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You may have seen electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in stores, in advertisements, or being used. But e-cigarettes, while increasingly popular, are not harmless. Created as an alternative to tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes are sophisticated mechanical devices designed to deliver the same highly addictive nicotine that is in tobacco cigarettes, without the other harmful effects of tobacco smoke.
In the past decade, e-cigarettes have become a more than $1 billion industry in the United States, with over 460 brands on the market. Many adults who use e-cigarettes are current or former smokers looking to stop nicotine cravings, quit smoking, or cut down on tobacco cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes may have a limited effect on helping people quit since at least 75 percent of adults who use e-cigarettes also use tobacco cigarettes.1
And although most states prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to people under the age of 18, more and more teens are using them. In fact, recent surveys2 show dramatic increases each year in the number of teens who have tried an e-cigarette in their lifetime, as well as in the number who have used them in the past month. This is at a time when smoking tobacco cigarettes is at an all-time low among middle and high school students.
With e-cigarette use on the rise, the federal government is considering regulation of how e-cigarettes are made and sold. If this happens, e-cigarettes may be subject to rules on safety, advertising, and warning labels similar to those that govern the sale of tobacco cigarettes. For now, however, consumers should not assume that the products are guaranteed to be safe or that claims made in advertising are accurate.
As for the science on the risk of e-cigarettes and the possible benefits for current smokers, research is just beginning. But there is already a growing body of evidence showing that teens would be smart never to start using e-cigarettes. | <urn:uuid:996e402a-8ebd-43f0-9770-9561d955e3bc> | {
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MIT Wikis (wikis.mit.edu), a service offered by Information Systems and Technology (IS&T), lets groups on campus create collaborative web spaces. It is geared towards MIT academic, administrative, research, and student groups. Everyone in a group can contribute to a wiki, allowing for quick and easy information sharing.
An MIT wiki can be public or private. The Space Admin of the page can grant or revoke the permissions of individuals and existing groups. Users and groups are hand-picked by the admin. To give everyone at MIT access, you can add the group “mit-users.”
Wikis.mit.edu is integrated with Moira email lists for efficiency. Security is ensured through Touchstone authentication. You can also connect your wikis to specific Stellar sites.
MIT wikis are customizable. They can be anything from a simple grid to a mini-database with navigation, links, images, and more. Several built-in themes are available to help define a wiki’s look and feel.
To create a wiki, request a space.
The KB also has a comprehensive walkthrough which covers navigation, editing, specifics about permissions, and more. | <urn:uuid:2c85abeb-808d-4490-9790-35bf6a0365e8> | {
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To keep the water in your above-ground pool crystal clear, maintaining the chemicals is just as important as it is for an in-ground pool. A healthy supply of free chlorine in water with a slightly alkaline pH and proper amounts of stabilizer keeps bacteria and algae at bay and prevents the water from turning cloudy or green. An above-ground pool is a magnet for falling leaves and other debris, and it's crucial to vacuum these out of the pool frequently, or they will upset the delicate chemical balance of the water. If algae do discolor the pool liner, scrubbing the liner, shocking the water and adding an algaecide should clear things up.
Check the Chemicals Often
If the weather is clear, you don't necessarily have to check your pool on a daily basis, but you should check it at least three times a week. Test the pH--the most important chemical characteristic of the water--and add acid, baking soda or soda ash as needed to maintain it between 7.2 and 7.6. Total alkalinity is a measure of the water's ability to maintain a stable pH, and it should be between 80 and 120 parts per million. You can usually adjust this with the same chemicals you use to adjust the pH. If the weather is rainy, check the pH more often, because rain makes the water acidic, and that's bad for swimmers as well as the pool liner.
The free chlorine concentration should be between 1 and 3 ppm, and the most efficient way to maintain it in an above-ground pool is to use chlorine tablets. They contain a stabilizer--cyanuric acid (CYA)--that prevents the chlorine from being degraded by sunlight. Place these slow-release tablets in the skimmer or the chlorinator--never directly in the pool water. If you choose to use liquid chlorine, you should add the stabilizer separately, maintaining the CYA level in a range from 20 to 50 ppm.
Clean the Pool Filter
If you run the circulation pump for the recommended 8 to 12 hours a day, most of the water in the pool will pass through the filter. Eventually, the filter will clog, and a clogged filter can't do its job. It may impede circulation, which in turn can affect the chlorine level. Sand and DE filters should be backwashed whenever the pressure reading is 8 to 10 psi above normal. If your pool has a cartridge filter, remove it weekly, and wash it with a garden hose.
Brush and Vacuum
Eddies in the pool water create stagnant areas, and these are breeding grounds for bacteria and algae. To prevent these from growing into a problem, you should brush down the sides of the pool weekly, skim debris off the surface and follow this by vacuuming the pool. The vacuum will also remove organic debris that collects on the bottom of the pool and contributes to water acidity.
Vacuuming isn't a job to be done when you're in a hurry. It's essential to move the vacuum slowly to prevent it from churning the debris into the water, where you can't get it. Vacuum too quickly, and you'll just have to vacuum again. If you don't have a pool vacuum, you should get one--but until you do, you can vacuum your above-ground pool with a shop vac.
Clearing Cloudy Water
When pool water turns cloudy, it's usually because the pH is too high. This reduces the amount of free available chlorine. Cloudiness is often accompanied by a chlorine odor, which indicates an excess of chlorine compounds, called chloramines.
The first thing you need to do is lower the pH, using muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate (dry acid). When the pH is where it should be, and you have added liquid chlorine or chlorine tablets, the cloudiness may dissipate. If not, you'll probably need to shock the pool by raising the pH to 10 ppm or more. If the water remains cloudy after the chlorine levels fall to 5 ppm, use a clarifier to amalgamate the sediment into particles large enough for the filter to remove. In severe cases, add a flocculant to the water to force the sediment to fall to the bottom, where you can then vacuum it out of the pool.
Dealing with Algae
Algae can cause the pool water to turn strange colors, such as green or yellow, and these colors become accentuated when the algae grows on the liner. You often have to double-shock the pool by using twice the normal amount of shock to kill the algae, but before you do this, scrub down the sides and bottom of the pool to suspend the algae in the water. After shocking, wait for the chlorine level to fall to 5 ppm, then introduce an algaecide to provide the coup de grace and prevent the algae from growing again. | <urn:uuid:6982c96e-6bb7-4b71-8c94-0540c9b1e820> | {
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Multiple Myeloma Signs and Symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma symptoms vary and depend on several factors, including the stage and severity of the disease. In early stages, patients may not experience noticeable symptoms. Symptoms and complications of multiple myeloma develop when tumors form in bone marrow, bones, and organs; when abnormal plasma cells interfere with bone marrow function; and/or when the disease causes organ damage.
The primary symptom of multiple myeloma is bone pain. Pain associated with multiple myeloma commonly affects the spine (backbone), ribcage, or hips, and worsens with movement.
Severe, persistent pain in one location may indicate a bone fracture. Bone tissue consists of two types of cells: osteoblasts, which are responsible for bone formation, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for dissolving bone tissue. Multiple myeloma increases the activity of osteoclasts and suppresses the activity of osteoblasts, causing bones to deteriorate and increasing the risk for fractures. The formation of tumors in the bone marrow and bones also contributes to bone pain and fractures.
Other signs of multiple myeloma include low blood counts (cytopenia), high levels of calcium in the blood (called hypercalcemia), and high levels of calcium (called hypercalciuria) or protein (called proteinuria) in the urine. These conditions can affect many organs and body systems and cause a number of symptoms and complications.
Low red blood cell count (called anemia ) often causes fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and pallor (pale skin). Low white cell count (called leukopenia or neutropenia ) increases the risk for chronic infections, such as pneumonia and kidney infection (pyelonephritis), and fevers. Low platelet count (called thrombocytopenia ) can cause abnormal bleeding, excessive bruising, and other circulation problems (e.g. Raynaud’s phenomenon [bluish skin, numbness, often in the fingers and toes, in response to cold or stress], clotting disorders).
Hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, or proteinuria can cause muscle pain and weakness, increased thirst and urination, gastrointestinal (GI) tract problems (e.g. nausea, vomiting, constipation, weight loss), and kidney (renal) failure.
Multiple myeloma also can cause tumor compression of the spinal cord or nerves, resulting in neurological symptoms. These symptoms include confusion, depression, lethargy (physical and mental sluggishness), headache, nerve disorders (e.g. neuropathy, radiculopathy), vision loss, and bowel and bladder control problems. Spinal cord compression is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment (e.g. radiation therapy to shrink the tumor) and myeloma patients who experience neurological symptoms should contact their physician right away.
Publication Review By: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Published: 01 Jul 2009
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New York City is developing the NYC Macroscope, a population health surveillance system that uses electronic health records (EHRs) to track conditions managed by primary care practices that are important to public health.
Using the NYC Macroscope, we'll be able to monitor in real-time the prevalence of chronic conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, as well as smoking rates and flu vaccine uptake.
For more information, email [email protected].
How will it work?
The NYC Macroscope will rely on data from the Primary Care Information Project which helps ambulatory providers in underserved areas adopt EHRs with population management tools to improve the quality of healthcare for the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
The NYC Macroscope will be validated by comparing ambulatory EHR data with data from the 2013 NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC HANES 2013), a gold-standard, population-based health survey. The lessons learned in developing the NYC Macroscope will be useful to other agencies and researchers interested in using EHRs to monitor population health.
Why use electronic health records?
Electronic health records (EHRs) are rapidly becoming the standard of care for office-based medical practices, as a result of federal incentive programs encouraging their uptake by healtlh care professionals and institutions. As of 2012, 72% of office-based medical practices nationwide were using some kind of EHR system.
EHRs that have been constructed with population health management goals in mind can complement and expand the capacity of existing surveillance systems by capturing care events economically and with relative completeness.
About the project
The NYC Macroscope is part of a larger project, Innovations in Monitoring Population Health, conducted by the Health Department and the CUNY School of Public Health in partnership with the Fund for Public Health in New York and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York. Support for the larger project is primarily provided by the de Beaumont Foundation, with additional support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Robin Hood, the New York State Health Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Phase I (completed June 2013):
Publish Developing an Electronic Health Record-Based Population Health Surveillance System, a planning document to operationalize the NYC Macroscope and describe the methods to assess the validity of NYC Macroscope estimates.
Phase II (June 2013 - June 2014):
Collect EHR data on priority health indicators:
- Chronic disease risk factors (blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar, cholesterol)
- Chronic disease prevalence, treatment and control (hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol)
- Behavioral health (tobacco use, depression)
- Receipt of clinical preventive services (influenza immunization)
Phase III (June 2014 - December 2015):
Issue a report with year-one data from the NYC EHR surveillance system, validation study results and lessons learned.
Scientific Advisory Group
The NYC Macroscope was developed with input from the project's Scientific Advisory Group including public health professionals, clinicians and academics working in public health surveillance and informatics.
Health Information Technology Transformation
New York State Department of Health
Neil Calman, MD, ABFP, FAAFP
Institute for Family Health
Ralph J. Coates, PhD
Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH
Department of Population Health
New York University
Cristal Simmons, MPH
Chicago Department of Public Health
Patrick Remington, MD, MPH
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
David Ross, ScD
Public Health Informatics Institute
New York eHealth Collaborative
Tyler Williamson, PhD
Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) | <urn:uuid:9e7da603-8772-43ad-9724-08e923f1a8ee> | {
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What You Need to Know About Indoor Air Quality08/08/2016 Many people understand how dangerous outdoor air pollution like car emissions can be, but they don’t realize that the air inside the typical house might be more polluted—reliant on actual circumstances, it can be up to five times more. Things have become so dangerous, the EPA has indoor air pollution classified as a top five environmental danger. Mold, pollen, pet dander, radon and even formaldehyde are commonly found inside. Since Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, superior indoor air quality is crucial for good health, no matter if it’s in our homes or our workplaces. To help manage this pollution and improve our indoor air quality, we can take different measures. But first, we are required to absorb some lingo often used to discuss indoor air quality. HEPA HEPA is a term a lot of people have heard or seen, but did you know it stands for “high-efficiency particulate air” or “high-efficiency particulate arrestance”? HEPA filtration systems are engineered—and certified—to confine at least 99.97% of .3-micron particles (less than the diameter of a human hair) from the air that filters through the system. This significantly increases your home’s indoor air quality when dust, pollen, mites and other contaminants are destroyed. MERV Minimum efficiency reporting value or MERV describes the effectiveness of an air filter. With metrics ranging from 1–16, you should look for a max rating that specifies the filter will destroy more contaminants and allergens from your air without limiting the airflow of your home comfort system. Ask us which MERV-rated filter will work best for your home. At Econo Air, we can help you understand the importance of indoor air quality and help you work on breathing the best air possible. After all, the typical adult takes in about 11,000 liters of air each day. Give us a call at 714-695-6661 if you have any questions or concerns about your home comfort system or schedule an appointment with us online. | <urn:uuid:a5ffd661-6f10-4909-955f-debf21824a39> | {
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What is the interstellar medium?
The term “interstellar medium” (ISM) refers to the material between stars in galaxies, and around galaxies.
On a larger scale, the ” intergalactic medium” (IGM) refers to the material spread in the space between galaxies.
Why is it important to understand its properties and nature?
In the Galaxy, stars originate from the ISM, interact with it, “pollute” it with new elements.
On a cosmological scale, understanding the properties of the IGM and its link with galaxies
is crucial when addressing the problem of the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Goal of the course
We will address a few selected topics.
The aim is to be able to read and understand at least part of the current research literature.
Left panel: A drawing of the Orion Nebula by the French astronomer Messier, published in 1771,"Mémoires de l'Académie Royale". This object is now known as Messier 42. Right panel: A modern view of the same object with a large telescope.
The page describing the object number 42, in the "Catalogue des Nébuleuses & des amas d'Étoiles.", published in 1784 by Charles Messier.
Nebular hypothesis, developed by Kant (1755) and Laplace (1796).
The model was the accepted explanation in the 19th century.
Observations by the English astronomer Herschel.
Images of proto-planetary discs, recently discovered in the Orion Nebula by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Sir William Huggins (1824 – 1910), best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy, at his private observatory.
The first actual detection of cold diffuse matter in interstellar space was made by Johannes Hartmann in 1904,
by means of absorption line spectroscopy.
Hartmann took spectra of the bright star Delta Orionis, and noticed that a fraction of light was being absorbed along the line of sight.
He noticed some remarkable, stationary absorption lines, while the star itself was known to be oscillating: how could the absorption lines be stationary?
A modern application of the same technique: investigation of the IGM by mean of optical spectroscopy of distant quasars.
Optical observations of the Milky Way shows the striking presence of completely dark regions.
Along their line of sight, the very large extinction by dust causes the obscuration of the light from background stars.
The “holes in the heavens” discovered by William Herschel.
The advent of deep photographic imaging allowed Edward Barnard to produce the first images of dark nebulae already noticed by William Herschel.
He could show their silhouette against the rich background star fields of our galaxy.
In 1919, Barnard formulated the hypothesis that these were caused by ”obscuring masses of matter in space”.
The dark object Barnard 86 against the background star cluster NGC 6520. Credit: T.A. Rector, University of Alaska, Anchorage and NOAO/AURA/NSF.
Michael Hoskin, “The General History of Astronomy”, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press
I podcast del corso sono disponibili anche tramite Feed RSS. | <urn:uuid:22e090ce-0374-4f3e-9f57-2030c67976ae> | {
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Fau fibres / by Jill MacGregor ; photographs by Scott MacGregor.Material type: TextSeries: MacGregor, Jill, Children of the Pacific ; Description: 23 pages : colour illustrations, map ; 27 cmISBN:
|Item type||Current library||Collection||Call number||Status||Date due||Barcode||Item holds|
|Junior Non Fiction||Manaia LibraryPlus Children's||Children's Non Fiction||919 COUNTRIES (Browse shelf(Opens below))||Available||I2157730|
"A story from the Islands of Samoa."
Maimai describe how he and his family prepare and use the bark fibres of the fau tree in Samoa to make string, costumes, toys, and animal bedding. Includes instructions for making your own titi fau.
Junior, primary National Library of New Zealand.
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The conventional "this is your brain on drugs" image showing a frying pan and sizzling egg may be outdated. Today's anti-drug ads are keeping up with the times.
Case in point is a series of "modern" ads showing meth-addicted teens in horrific settings: a malnourished teen standing in the shower picking at scabs all over her body until they bleed. Apparently, she thought they were bugs crawling beneath her skin.
Today, the American Dental Association (ADA) warned users, and potential users, about the perils of methamphetamine to a healthy smile. One consequence of taking the drug called "meth mouth" could lead to rampant tooth decay and teeth that are blackened, rotting, crumbling or falling apart [image], said ADA president Robert M. Brandjord.
"Meth mouth robs people, especially young people of their teeth and frequently leads to full-mouth extractions and a lifetime of wearing dentures," Brandjord said.
How it works
More than 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, according to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Most of the users range from 18 to 34 years old.
Known by many street names, including speed, ice, crank and crystal, methamphetamine is a very strong central nervous system stimulant. Once meth enters a person's body, it releases a surge of dopamine, leading to the typical euphoria described by users.
Other short-term effects include extreme wakefulness, a lasting boost of energy and a lack of appetite. Long-term effects include an increased blood pressure, stroke and serious heart problems.
But what is long term? Called "meth mouth," the ADA stated users can go from having a sparkling smile to one of decay and tooth loss in about a year. For one, the drug dries out a person's salivary glands leading to the cottony-mouth feeling. Without the diluting effects of saliva, the acids in your mouth--produced by various foods and bacteria--begin to eat away tooth enamel.
Adding fuel to this mouth decay, meth users may forget to brush their teeth. Whereas the effects of cocaine last about an hour, a meth high can linger for 12 hours. During this half-day high, personal hygiene may not be at the top of the list of things to do.
"The extensive tooth decay of meth mouth is attributed to the drug's dry-mouth effect and its propensity to cause cravings for high-calorie carbonated beverages, tooth grinding and clenching, and extended periods of poor oral hygiene," Brandjord explained.
To highlight the perils of meth mouth, the ADA is posting educational material on their website. The take-home message is "there is no safe level of meth use, but treatment and recovery are possible," said Stephen Pasierb, president and CEO of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America. | <urn:uuid:f35fe11e-6b7c-40e2-a569-4260513ee397> | {
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I have often marveled at how the Bible uses symbolism in basic stories to teach lessons about life. The story of Job is one man’s journey through adversity, yet is the inward story of every man’s struggle. The story of Moses in Egypt is an outward story of a prophet, trying to lead his people, but is an inward story of God’s dealings with the wicked and righteous children.
The Christmas story is packed with such symbolism.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.” (Luke 2:1-5)
Bethlehem was a significant city, because David, the king, had been born there. David was chosen to rule over all Israel, because he was pure in heart. He didn’t remain that way, but in the beginning he was righteous and followed the Lord. Joseph was of the linage of David, so in a sense he would have been a prince if the government had remained in the hands of the Israelites.
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)
The place where Jesus was born is significant also. He could have been born in the temple, which would have been a fitting place. He could have been born in a palace, but the Father chose a stable for His child to be born in. He wanted the world to know that Jesus had humbled himself to the lowest station. He was without a home, and was no better than the beasts of the field. If he had been born in the palace, the world could have said, “He was destined to be a king.”
The Lord wanted the lowliest of us to know, that birth station and family status is not the measure of true greatness. Success doesn’t come from our parents or our home town. Whatever circumstances we might be born with, do not determine the outcome of our lives.
The Lord could have arranged for someone to take Mary into their home and allow her to bear the child near the warmth of their fire. I am sure there were many righteous people who would have taken her in, but the city where there is no room in the inn is a teacher, and symbolic of a world where Christ will come and there will be no room in the hearts or lives of people. They are too busy with the cares of the world to see the plight of the poor and the downhearted struggling around them.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” (Luke 2-8-17)
Why did the angels come to the shepherds? The Lord could have sent them to King Herod, to Caesar, or to the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were the figureheads of government. They could have made a decree to the entire world that the Savior had been born. That is not the way the Lord works. He is the one who looks on the heart.
What kind of man was Herod? He had all the babies killed because he was jealous of his position. Caesar was a pagan, and didn’t believe in God. The Pharisees and the Sadducees would later nail Jesus to the cross after they had bought him for 30 pieces of silver. Wickedness in high places was not the only reason the Lord chose the shepherds. Shepherds care for flocks of sheep. Christ would later refer to himself as the Good Shepherd, and refer to his followers as His flock.
Even in Old Testament times, people were called sheep. Isaiah said, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." The shepherds would be those in leadership positions over the people. They would shepherd the flock with love and bring them to the sheepfold, where there was safety and security from the dangers of the world.
“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” (Luke 2:18) The message of the Lord is not shouted to kings and rulers who make laws and decrees. It is given to humble followers to share it from heart to heart in burning fervent testimony that they have seen and know for themselves. As the wise men followed the star, not a national decree, so we will follow Christ in quiet unseen choices in our hearts.
Why the star? Now I am not saying that the North Star was the star of Bethlehem, but the North Star has long been a star of navigation. Mariners and merchants have used the star as a compass for thousands of years. What a wonderful symbol to use for Christ. As the wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem, if we follow Him, He will lead us through the darkness to everlasting light and life.
“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Mary knew more than she told the world. Humility keeps sacred things and ponders them. She probably shared with a few cherished people her wonderful knowledge, but she would not have her son ridiculed for a story that only the pure in heart would understand or believe.
At Christmas time, there is so much to ponder, so much to understand and believe about the life of Christ. So often we hurry along the streets strewn with lights, tinsel and plastic greenery. We duck in and out of stores looking for the perfect gift for the person who will give us the perfect gift. We fill our houses with decorations, presents, food and potpourri. But do we take time to fill our hearts with the love of God? Do we ponder the wonder of His glorious birth, and believe His miracles? Do we know Him and share our testimony of Him with non-believers?
Christmas is a remembrance of His birth, but it is a new beginning for Christians to make new commitments that His truth and His story will never die. Let us share it from heart to heart until it changes the whole earth. Then let the angels tell His story and let the sky ring with glory as He comes to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
6 potatoes, boiled and peeled
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup chopped chives or new onions
2 cups crushed corn flakes
Grate potatoes. Add soup, sour cream, cheese, and chives and mix well. Pour into baking dish. Mix butter and crushed corn flakes. Spread mixture over potatoes and bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
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Restoring the Minoans: Elizabeth Price and Sir Arthur Evansby Ann McCoy
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (ISAW)
OCTOBER 5 – JANUARY 7, 2018
The latter part of the Victorian era was a romantic age of celebrity archaeologists: Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb captured the public’s imagination, as did Leonard Woolley’s excavations of the burial pit at Ur. Sir Arthur Evans unearthed and restored Knossos, and Heinrich Schliemann excavated Mycenae—rescuing Homer’s lost civilizations from the mythological mists of time.
While exhibitions relating to such excavations can be dull and dusty, this one pulls the viewer through Evans’s excavation in a lively, scholarly, and refreshingly amusing waltz through the material. In 2016, Elizabeth Price (winner of the 2012 Turner Prize) made A RESTORATION, a two-channel video. Price was commissioned by the Contemporary Art Society in London to make a video based on the collections of Oxford’s Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums. ISAW’s chief curator, Jennifer Y. Chi, curatorial assistant Rachel Herschman, and the J. Paul Getty Museum’s curator of Antiquities, Kenneth Lapatin, curated the ISAW exhibition both in response to the Price’s video and to bring the Knossos of Sir Arthur Evans to life. The result is a selection of archeological watercolors, museum artifacts, excavation plans, and photographs, paired with the work of a remarkable contemporary artist. Showing how Evans used “permissive” restoration techniques and how authentic artifacts, forgeries, and fresco reproductions entered museum collections, the artist and curators treat this history with a combination of playful wit and excellent scholarship.
It all begins with a myth. Sir Arthur Evans thought the Palace of Knossos he unearthed was the labyrinth of King Minos’s Minotaur described in Homer’s Iliad. This structure becomes an organizing principle for the video—A RESTORATION ends with a labyrinth in the form of a giant digital ear, into which a vast cache of artifacts is dumped. Price’s pulsating soundtrack makes the Minoan world of bull-leapers and snake goddesses come alive as we enter Knossos through the site plans and photographs of Evans’s reconstruction. A chorus of digitally manipulated female voices Price calls “museum administrators” functions much like a Greek chorus, with their running commentary printed out in a text box.
A RESTORATION was made during a two-year residency at Oxford University’s Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums, where Price chose to make an artwork based on the Sir Arthur Evans Archive. Price uses the beginning of the video to introduce the restored frescoes of a garden habitat and then takes us into Evans’s excavation site using archival plans and photographs. The work moves between fragments, discussing how a restoration was created from them—“making whole” that which has been lost. Evans becomes an artist as his fantasy becomes this version of Knossos. Photographs of thousands of objects, like drinking bowls, parade before us, spilling from endless shelves and files. Price’s work is a brilliant commentary on how we see artifacts in the digital age, and her digital file folders within file folders show the sheer volume of the material, and also mimic her artistic process. Borges’s “The Library of Babel” comes to mind as shelves and shelves of drinking vessels, bits and bobs of frescoes, and a parade of artifacts spill across the screens. Price has a level of scholarship we don’t often see in artists, which makes for a memorable collaboration between artist and museum.
Sir Arthur Evans devoted a lifetime to the restoration of Knossos. He was also a director of Oxford’s Ashmoleon Museum and brought the semi-moribund institution back to life, expanding its collections. Coming from a wealthy family, he even bought the excavation site on Crete. His archaeology was in service to a European mythology: Evans declared the famous throne from Knossos to be the oldest seat of power in Europe, made long before Greece, Rome, and even the Egyptian first dynasty. With the help of an expert excavator, Duncan Mackenzie, and two Swiss archaeological artists, Émile Gilliéron (pére and fils), Evans rebuilt the palace in several successive versions, using modern steel-reinforced concrete. Sometimes a fresco was “restored” when only 15 percent of the original existed, so there was some creativity involved. An amusing 1929 travelogue by Evelyn Waugh reads:
I accompanied a party of fellow passengers to the museum to admire the barbarities of Minoan culture. One cannot judge the merits of Minoan painting, since only a few square inches of the vast area exposed for our consideration are earlier than the last twenty years, and their painters have tempered their zeal for reconstruction with a predilection for the covers of Vogue.
Kenneth Lapatin’s ISAW catalogue essay makes for great reading. We learn Evans’s excavation inspired writers like William Butler Yeats, psychologists like Freud, artists like Pablo Picasso and Max Ernst, and even dress designers like Mariano Fortuny. Lapatin traces the work of Evans from the excavation site to the watercolor versions of the frescos that traveled to museums, along with photographs and other replicas. Anything found on-site had to remain in the country, so it was hard to quench the thirst of museums and collectors for Minoan antiquities. An ivory figurine christened “Our Lady of the Sports” (borrowed from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto) was made at a secret forgery atelier by members of Evans’s work crew, without his knowledge. Evans, with his desire for a female bull-leaper, could never quite denounce it as a fake, and it is placed prominently in a vitrine at ISAW.
Restoring the Minoans gives us a wonderful sampling of Minoan artifacts—including a stunning bronze female figurine, ceramics, and fresco fragments—alongside large watercolors of Minoan interiors and illustrations of frescoes that told the story of Evans’s excavation as they were sent to institutions around the world. This exhibition shows how an artist and an institution can work together with intelligence and creativity to bring not only a story to the viewer, but present a dialogue about art, museum practices, and archaeology in the digital age.
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Late Blight is a fungal disease which attacks potatoes and tomatoes. Sometimes it is found on related plants; I have seen it on kangaroo apple and wild solanum, a common weed. The disease is usually caused by the blight organism over-wintering in infected potato tubers. It can produce vast numbers of spores when conditions are wet and warm. Sources of infection are infected seed potatoes, self-set potatoes, decomposing ptoatoes in compost heaps, old potato or tomato haulms, and infected tomato plants.
Anyone growing potatoes or tomatoes needs to be able to identify late blight so that he or she does not unwittingly become a source of infection.
Once established, blight can destroy a crop remarkable quickly. I have seen a healthy bed of potatoes destroyed (in early July) two days after first infection. It can be quicker than this.
TO REDUCE THE CHANCES OF GETTING BLIGHT
1.Do not use own-seed potatoes unless you have inspected the seed and know it to be blight-free.
2.Destroy unplanted tubers at the end of the season.
3.Pull up and destroy any self-set potatoes.
4.Do not compost old tubers; throw them away.
Resistant varieties will slow down the spread of blight but will probably not prevent it. Very resistant potatoes in the UK are the Sarpo varieties and Setanta. Fairly resistant varieties are Verity, Cosmos, Orla and Golden Wonder.
Many of these are based on copper compounds. The choice for the home gardener is much more restricted than for the commercial grower. A dilute solution of Bordeaux or Burgundy mixture (copper sulphate / lime or copper sulphate / washing soda) is economical and effective. However it has to be applied as a preventative; it is less useful as a treatment.
REMOVAL OF DISEASED MATERIAL
If using containers, infected plants need segregating straight away, and spraying. Plants should be checked regularly every 2-3 days, and more often if the weather is wet. In a bed, diseased haulms need removing straight away and the rest of the plot should be sprayed. Thinning or shortening the haulms can also help. Once the haulms collapse (e.g. after a heavy storm) it is very difficult to prevent blight if the weather turns warm.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Back to top | <urn:uuid:d5c53f8c-ce10-4f5a-a7e6-814f53b5d235> | {
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Make it Real
Online and face-to-face maker communities amplify each other's work and the work of their participants. By sharing what we do in the offline world with our networks in the online world (and vice versa), we create resources, examples and case studies that can help us identify which methods work and how we, as a global community, can support one another.
Welcome to the Maker Party!
Maker Party is a way to put the lessons we've been learning through #teachtheweb into action. It's an opportunity to make, connect, celebrate openness, use interest-driven, learner-centric activities and methods to teach web literacy skills, provide mentorship and empowerment to people, get feedback from our peers, and experiment.
You can teach and make the web anywhere, with anyone. There are people teaching in parks, in internet cafes, in libraries, in classrooms and around their kitchen tables. Maker Party is a way to connect and celebrate with other learners, makers and mentors. You can be part of it too!
How do you want to teach people?
Making it real in our local areas is about making a commitment to your community or people you care about. It helps to find like-minded individuals and/or organizations who want to help. No matter where you live, there are likely people nearby who would help you organize a workshop, find others who are interested in learning how to be a webmaker or appreciate you volunteering at one of their events. There are people who want to have this conversation with you.
The only thing you have to do is ask people to participate. Chances are, once they understand your aim, they'll be excited about participating in some way. Just explain your goals, what you want to do, and ask for help. The worst that can happen is that someone says “no,” in which case, you can find someone else to ask.
A good place to start is by searching the directory of Mozilla volunteers and finding out if there are any in your area. You should also see what kinds of hacker spaces, maker clubs, digital literacy programs, community spaces, libraries, etc. are in your area. Get creative and use broad strokes; there are people out there, we know it!
Throwing a Maker Party doesn't have to be time intensive or difficult. You just have to decide how much time and energy you have to #teachtheweb and then organize something that fits your schedule. If you're already teaching digital skills in your classroom, running a Maker Club or otherwise gathering learners on a regular basis, you can participate by simply sharing with us what your learners are working on.
If you haven't yet gathered a group of participants to #teachtheweb to, Mozilla has developed three types of event formats that make it easy for anyone to get started:
A Kitchen Party is a very easy way to #teachtheweb – you don't need to plan much/anything, just invite people to meet at a particular day and time and start making things together. The How to Host a Kitchen Party Guide explains step-by-step how to run this easy event.
A Hack Jam requires a bit of preparation and planning. You decide to organize an event where between 10 and 50 people come to learn about the web and make things. The How to Host a Hack Jam Guide can help you think about what to do in your Hack Jam.
Finally, a Pop-Up is for those who are looking to form real world networks in their local area. It's a good way to get your community excited about the types of offerings available. A Pop-Up is an event where multiple organizations come together for a day of hacking. Each organization sets up a station with a lightweight activity that participants can do in a short amount of time. The Pop-Up Guide covers this format in detail and points to some great resources that will help you understand it.
Continuing to #teachtheweb
Think about all you've done in this #teachtheweb experience. Why are you still here? Who have you connected with? Why is this interesting to you? What did you learn? Do you want to #teachtheweb to people in your community? Do you want to support others by making content or spreading the word? How do you want to be involved in the spread of Web Literacy?
Whether you run a Maker Party or create content for other party hosts to use, whether you talk about the importance of web skills to your networks or research applicable frameworks for teaching the web in public schools, whether you make design assets, write blog posts, donate food or space to people trying to #teachtheweb... There is value to whatever kind of contribution you are willing to make.
We've been establishing a community of practice throughout the #teachtheweb experience. We've explored the pedagogies of the Maker and Learning Movements and have experimented with creating interest-driven, learner-centric lessons. Now we're experimenting with delivering those lessons, and we're doing it together!
Make and explore this topic (link out to make prompt page)
Go deeper into this topic (link out to MentorMob playlist) | <urn:uuid:614b4a5c-5ab3-44b0-8a63-dcb064d4a86c> | {
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Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog.
Note: Contents data are machine generated based on pre-publication provided by the publisher. Contents may have variations from the printed book or be incomplete or contain other coding.
Contents List of Figures List of Sidebar Texts Acknowledgements Maps Introduction A. The Roman Empire B. Religion and Religions C. The Sources I. Identifying ¿Religion¿ in the Graeco-Roman Tradition A. The Nature of the Divine B. Approaches to the Divine 1. Cult 2. Myth 3. Art 4. Philosophy 5. Conclusion C. Three Problematic Topics 1. Authority 2. Belief 3. Morality D. Conclusion II. Regional Religious Traditions of the Empire A. Greece B. Asia Minor C. Syria D. Egypt E. North Africa F. Western Europe G. Eastern Europe H. Italy I. Uniformity and Diversity in the Religious Traditions of the Empire III. The Presence of the Gods A. The Gods in the World B. The Power of the Gods C. Manifestations of the Gods D. Conclusion IV. Religion and Community A. The City B. The Household C. Voluntary Associations D. Conclusion V. Religion and Empire A. Mobility of Worshippers B. Mobility of Gods C. Identifying Gods D. Emperors and Gods E. Conclusion VI. Religious Options A. Attractions 1. Esoteric Wisdom 2. Divine Inspiration B. Advantages 1. Traditional Benefits 2. Intensification 3. Salvation C. Conclusion VII. Roman Religious Policy A. Atheism and Superstition B. Religious Authority C. Three Particular Cases 1. Magic 2. Judaean Tradition 3. Christianity D. Conclusion Epilogue: Religious Change in the Roman Empire Glossary of Major Deities Glossary of Authors and Texts References Index
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Rome -- Religion.
Rome -- Religious life and customs.
Rome -- Civilization. | <urn:uuid:f9cad17b-e486-4e72-9b24-ed4f7158ac18> | {
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1) It is said that the doctrine of judicial precedent is an important part of the law in Malaysia.
(a) Outline the current hierarchy of the Courts in Malaysia, with a brief description of their jurisdiction.
(b) Describe how this doctrine of judicial precedent operates, referring to case laws and examples
2) Chan is a crane operator. One day, while operating the crane to put up a big signboard along a busy road, the ropes holding the signboard gave way. The signboard hit into a car that was being driven by Alias. Alias was badly injured. Alias did not follow the instructions of Chan’s assistant to stop about 50 feet away while Chan was pulling
up the signboard. Instead, Alias inched his way towards the crane as he was in a hurry to reach his office to meet his boss for a meeting.
(a) Consider whether Chan can be made liable in the tort of negligence for the injuries suffered by Alias.
(25 marks )
(b) Consider also whether Chan has any defenses. Make references in your answer to relevant case laws.
3) Khalid was interested in buying Siti’s painting which she had named “Hawa”. Khalid met Siti and told her that he will pay her RM5,000 for “Hawa”. Siti said she will think about it. Two weeks later Siti told Khalid that she will sell him the painting for RM7,000 . Khalid said that the price was too high and he did not want the painting.
One week later, Khalid received bonus from his employer. He immediately contacted Siti and told her that he will pay the RM7,000 for “Hawa”. Siti refused to give Khalid the painting, saying the price had now gone up to M10,000.
Is Siti bound by any contract to sell the painting to Khalid for RM7,000? Make references to relevant case laws and legislation. (50 marks) | <urn:uuid:37825e77-b483-4008-9003-73388627b9f7> | {
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In our literacy lessons this week we were focusing on debates.
We had a class debate for who should win the golden ticket. Each child wrote a reason (using f.a.n.b.o.y.s) why they deserve the golden ticket. We then chose 7 finalists to 'battle it out' with their speeches. The audience decided whose argument was most convincing and narrowed it down to 3 hopefuls. The audience then asked the remaining children some questions and voted for who they think should get the golden ticket.
The winner was Tom!
Well done Tom. | <urn:uuid:95ee297e-43ff-4483-bd7f-fd8ee4bbf685> | {
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- Indicates a fictional untrue story.
- For religious believers, a myth communicates a worldview - a set of values and beliefs and cover responses to ultimate questions about life. The importance of myths is that they communciate truths and values of society.
Peter Vardy The same ideas and values are communicated in myths from all sorts of different cultures around the world. Creation myths, virgin births and great floods are found in many other cultures.
For Christians today, myths communicate the values of Christianity as well as the response of Christians to some ultimate life questions. Myths are important as they preserve and hand on the cultural identity of a group in a story form. Myths make a story realiable and easier to communicate. The values myths present are more important.
Ruldolph Bultmann: The significance of myths is that they communicate values and beliefs. The imagery of myths however come from the culture of origin. | <urn:uuid:8db94116-4b8c-4fb8-b8f8-8056f8d0f76f> | {
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What is Waste management at AstraZeneca?
Company operations generate waste, including biological waste and hazardous waste, and we work with specialist third parties to manage its disposal. Waste can have adverse impacts on the environment and human health through pollution.
We look at waste not only in its end state, but also evaluate how it was produced. We work to the waste hierarchy, focussing on waste prevention and reduction, then prioritising the reuse, recycling and safe disposal of the waste materials we produce in
- Production: Product design and process innovations to decrease waste byproducts created during manufacturing; solvent
recovery systems recycle reducing the need for raw materials
- On-site with employees: Employees identify waste elimination projects and implement process changes or apply for funding from
the Natural Resources Reduction Governance Group
- Disposal: We work to the waste hierarchy, maximising opportunities to reuse and recycle where possible
Our targets and progress
Creating a culture of sustainability in the labs
At AstraZeneca, we want to innovate new medicines for patients in sustainable ways, and how we work in the lab makes a difference. From washing glassware to disposing of gloves, everything we do in our labs contributes to our environmental footprint. This year, we started a global Green Labs initiative across six of our research sites in partnership with the not-for-profit organization, .
Through the program and My Green Lab certification process, scientists learn about and assess our lab practices with respect to waste, energy, water and chemicals so we can continuously improve our environmental footprint. Each of our research facilities is actively pursuing ways to reduce and better manage waste. We have seen how this program allows us to share best practices and helps scientists see environmental impacts that were perhaps invisible before. In turn, this will lead to behavioural changes in and around the lab.
From single-use to reusable thermal packaging
Each year, we send 60,000 products to hospitals and clinics for clinical trial distribution. It involves a huge amount of packaging. Our original process used a box the size of a small table, each containing 15kg of packaging that had to be thrown away after delivery and recipients were responsible for its disposal.
Our distribution partner told us that reusable thermal packaging was available, but other companies had tried it unsuccessfully – only 50% of sites sent the box back, and the remaining were charged to the sponsor as lost boxes. We decided to work with our distribution partner to develop a new approach involving a returns process. We collaborated with sites and shipping companies to ensure the returns process would work. Some simple ideas like asking our distribution contact to use the brightest coloured paper for returns instructions – a pink envelope would get more attention than just a white sheet of paper. We started with a pilot, followed by roll-out across 35 countries.
- 98% returns rate (target of 80%)
- $3.9 million cost savings
- saved packaging waste equivalent to the weight of 747-jumbo jet
Transition away from single-use plastics
2020欧洲杯体育在线平台We tackle waste generation by collaborating inside and outside our organization. At our sites, we are coordinating to quantify and remove avoidable single-use plastics (SUPs) in food service, cleaning and office areas.
In 2019, initiatives across our sites removed over two million pieces of plastic cutlery with compostable or reusable alternatives and an initiative at Macclesfield reduced over one million small milk containers by moving to larger bottles and integrating milk into drinks machines. Our Gaithersburg site in the US has removed virtually all single use plastics from food service areas. For 2020, we have signed on to the UK National Health Service (NHS) Plastics Pledge across all our R&D and operations sites.
Turning medical waste into products
We produce waste in our labs and its disposal can have huge environmental impacts. To turn waste from a problem to a resource, we joined the recycling program in Gaithersburg, US. This takes our regulated medical waste and turns it into plastic lumber material which is manufactured into speed bumps, farm tools, park benches, and more. | <urn:uuid:0c0cc9a2-b0a5-488d-89a8-3f3a6be07215> | {
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Lead-Acid Battery is the most popular. Though they are a very large size. But they have an advantage are: cheap, easy to buy. If you need long life. You should use an Automatic battery charger circuit below.
Charging best importance
Usually, these battery types can use for 3-4 years with correctly charging. I feel sick every time the battery break down before the time should. I do not want you to be like me. Do not do these!
- Overheat charging
The important, battery does not like hot! At all time, do not use or store them in too heat area.OR If while use may short circuit or high current use them will too hot. While charging does not quick charge with high current and high voltage.
- DC voltage only!
We must charge them with DC voltage only.
- Overvoltage charging
Normally, the battery manufacturer usually prints the appropriate voltage.
We should use a constant voltage charge.
—12V battery maximum voltage of 14.8V, Standby use is 13.8V
—6V battery maximum voltage of 7.5V, Standby use is 6.8V
- High current fast charge
But hot—So you should use initial current less 30%. For example, 12V/7AH battery you should the initial current less 2A. If we use 1A, the battery will be full for about 7 hours.
- No long time
Also, If you charge it for too long times. The battery is also too hot. Thus, When the battery is full, stop charging it.
These two circuits help make your life easier.
Simple Automatic battery charger circuit
This is the first automatic battery charger circuit. We use the concept of the circuit: not using ICs and complicated devices. Use existing products to use more benefits.
We can use this circuit for all battery. Just have to understand Battery charging requirements only.
- It is designed for 12V batteries. But if you understand the working principle already. I believe you can definitely adapt for a 6V battery or others.
- You should use an input voltage of 15-volts or 1.5 times of a battery voltage.
- Most importance—Should use charger current 10 % of battery current. For example 2.5Ah battery. Use the charging current 0.25A. It will take 10-12 hour for full.
How it works
First of all, I think “When…Charge? And When stop?”
Normally we should charge the battery if the voltage is lower than 12.4V. Then the battery voltage rises and the voltage maximum 14.4V. It is full. We need to cut off the charging current.
Secondly, we need to use a comparator circuit.
I often use IC-op-amp such as LM339, LM311, LM324, LM301. But sometimes we cannot buy them.
And This our working is simple style only.
In the begin, we learn a basic principle of electronic parts.
Meet Zener Diode
I like use Diode, Zener diode, which they are both valves for electrical currents. The Current will flow one way. But the Zener diode is connected backward. It then blocks current until the voltage exceeds a certain level.
I try to test them with the Zener diode 12-volts the current will flow through it when a voltage higher than 12V.
So, I use Zener diode for detects voltage over than 13V to control stop charger system.
Relay and SCR cut-off battery
Then, I use a relay to control the current to a battery. Because of cheap and used easily.
Next, I use a SCR for uses as quick control switch.
Simple automatic cut off battery charger
Comes to look in the circuit. I use it for 12V 7AH battery and lower. So the charging current is 2A.
So I use a 2A, 12V transformer in the unregulated power supply. In load or while in charge is 13V to 15VDC.
Suppose, the voltage battery is 12.4V. The relay does not work. The charging current flows continuously through the battery.
Until the voltage of the battery rises up to 13.8V. Starts to has the current flowing through Zener diode to Bias SCR1.
The SCR1 is working. Then replay also runs, pull in the NO and C connecting.
So no current flow to the battery.
How to setting and use
You can watch the video below I test it. This projects will always cut off the battery. When the voltage drops across it are 13.6V down.
Then LED2 (yellow) glow brightly. While the relay will pull out from the contact NC-C. Which no current to battery and voltage lower down.
Then you can charge again with pressing SW2 to reset, recharge them again.
High current charging
If you want to charge the high current battery. For example, 45Ah battery. You should use the current less than 5A. And less than 15A current.
Also, you need to use a high current power supply. The components inside are high current. For example 10A-15A transformer, 25A bride Diodes, 20A Relay and more.
I think this circuit is not suitable for high current battery. Because it may error charging. You need to use a constant voltage charge in PWM mode.
Automatic OFF 12V Battery Charger by power SCR
The circuit above may error and hard to set. I suggest an Auto dry battery charger using SCR for 12V battery. Also, it uses the 6V battery. It looks like the above circuit. The Zener diode and SCR are main parts. But the SCR works instead of the relay. The SCR is working in DC pulse on filters with a capacitor.
How this circuit works
As circuit below. To begin with, an AC220V will flow to a transformer to transform to 15 volts. Then, flow to bridge diode to rectifier AC to DC pulse 15V. The LED1 is a power indicator of the circuit.
Beginning SCR1 is working. Because the 15V flow to R3, to limit the current to decrease and flow through to diode D5.
It protects the reverse voltage before bias to lead G of SCR1.
When SCR1 conducts, make the 15V flows through lead K to a positive battery terminal.
Ideally, SCR1 will conduct current and stop current alternately very fast with a frequency of 100 Hz.
Since the 15V voltage from the bridge diode is full wave rectifier. So the output frequency of 50Hz+50 Hz. The current of this feature is a continuous positive half of the sine wave.
Which it is different from the voltage with capacitor filter, that is smooth as a straight line.
So SCR1 does not conduct the current all time. When there is positive voltage to bias at lead G.
Since the waveform of voltage is DC pulse, not smooth.
The SCR will stop conducting current. If disconnecting is not a positive voltage.
Then, the positive voltage waveform comes to SCR1 again. It will start conduct currents again, this was reversed with a frequency 100 Hz.
Battery level monitoring
To begin with, the positive battery voltage flows through R2 to reduce current. And, C1 will filter a current to smooth.
Second, the current flows through VR1 to divide voltage down. Then, the Zener diode-ZD1 pass an overvoltage to bias lead G of SCR2.
We adjust a level of VR1 to set a full battery. Until voltage at negative of ZD1 is more than 6.8V or about 7.3V.
After that, ZD1 is saturation voltage collapse flow through to feed lead G of SCR2. It causes SCR2 to conducts current. By R4 is a helper to SCR2 extraordinary stable work.
When SCR2 work, causes a negative voltage flows to lead K to A. It results to LED2 glow.
And the same time SCR1 will stop conducting current.
Since lead G of SCR1 get negative voltage from SCR2 there. In the case of battery is lower voltage, causes the voltage at negative of ZD1 is lower than 6.8V.
It makes lead G of SCR2 does not get positive voltage. But it can get only negative voltage through R4, result SCR2 does not conduct current.
The parts list
R1, R5: 2K
VR1: 10K Potentiometer
C1: 100uF 25V Electrolytic capacitor
SCR2: EC103 or 2N5060SCR
ZD1: 6.8V 1W
LED1, LED2: 5M LED as you want
PCB, and others, etc.
