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The Keramicos was Athens’ cemetery between the 12th century BC and the Roman times. This ancient cemetery was not discovered until beginnings of the decade of 1860 when a street to the Piraeus was being constructed, and since then it has been counted among the most interesting spots in Athens. The first discovery of the Keramicos was what is known as the Themistokleian Wall, which was built during the 5th century BC with the purpose of providing protection to the path towards the port of the city. The name of this wall, Themistokleian Wall, was given to it due to the fact that it was built by Themistocles. Besides the Themistokleian Wall, one of the main attractions in The Keramicos, this spot also has two other interesting attractions called the Dipylon Gate and the Sacred Gate. There are important remains from the Dipylon Gate and the Sacred Gate which can be still observed in detail nowadays. It is important to know that the Dipylon Gate was used in order to show where the Panathenaic Way would begin, while the Sacred Gate was the spot in which the initiates to the mysteries of Eleusis would need to pass. Another interesting part of The Keramicos was the Pompeion. The Pompeion was a spot meant to contain some sacred objects used at the main religious festival in the town, the Panathenaia. This festival had a major relevance to Athens as well as to its citizens, and therefore, the Pompeion would be a very important place as well. One of the main spots in The Keramicos, if not the most important of all, is what is known as the Street of Tombs. The Street of Tombs used to lead the way to the tombs of the most important people in Athens, and was the path which citizens would walk in order to take them to their funerary monuments. By meeting The Keramicos, visitors could observe several interesting monuments and walls showing peculiar designs and depictures. Some of these monuments and walls show scenes from mythology, and several of them maintain many of their original characteristics in such a way that meeting them could be like almost going back into ancient Greece.

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Sharing a meal is a central part of loving, family relationships. So when one spouse hates the way the other one chews, it’s likely going to cause some dumb marital fights. But the hatred of chewing is not always as simple as other relationship pet peeves and can be a symptom of a misophonia, a condition that causes extreme reactions to everyday sounds. Behavior scientist Tom Dozier, who’s conducted multiple studies on misophonia, suspects it has deep neurological roots. As a result, this irrational irritation might be much more common and consequential than people realize. “Misophonia generally develops in the home to a specific family member and to a specific sound made by that person,” Dozier, who authored the book Understanding and Overcoming Misophonia, 2nd edition: A Conditioned Aversive Reflex Disorder, explains. “Misophonia can be and often is devastating to close relationships. It causes children to avoid parents. It causes divorce.” Misophonia affects up to 20 percent of the general population according to the data, but Dozier suspects that those numbers may be even higher because it’s underdiagnosed. While chewing is not the only sound people with misophonia hate, it’s certainly one of the more common symptoms. In one survey Dozier conducted of over 1,000 people, 96.5 percent of respondents reported that they disliked mouth sounds like chewing, crunching food, lip-smacking, and slurping. Although the exact cause of misophonia is unknown, neuroscientists believe it has to do with abnormal connectivity in the brain between the limbic system (which controls emotions), the autonomic nervous system (which controls fight or flight responses), and the auditory cortex (which controls how we process sounds). It has been linked with extra sensitive hearing as well. There’s also evidence that this hatred of chewing and other sounds may be a result of conditioning. If these sounds were linked with other kinds of distress during childhood, such as arguments and tension during family meals, that may cause people to be set off by them throughout their lives. “Misophonia is a conditioned response disorder, which includes a physical flinch and a very strong conditioned emotional response. This is classical conditioning at its worst,” Dozier explains, adding that it’s typically misdiagnosed as anxiety or another mental health problem because of the extreme emotions that can follow these responses. “We have good research that this is not how or where misophonia starts.” Once properly identified, misophonia can be treated through tinnitus retraining therapy, where people learn to better tolerate noise, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, where people learn to better recognize their triggers. The hatred of chewing can also be helped by background noise during meals, such as a fans, white noise machines, or pretty much any host on NPR. Dozier also discourages individuals from trying to white-knuckle through noises that are especially irritating, which could make them lash out even harder. Instead, it’s best for people to remove themselves from these situations whenever possible. Still, not every expert thinks it takes a neurological condition to hate the sound of your spouse smacking their food. All it really takes is a distaste for bad manners. “Hearing one chew indicates one is chewing with one’s mouth open. Chewing with one’s mouth open indicates one is a mouth breather,” Dr. Anil Rama, a physician and professor of sleep sciences at Stanford University, explains. Rama is not being rude — mouth breathing from a young age can change how people’s faces develop, making their chins recessed, nostrils flared, teeth crooked, and smiles gummy. Mouth breathing leads to cavities, bad breath, poor sleep, and personality problems. So when people are reacting to the sound of chewing, what they may actually be reacting to is all the other issues that come with it, Rama says. “Despite not consciously understanding the reasons why, people are averse to others chewing with their mouths open because they likely subconsciously perceive the associated physical and behavioral derangements.”

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Those who have a familiarity with architecture recognize Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the most well-known and talented architects in America. Of his 1,114 unique designs, 532 of them have been actualized. Aside from a handful of buildings in Japan, Wright focused mainly on the United States, where he called home. Born in 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, Wright became interested in design and architecture from an early age. While his contemporaries were still entrenched in building (and dressing) after European styles, his great desire was to introduce a purely American architecture that embodied the culture of the land he loved. When he grew up, Wright designed and oversaw the building of his own home in Spring Green, which he called Taliesin. In later years, he designed a winter home for himself in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Arizona. This he named Taliesin West, in congruency with his summer and primary home in Wisconsin. Frank Lloyd Wright borrowed the name Taliesin from the Welsh. It means “shining brow”, a name appropriate for his two homes positioned just under the crowns of hills. Since his death in 1959, Taliesin West has become a historical landmark and the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. It is a signature of his ability to reflect the ambient landscape in his architecture. The building lies relatively low and wide, matching the sprawling Sonoran Desert around it. Many of its walls are made of thick cement encasing white, brown, and red stones from the surrounding desert hills. Inside, the walls and ceiling slant in unique ways, and a hexagonal theatre provides incredible sound even for those in the back of the room. Back outside, red wood and iron trusses compliment white rooftops. Above the entrance to the Taliesin West library stands a row of eleven rectangular shade sails. The khaki fabric blends into the southwestern landscape and flatters the sedona red iron. The shades are contorted in a hyperbolic twist that is both artistic and practical. The twist, with the four corners alternating between high and low points, prevents sagging in the sail and the pooling of water. This echelon of identical sails greets those entering the library with shade from the Arizona sun. Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy has been sustained by the foundation and school that now call his home theirs. They offer tours of Taliesin West as well as education in the School of Architecture. Long has this grand structure stood as a testament of Wright’s gifted mind and eye for design. The recent addition of shade sails only adds to the modern, yet enduring style of his winter home. Though Frank Lloyd Wright himself passed away over half a century ago, his ideas have been immortalized in the building of Taliesin West.

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Teaching Guide: Voices of Iraqi Refugees A teaching guide, created in in partnership with the Iraqi & American Reconciliation Project (IARP), to familiarize students with the post-war condition of Iraqi immigrants. The curriculum includes lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school classrooms. Peace and Justice Films: Feature films and documentaries related to war, peace, and restorative justice. War and Conflict Links Global Security Institute Targets influential businesses to promote the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Go to the “Action Center” to participate in a peace initiative. International Action Network on Small Arms This global network of organizations is looking to end the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons. Download activist toolkits and fact sheets and join a campaign. International Atomic Energy Agency Find out how this center for nuclear cooperation is working towards safe and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. Click on publications, news, or data center to conduct research on this topic. International Campaign to Ban Landmines An international network of over 1,200 non-governmental organizations in 60 countries is spearheading a global ban on landmines. Visit the youth action forum to find out how youth have played a leading role in this movement. MagAmerica: Landmine Clearing and Awareness Created by and for landmine survivors, featuring personal stories of survival. The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space Founded in 1992 by the joint efforts of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice (FCPJ); Citizens for Peace in Space (Colorado Springs); and New York-based Journalism professor Karl Grossman. The inaugural meeting of the Global Network (GN) was held in the Washington D.C. City Council Chambers. Veterans for Peace A national organization founded in 1985 that includes men and women veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the War in Iraq, other conflicts and peacetime veterans. Their collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary. Waging Peace /Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Addresses the issues of Nuclear Weapons, Peace and War, International Law and Security, and Nuclear Energy and Waste. Click on take action for campaigns, urgent actions, and tools. Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) A nonviolent feminist organization that works in solidarity with others to create a system of social equality, self-determination, and justice through education and empowerment of women. WAMM's purpose is to dismantle systems of militarism and global oppression. Child Soldier Links This organization is involved in a campaign against children being used as soldiers. Their website has links to articles and resources focused on bringing awareness to child soldiers. Coalition To Stop The Use Of Child Soldiers Exposes the use of child soldiers in many countries and seeks to end the practice, as well as find ways to integrate child soldiers back into their communities. Free The Children Provides lots of information, firsthand quotes from child victims, useful links, as well as inspiration and guides to take action. Human Rights Watch Explains the factors that make children vulnerable to being soldiers and how you can help stop this practice. Their detailed report about child soldiers in West Africa, “Youth, Poverty and Blood: The Lethal Legacy of West Africa’s Regional Warriors” is available online. Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict Details the atrocities that children must deal with during and after their lives as child soldiers, as well as the responses that have been made by the UN. The Red Cross This website is devoted specifically to children in war. The Red Cross is dedicated to providing children in war zones with food, water, and health care, as well as making efforts to reunite lost children with their families. Preventing the use of children as soldiers is a primary concern of the Red Cross in areas of conflict. A network of independent organizations working across the world to help children affected by war. This alternative website features concerts, music, photo expositions and other artistic rebuttals to children in war. Voices of Child Soldiers The Advocates for Human Rights 330 Second Avenue South, Suite 800 Minneapolis, MN 55401 Immigrant Client Line: 612-341-9845 General Inquiries: Email us Media Inquiries: Email

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An informal essay is written mostly for fun if it can be said so. It does not mean that this paper provides no information about the chosen subject. The thing is that it is of less formal character. An informal paper presents a particular point of view about the examined issue or gives a reflection on it. However, it is not aimed at conducting extensive research and providing strong arguments about the matter. Still, it has a stable structure. It should be noted that an informal paper differs from the formal one in a way that it is more personal. Nevertheless, both of these essays present writer’s subjective point of view on the main question. In the formal work, writer’s opinion is covert due to the number of hard facts. As to informal essay, the writer addresses the readers directly. When producing an informal paper, you need to give it your personal touch. There is nothing wrong in using some formal expressions. However, be careful not to seem uninterested in the subject. There are the following characteristic features of an informal essay: - The paper can be written in the elevated style. However, less formal character of information layout is also acceptable. - Paragraphs should not be very long. The tone is conversational which is inappropriate for a formal essay. - A paper should still contain a clear statement in the introduction, remarkable examples in the body, and summarizing points in the conclusion. - An informal essay as any other work has to be grammatically correct. There no restrictions concerning the topics for an informal paper. It is up to you to decide which issue to discuss. Below, there is a short list of topics that can be covered in the informal essay: - The Most Exciting Day of My Life - Marriage and Money: What Is True Love? - Religious Beliefs: They Help Me Get Out of Troubles - Should Pop Stars Be a Role Model for Us? - Life after Death - My Favorite Cafe Note that it is necessary to be aware of the subject you are going to write about. One should produce the paper that will attract readers’ interest. In addition, you should not forget to express your personal opinion about the explored issue.

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Scientists Spot New Obesity Gene WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists who identified a gene that appears to be strongly linked with obesity say their discovery could help efforts to find drug treatments for obesity and diabetes. "Our data strongly suggest that [the gene] IRX3 controls body mass and regulates body composition," study senior author Marcelo Nobrega, an associate professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, said in a university news release. Although the research showed an association between the gene and obesity, it did not prove a cause-and-effect link. The IRX3 gene was first pinpointed through an analysis of about 150 brain samples from people of European ancestry, according to the study, which was published online March 12 in the journal Nature. To verify the role of IRX3 in obesity, the researchers created mice without the gene and found that they weighed about 30 percent less than normal mice. Much of this weight difference was due to reduced amounts of fat in the mice without the IRX3 gene. "These mice are thin. They lose weight primarily through the loss of fat, but they are not runts," study co-author Chin-Chung Hui, a professor of molecular genetics at the University of Toronto, said in the news release. "They are also completely resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity," Hui said. "They have much better ability to handle glucose, and seem protected against diabetes." The researchers also found that mice with altered function of the IRX3 gene in the hypothalamus -- the part of the brain that controls eating and energy output -- were as lean as mice that lacked the gene. This suggests that the gene's activity in the hypothalamus controls body mass and composition in mice, and that genetic predisposition to obesity is wired in the brain, according to the study authors. Findings from animal studies often can't be replicated in human trials, however. Previous research has suggested that mutations in a gene called FTO play a strong role in determining obesity risk in people. But this study found that the obesity-related mutations in FTO interact with IRX3, and that FTO itself has only a minor effect on obesity risk. The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about overweight and obesity. SOURCE: University of Chicago, news release, March 12, 2014

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Prepare and organize notes to support your argument with this persuasive essay graphic organizer. Journal of special education technology jset 2012 volume 27, number 3 15 the effects of computer graphic organizers on the persuasive writing of. Graphic organizers in this collection can help students by reinforcing a variety of literacy skills writing a-z generic graphic organizers are available in two categories—primary (for beginning and early developing levels) and. Pick a free persuasive essay graphic organizer to persuasive writing story starter graphic organizers graphic organizers for writing return from. Persuasive essay graphic organizer printable free graphic organizers for writing a persuasive essay — 4'h — 6th grade beginning intermediate. Persuasive writing graphic organizerdocx persuasive this lesson is a persuasive writing i collect the finished graphic organizers and send the. 2018-7-22 this organizer develops students’ persuasive writing skills and assists them in composing persuasive essays or letters to the editor. 2015-11-17 main idea/opinion counterargument reason 1 reason 2 reason 3 detail detail detail detail detail detail detail detail detail persuasive writing graphic organizer. Help students plan their compositions with graphic organizers written to four developmental writing levels for each text type. 2018-8-18 by using graphic organizers across all subject areas, graphic organizer writing activity outline–part a and b keep thoughts and ideas for writing. Help with opening pdf files help your students children classify ideas and communicate more effectively use graphic organizers to structure writing projects, to help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming. 2018-8-15 graphic organizers for opinion writing a couple weeks into our persuasive writing unit and i i love using the graphic organizers in my grade 3 writing. These free graphic organizers include webs for preparing to write, flow charts for sequencing, persuasive and expository essay maps, customizable organizers . Cheryl strayed essay graphic organizers for persuasive essays comment faire une bonne dissertation en ses correction dissertation francais bac 2010. 2018-8-17 use this graphic organizer to help your students write persuasive letters they will use a persuasion chart to plan their letter, focusing on important reasons that support their purpose. 2010-9-22 persuasive essay outline possible structure notes,comments and ideas introduction hook introduce the issue graphic organizer: persuasive essay plan. Math worksheet opinion writing graphic organizer organizers for first grade ipad mom or tooth fairy 1000 images about on pinterest and persuasive after doing that chart give your students time to talk yep talking it a little structure by instructing them use the statements like essay johnny appleseed broken down clever classroom blog st. 2017-10-30 persuasive writing graphic organizer -paragraph #1 – introduction attention-grabbing beginning - description of issue - opinion statement . Persuasive writing graphic organizer graphic organizers for essay writing - professional term paper writing help - get secure essays, term papers,. 2009-6-16 writing an expository essay expository writing graphic organizer name: graphic organizers author: budzynda created date. 2016-4-8 how to use graphic organizers for writing essays, summaries and research papers what type of graphic organizers can be used and how to use them effectively. Graphic organizers as a prewriting graphic organizer for students writing original stories with a circular tomap out their arguments for a persuasive essay. Persuasive writing graphic organizer showing top 8 worksheets in the category - persuasive writing graphic organizer some of the worksheets displayed are persuasive writing graphic organizer, persuasive writing graphic organizer detail, persuasive writing graphic organizers, persuade me please reading a persuasive essay and liking it. These blueprint for exceptional writing graphic organizers can be used to using persuasive essay graphic organizers will help. Persuasive writing - a 14-page package of templates and graphic organizers that leads students through the process of writing a persuasive paragraph. Using graphic organizers and rubrics to aid students with expository / persuasive writing casa de lindquist - teaching find this pin and more on school by tina hall rubric for persuasive essay fourth grade persuasive writing scoring guide, supports it consistently with well-chosen reasons and/or examples may use persuasive strategy. 2015-6-9 name _____ date _____ lesson 7 persuasive writing: graphic organizer your topic: what is your opinion on the topic. Persuasive writing-graphic organizers - mrs warners 4th grade classroom. 2018-7-25 this site has been designed as a resource for teachers preparing their students for the writing portions of the njask it includes writing prompts, graphic organizers for practice, rubrics, teaching resources, and. This persuasive essay: graphic organizer graphic organizer is suitable for 6th - 9th grade prewriting is an important step in the writing process after kids brainstorm different topics for a persuasive essay, provide them with this graphic organizer to help them collect their thoughts.

