Central African Republic
Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka
|Flag||Coat of Arms|
|Language||[[Sango (official), French]] (official)|
|Prime minister||Mahamat Kamoun|
|Area||240,534 sq mi|
|GDP 2006||$5.015 billion|
|GDP per capita||$1,198|
|Currency||Central African franc|
The Central African Republic (République Centrafricaine) is a nation of central Africa, bordered by Chad, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon. It has an area of 240,324 square miles (622436 sq km) and a population of 4.37 million (2007 est). The capital city is Bangui.
There are more than 80 ethnic groups in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), each with its own language. About 75% are Baya-Mandjia and Banda (40% largely located in the northern and central parts of the country), and 4% are M'Baka (southwestern corner of the C.A.R.). Sangho, the language of a small group along the Oubangui River, is the national language spoken by the majority of Central Africans. Only a small part of the population has more than an elementary knowledge of French, the official language.
More than 55% of the population of the C.A.R. lives in rural areas. The chief agricultural areas are around the Bossangoa and Bambari. Bangui, Berberati, Bangassou, and Bossangoa are the most densely populated urban centers.
- Population (July 2007 est.): 4,369,038.
- Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 1.505%.
- Ethnic groups: More than 80; Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandja 13%, Mboum 7%, M'baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%.
- Religions: Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, indigenous beliefs 35%.
- Languages: Sangho (official), Sangho (national).
- Education: Years compulsory--6. Enrollment--primary school 75%. Literacy--50%.
- Health: Infant mortality rate--115 deaths/1,000. Life expectancy--avg. 43 yrs.
- Work force (approx. 53% of pop.): Agriculture--75%; industry--6%; commerce and services--4%; government--15%.
Government and Political Conditions
The government is a republic comprised of a strong executive branch (president, vice president, prime minister, and council of ministers), and weak legislative and judicial branches. Government and opposition party members, as well as civil society and the military are represented in the three branches, although the president appoints the vice president, prime minister, members of the cabinet (Council of Ministers), top military officials, and managers of national parastatals.
The National Assembly is made up of 109 members elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms. Legislative elections were held in 1998; in contested results, the government’s Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC) won just over 50% control of the legislative body. Legislative elections were last held in spring 2005.
For administration purposes, the country is divided into 16 prefectures that are further divided into over 60 subprefectures; the commune of Bangui is administered separately. The president currently appoints heads of these administrative units, called "prefets" and "sous-prefets". There are 174 communes, each headed by a mayor and council appointed by the president. Suffrage is universal over the age of 21.
The judicial sector encompasses the Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Court of Appeals, criminal and civil courts, Labor Court, and Juvenile Court, although several of these courts have insufficient resources and trained personnel to operate on a regular basis. The Criminal Court of Bangui sits once or twice a year, usually for 1 or 2 months each session. Judges are appointed by the president; executive influence often impedes transparent handling of judicial affairs. Military courts exist but are currently only used to try military personnel for crimes committed in the course of duty. There are a limited number of formal courts currently functioning outside Bangui; traditional arbitration and negotiation play a major role in administering domestic, property, and probate law.
The Central African Republic has a vibrant civil society, with numerous professional, labor, and local development associations actively carrying out campaigns and gaining greater local and international credibility.
The C.A.R. Government's human rights record remains flawed. There are continued reports of arbitrary detainment, torture and, to a lesser degree, extra judicial killings. Journalists have occasionally been threatened, and prison conditions remain harsh.
Principal Government Officials
- President of the Republic, Head of State--Catherine Samba-Panza
- Prime Minister--Mahamat Kamoun
- State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Francophony--Mr. Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE
- Minister of Finance and Budget--Mr. Théodore DABANGA
- Ambassador to the United States--Emmanuel Touaboy
- Ambassador to the United Nations--Fernand Poukre-Kono
The Central African Republic is an active member in several Central African organizations, including the Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) Central African Peace and Security Council (COPAX--still under formation), and the Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC). Standardization of tax, customs, and security arrangements between the Central African states is a major foreign policy objective of the C.A.R. Government. The C.A.R. is a participant in the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), and the Organization of African Unity (OAU--now the African Union). Libya and, to a lesser degree, Sudan have shown increased interest in cooperation with the C.A.R. over the last year.
