiatives linking producers and consumers that outline the intermediation of large stores (Seyfang, 2009). The latter approach to sustainable consumption is actually a very profound transformation in consumption patterns, the motion falls into the so-called "New Economy" as opposed to current mainstreaming concept of sustainable economic consumption. Table 1 summarizes the key differentiating elements between both approaches. (Please reference Submission Document for Table) Sustainable Consumption and the New Economy In order to understand the specificity of the concept of sustainable consumption in the ?New Economy?, it is necessary to briefly characterize this movement. First of all, bear in mind that we are no longer under a concept of consumption as "green washing", or consumption as a driver of economic growth. On the contrary, it is proposing a reduction in consumption in absolute terms. Immediately, from the three concepts of sustainable consumption mentioned above, it is this that more boldly relates to the global challenge of food security as introduced at the beginning of our text: population growth, rising standards of consumption, resource scarcity, biodiversity loss, soil degradation and climate change. What distinguishes the "New Economy" of the mainstreaming concept of Economy? The distinctive features of the "New Economy" (NE) are four: (i) a comprehensive understanding of the meaning of "welfare" (wealth), (ii) a richer conception about the "labour", (iii) new uses for the money and currency options, (iv) reintegration of ethics in economic life (Boyle, 1993). Influenced by the ecological economics (Costanza, 1991x) the New Economy (NE) puts the environment at the heart of economic analysis, accepting that there are ecological services that cannot be replaced by other types of capital and that ecosystems do not respond in a predictable and linear way to external pressures. It follows that the economy cannot be seen as an abstract mechanism that can generate indefinitely "value" and should take its place in the environment and society as a starting point. The first consequence is the need to design the development of new paradigms such as "welfare", "quality of life", using indicators that can measure social progress and the goals of economic activity more appropriately, in detriment of the sole use of Economic Growth Indicators (GDP - Gross Domestic Product) and its derivatives (Seyfang, 2005xi). The second starting point of the NE is related to the concept of "labour", trying to include the performance of unpaid tasks but socially reproductive, which support communities and families and, accordingly, contribute to the market economy. This approach implies a view of economics that assign "value" to informal, voluntary and unpaid "labour", complementing the formal remuneration for work. A sustainable economy would allow people to enjoy a portfolio of options, undertaking a wide variety of forms of labour ? domestic, voluntary work for the community, paid informal employment with local currencies and informal employment in the market economy. The third feature of the NE is the concept of money. The conventional economics describes the money as a politically and socially neutral technology, which allows to fulfil four functions: to serve as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and a standardized instrument for the deferred payment. NE, by contrast, argues that these functions are rather conflicting agendas (e.g., withdraw money from a local economy to a store of value, inhibits its movement within the community and meeting local needs), and acknowledges that monetary systems are social constructions whose design emphasizes certain purposes and encourages certain behaviours over others. For example, I think we can all agree that the use of the monetary system favours a narrow range of economic activities (valuing what is scarce and not what contributes to the well-being), uprooting the exchange currency of its environment and social ambiance, and inhibiting sustainable consumption. The corollary of this understanding is the need to design new systems of exchange, designed to serve different purposes and to allow an inclusive systemic approach of the social and environmental context of economic activity. NE acknowledges that this approach may be less efficient than a strictly economic point of view, however, by incorporating social and environmental factors appears to be much more rational. Embryos of this approach are the many initiatives around the "complementary currencies" that have emerged among local communities as diverse as the United Kingdom, Brazil and Argentina since the early 1990s. Last but not least decisive, NE considers ethics as central to economic activity. Unlike the apolitical abstractions of conventional economics (which obviously obeys ideologically based policy prescriptions) NE implies a normative analytical approach, which aims to describe and facilitate the transition to a more sustainable society (Seyfang, 2005). With regard to the experience of practical application of this new economic model, NE still lacks empirical investigations to test its ideas and concepts. One area where is relevant to promote a systematic scrutiny of the NE? initiatives is precisely the assessment of its contribution to sustainable consumption. To meet this challenge, Seyfang advances five indicators that must be present in a strategy of sustainable consumption, consistent with the proposals of NE, namely: location, reducing the ecological footprint, community-building, collective action, and creating new procurement and supply infrastructures (Seyfang, 2009). These indicators are briefly presented in Table 2. Table 2: Evaluation/ Assessment indicators for sustainable consumption (Please reference Submission Document for Table). In contrast to a "green consumption", so often vulnerable to strategies of "green-washing," the proposal from the NE suggests a sustainable consumption that contributes to an effective reduction of all consumption that does not contribute to the well-being. In contrast to the utilitarian concepts of sustainable consumption, or approaches based exclusively on the identification around social and psychological standards, NE points to the core of sustainability challenges: the promotion of social welfare, quality of life, a quest for courageous social cohesion and environmental protection. In conjunction with measures of eco-Efficiency in agriculture and climate change adaptation, the use of economic policy instruments that allow the internalization of many of the environmental impacts of agricultural and livestock production (including market based instruments, such as payment for ecosystem services) ? proposals for sustainable consumption of NE certainly have an important contribution to make in response to global challenges of food security. Will these measures be enough? Will we be able to implement them fast enough? Here's the challenge I leave to civil society practitioners and public decision makers. | <urn:uuid:ecce5b44-73b4-44b6-9cb0-a24eb258f0fa> | {
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The cultural industries, which include publishing, music, cinema, crafts and design, continue to grow steadily apace and have a determinant role to play in the future of culture.
Their international dimension gives them a determining role for the future in terms of freedom of expression, cultural diversity and economic development. Although the globalization of exchange and new technologies opens up exciting new prospects, it also creates new types of inequality.
The world map of these industries reveals a yawning gap between North and South. This can only be counteracted by strengthening local capacities and facilitating access to global markets at national level by way of new partnerships, know-how, control of piracy and increased international solidarity of every kind.
- For a comprehensive understanding of cultural industries, browse 25 questions and answers and explore key concepts and ideas related to culture and trade in the context of globalization.
- A basic reference: the Florence Agreement
- Strengthening the Creative Industries
- Creative Cities Network
- Crafts and Design
- Books and Reading | <urn:uuid:47734594-0d3f-487c-a233-6e0ef15c94f0> | {
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|Medina Humed Ahmed (centre), 10, lines up with other girls to enter the Galifega Alternative Basic Education Primary School in Afar Region, Ethiopia.|
By Indrias Getachew
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 19 June 2006 – Ten-year-old Medina Humed Ahmed opens up about her dreams for the future.
“I want to drive one of those land cruisers, and I also want to fly airplanes,” she declares, pointing up at the cloudless sky above the desert of Ethiopia’s Afar Region. Her words generate a loud round of applause from her family.
In contrast to the confidence she now has, just two months ago Medina wasn’t sure if she would have much of a future. Back then, she spent most of her time helping her mother with household chores. Her contact with the outside world was limited to fetching water, looking for firewood, and taking the family’s sheep and goats in search of pasture.
But now, Medina goes to school – an opportunity provided to her and other pastoral children like her by the Alternative Basic Education (ABE) strategy, which is being implemented by the Afar Region Education Bureau with UNICEF support.
Children of pastoralists
Afar Region, where Medina lives with her family, has a population of more than 1 million, and is one of the poorest regions of Ethiopia. Infrastructure here is minimal, and an estimated 90 per cent of school-age children are not in school, far worse than the already poor national average of 43 per cent.
|Medina collects water from a pool left by a recent flooding. Like all pastoral children, Medina started to help with the household chores at a very young age.|
Most Afar tribesmen are pastoralists, their lives bound to the fate of their herds of cattle, sheep, goats and camels that they raise in one of the most forbidding environments on the planet.
Children play a critical role in the nomadic lifestyle. Boys as young as eight start to herd their family’s sheep and goats while girls help with household chores. Medina was just one of the many pastoral children who were deprived of a chance to realize their right to an education.
Both school and family responsibilities
The ABE system responds to the urgent need for an education that suits the special needs and constraints of pastoral life. It provides flexible school hours, allowing pastoral children fulfil their household responsibilities while still finding time for school. The teachers are familiar with the community, and understand the pastoral lifestyle.
“Teaching is a profession held in high esteem by the Afar people,” says 20-year-old ABE facilitator Mohammed Adam Mohammed. “What can be greater than to bring enlightenment to one’s people? I live with the community, sleep with them and eat with them. If they have to move from this place then I will move with them too.”
These days, Medina gets up at the crack of dawn and joins her 12-year-old brother Mohammed to take their family’s sheep and goats out to pasture. They leave early in order to be back in time to collect their school books. By 8 a.m., both will be present at the school door for morning line-up and exercises along with more than 40 other students.
|Medina (far right) with her grandmother, Robi Ibrahim, and two other friends. Since she started going to a school specially designed for pastoral children, her family has adjusted their lifestyle so that her education will not be interrupted.|
Their lessons include instruction in the Afar and English languages, mathematics and environmental studies. Class times are set by the community. Some classes are taught on Saturdays, and the ABE school year is sometimes longer than regular school year, in order to make sure that children have time both to attend school and to help with family chores.
Staying with the children
“Alternative Basic Education is enabling the emergence of a new generation of educated pastoralists in Ethiopia,” said UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia Bjorn Ljungqvist. “If we are to succeed in providing primary education to all Ethiopian children, including all girls, then the systems we provide must be able to accommodate the lifestyles of the hardest to reach children.”
To bring more children into school, UNICEF is scaling up its support in Afar region. More than 150 more ABE centres will soon be built, providing education to some 7,500 children.
Where ABE schools are up and running, life is beginning to change for Afar pastoralists.
“I prefer our nomadic life because I believe that it is better for us,” says Robi Ibrahim, Medina’s grandmother. “But we have decided to stay here with the children while most of the other adults have moved away with the animals. Why should our children be left behind while others go to school?”
“Only Allah knows what Medina’s future will be but I believe getting an education will prepare her to make the most of her life,” she says. | <urn:uuid:61cab8b7-7fb9-45a7-aeb5-00f4232e37d9> | {
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Published in The Huffington Post
16 November 2009 – Today, nearly 200 million children under the age of five who live in the developing world suffer from stunted growth as a result of chronic maternal and childhood undernutrition.
Undernutrition steals a child's strength and makes illnesses that the body might otherwise fight off far more dangerous. But far more devastating is the fact that more than one-third of the children who die from pneumonia, diarrhea and other illnesses could have survived had they not been undernourished.
The 1,000 days from conception until a child's second birthday are the most critical for a child's development. Nutritional deficiencies during this critical period can reduce the ability to fight and survive disease, and can impair their social and mental capacities.
Those who survive often suffer poorer physical health throughout their lives, and damaged cognitive abilities that limit their capacity to learn and to earn a decent income. They become trapped in an intergenerational cycle of ill-health and poverty.
Stunted growth is a consequence of chronic poor nutrition in early childhood. Stunting is associated with developmental problems and is often impossible to correct once it has occurred. A child who is stunted is likely to experience a lifetime of poor health and underachievement, so the answer lies in prevention.
According to a report released last week by UNICEF, "Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition," reducing and even eliminating undernutrition is feasible. Of all the proven interventions, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months - together with nutritionally adequate foods from six months- can have a significant impact on child survival and stunting.
Good progress has been made in the delivery of cost-effective solutions to undernutrition, including micronutrients, to vulnerable populations worldwide. An example is providing more children access to iodized salt and vitamin A supplements. In the world's least developed countries, the percentage of children under five years receiving essential doses of vitamin A supplements has more than doubled, from 41 percent in 2000 to 88 percent in 2008. This has contributed to reduced infant and child mortality.
While 90 per cent of children who are stunted live in Asia and Africa, progress has been made on both continents. In Asia the prevalence of stunting dropped from about 44 percent in 1990 to an estimated 30 percent in 2008, while in Africa it fell from around 38 per cent in 1990 to an estimated 34 percent in 2008.
Global commitments on food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture are part of a wider agenda that will help address the critical issues raised in this report. Unless attention is paid to addressing the causes of child and maternal undernutrition today, the costs will be considerably higher tomorrow.
Ann Veneman is the Executive Director of UNICEF. UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. For more information about the report, "Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition," go to www.unicef.org.
About the UNICEF Executive Director
Ann M. Veneman assumed the leadership of UNICEF on 1 May 2005, becoming the fifth Executive Director to lead UNICEF in its 60-year history. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman served as Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture.
At UNICEF, Veneman directs a global agency of over 10,000 staff and annual total resources of more than $3 billion, funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of governments, businesses, foundations and individuals. Since assuming the position of Executive Director, she has traveled around the world, witnessing firsthand the work of UNICEF, speaking at meetings and conferences, and visiting heads of state or government and other partners.
For further information, please contact:
Christopher de Bono, UNICEF NY,
Tel + 1 212 303 7984; | <urn:uuid:a2544a36-908e-4c99-9f9e-e6ba3f23e3af> | {
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Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter
Currently, astronomers have two competing models for planetary formation. In one, the planets form in a single, monolithic collapse. In the second, the core forms first and then slowly accretes gas and dust. However, in both situations, the process must be complete before the radiation pressure from the star blows away the gas and dust. While this much is certain, the exact time frames have remained another matter of debate. It is expected that this amount should be somewhere in the millions of years, but low end estimates place it at only a few million, whereas upper limits have been around 10 million. A new paper explores IC 348, a 2-3 million year old cluster with many protostars with dense disks to determine just how much mass is left to be made into planets.
The presence of dusty disks is frequently not directly observed in the visible portion of the spectra. Instead, astronomers detect these disks from their infrared signatures. However, the dust is often very opaque at these wavelengths and astronomers are unable to see through it to get a good understanding of many of the features in which they’re interested. As such, astronomers turn to radio observations, to which disks are partially transparent to build a full understanding. Unfortunately, the disks glow very little in this regime, forcing astronomers to use large arrays to study their features. The new study uses data from the Submillimeter Array located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
To understand how the disks evolved over time, the new study aimed to compare the amount of gas and dust left in IC 348′s disc to younger ones in star forming regions in Taurus, Ophiuchus, and Orion which all had ages of roughly 1 million years. For IC 348, the team found 9 protoplanetary disks with masses from 2-6 times the mass of Jupiter. This is significantly lower than the range of masses in the Taurus and Ophiuchus star forming regions which had protoplanetary clouds ranging to over 100 Jupiter masses.
If planets are forming in IC 348 at the same frequency in which they form in systems astronomers have observed elsewhere, this would seem to suggest that the gravitational collapse model is more likely to be correct since it doesn’t leave a large window in which forming planets could accrete. If the core accretion model is correct, then planetary formation must have begun very quickly.
While this case don’t set any firm pronouncements on which model of planetary formation is dominant, such 2-3 million year old systems could provide an important test bed to explore the rate of depletion of these reservoirs. | <urn:uuid:dd183d74-6efe-4b52-a5fd-55d21cf5c3b4> | {
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The Sabbatical Year. 1The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai: 2* Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, let the land, too, keep a sabbath for the LORD. 3For six years you may sow your field, and for six years prune your vineyard, gathering in their produce.a 4But during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath for the LORD,b when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5The aftergrowth of your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you pick the grapes of your untrimmed vines. It shall be a year of rest for the land. 6While the land has its sabbath, all its produce will be food to eat for you yourself and for your male and female slave, for your laborer and the tenant who live with you, 7and likewise for your livestock and for the wild animals on your land.
The Jubilee Year. 8* You shall count seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—such that the seven weeks of years amount to forty-nine years. 9Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month* let the ram’s horn resound; on this, the Day of Atonement,c the ram’s horn blast shall resound throughout your land. 10You shall treat this fiftieth year as sacred. You shall proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants.d It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to your own property, each of you to your own family. 11This fiftieth year is your year of jubilee; you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the untrimmed vines, 12since this is the jubilee. It shall be sacred for you. You may only eat what the field yields of itself.
13In this year of jubilee, then, each of you shall return to your own property. 14Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from your neighbor, do not deal unfairly with one another. 15On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee you shall purchase the land from your neighbor;e and so also, on the basis of the number of years of harvest, that person shall sell it to you. 16When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more; when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less. For it is really the number of harvests that the person sells you. 17Do not deal unfairly with one another, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the LORD, am your God.
18Observe my statutes and be careful to keep my ordinances, so that you will dwell securely in the land. 19The land will yield its fruit and you will eat your fill, and live there securely.f 20And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we do not sow or reap our crop?”g 21I will command such a blessing for you in the sixth year that there will be crop enough for three years, 22and when you sow in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop; even into the ninth year, until the crop comes in, you will still be eating from the old crop.h
Redemption of Property.* 23The land shall not be sold irrevocably; for the land is mine, and you are but resident aliens and under my authority. 24Therefore, in every part of the country that you occupy, you must permit the land to be redeemed. 25When one of your kindred is reduced to poverty and has to sell some property, that person’s closest relative,* who has the duty to redeem it, shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.i 26If, however, the person has no relative to redeem it, but later on acquires sufficient means to redeem it, 27the person shall calculate the years since the sale, return the balance to the one to whom it was sold, and thus regain the property.j 28But if the person does not acquire sufficient means to buy back the land, what was sold shall remain in the possession of the purchaser until the year of the jubilee, when it must be released and returned to the original owner.k
29* When someone sells a dwelling in a walled town, it can be redeemed up to a full year after its sale—the redemption period is one year. 30But if such a house in a walled town has not been redeemed at the end of a full year, it shall belong irrevocably to the purchaser throughout the generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee. 31However, houses in villages that are not encircled by walls shall be reckoned as part of the surrounding farm land; they may be redeemed, and in the jubilee they must be released.
32* In levitical citiesl the Levites shall always have the right to redeem the houses in the cities that are in their possession. 33As for levitical property that goes unredeemed—houses sold in cities of their possession shall be released in the jubilee; for the houses in levitical cities are their possession in the midst of the Israelites. 34Moreover, the pasture landm belonging to their cities shall not be sold at all; it must always remain their possession.
35When one of your kindred is reduced to poverty and becomes indebted to you, you shall support that person like a resident alien; let your kindred live with you. 36Do not exact interest in advance or accrued interest,* but out of fear of God let your kindred live with you. 37n Do not give your money at interest or your food at a profit. 38I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
39* When your kindred with you, having been so reduced to poverty, sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves.o 40Rather, let them be like laborers or like your tenants, working with you until the jubilee year, 41when, together with any children, they shall be released from your service and return to their family and to their ancestral property. 42Since they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they shall not sell themselves as slaves are sold. 43Do not lord it over them harshly, but stand in fear of your God.
44* The male and female slaves that you possess—these you shall acquire from the nations round about you.p 45You may also acquire them from among the resident aliens who reside with you, and from their families who are with you, those whom they bore in your land. These you may possess, 46and bequeath to your children as their hereditary possession forever. You may treat them as slaves. But none of you shall lord it harshly over any of your fellow Israelites.q
47When your kindred, having been so reduced to poverty, sell themselves to a resident alien who has become wealthy or to descendants of a resident alien’s family, 48even after having sold themselves, they still may be redeemed by one of their kindred, 49by an uncle or cousin, or by some other relative from their family; or, having acquired the means, they may pay the redemption price themselves. 50With the purchaser they shall compute the years from the sale to the jubilee, distributing the sale price over these years as though they had been hired as laborers. 51The more years there are, the more of the sale price they shall pay back as the redemption price; 52the fewer years there are before the jubilee year, the more they have as credit; in proportion to the years of service they shall pay the redemption price. 53The tenant alien shall treat those who sold themselves as laborers hired on an annual basis, and the alien shall not lord it over them harshly before your very eyes. 54And if they are not redeemed by these means, they shall nevertheless be released, together with any children, in the jubilee year. 55For the Israelites belong to me as servants; they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, I, the LORD, your God.
* [25:2–7] As every seventh day is to be a day of rest (cf. 23:3), so every seventh year is a year of rest (cf. 26:34–35, 43). The rest consists in not doing agricultural work. The people are to live off what grows naturally in the fields (vv. 6–7). Verses 19–22 add insurance by saying that God will make the sixth-year crop abundant such that its excess will stretch over the seventh sabbatical year as well as the eighth year when new crops are not yet harvested (cf. 26:10). Cf. Ex 23:10–11.
* [25:8–17] The fiftieth year is the jubilee, determined by counting off “seven weeks of years.” It is sacred, like the sabbath day. Specifically, in it indentured Israelites return to their own households and land that has been sold returns to its original owner. Different laws are found in Ex 21:1–6; Dt 15:1–3, 12–18 (cf. Jer 34:8–22).
* [25:9] Seventh month: the priestly laws reflect the use of two calendars, one starting in the spring (cf. chap. 23) and one in the fall. The jubilee is calculated on the basis of the latter. Ram’s horn: Hebrew shophar. The name for the year, jubilee (Heb. yobel), also means “ram’s horn” and comes from the horn blown to announce the occasion.
* [25:23–55] This is a series of laws dealing mainly with situations of poverty in which one has to sell land, obtain a loan, or become indentured. Many of the laws are connected with the release of debts in the jubilee year.
* [25:29–31] Not being able to redeem a house in a walled city after one year is probably due to the demographic and economic situation of large towns as opposed to small villages and open agricultural areas. The agricultural lands associated with the latter were the foundation for the economic viability of the Israelite family, and as such, God—who is the ultimate owner of the land (25:23)—has assigned them to the Israelites as permanent holdings.
* [25:32–34] An exception to the rule in vv. 29–31 is made for levitical cities (Nm 35:1–8), since the Levites have no broad land holdings. Their houses can be redeemed and are to be released in the jubilee year.
* [25:36] Interest in advance or accrued interest: two types of interest are mentioned here. The former may refer to interest subtracted from the loaned amount in advance, and the latter, to interest or a payment in addition to the loaned amount.
* [25:39–43] Here the individual Israelite has no assets and must become indentured to another Israelite for economic survival. No provision is given for redemption before the jubilee year, though such is probably allowed.
