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Air Quality May Be Unhealthy for Some Through Thursday
The Ohio EPA is predicting that the air quality in Northeast Ohio will be unhealthy for some sensitive groups of people because of pollution.
Pollution in the air in Northeast Ohio may be a concern for those who have asthma, lung disease or older adults and children Wednesday, Thursday and possibly Friday this week.
The Akron Regional Air Quality Agency, the Cleveland Deptartment of Public Health and Welfare and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are predicting the air quality will be unsafe for some sensitive groups of people through March 22.
The air quality index as of 5 p.m. March 21, was a 78, which is considered "Moderate." There are six ratings that range from "Good" to "Hazardous."
On Friday, the above organizations are predicting the quality will move from "Moderate" to "Unhealthy to Sensitive Groups."
"Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion," according to a press release from AirNow. "Residents, businesses and local governments should voluntarily reduce activities that contribute to ozone air pollution. Be proactive by reducing or eliminating unnecessary motor vehicle trips, and consider carpooling or use public transportation. Consider setting your home or office air conditioning thermostat slightly higher."
The agencies that have issued the alert recommend that people wait until after 7 p.m. to do prolonged outdoor activities, like exercising and mowing the lawn.
Click here to learn more about the alert, how to reduce air pollution and more. | <urn:uuid:b879b7c1-d752-477a-b4c9-55556e7f5da0> | {
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In the Free Software Movement, we believe computer users should have the freedom to change and redistribute the software that they use. The “free” in free software refers to freedom: it means users have the freedom to run, modify and redistribute the software. Free software contributes to human knowledge, while non-free software does not. Universities should therefore encourage free software for the sake of advancing human knowledge, just as they should encourage scientists and scholars to publish their work.
Alas, many university administrators have a grasping attitude towards software (and towards science); they see programs as opportunities for income, not as opportunities to contribute to human knowledge. Free software developers have been coping with this tendency for almost 20 years.
When I started developing the GNU operating system in 1984, my first step was to quit my job at MIT. I did this specifically so that the MIT licensing office would be unable to interfere with releasing GNU as free software. I had planned an approach for licensing the programs in GNU that ensures that all modified versions must be free software as well, an approach that developed into the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), and I did not want to have to beg the MIT administration to let me use it.
Over the years, university affiliates have often come to the Free Software Foundation for advice on how to cope with administrators who see software only as something to sell. One good method, applicable even for specifically funded projects, is to base your work on an existing program that was released under the GNU GPL. Then you can tell the administrators, “We’re not allowed to release the modified version except under the GNU GPL—any other way would be copyright infringement.” After the dollar signs fade from their eyes, they will usually consent to releasing it as free software.
You can also ask your funding sponsor for help. When a group at NYU developed the GNU Ada Compiler, with funding from the U.S. Air Force, the contract explicitly called for donating the resulting code to the Free Software Foundation. Work out the arrangement with the sponsor first, then politely show the university administration that it is not open to renegotiation. They would rather have a contract to develop free software than no contract at all, so they will most likely go along.
Whatever you do, raise the issue early—certainly before the program is half finished. At this point, the university still needs you, so you can play hardball: tell the administration you will finish the program, make it usable, if they have agreed in writing to make it free software (and agreed to your choice of free software license). Otherwise you will work on it only enough to write a paper about it, and never make a version good enough to release. When the administrators know their choice is to have a free software package that brings credit to the university or nothing at all, they will usually choose the former.
Not all universities have grasping policies. The University of Texas has a policy that, by default, all software developed there is released as free software under the GNU General Public License. Univates in Brazil, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad, India, both have policies in favor of releasing software under the GPL. By developing faculty support first, you may be able to institute such a policy at your university. Present the issue as one of principle: does the university have a mission to advance human knowledge, or is its sole purpose to perpetuate itself?
Whatever approach you use, it helps to have determination and adopt an ethical perspective, as we do in the Free Software Movement. To treat the public ethically, the software should be free—as in freedom—for the whole public. Many developers of free software profess narrowly practical reasons for doing so: they advocate allowing others to share and change software as an expedient for making software powerful and reliable. If those values motivate you to develop free software, well and good, and thank you for your contribution. But those values will not give you a good footing to stand firm when university administrators try to tempt you to make the program non-free.
For instance, they may argue that “We could make it even more powerful and reliable with all the money we can get.” This claim may or may not come true in the end, but it is hard to disprove in advance. They may suggest a license to offer copies “free of charge, for academic use only,” which would tell the general public they don’t deserve freedom, and argue that this will obtain the cooperation of academia, which is all (they say) you need.
If you start from “pragmatic” values, it is hard to give a good reason for rejecting these dead-end proposals, but you can do it easily if you base your stand on ethical and political values. What good is it to make a program powerful and reliable at the expense of users’ freedom? Shouldn’t freedom apply outside academia as well as within it? The answers are obvious if freedom and community are among your goals. Free software respects the users’ freedom, while non-free software negates it.
Nothing strengthens your resolve like knowing that the community’s freedom depends, in one instance, on you. | <urn:uuid:f5a56b11-323d-4b37-a825-b8d25e586fc6> | {
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This week we celebrate Congress passing the Judiciary Act of 1789 which established the Supreme Court of United States. President George Washington signed the bill into law and nominated John Jay as the Chief Justice. The whole process-passing the bill, signing the bill into law, and the nomination and approval of the justices—took two days.
This Moonday’s Heroic Hunk in History is John Jay (1745 -1829). From a wealthy New York family with Huguenot and Dutch roots, Jay was a conservative lawyer who supported a strong centralized federal government. Jay with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers that helped frame the Constitution. He was an ardent supporter of the anti-slavery movement.
Jay was an American patriot, Founding Father, legislator, and diplomat. He served as a member and President of the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War, ambassador to Spain and France, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Governor of New York.
Today’s the last day of my ’Name that Character Contest’ for my contemporary fantasy short story Nimue’s Daughter. It’s a rescue from Armageddon based on the Arthurian mythology. It’s also a work in progress for Shared Whispers, the freebie anthology from Champagne authors that will be published and available for free download in January. Please visit ritabay.com and help me name my character. For more info click on the image below: | <urn:uuid:6c8f23da-5d75-4880-a2b0-c9709576f1c0> | {
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Free Search (1444 videos)
IML-1: International Microgravity Laboratory
- Title IML-1: International Microgravity Laboratory
- Released 01/01/1992
- Length 00:16:05
- Language English
- Footage Type Documentary
A 16:07 minute description of Space Lab, the world's first reusable space laboratory built in Europe and launched in December 1983 and the international collaborative project IML, the International Microgravity Laboratory. Through interviews with ESA astronaut Ulf Merbold and ESA Project Scientist Claude Brillouet the video explains what microgravity is and why it is important for research in many different scientific areas including astronomy, Earth observation, biology and human physiology. Research was also carried out in the IML on the "critical point", the transitional state of certain materials such as the moment when ice changes to water. | <urn:uuid:d5ac6cf9-7c7b-4cd5-b879-aede3d52f6c2> | {
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Once affordable only among the wealthy, brick homes became more easily available to the average American in the early years of the twentieth century. This book, originally published in 1920 by a member of The Common Brick Manufacturers' Association, served as a practical guide for prospective homeown... read more
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500 Small Houses of the Twenties by Henry Atterbury Smith Perspective drawings, floor plans, and descriptions of principal features of outstanding '20s designs, many by leading architects of the period. 1,135 black-and-white line illustrations, 262 black-and-white photographs and tone drawings.
Radford's House Designs of the Twenties by Wm. A. Radford Co. Floor plans and exterior photos of nearly 100 homes, among them the charming Amity, a two-story Dutch colonial with 4 bedrooms and 3 fireplaces. 189 black-and-white illustrations.
124 Distinctive House Designs and Floor Plans, 1929 by National Building Publications Meticulous reproduction of rare catalog offers a beautifully illustrated look at homes intended for budgets from $3,500 to $15,000. Designs include such special features as built-in cabinets and clothes chutes. 370 black-and-white illustrations.
The Most Popular Homes of the Twenties by William A. Radford, Daniel D. Reiff Based on a rare 1925 catalog, this architectural showcase features floor plans, construction details, and photos of 26 homes, plus articles on entrances, porches, garages, and more. 250 illustrations, 21 color plates.
Once affordable only among the wealthy, brick homes became more easily available to the average American in the early years of the twentieth century. This book, originally published in 1920 by a member of The Common Brick Manufacturers' Association, served as a practical guide for prospective homeowners from working class families. Many soon found that attractive, durable, and comfortable homes--made from nature's own building material--were easily within their financial reach. Thirty-five sets of floor plans, elevations, and specifications in this excellent reproduction of that now-rare volume depict a wide variety of brick houses, bungalows, cottages, garages, and multi-dwelling buildings--from the four-bedroom Pocatello to the handsome Saratoga, featuring a wraparound porch and two bathrooms. This practical guide will appeal to anyone wanting to buy or renovate an existing home of the period. It will also serve as a how-to manual for all desiring to build their own homes today with authentic materials and techniques. For those who love fine, old buildings, Small Brick Houses of the Twenties offers a charming view of American homes from that era.
This book was printed in the United States of America.
Dover books are made to last a lifetime. Our US book-manufacturing partners produce the highest quality books in the world and they create jobs for our fellow citizens. Manufacturing in the United States also ensures that our books are printed in an environmentally friendly fashion, on paper sourced from responsibly managed forests. | <urn:uuid:57eec04d-4314-4217-83c7-78e3fd08d4ad> | {
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Better pollution control technology needed to cut VOC emissions
By Summit Voice
FRISCO — Ongoing studies of winter ozone formation in the Uinta Basin shows the need for better pollution control technology on oil and gas drilling rigs and other equipment used for fossil fuel development.
An emissions inventory developed for the study found that oil and gas operations are responsible for 98-99 percent of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and for 57-61 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions. VOCs and nitrogen compounds are the key ingredients for ozone-laced smog, which has been clearly identified as a human health threat.
The collaborative study led by University of Utah scientists was aimed at better understanding winter ozone formation and the scientists found that snow-covered ground, along with specific atmospheric conditions, are the key factors for ozone formation. C
urtailing industrial operations during certain weather patterns could be one way to reduce the formation of ozone, but that might prove costly for companies working with leased drilling gear, officials said during a press conference this week.
Before developing a comprehensive mitigation strategy, researchers want to develop more accurate weather and photochemical models to accurately simulate winter ozone formation. Only then will they know which mitigation strategies are most effective.
But in general, the study team said VOC controls hold the most promise for effectively reducing ozone production and would have other health benefits, considering that cancer-causing substances like benzene and tuolene are health threats in their own right.
The study was partly supported by the Western Energy Alliance with funding from several fossil fuel development companies adding up to $2.125 million.
“Ironically, after gathering a very impressive research team and deploying them into the basin with a vast array of scientific instruments, there were no high ozone occurrences in 2012,” said Kathleen Sgamma, Vice President of Government & Public Affairs. “The weather conditions necessary for ozone formation did not exist last winter, but as a result, the scientists were able to gather extensive baseline data,” she said.
“Industry remains committed to protecting air quality while continuing to develop domestic energy in the West, and proud to be a part of this scientific endeavor,” Sgamma said.
The final 2011-2012 Study report and the 2012/2013 plan are online at http://www.deq.utah.gov/locations/uintahbasin/index.htm. | <urn:uuid:38f15415-aaee-4594-a4bd-f8dc08776193> | {
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Posted on August 4, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
Parts of the Cascadia subduction zone may be overdue for a large earthquake. Map courtesy USGS.
New research documents timeline of Pacific Northwest fault activity
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — The Pacific Northwest could be due for a monster earthquake sometime in the next 50 years, with Oregon’s southern coast pinpointed as the most vulnerable area, according to Oregon State University researchers who recently finished studying the pattern of historical quakes in the region.
The comprehensive analysis of the Cascadia Subduction Zone confirms numerous earthquakes during the past 10,000 years and estimates that a new quake could approach the intensity of the Tohoku quake that devastated Japan in March 2011.
“The southern margin of Cascadia has a much higher recurrence level for major earthquakes than the northern end and, frankly, it is overdue for a rupture,” said Chris Goldfinger, a professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and lead author of the study. “That doesn’t mean that an earthquake couldn’t strike first along the northern half, from Newport, Ore., to Vancouver Island. (more…)
Filed under: world news | Tagged: Cascadia subduction zone, earthquakes, Oregon, Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 23, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
Western snowy plover. PHOTO COURTESY USFWS.
Settlement may partially protect breeding plovers from encroaching sea level rise
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — Slowly but surely, federal biologists are undoing some of the most egregious decisions by the Bush administration with regard to endangered species.
In a settlement announced this week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated about 38 square miles of critical habitat for western snowy plovers in Washington, Oregon and California.
Snowy plovers were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 1993, when the coastal population dropped to 1,500 birds. The listing enabled the population to recover to more than 3,600 adults by 2010. (more…)
Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment | Tagged: California, Center for Biological Diversity, endangered species act, Oregon, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, Western Snowy plover, western snowy plover critical habitat | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 13, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
Research links ocean acidification with stunted larval growth
If you enjoy fresh oysters, eat up, because global warming and ocean acidification are taking a toll on the reproduction of the popular shellfish. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.
SUMMIT COUNTY — An Oregon oyster farm may have to shut down because increasing increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in sea water has stunted larval growth, making the operation “non-economically viable.”
Researchers found that the sea water is becoming more corrosive, inhibiting larval oysters from developing their shells and growing at a pace that would make commercial production cost-effective.
As atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise, the Oregon oysters may be the proverbial canary in the coal mine for other ocean acidification impacts on shellfish, according to Oregon State University scientists. (more…)
Filed under: biodiversity, climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: climate, global warming, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Netarts Bay, ocean acidification, Oceanography, Oregon, Oregon State University, oysters | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 9, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
Cultural shift needed to ensure safety of coastal residents
Tsunami flooding on the Sendai Airport runway. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. AIR FORCE.
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — The one-year anniversary of the devastating tsunami in Japan offers some sobering lessons for parts of the U.S. that could one day face a similar disaster.
The fact that 90 percent of the coastal region’s residents and visitors evacuated effectively is a tribute to planning and community drills, said Patrick Corcoran, an Oregon State University education and outreach specialist, who just returned from a disaster symposium at United Nations University in Japan.
If the same magnitude earthquake and tsunami hits the Pacific Northwest, the death toll will be much higher because of the lack of comparable preparation, he said. That 90 percent rate could be the number of victims, not survivors. (more…)
Filed under: world news | Tagged: 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan, Japan tsunami anniversary, Oregon, Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest | 3 Comments »
Posted on November 26, 2011 by Bob Berwyn
Gray wolf. PHOTO COURTESY USFWS.
Sanctioned Oregon killings on hold pending appeals court review of state wildlife laws
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — As a species, we humans like to think we’ve progressed in the last 100 years or so, but some things haven’t changed all that much, including an irrational fear and hatred of wild predators like wolves that still rears its ugly head.
That was proven once again last month, when at the behest of the ranching industry, wildlife officers in Oregon set out to decimate a wolf pack in the eastern part of the state.
The wolves targeted for killing included the alpha male and a yearling wolf of the Imnaha pack, the state’s first pack in nearly 65 years and one of only four statewide. The pack is the first to raise pups in Oregon since the animals began their fragile recovery in the state more than a decade ago. (more…)
Filed under: biodiversity, endangered species, Environment, Summit County news | Tagged: biodiversity, Environment, Imnaha wolf pack, Oregon, wolves | 7 Comments » | <urn:uuid:d39f393b-163f-4b64-b7a1-feb1367ec51b> | {
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The CAM-Wizard TAPE editor is used to edit the tape code that is normally created by the POST processor. The tape editor is normally run by typing TAPE while running CAM or by selecting it from other programs. This program can also be run directly from the operating system by using the TAPE command.
The TAPE editor uses many special keys. On the right side of the keyboard there are eight special keys, Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn, that are used for moving the blinking cursor. The Arrow keys are used for moving the cursor around on the screen. The [Home] key is used to move to the beginning of the line. The [ End] key can is used to move to the end of the line. The user can scroll up and down a page at a time with the [PgUp] and [PgDn] keys.
Also on the keypad are the [Ins] and [Del] keys. Pressing the [Ins] key will toggle the insert mode. When in insert mode typing any character will move the part of the line to the right of the cursor to the right and insert the character, otherwise the character will "type over" the existing characters on that line. Pressing [Del] will move the part of the line to the right of the cursor, to the left, deleting the character over the cursor.
Because the editor has been designed to accept anything that is typed into it as pure input to be included in the text file it creates, all functions other than the input of that data must be executed by pressing special function keys. These keys are located on the top row of the keyboard.
The [F1] key is used to insert a line into the text. pressing this key causes the line that the cursor is on to move down one line, creating a blank line to type on. The [F2] key causes the line that the cursor is on to be deleted.
The [F3] key is used for the search function. Pressing [F3] will cause the program to stop and input a character string from the user. The editor will then search from its current position in the program for that string. Entering nothing at the "Find String ?" will cause the last string to be searched for again from the current cursor position on.
The [F4] key is used for the replace function. When this key is pressed, the user is asked what string to search for. After typing in this string and pressing [Enter], the user is asked what string to change it to. All occurrences of the first string will then be highlighted, and the user will be asked "Replace ? (Y/N/G/Esc) ?". Pressing [Y] will replace that occurrence of the search string. Pressing [N] will skip that occurrence. Pressing [G] will replace all remaining occurrences. Pressing [Esc] will abort the replace function.
The [F5] key must be used with care. When [F5] is pressed, the program will ask "Are You Sure ? (Y/N) ?". Pressing [Y] will then ERASE the entire tape; if it has not been saved it will be lost. This key is used to erase everything in order to start new.
The [F6] key is used to exit the editor, save the current text, and run the programs that appear when the key is pressed. The programs available from the editor will be listed on the screen with a single character to the left of each. Pressing the key corresponding to any of those characters will cause the related program to be run. Pressing an invalid key will return operation to the editor as if nothing had happened.
The [F7] key is used to read in a previously stored file from the disk. After pressing this key, the user is asked for a file name. Entering the file name and pressing [Enter] will cause that file to be appended to the text already loaded into the editor. Entering a CAM-Wizard device name will cause the text to be read from that device using the protocol and handshaking defined for that device in IO.CFG.
The [F8] key is used to write a file to a disk or to the printer. Entering a valid MS-DOS file name causes the text to be saved on a disk file and typing the word PRINTER will cause the text to be sent to the printer. Entering a CAM-Wizard device name (such as PUNCH, or a machine name) will cause the tape code to be sent to that device using the protocol and handshaking defined for that device in IO.CFG.
The [F9] key is used for block editing functions. Blocks of text can be copied and deleted using the block edit command. When pressed, the system will prompt you for the function, either mark block start, mark block end, copy block, or delete block. Blocks must be defined before they can be copied or deleted.
The [F10] key is used to renumber a tape. This function will ask the increment to use for renumbering the tape. At this time the user can specify the number to be counted by and the number of digits to use on the tape. For instance if you type 005, then the tape will be numbered by 5 and each N number on the tape will take up 3 digits. ( 005, 010, 015, 020 ... ).
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Copyright © 2000 SWE Engineering
Last modified: June 10, 2002 | <urn:uuid:4ec48a4c-b101-491a-8003-d01d76ea7bb0> | {
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This book is at the opposite end of the spectrum, so to speak, from the previously-mentioned source. In this book, Williamson and the other authors discuss music from an expertise on the art itself. There is no mention of digital music, sampling, file-sharing, or other similar topics to be found anywhere in the book. In their places are excerpts from sheet music and examples of lyrics. They offer their expert commentary on subjects ranging from Chopin to Snoop Dogg, from Dante to the Beatles, and each is approached with the same level of intellect and scholarship. Multiple chapters cover the creation of music from scratch – as told from the songwriter’s point of view, and it is this unique perspective that offers a new form of insight into the practice of digital sampling.
Another important factor in this work is the chapter entitled “Mimesis, Gesture, and Parody in Musical Word-Setting.” This chapter not only explores the implications that a parody has on an original work but sets the framework for parody with an historical narrative about its origins. At first, this seemed to be irrelevant to the topic of digital sampling and copyright law, but after further inspection, it became apparent that this knowledge is very important to the understanding of parody and its stance in copyright law.
Words and Music discusses at length many different styles and genres of modern music, primarily “gangsta,” or hardcore, rap. This genre is a unique example because not only is it arguably the heaviest on lyrical content out of all kinds of music, but also because it is notorious for its sampling practices and is quite possibly the realm in which the most copyright infringement cases take place. Reading a scholarly assessment on such genres is especially helpful for this topic seeing as it provides a critical, but not condemning eye on the subject. This is all-to-rare in today’s academic and scholarly publications, and to have a source such as this is very useful in the terms of this research paper. | <urn:uuid:9b89548d-8b9d-422f-a248-e61db782ec71> | {
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Who should speak first when evaluating a lesson in the post-observation feedback session, the observer or the observed?
This was the subject of an extended and impromptu debate at an external training session I attended last week. The person leading the session stood back in true ‘facilitator’ style while a room of teachers explained to each other why their preferred way is better than the other. I was fascinated and decided to blog some of their points.
Why the observer should speak first
The observer is often (but not always) more experienced and has plenty of good advice for the observed teacher, why not get straight to the point?
If the observed teacher spoke first and evaluated their own lesson inaccurately, they could have their confidence dented when the observer disagreed with what they’d said.
Everyone needs praise, and if the observer goes first they can start by highlighting the good aspects of the observed teacher’s lesson and establish a positive and nurturing atmosphere.
Why the observed teacher should speak first
If they spoke second, they would be influenced by the feedback from the observer, so the observer would not hear a genuine self-evaluation. This means that they will miss an opportunity to develop their ability to judge lesson effectiveness.
If the observed teacher speaks first they are forced into a reflective state of mind in which they’ll be more receptive to advice.
Allowing the observed teacher to speak first makes it clear that the evaluation of the lesson is a shared experience and establishes a more supportive environment.
The observer’s feedback can be targeted more effectively if they hear the observed teacher’s point of view first, for example focusing on an aspect in which they put the most effort.
Teachers are often too hard on themselves, and if the observed teacher starts by criticising aspects of their own lesson it can be a confidence boost when the observer highlights some good aspects.
Lesson observations are subjective, and the observer may have missed something that the teacher didn’t. Speaking second allows them to give better-informed feedback.
If you can’t tell from my completely biased paraphrasing of the points, I prefer letting the observed teacher speak first. Any arguments about the observed teacher getting the evaluation wildly wrong seem flawed to me because without the opportunity to highlight those inaccuracies, they will never learn to adequately evaluate the effectiveness of their own teaching, nor that of others.
Have I missed any arguments either way? Let me know (@teachgr). Thanks to @grevster73, @coope83, @leedonaghy, @bio_joe, @hrogerson and@geekgirl77 who already contributed ideas. | <urn:uuid:81149521-b1bd-41d8-bc41-4567abedf25f> | {
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What Is the TOEIC?
The TOEIC or Test of English for International Communication, is a standardized, paper-and-pencil test given to non-native English speakers.
Who Uses TOEIC Results?
- Corporations and government agencies recruiting new hires
- Educational institutions establishing placement in English classes.
The traditional TOEIC only tests two skills: Listening and Reading. However, ETS, the makers of the TOEIC, have added this test, the TOEIC Speaking and Writing exam, to its English Language Test repertoire. Here's what you can expect to see on the computer-based TOEIC Speaking and Writing Test:
How Long is the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Test?
- About 1 ½ hours
- 20 minutes for TOEIC Speaking
- 60 minutes for TOEIC Writing
How's your ability to speak English? The TOEIC Speaking Test measures your ability to use English in your own life and throughout the course of your career. Anyone can take the test – it's designed so that people highly skilled with the English language and others not so skilled can both perform. You'll have 11 different tasks during this test, but will spend only about 20 minutes on it.
Again, the TOEIC Writing Test examines testers newly writing in English all the way through proficient English writers. Here, you'll have 8 tasks to complete and about an hour to spend working on them. | <urn:uuid:79f9012a-58ee-4d79-97cb-455b4bd311ed> | {
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Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was born into a clerical Parsi family in Nausari. His father, Nusserwanji Tata, moved to Bombay and started trading. Jamsetji joined the Elphinstone College in Bombay in 1856. He was considered to be a promising enough student to have his fees remitted. Married while still a student, he passed out in 1858, and joined his father's trading firm a year later.
His first venture was to open the Hong Kong branch of his father's firm in December of the same year, in partnership with Premchand Roychand and others. This firm did extremely well during the cotton boom, and Jamsetji was soon involved in many financial deals. However, with the end of the American Civil War, and the subsequent collapse of the Bombay boom in 1864, many of these businesses went into liquidation. He and his father regained their fortunes as suppliers to the British-Indian Army during the Abyssinian War (1867-68).
His reputation as an industrialist was based on the cotton mills he started. In 1871 he began to promote the "Central India Spinning, Weaving and Manufacturing Company, Limited", and built from scratch the Empress Mills in Nagpur. Opened on New Year's day, 1877, this immensely successful cotton mill developed business practises which remained the hallmark of the Tatas for years to come. An astute judge of people, Jamsetji hired his managers with good care. The firm also did developmental work in machinery. New policies towards labour were developed, including training, guaranteed pensions and gratuities, medical care and creches for women employees. His financial genius was evident in the way he took over and turned around the pernially sick Dharamsi Mill in Kurla. He changed its name to the Swadeshi Mill when he purchased it in 1887, and produced cloth that was extensively exported to China, Korea, Japan and the Levant.
He was the first pioneer entrepreneur in the country, and recognised the implications of the industrial revolution for India. Since textile manufacturing had taken root and the country was being linked by railways and the telegraph, he believed that he should concentrate his means and efforts on three key areas-- the iron and steel industry, electrical power generation and technical education.
He was close to the Indian National Congress, and was strongly influenced by Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta and Dinshaw Wacha. However, contrary to them, he believed that political independence would be meaningless without economic self-sufficiency. To this end he set in motion plans for scientific education and the industrial development of backward regions of the country.
His goal of political and economic self-sufficiency had the effect that the British did not raise him to the rank of nobility as they did with other Parsi entrepreneurs. In fact, he faced opposition from the government for many of his projects, including the founding of the steel industry and development of housing in the present-day Northern suburbs of Bombay.
Many of his plans remained unfinished on his death in 1904. However, his vision of the Institute of Science in Bangalore, a steel plant in Jamshedpur, Bihar, and a hydroelectric company were brought to fruition by his successors. | <urn:uuid:2774961b-7bac-4a0a-9c68-7ac36808b56f> | {
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Engineering for the future in Carbondale
CARBONDALE - Several groups of students gathered along the edge of the classroom, some poring over equipment that simulated a magnetic-powered transportation system.
Students hardly noticed the door opening in Brandon Dodson's classroom.
A window on the opposite side of the room provided a view of a 3-D printer in the process of crafting a prototype. The printer and other machines in the technology education rooms were all added to the department as part of the recent upgrade and renovation project in the Carbondale Area High School.
Although there were already hand-drafting and computer-drafting programs, about $241,000 worth of new technology has upped the educational ante, according to acting Superintendent David Cerra, who called the program one of the most advanced in the area.
"It's an extreme paradigm shift from hobbyist level vocation skills to more of a focus on science and math and engineering," Mr. Dodson said.
In a traditional shop or industrial arts program, students completed tasks like building a table, Mr. Dodson continued.
"We never really focused on the theory behind it," he said. "It shows them what the drafting is for. We made better connections between our classes."
Principal Joseph Farrell credits Joseph Szymaszek, the head of the technology education department, for pushing to include the upgrades in the renovation project - the final details of which are wrapping up.
Mr. Szymaszek walked through the new classrooms, pointing out a row of computers, each equipped with a different module - the specific topic it centered around.
"It might only be 10 to 15 days for each module, but it's going to open a new world to them," he said.
The program also differs from vocational schools because it offers a wide range of exposure, rather than in-depth extended coursework. The increased programming in the school ranges from computer graphic animation, where students can learn to make a cartoon, to auto diagnostics and home remedies where students can learn to repair a sink.
Contact the writer: [email protected], @rbrownTT on Twitter | <urn:uuid:bf0722ae-f10c-42f7-be49-0b0a286f343b> | {
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by Jennifer Johnsen
Last week, I was privileged to attend the 3rd International Workshop on HIV and Women in Toronto, Canada. It was a wonderful gathering of researchers, clinicians, and others committed to forwarding our knowledge and understanding of how HIV affects women. The two-day conference focused on four areas:
- Hepatitis C
- HIV and Aging
It should be no surprise that contraception was an important topic, since there are 1.75 billion women worldwide of child-bearing age. Of those, an estimated 150 million are using hormonal contraceptives (HCs).
Recently, some HIV studies have suggested that HCs may increase a woman’s risk for getting HIV. A review of 17 studies meeting minimum quality standards found that two of the 17 show an increased risk of getting HIV for those taking oral contracteptives (OCs, or birth control pills) while six show an increased risk for getting HIV for women using Depo-Provera (DMPA, or the birth control shot).
Based on the unclear picture painted by existing research results, there is an urgent need for high-quality evidence to answer the question of if/how HCs affect women’s risk of getting HIV. There is also very limited evidence available on whether HC use among women living with HIV (HIV+) changes their risk of spreading HIV to others.
What does seem clear, however, is that HC use effects neither HIV disease progression nor women’s viral load or CD4 cells.
Other encouraging news included presentations suggesting that:
- Viramune (nevirapine), an HIV drug commonly included in first-line treatments recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), does not decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives
- There was no spread of HIV between members of heterosexual serodiscordant couples in which the HIV+ partner’s viral load was fully suppressed on HIV drugs in a review of several research studies
- There are some anti-inflammatory agents (IL-22 and curcumin) that have been shown to protect female genital tract cells against HIV in the lab
Our introduction to this topic began with a presentation that painted a grim picture of the hepatitis C (HCV) epidemic in Eastern Europe and Russia. Worldwide, the two primary risk factors for getting hepatitis C continue to be injection drug use (IDU) and sexual contact.
On a more promising note, new HCV treatment regimens including Victrelis (boceprevir) and Inciveck (telaprevir) are proving to be highly effective in women. Approximately 40 percent of study participants in phase 3 clinical trials of these drugs have been women, and researchers have not seen any sex-based differences in effectiveness.
Another exciting development is a once-daily oral treatment for HCV that does not contain interferon (INF). This is likely to be available within the next few years, would spare many the side effects of INF, and would give new treatment options to those still infected with HCV after treatment with INF-containing regimens.
HIV and Aging
This subject has been getting quite a bit of attention lately, due to the growing numbers of people living and aging with HIV. While aging is a normal process that affects everyone, frailty is disease state characterized by decreased bone and muscle mass, mild anemia, thinking problems, depression, and/or increased inflammation. Several of frailty’s features occur among HIV+ people who have been taking HIV drugs for 20 years or more and appear to be the result of ‘accelerated aging.’ So far, there have not been any sex-based differences in HIV-associated accelerated aging.
Estrogen, which is protective in regards to aging, exists in much smaller amounts after menopause. In a way, menopause can be thought of as an “end of warranty” period after which the effects of aging increase. Therefore, it is important when conducting research not to divide women simply into pre- and post-menopausal groups, but to include time since menopause.
This topic featured some excellent presentations, including one that showed how the same set of research results could lead to different conclusions and different country guidelines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (US Department of Health and Human Services v. British HIV Association). Another presentation introduced research in Canada that is exploring poor pregnancy outcomes (low birth weight and pre-term birth) among HIV+ women by looking at blood samples throughout pregnancy and placenta collection at delivery.
Lastly, a discussion of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and microbicides for women revealed how a closer look at the different groups of women studied in several of the PrEP trials (e.g., FemPrEP, Partners PrEP, TDF2) and microbicide studies (e.g., Caprissa 004, VOICE) may help to explain conflicting results. The effectiveness of a given prevention method among young women living in urban areas may be quite different from the effectiveness of the same method among older women in rural areas.
One of the most important points made about prevention is that any method that women want to use will be much more successful. No matter how safe or effective a prevention method may be, it will not work if women do not use it. Therefore, it is crucial that women be included in the development of future methods to prevent the spread of HIV.
The International Workshop on HIV and Women featured the research and experience of many top-quality presenters working diligently on topics specific to women living with HIV. As many of them pointed out, the relative lack of good HIV research and evidence by, for, and about women needs immediate attention. Women’s involvement is crucial if we are to answer many of the outstanding questions that will help us all ‘get to zero.’ | <urn:uuid:4c25699f-22d7-450c-aa85-115f8b416f72> | {
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A commercial airline? Or a rogue geoengineering experiment?
The World Economic Forum has put out a new report on global risks for 2013, and the report’s chapter on “X factors” — concerns more remote than the report’s primary risks, but still worthy of note — includes a section on rogue “geoengineering” experiments.
Geoengineering involves large-scale efforts to either remove carbon from the atmosphere, or to remake the atmosphere’s chemical or physical make-up to offset the effects of climate change. The most plausible scenario mentioned by the report uses aircraft to inject particles into the atmosphere to mimic the way eruptions of volcanic ash block sunlight, and thus cool the climate. More far-fetched scenarios go so far as deploying mirrors into orbit to reflect sunlight.
Such projects involve a host of funding and deployment problems, as well as the serious risk of unintended consequences for both the climate and the billions of humans who rely on it. For instance, a project at the UK-based Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering project, or “SPICE,” working on the idea to mimic volcanic ash, was delayed in October over environmental concerns. Unfortunately, this leaves an opening for smaller nations or even commercial interests to begin experimenting with geoengineering unilaterally, say researchers at the World Economic Forum:
Nobody envisions deployment of solar radiation management anytime soon, given the difficulties in resolving a suite of governance issues (evidenced by the fact that even the relatively simple SPICE experiment in the UK foundered in the midst of controversy). Beginning with Britain’s Royal Society, many academic and policy bodies have called for cautious research as well as broader conversation about the implications of such technologies.
But this has led some geoengineering analysts to begin thinking about a corollary scenario, in which a country or small group of countries precipitates an international crisis by moving ahead with deployment or large-scale research independent of the global community. The global climate could, in effect, be hijacked by a rogue country or even a wealthy individual, with unpredictable costs to agriculture, infrastructure and global stability. [...]
For example, an island state threatened with rising sea levels may decide they have nothing to lose, or a well funded individual with good intentions may take matters into their own hands. There are signs that this is already starting to occur. In July 2012 an American businessman sparked controversy when he dumped around 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Canada in a scheme to spawn an artificial plankton bloom. The plankton absorb carbon dioxide and may then sink to the ocean bed, removing the carbon – another type of geoengineering, known as ocean fertilisation. Satellite images confirm that his actions succeeded in produce an artificial plankton bloom as large as 10,000 square kilometres.
The July 2012 incident was first reported by The Guardian in October, noting the gambit may have violated two international agreements and possibly involved misleading the local indigenous population about the nature and risks of the experiment. Russ George, the American businessman who oversaw the iron sulphate dump, is the former chief executive of Planktos Inc., and has been involved in other failed efforts to pull off large commercial dumps near the Galapagos and Canary Islands. Those attempts led to a warning from the EPA and to his ships being barred from ports by the Spanish and Ecuadorean governments. George had apparently hoped to net lucrative carbon credits.
The basic problem with geoengineering is that portions of the climate cannot be walled off to perform small-scale tests. This means geoengineering projects essentially have to jump straight from the experimental and computer modeling phases to a full-on implementation phase — as Russ George recently attempted. This means, at best, that geoengineering is last-resort, break-glass-in-case-of-emergency response to climate change, to be attempted when all other efforts have failed.
At worst, geoengineering is a distraction jumped on by interest groups, who wish to delay far more technologically and economically feasible efforts to tackle climate change by simply reducing the amount of carbon human beings emit into the atmosphere. | <urn:uuid:e311ddf6-de9a-4e19-9dea-e1060a3942db> | {
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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
Underground in the Deep and Dark
After completing an independent study about our topic, Underground in the Deep and Dark, we will share what we have learned in a creative, educational format with others. The topic includes: Caving, the Chunnel, famous caves and famous tunnels. Our goals are: - to create an informative web site. - to work cooperatively and collaboratively with our team members. - to learn to use different hardware and software (scanner, digital camera, downloading from the Internet, Dabbler, Word, FrontPage, Print Artist, etc.) in the creation of our web site.
19 & under
Science & Technology > Earth Science | <urn:uuid:0168ff0c-f926-4724-a2b5-98a06be020a3> | {
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|Francisco Vasquez de Coronado|
The First Thanksgiving in the New World was held at Palo Duro Canyon on Ascension Thursday, May 23, 1541. On that day, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his men held a day of thanksgiving after "Coronado's expedition had left Mexico in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola, but instead of a mythical city of gold, Coronado and his men found the Llano Estacado, where there were no cities, no trees and very little water." (from homepages.vvm.com)The rest of that story can be found here. This series of events has been verified by historians the world over, so this is the first instance of Thanksgiving as we know it in the New World.
On April 21, 1598, another Thanksgiving took place in Texas. That story can be found here. Now we have two "Thanksgivings" quite a few years before the Pilgrims celebrated their own day of thanks at Plymouth Rock.
I know this story may ruffle a few turkey feathers, but history is history. I don't bring this up to in any way diminish the importance of the Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock in 1621 as it was certainly one of the most historic days of the American story. Three groups of people came to the New World for various reasons and independent of each other by miles and by years, found a reason to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving in what is now the United States of America, long may She live. | <urn:uuid:0cc1c465-63d3-4f8c-8f40-f8034b6c2ef5> | {
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On this day in 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter and his financer Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years. Carter had been working in the Valley of the Kings for many years, but on 4th November 1922, Carter’s water carrier found the steps leading to Tutankhamun’s tomb and Carter wired Carnavon to come quickly.
On 26th November, Carter made the famous “tiny breach in the top left hand corner” of the doorway, and was able to peer into the antechamber (see picture) by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold and ebony treasures were still in place. When Carnarvon asked “Can you see anything?”, Carter replied: “Yes, wonderful things.”
In the following months, Carter and his team gained access to the antechamber, and began the excavation of the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found. The first item was removed from the tomb on December 27th and on February 16th 1923, the Burial Chamber was oficially opened, where the team found the sarcophagus and the mummified remains of Tutankhamun. | <urn:uuid:51ba427f-80a1-4ebe-b48e-10b237eb219f> | {
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Guardian US polling expert Harry J. Enten breaks down the workings of the Electoral College – a mysterious institution that uses the people's votes to select the US president. With 538 electors up for grabs across 50 states and the District of Columbia, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are vying for the 270 votes that will grant them the White House. It's a curious system where things can and have gone awry – one possible outcome in 2012 is for Romney to end up in the Oval Office with Joe Biden as his vice-president. How could that happen? Let Harry explain.
The US Electoral College Explained: Why We Don't Vote Directly for a PresidentWednesday, 10 October 2012 09:56 By Harry J. Enten, The Guardian | Video Report
Harry J Enten blogs about political and electoral statistics at Margin of Error. A graduate in government from Dartmouth College, he has interned at the NBC political unit in Washington, DC and Pollster.com, as well as contributed to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire. Follow Harry on Twitter @ForecasterEnten | <urn:uuid:46d29dbd-7222-4231-bef9-b84a578f9d16> | {
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Motifs using characters, creatures, and settings from classic Fairy Tales
to represent characters or ideas, for example, a love interest being equated with a Knight in Shining Armor
. Modern day Cinderella stories commonly mine this fairy tale trope as well.
Many of them are, in fact, Dead Unicorn Tropes
. Dragons, unicorns, fairies, and knights are in fact exceedingly rare in fairy tales. For tropes actually found in fairy tales, see Fairy Tale Tropes
Fairytale Motifs are used to add romance to a story, especially one set mainly in the grim and gritty real world. The fact that most people have read the fairy tales means that the symbolism isn't likely to be lost.
Fairytale Motifs differ slightly from Mythological Motifs. While the former features specific fairy tale characters — such as Rapunzel
and Sleeping Beauty
— it also includes general, archetypal examples, usually a "species" rather than one particular person/animal. The latter tends to use specific characters belonging to a recognizable mythology. For example, most people recognize a unicorn when they see one, but the creature itself has a rather vague history and there is no named unicorn who was the "first of its kind." Therefore, it's a Fairytale Motif. Pegasus, the winged horse, on the other hand, is one specific character from Greek myths with a Canon
history , making it a Mythological Motif.
Some fairytale motifs include:
- Dragons: Western dragons can be used to represent very strong or fierce characters, where as eastern dragons are more likely to be wise.
- Fairies: The more popular versions of the fairy are carefree, innocent creatures, usually associated with little girls. May indicate a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, since "away with the fairies" is another way to say "constantly daydreaming" or "slightly crazy." The fairies taken from older traditions, such as Celtic Mythology, aren't quite so cutesy — in fact they're downright malevolent at times. Modern literature increasingly employs this version of the fairy-folk, usually as Tricksters.
- Knights: Often, a very noble character, akin to the Knight In Shining Armor, however, the symbolism linked to a knight could easily be used for a Knight Templar character as well (perhaps due to the association in the trope name).
- Royalty: Generally used to represent power, wealth or prestige. These are often used in High School settings to refer to "the popular kids".
- Princess: Often the Alpha Bitch, however, a wealthy or popular girl of any sort will often be equated to a princess (for an example of this comparison, look no farther than this site). A Queen will often refer to the same stereotype, especially if there is a corresponding?
- King: Generally the leader of a group or organization or the reigning champion of something (i.e. "The King of Table Tennis"). In the aforementioned High School settings, the king will often be a Jerk Jock.
- Unicorn: The mythological "horse with a horn," although many different descriptions of them exist. Usually pure, gentle and noble, although subversions do exist. Being able to draw a unicorn's attention is generally a Virgin Power. Strongly associated with chastity, and often a motif for young girls.
- Wolves: While the wolf's image has been getting better in recent times, increasingly being seen as a "spirit of the wild," people can't quite get over "Little Red Riding Hood". While the wolf is an animal motif at the same time, the wolf as a threat to young girls/ sexual predator seems to have its roots in the fairy tale.
- In Germanic countries, the wolf is (or was historically) the equivalent of the Devil - they even have an expression about them that's interchangable with "Speak of the Devil".
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Anime and Manga
- Revolutionary Girl Utena uses a Fairytale Motif in order to deconstruct the romance fairytale of the Prince as male love interest saving the Princess.
- Skip Beat!! 's Kyouko seems to believes that fairies are real, and very often acts following Cinderella-like Fairy Tales tropes, seeing the (mostly villainous) characters she interprets as princesses under a curse. There is not Wrong Genre Savvyness, just a girl whose life has been so horrible she just prefer to believe she could be rescued and become a Real Princess, even if she knows it isn't. Pity nobody had informed her how The Fair Folk and the Old Fairy Tales truly are...
- Princess Tutu mixes Magical Girl tropes and fairy tale motifs with references to specific stories and ballets. The first season mostly plays the typical fairytale structure straight (outside of the fact that the princess is saving the prince), only to deconstruct it in the second season when the characters rebel against their assigned fairy tale roles as the prince, princess, villain and knight and decide to (literally) rewrite the story.
- Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade draws on (and quotes) the more traditional darker version of "Little Red Riding Hood" for its story of a relationship between a young terrorist girl, and a 'wolf' from the elite Kerberos Panzer police. The anime film makes the point that such relationships are always fated to end badly.
- Monster uses a fairy tale (or several) to foreshadow the antagonist's modus operandi.
- Cowboy Bebop uses the tale of Urashima Taro as a constant recurring motif and theme, with most of the characters having connections to it, most literally Faye.
- Prétear, plain and simple. Although, considering it's based on "Snow White", maybe that's not really surprising.
- Cyber Team In Akihabara invokes many fairy tales motifs, but the main one is the wish of 13 year old protagonist Hibari for meeting and falling in love with a fairy tale prince and live Happily Ever After with him. Her Character Development is essentially to get rid of that mindset, usually via Be Careful What You Wish For.
- AR∀GO: City of London Police's Special Crimes Investigator uses a great many motifs from fairy tales and mythology in general, and it tends to go with the older versions of the stories.
- Gaba Kawa actually follows the theme/basic plot of "The Little Mermaid", becoming more obvious about it in the final two chapters.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica follows the theme/basic plot of "The Little Mermaid" in Sayaka's arc, to tragic conclusion. The other motif is Faust, but that's most definitely not a fairytale.
- Mawaru-Penguindrum has had allusions to various fairytales involving apples, but so far the most prominent motif seems to be the resemblance of the siblings' lives to an in-universe fairytale about a man named Mary and his three little lambs offending a goddess.
- Alice from Mahou Tsukai No Yoru possesses magic which revolves around fairy tales.
- The manga Akagami No Shirayukihime is based on the tale of "Snow White". (The title literally means "Red-haired Snow White".) The first chapter in particular has a lot of tributes to the original story.
Live Action Television
- Homestuck In SBurb, all players are given a particular class and aspect that determines their powers. The classes are themed around typical High Fantasy character types such as 'prince', 'witch', and 'knight'. Then there's the kingdoms of Derse and Prospit who double up this trope with Chess Motifs, as well as the fact that all Sburb players are considered to be princes or princesses of one or the other. Then there's Terezi loving dragons and Tavros liking fairies (and since god tier trolls possess wings, they're sort of fairies as well) and Feferi being an actual princess. Of course, all the fantasy elements are mixed with a good deal of science fiction and technology as well.
- The "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On" arc of Roommates has both general fairy tale motifs and more specifically Swan Lake allusions in it's dream sequences to symbolically communicate information to the main character (Jareth)note . The fair folk don't do simple. | <urn:uuid:729606ca-d8ee-4fa8-9972-424ee7db92b0> | {
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"url": "http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FairytaleMotifs"
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Part of twisted.python View Source
These are methods which you can register pre-call and post-call external functions to augment their functionality. People familiar with more esoteric languages may think of these as "method combinations".
This could be used to add optional preconditions, user-extensible callbacks (a-la emacs) or a thread-safety mechanism.
The four exported calls are:
All have the signature (class, methodName, callable), and the callable they take must always have the signature (instance, *args, **kw) unless the particular signature of the method they hook is known.
Hooks should typically not throw exceptions, however, no effort will be made by this module to prevent them from doing so. Pre-hooks will always be called, but post-hooks will only be called if the pre-hooks do not raise any exceptions (they will still be called if the main method raises an exception). The return values and exception status of the main method will be propogated (assuming none of the hooks raise an exception). Hooks will be executed in the order in which they are added.
|Class||HookError||An error which will fire when an invariant is violated.|
|Function||addPre||hook.addPre(klass, name, func) -> None|
|Function||addPost||hook.addPost(klass, name, func) -> None|
|Function||removePre||hook.removePre(klass, name, func) -> None|
|Function||removePost||hook.removePre(klass, name, func) -> None|
|Function||PRE||(private) munging to turn a method name into a pre-hook-method-name|
|Function||POST||(private) munging to turn a method name into a post-hook-method-name|
|Function||ORIG||(private) munging to turn a method name into an `original' identifier|
|Function||_XXX||String manipulation garbage.|
|Function||_addHook||(private) adds a hook to a method on a class|
|Function||_removeHook||(private) removes a hook from a method on a class|
|Function||_enhook||(private) causes a certain method name to be hooked on a class|
|Function||_dehook||(private) causes a certain method name no longer to be hooked on a class|
Add a function to be called before the method klass.name is invoked.
Add a function to be called after the method klass.name is invoked.
Remove a function (previously registered with addPre) so that it is no longer executed before klass.name.
Remove a function (previously registered with addPost) so that it is no longer executed after klass.name. | <urn:uuid:baa0a3d3-1319-453e-8d47-16c383b535f2> | {
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"url": "http://twistedmatrix.com/documents/12.2.0/api/twisted.python.hook.html"
} |
The Chateauesque is based on the monumental 16th century chateaus of France. The style combines Gothic elements with the 16th century’s fashionable move to Renaissance detailing. In the United States, the style was popularized by Richard Morris Hunt, the first American architect to study at France’s prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. Due to the Chateauesque style’s requirement of massive masonry construction and elaborate detailing, the style was unsuitable for vernacular adaptation and remained a rare and architect-designed fashion.
Identifying features include a steeply pitched hipped roof, a busy roof line with intricate and multiple vertical elements, such as spires, pinnacles, turrets, gables and shaped chimneys, multiple dormers extending beyond the cornice line and walls of stone masonry. Turrets and towers typically have steep candle-snuffer roofs, whereas dormer roofs are usually steep, parapeted gables. Ornamental metal cresting is sometimes observed along roof ridges and above the cornice. Windows, doors and façade elements are often decorated with shallow relief carving or Gothic tracing. Windows are typically divided into narrow vertical panels by stone mullions with smaller transoms above. Windows and doorways are typically arched in a characteristic Gothic basket shape. | <urn:uuid:41e69b93-a026-4bd2-91ec-9b30b26f78c2> | {
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"url": "http://urbanaillinois.us/residents/historic-urbana/100-most-significant-buildings/architectural-styles/french-chateauesque-18"
} |
exactly located (exactlyLocated)
The actual, minimal location of an
Object. This is a subrelation of the more general Predicate
SUMO / BASE-ONTOLOGY
Related WordNet synsets
- the precise location of something; a spatially limited location; "she walked to a point where she could survey the whole street"
Agar obj is partly located in region, to yah kuch subobj nahin, ki subobj is a part of obj aur subobj is exactly located in region.
(partlyLocated ?OBJ ?REGION)
(part ?SUBOBJ ?OBJ)
(exactlyLocated ?SUBOBJ ?REGION))))
Agar obj is exactly located in region, to yah kuch otherobj nahin, ki otherobj is exactly located in region aur otherobj is not equal to obj.
(exactlyLocated ?OBJ ?REGION)
(exactlyLocated ?OTHEROBJ ?REGION)
(equal ?OTHEROBJ ?OBJ))))))
"thing ki jagah time tha" is equal to region agar hai thing is exactly located in region during time.
(WhereFn ?THING ?TIME)
(exactlyLocated ?THING ?REGION))) | <urn:uuid:c9bd6a3e-3426-45f4-8eec-ef2af2ae747f> | {
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"score": 3.359375,
"token_count": 279,
"url": "http://virtual.cvut.cz/kifb/hindi/concepts/exactly_located.html"
} |
The Budapest you'll see today is the result of many years of rich history, with traces of inhabitation dating back as far as the second millennium BC. Hungarian tribes arrived at the end of the ninth century and the Hungarian Kingdom was established in 1000. The city as we know it today was formed through the joining of Buda, Pest and Old Buda, back in 1873. Follow the Budapest History time line below to see the many events leading up to the city's formation.
Archaeological finds indicate that the first settlement in the location of present-day Budapest was built by Celts. The Romans occupied this town in the first century BC.
1st century BC to 5th century AD – Western Hungary is part of the Roman Empire. Aquincum is founded and quickly becomes the largest town and one of the capitals of Pannonia.
5th century to 9th century – The Roman era ends in the 5th century and the age of Huns begins. Attila, King of the Huns, builds a city for himself here according to later chronicles. Following the Huns several tribes (Lombards, Avars and Slavs) pass through Hungary until the arrival of Magyars.
Arrival of the Magyars:
The Hungarian tribes arrived to the Carpathian Basin in 896. Árpád, leader of the Magyars, settled on Csepel sziget, an island in the southern part of Budapest.
1000 – St. Stephen is crowned; he becomes the first king of Hungary. Hungary converts to Christianity and becomes an independent kingdom.
1046 – Bishop Gellért dies at the hands of pagans on present-day Gellért Hill in the fight against Christianity.
12th century – The development of Buda and Pest starts thanks to the French, Walloon and German settlers who migrate here and work and trade along the banks of the Danube.
1241-42 – The Mongolian invasion destroys both cities.
1248 – King Béla IV builds the first royal castle on Castle Hill in Buda and city walls surround Pest.
14th century – The Angevin kings from France established Buda as a royal seat, building probably the largest Gothic palace.
1458 – The noblemen of Hungary elect Matthias Corvinus as king. Under his reign, Buda becomes a main hub of European Renaissance. It is truly an age of prosperity. He dies in 1490, after capturing Vienna in 1485.
1541 – The beginning of the Turkish occupation. Multiple mosques and baths are built in Buda; churches (such as Matthias Church) are converted. The Turkish occupation lasted almost 150 years.
1686 – Buda and Pest are re-conquered from the Turks with Habsburg leadership. The Habsburg rule begins. Both towns are destroyed completely in the battles.
1773 – Election of the first Mayor of Pest.
1777 – Maria Theresa of Austria moves the first University to Castle Hill.
1783 – Joseph II places the acting government to the city of Buda.
1825 – Pest becomes the cultural and economic centre of the country. The first National Theatre is built, along with the Hungarian National Museum and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (Lánchíd).
1838 – The year of the biggest flood in recent memory. The entire Pest side is under water.
1848-49 – Revolution and War of Independence. Pest replaces Bratislava as the new capital of Hungary and it becomes the seat of the first prime minister, its government and the Parliament.
1849 – The Austrians occupy the city and the Habsburg army captures the two towns. Lajos Batthyány, the first Hungarian Prime Minister is executed on the present-day Szabadság tér.
1867 – The Austro-Hungarian Compromise, beginning of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, followed by unprecedented civic development, resulting in the style of present day Budapest.
1873 – The former cities Pest, Buda and Óbuda are united, and with that the Hungarian capital is established with the name of Budapest.
1896 – Year of the Millennium, celebrations are held all over the city. The Millennium Underground is inaugurated, and the Franz Josef Bridge (today's Liberty Bridge) is opened.
1910 – According to census the population of Budapest is 880,000
1918 – World War I ends the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the development of Budapest is slowed down by political upheavals.
Budapest in the 20th Century:
1918-19 – Revolution in Budapest and the 133 days of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. This was the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
1919-44 – Status quo was restored by a charismatic leader in the person of Admiral Horthy a self-appointed regent for the exiled King Karl IV. Hungary was a kingdom without a king.
1920 – The Trianon Treaty re-sized Hungary. Three-fifth of the country was assigned to surrounding successor states.
1924 – the Hungarian National Bank is founded.
1941 – Entry into World War II as an ally of Germany.
1944 – Budapest is occupied by the Germans. At the time of the occupation, there were around 200,000 Jews in the city. Fewer than half of them survived the following 11 months.
Dec. 1944 - Feb. 1945 – Soviet and Romanian troops besiege Budapest. The retreating Germans destroy all Danube bridges. The Buda castle falls. World War II took the lives of close to 200,000 Budapest residents and caused widespread damage to the buildings in the city.
1945-48 – Hungary is declared a republic, practicing a multi party parliamentary democracy.
1948 – A Soviet friendly Communist government takes over and Hungary is declared a People's Republic.
Oct. 1956 – The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 breaks out, ending in the invasion of a large Soviet force, killing civilians and damaging buildings in Budapest (traces of the gunfire can still be seen on the façades of several buildings).
1956-58 – Revenge and forceful restoration of Soviet power.
1960s – Conditions normalize; reforms create a so called 'Goulash Communism' in Hungary, a Communism with elements of free market and improved human rights. Wartime damages are largely repaired; the Elizabeth Bridge is finished in 1965.
1970-72 – Construction of the East-Western Subway line (M2) begins.
1982 – Construction of the North-Southern Subway line (M3) begins.
1987 – Buda Castle Hill and the banks of the Danube are added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
1989-1990 – The 'changes', transition to free elections and a democratic government. Hungary's changeover to a Western-style democracy was one of the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc.
1990 – According to census the city is home to 2,000,000 residents.
Present day Budapest:
2002 – Andrássy Avenue is added to the World Heritage Sites, along with the Millennium Underground Railway, Heroes' Square and City Park.
2002 – Inauguration of the new National Theatre.
2004 – Hungary joins the European Union.
2008 – According census, Budapest is home to 1,700,000 residents.
2010 – Inauguration of Budapest’s ‘Mainstreet’ (a Belváros Főutcája), a project that re-shapes a 1.7-km stretch of downtown Pest from Kálvin tér to Szabadság tér.
2011 – Margaret Bridge reopens after extensive renovations.
Present – Construction of the fourth subway line (M4) is underway.
Finally, if you like infographics, you can find out some quirky facts about Hungary, our language, history and more here: Let’s talk a bit about Hungary | <urn:uuid:f08e5ba3-31aa-4556-83f9-ff7b58f3c793> | {
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Jean de Court, Marguerite de France as Minerva painted enamel, Limoges, 1555 (IIIF253)
In this remarkable portrait, Marguerite de France (1523-1574), daughter of François 1 (d. 1547) and sister of Henri II (d. 1559), is depicted as Pallas/Minerva, classical goddess of war and wisdom.
This alludes to her role as protectress of contemporary French culture against ‘le vilain monster Ignorance’, the mantle bestowed upon her after she defended Pierre Ronsard’s poetry against attack in 1549. Poets referred to Henri II’s court as the ‘Nouvel Olympe’ and to Marguerite as ‘la nouvelle Pallas’.
Limoges was the principal centre producing painted enamels in the 16th century. The bust of Henri d’Albret (no.24) is typical of mid-century portraits. D’Albret was married to Marguerite’s aunt, the authoress Marguerite d’Angoulême. Marguerite’s head is after a drawing attributed to François Clouet, now at Chantilly, which may have been the official image of the princess. Portraits in enamel were often modelled on drawings attributed to Clouet’s workshop and may have been incorporated into panelling. Marguerite’s costume and attributes as Pallas/Minerva are derived from a print by René Boyvin after Luca Penni. The armillary globe alludes to Marguerite’s fame and to her motto, ‘Wisdom, guardian of the world’. As goddess of war, she wears a breastplate, holds a spear and her shield decorated with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, and has a plumed helmet at her feet. As goddess of wisdom, Marguerite’s foot rests on some books surmounted by an owl. Dramatised portraits were an established form of selfpropaganda, but examples in enamel are rare.
The portrait is painted in opaque and translucent enamel colours on a copper base. Silver foil below translucent blue enriches Marguerite’s costume. The image was built up in successive kiln firings at diminishing temperatures. For the first firing, both sides of the metal were coated with enamel. Enamelling the back equalises the stress between the metal and the enamel on cooling, minimising distortion. Firing fuses the enamels to the base and produces their vivid colours and glossy surface. The gold, fusing at the lowest temperature, is applied last. This is the only fully signed and dated enamel by Jean de Court, about whom little is known. Art historians have long speculated as to whether he might have had some involvement with a workshop or workshops inscribing enamels ‘I C’ and ‘I D C’ (nos. 12, 13, 14 and 15). | <urn:uuid:a795ac75-806d-4894-9754-fe9f0ddc7a38> | {
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"url": "http://wallacecollection.org/whatson/treasure/44"
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Marine and Ocean Discharges
|Oceans, Coasts, Estuaries & Beaches Quick Finder|
|Oceans, Coasts, & Estuaries Home Coastal Watershed Protection||Marine Pollution Prevention Monitoring and Assessment||Ocean & Coastal Partnerships Frequently Asked Questions||Coasts for Kids|
Under the Clean Water Act, any discharge of a pollutant from a point source to the navigable waters of the United States must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The permit requires compliance with technology- and water-quality-based treatment standards.
An NPDES permit allows a facility to discharge a specified amount of a pollutant into a receiving water body under certain conditions. Under NPDES permitting, two sections deal specifically with discharges to marine and ocean waters: Section 301(h) and 403.
Under 403, any discharge to the territorial seas or beyond must comply with Ocean Discharge Criteria, including guidelines for determining degradation of waters.
Section 301(h) allows waivers from secondary treatment requirements in some cases for Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW´s) that discharge to marine waters. Under 301(h), POTW's with waivers from secondary treatment must demonstrate their discharge does not adversely effect the marine environment. | <urn:uuid:6e4987f1-b246-47fa-821e-6a9f0c23f775> | {
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"url": "http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/owow/programs/marinedischarge.cfm"
} |
Meter is the organization of speech rhythms (verbal stresses) into regular patterns, in terms of both the arrangement of stresses and their frequency of repetition per line of verse.
Poetry is organized by the division of each line of verse into "feet," metric units which each consist of a particular arrangement of strong and weak stresses. The most common metric unit is the iambic foot, in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one (as in the words "revrse" and "compse").
Here is a table of meters and their names.
Meter is also determined by the number of feet in a line. A line with five feet is called pentameter; thus, a line of five iambs is known as "iambic pentameter" (the most common metrical form in English poetry).
The most common line lengths are:
trimeter: three feet
tetrameter: four feet
pentameter: five feet
hexameter: six feet (an "Alexandrine" when iambic)
heptameter: seven feet (a "fourteener" when iambic)
Naturally, there is a degree of variation from line to line, as a rigid adherence to the meter results in unnatural or monotonous language. A skillful poet manipulates breaks in the prevailing rhythm of a poem for particular effects. John Donne, for example, rarely held to the meter of his lines for more than a few feet at a time. These lines from his Holy Sonnet 14 (1633) are written in iambic pentameter, but the stress patterns vary a great deal:
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn and make me new. | <urn:uuid:8410c7bf-5836-476c-b807-1fa148b28ba7> | {
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"url": "http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LTMeter.html"
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About the FSA
The Food Standards Agency is responsible for food safety and food hygiene across the UK. We work with local authorities to enforce food safety regulations and have staff who work in UK meat plants to check that the requirements of the regulations are being met. We also commission research related to food safety.
The Department of Health is responsible for nutrition policy, including nutrition labelling, in England. Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is responsible for food labelling not related to food safety or nutrition in England. It is also responsible for animal welfare. The FSA retains responsibility for labelling policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for nutrition policy in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Responsibility for nutrition policy in Wales lies with the Welsh Government.
You can get answers to several frequently asked questions about what we do at the links below.
- putting the consumer first
- openness and transparency
- science- and evidence-based
- acting independently
- enforcing food law fairly
The Agency is led by a Board that has been appointed to act in the public interest and not to represent particular sectors. Board members have a wide range of relevant skills and experience.
Although the FSA is a government agency, it works at 'arm's length' from government because it doesn't report to a specific minister and is free to publish any advice it issues. We are, however, accountable to Parliament through health ministers, and to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for our activities within their areas.
Our UK headquarters are in London, but the Agency also has offices in York, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We base our decisions and advice on the best evidence available, including commissioning research and obtaining advice from independent advisory committees. We also aim to ensure that our decision-making process is as open and transparent in as possible.