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Ancient site unearthed in Biblical home of Abrahamtags: Iraq, Bible, Mesopotamia, Ur, Abraham BAGHDAD – British archaeologists said Thursday they have unearthed a sprawling complex near the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq, home of the biblical Abraham. The structure, thought to be about 4,000 years old, probably served as an administrative center for Ur, around the time Abraham would have lived there before leaving for Canaan, according to the Bible. The compound is near the site of the partially reconstructed Ziggurat, or Sumerian temple, said Stuart Campbell of Manchester University's Archaeology Department, who led the dig. "This is a breathtaking find," Campbell said, because of its unusually large size -- roughly the size of a football field, or about 260 feet on each side. The archaeologist said complexes of this size and age were rare.... comments powered by Disqus - Historian author Antony Beevor says his new World War 2 book may anger Americans - Ron Radosh and Allis Radosh plan to defend Warren Harding in a new book - Historians tackle America’s mass incarceration problem - Report: Russian studies in crisis - Ken Burns: Donald Trump’s birtherism — a “politer way of saying the ‘N-word'” — proves America isn’t remotely “post-racial”

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What is Software Engineering? Software Engineering is the engineering profession concerned with the development of reliable and useful software systems. Software systems are very often very complex, due to the flexibility that can be provided by software. The systems can also be very large and their design and implementation may involve large teams of people. At UNSW, an emphasis is placed right from the start on working in teams and developing software that is guaranteed to work. These skills are developed through a unique series of workshops that build up over three years. Software Engineering students also learn about functionality and security. They learn all aspects of the software life cycle, and acquire invaluable professional skills, including report writing, presentation, team management and project management. Engineering as a discipline is all about designing and building new products that meet some set of requirements. When applied to the field of software, this means that the focus is on creating new technologies rather than using current applications. Our graduates design new computer systems that will be used by many people around the world. Software engineering, software development, software process and system design Artificial intelligence, computer architecture, graphics, human computer interaction, information systems, computer interfacing, networks and project management Want more information? Dr. Wen Hu Senior Lecturer | School of Computer Science and Engineering Faculty of Engineering Ph: (02) 9385 7679 Fax: (02) 9385 5533