* [25:44–46] While Israelites may not be held as permanent slaves (vv. 39–43, 47–55), foreigners may be. They are not released in the jubilee, but may be bequeathed to one’s children. They may be treated as “slaves,” i.e., harshly (cf. Ex 21:20–21).
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In a city of tweeting food trucks and Michelin-star restaurants, it was only a matter of time before San Francisco’s fusion-food culture found a way into a chemistry class.
After all, chemistry is what we taste when we bite into a chocolate-drizzled double scoop of destabilized fat globules and Fragaria ananassa. We just call it a strawberry ice cream sundae.
Tami Spector, professor of chemistry, introduced the class, called Molecular Gastronomy, in spring 2011. It focuses on the physical and chemical processes of food and drink preparation.
The idea of the course is to introduce non-science students, many of whom find memorizing chemical formulas and reactions mind-numbing, to the intricacies of molecular chemistry using an accessible and interactive approach. Michelle Cancellier ’12, an English major, said the class helped her and other humanities majors understand the abstract concepts that underlie chemistry—such as polymers, ionic charge, and chemical bonds—which can make the subject so challenging.
Spector incorporates common foods into the science lessons, including an in-class experiment that separates caffeine from tea to illustrate solubility and extraction. Another lesson has students whip up a batch of mayonnaise to learn about emulsions. Working with a palette of flavors from sweet to savory, students have isolated clove oil, created ice cream, pickled vegetables, and baked soufflés.
And they walk away from the course with a scientifically educated palate. | <urn:uuid:54bd4fa6-9d20-4541-87b9-baddceea04f3> | {
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Comparison of water in two adjacent watersheds before and after implementing a brush management strategy in one of the watersheds helps us see what water resource characteristics are sensitive to brush management and how.
Changes in the way communities address potential problems with stormwater runoff may affect surface waters. This study combines geographic with hydrologic analyses to better understand the effects of the management strategies.
Study of the effects of the practice of cycling municipal nutrient-enriched wastewater from holding ponds through forested wetlands. Studies were in the Cypiere Perdue Swamp, Louisiana, and the Drummond Bog, Wisconsin.
Reviews how coal fires occur, how they can be detected by airborne and remote surveys, and, most importantly, the impact coal-fire emissions may have on the environment and human health, especially mercury, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane.
The USGS reviews and prepares technical comments on environmental impact statements and establishes policies to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Site has links to environmental laws and regulations including NEPA.
Wetlands and oil wells shouldn't mix, but in some areas they do. This explains what problems may arise and how we study the effects of highly salty water produced by oil wells when it leaks into nearby wetlands and streams. | <urn:uuid:bfd6d5a9-0ff7-493f-be13-62a7869b0cf1> | {
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- For Teachers
my last name is vowel and i was wondering where the name comes from
Originally Posted by fred
Go to www.google.com to search for "Genealogy."Originally Posted by fred
Welcome Mr./Ms. Vowel. :wink:Originally Posted by fred
Pope of the Dictionary.com Forum
that name must originat from Southern Europe or Asia.
Such as latin language names, Hungarian, Finish or Asian names. | <urn:uuid:a084f7f7-cd5a-44ad-897e-e4053f616dec> | {
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6 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
Thinking in Writing
Posted by: Continuing Education
Learn to use writing as a tool for deep thinking. Everyone
thinks, but many thoughts dwell below the surface of
expression, yet these thoughts determine how we experience
ourselves. Writing can be a pleasurable, creative way to come
face-to-face with these inner thoughts that influence our lives
profoundly. As they come into focus, our perspective on them
shifts—from distant and obscure to up close and clear. This
shift in perspective produces a sense of greater growing space.
We find more room within ourselves for creativity and play.
Course #: 5071
When: Thursdays, November 1 - December 13, 2012
(No class on November 22)
Time: 6:00-8:45 p.m.
•Location for all of Anne Bright’s courses:
Center for Contemplative Writing, 1401Williams Street,
Suite #210, Chattanooga, TN
•Required text for all courses: Writing the Mind Alive: The
Proprioceptive Method for Finding Your Authentic Voice,
Metcalf and Simon, (Ballantine, 2002).
•Ms. Bright has taught Proprioceptive Writing for over
fifteen years and still works closely with Drs. Metcalf and
Simon, the originators of the process. | <urn:uuid:4f1310f7-0563-49cd-a578-c7e1f0d00d4f> | {
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Semiconductor companies are whipping up a new generation of chips to bring richer video and better battery life to personal computers and help them hold off threats from tablets and increasingly powerful smart phones.
Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., whose processors are the "brains" of PCs, are unveiling significant changes to their chips' designs at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Tablet computers and other gadgets have taken on many of the tasks once performed by PCs, and there are already signs that those devices - led by Apple Inc.'s iPad - are eating away at PC sales.
Intel and AMD are responding with new chips designed to make people think twice before picking a tablet over a new PC. The new chips won't dampen the success of tablets, but they will make traditional, low-cost computers more competitive - by making them better at doing graphics-intensive tasks and playing video.
The improvements that Intel and AMD make to their products are felt with every keystroke or click of a mouse, even if most computer buyers aren't paying attention to the intricacies of chip design.
For example, people have come to expect the benefits of Moore's Law, even if they don't know the technical specifics underlying the prediction that computer processors' performance will double every two years. The principle has guided the industry for more than 40 years, and is a key reason why computers have gotten smarter even as they've gotten smaller.
One major change in chip design that Moore's Law enabled and consumers felt came several years ago. That's when Intel and AMD took chips known as "memory controllers," which have historically been separate from a computer's main processor, and put them on the same piece of silicon as the processor itself.
The controllers act as middlemen between the processor and a computer's memory. Shortening the distance between the parts cuts the amount of time they needed to talk to each other, helping the computers work faster.
A similar thing is happening in the new generation of chips.
This time, Intel and AMD have thrown another feature - graphics, which too had historically been handled by a separate chip - also onto the same silicon as the computer's main, general-purpose processor.
And by coupling graphics more tightly with a computer's main processor, there's another benefit besides faster communication. The power the parts need to talk to each other is also reduced, leading to longer battery life.
Think of what's happening in chips like what's happened with cell phones: Technical innovations mean more stuff can fit into a smaller space. In the case of computer processors, Moore's Law is driven by the fact that transistors, the tiny on-off switches that regulate the flow of data in computer chips, keep getting smaller.
"It's a natural evolution of integration," said Jon Peddie, who studies the semiconductor industry as president of Jon Peddie Research. "We keep putting more and more stuff into the processor - now it's graphics' turn to get shoved into the processor along with all the stuff that previous generations have shoved in. The big difference this time is because of the processors' smaller size, the capability of the graphics is significantly better." | <urn:uuid:e90eb69c-c79d-47ae-a4f9-26c3bec8490e> | {
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Children need to know that their parents and adults close to them think homework is important. If they know their parents care, children have a good reason to complete assignments and turn them in on time. There is a lot that you can do to show that you value education and homework.
Set a Regular Time.
Finding a regular time for homework helps children finish assignments. The best schedule is one that works for your child and your family. What works well in one household may not work in another. Of course, a good schedule depends in part on your child's age, as well as individual needs. For instance, one youngster may work best in the afternoon after an hour of play, and another may be more efficient after dinner (although late at night, when children are tired, is seldom a good time).
Outside activities, such as sports or music lessons, may mean that you need a flexible schedule. Your child may study after school on some days and in the evening on others. If there isn't enough time to finish homework, your child may need to drop some outside activity. Homework must be a high priority.
You'll need to work with your elementary school child to develop a schedule. An older student can probably make up a schedule independently, although you'll want to make sure it's a good one. It may help to write out the schedule and put it in a place where you'll see it often, such as the refrigerator door.
Some families have a required amount of time that children must devote to homework or some other learning activity each school night (the length of time can vary depending upon the child's age). For instance, if your seventh-grader knows she's expected to spend an hour doing homework, reading, or visiting the library, she may be less likely to rush through assignments so that she can watch television. A required amount of time may also discourage her from "forgetting" to bring home assignments and help her adjust to a routine.
Pick a Place.
A study area should have lots of light, supplies close by, and be fairly quiet.
A study area doesn't have to be fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but for many youngsters the kitchen table or a corner of the living room works just fine.
Your child may enjoy decorating a special study corner. A plant, a brightly colored container to hold pencils, and some favorite artwork taped to the walls can make study time more pleasant.
Turn off the television and discourage social telephone calls during homework time. (A call to a classmate about an assignment may, however, be helpful.)
Some youngsters work well with quiet background music, but loud noise from the stereo or radio is not OK. One Virginia junior high school history teacher laments, "I've actually had a kid turn in an assignment that had written in the middle, `And George Washington said, "Ohhhhh, I love you."' The kid was so plugged into the music that he wasn't concentrating."
If you live in a small or noisy household, try having all family members take part in a quiet activity during homework time. You may need to take a noisy toddler outside or into another room to play. If distractions can't be avoided, your child may want to complete assignments in a nearby library.
Provide Supplies and Identify Resources.
For starters, collect pencils, pens, erasers, writing paper, an assignment book, and a dictionary. Other things that might be helpful include glue, a stapler, paper clips, maps, a calculator, a pencil sharpener, tape, scissors, a ruler, index cards, a thesaurus, and an almanac. Keep these items together in one place if possible. If you can't provide your child with needed supplies, check with the teacher, school guidance counselor, or principal about possible sources of assistance.
For books and other information resources, check with the school library or local public library. Some libraries have homework centers designed especially to assist children with school assignments (there may even be tutors and other kinds of individual assistance).
These days many schools have computers in classrooms, and many households have personal computers. However, you don't have to have a computer in your home in order for your child to complete homework assignments successfully.
You may want to ask the teacher to explain school policy about the use of computers--or typewriters or any special equipment--for homework. Certainly, computers can be a great learning tool and helpful for some assignments. They can be used for word processing and on-line reference resources, as well as educational programs and games to sharpen skills. Some schools may offer after-school programs where your child can use the school computers. And many public libraries make computers available to children.
Set a Good Example.
Children are more likely to study if they see you reading, writing, and doing things that require thought and effort on your part. Talk with your child about what you're reading and writing even if it's something as simple as making the grocery list. Tell them about what you do at work. Encourage activities that support learning--for example, educational games, library visits, walks in the neighborhood, trips to the zoo or museums, and chores that teach a sense of responsibility.
Show an Interest.
Make time to take your child to the library to check out materials needed for homework (and for fun too), and read with your child as often as you can. Talk about school and learning activities in family conversations. Ask your child what was discussed in class that day. If he doesn't have much to say, try another approach. For example, ask your child to read aloud a story he wrote or discuss the results of a science experiment.
Another good way to show your interest is to attend school activities, such as parent-teacher meetings, shows, and sports events. If you can, volunteer to help in the classroom or at special events. Getting to know some classmates and other parents not only shows you're interested but helps build a network of support for you and your child.
(This information is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.) | <urn:uuid:5f64d2b0-94a5-4ec3-abf4-7ace97638dfa> | {
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Martin De Biasio
Recycling materials prevents waste of potentially useful materials; however, manual sorting is labor intensive and can cause health problems. These limitations led to a demand for fully automated waste-sorting technologies based on machine-vision technologies that can sort tons of waste material every hour and operate for 24 hours a day.
However, there are certain materials that cannot be discriminated with sufficient accuracy using standard off-the-shelf vision components. To properly recycle glass, for example, different types of glasses must be individually sorted. If not, the different glass types each with a different melting point will result in an uncontrolled mixture that when melted will result in recovered glass that is prone to cracking during cooling.
Raman spectroscopy solution
In traditional machine-vision systems, glass materials may be sorted with visible-light camera systems or x-ray fluorescence systems. However, visible-light systems exhibit limited selectivity, and x-ray-based systems are expensive. These limitations can be overcome by using a classical nondestructive laboratory method known as Raman spectroscopy.
The Raman effect occurs when light interacts with the chemical structures in a material. If a material is illuminated with high-energy, monochromatic light—typically a laser light source—the incident light is scattered. Most of this light is elastically scattered by Rayleigh scattering, at the wavelength of the excitation light source, and does not provide any information about the material. However, a small part of the incident light interacts with the material and is inelastically scattered. This causes an energy difference called a Raman shift. The energy shift between the incident laser light and the inelastically scattered light is typically expressed in wavenumbers (cm-1) and is unique to the molecular composition of the material.
Until recently, Raman spectroscopy was considered unsuitable for most industrial imaging applications as it requires long measurement times and is sensitive to stray light. However, advances in camera and spectrometer technology now allow Raman signals to be acquired with high spatial and spectral resolution.
In cooperation with TOMRA Sorting Solutions, Carinthian Tech Research AG has developed a prototype of an industrial inspection system for sorting glass that is based on real-time Raman mapping spectroscopy. An OEM Raman spectrometer is used in combination with a Raman SuperHead fiber-optic probe that was integrated into a TOMRA Autosort scanner housing (see Fig. 1).
|FIGURE 1. In cooperation with TOMRA Sorting Solutions, Carinthian Tech Research AG has developed a prototype of an industrial inspection system based on real-time Raman mapping spectroscopy for sorting glass. A 532-nm laser is moved over the conveyor belt and the Raman spectrometer measures the Raman signal of fireproof and mineral glass samples.|
The spectrometer can measure Raman shifts between -230 cm-1 and 3300 cm-1 with a spectral resolution between 10 cm-1 to 15 cm-1. To enhance signal intensities, a 16-bit thermoelectrically cooled, back-thinned line array CCD sensor with 58 × 1024, 24 × 24-µm pixels is used in the spectrometer.
As glass samples have a high thermal destruct limit, a 532-nm laser with an output power of 2 W is used for the excitation of the glass. The SuperHead probe consists of a laser line filter that filters additional sidebands of the excitation laser, and a Rayleigh filter that blocks the Rayleigh scattered intensity in the Raman spectrum.
A custom lens with a diameter of 3 in. focuses the laser spot to a size of approximately 750 µm2 on the measurement samples at a distance of 250 mm. The front lens focuses the laser spot and collects the Raman scattered light from the measurement samples. A polygonal scanning mirror—i.e., a mirror with multiple facets—that rotates at a constant user-defined speed reflects the laser spot onto the different spatial positions on the conveyor belt and collects the Raman signal at these positions. A specially designed f-theta scanning lens is placed in the beam path after the scanning mirror. This optic ensures that the axis of the focused laser beam is perpendicular to the scanning plane.
To evaluate the system, mineral glasses and fireproof glasses approximately 1-2 cm in diameter were extracted from an industrial recycling process. Mineral glasses were divided into green glass, flint glass, and amber glass. Fireproof glasses were divided into peach glass, caramel glass, faint yellow glass, yellow glass, and honey glass (see Fig. 2).
|FIGURE 2. Mineral glasses and fireproof glasses approximately 1-2 cm in diameter were extracted from an industrial recycling process and used to evaluate the glass sorting system.|
The Raman system operates with a chemometric model, which is stored in the evaluation unit, to discriminate between glass types. Using the fingerprint in the Raman spectrum of the material, mineral glass and fireproof glass can be discriminated. Figure 3 shows typical Raman spectra of fireproof and mineral glass in the fingerprint range between 200 cm-1 and 1200 cm-1.
|FIGURE 3. Individual Raman spectra of glasses are compared with captured values to discriminate between glass types.|
In Fig. 3, there are three characteristic Raman peaks. These are used as features F1, F2, and F3 to discriminate between the glass types. Due to the low readout times for the measurement of the Raman spectrum of each measurement sample, there is spectral noise on the features.
Because of this, each spectrum is smoothed with a Savitzky-Golay smoothing filter and L1-normalized. As the peak position of the features F1, F2, and F3 are stable, the Raman system uses Fn = (I(A) + I(B))/2 - I(C) to calculate the local peak intensity, where I(A) and I(B) are intensities next to the maximum of the peak amplitude and I(C) is the maximum peak intensity of F1, F2, and F3. A linear classifier is then used to discriminate between glass types.
When deploying the system, the Raman spectrometer is interfaced to a PC via USB interface. The PC is also used to interface to a rotating mirror controller from Maxon Motor AG that scans the laser across the field of view of the conveyor. A graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on the PC shows the status of these devices (see Fig. 4). Once connected, the operator closes the aperture of the Raman SuperHead fiber-optic probe and takes a dark spectrum. The dark spectrum is stored in the evaluation unit to compensate for sensor noise and the influence of stray light. Once this is done, the operator opens the aperture, sets the conveyor belt speed and the integration time of the spectrometer, and starts the program.
|FIGURE 4. A graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on the PC shows the status of the spectrometer, the speed of the conveyor, and the status of the rotating motor.|
Depending on the conveyor belt speed, the laser beam is moved over the belt and measures the Raman signals of the glass samples with a minimal readout time of 8 msec. A feedback sensor that is connected to the motor controller provides information when a new facet of the polygonal scanning mirror is in position. The time between two pulses of the feedback sensor is then used to estimate the position on the conveyor belt at which the Raman signal is measured. This position is essential for the subsequent automated sorting process, which is performed with air nozzles that blow out the glass samples into the appropriate container.
To further analyze the measured data, the operator can save all the data to a hard disk. Therefore, he or she simply has to set the data file path and push the save button.
Currently, the Raman system is still in the prototype phase; before it can be applied to industrial glass recycling facilities, the speed of the system must be improved. State-of-the-art sorting systems working in the near-infrared (NIR) scan between 40 and 320 kHz—the Raman spectroscopy system currently operates at a maximum speed of 100 Hz.
Further research will include enhancing the output power of the laser, improving the optical design of the sensor, using larger optics to collect more of the Raman signal, and attaining readout times in the microsecond range. Once the speed of the system has been sufficiently improved, it will be applied to glass sorting in an industrial recycling facility.
Martin De Biasio, Dipl.-Ing., is with Carinthian Tech Research (CTR) AG (Villach, Austria; (www.ctr.at).
Carinthian Tech Research AG
Maxon Motor AG
TOMRA Sorting Solutions
Vision Systems Articles Archives | <urn:uuid:08e8648f-c1d2-4fbf-a85a-6b15e6e85bd1> | {
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HISTORY OF SCULPTURE
Chronological summary of major movements, styles, periods and artists that have contributed to the evolution and development of visual art.
STONE AGE ART (c.
2,500,000 - 3,000 BCE)
ORIGINS OF ART
STONE AGE ART
BRONZE AGE ART
IRON AGE ART
DARK AGES/MEDIEVAL ART
QUESTIONS ABOUT FINE ARTS
Prehistoric art comes from three epochs of prehistory: Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. The earliest recorded art is the Bhimbetka petroglyphs (a set of 10 cupules and an engraving or groove) found in a quartzite rock shelter known as Auditorium cave at Bhimbetka in central India, dating from at least 290,000 BCE. However, it may turn out to be much older (c.700,000 BCE). This primitive rock art was followed, no later than 250,000 BCE, by simple figurines (eg. Venus of Berekhat Ram [Golan Heights] and Venus of Tan-Tan [Morocco]), and from 80,000 BCE by the Blombos cave stone engravings, and the cupules at the Dordogne rock shelter at La Ferrassie. Prehistoric culture and creativity is closely associated with brain-size and efficiency which impacts directly on "higher" functions such as language, creative expression and ultimately aesthetics. Thus with the advent of "modern" homo sapiens painters and sculptors (50,000 BCE onwards) such as Cro-Magnon Man and Grimaldi Man, we see a huge outburst of magnificent late Paleolthic sculpture and painting in France and the Iberian peninsular. This comprises a range of miniature obese venus figurines (eg. the Venuses of Willendorf, Kostenky, Monpazier, Dolni Vestonice, Moravany, Brassempouy, Garagino, to name but a few), as well as mammoth ivory carvings found in the caves of Vogelherd and Hohle Fels in the Swabian Jura. However, the greatest art of prehistory is the cave painting at Chauvet, Lascaux and Altamira.
These murals were painted in caves reserved as a sort of prehistoric art gallery, where artists began to paint animals and hunting scenes, as well as a variety of abstract or symbolic drawings. In France, they include the monochrome Chauvet Cave pictures of animals and abstract drawings, the hand stencil art at Cosquer Cave, and the polychrome charcoal and ochre images at Pech-Merle, and Lascaux. In Spain, they include polychrome images of bison and deer at Altamira Cave in Spain. Outside Europe, major examples of rock art include: Ubirr Aboriginal artworks (from 30,000 BCE), the animal figure paintings in charcoal and ochre at the Apollo 11 Cave (from 25,500 BCE) in Namibia, the Bradshaw paintings (from 17,000 BCE) in Western Australia, and the hand stencil images at the Cuevas de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) (from 9500 BCE) in Argentina, among many others.
Against a background of a new climate, improved living conditions and consequent behaviour patterns, Mesolithic art gives more space to human figures, shows keener observation, and greater narrative in its paintings. Also, because of the warmer weather, it moves from caves to outdoor sites in numerous locations across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Mesolithic artworks include the bushman rock paintings in the Waterberg area of South Africa, the paintings in the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in India, and Australian Aboriginal art from Arnhem Land. It also features more 3-D art, including bas-reliefs and free standing sculpture. Examples of the latter include the anthropomorphic figurines uncovered in Nevali Cori and Göbekli Tepe near Urfa in eastern Asia Minor, and the statues of Lepenski Vir (eg. The Fish God) in Serbia. Other examples of Mesolithic portable art include bracelets, painted pebbles and decorative drawings on functional objects, as well as ceramic pottery of the Japanese Jomon culture. The greatest Mesolithic work of art is the sculpture "Thinker From Cernavoda" from Romania.