Whenever possible, we seek the views of interested parties before reaching conclusions, and always explain the reasons for a decision or advice in a straightforward manner.
The six outcomes the FSA aims to deliver are:
- foods produced or sold in the UK are safe to eat
- imported food is safe to eat
- food producers and caterers give priority to consumer interests in relation to food
- consumers have the information and understanding they need to make informed choices about where and what they eat
- regulation is effective, risk-based and proportionate, is clear about the responsibilities of food business operators, and protects consumers and their interests from fraud and other risks
- enforcement is effective, consistent, risk-based and proportionate and is focused on improving public health
The full strategy can be found at the link below. | <urn:uuid:677fa486-bd60-4953-847a-832f90bc7ef1> | {
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Knowing how to code is becoming increasingly valuable in the technology-driven world we live in today, but not everyone has the time or money to invest in a sold computer science or programming education.
Most people who have no experience in programming tend to think that learning to code would be an intimidating task, requiring a high IQ and a good teacher. In reality, anyone can really do it, which is why two students from Columbia University founded Codeacademy – a free, interactive website for beginners who want to learn how to code at their own pace.
A Breakdown of What Codeacademy Offers
Codeacademy offers its users a set of tutorials in a variety of different programming languages that they can follow along with and actually plug in the code to get firsthand experience. It’s been designed for the complete beginner in mind who’ve never taken a computer class before.
There’s a “Show hint” button at the bottom of each step if you get stuck, and a “Run” button for you to pull up the result of what you created with your code. If you made a mistake, you can hit the red “Reset” button to try again.
Every step progresses from simplest to more advanced in a sequential way that you can understand it, using skills learned from the previous step as you move on. Courses are divided into sections, and sections have a number of steps to be completed.
Codeacademy makes the whole process really fun by offering you points and badges to earn when you complete a section. It may also ask you to share your completed results with your friends on social media.
The Codeacademy Community and Resources
Although the site serves people who basically want a self-taught approach to learning code, we still can’t entirely replace knowledge and skills from real people with computers.
Codeacademy has a Q&A Forum for its users who need to ask questions when they get stuck on any part of the course that they can’t figure out. And if you’re already an experienced programmer willing to teach newbies, there’s a great new “Teach” section that gives the experienced an opportunity to build their own courses.
Memorizing everything right off the bat can be tough, so there’s a convenient glossary section that pertains to each programming language, which you can refer to if you need a friendly reminder about something you’re working on.
Finally, there’s the “Scracth Pad,” which is a template form similar to what you find in each lesson that you can use to just experiment writing code and apply what you’ve learned so far.
Codeacademy Full Review
I have to give Codeacademy almost five full stars because I’ve taken beginner courses in programming, but I could never grasp the concepts or lessons because it just didn’t work for me in a classroom environment. I learned so much more with Codeacademy, and I can’t believe I got to do it for free.
I found that each step in the course would build upon the concepts learned as you progressed, which I really liked, and the instructions were simple enough to follow. It’s really rewarding to press “Run” and see that you’ve correctly written your code. I remember doing it in class with the Command Prompt and never fully understood what I was doing.
Personally, I’d love to see a course in PHP available from Codeacademy. I know they’re adding new stuff all the time and have done a lot of growing up over the past couple years, so I’m pretty satisfied for now. I’m actually really excited to get started on some of the other sections where I left off.
If you have any interest in learning to code, Codeacademy is a great place to get started. I highly recommend it for absolutely everyone. | <urn:uuid:03ed97c1-f353-4e12-b5b6-4c75b4e0471a> | {
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Failure-to-thrive is when a child is not growing as expected. It does not include children who are small for their age. The exact definition is not completely agreed upon.
Children grow quickly in the first few years of life. A child with failure-to-thrive will have a height and weight that is well below other children of their age. Your child may have also had a normal growth pattern that began to slow down. Initially the child has similar height and weight than their peers but at follow-up appointments the child's height and weight does not keep up with their peers.
In general, failure-to-thrive means that a child:
- Is at or below the 3rd to 5th percentile for height and weight. T
- Has failed to grow as expected. This is shown by dropping two growth percentiles. For example, the child goes from the 75th percentile to below the 25th percentile.
Failure-to-thrive is split into several types according to the cause. Types include:
- Organic failure-to-thrive—caused by some other medical condition
- Nonorganic failure-to-thrive—occurs in children with no known medical condition
- Mixed failure-to-thrive—occurs when the child has features of both organic and nonorganic failure-to-thrive
Gastrointestinal disease may make it difficult for your child to eat or absorb food. This may include:
- Reflux —stomach acid backs up into the throat. This can make it uncomfortable to swallow.
- Pyloric stenosis —valve on the stomach can not close properly, this can lead to reflux.
- Cleft lip and/or palate —birth defects of the lip and roof of the mouth, this condition can make it difficult to eat solid foods.
- Hirschsprung's disease —a condition that can cause a blockage in the intestines
- Hepatitis —liver disease that can cause general fatigue and ill feeling
- Cirrhosis —liver disease that can cause general fatigue and ill feeling
- Pancreatic insufficiency—pancrease helps digestion of fats, if there is a problem, food may not be properly absorbed into the body
- Malabsorption—general problem in the intestines ability to absorb food
- Milk protein intolerance—inability for the baby to digest proteins found in milk, even if the baby is taking in enough milk it is not getting to the body
Kidney disease—can decrease your child's appetite and impair growth
- Urinary tract infection
- Kidney failure
- Diabetes insipidus
Heart and lung disease—can decrease your child's appetite and impair growth
Mucus Blockage in Lungs and Pancreas Due to Cystic Fibrosis-Contributes to Failure to ThriveCopyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Endocrine disease—can decrease your child's appetite or how the body processes food
- Thyroid problems
- Pituitary disease
- Growth hormone deficiency
- Infectious disease—can decrease your child's appetite and impair growth
- Breastfeeding difficulties including insufficient milk supply syndrome
- Chromosomal birth defects
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Lead poisoning
- Child abuse or negligence
- Parental ignorance
Factors that may increase your child's risk of failure-to-thrive include:
- Untreated medical conditions
- Poverty, including lack of available food
- Poor parenting skills
- Depression in the parent
- Severe family stress
- Slowed growth in a young child, including height and weight
- Slowed development, including late rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, and talking
- Small muscles
- Weakness, low energy
- Hair loss
- Loose folds of skin
- Other symptoms related to an underlying medical condition
Failure-to-thrive is diagnosed based on following a child's growth. The doctor will plot your child's weight, height, and head circumference on standard growth charts. If the child falls below a certain weight range or drops two percentiles on the growth chart, the doctor will evaluate the child further.
If a medical condition may be the cause, the doctor will order further tests. The type of tests will depend on the condition.
Sometimes, a child must be hospitalized for a period of time to find the cause of failure-to-thrive. During this time the doctor will:
- Monitor the relationship between parent and child, paying particular attention to their behavior around feeding
- Set up a feeding schedule with an adequate amount of calories
- Make sure that an appropriate feeding technique is used
If the child can gain weight under these circumstances, this supports the diagnosis of nonorganic failure-to-thrive.
Treatment may include:
Treating a Medical Condition
Treating the underlying medical condition may correct failure-to-thrive.
Providing Extra Calories
Children who are malnourished may need liquid supplements. They can help to boost their weight and nutrition.
When a child is hospitalized for diagnosis, the hospital staff can also provide treatment. Nurses can teach parents appropriate feeding techniques. They may also show how to best interact with their child. If the child isn't hospitalized, parents can still have training sessions with a nutritionist or a nurse.
Parents and children who are having difficulty with their relationship may benefit from counseling.
To help prevent failure to thrive:
- Take your children to the doctor regularly to have their growth checked. This helps detect and treat failure-to-thrive before it becomes severe.
- Develop a good relationship with your child's doctor.
- Ask the doctor about proper parenting and nutrition for early in a baby's life.
- Your doctor may recommend parent-training sessions.
- Reviewer: Michael Woods
- Review Date: 09/2012 -
- Update Date: 00/91/2012 - | <urn:uuid:6854f517-16e7-47f0-b0d7-906076c4aeb5> | {
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posted last year in Dev Platform category by Dongsun Choi
There are various techniques to improve the performance of your Java application. In this article I will talk about Statement Pooling Configuration and its effect on Garbage Collection process.
Statement Pooling allows to improve the performance of an application by caching SQL statements that are used repeatedly. Such caching mechanism allows to prepare frequently used statements only once and reuse them multiple times, thus reducing the overall number of times the database server has to parse, plan, and optimize these queries. A well-configured number of statements (maxStatements) to be cached can be as good as tuning the Garbage Collection. Now let's see how Statement Pooling can affect the Garbage Collection.
Why Check the Number of Statement in the Pool?
Often the size of the JDBC statement pool is set to the default value. Using the default value, of course does not usually lead to any special issue. But a well-configured maxStatements value can be as effective as GC tuning. If you are using the default maxStatements value and would like to optimize the use of memory, let's think about the correct statement pool value before attempting GC tuning.
As was discussed in Understanding Java Garbage Collection, a weak generational hypothesis (most objects quickly become unreachable and a reference from an old object to a new object is rare) was used as the precondition when creating garbage collector in Java. For the majority of NHN web services there should be a response within 300ms at the latest, unless it is a special case. Therefore, NHN web services are more applicable to the above situations than the general stand-alone type applications.
The GC Process between HTTP Request and Response
When developing a web service using web containers like Tomcat and other frameworks, the lifespan of objects created by a developer tend to be either very short or very long. Web developers usually write codes like Interceptor, Action, BO, or DAO (BO and DAO are generated and used as singletons from applicationContex in Spring, and are not the target of GC). The objects generated from these codes stay alive for a very brief time that exists between the time HTTP is requested and the time it has responded. For this reason, such objects are usually collected during Young GC.
There are also objects, such as singleton objects, that stay alive long enough to exist for the lifecycle of Tomcat. Such objects will be promoted to the old area soon after Tomcat starts running. Yet, when continuously monitoring web applications through jstat and the like, there are always some objects promoted to the old area during Young GC. These objects are usually used after being stored in the cache used for improving the performance of frameworks in most of the containers and projects. Whether the cached objects become the target of GC or not is determined by their cache hit ratio, not their age, so unless the hit ratio is 100%, they cannot avoid being promoted to the old area, even when the Young GC cycle is set to be long.
Among these caches, statement pooling affects the memory usage the most. If you are using iBatis, as iBatis processes all SQLs as preparedStatment, you will be using statement pooling. If the size of statement pooling is smaller than the number of SQLs being used, the cache hit ratio will decrease and result in cache maintenance cost. Objects that are reachable in the old area become the target of GC and will be retrieved, then will be regenerated during the HTTP request process, only to be cached and promoted to the old area. The full GC cycles are affected by this process.
Size of the Statement Objects
It would be safe to say that the size of a single statement object is proportional to the length of the SQL code processed by the same statement. Even for a long and complex SQL, the size of the object should be around 500 bytes. The object's small size would seem to have little effect on the full GC cycles, but such an assumption would be incorrect.
When you look at the JDBC specifications, each connection has its own statement pool (maxStatementsPerConnection), as described in Figure 1 below. So, although a statement object is as small as 500 bytes, if there are many connections, the statements cache may occupy the proportional amount of the heap.
Figure 1: Relationship between the Connection and the Statement.
(Though the statement has the ResultSet, it should be clarified that ResultSet is not an object for caching. ResultSet is allocated as null when rs.close() is called by iBatis, then retrieved in the young area during young GC.)
The Effect of Statement Pool's Cache Hit Ratio on the Full GC
A simple test program was created to assess the effect of cache hit ratio on the full GC. One cache hit ratio was set to 100% while the other was set to 50%. When the same amount of load was applied, the results presented in Table 1 and 2 were obtained.
In both cases, the occurrences of young GC were very similar but the results for the full GC was different. When the cache hit ratio was 100%, full GC occurred only once, because the number of objects promoted to the old area during young GC was small. When the ratio was 50%, full GC occurred 4 times because the number of statement objects promoted to the old area during young GC was high, as the objects were cached in the statement pool, then removed from the pool in LRU way, then cached again at the next request.
Table 1. Cache hit ratio = 100%.
Table 2. Cache hit ratio = 50%.
I would like to add one more thing. When the cache hit ratio is 50%, it violates the 2nd category of weak generational hypothesis I introduced previously. When low cache hit ratio causes frequent pool registration and subsequent removal, it means the statement object generated in the young area is being referenced in the pool from the old area, which leads to additional strain during GC because the card marking technique is used to manage the references separately.
In Lucy (NHN's internal Java Framework), the maxStatements value for statement pooling in Oracle and MySQL is 500. In most cases, 500 should be enough. However, when more SQL is being used, increasing the default value to meet such demand would be a way to improve the system efficiency (when using $(String replacement) for query on iBatis for the reason of table partitioning and the like, the number of queries must be multiplied by the number of partitioned tables).
However, when the default value is higher than necessary, this leads to a different problem. A higher value means more memory usage and higher likelihood of an Out Of Memory (OOME) occurrence.
In a situation where the number of SQLs are 10,000 and the number of connections are 50, then the total size of statement objects is about 250 MB. (500 byte * 50 * 10,000 = 250 MB). It should be easy to determine the likelihood of OOME occurrence by checking the Xmx configuration for the service in use.
What strategy do you follow to determine the correct number of statements to be pooled? Share your experience in the comments below.
By Dongsun Choi, Senior Engineer at Game Service Solution Team, NHN Corporation. | <urn:uuid:58e286fd-915a-44e4-a97d-e39ff2786f38> | {
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207. Yugoslavia Faces the Millennium: Conflict and Continuity
A decade after the fall of Communism, there remains little discussion within the public sphere of the fundamental differences that separate the states and societies of Western and Eastern Europe. This oversight is regrettable not only because it limits our ability to resolve problems in the Balkans, but also because that region is far more representative of the world at large than is Western Europe.
A case in point is the region's multiethnic demography, for which there are many historical and current parallels the world over. The uncritical, century-long rush to adopt the West European nation-state model has resulted in a steady succession of secessions, civil wars, and partitions not only in Central Europe, but throughout the former Soviet Union, as well as in East Timor, Eritrea, and Palestine. Today, many statesmen, journalists and scholars advocate ethnic separation as the only solution, even though it would involve population exchanges. Will "peace through partition" become the final solution to ethnic conflict in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Chiapas, Cyprus, Kurdestan, Macedonia, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and western Sumatra?
For the most part, granting autonomy has acted as a "safety valve" in retarding centrifugal forces among concentrated ethnic minorities. The examples of Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Quebec, Republika Srpska, Slovakia, and the six republics of Tito=s Yugoslavia however, suggest that such a solution is never truly "permanent" since it simultaneously perpetuates separate identities and offers career opportunities to those politicians who choose to exploit nationalism as a populist tool for coming to power.
In seeking entry into the European Union, the Yugoslav and other Central European successor states need to accept not only multiethnicity in their own countries, but recognize its reemergence in Western Europe and the rest of the "post-industrial" world. The past century offers numerous examples of the triumph of ethnic coexistence, especially in places like the Bukovina, Srem, Vojvodina, and prewar Bosnia, where a balance of power between ethnic groups simultaneously allayed minority paranoia while encouraging all groups to cooperate with one another. Where no such balance exists, interethnic stability depends heavily on the perception of protection afforded minorities by the rule of law, supplemented by the majority group's willingness to be deferential toward their search for security and reassurance.
The east-west dichotomy is also evident in distinctive manifestations of nationalism and liberalism. Whereas western media and statesmen routinely attribute Serb atrocities to a carefully nurtured "persecution complex," few observers recognize the pervasive sense of a deprived manifest destiny that weighs on the historical consciousness of all of the successor nations of the former multiethnic Habsburg, Ottoman and Tsarist/Soviet empires. One consequence is a militant and intolerant brand of nationalism that has justified discrimination and, sometimes, violence against neighboring ethnic groups. Another consequence is the inclusion of a purely nationalist agenda in the basket of borrowed western Enlightenment ideas, adopted by East Europeans without the necessary region-specific modifications.
The unfortunate result has been the simplistic equation of democracy with majority rule, shorn of such indispensable attributes as the rule of law, freedom of thought and expression, individual rights and toleration, and the obligations of civic responsibility. Admittedly, the combined Ottoman and Communist heritage partly explains the political immaturity of Balkan liberalism. But foreign critics who scoff at what Robert Hayden terms "constitutional nationalism" and the inevitable tyrannies of the majority that it creates forget that Western Europe (and its North American progeny) never experienced a prolonged period of foreign oppression. This distinction suggests that much of the Yugoslav successor states and Eastern Europe's other newly independent states will need a prolonged period of national independence before they can purge the demons of their subjugation by foreign multiethnic empires. These states could perhaps obviate or minimize the need for this evolutionary step by demythologizing their own history, redefining nationality to include all citizens regardless of ethnicity, and enriching the public perception of "democracy" with those attributes and obligations that protect the rights of all citizens.
Mass Media and Visual Imagery
It takes considerable optimism to advocate remolding a society's mentality, in this case to conform with Western models of nationalism and liberalism; to force an entire region to do so requires equally heavy doses of ethnocentrism and arrogance. Yet, if Central Europe is keen on integrating with the West, then it is incumbent on the region's elites to go beyond their uncritical appropriation of the nation-state model to embrace those patently universal Enlightenment values that make nationhood and popular sovereignty palatable for ethnic minorities. Established elites and media have played a crucial role in fashioning modern mass culture over the past two centuries. Moreover, over the past decade, most regional leaders have striven to adopt requisite institutional standards for membership in the European Union and NATO. The leverage therefore, already exists; it remains only that Western policy planners fully realize and encourage the implementation of these international standards and modern mass culture through a combination of school instruction and visual public media.
Visual media has been proven the most effective means of transmitting information and molding people's minds; in head-to-head competition it consistently trumps both print media and radio, both because of its easier accessibility and the didactic power of visual imagery. To their credit, democratic leaders in Serbia and the rest of Central Europe have identified access to visual media as an indispensable element for creating a Western-style civil society. Unfortunately, their realization stems from first-hand experience with the effectiveness of the government-controlled visual media in an authoritarian regime, where the country's silent majority relies primarily - and usually exclusively - on what it sees on television.
Western policymakers however, have consistently dragged their feet in responding to appeals for a visual component to the existing radio "ring around Serbia." Thus, Yugoslavia's Crown Prince Alexander bemoans intermittent encounters with Tony Blair, in which the British Prime Minister reassures him that "We're working on it!" Another example is the misperception of the State Department earlier this year of the effectiveness of Voice of America's television broadcasts into Serbia; the Department was sublimely unaware that the Milosevic regime had long-since eliminated their access to every relay transmitter in the country. Even a high-ranking VOA staffer expressed surprise upon learning that its television broadcasts reached only a few miles into Serbia, courtesy of a single transmission tower in Bijeljina.
The Omnicompetent State
The struggle for control of mass media highlights a third structural reality to which world policymakers have been slow to adapt, namely the ability of modern authoritarian regimes to culturally manipulate and criminally assault their own people. The emergence of what Gale Stokes has termed the "omnicompetent state" represents only the latest stage in the centuries- long, state-building process. Nor is it the first time its evolution has challenged the conscience of the international community. During early modern times the aggressive behavior of the first "great powers" promoted systemic paranoia and almost continuous international conflict. To address this problem, over the past century, the international community has contemplated applying universal standards of behavior inside sovereign countries. Notwithstanding isolated cases of unilateral, third-party intervention in Uganda and Cambodia, NATO's air offensive against rump Yugoslavia in 1999 represents a watershed in the enforcement of internationally recognized norms of conduct (as prescribed by the UN charter) within the frontiers of a sovereign state.
Journalist Seymour Hirsch is doubtless correct in attributing the resulting "Clinton Doctrine" to the worldwide mediation of CNN and other global agents of visual media. Yet another factor has been "U.S. leadership" that combines contrived appeals to national self- interest with a very real sense of moral outrage. Whatever the motivations, policy planners should certainly contemplate and, hopefully reinforce, the prospect of appending the body of international law to facilitate such humanitarian interventions in order to meet this latest, twentieth-century challenge posed by the state-building process.
The pivotal role that the U.S. has played in Yugoslavia over the past five years underscores a fourth development that demands constant attention, especially by its own policymakers. The dissolution of the Soviet Union marked two potential watersheds in the history of international relations: an abrupt halt to the five-century-long European arms race that began with France's invasion of Italy in 1494, and the usurpation of the balance of power by U.S. hegemony. Whether these developments will become fixed structures or merely temporary "conjunctures" will depend on how the U.S. handles itself on the international stage, especially in matters that challenge the pretensions and perceived interests of countries like France, Russia, or China. In the past, competing states have capitalized on the arrogant unilateralism of momentary hegemons such as Charles V, Louis XIV, revolutionary France and Wilhelmine Germany to reestablish a new balance comprising a coalition of major powers. So far, the U.S. has defied this dynamic by sustaining an ostensibly multilateral foreign policy in the Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts, as well as in less strategically significant humanitarian interventions around the world. Forestalling the re-assembly of a new bi-polar balance of power however, will take constant vigilance so long as stress remains between the U.S. self-interest and that of other great powers. The fateful faux pas of past hegemons suggests that the U.S. should limit overtly self-seeking initiatives (such as contravening the ABM treaty), while helping to construct a universal legal framework to promote an international status quo that seals U.S. hegemony.
If international law is the first resort of the strong, it is also the last refuge of the weak. Hence the tremendous advantages that such a framework offers to the states and societies of the former Yugoslavia. Once the U.S. and its allies have established the requisite parameters for collaboration, they can leave it to each of the newly former Yugoslav republics to set its own pace for aid and integration with the New Europe.
Charles Ingrao spoke at an EES Noon Discussion on May 2, 2000 | <urn:uuid:79a1608a-23cb-4874-bab2-12614f98d402> | {
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What are the risks of connecting to a hidden network?
A hidden network is a wireless network that is set to not broadcast its name (or service set identifier (SSID)). Normally, wireless networks broadcast their name, and your computer “listens” for the name of the network that it wants to connect to. Since a hidden network doesn’t broadcast, your computer can't find it, so the network has to find your computer. For this to happen, your computer must broadcast both the name of the network it's looking for and its own name. In this situation, other computers “listening” for networks will know the name of your computer as well as the network you’re connected to, which increases the risk of your computer being attacked.
Whenever possible, always connect to wireless networks that are set to broadcast and have some form of security. For more information, see How do I know if a wireless network is secure?. | <urn:uuid:d56bf7ba-d264-4ced-a244-eed9f6cbb552> | {
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Viticulture - n. : the cultivation or culture of grapes
Enology - n. :a science that deals with wine and wine making
The V&E Department combines the sciences of viticulture and enology in a single research and teaching unit that encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that impact grape growing and winemaking. For over one hundred years the University of California has maintained an active and productive program in research and education in viticulture and enology. The continuing excellence of the Department has enabled California growers and vintners to develop practices that have allowed the Golden State to achieve its potential and become a premier wine-producing region.
Wendell Jacob Honors the Memory of his Father, Harry E. Jacob-- Former V&E Faculty Member.
Wendell Jacob Honors the Memory of his Father, Harry E. Jacob, Former V&E Faculty Member.
By Allison Chilcott
(Note: This article first appeared in Outlook 2005, the Publication of College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
Students and campus visitors alike will learn to identify dozens of varieties of grapes --including table, wine, and raisins -- when the Harry E. Jacob Demonstration Vineyard opens adjacent to the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science courtyard in 2008. The demonstration vineyard will serve as UC Davis’ primary vineyard education site for classes and tours hosted by the Department of Viticulture and Enology. This unique interactive learning center, to... | <urn:uuid:a2d170b2-6be3-4f7c-b42b-cb0080bc909b> | {
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2 entries found for shout.
To select an entry, click on it.
Main Entry: 1shout
Function: verb 1: to utter a sudden loud cry <shouted for joy> 2: to utter in a loud voice <shouted out the answers> - shout·ernoun synonymsSHOUT, SHRIEK, SCREECH mean to utter a loud cry. SHOUT suggests any kind of loud cry that is meant to be heard either far away or above other noise <we shouted to them across the street>. SHRIEK suggests a high-pitched, shrill cry that is a sign of strong feeling <the children shrieked with excitement>. SCREECH suggests a drawn-out shriek that is usually without words and is very harsh and unpleasant <the cats fought and screeched>. | <urn:uuid:bf9b340a-81b4-47db-960d-c263cd0ab461> | {
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Key: "S:" = Show Synset (semantic) relations, "W:" = Show Word (lexical) relations
Display options for sense: (gloss) "an example sentence"
- S: (n) bear (massive plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous mammals with long shaggy coats and strong claws)
- S: (n) bear (an investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price)
- S: (v) bear (have) "bear a resemblance"; "bear a signature"
- S: (v) give birth, deliver, bear, birth, have (cause to be born) "My wife had twins yesterday!"
- S: (v) digest, endure, stick out, stomach, bear, stand, tolerate, support, brook, abide, suffer, put up (put up with something or somebody unpleasant) "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage"
- S: (v) bear (move while holding up or supporting) "Bear gifts"; "bear a heavy load"; "bear news"; "bearing orders"
- S: (v) bear, turn out (bring forth) "The apple tree bore delicious apples this year"; "The unidentified plant bore gorgeous flowers"
- S: (v) bear, take over, accept, assume (take on as one's own the expenses or debts of another person) "I'll accept the charges"; "She agreed to bear the responsibility"
- S: (v) hold, bear, carry, contain (contain or hold; have within) "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"
- S: (v) yield, pay, bear (bring in) "interest-bearing accounts"; "How much does this savings certificate pay annually?"
- S: (v) wear, bear (have on one's person) "He wore a red ribbon"; "bear a scar"
- S: (v) behave, acquit, bear, deport, conduct, comport, carry (behave in a certain manner) "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"
- S: (v) bear, hold (have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices) "She bears the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for almost a decade"
- S: (v) hold, carry, bear (support or hold in a certain manner) "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"
- S: (v) have a bun in the oven, bear, carry, gestate, expect (be pregnant with) "She is bearing his child"; "The are expecting another child in January"; "I am carrying his child" | <urn:uuid:88e3a80c-2952-4bcf-8974-76da55f70ae9> | {
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Key: "S:" = Show Synset (semantic) relations, "W:" = Show Word (lexical) relations
Display options for sense: (gloss) "an example sentence"
- S: (n) skim (a thin layer covering the surface of a liquid) "there was a thin skim of oil on the water"
- S: (n) skim, skimming (reading or glancing through quickly)
- S: (v) plane, skim (travel on the surface of water)
- S: (v) skim over, skim (move or pass swiftly and lightly over the surface of)
- S: (v) scan, skim, rake, glance over, run down (examine hastily) "She scanned the newspaper headlines while waiting for the taxi"
- S: (v) skim, skip, skitter (cause to skip over a surface) "Skip a stone across the pond"
- S: (v) skim (coat (a liquid) with a layer)
- S: (v) skim, skim off, cream off, cream (remove from the surface) "skim cream from the surface of milk"
- S: (v) skim, skim over (read superficially)
- S: (adj) skim, skimmed (used of milk and milk products from which the cream has been removed) "yogurt made with skim milk"; "she can drink skimmed milk but should avoid butter" | <urn:uuid:4dfec884-815d-44cf-8dfd-b5df10cba09d> | {
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Imagine in this way! Theme defines MAIN STRUCTURE for whole site! Theme is something like structure for a Post, a Page or a custom post type, custom page,..! So far you know theme is really HTML code! In the end of Wordpress excute, it returns HTML code to browser, and browser display for you! That HTML is build based on theme file (index.php, header.php, footer.php, single.php)
Plugins use hook& filter to modify theme BEFORE we output to browser!
If you want to add social buttons to end of post! You can change single.php and add code to put some social button right below the_content()!
But you can make a plugin to use Wordpress's filter& hook to change HTML of post, to append you social buttons!
But what happen if you put plugin code in theme file? Assume you put some functions to render content into functions.php of theme! Then call those functions manually somewhere on your theme! Or even better, you can use hook& filter to auto change content without manually call in theme!
So as long as wordpress can include your code in someway, and run it! As long as your code run it, it can do anything for you via using hook& filter! Some simple plugins can quite easy to put into a theme file! But some big plugins are too bloat to put into theme file!
Then later, you decide to remove that function, you go to theme file and remove the code? Sound stupid, right? So we have plugin, it's a way to auto modify the running process of Wordpress to change content, to change database,...
Moreover, some hooks are runned before call theme so you can't put theme in theme file!
As long as you code is included by wordpress, wordpress runs it then return result! You can put that code in theme files, wordpress will call it for you! But if you package it as a plugin, you can easy install/deactive/remove without changing any theme files! Additionaly, you also keep your theme simple/clean!
So when you need to changing something, put it as a plugin if possible! Don't put it in theme files! | <urn:uuid:bd60072b-8d44-4e91-b5db-316ea67f803a> | {
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Mubarak's Dream Remains Just That In Egypt's Desert
Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 8:57 am
In the middle of southern Egypt's windy desert, wheat fields stretch as far as the eye can see on a 24,000-acre farm. It's part of a grandiose project called Toshka that was dreamed up 15 years ago by the government of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's authoritarian leader who ruled the country for three decades before being ousted last year.
A key component of the Toshka project was to cultivate a half-million acres of farmland in the desert to deal with Egypt's rising demand for food. To irrigate the land, millions of dollars were spent building pumping stations and canals to draw water from nearby Lake Nasser, a vast man-made lake created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.
But mismanagement, corruption and Mubarak's eventual ouster have left Toshka and other projects languishing. Now, as economic hardship rises in Egypt, there's renewed interest in — and debate over — the Toshka project.
Building A New Community
In addition to his goal of cultivating farmland in the desert, Mubarak also sought to create new towns for Egyptians in this vast barren region, with hopes of persuading up to 20 percent of Egypt's population to move here.
"Toshka has a very specific importance, not only as a new area for people to move in, but also being close to the border with Sudan," says Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who heads the Arab Water Council in Cairo and was Egypt's water minister when Toshka was conceived.
"We need to have a new community there, an Egyptian community to live there. And also, you never know what happens between the two countries in the future," he says. "So it has a strategic aim, and also a development aim, supported by decisions from top-down."
Emma Deputy Bracy, a doctoral student in Cairo who is writing her dissertation on the project, says Mubarak saw Toshka as a social contract with young Egyptians.
"They called it 'the march to the desert,' and it was supposed to be literally a relocation of 20 percent of Egypt's population focused mainly on youth," Bracy says. It was also supposed to be a place to reintegrate workers who were coming back from places like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Libya, she says.
But progress was slow, hampered by mismanagement, shady land deals and repeated delays in funding from both inside and outside Egypt. When then-Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri — the project's key proponent — was replaced in 1999, the project was largely shelved.
Talk Of Reviving The Project
These days, what's left is a blue-and-white sign in the desert that has become an unintended monument to the project's abandonment. It reads: "New Toshka City."
Now, though, concerns over Egypt's weakening economy have prompted talk of reviving the project. Its key proponent, Kamal el-Ganzouri, was again named prime minister by the ruling generals, although he will be replaced when the new president, Mohammed Morsi, names his Cabinet.
"Ganzouri came back, and he's pushing the project right now very strongly, and encouraging different ministries to finish their plans and so on," says the former water minister, Abu Zeid.
Major hurdles remain, however. Critics say Egypt lacks the means to transport large quantities of wheat and other produce from Toshka to the rest of the country. Most of what the farms there produce now is exported because it's more profitable.
Nor is it easy to cultivate the land. Farm managers say the ground is salty and that it takes about three years to convert into soil that can be used for crops.
"If you want to take the natural conditions into account, probably any kind of solar-energy farming down there would make a lot more sense," adds Bracy, the doctoral student.
The Muslim Brotherhood — a movement in which Morsi was until recently a key leader — is also dead set against reviving the project, which it links to Mubarak's excesses.
Existing Farms Thrive
In the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, Mohamed Abdul Fattah, the secretary-general of the Brotherhood's political party, says the group has its own revival plan emphasizing tourism and agricultural projects in other locations.
"I've seen independent studies that show Toshka was doomed to fail to begin with," he says. "A lot of money went into it, but few jobs came out of it. So it's not just about the corruption."
Still, the handful of farms started up as part of the project appear to be thriving. One is Kingdom Agricultural Development Company, owned by Saudi Arabian Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the world's wealthiest men.
Crop manager Ibrahim Dahrouk says the farm provides hundreds of jobs to local residents, including women. They earn between $6 and $9 a day, considered a hefty wage in these parts.
But unemployment is rampant in the nearby town of Abu Simbel, which has suffered because of the steep decline in Egyptian tourism since the revolution. Dozens of angry men recently staged a sit-in at the electric company there after the government hired out-of-towners for 60 jobs in the area.
Some of the protesters claimed if Toshka was revived, it would go a long way to eradicating poverty in Abu Simbel and other communities in southern Egypt.
Assad Abeid el-Majeed, the mayor of Abu Simbel, argues that Toshka is a national project that Egyptians should take pride in. The pumping stations and other infrastructure are there now, he says, and they should be put to use.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
In Egypt, a major concern for the new Islamist president is the economy. Since last year's revolution, jobs are harder to come by. The cost of living is rising, and fuel shortages are leading to lengthy lines at Egyptian gas stations. Such problems are not new. Former President Hosni Mubarak tried tackling economic hardships with grandiose projects like one called Toshka in southern Egypt.
The idea was to cultivate farmland in the desert and also expand living space for Egyptians, which for thousands of years has been centered almost entirely along the Nile River. But mismanagement, corruption and Mubarak's ouster have left projects like Toshka languishing. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson traveled to the manmade oasis and filed this report.
(SOUNDBITE OF WIND)
SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, BYLINE: Wheat fields in the middle of a windy desert stretch as far as the eye can see on this 24,000-acre farm called the South Valley Development Company. The crops here are fed by fast-moving canals, with water pumped in from Lake Nasser, the vast man-made lake created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. Other large farms carved out of the desert used the same irrigation network, which is part of the Toshka mega-project dreamed up by the Mubarak government 15 years ago.
Million of Egyptians were to be relocated here in what officials hoped would become a new Nile Valley. The plan was to build towns and factories, as well as cultivate a half million acres of farmland in this barren region next to Sudan, which like Egypt, is totally dependent on the Nile.
MAHMOUD ABU ZEID: Toshka has a very specific importance.
NELSON: That's Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who heads the Arab Water Council in Cairo. He was Egypt's water minister when Toshka was conceived.
ZEID: Not only as a new area for people to move in, but also being close to the borders with Sudan. I mean, we need to have a new community there, Egyptian community, to live there. And also, you never know what happens between the two countries in the future. So it has a strategic aim, and also a development aim supported by decisions from top-down.
NELSON: Emma Deputy Bracy, a doctoral student in Cairo who is writing her dissertation on Toshka, says the project was the Mubarak government's attempt at a social contract with young Egyptians.
EMMA DEPUTY BRACE: They called it a march to the desert, and it was supposed to be, literally, a relocation of 20 percent of Egypt's population focused mainly on youth, and it was supposed to be some sort of a safety valve for reintegrating workers into the population who were coming back from places like Iraq and Saudi and Libya.
NELSON: Then Prime Minister Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri tackled the project with gusto, but progress was slow, hampered by mismanagement, shady land deals and repeated delays in funding from both inside and outside Egypt. Many of the projects associated with Toshka were shelved after Ganzouri was replaced in 1999.
An unintended monument to its abandonment is a blue-and-white sign that reads New Toshka City, posted in the middle of the desert. But the nearby farms started up as part of the project are thriving, with new plans to expand approved by the military-led government. One is Kingdom Agricultural Development Company, owned by Saudi Arabian Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, one of the world's wealthiest men.
In one harvested wheat field here, a giant John Deere tractor tills the soil for the next crop, which is to be peanuts. The Saudi farm's crop manager is Egyptian Ibrahim Dahrouk. He says it takes two to three years to prepare the salt-rich earth for farming.
IBRAHAIM DAHROUK: And now the soil has changed, there are green area, not like before. Big difference.
NELSON: The farm provides hundreds of jobs to local residents, including women who prune grapes from vines that form a canopy overhead. They earn between six and $9 a day, a hefty wage in these parts.
DOA'A MAHFOUZ: (Foreign language spoken)
NELSON: Eighteen-year-old Doa'a Mahfouz says she's thrilled to be working, given that jobs are scarce since the Egyptian revolution last year. She wishes the Greater Toshka Project will be revived to provide more jobs for her community.
Unemployment is rampant in nearby Abu Simbel, which has suffered because of the steep decline in Egyptian tourism since the revolution. The resorts where Americans and Europeans once flocked during trips to nearby temples and Lake Nasser sit empty.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHATTER)
NELSON: On a recent evening, dozens of angry men staged a sit-in at the local electric company after the government hired out-of-towners for 60 jobs in the area.
(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHATTER)
NELSON: One industrial supervisor here who declined to give his name adds that residents plan to ask the government to reactivate the Toshka project. He argues that if they did, it could go a long way to eradicating poverty in many communities in upper Egypt - not that the military-led government didn't try.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
PRIME MINISTER KAMAL EL-GANZOURI: (Speaking foreign language)
NELSON: Kamal el-Ganzouri, who once again became prime minster under the military-led government, talked at length at news conferences like this one about the need to boost the economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Egypt also was contending with its huge dependence on foreign wheat because of an agricultural shortfall. Former water Minister Mahmoud Abu Zeid says those factors make him hope that a Toshka revival is in the offing.
ZEID: Ganzouri came back, and he's pushing the project right now very strongly and encouraging the different ministries to finish that plan, and so on.
NELSON: But critics say Egypt lacks the means to transport large quantities of wheat and other produce from Toshka to the rest of the country. Most of what Toshka produces now is exported because managers there say it's more profitable. And the Muslim Brotherhood - a movement in which the new president Mohammed Morsi was a key leader - is also dead-set against reviving the project, which it links to Mubarak's excesses.
In the southern city of Aswan, the Brotherhood's political party's secretary general is Mohamed Abdul Fattah. He says the group has its own revival plan, which emphasizes tourism and agricultural projects in other locations.
MOHAMED ABDUL FATTAH: (Through translator) I've seen independent studies that show Toshka was doomed to fail to begin with. A lot of money went into it, but few jobs came out of it. So it's not just about the corruption.
NELSON: The Brotherhood's position irritates Abu Simbel Mayor Assad Abeid el-Majeed.
ASSAD ABEID EL-MAJEED: (Foreign language spoken)
NELSON: He argues Toshka is a national project that Egyptians should take pride in. The pumping stations and other infrastructure are there now, he says, and they should be put to use. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio. | <urn:uuid:91dd655e-f34f-4766-b9d8-aa9572bd557a> | {
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Where on Earth...? MISR Mystery Image Quiz #8
Here's another chance to play geographical detective! This Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) image covers an area measuring approximately 297 kilometers x 221 kilometers, and was captured by the instrument's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on April 12, 2001.
A large river flows from the left side of the image, below center, and traverses the image, angling northeast toward the upper right. It then makes a hairpin turn and continues to flow in a generally southward direction near the right-hand side of the image.
Below are eight statements about this river, only some of which are true. Use any reference materials you like, and mark each statement true or false:
1. Within the image area, the river flows across an international boundary into an area where over 100 species of orchids grow.
2. The river's name in a particular language means "pacifier" in English.
3. Sedimentary rocks containing mineral grains that record changes in the orientation of Earth's magnetic field have been found north of the river.
4. At least one expert kayaker has perished attempting to navigate a deep gorge of the river.
5. The two highest named peaks within the image area are situated on opposite sides of the river; each has a maximum elevation of nearly 4000 meters.
6. The description of a mythical place in a 1930's British novel is thought by some explorers to have been inspired by a location on this river.
7. Scientists believe that 100 million years ago the region through which the river flows was farther from the equator than it is today.
8. In the 1920's, an expedition along the river searched for and successfully encountered a legendary 30-meter-high waterfall.
MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
A new "Where on Earth...?" mystery will appear periodically. The image also appears on the Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
, and on the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center home pages, http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/
, though usually with a several-hour delay.
Credit: Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
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Romanticism, Poe, and The Raven
The era of Romanticism spans from the late 1700's to the mid 1800's
following the French Revolution; therefore, "Romanticism" encompasses
characteristics of the human mind in addition to the particular time in
history when these qualities became dominant in culture. Romanticism
depicts an artistic movement which emerged from reaction against dominant
attitudes and approaches of the 18th century. Romanticism established
realism in literature through creativity, innovation, exploration, and
vivid imagery. By expanding beyond the definition of love, Romanticism,
accented by mystery, delves into the strange and fantastic aspects of human
experiences. "To escape from society, the Romantics turned their interests
to remote and faraway places; the medieval past; folklore and legends, and
nature and the common man." Edgar Allen Poe is noted as one of the few
American "Romantic" poets. Poe's poem "The Raven" portrays Romanticism as
characterized by emotion, exotica, and imagination.
A friend of Edgar Allen Poe, R. H. Horne, wrote of "The Raven", "the
poet intends to represent a very painful condition of the mind, as of an
imagination that was liable to topple over into some delirium or an abyss
of melancholy, from the continuity of one unvaried emotion." Edgar Allen
Poe, author of "The Raven," played on the reader's emotions. The man in "
The Raven" was attempting to find comfort from the remembrance of his lost
love. By turning his mind to Lenore and recalling how her frame will never
again bless the chair in which he now reposes, he is suddenly overcome with
grief, whereby the reader immediately feels sorry for the lonely man. The
reader pities the man's state of mind.
In addition to an emotional characteristic, Poe also portrays the
exotic. Exotic means "unnatural". Exotic means a raven that speaks only
one word. Exotic means a bird that refuses to leave and insists in staying
in one place. Finally, exotic means a life of torment of the speakers soul.
The man is drawn to the bird to seek an answer to the monotonous reply of "
Finally, "The Raven: is characterized by imagination. The man
imagines that a raven is a godsend, intended to relieve him of his anguish.
The man imagines that like all other blessings of his life, the bird will
leave. The man's imagination rebukes the bird. The man calls the bird a "
thing of evil". The reader imagines a lonely, frightened, old man who has
suffered a great loss.
"The Raven is a poem written during the Romantic Era. Romanticism
doesn't mean that a literary work has to be about love. Ironically, "The
Raven" is both "romantic" and from the "Romantic" period. Poe's poem is
about a man's "lost love". The man's emotions causes him to become exotic
(shouting like a maniac for the bird to take its leave) and finally to
imagine all sorts of weird things (a raven that refuses to leave and speaks
only one word; "Nevermore").
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(PDF 151 KB)
In recent years, scientists working at the intersection of two historically well-developed fields, retinal physiology and circadian biology, upended the conventional view of retinal organization with the confirmation of a nonvisual ocular photoreceptor system.
The fact that the eye has functions beyond image perception holds the potential to explain why a significant proportion of patients with progressive degenerative ocular disease suffer from sleep disturbances. An understanding of these non-rod/non-cone photoreceptors might also explain seasonal affective disorder (SAD), jet lag and depression in the blind. It has the potential to influence intraocular lens selection for cataract patients. “The shocker is, you don’t need rods and cones to synchronize your circadian clock to the local light-dark cycle,” said Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD. “There’s this whole other photoreceptive system lurking in the retina entraining your circadian system.” Dr. Van Gelder is professor and chairman of ophthalmology at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The Eye Is a Camera, and Clock, Too
The notion of a parallel ocular universe began more than 80 years ago with the observation that blind mice continued to show pupil constriction in response to light.1 Over time, researchers at about a dozen labs worldwide pursued the idea that the circadian and classical visual systems process light information in different ways.
Russell G. Foster, BSc, PhD, chairman of both circadian neuroscience and ophthalmology at Oxford University, noted that by 2001, scientists had established the existence of a subset of photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (referred to in the literature as either pRGCs or ipRGCs, intrinsically photosensitive RGCs) that regulate a variety of different responses to environmental brightness, including sleep propensity.
This small subpopulation of RGCs responds directly to light and relays information along the nonvisual pathway to the brain’s circadian pacemaker, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, Dr. Foster said. They do this by employing the photopigment melanopsin, which is believed to set the circadian clock and initiate other nonimage forming visual functions. Dr. Foster has shown that loss of melanopsin in the pRGCs attenuates circadian responses to light.2
Circadian drift. “All of this suggests that diseases that kill melanopsin-using photosensitive retinal ganglion cells will result in behavioral changes that are manifested as sleep disorder problems or difficulty adjusting to changes in the light/dark cycle,” said Dr. Van Gelder. This research expands an understanding of the circadian clock, which governs the human habit of sleeping at night and waking in the morning. That clock, said Dr. Van Gelder, does not naturally have a 24-hour period. “It requires a daily light signal to stay synchronized to the outside world. Without that, the body’s clock will drift on its own.”
Consider, he said, two patients with ocular disease. John has ganglion cell disease and Jane has outer retinal disease. On January 1, both of their internal clocks tell them to awaken at 7 a.m. On January 2, Jane’s clock sees the sun rise and awakens at the same time. But John’s clock can’t see the light signal, so he wakes up closer to 7:30. On day three he wakes up around 8. By day 24, John’s inner clock awakens him a full half-day later, at 7 p.m., while Jane is still rising at 7 a.m.
Counting sheep won’t help. The discovery of photosensitive RGCs may explain why John’s sleep cycle is perturbed, while Jane remains on schedule. “We suspect that sleep health and circadian health are probably dependent on the health of the optic nerves,” Dr. Van Gelder said. If the pRGCs are injured, it appears harder to keep the body’s clock synchronized. “They’re the only cells in the retina that encode brightness.”
If you were to place a mouse retina in a dish and expose it to light, from relatively dim to bright, the retina will respond linearly, functioning like a camera light meter, he explained. “This light meter controls at least three different aspects of physiology: circadian clock synchronization, pupillary light response and sleep. That is, it directly drives sleep and wakefulness in mice,” he said. “The obvious question is: What is the effect on human health if these cells are sick?”
Studies link glaucoma and sleep problems. One possible answer to that question comes out of a study conducted by Dr. Van Gelder himself, linking optic nerve disease to sleep disturbances.3 His study, which monitored sleep patterns in a population of blind children, found that optic nerve disease is predictive of increased daytime napping in young visually impaired subjects. “We saw kids with end-stage glaucoma who had a hard time adjusting to the wake/sleep cycle of the outside world,” Dr. Van Gelder said. “If you’re blind from an optic nerve disease, you’re nine times more likely to have significant daytime sleepiness than if you are blind from other causes.”
A study by other researchers found that melanopsin-using cells in rats died after researchers induced an increase in IOP. “The results,” the researchers write, “suggest that serious attention should be paid to the function of the nonimage forming system in glaucoma patients in the future.”4
Implications and Applications
The discovery of novel photoreceptors within the eye is leading researchers down a number of new paths. Here are three areas they’ve been looking at.
IOL SELECTION. Cataract surgery has been associated with improvement in the sleep/wake cycle, possibly because the pRGCs are maximally sensitive in the “blue” (480 nm) part of the spectrum, while the yellow discoloration of a cataractous lens may reduce transmission of available photons to the retina. This has implications for what Dr. Foster called “the general global move toward implanting yellow, blue-filtering lenses.” The impact of blue-filtering lenses is a question worth pursuing, he said, noting that circadian rhythms might be affected if these lenses reduce the amount of blue light available to the melanopsin pigment.
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER. Ignacio Provencio, PhD, a professor of biology at the University of Virginia, studies the genetics of circadian rhythms and has discovered that a mutation in a gene that codes for melanopsin may play a role in causing seasonal affective disorder (SAD).1 This finding, said Dr. Van Gelder, could suggest that depression, common in the blind, may be a form of SAD. “Blindness,” he said, “may be like the effect of living in chronic winter.”
NONVISUAL LIGHT PERCEPTION. After ablating all rods and cones in mice, Dr. Foster and colleagues found that the mice were still fully able to constrict their pupils under bright light conditions.2 “These findings raise some important clinical considerations regarding the diagnosis of ‘complete’ blindness,” Dr. Foster said. “Clearly, any such diagnosis should take into account both visual and nonvisual elements, that is, the health and function of both the rod and cone and pRGC photoreceptive systems.” Dr. Foster advised that blind individuals who are found to be light sensitive should expose their eyes to sufficient daytime light to maintain normal circadian entrainment and sleep/wake rhythms.
1 Roecklein, K. et al. J Affect Disord 2009;(114)279–285.
2 Foster, R. G. et al. J Comp Physiol 1999;169:211–220.
How to Help Patients
Dr. Van Gelder advised ophthalmologists to be mindful of the potential interplay of certain ocular diseases and these novel RGCs. “We, as ophthalmologists, should expect that patients with advanced optic nerve disease may have difficulty synchronizing their lives with the light/dark cycle.”
Ask some questions. Therefore, he said, when physicians see patients who have a bilateral optic nerve disease, such as glaucoma, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy or optic atrophy, they should ask relevant questions: How’s your sleep? Do you feel in synch with day and night? Do you find yourself awake at inopportune hours and sleepy during others?
Consider a referral. Dr. Van Gelder advised referring patients who have trouble sleeping to a sleep disorder clinic. “This is a treatable disorder,” he said, citing the work of Alfred J. Lewy, MD, PhD, a psychiatrist at Oregon Health & Science University, who has been treating blind patients with melatonin for some 20 years.5
Though melatonin is available over the counter, Dr. Van Gelder cautioned ophthalmologists not to prescribe it without a referral to a sleep clinic because there are well-established treatment protocols. Melatonin will shift the clock, and shifting at the wrong time can actually make things worse, he said.
The point, said Dr. Van Gelder, is attending to those patients who suffer from sleep disorders. “We would never look at a patient with optic nerve hypoplasia without thinking they might have a systemic disease. But we don’t see a patient with end-stage optic nerve disease and immediately think that this person is at risk for sleep disorders. We should.”
1 Keeler, C. E. Am J Physiol 1927;81:107–112.
2 Foster, R. G. and M. W. Hankins. Curr Biol 2007;17:R746–R751.
3 Wee, R. and R. N. Van Gelder. Ophthalmology 2004;111(2):297–302.
4 Wang, H. Z. et al. Chin Med J 2008;121(11):1015–1019.
5 Lewy, A. J. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 2007;72:623–636. | <urn:uuid:95abd3b5-d7c3-43ca-bce3-0c726c172808> | {
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Science subject and location tags
Articles, documents and multimedia from ABC Science
Monday, 18 February 2013
Heavy metal music fans in a mosh pit act like atoms in a gas - a finding that could advance emergency evacuation design and planning.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
An Australian seismologist says this week's trial of Italian scientists for failing to warn of a devastating earthquake could muzzle experts from sharing their knowledge in the future.
Friday, 27 August 2010
Australia's leading body responsible for monitoring space weather has dismissed claims that a massive solar storm could "wipe out the Earth's entire power grid".
Monday, 12 July 2010
Australian researchers develop software to let mobile phones communicate with each other where there is no reception.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Society needs to learn from resilient ecosystems if it is to better cope with unanticipated shocks in the future, say experts.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
An Australian fire-behaviour specialist who helped authorities track the infernos, says the golden rule of surviving a bushfire - evacuate early or fight to the bitter end - still stands, despite the weekend's high death toll.
Monday, 9 February 2009
Australians remain unprepared to deal with bushfires despite a long history of loss and devastation from natural disasters, according to some of the country's leading bushfire researchers.
Monday, 10 March 2008
We can expect an average three catastrophic, magnitude 9 or greater earthquakes around the world each century, according to a new study. | <urn:uuid:3ab4852f-3f65-46af-a429-f89b21ced198> | {
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But in response to pressure from a student-led Native American alliance, Northwestern officials say they plan to form a commission to research Evans' connection to the one of the worst massacres of Native Americans in the country's history.
In 1864, Evans was territorial governor of Colorado when a militia of about 700 men attacked a temporary village of Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho people at Sand Creek. According to the National Park Service, the soldiers killed 165 to 200 Native Americans, about two-thirds of them women, children and elderly.
Known as the Sand Creek Massacre, it is considered one of the worst acts of genocide in the country's history and led to Evans' removal from his governorship after a congressional investigation.
According to the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance at Northwestern, the university has ignored that part of Evans' history. Evans continued as a major benefactor and member of Northwestern's board long after details of the massacre came to light.
"Many institutions that have been around as long as Northwestern have issues like these," said Heather Menefee, 19, a Northwestern sophomore and the student alliance's co-president. "But it was surprising to me that you could go on the Northwestern website and look at the official biography of John Evans, and it didn't even mention his involvement in Sand Creek. It seemed like the university was erasing it."
While Evans was not directly involved in the massacre, many believe his actions as governor created an environment hostile to Native Americans, and his effort to cover up what happened that day was met with fiery criticism.
In a "Report of the Committee on the Conduct of War" published in the Chicago Tribune in 1865, Evans' testimony before the congressional panel is described as "characterized by such prevarication and shuffling as has been shown by no witness they have examined … for the evident purpose of avoiding the admission that he was fully aware that the Indians massacred so brutally at Sand Creek were then, and had been, actuated by the most friendly feelings toward the whites."
Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage said administrators have had "a fairly constructive conversation" with the students, who put together a petition asking the university to investigate Evans' past and wrote a scathing guest column about the situation that was published in the campus newspaper Jan. 23.
"The provost has asked several of our very renowned faculty members in the history department and other departments to offer advice about what sort of people should be on a study committee," Cubbage said. "We're looking at a committee that would look into the historical aspects of John Evans and his role in the Sand Creek Massacre."
Cubbage said the committee would include scholars from other universities.
Given the country's history, many universities have had to confront historical connections to slavery or to crimes against Native Americans. In 2003, for example, Brown University launched a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice to investigate the university's relationship to slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Gary Alan Fine is the director of graduate studies in Northwestern's sociology department and also carries the title of John Evans Professor of Sociology. After receiving the professorship in 2004, Fine researched Evans and quickly learned of his connection to the Sand Creek Massacre.
He brought up the subject of Evans' questionable past during his inaugural lecture at the university and said he is pleased to see students pressing for a deeper investigation.
"I think the challenge for administrators now that they're taking it seriously is how much they want to embrace this," Fine said. "The model at Brown, which I think was enormously successful, is they made it a campuswide effort. They brought in all the interested parties — students and faculty and administrators and alumni and members of the African-American community — and used it as a teaching opportunity for Brown and also an opportunity to be part of a national dialogue."
Adam Mendel, 22, a Northwestern senior and co-president of the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance, said his group is calling on the university to recognize Evans' responsibility for the massacre, establish a Native American studies program and create a scholarship fund for Arapaho and Cheyenne students.
Because Evans didn't give the order for the massacre — documents from the time show he was not even in Colorado when it happened — some question the extent of his culpability. Others point out that along with helping create and fund Northwestern University, Evans was a noted abolitionist who was appointed to the territorial governorship of Colorado by Abraham Lincoln.
But Mendel said his research paints a picture of Evans as a man eager to rid Colorado of Native Americans. A proclamation Evans sent out not long before the massacre authorized all residents of Colorado to "kill and destroy, as enemies of the country, wherever they may be found, all such hostile Indians."
"His proclamation speaks toward his policy toward the Native Americans in the area," Mendel said. "He had a hostile policy toward them, encouraged people to hunt and kill them. He didn't specifically order the attack, but he instituted policies that led to the attack. He was particularly out there, even for this time period. He was investigated by Congress and removed from office. Colorado's admission to the union was delayed for a few years because of this event."
Bethany Hughes, 31, a Northwestern doctoral student and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is working on a research project about the massacre. She said that in addition to being territorial governor, Evans was a railroad magnate with a vested interest in making sure rail lines were built across Colorado and farther west.
She said that even after losing his governorship, Evans thrived thanks to his railroad operations — and Northwestern continued to receive money from him.
"It is a complex situation," Hughes said. "There have been great, positive outcomes of John Evans' actions — we have the university, we support scholarship and research and creativity and art. You can trace that all back to John Evans. But you can also trace back to John Evans the impact on a more specific community, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. To dismiss or not deal with this conflict and tension in John Evans' nature has been troublesome for Northwestern."
Cubbage said the university's provost and vice president for academic affairs will meet with some faculty members next week to discuss forming a commission to study Evans. He applauded the students for seeking an accurate historical investigation, given the wide-ranging information that is out there relating to Sand Creek.
"I think this was the worst act of genocide in the American context," Fine said. "Yes, there's a need for justice. Yes, there's a need for memory. A lot of things have been written about Sand Creek by amateur historians. Let's see what we can sort out through having enough resources to look at the appropriate archives and make a scholarly determination of what really happened." | <urn:uuid:593e58a7-1382-490f-a83d-97acf15d51bc> | {
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created 08/26/97; revised 08/12/00, 07/22/03, 07/22/09
This chapter discusses how to multiply a vector by a real number (called scaling), and how this is used to construct unit vectors. Unit vectors are used to show direction in 3D space, and are essential for 3D graphics.
Change the elements of this column matrix: (3, 4)T so that the vector it represents is twice as long and remains pointing in the same direction. (Officially you don't know how to do this. Take a guess.) | <urn:uuid:aeba5d08-9274-465d-b1f7-a2073035ab7b> | {
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The number of children infected globally with HIV has decreased by more than a quarter (26%) between 2009 and 2011, however more than 90 percent of the 3,4-million children living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Released yesterday (WED), the annual UNAIDS report revealed that there were 34,2-million people living with HIV in 2011, more than ever before, which they ascribed to the life-prolonging effects of antiretroviral therapy. An estimated 23,5-million of these people were living in sub-Saharan Africa, including 3,1-million children.
UNAIDS reported a number of other achievements including:
- An increase of 20 percent in just one year of people accessing ART (8-million);
- A 20 percent reduction in the number of people newly infected with HIV (2,5-million);
- A 24 percent decline since the peak in 2005 in the number of people who died from AIDS-related causes in 2011 (1,7-million).
Tuberculosis remained the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, despite it being a preventable and curable disease.
Young people aged 15 to 24 years accounted for almost half (40%) of all new adult HIV infections.
Globally, infection rates in young women 15 to 24 years old are twice as high as among men of the same age with a young woman acquiring HIV infection every minute.
There is agreement that this is mainly due to their lower economic and sociocultural status in many countries where women and girls are disadvantaged in negotiating safer sex and accessing HIV prevention information and services.
The statistics are:
- HIV is the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age wordwide;
- Only one female condom is available for every 36 women in sub-Saharan Africa;
- More than one third of women aged 20-24 years in low- and middle-income countries marry before they are 18 years old;
- Approximately 40 percent of pregnancies worldwide are unintended;
- Globally, less than 30 percent of young women have comprehensive and correct knowledge on HIV;
- Two thirds of the world’s 796-million illiterate adults are women;
- Between 11 and 45 percent of adolescent girls reported that their first sexual experience was forced.
A failure by many countries to implement and scale up some of the basic programmes that aim to reduce HIV transmission, was cited as a reason for the high rates of infection among those 15 to 24 years. These programmes include voluntary medical male circumcision, behavioural change programmes, condom promotion and key programmes for those populations at higher risk of HIV infection such as teenagers, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users.
Some achievements were also reported in sub-Saharan Africa where nearly 6,2-million people are receiving ART, up from just 100 000 in 2003. The most dramatic progress was in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. In 2011, at least 300 000 people in South Africa were newly enrolled in treatment.
The report cautions that as more people start ART, concerns are growing about the possible increase in HIV drug resistance.
Low to moderate levels of transmitted drug resistance have been observed – increasing from one percent in 2005 to three percent in 2010. Recent surveys reported that among those initiating treatment in low- and middle-income countries, about five percent had drug resistance.
South Africa is listed in the report as one of eight countries showing a rapid decline in new HIV infections among children – 49 percent.
The majority of adult HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa resulted from unprotected sexual intercourse, including paid sex and sex between men.
The report also makes a case for treatment interventions to become increasingly community based. A systematic review of treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa reported that, on average, 70 percent of people receiving ART from specialist clinics were still receiving treatment after two years.
On the other hand, a Community ART Group model initiated by people receiving ART in Mozambique, to improve access and retention on treatment and decongest health services, resulted in 97,5 percent of people still receiving treatment after 26 months. | <urn:uuid:67a660e1-0b41-415f-9d30-fd0e54917578> | {
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A New Drug to Manage Resistant Chronic Pain Monday, April 30, 2012
TAU develops "BL-7050" to ease the neuropathic pain of millions of sufferers
Neuropathic pain, caused by nerve or tissue damage, is the culprit behind many cases of chronic pain. It can be the result of an accident or caused by a variety of medical conditions and diseases such as tumors, lupus, and diabetes. Typically resistant to common types of pain management including ibuprofen and even morphine, neuropathic pain can lead to lifelong disability for many sufferers.
Now a drug developed by Tel Aviv University researchers, known as BL-7050, is offering new hope to patients with neuropathic pain. Developed by Prof. Bernard Attali and Dr. Asher Peretz of TAU's Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the medication inhibits the transmission of pain signals throughout the body. In both in-vitro and in-vivo experiments measuring electrical activity of neurons, the compound has been shown to prevent the hyper-excitability of neurons — protecting not only against neuropathic pain, but epileptic seizures as well.
The medication has been licensed by Ramot, TAU's technology transfer company, for development and commercialization by BioLineRx, an Israeli biopharmaceutical development company.
Targeting potassium for pain control
According to Prof. Attali, the medication works by targeting a group of proteins which act as a channel for potassium. Potassium has a crucial role in the excitability of cells, specifically those in the nervous system and the heart. When potassium channels don't function properly, cells are prone to hyper-excitability, leading to neurological and cardiovascular disorders such as epilepsy and arrhythmias. These are also the channels that convey pain signals caused by nerve or tissue damage, known as neuropathic pain.
With few treatment options available for neuropathic pain, Prof. Attali set out to develop a medication that could bind to and stabilize the body's potassium channels, controlling their hyper-excitability and preventing the occurrence of pain by keeping the channels open for the outflow of potassium. This novel targeting approach has been recently reported in the journal PNAS.
Inducing calm in the neurons
Understanding the mechanism that controls these channels has been crucial to the development of the drug. By successfully controlling the excitability of the neurons, Prof. Attali believes that BL-7050 could bring relief to hundreds of millions of patients around the world who suffer from neuropathic pain. The medication will reach the first phase of clinical trials in the near future.
