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"Area Students Paddle the Platte River and Learn to Leave No Trace"
During the last week of September, the Benzie Conservation District, with several community partners, provided local middle school students an opportunity to learn about environmental stewardship first hand through canoeing the Platte River and seeing the annual salmon run. All of the sixth graders from Benzie Central and the seventh graders from Frankfort-Elberta Schools take part in this annual event.
These river trips are coordinated by John Ransom, conservation specialist with the District, along with school personnel, National Park Service, Riverside Canoe Trips, Benzie Fishery Coalition, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and volunteers. These trips would not be possible without the generous support of Riverside Canoe Trips, which provides all necessary canoes and equipment required for the trip down the river.
Volunteer Ed McIntosh, president of the Benzie Fishery Coalition, speaks every year to the Benzie students about his work to protect the local salmon, rivers and watersheds. As an elder in the community, he knows he won’t be around forever. So, these trips are a chance for him to inspire the youth to play their part in preserving our county’s natural resources. “I have been carrying this torch. Now I want to pass it on to you. Who’s willing to carry it?” said McIntosh. To this, the hands of the students, teachers, and volunteers go up in the air.
These annual ‘Leave No Trace’ programs offer students the learning experience of how to tread lightly in their watershed. It is the educators’ goal that the students will come away with a sense of ownership of the places they visited so they will utilize, appreciate and protect them in the future. The ranger from the National Park Service covers the seven principles of Leave No Trace outdoor recreation. The youth practice the principles of “respect wildlife,” “trash your trash,” “leave what you find,” and more.
This one-of-a- kind county project educates students about the river ecosystems and the ecological and economic importance of a healthy river system and the presence of salmon in the Great Lakes. It also introduces the kids to the importance of awareness and stewardship of our natural resources. The educational experience doesn’t end when the youth finish the canoe trip: it continues into the fall and through the winter in the classroom, where the youth raise salmon fingerlings, which they later release into the wild.
Michigan’s 80 Conservation Districts are responsible for educating residents on good conservation practices. They encourage good stewardship of natural resources. Districts coordinate with federal and state agencies, local government and community members to prepare long-range and annual plans to address specific conservation needs of the area. Priorities include protecting natural resources, maintaining productivity, and educating on stewardship practices. Michigan’s Conservation Districts are referred to as “gateways” to natural resource management for their local communities. They provide links between landowners and a host of conservation service providers.
Contact the Benzie Conservation District, 231-882-4391, or [email protected] for more information. | <urn:uuid:88131094-3661-4541-a255-8820ad271b65> | {
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As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month highlights the second most
common form of cancer in women (after skin cancer), medical
professionals can’t stress preventive measures strongly enough.
“It’s proven that a healthy diet and exercise help prevent breast
cancers,” says Dr. Parisa Lotfi, a radiologist at Boston’s Faulkner
Hospital’s Sagoff Centre. “Obesity is a risk factor.”
“Learn the basics of healthy eating, including plant-based diets,”
urges oncologist Dr. Leonard Farber, founder of Manhattan’s Farber
Center for Radiation Oncology, which specializes in emerging
technologies and integrative treatment.
Equally important is regular screening. Breast radiology usually
involves a mammogram, which can detect small lesions that aren’t
noticeable by physical exams.
“Never miss a screening. Follow guidelines to catch tumors early,”
says Dr. Farber.
“Catching these means a good prognosis,” says Dr. Lotfi. In the
U.S., women with no family history of breast cancer aren’t advised to
get annual mammograms until age 40. Dr. Lotfi recommends younger women
should have annual breast exams by a physician or gynecologist. Also
important are monthly self-administered exams. Women and men should be
on the lookout for small, immovable lumps in both their breasts and
“Breast cancer in younger women without a family history of the
disease is more rare, but when it does occur it’s usually a more
aggressive type of cancer,” she says.
Treatment for tumors includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiation,
hormonal therapy and biologically targeted therapy. There are
alternative therapies, too. New developments include options such as
Accuboost targeted breast radiation.
“It’s non-invasive. It targets the cancer to deliver a dose of
radiation that we know works,” Dr. Farber explains.
Breathe in, don’t panic
One thing patients shouldn’t do is panic.
“It’s important to take a breath and say, is this the only option?
If it doesn’t sit right, ask questions,” says Dr. Farber. “Hospitals are
a business, bottom line. So, hunt around. Choose your treatment,
choose your team. We try to empower the patient as much as possible.” | <urn:uuid:655e2f4d-7a0d-48dd-acd7-ade398e544e7> | {
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II. GENERAL ASPECTS
1. Women Mental Health all over the world: Socio-political aspects of gender discrimination and violence. Immigration and translational motherhood
2. Resilience: What is human resilience and why it matters? NEW
3. Intimate partner violence against women: impact on Mental Health NEW
4. Sexual violence: Effects on Women's Identity and Mental Health and Mental Health. NEW
5. Traumatic life events and high risk for Psychopathology
II. SEX AND GENDER AS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT
6. Gender: A multidimensional construct- Sex and Gender based analysis (SGBA)
7. Transgenderism NEW
8. Gender and Psychological differences
9. Self Identity and Gender differences
10.Psychosexual development and sexual dysfunctions
III GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
11. Gender and Corporality, and Body Image
12. Body and Hysteria. Dissociated body
13. Dismorfophobia: From Neuroticism to Psychoticism
14. Eating Disorders
15. Desire and Submission
16. Psychopathology of Life Instinct
17. Addiction and gender differences.
18.Gender and Psychosis: Everything you always wanted to know about sex (and gender) in psychosis and were afraid to ask
IV PSYCHOPATHOLOGY RELATED TO HORMONAL ASPECTS.
19. Adolescent Depression
20. Childhood and adolescence first episode of psychosis
21. Premenstrual Experience
22. Mental Health and Therapeutical Abortion NEW
23. Pregnancy Depression from gender perspective
26.Menopause Changes and Challenge and Menopause Depression
V. GENDER IN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS
28. Gender Differences in Unipolar versus Bipolar Depression. NEW
29. Anxiety Disorders
30.Postraumatic Stress Disorder
31. Gender and Fist Episode of Psychosis. A review
33. Gender differences in Bipolar Disorder
34. Mixed Forms in Bipolar Disorders and relation to Gender
35. Personality Disorders and Borderline Personality Spectrum Gender Differences
36. Somatomorphic and Factitious Disorders
37. Pathological Gambling: Clinical Gender differences
VI. ART, GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
VII GENDER BIAS IN RESEARCH. HOW DOES IT AFFECT TO MENTAL HEALTH? NEW
This book examines sex and gender differences in the causes and expression of medical conditions, including mental health disorders.
Sex differences are variations attributable to individual reproductive organs and the XX or XY chromosomal complement. Gender differences are variations that result from biological sex as well as individual self-representation which include psychological, behavioural, and social consequences of an individual’s perceived gender.
Gender is still a neglected field in psychopathology, and gender differences is often incorrectly used as a synonym of sex differences. A reconsideration of the definition of gender, as the term that subsumes masculinity and femininity, could shed some light on this misperception and could have an effect in the study of health and disease.
This second edition of Psychopathology clarifies the anthropological, cultural and social aspects of gender and their impact on mental health disorders. It focuses on gender perspective as a paradigm not only in psychopathology but also in mental health disorders. As such it promotes open mindedness in the definition and perception of symptoms, as well as assumptions about those symptoms, and raises awareness of mental health.
• Examines differences between men and women in the context of psychopathology
• Focuses on gender perspectives in mental health disorders
• Establishes the gender perspective as a key concept in descriptive psychopathology | <urn:uuid:a010123b-2c5f-4875-963f-c91724ff4340> | {
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Prostitution has been called the oldest profession. In societies where women had little rights and were often not allowed to own property, selling sex was a woman’s only option when she was forced to support herself.
The American Civil War era was no exception, especially in the Confederacy. In the south, Confederate money quickly became worthless. The treasury printed money without enough gold to back it up to purchase supplies for the Confederate Army.
Civilians suffered because they had little or no money with which to buy food and clothing for their families and servants. In addition, the south was occupied by Union forces which confiscated livestock, valuables, garden produce, and cured meat.
With empty bank accounts and larders and the men away, either fighting, maimed and disabled, or killed, (the Confederate Army lost one out of four soldiers) many women were left with few options.
One of those options was prostitution.
Women quickly discovered that men on leave were bored and enduring long separations from home and family. The women learned they could command money in exchange for the feminine comfort for which these men longed.
Prostitution was legal in the nineteenth century and while there were several houses of ill‑repute, most prostitutes were camp followers and nurses.
The most infamous houses in the Confederacy were in Nashville’s Smokey Row which encompassed eight city blocks. An 1860 census listed 207 women who identified their profession as prostitute. Twenty of these women were widowed.
While these women openly identified themselves as prostitutes, there were many who practiced the illicit trade from their homes. It was the desperation of women such as these that inspired my historical romance novel, Bought and Paid For.
In Bought and Paid For, widowed Carrie Hatcher, finds herself unable to support herself or her servants so she contemplates the unthinkable—selling her services for money. When she is forced to board wounded Colonel Wesley McEwen, Carrie resolves to make him her first client.
But Carrie gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to comply with Wesley’s every illicit request for one week. Throughout long, sultry nights, Wesley tutors Carrie in every position, every skill, of her illicit new trade. From dark taboos to pleasurable punishments, Carrie becomes his willing pupil.
Passions inflamed, the couple becomes more scandalously intimate but Carrie realizes she wants to give him far more than just her body. The colonel, however, may be too haunted by his past to risk accepting more than he’s bought and paid for.
Praise for Bought and Paid For:
“I have only one word after reading Bought and Paid For: fantastic! This is easily the best book I've read so far this year. Full of beautiful historical detail, this is a book to savor. A Recommended Read!” — Fallen Angel Reviews
Click HERE to read an excerpt of Bought and Paid For by Debra Glass. | <urn:uuid:8611299e-93f0-4863-9bf4-a22b0273bd9f> | {
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1. starting system
The starting system of a fork lift truck is a device for starting the internal combustion engine, mainly consisting of starters and auxiliary devices. The fuel used in diesel engine is diesel, and its structure is basically the same as that of gasoline engine. The diesel supply system is mainly composed of air filter, diesel filter, oil delivery pump, fuel injection pump, governor, fuel injector and intake and exhaust manifold.
2. gas distribution mechanism
The valve train is the air exchange mechanism of the internal combustion engine, which is mainly composed of intake and exhaust valves, camshaft and transmission parts.
3. supply system
The supply system is a system to ensure the intake of fresh combustible gas and exhaust gas into the cylinder. It is mainly composed of air filter, fuel filter, carburetor, gasoline pump and intake and exhaust manifold.
4. lubricating system
The lubrication system is a system for supplying lubricating oil to the surfaces of internal combustion engine moving parts. It is mainly composed of oil pump, oil filter, pressure limiting valve and pipeline.
5. cooling system
The cooling system is a system for absorbing and emitting excess heat from the internal parts of the internal combustion engine. It is mainly composed of water pump, radiator, cooling fan and other parts.
6. ignition system
The ignition system ensures the spark generated at the prescribed time. A device for igniting compressed fuel mixture in cylinders. It is composed of ignition coil, distributor and spark plug. | <urn:uuid:f601d2eb-1ec7-470e-8445-ef8f11b41aa5> | {
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Body language can tell you a lot about a person’s intentions, but did you know that communicating with touch can tell you just as much?
Everyone who’s ever liked someone has one thing in common: they all want to know what their partner is thinking. Since reading someone’s mind is impossible, we use other methods to decipher what someone is really thinking.
The most common, go-to method for mind-reading today is social media. Researchers, however, have discovered that most of what we post online is hardly a reflection of how we really feel or what we’re going through in real life.
That’s why scientists are researching other ways of knowing how a person reacts to basic situations and what these reactions mean. One of the areas of study is body language. You can find out a lot of things just from observing how people act, such as how they feel, if they’re lying, and what they’re going to do next.
Studying body language takes time and it’s not as accurate if you’re not proficient in relating it to context. This means that not every action means the same thing. The same goes for interpersonal touch, another method to gauge what a person is thinking or feeling.
Still, knowing these things can give us a little peace of mind and can even help us make informed decisions when interacting with strangers. Knowing someone’s intentions can save us a lot of trouble and it can also urge us to make positive changes in our own lives. [Read: 10 clearly noticeable signs of body language attraction]
What is interpersonal touching?
It’s basically touching someone physically, while trying to convey a message, a thought, or a feeling. Not many people are aware when they do this, but some know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish with the way they touch.
Touching is a normal daily occurrence, especially when you are surrounded by people. Interpersonal touching is possible because, as humans, we are programmed to connect and interact in any way we can. Any form of communication is welcome. That includes talking, waving hello, leaning in, and even smiling. The most powerful messages of all can be conveyed through touch.
A recent study found that emotional communication can exist through touch, and people are capable of identifying what those emotions are, as well. These include both positive and negative feelings.
The researchers found that their subjects were able to identify emotions like happiness, sympathy, gratitude, and love. They also found that the people were able to identify fear, disgust, and sadness. It sounds impossible, but we’ve subconsciously been doing it all our lives.
Physical touch is a primal communication method. A hug, a pat on the back, a heavy grip—all of these are very obvious signs that something is up, but it is up to us to determine the context, credibility, and purpose of it all.
How to know what someone’s touch means
In order to find out what a certain kind of touch means, you need to know what the basics are. In order to fully understand the meaning of a certain touch, you have to consider the location, the pressure, and the duration.
Apart from that, you need to determine the context of how the touch should be perceived. For example, if you’re with a date, some types of touches might be attributed to affection. If you’re with a stranger, it could simply be a move to establish familiarity and trust. [Read: 10 super-subtle gestures that reveal someone’s really into you]
As for negative situations, you’ll know the answer based on your instinct or by how a person acts and speaks. If you don’t like what they’re doing or what they’re saying, the touch that you receive might not be meant for establishing a connection. It could just be a way for them to get what they want, i.e., a favor, their own security, or a way to alleviate their fears.
#1 A pat on the back. A commendation, showing sympathy, an expression of pride, or an act of comfort.
#2 A hug. A greeting, a request for intimacy, or a gesture that denotes comfort.
#3 Gripping the arm. Fear of external forces, a request to stay put, or a way to acquire security and guidance.
#4 Rubbing the arm. A signal for more physical closeness, wanting to be warmer, showing sympathy, or a gesture that requires complacency from the receiver.
#5 Hitting. Anger *duh*, surprise, fear, and panic.
#6 Squeezing hug. Need for closeness, need for intimacy, fear, a request for protection, and comfort.
#7 Pushing. Disgust.
#8 Arm over shoulder. Protectiveness, affection, need for closeness.
#9 Arm around waist. Protectiveness, affection, familiarity.
#10 Both hands on shoulders. Persistence and wanting to convince someone. With shaking, it alludes to anger.
#11 Forehead against forehead. Love, affection, a plea for closeness.
#20 Holding one’s hand. A plea for closeness, guidance, a need for security, solidification of a friendship or pact, and reaching out to make a connection.
Bear in mind that these are not set in stone. They are just the most basic and obvious motives for certain types of touches. It is up to you to determine whether there is weight in their meaning or if it’s just a reflexive reaction, brought on by the current state of your relationship.
If it’s not love, they could be asking for friendship. If it’s not intimacy, they could be looking for security. If it’s not about an expression of familiarity or closeness, they could be just trying to get to know you better.
How can this help me?
No matter what someone’s motive is, knowing what precedes the thought can really help. Some people don’t know how to express themselves verbally, which makes it hard to start a lasting relationship where you’re open with one another.
Now that you know what certain touches mean, you have a guideline on how to proceed with your communication. It lets you know what sort of questions you need to ask and when it’s appropriate to ask them.
Remember, the most important factors in a relationship are communication and trust. If you or your partner can’t say it out loud yet, you can still make do by hugging or by holding hands, or expressing yourselves through physical touches.
Liked what you just read? Like us on FacebookTwitterPinterest and we promise, we’ll be your lucky charm to a beautiful love life.
Those who can’t do, teach. I can neither do nor teach as well as others, but I can try. Aside from being a writer, I am also a physical therapist. My dream is... | <urn:uuid:328e3d2e-bd22-4f8c-8a0f-c1e0833607fa> | {
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Islam (Arabic: , ) is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophet of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to God (الله, Allāh). An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits [to God]". The word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. There are between 1 billion and 1.8 billion Muslims, making Islam the second-largest religion in the world, after Christianity.
Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, God's final prophet, through the angel Gabriel, and regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam. They do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. Islamic tradition holds that Jews and Christians distorted the revelations God gave to these prophets by either altering the text, introducing a false interpretation, or both.
Islam includes many religious practices. Adherents are generally required to observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which are five duties that unite Muslims into a community. In addition to the Five Pillars, Islamic law (sharia) has developed a tradition of rulings that touch on virtually all aspects of life and society. This tradition encompasses everything from practical matters like dietary laws and banking to warfare and welfare. Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major denominations, the Sunni (85%) and Shi'a (15%). The schism developed in the late 7th century following disagreements over the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community. Islam is the predominant religion in Africa and the Middle East, as well as in major parts of Asia. Large communities are also found in China, the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe and Russia. There are also large Muslim immigrant communities in other parts of the world, such as Western Europe. About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries, 30% in the Indian subcontinent and 15.6% in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country by population.
The word Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m, and is derived from the Arabic verb Aslama, which means "to accept, surrender or submit." Thus, Islam means acceptance of and submission to God, and believers must demonstrate this by worshipping him, following his commands, and avoiding polytheism. The word is given a number of meanings in the Qur'an. In some verses (ayat), the quality of Islam as an internal conviction is stressed: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam. Other verses connect islām and dīn (usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion. Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. Another technical meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad of islam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence); where it represents acts of worship (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia).
The Qur'an states that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his angels, his messengers, and in the "Day of Judgment". Also, there are other beliefs that differ between particular sects. The Sunni concept of predestination is called divine decree, while the Shi'a version is called divine justice. Unique to the Shi'a is the doctrine of Imamah, or the political and spiritual leadership of the Imams.
Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through the Islamic prophet Muhammad via the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). For them, Muhammad was God's final prophet and the Qur'an is the revelations he received over more than two decades. In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic prophets are considered to be the closest to perfection of all humans, and are uniquely the recipients of divine revelation—either directly from God or through angels. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others. Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers since Adam preached the message of Islam—submission to the will of God. Islam is described in the Qur'an as "the primordial nature upon which God created mankind", and the Qur'an states that the proper name Muslim was given by Abraham.
As a historical phenomenon, Islam originated in Arabia in the early 7th century. Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Qur'an calls Jews and Christians "People of the Book" (ahl al-kitāb), and distinguishes them from polytheists. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both.
Islam's fundamental theological concept is tawhīd—the belief that there is only one god. The Arabic term for God is Allāh; most scholars believe it was derived from a contraction of the words al- (the) and (deity, masculine form), meaning "the god" but others trace its origin to the Aramaic Alāhā. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam, tawhīd is expressed in the shahadah (testification), which declares that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is God's messenger. In traditional Islamic theology, God is beyond all comprehension; Muslims are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore him as a protector. Although Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, they reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, comparing it to polytheism. In Islamic theology, Jesus was just a man and not the son of God; God is described in a chapter (sura) of the Qur'an as "…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
Muslims consider the Qur'an to be the literal word of God; it is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the angel Gabriel on many occasions between 610 and his death on June 8, 632. The Qur'an was reportedly written down by Muhammad's companions (sahabah) while he was alive, although the prime method of transmission was orally. It was compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was standardized under the administration of Uthman, the third caliph. Ali ibn Abi Talib is said to have written down the Quran but Uthman was said to have rejected it and keep his own. From textual evidence Islamic studies scholars find that the Qur'an of today has not changed significantly over the years.
The Qur'an is divided into 114 suras, or chapters, which combined, contain 6,236 āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier suras, revealed at Mecca, are primarily concerned with ethical and spiritual topics. The later Medinan suras mostly discuss social and moral issues relevant to the Muslim community. The Qur'an is more concerned with moral guidance than legal instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook of Islamic principles and values". Muslim jurists consult the hadith, or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Qur'an and assist with its interpretation. The science of Qur'anic commentary and exegesis is known as tafsir.
The word Qur'an means "recitation". When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself.
Belief in angels is crucial to the faith of Islam. The Arabic word for angel (malak) means "messenger", like its counterparts in Hebrew (malakh) and Greek (angelos). According to the Qur'an, angels do not possess free will, and worship God in perfect obedience. Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are also thought to intercede on man's behalf. The Qur'an describes angels as "messengers with wings—two, or three, or four (pairs): He [God] adds to Creation as He pleases…
Muhammad (c. 570 – June 8, 632) was an Arab religious, political, and military leader who founded the religion of Islam as a historical phenomenon. Muslims view him not as the creator of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets—as the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues. For the last 23 years of his life, beginning at age 40, Muhammad reported receiving revelations from God. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an, was memorized and recorded by his companions.
During this time, Muhammad preached to the people of Mecca, imploring them to abandon polytheism. Although some converted to Islam, Muhammad and his followers were persecuted by the leading Meccan authorities. After 13 years of preaching, Muhammad and the Muslims performed the Hijra ("emigration") to the city of Medina (formerly known as Yathrib) in 622. There, with the Medinan converts (Ansar) and the Meccan migrants (Muhajirun), Muhammad established his political and religious authority. Within years, two battles had been fought against Meccan forces: the Battle of Badr in 624, which was a Muslim victory, and the Battle of Uhud in 625, which ended inconclusively. Conflict with Medinan Jewish clans who opposed the Muslims led to their exile, enslavement or death, and the Jewish enclave of Khaybar was subdued. At the same time, Meccan trade routes were cut off as Muhammad brought surrounding desert tribes under his control. By 629 Muhammad was victorious in the nearly bloodless Conquest of Mecca, and by the time of his death in 632 he ruled over the Arabian peninsula.
In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the Sunnah (literally "trodden path"). This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith ("reports"), which recount his words, his actions, and his personal characteristics. The classical Muslim jurist ash-Shafi'i (d. 820) emphasized the importance of the Sunnah in Islamic law, and Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's actions in their daily lives. The Sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Qur'an.
Belief in the "Day of Resurrection", yawm al-Qiyāmah (also known as yawm ad-dīn, "Day of Judgment" and as-sā`a, "the Last Hour") is also crucial for Muslims. They believe that the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God but unknown to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah are described in the Qur'an and the hadith, and also in the commentaries of Islamic scholars. The Qur'an emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. It states that resurrection will be followed by the gathering of mankind, culminating in their judgment by God.
The Qur'an lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell, such as disbelief, usury and dishonesty. Muslims view paradise (jannah) as a place of joy and bliss, with Qur'anic references describing its features and the physical pleasures to come. There are also references to a greater joy—acceptance by God (ridwān). Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God.
In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa'l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector'… For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil, has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God. In Islamic theology, divine preordainment does not suggest an absence of God's indignation against evil, because any evils that do occur are thought to result in future benefits men may not be able to see. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".
The Shi'a understanding of predestination is called "divine justice" (Adalah). This doctrine, originally developed by the Mu'tazila, stresses the importance of man's responsibility for his own actions. In contrast, the Sunni deemphasize the role of individual free will in the context of God's creation and foreknowledge of all things.
The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic: اركان الدين) are five practices essential to Sunni Islam. Shi'a Muslims subscribe to eight ritual practices which substantially overlap with the Five Pillars. They are:
In addition to the khums tax, Shi'a Muslims consider three additional practices essential to the religion of Islam. The first is jihad, which is also important to the Sunni, but not considered a pillar. The second is Amr-Bil-Ma'rūf, the "Enjoining to Do Good", which calls for every Muslim to live a virtuous life and to encourage others to do the same. The third is Nahi-Anil-Munkar, the "Exhortation to Desist from Evil", which tells Muslims to refrain from vice and from evil actions and to also encourage others to do the same.
The Sharia (literally: "the path leading to the watering place") is Islamic law formed by traditional Islamic scholarship. In Islam, Sharia is the expression of the divine will, and "constitutes a system of duties that are incumbent upon a Muslim by virtue of his religious belief".
Islamic law covers all aspects of life, from matters of state, like governance and foreign relations, to issues of daily living. The Qur'an defines hudud as the punishments for five specific crimes: unlawful intercourse, false accusation of unlawful intercourse, consumption of alcohol, theft, and highway robbery. The Qur'an and Sunnah also contain laws of inheritance, marriage, and restitution for injuries and murder, as well as rules for fasting, charity, and prayer. However, these prescriptions and prohibitions may be broad, so their application in practice varies. Islamic scholars (known as ulema) have elaborated systems of law on the basis of these rules and their interpretations.
Fiqh, or "jurisprudence", is defined as the knowledge of the practical rules of the religion. The method Islamic jurists use to derive rulings is known as usul al-fiqh ("legal theory", or "principles of jurisprudence"). According to Islamic legal theory, law has four fundamental roots, which are given precedence in this order: the Qur'an, the Sunnah (actions and sayings of Muhammad), the consensus of the Muslim jurists (ijma), and analogical reasoning (qiyas). For early Islamic jurists, theory was less important than pragmatic application of the law. In the 9th century, the jurist ash-Shafi'i provided a theoretical basis for Islamic law by codifying the principles of jurisprudence (including the four fundamental roots) in his book ar-Risālah.
Many practices fall in the category of adab, or Islamic etiquette. This includes greeting others with "as-salamu `alaykum" ("peace be unto you"), saying bismillah ("in the name of God") before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness and health, such as the circumcision of male offspring. Islamic burial rituals include saying the Salat al-Janazah ("funeral prayer") over the bathed and enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims, like Jews, are restricted in their diet, and prohibited foods include pig products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of God by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food.
Jihad means "to strive or struggle" (in the way of God) and is considered the "sixth pillar of Islam" by a minority of Muslim authorities. Jihad, in its broadest sense, is classically defined as "exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation." Depending on the object being a visible enemy, the devil, and aspects of one's own self, different categories of Jihad are defined. Jihad when used without any qualifier is understood in its military aspect. Jihad also refers to one's striving to attain religious and moral perfection. Some Muslim authorities, especially among the Shi'a and Sufis, distinguish between the "greater jihad", which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the "lesser jihad", defined as warfare.
Within Islamic jurisprudence, jihad is usually taken to mean military exertion against non-Muslim combatants in the defense or expansion of the Islamic state, the ultimate purpose of which is to universalize Islam. Jihad, the only form of warfare permissible in Islamic law, may be declared against apostates, rebels, highway robbers, violent groups, unIslamic leaders or states which refuse to submit to the authority of Islam. Most Muslims today interpret Jihad as only a defensive form of warfare: the external Jihad includes a struggle to make the Islamic societies conform to the Islamic norms of justice.
Under most circumstances and for most Muslims, jihad is a collective duty (fard kifaya): its performance by some individuals exempts the others. Only for those vested with authority, especially the sovereign (imam), does jihad become an individual duty. For the rest of the populace, this happens only in the case of a general mobilization. For most Shias, offensive jihad can only be declared by a divinely appointed leader of the Muslim community, and as such is suspended since Muhammad al-Mahdi's occultation in 868 AD.
Islam's historical development resulted in major political, economic, and military effects inside and outside the Islamic world. Within a century of Muhammad's first recitations of the Qur'an, an Islamic empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Central Asia in the east. This new polity soon broke into civil war, and successor states fought each other and outside forces. However, Islam continued to spread into regions like Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. The Islamic civilization was one of the most advanced in the world during the Middle Ages, but was surpassed by Europe with the economic and military growth of the West. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Islamic dynasties such as the Ottomans and Mughals fell under the sway of European imperial powers. In the 20th century new religious and political movements and newfound wealth in the Islamic world led to both rebirth and conflict.
Muhammad began preaching Islam at Mecca before migrating to Medina, from where he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Arab Muslim religious polity. With Muhammad's death in 632, disagreement broke out over who would succeed him as leader of the Muslim community. Umar ibn al-Khattab, a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated Abu Bakr, who was Muhammad's intimate friend and collaborator. Others added their support and Abu Bakr was made the first caliph. This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated his successor. Abu Bakr's immediate task was to avenge a recent defeat by Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) forces, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an episode known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".
His death in 634 resulted in the succession of Umar as the caliph, followed by Uthman ibn al-Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. These four are known as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn ("Rightly Guided Caliphs"). Under them, the territory under Muslim rule expanded deeply into Persian and Byzantine territories.
When Umar was assassinated in 644, the election of Uthman as successor was met with increasing opposition. In 656, Uthman was also killed, and Ali assumed the position of caliph. After fighting off opposition in the first civil war (the "First Fitna"), Ali was assassinated by Kharijites in 661. Following this, Mu'awiyah, who was governor of Levant, seized power and began the Umayyad dynasty.
These disputes over religious and political leadership would give rise to schism in the Muslim community. The majority accepted the legitimacy of the three rulers prior to Ali, and became known as Sunnis. A minority disagreed, and believed that Ali was the only rightful successor; they became known as the Shi'a. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflict over succession broke out again in a civil war known as the "Second Fitna". Afterward, the Umayyad dynasty prevailed for seventy years, and was able to conquer the Maghrib and Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula, former Visigothic Hispania) and the Narbonnese Gaul in the west as well as expand Muslim territory into Sindh and the fringes of Central Asia. While the Muslim-Arab elite engaged in conquest, some devout Muslims began to question the piety of indulgence in a worldly life, emphasizing rather poverty, humility and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Devout Muslim ascetic exemplars such as Hasan al-Basri would inspire a movement that would evolve into Sufism.
For the Umayyad aristocracy, Islam was viewed as a religion for Arabs only; the economy of the Umayyad empire was based on the assumption that a majority of non-Muslims (Dhimmis) would pay taxes to the minority of Muslim Arabs. A non-Arab who wanted to convert to Islam was supposed to first become a client of an Arab tribe. Even after conversion, these new Muslims (mawali) did not achieve social and economic equality with the Arabs. The descendants of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib rallied discontented mawali, poor Arabs, and some Shi'a against the Umayyads and overthrew them with the help of their propagandist and general Abu Muslim, inaugurating the Abbasid dynasty in 750. Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization flourished in the "Islamic Golden Age", with its capital at the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad.
By the late 9th century, the Abbasid caliphate began to fracture as various regions gained increasing levels of autonomy. Across North Africa, Persia, and Central Asia emirates formed as provinces broke away. The monolithic Arab empire gave way to a more religiously homogenized Muslim world where the Shia Fatimids contested even the religious authority of the caliphate. By 1055 the Seljuq Turks had eliminated the Abbasids as a military power, nevertheless they continued to respect the caliph's titular authority. During this time expansion of the Muslim world continued, by both conquest and peaceful proselytism even as both Islam and Muslim trade networks were extending into sub-Saharan West Africa, Central Asia, Volga Bulgaria and the Malay archipelago.
The Golden Age saw new legal, philosophical, and religious developments. The major hadith collections were compiled and the four modern Sunni Madh'habs were established. Islamic law was advanced greatly by the efforts of the early 9th century jurist al-Shafi'i; he codified a method to establish the reliability of hadith, a topic which had been a locus of dispute among Islamic scholars. Philosophers Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Al-Farabi sought to incorporate Greek principles into Islamic theology, while others like the 11th century theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali argued against them and ultimately prevailed. Finally, Sufism and Shi'ism both underwent major changes in the 9th century. Sufism became a full-fledged movement that had moved towards mysticism and away from its ascetic roots, while Shi'ism split due to disagreements over the succession of Imams.
The spread of the Islamic dominion induced hostility among medieval ecclesiastical Christian authors who saw Islam as an adversary in the light of the large numbers of new Muslim converts. This opposition resulted in polemical treatises which depicted Islam as the religion of the antichrist and of Muslims as libidinous and subhuman. In the medieval period, a few Arab philosophers like the poet Al-Ma'arri adopted a critical approach to Islam, and the Jewish philosopher Maimonides contrasted Islamic views of morality to Jewish views that he himself elaborated.
Starting in the 9th century, Muslim conquests in the West began to be reversed. The Reconquista was launched against Muslim principalities in Iberia, and Muslim Italian possessions were lost to the Normans. From the 11th century onwards alliances of European Christian kingdoms mobilized to launch a series of wars known as the Crusades, bringing the Muslim world into conflict with Christendom. Initially successful in their goal of taking the Holy land, and establishing the Crusader states, Crusader gains in the Holy Land were later reversed by subsequent Muslim generals such as Saladin; who recaptured Jerusalem during the Second Crusade. In the east the Mongol Empire put an end to the Abbassid dynasty at the Battle of Baghdad in 1258, as they overran in Muslim lands in a series of invasions. Meanwhile in Egypt, the slave-soldier Mamluks took control in an uprising in 1250 and in alliance with the Golden Horde were able to halt the Mongol armies at the Battle of Ain Jalut. Mongol rule extended across the breadth of almost all Muslim lands in Asia and Islam was temporarily replaced by Buddhism as the official religion of the land. Over the next century the Mongol Khanates converted to Islam and this religious and cultural absorption ushered in a new age of Mongol-Islamic synthesis that shaped the further spread of Islam in central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Beginning in the 13th century, Sufism underwent a transformation, largely as a result of the efforts of al-Ghazzali to legitimize and reorganize the movement. He developed the model of the Sufi order—a community of spiritual teachers and students. Also of importance to Sufism was the creation of the Masnavi, a collection of mystical poetry by the 13th century Persian poet Rumi. The Masnavi had a profound influence on the development of Sufi religious thought; to many Sufis it is second in importance only to the Qur'an.
In the early 16th century, the Shi'i Safavid dynasty assumed control in Persia and established Shi'a Islam as an official religion there, and despite periodic setbacks, the Safavids remained powerful for two centuries. Meanwhile, Mamluk Egypt fell to the Ottomans in 1517, who then launched a European campaign which reached as far as the gates of Vienna in 1529. After the invasion of Persia, and sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, Delhi became the most important cultural centre of the Muslim east. Many Islamic dynasties ruled parts of the Indian subcontinent starting from the 12th century. The prominent ones include the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) and the Mughal empire (1526–1857). These empires helped in the spread of Islam in South Asia, but by the early-18th century the Maratha empire became the pre-eminent power in the north of India. By the mid-18th century the British empire had formally ended the Mughal dynasty, and at the end of the 18th century overthrew the Muslim-ruled Kingdom of Mysore. In the 18th century the Wahhabi movement took hold in Saudi Arabia. Founded by the preacher Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Wahhabism is a fundamentalist ideology that condemns practices like Sufism and the veneration of saints as un-Islamic.
By the 17th and 18th centuries, despite attempts at modernization, the Ottoman empire had begun to feel threatened by European economic and military advantages. In the 19th century, the rise of nationalism resulted in Greece declaring and winning independence in 1829, with several Balkan states following suit after the Ottomans suffered defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The Ottoman era came to a close at the end of World War I and the Caliphate was abolished in 1924.
By the early years of the 20th century, most of the Muslim world outside the Ottoman empire had been absorbed into the empires of non-Islamic European powers. After World War I losses, nearly all of the Ottoman empire was also parceled out as European protectorates or spheres of influence. In the course of the 20th century, most of these European-ruled territories became independent, and new issues such as oil wealth and relations with the State of Israel have assumed prominence. During this time, many Muslims migrated, as indentured servants, from mostly India and Indonesia to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. Additionally, the resulting urbanization and increase in trade in Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith. As a result, Islam in sub-Saharan Africa likely doubled between 1869 and 1914. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), consisting of Muslim countries, was formally established in September 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The 20th century saw the creation of many new Islamic "revivalist" movements. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan advocate a totalistic and theocratic alternative to secular political ideologies. Sometimes called Islamist, they see Western cultural values as a threat, and promote Islam as a comprehensive solution to every public and private question of importance. In countries like Iran and Afghanistan (under the Taliban), revolutionary movements replaced secular regimes with Islamist states, while transnational groups like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda engage in terrorism to further their goals. In contrast, Liberal Islam is a movement that attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms of secular governance and human rights. Its supporters say that there are multiple ways to read Islam's sacred texts, and stress the need to leave room for "independent thought on religious matters".
Modern critique of Islam includes accusations that Islam is intolerant of criticism and that Islamic law is too hard on apostates. Critics like Ibn Warraq question the morality of the Qu'ran, saying that its contents justify the mistreatment of women and encourage antisemitic remarks by Muslim theologians. Such claims are disputed by Muslim writers like Fazlur Rahman Malik, Syed Ameer Ali, Ahmed Deedat, and Yusuf Estes. Others like Daniel Pipes and Martin Kramer focus more on criticizing the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, a danger they feel has been ignored. Montgomery Watt and Norman Daniel dismiss many of the criticisms as the product of old myths and polemics. The rise of Islamophobia, according to Carl Ernst, had contributed to the negative views about Islam and Muslims in the West.
Commonly cited estimates of the Muslim population in 2007 range from 1 billion to 1.8 billion. Approximately 85% are Sunni and 15% are Shi'a, with a small minority belonging to other sects. Some 30–40 countries are Muslim-majority, and Arabs account for around 20% of all Muslims worldwide. South Asia and Southeast Asia contain the most populous Muslim countries, with Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh having more than 100 million adherents each. According to U.S. government figures, in 2006 there were 20 million Muslims in China. In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries; in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in many European countries.
A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name, masjid. The word mosque in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated to Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque (masjid jāmi`). Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also important to the Muslim community as a place to meet and study. Modern mosques have evolved greatly from the early designs of the 7th century, and contain a variety of architectural elements such as minarets.
A man may have up to four wives if he believes he can treat them equally, while a woman may have only one husband. In most Muslim countries, the process of divorce in Islam is known as talaq, which the husband initiates by pronouncing the word "divorce". Scholars disagree whether Islamic holy texts justify traditional Islamic practices such as veiling and seclusion (purdah). Starting in the 20th century, Muslim social reformers argued against these and other practices such as polygamy, with varying success. At the same time, many Muslim women have attempted to reconcile tradition with modernity by combining an active life with outward modesty. Certain Islamist groups like the Taliban have sought to continue traditional law as applied to women.
The formal beginning of the Muslim era was chosen to be the Hijra in 622 CE, which was an important turning point in Muhammad's fortunes. The assignment of this year as the year 1 AH (Anno Hegirae) in the Islamic calendar was reportedly made by Caliph Umar. It is a lunar calendar, with nineteen ordinary years of 354 days and eleven leap years of 355 days in a thirty-year cycle. Islamic dates cannot be converted to CE/AD dates simply by adding 622 years: allowance must also be made for the fact that each Hijri century corresponds to only 97 years in the Christian calendar.
The year 1428 AH coincides almost completely with 2007 CE.
Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means that they occur in different seasons in different years in the Gregorian calendar. The most important Islamic festivals are Eid al-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر) on the 1st of Shawwal, marking the end of the fasting month Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى) on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah, coinciding with the pilgrimage to Mecca.
According to Islamic doctrine, Islam was the primordial religion of mankind, professed by Adam. At some point, a religious split occurred, and God began sending prophets to bring his revelations to the people. In this view, Abraham, Moses, Hebrew prophets, and Jesus were all Prophets in Islam, but their message and the texts of the Torah and the Gospels were corrupted by Jews and Christians. Similarly, children of non-Muslim families are born Muslims, but are converted to another faith by their parents. The idea of Islamic supremacy is encapsulated in the formula "Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it. Pursuant to this principle, Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, defamation of Islam is prohibited, and the testimony of a non-Muslim is inadmissible against a Muslim.
Islamic law divides non-Muslims into several categories, depending on their relation with the Islamic state. Christians and Jews who live under Islamic rule are known as dhimmis ("protected peoples"). According to this pact, the personal safety and security of property of the dhimmis were guaranteed in return for paying tribute (jizya) to the Islamic state and acknowledging Muslim supremacy. Historically, dhimmis enjoyed a measure of communal autonomy under their own religious leaders, but were subject to legal, social and religious restrictions meant to highlight their inferiority. The status was extended to other groups like Zoroastrians and Hindus, but not to atheists or agnostics. Those who live in non-Muslim lands (dar al-harb) are known as harbis, and upon entering into an alliance with the Muslim state become known as ahl al-ahd. Those who receive a guarantee of safety while residing temporarily in Muslim lands are known as ahl al-amān. Their legal position is similar to that of the dhimmi except that they are not required to pay the jizya. The people of armistice (ahl al-hudna) are those who live outside of Muslim territory and agree to refrain from attacking the Muslims. Apostasy is prohibited, and is punishable by death.
The Alevi, Yazidi, Druze, Ahmadiyya, Bábí, Bahá'í, Berghouata and Ha-Mim movements either emerged out of Islam or came to share certain beliefs with Islam. Some consider themselves separate while others still sects of Islam though controversial in certain beliefs with mainstream Muslims. Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak in late 15th century Punjab, incorporates aspects of both Islam and Hinduism.
Not strictly a denomination, Sufism is a mystical-ascetic form of Islam. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. Sufism and Islamic law are usually considered to be complementary, although Sufism has been criticized by some Muslims for being an unjustified religious innovation. Most Sufi orders, or tariqas, can be classified as either Sunni or Shi'a. | <urn:uuid:a5c64d7d-9172-4981-b6f3-d9cd6d723b53> | {
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Students practice finding angle measures using trig formulas. Includes 18 pairs of matching cards. One half the cards has a picture of a right triangle with angle indicated and the other half of the cards has the angle measure rounded to the nearest degree.
You can use to pair up students for other activities. You can also use these cards as a ticket in the door or ticket out the door. Additional uses for these cards are explained in the directions or download my free resource.
This purchase is for one teacher only. Additional teachers must purchase their own license. You may not upload this resource to the internet in any form. If you are interested in purchasing several licenses, please contact me for a district-wide quote at www.bluemountainmath.com | <urn:uuid:7ef744ef-bf60-41b3-8115-8d67aa2edc37> | {
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Most people equate Thanksgiving with the pilgrims and Plymouth Rock (Plimoth Plantation). Although the first Thanksgiving in 1621 was a mild celebration between Native Americans and English settlers, it would not become a national observance for nearly 200 years.
In an effort to unify a torn Union, President Lincoln declared, on October 3, 1863, that the final Thursday of November would be a day of Thanksgiving. He wished to commemorate “a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
The nation honored Thanksgiving by closing stores, holding parades, and sending Thanksgiving greeting cards. Although Thanksgiving was a national observance, it wasn’t designated as a true American holiday until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it up a week to spike holiday retail sales during the Great Depression. Many opposed this move, so in 1941, President Roosevelt signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November, and it has been observed on that day ever since.
The true essence of Thanksgiving isn’t Black Friday or football or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (which I love, don’t get me wrong) or even turkey. It is to give thanks for all the blessings we have, and for being a part of this magnificent, great nation under God. May you all have a blissful, peaceful Thanksgiving. | <urn:uuid:b99cd03f-2804-43a1-a233-493f16ae770c> | {
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The Computer Engineering degree is for students interested in both programming and hardware. The required classes cover software engineering, computer science, and electric and digital circuit designs.
- Curriculum Sheet 2014--
- Curriculum Sheet 2013-2014
- Curriculum Sheet 2012-2013
- Curriculum Sheet 2011-2012 is the same as 2009-2010
- Curriculum Sheet 2010-2011 is the same as 2009-2010
- Curriculum Sheet 2009-2010
- Curriculum Sheet 2008-2009
- Curriculum Sheet 2007-2008
- Curriculum Sheet 2006-2007
- Curriculum Sheet 2005-2006
- Curriculum Sheet 2004-2005
- Curriculum Sheet 2003-2004
- Curriculum Sheet 2002-2003
- Program Guidesheet 2014--
- Program Guidesheet 2013-2014
- Program Guidesheet 2012-2013
- Program Guidesheet 2011-2012 is the same as 2009-2010.
- Program Guidesheet 2010-2011 is the same as 2009-2010.
- Program Guidesheet 2009-2010
- Program Guidesheet 2008-2009
- Program Guidesheet 2007-2008
- Program Guidesheet 2006-2007
- Program Guidesheet 2005-2006
- Program Guidesheet 2004-2005
- Program Guidesheet 2003-2004
- Program Guidesheet 2002-2003
Program Educational Objectives
The mission of the Computer Engineering degree program is to prepare graduates with the knowledge and skills needed for successful computer engineering practice and post-baccalaureate education. The program educational objectives are that five years after graduation Computer Engineering graduates will be:
- Contributing to their communities and society with innovations in computer technology and applications and an understanding of contemporary technological issues.
- Continuing their professional development through professional study and research.
- Advancing in their careers through their knowledge of computer engineering, by communicating and working effectively as team members and by interacting responsibly with colleagues, customers, employers, and others in society.
The Computer Engineering program has the following student outcomes which are abilities that we measure at the time of graduation or before that will enable our graduates to achieve the program educational objectives.
- an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
- an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
- an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
- an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
- an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
- an ability to communicate effectively
- the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
- a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
- a knowledge of contemporary issues
- an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. | <urn:uuid:3400cbcc-1c2d-4b83-acd7-6a5080b9652a> | {
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Metallurgy of Russia
The Russian Metallurgy branch of Russian industry involves about 5% of Russia's GDP, about 18% of industrial production and about 14% of exports. The volume of metallurgical production was 1.87 trillion rubles (2009). Investments in fixed assets in metallurgy were 280 billion rubles (2008). The average salary in the metallurgical industry was 23,258 USD / month ( March 2010).
The share of ferrous metallurgy in the volume of industrial production in Russia is about 10%. The steel industry includes more than 1.5 thousand enterprises and organizations, 70% of them city-forming, and more than 660 thousand employees. As of 2008, Russia ranked 4th in the world steel production (72 million tons per year). As of 2007, Russia takes third place in the world (after China and Japan) in exportation of steel products (27.6 million tons per year).
As of January 1, 2007, the production capacity of finished rolled steel in Russia amounted to 67.9 million tons. From 2000 to 2008, steel making capacity increased by 6.7 million tons, production of finished rolled steel by 4.3 million tons, and the production of steel pipes by 780 thousand tons.
More than 80% of industrial production of Russian ferrous metallurgy accounted for 9 large companies : Evraz , Severstal , NLMK , MMK, MC metalloinvest , Mechel , TMK , United Metallurgical Company , Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant .
The volume of basic iron and steel production in 2006 exceeded that from the early 1990s. From 2000 to 2007, the growth in output of steel and alloys was due to accelerated development of modern advanced techniques, in particular: electric furnace steelmaking. In 2007, production of rolled ferrous metals amounted to 59.6 million tons.
Russian steelmakers :
- Upper Iset Metallurgical Plant ( EID ) – factory in Yekaterinburg, one of the oldest metallurgical plants in the Urals. At the moment it is the only cold rolling mill ( Company " VIZ-Stal "). The plant is the largest Russian manufacturer of high transformal steel.
- Asha Metallurgical works
- Novokuznetsk Iron and Steel Plant -
- Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK, Russian:Магнитогорский металлургический комбинат)
- Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works
- Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant
- West-Siberian Metal Plant
- Vyksa Steel works
- Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant
- Of " Kuznetsk Ferroalloys"
In recent years, the modernization of the Russian pipe industry had invested about $8 billion, started production of new products, improved quality . by 2010, about 40% of the pipes were produced in Russia on the new equipment .
As of 2010, the share of non-ferrous metals in the Russian GDP - 2.6%, industrial production - 10,2%.
As of 2008, Russia ranked 1st in the world in the production of nickel, nickel exports and export of aluminum .
As of 2008, Russia ranked 2nd in the world in the production of aluminum (after China ) and the production of titanium mill products .
Russian producers of non-ferrous metals :
- Rusal - the world's largest aluminum and clay.
- Norilsk Nickel - the world's largest manufacturer nickel and palladium.
- VSMPO-AVISMA - the world's largest titanium.
- Novosibirsk Tin Works - the only CIS producer of tin and its alloys.