The more "settled" and populous Neolithic era saw a growth in crafts like pottery and weaving. This originated in Mesolithic times from about 9,000 BCE in the villages of southern Asia, after which it flourished along the Yellow and Yangtze river valleys in China (c.7,500 BCE) - see Neolithic Art in China - then in the fertile crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys in the Middle East (c.7,000), before spreading to India (c.5,000), Europe (c.4,000), China (3,500) and the Americas (c.2,500). Although most art remained functional in nature, there was a greater focus on ornamentation and decoration. For example, calligraphy - one of the great examples of Chinese art - first appears during this period. Neolithic art also features free standing sculpture, bronze statuettes (notably by the Indus Valley Civilization), primitive jewellery and decorative designs on a variety of artifacts. The most spectacular form of Neolithic art was architecture: featuring large-stone structures known as megaliths, ranging from the Egyptian pyramids, to the passage tombs of Northern Europe - such as Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland - and the assemblages of large upright stones (menhirs) such as those at the Stonehenge Stone Circle and Avebury Circle in England. (For more, please see: megalithic art.) However, the major medium of Neolithic art was ceramic pottery, the finest examples of which were produced around the region of Mesopotamia (see Mesopotamian art) and the eastern Mediterranean. Towards the close of this era, hieroglyphic writing systems appear in Sumer, heralding the end of prehistory.
The most famous examples of Bronze Age art appeared in the 'cradle of civilization' around the Mediterranean in the Near East, during the rise of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), Greece, Crete (Minoan civilization) and Egypt. The emergence of cities, the use of written languages and the development of more sophisticated tools led the creation of a far wider range of monumental and portable artworks.
Egypt, arguably the greatest civilization in the history of ancient art, was the first culture to adopt a recognizable style of art. Egyptian painters depicted the head, legs and feet of their human subjects in profile, while portraying the eye, shoulders, arms and torso from the front. Other artistic conventions laid down how Gods, Pharaohs and ordinary people should be depicted, regulating such elements as size, colour and figurative position. A series of wonderful Egyptian encaustic wax paintings, known as the Fayum portraits, offer a fascinating glimpse of Hellenistic culture in Ancient Egypt. In addition, the unique style of Egyptian architecture featured a range of massive stone burial chambers, called Pyramids. Egyptian expertise in stone had a huge impact on later Greek architecture. Famous Egyptian pyramids include: The Step Pyramid of Djoser (c.2630 BCE), and The Great Pyramid at Giza (c.2550 BCE), also called the Pyramid of Khufu or 'Pyramid of Cheops'.
In Mesopotamia and Ancient Persia, Sumerians were developing their own unique building - an alternative form of stepped pyramid called a ziggurat. These were not burial chambers but man-made mountains designed to bring rulers and people closer to their Gods who according to legend lived high up in mountains to the east. Ziggurats were built from clay bricks, typically decorated with coloured glazes.
For most of Antiquity, the art of ancient Persia was closely intertwined with that of its neighbours, especially Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), and influenced - and was influenced by - Greek art. Early Persian works of portable art feature the intricate ceramics from Susa and Persepolis (c.3000 BCE), but the two important periods of Persian art were the Achaemenid Era (c.550-330 BCE) - exemplified by the monumental palaces at Persepolis and Susa, decorated with sculpture, stone reliefs, and the famous "Frieze of Archers" (Louvre, Paris) created out of enameled brick - and the Sassanid Era (226-650 CE) - noted for its highly decorative stone mosaics, gold and silver dishes, frescoes and illuminated manuscripts as well as crafts like carpet-making and silk-weaving. But, the greatest relics of Sassanian art are the rock sculptures carved out of steep limestone cliffs at Taq-i-Bustan, Shahpur, Naqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab.
The first important strand of Aegean art, created on Crete by the Minoans, was rooted in its palace architecture at Knossos, Phaestus, Akrotiri, Kato Zakros and Mallia, which were constructed using a combination of stone, mud-brick and plaster, and decorated with colourful murals and fresco pictures, portraying mythological animal symbols (eg. the bull) as well as a range of mythological narratives. Minoan art also features stone carvings (notably seal stones), and precious metalwork. The Minoan Protopalatial period (c.1700 BCE), which ended in a major earthquake, was followed by an even more ornate Neopalatial period (c.1700-1425 BCE), which witnessed the highpoint of the culture before being terminated by a second set of earthquakes in 1425. Minoan craftsmen are also noted for their ceramics and vase-painting, which featured a host of marine and maritime motifs. This focus on nature and events - instead of rulers and deities - is also evident in Minoan palace murals and sculptures.
Named after the metal which made it prosperous, the Bronze Age period witnessed a host of wonderful metalworks made from many different materials. This form of metallugy is exemplified by two extraordinary masterpieces: The "Ram in the Thicket" (c.2500 BCE, British Museum, London) a small Iraqi sculpture made from gold-leaf, copper, lapis lazuli, and red limestone; and The "Maikop Gold Bull" (c.2500 BCE, Hermitage, St Petersburg) a miniature gold sculpture of the Maikop Culpture, North Caucasus, Russia. The period also saw the emergence of Chinese bronzeworks (from c.1750 BCE), in the form of bronze plaques and sculptures often decorated with Jade, from the Yellow River Basin of Henan Province, Central China.
For Bronze Age civilizations in the Americas, see: Pre-Columbian art, which covers the art and crafts of Mesoamerican and South American cultures.
The Iron Age saw a huge growth in artistic activity, especially in Greece and around the eastern Mediterranean. It coincided with the rise of Hellenic (Greek-influenced) culture.
Although Mycenae was an independent Greek city in the Greek Peloponnese, the term "Mycenean" culture is sometimes used to describe early Greek art as a whole during the late Bronze Age. Initially very much under the influence of Minoan culture, Mycenean art gradually achieved its own balance between the lively naturalism of Crete and the more formal artistic idiom of the mainland, as exemplified in its numerous tempera frescoes, sculpture, pottery, carved gemstones, jewellery, glass, ornaments and precious metalwork. Also, in contrast to the Minoan "maritime trading" culture, Myceneans were warriors, so their art was designed primarily to glorify their secular rulers. It included a number of tholos tombs filled with gold work, ornamental weapons and precious jewellery.
Ancient Greek art is traditionally divided into the following periods: (1) the Dark Ages (c.1100-900 BCE). (2) The Geometric Period (c.900-700 BCE). (3) The Oriental-Style Period (c.700-625 BCE). (4) The Archaic Period (c.625-500 BCE). (5) The Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE). (6) The Hellenistic Period (c.323-100 BCE). Unfortunately, nearly all Greek painting and a huge proportion of Greek sculpture has been lost, leaving us with a collection of ruins or Roman copies. Greek architecture, too, is largely known to us through its ruins. Despite this tiny legacy, Greek artists remain highly revered, which demonstrates how truly advanced they were.
Like all craftsmen of the Mediterranean area, the ancient Greeks borrowed a number of important artistic techniques from their neighbours and trading partners. Even so, by the death of the Macedonian Emperor Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Greek art was regarded in general as the finest ever made. Even the Romans - despite their awesome engineering and military skills - never quite overcame their sense of inferiority in the face of Greek craftsmanship, and (fortunately for us) copied Greek artworks assiduously. Seventeen centuries later, Greek architecture, sculptural reliefs, statues, and pottery would be rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance, and made the cornerstone of Western art for over 400 years.
Greek pottery developed much earlier than other art forms: by 3000 BCE the Peloponnese was already the leading pottery centre. Later, following the take-over of the Greek mainland by Indo-European tribes around 2100 BCE, a new form of pottery was introduced, known as Minyan Ware. It was the first Greek type to be made on a potter's wheel. Despite this, it was Minoan pottery on Crete - with its new dark-on-light style - that predominated during the 2nd Millennium BCE. Thereafter, however, Greek potters regained the initiative, introducing a series of dazzling innovations including: beautifully proportioned Geometric Style pottery (900-725), as well as Oriental (725-600), Black-Figure (600-480) and Red-Figure (530-480) styles. Famous Greek ceramicists include Exekias, Kleitias, Ergotimos, Nearchos, Lydos, the Amasis Painter, Andokides, Euthymides, and Sophilos (all Black-Figure), plus Douris, Brygos and Onesimos (Red-Figure).
In Etruria, Italy, the older Villanovan Culture gave way to Etruscan Civilization around 700 BCE. This reached its peak during the sixth century BCE as their city-states gained control of central Italy. Like the Egyptians but unlike the Greeks, Etruscans believed in an after-life, thus tomb or funerary art was a characteristic feature of Etruscan culture. Etruscan artists were also renowned for their figurative sculpture, in stone, terracotta and bronze. Above all Etruscan art is famous for its "joi de vivre", exemplified by its lively fresco mural painting, especially in the villas of the rich. In addition, the skill of Etruscan goldsmiths was highly prized throughout Italy and beyond. Etruscan culture, itself strongly influenced by Greek styles, had a marked impact on other cultures, notably the Hallstatt and La Tene styles of Celtic art. Etruscan culture declined from 396 BCE onwards, as its city states were absorbed into the Roman Empire.
From about 600 BCE, migrating pagan tribes from the Russian Steppes, known as Celts, established themselves astride the Upper Danube in central Europe. Celtic culture, based on exceptional trading skills and an early mastery of iron, facilitated their gradual expansion throughout Europe, and led to two styles of Celtic art whose artifacts are known to us through several key archeological sites in Switzerland and Austria. The two styles are Hallstatt (600-450) and La Tene (450-100). Both were exemplified by beautiful metalwork and complex linear designwork. Although by the early 1st Millennium CE most pagan Celtic artists had been fully absorbed into the Roman Empire, their traditions of spiral, zoomorphic, knotwork and interlace designs later resurfaced and flourished (600-1100 CE) in many forms of Hiberno-Saxon art (see below) such as illuminated Gospel manuscripts, religious metalwork, and High Cross Sculpture. Famous examples of Celtic metalwork art include the Gundestrup Cauldron, the Petrie Crown and the Broighter gold torc.
Unlike their intellectual Greek neighbours, the Romans were primarily practical people with a natural affinity for engineering, military matters, and Empire building. Roman architecture was designed to awe, entertain and cater for a growing population both in Italy and throughout their Empire. Thus Roman architectural achievements are exemplified by new drainage systems, aqueducts, bridges, public baths, sports facilities and amphitheatres (eg. the Colosseum 72-80 CE), characterized by major advances in materials (eg. the invention of concrete) and in the construction of arches and roof domes. The latter not only allowed the roofing of larger buildings, but also gave the exterior far greater grandeur and majesty. All this revolutionized the Greek-dominated field of architecture, at least in form and size, if not in creativity, and provided endless opportunity for embellishment in the way of scultural reliefs, statues, fresco murals, and mosaics. The most famous examples of Roman architecture include: the massive Colosseum, the Arch of Titus, and Trajan's Column.
If Roman architecture was uniquely grandiose, its paintings and sculptures continued to imitate the Greek style, except that its main purpose was the glorification of Rome's power and majesty. Early Roman art (c.200-27 BCE) was detailed, unidealized and realistic, while later Imperial styles (c.27 BCE - 200 CE) were more heroic. Mediocre painting flourished in the form of interior-design standard fresco murals, while higher quality panel painting was executed in tempera or in encaustic pigments. Roman sculpture too, varied in quality: as well as tens of thousands of average quality portrait busts of Emperors and other dignitaries, Roman sculptors also produced some marvellous historical relief sculptures, such as the spiral bas relief sculpture on Trajan's Column, celebrating the Emperor's victory in the Dacian war.
Early Art From Around the World
Although the history of art is commonly seen as being mainly concerned with civilizations that derived from European and Chinese cultures, a significant amount of arts and crafts appeared from the earliest times around the periphery of the known world. For more about the history and artifacts of these cultures, see: Oceanic art (from the South Pacific and Australasia), African art (from all parts of the continent) and Tribal art (from Africa, the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Burma, Australasia, North America, and Alaska).
Constantinople, Christianity and Byzantine Art
With the death in 395 CE, of the Emperor Theodosius, the Roman empire was divided into two halves: a Western half based initially in Rome, until it was sacked in the 5th century CE, then Ravenna; and an eastern half located in the more secure city of Constantinople. At the same time, Christianity was made the exclusive official religion of the empire. These two political developments had a huge impact on the history of Western art. First, relocation to Constantinople helped to prolong Greco-Roman civilization and culture; second, the growth of Christianity led to an entirely new category of Christian art which provided architects, painters, sculptors and other craftsmen with what became the dominant theme in the visual arts for the next 1,200 years. As well as prototype forms of early Christian art, much of which came from the catacombs, it also led directly to the emergence of Byzantine art. See also: Christian Art, Byzantine Period.
Byzantine art was almost entirely religious art, and centred around its Christian architecture. Masterpieces include the awesome Hagia Sophia (532-37) in Istanbul; the Church of St Sophia in Sofia, Bulgaria (527-65); and the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki. Byzantine art also influenced the Ravenna mosaics in the Basilicas of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, San Vitale, and Sant' Apollinare in Classe. Secular examples include: the Great Palace of Constantinople, and Basilica Cistern. As well as new architectural techniques such as the use of pendentives to spread the weight of the ceiling dome, thus permitting larger interiors, new decorative methods were introduced like mosaics made from glass, rather than stone. But the Eastern Orthodox brand of Christianity (unlike its counterpart in Rome), did not allow 3-D artworks like statues or high reliefs, believing they glorified the human aspect of the flesh rather than the divine nature of the spirit. Thus Byzantine art (eg. painting, mosaic works) developed a particular style of meaningful imagery (iconography) designed to present complex theology in a very simple way. For example, colours were used to express different ideas: gold represented Heaven; blue, the colour of human life, and so on.
After 600 CE, Byzantine architecture progressed through several periods - such as, the Middle Period (c.600-1100) and the Comnenian and Paleologan periods (c.1100-1450) - gradually becoming more and more influenced by eastern traditions of construction and decoration. In Western Europe, Byzantine architecture was superceded by Romanesque and Gothic styles, while in the Near East it continued to have a significant influence on early Islamic architecture, as illustrated by the Umayyad Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
In the absence of sculpture, Byzantine artists specialized in 2-D painting, becoming masters of panel-painting, including miniatures - notably icons - and manuscript illumination. Their works had a huge influence on artists throughout western and central Europe, as well as the Islamic countries of the Middle East.
Located on the remote periphery of Western Europe, Ireland remained free of interference from either Rome or the barbarians that followed. As a result, Irish Celtic art was neither displaced by Greek or Roman idioms, nor buried in the pagan Dark Ages. Furthermore, the Church was able to establish a relatively secure network of Irish monasteries, which rapidly became important centres of religious learning and scholarship, and gradually spread to the islands off Britain and to parts of Northern England. This monastic network soon became a major patron of the arts, attracting numerous scribes and painters into its scriptoriums to create a series of increasingly ornate illuminated gospel manuscripts: examples include: the Cathach of Colmcille (c.560), the Book of Dimma (c.625), the Durham Gospels (c.650), the Book of Durrow (c.670), and the supreme Book of Kells (also called the Book of Columba), considered to be the apogee of Western calligraphy. These gospel illuminations employed a range of historiated letters, rhombuses, crosses, trumpet ornaments, pictures of birds and animals, occasionally taking up whole pages (carpet pages) of geometric or interlace patterns. The creative success of these decorated manuscripts was greatly enhanced by the availability of Celtic designs from jewellery and metalwork - produced for the Irish secular elite - and by increased cultural contacts with Anglo-Saxon craftsmen in England.
Another early Christian art form developed in Ireland was religious metalwork, exemplified by such masterpieces as the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice, the Derrynaflan Chalice, and the Moylough Belt Shrine, as well as processional crosses like the 8th/9th century Tully Lough Cross and the great 12th century Cross of Cong, commissioned by Turlough O'Connor. Finally, from the late eighth century, the Church began commissioning a number of large religious crosses decorated both with scenes from the bible and abstract interlace, knotwork and other Celtic-style patterns. Examples include Muiredach's Cross at Monasterboice, County Louth, and the Ahenny High Cross in Tipperary. These scripture high crosses flourished between 900 and 1100, although construction continued as late as the 15th century.
Unfortunately, with the advent of the Vikings (c.800-1000), the unique Irish contribution to Western Civilization in general and Christianity in particular, began to fade, despite some contribution from Viking art. Thereafter, Roman culture - driven by the Church of Rome - began to reassert itself across Europe.
A Word About Asian Art
In contrast to Christianity which permits figurative representation of Prophets, Saints and the Holy family, Islam forbids all forms of human iconography. Thus Islamic art focused instead on the development of complex geometric patterns, illuminated texts and calligraphy.
In East Asia, the visual arts of India and Tibet incorporated the use of highly coloured figures (due to their wide range of pigments) and strong outlines. Painting in India was extremely diverse, as were materials (textiles being more durable often replaced paper) and size (Indian miniatures were a specialty). Chinese art included bronze sculpture, jade carving, Chinese pottery, calligraphic and brush painting, among other forms. In Japan, Buddhist temple art, Zen Ink-Painting, Yamato-e and Ukiyo-e woodblock prints were four of the main types of Japanese art.
On the continent, the revival of medieval Christian art began with Charlemagne I, King of the Franks, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, by Pope Leo III in 800. Charlemagne's court scriptoriums at Aachen produced a number of magnificent illuminated Christian texts, such as: the Godscalc Evangelistary, the Lorsch Gospels and the Gospels of St Medard of Soissons. Ironically, his major architectural work - the Palatine Chapel in Aachen (c.800) - was influenced not by St Peter's or other churches in Rome, but by the Byzantine-style Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The Carolingian empire rapidly dissolved but Carolingian Art marked an important first step in the revitalization of European culture. Furthermore, many of the Romanesque and Gothic churches were built on the foundations of Carolingian architecture. Charlemagne's early Romanesque architectural achievements were continued by the Holy Roman Emperors Otto I-III, in a style known as Ottonian Art, which morphed into the fully fledged "Romanesque." (In England and Ireland, the Romanesque style is usually called Norman architecture.)
The Church Invests in Art to Convey Its Message
The spread of Romanesque art in the 11th century coincided with the reassertiveness of Roman Christianity, and the latter's influence on secular authorities led to the Christian re-conquest of Spain (c.1031) as well as the Crusade to free the Holy Land from the grip of Islam. The success of the Crusaders and their acquisition of Holy Relics triggered a wave of new cathedrals across Europe. In addition to its influence over international politics, Rome exercised growing power via its network of Bishops and its links with Monastic orders such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, Carthusians and Augustinian Canons. From these monasteries, its officials exercised growing administrative power over the local population, notably the power to collect tax revenues which it devoted to religious works, particularly the building of cathedrals (encompassing sculpture and metalwork, as well as architecture), illuminated gospel manuscripts, and cultural scholarship - a process exemplified by the powerful Benedictine monastery at Cluny in Burgundy.
Romanesque Architecture (c.1000-1200)
Although based on Greek and Roman Antiquity, Romanesque architecture displayed neither the creativity of the Greeks, nor the engineering skill of the Romans. They employed thick walls, round arches, piers, columns, groin vaults, narrow slit-windows, large towers and decorative arcading. The basic load of the building was carried not its arches or columns but by its massive walls. And its roofs, vaults and buttresses were relatively primitive in comparison with later styles. Above all, interiors were dim and comparatively hemmed in with heavy stone walls. Even so, Romanesque architecture did reintroduce two important forms of fine art: sculpture (which had been in abeyance since the fall of Rome), and stained glass, albeit on a minor scale. (For details of sculptors, painters, and architects from the Middle Ages, see: Medieval Artists.)
Largely financed by monastic orders and local bishops, Gothic architecture exploited a number of technical advances in pointed arches and other design factors, in order to awe, inspire and educate the masses. Thus, out went the massively thick walls, small windows and dim interiors, in came soaring ceilings ("reaching to heaven"), thin walls and stained glass windows. This transformed the interior of many cathedrals into inspirational sanctuaries, where illiterate congregations could see the story of the bible illustrated in the beautiful stained glass art of its huge windows. Indeed, the Gothic cathedral was seen by architects as representing the universe in miniature. Almost every feature was designed to convey a theological message: namely, the awesome glory of God, and the ordered nature of his universe. Religious Gothic art - that is, architecture, relief sculpture and statuary - is best exemplified by the cathedrals of Northern France, notably Notre Dame de Paris; Reims and Chartres, as well as Cologne Cathedral, St Stephen's Cathedral Vienna and, in England, Westminster Abbey and York Minster.
Strongly influenced by International Gothic, the European revival of fine art between roughly 1300 and 1600, popularly known as "the Renaissance", was a unique and (in many respects) inexplicable phenomenon, not least because of (1) the Black Death plague (1346), which wiped out one third of the European population; (2) the 100 Years War between England and France (1339-1439) and (3) the Reformation (c.1520) - none of which was conducive to the development of the visual arts. Fortunately, certain factors in the Renaissance heartland of Florence and Rome - notably the energy and huge wealth of the Florentine Medici family, and the Papal ambitions of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), Pope Julius II (1503-13), Pope Leo X (1513-21) and Pope Paul III (1534-45) - succeeded in overcoming all natural obstacles, even if the Church was almost bankrupted in the process.
Renaissance art was founded on a new appreciation of the arts of Classical Antiquity, a belief in the nobility of Man, as well as artistic advances in both linear perspective and realism. It evolved in three main Italian cities: first Florence, then Rome, and lastly Venice. Renaissance chronology is usually listed as follows:
Renaissance architecture employed precepts derived from ancient Greece and Rome, but kept many modern features of Byzantine and Gothic invention, such as domes and towers. Important architects included: Donato Bramante (1444-1514) the greatest exponent of High Renaisance architecture; Baldassare Peruzzi (1481-1536), an important architect and interior designer; Michele Sanmicheli (1484-1559), the leading pupil of Bramante; Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), the most celebrated Venetian architect; Giulio Romano (1499-1546), the chief practitioner of Italian Late Renaissance-style building design; Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), an influential theorist; and of course Michelangelo himself, who helped to design the dome for St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Among the greatest sculptors of the Northern Renaissance were: the German limewood sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider (1460-1531), noted for his reliefs and freestanding wood sculpture; and the wood-carver Veit Stoss (1450-1533) noted for his delicate altarpieces.