In pre-clinical trials, BL-7050 was tested in rats experiencing both epilepsy and neuropathic pain and was found to be efficient in protecting against both when taken as a pill. While on the medication, rats were no longer affected by stimuli that had previously caused pain. Measures in the electrical activities of neurons also revealed that the medication was able to induce "calm" in the neurons, inhibiting pain pathways.
For more medicine and health news from Tel Aviv University, click here | <urn:uuid:3516db1e-e6a2-48a0-9faa-0795ae1c07ec> | {
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Biodegradable Transistors -- Made from Us Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Award-winning TAU research uses self-assembling blood, milk, and mucus proteins to build next generation technology
Silicon, a semi-conducting element, is the basis of most modern technology, including cellular phones and computers. But according to Tel Aviv University researchers, this material is quickly becoming outdated in an industry producing ever-smaller products that are less harmful to the environment.
Now, a team including Ph.D. students Elad Mentovich and Netta Hendler of TAU's Department of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, with supervisor Dr. Shachar Richter and in collaboration with Prof. Michael Gozin and his Ph.D. student Bogdan Belgorodsky, has brought together cutting-edge techniques from multiple fields of science to create protein-based transistors — semi-conductors used to power electronic devices — from organic materials found in the human body. They could become the basis of a new generation of nano-sized technologies that are both flexible and biodegradable.
Working with blood, milk, and mucus proteins which have the ability to self-assemble into a semi-conducting film, the researchers have already succeeded in taking the first step towards biodegradable display screens, and they aim to use this method to develop entire electronic devices. Their research, which has appeared in the journals Nano Letters and Advanced Materials, recently received a silver award at the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Awards in Boston, MA.
Building the best transistor from the bottom up
Netta Hendler, Elad Mentovich, and Bogdan Belgorodsky
One of the challenges of using silicon as a semi-conductor is that a transistor must be created with a "top down" approach. Manufacturers start with a sheet of silicon and carve it into the shape that is needed, like carving a sculpture out of a rock. This method limits the capabilities of transistors when it comes to factors such as size and flexibility.
The TAU researchers turned to biology and chemistry for a different approach to building the ideal transistor. When they appled various combinations of blood, milk, and mucus proteins to any base material, the molecules self-assembled to create a semi-conducting film on a nano-scale. In the case of blood protein, for example, the film is approximately four nanometers high. The current technology in use now is 18 nanometers, says Mentovich.
Together, the three different kinds of proteins create a complete circuit with electronic and optical capabilities, each bringing something unique to the table. Blood protein has the ability to absorb oxygen, Mentovich says, which permits the "doping" of semi-conductors with specific chemicals in order to create specific technological properties. Milk proteins, known for their strength in difficult environments, form the fibers which are the building blocks of the transistors, while the mucosal proteins have the ability to keep red, green and, blue fluorescent dyes separate, together creating the white light emission that is necessary for advanced optics.
Overall, the natural abilities of each protein give the researchers "unique control" over the resulting organic transistor, allowing adjustments for conductivity, memory storage, and fluorescence among other characteristics.
A new era of technology
Technology is now shifting from a silicon era to a carbon era, notes Mentovich, and this new type of transistor could play a big role. Transistors built from these proteins will be ideal for smaller, flexible devices that are made out of plastic rather than silicon, which exists in wafer form that would shatter like glass if bent. The breakthrough could lead to a new range of flexible technologies, such as screens, cell phones and tablets, biosensors, and microprocessor chips.
Just as significant, because the researchers are using natural proteins to build their transistor, the products they create will be biodegradable. It's a far more environmentally friendly technology that addresses the growing problem of electronic waste, which is overflowing landfills worldwide.
For more technology news from Tel Aviv University, click here. | <urn:uuid:c596c057-38a1-4dd3-905f-26840cbc9f80> | {
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Climate Change May Lead to Fewer -- But More Violent -- Thunderstorms Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Number of flash floods and forest fires could increase with temperature, says TAU researcher
Researchers are working to identify exactly how a changing climate will impact specific elements of weather, such as clouds, rainfall, and lightning. A Tel Aviv University researcher has predicted that for every one degree Celsius of warming, there will be approximately a 10 percent increase in lightning activity.
This could have negative consequences in the form of flash floods, wild fires, or damage to power lines and other infrastructure, says Prof. Colin Price, Head of the Department of Geophysics, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Tel Aviv University. In an ongoing project to determine the impact of climate change on the world's lightning and thunderstorm patterns, he and his colleagues have run computer climate models and studied real-life examples of climate change, such as the El Nino cycle in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, to determine how changing weather conditions impact storms.
An increase in lightning activity will have particular impact in areas that become warmer and drier as global warming progresses, including the Mediterranean and the Southern United States, according to the 2007 United Nations report on climate change. This research has been reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research and Atmospheric Research, and has been presented at the International Conference on Lightning Protection.
From the computer screen to the real world
When running their state-of-the-art computer models, Prof. Price and his fellow researchers assess climate conditions in a variety of real environments. First, the models are run with current atmospheric conditions to see how accurately they are able to depict the frequency and severity of thunderstorms and lightning in today's environment. Then, the researchers input changes to the model atmosphere, including the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (a major cause of global warming) to see how storms are impacted.
To test the lightning activity findings, Prof. Price compared their results with vastly differing real-world climates, such as dry Africa and the wet Amazon, and regions where climate change occurs naturally, such as Indonesia and Southeast Asia, where El Nino causes the air to become warmer and drier. The El Nino phenomenon is an optimal tool for measuring the impact of climate change on storms because the climate oscillates radically between years, while everything else in the environment remains constant.
"During El Nino years, which occur in the Pacific Ocean or Basin, Southeast Asia gets warmer and drier. There are fewer thunderstorms, but we found fifty percent more lightning activity," says Prof. Price. Typically, he says,we would expect drier conditions to produce less lightning. However, researchers also found that while there were fewer thunderstorms, the ones that did occur were more intense.
Fire and flood warning
An increase in lightning and intense thunderstorms can have severe implications for the environment, says Prof. Price. More frequent and intense wildfires could result in parts of the US, such as the Rockies, in which many fires are started by lightning. A drier environment could also lead fires to spread more widely and quickly, making them more devastating than ever before. These fires would also release far more smoke into the air than before.
Researchers predict fewer but more intense rainstorms in other regions, a change that could result in flash-flooding, says Prof. Price. In Italy and Spain, heavier storms are already causing increased run-off to rivers and the sea, and a lack of water being retained in groundwater and lakes. The same is true in the Middle East, where small periods of intense rain are threatening already scarce water resources.
For more environment and ecology news from Tel Aviv University, click here. | <urn:uuid:b7e1cd3d-cfd1-4c46-9cf1-aa54d40e8c89> | {
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U.S. ag wary as Monsanto heads to Supreme Court
The case also is important to regenerative medicine that relies on stem cell technologies. A stem cell by definition is a cell that can self-replicate, thus the case may answer the question of whether a patentee can control progeny of a patented stem cell, according to Antoinette Konski, a partner with Foley & Lardner's intellectual property practice group.
Monsanto, a $13 billion behemoth in agricultural seed and chemical sales, also sees the case as much bigger than itself.
"This case really centers on the question of twenty-first century technology such as what we bring in agriculture and other companies bring for say stem cell research or nanotechnology.... and how they're going to be handled under principles of intellectual property law," said Monsanto general counsel Dave Snively.
Because seeds self-replicate, creating progeny when planted, they are unlike more traditional patented products. Using a computer or smartphone does not create more computers or phones. But using a seed can make new seeds.
For generations all around the world, farmers have practiced the art of saving seed, holding onto some of the grain they harvest each season to plant in a subsequent season. The advent of patented biotech seeds has changed that as Monsanto and rival seed developers barred farmers from seed saving, arguing that if farmers do not buy new seed each year the companies cannot recoup the millions they spend to develop the specialty seeds.
Transgenic crops, which splices genes from other species into plant DNA, have given farmers crops that resist insects and tolerate treatments of herbicide, making killing weeds easier for farmers. The majority of U.S. corn and soybean acres are now planted with patented biotech seeds.
The case before the Supreme Court traces its roots to 1999, when Bowman decided to plant a "second crop" of soybeans after he harvested winter wheat from the farmstead he runs near Sandborn, Indiana.
While he used Monsanto's Roundup Ready engineered seeds for his main, or "first" crop, Bowman said he decided to use inexpensive commodity grain that he could purchase from a local grain elevator for his "second" planting of soybeans in late June. Yields are generally lower for late-planted soybeans because conditions tend to be more optimal in April and May.
The mixture of grain Bowman bought, which he dubbed "junk," carried no patent technology agreement and no directive prohibiting seed saving as do the bagged and branded soybean seeds sold by Monsanto and other seed companies. | <urn:uuid:26a545c4-3820-424b-801d-2db3125470e2> | {
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With several of his inventions on display in the Smithsonian Institute, 67 patents to his name, and over 100 inventions, Ben Kleinerman, 91, radiates electrifying enthusiasm for improving the lives of others through his creative brainstorms -- from the quirky to the essential.
If there is one thing Ben Kleinerman is proud of, it's his unique role in Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.
He was the principal engineer and Program Manager of the KA-56 camera at Fairchild Camera Corp. at the time, and they had just developed a brand new technology. In the underbelly of a fighter plane, this special panoramic camera was equipped with their novel infrared-enabled Poromat film. An ingenious device, the advantage of this camera and its unique film was that fighter jets could do surveillance and reconnaissance missions, capturing images of the territory beneath them, instantly develop those pictures while still in the air, and then turn around and strike with amazing accuracy. Prior to the KA56, the reconnaissance plane had to first land and then develop the film, giving the enemy time to re-order the airfield, replacing decoys in the positions of the real metal planes.
The State of Israel sat in agonizing uncertainty, surrounded by seven countries whose military power far outweighed the skimpy Israeli Defense Forces.
The State of Israel sat in agonizing uncertainty, surrounded by seven countries whose military power far outweighed the skimpy Israeli Defense Forces. Brigadier General Mordecai Hod, Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Air Force, commandeered Kleinerman's specialized camera, the KA56
The Egyptian air force was readying itself for battle, with some planes and hundreds of decoys made out of paper mache and wood stretched out on the tarmac. Israeli jets flew stealthily above, snapping infrared-sensitive pictures with their newly outfitted cameras, and within minutes correctly bombing with the short supply of bombs that they had.
The successful air strike crippled the Egyptian army and was a decisive factor in Israel's miraculous victory. Five days later, the war was over.
"After the war, General Hod came to the United States, to our offices, to personally thank us later on," Ben reminisces, "But I was already in Texas, working on the Mars Orbiter and Voyager, so I wasn't there to get his thanks in person."
Ben invented the forerunner of today's electric toothbrush -- only critics said it was the most ridiculous and useless thing they'd ever seen! If you remember the inconvenient days of single-use flashbulbs, you can thank Ben Kleinerman for putting you out of your photographic misery. He produced the first rechargeable flashbulb, the technology as used today.
Ben also invented a precursor for today's mega-million success story, Skype.
Ben also invented a precursor for today's mega-million success story, Skype; Telescan is a conventional telephone with a screen that allows you to watch your buddy shmooze with you. But again, the idea was shot down as rubbish by everyone except perhaps some fire and police departments and a few banks, who thought they might rustle up a small use for it.
"One day I got a letter from the Smithsonian Institute. They said they wanted me to send them some of my prototypes to display and they sent me some empty boxes to pack them into. We packed up some of my inventions, drove down, and the people at the Smithsonian were very nice and hospitable."
His works are still there. There's the TransiTape, the world's first fully portable, battery operated, all-transistor, 2-speed tape recorder. TransiTape was selected as one of the greatest inventions of the past 50 years and was exhibited at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in NYC, sharing the spotlight with period greats such as the Washing Machine, Wonder Bread, and FDR, honored for Social Security.
The Cinesone is another classic, taking the technology of home-movie reels to new heights by giving it a voice. Before the Cinesone emerged on the scene, silent movies were the order of the day. Now, voice could accompany the moving picture, a radical and welcome upgrade. The Cinesone's debut model was Ben's oldest daughter, Kay, whose first birthday party is eternally preserved and on view at the Smithsonian Institute for visitors to marvel at -- a 400-foot, 16 mm tape reel filled with ten minutes of birthday scenery, Mankind's first ever audio-visual home presentation!
In 1964, he created an EKG machine so lightweight and portable that it was the size of a king pack of cigarettes, effectively replacing the bulky machines carried by doctors who made home visits, as was the style of the day.
The Cardio-Sensor didn't give a printable readout; instead, it was a cardiograph which allowed doctors to interpret a patient's PQRST heartbeat curve to quickly diagnose a problem. When the Cardio-Sensor device hit the market, the Cities of New York and Atlanta immediately purchased hundreds. In the shadow of the Cold War, city officials, worried about a Russian nuclear attack, wanted to be prepared for the grisly prospect of doctors arriving on the scene of catastrophe, urgently needing to differentiate between victims who were still alive and those who had already died.
WITH GENERALS CLARK AND EISENHOWER
Eastman Kodak worked with him to develop a patent that would make magnetic soundtracks unalterable, thereby preventing nefarious re-recordings. "While John F. Kennedy was in office, we took a speech of his, recorded it as magnetic sound on 16mm film. Kennedy had said, 'We will never bomb and attack Cuba.' The way the magnetic soundtrack works, it was very easy for someone to change his words to say, 'We will bomb and attack Cuba.' The apparatus detected the erased word 'never. We showed the world what could happen."
Next time you watch the Weather Channel, you'll see another Ben Kleinerman original, "The Green Screen," built by Federal Manufacturing and Engineering for CBS as a background projection system.
Ben also worked for years in the thrust and tailwind of World War II as personal field photographer of Generals Clark and Eisenhower, following them around Italy and Austria and capturing the minutiae of their lives. He rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous in his capacity as army photographer, an insider at all diplomatic events.
"I worked with Eisenhower. We went to see Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Austria."
"I was assigned to General Clark for almost four years and I was with him every day of the week. And while Clark was away, I worked with Eisenhower. We went to see Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Austria."
While courting his wife, Ben brought her to the Pentagon to see his handiwork; she was duly impressed. They were shown thousands of official photos take by Ben. In the circular room there was a selection of larger photos. Along with Joe Rosenthal's famous photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, there was Ben's photo of Hitler's Coffee Table at the Eagle's Nest being signed by General Eisenhower and seven other generals.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Life hasn't been easy for Ben Kleinerman. In 1981, he was stricken with Guillain Barre disease, similar in nature to polio. While many victims die from the illness, Ben's lungs were not affected but he experienced total paralysis and could only move his eyelid. For seven months, he didn't move and he communicated with his family through his left eyelid. But he never complained.
Ben's son, Gavriel (Gil) built a piezo-electric device – a pressure-sensitive pointer that enabled Ben to signal once his left thumb began functioning -- which the hospital permitted for Ben's use. (Ben's dependence on oxygen meant no spark-producing devices allowed.)
Ben made a substantial recovery and hasn't looked back since his illness. His prolific patents, though nurtured with plenty of love and effort, pale in comparison to his true love -- his three children, Kay, Gavriel, and Janie, and his wife of 63 years, Margery, who shares his passion for inventions.
"I've always tried to get my wife involved in my inventing -- so many things are her ideas. She gives me a lot of inspiration."
Ben feels he has truly made his mark on the world and takes great pleasure in his work, especially in the inexplicable brilliance of Divine Providence that can only be detected many years later. Case in point: Ben's son Gavriel, Executive Vice President of Aish HaTorah, Jerusalem, sits in an office that overlooks the Western Wall that was liberated in 1967 with the help of his father's technology. | <urn:uuid:4130ef97-2592-443d-bc92-8b9caf9f5ee9> | {
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Bikinis are thriving but Lebanon's sea turtles are no longer on the beach
The number of sea turtle nests laid on the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve dropped by half from about ten to just five this year, raising concerns among conservationists that the threatened animals may be losing the battle for survival.
Reserve director Hassan Hamza described this nesting season as “weak,” but added that the small number of nests does not necessarily indicate a severe drop in population. He explained that the turtles’ normal breeding cycle is one to two years, resulting in peak and off-peak years.
Two endangered species – the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) – lay their eggs on Lebanon’s beaches. Last summer, a number of sea turtles died on Tyre’s shores due to pollution and problems arising from litter. A decrease in the population could lead to an imbalance in the marine ecosystem.
Nesting season usually lasts from May to October, with turtles returning to the place of their birth under the cover of darkness to dig a hole in the sand in which to lay their eggs. When the young turtles hatch, they head instinctively towards the sea, but can be fatally distracted by bright lights and noise.
Because the nests are beset by many dangers, a specialized team from the reserve continuously combs the beach to locate the nests, count them, observe them and protect them from human and animal attacks by fencing them in.
Collecting sea turtle eggs was reportedly quite profitable when soldiers from the island of Fiji served as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 2000. Some residents of Tyre’s coastal areas would collect sea turtle eggs – considered the most famous Fijian dish – and take them to their headquarters on the coast of Qlaili where the soldiers would pay exorbitant amounts of money for them.
To protect the eggs and guarantee easy movement for the turtles, the nature reserve management has struck agreements with resort owners along the coastline to protect nesting areas during breeding season.
Scientists from Italy collaborated with the reserve to organize lectures for local scientists, to raise awareness and provide guidance about the turtles’ value to the ecosystem and the need to protect them. These lectures stressed the importance of not polluting the sea and reducing light and noise in areas where turtles nest.
The reserve also spearheaded an awareness program for fishermen stressing the importance of keeping the sea clean and not throwing away oil or nylon bags that resemble turtles’ natural prey, jellyfish, and can end up choking the animals.
Sea turtles also sometimes get caught in nets and fishman are tempted to kill them to cut them out.
The nature reserve management is trying to create a permanent observatory to observe the turtle’s movement along the southern coast from Tyre to Naqoura. Their goal, they say, is to protect the sea turtles, welcome volunteers, train them and encourage tourists to visit the area.
Are the efforts of the nature reserve enough to protect Lebanon's sea turtles? Leave us your comments below! | <urn:uuid:b0767da7-f557-45a7-af0b-04169516b443> | {
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Dr. Girish Paniker, director of conservation research, School of AREAS, was among 3,000 scientists, professionals, educators, and students to participate in the 2010 International Annual Meetings of American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) held October 31-November 3, 2010, in Long Beach, California. The theme of this meeting was “Green Revolution 2.0: Food + Energy and Environmental Security”.
Dr. Panicker presented the results of his four-year research project on carbon buildup, nutrient management, and prevention of climate change and soil erosion, which is a major conservation issue on about 50% of U.S. croplands. The paper, titled “Rotation of Horticultural Crops on No-till and Conventional Plots and Buildup of Carbon and Plant Nutrients” was co-authored by Dr. Franklin Chukwuma, off-campus centers coordinator for the ASU Extension Program. The research findings of this project (funded by the USDA and to be completed in October 2011) contain highly valuable information on no-till horticultural crop production, and carbon and plant nutrients buildup. The information is useful for erosion prediction, nutrient management, and conservation planning on horticultural lands.
“The results show that climatic conditions of the southeast region allow one spring crop of sweet corn, two summer crops of watermelon, and a winter cover of hairy vetch to be successfully raised on the same plot within one year,” stated Dr. Panicker. “The technique developed is useful for residents who have plots. They can grow these four crops in one year in their backyards without having any farm machinery and even without a push mower. The crops can even be raised by elderly residents since no tilling is involved.”
Because of the utmost importance of the research, the presentation was selected by the American Society of Agronomy for online publication. It also covers the carbon/nitrogen ratio and residue management techniques for 36 horticultural crops, which are the major research components Alcorn has developed for the USDA/NRCS and USDA/ARS. Over five million dollars have been invested in this project in the last 18 years.
"Alcorn is the only university that has done this research work on horticultural crops, and the information collected is being disseminated through the Web sites of ASU, the National Soil Erosion Research Lab, Purdue University (Indiana), and the National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge,” shares Dr. Panicker. “This information is being used all over the world for erosion prediction, nutrient management, and conservation planning on horticultural lands. Another major part of the organic research work done with horticultural residues is being podcasted globally by the American Society for Horticultural Science.” | <urn:uuid:90ca4373-0c20-48e1-9e35-1627fa8eee08> | {
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The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
by Amity Shlaes
Challenging conventional history, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression that devastated America in the early part ... Show synopsis Challenging conventional history, Amity Shlaes offers a striking reinterpretation of the Great Depression that devastated America in the early part of the twentieth century. She shows how both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt failed to understand the prosperity of the 1920s and heaped massive burdens on the country that more than offset the benefit of New Deal programs. From 1929 to 1940, federal intervention helped to make the Depression great by forgetting the men and women who sought to help themselves. In this illuminating work of history, Shlaes follows the struggles of those now forgotten people, from a family of butchers in Brooklyn who dealt a stunning blow to the New Deal, to Bill W., who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, and Father Divine, a black cult leader. She takes a fresh look at the great scapegoats of the period, from Andrew Mellon to Sam Insull of Chicago. Finally, she traces the mounting agony of the New Dealers themselves. Authoritative, original, and utterly engrossing, The Forgotten Man reveals how those dark years shaped both current political challenges and the strong national character that helps Americans to confront them. | <urn:uuid:54a00bdd-649a-47b5-b41c-a863fabe9991> | {
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By: Ansar Raza
Structure of SGGS
Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) is the most respected and sacred book of the Sikhs. It contains 5894 hymns, called Shabads, composed in 18 ragas (musical patterns). Out of these 5894 hymns, 976 are by Guru Nanak; 61 by Guru Angad; 907 by Guru AmarDas; 679 by Guru RamDas; 2216 by Guru Arjan; 118 by Guru Tegh Bahadur; and 937 by the 15bhagats and bards. The 1430 pages of SGGS are divided into 33 sections.
The first section consists of three prayers: Japji—the Morning Prayer; Sodar – the Evening Prayer; and Sohela – the Bedtime Prayer. The next section is composed of the Bani of Gurus and Bhagats. Almost every verse of Bani of each Sikh Guru ends with the pen name of ‘Nanak’ as the author, whether it was composed by Guru Nanak himself or by the other Sikh Gurus who succeeded him. This was designed by Guru Arjan, for presenting oneness in the authorship of all the Sikh Gurus and oneness in the whole philosophy of Guru Nanak under the pen name of ‘Nanak’. Nevertheless, the identity of the contributing Guru is specified under their succession number to Guru Nanak. Each part is called Mahla by Guru Arjan. Thus, the contribution of Guru Nanak is identified as Mahla 1 as he is the founder of Sikhism; the verse of the Second Guru, Angad, is identified as Mahla 2 as he is the second in succession to Guru Nanak; the verse of the Third Guru, Amardas, is identified as Mahla 3; and so on. This system has been followed consistently throughout the main text of the SGGS.
Bhagat Bani section contains the Bani of 13 Bhagats (devotees) namely Kabir, Farid, Namdev, Ravidas, Trilochan, Beni, Dhana, Jaidev, Sain, Pipa, Sadhana, Ramanand, and Parmanand; 4 Sants namely Bhikhan, Surdas, and Sundar. These Bhagats were involved in the Bhagti Movement in the medieval India. They revolted against the malpractices in various religions of India. The Swayiae of Bhatts are grouped together under one section in the SGGS, followed by Mundavani (Conclusion or Seal).
The last section is Acknowledgments (Sloka). This is the end of the whole text of the SGGS in which Guru Arjan has thanked the Almighty for enabling him to complete this big task of compilation of the divine wisdom into a SGGS. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Guru, declared SGGS to be the eternal and living Guru. The community called ‘Panth’ is considered the body with ‘Granth’ as its soul.
Recitation Types of SGGS
Daily recitation of the hymns of SGGS, morning and evening prayer, is called Shabad Kirtan.
An Akhand Path refers to the reading of the SGGS, with no breaks and in full from page one through to page 1430 over a pre-determined period of time. The period of time is usually within 48 hours, but there are also variants of the Akhand Path which denote different time spans.
The process of its compilation has been the subject of considerable discussion. The traditional view is that the Banis, (poetic sayings / writings) including the collected compositions of saints and mystic poets were passed down the line, successively from the first to the fifth guru and finally completed by the tenth Guru. The compilation of SGGS was accomplished in two stages. Its first compilation is known as the Adi Granth, compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev in 1604 CE, known as ‘Kartarpuri Bir’. The second version, called ‘Damdami Bir’, was compiled in 1708 by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru out of his memory, when descendants of ‘Dhirmall’, grandson of Guru Hargobind Singh, the sixth Guru, refused to give him the original copy. Guru Gobind Singh dictated SGGS, to Bhai Mani Singh adding the Bani of Guru Tegh Bahadur, his father and the ninth Guru. He also compiled two books called ‘Dasam Granth’ and ‘Sarab-loh Granth’. The later, containing belligerent teachings incited Sikhs to fight against Moguls. It was kept strictly secret by Akali Nihang Sikhs. Near the end of his life, Guru Gobind Singh ended the line of human Gurus by investing the SGGS with the status of Eternal Guru and his official successor.
It is narrated that before his death, Guru Nanak passed on his writings and the collected compositions of the saints to one of his disciples and successor Guru Angad, earlier known as ‘Lehna’, who in turn passed on the collection along with his own compositions to Guru Amar Das the third Guru. The latter added his compositions to the collection. Guru Amar Das had two sons Mohan and Mohri and a daughter Bibi Bhani. Being the elder son Baba Mohan aspired to succeed his father as the fourth guru. However Guru Amar Das thought otherwise and nominated his son-in- law, Bhai Jetha, to be the fourth Guru and called him “Ram Das.” Baba Mohan seems to have sensed this in advance and was jealous of Bhai Jetha. It is believed that he laid his hands on the collected compositions including those of his father. They were not made available to Guru Amar Das for handing over to the fourth Guru on transfer of guruship. These collections are called Mohan Pothis.
When Guru Arjun was appointed as the fifth Guru, he only had the compositions of his father, his own and those of the saints which were presented to him. When he decided to compile the Granth, he needed the writings of the first three gurus and saints which were with Baba Mohan. He sent Baba Buddha and Bhai Gurdas, one after the other, to request Baba Mohan to hand over the books, but they returned empty handed. It is narrated that Guru Arjun then personally went to Baba Mohan and recited a Shabad praising Mohan who lived in a tall house. Baba Mohan was moved to hear the hymn. He came downstairs with the pothis (manuscripts) and presented them to the Guru. However, Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD, in his article “AAD GURU GRANTH SAHIB—Fallacies and Facts”, refutes this story as fabricated. He is of the view that these Pothis were already with Guru Arjun and the shabad attributed to him is in praise of God and not for Baba Mohan.
In continuation of the above story, it is narrated in Sikh history books, like Gurbilas and others, that the completion of SGGS was celebrated with much jubilation. Sikhs came in large numbers to see the SGGS. Among the visitors was Bhai Banno, who had led a group of Sikhs from Mangat, in western Punjab. Guru Arjun, who knew him as a devoted Sikh, instructed him to take AGGS to Lahore and have the Book bound. As Banno left Amritsar with his sacred charge, it occurred to him to have a second copy transcribed. The first copy, he argued, would remain with the Guru, and there must be an additional one for the congregation. His companions wrote with love and devotion and nobody shirked his duty whether it was day or night. By the time they reached Lahore, the second copy was ready. But Banno had added to it some apocryphal texts. On his return he presented both volumes and explained to Guru why he made another copy. But the Guru put his seal only on the volume written by Bhai Gurdas and installed it in the centre of the inner sanctuary of the temple on August 16, 1604.
Reason for Compilation of SGGS by Guru Arjun
The reason why Guru Arjun took initiative to compile AGGS was that a rival of Guru Arjun, Meherban son of Prithi Chand [elder brother of Guru Arjun], had started compiling and circulating his own Granth under the pen name of ‘Nanak’. The Sikh community started getting influenced by his compilation and respecting him as Guru. Sant Sewa Singh describes this event in his book “Guru Granth Sahib Darshan”:
“During the life span of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, Meharban, the elder son of Pirthi Chand had begun to write his own immature verse under the name of “Nanak”. The ordinary simple folks amongst the congregation were often confused and duped by this. They were at a loss to know how to differentiate real Gurbani from Meharban’s poetry as both pieces of verse had “Nanak” at the end. Meharban added his own poetry to the original verses of the first four Gurus under Nanak’s name and created a Granth.”
Different Versions of SGGS (Birs)
Regarding different ‘birs’ (manuscripts) of SGGS Mohinder Singh, Director, National Institute of Punjab Studies, Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi, writes in his article Conserving Guru Granth Sahib Manuscripts:
“Since printing or any other mode of making copies of the scripture were not available in those days, making handwritten copies of the bir was considered an act of religious merit. Devotees spent months together in copying the birs neatly for the benefit of the congregations. However, a survey of some of the rare Guru Granth Sahib birs pertaining to seventeenth and eighteenth century shows that in spite of Guru’s disapproval of the bir copied by Bhai Bano, some of the devotees also made its copies along with the Kartarpuri Bir.
Since the original Kartarpuri Bir was not given to Guru Tegh Bahadur by the Guru’s rivals, Dheermal and his supporters, the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh had to prepare another version of the Guru Granth Sahib, popularly known as the Damdami Bir, which also included a few hymns of his father Guru Tegh Bahadur. It is this version of the Granth that provides the authentic text of the printed Guru Granth Sahib.
The first serious attempt at locating and cataloguing rare Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts was made by Sardar G.B. Singh, a high ranking official of the Indian Post and Telegraph Department. As an outcome of it, he published a book called, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Dian Prachin Biran, popularly known as Prachin Biran (rare manuscripts). In his preface to the book, G.B. Singh writes that he became interested in the study of rare Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts when the Sikh Sangat of Dhaka presented him with some rare Hukamnamas of Guru TeghBahadur during his visit to that place in 1915 A.D.
During his long tenure in the postal service, he tried to locate and study some more rare Guru Granth Sahib Birs while travelling to different parts of India. Since facilities like photocopying, microfilming or digitization were not available then, G.B. Singh took exhaustive notes himself. Whenever he found any writings in these manuscripts in the hand of the Gurus, he tried to make their copies faithfully by using the tracing paper and has reproduced these rare writings in his book referred to above. In the second part of his book, G.B. Singh mentions the rare manuscripts that he was able to go through during his research. These include rare manuscripts such as the Kartarpuri Bir, the Damdami Bir, Bhai Bano Bir, Bura Sandhu Bir, Pindi Lala Bir (destroyed during the army action in the Golden Temple in 1984), Dehradun Bir and other rare manuscripts at Agra, Mirzapur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Allahabad, Burhanpur and Patna.
Even though the fifth Guru did not approve of Bhai Bano’s action of copying the Adi Granth, it is interesting to note that the devotees kept on making its copies since the original Bir, now known as Kartarpuri Bir, had gone into the hands of the descendents of Dheermal who did not allow its access to anyone. Under the circumstances, the devout Sikhs were left with no option but to make copies from the Bano Bir which was easily available. Therefore, we find many manuscripts of the Bano recession. According to popular belief, the original Bhai Bano Bir was kept with a family of Bhai Bano in village Mangat, District Gujarat (now in Pakistan). After the partition of the country, this Bir was temporarily kept in the house of one Bhai Mastan Singh in village Barot, District Meerut (U.P.). It was here that this Bir was examined by Bhai Randhir Singh, a Gurdwara Inspector of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee. Later on, this Bir was installed in a Gurdwara built in the memory of Bhai Bano in Jawaharpur, Kanpur. Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi, has six manuscripts of Bhai Bano Bir pertaining to different periods.
Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD Writes about this section of SGGS:
“After the Sloka (acknowledgments) there is a small script called Raag Maala (Musical modes). There is a lot of controversy about the authenticity of Raag Maala being a part of AGGS. As it is written after Mundanvani and the Sloka, which suggests the end of AGGS, therefore, it cannot be considered a part of AGGS under any circumstances. But according to the “Sikh Rehit Maryada” published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar the “Bhog of Akhand Path” (uninterrupted recitation of the whole AGGS) can be performed after recitation of the AGGS up to Mundanvani including Sloka or recitation of Raag Maala could also be included. The SGPC left it to the choice of the Granthis (who recite the Akhand Path) or the individuals, to recite Raag Maala or not, till further decision is taken by the SGPC. About 60 years have elapsed since the above decision was taken; the controversy has not been resolved yet. Recently Gyani Gurdit Singh has again raised this issue in his book, Mundawani, which has been recently banned by Bhai Iqbal Singh, Jathedar of Takht Patna Sahib. His critical study indicates that it is not the part of the AGGS and Mundawani is seal of the AGGS.”
Languages of SGGS
The main language of SGGS is the Punjabi dialect prevalent about 500 years ago in northern India. However there are also some hymns in Persian, medieval Prakrit, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit as well as Arabic. All of these hymns are written in the standard Punjabi script known as Gurumukhi. However, the grammar used within the SGGS is unique to the scripture and is not found in standard written Punjabi. Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD Writes:
“The language spoken today in Punjab (India) is quite different from that spoken during the period between the 12th and 17th century when the Bani was composed by Bhagats and Sikh Gurus. Although the Bani was composed and written in the language spoken by the then people, with the time it has become very difficult to understand and interpret it now. Therefore, knowledge of old languages and their grammars is essential to understand the Gurbani in its entirety and originality.”
Reverence of SGGS by Sikhs
Guru Arjun directed that during daytime the Holy Book should remain in the Harimandir and by night, after, Sohila was read, it should be taken to the room he had built for himself. As evening advanced, Bhai Buddha recited Sohila and made the concluding ardas or supplication. The Granth Sahib was closed and wrapped in silks. Bhai Buddha held it on his head and marched towards the chamber indicated by Guru Arjun. The Guru led the congregation singing hymns. The Granth Sahib was placed on the appointed seat, and the Guru slept on the ground by its side. Daily, in the morning, the Holy Book is taken out in state to the Harimandir and brought by night to rest in the room marked for it by Guru Arjun. The practice continues to this day. But the volume is not the same. That original copy was taken to Kartarpur when Guru Arjun’s successor, Guru Hargobind, left Amritsar in 1634. There it passed into the possession of his grandson, Dhir-Mall. It has since remained in that family.
Some Sikh scholars criticize this practice. Prof. Devinder Singh Chahal, PhD writes about the reverence of SGGS by Sikhs:
“One of the reasons has been explained by Dr Gopal Singh that due to improper understanding of ‘Sabd’ (Guru’s Word) the Granth started to be worshipped more than read, uttered as a magical formula or a Mantram for secular benefits. Now in almost all the Gurdwaras in the world, whether they are under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar or any other organization, the Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) is treated almost as an idol. However, the idol worship is condemned in Nanakian Philosophy. Moreover, I was surprised to note, when I was casually glancing through “The Cambridge Factfinder”, which says under the subheading of ‘Beliefs in Sikhism’ as: “Worship of the Adi Granth” as one of the beliefs [11 - p 411]. It appears that such is the impression about Sikhism in the printed literature.”
He further writes:
“The irony is that the Sikhs are following the historical information in which the ‘Sabd Guru’ has been successively changed to ‘Granth Guru’ to ‘Visible Body of the Guru’ to ‘Darshan Guru’. Consequently, the Sikhs started to pay more and more attention to ritualistic aspects to the ‘Granth Guru’ than on the deliberation on the philosophy given in the ‘Sabd Guru’… Guru Nanak’s observation that there would be very few Sikhs, who will deliberate on the Bani/Sabd to be called as Gurumukh, is so true today as it was then at the time of Guru Nanak. There are many (apparent) Gurumukhs, but rare are those who understand the Bani in its real perspective. Therefore, Guru Nanak thought it necessary to emphasize the importance of listening, understanding, practicing the philosophy embodied in the Bani (Stanzas # 8-15 of JAP) Guru Amardas also noticed that many Sikhs used to come to have his darshan (just to visit the Guru to see/meet him) but were not interested to listen to his philosophy:
All the humans of the world desire to behold the True Guru1. One does not get salvation by merely seeing (the True Guru1), unless one deliberates/contemplates on his Sabd (Word). AGGS. M. 3, pg. 594.
Guru Amardas clearly means that it is the ‘Sabd’ that is the ‘Guru’ not the human body as the ‘Guru’. The same situation is seen today when most of Sikhs visit the Gurdwara just at the time of Bhog, paying their respect to the Aad Guru Granth Sahib for a few minutes then go to Langar Hall.… Since the Granth has been declared as Guru more and more attention is being paid to treat it as an idol and to have its Darshan (seeing). Moreover, continuous recitation of the AGGS (Akhand Paath) is considered a mantram for their worldly benefits as pointed out by Dr. Gopal Singh or it has become a fashion to entertain relatives and friends but never for deliberation of Sabd to understand the wisdom given in the Sabd Guru.” | <urn:uuid:63627f15-1fdd-4ee3-8c7c-eaa5094454c6> | {
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God's Creatures Ministry
By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. November 6, 2006
Not only do animals benefit from our compassion and concern -we, too, benefit by becoming more sensitive and more humane, as Jews and people.
Jewish worshipers chant every Sabbath morning, "The soul of every living being shall praise God's name" (Nishmat kol chai tva'rech et shim'chah). Yet, some come to synagogue during the winter months wearing coats that required the cruel treatment of some of those living beings whose souls praise God.
To decide whether the use of fur is a significant Jewish issue, we should consider several related questions:
Judaism and Animals
Judaism has beautiful and powerful teachings with regard to showing compassion to animals. The following are a few examples:
Moses and King David were considered worthy to be leaders of the Jewish people because of their compassionate treatment of animals, when they were shepherds. Rebecca was judged suitable to be a wife of the patriarch Isaac because of her kindness in watering the ten camels of Eliezer, Abraham's servant. Rabbi Yehuda the Prince, the redactor of the Mishna, was punished for many years at the hand of Heaven for speaking callously to a calf being led to slaughter who sought refuge beside him.
Many Torah laws mandate proper treatment of animals. One may not muzzle an ox while it is working in the field nor yoke a strong and a weak animal together. Animals, as well as their masters, are meant to rest on the Sabbath day. The importance of this concept is indicated by the fact that it is mentioned in the Ten Commandments and on every Sabbath morning as part of the kiddush ceremony.
The psalmist indicates God's concern for animals, stating that "His compassion is over all of His creatures" (Psalm 145:9). And there is a mitzvah (precept) in the Torah to emulate the Divine compassion, as it is written: "And you shall walk in His ways" (Deuteronomy 28:9). Perhaps the Jewish attitude toward animals is best expressed by Proverbs 12:10: "The righteous person considers the soul (life) of his or her animal." The Torah prohibits Jews from causing tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, any unnecessary pain, including psychological pain, to living creatures.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, an outstanding 19th century philosopher,
author, and Torah commentator, eloquently summarizes the Jewish view on
treatment of animals:
The Pain of Fur-bearing Animals
Fur is obtained from animals who are either trapped or raised on ranches. Both involve treatment of animals that appears to be far from the Jewish teachings that have been previously discussed:
Animals caught in steel-jaw leg hold traps suffer slow, agonizing deaths. Some are attacked by predators, freeze to death, or chew off their own legs to escape. It has been said that one can get a "feel for fur" by slamming your fingers in a car door.
A Canadian Wildlife service report
gives an idea of the terror that trapped animals face and their
efforts to escape:
Over 100 million wild animals are killed for their pelts every year.
Many species of animals killed for their furs have become endangered or have disappeared completely from some localities.
Millions of animals not wanted by trappers, including dogs, cats, and birds, die in traps annually and are discarded as "trash animals." Many trapped animals leave behind dependent offspring who are doomed to starvation.
Treatment of animals raised on "fur ranches" is also extremely cruel.
Confined to lifelong confinement, millions of foxes, beavers, minks, ocelots, rabbits, chinchillas, and other animals await extinction nothing to do, little room to move, and all their natural instincts thwarted. The animals are simply a means to the maximizing of production and profit, and there is no regard for their physical, mental, or emotional well being.
Because of the enforced confinement and lack of privacy, naturally wild animals often exhibit neurotic behaviors such as compulsive movements and self mutilation. The animals finally suffer hideous deaths by electrocution by rods thrust up their anuses, by suffocation, by poisoning, which causes painful muscle cramping, or by having their necks broken.
According to the International Society for Animal Rights, Inc., to make one fur garment requires 400 squirrels; 240 ermine; 200 chinchillas; 120 muskrats; 80 sables; 50 martens; 30 raccoons; 22 bobcats; 12 lynx; or 5 wolves.
Is Fur Necessary?
Judaism puts human beings on a higher level than animals and indicates that animals may be harmed and even killed if an essential human need is met. However, is the wearing of fur truly necessary for people to stay warm during wintry weather? There are many non-fur coats and hats, available in a variety of styles, that provide much warmth. Imitation fur is produced at such a high level of quality that even among Chasidim there is a small but growing trend to wear synthetic "shtreimlach" (fur-trimmed hats).
Based on the prohibition of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Halevy, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv issued a p'sak (rabbinic ruling) in March, 1992, indicating that Jews should not wear fur.
Rabbi Halevy asked: "Why should people be allowed to kill animals if it is not necessary, simply because they desire the pleasure of having the beauty and warmth of fur coats? Is it not possible to achieve the same degree of warmth without fur?"
In his book, The Jewish Encyclopedia of Moral and Ethical Issues, Rabbi Nachum Amsel, a modern Israeli educator, states: "If the only reason a person wears the fur coat is to "show off" one's wealth or to be a mere fashion statement, that would be considered to be a frivolous and not a legitimate need."
Rabbi Amsel also points out that hunting for sport is prohibited because it is not considered a legitimate need (Avodah Zarah 18b).
The Talmud teaches that Jews are "rachamanim b'nei rachamanim," compassionate children of compassionate ancestors (Beitza 32b). One has to wonder if the wearing of fur is consistent with that challenging mandate.
Are the words of Isaiah valid today if we fail to show compassion to animals?
Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:12-15)
What kind of lesson in Jewish values are young people getting when they see worshippers coming to synagogue in fur coats on the Sabbath day?
Not only do animals benefit from our compassion and concern -- we,
too, benefit by becoming more sensitive and more humane, as Jews and
civilized human beings.
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God's Creatures Ministry is committed to spreading God's compassion to all He has made based on The Scriptures. Although we are a Christian Ministry, we encourage all to have their own animal welfare committee in their community. We extend our resources to those who would like to learn more or begin their own God's Creatures Ministry as an extension of us. God created us to have a vegetarian diet and commissioned us to protect His animals. Instead, we have exploited them for our entertainment, fashion, appetite and useless, torturous research. These creatures have the right to live as they were created to live. Because we live IN this world, but are not OF this world, we strive to bring God's mercy and justice to all. We live in God's Kingdom now where Jesus, The Sacrificial Lamb, The Prince of Peace, The Lion of Judah reigns. We look forward to that day when all of creation will be 'set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God' (Romans 8:21) where a little child will lead and guide God's creatures (see Isaiah 11:5-9).
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Thank you for visiting all-creatures.org. | <urn:uuid:19eb04c0-e390-4c0f-8431-367c96ca3c91> | {
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April 1957 | Volume 8, Issue 3
Five successive Benjamin Harrisons created a private empire of tobacco and trade and a great Virginia plantation
One of the very first plantations settled in the New World, Berkeley evolved out of the wilderness to become the demesne of the Harrisons—Presidents of the United States, governors of Virginia, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and an ancestor of Robert K. Lee. The Harrisons helped shape their immediate region into one of the most powerful and fabled sections of Virginia. Their home place sat between the Westover of William Byrd and the Shirley of the Hills and Carters; President John Tyler lived nearby, and when he was William Henry Harrison’s Vice President it was probably the only time in the country’s history that a President and Vice President had grown up in the same neighborhood. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson came to that section for their wives, and Lee’s mother was born there.
The aristocratic pattern which was to characterize the Old South was created in that region, and the first democratic form of government on the continent was introduced there. The men were America’s first Indian fighters, first patrician grandees, and first rebels, fighting the power of England a hundred years before the successful revolution. Underlying all things, they were the country’s first planters.
The southern plantation seems remote today, almost legendary, intertwined with the half-romantic and half-barbarous myths of the ante-bellum South. In these myths of the slaveholding South, the plantation seems always to have existed in some perpetual and semi-tropical feudalism, where time ceased in the slumberous heat, the seasons never changed, and the cast of characters in the white-columned mansions, identical on each plantation, were as impervious to the mutations of life as the characters in a familiar play. The protagonist was always Old Massa. Ridden with debts and vice and high personal honor, always booted and spurred, with a whip in one hand and julep in the other, this highborn and arrogant wastrel kept a harem of mulattoes, a stable of blooded horses (on which he repeatedly ruined himself by betting), and, when he wasn’t out duelling under the live oaks, he was entertaining friends with prodigal lavishness.
Actually, for this composite image, many gentlemen in the South would contribute aspects to the whole. Some were debt-ridden (as William Byrd III), some were always booted and spurred (as John Randolph even in the halls of Congress), some were addicted to drink and some to horse racing (as President Andrew Jackson), some were impoverished by hospitality (as Thomas Jefferson), and some had Negro mistresses (or there would be no mulattoes). Certainly all held a high sense of personal honor, and duelling in protection of personal honor was an established custom, though actual duels were few.
But plantations were neither developed nor maintained by men who embodied all these traits or only these traits. They were built by men who, with whatever weaknesses of the flesh, combined the qualities which have made for success throughout the ages-ambition and energy, self-discipline and resourcefulness, and the power to conceive boldly.
Stripped of romantic connotations, the plantation was both a large-scale agricultural operation and a commercial center. In Virginia, where plantations were first established, the money crop was tobacco. For this operation, the virgin forests were cleared, the seeds planted, the plants tended, the leaves cut, stripped, and hung; then packed into hogsheads made on the place and shipped to England from the private wharf. Besides marketing their own crops, the big plantation owners bought tobacco from the small planters, shipped it for export and brought in English goods beyond their own needs, which they handled as importers. In addition to tobacco, the planter raised food for his own people, who might number as many as 1,000. Some river plantations baked hard biscuits which they sold to ships’ crews, as on the plantation of the Berkeley Harrisons’ kinsmen. Artisans made the clothes from cotton and wool, tanned hides, built the outbuildings and sometimes boats, as at Berkeley Hundred. Kroni their sawmills the planter sold planks and clapboards to England.
The plantation master was also responsible for every detail in the total group life of his microcosmic world: he represented law and order, the Church, and the courts. The mayor, judge, sheriff, and preacher combined would not be so powerful as he. In combination with other planters, he formed the ruling bodies of his immediate country, and his state; and from their ruling class the planters sent their own chosen representatives to London or, later, Washington. If you accused the planter of not being democratic, he would look at you in surprise and say, “Of course not. I am an aristocrat.”
For all his aristocratic manner and belief, however, the planter was not the firstcomer to Tidewater Virginia; others had preceded him. First to come and settle Jamestown in 1607 were 105 “Gentlemen” and “men of the common sorte,” picaresque characters all, all of them in search of gold and adventure. Led by the resolute John Smith, they found nothing of the former and rather more of the latter than they had bargained for, together with disease, starvation, and danger from Powhatan’s powerful Indians.
Successive waves of adventurers, some stockholders in the Virginia Company, many indentured to pay their passage, made up the depleted ranks, but Virginia did not even begin to show signs of lasting until a sturdier breed arrived, of whom John Rolfe is a good example. Rolfe made himself a romantic place in history by marrying Powhatan’s tempestuous daughter Pocahontas, but a more significant one by experimenting with tobacco, which turned out in the end to be the real wealth of the new El Dorado.
Soon, maintaining an uneasy peace with the remarkable Indian leader, the colony spread out beyond the palisaded fort at Jamestown, and small holdings spread up the lazy James River, which became a sort of watery Main Street for the colonists. Now appeared in 1619 a boatload of indentured wives, sturdy but anonymous ladies from whom, apparently, no one in Virginia is today descended, but a welcome sign of permanence in their own time. And there was established this same year a kind of popular government, the House of Burgesses. This self-governing body would give England trouble later, but no more, certainly, than was foreshadowed for this new land by the arrival, also in the notable year 1619, of a shipload of black slaves from Africa.
It was in 1619 that Berkeley Hundred was founded as a private venture by a small group of English investors, headed by one John Smythe, Esq., of Nibley. To stave off failure, the Virginia Company had begun chartering settlements known as “hundreds” (either because a hundred acres was the basic grant for a share of stock or because 100 was the ideal number of settlers). At Berkeley, 38 settlers arrived after two and a half months on the ship Margaret, to build their settlement on a tract of 8,000 acres, stretching for three miles along the north bank of the James River. The next spring found the colonists living in split-log houses and experimenting with mulberry trees for silk and grape vines for wine, as well as with tobacco, while the English backers impatiently waited for the colony to become self-supporting. At this and neighboring hundreds, though the dream had shifted from gold to tobacco, the methods had not been discovered for the big killing. Probably the British financiers would never have discovered the way to colonial riches. As it happened, they were not given the opportunity.
The blow from which the Virginia Company and its proprietors never recovered occurred on Good Friday morning, March 22, 1622. By then the great Powhatan had died, and his brother, ferocious Opechancanough (Opie-can-canoe) did not feel bound to the truce. With the kind of wiliness that used to be associated only with the savage, he encouraged the whites to believe in the Indians’ friendship until he had them set up, off guard, for the stroke designed to annihilate the colony.
At breakfast time, at practically every holding in Virginia, groups of friendly Indians drifted in without weapons. At Berkeley Hundred they were received warmly and invited to sit down in the assembly hall for a breakfast of gruel. No white man or woman saw a signal given, but as if by some group impulse, the unarmed Indians suddenly snatched up the muskets which the unsuspecting settlers had propped in corners. The men fought hard for their lives but the records list eleven Berkeley settlers as “slayne.”
Many of the plantations were virtually wiped out. Small family units perished and their holdings were reclaimed by the brush. The college recently founded at the new city of Henricus, south of the river, and the iron works nearby were destroyed beyond repair. Only Jamestown was saved. A converted Indian warned an adventurer on the mainland, and this Richard Pace, with no poet to make a Paul Revere of him, rowed at daybreak to the island and saved the colony from destruction.
As it was, 347 of the 1,200 inhabitants were killed in America’s greatest massacre. Stored corn was burned in the crude barns, cattle and hogs were run off, and the wholesale disaster—just when the colony seemed to have turned the corner—was more than the Virginia Company could absorb. James the First, impatient for gain from this genesis of empire, withdrew the charter in 1624 and made colonizing the business of the Crown. With this change, the age of the yeomanry began to supersede that of the adventurer.
During the age of the yeomanry, half a century long, Virginia had her only approach to a classless society. Her citizens, in a soundly growing colony, formed what later became the stalwart middle class. Yet, even while the yeomanry enjoyed its hour, the men of the future were settling in Virginia. These were people of substance who dreamed of acquiring in the New World the positions of rank and privilege pre-empted at home by kinsmen. These were the embryonic plantation masters, who came with the baronial dream.
Of the first Benjamin Harrison only the barest facts are known. He evidently arrived in Virginia some time after the massacre and settled south of the James River. Of somewhat more substance than the average yeoman, he did not adventure to the colony with the means of, say Richard Lee and some of the later large landowners. He did, however, possess at least sufficient education to become clerk of the Council, he enjoyed sufficient standing in his locale to he elected to the House of Burgesses, and he laid the foundation on which his family was to rise into the ruling class.
The year following his occupancy of the clerk’s job Harrison bought 200 acres outright—a good average holding in that day of the yeomanry’s small agricultural operations—and at an unrecorded date he married a woman whom history can only know as Mary. She was illiterate, signing an X for her name, though this was typical for the times. Perhaps through his salary, more than through his small holding, Harrison prospered sufficiently to buy in 1643 a 500-acre grant on the south side of the James River, across from Jamestown. In 1645 his wife bore a son, and shortly after, on an unknown date and at an unknown age, this sire of Presidents died.
The second Benjamin Harrison came into the world with the arrival of the Cavaliers to Virginia. These elegant gentlemen, followers of the late King Charles I, came to Virginia as refugees from the rule of Oliver Cromwell. Virginians, loyal to the Crown and shocked at the King’s execution, welcomed the Cavaliers; the colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley, made them at home in his Green Spring estate, the first great house in the New World. The Cavaliers had a graciousness of manner, and a flair for fashion, which sonic of the natives admiringly noticed, and a taste for good living that was welcomed by those long exposed to the harshness of a dangerous frontier.
The second Benjamin Harrison’s world was influenced by these courtly Cavaliers and the elegant life they lived in Virginia during the harsh years of Cromwell’s Protectorate. But it was shaped even more decisively by the impact on Virginia of the Restoration of King Charles II. That irresponsible monarch, whose reign brought ease and gayety to England, brought disaster to the yeoman economy of Virginia. Viewing the colonies simply as a means of fattening the royal purse, Charles imposed restrictions on the tobacco trade which drove prices down to a penny a pound and ruined the small growers. The big planter could by volume operate on a smaller margin of profit.
To Benjamin Harrison II, growing into young manhood during these dynamic changes, the pattern of the big planters determined the course of his own ambitions. In his late teens, when Charles’s Navigation Act began to crush the small planter, Harrison was, in practical terms, among the relatively small himself—except that he did not think as they thought.
In any emergency for the many there is opportunity for the few. Harrison was among those men, of all ages, who can turn a time of crisis into personal advantage. Since profit depended on volume and volume depended on workers, he must get more workers: further, since profits from small acreage were insufficient for the purchase of new indentures or slaves, he must find another way to cash profit. He found it in trading and began to operate a river-front store.
A planter’s “store” was something of a combination wharf, tobacco warehouse, and importing storage house. Harrison had small boats built and he plied the bark creeks to take on the tobacco hogs-heads of small planters. In London, the tobacco would be credited against goods which he imported, and from his store some of the goods would be taken by the small planters in exchange for their tobacco. Some he sold for cash. He profited both from a charge on handling their tobacco and a markup on the goods. By these manipulations he established favorable credit balances with his British factor and could sell his own tobacco for cash—to buy more people and get more land. His operation would grow bigger, and he would be recognized as a planter of substance—“discreet,” as the coldly sagacious were called—worthy to share the honors and the burdens of the ruling group. Except for the few who came well endowed to the colony, this is the way they all got to be Old Maassa.
Harrison was still a young man when the yeomanry made its last stand against the domination of the planters in the affair known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Harrison appears to have stood outside that struggle, but two years after the rebellion was over he had done well enough to be given the profitable and honorable steppingstone of sheriff of his county. In 1680 he was sent to the House of Burgesses from Surry County.
Once in the government, Harrison showed himself to be as astute a politician as he was a planter. After serving five terms over a period of eighteen years, Harrison was established among the political rulers even before he was tapped for the Council at 53. As councilors were the recognized royalty of Virginia’s untitled nobility, Benjamin Harrison II had gone as far as there was to go.
He had won the top position himself in a life of steady, unobtrusive acquisition. Building soundly lrom the first 500 acres, and then his river-front store, he paid quit-rent on 2,750 acres in several working plantations, in addition to land settled on his sons. Though he seems to have tended less to conspicuous consumption than some of his more lavish-minded friends, he made the standard investments in silver and books and furnishings from England. He wanted of all things to do well by his children, and this he most certainly accomplished.
Benjamin Harrison II had married a lady named Hannah, whose last name, as with his mother, has remained undiscovered by the most diligent genealogists. Evidently she belonged to the class of his birth and not to the well-recorded ruling class to which her husband was striving. With her children it would be a different story.
Hannah Harrison’s children were trained for the large responsibility—to their estate, their class, their country (Virginia). They were born too late to remember the frontier. They matured as aristocrats with an inherited sense of privilege, a position of rule, and a dedication to sustain the existing order. One daughter married Philip Ludwell’s son, himself a Councillor, and from their union came an ancestor of Robert E. Lee. Another married “Commissary” Blair, commissioner of the Church to Virginia (unofficial bishop, as the Church never established Virginia as a diocese), founder and first president of William and Mary College, and long president of the Council. Benjamin Harrison III married the daughter of another Councillor, Colonel Lewis Burwell, who had done extremely well in land and indenture speculation.
In sterner times the purpose of training was not to postpone a child’s assumption of responsibility but to hasten it. The early growth was particularly developed on plantations. At his father’s river store—that combination of wharf, warehouse, and trading post—young Ben learned his ciphering and practical balancing of books. The knowledge of planting he also acquired in the same way, by observing and doing under tutelage. He had to know how tobacco plants needed to be guarded from suckers and worms and weeds, how the tobacco stem had to be cut in a single strong stroke downward and sliced off at the bottom, how the leaves were hung and graded as they cured in the sheds, and how the sizes were arranged for packing in hogsheads. It was not intended that young Harrison should ever work in the hot fields or roll a hogshead to the boat, but he must be able to judge tobacco and know when others were working poorly.
Reversing the English procedure, Benjamin III, the oldest son, left the home place, and established his line of the family on the north side of the river at Berkeley Hundred. He might have been sensible of the ghosts of the early settlers who tried to farm those acres before the Indian massacre, but the source of his attraction was that three-mile river front with a landing where “the big boats could ride.”
When Benjamin Harrison III was 27, he was given the special assignment of acting attorney general for the prosecution of criminals on trial, with the title of “His Majesty’s Council at Law.” He went up very fast. Within five years of his special appointment, he became treasurer of the colony, while already Speaker of the House of Burgesses.
His Berkeley Hundred house was commodious and well built, but neither pretentious nor designed for the ages. Around the time when William Byrd II became Benjamin Harrison’s neighbor, the big planters were just beginning to envision great houses as the crowning glory of their baronies. The Governor’s Mansion in Williamsburg perhaps inspired the idea of the splendor that was to come later. Then, too, as the planters began to buy slaves for the house as well as the fields, the families acquired the servants necessary to maintain a large establishment. Benjamin Harrison III had the servants before the great house. Along with his wharf and shipping enterprises, he worked eighty slaves at Berkeley plus twenty at his south-side holdings.
The broadly based sufficiency of his operations enabled his home plantation to run with such outward blandness that, on the surface, his life could appear to illustrate the idyll of the legend. Place him in one of those typical paintings of a life in thrall. There, with family and friends, playing cricket of a warm afternoon, the group figure would be frozen in time, as graceful and as lifeless as a pageant. The frame would contain the broad, shaded lawn, the background of the tidal river and a cloudless sky. To one side of the happy cricket players would stand a sleek, saddled horse, held by a brightly liveried Negro, and on the other side, to balance, little Ben Harrison IV, born in 1700, would be caught in some moment of childish grace with a fat Mammy beaming over him. Squarely in the center a Negro butler, with starched front, would stand smiling with a vast silver tray containing decanters and goblets. In the foreground the master, in silver knee breeches, blue silk-lined coat with silver buttons and linen neckpiece, would stand transfixed forever with a mallet in his hand while the sun, breaking through a willow tree, would fall like a nimbus upon his head.
Like the legendary image of the Old Massa, all these components existed, though scarcely in such idyllic arrangement.
The composite picture would fail to suggest what existed beyond its frame—the wharf and warehouses, tobacco fields and sheds, sawmill and stock barns, and the countless small buildings where wool was carded, hides were tanned, bread was baked, and hogsheads made. All that was outside the picture constituted the life of Benjamin Harrison far more than the idle hours passed on the shaded lawn.
Though no routine was fixed in Benjamin Harrison’s fluid pattern (except for going to nearby Westover Church on Sunday morning), his mornings usually started early with a conference with his overseers and an inspection tour of his fields. Some planters began the day by reading Greek or Hebrew, some by making love to their wives (as recorded in diaries); some ate a light breakfast and some ate heartily; none by record began the day with a hooker of rum or brandy, and all began the day very early—between five and six.
The long mornings were the least likely to be interrupted by visitors, and if house guests were around they amused themselves. After Harrison assured himself that his planting and subsidiary operations were moving as they should, he went to his wharf and shipyard, where masts for his boats were cut from nearby virgin timber. The buying of tobacco and selling of imports were closely under his own supervision, as was the shipping on the boats which he either owned or had interest in. His shipping of other planters’ tobacco was so extensive that his plantation came in time to be popularly called “Harrison’s Landing.”
Harrison had put in something close to an eight-hour day when, around two o’clock, the family gathered for the midday dinner. Unless they were entertaining specially, wine was not likely to be served, though before a heavy meal the master might take a hot rum toddy in the winter or a cooled punch in the summer. This main meal was the time for casual visiting with intimates.
In the afternoons, unless his visitors tarried, Harrison settled down to his greatest time consumer—letters to London and what amounted to bookkeeping. He, like other planters, engaged in constant wrangles with British factors, who regarded Virginia planters as existing entirely to be milched by English businessmen. Factors showed endless ingenuity in finding new charges for handling tobacco and imports, and, to be blunt, they cheated all except the most wary.
For his young son, Benjamin Harrison provided a school at Berkeley, to which planters in the neighborhood sent their boys of Ben’s age. Young Ben was still a boy when his father died suddenly at 37, leaving him heir to Berkeley.
Benjamin Harrison IV entered William and Mary, to become the family’s first college man. “The College,” established at the new capital, Williamsburg, taught him rhetoric, logic and ethics, physics, metaphysics, and mathematics. It was some time after he returned as master of Berkeley that he married Anne, daughter of Robert “King” Carter, the richest man in Virginia, owner of 330,000 acres, one thousand slaves, and large sums of cash. Although he neither needed position nor had an interest in politics, Benjamin Harrison IV accepted his class responsibilities as a member of the House of Burgesses.
Now in this generation, the dream of the private principality was completed with the erection of the baronial mansion to serve as the symbol and center for the new dynasties. The money was there; it no longer needed to be earned.
When the Harrisons’ neighbors built on either side, at Shirley and Westover, the new houses were erected near the site of the old, close to the river. From the living room at Shirley, you look right into the water. At Westover, the classically beautiful house is back about fifty yards on a broad lawn, so that the river, shaded lawn, and house form an open court of slumberous tranquillity.
The Harrisons abandoned the old site of Berkeley closer to the river and built the new house on a slight elevation nearly a quarter of a mile back, which gave to their foreground (it was not all lawn) a vast and impressive sweep. During the Civil War all of McClellan’s army—one hundred thousand men with animals, guns, and wagons—camped there between the house and the river.
At Berkeley, the walls, three feet thick, were laid in English bond below the water table and Flemish bond above. The unknown journeyman architect enclosed the top story with the first heroic pediment roof in Virginia, which he presumably copied from a bookplate of James Gibbs’s church at Derby, England.