How to make and setting
- After you get all the components ready. Then, we soldered it successfully on PCB as Figure next checked again. For example, The device has a positive – negative. Are they correct polarity?
- To Safety, the first step, find a full battery voltage be connected to the circuit to correct polarity.
- Apply AC220V. Next, adjust VR1 clockwise until LED2 go out.
- To rotate VR1 clockwise slowly until LED2 light up, then stop immediately. Do not too much rotating.
- The principle of LED2 will light up when battery voltage until full. So, at the first time, the battery needs to be really full voltage.
I am sorry, I cannot show you the PCB layout. But you can use the perforated board.
Please watch the video below to increase understand this project.
This circuit can change the battery voltage of 3 sizes 6V, 9V, 12V. We can change each value parts as a neat charged battery.
In a normal circuit, we use with 12V battery. For example, Look at the chassis battery is stated as 12V 20AH. The meaning is this can power the currents of 20 amps per hour.
When you know voltage at the battery is charged, Now I have to choose the transformer to be used. currents transformers used can be selected from 3A.
- 6V battery; Output transformer voltage: 9V;—Zener diodes voltage: 3.3V; —R3 and R5: 1K
- 9V battery; Output transformer voltage: 12V;—Zener diodes voltage: 4.7V; —R3 and R5: 1.5K
- 12V battery; Output transformer voltage: 15V;—Zener diodes voltage: 6.8V; —R3 and R5: 2K
Click to look more:
6V or 12V Lead Acid battery charger
Easy Many circuits easy for you
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Volume 4 Number 2
©The Author(s) 2002
The Continuity Framework: A Tool for Building Home, School, and Community Partnerships
AbstractWe will need to become savvy about how to build relationships, how to nurture growing, evolving things. All of us will need better skills in listening, communicating, and facilitating groups, because these are the talents that build strong relationships. (Wheatley, 1992, p. 38)
In the face of today's challenging social and family issues, many new efforts are underway to help children and families. One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership that involves all the relevant partners—home, school, and community—in the planning and monitoring of services for children. Unfortunately, achieving a strong partnership with meaningful participation can often be difficult and time-consuming. This article focuses on a set of training materials that has been developed to assist community partnerships in their efforts. These materials highlight eight elements of continuity and successful partnerships: (1) families as partners, (2) shared leadership, (3) comprehensive/responsive services, (4) culture and home language, (5) communication, (6) knowledge and skill development, (7) appropriate care and education, and (8) evaluation of partnership success. Results from a field study that included more than 200 reviewers and 8 pilot sites are summarized. Results indicate that a majority of reviewers found the training materials easy to understand, relevant to their work, and up-to-date. In addition, data gathered from the pilot sites indicate that the partnerships found the materials practical and useful for addressing a variety of issues, including time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations.
Communities face a host of problems that threaten the health and well-being of their children and families. Poverty, unemployment, inadequate care/education, and poor health care are just a few of the difficult issues that communities must confront. What makes these issues particularly challenging is that children and families who experience one problem are often likely to experience other problems as well.
Compounding the problem is that delivery of services to help children and families is typically fragmented and scattered. Even efforts designed to increase the quality and supply of services to children and families have, at times, created greater fragmentation and discontinuity.
In previous years, those who sought to improve outcomes for children concentrated only on the child. Today, however, many service providers have come to understand that the best way to serve and preserve children is to serve and preserve the supportive networks that benefit children (Family Support America, 1996). An extensive body of research identifies the elements that contribute to children's well-being, beginning with those closest to the child and moving outward to encompass the family, early care/education, the neighborhood, the community, and beyond. This ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) has motivated a growing number of communities to focus more closely on the need for collaboration--engaging in a process that allows the community to address many problems at once rather than one at a time.
One solution that many communities have adopted is the establishment of a collaborative partnership involving all the relevant partners--home, school, and service providers--in the planning and monitoring of services for children (Kagan, 1992; Hoffman, 1991). The goal of most of these collaboration initiatives is to improve child outcomes, recognizing that many of the child's needs are closely linked to needs of the family and the community.
Challenges to Collaboration
Community collaboratives/partnerships represent one of the most challenging--yet one of the most effective--efforts for creating a flexible, comprehensive system that meets the needs of children and families. They involve new relationships among service providers and the children and families they serve. They require time, resources, and the willingness of collaborating agencies to learn about and establish trust with each other. In short, they require change (Bruner, Kunesh, & Knuth, 1992).
As a result of the new roles and responsibilities that service providers must assume, collaboratives/partnerships encounter many common difficulties, including (Melaville, Blank, & Asayesh, 1996):
- staff or agency representatives who are resistant to relinquishing power;
- policies and regulations within individual agencies that make it difficult to coordinate services, information, and resources;
- differences in prior knowledge, training, or experience that make it difficult for members to communicate and work together; and
- lack of time to meet and plan together.
Many factors contribute to the success or failure of a community collaborative, and no two collaboratives operate in exactly the same way. However, certain guidelines seem to help smooth the way for a more successful partnership, including (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1993):
- involve all key stakeholders;
- establish a shared vision of how the partnership will operate and expected outcomes for the children and families served;
- build in ownership at all levels;
- establish communication and decision-making processes that are open and allow conflict to be addressed constructively;
- institutionalize changes through established policies, procedures, and program mandates;
- provide adequate time for partners to meet, plan, and carry out activities.
The process of establishing and maintaining a collaborative partnership is not easy, and in the end, each partnership must find a way to proceed that is consistent with its community and unique set of circumstances. However, a number of resources and tools are available to help communities get started creating an effective system for delivering services. In this article, we describe one such tool that assembles elements essential to building a successful collaborative partnership.
Development of Continuity Framework Materials
For the past eight years, the 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) serving each region of the country have studied effective strategies for strengthening collaboration and increasing continuity among programs for young children and their families. The RELs are overseen by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement [now the Institute of Education Sciences], and their primary purpose is ensuring that those involved in educational improvement have access to the best information from research and practice. During the contract period of 1995-2000, the RELs established a program called the Laboratory Network Program (LNP), which convened representatives from each Laboratory as a national network working on common issues.
In 1995, the Early Childhood LNP developed Continuity in Early Childhood: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages (U.S. Department of Education, 1995), a document designed with two key purposes in mind: first, an emphasis on the need for children and families to receive comprehensive and responsive services, reflected in the eight elements of continuity outlined in the Framework (see Figure 1). Taken together, the elements are intended to promote a comprehensive understanding of continuity and transition during early childhood. Second, the Framework offered a set of guidelines that partnerships could use to compare and assess their current policies and practices, as well as identify areas in need of improvement.
Figure 1. Elements of Continuity
(U.S.Department of Education, 1995)
An extensive field review of the Framework indicated that although the document was helpful and informative, many community partnerships continued to have difficulty "getting started." As a result, a Trainer's Guide was developed to support the use of the Framework and assist community partnerships in the first stages. These materials were developed by the Early Childhood LNP in collaboration with the National Center for Early Development & Learning.
The Trainer's Guide provides an overview of the content and potential uses of the Framework and includes all activities and materials necessary to conduct training sessions. The Guide itself consists of four training sessions that are organized around the eight elements of continuity. The materials are designed so that a local partnership has everything needed to conduct the training: background information, scripts, handouts, transparencies, sample agendas, and checklists for additional equipment and supplies:
- The first session, Understanding Continuity, is designed to introduce participants to the Framework document and help participants develop a greater understanding and appreciation for continuity.
- The second session, Developing a Continuity Team, highlights the importance of broad representation and shared leadership among partnership members.
- The third session, Planning for Continuity, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to service delivery and encourages participants to examine their current partnership practices and policies.
- The final session, Formalizing Continuity, focuses on the importance of effective communication among group members and provides participants with an opportunity to formulate action plans.
The Guide is designed to be a flexible training tool, adaptable to meet the needs of a particular audience. The intended audience includes local partnerships for children and families (including Smart Start partnerships in North Carolina), Head Start Program representatives, public schools, and communities. The overall objectives of the training are (1) to enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity, (2) to strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to work as partners, and (3) to maximize the benefit they might receive from using the Framework.
What follows is a description of the field test that was designed to assess the use and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide. The field test focused exclusively on the Framework materials--no other instructional sources were employed. We will present the major findings of the field test and summarize recommendations based on those findings. In addition, we will highlight the work of several collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study, and we will describe some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today. Specifically, the evaluation will explore:
- To what extent is the information contained in the Framework and Trainer's Guide relevant and useful to community partnerships?
- What is the perceived impact of the training and Framework on partnership activities?
- How do partnerships incorporate elements of the Framework into their ongoing activities?
- Of the review sites that indicated interest in the training materials, what proportion actually conducted the training?
The overall usefulness and effectiveness of the Trainer's Guide was studied in two phases. Phase One consisted of document review and feedback from individuals working in the early childhood field. In Phase Two of field testing, the training was actually piloted in eight partnership sites.
Phase One: Document Review
Reviewers for the Trainer's Guide were solicited through the Laboratory Network Program (LNP) and at conferences related to early childhood issues. Three hundred thirteen individuals/organizations requested a set of the Framework materials (participant manual, Trainer's Guide, and a sample color transparency) and feedback form. Feedback questions centered on four areas: (1) information's relevancy and accuracy, (2) format and organization of the Trainer's Guide, (3) specific training needs, and (4) possible barriers to conducting training.
Of the 313 requesting materials, 215 (68.7%) reviewers returned feedback forms. Twenty-one percent (N = 45) of the respondents were members of a Smart Start partnership (North Carolina initiative), 19% (N = 40) worked in Head Start agencies, and 11% (N = 24) worked in family resource centers. Others included representatives from state agencies, school personnel, and university faculty. A majority (89%) of the respondents indicated that they are actively involved in a community partnership.
Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the original 215 organizations/individuals who reviewed the Framework materials, 80 indicated an interest in conducting the training in its entirety and requested a complete set of transparencies. (The original materials included one sample color transparency, and the REL offered a complete set of Framework transparencies to all organizations making the request.) Approximately one year after receiving the materials, interviews were conducted with representatives who received transparencies. The purpose of these follow-up telephone calls was to determine if the materials had been used and the degree to which outside support or assistance might be needed to conduct the training.
Phase Two: Pilot Training
During the second phase of the field testing, the training was piloted in eight collaborative partnerships from across the nation (see Table 1). These sites were recruited through the LNP and selected based on their interest in the project. To assist with logistical details, a liaison, identified at each site, coordinated training dates and assisted with data collection. Sites varied according to demographics, partnership maturity, and sponsoring or lead agency.
|Site Location||Community Type||Sponsor/Lead Agency|
|Beaufort, SC||Rural||Success by 6|
|Dothan, AL||Urban||Family Resource Center|
|Walnut Cove, NC||Rural||Smart Start|
|Valdosta, GA||Rural||Family Connections/County Commission|
|Wheeling, WV||Rural||Head Start|
|Troy, NC||Rural||Smart Start|
|Concord, WV||Rural||Family Resource Center|
Five of the partnerships described themselves as existing collaboratives (two years or more), while the remaining three indicated that they were in the planning stages of building a collaborative partnership. Sponsors of the partnerships included Smart Start (2); Head Start, family resource centers (2); Success by 6; a public school system; and a county task force.
Across the eight sites, a total of 160 individuals participated in the training. Approximately 64% of the attendees were White, 27% were African American, and the remainder were either Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, or multiracial.
Several of the partnerships invited persons who were not part of the collaborative partnership to attend the training. As a result, slightly more than half (54%) of the participants reported that they were current members of the partnership. The majority of these had been members less than one year (53%). Early childhood specialists represented the largest group attending the training (29%), followed by program administrators (18%), teachers/caregivers (14%), and parents (10%). Other groups represented included policy makers, members of the business community, and university faculty.
Each of the sites conducted the entire training course in the fall; however, there was some variability in delivery of training. For example, some partnerships conducted the training as described in the Trainer's Guide--two complete, consecutive days of training. Other partnerships modified the training schedule to meet the needs of its members and used other formats such as one day of training followed two weeks later by a second day of training.
At the conclusion of training, participants were asked to provide feedback on specific elements of the training, including organization, training content, and materials/resources. In addition, participants were asked to comment on their satisfaction with the training and the overall usefulness of the training materials. This information, along with information gathered from the review sites, was used to revise the Trainer's Guide.
In the six months following the training, partnership activities were studied to determine the degree to which the collaboratives incorporated content from the Framework into their regular activities. Materials studied included a record of stakeholder attendance and meeting minutes documenting partnership activities. At the end of this period, a follow-up survey was sent to participants at each pilot site. Survey questions focused on three major areas: (1) impact of the training, (2) impact of the Framework materials, and (3) overall familiarity with Framework materials.
In addition to the final survey with individuals who participated in the training, a final interview was conducted with seven site liaisons (one liaison was unavailable for interview). Interview questions focused on the original goal of the partnership, reasons for participating in the field study, and impact of the training and Framework materials.
The data were analyzed to determine general response patterns and to identify logical changes or improvements to the Trainer's Guide. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze data from the review sites and the pilot sites.
Phase One: Document Review
Analyses of data from reviewer sites were conducted on 215 surveys. Table 2 summarizes Trainer's Guide as easy to understand, relevant to their work, accurate, and up-to-date.
|Survey Statement||Agreed or Strongly Agreed with Statement|
|Information is accurate and up to date.||94.9% (4.54)|
|Format is easy to understand and follow.||93.9% (4.49)|
|Training materials were easy to understand and follow.||92.5% (4.46)|
|Information is relevant to my work.||89.3% (4.41)|
|I would be comfortable using the materials.||83.3% (4.29)|
|*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. Mean scores are presented in parentheses.|
A series of open-ended questions provided respondents with an opportunity to provide more specific information and feedback. When asked what parts of the training were most useful, of those who responded, approximately 30% reported that the materials were the most useful part of the training. Reviewers specifically mentioned handouts, transparencies, and checklists. Another 22% reported that the information focusing on the need to include families and share leadership responsibilities was most useful.
Reviewers also were asked to identify the greatest training need within their partnerships. Of those who responded, more than one-third (34%) reported that they often need assistance identifying and including community stakeholders. Reviewers cited family members and members of the business community as groups that often are poorly represented at partnership meetings. Other topics representing challenges to partnerships included developing the team, sharing leadership responsibilities, and involving families in meaningful ways.
In terms of barriers or factors that would influence the use of training, most of the respondents (75%) cited time as the greatest barrier to conducting training. This factor was followed by a lack of funding (68%), the unavailability of a trainer (45%), and lack of interest of collaborative partners (39%).
Final Follow-up with Select Reviewer Sites. Of the 80 individuals/organizations who requested a complete set of transparencies, 68 were located for follow-up interviews (85%). For the remaining 12, attempts to contact the site were unsuccessful; either the person requesting the transparencies was no longer there, or the materials were never received.
Interviews revealed that 23 of the respondents had conducted training using the Framework and accompanying materials. Of those who stated that they had conducted the training, only two (less than 10%) had used the training in its entirety. Most had conducted at least one part of the training, selecting the portions most useful for their work. "Families as Partners," "Shared Leadership," and "Comprehensive and Responsive Services" were the elements from the Framework most often used for training.
An additional 17% said that although they had not conducted the training as designed, they had adapted the materials or used them in other circumstances. Examples of how they had adapted the materials included using the exercises, overheads, major concepts, and other information in training activities.
Head Start agencies were the primary sponsors for half of the training events. Public schools, area education associations, state departments of education, local partnerships, child development centers, and related-type centers were listed as sponsors or lead agencies for the remaining training activities.
Training participants included staff and administrators at Head Start agencies, preschool and child care providers, local education agencies, schools, school improvement teams, state departments of education staff, local family service agencies and boards of directors, and parents.
All who said they had used the training materials were asked to comment on the usefulness of the training. The majority of respondents rated the training as "very useful" or "useful," and all said they would recommend the training to others. Particular aspects of the training that respondents liked included:
- professional quality, clarity of materials, and sequencing of content of the Framework;
- handouts, activities, and overheads;
- content and the ability to present the material at multiple skill levels; and
- ease of use of the Framework.
There were suggestions for improving the training. Four respondents said the course was "too long," especially if used in school systems or with parents. Others maintained a need for greater emphasis on action planning and implementation, "more written support materials (research, position support, background), and additional copies of key pieces of materials that helped shape the Framework."
Phase Two: Pilot Training
In terms of the training quality and overall effectiveness, most of the participants rated the training sessions as either "good" or "excellent." Participants tended to rate the second day of training as higher in quality and more effective than the first day of training (M = 4.392 and M = 4.17, respectively, based on a 5-point scale).
Participants also evaluated the effects of the training and estimated its impact on future partnership practices. Using a four-point Likert-type scale, participants rated the extent to which they agreed with each statement. Table 3 summarizes participants' appraisal of the training and reinforces the focus of the original training objectives.
Objective 1: To enhance the collaborative's knowledge and understanding of continuity
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am motivated to build and strengthen continuity efforts in my community.||3.44||.65|
|As a result of the training, I believe that I have a better understanding of continuity and why it is important.||3.41||.65|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on increasing awareness of new skills and knowledge for our team.||3.31||63|
Objective 2: To strengthen and support collaborative groups in their efforts to works as partners
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to participate as a member of a home, school, and community partnership.||3.40||.65|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on how decisions are made and the planning we do for services.||3.25||.59|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on changing/enhancing the quality of community practices.||3.23||.58|
Objective 3: To maximize the benefit the collaborative might receive from using the Framework
|As a result of the training, I believe that I am better able to use the Framework as a tool for exploring continuity and transition||3.26||.63|
|I believe that this training will have an impact on positively affecting outcomes for children and families.||3.31||.63|
|*Note: According to the scale, 1 = strongly disagree and 4 = strongly agree.|
In addition to participant ratings immediately following the training, data were collected on regular partnership activities after the training. Analysis of materials such as meeting minutes revealed that during the six months following completion of the training, five of the eight sites reported that they continued to use the Framework materials. Exactly how the materials were used varied from site to site. Two of the sites selected specific elements of the Framework as their priority concerns for the coming year. They then organized subcommittees to review the partnerships' practices with respect to those elements and make recommendations for improving existing services. Another partnership used the materials to provide training to other agencies and organizations not directly involved with the partnership. The remaining two partnerships used the Framework as a resource for improving transition practices with their communities.
At the end of the six months, a final survey was distributed to participants at the last partnership meeting of the year, and surveys were mailed to those not in attendance at the final meeting. Approximately half of the individuals who participated in the training (81 of 160) responded to the survey. Participants were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had had an impact on partnership practices. On a four-point scale (4 = "a great deal," 3 = "some," 2 = "very little," and 1 = "not at all"), the majority of respondents (88.6%) reported that the training had "impacted" their knowledge and skill development "some" or a "great deal." Respondents also thought that the Framework had at least "some" impact on the knowledge and skills development of their partnership (83%) and community (72%). The majority (97.4%) speculated that the Framework would have at least some future impact.
Finally, participants were asked to indicate the single greatest impact they experienced as a result of the training. Approximately 41% reported that as a result of the training they felt more motivated to build or strengthen efforts to support continuity of services for children in their communities. Thirty-five percent of the respondents said they had a better understanding of continuity and its importance; 17% felt that the training prepared them to be better members of their partnership; and 7% said that the training gave them a greater understanding of the Framework as a tool.
Stokes County Partnership for Children, King, NC
An ongoing goal of the Stokes County Partnership for Children is to create a system that encourages service providers to work together and promotes continuity for children and their families. Members of the partnership began by using the Framework to build their own knowledge and skills about continuity; however, they soon recognized the need to inform others of the importance of continuity in children's lives. As a result, the Partnership conducted a series of focus groups and meetings among parents and family members within the community. They used information from Elements 3 (Comprehensive/Responsive Services) and 7 (Developmentally Appropriate Care/Education) to explain what was needed to support continuity and its potential benefits for children. These meetings were also an opportunity to inform families of the various resources and supports available within the community. Later, the focus groups were expanded to include all stakeholders (e.g., child care, kindergarten, Head Start, school administrators, special needs coordinators, etc). The information gathered from these meetings has been used to guide the development and implementation of policies and practices that promote continuity.
Final Interview with Liaisons. In the final interview conducted with site liaisons, five of the seven liaisons reported that the overall goal of their partnership is to improve services for children and their families by connecting agencies and strengthening the collaborative bonds between those agencies. Three of the liaisons specifically mentioned the need to improve transitions and create a system of responsive and comprehensive services.
In addition, liaisons were asked to talk about their reasons for participating in the field-test process. At least three of the liaisons cited low levels of collaboration across agencies and indicated that partnership meetings were used primarily as a time for sharing information. Others saw the training as an opportunity to invite additional partners to the table and begin a discussion of how they could better work together.
Finally, liaisons were asked to rate the extent to which the Framework materials had been helpful in accomplishing their overall partnership goal. Using a five-point scale, five of the liaisons rated the Framework materials as either "helpful" (4) or "very helpful" (5). The remaining two liaisons rated the Framework materials as at least "somewhat helpful" (3).
Developing and maintaining a community collaborative is hard work, and it is a challenge that requires a great deal of commitment and cooperation from those involved. Training and resource materials available to help community partnerships build a more responsive system must address such issues as time constraints, communication gaps, differences in professional training, and funding limitations. Given these challenges, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be important and useful tools for helping partnerships increase collaboration and involvement.
Data gathered from participant ratings and key-informant interviews indicated that the training was helpful in a number of ways. A feature of the training mentioned by many of the participants was the fact that the experience helped "level the playing field." That is, it provided stakeholders with a common language to use as they worked together. As illustrated in the following example, stakeholders often come from a variety of agencies and backgrounds, which can be a major impediment when a community must begin to work together and coordinate its efforts.
The case studies in the sidebars highlight the work of four collaborative partnerships that took part in the field study. These case studies discuss some of the problems they encountered, how they used the Framework materials to address those problems, and where they are today.
Bovill, Idaho, Collaborative
Bovill is a small town (population 310) located in the north central part of the state. Bovill has no resident doctor or dentist. At the time, there also was no child care center or preschool available to children. (The closest one was 35 miles away.)
In 1998, various members of the community decided that they wanted to do something to help improve the situation for children. This group of citizens brought together parents and virtually every local organization to work on a plan that would support the learning needs of children and their families. Part of this effort was a proposal submitted to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation that would help fund an early learning center. In 1999, they were awarded a grant, and they began the work to open the Bovill Early Childhood Community Learning Center.
However, once the work began, members of the partnership found that they did not have a common vocabulary to talk about the issues of early childhood education. There were also difficulties associated with establishing a partnership, such as "Who else should be included?" and "How do you get started?" In an effort to "get started" and begin the planning process, the partnership elected to participate in the field testing of the Framework materials.
Framework training was provided over two consecutive days and built into the inservice training schedule of the elementary school. In addition to staff and faculty from the elementary school, representatives from other agencies and organizations participated, including the health department, the Idaho Department of Disabilities, news media, schools, early childhood education, Even Start, parents, university students, attorneys, community leaders, and businesses.
According the site liaison, the Framework materials were used:
- To improve awareness of key issues in providing high-quality services. The Framework provides direction to help develop a program that really works.
- To provide a common language and for internal communication enhancement. Now everyone "speaks the same language."
- As an external communication tool. According to the liaison, "it is so much easier to talk with funding sources when you use the structure of the elements as a base."
- To validate their progress toward providing the best practices in early childhood education.
- As a piece of the Bovill Elementary School improvement plan.
Positive impact on individual partnership members was cited as another basis for success of the training. Many indicated they had a better understanding of continuity and were more motivated to continue to work on the difficult issues that often arise as part of the collaborative process. An added value of the training was the opportunity to spend time together and develop relationships with persons from other agencies. Often, these individual relationships help form the basis for collaborative work within the partnership.
Based on the sites that continued to use the materials, the Continuity Framework and its Trainer's Guide seem to be equally useful to both existing and newly established partnerships. A common experience in the maturation of partnerships is that they are prone to lose initial momentum, often stagnating into "easy" roles such as simple information sharing. A serendipitous discovery of this study is that such partnerships evidenced rejuvenation of their efforts after participating in the training (see the Valdosta, Georgia, example).
Valdosta, Georgia, Collaborative
The Lowndes County/Valdosta Commission for Children and Youth has been in existence for more than a decade, and during this time, the partnership has experienced various "ups and downs." According to site liaison Vickie Elliott, cycles are a normal part of the collaborative process, "They may be the result of staff turnover or changes in the board chair and/or board members." She reports that participation in the training provided members with practical, research-based information. This information served as a reminder to members that they were doing good work and that their work was important.
Since the training, the partnership has continued to use Framework materials as a reference and resource. For example, during a recent meeting, members began a discussion regarding the evaluation of partnership activities. They used Element 8: Evaluation of Partnership Success to help shape and guide this discussion. In addition, the partnership has applied for and received a 21st Century Learning Community grant. Because of the knowledge and understanding they gained during the training, members requested funds for a case manager position to be based at each school and conducting home visits. It is hoped that this strategy will facilitate communication and create greater continuity of services for students and families.
Finally, the data indicate that change takes place slowly. Participants reported that the training had had some impact on their community but felt that the greatest impact was yet to come. Bringing everyone to the table is not enough. True collaboration that produces continuity in services for children takes place over a long period of time, as agencies that have not previously worked together begin to get to know each other and slowly modify procedures and practices.
Marshall County Tadpole Team, Wheeling, WV
Efforts to collaborate are often driven by the realization that single agencies cannot solve problems alone. Partners must be willing to jointly plan and implement new ventures, as well as pool resources such as money and personnel. Nowhere is this need to collaborate and pool resources more crucial than in Marshall County, WV. Located in the northern part of West Virginia, Marshall County remains a predominantly rural county. With a population of approximately 36,000, Marshall County has seen a decline in the number of residents over the past two to three years, largely attributed to the economic hardships of the area. This part of West Virginia relies heavily on the coal and steel industries, and as these industries have fallen on hard times, so too have many families. As a result, many families have moved away to find other employment; however, many others have sought support from social services agencies within the community. In order to make the most of the limited resources and support available within the county, many of the local agencies (e.g., Northern Panhandle Head Start, Starting Points Center, Tadpoles Team) came together to form a community collaborative. Although their collaborative meetings began more as a time for sharing information, members soon realized that to be a true "working group," they would need to broaden the meeting agendas and formalize the collaborative relationships. Using the Framework materials as an assessment tool, members worked through each element identifying the gaps in services and generating ideas for possible programs and procedures to address those gaps. This shift encouraged members to devote meeting times to discussing specific issues facing the community. Moreover, it encouraged members to formalize the partnership with written agreements. These agreements have allowed members to make a solid commitment to the collaborative, as well as clarify specific roles and responsibilities for services.
Beyond the content of the training and issues related to the collaborative process, the field study underscored the importance of training structure and design. Many study participants praised the Framework materials for flexibility and relevance to a variety of contexts. The training materials were designed so that particular attention was devoted to issues such as target audience attributes (e.g., varied educational and professional development backgrounds), which dictate the appropriate level of sophistication as well as the need for course module structure (i.e., overall organization and scripting) to be highly adaptable to local training needs.
The field studies indicate that community partnerships benefit from training and technical assistance that help with the process of getting started, as well as recapturing momentum and focus. Additional research is needed to document the ongoing efforts of these communities and explore whether the Framework materials continue to have an impact on community practices and outcomes, as many of the participants predicted. Further study also is needed to determine what other kinds of training or technical assistance might be useful to these partnerships as they work to build capacity and expand or grow new programs.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, Charles; Kunesh, Linda; & Knuth, Randy. (1992). What does research say about interagency collaboration? [Online]. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/stw_esys/8agcycol.htm [2002, October 22].
Family Support America. (1996). Making the case for family support [Online]. Chicago: Author. Available: http://www.familysupportamerica.org/content/pub_proddef.htm [2002, October 22].
Hoffman, Stevie (Ed.). (1991). Educational partnerships: Home-school-community [Special issue]. Elementary School Journal, 91(3).
Kagan, Sharon Lynn. (1992). The strategic importance of linkages and the transition between early childhood programs and early elementary school. In Sticking together: Strengthening linkages and the transition between early childhood education and early elementary school (Summary of a National Policy Forum). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. ED 351 152.
Kunesh, Linda. (1994). Integrating community services for children, youth, and families. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Melaville, Atelia; Blank, Martin; & Asayesh, Gelareh. (1996). Together we can: A guide for crafting a profamily system of education and human services (Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Available: http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/TWC/ [2002, October 22]. ED 443 164.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). NCREL's policy briefs: Integrating community services for young children and their families. Oak Brook, IL: Author. Available: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/93-3toc.htm [2002, October 22].
U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1995). Continuity in early childhood: A framework for home, school, and community linkages [Online]. Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.sedl.org/prep/hsclinkages.pdf [2002, October 22]. ED 395 664.
Wheatley, Margaret J. (1992). Leadership and the new science. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Dr. Glyn Brown is a senior program specialist with SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory. She studied at the University of Alabama (B.S.), the University of Southern Mississippi (M.S.), and completed her Ph.D. in Family and Child Development at Auburn University. Prior to coming to SERVE, Dr. Brown worked as a children's therapist in a community mental health program. As a program specialist with SERVE, Dr. Brown provides training and direct consultation to school personnel, child care providers, and community partnerships.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Carolynn Amwake, a program specialist at the SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory, has extensive experience working with families, child care providers, teachers, administrators, and community partners. She received her B.S. from Radford University in early childhood education and special education and has taught children with special needs in elementary schools, children's homes, and child care centers. Her experiences as an educator and parent led to an interest in improving the quality and continuity of early childhood transitions for both children and families.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
1203 Governor's Square Blvd., Suite 400
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Timothy Speth is a research associate at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL). He received his B.S. in psychology from South Dakota State University and his M.A. from San Diego State University. He has extensive training and experience in research design, statistics, and program evaluation. Mr. Speth is currently involved with several research and evaluation projects throughout the Northwest, as a Research Associate of NWREL's Child and Family Program. He is the primary external evaluator for six Alaska schools participating in the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Project (CSRD) and assists in CSRD-related activities throughout the Northwest.
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
101 S.W. Main Street, Suite 500
Portland, OR 97204-3297
Catherine Scott-Little, Ph.D., is director of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Project for SERVE. Dr. Little completed her graduate work in human development at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her undergraduate degree in child development and family relations is from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to joining SERVE, Dr. Little was deputy director of a large Head Start program in Fort Worth, Texas, and she has also served as director for a child development center serving homeless families in the Washington, DC, area.
SERVE Regional Educational Laboratory
P.O. Box 5367
Greensboro, NC 27435 | <urn:uuid:45d471d3-15ad-4ac6-8463-1ac3e41b48f4> | {
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by Lisa DePiano
When teaching permaculture I often start out by doing a giant problems mind map. I ask students to brainstorm all of the major “problems” they see in the world to reflect on what brought them to study permaculture. Nine times out of ten the idea of overpopulation as a root “problem” in the world comes up.
Overpopulation describes a situation where there are too many people for the amount of resources available. It puts the blame of the environmental crisis on the sheer number of people on the planet.
Natural scientist and former senior manager of the BBC David Attenborough sums up this sentiment when he said, “We are a plague on the Earth. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us[.]”
This cultural narrative, that human beings are the root cause of the environmental crisis is everywhere, especially among environmentalists. We also see this belief within permaculture design. The third ethic of permaculture reads:
Setting limits to population and consumption: By governing our own needs we can set resources aside to the above principles.
Not only is the idea of overpopulation as the cause of the environmental crisis oversimplified and inaccurate, it upholds a de-generative paradigm of scarcity, fear and competition that goes against the core teachings of permaculture. It also perpetuates problematic thinking that leads to ineffective and unjust public policies and global solutions. As permaculturalists, it is important that we contradict this notion that simply more people on the planet equals less resources and more pollution. We need to engage in dialog around the true roots of environmental, social and economic degradation. In this way, we can begin to shift mental models and design more effective and just solutions that take into account the real root causes of degradation and injustice.
In his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren reframed the third ethic as “fair share” or “redistribute the surplus.” He points out the paradox of permaculture’s core belief of abundance and this ethic. He states that, “Except in extreme famine and other natural disasters, scarcity is a culturally mediated reality; it is largely created by industrial economics and power, rather than actual physical limits to growth.”
Although the third ethic has been reframed, there has been little discussion about this shift in the permaculture community or literature on how to address and refute the myth of overpopulation in the first place. I created the following talking points that we can use when having discussions around overpopulation.
6 TALKING POINTS FOR PERMACULTURALISTS TO DEBUNK THE MYTH OF OVERPOPULATION:
• Overpopulation is defined by numbers of people, not their behaviors: Industrialized countries, who make up only 20% of the worlds population, are responsible for 80% of the carbon dioxide build up in the atmosphere. The United States is the worst offender with 20 tons of carbon emission per person. Therefore it is not just the amount of people that leads to degradation but what they are doing. Permaculture design illustrates how humans can be a keystone species and have a positive impact on the health of our ecosystems, bringing greater health and equity. We can depave the way for industrial retrofits and regenerative development.
• Overpopulation justifies the scapegoating and human rights violations of poor people, women, people of color and immigrant communities: Often times the subtext of “too many people” translates to too many poor people, people of color and immigrants. In the 1970’s Puerto Rico, under the control of and with funding from the US government , forced the sterilization of 35% of women of child bearing age . This is a human and reproductive rights violation. It also prevents us from dealing with the real social, political and economic origins of our ecological problems and places the blame on communities with less institutional power. This perpetuates a fear mindset, keeps people divided and blaming each other rather than being able to come together to organize for true self determination and security.
• Overpopulation points the finger at individuals not systems: This lets the real culprits off the hook. When we look at the true causes of environmental destruction and poverty it is often social, political and economic systems, not individuals. We see militaries and the toxic legacy of war, corrupt governments, and a capitalist economic system that puts profit over people and the environment. The founder of Social Ecology, Murray Bookchin said, “If we live in a grow or die capitalistic society in which accumulation is literally the law of economic survival and competition is the motor of progress, anything we have to say about population being the cause of ecological crisis is meaningless.
• Supports a degenerative mental model of scarcity: Much of this ideology was created by Thomas Robert Malthus, an 19th century english scholar, whose work influenced the fields of political economy and demography. Malthus gave us the idea that the reason there is famine is because there are too many mouths to feed. In his 1798 essay, An essay on the principle of Population, he goes on to say that it was human population that causes food prices to rise and therefore is the root cause of famine. Malthus was extremely influential to Charles Darwin in his thinking around “Survival of the Fittest.” His work was also used as the philosophical bedrock to justify many human rights violations such as the eugenics movement, forced sterilization, and even the Holocaust.
• Focusing on overpopulation prevents us from creating effective solutions and building movements for collective self determination: We know from the permaculture design process how we define a problem determines how we design solutions. How does viewing overpopulation as a root problem impact the way we think of and design solutions? What would solutions look like if we viewed people, all people, as an asset? The myth of overpopulation has lead to solutions of population control and fertility treatments, rather than overall health care and women’s rights. . The more we blame humans, think we are bad and evil, the harder it is to believe in ourselves, count on each other, and build a collective movement for jus-tice and self determination. Scholar, scientist and activist, Vandana Shiva said, “Hunger and malnutrition are man-made. They are hardwired in the design of the industrial, chemical model of agriculture. But just as hunger is created by design, healthy and nutritious food for all can also be designed, through food democracy.”
Together we can dispel the notion that overpopulation is a root cause of environmental degradation and deepen the discussion about the switch of the third ethic from setting limits to growth and population to fair share/redistribute the surplus. We can form new mental models that can lead to widespread, lasting social change and more effective and just solutions for collective health and abundance.
Thomas, Trevor, “The Myth of Overpopulation”, American Thinker, February 10, 2013
Mollison, Bill, Permaculture A practical Guide for a Sustainable Future (Covelo: Island Press, 1990).
Holmgren, David, Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (Hepburn: Holmgren De-sign Services, 2002).
“WORLD POPULATION TO 2300.” The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (2004): https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/longrange2/WorldPop2300final.pdf
Hartman, Betsy. “10 Reasons Why Population Control is Not the Solution to Global Warming,” https://popdev.hampshire.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/u4763/DT%2057%20-%20Hartmann.pdf
The Chicago Womens Liberation Union. https://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/puertorico.html
10 Reasons to Rethink Overpopulation. https://popdev.hampshire.edu/projects/dt/40
Lisa DePiano is a certified permaculture designer, teacher and practitioner with over 15 years of experience. She is a lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts and a research fellow at the MIT media lab. She runs the Mobile Design Labwhich specializes in participatory permaculture design and education and is author of Permaculture FEAST principles flash cards. | <urn:uuid:d22f7725-3659-444a-b20c-6806824c54be> | {
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Gastrointestinal bleeding is a widespread clinical concern that often requires hospitalising. There are multiple sites in a gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) which could be involved in bleeding. However, all such concerns are usually categorized into two kinds, namely lower GI bleeding and upper GI bleeding. The extent of GI bleeding can range from life-threatening haemorrhage to chronic blood loss that is often slow and insidious. While the mortality of gastrointestinal bleeding has been reported to be around 8%, the incidence is being rapidly reduced due to the availability of more advanced medical treatments and modern diagnostic techniques. There is a high probability that an impact of the GI tract bleeding will resolve autonomously. However, it is recommended to identify the site of bleeding. A diagnosis ensures better treatment and prevention of recurrence of GI tract bleeding in the patient.
Gastrointestinal bleeding is commonly associated with a not-so-serious cause such as anal fissure and hemorrhoids. Alternatively, GI tract bleeding may be linked to a serious medical condition, the worst of which is cancer. Colon cancer, stomach cancer, cancer in the small intestine, and intestinal polyps are a few of the diseases which are known to cause GI bleeding. A wide range of other common causes of gastrointestinal bleeding are mentioned below:
- Angiodysplasia, which is essentially the presence of abnormal blood vessels located in the intestinal lining
- Bleeding diverticulosis or diverticulum
- Ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
- Esophagitis and Oesophagal varies
- Intussusception and gastric ulcer
- Meckel’s diverticulum and Mallory-Weiss tear
- Injury caused to the bowel by radiation
It is predominantly the source of blood loss that affects and determines the symptoms of GI tract bleeding. Mild, chronic bleeding usually doesn’t manifest itself with an active symptom but still leads to a gradual development of anaemia due to iron deficiency. Since the blood loss in stool can be small in quantity, the majority of patients are unable to notice it.
In the event of severe bleeding or a chronic incidence, few of the common symptoms associated with gastrointestinal bleeding include anaemia that manifests itself in the form of pallor, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and angina. A more severe case has a common symptom of bloody vomit or hematemesis which can either appear to be red or darker and coffee-like in color.
By source of bleeding, it can appear to be bright red in color with a burgundy and clotted nature, or a darker, more black and tarry appearance. Melena or the black and tarry stool hints towards the probability of upper GI tract bleeding. However, a few instances of bleeding in the right colon or small intestine may also present itself with Melena. Ingestion of PeptoBismol (bismuth) may cause black stool as well. Hematochezia, on the other hand, is the bright red blood in stool that is mixed in it after the bowel movements. Therefore, it hints towards the gastrointestinal bleeding most likely to be in the rectal opening. While it is commonly due to hemorrhoids, it is always recommended to get yourself examined for confirmation since more complicated medical conditions including polyps, rectal cancer, ulceration, proctitis and a wide range of other infections can cause Hematochezia.
In the event of a suspected upper GI bleeding, the first step of diagnosis is upper GI endoscopy. The patient is sedated, and a flexible tube with a video camera on one end is inserted through the mouth. The tube moves through oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum hence, enabling the doctor to identify the site of bleeding. Upon identification, preventative and control measures are taken to tackle it which includes laser phototherapy, utilization of cautery, tamponade, or injection therapy.
On the other hand, colonoscopy is used in the event of lower GI tract bleeding or bleeding of the colon. The entire process is essentially the same as in the case of upper GI tract bleeding except that the colonoscope is entered into the body via rectum and the internal walls of rectum and colon are examined for a potential site of bleeding. Barium GI studies, nuclear bleeding scan, or angiography are a few other diagnostic techniques which are commonly put to use for the detection of GI bleeding. Once the reasons for bleeding as well as its site have been correctly identified, the process of treatment and management of the medical condition begins.
As stated earlier, in the event of severe or active bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, hospitalisation is a necessity. Upon continuous bleeding, if the blood loss begins to reach around 40% of the total blood volume, there is a high risk of the body going into shock. If complications including hypotension, dizziness, fast heart rate, or light-headedness associated with GI bleeding, the treatment makes an active use of IV fluids with a consistent evaluation of blood count. If necessary, a blood transfusion may be recommended.
The hospitalised patient is continuously monitored and administered with drugs such as erythromycin, metoclopramide and octreotide which are aimed at preventing further bleeding. Diagnostic tests will be performed at regular intervals for the analysis of how effective the treatment is turning out to be. If non-invasive treatments are found to be failing completely, it will necessitate the use of surgery as a last resort to save human life. GI bleeding, as a result of hemorrhoids or anal fissures, can conveniently be treated with changing the diet habits and improving fiber fluids content as well as taking some stool softeners.
In the light of the information mentioned above, it is evident that gastrointestinal bleeding can range from mild, autonomously cured to severe instances which require proper medical care. Therefore, in the event of any of the associated symptom regardless of how mild it is, you are humbly advised giving your doctor a visit immediately. | <urn:uuid:e02cf2ce-30ae-405f-b600-7f31d5251350> | {
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The park was established in 1935 during the French Colonial period but was extended in 2001, in consultation with the local communities, to its current expanse. Odzala-Kokoua is one of three signature areas of the 191,541km2 trans-boundary mosaic known as the Tridom project. Declared a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and nominated in 2008 to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Odzala as a conservation priority is unattested. Odzala is also recognised as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International. African Parks took over the management of Odzala-Kokoua in November 2010 under the terms of a partnership agreement with the Government of the Republic of Congo. This agreement provides for the creation of a dedicated non-profit entity, the Odzala Foundation, which will have overall jurisdiction over the park.
Odzala-Kokoua is a ‘frontier forest' which harbours some of the last extensive blocks of contiguous forest ecosystems that are capable of supporting viable populations of large mammals. The southern part of the park is predominantly a savannah-forest mosaic and forest gallery ecosystem. The centre of the park is dominated by Marantaceae Forest where a high density of gorilla and elephant are found. Further north, the park is covered by mature rain forest.
One of the unique aspects of this park is its numerous clearings, called ‘bais', that provide an opportunity to observe the forest wildlife easily where it is normally difficult to see through the dense vegetation in a tropical forest. The majestic Mambili River provides one of the few access routes to the park. The Ekoutou escarpment (80km) with its lichen forest, and Djoua swamp in the north west of the park remain some of the most remote areas in which only a few scientific expeditions have been conducted.
The biological diversity is exceptional, including more than 400 bird species, 114 mammal species and in excess of 4,400 varieties of plants. Of the 16 primate species, it is the gorilla and chimpanzee populations on which OKNP's reputation rests. Odzala also boasts numerous herbivore species. These include elephants, numbering in the thousands, and a few populations of hippopotamus.
The pressure on the fauna by the local populations (around 10,000 people living in approximately 70 villages along the periphery of the park) is considerable as hunting represents a critical source of revenue and protein for the local people. The major threats include commercial and subsistence hunting for bushmeat, elephant poaching for ivory and the construction of roads on the periphery of the park, which exacerbates the problem of poaching as it provides easy access to previously isolated forest. Diseases such as ebola also threaten in particular the great ape populations. | <urn:uuid:73e268dc-8616-4b9e-a779-c1b125a59105> | {
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© Credit: iStockPhoto.com
For the most part, if you are eating varied sources of protein, you probably don’t have to worry about experiencing a shortage of amino acids. But if you regularly cut out certain food groups or tend to always eat chicken or fish, you need to determine if supplementation is necessary.
Here are the eight essential amino acids relevant to athletes and those who are involved in intense physical activity.
HistidineHistidine helps the body with the growth and repair of bodily tissues like muscles, as well as with the production of the myelin sheath, a protective covering that forms around nerve cells and helps produce gastric juices.
Food sources: Dairy, meat, poultry, fish, rice, wheat
PhenylalaninePhenylalanine is an amino acid that enhances your mood and improves your memory, hence making it important for proper brain function. It also increases the levels of neurotransmitters in the body, which are essential for proper operation of the nervous system, as well as increases the absorption rate of UV rays by the sun, thereby facilitating the production of vitamin D in the body.
It should be noted, though, that you can reach toxic levels of phenylalanine, which is why there is a large amount of controversy regarding its use in artificial sweeteners containing aspartame. However, you really have to overdo the intake of phenylalanine to reach these toxic levels.
Food sources: Dairy, almonds, avocados, nuts, seeds
LysinePotentially the most critical role this amino acid plays is in the absorption of calcium and bone development. Lysine also helps maintain a good nitrogen balance in the body, which is critical for maintenance of lean muscle mass and the avoidance of fatigue. It also helps the body produce antibodies and regulates the various hormones that act as messenger signals.
Food sources: Cheese, potatoes, milk, eggs, red meat, yeast products
LeucineLeucine is important in regulating blood sugar levels in the body; therefore, it is particularly important for those who suffer from hypo- or hyperglycemica, or for those looking to maintain lower body fat percentages. It also works to keep human growth hormone levels where they should be, which really enhances muscle tissue development.
Food sources: Soybeans, lentils, egg yolks, almonds, milk, fish, peanuts, shrimp
More amino acids you should be loading up on…
MethionineMen looking to build muscle should be especially concerned with their methionine intake as it breaks down and uses fats, and boosts testosterone levels. It also helps with the treatment of depression, arthritis and liver disease.
Food sources: Meat, fish, beans, eggs, lentils, onions, yogurt, seeds
IsoleucineThis amino acid plays a pivotal role in recovery after your workouts and also helps regulate blood sugar levels. It also aids in forming hemoglobin and is responsible for healthy blood-clotting.
Food sources: Chicken, fish, almonds, cashews, eggs, liver, lentils, beef
ThreonineThe main role of this amino acid is to form collagen and elastin, which are essential binding materials for the body’s cells. It also plays a role in liver function and promotes a healthy immune system. In addition to this, threonine improves the overall absorption of nutrients within the body.
This is one amino acid vegetarians need to watch out for as it is most commonly found in meat sources. If you opt to eat dairy, it can be found in cottage cheese, otherwise alternate sources of threonine include wheat germ, nuts and beans. However, the quantity of amino acids in these sources are lower, so consider taking a supplement.
Food sources: Meat, fish, eggs
ValineThis amino acid repairs muscle cells and grows new ones, and it also keeps the nitrogen balance where it needs to be. Furthermore, it spares glucose use in the body — meaning you’ll have more reserved for when you really need it (i.e., during exercise).
Food sources: Dairy, meat, grains, mushrooms, soy, peanuts
amino acid amountsAmino acid intake is just as important to regulate as protein intake when you’re dieting and exercising. It is especially important for fussy eaters to make sure they’re getting proper amounts. So, have a good look at your current diet and ensure you are eating a variety of the sources listed here. | <urn:uuid:406cccb2-43ad-41dd-90b1-f5e29877fb7a> | {
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STOCKHOLM -- One of two American researchers to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday is a Stanford University professor who moonlighted on weekends to keep up his mortgage in case he failed as researcher.
But Dr. Brian Kobilka's studies of tiny sensors on the surface of cells that alert the body to outside changes, like smell, taste and light opened new fields of medical treatment.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Kobilka and Duke University's Robert Lefkowitz had made groundbreaking discoveries, mainly in the 1980s, on these sensors, called receptors.