It was during this period that the Catholic Counter-Reformation got going in an attempt to attract the masses away from Protestantism. Renewed patronage of the visual arts and architecture was a key feature of this propaganda campaign, and led to a grander, more theatrical style in both areas. This new style, known as Baroque art was effectively the highpoint of dramatic Mannerism.
Baroque architecture took full advantage of the theatrical potential of the urban landscape, exemplified by Saint Peter's Square (1656-67) in Rome, in front of the domed St Peter's Basilica. Its architect, Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) employed a widening series of colonnades in the approach to the cathedral, conveying the impression to visitors that they are being embraced by the arms of the Catholic Church. The entire approach is constructed on a gigantic scale, to induce feelings of awe.
In painting, the greatest exponent of Catholic Counter-Reformation art was Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) - "the Prince of painters and the painter of Princes". Other leading Catholic artists included Diego Velazquez (1599-1660), Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664) and Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665).
In Protestant Northern Europe, the Baroque era was marked by the flowering of Dutch Realist painting, a style uniquely suited to the new bourgeois patrons of small-scale interiors, genre-paintings, portraits, landscapes and still lifes. Several schools of Dutch Realism sprang up including those of Delft, Utrecht, and Leiden. Leading members included the two immortals Rembrandt (1606-1669) and Jan Vermeer (1632-1675), as well as Frans Snyders (1579-1657), Frans Hals (1581-1666), Adriaen Brouwer (1605-38), Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-84), Adriaen van Ostade (1610-85), David Teniers the Younger (1610-90), Gerard Terborch (1617-81), Jan Steen (1626-79), Pieter de Hooch (1629-83), and the landscape painters Aelbert Cuyp (1620-91), Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-82) and Meyndert Hobbema (1638-1709), among others.
This new style of decorative art, known as Rococo, impacted most on interior-design, although architecture, painting and sculpture were also affected. Essentially a reaction against the seriousness of the Baroque, Rococo was a light-hearted, almost whimsical style which grew up in the French court at the Palace of Versailles before spreading across Europe. Rococo designers employed the full gamut of plasterwork, murals, tapestries, furniture, mirrors, porcelain, silks and other embellishments to give the householder a complete aesthetic experience. In painting, the Rococo style was championed by the French artists Watteau (1684-1721), Fragonard (1732-1806), and Boucher (1703-70). But the greatest works were produced by the Venetian Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770) whose fantastic wall and ceiling fresco paintings took Rococo to new heights. See in particular the renaissance of French Decorative Art (1640-1792), created by French Designers especially in the form of French Furniture, at Versailles and other Royal Chateaux, in the style of Louis Quatorze (XIV), Louis Quinze (XV) and Louis Seize (XVI). As it was, Rococo symbolized the decadent indolence and degeneracy of the French aristocracy. Because of this, it was swept away by the French Revolution which ushered in the new sterner Neoclassicism, more in keeping with the Age of Enlightenment and Reason.
In architecture, Neoclassicism derived from the more restrained "classical" forms of Baroque practised in England by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who designed St Paul's Cathedral. Yet another return to the Classical Orders of Greco-Roman Antiquity, the style was characterized by monumental structures, supported by columns of pillars, and topped with classical Renaissance domes. Employing innovations like layered cupolas, it lent added grandeur to palaces, churches, and other public structures. Famous Neoclassical buildings include: the Pantheon (Paris) designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot (1756-97), the Arc de Triomphe (Paris) designed by Jean Chalgrin, the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin) designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732-1808), and the United States Capitol Building, designed by English-born Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), and later by Stephen Hallet and Charles Bulfinch. See also the era of American Colonial Art (c.1670-1800).
Neoclassicist painters also looked to Classical
Antiquity for inspiration, and emphasized the virtues of heroicism, duty
and gravitas. Leading exponents included the French political artist Jacques-Louis
David (1748-1825), the German portrait and history painter Anton Raphael
Mengs (1728-79), and the French master of the Academic
art style, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). Neoclassical
sculptors included: Antonio Canova (1757-1822),
In contrast to the universal values espoused by Neo-Classicism, Romantic artists expressed a more personal response to life, relying more on their senses and emotions rather than reason and intellect. This idealism, like Neoclassism, was encouraged by the French Revolution, thus some artists were affected by both styles. Nature was an important subject for Romantics, and the style is exemplified, by the English School of Landscape Painting, the plein air painting of John Constable (1776-1837), Corot (1796-1875) along with members of the French Barbizon School and the American Hudson River School of landscape painting, as well as the more expressionistic JMW Turner (1775-1851). Arguably, however, the greatest Romantic landscape painter is arguably Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Narrative or history painting was another important genre in Romanticism: leading exponents include: Francisco Goya (1746-1828) Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), James Barry (1741-1806), Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) and Eugene Delacroix (1798-63), as well as later Orientalists, Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists.
As the 19th century progessed, growing awareness of the rights of man plus the social impact of the Industrial Revolution caused some artists to move away from idealistic or romantic subjects in favour of more mundane subjects, depicted in a more true-life, style of naturalism. This new focus (to some extent anticipated by William Hogarth in the 18th century, see English Figurative Painting) was exemplified by the Realism style which emerged in France during the 1840s, before spreading across Europe. This new style attracted painters from all the genres - notably Gustave Courbet (1819-77) (genre-painting), Jean Francois Millet (1814-75) (landscape, rural life), Honore Daumier (1808-79) (urban life) and Ilya Repin (1844-1930) (landscape and portraits).
History of Modern Art
French Impressionism, championed above all by Claude Monet (1840-1926), was a spontaneous colour-sensitive style of pleinairism whose origins derived from Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot and the techniques of the Barbizon school - whose quest was to depict the momentary effects of natural light. It encompassed rural landscapes [Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)], cityscapes [Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)], genre scenes [Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), and Berthe Morisot (1841-95)] and both figurative paintings and portraits [Edouard Manet (1832-83), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)]. Other artists associated with Impressionism include, James McNeil Whistler (1834-1903) and Walter Sickert (1860-1942).
Impressionists sought to faithfully reproduce fleeting moments outdoors. Thus if an object appeared dark purple - due perhaps to failing or reflected light - then the artist painted it purple. Naturalist "Academic-Style" colour schemes, being devised in theory or at least in the studio, did not allow for this. As a result Impressionism offered a whole new pictorial language - one that paved the way for more revolutionary art movements like Cubism - and is often regarded by historians and critics as the first modern school of painting.
In any event, the style had a massive impact on Parisian and world art, and was the gateway to a series of colour-related movements, including Post-Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Pointillism, Divisionism, Fauvism, Intimism, the American Luminism or Tonalism, as well as American Impressionism, the Newlyn School and Camden Town Group, the French Les Nabis and the general Expressionist movement.
Essentially an umbrella term encompassing a number of developments and reactions to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism involved artists who employed Impressionist-type colour schemes, but were dissatisfied with the limitations imposed by merely reproducing nature. Neo-Impressionism with its technique of Pointillism (an offshoot of Divisionism) was pioneered by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac (1863-1935), while major Post-Impressionists include Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. Inspired by Gauguin's synthetism and Bernard's cloisonnism, the Post-Impressionist group Les Nabis promoted a wider form of decorative art; another style, known as Intimisme, concerned itself with genre scenes of domestic, intimate interiors. Exemplified by the work of Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940), it parallels other tranquil interiors such as those by James McNeil Whistler, and the Dutch Realist-influenced Peter Vilhelm Ilsted (1861-1933). Another very important movement - anti-impressionist rather than post-impressionist - was Symbolism (flourished 1885-1900), which went on to influence Fauvism, Expressionism and Surrealism.
For more about art politics in France, see: the Paris Salon.
The term "Fauves" (wild beasts) was first used by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles at the 1905 Salon d'Automne exhibition in Paris when describing the vividly coloured paintings of Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Andre Derain (1880-1954), and Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958). Other Fauvists included the later Cubist Georges Braque (1882-1963), Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), Albert Marquet (1875-1947) and Georges Rouault (1871-1958). Most followers of Fauvism moved on to Expressionism or other movements associated with the Ecole de Paris.
Sculptural traditions, although never independent from those of painting, are concerned primarily with space and volume, while issues of scale and function also act as distinguishing factors. Thus on the whole, sculpture was slower to reflect the new trends of modern art during the 19th century, leaving sculptors like Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) free to pursue a monumentalism derived essentially from Neoclassicism if not Renaissance ideology. The public dimension of sculpture also lent itself to the celebration of Victorian values and historical figures, which were likewise executed in the grand manner of earlier times. Thus it wasn't until the emergence of artists like Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) and Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) that sculpture really began to change, at the turn of the century.
Expressionism is a general style of painting that aims to express a personal interpretation of a scene or object, rather than depict its true-life features, it is often characterized by energetic brushwork, impastoed paint, intense colours and bold lines. Early Expressionists included, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-90), Edvard Munch (1863-1944) and Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). A number of German Expressionist schools sprang up during the first three decades of the 20th century. These included: Die Brucke (1905-11), a group based in Dresden in 1905, which mixed elements of traditional German art with Post-Impressionist and Fauvist styles, exemplified in works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erik Heckel, and Emil Nolde; Der Blaue Reiter (1911-14), a loose association of artists based in Munich, including Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, August Macke, and Paul Klee; Die Neue Sachlichkeit (1920s) a post-war satirical-realist group whose members included Otto Dix, George Grosz, Christian Schad and to a lesser extent Max Beckmann. Expressionism duly spread worldwide, spawning numerous derivations in both figurative painting (eg. Francis Bacon) and abstract art (eg. Mark Rothko). See also: History of Expressionist Painting (c.1880-1930).
Art Nouveau (Late 19th Century - Early 20th Century)
Art Nouveau (known as Jugendstil in Germany, Sezessionstil in the Vienna Secession, Stile Liberty in Italy, and Modernista in Spain) derived from William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain, and was also influenced by both the Celtic Revival arts movement and Japanonisme. It's popularity stemmed from the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, from where it spread across Europe and the United States. It was noted for its intricate flowing patterns of sinuous asymetrical lines, based on plant-forms (dating back to the Celtic Hallstatt and La Tene cultures), as well as female silhouettes and forms. Art Nouveau had a major influence on poster art, design and illustration, interior design, metalwork, glassware, jewellery, as well as painting and sculpture. Leading exponents included: Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98), Eugene Grasset (1845-1917) and Albert Guillaume (1873-1942). See also: History of Poster Art.
The Bauhaus School (Germany, 1919-1933)
Derived from the two German words "bau" for building and "haus" for house, the Bauhaus school of art and design was founded in 1919 by the architect Walter Gropius. Enormously influential in both architecture and design - and their teaching methods - its instructors included such artists as Josef Albers, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Schlemmer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Anni Albers and Johannes Itten. Its mission was to bring art into contact with everyday life, thus the design of everyday objects was given the same importance as fine art. Important Bauhaus precepts included the virtue of simple, clean design, massproduction and the practical advantages of a well-designed home and workplace. The Bauhaus was eventually closed by the Nazis in 1933, whereupon several of its teachers emigrated to America: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy settled in Chicago where he founded the New Bauhaus in 1937, while Albers went to Black Mountain College in North Carolina.
Art Deco (1920s, 1930s)
The design style known as Art Deco was showcased in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris and became a highly popular style of decorative art, design and architecture during the inter-war years (much employed by cinema and hotel architects). Its influence was also seen in the design of furniture, textile fabrics, pottery, jewellery, and glass. A reaction against Art Nouveau, the new idiom of Art Deco eliminated the latter's flowing curvilinear forms and replaced them with Cubist and Precisionist-inspired geometric shapes. Famous examples of Art Deco architecture include the Empire State Building and the New York Chrysler Building. Art Deco was also influenced by the simple architectural designs of The Bauhaus.
Invented by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Georges Braque (1882-1963) and considered to be "the" revolutionary movement of modern art, Cubism was a more intellectual style of painting that explored the full potential of the two-dimensional picture plane by offering different views of the same object, typically arranged in a series of overlapping fragments: rather like a photographer might take several photos of an object from different angles, before cutting them up with scissors and rearranging them in haphazard fashion on a flat surface. This "analytical Cubism" (which originated with Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon") quickly gave way to "synthetic Cubism", when artists began to include "found objects" in their canvases, such as collages made from newspaper cuttings. Cubist painters included: Juan Gris (1887-1927), Fernand Leger (1881-1955), Robert Delaunay (1885-1941), Albert Gleizes (1881-1953), Roger de La Fresnaye (1885-1925), Jean Metzinger (1883-1956), and Francis Picabia (1879-1953), the avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), and the sculptors Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973), and Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964). (See also Russian art.) Short-lived but highly influential, Cubism instigated a whole new style of abstract art and had a significant impact the development of later styles such as: Orphism (1910-13), Collage (1912 onwards), Purism (1920s), Precisionism (1920s, 1930s), Futurism (1909-1914), Rayonism (c.1912-14), Suprematism (1913-1918), Constructivism (c.1919-32), Vorticism (c.1914-15) the De Stijl (1917-31) design movement and the austere geometrical style of concrete art known as Neo-Plasticism.
Largely rooted in the anti-art traditions of the Dada movement (1916-24), as well as the psychoanalytical ideas of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, Surrealism was the most influential art style of the inter-war years. According to its chief theorist, Andre Breton, it sought to combine the unconscious with the conscious, in order to create a new "super-reality" - a "surrealisme". The movement spanned a huge range of styles, from abstraction to true-life realism, typically punctuated with "unreal" imagery. Important Surrealists included Salvador Dali (1904-89), Max Ernst (1891-1976), Rene Magritte (1898-1967), Andre Masson (1896-1987), Yves Tanguy (1900-55), Joan Miro (1893-1983), Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), Jean Arp (1886-1966), and Man Ray (1890-1976). The movement had a major impact across Europe during the 1930s, was the major precursor to Conceptualism, and continues to find adherents in fine art, literature and cinematography.
American painting during the period 1900-45 was realist in style and became increasingly focused on strictly American imagery. This was the result of the reaction against the Armory Show (1913) and European hypermodernism, as well as a response to changing social conditions across the country. Later it became a patriotic response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. See also the huge advances in Skyscraper architecture of the early 20th century. For more, see: American architecture (1600-present). Specific painting movements included the Ashcan School (c.1900-1915); Precisionism (1920s) which celebrated the new American industrial landscape; the more socially aware urban style of Social Realism (1930s); American Scene Painting (c.1925-45) which embraced the work of Edward Hopper and Charles Burchfield, as well as midwestern Regionalism (1930s) championed by Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry.
The first international modern art movement to come out of America (it is sometimes referred to as The New York School - see also American art), it was a predominantly abstract style of painting which followed an expressionist colour-driven direction, rather than a Cubist idiom, although it also includes a number of other styles, making it more of a general movement. Four variants stand out in Abstract Expressionism: first, the "automatic" style of "action painting" invented by Jackson Pollock (1912-56) and his wife Lee Krasner (19081984). Second, the monumental planes of colour created by Mark Rothko (1903-70), Barnett Newman (1905-70) and Clyfford Still (1904-80) - a style known as Colour Field Painting. Third, the gestural figurative works by Willem De Kooning (19041997). Four, the geometric "Homage to the Square" geometric abstracts of Josef Albers (1888-1976).
Highly influential, Abstract Expressionist painting continued to influence later artists for over two decades. It was introduced to Paris during the 1950s by Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), assisted by Michel Tapie's book, Un Art Autre (1952). At the same time, a number of new sub-movements emerged in America, such as Hard-edge painting, exemplified by Frank Stella. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, a purely abstract form of Colour Field painting appeared in works by Helen Frankenthaler and others, while in 1964, the famous art critic Clement Greenberg helped to introduce a further stylistic development known as "Post-Painterly Abstraction". Abstract Expressionism went on to influence a variety of different schools, including Op Art, Fluxus, Pop Art, Minimalism, Neo-Expressionism, and others.
The bridge between modern art and postmodernism, Pop art employed popular imagery and modern forms of graphic art, to create a lively, high-impact idiom, which could be understood and appreciated by Joe Public. It appeared simultaneously in America and Britain, during the late 1950s, while a European form (Nouveau Realisme) emerged in 1960. Pioneered in America by Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) and Jasper Johns (b.1930), Pop had close links with early 20th century movements like Surrealism. It was a clear reaction against the closed intellectualism of Abstract Expressionism, from which Pop artists sought to distance themselves by adopting simple, easily recognized imagery (from TV, cartoons, comic strips and the like), as well as modern technology like screen printing. Famous US Pop artists include: Jim Dine (b.1935), Robert Indiana (b.1928), Alex Katz (b.1927), Roy Lichtenstein (1923-97), Claes Oldenburg (b.1929), and Andy Warhol (1928-87). Important Pop artists in Britain were: Peter Blake (b.1932), Patrick Caulfield (1936-2006), Richard Hamilton (b.1922), David Hockney (b.1937), Allen Jones (b.1937), RB Kitaj (b.1932), and Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005).
From the early works of Brancusi, 20th century sculpture broadened immeasurably to encompass new forms, styles and materials. Major innovations included the "sculptured walls" of Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), the existential forms of Giacometti (1901-66), the biomorphic abstraction of both Barbara Hepworth (1903-75) and Henry Moore (1898-1986), and the spiders of Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). Other creative angles were pursued by Salvador Dali (1904-89) in his surrealist "Mae West Lips Sofa" and "Lobster Telephone" - by Meret Oppenheim (1913-85) in her "Furry Breakfast", by FE McWilliam (1909-1992) in his "Eyes, Nose and Cheek", by Sol LeWitt (b.1928) in his skeletal box-like constructions, and by Pop-artists like Claes Oldenburg (b.1929) and Jasper Johns (b.1930), as well as by the Italians Jonathan De Pas (1932-91), Donato D'Urbino (b.1935) and Paolo Lomazzi (b.1936) in their unique "Joe Sofa".
For more about the history of painting, sculpture, architecture and crafts during this period, see: Modern Art Movements.
History of Contemporary Art
The word "Postmodernist" is often used to describe contemporary art since about 1970. In simple terms, postmodernist art emphasizes style over substance (eg. not 'what' but 'how'; not 'art for art's sake', but 'style for stye's sake'), and stresses the importance of how the artist comunicates with his/her audience. This is exemplified by movements such as Conceptual art, where the idea being communicated is seen as more important than the artwork itself, which merely acts as the vehicle for the message. In addition, in order to increase the "impact" of visual art on spectators, postmodernists have turned to new art forms such as Assemblage, Installation, Video, Performance, Happenings and Graffiti - all of which are associated in some way or other with Conceptualism- and this idea of impact continues to inspire.
Painters since the 1970s have experimented with numerous styles across the spectrum from pure abstraction to figuration. These include: Minimalism, a purist form of abstraction which did little to promote painting as an attractive medium; Neo-Expressionism, which encompassed groups like the "Ugly Realists", the "Neue Wilden", "Figuration Libre", "Transavanguardia", the "New Image Painters" and the so-called "Bad Painters", signalled a return to depicting recognizable objects, like the human body (albeit often in a quasi-abstract style), using rough brushwork, vivid colours and colour harmonies; and the wholly figurative styles adopted by groups such as "New Subjectivity" and the "London School". At the other extreme from Minimalism is the ultra-representational art form of photorealism (superrealism, hyperrealism). Conspicuous among this rather bewildering range of activity are figure painters like Francis Bacon, the great Lucien Freud (b.1922), the innovative Fernando Botero (b.1932), the precise David Hockney (b.1937), the photorealists Chuck Close (b.1940) and Richard Estes (b.1936), and the contemporary Jenny Saville (b.1970). See also: Contemporary British Painting (1960-2000).
Sculpture since 1970 has appeared in a variety of guises, including: the large scale metal works of Mark Di Suvero (b.1933), the minimalist sculptures of Walter de Maria (b.1935), the monumental public forms of Richard Serra (b.1939), the hyper-realist nudes of John De Andrea (b.1941), the environmental structures of Anthony Gormley (b.1950), the site-specific figures of Rowan Gillespie (b.1953), the stainless steel works of Anish Kapoor (b.1954), the high-impact Neo-Pop works of Jeff Koons (b.1955), and the extraordinary 21st century works by Sudobh Gupta (b.1964) and Damian Ortega (b.1967). In addition, arresting public sculpture includes the "Chicago Picasso" - a series of metal figures produced for the Chicago Civic Centre and the architectural "Spire of Dublin" (the 'spike'), created by Ian Ritchie (b.1947), among many others.
The pluralistic "anything goes" view of contemporary art (which critics might characterize as exemplifying the fable of the "Emperor's New Clothes"), is aptly illustrated in the works of Damien Hirst, a leading member of the Young British Artists school. Renowned for "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living", a dead Tiger shark pickled in formaldehyde, and lately for his diamond encrusted skull "For the Love of God", Hirst has managed to stimulate audiences and horrify critics around the world. And while he is unlikely ever to inherit the mantle of Michelangelo, his achievement of sales worth $100 million in a single Sotheby's auction (2008) is positively eye-popping.
On a more sobering note, in March 2009 the prestigious Georges Pompidou Centre of Contemporary Art in Paris staged an exhibition entitled "The Specialisation of Sensibility in the Raw Material State into Stabilised Pictorial Sensibility". This avant-garde event consisted of 9 completely empty rooms - in effect, a reincarnation of John Cage's completely silent piece of "musical" conceptual art entitled "4.33". If one of the great contemporary art venues like the Pompidou Centre regards nine completely empty spaces as a worthy art event, we are all in deep trouble.
For more about the history of postmodernist painting, sculpture, and avant-garde art forms, see: Contemporary Art Movements.