Outside of Africa, the C.A.R. maintains fairly close ties to France, albeit considerably reduced from previous years. In the late 1990s, France withdrew forces stationed in the C.A.R.; drops in its external assistance budget have reduced French military and social development aid to the country. Other multilateral organizations--including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN agencies, European Union, and the African Development Bank--and bilateral donors--including Germany, Japan, the European Union, China, and the United States--are significant development partners for the C.A.R.
Seventeen countries have resident diplomatic or consular representatives in Bangui, and the C.A.R. maintains approximately the same number of missions abroad. Since early 1989 the government recognizes both Israel and the Palestinian state. The C.A.R. also maintains diplomatic relations with China. The C.A.R. generally joins other African and developing country states in consensus positions on major policy issues.
Under military restructuring plans formulated 1999-2000, the civilian Minister of Defense controlled and directed all armed forces, including the Presidential Security Unit (UPS), which had previously been seen as a militia supporting the president. In April 2001, the C.A.R. armed forces numbered about 3,000, including army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, national police, Presidential Security Unit, and local police personnel. An estimated 1,200 members of the army and gendarmerie fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the failed coup attempt of May 2001.
Following the 2003 coup, Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC-Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale) and C.A.R. armed forces assumed responsibility for securing the capital city. CEMAC forces currently total approximately 400 soldiers, which are supported by an additional 200 French soldiers. The C.A.R. armed forces number approximately 2,000. Working with the French, the C.A.R. military is attempting to provide professional training and decentralize its troops in an effort to combat road bandits, thievery, and poaching throughout the C.A.R. territory.
The Central African Republic is classified as one of the world's least developed countries, with a 2002 annual per capita income of $260. Sparsely populated and landlocked, the nation is overwhelmingly agrarian, with the vast bulk of the population engaged in subsistence farming and 55% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) arising from agriculture. Principal crops include cotton, food crops (cassava, yams, bananas, maize), coffee, and tobacco. In 2002, timber accounted for about 30% of export earnings. The country also has rich but largely unexploited natural resources in the form of diamonds, gold, uranium, and other minerals. There may be oil deposits along the country's northern border with Chad. Diamonds are the only of these mineral resources currently being developed; in 2002, diamond exports made up close to 50% of the C.A.R.'s export earnings. Industry contributes only about 20% of the country's GDP, with artesian diamond mining, breweries, and sawmills making up the bulk of the sector. Services currently account for about 25% of GDP, largely because of the oversized government bureaucracy and high transportation costs arising from the country's landlocked position.
Hydroelectric plants based in Boali provide much of the country’s limited electrical supply. Fuel supplies must be barged in via the Ubangui River or trucked overland through Cameroon, resulting in frequent shortages of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The C.A.R.'s transportation and communication network is limited. The country has only 650 kilometers of paved road, limited international and no domestic air service (except charters), and does not possess a railroad. Commercial traffic on the Ubangui River is impossible from December to May or June, and conflict in the region has sometimes prevented shipments from moving between Kinshasa and Bangui. The telephone system functions, albeit imperfectly. Four radio stations currently operate in the C.A.R., as well as one television station. Numerous newspapers and pamphlets are published on a regular basis, and at least one company has begun providing Internet service.
In the more than 40 years since independence, the C.A.R. has made slow progress toward economic development. Economic mismanagement, poor infrastructure, a limited tax base, scarce private investment, and adverse external conditions have led to deficits in both its budget and external trade. Its debt burden is considerable, and the country has seen a decline in per capita gross national product (GNP) over the last 30 years. Structural adjustment programs with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and interest-free credits to support investments in the agriculture, livestock, and transportation sectors have had limited impact. The World Bank and IMF are now encouraging the government to concentrate exclusively on implementing much-needed economic reforms to jumpstart the economy and defining its fundamental priorities with the aim of alleviating poverty. As a result, many of the state-owned business entities have been privatized and limited efforts have been made to standardize and simplify labor and investment codes and to address problems of corruption. The C.A.R. Government has adopted the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) Charter of Investment, and is in the process of adopting a new labor code.
- GDP (2006): $1.542 billion.
- Annual real GDP growth rate: -7.2% (2003); 0.5% (2004 est.); 3% (2006 est.).
- Per capita income (2002): $260.
- Avg. inflation rate: 4.2% (2003); 3.2 (2004 est.).
- Natural resources: Diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil.