- Gai plant for processing of ferrous metals '''Alloy''' (Gay)
- Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company ( Pyshma)
- Plant solders and alloys (Ryazan)
- Kamensk-Uralsky non-ferrous metals processing plant (Kamensk-Uralsky)
- Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works (Kamensk-Uralsky)
- Kirov Plant for processing of nonferrous metals (Kirov)
- Kolchugino plant for processing of nonferrous metals (Kolchugino)
- Red Vyiborzhets (St. Petersburg)
- Moscow non-ferrous metals processing plant
- Nadvoitsy aluminum plant (Karelia)
- Novgorod Metallurgical Plant (Novgorod)
- Novorossiysk nonferrous metals plant
- Stupino Metallurgical Company (Stupino)
- Electrozinc (Vladikavkaz)
- Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (Revda)
- Ryazan Plant for Manufacturing and Processing Non-Ferrous Metals (Ryazan)
- Tuim nonferrous metals plant (Khakassia)
- Of " Novokuznetsk Aluminum Plant"
- Institute of Metallurgy and Material Science of Russian Academy of Sciences .Located in Moscow, founded in 1938.
- Federal State Unitary Enterprise "I.P.Bardin Central Research Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy" .Located in Moscow, founded in 1944.
- Open Joint Stock Company "Scientific Research Institute of Metallurgy" (JSC "NIIM") .Located in Chelyabinsk. Scientific-Production Enterprise
- Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Regional Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences .Located in Ekaterinburg ,founded in 1955.
- Institute of Engineering and Metallurgy, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences .Located in Komsomolsk-on-Amur ,founded in 1988.
- Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISIS) .Located in Moscow, founded in 1930. Head branch college
In recent years, the Russian government has taken measures to protect the domestic market, abolished import duties on the main types of equipment, supported by Russian firms buying metals assets abroad, has taken steps to reduce trade restrictions on foreign markets, acting against Russian steel products . These measures have contributed to the positive results of the activities of the Russian metallurgy in the 2000s .
In March 2009, Russia was approved by the Ministry of Industry Development Strategy for the metallurgical industry of the Russian Federation until 2020 .
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steel industry in Russia.|
- section metallurgy on site Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
- Section of Steel online magazine "Expert"
- section on non-ferrous metals on the website of the journal "Expert"
- name="mpt20"> strateg / 2 Strategy development of the metallurgical industry of Russia 2020 / / Russian Ministry of Industry , March 18, 2009
- name="rsvip"> shipped goods of own production , works and services on their own (without VAT, excise duties and similar payments) for the "clean" activities (month) , thousand rubles, large, medium and small organizations / / Rosstat
- name="rs08"> Socio-economic indicators of the Russian Federation in 1992-2008 . / / Rosstat
- name="ugn0410"> / 6 -0.htm living Standards / / Rosstat
- Name="metrfpp"> current state and prospects of development of black metallurgy in the Russian Federation / / Prime Minister of Russia, July 24, 2008
- name = "metrfpp"
- "Upper Iset Metallurgical Plant : Important dates in the history" (in Russian). Upper Iset Metallurgical Plant. Archived from the original on 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- name = "mpt20 "
- Name="trubprom"> = 142123 pipe industry Russia is ready to participate in large international projects / / Interfax , June 21, 2010
- glint of metal inspired investors / / Rossiyskaya Gazeta, May 25, 2010
- debts are not confused / / Expert , January 22, 2010
- "Norilsk Nickel" to spend on the road / / Expert , January 22, 2007
- Aviavlozheniya / / Expert , July 7, 2009
- name="uo"> Survey participants / / Expert , July 9, 2007
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Revision date: --
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Geography, population and climate
The basin of the Salween river, also known as Nu river in China and Thanlwin river in Myanmar, is a transboundary basin with a total area of 320 000 km2 distributed between China (53 percent), Myanmar (42 percent) and Thailand (5 percent) (Table 1). Approximately 2 400 km long, the Salween river is the second longest river in Southeast Asia after the Mekong river. The river originates 4 000 m above sea level on the mountain Tangula in the Himalayas on the Tibetan plateau in China, then flows southward through Yunnan province, China, down through Shan and Kayah states in the east of Myanmar, along the border between Thailand and Myanmar for about 120 km, then again enters Myanmar and passes through Kayan and Mon states before emptying into the Gulf of Martaban in the Andaman Sea. The Moei river, originating in Thailand, becomes the border between Myanmar and Thailand and joins the downstream Salween river, which has also become the border river between Myanmar and Thailand, before again entering Myanmar.
In China, the Nu river runs parallel to the upper reaches of the Mekong (also called Lancang) and Yangtze rivers in an area designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its rich biodiversity. In Myanmar and Thailand, the topography of the Salween river basin is mountainous, with long narrow river valleys. The basin is rich in natural resources, including water (both surface and groundwater), forest, wildlife, fisheries and aquatic life and minerals. Part of the basin in Thailand is a national park and wildlife sanctuary. Its beautiful landscapes include many caves, rapids, cliffs, unusual rocks and waterfalls that serve as tourist attractions. Habitats in the Salween eco-region support rich and endemic freshwater fauna. The river is home to at least 140 species of fish, of which one-third are endemic (Salween Watch, 2011).
More than 10 million people, representing at least 13 different ethnic groups, depend on the Salween river basin for their livelihoods: fisheries are a major source of dietary protein, and the river’s nutrients nourish vegetable gardens in the dry season and fertilize farmland (Wolf and Newton, after 2007). In 2002, the population density in the Salween river basin was 76 inhabitants/km2 (Earth Trends, 2002). The most populated section of the river basin is the delta’s fertile floodplain that covers thousands of hectares at the mouth of the river. There, most people tend paddy fields in the rainy season and vegetable gardens on the river bank in the dry season. They also fish all year round (BRN, 2011).
The climate of the basin is influenced by the southwest monsoon in summer, from May to October, and the northeast monsoon in winter, from November to April. The middle and downstream reaches of the Salween and the Moei river basins belong to a typical tropical monsoon. The annual precipitation within the Salween river basin ranges widely, from around 1 200 mm midstream to over 2 000 mm upstream and downstream. In the coastal areas of the basin, the annual rainfall is as high as 4 000 to 5 000 mm (Vatcharasinthu and Babel, 1999).
The Upper Salween river basin in China covers four different climate zones (subfrigid, temperate, subtropical and tropical) whereby the northwestern highlands are marked by predominant continental conditions with a dry, cold climate and the southeastern lowlands are characterized by maritime, warm conditions. However, the distinctly seasonal nature of the monsoon planetary circulation affects to a greater or lesser extent all parts of the Upper Salween river basin.
The Salween river is the longest waterway without a dam in Southeast Asia. Numerous major tributaries, including the Pang, Teng, Pawn, Hka, and Hsim rivers join the Salween river in Myanmar. About 320 km from the mouth, for about 120 km the river forms the border between Myanmar and Thailand, before meeting with the Moei river (Thaungyin river) where it reenters Myanmar.
The annual flow of the Salween river basin from China (Nu river) to Myanmar (Thanlwin river) is 68.74 km3. In Myanmar, the Salween river basin drains 20 percent of the territory, mainly the Shan plateau in the east. When becoming the border between Myanmar and Thailand, the flow is estimated at 200 km3/year. Since it flows only over a relatively short distance on the border, the contribution from Thailand, therefore, is considered to be low over that short distance and the accounted flow of the river given to Thailand is 200/2 = 100 km3/year.
Water quality and environment
The Salween river is among the ten most polluted rivers in the world (The Millennium Project, 2010). Natural resources are being exploited with alarming rates of environmental degradation. With civil war in Myanmar, and development project plans, the state of the Salween river basin is rapidly deteriorating. It is feared that developments on the river, including hydropower and water diversion projects, will destroy the delicate balance between the river and its catchment area. Many of the effects of a dam built on the Salween river will occur in Myanmar’s downstream communities and ecosystems, but the forest, river and people in Thailand will also be affected (Salween Watch, 2011).
Water-related development in the basin
The Salween river basin has huge potential water resources that, if well planned with careful consideration of the environment, can be developed for hydroelectric power generation and water use for different purposes within the basin or nearby basins. The basin, therefore, can serve as a major source of water and energy for the future social and economic development of Myanmar and Thailand (Vatcharasinthu and Babel, 1999).
The total area equipped for irrigation in the Salween river basin is estimated to be around 400 000 ha, of which Myanmar accounts for approximately 50 percent, China 42 percent and Thailand 8 percent. The area actually irrigated is estimated at 380 000 ha. The equipped area irrigated by surface water and groundwater account for 97 and 3 percent respectively.
Total water withdrawal in the Salween river basin is estimated at 5.1 km3 of which Myanmar accounts for approximately 63 percent, China 32 percent, and Thailand 5 percent. Irrigation withdrawal accounts for 4.2 km3, or 81 percent of the total.
For much of its course, the Salween river is not navigable because of rapids, but in the lower reaches, near the sea, the waterway is used to float timber downstream to sawmills.
Despite the fact that studies made after the 1950s identified tremendous hydropower potential, the Salween river is a relatively undeveloped basin, being the longest river in Southeast Asia that has yet to be dammed (BRN, 2011). However, it is likely that with economic development and further political integration in the region, development pressure in the river basin will increase, and there will be greater demand to use the water for irrigation, municipalities and industries, as well as the need for sufficient water for navigation. The power companies of Thailand and Myanmar, as well as private Japanese concerns, have pursued individual feasibility studies, however, it is only since the 1970s that the potential of the basin as a whole has been investigated. Besides power, serious plans have revolved around large-scale water diversion. Irrigation, barge transportation (to promote trade and tourism), and related surface infrastructure have also been discussed (Salween Watch, 2011).
The Chinese government plans to construct a cascade of up to 13 hydroelectric dams along the Nu river (Songta, Bingzhongluo, Maji, Lumadeng, Fugong, Bijiang, Yabiluo, Lushui, Liuku, Shitouzhai, Saige, Yansangshu and Guangpo) having a combined capacity of 23 320 MW (Salween Watch, 2011). Nine of the 13 proposed dams are in national nature reserves that are close to the World Heritage Area. The proposed dams have been the subject of an unprecedented out-cry from Chinese journalists, environmentalists and everyday citizens who want to protect one of China’s last dam-free rivers, and its ecological and social heritage (International Rivers Network).
The governments of Myanmar and Thailand are pushing ahead quickly with plans for a series of five giant dams on the Salween river and its tributaries, which are Hatgyi, Tasang, Wei Gyi (Upper Salween Dam), Dagwin (Lower Salween Dam) and Upper Thanlwin. The 7 110 MW Tasang Dam is the biggest of five dams planned of which the majority of the power generated will be sold to Thailand (Salween Watch, 2011). The planned dam at Tasang is proposed to be more than 180 m high, making it one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia (Wolf and Newton, after 2007).
Transboundary water issues
There is no agreement between China, Myanmar and Thailand on the use of the Salween river, thus allowing each of them free use of the river. Each of these countries has unilateral plans to construct dams and development projects along the Salween river.
In 1989, a joint technical committee was established between Thailand and Myanmar, made up primarily of representatives from the power companies of the two countries. Since that time, the committee has continued to meet and to pursue feasibility studies, but no project or management body has been implemented nor a basin-wide plan created. China has not been included in discussions to date, nor has iChina included Thailand and Myanmar in its plans for projects on the Nu river (Wolf and Newton, after 2007).
In 1992, Thailand approved a plan to solve the water crisis in the Chao Phraya river basin, which encompasses the Salween Diversion Scheme and inter-basin water transfer from the Salween river basin to the Chao Phraya river basin. In 2003 several alternative plans were drawn up to divert 2.2 km3 of water from the Salween river’s major tributaries – and potentially the mainstream itself – through systems of holding dams, huge pumps and long tunnels to the Bhumipol dam on the Ping river, a tributary of Chao Phraya river that runs through central Thailand. One such plan is to divert floodwaters from the Salween river into a dam on the Yuam river, a major tributary of the Salween river, at Mae Lama Luang. The water from the Mae Lama Luang dam will then be diverted through a tunnel leading to the Bhumipol dam (Salween Watch, 2011).
In 1992, Japan’s Electronic Power Development Corporation (EPDC) selected eight major hydroelectric dam projects, some of which are entirely in Myanmar and others are on shared sections within the Salween river basin.
In 2001, the Prime Minister of Thailand reversed past policy of distancing Thailand from Myanmar and pursued a policy of conciliation, cooperation and public support. Thai businesses were encouraged to invest in Myanmar, Thailand agreed to construct a bridge across the border to boost trade and tourism, and began a hydroelectric dam project on the Salween river. Thailand decided to channel water from Myanmar to solve its needs for irrigation and drinking water, and as a source of electrical power.
Since December 2002, the Myanmar Military and the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have been discussing the possibility of constructing large dam projects on the Salween river. Between October 1998 and March 1999 several teams of experts from Myanmar and Thailand, assisted by about 20 Japanese specialists, inspected three sites in the Salween river gorges about 120 km from the Thai border and carried out geological studies, test bores and feasibility studies. A quarter of the total energy production estimated would go to Myanmar and Thailand would purchase the rest. Environmental groups expressed concerns about the ecological effects of the projects, and human rights advocates warned against coinvesting with a military junta that is oppressive, unpredictable, and might not respect benefit-sharing agreements. Nonetheless, in August 2004, Thailand and Myanmar agreed to set up a joint venture to construct five hydropower dams in the Salween river basin, beginning with Tasang dam (Wolf and Newton, after 2007).
In 2003 China announced plans to build 13 hydropower projects on the Nu river in China. More than 80 environmental and human rights groups in Thailand and Myanmar petitioned China to consult downstream countries before proceeding with the project. In April 2004, the government of China purportedly suspended plans for the massive dam system, and ordered officials to conduct a review of the hydropower project and an environmental impact assessment.
Table 2 lists the main historical events in the Salween river basin.
Main sources of information
Akimoto, Y. 2004. The Salween under threat. Damming the longest free river in Southeast Asia.
BRN (Burma Rivers Network). 2011. Salween river.
Earth Trends. 2002. Watersheds of the world: Salween watershed.
IRN (International Rivers Network). 2011. China's Nu river. Dam projects threaten magnificent world heritage site.
Salween Watch. 2011. Salween Watch.
The Millenium Project. 2010. Environmental change and biodiversity.
Unknown. 2011. Hydrogeographical approach to the Upper Salween River Basin USRB.
Vatcharasinthu C. and Babel M.S. 1999. Hydropower potential and water diversion from the Salween basin. Panya cnsultants.
Wolf A.T. and Newton J.T. after 2007. Case study of transboundary dispute resolution: Salween river.
World and its peoples. 2007. Myanmar and Thailand.
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). Salween river.
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The majority of traffic accidents iscaused by driver errors. driver assistance systems are aimed to support the driver and can sustainably boost traffic safety and efficiency. The goal of the Institute of Transportation Systems is to examine driver behaviour, driver stress and strain, and accidents in order to derive the requirements for future driver assistance systems. The DLR combines its technological expertise with psychological and ergonomic research to produce effective driver assistance systems which satisfy the capabilities and expectations of the driver. Their implementation is evaluated during tests in a driving simulator, test drives and in real-world road traffic.
Knowledge of the status and behaviour of the driver, both with and without the aid of an assistance system, is crucial for a human-centered development of driver assistance systems. First of all it has to be understood how the driver masters the process of driving even in difficult situations, when his ability to work under stress reaches the limit and why driving errors occur. To achieve this, the Institute of Transportation Systems conducts empirical studies concentrating on driver errors and inadequate stress upon the driver. Psychological and physiological models of driver behaviour are developed, and the required functionality and intervention strategies for driver assistance systems are deducted..
Concepts and Technology
Driver assistance systems can only contribute to increasing traffic safety if they correspond with the needs of the individual driver. With this driver-focused approach, prototypes of assistance systems are developed which can be tailored according to the capabilities and expectations of each driver.
Steps taken by the Institute of Transportation Systems towards the successful implementation of an effective driver assistance system include carrying out empirical studies in order to determine significant assistance functions (e.g. lane change warning) and interaction strategies (e.g. acoustic warning signals.).
Driver assistance systems und functions are also outlined in their technical aspects. To achieve this, knowledge of the driver environment, information perception and information interpretation is required. Various technologies, including those from the aerospace industry, like image picture processing, positioning, communication, control- and planning algorithms are applied. In order to provide an effective, flexible method of integrating features, modular system architectures are developed. Research is also carried out on new and alternative human-machine interfaces.
Methods and Tools
In order to analyse driver behaviour, with and without the use of a driver assistance system, the Institute of Transportation Systems has developed a number of customised tools and test methods supported by its comprehensive infrastructure. With the test vehicle ViewCar analyses of driver behaviour in actual road traffic are carried out. With the driving simulator analyses of unusual or dangerous traffic situations are conducted under repeatable conditions. The Institute’s Virtual Reality-Lab and HMI-Lab allow for a flexible and economic testing of prototype systems without the implications of expensive hardware. The Institute’s dynamic driving simulator provides a realistic driving environment in whichprototype assistance systems can be tested, by combining a high-fidelity immersive visual system,with an integrated cockpit and a hydraulic motion system. The test vehicle FASCar, which can be controlled by a virtual co-pilot, is used for system evaluation purposes under real conditions and the SMPLab serves for quick testing of interaction strategies. | <urn:uuid:66083119-5340-41ca-84df-9734dfd59f8c> | {
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The Adventures of Marco Polo
Born in 1254, Marco Polo was an Italian traveler and explorer with the distinction of being the first European to cross the entire continent of Asia and leave a record of what he saw and heard. In 1260 at the age of seventeen, he made an overland journey with his father and uncle from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, to China. Two years later, they made a second journey. The route led from modern-day Akko, in Israel, to the Persian Gulf, northward through Iran to the present-day Amu Darya (known to the ancients as the Oxus), up the Oxus and its tributary the Pamir to the present-day Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and finally across the Gobi Desert. They reached Shang-tu in 1275. His father and uncle served as military advisers to Kublai Khan while the youthful Polo served in several high-level government positions, including ambassador and as the governor of the city of Yangzhou. While the Great Khan enjoyed having the Polos as his subjects and diplomats, he eventually consented to allow them to leave the Empire, as long as they would escort a princess who was scheduled to marry a Persian king. The three Polos left the Empire in 1292 with the princess, a fleet of fourteen large boats, and 600 other passengers from a port in southern China. The armada sailed through Indonesia to Sri Lanka and India, along the east coast of the Arabian Sea to its final destination at the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Reportedly, only eighteen people survived from the original 600, including the princess, who could not wed her intended fiancé because he had died. She married his son instead. In 1298 Marco Polo served as a captain of a Venetian galley that participated in a battle between the fleets of Venice and Genoa and was eventually taken prisoner by the Genoese. While serving time in prison for two years, he dictated an account of his travels to a fellow prisoner named Rustichello. Shortly thereafter, The Travels of Marco Polo was translated into French and went on to become the basis of the first accurate maps of Asia. The book is divided into chapters covering specific regions and Polo delves into the politics, agriculture, military power, economy, sexual practices, burial system, and religions of each area. He also brought the ideas of paper currency and coal to Europe as well as second-hand reports of areas that he had not visited, such as Japan and Madagascar. Despite the fact that many claim his book to be unreliable, the influence of Marco Polo on geographic exploration was enormous, and he was also a major influence on Christopher Columbus. Columbus owned a copy of the Travels and made annotations in the margins. Even today, his book stands among the great records of geographic exploration. Marco Polo died in 1324 at the age of 70. He was reported to have said in his later years, “I didn’t tell half of what I saw because no one would have believed me.” The Adventures of Marco Polo originally aired on April 14th, 1956, on NBC television. Alfred Drake narrates: “I, Marco Polo, a citizen of Venice, sailed away in 1271 …” (“Beyond the Sunrise”). “Of course there was a girl I left behind me …” (“You’ll Be Seeing Me”). “I saw a continent beyond comprehension …” (“Market Day”). “And there I saw a damsel with a dulcimer …” (“Xanadu”). “I saw Kublai Khan, an old man, a wise man; he asked me what I’d learned along the way …” (“Population”). “The Great Khan liked me, and kept me in his palace; and there in a garden one morning in Spring, I saw a girl …” (“Silver Bells”). “But there was little time for listening, or looking, for there were other things that the Great Khan had planned …” (“The Tartar Song”). “I, Marco Polo, a citizen of Cathay now, journeyed for the Khan into far Tibet. And there I met another girl, in another garden …” (“The Garden of Imagining”). “They filled me with wine, till my steps were unwary …” (“Who, Me?”). “After escaping, by some rather neat swordplay, I reorganized the government and set the country straight. Then I journeyed to the Khan with my mission accomplished …” (“Uneasy Lies the Head”). “Years had gone by since first I sailed from Venice. It was time that I returned …” (“Worlds”). “Then, when I thought my story was over, I met with a girl I’d met before …” (“Is It You?”). “But princesses and sailors seldom ever marry, and dreaming may end with the end of a song …” (“You’ll Be Seeing Me” – reprise). “Time flies, and love dies, and sailors grow older …”(Epilogue).
Marco Polo: Alfred Drake The girl he left behind, the damsel in the garden, the princess, etc.: Doretta Morrow Tibetan host: Ray Drakely Kublai Khan: Paul Ukena Courtiers, Merchants, Slaves, Sailors: Ray Drakely, Paul Ukena Music by Clay Warnick and Mel Pahl, based on themes of Rimsky-Korsakov Lyrics by Edward Eager Book by William Friedberg and Neil Simon Produced and directed by Max Liebman Musical Direction by Charles Sanford and Clay Warnick | <urn:uuid:83bf10d9-d89a-44f8-8f5d-9644a575251f> | {
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On this day in labor history, the year was 1877.
That was the day striking railroad workers in Chicago clashed with police in the “Battle of the Halsted Street Viaduct.”
The Great Railroad Strike had reached the nation’s railroad hub, and began there three days earlier.
Switchmen from the Michigan Central traveled to freight shops in yards across the city, calling workers out to strike.
Soon lumbershovers, butchers and industrial workers joined the strike.
By the time the Battle began, police had already clashed with unarmed strikers twice. Historian Richard Schneirov describes the scene leading up to the Battle: “The city was now preparing itself for a full-scale insurrection, even though violent confrontations were rooted in police attacks on non-violent crowds.”
Previous confrontations centered in the railroad yards. Now, strikers’ actions spilled over into the neighborhood of Pilsen, where they lived.
Thousands gathered along Halsted Street between 12th and 16th streets.
The police arrived, attempting to disperse the crowd.
They chased strikers south and as Schneirov describes, “emptied their revolvers into the masses of humanity.”
The crowd pelted the police with stones in defense and chased them over the viaduct.
As word spread of the pitched battle, stockyard workers from nearby Bridgeport walked off the job.
They marched along Halsted Street, with butcher knives in hand, to support the strikers under attack.
The crowd on Halsted swelled to more than 10,000 as workers continued to battle police.
By evening, 30 workers had been shot dead, hundreds more were seriously wounded.
But the strike continued to spread more fiercely.
Streetcar stockmen, stonecutters, gas workers, glasscutters and others joined the strike.
The city was shut down for another week until railroad bosses finally rescinded wage cuts. | <urn:uuid:8c49a00d-c6d7-4467-b7c4-a77f90b8292b> | {
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This novel begins when 13-year-old Kami, the daughter of a Japanese-Canadian mother and a Scottish-Canadian father, moves with her mother from Vancouver to Edmonton. Here she hopes to reunite with the father who appears to have abandoned her. While rummaging through family boxes, she finds an old diary written by her greatgrandmother. Newspaper clippings inside send her hurtling back in time to 1929, where she encounters extreme prejudice because of her Asian features. After a number of disturbing adventures, Kami is taken in as a domestic servant by Judge Emily Murphy, one of the “famous five,” at the time of her battle to have women declared “persons” — a defining moment in the struggle for women’s rights. Although Kami views Judge Murphy as a “heroine,” she is startled to discover that Murphy holds racist views. On her return to the present, Kami must come to terms, not only with her own heritage, but how she views the ongoing struggle for the rights of all persons.
A Powerpoint detailing The Journal’s historical context can be accessed here.
Other books by Lois Donovan:
Reviews & Awards:
“Lois Donovan’s execution is spot on…This delightful book will challenge [readers] to question and consider alternate views of both historical and everyday events.” —Quill & Quire
“The Journal would be an excellent addition to any Canadian school library, and could also be adapted well to film! Highly recommended.” —Carol Anne Shaw, author of Hannah & the Spindle Whorl
“This novel will likely be popular with teachers and librarians who champion critical literacy or encourage social justice discussions in their classrooms…Highly recommended.”—CM magazine
“A tour-de-force… This densely woven novel takes up topics of crucial importance and makes them accessible to high school students without oversimplifying them… E for Excellent” —Resource Links | <urn:uuid:215e818d-ea07-45a5-bfe7-8f07c5b39a3b> | {
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Greenhouses- The district is using a greenhouse in order to grow food so that are school can self sustain itself. The greenhouses will need to have a specific temperature in order for the plants to grow correctly that you will have to monitor. The reason we are using greenhouses are because we can grow food that we normally couldn't during certain seasons or if the don't naturally grow here. We also use green houses to utilize renewable energy resources.
Eco-Friendly Materials- Our School of The Future has to be as innovative as it can be so our school has to be made to be as energy efficient and environmentally friendly to possible pave the way for future schools. We can use recycled steel, laser lights and vacuum insulation panels these materials all increase the efficiency of the school.
The World's Growing Population
Population and Food in the Future- By 2050 the population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) our food production will have to be increased by 70% from what it is today to avoid starvation. As the population grows exponentially technology will have to keep up with it. So the district wants to come up with innovative ways to create food and save energy to prepare for the future.
3 Popular Hydroponics Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from http://www.healthyharvestfl.com/blog/3-popular-hydroponics-systems/
Ebb and Flow Hydroponic System. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from http://visual.ly/ebb-and-flow-hydroponic-system
Aeroponics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from http://visual.ly/aeroponics
2050: A third more mouths to feed. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2016, from http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35571/icode/ | <urn:uuid:9acc7316-b3d6-4b33-8b1c-5eaed5b851fa> | {
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With a history dating back to the 1860s, the Fertiliser Manufacturing industry plays an essential role in ensuring that the nation's agricultural production systems are both economically efficient in the short term and sustainable in the long term. Roughly five to six million tonnes of fertiliser are sold each year in Australia, half of which are manufactured locally. The industry supplies a range of phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulphur fertilisers, and an increasing mix of high-analysis blends and trace elements.
Companies in the industry manufacture or mix fertilisers, including those based on the three major plant nutrients (phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium), and organic fertilisers, including those derived from bonemeal and animal by-products.
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Gardening Articles: Edibles :: Vegetables
Using and Preserving the Other Alliums
by National Gardening Association Editors
Scallions or green tops are one of the first vegetables ready for harvest each spring. It's a real pleasure to go into the garden and pull them. Good scallions are young, green and tender and usually have several inches of white skin above the roots. They are either grown from a variety of bulbless onion or they are green tops - thinnings from the entire onion family: garlic, shallots and leeks as well as onions.
Scallions keep a few days if wrapped in plastic and kept in the refrigerator, but they're best if picked the day you use them. To prepare scallions, wash them and cut off the roots. Peel off the outside layer of skin and cut off the top green tail, leaving four- to six-inch scallions. The green tails are good as garnish. They're excellent with sliced tomatoes, on baby boiled potatoes, fish, egg dishes or salads.
To dry scallions, cut them crosswise, tops and all, into 1/8- to 1/4-inch bits. Put the chopped scallions into a cheesecloth bag and blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Plunge the bag in cold water, then take it outside and shake it to dry. Put the scallions in a single layer on dehydrator screens, and when thoroughly dry, seal them tightly in containers. When using dried scallions in dips or spreads, let them stand in the mixture for two hours before serving.
To freeze scallions, simply chop them up and put them in small, plastic containers and place them in the freezer. As with onions, use frozen scallions within a month or so for best flavor.
Chives are chopped finely and used as garnish and in spreads, dips and eggs. Their flavor gets stronger the longer they're mixed with cottage cheese or cream cheese, so only combine them at serving time.
To cut chives, use scissors and trim a few of the stalks to a height of one inch rather than cutting the tips of the whole plant. When they grow back to six or seven inches, they're ready to be trimmed again.
The queen of the sauce onions, the shallot imparts a delicate flavor to sauces somewhere between garlic and onion. Shallots should not be browned, as they turn bitter. Three to four shallots are the equivalent of one medium-sized onion; they're rarely eaten alone, but are used regularly in cooking. However, pickled shallots are special. Shallots are cured, dried and stored in the same way as onions. | <urn:uuid:882704a8-8546-47bd-aec8-3274f8f31701> | {
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Heart Attack Questions and Answers
By Dr. Sanjay K. Gandhi
Heart Attack Symptoms
How Do I Know If I'm Having A Heart Attack?
Chest pain is a major symptom of a heart attack or myocardial infarction, which occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, preventing enough oxygen from getting to the heart muscle. The heart muscle then dies or becomes permanently damaged.
Most heart attacks result from a severe blockage in a coronary artery, a blood vessel that provides oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.
If you are suffering from a heart attack, you may feel pain in only one part of your body, or it may move from your chest to your arms, shoulder, neck, teeth, jaw, belly area or back. The pain can be severe or mild. The discomfort can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Other heart attack symptoms might include: a tight band around your chest, bad indigestion, something heavy sitting on your chest, uncomfortable squeezing or heavy pressure, light-headedness, or pain that spreads to your shoulders, neck, arms, back, jaws or teeth.
Additional heart attack symptoms may include: anxiety, coughing, fainting, light-headedness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating (which may be extreme), unusual fatigue, or back pain.
Some, often women or the elderly, may have little or no chest pain, or they may experience less common heart attack symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue or weakness.
A heart attack is not the only cause for chest pain, but if you have chest pain and think you may be having a heart attack, seek immediate medical help. Call 911 immediately. Don’t try to drive yourself to the hospital.
How Can I Tell If My Chest Pain Or Symptoms Are Not A Heart Attack?
Because the causes of chest pain can range from mild to serious to life-threatening, getting your chest pain checked is very important. Other organs or tissues can be the source of your pain, including your lungs, esophagus, muscles, ribs, tendons, or nerves.
Other causes of chest pain include:
- Angina, which occurs because your heart is not getting enough blood and oxygen and which can feel similar to heart attack pain
- Asthma, which is generally accompanied by shortness of breath, wheezing or cough
- Pneumonia, a blood clot to the lung, the collapse of a small area of a lung, or inflammation of the lining around the lung (chest pain often worsens when you take a deep breath or cough and usually feels sharp)
- Strain or inflammation of the muscles and tendons between the ribs
- Anxiety and rapid breathing
- Problems with your digestive system such as stomach ulcers, gallbladder disease, gallstones, indigestion, heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (when acid from your stomach backs up into your esophagus)
Heart Attack Diagnosis
How Is A Heart Attack Diagnosed?
Diagnosing a heart attack is based on assessing you, changes on your electrocardiogram tracings, and abnormalities on your blood tests. Your health care provider will perform a physical exam. Your doctor may hear abnormal sounds in your lungs (“crackles”), a heart murmur, or other abnormal sounds. You may have a rapid pulse. Your blood pressure may be normal, high, or low.
Patients will undergo certain tests. The first test is often an electrocardiogram (ECG) – a tracing of the heart’s electrical activity and rhythm. It is performed at your bedside and may be repeated several times.
A series of blood tests will also be performed that can help show if you have substances produced by heart tissue damage or if you have a high risk for heart attack.
Additional tests may be performed to help evaluate the heart and heart circulation, including cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography, echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), CT scan and MRI scan.
Heart Attack Treatment
What Is The Treatment For a Heart Attack?
Depending on ECG results, certain patients may undergo cardiac catheterization to open up a blocked coronary artery (angioplasty), and possibly have a coronary stent placed.
Angioplasty with stenting can be a life-saving procedure if one is suffering from a large heart attack. If a patient goes to a hospital that does not perform cardiac catheterization and coronary stenting, then a special “clotbusting” medicine may be given.
Many different medicines are used to treat and prevent heart attacks. Nitroglycerin helps reduce chest pain. You may also receive strong medicines to relieve pain. Antiplatelet medicines help prevent clot formation. Aspirin is an antiplatelet drug, and is given to all patients who may be having a heart attack. Another antiplatelet drug that may be given is clopidogrel. Beta-blockers help reduce the strain on the heart and lower blood pressure. ACE inhibitors are used to prevent heart failure and lower blood pressure. Lipid-lowering medications, especially statins, reduce blood cholesterol levels to prevent plaque from increasing. They may reduce the risk of another heart attack.
Once you have been stabilized with medications, angioplasty may still be needed to open blocked coronary arteries. Some people may need coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). With CABG, the surgeon takes either a vein or artery from another location in your body and uses it to bypass the blocked coronary artery.
Dr. Sanjay Gandhi is an interventional cardiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health. You may request an appointment online or by calling 888-716-WAKE. | <urn:uuid:e07513ac-85ea-42ff-acd2-39b29300f646> | {
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Supporting Minority Students in Geoscience at UNO
Minority Awareness Program for Geoscience at the University of New Orleans (UNO)
The purpose of the Minority Awareness Program is to provide opportunities for minority high school students to explore Earth sciences through field study. Started in 1974, it has become the longest running program in the geosciences for recruiting minority students.
While the program initially consisted only of field trips in the geosciences for minority high school students, in 1990 the program gained additional funding and started offering scholarships to students to attend the University of New Orleans. The addition of financial support increased enrollment significantly. In more recent years, the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina resulted in a need to rebuild the numbers of students in the program and adapt to changing conditions within the local high schools.
In 1974 when the program started, African American students were only about 3% of the university's student body. Up until 1990, when scholarships began to be offered as a part of the minority recruitment program, the geology department rarely had more than one African American student. Within ten years, minority students made up 40-50% of the undergraduate population in the department, which was greater than or equal to the percentage at the university as a whole. Minority students in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department at UNO are mostly African American or Hispanic students. Students are primarily from the local area and many of them are first generation college students.
Undergraduate students in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department (EES) at UNO can earn a Bachelor's of Science degree with a concentration in either Geology or Coastal and Environmental Science. One way that students are recruited into the EES Department is through the Minority Awareness Program for Geoscience.
In 2005 Hurricane Katrina had a huge impact on the minority recruiting program in geoscience, as it did on the University of New Orleans in general, and the entire geographic area. The program was set back considerably with the loss of students and has been rebuilding ever since. As of spring 2013, the program is in the 4th year of a NSF grant, Minority Education through Traveling and Learning in the Sciences (METALS). In addition, it is funded by individual donors, private industry sponsors, and departmental funds. The program is making a strong comeback in recruiting and retaining students in the geosciences.
Keys to Success
- Attracting new students through annual field trips for minority high school students, recruitment within local high schools, and by keeping tuition costs down.
- Supporting majors through persistence in communications, mentoring, tutoring, and funding.
- Preparing students for careers in Geoscience by providing a broad background that will prepare them for a variety of careers, including jobs in coastal restoration where there has been strong demand in the region in recent years.
Attracting New Students
Outreach to high school students. Since Hurricane Katrina, the program has been reaching out more broadly and deeply to local high schools in an effort to attract more students and to improve the quality of students recruited. This effort is their main focus now, and involves communication with school administrators and teachers, plus on-site presentations to students. Some of these schools are new ones that didn't exist before, or existing ones that are reinventing themselves; and as an added challenge, many of the teachers have changed. The purpose of this outreach is to recruit students into the Minority Awareness Program for Geoscience and to encourage them to attend UNO. This program takes students on field trips at no cost in order to give them exposure to Earth sciences. For example, in summer 2013 the field trip location will be Northern California and Yosemite National Park.
Keeping costs down. The program has been successful in attracting students to go into the geosciences, but many have chosen to attend other colleges, particularly local and regional HBCU's. One way that UNO competes is by providing a cost effective education in comparison to these other colleges.
Supporting Our Majors
Communication and Mentoring. The director of the program and other staff and faculty at UNO have found that it helps to keep a line of communication open with their students. This enables them to encourage the students and to provide support when issues arise. Students often need help making connections in order to access needed resources. For example, students need to be aware of the funding opportunities that exist for them as minority students and the mechanisms for obtaining funds. The program uses a variety of means to communicate with students, including phone, text messages, Facebook, and email. They have found that persistence in this area has been helpful.
Tutoring. A math tutoring center helps students succeed in difficult classes like calculus. Students often face academic challenges and persistence into the second year has been a problem in recent years.
Funding. Providing financial support has made a big difference in recruitment and retention. Money is set aside specifically for scholarships for minority students. However, students sometimes do not know about these funds, or do not know how to access them, or are reticent to ask for one reason or another.
Preparing Students for CareersThe devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, coupled with prior movement of many oil and gas companies to Houston, motivated the geology department to switch its focus (and its name) to Earth and Environmental Sciences. Students can concentrate in either Geology or Coastal and Environmental Science. The coastal area has become a new source of jobs as a lot of money has been invested in Louisiana for coastal restoration. In past years, one of the biggest employers of UNO graduates is the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The focus for these jobs is on minerals management, oil and gas exploration, and drilling.
- Teaching an Introductory Course over the Internet to Hurricane Katrina Victims Essay by former UNO faculty member Laura Serpa for the 2007 workshop on Student Motivations and Attitudes: The Role of Affective Domain in Geoscience Education part of the On the Cutting Edge project. | <urn:uuid:097df4a9-6d4f-4abc-b3a2-0a79f85f9d82> | {
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Before and after images of North Korea’s nuclear test show change in height of mountainUpdated: Sep 14, 2017 16:35 IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
People watch a TV news reporting about a possible nuclear test conducted by North Korea ,at the Seoul Railway station in Seoul, South Korea.(AP File Photo)
Images showed that the nuclear test conducted by North Korea, which it claims was an Hydrogen Bomb, was powerful enough to sink an 85-acre area on the mountain under which it was likely detonated earlier in September, a Washington Post report said.
Airbus’ Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite took pictures of the Mount Mantap before and after the nuclear test. They showed “significant changes at Mount Mantap’s peak elevation. Prior to the test, Mount Mantap was 2,205 meters high; the mountain has since diminished in height,” wrote Jeffrey Lewis, head of the East Asia programme at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
“You can see that the explosion visibly displaces the mountain, which demonstrates both how large the explosion was but also that it occurred in the same tunnel complex as the preceding four nuclear tests,” said Lewis on the Arms Control Wonk website.
The SAR satellites can observe environmental changes due to explosions and locate where the explosion might have occurred, said Lewis.
US monitors measured a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake near the North’s main testing site on September 3, felt in parts of China and Russia, with an aftershock possibly caused by a rock cave-in. It was the sixth and most powerful test North Korea has conducted since its first in 2006, demonstrating a stunning advance in the country’s ability to build high-yield nuclear weapons.
According to the South’s Yonhap news agency, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said the test was the fifth the North had conducted in the same No. 2 tunnel at the Punggye-ri test site, and it was “likely to have collapsed”.
North Korea is the only country in the world that still carries out underground nuclear tests.
The North has four tunnel openings into four mountains at their Punggye-ri test site in its mountainous northeast. The first tunnel was abandoned after just one use, probably because gases leaked and authorities realised the geology there was unfavourable. They conducted their next five tests, including the September 3 test, at the second mountain: Mount Mantap. The others remain unused.
The satellite images are “additional proof that the September 2017 explosion was much larger than ever before at this site,” Melissa Hanham, a researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation, was quoted as saying by the Post. Hanham added that the images from the North’s nuclear test last year did not show substantial change on the mountain’s surface.
A US-based website that is linked to John Hopkins University, 38 North, raised its estimate for the yield of the blast to ‘rought 250 kilotons’. If true, the figure is more than 16 times the size of the 15 kiloton H-Bomb America dropped on Hiroshima in 1954.
“This large explosive yield is also quite close to what 38 North had previously determined to be the maximum estimated containable yield for the Punggye-ri test site,” said 38 North.
US officials have said they are still assessing whether it was an H-bomb, also known as a thermonuclear weapon, but that “so far there is nothing inconsistent with the North Korean claim that this was a hydrogen bomb”.
A North Korean state agency threatened on Thursday to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a UN Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test.
(With agency inputs)
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Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine have discovered a genetic process that can restore function to a defective protein, which is the most common cause of cystic fibrosis (CF).
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease caused by mutations in a gene that adversely affect its protein product. In its correct form and cellular location, this protein, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), functions as a channel for ions to move across cell membranes, and is critical for maintaining cellular salt and water balance.
The most common CF-causing genetic mutation, known as delta F508, disrupts the process whereby the CFTR protein is folded into its correct shape and shipped to the membranes of cells that line the airways and other organs. Most of the defective CFTR protein is misprocessed and gets degraded. The lack of normal CFTR ion channels leads to numerous problems, including lung infection and inflammation, the major causes of disease and death in cystic fibrosis.
Despite its importance, how the CFTR protein is made and delivered to cell membranes in its functioning form is not well understood. The UI team led by Paul McCray, M.D., professor of pediatrics and microbiology with UI Health Care and the Roy J. Carver Chair in Pulmonary Research and Vice Chair for Research in Pediatrics, investigated the role of microRNAs -- small non-coding stretches of RNA -- in regulating expression of CFTR.
In their research, McCray and colleagues discovered that one particular microRNA, called miR-138, helps control the biosynthesis of CFTR by regulating a network of genes involved in the production and processing of the protein. The study, published online the week of July 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition, shows that that miR-138 acts on the other genes to orchestrate a cellular program that increases production of CFTR and increases the amount of the protein that is transported to the cell membrane where it functions as an ion channel.
"We first wanted to determine how this gene network impacts the CFTR protein produced in people who don't have cystic fibrosis," says lead author Shyam Ramachandran, Ph.D.. "We identified a novel regulatory circuit, but then asked ourselves if any of this affected the mutant protein."
Surprisingly, the researchers found that when the gene network was activated by miR-138, it not only increased the amount of the mutated protein, but also partially restored the protein's function.
By manipulating the microRNA network, the UI team was able to change the fate of the misfolded CFTR from being degraded in the cell to functioning as an ion channel in the cell membrane.
"This was a very surprising finding," Ramachandran says. "It unexpectedly helps rescue the function of the mutant protein."
Because most people with CF have one or two copies of the delta F508 mutation, interventions that overcome the CFTR protein-processing problems caused by this mutation might have important implications for new ways of treating CF.
"In the field of CF therapeutics there's great interest in identifying ways to restore the function of this misprocessed protein," McCray says. "We were very surprised that manipulating this microRNA regulated gene network had this rescuing effect. This opens up a new avenue for the development of CF therapies."
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Unlocking the Mystery of Recurrent Miscarriage
A pregnancy that ends before 20 weeks is called a miscarriage. Most miscarriages happen before the end of the first trimester (before 12 weeks). Many occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant. In the past, a woman who miscarried several times might never know why it happened. Today, more and more women are finding out the causes of their recurrent miscarriages.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists currently defines recurrent miscarriage as two to three, or more, consecutive pregnancy losses in the first trimester or early second trimester.
Miscarriages are not uncommon. It is estimated that every woman has a 15 to 20 percent chance of having a pregnancy end in miscarriage.
For women who have had one miscarriage, their chances of carrying the next pregnancy to full term remain about the same as if they had never had one. The chance of miscarrying again after two miscarriages increases with each loss. The risk for recurrent miscarriage increases with age. Women 40 years or older with previous recurring miscarriages have a much higher risk compared to younger women.
There are many different reasons for miscarriage, including fetal chromosomal defects, hormonal problems or abnormalities of the uterus. But the cause is unknown in up to 75 percent of recurrent miscarriages, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Some doctors are hesitant to begin testing and treatment until after three successive miscarriages, or after a second miscarriage if the woman is older than 35, because much of the testing and treatment is controversial, and the reasons that treatments work are not well understood.
It is also likely that a woman who suffers recurrent miscarriages will go on to have a healthy baby. According to the ASRM, 60 to 70 percent of couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy losses will go on to have a healthy pregnancy. The group recommends a healthy lifestyle and folic acid supplementation, as well as smoking cessation, weight control, and reducing alcohol and caffeine. Informative and sympathetic counseling appears to play an important role in these patients' success.
Ask your doctor about the following possible causes of miscarriage.
Problems with the genes or chromosomes of the fetus are the most common causes of miscarriage with first pregnancy losses. These are usually not problems inherited from parents, but occur spontaneously, by chance, in the embryo. They are less commonly the cause for women with recurrent miscarriage.
Uterine abnormalities are associated with both first and second trimester pregnancy losses. Congenital abnormalities include double uterus and uterine septum. Other abnormalities include uterine polyps, fibroids and scar tissue inside the uterine cavity.
Incompetent cervix complicates about 1 percent of pregnancies. Women with an incompetent cervix often have rapid miscarriages between 16 and 18 weeks. This condition can be successfully treated with a stitch to help hold the cervix closed.
There are no infections that are known to cause recurrent miscarriages.
Exposure to certain solvents, either by the pregnant woman or her partner, sometimes may cause miscarriage. Couples should discuss any chemicals in the workplace with their doctor.
By doing a biopsy of the lining of the uterus, doctors can test for a luteal phase defect, which means that the body secretes too little progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. This is thought to be a factor in some cases of recurrent miscarriage. The relationship between luteal phase defect and recurrent pregnancy loss remains a subject of controversy, however, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. There is no conclusive data that treating a woman with progesterone or fertility medication is effective against recurrent pregnancy loss.
Maternal endocrine disorders such as uncontrolled diabetes or severe thyroid abnormalities have also been linked to miscarriage.
Smoking is a cause of recurrent miscarriage. Women should not smoke and also should avoid alcohol during pregnancy.
According to the ASRM, there is some evidence that certain abnormalities in the DNA from a man's sperm may increase miscarriage risk. It is not known, however, how often sperm defects contribute to recurrent miscarriage.
Immunology is the study of how the body recognizes something foreign or different and makes antibodies to protect itself. An immune problem called antiphospholipid syndrome is the cause for recurrent miscarriage in 3 to 15 percent of women. The College recommends that women with recurrent miscarriage be tested for lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies (cardiolipins are a type of phospholipids).
A woman with antiphospholipid antibodies and lupus-like anticoagulant can be treated with low-dose aspirin and heparin. This therapy can increase blood flow to the placenta by inhibiting the tendency for clotting. | <urn:uuid:e89144ff-499a-44d8-8bda-18dcfe88b305> | {
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The growth in income inequality in the United States since the 1980s stems from two different sources. The first is that the incomes of typical households have stagnated. The other is that the incomes at the very top of the income distribution have skyrocketed. Both sources will have to be corrected if the gap between the superrich and everyone else is to be narrowed.
In his very important new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Harvard University Press, 2014), Thomas Piketty does not take up the fact that between 1986 and 2012 household income increased by a dismal 2.5 percent, from $49,764 to $51,017 (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Instead, he focuses on what happened to the second determinant of increased income inequality -- what was occurring at the top. For while there was next to no growth in median household income since the early 1980s, "those making more than $500,000 a year have seen their remuneration literally explode (and those above $1 million a year have risen even more rapidly)." (314) Piketty writes that this explosion "reflects the advent of 'supermanagers,' that is, top executives of large firms who have managed to obtain extremely high, historically unprecedented compensation packages for their labor." (302)
There was a period during the late 1990s when household income did increase, and for a short time the trend to inequality was slowed. Employment growth was strong and therefore workers were able to secure significant wage advances. But with the new century, unemployment trended upward. Never again did the unemployment rate approximate the low of 3.8 per cent that occurred in April 2000. The rise in unemployment after 2000 put an end to increased income for everyone but the very wealthy. High unemployment means that large numbers of unemployed people are clamoring for work and therefore employers have the upper hand in setting wages.
But what was happening at the other end of the pay scale is more difficult to explain. Why did managers experience giant increases when everyone else was treading water?