One might say that 19th century architecture aimed to beautify the new wave of civic structures, like railway stations, museums, government buildings and other public utilities. It did this by taking ideas from Neo-Classicism, Neo-Gothic, French Second Empire and exoticism, as well as the new forms and materials of so-called "industrial architecture", as exemplified in factories along with occasional landmark structures like the Eiffel Tower. In comparison, 20th century architecture has been characterized by vertical development (skyscrapers), flagship buildings, and post-war reconstruction. More than any other era, its design has been dominated by the invention of new materials and building methods. It began with the exploitation of late 19th century innovations developed by the Chicago School of architecture, such as the structural steel frame, in a style known as Early Modernism. In America, architects started incorporating Art Nouveau and Art Deco design styles into their work, while in Germany and Russia totalitarian architecture pursued a separate agenda during the 1930s. Famous architects of the first part of the century included: Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), Victor Horta (1861-1947), Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), Peter Behrens (1868-1940), Walter Gropius (1883-1969) and Le Corbusier (1887-1965). After 1945, architects turned away from functionalism and began creating new forms facilitated by reinforced concrete, steel and glass. Thus Late Modernism gave way to Brutalism, Corporate Modernism and High Tech architecture, culminating in structures like the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the iconic Sydney Opera House - one of the first buildings to use industrial strength Araldite to glue together the precast structural elements. Since 1970, postmodernist architecture has taken several different approaches. Some designers have stripped buildings of all ornamentation to create a Minimalist style; others have used ideas of Deconstructivism to move away from traditional rectilinear shapes; while yet others have employed digital modeling software to create totally new organic shapes in a process called Blobitecture. Famous post-war architects include: Miers van der Rohe (1886-1969), Louis Kahn (1901-74), Jorn Utzon; Eero Saarinen (1910-61), Kenzo Tange (1913-2005), IM Pei (b.1917), Norman Foster (b.1935), Richard Rogers, James Stirling (1926-92), Aldo Rossi (1931-97), Frank O. Gehry (b.1929), Rem Koolhaas (b.1944), and Daniel Libeskind (b.1946). Famous architectural groups or firms, include: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (est 1936); Venturi & Scott-Brown (est 1925); the New York Five - Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey, John Hejduk, Richard Meier; and Herzog & de Meuron (est 1950).
For our main index, see: Art Encyclopedia.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART | <urn:uuid:7dbb42f1-28cf-4bd3-b19e-1cbdf4a7ab2f> | {
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Theme 5 - Long term geomorphological change and climatic impacts
Long term geomorphological change and climatic impacts, originated from COZONE (three interlinked Networks for beach processes, coastal waters and coastal structures). The aim of the Networks was to provide a forum through which the coastal community could identify and tackle key issues raised by both the research community and practitioners, which in the past had frequently been achieved only on an ad hoc basis. This was achieved by holding a series of workshops, the development of the COZONE web site and starting an email list service.
Since February 2006, COZONE has been linked to 12 other national networks across Europe through the European Network for Coastal Research Co-ordination Action ( ENCORA). Through ENCORA, COZONE now contributes to a European wide network of coastal researchers, practitioners and policy makers.
This is a list of articles written by participants of the Thematic Network on Long term geomorphological change and climatic impacts.
Pagina’s in categorie “Theme 5”
Deze categorie bevat de volgende 91 pagina’s, van in totaal 91. | <urn:uuid:8081afff-dedb-4200-a3f2-448623985118> | {
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Thanksgiving dinner's carbon footprint
As if you need another reason to feel guilty about chowing down on Thanksgiving
The Center for Food Safety wants Americans to lay off food produced by "industrial agriculture" for the sake of the planet, if not their health. (Chicago Tribune/Bob Fila)
Leave it to the Brits to rain on our traditions. But it was brought to my attention by the Washington-based Center for Food Safety, which wants Americans to lay off food produced by "industrial agriculture" for the sake of the planet, if not their health.
"Choosing the type of food we eat - organic versus conventional meats and veggies, makes a great difference in greenhouse gas emissions,'' says Debi Barker, the center's international director. About 14 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are connected to industrial agriculture methods, she contends, with much of those related to the use of chemical fertilizer on crops. By one estimate, half of all methane emissions - another powerful greenhouse gas - come from concentrated animal feeding operations, she adds.
"Our take on that is to empower ourselves," Barker says. "If you're buying organic, you're really taking a bite out of climate."
Not everyone agrees that organic is the best lifestyle response to concerns about climate change. Mike Tidwell, head of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network in Takoma Park, says the research shows that the best way to shrink one's carbon footprint in what you eat is to simply consume less meat. Raising beef generates the most greenhouse gases by far, but farm-raised fish and fowl, including turkey, are "still high-impact," Tidwell says.
"While I respect the idea of being a locavore and getting all your meats organically and locally," he says, "the studies are emerging that whether the meat is grown locally or far away, it still requires a lot of resources, including carbon resources.... If you really want to have a low-impact diet in terms of change, then you just have to eat a lot less."
With a singular exception, Tidwell practices what he preaches. Though raised in the South and a professed lover of barbecue, he says he's gone vegetarian the past 10 years out of concern for the climate.
So what's Tidwell eating for Thanksgiving? "You caught me, with my one exception," he answers. Turkey with cornbread stuffing and all the rest. "We're eating at my wife's sister's house (in Easton),'' he explains. "I'm not in control of it."
Not that he's apologetic, either. "One day a year I wake up in the morning, and I consciously decide to eat meat, and that's Thanksgiving Day. So .. I eat turkey, and I do not get cheated. I enjoy it. But the rest of the year I'm a vegetarian."
If you could care less about climate change, there are other reasons to ponder the environmental footprint of your turkey treat. For instance, it'll take at least 915,200 barrels of oil to produce and ship all the turkeys Americans eat, according to the Center for Food Safety.
Moreover, there's the matter of all the nitrogen and nitrous oxide released into the environment by raising (and eating) fowl - nothing to cluck about here in Maryland, where the Chesapeake Bay is choking on all the uncontrolled nitrogen produced by our driving, our obsession with green lawns and our seemingly insatiable craving for cheap poultry.
But don't let that spoil your appetite. On this one day, even the greenest of activists seems to relent a bit. If they're okay with it, why not you? So compost your table scraps if it makes you feel better, pardon a turkey for another meal and skip the heaping side dish of guilt this time. Have a Happy (if none too green) Thanksgiving! | <urn:uuid:6ce91a00-bf2d-469f-8899-5a5fabc931a7> | {
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World pork production is back on track to set new records for its annual volume after a period of pauses in growth. On figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the quantity of pork produced globally reached around 106.5 million metric tons in 2009 and seems likely to total between 108.5-109 million tons this year.
See in our accompanying Figure 1 how these estimates and forecasts fit with the pattern seen since 1990. The peak output in any year had been 103.5 million tons in 2005, before the new high recorded in 2009.
But see also Figure 2, extracted from a bulletin by the foreign agricultural service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It confirms the contrasting trends that are being observed between annual production in China, as the world’s largest single pork-producing country, and all other producers globally.
Our data analysis last year had blamed the turmoil then occurring in world economies as complicating any attempt to forecast the outlook for meat. To prove the point since then, even the estimates of recent production have needed to be revised. We already knew that global output in 2006 and 2007 had been over-estimated. It now seems that a total of 280 million metric tons of all meats was produced worldwide in 2008 and that this increased slightly in 2009, to about 281.5 million tons.
This would mean pork accounted for 37.8% of last year’s all-meats total (up from almost 37.3% the year before), compared with 32.6% for poultry meat (down marginally from 32.8%) and 22.8% for beef/ruminant (down from a previous 23.2%). In 2007, on FAO data, approximately 36% of world meat output had been in the form of pork, compared with nearly 33% for poultry and nearly 24% for beef.
The pattern of production country by country for the 20 largest national producers of pork is shown in Table 1, taken from our database. As usual, it compares the position of each country on the lists for 2009 and 2000. Worth noting, however, are the positional changes that have occurred since the 2008 list. Russia moves up because of its expanded output, for example, while Denmark and Italy swap places and Korea has moved to a lower position.
After the cost difficulties presented to producers everywhere by the record-high feed grain prices of 2007, the question for pork since 2008 has been whether the demand for the meat from consumers would be affected severely by the widespread economic crisis and by the mis-naming of a variant H1N1 influenza virus, suggesting that it was transmitted by pigs. In particular, any significant alteration in sales would be reflected in the trade between countries.
Table 1 --- recently updated on the strength of new FAO figures --- could give part of the answer, where it suggests that imports/exports of pork did indeed slow last year. However, it also spotlights swings in output for the various world regions.
Table 2: Changes in regional production and trade
The Asia-Pacific area is shown to have produced 6% more pork in 2009 than in 2008. Europe recorded virtually a standstill year by producing only 0.7% less than previously. In North America there was also a reduction, but of 1.4% --- the same rate of cutback recorded for Africa. But Latin America’s production was down by almost 9.1%.
Although exports of pork apparently fell back in 2009, a graph compiled by the Food and Agriculture Research Institute (FAPRI) in the US (Figure 3) makes clear that this was a correction in line with longer-term trends. FAPRI’s graph also advises that a more normal pattern of world trade will return this year while the volume of pork produced globally continues to rise.
Figure 4 has been extracted from the same source as a reminder of who are the major exporters of the meat. On this analysis, therefore, the European Union has exported more pork in the past five years than any other country or trading bloc.
A view from within the European Union has been given by a European Commission document in which recent changes to the size of the EU-27 pig sector were described as a continuation of structural adjustments at an accelerated pace. Producers had relatively low feed costs last year, it added, but the average price at €1.41 (US$1.74) per kilogram carcase weight was 1.2 Euros less than in 2008.
Prices struggled to be stronger because of an upset in trade flows in and out of the union, it said. Exporting pork became more difficult not only due to a removal of export refunds that had helped sales rise by 34% in 2008, but also because of currency devaluations in several countries including Russia, and enhanced competition from North America in trying to sell to Japan.
The overall result was a 19% reduction for EU exports to non-member countries in 2009. This contraction especially concerned shipments to Japan (lower by 21%), to Korea (down by 18%) and to Hong Kong (reduced by 11%). According to FAPRI, the outlook is for the European Union to lose market share in the pork export business in the coming years. The institute said a period of decline is in prospect for Europe’s export sales, commenting that “the long-term competitiveness of the EU is not very promising, given its strict animal welfare and environmental regulations”.
The suggested winners in terms of export market share are named as Brazil and the USA. It projects, by the year 2019, a gain of 13.2 percentage points for the US share and of 4.4 points for percentage held by Brazil. However, Canada’s share is seen as decreasing by 6.4 percentage points.
New employee will develop, manage marketing of foodservice equipment, products
Willardsen to be replaced by president of Cargill Salt
Growth can be achieved during times of weak consumer demand
The study analyzes the costs and benefits of surgical castration alternatives through the whole EU pig meat chain.
The industry and the food supply chain need to educate consumers on the welfare standards already in place.
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Interface with computers using gestures of the human body, typically hand movements. In gesture recognition technology, a camera reads the movements of the human body and communicates the data to a computer that uses the gestures as input to control devices or applications. For example, a person clapping his hands together in front of a camera can produce the sound of cymbals being crashed together when the gesture is fed through a computer.
One way gesture recognition is being used is to help the physically impaired to interact with computers, such as interpreting sign language. The technology also has the potential to change the way users interact with computers by eliminating input devices such as joysticks, mice and keyboards and allowing the unencumbered body to give signals to the computer through gestures such as finger pointing.
Unlike haptic interfaces, gesture recognition does not require the user to wear any special equipment or attach any devices to the body. The gestures of the body are read by a camera instead of sensors attached to a device such as a data glove.
In addition to hand and body movement, gesture recognition technology also can be used to read facial and speech expressions (i.e., lip reading), and eye movements.
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- Before you implement a private cloud, find out what you need to know about automated delivery, virtual sprawl, and more. » | <urn:uuid:e886e042-6a7d-431e-a669-b88b52d36b9c> | {
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Quintana Roo, officially Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal.
It is located in Southeastern Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the northwest and Campeche to the west. To the north, Quintana Roo borders the Gulf of Mexico and to the south, Belize. It also claims territory which gives it a small border with Guatemala in the southwest of the state, although this disputed area is also claimed by Campeche.
Quintana Roo is home of the world famous city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, the towns of Bacalar, Playa del Carmen and Akumal, as well as the ancient Maya ruins of Chacchoben, Coba, Kohunlich, Muyil, Tulum, Xel-Há, and Xcaret. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is also in the state.
The state officially covers an area of , but since 1997 there is a boundary dispute with the states of Yucatán and Campeche over an area of approximately .
The statewide population is expanding at a rapid rate due to the construction of hotels and the demand for workers. Many immigrants come from Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco, and Veracruz. The state is frequently hit by severe hurricanes due to its exposed location, the most recent and severe being Hurricane Dean in 2007, making landfall with sustained winds of 280 km/h (175 mph), with gusts up to 320 km/h (200 mph).
The area that makes up modern Quintana Roo was long part of Yucatán, sharing its history. With the Caste War of Yucatán starting in the 1840s, all non-natives were driven from the region and the independent Maya nation of Chan Santa Cruz was centered on what is now the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
Quintana Roo was made a territory of Mexico by decree of President Porfirio Díaz on November 24, 1902. It was named after an early patriot of the Mexican Republic, Andrés Quintana Roo. The Mexican army succeeded in defeating most of the Maya population of the region during the 1910s, and in 1915 the area was again declared to be legally part of the state of Yucatán.
Quintana Roo was granted statehood within the United Mexican States on October 8, 1974. It is the Mexican Republic's youngest state. | <urn:uuid:2a0b5083-86de-45fd-99a3-cef3ab552a59> | {
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Presentation A – “The Activity Badge Game” (For use with Cub Scouts & Parents)
Presentation A – “The Activity Badge Game”
(For use with: Cub Scouts & Parents)
For this presentation you will need three clipboards, paper, pens and/or markers as well as a timer.
The Unit Friends of Scouting Coordinator, or another adult leader in the unit, should make a brief introduction and then turn the podium or microphone over to the presenter.
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, My name is _____________. I am a volunteer with the local Boy Scout program, just like the leaders are here in your Pack/Troop/Crew. I am here this evening to talk briefly to the parents here about Friends of Scouting, your opportunity to invest in the future of scouting in our community.
Now before we get started I am going to need some help from the leaders and parents here, what I am going to need is three teams. (Select teams – quickly!) I am going to ask a question and you will be given a set amount of time to list as many answers to that question as possible, each correct answer will equal one point, the team with the most points will win the round. The team with the most winning rounds will be the champions.
Question #1: Badges and Recognition pins have been part of the Scouting program from its earliest days. In Webelos Scouts can earn activity badges (pins) – name as many of those badges as possible.
Question #2: In Boy Scouts, Scouts can earn merit badges – name as many of those as possible.
Question #3: List as many outings as you can remember where your Scout earned some kind of badge or recognition.
(After each question, ask them to read their lists, Add up points each round has a winner, After three rounds clap for the winning team and then ask them to sit.)
You listed activity badges and merit badges such as: ____________. Earning those badges are a lot of fun aren’t they? Now I’d like the scouts to cover your ears. (In sort of a forced whisper) But not only are they fun, but the badges also teach them things. We teach them to obey their parents, their teachers and the rules. We teach them to play nice with others especially with brothers and sisters. We teach them that their family is important and that they are important to their family. We teach them that homework can be fun and bring them rewards.
Okay you can uncover your ears. See what they want to know is that Scouting is fun, we want you to know that scouting is important. Scouting is not something they do, it’s something they are.
Scouting makes for stronger families, better communities, and more successful lives. Scouting teaches LIFE SKILLS. And while Life Skills isn’t one of the 127 merit badges currently offered by the Boy Scouts of America, but Life Skills are what young people take away from earning any Scout badge!
But don’t just take my word for it. Let me show you what Time Magazine discovered in a survey they did. The folks at Time magazine talked with thousands of Scouts and this is what they discovered:
For every 100 boys who join scouting:
- 1 will save a person’s life with the information he learned through scouting
- 1 will save his own life with the information he learned through scouting
- 2 will become medical professionals
- 10 will have their first exposure to organized religion
- 2 will become active leaders in their church or synagogue
- 10 will discover a career or lifetime hobby from the merit badge program
- 2 will join law enforcement
- 1 will become a fire fighter
- 4 will earn the Eagle Scout rank
- 16 will return to scouting as adult volunteers
As you can see from these statistics badges are more than just an important part of the uniform and insignia – each badge exists to encourage Scouts to explore areas that interest them and to teach them valuable skills. Many times, these experiences lead to careers and lifelong hobbies.
This afternoon we are going to ask you to consider making a gift to help support Scouting locally. In the Westmoreland Fayette Council we spend about $125 per scout, above and beyond registration fees, camp fees and event registration fees, to just to maintain the current program. We want to do more for your children. We want to offer the best Scouting experience possible, offering them the chance to earn as many Badges as possible.
The Westmoreland Fayette Council helps to provide training, professional program support, operates three camps: Tenacharison, Camp Conestoga and Camp Buck Run, provides camporees, activities, operates a store where you can purchase supplies and much more.
Once a year we ask that you make a pledge of financial support for the Westmoreland Fayette Council so that we can continue to deliver and improve the quality activities, opportunities and personal growth that is today’s scouting. Please pick up the brochure that is in front of you. Just follow the directions by printing your name and address, enter the amount you would like to pledge for 2012 and sign the card. You can also chose when you would like to receive your pledge invoice, so there is no need to pay tonight. You can honor your pledge in the form of a check cash or credit card. It is just that easy.
I realize that every family has their own unique financial resources and responsibilities. You do not have to participate in order for you child to enjoy all the benefits of scouting. But every dollar allows us to do more for every scout today and for scouts to come in the future. Please take a few minutes to complete those forms now.
As a way to say thank you for supporting the Council everyone who pledges $125 or more will get this handsome badge to wear on their uniform (hold up patch). Additionally, your unit will benefit from your pledge (pull out unit poster). If your unit raises _________ amount in pledges this evening, or has ________ number of families participant the Council will provide Free Rank Advancement to your unit for the next twelve months! (If key volunteers from the unit made a donation at a kick-off or prior to the start of the meeting, color in the graphs. Hold up the graph and show them how close they are)
(Give them a minute to complete pledge cards)
Scouting is a proud program with over 100 years of success stories. Since we have been talking about badges this afternoon I thought it would be good to mention that periodically we change the design, name, and availability of badges depending on their popularity, shifts in the focus of the program, and changes in society. Therefore, even in this every changing world, Scouting continues to maintain its relevance!
At this time I would like you to pass the envelope that is laying at the end of each table around, feel free to place your pledge cards, any checks and even cash donations into that envelope – we will collect those and
I will be here throughout the meeting and I will announce your unit’s total pledge before the end of the evening. Please complete your cards now and hold them up as we come around and collect them. Thank you for listening to my story and thank you for being such wonderful Friends of Scouting.
(Make a recap later in the evening, showing the unit poster colored in and let them know how close to / how far over their goal they are! If they are close this could generate a little more from the crowd. | <urn:uuid:7279c6ac-e9ce-45ff-9bdc-35035a943aae> | {
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March 01, 2012
Environmental Protection: New ocean radar treaty of 153 nations covers spilled oil, debris, tsunamis, bodies.
Here's a positive upshot of America's months-long Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010. At Environmental Protection, do see "153 Countries Sign Treaty on Ocean Radar Improvements". The meeting of The International Telecommunication Union’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12) took place from Jan. 23 to Feb. 17 in Geneva, Switzerland, and
concluded with agreement on a number of items, including improved ocean radar technology. This will yield better tracking of tsunamis, oil spills, ocean debris, and people lost at sea, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF).
After recent destructive tsunamis and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill increased interest in ocean radars, which have operated informally and would be quickly shut down if they caused interference with other radio systems, according to NSF.
But action taken at the meeting provides specific radio frequency bands for ocean radars-–small systems typically installed on beaches and using radio signals to map ocean currents to distances as far as 100 miles.
Posted by JD Hull at March 1, 2012 04:38 PM | <urn:uuid:09022258-2f63-4466-8c92-0fb3210f40f0> | {
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New rope bridges helping to save endangered Golden langurs in India22/11/2012 23:19:46 Connecting canopies - ropeways to save the endangered langurs - Courtesy of The Wildlife Trust of of India
November 2012: As humans make an ever increasing indelible mark on the work, wildlife is constricted into smaller and small, and more and more fragmented habitats. In a few places, some allowance is now being made for the needs of wildlife when major obstacles are constructed. Wildlife over and under passes are becoming more common on major roads, fish ladders have been around for many years, and ropeways, already in use in Africa and Australia, have now been installed in a small corner of India to allow endangered Golden langurs to cross a large highway.
Golden langurs - endemic to the Indo-Bhutan region, have been using ropeways to safely cross a 500-m stretch of road near Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS). The stretch of road had claimed numerous golden langurs in the last few years, but since the installation of the ropeways in January this 2012, no death due to accidents on the road has been reported.
On the northern boundary of Chakrasila, the 500-m road separates the sanctuary from plantation forests used by the resident langurs as an extension of their habitat. The langurs were compelled to descend on to the ground and cross the road risking accidents, attacks by feral dogs or even poaching.
"Golden langurs are essentially arboreal and are not agile on ground. What we know is that there were 10 cases of these magnificent animals killed in this stretch since 2005 as per our records. Who knows how many cases went undetected, or how many other individuals lost to other causes due to this fragmentation," said Dr Bhaskar Choudhury of the International Fund for Animal Welfare - Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).
As part of their Greater Manas Conservation Project, the Bodoland authorities and IFAW-WTI initiated a Rapid Action Project (RAP) in January this year to help save the langurs. Ropeways of bamboo and ropes were created and strategically placed between canopies of trees in areas regularly used by the langurs to cross over. These ropeways were placed at a height of 60 m from the ground.
"Initially, understandably the langurs hesitated to use these bridges. But now they appear to have been habituated and are frequently seen to use them," said Dr Panjit Basumatary, IFAW-WTI veterinarian who brought the issue to light.