The house at Berkeley was, in brief, an advanced representation of the greatest architectural flowering ever in an American colony. When Anne and Benjamin moved into their new house in 1726, the design of the baronial life of the Virginia planter was completed. They were, as far as they knew, as integrated in time as the country life of the British aristocracy on which they modeled themselves.
Harrison’s nearest neighbor, William Byrd, writing to a friend in England, described the planter’s life:
“Like one of the patriarchs I have my flocks and my herds, my bond-men and bond-women, and every sort of trade amongst my own servants, so that I live in a kind of independence on everyone but providence. … My doors are open to everybody … and a half-crown will rest undisturbed in my pocket for many moons together … we sit securely under our vines and figtrees … [and] can rest securely in our beds with all doors and windows open, and yet find everything exactly in place the next morning. We can travel all over the country by night and by day, unguarded and unarmed….”
Though Byrd might have been trying to sell himself on “the advantages of a pure air,” his description evoked the aura of the perfected plantation life in the age of the aristocrat when, on the surface, there was not even threat of internal conflict or whisper of change.
Byrd had said that they were independent of everyone but Providence, and it was an act of Providence that ended the idyll for Benjamin Harrison IV. In the summer of his forty-fourth year, a violent electric storm lashed Tidewater Virginia. Harrison was not alarmed by the storm, only mindful of the rain driving through the open windows on his imported furniture. Since no house servant was handy, the master went upstairs to close a bedroom window. He had been playing at the time with two of his daughters and took them along, one in his arms. Perhaps he was telling them there was nothing to fear as he approached the window. In the instant that he stood there, a bolt of lightning struck, and Harrison and his two little girls were killed instantly.
Benjamin Harrison V was an eighteen-year-old student at William and Mary College when his father’s death made him master of Berkeley. Tall and handsome, without the great weight that years would add to his frame, he moved with ease, grace, and the air of a born aristocrat. A genial good humor was the quality which his fellows most remarked in him, then as later.
For this fifth of the line, the plantation offered small challenge. From the beginning of his career, when he entered the House of Burgesses, he found politics his most absorbing interest. These were the years when the young Washington, whose marriage to Martha Custis made him a brother-in-law of Harrison’s wife Elizabeth Bassett, was making his reputation in the war with the French on the Allegheny frontier. In the political events of that struggle, and later in the growing contest with England, Benjamin Harrison found a natural field for his talents.
Harrison was a man of the committees. While others harangued across the green-covered table in the House of Burgesses wing, Harrison lounged at ease in the small rooms where a few men worked at the serious business of preparing bills to be presented. To the give-and-take of committee work, he brought a bluff equanimity, a forthrightness that gained force by his good nature. With his uncomplex nervous system insulated within his huge frame, Harrison smiled through wrangles that caused his friends to shout and sulk and grow damp under their tailored wigs. When business got snarled in personality clashes, Harrison broke the tension with a spontaneous line of bawdy humor. For a man who seemed to move so indolently, he was very quick verbally, especially in terms of humor. However, when business reached the point of decision, he was immovable in his firmness, and supported his position with a soundly practical intelligence.
Harrison was one of the class whose members, said a visitor, “are jealous of their liberties, impatient of restraint, and can scarcely bear the thought of being controlled by any superior power.” That was true enough. But despite his own imperiousness, cheerful Harrison believed that matters could be worked out with England so that he would be free of intruding control.
By the time the political struggle with England came to a crisis, Benjamin Harrison was a man of substance, heavy in body and broad in face, with a habitual expression of humorous benevolence. Neither political theorist nor rabble-rousing orator, the master of Berkeley Plantation was more typical than Patrick Henry or Thomas Jefferson of the men of estate who moved slowly in the decade from the Stamp Act protest to the formation of the extremely effective Committees of Correspondence between the colonies. His cousin, Richard Henry Lee, originally a conservative, took a bigger jump and joined Henry and Jefferson in forming the potent committee. But Benjamin Harrison, though he participated in the activist committee, was operating from the manor house of a dynasty of which he was the titular head as his cousin was not, and he was weighted with personal responsibilities that Henry never had and Jefferson never fully assumed.
When Virginia responded to the call for a Continental Congress, Harrison was chosen a delegate. In the hot August of 1774 he set out in his own fine planter’s coach, with two men on the box, for the long trip to Philadelphia.
In the three years that followed, Harrison had plenty of chance to observe the North and his northern associates to observe him. An acquaintance recorded the impressions Philadelphia made on Harrison and his friends: “They allow the City to be fine, neat and large … but they complain of the small rooms, uniformity of the buildings, and several other like faults. They call the inhabitants grave and reserved; and the women remarkably homely, hard-favored and sour!” Harrison personally offered to give a guinea for every handsome face found in Philadelphia, if anyone else would give a copper for every face that was not comely.
For their part, the northerners had some reservations about Harrison. He was, wrote John Adams in his diary, “an indolent, luxurious, heavy gentleman, reported to be … at home … a cornerstone in which the two walls of party meet.” Though certainly Adams did not mean this as a compliment, the description of Harrison’s function in revolutionary times would describe a very useful citizen, and his fellow Virginians so regarded him.
Even Adams conceded Harrison’s “many pleasantries” that steadied rough sessions of the Congress, and the big Virginian was almost continually made chairman of the Committee of the Whole, second in importance only to the presidency. It was Harrison, replacing John Hancock in the president’s chair, who solemnly read to the Congress the words of the Declaration of Independence.
“When the time of hanging comes,” the large Harrison said to small Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, “I shall have the advantage over you. It will be all over with me in a minute, but you will be kicking in the air for half an hour after I am gone.”
More than three years had passed since the Signer’s carriage had first carried him northward across the far Pennsylvania countryside. Now, as he started home, the cushions in the carriage were worn, the lamps no longer polished, and the homeward-bound planter, wrapped in a greatcoat against the winter’s chill, did not look—and probably did not feel—any part of the legendary master of a plantation.
No Harrison clan head had ever so diverted his attention from planting and mercantile enterprises. His long stretches away from home had made Berkeley almost an absentee-owned plantation, and the marks of neglect were visible. The planter, despite the later-day Virginian’s scorn of trade, was a trader and Harrison’s trading markets were cut off. He was living off capital. Harrison understood this but it was too late in the day for him to do anything about it.
In the war years the radical party of Henry and Jefferson had won political ascendancy at Williamsburg over the conservative party of Washington and Harrison. Jefferson believed that a landed aristocracy long entrenched in power grew stultified and protective of its own interest, without regard to the welfare of the commonwealth. Under his influence the Virginia legislature passed measures which shrewdly undermined those supports which had sustained the oligarchy in power. It liberalized the land-owning restrictions on the voting franchise to increase the popular vote; it abolished the English-inherited laws on entail and primogeniture; it separated Church from State in a Statute of Religious Freedom, which broke the community power of the Episcopal vestries.
In the traditional revolution, the aristocrat was destroyed by the people; in the American Revolution the Virginia aristocrat destroyed himself. In order to sustain his society, Benjamin Harrison had been led, step by step—often reluctantly, sometimes protestingly—into his present situation where, if his society were sustained at all, its idyllic quality was lost; and within the broken idyll his family had lost security. Along the way, there was nothing he could have done to change events. When issues he had fought became facts, he had adapted to the necessity and given of his time, talents, and fortune. He was Speaker of the House of Delegates when, in 1778, the military situation in Virginia grew seriously ominous. Two thousand British regulars, commanded by the traitor Benedict Arnold, landed by boat at the mouth of the James River and began a campaign of ravagement along both sides of the river. With the lion among them, the Virginians hastily dispatched Harrison to Philadelphia to plead with Congress for troops to defend them. It was Washington who made the painful decision to hold his army outside New York, to immobilize Clinton, and not come to the rescue of his countrymen.
Before leaving Virginia, Harrison had taken the precaution of moving his family from the exposed river plantation of Berkeley to the less accessible plantations of other members of the family. It was fortunate for the girls that he did. On January fourth, Arnold’s hard-bitten force disembarked at the foot of the wide lawn of Westover, where the shade of elegant William Byrd strolled in the evening, and pushed across to neighboring Berkeley by the path that the Byrds and Harrisons had so often followed when visiting in the olden days.
Arnold did not miss the chance to hurt a Signer of the Declaration and a close friend of the man he had betrayed. As a fellow American, he recognized the sensitive point of a Virginia aristocrat, and there was a subtlety in his cruelty which would touch Harrison without destroying his plantation’s future usefulness. He removed all the portraits from the walls and placed them on a bonfire in front of the mansion. That not only hurt the Signer’s family—for the planters spent heavily on journeymen artists to preserve their likenesses into earthly immortality—but also future historians seeking portraits of the Harrisons.
The festivities of the portrait fire incited the idling soldiers to practice target shooting on Harrison’s cows while frightened Negroes gathered in the nearby quarters. Since the Berkeley slaves belonged to Washington’s friend, Arnold directed his men to herd along forty of the likeliest and unknowingly dealt Benjamin Harrison a deadlier blow than the hurt to his pride. This capital loss (one third of his active slaves) was more than the fading fortunes of Berkeley could absorb.
By the end of the war, Berkeley had drifted into a state of muted splendor which characterized the older plantations of Virginia from the upheaval of the Revolution to the destruction of the Civil War. It was during this period that plantation life, observed by northern visitors when already in decline, assumed its mythical character. At Berkeley an outsider would find the hot land and the crops, the great manor house and outbuildings, the gardens and the river-bordered lawn, grazing animals and playing children, and the Negroes, wearing bright-colored cotton and speaking in soft, liquid voices, but the scene began to hold the hushed, slightly decayed quality of the legend.
No boats were built on the fortune-making docks, and few ocean-going trading vessels rode the swells of the tidal river. The gristmill and sawmill, the blacksmith shop, and what they called “merchant mills” still operated, but on the lackadaisical schedule of overseers. Produce was grown for the plantation’s people, providing that lavish self-sufficiency which gave plantation life its air of indolent abundance.
After Yorktown Benjamin Harrison was elected first governor of the independent republic of Virginia. In a period of painful readjustment the governor’s job was a hard, inglorious one, but the men who had made the Revolution did not feel that in conscience they could quit until the task was finished. Unlike Washington, whose years on the national scene had committed him to the cause of a strong union, Harrison still thought as a Virginian and, despite his great friend’s entreaties, opposed the Constitution that was drafted at Philadelphia. Yet when there was talk of a new revolution against the Constitution, it was Harrison who rose to the floor, his face red and puffy, his heavy body held with effort in its customary erectness, to urge them against any effort to overthrow the union that he himself had opposed. It was the gouty old gentleman’s last outstanding act for his country. Within three vears he was dead.
That genetic drive to plantation mastery which spanned four generations in Virginia faltered in the fifth, and Benjamin Harrison’s three sons did not want to work at planting, nor did any of his four sons-in-law. They still wanted to work, for they were not yet the idle generation, but the plantation was no longer a challenge to them. It was a home to support; a way of life rather than a career. The youngest boy aspired to be a doctor, the middle boy became a lawyer, and the eldest, Benjamin Harrison VI, heir to the home plantation, was an unstable young man who failed in a mercantile business he started at Richmond and returned to live at Berkeley. There, free at last to indulge his true gift for fine living, he revived high style in the manor house, as if land and slaves could be sold off forever. To him Berkeley owes the lovely Adam woodwork with which, in a gesture of gallantry, he replaced the sturdier and simpler paneling deemed adequate by his vastly rich grandparents. Berkeley was never more splendid than during his brief reign.
The younger sons of Virginia with energy and resourcefulness began to leave the state. Among those who migrated to a totally new area, the most representative—with typical Harrison adaptiveness—was the youngest of the Signer’s sons, William Henry, who became President of the United States and grandfather of another President.
William Henry Harrison was an eighteen-year-old medical student in Philadelphia when his father died and left him a tract of land in the original Berkeley Hundred. There was in the slim, well-made six-footer a strong strain of self-reliance. A child at home during the impoverishing dislocations of the Revolution, he had heard from his mother the tales of his ancestors’ greatness, and had formed early the ambition to excel on his own. The physical tumult of the Revolutionary fighting on his own land also exerted an influence on the impressionable boy, who at the age of eight had seen Benedict Arnold’s redcoats. Nothing would indicate more keenly the fading glory of the plantation than the choice of the son of the master of Berkeley to migrate west of the Alleghenies—the dividing line between civilization and the wilderness.
With a commission as an ensign in the Army obtained for him in 1791 by Washington, young Harrison rose fast in what Virginians called “the West” and won national fame for his victory over the Indians at Tippecanoe. He had inherited his father’s cheerfulness, generosity, and forthrightness, and it was simple to express his innate courtesy in the plain manners of the frontier. Too self-assured for snobbishness, he quickly put others at their ease. All of this caused him to be accepted as a simple son of democracy. As in the day of the big planters his ancestors became the biggest, in the day of the plain man William Henry became the plainest.
It was Harrison’s folksiness that the powers in the new Whig party seized upon as a campaign asset when they nominated him for President in 1840. The son of Virginia’s plantation aristocracy thus became “Old Tippecanoe,” the log-cabin candidate, and beat poor, foppish Martin Van Buren, who was born over a saloon, to the tune of:
And lounge on his cushioned settee.
Content with hard cider is he.
On his way to Washington, William Henry made a sentimental journey to his birthplace. He perhaps knew that Berkeley would not be much longer in the family. His 54-year-old nephew, Benjamin Harrison VII, had deeded the remnants of the plantation to the Bank of the United States for a twenty-thousand dollar debt, the top loan that could be made on the deteriorated property. The Signer’s grandson was living on in such fashion as he could sustain in the manor house he no longer owned.
Berkeley’s fortunes were beginning a long decline in which the land would change hands many times and the great house would fall into disrepair, its fine chairs split up for kindling by McClellan’s Union army and its beautiful old brick painted over with red barn paint. Not until another century dawned would the house at last fall into hands that would restore it with loving care as a relic of a distant past. By then the Harrisons’ last tie with Berkeley would have long since been cut and the name of Benjamin Harrison would have been made more famous than ever by William Henry’s grandson, a Republican and an abolitionist, whose rise to the White House began with his command of a Union brigade in Sherman’s campaign of devastation through the South.
All this lay in the future when William Henry Harrison, in February of 1841, returned to the great-roomed house and went into his mother’s bedroom, where he was born. From there he could look across the idle land to Westover, where the Harrisons and Byrds had walked together in other years, and where Benedict Arnold’s redcoats made their landing. From the shelves in that eastern room he took down the books he had studied in his youth and marked the classic quotations with which he loved to fill his speeches. Then, in the ancestral home that was fast becoming as remote from the pattern of American life as it was from his own later years, Berkeley’s most famous son sat down to write his inaugural address as ninth President of the United States. | <urn:uuid:a9f229e4-c23b-4a8f-89b5-60abe0563879> | {
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Advanced Placement Economics - Macroeconomics : Student Activities - ISBN 1561835676
Advanced Placement Economics: Teacher Resource Manual - ISBN 1561835668
The Council for Economic Education envisions a world in which people are empowered through economic and financial literacy to make informed and responsible choices throughout their lives as consumers, savers, investors, workers, citizens, and participants in our global economy.
Some of the areas in K-12 education we publish in include:
- Establishing and building credit
- Managing personal finances
- Understanding economics on a local, national, and global level
- Using economics in other subject areas: Social Studies, Geography, History, etc. | <urn:uuid:9126b746-a94f-434f-9bbf-ec1e119cc638> | {
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Edward Lear’s natural-history illustration won him scientific credibility. Now his nonsense verse may do the same
“How pleasant to know Mr. Lear,” begins one of Edward Lear’s poems. His bicentennary last year helped many people know him better, with multiple exhibits of his natural-history paintings and drawings.
Lear gained acclaim as an illustrator at age 19 for his work on parrots. Shortly thereafter, The Earl of Derby invited Lear to his estate near Liverpool to make portraits of specimens in his vast collection of exotic animals and plants. “Lear was somewhat lonely at Knowsley Hall,” says Robert Peck, a Lear scholar and senior fellow of Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. “He was overwhelmed at times by the English social class structure.” To overcome this, he began making drawings and verses for the Earl’s grandchildren. Later he published the verses, but he used a pseudonym for many years. “He was concerned that the frivolous nature of his limericks would undercut his credibility as a scientific illustrator,” Peck says.
Those verses have recently come to seem a bit less frivolous. Margaret Wallace Nilsson, now a Ph.D. candidate in history at Linnaeus University, took up the question of how Lear’s poems might help children learn. “All children like repetitive rhyme sounds,” she says. “I thought, why not apply this to Swedish students of English? It might help them improve their pronunciation and, later on, be able identify new words with the same phonetical patterns.” In a 2011 master’s thesis for the School of Teacher Education at Kristianstad University in Sweden, Nilsson taught a control group of fourth graders a list of vocabulary words taken from Lear’s Nonsense ABC. An experimental group was asked to learn verses from it. “The children in the second group not only learned to recognize the phonetical sounds of the verses, but actually started to spontaneously rhyme other English words,” she says. When tested, students in the second group remembered words from the verses better. Nilsson thinks nonsense poems may help adult language learners as well. And she’s not alone in her interest. In 2012, Juliette Smeed of New Zealand Tertiary College in Auckland published an essay in He Kupu, an early childhood education journal, describing types of nonsense verse and discussing strategies for responding to children’s nonsense play.
Lear’s poetry and sketches often employed the scientific knowledge he cultivated for his “serious” work. Peck points to Lear’s “Nonsense Botany” series. “He’s playing with the Linnaean binomial nomenclature, the form of the flower and people’s love of flowers,” Peck says. “He could take this very serious scientific world in which he traveled and turn it literally upside down and make it fun for kids—and for everyone.” If Nilsson and others are right, Lear’s upside-down world may have more to offer than just fun.
Thanks to Harvard University's Houghton Library, we have a slide show featuring Lear's nonsense botanicals and other drawings. You can find it here. | <urn:uuid:32d388f0-dccd-4b0d-b3f0-caa415923cf3> | {
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Wildlife Research at the Ames Plantation
Ames Plantation is home to a wide array of wildlife, including species that are not usually found in western Tennessee. For example, eagles have been seen here. Rare species such as the painted bunting and Bachman Sparrow also have been seen at Ames. These animals require special habitats to support them. These habitats are often found in places associated with areas maintained to support quail populations or places where intense forest practices have been conducted.
On the other hand, game animals abound. Deer and turkey are abundant. Squirrels are numerous. And, of course, as home to the Nation Championship Field Trials, quail habitat is intensively managed to support excellent quail populations.
Research has been conducted on many wildlife species, including studies on mice, hawks, beaver, coyotes and deer, just to name a few. Wildlife research often requires that students be at Ames for weeks, and sometimes, months at a time. Students from the University of Tennessee, University of Memphis and Mississippi State University conduct research at Ames. Scholars from around the world come to see what is happening here.
A hunting program to manage big game animals is in place at Ames. Hunters have the opportunity to hunt deer, turkey and squirrel. Duck habitats and blinds are under construction.
Ames Plantation’s wildlife provides unique opportunities to observe, hunt or conduct research. Ames is place where wildlife can thrive. | <urn:uuid:30e8d839-4daf-4716-8317-3e5c7f0dc0ee> | {
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Best times to reach me: before 7:50, 9:20-10:00, after 3:00
WELCOME TO THIRD GRADE!!
Welcome to another exciting year! I look forward to working with you and your child in third grade.
Some FYI news:
Birthdays - We celebrate every child’s special day. If you would like to send treats there are 25 students in our class. Please be sure they are commercially packaged items.
Homework folders – Daily we fill in a chart outlining the day’s activities and the evening’s homework. Please take time to go over this each evening with your child.
Home Links – Most evenings there will be a math Home Link. Each is an extension of a skill we are, or will be, working on. These are not designed to frustrate parents! They are activities designed to explore possibilities; there is no one correct way for it to be done. It is also designed to allow families time to work together. Have fun!
Spelling – Each Monday your child will make her/his own personalized list. The first five will be class words, coming from a high frequency list, curriculum, or usage needs. The other five will come from each child’s writing. Throughout the week we will practice and use these words. Friday there is a test. The goal is to improve daily writing.
Word A Week–Wednesday evenings we will have a word-a-week assignment. This involves finding a short definition, writing a sentence, and creating an illustration for a “new” word. The following Friday we will discuss these words and then work on using them in conversation and writing. We are also always on the look out for Wondrous Words. If your child/family comes across a word that is particularly cool or interesting send the word to school on the gold wondrous words sheet.
Library check out – We are scheduled for library time on Friday at 10:15. We also encourage each child to visit the many public libraries in our area. Reading aloud to/with your child increases fluency, vocabulary and interest. This is a great before-bed activity. Computer time is scheduled weekly. (Wednesday/Friday) We will be reinforcing skills and learning new ways to use the computer.
Daily Reading Minutes – the best way to become a better reader is to read. Third grade encourages each student to read at least 75 minutes each week outside of school. This is about 10 minutes each evening. The day’s total is recorded in the homework folder. A weekly total will be taken as one indicator of reading progress.
Evening Writing – This year Bendix will be focusing on making our writing better. We will continue to work on mechanics, spelling, and content in school, but I will be asking that students practice these skills more in an authentic setting at home. A notebook will be coming home outlining the requirements of the evening write.
As you can see, we will be very busy this year. In addition to those things just described, we will be learning cursive handwriting and multiplication! There will also be time for lots and lots of fun.
If you have any questions please feel free to call
274-8218 x1221 or e-mail ([email protected])
See the links on the left for 3rd Grade curriculum, supply lists, and additional links.
8:15 - Opening
(Current Events, Birthdays, Picture books)
8:30 - Reading
9:15 - Specials
Day One: Music
Day Two: Phy. Ed.
Day Three: Art
Day Four: Phy. Ed.
10:00 - Snack and Silent Read
10:15 - Computer (Wednesday), Library(Friday)
10:20 - Writer's Workshop
11:00 - Math
11:50- Lunch and Noon Play
12:50 - Story
1:15 - Word Work/Spelling
1:40 - Social / Science / Health (T, W, Th)
Social: Cultual Studies, Map Skills, Geography
Science: Measurement, Sound, Human Body
Health: Let's Eat, When Bodies Have Problems, My Family, Your Family, Things You might Catch, The Better To See You
Word Work / Poetry (M, F)
2:20 - Homework Folders
2:30 - Class Novel
3:00 - Dismissal | <urn:uuid:28536ef9-0dce-4672-a450-984596391e84> | {
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News - Ocean Observations
Photo credit: Peter Rejcek
Posted: July 7, 2010
Courtesy: Antarctic Sun
By Peter Rejcek
Underwater robots and marine animals outfitted with scientific sensors are part of a proposed strategy for monitoring polar oceans into the 21st century, particularly a stretch of sea along the western Antarctic Peninsula, which is undergoing rapid climate changes.
The proposal comes in the June 18, 2010 issue of the journal Science by a group of scientists who conduct research in Antarctica, most of whom currently work on the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (PAL LTER) program.
Since 1993, the PAL LTER has monitored the region near the U.S. Antarctic Program ’s Palmer Station , close to the northern end of the peninsula, mainly on an annual ship-based survey each January. The scientists suggest profound changes to the environment necessitate new ways to make measurements of the ocean and atmosphere.
For example, midwinter surface temperatures have increased by about 6 degrees centigrade in the past 50 years. Eighty-seven percent of the western peninsula glaciers are in retreat, and the sea ice season has shortened by nearly 90 days.
In their report, the scientists describe a multi-faceted approach to ocean observation, using glider robots that measure ocean characteristics continuously for weeks at a time and tourist vessels, ferries, and other “ships of opportunity†outfitted with chemical and biological sensors.
In the last few years, the PAL LTER program added autonomous underwater vehicles called Slocum gliders through a group from Rutgers University led by Oscar Schofield , who is the lead author on the review paper in Science.
“In just the first few weeks that we had the glider out last year, we collected as much data as the cruises had collected since 1993,†said Hugh Ducklow , a co-author of the Science paper and lead principal investigator for the PAL LTER, in an earlier interview with the Sun.
The authors also suggest outfitting oceanographic instruments on animals such as elephant seals and penguins to provide information on animal behavior and oceanographic conditions. Recent tagging of Adélie penguins nesting near Palmer Station has helped scientists understand the link between nutrient upwelling in underwater canyons and where penguins forage.
“We’re looking for ways to use our existing capabilities to obtain data,†said Ducklow, director of the Ecosystems Centerat the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), in a recent press release from MBL. “Our goal is to make things cheaper and get a lot of them out there. This will help to narrow down uncertainty about the effects of warming on the polar oceans in the coming decades to century.â€
The authors concede that deployment of the observational systems will “require international cooperation given the scale of effort required; however, because many of the technologies have been demonstrated to be effective it is not unreasonable to believe that these networks could be deployed in five to 10 years.
“The benefits of better understanding the marine ecosystem, and being better able to predict, protect, and make use of its resources, are strong drivers to make this a reality.†| <urn:uuid:5d47cba1-4b20-45d1-ab44-d623e4d5f02d> | {
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Solar storms active, but normal
Illustration showing blasts of particles and magnetic field from the Sun that impact the magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble around the Earth (courtesy NASA).
Outbursts observed on the sun last week do not portend new problems for GPS reception or other systems as solar flares and eruptive events known as coronal mass ejections fire up during an increasingly active phase, said a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration space weather expert.
Widespread reports of last week’s solar activity, following a very tranquil period, may have created an impression that solar storms were unusually powerful, the expert said. Magnetic fields on the sun’s surface have intensified, showing up as increased sunspots and generating eruptive activity as a quiet portion of a well-known 11-year sunspot cycle ends.
“We have come out of such a quiet period that it’s pretty interesting from that point of view,” said Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist for NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. “The last outbreak was back in 2006. The sun has been pretty dormant.”
A ball of hot gas, the sun does not rotate as a rigid body. Turbulent effects of that uneven rotation can produce explosive results on the surface, Kunches said.
The recently noted outbursts featured a coronal mass ejection measured at Level 3 on a 1 to 5 scale for solar storms. Putting that in context, Level 3 events occur approximately 200 times during the 11-year cycle, with most outbursts clustered near the cycle’s peak, Kunches said.
Although a solar flare’s “lightning-bolt-like quick indication” can be the earliest evidence of a sudden release of energy on the sun, Kunches said, a more subtle development scientists monitor is whether a portion of the sun’s outer mass--its corona--has been blown off into space.
Such coronal mass ejections are “very directional,” sending a cloud of charged particles hurtling away from the sun. When a coronal mass ejection is observed “right in the middle of the sun,” watch for a plasma cloud to head for the earth, taking between 30 and 72 hours to arrive.
“Last week we had three eruptions from the center,” he said. “Some time later we felt the effects of those plasma fields that disturbed and energized the earth’s magnetic field.” Spaceweather.com reported that an Aug. 9 flare emanating from sunspot 1263 was followed by brief disruption of communications “at some VLF and HF radio frequencies.”
The potential for GPS interference exists because atmospheric noise generated by a coronal mass ejection can drown out the GPS signal, which may be unable to “punch through this mush of electrons.” Or, a GPS unit may seem to be working properly, but its indications are off by up to 50 meters, Kunches said. He consults this real-time map to monitor electron activity in the atmosphere.
Perhaps it was a combination of the solar cycle and the news cycle that generated the interest in solar activity, which, he said, “just wasn’t that big a deal last week.”
On Aug. 10, the Space Weather Prediction Center’s three-day report of solar and geophysical activity reported high solar activity for Aug. 8 and 9, but predicted low to moderate activity for the following three days as an active area rotated around the sun’s west limb.
August 10, 2011 | <urn:uuid:a44388a2-6fcf-47b4-937d-fc996ba7b47c> | {
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Reishiki - the external expression of respect
In Iaido dojo you will practice with a wooden sword (Bokken), or a training sword (Iaito), or even a real Japanese sword with a cutting blade (Katana). There will be numerous people practicing, all in one room. Following the rules of etiquette ensures that no one gets injured. Also, following the rules of etiquette enhances practice in other ways. The teacher can more quickly determine skill levels when students line up in the order of rank. The ceremonial bowing serves as a concentration and focusing point; when bowing, practitioners shows respect for others. Maintaining observant silence allows students to focus their attention and practice reading body language. Cleaning the dojo after practice leaves it ready for the next group.
Always remember, reishiki comes from the heart and without sincere respect it will be only an empty gestures.
- Be on time.
- Do not make class wait.
- Finger and toe nails must be cut short and all jewelry removed.
- Remove shoes before entering.
- A sword should be untied and held in the right hand.
- Step directly in to the dojo.
- Do not block doorway.
- Stop and bow to Shinzen.
- Avoid drawing or pointing a sword toward Shinzen.
- Before practice, be sure your sword is in proper shape.
- Check the Mekugi.
- Place it at Shimoza (opposite side of room from shinzen) with the Ha to the wall.
- Never touch a sword without the owner's permission.
- Do not knock or step over any sword.
- The floor must be cleared and swept.
- Leave the Dojo ready for those who practice after you.
- Eating, drinking, and smoking are not allowed on the Dojo floor.
- When on the practice floor do not have private conversations other than iaido related subjects.
- Tell the teacher of any injuries or problems, or of having to leave early.
- Do not leave without permission.
- Do not speak when teacher is speaking.
- Thank the teacher.
- Show respect to other iaidoka (students)
- Do not draw directly towards others.
- Do not do anything that may distract or injure a fellow practitioner or spectator. | <urn:uuid:566c0f69-f932-4d46-abcd-00f058076cf6> | {
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What is a poster?
A poster is a “public” piece of paper conveying information through text (words) and/or graphic images (symbols or pictures). It’s usually designed to be displayed vertically on a wall or window and is large enough to be seen and read from a relatively short distance. Its main target audience is the person walking by. A poster must convey its message with immediacy and purpose, because people on the street are often in a hurry.
Posters are sometimes huge and can be seen from a long distance and may appear along highways (on bill boards) or on the sides of buildings. Posters may also appear in much smaller versions, sometimes like a postcard, and are called handbills. Whatever the size or shape, posters have a job to do and that is to convey information.
Posters carry many kinds of information:
- they may call the population to rally, revolt or celebrate (e.g. political or propaganda posters)
- they may alert citizens to health hazards or the presence of other dangers in the community (e.g. educational posters)
- they may announce the coming of a wonderful theatre, music or dance performance (e.g. marketing posters)
All effective posters must:
- grab your attention
- entice you to read the information they display
- present the information clearly and fully, so that you understand what the poster wants to say
- convince you to rally, revolt, take part, take precautions, be on the lookout or buy a ticket.
The marketing poster is an important tool in most campaigns to sell arts events to the public. | <urn:uuid:8321965a-894f-4122-a349-11f21b6c24dd> | {
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Understanding Children Who Have Been Affected by Maltreatment and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Both maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure result in lifelong impairments that significantly affect multiple developmental processes of school-age children, including language, social communication, social cognition, and executive functioning. This program provides a framework for the creation of more effective assessment and intervention processes for this population by speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
You will be able to:
- discuss the brain structures and functions that are affected by complex trauma and prenatal alcohol exposure and the relative effects on the developmental functions of attachment, affect regulation, and information processing.
- recognize sensory modulation difficulties in children with the potential to have maltreatment and/or prenatal alcohol exposure.
- use a framework appropriate for assessing the social communication of children who have been affected by maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure.
- discuss connections among emotional competence, alexithymia, and communication and language impairments.
- recognize cultural issues involved in appropriately identifying the occurrence of maltreatment.
- enumerate various ways the child welfare system affects the lives of the children and families who have been affected by maltreatment and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
View the Table of Contents [PDF]
6/17/2012 to 5/3/2015 | <urn:uuid:7e1288f6-3a81-4583-94bd-1309af65b937> | {
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kalash is a common sight in the Indian household, at the
altar. Any auspicious function has the kalash in place
is a kalash?
earthen or brass pot is a pot with an opening at one end
and is blocked to hold things, usually water. A pot is
empty, but has the potential to contain many a thing!
The pot thus represents the inert body, which when
filled with the water of wisdom becomes a fully
functioning body, capable of fulfilling life’s needs!
Kalash is a pot which contains water, on which a few
sprigs of mango leaves are placed at the mouth and
finally a full coconut also placed, with its head into
the mouth and the conical part of the coconut springing
out. Sometimes, this coconut is placed on a cloth
containing rice. A pot is tied with a thread across its
length and breath to form
small diamond shaped pattern.
kumbha (pot) when filled with rice representing
fertility and prosperity is called the poorna kumbha,
signifies completeness. It also could mean that water
and food that are needed to nourish our body.
is decorated with a symbol of swastika and filled with
water too. The ‘swastika’ a Sanskrit word literally
translates as swasti meaning the well-being of all and
‘ka’ meaning symbol. The swastika symbol that looks
alike from all directions, also represents the Sun-the
life giver. When portrayed on a pot of water, the kalash
automatically symbolizes power, the water being the
water of wisdom.
means prosperity, wisdom and divine consciousness, as it
is the waters of the seas that brings down the rain,
plants need water, and it is in the seas that in days of
yore, people conducted trades. A ship laden with goods,
even today is considered a fortunate symbol. Thus, the
kalash with water in it and the swastika symbol
decorated outside symbolizes the importance of both sun
and rains for a good yield of crops! The coconut placed
at the mouth of the kalash represents the vegetation
that grows with the help of sunlight and water. Although
some kalash contain a lotus flower, most have a coconut.
coconut trees dot the sea-shore and coastal areas are
incomplete without these trees. Coconut also known as
the Kalpa Vruksha is a tree whose every part is used by
humans. Tender coconut water is as sweet as nectar to
the parched throat and the shells in ancient days were
used to produce fire. The leaves are still used to cover
roofs in huts. The fine stalk in between the many leaves
is collected and toed around to form a broom! Need there
be any mention of the famed coconut oil? Little wonder
then why coconut is placed at the mouth of the kalash!
times, instead of mango leaves, the leaves of peepal
tree (bodhi-ficus religiosa), jackfruit leaves are also
placed. While the Bodhi or peepal tree is associated
with Buddha’s enlightenment, the mango is a very sweet
and rare fruit and jackfruit also a prosperous tree.
thread across the pot
length and breath of the poorna kumbha is tied with a
thread, to form a diamond shaped pattern. This thread is
the common thread of love that binds all beings across
the world. A smile is a universal symbol of love,
compassion, acceptance and happiness. A smile and love,
is the thread binding the universe.
wisdom of the four Vedas, the waters from holy rivers
and the blessings of all deities are invoked when
anything auspicious is undertaken. Thus, the couple
united in wedlock, the young Brahmachari boy, whose
spiritual journey begins with the tying of the sacred
thread on his torso, the woman who is blessed for the
smooth delivery of her progeny and the family that
enters into a brand new house, all place the Kalash,
seeking the wisdom of the waters, the fertility and
prosperity of the leaves and rice, the omnipotence of
the coconut, well-being of the swastika and the love
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What can we learn about land stewardship from The Lord of the
By John Amodeo, ASLA
Build me an army worthy of Mordor,” commands Sauron in
The Fellowship of the Ring. With a maniacal greed for power,
the easily corrupted Saruman turns his cavernous lair beneath Isengard
into a frenzied factory of orcs and armor, fueled by burning the
region’s trees, which he clear-cuts with reckless abandon.
When an orc reports to Saruman, “The trees are strong, my
lord; their roots grow deep,” Saruman barks, “Take them
all down,” and down they come.
Thus J. R. R. Tolkien draws the lines of evil in his wondrous tale,
The Lord of the Rings. Since the trilogy’s initial
publication in 1954, many have analyzed, debated, and deconstructed
Tolkien on the topics of linguistics, history, anthropology, sociology,
mythology, and war, but rare is the discussion on Tolkien’s
environmental commentary, though all the signs are there. Although
Tolkien, who died in 1973, vehemently discouraged using his books
as an allegory for real events, he favored use of them in ways that
are applicable to readers’ own thoughts and experiences. Looking
beneath the fun, the action, and the mysticism of Tolkien’s
fantastic creation, landscape architects need only observe the ways
in which the forces of good and evil treat Mother Earth to discover
that Tolkien wove a conservationist morality tale within its pages
(evident in the films as well) that resonates strongly in the society
in which we practice.
.To read the entire article, subscribe to LAM!
| Annual Meeting | <urn:uuid:1666b84a-64fb-44c5-95e6-2e14e86ee7db> | {
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Without a doubt, the dominant strain of early Ozarks settlers was Scots-Irish.
Troubled by continued reports of turbulence in his Irish population, King James I decided to repeople the island with Protestants. That was in 1607 and became known as the Ulster Plantation.
Not surprisingly, the forced immigration caused conflict. The Scots held the native Irish in contempt as an inferior people, and Irish considered the Scots invaders.
Fleeing hardship and religous persecution, the Scots-Irish flocked to America's shores in the early 18th Century. These relative newcomers contributed 12 of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence and 12 of the 54 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. They and their direct descendents have given America 13 of its 33 presidents.
The Scots-Irish immigrants had an aversion to large population centers and migrated westward in large numbers to Kentucky and Tennessee. Often referred to derisively as "hillbillies," these hardy folks endured in a harsh and unforgiving land. In the early 19th century they pushed on to the Ozark Highlands.
Nowhere is the heritage of the region more evident than in music. The fiddle may have given way to the iPod, and the barn dance to MTV, but the Celtic-inspired tunes of our forefathers will always hold a special place in our hearts.
The Missouri Department of Conservation has produced a delightful CD filled with traditional, Ozarks folk music. Quoting from their web page:
"You might call it an "Ozark" River Dance. Our new folk-music CD is a spirited mix of traditional Celtic jigs, foot-stomping Ozark bluegrass, and narrative enhanced by nature sounds. The CD brings to life the Scots-Irish and their trek from the lowlands of Scotland to the shores of America, and on to Missouri Ozark country. With more than 20 songs, "Fiddles and Forests" is the brainchild of fiddle player and Department employee Mike Fraser. The concept began as a live program in which he used music to entertain audiences while educating them about Ozark forests and history. The two-disc set features the story and songs on one disc and the music alone on the other."
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logging in or signing up Robot Arm aSGuest58216 Download Post to : URL : Related Presentations : Share Add to Flag Embed Email Send to Blogs and Networks Add to Channel Uploaded from authorPOINT lite Insert YouTube videos in PowerPont slides with aS Desktop Copy embed code: Embed: Flash iPad Copy Does not support media & animations WordPress Embed Customize Embed URL: Copy Thumbnail: Copy The presentation is successfully added In Your Favorites. Views: 1039 Category: Product Traini.. License: All Rights Reserved Like it (0) Dislike it (0) Added: August 02, 2010 This Presentation is Public Favorites: 0 Presentation Description No description available. Comments Posting comment... Premium member Presentation Transcript Build Your Own Robot Arm : Build Your Own Robot Arm Trinidad September 2008 Nico Beute What will we do today? (1) : What will we do today? (1) We will build a robot arm from simple materials The arm would pick up a plastic cup from a distance of 45cm Lift the cup to a height of at least 15cm Bring the cup back to rest and release it You cannot get too close… : You cannot get too close… Cup Student Robot Arm 45cm You cannot get any closer than 45cm to the cup at any time What will we do today? (2) : What will we do today? (2) Lift and release the cup when it is upside down Lift and release the cup when it is full of candy Do not spill Use the same design (possibly with a modified end effector) to lift a pen Why is this experiment useful to teachers and students? : Why is this experiment useful to teachers and students? It teaches technological design It requires mathematical calculations for design It relates to the studies of motion and force It requires communication in writing (design) and orally (explaining the design principles) Principles & Standards for School Mathematics : Principles & Standards for School Mathematics Geometry: Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships Problem Solving: Recognize and apply geometric ideas in areas outside of the mathematics classroom Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies Communication: Communicate mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others Outline and Procedures : Outline and Procedures Divide into teams of two (2) Review the requirements Discuss a solution and create a sketch of your design Build a model of your design with given materials Test your model Redesign after testing : Redesign after testing Discuss and agree upon a redesign If needed after testing, or to enhance the previous design Rebuild your robot arm Retest your model Answer reflection questions as a team Reflection Questions : Reflection Questions What was one thing you liked about your design? What is its main weakness? Are there algebraic and physical principles that can be applied to this activity? What is one thing you would change about your design based on your experience? How would you modify the instructions to create a better experience for the participants? Design requirements : Design requirements The arm would pick up a plastic cup from a distance of 45cm Lift the cup to a height of at least 15cm Bring the cup back to rest and release it Lift and release the cup when it is upside down Lift and release the cup when it is full of candy Use the same design (possibly with a modified end effector) to lift a pen You do not have the permission to view this presentation. In order to view it, please contact the author of the presentation. | <urn:uuid:cee5fe96-dc94-4211-9afc-8aa2bdbc6bfb> | {
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|Avesta -- Zoroastrian Archives||Contents||Prev||history3||Next||Glossary|
THE IDEA OF GOD IN THE MILLENNIUM
Yahweh, the only God of the Hebrews. We have already
seen the eclipse of the old gods and the rise of the new ones
in India during the millennium that opened with Zarathushtra
and ended with the advent of Jesue. The monotheistic idea
greatly developed during this period among the Jews who were
a subject race under the Persians and whose religion was influenced
by Zoroastrianism. As Judaism later gave much to
Christianity and Mohammedanism, the knowledge of the belief
in the godhead among this people is of great interest, and we
shall discuss it in brief.
A race of sturdy nomads of Semitic stock tending their flocks from times immemorial in the Arabian desert, of handsome features with prominent aquiline nose, is seen settling down in Palestine about thirteen centuries before the Christian era. Many of their kinsmen had laboured and suffered as slaves in Egypt, until Moses brought them deliverance. The Hebrews, as the people are known to history, found their new settlement already populated by the civilized Canaanites. The new-comers intermarried with them and adopted their civilization. They succeeded later in founding a kingdom, and under the heroic ruler David, Jerusalem became the centre of Jewish religious life and the sanctuary of their national God Yahweh. During the period of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel prophetic literature of great value arose and enriched human thought. The kingdom of Israel ended in 721 B.C., and Judah met with her destruction in 586 B.C. The Persians brought the Jews deliverance and allowed them to restore the temple of Jerusalem that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. They flourished under the tolerant Persian rule, codified their religious laws, collected and copied the sermons and teachings and songs and ancient writings that they stilt possessed. Thus in a few centuries more there came into being the scriptures known as the Old Testament, the most precious legacy of the Hebrews to mankind.
When they had lived in small groups, each tribe had its God,
whom the people worshipped. Gradually a more powerful God
from among these won the universal respect of the race. He was
Yahweh, worshipped in the earlier stages in the form of a brazen
serpent, until the idol worship gave place to a purer form of
godhead. His dominion over men was contested by Baal of
Tyre who received devotion from the people side by side with
him both in Israel and Judah. Yahweh ultimately came out
successful and remained the only God of the Hebrews. The
prophet Amos (760 B.C.) raised him to monotheistic grandeur
and spoke as the mouth-piece of Yahweh. Hosea and Isaiah
preach against idolatry and the prophets are incessantly enjoining
upon the people not to make idols or graven images and they
exhort them not to worship any other God but Yahweh. It is
said that Yahweh is a jealous God and brooks no homage but to
him. The children of Israel had suffered in Egypt where they
were in bondage. God heard their groaning and had compassion
on them. He appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, burning
in a bush, and said that he had come down to deliver the suffering
children of Israel from bondage to a place flowing with
milk and honey. He gave him ten commandments for the guidance
of the people. Therein he demands that man shall fear
him, walk in his ways, cleave unto him, obey him, love him, and
serve him with all his heart and all his soul. He has chosen
Israel unto himself above all people as a beacon of light and
righteousness to mankind. Consequently, he demands that they
shall serve him faithfully, and transgress not his commandments.
If people walk in the Lord's statutes and keep his commandments,
he gives them seasonal rains, full crops, protection against
the attacks of animals and men, victory and offspring. He goes
with the armies of Israel to the battlefield and fights for them
against the enemies. But when they transgress his commandments,
worship idols or other gods or turn apostates, he breaks
the pride of their power, lets loose their enemies over them, and
chastises them by visiting their country with plagues and pestlences,
famines and droughts, desolation and death. It was for
the inequities of his wayward children that Yahweh sent Tiglath-Pileser
as his scourge to punish them and put them under
the Assyrian yoke. The prophet Isaiah tells the people that Yahweh
uses Assyria as his rod to punish them. Those who seek
Yahweh, find him. He does not fail or forsake them. But
when they forsake him, and provoke him to anger, he casts them
away forever. But even then if people repent, humble themselves
before him, fall down on their faces, rend their clothes, and
weep, he relents, forgives them, comes back to them, takes them
under his protecting wings, helps them, and prospers them. The
Psalms and Prophets are replete with higher ethical sentiment
and aim at reforming the motives of conduct rather than regulating
it by ceremonial observances. They are full of fervent
expressions of religious emotion. God is depicted here as the
compassionate Father who looks to all as his children. Judaism
prepares the way for a nobler type of godhead that was to be
preached by Jesus.
Taoism and Confucianism. Animism and ancestral worship
ministered to the spiritual needs of the people in China from
the earliest times. As in the other parts of the world, the
higher conceptions of gods or of some one supreme principle
like Heaven as God were gradually evolving among the sages.
Tradition places the Golden Age of China in about 3000 B.C.
But the authentic historical records do not go beyond a millennium
before the Christian era. It is in this period that great
religious and social ideals were preached that have shaped the
Chinese life for all time. The country was harassed by feudal
warfare, and famine and pestilence worked havoc, adding to the
misery of the people. Perplexed at the visitation of misfortunes
and calamities, wail goes up to Heaven from a poet in the eighth
century B. C. complaining that Heaven is unjust and merciless
in its dealings with mankind. Such complaints are however
drowned in the chorus that Heaven does not will evil. It is man's
own fault, in consequence of which he suffers. Man is born good,
it is said, but when he goes astray from the path of goodness,
he brings calamity on his head. When there were strife and
chaos stalking the earth, the sages felt that peace and harmony
reigned above in heaven. Perfect was the Way or Heaven or the
Tao or the one universal principle, the ultimate reality. Happiness
would fall to the lot of mankind, if it followed faithfully
the Way. The imitation of the Way or Heaven was therefore
the ideal of earthly conduct. It was virtue and virtue brought
happiness. Man's duty was to cultivate the Way and the sages
undertook to teach it to mankind. The Way was one which to
all thinkers looked alike, but the methods of reaching it as
taught by them were different.
Lao-tze, a great mystic born in 601 B.C., is the founder of
Taoism. He teaches quietism. Confucius (551-479 B.C.) is
the man of the world and teaches a moral code of personal
conduct. His relgion is a discipline of life and his system is a
reaction against Taoism.
AHURA MAZDAAhura, Mazda, and Ahura Mazda. The name of God still retains its two elements separate. These have not yet coalesced into one word. In the metrical sections of the Younger Avesta the two elements are sometimes used apart from each other, or either one of the terms may be used to designate the Supreme Being, but in the prose compositions the collocation Ahura Mazda generally occurs as a compound phrase. In the formation of compounds, however, either Ahura or Mazda alone is used for the sake of convenience. The Ahura compounds such as Ahura-dhâta, 'created by Ahura,' Ahura-tkaesha, 'of the faith of Ahura,' or the adjectival form âhuiri, 'of Ahura,' invariably represent the divine lord Ahura Mazda. Similarly, the Mazda element in the compounds Mazda-dhâta, 'created by Mazda,' Mazda-yasna, 'worshipper of Mazda,' Mazdo-frasasta, 'taught by Mazda,' Mazdo-fraokhta, or Mazdaokhta, 'spoken by Mazda,' invariably stands for Ahura Mazda himself.
|Ahura Mazda is the highest object of worship. Ahura Mazda still holds sovereign sway over both the worlds; his authority in the world of righteousness is undisputed, and his imperial right is unchallenged. He is the greatest and the very best of the angels.1 The Old Persian Inscriptions speak of him as the greatest of the divinities.2 The archangels and angels dutifully carry out Mazda's orders. Reverence for him has never abated, and adoration of him does not languish with the advent again of the old Indo-Iranian divinities. Like the dual divinities Varuna-Mitra who received joint invocation during the Indo-Iranian period, Ahura-Mithra or Mithra-Ahura are invoked together. Ahura generally takes precedence and Mithra stands second in the compound,3 but in the Nyaishes composed in honour of Hvare Khshaeta or the sun and Mithra, as also in the Yasht dedicated to Mithra,4 the order is reversed and we have then Mithra-Ahura. He is yet the sublimest goal of human aspiration. The best of all sacrifices and invocations are those of Mazda.5||
1. Y16.1; Yt17.16.
2. Dar. Pers. d. 1; Xerx. Elv. 1; Xerx. Van. 1.
3. Y1.11; 2.11; 3.13; 4.16; 6.10; 7.13; 17.10; 22.13.
4. Ny1.7; 2.7, 12; Yt10.113, 145.
The faithful acknowledge their indebtedness to Ahura Mazda
and devoutly offer to him their homage and sacrifice.6
They worship him with the very life of the body,7 and they
long to reach him through the medium of fire, through the
Good Mind, through Righteousness, and through the deeds and
words of wisdom, as well as through good thoughts, good words,
and good deeds.8 Ahura Mazda, in fact, is implored to be their
very life and limb in both the worlds.9 It is through the
Best Righteousness that the true in heart aspire to behold the Lord
to approach him, and to associate with him.10 The attainment
of the companionship and the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda is the
pious wish of the supplicant.11
8. Y36.1, 4, 5.
11. Y40.2; 41.2, 5, 6.
Mazda's titles. The Yasna sacrifice opens with the praise
of Ahura Mazda and enumerates the following divine titles:
maker, radiant, glorious, the greatest, the best, the most beautiful,
the most firm, the most wise, of the most perfect form, the
highest in righteousness, possessed of great joy, creator, fashioner,
nourisher, and the Most Holy Spirit.12 He is all-pervading.
There is no conceivable place where he is not. Closer
than the nose is to the ears, or the ears are to the mouth, is he
to all that which the corporeal world thinks, speaks, and does.13
He is the greatest temporal and spiritual lord.14 He is the absolute
ruler.15 He is the most mighty and righteous.16 He is
benevolent.17 He is the maker, the most holy, the most wise,
and the best one to answer when questioned.18 His is the omnisscent
wisdom.19 He is undeceivable.20 He is omniscient and
never sleeping.21 Radiant and glorious are the most frequent
epithets with which the texts open the invocation to the divinity.
Above all Ahura Mazda is the spirit of spirits.22 This essential
trait stands intact through all changes in the concept of God.
He is not invested with any anthropomorphic chracter, and his
multifarious epithets are truly the figurative expressions of human
language used by man in his feeble attempt to give vent to
an outburst of the feelings of devotion and reverence for his
Heavenly Father. Ahura Mazda is synonymous with light, even
as his opponent is identical with darkness, and the sun is spoken
of as his most beautiful form.23 Just as the Rig Veda speaks
of the sun as the eye of Mithra and Varuna,24 so do the Avestan
texts call the sun the eye of Ahura Mazda.25 Speaking about
the nature of Ahuta Mazda, Plutarch well remarks that among
objects of sense the Zoroastrian godhead most of all resembles
the light.26 The star-spangled heaven is his garment;27 the holy
spell is his soul.28 Many are the names by which mankind have
learnt to know him. The first Yasht, which is dedicated to him,
enumerates seventy-four of these attributes. They are all descriptive
of his wisdom, far-sightedness, power, righteousness justice, and mercy.29
13. TdFr. 58, 59.
14. Y27.1; Vr11.21.
18. Vd18.7, 13, 66.
21. Yt12.1; Vd. 19.20, 26.
23. Y36.6; 28.8.
24. RV. 1.115.1; 6.51.1; 7.61.1; 63.1; 10.37.
25. Y1.11; 3.13; 4.16; 7.13; 22.13.
26. Is. et Os. 46.
29. Yt1.7, 8, 12-15.
Only the world of righteousness is created by Ahura Mazda.
As the antithesis between the Deity and the Evil Spirit
is now most strongly marked in the Later Avesta, the godhead is
expressly described as the creator of everything that is good,30
evil being the counter-creation of Angara Mainyu. Ahura Mazda
and Angra Mainyu in the younger texts are described as creating
good and evil in turn. The archangels are Mazda's creations;31
so also are the angels and men, the animals, sky, water, trees,
light, wind, and earth.32 In the various enquiries which Zarathushtra
addresses to Ahura Mazda in the Vendidad, the divinity
is portrayed as the creator of corporeal world. Ahura expressly
says to Zarathushtra that he has created everything in
the world, and yet nothing in his creation comes up to the level
of man, who is the greatest and the best of all creations.33
Through the wisdom of Ahura Mazda the world has come into
being, and through his divine wisdom it will come also to an
32. Y1.1, 2, 12; 2.12; 12.7; 17.12; 37.1; 38.3; Vr7.4; Vd19.13, 16, 35; 21.4, 8, 12; Aog. 30.
33. Aog. 30.
SPENTA MAINYUBelief in an intermediary spirit between God and the world. From the days of Thales (about 600 B.C.), the head of the school of Miletus, the Greek thinkers were in touch with the Orient. The Ionians were in close contact with the Persians. Pythagoras, we have seen, was believed by the classical writers to have been the pupil of Zoroaster, though several centuries intervened between them. Numenius of Apamea says that Pythagoras and Plato reproduce the ancient wisdom of the Magi and Brahmans, Egyptians and Jews. Alexandria became later a cosmopolitan seat of learning, and the intellectual East and West met there. It was here that Judaism and afterwards Christianity were Hellenized. The wisdom of the East was held in high esteem at Alexandria. Persian influence, it seems, had been felt in Greece in the early formative period of its philosophy. Zarathushtra, we have noticed, postulated a quasi-independent spirit intermediary between the godhead and the universe, Anaxagoras calls it nous, acting between God, and the world as the regulating principle of existence. Plato says in his Timaeus that the universe becomes an organism through the universal World-Soul that is created by the Demiurge, the Supreme Deity.
The Old Testament refers to the Spirit of Yahweh.1 Philo Judaeus
unites the Greek and Jewish ideas about Logos and says
that Logos is the first-born Son of God and acts as a viceregent
of God between God and the world. He is the prototypal Man
after whose image all men are created. Logos is something more
than Plato's Idea of the Good, because, like Spenta Mainyu, he
is creatively active. In common with Spenta Mainyu, Logos is
not a personal being, and like Spenta Mainyu again, he appears
sometimes as identified with God and at other times seems to be
an attribute of God. The Avestan texts refer to Spenta Mainyu
and his adversary Angra Mainyu as thworeshtar or the fashioners
or cutters and, speaking about the work of Logos, Philo
speaks of him as Tomeus, 'the cutter,' employing the word of
the same meaning. Again as Spenta Mainyu or the spirit of
light is shadowed by the opposite spirit of darkness, so Logos,
says Philo, is the Shekinah or Glory or Light of God, but he is
also the darkness or shadow of God. This is so because, he adds,
the creature reveals only half the creator and hides the other
half. In the Book of Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom, identical
with the Greek Logos, is the divine essence, living a quasi-independent
existence in God and side by side with God. She works
as the active agent of god in the creation of the world. In
Mithraism, Mithra held the position of the Mediator between
God who was unknowable and unapproachable and mankind.
He fashioned the world as Demiurge. The intermediary Spirit
of God occurs throughout the New Testament. Numenius of
Apamea, writing in the second century, says that God has bestowed
divine qualities upon a second god who acts in the world
as the power for good. The Supreme God or the First principle,
he adds, works in the spiritual world, whereas the activity
of the second god extends to the spiritual as well as material
world. Origen, writing shortly after him, says that God created
Logos or the Son. His relation to the Father is the same as
that which exists between Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu.
The Son or Logos, says Origen, is co-eternal and co-equal with
the Father, but the Son is lesser than the Father. Clement of
Alexandria says that Logos, represents the will, power, and
energy of God. He is the creator on behalf of God. He has
introduced harmony in the universe and conducts its affairs
as the pilot.
||1. Genesis 1.2.|
|The relation between Ahura Mazda and his Holy Spirit. It remains as subtle in the Younger Avestan texts as it was in the Gathas. We have already seen in the treatment of this highly abstract concept, as it is portrayed in the Gathic texts, that the term Spenta Mainyu either designated Ahura Mazda as his divine attribute, or occurred as a being separate from the godhead. The Later Avestan texts, it seems to us, lead us to the idea that Spenta Mainyu has no independent existence apart from Ahura Mazda, in other words, as shown above, he is not a personal being. The Later Avesta, moreover, as we shall see in the subsequent pages, teaches that all earthly and heavenly beings, belonging to the Kingdom of Goodness, including Ahura Mazda himself, have their Fravashis, or Guardian Spirits. Spenta Mainyu alone in the realm of the good is without his Guardian Spirit. Furthermore, Spenta Mainyu does not receive homage and invocation from man, as do Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas, and the Yazatas. In one passage the faithful dedicate their thoughts, words, deeds, and all to him.2 Spenta Mainyu, therefore, may be taken as an attribute of Ahura Mazda which is either conjointly used with the godhead as his distinguishing epithet, or occurs alone by itself to designate the Supreme Being. In this latter use, it may be said, Spenta Mainyu represents Ahura Mazda, in the same manner as the royal title 'His Majesty' is frequently used as a substitute for the name of a king.||2. Y58.6.|
|In contradistinction to the evil creation of Angra Mainyu, or the Evil Spirit, the Avestan texts speak of the good creation as belonging to Spenta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit.3 He maintains the sky, the waters, the earth, the plants, and the children to be born.4 The stars also are spoken of as the creatures of the Holy Spirit.5 He created Mithra's chariot, inlaid with stars and made of heavenly substance.6 He is spoken of as the holier of the two spirits.7 He struggles with Angra Mainyu to seize the Kingly Glory [khwarrah].8 Characteristic or the highly developed type of dualism of the Younger Avestan period, we find that the two rival spirits divide their sphere of influence in regard to the wind, or Vayu. The moderate wind that is conducive of good is called the wind of Spenta Mainyu,9 and only to this good part of Vayu are the faithful to offer sacrifice.10 Snavidhka, a tyrant foe of the Iranian hero Keresaspa, haughtily exclaims that if he ever grew to manhood he would make the heavens his chariot, convert the earth into a wheel, bring down Spenta Mainyu, or the Holy Spirit, from the shining paradise, and make Angra Mainyu, or the Evil Spirit, rush up from the dreary hell, and compel them to draw his chariot.11 In a couple of instances Ahura Mazda is depicted as speaking of the Holy Spirit as a part of himself. Speaking about the great work of the Fravashis, or the Guardian Spirits, Ahura Mazda says that had not the Ftavashis helped him, the wicked Druj would have smitten the good creation, and it would never have been possible for Spenta Mainyu to deal a blow to Angra Mainyu.12 Ahura Mazda sacrifices unto Vayu and asks from this angel of wind a boon, that he may smite the creation of Angra Mainyu but that none may smite the creation of Spenta Mainyu.13||
3. Y1.16; 8.6, 11.13; 17.2; 57.17; Vr12.4; Yt6.2; 8.48; 11.11;
13.76; 15.3, 43, 44; Vd3.20; 5.33; 13.1, 2, 5, 6, 16.
4. Yt13.28, 29.
5. Y1.11; 3.13; 4.16; 7.13; 22.13; Yt12.32.
9. Y22.24; 25.5.
10. Yt15.5, 42, 57, 58; S1.21; 2.11.
11. Yt19.43, 44.
12. Yt13.12, 13.
13. Yt15.2, 3.
The superlative forms, Spentotema Mainyu,14 or Spenishta Mainyu,
meaning the Most Holy Spirit; are spoken of as Ahura Mazda's
14. Y1.1; 37.3.
15. Y19.1; Yt1.1; 14.1, 34, 42; Vd2.1; 7.1; 9.1; 10.1; 14.1; 18.14; A4.4.
AMESHA SPENTASThe archangels. The higher celestial beings that had not expressly acquired a distinguishing name of their own in the Gathas are now designated as the Amesha Spentas, or 'Holy Immortal Ones.' They are thus addressed for the first time in the Haptanghaiti, or the Yasna of Seven Chapters, the earliest prose composition of the Avestan period, though still made in the Gathic dialect.1 They are all created by Ahura Mazda.2 Plutarch and Strabo refer to them in their works.3 With the godhead at the pinnacle they form a heptad and are henceforth mentioned as the seven Holy Immortal Ones.4 Severally they are both male and female.5 Vohu Manah, Asha Vahishta, and Khshathra Vairya are conceived of as masculine beings, though neuter in grammatical gender; Spenta Armaiti is pictured as a feminine concept; and Haurvatat and Ameretat are treated as masculine beings, though their grammatical gender is feminine. In a paramount degree they are all of one thought, one word, and one deed; their father and lord is the creator Ahura Mazda.6 They look into one another's soul;7 and they each have their special Fravashi.8 Garonmana [garothman], the highest heaven, is their dwelling-place, and there they occupy the golden seats that belong to spirits in the realm supernal.9 Their sacred names are the most mighty, most glorious, and the most victorious of the spells.10 To utter their name is synonymous with efficacy and power. Yasht 2 is devoted to their praise.
1. Y39.3; 42.6.
3. Is. et Os. 47; Strabo, p. 732; Thomas, Strabo and the Ameshaspands in J. J. Madressa Jubilee Volume, p. 173-176.
4. Yt2.13; 13.83; 19.16; For seven Babylonian Igigis and seven Elamite deities, see Gray, The Foundations of the Iranian Religions, p. 17.