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| ?കേരളം? · Kēraḷaṁ |Nickname: "God's Own Country"| |Coordinates: 8°28′N 76°57′E / 8.47, 76.95| |Time zone||IST (UTC+5:30)| |Area||38,863 km² (15,005 sq mi)| |Largest metro||Kochi metropolitan area| |31,838,619 (12th) (2001) • 819/km² (2,121/sq mi) |Governor||R. L. Bhatia| |Chief Minister||V.S. Achuthanandan| |Established||1 November 1956| |Legislature (seats)||Unicameral (141‡)| |‡ 140 elected, 1 nominated| Kerala (['keːɹəˌɭɐ] (help·info); Malayalam: കേരളം?; Kēraḷaṁ) is a state on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India. To its east and northeast, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; to its west and south lie the Indian Ocean islands of Lakshadweep and the Maldives, respectively. Kerala nearly envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave of Pondicherry. Kerala is one of four states that compose the linguistic-cultural region known as South India. The principal spoken language is Malayalam, but other languages are also spoken. First settled in the 10th century BC by speakers of Proto-South Dravidian, Kerala was influenced by the Mauryan Empire. Later, the Cheran kingdom and feudal Namboothiri Brahminical city-states became major powers in the region. Early contact with overseas lands culminated in struggles between colonial and native powers. The States Reorganisation Act of 1 November 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood. Social reforms enacted in the late 19th century by Cochin and Travancore were expanded upon by post-independence governments, making Kerala among the Third World's longest-lived, healthiest, most gender-equitable, and most literate regions. Though the state's basic human development indices are roughly equivalent to those in the developed world, the state is substantially more environmentally sustainable than Europe and North America. Nevertheless, Kerala's suicide, alcoholism, and unemployment rates rank among India's highest. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. The widely disputed etymology of Kerala is a matter of conjecture. In the prevailing theory, Kerala is an imperfect Malayalam portmanteau that fuses kera ("coconut palm tree") and alam ("land" or "location"). Another theory is that the name originated from the phrase chera alam ("Land of the Chera"). Natives of Kerala, known as Keralites or Malayalees, thus refer to their land as Keralam. Kerala's tourism industry, among others, also use the phrase God's Own Country. Main article: History of Kerala According to a legend, Parasurama, an avatar of Mahavishnu, threw his battle axe into the sea. As a result, the land of Kerala arose and was reclaimed from the waters. During Neolithic times, humans largely avoided Kerala's rainforests and wetlands. There is evidence of the emergence of prehistoric pottery and granite burial monuments in the 10th century BC that resemble their counterparts in Western Europe and the rest of Asia. These were produced by speakers of a proto-Tamil language. Thus, Kerala and Tamil Nadu once shared a common language, ethnicity and culture; this common area was known as Tamilakam. Kerala became a linguistically separate region by the early 14th century. The ancient Cherans, whose mother tongue and court language was Tamil, ruled Kerala from their capital at Vanchi and was the first major recorded kingdom. Allied with the Pallavas, they continually warred against the neighbouring Chola and Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity—distinct from the Tamils and associated with the second Chera empire—and the development of Malayalam evolved between the 8th and 14th centuries. In written records, Kerala was first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana, Patanjali, Pliny the Elder, and the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea displayed familiarity with Kerala. The Chera kings' dependence on trade meant that merchants from West Asia and Southern Europe established coastal posts and settlements in Kerala. Many, especially Jews and Christians, escaped persecution and established the Nasrani Mappila and Muslim Mappila communities. According to several scholars, the Jews first arrived in Kerala in 573 BC. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings state that Thomas the Apostle visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 AD to proselytize amongst Kerala's Jewish settlements. However, the first verifiable migration of Jewish-Nasrani families to Kerala is of the arrival of Knai Thoma in 345 AD.α[›] Muslim merchants (Malik ibn Dinar) settled in Kerala by the 8th century AD. After Vasco Da Gama's arrival in 1498, the Portuguese gained control of the lucrative pepper trade by subduing Keralite communities and commerce. Conflicts between the cities of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kochi (Cochin) provided an opportunity for the Dutch to oust the Portuguese. In turn, the Dutch were ousted at the 1741 Battle of Colachel by Marthanda Varma of Travancore (Thiruvathaamkoor). Hyder Ali, heading the Mysore, conquered northern Kerala, capturing Kozhikode in 1766. In the late 18th century, Tipu Sultan, Ali’s son and successor, launched campaigns against the expanding British East India Company; these resulted in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. He ultimately ceded Malabar District and South Kanara to the Company in the 1790s. The Company then forged tributary alliances with Kochi (1791) and Travancore (1795). Malabar and South Kanara became part of the Madras Presidency. Kerala saw comparatively little defiance of the British Raj. Nevertheless, several rebellions occurred, including the 1946 Punnapra-Vayalar revolt, and leaders like Velayudan Thampi Dalava, Kunjali Marakkar, and Pazhassi Raja earned their place in history and folklore. Many actions, spurred by such leaders as Sree Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamikal, instead protested such conditions as untouchability; notable was the 1924 Vaikom Satyagraham. In 1936, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma of Travancore issued the Temple Entry Proclamation that opened Hindu temples to all castes; Cochin and Malabar soon did likewise. The 1921 Moplah Rebellion involved Mappila Muslims battling Hindus and the British Raj. After India gained its independence in 1947, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin on 1 July 1949. On 1 January 1950 (Republic Day), Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state. The Madras Presidency was organised to form Madras State several years prior, in 1947. Finally, the Government of India's 1 November 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated the state of Kerala, incorporating Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara. A new legislative assembly was also created, for which elections were first held in 1957. These resulted in a communist-led government—one of the world's earliest—headed by E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Subsequent social reforms favoured tenants and labourers. As a result, living standards, education, and life expectancy improved dramatically. Main article: Geography of Kerala Kerala’s 38,863 km² landmass (1.18% of India) is wedged between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats—identified as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots—to the east. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 72°22', Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala’s coast runs for some 580 km (360 miles), while the state itself varies between 35 and 120 km (22–75 miles) in width. Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). Located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the centre of the Indian tectonic plate; as such, most of the state is subject to comparatively little seismic and volcanic activity. Pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene geological formations compose the bulk of Kerala’s terrain. Eastern Kerala lies immediately west of the Western Ghats's rain shadow; it consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys. 41 of Kerala’s west-flowing rivers, and 3 of its east-flowing ones originate in this region. Here, the Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad, where the Palakkad Gap breaks through to provide access to the rest of India. The Western Ghats rises on average to 1,500 m (4920 ft) above sea level, while the highest peaks may reach to 2,500 m (8200 ft). Just west of the mountains lie the midland plains composing central Kerala; rolling hills and valleys dominate. Generally ranging between elevations of 250–1,000 m (820–3300 ft), the eastern portions of the Nilgiri and Palni Hills include such formations as Agastyamalai and Anamalai. Kerala’s western coastal belt is relatively flat, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Lake Vembanad—Kerala’s largest body of water—dominates the Backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is more than 200 km² in area. Around 8% of India's waterways (measured by length) are found in Kerala. The most important of Kerala’s forty four rivers include the Periyar (244 km), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba (176 km), the Chaliyar (169 km), the Kadalundipuzha (130 km) and the Achankovil (128 km). The average length of the rivers of Kerala is 64 km. Most of the remainder are small and entirely fed by monsoon rains. These conditions result in the nearly year-round water logging of such western regions as Kuttanad, 500 km² of which lies below sea level. As Kerala's rivers are small and lack deltas, they are more prone to environmental factors. Kerala's rivers face many problems, including summer droughts, the building of large dams, sand mining, and pollution. Main article: Climate of Kerala With 120–140 rainy days per year, Kerala has a wet and maritime tropical climate influenced by the seasonal heavy rains of the southwest summer monsoon. In eastern Kerala, a drier tropical wet and dry climate prevails. Kerala's rainfall averages 3,107 mm annually. Some of Kerala's drier lowland regions average only 1,250 mm; the mountains of eastern Idukki district receive more than 5,000 mm of orographic precipitation, the highest in the state. In summers, most of Kerala is prone to gale force winds, storm surges, cyclone-related torrential downpours, occasional droughts, and rises in sea level and storm activity resulting from global warming. Kerala’s maximum daily temperature averages 36.7 °C; the minimum is 19.8 °C. Mean annual temperatures range from 25.0–27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to 20.0–22.5 °C in the highlands. Flora and fauna Main article: Flora and fauna of Kerala Much of Kerala's notable biodiversity is concentrated and protected in the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in the eastern hills. Almost a fourth of India's 10,000 plant species are found in the state. Among the almost 4,000 flowering plant species (1,272 of which are endemic to Kerala and 159 threatened) are 900 species of highly sought medicinal plants. Its 9,400 km² of forests include tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (lower and middle elevations—3,470 km²), tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (mid-elevations—4,100 km² and 100 km², respectively), and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests (highest elevations—100 km²). Altogether, 24% of Kerala is forested. Two of the world’s Ramsar Convention listed wetlands—Lake Sasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands—are in Kerala, as well as 1455.4 km² of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Subjected to extensive clearing for cultivation in the 20th century, much of Kerala's forest cover is now protected from clearfelling. Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: 102 species of mammals (56 of which are endemic), 476 species of birds, 202 species of freshwater fishes, 169 species of reptiles (139 of them endemic), and 89 species of amphibians (86 endemic). These are threatened by extensive habitat destruction, including soil erosion, landslides, salinization, and resource extraction. Eastern Kerala’s windward mountains shelter tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests, which are common in the Western Ghats. Here, sonokeling (Indian rosewood), anjili, mullumurikku (Erythrina), and Cassia number among the more than 1,000 species of trees in Kerala. Other plants include bamboo, wild black pepper, wild cardamom, the calamus rattan palm (a type of climbing palm), and aromatic vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides). Living among them are such fauna as Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Leopard (Panthera pardus), Nilgiri Tahr, Common Palm Civet, and Grizzled Giant Squirrel. Reptiles include the king cobra, viper, python, and crocodile. Kerala's birds are legion—Peafowl, the Great Hornbill, Indian Grey Hornbill, Indian Cormorant, and Jungle Myna are several emblematic species. In lakes, wetlands, and waterways, fish such as kadu (stinging catfish and Choottachi (Orange chromide—Etroplus maculatus; valued as an aquarium specimen) are found. Main article: Districts of Kerala Kerala's fourteen districts are distributed among Kerala's three historical regions: Malabar (northern Kerala), Kochi (central Kerala), and Travancore (southern Kerala). Kerala's modern-day districts (listed in order from north to south) correspond to them as follows: Main article: Corporations, Municipalities and Taluks of Kerala Mahé, a part of the Indian union territory of Puducherry (Pondicherry), is a coastal exclave surrounded by Kerala on all of its landward approaches. Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) is the state capital and most populous city. Kochi is the most populous urban agglomeration and the major port city in Kerala. Kozhikode and Thrissur are the other major commercial centres of the state. The High Court of Kerala is at Ernakulam. Kerala's districts, which serve as the administrative regions for taxation purposes, are further subdivided into 63 taluks; these have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records. Main article: Government of Kerala Like other Indian states and most Commonwealth countries, Kerala is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy; universal suffrage is granted to state residents. There are three branches of government. The unicameral legislature, known as the legislative assembly, comprises elected members and special office bearers (the Speaker and Deputy Speaker) elected by assemblymen. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker. The Assembly is presided over by the Deputy Speaker whenever the Speaker is absent. Kerala has 140 Assembly constituencies. The state sends 20 members to the Lok Sabha and 9 to the Rajya Sabha, the Indian Parliament's upper house. Like other Indian states, the constitutional head of state is the Governor of Kerala, who is appointed by the President of India. The executive authority is headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala, who is the de facto head of state and is vested with most of the executive powers; the Legislative Assembly's majority party leader is appointed to this position by the Governor. The Council of Ministers, which answers to the Legislative Assembly, has its members appointed by the Governor; the appointments receive input from the Chief Minister. The judiciary comprises the Kerala High Court (including a Chief Justice combined with 26 permanent and two additional (pro tempore) justices) and a system of lower courts. The High Court of Kerala is the highest court for the state; it also decides cases from the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs. The state's 2005–2006 budget was 219 billion INR. The state government's tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) amounted to 111,248 million INR in 2005, up from 63,599 million in 2000. Its non-tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Kerala as assessed by the Indian Finance Commissions reached 10,809 million INR in 2005, nearly double the 6,847 million INR revenues of 2000. However, Kerala's high ratio of taxation to gross state domestic product (GSDP) has not alleviated chronic budget deficits and unsustainable levels of government debt, impacting social services. Kerala hosts two major political alliances: the United Democratic Front (UDF—led by the Indian National Congress) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF—led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))). At present, the LDF is the ruling coalition in government; V.S. Achuthanandan of the CPI(M) is the Chief Minister of Kerala and Oommen Chandy of [United Democratic Front (India)|UDF] is the Chief Oposition leader. Kerala is one of the few regions in the world where communist parties are democratically elected in a parliamentary democracy. Compared with most other Indians, Keralites are well versed and keen participants in the political process; many elections are decided by razor-thin margins of victory. Strikes, protests, rallies, and marches are ubiquitous. Main article: Economy of Kerala Since its incorporation as a state, Kerala's economy largely operated under welfare based democratic socialist principles. In recent years, the state has liberalised its increasingly mixed economy, allowing greater participation by the free market and foreign direct investment. Kerala's nominal gross domestic product (as of 2004–2005) is an estimated 89451.99 crore INR, while recent GDP growth (9.2% in 2004–2005 and 7.4% in 2003–2004) has been robust compared to historical averages (2.3% annually in the 1980s and between 5.1% and 5.99% in the 1990s). Nevertheless, relatively few major corporations and manufacturing plants choose to operate in Kerala. This is mitigated by remittances sent home by overseas Keralites, which contributes around 20% of state GDP. Kerala's per capita GDP of 11,819 INR is significantly higher than the all India average, although it still lies far below the world average. Additionally, Kerala's Human Development Index and standard of living statistics are the nation's best. This apparent paradox—high human development and low economic development—is often dubbed the Kerala phenomenon or the Kerala model of development, and arises mainly from Kerala's strong service sector. The service sector (including tourism, public administration, banking and finance, transportation, and communications—63.8% of statewide GDP in 2002–2003) along with the agricultural and fishing industries (together 17.2% of GDP) dominate Kerala's economy. Nearly half of Kerala's people are dependent on agriculture alone for income. Some 600 varieties of rice (Kerala's most important staple food and cereal crop) are harvested from 3105.21 km² (a decline from 5883.4 km² in 1990) of paddy fields; 688,859 tonnes are produced per annum. Other key crops include coconut (899,198 ha), tea, coffee (23% of Indian production, or 57,000 tonnes), rubber, cashews, and spices—including pepper, cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Around 1.050 million fishermen haul an annual catch of 668,000 tonnes (1999–2000 estimate); 222 fishing villages are strung along the 590 km coast. Another 113 fishing villages dot the hinterland. Traditional industries manufacturing such items as coir, handlooms, and handicrafts employ around one million people. Around 180,000 small-scale industries employ around 909,859 Keralites; 511 medium and large scale manufacturing firms are located in Kerala. A small mining sector (0.3% of GDP) involves extraction of ilmenite, kaolin, bauxite, silica, quartz, rutile, zircon, and sillimanite. Home gardens and animal husbandry also provide work for hundreds of thousands of people. Other major sectors are tourism, manufacturing, and business process outsourcing. Kerala's unemployment rate is variously estimated at 19.2% and 20.77%, although underemployment of those classified as "employed", low employability of many job-seeking youths, and a mere 13.5% female participation rate are significant problems. Estimates of the statewide poverty rate range from 12.71% to as high as 36%. - See also: Roads in Kerala Kerala has 145,704 kilometers (90,539 mi) of roads (4.2% of India's total). This translates to about 4.62 kilometers (2.87 mi) of road per thousand population, compared to an all India average of 2.59 kilometers (1.61 mi). Virtually all of Kerala's villages are connected by road. Traffic in Kerala has been growing at a rate of 10–11% every year, resulting in high traffic and pressure on the roads. Kerala's road density is nearly four times the national average, reflecting the state's high population density. Kerala's annual total of road accidents is among the nation's highest. India's national highway network includes a Kerala-wide total of 1,524 kilometers (947 mi), which is 2.6% of the national total. There are eight designated national highways in the state. The Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), which includes the GIS-based Road Information and Management Project (RIMS), is responsible for maintaining and expanding the 1,600 kilometers (994 mi) of roadways that compose the state highways system; it also oversees major district roads. Most of Kerala's west coast is accessible through two national highways, NH 47, and NH 17. The state has major international airports at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode that link the state with the rest of the nation and the world. The Cochin International Airport at Kochi is the first international airport in India that was built without Central Government funds, and is also the country's first publicly owned airport. The backwaters traversing the state are an important mode of inland navigation. The Indian Railways' Southern Railway line runs throughout the state, connecting all major towns and cities except those in the highland districts of Idukki and Wayanad. Kerala's major railway stations are Trivandrum Central, Kollam Junction, Ernakulam Junction, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Shoranur Junction, and Palakkad. Main article: Demographics of Kerala The 31.8 million of Kerala’s compound population is predominantly of Malayali Dravidian ethnicity, while the rest is mostly made up of Indo-Aryan, Jewish, and Arab elements in both culture and ancestry (both of which are usually mixed). Kerala is also home to 321,000 indigenous tribal Adivasis (1.10% of the populace), who are mostly concentrated in the eastern districts. Malayalam is Kerala's official language; Tamil and various Adivasi languages are also spoken by ethnic minorities. Kerala is home to 3.44% of India's people; at 819 persons per km², its land is three times as densely settled as the rest of India. Kerala's rate of population growth is India's lowest, and Kerala's decadal growth (9.42% in 2001) is less than half the all-India average of 21.34%. Whereas Kerala's population more than doubled between 1951 and 1991 by adding 15.6 million people to reach 29.1 million residents in 1991, the population stood at less than 32 million by 2001. Kerala's coastal regions are the most densely settled, leaving the eastern hills and mountains comparatively sparsely populated. Women compose 51.42% of the population. Kerala's principal religions are Hinduism (56.1%), Islam (24.7%), and Christianity (19%). Remnants of a once substantial Cochin Jewish population also practice Judaism. In comparison with the rest of India, Kerala experiences relatively little sectarianism. Kerala's society is less patriarchical than the rest of the Third World. Gender relations are among the most equitable in India and the Third World, despite discrepancies among low caste men and women. Certain Hindu communities (such as the Nairs), Travancore Ezhavas and the Muslims around Kannur used to follow a traditional matrilineal system known as marumakkathayam, although this practice ended in the years after Indian independence. Other Muslims, Christians, and some Hindu castes such as the Namboothiris and the Ezhavas follow makkathayam, a patrilineal system. Kerala's human development indices—elimination of poverty, primary level education, and health care—are among the best in India. Kerala has the second highest literacy rate (89.9%) among Indian states after Mizoram and life expectancy (73 years) is among the highest in India. Literacy is 88% among females and 94% among males according to the 2001 census. Kerala's rural poverty rate fell from 69% (1970–1971) to 19% (1993–1994); the overall (urban and rural) rate fell 36% between the 1970s and 1980s. By 1999–2000, the rural and urban poverty rates dropped to 10.0% and 9.6% respectively. These changes stem largely from efforts begun in the late 19th century by the kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore to boost social welfare. This focus was maintained by Kerala's post-independence government. Kerala's healthcare system has garnered international acclaim. UNICEF and the World Health Organization designating Kerala the world's first "baby-friendly state". Representative of this condition, more than 95% of Keralite births are hospital-delivered. Aside from ayurveda (both elite and popular forms), siddha, and unani, many endangered and endemic modes of traditional medicine, including kalari, marmachikitsa, and vishavaidyam, are practiced. These propagate via gurukula discipleship, and comprise a fusion of both medicinal and supernatural treatments, and are partly responsible for drawing increasing numbers of medical tourists. A steadily aging population (11.2% of Keralites are over age 60) and low birthrate (18 per 1,000) make Kerala one of the few regions of the Third World to have undergone the "demographic transition" characteristic of such developed nations as Canada, Japan, and Norway. In 1991, Kerala's TFR (children born per women) was the lowest in India. Hindus had a TFR of 1.66, Christians 1.78, and Muslims 2.97. Kerala's female-to-male ratio (1.058) is significantly higher than that of the rest of India. The same is true of its sub-replacement fertility level and infant mortality rate (estimated at 12 to 14 deaths per 1,000 live births). However, Kerala's morbidity rate is higher than that of any other Indian state—118 (rural Keralites) and 88 (urban) per 1,000 people. The corresponding all India figures are 55 and 54 per 1,000, respectively. Kerala's 13.3% prevalence of low birth weight is substantially higher than that of First World nations. Outbreaks of water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis, and typhoid, among the more than 50% of Keralites who rely on some 3 million water wells is another problem, which is worsened by the widespread lack of sewers. - See also: Colleges in Kerala Schools and colleges in Kerala are either run by the government or by private trusts and individuals. The schools are each affiliated with either the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), or the Kerala State Education Board. English is the medium of instruction in most private schools; though government run schools offer both English and Malayalam. After completing their secondary education, which involves ten years of schooling, students typically enroll at Higher Secondary School in one of the three streams—liberal arts, commerce or science. Upon completing the required coursework, the student can enroll in general or professional degree programmes. Thiruvananthapuram is one of the state's major academic hubs; it hosts the University of Kerala. The city also has several professional education colleges, including fifteen engineering colleges, three medical colleges, three Ayurveda colleges, two colleges of homeopathy, six other medical colleges, and several law colleges. Trivandrum Medical College, Kerala's premier health institute, is also one of the finest in the country. It is being upgraded to the status of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The College of Engineering, Trivandrum is one of the prominent engineering institutions in the country. The Asian School of Business and IIITM-K are two of the other premier management study institutions in the city, both situated inside Technopark. The Indian Institute of Space Technology, the unique and first of its kind in India, is situated in the state capital. Kochi is another major educational hub. The Cochin University of Science and Technology (also known as "Cochin University") is situated in the city. Most of the city's colleges offering tertiary education are affiliated either with the Mahatma Gandhi University or Cochin University. Other national educational institutes in Kochi include the Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training, the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, the National Institute of Oceanography and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. Thrissur can be called as the Educational Capital of Kerala as Coimbatore to Tamil Nadu. Kerala Agricultural University is situated in this city. Three Medical Colleges, The Government Engineering College, Govt. Law College, Ayurveda College, Govt.Fine Arts College, College of Co-operation & Banking and Management, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, College of Horticulture, College of Forestry etc make the name "Educational Capital" more meaningful. There are a lot of famous colleges like St.Thomas College, Sri Kerala Varma College, St.Mary's College, Vimala College etc. Thrissur is also a main center of coaching for the entrance examinations for engineering and medicine. Kottayam also acts as a main educational hub. According to the 1991 census, Kottayam District of Kerala is the first district to achieve highest literecy rate in the whole of India. Mahatma Gandhi University, CMS College(the first institution to start English education in Southern India), Medical College, Kottayam, and the Labour India Educational Research Center are some of the important educational institutions in the district. Kozhikode is home to two of the premier educational institutions in the country; the IIMK, one of the seven Indian Institutes of Management, and the only National Institute of Technology in Kerala, the NITC. - See also: Education in India Kerala's culture is a blend of Dravidian and Aryan influences, deriving from both a greater Tamil-heritage region known as Tamilakam and southern coastal Karnataka. Later, Kerala's culture was elaborated upon through centuries of contact with neighboring and overseas cultures. Native performing arts include koodiyattom, kathakali—from katha ("story") and kali ("performance")—and its offshoot Kerala natanam, koothu (akin to stand-up comedy), mohiniaattam ("dance of the enchantress"), thullal, padayani, and theyyam. Other forms of art are more religious or tribal in nature. These include chavittu nadakom, oppana (originally from Malabar), which combines dance, rhythmic hand clapping, and ishal vocalisations. However, many of these art forms largely play to tourists or at youth festivals, and are not as popular among most ordinary Keralites. These people look to more contemporary art and performance styles, including those employing mimicry and parody. Kerala's music also has ancient roots. Carnatic music dominates Keralite traditional music. This was the result of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma's popularisation of the genre in the 19th century. Raga-based renditions known as sopanam accompany kathakali performances. Melam (including the paandi and panchari variants) is a more percussive style of music; it is performed at Kshetram centered festivals using the chenda. Melam ensembles comprise up to 150 musicians, and performances may last up to four hours. Panchavadyam is a different form of percussion ensemble, in which up to 100 artists use five types of percussion instrument. Kerala has various styles of folk and tribal music. The popular music of Kerala is dominated by the filmi music of Indian cinema. Kerala's visual arts range from traditional murals to the works of Raja Ravi Varma, the state's most renowned painter. Kerala has its own Malayalam calendar, which is used to plan agricultural and religious activities. Kerala's cuisine is typically served as a sadhya on green banana leaves. Such dishes as idli, payasam, pulisherry, puttucuddla, puzhukku, rasam, and sambar are typical. Keralites—both men and women alike—traditionally don flowing and unstitched garments. These include the mundu, a loose piece of cloth wrapped around men's waists. Women typically wear the sari, a long and elaborately wrapped banner of cloth, wearable in various styles. Language and literature The predominant spoken language in Kerala is Malayalam, most of whose speakers live in Kerala. Malayalam literature is ancient in origin, and includes such figures as the 14th century Niranam poets (Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar), and the 17th century poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan whose works mark the dawn of both modern Malayalam language and indigenous Keralite poetry. The "triumvirate of poets" (Kavithrayam), Kumaran Asan, Vallathol Narayana Menon, and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, are recognised for moving Keralite poetry away from archaic sophistry and metaphysics, and towards a more lyrical mode. In the second half of the 20th century, Jnanpith awardees like G. Sankara Kurup, S. K. Pottekkatt, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillaiand M. T. Vasudevan Nair have made valuable contributions to the Malayalam literature. Later, such Keralite writers as O. V. Vijayan, Kamaladas, M. Mukundan, and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, whose 1996 semi-autobiographical bestseller The God of Small Things is set in the Kottayam town of Ayemenem, have gained international recognition. Main article: Media in Kerala Dozens of newspapers are published in Kerala; they are printed in nine major languages. The principal languages of publication are Malayalam and English. The most widely circulating Malayalam-language newspapers include Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Deepika, Kerala Kaumudi, and Desabhimani. Among major Malayalam periodicals are India Today Malayalam, Chithrabhumi, Kanyaka, and Bhashaposhini. Doordarshan is the state-owned television broadcaster. Multi system operators provide a mix of Malayalam, English, and international channels via cable television. Manorama News (MM TV) and Asianet are among the Malayalam-language channels that compete with the major national channels. All India Radio, the national radio service, reaches much of Kerala via its Thiruvananthapuram 'A' Malayalam-language broadcaster. BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Tata Indicom, Hutch and Airtel compete to provide cellular phone services. Broadband internet is available in most of the towns and cities and is provided by different agencies like the state-run Kerala Telecommunications (which is run by BSNL) and by other private companies like Asianet Satellite communications, VSNL. Dial-up access is provided throughout the state by BSNL and other providers. A substantial Malayalam film industry effectively competes against both Bollywood and Hollywood. Television (especially "mega serials" and cartoons) and the Internet have affected Keralite culture. Yet Keralites maintain high rates of newspaper and magazine subscriptions; 50% spend an average of about seven hours a week reading novels and other books. A sizeable "people's science" movement has taken root in the state, and such activities as writers' cooperatives are becoming increasingly common. Main article: Sports in Kerala Several ancient ritualised arts are Keralite in origin. These include kalaripayattu—kalari ("place", "threshing floor", or "battlefield") and payattu ("exercise" or "practice"). Among the world's oldest martial arts, oral tradition attributes kalaripayattu's emergence to Parasurama. Other ritual arts include theyyam and poorakkali. However, larger numbers of Keralites follow sports such as cricket, kabaddi, soccer, and badminton. Dozens of large stadiums, including Kochi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Thiruvananthapuram's Chandrashekaran Nair Stadium, attest to the mass appeal of such sports among Keralites. Kerala has been the athletics powerhouse of India for decades. Several Keralite athletes have attained world-class status, including P. T. Usha, Suresh Babu, Shiny Wilson, K. M. Beenamol, M. D. Valsamma and Anju Bobby George. Volleyball, another popular sport, is often played on makeshift courts on sandy beaches along the coast. Jimmy George, born in Peravoor, Kannur, was arguably the most successful volleyball player ever to represent India. At his prime he was regarded as among the world's ten best players. Cricket, which is the most-followed sport in the rest of India and South Asia, is less popular in Kerala. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who was born in Kothamangalam and often referred to as simply "Sreesanth", is a controversial right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman whose actions were pivotal in sealing, among other games, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. Among less successful Keralite cricketers is Tinu Yohannan, son of Olympic long jumper T. C. Yohannan. Main article: Tourism in Kerala Kerala, situated on the lush and tropical Malabar Coast, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Named as one of the "ten paradises of the world" and "50 places of a lifetime" by the National Geographic Traveler magazine, Kerala is especially known for its ecotourism initiatives. Its unique culture and traditions, coupled with its varied demographics, has made Kerala one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Growing at a rate of 13.31%, the state's tourism industry is a major contributor to the state's economy. Until the early 1980s, Kerala was a relatively unknown destination; most tourist circuits focused on North India. Aggressive marketing campaigns launched by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, the government agency that oversees tourism prospects of the state, laid the foundation for the growth of the tourism industry. In the decades that followed, Kerala's tourism industry was able to transform the state into one of the niche holiday destinations in India. The tagline God's Own Country, originally coined by Vipin Gopal, has been widely used in Kerala's tourism promotions and soon became synonymous with the state. In 2006, Kerala attracted 8.5 million tourist arrivals, an increase of 23.68% over the previous year, making the state one of the fastest-growing destinations in the world. Popular attractions in the state include the beaches at Kovalam, Cherai and Varkala; the hill stations of Munnar, Nelliampathi, Ponmudi and Wayanad; and national parks and wildlife sanctuaries at Periyar and Eravikulam National Park. The "backwaters" region, which comprises an extensive network of interlocking rivers, lakes, and canals that centre on Alleppey, Kumarakom, and Punnamada (where the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race is held in August), also see heavy tourist traffic. Heritage sites, such as the Padmanabhapuram Palace and the Mattancherry Palace, are also visited. Cities such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are popular centres for their shopping and traditional theatrical performances. During early summer, the Thrissur Pooram is conducted, attracting foreign tourists who are largely drawn by the festival's elephants and celebrants. See also |State symbols of Kerala| |Bird||Great Indian Hornbill| |Flower||Cassia Fistula (Indian laburnum)| - ^ Early history of Kerala. Government of Kerala. Retrieved on 16 May 2007. - ^ McKibben B. "The Enigma of Kerala: One state in India is proving development experts wrong", DoubleTake, 1995. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ a b c McKibben B (2006). "Kerala, India". National Geographic Traveller. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Douthwaite R (1999). The Growth Illusion: How Economic Growth has Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many, and Endangered the Planet. New Society Publishers, pp. 310–312. ISBN 0-8657-1396-0. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Heinberg R (2004). Powerdown: Options And Actions For A Post-Carbon World. New Society Publishers, p. 105. ISBN 0-8657-1510-6. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ The extent of problem of Mental Health in the State. Kerala State Mental Health Authority. Government of Kerala. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ India Corruption Study — 2005. Transparency International (June 2005). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Dobbie A (2006). India: The Elephant's Blessing. Melrose Press, p. 122. ISBN 1-9052-2685-3. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ George KM (1968). A Survey of Malayalam Literature. Asia Publishing House, p. 2. - ^ Vipin Gopal (1993). Kerala - God's Own Country. www.cs.cmu.edu. Retrieved on 8 January 2008. - ^ Aiya VN (1906). The Travancore State Manual. Travancore Government Press, pp. 210–212. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Government of Kerala 2005. - ^ Pliny's Naturalis Historia, Book 6, Chapter 26 - ^ Iyengar 2001, pp. 192–195. - ^ Iyengar 2001, pp. 303–307. - ^ Milton J, Skeat WW, Pollard AW, Brown L (31 August 1982). The Indian Christians of St Thomas. Cambridge University Press, p. 171. ISBN 0-5212-1258-8. - ^ De Beth Hillel, David (1832). Travels (Madras publication). - ^ Lord, James Henry (1977). The Jews in India and the Far East; Greenwood Press Reprint; ISBN. - ^ Medlycott, A E. 1905 "India and the Apostle Thomas"; Gorgias Press LLC; ISBN - ^ Thomas Puthiakunnel, (1973) "Jewish colonies of India paved the way for St. Thomas", The Saint Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, ed. George Menachery, Vol. II. - ^ a b Mundadan AM (1984). Volume I: From the Beginning up to the Sixteenth Century (up to 1542), Church History Association of India, History of Christianity in India, Bangalore: Theological Publications. - ^ Ravindran PN (2000). Black Pepper: Piper Nigrum. CRC Press, 3. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Curtin PD (1984). Cross-Cultural Trade in World History. Cambridge University Press, 144. ISBN 0-5212-6931-8. - ^ Superintendent of Government Printing (1908). Imperial Gazetteer of India (Provincial Series): Madras. Calcutta: Government of India, 22. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Emergence of Nationalism: Punnapra-Vayalar revolt. Department of Public Relations (Government of Kerala) (2002). Retrieved on 14 January 2006. - ^ Qureshi, MN (1999). Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918–1924, 445–447. ISBN 9-0041-0538-7. - ^ a b Plunkett, Cannon & Harding 2001, p. 24. - ^ Jose D. "EMS Namboodiripad dead", Rediff, Press Trust of India, 19 March 1998. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Cheriyan 2004, pp. 22–23. - ^ Cheriyan 2004, pp. 43–44. - ^ a b Sreedharan 2004, p. 5. - ^ a b c d e Government of Kerala 2005b. - ^ United Nations Development Programme. Map Showing Multi Hazard Zones in Kerala [map]. (2002) Retrieved on 12 January 2006. - ^ Inland Waterways Authority of India 2005. - ^ Chacko & Renuka 2002, p. 80. - ^ Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 46. - ^ Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 26. - ^ Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 52. - ^ Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 65. - ^ Sreedharan 2004, p. 11. - ^ a b Government of Kerala 2004f, p. 141. - ^ a b c Sreedharan 2004, p. 12. - ^ Jayarajan 2004, pp. 6–7. - ^ Government of Kerala 2004f, pp. 142–145. - ^ Sreedharan 2004, pp. 174–175. - ^ Sreedharan 2004, p. 163–165. - ^ "World Gazetteer:India - largest cities (per geographical entity") - ^ "World Gazetteer: India - largest cities (per geographical entity") - ^ Budget at a Glance - ^ Finance Commission (Ministry of Finance, Government of India) - ^ Memoranda from States: Kerala - ^ Protest against frequent strikes. The Hindu. The Hindu (5 July 2005). Retrieved on 26 November 2007. - ^ "Kerala's GDP hits an all-time high", Rediff, Press Trust of India, 9 March 2006. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ a b c Mohindra 2003, p. 8. - ^ a b Government of Kerala 2004, p. 2. - ^ a b Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 49. - ^ Jobs Abroad Support 'Model' State in India. New York Times (07 September 2007). Retrieved on 7 September 2007. - ^ Hari, KS & KP Kannan (2002), "Kerala's Gulf Connection: Emigration, Remittances and their Macro Economic Impact (Working Paper 328)", Centre for Development Studies (Trivandrum). - ^ Raman 2005. - ^ a b c Varma MS. "Nap on HDI scores may land Kerala in an equilibrium trap", The Financial Express, 4 April 2005. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ a b Tharamangalam 2005, p. 1. - ^ a b Brenkert & Malone 2003, p. 48. - ^ a b Government of Kerala 2004c, p. 24. - ^ a b c Government of Kerala 2005c. - ^ a b Balachandran 2004, p. 5. - ^ Joy 2004, p. 13. - ^ Joy 2004, pp. 6–7. - ^ Rajan & Zachariah 2005, p. 4. - ^ a b Government of Kerala 2004, p. 4. - ^ Nair 2004, p. 5. - ^ Nair 2004, p. 13. - ^ Dhar A. "260 million Indians still below poverty line", The Hindu, 28 January 2006. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Government of Kerala 2006, p. 1. - ^ Kumar KG. "Accidentally notorious", The Hindu Business Line, 22 September 2003. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Kumar VS. "Kerala State transport project second phase to be launched next month", The Hindu Business Line, 20 January 2006. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Kumar VS (2003). Institutional Strengthening Action Plan (ISAP). Public Works Department. Government of Kerala. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ "The three airports in Kerala can be in business without affecting each other", Rediff, 6 December 1999. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Office of the Registrar General 2001b. - ^ Kalathil 2004, p. 10. - ^ Kalathil 2004, p. 12. - ^ Office of the Registrar General 2001. - ^ Government of Kerala 2004c, p. 26. - ^ Government of Kerala 2004c, p. 27. - ^ Venkitakrishnan & Kurien 2003, p. 26. - ^ Office of the Registrar General 2004. - ^ Heller P (4 May 2003). "Social capital as a product of class mobilization and state intervention: Industrial workers in Kerala, India": 49–50. University of California. Retrieved on 25 February 2007. - ^ Lindberg 2004, pp. 18–19. - ^ Government of Kerala 2004r, p. 366 - ^ Lindberg 2004, p. 1. - ^ Government of Kerala 2002b. - ^ Template:Http://www.nfhsindia.org - ^ a b (2001). "Kerala: Human Development Fact Sheet". United Nations Development Programme. - ^ Mohindra 2003, pp. 8–9. - ^ Deaton A (22 August 2003). "Regional poverty estimates for India, 1999-2000" (PDF): p. 6. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ (2003) "EFA (Education for All) Global Monitoring Report" (PDF): p. 156. UNESCO. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Kutty VR (2000). "Historical analysis of the development of health care facilities in Kerala State, India" (PDF). Health Policy and Planning 15 (1): 103–109. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ a b c d Kutty VR (2004). in Nair PRG, Shaji H: Why low birth weight (LBW) is still a problem in Kerala: A preliminary exploration (PDF), Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Thiruvananthapuram: Centre for Development Studies, p. 6. ISBN 81-87621-60-5. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Unnikrishnan 2004, p. 13. - ^ Unnikrishnan 2004, p. 17. - ^ Unnikrishnan 2004, pp. 5–6. - ^ Unnikrishnan 2004, p. 15. - ^ Alagarajan M (December 2003). "An analysis of fertility differentials by religion in Kerala: A test of the interaction hypothesis". Population Research and Policy Review. - ^ a b Tharamangalam 2005, p. 2. - ^ a b Krishnaswami 2004, p. 5. - ^ Roy 2004, pp. 5–6. - ^ Roy 2004, p. 6. - ^ a b Roy 2004, p. 7. - ^ Technical Education in Kerala - Department of Technical education. Professional Colleges in Thiruvananthapuram. Kerala Government. Retrieved on 25 August 2006. - ^ Bhagyalekshmy 2004, pp. 6–7. - ^ Bhagyalekshmy 2004d, p. 29. - ^ Bhagyalekshmy 2004d, p. 32. - ^ Indian's First Novel Wins Booker Prize in Britain. The New York Times (15 October 1997). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Winds, Rivers & Rain. Salon (September 1997). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ General Review. Registrar of Newspapers for India. Retrieved on 1 September 2006. - ^ Ranjith KS (2004). in Nair PRG, Shaji H: Rural Libraries of Kerala (PDF), Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Thiruvananthapuram: Centre for Development Studies, pp. 20–21. ISBN 81-87621-81-8. Retrieved on 12 November 2007. - ^ Sports and Games in Kerala. Information and Public Relations Department of Kerala. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Jimmy George. Sports Portal. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ India Wins World Twenty20 Thriller. The Hindu (25 September 2007). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ It's advantage Tinu at the Mecca of cricket. The Hindu (13 June 2002). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ India Squad Profiles: Tinu Yohannan. BBC Sport (2002). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Warriors from Kerala. The Hindu (20 January 2002). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Paradise Found: Kerala, India. Fifty places of a lifetime. National Geographic Traveler. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ "Tourism beckons", The Hindu, 11 May 2004. Retrieved on 9 August 2006. - ^ Tourist Statistics — 2005 (Provisional). Department of Tourism. Government of Kerala (2005). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Santhanam K (27 January 2002). An ideal getaway. The Hindu Magazine. The Hindu. Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ Tourist Statistics — 2006. Department of Tourism. Government of Kerala (2006). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. - ^ The stars of Pooram show are jumbos. The Hindu (26 May 2006). Retrieved on 11 November 2007. External links |Find more about Kerala on Wikipedia's sister projects:| |Images and media| - Official entry portal of the Government of Kerala - Chief Minister of Kerala - Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala - Directorate of Census Operations of Kerala - General references |Topics||History | Economy | Geography | Flora and Fauna | Culture | Arts | Tourism| |Cities||Kochi | Kozhikode | Thiruvananthapuram| ||Andhra Pradesh · Arunachal Pradesh · Assam · Bihar · Chhattisgarh · Goa · Gujarat · Haryana · Himachal Pradesh · Jammu and Kashmir · Jharkhand · Karnataka · Kerala · Madhya Pradesh · Maharashtra · Manipur · Meghalaya · Mizoram · Nagaland · Orissa · Punjab · Rajasthan · Sikkim · Tamil Nadu · Tripura · Uttar Pradesh · Uttarakhand · West Bengal ||Andaman and Nicobar Islands · Chandigarh · Dadra and Nagar Haveli · National Capital Territory of Delhi · Daman and Diu · Lakshadweep · Puducherry