"This shows the extent of fragmentation of natural habitats and the difficulties faced by wildlife. Nothing would be better than natural contiguous canopy, but such interventions are becoming more and more common and the only way out in many of the cases," said primatologist Mayukh Chatterjee. | <urn:uuid:56a4bf35-2e2f-4131-be05-bb7289029ede> | {
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Dinosaurs dying at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Volcanism is thought to be one of the main causes of the dinosaurs dying out.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NSF
K-T Extinction (Why Did the Dinosaurs Go Extinct?)
Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? No one knows for sure, but there
are some explanations that seem to make sense.
At the time the dinosaurs and lots of other species died out (which is sometimes called the K-T
extinction), there were lots of active volcanos on Earth. There were also some large asteroids or comets that struck the Earth around
then. Together, volcanos and asteroid impacts may have thrown dust
into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and making it very hard for the
dinosaurs to survive.
Other things might have helped cause the dinosaurs’
extinction. We know that the atmosphere and the oceans both went
through large changes at the end of the Cretaceous Period, and the
Earth's climate probably
changed a lot, too.
Scientists around the world are still doing
research in order to test different theories
and try to learn what made the dinosaurs go extinct.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist
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Once the Earth began to cool, water vapor, one of the volatiles, began to condense and form an ocean. According to the Goldilocks theory, Earth is at just the right distance from the sun for the temperature...more | <urn:uuid:871f84cb-e1df-49a7-80c7-19f411f2970c> | {
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During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
Did you know that individuals donít evolve, but populations do?
Did you know that the Japanese god Susanowo was the god of the sea and storms, and that he had a terrible temper?
Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day
Do you know what this word or phrase means?
xDip-slip fault : Dip-slip faults are inclined fractures where the blocks have mostly shifted vertically. If the rock mass above an inclined fault moves down, the fault is termed normal, whereas if the rock above the fault moves up, the fault is termed reverse.
Tiny variations in the isotopic composition of silver in meteorites and Earth rocks are helping scientists put together a timetable of how our planet was assembled, beginning 4.568 billion years ago. Results...Read more | <urn:uuid:9316d379-1f75-4e3f-992c-57d24c0b89af> | {
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There’s a song on Bob Dylan’s 1989 album “Unplugged” named “Dignity,” which is a lyrical search for honor, worth, and self-respect. ”Lookin’ into the last forgotten years… for dignity.”
The question has been addressed often: why has respect for the office of president of the United States deteriorated? Several reasons stand out. Media coverage has become bold and intrusive, in the faces of political figures, since advanced technology has become nearly limitless, satiating the public’s hunger for scandal.
During Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, in the early 1900s, came the expansion of White House power, a closer, more personal look by U.S. citizens at an activist “celebrity president,” the center of national attention. The human nature of an individual who travels and campaigns extensively soon seeps through their very public persona, revealing their faults, weaknesses, and indiscretions.
What was the fate of the most hated U.S. president, Richard M. Nixon? After a five-year, post-Watergate exile, he emerged from seclusion as a self-named “elder statesman.” In July of 1979 he and wife Pat had attempted to purchase a nine-room penthouse in New York City for $1 million. The other 34 residents in an uproar, he was turned down flat.
“Nixon was in constant danger from a multitude of would-be assassins who wanted the honor of taking him down,” Steven Gaines writes in his true chronicle “The Sky’s the Limit,” from which I found this account. Sacrificing a $92,500 deposit, Nixon was turned away from yet another N.Y. City condominium by would-be neighbors. The Nixons spent several unhappy years in a New York townhouse before Pat’s death. Nixon passed away, in exile from American citizens, in Yorba Linda, California, in April 1994.
Early presidents rarely spoke directly to the public. (President Clinton delivered 600 speeches in his first year in office.) From “Reason,” a libertarian journal, author Gene Healy states, “The modern vision of the presidency couldn’t be further from the view of the chief executive’s role held by the framers of the Constitution. In an age long before distrust of power was condemned as cynicism, the founding fathers designed a presidency of modest authority and limited responsibilities.”
The expansion of White House power was brought about by crisis situations, namely two World Wars and the Great Depression, when people panicked, consigning social power to one person. “By the end of his twelve-year reign, FDR had firmly established the president as a national protector and nurturer.”
In the 21st century, what or who has bestowed George W. Bush with so much power? Healy answers that question handily. In essence, members of the president’s legal team created an alternative version of the national charter, “in which the president has unlimited power to launch war, wiretap without judicial scrutiny,” and seize and hold American citizens on American soil for the duration of the war on terror “without having to answer to a judge.” Ouch!
Although few in the media noted it, the Bush administration was also granted enhanced authority for domestic use of the military. Healy notes, “No president should have the powers President Bush has sought and seized in the past seven years.”
Power and leadership are not one and the same. Was it flimsy leadership, for instance, that led to 42% of U.S. adults below age 65 to be underinsured or uninsured for health care coverage in 2007? How about the average mortgage debt for a typical U.S. household now at $84,911; home equity loans of $10,062; and credit card debts averaging $8,565? (Figures from AARP Bulletin.)
Gene Healy’s article “Supreme Warlord of the Earth,” in October’s Utne magazine, is very cogent. “The Constitution’s architects never conceived of the president as the person in charge of national destiny,” he concludes.
How did we, citizens of the United States of America, get from humble grass root’ dignity, devotion to God and country, and liberty and justice for all to extravagant and ruthless political campaigns and distrust in our leaders?
How much more debt can a nation endure before the walls come tumbling down?
(I wrote this before the Stock Market debacle.) That’s a circumstance beyond my capacity to comment on.
Janet Burns lives in Lewiston. She can be reached at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:3c93a0a7-82d8-4c28-8a6b-dd24cd09de6b> | {
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Traffic lights that act locally can improve traffic globally, new research suggests. By minimizing congestion, the approach could save money, reduce emissions and perhaps even quash the road rage of frustrated drivers.
The new approach makes traffic lights go with the flow, rather than enslaving drivers to the tyranny of timed signals. By measuring vehicle inflow and outflow through each intersection as it occurs and coordinating lights with only their nearest neighbors, a system-wide smoothness emerges, scientists report in a September Santa Fe Institute working paper.
“It’s very interesting — the approach is adaptive and the system can react,” says mechanical engineer Gábor Orosz of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “That’s how it should be — that’s how we can get the most out of our current system.”
An ultimate goal in traffic regulation is “the green wave,” the bam, bam, bam of greens that allows platoons of vehicles to move smoothly through intersection after intersection. When that happens, no drivers have to wait very long and sections of road don’t become so filled with cars that there’s no room for entering vehicles when the light does go green. | <urn:uuid:25741575-bf4d-4fdf-ba45-766df180e909> | {
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Term: bilge (maritime)
1. Part of the underwater body of a ship between the flat of the bottom and the straight vertical sides. 2. Internally, the lowest part of the hull, next to the keelson.
View pictures related to boating at Wisconsin Historical Images.
[Source: "Glossary." Wisconsin's Great Lakes Shipwrecks (http://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/)] | <urn:uuid:b21cab06-7c73-4e69-854a-1b876fc9580c> | {
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American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Pollinated by insects.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Literally, insect-loving: applied to flowers in which, on account of their structure, fertilization can ordinarily be effected only by the visits of insects.
- In phytogeography, parasitic on insects: said of a class of fungi.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. (Bot.) Fertilized by the agency of insects; -- said of plants in which the pollen is carried to the stigma by insects.
- adj. of flowering plants (especially orchids etc) that are pollinated by insects
“Relationship between flowering time and fruit set of the entomophilous alpine shrub, '' Rhododendron aureum '' (Ericaceae), inhabiting snow patches.”
“On the other hand, the slender filaments, versatile anthers, powdery pollen, and elongated protogynous style are features of other species indicating anemophily; while the presence of a degraded corolla shows its ancestors to have been entomophilous.”
“_Poterium sanguisorba_ is anemophilous; and _Sanguisorba officinalis_ presumably was so formerly, but has reacquired an entomophilous habit; the whole tribe Poterieae being, in fact, a degraded group which has descended from Potentilleae.”
“Mr. Allen maintains that "insects are bright where bright flowers exist in numbers, and dull where flowers are rare or inconspicuous;" and he urges that "we can hardly explain this wide coincidence otherwise than by supposing that a taste for colour is produced through the constant search for food among entomophilous blossoms, and that this taste has reacted upon its possessors through the action of unconscious sexual selection.”
“Gramineae among monocotyledons may be ranked with Amentiferae among dicotyledons, as representing orders which have retrograded very far from the entomophilous forms from which they were possibly and probably descended "(p. 266).”
“_P. media_, therefore, illustrates, not a primitive entomophilous condition, but a return to it; just as is the case with _Sanguisorba officinalis_ and _Salix Caprea_; but these show no capacity of restoring the corolla, the attractive features having to be borne by the calyx, which is purplish in Sanguisorba, by the pink filaments of Plantago, and by the yellow anthers in the Sallow willow ”
“The genus Plantago, like _Thalictrum minus_, Poterium, and others, well illustrate the change from an entomophilous to the anemophilous state.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘entomophilous’.
List of words containing the string phil-, -phil-, -phil, or -phile, such as philopatry, bibliophile, and neutrophil.
Greek: φιλία/φίλος, φιλια-/φιλο - love, loving, love of, fondness for, at...
A hodgepodge, jumble, jambalaya, *gallimaufry, circus and tent revival of plant anatomy and morphology terms and phrases - its a big tent, and no tickets are required.
A roster of adjectives that infrequently surface in typical conversation and writing. Many are dredged from scientific or other technical jargon or sieved from examples of disused archaic forms.
Words that describe 'shunning' or 'drawn to' behavior, mostly of plants and animals.
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American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Causing fermentation.
- adj. Capable of causing or undergoing fermentation.
- adj. Relating to or of the nature of fermentation.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Causing or having power to cause fermentation.
- Of the nature of, consisting in, or produced by fermentation.
- Also fermentive.
- adj. Of, pertaining to, causing or undergoing fermentation
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Causing, or having power to cause, fermentation; produced by fermentation; fermenting.
“Flour, when well boiled, though infinitely better than arrowroot, is still only a kind of fermentative paste, that counteracts its own good by after-acidity and flatulence.”
“It is much easier to conceive from this doctrine of associated or sympathetic motions of distant parts of the system, how it happens, that the variolous infection can be received but once, as before explained; than by supposing, that a change is effected in the mass of blood by any kind of fermentative process.”
“They have a rumen hence, ruminant, the first in a series of multiple stomachs that acts as a fermentative vat.”
“Essences can be divided according to these activities: antispasmodic or spasmolytic, stimulatory, hormonal and anti-fermentative.”
“Many people have the personal experience of the anti-putrefactive and anti-fermentative uses of certain essential oil-producing plants such as funnel, coriander and anise, which are especially effective remedies against such complaints as gastritis and colitis.”
“As for what I am, I'm a non-fermentative Gram negative rod, like my buddy Pseudomonas.”
“You can call me a non-fermentative rod, meaning I don't ferment glucose.”
“The albuminoids or nitrogenous substances are of the nature of white of egg; and, when in small proportion, are necessary for the due performance of the fermentative process.”
“The temperature of the must soon begins to rise, and the fermentative agencies break up its glucose into alcohol and carbonic acid gas.”
“Proteolytic, lipolytic and fermentative properties of yeasts isolate from ayib, a traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese.”
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fermentative’.
A list of words which yield surprising, beautiful, amusing, or otherwise noteworthy images here on Wordnik.
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Whether you are a teacher, golf instructor or a volunteer for The First Tee, we trust that "The Science of Golf" will be a great addition to your program curriculum.
"The Science of Golf I" introduces physics to students who will see the principles demonstrated through experiments they can do in the classroom. This program is geared for grades 4-8.
"The Science of Golf II" deals with aspects of earth science related to golf courses including water, soil, plants & trees and grass. Activities within each of the modules are geared towards two grade levels, K-2 and 3-5.
For downloadable study guides and more information, click here. | <urn:uuid:ddba2096-1311-4ebf-a97e-26f5516dbe2a> | {
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The Philippines had suffered under the Japanese occupation. A highly effective guerilla campaign controlled sixty percent of the islands, mostly jungle and mountain areas. MacArthur had supplied them by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. Filipinos remained loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence, and also because the Japanese had pressed large numbers of Filipinos into work details and even put young Filipino women into brothels.
MacArthur returned to the Philippines in force on October 20, 1944. He waded in with Philippine President Sergio Osmeña, restaging the landing a second time for the newsreel cameras. The US Army forces met resistance, but steadily advanced, until the landings at Ormoc on December 7, 1944. Most of the fighting was at sea during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Ormoc saw the widespread use of kamikazes while the Americans ran into fortified positions and heavy artillery. MacArthur fought north through the Philippines all through the Fall of 1944, reaching Manila and the main island of Luzon in January 1945. The initial landing in Lingayen Gulf was unopposed, sparing the Japanese a prolonged bombardment as they retreated inland. The Japanese had a network of caves, pillboxes, and artillery. The defenders hoped to prevent an invasion of the home islands by offering a stiff resistance in the Philippines. | <urn:uuid:62c223bb-a66e-4c40-81be-9f23e4e46529> | {
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The German aircraft industry excelled in producing efficient aircraft for high altitude reconnaissance duties and pioneered the use of aircraft specifically designed for the ground attack role.
The Albatros C.XII was a German military reconnaissance aircraft which saw service during the late period of World War I. It differed markedly from previous Albatros C-type aircraft by adopting an elliptical-section fuselage similar to that of the Albatros D.V. The C.XII also featured a tailplane of reduced area, but it retained the wings of the earlier Albatros C.X.
The aircraft was powered by a single 260 hp (190 kW) Mercedes D.IVa, inline water-cooled engine. The aircraft's armament consisted of: a single 0.312 in (7.92 mm) "Spandau" LMG 08/15 machine gun, fixed downward, and a single trainable 0.312 in (7.92 mm) Parabellum MG14 machine gun in the observer's cockpit
The Albatros C.XII was a sleek aircraft with clean lines. Despite the aerodynamic advantages of the design, there was no significant increase in performance achieved over the C.X. Examples remained in service until the end of the War.
The Albatros C.XV was a German military reconnaissance aircraft developed during World War I. It was essentially a refinement of the C.XII put into production in 1918. The war ended before any examples became operational, however some found their way into civilian hands and flew as transport aircraft in peacetime under the factory designation L 47. Others saw service with the air forces of Russia, Turkey, and Latvia.
The Halberstadt CL.IV was one of the most effective ground attack aircraft of World War I, relying on its good maneuverability to avoid ground fire. It appeared on the Western Front towards the end of the German offensives in 1918. Karl Thies, chief designer of the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke, G.m.b.H., designed the CL.IV as a replacement for the CL.II, which was very successful in harassing Allied troops. Purpose of an improved version was to create a superior ground attack aircraft.
The new CL.IV featured a shorter, strengthened fuselage and a horizontal stabilizer of greater span and higher aspect ratio than that of the CL.II. These changes, along with a one-piece, horn-balanced elevator, gave the CL.IV much greater maneuverability than the CL.II. After tests were completed of the prototype in April 1918, at least 450 were ordered from Halberstadt, and an additional 250 aircraft from a subcontractor, LFG (Roland).
As with the CL.II, the CL.IV was powered by a single 160 hp (120 kW), 6 cylinder in-line, watercooled Mercedes aircraft engine. The aircraft was armed with a fixed forward-firing 0.312 in (7.92 mm) LMG 08/15 “Spandau” synchronized machine gun, and a single trainable 0.312 in (7.92 mm) “Parabellum” MG14 machine gun, on a ring mount in the observer's cockpit.
The Halberstadt C.V was a German single-engined photo-reconnaissance biplane designed by Karl Theis. The C.V was built by Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke G.m.b.H. The first flight was in March of 1918, it proved very manoeuverable and superior to other type aircraft in its class. The C.V entered service in late 1918 where it saw limited service with the Luftstreitkräfte during the final months of the war.
The C.V was developed as a refinement of the Halberstadt C.III. The aircraft was fitted with a more powerful supercharged 160 kW (220 hp) Benz Bz.IV engine modified for high altitude flying by raising the compression in the cylinders. Armament consisted of a foreward firing 0.312 in (7.92 mm) LMG 08/15 machine gun operated by the pilot, and a trainable parabellum machine gun operated by the observer. It could also carry up to 110 pounds (50kgs) of bombs. Initially a 250mm camera was mounted in the observer's cockpit floor. An electrical generator driven by the engine powered heated flying suits worn by the crew, and radio equipment.
The design was not without a problematic safety issue. Take offs and especially landings could be dangerous due to the C.V's very short fuselage length and a lack of structural strength in the undercarriage struts. Because of the short fuselage, the aircraft had a tendency to bounce when landing damaging the undercarriage which could collapse and in some cases flip the aircraft over. In spite of this flaw the pilots who flew the aircraft, liked it very much. They were willing to trade off the risky landings for the C.V's excellent flight characteristics and the protection provided by the deep fuselage sides. The design provided a good visibility an field of fire for the observer mounted parabellum machine gun.
Late in the war one Halberstadt C.V was captured in Estonia. The aircraft was modified for use as a float plane and operated by the Estonian Air Force in 1919. A single C.V (S/No. 3471/18) survives at the Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire in Brussels, Belgium.
The Junkers CL.I was a ground-attack monoplaine aircraft developed in Germany during World War I. Its construction was undertaken by Junkers under the designation J 8. as proof of Hugo Junkers' belief in the monoplane, after his firm had been required by the Idflieg to submit a biplane (the J 4) as its entry in a competition to select a ground-attack aircraft.
The J 8 design took the J 7 fighter as its starting point, but had a longer fuselage to accommodate a tail gunner, and larger wings. The prototype flew in late 1917 and was followed over the next few months by three more development aircraft.
The Idflieg was sufficiently impressed to want to order the type, but had misgivings about Junkers' ability to manufacture the aircraft in quantity and considered asking Linke-Hoffmann to produce the type under licence. Finally, however, Junkers was allowed to undertake the manufacture as part of a joint venture with Fokker, producing a slightly modified version of the J 8 design as the J 10. Like the other Junkers designs of the period, the aircraft featured a metal framework that was skinned with corrugated duralumin sheets. 47 examples were delivered before the Armistice, including three built as floatplanes under the designation CLS.I (factory designation J 11). After the war, one or two CL.Is were converted for commercial service by enclosing the rear cockpit under a canopy.
LVG C.VI was a German two-seat reconnaissance and artillery spotting aircraft used during World War I.
The aircraft was designed by Willy Sabersky-Müssigbrodt and developed by Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG) in 1917. The C.VI was a further development of the C.V, which Sabersky-Müssigbrodt had made for his former employer DFW. It was lighter, smaller and aerodynamically refined, although its fuselage seemed more bulky. It was a biplane of mixed, mostly wooden construction. It featured a semi-monocoque fuselage, plywood covered. Rectangular wings of wooden and metal construction, canvas covered. Upper wing of slightly greater span, shifted some 25 cm (10 in) towards front. Vertical fin plywood covered, rudder and elevators of metal frame canvas covered, stabilizers (tailplanes) of wooden frame canvas covered. Straight uncovered engine in the fuselage nose, with a chimney-like exhaust pipe. Two-blade Benz wooden propeller, 2.88 m (9.45 ft) diameter. Flat water radiator in central section of upper wing. Fixed conventional landing gear, with a straight common axle and a rear skid. Aircraft were equipped with a radio (morse send only); transmissions were by means of an antenna which could be lowered below the aircraft when needed. The crew had parachutes and heated flying suits. A total of 1,100 aircraft of the type were manufactured.
Most LVG C.VIs were used by the German military aviation in last operations of World War I, mostly on Western Front, for close reconnaissance and observation.
After the war, Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR) used several C.VIs to provide mail and passenger transport service. The Polish Air Force used several aircraft during Polish-Soviet war (the first was left by the Germans, another was completed from parts in 1920, and several were bought abroad). Suomen ilmailuliikenne Oy purchased two C.VIs from a Swedish airline in 1923. The company went bankrupt in 1922, but would be a predecessor to Aero O/Y, in turn a predecessor of Finnair. The Finnish Air Force purchased two aircraft. One was destroyed in a spin in Santahamina in 1923. The other was used until the end of 1924. Several (at least eight) were used by Lithuania, two last ones survived until 1940. Three were used in Czechoslovakia, two in Switzerland (1920-1929), several in the USSR.
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Architecture in Ancient China
For most visitors to China, sightseeing means a daily encounter
with Chinese architecture of one type or another ranging from
temples through gardens, mausoleum, pagodas, imperial palaces
to residential houses.
The Forbidden City in Beijing best exemplifies the elements of palace architecture. Imposing buildings, like the three great Halls of Harmony, stand well-spaced along the central axis. Facing south and rising from a terrace, these buildings represent the supreme power and authority emperors enjoyed during the feudalistic dynasties. The living accormdations of the imperial dfamily are found at the back of the City. Clustered around the Great Halls at a distance are numerous smaller buildillgs where the more influential eunuches and concubines were locked in struggle for power and influence.
To the south of the Forbidden City is the Temple of Heaven,
an exquisite example of what foreigners might call religious architecture,
for it was here that the emperor would go twice a year to carry
out ritual ceremonies of sacrifice, expressing gratitude to Heaven
for the previous harvest and praying for the next harvest. Constructed
without the use of a single nail, the round 39-meter-high Hall
of Prayer for Good Harvests has a three-tier roof, whose tiles
are painted deop blue, symbolizing the colour of heaven. The roof
is supported by 28 pillars, of which the four most massive ones
represent the four seasons. The double ring consisting of two
circles Of twelve pillars represent the 12 months, plus the traditional
divisions of the Chinese day, each comprising of two hours.