- Agriculture (2002, 54.8% of GDP): Products--Timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco, foodcrops, livestock. Cultivated land--unavailable.
- Industry (2002, 21.6% of GDP): Types--Diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles, and soap.
- Services (2002): 23.6% of GDP.
- Trade (2004): Exports--$161 million; diamonds, coffee, cotton, timber, tobacco. Major markets--Belgium, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Egypt, Spain, and Cote d'Ivoire. Imports--$119 million; food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products. Major suppliers--France, United States, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Germany, Japan.
- Central government budget (2002): $226 million.
- Defense (2002, 2.4% of budget): $5.4 million.
- Fiscal year: Calendar year.
The C.A.R. appears to have been settled from at least the 7th century on by overlapping empires, including the Kanem-Bornou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, and Dafour groups based in Lake Chad and the Upper Nile. Later, various sultanates claimed present-day C.A.R, using the entire Oubangui region as a slave reservoir, from which slaves were traded north across the Sahara and to West Africa for export by European traders. Population migration in the 18th and 19th centuries brought new migrants into the area, including the Zande, Banda, and Baya-Mandjia.
In 1875 the Egyptian sultan Rabah governed Upper-Oubangui, which included present-day C.A.R. Europeans, primarily the French, German, and Belgians, arrived in the area in 1885. The French consolidated their legal claim to the area through an 1887 convention with Congo Free State, which granted France possession of the right bank of the Oubangui River. Two years later, the French established an outpost at Bangui, and in 1894, Oubangui-Chari became a French territory. However, the French did not consolidate their control over the area until 1903 after having defeated the forces of the Egyptian sultan Rabah and established colonial administration throughout the territory. In 1906, the Oubangui-Chari territory was united with the Chad colony; in 1910, it became one of the four territories of the Federation of French Equatorial Africa (A.E.F.), along with Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), and Gabon. The next 30 years were marked by small-scale revolts against French rule and the development of a plantation-style economy.
In August 1940, the territory responded, with the rest of the A.E.F., to the call from Gen. Charles de Gaulle to fight for Free France. After World War II, the French Constitution of 1946 inaugurated the first of a series of reforms that led eventually to complete independence for all French territories in western and equatorial Africa. In 1946, all A.E.F. inhabitants were granted French citizenship and allowed to establish local assemblies. The assembly in C.A.R. was led by Barthelemy Boganda, a Catholic priest who also was known for his forthright statements in the French Assembly on the need for African emancipation. In 1956 French legislation eliminated certain voting inequalities and provided for the creation of some organs of self-government in each territory. The French constitutional referendum of September 1958 dissolved the A.E.F., and on December 1 of the same year the Assembly declared the birth of the Central African Republic with Boganda as head of government. Boganda ruled until his death in a March 1959 plane crash. His cousin, David Dacko, replaced him, governing the country until 1965 and overseeing the country's declaration of independence on August 13, 1960.
On January 1, 1966, following a swift and almost bloodless coup, Col. Jean-Bedel Bokassa assumed power as President of the Republic. Bokassa abolished the constitution of 1959, dissolved the National Assembly, and issued a decree that placed all legislative and executive powers in the hands of the president. On December 4, 1976, the republic became a monarchy with the promulgation of the imperial constitution and the proclamation of the president as Emperor Bokassa I. His regime was characterized by numerous human rights atrocities.
Following riots in Bangui and the murder of between 50 and 200 schoolchildren, former President Dacko led a successful French-backed coup against Bokassa on September 20, 1979. Dacko's efforts to promote economic and political reforms proved ineffectual, and on September 1, 1981, he in turn was overthrown in a bloodless coup by Gen. Andre Kolingba. For 4 years, Kolingba led the country as head of the Military Committee for National Recovery (CRMN). In 1985 the CRMN was dissolved, and Kolingba named a new cabinet with increased civilian participation, signaling the start of a return to civilian rule. The process of democratization quickened in 1986 with the creation of a new political party, the Rassemblement Democratique Centrafricain (RDC), and the drafting of a new constitution that subsequently was ratified in a national referendum. General Kolingba was sworn in as constitutional President on November 29, 1986. The constitution established a National Assembly made up of 52 elected deputies, elected in July 1987. Due to mounting political pressure, in 1991 President Kolingba announced the creation of a national commission to rewrite the constitution to provide for a multi-party system. Multi-party presidential elections were conducted in 1992 but were later cancelled due to serious logistical and other irregularities. Ange Felix Patasse won a second-round victory in rescheduled elections held in October 1993, and was re-elected for another 6-year term in September 1999.