The receptors serve as one of the main methods of communication within the body — conveying chemical messages from the outside world into the cell's interior.
The Academy's 2:30 a.m. call to his home startled Kobilka, a physician who is a professor and chairman of molecular and physiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
"I didn't believe it at first, but after I spoke with about five people — they handed the phone around — with really convincing Swedish accents, I started to think it was for real," said Kobilka, in a Stanford press statement.
At Wednesday morning news conference, before a throng of media and admirers, Kobilka sat stiffly between Stanford president John Hennessy and Medical School dean Dr. Phillip Pizzo — and, as if still stunned by the 2:20 a.m. phone call, spoke quietly, sparingly choosing his words carefully.
"I am not very comfortable doing this," he said. Then he credited everyone who helped.
A Yale-educated cardiologist, Kobilka went to Duke to work as a postdoctoral researcher under a large team led by co-winner and mentor Lefkowitz. It was at Duke where they build the foundation of the Nobel work -- studying how receptors work, then extracting them from tissue.
Kobilka had become fascinated by the receptors for adrenaline during his experience in a hospital intensive care unit.
He knew that a shot of epinephrine could be the difference between life and death -- opening up the swollen respiratory system and speeding up the heart rate. He sought to understand the power of epinephrine, in its smallest molecular detail. And how did the body communicate in this time of crisis? That's what he wanted to know.
At Duke, he isolated the gene for receptors for adrenaline. And he analyzed its genetic code -- discovering, astonishingly, that the receptor winds its way back and forth through the cell wall seven times. He remembered that a different receptor did the same thing, an identical number of times. This was his first 'Eureka moment': a whole family of receptors act in the same manner.
Kobilka was recruited by Stanford to join its fledgling Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology.
At Stanford, he created an image of the receptor -- thought to be an unattainable goal to many in the scientific community.
He even witnessed a receptor in the act of signaling. "That's the Eureka moment that stands out above all others," he said.
Stanford's commitment to interdisciplinary science -- and the small close-knit labs, with easy access to each other -- made success possible, he said.
"Stanford has been a remarkable place," he said. "I am not sure how I managed to land here but I did. It was probably the only place that offered me a job. You might have an idea that might be crazy -- but people here help you do it."
"At Stanford, the medical school campus and undergraduate science are all together in one small geographic area -- you can cross the street and talk to someone in physics or chemistry or engineering," he said.
When he needed to make a reagent to help purify a protein, "it was easy to just walk over and find out," he said.
He was headed toward a career in cardiology. But soon after his arrival at Duke, he had the chance to do research. "I fell in love with the process."
He kept practicing medicine, even once at Stanford, "moonlighting on weekends to pay the mortgage," he said. "I was afraid I might fail at research."
The Palo Alto resident lives with his microbiologist wife Tong Sun, and on weekends relaxes by cycling up steep Page Mill Road to Skyline Drive, as well as other rigorous routes. "If there's a road in the Bay Area, he's probably been on it," said his son Jason, a 31-year-old Mountain View resident.
He is also a runner, joining Jason and daughter Megan, 28, in the San Jose-Silicon Valley Marathon, and more recently, the San Diego marathon. He completed the 27-mile route in an impressive 3 hours, 55 minutes, said Jason.
"He's the coolest guy," said Jason. "If you didn't know what he did, you'd never guess."
Lefkowitz and Kobilka worked together in the 1980s.
Kobilka's role in the work was to isolate a gene for the receptor — no small feat at the time — to learn more about its composition. Genes provide operating instructions to the receptors, which regulate the beating of our hearts, the workings of our brains and nearly every other physiological process.
About 40 percent of medications target these receptors — so the discovery has been critical for drug research.
Kobilka credited the many people he's worked with through the years, including his wife, a physician with Kaiser.
"I'm particularly surprised to be honored, because so many people have contributed to things that I've done. It's been a collaborative effort with researchers around the world. I consider that this award recognizes their work, as well."
About half of all medications act on G-protein-coupled receptors, including beta blockers and antihistamines, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.
The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, structures on the surface of cells, which let the body respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and light.
"They work as a gateway to the cell," Lefkowitz told a news conference in Stockholm by phone. "As a result they are crucial ... to regulate almost every known physiological process with humans."
Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
It is the 27th Nobel Prize to be won by a Stanford employee.
Trained in medicine, Kobilka and his work "stand at the cross roads between chemistry, structural biology and molecular medicine, and has been fostered in the setting of Stanford University that bridges these disciplines," said Stanford School of Medicine Dean Dr. Phillip Pizzo.
Lefkowitz said he was fast asleep when the Nobel committee called, but he didn't hear it because he was wearing ear plugs. So his wife picked up the phone.
"She said, 'There's a call here for you from Stockholm,'" Lefkowitz told The Associated Press. "I knew they ain't calling to find out what the weather is like in Durham today."
He said he didn't have an "inkling" that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize.
"Initially, I expected I'd have this huge burst of excitement. But I didn't. I was comfortably numb," Lefkowitz said.
Kobilka said he would put his half of the 8 million kronor ($1.2 million) award toward retirement or "pass it on to my kids."
The academy said it was long a mystery how cells interact with their environment and adapt to new situations, such as when they react to adrenaline by increasing blood pressure and making the heart beat faster.
Scientists suspected that cell surfaces had some type of receptor for hormones.
Using radioactivity, Lefkowitz managed to unveil receptors including the receptor for adrenaline, and started to understand how it works.
Kobilka and his team's capture in 2011 of an image of the receptor for adrenaline at the moment when it is activated by a hormone and sends a signal into the cell was "a molecular masterpiece," the academy said.
The award is "fantastic recognition for helping us further understand the intricate details of biochemical systems in our bodies," said Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, president of the American Chemical Society.
"They both have made great contributions to our understanding of health and disease," Shakhashiri said. "This is going to help us a great deal to develop new pharmaceuticals, new medicines for combating disease."
Mark Downs, chief executive of Britain's Society of Biology, said the critical role receptors play is now taking for granted.
"This groundbreaking work spanning genetics and biochemistry has laid the basis for much of our understanding of modern pharmacology as well as how cells in different parts of living organisms can react differently to external stimulation, such as light and smell, or the internal systems which control our bodies such as hormones," Downs said in a statement.
The U.S. has dominated the Nobel chemistry prize in recent years, with American scientists being included among the winners of 17 of the past 20 awards.
This year's Nobel announcements started Monday with the medicine prize going to stem cell pioneers John Gurdon of Britain and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka. Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland won the physics prize Tuesday for work on quantum particles.
The Nobel Prizes were established in the will of 19th-century Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. The awards are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
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Human speech shows an unparalleled richness in geographic variation. However, few attempts have been made to understand this linguistic diversity from an evolutionary and comparative framework. Here, we a) review extensively what is known about geographic variation of acoustic signals in terrestrial mammals, using common terminology adopted from linguistics to define different forms of variation (i.e. accents and dialects), and b) examine which factors may determine this variation (i.e. genetic, environmental and/or social). Heretofore, terminology has been used inconsistently within and across taxa, and geographic variation among terrestrial mammals has never been defined as in human speech. Our results show that accents, phonologically different varieties, occur widely in terrestrial mammals. Conversely, dialects, lexically and phonologically different varieties, have only been documented thus far in great white-lined bats, red deer, chimpanzees and orangutans. Although relatively rare among terrestrial mammals, dialects are thus not unique to humans. This finding also implies that such species possess the capacity for acoustic learning. Within primates, the two great apes showing dialects are those who also show extensive cultures in the wild, suggesting that, in hominoids, intricacy of acoustic geographic variation is potentially associated with cultural complexity; namely, both have derived from selection increasingly favoring social learning across varied contexts, including the acoustic domain.
Morphology of the lymph nodes was examined in six bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and three striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Adriatic Sea. All animals had been found dead in nature. One group of the nodes was taken from the tracheal branching area and was marked as bifurcational lymph node, and the other group was taken from the mesenteric root and was marked as mesenteric lymph node. Microscopic analysis showed that the lymph nodes in both dolphin specieswere surrounded by a connective tissue capsule comprising smooth muscle cells. The parenchyma of the mesenteric and bifurcational lymph nodes in bottlenose dolphinwas divided into the peripherally situated cortex with the lymphatic nodules and diffuse lymphatic tissue, and the centrally situated medulla structured of the medullary cords separated by the medullary sinuses. These lymph nodes structurally correspond to the lymph nodes in the majority of terrestrial mammals. The mesenteric lymph node of striped dolphin also had a peripherally situated cortex and a centrally positioned medulla as the majority of terrestrial mammals. In the bifurcational lymph nodes of striped dolphin, there was a central dense lymphatic tissue with the lymphatic nodules and a peripheral less dense lymphatic tissue structured of the cell cords and sinuses. The bifurcational lymph node in striped dolphinresembledporcine lymph nodes and belonged to the inverse lymph nodes.
Seed dispersal is a limiting factor in the maintenance and distribution of plant communities, especially in rainforest ecosystems where a major proportion of plant species are dispersed by animals. Knowledge of seed removal by terrestrial mammals (particularly small mammals) in
forest patches scattered in Campos grassland is relatively sparse. In this study, we assessed: (1) whether the removal rate of
seeds differs in different successional stages of
forest advancing over grassland, and (2) the importance of small mammals and others vertebrates for seed removal rates in each environment type. We used seed removal experiments and camera trapping to answer these questions. Our results showed that seed removal was higher in more-forested sites than in open ones and in control treatment in 2006, we found an interaction between successional stage and treatment in 2007 and, in 2008, only treatments differed significantly. Our photographic records were mostly of small cricetid rodents. Seed-removal increment as a function of forested area suggests increased use of these sites by terrestrial mammals as patches develop in grassland. The use of large patches by mammals may increase the probability of mammal-dispersed plants colonizing patches as they attain a given structural development, which might determine to some degree the future patch nucleation dynamics.
. 2004. Occurrence of Conepatus chinga (Molina) (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) and other terrestrialmammals in the Serra do Mar, Parana, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 21: 577–579.
Cáceres N. C
lesser extent ( Gehler et al., 2011 ). From all these factors, the ingested environmental water plays the most significant role in the water‒tissue oxygen-equilibrium process in the body of the terrestrialmammal. Due to the correlation between isotopic | <urn:uuid:81c90784-7ea8-451d-bd88-05e068dd6b6b> | {
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Photography was still in its infancy when the Civil War began. Capturing a single image involved staging a camera, the mixing of chemical, the use of fragile glass plates, and other long and intensive processes just to produce a single print. However, the business of photography was growing rapidly, and the war did introduce to the masses something many had not seen before, photojournalism. Photography brought to light the horrors of war, but also the life people lived at that time.
A plethora of photos were taken during the Civil War years. History was written in the images caught of everything from the daily life of common people to the intense aftermath on a battlefield. The question for today’s genealogist is, “Does that photo in your family album come from the civil war?” If so, what does that photo tell you about your ancestor(s)? Finally, if you don’t have a photo from that time period, but you know something about your ancestors from that period of time, how can you find a picture? The answers to these questions are addressed in Finding the Civil War In Your Family Album, by Maureen A. Taylor.
In bringing to light the horrors of war, photography also brought the means to capture an image of loved one during a trying period. Men and women and families often sat for studio shots to create remembrances for each other. Photos not only capture history in the making, and memories for the keeping, but they also create a link to the past.
Civil War period photos can tell a lot about the individuals in them and about their involvement in this critical point of history. Chapter by chapter, this book walks the reader through the process of identifying Civil War aged photos, the process of extracting stories and data from the photos, and finding other photos from the period for the family album. The process of identification involves extracting clues: “a photographer’s work dates, clothing, tax stamps and military dress” and other visual evidence. Fashion can often date and place a photo to a season and even to a general location.
Like many of Taylor’s other books, this one includes a plethora of photographs with captions explaining evidence within the image. In this volume, the photos give excellent examples of Civil War aged images. Taylor is a recognized expert in historical photography. She is known for her ability to study photographs for the historical clues that tell stories about the people and events portrayed in the images. Maureen has been featured many times in print and has even appeared on The View, Martha Stewart Living, and The Today Show. Taylor is an expert at extracting information from and dating old photographs. She is also the author of several books, including:
- Preserving Your Family Photographs: How to Care for Your Family Photographs—from Daguerreotypes to Digital Imaging
- Fashionable Folks: Hairstyles 1840–1900
- More Dating Old Photographs 1840–1929
- Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Photos in Your Family
Chapter 2: Photo Albums
Chapter 3: Revenue Stamps
Chapter 4: Women’s Clothing
Chapter 5: Children’s Colthing
Chapter 6: Men’s Clothing
Chapter 7: Mourning Rituals
Chapter 8: Weddings
Chapter 9: Uniforms
Chapter 10: Researching Photographers
Chapter 11: A Gallery of Iconic Civil War Images
Chapter 12: Finding Your Civil War Ancestor’s Photo
List of Illustrations
Find and evaluate your own family’s Civil War photographs with a copy of Finding the Civil War In Your Family Album from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: MT04; Price: $24.50. | <urn:uuid:940e99ab-d1b9-4937-9ee3-ec7312ce5c01> | {
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Pre-history is the time before people began to write. The word comes from the Ancient Greek words προ (pre = "before") and ιστορία (historia = "history"). Paul Tournal first used the French word Préhistorique. He found things made by humans more than ten thousand years ago in some caves in France. The word was first used in France around 1830 to talk about the time before writing. Daniel Wilson used it in English in 1851.
The term is mostly used for the period from 12,000 BC – 3000 BC, roughly speaking, the Neolithic. Sometimes the term "prehistoric" is used for much older periods, but scientists have more accurate terms for those more ancient times.
Less is known about prehistoric people because there are no written records (history) for us to study. Finding out about pre-history is done by archaeology. This means studying things like tools, bones, buildings and cave drawings. Pre-history ends at different times in different places when people began to write.
In the more ancient stone age pre-history, people lived in tribes and lived in caves or tents (houses made from animal skin). They had simple tools made from wood and bones and cutting tools from stone such as flint, which they used to hunt and to make simple things. They made fire used it for cooking and to stay warm. They made clothing out of animal skins, and later by weaving. Society started when people began doing specialized jobs. This is called the division of labour. The division of labor made people depend on one another and led to more complex civilizations.
Some important sciences that are used to find out more about pre-history are palaeontology, astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology. Archaeologists study things left over from prehistory to try to understand what was happening. Anthropologists study the traces of human behavior to learn what people were doing and why.
After people started to record events, first by drawing symbols (called pictographs) and then by writing, it became much easier to tell what happened, and history started. These records can tell us the names of leaders (such as Kings and Queens), important events like floods and wars, and the things people did in their daily lives. The time when prehistory ended and history started is different in different places, depending on when people began to write and if their records were kept safe or lost so they could be found later on. In places like Mesopotamia, China, and Ancient Egypt, things were recorded from very early times (around 3200 BCE in Ancient Egypt) and these records can be looked at and studied. In New Guinea the end of prehistory came much later, around 1900.
Timeline of Earth
- 4.5 billion years ago – Earth formed out of smaller rocks flying around the sun
- 3,500 million years ago – first very simple and tiny forms of life in the seas
- 600 million years ago - first animals, also in the seas
- 500 million years ago - first plants and animals on land
- 230 million years ago – first dinosaurs appear
- 65 million years ago – dinosaurs disappear; mammals take their place as dominant animals
- 30 million years ago - first apes
- 2.5 million years ago - first humans
Timeline of people
- 2.5 million years ago – Start of Lower Palaeolithic age, during which a type of early pre-human called Australopithecus lived. These people made tools out of bones and stones and made shelters out of branches.
- 1 million years ago – A type of early human called Homo erectus lived. People made hand axes and wooden spears.
- 250,000 years ago – First Homo sapiens (modern people). People make fire. People use bolas. People hunt elephants.
- 100,000 years ago – Middle Palaeolithic age. Neanderthal people lived. People live in caves and make cave drawings. People begin to bury dead people.
- 40,000 years ago – Upper Palaeolithic age. Cro-Magnon people lived. People make spears from antlers. People make houses from hides (animal skins). People paint cave drawings and make things out of clay. People make needles out of antlers. People make jewellery.
- 10,000 years ago – The last Ice age ends.
- 10,000 BC – 4000 BC – Mesolithic age. In North-west Europe people make bows and arrows. People use dogs to hunt and to carry things.
- 9,000 BC – Neolithic age. People in the Near East start to change from hunting and gathering food to growing crops and using farm animals.
- 7,000 BC – People in South-west Europe begin using copper to make tools.
- 6,000 BC – British Isles move away from Europe.
- 2,580 BC – The Egyptians build the Great Pyramids in Giza. People in the Middle East use iron and make plows.
- 2,400 BC – People make Stonehenge in England.
- 3,300 BC – 1,200 BC – Bronze Age (in Britain). People make tools out of bronze.
- 1,200 BC – 400 AD – Iron Age (in Britain). People make tools out of iron. Roman Empire rises and falls.
Massive stone pillars at Göbekli Tepe, in southeast Turkey, erected for ritual use by early Neolithic people 11,000 years ago.
Artist's impression of a Copper Age walled city, Los Millares, Iberia
Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel
Entrance to the Ġgantija phase temple complex of Hagar Qim, Malta, 3900 BC.
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About Balak's trap
In Parashat Balak, King Balak and the people of Moab, central characters in the weekly Torah portion, are afraid of the Children of Israel. Balak tries to recruit the prophet Balaam to curse the Children of Israel in order to weaken them and save Moab from impending defeat. King Balak sends for his prophet twice and Balaam barely responds. Three times Balak attempts to force a curse on Israel out of Balaam's mouth and three times he fails. It is fascinating to try to understand what causes a king to attempt the same solution, and fail again and again, and despite this, to not change his strategy.
Was one attempt to achieve cooperation with Balaam not enough? Was it not enough for one curse to become a blessing, as Balaam says, Mah tovu ohalecha Yaakov... , “How fair are your tents, O Jacob, ...” (Num. 24:5). It seems that only one solution was seared into Balak's mind to resolve the distress afflicting his people. Sometimes fear blocks creative thinking, and the ability to think outside the box.
“As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool that repeats his folly." (Prov. 26:11)
We know Balak's trap well. Weight loss programs, for example, make good money exploiting it. A thousand times we start diets: a thousand times we fail. Each failure adds a few more pounds (at least) to our weight: nevertheless, for some inexplicable reason we continue to believe in a system that produces failures.
If diet plans really worked, there wouldn't be so many different weight loss programs. If wrinkle-removing creams really worked, they would not succeed at selling themselves under so many different names, prices, and packaging. Successes lead to solutions: Therefore, if you see a way of going about something repeatedly proposed for sale, chances are that it is not successful.
Since the outbreak of the first Intifada (1988), if not earlier, we have tried the same political and military solutions to resolve the situation. This is the "Balak syndrome." With the absence of worthy leadership capable of creatively thinking about the conflict, the responsibility falls on each and every one of us to do something. What is demanded of us, ordinary people, is that we begin speaking with each other so that we can escape Balak's trap. Through this process, we will come to demand that our leaders implement new possible solutions.
I want to emigrate from this reality
I remember how my computer screen glared at me with a reproachful stare for hours, demanding my fingers to immediately release the keypad. But I, in some sort of childish protest, imagined how I would shatter it on the corner of my writing desk, striking a protest against words.
This was on a weekend when my daughter went to visit her Savtah (Grandma) in Ashkelon and was exposed to long and terrifying missile attacks from Gaza. I could not go to get her, and she could not leave Savtah's home and come back to Jerusalem.
I wrote this column in May 2019 knowing that my daughter would probably be home the next day, plenty of time before you read this article. Unfortunately, I also know that at the time that this article will be published nothing will be better, and missiles will continue to be launched between Gaza and Israel.
I cast my supplications before the Master of the Universe for release and protection, and maybe just for time away from this planet drowning in rivers of hate and murder: a planet where children do not evoke compassion and where a person succeeds at killing his friend. Dear God, send me to a parallel universe, where your creations do not take pleasure in hate.
Not just victimhood
God will not send me (so it seems) to the planet of justice and peace. God never signed a contract with me stating that He/She will supply me with pleasure and peace in return for which I will be, let's say, pleasant.
It seems that we are not born into this world to enjoy. We are born into this world to be tested. I believe that the test is to preserve the image of God, even under extremely difficult conditions.
I have no other planet
The responsibility for the violence and destruction is mine, ours, each person as an individual, and all of us as a community. We must write, we must speak out, and we must demonstrate love and human solidarity in our public squares and our private homes.
So many children have already been killed on every possible side of the barricade of hate. So much blood has already been spilled. This barren land has been flooded by overflowing rivers of parental tears.
This blood has been spilled by all of us, and no one can claim that her hands are clean.
On one condition, that I can look at myself in the mirror
I want to be creative and discover that wise and beautiful plan somewhere that has not yet been articulated.
There is however, one thing which I will not be willing to compromise, and that is protecting the image of God in all people. I will not be able to accept a solution that will cause me to be ashamed of my actions when the time will come for my soul to give an accounting for before the heavenly court.
(This article was translated with the help of Uzi Bar Pinchas.) | <urn:uuid:e1643362-c612-4d9d-8684-9e1c195a1a6f> | {
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WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF
As computers continue to shrink it allows organisations to dream up new ways of using them, and in IBM’s case they want to use their new tech to help cryptographically secure the Internet of Things.
Each year IBM showcases “5 in 5” technologies coming out of IBM Research’s global labs, five technologies that the company expects to fundamentally reshape business and society in the next five years, and this year, a “5 in 5 at a Science Slam” was held at Think 2018 in Las Vegas.
One of the technologies they showed off was the world’s smallest computer, a 1mm by 1mm nanochip four times smaller than the previous record holder, a 2mm by 2mm micromote I wrote about last year, that uses blockchain to become what’s known as a cryptographic anchor. More on that in a bit.
According to IBM, the new cryptographic anchors are the world’s smallest computers to date and they’re. Smaller than a grain of sale they contain several hundred thousand transistors, will cost less than 10 cents to manufacture, and can monitor, analyse, communicate and even act on data. IBM stated that the first models could be made available to clients in the next 18 months.
“They’ll be used in tandem with blockchain’s distributed ledger technology to ensure an object’s authenticity from its point of origin to when it reaches the hands of the customer,” said Arvind Krishna, head of IBM Research, “[crypto anchors] pave the way for new solutions that tackle food safety, authenticity of manufactured components, genetically modified products, identification of counterfeit objects and provenance of luxury goods.”
“Crypto anchors extend blockchain’s value into the physical realm,” claims IBM. The devices have an embedded security code that can be used to authenticate a product with a cryptographically secure, tamper-proof signature.
The cryptographic anchors project is considered a starting point for developing technologies complementary to the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain solutions for medical devices and pharmaceutical products, able to provide scalable end-to-end security across a supply chain, from the manufacturers right down to consumers and patients.
A typical application envisioned by IBM is fighting product fraud, the crypto anchors can authenticate a product’s origin and contents, ensuring it matches the record stored in the blockchain.
According to data provided by the company, counterfeit products in complex global supply chains, which extend across multiple countries with a large number of actors, cost the global economy more than $600 billion a year.
The risks of counterfeit products extend beyond simple financial loss though. For example, in some countries, nearly 70 percent of certain life-saving drugs are counterfeit. But crypto-anchors can be embedded, for example, into an edible shade of magnetic ink, which can be used to dye a pill.
“The code could become active and visible from a drop of water letting a consumer know it is authentic and safe to consume,” notes IBM.
In another demonstrator developed by IBM scientists a crypto anchor is combined with an optical sensor and Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms are able to rapidly identify materials and detect the presence of DNA sequences.
“[Within] the next five years, advances in microfluidics, packaging platforms, cryptography, non-volatile memory and design will take all of these systems from the lab to the marketplace,” concluded IBM. | <urn:uuid:2e6b481e-5cc4-4fef-8e9f-7ed3be2cbb45> | {
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A cooking lesson to promote the improved cookstove efficiency compared to a traditional cookstove (22% less of wood consumption).
From December 2014 to December 2016, GERES conducted an AusAID-funded project aiming to introduce and promote Improved Cookstoves in Kampong Cham and Thbong Khmum provinces. The project supported the dissemination of 90,000 ICS in both regions and allowed to gather critical lessons learned for further dissemination of improved cookstoves in Cambodia.
The objective of this project was to address the prevailing barriers to ICS dissemination in Cambodia, notably among the poorest. Continue reading
For six months, members of GERES’ monitoring & evaluation and research team and staff members of Mlup Baitong – a Cambodian NGO working to promote sustainable, equitable and just, rights-based use of natural resources – traced the flow of charcoal, starting from retailers in Phnom Penh all the way back to producer communities more than a hundred kilometers away and, ultimately, to the source of wood in forests on the Cardamom mountains.
Funded by the Global Forest Watch, the study had endeavored to bring the complex reality of charcoal production in Cambodia to light using scientific evidence, and in the process, developed a replicable methodology for local-level studies on the impact of charcoal on forests.
By Thomas Chaumont, Romain Joya and Silvia Pergetti August, 2013; updated by Neeraj Joshi February, 2014; updated by Silvia Pergetti October, 2014
Access to energy, as an inherent factor of growth, is intertwined with development. Scaling up the availability of affordable and efficient energy services is key to attain Cambodia’s development targets.
In 2012, Cambodia energy consumption amounted at 4.7 Mtoe, mainly attributed to the residential sector: domestic cooking represents 34% of the final energy demand, and household-scale businesses might account for another relevant portion of it. As of now, the industrial and transport sectors represent minor energy consumers, but they are both projected to grow exponentially in the coming years.
In order to meet the demand of Cambodian users, in 2012 Cambodia imported or extracted 5.5 Mtoe of primary energy sources. In particular, the strong need for biomass puts pressure on natural and forest resources.
Cambodia’s total energy consumption is projected to grow in the next decades. Current policies at national and international level aim at addressing energy poverty and creating preconditions for growth. In particular, hopes of policy-makers are set on hydropower. Given its importance, biomass energy remains at the core of policy-making efforts in Cambodia.
The Phnom Penh Post, 27 September 2014, by Bennet Murray: Market for ”green charcoal” pioneers finally heating up | <urn:uuid:c6783a38-8ef7-4639-abcd-eef46ddcd9ba> | {
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Blog Post #38
If you ask a second grader to draw a picture of a tree, the odds are the result will consist of a brown trunk (long, thin, brown rectangle) with green leaves on top (a round splotch of green), and maybe some apples (small red spots)—don’t all trees have apples? I’ve noticed that adults sometimes perpetuate the idea that this is how trees are drawn. It has become a bit traditional, and almost generally accepted, that trees have brown trunks topped by green leaves.
When I was in third grade, we moved to a community that still had many acres of orange and lemon groves. Naturally, we learned about orange trees and smudge pots in school. As part of the lesson, our teacher asked each of us to paint a picture of an orange tree. I was new to the area, and didn’t really know an orange tree from a oak, so I painted a brown trunk with the roundish green blob at the top, and colored the usual red spots orange in the leafy top. I’ll always remember the teacher holding up Julie Wilson’s painting of an orange tree, and being completely surprised and impressed. Her painting had a tree consisting of a large irregularly roundish leafy area that went almost to the ground, with only a tiny bit of trunk showing at the bottom. The leaves were laden with oranges throughout. It was beautiful. (I think she may have included a smudge pot in the picture, too.) Obviously, Julie had looked at and “seen” orange trees as they really were. On our next drive through the north part of town where the orange groves were, I noted how accurate her painting of an orange tree was compared to the cartoonish and generic painting I had made. How different orange trees were shaped from other trees—or, more accurately, from what I had assumed all trees looked like. I was determined to pay better attention in the future, but sadly, that didn’t always happen.
I began to notice that all trees were not the same, and that, in fact, if you really look at the details, you’ll find an astonishing variety. In addition to an assortment of colors, you’ll discover differences in overall shape—some sprawling with sturdy, gnarled trunks and umbrella-like canopies, others tall, graceful, and straight with willowy, softly undulating ribbons of leaves. Contrasting textures are also obvious–some with mottled or pealing bark, striations and deep grooves, geometric patterns, and contrasting darks and lights. The combination of texture, color and shape create breathtaking and beautifully varied effects.
Although there are many examples of monochromatic color schemes in nature such as may be found in ocean, dusk, dawn, and nighttime scenes, nature also uses a broad palette of complementary colors.
Nature is bold. She paints stark, snow-laden mountaintops against brilliant sunset skies, blazing vermilion rock formations arching over a brilliant backdrop of blue, yellow and purple pansies, and red tomatoes against deep green foliage.
Nature doesn’t limit herself to one texture or one shape either. A tree–a Brazilian peppertree, for example, such as line the parkway of my street–has multiple textures and shapes, from the rough and deeply grooved trunk to small, greenish-yellow, oval, pinnate compound leaves, and tiny round pepper seeds that turn from green to red to brown (and, incidentally, burn the lawn with their heat). In addition to a peppertree’s varying color and texture, the trunk weaves its way upward, its branches writhing in a twisting tangle of knotted masses. (Hardly a straight stick of a trunk with a green ball at the top! Although, to be fair, if you look at the bottom of the trio of pictures below, from a distance, the peppertree does appear to fit that description.)
If you were to describe a Brazilian peppertree, an orange tree, and a Quaking Aspen, you would have to give very different descriptions. Still you could describe all as having roots, trunks and leaves.
As creatures of nature, people are more complex than trees, yet many find themselves characterized as “trunk and leaves,” after all, people all have heads, arms and legs. At a glance, people may appear to be objects: dumbed-down, over-simplified caricatures of what they really are. (She’s pretty. He’s tall. She’s mean. He’s old. She’s a gossip. He’s cocky. She’s shy. He’s self-centered.) How many a tall fellow has been asked if he plays basketball–as if his height is his only defining characteristic?
These observations are likely arbitrary, biased, and viewed through a flawed lens. One may choose to believe over simplifications one hears via rumor or gossip, or one hazards at first sight, because it resounds with one’s own preconceived ideas. Such claims may satisfy for the moment, but also may be mostly false. They may appear correct, based on circumstantial evidence, but unfounded when the whole truth is known. At first glance, there are always—always—unknown quantities of information. In most cases, the observer failed to look close enough to see all the colors, all the textures, and all the shapes, to see the combination of these as one uniquely whole “tree.” There’s the possibility the observer didn’t even know what the whole “tree” really looked like, and didn’t bother to find out. Almost certainly, the observer wasn’t perceptive or empathetic enough to have walked the proverbial mile in the others’ shoes. In other words, he or she didn’t really know the tree.
I have been guilty of seeing people as “trees”—brown trunk, leaves on top. When I was young, it was mostly: she is popular, he is smart, etc. That was all I knew of some people. How sad that is. How sad that I was too shy, too backward, to delve a little deeper, to walk a little closer and really look at the tree, at its roots, its differing shades and nuances of color, of personality, of ideas. I missed a lot because I based so many of my impressions on a glance at a tree that I was too shy or afraid of to know or to understand!
I have been fortunate enough to meet some of those “trees” again later in life, and to “see” them anew, after maturing enough to have genuine interest in them instead of fearing them, and appreciating them instead of weighing their strengths against my weaknesses. How silly I was when I was younger!
I went from seeing thin, rectangular brown trunks topped with green circles (maybe with red or orange spots) to seeing deeply complex root systems, sturdy, varied and profoundly textured trunks, and wide canopies of sheltering, beautiful and intensely colorful leaves. When I inspected and comprehended the true nature of each individual tree, and saw the beauty therein, I wondered how I ever missed the innate wealth of each. I really began to appreciate people as uniquely beautiful, strong and intricate. I began to appreciate each individual soul as the amazing “tree” it is.
Social media (i.e. Facebook) has helped me reconnect with people I had forgotten that I once knew. Recently, I reconnected with a girl I knew in elementary school. I never thought she liked me back then. (Brown trunk.) She was stuck-up and popular. (Leaves on top.) She wasn’t interested in being my friend. (Red spots.) All I saw was a generalization of the tree, not the real person. And what I concluded was false.
One day I saw this girl’s picture on the Facebook post of a mutual friend, she still looked young and beautiful. She had a lovely smile, and looked content. I wondered what weathering had shaped the tree rings of her life. I became interested in her textures and the shades and tints that colored her life. I decided to make a comment, and I truthfully told her how lovely I thought she looked. Next thing I knew, we were corresponding back and forth. She was sweet, kind, and interested. We talked about our folks, our families, and our friends. She was not what I had believed her to be so many years ago. I’m sorry to say I had carried those old ideas in the baggage compartment of my mind for years. I felt ashamed of the petty views I’d had. (Then, I wondered if she had seen me as trunk and leaves before, too. Thankfully, I’ll never know.) But what a waste! I’m happy to report that I have grown into more of a “tree admirer” over the years. I now truly make an effort to see people (and trees)—really see them, and all the magnificent uniqueness and beauty each has within and without.
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”
― William Blake
“To dwellers in a wood, almost every species of tree
has its voice as well as its feature.”
― Thomas Hardy, “Under the Greenwood Tree”
“In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike.”
― Paulo Coelho, Aleph
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, dear Friends, for reading. | <urn:uuid:4e1d71d5-0da5-467f-8018-7aaa3a309bb6> | {
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By Julie Kunen
The Amazon basin—with its vast rainforests and river systems—is the most bio-diverse place on earth and, not surprisingly, a region rich in discovery. Newly described plant and animal species are a frequent occurrence.
The recent video documentation of a newly discovered fish migration is a much rarer event and particularly noteworthy this weekend as we celebrate World Fish Migration Day, a one-day global initiative to boost awareness of the importance of open rivers and migratory fish.
To be accurate, the migration of the “chipi chipi”—the local name for a pencil catfish technically known as Trichomycterus barbouri—is new only to science.
River communities in northern Bolivia have long known about this natural wonder. During the months of February and March, the chipi chipi migration causes the surface of the Beni River to shimmer with hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of fish. To local communities, they are not surprisingly a seasonally valuable food source and fishers take advantage of their abundance and catch the small fish with large nets.
In all, these tiny fish travel more than 200 miles upstream to reach the foothills of the Andes where they spawn. That distance may not seem noteworthy by the standards of the chipi chipi’s larger relative, a giant Amazonian catfish called the dorado. That species grows up to nine feet in length and travels nearly 2500 miles from the Atlantic to the Andes in what is the longest freshwater fish migration in the world. In terms of relative size, however, the journey of the inch-long chipi chipi is equally amazing in scale.
The dorado moves through the largest river system in the world. Water flowing through the Amazon Basin sustains millions of people and innumerable, diverse species of wildlife.
With a drainage area covering nearly 40 percent of South America, Amazonian waters exceed in volume the world’s next six largest rivers combined. The Amazon’s waters face growing threats from dams, roads, human-induced climate change, mining, petroleum extraction, shipping and the unplanned growth of cities, whose expanding populations consume more and more of the Amazon River’s resources.
From rural fishermen and indigenous people to villagers and urban inhabitants in cities like Iquitos, Peru and Manaus, Brazil, as many as 20 million people depend on the Amazon for clean drinking water, transportation, subsistence and commercial fisheries, and wild fruits.
Although extractives like oil and rubber have long attracted industry to the Amazon Basin, fish have proven to be its most promising extractive resource. Highly sensitive to changes in water levels, chemistry, and sediment levels, fish are the best indicators of the overall health of the Amazon River system and link its wetlands and basins ecologically.
When fish thrive in their wetland habitat (including the vast flooded forests where most aquatic biodiversity is found), it is a good bet that black caiman, manatee, river dolphins, and other aquatic animals are likewise thriving.
Whether in the tributaries of the Amazon or the rivers of Alaska, the ability of migratory fish to move unimpeded through streams and waterways is crucial for maintaining healthy populations.
News of the chipi chipi migration raises important question for conservationists and wildlife managers working in the region: How much do we know about the behavior and travels of Amazon migratory fish? Are these fish in danger of disappearing before we have had a chance to study and understand these phenomena? How could such declines impact people living along the Amazon and its tributaries?
WCS is working with partners to answer these questions, documenting the life histories of the Amazon’s most important migratory fish to understand where they spawn, how far they travel, and where it is absolutely essential to conserve the flooded forests, floating meadows and other aquatic habitats that are their nurseries and feeding grounds.
World Fish Migration Day throws an important spotlight on these questions and reminds us that fish and their successful conservation play an essential role in sustaining local communities across the globe.
Dr. Julie Kunen is Executive Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Latin America and Caribbean Program. | <urn:uuid:cb303003-f71c-44c9-b11d-74b40c42cdbc> | {
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Definition of apochromat in English:
A lens or lens system that reduces spherical and chromatic aberration.
- There are now a few apochromats on the market that are comparable in price to similar, high-end achromats.
- Higher order spherical aberration in apochromats is a result of strongly curved lens surfaces.
- The biggest problem with early apochromats, other than their sizable cost and complexity, was light loss.
- Example sentences
- In 1868 he invented the apochromatic lens system for the microscope.
- The apochromatic lens, therefore, corrects for chromatic aberration to a greater degree than does an achromatic lens.
- I hope the following history of the apochromatic lens designs made by Roland Christen of Astro-Physics is of some interest to the readers.
Definition of apochromat in:
- British & World English dictionary
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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Suicide rates for young girls are rising at a pace faster than that of boys, changing the established patterns that boys are more likely to die by suicide and that girls are more likely to consider it and attempt it, according to a new study.
Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in in Columbus, Ohio analyzed suicide rates of US kids and teens ages 10 to 19 between 1975 and 2016 using the Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database, run by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In that period, there were more than 85,000 suicides in kids and teens, with 80% in boys and 20% in girls. The rates of suicide peaked in 1993 and had been on the decline until 2007, when they again started to climb, according to the findings, published Friday in JAMA.
Although boys were 3.8 times more likely than girls to kill themselves over the 40-year study period, the gap is rapidly narrowing. Starting in 2007, the rates of suicide for girls 10 to 14 increased 12.7% per year, compared with 7.1% for boys the same age. A similar trend was seen for teens 15 to 19, with rates of suicide going up 7.9% for girls and 3.5% for boys.
Boys 15 to 19 continued to take their own lives using firearms at far greater rates than girls, but the rates of hanging and suffocation in girls approached those of boys.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in kids and teens ages 10 to 19 in the United States after accidents and unintentional injuries, according to the CDC. Rates of suicide have historically been higher in boys than in girls across all age groups.
Girls turning to more lethal means is cause for “great concern,” explained lead author Donna Ruch, research scientist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, adding that girls continue to attempt suicide at higher rates and the shift toward more lethal methods could have dire consequences for the rates of completed suicide in this group.
The study was not designed to determine the reasons behind the troubling trends, explained Dr. Joan Luby, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Washington University School of Medicine, and Sarah Kertz, a clinical psychologist at Southern Illinois University, in a commentary published alongside the study in JAMA.
But given the short period of time over which the rates of suicide have spiked for young girls, Luby and Kertz point to social media as a likely contributor.
Girls may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media
“Compared with boys, girls use social media more frequently and are more likely to experience cyberbullying,” Luby and Kertz wrote.
Girls who are depressed also elicit more negative responses from their friends on social media than boys, they added.
Combined, they say, these findings suggest that the negative effects of social media may be stronger on girls and may provide one explanation for why young girls are more vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Yet social media may be just one piece of the puzzle.
The role of societal rules and expectations
“We know that certain societal rules and expectations for women can be associated with higher rates of mental health issues and suicide rates,” said Dr. Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, who was not involved in the study. “Then you add a possible biological component – hormones – and a genetic predisposition.”
Another reason for the rise in depression and suicidal behaviors for both boys and girls may be more stress and pressure being placed on kids, said Dr. Gene Beresin, executive director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who also was not involved in the study.
“Kids are feeling more pressure to achieve, more pressure in school, and are more worried about making a living than in previous years,” he said.
In isolation, none of these factors has been proven to lead to an increase in suicidal behaviors and ultimately suicide, but taken together, a pattern begins to emerge, Beresin said.
Recognizing warning signs in children and teens
Mental illness – especially when it comes to depression and anxiety – can be silent or manifest in ways parents would not expect, Robles-Ramamurthy said. In addition to sadness, depression in kids and teens can manifest as anger and irritability.
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“It’s very normal for your child to start getting a little more moody and defiant,” she said of the teenage years. “But if you start seeing drastic changes, their academic performance is declining, they’re not spending as much time with family or isolating themselves, those are big red flags.”
If those behaviors are present, Robles-Ramamurthy recommends asking teens clearly whether they feel depressed or have considered hurting themselves or ending their lives. Asking these questions directly does not increase the risk of suicide, she added.
How to get help: In the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world. | <urn:uuid:fd11692f-a093-4ee7-bb8f-2c656c522032> | {
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Cybercrime are offenses against individuals using computers/networks, with harmful intentions toward the victims reputation.
This can be directly or indirectly, either by “[…] distributing viruses, denial-of-service attacks, illegally downloading files without authorisation, cyberstalking, fraud and identity theft, and stealing or publishing personal information such as individuals’ names and addresses.” (Kroenke, Bunker, & Wilson, 2014, p.394)
Common areas of crime are information theft to misappropriating funds, therefore an organisation can now act to avoid and protect against.
Cybercrime has only recently become a major risk for businesses as they rely more on technology and are using brand new low cost technology with limited testing, backups, and systems for protection.
“[…] information can be taken from organisations by being burned to DVDs, downloaded to USB drives, copied to MP3 players or stored on smartphones or tablet devices-it can be transferred by email, across the web and over wireless networks.” (Kroenke, Bunker, & Wilson, 2014, p.395)
It is not just protection from outside an organisation either, as it can stem from internally, such as from employee uncertainty with using new technology, employee relations issues, ect.
“The prevention and detection of cybercrime is the responsibility of the entire organisation, yet many organisations are not prepared to deal with it.” (Kroenke, Bunker, & Wilson, 2014, p.395)
There must be frequent reviews and capability, in order to both prevent and detect it and possible signs.
Other results from being subject to cybercrime for a firm can be public relations, as such a breech of private information could cause shareholders to lose confidence including brand/market confidence.
Steps to take if private information has been lost for a select group of individuals, include notifying them firsthand of their ‘compromised’ data, while protecting the business in covering themselves from ‘theft’ connotations.
Organisations can encourage commenting on ethical issues to educate their staff in reporting duties or how to avoid cybercrime in their role, specifically auditing.
While, implementing a formal security policy, on preventing inappropriate release of personal data.
You will have to deal with difficult or upset customers, law enforcement personnel, and management, in resolving any possible issues, therefore you should resolve their concerns/issues in a calm and understanding way.
“Computer criminals find a vulnerability to exploit and they exploit it.” (Kroenke, Bunker, & Wilson, 2014, p.395)
Its what they do, don’t take it personally as against your computer skills, as it can be a game of ‘cat and mouse’ for everyone.
However, it is good to educate yourself against methods of attacks, even when you are asked by them directly they could be disguised as a customer, making you unaware to possible threats for you to hand over payment details or products.
Having in place good computer security is a weight off your mind, if you prefer to outsource your information protection, and prefer not to get into any do-it-yourself complicated methods.
As businesses often can work out the customers (now hackers) location, email, name, and in some instances computer (contents, ip address) faster than anyone.
Such self-protection methods are using Linux as your operating system, for more on this see my article Linus Operating Systems Introduction.
The uses of Linux are endless with from the most specialised uses to the more basic.
Though, it is widely credited for its digital security and computer protection.
A specific example would be professional penetration testing and security auditing.
Security allows you to discover and see any vulnerabilities, whether causes by your actions online, or by external actors.
In order for you to thwart it and begin to create safeguards against future vulnerabilities.
Security on different devices also need to be improved, in order to continue to make it more difficult for the average hacker to find any vulnerability in the first place.
“[Such emerging bot] herders may be organised criminals, they may be terrorists, or they may be elements of governments inflicting a new type of cyber warfare on other nations.” (Kroenke, Bunker, & Wilson, 2014, p.395)
International communication is important and carriers important data, therefore you must be ready act to protect it, don’t overreact if it occurs, and take steps to make those around us aware of it also.
Kroenke, D., Bunker, D., & Wilson, D. (2014). Experiencing MIS, (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Featured image supplied free from Pixabay.
Copyright © 2016 Zoë-Marie Beesley
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. | <urn:uuid:8f1b0ecb-13a2-43c5-8e58-b3ebdb4a20c4> | {
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- Application isolation is one solution to component versioning conflicts, or DLL hell.
- Isolation reduces versioning conflicts by modifying an application so it always loads the versions of components – such as DLLs – with which it was originally developed and tested.
- Application isolation provides increased stability and reliability for applications because they are unaffected by changes caused by installation and ongoing maintenance of other applications on the system.
- Resolve incompatibilities between different versions of shared components.
- Reduce the complexity of the installation by storing COM activation data in a manifest instead of the registry.
- Insulate the application from changes to shared components.
Application isolation can be performed using one of these two methods.
- Assemblies and manifests
- MSI isolated components
Assemblies and Manifests:Application isolation using assemblies and manifests is the recommended isolation method for Windows XP. Assemblies are DLLs or other portable executable files that applications require to function, and manifests are XML files that describe either an isolated application or an application's assemblies. These assemblies and manifests provide the same end result as Windows Installer isolated components, but keep all information outside of the registry and do not require the components to be installed in the same folder as the application. This reduces the chance of errors after isolation resulting from how the application was written.
MSI Isolated Components:Application isolation using Windows Installer isolated components is best applicable for Windows 98 SE, Me, and 2000. It can also be used on Windows XP, but using assemblies and manifests is the better solution. The isolated component method copies shared files (typically DLLs) into an application's folder instead of a shared location. The application then uses these files instead of global ones, preventing modifications made by other applications from affecting the shared files. As a result, the application always uses the versions of these files with which it was deployed.
When an application is isolated, any shared files are moved to an area specified during the package building. That area is normally the application directory. An Isolated Component table is populated with the information that the OS needs to find the redirection. The Isolated Component table is part of the Windows Installer database created during repackage creation. When the application is setup, a .local file is created from the Isolated Component table and directs the OS to search for the needed DLL files in the application directory.Disadvantages of .local(Isolated Component Method)
- No self-repair functionality exists for isolated.DLL files in the application directory.
- 16-bit applications cannot be isolated using .LOCAL isolation method.
- Only DLLs present in the same feature as the executable can be isolated using this method. If DLL is present in different feature then it needs to be moved to the main exe feature.
To isolate applications within a Windows Installer package (.MSI) or merge module (.MSM) using AdminStudio:
- Open AdminStudio and launch the Application Isolation Wizard.
- From the Welcome panel, click Next.
- From the Windows Installer File Selection panel, specify the Windows Installer package (.msi) or merge module (.MSM) containing applications you want to isolate. Click Next.
- From the Isolation Method panel, select the isolation method(s) (discussed above) you want to use.
- If you are using manifests, you can click Advanced to configure manifest properties and digital signature information (if required).
- Click Next.
- From the Summary Information panel, confirm the isolation selections. If you are using manifests, you can click Advanced to configure manifest properties and digital signature information (if required).
- If you want to manually configure isolation, click Modify.
- Click Isolate.
- From the Completing the Application Isolation Wizard panel, click Finish.
Application Isolation Using Wise Package Studio:
The Application Isolation wizard in Wise Package Studio provides a quick and easy way to isolate applications with their shared .DLL or .OCX files (support files).
The below steps describe how to implement the process using WPS.
- Invoke the Application Isolation wizard from the side pane of Wise package studio as shown below.