Visitors who see Chinese buildings Will invariably notice the extensive use of timber as a building material in addition to bricks and tiles. That is because timber was not only easily available and transportable but also was very practical. Heavy posts are capable of carrying the roof while the wood could be carved for decoration and embellishment. After all, Who would fail to be impressed by the highly elaborate decorations and embellishments in those buildings?
Pagdas are as much a part of Chinese scenery as churches are in England. Tall or low, massive or slender, pagodas dot China's landscape as evidence of Buddhist influence on and merge with Chinese culture. The oldest existing pagoda, also built of wood, is located in Yingxian County in north Shanxi. That the 67. l3 meter-high pagoda should have survived all the vicissitudes of life for more than 900 years, including some strong earthquakes, was a miracle. Because it is out of the way, most visitors do not see this pagoda. More frequently visited pagodas are the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, the Pagoda of Six Harmonies in Hangzhou, and the Forest of Pagodas near Shaolin Monastery in Henan, central China, to name just a few.
What is it that gives China's building unmistakable Chinese characteristics? It is the ombination of the massive, often curved roof, the predominant use of timber, the terrace, the corbel construction, and the dazzlingly colourful decoration.
The roofs of Chinese temples and palaces lend an air of weightlessness to the generally large and massive buildings. The eaves, of ten slightly upturned, seem to let the entire roof float above the building as if carried on invisible columns. Another way of achieving this illusion of floating is the double roof. Here the roof is constructed in two stages and the low wall separating the two suggests a small additional storey. A practical funciton of uptumed roof gutters is to ensure enough light inside the building while making it easy to carry off rain-water. Additionally, the roofs of palaces are covered with glazed tiles. As the emperor's colour was yellow, those of the impe rial palace are in yellow. The Temple of Heaven, on the other hand, is appropriately covered ln blue tiles, the colour of the sky.
Buildings in China, be they temples or palaccs or pagodas, rise invariably from a terrace. That is as it should br, for the wooden frame, however flexible it is, has to be protected from any ingress
of water. OId texts, however, point to a symbolic cosmlogical meaning when they state "the Heaven covers and the Earth carries". The terrace in these terms represents the Earth and the roof the Heaven. Thus we come to the recurrent theme of ancient Chinese philosophy, which is a complete harmony between man and nature.
No discussion of traditional Chinese buildings can be completed without a mention of the corbel construction. Developed by Chinese craftsmen over the centuries, it is the ultimate form or style of Chinese architecture that is the pride of the Chinese nation and the admiration of foreigners. While posts and beams satisfy structural requirements and are often built without the benefit of glue or nails, corhels and brackets are artfully combined into incredibly complex and visually intriguing structures to support the roof. These corbel systems also give a clue to the social status of the owner of a house because ordinary people were not permitted to have them: they were the prerogative of people of rank.
Decorations for ancient Chinese buildings are largely of two types, i. e., colourful paintings and decorative sculptures. The former plays a decorative, symbolic or protective role. A classic exam-
ple is that found in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing. Decorative sculptures, which are found both inside and outside the main buildings, range from brick sculptures on walls, stone sculptures on balustrades, to the small sculptures of mythological beasts atop a palace or temple roof ridge and the large ones of men and beasts in front of a mausoleum. For example, in front of the Hall of Preserving Harmony there is 200-ton stone on the terrace which is an intricate1y carved design of dragon and pheonix. | <urn:uuid:80a2e12d-662a-431e-993a-9f174998a025> | {
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The heaviest known insects are the Goliath beetles of equatorial Africa. One fully grown male was found to weigh 3.5 ounces. (almost as much as a handful of quarters)
The heaviest human in medical history was Jon Brower Minnoch, who weighted 392 lbs. in 1963, 700 lbs. In 1966, and 975 lbs. in 1976. After being admitted to a hospital in 1978 from heart and respiratory failure, a doctor estimated that Jon weighted over 1300 pounds. When he died in 1978, he weighed more than 798 pounds.
The larva of the Polyphemus moth consumes an amount equivalent to 86,000 times it own birth weight in the first 56 days of life. In human terms, this would be like a 7 pound baby taking in 301 tons of nourishment. That is a lot of baby food!
Highest g Force
The click beetle averages 400g when "jack-knifing" into the air to escape predators. One specimen that jumbed to a height of 11.75 inches was calculated to have endured a peak brain deceleration of 2300g by the end of the movement. A recorded human example is that of David Purley, a race car driver who survived a deceleration from 108 mph to 0 in 26 inches in England in 1977. His g force was estimated to 179.8g. He suffered 29 fractures, 3 dislocations, and 6 heart stoppages!
Female mosquitoes hold the record in this category. They need a lot of protein in order to lay eggs. They obtain this protein by drinking the blood of reptiles, birds, or mammals. Sometimes a mosquito will triple her body weight with just one meal of blood. For a 100 pound human to imitate this feat, he would have to consume 36 gallons of liquid at one sitting.
The fastest moving insects are certain large tropical cockroaches. The record is 3.36 mph, or 50 body lengths per second. Tiger beetles are also quite fast, as they scurry after their prey. They can often be seen zipping across a road, their bright metallic colors flashing in the sun. The fastest human ever recorded was Carl Lewis, who ran 100 meters in 9.86 seconds in 1991 in Tokyo, Japan.
The champion jumper among insects is the common flea. In one experiment, a flea performed a long jump of 13 inches, and a high jump of 7.75 inches. If a human could jump like a flea, we would be able to jump 853 feet, which would be like jumping from street level to the 70th floor of the Empire State Building. The champion human high jumper is Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, who jumped 8 ft. 0 in. in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The ant may be tiny, but for his size he is one of the "giants" of the insect world. With his strong jaws he is able to carry 50 times his own weight. That would be like a human trying to carry a baby elephant. Among human strongmen, the record is held by Leonid Taranenko of Russia, who lifted a whopping 1,047 pounds in Australia in 1988.
The monarch butterfly is capable of flying 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico and parts of California. Millions migrate every autumn, often stopping in the same rest spots each year. In early spring and summer, returning females travel north in relays, new generations replacing old, laying their eggs along the way. In comparison, the longest human-powered flight ever documented was when Kanellos Kanellopoulos averaged 18.5 mph in his 112 foot wingspan machine from Crete to the island of Santorini, Greece, flying 74 miles.
Other Interesting Tid-bits
Loudest Insect - The loudest of all insects is the male cicada. At 7,400 pulses per minute, its tymbal organs produce a sound detectable over a quarter of a mile away.
Best Stunt Flyer - Large dragonflies are not only super fast flyers, they are also masters of maneuverability! Many kinds of dragonflies can hover, fly backward, turn around quickly in mid-air, and land in an instant.
Longest Insect - The longest insect in the world is the tropical walking stick. Females have been measured at 13 inches in body length. It looks just like a slender twig, which is how it blends in with its surroundings.
Fastest Flyer - Modern experiments have established that the highest maintainable air speed of any insect, including the deer bot-fly, hawkmoths, and horseflies is 24 mph, rising to a maximum of 36 mph for short bursts by some large dragon flies.
Official State Insects and Butterflies of the United States
Many states have adopted official state insects and/or butterflies in recent years. They have done this to remind citizens of the vital role that insects play in our lives. As of December 31, 1995, 34 states have officially designates state insects and/or butterflies, and this information is summarized below. You will find an alphabetic list of the states that have official state insects and/or butterflies (along with the name of the insect), as well as a list of insects (and the states that have adopted them s their official symbols).
State Insects and Butterflies Listed by States
Alabama monarch butterfly Arkansas honey bee California California dogface butterfly Colorado Colorado hairstreak butterfly Connecticut European praying mantis Delaware convergent ladybird beetle Florida giant swallowtail butterfly Georgia honey bee (insect); tiger swallowtail (butterfly) Illinois monarch butterfly Iowa ladybug Kansas honey bee Kentucky viceroy butterfly Louisiana honey bee Maine honey bee Maryland Baltimore checkerspot butterfly Massachusetts ladybug Mississippi honey bee (insect); spicebush swallowtail (butterfly) Missouri honey bee Nebraska honey bee New Hampshire Ladybug New Jersey honey bee New Mexico tarantula hawk wasp New York nine-spotted ladybird beetle North Carolina honey bee Ohio ladybug (insect); tiger swallowtail (butterfly) Oregon Oregon swallowtail butterfly Pennsylvania firefly South Carolina Carolina mantis South Dakota honey bee Tennessee ladybug and firefly Utah honey bee Vermont monarch butterfly Virginia tiger swallowtail butterfly Wisconsin honey bee Wyoming western swallowtail butterfly
State Insects and Butterflies Listed by Species
Baltimore checkerspot butterfly Maryland California dogface butterfly California Carolina mantis South Carolina Colorado hairstreak butterfly Colorado European praying mantis Connecticut Firefly Tennessee and Pennsylvania Honey bee Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin Ladybird beetles/ladybugs Delaware (convergent), Iowa, Massachusetts, New York (nine-spotted). and Ohio Swallowtail butterflies Florida (giant), Georgia (tiger), Mississippi (spicebush), Ohio (tiger), Oregon (Oregon), Virginia (tiger), and Wyoming (western) Tarantula hawk wasp New Mexico Viceroy butterfly Kentucky
Is your state on the list? If not, you might want to help initiate a campaign to have a representative insect and/or butterfly designated as one of your official state symbols.
The first step is to collect "nominations" from friends, family, and classmates. Have them think of an insect and/or butterfly that would make a good symbol for your state. After a while you should have a list of possible candidates and an idea of how popular each nominee is. Now comes the hard part - selecting one candidate to present to state legislators. Perhaps you might narrow the field to two or three of the most popular nominees and have a run off "election."
Once you have the possibilities narrowed down to a single candidate you will need to begin building a rationale for designating your insect candidate as the official state insect (or butterfly). Why is your insect candidate the best choice? How does it fit into your state's history or culture? How popular is the choice (collect signatures on a petition). All of this information will be useful to you when you go looking for a legislative sponsor or sponsors to help you introduce a commemorative bill into the house and senate (start with the representative for your district first). The commemorative bill will most likely go to a committee first, at which time you (and others will have an opportunity to speak for or against the bill), but if you are persistent and well prepared you might be responsible for your state adopting an official state insect or butterfly!
The Amazing Animal Quiz
Introduction - Insects and their relatives (arthropods) are some of the most amazing animals that inhabit our world, yet most of us rarely give them credit for their incredible abilities. The "Amazing Animal Quiz" can help you and your students "tune in" to the incredible world of arthropods and open their eyes and minds to learning more about them. Hopefully after students complete this exercise they will have a better appreciation for the amazing abilities of arthropods.
Getting started - This quiz is really quite simple and makes a great introduction to a unit on insects and other arthropods. Before starting, have students number a piece of paper from 1-25 down the left-hand side. Tell the students that you are going to read a series of statement that describe animal activities (don't bias them by mentioning insects or arthropods at this time) and that you want them to right down the name of any one animal that they can think of that fits the description you have given.
Name An Animal That...
- ...raids the garbage
- ...is cold blooded
- ...hides from other animals by using camouflage
- ...changes shape as it grows
- ...is poisonous and covered with scales
- ...lives in the ground
- ...is capable of flying
- ...attacks and devours (eats) other animals
- ...migrates long distances
- ...gathers and stores food
- ...sings to attract a mate
- ...hibernates as an adult
- ...eats wood
- ...lives longer than 40 years
- ...is striped
- ...lives on another animal
- ...spends part of its life cycle in the water
- ...drinks nectar from flowers
- ...lays eggs
- ...has big back legs and is a good hopper
- ...catches their prey with traps
- ...is active mostly at night
- ...is brightly colored
- ...is covered with hairs
- ...gives off a foul odor
Scoring the quiz. After administering the quiz, have the students score themselves in the following manner: 1 point for each mammal named, 3 points for each bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish names, and 5 points for each arthropod (insect, spider, etc.) names. As you can see in this exercise you get more points when you answer with arthropod names. A few of the possible arthropod (insect/spider) answers are:
- fly/maggot, carrion beetle
- any insect or other arthropod
- walkingstick, underwing moth, crab spider
- any insect or other arthropod
- monarch butterfly
- ant, yellowjacket, white grub/beetle
- fly, bee, wasp, ant, moth, butterfly, beetle, bug, grasshopper, dragonfly, mayfly, caddisfly, in fact most adult insects.
- Praying mantis, ladybird beetle, aphidlion, wolf spider, tarantula, centipede
- Monarch butterfly, painted lady butterfly, green darner dragonfly, leafhopper
- Ant, honey bee
- Cicada, cricket, katydid
- Morning cloak butterfly, ladybird beetles
- Termite, wood-boring beetle (not ants)
- Queen termite
- Bee, monarch (caterpillar), swallowtail (caterpillar), beetle
- Louse, flea, tick
- Dragonfly, damselfly, mosquito, stonefly, mayfly, caddisfly
- Butterfly, moth, bee, fly
- Any insect or other arthropod (except a few aphids and roaches)
- Grasshopper, cricket, leafhopper, flea, flea beetle
- Antlion, spider
- Moth, most beetle
- Many butterflies and beetles
- Mosquito, caddisfly, and many caterpillars
- Stink bug, bombardier beetle, black swallowtail caterpillar
Source:Young Entomologists' Society, Inc., Minibeast World of Insects and Spiders, by Gary A. Dunn, M.S., F.R.E.S., Director of Education
- During a single meal, a female mosquito can drink her own weight in blood.
- Some mayflies live 24 hours or less as adults.
- The smallest insect ever discovered is a hairy-winged beetle from the tropics. It measures 1/100 of an inch (.25 mm) in length.
- The longest insect ever found is a tropical stick insect from Asia. Some of the females get to be over a food (30cm) in length.
- Over one million different kinds of insects have been discovered. This is twice the total of all other kinds of animals put together.
- A swarm of desert locusts (of the grasshopper family), containing over 1000 million insects, has covered an estimated area of 2000 square miles (5200 KM2). Swarms of locusts have been seen at sea 1200 miles from land (1920 km).
- Bombardier beetles can shoot a hot, smelly liquid from their abdomen that is 212 ° F (100° C).
- Fireflies aren't the only light-producing insects. Some click beetles, springtails, and gnats also light up.
- There is a fly in California called the petroleum fly that lives and breeds in petroleum.
- The largest animal in Antarctica that lives strictly on land is a wingless fly less than 1/4 of an inch (6 mm) long.
- The color a head louse will be as an adult can depend on the color of the person's hair is living in. For example, a louse living in blond hair would most likely be alight color; one living in black hair would be dark.
- A cockroach can live nine days without its head.
- Fleas can jump 200 times the length of their bodies.
- Some queen termites live as long as 50 years.
- The atlas moth of India is one of the world's largest insects. It measures 12 inches (30 cm) from wingtip to wingtip.
- A tiny insect called a biting midge can beat its wings 1000 times a second.
- How many flowers must honey bees tap to make one pound of honey?
- Two million
- How far does a hive of bees fly to bring you one pound of honey?
- Over 55,000 miles
- How much honey does the average worker honey bee make in her lifetime?
- 1/12 teaspoon
- How fast does a honey bee fly?
- About 15 miles per hour
- How much honey would it take to fuel a bee's flight around the world?
- About one ounce
- Why are honey bees sometimes called "white man's flies?"
- North American natives called honey bees this because they were brought to North America by European colonists.
- What is mead?
- Honey wine
- How long have bees been producing honey from flowering plants?
- 10-20 million years
- What Scotch liqueur is made with honey?
- How many sides does each honeycomb cell have?
- What is the U.S. per capita consumption of honey?
- What state is known as the beehive state?
- How many wings does a honey bee have?
- How many beekeepers are in the United States?
- An estimated 211,600
- How many honey-producing colonies of bees are there in the United States?
- The USDA estimates that there are approximately 3 million honey producing colonies. This estimate is based on beekeepers who manage five or more colonies.
- Hall of Fame Trivia Bugs
- How many flowers does a honey bee visit during one collection trip?
- 50 to 100
- How do honey bees communicate with one another?
- "Dancing." Honey bees do a dance which alerts other bees where nectar and pollen was located. The dance explains directions and distance. Bees also communicate with pheromones.
- What does "super" mean to a beekeeper?
- The super is the hive box in which honey is stored.
Source:National Honey Board | <urn:uuid:db38593a-4cb9-4b79-b9fe-f2dffe4b9b4b> | {
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Annual Report to Congress FY 2004
|MS Word (417 KB)|
OVERVIEW OF OCR COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is responsible for enforcing five federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age by recipients of federal financial assistance. These laws are:
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color and national origin);
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination);
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting disability discrimination);
- The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting age discrimination); and
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities, e.g., public elementary and secondary school systems, postsecondary schools, and vocational education programs, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance).
In addition, OCR enforces the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act. This law addresses equal access for the Boy Scouts of America and other designated youth groups to meet in public schools that receive federal funds from the Department of Education.
These civil rights laws represent a national commitment to end discrimination in education programs. Since most educational institutions receive some type of federal financial assistance, these laws apply throughout the nation.
Coverage of these civil rights laws extends to:
- 14,559 school districts;1
- 4,168 colleges and universities;2
- 5,059 institutions conferring certificates below the associate degree level, such as training schools for truck drivers and cosmetologists;3 and
- thousands of other entities, such as libraries, museums, and vocational rehabilitation agencies.
Consequently, these civil rights laws protect millions of students attending or seeking to attend our educational institutions. In certain situations, the laws also protect persons who are employed or seeking employment at educational institutions. Overall, these laws protect:
- nearly 54.5 million students attending elementary and secondary schools;4 and
- nearly 16.5 million students attending colleges and universities.5
Enforcing these laws is critical to carrying out the mission of the U.S. Department of Education—ensuring equal access to education and promoting educational excellence throughout the nation.
In FY 2004, OCR's budget was $88,305,000, with full-time equivalent (FTE) staff of 655. See Figure 1 on historical funding and FTE.
Figure 1: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil RightsAppropriations, FTE & Workload Data FY 1994– FY 2004 | <urn:uuid:e2cacf79-d6f5-4547-a5f6-ae86eb182115> | {
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Most Active Stories
On Air Staff and WPM Interns
Shots - Health Blog
Tue August 9, 2011
Test a Mother's Blood To Learn Her Baby's Sex Early On
Boy or girl? Expectant parents are often dying to know. Some mothers are even trying to influence it with their diet. But the tests used to determine a baby's sex before birth leave a lot to be desired.
Blood tests that look for fetal DNA in a mother's blood would be a big improvement, according to a new study. But those tests aren't yet licensed for use in the United States, even though they're available in Europe. So parents who want an early peek into their baby's sex are stuck with dubious tests sold on the Web.
Consider the story of Baby Gender Mentor, a blood test for prenatal sex testing sold online in 2005. The company, Acu-Gen Biolab, marketed the test as "99.9 percent accurate" in detecting a fetus's sex as early as 5 weeks in.
But then, as NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reported, angry mothers started calling Acu-Gen, saying the baby they delivered – though adorable – was not the sex predicted. Needless to say, Baby Gender Mentor isn't available anymore.
As a result of the Baby Gender Mentor kerfuffle, Diana Bianchi, a professor of reproductive genetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, decided to try to find out if looking for fetal DNA in a mother's blood could be a more reliable early gender test.
She figured some parents might be interested in alternatives to ultrasound and the other, invasive tests that are typically used. Ultrasounds are not at all accurate before 12 weeks' gestation, and amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling, which require removing small amounts of fluid and other cells from the womb, can cause miscarriage.
But Bianchi knew from research by herself and others that DNA from a fetus passes through the placenta into a mother's bloodstream, making it much more accessible. The easiest way to find baby DNA is by looking for the male Y chromosome, which women don't have.
Bianchi and her colleagues looked at studies of maternal blood to determine fetal sex, and found they were 75 percent accurate as soon as 7 weeks after conception. At 20 weeks, they were 99 percent accurate. The results were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
But what about simple dipstick test, the kind that's used to test a woman's urine for pregnancy? The doctors also tested those tests sold online, and found them "worse than flipping a coin," Bianchi told Shots.
Bianchi says she sees real benefit in having maternal blood tests available for the couples she counsels, who often are facing very difficult issues with genetic disorders. For instance, only boys inherit hemophilia, so if a son could be identified early on, parents could move ahead with further testing. Doctors can't get the test done through labs in the U.S. because they haven't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but she says companies who sell the tests in Europe have been good about working with her and her patients.
Despite all the obvious benefits, the development of a simpler, faster test does raise bioethical questions. But Bianchi doesn't think that selling fetal DNA blood tests in the United States will increase the number of parents choosing to abort a child if it's not the sex they want. "Those same people can get an ultrasound now," she says. | <urn:uuid:78e663a4-e208-4e3a-99c7-4d119f789cc4> | {
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Latest illnesses point to raw milk's popularity
WASHINGTON – An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger.
Even presidential candidate Ron Paul has joined the cause of consumers looking to buy unprocessed "real foods" straight from the farm, saying government shouldn't deny them that choice.
An outbreak of a campylobacter bacterial infection on the East Coast is a reminder of the potential hazards, however. Raw milk from a dairy in Pennsylvania is now linked to 38 illnesses in four states, and the farm has temporarily suspended sales.
Consumers who want unpasteurized milk have to work to find it. It's against federal law to transport it across state lines and most states don't allow it to be sold in stores off the farm. Twenty states prohibit raw milk sales altogether.
The government says the milk is unsafe because of the pathogens cows may encounter on the farm. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out that raw milk killed many people — especially young children — before the onset of pasteurization, which heats milk to high temperatures to kill disease-causing germs.
The CDC says pasteurized milk is rich in proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients, and that heat only slightly decreases thiamine, vitamin B12, and vitamin C.
While the government contends that milk is only a minor source of those nutrients anyway, raw milk advocates say that's proof that pasteurization makes milk less wholesome and pure.
The government doesn't keep records of raw milk consumption or sales but it's clear that the product is riding the coattails of a larger food movement that encourages less processing and more "real food." Raw milk goes a step further than organic milk free of growth hormones. Organic milk, too, has enjoyed a sales boost in recent years.