Salary arrears, labor unrest, and unequal treatment of military officers from different ethnic groups led to three mutinies against the Patasse government in 1996 and 1997. The French succeeded in quelling the disturbances, and an African peacekeeping force (MISAB) occupied Bangui until 1998 when they were relieved by a UN peacekeeping mission (MINURCA). Economic difficulties caused by the looting and destruction during the 1996 and 1997 mutinies, energy crises, and government mismanagement continued to trouble Patasse's government through 2000. In March 2000 the last of the MINURCA forces departed Bangui. In May 2001 rebel forces within the C.A.R. military, led by former President and Army General Andre Kolingba, attempted a military coup. After several days of heavy fighting, forces loyal to the government, aided by a small number of troops from Libya and the Congolese rebel Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), were able to put down the coup attempt. In November 2001, there were several days of sporadic gunfire between members of the Presidential Security Unit and soldiers defending sacked Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Francois Bozize, who fled to Chad. In mid-2002 there were skirmishes on the C.A.R.-Chad border.
In October 2002, former Army Chief of Staff Francois Bozize launched a coup attempt that culminated in the March 15, 2003 overthrow of President Patasse and the takeover of the capital. General Bozize declared himself President, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the National Assembly. Since seizing power, President Francois Bozize has made significant progress in restoring order to Bangui and parts of the country, and professed a desire to promote national reconciliation, strengthen the economy, and improve the human rights situation. A new constitution was passed by referendum in December 2004. In spring 2005, the country held its first elections since the March 2003 coup. The first round of presidential and legislative elections were held in March 2005, and in May, President Bozize defeated former Prime Minister Martin Ziguele in a second-round runoff. On June 13, Bozize named Elie Dote, an agricultural engineer who had worked at the African Development Bank, his new Prime Minister.
In 2013 president Bozize left the country after Islamist rebels of took the capital. The leader of Seleka, the rebel group, Michel Djotodia called himself the president of the Central African Republic. In Djotodias tenure the Seleka terrorized Christians. On January 10, 2014 Djotodia stepped down. Since January 20, 2014 Catherine Samba-Panza is the president of the Central African Republic.
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/24/central-african-republic-president-flees-as-rebels-take-capital/
- ↑ http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/rebels-patrol-central-african-republic-capital
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/centralafricanrepublic/10502752/Seleka-the-militia-terrorising-Central-African-Republics-Christian-population.html
- ↑ http://cnsnews.com/news/article/c-african-republic-president-pm-stepping-down
- ↑ http://cnsnews.com/news/article/c-african-republic-chooses-mayor-new-leader
|License:||This work is in the Public Domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code|
|Source:||File available from the United States Federal Government .|


There are many different skin conditions that can cause a variety of rashes on different parts of the body. Some of these are very common (for example, eczema and psoriasis). Others are very rare.
Often your General Practitioner will be able to make a diagnosis but if the problem is difficult to diagnose or treat, he/she will ask a Consultant Dermatologist’s advice.
Sometimes a diagnosis can be made by the Consultant Dermatologist looking at the skin but sometimes the diagnosis may need special tests, such as blood tests or a skin biopsy (where a small amount of skin is removed under local anaesthetic to analyse under the microscope), or allergy tests.
Once a diagnosis is made the most appropriate treatment can be prescribed.


In June this year, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office hosted a ‘Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict’, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Special Envoy Angelia Jolie. The event brought together Government representatives from over 120 countries, over 1,000 experts, faith leaders, youth organizations and representatives of civil society and international organizations. With the hash tag #TimetoAct they demanded an end to sexual violence in conflict. While this summit is certainly to be applauded for taking the issue of sexual violence seriously, as it is a topic that has since long been considered taboo, and for proposing practical steps to end impunity (see for example the proposed ‘International Protocol on the documentation and investigation of sexual violence in conflict’), one question that I kept asking myself during the three day event was “what about the men?”