- Browse the .WSI or .MSI file on which the isolation has to be performed.
- Choose on the isolation method and the isolation type. The next screens depend on the options selected here.
- Choose how the process of isolation has to be taken place.
- Isolation is ready to be performed.
- The updated Windows Installer file can be either the default MSI file appended with _isolated or a new MSI file or a MST file, as shown here. | <urn:uuid:055f4c63-9632-46ee-a1cc-6d0915e620bd> | {
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liver, largest glandular organ of the body, weighing about 3 lb (1.36 kg). It is reddish brown in color and is divided into four lobes of unequal size and shape. The liver lies on the right side of the abdominal cavity beneath the diaphragm. Blood is carried to the liver via two large vessels: the hepatic artery carries oxygen-rich blood from the aorta, and the portal vein carries blood containing digested food from the small intestine. These blood vessels subdivide in the liver repeatedly, terminating in minute capillaries. Each capillary leads to a lobule. Liver tissue is composed of thousands of lobules, and each lobule is made up of hepatic cells, the basic metabolic cells of the liver. One of the liver's major functions is the manufacture and secretion of bile, which is stored in the gall bladder and released in the small intestine. Bile salts emulsify fats, a process that prepares the latter for digestion by the intestinal enzymes (see digestive system). The hepatic cells assimilate carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. They convert glucose to its stored form, glycogen, which is reconverted into glucose as the body requires it for energy. The ability of the liver to maintain the proper level of glucose in the blood is called its glucose buffer function. The end products of fat digestion, fatty acids, are used to synthesize cholesterol and other substances needed by the body. Excess carbohydrates and protein are also converted into fat by the liver. Digested proteins in the form of amino acids are broken down further in the liver by deamination. Part of the amino acid molecule is converted into glycogen and other compounds. Urea, a waste product of protein breakdown, is produced by the liver, a process which removes poisonous ammonia from the body fluids. The liver is also capable of synthesizing certain amino acids (the so-called nonessential amino acids) from other amino acids in a process called transamination. Some essential components of blood are manufactured by the liver, including about 95% of the plasma proteins and the blood-clotting substances (fibrinogen, prothrombin, and other coagulation factors). The liver also filters harmful substances from the blood. Phagocytic cells in the liver, called Kupffer cells, remove large amounts of debris and bacteria. In addition, the liver stores important vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D, K, and B12. Several diseases states can affect the liver, such as hepatitis (an inflammation of the liver) and cirrhosis (a chronic inflammation that progresses ultimately to organ failure). Alcohol alters the metabolism of the liver, which can have overall detrimental effects over long periods of abuse. In 1994, a bioartificial liver, part machine, part cloned living liver cells, was used for the first time. Functioning somewhat like a kidney dialysis machine, the bioartificial liver can support patients with acute liver failure until their own livers regenerate, or it can be used by patients while waiting for a liver transplant.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on liver from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Anatomy and Physiology | <urn:uuid:2fdd7cf5-fd09-4a33-9fef-584900c96681> | {
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Trends in heart health
With China’s rapid urbanisation and changes in dietary and lifestyle choices, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases have emerged as a critical public health threat. In 2010 the prevalence of hypertension, the most common form of cardiovascular disease, reached 33.5% (affecting an estimated 330 million people). Yet awareness and control rates remained extremely low. Although the average body mass index (BMI) of the Chinese population is lower than the global average, abdominal obesity has become common in adults. Cardiovascular disease is now the country’s most common cause of mortality.
Smoking and increasingly sedentary lifestyles contribute to these trends. Despite tobacco control efforts, the prevalence of smoking in China remains at a high level, and domestic production of cigarettes continues to rise. Work- and transportation-related physical activity levels have declined sharply. Behavioural changes are thus accelerating the epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases, with negative consequences not only for public health and individual quality of life, but also for China’s economic and social well-being.
The overall objective this research project was to identify and analyse causes of and trends in cardiovascular disease in China. With a focus on coronary heart disease and stroke and in consultation with Swiss Re experts, the primary investigator:
- Conducted a systematic review of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in China and estimated the risk contribution of each factor to cardiovascular disease outcome. Disease burdens were expected to be the most effective way to communicate the urgency of China’s cardiovascular health challenges to government officials, policymakers, the media and the lay public.
- Compared the time trend in each cardiovascular risk factor in subpopulations stratified by gender, age group, demographics and socioeconomic status and projected the future values in each subpopulation. Whilst the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in China are similar to those in other countries, their distribution is distinctive.
- Examined the effects of having medical insurance on cardiovascular disease risk factors and disease burdens and predicted the related disease burden changes associated with potential insurance coverage.
To the extent that the findings of this research shed light on the drivers of cardiovascular disease in China, it has the potential to benefit many millions of individuals at risk as well as national and international authorities, NGOs and businesses that have an interest in improving China’s public health. | <urn:uuid:aa2031fe-64da-4147-9e9d-63e198655f42> | {
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Want to do your part to save the planet while also making money? Perhaps it’s time to look into one of these sustainability careers and green jobs. For every interest, skill level, and educational background, we have something here for you. But before that, let’s first see a few reasons to consider being part of this industry:
- You’ll be doing good work for the planet and helping preserve our environment for future generations.
- It’s a growth industry. This means career opportunities.
- Many sustainability jobs are highly varied and interesting.
- If you don’t want to be in front of a screen all the time, there are a lot of green jobs available for you.
- There are positions at a wide range of levels available, from entry/low skilled to highly skilled roles.
Five Sustainability Careers and Green Jobs
Solar PV System Installer
The solar revolution kicked off in earnest around 10 to 15 years ago and continues to grow. Solar panels reliably supply power without burning fossil fuels and are being installed in all countries.
A solar PV installer will install systems on rooftops or may be involved in installing large ground-mounted systems. Depending on the country you are from, there may be licensing requirements. Cable connections to and from the inverter – the component that connects the solar panels to the electrical grid – must be undertaken by a licensed electrician. If you start off as an assistant, there is a career path to becoming an electrician (involving study and licensing).
With solar technology ever improving, this is a sector where there are a lot of opportunities to learn. A solar PV designer will undertake the electrical design of a system. Designers will usually use software tools to help with the design and need an understanding of electrical engineering. Electricians can design smaller systems; larger systems usually require electrical engineering expertise.
There are also career opportunities in equipment testing and certification, sales, and solar business management. Upstream in the supply chain, there are opportunities in assembly and manufacture.
Recycling Plant Technician
Another one on this list of sustainability careers and green jobs you might consider is becoming a recycling plant technician. There is a range of career paths. You could get involved in municipal recycling, which involves sorting, crushing, and packing material sent in for recycling, such as paper, plastics, etc.
There are opportunities in machine operation, machine maintenance, and the design and manufacture of recycling machinery. Additionally, with an increasing focus on the circular economy, there are opportunities in science and engineering to create and invent new processes to recycle and reuse waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
There are opportunities in recycling for mechanics, fabricators, maintenance technicians, operators, chemists, biologists, engineers, researchers, managers, and others. Who knows, you could become the next Isaac Newton in the recycling field! If this isn’t for you, our next feature on this sustainability careers and green jobs list might suit you.
As we move from centralized energy grids, based on large coal or nuclear-powered power stations, to distributed energy resources (DER), new electricity networks are being built, and energy generation equipment will increasingly be found in remote regions.
When people need to gather information in the field to inspect energy generation and transmission infrastructure or for monitoring wilderness areas, water pipelines, or similar, individuals usually need to travel from one place to another. This process is not only time-consuming but also polluting. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, can cut down the time required and the amount of pollution, and there are opportunities in this area for those who are tech-savvy.
Working as a drone operator, you’d be responsible for operating and monitoring UAVs. It can be like playing a video game; only the sights you see and the information you gather are real. Sadly, if you crash your drone, a few mouse clicks won’t restore it! Perhaps you can become a top gun, famed for never crashing.
If you like coding, machine learning, AI, linear algebra, and similar, you may like to get into semi-autonomous or autonomous drones, which you program to do tasks that might otherwise be pretty boring (inspecting a powerline) but which are important in keeping remote solar and wind farms operating. Or perhaps you can get into micro-drones, e.g., for inspecting air conditioning ducts and equipment to enable maintenance to help it continue to operate at high efficiency.
There are also opportunities to create purpose-built drones. Can you imagine building yourself your own robot? Or coming up with new ways to combine hardware and software with helping achieve sustainability outcomes? It’s exciting and fulfilling at the same time.
Being an environmental engineer/scientist means you can assess human activity and its effects on the environment. From these environmental impact assessments, you design interventions to control the damage or regenerate what was lost due to human behaviors.
You can choose a specialization if you want to focus more on air, soil, or water management. You might even consider learning all to broaden your career options. There are opportunities in consulting, leading projects, research, and innovation.
The last job on this short and incomplete sustainability careers and green jobs list is to consider becoming a sustainability manager. This career is one of the most rewarding yet one of the most challenging professions in sustainability. As a sustainability manager, you’ll usually be working in a larger business and taking responsibility for helping the company become more sustainable. You’ll help your company make more effective decisions leading to improved social, economic, and environmental outcomes. You’ll likely collaborate or liaise with the government, the community, and your fellow experts.
Your responsibility is to mitigate environmental problems, create interventions, and suggest solutions to environmental concerns. If you are looking for a new career or starting out for the first time, it can be hard to decide which way to go. In this article, I’ve aimed to give you exposure to just a few of the many sustainability careers, both those which are well established and new and emerging careers.
Be Part of the Change
These sustainability careers and green jobs are only some of the many in the industry. No matter what you choose, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are working for the good of the environment, and all of us, by helping improve the health of our planet earth.
Are you looking forward to boosting your career? You might like our next article about the seven habits to boost your sustainability career. | <urn:uuid:6245ab06-7793-4d19-a609-a597bf16b38f> | {
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One of the amazing sights in Nara (known as Heijo-kyo or the citadel of peace), a UNESCO World Heritage Site which served as the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, must be the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) and the Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿) or Daibutsuden that houses it. The hall, measuring some 57 metres long, 50 metres wide and 48 metres high, is reputedly the world’s largest wooden building. The giant Buddha statue, measuring some 15 metres tall in the seated position, the hall houses is also said to be the world’s largest bronze Buddha image – which weighing some 500 tonnes, is thought that it consumed a substantial part of the country’s bronze production over the years it took to build it, leaving the country almost bankrupt.
The hall and the Buddha – an image of Vairocana, revered by the Kegon sect of Buddhism, serves as the main focal point of the Todaiji Temple complex, which dates back to 752. The wooden structure of the current hall, dates back to a fire induced rebuilding effort in 1688 to 1709, which saw it built to a scale of two-thirds of the 87 metre wide orginal hall (which had already been rebuilt twice previously). The current hall features a seven-bay wooden structure which encloses the 15 metre giant bronze 500 tonne statue, as well as two large images of bosatsu or bodhisattva flanking it – an addition made during the last rebuilding. The giant statue has itself been reconstructed several times – its head has been recast following fires and earthquakes. Its current head dates back to 1692.
The design of the hall, the scale of which will have any visitor in awe, features a wooden beam and bracketing structure which is thought to have been done by craftsmen from China. It is also possible to pass around the Great Buddha, in turn thought to be the work of craftsmen from Korea. To the rear of the hall, a wooden model provides a glimpse of the original Daibutsuden. There are also two statues of heavenly guardians from the Edo Period, Koumokuten and Tamoten. Another interesting find is a pillar with a hole at the bottom of it – popular belief has it that anyone who can squeeze through the hole will attain Enlightenment or Nirvana.
The hall, during my visit, did see a steady flow of visitors, both young and old, most stopping to ritually purify themselves with fresh water outside the hall. By the entrance to the hall on the outside, is a rather interesting wooden statue – that of Pindola Bharadvaja or Binzuru, a disciple of Buddha. In Japan, it is a belief that anyone ill rubbing the part of an image of Binzuru corresponding to the part of the body where the ailment is, followed by rubbing the same part on their own body after, will be cured of the ailment.
More information on the Todaiji and the Daibutsuden, as well as on the UNESCO World Heritage listing can be found at the following sites: | <urn:uuid:61f740d6-0f98-42a4-9e73-156c697493e7> | {
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Many South Africans have a thin, filmy membrane with tiny surface blood vessels on the white of their eye, extending from the nasal side towards their iris. This triangular shaped thickening is called a pterygium and can spread towards and over the cornea to obstruct vision.
There are many popular theories about the causes of a pterygium, such as irritants and sunlight and dust, but none of them has been proved with any certainty.
A pterygium tends to goes through active, inflamed phases and quiet phases over months to years as it slowly grows onto the cornea: it usually appears during adolescence or early adulthood and grow slowly for a number of years before becoming smaller and inactive.
Symptoms of irritation such as redness, burning, scratching, dryness and itch are common and are nothing to worry about if they occur only occasionally and are not too severe. Symptoms tend to be more troublesome in the early years when the pterygium is actively growing.
The pterygium itself is normally harmless and treatment is purely to relieve symptoms when they occur. A pterygium often causes a dry eye problem, and most symptoms tend to be relieved by an artificial tear drop.
For itch try an over-the-counter antihistamine drop, taking care to use it exactly as directed. If redness is a prominent feature, a decongestant eye drop is usually effective in relieving the symptoms. However, there is a very real danger of aggravating the problem with decongestant drops, and they should be used as infrequently as possible and only for short periods.
Lubricants and sunglasses provide relief of symptoms, but removal by surgery is the only cure. Recurrences are fairly common.
See your ophthalmologist if
Your symptoms are not adequately relieved by the eye drops above.
Your symptoms recur frequently.
There is pus in the eye or the eyelids stick together on waking in the morning.
The pterygium covers part of the iris and grows onto the cornea and towards the pupil.
You have any deterioration of vision.
You would like the pterygium to be removed for cosmetic reasons.
Occasionally a pterygium produces unacceptable problems and needs to be removed surgically. Surgery is generally quite successful, but sometimes the pterygium grows back even more aggressively after surgery, and so surgery should not be undertaken without good reason.
Reviewed by Dr Clive Novis, Ophthalmologist, (November 2010)
South African Optometric Association
Tel: 011 805 4517
South African National Council for the Blind
Tel: 012 452 3811
Retina South Africa
Tel: 011 622 4904
Ophthalmological Society of South Africa | <urn:uuid:a68cfdd7-c872-46c3-9b90-0429e1399fd2> | {
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What’s in a Name? An Experimental Examination of Investment Behavior
A fundamental unresolved issue is whether information asymmetries underlie investors’ predisposition to invest close to home (i.e., domestically or locally). We conduct experiments in the United States and Canada to investigate agents’ portfolio allocation decisions, controlling for the availability of information. Providing participants with information about a firm’s home base, without disclosing its specific identity, is not sufficient to change investment behavior. Rather, participants need to know a firm’s name and home base. Additional evidence indicates that participants have a greater perceived familiarity with local and domestic securities and, in turn, invest more in such securities. Copyright Springer 2005
Volume (Year): 9 (2005)
Issue (Month): 2 (06)
|Contact details of provider:|| Web page: http://springerlink.metapress.com/link.asp?id=111870|
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Janiszewski, Chris, 1993. " Preattentive Mere Exposure Effects," Journal of Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(3), pages 376-92, December.
- Baxter, Marianne & Jermann, Urban J, 1997.
"The International Diversification Puzzle Is Worse Than You Think,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 87(1), pages 170-80, March.
- Baxter, M. & Jermann, U.J., 1993. "The International Diversification Puzzle is Worse than you Think," RCER Working Papers 350, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER).
- Marianne Baxter & Urban J. Jermann, 1995. "The International Diversification Puzzle is Worse Than You Think," NBER Working Papers 5019, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Joshua D. Coval & Tobias J. Moskowitz, 1999. "Home Bias at Home: Local Equity Preference in Domestic Portfolios," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 2045-2073, December.
- Tesar, Linda L. & Werner, Ingrid M., 1995. "Home bias and high turnover," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 467-492, August.
- Smith, Vernon L & Suchanek, Gerry L & Williams, Arlington W, 1988. "Bubbles, Crashes, and Endogenous Expectations in Experimental Spot Asset Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(5), pages 1119-51, September.
- Michael J. Brennan. and H. Henry Cao., 1997.
"International Portfolio Investment Flows,"
Research Program in Finance Working Papers
RPF-271, University of California at Berkeley.
- Shapiro, Stewart, 1999. " When an Ad's Influence Is Beyond Our Conscious Control: Perceptual and Conceptual Fluency Effects Caused by Incidental Ad Exposure," Journal of Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 16-36, June.
- Gehrig, Thomas, 1993. " An Information Based Explanation of the Domestic Bias in International Equity Investment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(1), pages 97-109.
- Gustavo Grullon, 2004. "Advertising, Breadth of Ownership, and Liquidity," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 439-461.
- Statman, Meir, 1987. "How Many Stocks Make a Diversified Portfolio?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(03), pages 353-363, September.
- Heath, Chip & Tversky, Amos, 1991. " Preference and Belief: Ambiguity and Competence in Choice under Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-28, January.
- M. J. Brennan, 1995. "The Individual Investor," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 18(1), pages 59-74, 03.
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If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form. | <urn:uuid:49703e20-f56e-4851-a94c-40506a8520cd> | {
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The main aim of writing an essay is to test your knowledge on a particular subject. They test whether or not you are capable of clearly explaining and making sense of complex issues and subjects. You should be able to demonstrate your ability to understand a question and write a detailed response to it. Some students struggle with essay writing; however, there is no way of getting out of writing essays during your academic career so you are going to have to learn how to write them. Here are some essay writing tips that will help you to get an A+.
Be Original: Teachers get excited when they read work that goes against the grain and is unpredictable. All essays must have a certain structure to it but the content doesn’t have to be the same. Unfortunately, the majority of students like to play it safe when writing an essay and won’t get too controversial or write anything that goes against conventional thinking.
Strong understanding and knowledge: It is essential that you don’t simply regurgitate your research material but that you demonstrate you have a good understanding of what you have been studying. By quoting from and making use of a variety of sources you create the impression that you have spent time studying the topic in depth and that you have addressed it from every angle.
Intelligent debate and clear structure: When you understand a subject you know how to have an intelligent debate about it and put your point across in a coherent and structured manner. Even if your teacher doesn’t agree with what you are saying, the fact that you have been capable of articulating yourself on paper will get you extra marks.
No random information: Everything that you write in your essay must serve a purpose; you will get marked down for writing random information for the sake of filling up the page. When you write essays it is essential that everything you say is backed up with verifiable facts and that it relates to the topic at hand.
Impeccable English: No matter how well your essay is written if you have bad spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and grammar you will never get the A+ that you are hoping for. The best way to ensure that you haven’t made any mistakes is to read your work over at least three times and asks friends and family members to read it over too.
Go the extra mile: If you really want to impress your teacher, do more than is required when you write your essay. When your home work is administered you will get a standard reading list. You can almost guarantee that the majority of students won’t use any other material other than what they have been given. You will stand out if you include reference material that was not on the original reading list.
There are several benefits to writing an A+ essay and one of them is that you can provide online writing help and start to write essays for money. The more you practice the better you will become. | <urn:uuid:9ec769c1-67a9-4f95-97c1-3745f66b7b0a> | {
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29 Hypothesis tests for the mean difference (paired data)
So far, you have learnt to ask a RQ, identify different ways of obtaining data, design the study, collect the data describe the data, summarise data graphically and numerically, understand the tools of inference, and to form confidence intervals.
In this chapter, you will learn about hypothesis tests for the mean difference (i.e., for paired data). You will learn to:
- conduct hypothesis tests for the mean difference with paired data
- determine whether the conditions for using these methods apply in a given situation. | <urn:uuid:344d33e2-b740-41c1-91f9-6bcafc21dbca> | {
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CBD To Reduce Inflammation Caused By MS
Multiple sclerosis, or better known as MS, is a disabling disease of the central nervous system. It affects the flow of information from the brain to the body. The cause of MS is currently unknown and symptoms can relieve in time. Two-thirds of those affected with the disease are women. The signs and symptoms of MS vary from person to person but are typically quite debilitating. Recent research has shown CBD to reduce inflammation caused By MS. However, before we dig deeper into this enlightening information, the most common signs and symptoms of MS are:
- Loss of cognitive function
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a major non-psychotomimetic compound of the Cannabis Sativa plant. It provides many benefits similar to that of Cannabis, but contains no THC. Therefore, CBD is completely legal in all 50 states and delivers no psychoactive effects. CBD has been shown to carry neuroprotective and neurogenic effects as well as anxiolytic effects in humans and animals. CBD is currently being used to treat many mental and autoimmune disorders and is currently being tested for its anti-cancer properties. However, the most thought provoking and research-based facts have been shown in CBD to reduce symptoms of MS.
In a federal funded research study, which can be read about more here, mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) were tested. EAE is a disease in rats with extremely similar composition to humans with MS. After the symptoms of EAE became prominent in the rats, they were given a topical CBD cream of 1% CBD strength. They were observed for 28 days.
Spinal cord and spleen sample cells were taken almost daily. The evidence became increasingly clear that the CBD cream had reduced the symptoms of EAE. Likewise, these symptoms were similar in the way of CBD to reduce inflammation caused by MS. Reversal of back leg paralysis was noticed. Also, spinal cord damage and white blood cell count had improved. There was a reduction in the release of lymphocytes from spleen cells. Lastly, there was a reduction in inflammatory signals. This study greatly displays that CBD can reduce symptoms of many autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. It also shows that CBD can provide biological benefits. These benefits can be seen even when only applied to the skin. | <urn:uuid:3df7638e-41fc-4a79-b9d9-50bb2aea813e> | {
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In 1997 Dr. Miriam Cremer was a medical student doing a rotation in a small town in rural El Salvador. She was there to provide basic medical care. During her work, she met a young woman in the community who eventually bled to death in her home of cervical cancer. It was an awful event that had a profound effect on Dr. Cremer.
The women of this town had survived a civil war and were too strong to die from a disease that was so simple to prevent. She began efforts to get them all screened, transporting their pap tests to the U.S. in her suitcase to be analyzed. She started working to help this one community. The path toward preventing cervical cancer globally appeared along the way.
She had resolved to help her friends, and once she did she saw that there were more women to help.
In 2005, Dr. Cremer founded Basic Health International, a non-profit organization whose mission is to eradicate cervical cancer. They do this by using low-cost, low-tech prevention tools to screen and treat women who are at highest risk of developing cancer. In October 2012 BHI launched a pilot program in El Salvador that has already screened 2,000 women and will reach 30,000 over the next 3 years. The HPV test being used is the highest quality, lowest-cost test available.
This is the largest pilot program in history with HPV screening technology developed specifically for the developing world.
It is the only project of its kind and one with real potential to reach into the recesses of the developing world, where women are most vulnerable. BHI is implementing the first HPV-screening device designed for use in areas with no running water or electricity on an unprecedented scale. Dr. Cremer’s project in El Salvador will provide the blueprint for cervical cancer prevention in developing countries everywhere.
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Electrical engineering why does resistance wire does electrical resistance in a wire depend to the length of the wire divided by its cross electrical resistance.
The resistance of a wire depends on certain factors some therefore it is important to keep the material the same throughout the experiment unless a different. What does the resistance of a wire depend upon 132 13-4 a l a wire resistor of length l and cross-sectional area a period 13 summary 131 the . Resistance depends on the number of identical resistors connected in factors affecting the resistance of a wire the aim of this experiment is to investigate.
We'll take a shopping trip to the mall to learn how electrical resistance works and how it is affected by resistivity, conductor dimensions, and. This experiment verifies the dependence of wire resistance on its resistance of a conductor depends on the length, cross section and.
The resistance of a wire free gcse physics coursework essay a wire's resistance depends on four main factors: resistivity length of the. When current flows through a conductor, heat energy is generated in the conductor the heating effect of an electric current depends on three factors: heating effect produced by an electric current, i through a conductor of resistance, r for a.
Variable resistors or potentiometers control the length of wire we ldr's (light dependent resistors have a high resistance in the dark but a low.
Resistance: temperature coefficient since the electrical resistance of a conductor such as a copper wire is dependent upon collisional proccesses with temperature since there will be more collisions, and that is borne out by experiment. Category: papers title: investigating how resistance depends on shape investigating the resistance of a wire essay - investigating the resistance of a. The electrical resistance of an electrical conductor is a measure of the difficulty to pass an just as the resistance of a conductor depends upon temperature, the resistance of a conductor depends upon strain by placing a conductor under. | <urn:uuid:014cd919-5f16-4279-ad60-9e35606db790> | {
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The New Chinese New Year of 2019 or the Spring Festival marks the beginning of a new year and is the most important holiday for the Chinese. Celebrating the Lunar New Year is a millenary tradition and lasts 15 successive days from the New Moon until the Full Moon. This is when the Lantern Festival takes place and the great festivity ends the holiday season. This New Year is celebrated in the following countries: People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and of course the many Chinese neighborhoods in cities all over the world.
This is a year of Earth Pig, starting from February 5, 2019 (Chinese New Year) and lasting until January 24, 2020. The pig is not thought to be a smart animal in China. It likes sleeping and eating and becomes fat. Thus, it usually features laziness and clumsiness. On the positive side, it behaves itself, has no plan to harm others, and can bring affluence to people. Consequently, it has been regarded as wealth.
According to the Chinese astrology, 2019 is a great year to make money, and a good year to invest! 2019 is going to be full of joy, friendship and love. The Pig belongs to the group of water signs therefore it represents the beginning of winter and is the birth month of wood. Therefore, the Pig symbolizes the plant germination and the birth of a new life form.
The Year of the Pig can bring a new start to international relationships and a new social order in some countries. It can lead to new regimes and new governments. There are so many governments in our current world that could benefit from this little porker.
The Pig is also considered a “Traveling Star”, that’s why the Year of the Pig will stimulate traveling more than other years. The tourism industry will greatly benefit from this.
According to the Chinese tradition, the Pig is the life-lover archetype. In 2019, we all need to learn how to take advantage (in an intelligent manner) of everything that’s beautiful in life.
During this year, all the qualities of the Pig sign will find a way to express themselves through gentleness and the generosity. Therefore, we’ll need to be more attentive to others and on a collective level all the altruistic initiatives will be favored.
Another great quality of the Pig is the joy to live. Many Chinese astrologers believe it would be difficult to find another zodiac sign that exults as much optimism as the Pig. This characteristic can be an inspiration for all of us and provides a better mood and a 100% zest for life.
As with all Chinese zodiac signs, the Pig has its weaknesses. Endowed with an extraordinary imagination, the Pig sometimes lacks realism and can be content only with dreaming, instead of acting. This year we need to avoid this inclination which might take us out of the race before the finish line.
Lastly, the pig is naïve. His kindness prevents him from seeing treachery which makes him an easy target for unscrupulous people. Therefore, make certain you are a bit more suspicious in 2019 and try not to see life in pink all the time.
Lucky Numbers: 4, 6, 8
Lucky Colors: yellow, gray, brown, golden
Lucky Days: the 2nd, the 7th, the 10th, the 11th day of every month of the Chinese calendar
Lucky Directions: southeast, northeast
In 2019, the ruling Tai Sui is Xie Tai. In the year of the Pig 2019 the position of Tai Sui is at North West 3.
2019 Feng Shui remedies for maintaining a good relationship with Tai Sui in 2019: Place a Pi Yao statue in the southeast to prevent bad luck and the illness Tai Sui can attract, in case the above rules are not respected.
According to the Chinese Zodiac organization, here is a sneak peak of what 2019 might look like for you:
• Rat – A year full of happiness and prosperity!
• Ox – A good year for Ox. A time with good opportunities to make money.
• Tiger – Born in a strong and independent zodiac sign, as a general rule, you do what you please. This year through, you will need to learn how to come to terms with others.
• Rabbit – An excellent year is waiting for you! A bit less wary than usual, you will easily get close to others and make new friends.
• Dragon – For you, the impact of the Pig’s calmness will mean a year of reconsiderations.
• Snake – This year you’ll have to be combative and persuasive.
• Horse – The year of the Pig 2019 is going to be more auspicious than the Dog Year 2018.
• Goat – A 2019 year under the mark of chance, when all your ambitions will be fulfilled.
• Monkey – A year under the influence of chance!
• Rooster – This year you need to actually pay attention to the quality of your relationships with others, if you want to succeed.
• Dog – This year count on only your own efforts in order to succeed.
• Pig – The year 2019 is yours, right? Start by setting your priorities and then get to work: once you start moving, you will start seeing results.
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The current security crisis has increased the ethnosectarian tensions within Iraq. Public discourse and news reports are full of remarks about the “war” between Sunnis and Shiites and the tensions between Arabs and Kurds. One possible way to overcome these divisions is through Iraq’s education system. Many both inside and out of Iraq have talked about the need to reform Iraq’s schools. The textbooks and curriculum are out of date, there are questions about the skills that are taught, etc. Not only that but a reformed curriculum can show the shared experiences of all Iraqis, and provide a basis for national reconciliation. To discuss how the country’s schools should be changed is Christine van den Toorn who taught at the American University of Iraq, Sulaymaniya (AUIS) 2009-2013. She now runs The Primary Source (), a research services and consulting company, with her former students. She can be followed on Twitter .
Reforming Iraq's school could not only provide a better education but a sense of shared identity and struggle amongst Iraqis argues Christine Van Den Toorn (Al Shorfa)
1. The Iraqi government and international organizations have pointed out that Iraq’s curriculum needs to be overhauled. What do many Iraqi children learn today, what is missing, and what needs to be done about it?
In terms of curriculum, the "what" students are learning, I can speak mainly about the Iraqi history textbooks now being used in schools. There are two main issues: one is that there is a great deal missing, and the other is how texts present the history that is included.
The modern history textbook is framed as a story of repression and victimhood, moving from the "Turkish occupation" to the "British occupation." While most historians can agree that outside powers played a role in the fate of Iraq and the greater Middle East, local agency should not be ignored, especially in teaching history locally. Neither period is evaluated comprehensively, and important parts of Iraq's history – social and political movements of the monarchy, and an analysis of various economic and agricultural “reform” projects, for example – are left out.
Most problematic is that history stops in 1963 in Iraqi textbooks with the first, albeit unsuccessful in the long term, Baathist coup that ousted the first leader of the Iraqi republic, Abd al Karim Qassim. Missing is the rule of the 'Arif brothers from 1963 to 1968, the second, and this time successful, Baathist coup which installed Hassan al Bakr as leader of Iraq until 1979 when Saddam Hussein officially took over as head of the Revolutionary Command Council. There is nothing on the Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 invasion of Kuwait and subsequent sanctions in the 1990s.
This means that students do not learn about shared suffering of all Iraqis – Sunni, Shi'i, Arab, Kurd, Yezidi, Christian – under Saddam's regime. Suspicions, hatred and mistrust based on misinformation, stereotypes and assumptions go uncorrected.
For example, during Saddam's regime, students in Iraq proper were told that the Kurds were trying to destroy the state and were a backward people inferior to Arabs. They were shielded from much of the realities of Arabization, the Anfal campaign and the continuous violent repression against the Kurdish people. A historically accurate treatment of these atrocities remains missing from Iraqi public school textbooks.
Likewise, some Kurds are left to think that there was general support for the Saddam Hussein regime and the Baath party outside of the Kurdish areas. "He couldn't have stayed in power without their support" claim many Kurds, "their" referring to Arabs, as they don't know or will not acknowledge that "support" was, while still condemnable, in some cases nothing more than signing a sheet of paper to save the lives of family members. Nor was "support" for Saddam's regime limited to the "Arabs." In addition, some Kurdish youth are not aware of the brutal suppression of the 1991 uprising in the south, events that mirror their own history. They do not learn of the fear, paranoia, and torture pervasive in Iraq, again, consistent with their own experience.
Last, Iraqi Arabs themselves do not learn about important issues like the brutality of Saddam's regime; the time when Sunni and Shi'i was not a defining, antagonistic identity; or the suffering under sanctions and the Iran Iraq War. Considering the current political environment, many assume that all Sunnis were pro-Saddam Baathists and that they were Saddam's only loyalists, which supports the current sectarian narrative of Iraq and Iraqi history, denying that reality that there were many Shi'i in power and that power was based on blind loyalty and submission not just sect.
It is important that various ethno-sectarian groups of Iraqis understand and acknowledge each other's history to improve relations, to understand they have something in common in the past other than enmity.
The Baath Party and Saddam Hussein's regime need to be carefully examined, so youth understand how they were able to stay in power, and exactly how destructive the regimes were to Iraq's economy, society and politics.
The humanities curriculum in Iraqi high schools and universities should be overhauled to include more comprehensive courses in Iraqi, Middle East and World history as well as in political science, international relations, government and philosophy.
2. What kinds of skills do Iraqis learn in primary and high school, and does that prepare them for going on to college?
Just like important lessons in history, also missing from the curriculum is development of academic skills. Most students enter (and even leave) university without having read multiple texts, written original essays or conducted research. So it’s not just what is being taught in Iraq that is a problem, but how it is taught. Here are a few examples:
When I ask my students whether they had to write anything, or turn in essays in high-school, most say no. Those who respond yes say they just found a piece on the internet on the subject at hand – usually on Wikipedia – "copy pasted" it onto a word document, printed it out and handed it in. "All you have to do is find it and sometimes read it," they say.
Nor are they required to read different books, academic articles, and primary sources – which are always a source of much wonder and amazement (and pain) in history classes at AUIS. Readings in classes are limited to the assigned textbook, and a few questions at the end of each chapter that rarely get to the heart of the historical matter – the causes and effects.
On tests, instead of having short answers and essays requiring students to understand the how and why, students are required to simply memorize and regurgitate as accurately as possible handouts from the teacher or professor. To prepare, they simply copy the text over and over, saying it out loud and in their heads.
Another huge gap is with research. None of my students had ever conducted actual research and really understood what "research" meant. They would use random online sites including Wikipedia for citations, hearsay and generalities. Most did not understand what constituted "evidence" for an "argument" or "thesis." For example, a student might write that the Ottoman Empire was unjust because "the people were treated unfairly" and "there was discrimination." These lines would be quoted from texts and presented as evidence, when they needed examples of that discrimination from academic texts. A bigger issue was providing analysis to link that evidence to the thesis statement.
Research assignments teach students that different people, like academics, have different perspectives. They also teach important history lessons. One of the most popular research topics over the years was "How did the Baath party stay in power?" This required students to read texts and primary sources on the party and its strategies, learning that it wasn't because of love and blind support the Baath stayed in power but usually fear, intimidation, violence, propaganda and indoctrination. The second most selected topic was "What were the main causes of the Iran Iraq War?" Students would all say at the start, "that's easy it was between the Sunni and Shi'i." I would ask, OK what is your evidence and the would say, "Because Sunni and Shi'i have always hated each other and are always fighting." While sectarian identity plays a role here, only after research did students realize that there is more to the story, like the regional power struggle between Iran and Iraq (Saddam and Khomenei after the ‘79 revolution) and access to, control of the Shatt al Arab.
Last, pedagogy is outdated, and teachers and professors hold lecture-based classes with little room for discussion, debate and analysis – for students to share opinions (to analyze texts) and learn to respond to perspectives different than their own.
I want to emphasize here that my point here is not that Iraqi students do not have the ability do these things, it’s that they haven’t been taught. These skills do not come naturally, rather they must be taught starting at the elementary and secondary level. At AUIS students learn pick them up – analysis in reading and discussions, writing and research – after a year or two of courses that emphasize them. But they really need to start earlier, and these skills are not used in any sort of widespread manner in public schools and universities.
I also want to note that there are of course exceptions to the above statements – no doubt there are wonderful instructors, researchers, professors around Iraq that are teaching their subjects and academic skills. My guess though is that they are the exception rather than the rule at this point.
Fixing this will take nothing less than a total overhaul of curriculum and pedagogy, involving rewriting textbooks and intensive teacher and administrator training in academic skill building to ensure implementation. There must be oversight, accountability and benchmarks.
3. When do you think these problems with Iraq’s school started?
[It is] important to keep in mind is that the decline of the education system did not start in 2003, rather it began over thirty years ago during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, and then took a serious dip during sanctions in the 1990s when little to no academic research and texts were coming into Iraq. Harith Hassan, a DC based Iraqi academic who taught political science at Baghdad University in the late 90s and early 2000s, mentioned to me once that textbooks he was using were from the 70s. So while during the 1970s, despite the politicization under the Baath, and earlier there was major educational reform, by 2003 most of those initiatives were outdated to say the least.
On top of the out of date materials, there is also a huge lack of human resources. Hundreds of teachers and professors were killed, have quit their work or have left Iraq over the past eleven years due to threats, attacks and assassinations. This was not the first exodus though, before 2003 intellectuals who did not bow to or join the Baath Party were targeted and sent into "early retirement" or to prison. Many escaped and still live in exile.
4. Has the Education and Higher Education Ministries done anything to fix the textbooks, etc. in the country?
As far as I know, there was a curriculum committee in the early years after the invasion, and due to an inability to agree on how to teach about the Baathist era and Saddam, they left it out of books. This seems fairly reasonable considering the inability of Iraqi politicians to agree on just about anything today.
There have been initiatives over the years to reform curriculum but here implementation is a real problem. For example Dr. Alaa Maaki, an advocate for education reform in Iraq who has been both chair and vice-chair of the education committee in the Iraqi Parliament (he was a member of the Iraq Islamic Party and is now a close ally of Ayad Allawi's party, and was number 2 on the Wataniya list in recent elections) partnered with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to design a civic and human rights curriculum for public schools. They also trained teachers and administrators around Iraq. However the curriculum – which took over a year to design – has yet to be implemented in the Iraqi education system.
So it's not only agreeing on a curriculum, but also the actual implementation that is a serious issues facing education reform.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has in fact overhauled education. But the reports of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education do not reflect the reality of the situation. It is true that education reform takes time so we cannot expect things to be perfect now. Education was severely lacking in the Kurdistan Region in the 1980s and 90s, many Kurds did not attend school due to war and displacement. That said the way the Kurds are reforming the education should be improved and revised. A new European style curriculum is used, and thousands of teachers have been hired. But it is near to impossible to think that there has been time to properly train these teachers in progressive pedagogy and basics of instruction. The rule seems to be quantity over quality. For example, they have new English lesson books, like in Iraq proper, but very few teachers here are actually know English well enough to teach the subject. While many schools have been built and renovated, hundreds of others lie in a total state of disrepair.
5. What is the overall state of Iraq’s higher education? Are the universities any better than the primary and high schools and are there enough of them to meet Iraq’s needs?
I'd say the higher education is worse off than the secondary and primary schools due to a the exodus of professors over the decades, and lack of research. Evidence for this is also that the Iraqi scholarship programs sending students to the U.S. are only for graduate school, and with the explicit purpose of filling the gap in university professors.
University students prepare for exams by memorizing their professors’ handouts or texts, copying them over time after time and repeating them over and over in their heads. I have rarely, if ever, heard of students writing research papers even at the university level.
Another issue now is corruption in the system regarding awarding degrees. Ministry of Higher Education officials and students report that degrees - BA, MA and PhD - can be bought or awarded through fear and intimidation. These degrees are in high demand because Iraqi law requires that ministers and high-level officials hold them, and the men and women seeking these positions do not have. The government has also created a remedial test for those who did not graduate high-school, or do not pass their exams to take, essentially further dumbing down the system. There is widespread cheating at all levels of education, which is seen as "helping friends."
6. You’ve written that Iraq’s universities represent both Iraq’s divisions and a hope for a better future. At the American University of Iraq, Sulaymaniya (AUIS) what kinds of splits did you see within the student body?
The ethno-sectarian divisions that exist in Iraq exist at AUIS. In general Kurds hang out with Kurds and Arabs with Arabs. Sunni students hang out in the same groups, as do Shi'i.
Among Arabs and Kurds there is a "we don't like because they don't like us" attitude. Students from Baghdad and other areas in Iraq proper say that the Kurds do not welcome them, exclude them and don't want them there. To an extent they are right - some, though not all, Kurds still associate Arabs with Saddam and the Baath Party and would rather if Arabs were not living the Kurdistan Region or at the very least do not want to befriend them. Kurds, on the other hand, say the Arab students think they are better than them, and look down on Kurdish students. What is at the root of this is hard to determine; it's like figuring out which came first, the chicken or the egg.
The Iraqi Arab students are also mostly divided between Sunni and Shi'i. Not only have they grown up in an Iraq of heightened sectarian identity, but most of them hail from elite families. The division between them reflects the animosity and divides between Iraq's political parties, not really pure sectarianism.
This plays out in ways on campus - on the anniversary of the day Baghdad fell, for example, Sunni students dressed in black and Shi'i students from Najaf handed out candy. Kurdish students were also upset because they claimed the black outfits were for mourning Saddam's fall, and therefore showing respect for the past dictator. There were words exchanged in person and on Facebook, but no fighting. The various reactions to this day show the competing narratives of Baath Party rule and Iraq since its fall. Students must have an opportunity to study and discuss the past, including the years since to invasion, to try to reconcile some of the massive divide and differences of their experiences.
Some of these divisions are understandable considering the violent history Kurds under the Saddam regime, and the past ten years of conflict between sectarian groups in Iraq. And one can argue that with time things will improve - but it's not just time but also education and stable spaces and shared experiences.
There are also practical divisions like language. After 1991, Arabic instruction stopped in the Kurdistan Region, and Kurdish is not taught in Iraqi schools. Even though at AUIS both Kurds and Arabs speak English, they prefer to speak in their own language outside of class. Some Kurds still associate Arabic with the Saddam regime, though most young people are starting to see it as a tool for advancement as many companies require some Arabic language skills. Similarly, many students from Baghdad learn Kurdish, to get by in town, to show respect for the local culture and because many international oil companies in the KRG require Kurdish.
Then there divides that you might find everywhere in the world: rural vs. urban (grew up in a village vs. in Sulaimani), liberal vs. conservative, and wealthy vs. poor. I always called the students from Ranya a “posse” because they were rarely apart, and there are Sulaimani cliques.
7. On the positive side in what ways do you think a rigorous and challenging college education can transform Iraqi society?
Education is key to rebuilding Iraqi society in many different ways.
First, in terms of reconciliation, at AUIS there are many exceptions to the ethno-sectarian divides mentioned in the last question. This is because the University provides a stable environment where students share a language (English) and engage not only in academics but also extracurricular activities.
In Middle East History classes, for example looking at the shared suffering and struggle against Saddam’s regime can bridge gaps between Iraqi Kurdish and Arab students. In Debate Society, students learn to use evidence and form convincing arguments and refutations. The pain and suffering of the engineering major has bridged ethnic divides, “we don’t care about that stuff anymore...we are too busy” said one Kurdish student who “didn’t want to be friends with Arabs” only a couple of years ago.
While in the dorms students usually share rooms with people from their hometown or ethno-sectarian group, there are exceptions. A Kurdish, Turkmen girl from Erbil lives with her best friend, an Arab from Baghdad. A Yezidi student from Sinjar has become good friends with his roommates from Diyala and Anbar. A student from Bashiqa, near Mosul, also Yezidi, went to visit his close friend in Najaf who hails from one of the most prominent religious families there a couple years back. Students from Baghdad go on weekend trips with the friends and classmates in Ranya, and vice versa. There are also several students from Baghdad whose friends cross all the divides – Sunni, Shi’i and Kurdish. Students with Sunni and Shi'i parents, and Kurds who grew up in Baghdad also hang out in mixed groups. One student from Ranya who considers Arabs the same as Kurds, and calls them his brothers, and wrote a letter of tolerance and compassion during one period of ethnic tension at the school when it was proposed to remove the "S" – for Sulaimani, the Kurdish city where the University is located – from the name, leaving on “Iraq.” The women’s basketball and soccer teams have players from all over the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and Kurds, Arabs (Sunni and Shi’i) and Christians form friendships through their experiences as teammates.
While not all become close friends, important is that they can study and work together after a couple years, and that most at the very least move beyond past suspicions, mistrust, and hatred.
There are also lessons to be learned beyond ethno-sectarian reconciliation. We all hear people talking about the importance of justice, institutions and power sharing to rebuild Iraq. But I’d say you need people, educated Iraqis, to implement and build these programs and institutions.
For example, in the post invasion years, many say that a main problem is that political personalities and parties are unable to power share (though this has really been a problem of Iraqi politics for decades). Parties in power and the opposition won’t compromise – it is all or nothing, right or wrong – nor do they negotiate, look for moderate reforms.
While some of this discord has to do with the personal political history of these particular players, some might at the very least be prevented in future generations by teaching history and politics as well as the academic skills mentioned above which enable them to negotiate, compromise and debate. In conversations I’ve had with students at AUIS, all will mention that AUIS not only taught them things about history and politics they did not know, but also how to think, analyze and consider different perspectives.
One example regarding current perception of Saddam and dictatorship I think shows why history and political science courses and academic skill-building are so important: It is all too common to hear – especially from those who have grown up in extremely violent, sectarian areas – express support or nostalgia for Saddam Hussein era or the security of pre-2003 Iraq. They see dictatorship as stable and secure, and democracy as ineffective, unstable and violent. So they think the chaos they see today is democracy. A lack of knowledge about the realities of the Saddam regime and a lack of courses in government and political science deny them the ability to fully understand and evaluate different types of government and political transitions. While there was no Al Qaeda under Saddam, one could argue that he terrorized his own people, and that no one was really "safe" under his regime, loyal family and friends were also executed. The more years that pass, the fewer young people will have memory of his rule.
8. Can foreign exchange programs for Iraqi college students help with the process of reform and do many such opportunities exist today?
Graduates of exchange programs also can make important contributions to education and political, societal reform in Iraq. While there are several Iraqi and U.S. government exchange program, we need to be more to make a real impact.
The Iraqi government and the KRG have three scholarship programs that send students to the U.S. for graduate school, with the goal of filling the major gap among university professors: one from each Ministry of Higher Education (Erbil and Baghdad) and then the third run out of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s office, the “Higher Committee for Educational Development” or HCED, also known as “Maliki’s scholarship.” However it was founded and is actually run by Iraqi-American academic Zuhair al Jezairy. There are no programs currently for undergraduates.
The HCED is by far the most legitimate and successful of all three, because of its merit based application system and strong academic and English preparation program. The ministry programs, on the other hand, are in need of serious reform and oversight as they are unfortunately plagued with corruption, selecting students based on wasta rather than on merit, which means that many students who are sent abroad do not succeed in their studies.
There have not been enough graduates of these MA and PhD programs in the US to yet evaluate their impact – but these students will, like AUIS grads, be exceptions to the rule in their universities and might not be enough to change the tides of the Iraqi education system.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad offers advice studying in the States through its global Education USA program, and holds annual graduate school fairs around Iraq. There are also several scholarship and exchange programs run by the State Department: Fulbright (which is for both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as teachers and professors) and then three summer exchanges, the Iraq Youth Leadership Program (IYLEP), Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and the Study of U.S. Institutes (SUSI). From student feedback, MEPI is by far the superior, substantive program with students taking classes at Georgetown University and visiting Capitol Hill. There are several other State Department funded programs run by groups like IREX, such as the Iraqi University linkages program that trains administrators and builds much needed career services centers.
These exchanges produce visible changes in students’ outlook and also provide them opportunities to advance. For example, when they return, while they could be stronger, some alumni networks promote academic and professional exchange – two graduates last year organized a debate about ‘Is oil a blessing or a curse’ between their two universities. One of those same graduates has used his connections from AUIS and MEPI to plan a business that plans and implements corporate social responsibility projects for oil companies operating in the country. In addition, among the community youth groups that have popped up in Baghdad over the past few years – encouraging people to read or pick up trash – are graduates of such exchanges.