5. Y4.4; 24.9; 39.3; Vr9.4.
6. Yt13.83; 19.16.
7. Yt13.84; 19.17.
9. Vd19.32, 36.
Their attributes. The Amesha Spentas are the ever-living
and the ever-helping ones;11 they are the wise ones, and good rulers.12
It is they that are the shining ones; of efficacious eyes,
exalted, mighty, valiant, imperishable, and righteous.12 They are
the makers, rulers, fashioners, guardians, protectors, and preservers
of the creation of Mazda,14 and Mazda has given them
11. Y4.4; 39.3; Vr9.4; 11.12.
12. Y2.2; 4.4; 6.1; 24.9; 25.4; 35.1; 58.5; 70.1; Vr8.1; 11.12; Vd19.9.
13. Y26.3; Yt13.82.
14. Y58.5; Yt19.18; Vd19.9.
Their work. The archangels hold their celestial councils on
the heights of the heavens.16 From there they come down to
the seven zones into which the world was divided according to
the Avesta,17 and rule over the realms of earth.18 They are
naturally invited to the sacrifice,19 and offerings are placed by
the devout for them to accept.20 The faithful pray that the
Amesha Spentas may visit and enjoy sacrifices in their houses,21
for shining is the path by which they descend to earth to receive
the libations offered in their honour.22 Even Mithra as a God-like
embodiment sacrificed unto them,23 and for him they have
made a dwelling.24 They are of one accord with the sun;25 and
they gather together the light of the moon and pour it down
upon the earth.26 They are the divine ones who help in bringing
about the final restoration of the world.27 Each of them will
smite his opponent at the time of the resurrection.28
17. Y57.23; Yt11.14.
22. Yt13.84; 19.17.
25. Yt10.51; 13.92.
Zarathushtra the first among mortals to sacrifice unto the
Amesha Spentas. Mazda asks his prophet to invoke the Amesha Spentas,
even though he could not behold them with his eyes.29
Zarathushtra follows Mazda's behests; and he is the first man to
invoke them.30 a spiritual predecessor having been Sraosha. For
that reason the faithful sacrifice unto the Amesha Spentas with
love and joy,31 and pray to them for help and protection.32
Their praise and sacrifice form one of the cardinal articles of
faith.33 Hence it is that we find in the oft-repeated formulas of
the Later Avestan texts that sacrifice, invocation, propitiation,
and glorification are offered to them for the furtherance of
prosperity in the world of righteousness.34 Nor must it be forgotten
that in his benedictions upon King Vishtaspa the prophet
invokes upon his royal patron the blessings of brightness, glory,
riches, swift horses, and good sons that come as a benign gift
from the archangels.35 The ceremonials performed in honour
of the Amesha Spentas by unholy priests delight them not;36
on the other hand, distress and harm flee from that worshipper
whose homage has reached them.37 When their loving votary
performs his devotions and finds his spirit inflamed by their
love, he forthwith dedicates to them the very life of his body
and all his earthly possessions.38
31. Y15.1; Vr6.1.
36. Yt10.139; 24.12.
38. Y11.18; 14.1, 2; Vr5.2.
His place in the Later Avesta. As the first in the creation
of Ahura Mazda, Vohu Manah retains his pre-eminent position in the
Later Avestan period. He occupies his seat next to Ahura Mazda in
the celestial council. The other archangels live in
him.39 In some cases Vohu Manah does not stand as the name
of the archangel, but simply connotes its ordinary meaning good mind or
thought. In fact, as in the Gathas, there is a subtlety of
meaning that makes it difficult to decide in translation whether
the concept or the archangel is intended. In Vd19.20, 23-25
the term designates a good man or even clean clothes.
||39. Y4.4; Vr11.12.|
Vohu Manah guards wisdom. Vohu Manah's khratu, or
wisdom, which occurs in the Gathas, is now classified in the later
texts into two distinct types, âsna khratu, 'innate wisdom,' and
gaoshosruta khratu, 'acquired wisdom.' These two types of
knowledge are spoken of as objects worthy of sacrifice and
propitiation.40 Ahura Mazda accordingly asks Zarathushtra to
seek knowledge all the night long,41 because the true priest and
his disciples work by day and by night for the increase of knowledge.42
Vohu Manah rejoices in man's endeavour to wrest from
nature her secrets.
40. Y22.25; 25.6; Yt2.1; S1.2, 29; 2.2, 29.
42. Vd4.45; 18.6.
|His Work. When the Evil Spirit first attacked creation Vohu Manah came to its succour.43 Zarathushtra asks Ahura Mazda to teach him the laws of both the worlds, so that men following his precepts may act in such a way that Vohu Manah may come to them.44 It is through his medium that the devout can aspire to reach Ahura Mazda;45 and on that account he is implored to further bodily life.46 It is said, moreover, that he is more a possession of the hard-working man of the world, who has married and toils for his family, than of the celibate or the ascetic.47 Vohu Manah's function of guarding the animal kingdom is not emphasized in the Avestan texts.||
43. Yt13.77, 78.
|Vohu Manah welcomes the righteous souls to paradise. When the blessed ones cross the great bridge and come up to the gates of heaven, this premier angel rises from his golden throne and in gracious words receives the new-comers.48||48. Vd19.31.|
In the final conflict between the hosts of the rival powers,
he will smite his adversary Aka Manah.48a
The formation of the name. The Younger Avesta, in conformity
with the Gathas, calls this archangel Asha and adds the
epithet vahishta or 'best' to the name. The variant stem arta is,
however, found as an element of Astvatereta, the name of the
renovator [soshyant].49 It is also met with in the proper names during the
Achaemenian period. We have, for example, Artakhshathra,
Artadata, Artapata, and Artafarnah. Its forms areta, 'proper,'
and anareta or anaretha, 'improper,' are likewise found.50 A
righteous person is called ashavan which is equivalent to the
Vedic rtâvan. In the use of Avestan ashahe khâ and Vedic khâ
rtasya, 'source of righteousness,' we have an interesting
instance of the common words employed by both.51
49. Yt13.110, 117, 128, 129; 19.92, 95.
50. Y12.4; 65.9; Vr1.2; 2.2.
51. Y10.4; RV2.28.5.
|His righteousness remains the basic doctrine of Zoroastrianism during the Later Avestan period. Ahura Mazda is the righteous lord of righteousness.52 Among the many names by which Ahura Mazda is invoked in the hymn dedicated to him, the fourth is Asha Vahishta or Best Righteousness.53 Ahura Mazda has created Asha Vahishta, or Best Righteousness,54 who is the greatest, best, fairest, the radiant, the all-good archangel.55 In one instance he is called by the Indo-Iranian epithet bagha, 'divinity.' He it is who smites disease, death, fiends, sorcerers, noxious creatures, and his adversary Druj, Deceit or Wickedness.56 Zarathushtra for that reason proclaims the glory of Asha Vahishta, through whom the way to the abode of the archangels, paradise, becomes easy.57 The souls of the dead, who are the Fravashis of the righteous, dwell in the shining realm of Asha Vahishta.58 This celestial personification gives joy to the souls of the righteous dead.59 It is through him that the devotee aspires to behold and reach Ahura Mazda.60 He offers homage and adoration to him along with Ahura Mazda.61 Emphasizing Zarathushtra's dictum in the Gathas, the Younger Avesta affirms that there is one path alone that leads to the eternal life, and that is the Path of Righteousness.62 The Vedas likewise allude to the Path of Rta.63 The Achaemenian kings refer to the Right Path in their rock inscriptions.64 Buddha embodies his teachings in his noble Eightfold Path.65 During the same period Lao-tze interprets his philosophy in the Tao or the Way in China. Shinto or the Way of the gods appears in the national cult of Japan. The prophets and seers reveal the Path or Way of life to mankind and Jesus calls himself the Way, a thousand years after Zarathushtra. The faithful invoke the holy waters of Ahura Mazda for the attainment of this path which is the most upright and which leads to the paradise of the righteous.66 Atar, the genius of fire, leads to this straightest path all those who lie not unto Mithra.67 Referring to the guilty persons who have undergone punishments for the crime of assaulting other persons, the Vendidad68 admonishes sinners to walk in the path of righteousness in future. Darius likewise exhorts men not to leave the path which is right.69||
55. Y13.8; 37.4; 59.32; 60.13; Yt1.22; 2.7; 13.91, 92; S1.3; 2.3.
59. TdFr. 72-74.
64. Naksh-i Rustam a. 6.
65. Mahâvagga, 1.6.18.
69. NR. a. 6.
Zarathushtra was the first among mortais to praise this embodiment
of holiness;70 and King Vishtaspa, by adopting the new
faith, helped to open the way for righteousness in this world.71
The faithful beseech Ahura Mazda to bless them with intelligent
men who embrace righteousness;72 Good, thoughts of the
mind, good words of the tongue, and good deeds of the hand make man
ashavan, or righteous.73 He obtains purity when he
cleanses his own self with them.74 The friendship of Asha in
this world and the next is the most coveted boon for all time.75
It is easy to understand why Asha is invoked to enter the house of the
faithful to smite the wicked Druj.76 The excellence of
religious thoughts, words, and deeds, which is ordained by Ahura Mazda,
and nourished by Vohu Manah, is furnished by the righteousness of
71. Yt13.99; 19.93.
73. TdFr. 57-59; see Nariman, Buddhist parallels to Humata, Hukhta, Hvarashta in Dastur Hoshang Memorial Volume, p. 311-316.
75. Y40.2; 41.6.
77. Vr12.3, 4.
Righteousness is the highest riches. Man, we are told,
pines for the riches of the earth and often strives to obtain
the boon of wealth even by unlawful means. On the contrary,
he should rather aspire to a store of righteousness, which is the
real and permanent wealth. When a man starts on a journey, he takes
provisions and stores with him.78 He takes care to provide
himself with more goods than are his actual requirements.79
How sad it is, then, that he should not furnish himself now, while it is time,
with the spiritual stores of righteousness for the great journey which he
will have one day to undertake and from which he will never return.80
In the end cattle are dust; gold and silver are dross; even the body of
man mingles with clay. Righteousness alone does not mingle with the dust,
but survives the bodily death of man.81 There comes a day or there comes a
night, when the master leaves his cattle, when the cattle leave
their master, and the soul leaves the body.82 But righteousness,
which is the greatest and the best of all riches, accompanies the soul after
death.83 Riches and fortune one cannot have for oneself, nor can
one maintain form and beauty of body forever at will; but everyone can
embrace righteousness and make it his own in this world.84
The best man is the righteous man. He is not heroic who is not heroic
in righteousness, he is not valiant who is not valiant in righteousness.85
Life in departing leaves the richest empty in the midst of his
abundance, if he lacks righteousness.
78. Aog. 41.
79. Aog. 42-44.
80. Aog. 46-47.
81. Aog. 84.
82. Aog. 51.
83. Aog. 52.
84. TdFr. 95-98.
85. TdFr. 103, 104.
The world of righteousness, as against the world of wickedness.
The universe is divided into two hostile camps. The
righteous form a distinct world by themselves, and they are the
favourite ones of Ahura Mazda. The men who have chosen to naturalize
themselves as citizens of the Kingdom of Wickedness form a separate world
of their own. The texts in the Later Avesta speak of the ashaono sti,
'the world of the righteous man,' as opposed to the drvato sti,
'the world of the wicked fiend,' The sorcerers and the wicked destroy the
world of righteousness.86 It is the faithful that work for
the furtherance of the one, and for the destruction of the other.87
The man that is holy rejoices in the prosperity of the former, just as he
exults in the adversity of the latter.88 He who does not
gladden a righteous person who comes within his gates has no lasting
or true joy. To be charitable to such a one is to attain
paradise.89 But again, he rejoices not who helps a wicked
person that clamours for help. To help such an evil one is equivalent
to hindering righteousness, inasmuch as he is wicked who is a source
of goodness to the wicked.90 A gift bestowed upon a
righteous man is the best of all libations,91 but not
so when it is made to a wicked one. Refusing food to a
demon-worshipper or a wicked one does not make one guilty.92
The faithful pray that a righteous king may rule over them,
but that a wicked one may be baffled and defeated.93
89. TdFr. 107-109.
90. Y71.13; TdFr. 110-112.
Bodily purity contributes to righteousness. Next to life
the second best good for man is purity.94 This is the
dictum of the Gathas, and it is most consistently developed
throughout the entire subsequent literature. It is the favourite
theme on which, the Zoroastrian theologians are never tired of
expatiating. Purity of body is the most salient feature in the
life of a Zoroastrian. It is rated higher than anything else.
The problem of cleanness and uncleanness, purity and impurity,
has evoked an extensive literature. The tenets of the faith in
this respect have been worked out into a science of health.
Bodily purity is indispensable to purity of mind. Cleanliness
of body is an essential requisite for saintliness. The clean in
body find it easy to be pure in mind, and the pure in heart
have just a step to take to be holy in spirit.
Asha Vahishta comes to be regarded as the healing spirit
of bodily diseases. As the many kinds of healers restore
bodily health by herbs and drugs, and remove the tumours and
cancers by knife and implements, so there are healers that
heal through righteousness or by the holy spell. We shall
speak later on, in its proper place, of the art of healing
by means of the holy spell. The Yasht which receives its
name after Asha Vahishta is in fact mostly consecrated to
Asha Vahishta's associate Airyaman, the guardian genius of
human health. Of all the healers, the Avestan texts announce,
the spiritual healer is the best one; it is he that heals the
faithful through his own righteousness by means of the
utterance of the holy spell.95
||95. Yt3.6; Vd7.44.|
Asha Vahishta's relation to fire. We have seen in the
Gathas Asha's dual association with the universal order
prevailing everywhere and fire. We find these early Zoroastrian
conceptions reflected in the writings of the Greek philosophers
of the period. Heraclitus, who flourished at Ephesus, near the
end of the sixth century B.C., postulates fire as the first
principle from which everything that exists has come. It is
working as reason or Logos and reveals the stable, divine law
in the eternal flow of things in the universe. Heraclitus left
a deep impression on Greek philosophy and his conceptions
appear in later thinkers.96
||96. See also Carnoy, Zoroastrianism in ERE 12. 866.|
In the Avestan liturgy Asha Vahishta is invoked together
with Atar; the genius of fire.97 Angra Mainyu, as the devil,
exclaims that Zarathushtra burns him with Asha Vahishta as
with molten metal.98 This allegory of burning and annihilating
the Evil Spirit through righteousness is taken literally in the
later period of Zoroastrianism, Where Asha Vahishta is identified
at times with the household fire on the hearth. Such identification
in the realms of matter and of spirit serves only to bring
more into prominence the main tenets of Zoroaster's teachings in
regard to Asha.
97. Y1.4; 2.4; 3.6; 4.9; 6.3; 7.6, 17.3; 22.6; 59.3; Yt4.9;
Sr1.7; 2.7; Afr. 4.2; G.2, 9, 12.
The change that the concept undergoes. The Gathic
Khshathra now takes Vairya, 'desirable,' as its standing epithet,
and hence both the terms combine to form the name of this
archangel. This archangel of Ahura Mazda99 gradually loses
the abstract side of his nature in the Avestan texts. In the
Gathic prose text of the Yasna Haptanghaiti the abstract idea
of the Divine Kingdom occurs but once. In this solitary passage
the devout long for the everlasting Kingdom of Ahura Mazda.100
Throughout the Younger Avestan texts this abstract idea of the
spiritual kingdom recedes into the background, or rather is entirely
lost sight of. True, Khshathra Vairya is still occasionally
invoked by name along with the other celestial beings, but his
higher function as the genius of the sovereign power in the abstract
entirely falls out.
|Khshathra Vairya as the genius of earthly wealth. Materially Khshathra Vairya is the genius of metal, and his activity is now limited to guarding this concrete creation of God. He is not spoken of as the genius of the celestial riches of the Divine Kingdom of Ahura Mazda. Khshathra Vairya and the molten metal are invoked side by side.101 In fact he very soon loses even this trait of his work; he is identified with metal and just becomes metal itself.102 Thrita, the first reputed healer of the bodies of mortals, received from him a surgical instrument for healing.103||
101. Vr20.1; Yt2.7; Sr1.4; 2.4.
102. Yt10.125; Vd9.10; 16.6; 17.6, 8.
As the genius of metal, Khshathra Vairya is the lord of
earthly riches. He generously bestows his possessions on the
poor. He is sometimes invoked in company of marezhdika,
'mercy,'104 who is styled the protector of the poor. We can
trace this relation of Khshathra Vairya as the merciful helper
of the poor to the Ahuna Vairya [Ahunwar] formula.
||104. Yt2.7; Sr1.4; 2.4.|
Her position in the Avesta. As devotion personified on the
abstract side, and as the genius of the earth on the concrete
side, Spenta Armaiti, 'Holy Devotion,' retains her dual nature in
the Younger Avesta. Through the medium of Devotion the
faithful aspire to approach Ahura Mazda,105 and in the Confession
of Faith the pious follower of Zarathushtra chooses
Devotion, and yearns to make her his own.106 Upon lifting up
his devotional prayer the house-lord prays that she may enter
his house and thus rout heresy.107 The malice and harm of the
wicked could be averted through her help.108 She is the daughter
of Ahura Mazda and as the genius of devotion is the mother of
Ashi Vanghulti, or the genius of Good Piety,109 while Rata, the
guardian spirit of generosity, is invoked with her.110
105. Y13.6; 39, 5.
109. Yt17.16; Vd19.13, 16.
110. Sr1.5; 2.5.
Armaiti as earth. From her position as the female genius of
the earth,111 Armaiti very soon becomes the earth herself. She
is now more frequently spoken of as the earth than as the
genius of the earth.112 She wears the star-studded sky as her
112. Y16.10; Yt24.50; Vd2.10, 14, 18; 18.51, 64.
HAURVATAT AND AMERETAT
|The dual archangels. These two Amesha Spentas are closely united to each other and generally occur together side by side.114 Haurvatat has a Yasht consecrated to him, being invoked as the lord of seasons and years.115 Ahura Mazda created Haurvatat for the help, joy, comfort, and pleasure of the righteous ones.116 The man who invokes the name of Haurvatat as one of the archangels is able to smite the legion of demons.117 The two, Haurvatat and Ameretat, together form the reward of the righteous after death,118 while fire is invoked to grant the blessings of Haurvatat and Ameretat to its supplicants for help and joy.119 The two archangels together will smite the demons of hunger and thirst during the final conflict between the forces of good and evil.120||
114. Y1.2; 3.1; 4.1; 6.17; 7.26; 8.1; 58.7; 70.2; 11.12; Vr9.5; Yt1.15; 10.92.
115. Yt4.0; S1.6; 2.6.
Instances where the two archangels materially personify
water and plants are not found in the Later Avestan texts. Examples,
however, are not wanting, as is well known, in which
they occur as meaning specifically water and plants in their healing
effect on mankind.121
||121. Y3.1; 4.1, 3; 7.1, 20; 8.1.|
The Zoroastrian angels. Next in rank to the Amesha Spentas
come the Yazatas, literally meaning the 'adorable ones.'
We find the corresponding Skt. word Yajata in the Rig Veda,
but it does not play any conspicuous part there. If the Amesha Spentas
are the archangels in Zoroastrian theology, the Yazatas
are the angels. They are numbered by hundreds and by thousands,1
by tens of thousands and by hundreds of thousands, nay
even more.2 About forty only, however, are mentioned in the
extant Avestan text. Plutarch refers to twenty-four.3 The
prominent Yazatas mentioned by name in Y16.4-6; Sr1.8-30;
2.8-30, closely correspond to the number mentioned by the Greek
writer. Several of the Yazatas have individually consecrated to
them a Yasht, or hymn of praise, which narrates the doings
and functions of its respective genius. Besides the Yashts that
form a special biographical literature of these minor divinities,
the whole Iranian literature is filled with the record of their
achievements. Ahura Mazda himself is a Yazata,4 even as he
is an Amesha Spenta. He is the greatest and the best Yazata.5
Zarathushtra himself is spoken of as a Yazata.6
2. Vr8.1; for a list of minor divinities see Gray, The Foundations of the Iranian Religions, p, 221-224.
3. Is et Os., 47.
5. Y16.1; Yt17.16.
6. Y3.21; 7.21.
History of the Yazatas. Some of these Yazatas are, as we
have already seen, pre-Zoroastrian and go back to the Indo-Iraniam
period; but with the exception of Sraosha, Atar, and
Ashi, they do not appear in the Gathas, though frequent enough
in the Later Avesta. In fact, they permeate all the later texts,
and form an indissoluble part of the Zoroastrian pantheon. We
shall group them under two headings and distinguish those that
are common to the Indians and the Iranians from those that are
Indo-lranian: Mithra, Airyaman, Haoma, Verethraghna,
Parendi, Rata, Nairyosangha, Apam Napat, Ushah, and Vayu.
Iranian: Atar, Ardvi Sura Anahita, Hvarekhshaeta,
Maonghah, Tishtrya Drvaspa, Sraosha, Rashnu, Raman, Daena,
Chisti, Erethe, Rasanstat, Ashi Vanghuhi, Arshtat, Asman,
Zam, Manthra Spenta, Damoish Upamana, and Anaghra
|Characteristics of the Yazatas. Like their celestial elders, the Amesha Spentas, the Yazatas impersonate abstract ideas and virtues, or concrete objects of nature. Many of them preside over both spiritual and material phenomena. The nature Yazatas Hvarekhshaeta, Mithra, Maonghah, Ardvi Sura, Atar, and others personify the sun, light, moon, water, and fire. At times their names designate merely the objects of nature that they personify. This simultaneous treatment of the dual aspect of these angels is frequently found in one and the same paragraph and makes it difficult to distinguish the actual impersonations from the personified objects. Very often praise and sacrifice are offered more to the sun, light, moon, water, and fire as such than to the Yazatas presiding over them. We learn from Herodotus that the Persians sacrificed unto the sun, moon, earth, fire, water, and winds.7||7. Herod. 1.131.|
Instances are not wanting in which a Yazata begins his career
as the personification of some one particular virtue or an object
of nature, but with the lapse of time either substitutes for it
some other or widens his sphere of activity and takes some new
virtue in the abstract or some new object of nature under his
guardianship in addition to his original duty. Some of the
Yazatas are lacking in real individuality.
The functions of the Yazatas. Various are the boons that
the Yazatas give unto man.8 By hundreds and by thousands
they gather together the light of the sun and pour it upon the
earth.9 Men invoke them with sacrifices10 and in return they
help men, They have a share of invocation and sacrifice offered
unto Ahura Mazda, who is not jealous of the oblations thus dedicated
to his subordinates. They are the holy, mighty,
beneficent ones,11 full of glory and healing.12 Apart from the
general work which the Yazatas perform as a class of spiritual
beings, they are severally allotted different functions, which we
shall notice under their respective headings.
8. Y65.12, 14.
9. Yt6.1; Ny1.11
11. Y25.8; 65.12, 14; G2.6.
Offerings and sacrifices to the Yazatas. Libations of milk
and Haoma, of the Draonah [dron], or wafer-bread, and of meat are
the objects generally dedicated to the angels, who always demand
that man shall not forget their invocation and praise. They are
ever eager to protect and help man in peace or war, provided that
man propitiates them with offerings and sacrifices. To Anahita
as celestial guardian of the waters, to Drvaspa, who protects cattle,
and to Vayu, the wind, a hundred horses, a thousand oxen,
and ten thousand sheep are consecrated in sacrifice by some of
the early kings and heroes. We shall turn to this subject later.
Division of the Yazatas according to their grammatical gender. The Yazatas are both males and females, or rather the personifications of virtues and ideas that are in gender masculine and feminine. There is no distinction between these male and female divinities. Both of them are on the same level, occupy the same place of honour, and receive the same amount of homage. The gentle work becoming to the fair sex is allotted to female angels, and they are as powerful and awe-inspiring in their own sphere of activity as their fellow-workers of the opposite sex are in theirs. The female angels are: Ushah, Zam, Ardvi Sura Anahita, Drvaspa, Daena, Chisti, Arshtat, Erethe, Rasanstat Ashi Vanghuhi, Parendi, and Rata. All others are the male sex.
Group Yazatas. The usual manner of sacrificing unto the
angels is to invoke each one separately by his name, or in company
of his comrades and co-workers, or in joint pairs. On
this last point we shall speak anon under a separate heading.
Sometimes all the angels are invoked in a group under the comprehensive
title of vispe Yazata, "all Yazatas,"13 closely corresponding
to the Vedic vishve Devâh, 'all Divinities.' In fact an
entire book of the ritual is dedicated to the various spiritual
lords under the title Visperad,
literally meaning 'all lords.'
||13. Y1.19; 2.18; Yt11.17; 17.19; WFr. 5.1.|
Dual Yazatas. A particular feature common to the Avestan
and Vedic religions is the arrangement of certain divinities in
pairs, who are revered together. As some of the Yazatas guard
more than one abstract virtue or impersonate more than one
natural phenomenon, it is not uncommon to find one Yazata entering
into partnership with various Yazatas according to the
nature of his work. For instance, Mithra, as the sovereign lord of
wide pastures, forms a pair with Ahura; as the lord of light,
he works in consort with Hvarekhshaeta, the genius of light;
as the lord of truth, he works in company with Rashnu; and
as the lord of plenty and prosperity, he enters into a comradeship
with Raman. The more prominent of the dual divinities are
Ahura-Mithra,14 Hvarekhshaeta-Mithra,15 Mithra-Rashnu,16
Mithra-Raman,17 Rashnu-Arshtat,18 Raman-Vayu,19 Daena-Chisti,20
Ashi Vanghuhi-Parendi,21 and Asman-Zamyat.22 Sometimes
a special attribute of one Yazata is extended to his associate,
and they share the characteristic qualities and functions of each other.
14. Y1.11; 2.11; Ny1.7; 2.12; Yt10.113, 145.
15. Yt6; Ny1.2.
16. Vr7.2; Yt13.47, 48; 14.47; 24.52; Vd4.54.
17. Y2.3; 25.4; Vr2.9; Vd3.1; G1.2, 7, 8; S1.16, 2.16.
18. Y1.7; 2.7; Yt10.139; 12.40, S1.18; 2.18.
19. Y16.5; S1.21; 2.21.
20. Ny1.8; 2.8; S1.24; 2.24.
21. Y13.1; Yt8.38; 10.66; 24.8; S1.25; 2.25.
22. Yt1.16; 16.6; 42.3.
|Classification of the Yazatas. The Avestan texts generally speak of two distinct orders of the Yazatas. They are mainyava, 'spiritual or celestial,' and gaethya, 'material or terrestrial.'23 We are not, however, informed what particular Yazatas are grouped under each of the two classes. A very recent gloss in the Pahlavi version of the Avestan Litany Khurshid Niyayesh explains that the terrestrial angels are such as Fire, Ardvi Sura's Waters, the Wind, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth. These are so called, adds the commentator, because they can be seen by man with his eyes, whereas the celestial ones cannot thus be seen.24||
23. Y1.19; 3.4; 7.4; 16.9; 22.27; 25.8; 71.5; Yt6.3, 4; 10.13; 19.22;
S1.30; 2.30; Ny1.9; G2.6; Vd2.21; 19.30; WFr. 1.2.
24. Cf. Dhalla, Nyaishes, p. 35, New York, 1908.
In the following tabulation we shall class the Yazatas under
two main divisions. Those Yazatas who commonly work for one
and the same virtue, or preside over some one particular phenomenon,
will be classed under the sub-titles of such a virtue or a phenomenon
common to them. Thus, for example, all the
Yazatas that guard rectitude will be treated in one group, and
those that preside over 1ight will be dealt with together. In cases
where a Yazata presides over more than one virtue, we shall class
this particular angel under the most prominent and characteristic
of his virtues.
Religion deified. One of the least personified Yazatas is
Daena, even though she is a female divinity of religion. Very
little is known of her personality more than the fact that she
is the genius of the Holy Law of Mazda. She has a Yasht
assigned to her which is called after her name; and yet even this
is entirely consecrated to Chisti, who is her usual associate. The
offerings are made to her companion, and various boons are asked
from her. Daena has no share in this. She is simply mentioned
by name in invocation along with Chisti. Even here she is
assigned a secondary place, for Chisti takes precedence over her.
Throughout the Avestan texts in which the two are mentioned
together, Daena stands second in the order of invocation.25 Ashi
Vanghuhi, or Good Piety, is her sister and Sraosha, Rashnu,
and Mithra are her brothers.26 The twenty-fourth day of every
month is dedicated to her.27
25. Y22.24; 25.5; S1.24; 2.24; Ny1.8; 2.8.
26. Yt17.15, 17.
The names of the religion. It is called the daena vanghu
Mazdayasnya, 'the good Mazda-worshipping religion,'28 or
daena Mazdayasna, 'the Mazda-worshipping religion.'29 It is named
conjointly with Ahura and Zarathushtra and called Âhuirya
Zarathushtri, 'the Ahurian Zarathushtrian.'30 It is further
named dâta Zarathushtri, 'the Law of Zarathushtra.31 It is also
spoken of without associating it with Ahura Mazda or Zarathushtra
as hu-daena, 'good religion.'32 The religion in standing
opposition to the Mazda-wotshipping religion is always called
daevayasnya, 'the daeva-worshipping religion.'
The preliminary short prayers,
the Gahs, the Niyayeshes,
the Yashts generally begin
with a short confessionary formula in which the reciter says he is
the worshipper of Mazda, a Zarathushtrian, he is against the
daevas, and he is of Ahurian faith, Ahura-tkaesho. One of the
Nasks, the Vendidad in its original form, vi-daeva-dâta, means
'the Law against the daevas or demons'.33 This religion of the
demons is called aka-daena, 'evil religion';34 or duzh-daena,
'evil religion.'35 The man who follows the same religion is hâmo-daena,
'the co-religionist.'36 The man of other religion is of
anya-tkaesha or anya-varena.37
27. Y16.6; S1.24; 2.24.
28. Y1.13; 2.13; 9.26; 11.16; 16.6; 22.24, 25; 25.5, 6; 70.3; Vr6.1; Yt2.13; 16.20; S1.24; 2.24; Ny1.8; 2.8; Vd19.6, 7, 13, 16.
29. Y8.1, 3; 22.25; 25.6; 71.4; Vr12.3; Yt8.23, 29; 10.68, 126, 127; 11.3; 16.17; 18.8; 19.2; 24.52; G2.7; Vd2.42; 3.30, 31, 41, 42; 5.21; 9.2, 47, 52; 10.18.
30. Y12.9; 60.3; Yt13.99; Vd2.1, 2.
31. Y1.13; 2.13; 22.25; 25.6; Yt11.3; Vd5.25; 19.16.
32. Vr3.3; Yt4.10; 19.95; 22.18; G4.8.
33. Y1.13; 2.13; 22.25; 25.6; 71.5; Yt11.17; Vd5.22; 19.16.
35. Y65.6; Yt5.109; 9.31; 19.47, 87; 22.36.
37. Y16.2; Vd12.21; 15.2.
|The excellence of the Mazda-worshipping religion. The angel Sraosha is the teacher of the religion.38 Arshtat, the genius presiding over rectitude, is once identified with Daena.39 Ahura Mazda brought for Haoma the heavenly made star-bespangled girdle and the good Mazda-worshipping religion.40 He asked Yima to be the bearer of his religion to mankind, but the illustrious king pleaded his inability to undertake such a mighty task.41 Zarathushtra then became the prophet of Ahura Mazda, and brought his religion to the world. The Kingly Glory clave unto king Vishtaspa and he thought and spoke and acted according to the religion.42 He became the arm and support of the Ahurian Zoroastrian religion.43 He found her fettered in chains and made her widely known.44||
38. Y57.24; Yt11.24.
41. Vd2.3, 4.
The Ahurian Zoroastrian religion, We are told, is the greatest, best,
and fairest of all religions that are and that will be.45 She
is as much higher in greatness, goodness, and fairness than others as
the Vourukasha is above all waters, or a great river, flowing swifter
than a rivulet, or as a great tree overshadowing
small plants, or as the heaven compassing the earth.46 She is
beautiful and spread far and wide.47 As dissensions-dispelling,
she causes weapons to be laid down.48 She rejoices, protects,
and guards the righteous man.49 She takes away the sins of
those who confess their wrongs and removes their evil thoughts,
evil words, and evil deeds, as the powerfully blowing wind cleanses
the plain.50 The Mazdayasnian religion gives all good things
of life.51 She gives purification to him who cleanses his
self with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.52
The place where the faithful pray and sacrifice according to religion
is happy.53 Hard work and industry are prime Zoroastrian
virtues. Agriculture is the staple industry of the people and the
texts say that sowing corn again and again feeds the Mazda-worshipping
religion, it makes her walk with a hundred men's feet and suckles her
with a thousand women's breasts.54 The householder prays for
the long-enduring excellence of the religion in his house.55
Priests going afar for the propagation of religion, pray for a good
memory and the soundness of the body.56 He is not an
athravan who has not girded his loins for religion.57
The white colour, it is said is symbolic of the Mazda-worshipping
50. Vd3.41, 42.
52. Vd5.21; 10.18.
54. Vd3.30, 31.
|Divinity of religious wisdom. Unlike her partner, just mentioned, Chisti, divinity of religious wisdom, has a personality that is sharply defined. Her standing epithets are 'good' and 'most upright.' She is the most upright, holy, bearing libations, wearing a white garment as her emblem.59 Zarathushtra longs to own her and devoutly implores her to grant him, among other things, the clearest vision.60 The prophet's noble consort Hvovi, as well as the itinerant priests and the lords of the country, are among her supplicants, asking various boons, which she grants to those who are pure in heart.61 The faithful long to approach Ahura Mazda through the deeds of Chisti.62||
61. Yt16.15, 17, 19.
The word chisti is often used to denote spiritual wisdom. The eighth
name of Ahura Mazda is chisti or wisdom, and the ninth is
'possessed of wisdom.'63 The world first came into being through
Ahura Mazda's understanding and wisdom.64 Haoma
makes the mind of the poor exalted with wisdom.65
63. Yt1.8, 9.
His personality. Sraosha is one of the few angels whose prominence
increases with the lapse of time. Two Yashts are dedicated to him. The latter
of which occurs also in the Yasna. He is the angel whose name has
reached afar and whose very body is the holy spell.66 Sraosha
occupied a conspicuous place in the Gathas, and was associated with
Ahura Mazda and his six abstract figures that have now become a
corporate body of the seven Amesha Spentas. His close connection with
them is remembered by the composers of the Later Avestan texts. We are
told that he was the first in the entire creation to worship Ahura Mazda,
the Amesha Spentas. and the two protectors.67 He
chanted the five holy Gathas of Zarathushtra in order to propitiate
the archangels.68 From his battles against the demons,
he returns victorious to the celestial assembly of the archangels.69
His dwelling is supported by a thousand pillars, is self-lighted from within,
and star-spangled from without.70 He drives forth in a heavenly
chariot drawn by four white shining horses that are fleeter than the winds,
fleeter than the rain, fleeter than the winged birds, and fleeter than the
well-darted arrow.71 They
overtake all, but none can overtake them, when Sraosha drives towards
Hapta Hindu or the land of seven rivers in India.72 The sacred
formula Ahuna Vairya [Ahunwar] and the other consecrated spells are his
weapons.73 His sisters are Ashi and Daena, and his brothers
are Rashnu and Mithra,74 and unto him Haoma offered sacrifice.75
Owing to his victorious courage and wisdom the archangels come down to
the seven zones.76
66. Y3.20; 4.23; Yt13.85; Vd18.14.
67. Y57.2, 6.
71. Y57.27, 28.
Sraosha's attributes. His standing epithets are: holy,
well-shapen, victorious, ad world-increasing. He is the strongest,
the sturdiest, the most active, the swiftest, and the most
awe-inspiring of youths.77 He is the word incarnate,
the valiant wielder of the club, which is levelled against all
demoniacal powers, especially against the fiendish Druj.78
He is courageous, mighty, swift, powerful, terrible, and heroic.79
He is a formidable foe to the wicked. He is not afraid or anyone, but
the demons tremble at his sight and flee to the region of darkness.80
His mace does havoc on them. He is the warrior of the strong arms, who
breaks the skulls of the demons.81 Himself unconquerable,
he is the conqueror of all.
78. Y3.20; 4.23; 57.1, 33; Yt11.0, 23; Sr1.17; Vd18.14.
79. Y57.3, 11, 12, 13, 23. 80. Y57.18; Yt11.13.
81. Y57.34; Yt11.9.
|The work of Sraosha. Mazda has revealed his religion to Sraosha, who now teaches it to the world of humanity.82 This was the prime function, as we have seen above, that the Gathas allotted him. The Younger Avestan texts speak more of his all-absorbing work of combating the demons. In the Gathas he preached devout submission to Mazda's mandates; in the Later Avesta he does the fighting with the rebels that revolt against divine authority. He, the exalted one, comes down to the creation of Mazda, with loins girt up to fight the demons.83 Sleep has forsaken his eyelids since the two spirits Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu created the world.84 Ahura Mazda has created him to withstand the demon Aeshma.85 With an uplifted club he guards the world after sunset from the onslaughts of Aeshma, his constant rival, and against all the forces of wickedness.86 Three times during the day and three times during the night the holy Sraosha descends on earth to smite the evil spirit Angra Mainyu, Aeshma, the demons of Mazandaran, and all other demons.87 Just as the shepherd dog guards and protects cattle against harm, so does Sraosha protect men; and the faithful, therefore, yearn with good thoughts, good words, and good deeds to live under his constant guardianship.88 The fire of the hearth calls Sraosha for help in the third part of the night, for the demon Azi threatens to extinguish his life.89 Sraosha, thereupon, wakes up the cock Parodarsh, his ally, who lifts up his voice to rouse the world of humanity, and warns it against the mischief of Bushyansta, who lulls it to sleep.90 With his terrible mace levelled at the head of Druj, he enters into controversy with her, extorts from the demoness her secret devices,91 and smites her.92 As the teacher of religion unto men he moves about spreading religious lore at his will over the whole material world.93||
82. Y57.24; Yt11.14.
84. Y57.17; Yt11.11, 12.
86. Y57.10, 16; Yt11.10, 11.
87. Y57.31, 32.
90. Vd18.23, 24.
92. Y57.15; Yt11.3, 10.
The master of rituals takes his name from Sraosha and is called
Sraoshâvarez.94 Parodarsh is called the Sraoshâvarez
of Sraosha.95 The implement of administering stripes
to the criminals is called Sraoshocharana.96
94. Vr3.1; Yt24.15; Vd5.25, 57, 58; 7.17, 18, 71; G3.5.
95. Vd18.14, 15.
96. Vd3.36, 37; etc.
Sraosha's gifts. He is implored to give strength to the spans
of the warriors' steeds in battle, soundness of body, and power to
meet the adversary.96a He is like a firmly built house
unto the poor, who look to him for support.97 The faithful
entreat him to guard them in both the worlds.98 The householder
invokes him to smite disobedience in his family.99 He
smites Kunda.100 The Mazdayasnians are asked to sacrifice unto
him.101 Evils of all kinds vanish from the house,
clan, town, and country, wherein the righteous man thinking
good thoughts, speaking good words, and doing good deeds, welcomes
and sacrifices unto Sraosha.102 The faithful pray for all
the houses protected by Sraosha, wherein he is friendly, beloved, and
honoured.103 They beseech him to come to their help.104
97. Y51.10; Yt11.3.
103. Y57.35; Yt11.20.
His place in the Avestan pantheon. Of all the Indo-Iranian
divinities that have found their place in the Zarathushtrian
theology, Mithra is the most prominent figure. As an associate
of Varuna, Mithra's individuality was eclipsed during the
Indo-Iranian period. After the separation of these two
groups of the Aryan people, Mithra rose to great eminence, and
was the premier divinity in Western Iran, when Zarathushtra
preached his religion. During the period of syncretism after
the passing away of the prophet, Mithra became the most
conspicuous angel of the Younger Avestan period. The longest
Yasht, which is eight times longer than the Yasht composed in
honour of Ahura Mazda, celebrates his greatness. He is the most
masculine, exacting, implacable, and relentless of all the
Yazatas. Ahura Mazda has created him the most glorious of the
spiritual Yazatas,105 as worthy of sacrifice and
prayer as himself.106 The description of him in
the Yasht that is dedicated in his honour gives a vivid
picture of the character of the pre-Zarathushtrian divinities
that came to be worshipped in Iran. Mithra was the most eminent
of the primitive Ahuras, as he was conjointly worshipped with
Ahura Mazda.107 The writer who consecrated Yasht 10
in his honour was conversant with the past greatness of this
divinity, whose cult had struck so deep a root in the popular
mind. He certainly was unsparing in eulogizing the work of this
genius in the universe. The texts sometimes speak of Mithra
in terms that are usually applied to Ahura Mazda, and the latter
himself is represented in this particular Yasht as having
sacrificed unto Mithra.108 The heptad of the Amesha Spentas
having been already complete, Mithra is not raised to the rank of these
higher beings. but is assigned a place among the Yazatas. The Old Persian
Inscriptions of the Achaemenian kings mention a very limited number of
the celestial beings. Mithra occupies a prominent place among these
divinities. Artaxerxes Mnemon and Artaxerxes Ochus invoke Mithra
for help and protection.109
105. Vd19.35; Ny1.7.
107. Y1.11; 2.11; Yt10.113, 145; Ny1.7; 2.12.
109. SUS. a; Ham. b; Pers.4.
Mithra's attributes. Of all the Yazatas that rule over this
earth, Mithra is the strongest, the most sturdy, the most active,
the most swift, and the most victorious.110 Ahura Mazda
has created him the most glorious of all the spiritual Yazatas.111
The composer of the Yasht who sings to his favourite divinity applies
to him the same honorific epithets as are applied to the godhead.
Mithra is called omniscient, which is strictly speaking the epithet
of Mazda alone.112 He is the greatest of the Yazatas, with
body shining like the moon, and face (ainika), as brilliant as
Tishtrya.113 It is interesting to note that the Rig Veda
uses the correspording Skt. form (anika), and says that Varuna's face
is as shining as that of Agni.114 He is the strongest of
the strong the sturdiest of the sturdy, the most intelligent among
the divinities, victorious, glorious, heroic, and the
undeceivable one, deep, courageous, weal-giving, propitiated when
invoked, exalted, skilful, with a body made of spells, and a warrior
of powerful ,arms, the leader of hosts, of a thousand devices, lordly,
ruling, the all-knowing one, the one of good renown, of good form and
glory, granting boons and pastures at his will, the giver of good, of
ten thousand spies, heroic, and the all-knowing.115 He is
ever afoot, watchful, valiant, a dominating figure in the assembly,
causing the waters to flow, listening to appeals, causing the trees to
grow, ruling over the district full of devices, a creature of wisdom.116
He is the swiftest among the swift, generous among the generous,
valiant among the valiant, chief among the chiefs
of assembly, increase-giving, fatness-giving, flock-giving, son-giving, life-giving,
felicity-giving, joy-giving, glory-giving, kingdom-giving, and piety-giving.117
Mithra is highly merciful, foremost, and peerless.118 He is the protector
and guardian of an creatures.119 He is the most fiend-smiting among all
the Yazatas.120 He is both good and bad for men and nations, Peace and War
between nations are from him.121 With his wide knowledge, he furthers the
creation of Spenta Mainyu.122 The sixteenth day of a month and the
seventh month of a year are sacred to Mithra.
110. Yt10.98, 135.
112. Yt10.24, 35.
113. Yt10.142, 143.
114. RV. 7.88, 2.
115. Yt10.24, 25, 27, 31, 35, 46, 56, 60, 63, 69, 82, 141, 143.
117. Yt10.16, 65.
120. Yt10.98, 135.
Mithra's associates. Among those who work in unison with Mithra,
Ahura Mazda stands first; Mithra-Ahura ate invoked together as a couple.
Their union is pre-Zarathushtrian and corresponds to the Vedic Mitra-Varuna.
A detailed account of their joint activity is not found in the Avesta, but
they are called the two exalted, imperishable, and holy ones,123
and are invoked for special help.124 Mithra is again jointly
invoked with Hvarkhshaeta, the angel presiding over the sun. This is natural,
because one of the chief Iunctions of Mithra is to work as the guardian of light.
Of the five Zoroastrian Nyaishes, or litanies, two are consecrated to the
sun and Mithra, and these two are always recited together.125
On the moral side Mithra protects truth. Consequently at an early date he is
associated with Rashnu, who is the chief genius of truth.126 They
are united as two friends.127 One of the principal attributes
of Mithra is that he is the lord of wide pastures. In this capacity he
joins in partnership with Raman Khvastra, who is essentially the angel
that gives good pastures and happy dwellings, together with full joy of life.128
123. Y1.11; 2.11; Ny1.7; 2.2; Yt10.113, 145.
125. Ny1.2; Yt6.
126. Vr7.2; Yt13.47, 48; 14.47; 24.52; Vd4.54.
127. Yt10.79, 81.
128. Y2.3; 25.4; Vr2.9; Vd3.1; G1.2, 7, 8; S1.16; 2.16.
Mithra, the genius of light. On the material side Mithra presides over light,
especially over the light that radiates from
the sun with the radiance of which he is identical on the physical
plane. As the harbinger of light and herald of the dawn, Mithra precedes
the rising sun on the summits of mountains, and from there watches
all Aryan settlements, nay more, even all the seven Zones of the world.129
The great vault of heaven is therefore Mithra's garment.130 Ahura Mazda
and the Amesha Spentas, being in one accord with the sun, have built up for
Mithra a dwelling as wide as the earth in this material world, on the great
mountain Hara Berezaiti (Alburz) where neither night nor darkness, nor cold wind,
nor hot wind, nor sickness, impurity; death and clouds can ever reach.131
From this elysian abode Mithra surveys the whole universe at a glance.132
Sleepless and ever wakeful, he watches and spies the doings of men, like
Vedic Mitra-Varuna, as an infallible sentinel of heaven. He has posted eight of his
comrades as scouts on the celestial watch-towers to spy upon men's doings.133
After the sun has set, Mithra traverses the world all around, and surveys all that
is between earth, and the heavens.134 Ahura Mazda consequently has
ordained that Mithra should watch from on high over the entire moving world.135
The heat of Mithra it is, accordingly, that gives warmth and life to the
plant world and bestows fertility upon this earth. Mithra, as a guardian genius
in the celestial realm, superintends the vast expanse of the universe. Varuna
has a thousand eyes,136 and Mithra is constantly spoken of as having
a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes. The brilliant sun is the lord of yonder heavens,
who with his infinite rays of light pervades the whole world, Mithra furthermore
receives in the Avesta the standing epithets dainghu-paiti,
'the lord of countries,' and vourugaoyaoiti 'of wide pastures.' His light
is the dispeller of darkness and of all the sin and evil concomitant with it.
Nothing is secret from Mithra's penetrating gaze. Mitra-Varuna have a
thousand-eyed spies (spasah), who descend from heaven and traverse the world,
watching the doings of mankind. Mithra, as we have seen, has ten thousand spies
(spaso), who work as his messengers.
129. Yt10.13, 15; Vd19.28.
131. Yt10.44, 50, 51.
136. RV. 7.34.10.
|Mithra, the inveterate foe of falsehood. Yet after all, the greater and more important work of Mithra lies in the abstract sphere. At a very early date Mithra was styled the warder of truth. Light is synonymous with truth, as darkness is with falsehood. Mithra being primarily the lord of light, it was but a step from the physical to the moral sphere that he should be depicted impersonating truth. From the divine activity of Mithra, as portrayed in the Avestan texts, we gather more information of his aggressively active crusade against falsehood than of his work in upholding truth. In his warring capacity of lord of hosts, Mithra works more than all else to deal a destructive blow to the demon of falsehood, thereby strengthening the realm of truth.|
To speak untruth was a henious sin. Truth Was a paramount among
the ancient Iranians. It was regarded as everything, it was religion.
On this very account we see human evil reflectively focussed in the Avesta
as the druj, 'Lie,' which corresponds to drauga in the
Old Persian Inscriptions of the Achaemenian kings, a conception almost like
that of the devil. Herodotus writes that one of the first things that
every Persian child was taught was to speak the truth.137 Lying
unto Mithra brings the offender the sin of being a deceiver of Mithra.
The faithful is exhorted never to lie, for Mithra is unforgiving toward liars.
Sad is the abode wherein live those that lie unto Mithra, for they
are childless, and even their cattle stray along the road shedding
tears over their chins.138 Neither the lord of the house, nor the
lord of the clan, nor the lord of the town, nor the lord of the
country should ever lie unto this celestial being.139 He is the
protector and guardian of these lords, only so long as they lie not unto
him.140 If, however, they commit such a sin, Mithra is offended
and angered, and destroys house, clan, town, and the country, along
with their masters and nobles.141 Nor can these culprit lords
escape him, for he overtakes them, no matter how swiftly they may run.142
The man of little faith who thinks that he can evade Mithra and indulges in
falsehood is mistaken;143 but Mithra thinks in his mind that were
the evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds of the earthly man
a hundred times worse, they would not rise as high as the good thoughts, good words,
and good deeds of the heavenly Mithra.144 Or again if the innate
wisdom of the earthly man were a hundred times greater,
it would not rise as high as the heavenly wisdom of the Mithra;
or if the ears of the earthly man could hear a hundred times better,
he would not hear so well as the heavenly Mithra who with a thousand devices
of his, hears well and sees every man that tells a lie.145 To such a one
Mithra gives neither strength nor vigour, glory nor reward,146
but on the contrary, he inflicts dire punishment. Into the hearts of all such he strikes
terror, taking away the strength of their arms, fleetness from their feet, the sight from
their eyes, and the hearing from their ears.147 It is he that hurls
down their heads as he deals death.148 Mithra keeps back harm
and death from him who lies not unto him.149 Neither the wound
of the well-sharpened spear nor that of the well-darted arrow harm him
whom Mithra comes to help.150
137. Herod. 1. 136|
147. Yt10.23, 48, 63.
Mithra the guardian of contracts. Ahura Mazda enjoins upon Zarathushtra not to break the contract that is entered into with the righteous or with the wicked,
for Mithra stands for both the righteous and the wicked.151 In his role
of genius of light he guards the sanctity of oaths, and the word mithra
in the Avesta is frequently used as a common noun, meaning 'contract.'152
For that reason, he who violates the oath, whether it be with a believer or a non-believer,
feels the visitations of the stern angel's wrath. The crime of the one who thus
violates a contract is called Mithra-druj, 'deceiving Mithra.' Such a criminal
is heavily punished, and his guilt falls upon the shoulders of his kinsmen for
years in the next world, making them answerable for it by punishment.153
The ethics of thus holding a man's family and kinsmen responsible for his guilt seems
to be a relic of the primitive type of group morality.
152. Yt10.116, 117; Vd4.2-16.
Mithra as a war divinity. Incidental allusion has been made above to
Mithra as the lord of hosts. For that reason it is easy to comprehend the fact
that warring nations invoke Mithra for help before going into battle; and the
lord of hosts sides with that army which excels in offering sacrifice.154
When Mithra marches out amid the hostile armies on the battlefield, he throws
confusion into the camp of the enemy that has offended him,
binds the hands of his offenders, covers their eyesight, takes away their power of hearing, deprives their feet of movement,155 and breaks asunder their lines of battle, striking terror in their entire array.156 Though the enemy use arrows and spears, swords and maces, they nevertheless miss the mark in every case,157 and, all the while, Mithra rushes destructively from a thousand directions against the foes.158 The adversaries who have lied unto him he kills by fifties and hundreds, by hundreds and thousands, by thousands and tens of thousands, by tens of thousands and myriads.159 Confusing their minds, he shatters their limbs and breaks their bones asunder,160 at the same time as he throws down their heads161 he enters the battlefield in person, and levels his club at both the horse and the rider.162
155. Yt10.48, 63.
156. Yt10.36, 41.
157. Yt10.39, 40.
160. Yt10.71, 72.
Mithra’s chariot. Mithra goes forth on his daily round through the heavens and upon the earth driving in a celestial car that rolls upon one golden wheel, evidently the sun, with a shining axle.163 Ahura Mazda made his chariot of heavenly substance and inlaid it with stars.164 Like Sraosha's vehicle it is drawn by four white stallions that eat celestial food and are are undying, shining, and spiritual.165 When Mithra drives on aloft over the seven zones he is escorted on the left and the right, in front and from behind, by Sraosha, Nairyosangha, Ashi Vanghuhi, Parendi, Nairya Ham-Vareti, Kingly Glory, the Sovereign Sky, Damoish Upamana, Rashnu, Chisti, Atar, Verethraghna, and the Fravashis.166 With bows and arrows, spears and clubs, and with swords and maces placed by thousands in his chariot, this divine war lord plunges, mace in hand, into the field of battle, smiting and killing the wicked that have been false to him.167 Even Angra Mainyu and the fiendish demons flee away in terror before Mithra.168 After smiting the demons and the men who have lied unto him, he drives forward through the seven Zones.169
165. Yt10. 68, 125.
167. Yt10.96, 102, 112, 127-132.
169. Yt10. 133.
Mithra’s wrath. Mithra bemoans with uplifted hands before Ahura Mazda the disregard and negligence of men who do not invoke him by his name, even though he protects and guards
them.170 If he were invoked by men, he says, as other angels are, he would come at the appointed time for help to the righteous.171 He looks, therefore, for votaries who will sacrifice unto him, so that in his might he may shower gifts upon them. Happy indeed is the man who thus gains the good-will of Mithra, for this divine angel henceforth bestows upon him radiance and glory, soundness of body, riches and weal, offspring and sovereignty.172 But woe is to him that is sparing in Mithra's invocation. For such a Wight calamity is in store, as Mithra is terrible to deal with when his righteous wrath is kindled. Mithra, when angered or disregarded in worship, inflicts poverty and wretchedness, sickness and death upon the offender, depriving him also of his offspring and power.173 The house, clan, town, and country in which an insult is offered to Mithra are levelled to the ground.174 He deprives the evil countries of their greatness and glory and victory, and renders them helpless.175 The wise therefore pray that they may never come across Mithra's wrath,176 and invocation is the best means of appeasing the vengeful angel.177
170. Yt10.53, 54.
172. Yt10.108, 109.
174. Yt10.28, 87.
176. Yt10.69, 98, 135.
Sacrifices to Mithra. Varuna sits on the strewn grass at the sacrifice.178 Similarly, the faithful devoutly invoke Mithra by his name with libations, and implore him to come and sit at the sacrifice, to listen to the invocation, to be pleased with it, to accept it, and to place it with love to their credit in paradise.179 Ahura Mazda himself offered a sacrifice unto him in the shining Garonmana.180 Zarathushtra is asked to offer sacrifices unto Mithra and so are the Mazdayasnians asked to sacrifice unto him with cattle and birds, along with Haoma and libations.181 The faithful who desires to drink the holy libations consecrated in honour of Mithra is required to undergo certain penances. He has to wash his body for three days and three nights and undergo thirty stripes, or he might wash his body for two days and two nights and undergo twenty stripes, as the occasion requires. Anyone who has no knowledge of the ritual is prohibited from partaking of the sacred libation.182 In these observances we can
recognize the beginnings of the later Mithraic rites and mysteries for which the cult of Mithra, centuries afterwards, became famous. Mithra demands that his sacrifice shall be performed with out-and-out devotion. Ahura Mazda says unto Zarathushtra that if a sacrifice is offered unto Mithra by a holy and righteous priest, Mithra will be satisfied, and will straightway come to the dwelling of the supplicant, but if it is performed by an unholy priest, it is rejected, no matter how long has been the sacrifice, nor how many bundles of the sacred twigs are consecrated.183 Mithra promptly comes to help when he is satisfied.184 He brings sovereignty for him who has piously offered him libations,185 and gives him a good abode with desirable possessions.186 He is to be offered sacrifices around and within countries, in and above countries, under and before and behind countries.187
178. RV. 1.2.64; 5.72.2.
187. Yt10.144; Ny2.11.
Mithra's boons. He is constantly spoken of as giving happy and joyful abode, to the Aryan peoples. Many indeed are the boons asked for from Mithra by his votaries, who always approach him with love, homage and sacrifice. He is generally invoked to come to the faithful for help, freedom, joy, mercy, healing, victory, well-being, and sanctification. The masters of the house, clan, town, and country invoke him for help, so do the poor, when wronged, look to him for the redress of their grievances.188 The husbandman solicits that rich pasture may never fail him. Horsemen sacrifice unto him even from on horseback and beg swiftness for their teams, vigour for their bodies, and might for overthrowing their adversaries.189 Neither the spear of the foe nor his arrow hits the man whom Mithra helps,190 for he guards and protects man from behind and in front.191 furthers the possessions of man, he gives flocks of cattle, male offspring, chariots, spacious mansions, and prosperity192 he is therefore entreated to grant riches, courage, victory, good name and fame, felicity, wisdom, and strength to smite the adversaries.193 The worshipper prays that just as the sun, rising beyond the Alburz, reaches the height, so may he, with his ascending prayer, rise above the will of Angra Mainyu and approach
Mithra.194 Mithra's help, it may be added, is invoked for both the worlds.195
188. Yt10.83, 84.
193. Yt10.33, 34, 58, 59.
|Personification of truth. This angel is preeminently genius of truth. His standing epithet is razishta, 'most upright'. To adopt the phraseology of the Younger Avestan texts, Rashnu is the most holy, the most well-shaped, exalted, courageous, most knowing, the most discerning, the most fore-knowing, most far-seeing, the most helping, the greatest smiter of thieves and bandits.196 He is as bright as the fire.197 Zarathushtra blesses king Vishtaspa that he may be of right faith like Rashnu.198||
196. Yt10.126; 12.5-8.
197. Vsp. 16.1.
The eighteenth day of the month is consecrated to him.199
||199. Y16.5; Sr. 1.18; 2.18.|
|Rashnu presides at the ordeal court. The twelfth Yasht consecrated to Rashnu deals mainly with the preparation of the ordeal; and his presence at such trials is deemed indispensable.200 In fact he is the chief celestial judge who presides at the ordeal. No specific habitat is assigned to Rashnu. The officiating priest has to invoke him to come to the ordeal from whatever part of the world he happens to be in at that time, whether in one of the seven zones of the habitable world, or on the great waters or on some part of the wide earth, or on the high mountains, on the stars and the moon and the sun, or in the endless light, even in paradise.201 The man who lies at the ordeal offends both Rashnu and Mithra, and is consequently punished.202||
200. See Dhalla, 'The Use of Ordeals among the Ancient Iranians,' in
Le Museon, vol. II, p. 121-133, Louvain, 1910.
We have already seen how Rashnu is often invoked in company with Mithra, and likewise with Sraosha; in a similar manner, as noted in the next paragraph, we generally find Arshtat the female personification of rectitude, invoked alongside of Rashnu.203
||203. Y1.7; 2.7; Yt10.139; 12.40; Sr.1.18; 2.1.8.|
|Divinity of rectitude. Arshtat or Arshti is the female genius of truth. She does not play any prominent part in the Younger Avestan period. She co-operates with Mithra, Sraosha, and Rashnu in the judgment of the dead. Although the 18th Yasht is dedicated to Arshtat and bears her name, there is not in it a single mention of her by name; the entire hymn treats only of the Aryan Glory. In two Sirozah passages (1.26, 2.26) Mount Ushidarena literally meaning 'the keeper of intelligence,' is invoked in company with Arshtat; and tradition points to this mountain at the place where Zarathushtra retired to meditate on the eternal problems of life and commune with the divine. As noted above, Arshtat is generally invoked with Rashnu;204 and she is called the world-increasing and the world-profiting.205 In one instance she is identified with the Mazdayasnian religion.206 The faithful invoke her excellence.207||
204. Y1.7; 2.7; Yt10.139; 12.40; Sr. 1.18; 2.18.
205. Y1.7; 2.7; Vsp. 7.2; Yt10.139; 11.16; 13.18; Sr. 1.26; 2.26
206. Vsp. 7.2
As conjectured by Foy,208 and established by Jackson,209 after a careful examination of the Old Persian Inscription on the Behistan rock,210 the name of this angel occurs in the very short list of Zoroastrian divinities known to the Achaemenian kings. The twenty-sixth day of the month is sacred to her.211
208. KZ. 35.45; ZDMG. 54.364, n. 1.
209. Persia Past and Present, p. 203-205, New York, 1906.
210. Bh. 4.64.
211. Y16.6; Sr. 1.26; 2.26.
ERETHE AND RASANSTAT
|Minor divinities of truth. By the names of Erethe and Rasantat are designated two minor female angels presiding over truth. Nothing is known about them excepting that they are invoked by name along with Chisti and Ashi Vanghuhi.212 They are given the epithet 'good.' Erethe is once called courageous.213||
212. Y1.14; 3.16; 4.19; Vsp. 9.4; Sr. 1.25.
213. Vsp. 9.4.
|The angel of victory. Verethraghna belongs to the Indo-Iranian divinities. He is one of the most popular divinities of the Iranian cult. Indra's most distinctive epithet in the Rig Veda is Vrtrahan, 'the slayer of Vrtra.' Its Avestan corresponding word is Verethraghna which, however, is not used as an epithet of some angel, but is the name of a powerful angel. Verethraghna impersonates victory and he has preserved this trait throughout the various epochs of Iranian religious thought. The Yasht bearing his name celebrates his exploits. As the genius of victory, and created by Ahura Mazda, Verethraghna is the best armed of the spiritual angels.214 He is the most courageous in courage, the most victorious in victory, the most glorious in glory, the most abounding in favours, the best giver of welfare, and the most healing in health-giving.215 He is the giver of manliness, inflicting death, maker of a new world, resolute, and self-willed.216||
215. Yt14.3, 7, etc.
216. Yt14.28, 30, 32.
King Vishtaspa is blessed by Zarathushtra that he may be a conqueror of his enemies like Verethraghna.217 The twentieth day of the month is dedicated to him.218 His constant associates are Ama, 'Courage,' and Vanainti Uparatat, 'Dominating Excellence.'