In the last few years the issue of sexual violence in conflict has received much attention from the international community. Sexual violence as a ‘tactic of war’ was formally recognized as an issue critical to international peace and security by UN Security Council Resolution 1820, and in 2010 the office of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict was created. However, until now most of the attention has focused on female victims, and male victims of sexual violence in conflict have been of only marginal concern to international policy. Despite this lack of attention, however, men and boys have long been targeted for sexual violence in particular and gender-specific ways that deserve the attention of the human rights community.
The issue of sexual violence against men in conflict is severely and chronically underreported. One explanation is that male victims are often unwilling to come forward, due to shame, guilt and fear. In countries where homosexuality is criminalized, survivors are often faced with an assumption that they have engaged in consensual homosexual activity, and can themselves face criminal charges. Another factor is the reticence of civil society to recognize that male victims even exist. While sexual violence against women has been at the forefront of the work of many NGOs, they have been particularly slow to address the issue of male victims. In fact, a report from 2002 found that of 4,076 NGOs that focused on conflict-related and politically-motivated sexual violence only 3% mentioned male victims. A quarter of these NGOs explicitly denied that male-on-male violence was a serious problem.
The lack of attention paid to the sexual abuse of men in conflict is particularly disturbing given the extent of the problem. In recent years sexual violence against men has been documented as a feature of conflicts in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, the former Yugoslavia, and many other countries. For example, 21% of Sri Lankan Tamil males said they had experienced sexual abuse while in detention, and a study of 6,000 concentration camp detainees in Sarajevo found that 80% of the males had been raped. A 2010 study in the DRC reported 23.6% of men having been subject to sexual violence, with 64.5% of the sexual violence being conflict-related.
Despite the grave and widespread nature of sexual violence against men and boys, the international community seems reluctant to acknowledge the extent of the problem and to properly address the issue. The international instruments that contain the most comprehensive and meaningful definitions of sexual violence prima facie exclude men, reflecting and embedding the assumption that sexual violence is a phenomenon relevant only to women and girls. ‘Gender-based violence’ is too often associated exclusively with violence against women, whereas when it is acknowledged that men are also victims of sexual violence it is most often only mentioned in passing. This was evident at the recent Summit.
While Ms. Jolie did mention men as potential victims of sexual violence in conflict, the overall tone of the Summit was that this was a conference to end conflict-related sexual violence against women. William Hague in his opening statement said: “We want to encourage men to speak out, we want to encourage men to speak out – to agree with us that it is only a weak or inadequate man who abuses women”, thus reinforcing the view that men are perpetrators of sexual violence and women are victims. The UK government also made a big announcement of pledging support for victims of sexual violence in conflict, but the bulk of this support, £4.25 million, is to be donated to the UN Trust Fund on violence against women. Commenting on the commitment, International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “[r]ape and sexual violence destroy the lives of countless women and their families”.
Any serious effort to end sexual violence in conflict is of course both necessary and commendable. Given the fact that women and girls are often discriminated against, marginalized in society, and more often victims of these crimes it may even be legitimate to let women be the primary focus of attention. However, calling for an end to sexual violence in conflict while solely talking about female victims only serves to further marginalize male victims and confirm the notion that what they are suffering is not in fact sexual violence. Furthermore, when we as women had to fight for decades, and still do, to get noticed and to get the issue on the table, how can we not make room for other victims just because they happen to be men?
It is indeed ‘Time to Act’ – it’s time to act for all victims of sexual violence in conflict, both women and men.
 The author is a Co-Founder of the Oxford Burma Alliance. This post originally appeared on the University of Essex Human Rights Centre Blog’: http://blogs.essex.ac.uk/hrc/2014/07/13/what-about-the-men-the-silence-on-male-victims-of-sexual-violence-in-conflict/
 UN Security Council, Resolution 1820, S/RES/1820 (2008), 19 June 2008.
 Rosemary Grey and Laura J. Shepherd, ’”Stop Rape Now?”: Masculinity, Responsibility, and Conflict-related Sexual Violence’, 16(1) Men and Masculinities 115 (2013), 116.
 R. Charli Carpenter, ’Recognizing Gender-Based Violence Against Civilian Men and Boys in Conflict Situations’, 37 Security Dialogue 83 (2006), 94.
 Tom Hennessy and Felicity Gerry, ‘International Human Rights Law and Sexual Violence Against Men in Conflict Zones’, Halsbury’s Law Exchange, October 2012, 7-8.
 Ibid, 8.
 Hennessy and Gerry, 6.
 Grey and Shepherd, 121.