Van Den Toorn, Christine, “Reconciliation through Education in Iraq,” The New Middle East, 5/23/14 | <urn:uuid:6a5fc2b3-a22d-46a8-97f0-5dc19736ef5d> | {
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The first two decades after World War I, known as the Golden Age of Flight, saw the appearance of some of the most beautiful and most efficient aircraft in history. All over the world, regardless of their country's size or its relative wealth, aircraft designers were busy producing the very best aircraft they could conceive.
The Golden Age of Flight was a time when much could be done with relatively small resources, as when the Granville brothers designed an aircraft in an abandoned dance hall, and witnessed it suddenly become a world-beater.
Follow these links to classic airplanes of the Golden Age:
Find out how this classic airplane, considered the Rodney Dangerfield of fighter planes, surprised the German Luftwaffes and the rest of the world during World War II.
The American Martin B-10 bomber plane is held as the most important and beautiful contributions to the Golden Age of Flight. Learn why in this article.
Henry Ford, a name commonly associated with classic cars, turned his talents toward classic airplanes in 1924. Read all about the Ford "Tin Goose" Tri-Motor.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis successfully flew the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic. Learn about the legend here.
"Aviatrix" Amelia Earhart shared many firsts with the Lockheed Vega, including the first successful flight from Hawaii to California. Find out why she chose this classic airplane for her flying adventures.
An effective light bomber, a trainer and a seaplane, the Hawker Hart was a classic airplane with many accomplishments. Explore the many sides of the Hawker Hart.
With its economical price, the Piper J-3 Cub helped democratize civil aviation. Read about the classic airplane that earned its place as "an American classic in peace and war."
See specifications for the Beech Model 17, a classic airplane launched at the very depth of the Depression and which got its nickname from the reverse stagger of its wings.
The Gee Bee was built for the 1932 air-racing season and, flown by pilot Jimmy Doolittle, quickly became America's sweetheart. Get a closer look into the adventures of this classic airplane.
With the ability to make saltwater landings in exotic places, the "flying boat" took passengers throughout the Pacific for attractive scenery. Discover the glamor of this classic airplane.
By the time World War II began, the progress of aviation had taken many great leaps forward. Move on to the next page for links to classic World War II fighter airplanes. | <urn:uuid:61e6e50a-017a-42ef-8dea-275b893bc874> | {
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COARC has a long tradition of research on mint. The major areas of focus has been on control of Verticillium Wilt, insect pests and weed control. Research has also been conducted on irrigation management and plant nutrition.
Oregon leads the United States in production of peppermint growing nearly 35% of the nation’s total. The total production of peppermint has remained stable over the past few decades but where it is grown has shifted from the Willamette Valley to locations in central and eastern Oregon. Peppermint is either planted in the late fall or in the spring, using specialty built mechanical planters and stolons (rootstock) produced by existing plants. Mint is harvested from late June to mid-August. Once the mint is ready to harvest, it is cut and windrowed. Once it is dried out, it is chopped and blown into a tub and taken to the distiller. At the distillery the oil is extracted from the leaves by steam distillation. Mint fields are generally left in for 3-5 years and replaced with another rotational crop. Over 1000 acres of peppermint were planted and harvested in Central Oregon during 2012, yielding 80 pounds an acre and grossing $1,849,200.
Weed Management in Mint, EM 8774 Request a free copy by contacting COARC | <urn:uuid:b16cc4f5-e081-4905-8ef0-b5e6758f5b4a> | {
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When asthma makes it hard to breathe, the impact on your ability to participate in your regular activities is enormous. Life can still go about as normally as it ever would, even with something as serious as asthma holding you back. Continue reading to learn from the advice within this article, giving you a chance to live with asthma and don’t let it control you.
Keep track of how often allergies trigger asthma attacks. If you experience two or more asthma attacks a week after taking allergy medicine, switch to a different allergy medication. Doctors agree that having more than two attacks a week can be dangerous.
Keep your home clean and well swept. You should wash sheets, pillows, and blankets very frequently. By doing this, you get rid of dust and dust mites. Both of these things can trigger an asthma attack. When dust builds, the air becomes much more irritating to those with asthma and can raise the chances of an attack.
Asthma sufferers will need to gradually adjust to physical exercise, warming up adequately prior and cooling down as fast as possible afterwards. Doing both will help you avoid experiencing asthma symptoms while exercising or after exercising.
Avoid aggravating your asthma condition while sleeping by covering your mattress and pillows with plastic before putting clean linens on. You could reduce the potential impact of these asthma inducers by cleaning your sheets regularly. Fresh bed linens, washed regularly, will ensure that you can breathe a little easier while you sleep.
If you have asthma, it might be helpful for you to buy a dehumidifier. When you use a dehumidifier, it will reduce the amount of dust mites. This will reduce asthma attacks. Dehumidifiers eliminate your home’s humidity, leaving dry air.
It is important to visit with your doctor often, every two months or so, in order to stay on top of your asthma. Your physician needs to evaluate how you are right now, and decide if any changes need to be made. The responsibility of scheduling these appointments falls on you. Make sure you attend each and every one so that your doctor can stay updated on how your treatment plan is working in order to help you remain healthy.
If you tend to suffer from any allergies or asthmatic conditions, always clean vaporizers very thoroughly, as well humidifiers and any associated apparatus. Permitting bacteria to grow inside the appliance will result in irritants being dispersed into the air you breathe.
You should avoid smoking at all costs and being exposed to vapors and perfumes if you suffer from asthma. Stay away from jobs that would expose you to toxic or heavy vapors, and refrain from any tobacco use.
For those who have asthma, the safest choice is to stick with unscented products. Scented products, like air fresheners, incense and perfume, raise indoor pollution levels and can trigger asthma attacks. Newly installed carpet or fresh paint in the home are both known to release chemical irritants. Keep your indoor air clean and free of pollutants to stay healthy.
Unfortunately, asthma sufferers must realize that their condition is chronic which requires ongoing treatment. It is crucial that you have the proper medications for controlling asthma, as well as medication, such as a rescue inhaler to treat sudden attacks. A variety of options are available for the treatment of asthmatic attacks. Consult your doctor and an allergist.
Asthma usually takes an extended interval of time to fully develop, and the warning signs are rarely obvious. There are actually many people that have passed away from an asthma attack without ever knowing they were even at risk. Given that fact, if you have any kind of consistent cough or respiratory ailments, consulting a physician for testing is a good idea, since you want to know if you are suffering from asthma and if so, what to do about it.
While asthma is condition that lasts a lifetime, it can be made easier to manage by following the advice from your doctor and articles such as this one. New medications and treatments are always under development, and hopefully a cure for asthma is not far off. | <urn:uuid:d497307e-a0e4-4790-a67f-339a52ff2a89> | {
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March 2nd : birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev, Jon Bon Jovi, Dr. Seuss, and the author of this blog. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in one game on March 2nd, 1962. President of the Republic of Texas, Governor of Texas, and later U.S. Senator Sam Houston was born on that day, too. That last one is fitting, because March 2nd is also Texas Independence Day, celebrated statewide since 1836. With that in mind, we’re once again sharing the best of our newspapers dating from that era!
Here’s page 3 of March 24, 1836’s Staunton Spectator, sharing all the news out of Virginia. They knew all about the Mexican army headed by former President of Mexico General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. But news traveled slowly back then: by the time this issue was published the Battle of the Alamo had occurred nearly three weeks earlier.
Two weeks later in the Albany Journal of Albany, New York, related the tale of the Battle of the Alamo. 150 men killed, their bodies thrown into a heap! Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie: dead! Commander William Travis committing suicide rather than surrender! Every Texian inflamed with a passion to fight until “every Mexican east of the Rio del Norte should be exterminated!” (Texian, by the way, was the name for residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas.)
Here’s May 12th’s Staunton Spectator, reminding its readers that the Texas Revolution was doomed. As we’ve seen two times already, 19th-century newspaper information had a habit of being out of date. Sam Houston’s army had defeated a portion of general Santa Anna’s forces at San Jacinto, Texas back on April 21st, forcing the end of the conflict. The most entertaining part of this article, however, is the lionizing of Davy Crockett. Check it out: “Crockett was found (within the Alamo)…on his back, a frown on his brow, a smile of scorn on his lips–his knife in his hand, a dead Mexican lying across his body, and twenty-two more lying pell-mell before him….” Wow.
Word finally caught up with the east coast by the end of May 1836, as we can see here in Exeter, New Hampshire’s Exeter News-Letter. We have the Battle of San Jacinto, the routing of Mexican forces, and the capture of Santa Anna, which came along with its own dubious tale. After over 600 Mexican troops laid down their arms, mounted riflemen began chasing a few attempted escapees. Only one continued to elude them, a chase that lasted 15 miles and ended when one pursuer guessed that “like a hard pressed bear, (Santa Anna might) have taken a tree. The tree tops were then examined when lo, the game was discovered snugly ensconced in the forks of a large live oak.” The captors allegedly didn’t even know who they’d nabbed until the Mexican troops began hailing their commander as his captors walked him through the camp.
We’re ending this with a more sedate piece, free of the melodrama of Davy Crockett, generals in trees, and Texans hell-bent on exterminating every last one of their enemies. The Bennington Vermont Gazette instead describes events as they transpired from San Jacinto onward, culled from other news sources such as the New York Courier & Enquirer. Nope, no melodrama at all…oh, wait: “The poor devils…would hold up their hands, cross themselves, and sing out ‘me no alamo,’ but nothing could save them; the blood of our countrymen was too was too fresh in the memory of our people our people to let one Mexican escape, until worn down with pursuit and slaughter, they commenced making prisoners.” Perhaps the real magic of these papers was not so much facts about the Texas Revolution as it was the histrionics of 19th-century newspapers!
We have a vast newspaper collection here at the Southwest Collection, some of which can be found in digital form. We also have manuscript materials about the Texas Revolution and its participants, most notably the Temple Houston Morrow Papers , a series of letters and documents collected by Sam Houston’s grandson, many of which were items composed by Houston himself. And, as always, our Reference Staff would be happy to help you peruse these or any of our other fine collections. | <urn:uuid:f542768c-8089-42d9-9450-7e90bd941f89> | {
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In this section we will download and install the software that emulates a disk drive to the knitting machine. You can run this software on any kind of computer, mac/win/linux
Now that you have the cable running, its time to download the software. Visit the Adafruit github repository and click on Download to download the source code.
This code is based on Steve Conklin's knitting machine code which is totally awesome but doesn't support pattern insertion. Still, check out his site for a lot of detailed information.
Download the file and unzip it into a directory that is easy for you to get to. For windows, we're going to stick the folder in My Documents in a folder called brother but if you are comfortable with command lines put it where-ever you'd like!
You will need Python installed to run the code. To see if you have Python installed, open up a command line and type in python. If you're running Windows you probably don't have it, so download it from the official Python site. You'll also need PySerial (serial interface for python) from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pyserial/
Open up a command line (windows) or Terminal (mac) or xterm (linux) and cd to the brother directory and then type in ls (or dir if ls doesnt work) to list all the files
Now we need to figure out what the name of the FTDI cable is. This process differs a little for Mac, Linux and Windows people.
Under Mac, in the Terminal window, type in ls /dev/cu.* which should give the following responses or so
The name we are looking for is /dev/cu.usbserial-XXXX where the X's are going to be unique for each cable. Copy and paste the name into a text file so you'll remember it for later.
For Linux/Unix type ls /dev/ttyUSB* into a terminal window, you should see a device file called something like ttyUSB0
If you are using Windows, go to the Device Manager (From the Start Menu, select Settings→Control Panel. Double click on System and select the Hardware tab. Then click on the Device Manager button) | <urn:uuid:d6a9ca6e-b9b8-4e05-945e-c72b5b6c3445> | {
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This report presents the findings of a review of one-person and driverless train operations. The objective of the project was to identify and characterize one-person and driverless train operations.
For the purposes of this study, a one-person train operation is defined as a train operated by one driver only and, when there is other crew on board the train, that crew has no normal role in running of the train.
One-person train operations have not gained large-scale acceptance by North American railways. The greater part of this study therefore relates to railways outside of Canada. Railway officials around the world were approached by telephone in order to gather information on their operations.
While all the railways contacted operate one-person trains (i.e., with only one driver in the locomotive), none of them operates driverless trains over the road.
Most railways do not impose any restriction on the use of one-person operations. British railways do not permit one-person operations for transport of toxic and flammable substances, for particular types of freight equipment, and where certain track and communication requirements are not met. Tranzrail of New Zealand does not permit one-person operations in areas where full and continuous radio communication is not available.
CLASS AND TYPE OF OPERATIONS
Both passenger and freight trains are operated with only one person in the locomotive. Freight trains have no other crew on board. Most passenger trains, however, have other crew on board for passenger service and security with the exception of suburban, local, and regional trains, where suitable equipment can be deployed to permit the driver to operate and supervise the doors.
All types of freight trains are run as one-person operations. These trains include mixed freight, industrial freight, intermodal freight, block trains, and heavy haul trains. Passenger one-person trains include suburban trains, local trains, regional trains, intercity trains, and long-distance trains.
Some railways such as the Danish and Swedish railways use sophisticated ATC technologies to enforce signal and speed regulations.
British railways use an audio-visual driver safety device called an AWS (Advance Warning System) which warns the driver of signal aspects. A driver's failure to acknowledge the restrictive signal warnings results in automatic braking of the train. Tranzrail uses only a vigilance device which sounds an alarm and stops the train if the driver fails to respond to its demands.
Most railways provide a radio communication system to permit continuous and direct speech communication between the driver and the controller. British railways permit use of a telephone connecting with the controlling signal box every 3.2 km along the line in lieu of radio communication.
The driver has the primary responsibility for safe operation of the train. They are required to attend to problems arising with the trains en route, deal with emergencies, and call for assistance where necessary. Generally, the drivers follow specified rules when leaving the cab and while outside.
The drivers work in shifts ranging from 7 to 10 hours, for a total of 35 to 50 hours per week. Some railways allow longer shifts. The drivers are allowed a minimum of 10- to 12-hour breaks between shifts. The German Railway requires a break of at least 5 hours between shifts at an out-of-tour location. Most railways allow a minimum of a 30-minute break after a maximum of a 5-hour run. The break is taken at the driver's discretion.
Most railways are concerned about the driver fatigue problem and relieve drivers when they are tired or sick. Tranzrail is presently developing a crew alertness education program which will educate drivers on how the body functions and on how to organize work, sleep, etc.
All new drivers undergo a year to eighteen month training period. Following the initial training and certification, driver competence is assessed periodically and action is taken to correct any deficiencies.
When one-person operation was introduced, Tranzrail ran special two-day training courses on new operating rules and a radio communication system.
The drivers are trained in procedures to protect the train and can request emergency assistance when necessary. On the other hand, if the train is delayed or stopped en route without apparent reason, and the driver cannot be contacted within a given time, an emergency is assumed by the controller and appropriate procedures are initiated.
GENERAL EXPERIENCE WITH ONE-PERSON OPERATIONS
All the railways found the one-person safety record to be excellent and do not believe that two persons in the cab improves safety. The drivers were initially opposed to the concept but the system now has gained wide acceptance.
This research report is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). File size is 3,998 Kb.
This report reflects the view of the authors and not necessarily those of the Transportation Development Centre. | <urn:uuid:5c747aee-6d2e-4429-aa61-29fe1dfe02a3> | {
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Fertilization procees in rice plants
can be divided into five steps, which are illustrated below.
For more detail of Flowering
or Flower Developmemt >>>
of Carpel, where Fertilization occurs
Pollination takes place immediately
before the anthesis. Anthers
elevate by elongating the stamen filaments, and
untimately they go out the spikelet during anthesis.
When anthers touch stigma, some
pollen are left on the stigma.
The stigma can receive pollen also
during the flowering, when the spikelet opens.
Within 2 to 3 minutes, the pollen left
on stigma starts to germinate, to grow pollen tube toward the egg cell.
Pollen tubes are the pathways for sperm
to reach the egg.
Penetration of PollenTube into the Ovule
The pollen tube reaches the ovule.
It happens within 15-60 minuts after
the pollen tube starts growing.
The rice plant carries out double fertilization
as many other higher plants do.
Step 1: Fertilization
of the Egg
Step 2: Fertilization
of the Polar Nuclei in the Embryo Sac
Division of the Fertilized Egg (Zygote)
Fertilization is completed.
Introduction | Flowers&Fruit
| Roots | Stems
In the following morning, the fertilized
egg begins cell division to develop into an embryo.
An embryo is a baby of the plant, which
is kept dormant in the seed until
the right condition for germination comes.
© Thomas L. Rost 1997
Section of Plant Biology
Division of Biological Sciences
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Eolianite or aeolianite is any rock formed by the lithification of sediment deposited by aeolian processes; that is, the wind. In common use, however, the term refers specifically to the most common form of eolianite: coastal limestone consisting of carbonate sediment of shallow marine biogenic origin, formed into coastal dunes by the wind, and subsequently lithified. It is also known as kurkar in the Middle East, miliolite in India and Arabia, and grès dunaire in the eastern Mediterranean. eolianite has a hardness of 4.3 and is very dull. Streak is light brown.
Sayles coined the term in 1931, when he described the dune-shaped hills of Bermuda, consisting of bioclastic grainstones. Thus, Bermuda is considered the type locality for carbonate eolianite facies, with clearly defined cross-bedding, foresets, and topsets. Deposition is controlled by glacio-eustatic changes, with eolianites forming during interglaciations. Eolianites occur along the margins of the global carbonate belt, on the carbonate islands along northeastern Yucatan, and Rottnest Island.
Eolianite occurs in many parts of the world. It occurs most extensively between the latitudes of 20° and 40° in both hemispheres, with little nearer the equator, and virtually no deposits nearer the poles. There is no apparent difference in distribution between the hemispheres, but if the extent and thickness of deposits are taken into account, the Southern Hemisphere has the bulk of eolianite.
Conditions favourable for formation of eolianite are:
- a warm climate, favourable to the production of carbonate by shallow marine animals; for example, the production of seashells by marine molluscs;
- onshore winds to form beached sediment into dunes;
- a relatively low onshore topography, rather than onshore cliffs, to allow the formation of dune systems;
- relatively low onshore rainfall, to promote rapid lithification;
- tectonic stability;
The most extensive deposits of eolianite in the world are located on the southern and western coasts of Australia. On the west coast, there are over 800 kilometres (500 mi) of eolianite cliffs, which are over 150 metres thick in some places. These cliffs, locally known as the Tamala Limestone Formation, contain layers of dune origin interspersed with layers of shallow-marine origin. Other substantial deposits occur in Bermuda, the Bahamas, the southern and eastern coasts of South Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and oceanic islands of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
- Vacher, H.L.; Rowe, Mark (1997). Vacher, H.L.; Quinn, T. (eds.). Geology and Hydrogeology of Bermuda, in Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands, Developments in Sedimentology 54. Amsterdam: elsevier Science B.V. pp. 42. ISBN 9780444516442. | <urn:uuid:9a89f3a1-2d63-40c5-9d55-8cd1b2df5447> | {
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Sure, you know that all your children act differently. But have you ever considered that the reason for their difference is the order in which they were born?
In the early 20th century, psychiatrist Alfred Adler proposed that children’s personalities are directly influenced by birth order. Since then, research has been conducted that has both confirmed and denied the associated links of birth order and personality. And while birth order theory is replete with contradictions, exceptions, and generalizations, those familiar with its basic tenets can often find at least a little bit of truth in the birth order classifications.
- Natural leaders
- Perfectionist tendencies
- Achievement oriented
- Don’t like surprises
- Can be aggressive
- Can be compliant people pleasers
- Model children
- Seek approval from authority figures
- A study in contrasts
- Opposite of their older sibling
- Value relationships
- Friends are a top priority
- Love a good time
- Can be irresponsible, especially with money
The traits listed above are general guidelines, as exceptions abound. Everything from adoption, divorce, blended families, alcoholism, disabilities, and sibling death can upset the traditional roles in birth order. The gender of children, such as all girls, or an older sister/little brother situation, can impact birth order, as well as age differences between the children.
Interested in learning more, including how birth order affects parenting? Check out psychologist Kevin Leman’s The Birth Order Book. | <urn:uuid:066c3116-42eb-43d3-8878-68194837250c> | {
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An important part of keeping girls in a programme and making sure the atmosphere is comfortable and open to all is good group cohesion, or positive group dynamics. A group atmosphere in which girls feel comfortable to be themselves, speak what they think and discuss all topics is ideal for any sport programme, however, this is not always as easy as it sounds. Often times, girls bullying other girls and feelings of superiority can be large problems, especially if you have groups that mix social class, nationality, ethnic backgrounds or even just neighbourhoods and schools. If there is no group cohesion, or some girls feel threatened by others in the programme, they will not speak up or fully engage in sessions and could eventually decide not to come back, preferring to avoid the group and forget sport.
Good group cohesion and the absence of bullying are important factors in keeping girls in a programme, and this responsibility usually falls on the coach or facilitator. Being able to identify situations in which bullying is happening or girls are making judgemental comments about others, and stopping those situations, is essential.
- Monitor girls who are more dominant in discussions and during sessions. If you see the dominance being displayed in abusive or negative ways rather than through positive and healthy ways, pull that girl aside and talk to her about her behaviour.
- Break up cliques when you see them forming, so that all girls partner or form groups with girls they do not know or are not necessarily close to during training. Play games in which those girls must rely on each other to win, forming a bond through competition.
- Help girls talk through conflict resolution. If you see conflict forming between two girls, try to approach the girls before the conflict has been blown out of proportion.
- Stop gossip and rumours from circulating. Have a discussion with the girls about the damages that gossip or rumours cause.
- Refrain from playing favourites. It is great to reward girls and encourage girls who are natural leaders and show great behaviour; however, constantly favouring some girls over others can cause jealousy and conflict in the group. Give each girl the opportunity to be rewarded and take on responsibilities.
Informal time before or after a sport training session can often be a critical period of time in which a coach can form strong bonds with his/her players and gain their trust outside of the coach/player relationship on the field. This unstructured time could be valuable for coaches to discuss life issues with players while juggling a ball, shooting hoops or just sitting on the grass and waiting for everyone to come. Interviews with coaches have shown that players feel more free to open up, ask for advice and discuss things bothering them in life the more time they spend with the coach before and after practice, outside of the structured curriculum or training session. This, in turn, gives the coach more opportunities to act as a mentor and give valuable advice and information to that child.
However, unstructured and informal time may not also be a good thing. Male coaches may use this time to flirt with participants similar in age to them. If no one is monitoring them, coaches can also take this time and use it in ways that could harm the girls, either through fostering inappropriate relationships or favouring some girls over others. As an organisation, it is important to think through creating this informal or unstructured time for your coaches and players to interact and ensure that the time is a positive thing for the players.
- Ensure that if there is unstructured time before or after practices, that male coaches are always accompanied by female coaches or some female adult. Do not let male coaches meet with female players before or after practice alone.
- As an organisation, pay coaches a little bit extra to come 30 minutes before practice and stay 30 minutes after, giving them the opportunity to interact with players who come early and those who leave late. | <urn:uuid:6dd1594c-fdfc-4f04-b23e-694e2287c91e> | {
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The Biggest Health Benefits of Leafy Greens
Moringa is quickly becoming known as one of the “leafy greens” with the most concentrated health benefits. Other examples of leafy greens include spinach, broccoli, collard greens, kale and more. Many of these foods are considered “superfoods,” and when you consider the numerous health benefits they have to offer, it’s easy to see why.
Here are some of the biggest health benefits of those vegetables classified as “leafy greens:”
1) They help you to stay young.
Vitamin K plays two major roles in your body: it helps blood to clot in a healthy manner, and also prevents a variety of age-related conditions like cardiovascular disease, arterial and kidney calcification and bone fragility. One cup of most leafy greens will give you your full daily requirement of Vitamin K at least.
2) They keep your cholesterol low.
The fibers found in many leafy greens binds with bile acids in your body, which results in the liver needing to use more cholesterol to continue regenerating that acid. This means that you have lower levels of cholesterol in your body.
3) They preserve your vision.
Moringa and many other types of leafy greens are outstanding sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, which helps to filter the types of high-energy light most likely to cause damage to your eyes. This also helps to decrease your risk of getting cataracts, and increases the distance that you can see clearly.
4) They give your body the energy you need to get through the day.
Leafy greens are excellent sources of B vitamins, which convert the carbohydrates in food into glucose that your body uses as fuel. Because B vitamins are water soluble and won’t get stored in your body, you need to get enough of them every day. Eating these leafy greens is a much more efficient way to get those important B vitamins into your system.
5) They increase the health of your bones.
Many leafy greens have a slightly bitter taste, which indicates their high levels of calcium. Calcium is a necessary nutrient to help strengthen your bones and prevent conditions like osteoporosis.
Moringa is truly becoming one of the most important leafy greens on the market, and is only going to increase in popularity in the coming years as it becomes more available in the American market. Get ahead of the curve now with our Dead Sea Moringa supplements, which will give you the amazing levels of nutrients you need to live a healthy lifestyle! | <urn:uuid:14868780-d0dd-4f04-b8aa-df3b1aeabe9a> | {
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By JESSICA WELSHANS
Mention the word "rat" and what comes to mind are thoughts of vermin scurrying around dumpsters and sewers.
But there is an animal that happens to be a rat that is native to the forested areas of Pennsylvania and prefers that wilderness over cityscapes.
The Allegheny woodrat lives in the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia and as far west as Indiana. It has a long, fur-covered tail, unlike its counterpart, the Norway rat, which has a scaly tail that is free of fur.
The hair on the tail of the woodrat is dark on top and white underneath. The animals grow to 14 to 17 inches long.
The forest dwellers have long whiskers that sweep the face and, along with the furry tail, are a good, tell-tale way to identify the woodrat, experts say.
"It's kind of like a squirrel (but) instead, it likes rocks and large tracts of forest, well away from human activity and in remote areas," said Cal Butchkoski, a wildlife biologist with the diversity section of non-game mammals within the state Game Commission.
According to the Pennsylvania National Heritage Program, the Allegheny woodrats' population in Pennsylvania were healthy during the 1940s and 1950s.
Studies conducted in the late 1970s for bats found an absence of woodrats inside caves. A noted decline began, and the animal now is listed as a threatened species in Pennsylvania.
A threatened species means they are vulnerable to endangerment.
Today, their range is very restricted.
"They are really neat animals and most (people) do not know we have them," Butchkoski said.
A population recently was found in the Pine Creek Valley.
"We have them in Pine Creek again and there is some management going on there through environmental consulting," Butchkoski said.
He said a slow decline has continued over the years and, according to studies, the woodrat is losing range. They do not seem to be expanding in the state.
Home sweet rock
The woodrat's habitat preference are rocky outcrops and, sometimes, limestone caves.
When research crews look for the animals, Butchkoski said, what they look for may not be the normal identifier they use to find other species.
"We look for rock crevices and we look for toilet areas - nice, neat toilet areas that are usually under a rock overhang," he said.
Finding these toilet areas with excrement, which is shaped similar to pellets from mice, is important when it comes to making a decision about whether woodrats live there.
"You have to see it before you can say it's a woodrat," he said of the excrement. Piles of waste can be 6 inches to a foot in diameter.
Mostly, Butchkoski said, woodrats will pick the southside-facing slope for toilet areas and denning. They like the sun but can be found on the north side, too.
"Southwestern isn't all that bad, either. River gorges ... they meander around in those, too," Butchkoski said.
Porcupines also call rocky outcrops home. They like the rocks and hillsides as denning sites.
The perfect site for a woodrat would include these features, Butchkoski said, as well as a location in a very remote area.
Finding the food
"Historically their range followed that of the American chestnut," Butchkoski said. It once was considered a major food source for the woodrat.
In the 1900s, the American chestnut was virtually wiped out of existence by a blight.
Now, woodrats eat grasses, wildflowers, seeds, fruits, berries and acorns.
They forage at night and can travel several hundred yards around their den site to find sustenance.
The animals cache their food, usually in early winter.
"They are cutting grains and collecting wildflowers and sometimes they will put them under the protection of a overhang to allow them to dry," Butchkoski said.
While foraging, the woodrats can become food themselves for bobcats, gray foxes and black snakes.
'Oh, look ... shiny'
The term "packrat" can be used to describe a behavior of the Allegheny woodrat
"Packrat of the east" is how Butchkoski describes them.
"They will pick up just about anything," he said
Those "anythings" are used to decorate their nests.
"I saw one nest off the West Branch of the Susquehanna (River) that had a bunch of paper, aluminum foil and turkey vulture feathers in it ... and a bobcat skull in there," Butchkoski said.
He thinks the woodrats probably used the fur to line its nest and carried the skull in there to do so.
"We found a credit card in one. I think he (a hunter, likely) lost his whole billfold. It was the credit card, business cards ... I couldn't find the rest of the billfold," Butchkoski said.
"The woodrats probably stashed the cash in (there), way back," Butchkoski joked.
Why the disappearing act
Aside from losing the American chestnut as a main food source, forest fragmentation is a big problem for the woodrat.
Forest fragmentation is when an area is cut or changed from a running tract of forest into smaller spaces, breaking up the tract.
"There is no way for animals to move and preoccupy the other spaces," when fragmentation happens, Butchkoski said.
"As the forest gets broken up, more animals start using these rocks (where woodrats already may be located). Moles, raccoons and weasels can carry diseases and predate on woodrats," he said.
The raccoons that may share the area can carry roundworm, which can kill woodrats.
Butchkoski said the Appalachian Mountains are the spine of the woodrat's range. As it becomes broken up, it causes the flow of genetics in the woodrat to be broken up, too.
"Up in your area, the East Branch of the Susquehanna is broken up through the Allegheny Ridge. That is probably a connection for the West Branch of the Susquehanna population," Butchkoski said.
Weakened numbers also can come from inbreeding.
"There is an inbreeding problem with isolated populations," Butchkoski said.
In addition, they are prone to high mortality rates.
Woodrats have about four to five pups per year in captivity, but Butchkoski said no one really knows the actual number of pups born in the wild because most do not make it above ground.
"So the question is, are they having three litters a year, two to three times a year," Butchkoski said.
And, he added, they question if the pups are making it to the next year.
The maximum life expectancy of a woodrat is around four years.
Is that what I think it is?
People who think they might have a woodrat in their backyards or near their houses probably are mistaken, Butchkoski said.
"It's probably a Norway rat," he said.
Woodrats have a specialized habitat.
You're more likely to see a woodrat at a cabin in the woods, especially near rock outcroppings.
"They will take advantage of your hunting cabin and move in," he said.
In a book Butchkoski once read, the author wrote about growing up around woodrats in the hills of West Virginia.
He remembers one passage in which the woodrats were getting into the author's house and he saw one run off with one of his mom's pot lids.
"I think we would be missing something from the mountains of Pennsylvania if we lost the woodrat," Butchkoski said. | <urn:uuid:c7290773-3364-4a86-a59f-315591be27f2> | {
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Six Images You Need to See to Understand the Drought
The U.S. is experiencing its worst drought in more than 50 years, and one of the top 10 droughts on record. In terms of drought extent and intensity, it is the worst drought since at least 1956, and has been compared to the devastating droughts of the Dust Bowl era during the 1930s, although those droughts were more intense. As of July 31, 62.91 percent of the lower 48 states was in at least moderate drought, down slightly from 63.86 percent on July 24. The Agriculture Department has taken the unprecedented step of declaring more than 50 percent of all U.S. counties as natural disaster areas, making them eligible for federal assistance to help struggling farmers.
What's causing this drought, why did it develop so quickly, and how bad is it, really?
First, the causes. This drought developed due to a pronounced lack of rainfall, coupled with several unusual heat waves that struck during the spring and summer and helped to rapidly intensify the drought conditions. As you can see from this arresting image of the Morse Reservoir in Indiana, rainfall has not exactly kept pace with evaporation driven by the excessive heat. In fact, rainfall across the country has been well below average during the late spring and summer months in most of the lower 48 states. As Climate Central reported in July, the weather pattern that led to the drought may have had its roots in the tropical Pacific Ocean, related to a waning La Niña event.
This 16-second animation shows how quickly the drought intensified from late spring into summer, engulfing a large swath of the country.
The High Plains has been one of the driest areas of the country this year, with much below-average precipition and extreme heat, as can be seen in this colorful map from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. Unfortunately, the colors that farmers and ranchers want to see — greens and blues, indicating slightly above average precipitation — are almost nowhere to be found.
Although natural climate variability, such as a La Niña event that only recently dissipated, likely contributed to the drought, very warm temperatures have worsened the situation. This is the country's warmest year-to-date, with much of the nation broiling for most of the summer under the influence of a massive "Heat Dome" of High Pressure. The heat did not cause the drought, according to drought specialists, but it hasn't helped matters, since it accelerates the drying of soils and vegetation, thereby damaging crops.
In the exceedingly dry state of Oklahoma, Tulsa and Oklahoma City recorded back-to-back August days with a high temperature of 112°F. In Oklahoma City, this was the warmest it has been since the Dust Bowl, and just 1 degree shy of the city's all-time high temperature record. As you can see from this next map, the heat bullseye has been squarely focused on Oklahoma during late July into early August.
July was a particularly brutal month for farmers in the High Plains, as high temperatures were at or above 95°F nearly every day of the month. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such high temperatures can damage corn and soybean crops.
As you might expect, soil moisture is running very low across much of the U.S., thanks to the 1-2 punch of the lack of rainfall and the heat. The soil moisture image below comes from the NASA GRACE Satellites, which detect small changes in the Earth's gravity field caused by the redistribution of water both on and beneath the land surface.
You can catch up with all of Climate Central's drought coverage, and read my earlier installment of exploring the drought through geeky weather maps. Please comment and offer suggestions of questions you'd like to see us tackle as the drought stretches into early fall, as well. | <urn:uuid:40807cd8-0069-4618-9939-5a20d67f1016> | {
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They may not be something you think about very often, but your vehicle’s brakes are one feature that should always be in top working condition. There are two ways to check for brake wear on disc brakes: by looking and by listening.
First, check for wear by looking at your brake pads through the spaces between the wheel’s spokes. The outside pad will be pressed against a metal rotor. Generally, there should be at least 1/4 inch of pad. If you see less than 1/4 inch of pad, you may want to have your brake pads inspected or replaced. Have you ever heard a high-pitched screeching sound when you applied your brakes? That’s a small metal shim, called a wear indicator, which is giving you an audible warning that you need to replace your brake pads
You should be aware of this sound (which is loud enough to be heard while the windows are up, but not necessarily loud enough to be heard over the radio or air conditioner). If you hear it regularly, quickly make an appointment with your mechanic. Here are some other signs of brake problems. If you experience any of these, you should visit your repair shop as soon as possible:
- Reduced responsiveness or fading. If your brakes are not as responsive as they should be or if the pedal “sinks” toward the floor, this could be an indication of a hydraulic problem in the braking system.
- Pulling. If your vehicle “pulls” to one side while braking, this could indicate a binding or failed caliper or hydraulic problem.
- Grinding or growling. This loud metallic sound usually means that you have worn down the pads completely. The grinding or growling noise is caused by the brake pad assembly’s metal backing making contact with the brake rotor. If this happens, do not be surprised if your mechanic tells you that the rotors need to be resurfaced or even replaced.
- Vibration. A vibration or pulsating brake pedal is often a symptom of warped rotors. Warped rotors are caused by severe braking for long periods, such as when driving down a steep mountain or when towing. Tremendous amounts of friction are created under these conditions, heating up the rotors and causing them to warp. The vibration is felt because the brake pads are not able to grab the surface evenly. This is a very common condition in the foothills.
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Background information provides an introduction to a subject by listing key ideas, important dates, or concepts of that subject. Often, it identifies what prior research has been done and may provide a preliminary bibliography for a research paper.
You can find background information in reference books such as:
- General encyclopedias
- Specialized or subject encyclopedias
Biographical information describes the history of the lives of individuals.
Biographical material can be found in books and periodical articles and in reference books such as:
- Biographical dictionaries
- Biographical directories
- Databases such as Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Current Events and Current Research
Generally, as something happens, it is reported first on television, radio, and the Internet, and then in newspapers and weekly magazines. As time passes, coverage moves from being a mere report or replay of events and becomes much more detailed and analytical.
For information on current events look at:
- Popular magazines
- World Wide Web
For information on current research look at:
- Subject specific journals
- Conference proceedings
- Technical reports
- Discussion lists or blogs
Geographical information provides facts and figures on the location of people and places. Geographical information can also refer to data on regional planning, political geography, and the relationship between people and their physical world.
Geographical information can be found in resources such as:
- Travel Guides
- World Wide Web
Government information includes any publications issued by local, state, national, or international governments. Government information includes laws, regulations, statistics, consumer information, and much more. Government documents can come in any size, shape, or format, and can be books, technical reports, periodicals, pamphlets, microfilm, microfiche, posters, slides, photographs, or maps. Since they're published by any of the diverse branches and agencies of government, they can be about anything, although they usually reflect the focus or concerns of the agency that produced them.
Data gathered and published include items such as population demographics and economic statistics as well as more esoteric items such as personal computer ownership and the flow rates for various rivers. Statistics come from numerous sources. The United States government is one of the largest and most important publishers of statistical information. In addition to the programs of the federal government, most state governments and foreign nations conduct various statistics-gathering programs. Statistics are a valuable kind of information in research because they can provide data for making comparisons and determining historical trends.
For statistical information, look at:
In the field of history, a primary source is usually a record made at the time of an event by participants or by firsthand observers. Examples include diaries, correspondence, writings of participants in events, parliamentary proceedings, government reports, government/organizational archives, manuscripts, etc.
Primary sources can be very different for different subjects. If you are writing a paper about a woman physician, for example, then her diary would be a primary source. If you are studying popular American culture, specifically daytime television, then episodes of your favorite soap opera would be primary source material! If you are unsure what constitutes a primary source for your topic, ask your instructor for some ideas.
To find primary resources:
- By using a periodical index, you can find writings of people from different time periods. For example, with the Readers’ Guide or Poole’s Index you can find articles written by people in the nineteenth century. For the full text of the U.S. Civil War/Reconstruction era periodical, look at Harper’s Weekly.
- You may also use the catalog to locate primary materials. Try typing keywords such as correspondence, diaries, interviews, manuscripts, papers or sources with your topic.
- In the library’s microforms area there is a significant collection of primary source material reproduced on microfilm or microfiche. Indexes to some of the various collections are in bookcases near the microfilm cabinets.
Secondary articles are published in magazines or "popular" periodicals. They typically:
- present information that has been gathered from primary sources;
- are written for the general public;
- offer a review of the subject, and may report on the work of several researchers;
- are not evaluated by experts in the field before publication;
- do not have a list of references at the end of the article.
Examples of secondary sources are Newsweek, Time, National Geographic and Science News.
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London, Routledge, 1996, ISBN: 978041510735X; 192pp.; Price: £80.00
University of Sheffield
Date accessed: 20 June, 2016
Growing out of recent work on gender, scholars are now turning their attention to the history of masculinity. A key aspect of this subject is how masculinity is constructed, since, in the words of Michael Roper and John Tosh, 'masculinity is never fully possessed, but must perpetually be achieved, asserted and renegotiated'. The eighteenth century, a period frequently seen as pivotal in shaping modern gender roles for women, is providing fertile ground for historians of masculinity as well. In this clearly written and carefully argued book, Michèle Cohen investigates the role played by the French language and conceptions of otherness in shaping ideas about the education and self-fashioning of gentlemen in eighteenth and nineteenth-century England. Her initial concern was to explain how French came to be perceived as a 'female' language, as it is by school children today, but her research led her to investigate changes in gentlemanly ideals over the period from the late-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries.
The book starts in France, with an examination of the French concepts of politesse and the honnête homme in the seventeenth century, in which gentlemen were expected to perfect their social skills through conversation with women in the salons: not only would men learn from the refined and delicate discourse of women, but their own conversation would be improved by their efforts to please their female audience. In the late seventeenth century a similar, but not identical, code of conduct became influential in England, politeness, which also viewed the ability to converse in French, the universal language of European courts at the time, as an important skill. Once again women were expected to play a crucial role, but concerns were now expressed that overexposure to female conversation would make men effeminate, and this concern extended to the influence mothers exerted over their sons. One of the advantages of the Grand Tour, which became fashionable as a means of completing the education of young gentleman around the turn of the eighteenth century, was that it removed boys from their mothers. But there were worries that such travel could corrupt, and that by encouraging men to develop ornamental accomplishments for public display, the Grand Tour also rendered men effeminate. By the late eighteenth century, men were expected to spend less time honing skills for public display and were expected instead to develop their mental faculties and acquire the virtue of sincerity. Taciturnity, which had once been seen as typical fault of English gentlemen, now became 'the emblem of his self-discipline, and his strength – in other words, of his manliness' (p. 105).
As a consequence, learning French was now seen in a new light. Men were no longer expected to cultivate their tongues by learning foreign languages through conversation, and the attention shifted to studying grammar as a means of developing analytical skills. But French grammar was seen as too simple, and the foreign language education of boys (now taking place in public schools rather than on the Grand Tour) turned to Latin. Correspondingly, the teaching of French came to be associated predominantly with girls, where it was seen as an essential female accomplishment, but one which, due to the alleged simplicity of the language, was not seen as threatening male intellectual superiority. The English gentleman abandoned French, with its associations with seductive and trifling feminine conversation, and returned to his own less flowery, 'monosyllabic' language, which was more suited for men with deep thoughts but little need to express them in conversation. From the point of view of men, women's conversation became superfluous. This 'derogation of the tongue', according to Cohen, thus reinforced both gender and national differences.
This is cleverly developed argument, which solves Cohen's original problem and, by bringing together diverse evidence, clearly demonstrates the important and changing role played by language acquisition in ideas about the proper education of English gentlemen (and ladies). In doing so, Cohen demonstrates the importance for historians of masculinity of examining the social and cultural processes (notably informal sociability and formal education) by which masculine identities have been shaped, and the importance for historians of women of the interrelationship between ideas about masculinity and ideas about femininity. But this is a very short book (150 pages of text and notes), and this reader would have liked to learn more, particularly about why these conceptions of masculinity changed in this way at this time. If masculinity, according to the quote from Roper and Tosh quoted earlier (and cited by Cohen), has to be perpetually renegotiated, why did its redefinition in this period take the particular form that it did? Implicitly, Cohen suggests that the crucial causes were intellectual: the coming together of the discourses of civic humanism and politeness in the late seventeenth century, and their subsequent replacement by new ideas about education and gender difference from writers such as David Fordyce and Hannah More in the mid to late eighteenth century. But the forces which shaped ideas about proper gentlemanly behaviour, gender difference, and national identity in the eighteenth century were surely far more complex, involving in addition important changes in society, culture and politics.
A gentleman is a man with power, power over his social inferiors as well as over women, and it is important to consider how the changing social and economic position of such men influenced their strategies to maintain their social position. At the start of this period, the definition of a gentlemen was rapidly changing, from one based on birth to one based on wealth and lifestyle. As the Swiss writer Guy Miège commented in 1703, 'anyone that, without a Coat of Arms, has either a liberal or genteel education, that looks gentleman-like (whether he be so or not) and has the wherewithal to live freely and handsomely, is by the courtesy of England usually called a gentlemen.' In order to incorporate the growing number of merchants and professionals who were wealthier than traditionally-defined gentlemen, and to allow for the possibility that the gentry could exchange status for wealth with the upper-middle class through marriage, definitions of gentility changed at this time, placing more emphasis on the display of status and wealth and less on ancestry. This helps explain why there was such an emphasis on display in the self-fashioning of the gentleman at this time. Later in the eighteenth century the middle and upper classes saw less of a need for intermingling, as a separate middle class identity, critical of the alleged luxury and effeminacy of the upper classes, began to form. As Kathleen Wilson has shown, such critiques were fuelled by middle-class complaints concerning alleged corruption and the unrepresentative nature of aristocratic government, as 'the aristocratic state was identified with "French influence"'. From the point of view of gentlemen and nobles seeking to preserve their social position, it is not surprising in this context that public display and the French language became less central to their ideals.
The privatisation of gentlemanly self-fashioning can also, however, be related to the increasing differentiation between public and private life which occurred at this time, as domestic virtues and behaviour became more sharply differentiated from life outside the home. Such broad cultural changes explain why this period witnessed the 'derogation of the tongue'. This change affected all social classes, as demonstrated by the sharp decline over this period in the number of books and pamphlets not associated with foreign languages that were published with the word 'tongue' in the title. Moreover, it affected both men and women: in this sense the changes documented in this book did not always work to accentuate gender differences. As Cohen shows, by the late eighteenth century both sexes were expected to pay more attention to grammar and reading when studying foreign languages at the expense of oral skills, especially conversation. Thus, for both ladies and gentlemen public display became less important. Although Cohen possibly overemphasises the novelty of the emergence in the latter half of the eighteenth century of the 'domestic sphere' as the proper locus of female virtue in prescriptions for women, the moral importance placed on domestic life for women echoed the growing distrust of male 'accomplishments' which depended on public display.
Finally, in explaining why increasing attention was focused on difference in conceptions of gender and national identity in this period, factors in addition to the self-fashioning strategies of gentlemen need to be considered. A number of other developments clearly reinforced gender differences in this period, including new forms of literature (especially the novel) and the Evangelical Revival. And as Linda Colley and Kathleen Wilson have shown, political developments at home and the frequent European wars during the period (in which France was by far the most threatening enemy) were crucial elements in the forging of British (or English) national identity, which was frequently conceptualised in opposition to the effeminate 'other' of the French, with their perceived propensity to licentiousness, tyrannical government, and 'popish' religion. Cohen explicitly rejects Colley's argument that the Napoleonic wars caused a reevaluation of the merits of speaking French, since 'the fashion for learning French actually increased after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.' (p. 99) Yet Cohen's own evidence demonstrates that in many other respects the period of the Napoleonic Wars was clearly formative in changing English attitudes towards the role played by language in gentlemanly self-fashioning. Ladies and gentlemen may have continued to speak French, but Cohen argues that this was the period when learning French came to be seen as 'an insipid occupation' for men and 'came to be associated predominantly with females' (pp. 62, 83). Since France and the French were often conceptualised in female terms, it certainly seems likely that war with France, an essential element in the formation of British national identity, played an important role shaping attitudes that the French language was unsuitable for gentlemen.
In sum, the cultural phenomenon documented in this book is associated with broader changes, which put the English upper classes on the defensive, rendered public life a less acceptable venue for character formation, and encouraged hostility to foreign (especially French) influences: all these developments contributed to the 'derogation of the tongue'. The connection between attitudes towards language study and the formation of gender and national identities thus provides a good illustration of how definitions of masculinity (and femininity) are intimately interconnected with wider social, cultural and political forces, in which the directions of influence work both ways.
I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to reply to a review of my book, and I thank the IHR for making this possibility available.
One of the most difficult aspects of writing a book that crosses disciplinary boundaries – linguistics, gender studies, history – was weaving the different themes into a coherent pattern. Bob Shoemaker's review implies that I have achieved this reasonably successfully and for this I thank him.
As I state in the introduction, my aim was to explore how the play of tongues – English, Latin and French – was implicated in the shaping of the English gentleman and why tongues (as languages) and the tongue (of the speaking subject) came to be critical sites for the representation, articulation and production of national and gender identities. Language and national character were thought to be interrelated, so the tongue (in both its senses) constructed the man.