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Australia And Its Wildlife One of the main attractions for a lot of visitors to Australia is its wildlife. It is not that it has the largest amount of wildlife species but it has some of the unique species which can not be seen anywhere else. The reason is the unique geography of this country. Australia is famous for having its own distinct wildlife. There are several reasons for this; the first is that it is not associated to any other land. All the other continents except Antarctica are associated to at least one other continent, which means wildlife can move back and forth between them. In case of Australia they have not been connected to any other land in millions of years so the wildlife there was allowed to evolve in its own way. Another reason for having a specific wildlife in Australia is that it is a quite large island. Other continents also have wildlife that is just as varied but since the animals can travel they can be seen on more than one continent. Islands typically evolved their own unique wildlife because of their separation while Australia is a big island. In result it has far more unique species than any island would have. Another reason for having unique wildlife is its geography which is quite different. It is by faraway the flattest continent in the world, it is also made up of very barren desert. In result the animals have had to adapt to this unique environment. There are fewer forests than you would find on the other continents for example most of the animals have had to adapt to live in the open spaces. Due to this unique environment in Australia you can see some of the species which cannot be seen anywhere in the world. It can be both good and bad; the koala bear for example is regarded as an animal that most tourists would like to see. However this country is also a home for ten most venomous species of snakes in the world. So it also very dangerous as compared to any other country. It’s better to take necessary precautions before you move to witness this amazing wildlife. There are some other things that you would love to see about Australia’s wildlife. As a continent which is isolated from the rest of the world it has tended to develop a unique character.http://www.namastejee.com/australia-and-its-wildlife.aspxAustralia And Its WildlifeTour GuideOne of the main attractions for a lot of visitors to Australia is its wildlife. It is not that it has the largest amount of wildlife species but it has some of the unique species which can not be seen anywhere else. The reason is the unique geography of...DevjeetDevjeet [email protected] friends, Devjeet here. I'm web developer & internet marketing expert by profession and Tech Savvy, Web Enthusiast & cricket lover by nature. If you like my blog Namaste Jee, you may subscribe to my RSS Feed. I have plenty of information to share and by subscribing you will get the directly in your email.Namaste Jee

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NATURAL LANGUAGE AND PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE IN GENERAL Under the name of Language, let’s understand a manifestation of Power, and of energy, through which there manifests an interior force that irradiates towards the exterior. We can say that Language, with its undeniable expression, is the revelation of determined internal forces. In this sense, let’s observe that all of Nature’s affairs have their own peculiar language. Within the forces of every Entity are bound the means of its expression and, among its strengths and its vehicle of expression, quantitatively as well as qualitatively, there is an exact relation, in such a way, that every Entity can express itself exactly according to its way of being. We could say that it is the Force of Forces or that which “GOD” himself(/herself) expresses, every day and every hour, by means of his forces. The crystallizing, living part of this expression, is the physical Word. The intangible and etheric, the eternal, is the physical alphabet. Everything, comes into being like types or physical structures of an expression of divine energy. Every affair in Nature, every form of expression, differentiates itself from the rest through its conditions. Among these same conditions, there exists a differentiation of Cause and Effect, of energies, of organs and of forms. Every state is a Letter. Several Letters give a Syllable. The conjunction of these is a Word… For those who have learned and sculpted this sacred writing in themselves, Nature is a living, eternal, indestructible writing, by means of which the TRUTH has been communicated since the first luminous day of creation forward. - Dr. Arnoldo Krumm-Heller

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Tuesday, May 6, 2008 The Bhopal gas-leak disaster in India remains perhaps the most devastating single-incident mass tort in terms of loss of human life. As this article from the Associated Press shows, nearly 25 years later, the effects are still being felt. Here's an excerpt from the article, Indian police detain 80 protesters from Bhopal, by Ashok Sharma: Police detained 80 people who walked nearly 500 miles from the site of a catastrophic 1984 gas leak in central India to protest Monday outside the prime minister's residence, an organizer said. The protesters, including 52 children, were calling for the site of the Bhopal gas leak to be cleaned up and for survivors to be compensated, said Rachna Dhingra, a spokeswoman for Bhopal Group for Information and Action. Guards took the protesters to a nearby police station soon after they arrived outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official residence, Dhingra said. They were freed two hours later. Police officer Jagat Singh said the protesters came without an appointment with the prime minister, and protests are not allowed around the official residence. The leak from the Bhopal pesticide plant in 1984 killed at least 10,000 people and affected about 550,000 others. A subsidiary of U.S. chemical company Union Carbide ran the plant at the time.

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Argentina – forest protection Action: Implement a landmark law to prevent forest clearing for agriculture Description: Argentina's milestone Ley de Bosques (Forest Law) was passed in 2007, was one of the first national laws to set minimum standards of use of natural resources, largely in response to the rapid expansion of soy bean crops. However, the northern provinces of Argentina have been slow to implement the law in full. Hastily authorised, as well as illegal, forest clearings still threaten valuable corridors of native forest and their incredible biodiversity including jaguars, giant armadillos and Chacoan peccaries (which resemble hairy jungle pigs). Without proper implementation of the forest law, vast swathes of forest will be lost in the coming decades. Evidence: Teams of researchers led by Grau (2005) and Boletta (2006) agree that soy bean agriculture threatens the Chaco forest – one of the largest forest biomes in South America – and also the Yungas forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes, which are susceptible to further deforestation. Between 1969 and 2000, 85 per cent of lowland and mountain subtropical dry forests has been cleared (1.2m hectares), according to a Zac (2004). Deforestation has been accelerating since 1997, largely due to the reduced plantation costs fo GM soy, with an estimated yearly loss of at least 2,000km². Brazil – forest protection Action: Reject the proposed new Forest Code Description: A proposed amendment to Brazil's 1965 forestry code would reduce protection of Brazil's forests, including the Amazon and the Atlantic forest. The amendment would provide amnesty to any farmers or ranchers who have practiced illegal deforestation, incorporating over 40 million hectares of land. A key point of the bill is that legal reserves can be reduced from 80 per cent to 50 per cent of the total area of private properties in the Amazon rainforest. Forests protected within Areas of Permanent Preservation may be cut by half. Riparian vegetation currently protected within a 30m width from waterways could be slashed to only 5m. The Brazilian Congress will vote on the amendment, and then it's up to President Lula to veto, although this is unlikely during the run-up to October elections. Evidence: A letter co-written by six Brazilian scientists in Science in July states that if the new rules become law it "will reduce mandatory restoration of native vegetation illegally cleared since 1965" and highlight that this will substantially increase CO2 emissions and put around 100,000 species at risk of extinction. Meanwhile a recent paper in Science reported that deforestation in the Amazon has declined by 47.5 per cent over the past year, according to a satellite survey – one of the biggest declines in 20 years. Canada – woodland caribou Action: Implement measures to protect boreal woodland caribou Description: Boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are a biodiversity indicator for the entire boreal forest, which is essential to help sequester carbon, regulate climate and for biodiversity. Currently at least half of the caribou's range has been impacted by human activities that fragment their forest habitat, and this makes them easy prey for wolves and bears. They are already a "threatened" species under federal law. By far the single biggest danger to boreal woodland caribou is unregulated and uncoordinated oil, gas and tar sand development in western Canada, including the Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and North-West territories. Only a fraction of caribou critical habitat is currently fully protected from industrial activity, but scientists recommend that caribou need large, healthy, intact and interconnected forests to survive. Federal government support is needed to build on an agreement with the Canadian forest industry to protect an area the size of Germany. Restrictions should also be put on oil and gas development including extraction of tar sands in areas critical to the species. Evidence: A report last year from Environment Canada, drawing on the work of over 30 independent caribou scientists, outlined the importance of protecting large tracts of boreal forest critical for the survival of woodland caribou – approximately six million hectares. Mexico – vaquita bycatch Action: Implement a fishing moratorium on all entangling nets in the range of the vaquita Description: The recent likely extinction of the baiji or Chinese river dolphin , makes the vaquita (Phocoena sinus) – the Gulf of California porpoise – the most endangered cetacean. There are estimated to be 250 vaquitas in the world, a 56% decline from the last estimate in 1997. Since 2007, Mexico has been implementing a ban on the use of gilnets by fishermen in a refuge area for the species and has a voluntary programme of fishing permit buyouts. However, this does not go far enough to prevent extinction, say scientists. As vaquita populations approach a critically low number, scientists maintain that accidental "bycatch" of vaquita in fishing nets must be reduced to zero and that removal of all gillnets from the animal's entire range is the only way to accomplish zero mortality. Local fishing communities must be compensated and trained in alternative livelihoods or alternative fishing equipment. Evidence: A 2006 study argues that the bycatch toll from gillnets is unsustainable. The current vaquita refuge contains an estimated 47% of the population - according to a paper by Gerrodette that is currently under Review. Another paper, published in Conservation Biology, calls for "Immediate Action, not more data".