217. AZ. 7.
218. Y16.5; Sr. 1.20; 2.20.
The patron angel of the Iranian countries. Verethraghna is one of the national divinities of the Aryans. If the nation sacrificed unto Verethraghna with libations, and the sacred twigs, and consecrated cooked repast of cattle, either white or of some other colour, no hostile hordes, no plague, nor evil of any kind would enter the Aryan lands.219 The sacrifice is to be offered through righteousness, and none but the righteous should partake of the holy food dedicated to Verethraghna. Untold calamity would befall the Aryan countries if the wicked should have a share in the sacred feast. In such an event plagues and foes would devastate the country and the Aryans would be smitten by their fifties and their hundreds, by their hundreds and their thousands, by their thousands and their tens of thousands, by their tens of thousands and their myriads of myriads.220
219. Yt14. 48-50.
Verethraghna's work. The armies that meet on the battlefield invoke Verethraghna for victory. He favours that army which first seeks his help.. The army that secures his aid is sure to conquer and not to be conquered, it smites and is not smitten.221 He breaks asunder the columns of the enemy, wounds them, shakes them, and cuts them to pieces.222 He brings illness and death into the army that has lied unto Mithra, binds their hands and feet, and deprives them of their eyesight and hearing.223 He destroys the malice of the malicious demons and men, sorcerers and fairies, the willfully blind, and the willfully deaf. 224 Zarathushtra sacrificed unto Verethraghna, imploring from him victory in thought, victory in word, victory in deed, victory in addressing. and victory in replying.225 Verethraghna imparts
to the prophet the excellence of uprightness, the strength of the arms, the health of the body, the strength of the body, and the powerful vision of the eyes.226
221. Yt14.43, 44.
225. Yt14.28, 30, 32.
His metamorphoses. Verethraghna, along with Dahma Afriti and Damoish Upamana, imports a peculiar aspect into the Iranian pantheon, that of assuming various shapes and manifesting his individuality in many forms. As the lord of victory he is ever ready to help those who invoke him, and comes down to his votary under different guises. Ten of such forms of Verethraghna are mentioned, when he appeared to Zarathushtra. The divinity successively assumes the form of the wind, a bull, a horse, a camel, a boar, a youth, a raven, a ram, a he-goat, and finally of a man.227 He escorts Mithra in the shape of a boar to smite those that have lied unto the guardian of truth.228
He causes the joy of life. Another instance of a hymn consecrated in name to one Yazata, but wholly devoted to the praise and glorification of another, is furnished by Ram Yasht (15). Raman is merely invoked by name along with Vayu at the beginning
and the end of the Yasht. Vayu, the genius of wind, is the co-labourer of Raman, and the Yasht treats of his achievements. Raman Khvastra is the genius of the joy of life. The joy that he imparts is not the joy of the spirit, and does not convey any spiritual significance. It is the joy or pleasure pertaining to this life. Raman's joy makes man full of zest for life. Good abodes and good pastures that bring comfort and happiness in the present life are Raman's gifts. Savouriness of food is from him. Rich harvest, fertile fields, wide pasture, abundant fodder, and thick foliage, are the boons of Raman and his associate divinities, like Mithra and Vayu.229 In fact it is Mithra and Tishtrya who impart this joy to the abodes of the Aryan nations.230 The waters of Ardvi Sura Anahita are likewise invoked to grant joyful dwellings for the worshippers of Mazda.231 Zarathushtra wishes King Vishtaspa the joy of Raman.232 We have already seen that Zarathushtra's joyful outlook on life pervades the Younger Avesta. Gaiety of spirit and cheerfulness of nature characterize the people of the period.
229. Y1.3; 2.3; 22.23; 25.4; Vsp. 1.7; 2.9; Yt10.146. Yt15; Sr. 1.21; 2.21; Vd. 3.1; G. 1.7.
230. Yt8.2; 10.4.
232. Yt23.7; 24.6.
|Physical and mental inequality leads to economic inequality. Providence does not distribute the physical and mental gifts to man on the basis of equality. Some are born with agile, robust, and healthy bodies, whereas others are burdened with sluggish, weak, and sickly bodies. Mankind has contributed considerably by its vice of ages to the deformity of body and derangement of mind. Men and women are born with unequal physical and mental strength. The strong and strenuous, cunning and resourceful, vigorous and adventurous mercilessly overthrow the weak and slow, simple and dull, timid and indolent in the fierce scramble for the good things of life. The unequal distribution by nature of the gifts of body and brain, aided by selfishness and greed on the part of man bring about economic inequality. The disparity of poverty and wealth has appeared on the face of the earth ever since society took to settled life and, with the division of labour, embarked upon earning means of livelihood by different kinds of work. The strong have exploited the labour of the weak and forced them to slave like beasts of burden with their eyes raining tears of sorrow. The fear of starvation has hovered over millions of huts like vultures. The poor have generally lived in squalor and sickness and died like flies. Countless persons have not experienced a full and satisfied stomach from birth to death. Kindly mothers have eaten only half the bread that their children may have the other half. Multitudes of children have lived with wasted cheeks, sunken eyes, and emaciated bodies among the dregs of life. Men and women have sweated and starved and grown gray before their time. Physical sufferings have rendered many the shadows of themselves, made them live two years in one and age fast. Many have found it hard to equate the income and expenses, and earned a precarious living. The people whose tragedy it has been to be poor have always outnumbered the rich in the world.|
|When life has thus denied many the barest necessities of life, it has loaded others with abundance. Men of industry and enterprise have amassed riches, others have inherited wealth, still others have filled their coffers by foul means. Some have been parasites fattening upon the sweated toil of the tillers of the soil and have wrung from them the fruits of their labour. They have revelled in superfluous riches. They have lived in spacious halls with frescoed walls, and velvet hangings looped with golden tassels. They had a retinue of servants at their beck and call and lounged away their time upon luxurious divans. They had sumptuous tables laden with a dozen courses and sparkling wines and fed themselves to early death. Others gave themselves up to gaiety and licentiousness. Many have indulged in ostentatious and extravagant luxury when the vast numbers of the poor have clothed themselves in rags and their children have suffered from malnutrition. The insolence and hauteur, the cold behaviour and thinly concealed slights have stung the helpless poor to the quick.|
The poor took the counsels of contentment given by the wise to heart and resigned themselves to the inscrutable will of God. Moreover, there have always been noble souls everywhere who have come forward to father society's orphans and destitutes. They have acted on the principle that wealth was not given them
for their selfish use, and that the rich were the stewards of their wealth given them by God for the amelioration of the condition of the poor. When some have not given anything from their abundance, many have always given something, and the few have given up their all.
Charity personified. The female genius of charity, grace, or alms-giving is Rata, the companion of Spenta Armaiti, with whom she is conjointly invoked in the hymns of praise.233 Through her Ahura Mazda gives reward,234 for he has spoken of her with express sanction to Zarathushtra, and in obedience the prophet has introduced her to humanity.235 The faithful pray that they may win Ahura Mazda's favours through Rata.236 She nourishes the poor.237 Sraosha is the best protector of the poor.238 He shelters poor men and women in his mansion.239 Haoma exalts the mind of the poor.239a With uplifted hands do the ill-treated poor call Mithra for help.240 The faithful fervently pray that the spirit of charity of the religious devotee241 may drive away the demon of stinginess from the house. If one of the faith approaches another seeking goods, or a wife, or knowledge, the man of means should help him with goods, he should arrange for the marriage of this poor coreligionist, he should pay for his instruction in religious matters.242 It is in every man's power to practise charity, either in thoughts, or in words, or in deeds.
233. Sr. 1.5; 2.5.
|The angel of peace. This female divinity is peace personified, but even though perfectly clearly recognizable as such, she is very obscurely outlined as to traits. She is invoked in company with Vohu Manah, or Good Mind,243 for nothing can break the inner peace in which the spirit of a man of good thoughts reposes. Akhshti is usually called victorious.244||
243. Yt2.1; Sr.1.2; 2.2.
244. Vsp. 7.1; Yt2.1, 6; 11,15; 15.1; Sr. 1.2; 2.2.
The term Akhshti occurs also as a common noun. This peace as well as war lies in the power of Mithra to bring upon the
country.245 The rulers invoke Chisti to procure peace for their countries,246 and the faithful pray that peace and concord may drive out discord and strife from their abodes.247
The spirit of the spells. The Gathas spoke of the mânthra, the sacred formula, or inspired utterance of great spiritual potency, but did not personify it. The Avestan texts do so, however, under the name Manthra Spenta, or Holy Formula. The manthras generally indicate the spells of magical charms in the Younger Avesta. Manthra Spenta, the embodiment of the holy spell, is invoked along with Daena, the genius of religion, and Vohu Manah's wisdom.248 As an angel presiding over the formulas of the faith he wards off evil, exorcises those possessed of the demons, and heals the sick; he is consequently invoked to heal the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine diseases created by Angra Mainyu.249 He is efficacious and the most glorious one,250 and like every other angel, Manthra Spenta has his Fravashi.251 The twenty-ninth day of the month is sacred to him.252
248. Sr. 1.29; 2.29.
249. Vd. 22.2, 6.
250. Y1.13; 2.13; 25.6; Vsp. 21.2; Vd. 22.2, 6.
251. Yt13. 86.
The potency of the spells. The collocation manthra spenta occurs more frequently in its ordinary meaning than as the name of the angel presiding over the holy spells. The term
mânthra without its appellative spenta is also freely used to designate the sacred texts. It is also used for the magical spells of various degrees of efficacy. These spells are interspersed in the Avestan texts, especially in the Yashts and the Vendidad. Their conjuring efficacy is very great. They are supposed to have inherent mysterious power of their own, and the mere recital of these magical charms produces marvellous effects. The mystical compositions, as such, are credited with some kind of spiritual efficacy, some superhuman power; and through the recitation of them man can avert the baneful influence of the demons. Such
spells are awful, efficacious, victorious, healing.253 The recital
of the holy spell gives easy delivery at birth, and helps in the
growth of the child.254 He who heals by the recital of the holy spells
is the best healer, for he best drives away sickness from
the body.255 These magical incantations are mostly used to drive
away the demons of defilement, disease, and death. The holy spell
is the very soul of Ahura Mazda.256 Whoso pronounces
the names of Ahura Mazda by day and by night, on leaving his
bed, or while retiring for sleep, or upon leaving his home or his
town, is able to withstand the attacks of the demons, and will
receive as much succour and help as a thousand men could jointly
give to one man. 257
254 Vd. 21.6, 10, 14.
255 Yt3.6. Vd. 7.44.
256 Yt13.81; Vd. 19.14.
The chief spells. Some of the most excellent, the most mighty, the most efficacious, the most smiting, the most victorious, the most healing, the greatest, and the best of the spells are the Ahuna Vairya formula, the Airyaman Ishya prayer, the names of Ahura Mazda and of the Amesha Spentas.258 The Airyaman Ishya is the greatest, best, fairest, most fearful, most firm most victorious, and the most healing of all spells.259 Saoshyant and his companions will recite the Airyaman Ishya prayer at the time of the renovation of the world. Through its intonation Angra Mainyu and his evil crew shall be hidden in the earth, the dead shall rise up, and Ahura Mazda shall rule according to his divine will.260 There are other sacred formulas of great importance, such as the Ashem Vohu and Yenghe Hatam. These are composed in the Gathic dialect and are of rare merit. They are next in importance only to the most sacred formula of all, the Ahuna Vairya, which is spoken of in the following paragraph.
258 Yt1.1-3; 3.5,6; 11.3; WFr. 4.1.
260 WFr. 4. See Haas, An Avestan Fragment on the Resurrection, with translation and notes in Spiegel Memorial Volume, p. 181-187, Bombay. 1908.
|Ahuna Vairya. The greatest of all the spells, the Word par excellence of the Zarathushtrian theology, which is constantly on the tongue of the faithful, is the Ahuna Vairya. It is made up of twenty-one words, every one of which corresponds to one of the twenty-one Nasks which make up the complete Holy Writ of the Zoroastrians. It is the quintessence of the entire scriptures. In reply to the prophet's inquiry about the origin of this sacred formula, Ahura Mazda says that before the heavens, before the waters, before the earth, before the animals, before the trees, before the fire, before men, before the archangels, before the demons. and before the entire material existence, Ahuna Vairya was.261 Ahura Mazda pronounced it when the world was not.262 One correct recitation of it without any omission is worth the chanting of a hundred Gathas,263 and will enable the devout to reach paradise.264 Of all the sacred formulas that have ever been pronounced or are now recited, or which will be recited hereafter, this word that the Lord God has announced to the holy prophet is the best.265 It gives courage and victory to the soul and conscience of man.266 Humanity would redeem itself from the death by embracing it in the fullness of faith.267||
|Zarathushtra chants aloud this Word when the demon Buiti seeks his death, and he puts the fiend to flight by the mere recital of it.268 With the same word does the prophet repel the Evil Spirit himself, when he comes to tempt him.269||
268 Vd. 19.2.
269 Vd. 19.9.
The value of the recitation and the intonation of the formula is greatly impaired when it is inattentively chanted with errors and omissions.270 Ahura Mazda prevents the careless soul that makes such mistakes from entering paradise.271
The number of times that the spells are recited. The tenth Fargard or chapter, of the Vendidad gives a list of the Gathic stanzas which are to be repeated twice, three times, and four times at the beginning of the spells to repel evil. The Airyaman Ishya prayer is generally repeated four times. The most frequently occurring formulas that are repeated in various numbers, as the occasion demands, are the Ashem Vohu and the Ahuna Vairya. They are generally used at the opening or at the close of all prayers. The number of times which they are recited varies from one to a hundred thousand, or to be precise, the following specific numbers are found among the references to the
different prayers: one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, ten, twelve, twenty-one, one hundred, two hundred, twelve hundred, and a hundred thousand.
Those privileged to recite the spells. Manthrans, or chanters are those who are privileged to recite the spells.272 Whoso seeks wisdom with pious intent is to be taught the holy spells.273 The knowledge of the secret formulas is to be zealously guarded, it is to be imparted only to the veriest few in the closest circle.274 The potency of such spells greatly lies in their careful and accurate recitation, without omitting any part of the prescribed formulas, or without violating the rigid rules of the manner of chanting. This requires that the reciter should be well versed in the art of exorcising, of healing, or in any other function he undertakes to perform with the help of the sacred spells. Teaching a manthra to an infidel is equivalent to giving a tongue to the wolf.275
272 Y7.24; 41.5.
273 Vd. 4.44.
274 Yt4.10; 14.46.
275 TdFr. 3; Nr. 17.
She personifies the power of benediction. Each time that a righteous person offers sacrifices unto this personification of a divine blessing, she comes to him in the shape of a camel.276 She is beautiful and friendly, she fills the empty to over-filling and restores the sick to health.277 When the collocation is used as a common noun it means the blessings of the pious. A healer takes his fees from persons whom he heals. But when he cleanses or heals a priest he has to do so for just the ‘blessing of the pious' that the priest can give.278
276 TdFr. 64; 65.
277 Vd. 22.5,12,18.
278 Vd. 7.41; 9.37.
He personifies the power of anathema. This embodiment of the power to utter an awful malediction upon an offender against righteousness is generally mentioned alongside of Mithra.279 When Mithra goes forth on his crusade against the demons and their followers throughout the seven zones, this angel, with the dread power of uttering fatal imprecations,
Accompanies him in the shape of a ferocious boar. 280 This sharp-toothed and sharp-jawed frightful animal symbolizes the terrible power of the curse for injury to the wrong-doer. Furthermore, when Ahura Mazda, the supreme heavenly judge, comes down to attend the ordeal court, Damoish Upamana is one of those to join among the number of his co-adjutors.281 The contending parties were here put to self-imprecatory oaths. Divine wrath fell upon him who swore falsely and the dreadful boar that typified the awful potency of Dami Upamana's curse fell upon him and killed him at a stroke. He is also seen moving in the company of the Fravashis when they go out to the battlefield to help their favoured army.282 The sacrificing priest invites him to attend the Yasna-sacrifice.283
279 Yt10.9, 66, 68, 127.
283 Y1.15; 2.15.
|The genius of health. This Indo-Iranian divinity originally conveys the idea of comradeship and occurs in the Vedas as a groomsman at the wedding rites and casually in the Avesta in connection with the wedding rites. The Fifty-fourth chapter of the Yasna is consecrated to Airyaman. He is invoked to come down to the wedding for the joy of the faithful.284 In regard to attributes given to Airyaman we may add in this connection that his standing epithet is 'the beloved one.'||
But Airyaman plays a more prominent part in the Iranian literature as the genius of health. He is an acolyte to Asha Vahishta, and is invoked together with him.285 The third Yasht, which bears the name of Asha Vahishta, is, in fact, mostly devoted to Airyaman. Ahura Mazda created this earth immune from any sickness and disease, but the Evil Spirit introduced therein ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine diseases.286 Ahura Mazda accordingly sends his messenger Nairyosangha to Airyaman with the request to go to the world with his healing remedies. Airyaman quickly obeys the divine command and begins his work.287 He smites and drives away all kinds of sickness and death, magic and sorcery.288 Airyaman
does not heal by means of herbs and drugs, medicine and surgery, but by the holy spells. In fact one of the greatest of such sacred formulas, the Airyaman Ishya, as we have already seen, bears his name and is used to smite all manner of disease and death.289 At the recital of the magic formula flee sickness and death, demons and infidels, the two-legged brood of wolfish and serpentine nature, pride and scorn, slander and strife, falsehood and evil eye, courtezan and sorcery. 290 It is employed to rout sorcerers, fairies, and the progeny of evil.291
285 Sr. 1.3;2.3.
286 Vd. 22.2,9, 15.
287 Vd. 22.7-20.
289 Vd. 20.11, 12.
291 Vd. 20.9-12; 21.18-21.
|The divinity of joint Indo-Iranian fame. One of the most distinctive features common to the Indo-Iranian peoples before their separation is the Haoma-Soma cult. The Avestan Haoma is identical with Vedic Soma, and both refer to the sacred drink prepared from a special plant and partaken of as a part of the ritual service. Haoma has secured a prominent place in the later Avestan theology and forms an essential part of the Zoroastrian liturgy. Haoma primarily is a plant of this world, from which the drink was quaffed as a religious act, but the idea soon evolves into an angel of the same name presiding over this plant. The two concepts are so closely interwoven that it often becomes difficult to ascertain whether the Haoma occuring in a certain passage is the genius of the plant of that name, or the plant itself. The same difficulty is witnessed with reference to Soma in the Vedas. The anthropomorphic character of both Haoma Soma is little pronounced. Three chapters of the Yasna and a Yasht mostly composed of excerpts from the Yasna are dedicated to Haoma. More than 120 hymns are devoted to Soma in Rig Veda.|
Ahura Mazda brought for Haoma the star-bespangled spiritual girdle, that is, the Mazdayasnian religion. Girt with this he dwells on the top of the mountains,292 and from these heights he sacrifices unto Drvaspa, Sraosha, Mithra, and Ashi Vanghuhi.293
293 Y57.19; Yt9.17, 18; 10.88; 17.37, 38.
Haoma pleads the greatness of his cult. He is anxious that his cult, which has been in vogue for centuries, be given a due
place in the new faith and receive the sanction of the prophet. The poet depicts him as approaching Zarathusbtra for this particular purpose. One morning, we are informed, Haoma came to the prophet as he was chanting the sacred Gathas before the fire-altar and asked him to seek his favour by consecrating the Haoma juice for libations and to praise him as the other sages had praised him.294 Vivasvant, Yama, and Trita Aptya were the first to sacrifice unto Soma. The Avestan texts speak of the same persons who first offered sacrifices unto Haoma. In reply to Zarathushtra’s inquiry Haoma proceeds to give instances of some of the greatest of his celebrants. The first among the mortals to sacrifice unto the angel Haoma by pounding the Haoma plant for libation was Vivanhvant, and the great benefit he derived there from was that the glorious Yima was born unto him.295 Athwya, Thrita, and Pourushaspa, the father of the prophet himself, were among the other prominent men who sacrificed
unto Haoma. Their reward was that illustrious sons were born unto them. Thus Zarathushtra himself was born unto Pourushaspa because the latter praised Haoma.296 Zarathushtra, the poet says, thereupon paid homage to the angel, and proclaimed his cult as the most praiseworthy.297
295 Y9.3, 4.
296 Y9. 6-13.
Haoma’s titles. The standing epithet of Haoma is 'far from death.’ He is the powerful one, and rules according to his will.298 He is the lord of knowledge and possesses good wisdom.299 He is the healing one, beautiful, lordly, and of golden eyes.300
299 Y9.27; 10.2.
300 Yt9.17; 10.88.17.37.
His gifts. Zarathushtra invokes Haoma and asks from him intelligence, courage, victory, health, increase, prosperity, vigour of body, and power to rule at will, and to smite the wicked that he may vanquish the evil done by the wicked men and demons.301 The prophet further prays to him for health of the body, long duration of life, the all-shining abode of the righteous, the realization of his wishes on earth, a complete triumph over the wicked and a foreknowledge of the evil intents of the wicked:302 Haoma bestows these boons upon him, Haoma in like manner gives knowledge to the aspiring students, husbands to the ripening maidens, beautiful offspring and righteous progeny to women,
and paradise to the righteous.303 The devout worshipper, in return, dedicates his very body to him.304 Piety accompanied by joy enters the house in which Haoma dwells. 305
301 Y. 9.17, 18.
303 Y9.22,23; 11.10.
304 Y10.14; 11.10.
Haoma implored to rout the wicked. This angel is invoked to guard the faithful from the harm of the wicked, to take away the power of their hands and feet and to confuse their minds, so that they cannot behold the universe with both their eyes.306 He is besought to hurl his weapons at the skulls of the wicked for the protection of the righteous,307 and to crush the thought of the maligner.308
Haoma's due. Haoma is to be propitiated with sacrifice. Among other objects animals were sacrificed in the Zoroastrian ritual unto the angels, and the different parts of the consecrated flesh were allotted to the various Yazatas. The Pahlavi books elaborately treat the question of reserving particular parts of the animal for the various Yazatas. We are told that Ahura Mazda has set apart for Haoma as his share in the sacrifice the jaw-bone, the tongue, and the left eye of the immolated animal.309 In general this is also in accordance with the statement of Herodotus310 regarding the Persian acts of sacrifice in worship.
310 Herod. 1.132.
Haoma's curse. Haoma does not give good children of priestly virtues to the woman who wrongfully partakes of the sacred cake consecrated to him.311 Whosoever deprives Haoma of his portion in the sacrifice, displeases him, and the penalty he pays for this slight to Haoma is that a priest, a warrior, or a husbandman is not thereafter born in his house.312 The faithful is exhorted to propitiate him with his due portion, lest the offended angel should bind him with heavy iron chains as he bound Franrasyan.313 Haoma pronounces his curse of being childless and of evil name and fame against those who, like thieves, rob him of his legitimate portion in the sacrifice.314 He hurled down the arrogant Keresani from his
312 Y11.5, 6.
Haoma, king of plants. Haoma is the sovereign lord of all plants among both the Indians and the Iranians. Physically it
is the plant that grows on the highest summits of Mount Hara Berezaiti, the modern Alburz.316 According to the Vedic texts, it grows on the mount Mujavat. The birds carried it from there in all directions.317 An eagle brought it down, says the Veda.318 The nourishing earth is its mother where it grows in vales and dales, spreading sweet perfume all around.319 It is of golden hue, say both, and the celestial drink prepared from its branches is most invigorating and profitable for the soul of man.319a Indulgence in intoxicating beverages causes wrath and strife, quarrel and confusion, but the drink of Haoma is accompanied by righteousness and piety.320 It confers immortality. It is the source of righteousness.321 Haoma grows in abundance when it is praised by man. The pounding of the Haoma juice for sacrifice is tantamount to the destruction of the demons by thousands.322 Misery vanishes and happiness and health enter the house in which Haoma is prepared.323 The exhilarating drink gives inspiration and enlightenment to his supplicant and makes the beggar's mind as exalted as that of the rich.324 The faithful pray that the healing remedies of Haoma may reach them for the strength of their bodies.325 There is a close affinity between the Haoma-Soma cults and the rituals performed to celebrate them have great resemblance to each other. We shall notice it in our chapter on rituals.
318 RV. 3.43.7; 4.26.6, etc.
320 Y10.8; Yt17.5.
Physically she stands for plenty, morally for piety. On the physical side Ashi Vanghuhi, or Good Sanctity, is the guardian of earthly riches. She fills the barns of men with grain and with cattle, their coffers with gold, the fields with foliage, the chests of virtuous women with ornaments and their boxes with fine garments.326 She brings happiness, cattle, fodder, and protection to him to whom the Glory cleaves.327 On the ethical side she personifies sanctity and thus represents spiritual riches. She is
also the giver of the mental riches unto men, that is, the bright understanding and the innate wisdom.328 Ahura Mazda is her father and Spenta Armaiti, the embodiment of holy devotion, is her mother. The archangels, as well as Sraosha, Rashnu, and Mithra, are her brothers, and Daena, the genius of the holy faith of Zarathushtra, is her sister.329 As the genius of plenty she joins Mithra, who increases pastures and fodder.330 The seventeenth Yasht is dedicated to her. Parendi, Chisti, Erethe, and Rasanstat are invoked in her company.331
331 Yt17.62; Sr. 1.25.
Ashi's attributes. She is bright, exalted, well-formed, well worthy of sacrifice, possessed of the bright chariot, courageous, giver of weal and health.332 She is beautiful, shining with joy, and far-reaching through radiance.333 She, the exalted one, is well-made and of noble origin; she rules at her will and is possessed of glory in her body.334 She, the courageous one, carries all desirable things in her hands.335 She is the protector, guardian, helper, healer, smiter of the malice of the demons and of the wicked men, the giver of good gifts, blessings, and success, and the bestower of the greatest, best, and the fairest reward unto men.336 She comes in the shape of a well-built, beautiful, tall, high-up girded maiden of noble birth.337
332 Y2.14; 57.3; Yt17.1; Sr. 2.25.
Her supplicants. Haoshyangha, Yima, Thraetaona, Haoma, Haosravah, before Zoroaster, as well as the prophet himself and King Vishtaspa, his royal patron and helper in the propagation of the new faith, are among the most illustrious of her supplicants. These worshippers severally offered her sacrifices and asked for various boons from her, which she granted in answer to their prayers.338 The most favoured among her votaries is Zarathushtra himself; for him her loving regard is great.339 This
is because the prophet himself is the visible embodiment of sanctity on earth and the promoter of righteousness among men.
338 Yt17.24-26, 28-31, 33-35, 37-39, 41-43, 45-47, 49-52, 61.
Her work. She is ever ready to help the faithful. She leads to rectitude.340 She goes to those who invoke her from near or afar with pious libations.341 The house which Ashi graces with her presence becomes full of perfume.342 Happy indeed is the man whom Ashi attends, for riches, abundance, and prosperity spring in his house. The kings whom she favours have kingdoms rich in snorting horses, sounding chariots, flashing swords, large tributes, and an abundance of rich food.343 Happy indeed are they whom Ashi attends, for they come by well-furnished houses wherein live righteous persons, rich in cattle, who have well-adorned beds, with rich cushions, and with feet inlaid with gold.344 Their wives and daughters have square bored earrings and necklaces of gold.345 And the men on whom Ashi, the genius of fortune, smiles have hoards of silver and gold and rich garments and swift and loud neighing horses and chariots, and large-humped, fiery camels, and weapons of war.346 Glory is his whom she, in her goodness, attends.347 The devout pray and implore her not to turn her face from them and withhold her kindness from them.348 That Ashi may not quit their houses, is the fervent prayer of the faithful;349 and the Fravashis are invoked by the righteous to bring the blessed Ashi into their abodes.350 The householder prays that she may come and stay in his house.351 She follows the generous man who causes joy unto the righteous poor by his liberal gifts, and the moment she puts her one foot in the house, it is filled with a thousand fold flocks and horses and virtuous offspring.352 Zarathushtra asks Ashi to bestow her gifts upon King Vishtaspa.353 The twenty-sixth day of the month is sacred to her.354
341 Yt17. 2.
345 Yt17. 10, 11.
What offends Ashi most. She is grieved at the sight of maidens who remain unmarried for a long time.355 She does not accept the libations offered by sterile persons and wicked courtesans.356 As the zealous guardian of the sanctity of matrimony, she abhors the wife who is untrue to the nuptial tie, the woman who violates the law of chastity, and the adulteress who sells her body for profit or pleasure.357 Three times does she
raise her wailing at such a shameful display of unchastity and longs either to flee to the heavens or sink into the earth, whereupon Ahura Mazda consoles her and leads her to his celestial abode.358
357 Yt17; 57, 58.
Ashi's associate. Parendi, as the female genius of riches, plenty, and activity, is identical with the Vedic Puramdhi, the goddess of plenty. She is the constant companion of Ashi Vanghuhi, and is invoked with her.359 She is active in thought, active in word, and active in deed, and gives activity to man's body.360 She moves about in a light chariot.361 As the impersonation of earthly riches Parendi accompanies the celestial car of Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, or again she attends Tishtrya. the genius of rain, in furthering the prosperity of the earth.362 Zarathushtra invokes her to enrich King Vishtaspa.363
359 Y13.1; 38.2; Yt8.38; 10.66; Sr. 1.25; 2.25.
360 Vsp. 7.2.
361 Yt8.38; 24. 9; Sr. 1.25; 2.25.
362 Yt8.38: 10.66.
The female genius of cattle. She is a female genius of the animal world. As the guardian of herds, she is invoked in company with Geush Tashan and Geush Urvan.364 A Yasht (9) is consecrated to her and bears her name, or more familiarly that of Gosh or Geush Urvan. Drvaspa moves about in her own chariot of sounding wheels. Mazda has made her heroic and righteous. She is the bestower of health upon the cattle and kine. She watches well from afar, gives welfare and long continuing friendship. She is nourishing, courageous, well formed, possessed of weal, giver of health, and powerful helper of the righteous.365
364 Sr. 1.14; 2.14.
Her sacrificers. The Yasht gives a list of her supplicants who have asked her to grant them various boons. They are the same persons that invoke Ashi Vanghuhi and pray for the same boons that they ask from her. The only difference between the
forms of invoking Drvaspa and Ashi is that no offering is made to Ashi by any of her supplicants, whereas in the case of Drvaspa we see that with the exception of Haoma and Zarathushtra the other heroes, Haoshyangha, Yima. Thraetaona, Haosravah, and Vishtaspa, bring to her offerings of a hundred horses, a thousand oxen, ten thousand small cattle, and the libations.366
366 Yt9.3-5,8-11, 13.15, 17-19,21-23,25-27,29-32.
GEUSH TASHAN AND GEUSH URVAN
Drvaspa’s associates. We have seen above in the Gathas among the impersonations of the animal world two distinct beings Geush Tashan, Geush Urvan. Gav Azi represented the joy-giving cattle. In the later Avestan texts Geush Tashan appears about six times.367 We do not hear anything more definite regarding him than the fact that he is invoked by name along with other tutelary divinities. It may indeed be emphasized that he is entirely unknown from the time of the Pahlavi period onward. Geush Urvan is invoked in company with Geush Tashan and Drvaspa.368 Gav Azi occurs but once. The master of a house is enjoined to give a gav azi, or a three-year-old cow, to the cleanser who imparted him bodily purification.369 Verethraghna, the angel of victory, complains before Zarathushtra that the mischief of the demons and their worshippers increases upon earth because men do not offer sacrifices to Geush Urvan.370
367 Y1.2; 39.1; 70.2; Vsp. 9.5; Sr. 1.14; WFr. 6.1.
368 Y1.2; 39.1; 70.2; Vsp. 9.5; Sr. 1.14; 2.14.
369 Vd. 9.37.
|The sun deified. Hvarekhshaeta is the shining sun as well as the genius presiding over him. The sixth Yasht and the first Nyaish are consecrated to him; but in fact the first two Nyaishes celebrate Hvarekhshaeta and Mithra conjointly. These two litanies, moreover, are always recited together during the day time. The treatment of the sun-Yazata, like that of Surya, the sun in the Rig Veda, and the physical sun as a phenomenon of nature is so complicated that it is difficult in many instances to distinguish the one from the other. It is not so much Havarekhshaeta in the capacity of an angel that figures here, as does Hvarekhshaeta, the sun itself. The writer of the hymn in honour of Hvarekhshaeta is more interested in depicting the movements of the sun itself as the orb of day than in giving account of the Yazata, or presiding genius of the sun. We have a vivid picture of the sun's movements, its rising and setting, its power to rout the fiends of uncleanness and impurity, but we have hardly anything which treats of the spiritual personality behind this great luminary of nature. The worship of the brilliant sun must have preceded the period of its deification, and the poet cannot quite rid himself of the fascination of the primitive form of nature-worship. The physical phenomenon of the sun is always present before the mind of the writer; and there is very little attempt to address the presiding genius through his visible image, the concrete representative being the direct object of praise and glorification. The sun rises up above the mountain Hara Berezaiti and enters upon his daily career.371||
371 Yt10.118; Vd. 21.5.
|Hvarekhshaeta is invoked by his name, and his standing epithets are 'the imperishable, radiant, and the swift-horsed.' Ovid attests that a horse was consecrated to the sun for the reason that the sun itself was swift moving like the horse.372 Several classical writers write about the homage and sacrifice offered by the Persians to the sun. A white horse of the best Nisaean breed was selected for the sacrifice to the sun.373 A white chariot, covered with garlands was sacred to the sun.374 A temple consecrated to the sun, with a priestess of the royal family at its head, is mentioned.375||
372 Fasti, 1.385, 386.
373 Gray, op. cit., p. 85, 86; Fox and Pemberton, op. cit., p. 16,41,67, 69,84.
374 Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8.3.12; Dio Chrysostom, Orationes, 36, 39.
375 Flavius Vopiscus, Aurelianus, 5.5.
|The Amesha Spentas are all of one accord with the sun.376 When the sun warms with its light, a hundred and a thousand spiritual Yazatas gather its glory and distribute it upon the earth for the furtherance of the world of righteousness.377 When the sun rises up, purification comes unto the earth and unto the standing and flowing waters and unto the waters of the wells and seas, and unto the righteous creation of the Holy Spirit.378 If indeed the sun were not to rise high up, the demons would destroy all things that are in the seven regions. Not even the spiritual angels would find means to withstand and repel them.379 The offering of sacrifice unto the Sun in order to withstand darkness and demons, thieves and robbers, sorcerers and enchantresses, is equivalent to sacrificing unto Ahura Mazda, Amesha Spentas, the Yazatas, earthly and heavenly, and one's own soul.380 The demons who, in the darkness of night, come out by the million from the bowels of the earth, glide away as soon as the sun mounts the sky and the world is ablaze with its. light. Though they feast in the night time, as darkness is congenial to their nature, they fast during the day, for light is destructive to their being. When the light of Hvarekhshaeta breaks through the darkness of night, it drives away, not only darkness, but defilement, disease, and death. Like the moon and the stars, it grieves the sun to shine upon a defiled person.381 Ahura Mazda has the sun for his eye.382 In the Vedic literature, the sun is similarly spoken of as the eye of Mitra Varuna.383 In the Litany to the sun, homage is paid to the two eyes of Ahura Mazda,384 which are evidently the sun and the moon. The heavens bathed in the light of the sun form his garments.385 The eleventh day of the month is sacred to him.386||
377 Yt6.1; Ny1.11.
378 Yt6.2; Ny1.12.
379 Yt6.3; Ny1.13.
380 Yt6.4; Ny1.14.
381 Vd. 9.41.
382 Y1.11; 3.13; 4.16; 7.13; 22.13; 68.22.
383 RV. l.115.1; 6.51.l; 7.61.1,63.1; 10.37.1.
385 Yt13. 3.
Leprosy is especially regarded as a consequence of sinning against the sun, and Herodotus tells us that persons affected with the disease were not permitted to enter a town.387
387 Herod. 1.138.
|The moon personified. Herodotus writes that the moon is the tutelary divinity of Persia.388 The case of this nature divinity is analogous to that of the sun. Maonghah is at one and the same time the moon and the personification of the moon. The seventh Yasht and the third Nyaish are dedicated to this divine personage. Here also we find throughout the description of the waxing and the waning of the moon, the periods of the new and the full moons, and the benefit that the light of the moon imparts to the world. We hear much of the concrete moon, but very little of the abstract person of the angel. The sole-created Bull, the progenitor of the animal world, is invoked along with the moon.389 The moon waxes and wanes through Ahura Mazda.390 The Amesha Spentas gather the glory of the moon and distribute it upon the earth.391 When the moon warms up with its light, the golden coloured plants grow up from the earth during the spring.392||
388 Herod. 7.37.
389 Sr. 1.12; 2.12.
390 Yt7.2; Ny3.4.
391 Yt7.3; Ny3.5.
392 Yt7.4; Ny3.6.
The moon is constantly spoken of as the possessor of the seed of the Bull.393 The moon is furthermore described as the bestower, radiant, glorious, possessed of water, possessed of warmth, possessed of knowledge, wealth, riches, discernment, weal, verdure, good, and the healing one.394 The twelfth day of the month is dedicated to the moon. 395
393 See Gray, in Spiegel Memorial Volume, p. 160-168.
394 Yt7.5; Ny3.7.
|Deification of the endless light. Anaghra Raochah means the Endless Light. It is the celestial light as opposed to the earthly light.396 In the order of naming the various kinds of heavenly lights, Anaghra Raochah comes after the stars, moon and the sun.397 Like the stars, the moon, and the sun, this supreme light stood without motion until the Fravashis or the Guardian Spirits showed it its path of movement.398||
397 Y71. 9; Yt12.35; 13.57; G. 3.6.
Anaghra Raochah is personified as a Yazata, being invoked at the sacrifice,399 and the thirtieth day of the Zoroastrian calendar bears his name. In a couple of instances we find Paradise
and the Bridge of Judgment, likewise Apam Napat, Haoma, Dahma Afriti, and Damoish Upamana, invoked along with Anaghra Raochah.400 It is the name of the highest paradise.401
399 Y1.16; 16.6; 71.9; Sr. 1.30; 2.30; Vd. 19.35.
400 Sr. 1.30; 2.30.
Firmament deified. In its original meaning Asman means the sky; it is later personified as the genius of the sky, and invoked as a Yazata.402 He is shining, exalted, and powerful. Asman and Vahishta Ahu, or Paradise, are invoked together,403 and the twenty-seventh day of the Zoroastrian month is called after the name of Asman.
402 Y1.16; 16.6; Sr. 1.27; 2.27.
403 Sr. 1.27; 2.27.
The female divinity of dawn. Ushah is identical with the Vedic Ushas, and is the female divinity of the dawn in both religions, thus coming down from the common Indo-Iranian period. It is she who announces as the first glimpse of light, to creation, the approach of dawn. Ushah's personality is very faintly pronounced both in the Rig Veda and in the Younger Avestan texts. The Vedic poets have, however, produced most exquisite lyric poetry in praise of the dawn in about twenty hymns. There is only a short Avestan hymn in prose composed to celebrate the dawn and even this has but six lines devoted to the subject of the composition. Here she is described as beautiful, resplendent, possessed of bright steeds, blessed, and heroic; and her light illumines all the seven zones.404 Auxiliaries to Ushah are Ushahina and Berejya and Nmanya. In fact Ushahina, who is also a male personification of dawn, is the name of the fifth period of the day, and the prayer consecrated to Ushah bears his name. The priest at the sacrifice undertakes to propitiate Ushahina by sacrifice, if he has in thought, word, deed, or will offended him.405
404 Yt5.62; Vd. 18.15, 23; G. 5.5.
The star genius directs the rain. Next in importance to the sun and moon, among the heavenly luminaries, are the countless stars. Among the stars that are personified as objects of praise and reverence, the most prominent is the radiant and glorious star Tishtrya. He is the star Sirius in the constellation of Canis Major. The Yazata who impersonates this brilliant star bears naturally also the same name. The Tishtrya Yasht (8) sings the glory of the twofold work of Tishtrya, both as star and as the Yazata that presides over it. Tishtrya is, therefore, the rain-star, and the Yasht gives a lively picture of his movements in producing clouds and rain and sleet, and distributing them over all the world. Tishtrya's constant companions are the starYazatas, named Vanant, Satavaesa, and Haptoiringa, as guardian spirits of different regions of the heavens.406 The thirteenth day of the month406a and the fourth month of the year are sacred to him.
406 Sr. 1.13; 2.13; cf. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism, p.23.
Tishtrya's attributes. His standing epithets are 'the radiant' and 'the glorious.' He is the giver of fertility to the fields,407 the giver of happy and good abode unto men, the white, shining, seen from afar, the healing, and the exalted one.408 He is possessed of the seed of the waters, the valiant, the courageous, far reaching, the efficient,409 and of sound eyes.410 Ahura Mazda has appointed Tishtrya as the lord of all other stars, even as he has ordained Zarathushtra as the spiritual lord of all mankind.411 The creator has made him as worthy of sacrifice, as worthy of invocation, as worthy of propitiation, and as worthy of glorification as himself.412 According to Plutarch he is established as a scout over all other stars.413
410 Yt8.12; Ny1.8.
412 Yt8.50, 52.
413 Is. et Os. 47.
|The sacrificial offerings enable Tishtrya to work with added vigour and strength. Tishtrya smites the wicked fairies.414 Like Verethraghna, he takes upon himself successive forms when he goes out for active work. He moves forward in the heavens for the first ten nights of the month in the form of a young man, for the next ten nights in the form of a bull, and then for the last ten nights in the shape of a white beautiful horse.415 In accordance with the will of Ahura Mazda and the archangels, he traverses the most distant parts of the earth,416 and the Iranian countries long for his advent, for it is through him that the country will witness a year of plenty or of drought.417 Men and beasts, the waters and all, look eagerly to the rising of the star Tishtrya, as he will send a flood of rain to fertilize their waste lands with water and bestow riches upon the earth, if the righteous faithfully offer him praise and worship.418 The farmer yearns for a few drops of Tishtrya's rain to moisten his parched fields, the gardener longs for a shower to brighten the foliage. The land smiles with rich harvests as a result of his fertilizing waters.||
414 Yt8.8, 39,40,51-55.
415 Yt8.13,16,18; Vd.19.37.
Tishtrya complains before Ahura Mazda about the indifference of men who do not sacrifice unto him. When invoked with sacrifice, as are the other angels, he is willing to hasten to the help of the righteous, whether for a single night, or two or fifty nights, or even a hundred nights.419 Tishtrya affirms that owing to his power to further righteousness, he is worthy of sacrifice and invocation, and if people will offer him libations and Haoma in sacrifice, he will grant them heroic children, and purity unto their souls, the riches of oxen and horses.420 He pours down water in abundance upon the earth, brings prosperity unto the whole creation, when he receives the offering of a sacrifice and is propitiated, rejoiced, and satisfied.421 Never, in that event, would the hostile horde invade the countries, nor would any calamity or evil of any kind befall them.422 Yet in spite of all this, the bounteous kindness of Tishtrya grants boons to his votary whether he prays for them or not.423
His fight with the demon of drought. Tishtrya is opposed in his work of producing rain by his adversary Apaosha, the demon of drought, who keeps back the rain. The Tishtrya Yasht gives a picturesque account of the struggle between them.
In the combat with the fiend that holds the world in clutch through famine and drought, Apaosha, who appears in the form of a terrifying black horse, assaults his opponent and in their opening combat succeeds in forcing Tishtrya to retreat. Worsted by the fiend, Tishtrya mourns his defeat and complains that men do not sufficiently sacrifice unto him as they do unto other celestial powers, for had they not been sparing in their invocation, he would have been able to bring a further strength of ten horses, of ten camels, of ten oxen, of ten mountains, and of ten rivers to his side. Ahura Mazda himself, thereupon, offers a sacrifice unto Tishtrya and thus imparts new strength to him. Thus emboldened, he now, with renewed vigour, attacks his rival for the second time, and after a fierce struggle overcomes him. His triumph is hailed as the triumph of the waters, plants, and the religion of Mazda, for Tishtrya is now in a position to bring prosperity to the country.424 Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas, as well as Mithra, Ashi Vanghuhi, and Parendi, are among those that help Tishtrya in this war of the elements for the benefit of mankind425
A star-Yazata. The other important star-Yazata besides Tishtrya who is classed among the spiritual beings is Vanant. The twentieth Yasht is composed in his honour. Tradition assigns to him the special work of guarding the gates of the great Alburz round which the sun, moon and the stars revolve, and accounts him as the leader of a constellation in the western heavens in the war against the planets. In the Avestan Yasht bearing this star-Yazata's name, Vanant is specially invoked to give help to smite the noxious creatures of Angra Mainyu.426 Some spells to this effect, composed in the Pazend language, are later appended to this particular Yasht. It is elsewhere stated in the Avesta that Ahura Mazda has created him,427 and that the faithful ask him for strength and victory to enable them to remove distress and tyranny.427a
427 Yt8.12; Ny1.8.
An acolyte of Tishtrya. The star Satavaesa is also personified, but his individuality is very faintly pronounced. He has no Yasht or hymn composed to glorify him. As an acolyte of Tishtrya, he causes the waters of the sea Vourukasha to flow down to the seven zones for the nourishment of plants and animals, and for the fertility and prosperity of the Aryan nations.428
428 Yt8.9; 13.43; Sr. 1.13; 2.13.
Another acolyte of Tishtrya. This constellation, Ursa Major, is also raised to the position of a lesser divinity. Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Fravashis watch over this stellar cluster.429 The genius of this star is invoked to enable mankind to oppose the evil caused by the sorcerers and fairies.430
430 Yt8.12; Sr. 2.13.
The deification of the wind. Vayu, or Vata, is the Indo-Iranian impersonation of wind. The terms Vayu and Vata are variously used to represent either the wind or the genius of wind in both the Rig Veda and in the Avestan texts. Yet Vayu is chiefly the personification of the wind. As we have already seen, the whole of the Ram Yasht treats of the exploits of Raman's comrade Vayu. Vayu's wind is divided into two parts, the good and the evil. The wind is productive of good, but it also causes harm. That part of Vayu which is supposed to be the source of harm is branded as evil, and classed among Angra Mainyu's creations. Hence the faithful take care to sacrifice unto that part alone of Vayu which is the creation of Spenta Mainyu.431 The twenty-second day of the month is named after Vayu.432
431 Y22.24; 25.5; Yt15.5,42,57; Sr. 1.21; 2.21.
Vayu’s attributes. The genius of wind is most frequently called 'working on high.' He strikes terror among all, and
fearlessly enters the deepest and the darkest places to smite the demons.433 He is high-girt, of strong stature, of high foot, of wide breast, of broad thighs, and of powerful eyes.434 He wears a golden helm and a golden crown, a golden necklace, and golden garment; he has golden shoes and a golden girdle; and armed with golden weapons he rides in a golden chariot rolling on golden wheels.435 A fine image this, to immortalize Vayu in a golden statue! The poet gives a long list of the names of Vayu, and is very prolific in ascribing high attributes to him. In this the ancient composer follows the Yasht dedicated to Ahura Mazda. In fact Vayu is the only angel who is known, like Ahura Mazda, by many names. The text enumerates about forty-seven of such titles. Almost all of these attributes of Vayu are derived from the function of Vayu as wind, rather than from his activity as the genius of wind. They pertain to the atmospheric phenomenon more than to the abstract ideas about the angel. Some of the more important of the names of Vayu are as follows: the overtaker, the all-vanquishing, the good-doer, the one going forwards and backwards, the destroyer, smiter, usurper, the most valiant, the strongest, the firmest, the stoutest, the vanquisher at one stroke, the destroyer of malice, the liberator, the pervading one, and the glorious.436
Those who offer sacrifices unto Vayu. The recital of his names has a great efficacy, and Vayu asks Zarathushtra to invoke these names in the thick of the battle, or when the tyrant and heretic threaten him with their havocking hordes. The man in heavy fetters finds himself freed upon the recital of these names.437 Vayu is the greatest of the great and the strongest of the strong. The text briefly describes how some of the most illustrious personages invoked Vayu and begged of him various boons, and in this connection we may recall that Herodotus438 mentions the fact that the Persians sacrificed to the winds among other divine forces in nature. The list of Vayu's supplicants in Yasht 15 is headed by Ahura Mazda himself, who desired the boon that he may smite the creatures of Angra Mainyu, but that none may smite the creation of Spenta Mainyu.439 Among the kings, renowned heroes. and other personages who sacrificed
unto Vayu, and to whom the angel granted their boons, are Haoshyangha, Takhma Urupi, Yima, Thraetaona, Keresaspa, Aurvasara, Hutaosa, and such maidens as are not yet given in marriage.440 Even the wicked Azhi Dahaka begged also of him a boon, but Vayu rejected his sacrifice.441 Men sacrifice unto Vayu with libations and prayers and ask for strength to vanquish their adversaries.442 Vayu asks Zarathushtra to invoke him, in order that neither Angra Mainyu, nor the sorcerers, nor the demons may be able to injure him.443
438 Herod. 1.131.
440 Yt15.7-17, 23-41.
|The fire cult in Iran. The cult of the sacrificial fire goes back to the Indo-European period. The Skt. word agni, 'fire,' has for its equivalent Latin ignis and Slavonic ogni. The most prominent divinity after Indra in the Vedas is Agni and more than 200 hymns and several stray passages are devoted to his glorification. The Iranian word for fire as well as for the Yazata presiding over fire is Atar. Among both the Indians and the Iranians fire occupies the central position in all rituals. The priest who tended the fire is known by a common name among both the peoples. Among the Indians he is atharvan and among the Iranians âthravan, literally meaning, 'one who tends fire.’ A litany is composed in honour of Atar and he is celebrated many other passages. The ninth month of the year and the ninth day of the month are named after Atar.444||
Atar, or Fire, is most frequently called the son of Ahura Mazda in the Younger Avestan texts. The devout hunger in heart to reach Mazda through him as a mediary.445 Asha Vahishta’s association with the fire continues and they are often together. As the most holy symbol of his faith, the house-lord prays that the sacred element may ever burn in his house.446 We have already seen that the Avesta speaks of some fires consecrated by the pre-Zoroastrian kings in Iran. The Avestan works refer to the dâitya gâtu, 'proper place,' for the fire and the Old Persian Inscriptions speak of the âyadanâ as the places of worship.447 The bas-relief sculpture at Naksh-i-Rustam
over the royal tomb shows an altar with fire on it. Herodotus, the earliest of the Greek writers on Persia, however, informs us that the Persians did not erect temples in his days, but sacrificed unto the elements sun, moon, earth, fire, water, and wind on the summits of mountains.448 Dino, the contemporary of Alexander, does not mention the fire-temples and says that the Persians worshipped in the open air.449 It may be that the early writers did not come across temples in Iran, in the Greek sense of the term. But there must certainly have been some kind of structures to protect the sacred fire from being extinguished. Strabo450 for the first time mentions in Cappadocia places dedicated to fire, and speaks of enclosures with fire altars in the centre. No sacrifices, we are told, were offered to any divinity without the accompaniment of the invocation of fire. These altars, we are further informed by Strabo, were filled with ashes over which the sacred fire burned day and night. The Magi, he adds, tended the holy flames, and with Baresman twigs in their hands daily performed their devotions for about an hour.451 Pausanias (A.D. 173) corroborates this statement from his personal observation in Lydia.452 Xenophon and Curtius Rufus acquaint us with the practice of carrying fire on portable altars in religious processions.453
446 Y62.3; Ny5.9.
447 Bh. 1,14.
448 Herod. 1.131.
449 Cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, Protreptica, 5. 65.1.
450 60 B.C.
451 Strabo, p. 733.
452 Pausanias, 5.27.5,6.
453 Cyropaedia, 8. 3. 11-13; History of Alexander 3. 3. 9; see Edwards, Altar (Persian) in ERE. 1. 346-348.
Atar is both the genius of fire and the element fire itself. As the fire dwells in every house, he is constantly spoken of in the Rig Veda as the lord of the house. The Yasna in the manner calls him the lord of all houses.454 He is the great Yazata.455 He is the most bountiful,456 of renowned name457
the beneficent warrior, and full of glory and healing.458 Besides being the angel that presides over fire, Atar is also fire as such. The two concepts are often so mixed up together that it becomes difficult to distinguish between the blazing fire burning upon the
altar and the angel that personifies it. The difficulty is still more increased when we see the fire on the hearth conceived of as speaking and blessing as a person. The householders pray that the fire may ever burn and blaze in their houses.459 In the Vedas, Agni is a friend of the man who entertains him as a guest and feeds him with fuel.460 The fire of Mazda, likewise, solicits devotional offerings from those persons for whom he cooks the evening and the morning meal, he looks at the hands of all passers-by, to see if they bring some present for him or not, even as a friend for a friend. When the faithful bring to him fuel, dry and exposed to the light, he is propitiated, and in the fulfillment of his wish blesses the votary with a flock of cattle and a multitude of men, an active mind and an active spirit, and a joyous life.461 During the three watches of the night Atar wakes up the master of the house, the husbandman, and calls Sraosh for help.462 Here also it is not so much the angel Atar that acts, as it is the fire itself, for the master of the house and the husbandman are asked to wash their hands and bring fuel to it, lest the demon Azi should extinguish it.463 The man who responds with alacrity, and is the first to wake up and tend the fire with dry wood, receives Atar's blessings.464 The man who sacrifices unto fire with fuel in his hand, with the Baresman in his hand, with milk in his hand, with the mortar for crushing the branches of the sacred Haoma in his hand, is given
happiness.465 Phoenix of Colophon (280 B.C.), cited in Athenaeus, speaks of the fire ritual of the Magi and mentions the Baresman.466 In the litany to the fire, the faithful are enjoined to feed the fire with fuel that is dry and well exposed to the light,467 and Strabo tells us that the fire-priests fed the sacred fire with dry wood, fat, and oil; and he further adds that some portions of the caul of the sacrificed animal were also placed on it.468
457 Vsp. 9.5.
458 Ny5.6; Sr. 1.9; 2.9.
459 Ny5.8, 9.
460 R.V. 4.2.6; 4.10.
461 Y62.7-10; Ny5.13-16.
462 Vd. 18. 18-22.
463 Vd. 18.19-21.
464 Vd. 18.26, 27.
465 Y62.1; Ny5.7.
466 Athenaeus, 12. p. 530.
467 Y62.10; Ny5.16.
468 Strabo, p. 732.
Atar’s boons. Atar is invoked to grant well-being and sustenance in abundance, knowledge, holiness, a ready tongue, comprehensive, great, and imperishable wisdom, manly valour, watchfulness, an innate offspring worthy to sit in the assembly and work for the renown of his house and village, town and country,
and for the glory of his country, name and fame in this world, as well as the shining, all-happy paradise of the righteous.469 Whoso does not treat the fire well displeases Ahura Mazda.470 Zarathushtra blesses King Vishtaspa that he may be as resplendent as the fire.471
469 Y68.4-6; Ny5.10-12.
470 TdFr. 22,23.
|His work. When Mithra goes on his usual round in his golden chariot, Atar drives behind him along with the other divine personifications.472 Like Agni who knows the paths leading to the gods,473 Atar shows the most upright path to those who lie not unto Mithra.474 When Angra Mainyu breaks into the creation of righteousness, Atar in company with Vohu Manah opposes the malice of the Evil Spirit.475 When Yima, reft of his senses through the Kingly Glory, revolts from Ahura Mazda, the Glory departs from him and he falls to destruction.476 It can well be imagined that the monster Azhi Dahaka should strive to capture the departed Glory, but Atar intervenes and vanquishes him.477||
473 RV. 10.98.11.
476 Yt19.34-36, 38.
What causes grief to Atar. Angra Mainyu has created the inexpiable crime of burning or cooking dead matter,478 and the Vendidad enjoins capital punishment for those who commit it.479 We are informed that the Persians considered it a mortal sin to defile fire by blowing it with the mouth, or by burning dead matter over it.480 The Achaemenian monarch Cambyses roused the indignation of his countrymen when he burnt the corpse of King Amasis at Sais.481 It is, therefore, a crime to bring back fire into a house in which a man has died, within nine nights in winter and a month in summer.482 Highly meritorious is the deed of bringing to the fire altar the embers of a fire desecrated by dead matter, and great shall be the doer's reward in the
next world, when his soul has parted from his body.483 Elaborate rules are accordingly laid down for the purification of the fire defiled by the dead.484 There is no purification for the man who carries a corpse to the fire.485 In the case of every pollution of the pure element. Atar is inexorable.
478 Vd. 1.16.
479 Vd. 8.73, 74.
480 Strabo, p. 732; Ctesias, Persica, 57; Nicolas Damascenus, Frag. 68; FHG. 3.409.
481 Herodotus, 3.16.
482 Vd. 5.43,44.
483 Vd. 8.81,82.
484 Vd. 8.73-80.
485 Vd. 7.25-27.
Mazda's celestial herald. Nairyosangha corresponds to the Vedic Narashamsa, generally applied to Agni as his epithet. He is expressly spoken of as a Yazata,486 and is well-shaped.487 Like Agni who is often called the messenger of gods between heaven and earth, Nairyosangha is the messenger of Ahura Mazda.488 When the Evil Spirit introduces disease and death in the world, Ahura Mazda dispatches him as his envoy to Airyaman to come with his healing remedies.489 He is invoked along with Atar, for he is Atar's associate. He is termed the offspring of sovereignty490 and as such he is entitled to go in Mithra's chariot with Sraosha.491 He has his Fravashi.492
488 Vd. 19.34.
489 Vd. 22.7, 13.
490 Y17.11; Ny5.6.
491 Yt10. 52.
492 Yt13, 85.
ARDVI SURA ANAHITA
|The angel of waters. Ardvi Sura, who bears the standing epithet anâhita, 'undefiled,' is the name of a mythical river as well as that of the female divinity of the waters. She resides in the starry regions.493 This deity of the heavenly stream gets recognition of the Achaemenian kings, and is included in the extremely short list of the Iranian divinities expressly mentioned in their inscriptions.494 Classical writers speak of her sanctuaries founded at Pasargadae, Ecbatana, Kangavar and other places.495 At a very early date her cult migrates to distant countries and is there assimilated to Artemis, Aphrodite, Athene-Minerva, Hera, Magna Mater, Ishtar, and Nanaia.496 She overleaps the barriers of Mount Alburz and gains her votaries in the far-off lands of East and West, where occasionally her cult degenerates into obscene rites. Herodotus who confuses her with Mithra says that her cult came to Iran from the Semites of Assyria and Arabia.497||
493 Yt5.85, 88, 132.
494 Art. Sus. a; Ham.
495 See Gray, op cit., p. 57, 58; Fox and Pemberton, op. cit., 34-39, 58, 66, 68, 79.
496 Gray, ib., p. 57.
497 Herod. 1.131.
She is celebrated in one of the longest Yashts and In 65th chapter of the Yasna. She is described as the most courageous, strong, of noble origin,498 good, and most beneficient.499 Ahura Mazda has assigned to her the work of guarding the creation, like a shepherd guarding his fiock.500 The eighth
of the year and the tenth day of the month are named after waters of Ardvi Sura.501
499 Yt5.130, 131.
500 Yt5.6, 89.
Her image in words found in the texts, corresponds with her statue in stone. The text gives a fine descriptive image of the female deity. She is a maiden of fair body, well-shaped, pure, courageous, tall, bright, beautiful, and glorious. Upon her head she wears a golden crown studded with a hundred stars and beautifully adorned, square golden earrings adorn her ears, a golden necklace decorates her neck, she wears a golden mantle, she has tightly girded her waist so that her beautiful breasts come out prominently, her white arms graced by elegant bracelets are stouter than a horse, she wears golden shoes, a rich garment of gold or of the skin of the beavers.502 Pliny says that a statue made of solid gold was set up in the temple of Anaitis.503 We have already seen on the authority of Berosus that Artaxerxes Mnemon (B.C. 404-358) introduced the worship of the images of Anahita among the Persians.504
502 Yt5.7, 15, 64, 78, 123, 126-129.
503 Historia Naturalis, 33, 4 (24) 82f.
504 Cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, Protreptica, 5, 65, 3; Jackson, Images and Idols (Persian) in ERE. 7. 151-155; cf. Cumont, Anâhita, in ERE. 1. 414, 415.
Ahura Mazda heads the list of the sacrificers who entreat her for various boons. The Yasht dedicated to Ardvi Sura Anahita furnishes us with the names of those who have sacrificed unto her and begged of her various boons. The number of her supplicants exceeds that of any other angel. Ahura Mazda and Zarathushtra invoke her, with Haoma and Baresman, with spells
and libations, whereas the majority of her other votaries severally offer her a hundred stallions, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand sheep. Haoshyangha, Yima, Thraetaona, Keresaspa, Kavi Usa, Haosravah, Tusa, Vafra Navaza, Jamaspa, Ashavazdah, the son of Pourudakhshti, and Ashavazdah and Thrita, the sons of Sayuzhdri, Vistauru, Yoishta, the members of the Hvova and Naotara families, Vishtaspa, and Zairi-vairi are all granted their diverse boons. These ask for sovereignty over all countries, victory on the battlefield, power to smite the adversaries in battle, to rout the sorcerers and fairies, the fiends and the demons; they pray likewise for bodily health, wisdom to answer the riddles of heretics, and for riches and swift horses.505 The boon that Ahura Mazda seeks is that he may win over Zarathushtra to think after his reljgion, to speak after his religion, and to act after his religion; the prophet in turn begs of her that he may gain to his side the mighty King Vishtaspa as a patron to embrace his religion.506 The rulers and chiefs invoke her that they may defeat their enemies and smite the demons, sorcerers, and fairies, the warriors beg of her swift horses and bodily health and glory, the priests and their disciples pray for knowledge, the maids beseech her to grant them strong husbands.507 Ardvi Sura Anahita bestows fruitfulness to women; she purifies the seeds of all males and the wombs of all females for bearing. Shes, as a divine bestower, gives easy childbirth to all females, and gives them right and timely milk.508 Ardvi Sura likewise grants boons unto all, because it lies in her power to do so. The sacrificing priest implores her to come down from the stars to the sacrificial altar, and to grant riches, horses, chariots, swords, food, and plenty to men.509 She gives health and increases flocks, possessions, and wealth.510
505 Yt5.21-27, 33-39, 45-55, 61-83, 98, 108-114.
506 Yt5.17-19, 104-106.
508 Y65.2; Yt5.2, 87; Ny4.3; Vd. 7.16.
509 Yt5. 130-132.
510 Y65.1; Yt5.1.
She refuses to concede the wicked persons their wishes. Azhi Dahaka wickedly besought her to grant him a boon that he may make all the seven zones empty of men, and the Turanian Franrasyan sought her favour to secure the Glory, and the sons of Vaesaka implored her to grant that they may smite the Aryan
nation by tens of thousands and myriads; Arejat-aspa and Vandaremainish craved for the defeat of King Vishtaspa, Zairivairi, and the Aryan nation; but Ardvi Sura Anahita refused to grant the evil wishes to these national foes of Iran.511
511 Yt5.29-31, 41-43, 57-59, 116-118.
The offerings of libations. Ardvi Sura Anahita desires that men invoke her with libations and Haoma;512 these libations are to be drunk by the priest who is well versed in religious lore, and not by any wicked and deformed person.513 The faithful are to bring libations unto her at any time between the rising and the setting of the sun. Those brought to her after sunset do not reach her; on the contrary, they go to the demons, who revel in these misdirected offerings.514 We are informed that the man who dedicates these libations before sunrise or after sunset does no better deed than if he should pour them down into the jaws of a venomous snake.515
Besides invoking Ardvi Sura Anahita as the Yazata of water, the waters themselves are collectively invoked to grant boons. Zarathushtra is asked to offer a libation to the waters and to ask from them riches, power, and worthy offspring,516 a happy and a joyful abode in this world and the next, accompanied by riches and glory.517 The faithful pray that these waters may not be for those of evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds, and evil religion, neither for the tormentors of their friends, neighbours, relatives, and priests.518 Nor may they be for their evil-wishers,519 nor for thieves and robbers, murderers and sorcerers, buriers of the dead, jealous and niggard, and heretics and wicked persons.520
512 Yt5.8, 11, 123, 124.
513 Yt5.92, 93.
514 Yt5.94, 95; Nr. 68.
515 Nr. 48.
517 Y68.13, 14, 21.
Animal sacrifices to Anahita. Strabo relates the mode of sacrificing to the waters. The sacrificial animal, we are told, is taken to the bank of a river or a lake; a ditch is formed into which the animal is killed. The pieces of meat are then placed on myrtle or laurel, and holding tamarisk twigs in his hands, the priest pours oil mixed with honey and milk on the ground and chants the sacred formulas. Great care is taken that no drop
of blood falls into the water while the animal is being immolated; nor must the mixture of oil, honey, and milk be poured into water.521 This precaution is taken lest the waters be defiled.