Piketty's surprising yet plausible explanation is that the impetus for managerial compensation increases was provided by the reduction in tax rates for high income earners that was passed during the Reagan administration (and the Thatcher government in Great Britain). Marginal tax rates for the rich in those countries fell from 80-90 percent to 30-40 percent. Accordingly, as he writes, "in the 1950s and 1960s, executives in British and U.S. firms had little reason to fight for such raises... because 80-90 percent of the increase would in any case go directly to the government." After 1980 however, he writes, "the game was utterly transformed." Executives "went to considerable lengths" to persuade compensation committees to grant them big increases. And they found it easy to do so because it was an inside job: "the members of compensation committees were often chosen in a rather incestuous manner." (510)
Piketty finds a consistent pattern among economically developed countries. The more that tax rates on high incomes were reduced, the more executive compensation grew. Conversely where taxes on high incomes did not change or changed only moderately, managers' compensation tended to grow only slowly. Piketty's research also importantly reveals that the increase in managerial compensation had no positive payoff for the economy. Productivity growth was not more rapid in the countries where executive compensation grew more than elsewhere.
The inescapable conclusion is that there is nothing foreordained about the growth in income inequality. It is not inevitable. Rather, it is the result of purposeful policies. Tax rates for the rich went down in the U.S. because Congress passed legislation to lower them. Unemployment remains high because that same legislative body is preoccupied with the budgetary deficit and so has rejected increasing government spending in order to reduce the unemployment rate.
What lies behind both trends is the agenda-setting role played by rich political donors, a large percentage of whom are corporate executives. It is their tax rates that have been reduced. And it is their corporations' profits that have been protected by keeping unemployment high and therefore wages stagnant.
Seen in this way, growing inequality is the logical outcome of the way we pay for our politics. When the super rich have disproportionate influence over political outcomes, they are the principle beneficiaries.
That disproportionate power is the real source of income inequality. Until we reduce the power of wealthy campaign contributors with a system of publicly funded election campaigns, there is little likelihood that we will be able to move effectively to a more egalitarian society and healthy economy. | <urn:uuid:91fd3ac8-08b6-4314-8fae-d636544b7962> | {
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Species Detail - Brachychaeteuma melanops - Species information displayed is based on all datasets.
Terrestrial Map - 10kmDistribution of the number of records recorded within each 10km grid square (ITM).
Marine Map - 50kmDistribution of the number of records recorded within each 50km grid square (WGS84).
Brade-Birks & Brade-Birks, 1918
21 March (recorded in 1999)
27 November (recorded in 1994)
National Biodiversity Data Centre, Ireland, Brachychaeteuma melanops, accessed 24 May 2018, <https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Species/120044> | <urn:uuid:24616097-8c38-442d-9157-cc31a33cef76> | {
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The Price Stability Act of 2008
Returning the Federal Reserve's Focus to Sound Money
The Federal Reserve’s legislative mandate, established in The Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act of 1978, directs it to focus on two goals that are often at odds: short-term economic growth and long-run price stability.
Over the past few months, the dangers of this dual mandate have become apparent: as the Fed has slashed interest rates to lessen the short-term pain of the economic slowdown, its actions have spurred skyrocketing food and energy prices, and a sharp decline in the value of the dollar. The resulting inflation is eroding the value of Americans’ paychecks and savings, and the dollar’s collapse is causing global financial instability and threatening the greenback’s status as the world’s reserve currency. | <urn:uuid:86d50715-1af4-480a-b00b-363be4ad72e0> | {
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Rubrics have so many possible uses for secondary teachers. They not only make students aware of grading criteria and help you to assess projects, presentations, and writing in a somewhat consistent fashion but also provide opportunities for student ownership. Using rubrics in high school can help improve instruction. Make rubrics meaningful by using them to create student-centered learning opportunities.
Welcome to “This or That,” a monthly chat where the authors of Reading and Writing Haven and Language Arts Classroom cover different ways of approaching common decisions in the ELA classroom.
1. Use rubrics to teach students to track their own growth.
Teachers can teach students to track their own growth by using rubrics. Over the past few years, the pressure for student participation in data tracking has increased. Rubrics are a simple way to make that happen.
I encourage my students to be active in the learning process by showing them how to use pre- and post-assessments to measure progress. When students complete a sample essay for me at the beginning of the year, we record areas of strength and skills that need improvement. Then, we set goals. Conferencing with students creates a partnership, which helps motivate them to invest their time and energy toward making sure those goals are achieved.
Rubrics that are clear in design help students to truly understand their growth. Many of my students struggle with grammar, and it always surprises them when they see their score on the grammar diagnostic assessment improve from a 50% to an 80%, for example.
2. Use rubrics to differentiate for diverse ability levels.
I’ve experimented with many different kinds of rubrics. When time allows, I enjoy differentiating rubrics for student ability levels.
What does this look like?
When our school temporarily collapsed ability tracking, I had special education students sitting in the same room as advanced placement pupils. When it came time for writing a research paper, I needed a way to differentiate for readiness levels. The solution I found most effective was to create three different versions of the original rubric. I then allowed students to select the rubric they felt challenged them most appropriately. Of course, students sometimes needed guidance and encouragement to make wise decisions, but most students surprised me by choosing a more rigorous rubric than I would have assigned them.
Another way I’ve differentiated rubrics to empower students is allowing them to create the criteria and expectations. For example, when my students complete a vocabulary choice board, I allow students to design the rubric because each of them is selecting different vocabulary words and assignments. Because students create the rubric themselves and get approval from me, they are more willing to do the work, and they often excel.
3. Use rubrics to keep students focused during an assessment.
When students are completing an open-ended assessment, it’s easier to keep them focused on the guidelines if I include a rubric built into the page. For instance, during book club, I’ll periodically check for reading progress and understanding with journal prompts. On the bottom of the page, I include three writing categories I look to assess: ideas, organization, and conventions.
Including the rubric in plain sight at the bottom of the page reminds students to check their own work during brainstorming, drafting, and revising. Students know exactly what they need to do, and – even better – the rubric has to be short and concise, so it makes for quicker grading.
4. Use rubrics to develop a common vocabulary.
Teachers use different jargon. For instance, do you use the term thesis statement or claim? Concession or counterargument and rebuttal? Unless you have the same students from year-to-year, it’s important to develop a common vocabulary.
To make rubrics student-friendly, they should use language specific to what you will discuss throughout the school year. In my classroom, we use the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing, so my writing pre-assessment reflects that.
Part of empowering students and putting them in the driver’s seat of their own education is making sure they fully understand our expectations. Rubrics can do that. Before writing an essay, for instance, we study and analyze examples. During this time, we use the same rubric to evaluate the examples as I use when I grade their papers.
All of my students appreciate this clarity and structure, especially my struggling writers when we write our argumentative research paragraphs. Because we’ve established a common foundation, my students don’t look at me like I’m from a different planet when I tell them to revise because their rough draft is missing a concession statement.
5. Use rubrics to work on developing criteria and self-evaluating.
One of the reading strategy skills I teach my freshmen is that of evaluating texts. I always teach them that the first step in evaluating is first establishing criteria for that particular text. What makes…a meme humorous? …an open letter impactful? …a tweet witty? …a book a classic? …an essay exemplary?
When students create their own rubrics, they are learning how to develop criteria and evaluate their own work, like with this picture-based poetry brainstorming assignment. Students appreciate knowing that this skill is imperative in life. They can’t simply walk into their future boss’s office and say, “Our evaluation tool needs improvement” without having specific ideas for what criteria need to be changed as well as what would make each aspect better.
Much of the conversation surrounding rubrics in secondary education revolves around types. I’d argue that the design is not as important as the way the rubric is utilized. Is it simply serving as a vehicle for teachers to assess student work, or does it double as a way to put students in control of their own learning and to improve instruction? The type of rubric should be determined by the desired instructional outcome.
Looking for an alternate view? Lauralee from Language Arts Classroom lays out her process for how to create meaningful rubrics in this sister post.
WHAT TO READ NEXT:
- Using Positive Phone Calls to Improve Rapport and Classroom Management
- Brain-Based Vocabulary Activities for the Secondary Classroom
- Best Books for Teens: Classroom Library Suggestions | <urn:uuid:bca56a4d-dac0-43a5-9f55-e2223318f286> | {
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23 photographs, 1 map
As star players for the 1955 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers, and prior to that as the first black players to be candidates to break professional baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella would seem to be natural allies. But the two men were divided by a rivalry going far beyond the personality differences and petty jealousies of competitive teammates. Behind the bitterness were deep and differing beliefs about the fight for civil rights.
Robinson, the more aggressive and intense of the two, thought Jim Crow should be attacked head-on; Campanella, more passive and easygoing, believed that ability, not militancy, was the key to racial equality. Drawing on interviews with former players such as Monte Irvin, Hank Aaron, Carl Erskine, and Don Zimmer, Jackie and Campy offers a closer look at these two players and their place in a historical movement torn between active defiance and passive resistance. William C. Kashatus deepens our understanding of these two baseball icons and civil rights pioneers and provides a clearer picture of their time and our own.
William C. Kashatus is the author of many books, including September Swoon: Richie Allen, the ’64 Phillies and Racial Integration.
“A fantastic and thought-provoking analysis of how two men championed the fight for racial harmony in segregated America via different rules of engagement. A must-read for any serious student of baseball and American history.”—Larry Lester, historian for the Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame | <urn:uuid:84c17fbe-8a4f-4858-bbbb-4fbb4fd86aff> | {
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Posture seems to be such a trivial thing. Parents are great at reminding, “stand up straight” or “stop slouching”. Wise words and sometimes they go unheeded.
Wise because it is important to have good posture DURING the activities that you partake in. More often than not, elite athletes have excellent posture. They stand, walk, run and carry themselves meticulously. However it is when the body is under load, either by training, competing and opposition pressures that their posture has to perform.
What is good posture?
Is it standing up straight, shoulders back, spine erect—looking like you are standing to attention?? NOPE.
There are 2 ways to improve your posture:
1st – stand up ‘tall’. Imagine a piece of string pulling you up from your head. We naturally elongate. You are NOT standing to attention. You are simply standing tall with your shoulders relaxed back not pulled back.
2nd – Have a neutral pelvis. There are 2 ways people stand – first is with the bum ‘sticking’ out’ – many dancers do this because their pelvis is tilted forwards through habit.
The second is people stand with the bum ‘tucked’ in. In this scenario the pelvis is tilted backwards.
Another way of looking at it — Imagine your pelvis to be a fruit bowl that needs a to be kept level. Do not let your fruit-bowl tip forwards (anatomical term -anterior pelvic tilt) or tip back backwards (anatomically – posterior pelvic tilt). When its level it is neutral.
How quickly can you improve your posture?
It takes approximately 3000 reps of motor learning. Motor learning is mastering a task so that the brain does it automatically.This can be achieved if you complete 200 reps per day for 15 days.
Don’t be concerned – you will get through 200 reps quickly. Create cues during the day to improve your posture eg. when checking your watch, seeing yourself in the mirror, reminding team-mates, taping your back, etc.
All these add up. If done correctly within 15 days you will notice a difference. After 30 days it will feel awkward to even slouch.
Good luck and improve your personal best. | <urn:uuid:9253fc7d-13e2-4eb6-abaf-ec43b1b5a443> | {
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Two-factor authentication (TFA, T-FA or 2FA) is an approach to authentication which requires the presentation of two or more of the three authentication factors:
- Something the user knows (e.g., password, PIN);
- Something the user has (e.g., ATM card, smart card); and
- Something the user is (e.g., biometric characteristic, such as a fingerprint).
When a bank customer visits a local automated teller machine (ATM), one authentication factor is the physical ATM card the customer slides into the machine ("something the user has"). The second factor is the PIN the customer enters through the keypad ("something the user knows"). Without the corroborating verification of both of these factors, authentication does not succeed. This scenario illustrates the basic concept of most two-factor authentication systems: the combination of a knowledge factor ("something the user knows") and a possession factor ("something the user has").
Two-factor authentication is often refered as multi-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication is sometimes confused with "strong authentication", however, "strong authentication" and "multi-factor authentication" are fundamentally different processes. Soliciting multiple answers to challenge questions may be considered strong authentication but, unless the process also retrieves "something the user has" or "something the user is", it would not be considered two-factor authentication. | <urn:uuid:447b1ff5-e734-41ae-8e04-b07f0d754731> | {
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Database Connection with the PHP PDO Class
In PHP, working with databases using the PDO class is one of the best ways to create a dynamic website. Now, it should be worth mentioning that to work with databases, you need to know how to talk to a database. Please review the SQL section before attempting to use databases in PHP. In SQL, we talk to databases primarily using queries. It has its own syntax and structure that is pretty logical. However, it is also very sensitive because it deals with all of your data. SQL injections can ruin your life. PDO has a couple of excellent ways of overcoming SQL injections using prepared statements. Before we get started, I will not covering all of the SQL queries because I just want you to get the basic idea of how to initiate a connection. Now, Let’s get started:
A database connection is always required to talk to a database because we have to know what data we want to work with. Now, we need to know a few identifiers to access the database, including the location of that database, the database name, username, and password. You should be able to figure all of these out from your hosting provider. It would be too difficult for me to show you how to find them because of the tons of hosting companies that all do it differently.
$host = 'myHostingURL.hostedresource.com'; $dbName = 'databaseName'; $username = 'myUsername'; $password = 'topSecretPassword'; $dbCon = new PDO("mysql:host=". $host . "; dbname=" . $dbName, $username, $password);
Now, you have to change those variables to whatever database settings, username, and password you have. Let’s figure out what the heck is going on here. After the configuration variables, we use $dbCon = new PDO and pass in our various parameters. Of course, you don’t have to split it up like I did, but that makes it much easier to modify down the road. Basically, this is how you set up your link to the database. Your $dbCon variable is now an object of the PDO class. We’ll talk more about this as we see it in action. That is the absolute link to anything and everything you want to do with your data in the database. This was an introduction to using PHP Data Objects.
This was a guest post by Jared Drake, thank you ! | <urn:uuid:ee3639a0-e66d-444e-902b-b856b495c719> | {
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The History of Valentines Day
Author: Jackie Date Posted:19 December 2011
As we move through the Christmas break we know all too soon it will be over and we look on to the next special dates on our calendar. One of these is Valentines Day and if you like to plan ahead you may already be thinking about what gift to get for your special loved one. So many couples cherish Valentines Day however so many of us may not know how this special day for lovers came about. If you would like to know more, then keep reading.
Saint Valentines Day history
When you are ordering your gift baskets Brisbane for your Valentine, take a moment to consider the sacrifices made by Saint Valentine. It all began in the period of the Roman Empire. On the date February 14th, ancient Rome had a holiday to honour Juno. The queen of Goddesses and Roman Gods, Juno was known by the Romans as the Goddess of marriage and women. The next day, February 15th, the Feast of Lupercalia would be held. On the eve of this feast, the names of the Roman girls were placed on bits of paper and put into a jar. Young Roman men would then draw a piece of paper out of the jar and would partner the girl for the entire festival of Lupercalia. At times this pairing may last a year or more and there was every possibility the pair would fall in love and eventually marry.
It was later on that Emperor Claudius II decided that he was having trouble getting soldiers to join his army because they were apprehensive about leaving their families or lovers. As a result he no longer allowed engagements and marriages in Rome. Saint Valentine, a priest in Rome at the time, aided those who wished to marry and it was done in secret. Once discovered, the Prefect of Rome condemned Saint Valentine to death by being beaten with clubs followed by having his head severed. While he awaited his death sentence he was befriended by the daughter of a prison guard. She offered much solstice to Saint Valentine and on the day of his execution on February 14th he left her a note thanking her for her friendship and signed it, “Love from your Valentine.” It was from this day the tradition of selecting a Valentine to honour and give gifts of love was born.
When you are looking for an ideal Valentines gift look no further than a gift hamper. From baby gift baskets to get well hampers and more, gift hampers make the perfect gift, for Valentines and onwards. | <urn:uuid:43114b28-cdbd-4fef-bebb-2cf8379096ce> | {
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Tryptophan is an amino acid needed for normal growth in infants and for nitrogen balance in adults. It is an essential amino acid, which means your body cannot produce it -- you must get it from your diet.
The body uses tryptophan to help make niacin and serotonin. Serotonin is thought to produce healthy sleep and a stable mood.
In order for tryptophan in the diet to be changed into niacin, the body needs to have enough:
Tryptophan can be found in:
- Peanut butter
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
|Review Date: 2/27/2008|
Reviewed By: Patrika Tsai, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor, Pediatric GI, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMedHealthcare Network. Also reviewed byDavid Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-
A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. | <urn:uuid:d4182d5a-9cf5-408b-982c-f34abb6c4502> | {
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Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)
With Christmas behind us, many of us may have received an Orchid as a gift from a loved one. Over the past two or three years, these enigmatic plants of south-east Asia, have become very affordable and are currently flooding the house plant market with Orchids in full bloom for as little as £5. The Phalaenopsis is by far the most common Orchid available and also one of the toughest.
Caring for your Orchid
To understand how to look after your Orchid, you must firstly consider it’s natural habitat. Orchids thrive amongst rocks, within old stone walls and between the limbs of mossy trees in warm and very humid tropical environments.
Orchids like warm homes. There require a shady spot in your house and should never be subjected to temperatures below 14.4 degrees Celsius (58 deg.Fahrenheit).
I like to rest my Orchids on a tray filled with wet gravel. The plants benefit from the evaporation of water from the tray. Never let your Orchid plants dry out; water with tepid rainwater for the best results – never icy cold!
Orchids seem to do better if placed in a bright (but not direct sunlight) position in a bathroom. Warm moist air from the shower or bath should yield similar conditions to those found in tropical forests and make your Orchid feel at home.
If you need to repot your Orchid, then do so using the proper Orchid compost which has a consistency of bark chippings. Use a clear plastic pot, so that the roots can be exposed to daylight; this is highly beneficial for these kinds of plants.
Encouraging new flowers
Phalaenopsis Orchid flowers grow along a spike or stem. To encourage new spike formation, after your Orchid has stopped flowering, clip the stem to about 1 inch of its base and above the first growing node. Misting your Orchid’s leaves with warm water is said to encourage new flower growth.
Orchid growing tips
- Don’t let the special Orchid compost dry out.
- Feed once a month with specialist Orchid fertiliser.
- Keep out of direct sunlight
- Keep Orchids in a warm and humid place (if possible). | <urn:uuid:493823e7-6850-42f0-9b91-ee6994c101d7> | {
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Costa Rica reports a record number of dengue cases this year, no deaths reported
The Central American country said in the number of dengue fever cases recorded during the past 12 months is a record since the mosquito borne virus has been reported there 20 years ago, according to a Costa Rica News report Friday.
According to the report, the 41,510 cases accumulate since last October is the highest in the country for one year only, which surpassed the previous record of 37,798 registered during the twelve months of 2005.
Despite record numbers of dengue cases during the past year, including over 100 cases of the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever, Costa Rican health officials say no deaths were reported.
Of the more than 41,000 cases reported during the year, only 12 percent (5,219 ) of patients required hospitalization for at least three days for their illness.
During the 20 years the country has experienced dengue, the country has recorded 22 fatalities, the last time in 2010.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects between 50 and 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever and muscle and joint aches.
According to the World Health Organization, Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are present in urban and suburban areas in the Americas, South-East Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Pacific and dengue fever is present mainly in rural areas in Africa.
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Salt is not only critical to your life, but it is one of the basic elements of which your body is made. Like true lovers, the relationship between salt and your health is so intricately involved as to make them impossible to be disentangled or untied. Without salt, you could not exist for a moment. At the fundamental level of the physical body, you are a walking, breathing, salty ocean.
Essentially, every cell in the human body is dependent on the presence of sodium. We find sodium diffused throughout the fluid between cells. Each cell in our body is like a small ocean containing salty water. Inside our cells we find primarily potassium. These two minerals, sodium and potassium need to be in constant, dynamic balance so the cells can exchange incoming energy with outgoing, depleted energy. Your body is constantly monitoring these minerals and working to maintain their delicate balance.
Health Benefits of Salt intake
- Stabilizes irregular heartbeats
- Regulates your blood pressure, in conjunction with water
- Extracts excess acidity from your body’s cells, particularly the brain cells
- Balances the sugar levels in the blood
- Generates hydroelectric energy in your body’s cells
- Increases conductivity in nerve cells for communication and information processing
- Enhances absorption of nutrients through the intestinal tract
- Clears mucous plugs and sticky phlegm in the lungs, particularly in asthma and cystic fibrosis
- Clears up congestion of the sinuses
- Provides your body with a strong natural antihistamine
- Regulates sleep: It is a natural hypnotic
- Eliminates persistent dry coughs. Put a dash on the tongue
- Prevents gout and gouty arthritis
- Helps maintain sexuality and libido
- Prevents varicose veins and spider veins
- Provides your body with all essential mineral and every necessary trace mineral it needs to thrive
- Helps treat emotional disorders
- Preserves serotonin and melatonin, known antidepressant neurotransmitters
- Helps the kidney to pass excess acidity into the urine
- Is a strong anti-stress element for the body
- Helps maintain muscle tone and strength
- Stops excess saliva production
- Strengthens bone structure. Osteoporosis, in many ways, is a result of salt and water shortage in the body
- Prevents muscle cramps
Strong Immune System – Sea salt naturally helps you to build up a strong immune system so that you can fight off the cold virus, the fever and flu, allergies and other autoimmune disorders.
Alkalizing – Sea salt is alkalizing to the body, as it has not been exposed to high heat and stripped of its minerals, nor does it have any harmful man-made ingredients added to it. Thus it can help you to prevent and reverse high levels of acids in the body, which in turn eliminates the risks for serious and life-threatening diseases.
Weight Loss – Believe it or not, but sea salt can also help you in weight loss. It helps the body to create digestive juices so that the foods you eat are digested faster, and it helps to prevent buildup in the digestive tract, which eventually can lead to constipation and weight gain.
Skin Conditions – A sea salt bath can help to relieve dry and itchy skin as well as serious conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. The bath naturally opens up the pores, improves circulation in the skin and hydrates the tissues so that your skin can heal.
Asthma – Sea salt is effective in reducing inflammation in the respiratory system. Thus the production of phlegm is slowed down so that you can breathe easier again. Some say that sprinkling sea salt on the tongue after drinking a glass of water is just as effective as using an inhaler. But the great thing about sea salt is that it has no side effects when taken in moderation.
Heart Health – When salt is taken with water it can help to reduce high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and help to regulate an irregular heart beat. Thus sea salt can help to prevent atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes.
Diabetes – Sea salt can help to reduce the need for insulin by helping to maintain proper sugar levels in the body. Thus the salt is an essential part of the diet if you are diabetic, or at risk for the disease.
Osteoporosis – Just over 1/4 of the amount of salt that is in the body is stored in the bones, where it helps to keep them strong. When the body lacks salt and water it begins to draw the sodium from the bones, which then eventually can lead to osteoporosis. Thus by drinking plenty of water and consuming salt in moderation you can prevent osteoporosis.
Muscle Spasms – Potassium is essential for helping the muscles to function properly. Sea salt not only contains small amounts of potassium, but it also helps the body to absorb it better from other foods. Thus it is effective in helping to prevent muscle pains, spasms and cramps.
Depression – Sea salt also has shown to be effective in treating various types of depression. The salt helps to preserve two essential hormones in the body that help you to better deal with stress. These hormones are serotonin and melatonin, which help you to feel good, and relax and sleep better at night.
The American Heart Association, have said that everyone, not just those at risk, should aim for that very low sodium level.
But the new expert committee, commissioned by the Institute of Medicine at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there was no rationale for anyone to aim for sodium levels below 2,300 milligrams a day. The group examined new evidence that had emerged since the last such report was issued, in 2005.
“As you go below the 2,300 mark, there is an absence of data in terms of benefit and there begin to be suggestions in subgroup populations about potential harms,” said Dr. Brian L. Strom, chairman of the committee and a professor of public health at the University of Pennsylvania. He explained that the possible harms included increased rates of heart attacks and an increased risk of death.
The committee was not asked to specify an optimal amount of sodium and did not make any recommendations about how much people should consume. Dr. Strom said people should not eat too much salt, but he also said that the data on the health effects of sodium were too inconsistent for the committee to say what the upper limit of sodium consumption should be.
Until about 2006, almost all studies on salt and health outcomes relied on the well-known fact that blood pressure can drop slightly when people eat less salt. From that, and from other studies linking blood pressure to risks of heart attacks and strokes, researchers created models showing how many lives could be saved if people ate less salt.
The United States dietary guidelines, based on the 2005 Institute of Medicine report, recommend that the general population aim for sodium levels of 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams a day because those levels will not raise blood pressure. The average sodium consumption in the United States, and around the world, is about 3,400 milligrams a day, according to the Institute of Medicine — an amount that has not changed in decades.
But more recently, researchers began looking at the actual consequences of various levels of salt consumption, as found in rates of heart attacks, strokes and death, not just blood pressure readings. Some of what they found was troubling.
One 2008 study the committee examined, for example, randomly assigned 232 Italian patients with aggressively treated moderate to severe congestive heart failure to consume either 2,760 or 1,840 milligrams of sodium a day, but otherwise to consume the same diet. Those consuming the lower level of sodium had more than three times the number of hospital readmissions — 30 as compared with 9 in the higher-salt group — and more than twice as many deaths — 15 as compared with 6 in the higher-salt group.
Another study, published in 2011, followed 28,800 subjects with high blood pressure ages 55 and older for 4.7 years and analyzed their sodium consumption by urinalysis. The researchers reported that the risks of heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure and death from heart disease increased significantly for those consuming more than 7,000 milligrams of sodium a day and for those consuming fewer than 3,000 milligrams of sodium a day.
There are physiological consequences of consuming little sodium, said Dr. Michael H. Alderman, a dietary sodium expert at Albert Einstein College of Medicine who was not a member of the committee. As sodium levels plunge, triglyceride levels increase, insulin resistance increases, and the activity of the sympathetic nervous system increases. Each of these factors can increase the risk of heart disease.
“Those are all bad things,” Dr. Alderman said. “A health effect can’t be predicted by looking at one physiological consequence. There has to be a net effect.” Medical and public health experts responded to the new assessment of the evidence with elation or concern, depending on where they stand in the salt debates.
Health Benefits of Salt Baths
Magnesium is the second most abundant element in our bodies, and is used in regulating over 300 enzymes and reactions in the body. I’ve written before about how the depleted magnesium levels in our food and water, and the imbalance of nutrients in the foods that we eat have left most of us dangerously deficient in Magnesium.
Most of us also have too much calcium in our bodies, relative to our magnesium levels (thanks to fortified foods and imbalanced soils). Many forms of magnesium are difficult to absorb when taken orally, especially for those with a damaged gut (that is most of us too). Here is where Magnesium Salt Baths and Transdermal Magnesium Oil can make a big difference…
The skin is the body’s largest organ, and as such, has an amazing ability to absorb, filter toxins, and deliver nutrients to the body. It is also a visible sign of the health of the body as a whole. When the skin has rashes, eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, acne, or other problems, this is often a sign of deeper issues within the body. As the skin is also an elimination organ, the body will push out toxins through the skin when the other organs of elimination (gut, liver, kidneys, etc.) are taxed or burdened.
A damaged gut can also make absorbing magnesium and other minerals through the digestive system more difficult, so topical magnesium oil or magnesium baths are a great solution.
Magnesium and Salt Baths Health Benefits
- Stress relief
- Muscle aches
- Increasing insulin sensitivity
- Improving circulation
- Better nutrient absorption
- Headache relief
- Speeding up wound healing
- During illness, especially respiratory illness
- For children to help mineral absorption and improve sleep
- For acne, eczema or other skin problems
- For joint pain relief
- To help relieve poison ivy or skin reactions
- Improving skin hydration
How to Incorporate Magnesium and Salt Baths
Add a cup of epsom salts or magnesium flakes and a few tablespoons of Himalayan salt to your kids baths. When have the time, then take relaxing baths in this mixture also.
When you can’t take the time for a bath, magnesium oil also helps. Amazingly, you shall notice the benefits of transdermal magnesium (baths or magnesium oil) much more quickly than when you take internal forms of magnesium.
Magnesium bath recipe
- 1-2 cups of epsom salts or magnesium flakes (magnesium flakes are absorbed much more easily)
- 1/2 cup Himalayan or Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp of natural vanilla extract
- 10-15 drops of essential oil of choice (You shall love lavender and mint)
- You may mix the salt and magnesium flakes and then sprinkle with the vanilla and essential oil. The whole mixture gets added to a warm bath, and then soak for at least 20 minutes, though 30 is preferable. You may try to make time for this at least once a week.
- For intensive therapy (illness, eczema, etc.) these baths can be done daily, though you should check with a doctor if you have any medical conditions. | <urn:uuid:0196ab9b-6b6f-4a9b-8b79-7e20657091ca> | {
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In my opinion, artificial intelligence should be kept away from humans’ civilisation.
OK, here are two specimens – a human (Bill), and an alien (Zarka). If I talk about the human, I’m talking about the gentleman on the left. If I talk about the alien, I’m talking about the lady on the right.
Bill and Zarka
We can say that the human’s nose is longer than the alien’s nose, and the human’s neck is thicker than the alien’s. Also, since the alien has no body hair, we can assume that the alien is interested in human hair.
Let’s look at the grammar.
- I use the possessive when I’m talking about a particular human (Bill) or a particular alien (Zarka). I could also be talking about a specific group of humans or aliens.
- On the other hand I don’t use a possessive when I’m talking about all humans (their hair). The alien is interested in the phenomenon of hair as it grows on all humans, everywhere.
When you’re using ‘human‘ as a noun modifier, stop and think! Are you referring to an individual human or a specific group of humans? Or are you talking about all humans? Only add the possessive if your reader knows exactly which human (or specific group of humans) you are referring to.
When I was living in the desert I lost my weight.
Indonesians for some reason like to use the possessive here. But there are problems with this. If you include the possessive then it sounds as though you lost something that you own.
Of course it is possible to own a ‘weight’ (countable thing – definition 1, items 2a and 2b), but not many people are owners of a single ‘weight’, and it’s unlikely anybody would worry about losing one!
If you’ve been living in a desert then it’s possible that you have experienced weight loss (weight uncountable – definition 2), and so if you’re talking about body weight, you need:
- When I was living in the desert I lost weight.
Bakso was chosen by 60% of students, Martabak by 20%, Siomay by 15%, and only 5% chose Other.
OK the problem here is that ‘other‘ is rarely used as a noun. Generally it is used as a noun modifier: “other people“, “other things“, etc. In the above example, what is the noun that is being modified by ‘other’? Well, all of the items in the chart belong to a class, or group, and the name of that group is usually given as a label on the chart. In any case we know that Bakso, Martabak, and Siomay are all different kinds of Asian fast food, so we can write:
- Bakso was chosen by 60% of students, Martabak by 20%, Siomay by 15%, and only 5% chose other kinds of Asian fast food.
‘Other‘ is used as a noun in sociology, psychology and anthropology to identify and possibly explain ‘something different from us‘, either as individuals or as a society. In these contexts there is a related concept: ‘otherness‘.
Giving a challenge for human workers to involve in controlling machines is a good idea.
Involve as adjective
You got the preposition right, but the wrong form of ‘involve’. This is nearly always constructed as an ‘ed’ adjective phrase:
- Giving a challenge for human workers to be involved in controlling machines is a good idea.
‘Get’ also collocates strongly with ‘involved in’, as does the more formal ‘become’:
- Giving a challenge for human workers to get/become involved in controlling machines is a good idea.
It’s not always necessary to mention the activity that someone is involved in:
For Indonesians there are easy translations for involved as adjective:
- involved – terlibat
- (to be) involved in – terlibat dalam
Involve as a verb
If you want to use involve as a verb, usually there is an indirect object:
- I rarely involve myself in politics.
Again, for Indonesians there is an easy translation.
- to involve + someone + in + something – melibatkan … dalam …
Several audiences left before the film finished.
Audience is indeed countable but it is a ‘collective’ noun, and so an (=1) audience can comprise many people. If you want to focus on a subgroup of an audience then it is common to refer to these people as ‘members of an audience’: Continue reading
In the 100m running the winner was Usain Bolt. The second winner was Justin Gatlin.
The Olympics in Rio produced many winners, but…
In the 100m running the winner was Usain Bolt. Justin Gatlin came second.
We can also say:
- Justin Gatlin was second.
- Justin Gatlin finished second.
However, we cannot say:
- Justin Gatlin was second winner. ( ‘Juara dua’!)
Unfortunately in a particular competition there can only be one winner. In this particular case the winner was Bolt.
I am a staff at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Although you will occasionally find an example of staff as a countable noun, it is extremely rare.
Used as an uncountable noun, staff refers to people who work for a particular organisation: Continue reading
The table shows the percentage of money that allocated by people in different countries for different reasons in 2002.
Here an Indonesian student has made a noun phrase based on ‘yang di alokasikan‘. A grammar error has affected her IELTS score, but this could have been avoided using more sophisticated – and easy-to-learn – vocabulary.
- The table shows the percentage of money that was allocated by people in different countries for different reasons in 2002.
Here I added ‘to be‘ before the V3 to produce a correct passive. However, a native speaker would probably choose more sophisticated vocabulary:
- The table shows the percentage of money allocated by people in different countries for different reasons in 2002.
Here, instead of the ugly passive structure, which Indonesians always get wrong, I made a nominal group that contains the following elements all joined together:
- the percentage..
- of money (preposition phrase)
- allocated by people (V3 phrase)
- in different countries (preposition phrase)
- for different reasons (preposition phrase)
- in 2012 (preposition phrase)
Other elements are possible in nominal groups, but these are common. I will come back to nominal groups in future posts (for example here) as problems experienced by my current class arise.
Note that there is no ‘that’ in the V3 phrase (Indonesian ‘yang’). And BTW ‘V3 phrase’ is not its official name, but it’s much easier to remember than the official name (which I will keep secret for now..). | <urn:uuid:176522a0-e5ac-4c8e-9550-9d163d5d98c8> | {
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Hidden messages are being delivered by our educational system to our students each and every day. The basic structure of our schools provides students with powerful lessons that don’t appear in the curriculum. These hidden lessons are unconsciously reinforced by the very nature of the system. Exactly what are they?
They are leaning that discovering and creating knowledge is beyond the ability of students and is really none of their business. We have shut students out of virtually every real decision that has an effect on their schools and their learning.
They are learning that the voice of authority is to be trusted and valued more than independent judgment. The hierarchical nature of school puts knowledge in the teacher’s domain.
They are learning that life’s answers lie outside themselves, in others. This lesson results, not only in students who believe others have their answers; but also that others are responsible for their problems. Students who have been taught this lesson take little accountability.
They are learning that feelings are irrelevant in education. This is about the cognitive domain. There is no time to explore that “other” stuff.
They are learning there is always a single unambiguous right answer to a question. If it can’t be measured, it’s not taught.
They are learning that a subject is something you take and when you have taken it you have had it, and when you have had it you need not take it again. We have structured their environment so that their curiosity is drained as they progress from course to course. As a parent how many times have I heard , “I don’t need to know that.”
They are learning that recall is the highest form of intellectual achievement and the collection of unrelated facts is the goal of education. We continue to segregate subjects and state and national exams continue to emphasize multiple-choice, fill in the blank and other easy to score question formats.
They are learning that risk taking is dangerous. Every time we play it safe as educators, we re-enforce this lesson.
They are learning that it’s easier to “play school” than to engage one’s curiosity and thirst to learn. We pretend that this all has relevance to their lives and they pretend to care.
They are learning that one’s own ideas and the ideas of his classmates are inconsequential. Once again, right answers exist in others. Their job is to listen attentively and remember those answers.
They are learning that we should all learn at the same pace and if we don’t keep up, there must be something wrong with us. This is built in to the way we group and test our children.
They are learning that individual achievement is more important than group cooperation. We provide no incentive to cooperate and in many cases discourage it.
They are learning that teaching is talking, learning is listening, and knowledge is in textbooks. I don’t think I need to explain this one.
Students are learning that passive acceptance of the status quo is more desirable than active criticism. We model this every day that we participate in a school model that we feel is not fulfilling the needs of our children.
These are our children. No matter what our rhetoric, no matter how lofty our ideals, the educational system and structure communicates its own powerful messages.
Our challenge is not only to tinker with the curriculum or the tools; but to redesign the system so that it empowers students to think for themselves, to find answers (and questions) wherever they lie, and to nourish the flame of curiosity so it burns throughout their lives.
To be fair, many, many educators have set out to change these “hidden messages” in the privacy of their classrooms, in some cases entire schools have done so; but the structure of school as we know it relentlessly delivers conflicting messages that often drown out our words.
We can do better. | <urn:uuid:32c2c3f8-635f-4ad5-993b-917750072223> | {
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Isle Royale Wolves Fall Prey to Inbreeding Problems
March 26, 2013—
Michigan Technological University’s annual Winter Study of the wolves and moose of Isle Royale National Park counted eight wolves on the island this winter, down one from last year. And as far as the researchers could tell, no wolf pups were born in 2012.
“This is the first year since 1971, the year reproduction first began being monitored, that we did not detect any sign that pups had been born during the past year,” wrote John Vucetich, the Michigan Tech population biologist who heads the annual study, in the 2012-203 Winter Study annual report released this week
“We failed to detect signs of courtship or mating in the Chippewa Harbor Pack in either of the past two winters,” Vucetich went on to say. “This winter, we observed signs of courtship in the West-end Trio, but we cannot say if mating occurred.”
“The lack of reproduction is not due to a shortage of females,” Vucetich said. DNA analysis of wolf scat suggests that the wolf population includes three to five females.
The wolves do not appear to be having difficulty capturing prey either, since the moose population on Isle Royale has increased dramatically. Moose comprise the wolves’ primary food source. From a low of 400 in 2007, the number of moose has more than doubled to 975 this year.
Calves are very abundant this year, making up 21 percent of the moose population. This year researchers tallied 10 sets of twins during their survey flights, compared to three sets last winter and three total in winters 2010 and 2011.
An important reason for the reproductive success seen among the moose is this winter’s low predation rate, said Vucetich and co-author, Research Professor Rolf Peterson, in the annual report. The predation rate is the percentage of the moose population over nine months old that are killed during the year by wolves. In 2009, the predation rate on Isle Royale was 17.4 percent. Last year, it dropped to an all-time low of 3.3 percent, and this year’s rate was even lower: 2.4 percent.
“When fewer moose are being killed, more moose are surviving to reproduce, and more calves are surviving to become reproducing adults,” Vucetich explained.
So there are plenty of females and plenty of food. Why are the wolves not reproducing?
“It could be inbreeding, which can affect survival and reproduction,” Vucetich suggested. “Also, wolves, like most animals, have an instinct to avoid breeding with close relatives. Somehow they sense which mate would allow for genetic viability.”
All of the wolves at Isle Royale National Park are highly inbred. The Isle Royale wolf population was founded from three wolves—a female and two males—that arrived on Isle Royale more than five decades ago. All the wolves on Isle Royale descended from those animals until 1997, when a lone male wolf crossed an ice bridge to the island from Ontario.
“The genetic input from that immigrant seemed to breathe new life into the population,’ Vucetich and Peterson point out.
However, 16 years have passed since new genes were introduced into the gene pool of the wolves of Isle Royale. The newcomer was prolific. Within 2.5 generations, every wolf on the island was related to him. So inbreeding continues to be a serious concern.
The Isle Royale wolves already show spinal anomalies that are a result of close inbreeding for several generations, and there are likely other physical or physiological effects, the researchers say.
Most wolves have an average life span of less than five years. If the wolves on Isle Royale continue not to breed, the population will soon be gone.
The National Park Service (NPS) is reviewing possible management responses to the possibility that wolves could go extinct. “We are still a ways off from making any decision about the future management of wolves on the island,” said Paul Brown, chief of natural resources at Isle Royale National Park. “We remain concerned about the overall long-term health of the population, and the results of this year’s winter study will be factored in with the genetics information during our on-going review of the situation.”
NPS plans to conduct a meeting of interested and knowledgeable scientists and a public forum before making a decision.
The Wolf-Moose Predator-Prey study at Isle Royale National Park is in its 55th year. It is the longest running predator-prey study in the world.
Major funding for the Wolf-Moose Predator-Prey research comes from the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, funds from the Dick and Bonnie Robbins Chair in Sustainable Management of the Environment—held by Rolf Peterson—and the Robert Bateman Endowment at the Michigan Tech Fund.
Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences. | <urn:uuid:f6c295f3-cdec-4d98-a05a-d74cc5addc1c> | {
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To middle of the 18th century Wefensleben is a pure farmer village. In the district available mineral resources influenced the evolution of the place.
With the discovery of a coal seam in 1741 the coal mining begans. Until 1825 coal was won in up to 12 shafts. From 1809 the Zechenhaus was the seat of the Eastphalian mountain and hut administration and from 1815 up to 1843 of the mountain and hut administration of the government district of Magdeburg.
Between 1750 and 1900 3 quarries were operated to produce sandstone blocks as building material for many sacral and profane buildings in Central Germany.
In the 70's of the 20th century several Plattenbauten were build in the village and Wefensleben became a sleep and living place for the attendants of the Helmstedt–Marienborn border crossing and their families. At this time many members of the Stasi moved to Wefensleben especially attendants of the Passkontrolleinheit (PKE) a division of the former Eastern Germany secret service who worked at the border crossing. | <urn:uuid:fac16cc4-9dde-46ad-b765-7c119af94b8b> | {
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||This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (March 2011)|
The two person bargaining problem is a problem of understanding how two agents should cooperate when non-cooperation leads to Pareto-inefficient results. It is in essence an equilibrium selection problem; many games have multiple equilibria with varying payoffs for each player, forcing the players to negotiate on which equilibrium to target. The quintessential example of such a game is the ultimatum game. The underlying assumption of bargaining theory is that the resulting solution should be the same solution an impartial arbitrator would recommend. Solutions to bargaining come in two flavors: an axiomatic approach where desired properties of a solution are satisfied and a strategic approach where the bargaining procedure is modeled in detail as a sequential game.
- 1 The bargaining game
- 2 An example
- 3 Formal description
- 4 Equilibrium analysis
- 5 Bargaining solutions
- 6 Applications
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 External links
The bargaining game
The bargaining game or Nash bargaining game is a simple two-player game used to model bargaining interactions. In the Nash bargaining game, two players demand a portion of some good (usually some amount of money). If the total amount requested by the players is less than that available, both players get their request. If their total request is greater than that available, neither player gets their request. A Nash bargaining solution is a (Pareto efficient) solution to a Nash bargaining game. According to Walker (2005), Nash's bargaining solution was shown by John Harsanyi to be the same as Zeuthen's solution of the bargaining problem (Problems of Monopoly and Economic Warfare, 1930).
The battle of the sexes, as shown, is a two player coordination game. Both opera/opera and football/football are Nash equilibria. Any probability distribution over these two Nash equilibria is a correlated equilibrium. The question then becomes which of the infinitely many possible equilibria should be chosen by the two players. If they disagree and choose different distributions, they are likely to receive 0 payoffs. In this symmetric case the natural choice is to play opera/opera and football/football with equal probability. Indeed all bargaining solutions described below prescribe this solution. However, if the game is asymmetric---for example, football/football instead yields payoffs of 2,5--- the appropriate distribution is less clear. The problem of finding such a distribution is addressed by the bargaining theory.
A two person bargain problem consists of a disagreement, or threat, point , where and are the respective payoffs to player 1 and player 2, and a feasibility set , a closed convex subset of , the elements of which are interpreted as agreements. Set is convex because an agreement could take the form of a correlated combination of other agreements. The problem is nontrivial if agreements in are better for both parties than the disagreement. The goal of bargaining is to choose the feasible agreement in that could result from negotiations.
Which agreements are feasible depends on whether bargaining is mediated by an additional party. When binding contracts are allowed, any joint action is playable, and the feasibility set consists of all attainable payoffs better than the disagreement point. When binding contracts are unavailable, the players can defect (moral hazard), and the feasibility set is composed of correlated equilibria, since these outcomes require no exogenous enforcement.
The disagreement point is the value the players can expect to receive if negotiations break down. This could be some focal equilibrium that both players could expect to play. This point directly affects the bargaining solution, however, so it stands to reason that each player should attempt to choose his disagreement point in order to maximize his bargaining position. Towards this objective, it is often advantageous to increase one's own disagreement payoff while harming the opponent's disagreement payoff (hence the interpretation of the disagreement as a threat). If threats are viewed as actions, then one can construct a separate game wherein each player chooses a threat and receives a payoff according to the outcome of bargaining. It is known as Nash's variable threat game. Alternatively, each player could play a minimax strategy in case of disagreement, choosing to disregard personal reward in order to hurt the opponent as much as possible should the opponent leave the bargaining table.
Strategies are represented in the Nash bargaining game by a pair (x, y). x and y are selected from the interval [d, z], where z is the total good. If x + y is equal to or less than z, the first player receives x and the second y. Otherwise both get d. d here represents the disagreement point or the threat of the game; often .
There are many Nash equilibria in the Nash bargaining game. Any x and y such that x + y = z is a Nash equilibrium. If either player increases their demand, both players receive nothing. If either reduces their demand they will receive less than if they had demanded x or y. There is also a Nash equilibrium where both players demand the entire good. Here both players receive nothing, but neither player can increase their return by unilaterally changing their strategy.
Various solutions have been proposed based on slightly different assumptions about what properties are desired for the final agreement point.
Nash bargaining solution
John Nash proposed that a solution should satisfy certain axioms:
- Invariant to affine transformations or Invariant to equivalent utility representations
- Pareto optimality
- Independence of irrelevant alternatives
Let u and v be the utility functions of Player 1 and Player 2, respectively. In the Nash bargaining solution, the players will seek to maximize , where and , are the status quo utilities (i.e. the utility obtained if one decides not to bargain with the other player). The product of the two excess utilities is generally referred to as the Nash product. Intuitively, the solution consists of each player getting her status quo payoff (i.e., noncooperative payoff) in addition to an equal share of the benefits accruing from cooperation (Muthoo 1999, pp. 15–16).
Kalai-Smorodinsky bargaining solution
Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives can be substituted with a monotonicity condition, as demonstrated by Ehud Kalai and Meir Smorodinsky. It is the point which maintains the ratios of maximal gains. In other words, if player 1 could receive a maximum of with player 2’s help (and vice-versa for ), then the Kalai-Smorodinsky bargaining solution would yield the point on the Pareto frontier such that .
Egalitarian bargaining solution
The egalitarian bargaining solution, introduced by Ehud Kalai, is a third solution which drops the condition of scale invariance while including both the axiom of Independence of irrelevant alternatives, and the axiom of monotonicity. It is the solution which attempts to grant equal gain to both parties. In other words, it is the point which maximizes the minimum payoff among players. Kalai notes that this solution is closely related to the ideas of John Rawls.
Some philosophers and economists have recently used the Nash bargaining game to explain the emergence of human attitudes toward distributive justice (Alexander 2000; Alexander and Skyrms 1999; Binmore 1998, 2005). These authors primarily use evolutionary game theory to explain how individuals come to believe that proposing a 50-50 split is the only just solution to the Nash bargaining game.
- Alexander, Jason McKenzie (2000). "Evolutionary Explanations of Distributive Justice". Philosophy of Science 67 (3): 490–516. JSTOR 188629.
- Alexander, Jason; Skyrms, Brian (1999). "Bargaining with Neighbors: Is Justice Contagious". Journal of Philosophy 96 (11): 588–598. JSTOR 2564625.
- Binmore, K.; Rubinstein, A.; Wolinsky, A. (1986). "The Nash Bargaining Solution in Economic Modelling". RAND Journal of Economics 17: 176–188. JSTOR 2555382.
- Binmore, Kenneth (1998). Game Theory and the Social Contract Volume 2: Just Playing. Cambridge: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-02444-6.
- Binmore, Kenneth (2005). Natural Justice. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517811-4.
- Kalai, Ehud (1977). "Proportional solutions to bargaining situations: Intertemporal utility comparisons". Econometrica 45 (7): 1623–1630. JSTOR 1913954.
- Kalai, Ehud & Smorodinsky, Meir (1975). "Other solutions to Nash’s bargaining problem". Econometrica 43 (3): 513–518. JSTOR 1914280.