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Smokefree laws do not have a negative economic impact on rural or urban communities, according to a recent study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research. The study, titled “Economic Effects of Smoke-free Laws on Rural and Urban Counties in Kentucky and Ohio” was conducted to examine the potential differential impact of smokefree laws in rural and urban communities given that some studies find that smoking prevalence varies in rural versus urban settings with most finding a higher prevalence in rural communities. The study found no evidence that smokefree legislation negatively influenced local economies in either rural or urban communities regardless if the legislation was a local ordinance or statewide law. The study examined 21 local laws in Kentucky and the Ohio statewide smoke-free law. The study measured the number of employees, total wages paid and number of reporting establishments in all hospitality and accommodation services in Kentucky and Ohio counties from 2001 - 2009. The study found that the economies in Kentucky counties were not affected in any way due to the local smokefree laws. There was also no evidence that total employment or the number of establishments was impacted by the law in Ohio, wages actually increased following the implementation of the law. A study conducted in 2010 by the IUPUI Survey Research Center Indiana found that two thirds (66 percent) of adults in rural Indiana would support an ordinance that prohibits smoking in all workplaces including bars and membership clubs. “This new study along with the strong support of residents in rural communities is further proof that Indiana is ready to be smokefree.” says Kevin O’Flaherty, Co-Chair of the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air. “The Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air encourages the Indiana Legislature to take responsible actions and pass REAL smokefree legislation that is on par with the other 23 states that do not allow smoking in any workplace, restaurant or bar.” About the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air The Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air (ICSA) is a statewide coalition of nearly 400 state and local health organizations and countless individuals and businesses committed to protecting all workers from exposure to secondhand smoke by working toward the adoption of a comprehensive smokefree air law that covers all Indiana workplaces.

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Early medieval depictions of harpers on stone, manuscript and metal Aberlemno roadside slab Many carved stones survive from early medieval Scotland and Ireland. The early medieval period usually means from perhaps 500AD through to 1000AD or 1100AD. This long period of time saw the arrival of Christianity and the development of the political groupings and nations (England, Scotland, Wales etc.) that we know today. The carved stones are mostly crosses. Tall stone crosses were erected outside important churches and ecclesiastical centres. The crosses were often decorated all over with scenes from the bible, especially the old testament. The scenes were carved in relief and I presume were usually painted in bright colours. Nowadays, the stones have suffered from over 1000 years of exposure to the elements and so are very worn - the effect is rather like trying to appreciate a fine, colourful and detailed painting, by looking at an out-of-focus black-and-white photograph of it. We have to squint and strain our eyes to work out what is going on. The other thing to remember is that the early medieval sculptors and artists were not like modern day newspaper photographers - they were not trying to capture true-to-life images of the people and events around them. They were more like comic-book artists or caricaturists, trying to compress a mythical or religious idea down into a stereotyped and eye-catching panel. So, people might be drawn distorted or different sizes; poses might be impossible; the same person might appear twice in the same scene; and the props and objects with the person are there for symbolic reasons as 'attributes', to emphasise the actions or characteristics of the person. In the cycle of imagery that was common in this art, King David was an important character. There were various ways of drawing David, depending on the message of the art - he could be shown as a shepherd, fighting the lion, fighting Goliath, or playing the harp. Obviously it is the harp depictions that interest us here. Helen Roe describes how the stereotyped image of David playing the harp that we find in early medieval sculpture, originally derives from classical images of Orpheus playing the lyre, seated on the back of a lion. Over time, the lion with its four legs and its raised head, changes gradually into a high-backed chair. The lyre changes shape as well, going from a U shaped object to an oblong or C shaped object and finally turning into a triangular object. We can divide the depictions by the shape of David's instrument. The following stones have oblong instruments, usually described as “lyres”. This Irish cross is rather small and crude. It has two small rectangular stones, one each side of it. One of these has a seated figure with an oval lyre. There is no chair. This ancient churchyard has two high crosses, each having David with a harp on one of the side arms. The two Davids are quite similar. Each sits on a high-backed chair and holds a large lyre with a flattish base. The sculpture is quite simple and stylised. The lyre is similar shape to nearby Ullard. There is also a nice round tower, and a hogback tombstone, in the churchyard. Clonmacnoise West cross, Ireland This very fine Irish high cross has a rectangular panel showing David playing a lyre. The lyre is a long oval shape, and the fan shaped spread of strings is well drawn - this instrument looks very much like archaeological lyres discovered from England and Germany. David sits on a strange shaped seat, only part of which is shown in my sketch, perhaps representing the lion-seat. Durrow West cross, Ireland This very fine Irish high cross has David playing the lyre or harp squeezed into one of the cross arms. His chair is rather abraded (not shown in my sketch). His instrument is of the complex form similar to the Cotton Psalter. Cotton Psalter, BL ms Cot.Vit. F.XI., early 10th century The image shown here of David playing a lyre or harp comes from an early 10th century Irish manuscript, and clearly shows the half-lion- half-chair form of David's seat. The instrument is a strange kind of lyre with an asymmetrical frame. The manuscript shows more detail than stone carvings, but because this manuscript was badly damaged in a fire the image is not very easy to see today. (Illustration from The Archaeological journal, Volume 7 p24). Kells West cross, Ireland This damaged cross shaft has a scene of King David with a lyre. His seat is very plain, but beneath it is some kind of damaged figure perhaps representing the lion-seat. This metal Irish book shrine includes a tiny figure of a lyre player. His instrument is rectangular rather than oval. He does not seem to have a chair. More... This Irish high cross has David playing the lyre on the left arm of the cross. Bunting illustrated this carving and showed the instrument as C shaped but it is clear that it is really an oval, fairly similar to the Castledermot crosses which are not too far away. Iona, St Oran’s Cross, Scotland This high cross is now broken into fragments and is housed in the Abbey museum. On the back side, on the left side arm, is the figure of David playing a lyre. The lyre has the same lop-sided oval shape as the one depicted on St Martin’s Cross. The right hand arm has just two figures and the central boss is missing. Iona, St Martin’s Cross, Scotland This high cross has two seated musicians facing each other, on the main shaft. The one on the left has an oblong or oval shaped lyre, similar to the one on St Oran’s cross, and the one on the right has triplepipes. The harper seems to be seated on a plain object. C shaped instruments The following stones have C-shaped instruments, perhaps best understood as bow-harps, like ancient Egyption or Burmese harps. This cross slab includes a scene of David fighting the lion. A harp and a sheep are shown alongside. The harp seems to be a bow or spoon shaped harp, like ancient Egyptian, African and Burmese instruments. The slab stands in its original location beside the road near the village of Aberlemno. More... This cross slab contains a very similar scene to Aberlemno which is not too far away. The slab is in much poorer condition and now stands outside in the garden of a private house. This cross slab is extremely eroded where it was used as a floor slab for many years. There is a seated figure on a high-backed chair holding an object in front of them. however the object is quite worn away and scholars disagree whether it is a musical instrument or a baby, and whether the scene is King David with the harp, or the virgin and child. I think that the chair gives us the clue that it is David with a harp. I can see a figure-8 shaped body with a neck rising from it. It may be a fiddle but I am being reckless and suggesting it may be another arched harp. More... Triangular shaped instruments The following stones have triangle-shaped objects, usually described as “harps”. The ones in Scotland are often described as “Pictish harps” but I don’t see this as a useful label. The ones in Ireland are often overlooked since they have been described as “asymmetrical lyres” which I don’t find useful either. Kells South cross, Ireland This high cross has King David squeezed into the upper arm of the cross. His chair is rather shrunk into the corner. He seems to be holding a triangular instrument with all straight sides. The bottom of the triangle is squared off, and so some commentators describe this scene as showing a triangular harp held between the thighs or knees, while others call this a “quadrangular lyre”. 3D photo: red/cyan goggles required for viewing Monasterboice, Cross of Muiredeach, Ireland This superb high cross has David playing the harp in the left arm of the cross. Behind him is a pipe player. David sits on his chair and holds a large triangular instrument. The bottom of the triangle is squared off, and so some commentators describe this scene as showing a triangular harp held between the thighs or knees, while others call this a “quadrangular lyre”. On top of the instrument is perched a bird. Govan, Cross 29, Scotland A rather obscure scene on the shaft of this cross has a figure seated on a stool or chair, with a long slender triangular object in front of him. A second figure holds an object. It is possible that this scene represents David and Saul, and that the triangle is meant to be a harp. However it is hard to say more about this very crude and abraded carving! Shrine of St Mogue, c.1000 AD This Irish metal shrine includes a tiny depiction of David playing the harp. His seat is not depicted, but his harp is given in much detail. There is a bird perched on the top of the harp. This sculpture is because of its detail and the fineness of its carving, much celebrated as the “earliest depiction of an Irish harp”. It is now displayed int he national Museum of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin. More... This cross slab has been moved into Brechin cathedral. It shows a harp on its own presumably as a symbol of King David. The harp is triangular with a curved forepillar. Behind it is a straight rod, which some scholars suggestis a pipe or whistle. This cross slab has three figures beside the cross shaft, the top one with a triangular harp, the middle one with triplepipes, and the lower one perhaps with a drinking horn. The figures are very stylised and have no legs or seats. The edge of the slab is damaged and so the harp is missing its forepillar. This stone has two standing musicians on it, one with a triangular harp and one with triplepipes. Between them is a rectangular item that may be a drum. This cross shaft has King David sitting in a high backed chair and playing a triangular harp. The cross is quite worn but the carving is in high relief. The cross shaft used to stand in the churchyard at Monifieth just north-east of Dundee but is now in the National Museum in Edinburgh. 3D photo: red/cyan goggles required for viewing This cross slab shows a harp on its own by sheep, presumably as a symbol of King David. The harp is triangular and all three sides are straight. The rest of the slab has hunting scenes and there is a large figure, presumably of King David fighting the lion. This impressive cross slab used to stand on the hillside overlooking Forteviot, the ancient Pictish royal capital. Now it has been moved inside Dunning church. It includes a large panel showing David playing the harp. The harp is very large and seems to have animal head terminals. The chair is very small. David is als very out of proportion with a giant head and tiny feet. The cross includes an inscription with Gaelic royal names on. This cross slab contains a triangular harp. Trench-Jellicoe, 1997, a photo and commentary. The photo is not clear enough to convince me. St Andrews, Scotland A fragment with a hand and some scores in the stone. Some scholars say this fragment is part of David playing the harp but this seems ridiculous to me. Looks like a loom to me. See Ross. Looks like a loom to me. See Ross. Book of Kells TCD ms58 f292r Definitely not a musical instrument, this is letters in the form of a man fighting a monster. See Buckley. Ann Buckley, ‘Representations of musicians in medieval Christian iconography of Ireland and Scotland as local cultural expression’, in Katherine A McIver, Art and music in the early modern period, 2003. Helen Roe, ‘The “David cycle” in early Irish art’, Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 79, 1949 Alasdair Ross, ‘“Harps of their owne sort”? A re-asessment of Pictish chordophone designs’, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies36, 1998 Ross Trench-Jellicoe, 'Pictish and related charps, their form and decoration', The worm, the germ and the thorn, 1997 Depictions - more ancient images of Gaelic harp players.

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Readers express their views on race, animal cruelty, prison systems, taxes and more. Black and white and shades of gray Race should not be "black and white." But when we "converse" about it, everything goes black and white, as if we are stuck inside an old TV, and even then, film values depended on the gray areas in between. Henry Louis Gates — someone with whom I have worked — is a distinguished, powerful Harvard professor used to deference and respect. James Crowley is a Cambridge police officer from South Natick, who has a strong record of public service and is also used to deference and respect. Neither man received the deference and respect they expected from the other, and tempers, or perhaps grievances about power, wealth and respect boiled over. Who has the right to be treated with deference, a famous Harvard professor in his own home, or a Cambridge police officer investigating a possible break in? A man in his home should have had more leeway than Gates received, but a police officer must worry when a civilian, even someone considered older, gets visibly upset. So while race has been singled out as the issue in Crowley-Gate, class, age, gender, property, authority and justice should weigh in. We are not only the color of our skin, but we often act that way. And in our culture, African-American men pay one of the highest prices for it. We claim not to judge a book by its cover, but we do. Introspection and complexity are liabilities in a visual and speed oriented consumer culture, so judging a book by its cover is expedient. Do I have an answer for Crowley-Gate? No. I only suggest it's become easier to yell black and white than to work through the pesky gray areas, like say age and wealth, in between. University of Florida County Commission is over-taxing us Instead of raising taxes, why doesn't the county learn to live within its own means. We, the people, are over-taxed already and tired of it! Individuals and families are struggling to stay within their own budgets and are forced to make difficult choices daily. When our government needs more money it just raises taxes. In today's economy that is not a viable solution! If I operated in the same way as the county, when my property taxes were increased I would go to my boss and say, "my property taxes just went up, I need a raise!" Take a guess at what my boss would say. I think I speak for many when I say we are willing to pay our fair share for living in this beautiful county and we are already doing that. In Alachua County the owner of a rental home is taxed for the privilege of owning a rental home in addition to not getting the homestead exemption. I am disturbed by the way the county wastes money. I routinely see buses with few riders, fake bricks being painted at intersections, plants and "wild flowers" being planted and dying in median strips year in and year out. Why not go to smaller vehicles for mass transit during off hours or for areas of little use? Why not paint simple lines on cross walks instead of fake bricks? Why not put some hardy grass or drought friendly trees in the median strips? I challenge the county to come up with a solution that does not involve raising taxes. Act as if there is no more money to get. What would the county do then? It's time to sharpen your pencils and quit using pens! The day the music died in Gainesville As a long time contributor to Classic 89 I felt utterly betrayed by the unfortunate decision to radically alter the station's programming without any input from members or the university community at large. While I am an NPR junkie, I certainly get my fix awakening to news broadcasts in the morning and catching up on current events driving home at the end of the day. I would have been as dismayed by an announcement of elimination of that staple of my radio world as I am blind sided by the ludicrous surprise news that music will no longer grace the airwaves of WRUF. Can it really be that "the day the music died" is at hand? What a terribly sad day for UF and the city of Gainesville to lose this precious cultural resource. It must be occurring to others as well that the chance of our hometown regaining a spot in the top 10 places to live has taken a major hit as a result of this shortsighted, misguided act. Surely there is still time for common sense to prevail and some opportunity for community recourse. We can all help stop animal abuse The case in which a Gainesville man is accused of neglecting his Shih Tzu so severely that the dog had no body fat or muscle mass, ruptured corneas, infected skin, mange, and ingrown nails should concern everyone ("Man charged with cruelty, dog euthanized," 7/25). There really are no species lines when it comes to the disregard for life and suffering. I cannot begin to say how many cases I've seen involving animal neglectors who have also neglected their children or other human dependants. Let's hope that the man responsible for this dog, if convicted, is given jail time and a lifetime ban on owning animals. Our animals depend on us for survival. If, for any reason, you are having trouble meeting your animals' needs, please don't let them suffer. Options and assistance are available; contact your local animal shelter immediately for help. To learn how you can help prevent cruelty to animals, visit www.HelpingAnimals.com. Emergency Response Team Cruelty Investigations Department People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals I recently had a discussion about legal convictions of politicians and other famous individuals in the U.S. Paris Hilton, for instance, was arrested and put in jail, but was put into a private cell as opposed to the general population. Supposedly, the reasoning for this is that jail and prison is a dangerous place for these individuals. Jails and prisons in the U.S. have a reputation for being violent and dangerous. For instance, almost every U.S. citizen has heard stories of prison rapes and murders. I am not saying that jail and prison aren't dangerous for famous people. However they are dangerous for anyone regardless of class or popularity. I think that it is an extreme flaw in our legal system, when criminal punishment differs by class or popularity. Jail and prison is meant, not only as a punishment, but as a deterrent to crime. No one wants to be incarcerated, but everyone knows that if you break a law, or laws, that you will be charged and, if convicted, can be incarcerated. Bottom line: Prison and jail is dangerous for everyone, and the rich and famous are allowed privileges that are not provided to other offenders. I sincerely hope that there will be changes in the future.