 Lara Stemple, ’Male Rape and Human Rights’, 60 Hastings Law Journal 605, 618.


Why Allergic Reactions Happen
What causes allergic reactions?
One thing that makes the human body so amazing is its ability to defend itself against harmful substances and dangerous invaders, such as bacteria or viruses. However, in certain people, their body’s immune system is over sensitive and reacts defensively when exposed to allergens (generally harmless substances such as animal dander, dust, peanuts, mold, pollen or shellfish) by producing immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. These antibodies attach to the receptors of a blood cell called a mastocyte (mast cell). When patients with an allergic disease (for example, asthma or allergic rhinitis) are exposed to an allergen[s], their immune system then rallies its defenses, launching a multitude of complex chemical weapons for an attack to destroy the supposedly identified “enemy.” What is happening in your body is that the allergens are binding to the IgE, which is attached to the mast cell (the main purpose of a mast cell is to destroy microorganisms invading your body). This triggers a reaction that allows the mast cells to release a variety of chemicals including histamine and leukotriene, which causes most of the symptoms of an allergy. Histamine attaches to receptors in blood vessels and causes them to enlarge. Histamine also binds to other receptors causing redness, swelling, itching and changes in secretions. During this process, unpleasant and in extreme cases life-threatening symptoms may be experienced.Content Created/Medically Reviewed by our Expert Doctors


We will always be fascinated by major technological breakthroughs that make life easier for individuals with disabilities. Yet, from the perspective of someone who is completely or partially paralyzed due to a severe spinal cord injury, tiny victories are always welcome, by whatever means necessary. In a recent study, researchers managed to help six participants regain the use of their hands and fingers via a nonsurgical, noninvasive spinal stimulation procedure.
Of the six individuals, three were completely paralyzed. Three could not move their fingers. None could turn a doorknob with one hand or twist the cap off a plastic water bottle. Even using a cellphone could not be accomplished without great difficulty. All participants had chronic and severe paralysis for at least one year, and some for more than 10 years.
The main benefit was improved grip strength. However, other health benefits included improved blood pressure, bladder function, cardiovascular function and the ability to sit upright without support. So how did they do it?
Researchers placed electrodes on the skin to stimulate the circuitry of the spinal cord. The fancy name they came up with for their method is “transcutaneous enabling motor control,” or TtEmc for short. The electrical current is applied at varying frequencies and intensifies to specific locations on the spinal cord. Participants were then asked to squeeze a small gripping device, 18 times with each hand, and hold their grip for three seconds. Researchers measured the amount of force they used.
The whole study lasted for eight 90-minute sessions, consisting of two sessions per week over a four week period. It only took two for everyone to start showing significant improvement. After eight, each participant was able to perform feats of grip strength they had not been able to perform in years. They became less dependent on their caregivers and could feed and dress themselves.
60 days after training ended, two participants returned to the laboratory and were still able to demonstrate the same level of grip strength. They could turn a doorknob with one hand, twist off a bottle cap and use a fork with one hand. According to Peter Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, “improved hand function can mean the difference between needing around-the-clock care and living more independently.”
V. Reggie Edgerton is the senior author of the research and a UCLA distinguished professor of integrative biology and physiology, neurobiology and neurosurgery. He is seeking FDA approval for the motor control device so that it can be used by rehabilitation clinics and others. His method is inexpensive, does not require surgery and can be used in poor communities and countries without advanced medical facilities.


For this week’s session of Inventors-at-Home, we’ll study how animals adapt to their habitat – the environment in which they live.
The Big Idea To Teach
In order to survive over time, animal species have to be well adapted to the environment in which they live. They need to be able to eat the food they find in their habitats, drink water, protect themselves from weather and environmental hazards, avoid being eaten, have and care for babies. They adapt to the habitat in two ways: structural adaptations (gills, thick fur, long eyelashes to protect from sand, etc.) and behavioral adaptations (instinctual behaviors such as migration, hibernation, and travelling in herds.) Adaptations evolve over many generations of animals. Human beings can invent things (often based on ideas we got from observing animals) that help us to quickly adapt to different circumstances.
If you use videos in your family, here are a couple good options to introduce this topic:
- Crash Course Video has a 4.5 minute video called Living Things Change which is a good overview.
- Adaptations at Animal Wonders (11 minutes) is like a virtual field trip to the zoo, where they show live animals and talk about their defense mechanisms.