"We are pushing for consumer choice and freedom and a variety of dairy options for people," says Kimberly Hartke of the Weston A. Price Foundation, an activist group that advocates "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet." Price was a dentist who studied global nutrition around the turn of the 20th century.
Advocates say far more illnesses are caused each year by leafy greens, deli meats and other products produced in much larger quantities than raw milk.
"To outlaw or ban any natural food because it could possibly make you sick is an extreme position, because there is no safe food," Hartke says.
That's a position that presidential contender Paul, a doctor, understands. He appears to have acknowledged the potential risks of raw milk when he said last summer that "what I'm doing in politics is not exactly the medical opinion."
Still, he said, "as long as you don't force other people, and as long as you don't defraud people, you ought to have a choice."
Supporters of raw milk are passionate, and the issue has become one of the most animated food debates. Raw milk consumers and Price foundation representatives have held protests in Washington to fight Food and Drug Administration crackdowns on some farms that sell raw milk.
The fact that there's even a debate infuriates many in the public health community.
"The intensity with which raw milk supporters believe in this product is almost unheard of, certainly for a food," says Sarah Klein, an attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's like snake oil."
Klein says advocates often mislead consumers by describing bucolic settings and happy cows.
"These are still animals, they defecate inches from where the milk is produced," she says. "They stand in it, they swat their tails through it. That's all very natural. It's just a matter of course that raw milk is contaminated."
The owner of the Pennsylvania dairy, Family Cow farm in Chambersburg, posted a message on the farm's website last week saying that several customers had called them to say they had been experiencing "acute diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps."
Owner Edwin Shank said in the posting that the farm's testing had shown samples to be negative for campylobacter and speculated that the illnesses may be from another cause. But the Pennsylvania health department has linked the outbreak to the farm, and a spokeswoman for the Maryland's health department says an unopened bottle from the farm tested positive. For campylobacter? What is it, anyway?
Raw milk sales are illegal in Maryland, but the state has four illnesses from the outbreak. Those sickened presumably drove to Pennsylvania and brought the milk back for their own consumption, said Maria Said of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
One person is also sick in New Jersey and two in West Virginia, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Thirty one people are sick in Pennsylvania, many of them in Franklin County, where the farm is located.
Pennsylvania has had at least seven disease outbreaks linked to raw milk consumption since 2006, involving almost 200 people, according to the health department. Pennsylvania is one of 17 states where some type of raw milk sales are allowed, according to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
CDC on raw milk safety: http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-index.html
Weston A. Price Foundation: http://www.westonaprice.org
Associated Press writer JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick . | <urn:uuid:ae185c44-3fb5-4d3d-91c4-a2ee3baa043b> | {
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The IEP Team recommends services in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) appropriate to your child's needs. This means that the IEP Team, of which you are a member, must consider how special education services can be provided to your child that will allow him or her to be educated with children who do not have disabilities, to the maximum extent appropriate.
The IEP Team will first consider whether your child's needs may be met in a general education class with supports, aids and services provided to your child.
If it is determined that your child cannot participate in general education classes, even with appropriate Supplementary Aids and Services, Special Education Teacher Support Services, Related Services or in a Collaborative Team Teaching/Integrated Co-Teaching class, other settings such as Special Classes or special schools will be considered.
Keep in mind that your child should be provided the opportunity to participate in extracurricular and nonacademic activities (e.g., physical education, recess, after-school activities) with non-disabled children, unless his or her disability makes such participation inappropriate.
Also, your child should be educated in the school that he or she would attend if not disabled, unless the IEP requires that other arrangements are made.
Our goal is to educate children with disabilities in their zoned schools alongside their more typically developing peers whenever possible.
Read More »
Individualized Educational Programs often combine services to achieve the right balance. Educators agree that students usually do better when they get the supports they need in the context of classroom work (instead of being "pulled out"). More and more, you will find that specialists come into the classroom and collaborate with teachers, aides, and other adults to support students.
Some children will qualify for additional services such as paraprofessional services, assistive technology devices and services, adapted physical education, etc | <urn:uuid:4212de0c-ad51-4061-bd86-a1912e1c55b0> | {
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Soap may hold a dirty little secret in the form of a chemical called triclosan. Used in antiseptic hand soaps, shaving gel, toothpaste, deodorant and other hygiene products, a new study has found the chemical can weaken muscle contraction.
When researchers at the University of California at Davis exposed the individual muscle fibers of fish and mice to triclosan, they found it impaired the normal contraction mechanism. Both skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle no longer operated normally, and this was true when the mice and fish were tested themselves, or their muscle fibers were examined individually in a test tube.
Mice showed up to a 25 percent reduction in heart function measured within 20 minutes of exposure to the chemical, as well as an 18 percent reduction in grip strength -- yes, mice have grip strength -- for up to 60 minutes after exposure. Fish that swam in triclosan-tainted water for seven days performed worse on swimming tests than those that did not.
While the evidence for toxicity is largely based on animal studies, some experts have said that it might affect humans too.
"This is an interesting and potentially concerning finding, said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, dean of global health in the department of preventive medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "Many synthetic chemicals now known to be toxic to humans were first recognized as toxic in animal studies."
Landrigan said that exposure in the womb is of particular worry. "Early development is a time of particular vulnerability to toxic chemicals. Minute exposures at the wrong moment in embryonic or fetal development can have devastating effects. The great complexity of early human development creates windows of vulnerability, periods of heightened sensitivity to toxic chemicals that exist only in early life and have no counterpart in adulthood," he said.
Adding to the potential worry, previous studies have found that triclosan may alter hormone regulation in laboratory animals, or cause antibiotic resistance.
Not all experts believe the chemical is a problem because in it remains bound to blood proteins, which should in theory diminish its impact on humans. And manufacturers are adamant that there is no real proof triclosan is dangerous for humans. They're also quick to point out several recent studies that demonstrated its effectiveness in rd killing germs.
But some consumer groups and members of Congress have called for a ban on antiseptic soap products.
"If we adopted the precautionary principle, then we should remove it from consumer products. However, the United States chemical policy is included the Toxic Substances Control Act and calls only for voluntary testing of chemicals; therefore, the burden of proof of health effects falls on researchers, consumers and the chemical industry," said Dr. Adam Spanier, an assistant professor of pediatrics and public health sciences at the Penn State University Hershey Medical Center.
Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency are currently reviewing the chemical's safety, but the FDA said it didn't have sufficient evidence for a ban.
"If studies continue to demonstrate adverse health effects of triclosan, then the FDA should call for its removal from consumer products," Spanier said.
Originally developed as a pesticide, tricolsan has also been added to common household items such as bedding, clothing, toys and trash bags, and has been for more than 40 years. Trace amounts of the chemical have been detected in waterways, as well as a wide variety of living organisms. In tests on humans it shows up in urine, blood, even breast milk. It is so prevalent that a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the chemical present in the urine of 75 percent of Americans over the age of 5.
This latest study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. | <urn:uuid:262213dc-d15b-4da7-8415-b8dade1f5380> | {
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Headphone impedanceAlso known as nominal impedance. The impedance is the AC resistance of the coils of loudspeakers and headphones in ohms. Since impedance depends on the frequency, it is always specified at a frequency of one kilohertz.
Polar patternThe polar pattern is the preferred pick-up direction of the microphone. According to the shape of the corresponding measurement plot, there are omni-directional, cardioid, super-cardioid or hyper-cardioid as well as figure-of-eight patterns. for microphone | <urn:uuid:e7894ad3-8d59-4a41-a0cc-026dadbb6ba2> | {
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What is Apprenticeship?
Apprenticeship is a training program that combines on-the-job training, work experience and technical training in a trade. From day one, apprentices earn a salary for their time on the job. An apprenticeship training program lasts one to four years depending on the trade.
Are You Interested in Becoming an Apprentice?
Check out these resources:
- Apprenticeship in Alberta —This tip sheet introduces apprenticeship and includes tips on choosing a trade, finding an employer and applying to an apprenticeship program.
- Trade Secrets —This Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training website offers information about training, certification, scholarships, financial assistance and more as well as resources for employers, employees and apprentices.
- Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) for high school students —This program allows high school students to earn credits toward an apprenticeship program and a high school diploma at the same time.
For Apprentices and Journeypersons
Are you a journeyperson who wants to move from Alberta to another province or country or from another province or country to Alberta?
If so, you’ll want to know about these programs:
Red Seal Program This interprovincial standards program makes it easier for skilled workers to move and work across Canada.
Apprenticeship and Labour Mobility This multi-level initiative helps ensure that qualified, skilled Canadian workers can practise their respective trades across Canada. | <urn:uuid:5a9fcaf1-4ca7-4c30-8ee2-89ebae411a13> | {
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Tragedy of Karbala
What is Ashura ?In the month of Muharram 61 AH (approx. 20 October 680 AD), an event took place in Iraq at a place known as Karbala on the bank of the river Euphrates. It seemed in those days insignificant from the historical point of view. A large army which had been mobilized by the Umayyad regime besieged a group of persons numbering less than a hundred and put them under pressure to pay allegiance to the Caliph of the time and submit to his authority. The small group resisted and a severe battle took place in which they were all killed.
Written by H118 Tuesday, 03 April 2012 18:22
Contemporary IssuesMuslims for centuries have engaged themselves and the world in pursuit of inner Jihad (Inner Struggle). This has been their way of getting closer to their Creator, achieving inner peace and getting closer to God’s creations. Unless we are at peace with ourselves, we can not have peace with the Creator and vice versa.
Written by H118 Tuesday, 03 April 2012 18:16
Terrorists have created an image far from the reality of Islam. Killing the innocent is strictly forbidden in Islam. Almighty Allah has stated in the Holy Quran,
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except for the requirements of justice; this He has enjoined you with that you may understand…” [6:151]
Written by H118 Tuesday, 03 April 2012 10:21
Imam Husayn had shown by his acts as well as his various discourses during the seven days of Muharram at Karbala, that this conflict was much more universal in nature, and that he knew that he was going to live for ever through his martyrdom.
Yazeed died as uselessly as he lived; only three years after the battle of Karbala took place. While trying to race a baboon, he fell from his horse and broke his neck. As history has recorded, those who were apparent victors at Karbala have disappeared without trace.
Written by H118 Tuesday, 03 April 2012 10:11
Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (A.S.)
At the age of 11, Imam Sadiq (AS) refuted the theory that the sun, moon and the planets rotated around the earth. He said that the sun, during its course round the earth, passes through the 12 constellations in one year and remains in each constellation for 30 days, so why does it then disappear from sight during the night. It should remain visible in each constellation for 30 days.
Written by H118 Tuesday, 03 April 2012 10:02
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Communities far from the southern border are taking extra steps to integrate new Hispanic residents.
The Hispanic population is growing more rapidly than other segments of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in May, so a growing number of local governments are working to integrate Latinos into their communities. Many cities are establishing liaison offices, improving communication with, helping immigrants learn English, and creating programs and events that help all residents embrace cultural diversity.
Latinos are not integrating as well as Asians, blacks and non-Hispanic white immigrants, according to the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute's report "Immigrants in the United States: How Well Are They Integrating into Society?," which was published in May. The report says Hispanics' progress — while occurring — has been slower in the areas of English proficiency, income, education, homeownership in integrated neighborhoods, legal status, voter registration and intermarriage.
Lack of integration can lead to a general feeling of not belonging and, therefore, a lack of participation in the political process and community activities, according to the Washington-based' (NLC). "Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration" report. The points out that immigrants sometimes become victims of crimes and, if they are undocumented, often fail to report the crimes for fear of being deported. Also, because immigrants may not know their tenant and property rights, landlords and others in the industry can take advantage of them. They also might not receive community messages about mental and other health issues and how to be screened and treated for them.
Having a plan to help immigrants integrate into the community is key to overcoming the hurdles that the Hispanic community is facing, says Ricardo Gambetta, NLC's manager of Immigrant Integration Programs. To aid struggling cities, NLC is supporting the creation of New American Citizens' Academies in several cities to help new residents who are going through or who have recently completed the naturalization process learn about the local government. NLC also encourages local governments to work with state agencies, provide input to the federal government regarding a nationwide strategy on immigration, create mayoral advisory boards on immigration issues and ensure that any plan includes a strategy across all agencies.
Cities need to tailor their approaches to integrating Hispanic residents based on those residents' specific needs, Gambetta says. "Every city is different and unique," he says. "The issue is complex, and we focus on promoting city engagement. We believe cities are integral in the integration of immigrant communities." | <urn:uuid:240de8ad-db50-4ace-946e-2130a2591207> | {
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Government, Politics, and Reform - Overview
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln are all represented in the Museum's collections—by a surveying compass, a lap desk, and a top hat, among other artifacts. But the roughly 100,000 objects in this collection reach beyond the possessions of statesmen to touch the broader political life of the nation—in election campaigns, the women's suffrage movement, labor activity, civil rights, and many other areas. Campaign objects make up much of the collection, including posters, novelties, ballots, voting machines, and many others. A second group includes general political history artifacts, such as first ladies' clothing and accessories, diplomatic materials, ceremonial objects, national symbols, and paintings and sculptures of political figures. The third main area focuses on artifacts related to political reform movements, from labor unions to antiwar groups. | <urn:uuid:1904bb3a-e057-4e3f-9021-b021aa643aa4> | {
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Getting To The Bottom Of Dyscalculia—And Of Our Number Sense
Mathematician Brian Butterworth is on a crusade to understand the number deficit called dyscalculia—and to help those who have it, reports Ewen Callaway in the journal Nature:
“Researchers estimate that as much as 7% of the population has dyscalculia, which is marked by severe difficulties in dealing with numbers despite otherwise normal intelligence.
That combination has attracted neuroscientists such as Butterworth, who believe that the disorder illuminates the inner workings of the brain’s number sense—the ability to understand and manipulate quantities. This sense is every bit as innate as vision or hearing, yet scientists disagree over its cognitive and neural basis, a debate that dyscalculics may help to settle.
For Butterworth, scientific curiosity eventually gave way to advocacy. “I thought, it’s not enough to just try to identify the cause,” he says. In the past decade, he has crusaded to get dyscalculia recognized—by parents, teachers, politicians and anyone who will listen. And he is using his scientific insights into the condition to help dyscalculic children. ‘What’s the point of telling someone they have dyscalculia if you can’t help them?’ he says.
By developing treatments for dyscalculia, Butterworth hopes to test competing theories about the cognitive basis of numeracy. If, as he believes, dyscalculia is at heart a deficiency of basic number sense and not of memory, attention or language, as others have proposed, then nurturing the roots of number sense should help dyscalculics. ‘It may be the case that what these kids need is just much more practice than the rest of us,’ Butterworth says.” (Read more here.)
So interesting that research on dyscalculia may not only help those afflicted with the condition, but also help illuminate how an understanding of numbers and math develops in the human brain in general. | <urn:uuid:edf2f4e8-cc3b-4226-9a18-837959c002cb> | {
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Evidence from caves in Siberia indicates that a global temperature increase of 1.5° Celsius may cause substantial thawing of a large tract of permanently frozen soil in Siberia. The thawing of this soil, known as permafrost, could have serious consequences for further changes in the climate.
Permafrost regions cover 24 percent of the land surface in the northern hemisphere, and they hold twice as much carbon as is currently present in the atmosphere. As the permafrost thaws, it turns from a carbon sink (meaning it accumulates and stores carbon) into a carbon source, releasing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Both of these gasses enhance the greenhouse effect.
By looking at how permafrost has responded to climate change in the past, we can gain a better understanding of climate change today. A team of international researchers looked at speleothems, such as stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstones. These are mineral deposits that are formed when water from snow or rain seeps into the caves. When conditions are too cold or too dry, speleothem growth ceases, since no water flows through the caves. As a result, speleothems provide a detailed history of periods when liquid water was available as well as an assessment of the relationship between global temperature and permafrost extent.
Using radioactive dating and data on growth from six Siberian caves, the researchers tracked the history of permafrost in Siberia for the past 450,000 years. The caves were located at varying latitudes, ranging from a boundary of continuous permafrost at 60 degrees North to the permafrost-free Gobi Desert.
In the northernmost cave, Lenskaya Ledyanaya, no speleothem growth has occurred since a particularly warm period around 400,000 years ago—the growth at that time suggests water was flowing in the area due to a melt in the permafrost. The extensive thawing at that time allows for an assessment of the warming required globally to cause a similar change in the permafrost boundary. Global temperatures at that time were only 1.5°C warmer than today, suggesting that we could be approaching a critical point at which the coldest permafrost regions would begin to thaw.
Not only will increasing global temperatures cause substantial thawing of permafrost, but it may also create wetter conditions in the Gobi Dessert, based on data from the southern-most cave obtained for the same time period. This suggests a dramatically changed environment in continental Asia.
Aside from changes in temperature and precipitation, thawing permafrost enables coastal erosion and the liquefaction of ground that was previously frozen. This poses a risk to the infrastructure of Siberia, including major oil and gas facilities. | <urn:uuid:867e4ca7-5a93-4c6d-b021-8088aa153645> | {
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In 1957 the French government initiated the creation of a new dictionary of the French language, the Trésor de la Langue Française. In order to provide access to a large body of word samples, it was decided to transcribe an extensive selection of French texts for use with a computer. Twenty years later, a corpus totaling some 150 million words had been created, representing a broad range of written French -- from novels and poetry to biology and mathematics -- stretching from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.
It soon became apparent that this corpus of French texts was an important resource not only for lexicographers, but also for many other types of humanists and social scientists engaged in French studies - on both sides of the Atlantic. The result of this realization was American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language (ARTFL) -- a cooperative project established in 1981 by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the University of Chicago.
The ARTFL project has focused on three objectives over its long history:
* to include a variety of texts so as to make the database as versatile as possible; * to create a system that would be easily accessible to the research community; * to provide researchers with an easy-to-use but effective tool.
At present, ARTFL's main corpus, ARTFL-FRANTEXT, consists of nearly 3,000 texts, ranging from classic works of French literature to various kinds of non-fiction prose and technical writing. The eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries are about equally represented, with a smaller selection of seventeenth century texts as well as some medieval and Renaissance texts. Genres include novels, verse, theater, journalism, essays, correspondence, and treatises. Subjects include literary criticism, biology, history, economics, and philosophy. In most cases standard scholarly editions were used in converting the text into machine-readable form, and the data contain page references to these editions. The FRANTEXT corpus is updated as new high-quality digital texts become available.
In addition to FRANTEXT, ARTFL has built hundreds of databases for researchers and students working in specialized disciplines and languages other than French. Please see our Databases, Resources, and Collaborations pages for links to these projects.
New Opportunities for Research
ARTFL's stable of databases is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The number, variety and historical range of its texts allow researchers to go well beyond the usual narrow focus on single works or single authors. The databases permit both rapid exploration of single texts and inter-textual research of a kind virtually impossible without the aid of a computer. For a description of the latest research developments underway at ARTFL, please visit our Research Blog.
PhiloLogic is a tool for ARTFL text research which provides a menu driven system featuring a sophisticated help program that can be accessed at any time. PhiloLogic does not require any specialized knowledge of computers -- in fact, this system provides an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with the possibilities of computer-assisted research and teaching. The ARTFL Project has written full documentation for PhiloLogic, available here.
PhiloLogic provides several ways for users to select the texts they wish to analyze. Users may search a single text, texts by a single author, texts from a particular time period, texts with a particular word in the title, or all the texts in the database. For example, one might wish to work with all the texts of Balzac in the database, or all the texts published between 1750 and 1789. A single command will select these texts for further analysis.
ARTFL's PhiloLogic system supports a number of searching options. A user may search for a single word, a word root, prefix, suffix or a list of words created by the user. For example, one might search for the word liberté in the texts published between 1789 and 1794, or all of the words associated with "artist" -- artiste, artistes, écrivain, écrivains, poète, poètes, etc -- in the works of Zola. In many cases a researcher will not merely be interested in the occurrences of single words or lists of words, but where words occur in texts. Philologic allows the user to search for logical combinations of words and word lists. One might, for example, search for all the occurrences of words associated with "artist" where words beginning with "fem" -- femme, femmes, feministe, etc. -- are found in the same sentence in the works of Zola.
Several display formats are available to the Philologic user. Results can be displayed on screen line by line, with the search word highlighted or centered. The user may also browse through the full context of any result, examining many sentences or paragraphs around the target of the search. Philologic displays the bibliographic information and page number for each occurrence and can sort the results on screen by date, author name, keywords and other fields.
Access To The ARTFL Database
Access to the databases is organized through a consortium of user institutions, in most cases universities and colleges, each of which pay an annual subscription fee. In 2009, this fee is $500 (US) for PhD granting institutions and $250 (US) for other universities and colleges. All scholars and students at affiliated institutions have access to the database. Our Subscription Information page contains more on database access.
Both the CNRS and the University of Chicago are committed to the future growth of the ARTFL Project. These activities include expansion of the size of the database, correction of texts already in the database, and continued development of access and analysis software. The Project has obtained many important texts from other scholars and welcomes new contributions and proposals for collecting more texts. ARTFL expects to continue improving its research systems and plans to develop new analytical tools as well. We welcome joint projects with other institutions and invite you to contact us to discuss possible collaborations. Users at member universities will continue to play an important role in providing direction to the future development of the ARTFL Project. Please consult the ARTFL news page for updates concerning newly available texts and tools.
The ARTFL Project is supported by a full-time staff at the University of Chicago. We encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have about the project, such as the availability of texts, operation of the system, or the costs of using the database.
The ARTFL Project Department of Romance Languages and Literatures Division of the Humanities University of Chicago 1115 East 58th Street Chicago, IL 60637 tel: 773-702-8488 | email: artfl[at]artfl[dot]uchicago[dot]edu | <urn:uuid:58a7df42-9ce3-46b7-9b54-fd0bf15f4455> | {
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