- Muthoo, Abhinay (1999). Bargaining theory with applications. Cambridge University Press.
- Nash, John (1950). "The Bargaining Problem". Econometrica 18 (2): 155–162. JSTOR 1907266.
- Walker, Paul (2005). "History of Game Theory". | <urn:uuid:b2104c41-ed2f-4df7-b929-7d0b51bff988> | {
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South Pole Telescope in profile, with sun dog (arc and rainbow), caused by ice crystals.
Credit: Jeff McMahon
Antarctica may be the bottom of the world, but the coldest, driest, highest continent is the best place for looking up at the heavens from Earth.
Next week marks the 100th anniversary of humanity first reaching the South Pole, when Roald Amundsen planted the Norwegian flag there on Dec. 17, 1911.
Astronomy in Antarctica will soon experience a centennial of its own — the very first meteorite discovered in the Antarctic, the Adelie Land Meteorite, or ALM, was found on Dec. 5, 1912. "I regard the discovery of the ALM as the start of astronomy in Antarctica, which will thus be 100 next year," said astronomer Michael Burton at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Astronomers are now carrying out cutting-edge research in the South Pole that could shed light on the greatest secrets of the universe. [Images: Peering Back to the Big Bang & Early Universe]
"Amazingly, the South Pole now ranks with the grand research laboratories such as Fermilab and CERN," said theoretical physicist Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Antarctic is a land of harsh extremes, ones that make it perfect in many ways for astronomy.
"There's a whole range of things you can do in astronomy at Antarctica that you can't do anywhere else on Earth," Burton said. "To beat Antarctica, you'd have to go to space. The good thing about Antarctica compared to space is that once you get something in space, you can't expect to change it, while in Antarctica, you can always build it bigger."
Antarctica is the coldest continent, meaning there is less thermal radiation to hamper astronomy that focuses on infrared light. This cold also makes Antarctica the driest continent, freezing liquid water on the ground and water vapor out of the air. As such, there is little water present to interfere with light coming from outer space that astronomers want to observe.
Antarctica is the highest continent — its icy surface rises gradually from the coast to a vast plateau, and the area of ice more than 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) high is nearly as large as Australia. This elevation also makes Antarctica the windiest continent — gravity pulls air off the plateau, and the so-called katabatic winds that result can reach hurricane speeds at the coast. Still, there is little wind on the highest points of the plateau, and the calmest spot on Earth in terms of wind speeds and lack of major storms can be found there. Overall, the stable nature of the air there is ideal for steady stargazing.
The South Pole lies on the flank of the Antarctic plateau at an elevation of 9,300 feet (2,835 meters). Here, the United States keeps the South Pole Telescope gazing at the cosmic microwave background — the oldest light in the universe — as well as millimeter-wave radiation from outer space.
A new camera on the South Pole Telescope, SPTpol, "has the potential to help us learn about some of the most fundamental issues in physics, such as what was happening in the first tiny fraction of a second of the life of the universe," said astronomer Tom Crawford at the University of Chicago.
During the first roughly 10 to the minus 34 seconds (0.0000000000000000000000000000000001 seconds) of the universe, the cosmos underwent rapid inflation, doubling in size at least 90 times, Crawford said. This was the most cataclysmic disturbance of space-time ever, generating ripples known as gravitational waves that stretch and compress matter throughout the universe.
By carefully studying the imprint these gravitational waves leave on the cosmic microwave background in terms of the intensity of its light and the way in which the light wiggles, one can learn more about inflation — "why it would have happened, or what the dynamics are," Crawford said. The BICEP-2 and Keck instruments in Antarctica are hunting for this inflationary signature as well.
Astronomical activities are also under way at other sites on the Antarctic plateau, including China's Kunlun Station, Japan's Fuji Station and France and Italy's Concordia Station. Space science even takes place above the continent — balloons launched in Antarctica analyze belts of radiation encircling the Earth known as the Van Allen radiation belts.
The vast amounts of pure ice in Antarctica make it ideal for absorbing and studying particles from outer space. For instance, the largest neutrino telescope in the world, IceCube, is built 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) below the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and "transforms deep ice into the largest particle detector ever constructed," said Halzen, principal investigator of IceCube.
Neutrinos are ghostly particles that recently have drawn much attention for potentially traveling faster than light. IceCube will look at neutrinos created from the most energetic objects in space to help unlock their secrets. [Top 10 Implications of Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos]
Two other projects are currently under development to investigate mysterious particles at Antarctica, Halzen noted.
The Askaryan Radio Array will monitor radio waves emitted by extremely high-energy neutrinos passing through the Antarctic ice to try to identify the enigmatic sources of cosmic rays — electrically charged particles from outer space — while Dark Matter-Ice will use crystals buried deep in the ice to try to directly detect particles of dark matter, the invisible unknown material that makes upmore than 80 percent of the universe's mass.
Train for Mars and Europa
Antarctica is also the richest source of meteorites on Earth — anything that comes crashing from space is readily apparent on the otherwise featureless surface, and the cold keeps the meteorites frozen in nearly pristine conditions. Antarctic meteorites include rocks that were blasted off Mars long ago by other space rock impacts; analyzing these meteorites could shed light on whether the Red Planet could have ever hosted life.
The cold, dry nature of Antarctica makes it like Mars in some ways, and much research takes place in the Dry Valleys there to test equipment that could one day find use on the Red Planet. For instance, NASA's IceBite project tested ice-penetrating drills for potential future missions to the Martian polar north.
Scientists also see the Antarctic ice as a testing ground for missions to icy worlds such as Jupiter's giant moon Europa. To figure out how to breach its thick icy shell to reach what might be a vast ocean buried underneath, NASA has explored ice-covered Lake Vostok and Lake Bonney in Antarctica.
Life found in such icy environments raises the chance that we might find life on Europa as well, scientists say.
Although the South Pole has an infamous history, claiming or nearly ruining the lives of many explorers, astronomy in Antarctica is now far easier than one might suspect. "We're not traveling with dog teams or on foot fighting weather," Burton said.
Crawford said, "I was actually surprised at how reasonable the working conditions were at the South Pole. Though it was very cold — minus 40 Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) — when we were building the South Pole Telescope, there is very little wind, and working outside for a full 10-hour day was not a crazy proposition, as long as we took regular warming breaks."
A new South Pole station was built in the last decade that helped make life there significantly less challenging. "Thanks to the excellent research infrastructure, doing science at the pole has become almost routine," Halzen explained.
As such, "it's not like you have to go down there, pitch a tent and cook your own food — the scientific community gets a lot of support at the U.S. bases," Crawford said. "As long as you wear the right clothes issued to you by the U.S. Antarctic Program, and are smart in keeping yourself warm, it's not too much different from building a telescope anywhere else."
Advances from China
Although telescopes in Antarctica are currently scanning the sky for microwave and millimeter-wave radiation, the Antarctic plateau could also be ideal for observatories that monitor other parts of the light spectrum as well.
"China is currently the main driver in developing the most promising of these sites," Crawford said.
China is building Kunlun Station at the highest point at the Antarctic plateau at an elevation of 13,395 feet (4,083 m). Chinese researchers have ambitious plans for telescopes that work in the optical, infrared and terahertz ranges, Burton noted. Australia is collaborating with them, and has already set up a robotic observatory there, he added.
"I think it would be a good idea for U.S. groups to support China's efforts as much as possible and take part in them if we want to remain a leader in Antarctic astronomy," Crawford said. "There's going to be exciting work there in the future." | <urn:uuid:f59bc651-0c42-4b2d-acde-b99b514c6586> | {
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After half a century of space exploration we're now suddenly faced with what has long been a staple of science fiction -- an orbiting junkyard of cast-off space debris.
With media headlines repeatedly warning us of debris falling from the skies, orbital debris, or "space junk," has finally risen to the forefront of social consciousness. But what is space junk? How did it get there? Just how big (and serious) is the problem?
Space Junk: An IMAX 3D Experience, narrated by Academy Award® Nominee Tom Wilkinson, is the first IMAX film to explore the exponentially expanding ring of debris that threatens the safety of our planet's orbits. Harnessing the magical imagery of IMAX 3D film, director Melissa Butts takes us soaring -- from the stunning depths of Meteor Crater to an unprecedented view of our increasingly crowded orbits, 22,000 miles above Earth.
On-screen, Don Kessler, (ret.) Head of NASA's Orbital Debris Office and the "Father of Space Junk," reaches back to the beginning of our solar system for understanding and guides us through the challenges we face in protecting our orbits for the future. At risk is the future of space exploration and the safety of the extensive satellite network that powers our modern day communication systems. This visually explosive journey of discovery weighs the solutions aimed at restoring Earth's orbits.
Fueling this story are stunning 3D images that transport the viewer by wrapping us in star fields and allowing us to witness massive collisions in space -- both natural and man-made -- as though we were in the center of the action. "Since no actual images exist of the most spectacular orbital debris events," explains Butts, " we set out to recreate them with scientific accuracy and mind-blowing visualization."
To accomplish this, Butts' team worked with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) to create breathtaking 3D visualizations from scientific data. Those visualizations deliver a state-of-the-art, 3D visual effects experience on Michigan’s largest IMAX screen!
Click here to access the official web site for Space Junk: An IMAX 3D Experience.
Click here to download the official educator’s guide.
Tickets are available online at www.thehenryford.org/imax, or by phone through The Henry Ford Call Center (open 7 days a week, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm) 313-982-6001. Tickets can be mailed when reservations are made 2 weeks or more in advance. Tickets purchased less than 2 weeks in advance will be held at IMAX Will Call.
Please park in the IMAX Theater lot on the west side of Henry Ford Museum. Parking is always FREE for IMAX-only guests. | <urn:uuid:c5eece11-e604-42fc-be34-ad2d07656eb3> | {
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Given the choice, would you accept to live in a society where happiness and prosperity is guaranteed for all on the condition that one single person be kept permanently unhappy? Is the well-being of thousands of people “worth” the sacrifice and suffering of a single innocent child? Such is the dilemma to which the inhabitants of the utopian city of Omelas are confronted in Ursula Le Guin’s philosophical short-story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. In her parable, most people are ultimately able to come to terms with the atrocity. The few citizens who cannot end up walking away from the city -- nobody knows where they go and they are never heard from again.
Consider another parable, the biblical story of the Judgment of Solomon. King Solomon must rule between two women claiming to be the mother of a child. Though the initial verdict is that the boy be split in two, each woman receiving half of a dead child, the final judgment is to reward the woman who gave up her claim to the child upon hearing of this initial verdict. Only a true (good) mother would want to save the child’s life at all costs, even if it meant that another woman would get to raise him. A bad mother, on the other hand, would let her feelings of jealousy prevail over the well being of the child.
Welfare economics evaluates the desirability of different social states resulting from different allocations of resources amongst different members of society. Do the stories of Omelas or Solomon’s judgment depict a socially desirable outcome? The now traditional approach in the economics literature, exemplified by Arrow’s impossibility theorem (Arrow, 1950), is framed in terms of the determination of the appropriate aggregation mechanism to produce a social choice on the basis of individual rankings (preferences) over the shared alternatives. This conceptual framework, as outlined in MWG (Chapter 21), first defines as a formal matter the kind of rule that assigns a social preference to possible profiles of individual preferences (technically a social welfare functional or social welfare aggregator [Def. 21.B.1]), and the kinds of restrictions to be placed on such a choice function.
The concept of a welfare function to be defined over social states of affair is rather abstract. Should social welfare be characterized in terms of a ranking of social states of affairs (e.g. a set of alternative complete descriptions)? Does it make sense to postulate an objective welfare function or functional which society ought to maximize? What is this “society” that we speak of? We may ask, as George Orwell does in his essay, “The Lion and the Unicorn”, whether there are really such things as nations. “Are we not forty-six million individuals, all different? And the diversity of it, the chaos!” If societies are not separate organic entities making decisions (see for example Buchanan and Tullock 1962), in what sense is an objective welfare function being “pursued”? To quote Amartya Sen from the opening line to Collective Choice and Social Welfare (Sen 1970a):
“There is something in common between singing romantic songs about an abstract motherland and doing optimization exercises with an arbitrary objective function for a society.”
That said, we must accept the inevitability of social choice and collective action. Social choices (i.e. actions on the part of societal institutions which have implications for all) are being made de facto as a matter of practical necessity, even if as a consequence of disorganized processes rather than coherent and deliberative ones (let alone due to the existence of ‘organic’ or group minds).
Arrow’s impossibility theorem holds that if the number of alternatives being considered is three or greater, a social welfare functional cannot exist which simultaneously satisfies a number of reasonable properties, namely: universal domain, Paretian property, non-dictatorship, independence of irrelevant alternatives (also known as the pairwise independence condition), and collective rationality. This result is not intuitive, and could not really have been anticipated without Arrow’s axiomatic formalization of the problem of social choice (it might therefore be thought of as an example of a proposition that is both true and non-trivial). It is a puzzling, troubling result that shows the incoherence or undesirability of many practical preference aggregation mechanisms, including majority voting -- indeed, it expands Condorcet’s Paradox to a much wider range of types of preference aggregation mechanisms.
But is this deep trouble? While Arrow’s theorem shows the impossibility of aggregating preferences without violating seemingly mild axioms of reasonableness, does it establish that reasonable social choice is altogether impossible?
MWG draw our attention to procedural concerns, as the order in which pairwise decision rules such as majority voting are applied will be relevant to the final social aggregation outcome: “What Arrow’s theorem does tell us, in essence, is that the institutional detail and procedures of the political process cannot be neglected.” (MWG, p799). This is hardly a resolution to Arrow’s impossibility but rather suggests a method of coping: preferring the outcomes generated by specific procedures seemingly overcomes indeterminacy in a specific situation without addressing the fundamental unsatisfactoriness of the choice procedure. More fundamentally, MWG raise the possibility that the impasse of Arrovian social choice may be addressed by loosening some of the imposed axioms. MWG suggest two such ‘possibility results’ in Section 21.D. The first involves the potential relaxation of the strong version of the transitivity requirement imposed on social preferences, acknowledging that social aggregation rules can lead to potential intransitivity. The second involves dropping the universality condition to focus on specific types of individual preferences. The best-known result along this line assumes “single peaked” preferences.
Why stop at social rationality and universal domain? We may wish to consider the desirability of other axioms in Arrow’s framework. For instance, the independence of irrelevant alternatives is not uncontroversial. The Borda count, whereby the rank of an alternative depends on the rank of every other alternative, is an example of a sensible ranking procedure that violates pairwise independence. Though the method can be criticized on the basis, for instance, that it may result in choosing alternatives that have broad mild support rather than those strongly preferred by the majority, it is not evidently unsound.
One final possibility is to drop the Pareto criterion. At first glance it seems like an innocuous assumption, as it is difficult to imagine how it would not be a desirable property of a social decision making procedure. That said, Sen (1970b) provides a somewhat provocative take on the Pareto criterion, showing that it is inconsistent with some degree of minimal liberalism. This result (the ‘impossibility of a Paretian liberal’) establishes that it is not possible to apply the Pareto criterion while allowing individuals to be decisive with respect to at least one pair of personal alternatives (more on this below).
These so-called ‘possibility results’ retain the Arrovian framework, which refuses to make explicit value judgments regarding interpersonal utility comparisons (or indeed interpersonal comparisons of involving non-utility information). Recognizing this points to another interpretation of Arrow’s impossibility theorem, which is that it may instead highlight a fundamental difficulty in making aggregate social welfare judgments solely on the basis of individual subjective preference orderings – a crucial point, unaddressed by MWG, to which we shall return below.
Judgment Contra Aggregation
Is it justified to conceive of social choice as being formed solely on the basis of the aggregation of individual preferences? This limited informational landscape excludes taking into account utility levels and gains associated with social states, thereby precluding interpersonal utility comparisons, as well as any other type of information that is not reflected in utility being drawn upon when arriving at social choices. It confines social choice procedures to, broadly speaking, voting processes.
One example from Sen (1995) illustrates the limitation of the Arrovian approach in this respect. We are to split a cake between two people A and B, with three potential cake allocations: [99,1] (where A receives 99%), [50,50] (equal division), and [1,99] (where B receives 99%). The parties’ preference rankings, assuming that each person prefers to receive as much of the cake as possible, are as follows (where > indicates preference):
A: [99,1] > [50,50] > [1,99]
B: [1,99] > [50,50] > [99,1]
Although it is not obvious, the Arrovian framework only allows us to consider either [1,99] or [99,1] as the most socially desirable outcomes. This result is derived from the “Field-Expansion Lemma”, outlined in Sen (1995) as part of a strategy of proof for Arrow’s impossibility theorem, which provides that if a person is decisive over a particular pair (in the sense that his preference over an alternative prevails regardless of other persons’ preferences over the same alternative), that person will be decisive over other pairs as well, and in effect become a dictator. It follows that the only social outcomes to be considered ultimately are the outcomes preferred by either party, precluding some “middle-ground” solution where neither party gets what they originally wanted but some sort of a compromise is reached. This is not to say that [50,50] is the best social outcome, but rather that it is unclear why it is altogether excluded from consideration, given its evident merits.
Another question is whether it is always desirable to reflect individual preferences (or utilities) in arriving at social judgments. If individual preferences are relevant, are they uncategorically and exclusively so? What if all the citizens of Omelas had been comfortable with the idea of living a good life at the cost of the torture of one single person. Would the overwhelming support make it a socially desirable outcome? We can imagine real life scenarios raising similar issues. Consider for example the will of a deceased father who wishes to leave all family wealth to his only son. The other children, all daughters, wish to respect the father’s decision. All parties at hand are in agreement that the son should inherit everything. Yet it could be argued that a thoughtful social evaluator might favor other allocations whereby all children receive something, in spite of the fact that this goes against the will of the family (indeed, in many jurisdictions disinheriting a child is altogether illegal).
Let us begin to explore some of these issues by considering the story of Solomon’s judgment, which involves the following social outcomes:
- A: Real mother gets custody
- B: “Bad” mother gets custody
- C: The child is split in half (and therefore killed)
The parties’ preference rankings are:
- Real mother’s preference: A > B > C
- Bad mother’s preference: B > C > A
Both parties agree that B is preferred to C, so the Pareto criterion requires that the social preference reflect this as well. However, considering only pairwise comparisons (as required by the independence of irrelevant alternatives), what should be the social preference between A and B, and between A and C? The preferences of the real mother and bad mother are in conflict in relation to both of these pairs. If the social preference reflects the real mother’s preference in either case, then she is dictatorial (by the application of the field expansion lemma, as earlier). The same point can be made if the social preference reflects the bad mother’s preference in either case (similar arguments can be made under different configurations of preferences, highlighting the fundamental nature of the difficulty). This difficulty cannot necessarily be avoided by allowing for the possibility of indifference. Social indifference is hardly a helpful concept here, since Solomon’s task as a judge is to choose, and to do so for good reasons if they are available. Should Solomon really choose by tossing a coin? There is a further and more devastating objection to this approach within the social choice framework, however. The social preference must reflect indifference between (A,C) and (A,B) if neither woman is to be decisive with respect to either pair. However, in that case by transitivity the social preference relation must also register indifference between B and C, which conflicts with the Pareto criterion.
A reasonable basis for social choices does exist here (as reflected in Solomon’s judgment) but it is ruled out by the Arrovian framework! By choosing A, Solomon acts as if he were choosing in accordance with a ranking of social states that violates some Arrovian axioms: the social preference is either dictatorial (social preference relation A > B > C), or does not respect the Pareto criterion (A > C > B). Yet would anybody disagree with the view that Solomon’s judgment is for the best? As such, the set of supposedly desirable properties identified in the Arrovian framework offer no guidance at all in understanding the merits of Solomon’s decision:
- The existence of a real mother “dictator” is less harmful or objectionable than we might have suspected a priori (for the very good reason that good sense in general, and justice in particular, does not always involve ‘splitting the difference’).
- The Pareto criterion plays little role in the decision, as it merely establishes that a bad mother is universally concurred to be preferable to a dead child (B > C), but it does not help identify the best mother.
- Solomon’s judgment relies on the fact that the bad mother would rather see the child dead than raised by the other woman and as such violates the independence of irrelevant alternatives (individuals’ preferences between B and C play a role in determining the social preference between A and B, by revealing something about the nature of the person who holds the preferences in question). This is an entirely appropriate violation of the axiom, but the Arrovian framework wholly forbids such violations.
The deeper issue here is that the problem of social choice cannot be reduced to one of mere computation given a profile of individual preferences and a set of desirable axioms. In order to reach a wise decision the judge has to engage in an assessment of what is right to do which draws on the information provided by individual preferences (the bad mother’s preference of C over A is not only horrifying but also most relevant to the determination of what to do) and goes beyond applying any mere mechanism of aggregation, because it depends on the substantive meaning of these preferences. We could conceive of situations involving a similar pattern of preferences (A > B > C and B > C > A), but where A, B and C stand for different social outcomes, in which Solomon would (and should) rule differently. (Consider for instance a dispute between a nature lover and a sports enthusiast about whether or not to leave a nearby nature reserve alone (A), to build a swimming pool in it (B) or to build a tennis court in it (C). In this case, Solomon’s judgment might very reasonably go in either direction, and depend on other relevant considerations such as whether the nature reserve is the last such plot of land or one of very many, on whether there are other sports facilities already in place, or perhaps on whether there are species which would go extinct if it is developed). Solomon interprets the preference rankings in light of his view of what constitutes a good mother and what the rankings tell us in that regard. As this example illustrates, there is a stark difference between adopting a computational approach to social decision-making, and applying considered judgment. Can an approach of the former kind ever adequately encompass the demands of the latter? This is not a question even asked by MWG.
How should we understand what Solomon is doing? It might be thought that in the case of Solomon’s judgment the pair (A,B) should be decided upon by the real mother (assuming we know who she is), and that her views should prevail when the well-being of her child is at stake. Solomon might be asserted in this respect simply to be implementing an approach which recognizes a sphere of rights. However, we can conceive of a situation in which the biological mother is the “bad mother” (the parties’ preferences are switched), so that the judge should rule in favor of the non-biological mother. It seems that inescapably, Solomon must be viewed as engaged in an exercise of judgment, and not as mechanically implementing any set of rules. Solomon in part faces an epistemic problem (who is the real mother?) which he can only resolve through a contextually informed assessment, in this case concerning the actual content of the social states under consideration (e.g. alternative C standing for the child being killed, as opposed to for example, the child being raised by a third person) and what preferences tell us about those who hold them.
Solomon’s judgment illustrates a difficulty in social choice which, though very different in terms of the substantive issues at stake, is related to what Sen (1970b) refers to as the ‘impossibility of a Paretian liberal’, namely that it may not be possible simultaneously to respect the Pareto criterion, consider preferences over a universal domain, and allow individuals to be decisive with respect to at least one pair of ‘social’ alternatives. Sen focused on situations in which, as a guarantee for individual liberty individuals ought to exercise complete discretion regarding certain social outcomes that might be viewed as best relegated to a sphere of purely personal decision-making (e.g. whether to paint one’s walls pink rather than white, or whether to sleep on one’s stomach or not). The difficulty can arise in such situations because of the ‘interfering preferences’ of others over outcomes within this private sphere. In Sen’s example, which concerns who will read Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the two members of society (named “Lewd” and “Prude”) display interfering preferences in that they each have a view regarding whether the other person should read the book, which moreover conflicts with the other person’s preference. A commitment to individual liberty would require that each person be permitted to decide for themself whether to read the book or not, but this will conflict with the Pareto criterion (precisely due to the existence of interfering preferences).
The normative rationale for such interfering preference to be discounted has to do with the case for a sphere of personal liberty, in light of which such preferences must be seen as ‘inappropriately nosy’ or at any rate inappropriate to take into account in social choice. However, there is no way of recognizing this quality without additional information beyond individual preference orderings (Blau 1975) and the appropriate application of relevant evaluative criteria. (In Solomon’s judgment, thepreferences of the bad mother must also be discounted, albeit for different reasons having less to do with ‘nosiness’ than with the best interest of the child). For such preferences to be discounted in social decision making would require a consideration of their substantive character and contextual meaning and not merely their ordinal content, thus involving a departure from the Arrovian framework. Specifically, in the case of the Paretian liberal we must be satisfied that the criteria relevant to determining that a sphere of rights is appropriate to define are satisfied, for instance that there are no externalities of a kind which would place an appropriate limit on a person’s actions. Determining whether preferences are to be regarded as unduly meddlesome or otherwise inappropriate to defer to when determining social outcomes cannot be determined in the absence of information regarding the specifics involved as well as the application of sound judgment. Should it be within a protected sphere of rights to purchase a painting and then decide to destroy it? Is the potential sense of loss experienced by art lovers an externality deemed relevant or irrelevant to the definition of the sphere of rights? In either case, how does this differ from Prude being upset and offended by Lewd’s private reading of Lady Chatterley’s Lover? Does it matter if the painting is a recognized masterpiece as opposed to an ordinary work? Similar issues arise in a very wide range of contexts.
In the case of the Paretian liberal, as in the case of Solomon’s judgment, it is necessary to depart from the Arrovian framework, by taking note of the substantive descriptions of the alternatives being ranked in order to make sense of the situation and determine how best to proceed. The ordinal Arrovian framework requires that we ‘see no evil’ and ‘hear no evil’ but alas this does not imply that we speak no evil nor that we do no evil. Examples of this kind merely illustrate the larger point that whatever the specific evaluative issues involved, judgment is inescapable and rules of aggregation are no substitute for it. This is, alas, our human predicament.
Source: Wikimedia Commons. Copyright © 2003 David Monniaux
Untying Our Hands
How can the informational framework of social choice theory be broadened? What information should be considered relevant to formulating claims about society as a whole? One possibility is to take cardinal aspects of individual utility (capturing for instance the strength of preference) into account. For this, we may conceptually turn to the concept of a Bergson-Samuelson social welfare function (described in Chapter 22), which aggregates individual utilities experienced in each social situation. This raises the issue of how to engage in meaningful comparisons of utility amongst members of society, and in particular whether the utility of different persons can be expressed in a common metric. The scientific legitimacy of such an endeavor has of course been criticized on the basis that utility is highly psychological and subjective, and thus in essence unverifiable. This critique was highlighted in the 1930s by Lionel Robbins (Robbins 1935), operating within the general frame of logical positivism and its insistence that the sole stuff of science consists in empirically verifiable propositions (interpersonal utility comparisons being, as he famously remarked, a case of “thy blood or mine”). This highly influential critique led to the attempts to construct a welfare economics that takes preference rankings as the sole relevant information, relying on the use of the Pareto criterion instead of utility summation (now deemed meaningless). The influence of the Robbins critique can be seen in Arrow’s approach to social choice which asks, in effect, can we still form social welfare judgments with one arm tied behind the back?
There are practical difficulties associated with establishing a common denominator of states of mind, of course, but this does not mean that it is an impossible task, or that it is always unwarranted to make the attempt. Peter Singer, for example, approaching ethical dilemmas from a utilitarian perspective, has suggested that one has the moral duty to accept small sacrifices (e.g. donate to humanitarian relief causes) in order to reduce suffering experienced by deprived starving individuals (Singer 1972). This does suggest that it is meaningful to compare, to some extent, levels of well-being across persons (wealthy and poor), and accept some tradeoff, rather than dismiss the exercise entirely on grounds that utility is completely subjective. Is comparison of such a kind utterly ‘meaningless’ regardless of how rich the rich person and how severely deprived the deprived person in the comparison? If it is not, then what are the guideposts for determining what comparisons are meaningful as guides to judgment and decision?
Another possibility is to look beyond the utility framework. It might be possible to compare social states in terms of some other criteria for evaluating them, including for instance non-utility information about the quality of human experience. A person’s use of a particular resource, or his or her expressed level of contentment, may not always be an adequate measurement of the person’s well being. For instance in situations of ‘adaptive preference’, a person may identify herself as possessing a higher level of well-being than warranted given her economic or social deprivation as recognized from a more ‘objective’ standpoint. More generally, errors in judgment, for instance concerning what conduces to well-being as the individual herself might judge from a more distanced standpoint, may call for the use of other information. In such situations, looking at what conduces to people’s actual well-being and not simply their subjective preference-based orderings over individual and social states of affairs, may be a more fruitful basis for public policy making. This requires a framework for thinking about well-being as potentially distinct from a person’s ability to derive satisfaction from a particular good, and also raises fundamental questions concerning how to define and assess quality of life, to address which both philosophical reasoning and social scientific information of diverse kinds are needed.
One approach, as in Rawls’ theory of justice as fairness, is to focus on the ownership of basic goods that most people would consider to be essential to their well-being, with ‘primary goods’ defined as things which a rational person wants whatever else he wants (Rawls, 1971: 92). The external assessment regarding welfare here involves a reference to the requirements of a rational individual, whatever the goals pursued. Amartya Sen’s “freedom-based” capability approach takes the analysis a bit further by focusing on a person’s capability to convert particular resources into achievements, and not just on the ownership or control of said resources (see for instance Sen 1979, 1992). Sen’s work on poverty and deprivations suggests that it is possible (and indeed necessary) to look beyond income levels, or indeed any materially defined poverty line, and understand poverty as capability deprivation. More generally, the conceptualization of well-being requires an adequate account of human flourishing, in which freedoms to achieve diverse functionings define a person’s capabilities. The approach has been highly influential in development policy, contributing to the creation of the Human Development concept and more recently in guiding economic and social policy assessment generally. For example, the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission) put forward the idea of a ‘dashboard’ consisting of a variety of indicators to evaluate social welfare and sustainability, as opposed to a single measure of well-being (Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi 2009). These practical efforts have emphasized the narrowness of an income-based approach to well-being evaluation as opposed to the conceptual deficiencies of utility-based evaluation. However, a capability-based approach to social assessment seems to provide a more natural foundation for capturing concerns for diverse freedoms to achieve.
This informational basis for assessments of social choice and welfare – focusing on the kinds of effective freedoms (encompassing positive and negative liberties) needed for people to achieve a fruitful life is very different from that adopted by the Arrovian framework, where such effective freedoms can only be accounted for to the extent individuals view them as relevant, forming preferences accordingly. Even if utility is given a cardinal meaning, rights and capabilities can only be taken into account on the basis of the utility generated rather than their own intrinsic merits. Still more significantly, as we discuss next, broadening the informational basis of well-being assessment creates a potentially more robust basis for interpersonal comparisons, necessary in order to make meaningful comparisons of social states and to avoid Arrow’s paradox. The impossible becomes possible: all that is needed is to untie one’s hands!
Thy Blood and Mine: Distributive Justice and Interpersonal Comparison
Should distributive justice play any role in analyses of social welfare and choice? Social judgment (including in regard to social welfare and social justice) would seem to require that we promote fair consideration of all individuals’ interests, at least by way of the symmetric treatment of individuals in the procedures of social choice. However, we must ultimately ask, in the words of Amartya Sen (Sen 1979), equality of what?
A libertarian might resist engaging in any assessment of the desirability of a particular social allocation, stressing instead whether it was brought about by free exchange, or more generally whether proper procedures were followed in arriving at an outcome, regardless of the inequalities that may be generated (e.g. Nozick 1974). In contrast, if the ‘pattern’ of outcomes realized is taken to be most relevant in assessing a state of affairs, what distributive criteria should be used to rank different outcomes? If interpersonal utility comparisons are taken to be meaningful, different types of social welfare functions aggregating individual utilities differently will result in different social allocations. Going back to Sen’s cake allocation example, a utilitarian social planner will divide the cake so as to maximize total utility (at the point of equality of everyone’s marginal utility). An egalitarian planner would seek to achieve a social outcome whereby each person derives equal utility from eating. A Rawlsian-inspired planner would likely assign a larger portion of the cake to the poorest person, so as to maximize the utility of the worst-off individual. Allocation problems can also be addressed in the framework of axiomatic bargaining (see our prior entry Thirteen Ways To Split a Cake), where utilities resulting from the cake allocation would be assessed on the basis of utility differences from a threat point, as opposed to absolute values.
As we noted above, there are other possible conceptual frameworks that do not involve utility comparisons. The capability approach allows for interpersonal comparisons that take forms other than utility comparisons, with differences in capabilities amounting to differences in individuals’ abilities to live freely and well. Though the capability approach does not suggest any specific formula for policy decision (for example it does not suggest that a social planner should necessarily seek to equate everyone’s capabilities at all costs), it does provide an informational framework for assessing the goal of promoting individuals’ opportunities to achieve outcomes, deemed socially valuable. A greater share of cake going to a starving person might be desirable to the extent it alleviates hunger, not merely because it generates utility or well-being, but because it is intrinsically and instrumentally linked to greater opportunities for individuals to live free and flourishing lives. Where Robbins excoriated interpersonal comparisons on the ground that they involved questions of thy blood or mine, the capability approach begins with the presumption that flourishing lives are valuable: thy blood and mine.
Adopting capabilities or another non-utility space of evaluation of individual lives helps with the problem of interpersonal comparison for two reasons. Firstly, information about individual flourishing in the space of capabilities may lend itself to interpersonal comparisons since it is more tangible and less metaphysical than utility (pace Robbins). To ask, for instance, about anthropometric information on individuals which tells us something about their future prospects for good health and a long life is decidedly to employ measurable and interpersonally comparable information, even if there are methodological challenges which arise in this as in all cases of comparison. Secondly, concern for adequacy, or equality, in the space of capabilities may have determinate implications that are distinct from those which arise in other spaces (e.g. resources). Going back to our prior example of the family inheritance, the capability approach would place less emphasis on the children’s own preferences (the only son should get everything), and instead consider the distribution of opportunities amongst children. A capability-based approach to social judgment (taking into account interpersonal comparisons in valued capabilities and the ability to transform resources into them) can both facilitate interpersonal comparison and thereby sidestep the Arrovian paradox, which is based on a restriction to ordinal subjective preference information. Whether such an approach, or any other, is warranted or not must however ultimately be judged on the basis of underlying evaluative commitments. The scientific approach desired by Robbins must be allied with sound evaluative judgments if we are to overcome the impasse.
The Impossibility of a Computational Democracy
It has been suggested that Arrow’s impossibility theorem establishes the ‘impossibility of a democratic computer’ (Mirowski, 2002: 302). What, in light of our discussion, should we make of this result? Does it establish an inadequacy of computation or of democracy?
Arrow’s result was a foundational development in formal social choice theory. The axiomatic reasoning approach in social choice theory makes it possible to identify specific conditions that may or may not be mutually satisfied, and therefore what conditions we must seek to weaken or to dispense with, and in this respect places us in a “well-lit space as to what we are doing” [Amartya Sen in the Second Annual Kenneth Arrow Lecture]. Signally, it alerts us to the limitations intrinsic to viewing social welfare solely in terms of outcomes determined by a voting process -- majority voting or other such procedure need not deliver consistency let alone (as we have seen above) satisfactory decisions. One simple, final example will illustrate this latter point: A proposal of taking the income of the poor minority in a country, cutting it in half and giving the other half to the rest of the population would strike us as unsound social judgment, and therefore a poor basis for policy, though it may well receive the approval of majority voting. Indeed, if the poor minority is reduced to one person from whom we take almost everything, we get the story of Omelas.
MWG’s approach to Arrow’s negative result focuses on how to accommodate the difficulties highlighted by Arrow’s theorem through various possible relaxations of the framework, but it focuses not at all on the role of broadening the informational basis of social judgment by leaving the realm of subjective preference. The Arrovian framework views the alternatives in a fashion which is content-neutral, but that restriction makes it impossible to look beyond individual orderings of social states of affair to form social judgments and choices which are warranted by considered reasoning, whether or not they rise to the level of Solomonic wisdom. Those who take the Arrovian framework as the last word in social judgment and decision cannot step outside the framework to assess such decisions from an independent perspective, and in this respect try to wash their hands of the problem altogether. Arrow’s theorem tells us that, much as this would be nice if it were possible, it is not. As such we might suggest that Arrow establishes the impossibility of a computational democracy, pointing instead to the need for non-algorithmic bases for judgment -- an inadequacy of computation rather than of democracy. Viewing Arrow’s impossibility theorem as an invitation for informational enrichment opens up new possibilities for constructive social choice theory, freeing our hands to build and create.
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We are very grateful to Wulf Gaertner for commenting on this text – without of course holding him responsible for its weaknesses.
Edmund Burke famously wrote, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790): “But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever.”
A social welfare functional is a rule that assigns to any profile of individual ‘rational’ preference relations (a profile of individual rankings defined over a set of alternatives), a social preference relation (a unique social ranking of such alternatives).
It is possible to approach formal social choice in a manner which allows procedural concerns (e.g. enforcement of contracts, protection of rights, etc.) to be taken into account, alongside social outcomes as done in the formal literature on liberties and rights (in which a foundational contribution is Gaertner, Pattanaik, and Suzumura 1992).
Some of the recent philosophical literature on group minds considers the hypothesis that collectivities may have a claim in social ontology as entities in their own right, with psychological autonomy. See for example Petit (2003) for the claim that thinking of a collectivity as an intentional subject displaying consistency and rationality in decision-making can help solve a ‘discursive dilemma’ in situations where a judgment on a final issue is determined by a number of separate considerations. If a collective view is reached on the basis of first aggregating individual views on each premise (premise-centered voting) and deriving the logical consequences, the outcome may not necessarily coincide with what would have been reached had individuals directly voted on the final outcome (conclusion-centered voting). It is claimed that thinking of the collectivity as an intentional subject displaying consistency in decision-making helps to avert this dilemma.
There must be no limitations on the sets of preferences of individuals to which the functional can be applied, i.e. the social welfare functional must yield a social ordering for every possible combination of individual preferences.
The social welfare functional must respect unanimity of strict preferences on the part of individuals. If every individual prefers x to y, the social welfare functional must yield a social ordering where x is also preferred to y.
There is no one individual in the society whose preference relation determines the social preference.
The social preference between two alternatives must be dependent only on individual preferences over the same alternatives. Individual preferences with respect to other alternatives are irrelevant.
The social welfare functional is by definition taken to be ‘rational’ (complete and transitive in the definition of MWG).
Samuelson, P.A. (1969), "The Way of an Economist", in International Economic Relations: Proceedings of the Third Congress of the International Economic Association, London: Macmillan, pp. 1–11.
A related result had already been known since the late 18th Century as the Condorcet Paradox in the specific case where the social aggregation mechanism consists of majority voting. In a work published shortly before the French Revolution, Condorcet (a central figure in the Enlightenment who also played a leading role in the French Revolution) showed that pairwise majority voting can lead to cyclic patterns and intransitive social preferences in situations where three alternatives or more are under consideration (Condorcet 1785, 1788). Incidentally, Condorcet’s work on constitutional issues ultimately led to his demise. He was branded a traitor during the Terror for criticizing Constitution's Commission, and subsequently arrested. He died in prison in an apparent suicide.
A possible approach is to replace the transitivity requirement with the quasi-transitivity of the social preference relation, on which see MWG p800.
If the domain is restricted to single peaked preferences, majority voting will result in social preferences being identical to those of the median voter, which will depend on the distribution of preferences in society. As such, the social aggregation rule will be transitive because under the specified assumptions the median voter’s preferences are transitive (the median voting theorem).
The pairwise independence condition seems to impose some kind of menu independence requirement with respect to the formulation of social choice, but it is not immediately obvious why the social preference between two alternatives should be unaffected by individual preferences over other alternatives. MWG (p794) gives us three possible lines of justification for this condition: a normative appeal (not immediately obvious, for instance because the presence or absence of other alternatives could potentially matter if choice is thought of as being driven not just by intrinsic properties of objects, but also by a range of external considerations – on this, see Sen 1997); a concern for practicality, in that the assumption helps to “separate problems” (in which case could Arrow’s impossibility potentially be overcome if one was ready to accept practical difficulties?); and an incentive issue connected with the need to provide inducements for truthful revelation of individual preferences (this point is not immediately obvious – is it so critical that the social choice function provide for such an inducement mechanism?).
This point is not necessarily obvious. For instance, it may be argued that the concept of volonté générale (general will) developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Rousseau 1762) is meant to capture a notion of common good and public interest that cannot be reduced to whatever decision can be reached with majority rule, or indeed to the ‘sum’ of individual wills arrived at through any ‘static’ aggregative scheme. Rather it appears to involve the idea of the formation of the general will through a dynamic procedure involving the encounter of individual wills in a social whole (through which process the individual will itself can change). The general will is moreover not described even thereafter as standing in any specific aggregative relationship to individual wills.
For a proof of the Field-Expansion Lemma, please refer to Sen (1995). In the particular example of the cake division, if the social preference ranks [50,50] over [99,1], we are allowing B’s preference to prevail and B may be deemed decisive over that specific pair. However, by the Field-Expansion Lemma, B must then be decisive generally and B’s preference of [1,99] over [50,50] must get priority in the determination of social preference as well. By an analogous argument involving A, if the social preference ordering ranks [50,50] over [1,99], then [99,1] must be ultimately deemed socially preferred to [50,50] as well. In either case, [50,50] cannot ultimately be deemed socially preferred. In this particular example, one of the parties is necessarily decisive and indeed dictatorial.
We can think of such an evaluator in terms of Adam Smith’s impartial spectator in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, or Harsanyi’s impartial observer (Harsanyi 1953, 1955). Given that observations and judgments are always formed on the basis of a specified viewpoint, we might expect that the social arbitrator aspire to ‘positional objectivity’, which requires some degree of interpersonal independence once the particular parameters of an observational position are fixed or indeed to ‘trans-positional objectivity’ which requires that all positional perspectives be adequately taken into account (Sen 1993).
Prude would prefer not to read the book (which he views as indecent), but Lewd would rather Prude read the book than not (he gets enjoyment out of Prude having to read it), and vice-versa; Lewd would rather read the book than not, but Prude thinks this would not be in Lewd’s best interest.
Considering three social outcomes “Lewd reads” (L), “Prude reads” (P) and “No one reads” (N), in Sen’s example the personal preferences are (where > stands for strict preference): P > L > N for Lewd, and N > P > L for Prude. By the condition of universal domain, this pattern of preference must yield an acyclical social preference, but it cannot comply with both the Pareto condition and that of minimal liberty, which would require that the social preference reflect Lewd’s personal preference to read the book (L > N), and that Prude should not be forced to read it (N > P). The contradiction arises not just because interfering preferences conflict with the other person’s private choice, but also because of the intensities of the reciprocal interests (Blau 1975). In Sen’s example both parties feel more strongly about opposing the other person’s private decision than fulfilling their own. If, on the other hand, interfering preferences still contradict personal choice (Lewd still wants Prude to read Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and Prude still wants to censor Lewd), but one of the parties is ultimately more interested in advancing his or her own interest than in interfering with the other (for example, ultimately Lewd places his own interest in reading the book above Prude’s), Lewd would be permitted to read the book without violating the Pareto condition (as Lewd and Prude would no longer be in agreement that P > L).
An apposite example involves best-selling author Patricia Cornwell, who was the subject of controversy for allegedly destroying a painting by Walter Sickert in an attempt to establish the identity (DNA) of Jack the Ripper.
“If we disagree about ends it is a case of thy blood or mine”. Robbins (1935: 150).
Note that it is also possible to adjust the profiles individual utilities by attaching decreasing weight to successive units of individual utility with the generalized utilitarian social welfare function such that, for instance, a person with a uniformly high capability of enjoyment (e.g. a “utility monster” who never experiences diminishing marginal utility) would not attract as high a share of resources as his or her utility function would suggest (see MWG p827). One could conceive of other possible adjustments – e.g. from a complementary point of view, a person who derives lower levels of enjoyment from an available resource (e.g. due to some disability) could receive a compensatory allocation. However, such adjustments would seem to involve identifying the non-utility reasons for differences in the ability of different persons to translate resources into utilities.
The maximin (Rawlsian) social welfare function reformulates Rawls’ maximin principle in terms of utility. However, we note that Rawls’ original analysis in Rawls (1971) was framed in terms of ownership of primary goods rather than utilities, and also defined as an institutional principle aiming at bringing about ongoing outcomes as opposed to a resource allocation rule meant to be applied in single instances.
There is a growing literature which implicitly invokes interpersonal comparisons on the basis of capability sets. The development of the Human Development concept and index is the best known applied effort. See also e.g. among others, Gaertner and Xu (2006) or Reddy and Pogge (2010).
If one child was disabled and required a much higher income to maintain a quality of life on par with that of her siblings, an application of the capability approach aiming toward equalization or at least sufficiency of capabilities might suggest that the disabled child should be allocated a higher share of the family wealth so as to have equal or at least adequate freedom to achieve well-being.
This is an example directly taken from Sen’s Second Annual Kenneth Arrow Lecture.
Majority voting is not the only candidate for a social aggregation rule, of course. This example merely illustrates how a meaningful exercise in social judgment cannot be reduced to a mere aggregation of individual preference rankings (whether this is done via majority voting or another aggregation method) but must rather integrate other concerns relevant to social choice, such as rights. Indeed any consideration relevant to individual and social well-being not properly captured in the parties’ ordinal preferences falls outside of the standard informational framework of social choice theory and must be separately noted and integrated into social assessment and decision making, if it is to play any role at all. | <urn:uuid:ae8a7495-5143-4b6b-9d72-fb591f403377> | {
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Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Charles L'Enfant
|←Simon Le Moyne||Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Volume 9
|Adam Franz Lennig→|
Engineer, b. in France, August, 1755; d. near Bladensburg, Maryland, U.S.A., 4 June, 1833. He was educated as an engineer and joined Lafayette as a volunteer to help the revolted American colonists in 1777. Appointed a captain of engineers on 18 Feb., 1778, and brevet major on 2 May, 1783, in Washington's army, he did valiant service during the Revolutionary War. At its close he remodelled the old City Hall in New York for the meeting of the First Congress, and later arranged the Federal Hall in Philadelphia. When the site for the Federal city was finally adopted, he spent much of his time during the year 1791 considering a plan for the new city, which he finally drew up with the title: "Plan of the City, intended for the Permanent Seat of the Government of the United States. Projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States in pursuance of an act of Congress passed the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, establishing the Permanent Seat on the bank of the Potomac". L'Enfant had a quick temper and an overbearing disposition, and, as he quarrelled with his superiors before his plans could be carried out, President Washington dismissed him from the service on 1 March, 1792. He refused an appropriation offered him for his work on the plan for the Capitol, and also the appointment of professor of engineering at the Military Academy, West Point. During the War of 1812 with England he set to work constructing fortifications near Washington, but again quarrelled with his superior officers, and through pique left the service. He haunted the doors of Congress for years with applications for recompense for his work that were never heeded. Poor and forgotten he spent the rest of his days at the home of his friend, William Dudley Digges, near Bladensburg, Maryland, and his body was buried there. In April, 1909, in accordance with an Act of Congress, the remains of Major L'Enfant were removed from his grace in Maryland, and, after lying in state for a short time in the Capitol at Washington, were reinterred in the National Cemetery at Arlington with the ceremonies of the Church and the military honours due to his rank in the Continental Army.
VARNUM, The Seat of Government of the U.S. (Washington, 1854); American Cath. Hist. Researches (Philadelphia, January 1907); MEEHAN in America (New York, 1 May, 1909); Encycl. Am. Biog., s.v.
THOMAS F. MEEHAN | <urn:uuid:d396fabb-c57a-4723-b7ca-c9060ad8e8bd> | {
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Blow your kids minds with these giant homemade bubbles ! We are officially obsessed with bubble making…might be my most fun DIY ever! Always wondered how to make your own bubble recipe? Want to make HUGE bubbles at home?
Check out this recipe for homemade bubbles and your own big bubble maker.
Mei and her daughter Mischa learn why bubbles are always round and find out how to make giant bubbles with a couple of wooden spoons and some string. At Dr Zigs we manufacture the most ethical and environmentally friendly bubble toys and equipment. You can encourage smaller, (thought still huge !) bubbles to break off and fly free by bringing the yarn loop back together to snip off a bubble. A fun and popular family show featuring bubbles of all sizes!
Creating giant and super- giant bubbles can be tricky. The larger a bubble , bubble wan or tri-string loop is the harder it can be to close a lasting bubble. Hilarious video of a massive bubble tower building up during bathtime to the joy of the children both in and out of the tub is bringing smiles to .