- Mystery Science episode Why do Woodpeckers peck wood is a 15 minute long video-based activity where children watch videos of animals (quail, raccoon and woodpecker), then mimic their behavior. Good for 3 – 6 year olds.
Ways to Explore Adaptations
Pretend Play – Hibernation / Torpor
Build a fort with tables, blankets, couch cushions… If you have them, add in a few puppets or stuffed animals that hibernate (chipmunks, bats, hedgehogs) or go into torpor (bears, skunks, raccoons). [Learn here about the difference between hibernation and torpor.] Then just let the kids play there.
Sensory Play – Digging
If you have something a child can dig in (a sandbox, the garden, a tub filled with a sensory material (rice, dried beans, sand, potato flakes, oatmeal), then give them a variety of things to try digging with. Include a couple things like rakes that act like claws. After they’ve played a while, ask: Which work best? Show them this poster showing “animals that dig” with photos of several burrowing animals, all of which have clawed feet. Then we filled the bin with sand, some “rakes” to act like claws and a couple styles of shovel, so they could see which was easier to dig with.
Sorting: Match Adaptations and Inventions
Best for ages 5 and up. Print the cards and cut them apart. Half the cards show an animal adaptation, and the others show a related invention. Children match them up. Free printable PDF.
Guessing Game: Whose Ears?
Here’s a guessing game you can play on screen or print out about “which animal has these ears” or that nose. If you want to learn lots more about ears, check out my science of sound post, which links to videos about how hearing works, and instructions on how to make different shaped ears out of paper to see how shape affects hearing.
Craft – Make Animal Costumes
You can make headbands from paper or masks from cardboard, use facepaint, or build costumes from recyclable materials. Check out my post on DIY Animal Costumes for lots of ideas to get you started. As you make the costume, talk to your child about why the animal looks like that… why is the giraffe’s neck long? why does the zebra have stripes? why does the monkey have a long tail? This will help them understand how animal adaptations help the animal to survive.
Active Game – Predator / Prey
Describe a defense mechanism, and an animal that uses it. Then play tag with that mechanism for a few minutes (the parent is the predator)… Repeat for other adaptations.
- camouflage (zebra, giraffe, fawn, and so on) – they need to find a similar color in the room to hide near;
- crawling into a small place – they were little mice who crawled into a tunnel (or under a piece of furniture) to get away from the eagle (parent) who was too big to get in the tunnel;
- playing dead (possum) – when the parent enters the room, they pretend to be dead – parent looks and sniffs – says yuck and moves on;
- skunk smell – show them how to “spray bad smell” using their hands – when parent approaches, they “spray” – parent gags and chokes…
- tail breaking off – give them all a cloth to tuck in their pocket (like flag football). Tell them they’re lizards… when you catch their tail, they let it break off and they run away and you “eat their tail” while they “grow a new one.”
Game – echolocation. An alternative tag game. One child is “bat”, the parent or other child are insects. Give the bat a squeaky toy, and the insects get shakers. Blindfold the bat. He squeaks, they rattle back, he tries to tag one. (Source)
Engineering – Webbed Feet
Make paddle boats. One with plastic spoons for paddles (to represent a duck’s webbed feet) and one with plastic fork paddles (“chicken feet”). The idea is to show how much better the webbed feet are at propelling something through the water. Cut two arch shapes out of thick plastic. Use electrical tape to tape two pencils to the arches. Then loop a rubber band over the middle of the pencils. Cut the handles off two plastic spoons. Tape them together, one facing up, one down to make the paddle. For the other boat, do the same with two forks. Then insert this paddle in between the sides of the rubber band. Twist it up tight, then let it go in the water. (Click on picture for bigger image.)
Experiment – Learn about Blubber
An easy but messy activity is to show kids how animals like polar bears and whales can survive in very cold arctic water. Have your child dip one finger into Crisco (or lard or butter) – then put a bare finger and the coated finger into ice water… which can they hold in the water longer? More details on Steve Spangler’s site.