Initially, I aimed to follow the history of French and its relation to the gentleman's self-fashioning, but as my research developed, I became aware of the many and intricate ways in which French culture as well as language was woven into the culture of eighteenth-century England. I was able, then, to use French not just as an object of inquiry but, as a tool of analysis, a distinction which Shoemaker s review does not make explicit. This was especially productive in exploring English constructions of the French as Other. Thus, the English tongue was construed as 'manly' by contrast with the airy and 'overly polished' French tongue; the English were represented as taciturn and blunt in contrast to the polite and fluent French conversationalists; the English were sincere while the French were hypocritical flatterers, and manly and free while the French, doubly subjugated by an arbitrary monarchy and by women, were effeminate. The use of French as a tool of analysis also enabled me to map the gendering of the notion of 'accomplishment' – from an indispensable element in the panoply of the 'compleat gentleman' to a 'shewy' female pastime – and relate this gendering to the increasingly problematic position of women in social and public spaces. In this context, I am still convinced, despite Shoemaker's remark that I overemphasise 'the novelty of the emergence of the domestic sphere' in the latter half of the eighteenth century, that the meanings attached to that sphere were specific to that moment. The complex repositioning of women in that idealised space was meant, precisely, to emblematise their domestic virtue as national character.
These issues, as Shoemaker rightly suggests, are very complex. Indeed, complexity and contradiction are at the heart of my book. The fashioning of the English gentleman in the eighteenth century was modelled on French practices of sociability, especially politeness and conversation. Yet at the same time, there was concern because politeness was not just refining but 'softening', and the mixed conversation of the sexes (mainly in English, not in French as my reviewer understood it) held out the promise of improvement but also the risk of effeminacy and ruin. Until well into the second half of the eighteenth century, the dominant concern remained: could the distinction between manly politeness and luxurious effeminacy be sustained? It was out of these contradictions that a masculine national identity emerged at the turn of the century.
Conversation may appear a trifling and ephemeral gauge for measuring shifts in the definition of the gentleman and national character, compared to the emergence of a middle-class identity and changes in definition of gentility which Shoemaker suggests as more substantial criteria. This is a valid point, but had I been concerned with those changes I would have written a different book. I wanted to describe the way a cultural practice which, for a nearly a century, was held to be the ultimate expression not only of the refinement of a nation but of its evolution, came to be treated as a frivolous drawing room practice best left to women and to the French - on both of whom it had been modelled in the first place. When I decided to exploit the eighteenth-century slippage between the tongue as language spoken and as metonym for the speaking subject, I worried that this relation might be misconstrued. To my mind, Shoemaker underplays the tongue s shifting meanings and therefore both the value put upon speaking (English more than French) as a central technique for self-fashioning in the eighteenth century, and the significance of its derogation in the nineteenth. In my view, it is this shift that marks the change from sociability to homosociality, from politeness as an ambiguously gendered social ideal to masculinity as the core of English national identity.
Many scholars would like to believe, like Shoemaker, that the Napoleonic wars effected a change in English attitudes to French. Yet, it is Linda Colley who remarks in Britons (p.165) that French was still 'a prerequisite for entry into high society or high office' for men at the end of the second decade of the nineteenth century. In my view, the 'reevaluation of the merits of speaking French had already begun to take place by the 1780s, when fluency in foreign languages was losing its central importance in the education of elite males. This meant not that they must stop learning foreign languages, but that they must learn them primarily as a means of training the mind, not just to speak them. Crucially, it was the reverse for females, and it is ladies French conversation that increased in importance after the French revolution (thanks to the influx of French aristocratic emigrees), and throughout the nineteenth century. I agree with Shoemaker that the fate of French is puzzling, but perhaps that is because we expect nineteenth century war to function like war in the twentieth, when few opted to learn German because it was akin to treason to speak the language of the enemy.
Shoemaker makes the point that I do not explain sufficiently why conceptions of masculinity changed the way they did. This criticism may be justified, especially as my starting point, as I made it quite clear, was not to answer that question. It is in the course of my research that the insistent presence of effeminacy and the anxieties surrounding it forced me to alter my direction. In other words, it is through a historicising of effeminacy that the problematisation of masculinity emerged and became an issue in my work. A number of scholars have argued that in the eighteenth century, effeminacy was just a way of referring to the luxurious aristocracy and by extension, to the French. In my view, this rather conventional perspective does not capture the concept's complex and contradictory discursive domains, and its pervasiveness as a dominant metaphor throughout the eighteenth century. What I found particularly fascinating is how effeminacy related to English anxieties about the seductiveness of France. This seduction threatened all levels of society, and, because the desire came from within, was much more insidious and difficult to overcome than French enemies on the field of battle. English vulnerability to the seductiveness of things French could sap the very moral fibre of the nation at its core, its masculinity. I was a little surprised that Shoemaker paid little attention to the sexed mind, a chapter which I take to be crucial for the history of gender since it attempts to identify the discursive conditions for the emergence of a scientific discourse on gendered abilities. The repercussions of the 'truth' of the superior male intellect on the construction of masculinity and the education of males and females are still felt today, as witnessed by current debates about boys underachievement in school.
That said, I do feel Shoemaker has engaged with the main issues in my book and was sympathetic to its aims. His review was constructive, and made me think further. For this, I thank him. | <urn:uuid:5c98d486-8ea9-49cb-b6f2-5558b1882cde> | {
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Dasypus novemcinctus, the nine-banded armadillo, is one of six extant species of Dasypus, the long-nosed armadillos (McBee and Baker, 1982). D. novemcinctus is a smallish armadillo with total lengths of 615-800 mm and weights ranging from 3-8 kg (McBee and Baker, 1982). Similar to other armadillos, the top of the head, the back and sides of the body, the tail, and the top of the legs and feet are covered with ossified dermal scutes.
Armadillos belong to a group of exclusively New World mammals named Xenarthra that is characterized by having accessory vertebral articulations. Other members of this group include extant tree sloths, extant anteaters, the extinct ground sloths, and extinct glyptodonts which were closely related to armadillos. Morphological data place Xenarthra as a basally diverging branch of Placentalia, often as the sister taxon to Pholidota (Novacek, 1992a, b). An analysis of molecular data places Xenarthra in a large unnamed clade of placental mammals that includes all of the major extant groups except Afrotheria. Within this large unnamed clade, Xenarthra is the sister taxon to Boreoeutheria (all of the remaining placental groups; Murphy et al., 2001).
Dasypus novemcinctus derives its name from the presence of usually nine bands of bony armor along its body. However, the number of bands varies between eight and eleven (McBee and Baker, 1982); D. novemcinctus in North and South America typically only have eight bands (Nowak, 1991).
The nine-banded armadillo has a broad geographic range, extending from northwestern Argentina and Uruguay to the southern and midwestern United States (McBee and Baker, 1982). Dasypus novemcinctus is the only xenarthran that occurs in the wild in the United States. Its U.S. distribution includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado (McBee and Baker, 1982). There are seven subspecies of D. novemcinctus; the one shown on this webpage is D. n. novemcinctus, the only one known to occur in the U.S. (McBee and Baker, 1982).
The fossil record indicates that Dasypus dispersed northward across the Panamanian land bridge as part of the Great American Interchange during the Pliocene. This dispersal consisted of a number of other mammalian taxa as well, including other xenarthrans. The fossil record of Dasypus in the United States extends back to the Blancan (Pleistocene). A larger extinct species, D. bellus, occupied a U.S. range similar to the modern one of D. novemcinctus (McBee and Baker, 1982; Nowak, 1991).
The skull of the nine-banded armadillo is characterized by a long, narrow rostrum. The posterior of the skull is expanded laterally, up to four times the transverse width of the snout. The lower jaw is gracile with a poorly developed symphysis and a tall, posteriorly-hooked coronoid process. Dasypus lacks canines and incisors. The postcanines are peg-like and each has a single root (McBee and Baker, 1982).
Dasypus novemcinctus is nocturnal and crepuscular in activity (McBee and Baker, 1982). D. novemcinctus is insectivorous but may also consume other invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, some birds, and vegetable matter (Kalmbach, 1943). The nine-banded armadillo is an adept digger. Nests in its burrows are constructed from leaves, dead grass, and twigs (McBee and Baker, 1982). Armadillos are capable of swimming great distances but have also been observed walking across the bottom of shallow, narrow bodies of water (McBee and Baker, 1982).
Dasypus novemcinctus first breeds at one year of age. Ovulation occurs from June to August during which time mating takes place. However, implantation does not occur until November and young are born in either March or April (McBee and Baker, 1982).
The nine-banded armadillo usually gives birth to quadruplets, always of the same sex (Kalmbach, 1943). Sometimes deviations of two, three, or five young are born; however, there are never fewer than four embryos at the start (Kalmbach, 1943).
Armadillos are economically important because they eat harmful insects. They are a source of food in parts of the southern U.S. and in Latin America (McBee and Baker, 1982; Nowak, 1991). Armadillos are also valuable for medical research for studying multiple births, organ transplants, birth defects, and leprosy and other diseases (Nowak, 1991:533).
Kalmbach, E. R. 1943. The armadillo: its relation to agriculture and game. Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission, Austin, Texas, 61 pp.
McBee, K., and R. J. Baker. 1982. Dasypus novemcinctus. Mammalian Species 162:1-9.
Murphy, W. J., E. Eizirik, S. J. O’Brien, O. Madsen, M. Scally, C. J. Douady, E. Teeling, O. A. Ryder, M. J. Stanhope, W. W. de Jong, and M. S. Springer. 2001. Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics. Science 294:2348-2351.
Novacek, M. J. 1992a. Fossils, topologies, missing data, and the higher level phylogeny of eutherian mammals. Systematic Biology 41:58-73.
Novacek, M. J. 1992b. Mammalian phylogeny: shaking the tree. Nature 356:121-125.
Nowak, R. M. 1991. Walker’s Mammals of the World. Volume 1. Fifth edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Talmage, R. V., and G. D. Buchanan. 1954. The armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). A review of its natural history, ecology, anatomy and reproductive physiology. The Rice Institute Pamphlet 41:1-135.
Dasypus novemcinctus on Texas Pakrs & Wildlife.
Species account and images of Dasypus novemcinctus on the Animal Diversity Web (Univ. of Michigan Museum of Zoology). | <urn:uuid:d58ce97a-42f3-4fca-b3da-800751fe542d> | {
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A healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and can help you feel your best.
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Eating out: cafes, restaurants, work canteens and takeaways
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Find a map of restaurants and cafes that provide healthier choices here. | <urn:uuid:768d1fe3-af9e-40ff-a217-a213dc658a05> | {
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Malvolio, Olivia’s steward in Twelfth Night, is self-important, pompous, and even a little puritanical (he is accused of being a ‘puritan’ by the other characters). But he is also alienated. Indeed, his alienation from the other characters – from Olivia’s affections and favours which he so craves, and from Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Fabian and their drunken and riotous antics – is his saving grace, and what prevents him from being an insufferable bore. We take delight in laughing at him when he dons yellow stockings and makes a fool of himself, believing his mistress wants him to dress in such a ridiculous fashion; but Shakespeare encourages to laugh as much at Malvolio’s human frailty and weakness as at his pomposity and delusions of grandeur. His (deluded) belief that Olivia may indeed favour him is only too understandable, especially in Twelfth Night, a play with no shortage of characters who have deluded beliefs about other characters’ affections. We enjoy seeing him taken down a peg or two, but Shakespeare wants our mockery to be gentle, rather than gleefully triumphant.
Indeed, this is the clever masterstroke of that key scene, II.5, in which Malvolio finds the letter (really written by Maria, Olivia’s gentlewoman, but imitating her mistress’ handwriting) in which Olivia supposedly declares, anonymously, her fondness for her steward, and Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Fabian all hide in the tree and watch as Malvolio prances his way about the place, his breast positively swelling with misplaced pride at the prospect of Olivia liking him. What makes the character of Malvolio, for all of his puritan qualities, hard to dislike completely is that he is, at least in part, right: Sir Toby is a drunkard who clearly overindulges, and Malvolio’s imagined delight in being able to tell his mistress’ uncle to cut back his drinking does carry more than a grain of sense. What’s more, while we laugh at Malvolio’s naivety in being taken in by the false letter, we should bear in mind that Sir Andrew Aguecheek, one of the men laughing at the trick being played on Malvolio, is himself deluded in thinking he has a chance with Olivia – his confidence having been encouraged, quite irresponsibly, by Sir Toby Belch.
Malvolio’s famous parting shot in V.1, that he’ll be ‘revenged on the whole pack of you’, reminds us that Twelfth Night is in many ways a carnivalesque play, in which usual rules and roles are suspended – but that the status quo will be resumed tomorrow. That said, the carnivalesque is often about servants becoming masters, or masters good-naturedly taking a joke from those below them in the social pecking order. Malvolio is only a steward, whereas Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, as their knighthoods imply, are of the aristocracy (Sir Toby is, after all, the countess Olivia’s uncle). Their treatment of Malvolio, even if he deserves to be ribbed a little for his pomposity, can hardly be unequivocally described as ‘punching up’, to use the contemporary parlance. As Sir Toby and the others see it, Malvolio does have too high an opinion of himself, but this is partly because he is only a steward: they think he thinks too much of himself, given his position in the social order.
If this is to launch too vigorous a defence of Malvolio (whose name, lest we forget, literally means ‘ill will’, playing off the ‘what you will’ of the play’s subtitle), it’s worth remembering that it is Maria, Olivia’s gentlewoman, who hatches the plan to teach Malvolio a lesson, and she leads the ruse throughout. Ultimately, Malvolio’s downfall is related to his personality more than the social position he occupies. And whilst his place in the social ladder is of significance, it is significant not least because Maria knows that, in tricking him into believing Olivia likes him, his pomposity will swell to new levels, thus revealing his true colours for all – Olivia included – to see. However, one of the things which make Shakespeare such a superlative playwright is that this isn’t the only way the character of Malvolio, and the play, can be spun: indeed, the 2012 Globe production with Mark Rylance as Olivia and Stephen Fry as Malvolio depicted Malvolio as motivated more by genuine love for his mistress than ambition for social advancement. When interpreted this way, Malvolio’s final line about being revenged upon the whole pack of them sounds like the cry of a wronged man whose emotions have been trampled on rather than the bitter and sinister threat of a power-hungry puritan. Malvolio is an outsider, however one interprets the play, after all.
Some notable actors to play the character of Malvolio over the centuries are Henry Irving, Alec Guinness, John Gielgud, Simon Russell Beale, and more recently Stephen Fry, in a much-publicised 2012 production at Shakespeare’s Globe. | <urn:uuid:dc916c09-550b-46ef-916e-8c04f315c2e1> | {
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The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later
The Berlin Wall—symbol of a divided city within a divided nation within a divided continent—was grounded in decades-old historical divisions at the end of World War II. At the Yalta Conference of February 4-11, 1945, the “Big Three” agreed that Germany would be divided into four temporary occupation zones, France being the fourth occupying power. Berlin lies 110 miles inside the Soviet occupation zone. At the Potsdam Conference (July 17–August 2, 1945) the Allies agreed to a similar four-power division of Berlin.
In June 1948, as the western Allies and the Soviets failed to agree on whether Germany should be rehabilitated economically, the Red Army blockaded West Berlin. British- and American-led Berlin Airlift ferried by air tons of food daily until Stalin lifted the blockade in May 1949. Days later, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was proclaimed in the western occupation zones. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded in the Soviet occupation zone that October. Then in August 1961, the GDR began to construct the Berlin Wall—at first it was barbed wire—soon it expanded into a 5 meter high 165 kilometer long network of concrete walls topped with barbed wire, and guarded with gun emplacements, watchtowers, and mines.
This book recounts how and why that wall crumbled. Published in English only, 64 pgs, color book. | <urn:uuid:75788eb5-9a21-46b5-98b7-c42810edebcb> | {
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Panskepp et al have studied two inbred mouse strains whose infants on weaning show high versus low levels of gregarious social behavior, They controlled a host of behavioral variables during the course of adolescent development to demonstrate specific differences in social motivations among juveniles of the two mouse strains — behavioral variations that could only be explained by genetic differences. Young mice from the gregarious strain seek environments that predict the possibility of a social encounter and avoid places where they have experienced social isolation. The review by Devitt edited for this post quotes the senior author Lahvis: "There is an association between high-pitched calls in mice and positive experience. The quality and quantity of the call are tightly associated with the nature of the interaction itself."
As the mice neared sexual maturity, the genetic influence on social behavior ebbed and the animals became much more responsive to social cues such as gender...the initial genetic predisposition apparently gets masked by reproductive maturity.
Their work suggests that genetic influences on juvenile social behavior may be quite distinct from genetic factors that affect adult social behavior, a finding the potentially useful for understanding social evolution, as well as developing more realistic animal models of pervasive developmental disorders, such as autism. | <urn:uuid:85afe4ec-aeda-4a4e-a45c-237096583b7b> | {
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Treatment has saved the lives of more than 22 million people with tuberculosis (TB), according to a new report by the United Nations health agency that also reveals that the number of deaths from the disease fell to 1.3 million last year.
The Global Tuberculosis Report 2013, published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), confirms that the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of reversing TB incidence, along with the target of a 50 per cent reduction in the mortality rate by 2015 (compared to 1990).
The report also underlines the need for a “quantum leap” in TB care and control which can only be achieved if two major challenges are addressed, WHO stated in a news release.
First, there are around three million people – equal to one in three people falling ill with TB – who are currently being ‘missed’ by health systems. WHO estimates that 75 per cent of the three million are in 12 countries.
Also, the response to test and treat all those affected by multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is inadequate. Not only are the links in the MDR-TB chain weak, the links are simply not there yet, according to the report. WHO estimates that 450,000 people fell ill with MDR-TB in 2012 alone. China, India and Russia have the highest burden of MDR-TB followed by 24 other countries.
At the heart of both challenges, said WHO, is insufficient resources for TB.“Quality TB care for millions worldwide has driven down TB deaths,” said Mario Raviglione, WHO Director of the Global TB Programme. “But far too many people are still missing out on such care and are suffering as a result. They are not diagnosed, or not treated, or information on the quality of care they receive is unknown.”
While the number of people detected worldwide with rapid diagnostic tests increased by more than 40 per cent to 94,000 in 2012, three out of four MDR-TB cases still remain without a diagnosis.
Even more worrying, WHO pointed out, is that around 16,000 MDR-TB cases reported to the agency in 2012 were not put on treatment, with long waiting lists increasingly becoming a problem. Also, many countries are not achieving high cure rates due to a lack of service capacity and human resource shortages.
“The unmet demand for a full-scale and quality response to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a real public health crisis,” Dr. Raviglione stated. “It is unacceptable that increased access to diagnosis is not being matched by increased access to MDR-TB care.
“We have patients diagnosed but not enough drug supplies or trained people to treat them. The alert on antimicrobial resistance has been sounded; now is the time to act to halt drug-resistant TB.”
Another challenge, according to the report, relates to the TB and HIV ‘co-epidemic’. While there has been significant progress in the last decade in scaling-up antiretroviral treatment for TB patients living with HIV, less than 60 per cent were receiving antiretroviral drugs in 2012.
The report recommends five priority actions that could make a rapid difference between now and 2015. These include reaching the three million TB cases missed in national notification systems by expanding access to quality testing and care services across all relevant public, private or community based providers, including hospitals and non-governmental organizations which serve large proportions of populations at risk.
Other priorities include addressing with urgency the MDR-TB crisis; intensifying and building on TB-HIV successes to get as close as possible to full antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage for people co-infected with TB and HIV; increasing domestic and international financing to close the resource gaps – now estimated at about $2 billion per year – for an effective response to TB in low- and middle-income countries; and accelerating rapid uptake of new tools.
“The WHO Global TB report highlights the very big gains the global community has made in the fight against tuberculosis,” said Osamu Kunii, Head of the Strategy, Investment and Impact Division of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“We are now at a crucial moment where we cannot afford to let these gains go into reverse. We need the commitment of the international community to address the significant funding gap to fight this disease.” | <urn:uuid:9c261f62-47c0-40b0-aae9-b7b1d090e8c5> | {
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How much does a tea bag weigh?
A dry tea bag weighs just a few grams; much less than an ounce. When wet, however, it might weigh an ounce or so.
The tea bag itself can be made of a number of things, not all of them paper, and the difficulty in cleaning all of the tea out of the bag would make the whole process much too complicated. However, tea bags go wonderfully into compost as they are organic matter and will decompose and return to the earth. Many people also use a teabag more than once to make tea, and call this recycling. | <urn:uuid:4d5e0af9-5abc-42d4-92db-b8038ce78831> | {
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The Dupont's Lark (Chersophilus duponti), is the only lark in the genus Chersophilus. It breeds across much of north Africa, from Algeria to Egypt, and in Spain and France. It is a non-migratory resident.
This is a bird of open sandy semi-desert or steppe with some grass. Its nest is on the ground, with 3-4 eggs being laid. Its food is seeds and insects.
Like most other larks, Dupont's Lark is an undistinguished looking species on the ground. It is 17-18 cm long, slim, with a long neck, long legs and a fine slightly curved bill. It has a thin pale crown stripe and a dark-streaked breast.
There are two races. C. d. duponti of Europe and northwest Africa is mainly brown-grey above and pale below. C. d. margaritae, which occupies most of the rest of the African range, has rufous upperparts.
This is a very shy species, which runs for cover when disturbed. Its song is a nasal whistle, given mainly at dawn and dusk or at night.
This bird was named after the French naturalist Leonard Puech Dupont, who was the first to collect a specimen.
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There definitely were developed human civilizations before this current one. Evidence of construction is emerging all over the place, that does not fit with our account of human history.
Houston anthropologist, Dr. Semir Osmanagich, founder of the Bosnian Archaeology Park, the most active archaeology site in the world, declares that irrefutable scientific evidence exists of ancient civilizations with advanced technology that leaves us no choice but to change our recorded history. An examination of the age of structures across the earth reveals conclusively that they were built by advanced civilizations from over 29,000 years ago. Read full article. | <urn:uuid:08f357a6-9765-4456-b1f5-9b8e65881078> | {
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PDI Perspective Q&A Series: “Use of Cleaners and Disinfectants During the COVID-19 pandemic”
We recently engaged members of our Clinical Affairs Team for support in answering frequently asked questions around the flood of information coming in around COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some Q&As specific to the use of cleaners and disinfectants during the pandemic:
Q. Has the COVID-19 pandemic led to unsafe use of disinfectants?
A. Since March, there has been an increase in the daily number of calls (2019 v. 2020) to poison control centers in the US regarding exposures to cleaners and disinfectants, specifically with household use, as a result of individuals’ attempts to protect themselves against SARS-CoV-2. The largest percent increase was seen in exposures among children aged < 5 years old. Bleach accounted for the greatest percent increase (62.1%) with alcohol free disinfectants (36.7%) and hand sanitizers (36.7%) showing substantial increases as well. Regarding exposure type, inhalation represented the largest percent increase – 35.3% – for all cleaners and an increase of 108.8% for all disinfectants.
Q. What are the reasons for the unsafe use of disinfectants?
A. According to an opt-in internet panel survey of 502 U.S. adults regarding knowledge and practices of household cleaning/disinfection conducted in May 2020, knowledge gaps were identified in several areas:
- preparation of cleaning and disinfectant solutions
- use of recommended personal protective equipment when using cleaners/disinfectants
- storage of hand sanitizers, cleaners, and disinfectants.
Q. What are some of the unsafe practices that people have engaged in as reported in the internet survey?
A. Thirty-nine percent of the survey respondents reported as engaging in some unsafe practices in order to prevent COVID-19 infection. These practices included:
- washing food products with bleach
- applying household cleaning/disinfectant products to bare skin
- intentionally inhaling or ingesting these products.
Respondents who engaged in unsafe practices were more likely to have experienced an adverse event associated with that practice.
Q. What are the best practices to follow when using cleaners/disinfectants?
A. It is important for people to continue to follow current CDC and public health guidance for prevention measures against COVID-19. These measures include frequent hand hygiene and frequent cleaning/disinfection of high-touch surfaces. When using a cleaner/disinfectant, it is important to:
- Read and follow all product label instructions for use
- Use room temperature water if product needs to be diluted prior to use
- Avoid mixing of cleaner/disinfectant solutions together. Many chemicals are incompatible and can cause potentially hazardous conditions for the persons exposed.
- Wear protection for your skin and consider eye protection if splashing could occur
- Use cleaners/disinfectants in areas of adequate ventilation
- Store cleaners/disinfectants/hand sanitizers out of the reach of children and pets
- Perform handwashing after using cleaners/disinfectants even if gloves were worn
Chang A, Schnall AH, Law R, et al. Cleaning and disinfectant chemical exposures and temporal associations with COVID-19—National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:496–8.
,3,4 Gharpure R, Hunter CM, Schnall AH, et al. Knowledge and Practices Regarding Safe Household Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 Prevention — United States, May 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:705–709. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e2 | <urn:uuid:af4bfafc-a344-4f69-8c68-4f24ea8fca27> | {
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Zero-based Budget Spreadsheet Template
The zero-based budget template refers to the budget that is prepared mainly in order to justify the expenses for each of the new periods where the budget starts from zero unlike in case of a traditional budget where the adjustments are made in the previous budgets. Zero-based budgets are prepared in such a manner where the difference between the income from all the sources and the expenses from all the sources comes to zero.
About the Template
- It highlights the income of the person from all the sources for the period under consideration along with the expenses of the period for the same period and lastly the difference between the income and expense which should be equal to zero.
- In the case of the zero-based budget, in the end, the budget should be balanced fully and one should have zero budget as leftover. The template which is given above shows the budgeted income and costs expected to be incurred by the company along with the income and costs actual balance for the period.
Following are the different details that are present generally in the template:
#1 – Heading at the Top:
In the template, the heading ‘Zero base budget Template’ will be mentioned. It will remain intact for all the template users. The heading is mentioned in order to tell the user the purpose of the creation of such a template.
#2 – Summary of the Budget:
This summary detail of the budget is shown at beginning of the template which contains details of the Total Income during the period, Total Expenses during the period and the total balance during the period on actual as well as a projected basis. These figures will be populated automatically from the values derived from the below steps.
#3 – Fixed Expenses:
Under this, all the fixed expenses in budgeted and actual values from all the areas will be mentioned.
#4 – Variable Expenses:
Under this, all the variable expenses in budgeted and actual values from all the areas will be mentioned
#5 – Balance:
Balance left will be calculated automatically after subtracting the total of the fixed and the variable expenses from the total income. This balance of projected figures should be equal to zero i.e., the budget should be balanced fully.
How to Use this Zero Based Budget Template?
Following are the steps that have to be followed in order to use the Zero base budget template:
- A person using this template has to enter all the details as required in the fields that are not already pre-filled.
- For this, firstly all the sources of income are to be identified and entered in the point Income /Funds Received during the period. The amount is entered should be net take-home pay and not the gross pay as the budgets are prepared considering what the person is actually expecting to receive.
- After the details of income, all the expenses that the company expects to incur for the period under consideration will be entered. These expenses are further categorized into fixed and variable expenses to provide a clear picture of the nature of the expenses. However, the category can be modified in the template as per the requirement of the person.
- After that template will automatically calculate the balance left after subtracting the total expenses from the total income of the person. Since this is the zero-based budget, the difference between the income and expenses of the period should be equal to zero. So, till the time this balance comes to zero people have to make modifications in order to get this difference as zero.
- After the budgeted details, the figures for actual income received and actual expenses incurred for the period against each activity should be entered.
- From the above figures variance will be calculated automatically by deducting actual figures from the budgeted figures for all the activities individually and for the total budget as a whole.
This has been a guide to Zero Based Budget Template. Here we provide you with a free downloadable zero-based budget spreadsheet in order to justify the expenses for each of the new periods. Also, you can download and use this template in Excel, Google Sheets or in PDF format.
You can also take a look at our other useful articles- | <urn:uuid:fbe814a2-6619-4c8c-a6d5-63d7e07f1810> | {
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Kenneth Geddes Wilson (born 1936) won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1982 for his work applying renormalization group analysis to previously unsolved problem in theoretical physics concerning critical points and phase transitions. Affiliated with Cornell University for a number of years, Wilson was also involved with getting government support for supercomputers on campuses. He later was a physics professor at Ohio State University, again doing research in physics and becoming involved in education reform.
Kenneth Geddes Wilson
Wilson was born on June 8, 1936, in Waltham, Massachusetts. He was the first of six children born to Edgar Bright Wilson, Jr., and his wife Emily Fisher (nee Buckingham). Wilson was born into an academic family. His father was a professor of chemistry at Harvard University and an expert on microwave spectroscopy. His maternal grandfather had taught mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wilson's mother had done some graduate work in physics. All five of his siblings also became either academics or scientists.
Wilson himself was an exceptional student from an early age. His grandfather taught him how to do math in his head, and while waiting for the bus a young Wilson would do cube roots. He was given an education at private schools in his home state, in cities such as Wellesley and Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While still a teenager, Wilson also attended Magdalen College School at Oxford University in Oxford, England, for a year.
Entered Harvard University
When Wilson graduated in 1952 from The George School (a Quaker school) in Pennsylvania, he was only 16 years old. He then entered Harvard University, where he studied mathematics and physics. Wilson was not, however, just an academic. He was also a member of the track team, where he won a varsity letter as a mile runner. He graduated from Harvard with his B.A. in physics in 1956.
After graduating from Harvard, Wilson entered graduate school at the California Institute of Technology. There he studied physics, primarily quantum field theory with Murray Gell-Mann as his advisor. Wilson's thesis was entitled An Investigation of the Low Equation and the Chew-Mandelshtam Equations. It concerned renormalization group analysis, an area of work that would eventually win Wilson the Nobel prize.
Renormalization group analysis was a mathematical process that was developed to address certain kinds of problems in the area of quantum electrodynamics, related to the mathematical representation of aspects of this theory when applied elsewhere. In his thesis, Wilson solved a problem dealing with K-mesons or kaons. Wilson used these mathematical methods to create a knowledge of the magnetic properties of atoms.
Wilson earned his Ph.D. from Cal Tech in 1961. In this time period, he was given two postdoctoral fellowships. The first was at Harvard, where he was a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows from 1959 to 1963. From 1962 to 1963, Wilson worked on a Ford Foundation Fellowship at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. After Wilson completed the fellowship at CERN, he was hired for a tenure track position in the physics department at Cornell University, where he would spend the next 25 years.
In Wilson's early theoretical work at Cornell, he continued to study renormalization groups, but this time, he applied them to critical phenomena and phase changes and transitions such as when liquids change to gases and in alloys. With critical phenomena, materials behave differently under defined environmental conditions. They experience changes that are very different. The conditions under which these changes happen are known as the critical point. Near this point, the complexities of what happens with critical phenomena, in terms of short-range actions and bigger connection between the whole body of the material, including the various ranges and scales of interaction, were nearly unmanageable. Wilson was one of many scientists trying to address the problem by reducing the complexity while keeping the theory being addressed valid.
Wilson successfully solved this problem by applying renormalization group analysis to it. The way Wilson proposed using renormalization group analysis involved computers and using an averaging procedure on the broken-down parts of the system. Wilson applied the analysis to properties of the material near the critical point. He used a lattice-like network of first smaller blocks on a smaller scale, then with each step, larger-scale system fluctuations, before the entire system was addressed. These small blocks made the problems easier to solve and removed infinities from the equation.
During the course of his work, Wilson learned that near critical points, a number of systems could be universally defined by a limited number of parameters. His theory was later expanded and applied elsewhere. Thus Wilson's method became a general theory which allowed observations about individual atoms to predict the properties of a systems of many interacting atoms.
Much of this work was published in two articles in Physical Review in 1971. Many scientists believed that Wilson's work answered some of the biggest unsolved problem in theoretical physics. He later tried to apply his renormalization theory to quarks (that is, what makes up protons, neutrons, and other subatomic particles) in the mid-1970s.
Won Nobel Prize
In 1982, Wilson was award the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work, applying renormalization group analysis to previously unsolved problem in theoretical physics concerning critical points and phase transitions. The prize was not unexpected. Wilson's father told Bayard Webster of New York Times, "Of course I'm very happy for him. People in physics have been telling me for a long time that it was going to happen. It is nice when it really does happen."
In his acceptance speech, published at the Nobel emuseum, Wilson emphasized the importance of supporting science research. He said, "The scientist's inquiry into the causes of things is providing an ever more extensive understanding of nature. In consequence, science is more important than ever for industrial technology. Industry now should become a full partner of government in supporting long-range basic research."
While Wilson was working on his Nobel Prize-winning theory, he continued to have a strong academic career. In 1970, Wilson was given a full professorship at Cornell. Four years later, he was named to an endowed chair, the James A. Weeks Chair. It was the combination of academics and research that influenced his next area of research.
Promoted Building of Supercomputers
After 1976, much of Wilson's theoretical work was concerned with computer simulations and modeling. He promoted the idea of building supercomputer centers for scientists so they would have access to the greatest amount of technology because of the limits of computer technology of the time. His goal was to continue to improve the scientific community as well as the computer industry.
Beginning in 1981, he was part of a group of leading scientists that worked to get federal funding to get supercomputers on college campuses. Wilson did less research and honed his public speaking skills as he lobbied Congress, federal officials, and executives of corporations. Wilson gave about a speech a week to promote this cause. People would listen to him more than other scientists, it seemed, because he had won the Nobel Prize. In his speeches, Wilson claimed that without national supercomputers, the United States would not continue to be the leader in this technology.
In 1985, Wilson got his wish when the National Science Foundation gave $200 million over five years to four universities to create four supercomputer centers on their campuses, including Wilson's home university of Cornell. (The other supercomputer centers were located at Princeton, University of Illinois, and University of California.) Later, the federal government via the National Science Foundation did not provide the funding at the rate promised. In 1985, before the funding failed to be delivered, he served as the director of the Center for Theory and Simulation in Science and Engineering.
Moved to Ohio State University
In 1988, Wilson left Cornell to become a professor at Ohio State University. He did this in part because of his wife, Alison Brown, whom he married in 1982. She was a computer specialist and had been the associate director for advanced computing and networking at Cornell's Theory Center. She was hired to be the associate director of a new entity at Ohio State, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, as well as the associate director of research computing.
As for Wilson, he had reached his goal of getting the Theory Center off the ground and wanted to return to doing his own research. At Ohio State, he was named the Hazel C. Youngberg Trustees Distinguished Professor of Physics. His research continued to be related to computers, focusing on computer simulations and the modeling of physical phenomena.
Wilson also had interests outside of physics. He became especially concerned with education and education curriculum. After 1990, Wilson was involved in national policy for science. He was involved in the National Academy of Science's Committee on Physical Science, Mathematics and Applications as well as Committee on the Federal Role in Educational Research. In 1992, he was named the co-leader in Project Discovery, a five-year project funded by the National Science Foundation. It was to develop new techniques of teaching science and math. By 1993, Wilson was the chair of Ohio Model Science Curriculum Advisory Committee for the Ohio Department of Education.
With co-author Bennett Daviss, Wilson published a book on the subject, Redesigning Education (1994). It outlines Wilson's ideas for reforming America's educational process. After the end of Project Discovery, in 1996, Wilson was named co-director of Learning by Redesign. He continued to be involved in education reform into the 2000s.
McGrath, Kimberly, ed., World of Scientific Discovery, Gale, 1999.
Muir, Hazel, ed., Larousse Dictionary of Scientists, Larousse, 1994.
Narins, Brigham, ed., Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present, Volume 5, Gale, 2001.
Wasson, Tyler, ed., Nobel Prize Winners: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Weber, Robert L., Pioneers of Science: Nobel Prize Winners in Physics, Adam Hilger, 1988.
Houston Chronicle, October 28, 1992.
New York Times, October 19, 1982; March 16, 1985.
Plain Dealer, February 21, 1993.
Science, April 1, 1988.
"Kenneth G. Wilson-Banquet Speech," http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1982/wilson-speech.html (March 24, 2003).
"Kenneth Wilson Curriculum Vitae," http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~kgw/kgwcv.html (March 24, 2003).
"Profile of Kenneth Wilson," http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~kgw/kgw.html (March 24, 2003).
"Redesign Education Home page," http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~kgw/RE.html (March 24, 2003).
"Redesigning Education-Kirkus Reviews," http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~kgw/kirkus.html (March 24, 2003). | <urn:uuid:b4bcf115-ff31-4205-a71b-fbd66d2a54e6> | {
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The air behind your fridge probably feels warm. Refrigerant, driven by a compressor through carefully designed pipework, is extracting heat from the food inside to keep it cool, dissipating the energy outside.
Heat pump water heating (HPWH) uses a similar principle in reverse to take heat from the outside air and raise the temperature in your hot water cylinder to a regulation, legionella-preventing 60°C.
Although they represent a significant investment, with units costing upwards of $4000 before installation, HPWHs can be extremely efficient; running their compressor, fan and pump uses substantially less electricity than conventional electric water heating.
These savings can mount up, as BRANZ figures suggest that a typical New Zealand household uses around 34 per cent of its electricity just to heat water.
HPWHs also score over solar water heating by working efficiently day and night, summer and winter. The best are able to deliver hot water with a third of the electricity of conventional heating when temperatures are down to 0°C.
There are several flavours. Multi-pass HPWH raises the temperature of your water a few degrees at a time and slowly heats a tank. Single pass versions take the temperature all the way up to 60°C in one go and deliver hot water at the top of the tank ready to use.
Some are all-in-one outdoor units, with compressor/heat exchanger and tank. Split systems transfer the outside heat to the tank indoors and can even use your existing hot water cylinder if it isn't too old.
It pays to do your research, as systems vary in price and efficiency and the best choice depends on your household hot water needs and patterns of use. If your dishwasher and washing machine use domestic hot water rather than their internal heating elements, you get more advantage from the HPWH efficiency.
For smaller households payback is slow, while for larger families, for example with young children or teenagers, annual savings are typically 25-30 per cent of the overall cost. Payback can be as little as two years for large users.
With Statistics NZ figures pointing to three quarters of the country's domestic water heated by conventional tanks, there is a ready market and a number of providers.
And since you are not using your energy-hungry water heating element switched on and off by a thermostat, does it make sense to go the next step and marry lower energy HPWH to rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV)?
Again it depends and careful calculations for your own household are key, especially as electricity prices can change, and the money earned by exporting electricity to the grid varies with no long-term guarantees.
One of the main considerations is the timing of your electricity use. If your lifestyle demands electricity through the day when your PV system is generating, or you can set your dishwasher and washing machine on timers, then you are saving electricity at retail prices.
It's what's referred to as 'energy balance'. Less electricity used and a more even demand help achieve this.
With HPWH you can run the compressor during the day when the sun is shining. This maximises the efficiency of the heat pump due to the warmer air temperatures, and ensures the electricity used is 'free', with 100 per cent of it coming from the PV system. This can lead to a smaller PV system for your house and the excess electricity you generate can be small enough to attract a generous price (currently 25c/kWh from Meridian for the first 5kWh per day), rather than the much lower wholesale rate for larger producers.
It can also pay when PV generation is restricted, for example by a small suitable roof area.
Back of a postcard calculations show that payback of a combined HPWH and 3kW PV system costing $15,000 to install could be around eight years, shaving over $1800 per year off a heavy electricity user's bill. That assumes 25c/kWh to buy or sell, 10,000kWh used per year before the installation and the EECA generic figures for PV generation.
PV or HPWH could deliver annual savings on their own. Combined, households need to work smarter to get the most 'bang for your buck' by matching the timing of energy generation and use as much as possible.
Do your homework
• EECA hot water savings calculator: energywise.govt.nz/tools/water-heating
• Consumer NZ report on HPWH: consumer.org.nz/reports/heat-pump-water-heaters
• Consumer NZ report on grid-tied PV: consumer.org.nz/reports/grid-tied-pv-systems | <urn:uuid:4bb6a8fe-a8c6-408d-9a8a-ba1f45763fc0> | {
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An arithmetic expression specifies a numeric computation that yields a numeric value on evaluation. The simplest form of an arithmetic expression can be:
You can form more complicated arithmetic expressions from one or more operands together with arithmetic operators and parentheses.
An arithmetic element can include logical entities because logical data is treated as integer data when used in an arithmetic context. When both arithmetic and logical operands exist for a given operator, the logical operand is promoted to type INTEGER of the same byte length as the original logical length. For example, a LOGICAL*2 will be promoted to INTEGER*2 and a LOGICAL*4 will be promoted to INTEGER*4.
Table below shows the arithmetic operators.
Table: Arithmetic Operators
Use the exponentiation, division, and multiplication operators between exactly two operands. You can use the addition and subtraction operators with one or two operands; in the latter case, specify the operator before the operand; for example, –TOTAL.
Do not specify two operators in succession. (Note that the exponentiation operator consists of the two characters (**), but is a single operator.) Implied operators, as in implied multiplication, are not allowed.
Interpretation of Arithmetic Expressions
Table below showsinterprets sample arithmetic expressions.
Table : Interpretation of Arithmetic Expressions
An arithmetic expression containing two or more operators is interpreted based on a precedence relation among the arithmetic operators. This precedence, from highest to lowest, is
Use parentheses to override the order of precedence.
The following is an example of an arithmetic expression:
The operators are executed in the following sequence:
A unary operator (–) can follow another operator. Specifying the unary operator after the exponentiation operator produces a variation on the standard order of operations. The unary operator is evaluated first in that case, resulting in exponentiation taking a lower precedence in the expression.
For example, the following expressionA ** - B * C
Arithmetic operands must specify values with integer, real, double-precision, complex, or double-complex data types. You can combine specific operands in an arithmetic expression. The arithmetic operands, in order of increasing complexity, are
A primary is the basic component in an arithmetic expression. The forms of a primary are
A factor consists of one or more primaries separated by the exponentiation operator. The forms of a factor are
Factors with more than one exponentiation operator are interpreted from right to left. For example, I**J**K is interpreted as I**(J**K), and I**J**K**L is interpreted as I**(J**(K**L)).
The term incorporates the multiplicative operators into arithmetic expressions. Its forms are
The above definition indicates that factors are combined from left to right in a term containing two or more multiplication or division operators.
Finally, at the highest level of the hierarchy, are the arithmetic expressions. The forms of an arithmetic expression are
An arithmetic expression consists of one or more terms separated by an addition operator or a subtraction operator. The terms are combined from left to right. For example, A+B-C has the same interpretation as the expression (A+B)-C. Expressions such as A*-B and A+-B are not allowed. The correct forms are A*(-B) and A+(-B).
An arithmetic expression can begin with a plus or minus sign.
Arithmetic Constant Expressions
An arithmetic constant expression is an arithmetic expression containing no variables. Therefore, each primary in an arithmetic constant expression must be one of the following:
In an arithmetic constant expression, do not specify the exponentiation operator unless the exponent is of type integer. Variable, array element, and function references are not allowed. Examples of integer constant expressions are
x+3 (where x is the symbolic name of a constant)
Integer Constant Expressions
An integer constant expression is an arithmetic constant expression containing only integers. It can contain constants or symbolic names of constants, provided they are of type integer. As with all constant expressions, no variables, array elements, or function references are allowed.
Evaluating Arithmetic Expressions
The data type of an expression is determined by the data types of the operands and functions that are referenced. Thus, integer expressions, real expressions, double-precision expressions, complex expressions, and double expressions have values of type integer, real, double-precision, complex, and double-complex, respectively.
Single-mode expressions are arithmetic expressions in which all operands have the same data type. The data type of the value of a single-mode expression is thus the same as the data type of the operands. When the addition operator or the subtraction operator is used with a single operand, the data type of the resulting expression is the same as the data type of the operand.
Mixed-mode expressions contain operands with two or more data types.
The data type of the result of a mixed-mode expression depends on the rank associated with each data type, as shown in Table below.
Table: Data Type Ranks
Except for exponentiation (discussed below), the result of a mixed-mode expression is assigned the data type of the highest-ranked element in the expression. The lower-ranked operand is converted to the type of the higher-ranked operand so that the operation is performed on values with equivalent data types. For example, an operation on an integer operand and a real operand produces a result of type real.
Operations that combine REAL*8 (DOUBLE PRECISION) and COMPLEX*8 (COMPLEX) are not allowed. The REAL*8 operand must be explicitly converted (for example, by using the SNGL intrinsic function).
Exponentiation is an exception to the above rules for mixed-mode expressions. When raising a value to an integer power, the integer is not converted. The result is assigned the type of the left operand.
When a complex value is raised to a complex power, the value of the
expression is defined as follows:
xy = EXP (y * LOG(x))
One operand of type integer can be divided by another operand of type integer. The result of an integer division operation is a value of type integer, referred to as an integer quotient. The integer quotient is obtained as follows:
Fortran Elements And Concepts
Constants And Data Structures
Assignment And Data Statements
Statement Functions And Subprograms
All rights reserved © 2018 Wisdom IT Services India Pvt. Ltd
Wisdomjobs.com is one of the best job search sites in India. | <urn:uuid:969c2399-b3af-4ece-b5f0-04018402ef5a> | {
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How to innovate and create demand for your product using Blue Ocean Strategy?
Before Ford’s Model T was introduced in 1908, the 500 automakers in America were building customized Novelty cars only. Even though numerous automakers were there, the automobile industry was small and produced cars were unappealing and overpriced. The cost of a single automobile back then was $1500, averagely twice the annual salary of Americans.
The model T came out in 1908, had only one color (black) and solved all the disputes with price and reliability. The Model T cost $850 in 1908 which got reduced to $600 by next year, 1909, with a tagline in their brochure proclaiming “Watch the Ford Go By, High Priced Quality in a Low Priced Car.” As cars were also easy to repair, the cost dropped down to $240 by the end of 1924.
Ford called it an automobile “for the great multitude, constructed of the best materials.” The price was friendly, the design was standardized, parts were interchangeable and options a customer had were limited. Ford’s model T replaced the skilled and creative labor with normal unskilled ones by executing a small task, time and again with more efficiency. It was made easier by building an assembly line. The idea was taken from a slaughterhouse where carcasses were hung on hooks mounted on a movable monorail. Cross-industry innovation did wonders here and Ford developed world’s first assembly line on the production grounds of model-T which decreased the labor hours by 60%.
Ford’s triumph was constructed using a highly profitable business model. His Model is one of the best examples of innovations following Blue Ocean Strategy where you focus on value innovation which helps you capture a segment where no competition exists.
Your market is an Ocean
Your market is an ocean divided into two areas- Red and Blue. Red, as the name indicates, is the part where a lot of competitive products exist. The market in the red ocean is crowded and is on the verge or is already saturated. Products become commodities and your organizational growths, as well as revenues, degrade if not fought tooth and nail with the competitors.
Blue Ocean, on the other hand, is a business strategy under which you find ways to gain market space without competing with anyone. You focus on creating a product with high differentiation and of low cost.
It helps you innovate and gives a new direction to your organization. This new direction takes you away from the crowded red ocean where a cutthroat war is going on. All this give you an early mover advantage while making competition irrelevant.
Which Components help you create Blue Ocean Shift?
The first component you need is to expand your mental horizons. Open your mind to accept challenges leading to major discoveries. This strategy will compel you to “shift your know-hows” to where the opportunity lies”.
Here are few idea generation strategies – SCAMPER, Morphological Analysis – that can help you expand your mental horizons to find the blue ocean in the red one.
Next component is to have the required tools to successfully move forward. Here comes one of the most challenging aspects of Blue Ocean Strategy. You wish to make billions and know a revolution needs to be brought. You have achieved the mindset required and all set to.