Ten of the best bubble machines, wands, and guns to blow giant bubbles in the backyard from Fubbles, ADJ, Fisher-Price, Gazillion, Haktoys, . How many times have you seen a bubble bath touch the ceiling of the bathroom? Bubbles Biggest, Costs Least! The bubble burst when a seller arranged a big purchase with a buyer, but the buyer failed to show. The realization set in that price increases were unsustainable . The Masters Hypothesis is the claim that unprecedented buying pressure from new financial index investors created a massive bubble in agricultural futures . TheTribune: NEW YORK: Floating a new theory about the birth of our solar system, a new study says that it could have formed in the bubbles. This special machine and specially formulated . Scientists have found how our solar solar system formed in the wind-blown bubbles around a giant , long-dead star.
Astronomers spotted giant bubbles on the surface of a huge red- giant star, showing for the first time the convective cells that move heat around . An economic bubble or asset bubble is trade in an asset at a price or price range that strongly. New York, Dec (IANS) Floating a new theory about the birth of our solar system, a new study says that it could have formed in the bubbles. The winds of massive stars create large (pc) bubbles around their progenitors. Jets launched by the central AGN inflate large radio bubbles that displace the hot atmosphere to create cavities in the X-ray surface brightness . A robot built for blowing massive bubbles !
A global devaluation would be a windfall for nations with huge debts to foreign countries . WIND-BLOWN BUBBLES AROUND MASSIVE STARS. STELLAR WIND AND PHOTO-IONIZATION ON THE CIRCUMSTELLAR. The enormous bubble structures currently witnessed are consistent with a black hole belch.
The greatest bubble in history is popping, according to Bank of America Corp. The cryptocurrency is tracking the downfalls of the other massive. | <urn:uuid:d1494dba-0e77-4c05-bd8e-52e76947003e> | {
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In recent years, with the rapid development of electric […]
In recent years, with the rapid development of electrical and electronic products, enameled wire has been applied to various fields of production and life, such as various types of motors, transformers, rectifiers, voice coil.
Application of Xinyu Enameled Wire
Enameled wires are appropriate to be used in compressor motors of freezer, refrigerator and air conditioner.
They are also best suited to be used in the motors which operate at high temperature, high speed.
They are also suitable for those motors which require repeated starting.
They are applied in hermetical motors and coils of electrical devices.
They are suitable for those applications where high speed automatic winding is needed.
Types of Xinyu Enameled Wire
On the basis of materials used in making the core of the wire the enameled wire can be divided into two types. Mainly aluminum and copper is used as the major material for these wires. Sometimes copper-clad aluminum wire is also used.
Enameled aluminum wire : In this category of enameled wires the core material used in the conductor is aluminum. They have very good electric conductivity and are low weight. These wires have high hot impact performance. The enameled aluminum wires are ideal for electric machinery with short and periodic workloads.
Enameled Copper Wire : The material used in making conductor in this type of wire is copper. These enameled wires have high thermal resistance and are thermally stable. They are resistance to freon. They are resistant to high overload and can bear high heat shock. They are used for smoke and heat exhaust motors and inverter-driven motors. | <urn:uuid:676ea545-22db-4138-8a51-e426d1435512> | {
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TPR Storytelling with high school and college students:
University of the South
735 University Ave
Sewanee, TN 37383-1000
Teacher of German and Spanish
Franklin County High School
Dr. James J. Asher
Forty years ago, I introduced the concept that comprehension of the target language prepares students to make a graceful stress-free transition into speaking, reading and writing. At that time, the conventional wisdom was that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line." Hence, bang! Start right out with speaking, reading and writing a target language that is alien to students. The result is stressful, repetitious "by heart" learning that crawls along at such a slow pace that most students give up long before breaking through to fluency.
That mind set still dominates foreign language education today perhaps because the few students who achieve all "A"s in the traditional classes go on to become language instructors themselves. Their view: "Gee, it worked for me! Why won't it work for you? Just try a little harder." For other language instructors who acquired the target language at home, the language seems so transparent that "If you just listen and repeat after me," you will get it. These instructors are truly baffled when students respond with glazed looks in their eyes.
America is in competition with the rest of the world
Thirty states no longer require a foreign language to graduate from high school. Parents would definitely like their children to acquire other languages, especially since America seems to be in competition with the rest of the world for jobs. The glitch: Parents feel, based on their own experience in school, that the massive effort in foreign language classes is a "waste of time." Better to invest time in something more productive such as small appliance repair or ballroom dancing.
The good News!
The good news is that thousands of instructors at all levels worldwide have discovered that the "royal road" to language acquisition is definitely "comprehension-first" rather than the traditional production-first. Supported by research grants from many federal and state agencies, I explored the parameters of a powerful tool to help students of all ages including adults enjoy instant understanding of any target language. That tool I call the Total Physical Response, known worldwide as TPR. The languages used in research by myself and colleagues were English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. You will find those studies reviewed in my first book, Learning Another Language Through Actions, now in the 6th edition.
Well, if comprehension is important, let's translate
Sounds like a good idea, but it does not work very well. Here's why: Everyone has hundreds of experiences that this is a chair, this is a table and that is a door. Only one person, the instructor, claims that this is a kursi, this is a taula and that is a bob. Someone is either crazy or lying and it is not us. The brain will not store lies in long-term retention. That's why the assertions by the instructor are erased from memory even before students stand up to leave the classroom. I like Mark Twain's observation: "If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory."
Create facts rather than assertions
As instructors we are playing against the critical left hemisphere of the student's brain. That side of the brain scans incoming information for flaws. It is sceptical. It's mission is to keep us safe and sane. It does this by testing the "reality" of any new idea. The left brain is continually asking, "Is this true?" "Why should I believe it?"
At best, assertions by anyone including instructors are stored in short-term memory for as long as it takes to "pass a test." Hence, we are more apt to win in the brain's game, and by "win" I mean get storage in long-term memory, when we create facts for students rather than merely assertions. How do we do this?
How to create facts
In any instructor's box of tools one powerful tool is my Total Physical Response, known worldwide as TPR. The essence of TPR is "language-body" conversations in which the instructor integrates vocabulary into directions for the student to follow. For example, instead of asserting that this is a kursi, this is a taula and this is a bob, students say nothing but physically move when the instructor directs them to:
Here is why "language-body" conversations create facts
Your students are silent. They listen to a direction in the target language (without translation) and perform an action. They have just created a fact, and facts are more difficult for the left brain to reject than assertions. With lightning speed, the left brain reasons this way: If "waif" does not mean to "stand up," why did I stand up? If "imshi" does not mean to walk, why did I walk? "Waif" caused me to "stand" and "imshi" caused me to walk. These are cause-effect relationships. They must be true. It is OK to store those patterns in long-term retention. A bonus is that within the patterns, students also internalize a map of how the language works-- that is, the phonology, semantics, and grammar.
The highest form of art
In a presentation recently for 900 ESL instructors gathered at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina for the Southeast Conference, I asked everyone to erase a word from their vocabulary. That word was "methods" because there are no methods in foreign language instruction. Here is why: a method implies a formula and formula implies a science. Teaching is an art, not a science. There is no formula that will shoo anyone to success in teaching.
Teaching is perhaps the highest form of art because all by yourself on a stark stage with only one prop, a chalkboard--you will attempt to hold the attention of your audience for an hour or more. No music. No writers. No producers. No directors. No stage crew. No comics. No warm-up act. No show girls---just you and your students. I don't know of many celebrities who would have the courage to stand up and deliver a performance all by themselves for one or two hours--an eternity in radio, television, film, or Broadway.
The first step is comprehension
So, step one is comprehension. Once students have internalized a huge chunk of the target language, they are ready for step two-- speaking, reading, and writing. This transition from comprehension to other skills cannot be forced. Each student, of all ages including adults, will make the transition spontaneously when the individual is ready, which usually happens between 10 to 20 hours of classical TPR language-body conversations. Then, help your students make a successful transition from comprehension to production with storytelling along with other techniques such as role reversal, pattern drills and short dialogues (made up by your students).
TPR Storytelling with high school and college students: Our personal experience by Dr. James C. Davidheiser and Marilyn Davidheiser Authors of the new book, Deutsch durch Maerchen: Beginning German with Fairy Tales through TPRS
On the first day of class I showed my students a video demonstration of TPR entitled, " Strategy for Second Language Learning." The video produced by James Asher and distributed by Sky Oaks Productions, Inc., shows students between ages 17 and 60 moving around the room rapidly acquiring an understanding of German in chunks rather than word-by-word.
I gave my students no further explanation, but immediately started with my first direction in German, "Stand up! (and I modeled by standing up and motioning them to stand up) and then "Sit down!." Following the pattern in James Asher's book, "Learning Another Language Through Actions," I continued with "Walk!," "Stop," "Turn." When I sensed that my students were responding with confidence, I expanded with: "Stand up. Point to the chair. Point to the table, and point to the chalkboard."
Gradually, I move from the familiar utterances to novel directions (ones they never heard before in German). For example, they are now familiar with Walk, Point to... and Touch... Will students understand a recombination such as, "Walk to the chair and sit down" or "Walk to the table and sit on the table" ? I am always amazed that their understanding of German is now so fluid, they can comprehend sentences in German that they never heard before. Understanding of novel sentences in the target language is a TPR bonus I never observed in traditional left-brain exercises such as, "Listen and repeat after me" or "Memorize this dialogue."
Students want to see the utterances in print
One caveat: My students begged me to see the commands in German. So, I prepared handouts with the German directions in print (without translations). It is important that students not see the German in print until the end of a class and I limited vocabulary to about two dozen lexical items per meeting.
Here is how my students respond
My students are enthusiastic, especially with the marvelous experience of understanding German instantly. They also like some follow-up innovative quizzes such as:
1. Three at a time
My experience with TPRS (TPR Storytelling)
After three weeks of TPR, students are comfortable and confident in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing a huge sample of German. I express it this way: With TPR, I can pitch the instructional ball so that it is catchable. Students--all of my students-- get it! With the traditional textbook approach, a few students get it, and the rest stretch to catch it, but the ball flies way over their heads.
My students are so confident that they become playful with the German rather than fearing it. When we do role reversal and each gives me directions in German, they may direct me to "Stand on the table" or "Throw your tie out the window" or "Go to the door, open it and yell, "Anybody out there order pizza?" That good-will and humor spills over into "word of mouth" recommendations such as: "Hey, you gotta take German--Yes, I said German. It's more fun than a room full of video games."
Now I make a transition from TPR into TPRS (TPR Storytelling)
I have success with simple stories in Blaine Ray's Look, I Can Talk. The first is " The Cat Story," a simple tale of possession, loss, and repossession of a cat. The next is "The Cow and the Monkey," a comparison of a poor monkey with a rich cow who comes to the aid of the monkey. Then on to "The Date," a more complex narration with all the preparation that goes into the date, and a disaster which leads to an early departure for home. The brief vocabulary list does not discourage the students, as do those in most traditional language texts.
Hint: How to tell a story for best results
When students hear a story for the first time, it is a thrill for them if they understand everything you are saying. To achieve this, I help students internalize the vocabulary ahead of time with TPR (actions and gestures).
Ray has a manual with a gesture for each word and I used these initially, but soon discovered that I could make up my own gestures or better yet, let students make up gestures. All of these options seem to work.
Beware of over-modeling
A caveat: Beware of overmodeling which can exhaust everyone, the instructor as well as the students. Your goal: Minimum modeling. When they get it, stop modeling! I find that I only have to demonstrate once or twice and they get it! The more you play with modeling, the more skilled you will become as applying the principle of "less is more."
How about grammar?
Students will implicitly internalize grammar in the TPR and TPRS experience, and Asher suggests that this is a right brain understanding (under the radar of consciousness) similar to that of native speakers. Students and native speakers may not be able to tell you names of grammatical features, but they can communicate with sentences that are often grammatically correct.
Asher advises that learners (especially adults) seem to be comfortable with some explicit left brain explanations of grammar. One way to do this gracefully is to use the last 5 or 10 minutes of a class for a Q and A session about grammatical points of interest to students.
Another way to handle explicit grammar instruction
After my students are comfortable hearing and telling a story, I hand out a sheet with a brief explanation of each grammatical detail that appeared in the story. For example, I write next to certain sentences that a particular word is feminine, masculine, or neuter. I may state that a word is plural and for comparison, give the singular, too. My explanations are so brief, they do not impede the flow of rapid communication.
Notice that you are playing first to the right brain with storytelling and later switching to the left brain with an explanation. Flowing back and forth from one hemisphere to the other seems to satisfy students. There is a kind of balance that is pleasing.
Another trick: I prepare grammar sheets for homework. For instance, after the first four stories in Look, I Can Talk!, I use vocabulary from the stories to practice dative pronouns, verbs and the genitive case. The value of familiar vocabulary is that students perceive grammar not as an end in itself, but rather a powerful aid to listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Advancing beyond Level 1
You have many options. You can continue with more storytelling in Level 2 with Look, I Can Talk More and into Level 3 with Look, I'm Still Talking. For elementary and middle school students, take a look at Todd McKay's TPR Storytelling books in English, Spanish and French.
I think the secret of continued success is (a) finding goals that are attractive to students (How would they actually like to use the language?), and (b) a rich variety of activities.
How to adapt TPR and TPRS to any textbook
Many secondary teachers are stuck with a mandated text that has been selected by others. That is exactly the situation that my wife, Marilyn, encountered. She teaches German and Spanish at the Franklin County High School in Winchester, Tennessee.
Dr. David Wolfe, who was supervisor of all foreign language instruction at the Moorestown School District in New Jersey has this advice: " Open the textbook and pull out every noun, adjective, verb, adverb and preposition that can be inserted into a TPR direction. Then, before your students ever see the textbook, move them around and keep moving them until they have internalized each vocabulary item.
The payoff: When your students open the book for the first time, they are excited to see familiar friends instead of alien monsters that produce fear. You know the typical response in a traditional class when they open the book for the first time, "I can't do it!" and "This is an impossible task! I will never understand this language."
Another solution discovered by Marilyn
Using the vocabulary in each chapter of the text she asked her students to help her create simple stories with illustrations on transparencies. The results are phenomenal. Students thoroughly enjoy seeing their drawings on transparencies and hearing their classmates tell the stories to accompany their drawings.
Moving beyond storytelling
Beware of the exclusive use of any procedure
Asher and Garcia caution against being too predictable. For example, the exclusive use of one procedure such as storytelling has a noxious side effect of "adaptation." One way to neutralize adaptation is a frequent change of pace with "surprise" activities from your box of tools.
Remember, In the beginning, a procedure is a novelty that attracts student interest and holds their attention. But, continued use day after day results in non-responsiveness. A one-trick pony will not hold the attention of a circus audience. It takes many acts to stage a successful show.
Another caveat: Beware of the "hamster on an exercise wheel"
When students finish one book, their reward is another book and when they finish that book, there is still another book. There seems to be no end. Students often feel like a pet hamster spinning an exercise wheel round and round. It's like driving around a parking lot in circles. When will we reach our destination?
One way to neutralize the "exercise wheel" is short- term goals that are attractive to students such as:
Play with this idea: Start your students off with a list of possible goals and ask them to expand the list. To add some fun to the exercise, ask your students to brainstorm in pairs. Then, combine all ideas into one grand list and ask each student to rank with "1" as their first choice, then "2," etc.
Now your students are in control of their destiny. They are going where they want to go. One of my colleagues once told me, "You can't learn to program a computer unless you have something you want to program." Well, perhaps you can't zoom ahead in a foreign language unless you have a purpose, a goal--something you truly want to communicate to someone else.
Compare the student goals above with typical teacher goals such as
Teacher goals are "hot" items for instructors, but of incidental interest to students. Student goals should be the focus of attention with teacher goals in the background.
A personal note
Marilyn and I have co-authored a new book, Deutsch durch Maerchen: Beginning German with Fairy Tales Through TPRS. It includes seven fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm with drawings and alternate versions of each so that students can enjoy telling the tales themselves. In pilot tests of the book in beginning German at the University of the South, students rated the book as, "...an exciting way to move from comprehending German to speaking." Yes, we are available to demonstrate TPR and answer your questions.
ReferencesAsher, James J.Learning Another Language Through Actions (6th edition) Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.
Davidheiser, David & Marilyn. Deutsch durch Maerchen: Beginning German with Fairy Tales Through TPRS. TPRS Publishing, Inc.
Davidheiser, David. The ABC's of Total Physical Response Storytelling. The Odyssey Continues. Southern Conference on Language Teaching, 2001, pp 45 -63.
Garcia, Ramiro Instructor's Notebook: How to apply TPR for best results. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.
McKay, Todd. TPR Storytelling: Especially for students in elementary and middle school (Available in English, Spanish or French).Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.
Ray, Blaine.Look, I Can Talk series (Available in English, Spanish, French or German).Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc
Schessler, Eric.English Grammar Through Actions: How to TPR 50 grammatical features in English (Also available in Spanish or French). Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, Inc.
Order the books or the video mentioned in this article from our online store
To download a printable version of this article, click here. | <urn:uuid:aeecfaf9-fc38-4cbe-8676-f5431af612d2> | {
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Until the 1870s an Ojibwa village existed near the present hospital site on the lake's shoreline.
The city was established as a planned community for the mining industry in 1955 after the discovery of uranium in the area, and named after the small lake on its northern edge. Geologist Franc Joubin and American financier Joseph Hirshhorn were instrumental in its founding. The principal mining companies were Denison Mines and Rio Algom. The population has varied with several boom-and-bust cycles from the 1950s to the 1990s, from a high of over 26,000 to a low of about 6,600.
In 1959, the United States declared that it would buy no more uranium from Canada after 1962. During the 1970s, federal plans for CANDU Reactors and Ontario Hydro's interest in atomic energy led the town, anticipating a population of 30,000, to expand again.
However, by the early 1990s depleted reserves and low prices caused the last mines in the area to close. In the years since, the city looked elsewhere for its survival, finding some success promoting itself as a retirement community and tourist destination.
Situated on the Canadian Shield, the city is surrounded by dense forest, muskeg swamps, numerous lakes, winding rivers, and hills of Precambrian bedrock. The local forests are mixed deciduous and coniferous, with colourful displays in the autumn.
Local wildlife include moose, white-tailed Deer, American Black Bear, beaver, loon, muskrat, otter, Canada Goose, and lynx, to name but a few. Fish species include lake trout, speckled trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel (walleye), and sturgeon.
Acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has taken landscape pictures of uranium and nickel tailings during the mid-1990s, providing evidence of the after-effects to the ecosystem.
Relatively isolated, Elliot Lake is only connected to the south by Highway 108, a 30 km distance to Highway 17, also known as the Trans-Canada Highway. Elliot Lake Municipal Airport has no regularly scheduled flights.
Elliot Lake Transit provides daily bus service on an hourly basis, with the exception of Sundays and statutory holidays.
The city is home to Denison House, a hotel and convention facility located in the former corporate lodge of Denison Mines, and the Elliot Lake Mining and Nuclear Museum. Two community monuments, the Uranium Atom Monument downtown and the Miners Memorial Monument on Horne Lake, are also found in the city, as well as a scenic lookout at the former fire tower.
In 1975, Canadian musician Stompin' Tom Connors recorded "Damn Good Song for a Miner," about the city of Elliot Lake and its mining culture in the 1960s. Elliot Lake is also a prominent setting in Alistair MacLeod's award-winning novel No Great Mischief. | <urn:uuid:8be6cd06-50da-4216-b287-4de8c94b7cfb> | {
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just a quick change by ADB to test that Recent Changes are working.
This page is slowly being superceded by ReadingRoom sublinks. Please make any interesting updates there, though it's OK to leave (or improve) this here for archival purposes.
Python & scripting languages vs. Java & system languages: Article by John Ousterhout, inventor of Tcl
4 Concepts in Programming Language Description, readable/skimmable, informative, dunno if we need it
Superceded by ResourcesForScheme, which should really be called ReadingRoom/Scheme
Scheme Tutorial at cs.hut This is a decent Scheme tutorial by Catharina Candolin.
Coding style guidelines An example of good coding style from our friends at MIT.
See our very own ResourcesForScheme page for much, much more.
Data Structures, Algorithms
Generally superceded by ReadingRoom pages
Wikipedia: Algorithms, good on breadth, very readable
Wikipedia: Big O notation, a bit mathy, but good to go through
John Morris's Course Notes -- generally excellent on what they cover and pretty animations
Java Applets for Data Structures Programs, lots of neat examples
Algorithms & Data Structures, VERY informative and useful explanation of common sorting algs
Dictionary of Algs and DS, the canonical NIST guide. Read some, it's not as good as the linux.wki.edu site, but still good.
Algorithms and Data Structures, frontpage has a comprehensive and detailed approach to analyzing Euler's Greatest-Common-Denominator algorithm; didn't read rest of site
DS & Algs with OO Design Patterns in Java, "Foundational Data Structures" and "Stacks, Queues, Deques" okay; a bit-java-heavy(more like teaching java than teaching techniques sometimes)
Compact Guide to Sorting and Searching, okay, a bit overglossed
- Shell Sort Links:
All About Shell Sort, a really nice description of Shell sort and its analysis
Princeton Paper on Shell Sort, a somewhat more in depth look at Shell sort analysis - interesting to read after you've already looked at the previous link to understand the basics
Shell Sort History, just kind of fun to know
DS & Alg Resources: buncha links, book titles, etc.
NP-Completeness, homepage, has good "Useful Links" section at bottom
Turing machine, general info and problem statement?
http://www-csli.stanford.edu/hp/Turing4.html Resources we could consider on Turing and logic
An Introduction to Computational Complexity, highly readable, haven't read parts C-D.
Google directory on complexity
Wikipedia: Computational complexity theory; overglosses, not enough explanation at a low enough level
Wikipedia: NP-complete; okay
Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, totally readable, links back to a translation of the original text
Superceded by ReadingRoom/FiniteStateMachines
Automata Definitions, seemed mathy on first reading, but I think this is the best link of the bunch
Finite State Machines, okay
Finite automata and string matching, some on the regexp connection, okay
FA and RE, C++, many type examples
The Pumping Lemma; cute poem
Wikipedia: Pumping Lemma; actual information and decent explanation
CS2490 Lecture Notes Some chapters are skimpy, but most seem to be useful intros/reinforcements to material.
cs251 Handouts for weeks 5 and 6 are vaguely useful -- talks about Parsing, State Machines, NFA/ DFA. Other weeks are a bit too vague or rely too much on whatever text the prof was using.
http://www.csd.uwo.ca/research/grail/links.html List of automata resources
superceded by ReadingRoom/Logic
Wikipedia: Logic; (server down, will review when back up)
Wikipedia: Predicate Logic, decent
Truth Tables; most truth table pages were horrible, this one is okay. Photocopies from a logic text are probably a better bet for truth tables.
Wikipedia: Truth Tables, see previous
UGAI Intro to Logic, actually pretty good, if a bit glossed
Wikipedia: Information Retrieval, good general(highly general) introduction. I know I found more things on IR, they were just mostly less than good or not obviously relevant... I'll dig them up.
See also ReadingRoom/Grammars
Introduction to Syntax Directed Parsing, despite being for proprietary software, was actually readable, informative. Check that this wasn't just special-case information.
Wikipedia: Parser, lots of links to types of parsers
NB substantial overlap between this category and Programming Languages
- The Friedman/Wand/Haynes book is a good place to start.
- SICP and other scheme books also cover interpreters.
- FORTH resources:
http://willware.net:8080/agj/fj.html A series of Java applets running interpreters
http://www.lclark.edu/~drake/courses/pl/ Peter Drake's Programming Languages course at Lewis & Clark College has a whole set of really neat assignments -- mostly on scheme but with a programming languages bent -- including a Forth interpreter
- See Graham, Norvig from Programming Languages.
NB substantial overlap between this category and Interpreters
http://www.norvig.com/python-lisp.html Peter Norvig on Python for Lisp Programmers also gives insight the other way around
- Programming language stuff from Paul Graham:
http://www.paulgraham.com/icad.html Revenge of the Nerds (Lisp vs. other languages; what makes a language good)
http://www.paulgraham.com/popular.html Being Popular (What makes a language popular; motivation behind Arc)
http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisptext.html On Lisp -- full text of his book
http://www.paulgraham.com/progbot.html Programming Bottom Up (On the idea of building languages to solve your problem)
http://www.paulgraham.com/taste.html Taste for Makers (Taste/aesthetics and design)
- Also see the programming languages notes elsewhere in this wiki and the section on prolog in particular
The Semantic Web, Scientific American article, comprehensive and informative despite datedness
MindSwap, semantic website and lab extrordinaire
PlanetRDF, community blog for RDFphiles
Ontology Portal, mostly linguistics, some information
Plink - foaf site
http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~hardin/semantic_course.htm A course on the semantic web. Provides a nice skeleton and several useful links.
http://www.w3schools.com/ Lots of free tutorials, including quizzes. Pretty basic but pretty helpful.
- SWeb X Scheme
HtmlPrag pragmatic HTML parser generates SXML
http://schemewiki.org/Cookbook/WebChapter#Web_Programming Web Programming
http://www.double.co.nz/scheme/modal-web-server.html Some how to on the server side
Random Links that Crept In...
pragmatics, Highly heavy on the technical side, didn't get through more than the first screenful, but probably informative
The Semantics-Pragmatics Distinction, skimmable
Pragmatics and Computational Linguistics(pdf); chunky beyond belief(36 pgs), but skimmable. | <urn:uuid:e8373362-1101-4205-bc33-f21f2897ab5f> | {
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Out of China: How the Chinese Ended the Era of Western Domination
The extraordinary and essential story of how China became the powerful country it is today. Even at the high noon of Europe's empires China managed to be one of the handful of countries not to succumb. Invaded, humiliated and looted, China nonetheless kept its sovereignty. Robert Bickers' major new book is the first to describe fully what has proved to be one of the modern era's most important stories: the long, often agonising process by which the Chinese had by the end of the 20th century regained control of their own country. Out of China uses a brilliant array of unusual, strange and vivid sources to recreate a now fantastically remote world: the corrupt, lurid modernity of pre-War Shanghai, the often tiny patches of 'extra-territorial' land controlled by European powers (one of which, unnoticed, had mostly toppled into a river), the entrepôts of Hong Kong and Macao, and the myriad means, through armed threats, technology and legal chicanery, by which China was kept subservient. Today Chinese nationalism stays firmly rooted in memories of its degraded past - the quest for self-sufficiency, a determination both to assert China's standing in the world and its outstanding territorial claims, and never to be vulnerable to renewed attack. History matters deeply to Beijing's current rulers - and Out of China explains why.
© 2019 libib.com / All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:9e32b2df-4602-4263-8555-5c7a85cd00c5> | {
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Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria
Temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria is a proposed disorder for the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). It is an attempt by the publishers of the DSM to create a diagnostic category that captures much of the behavior that’s presently being diagnosed as “childhood bipolar disorder.”
The criteria for the proposed disorder are:
A. The disorder is characterized by severe recurrent temper outbursts in response to common stressors.
- The temper outbursts are manifest verbally and/or behaviorally, such as in the form of verbal rages, or physical aggression towards people or property.
- The reaction is grossly out of proportion in intensity or duration to the situation or provocation.
- The responses are inconsistent with developmental level.
B. Frequency: The temper outbursts occur, on average, three or more times per week.
C. Mood between temper outbursts:
- Nearly every day, the mood between temper outbursts is persistently negative (irritable, angry, and/or sad).
- The negative mood is observable by others (e.g., parents, teachers, peers).
D. Duration: Criteria A-C have been present for at least 12 months. Throughout that time, the person has never been without the symptoms of Criteria A-C for more than 3 months at a time.
E. The temper outbursts and/or negative mood are present in at least two settings (at home, at school, or with peers) and must be severe in at least in one setting.
F. Chronological age is at least 6 years (or equivalent developmental level).
G. The onset is before age 10 years.
H. In the past year, there has never been a distinct period lasting more than one day during which abnormally elevated or expansive mood was present most of the day for most days, and the abnormally elevated or expansive mood was accompanied by the onset, or worsening, of three of the “B” criteria of mania (i.e., grandiosity or inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, flight of ideas, distractibility, increase in goal directed activity, or excessive involvement in activities with a high potential for painful consequences; see pp. XX). Abnormally elevated mood should be differentiated from developmentally appropriate mood elevation, such as occurs in the context of a highly positive event or its anticipation.
I. The behaviors do not occur exclusively during the course of a Psychotic or Mood Disorder (e.g., Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Bipolar Disorder) and are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., Pervasive Developmental Disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, separation anxiety disorder). (Note: This diagnosis can co-exist with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, and Substance Use Disorders.) The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a drug of abuse, or to a general medical or neurological condition.
Grohol, J. (2013). Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria. Psych Central. Retrieved on July 2, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/temper-dysregulation-disorder-with-dysphoria/ | <urn:uuid:72eabc86-4acf-4da1-97e8-a0708d94d1a7> | {
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Health systems in developing nations aren't ready for the diseases that accompany ageing, writes Priya Shetty.
Thanks in large part to modern medicine, people are living longer, death rates are lower and the planet's population keeps climbing — it is expected to hit 7 billion this month.
Much of this growth has been, and will continue to be, in the poorer parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa.
In developing countries, the proportion of people aged 60 years and over is expected to rise from 9 per cent in 2005 to 20 per cent by 2050, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The WHO estimates that by 2025, three-quarters of the estimated 1.2 billion people aged over 60 will live in developing countries.
With many more people living well into middle age, and more prosperously, global health experts have been concerned about an increasing burden of chronic diseases which, on top of infectious disease killers such as HIV and malaria, have threatened to overwhelm ailing health systems.
Living longer also brings diseases of ageing, such as dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease, which poor nations are woefully prepared to deal with.
Some of the diseases are likely to have different epidemiological patterns in poor countries, and research into interventions must be tailored to these populations.
Mapping the ageing 'epidemic'
Until recently, little had been known about the health of older people, and the prevalence of diseases of old age, in developing countries.
Last year, a joint report by the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in Developing Countries (INDEPTH) — which gathers demographic data from more than 30 sites in Africa and Asia — and the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), mapped the health of older people in poor countries for the first time.
The study identified patterns of disease prevalence and risk factors across countries and continents that should help guide research and policy. For instance, older women tend to have worse health than older men. In some regions, such as in parts of Indonesia, older people with the worst health live in semi-urban areas, rather than rural areas.
A key point that the 2010 INDEPTH-SAGE report makes is that industrialised countries have only had to deal with ageing after achieving economic prosperity. But the speed of economic growth in some countries has meant that they are dealing with ageing while still transitioning to a more developed economy.
In India, for example, the segment of the population aged 70 and above, which was only 8 million in 1961, rose to 21 million in 1991 and to 29 million in 2001.
Culture and genetic differences
Even though developing countries can learn some lessons from richer countries about taking care of their ageing populations, there are crucial differences in how ageing will affect them.
In particular, several diseases of ageing involve cognitive decline — and poor countries will have by far the most cases. By 2040, according to the WHO, 71 per cent of 81.1 million people suffering from dementia will be in the developing world.
Efforts to tackle these illnesses must take account of different cultural factors in developing countries. For example, cognitive assessment scales used to measure a change in brain function are now being adapted for a range of languages and cultures, although they are not fully developed for all diseases and populations.
For example, the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, which studies dementia, non-communicable diseases and ageing in low and middle income countries, has developed and validated dementia diagnosis methods that account for variations in language, culture and education in Latin America, Africa, South and South-East Asia, and Russia.
The risk factors for diseases of ageing are also likely to be influenced by genetics and lifestyle, which will require research specific to the developing world. For instance, a variation of the apoE4 gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's is prevalent in populations in several regions, although not in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ageing debate: start now
Ageing may seem like a distant concern for developing nations already shouldering the burden of many diseases. But the sheer number of older people who will live in these countries makes a strong argument for dedicating research funds to studying diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Governments will also need to debate how donors should respond to changing demographics. Global aid has traditionally been funnelled into infectious diseases, but should donors also aim to improve the health of ageing populations?
The answer is not yet clear. But developing countries must start to consider the issues.
Efforts to keep people healthy later in life could even pay off economically. If developing countries looked after their ageing populations, they could have a much stronger and well-skilled workforce.
Journalist Priya Shetty specialises in developing world issues including health, climate change and human rights. She writes a blog, Science Safari, on these issues. She has worked as an editor at New Scientist, The Lancet and SciDev.Net. | <urn:uuid:423b381b-adc8-4f09-9445-faaaedd55547> | {
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The European Solar Orbiter project has taken another step towards launch-readiness, with Australia's CSIRO delivering the last of the optical filters that the orbiter needs to image the sun. The spacecraft is due to launch in 2017, and will adopt an orbital distance similar to that of Mercury, which is closer than other …
Hope they didn't
Send it with DHL
(i'm still missing a xmas prezzy)
Using Iron vapour to read the magentic state *optically*
CSIRO is not to be underestimated.
Re: Using Iron vapour to read the magentic state *optically*
Unless you are arse technica and label them as a clear patent troll since they 'don't produce anything themselves'.
OK, so the satellite's got it's sunglasses. Who's building the hat?
Don't forget teh sunscreen.
They won't need sunscreen if the mission is only conducted at night.
Spaceflight development money is rarely wasted
Electronically tuneable filters. There has to be a applications for that on Earth.
It's just goes to show how space science can drive technology advancement
Re: Spaceflight development money is rarely wasted
I was just thinking, as I read the article, "I wonder how much Carl Ziess will pay for these new techs."
Have an up-vote.
So, not something I'll find down my local Jessops then?
Just give it a couple of years...
helping in turn to predict the behaviour of solar winds and geomagnetic storms, which will feed into climate models
What? I thought only carbon dioxide emissions could affect the climate.
Re: Interesting, but
Er... nope. Solar irradiation is a major factor for several reasons, including generation of atmospheric water vapour, which is a greenhouse gas. So is methane, which is about 20 times more efficient than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
Mind you, the quote from the article was not about global warming models, but about climate models. I.e., what they use to make long-term weather forecasts, among other things.
Re: Interesting, but
"its nominal centre wavelength of 617.3433 nm (accurate to one thirtieth of a nanometre)"
If the accuracy is 1/30th, why give us the wavelength down to 1/10000th?
Re: Don't understand
"If the accuracy is 1/30th, why give us the wavelength down to 1/10000th?"
Simple. That is the nominal wavelength the filter was designed for. The accuracy is + or - one thirtieth nanometer. So, we have a theoretical value for what we're shooting at, and the accuracy is, as said, plus or minus one thirtieth nm. Meaning that while the design value is accurate down to 1/10000th, the actual value achieved may be anywhere near there within plus or minus those 1/30th nm.
- One HUNDRED FAMOUS LADIES exposed NUDE online
- Twitter: La la la, we have not heard of any NUDE JLaw, Upton SELFIES
- China: You, Microsoft. Office-Windows 'compatibility'. You have 20 days to explain
- Apple to devs: NO slurping users' HEALTH for sale to Dark Powers
- Rubbish WPS config sees WiFi router keys popped in seconds | <urn:uuid:2448446a-6f93-4441-b7d4-798c82d7e5f1> | {
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Seek and Destroy: the Spotted Lanternfly
Despite its name, the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) isn’t a fly, rather it is a plant hopper, which is native to China, India and Vietnam. The first infestation in the United States was reported in Pennsylvania in 2014; this insect has now been detected in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York. The first Maryland record was found in 2018 in Cecil County and subsequent records have been found in northeast Maryland this year.
The spotted lanternfly undergoes incomplete metamorphosis. After it hatches from an egg, the black and white speckled juveniles (nymphs) will continue to feed and molt multiple times. The first three juvenile stages (instars) are black and white in color, while the fourth and final instar is red, black and white. Adults are often mistaken for moths due to their broad, colorful wings.
Like other plant hoppers, the spotted lanternfly feeds on plant tissues. It has been found to primarily host on the invasive tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), but it will also readily feed on native species, such as apples, birch, cherry, grape, lilac, maple, poplar, sycamore, stone fruits and willows. Of particular concern is the damage this species poses to vineyards in the United States. It is estimated that there are over 70 species of woody plants that the lanternfly attacks. Adults and nymphs feed on phloem tissue that conducts food from the leaves to the rest of the plant. Later in the growing season, particularly in the fall, adults and juveniles tend to feed in groups, causing considerable damage and excreting waste (honeydew) that often results in sooty mold infestations. The extensive feeding can also create oozing wounds on host trees, making them susceptible to secondary infections. Some trees that have been fed upon will wilt or lose branches, while others will die.
At this time, control measures for the spotted lanternfly are limited. The lanternfly is susceptible to broad spectrum insecticides like pyrethroids. However, studies in Korea have found this species can rapidly recolonize treated vineyards. Sticky traps around trees have been found to control nymphs, but many non-target species have also perished on the sticky traps. Placing wire or fencing around the sticky traps will prevent most large animals, like birds and snakes, from getting stuck, but smaller organisms, like native insects, will still be at risk. Until a lanternfly-specific trap is developed, it may not be advisable to employ sticky traps.
The best action to help combat spotted lanternflies is to prevent potential hitchhikers. Become familiar with the life stages of the spotted lanternfly and Look Before You Leave (PDF), particularly if you are transporting items from spotted lanternfly infested areas.
If you observe any egg masses or insects which look similar to this, please try to collect them, and inform the Maryland Department of Agriculture at (410) 841-5920 or [email protected] as soon as possible.
Homeowners can reference the “Spotted Lanternfly Management for Homeowners” factsheet available through Pennsylvania State University Extension.
Dara, S.K., L. Barringer, and S.P. Arthurs. 2015. Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae): a new invasive pest in the United States. Journal of Integrated Pest Management 6(1).
Park, J. D., M. Y. Kim, S. G. Lee, S. C. Shin, J. H. Kim, and I. K. Park. 2009. Biological characteristics of Lycorma delicatula and the control effects of some insecticides. Korean Journal of Applied Entomology. 48: 53-57.
Spotted Lanternfly. 2019. https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/pages/spotted-lantern-fly.aspx Accessed September 18, 2019.
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the sights and smells as the summer fades, and it is a great time to be out in the garden. Currently, many animals are in the midst of migration, and we are having some record breaking dragonfly migration swarms this year! As fall unfolds, here are a few things to consider this time of year:
In addition, last year’s rainy summer, coupled with this year’s drought and other factors, have taken a toll on oaks in our region. The University of Maryland Extension has put together an informative and concise article on Why Oak Trees are Declining. If you are in need of trees and shrubs for conservation or lumber, check out the Maryland State Tree Nursery which is accepting orders for Spring 2020.
In this issue, you can learn about a lovely native wildflower, the New England aster, as well as a native group of bees called sweat bees that help to pollinate New England aster and its relatives. In addition, with advances in plant research, we are learning more about how cultivars affect our landscapes. Finally, learn about an up and coming invasive insect in Maryland, the spotted lanternfly, and how to report if you see one in the state. | <urn:uuid:716679d2-2753-48e5-9937-77996e609269> | {
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Patient-generated health data (PGHD) contains entire datasets which, contrary to electronic health records (EHRs), are collected based on patient input. This data may be directly entered or provided by patients (e.g. via quality of life questionnaires) or may be generated indirectly (e.g. via wearable devices).
Patient-Generated Health Data in A Shifting Healthcare Model
In healthcare, the biggest focus has traditionally been mostly around EHR data, since this is the foundation for various transactions (e.g. insurance companies or healthcare systems needing to bill for specific medical interventions). While this is gradually changing and the EHR data becomes more central to patient care, the way healthcare is being administered is also shifting: the average patient is spending less time in the clinic and is receiving care related services in many different settings (at home, via the pharmacy, in the community, etc). Therefore, the importance of patient-generated health data is growing rapidly.
There are opportunities to leverage PGHD throughout the patient journey and on various levels. A high-level description is presented below, made more concrete through the example of a cancer patient:
Self-care: A patient, especially if diagnosed with a chronic condition, is constantly faced with several challenges, including physical side-effects, psychological burden, social barriers and more. PGHD in this context includes self-reported adverse events, evaluation of mental wellbeing via questionnaires, physical activity data via fitness trackers, social interactions via communications devices, etc. Based on these datasets, the patient can be presented with self-care material, provided with information on relevant support organizations, referred to the clinic if necessary, and so on. For example, a cancer patient who has returned from a radiotherapy session but is also taking chemotherapy may take a picture of a rash that has developed in the irradiated area, and report severe nausea.
Remote patient monitoring: Similar to the above self-care setting, data can be collected and reported real-time to healthcare professionals in order to ensure proper monitoring and timely care. While this is not always recommended for resource utilization reasons, autonomous systems can evaluate the severity of each case and engage with a doctor or nurse as necessary. A patient’s weight and eating habits, for example, can trigger alerts for possible intervention due to malnutrition or even high risk of cancer cachexia, which may even be an irreversible condition.
Correlations: Shifting away from the real-time nature of interconnection, an intelligent system can perform various correlations among possible known risk factors or trigger points for specific actions. For instance, persistent bone pain could raise concerns for cancer metastasis to the bones. With the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, in particular, these correlations may be performed across factors that have not been identified in the past – leading to potentially interesting discoveries.
Real World Evidence (RWE): The industry, payers, and providers are increasingly looking for evidence and specific outcomes that are reported beyond a clinical trial setting. For RWE, patient-generated health data constitute a critical asset which is already being incorporated in many healthcare decisions (primarily through the form of patient-reported outcomes). For example, two treatments with the same medical efficacy are no longer viewed equivalent if they impose the different burden of disease to patients.
The benefits derived from identifying, collecting, reacting to, and processing patient-generated health data span, multiple stakeholders – a small list follows.
As described above, the patient stands to gain substantially through a large-scale quantification of their health status. Improved self-care, prompt interaction with healthcare professionals, elaborate warning systems, and a better understanding of the patient journey, are only some of the direct benefits for patients.
Healthcare professionals can also benefit from properly structured PGHD. More specifically, having access to each patient’s longitudinal data can not only help with their ongoing healthcare duties but can assist with capturing trends and correlations that are not immediately obvious.
Healthcare systems are already experiencing the value of PGHD. For example, in the telehealth and virtual care settings, where PGHD can assist with ongoing monitoring, the derived savings in costs and resource utilization have increased acceptance in many regulatory bodies. Moreover, value-based care is no longer weighed based on medical outcomes alone, but also on the long-term quality of life of its recipients – another great application for patient-generated health data.
Researchers with access to (anonymized) PGHD are finding numerous ways to process the data, perform analyses, and even form research hypotheses. In some cases, the depth and breadth of the data can lead to interesting applications of Artificial Intelligence as well.
The life sciences industry can also benefit. For example, a common “trial endpoint” in cancer is “Progression-Free Survival” (PFS) and “Overall Survival’ (OS). While the industry keeps making improvements through heavily researched medications, PGHD can shed light into the long-term quality of life of patients – revealing opportunities to provide “beyond the pill” services that can deliver additional value.
Finally, insurance companies are among the recipients of gains from patient-generated health data. Making more rational choices and streamlining operations can only be made possible through long-term engagement with the patient; this can only scale through structured PGHD. And while the fear of a “Big Brother” will never go away when it comes to health-related data, responsible and ethical approaches can be coupled with proper alignment of incentives.
If “data is the new oil”, what does that make “Patient Generated Health Data”?
The opportunities and benefits described above have already illustrated the value of PGHD. The main concepts driving some of the relevant business models to follow:
– Patient-oriented: While this is not always a relevant approach, expecting the patient to pay for a service based on their own data may be an option (for remote monitoring by a registered nurse, for instance).
– Data-oriented: Both life science and insurance companies stand to gain substantially from PGHD (especially related to specific conditions). Clearly, patient privacy and anonymity must be preserved, not only as per the established regulations but also abiding by the patient consent agreed upon.
– Access-oriented: While the value of PHGD is undisputable, emerging business models are being structured around the resulting access to individual patients. For example, a researcher may be interested to interview patients diagnosed with a specific tumor, receiving a specific medication, and reporting an intriguing combination of side-effects.
– Marketplace: Such a highly valued asset is also open to a marketplace model, where buyers and sellers contract for specific data points. Therefore, patients may actually benefit (beyond the above avenues) by selling their own data, and many blockchain-based initiatives have been building momentum on this tangent.
The Elephant in the Room: Privacy, Anonymity, and Respect for Patient Data
While patients tend to be generally more open to healthy citizens when it comes to data sharing, their data must be treated with extreme care. The legal framework for collecting and processing data, especially in a healthcare setting, is definitely of great importance. In Europe, the evolution of the Data Protection Act to the GDPR, and in other parts of the world, less centralized but similarly important trends, is marking a drastic shift into patients controlling their own data and the related privacy policies.
As a result, any entity aiming to process data must absolutely have the patients at the center and exercise extreme diligence in the way data processing is done. Moreover, it should not be an afterthought, but be embedded in the architecture of the system, the service, and its interfaces.
Therefore, and without being prescriptive, patients should be made aware of how their data is being used, in what form it is being shared and with what entities. Moreover, the entity collecting and processing the data should be very clear as to the patients’ rights; the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has set a good framework for this.
Each of us generates enormous amounts of data every single day, including healthcare-related data. Capturing, structuring, and processing this data is part of an ongoing shift towards more data-oriented healthcare systems and services. Placing the patient at the center of all these processes is fundamental for identifying the opportunities and devising mechanisms to leverage them.
Cancer may be a prime context of such data, but not the only one. After all, being patient-centric means to recognize that patients often suffer from multiple conditions (co-morbidities). Many stakeholders, including healthcare systems and the industry, are gradually evolving to incorporate PGHD. It is unclear whether this will lead to a seamless mesh (or a siloed mess) of data, but the potential is enormous.
About the Author
Thanos Kosmidis is the Cofounder and CEO of Care Across, a digital health company focusing on cancer. It runs platforms with dynamic algorithms that provide patients with 100% personalized services based on peer-reviewed publications. The company collaborates with the industry around real-world evidence, patient engagement platforms, and clinical trial recruitment. Follow him on Twitter at @ThanosKosmidis or @CareAcross. | <urn:uuid:a6acd8e7-4c23-4a89-8b9d-2bef4768e9e7> | {
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Just weeks after scientists reported a dramatic elevation loss in Grand Isle, an article in the New Republic suggests that global warming's impact on rising sea levels may force populations to abandon coastal communities. The report cites how the vulnerable Netherlands is planning to fortify its infrastructure by setting aside money each year through 2100 for the work.
But politics poses a roadblock to planning and dedication of resources toward protecting coastal communities in the United States. The New Republic says taxpayers from inland states would be less amenable to support funding measures to protect coastal areas. Meanwhile, one of the major political parties refuses to acknowledge man's role in climate change.
"Resources are always scarce and there are going to be many in the United States who think spending every available dime of every available tax dollar to save people from rising sea levels on the coast is a complete waste of money," Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, told the New Republic. "And they will have a point, because they're paying tax dollars in Missouri or in North Dakota and they will not directly see a return on this investment."
The New Republic report points out other impacts of global warming from droughts to saltwater intrusion in the Mississippi River. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently reported that Grand Isle has lost 1.32 inches of elevation in the past five years. That makes the barrier island among the fastest subsiding places in the world, according to The Lens. | <urn:uuid:44c4f4a1-5a8e-4dd1-ba20-4b078eaad80e> | {
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The Atlantico Norte region of Nicaragua is often referred to as RAAN. The word RAAN is derived from the official name for the province, which is Autonomous Region of the Northern Atlantic and locals affectionately call Atlantico Norte, the Mosquito Coast. This unique and picturesque region covers an area of approximately thirty two thousand square kilometers and has an estimated population of two hundred and fifty thousand. And it is a group of its permanent residents that make the Autonomous Region of the Northern Atlantic so attractive to visitors.