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By Cristopher Moore and Stephan Mertens Many of the central moments in science have been unifications: realizations that seemingly disparate phenomena are all aspects of one underlying structure. Newton showed that the same laws of motion and gravity govern apples and planets, creating the first explanatory framework that joins the terrestrial to the celestial. Maxwell showed that a single field can explain electricity, magnetism, and light. Darwin realized that natural selection shapes all forms of life. And Einstein demonstrated that space and time are shadows of a single, four-dimensional spacetime. This quest for unity drives us to this day, as we hunt for a Grand Unified Theory that combines gravity with quantum mechanics. But while it is less well-known, computer science had its own grand unification in 1936, thanks to Alan Turing. At the dawn of the 20th century, mathematicians and logicians were focused on the axiomatic underpinnings of mathematics. Shaken by paradoxes — like Russell’s set of all sets that don’t contain themselves (does it or doesn’t it?) — they wanted to re-build mathematics from the ground up, creating a foundation free of paradox. This stimulated a great deal of interest in axiomatic systems, their power to establish truth, and the difficulty of finding proofs or disproofs of open questions in mathematics. In 1928, David Hilbert posed the Entscheidungsproblem, asking whether there is a “mechanical procedure” that can decide whether or not any given mathematical statement is true — say the Twin Prime Conjecture, that there are an infinite number of pairs of primes that differ by two. Such a procedure would complete the mathematical adventure, providing a general method to determine the truth or falsehood of any statement. To us, this sounds horribly final, but to Hilbert it was a glorious dream. But what exactly is a “mechanical procedure”? Or, in modern terms, an algorithm? Intuitively, it is a procedure that can be carried out according to a fixed computer program, like a recipe followed by a dutiful cook. But what kinds of steps can this computer perform? What kind of information does it have access to, and how is it allowed to transform this information? Several models of computation had been proposed, with different attitudes towards what it means to compute. The recursive functions build functions from simpler ones using rules like composition and induction, starting with “atomic” functions like x+1 that we can take for granted. Another model, Church’s λ-calculus, repeatedly transforms a string of symbols by substitutions and rearrangements until only the answer remains. Each of these models has its charms. Indeed, each one lives on in today’s programming languages. Recursive functions are much like subroutines and loops in C and Java, and the λ-calculus is at the heart of functional programming languages like Lisp and Scheme. Every computer science student knows that we can translate from each of these languages to the others, and that while their styles are radically different, they can ultimately perform the same tasks. But in 1936, it was far from obvious that these models are equivalent, or that either one is capable of everything we might reasonably call a computation. Why should a handful of ways to define functions in terms of simpler ones, or a particular kind of symbol substitution, be enough to carry out any conceivable computation? Turing settled this issue with a model that is both mathematically precise and intuitively complete. He began by imagining a human computer, carrying out a procedure with pencil and paper. If we had to, he argued, we could boil any such procedure down into a series of steps, each of which reads and writes a single symbol. We don’t need to remember much ourselves, since we can use notes on the paper to keep track of what to do next. And although it might be inconvenient, a one-dimensional roll of paper is enough to write down anything we might need to read later. At that point, we have a Turing machine: a controller with a finite number of internal states, and a tape on which it can read and write symbols in a finite alphabet. Nothing has been left out. Any reasonable attempt to augment the Turing machine with two-dimensional tapes, multiple controllers, etc. can be simulated by the original model. Famously, Turing then showed that there are problems that no Turing machine can solve. The Halting Problem asks whether a given Turing machine will ever halt; in modern terms, whether a program will return an answer, or “hang” and run forever. If there were a machine that could answer this question, we could ask it about itself, demanding that it predict its own behavior. We then add a twist, making it halt if it will hang, and hang if it will halt. The only escape is to accept that no such machine exists in the first place. This also gives a nice proof of Gödel’s Theorem that there are unprovable truths, or to be more precise, that no axiomatic system can prove all mathematical truths. (Unless it also “proves” some falsehoods, in which case we can’t trust it!) For if every truth of the form “this Turing machine will never halt” had a finite proof, we could solve the Halting Problem by doing two things in parallel: running the machine to see if it halts, while simultaneously looking for proofs that it won’t. Thus, no axiomatic system can prove every truth of this form. Turing showed that his machines are exactly as powerful as the recursive functions and the λ-calculus, unifying all three models under a single definition of computation. What we can compute doesn’t depend on the details of our computers. They can be serial or parallel, classical or quantum. One kind of computer might be much more efficient than another, but given enough time, each one can simulate all the others. The belief that these models capture everything that could reasonably be called an algorithm, or a mechanical procedure, is called the Church-Turing Thesis. Turing drew the line between what is computable and what is not, if we have an unbounded amount of time and memory. Since his death, computer science has focused on what we can compute if these resources are limited. For instance, the P vs. NP question asks whether there are problems where we can check a solution in polynomial time (as a function of problem size) but where actually finding a solution is much harder. For instance, mathematical proofs can be checked in time roughly proportional to their length — that’s the whole point of formal proofs — but they seem difficult to find. Despite our strong intuition that finding things is harder than checking them, we have been unable to prove that P ≠ NP, and it remains the outstanding open question of the field. The fact that Turing didn’t live to see how computer science grew and flowered — that he wasn’t there to play a role in its development, as he did at its foundations — is one of the tragedies of the 20th century. He received, too late, an apology from the British government for the persecution that led to his death. Let’s wish him a happy birthday, and raise a glass to his short but brilliant life. Cristopher Moore and Stephan Mertens are the authors of The Nature of Computation. Cristopher Moore is a professor at Santa Fe Institute and previously, a professor in the Computer Science Department and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico. Stephan Mertens is a a theoretical physicist at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, and external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. OUPblog is celebrating Alan Turing’s 100th birthday with blog posts from our authors all this week. Read our previous posts on Alan Turing including: “Maurice Wilkes on Alan Turing” by Peter J. Bentley, “Turing : the irruption of Materialism into thought” by Paul Cockshott, and “Alan Turing’s Cryptographic Legacy” by Keith M. Martin. Look for “Computers as authors and the Turing Test” by Kees van Deemter tomorrow.

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Thursday, December 15, 2011 I attended a keynote address by Gabe Zicherman at the Minneapolis TIES Conference this past weekend and he talked about gaming and gamification. So many students are enthralled by video games! I thought this example of a student PBL project was fitting to the topic of pulling some ideas from gaming into the classroom, as these students designed a new idea/invention and displayed their idea and predictions (in Spanish) for it through a video game! This is their presentation with screen shots taken from their video game design. Take a look! Friday, December 9, 2011 We utilized the "Genial Writing" app today along with a Sliderocket presentation I made containing alternating slides of a verb with a subject to conjugate and it's answer. Students display the SlideRocket game on one of the tablets and use the other tablet to write their answers. We are using this game/strategy to practice conjugation in the future tense, but it could be used with really any tense in a foreign language or be applied for other concepts in any subject area. Things I like: - SlideRocket is a great presentation creator! Great slide transitions and it embeds easily into a blog or website. Also, it allows you to specifically share presentations with specific people and see how many people are using your presentation and how. Best part.... it's part of our Google Apps! - Genial Writing is a free app and is super user friendly for students! Take a look at our activity here! Tuesday, December 6, 2011 Monday, December 5, 2011 One thing I really love about having the Android Tablets is how much easier it is to differentiate learning for students. We have a vocabulary quiz tomorrow and students were given various choices the latter part of the class period to prepare/practice their vocabulary. Take a look here! Thursday, December 1, 2011 Here is an updated list of the Apps that we are using most frequently in my Spanish Classes. - QR Droid - Spanish Trainer - Spanish Verbs - Conjugate Spanish - Word Reference - Pulse (for SSR) - Movie Studio - Google Docs - Hangman for Spanish - Splashtop (for Instructor) - 15 Motorola Xoom Tablets - 15 Asus Transformer Tablets (w/ keyboards) - 6 Cell Phones (donated by Cellcom) - 1 Multi-Touch Smartboard - Android Apps - 1 Ipevo Document Camera - Multiple Learning Spaces - Online Classroom = Learning 24/7 How has the classroom changed because of all this technology? Learning is more.... differentiated, meaningful, engaging, collaborative and 24/7! What do the students think?

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VICTORIAN gas lamps probably blackened the pale faces of angels on an 800-year-old illuminated manuscript, chemists working in London have discovered. They also found a yellow pigment never before identified on ancient manuscripts. The 10-kilogram tome, a series of readings based on the gospel, is one of the world's most valuable surviving Byzantine books. It was illuminated around 1220 by artists in Mosul, then part of the Byzantine Empire and now part of modern Iraq. The British Library, which has owned the book since the early 19th century, asked Robin Clark and Peter Gibbs of the department of chemistry at University College London to find out why large areas of the 60 richly coloured illustrations had turned black. Clark and Gibbs, who report their findings in To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

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It's often good to sit back, pause and contemplate what you know that you don't know...a higher order thinking excercise for sure ! Last week, environmental policy makers came up with a list of the "top 100" ecological questions most in need of an answer. The list, published online in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, is the result of an innovative experiment involving more than 600 environmental policy makers and academics, and includes crucial questions such as which UK habitats and species might be lost completely due to climate change, and what are the comparative biodiversity impacts of newly emerging types of renewable energy? The list should help bridge the gap between science and policy that exists in many disciplines - including ecology - and could therefore have a major impact on future ecological research and its funding. According to the lead author, Professor Bill Sutherland of the University of East Anglia: "There is currently too little information flow between scientists and policy makers. Narrowing this gap would be very beneficial in generating policies that are based on sound science. Conversely, it is desirable that research should be more clearly directed at issues that influence policy." The list of 100 questions is the outcome of two days of discussion between 654 environmental policy makers and academics. The academics acted as facilitators, helping the policy makers arrive at a short-list of 100 key questions from an initial long-list of more than 1,000. Policy makers came from 30 leading environmental organisations and regulators, including the Environment Agency, SEPA, English Nature, the National Trust, Butterfly Conservation, the Wildlife Trusts, the Woodland Trust and the British Trust for Ornithology, and the short-list was agreed by consensus and compromise. Ecologists hope that the list will have a major impact on both science and policy. Lists of research questions have been highly influential in the past in other fields, such as mathematics. At the Second International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900, David Hilbert posed 23 problems that had a major impact on mathematics throughout the twentieth century. Another mathematician, Paul Erd?s, is thought to have given most of his money away by offering prizes for the mathematical problems he posed. The 100 questions are divided into the following sections: 1. What are the benefits of protected habitats in terms of water resources, carbon sequestration and other goods and services, relative to non-protected land? 2. What is the role of biodiversity in maintaining specific ecosystem functions (e.g. biogeochemical cycles)? 3. What are the roles of soil biodiversity (and specifically little-known groups such as mites or nematodes) in ecosystem function, resilience and recovery? 4. How does soil biodiversity both influence and respond to above-ground biodiversity? 5. What is the role of marine biota and benthopelagic coupling in ocean–atmosphere carbon cycling and primary production? 6. How can we measure natural capital (renewable and non-renewable resources) and integrate such a measure into gross domestic product (GDP)? 7. How will CAP reform affect biodiversity at the landscape scale? 8. What are the environmental consequences of farming patterns ranging between the extremes of widespread extensification vs. complete segregation of agricultural production and conservation areas? 9. How do farming systems such as conventional, integrated farm management and organic compare in terms of their effects on biodiversity and other environmental impacts? 10. How do current agricultural practices affect the conservation value and extent of non-agricultural habitats such as woodland edges, hedgerows and ponds, and how can detrimental impacts be mitigated? 11. What are the impacts of agricultural activities and practices (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides and physical disturbance) on soil biodiversity and soil functions? 12. What are the ecological consequences of changes in upland grazing regimes for biodiversity and soil ecology? 13. What are the impacts on soil and surface-active invertebrates of poaching (trampling of flooded soil by livestock) and soil compaction at different stocking levels? 14. What are the impacts on biodiversity of prophylactic treatment of farm livestock with antibiotics, anti-fungal and anti-helminthic compounds? 15. What lessons can be learnt from agri-environment schemes to optimize their biodiversity gain and ecological benefit? 16. How does the ecological impact of UK farming compare internationally? 17. What are the environmental benefits of large-scale woodland planting schemes such as community forests and the new national forests? 18. Where should new woodlands be located? 19. What overall number, age structure and spatial distribution of trees are necessary for the long-term survival of species dependent on ancient/veteran trees? 20. What are the relative benefits for biodiversity of the re-introduction of management to ancient semi-natural woodlands vs. the continuation of an absence of active management? 21. Why have many woodland birds declined? 22. Which approach to the removal of plantations on ancient woodland sites (e.g. clear-felling and sequential removal) yields the greatest biodiversity benefit? Fisheries, aquaculture and marine conservation 23. What is the biodiversity impact of the harvest of forage fish for the production of aquaculture foodstuffs? 24. What are the ecological impacts of faecal matter, pesticides and undigested food flows from aquaculture? 25. How important are caged fishes as reservoirs of parasites and pathogens that have detrimental effects on wild populations? 26. What are the direct (catch) and indirect (food supplementation by discards, prey depletion) impacts of commercial fishing on cetaceans and seabirds? 27. How large should marine protected areas be, and where should they be located to protect biodiversity and enhance surrounding fisheries? 28. What will be the impact of marine protected areas on wide ranging migratory species such as cod Gadus morhua L. and haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus L. 29. How important are coastal, estuarine and fluvial habitats for endangered migratory fish populations (e.g. lampreys, shad, eel and sturgeon)? 30. What is the range of minimum viable population sizes for broadcast spawning marine species? 31. How long does the seabed take to recover from disturbance such as dredging, wind-farm construction and oil and gas extraction? Recreation and field sports 32. What are the impacts of recreational activities on biodiversity? 33. Which ecological principles should guide the choice of the list of UK species appropriate for game exploitation? 34. What overall impacts do introductions of game species for field sports (including recreational fishing) have on biodiversity? 35. What are the ecological impacts (both direct and indirect, through shifts in habitat management) of a ban on hunting with dogs? 36. How can provision for wildlife be maximized in existing and new urban development, urban greenspace and brownfield sites? 37. What are the consequences for biodiversity of fragmentation by development and infrastructure? 38. What are the ecological impacts on semi-natural habitats and ecosystems of adjacent large developments (e.g. housing and airports)? 39. How can sustainable urban drainage systems be optimally designed to maximize biodiversity in the urban environment? Aliens and invasive species 40. What criteria should be used to determine when to intervene to deal with invasive species? 41. How can we manage microbial ecology to control invasive plant pathogens? 42. How can we understand better the epidemiology of existing and emergent diseases within wildlife reservoirs to better protect humans and livestock? 43. What are the genetic threats to UK biodiversity posed by introgression from genetically modified organisms and what measures are available to reduce these threats? 44. What is the optimal method of managing bracken-dominated habitats for the benefit of associated biodiversity action plan priority species? 45. What are the effects of domestic cats on vertebrate populations in rural and urban environments? 46. What impact does plastic-derived litter have on the marine environment? 47. How can one ameliorate the effects of aerially deposited nitrogen on habitats and species? 48. What are the critical thresholds for nitrogen and phosphorus inputs into waterbodies of high conservation value? 49. Of those chemicals currently or potentially released into the environment, which (individually or in combination) are now, or are likely to become, significant environmental problems, and what will these problems be? 50. What are the long-term impacts of depositing sewage sludge and other organic wastes on to agro-ecosystems? 51. How can catchment management be used to reduce diffuse pollution? 52. How will acidification of surface water from rising CO2 concentrations affect planktonic productivity and other marine organisms? 53. What are the effects of light pollution from built development and road lights on wildlife behaviour, mortality and demography? 54. Which species are likely to be the best indicators of the effects of climate change on natural communities? 55. Which habitats and species might we lose completely in the UK because of climate change? 56. What will be the ecological impacts of changing agricultural patterns in response to climate change? 57. What time lags can be expected between climate change and ecological change? 58. What is the likely relationship between the extent of climate change and the pattern of species extinction? 59. How does climate change interact with other ecological pressures (e.g. invasive species and habitat fragmentation) to create synergistic effects? 60. How can we increase the resilience of habitats and species to cope with climate change? 61. How well suited is the current UK protected area system for conserving biodiversity in the face of climate change, and how can it be enhanced in light of this? 62. How will changes to oceanographic conditions as a result of climate change affect marine ecosystems? 63. What actions are required to recreate the full range of coastal landscapes, habitats and species distributions to compensate for their loss, for example as a result of sea-level rise? Energy generation and carbon management 64. What are the consequences of biofuel production for biodiversity at field, landscape and regional levels? 65. What are the potential impacts of (a) terrestrial and (b) marine wind farms on biodiversity? 66. What are the comparative biodiversity impacts of newly emerging types of renewable energy, such as wave energy? 67. How can soil carbon be retained and further carbon sequestered in the soil? 68. How can biodiversity action plans be designed to take account of larger scale population processes? 69. How can we best measure favourable conservation status for each of the species and habitats listed within the EU's Habitat Directive? 70. How effective is the current UK protected area network for protecting wildlife under current conditions? 71. With what precision can we predict the ecological impact of different policy options and the ecological effects of management action? 72. At an international scale, what are the ecological implications of conservation actions and policies adopted within the UK? 73. How effective as indicators of overall biodiversity are current indicators (especially birds)? 74. Why are common moths declining and are their declines driving declines in other taxa (e.g. bats)? 75. What scale and type of land-use change is required to halt the decline of biodiversity by 2010 (EU heads of state committed to this in the 2001 EU summit in Göteborg)? 76. Are there reliable ways to predict the long-term sustainability of populations of poorly known species (e.g. most invertebrates) using a knowledge of life history and other ecological characteristics? Habitat management and restoration 77. What are the costs and benefits of concentrating conservation work on designated sites in comparison with spreading efforts across the wider countryside? 78. What are the ecological consequences of 'wilding' (that is, conservation of sites using only, or very largely, natural processes) as a long-term conservation strategy? 79. What are the consequences of different moorland management techniques (especially burning, cutting and grazing) for the upland economy, carbon storage, water quality and biodiversity? 80. What measures of habitat condition should we use to measure habitat change in protected areas? 81. How should ditches, dry and wet, be managed for the greatest benefit for biodiversity? 82. What hedgerow structure and what type of hedge management produce the greatest wildlife benefits? 83. How do recreated habitats differ from their semi-natural analogues? 84. How can we effectively prioritize the most important large-scale ecological restoration projects that could be undertaken in the UK? 85. What is the most appropriate and ecologically sustainable way of dealing with excess nutrients during terrestrial and freshwater habitat restoration? 86. What are the implications of changing deer densities for agriculture, forestry and biodiversity in different landscape types? 87. In reintroductions, does local provenance matter? Will the use of non-local stock cause loss of local genetic variation, outbreeding depression or genetic rescue of depauperate gene pools? Connectivity and landscape structure 88. What are the lag times between habitat fragmentation and the loss of species of different taxonomic and functional groups? 89. Is it better to extend existing habitat patches or create further patches within the landscape? 90. How should we manage landscape mosaics for the conservation of diverse taxa that operate on different spatial scales? 91. What are the relative merits of different indices of habitat connectivity? Which of them best predict conservation value? 92. What is the value of linear habitats, such as hedgerows, railways, road verges and riparian strips, as corridors for dispersal between fragmented habitat patches? 93. For species where the concept is applicable, how can 'source' and 'sink' populations (Pulliam 1988) be identified and how should their status affect conservation management? 94. How important are core vs. peripheral areas in the conservation strategy of a species? 95. How reliant are animal and plant populations in small nature reserves on the maintenance of habitat in surrounding non-protected areas? Making space for water 96. What have been the consequences of past and present riparian engineering works, such as weirs, culverts, gravel removal, habitat fragmentation and damming, on biodiversity within and alongside rivers? 97. What would be the ecological implications of large-scale river and floodplain restoration schemes in the UK, and would they be more cost-effective than traditional hard flood defences? 98. What are the likely consequences for biodiversity of changes in water quality and sedimentation in rivers? 99. What methods most accurately measure 'ecological status' in the EU Water Framework Directive? 100. How can flood control be assisted by appropriate habitat management and restoration, and what are the impacts on biodiversity? Expert, Consultant and Guest Speaker on emerging Smart Technologies, Strategic Planning, Business Development, Lateral Creative Thinking and author of an upcoming book on the Smart Economy " To arrange for an inhouse presentation on smart technology see here To explore the opportunities and threats of any new smart technology in your industry - Contact Me .....Strategy without action is a day-dream; action without strategy is a nightmare" - old Japanese proverb P. S. if this is your first visit to my blog, please go to our Welcome page