But what if you have an inadequacy in the requisite intelligence-generating tools and proper guidance to use them? You can never bring your Blue Ocean perspective to existence! Here is one tool that can help you in the pursuit: How NorthStar helps improve your research focus?
The third and last component aligns with the humanistic behavior. Something you call “human-ness”. Now, you’ll be standing in need of the next step – after a luminous idea, a clear strategy and the best tools to have a new value-cost frontier.
That step would be creating confidence in people that work for you, inspiring them so as to have their volunteering cooperation and ultimately generating “don’t give up no matter what” attitude in them. The article, Blue Ocean Leadership, on HBR captures the essence of the leadership strategy you should follow.
Two approaches to creating a blue ocean in your market
Demand is created rather than fought over. There can be numerous opportunities that need to be innovated in or around your business to have both, rapid growth and huge revenues.
In order to create a blue ocean, you can follow two distinct approaches. The first one is creating an entirely new market just like eBay did with its online auction industry. They followed a concept that was floating far away from their ocean.
Before they sailed their boat in 1995, in order to sell the unwanted stuff, a person had to release a newspaper advertisement. The ads had no visuals of the product and were limited to a two-liner description only. After the launch of their market-changing tool, the sellers hopped on to eBay’s online paid services from the free adverts on newspaper and made the company hit a turnover of $16 billion by 2013.
In the second you create a blue ocean out of a highly crowded red ocean. It’s done by coming up with an idea that pushes the existing boundaries of your business. The example of Ford Model T which I provided at the beginning of the article is an example.
A red ocean trap R&D should avoid
“Right”, R&D is a key driver of growth of an organization and in exploiting the blue ocean strategy. Sometimes leaders confuse technological innovation with market creation. This leads to channelizing R&D in the wrong direction and falling in the red than the blue ocean.
Tech leaders, hence, instead of focusing on technological innovation should focus on value innovation. The products resulting from their R&D efforts should offer their consumers a leap in the value. iTune, for example, was a value innovation which at a time when artists were frustrated with copyright infringements and consumers with the hassle of purchasing the whole album to listen to a song, solved both issues.
On the other hand, Google Glass was a technological innovation and a value one. Instead of providing value, it raised privacy concerns among its consumers. The result was that even before it would have shifted from early adopter to mainstream consumers; it got banned in bars, movie theaters, hospitals, and classrooms.
“I found that it was not very useful for very much, and it tended to disturb people around me that I have this thing.”
~ James Katz, Director of Emerging Media Studies, Boston University on usage of Google Glass | <urn:uuid:52b586ba-c156-4226-9e5e-302bab05d5a4> | {
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If the identical twin sisters who married identical twin brothers last weekend decide to start families, the couples‘ children will all be genetic siblings.
Siblings share about 50 percent of their DNA, except for twins, whose DNA sequences are a perfect 100 percent match.
Typically, first cousins have just an average of 12.5 percent of their genes in common, reports .
But not if you‘re the future children of newlyweds Josh and Jeremy Salyers and Brittany and Briana Deane (now, all Salyers).
A geneticist told Daily Mail Online about the bizarre twist of genetics – and, perhaps fate – that makes these two families more like one.
Twins make everything more confusing for most of us, but they make everything much clearer for scientists.
Geneticists in particular love identical twins, because their perfectly matched DNA offer a rare opportunity to rule out which traits are behavioral.
The rate of all twin births – both fraternal and identical – has risen dramatically since the 1980s, due mostly to the fact that women are having children later in life and getting IVF treatments.
In 1980, 19 out of every 1,000 births was a pair of twins. By 2016, every 33 out of 1,000 births resulted in twins.
Identical twins, however, are much more rare, and have pretty much stayed that way. Twins account for about three in every 1,000 births.
The two twin couples were married this month at a twin festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Photo / Facebook facebook twitter email linkedin google-plus whatsapp pinterest reddit
And since the Salyers quaternary (yes, there is a term for a pair of identical twins married to a pair of identical twins) is made up of four people, but only two sets of DNA, there number of ways their DNA can combine to form their kids‘ genes.
Here‘s how it works:
Humans have around 30,000 genes. We have two copies of each of those genes in every chromosome, but the two corresponding copies vary slightly from one another.
Each gene copy is the same same size and shape and sits in the same position on the chromosome. The two pairs will contain the same information, but in a different order.
Our chromosomes come in 23 pairs with matching genes.
Just about every cell in the body contains a full set of paired chromosomes.
That is, except for sex cells: Sperm and egg cells contain just one copy of every chromosome and that copy is essentially a mash up of the pair.
This way, when a sperm fertilizes an egg they make an embryo that has the correct number of genes and chromosomes.
The embryo will have one copy of each gene from the mother and one from the father, combined into a new set of 23 chromosomes.
“But identical twins are very special,” explains Dr Alexandra Burt, who is co-director of the Michigan State University Twin Registry.
“Within the first two weeks of a pregnancy, a single [fertilized egg] divides, and they‘ll both implant and become two people.”
So, in the case of the Deanes and the Salyers, “genetically, the two women are indistinguishable from one another, as are the two men,” Dr Burt says.
“That means that each child will share as many genes with their aunt as they will with their mother. The children are cousins ‘in real life‘ but, in terms of their DNA, they are siblings.”
To be clear, this is not the same thing as genetic incest. Inbreeding birth defects happen because the mother and father share too much genetic material.
Environmental differences will result in some differences in each couples‘ kids, but they plan to raise their families in the same house. Photo / Facebook facebook twitter email linkedin google-plus whatsapp pinterest reddit
The male halves of each couple don‘t share DNA with the female halves, so each pair can safely reproduce.
And Dr Burt says that there is no reason to believe that there are any genetic health risks to being the child of two identical twins.
In fact, even the respective children of one set of twins – whose other parents are not twins – will still be genetic half siblings, sharing as many genes as if they had one parent in common.
Genes only go so far to shape who people become, however.
No matter how much DNA they share, children who grow up with the same set of parents will be shaped differently by that experience from their cousins growing up with a different – if genetically identical – set of parents.
Although, that is complicated by the fact that the two Salyers couples intend to live in and raise their children in the same house.
Even Dr Burt can‘t predict what will come of that.
“That‘s hardcore,” she says.
While there have plenty of studies on the offspring of identical twins, there aren‘t enough children of two pairs of identical twins to predict much of what the two sets of Salyer kids might be like.
Such children are even rarer than their already rare parents, and how their lives pan out will be of great interest to geneticists like Dr Burt.
“Identical twins are really magical,” she says.
“They‘re clones of each other, created by nature, and you‘ve got a case of two of these magical sets of human beings meeting and falling in love.
“If it didn‘t happen in real life, you wouldn‘t believe it could happen and you couldn‘t write a better story than that.” | <urn:uuid:437677a6-054c-4665-9c28-a71465c80c35> | {
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In middle school science, one of my biggest challenges is integrating meaningful reading activities that support and extend our science content. With my students at a wide range of reading levels, I’m always looking for ways to help them access difficult texts and build reading comprehension in science. One of my favorite reading strategies is “They Say, I Say.” I use this with anything from news articles, to Kids Discover Online texts, to poetry and fiction. Here’s how it’s done.
The setup is simple: on the left margin of the text, students summarize the text (They Say), and on the right margin of the text, students make a connection to something they’ve learned or experienced (I Say). Here is an example I created from the Kids Discover article Nutrition for Tomorrow. The great thing about the Kids Discover articles is they are already chunked down into small sections. For other article sources, I chunk the article down into a paragraph or two at a time.
This can be done simply by printing out the article and having students write in the margins. I prefer to copy the text into a Google Doc. (Tip: ctrl + shift + v will paste without formatting, keeping your formatting consistent to match your Doc.) Then, I can either print the article for students or post it to Google Classroom (create assignment > attach Google Doc > “make a copy for each student”).
Here is a Google Docs template to get you started. Simply paste the text into the middle column. (The They Say and I Say columns are green to help my students recognize what they need to fill in when I post the assignment to Google Classroom.)
Using They Say, I Say
When I first introduce They Say, I Say to my students, I model the process in the first section. I will read the section out loud while annotating the text. Then, I ask my students to talk with their partner about what we could write for the They Say. We discuss their ideas together and come to a consensus on a They Say. Finally, I think out loud as I come up with my I Say, before filling in that column on my copy.
For the next section, I turn more of the responsibility over to students by having them come up with their They Say, share it with a partner, then I ask a few students to share. Then we do the same with the I Say. As we progress through the article, each section moves a little bit quicker as the students get the hang of this strategy. Students enjoy reading and making connections to their experiences and find it easier to refer to the article in later activities.
They Say, I Say can easily be paired with different reading and annotation strategies, including popcorn reading, choral reading, partner reads, reading in four voices, and think-alouds.
To make a reading assignment meaningful for students, it is essential to have rich after-reading activities. In my class, we frequently use Walk and Talks (read more here) to discuss the article, make additional connections, and ask questions. A Walk and Talk is a great opportunity to have students share their They Say and I Say with a partner.
Students can use a variety of digital and analog platforms to synthesize what they read. Students can use their “I Say” column as a springboard for a personal reflection; try having students record a video reflection using an online video platform such as Recap.
After we read multiple articles and examine additional resources (including labs, videos, primary sources, etc.), my students enjoy participating in Socratic Seminars (read more here) to deepen their understanding and think critically about the topic.
They Say, I Say is my go-to classroom strategy for building reading comprehension. We use it for almost every piece of text we read, and I find my students appreciate the reading scaffold as much as I do! What reading strategies do you use in your classroom? | <urn:uuid:1afef414-f3d7-49e9-b5e4-4738fdf31141> | {
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Have you ever wondered where the delightful expressions “hit the hay” and “hit the sack” came from?
While their origins are really just a bit of mattress and bedding trivia, it’s quite interesting to discover that these sayings go right back to beginnings of the bed as we know it today.
History of the Bed
In the days of the Anglo-Saxons in what is now Great Britain, people would make their beds just before they wanted to sleep. There wasn’t a frame or base, and the bed was simply a sack stuffed with straw or hay. In those days the houses had a central “great hall” which was where everyone – the family, servants and livestock – lived, ate and slept. So when it was time to go to bed, everyone would quite literally “hit the hay” or “hit the sack”!
By the mid-11th century, beds had become a lot more comfortable, and those used by the gentry were rather grand, often with canopies hanging from the ceiling to keep in the warmth.
Grand designs continued to be made by craftsmen for several centuries, probably the best known internationally being the Great Bed of Ware, now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is an enormous creation, measuring some 11 feet or 3.25 meters square.
By the 17th century, beds in Europe had become lighter and more elegant in design. The cords or rope used to make mattresses were stretched using a tool known as a bed twitch. The base was still often stuffed with straw, but the top layer was commonly stuffed with soft feathers, just as duvets and some quilts are today. The feathered-filled part of the mattress could be opened and aired, and feathers added when it was necessary to add more bulk.
Early pioneers in North America slept on jack beds that were made with slats of wood supported by cabin walls on two sides and one wooden leg at the corner where there was no other form of support. The earliest mattresses were, not surprisingly, also sacks of straw.
Gorgeous canopied “tent beds” made an appearance in America during the 18th century, while beautifully designed wooden beds became popular in Europe. Mahogany was a favorite with famous furniture designers and manufacturers like Chippendale and the Adam brothers appealing to the upper classes.
It is said that bed bugs and fleas lead to the return of metal (which is believed to have been used in Roman and Byzantine times) being used as a material for beds in the 19th century. Plain designs were common in servants’ rooms as well as in prisons and hospitals for maintenance and hygienic reasons. But decorative iron and brass beds soon became sought after items of furniture, and today are copied by some bed manufacturers.
As far as the mattress is concerned, hair and woven cane were used during the 18th century, and by the early 19th century coil springs had taken the place of metal laths. At first vertical coil springs were used, until someone came up with the idea of packing each spring into a separate fabric cylinder.
Today, of course, there is lots of choice, both in terms of bed design and mattress design. These range from mattresses bases made with plain wooden slats topped with a solid foam mattress, to manufactured bases topped with gloriously spring mattresses.
Unusual Bed and Mattress Designs
Other less usual types of mattresses use air and water instead of straw and other fillings.
The water bed that became so popular during the 1970s, in fact dates back to the 19th century when it was used in hospitals to support patients with bed sores, bone fractures and even those who were paralyzed. The reason for this is that the water totally eliminates pressure points.
“Modern” 20th century water beds were generally made from heavy-duty vinyl, with sealed seams and a safety liner. Some incorporated an electric pad that warmed the water, and therefore the bed.
Air beds go even further back in time to the 2nd century when Roman emperor Helioabalus had one made for himself. Centuries later (in the 1470s) the French King Louis XI copied the Roman emperor’s bed design, calling it his lit de vent.
Air beds haven’t enjoyed any lasting popularity, largely because they aren’t particularly comfortable. But inflatable mattresses are a great idea for additional guests who cannot be accommodated elsewhere. When not in use they can simply be folded and packed away in a cupboard. When needed all you do is use a hand or foot pump to fill them with air.
Another unusual type of bed is one that hangs. While certainly never the norm, they have a novelty value, and can even be designed so that the bed is hoisted to the ceiling when not in use, making it an option in smaller spaces. Unlike a hammock which is slung between two supports, this type of bed is generally made by attaching chains to both the specially designed bed and the rafters or joists in the roof. Of course it is essential that the hanging mechanism is attached securely and is strong enough to take the weight of whoever will be sleeping in the bed.
Folding beds have been popular over time, and are ideal for small homes with multifunctional rooms. Also not a particularly new concept, centuries ago North American pioneers sometimes had beds that were positioned in a recess with doors that were closed during the day, and hinged folding beds that were hidden behind curtains.
If you ever get the chance to watch a silent movie starring Charlie Chaplin, chances are you’ll see him folding himself away along with the bed he was sleeping on. There’s other mattress and bedding trivia relating to folding beds and movie stars too. For instance in one of the popular James Bond movies, Bond and a friend used Charlie Chaplin’s trick to escape a hail of bullets.
Folding beds may fold horizontally or vertically and, like those devised by early American settlers, may be curtained off or stowed away into a wall or recess. | <urn:uuid:79006626-286c-4a42-b9bb-c8ba97d4e4b1> | {
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It’s an award winning program in Canadian elementary schools that is teaching students how to be more empathetic and it uses babies as teachers.
Called Roots of Empathy, grade 6 students get a half-hour lesson once a month with an infant. Throughout the year the baby and mom visit the students so they can watch the infant’s development, learn what makes them happy or sad and see what impacts their actions have on others.
At Bay St. Lawrence the baby is little Lia. The students sing hello and good bye to her and all feel as if they are learning to be more kind to other people because they are starting to understand how actions do indeed effect others.
The goal of the program is to create a better society, one that is more empathetic and one that perhaps doesn’t allow the bully to survive anymore. Future plans for the program is to start with students in younger grades. Only time will tell if the program is truly effective. [ Source ] [ Picture ] | <urn:uuid:c6c8c4cc-f55b-4fd8-a038-c0058ce5eaca> | {
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There's only one source of renewable energy that can provide all of the world's needs and that's the Sun. In fact, enough sunlight falls on the Earth's surface in just a couple of hours each day to meet the whole world's energy needs for one year. The question is: how can we effectively and economically harness this solar energy, without mass-producing very expensive conventional solar cells, which would ultimately require vast tracts of land in order to do their job? Nanotechnology could provide the answer in the form of a new kind of solar cell, one which would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and highly flexible in design. In fact, you maybe surprised as to just how flexible these cells might be! Find out more by watching this movie.
mPhase Technologies, the company behind a nanotechnology-enabled battery with unlimited shelf life, has posted a video demonstration of its Smart Nanobattery on YouTube.The video illustrates in layman's terminology some fundamental concepts behind the smart nano battery. The company has proven it is possible to fabricate nanotech-based "smart" batteries, which can store reserve power for decades and generate electric current virtually on demand. | <urn:uuid:30eccd80-10cc-4ff7-86cb-4d08b723dd19> | {
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At Northgate Primary School we believe that diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit here. We are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils.
Inclusion at Northgate is about providing equality and excellence for all in order to promote the highest possible standards of achievement. It also ensures we recognise and celebrate the differences that exist amongst us, that we treat all people fairly and that we strive to eliminate discrimination wherever it exists.
- Discrimination on the basis of colour, culture, origin, gender, sexual orientation, ability, political and religious belief is unacceptable in this school.
- Every pupil, member of staff and governor will endeavour to further this objective by personally contributing towards a happy and caring environment and by showing respect for, and appreciation of, each other as individuals.
- The primary objective of this school will therefore be to educate, develop and prepare all our pupils for life, whatever their sex, colour, culture, origin or ability.
- An equal opportunities philosophy will be practised by all staff.
Public Sector Equality Duty
The Equality Act 2010 has replaced and unified all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act. It aims to ensure that people have equality of opportunity in accessing and experiencing public services. There are two kinds of duty that schools must meet: the general which is the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and the specific. There are two specific duties; these are that schools should:
- publish information which shows compliance with PSED and
- publish at least one equality objective
The Public Sector Equality Duty has three main aims:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct under the act
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
As part of the annual analysis of provision, pupil progress, attainment and attendance School Leaders and governors consider the groups protected under the Equality Act (race, disability, gender, gender re-assignment, age, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, sexual orientation, religion and belief and sexual orientation).
- Northgate Primary School has 507 pupils on roll plus 30 children in Nursery classes as at October 2017.
- Approximately 30% of pupils are recorded as being of White British ethnicity. 58% of pupils speak English as an additional language (EAL); there are 44 different first languages spoken across the school.
- 12% of pupils have an identified Special Educational Need and/or disability (SEND) and the school operates a Special Support Centre (SSC) for pupils with severe or profound hearing impairment.
- The school receives Pupil Premium Grant funding for 20% of pupils.
- Overall attendance for 2016-17 was broadly in line with national averages at 94.6%. The attendance of pupils in groups protected by the Equality Act was: EAL (94.3%), SEND with EHCP / Statement (89.7%), SEND Support (92.7%).
Having analysed the data relating to the protected groups, the following objectives have been set:
- Diminishing the differences in performance between specific groups of pupils across the school; in particular, ensuring that pupils with identified SEND achieve their personal end of year and end of Key Stage progress and attainment targets
- Ensuring effective use of the Pupil Premium Grant to raise the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils, monitoring closely the impact of specific targeted support and interventions
- Raising the attendance of individual pupils, specifically those with protected characteristics
- Promoting and enhancing community cohesion and a sense of shared belonging to the school and the local community | <urn:uuid:e77fe2cc-6870-481a-9305-0b28d443a1e9> | {
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Painted Lady butterflies invaded Europe in their millions this spring, astounding many observers by the sheer volume of their migration. However, the usual time for a birder to be showing interest in butterflies is the summer: there’s more butterfly and less bird activity.
Ebro Delta, mid-July. With a young British birder, Max Levy and his parents. Over two days we saw at least a dozen of these handsome butterflies, which I initially identified as Monarchs Danaus plexippus.
Max spotted the first one on 18th July and then we saw about a dozen the next day. I got rather excited and subsequently reported our “Monarch” sightings on a couple of forums. Luckily there are some diligent and knowledgeable forum-goers out there, and I was promptly redirected to the right identification: Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus.
Both of these butterflies breed in the Canary Islands. On the Spanish mainland the Plain Tiger (Spanish: “Mariposa Tigre” or “Monarca Africana”) has been recorded from all around the coastline, parts of which it has colonized in the last decade or so. Currently it breeds at several localities, including the Ebro Delta. The Monarch is more restricted in range, but has bred alongside this species in the province of Málaga.
Here’s another spectacular butterfly, the Cardinal Argynnis pandora.
I feel pretty confident about its identification (please!), and that the photograph is my own, taken on the edge of the Montsant range in mid-June. In Catalunya the Cardinal is is a rare and localised species which shows significant variations from year to year.
If interested in these attractive insects you could do much worse than download a pdf of Cynthia, the bulletin of the CBM scheme (Catalan Butterfly Monitoring).
Now you know what to do with those long, hot summers: when the birds go quiet, take a glance at the butterflies. | <urn:uuid:3de527ba-2523-44e9-966e-db158da4c20c> | {
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Researchers are using a Pacific island plant called Amborella trichopoda to help solve "Darwin's abominable mystery"—what was it, exactly, that caused the explosion of flowering plants in the fossil record around 145 million years ago? Amborella's genome, it turns out, holds clues to explaining how flowers managed their incredible diversification and sudden dominance. The Scientist explains why Amborella is a key candidate for doing this:
A. trichopoda is the sister species of all other flowering plants, or angiosperms. It is the last survivor of a lineage that branched off during the dynasty’s earliest days, before the rest of the 350,000 or so angiosperm species diversified.
After sequencing the plant's genome, researchers analyzed it and found that
Of the 300,000 flowering plants known today, Amborella is the only one that directly traces back to that common ancestor of them all, the researchers write in a statement. "In the same way that the genome sequence of the platypus — a survivor of an ancient lineage — can help us study the evolution of all mammals, the genome sequence of Amborella can help us learn about the evolution of all flowers," they say.
More from Smithsonian.com: | <urn:uuid:8b7ab61f-186f-4b0f-9293-05930413687a> | {
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What is Structure & Composition of the Earth:
It may look like the Earth is made up of one big solid rock, but it’s actually made up of several parts. Some of them are constantly moving!
You can imagine that the Earth is composed of many layers, like an onion. These layers become increasingly dense as you get closer to the center of the earth. See the image below for the earth’s four main layers: mantle, mantle, outer core, and inner core.
The crust is the thin outer layer of the Earth where we live. Well, in the picture it looks thinner and thinner than other diapers, but don’t worry, we won’t accidentally fall anytime soon. The crust varies from about 5 km thick (on the ocean floor) to about 70 km thick (on the earth where we live it is called continental crust). The continental crust is made up of rocks composed mainly of silica and alumina known as “sial”.
The next layer of the Earth is called the mantle. The mantle is much thicker than the crust at a depth of nearly 3000 km. It consists of slightly different silicate rocks with more magnesium and iron.
Tectonic plates are a combination of the crust and outer mantle, also known as the lithosphere. These plates move very slowly, about a few centimeters per year. The place where the plates touch is called a defect. When the plates move and the boundaries collide, it can cause earthquakes.
Earth’s outer core is made of iron and nickel and is very hot (4400 to 5000+ degrees Celsius). So hot that iron and nickel metals are liquid! The outer core is very important to the earth because it creates the so-called magnetic field. The magnetic field generated by the outer core travels far into space and creates a protective barrier around the earth that shields us from the sun’s harmful solar wind.
The inner core of the Earth is made up of iron and nickel, just like the outer core, however, the inner core is different. The inner core is located deep in the ground, so it is under great pressure. So much pressure that even though it’s very hot, it’s still solid. The inner core is the hottest part of the Earth, and at temperatures above 5000 degrees Celsius, it is as hot as the surface of the sun. | <urn:uuid:3427952a-c7ef-4a3e-955b-ff8efbce665f> | {
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By Nola Thury
A name can tell a story, make a claim, and reflect a relationship. Beyond that, the way we refer to a place dictates the people and experiences welcomed into its space.
For centuries, people in the United States have contested the naming of places, from cities to streams to national parks. Renaming and restoring Indigenous place names involves a recalibration of how we think about history as well as the future. Locally, movements to remove the inappropriate names of “Mount Rainier” and “Pierce County” are gaining traction.
Professor of North American History, Doug Sackman, described the history and motives behind the mountain’s name. In the late 1700s, the British explorer George Vancouver sailed around what is now referred to as the “Puget Sound,” named for his Lieutenant, Peter Puget. According to Sackman, Vancouver was searching for a passage through the continent. He went around naming anything he wanted after his friends– in 1792 he named “Mount Rainier” after another friend of his, Peter Rainier, an admiral in the British Navy who fought against the United States in the Revolutionary War. Sackman said, “So he’s kind of a Johnny Appleseed of nomenclature around here, bestowing imperial names. And he’s literally networking when he chooses a name. ‘Big mountain, gonna name it after my well-positioned friend.’”
Sackman said of the naming, “It exposes a deeper arrogance really. Vancouver is lost, basically. He’s looking for something, he talks to the Puyallup people. They tell him he’s not gonna find what he’s looking for, which is a water route across North America, the Northwest passage. And then he decides that he gets to name everything around.”
The Puyallup Tribe has always contested Vancouver’s naming of the mountain and recently renewed discussions on formally recommending an alternative name, according to KIRO7 News. Members of the Tribe told The Trail that they are waiting until the Council’s internal process concludes to comment on the issue.
To the Puyallup peoples, the mountain is called təqʷuʔməʔ (pronounced “Taquoma.”). Brandon Reynon, the historic preservation officer for the Puyallup Tribe, told KIRO7 News that the Twulshootseed name for the mountain translates as ‘mother of all waters’. Sackman thinks this name “reflects something ecologically and socially real about the mountain. The name in that sense reflects a relationship, rather than something more superficial.” To Sackman, restoring the name of the mountain is “highly, highly overdue. Naming it after Peter Rainier is a toponymic abomination in my opinion.”
Another local effort is underway to rename “Pierce County.” The name of the 14th president of the US, Franklin Pierce, is found all around Tacoma. Sackman described Franklin Pierce as “basically an anti-abolition president.” During his Presidency from 1853 to 1857, Pierce “enforces the fugitive slave law, which makes all parts of the United States a terror to live in if you are African American” Sackman said. Sackman affirms that “Pierce as a president is largely forgotten. But he stands on the side of white supremacy as the national policy in this country.”
One advocate for renaming Pierce County runs a Twitter account called @TahomaCountyNow. “A county name pays tribute to its namesake – the person, place, or thing it’s named after. Pierce County is named after — and honoring — a president who supported retaining the institution of slavery,” they said. The user proposes “Tahoma” (one anglicized version of təqʷuʔməʔ) as an alternative county name.
“Tahoma County, to me, would signify respect for Salish peoples, the natural environment, and all the people who live here. It could change the self-image of the county from one that accepts what it can get to one that demands progress – environmentally, socially, culturally, and economically,” they said.
Washington State set a precedent for this in 2005 when they reattributed King County’s name from Rufus King, Pierce’s slave-owning Vice President, to the more befitting Martin Luther King Jr. The name change brought to Sackman’s mind Dr. King’s quote “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Sackman pontificated that the name change might signify this “bending of the arc of the moral universe” that Dr. King imagined. Sackman said, “I think if we want to update our history and a sense of who we are and where we might be going, take the lead from what they did in King county.”
To @TacomaCountyNow, renaming Pierce County might trigger further changes in our community. “It might also restart a serious effort to restore the name of Mount Rainier to Tahoma or another historic native name. But renaming a county is easier than renaming a mountain.”
Doug Sackman said “Naming can reflect values. It can exert a kind of power.” Renaming and restoring Indigenous place names on its own won’t make a place more inclusive, however, some see it as a step in the right direction. Restoring the name of təqʷuʔməʔ doesn’t atone for the fact that “Mount Ranier National Park” is on stolen land. But perhaps, if Tahoma can reckon with the history of slavery and the genocide of Native Americans through names, it can better address the legacies of these histories for current residents. | <urn:uuid:4e4ac9e5-0873-46da-b0c0-8c07d6a73fa0> | {
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The new edition of Farber, Eskridge, Frickey and Schacter's Cases and Materials on Constitutional Law exploits the two most exciting developments in Constitutional Law teaching in the last thirty years: the judiciary's dramatic engagement with social movements and key political debates, and academic and judicial deployment of original meaning as a central methodology. Thus, the new edition presents a most systematic introduction of original meaning methodology for law students, starting with the evolution of “originalism” in response to the academic debates over Brown v. Board of Education, and continuing with in-depth examination of what original meaning teaches us about the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the First and Second Amendments, the Commerce Clause and other authorizations for congressional regulation, the federalist structure of the Constitution, and the separation of powers.
The new edition provides in-depth treatment of the most exciting issues in constitutional law today—including the validity of affirmative action, exemplified by state discriminations based upon sexuality or gender; the imperial First Amendment, threatening to impose a new Lochner-type era of judicial review of economic legislation; the increasingly prominent federalism limitations on congressional and state authority, powerfully illustrated by the ObamaCare Case and the Arizona Immigration Case; and the limitations on the imperial presidency posed by the War on Terror Cases. | <urn:uuid:8bd9254d-2504-4c7e-97d8-7d3c506c4243> | {
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spring water quality
≈ no magnets, no electricity, no chemicals used, no on-going operating costs ≈
WHAT IS WATER?
Water is an irreplaceable natural resource and the source of all life on earth. It is a tasteless and odourless, clear and colourless fluid, which consists of two of the most common elements in nature: hydrogen and oxygen. Besides suspended minerals and organic particles in soluble form, natural water also contains various gases (e.g. oxygen) and solids (mineral nutrients).
Water is also a storehouse of information. Water contains imprinted energy oscillations, or information, which, amongst other things, influences homeostasis (the body’s own regulatory system). Therefore we are not only concerned with physically cleaning the water from pollutants but also with the energetic deletion of the information of pollutants.
FUNCTION AND RESONANCE EFFECT
The AquaKat® is a water revitalization device that emits subtle information patterns which have the effect of changing the characteristics of water. In the same manner as a catalytic converter in a car changes harmful pollutants into less harmful emissions, the AquaKat® changes the nature of water by transmitting specific frequency patterns to it. Charged information in the AquaKat® causes water to resonate at a specific frequency (much like a tuning fork when struck will cause a nearby stationary tuning fork to also start resonating). This causes water’s crystalline structure to take on the attributes of natural spring water (see photos below).
Based on our understanding of water’s ability to store and emit information, the following can be deduced regarding the effect of the AquaKat: It alters the “memory’ of the water by changing the clusters within it, so that the information patterns of tap water adopt an oscillation identical to that of the AquaKat® (see graph below). Water revitalization with an AquaKat® increases water’s vitality, gives it a softer feel and improves its taste. Water filtration and reverse osmosis systems will cleanse water of various substances: chemical, heavy metal and organic contaminants. Unfortunately, they do not restore the energies and information related to them nor do they restore the vitality (life) to water – necessary in activating water’s natural healing abilities.
How it works and its effects
The effect of the AquaKat® device is based on the blend of information used from several different sources of spring water of the highest quality and best origins, and on information from minerals, oxygen and other sources. Due to the combination of these informational frequencies, water subject to the AquaKat’s influences takes on spring water properties, including the benefits associated with drinking such water (better taste, “internal cleansing”) and from bathing/showering in it (more agreeable, better feel), but also takes on the best protective qualities of water such as natural hardness stabilization (i.e. calcium) and increased absorption ability (i.e. overcoming red / gray discolouration, cleaning effect, freshness). [For a comprehensive list of the many attributes of AquaKat-treated water refer to the section (below) titled: Application Overview.]
To date only a few scientists have recognized the energetic and informational impact attributable to drinking water pollution. One of the best known, Wolfgang Ludwig, advocates the theory that “water contains certain signals, even after being treated, which depending on their wavelength, can be detrimental or damaging to health”. Imprinted energy oscillations contain information. Therefore pollutant oscillations in the water also contain information that influences homeostasis (the body’s own regulatory system) among other things. This means that in order for water to be clean or harmless, because its pollution levels are within allowable limits, it is necessary that energies and informational frequencies related to these pollutants also be eliminated. Ludwig concluded that the informational frequency imprints of these pollutants need to be removed through water revitalization processes – such as the AquaKat® is able to provide.
Why water vitalization?
As already mentioned, water contains imprinted energy oscillations, or information, which, among other things, influences homeostasis (the body’s own regulatory system). This means that water is not just clean or harmless because its pollution levels are within the allowed limits, but also that energies and possibly harmful information relating to them also have to be eliminated. Therefore, it has to be living (or vital) water.
Water can store and emit ethereal information. Therefore we are not only concerned with physically cleaning the water of pollutants, but also with energetic deletion of the information of pollutants
- Water revitalization
- Increases the biological water quality
- Higher bioavailability of dissolved minerals in the water
- Restoration of natural dynamics and harmony (spring water quality)
- Multi-information of diverse spring waters, oxygen and minerals
- Dissolves/prevents lime build-up on pipes, plumbing fixtures and appliances
- Stabilization hardness and homogenization lime in water
- Prevents/eliminates biofilm on inside wall of water pipes
- Protects water pipes and household appliances
- Less aggressive and less corrosion, protects against rust
- Increased solubility capacity of water to absorb dissolved substances
- Longer storage of water without a deterioration of quality
- Increased hygiene and sanitation as sedimentation does not build-up on pipes
- Permanent function – water retains vitality, even when stationary (not flowing) in pipes
- Supports increased alkalinity (elevated pH)
- Health activation, supports physical well-being
- Energetic cancellation of harmful information in water
- Optimized solubility and higher absorption capacity of mineral substances in the water
- Provides water with positive life force (Bovis reading) and healthy “left spin” spectrum
- Revitalized water, rich in energy
- Spring water quality and attributes
- No change in the water composition
- Fresher taste and changes the nature of chlorine
- Feels softer to touch and taste
- Reduces use of soaps, detergents and additives
- Enhances septic system functionality
- Reduces surface tension of water (increased viscosity)
- No plumbing required to install
- No maintenance or operating costs
- No magnetism, no electricity, no chemicals and not susceptible to frost damage
- May be used on copper, PVC, plastic or metal water line
- Available as waterproof unit – which can be suspended in a water storage tank
- Thousands of users worldwide – more than 25 years of usage
Range of Uses
- Individual faucet, water tap outlet or showerheads
- Private household,
- Mobile home, recreational vehicle, cottage/recreational property
- Apartment buildings
- Community water supply system
- Park/rest area water supply and/or washroom facilities
- Swimming pools, hot tubs
- Hot water heating systems, cooling tower installations
- Commercial establishments, including restaurant, bakery, grocery store, spa, tourist accommodation, car wash, laundry, hair salon, etc.
- Agricultural use (e.g. poultry / livestock watering, processing water, on sprayer equipment, composting)
- Industrial uses (e.g. processing and cooling operations, metal fabrication, recirculation water use)
|Model||Daily Water Volume||Distance|
|in liters||in US gallons||in meters||in feet|
|AquaKat 8+||* See AquaKat 8+ Design Paramaters table which follows|
AquaKat 8+ Design Parameters.
All numbers calculated based on 8 bar water pressure.
The AquaKat® is easy to install. No plumbing is required. The AquaKats may be filled onto all pipe materials.
Ideally, an AquaKat® should be placed on to the water line close to where it first comes into the dwelling or premises it is intended to service, except it should be placed after a water pressure tank or water softener (if either is present).
AquaKat M, L, and XL
These devices can simply be clamped or strapped (with plastic cable ties) onto the main intake water pipe.
Things to be Aware of
Initially, possible release of limescale particles
- Flush pipes after 6 – 8 weeks
- Avoid electromagnetic fields
- Do not paint the AquaKat or stick anything onto it
- Do not dent or puncture the AquaKat
- Position on the pipe so that there is no contact between the AquaKat and any
other surface (e.g. floor, wall, ceiling, other equipment)
Should you have any question respecting the property installation and use of the AquaKat, please contact your AquaKat distributor for assistance.
A 10 inch (25 cm) long, straight and free pipe segment is sufficient for the installation of the AquaKat 8+ (or larger unit). Foam (provided) is used as a spacer and anti-slip device between the pipe and the AquaKat 8+, which can then be locked in place (locks provided).
In cases where pipe size and water capacity warrant the expansion in the size of the
AquaKat 8+, addition module extensions can be added (as shown).
Addressing Lime Build up and Rust in Water
One benefit of water revitalization with the AquaKat ® is that lime build-up inside water pipes becomes dissolved and does not re-form. The reason for this is that the water regains its natural capability to hold dissolvent mineral substances as microscopic particles – 200 to 300 times smaller than before (the diagram opposite illustrates the difference).
This means that lime does not build up on pipes, in hot water tanks, hot water heating systems, appliances or in commercial, industrial or agricultural operations, especially where water is recirculated or heated.
Similarly, rust in pipes is dissolved and then washed away like other substances in the water, instead of accumulating or staining fixtures.
Microscopic examination has shown that practically no coagulated crystals form under the influence of the AquaKat®. Instead, small round and isolated singular crystals are formed that have the additional effect of stabilizing the hardness of the water.
In another comparison, the crystal scientist Dr Elmar Langenscheidt has re-tested the well-known crystallization behaviour of ascorbic acid. In water that was informed by the AquaKat®, ideal typical uniaxial crystals are formed. Their centre is clearly recognizable. It becomes the centre of a radial corona of interference colours, which indicates a closed crystal structure.
Hard water versus soft water
It is widely accepted that good quality drinking water is an essential and healthy part of our daily diet. The minerals that it contains, such as potassium and magnesium, are also part of the water and give it its good taste. Calcium is also part of this; however, it can have side effects. It may be good for the human body, but the buildup of calcium (lime scale) in pipes, in hot water tanks, on plumbing fixtures, kettles, etc. can cause significant problems and costs.
What most people do not realize is that water that is too soft can also cause damage – by corroding metals and metal surfaces. Rust can eat away on the inside of pipes. Lime can therefore be useful, even important. Just to get rid of it means also to give up its protective properties.
This is why water experts recommend leaving the valuable calcium in the water! Modern water treatment techniques and systems, such as AquaKat®, work on the calcium in such a way that prevents it from settling as harmful lime scale, while allowing it to retain its protective properties.
By addressing problems of lime build-up in pipes and on fixtures and by eliminating rust stains on plumbing appliances and elsewhere, the AquaKat® can eliminate the need for a water softener and/or iron removal device – saving money on water equipment and replacement products (salt, filters, etc.). Also plumbing systems work more efficiently (at increased capacity), hot water tanks last longer and water heating energy costs are reduced. These are all factors which enable the AquaKat® to pay for itself quickly.
New insights into tap water
The pleasant and healing effects of water, which has been treated with the AquaKat®, are not easily measured or assessed by visual examination. Yet, they can be experienced. During the more than twenty years of AquaKat® use in Europe an extensive number of favourable experiences have been documented, including the following:
A leading German plumbers’ trade journal “SBZ Sanitar-Heizungs-Klima-und Klempnertechnik” undertook a study on the effectiveness of the AquaKat®. They commissioned a group of plumbers to test the device with their residential customers. More than 80 percent of test participants reported positive results with the AquaKat®. During the three months test period, it was reported that former problems of lime scale build-up on pipes, in hot water heaters and on appliances (e.g. kettles) resolved themselves. Households that previously had a rust problem reported that red discolouration of their water disappeared. Also participants identified water properties that can only be experienced subjectively, including: the water simply tasted better; felt softer; the chlorine taste seemed to disappear and when having a shower it felt more refreshing – as if under a waterfall in the mountains. [Note: an English translation of this study called: Humbug or New Perspective is below under Information Downloads.]
Former Problem with Septic System Resolved: A few months after installing an AquaKat® on their home water system, a household noticed as a side benefit that a chronic set of problems they used to experience with their septic system – bad odor, a need to frequently pumped out the septic tank and the tile field not functioning efficiently – all seemed to resolve themselves. Their regular septic tank pump out operator observed: “It seems to have initiate an aerobic process in the septic tank, eliminating foul odors and causing the whole system to function more efficiently and not requiring as regular a pumpout.”)
There have been numerous reports of favorable results with the AquaKat® being used in commercial and industrial operations. Some include:
- A champagne producer was able to decommission their water softening plant
- A hotel now saves 30 percent on its costs for cleaning and disinfection agents
- A bakery reports that their bread dough is easier to process
- A pasta manufacturer has a similar experience with kneading their dough
- Another bakery has become famous for their bread’s flavor and freshness and it ability to “practically” never go stale – which the owner attributes to the installation of an AquaKat®
- A hairdresser reports using less shampoo in her salon and her client’s hair looks shinier and softer
- Pub owners / restaurateurs are happy with the notably improved taste of their water, and comment on the ease in cleaning glassware (“sparkling clean”) and reduced detergent requirements in the laundry
- The produce manager in a grocery store observed that his store’s produce now has a better shelf life, experiences reduced deterioration (e.g. overcomes lettuce wilting) and looks fresher, since having installed an AquaKat® M on their produce water misting operation.
- A cheese manufacturer has found that his hot water boiler which previously required constant cleaning, to address a lime build-up problem, no longer experiences this problem
- A car wash operator reports lower water surface tension (water beading up / water spotting) and a lower volume of soap/detergent use since an AquaKat® was installed
- A metal fabricator reports their (wet) metal lathes now work more efficiently and the water seems smoother
- A ski resort in Switzerland reports that a previous problem with odors from a high traffic washroom/toilet facility has been overcome through the installation of an AquaKat®
- A cooling system, with recirculated water, experienced a reduction in lime build-up, lower operating costs and reduced need for shutdown and clean-up
- The French Navy did extensive tests on the AquaKat® and discovered that it changes the structure of the water and improves the quality of water and reduced shutdown times to clean equipment previously plagued by a problem of lime build-up
Note: PDF copies of many of these examples are provided below under Information
Water vitalization with an AquaKat has been shown to have profound effects in agriculture.
As shown in the simple experiment below, when wheat kernels are soaked in AquaKat water vs. regular tap water there is a significant difference in the germination rate with AquaKat treatment. Similarly, dairy cows on AquaKat water have been shown to drink more water and produce more milk. ¹ Similar performance with other types of livestock have been observed and documented. ¹ There is no placebo effect with plants and animals, as there can be with humans.
Some of the areas where there has been an observed difference in agriculture performance include the following:
AquaKat and Plants/Crops
As shown in the following images, using AquaKat water on plants and crops promotes better plant growth, better nutrient uptake, increase production/yield and higher quality (including an elevation in Brix)
AquaKat and Field Sprayers
RESULT: COST SAVINGS AND BETTER SPRAY PERFORMANCE POSSIBLE.
Note: variation in farm, sprayer equipment and water can influence on-farm results.
OPTION FOR USING AN AQUAKAT FOR SPRAYING:
1) AquaKat may be affixed to sprayer boom or
2) AquaKat water (from water truck or storage tank) may be used
In the same manner as humans benefit from vitalized water, animals also signal an appreciation for AquaKat® vitalized (or restructured) water.
A simple experiment is to give livestock AquaKat® vitalized water in one water trough and give them their regular water in another adjoining water trough. The animals will show a preference for the vitalized AquaKat water.
The following pictographic diagrams, visually describe observed results associated with the use of AquaKat water in swine and poultry operations. Whereas, trial results associated with the AquaKat in livestock/poultry operations are provided below under Information Downloads.
With respect to livestock/poultry water supply, the AquaKat® can be used to:
- improve the quality of animals’ drinking water
- increase production (e.g. more milk by cows, better weight gain by broilers, etc.)
- support healthy animals and reduced need for medication (e.g. assisted in overcoming infectious entericolitis in poultry)
- contribute to better feed conversion
- (perhaps surprisingly) produces calmer animals
- improve animals coat/hair/plumage
- mitigates plugging of drinking nipples and misters (no lime problem)
- reduces algae in water bowl/troughs and curtailment of biofilm in water lines
- help to create negative (or alkaline) water which can be beneficial for livestock
- shown to make calcium and magnesium in hard water more bioavailable
- improve quality of water for clean-up operations
- reduced wear and tear on heat exchangers, water heaters and boilers
- stimulate aerobic process in compost/manure and septic systems (and reduces associated odor)
- in conjunction with penergetic w (for groundwater) can be used to improve quality of cistern water
- leads to drier manure (less runny)
- suitable for all other uses mentioned above (e.g. residential, commercial) carried out on a farm
In addition to its general use, the AquaKat® may also be used in swimming pools and hot tubs. A special Swimming Pool AquaKat® increases the quality of the water in a swimming pool and/or hot tubs.
The benefits of vitalized water in a swimming pool / hot tub are:
The following steps should be followed prior to installation:
- Check the water capacity of your pool. Ensure that the right size of Aquakat is used Refer to swimming pool capacity chart which follows.
- Check the Pump Capacity of your pool to ensure it is adequate for the needs of your pool water capacity, to ensure correct pool cleansing takes place (and the jets are positioned correctly, to obtain maximum water movement through the pool)
- Ensure that your cleansing and pool brushing apparatus you are currently using are working correctly and are adequate for your pool design and size.
- Fully clean your pool, and back wash the sand filter. If a cartridge filter is installed, clean as standard instructions.
- In addition, prior to installing a Swimming Pool AquaKat follow the Recommended procedures before converting your pool using a Swimming Pool AquaKat (find in Information Download section).
- Upon completing the full pool and equipment cleansing and pool water balancing, the correct capacity of Swimming Pool Aquakat Device(s) can then be installed very easily, following the detailed manufacturer instructions provided with the product from Penergetic.
- This device is installed onto the outlet pipe, after the pump and filter
- When mounting the device, to the pipe, the Swimming Pool Aquakat must be positioned free on the pipe without touching either a wall, floor or any electrical cabling
- It is recommended to leave your pump running for at least 24 hours to ensure full circulation of pool water has taken place, thus enabling the Swimming Pool Aquakat to vitalize and restructure the pool water, for ongoing use
- To maintain correct water balance, ongoing standard regular cleaning of your pool and filter should take place, and back washing, as external weather conditions and residue elements landing into the water, do affect the water balance
- When a Swimming Pool Aquakat is in operation, and the pool requires a top up of water, check the pool pH once water is added to see if water pH balancing needs to be carried out. Out of balance pH water can also activate algae growth.
AquaKat Water in your swimming pool provides spring water quality for the enjoyment of all swimmers and offers many healthful benefits and cost savings.
Heavy rainfall or other significant weather event can be factors in introducing pollutants and other stresses on the dynamics of your pool’s chemical balance.
At these times pay particular attention to water quality.
Penergetic w (surface water) and Penergetic w (ground water) are companion products to the Swimming Pool AquaKat and can at times be used to assist in helping to keep the water clean or providing support in controlling algae. These products are discussed in more detail in the Penergetic w section of this website.
Swimming Pool Capacity Parameters
AquaKat Swimming Pool Examples
The initiative for using the AquaKat to treat swimming pools was perfected by the Penergetic distributors in Austrialia and we are pleased to be able to piggyback on their work and be able to introduce the Swimming Pool AquaKat system in the United States (and Canada).
Here are a couple of examples:
Pool owner Testimonial:
“Our swimming pool had given us many problems for almost a year. We were regularly having our pool tip over and go green easily, and we found we were having to spend a lot of money on chemicals and pool servicing, by our local pool shop. We also travel a lot, and each time we would come home after a short holiday our pool would be green. Clearly, there was something wrong. We found also that we would have sore eyes and ears as well as very dry skin from the pool water. Even our grandchildren complained, and did not even enjoy going in the pool because of this problem. After visiting some friends we learnt that they had an Aquakat Pool System and we were so surprised then
when we felt this water, against our pool, hence we decided to contact the Penergetic folks to get them to have a look at our pool and discuss their product. We ended up deciding to purchase a Swimming Pool Aquakat for our pool. When the company representative came to show us how to do a Pre Clean before the Aquakat was installed, we learned that our pool water was out of balance, and there was an overgrowth of algae in the pool and within our sand filter and our chlorinator was clogged up. Also our top up water from the tank we used to fill our pool was very alkaline (reading of 10.2 pH). This tank was first treated with Penergetic W ground products to start with. It took over a period of two weeks, with the expertise and monitoring of the Penergetic Pool Professionals, to get our pool right. From testing and pre clean, with having the Aquakat installed, and leaving the pool pump running until the pool water was clear and balanced, for us to see such a change to both the clarity and feel of our water. What an experience to swim in the water now, for our family and grandchildren. So soft on our skin, with no more worries with red sore eyes or ear problems. Also, our fresh water tank is now both clean and at a healthy balanced pH level once more, which is better for our garden as well. We find we are now able to look after our pool very easily without outside help from a pool company, which is a big cost saving.”