521 Strabo, p.732.
Any defilement of the waters evokes Ardvi Sura's displeasure. It is sinful to contaminate the waters. Such an act incurs great displeasure on the part of the genius of waters. Those who wilfully bring dead matter to the waters become unclean for ever and ever.522 If a man while walking or running, riding or driving, happens to see a corpse ftoating in a river, he must enter the river and go down into the water ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, nay even a man's full depth if need be, and take out the decaying body and place it upon the dry ground exposed to the light of the sun.523 Herodotus informs us that the Persians do not make water, wash or bathe in a river.524
524 Herod. 1.138.
Ardvi Sura's chariot. Like some of the Yazatas, Ardvi Sura Anahita has a chariot of her own, in which she drives forth in majesty. She holds the reins in her own hands, and controls four great chargers who are all of white color, of the same stock, and who smite the malice of all tyrants, demons, wicked men, sorcerers, fairies, oppressors, as well as those who are wilfully blind and wilfully deaf.525 The text enables us to understand the allegorical statement regarding the steeds that are yoked to her chariot, for we are told that the four chargers of Ardvi Sura are the wind, the rain, the cloud, and the sleet; and it was Ahura Mazda who made them for her.526
525 Yt5.11, 13.
His nature and work. This Indo-Iranian divinity of waters seems very early to have been eclipsed by Anahita, who remains the chief genius presiding over waters in the cult. Apam Napat's Vedic counterpart has an aqueous as well as an igneous nature. In the association of the Avestan Apam Napat with the fire angel Nairyosangha, Spiegel sees traces of this secondary nature.527 Apam Napat literally means 'the offspring of waters,' and, like
the Vedic genius, lives beneath the waters.528 He is the exalted lord and sovereign, the shining one, and the swift-horsed.529 The waters are addressed as females. Apam Napat in the Vedas is nourished by females.530 The Avestan texts speak of him as the lord of females.531 He is the most prompt to respond when invoked,532 and co-operates with Vayu and distributes the waters on earth.533 He furthers the riches of the countries and allays misfortunes;534 and when the Kingly Glory escapes from the contest of Atar and Azhi Dahaka to the sea Vourukasha it is Apam Napat who takes and protects it.535 This Yazata is also credited with having made and shaped men.536
527 Arische Periode, 192, 193, Leipzig, 1887; see Gray, Apam Napat, in Archiv für Religionswissenschaft, vol. 3, p. 18-51; and in The Foundations of the Iranian Religions, p. 133-136.
528 Yt19.52; RV. 8.43.9.
529 Y1.5; 2.5; 65.12; 70.6; Yt5.72; 19.51.
530 RV. 2.35. 3, 5.
531 Yt5.72; 19.52.
534 Yt13. 95.
Another water genius. A female Yazata, though of no great importance, is Ahurani, corresponding to the Vedic Varunani. She impersonates the Ahurian waters.537 She is invoked
in company with the sea Vourukasha and other waters.538 The faithful devotee prays that if he has offended her in any way, he is ready to expiate his sin by an offering of the libations.539 She is implored to descend in person and grace the sacrifice with her presence and be propitiated by it.540 She is likewise invited to come with her gifts of health, prosperity, renown, the enlightenment of thoughts, words, and deeds, and for the well-being of the soul.541 She is asked to give offspring that will further the prosperity of the house, village, town, and country and add to the renown of the country.542 Riches and glory, endurance and vigour of body, a long life and the shining, all-happy abode of the righteous are the boons that the devout ask from her.543 The libations offered her are the most excellent and the fairest, and are filtered by pious men.544 Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds also serve as her libations.545 The libations offered
to Ahurani cause joy to Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spentas.546
541 Y68.3, 4.
|The earth deified. The Avestan term for earth is zam, from which the angel Zam, or Zamyat, derives her name. Her personality is very insipid as compared with Armaiti, who, as we have seen, has the earth under her care and is, in fact, a more active guardian genius of the earth than Zamyat. The twenty eighth day of every month is sacred to Zamyat.547 The poet who composed the Yasht in honour of Zamyat does not sing the glory of his heroine, but occupies himself rather with a description of the mountains of the world,548 and with the celebration of the Divine Glory that descends upon the Aryan race, symbolizing the greatness of the kings and the consecrated piety of the sainted souls.549 Cyrus, says Xenophon, sacrificed animals to the earth as the Magians directed.550||
550 Cyropaedia, 8.24.
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Reflections after 50 Years of Space
A protege of Wernher von Braun, Jesco von Puttkamer has spent his long career working in human spaceflight. In this long essay, von Puttkamer gives his perspective on humanity's next steps into the universe. Here he discusses the lessons Mars has to teach us.
For the longer future, the significance of the ISS for the opening of a new era of peaceful cooperation between nations will undoubtedly be of considerably greater import that the important work underway on board today. In the wake of the process of worldwide restructuring and redefinition following the Cold War of yesteryear, ISS is acting as a catalyst for international understanding and collaboration. It helps to foster and form new partnerships among the nations of the Earth, to inspire our youth, and to stimulate and support the next generation of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and businessmen. It cannot fail in that because, fundamentally, it represents an answer to the age-old human drive for exploration of the unknown, the push toward new goals and frontiers. I'll return to this aspect below.
For human missions to Mars, the vision discussed here, the Space Station assumes a key position: as Residence in Space it will provide a kind of early bridgehead to the new continent outside Earth, to our next major goal, Mars.
First of all, relative to its development and operation, the ISS can be considered something like an early "demo" model for a major international Mars program in later years. Even more, as an orbital research and development facility it establishes and cements, in the longer range, the scientific and technical foundations of future human planetary missions. For the latter, it could also, with appropriate extensions, serve as a transportation node and port-of-embarkation.
As mentioned above, foremost among its research objectives are life sciences, particularly with regards to humans in space and all "human factors" associated with protection of health, well-being, and productivity of crews during extended stays in space - which do represent the toughest hurdles on the road to Mars. They are: the effects of zero-g and the development of potent countermeasures, protection against radiation, maintenance of stability and productivity of small multi-cultural groups of humans in close confinement and extended isolation, and the development of reliable closed-cycle life-support systems for multi-year missions. These missions also require new technologies such as aerobraking (to help conserve propellants by utilizing the atmospheres of Mars and Earth for flight maneuvers), storage and handling of cryogenics, (i.e., gases supercooled to liquid form), new spacesuits with greater flexibility and higher comfort for strenuous activity on the Mars surface, solar and nuclear power systems, and local-resources utilization for producing propellants and other substances necessary for life.
To shorten flight time and thus reduce the en-route exposure to microgravity and space radiation, human Mars missions will also favor nuclear propulsion systems. NASA is studying advanced nuclear propulsion concepts, and our Russian ISS partner Roskosmos is well advanced in the development of nuclear-electric propulsion.
Our exploration of the Red Planet is aimed not just at the search for life or later settlement by people but also at nearer-term objectives of quite concrete relevance for the present, motivated by fundamental questions such as why our Sun has planets in the first place, how is it possible that Earth and with it we humans exist, and is Earth's and our existence an extraordinary or normal occurrence in the cosmos? Why are we in this world, how did it come about, could it also have happened differently, and what will become of us?
Even more importantly, we are also exploring Mars in order to better understand our terrestrial environment, to improve our ability to more accurately determine what we are changing on Earth by our activities - on its surface and its atmosphere.
Mars is particularly well suited for such comparative planetology. The exploration of its topography, geology, geography, atmosphere, weather and climate conditions, developmental phases, indeed the entirety of its physical and chemical characteristics will add fundamentally to our knowledge and understanding of our own environment, thus serving considerably more than just the pure satisfaction of abstract human curiosity. Mars' formation and development still pose great riddles for science: It is the only other planet beside Earth with a surface clearly marked by complex geological processes caused by ice ages, glaciers, and flowing water in Niagara quantities. And that in a world which is so bone-dry today that all water in its presently considerably thinned-down carbon dioxide atmosphere would form a layer only two to five hundredths millimeter thick if it rained down to the ground all at once. Mars has ice fields, mysterious dark zones, bright "deserts", and various types of cloud formations which are subject to continual seasonal as well as sporadic changes.
It is a world full of wonders and mysteries, sculpted by processes the likes of which have been found nowhere else: it has the highest volcanoes and the greatest canyons in the solar system, with gigantic planetary sand storms, countless dry river beds, and vast, densely branched stream valley networks where water once rushed in torrents. It has polar caps of water ice and frozen carbon dioxide, and there is evidence of underground permafrost deposits and probably also reservoirs of water in liquid state. Methane gas was recently discovered to exude from the ground at certain locations, which could be a sign of underground biological activity.
Thus, it is not completely out of the question that even today adapted alien life forms might be found there. Mars, by all appearances, was created around the same time as Earth. But if these neighboring worlds had the same beginnings, how could it have happened that they took such distinctly different developmental paths? If scientific research discovers what actually took place when the climate on the planet changed so drastically, how long ago it occurred and why it happened, then we will clearly gain a better understanding also of the history and future of our own climates and environment.
One of the reasons for the difference is thought to be the phenomenon of plate tectonics, i.e., the shifting of the separate plates forming Earth's solid outer shell, the lithosphere: its complete absence on Mars could have been the key to the origin of its current conditions. On Earth, plate tectonics causes a vertical convection process continuously mixing the materials deep in the Earth's core, stoked by radioactive decay and the primeval heat of planetary formation; it thereby intimately connects the complex interactions of atmosphere and oceans with the biosphere. Thus, by inference, it appears possible that our plate tectonics could have brought about the Earth as we know it, including our life - all terrestrial life.
Has Mars a magnetic field like Earth? Or are we here, too, the exception among all Earth-like planets, perhaps because Earth with its iron core is the only planet in the inner Solar system sufficiently large and rotating fast enough to generate a significant magnetosphere? This question is of great importance for environmental research because our magnetic field, which shields Earth against energetic radiation from space, is possibly soon to undergo another plus/minus pole reversal as it did several times before in the past. During this process, unshielded space radiation would temporarily penetrate all the way down to Earth's surface.
How did Mars lose a large part of its atmosphere when it underwent its world-shaking climatic changes, and where has all the water gone? Is it underground? How significant is the fact that despite its carbon dioxide atmosphere, Mars shows no greenhouse effect like Earth? In other words, what are the consequences of that phenomenon for our own environment?
In order to reach such understandings, up to now mere theories which only now are being given substance by the counterexample of other worlds, we need the exploration of those planets -- and in the first place of our red neighbor.
Next: When are humans likely to set foot on Mars? | <urn:uuid:9ddb3fa2-67e7-4979-b3a3-e9f38ab84581> | {
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Cell Cycle Pathway
The cell cycle pathway is a unidirectional process that governs cell division. This process, which cannot be reversed once started, is critical for cell survival. The cell cycle typically involves four phases: S phase, in which DNA is replicated, M phase, in which chromosomes are separated and two distinct cells are formed, and G1 and G2 phases during which the cell is preparing for cell division. The majority of the cell cycle pathway is regulated by two classes of proteins: cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and cyclins. Cyclins and CDKs form complexes that enable CDKs to phosphorylate and activate specific cell cycle intermediates. In the initial stages of the cell-cycle signal, cyclin D will bind to CDK4 and this complex will phosphorylate the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene. During a quiescent state, Rb is bound to DNA and blocks the transcription of specific genes. After phosphorylation, Rb becomes unbound and genes necessary for the cell cycle are now accessible.
The cell cycle pathway is a highly-regulated process that incorporates three major checkpoints. The first checkpoint is the G1 checkpoint, which determines whether or not a cell will enter into the cell division process. The second checkpoint, G2, will determine if the cell will enter into mitosis. Both the G1 and G2 checkpoints can be affected by the presence or absence of various growth factors, DNA damage, or replicative senescence. The final checkpoint, metaphase, ensures proper chromosome alignment prior to cell division. The cell cycle pathway is intrinsically linked to cell survival and cell death. For instance, failure of a cell to meet the requirements of the individual cell cycle checkpoints will result in the cell undergoing apoptosis.
In cancer, the cell cycle checkpoints are often dysfunctional. Checkpoint proteins, such as Rb or p53, are often mutated or inactivated and this can result in cell division despite incomplete DNA synthesis and segregation errors. Inappropriate continuation of the cell cycle can lead to genomic instability, which is a common feature of malignant cells.
1. Nigg. 1995. Cyclin-dependent protein kinases: key regulators of the eukaryotic cell cycle. Bioessays. 17(6):471-80. | <urn:uuid:8fd58527-f158-4d99-8282-dbf6f577c504> | {
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Federal and state government agencies are required to follow certain procedures in order for their actions to be constitutional. For the federal government, these procedures are generally outlined by the Federal Administrative Procedure Act (FAPA). Each state government has its own set of administrative procedures as well, some of which are modeled after FAPA. An administrative law attorney specializes in administrative procedures at the federal and/or state level. Some examples of administrative agencies include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If, for example, the FDA passes new rules that affect your business, you may benefit from the services of an administrative law lawyer to better understand whether the FDA followed the correct procedure in passing these rules and whether you should contest them. | <urn:uuid:1ebd66ab-d112-4a64-93a0-04da085e3ca0> | {
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A number of federal laws and ordinances protect U.S. employees from discrimination in the workplace. These laws are enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC is the main entity responsible for upholding and designating all employment laws in the United States, including federal job discrimination.
Here's a look at federal job discrimination laws.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). This act protects employees from job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. All aspects of employment are covered, including hiring, firing, promotion, wages, recruitment, training, and any other terms of employment.
Equal Pay Act of 1963. This act ensures that employees receive the same pay, benefits, and opportunities as those employees of the opposite sex who perform the same work in the same establishment.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. This act protects workers who are 40 years of age or older from job discrimination that favors younger workers.
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
This act protects qualified workers with disabilities from job discrimination in the private and state and municipal sectors.
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act protects qualified workers with disabilities who work for the federal government from job discrimination.
Civil Rights Act of 1991. This act clarifies some of the ambiguous sections of Title VII, and provides monetary compensation for victims of federal job discrimination.
If you think you are a victim of job discrimination
If you think you are a victim of job discrimination under one of these federal laws, you can file a discrimination charge with the EEOC. In addition, a charge may be filed on your behalf by another person to protect your identity. You can file a charge by mail or in person at the nearest EEOC office. Importantly, you must file a claim with the EEOC within 90 days of the alleged discrimination before a private lawsuit can be filed. You must provide the following information in order to file a charge with the EEOC:
- The complaining party's name, address, and telephone number
- The name, address, and telephone number of the claim's respondent
- The date and a short description of the alleged discrimination
The EEOC will then investigate the claim. It will either dismiss the case, attempt to settle the case, bring the case to federal court, or issue the charging party a "right to sue," which allows the party to seek private counsel and bring suit upon the employer directly.
Other job discrimination laws and agencies
In addition to federal laws, many states and municipalities have their own laws that protect employees against discrimination. Workers and applicants who feel they are being discriminated against in regard to sexual orientation, parental status , marital status, political affiliation, and any other personal choice that does not affect their ability to do their job can research local and state ordinances to see whether they have legislative protection. | <urn:uuid:225174b7-88cb-4385-8008-4f65996fc0a6> | {
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By Dr. Aleksandra Drizo
Dr. Aleksandra Drizo, PhosphoReduc LLC. CEO, 70 South Winooski Avenue; Burlington, VT, USA 05405. Corresponding author: [email protected]
Phosphorus Pollution Problem
Water eutrophication caused by excess nutrient loading from human activities has been recognized as one of the major water quality issues for several decades (1, 2). The World Resources Institute has identified 415 hypoxic coastal zones in the world. The situation is even more alarming for freshwater resources with 54% of lakes in Asia, 53% in Europe, 48% in North America, 41% in South America and 30% in Africa being identified as eutrophic (3).
Although some environments are more greatly influenced by changing levels of nitrogen, addition of just 1 g of phosphorus promotes the growth of up to 100 g algae, and as such, represents the principal trigger of eutrophication and toxic blue-green algae blooms.
The Effect of Algae Blooms
These blooms can decrease the oxygen levels in the waters, resulting in fish kills and reduced biodiversity. They can also cause foul odors and tastes, diminishing the recreational appeal of the waters or their potential for use as a water supply source. Some species have even been found to release chemicals that are toxic to animals and humans.
Sources of Phosphorus Pollution
Given the magnitude of eutrophication worldwide, solutions for reducing phosphorus loading from municipal, agricultural, industrial, urban and rural point and nonpoint sources have been sought worldwide. While point source pollution is definable and thus controllable, nonpoint (diffuse) pollution originates from a variety of run-off sources, and consequently, controlling this type of contamination is even more complex, requiring an integration of technological, socio-economical and educational factors.
Methods of Phosphorus Removal
Methods for phosphorus removal from wastewaters and storm water runoff have emerged over the past few years. However, the current absence of the governmental regulations for phosphorus discharge limits, coupled with the extremely high costs of environmental technologies verification (ETV) programs impose insurmountable obstacles in phosphorus removal technologies applications.
Current Regulatory Framework
Despite the recognized need for phosphorus reduction worldwide (2-5), the current regulatory framework for attenuation of this type of contamination has been extremely limited. Phosphorus discharge criteria have been developed only for municipal wastewater treatment facilities (MWTF) and, in a very few developed countries. Moreover, the current phosphorus removal methods (either chemical or biological) used in MWWTF are complex, extremely expensive, consume large amounts of energy and generate large volumes of sludge that then must be appropriately disposed of (5).
Phosphorus discharge criteria for other point and nonpoint pollution sources (agricultural, industrial, or residential onsite wastewater treatment systems (septic systems)), are not included in the current wastewater regulations. This situation is extremely alarming given the exponential growth of population, livestock and food production. For example, 30-40% of the population in developed countries rely on septic systems consisting of a septic tank and a drain field. A hundred years ago, soil drain fields were considered natural adsorbing materials for phosphorus. However, the phosphorus retention capacity of any adsorbing material is finite and once it’s reached, the material needs to be replaced. The situation is much more disturbing in developing countries, where peri-urban settlements are not approved by the local and national governments. As a result, many rivers in third world cities are being used as large open sewers.
The lack of regulatory framework greatly diminishes funding and the aspiration for scientific advancements for phosphorus removal technologies. While there has been a growing interest in investigations on phosphorus sorbing materials that could be used in onsite wastewater treatment systems, this research has been mainly performed in university laboratories, while field testing and applications remain limited to the efforts by a very few scientist in Sweden and United States (6).
The Road From Innovations to Applications
The biggest obstacle to any environmental technology application is in the current costs and the time required by the Federal Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Programs. In the United States for example, the costs range from $120-140,000 per application, lasting 24-36 months. This means that a small business such is PhosphoReduc would have to invest a minimum of $360,000 to obtain ETV certification for the 3 types of wastewater, e.g. municipal, residential and agricultural effluents treatment.
Individual State Permits do not require such large financial investments during the review process, however the process is also extremely lengthy, lasting 24-30 months from the moment of application. Moreover, as phosphorus discharge limits currently do not exist in the regulatory framework, most of the water governmental agencies either reject applications or require intensive permitting processes, consisting of two different permit types: one for beneficial use of water filtration material and the other for general use of technology. Each of the two permit processes require intensive water quality monitoring by accredited laboratories, thus an investment of at least $85-100,000. And without certifications it is impossible to implement systems and bring water quality improvements.
PhosphoReduc Innovative Technologies
I have dedicated over 20 years of my professional life to research and development of sustainable technologies for phosphorus pollution prevention and control. During my doctoral research at the University of Edinburgh, UK, in the early 1990s, I have pioneered the research on use of various iron, aluminum and calcium based materials natural and industrial by-products that can be used as phosphorus sorbing materials in onsite treatment systems.
As Research Professor at the University of Vermont, and the director of the University Constructed Wetlands Research Center (CWRC), along with my research team we have developed several suites of sustainable wastewater treatment technologies including:
Integrated (multistage) constructed wetlands and phosphorus removal filter systems
Phosphorus removal and sequestration “PRS-101” filters for the treatment of agricultural, municipal and residential wastewaters (point pollution sources)
Simple “torpedo” filter systems for agricultural tile drain and urban storm water outflows (for capturing and treating phosphorus and solids pollution originating from nonpoint, diffuse pollution sources (Figure 1).
These treatment technologies are efficient not only in phosphorus removal, but also in other pollutants reduction, including nitrogen, organic matter and suspended solids, pathogens and various metals and minerals. In addition, we have also shown that once the lifespan of the filter system is completed, the phosphorus retained by the filtration material can be re-used, instead of chemical fertilizer, to enhance soils used for agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
In 2008, I applied for the Agricultural Innovation Fund to the University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Office for Technology Transfer (UVM TTO). I was awarded the seed start-up funding that enabled me to establish my business PhosphoReduc LLC (www.phosphoreduc.com). The seed funding also provided necessary funding for patent applications. We currently have patents pending for the two of our technologies, one for phosphorus removal from point pollution sources and the other for phosphorus removal from agricultural and urban drain outflows.
Our filtration systems are passive systems consisting of one or more filter units filled with iron (Fe) and/or calcium (Ca) based filtration material, modified steel slag, a recyclable by-product from the steel industry. The filtration media is packed, arranged and engaged with one another in specially-designed modules so as to form a modular composite filter, according to the method developed by PhopshoReduc LLC.
To date, we have demonstrated that PhosphoReduc filter systems reduce phosphorous, suspended solids and pathogens (E. coli) loads from sewage, agricultural and urban point and nonpoint pollution sources by 70 – 100 percent by systems implemented in a variety of climatic regions, on 4 continents.
The examples of Phosphoreduc applications include:
1. Agricultural Runoff Treatment:
a simple cartridge system installed to reduce phosphorus and solids from agricultural tile drains collecting water from 30 acres in Vermont achieved reductions averaging 72% and 75%, respectively (Figure 1). Currently, there is no agricultural practice designed to reduce phosphorus loading from agricultural tile drains. We have showed that phosphorus concentrations measured in 6 different agricultural drains over 10 spring storm events exceeded critical 0.1-0.2 mg/L P concentrations for incipient eutrophication in each rain event.
feed bunks (silage leachate) runoff treatment, known as one of the most toxic waste streams on farms. Currently, the vegetative treatment area (practice code 635) is the major “best management practice” recommended by the US Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and widely implemented to treat silage leachate runoff on farms in the US (7). While it cannot achieve more than 20% phosphorus reduction efficiency, the current cost of this practice implementation is in order of $15,220 per acre. The results from a 2 year investigation by our research team has shown that the implementation of an innovative “treatment train” consisting of a PhosphoReduc filter, and a vegetative trench could achieve up to 90% phosphorus reduction at half the cost of the currently recommended 635 practice (8).
2. Urban Stormwater Treatment
PhosphoReduc filter installed in Columbus, OH to treat a golf-course stormwater pond achieved an average of 85% reduction efficiency. Several follow up installations are planned in 2012.
3. Sewage Treatment
PhosphoReduc filter has been implemented in southern Taiwan to test system efficacy in sewage wastewater treatment originating from the university student residences. This system showed nearly 100% reductions in dissolved and total phosphorus and suspended solids over 10 months of investigation (9).
Following successful treatment in Taiwan, two filter installations are currently planned to reduce phosphorus loading originating from a mixed sewage and urban runoff effluent and causing eutrophication of Tubarao lagoons in Vitoria State, Brazil.
The Future of Innovative Phosphorus Removal Technologies
Despite all of the above obstacles, during the past two years PhosphoReduc technologies started to gain interest among governmental agencies in the US and internationally. We have contributed to eutrophication prevention and water quality improvements in over 40 laboratory, pilot, demonstration and full scale projects across 5 continents (Europe, North America, South America, Asia, New Zealand). In Sweden, professor Gunno Renman developed polonite based systems for phosphorus removal from residential septic systems. However, polonite filtration material is made from the natural calcium rich material found only in Poland, which restricts systems applications beyond these two countries.
In any future research and development of Phosphorus removal technologies we ought to keep in mind the fact that as a key component of fertilizers, phosphorus is fundamental for the world’s food supplies, and an irreplaceable and essential element of life with its sole source as phosphate-bearing rocks (10-11).
Phosphorus resources are non-renewable with global reserves estimated to reach their peak in the next 50-100 years (10). The current rate of phosphate extraction is reported at 167 million tonnes per year with a growing demand that accounts for a 2% annual increase. With continuing decline of global phosphate reserves, the impacts are likely be immense, particularly in terms of rising food prices, growing food insecurity and widening inequalities between developed and developing countries (10-11).
Thus, not only should we continue research, development and implementation of phosphorus removal technologies but we have to invent the ways of phosphorus re-use as a soil amendment in agriculture, forestry, acid mine reclamation and horticulture. Sweden is the first country in the world that has established regulatory requirement to recycle phosphorus from municipal wastewater treatment effluents by 2016. It enabled professor Renman and I to start developing processes for phosphorus re-use from our phosphorus removal treatment systems.
(1) Ryther, J.H. and Dunstan, W. M. (1971). Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Eutrophication in Coastal Marine Environments. Science 171: 1008-1013.
(2) Conley, D.J., Paerl, H.W., Howarth, R.W., Boesch, D.F., Seitzinger, S.P., Havens, K.E., Lancelot, C. and Likens, G.E. (2009). Constrolling Eutrophication: Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Science 323: 1014-1015.
(3) World Resources Institute (2012). Eutrophication and Hypoxia: Nutrient Pollution in Coastal Waters. url: http://www.wri.org/project/eutrophication
(4) US EPA (2012). Water: Pollution Prevention and Control. url: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/
(5) Jiang, F., Beck, M.B., Cummings, R.G., Rowles, K. and Russell, D. (2005). Estimation of Costs of Phosphorus Removal in wastewater Treatment Facilities: Adaptation of Existing Facilities. Water Policy Working Paper #2005-011. url: http://aysps.gsu.edu/WP2005011estimationofcosts.pdf
(6) Westholm, Johansson, L., Drizo, A. and Renman, G. (2011). The Use of Blast Furnace and Electric Arc Furnace Steel Slag in Water Pollution Control. Ferrous Slag - Resource Development for an Environmentally Sustainable World. EUROSLAG Publication No.5. pp 103-11. url: http://www.euroslag.org/about-us/history/conferencesdetail/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=19&cHash=ae437d3893598f2b5faf16f5edf6a16c.
(7) USDA NRCS (2008). Vegetative Treatment Area Practice 635. USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service―Practice Code 635. url: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_026548.pdf
(8) Drizo, A., Liang, K. and Gorres, J. (2011). Phosphorus and E.Coli Reduction from Silage Leachate via Innovative PhosphoReduc Filtration. Final Report to the Conservation Innovations Grants Program, submitted December 2011. University of Vermont Grant Agreement Number : 69-3A75-9-121.
(9) AUTM, the Association of University Technology Managers (2011). Academic Filtration Innovations Aim to Solve What Ails a Perishable Resource: Water. Published in the 2011 Edition of a Better World Report. Respond, Recover, Restructure: Technologies Helping the World in the Face of Adversity, pp 78-83. www.betterworldrpoject.net
(10) The Broker (2009). Peak Phosphorus- The next inconvenient truth. The Broker online 15, August 2009. url: http://globalpnetwork.net/resource/peak-phosphorus-next-inconvenient-truth
(11) Yoshida, H., van Dijk, K., Drizo, A., Vanginkel, S., Matsubae, K. and Buehrer , M. (2011). Chapter 6: Phosphorus Recovery and Reuse. In: Dijk, K. and Yoshida, H. (ed.). Phosphorus, Food and Our Future. Frontiers in Life Sciences. In review. | <urn:uuid:d828e220-0563-492d-9d13-d879f105c4a7> | {
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Your 5-year-old now
Even children who parted easily at preschool sometimes turn into wailing "cling-ons" come the first days of kindergarten. Anxiety over the unknown is at the root of it. Will I make friends? Is learning to read going to be hard? Will I find the bus on time? Do I have to talk in class?
Most schools offer a time to tour the classroom and meet the teacher before the first day. Do a dry run. Show your child where he'll be dropped off and how to get to his classroom.
As fears surface, talk them out. The more specific he can be about what's bothering him, the better able you will be to strategize solutions.
Most importantly, don't minimize your child's fears. "You'll meet new friends" isn't reassuring to a scared 5-year-old. Talk instead about how to approach new playmates. Role-play what he might say to start up a game.
In times of upheaval, it's also important for kids to have structure. Keep things as sane as possible at home with before- and after-school schedules.
Your life now
Many parents grapple with the question of whether to let their children play with toy guns or engage in other violent play. It's an individual choice. But it can help to know that at age 5, your child's interest is less a reflection of our violent culture than a common, healthy developmental phase.
Gunplay is a form of imaginative play that allows your child to feel he's exerting control over his world (vanquishing "bad guys," for example). There's no evidence linking toy guns to future acts of violence. The phase usually passes within a few years as your child moves on to other interests.
Many parents ban toy guns only to find their kids creating weaponry out of a sandwich, a stick, or the state of Florida in a 50-state puzzle. You can avoid buying realistic weaponry but stopping the play altogether is more challenging.
Rather than shaming your child about it, ask open-ended questions about why he likes such games. Play along and find subtle ways to talk about your values and nonviolence.
Banning guns may also give them the power of being more attractive. The less of a big deal you make about gunplay — while being sure your child has lots of other playthings, too — the more quickly this stage tends to blow over. | <urn:uuid:91428c07-2736-47ee-8a6b-ab6f4852a269> | {
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E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Os Sacrum. (See LUZ.)
A triangular bone situate at the lower part of the vertebral column, of which it is a continuation. Some say that this bone was so called because it was in the part used in sacrifice, or the sacred part; Dr. Nash says it is so called because it is much bigger than any of the vertebræ; but the Jewish rabbins say the bone is called sacred because it resists decay, and will be the germ of the new body at the resurrection. (Hudibras, part iii. canto 2.) | <urn:uuid:5d03d232-8e31-4f6b-90a3-166d8eb814c1> | {
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On March 12, 2002 the first results from the 2001 Census - population and dwelling counts - were released by Statistics Canada. Information on other characteristics of the B.C. population such as age, ethnicity, education, income, etc. will be released over the next two years.
British Columbia was the third fastest growing province in Canada, increasing 4.9% between 1996 and 2001. On May 15, 2001, the population of B.C. was counted as 3,907,738, compared with 3,724,500 in May 1996. B.C.'s population growth was slightly stronger than the national rate of 4.0%. In the previous five year period, B.C.'s population had increased 13.5%, more than double the 5.7% increase in the Canadian population. Between 1996 and 2001, Alberta (10.3%) and Ontario (6.1%) had the strongest population growth among the provinces. Nunavut's population grew by 8.1%.
Fewer than half (12 out of 28) of the regional districts in the province experienced population growth between 1996 and 2001. The regions that grew were concentrated in the southwest mainland, eastern Vancouver Island and Okanagan areas. Squamish-Lillooet (12.3%), Greater Vancouver (8.5%), Central Okanagan (8.2%) and Fraser Valley (6.8%) regional districts registered the strongest growth. On Vancouver Island, most of the growth occurred in the Nanaimo (4.3%) and Capital (2.4%) regional districts. The northern and Kootenay regions registered population declines over the 5-year period, with the largest decreases in Skeena-Queen Charlotte (-12.5%) and Mount Waddington (-10.2%).
Among large municipalities (those with populations of more than 100,000), the strongest growth in the 1996-2001 period was posted in Surrey (14%), followed by Coquitlam (11%) and Richmond (10%). Among smaller municipalities (those with populations of more than 5,000), Whistler had the strongest growth (24%), although the small neighbouring community of Pemberton had even stronger growth (91%).
Top Municipalities (> 5,000 people) in terms of growth from 1996 to 2000
|Municipality ||2001 Population || % Change |
|Whistler ||8,896 ||24.0% |
|Surrey ||347,825 ||14.2% |
|Port Moody ||23,816 ||14.2% |
|View Royal ||7,271 ||12.9% |
|Maple Ridge ||63,169 ||12.5% |
|Coquitlam ||112,890 ||10.9% |
|New Westminster ||54,656 ||10.8% |
|Richmond ||164,345 ||10.4% |
|Port Coquitlam ||51,257 ||9.8% |
|Abbotsford ||115,463 ||9.6% |
Urban and Rural Population
Between 1996 and 2001, the population has become more urbanised with 85% of the provincial population now living in urban areas, up from 82% in 1996 and 80% in 1991.
Characteristics of Population Growth
Although information on the characteristics of the population growth between 1996 and 2001 is not yet available from the 2001 Census, current population estimates provide insight into some aspects of the growth. About two thirds of the population growth between 1996 and 2001 was due to migration with natural increase (births minus deaths) accounting for the rest. The growth due to migration was entirely from international sources, as a large number of people left B.C. for Alberta and only small numbers arrived from other parts of Canada. Between 1991 and 1996, a similar number of people had arrived from international sources but there had also been almost as large a net inflow from other parts of the country. More than three quarters (77%) of the immigrants to B.C. over the 1996-2001 period were from Asian countries, followed by European sources (12%) and North and Central America (4%). | <urn:uuid:2c387e3b-0186-4c0f-94d1-fd0fbf5014cc> | {
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The Walking Liberty half dollar has won many praises and criticisms in its time. Adolph Weinman’s Walking Liberty design was more than an attempt to beautify the half dollar. It represented a concerted effort to revitalize the denomination and to get half dollars back into circulation in again. The Mint was able to churn out plenty of Walking Liberty half dollars in the design’s first year. Of the first years mintage couldn’t compare to the numbers that were minted in the 1940s.
Adolph Weinman was better known as a sculptor and medal designer. As such he won the competition to design the new half dollar. The Mint began producing the new Walking Liberty design in November, 1916. However it was January 2, 1917 before any of these dated half dollars entered into circulation.
The new half dollars debut soon brought many praises and some criticisms. The Jan 23, 1917, issue of the Elyra, Ohio Evening Telegram is quoted as stating the Walking Liberty half dollar was more “elaborate” than the old Barber half dollar. And that both half dollars shared one thing in common—they both seemed to have been inspired by some French coin designs.
For what ever reason, Weinman managed to work the American flag into the Walking Liberty half dollar design, which does seem to set it apart and gave it a more national character than other coin designs. Weinman had his own comments on the symbolism in his design:
“The design of the Half dollar bears a full-length figure of Liberty, the folds of the Stars and Stripes flying to the breeze as a background. Progressing in full stride toward the dawn of a new day, carrying branches of laurel and oak, symbolic of civil and military glory. The hand of the figure is outstretched in bestowal of the spirit of liberty.”
“The reverse of the half dollar shows an eagle perched high upon a mountain craig, his wings unfolded, fearless in spirit, and conscious of his power. Springing from a rift in the rock is a sapling of Mountain Pine, symbolic of America.”
Many bird experts were amused at the design of the eagle displayed on the half dollar. It was quite unlike any other eagle pictured on other U.S. coins. One leading ornithologist remarked the eagle looked like a “turkey.”
Very little was said about the branch of Mountain Pine. It did add a very dramatic touch to the design and is probably the coin’s most distinctive feature. The Walking Liberty is definitely the most distinctive half dollar created. In time the Walking Liberty half dollar gave way to the Franklin half dollar in 1948. | <urn:uuid:317df08c-8a0f-44fa-958d-481d95ef3107> | {
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Kids do not understand the dangers of fire and smoke and the havoc they can create if not used properly. Kids consider most of the things which can trigger fire like match-boxes and sticks, lighters, electrical equipment to be toys and like playing with them. It is very important to teach children about the impacts of these things at a young age. Educating children and making them aware about certain safety measures will make them responsible in the future as well.
There are some basic safety tips which should be followed by children in order to keep themselves fire safe. The first and foremost thing is to tell them not to play with anything that can cause fire. They may take a match-box and lighter very lightly, but it is the parent’s duty to make them aware about the consequences of these things if not used properly. During any festivals it is important for the parents to stay along with their children in case they play with firecrackers. Children should never remain unattended during such festivals. Tell the children not to use a candle when no adult person is around them. Children in the process of growing up find certain things very interesting and try experimenting with them. Lighting paper to see whether it catches fire is one such thing which majority of the children tries during their growing up years. It is necessary for the parents to be aware of such facts and tell their children beforehand not to resort to such things. It is also important to make them aware that fire can get out of control in seconds and hence, a simple experiment can cause an outbreak of fire.
If children are made aware of the cause and effects of fire right from the beginning, they will take good care and precaution so that such incidences do not occur. | <urn:uuid:94b52b96-b8f9-48fd-b881-e163acb5ac7e> | {
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What is Iron Deficiency?
If you feel like your energy levels are low, you’re lacking motivation and you could fall asleep at your desk everyday, don’t blame your job right away. Instead, take a close look at the signs and symptoms of iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency is the most prevalent nutrition deficiency in the world. It occurs when the body’s stores of iron are low (the stage prior to anemia), and, it may or may not cause any symptoms.
Iron deficiency disproportionately affects those in developing countries but it is also prevalent in industrialized countries. Iron deficiency anemia develops when low iron stores persist for a period of time and the body cannot make enough healthy red blood cells to deliver oxygen throughout the body.
In the United States, the largest nationwide survey, the National Nutrition and Health Examination Surveys (NHANES) found that approximately 16% of teenage girls aged 16-19 and 12% of women aged 20-49 are deficient in iron. These numbers are staggering in a country with an abundant food supply and an array of multivitamin and iron supplements.
- Stoltzfus RJ. Defining iron-deficiency anemia in public health terms: reexamining the nature and magnitude of the public health problem. J Nutr 2001;131:565S-7S.
- Micronutrient deficiencies. Iron deficiency anaemia. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/ida/en/index.html
- Iron Deficiency Anemia. National Anemia Action Council. http://www.anemia.org/patients/faq/#ida
- Iron Deficiency. MMWR Weekly. CDC. 2002;51(40):897-899. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5140a1.htm#tab1
- Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.
- Monson ER. Iron and absorption: dietary factors which impact iron bioavailability. J Am Dietet Assoc. 1988;88:786-90.
- Tapiero H, Gate L, Tew KD. Iron: deficiencies and requirements. Biomed Pharmacother. 2001;55:324-32.
- Pronsky ZM. Food Medication Interactions, 10th edition 1997.
- Hemoglobin. Medline Plus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003645.htm
- Hematocrit. Medline Plus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003646.htm | <urn:uuid:58b1d00f-c114-4def-bad8-460713c5efa4> | {
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Dread Nought Biography
Biography Dread Nought
, was launched in 1912]]The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship of the 20th century. The revolutionary HMS Dreadnought of 1906 adopted an 'all-big-gun' armament and steam turbine propulsion; her impact was so great that battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts' and earlier battleships became known aspre-dreadnoughts.The concept of an all-big-gun ship had been in circulation for several years prior to Dreadnought's construction, and the Imperial Japanese Navy had even begun work on an all-big-gun battleship in 1904.Gibbons, p. 168 The arrival of the dreadnoughts sparked a new arms race, principally between Britain and Germany but reflected worldwide, as the new class of warships became a crucial symbol of national power.Technical development continued rapidly through the dreadnought era, with rapid changes in armament, armor, and propulsion, meaning that ten years after Dreadnought's commissioning much more powerful ships were being built. These more powerful vessels were known as super-dreadnoughts. The only pitched battle between fleets of dreadnoughts was the Battle of Jutland, an indecisive clash that reflected Britain's continuing strategic dominance. Most of the dreadnoughts were scrapped or scuttled after the end of World War I, though some of the most advanced super-dreadnoughts continued in service through World War II.The term "dreadnought" gradually dropped from use after World War I, as the pre-dreadnoughts and the first generations of dreadnoughts were scrapped. However, all battleships built since then shared the characteristics of the dreadnought. "Dreadnought" can also be used to encompass battlecruisers, the other type of ship resulting from the dreadnought revolution.Mackay R. Fisher of Kilverstone, p.326, for instance
's Satsuma; the first ship designed as an 'all-big-gun' battleship]]The distinctive all-big-gun armament of the dreadnought was developed in the first years of the 20th century as navies sought to increase the firepower and range of their battleships. Most pre-dreadnoughts had a main armament of four heavy guns of 9.4-13.5 inch (24-34 cm), a secondary armament of six to eighteen quick/rapid-firing guns of 4.7-7.5 inch (12-19 cm), supplemented by a range of smaller weapons. Some American designs had an intermediate battery of four, later eight, 8-inch (20.3 cm) guns. By 1903, however, serious proposals for an all-big-gun armament were circulated in several countries.All-big-gun designs were begun almost simultaneously in three navies. The Imperial Japanese Navy authorised Satsuma, designed with twelve 12-inch guns, in 1904, and she was laid down in May 1905Jentshura, Jung, Mickel p.22-3. Evans & Peattie p.159. The Royal Navy began the design of HMS Dreadnought in January 1905 and she was laid down in October 1905Sumrall, p.15. The United States Navy gained authorisation for USS Michigan, carrying eight 12-inch guns, in March 1905Sumrall, p.15 and she was laid down in May 1906Sondhaus, p.199.The exact reasons for the move to an all-big-gun design are still a matter of some controversy. The newest, fast-firing 12-inch guns had more long-range firepower than a gun of 10-inch of 9.2-inch calibre.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development.It is often stated that mixed-calibre guns prevented accurate fire control because of the potential for confusion between shell-splashes of different calibre. However, more recent work suggests that shell-splashes and salvo firing were not of much importance in decision-making.Fairbanks, C The Dreadnought Revolution, International History Review 1991: this debate is also expanded on below
The pre-dreadnought battleships combined heavy-calibre ship-killing guns, typically of 12 in calibre, with a secondary and tertiary armament that could generate a hail of fire destroying the less protected parts of enemy ships. At the Battle of the Yalu River and the Battle of Santiago de Cuba (1898], this hail of fire destroyed most of the vessels of the defeated side. At Santiago, none of the four US battleships present scored a single hit with their 12- and 13-inch guns.The Naval War Between China and Japan and Lesson From the War in the East, pages 90-143, The Naval Annual 1895.Naval Aspects of the Spanish-American War, pages 123-174, The Naval Annual 1899 These were short-range engagements. At the Battle of the Yalu River, the victorious Japanese did not open fire until the range had closed to 3,000 yards; naval guns were still too inaccurate to score hits at a longer range.By the early 1900s, British and American admirals expected that in future battleships would engage at considerably longer ranges.This was an Anglo-American trend. French battleships had been expecting to engage at 7-8,000 yards since the mid-1880s. They would need to do so, because torpedo ranges were increasing; "The addition of a gyroscope to the torpedo guidance mechanism in 1896, an invention perfected by 1900, overnight transformed the existing torpedo from a weapon accurate only at ranges up to 600 yards into one that could hit at three times this distance." Page 77, Lambert, Nicholas A. Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution, pub University of South Carolina, 1999, ISBN-1-57003-277-7; for example, in 1903, the US ordered a torpedo effective to 4,000 yardsPage 53, Friedman, US Battleships. Both British and American admirals concluded that they needed to engage the enemy at longer ranges. In 1900, Mediterranean Sir John A. Fisher commanding the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet ordered gunnery practice, with the 6-inch guns, at a range of 6,000 yards.Lambert, Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. By 1904, the US Naval War College was considering the effects on battleship tactics of 7-8,000 yard range torpedoes.At the short ranges expected for combat in the 1890s, lighter guns had good accuracy; combined with their high rate of fire, this produced the lethal 'hail of fire' effect. As ranges increased, the accuracy of light and medium-calibre guns declined more rapidly than that of heavier weapons. Lighter projectiles have a lower ratio of mass to frontal surface area, and so their velocity is reduced more quickly by air resistance. If all things are equal, higher velocity means higher accuracy. "Moreover at long ranges gunners had to 'spot' the fall of shot to correct their aim... The longer the range, the lower the maximum theoretical rate of spotted fire."Page 52, Friedman, US Battleships.The early years of the 20th century saw the effective range of heavy guns increase. This was established on gunnery ranges by 1904, and proven in action at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. "By 1904, the gunnery of the largest weapons had improved to the point where decisive hits could be made at the greatest ranges. This conclusion was confirmed by battle experience in the Russo-Japanese War, but serious planning for all-big-gun ships came considerably earlier in the major navies, based on peacetime gunnery experiments."Friedman US Battlships p.52
All-big-gun mixed-calibre ships
, an all-big-gun mixed-calibre ship of the Lord Nelson class. She carried four 12-inch and ten 9.2-inch guns.]]One approach to making more powerful battleships was to reduce the secondary battery, and substitute additional heavy guns: typically 9.2- or 10-inch. These ships, described as 'all-big-gun mixed-calibre' or later 'semi-dreadnought', included the British King Edward VII and Lord Nelson classes, the French Danton class, and the Japanese battleship Satsuma. The design process for these ships often included discussion of a pure, 'all-big-gun one-calibre', alternative.The June issue of Proceedings of the US Naval Institute contained an article by US Navy's leading gunnery expert Prof P.R Alger proposing a main battery of eight 12-inch guns in twin turrets. The future chief constructor David W Taylor responded suggesting that battleships of the future would be powered with steam turbines. Page 51, Friedman, Norman, US Battleships, an Illustrated Design History, pub Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87021-715-1 In May 1902, the Bureau of Construction and Repair submitted a design for the Mississippi class battleship with twelve 10-inch guns in twin turrets, two at the ends and four in the wings. Lt. Cdr. H. C. Poundstone submitted a paper to President Roosevelt in December 1902 arguing the case for larger battleships. In an appendix to his paper, Poundstone suggested a greater number of 11-inch and 9-inch guns was preferable to a smaller number of 12-inch and 9-inch. "In an appendix he argued, as had Signor, that there was little point in retaining the 8-inch gun. Better to replace the existing mix of 12- and 8-inch guns with 11 and 9 inch; better, too, to save weight and gain numbers by using the smallest possible heavy-calibre weapon. Poundstone's paper was not published by the Proceedings until the June and September 1903 issues." Page 52, Friedman, US Battleships. The Naval War College and C&R developed these ideas in studies between 1903 and 1905. War game studies begun in July 1903 "showed that a battleship armed with twelve 11- or 12-inch guns hexagonally arranged would be equal to three or more of the conventional type."Pages 53-58, Friedman, US BattleshipsIn the British navy the same trend occurred. A design had also been circulated in 1902-03 for "a powerful 'all big-gun' armament of two calibres, viz. four 12-inch and twelve 9.2-inch guns."Page 426, Parkes, quoting an I.N.A. paper of 9 April 1919 by Sir Philip Watts. However, the Admiralty decided to build three more King Edward (with a mixture of 12-inch, 9.2-inch and 6-inch) in the 1903-04 programme instead.Page 426, Parkes. The concept was revived for the 1904-05 programme, the Lord Nelson class. Restrictions on length and beam meant that the midships 9.2-inch turrets became single instead of twin, thus giving an armament of four 12-inch, ten 9.2-inch, and no 6-inch. The constructor for this design, J.H. Narbeth, submitted an alternative drawing showing an armament of twelve 12-inch guns, but the Admiralty was not prepared to accept this. Page 451-2, Parkes. Part of the rationale for the decision to retain mixed-calibre guns was the need to begin the building of the ships quickly because of the tense situation produced by the Russo-Japanese War.Breyer, S. Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, p.113.
The switch to all-big-gun designs
The replacement of the 6-inch or 8-inch guns with weapons of 9.2-inch or 10-inch calibre improved the striking power of a battleship, particularly at longer ranges. However, making the move to a uniform calibre of heavy guns offered a number of benefits.A uniform heavy-gun armament offered advantages for logistics and damage control. When the US were considering whether to have a mixed-calibre main armament for the South Carolina class, For example, Sims and Poundstone stressed the advantages of homogeneity in terms of ammunition supply and the transfer of crews from the disengaged guns to replace wounded gunners.Friedman, US Battleships, p.55.A uniform calibre of gun meant streamlined fire control. The designers of Dreadnought prefered an all-big-gun design because it would mean only one set of calculations about adjustments to the range of the guns."Additional advantage is gained by having a uniform armament. A mixed armament necessitates separate control for each type; owing to a variety of causes the range passed to 12-in. guns is not the range that will suit the 9.2in. or 6-in. guns, although the distance of the target is the same." First Addendum to the Report of the Committee on Designs, quoted in Mackay R. Fisher of Kilverstone, p.322 It is often argued that a uniform calibre was particularly important because the risk of confusion between shell-splashes of 12-inch and lighter guns, which is held to make accurate ranging difficult. More recent investigation suggests that fire control in 1905 was not advanced enough to use the salvo-firing technique where this confusion might be importantFor the detail of this debate, see Fairbanks C. The Dreadnought Revolution, International History Review 1991 Vol 13 Part 2, in particular p.250; confusion of shell-splashes does not seem to have been a concern of those working on all-big gun designsIn Britain: "Fisher does not seem to have expressed interest in... the ability to hit an adversary at long range by spotting salvoes. It is also very diffficult to understand just when this method was first officially understood"; Mackay, Fisher of Kilverstone, p.322. And in America: "The possibility of gunnery confusion due to two calibres as close as 10 and 12 inches was never raised. For example, Sims and Poundstone stressed the advantages of homogeneity in terms of ammunition supply and the transfer of crews from the disengaged guns to replace wounded gunners. Friedman, US Battleships, p.55. Nevertheless, the likelihood of engagements at longer ranges was important in deciding that the heaviest possible guns should be adopted as standard; hence 12-inch rather than 10-inch. "In October W.L Rogers of the Naval War College wrote a long and detailed memorandum on this question, pointing out that as ranges became longer the difference in accuracy between even 10- and 12-inch guns became enormous" Page 55, Friedman, US Battleships; "The advantage at long range lies with the ship which carries the greatest number of guns of the largest type", Report of the Committee on Designs, quoted in Mackay Fisher of Kilverstone p.322Furthermore, the newer designs of 12-inch gun mounting had a considerably higher rate of fire, removing the advantage previously enjoyed by smaller calibres. In 1902, a 12-inch gun might fire two rounds per minute; in 1895, one round every four minutes was more likelyFriedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.98. In October 1903, the naval architect Vittorio Cuniberti published a paper in Jane's Fighting Ships entitled "An Ideal Battleship for the British Navy", which called for a 17,000 ton ship carrying a main armament of twelve 12-in guns, protected by 12-inch armour, and having a speed of 24 knots (44 km/h).Cuniberti, Vittorio, "An Ideal Battleship for the British Fleet", All The World?s Fighting Ships, 1903, pp.407-409. Cuniberti's idea - which he had already proposed the idea to his own navy, the Regia Marina - was to make use of the high rate of fire of new 12-inch guns to produce devastating rapid-fire from heavy guns to replace the 'hail of fire' from lighter weapons.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development 1905-45, p.98 Something similar lay behind the Japanese move towards heavier guns; Japanese shells contained a higher than normal proportion of high explosive, and were fused to explode on contact, starting fires rather than piercing armour.Evans and Peattie, Kaigun, p.63 The increased rate of fire overcame the principal objection to 12-inch guns and laid the foundations for future advances in fire control. Friedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.98
Building the first Dreadnoughts
In Japan, the two battleships of the 1903-4 Programme were in fact the first to be laid down as all-big-gun designs, with eight 12-inch guns. However, the design had armour which was considered too thin, meaning a substantial redesignBreyer, Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, p.331; the financial pressures of the Russo-Japanese War and the short supply of 12-inch guns which had to be imported from Britain meant that these ships were completed as the with a mixed-calibre 10-inch and 12-inch armament. The 1903-4 design also retained traditional triple-expansion steam engines. Evans and Peattie, Kaigun, p.159The dreadnought breakthrough occurred in Britain in 1905. The new First Sea Lord, Jackie Fisher had long been an advocate of new technology in the Royal Navy and had recently converted to the idea of an all-big-gun battleship.Fisher first firmly proposed the all-big-gun idea in a paper in 1904, where he called for battleships with sixteen 10-inch guns; by November 1904 he was convinced of the need for 12-inch guns. An 1902 letter, where he suggested powerful ships 'with equal fire all round', might have meant an all-big-gun design. Mackay, RFisher of Kilverstone p.312Fisher is often credited as the creator of the Dreadnought type and the father of Britain's great dreadnought battleship fleet, an impression he himself did much to reinforce. However, it is now seriously suggested Fisher's main interest was in developing the battlecruiser and not the battleship.Sumida, J. Sir John Fisher and the Dreadnought, Journal of Military History Vol.59 No.4; p.619-21 One of Fisher's first actions on coming to office was to set up a Committee on Designs to consider future battleships and armoured cruisers.The Committee's first task was to consider a new battleship. The specification for the new ship was a 12-inch main battery and anit-torpedo-boat guns but no intermediate calibres, and a 21-knot speed (two or three knots faster than existing battleships).Breyer, Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, p.115 The initial designs intended twelve 12-inch guns, though difficulties in positioning these guns led the chief constructor at one stage to propose a return to four 12-inch guns with sixteen or eighteen 9.2-inch. The Committee settled on a design carrying ten 12-inch guns as her main armament, along with twenty-two 12-pounders (3 inch, 76 mm) as her secondary armamentBreyer, Battleships and Battlecruisers of the World, p.115. The Committee also took the adventurous step of giving Dreadnought steam turbine propulsion. This was unprecedented in a large warship. The greater efficiency of the turbines meant that the 21-knot design speed could be achieved in a smaller and cheaper shipBreyer, p.46, p.115Construction took place at a remarkable rate; her keel was laid on 2 October 1905, she was launched on 10 February 1906, and she was completed on 3 October 1906?an impressive demonstration of British industrial might.Sumrall, p.15 The new ship was named Dreadnought; the previous Dreadnought, having been stricken from the effective list in 1905.Page 10, The Naval Annual 1905The first US dreadnoughts were the South Carolina class. Detailed plans for these were worked out in July-November 1905, and approved by the Board of Construction on 23 November 1905.Page 62, Friedman, US Battleships However building progress was slow; specifications for bidders were issued on 21 March 1906, and the two ships were laid down in December 1906, after the completion of the British Dreadnought.Page 63, Friedman, US Battleships
The design of dreadnoughts, like that of any warship, was a difficult struggle to provide as much protection, mobility and firepower as possible on a ship of a realistic size and costFriedman, N. Battleship Design and Development, p.19-21. The characteristic of a dreadnought was an 'all-big-gun' armament. Dreadnoughts also carried thick armour, principally in a thick belt around the waterline, though also in one or more armoured decks which became thicker over time. Protection against torpedoes, secondary armament, fire control and command equipment also had to be crammed into the hull.The inevitable consequence of demands for ever greater speed, striking power and staying power meant that the displacement and hence the cost of dreadnought designs tended to increase. Dreadnought size was only eventually limited by the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, when an upper limit of 35,000 tons was agreed; in subsequent years a number of treaty battleships were commissioned designed to build up to this limit. Once war came on the horion again, however, the race towards bigger and bigger battleships resumed.
showing the armament distribution of a typical early British dreadnoughts; main battery is in twin turrets, with two on the 'wings'; secondary battery is clustered around the superstructure.]]The defining characteristic of the dreadnought was the 'all-big-gun' armament: a large number of very heavy guns. The number and size of guns in the main battery could vary. Dreadnought herself mounted ten 12-inch guns; 12-inch armament had been standard in the pre-dreadnought and this continued the first generation of dreadnought battleships, though the German Navy continued to use 11.1-inch guns in its first class of dreadnoughts, the Nassau class.Breyer, p.54, 266As dreadnoughts developed, there were continuing demands for more firepower in the main battery to match or outpace the likely enemy. This meant either more powerful heavy guns, a greater number of such guns, or an arrangement which meant the same number of guns could be better used.
Position of Main Armament
The effectiveness of the guns depended in part on the layout of the turrets. Dreadnought, and the British ships which immediately followed her, carried five turrets: one ahead and two astern on the centreline of the ship, and two in the 'wings' next to the superstructure. This allowed three turrets to fire ahead and four turrets to fire broadside. Nassau and the first few classes of German dreadnoughts adopted a 'hexagonal' layout with one turret fore and aft and two wing-turrets on each side of the superstructure; this meant that more guns were mounted in total, but the same number could fire ahead or broadside as with Dreadnought.Dreadnought designs experimented with different layouts of turrets. An alternative was to mount the centre turrets en echelon. The British Neptune class staggered the wing turrets, so all ten guns could fire on the broadside, a feature copied by the German Kaiser class. This, however, risked blast damage to parts of the ship which the guns fired over, and put great stress on the ship's frame.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.134The solution which imposed the least stress on the ship's hull was to put all the turrets on the centreline. This meant that every heavy gun could easily fire on the broadside, but fewer could fire end-on. It also meant the hull would be longer, and that the armoured belt would be heavier or thinner; the deep, heavily-armoured magazines which served each turret also interfered with the distribution of boilers and engines.Freidman, N. Battleship Design and Development, p.132 Agincourt carried fourteen 12-inch guns in seven centreline turrets, more heavy guns than any other dreadnought, but was not considered a success for these reasons.Breyer, p. 138An improved centreline layout involved raising some turrets so they could fire over a turret immediately forward or astern of them. The U.S. Navy adopted this feature with their very first dreadnoughts, the South Carolina class. Other navies were slower to do so, because of fears about the impact of the blast of the raised guns on the lower turret. Raised turrets also raised the centre of gravity of the ship, potentially reducing stability; for this reason it was impossible for more than two turrets to superfire, one fore and one aft.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development p.134 The most common superfiring arrangement was eight guns, with two turrets forward and two aft, allowing four guns to fire on either end and eight on a broadside. This was adopted as early as the South Carolinas, spread to the Royal Navy with the Orion class, and could be seen as late as the World War II designs like Bismarck and Vanguard.The alternative to more turrets was to put more guns into each turret. Economising on the number of turrets means the ship could be shorter or could devote more space to machinery. On the other hand, it meant that a higher proportion of the main battery could be put out of action by a single lucky enemy hit. The first nation to adopt the triple turret was Russia, with their first dreadnoughts of the Gangut classBreyer, p.393-6; first seen in the U.S. Navy in the Nevada class, triple turrets only became popular elsewhere during and after World War I.For instance, the British G3 and N3 designs of 1921; the first German triple-turreted capital ship was Scharnhorst. Several later designs used quadruple turrets, for instance the King George V.Fitzsimons, Volume 15, p.1635, and Volume 24, p.2587, "Washington". The quadruple turrets, however, often suffered from technical difficulties - most famously HMS Prince of Wales in her engagement with the Bismarck.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.132
Main armament Power and Calibre
used on super-dreadnoughts]]Another way to increase the sriking power of a dreadnought was to increase the power of each gun. This could be done by increasing either the calibre of the weapon and hence the weight of shell, or by lengthening the barrel to increase muzzle velocity. Either of these offered the chance to increase range and armour penetration.Both methods offered advantages and disadvantages. As guns fire, their barrels wear out, losing accuracy and eventually requiring replacement. At times, this became a problematic; the U.S. Navy seriously considered stopping practice firing of heavy guns in 1910 because of the wear on the barrels.Friedman Battleship Design and Development, p.129 The higher the muzzle velocity, the more pronounced the problem of gun wear. Heavier shells are also affected less by air resistance, and so retain greater penetrating power at long range. The disadvantages of heavier guns were twofold: firstly, the guns and turrets required weighed much more; and secondly, heavier and slower shells needed to be fired at a higher angle for the same range.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.130Different navies approached the decision of calibre in different ways. The German navy, for instance, generally used a lighter calibre than the equivalent British ships, e.g. 12-inch calibre when the British standard was 13.5-inch. However, because German metallurgy was superior, the German 12-inch gun was superior to the British 12-inch in terms of shell weight and muzzle velocity; and because the German guns were lighter than the British 13.5-inch, German ships could afford more armour.Friedman, Battleship Design and Development, p.130On the whole, however, the calibre of guns tended to increase. In the Royal Navy, the Orion class, launched 1910, used ten 13.5-inch guns, all on the centreline; the Queen Elizabeth class, launched 1913, used eight 15-inch guns. In all navies, the calibre of guns increased and the number of guns tended to decrease to compensate. The fewer guns needed meant distributing them became less of an issue, and centreline turrets became entirely the norm.A further step change was planned for battleships designed and laid down at the end of World War I. The Japanese Nagato class in 1917 carried 16-inch guns, matched by the US Navy's Colorado class. Some designs went still further: the British "N3" class would have carried nine 18-inch guns, and the Japanese planned an un-named class, also with 18-inch armament. However, the Washington Naval Treaty meant these mammoth battleships never got off the drawing board.The trend towards larger calibres was arrested by the Naval Treaties. The Washington Naval Treaty limited battleship guns at 16-inch (406 mm) calibreBreyer, p.72. Later treaties preserved this limit, though reductions of the limit to 11-inch, 12-inch or 14-inch calibre were proposed.Breyer, p.73. The only battleships to break the limit were the Japanese Yamato class, begun in 1937, which carried 460-mm (18.1-inch) main gunsBreyer, p.84. By the middle of World War II, Britain was making use of 15-inch guns built as spares for the Queen Elizabeth class to arm the last British battleship, Vanguard.Breyer, p.82A number of World War II-era designs were drawn up proposing another move towards gigantic armament. The German H-43 and H-44 designs proposed 508-mm (20-inch) guns, and there is evidence that Hitler wanted calibres as high as 609-mm (24-inch)Breyer, p.214; the Japanese 'Super Yamato' design also used 508-mm gunsBreyer, p.367. None of these proposals went further than very preliminary design work.
shows a typical dreadnought protection scheme, with very thick armour protecting the turrets, magazines and engine spaces tapering away in less vital areas; also note the subdivided underwater compartments to prevent sinking.]]Dreadnoughts were protected by thick steel armour around their most vital areas. An armoured warship like a battleship was only of any use in a pitched battle if it could withstand seveal hits from the heaviest weapons it was likely to face and still be able to fight. The critical areas to defend were the engines, main armament and magazines; a hit to the magazines could result in the ship blowing up, while damage to the engines could stop the battleship in the water, making it tactically useless and a sitting duck for further attacks. The question dreadnought designers faced was how to get the most effective protection for their vessels without the weight of armour critically slowing the ship.The earliest dreadnoughts were intended to take part in a pitched battle against other battleships at ranges of up to 10,000 yards. In such an encounter, shells would fly on a relatively flat trajectory. For this reason, the early dreadnoughts' armour was concentrated in a thick belt around the waterline; this had a thickness of 11 in in Dreadnought. Behind this belt were arranged the ship's coal bunkers, to further protect the engineering spaces. To protect the innards of the ship from fragments of shells which detonated on the superstructure, much thinner steel armour was applied to the decks of the ship. Dreadnought carried a total f 2.5 in of deck armour on two decks.The final element of the protection scheme of the first dreadnoughts was the subdivision of the ship below the waterline into several watertight compartments. If the hull was holed - by shellfire, mine, torpedo, or collision - then, in theory, only one area would flood and the ship could survive. To make this precaution even more effective, many dreadnoughts had no hatches between different underwater sections, so that even a surprise hole below the waterline need not sink the ship. However, there were still a number of instances where flooding spread between underwater compartments.During the evolution of the dreadnought, armour schemes changed to reflect the greater risk of plunging shells from long-range gunfire, the increasing threat from both bombs dropped by aircraft and the need to protect battleships more adequately from torpedoes and mines.The threat of plunging fire and bombing meant a greater thickness of steel on the armoured deck, and the amont of protection devoted to the deck increased much more rapidly than did the amount in the main belt. For instance, the Japanese superbattleship Yamato carried a 16.5 in main belt, as opposed to Dreadnought's 11 but a deck as thick as 9 in against Dreadnought's 2 in. The main belt itself was increasingly angled inwards to give a greater effective thickness against low-angle shells.The greatest evolution in dreadnought protection came with the development of the torpedo bulge and torpedo belt, both attempts to protect against underwater damage by mines and torpedoes.
blades, in this case from the Polish destroyer Wicher]]Dreadnoughts were propelled by two to four screw propellors. Dreadnought herself, and all British dreadnoughts, had screw shafts driven by steam turbines. However, the turbine was a very experimental technology; the first generation of dreadnoughts built in other nations used the slower triple-expansion steam engine which had been standard in pre-dreadnought battleships. Within a few years, the turbine was standard for new battleship construction.Turbines were more powerful and more reliable than the older steam engine. They were, however, less fuel-efficient at slower, cruising speeds. To address this, some navies adopted the turbo-electric drive where the steam tubine genereated electrical power whcih then drove the propellors; and ultimately the geared turbine which used mechanical means to get greater efficiency at higher speeds. Turbines were never replaced in battleship design.The first generation of dreadnoughts used coal to fire the boilers which fed steam to the turbines. Coal had been in use since the very first steam warships, but had many disadvantages; it was labour-intensive to pack coal into the ship's bunkers and then feed it into the boilers, which became clogged with ash; coal produced thick black smoke which gave away the position of a fleet. In addition, coal was very bulky and had comparatively low thermal efficiency, meaning navies had to have numerous coaling stations at strategic points around the globe; control of these could, and did, provoke naval battles. The alternative, oil, had many advantages for naval architects and officers at sea alike. It reduced smoke, making ships less vulnerable. It could be fed into boilers automatically, rather than by hand. And it had had higher thermal efficiency and less bulk than coal. For comparable range, much less oil was needed, saving space; using the same volume, much more oil could be carried (much greater bunkerage, technically), providing significantly greater range. The only problem with oil was, every nation except the USA had to import it, a strategic concern which meant oil was only gradually adopted through the First World War and after. Oil's advantages outweighed its drawbacks, and it was not long before all battleships were oil-fired.Interwar, another advantage of oil would appear: it could be more easily transferred between ships, making underway refuelling much simpler, paving the way for the carrier task force, which would replace the battle line.