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Elderberry 101: What to Know Before Trying the Herbal Remedy Cold and flu season comes every year when the temperatures drop. The chorus of coughing and sneezing starts to sound in the office, and at the same time, out come the tea, hand sanitizer, and vitamin C to keep the germs away. The search for anything and everything to boost the immune system starts. And one of the latest superfoods touted to help keep you healthy in cold months is the elderberry. "Elderberry recipes" are trending on Pinterest, and the purple berry is popping up in tons of immunity-supporting supplements, from gummies to lozenges to syrups. But are elderberries actually a legit immunity booster? We asked an RD and a doctor to weigh in on the elderberry's health benefits. What are elderberries? "Elderberries are found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa," says Seattle-based registered dietitian Ginger Hultin, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of Champagne Nutrition. "They can be used in cooking, often in desserts like other berries, and also have some medicinal benefits that likely come from their unique antioxidants." The elderberry plant, called Sambucus nigra, has many parts, but it's the flowers and berries that pack the immunity punch. What are elderberries used for? Elderberries have been found to help minimize flu symptoms in a number of small studies, thanks to their antiviral properties. "There is evidence to show that they can support human immune systems in time of illness, so it's not surprising that they're emerging as a superfood now," Hultin says of the berries. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Functional Foods found that compounds called anthocyanidin (phytonutrients that give elderberries their purple color) were found to inhibit the flu virus's entry and replication in human cells. Not only that, but it was also found to help strengthen the body's immune response to the flu virus. Another study published in the Journal of International Medical Research also found that elderberry syrup was effective at shortening symptoms of the flu. The study participants took either a placebo or 15 milliliters of elderberry syrup four times a day for five days. The group that took the elderberry reported improvement of flu symptoms after three to four days, while the placebo group reported the same seven to eight days into the illness. There's also a third study that had similar findings. A 2009 study published in the Online Journal of Pharmacology and PharmacoKinetics used elderberry extract lozenges for its study participants. Sixty-four study participants were divided into two groups, a placebo group and another that was given four doses of elderberry extract lozenges for two days. After 24 hours, the elderberry group self-reported significant improvement of their flu-like symptoms. And within 48 hours, 28 percent of the elderberry group reported they were totally void of all symptoms, while none in the placebo group reported the same thing. Should you try elderberry supplements? Like all herbal supplements, the FDA does not regulate them, meaning safety and standardization (making sure each batch has the same/correct potency) are up to the manufacturers and distributors. "That doesn't mean there aren't good quality, trustworthy supplements out there, because there are," Hultin says. "Many companies pay for third-party testing to ensure purity and standardization of their products, so that's always something to check for on a label." She suggests checking out the FDA's website for tips on how to find the best dietary supplements. And while many recipes can be found online for elderberry syrup, it's important to know that it can be extremely risky. "You have to be really careful if you're doing your own at home," says Elizabeth Bradley, MD, medical director of the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. "You don't want to be taking in flowers and berries whole and raw. Ingesting uncooked elderberries can lead to poisoning." Elderberries also contain cyanogenic glycosides, a toxic compound, so they need to be cooked to prevent cyanide poisoning. For that reason, you're better off buying pre-made elderberry products. "I wouldn't recommend anything raw, and I suggest shying away from making your own," says Dr. Bradley. "You should take it if you're being exposed to more people and situations where you might get the flu (like in flu season), but pay attention to dosing instructions to avoid ending up with GI symptoms." Are there any negative side effects of eating elderberry products? Aside from the risk of cyanide poisoning (which you shouldn't have if you're using a safe elderberry supplement), other side effects of taking too much elderberry include gastric issues, like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, says Dr. Bradley. And because many elderberry products come in syrup or gummy form, you'll want to pay attention to sugar content, too. Dr. Bradley recommends looking for gummies or syrup with less than five grams of sugar per serving. Of course, elderberries are no substitute for the flu vaccine or medical help if you truly have a bad case of the flu. "The most important thing to understand is that, if a person has flu-like symptoms, they need to seek medical attention," says Hultin. "They can inquire as to whether or not elderberry is safe for them as there are some potential interactions with medications that may need guidance, including immunosuppressants. Influenza is a very serious disease and should be supported by a medical team for safety." If you're experiencing flu-like symptoms, elderberry products can be a useful way to relieve some of the pain associated with the illness. But the flu is still a serious condition that requires medical treatment, and elderberry products are a supplement, not a replacement for medical help.

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The MODIS sensor satellite imagery is showing a beautiful and evolving large plankton bloom in the Chukchi Sea at the moment. The plankton are the lighter green bands I've labelled and the full image is available at an astonishing 250m resolution. If the Bering Straight looks odd it's because this image is taken from over the North Pole and looking southwards. Conventional wisdom says that as the Arctic Ocean sea ice retreats over the coming decades and the ocean warms, then we are going to see more plankton blooms like the one shown above. But that's not the whole story. Professor Kevin Arrigo published a paper in 2014 that suggested the plankton blooms in this part of the Arctic can form under the ice. The dark areas are ponds of water where the snow has been melted away. The bare ice beneath can let light through. Arrigo and his co-workers suggested that this is enough for biological production. It was also the subject of a post I wrote a couple of years ago. Jonathan Amos reported on a piece of work last year that showed the extent of the melt ponds can also predict the summer extent of Arctic Sea ice.

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Chapter 1. Excel Basics Are you new to Excel, or upgrading to the latest version? This chapter shows you how to move around the Excel 2007 program window and work with new features. An Introduction to Excel Microsoft Excel is the most popular spreadsheet program on the market today. You can use Excel to manipulate numeric data like a pro. You can also use the program to track and manage large quantities of data, such as inventories, price lists, expenses and expenditures, and much more. You can even use Excel as a database, entering and sorting records. Microsoft Excel is best known for its number-crunching features. For example, you ...

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What Is Hügelkultur? Build healthy soil your garden can rock out in with this German compost technique. By Erica Strauss Courtesy Jon Roberts/Wikimedia Lasagna gardening. Sheet composting. No-till gardening. You’ve probably come across these and similar gardening techniques before. They are all slightly different variations on building a raised bed from layers of organic matter, which rots down right where it is, getting better and better as it composts in place. Techniques such as these promise that you can improve tilth, preserve soil structure, and create the garden bed of your dreams without a lot of backbreaking labor or expensive, imported garden soil. Although some of these published methods offer specific "recipes” to create ideal, no-till beds, the basic technique is simple: Pile on a lot of organic, compostable material, and let nature take its course. The latest bed-building method to turn gardeners’ heads is actually an ancient technique called hügelkultur. The German word, meaning "mound culture,” is usually pronounced "hoo-gull culture” in English-speaking gardening circles. It is one of many techniques associated with permaculture, a philosophy that seeks to understand, mimic and incorporate natural relationships and systems into the garden. Hügelkultur differs from previously popularized no-till bed-building techniques in a few key ways: 1. Woody Base Material Hügelkultur beds are ideally built with a base of logs or branches and prunings from woody shrubs. The larger the woody base material, the more self-sustaining you can expect the beds to be over time. Hügelkultur beds can be huge. Building beds 6 feet tall or more with entire trees as base material is not uncommon. At this size, hügels can be used as growing space as well as windbreaks and will require little to no supplemental irrigation. However, hügels do not need to be enormous to be effective. This type of bed offers many advantages to the small-scale gardener, even when diminished to a more reasonable backyard size of 2 or 3 feet. 3. Angle of Bed Sides While most no-till methods create relatively flat beds, permaculture expert Sepp Holzer advocates for a 45-degree (or steeper) angle on hügelkultur beds. In beds where the side angle is too shallow, he says the beds become compacted and the oxygen supply is decreased, which is detrimental to plant growth. 4. Long-Term Soil Fertility Larger hunks of wood break down slowly, and their consistent decomposition provides long and even nutritional benefits to the soil and to the plants growing in the hügels. 5. Moisture Retention As cellulose- and lignin-eating fungi act upon the woody base material, the logs and branches in the hügel break down into something like a sponge. This creates countless tiny air pockets and consistent moisture levels within the hügel. This combination is very conducive to plant root growth. Small hügels can go weeks without irrigation, while the largest ones can go entire summers without supplemental irrigation, even in dry climates. Mound of Possibilities Assess your site. Because this technique results in garden beds with a long-term soil fertility advantage, it’s best to spend some time thinking about how and where to locate your hügel before you start assembling. Like any garden bed, you want to position your hügel where it will most benefit from the sun. Usually, this means building the bed so that it runs mostly north to south. Because hügels are mounded, not flat, beds built east to west will have one side always in shade. Unless you live in a very sunny climate and want to deliberately create a shaded, cooler microclimate, this isn’t ideal. Also, consider the prevailing wind direction and how the hügel can be buffered from strong winds. Think about the slope of the ground where you will be building your bed and any moisture or water runoff issues that your garden has. Strategically placed hügels can soak up and hold excess water to good advantage, but you shouldn’t position them so that they create a barrier against the natural flow of water in your garden. If water runs against your hügel and pools, it can start to undermine your bed. Feel free to be creative! A hügel can be made free-form and doesn’t have to be built as a rectangle. In fact, many hügels are built in a wide, open bowl-shape to capture the most energy and warmth from the sun. Depending on the projected size of your hügel, you may need to start collecting woody waste material until you have built up quite a collection. Logs, branches, tree-trimmings, root balls and similar materials make the ideal base for a hügel, but work with what you have. Untreated, unpainted, raw wood left over from building or construction projects may be incorporated into a hügelkultur. Wood chips can be used in place of logs or branches, but these will result in a more homogenous hügel with a much faster nitrogen "burn rate” and without the same long-term soil fertility advantages of a hügel made from larger pieces of wood. Rotting wood is excellent for use in a hügel—in fact, the rotting of the wood is the magic behind this technique—but fresh-cut wood is fine, too. Just know that the results of the bed will improve as the wood breaks down over time, so don’t expect the best results in the first year if you start with green wood. There are a few kinds of wood to avoid. According to Paul Wheaton, permaculture expert and founder of Permies.com and RichSoil.com, you should not use cedar, black locust, black cherry, black walnut or any treated wood in your hügelkultur bed. Hügelkultur is an excellent, natural recycling technique, allowing woody waste to be converted into valuable growing space. For this reason, try not to buy fresh wood for your bed. If you don’t have appropriate materials on site, get creative. Call around to local tree-trimming companies, and ask if they could drop off some branches or scrap trimmings next time they are in your neighborhood. Maybe your city or town is taking down a tree that is interfering with power lines and would welcome help disposing of the wood. Holzer suggests that you begin building your hügel by digging out a shallow trench, removing any turf from the area where you will place the bed and setting it aside. However, unless you are building your hügel on top of a particularly pernicious grass, such as Bermuda, this step is not essential and you can build your bed directly on top of the lawn. This is less work, and in most climates, the sod will break down into beautiful soil once covered with the raised bed. (Note: An exception to this rule is for gardeners building hügelkultur beds in arid climates. In these areas, building the hügel within a swale can help to collect and trap precious moisture and groundwater within the bed.) Lay your woody material in the area designated for the hügelkultur bed. If you have a variety of sizes of wood, try to place the larger pieces toward the bottom and center of the bed and work outward with smaller branches and organic debris so that your bed is stable. After the woody framework is built, tamp it down to give it good contact with the ground (this is particularly important if you did not initially trench the area under your hügel). Now you need to cover up your wood. The simplest way is to dump soil right on top of your base material. Holzer suggests turning upside down the sod strips removed when trenching for the hügelkultur bed and covering the wood with those. A layer of straw, chicken-coop litter, leaf debris, kitchen compost or half-finished compost also works just fine. Hügels are flexible; use what you have to cover the wood in the bed. You want the top layer of organic matter to fill in any large pockets between the wood and to cover the bed by several inches. This layer will settle into the woody base naturally, so don’t compact it or worry too much about small empty gaps within the base layer. Lastly, add a layer of finished compost or topsoil. You can add as much as you have—a foot, a few inches or none at all. Adding more compost will give your hügel a more finished appearance, but this step is a matter of preference rather than necessity. Build Your Garden Your hügelkultur bed is now ready to plant. You can seed it immediately or transplant vegetable starts into the soil pockets within and around the bed. When I built my first hügelkultur beds last year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they held a soil temperature notably higher than my traditional raised beds. Very early last spring, when my traditional raised beds were 42 degrees F, my hügelkultur beds were 47 degrees Fahrenheit. A few weeks later in mid-spring, the soil in the hügelkultur beds was up to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very warm for Seattle in April. Hügelkultur beds will typically be warmer than the surrounding soil for several years as the woody base material composts in place. I watered my hügel only three times over the course of the summer (my traditional beds were watered twice a week), yet still saw excellent results and lush growth from the beans, squash, peppers, tomatoes, corn and various greens I seeded in that spring. I’ve only had one problem with the beds: They seem to be magnets for my flock of backyard hens, who are drawn to the huge worm populations living in and around the beds. They scratch things up terribly! My own experiments with building and planting hügelkultur beds have convinced me that this technique is an easy way to reduce organic waste, build top-quality soil for free and grow great crops with less irrigation. Get more gardening techniques from UrbanFarmOnline.com: About the Author: Seattle-based writer Erica Strauss covers urban homesteading, backyard chicken-keeping, edible gardening and more at Northwest Edible Life. Be the first to submit a comment » Give us your opinion on What Is Hügelkultur?.

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European excess has global environmental fallout European mass consumption is having a negative ripple effect across the global supply chain according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report, which examines possible solutions to the problem The Environmental Indicators Report 2014 examines the negative side-effects of Europe's growing consumption in the food, technology and clothing markets, and suggests a more localised approach, with a focus on quality products, could mitigate environmental impact EEA executive director Hans Bruyninckx said: "The way we live and how we produce things has a substantial impact beyond our borders. In the past Europe has largely focused on policies to make European production more eco-efficient, but we can see that in a globalised world it is increasingly important that we fundamentally re-think how we consume and produce, to encourage true sustainability throughout the whole lifecycle of products." Problem: EU food consumption per person has increased by 3% since 1995, while meat imports have doubled in that time. In total, producing 1 KG of beef requires 617 litres of water, while the beef industry as a whole produces 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. Solution: Shorten supply chains. As well as reducing environmental impacts from the transport of food and food waste, a move towards short supply chains would support small farms and put consumers more closely in touch with food production. This would increase awareness of environmental impacts and seasonal food. The EEA also suggested education to help change consumer attitudes; European consumption of meat egss and dairy is twice the global average. Problem: EU clothing purchases have increased by 34% since 1990, even accounting for population growth. 87% of total demand is now by met by imports, up from just 33% in 2004. The growing consumption of cheap clothes has heightened resource demands and environmental and social pressures across the life cycle. For example, cultivating cotton is often associated with significant use of water and land resources, and application of pesticides, while the end product must be flown across continents. Solution: Better outcomes could be achieved if Europeans were to buy fewer, better-quality clothes from socially and environmentally sustainable sources. Businesses and civil society also have a particularly important role to play in mitigating impacts outside Europe -- for example though new business models for sharing and leasing clothes. Problem: An increasing number of households in the EU has meant a corresponding increase in the production of electrical items. The rapid technological growth and replacement cycles of electronics combined with manufacturer's planned obsolescence - deliberate design of products to fail - has also led to massive waste. Around 74% of electronic items are imported into Europe. Electronics manufacturing is particularly energy-intensive, requiring up to 140 times more energy per kilogram than plastics. In addition, the use of these electronics has boosted household electricity consumption by 37 % since 1990. Solution: The current system would be more sustainable with higher-quality appliances and a focus on sharing/leasing common products. The overall life-cycle environmental impacts could be reduced by making products more energy efficient, increasing take-back and re-manufacturing, and capturing more of the valuable materials from e-waste.