Pool owner Testimonial:
“We were first introduced to the Aquakat Water Device for our home. The difference in the water quality and taste was significant and we were very happy with this.
About a month later, we decided to then discuss our pool. We were always having trouble with keeping the water balanced, without using quite a lot of chemicals which were quite costly at times, depending on the weather and water condition. We also did not really like chemicals, particularly for our grandchildren, who use the pool all the time. They would get sore red eyes when using or pool and the strong smell of chlorine was hard to get out of the swimsuits and also discolored their hair.
The Penergetic people came to our home, did tests on our pool water and system and our fresh water source. This enabled us to see why we had problems. We also live on acreage and have water storage tanks, which we had test at the same time. They recommended we use Penergetic w (for groundwater) to balance the tank water. As a result, we felt confident that these products would be most suitable for us, hence we decided to purchase a Swimming Pool Aquakat device for our pool as well as the W powder product for our tank water.
The Penergetic people did the pre clean of our pool, and installed the devices, together with treating our tanks. They also gave us advice and instructions on how to maintain our pool and tanks ongoing. Within a few days, the difference with our pool water was so noticeable. It was a lot clearer and had a sparkle overall to what we had seen prior to installing the Aquakats. The water is noticeably softer on the skin when swimming, and now we also do not have a problem with red sore eyes or chlorine smell. As part of our pool maintenance, we use both the Penergetic w (surface water) and Penergetic w (groundwater) as required. Looking after our pool now is so easy. We are extremely happy with the results.”
In a multi-family apartment building (or condominium project) instead of individual suites or units having their own in-suite AquaKat®, greater economies of scale can often be achieved by installing one or more the AquaKat 2” or AquaKat *+s to serve the whole building.
Likewise, in larger scale industrial operations or commercial operations (i.e. a hotel), sometimes it is can be more economical and practical to install one of these larger unit.
For these types of applications it is best to consult a Penergetic/AquaKat distributor for advice as to the best approach in addressing your particular situation.
The ThermoKat is a special purpose form of the AquaKat intended for use on a hot water heating system (e.g. in-floor heating system, hot water boiler) where water typically is recirculated. The ThermoKat has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the hot water system by vitalizing the water and preventing the problem of recirculated water becoming muddy (or brownish color) due to a “battery effect” – the minute corrosion of metal alloys on the heating system.
Fix to the water line after the boiler, the ThemoKat helps prevent the water from losing a certain vitality resulting from heating. Advantages: activated water, better heat transfer, less residue and reduces deposits on expensive thermostats.
The ThermoKat comes in the following sizes/capacities:
The AquaKat has been in use in Europe for about twenty-five (25) years. The “Original” AquaKats sold over twenty (20) years ago are still in use today – they do not run out, expire or become obsolescent. They simply continue to produce revitalized water.
Nonetheless, every AquaKat sold in North America comes with a:
- 60 day money back satisfaction guarantee *
- 5 years warranty on workmanship –
* Applicable if you are not completely satisfied with how the AquaKat performs.
Subject to water unit and box being returned in good condition.
AquaKat No Drop
Sound intriguing and feel it could improve the quality of your water, yet too hard to believe? Ask your (local/regional) Penergetic/AquaKat distributor to provide you with an AquaKat No Drop.
This simple test device when placed under a glass of wine, orange juice or water will change (improve) the taste any one of these (and/or other beverages) without even being in contact with the liquid. Although the No Drop is not a substitute for the real thing, a simple test with the No Drop provides further evidence of the efficacy of the actual AquaKat devices.
The AquaKat is designed as a “one time” purchase.
There are no on-going operating expenses:
- no filters to change
- no plumbing or cutting of pipes required
- no special equipment needs to install
- no magnets to wear out or loss their charge
- no moving parts to wear out or need to be replaced
- no chemicals or salt to add
- no electricity required
For more information on AquaKat the following downloads are available:
AquaKat and Agriculture Pictograph
AquaKat General Pictograph
AquaKat 1” and 2” Mini Booklet
AquaKat 8+ Mini Booklet
Humbug or new perspective
Water Vitalization with Positive Side Effect*
Improved Bread Quality with AquaKat*
AquaKat – Experience of a Hairdresser*
Heating System – Sludge Problem Eliminated*
Lime Scale Free Operation*
Scientific Experiment with the AquaKat*
AquaKat Changes Water Structure*
World Class Athlete Uses AquaKat*
AquaKat Tap Screens
AquaKat – Frequently Asks Questions
Agriculturally-related AquaKat Information Downloads
AquaKat and Agriculture brochure
AquaKat and Swine Pictograph
AquaKat Use with Poultry Pictograph
Experience with the AquaKat on Dairy Farms
Swine and AquaKat Detail Page
AquaKat and Broiler Results
AquaKat – Turkey Brooder Barn Trail
Iron and AquaKat in Turkey Barn
Winter Wheat – Germination with AquaKat
Experience with AquaKat on Field Sprayer (Kazahstan)
Glyphosate and AquaKat and Water Quality
*Source: A Vision Becomes Reality, Ernstfried Prade, ISBN 978-3-929771-12-1 | <urn:uuid:b1633ba2-9bc4-4ffd-93db-865934f238fa> | {
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What to do with drug waste
What to do with drug waste
By: Patrick Moore, OpEd Contributor
April 2, 2009
While Americans are doing everything they can in these uncertain times to save money and reduce costs, environmental activists have been busy pushing an agenda that is likely to raise the cost of medical care.
Across the U.S., environmental activists are raising alarm over the presence of trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the water supply even though the medicines are found at extremely low levels.
In fact, the trace amounts are at such low levels that they are measured in parts per trillion – that’s roughly equivalent to one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Nothing in the scientific literature suggests such low levels are in the least bit harmful to human health or the environment.
Yet at the worst possible time, these activists are calling for elaborate and expensive drug take-back programs that will likely result in increased medical costs that Americans can’t afford – and with no added benefit to human health or the environment.
So what’s the best way to safely dispose of medications and protect the environment without resorting to expensive take back programs?
The pharmaceuticals industry started research on the issue a decade ago by looking at all the ways disposed medication might enter into the environment through surface waters.
One possible pathway they looked at was consumers disposing of unused medication in household trash, where it would then be sent to municipal solid waste landfills. What they found is important:
First, medication in surface waters was found only at trace levels. These levels pose no risk to human health.
Second, the study emphasized the benefit of disposing of unused medicine in the regular household trash because it can then be held securely in landfills and virtually none of the medicine ends up in surface water.
The study found that if all unused medicines were disposed of in household trash – instead of being flushed down the toilet – the trace amounts of medicine being found in the environment would decline even further.
Third, the trace amounts of medication found in surface water as a result of medication being flushed down the toilet can be stopped by better educating the public.
The evidence clearly shows that disposing of waste pharmaceuticals in the household trash is a safe and effective means of disposal.
In its simplest form, the findings point to some easy-to-remember do’s and don’ts:
Do: Discard your unused medications in the municipal waste collection system. It will be processed safely under the current system, just as it should be.
Don’t: In most cases, flush unused medications down the toilet and into the sewer system . While it is true a very small amount of un-metabolized medication will likely pass through patients into municipal sewers, these are safe levels and drug take-back programs would have zero impact in this area.
In these difficult economic times, the last thing America needs is complicated and expensive drug take back programs that are likely to contribute to rising healthcare costs.
Instead, let’s keep things simple: Throw your unused prescriptions in the trash and don’t flush them down the toilet.
Dr. Patrick Moore is a co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, and chair and chief scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd. at www.greenspiritstrategies.com | <urn:uuid:a8f5fa54-da40-443f-9291-aa3bef5e2a16> | {
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One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
A pocket-sized computer used for storing and retrieving information such as addresses and appointments.
- ‘For those of us who have thrown out those old-fashioned appointment books and are now into electronic organizers, remember to recharge your Palm Pilot before coming to Salt Lake.’
- ‘Features such as voice command, Internet access, an extended electronic organizer, and multi-language capability make the phone attractive to people on the go.’
- ‘Many households have at least one game console or a home computer capable of playing games - even electronic organizers and cell phones have built-in games.’
- ‘Nine-year-old Beth wants an electronic organiser for Christmas while her brother Michael, aged 11, is only too aware of the differences between games consoles.’
- ‘Most of us live such intense and harried lives that we need to schedule brushing our teeth in our electronic organizers.’
- ‘It was heavy and slow, however, and it took another decade - with the arrival in 1993 of the Newton MessagePad - for the personal electronic organiser to find its own market.’
- ‘Certainly its 1987 patents post-date the electronic organiser, which dates back to the mid-80s.’
- ‘He was reputed to always carry an electronic organiser overloaded with the names and phone numbers of a network of global contacts.’
- ‘A bright spot is flash memory, chips that store data when devices such as cell phones and electronic organizers are turned off.’
- ‘Manufacturers have expanded the PDA's abilities from a simple electronic organizer into an active data path, digital camera, wireless phone and even a network-based gametoy.’
- ‘PDA's suffer from the legacy of being regarded as glorified electronic organisers but the reality is that the market and technology for handheld computing has never been more buoyant or as exciting as it is today.’
- ‘The college fan and attendee universe also skews with a bias toward import cars, hot tubs, steam cookers, espresso and cappuccino makers and electronic organizers.’
- ‘‘Imagine walking by your PC with your cell phone and your electronic organizer,’ says Annibaldi.’
- ‘Bluetooth is the code name for a very hot wireless technology that enables data connections between electronic devices such as desktop computers, wireless phones, electronic organizers and printers.’
- ‘But the relatively small number of shares issued by the portable electronic organizer maker sent prices soaring when it debuted March 2, so the total take could be much higher.’
- ‘The company plans to begin shipping electronic organizers, or personal digital assistants this year.’
- ‘Despite more than half a decade of trying to convince consumers that a PDA is more than an electronic organiser, that's still how most people view them.’
- ‘Like a personal fitness trainer and an electronic organiser, stress has become a badge of honour amongst busy executives who want to publicly declare themselves to be indispensable.’
- ‘What would happen if he were suddenly thrust into the city, forced to adapt to things like proper plumbing and electronic organizers?’
Top tips for CV writingRead more
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV. | <urn:uuid:5a4f66f0-df74-4d42-ac20-fe5b3ef130ca> | {
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Germans from Russia Symposium
North Dakota State University
Fargo, North Dakota
Migration from Alsace to the Black Sea Region and the Location of
the Genealogical Materials in the Homeland Area
Professor Jean Schweitzer
Let us have a look at the map of the Black Sea German colonies.
We can easily recognize several place names of Palatinate: Landau,
Kandel, Speyer, Worms; of the duchy of Baden: Rastatt, Karlsruhe,
Mannheim, Heidelberg; and moreover of Alsace: Elsass, Strassburg,
I -Alsace, The Homeland
A) Geography of the emigration area.
To begin, I want to destroy a kind of myth. Too often we hear
or read about, 'Alsace-Lorraine'. I think it is indispensable
to give a clear definition of the reality.
Contrary to the opinion of many people even in France, Alsace
and Lorraine are two distinct provinces, each having its own political
The twin expression Alsace-Lorraine began in the period of 1871-1918
when these two provinces came back to Germany under Bismarck and
had a common German administration. Anyway, it's not the whole
province called Lorraine that we are concerned with, but only
the northern part of Lorraine around the capital town Metz which
is in the département de Moselle, the other three départements,
the French speaking area, remained with France.
As for Alsace, it is the name of an eastern province of France,
rather small in size, about 3,200 sq. miles. It stretches almost
200 km (125 miles) in length along the western bank of the Rhine
River from Basel, Switzerland, to South Palatinate in the north.
This river officially separates France from Germany. In the east
it is limited by a mountain range called the Vosges, (Vogesen
or Wasgau in German), the Northern extension being the Pfalzer
Wald. The twin range of mountains on the eastern bank of the Rhine
is called Schwarzwald, Black Forest or Foret-Noire (in French).
For our thesis, it must be added that only the most northern
part of Alsace near the Palatinate border was concerned with the
emigration to Russia. Only this extreme northern nook of Alsace
was involved, roughly speaking, the district of Weissenburg, where
the population is of franconian descent, whereas the larger part
of Alsace is of Alemanic origin. This explains some characteristic
features of its dialect.
B) Historical background and administration today.
Because of its geographical location Alsace has always been a
crossing country and has seen many invaders come and go during
the 2,500 years of its known history.
The first known invaders were the Celts, followed by the Romans
who occupied Alsace for about 500 years (58 BC -ca 450 AC).
The Romans were "rolled back" by Germanic tribes. The
first ones were the, Alemannen ' followed by the 'Franken' in
the late 5th century.
This later event will be of greater importance for Northern Alsace,
where the emigrants to Russia came from, because it explains the
characteristic features of this area where the political and religious
parameters had been changing for centuries, and where the dialect
limits were fixed over a thousand years ago. Here in this little
area of Northern Alsace, the dialect is a franconian one like
in Palatinate, whereas, in all the other parts of the province,
they speak the Alemanic dialect (about 85% of the population).
The most important historical period relating to the emigration
to Russia is the French Revolution. A period of confusion, big
changes and great turmoil, which caused an important emigration
across the Rhine, but not yet to Russia. The fatal date was December
23, 1793 when over 20,000 people (some historians estimate even
30,000) only from Northern Alsace, the region of the future emigration
to Russia, fled when Revolutionary armies invaded the territory
.Its deeply religious population now feared the anti-religious
revolutionary troops and the guillotine.
Upon returning home some years later, many of these exiled people
were ruined because their goods had been confiscated by the new
political regime. Moreover the troops too often plundered the
country: the peasants had to furnish provisions and animals, give
extra horses and wagons, perform enforced labor, pay war tribute,
suffer the quartering of soldiers etc. There is no doubt that
there was a great dissatisfaction in the country. Thousands and
thousands of families felt depressed and discouraged. Another
inequity was the confiscation and selling of church properties.
This brought many a family a shortage of farmland. Catholic families
were forbidden by the ecclesiastical authorities to buy confiscated
church property, which consequently was bought cheaply by the
local protestant farmers. For those Catholic farmers working mainly
on rented church-owned land this meant economic ruin.
The Revolution years were followed by the conquests of Napoleon
who ruled over a great part of Europe from 1805-1814. His campaigns
and conquests added much to the turmoil in this region. And it
is easy to imagine why many young men avoided enlisting.
These few main reasons added to many others were combined with
overpopulation, which periodically causes an important emigration.
It must be pointed out that these reasons -political and economical
-were closely interrelated. And in many cases we may add secondary
reasons, such as domestic, family or law troubles etc.
Some important remarks to conclude this historical paragraph:
-The Alsatian emigrants at that time were not Germans but French
citizens. But though of French citizenship, these people were
not at all conversant with the French language.
-Moreover in these times the South Palatinate, comprising 30 communities,
came under French rule, being annexed to Alsace till 1813-1815.
Therefore, the people living in this area were a French population
too, and also ignorant of the French language.
-The immigration to Russia at that time was not merely an event
of Alsatian history; it affected a much larger area of the Upper
Rhine including South Palatinate, and Central and North Baden
on the Eastern side of the Rhine as well.
-You must consider that there has always existed relationships
of many kinds with these two neighbors, such as economical, social,
and even family relations. And mostly they all spoke, and still
speak, the Franconia dialect which they took with them to the
Black Sea region, the same as their descendants did in the late
19th century when homesteading in the New World.
C) Administrative organization.
Many descendants of Alsatian emigrants have but a hazy idea of
the former and the present administrative divisions of Alsace
when writing their family history. Just a rough outline on this
Before the French Revolution in 1789 France was divided into
about 20 provinces such as Alsace, Lorraine, Brittany etc. The
French Revolution abolished the provinces, which were replaced
by 83 smaller departments (about 90 now). Though still a geographical
notion, today Alsace is divided into two departments, a type of
Bas-Rhin = Unterelsass = Lower Rhine,
Strasbourg being the administrative center;
Haut-Rhin = Oberelsass = Upper Rhine,
Colmar being the administrative center.
Each department has a governmental representative called 'prefet.
' The chief administrative official is appointed by Paris.
Each department is divided into several intermediate districts
called 'arrondissements' = Kreise in German = circles county in
English, e.g. Weissenburg and Hagenau in Northern Alsace.
The intermediate middle districts are divided into little districts
called ' canton'. Thus the district of Weissenburg is composed
of the cantons of Selz, Weissenburg, Lauterburg, Sulz, Woerth.
(Beware: a Kanton in Switzerland may be compared to a French department
or sometimes to an old province).
Nearly all the Alsatian emigrants to Russia came from the northern
circle of Weissenburg, and a lesser number from the district of
As to the emigration itself, two years must be remembered: 1804
and 1808. Because emigration was forbidden in those days by the
French government, the Alsatians had to leave secretly. When the
authorities got wind of the mass exodus in 1804, they tried desperately
to stop the emigration. For a while, it seemed that the Alsatian
exodus had ended in a fiasco. It was only a setback. The second
wave in 1808 was much more important. Many of these emigrants
got their passports from the Jewish banker Bethmann in Frankfurt/Main,
who was appointed the Russian consul in this big city.
A good overview of the exodus and the routes of the emigrants
through Central Europe is given in Height's book, Paradise on
the Steppe. Many examples of passports of Alsatian emigrants are
to be found in Stumpp's Die Auswanderung aus Deutschland nach
Russland in den Jahren 1763-1862.
Nearly all the Alsatians were settled in the Black Sea region:
Beresan, Liebenthal and chiefly in the Kutchurgan district. Therefore,
it is not amazing that a many colonies were given Alsatian names:
three of five Kutchurgan colonies had Alsatian names: Elsass,
Selz, Strassburg; Kandel belongs to south Palatinate and Mannheim
was taken over from Baden. And when nearly a century later their
descendants came over to the new world, they brought many an Alsatian
place name with them such as Strasburg and Selz in North Dakota
and in Saskatchewan.
II The Sources
A) Printed sources
1.0 General information
1.1 Biographical works
1.1.1 Michael M. Miller, Researching the Germans from Russia:
Annotated Bibliography of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.
North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State
University, 1987, 224 p.
1.1.2 Dr. Karl Stumpp: Schrifttum Uber das Deutschtum in Russland.
2nd. Edition enlarged, Tübingen, 1970, 74 p.
Chapter C, Schwarzmeerdeutsche p. 42-58
1.2 General historical background
Adam Giesinger (ancestors of Alsatian origin): From Catherine
to Khrushchev: The Story of Russia's Germans. 2nd. ed. 1980
This is the basic general history of Germans in Russia, as Michael
states in his bibliography.
1.3 General repertory
Dr. Karl Stumpp: Die Auswanderung aus Deutschland nach Russland
in den Jahren 1763-1862. English edition: The Migration
from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862. With maps.
1018 p. Tübingen, 1972.
A 'must', Michael M. Miller writes about No.21 p. 5 in Researching
the Germans from Russia: "This monumental work is the fruition
of 40 years of research; invaluable to the genealogical researchers.
But we sometimes must be cautious. In a work of this size we
inevitably meet with lots of mistakes and misspellings.
2.0 Titles on Black Sea Germans
2.1 Older titles
2.1.1 Johannes Brendel: Aus deutschen Kolonien im Kutschurganer
Geschichtliches und Volkkundliches. Stuttgart, 1930, 108 p.
(Miller No.13 p.4)
It includes the 1811 census lists of the people in the villages
of Baden, Kandel, Elsass, Selz, Mannheim, except Strasbourg, we
don't know exactly why; (maybe lost during the Revolution years?)
This booklet is out of print. Anyway it has been translated by
Father Thomas Welk under the title: "The German colonies
in the Kutschurgan Region", in Heritage Review starting
in April 1979.
2.1.2 Father Konrad Keller: Die deutschen Kolonien in Südrussland.
2 vol. 1804
Vo1.I: The Liebental district: Kleinliebental, Josefstal, Mariental,
Vol. II: The Beresan district: Landau, Sulz, Katharinental, München,
Speyer, Karlsruhe, Rastatt
It has been translated by Anthony Becker in 1968. The second
edition, partially revised by Dr. Adam Giesinger, was published
in 1980 by the Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln,
2.1.3 Mgr. Anton Zerr: Einwanderungsgeschichte der Familie
Zerr in Russland. Odessa 1914.
This pamphlet by the retired bishop Zerr of Tiraspol deals with
his ancestors' emigration from Neeweiler near Lauterburg in Alsace
to Franzfeld. It includes the colonists' listing in this village
with dates of baptism, marriages and deaths to 1835. Several mistakes
concern the ancestors of Neeweiler.
2.2 Recent titles
Essentially the three books of Professor Joseph Height are worth
2.2.1 Paradise on the Steppe. A cultural history of the
Kutschurgan, Beresan and Liebental Colonies. 1804-1945.
Several editions (Miller No.36 p. 8)
It deals in considerable details with the Catholic mother colonies
in the Odessa area. Much interesting information with the listings
of the founders of the different colonies.
2.2.2 Homesteaders on the Steppe: Cultural history of the
Evangelical Lutheran colonies in the region of Odessa 1804-1945.
Bismarck, North Dakota, 1975 (Miller No.31 p. 7). It also includes
the listings of the founders of the different colonies.
2.2.3 Memories of the Black Sea Germans: Highlights of their
History and Heritage. Chelsea, Michigan 1979, 372 p. (Miller
No.75 p. 17)
His last work, published posthumously, includes the listings
of the families emigrated from different villages of Alsace. Unfortunately,
the emigrant village of Scheibenhard is missing.
2.3 Alsatian emigration to USA
Finally it would be interesting to mention a recently published
book, which may indirectly be useful to those who want to enlarge
their genealogical research. Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler: Alsace
Emigration book. Part One.
This book lists 12,500 emigrants from France and Germany to the
USA with places of origin researched from microfilms, pass lists,
ship lists and private sources. Time period 1817-1867. (NB -Meanwhile
a second volume has been published).
Why this book may be useful to Russian Germans descendants? The
best way to explain it, is to give an example: The Black Sea colonist
Salvey/Solvay of Selz (census list No.5) came from Mothern in
Northern Alsace. Several, or maybe many, Salvey families living
in the Dakotas are descended from this Alsatian Russian ancestor.
Now in Cornelia Schrader's book, they may notice six Salevey/Salvey
from Mothern who all immigrated from Mothern directly to the States
in 1868 or 1869. Distant cousins who immigrated to the New World
at different times on different routes. The same could be said
on the Keller family of Winzenbach where the ancestors of the
most popular descendant of Russian Germans in the States, Lawrence
Welk, came from.
3.1 Bulletin du Cercle généalogique d'Alsace
This is the title of the magazine published every three months
by the Genealogical Association of Alsace in Strasbourg. (With
its seat at the Archives départementales = General Record
Office). It is one of the most important societies of this kind
in France nearly 1,500 members, over 20 of the United States,
several of Canada, but neither one of Russian Alsatian origin
nor one of the Dakotas.
We publish this quarterly review in French, some articles are
also written in German and from time to time a few notes are in
3.2 Christian Wolf: Guide des recherches genealogiques en Alsace.
2nd edition. Strasbourg 1975, 272 p. + annexes.
It is a basic work, well documented with much information, but
remember it is only a guide and must be used accordingly.
3.3 Claude R. Roll: Manuel illustre pour la généalogie
et l'histoire familiale en
Alsace. Edit. Le Verger, Strasbourg 1991,464 p.
A monument which includes the new techniques such as computerization.
3.4 Norbert Layburn (a journalist): L'émigration Des
Alsaciens et Des Lorrains du 1& au 2lk siècle.
Strasbourg 1986, 2 volumes.
An interesting book for Alsatian history, picturesque glance
at the Alsatian emigration all over the world, chiefly to the
western hemisphere. A too vast enterprise. Thus his chapter on
the emigration to Russia, merely based on Stumpp's and Height's
books, brings nothing really new.
3.5 Encyclopédie de l'Alsace. 12 volumes.
Strasbourg, from 1982 to present
A monumental work entirely in French, with many hundred articles.
The volumes have the size of those of the British Encyclopedia.
Every village has its little monography. The chapter on Alsatian
emigration to East Europe (Danubian countries and Russia) is outlined
by the present-day Alsatian speaker.
B) Archive sources
You can easily imagine that many American citizens in search
of their ancestors on the border of the middle Rhine area -not
only of Russian-German origin -write to Alsace. As anyone knows,
the main sources are (without any contest) the church registers
or parish books, continued by civil registers.
1.0 The main sources
1.1 Church registers (ecclesiastical records)
They are centralized at the" Archives départementales"
in Strasbourg for Lower Alsace and in Colmar for Upper Alsace.
They begin most rarely in the late 16th, much more frequently
in late 17th century, about 1680. It must be said that the reason
of introduction of the parish books was never a genealogical but
a purely ecclesiastical one: To have records of baptism, marriage
and burial of persons living within a certain parish.
There is a very good detailed repertory in 3 volumes of all the
parishes of Lower Alsace in the reading room of our Record Office,
but it may also be purchased for about 100 francs.
These parish books may be consulted under the mark (série)
3 E + the index number of the parish. Let us take for example
Beinheim (where nearly 20 families emigrated from, chiefly to
Mannheim or Elsass such as Vetter, Weber Tuchscherer etc.). Its
reference is: 3 E 25, 6 volumes beginning in 1689 and ending in
1793. On the other side the Protestant parish of Cleebourg (where
several families: Hausauer, Haller, Hagelberger etc. emigrated
from) bears the mark 3 E 73 with only 3 volumes (from 1756-1792).
Nearly all the church registers of Alsace were being filmed by
the Latter Day Saints (LDS). A copy of each film is kept in our
Record Office and is easily accessible. The reading apparatuses
allow instant photocopies. On the whole the Protestant parish
books written in old style German give more information than the
Catholic registers written in Latin.
1.2 Civil registration
1.2.1 In Alsace, whereas, the old parish books were physically
transferred to the 'mairie' (municipal house or town hall) and
later to the" Archives départementales" in Strasbourg,
the civil registration was introduced in Alsace like in all other
provinces of France in September 1792. Under the control of the
political power, municipal officials were entrusted with writing
the different acts of birth, marriage and death into different
With this new system called 'Etat civil ' each act is written
down into two identical registers. The first copy remains at the
office of the civil registrar in the municipal house forever.
At the end of each year, the second copy must be deposited at
the law court of the department where it is kept and withheld
for hundred years. Then this second copy is transferred definitively
to the" Archives départementales" in Strasbourg,
available for consulting, under the mark (série) 4 E 1793-1890.
Beinheim e.g. is No.4 E 25 for B-M-D from 1793-1890.
The Archives have also several hundreds of microfilms taken by
the Salt Lake City genealogical Society, very easy to consult.
Death acts now must state date and place of the deceased.
1.2.2 In Germany
Civil registration, called 'Standesamt' was introduced much later.
On the west side of the Rhine river the French introduced general
civil registration already in May 1798, whereas it was adopted
but in 1870 in the Grand Duchy of Baden on the east side, where
most of the parish books are still kept in the parish houses.
2.0 Secondary sources
The diligent genealogist cannot be confined merely to parish or
civil registration. A variety of resource material may help him
to complete his genealogical research or his family history.
2.1.1 Inventories after death (solicitor's or notary's acts)
At the" Archives départementales. " They enumerate
the heirs, who normally are the children of the deceased person
and may be of great assistance in pinpointing an ancestor family.
With this list you sometimes might take your family tree back
a couple of generations at least. Moreover it is very important
to consult them, if the parish book is lost.
2.1.2 Title deeds (titres de propriété)
In certain circumstances they may also replace church registers.
2.1.3 Archives of the notaries public
They may be consulted at the" Archives departementales.
" They date back to the middle or the end of the 18th century
and sometimes will give help. Here is a good example concerning
an Alsatian emigrant to Russia, who settled his affairs at home
before leaving his homeland:
The notary office of Selz, Alsace, contains the selling act of
the properties of Egidius Schwengler, "ackersmann zu Selz,
ebenfalls erschiene Caspar Schwengler von Schaffuausen, Des Verkaufers
Vater" (the seller's father) Date 15 ventose An 11 (6 March
Egidius Schwengler is the colonist No.61 in Elsass/Odessa, where
he is declared as a tiler (Ziegler).
Unfortunately there is neither repertory nor index, so it is
very time consuming to consult these documents.
2.1.4 Répertoire Desémigrants de décembre
A typewritten book with hundreds of names from Northern Alsace
and South Palatinate presented in alphabetical order. A second
volume presents in alphabetical order the different villages with
the alphabetical lists of its emigrants. These repertories are
very interesting, because we find many a name of these people
in the census lists in the Black Sea region. These two volumes
are available in the reading room of the ABR, but only for domestic
use. Unfortunately you cannot get photocopies of them.
2.1.5 Registers of law courts deliberations (ABR)
These records of the court deal mainly with disputes, for instance
over inheritance. Just an example also concerning colonist families:
In 1809 the family Bosch from Salmbach in Northern Alsace emigrated
to Karlsruhe/Odessa, with his unmarried relative Georg Bosch.
In 1812 this Georg was allowed to return to Alsace for a while.
In 1815 he introduced at the civil court in the district town
of Weissenburg a dispute for two colonist families. He was delegated
by Henri Weber, colonist in Selz Odessa (census list No.16 and
by Senger Damien, colonist in Strasburg (census list No. I) whose
interests he defended in front of the judge.
2.1.6 Parish records
Before the French Revolution, the parishes had periodically to
draw up a description of the parish with the land they owned and
the population. The wealthy parishes often lent money to their
parishioners who in return pawned several of their acres. A good
example is given in the description of the parish of Salmbach
in 1747, which lists each family of the village (ABR série
2.1.7 Confirmation and communion lists
In many an old parish record or register, it is possible to find
nominal lists of confirmation or communion (Catholic as well as
2.1.8 Allegiance lists
In ancient times after the death of the sovereign, the population
of his territory had to swear allegiance to his successor. Let
us take the Protestant parish of Cleebourg as an example.
Before the French Revolution, the area around this village belonged
to the Duke of Zweibrücken. After the death of the older
ruler, the population had to swear allegiance to the new duke.
Lists of each village were established. They mention but the family
heads and the sons over 18. The list of Cleebourg includes several
families Hailer and Hausauer. Descendants of these two families
were: Hailer Georg, colonist in Bergdorf/Odessa, census list No.51,
Hausauer Jacob in Glückstal No.110 and Hausauer Balthasar
in Kassel No. 4.
2.1.9 Census returns
Many of you expect information about census returns. Indeed,
they start with the year 1800 and take place every 5 years. Needless
to say that they are highly interesting for genealogical research.
Unfortunately, they are far from being complete before the year
2.2.0 Documents after 1790-1810 (when the emigration stopped)
at the ABR, there is a very extensive range of manuscripts concerning
this period classified under the letters K to Z. It is not possible
to give here a detailed enumeration of all the content of each
series. Just remember series Q e.g. which deals with confiscated
goods of the emigrated persons during the French Revolution.
2.2 Secondary sources in Paris
2.2.1 Archives Nationales (ANP)
Some years ago, I discovered in the AN in Paris a reference concerning
the emigration to Russia in early 19th century. At that time the
regional police in Strasbourg referred regularly to the 'Ministère
de l'Intérieur' (Home Office) in Paris. They became alarmed
at the secret emigration problem. Sometimes they joined (to) their
reports a list of persons intending to emigrate. They also mention
people of south Palatinate. I think I will be able to publish
an article on this matter in 'Heritage Review' with different
lists of names.
2.2.2 Archives historiques de Vincennes
If you find a French soldier among your distant Alsatian ancestors
you may apply to the historical archives of the army in Vincennes,
near Paris. It is indispensable to indicate the regiment and the
period concerned. Almost all military papers are listed by regiments.
So if you are unaware which regiment is involved you will have
to do some allied research first.
2.3 Secondary sources in the border areas in Germany
18.104.22.168 Landesarchiv in D 67346 Speyer (Otto Meyer Strasse 9)
They moved from downtown to the edge of the city in 1987
Bibliography: H. Hess: Die Stadtarchive von Rheinhessen und der
pj'alz in DAs Landesarchiv Speyer`, 1987.
22.214.171.124 Bistumsarchiv Speyer (Diocesan Archives) D 67346 Speyer,
Unlike in Alsace, the parish books often remain in the parish
itself. Presently there is a tendency to microfilm and centralize
all these books.
126.96.36.199 Evangelische Landeskirche D 67346 Speyer, Domplatz 6
Bibliography Eger: Verzeichnis der protestantischen Kirchenbücher
der pjalz; Koblenz.
188.8.131.52 Heimatstelle der Pfalz D 67657 Kaiserslautern
(Cultural Center o Palatinate)
It has many files concerning the emigration in general.
184.108.40.206 Pfalzische Familienkunde in D 67061 Ludwigshafen
(Stadtarchiv, Rottstrasse 17)
This is the review of the genealogical association of Palatinate.
2.3.2 Hessen : D 60311 Frankfurt am Main (Stadtarchiv)
The Bethmann-Holweg Archives are kept here. He was the Russian
consul who delivered the passports for many Alsatian emigrants
in the years 1804 and 1808 Unfortunately the big capital register
concerning all these names has disappeared during the last war.
2.3.3 Baden- Wurttemberg
220.127.116.11 Generallandesarchiv (= GLA) D 76133 Karlsruhe (Gross
Hildepromenade) It keeps also lots of documents concerning the
Palatinate, chiefly of the diocese of Speyer which at that time
stretched out on both sides of the Rhine.
Bibliography (for historical background) Habler R.G., Badische
Geschichte. Karlsruhe 1956. (a team) Unser Land Baden-Wiirttemberg,
1986. Konrad Theiss, Stuttgart. (for emigration)
Hassler Joseph: Die Auswanderung aus Baden nach Russland und Polen
IM 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. 1959 Hacker Werner: Die Auswanderung
aus Baden und dem Breisgau. Stuttgart 1980
18.104.22.168 Landsmannschaft der Russlanddeutschen, Raitelsbergstrasse
Stuttgart 1, Germany
This organization is associated with the Germans from Russia
22.214.171.124 Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen, Charlottenplatz 17,
70173 Stuttgart 1,
126.96.36.199 Landsmannschaft der Bessarabiendeutschen, Florianstrasse
Stuttgart 1 (Florianstrasse 17) (includes museum)
Beware, in Germany, the zip code will change from top to bottom
on July 1, 1993.
III Difficulties And Practical Advice
1.0 Some of the various difficulties
If a relative or a friend succeeded easily in tracing his ancestors
you imagine your enterprise could be realized in the same manner:
Far from the country o your ancestors and records regarding them
you cannot be aware of the difficulties we too often meet while
searching. Remember the period of emigration followed the French
Revolution, which was a time of considerable turmoil.
The former and the present boundaries have not much in common.
Remember territorial changes at the time of emigration: South
Palatinate belonged to Alsace. More than one declared Alsatian
emigrant was born in a village beyond the Alsatian border.
The diocese boundaries also changed. Northern Alsace belonged
over thousand years to the diocese of Speyer. Only in 1803, when
the limits altered it became part of the diocese of Strasbourg.
Many a place name vanished, chiefly isolated farms. A good example
is given with the Bechhof, near Kaidenburg and Trimbach, where
the RIEHL family lived, maternal ancestors of the Giesinger emigrant
from Kaidenburg to Mannheim/Odessa
The name of a village could have changed. Fort-Louis, from where
several families emigrated to the Black Sea region was called
Fort-Vauban during the Revolution period.
1.3 The Republican calendar
What a mess! A real headache for most genealogist, or better
say, for everyone. The Republic era begins with the first vendemaire
of the year one of the Republic one and indivisible (22 September
1792). It lasted over 13 years till the end of 1805. Fortunately
we do have good conversion tables or repertories.
Add to this puzzle the fact that from September 1798 to April
1800 the marriages had to take place at intervals in the little
district centers such as Lauterbourg, where they were performed
on a certain day in series for several couples of the neighboring
villages. These acts are registered in special books called 'Registres
1.4 Beginning of Civil registration
The registrars have mostly been appointed because of their political
opinion and not for their qualifications. Many of them in the
villages were not accustomed to drawing up this kind of acts.
So you find sometimes a meaningless squiggle.
All the acts of that period are completely handwritten and can
be difficult to decipher, partly also because of poor or old-fashioned
writing and partly because they have sometimes faded. Many records
are very eye straining, and on the whole research becomes a very
Many acts of that period are stuffed with fanciful dates when
compared to the dates of parish books. What is the right or the
wrong date? In most cases we never know.
Remember most of the priests in this era had emigrated for a
certain time. The supply priest did not or could not always register
the acts. And when the civil registration was introduced there
were inevitably some omissions for various reasons. Some declarations
or some acts have been omitted. We find them neither in the parish
nor in the civil registration. Moreover a younger emigrant of
the Revolution was married in a neighboring village or even beyond
1.4.3 The collection
Unfortunately, not all records survived for several reasons (wars,
negligence etc.). Just a few examples concerning some parishes
from where people emigrated to South Russia:
Cleebourg (3 E 73): The first parish book (Reformed) from 1685
to 1755 was still kept in the municipal house in 1863; it is lost
Siegen-Kaidenbourg (home parish of the Heit, Giesinger, Brinster
kinships) The parish books begin 1733. The first volume contains
the acts till 1757. The next volume (1757-87) is missing, we don't
know why. Thus it is very difficult to bridge this gap of 30 years.
Mothern. Nearly 30 families emigrated from here: Baumgartner,
Bechtel, Bertsch, Fettig, Hochmuth, Mastel, Schlosser, Solvay,
Streifel, Weissenburger etc.)
This parish offers the worst case. Its whole collection with
baptisms, marriages and deaths from 1696-1792 has been lost, although
these registers existed before WWII.
Take all these factors in account and you can deduce that it
is not always easy to arrive to the hoped result.
2.0 Practical advises
2.1 Wrong addresses
2.1.1 Diocese archives
Unlike in Germany, our diocesan archives in Strasbourg were plundered
during the French Revolution. They have no ancient documents left
concerning the emigration nor genealogical information.
Some American citizens of Alsatian ancestry write to our University.
This institution does not deal with genealogy. Anyway for some
historians, Northern Alsace is not worth studying and more or
less treated shabbily.
2.2 The right address
2.2.3 It is no doubt the" Archives departementales"
4, rue Fischart
6710 Strasbourg, France
2.2.2 Cercle généalogique d'Alsace (Genealogical
Society of Alsace.) Its seat is at the "Archives departementales"
(cf 211) with the same address as indicated above.
It should be remembered that the Archives cannot do any genealogical
research for private people, but can give only basic information
on what the researcher may find.
Many a correspondent gives but too hazy indications for starting
research. It must always be repeated: Please provide us with background
information. And don't forget to mention your ancestor's religion
because we have many mixed parishes in this emigration area and
every religion has its own parish books.
2.4 The possibilities
2.4.1 Consulting the archives is free of charge. If you come
for the first time you have to show your passport and fill out
a registration form.
2.4.2 All documents older than 99 years may be consulted.
There is no longer a possibility to get photocopies from parish
or civil registration books to preserve them from damage. Nor
is there any possibility of getting photocopies from old documents
in book form or of the library books in the reading room.
You can get instant photocopies of microfilms (e.g. nearly all
the parish books which were microfilmed by the Mormons).
You may also take pictures of many documents with your own camera,
but without flash.
2.4.4 Private research
If you cannot come to Alsace, the Archives can give you addresses
of private genealogists who can do research for you. They will
answer your letter in English and inform you on the possibilities
of engaging in your research along with their charges and conditions.
Our genealogical review, Bulletin du Cercle généalogique
d 'Alsace, has leads on queries and answers. The queries are
free of charge for every member.
Nearly every genealogist passes through ups and downs while collecting
information of his family history .If genealogical research may
be disappointing in some cases, there are also examples of great
The little story I would like to tell you now is a wonderful illustration
how a mere number may be of capital importance in tracing an ancestor.
Several years ago, an American citizen wrote to the" Archives
departementales" in Strasbourg. His only reference was a draft
number of his Alsatian ancestor Jacques Gros who emigrated from'
Alsace' to America in the 19th century. When this ancestor was nearly
20 years old, the military service was not compulsory .At that time
the young men had to draw lots. Only the low numbers were enrolled
to the army. These numbers were printed on little sheets with the
indication of the district, e.g. canton de Hochfelden and the class
1828. These mere indications gave an utmost trace. Referring to
this conscription list of 1828, one could quickly pinpoint the true
emigrant. Moreover were also indicated his birthday and his physical
constitution. Now it was a rather easy task for the American correspondent
to complete his pedigree chart. Needless to say he was lucky .To
all my American friends, I wish such happy moments with their genealogical
Jean Schweitzer, Professor Emeritus, Strasbourg, | <urn:uuid:5c24a495-0994-4f22-87d8-f570058f69f0> | {
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Finland could become the first country in the world to entomb its nuclear waste in a designated final resting place, underground, for the price of 3 billion euros – I’m sure the enviornmentalists just love this…
An unprepossessing tunnel entrance set in low forest on the western coast of Finland marks the probable final resting place of the country’s most dangerous nuclear waste. While British authorities agonise over what to do with the legacy of half a century of nuclear power, Finland is one of a handful of countries which has embarked on the journey towards a “final” waste solution.
Enter the 6.5m-high, 5m-wide (20ft-high, 16ft-wide) Onkalo tunnel, and you would drive down a spiralling track which will eventually stretch 5km (3miles) through solid rock, reaching a depth of 500m (1,600ft). The first travellers to go down the tunnel will be investigators aiming to demonstrate that the rock is structurally sound enough to proceed with the disposal of spent fuel rods containing plutonium and other unpleasant materials. If they were to turn up a positive result, and if government agencies grant the necessary licences, the first canisters of spent fuel would begin rolling down the tunnel about 15 years from now.
Hat Tip to Chris K.! | <urn:uuid:2c6a5cdb-8e5d-42f6-9969-4d19839e2be9> | {
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Small arteriovenous fistulas in your legs, arms, lungs, kidneys or brain often won't have any symptoms and usually don't need treatment other than monitoring by your doctor. Larger arteriovenous fistulas may cause symptoms.
Arteriovenous fistula symptoms may include:
- Swelling and reddish appearance on the skin surface
- Purplish, bulging veins that you can see through your skin, similar to varicose veins
- Swelling in the arms or legs
- Decreased blood pressure
- Heart failure
An arteriovenous fistula in your lungs (pulmonary arteriovenous fistula) is a serious condition and can cause:
- Difficulty breathing, especially when exercising
- Blueness of the skin
- Clubbing of fingers
When to see a doctor
If you have any of these signs and symptoms, and think you might have an arteriovenous fistula, make an appointment to see your doctor. Early detection of an arteriovenous fistula may make your condition easier to treat and may reduce your risk of developing complications, such as blood clots or, in severe cases, heart failure. | <urn:uuid:e8e5bb69-8319-4e8f-a4db-f17a203a0209> | {
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The painting was originally attributed to Caravaggio by Roberto Longhi in 1916. This is one of only two known Caravaggios on a theme from Classical mythology, although this is due more to the accidents of survival than the artist's oeuvre. Narcissus, according to told the poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, is a handsome youth who falls in love with his own reflection. Unable to tear himself away, he dies of his passion, and even as he crosses the Styx continues to gaze at his reflection (Metamorphoses 3:339-510).
The story of Narcissus was often referenced or retold in literature, for example, by Dante (Paradiso 3.18-19) and Petrarch (Canzoniere 45-46). The story was well known in the circles of such collectors in which Caravaggio was moving in this period, such as those of Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte and the banker Vincenzo Giustiniani. Caravaggio's friend, the poet Giambattista Marino, wrote a description of Narcissus.
The story of Narcissus was particularly appealing to artists according to the Renaissance theorist Leon Battista Alberti: "the inventor of painting ... was Narcissus ... What is painting but the act of embracing by means of art the surface of the pool?"
Caravaggio painted an adolescent page wearing an elegant brocade doublet, leaning with both hands over the water, as he gazes at this own distorted reflection. The painting conveys an air of brooding melancholy: the figure of Narcissus is locked in a circle with his reflection, surrounded by darkness, so that the only reality is inside this self-regarding loop. The 16th century literary critic Tommaso Stigliani (it) explained the contemporary thinking that the myth of Narcissus "clearly demonstrates the unhappy end of those who love their things too much." | <urn:uuid:d8264549-0276-435d-8e22-c1b38b1717b2> | {
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TOPEKA, KS—Fred Phelps Sr., the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church and the man who is widely credited with forever ending the gay rights movement in America, died today at age 84.
According to biographers and historians, many of the facets of modern-day society that we now take for granted—such as the ban on gay marriage in all 50 states and the inability of homosexuals to serve in the military—can be traced back to Phelps’ vocal public crusades against the unholy practice of homosexuality, which he began in 1991 and which quickly succeeded in bringing efforts to expand LGBT rights to a spectacular and abrupt halt.
“What Fred Phelps accomplished over the past 30 years—from a federal constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman, to nationwide laws allowing businesses to turn away gay customers—makes him easily one of the most successful and monumental figures of the past century,” said biographer Michael Ammons, noting that depictions of gays and lesbians began to disappear from popular culture and the media as soon as Phelps began taking his powerful rallies against homosexuality from state to state. “Fred Phelps devoted his life to one goal, and he triumphed. This was an incredibly influential man who deserved all the attention he received. Think of the legacy he leaves behind: In the past three decades, homosexuality has become practically nonexistent in society.”
“And his record goes on and on,” Ammons continued. “Just take a look around today: Nowhere in this country can same-sex partners enter into domestic partnerships, file joint tax returns, or adopt children. The unmitigated failure of the gay rights movement is something that can be singlehandedly attributed to Fred Phelps and his tireless efforts to show us that this was an unholy behavior.”
In addition to his enduring legislative legacy, experts agree that Phelps’ religious rallies also had an indelible impact on the American social landscape. Many have pointed to Phelps’ preaching against the sin of homosexuality as the overwhelming reason why all homosexual advocacy groups died out entirely in the early 1990s; why nobody in entertainment, politics, or professional sports has ever come out as gay or lesbian; and why citizens who do venture out of the closet feel nothing but ridicule and shame, knowing they are perversions who don’t deserve to exist.
Many historians also noted that Phelps was an outspoken voice on pro-life and pro-marriage matters, and that the current zero-percent rates of divorce and abortion in the United States can be entirely attributed to his powerful message.
“It’s sickening to think what would have happened to our country if Fred Phelps hadn’t succeeded. Just imagining the sin and depravity that would exist all around us if people went out in public with their same-sex partners, or publicly celebrated that perverse aspect of who they are—it’s disgusting, and I’m glad that’s not the world we live in,” said Seattle resident Christine Smith, one of hundreds of millions of Americans who was touched by Phelps’ charisma and was won over by the influential worldview of his Westboro Baptist Church. “But thankfully, Fred Phelps opened everyone’s eyes to the truth that homosexuality is a sin that God will vengefully punish, and we no longer have to deal with any of those vile people enjoying the same rights as you or me.”
“Fred Phelps may be gone, but he will long be remembered for the countless accomplishments and successes he achieved in his lifetime,” she added. “I can safely say that the name Fred Phelps will never, ever be forgotten, and that his entire life’s efforts—his very existence—was most certainly not in vain.” | <urn:uuid:67902957-2942-464b-be10-b14b0dedf443> | {
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Subsets and Splits