Divided into eight municipalities, namely Rosita, Mulukuku, Bonanza, Waslala, Puerto Cabezas, Waspam, Prinzapolka and Siuna, Atlantico Norte is home to large cities of which Puerto Cabezas is the capital. The unusual landscape of the region, almost separates it from the rest of Nicaragua, as dense green forests and breathtaking mountain ranges dominate the area, with many travelers having to look for alternative ways of transport, due to many narrow and unpaved roads that wind through the spectacular countryside.
What makes the Mosquito Coast so exclusive is the fact that the indigenous tribes, the Miskitos, lives in this region and make up the majority of the population, hence the nickname for the region. Their history, culture and tradition add to the magnificence of the Atlantico Norte region, as they go about their daily lives, like their ancestors before them, along the rivers and highlands of this distinctive province. | <urn:uuid:1bd9c0f1-b1fc-4a85-a2b2-ea63fc85f815> | {
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Swiss planet spotting duo win award
Madrid - A pair of Swiss astrophysicists who were the first to discover a planet from beyond our solar system were honoured on Tuesday with a major Spanish science award.
Michel Mayor, 70, and Didier Queloz, 45, took the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award for basic sciences for their "path breaking development" of new techniques that allow us to peer at planets revolving around stars.
The two scientists invented a technique known as radial velocity to spot planets moving around sun-like stars. It works by detecting changes in the star's light caused by the gravitational pull of a planet.
This led to the discovery in 1995 of a giant planet, baptised 51 Pegasi b, "which spawned a revolution in astronomy", said the international jury that conferred the €400 000 award.
Today there are more than 500 so-called exoplanets.
"At that time there were very few people doing this, it was a kind of bizarre, weird project," Queloz said.
"We had built this really precise machine and thought it was going to take years to detect a planet. Then, suddenly, after a couple of months there was the first signal," he said in a BBVA Foundation statement.
Mayor said he believed the work was a recognition for the duo's nearly 20 years of "game-changing" work. | <urn:uuid:77795249-a169-4dd2-9a9d-322396d74c74> | {
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It was during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911 when the first bomb was dropped from an aircraft, and ever since then the concept of wreaking havoc on enemy forces on the ground has amazed and intrigued military strategists. Proper bombing raids kicked off during World War I when all the militaries started modifying their aircraft to increase their bombing capacity.
The results of bombing raids were highly successful which gave rise to new ingenuities within aircraft. The Allies were pioneers of Strategic Bombing, and most raids were carried out by them with high precision that left the Germans running for cover on several occasions. One of the many reasons as to why the Allies managed to overcome the Germans during WWI was their innovations in bombing technology.
The interwar years saw many aviation companies working on technologies while Command Centers worked on innovative strategies to make better use of their arsenals. By the time WWII kicked off, the war industry had greatly developed itself and had procured the ability to strike at high accuracy. There were all types of bombers now, the most notable ones being dive bombers, light/medium/heavy bombers, torpedo bombers and night bombers.
Both the Allies & the Axis had their programs and always had something new to surprise their foe. Here are a few bombers that particularly stood out during bombing raids and rained hell on ground forces.
1. B-17 Flying Fortress (American)
This was the world’s first 4-engine long range heavy bomber and was developed during the 1930s by Boeing for the United States Army Air Forces. The initial contract was for 200 bombers which was later renewed as war kicked off. It was heavily used for strategic bombing campaigns against German industrial complexes.
It came with the concept that a bomber should be able to defend itself and came with eight gun positions, 13 heavy machine guns, operated by a total crew of 10. It had the capacity to carry almost 5 tons of bombs & munitions. This was also one of the fastest bombers during WW2 and could cruise at a speed of 406 km/h, a number much higher than the competition.
The “Flying Fortress” was constantly used throughout the war and delivered massive blows to the Germans. It wasn’t used as extensively on the Pacific Front as it was on the German one. A number of variants were later developed by several nations who managed to acquire or capture B-17s in repairable shape.
2. B-29 Super Fortress (American)
As the name pretty much says it all, the B-29 Super Fortress was the largest bomber to enter into service during the War. Although it was only used in the Pacific, the Super Fortress is a bomber that will be remembered for ages as it was involved in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the first use of atomic weapons,
A crew of 10 was required to operate the aircraft. The maximum range of the aircraft was 5230 km while it could cruise at a speed of 575 km/h. The B-29 was developed with haste and ran into a number of glitches; it was however rushed into service to bomb the Japanese. After a number of difficulties, the B-29 was fully operational and was one of the biggest threats the Japanese faced from the sky.
3. Mosquito (British)
An extremely fast, long range medium bomber, the Mosquito brought the attack capabilities of the British war machine to a whole new level. With the ability to carry 1.8-ton bombs and give the pilot unmatched maneuverability, the Mosquito was developed as early as 1938 and put to service as soon as the war started. It had extreme precision and had a top speed around 600 km/h. To match this speed, it could go as high as 44,000 feet for almost 3000 km!
Much of its speed and agility is credited to its weight and design. The Mosquito was a twin-engine, two-seat bomber and didn’t have the capacity to fit a large crew compared to its American counterparts. With the passage of time, upgradations were made to the bomber which allowed it to carry nighttime raids as well. A total of 7,781 were made up till 1947, and it continued to serve until 1955 before being retired.
4. Lancaster (British)
A four engine, night-time bomber, the Lancaster gained immense popularity within the British High Command and was heavily manufactured for the most part of the war. It could carry 10 tons of bombs and several special types of bombs like dam buster bomb and could deliver hell to all corners of Nazi Germany.
Lancasters started carrying out missions after March 1942 after they were officially inducted into RAF’s bomber force. Although not that fast (322 km/h), the Lancaster had a ceiling of 21,400 feet and could climb at a rate of 3.7m/s. The maneuverability was excellent, and they were hard to hit with anti-aircraft fire!
It is estimated that a total of 150,000 sorties were flown by this bomber, and almost half were lost in action.
5. Petlyakov PE-2 (Russian)
The Pe-2 was a Soviet light bomber introduced in 1941 as Europe began to go into all-out war. The bomber made an extremely successful entry into the skies and outperformed several bombers when it came to performing the role of a heavy fighter. The bomber was used for other purposes like recon and night fighting as well, and many regard it as a copy of the British Mosquito.
The twin-engine bomber was manufactured in large numbers (almost 11,500) and had a maximum speed of 580 km/h with a ceiling of 8,800 meters. The payload was moderate compared to the B-series bombers, and the Pe-2 could deliver up to 1600 kg of bombs.
6. Ilyushin IL-4 (Russian)
The IL-4 was a WWII aircraft introduced by the Soviet Union mainly for the purpose of bombing and torpedo-bombing German assets. The bomber was introduced in 1936 but wasn’t operational until the war started. Primarily designed as a medium bomber, the IL-4 almost always could fly on strategic missions reserved for long range bombers.
Most notably, the IL-4 was heavily used as a long-range bomber while bombing Berlin in 1941. The bomber could deliver up to 2,700 kg of munitions in addition to 2x rockets and 1x torpedo missile. The aircraft took only 13.6 minutes to achieve its surface ceiling of 5000 meters while capable of a maximum speed of 410 km/h.
7. Junkers 87 Stuka (German)
Almost all war games have the infamous “Stuka Bombers” in them and even though shooting them down is fun, the name they’ve earned is pure truth. A classic precision bomber, the Stuka dive bomber was introduced as “airborne artillery” to provide support to German tanks as they carried out the Blitzkrieg tactic.
The J-87 was a low-altitude bomber, a design aspect that made it several times more accurate compared to high altitude bombers. The bomber carried only 700 kg of bombs and after some upgrades could carry a big 1800 kg one as well; the maximum speed was almost 600 km/h.
Its precision is now compared to the modern F-117 stealth aircraft! Also, Hitler ordered further offensive measures including machine guns and even sirens that would instill even more fear into the heart of the enemy.
The bomber was used on both the Eastern and Western fronts by the Germans.
8. Dornier Do 217 (German)
The Do-217 was a bomber used by the Luftwaffe during WWII and was another highly advanced aircraft with features ahead of its time. It was designed as a heavy bomber for shorter missions with production beginning in 1940. The numbers built weren’t that great (around 2000), especially when compared to the production of other aircraft.
The Do-217 had a payload capacity of 3000 kg and had a top speed of 557 km/h. It had a range of 2,145 km while operating at a height of 7,370 m. It deserves a place in the top bombers list because it fulfilled its roles with great success. Operating as a strategic bomber, torpedo bomber and as a recon plane, the Do-217 was used until the last days of the war and was even converted into a night fighter when German defeat was imminent!
9. Arado Ar-234 (German)
Although this bomber didn’t play many roles in the war it has to be mentioned because of its significance in the world of bombers. The Ar-234 was the world’s first jet-powered single seat bomber developed by the Germans, only to be introduced in 1943. The war was coming to an end, but German R&D was still bearing fruit.
The bomber was produced in very small numbers (210) and was limited to recon only. It was almost impossible to intercept due to jet technology which brought its maximum speed to a whopping 742 km/h at 6000 meters height! It could carry 1500 kg of bombs and could deliver them with extreme accuracy, without the fear of getting shot down as was common with other bombers.
10. Mitsubishi G4M Betty (Japanese)
The G4M was the main bomber used by the Japanese Imperial Navy during WWII to inflict damages to Allied land-based assets. The twin-engine, medium-range bomber was named Betty by the Allies. It had a cylindrical shape and gave a good performance, giving the US fighters a tough time in the skies.
The bomber could take up a crew of 7 and had 2x 1200 kW power plants. It could travel at a maximum speed of 428 km/h and could climb 8500 meters up while operating at a range of 2,852 km. It had all other design specs of an A-class bomber except its fuel tank which was pretty much exposed. As soon as the Americans learned of this flaw, they shot down one after the other by accurate close-range hits. | <urn:uuid:591a07ac-26aa-4f4a-b66d-a8a07bdc0ae4> | {
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With so many communicable diseases plaguing the African continent we often forget about the non-communicable diseases that ravish its people as well. Did you know that cervical cancer is the number one cancer killer of women in Africa? Taking the lives of roughly 270,000 African women each year, Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, has been studying the rate of cervical cancer in women with HIV/AIDS. They found that women who are HIV positive are two to three times more likely to test positive for cervical cancer than women who are HIV negative. In fact, every two minutes an African woman dies of cervical cancer.
Women who are diagnosed and treated early have a greater chance of survival. However cervical cancer testing and prevention services are scarce. The good news is cervical cancer is preventable. Learn more about Jhpiego’s single visit screen-and-treat approach and help them save women from succumbing to cervical cancer at jhpiego.org. | <urn:uuid:3377e047-b5f4-427c-bbd0-a4fac1993fd3> | {
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Children that have many opportunities to play and discover nature will get knowledge about all that are living and growing, they will understand our living conditions better. Nowhere is so much to discover, to play with, as in nature and nowhere can children get so much knowledge about their own living conditions, as they can in small piece of wild nature. Experiences in nature give a feeling of responsibility to nature and animals, all that is living. No environment is so full of play material, as the nature. Nature gives children a maximum of space to run, jump climb, role, spin to a minimum of prohibitions and restrictions. In nature children’s big needs of movement, knowledge, interaction and thrill are fulfilled.
Throughout history nature play has happened automatically during childhood, but today that kind of play that has been a cherished part of childhood for so many generations is endangered.
Many more people live in cities and suburbs today where access to wild spaces appropriate for children’s play often is very limited.
More and more children today have less and less contact with the natural world and it is has a huge impact on their health and development.
Does the loss of childhood nature play really matter? Yes!
During the early childhood years children need opportunities to get out and explore nature without predetermined activities or objectives.
Researches show that natural environments and outdoor play are beneficial to children in many ways. Playing outdoors is important for developing capacities for creativity, symbolic play, problem solving and intellectual development.
The importance of physical activities from early age is particularly relevant if we consider the growth of children’s obesity worldwide but also prevent heart disease, diabetes and other health issues later in life.
Time spent outdoors increase physical activity, healthy development and overall wellbeing.
The world’s environmental problems are increasing and it is important to raise citizens who have positive views of nature and will take action to protect it.
Frequent, unstructured childhood play in natural settings has shown to be the best influence to develop of life-long conservation values. Childhood play in nature lays the foundation for an interest in taking care of the environment later in life.
If we want future generations to carry on the work of conservation, nature and outdoor play must be restored.
Nature is the ultimate resource for eco-friendly craft and art materials for children.
Nature is filled with some of the best “toys” that can be offered. Natural materials with open-ended possibilities stimulate and empower children’s creativity, imagination and fantasy and they can be used in play in many ways. Nature based loose parts can range from simple natural materials, such as pieces of bark, small stones, seeds, pine cones, twigs, fallen leaves, flowers, branches, pebbles and the list goes on and on.
The theory of loose parts
The theory of “loose parts” first proposed by architect Simon Nicholson in the 1970’s has begun to influence child-play experts and the people who design play spaces for children in a big way. Nicholson believed that it is the ‘loose parts’ in our environment that will empower our creativity. In a play, loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, and taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. They are materials with no specific set of directions that can be used alone or combined with other materials.
In his book “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—disorder to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. Nature-Deficit- Disorder is not a medical condition; it is a description of the human costs of alienation from nature.
Julia M Davies, professor in early childhood education Queensland University of Technology has written the book “Young Children and the Environment” second edition. The book is a practical resource that illustrates the difference that early childhood educators can make by working with children their families and the wider community to tackle the contemporary issue of sustainable living. | <urn:uuid:5fab039d-84bf-4aa9-9447-53af89faca60> | {
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Table of Contents
- Blood clot facts
- What are blood clots? What does a blood clot look like?
- What causes blood clots (blood clots in veins or arteries)?
- What causes blood clots (blood clots in the heart, leaking, and other causes)?
- What are the risk factors for blood clots?
- What types of conditions are caused by blood clots (DVT and pulmonary embolism)?
- What types of conditions are caused by blood clots (AFib, atrial thrombosis, and others)?
- What are the symptoms of blood clots?
- How are blood clots diagnosed?
- What tests are used to diagnose blood clots?
- What is the treatment for blood clots?
- What are the complications of blood clots?
- How can blood clots be prevented?
How are blood clots diagnosed?
The initial step in making the diagnosis of a blood clot is obtaining a patient history. The blood clot itself does not cause a problem. It's the location of the blood clot and its effect on blood flow that causes symptoms and signs. If a blood clot or thrombus is a consideration, the history may expand to explore risk factors or situations that might put the patient at risk for forming a clot.
Venous blood clots often develop slowly with a gradual onset of swelling, pain, and discoloration. Symptoms of a venous thrombus will often progress over hours.
Arterial thrombi occur as an acute event. Tissues need oxygen immediately, and the loss of blood supply creates a situation in which symptoms begin immediately.
There may be symptoms that precede the acute artery blockage, that may be warning signs of the potential future complete occlusion of the blood vessel.
- Patients with an acute heart attack (myocardial infarction) may experience angina in the days and weeks prior to the heart attack.
- Patients with peripheral artery disease may have pain with walking (claudication), and a TIA (transient ischemia attack, mini-stroke) may precede a stroke.
Physical examination can assist in providing additional information that may increase the suspicion for a blood clot.
- Venous thrombi may cause swelling of an extremity. It may be red, warm, and tender; sometimes the appearance is difficult to distinguish from cellulitis or an infection of the extremity. If there is concern about a pulmonary embolus, the clinician may examine the lungs, listening for abnormal sounds caused by an area of inflamed lung tissue.
- Arterial thrombus symptoms are much more dramatic. If a leg or arm is involved, the tissue may be white because of the lack of blood supply. As well, it may be cool to touch and there may be loss of sensation and movement. The patient may be writhing in pain.
Arterial thrombus is also the cause of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and stroke (cerebrovascular accident) and their associated symptoms. | <urn:uuid:e2328765-3425-47d4-97b1-b4c148811cf1> | {
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“When in the course of human events…” With these immortal words begins one of the most important documents in human history. The hot summer day that these words were read before the assembly in Philadelphia was the moment of truth. The United States decided to no longer be a colony of England, but free independent states.
For the colonists, this was a matter of both security and freedom. To read the long list of the grievances, one sees that the colonists felt threatened by the lack of order at home, the threat of invasion, and the tyranny practiced by the British military officials. The Founders felt it was a right “to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its power in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” They believed that what they were doing was not for any light or transient cause, but for their very survival and freedom as a people. These men have repeatedly sought the aid of the British citizenry to take a more active stance against their government who oppressed and left the colonies open to lawlessness and invasion. The citizens of London chose to ignore the calls and pleading of their fellow Englishmen in the colonies.
What the Founders did in that room was an act of desperation for their rights to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. We must not forget that the 56 men who signed their names to that document were signing their death warrant. Some never made it past the revolution to see the fruits of their struggles. It is easy to talk about rights, but it’s never easy to talk about the the pledge that comes with those rights. Those men knew the cost and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to attain the freedom and dignity of self governance. .
Furthermore, these men did not appeal to a common humanity or any other such transient thing. They appealed to the “Supreme Judge of the world” for the morality of their cause. This same God who granted all men their rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. By declaring such a belief, the Americans held that a people’s right to Freedom and Security did not end with her boundaries or in the land ruled by the English. It was a right for all peoples to live in free and independent countries where they will feel safe and free without the interference of invasion from abroad or tyranny and anarchy at home.
No country is perfect. When the founders wrote these amazing words, it was during a time of slavery and oppression against the black Americans. It was a time when her people cared little for the humanity of the natives of the land. It would become a country that would have to constantly look into itself and see it’s own hypocrisy and sin. However, beneath the sin and hypocrisy of this great nation dwells a virtue and truth so great and magnificent and beautiful that all who gaze upon her can only stand in awe and wonder at what a great course she has chosen to undertake. Let us not stray from that course. Let us press on and “with a firm reliance on the protection of the Divine Providence… mutually pledge to each other our LIve, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” to this great and noble endeavor of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. | <urn:uuid:b2e1ce5d-74f4-4994-b54b-f7f2d6cbd616> | {
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With our feet firmly planted on Earth and no telescope in sight, we can still look up at the night sky. All we have to do is turn in a small circle and we have taken in the entire sky. Almost everything we see with our unaided eyes is a star. Thousands of years ago people looked up at the sky, and they did one of the things humans do best: they looked for patterns. They imagined the outlines of shapes and they gave these shapes names. In this way, in many different cultures, at many different times, the constellations were created.
The system of northern hemisphere constellations that we most commonly use today came to us from the ancient Greeks. Constellations were one of the first ways that people communicated about the locations of objects in the sky. Today we still use these historic shapes to define broad areas of the sky. In this activity you will explore the concept of constellations and discover how they relate to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey images.
Which Constellations are in the SDSS?
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has captured images in over ¼ of the sky. Although there are over 340 million images of stars and galaxies in the SDSS there is still a lot of sky where the SDSS telescope has not pointed. Looking up at the sky, it is difficult to imagine how a 2.5 meter telescope sees the same view. In this activity we will use an on-line service called Astrometry.net to do just that. You can use your own images or ones that have been provided. Let’s see how to do this with an example using an image taken by Vivian Hoette from the University of Chicago Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.
Step 1 – We start with an image Vivian took looking up at the constellation Taurus when the bright planet Jupiter was traveling through. You can follow these steps with any digital image of the night sky that is saved to your computer. If you would like to use one of the mystery images taken by SkyServer enthusiasts, click here.
Step 2 – Upload the image to Astrometry.net.
Step 3 – Wait up to 10 minutes. Refresh the web page every few minutes to see if the analysis is complete.
Step 4 – When your results appear, click on the image to view the summary. You must mouse over the image to see additional options for viewing. Choose “annotated” to see the labels for constellations, bright stars and other well-known objects.
Step 5 – The next really amazing part is that Astromentry.net can talk to the SDSS and show you where in your picture the SDSS has also captured images. Click the SDSS link in the image window to see this information.
These odd patterns are a result of many nights of imaging with a camera that has six columns of CCD chips. Can you see evidence of these six columns in the image above? The camera stays stationary as the sky moves across the recording devise in long strips. It takes two runs, one slightly offset from the other, to produce a solid stripe. You can also see in the lower left the brightly colored strips that are the result of starlight from the bright star, Bellatrix, overwhelming the CCD chips.
Within the stripes, what do you observe about the stars as compared to the image taken with a regular camera?
Step 6 – One additional tool Astrometry.net provides is a graphic that shows where in the sky you are looking. If you are looking at a large part of the sky as we see in Vivian’s image, Astronomy.net marks off the approximate boundaries of the image on a map on the right side of the page. This map flattens the dome of the sky out so you can see the whole thing at once. A few of the major lines of the celestial coordinates are marked. Below the image are tags for this image that communicate where the image originated and some of the brightest object it contains. See Pre-Flight – Celestial Coordinates for more help understanding these numbers.
Step 7 – Last, go to the SkyServer Navigate tool. Use the information you received from Astrometry.net to move the Navigate window to some location within your original image. Can you find a star in Navigate that was identified by Astrometry? Record your observations. What does this reveal about the SDSS images? The SDSS telescope? | <urn:uuid:3f9b6374-94eb-47b1-ac1e-b7a5f5dc7f65> | {
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Learn to apply pressure to points of the body with your thumbs or fingers to relieve sinus pain.
You will need
- A correct diagnosis
- A chair
- Pressure points
- An empty stomach
- A pencil eraser (optional)
Step 1 Diagnose correctly Consult a doctor to determine that what you are feeling is sinus pain and nothing else.
Step 2 Get comfortable Lie down or sit comfortably in a chair.
Step 3 Place your thumbs Place your thumbs on the upper ridge of your eye sockets and press into the area near the bridge of your nose for one minute.
Step 4 Place your fingers Place both of your middle fingers and index fingers beside your nostrils. Press up and underneath the cheekbones for one minute.
Do acupressure on an empty stomach for best results.
Step 5 Press into elbow joint Bend your arm and place your thumb at the end of the elbow crease on the outside of your forearm. Press into the elbow joint for one minute and repeat on your opposite arm.
Step 6 Press into back of hand Place your right thumb in the webbing between your index finger and thumb. Squeeze your thumb and index finger of your right hand together to press into the webbing and hold for one minute. Switch hands.
You can use the eraser end of a pencil instead of your thumbs and fingers.
Step 7 Add variety Try all of the pressure points at once or do a few a day to relieve sinus pain and pressure.
Did You Know:
Did you know? Sinus problems affect an estimated 60 million Americans. | <urn:uuid:bde5bd91-e338-43c9-b4f1-f7ace58dfd6c> | {
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Soggy sheets and pajamas — and an embarrassed child — are a familiar scene in many homes. But don't despair. Bed-wetting isn't a sign of toilet training gone bad. It's often just a normal part of a child's development.
Bed-wetting is also known as nighttime incontinence or nocturnal enuresis. Generally, bed-wetting before age 7 isn't a concern. At this age, your child may still be developing nighttime bladder control.
If bed-wetting continues, treat the problem with patience and understanding. Bladder training, moisture alarms or medication may help reduce bed-wetting.
Bed-wetting is involuntary urination while asleep after the age at which staying dry at night can be reasonably expected.
Most kids are fully toilet trained by age 5, but there's really no target date for developing complete bladder control. Between the ages of 5 and 7, bed-wetting remains a problem for some children. After 7 years of age, a small number of children still wet the bed.
When to see a doctor
Most children outgrow bed-wetting on their own — but some need a little help. In other cases, bed-wetting may be a sign of an underlying condition that needs medical attention.
Consult your child's doctor if:
- Your child still wets the bed after age 7
- Your child starts to wet the bed after a few months or more of being dry at night
- Bed-wetting is accompanied by painful urination, unusual thirst, pink or red urine, hard stools, or snoring
No one knows for sure what causes bed-wetting, but various factors may play a role:
- A small bladder. Your child's bladder may not be developed enough to hold urine produced during the night.
- Inability to recognize a full bladder. If the nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature, a full bladder may not wake your child — especially if your child is a deep sleeper.
- A hormone imbalance. During childhood, some kids don't produce enough anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) to slow nighttime urine production.
- Stress. Stressful events — such as becoming a big brother or sister, starting a new school, or sleeping away from home — may trigger bed-wetting.
- Urinary tract infection. This infection can make it difficult for your child to control urination. Signs and symptoms may include bed-wetting, daytime accidents, frequent urination, red or pink urine, and pain during urination.
- Sleep apnea. Sometimes bed-wetting is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the child's breathing is interrupted during sleep — often due to inflamed or enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Other signs and symptoms may include snoring, frequent ear and sinus infections, sore throat, or daytime drowsiness.
- Diabetes. For a child who's usually dry at night, bed-wetting may be the first sign of diabetes. Other signs and symptoms may include passing large amounts of urine at once, increased thirst, fatigue and weight loss in spite of a good appetite.
- Chronic constipation. The same muscles are used to control urine and stool elimination. When constipation is long term, these muscles can become dysfunctional and contribute to bed-wetting at night.
A structural problem in the urinary tract or nervous system. Rarely, bed-wetting is related to a defect in the child's neurological system or urinary system.
Several factors have been associated with an increased risk of bed-wetting, including:
- Being male. Bed-wetting can affect anyone, but it's twice as common in boys as girls.
- Family history. If one or both of a child's parents wet the bed as children, their child has a significant chance of wetting the bed, too.
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Bed-wetting is more common in children who have ADHD.
Although frustrating, bed-wetting without a physical cause doesn't pose any health risks. However, bed-wetting can create some issues for your child, including:
- Guilt and embarrassment, which can lead to low self-esteem
- Loss of opportunities for social activities, such as sleepovers and camp
- Rashes on the child's bottom and genital area — especially if your child sleeps in wet underwear
You're likely to start by seeing your child's pediatrician. However, he or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in urinary disorders (pediatric urologist or nephrologist).
Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
Before your appointment, make a list of:
- Any signs or symptoms, including any major ones that may seem unrelated to bed-wetting. Consider keeping a diary of your child's bathroom visits. Note when your child goes to the toilet and whether he or she felt a sense of urgency to urinate. Also note how much fluid your child drinks, especially after dinner.
- Key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
- All medications, vitamins and other supplements that your child is taking, and the dosages.
- Questions to ask your child's doctor so you can make the most of your time together.
For bed-wetting, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What's causing my child to wet the bed?
- When might he or she outgrow wetting the bed?
- What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
- Are there any side effects?
- Are there any alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- Should my child follow any drinking restrictions?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can have? What websites do you recommend?
Don't hesitate to ask questions anytime during your appointment.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Be ready to answer them to reserve time to go over any points you want to focus on. Your doctor may ask:
- Is there a family history of bed-wetting?
- Has your child always wet the bed, or did it begin recently?
- How often does your child wet the bed?
- Are there periods of time when your child does not wet the bed?
- Is your child dry during the day?
- Is your child having stool accidents?
- Does your child complain of pain or other symptoms when urinating?
- Is your child facing any major life changes or other stresses?
- If you're separated or divorced, does your child alternate living at each parent's home, and does the bed-wetting occur in both homes?
Your child will need a physical exam. Depending on the circumstances, your doctor may recommend:
- Urine tests to check for signs of an infection or diabetes
- X-rays or other imaging tests of the kidneys or bladder, if the doctor suspects a structural problem with your child's urinary tract or another health concern
- Other types of tests or assessments, if other health issues are suspected
Most children outgrow bed-wetting on their own. If there's a family history of bed-wetting, your child will probably stop bed-wetting around the age the parent stopped bed-wetting.
If your child isn't especially bothered or embarrassed by an occasional wet night, traditional home remedies may work well. However, if your grade schooler is terrified about wetting the bed during a sleepover, he or she may be more motivated to try additional treatments. The child's and parents' motivation can impact the selection of treatment and its success.
If found, underlying causes of bed-wetting, such as constipation or sleep apnea, should be addressed before other treatment.
These small, battery-operated devices — available without a prescription at most pharmacies — connect to a moisture-sensitive pad on your child's pajamas or bedding. When the pad senses wetness, the alarm goes off.
Ideally, the moisture alarm sounds just as your child begins to urinate — in time to help your child wake, stop the urine stream and get to the toilet. If your child is a heavy sleeper, another person may need to listen for the alarm and wake the child.
If you try a moisture alarm, give it plenty of time. It often takes at least two weeks to see any type of response and up to 16 weeks to enjoy dry nights. Moisture alarms are effective for many children, carry a low risk of relapse or side effects, and may provide a better long-term solution than medication does. These devices are not typically covered by insurance.
As a last resort, your child's doctor may prescribe medication to stop bed-wetting. Certain types of medication can:
Slow nighttime urine production. The drug desmopressin (DDAVP, others) boosts levels of a natural hormone (anti-diuretic hormone, or ADH) that forces the body to make less urine at night. But drinking too much liquid with the medication can cause problems with low sodium levels in the blood and the potential for seizures. So drinking only 8 ounces (237 milliliters) of fluids with and after the medication is recommended. Don't give your child this medication if he or she has a headache, has vomited or feels nauseated. Desmopressin also may be used in short-term situations, such as going to camp.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, nasal spray formulations of desmopressin (DDAVP Nasal Spray, DDAVP Rhinal Tube, others) are no longer recommended for treatment of bed-wetting due to the risk of serious side effects.
- Calm the bladder. If your child has a small bladder, an anticholinergic drug such as oxybutynin (Ditropan XL) may help reduce bladder contractions and increase bladder capacity. This medication is usually used in combination with other medications and is generally recommended only when other treatments have failed.
Sometimes a combination of medications is most effective. There are no guarantees, however, and medication doesn't cure the problem. Bed-wetting typically resumes when medication is stopped.
Here are changes you can make at home that may help:
- Limit how much your child drinks in the evening. It's important to get enough fluids, so there's no need to limit how much your child drinks in a day. However, encourage your child to focus on drinking liquids in the morning and early afternoon, which may reduce thirst in the evening. But don't limit evening fluids if your child participates in sports practice or games in the evenings.
- Avoid beverages and foods with caffeine. Beverages with caffeine are discouraged for children at any time of day. Because caffeine may stimulate the bladder, it's especially discouraged in the evening.
- Encourage double voiding before bed. Double voiding is urinating at the beginning of the bedtime routine and then again just before falling asleep. Remind your child that it's OK to use the toilet during the night if needed. Use small night lights, so your child can easily find the way between the bedroom and bathroom.
- Encourage regular toilet use throughout the day. During the day and evening, suggest that your child urinate every two hours or so, or at least often enough to avoid a feeling of urgency.
- Treat constipation. If constipation is a problem for your child, your doctor may recommend a stool softener.
- Prevent rashes. To prevent a rash caused by wet underpants, help your child rinse his or her bottom and genital area every morning. It also may help to cover the affected area with a protective moisture barrier ointment or cream at bedtime. Ask your pediatrician for product recommendations.
Some people are interested in trying alternative medicine to treat bed-wetting. Alternative medicine is the use of a nonconventional approach instead of conventional medicine. Others may want to try complementary medicine — a nonconventional approach used along with conventional medicine — to treat bed-wetting.
Several therapies, such as hypnosis and acupuncture, have limited evidence of effectiveness, and others don't have evidence to support their use.
- Hypnosis. Small trials of hypnosis coupled with suggestions of waking up in a dry bed or visiting the toilet in the night found that this therapy may help some children stay dry throughout the night, but more research is needed.
- Acupuncture. This treatment involves the insertion of fine needles in specific parts of the body. Acupuncture may be effective for some children, but more research is needed.
- Diet. Some people believe that certain foods affect bladder function and that removing these foods from the diet could help decrease bed-wetting. The evidence is uncertain and more research is needed.
- Chiropractic therapy. The idea behind chiropractic therapy is that if the spine is out of alignment, normal bodily functions will be affected. However, there's little evidence regarding the use of chiropractic therapy for the treatment of bed-wetting.
- Homeopathy and herbs. Although some people are interested in homeopathic remedies and herbal products, none of these has proved effective in clinical trials.
Be sure to talk to your child's doctor before starting any complementary or alternative therapy. If you choose a nonconventional approach, ask the doctor if it's safe for your child and make sure it won't interact with any medications your child may take.
Children don't wet the bed to irritate their parents. Try to be patient as you and your child work through the problem together.
- Be sensitive to your child's feelings. If your child is stressed or anxious, encourage him or her to express those feelings. Offer support and encouragement if your child has anxiety about stressful events. When your child feels calm and secure, bed-wetting may become a thing of the past. If needed, talk to your doctor about additional strategies for dealing with stress.
- Plan for easy cleanup. Cover your child's mattress with a plastic cover. Use thick, absorbent underwear at night to help contain the urine. Keep extra bedding and pajamas handy. However, avoid the long-term use of diapers or disposable pull-up underwear.
- Enlist your child's help. Perhaps your child can rinse his or her wet underwear and pajamas or place these items in a specific container for washing. Taking responsibility for bed-wetting may help your child feel more control over the situation.
- Celebrate effort. Bed-wetting is involuntary, so it doesn't make sense to punish or tease your child for wetting the bed or reward him or her for staying dry. Instead, praise your child for following the bedtime routine and helping clean up after accidents. Use a sticker reward system if you think this might help motivate your child.
With reassurance, support and understanding, your child can look forward to the dry nights ahead.
Oct. 11, 2014
- Urinary incontinence in children. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/uichildren/. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- Tu ND, et al. Nocturnal enuresis in children: Management. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- What I need to know about my child's bedwetting. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/bedwetting_ez/index.aspx. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- Caldwell PHY, et al. Management of nocturnal enuresis. BMJ. 2013;347:f6259.
- Tu ND, et al. Nocturnal enuresis in children: Etiology and evaluation. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- Bayne AP, et al, Nocturnal enuresis: An approach to assessment and treatment. Pediatrics in Review. 2014;35:327.
- Huang T, et al. Complementary and miscellaneous interventions for nocturnal enuresis in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005230.pub2/abstract. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- Enuresis. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2013. http://www.psychiatryonline.org. Accessed Aug. 24, 2014.
- Complementary, alternative, or integrative health: What's in a name? National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam. Accessed Aug. 29, 2014.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 1, 2014.
- Lynch BA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 18, 2014.
- Desmopressin Acetate (marketed as DDAVP Nasal Spray, DDAVP Rhinal Tube, DDAVP, DDVP, Minirin, and Stimate Nasal Spray) December 2007. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm152113.htm. Accessed Sept. 19, 2014. | <urn:uuid:e016819e-afcd-4531-ba88-0d9c80036da8> | {
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Dental Hygienist» search for more Jobs
Dental Hygienists provide treatment and information regarding prevention and treatment of disorders of the teeth and mouth. They typically work as part of a dentistry team but can also find work in hospitals and educational settings.
Typical tasks include:
- providing education and support to individuals and groups on dental health, oral hygiene, plaque control and nutrition
- using various techniques to remove deposits and stains from teeth, including applying professional tooth whitening agents
- identifying and applying prevention and control strategies for decay and gum disease
- carrying out various procedures including placing fissure sealants, selecting and applying braces, removing dental sutures
- taking impressions of patients’ mouths for the construction of study casts, mouth guards and orthodontic appliances
- selecting and administering pain control techniques
Dental Hygienists may take on similar roles to dental assistants in some clinics and practices. Dental Hygienists are mainly employed as part of a dental team in private practices however opportunities also exist in community health settings, dental hospitals and regional clinics. A degree in oral health and registration to practice is required for these roles. | <urn:uuid:06c6071e-d74b-4b15-9860-bea95805711a> | {
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Graphene has been popping up as an electrode in supercapacitor designs to help them charge quicker and store more energy. Actually the much-celebrated carbon sheet is more curving around than "popping up" in this latest case.
This ultra-thin, highly conductive material has piqued the electronics industry's interest for many reasons, including its potential to prevent devices from overheating. Within supercapacitors (or ultracapacitors), graphene has shown promise for power storage as well. Publishing yesterday in Science, engineers from the University of Texas created a new activated carbon material that could enhance a supercapacitor's holding capacity.
The researchers applied potassium hydroxide to graphene to make the single-atom-thick sheets more porous, similar to a sponge. With pores ranging from just around 1 to 5 nanometers thick, the material has a surface area up to 3,100 square meters per gram. Just a gram of the activated graphene, say the researchers, could stretch from a football field's end zone to its 50-yard line. For a supercapacitor, this increased surface area allows the electrode material to hold more energy.
And the ability to store more energy is just what supercapacitors need.
While great for quick energy fixes and frequent re-charges, they hold just a fraction of the energy batteries can. Batteries release their charge slow and steady over the long haul. But a supercapacitor able to store as much as a battery, take in and release its charge swiftly, and endure being re-charged thousands of times over? This would be very useful. Electric vehicles could benefit, as well as grids needing to regulate varying power influxes from solar and wind farms.
Last fall, another group of researchers reported in Science a design for a different type of graphene-based supercapacitor. This one could fully charge in fewer than 200 milliseconds.
Rodney Ruoff, professor of materials science and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas says in a statement:
This new material combines the attributes of both electrical storage systems...
Being so easily manufactured from one of the most abundant elements in the universe, [it] will have a broad range of impacts on research and technology in both energy storage and energy conversion.
But before the Texan researchers could be sure of what they created, they needed a closer look. Powerful electron microscopes at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York helped them do so. Zooming in on the material's atomic structure (above right), the scientists could see the novel 3-dimensional material consisted of curved walls just one atom thick.
Study co-auther Eric Stach of Brookhaven says in a statement:
We’re still working with Ruoff and his team to pull together a complete description of the material structure. We’re also adding computational studies to help us understand how this three-dimensional network forms, so that we can potentially tailor the pore sizes to be optimal for specific applications, including capacitive storage, catalysis, and fuel cells.
Related on SmartPlanet:
- DARPA funds 17 million for new ultracapacitor
- Graphene: a hot new material for keeping electronics cool
- Graphene goes green
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Animal Bites and Rabies
According to Ohio Administrative Code 3701-3-28, "Whenever a person is bitten by a dog or other mammal, report of such bite shall be made within 24 hours to the health commissioner of the district in which the bite occurred." If you have been bitten by an animal, or know someone who has, please report this to The Clark County Combined Health District to file an Animal Bite Report.
What We Do
According to Ohio Revised Code 3701-3-29, the Clark County Combined Health District (CCCHD) is required to quarantine all dogs, cats and ferrets that bite people. The quarantine is for no less than 10 days and is usually done at the animal owner's home. The purpose of the quarantine is to ensure that the biting animal does not have rabies. If the biting animal had rabies at the time it bit, the symptoms of rabies will be seen in that dog, cat or ferret within 10 days following the bite.
What to do if you are bitten or scratched by an animal
- Thoroughly clean the wound area with soap and water and cover with a clean dressing or bandage.
- Immediately seek medical care with your family doctor, urgent care or emergency room. Many bites are puncture wounds that can easily become infected if not cared for properly.
- Try to obtain information about the animal's owner including name, address and telephone number.
- Try to obtain information about the biting animal such as the type of animal, color, breed and name.
- Make sure that the healthcare provider reports the animal bite to the CCCHD. If not, please contact CCCHD at (937) 390-5600 to file an Animal Bite Report.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease of mammals that is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The virus travels through the central nervous system to the brain. Once it reaches the brain, the disease nearly always causes death.
This is a disease that is preventable in several ways:
- Keeping our pets currently vaccinated against rabies;
- Avoiding encounters with wild animals like bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes and coyotes;
- Seeking immediate medical attention and rabies treatment if bitten by a rabid animal.
How is rabies spread?
Rabies is spread or transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal to another animal or human. Usually, this happens through a bite that breaks the skin, or contact with saliva into an open scratch or wound. On very rare occasions, it has been documented that it can be spread if someone's eyes, nose or mouth comes in contact with the saliva of a rabid animal.
What animals can have rabies?
In Ohio, the most common animals to have rabies are bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes and coyotes. Bats have been the only animal to test positive for rabies in Clark County since 2006. According to the Ohio Department of Health, the last domestic animal to test positive was a dog in 2011 from Summit County. However, nationally, cats are three times more likely than dogs to test positive for rabies. One reason we do not often see rabies in domestic animals and pets is because of the availability and inexpensive cost of rabies vaccination.
What is my risk with bats and rabies?
As noted above, bats have been the only animal to test positive for rabies in Clark County since 2005; therefore, it is important to understand the risks associated with bat encounters. Examples of situations where there is a probability of rabies exposure:
- Bat found in a room with a sleeping person.
- Bat found in proximity to an unattended child who is not able to describe what happened.
- Bat found in a room with an individual under the influence of alcohol or drugs or with other sensory or mental impairment.
For more information on bat encounters and determining rabies risk, click here to view the Ohio Department of Health document entitled Managing Bat Encounters and Rabies Risk.
Important: If you feel you have been exposed to a bat, please seek immediate medical attention at a local emergency room and explain to them that you may have been exposed to a bat.
It is always best if the bat is seen and can be captured so that it can be tested. If you do not feel that you can capture the bat, please contact either a wildlife specialist or CCCHD.
Note: DO NOT take a captured bat into urgent care or the emergency room; they do not test bats for rabies. Please call CCCHD at (937) 390-5600 to make arrangements to either deliver the bat to CCCHD or have the bat picked up.
Rabies Vaccination Clinic
The CCCHD is concerned about the number of dogs, cats and ferrets that go unvaccinated each year against rabies. Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. It can infect all mammals and is seen mostly in bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes and coyotes. Once a person or animal becomes sick with rabies, they will usually die.
During our Rabies Vaccination Clinic, licensed veterinarians offer vaccinations for dogs, cats and ferrets at a fee of $10.00 per animal. One-year vaccinations are available to unvaccinated animals and three-year vaccinations are available upon proof of a current or recently expired vaccination.
The date of the first Tuesday after Labor Day in September of each year, from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., has been set aside to hold this clinic at the Health District office and all residents are encouraged to utilize this clinic in order to ensure that all dogs, cats and ferrets in Clark County are property vaccinated against this disease.
The health and safety of all residents of our county is of primary importance to CCCHD and we are pleased to offer this vital service as a part of our efforts to promote public health. Questions regarding our Rabies Vaccination Clinic can be directed to the Environmental Division of CCCHD at (937) 390-5600.
From the years 2006 to 2012, a total of 23 bats tested positive in Clark County for rabies. One bat has tested positive for rabies thus far in 2013.
Based upon the prevalence of rabies in our county, the CCCHD Board of Health passed a resolution on July 19, 2007, declaring that all dogs and cats are required to be vaccinated for rabies. As a service to the residents of Clark County, CCCHD began offering a vaccination clinic, in cooperation with the Humane Society serving Clark County, Inc., for all animal owners to have their dogs, cats or ferrets vaccinated by a licensed veterinarian.
Three clinics were held in 2007, with a total of 432 animals being vaccinated. We have held one clinic per year since that time, vaccinating a total of 100 in 2008, 88 in 2009, 252 in 2010, and 261 in 2011.
To answer any questions, or obtain additional information, please feel free to contact CCCHD at (937) 390-5600.
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The state flag,
adopted in 1885, displays two dates. May 20, 1775, is the supposed
date of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence proclaiming
Mecklenburg County's independence from Britain. On April 12, 1776,
North Carolina authorized its delegates to the Continental
Congress to vote for independence. The state seal, adopted in
1984, also has these dates. The standing figure represents
Liberty; the seated figure, Plenty.
North Carolina leads all the states of the United States in
tobacco farming and in the manufacture of tobacco products. It
also leads the nation in the production of textiles and wooden
furniture. Raleigh is North Carolina's capital. Charlotte is the
state's largest city.
North Carolina is a Southern state with a long coastline on the
Atlantic Ocean. Islands, reefs, and sand bars make its shores some
of the most treacherous in the world. Many ships have been wrecked
at Cape Hatteras by the rough seas and difficult currents. Cape
Hatteras is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic. | <urn:uuid:1dfd5e7b-c0c7-47cc-b98c-90ae51b27a8a> | {
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Within a year after birth, human infants develop the ability to direct their attention to the anticipated goal of another person’s movement, before it has occurred. So, for example, our eyes move to where we think an object will be based on how we perceive others’ objectives and intentions. The ability to anticipate actions helps us both to cooperate and compete with others.
In light of previous research suggesting that nonhuman primates may be able to predict others’ goals and actions, psychological scientists Fumihiro Kano and Josep Call of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany investigated whether other primates make eye movements similar to those that humans make while observing another individual’s behavior.
The researchers analyzed data from 19 great apes, including chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), characterized by intrusive and persistent thoughts that are often accompanied by repetitive or ritualized acts, is a serious clinical disorder that can significantly impact a person’s ability to function and go about daily life. Neuroimaging data have hinted at a link between OCD and brain areas that contribute to executive function (EF), a group of critical cognitive abilities that regulate lower-level cognitive processes.
As researcher Hannah Snyder of the University of Denver and colleagues explain, EFs allow us to “break out of habits, make decisions and evaluate risks, plan for the future, prioritize and sequence actions, and cope with novel situations.” EF deficits, therefore, could contribute to an inability to shift between tasks and the repetition and perseveration so often seen in individuals with OCD.
Despite evidence linking OCD with…
Have you ever recoiled at something because it reminds you of something else that you’re genuinely afraid of? Research indicates that people have a propensity to generalize their fear — so, for example, a person afraid of doctors might also feel uneasy at the sight of a hospital or medical equipment.
Moreover, typical items in a category seem to lend themselves to generalization more than atypical items do. For instance, we’re more likely to generalize information about mice and apply it to bats rather than the other way around, since mice come to mind more easily when we think of mammals.
Bringing these different areas of research together, psychological scientists Joseph E. Dunsmoor and Gregory L. Murphy of New York University wanted to investigate whether we incorporate conceptual knowledge into fear…
The Obedience to Authority Conference will be held December 9–11, 2014, in Kolomna, Russia. The conference will focus on discussion of research in the field of Stanley Milgram’s experimental obedience paradigm. Russian and international researchers with diverse academic backgrounds and career levels are encouraged to register. For more information, visit www.milgram.ru/en.
It’s often said that we can’t love others unless we love ourselves. According to a new study, this may be true, but perhaps in a different way than we expect — while our reported self-esteem doesn’t predict changes in our implicit, or underlying, feelings about a significant other, our implicit attitudes about ourselves do.
Research has suggested that self-esteem influences how people behave in their relationships: Those with higher self-esteem believe that their partner views them positively and so are more inclined to work at their relationships. In other studies, however, self-esteem didn’t seem to predict relationship satisfaction down the road.
Psychological scientist James K. McNulty of Florida State University and colleagues wondered whether using implicit measures rather than explicit reports of self-esteem and partner evaluations might clear up these discrepancies.
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Hearing loss is the most commonly occurring disability in U.S. infants, with a rate of two to three per 1,000 infants. That translates into as many as 20,000 babies a year.
The consequences of late detection are significant and can result in lifelong communication, social, psychological, behavioral, and educational problems. Research has shown that babies who are identified with hearing loss and receive intervention services within six months of age outperform (at 40 months) those babies who were identified and received services after six months of age.
For more than 40 years, researchers and clinicians across the country have struggled to solve the dilemma of how to identify hearing loss in newborn babies in a quick and cost-effective manner. In 1993, Rhode Island legislation mandating universal newborn hearing screening took effect, and the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program (RIHAP) based at Women & Infants, became the first public health program of its kind in the United States. Since that time, RIHAP has screened 99 percent of Rhode Island’s newborn babies (14,000 annually) for hearing loss.
Quick, harmless and non-invasive, the hearing screening is performed by a technician or nurse, and results are reviewed and interpreted by an audiologist. The results may indicate a need for an additional screen. Parents receive a phone call from the staff to come back for this screen at the hospital. The baby's doctor is notified of this by mail.
It is unlikely that a child has a serious hearing loss. However, if the results suggest an actual hearing loss, this program has designed a referral and follow-up program in order to assure the best and earliest possible intervention.
The results of the newborn hearing screen show how an infant hears at the time of the screen. Some infants with recurrent ear infections, serious infections, chronic illness or a family history of hearing loss may develop hearing loss later in the first few years of life. If a parent has concerns about their child’s hearing ability or language development, the audiologist or family doctor should be contacted. | <urn:uuid:83e66892-5baa-430b-b40e-2c3057e70c00> | {
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Edith Stein, St Teresa of Avila, St Thérèse of Lisieux and St Catherine of Siena are depicted in a stained-glass window in Montauk, New York (Photo: CNS)
The Catholic Herald profiles 10 Catholic women who transformed the planet with their holiness, untiring work and incredible creativity.