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Kurt Gödel (1906-1978) was an Austrian-born mathematician who is considered perhaps the greatest logician since Aristotle. His Incompleteness Theorem was a stunning proof of limitations on logic, at a time when leading mathematicians were working diligently to establish its completeness. He immigrated to the United States and worked at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey, and is buried in that town with his wife. Gödel was a devout Christian who believed in an afterlife and read the Bible regularly. He completely rejected the atheism of the Vienna Circle to which he was introduced. Gödel was ostracized from academia despite his immense intellectual achievements, and was never offered a tenure-track position of professor. He worked on developing a logical proof of God that build on the ontological proof by Saint Anselm. Politically, he supported Republican President Dwight Eisenhower and was critical of the Democrat Harry Truman. Gödel published his remarkable proof of the Incompleteness Theorem in 1931. He showed that in any consistent (first-order) axiomatic mathematical system there are always propositions that cannot be proved or disproved using the axioms of the system. He additionally showed that it is impossible to prove the consistency of the axioms from those same axioms. This was the famous incompleteness theorem: any axiomatic system powerful enough to describe arithmetic on natural numbers cannot be both consistent and complete. Moreover, the consistency of the axioms cannot be proven within the system. Gödel's work abruptly ended a half-century of attempts, beginning with the work of Frege and culminating in Principia Mathematica and Hilbert's formalism, to find a set of first-order axioms for all of mathematics that is both provably consistent as well as complete. Bertrand Russell had already published, in Principia Mathematica (1910–13), a massive attempt to axiomatize mathematics in a consistent way. Gödel's proof also showed that the formalist approach of David Hilbert was bound to fail to prove consistency. |“||How Gödel transformed set theory can be broadly cast as follows: On the larger stage, from the time of Cantor, sets began making their way into topology, algebra, and analysis so that by the time of Gödel, they were fairly entrenched in the structure and language of mathematics. But how were sets viewed among set theorists, those investigating sets as such? Before Gödel, the main concerns were what sets are and how sets and their axioms can serve as a reductive basis for mathematics. Even today, those preoccupied with ontology, questions of mathematical existence, focus mostly upon the set theory of the early period. After Gödel, the main concerns became what sets do and how set theory is to advance as an autonomous field of mathematics.||”| The incompleteness theorems also imply that there is no mechanical procedure which would determine, for all sentences of mathematics S, whether or not S was a theorem of the axioms for mathematics. Gödel's proof was a landmark for mathematics, and demonstrated that it can never be a finished project. Among Gödel's other remarkable achievements: the first to discover a solution to the equation for general relativity in which there are closed, time-like curves. This means it is mathematically possible for there to be universes in which one can go back in time (provided one has enough fuel and time—something probably not physically possible). Gödel was also the first to recognize the significance of the P=NP problem, in a letter he wrote to John von Neumann in 1956. A profoundly religious man who reportedly read the Bible every morning, Gödel is also noted for giving Gödel's Ontological Proof, an attempt to make Anselm's ontological argument into a completely logically rigorous argument. This had the useful property of making very explicit and precise the assumptions necessary for one to accept the ontological argument. In this proof, Gödel demonstrated that if one accepts only five modest and seemingly obvious axioms, it is necessary to conclude that God exists. - Gödel was offered only an unpaid lecturer position after he published his breakthrough papers. - A paper about Godel's ontological proof of the existence of God. Godel did not publish his proof of the existence of God until 1971.

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February 1, 2024 In an era dominated by digital conversations and online interactions, the power of words has never been more significant. Social media, with its billions of daily users, provides a platform for individuals to voice their opinions and thoughts. However, the impact of these words, especially when expressing dissatisfaction, can spread well beyond just a comment or post. The Power of Social Listening Social listening enables brands to monitor consumer opinions and gather data across various platforms. By creating targeted searches, businesses can track potential threats and navigate through the noise to identify negative mentions. It provides valuable insights into who is expressing dissatisfaction, their influence, the context of their comments, and the emotions associated with them. Visualising this data through sentiment and emotion pie charts allows businesses to gauge the impact of negative mentions. By asking key questions such as who said it, their influence, the context, and potential reach, organisations can better prepare for a crisis before it escalates. The Shift from Offline to Online As the world transitions from offline to online, brands must rethink crisis management strategies. A single tweet can now inflict irreversible damage on their reputation. Viral content has the potential to reach diverse audiences rapidly, generating significant attention. The challenge lies in distinguishing between a crisis that requires immediate attention and isolated negative comments that may not escalate. The Role of Social Data Social data consists of the unstructured information flowing through social platforms. Understanding how social data impacts a crisis is crucial. When content goes viral, it can quickly transform into a crisis, damaging a brand’s reputation. Real-time monitoring through social listening allows businesses to identify negative trends and take early action. Crisis Management Strategies To effectively navigate a social media crisis, organisations should adopt proactive crisis management strategies, including: 1. Monitoring and Identification: By actively tracking mentions, tags and content related to the crisis, organisations gain real-time insightsinto the unfolding situation. This allows for a swift response to emerging issues before they escalate. 2. Establishing a Crisis Response Plan: This involves defining clear roles and responsibilities within the organisation. Delegating specific tasks to key individuals ensures a coordinated and efficient response when facing the storm of a social media crisis. 3. Developing a Communication Plan: Crafting a well-thought-out communication plan is paramount. This includes creating a messaging framework that aligns with the organisation’s values. This not only underscores transparency but also fosters trust and credibility, particularly in challenging circumstances. 4. Quick and Transparent Response: Organisations must respond promptly, addressing concerns with accurate and relevant information. A swift and transparent response demonstrates a commitment to resolving issues and can significantly mitigate the impact of the crisis. 5. Continuous Monitoring and Analysis: The dynamic nature of social media requires continuous monitoring and analysis. After the initial response, it is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies. Ongoing monitoring helps in understanding how the situation evolves and allows for adjustments in response strategies as needed. 6. Analysing the Cause: Delving into the root cause of the crisis is a fundamental step. Organisations should conduct a thorough investigation to understand the underlying factors that led to the crisis. This not only aids in immediate resolution but also enables the implementation of preventive measures to avoid similar incidents in the future. Effectively handling crisis management in the era of social media requires a proactive approach, and the importance of knowing how to navigate these situations is crucial. By understanding the impact of words, leveraging social listening, and implementing effective crisis management strategies, brands can weather the storm and safeguard their reputation in the digital era. If you need assistance with developing your crisis management strategy, do not hesitate to reach out and contact us today.

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Asterisk (*; Late Latin; Greek: “little star”) is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Asterisks are used to call out footnotes, especially when there is only one on a page. Less commonly, multiple asterisks are used to denote different footnotes on a page (i.e., *, **, ***). There are several other proper uses for asterisks, including to denote a misspelled word, as an alternative to typographical “bullets”, they can be used for anonymity (Peter J***) and they can be used to represent emphasis (*no*) when bold or italic text is not available, like Twitter and text messaging. Of course, the asterisk can also be used to replace offensive or vulgar language in a sentence (i.e., “Those **** mosquitoes are horrible tonight.) That’s a synopsis of the official definition of an asterisk. Those of us growing up in the 1950s and 1960s became quite familiar with the asterisk, not in English class, but in Major League Baseball – particularly the 1961 season. It was in that year two New York Yankee players – Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris – went on a home run rampage that had sportswriters around the country comparing their exploits to Yankee great Babe Ruth. Ruth, as even sometime fans will know, established the all-time home run record of 60 in a single season back in 1927. Ruth accomplished the feat in 154 games. By 1961, Major League teams had a 162-game schedule. Both Mantle and Maris were well ahead of Ruth’s 1927 pace as the season wore on. Midway through the season, however, the injury-prone Mantle fell off the pace, leaving only Maris in pursuit of the “Sultan of Swat.” As the season wore on and it became more and more apparent that Maris had a legitimate shot at Ruth’s single-season record, the so-called baseball purists began to talk about the disparity in the length of the 1927 season and the 1961 season. The only way Maris could have a legitimate home run record would be to hit more than 60 home runs in the first 154 games of the season. If Maris hit 61 home runs, but needed more than 154 games, then his record should always include an asterisk. Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick announced that Maris’ fete would forever be listed with an asterisk in the record books. But, baseball had no official “record book” before that time. To many, that seemed legitimate. To others it seemed dumb. Ruth hit 60 home runs during his team’s regular season; Maris should get credit for every home run he hit during his team’s regular season, regardless of the extra eight games. Maris hit 61 home runs, belting his final one in the Yankees’ last game of the season. While no asterisk is placed after the “61” home runs Maris hit, the stigma of that stayed with him for years, thanks in part, or largely, because of Frick’s statement during the season. His single-season record stood for years until some more recent players eradicated that record with sky-high totals that some (and probably rightfully so) say were the result of steroid use among baseball players. Of course, because of that all of Barry Bonds’ records, fans critical of his home run prowess, should include the asterisk. In fact, during Bonds’ final season, opposing fans would hold up signs bearing asterisks each time he would come to bat. Naturally, we should all “move on” after occurrences beyond our control affect our lives, leaving us feeling angry, empty and emotionally drained. Paul Rhodes has proven that he’s not only a great coach, a great fit at Iowa State and emotionally committed to the Iowa State football program. Why, he even drew a verbal reprimand from the Big 12 for his comments after last week’s Iowa State-Texas game. But, that’s in the past. The Cyclones have put that game behind them. Rightfully, they should – there are plenty more games to be played this season. Still, it’s hard for some of us to forget what happened that Thursday night in Ames. Personally, I hate to use an asterisk; I much prefer to say it like it is. So, I’ll come right out and say it – “Those **** referees were blind.” And, we have to accept the final result as it’s written in stone for everyone to remember – Texas 31, Iowa State 30*.

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Borexino is a particle physics experiment to study low energy (sub-MeV) solar neutrinos. The name Borexino is the Italian diminutive of BOREX (Boron solar neutrino experiment). The experiment is located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso near the town of L'Aquila, Italy, and is supported by an international collaboration with researchers from Italy, the United States, Germany, France, Poland and Russia. The experiment is funded by multiple national agencies including the INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics) and the NSF (National Science Foundation). The detector is a high-purity liquid scintillator calorimeter. It is placed within a stainless steel sphere and shielded by a water tank. The primary aim of the experiment is to make a precise measurement of the beryllium-7 neutrino flux from the sun and comparing it to the Standard solar model prediction. This will allow scientists to further understand the nuclear fusion processes taking place at the core of the Sun and will also help determine properties of neutrino oscillations, including the MSW effect. Other goals of the experiment are to detect boron-8, pp, pep and CNO solar neutrinos as well as antineutrinos from the Earth and nuclear power plants. The project may also be able to detect neutrinos from supernova within our galaxy. Borexino is a member of the Supernova Early Warning System. As of May 2007, the Borexino detector started data taking. The project first detected solar neutrinos in August 2007. This detection occurred in real-time. The data analysis was further extended in 2008. - Georg G. Raffelt (1996). "BOREXINO". Stars As Laboratories for Fundamental Physics: The Astrophysics of Neutrinos, Axions, and Other Weakly Interacting Particles. University of Chicago Press. pp. 393–394. ISBN 0226702723. - "Borexino Experiment". Borexino Official Website. Gran Sasso. Retrieved 12 August 2011. - Borexino Collaboration (2008). "The Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A 600 (3): 568–593. arXiv:0806.2400. Bibcode:2009NIMPA.600..568B. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2008.11.076. - "The Borexino experiment at Gran Sasso begins the data taking". Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso press release. 29 May 2007. - Emiliano Feresin (2007). "Low-energy neutrinos spotted". Nature news. doi:10.1038/news070820-5. - Borexino Collaboration (2007). "First real time detection of 7Be solar neutrinos by Borexino". Physics Letters B 658 (4): 101–108. arXiv:0708.2251. Bibcode:2008PhLB..658..101B. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2007.09.054. - Borexino Collaboration (2008). "Direct Measurement of the Be7 Solar Neutrino Flux with 192 Days of Borexino Data". Physical Review Letters 101 (9): 091302. arXiv:0805.3843. Bibcode:2008PhRvL.101i1302A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.091302. - "A first look at the Earth interior from the Gran Sasso underground laboratory". INFN press release. 11 March 2010. - Borexino Collaboration (2010). "Observation of geo-neutrinos". Physics Letters B 687 (4–5): 299–304. arXiv:1003.0284. Bibcode:2010PhLB..687..299B. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2010.03.051. - "Precision measurement of the beryllium solar neutrino flux and its day/night asymmetry, and independent validation of the LMA-MSW oscillation solution using Borexino-only data.". Borexino Collaboration press release. 11 April 2011. - Borexino Collaboration (2011). "Precision Measurement of the Be7 Solar Neutrino Interaction Rate in Borexino". Physical Review Letters 107 (14): 141302. arXiv:1104.1816. Bibcode:2011PhRvL.107n1302B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.141302. - "Borexino Collaboration succeeds in spotting pep neutrinos emitted from the sun". PhysOrg.com. 9 February 2012. - Borexino Collaboration (2011). "First Evidence of pep Solar Neutrinos by Direct Detection in Borexino". Physical Review Letters 108 (5): 051302. arXiv:1110.3230. Bibcode:2012PhRvL.108e1302B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.051302. - Borexino collaboration (2012). "Measurement of CNGS muon neutrino speed with Borexino". Physics Letters B 716 (3–5): 401–405. arXiv:1207.6860. Bibcode:2012arXiv1207.6860B. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2012.08.052.

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It's a tiny plant, one with a beautiful purple flower, and it just might be one that can be brought back from the brink of extinction. Earlier this month botanists at Grand Canyon National Park were beaming when one of their sentry milk-vetch (Astragalus cremnophylax var. cremnophylax) began to bloom. That was no small victory, as it marked a significant achievement in the park's efforts to bring the plant off the list of endangered species. The sentry milk-vetch is the only endangered plant in the Grand Canyon. Efforts to bolster its populations began in 2009 when a greenhouse collection of the plants was started with hopes of producing enough seeds and plants to start recolonizing areas of the park. According to park officials, there currently are 94 sentry milk-vetch plants in the greenhouse. All were grown from seed that was hand-collected from the wild. In 2009, the park built a passive solar greenhouse for propagation and seed production of sentry milk-vetch plants. The greenhouse was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon National Park’s official fund-raising partner. Sentry milk-vetch only grows in three locations in shallow soil pockets atop the highly porous Kaibab Limestone near the rim of Grand Canyon. The plant was listed as endangered in 1990; and there were only 1,125 plants known to exist in the wild in 2009. According to the 2006 Sentry Milk-vetch Recovery Plan, the plant will be considered recovered when there are eight stable populations of 1,000 plants each. The species will be eligible for downlisting when there are four stable populations of 1,000 plants each. Plants in Grand Canyon’s native plant nursery form the second ex situ population of sentry milk-vetch. The first was established at the Arboretum at Flagstaff, one of the partners in the sentry milk-vetch recovery program. Park scientists have worked closely with the Arboretum’s Research Scientist Dr. Kristin Haskins and Research Botanist Sheila Murray to incorporate their wealth of knowledge and experience into the Grand Canyon's successful effort. Park Horticulturalist Janice Busco, who is leading the park’s sentry milk-vetch recovery efforts, said, the availability of seeds “has been one of the limiting factors for recovery efforts, so it is an important breakthrough that we already have little sentry milk-vetch plants thriving and blooming in our greenhouse population that was started just last year." "We will be pollinating the plants by hand, using techniques developed by the Arboretum at Flagstaff," she added. "As the seeds set, we will collect them for use in reintroduction trials at a restoration site near Maricopa Point starting in 2011.” The largest population of sentry milk-vetch exists near Maricopa Point on the South Rim’s Hermit Road, according to park officials. In 2008, the National Park Service removed a parking lot there to provide additional habitat for sentry milk-vetch plants. This summer, the park’s Vegetation Program will begin a complex site restoration program in a portion of the former Maricopa Point parking lot to recreate the unique topography and habitat that this plant requires. In 2011, the park plans to begin experimental plantings of sentry milk-vetch plants and seeds produced in the park’s native plant nursery. “I was so excited when I first learned that plants in our greenhouse population were already blooming. This important event is a huge credit to Janice Busco and Student Conservation Association Plant Conservation intern Emily Douglas, who have worked so hard to start the greenhouse population and to tend these tiny plants," said the park's vegetation program manager, Lori Makarick. "I look forward to seeing how successful these plants are in producing seed after they are hand-pollinated, and then being able to move forward from there with our recovery program.”

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