In 1897 the Royal Navy had 62 battleships in commission or building, a lead of 26 over France and of 50 over Germany,The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery, Paul M. Kennedy, ISBN 0-333-35094-4, p.209. and nations as distant (and unlikely to be met in combat) as Brazil could (in theory) match the best Britain had. In November 1906, Dreadnought had the field to herself; there were no challengers. The new class prompted an arms race with serious strategic and economic consequences. Major naval powers raced to build their own dreadnoughts to catch up with the United Kingdom. Possession of modern battleships was not only vital to naval power, but as with nuclear weapons today, represented a nation's standing in the world. Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Austria and the United States all began dreadnought programmes; and second-rank powers including Turkey, Argentina, Brazil and Chile commissioned dreadnoughts to be built in British and American yards.The First World War, John Keegan, ISBN 0-7126-6645-1, p.281.
The Anglo-German arms race
See also: Causes of World War IBritain and Germany had for some years been locked into a strategic struggle, as Germany asserted herself as a colonial as well as a European power. It was this threat which prompted the building of Dreadnought and made a naval arms race between the two nations inevitable.While Fisher's reorganisation of the Navy in 1904 and 1905 actually cut the Naval Estimates,The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery, Paul M. Kennedy, ISBN 0-333-35094-4, p. 218. the pressing need for more and better ships to ensure naval superiority caused friction in the British government. The costs of maintaining the Royal Navy at a level capable of taking on the next two navies at the same time were immense.Greger, René, Schlachtschiffe der Welt, pp.11 & 15.The first German response to Dreadnought came with the Nassau-class, laid down in 1907, followed by the Helgoland-class in 1909. Together with two battlecruisers — a type for which the Germans had less admiration than Fisher, but which could be built under authorisation for armored cruisers, rather than capital ships — these classes gave Germany a total of ten modern capital ships built or building in 1909. While the British ships were somewhat faster and more powerful than their German equivalents, a 12:10 ratio fell very short of the 2:1 ratio that the Royal Navy wanted to maintain.In 1909, the British Parliament authorised an additional four capital ships, holding out hope Germany would be willing to negotiate a treaty about battleship numbers. If no such solution could be found, an additional four ships would be laid down in 1910. Even this compromise solution meant (when taken together with some social reforms) raising taxes enough to prompt a constitutional crisis in Britain in 1909-10.In 1910, the British eight-ship construction plan went ahead, including four Orion-class super-dreadnoughts, and augmented by battlecruisers purchased by Australia and New Zealand. In the same period of time, Germany laid down only three ships, giving Britain a superiority of 22 ships to 13. The British resolve demonstrated by their construction programme led the Germans to seek a negotiated end to the arms race. While the Admiralty's new target of a 60% lead over Germany was near enough to Tirpitz's goal of cutting the British lead to 50%, talks foundered on the question on whether British Commonwealth battlecruisers should be included in the count, as well as non-naval matters like the German demands for recognition of her ownership of Alsace-Lorraine.The pace of the dreadnought race stepped up in both nations' 1910 and 1911 budgets, with Germany laying down four capital ships each year and Britain five. The tensions came to a head following the German Naval Law of 1912. This proposed a fleet of 33 German battleships and battlecruisers, outnumbering the Royal Navy in home waters. To make matters worse, the Austro-Hungarian Fleet was building 4 dreadnoughts, while the Italians had four and were building two more. Against such threats, the Royal Navy could no longer guarantee vital British interests. Britain was faced with a choice of building more battleships, withdrawing from the Mediterranean, or seeking an alliance with France. Further naval construction was unacceptably expensive at a time when social welfare provision was making calls on the budget. Withdrawing from the Mediterranean would mean a huge loss of influence, weakening British diplomacy in the Mediterranean and shaking the stability of the British Empire. The only acceptable option, and the one taken by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, was to overturn a hundred years of splendid isolation and seek an alliance with France.The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery, Paul M. Kennedy, ISBN 0-333-35094-4, p. 224In spite of these important strategic consequences, the 1912 Naval Law had little bearing on the battleship force ratios. Britain responded by laying down ten new super-dreadnoughts in her 1912 and 1913 budgets—ships of the Queen Elizabeth and Revenge classes, which introduced a further step change in armament, speed and protection—while Germany laid down only five, focusing resources on the Army.
U.S. Navy dreadnoughts
The American South Carolina-class battleships were the first all-big-gun ships to be completed by one of Britain's rivals. The planning for the type had begun before the Dreadnought was launched, perhaps aided by secret briefing by sympathetic Royal Navy officials. Construction began in 1906, after the completion of the Dreadnought, and the type had no turbines.Smaller than Dreadnought at 16,000 tons standard displacement, they carried eight 12-inch (305 mm) guns in four twin turrets arranged in superfiring pairs fore and aft along the centerline of the keel. This arrangement gave South Carolina and her sister Michigan a broadside equal to Dreadnought's without requiring the cumbersome wing turrets of the first few British dreadnought classes. The superfiring or superimposed arrangement had not been proven until after South Carolina went to sea, and it was initially feared the weakness of the previous Virginia-class would recur. Half of the first ten U.S. dreadnoughts used the older and less efficient reciprocating engines rather than turbines, which made many U.S. battleships slower than their British counterparts, but gave them much greater range, something of great importance in the Pacific.
With the defeat of the Russians, the Japanese navy became concerned about the potential for conflict with the USA. Japanese theorist Sato Tetsutaro developed the concept of a fleet at a minimum 70% of the U.S.'s. This would enable the Japanese navy to win two decisive battles, the first early in a war, against the US Pacific Fleet, and the second against the US Atlantic Fleet which would inevitably be despatched as reinforcements. Evans and Peattie, KaigunJapan's first priority was to refit the pre-dreadnoughts she had captured from Russia, and to complete Satsuma and Aki. Like the South Carolinas, the Satsumas were designed before Dreadnought, but gun shortages in Britain (which supplied them) delayed her completion and resulted in her carrying a mixed armament, so she was known as a semi-dreadnought. These were followed by a modified Aki-type: Kawachi and Settsu, which were laid down in 1909 and complete in 1912, and were armed with four 12-inch/50, eight 12-inch/45, ten 6-inch/45, and eight 4.7-inch/40. "Although nominally dreadnoughts, these ships did not have a really uniform main battery, since the guns differed in length, and therefore in performance, particularly at very long range."Page 229, Gardiner, Robert and Gray, Randal (ed) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906 - 1921, Conway Maritime Press, London, 1982. ISBN 0-85177-245-5. This would have made fire control very difficult.
Dreadnoughts in other countries
, a Bretagne-class battleship.]]Compared to the other major naval powers, France was slow to start building dreadnoughts, instead finishing the planned Danton-class of pre-dreadnoughts, laying down five in 1907 and 1908. It was not until September 1910 the first of the Courbet-class was laid down, making France the eleventh nation to enter the dreadnought race. The dreadnought race saw France drop from second to fifth in terms of naval power; however, the closer alliance with Britain made these reduced forces more than adequate for French needs.Even though Cuniberti had promoted the idea of an all-big-gun battleship in Italy well before Dreadnought, it took until 1909 for Italy to lay down one of her own. The construction of Dante Alighieri was prompted by rumours of Austro-Hungarian dreadnought building. A further five Dreadnoughts of the Cavour- and Andrea Doria-class followed as Italy sought to maintain its lead over Austria-Hungary. These ships remained the core of Italian naval strength until World War II. The subsequent Caracciolo-class were cancelled on the outbreak of WWI.In January 1909, Austro-Hungarian admirals circulated a document calling for a fleet of four dreadnoughts. However, a constitutional crisis in 1909-10 meant no construction could be approved. In spite of this, two dreadnoughts were laid down by shipyards on a speculative basis, and later approved along with an additional two. The resulting ships, all Tegetthoff-class, were to be accompanied by a further four ships, but these were cancelled on the outbreak of World War I.In June 1909, the Russian Empire laid down four dreadnoughts of the Gangut-class for the Baltic Fleet and in 1911 three more Imperatritsa Mariya-class dreadnoughts for the Black Sea.Gibbons, p.205 Taking lessons from Tsushima and influenced by Cuniberti, they ended up more closely resembling Fisher's battlecruisers than Dreadnought and proved badly flawed.Fitzsimons, Bernard, editor. "Gangut", in The Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Weapons and Warfare, Volume 10, p.1086.Spain commissioned three dreadnoughts of the España-class, laying the first down in 1909. The Españas were the lightest dreadnoughts ever built. While built in Spain, the construction was reliant on British assistance.Gibbons, p.195Brazil managed the remarkable achievement of being the third country with a dreadnought under construction, laying down two in British shipyards in 1907. This sparked off a small-scale arms race in South America, as Argentina and then Chile commissioned dreadnoughts. Argentina placed orders in American yards and Chile in Britain, meaning that both of Chile's two battleships were purchased by the British on the outbreak of war. One of them was later returned to the Chilean government.Turkey ordered two dreadnoughts from British yards which were seized by the British while Greece's, ordered from Germany, was taken over by the Germans. The main armament, ordered in the United States, consequently equipped a class of British monitors. Greece in 1914 purchased two pre-dreadnoughts from the United States Navy, renaming them Kilkis and Limnos in Royal Hellenic Navy service.The seizure of the two Turkish dreadnoughts, Reshadiye and Sultan Osman I(HMS Erin and Agincourt) nearing completion in 1914 in Britain, resulted in far-reaching international repercussions. The Turks were outraged by the British move and the Germans saw an opening. Through skillful diplomacy and by handing over the battlecruiser Goeben and the cruiser Breslau, the Germans maneuvered the Ottoman Empire into the Central Powers.Greger, René: Schlachtschiffe der Welt, p. 252
in line]]Even after Dreadnought's commission, battleships continued to grow in size, guns, and technical proficiency as countries vied to have the best ships. By 1914 Dreadnought was obsolete.The arrival of super–Dreadnoughts is not as clearly identified with a single ship in the same way that the Dreadnought era was initiated by HMS Dreadnought. However, it is commonly held to start with the British Orion-class, and for the German navy with the König. What made them "super" was the unprecedented jump in displacement of 2,000–tons over the previous class, the introduction of the heavier 13.5inch (343 mm) gun, and the distribution of all the main armament on the centreline. Thus, in the four years between the laying down of Dreadnought and Orion, displacement had increased by 25%, and weight of broadside had doubled.British super-dreadnoughts were joined by other nations as well. In Japan, two Fuso-class super-dreadnoughts were laid down in 1912, followed by the Ise in 1914, with both classes carrying twelve 14-inch (356 mm) guns. In 1917, the Nagato-class was ordered, the first dreadnoughts to mount guns, possibly making them the most powerful warships in the world. All were increasingly built from Japanese rather than imported components. In France, the Courbets were followed by three super-dreadnoughts of the Bretagne-class; another five Normandie were cancelled on the outbreak of World War One.The later super-dreadnoughts, principally the Queen Elizabeth-class, dispensed with the "Q" turret amidships, so weight and volume were freed up for larger, oil-fired boilers. Oil had many advantages as a fuel over coal. It had more energy density than coal, and its liquid form vastly simplified refuelling arrangements; oil required no stokers, and emitted much less smoke, aiding gun laying and making the ships less visible on the horizon. The new 15 inch gun (381 mm) gave greater firepower in spite of the loss of a turret, and there was a thicker armour belt and improved underwater protection. The class had a 25 knot (46 km/h) design speed and they were considered the first fast battleships.The design weakness of super-dreadnoughts, which distinguished them from post-World War I designs, was armor disposition. Their design placed emphasis on vertical protection, needed in short range battles. These ships were capable of engaging the enemy at 20,000 metres, but were vulnerable to the high angle ("plunging") fire at such ranges. Post-war designs typically had 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm) of deck armor to defend against this. The concept of zone of immunity became a major part of the thinking behind battleship design. Lack of underwater protection was also a weakness of these pre-World War I designs which were developed only as the threat of the torpedo became real.The United States Navy's "standard"-type battleships, beginning with the Nevada-class, or "Battleship 1912", were designed with long-range engagements and plunging fire in mind; the first of these was laid down in 1912, five years before the Battle of Jutland taught the dangers of long-range fire to European navies. Important features of the standard battleships were "all or nothing" armor and "raft" construction, a philosophy under which only the parts of the ship worth giving the thickest possible protection were worth armoring at all, and enough reserve buoyancy should be contained within the resulting armored "raft" to keep afloat the entire ship in the event the unarmored bow and stern were thoroughly riddled and flooded. This design was proven in battle at the Battle of Guadalcanal, when an ill-timed turn by USS South Dakota silhouetted her to Japanese guns. Though she suffered a terrible battering and her bow and stern were riddled and thoroughly flooded, her "raft" remained untouched and she remained both afloat and fully operational at the end of action.
during World War I]]The First World War was almost an anticlimax for the great Dreadnought fleets. There was no decisive clash of modern battlefleets to compare with the Battle of Tsushima. The role of battleships was marginal to the great land struggle in France and Russia; and it was equally marginal to the First Battle of the Atlantic, the battle between German submarines and British merchant shipping.By virtue of geography, the Royal Navy could keep the German High Seas Fleet bottled up in the North Sea with relative ease. Both sides were aware that, because of the greater number of British Dreadnoughts, a full fleet engagement would result in a British victory. The German strategy was therefore to try to provoke an engagement on favourable terms: either inducing a part of the Grand Fleet to enter battle alone, or to fight a pitched battle near the German coastline, where friendly fields, torpedo-boats and submarines could be used to even the odds.The First World War, John Keegan, ISBN 0-7126-6645-1, p. 289The first two years of war saw conflict in the North Sea limited to skirmishes by battlecruisers at the Battle of Heligoland Bight and Battle of Dogger Bank and raids on the English coast. In the summer of 1916, a further attempt to draw British ships into battle on favourable terms resulted in a clash of the battlefleets in the Battle of Jutland: an indecisive engagement.Ireland, Bernard: Jane's War At Sea, pp. 88-95In the other naval theatres there were no decisive pitched battles. In the Black Sea, Russian and Turkish battleships skirmished, but nothing more. In the Baltic, action was largely limited to convoy raiding and the laying of defensive minefields; the only significant clash of battleship squadrons was the Battle of Moon Sound at which one Russian pre-dreadnought was lost. The Adriatic was in a sense the mirror of the North Sea: the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought fleet remained bottled up by British and French blockading fleets. And in the Mediterranean, the most important use of battleships was in support of the amphibious assault on Gallipoli.The course of the war also illustrated the vulnerability of battleships to cheaper weapons. In September 1914, the U-boat threat to capital ships was demonstrated by successful attacks on British cruisers, including the sinking of three British armored cruisers by the German submarine U-9 in less than an hour. Sea mines proved a threat the next month, when the recently commissioned British super-Dreadnought Audacious struck a mine. By the end of October, British strategy and tactics in the North Sea had changed to reduce the risk of U-boat attack.Massie, Robert. Castles of Steel, London, 2005. pp127-145 While Jutland was the only major clash of battleship fleets in history, the German plan for the battle relied on U-boat attacks on the British fleet; and the escape of the German fleet from the superior British firepower was effected by the German cruisers and destroyers closing on British battleships, causing them to turn away to avoid the threat of torpedo attack. Further near-misses from submarine attacks on battleships and casualties amongst cruisers led to growing paranoia in the Royal Navy about the vulnerability of battleships. By October 1916, the Royal Navy had essentially abandoned the North Sea, instructing the Grand Fleet not to go south of the Farne Islands unless adequately protected by destroyers.For the German part, the High Seas Fleet determined not to engage the British without the assistance of submarines; and since the submarines were more needed for commerce raiding, the fleet stayed in port for the remainder of the war.The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery, Paul Kennedy, ISBN 0-333-35094-4, pp. 247-249 Other theatres equally showed the role of small craft in damaging or destroying Dreadnoughts. The two Austrian Dreadnoughts lost in 1918 were the casualties of torpedo boats and of frogmen.
After World War I
The great dreadnought fleets came to an end a few years after World War I. The German dreadnought fleet was scuttled in its entirety Scapa Flow by its crew in 1919. Britain, the USA and Japan planned another bout of naval expansion including bigger and more powerful battleships than ever before: 'N3', Kii, and South Dakota classes.Instead of this cripplingly expensive expansion programme, the major naval powers concluded the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922. The Treaty laid out a list of ships, including most of the older dreadnoughts and almost all the newer ships under construction, which were to be scrapped or otherwise put out of use. It furthermore declared a 'building holiday' during which no new battleships or battlecruisers were to be laid down. The ships which survived the treaty, including the most modern super-dreadnoughts of all three navies, formed the bulk of international capital ship strength through the 1920s and 1930s and, with some modernisation, into World War II.From this point on, 'dreadnought' became less widely used. The pre-dreadnought battleships, long obsolete, were almost without exception scrapped in the 1920s to comply with the Washington Treaty, so the term 'dreadnought' became less necessary. Many capital ships, both battleships and battlecruisers, were rebuilt as 'fast battleships'. While still sometimes referred to as dreadnoughts, these ships were the battleships which came to be used in World War II.
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- For other places called Lodi, see Lodi.
Lodi is a town in Lombardy, Italy, on the right shore of the river Adda. It is the capital of the province of Lodi.
The commune has an area of 41,42 sq. km; population (2001) 40,805. Its name is pronounced by Italians as LAW-dee.
It was a Celtic village that in Roman times was called in Latin Laus Pompeia (probably in honor of the consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo) and was known also because its position allowed many Gauls of Gallia Cisalpina to obtain Roman citizenship. It was in an important position at the crossing of vital Roman roads.
In became a Catholic diocese and its first bishop, Saint Bassiano , (319-409), is the patron saint of the town (celebrated on January 19).
A free Comune (municipality) around 1000, it fiercely resisted the Milanese, who destroyed it in April 24 1158. Frederick Barbarossa re-built it on its current location.
Starting from 1220, the Lodigiani (inhabitants of Lodi) spent some decades in realizing an important work of hydraulic engineering: a system of miles and miles of artificial rivers and channels (called Consorzio di Muzza) was created in order to give water to the countryside, turning some arid areas into one of the (still now) most important agricultural areas of the region.
Lodi was ruled by the Visconti family, who built a castle.
In 1423, the antipope Antipope John XXIII, from Lodi's Duomo, launched his bolla by which he convened the Council of Constance (end of the Great Schism).
In 1454 representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the peace of Lodi, by which they intended to work in the direction of Italian unification, but this peace lasted only 40 years.
The town was then ruled by the Sforza family, France, Spain, Austria. In 1786 it became the eponymous capital of a province that included Crema.
On May 10, 1796: Battle of Lodi: the young Corsican general Napoleon Bonaparte won on the river Adda his first important battle, defeating the Austrians and later entering Milan. This is why in many towns there are streets dedicated to the famous bridge (for instance in Paris 6th arrondissement, Rue du Pont de Lodi).
In 1945, the Italian petrol company Agip, directed by Enrico Mattei, started extracting methane from its fields, and Lodi was the first Italian town with a regular domestic gas service. | <urn:uuid:c3de8023-c4eb-43a2-b824-c31a8b54402c> | {
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They are both nest-building social insects, but paper wasps and honey bees organize their colonies in very different ways. In a new study, researchers report that despite their differences, these insects rely on the same network of genes to guide their social behavior.
The study appears in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Honey bees and paper wasps are separated by more than 100 million years of evolution, and there are striking differences in how they divvy up the work of maintaining a colony, said University of Illinois entomology professor Gene Robinson, who led the study with postdoctoral researcher Amy Toth.
"Honey bees have a sharp division of labor between queens, which reproduce, and workers, which care for the brood and forage for food, while among paper wasps social roles are much more fluid," he said. "And yet the same genes can be used by these different organisms to do similar kinds of things. This is the genetic toolkit idea: The same genetic elements are used for different types of division of labor."
A genetic toolkit already has been found for physical traits, such as the development of eyes, said Robinson, who is also a professor in the Institute for Genomic Biology. For example, the same gene, called PAX-6, is involved in eye development in mammals and insects, even though it is virtually certain that these structures did not evolve from a similar structure in a common ancestor.
For the new study, the researchers compared the activation of genes in the brains of four groups of female paper wasps (Polistes metricus) that have different roles in the nest, with some more active in reproduction and others more active in provisioning the brood.
The purpose of the study was to determine if differences in brain gene activity between the wasps rely on the same networks of genes that in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) drive their division of labor.
A previous study of paper wasps by Robinson, Toth and their colleagues obtained a partial sequence of the wasp genome and looked at the expression of 32 genes. That analysis, published in Science in 2007, showed that – as in honey bees – most of the targeted genes are activated differently in different groups of paper wasps. But those genes were hand-picked because they were important to honey bees, Robinson said. For this reason, the team wanted to take a second look at the broad array of genes in the wasp – to be sure that the pattern they had identified was indeed special to wasps as well as bees.
Crop sciences professor Matt Hudson, the team's bioinformatics expert, used a computer algorithm to mine the sequencing data from the previous study to design a microarray. The microarray allowed the researchers to simultaneously measure those genes that were most active in the paper wasp brain.
"We expect that Polistes has got somewhere in the range of 10,000 genes, and we expect that at least half of them, but not all of them, would be expressed in the brain," said Hudson, who also is a professor in the Institute for Genomic Biology. The effort identified more than 4,900 genes that were active in the wasp brain.
The new analysis confirmed that the same genes and gene regulators that are important to the division of labor within a honey bee hive also are used by the wasps as they take on different roles in the nest. | <urn:uuid:c515e6d2-19b4-4614-92dc-90e2a7529cd6> | {
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Observations on zugunruhe in spring migrating Eared Grebes.
|Abstract:||About 200 North American Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis californicus) at Tule Lake Refuge in northern California were observed engaging in successive waves of mass pattering and pattering flights on 25 May 2011. Most grebes present in a part of a canal were involved in this activity. Counts of grebes on the morning of 26 May suggest an important portion of the Eared Grebes seen in pattering could have left the area over night. The behavior was characterized as zugunruhe. Directed mass pattering of Eared Grebes may contribute to synchronization of the onward migration of the birds involved.|
Migratory birds (Research)
Animal flight (Research)
|Publication:||Name: The Wilson Journal of Ornithology Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Biological sciences Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Wilson Ornithological Society ISSN: 1559-4491|
|Issue:||Date: March, 2012 Source Volume: 124 Source Issue: 1|
|Topic:||Event Code: 310 Science & research|
|Geographic:||Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Code: 1USA United States|
North American Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis californicus) are
seldom seen in flight, except when they migrate (Bent 1919, Gaunt et al.
1990). The migration of the species has been well studied (Storer and
Jehl 1985, Gaunt et al. 1990, Jehl 1997, Cullen et al. 1999, Jehl and
McKernan 2002, Jehl and Henry 2010). Cullen et al. (1999) indicate
migration flights begin around dusk and end before dawn. Jehl and Henry
(2010) note strict correspondence of departure with near-total darkness.
Grebes tend to gather as the time for departure nears (Jehl and McKernan
2002). Predeparture activities include group diving, and submerging and
surfacing in near unison. A unique call is given as grebes prepare to
depart and immediately before actual take-off (Jehl and Henry 2010).
Daytime flights are possibly observed only when grebes rebuild their flight muscles prior to migration when they may perform one or two short practice flights (Jehl and Henry 2010) or race across the surface in short practice flights, often in small groups (Jehl and McKernan 2002). I was surprised to observe a mix of pattering and flight by larger groups of Eared Grebes in Northern California during daylight conditions. I describe these common pattering flight maneuvers and discuss their possible meaning.
A study of courtship of Eared Grebes was undertaken at Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Lower Klamath Refuge and Tule Lake Refuge, both in northern California, from 14 to 27 May 2011. This region is known to support thousands of Eared Grebes each year for nesting, water levels permitting. The California refuges hosted 7,397 and 3,700 nests, respectively, in 2003 and 2004 (Shuford et al. 2006). Fieldwork was from 0700 to 1700 hrs each day using a car as a blind. The car was parked at suitable places along roads near bodies of water and remained immobile for up to 3 hrs. The behavior and displays of grebes were documented either by photograph, video film or immediate voice recording. All observations of pattering flights are from Tule Lake Refuge, part of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, an artificial water impoundment of mostly open water covering ~5,200 ha at an altitude of 1,200 m and surrounded by croplands. The observations were in an area called the English Channel (41[degrees] 51' 202 N, 121[degrees] 29' 727 W) in the central part of the wildlife tour into the refuge. This is an L-shaped canal, <50 m in width. It opens at its northern end into large sump lA, an open and shallow area of the lake. It takes a left turn after ~1.6 km in a straight line from north to south (NS canal or NS part of the English Channel) and continues east for another 0.5 km (EW canal or EW part of the English Channel) until ending at a dam-levee that separates it from the adjacent larger sump 1B (Fig. 1). The entire canal is devoid of emerging vegetation.
I differentiate between pattering (a grebe with flapping wings runs with paddling feet or even partially glides over the water surface, but remains in constant contact with the water), pattering flight (after an initial pattering, a grebe is airborne for a distance limited to a few meters during which it does not touch the water surface), and real flight (the distance covered while airborne exceeds 10 m). It is well established that Eared Grebes use pattering in the retreat display and during escape/pursuit or more generally during aggression (McAllister 1958, Cullen et al. 1999); these occurrences are not included. My objectives in this paper are to provide a full description of pattering and pattering flights by larger numbers of grebes, and to discuss possible reasons for their occurrences.
Observations in the southern English Channel on 25 May started at 0900 hrs. Over 200 Eared Grebes were scattered partially in loose groups all over the EW part of the English Channel around midday when about three quarters of them engaged in pattering. The grebes did so in consecutive waves, all into a western direction towards the connection to the NS canal. The sudden take-off by one or two grebes seemed to cause others in their immediate vicinity and on their way to move in the same direction. Groups of 10-30 birds pattered over a short distance (20-30 m), some briefly loosing contact with the water surface in a pattering flight. Grebes getting briefly airborne possibly did so to avoid collision with conspecifics that remained stationary on the water surface. Grebes landed ahead of others that started similar maneuvers in their wake, perhaps carrying along some of those that had just stopped pattering. A few additional waves of pattering were launched. Some birds dived after landing; others elevated their necks, remained alert, and looked around without changing their westward orientation. Most of the population, including subgroups closer to the NS canal which were not observed to patter, was swimming in the direction of the NS canal. The eastern and central parts of the EW canal were rather empty of Eared Grebes after some 2-3 rain, leaving only a few Westem (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's grebes (A. clarkii) and a few ducks remaining. Fewer than 100 Eared Grebes were still swimming in the western part of the EW canal towards the connection with the NS canal when they encountered about 40 birds swimming in a group to reenter the EW canal. A rough count less than 10 min later indicated that >200 Eared Grebes had again spread over this canal.
Pattering and pattering flights started anew only ~20 min after the start of the first general movement by the Eared Grebes. Take-off by one or two Eared Grebes incited others in their surroundings to join as before. The birds moved westward in several waves and continued swimming into the same direction after landing. More grebes left the EW canal where only about 30 remained, all towards its western end. A first group of swimming grebes returned ~1 min later. It was followed by other loose groups. I counted 130 grebes 5 rain later and soon >240 birds were again present inside the EW canal.
A longer period without group pattering, but with continuous calling, occasional displays and much surface feeding on phantom midges (Chaoborus crystillinus) followed until ~1400 hrs. Individual grebes performed feeding dives, but no group diving, or submerging and surfacing in near unison was observed. The general pattering in waves and westward swimming towards the connection with the NS canal started again and most Eared Grebes finally left the EW canal. The first grebes had turned and swam to return to the EW canal when a sudden simultaneous eastward pattering of >50 re-entering grebes occurred. Two or three more waves by other groups followed immediately. Five minutes later, 232 grebes were counted inside the EW canal.
Only the continuous and contiguous calls of the birds were heard for ~20 min. Ten birds then initiated a fourth round of pattering in waves. This time, the grebes had no common general direction. The grebes more in the central part of the observed area moved towards the dam, those already closer to the eastern end pattered into a more southwestward to westward direction. The population present divided into two groups. About 100 grebes were clustered near the dam and another 100 were scattered over the upper western third of the EW canal. The space in between both groups remained mostly empty. The western group started immediately to swim eastward while the eastern group slowly dispersed. The groups soon melted and spread over the empty space that had separated them.
Perhaps five additional pattering flights of up to 4-5 grebes were observed in between the different mass pattering and pattering flights. It was not known whether these were premature attempts to initiate a wave or whether they were unrelated to the mass movements.
The observations ended at ~1700 hrs and 257 grebes were counted in the EW canal (26 in the connecting corner square to the NS canal), 65 were present in the lower half of the NS canal and 347 in the upper half. Only five additional Eared Grebes were detected at the mouth to sump 1A. Other parts of the sump close to the English Channel were empty of Eared Grebes. A count of the birds at 0700 hrs on the following day totaled exactly 400 individuals, 269 less than the previous count. Only 77 grebes were observed inside the EW canal (28 in the connecting corner square) while the NS canal had 323 grebes. Three hours later, 126 Eared Grebes were recorded in the EW canal and 337 in the NS canal. The two counts on 26 May revealed quite differing numbers of grebes. The EW canal held 131 to 180 grebes less and the entire English Channel held 206 to 269 grebes less than on the afternoon of 25 May.
Eared Grebes had arrived at Tule Lake Refuge in the course of the previous 2-3 weeks. I assume that shortly after arrival, their wing muscles were still in good flight condition on 25 May and intense practicing could not have explained the mass pattering. Most birds were actively courting, but the group pattering did not appear to be related to pair bonding. There is also no reason to believe the grebes tried to divert an aerial predator with common flight activity as several instances of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) appearing in flight over the grebes or even trying a catch in the canal did not trigger much reaction. Birds pattering to escape a pursuing conspecific or to flee possible danger incited alarm at the most to a handful of other Eared Grebes in their immediate vicinity. The generalized pattering by larger groups of Eared Grebes observed appeared unrelated to courtship, aggression, fear or predator presence. A similar or comparable behavior by Black-necked Grebes (P. n. nigricollis) in Europe has not been reported.
There is comparable agitation in Silvery Grebes (P. occipitalis) during migration towards breeding areas. Fjeldsa (1982) noted that Silvery Grebes show high restlessness and form long lines that move back and forth on a lake from where, in the subsequent night, at least part of the population departed. He termed this pre-migratory restlessness. Movements of a group of 70 Silvery Grebes at Laguna Las Encadenadas, Argentina, in December 2006, were not limited to swimming, but included sudden quasi-simultaneous take-offs of individuals more at the rear end of the line. Some flew up, reaching a height of ~2 m, possibly to avoid collision with the birds preceding them. They landed again in front of the group that was moving in one direction. The grebes at the rear end acted similarly. The group changed direction as it approached the shore, but continued swimming in a line, and pattering and flying from the back to the front (Konter 2009).
Eared Grebes at Tule Lake Refuge all swam actively into the same direction, although they did not form one line. They showed pattering and pattering flights in waves and repeated the directed group movements. A priori the comparison of total counts of grebes inside the English Channel on the following day strongly suggests at least a major portion of the population had left the area. Zugunruhe seems an appropriate characterization for the Eared Grebes' behavior. Additional pre-departure activities at Tule Lake Refuge including group diving, submerging and surfacing in near unison as reported by Jehl and Henry (2010) were not obvious. The grebes' diving and swimming seemed to be predominantly related to feeding, except the dives after mass pattering involved only a minority of a group. Active vocalization may have helped group cohesion, but it could not be distinguished from advertising by solitary birds or from contact calling by partners momentarily separated.
It is not known to where the departing grebes flew and whether they targeted breeding areas in the region or flew a long distance. Eared Grebes can move to other sites used for breeding, even after arrival in a breeding area, or emigrate from the region (Cullen 1998). It is also unknown whether the grebes departed in flocks from the English Channel and whether they headed in one or different directions. I assume they were migrants and the extent of their pattering flight maneuvers suggests an eagerness to move on.
The counts of 25 and 26 May show that not all Eared Grebes had left the English Channel over night. Grebes present in the NS part were not observed on 25 May and they may not have engaged in group pattering. The first count on 26 May showed that low numbers of grebes were present inside the EW canal and the higher later count suggests that new grebes were continuously settling there. Over 200 Eared Grebes left the English Channel during the night and this number corresponds as an order of magnitude to the numbers involved in the group pattering. Thus, most pattering grebes could have left over night and it is likely their zugunruhe contributed to a simultaneous departure. They were gradually replaced by conspecifics moving into the EW canal on the following day.
Eared Grebes often do not arrive within a short lapse of time inside a breeding region where numbers generally build up over several weeks. They synchronize, however, nest establishment (McAllister 1956, Boe 1994). In this context, it is of interest to further investigate how a conspicuous pre-migratory group pattering as observed at Tule Lake Refuge may contribute to a coordinated onward flight inside a breeding region that would facilitate simultaneous colony establishment by large numbers of pairs. Unfortunately, the data from Tule Lake Refuge do not permit any conclusion to be drawn.
I am grateful to Michele Nuss from the Tule Lake Refuge Headquarters who was of great help in the preparation of my fieldwork. I thank J. R. Jehl Jr and C. E. Braun for critical review and constructive comments on the first draft.
Received 13 July 2011. Accepted 19 September 2011.
BENT, A. C. 1919. Life histories of North American diving birds, Order Pygopodes. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 107:1-47.
BOE, J. S. 1994. Nest site selection by Eared Grebes in Minnesota. Condor 96:19-35.
CULLEN, S. A. 1998. Population biology of Eared Grebes in naturally fragmented habitat. Thesis. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
CULLEN, S. A., J. R. JEHL, AND G. L. NUECHTERLEIN. 1999. Eared Grebe. The birds of North America. Number 433.
FJELDSA, J. 1982. Some behaviour patterns of four closely related grebes, Podiceps nigricollis, P. gallardoi, P. occipitalis, and P. taczanowskii, with reflections on phylogeny and adaptive aspects of the evolution of displays. Dansk Ornithologisk Forenings Tidsskrift 76:37-68.
GAUNT, A. S., R. S. HIKIDA, J. R. JEHL JR., AND L. FENBERT. 1990. Rapid atrophy and hypertrophy of an avian flight muscle. Auk 107:649-659.
JEHL JR., J. R. 1997. Cyclical changes in body composition in the annual cycle and migration of the Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis. Journal of Avian Biology 28:132-142.
JEHL JR., J. R. AND A. E. HENRY. 2010. The postbreeding migration of Eared Grebes. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122:217-227.
JEHL JR., J. R. AND R. L. MCKERNAN. 2002. Biology and migration of Eared Grebes at Salton Sea. Hydrobiologia 473:245-253.
KONTER, A. 2009. Observations on diving times, on pre-migratory restlessness and on some displays of Silvery Grebes Podiceps occipitalis. Regulus Wissenschaftliche Berichte 24:67-71.
MCALLISTER, N. 1958. Courtship, hostile behavior, nest-establishment and egg laying in the Eared Grebe (Podiceps caspicus). Auk 75:290-311.
SHUFORD, W. D., D. L. THOMSON, D. M. MAUSER, AND J. BECKSTRAND. 2006. Abundance and distribution of nongame waterbirds in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California from comprehensive surveys in 2003 and 2004. PRBO Conservation Science, Petaluma, California, USA.
STORER, R. W. AND J. R. JEHL JR. 1985. Moult patterns and moult migration in the Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis. Ornis Scandinavica 16:253-260.
Andre Konter (1)
(1) Museum of Natural History, 25, rue Munster, Luxembourg L-2150, Luxembourg; e-mail: [email protected]
|Gale Copyright:||Copyright 2012 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.| | <urn:uuid:2aeeaf9e-3230-4652-98f2-c49e22d6bc2b> | {
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Before 1680 the ancient towns and villages
now absorbed in Greater London were rarely considered important
enough to be mapped in their own right. From the 1680s, as the
villages became socially and economically integrated into the
London region, this changed. They were shown like stars surrounding
the central sun of London, which had previously been depicted
only with the villages of Middlesex, north of the Thames. Road
surfaces improved considerably from the late 18th century.
Coaches began to run regularly between the
centre of town and the outlying villages and it became possible
for businessmen to live permanently in their country villas with
their families and commute on a daily basis. Nevertheless, despite
their increasing integration with London, most villages were still
surrounded by fields in 1850.
Click the pins on the Google Map above or
follow the links below to view some of the key maps from this
period in our Online Gallery.
Survey of the Parish of Islington, 1735
Plan of a proposed Turnpike road from Marylebone to Finchley, 1824
Plan of the Fitz Roy Farm and Highgate Estate, 1840
View of the Highgate Archway Road, 1813
View from Hampstead looking towards London, 1800
of sight: the East End | <urn:uuid:28c9ed69-6b23-4934-ab41-2bb092ab8fd0> | {
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Drone Hijacking? That’s Just the Start of GPS TroublesJuly 8, 2012
On the evening of June 19, a group of researchers from the University of Texas successfully hijacked a civilian drone at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during a test organized by the Department of Homeland Security.
The drone, an Adaptive Flight Hornet Mini, was hovering at around 60 feet, locked into a predetermined position guided by GPS. Then, with a device that cost around $1,000 and the help of sophisticated software that took four years to develop, the researchers sent a radio signal from a hilltop one kilometer away. In security lingo, they carried out a spoofing attack.
“We fooled the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) into thinking that it was rising straight up,” says Todd Humphreys, assistant professor at the Radionavigation Laboratory at the University of Texas.
Deceiving the drone’s GPS receiver, they changed its perceived coordinates. To compensate, the small copter dove straight down, thinking it was returning to its programmed position. If not for a safety pilot intervening before the drone hit the ground, it would have crashed.
But for Humphreys playing the part of an evil genius in a thriller movie, everything worked exactly to plan. “It was beautiful,” he tells Danger Room. | <urn:uuid:d4b5e7a1-e335-4e53-9938-4322756ac6f1> | {
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Sport Education: International Perspectives presents a series of studies of the innovative pedagogical model that has taken the physical education world by storm. Since the emergence of the Sport Education model in the mid-1990s it has been adopted and adapted in physical education programs around the world and a new research literature has followed in its wake. This book offers a review of international Sport Education schemes and projects, and documents what it takes to run a successful Sport Education program.
Exploring Sport Education across all levels of education, from the elementary school to the university, the book provides answers to key question such as:
With contributions from leading international scholars and practitioners from the US, Europe and Asia, this book offers a more thoughtful and critical set of perspectives on Sport Education than any other. It is essential reading for any student, pre-service teacher, classroom teacher or university instructor working in SE, PE, youth sport, sports coaching or related disciplines
About The Author:
Peter Hastie is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Auburn University, USA. His research interests focus on examining various aspects of Sport Education in the attempt to find ways in which the model can be most effective in school and sports settings.
Table Of Contents:
1 The nature and purpose of Sport Education as an educational experience - Peter Hastie Part 1 Contexts of adoption of Sport Education 2 Sustainable Sport Education in primary education: An English case study - Toni O’donovan, Ann Mcphail and David Kirk 3 Sport Education in Korean schools - Jinhee Kim 4 The emergence of Sport Education in Scottish primary schools - Mike Jess, Nicola Carse, Paul Mcmillan and Matt Atencio 5 Applying the Sport Education model in university basic instruction courses - Wesley Meeteer, Lynn Housner, Sean Bulger, Andrew Hawkins and Robert Wiegand Part 2 Students and teachers responses to Sport Education 6 Sport Education in the elementary school: A report from Cyprus - Niki Tsangaridou 7 Sport Education through the eyes of a teacher researcher and his students - Ashley Casey 8 A Spanish teacher’s experience with Sport Education: A narrative account - Diego Martínez De Ojeda, Antonio Calderón Luquin and Peter Hastie 9 Pursuing social and emotional learning outcomes through Sport Education: An Australian case study - Swee Chong Ang, Dawn Penney and Karen Swabey 10 Explaining the attraction: Understanding the motivational responses of students to Sport Education - Tristan Wallhead Part 3 Professional development for Sport Education 11 Preparing preservice physical education teachers to teach Sport Education - Matthew Curtner-Smith 12 Learning Sport Education through reflective inquiry: Four case studies - Gary Kinchin 13 Professional learning of primary generalist teachers in Ireland: Modelling Sport Education - Ann Macphail and Deborah Tannehill 14 Within school, in-depth professional development for Sport Education: A Russian model - Oleg Sinelnikov
|Book:||Sport Education: International Perspectives|
|Publisher:||Taylor & Francis, Inc.|
|Number of Pages:||248|
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No zeros occur in this puzzle.
A: N across + E across.
E: a cubic number.
F: the reverse of F across is a prime number.
H: I across + K down.
I: subtract D down from I across, and the result is a square number.
J: a prime number.
L: all digits of L across are the same.
N: subtract L across from A across and read the result backwards, and you get N across.
A: D down multiplied with E across.
B: a square number.
C: another square number.
D: a prime number.
G: D down multiplied with the reverse of I across.
K: I across - D down.
L: a palindrome.
M: a prime number. | <urn:uuid:359724b6-8144-408e-9315-b5e8633ee3a3> | {
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How machine learning can help to understand brain signals
If a neurotechnological prosthesis should act upon commands from the brain, these have to be interpreted correctly. It is a challenging task because the amount of data is huge and the signals that the brain emits also change over time. Computer scientists therefore want to leave it to learning machines to solve this ever-changing puzzle.
|Gunnar Grah talked to Martin Riedmiller, Machine Learning Lab|
The usual way to make a computer do something goes like this: You decide what problem the machine is supposed to solve for you, then you write a programme that does exactly this. Modern washing machines work that way. They have been told exactly what to do at what moment. This approach works very well for clearly defined problems, like getting dirt out of laundry. But there are many problems where solutions are not obvious, and the point of departure might always be a little bit different and require different solutions. In this case, computer scientists opt for letting the computer figure out the optimal solution for itself, an approach that is called “machine learning”.
The human as trainer, not programmer
Machine learning resembles somewhat how humans acquire new skills, i.e. through examples, the structuring of a problem, and gaining experience. If, for instance, a computer is supposed to learn the different appearances of a broad-leaved tree and a conifer, a human “trainer” would provide the learning machine with examples of both classes, telling it in each case which class the tree on the picture belongs to. After some time, the computer will be able to correctly classify the presented trees, even though no human ever provided it with an actual list of things to look out for in order to master the task. If a problem requires not only a classification, but learning a complex procedure, like a robot walking on two legs without falling over, a trainer will at first be required to tell the machine whether an approach was “good” or “bad”. After sufficient training, the machine will master the problem and show some robustness in its solution, even if the situation varies slightly. Also, a trained machine will be able to solve a new situation – e.g. the robot carrying something and therefore changing its weight distribution – faster than if it was starting from scratch.
Learning from the brain
The secret of machine learning lies in the nature of the software that is at work at its base. A solution to a problem does not exist as specific lines of code that govern how the input from the environment is dealt with in order to reach a desired outcome. Instead, it employs an “artificial neural network”. This is a kind of programme that took its inspiration from the structure of the brain, where many individual items (the nerve cells) solve relatively simple problems (like adding or multiplying values), but are able to tackle much more complex tasks by being connected and existing in large numbers. An artificial neural network takes this concept into the realm of bits and bytes, but plays by the same rules. Learning, just as in the real brain, manifests itself in the change of connections between individual neurons. These connectivity patterns between a multitude of mathematically represented nerve cells are where the solution to a given problem is stored. In consequence, there exists no neat equation that provides the solution, even though the final answer that the machine provides to a given problem is simple.
The biological brain has acted as an inspiration, but computer scientists take this metaphor only as far as it is useful to them. To date, making the individual artificial neuron more and more complex, and thus ever more life-like, has not provided any real advantages, and software engineers therefore tend to go for what works best, not necessarily what comes closest to a real nerve cell. In terms of the general architecture however, natural evolution has led to time-tested concepts that are being exploited. Machine learning programmes that analyse images, for instance, draw upon the structure of the visual cortex and the way how it breaks down the task into extracting individual features from a scene.
Using artificial networks to understand real ones
Within BrainLinks-BrainTools, the task is a formidable one: Machine learning is destined to help analysing signals recorded from brain activity. There is no intrinsic connection though that makes this link between a real and an artificial neural network something special: Neither is machine learning the only approach to make sense of the activity of billions of nerve cells, nor is it less suitable to analyse completely different sets of data, like stock market developments.
Ultimately, machine learning should make it possible to read out movement commands from the brain’s surface. These could then be sent to a prosthesis or an assistive device like a robot – the use-case which the strategy “LiNC” within the cluster aims for. So far, it is an open question what kind of commands could actually be discriminated within the patterns of signals that electrodes can read out from the brain’s surface. Could machine learning reliably identify the difference between different grasp movements, for instance as they are necessary to grab either a pen or a bottle? Will the computer look for individual movements, or will it be able to extract whole intentions like “I want to put the bottle back into the fridge”? Such higher concepts would be an elegant way to steer a prosthetic arm. The user would not have to think all commands in the right order and with the right extent, but could leave it to the autonomously planning prosthesis to figure out the best way after sending a general command. However, there is a pitfall: In abstract concepts, it might become even more difficult to know what the activity pattern actually stands for. We might find an activity pattern that appears every time that the person thinks “fridge”, but it might actually stand for an association that the person makes, like “cold”. Between the infinite number of possible thoughts and possible connections, this will be an ambitious challenge for data analysis by machine learning.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen how many activity patterns are identical between individuals. Ideally, a patient should not have to go through lengthy training sessions to teach the system all manners of different movements from scratch, but the device should arrive with some pre-installed knowledge of the most basic patterns. Even then, there would be enough that the system would have to learn in order to adapt to the individual patient. After all, no two brains – not even those of twins – are identical. And it is very likely that the same holds true for the brain’s activity patterns. But computer scientists are optimistic that these training sessions would not take too long – rather minutes or hours than days and weeks.
But machine learning is not only a useful tool on the user’s end. Likewise, artificial neural networks could come in handy to help a robotic arm or other assistive device to execute movements and find the ideal action to reach a certain goal. What makes machine learning an attractive candidate for this task it that its artificial neural network learned the solution to a problem and wasn’t spoon-fed a singular answer. Therefore, the system is able to dynamically handle changes in the task or the environment in which it has to be executed. | <urn:uuid:98a69b41-9edb-4abe-9d66-1ea163f05967> | {
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Brazil's National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) is coordinating an analysis of the largest Brazilian sylvite beds found in the state of Amazonas, with the objective of establishing partnerships for exploration.
Sylvite is a mineral from which potassium chloride (KCl) is extracted to be used as a fertilizer. Currently, Brazil imports 85% of the total potassium chloride consumed in the country.
The remaining 15% come from the Taquari-Vassouras mine, located in the state of Sergipe, in the Northeast of the Brazil.
Amazon sylvite beds were found in the 1980s, by Petrobrás. Estimated reserves are to the order of 1 billion tons, more than twice the 450 million-ton beds found initially in Sergipe, where sylvite is explored by the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.
Current annual production of potassium chloride is 600 thousand tons, which supplies part of the Center-South of the country.
One of Brazil's government priorities is to invest in mineral research and exploration, says minister of Mines and Energy, Dilma Rousseff.
According to the minister, if Brazil is to have development in mining, the government has to have an updated and modern mining department.
Brazil was told last year that Canadian mining interests could invest as much as US$ 2 billion in gold, nickel, copper and diamond operations in Brazil.
Last year the DNPM inaugurated a data bank network connecting its 25 districts nationwide at a cost of US$ 25 million.
Translation: Andréa Alves | <urn:uuid:c687b22d-bb35-412d-9f43-941047ff1e91> | {
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By Raji Edayathumangalam, PhD
The answer to that question depends on whether your daily vitamin D intake is adequate or whether you have any risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and adverse effects on bone health.
Factors that place individuals in the high-risk category include obesity, very dark skin, not spending adequate time in the sun daily, habitually wearing sunscreen (which reduces skin’s capacity to make vitamin D), always wearing protective clothing, osteoporosis, taking anti-seizure medications that accelerate vitamin D clearance from the body, inflammatory bowel disorder with distal small bowel removed (where much of the vitamin D is absorbed), and other vitamin D malabsorption disorders.
If one or more of these risk factors applies to you, then the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and expert researchers collectively recommend that your healthcare provider measure your blood vitamin D levels to determine what your daily vitamin D intake should be. Further, they recommend that your clinician re-measure levels every couple of months and adjust your daily supplement accordingly to make sure that your blood vitamin D reaches optimum levels.
The Vitamin D Debate
Last year, the IOM announced an increased daily recommendation of 600 international units (IU) for children and adults less than 70 years, 800 IU for adults over age 70, and an increased daily, safe upper limit from 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU.
At a recent lecture and panel discussion at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, vitamin D researchers disputed the IOM’s conclusion that most of the US population has adequate vitamin D levels. The featured speaker was Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, Senior Scientist and Director of Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts
University, who was joined by a panel of BWH vitamin D experts including Scott T. Weiss, MD, Joann Manson, MD, and Meryl S. LeBoff, MD, who moderated the discussion.
Based on her scientific evidence, Dr. Dawson-Hughes recommended that individuals at average risk for vitamin D deficiency should take 800-1000 IU of vitamin D daily and need not be clinically tested. She also pointed out that a significant proportion of the US population satisfies one or more of the above-mentioned high-risk criteria (like obesity) and cautioned that the IOM’s public recommendations are therefore still too dangerously low for the high-risk individuals.
Despite the ongoing debate between the IOM and the scientific community on what daily vitamin D intake levels should be and precisely what proportion of the US population is at high risk for vitamin D deficiency, all parties agree on the importance of vitamin D and calcium in maintaining bone health. As to the role of vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and other non-skeletal diseases, the evidence is preliminary and controversial, and more research and clinical trials need to be done to provide definitive recommendations. | <urn:uuid:bbd6a3dd-9235-48d0-a6d6-36db5c77a3d4> | {
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features of Mars
...in a drawing of Mars of that date by Christiaan Huygens. It is an extensive regional slope elongated north to south that drops 4 km (2.5 miles) from its western boundary (Aeria) to its eastern edge ( Isidis). Assiduously observed for more than a century because of its seasonal and long-term variability, especially near its eastern boundary, Syrtis Major was first considered a shallow sea. Later...
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KingaroyArticle Free Pass
Kingaroy, town, southeastern Queensland, Australia, in the South Burnett area. It originated in 1886 as Kingaroy Paddock, deriving its name from the Aboriginal term kingerroy, meaning “red ant,” and was proclaimed a shire in 1912. The area’s rich, red soils yield an important peanut (groundnut) crop, and the state peanut-marketing board is in Kingaroy. Other local products are grains, soybeans, dairy foods, and beef cattle. Agricultural machinery is made in Kingaroy, which is linked to Brisbane (100 miles [160 km] southeast) by rail and air and by the Bunya Highway. The nearby Bunya Mountains, which rise to 3,727 feet (1,136 metres) at Mount Kiangarow, were important to the Aborigines as a source of bunya pine nuts and have now been included within Bunya Mountains National Park. Pop. (2006) local government area, 12,222.
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Thomas ArcherArticle Free Pass
Thomas Archer, (born c. 1668—died May 23, 1743, Whitehall, London, Eng.), British architect and practitioner of what was, for England, an extraordinarily extravagant Baroque style, marked by lavish curves, large scale, and bold detail.
Archer, the son of a Warwickshire squire, was educated at Trinity College, Oxford, and then spent four years abroad. After receiving several lucrative royal appointments, he bought the manor of Hale, Hampshire, in 1715 and rebuilt the house and church.
Archer’s dynamic work borrowed much from the 17th-century Italian architects Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. Although he was not as original as some of the prominent English architects of his time, he was considered important. Most of his designs were executed from 1705 to 1715, including the north front of Chatsworth House (c. 1705) in Derbyshire, Heythrop House (1707–10) in Oxfordshire, a garden pavilion at Wrest Park (1709–11) in Bedfordshire, Roehampton House (c. 1712) in Surrey (now in Wandsworth, London), and the churches of St. Philip (c. 1710–15) in Birmingham, St. Paul (1712–30) in Deptford, and St. John (1713–28) in Westminster. The last two resulted from his appointment in 1711 as a commissioner for the building of 50 new churches.
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Gotthold Ephraim LessingArticle Free Pass
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, (born Jan. 22, 1729, Kamenz, Upper Lusatia, Saxony [Germany]—died Feb. 15, 1781, Braunschweig, Brunswick [Germany]), German dramatist, critic, and writer on philosophy and aesthetics. He helped free German drama from the influence of classical and French models and wrote plays of lasting importance. His critical essays greatly stimulated German letters and combated conservative dogmatism and cant while affirming religious and intellectual tolerance and the unbiased search for truth.
Education and first dramatic works.
Lessing’s father, a highly respected theologian, was hard put to support his large family even though he occupied the position of pastor primarius (chief pastor). At the age of 12, Lessing, even then an avid reader, entered the famous Fürstenschule (“elector’s school”) of St. Afra, in Meissen. A gifted and eager student, Lessing acquired a good knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, while his admiration for the plays of the Latin dramatists Plautus and Terence fired him with the ambition to write comedies himself.
In the autumn of 1746 Lessing entered the University of Leipzig as a student of theology. His real interests, however, lay toward literature, philosophy, and art. Lessing became fascinated by the theatre in Leipzig, which had recently been revitalized by the work of a talented and energetic actress, Caroline Neuber. Neuber took an interest in the young poet and in 1748 successfully produced his comedy Der junge Gelehrte (“The Young Scholar”). The play is a delightful satire on an arrogant, superficial, vain, and easily offended scholar, a figure through which Lessing mocked his own bookishness. The other comedies belonging to this Leipzig period of 1747–49 (Damon, Die alte Jungfer [“The Old Maid”], Der Misogyn [“The Misogynist”], Die Juden [“The Jews”], Der Freigeist [“The Free Thinker”]) are witty commentaries on human weaknesses—bigotry, prejudice, nagging, fortune hunting, matchmaking, intrigue, hypocrisy, corruption, and frivolity. Set against this background are virtuous men and women who are considerate and selfless, sensitive and helpful, forthright, and faithful in love. In Die Juden Lessing praised unappreciated nobility of mind and thus struck a blow against bigotry toward the Jews at a time when they were still confined to a ghetto life. Lessing had set himself the goal of becoming the German Molière: in these comedies he most interestingly begins to draw his characters as recognizable individuals, breaking away from the traditional dramatic “types.”
Early in 1748 Lessing’s parents, who disapproved of his association with the theatre in Leipzig, summoned him home. But he managed to win their consent to begin studying medicine and was soon allowed to return to Leipzig. He quickly found himself in difficulties because he had generously stood surety for some members of the Neuber company—although himself heavily in debt. When the company folded, he fled from Leipzig in order to avoid being arrested for debt. He eventually reached Berlin in 1748, where he hoped to find work as a journalist through his cousin Mylius, who was by this time an established editor. In the next four years he undertook a variety of jobs, mainly translating French and English historical and philosophical works into German. But he also began to make a name for himself through his brilliant and witty criticism for the Berlinische Privilegierte Zeitung, on which he was book review editor. He also launched a periodical of his own, Beiträge zur Historie und Aufnahme des Theaters (“Contributions to the History and Improvement of the Theatre”), which was discontinued in 1750.
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history of Bono
The kings of Bono are said to have played a major role in the gold-mining industry; both Obunumankoma (flourished c. 1450–75) and ʿAlī Kwame (flourished c. 1550–60) are thought to have introduced new mining techniques from the western Sudan to the Akan fields, and Owusu Aduam (flourished c. 1650) is reported to have completely reorganized the industry. From...
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rules of ice hockey
The game is divided into three periods of 20 minutes playing time each, with a 15-minute intermission between periods. Hockey games may end in a tie unless the rules stipulate an overtime period to serve as a tiebreaker. In the case of a tie in college hockey, one 10-minute sudden-death overtime period is played in regular season play. NHL teams play a five-minute sudden-death overtime period,...
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stressArticle Free Pass
stress, in physical sciences and engineering, force per unit area within materials that arises from externally applied forces, uneven heating, or permanent deformation and that permits an accurate description and prediction of elastic, plastic, and fluid behaviour. A stress is expressed as a quotient of a force divided by an area.
There are many kinds of stress. Normal stress arises from forces that are perpendicular to a cross-sectional area of the material, whereas shear stress arises from forces that are parallel to, and lie in, the plane of the cross-sectional area. If a bar having a cross-sectional area of 4 square inches (26 square cm) is pulled lengthwise by a force of 40,000 pounds (180,000 newtons) at each end, the normal stress within the bar is equal to 40,000 pounds divided by 4 square inches, or 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi; 7,000 newtons per square cm). This specific normal stress that results from tension is called tensile stress. If the two forces are reversed, so as to compress the bar along its length, the normal stress is called compressive stress. If the forces are everywhere perpendicular to all surfaces of a material, as in the case of an object immersed in a fluid that may be compressed itself, the normal stress is called hydrostatic pressure, or simply pressure. The stress beneath the Earth’s surface that compresses rock bodies to great densities is called lithostatic pressure.
Shear stress in solids results from actions such as twisting a metal bar about a longitudinal axis as in tightening a screw. Shear stress in fluids results from actions such as the flow of liquids and gases through pipes, the sliding of a metal surface over a liquid lubricant, and the passage of an airplane through air. Shear stresses, however small, applied to true fluids produce continuous deformation or flow as layers of the fluid move over each other at different velocities like individual cards in a deck of cards that is spread. For shear stress, see also shear modulus.
Reaction to stresses within elastic solids causes them to return to their original shape when the applied forces are removed. Yield stress, marking the transition from elastic to plastic behaviour, is the minimum stress at which a solid will undergo permanent deformation or plastic flow without a significant increase in the load or external force. The Earth shows an elastic response to the stresses caused by earthquakes in the way it propagates seismic waves, whereas it undergoes plastic deformation beneath the surface under great lithostatic pressure.
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