1. Phyllis Bowman
On May 7 Britain lost arguably its most dynamic fighter for the unborn. Phyllis Bowman was a journalist on Fleet Street before she became involved in the parliamentary struggle for the rights of unborn children and people at risk of euthanasia.
She was not always pro-life, working for a medical newspaper and seeing the plight of the disabled in hospital. But she became convinced by the pro-life position after researching the causes of disabilities in unborn babies. At the time she also suffered a terrible tragedy with the death of her first husband.
From 1967 to her final days, Bowman waged what she called her “battle for the baby”. During her last weeks she dictated letters and gave instructions to her group of campaigners from her hospital bed.
Bowman was born Jewish, had a period of agnosticism and then converted to Catholicism. Her faith and her pro-life mission became entwined. But Bowman never felt superior because of her Catholicism and sought new members for the pro-life movement from every religion and walk of life.
She often quoted Paul VI on life issues and was motivated by the teachings of Blessed John Paul II. She attended seven different conferences with the late pope. Bowman was inspired especially by John Paul’s message that pro-lifers may strive for attainable goals.
2. St Thérèse of Lisieux
In 1897, when St Thérèse died, stricken by TB, most regarded her as an average nun, without extraordinary ability. History has shown otherwise. She was canonised in 1925, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by John Paul II and her book Story of a Soul established a radical path to redemption, the Little Way.
The idea was of seeking holiness in humble, everyday life was inspired by Thérèse’s convent life, which was not always easy. On one occasion, she pinned up pictures of the saints by her bed, which some other nuns thought laughable. But she offered up these little hardships and had a strategy of being especially kind to those who held her in contempt.
FULL STORY Ten Catholic women who changed the world (Catholic Herald) | <urn:uuid:48de036e-cc6c-4873-be0d-e65b9297a365> | {
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Passage: Pp. 86-87 in the Penguin edition of A Christmas Carol
JOHN LEECH (1817-64), the English caricaturist, was a Londoner of Irish descent, son of a coffee-house proprietor. Educated at Charterhouse with W. M. Thackeray, Leech enjoyed a life-long friendship with that novelist (near whom he lies buried at Kensal Green, London), but is more commonly associated with Charles Dickens. Leech early abandoned the study of medicine for art and publishing, beginning with Etchings and Sketchinqs by A. Pen, Esq. (1835) when he was just 18. From 1841 he contributed hundreds of sketches of middle-class life and political cartoons to such periodicals as Punch, the Illustrated London News, and Once a Week.
Plate 5 [Click on image for larger picture]: Most noteworthy in the collaborative relationship between Dickens and Leech are the latter's eight plates (four of which were hand-coloured) for A Christmas Carol (published by Chapman and Hall, London, on 17 December 1843). Particularly interesting is Leech's illustration "The Ghost of Christmas Present" (Penguin ed., p. 88), complementing the text (p. 86-7).
Questions for Discussion
1. What is the precise moment in the text that Leech has chosen to depict?
2. What clues in the illustration enabled you to determine the precise passage realized?
3. Illustrated fiction had existed since Smollett's Sir Launcelot Greaves (1760-2), so that nineteenth-century-readers were highly adept at 'reading' pictures accompanying a printed text. Given the placement of this etching relative to the passage illustrated, how would the reader of 1843 have mediated picture and text? What would be his or her reaction on turning the page and encountering the plate?
4. What evidence do text and plate offer to support Philip Collins's contention that here "Dickens is making up his Christmas mythology as he goes"?
5. What qualities of Leech as given in the biographical note above do you detect in this plate?
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Fish talk in grunts, chirps, pops - research
By Emma Joliff
An Auckland scientist has recorded what he says are the sounds of fish talking to each other.
They grunt, chirp and make popping sounds.
But, they may not have realised, for two years someone’s been listening.
That someone is researcher Shahriman Ghazali.
He says they vocalise, or talk, using popping sounds.
“Quite similar to the sounds that divers seem to be able to hear when they go crayfish hunting,” he says.
Mr Ghazali’s been cataloguing the vocalisation of big-eyes and blue-fin gurnard for two years.
Malaysian-born, Mr Ghazali says English is his third language – his second being “fish”.
He says several fish are known to make specific sounds for reproduction.
“Either for courting, males courting the females, or during spawning – as a means of synchronisation for egg release,” he says.
It is new research in New Zealand, but scientists around the world have been studying fish talk for years.
Mr Ghazali says fish risk exposing themselves to predators by “talking”, so there must be a very important reason.
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Creating Package Event Handlers
At run time, containers and tasks raise events. You can create custom event handlers that respond to these events by running a workflow when the event is raised. For example, you can create an event handler that sends an e-mail message when a task fails.
An event handler is similar to a package. Like a package, an event handler can provide scope for variables, and includes a control flow and optional data flows. You can build event handlers for packages, the Foreach Loop container, the For Loop container, the Sequence container, and all tasks.
You create event handlers by using the design surface of the Event Handlers tab in SSIS Designer.
When the Event Handlers tab is active, the Control Flow Items and Maintenance Plan Tasks nodes of the Toolbox in SSIS Designer contain the task and containers for building the control flow in the event handler. The Data Flow Sources, Transformations, and Data Flow Destinations nodes contain the data sources, transformations, and destinations for building the data flows in the event handler. For more information, see Control Flow Elements and Data Flow Elements.
The Event Handlers tab also includes the Connections Managers area where you can create and modify the connection managers that event handlers use to connect to servers and data sources. For more information, see Creating Connection Managers.
The following diagram shows an event handler on the design surface of the Event Handlers tab in SSIS Designer.
Creating the control flow and data flows in an event handler is similar to creating the control flow and data flows in a package. For more information, see Creating Package Control Flow and Creating Package Data Flow. | <urn:uuid:8c4c306e-232a-42f6-9e28-4f2d55487a84> | {
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Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Infection
ESBLs are enzymes that are produced by bacteria. The enzymes make the bacteria resistant to many kinds of antibiotics.
It is possible to carry these bacteria without being sick. This is called being colonized. A person who is colonized can still spread the infection to others. The bacteria that carry the enzymes can cause serious infections, such as those in the:
- Urinary tract
- Respiratory tract
If not treated, the condition can be fatal.
|The bacteria can travel to the intestines, causing a serious infection.|
|Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.|
This condition occurs when the body is infected with bacteria. These bacteria produce enzymes that make the infection resistant to many kinds of antibiotics. That is why it is so hard to treat.
These bacteria can be easily spread in close living areas, like hospitals. They are most often spread by:
- Medical equipment
- The hands of healthcare workers
Factors that increase your risk of being colonized by or infected with ESBL include:
Symptoms depend on the location of the infection and may include:
- Pain in abdomen
- Pain and burning with urination
- Signs of infection around a wound, such as redness or oozing discharge
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Trouble breathing
You will be asked about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. Tests may include:
- Urine, stool, or blood tests
- Swab of the rectum or throat
The bacteria in the samples are then tested to see if it they are resistant to certain antibiotics.
Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you. There are only a few antibiotics that can be used to treat this infection.
It is also important to take steps to control the spread of ESBL infections, such as:
- Preventing the spread of ESBL-producing bacteria to others by isolation, hand washing , and other steps
- Avoiding unnecessary procedures or unnecessary use of antibiotics
To help reduce your chance of an ESBL infection:
- Wash your hands thoroughly, and ask others to wash their hands.
- Avoid coming into contact with people who have this infection.
- Make sure healthcare staff and visitors wash their hands before and after touching you or touching contaminated surfaces.
- Make sure healthcare staff and visitors use gloves.
- David L. Horn, MD
- Reviewed: 05/2016
- Updated: 06/19/2014
Please note, not all procedures included in this resource library are available at Henry Ford Allegiance Health or performed by Henry Ford Allegiance Health physicians.
All EBSCO Publishing proprietary, consumer health and medical information found on this site is accredited by URAC. URAC's Health Web Site Accreditation Program requires compliance with 53 rigorous standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audits. To send comments or feedback to our Editorial Team regarding the content please email us at [email protected].
This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition. | <urn:uuid:52092ecc-780e-43a5-9c9f-3e76155c1749> | {
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GRANITE FALLS - In 1986 Minnesotan Will Steger made the first unsupported dog sled trek to the North Pole. Less than 10 years later in 1995 he encountered so much open water, flotation gear was necessary to make the same journey.
"You can no longer dog sled to the pole," Steger said.
Steger and J. Drake Hamilton, science policy director of the renewable energy advocacy group Fresh Energy, were in Granite Falls on Sunday night to talk about global climate change and progress in clean, renewable energy. The meeting was held at the Granite Falls Lutheran Church and organized by Clean Up the River Environment (CURE).
According to Steger, in 1990 scientists predicted that when the concentration of carbon dioxide reached 350 parts per million, the polar ice would start to melt.
Steger said that has indeed started to happen, turning large areas of the polar ocean and Greenland from a reflecting surface to an absorbing surface during the months the sun shines 24 hours a day.
As a consequence, Steger said, the survival of species such as walrus, polar bears and seals is threatened and human coastal populations will be soon be seriously affected by rising sea levels.
"The culprit is coal," Steger said. "We really have to move off coal into clean energy."
Hamilton spoke after Steger with a somewhat more optimistic take on climate change. After making the case that climate change is driven by human action pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Hamilton said real progress in alternative clean energy is being made in Minnesota.
"Fresh Energy was founded on the premise that more Minnesotans should be weighing in on energy issues," Hamilton said. "The first harbinger of climate change was polar bears, but we're in this for people."
In 2013 the state legislature set goals of achieving 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. According to Hamilton Minnesota is actually ahead of schedule and that though much remains to be done, energy companies such as XCEL have recognized the economic feasibility of phasing out coal generation in favor of wind, solar and local hydroelectric generation.
Hamilton pointed out Granite Falls has been a leader in hydroelectric power since its founding.
"There is an urgent need for action," Hamilton said, "but if humans are responsible for it, humans can do something about it." | <urn:uuid:f61250a6-1d7e-4a74-a219-453c58211355> | {
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Routledge – 2006 – 168 pages
The only book currently available on Joan Littlewood and her company, 'Theatre Workshop', this book explores the background to, and the work of a major influence on twentieth- and twenty-first-century performance.
Part of the successful Routledge Performance Practitioners series, this book uses original archival material to explore Joan Littlewood – a theatrical and cultural innovator whose contributions to theatre made a huge impact on the way theatre was generated, rehearsed and presented during the twentieth century.
This is the first book to combine:
As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Joan Littlewood is unbeatable value for today's student.
'Excellently researched, well written and highly readable… particularly "student friendly"'. - CHOICE
List of Figures. Acknowledgements 1. Biography in Political Social and Artistic Context 2. Joan Littlewood's Working Method 3. Description and Analysis of Oh What a Lovely War 4. Practical Exercises. Name Glossary. Bibliography. Index | <urn:uuid:7acc1219-2a7b-4795-9f43-ab07a638e7a9> | {
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SPF, which abbreviates Sender Policy Framework, is a certification system that aims at blocking the so-called e-mail forging. In simple terms, this means sending some message from one email address and making it look like it’s sent from another with the idea to scam in some way the person receiving it. In case the SPF protection is activated for a domain, a record that includes all of the mail servers authorized to send messages with addresses in the domain is generated. The record is saved on all the DNS servers that direct the web traffic worldwide, so that they all will identify whether an e-mail message comes from a valid server or not. The verification is conducted at the very first server where the email goes through and in the first case the email message is forwarded, while in the second one it is discarded and it never reaches the intended recipient. Using SPF records for your domains will prevent all unwanted people from making use of your emails for malicious purposes. | <urn:uuid:4858bf70-9b30-48d2-9d9d-ccf470368976> | {
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Who Solves The Mystery Of The Great Pyramid Building: Hasan Sayid Ahmad Or Jean-Pierre Houdin ?
|Hasan Sayid Ahmad
Hasan Sayid Ahmad the author of the original theory about the Great Pyramid building officially registred in Egypt from years.
|How did the ancient Egyptians build the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid (the Kufu Pyramid) on the Giza Plateau? No definitive answer has yet been provided to this question, which has attracted the attention of travelers, historians, philosophers and researchers as well as amateurs since ancient times. No definitive answer has been provided to the question of how the ancient Egyptians lifted such huge stones up to the top of the pyramid, which is 146m high. Hundreds of hypotheses have been suggested to explain how these stones were raised to such a height. The theories that envision ramps for hauling up the stones, either straight or spiraling round the outside of the pyramid, are the most readily accepted among Egyptologists. However, these theories are also criticized by some Egyptologists; for example Bob Brier said to the media, "I've been teaching them myself for 20 years but deep down I know they're wrong." |
|The first radical theory on this topic was presented by Hasan Sayid Ahmad, an Egyptian, more than ten years ago. In his theory Mr. Ahmad surmised that lifting the stone blocks was achieved through the ascending passage inside the pyramid itself. Accordingly, he considers this passage constituted an internal ramp. The stone blocks were raised up by using semi-mechanical machines (resembling "elevators"), invented by the ancient Egyptians for the purpose. Mr. Ahmad paid considerable attention to one of them that worked in the ascending passage and in the Grand Gallery. This 'elevator' system consisted of two wooden sledges attached to a complicated system of ropes, one of them in the descending passage (the lower sledge) and the second in the ascending passage and the grand gallery (the upper sledge). Only a few people controlled the movements of this machine (see diagram). The downward slide of the lower sledge pulled up the upper one, while the downward slide of the upper sledge pulled up the lower one. Mr. Ahmad concluded that the machine was used first to lift the 2,300,000 stone blocks representing all the blocks of the Great Pyramid, and later on it was used to move what remained inside the pyramid . To demonstrate his theory Mr. Ahmad designed a complicated model showing the workings of such a machine and described each part in detail.
|This hypothesis supposes that the pyramid was built using the internal ramp of the ascending passage. Accordingly, after the first few rows of stone blocks, the ancient Egyptians started to transport the blocks via the ascending passage, which functioned as an internal ramp. Mr. Ahmad thinks that the ascending passage was wider during the work years to allow the stone blocks to be moved more easily. He adds that there was no other purpose for the descending and ascending passages, judging from their shape and size, and does not think they could have been used as normal passages. To support his view he called attention to their smooth surfaces which prevent people from moving through them easily. |
|Mr. Ahmad stated that there was a second similar system of sledges inside the pyramid, starting from the upper end of the Grand Gallery, giving no further detail. To document his discoveries he sent copies of his new theory to the authorities in Cairo, along with many drawings illustrating each part of the sledge system including the ropes .|
|However, Mr. Ahmad's theory was reinforced after the French architect Jean-Pierre Houdin claimed that the pyramid had been built from the inside out, calling attention to an internal spiral ramp used to raise the stones of the Great Pyramid. Mr. Houdin's new theory was generally accepted by most Egyptologists. Bob Brier considered it more valid than other theories . Mr. Houdin had no doubt studied Mr. Ahmad's theory, but made no reference to it in his publications. However, these words in Mr. Houdin's report indicate that he studied had studied Mr. Ahmad's report: "The Grand Gallery inside the pyramid, another source of mystery for Egyptologists, housed a giant counter-weight used to hoist five 60-ton granite beams into position above the King's Chamber."|
|Text and Translation by: Dr Aly Barakat|
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6514155.stm (BBC, 2007/03/31 15:21:28 GMT)
- Al Balad Newspaper, N°. 24, page 25, April 24, 2000, "Egyptian Researcher indicates the presence of elevator inside Kufo pyramid" (in Arabic).
- Bob Brier, "How to build a pyramid", Archaeology, vol. 60, N° 3, May/June 2007.http://www.archaeology.org/0705/etc/pyramid.html
- Sketch showing the movements of the upper and lower sledges in the ascending and descending passages in the Great Pyramid. Stamp of the Ministry of Culture, intellectual property, 14 July 2000. | <urn:uuid:2612c63a-db0b-4ac7-a03e-b6864b1b2d7b> | {
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On March 4, 1996, about 1633 Alaska standard time, a wheel equipped Cessna 172, N739YR, was ditched following a loss of engine power, about 12 miles north of Ketchikan, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area instructional flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, operated by the first pilot, sustained substantial damage. The first pilot, a certificated airline transport pilot and flight instructor, was not injured. The second pilot, a noncertificated student, received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Ketchikan airport about 1550. Use your browsers 'back' function to return to synopsisReturn to Query Page
In a telephone conversation on March 5, 1996, the first pilot reported to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he was occupying the right front seat and was providing a demonstration of departure stalls to the second pilot who was occupying the left front seat. At the conclusion of the third stall, the first pilot added power about 1,800 feet mean sea level (MSL). The engine did not respond and emergency procedures only restored partial power. The first pilot indicated that he applied carburetor heat during the demonstration of stalls. The airplane continued to descend and the pilot declared an emergency "mayday" over the airplane radio. The pilot selected an emergency landing area near the shore of Betton Island but noticed that the beach area contained large rocks. The pilot then intentionally ditched the airplane about 30 yards from the shore. After touchdown in the water, both pilots swam to shore and the airplane sank. A nearby float equipped airplane responded to the emergency call and picked up the two pilots.
After the airplane was recovered from the water, an engine examination was conducted on June 6, 1996, in Ketchikan. The examination was supervised by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Juneau Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). The engine had been partially preserved after retrieval from the salt water. Gear and valve train continuity was established and thumb compression was evident when the engine was rotated by hand. The magnetos were internally damaged by corrosion. The vacuum pump drive was sheared. The engine oil filter was free of contaminants.
Fuel and water was found in the carburetor fuel line. The carburetor inlet screen was free of contaminants. The throttle and mixture cables were attached to the carburetor. The carburetor accelerator pump and floats were undamaged. The carburetor heat assembly was crushed and the carburetor heat control cable was broken about 2 inches from the its attach point on the assembly. The FAA inspector could not determine if the broken carburetor heat cable occurred before or after impact with the water. | <urn:uuid:ee1473a3-a0fe-4479-9610-43971a327f5f> | {
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Encoding settings for garbled text
If you follow a link from Google News to an external site and you don't see legible text, the publisher may not be using Unicode (UTF-8) encoding on the site you're visiting. You may find instructions on how to view the article on the site itself.
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Viewing text in Hindi:
If you use Internet Explorer 6+ in Windows Vista/XP/2000, you should have no problems in viewing Hindi text correctly. Mozilla Firefox requires support for complex text layout, otherwise it might display the Hindi text incorrectly. The support for complex text layout is usually turned off by default. | <urn:uuid:a108a5b7-7fd6-44f4-8cdf-fb1132d8b7d9> | {
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Dnieper Rapids. (Map: Dnieper Rapids.) The Dnieper Rapids ceased to exist when they were inundated for 90 km between the towns of Dnipropetrovske and Zaporizhia when the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932. This section of the river, lying in the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield, was strewn with submerged and emerging cliffs, rocks, and boulders. Cliffs and rocks that cut a part of the current are called barriers (zabory), while those that cut across the whole river are known as rapids (porohy). The rapids, nine in number, lay within a 70 km stretch from Lotsmanska Kamianka, which is 15 km below Dnipropetrovske, to the village of Kichkas (now inundated).
There were thirty barriers, six of which were located farther upriver between Kremenchuk and Dnipropetrovske. Over this 70 km stretch the riverbed dropped in elevation by 35.5 m, or 0.47 m/km. The decline was minimal between the rapids, while at the rapids it sometimes reached 1 percent fall and the current velocity reached 6 m/sec. The order of the rapids and larger barriers was the following: the Kodatskyi or Starokodatskyi Rapid with four falls, the Voloshynova Barrier, the small Surskyi Rapid, the Lokhanskyi Rapid with three falls, the Strilcha Barrier, the Zvonetskyi (or Dzvonetskyi) Rapid, the Tiahynska Barrier, the Nenasytets Rapid or Did Rapid (the largest) with seven falls, the Voronova and Kryva barriers, the Vovnizkyi (Vovnih, Vnuk) Rapid, and three smaller rapids—Budylo, Lyshnii, and Vilnyi or Hadiuchyi.
The rapids and barriers made continuous navigation on the Dnieper River impossible. They divided the navigable river into two sections: one above and the other below the rapids. Hence, in the 18th century when the whole Dnieper came under Russian control, attempts were begun to regulate the Dnieper at the stretch of rapids. The first projects in 1785 by Col N. Faleev and in 1795–1807 by de Bolan did not achieve any important results. In 1843–54 canals were constructed on the left bank around all the rapids, and the most dangerous cliffs in the barriers were removed. But the canals were narrow and shallow; hence, instead of this new route many boats continued to take the old route (the ‘Cossack route’) through the natural gaps in the rapids and barriers along the right bank. Steamboats could not navigate this stretch of the Dnieper. Rowboats and sailboats navigated the rapids only when the water level was high. At low water only rafts got through the rapids, and they could travel only downstream with the current. Only the inundation of the rapids made navigation between Dnipropetrovske and Zaporizhia possible.
The Dnieper Rapids were mentioned by ancient Greek writers of the 1st century AD. The first accurate description of them was given in the mid-10th century by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his De administrando Imperio. The rapids were a great hindrance to transportation along the Varangian route. They had to be circumvented by land. The steppe nomads, particularly the Pechenegs, ambushed the caravans of Kyivan Rus' merchants at the rapids. Prince Sviatoslav I Ihorovych died in battle with the Pechenegs near Khortytsia Island in 972. On this island in the 16th century the Zaporozhian Sich (literally: ‘beyond the rapids’) was erected.
Iavornyts'kyi, D. Dniprovi porohy (Kyiv 1928, repr Dnipropetrovske, 1989)
Encyclopedia of Ukraine | <urn:uuid:21af24d4-e54f-4833-9834-4fa9f2c8db21> | {
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Amphibians and Reptiles on the Web
The University of Florida is proud to host two wonderful conferences this spring. Please join us for the 6th.
Online Bibliography of the Herpetofauna of Florida
This bibliography contains over 8,000 citations that reference the herpetofauna of Florida, including scientific publications.
Florida's Imperiled Species
Comprehensive statewide plan that coordinates the responsibilities of government agencies to prevent and manage all.
Florida's Nonnative Species-Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles
Minimizing the impacts nonnative species have on Florida's native fish, wildlife and marine life.
Identification Guide to the Tadpoles of the Southeastern United States Coastal Plain
This field guide is designed as a usable reference for identifying tadpoles of most of the frog species of the Southeastern.
Identification Guide to the Snakes of Florida
This full color, illustrated guide is a "must have" for anyone who spends time outdoors in areas.
Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained
Translations, Common Names, Original Descriptions, Biographies and Mythological References.
The TIGR Reptile Database
This database is intended to provide information on the classification of all living reptiles by listing all species.
Collaborative effort by natural history museums to establish a global network of herpetological collections data.
Amphibian Species of the World 5.3
An Online Reference.
is an online system that provides access to information on amphibian declines, conservation, natural history, and taxonomy.
The Center for North American Herpetology
Promoting the preservation and conservation of North American amphibians, crocodilians, reptiles, & turtles through.
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
SSAR, a not-for-profit organization established to advance research, conservation, and education concerning.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Here you will find information about the journal Copeia, our annual meetings, administration, and more.
The Herpetologists' League, established in 1946, is an international organization of people devoted to studying herpetology.
Crocodile Specialist Group
The Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG) is a worldwide network of biologists, wildlife managers, government officials.
Fort Matanzas National Monument
The Florida Museum of Natural History has conducted herpetofaunal surveys at Fort Matanzas.
Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research
Seeking innovative solutions for sea turtle conservation through research and education.
American Family Physician–Snakebite Management
Venomous snakebites, although uncommon, are a potentially deadly emergency in the United States. | <urn:uuid:239d86a8-79e8-48de-8eec-016b05056f7b> | {
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Researchers Link Sleep Apnea to Silent Strokes
People with severe sleep apnea may have an increased risk of silent strokes and small lesions in the brain, according to a study presented at the 2012 American Stroke Association International Conference.
“We found a surprisingly high frequency of sleep apnea in patients with stroke that underlines its clinical relevance as a stroke factor,” said lead study author Dr. Jessica Kepplinger, in a statement.
“Sleep apnea is widely unrecognizable and still neglected. Patients who had severe sleep apnea were more likely to have silent strokes and the severity of sleep apnea increased the risk of being disabled at hospital discharge,” she explained.
The results showed that 91 percent (51 of 56) of the patients who had a stroke had sleep apnea and were more likely to have silent strokes and white matter lesions that increased risk of disability at hospital discharge.
Researchers also found that having more than five sleep apnea episodes per night was associated with silent strokes, and more than one-third of patients with white matter lesions had severe sleep apnea.
More than 50 percent of silent stroke patients had sleep apnea, and even though men were more likely to have silent infarcts, correlations between sleep apnea and silent infarcts remained the same after adjustment for such gender differences.
Participants used in the study were 67 years of age on average, white, and 54 percent of the women underwent overnight in-hospital-testing for sleep apnea. MRI’s and computerized tomography determined silent strokes and white matter lesions.
The research team believes that the level of concern for sleep apnea should be raised to equal other vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure.
“Demographic characteristics in our study are comparable to western European populations, but our findings may not be entirely generalizable to other populations with diverse ethnicities such as in the U.S.,” Kepplinger said. | <urn:uuid:9c3e3538-d661-4eec-9794-ada883a928ec> | {
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This is the study of human biological variation as it relates to health and disease.
This is the provision of comprehensive diagnostic, management, treatment and counseling services to individuals and their families.
The study of an individual's genome, including interactions of those genes with each other and with the person's environment.
Structure of genome (genes and base pairs), spurred the discovery of over 2500 diseases, advanced the processof disease gene identification, development of over 350 biotechnology products, Human HapMap project and the ELSI research program.
What are some things that came out of the human genome project?
Ethical, LEgal and Social implications research program. It examines ethical, legal and social issues related to the human genome research.
What is the ELSI and what does it do?
Database of human variants using 11 global populations to study genetic factors contributing to variation in response to environmental influences, in susceptibility to infection and the effectiveness of drugs and vaccines.
What is the HapMap project?
Genomic Wide Association Studies which is a rapid scan of the genomes for genetic variants for specific disease-useful to identify variants in complex diseases.
What is the GWAS? | <urn:uuid:9a467eed-aebc-4919-b140-c6097ab54912> | {
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Successful breeding of any type of bird consists of a number of very important steps.If one or more of these stages are missed it will affect the hach rate to a lesser or greater degree.
The beginning of life...
incubator are ideal for growth. Growth of the embryo and bacteria!Your eggs must be collected at least once a day. Your hands must be dry and clean to prevent bacteria spreading through the porous shell & infecting the embryo. Use only the uniform sized egg, discarding dirty, deformed or very small eggs. Do not wash a dirty egg as this dissolves the natural coating on the shell, allowing bacteria to enter the yolk. Discard it. Conditions inside an
Eggs must be kept in a cool room out of sunlight & wind. Between 12 & 25 degrees Celsius is acceptable. The ideal temperature being 12C. Do not refrigerate! The eggs need to be turned a few times a day before incubation starts. Or if you are using one of our egg trays, tilt them at different angles. If you have collected fertile eggs from us or we have shipped them to to you they must be kept for a period of 24 hours to settle before incubating. During this time they must be tilted in their box, in different directions, top facing up. This allows them to "recover" from the vibrations of travel which will lessen hatch-ability. We always include extra eggs at no cost to offset possible losses due to shipping.
Do not keep incubator eggs for longer than between 7 to 10 days maximum as the viability drops off as they age. Those that are a older can be safely used for the table as they are still fresh enough for eating for 3 weeks or longer, depending on storage conditions.The incubator must be disinfected, switched on and set up a few days before the eggs are set. They need to be disinfected just before setting. It is important to buy an avian safe product for this purpose. We can supply it, or it can be purchased from some pet shops or farmers co-op.
A reliable power supply is of the utmost importance. Power failures can wipe out or decimate a whole incubator of eggs! We designed and manufacture "The Power Alert." This little device triggers an alarm when the electricity goes off, allowing you to connect a generator or inverter...No generator? No inverter? No problem...
Totally cover your incubator with blankets, 3 or 4 blankets till the power returns. We have had clients reporting high hatch rates even after more than 6 powerless hours. The humidity rises with the blankets covering the air vents but will normally recover when they are removed, but it is advisable to monitor and adjust if necessary. It is very important to check your incubator settings after a power outage or an electrical storm as these can play havoc with the thermostats or controllers in the unit.
"Help" a chick hatch?
This is a debatable subject with both positive & negative aspects. Large breeding companies will simply discard the piped or half hatched eggs a few days after the due hatching date. Piped is a term used for a chick that starts to break out leaving a little hole in the shell but is too weak to continue the process. Hatching can take many hours and most breeders will tell you that it is a waste of time breaking the shell to help a chick which is anyway too weak to survive. I disagree with this statement, let me explain...Some of these assisted chicks do die and before deciding if you want to go down that road weigh up the pros and cons. These chickens often have parts of their organs outside their bodies. Others are deformed, some are bloody, or the shell is filled with mucus. They are always weak, some dying within minutes of been broken out, others die a few hours or a few days later. Some survive and appear normal but develop skew necks, a result of taking too long to hatch. These have to be culled as the neck carries on twisting with time until its head is facing upward and the bird cannot eat or drink. They can also be stunted, the runts of the litter. These are the negative aspects.Here comes the part I like. You can increase your hatch rate by helping weak chicks exit their shells. Here's how.
When the chicks start hatching they basically come in 2 "waves." The first is the biggest and is also an indication of what is to follow. If the first wave is a big percentage of the total number of eggs the subsequent hatch will be smaller, but the overall hatch rate will be high. The second wave will occasionally come hours later but usually the next day. After the second wave the stragglers will arrive in dribs and drabs. Check for pipped eggs after the first wave and note their position. After the second wave has finished hatching, break the the pipped eggs, carefully ensuring that you tear the membrane with the shell. You might find that this membrane has dried and stuck to the chicks fluff. Do not try to pull this off as it only stresses the chick more and further reduces the possibility of survival. Using scissors cut it off the shell and leave the rest of it on the chick, it will fall off within a few days. Sometimes this dried membrane will cover a wing or neck and prevent normal movement. It then needs to be carefully cut in such a way as to release the trapped limb.
Awwww cute! Those are happy chicks? No. This is not the way to do it!
These half fledged chicks are bunching together in the brooder for warmth. In addition they are hugely overcrowded, plus their feeder is placed too close to the side of the brooder restricting access to their food. Any one of these factors will stress the bird and if conditions persist it can lead to a compromised immune systems, stunting and general weakness.
It is safe to stop turning the eggs 2 days before due hatch date. Turning till hatch day – day 16 for quails or day 21 for chickens (We can give you other species hatch times if needed) will not harm the unborn embryo. The eggs can also be removed from the incubator at this time and put in a hatcher if one is available. Open the incubator as little as possible. This is especially important when the chicks are hatching and one is tempted to see how they are progressing! Instead take them out once or twice a day in batches. This delay will not harm the chick as they still have enough nutrients in their bodies to sustain them for many hours after hatching.
When dry place them in the brooder, reducing the temperature gradually from around the 4th or 5th day. Spread some starter mash lightly all over the floor for the first few days to encourage eating then introduce the feeders to reduce wastage. A contented chick will run around actively eating and drinking happily, if they start bunching up together in a corner they are cold, if this condition continues unchecked the weaker chicks with be trampled and smothered. If they move to the sides of the brooder, away from the heat source they are too hot. Once fully fledged (between 3 & 4 weeks) the heating elements can be turned off and they can be moved to a permanent cage. A few words of caution...
They are very vulnerable to weather changes at this age especially in the winter months. It is a good practice to hang one of our infra red heating lights in one section of their cage during cold spells and especially at night time.
Never place chicks of different ages in the same brooder. This can spread disease to the younger ones that the older birds are immune to, plus the older chicks will trample them and dominate the feed containers thus forcing the younger chicks to go hungry.
Do not place newly hatched chicks on a smooth surface like a brooder floor without litter, as this causes splayed legs which is an irreversible condition.
It is very important to remember that like the incubator, the brooder, feeders and water containers must be washed with soap and water then disinfected thoroughly before the arrival of new chicks. It is also a good practice to leave these items in the sun for a day or two as sunlight kills bacteria too.
Greens are readily accepted by both quail and chickens and are especially important to our guinea fowl as they form a major part of their natural diet. Greens are an excellent source of additional nutrients and can reduce your feed bill too. Lawn grass is excellent and readily available, but pull it up by hand and feed it to them, don't use mowed grass as this is heated & wilts almost immediately Fresh leafy vegetable trimmings can usually be obtained free from green grocers, food processing businesses and our kitchen cuttings. The farmers among us can utilize crops like Lucerne and wheat, fresh or dry, or even the sweepings off the floor from storage sheds housing these products. Wild grass, especially when seeded is readily accepted as a feed supplement by both chicks and adult birds. Bulks up your compost heap too.
Fresh litter, feed & water must be put in the brooder a few hours before placing the chicks to allow the heat to build up to the required temperature. It is advisable to use a quality digital thermometer to set the correct temperature for the hatchlings. (Please go to our products page)
If you choose to use wood products as litter, make sure it is wood shavings and not sawdust, as this dust can cause respiratory problems in your chickens. Care must be taken not to allow the litter to get wet. Overstocking brooders, or spillage from drinking fonts, or incorrect water containers are usually the main culprits. The litter starts to smell which attracts flies. Bacteria develops and ammonia forms. A recipe for disaster! The ammonia fumes can quickly affect the birds lungs and sinuses stunting the chicks growth and development and causing a range of diseases throughout the flock.
Please be very aware that wet or even damp litter will generate heat. This heat in the confines of a brooder or badly ventilated chicken shed can kill chicks and even fully grown birds more effectively than all the above conditions collectively!
The used litter, whether chicken or quail is a cash bonus to your enterprise many breeders overlook. It is one of the finest fertilizers for agricultural use and highly sought after by farmers, nurseries and flower growers. It is either spread directly onto pastures or lawns or added to a compost heap which then acts as an accelerator breaking down the vegetable matter and enhancing the quality of the compost. A word of warning, never add "raw" litter directly to a vegetable or any garden as this will burn the plants & kill them. Instead spread it thinly in full sunlight for a few weeks till dry & "cured"
Quail & chicken litter is also used to feed pigs. Another bonus to breeders!
One of South Africa's leading agricultural magazines recently published a study showing that free range chickens reduced the fly population on a cattle feed-lot by an amazing 80% Makes one think, doesn't it?
You are more than welcome to contact us for assistance with pipped eggs or indeed any other aspect of raising quail, guinea fowl, show chickens or laying hens. | <urn:uuid:116bef59-1ffd-4e4a-82c2-4893252ae18e> | {
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Strange New Worlds: Our Place in the Milky Way Galaxy
By Inge Heyer - June 18, 2013
Our Place in the Milky Way Galaxy
If a solar system is like a home village, then a galaxy is like a very large home country. Our Sun and its collection of planets and other assorted celestial bodies is just a very small part of a much larger assembly of many such systems, bound by gravity and orbiting around the center of this large mass. It is a system of circles within circles. Our planets go around the Sun, the Sun goes around the Galactic Center, and the Milky Way in turn orbits the center of the local cluster of galaxies.
In our time we have barely begun to explore our village. We’ve been to the Moon (the little side street next door), but that’s it so far. In Star Trek’s time we have visited other villages and started to map out some provinces. But even Archer, Kirk, Picard, and Sisko and their crews have not yet seen much outside their local few provinces. Janeway & Co. were further away than anyone else from our neck of the woods, but on their way home they mostly explored what was in their path.
In order to figure out the shape and content of our Milky Way, we need to be able to visualize the whole Galaxy, and we need to determine where we are in respect to everything else. When you look up at the sky on a clear night, you see a dense band of stars and darker stuff. That is the disk of our Milky Way. As it turns out, we are inside this disk, so when we look along the disk, we see a much denser assembly of stars and clouds (the darker stuff). When we look away from the disk, towards Galactic North or Galactic South, we see some stars of our Milky Way, but also see the distant galaxies in intergalactic space.
Our Solar System and all the worlds we will know in Star Trek’s time are in this disk of the Milky Way. We can imagine our galaxy like two soup plates stuck together, the bulge in the middle is the bulge, and the outer flatter part is the disk.
Figure 1. The Milky Way side view. Credit: Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network.
Figure 2: The Milky Way disk in Star Trek’s time. Credit: Ex Astris Scientia.
So, how do astronomers (in our and any other time) figure out what our galaxy looks like? The shape of other galaxies seems obvious, but that’s because we’re looking at them from the outside, and we can see the whole thing. In the case of the Milky Way, we’re stuck inside. We need to be able to look through a lot of the clouds and dense stuff to discern the structure.
What stuff you can see through depends on the relationship between the sizes of the atoms and dust particles you’re trying to look through and the wavelength you are using. The light our eyes can see, the visual wavelengths, are fairly short (400 to 700 nanometers). A lot of the stuff in the clouds is bigger than that, so we can’t see through these clouds easily. Therefore we need to use longer wavelengths, for example infrared (somewhat longer than visual) or radio (a lot longer than visual) wavelengths.
Using radio astronomy observations from various facilities we have previously figured out what our Milky Way looks like inside, that it is a spiral galaxy with multiple arms, and that our Sun is located in the disk, about halfway to two-thirds out from the core, in between two major spiral arms of the galaxy, the Sagittarius Arm and the Perseus Arm. The former is further inward, the latter further outward from the Galactic core.
Today we use multiple coordinated radio telescopes, such as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to figure out more details about our Milky Way. The VLBA uses ten 25-meter-diameter radio antennas located all the way from Hawaii to St. Croix in the Caribbean in order to achieve very high precision in their measurements. Recently, astronomers using the VLBA have determined that we in our Solar System do not just reside in some minor local skinny arm of the Galaxy, but that the local arm is almost as prominent as the Sagittarius and Perseus Arms. This might mean that we are in a denser region of the Galaxy than we thought, it might also mean, that in Star Trek’s time, there are likely more worlds closer to us, and that we are not such a backwater place after all. The Federation might be a lot busier than we imagined.
Figures 3 and 4: former (left) and new (right) view of the Milky Way and our place in it. Credit: Robert Hurt, IPAC; Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF.
While contemplating this issue, something related popped into my head. Given that we today can use longer wavelengths to see through clouds of gas and dust in galaxies, I’ve always wondered why starship captains think that they can hide from other ships inside clouds. There are a few cases in Star Trek lore that come to mind. Why not just tune your main sensor to longer wavelenghts and presto, no more hide and seek. But that’s a topic for another time.
Here are a few links if you’d like to know more about this topic.
The NRAO announcement on “Earth’s Milky Way Neighborhood Gets More Respect”:
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network:
Ex Astris Scientia:
If you are interested in hearing more about the latest discoveries in the physical sciences and technology in a fannish setting, come visit us at Shore Leave this coming August. This fan-run convention features over 12 hours of science programming, in addition of course to all the usual con activities. For more information please visit http://www.shore-leave.com.
This content is:
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- What is a Social Enterprise?
A social enterprise is an organization with two primary and interlinked goals: to generate revenue, and to achieve positive social or environmental outcomes. In attempting to balance profit generation with social goals, a social enterprise straddles the private and volunteer sectors.1
The social enterprise sector has been growing globally in prominence and size, and may be changing the way business and philanthropy operate. Forbes observes that philanthropy has traditionally been dominated by wealthy men, but social entrepreneurship is well-suited to those who prioritize an interconnected view of the world, where economic considerations are balanced with the well-being of communities. Women are highly visible in social enterprises, attaining leadership positions twice as often in these, compared to traditional businesses.2
Many women-led social enterprises contribute significantly to the social and economic performance of their countries as they work with hundreds – in some cases thousands – of people, providing fair wages, healthcare and educational support, as well as local environmental protection measures.
Social Enterprises in Emerging Economies
In emerging economies, social enterprises are battling environmental and social problems with an eye to long-term sustainability. International donors, governments and non-profit organizations play a vital role in providing education, health services, environmental support and countless other essential services. These efforts have improved the quality of people’s lives enormously: global extreme poverty has dropped by more than two-thirds since 1990; 92 percent of children worldwide now complete primary school; and 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved water sources since 1990.3 However, much work remains to be done to support vulnerable households, protect fragile environments and increase global food security.
Social enterprises tackle community-level problems, while simultaneously generating the income with which to address these issues – a sort of social and economic yin-yang, where the profit motive is intertwined with solving a social crisis. Social enterprises redirect profit into improving lives, creating a virtuous cycle.
Craft & Natural Cosmetics: Impact Sectors for Women
MEDA recently released a paper, in cooperation with Trade + Impact, on women-led social enterprises in the craft and natural cosmetics sectors.
These two sectors are extremely important for women in emerging economies because of the current and future opportunities they offer. Both sectors are large, employing enormous numbers of women. The craft sector, focusing on local craftsmanship and materials, is estimated to be the second largest employer in the developing world after agriculture.4 In India alone, artisanal fashion – weaving and textiles – employs an estimated 34.5 million artisans.5
Though definitions vary, natural cosmetics generally include those made from naturally occurring materials, with minimal processing. Argan oil from Morocco, marula oil from southern Africa and moringa, native to India and now found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, are becoming mainstays of the natural cosmetics industry. Approximately 16 million women in rural East and West Africa work in the shea industry alone.6 Despite the scale of the industries, however, craft and natural cosmetics businesses are seldom recognized as drivers of economic growth.
Read more about some of the remarkable women running craft and natural cosmetic social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East here:
Their Stories - Women Led Social Entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East
Check out the Trade + Impact website here
1 Adapted from Investopedia
2 Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown, “Can Women Lead The Social Enterprise Revolution?” Forbes, October 17, 2013.
3 The World Bank Group. World Development Indicators, 2016.
4 The Aspen Institute Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, Annual Impact Report 2014
5 Rahul Mishra, “Business of Fashion” September 2014
6 Sharon Kellman Yett, “USAID Helps the Shea Industry Grow” March 2015 | <urn:uuid:e76689d6-184b-4952-95c7-728da597ab6f> | {
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noun (plural same)
- 1A member of the largest ethnic group of Burma (Myanmar) in Southeast Asia.More example sentences
- Ethnic Burmese form the majority at 67.4%, and the remainder includes the Shans, Rakhines, Mons, Chins, Kachins and the Kayahs.
- The name of the country of Burma (or Myanmar, as it is now officially known) is associated with the dominant ethnic group, the Burmese.
- They established kingdoms and expanded their territory, often in conflict with other ethnic groups such as the Burmese (Burman).
- 2A native or inhabitant of Burma.More example sentences
- I tried to tell her that she upheld the only force, apart from fear and greed, strong enough to bind the diverse Burmese into one nation.
- This Burmese gets his supplies from a member of the Karen hill tribes.
- There are more than 125 separate ethnic groups represented by the Burmese.
- 3The Tibeto-Burman language of the Burmese, written in an alphabet derived from that of Pali, and the official language of Burma.More example sentences
- The Pali alphabet used for written Burmese is made up of eight vowels, three diphthongs, 32 consonants, and several tones.
- They constitute three linguistic families, Tibeto-Burman, Mon-Khmer, and Tai, although today Burmese is written and spoken by most.
- In Singapore, a police spokesman said Thursday the letter, which was written in Burmese, contained a low-grade bomb detonator.
- 4 (also Burmese cat) A cat of a short-haired breed originating in Asia.More example sentences
- Thus, Exotic shorthairs, a Burmese or two, and even the occasional Persians can be found among the topmost branches in the family trees of many Scottish folds.
- She settled on Burmese and Abyssinians but has bred everything from Somalis to Tonkanese.
- My first flat was a household that varied between four and five people; trying to keep our waste down to one bag a week was a challenge, despite the compost heap we built and two Burmese cats who would eat pretty much everything we offered.
adjectiveBack to top
- Relating to Burma, its people, or their language.More example sentences
- After a lovely dinner last week with my parents at a great little Burmese restaurant.
- Patton has also been studying the Burmese language with a community of monks around Harvard and is a member of the Buddhist Community there.
- The logbook also contains a detailed account of an 1853 encounter in the Irrawaady River area of Burma with Burmese insurgents fighting British power.
More definitions of BurmeseDefinition of Burmese in:
- The British & World English dictionary | <urn:uuid:3edd48ac-6dab-48d6-897d-a6aecf925729> | {
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Football and soccer moms ask me all of the time: “Is it better to use heat or ice for an injury?” This is an age-old argument; in short, ice is the best treatment for acute post-exercise recovery and inflammation treatment. Let’s examine some general physiological effects/benefits of using ice treatment.
Applying ice after exercise or an injury to joints or sore muscles relieves pain by temporarily decreasing nerve conduction. Ice provides an analgesic effect when applied for 10-20 minutes.
Reduces swelling and inflammation
Applying ice can reduce swelling by reducing the blood flow and metabolic processes that are present during an inflammatory response produced by exercise or an acute injury.
Reduces muscle spasm
For similar physiological reasons, decreased muscle spasm and guarding is a benefit of using ice.
Promotes quicker healing
Studies have indicated that using ice within 36 hours after an acute injury was statistically better than using heat. One study indicated that those who applied ice within 36 hours of an injury returned to full activity in 13.2 days as compared to 33.3 days for those who applied heat.
After rigorous exercise, many elite athletes seek out ice baths for its therapeutic relief.
There are a few general precautions and contraindications to ice. Using ice treatment should be avoided if any of the conditions below are present.
- Cold intolerance/hypersensitivity (urticaria)
- Circulatory impairments
- Impaired sensation (present in many people with diabetes)
After an injury, remember the acronym R.I.C.E.: rest, ice compression, and elevation.
- Rest Stop using the injured body for two days. Continued use could cause even more damage.
- Ice Apply an ice pack covered with a lightweight cloth or thick paper towel on the area for 10-20 minutes at a time. Longer periods of ice application can cause tissue damage. Repeat 4-8 times during each 24-hour period.
- Compression Apply an elastic bandage, brace or compression garment when possible to reduce the swelling, but be sure to check often for any unwanted tightness that swelling may cause. If the area throbs, tingles, becomes numb, turns purple or unusually white, this means your bandage is probably too tight.
- Elevation In general, keep the injured area above the level of the heart. Hands and arms are easy to elevate. Foot injuries might be more confining because the person is expected to stay off it and keep it up. But with leg injuries, the person should lie down with at least two pillows under the leg.
Unfortunately, most patients hate this restriction due to feeling confining, awkward, and uncomfortable. Greater damage can occur when a R.I.C.E. routine is not adhered to when advised by a medical provider.
Be sure to seek medical attention from your healthcare provider to rule out any serious injury and plan a proper course of treatment. | <urn:uuid:590a94a3-5180-464a-bb4f-fa0e9202fc9d> | {
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Schools around the UK are to be given 15,000 free microcomputers, with a view to creating a new generation of computer scientists.
BBC News reported that funded by Google, the Raspberry Pi Foundation hopes the free devices will inspire children to take up coding.
The pared-down Raspberry Pi, launched a year ago, is already a huge success. There are concerns current information and communications technology (ICT) teaching is inadequate preparation for the future jobs in technology.
The partnership was announced at Chesterton Community College in Cambridge, where children were given a coding lesson by Google's chairman Eric Schmidt and Raspberry Pi co-founder, Eben Upton.
"We hope that our new partnership with Google will be a significant moment in the development of computing education in the UK. We believe that this can turn around the year-on-year decline in the numbers and skill sets of students applying to read computer science at university," said Upton
The Raspberry Pi has a growing number of rivals.
For hobbyists there is Julian Skidmore's 8-bit Fignition that costs about the same as a Pi.
Slightly pricier, but not by much, are the APC from VIA, Rikomagic's MK802 and RK3066, the BeagleBoard, the Mele A1000 and the Hiapad Hi-802. Alongside these are more expensive products such as FXI's Cotton Candy Android computer, Intel's Next Unit of Computing, Xi3's Piston and Zotac's ZBOX.
These cost a good deal more than a Pi, upwards of £150, and aim to be a fully featured computer.
Other manufacturers are getting into the puny PC game though their devices are not as malleable as a Pi. Favi's computer on a USB stick acts as a media server. Dell is doing something similar with Project Ophelia which will do some work locally but shunt the hard stuff to the cloud.
Over the past decade, the number of people studying computer science in the UK dropped by 23 per cent at undergraduate level and by 34 per cent at graduate level.
The Raspberry Pi may not look pretty but it has inspired many innovations to help ensure teachers and children get the best out of the devices, Google and Raspberry Pi are working with six educational partners, including Code Club, Computing at School, Generating Genius and Coderdojo. They will distribute the devices to schools around the UK.
In the past Mr Schmidt has said ICT teaching in the UK puts too much emphasis on using, rather than creating, software.
Announcing Google's Raspberry Pi giveaway, on Tuesday, he said: "Britain's innovators and entrepreneurs have changed the world – the telephone, television and computers were all invented here.
"We have been working to encourage the next generation of computer scientists and we hope this donation... to British school pupils will help drive a new wave of innovation."
Google is also sponsoring ICT teacher training via a scheme in conjunction with the Teach First charity. It has led some critics to question whether large corporations such as Google should take on such a role.
"Schools are increasingly being used as marketing venues by companies promoting their own brands in return for teaching resources, books,
sports equipment or computers," said a National Union of Teachers representative.
"Commercial sponsorship of school resources and equipment and their involvement in training can actively undermine teachers' efforts to educate children about the dangers of manipulation and commercial exploitation,"
Rival Microsoft has also called for a shake-up of how computer science is taught in the UK.
"Computer science is something that we have been calling the 'fourth science' for some time. We believe that it is every bit as important as physics, chemistry and biology," said Steve Beswick, director of education at Microsoft. "By formally introducing children to computer science basics at primary school, we stand a far greater chance of increasing the numbers taking the subject through to degree level and ultimately the
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Nanda Devi National Park
Nanda Devi National Park, spread over 630 sq. kms. of area in the
vicinity of Nanda Devi Peak (25, 675 ft./7816 mts), India's second
highest mountain has a unique combination of flora and fauna.
park was established in 1980 and includes some of the highest mountain
peaks of the western Himalayas.
faunal species here include snow leopard, brown and Himalayan black
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Create a Spiral Telephone Cord From Scratch With Photoshop
Given the right tools, Photoshop can make just about any task easy. Today’s tutorial will demonstrate how to create a still life telephone scene from scratch using the smudge tool. Let’s get started!
Create a new document (2100 px x 1300 px) and add a gradient as shown. Next, create a new layer called "Sketch" and draw a simple phone scene. It is important to rough out the path for the spring cord, as we will use this as a guide in the next step.
The first thing we'll create is the spring cord for the phone. We'll use a technique involving the Smudge Tool to do this. To begin, use the Pen Tool (P) to create a spiral path, using the sketch as a guide. Since we are just creating a path, it doesn’t matter which layer is selected. As you might tell, drawing a path this complex without any guides can easily produce some unrealistic results. Note: If your path goes off screen, it may ruin the effect. It is better to create a path completely within the canvas, and then move it to a desired location after step 5.
For this next effect to work properly, we need to move the path so that it is completely within the canvas.
Now, before we create the actual cord, we are going to create a test cord so we can see how this technique works: Create a new group called "Spring Cord" with a layer inside called "Color Test." On this layer, create a box and color it as shown. Rotate and position the box so that it is over the end point, perpendicular to the path.
Create a new layer called "Cord Test" and select the Smudge Tool with the setting shown below. Now, go to the Paths Panel and select the path we created in step 2. Right Click and select Stroke Path using the Smudge Tool. As you can see, the colors from the box appear to be 'extruded' along the path. We can now use this color test to help us create the actual cord.
On a new layer called "Shade Box", create a new box (just like we did with the color test) and fill it with a light gray. Now that we know how the colors on the box are translated along the path, we can use the dodge and burn tools to add some shading to the gray box (feel free to experiment with different shadings). Now, create a new layer called "Cord" and, using the Paths Panel, add a Stroke Path just like we did in Step 4. The outcome is similar to a rail extrude effect seen in 3d software.
Now, move this cord back in to position according to our sketch.
We now have the spring cord for our phone, but it looks a little flat. To fix this, make a copy (Cmd/Ctrl + J) of this layer and apply the Filter > Artistic > Plastic Wrap filter. The filter may produce some areas with undesirable results; simply use the Eraser Tool (E) to make these go away. When you're finished, merge these two layers.
With the merged "Cord" layer selected, add a new Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and make the adjustments as shown. Clip (Alt + Click) this layer to the "Cord" layer.
On a new layer, use a small white brush to add dots to the top of each coil. Use the smudge tool with the settings shown to smudge each dot to resemble highlights. We are done with the cord. This technique can be used for many things, especially for creative typography.
Next, we'll move on to the phone's receiver, to start, create a group/layer hierarchy as shown. Use the Pen Tool to draw in the shape of the mouthpiece, with your sketch as a guide.
On the "Mouth Piece" layer, select the mouthpiece path (from the Paths Panel) and fill with a dark gray. Now, we could dodge and burn this layer to add some 3D perspective, but instead, we'll use another method. Start by adding a Bevel and Emboss to this layer. Next, make a copy (Cmd/Ctrl + J) of the layer "Mouth Piece" and decrease the amount of Bevel and Emboss. When you're done, nudge the layer to offset it slightly.
Now, we want to merge the layer styles to their respective layers. To do this, right click on each layer's "Effects" and select "Create Layers" from the dropdown to convert the layer styles into their own layers. Now merge the separated effects with their original layers.
Now we can clip (Alt + Click) the "Mouth Piece copy" layer to the one below. Add a layer mask to mask out the visible edges created by the two overlapping layers so it appears as one solid piece.
Create a new layer and add a black-to-white gradient. Set the Blending Mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 20%. Clip this layer to the "Mouth Piece" layer.
Create a new layer called "Noise" and fill with white. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise, and use the following settings. Set the Blending Mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 5%. Clip this layer to the "Mouth Piece" layer.
Create a new layer called "Indent." Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create a circle and fill it with a dark gray. Transform (Cmd/Ctrl + T) this layer to match the perspective of the mouthpiece. To make the indentation effect for the mouthpiece, add the following Layer Styles to the "Indent" layer.
On a new layer called "Highlight", use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create a shape similar to the one shown below and fill with white. Edit > Transform > Warp this layer to follow the indentation effect. Clip this to the "Indent" layer and give this layer a Gaussian Blur of 9.0 px and set its Opacity to 4%. Add a noise layer like we did in step 14.
To create the holes for the receiver, add a new layer called "Holes" and use a black brush to add dots with varying sizes in a grid pattern. It may help to create a template grid to guide you. Warp the dots just like we did with the "Highlights" layer and add the following Layer Styles to give depth to the holes.
Now it's time to move on to the rest of the phone. Create a layer called "Body" inside the "Body" group and use the Pen Tool (P) to draw the shape of the rest of the phone. Fill this shape with a dark gray.
Since most of this phone will be blurred (which we will add later), we aren't going to spend too much time adding detail. To begin, create a new layer called "Shading" and use the Brush Tool (B) to paint on some shadows and highlights by sampling the colors from the mouthpiece. Make this a clipping layer.
Create a new layer called "Highlights". With a white brush, draw in highlights on the edges of the phone. Add a Gaussian Blur of 9.5%. Change the layer's Blending Mode to Screen and its Opacity to 56%. Make this a clipping layer and add a noise layer (refer to step 14).
To make the cord appear to go into the phone, create a new layer called "Hole" in between the "Phone" and "Spring Cord" groups (make sure to move the "Spring Cord" group in front of the "Phone" group). Use the elliptical marquee tool to create an oval and fill with black. Add the following Layer Style. Add a layer mask to the "Spring Cord" group to mask out the end of the cord so that it appears to go inside the phone.
Looking at the phone again, I notice that the mouthpiece needs a little work on the edges where it meets the phone's body. Go back in to the "Mouth Piece " group and find the "Mouth Piece" layer and duplicate it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl + J (this should preserve all of our clipping layers). Now, select the original "Mouth Piece" layer and add the following Layer Styles. Nudge this layer up and to the left until it looks good.
Now that the phone and cord are complete, we need to add some shadows. The first shadow will be on the cord where it enters in to the phone. Go back in to the "Spring Cord" group and create a new layer called "Shadow" above the Adjustment Layer. Use a black brush to paint in a shadow that the phone receiver would cast on the cord. Make this a clipping layer and adjust the opacity as necessary.
Create a new layer called "Ambient Shadows" as shown. Using a black brush, paint in the areas where the spiral cord and the phone receiver may be in contact with the ground. Add a Filter > Blur > Motion Blur with a distance of 35 px at 90 degrees and then add a Gaussian Blur of 8.5 px. Set this layer's Blending Mode to multiply and its Opacity to 62%.
Create a new layer called "Direct Shadows" and paint in shadows that might be casted on the ground plane. Give this layer a subtle Gaussian Blur (1.0 px or less) and adjust the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 63%.
To finish the image, I want to add a depth-of-field effect. To do this, I am going to use the Lens Blur filter but, before we open it, we need to do some setup. Go ahead and merge the entire scene to a new layer and position it at the top of the stack and name it "Lens Blur". This layer will be the layer that we apply the lens blur effect to.
We want to make use of the Lens Blur filter's ability to use a custom alpha map. To begin our alpha map, merge the "Phone" and "Spring Cord" groups together on a new layer called "Phone and Cord" and place at the top of the layer stack. Use the Levels (Cmd/Ctrl + L) to adjust this new layer to a medium gray.
Create a new layer above the "Lens Blur" layer and add a Reflected Gradient as shown. The lighter band will be the focal point for the Lens Blur effect. Therefore, the darker the color, the more the blur. Using this theory, we will apply whiter areas and darker areas to the "Phone and Cord" layer with the Dodge and Burn Tools.
Merge the two layers we worked on and copy and paste this layer in to a new channel in the Channels Panel. This should automatically be named "Alpha 1."
Hide the layer we were just working on and, with the "Lens Blur" layer selected, add Filter > Blur > Lens Blur with the following settings. This is where we will add our alpha map to influence the blur.
Make some tweaks if necessary. I gave the image a very subtle blue tint. | <urn:uuid:9450e3b5-62e3-4e12-92d2-a8c748d064b5> | {
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2009-08-03MARYVILLE, MO | By: Wayman
Those like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are carried through ticks, which is why experts are issuing warnings to watch out for the insect.
Doctor Dennis O-conner is an infectious disease specialist in Missouri and says if someone gets sick, it's important to tell the doctor about tick exposure.
Tick-borne diseases occur slightly more often in males. | <urn:uuid:03289c9e-bed5-475a-a14a-701ea19f0dcd> | {
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Controlled Impedance Designs
INTRODUCTION TO IMPEDANCE CONTROL
In today’s world of high-speed digital systems with clock edge rates commonly approaching 10 Gbps and analog frequencies above the 5-10 GHz range, copper trace interconnects on printed circuit boards (PCBs) must be considered as transmission lines. Transmission lines are electronic interconnects that distribute high-speed digital signals over copper media, and these lines must be controlled by the PCB designer.
The critical parameter is the characteristic impedance of the PCB trace, which is the ratio of a voltage to the current of a waveform moving along the trace.
This voltage to current ratio is a function of frequency and a function of the physical geometries of the transmission line and its relationship to surrounding dielectric properties.
MATCHING TRANSMISSION LINES TO DEVICE IMPEDANCE
Electrical components possess certain characteristic impedance values, which will vary depending on the logic family. The designer’s responsibility is to match the impedance of the component’s load and source requirements with that of the interconnecting PCB traces.
To achieve maximum signal transfer from a source (sending unit) to a load (receiving unit), the PCB trace impedance must match the output impedance of the source to the input or load.
If the impedance of the PCB trace connecting two components does not match the components’ characteristic impedance, multiple waveform reflections will occur on the signal line before the load device can settle into a new logic state.
This will result in increased switching times within the device or the circuit and produce random errors. The circuit design engineer and PCB designer must carefully select a nominal value and tolerance of trace impedance. Tolerances of 10% or less are not uncommon for high-speed applications.
CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE OF A PCB TRACE
The characteristic impedance of a PCB trace is typically determined by its inductive and capacitive reactance, resistance, and conductance. These parameters will be a function of the physical dimensions of the trace, the dielectric constant of the PCB substrate material, and dielectric thickness. PCB trace impedance can range from
25 to 120 ohms.
PCB transmission lines consist of a copper trace conductor, reference copper ground or power plane layers, and dielectric substrate. The relationship between the copper trace conductor layers and the reference plane layers (where the signal return path flows) form the controlled impedance structure and because of this structure, most controlled impedance PCBs will be multilayer structures.
The impedance value generated from the PCB structure will be determined by the following parameters:
- width and thickness of the copper signal trace
- thickness of the core or prepreg material on either side of the copper trace
- dielectric constant of the core and prepreg material
TYPES OF TRANSMISSION LINES
Single-ended transmission lines are the most common way to connect two devices. This case is where a single conductor or PCB trace connects the source of one component to the load of another. There must be a reference or ground plane on the adjacent layer in order to provide a signal return path. Controlled impedance designs are usually produced with microstrip, embedded microstrip, stripline, or dual asymmetrical stripline configurations.
Differential configurations of transmission lines are used when better noise immunity and improved timing are required in critical applications. Typical configurations will have a balanced line where the signal and return paths have similar geometry. There are two modes of differential configuration: even and odd mode.
Even mode is where the same signal is sent through both lines and there is no return path.
For this configuration, the electrical field lines are directed toward ground with no coupling to each other.
Odd mode is where the signals are sent in a complementary form and the signals are actually mirrored so that the voltage and current flows are opposite. The electrical fields are coupled together along the surface between the two adjacent signals. With the voltage reversed, the electric fields will originate with one line and terminate with the other.
This is the differential form of signal transmission and results in good coupling.
Surface microstrip configurations are designed on the outer layers of the PCB. The external trace is referenced to the adjacent internal plane layer. The width and thickness of the trace are difficult to control due to plating current density
variations at panel plate and copper etch variations These plating and etch differences can cause significant impedance variations. Typically there is a soldermask layer applied over the traces.
Embedded microstrip configurations are similar to surface microstrips but will have an additional layer of laminate over the microstrip trace and may have soldermask over the laminate. This configuration references a single internal plane layer and is much more predictable due to the lack of copper plating.
Stripline configurations are designed on the internal layers of the PCB with a single trace centered between adjacent reference plane layers. Due to the symmetry of the trace in the z-axis, there is enhanced predictability. This configuration is
the most immune to crosstalk and EMI because of the adjacent plane layers. The use of this configuration will increase the number of layers in the PCB and typically increase overall board thickness per layer.
Asymmetrical stripline configurations are designed on internal layers of the PCB similar to stripline. However, there are two trace layers separated by a layer of laminate material and centered between two adjacent plane layers. This configuration has each trace layer referencing two planes, provides for low impedance variation, and will help reduce board thickness per signal layer. To aid in noise immunity and minimize crosstalk with this configuration, a routing bias of horizontal and vertical traces should be used.
Impedance measurements are usually made with a Time Domain Reflectometer or TDR. The TDR applies a fast voltage step to the coupon through a controlled impedance cable and probe. Any reflections in the pulse waveform are displayed on the TDR and indicate a change in impedance value (this is known as a discontinuity). The TDR is able to indicate the location and scale of discontinuity.
USING COUPONS TO TEST CONTROLLED IMPEDANCE BOARDS
The performance of a PCB with controlled impedance circuitry is directly dependent on the accuracy of the controlled impedance traces and their reference coupon. Since the accuracy of the controlled impedance trace is dependent on a number of factors including copper thickness, trace width, dielectric thickness and constants, it is critical that these factors be controlled and verified by the fabricator. It is also critical that these factors be designed into a standard medium that will allow for integrity testing of the controlled impedance circuitry prior to high-volume production.
It is a common practice to perform TDR testing of controlled impedance boards, usually required as the acceptance criterion by the customer. Viasystems utilizes a 1% AQL sample plan. Any failures from this plan will generate a 100% test requirement.
With any testing requirement there will be difficulty in accessing the controlled impedance trace for verification.
There may be an option of adding test pads on the board, but this may affect the performance of the trace and occupy valuable routing space. Separation within the plane layers or split planes can raise issues with the accuracy of the impedance testing. Actual PCB traces are typically shorter and include branches to circuitry and to vias between layers.
This can affect the integrity of testing impedance-controlled traces within the actual circuitry of the board.
With these factors affecting the measurement accuracy of the actual circuitry, it is common practice for the PCB manufacturer to generate impedance test coupons. These coupons represent the circuitry designed within the board, but are controlled to known trace lengths, which the impedance formulas are generated from.
The test coupons are typically small PCB’s with trace lengths at a minimum of 152.4mm (six inches). The coupons are processed under the same controls as the main PCB. The TDR testing is then performed on the coupon and the impedance data can be correlated back to the feature size and processing parameters.
Another option used by some designers on very large board images is to incorporate a test coupon or test traces internal to the board image. It is imperative that these internal coupons or test traces adhere to the test coupon description below. This is to ensure ease of testing and result in accurate measurements.
TEST COUPON DESCRIPTION
The impedance test coupons are actually small PCBs on the same manufacturing panel as the main board itself. They are typically one inch wide by eight inches in length (depending on the number of layers requiring TDR testing in the design) and include traces of the same width and copper weight as the main PCB. The hole size and patterns are critical to ensure accurate testing with standard SMA probe heads used by most TDR manufacturers. See Figure 1.
See .pdf file for full article with illustrations.
The coupon will be located on the manufacturing panel in a position to best represent board conditions for etching, plating, lamination, and surface finishes. The coupon is also positioned on the panel to best represent consistency across the entire manufacturing panel. When the artwork data is generated for the controlled impedance traces, the same aperture or ‘D’ codes used on the main board are also used on the coupon. See Figure 2.
See .pdf file for full article with illustrations.
CROSS-SECTION OF IMPEDANCE TEST COUPON
This cross-section diagram demonstrates an impedance test coupon for a board with two surface microstrip traces and two internal stripline traces. The reference planes are interconnected with plated through hole vias.
The two surface microstrip traces are formed on layers 1 and 8, with reference planes on layers 2 and 5 respectively. The two stripline layers are formed on layers 3 and 6 with reference planes on layers 2 and 4, along with reference plane layers 5 and 7 respectively. See Figure 3.
See .pdf file for full article with illustrations. | <urn:uuid:3fd2b987-e53e-48f3-8bb3-9be11c1cfb9e> | {
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Time to Move On: Religion Has Cost Too MuchThe Causes of Fundamentalism, Intolerance and Extremism in World Religions, and Some SolutionsReligion, Violence, Crime and Mass SuicideDo We Need Religion to Have Good Morals?Christian Moral Theory and Morality in Action: Biblical Morals and Social DisasterGrowing Fundamentalism in Islam: How Moderates are Subjugated by Muslim Hardliners
Many theists have argued that "without God there can be no ultimate right and wrong"2 and that society cannot manage without religion3. Karen Armstrong, who is often criticized for romanticising religion, says that "we need myths that will help us to identify with all our fellow-beings [and] that help us to realise the importance of compassion, which is not always regarded [sufficiently ...] in our pragmatic, rational world"4. Unfortunately the statistics are not in favour of the proponents of the moral worth of religious myths. The most unstable, violent, intolerant countries with the worst human rights records, are all highly religious.
The Social and Moral Development Index is a formulaic aggregation of many factors. It concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: "What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" by Vexen Crabtree (2013). The graph here shows clearly that social and moral development is at its highest in countries that are the least religious. As religiosity increases, each country suffers from more and more conflicts with human rights, more problems with tolerance of minorities and religious freedom, and problems with gender equality. Although it could be argued that the correlation is only coincidental, this at least is powerful evidence against the idea that religion is required for societal moral health.
There is one interesting pulldown in the curve along the horizontal positions inbetween the 55% and 25% rate of religiosity. This is caused by a clutch of countries that have both medium levels of social and moral development, yet are also not particularly religious. They are all ex-communist nations, where religion was supressed and development has poor.
“The empirical evidence does not support the widespread assertion that religion is especially beneficial to society as a whole. [...] It is not clear how society is any better off than it would have been had the idea of gods and spirits never evolved.”
"God, the Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist"
Prof. Victor J. Stenger (2007)6
The graph (right) clearly shows the negative association between religion and gender bias. None of the most equal countries are highly religious, and, all of the horribly inequal countries (scoring worse than 0.4 on the index) are highly religious.
For more, see:
Aside from measurable issues of morality and tolerance, violence and crime, there are other less haughty human factors which sociologists have measured.
Religious believers often say that their religion makes them happy and that this is one of the reasons for them remaining loyal to their religion9. Unfortunately, across the world, religious countries are unhappy.
For more, see:
Doctrine has often been specifically formulated with behaviour-control in mind. Origen, one of the founding (Christian) Church Fathers, argued that while the actual terrors of hell were false, they were useful for scaring simpler believers. Plutarch calls hell an "improving myth"10. But dogmatic and legalistic behaviour is not 'moral' behaviour. Simply obeying rules, tradition and dogmatic answers to moral questions does not make a person moral. Morality requires choices, and the more that a person relies on a "text book of morality" or pre-defined rules, the less they are acting as a moral person. Obeying rules because you think you should is not the same as making moral choices; therefore at best such people are morally neutral, amoral. It seems that as far as morality is complicated as soon as real-life situations are encountered, those best at it will be those who have long exercised their conscience while being free of religious dogmas.
We have already seen Talcott Parsons worry that secularisation undermines the legitimisation of moral rules but he also describes the way in which societies become "adaptively upgraded" by loosening their embrace on dogma and religious authority: they become "more capable of responding flexibly and appropriately to a wide range of dangers and opportunities".
“Beliefs may become so general that they lack any specific or necessary relation to particular values, and the values themselves can no longer provide a firm grounding for the society's basic rules. People follow the rules, regardless of their values, and they hold their values, regardless of their beliefs. What Parsons calls the cultural system therefore loses its grip on the social order. Beliefs and values, rules and regulations float more or less independently in a sea of cultural options that lack any logical or necessary relationship to each other. One can follow the rules because to do so is expedient rather than right. One can do the right thing because it is one way to avoid conflict or surveillance, regardless of whether one considers the right thing to be good. Furthermore, one can do what is good regardless of whether one thinks it is true or has any lasting value that transcends self. One's choices and ethics may be expedient or situational, and one's values can be utilitarian or relative to the society one belongs to, and one's beliefs may support one's values but lack and transcendent authority.”
In "Utilitarianism" by John Stuart Mill (1879) the author notes that some religions in history, in particular Judaism, used to work on the principal that all laws ought to be derived from divinity, often, through divine texts and exegesis (which means the interpreting of holy texts), but adds a rather sensible refrain: "But other nations, and in particular the Greeks and Romans, who knew that their laws had been made originally, and still continued to be made, by men, were not afraid to admit that those men might make bad laws"12. This is great thinking: by allowing our laws to be gradually improved, we can edge forward morally decade by decade, working out what is workable and what isn't.
The evidence points very much to the fact that it is not a bad thing if the beliefs that underlay moral actions lack transcendental authority. It seems to be turning out in the long run that this is a good thing. The embrace of human rights, the greatest preventer of national and cultural abuse of minorities, for example, is promoted by secular organisations (the United Nations being the biggest of them), and, opposed strongly by religious organisations in every country.
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”
Theists have a two-pronged pair of incentives that serve to lessen the worth of any apparent moral act on their behalf. If I am threatened into behaving in a good manner then I am at best amoral, because I am not acting with free will. If you believe that a supreme god is going to punish you (in hell) or deny you life (annihilation) if you misbehave, it is like being permanently threatened into behaving well. In addition, if you believe there is some great reward for behaving well, then your motives for good behavior are more selfish. An atheist who does not believe in heaven and hell is potentially more moral, for (s)he acts without these added factors. Most atheists who do not believe in divine judgement, and most theists who do, both act morally. Some of both groups act consistently immorally. The claim that belief in God is essential or aids moral behavior is wrong, and any amusing theistic claim that they have "better" morals, despite acting under a reward and punishment system, is deeply questionable. Who is more moral? Those who act for the sake of goodness itself, or those who do good acts under the belief that failure to do so results in hell?
Consider the fates of these three people:
Out of all the religions, this person picks the one that sounds like it will give the best rewards after death.
This person simply accepts whatever religion he was born with, and tries to live his life as best he can.
Out of all the religions, this person doesn't know which to pick even though he studies them, so he tries to simply live his life as best he can, deliberating carefully over the moral stances that he takes.
Imagining for the moment that god is benevolent (good) and judges us, then, it is surely the third person who deserves most merit. The first person, who follows Pascal's Wager, is openly self-centered. Given that many religions proscribe punishments for those that worship the wrong god, the third position (pick no religion) is the safest of all three options.
Take as an example the lesson being taught in Proverbs 6:20-35 (See: Proverbs Chapter 6). It is about the reason for not committing adultery but it does not mention the suffering caused to other people's married lives, nor the immorality of the act: It solely talks about the seriousness of revenge that the husband might exact, and, about the importance of looking after your own skin. Even when giving good advice, it seems the Bible manages to miss the point of moral thought!
A good test of whether or not a person truly believes that God is necessary for morality is to ask them what immoral behaviour they would suddenly engage in if they ceased believing.
“If you agree that, in the absence of God, you would 'commit robbery, rape, and murder', you reveal yourself as an immoral person [...]. If, on the other hand, you admit that you would continue to be a good person even when not under divine surveillance, you have fatally undermined your claim that God is necessary for us to be good.”
If a person is only behaving well because they are threatened by hell and want the reward of heaven, then, then this test reveals the underlying truth that good people are good no matter if they believe in god or not, and, bad people are bad even if they're forced or coerced into doing good.
You can gradually change character by reflecting on the flaws of your own actions and by receiving advice and instruction from people in your community and from reading. But, there is no particular need for this input to be religious. Indeed, those who use a codified system are often less adaptable and find themselves desperately applying anachronistic moral ideas to a world where they no longer fit.
Religions almost universally emphasize the moral duty of the individual. "God knows all" as the Qur'an and Bible repeat: examples in the Christian Bible include Job 28:24, 37:16; 1 John 3:19-20; and very frequently in the Qur'an: the first chapter (after the introduction) iterates God's omniscience ten times, for example Sura 2:29, 77, 85, 115 and 137. We all answer to God eventually. Buddhism and Hinduism likewise teach that we pay the consequences of this life throughout our next. So many people come to think of religions as being a bastion of moral thinking, because, religions tend to dramatize and exaggerate the rewards and punishments of good and bad behaviour. Don't forget that when Psalms 14:1 says "the fool saith in his heart that there is no God", the word it uses in Hebrew also means immoral people: immoral people say 'there is no god'. This emphasis is strong amongst laypeople: despite their record against human rights on an institutional and national level, locally popular religions are often seen as a force for good and there is a general belief that religion supports morality16. A 2002 poll in the USA, an unusually religious country for its state of development, found that on average 44.5% of the adults believed that "It is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values"17. This included both church-goers and laypeople. 65% of regular churchgoers believed it, thinking therefore that the vast majority of the members of "wrong" religions therefore could not be moral people. This ridiculous belief is still held by 25.7% of those who never attend church. Although it is hard to believe that this level of ignorance can exist in the rest of the world, the underlying belief was more popular in pre-modern times throughout the world. Academics have also toed this line; Talcott Parsons in 1966 said the same thing, merely using bigger words. After saying that what makes moral rules valid is a 'legitimation system', he adds that 'a legitimation system is always related to, and meaningfully dependent on, a grounding in ordered relations to ultimate reality. That is, its grounding is always in some sense religious. [...] The process of secularization, then, undermines the system of legitimation by which a society's rules seem to be grounded in ultimate reality.'11
Bryan Wilson is an insightful and respected sociologist of religion. Even he, in 1982, warned of mass breakdown in morality in the West if the religious underpinnings of moral propriety were forgotten.
“As Wilson (1982: 52) concludes, 'Unless the basic virtues are serviced, unless men are given a sense of psychic reassurance that transcends the confines of the social system, we may see a time when, for one reason or another, the system itself fails to work...' [...] Wilson (1982: 86) describes how secularization resulted in the breakdown of morality in Western societies: 'When in the West, religion waned, when the rationalistic forces inherent in Puritanism acquired autonomy of their religious origins, so the sense of moral propriety also waned - albeit somewhat later, as a cultural lag. Following the decline of religion [... and the resultant] process of moral breakdown [... we should have] genuine concern about the role of morality in contemporary culture' (Wilson 1982: 87)”
After Parsons in 1966 and Wilson in 1982, Karen Armstrong repeats the same story in "A Short History of Myth: Volume 1-4" (2005), arguing that myth is essential for good ethics and meaningful living. How do all of these thinkers rationalize the fact that many god-believers, myth-believers and suchlike, appear to commit the same atrocities and immoralities as unbelievers? From the Dark Ages presided over by Christianity, to the spectre of Islamist brutality against (for example) women and gays in Islamic countries, it seems that religious morals are hardly a panacea. Karen Armstrong dismisses these problems with the odd concept that they are caused by "failed myths"18. An element of double-think appears to be in place: if religious people do good, it is because they are religious, whereas if they do wrong, it is because they are fallible human beings. Such circular logic ought to be challenged wherever it is heard.
So there are numbers of people who, if they want to be good or, wants to be seen as good, will gravitate towards religion simply because they think it is what required. These people, who have come to actively choosing to be a better person, will find that their efforts are rewarded whether or not they choose to do it within a religious framework.
There is plenty of evidence that religion is not required. Parson in 1966 and Wilson in 1982 both warned of systematic collapse in morality if secularisation continued. It not only continued, but has accelerated. There has been no mass failure. Crime is down, wars are shorter, violence is down. It happens that people can also adopt non-religious and secular philosophies in order to promote good moralizing. Secular movements such as the British Humanist Association and IHEU (International Humanist and Ethical Union) are devoted to encouraging moral behavior, moral thinking, overall conscientiousness and rationality. The main difference between these and religious groups who do the same, is that the religious groups often teach that they are the only valid source of morals.
It is very telling that while society's morals change over time, religion's acceptance of new ideas (from human rights and equality to animal and environmental care) often lags behind by several generations. This hasn't always been the case; once upon a time, in general, moral thinkers were religious reflectives. Bryan Wilson, the esteemed sociologist of religion, records that instead of shaping the morals of secular society, religion in the West now slowly follows20.
An effect of this lag is that religions and sects that are stricter and more resistant to change their moral stances, find themselves increasingly at odds with society at large. This is particularly true in the realm of human rights; most campaigners are engaged much of the time in struggles against religious groups, religious lobbies, and religious activists who are opposed to various aspects of human rights. Typical battles occur over gender equality, tolerance of sexuality and the immorality of prejudice, abortion rights and women's rights, animal welfare - not to mention other topics such as science education. Newer religions fare better as they are founded on more modern morals.
"The Causes of Fundamentalism, Intolerance and Extremism in World Religions, and Some Solutions: 8.2. Minority Religions and Religions With No State Support Tend to Support Religious Freedom" by Vexen Crabtree (2012)
|Studying on Sunday||13||2||0|
|Social dancing (tango, waltz, etc.)||91||61||0|
|Attending 'Hollywood-type' movies||46||14||0|
|Premarital sexual intercourse||?||94||89|
|Extramarital sexual intercourse||?||98||97|
Source: Bruce (1996)21
In case anyone doubts it, statistical surveys have found that religious morals change over time too. There are many things that were once completely taboo for many Christians, but which now would only attract incredulity if you were to tell them that their forebears once held these things in anathema. The chart on the left highlights some changes amongst evangelicals, who are as a group highly vocal about the necessity of sticking firmly to the eternal morality sanctioned by God. It is clear that such sanction is quite open to exegesis (which means the way you can get various meanings from the Bible).
Take dancing; in the 9th century Church leaders gathered and condemned dancing in (and singing) in churches, calling it pagan and hoary22. Similar pronouncements occurred during the dark ages and as late as 1684, Puritan ministers in New England said the same23. It is hard to imagine a single preacher saying it now about classical dancing anywhere, let alone during worship.
The Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance (OCRT) examined how it is that such a changing kaleidoscope of religious morals can be derived from static and unchanging source texts:
“Religious groups use various methods to change their beliefs. Sometimes, the texts which support the old beliefs:
Are simply ignored;
Are reinterpreted. Passages previously interpreted literally are now interpreted figuratively; Sometimes the reverse happens.
Are regarded as having been valid at the era and/or the society in which they were written, but are not meaningful for guidance for people today.
Are considered to be ambiguous in their original language and are retranslated into English with a different meaning.
Are unambiguous in their original language, but are intentionally mistranslated into English to give an ambiguous meaning. One example of this is to translate the Hebrew word for "slave" into the English word "servant" which can refer either to an employee or a slave.
Religious systems of morality have an odd emphasis on internal thoughts, and often regard many attributes as positive that actually do no good for the world at large, such as (1) withdrawing from the world and (2) not engaging others when they have clearly done wrong, For example, consider the Catholic Church, which did not oppose the fascist Nazis at all in Europe and who opened their genealogical records so the Nazis could hunt Jews, and who didn't excommunicate Hitler for his crimes. The Catholic Church only selectively engages in politics, because its morality is too concentrated on individual sins, such as adultery, and not political ones, such as genocide or human rights abuse.
“The natural impulse of the vigorous person of decent character is to attempt to do good, but if he is deprived of all political power and of all opportunity to influence events he will be deflected from his natural course and will decide that the important thing is to be good. This is what happened to the early Christians; it led to a conception of personal holiness as something quite independent of beneficent action, since holiness had to be something that could be achieved by people who were impotent in action. Social virtues came therefore to be excluded from Christian ethics. To this day conventional Christians think an adulterer more wicked than a politician who takes bribes, although the latter probably does a thousand times as much harm. The mediaeval conception of virtue, as one sees in their pictures, was of something wishy-washy, feeble, and sentimental. The most virtuous man was the man who retired from the world; the only men of action who were regarded as saints were those who wasted the lives and substance of their subjects in fighting the Turks, like St Louis. The Church would never regard a man as a saint because he reformed the finances or the criminal law, or the judiciary. Such mere contributions to human welfare would be regarded as of no importance. I do not believe there is a single saint in the whole calendar whose saintship is due to work of public utility. With this separation between the social and the moral person there went an increasing separation between soul and body, which has survived in Christian metaphysics and in the systems derived from Descartes.”
"Why I am not a Christian" by Bertrand Russell (1957)
“Without doubt the greatest injury ... was done by basing morals on myth, for sooner or later myth is recognized for what it is, and disappears. Then morality loses the foundation on which it has been built.”
Viscount Samuel (1870-1963), British statesman and philosopher, high commissioner for Palestine (1920-5) and home secretary (1916, 1931). Wrote "Philosophy and the Ordinary Man" in 1932
Not only has the monotheistic system of ethics come to be based on non-Human and non-societal fantasy, but it is actively anti-Human and anti-societal. Theist morality is given justification on the basis of their beliefs. But reasonable thought, good intentions and good character all produce good morals in action, and produce them in a more fluid, sensible way. What we base on myth and religion and then write in stone, becomes stagnant, legalistic and cold: What we base on love and reason is a superior form of morality to what we derive from religion. As Viscount Samuel notes, if we base our morals on religion, sooner or later the foundation will be lost. In addition to that, it is misguided to base morals on religion in order to claim that they are unchanging as religious morality changes over time just as secular morality does, the only difference is that non-religious folk admit the change and short-sighted religious folk don't admit it. Secular morality is more honest.
When people approach a religious text or any large book from which they intend to derive ethical teachings, nearly without exception the person will pick up the book and pay very particular attention to all the morals they already agree with. A homophobe will pick up the Christian Bible and realise that homosexuality is an evil sin. A misogynist will pick up the Bible or Qur'an and realise that after all this time he's right: Women are inferior, and he can quote the Bible or Qur'an to prove it. A fluffy liberal will read it and find all the hippy love-thy-neighbour bits and therefore will be able to prove that all those homophobes and misogynists have it wrong. People mostly get, from religious texts, what they put into them.
It is said by some that God decides on an absolute level what is Good or Bad. Some even say that such Divine definitions are the requirement for being judged worthy to enter heaven: If your actions do not match goodness, then you fail. As such some religionists hold that absolute morals are highly important and that firm belief in a particular religion is what is required of us, according to God.
Every person who reads a long text will understand it differently, as each one of us is unique in our character and experience of life. All of our brains are wired up differently; it is impossible for any two people to share exactly the same understanding of anything at all. In epistemology, this basic fact is called subjectivism. A person who reads a holy text will have to judge it, analyze it and think through it and in the process every person observes a different set of moral rules.
Where holy text can appear to very definitely uphold one person's opinions there are others who are sure it does not. Christianity, Islam and other religions with sacred texts proceed to splinter as people interpret the texts in different ways and assert that their way is right. It is impossible for two people to read anything but the most basic sentence without them forming differing opinions of what the text implies.
The creator god is the supremely intelligent one responsible for creating the way that mankind's brains work; such a being must realize that Human Beings can only interpret life subjectively, and that no text will mean the same thing for any two people. But, into the world they place texts written in transitory human languages, filled with cultural references and complicated symbolism that is certainly going to be misunderstood more and more as time goes on.
Therefore by design, any sacred text only contains guidelines or pointers to moral codes of behaviour, and no actual absolutes. To try and write an absolute into a text that can only ever be interpreted subjectively is pointless, especially in theoretical matters such as morality, where scientific investigation is generally fruitless.
A moral absolute is a statement that is implied to be utterly correct, divine in nature. However, as all people are going to think of that moral in a different way, it is useless even speculating what they might be, and any such attempt to state it would be useless and result in a whole range of opinions - moral absolutes only apply to omniscient beings, for other beings they can only be pointers and recommendations.
This section is taken from The Causes of Fundamentalism, Intolerance and Extremism in World Religions, and Some Solutions.
Fundamentalists largely hold that their scripture is the only authority we have as regards to the truth: It is an absolute truth. However, in order to select which text they consider inerrant there must first be non-scriptural basis for this selection. Before a person considers a text inerrant, they are in a position where their position in the world dictate their knowledge of religious texts and their approach to them. These secular and coincidental factors determine whether a person comes to decide that a text is inerrant.
“Koran, n. A book which the Mohammedans foolishly believe to have been written by divine inspiration, but which Christians know to be a wicked imposture, contradictory to the Holy Scriptures.”
"The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce (1967)
The philosopher Immanuel Kant made the same argument in 1785 with regards to believers choosing that the God of the Bible is indeed a being of moral perfection: "Even the Holy One of the Gospels must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection before we can recognise Him as such"26. It is an illogical situation that once a fundamentalist has chosen a text, they then deny that they have no other source of authority: If there is no source of authority other than the text they've chosen, then their reason for selecting the text has become invalid. Beyond this point of self-contradiction it can be seen that the reasons are complex psychological ones.
Fundamentalists have been unable to arrive at a logical criterion for how a secular living person should select which text is true out of all the religious texts available in the world, all of which have adherents who claim their chosen books are inerrant.
Through Prophecy? All claim that correct prophecies validate their text, and all claim that all the other texts don't really have correct prophecies. It is impossible to investigate all such claims yourself, in one lifetime, so it appears that a logical intellectual choice based on prophecy is impossible. Or it is ignorant: A choice can't be made without ignorance until a person has actively investigated all claims of prophecy by all religious texts. Until the individual has done this, they're merely guessing which one can be judged, by criteria of its prophecies, to be "more" divine than other texts.
Sensible possibility: That God has inspired multiple correct prophecies in multiple religious texts or that magic operates as part of the natural laws of the universe, and supernatural prophecy-making is possible whether or not God has a part in it. Of all the prophecies that have not come true (such as the thousands made about the end of the world, etc), you could very sensibly infer that any true prophecies are only true by coincidence and luck, not by supernatural means. In all cases, it can be seen that judging religious texts by their prophecies is a poor method.
Through Faith? Decisions by "faith" are determined in 99% of cases by cultural and societal factors, by psychology, and not by virtue of which text is true. Faith is a cultural and psychological phenomenon. Or, of course there is the chance that a God does actually support multiple (even contradictory) religions, and therefore that it doesn't really matter which one you pick.
Through Morals? It is circular logic to claim that a text is an absolute authority on morals, and then to claim that you can judge a text by the morals contained in it, before knowing which text is true. If you assume particular morals, then look at religious texts, you will end up selecting the text that most matches your own morals. If you select a text then claim that its morals are absolutely correct, you could have drawn exactly the same conclusion no matter which religious text you'd selected. The factors which determine which one you select in the first place are therefore purely cultural and psychological - not moral. We have no rational basis for claims of what morals God considers best. Selection by morals is a fundamentally flawed selection criteria, requiring either genuine stupidity, ignorance or doublethink.
By Popularity? If you judged by popularity you would conclude that at the moment the Christian text is 'absolute' and correct. But, in previous centuries, Roman paganism was absolute and correct, and before that, the animist worship of multiple simple spirits was the correct set of beliefs. It makes no sense that to say that now, at the moment, a particular religion is true merely because it is popular. Especially given that within a religion such as Christianity, there are many varied beliefs. To base claims on popularity is to undermine the idea that one particular religion has correct beliefs.
For more on the topic of how religionists approach their chosen texts, see:
|Social and Moral Development|
The Top 10
One of the earliest Western legal systems that declares the existence of Human rights derived purely from secular logic, rationality and humanitarianism, is that of Hugo Grotius in his book Der Jure Belli ac Pacis in the seventeenth century. This book became famous for codifying effective morality without any need for "laws" and "divinity" at their source, instead basing it on reason and humanitarianism28. Since then, human rights have become an increasingly powerful tool used in the fight against arbitrary oppression, intolerance and injust mob rule. Jack Donnelly, a long-time political theorist who specializes in human rights and is the author of Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, writes that "the source of human rights is man's moral nature"29, no less, and that "internationally recognized human rights do not depend on any particular religious or philosophical doctrine"30. These truths are proclaimed by Human Rights documents themselves - "such as those in the Covenants that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person or in the Vienna Declaration that all human rights derive from the dignity and worth inherent in the human person"30. The point of emphasizing the non-sectarian and post-cultural basis of Human Rights is to realize that they stem from moral thinking and not from any particular ethical philosophy. Although such thinking always starts out from inside particular cultures, with enough international deliberation cultural biases have been removed from the world's HR documents, leaving us with a purely secular and Universal concept of Human Rights.
If the secular Human Rights approach is correct, if it engenders good morals and civility and progress, then, there should be statistical evidence which can be consulted to support or detract from it. There is, indeed, such evidence.
The Social and Moral Development Index is a formulaic aggregation of many factors. It concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: "What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" by Vexen Crabtree (2013). The graph here shows clearly that social and moral development is at its highest in countries that are the least religious. As religiosity increases, each country suffers from more and more conflicts with human rights, more problems with tolerance of minorities and religious freedom, and problems with gender equality.
The section above is taken from Human Rights and Secular Morals: Ethics Without Religion or Faith. The rest of that text's menu, for further reading, is:
By Vexen Crabtree 2014 Oct 03
Third edition 2012 Jun 30
Second edition 2010 Mar 07
Originally published 1999 May 05
Parent page: Single-God Religions and Morals: Controversies and Philosophical Absurdities
The Bible (NIV). The NIV is the best translation for accuracy whilst maintaining readability. Multiple authors, a compendium of multiple previously published books. I prefer to take quotes from the NIV but where I quote the Bible en masse I must quote from the KJV because it is not copyrighted, whilst the NIV is. [Book Review]
The Koran. Translation by N. J. Dawood. Penguin Classics edition published by Penguin Group Ltd, London, UK. First published 1956, quotes taken from 1999 edition.
(2005) A Short History of Myth: Volume 1-4. Kindle edition 2008. First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Canongate Books Ltd.
Bainbridge, William Sims
(2011) Atheism. This essay is chapter 17 of "The Oxford Handbook of The Sociology of Religion" by Peter B. Clarke (2011).
Bierce, Ambrose. (1842-1914?)
(1967) The Devil's Dictionary. Published in Great Britain by Victor Gollancz. Published by Penguin Books in 1971, and quotes taken from a 2001 Penguin Classics reprint. Penguin Group, London, UK.
Bowman, Herbert & Mumm
(2009) Religion Today: Tradition, Modernity and Change: Course Introduction. Second edition. Originally published 2001. Part of the Open University religious studies module AD317.
(1996) Religion in the Modern World: From Cathedrals to Cults. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK [Book Review]
Clarke, Peter B.. Peter B. Clarke: Professor Emeritus of the History and Sociology of Religion, King's College, University of London, and currently Professor in the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, UK.
(2011) The Oxford Handbook of The Sociology of Religion. Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. First published 2009.
(2013) "What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life" (2013). Accessed 2014 Oct 05.
(2013) Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. Third edition. Published by Cornell University Press.
(1995) The Dark Side of Christian History. Published by Morningstar & Lark, Windermere, FL, USA.
Fenn, Richard K.
(2009) Key Thinkers in the Sociology of Religion. A look at what 11 sociologists of religion think of "the sacred". Be warned that Fenn's book contains one chapter on each sociologist of religion but that his own mystical and specific take on 'the sacrad' is heavily intermingled with his commentary - see the book review for a proper description. Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, London, UK. [Book Review]
Kant, Immanuel. (1724-1804) German philosopher.
(1785) Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals. Translated by Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (1829-1913). eBook was prepared by Matthew Stapleton. Amazon digital edition.
Krauss, Lawrence. Lawrence Krauss is Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Physics Department at Arizona State University, as well as Co-Director of the Cosmology Initiative and Inaugural Director of the Origins Project.
(2012) A Universe from Nothing. Amazon digital edition. Published by Free Press, New York, USA.
(2000) Sword and Scales: An Examination of the Relationship Between Law and Politics. Hart Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK. Prof. Loughlin is Professor of Law at the University of Manchester, UK, and Professor of Public Law-elect at the London School of Economics & Political Science, UK.
Lynn, Harvey & Nyborg
(2009) Average intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations. Richard Lynn, John Harvey and Helmuth Nyborg article "Average intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations" in Intelligence (2009 Jan/Feb) vol. 37 issue 1 pages 11-15. Online at www.sciencedirect.com, accessed 2009 Sep 15.
Mill, John Stuart. (1806-1873)
(1879) Utilitarianism. Produced by Julie Barkley, Garrett Alley and the Online DistributedProofreading Team. Reprinted from 'Fraser's Magazine' 7th edition, London Longmans, Green, and Co.
Russell, Bertrand. (1872-1970)
(1957) Why I am not a Christian. Quotes from Fourth Impression of 1967 edition, 1971, Unwin Books.
Stenger, Prof. Victor J.
(2007) God, the Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist. Published by Prometheus Books. Stenger is a Nobel-prize winning physicist, and a skeptical philosopher whose research is strictly rational and evidence-based.
(2011) Human Development Report. This edition had the theme of Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All. Published on the United Nation's website at hdr.undp.org/.../HDR_2011_EN_Complete.pdf (accessed throughout 2013, Jan-Mar). UN Development Program: About the Human Development Index.
(2013) Human Development Report. This edition had the theme of The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World. Published on the United Nation's HDR website at hdr.undp.org/.../hdr2013/ (accessed throughout 2013). UN Development Program: About the Human Development Index.
(1982) "Religion in Sociological Perspective" p52,86-87. Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. In "Key Thinkers in the Sociology of Religion" by Richard K. Fenn (2009) [Book Review] chapter "Bryan Wilson" p136-8.
(2007) "Atheism: contemporary numbers and patterns" in M.Martin (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. In Lynn, R.; Harvey, J. & Hyborg, H; (2008) Average Intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations published in Intelligence 37 (2009) 11-15 . | <urn:uuid:5b42c547-8136-4e6a-ad83-a2aa68b906ce> | {
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