Experiment – Learn about Duck Feathers
Ducks produce an oil that coats their feathers so they repel water. That way their feathers don’t get saturated with water, which might make them too heavy to float. Have three plastic cups of water. Hold up a cotton ball, saying that it represents a bird with feathers. Drop it in the water. It sinks. Explain that if the feathers fill with water, they get too heavy. Then tell kids about “duck oil” – dip the cotton ball in some vegetable oil so half is coated. Say that the coated part is the duck’s bottom and the dry part is the head. When you set this in the water, it flips so the oil side is up… uh oh, duck’s head is in the water! Ask the kids what to do. They will [hopefully] suggest dipping a whole cotton ball in oil. Do so, and add it to the water. It floats! The oil repels the water. Source: https://hubpages.com/education/Animal-Adaptations
Exploring Camouflage – Art, Games…
Camouflage is an important protective mechanism for prey animals as it helps them to hide in their environment. It’s also an important tool for predators as it helps them sneak up on their prey! Here are some ways to teach your child about it:
- Art: Paint an animal camouflaged in its habitat
- Handout: Do the I Spy camouflage game (on your screen or print it out)
- Painting: Learn about how to tell apart cheetahs, leopards, and jaguars, then fingerpaint the different spot patterns
- Play a camouflage game – have them choose a stuffed animal in their bedroom, then figure out the best place for it to hide in the room
- Active Game: Do a camouflage hunt – take some of their toys and hide them inside, or outside in the yard, then have them hunt. (Note: anytime I hide things for a kid to find, I count how many items I have and remember where I hid them!)
The Bird Beak Challenge
In our online class, we’ll introduce the bird beak challenge – there are several ways to play it, but each explores how birds have many different shapes of beaks, and each is perfectly adapted to eating a certain kind of food, and fairly useless with other types of food.
A novel approach to this topic would be teaching adaptations using Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. There’s a great lesson plan at We Are Teachers.
Kids’ Books about Adaptations
[Note: The book title is linked to Amazon where you can purchase the Kindle version or a paper version – it’s an affiliate link, so I do receive a small referral fee. If it says KCLS, that means the King County library has an ebook version. YouTube is a link to a video of someone reading the book aloud.]
- Who Has These Feet? (KCLS, YouTube) by Hulbert and Brooks. A fun read-aloud for kids age 3 – 6. It shows an illustration of feet and says “who has these feet?” Kids guess, then you turn the page for a picture of the full animal and info about how their feet help them adapt to their environment. “Who has these feet? A duck has these feet. A duck has webbed feet so it can go fast in the water.” There’s also Who Has This Tail (YouTube)
- What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? (KCLS, YouTube) by Jenkins and Page. Lovely illustrations. Good read-aloud for ages 4 – 7, although for 4 – 5 year olds, don’t read all the details. It has a two page spread showing the nose (or tail, ears, eyes, feet, mouth) of five various animals, and asking “What do you do with a [nose] like this?” On the next two page spread is a picture of the whole bodies of all five animals, with information like “if you’re a mole, you use your nose to find your way underground” and “if you’re an alligator, you breathe through your nose while hiding in the water.”
- What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? (KCLS, YouTube) by Jenkins. Same author as above. Best for age 5 – 8. Talks about defense mechanisms. Would be a great follow-up to our defense mechanisms game, as it shows / reinforces some of the things we’ve already talked about, and adds more, like “the pangolin protects itself by rolling into an armor-plated ball. The basilisk lizard… can escape its enemies by running across the surface of ponds and streams, using its large feet and great speed to keep it from sinking in the water.” Engaging book with lots of animals that aren’t commonly seen in kids’ books.
- How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? (KCLS) also by Jenkins and Page. Age 6 – 9. One page spread asks a question / poses a problem and shows several animals. The next page details all their solutions to that problem. For example: “How many ways can you use a leaf? A tailorbird sews a leaf into a pouch that will hold her nest and eggs. Stepping from one lily pad to another, the lily trotter [bird] can walk over the surface of a pond… An orangutan uses a large leaf as an umbrella.” You’ll also learn how animals snare a fish, hatch an egg, dig a hole, and eat a clam. Quite good – if your child enjoyed Jenkins’ other books, this is a good next step.
- Creature Features: Twenty-Five Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do also by Jenkins and Page. (YouTube) Age 6 – 9. Each page includes a large close-up of an animal’s face, and asks a question, then the animal “answers” that question. “Dear bighorn sheep: don’t those huge horns get in your way? … I’m a male sheep, and to impress females I have to fight with other guys. We bang our heads together…” “Dear giraffe: why is your tongue purple? …. so it won’t get sunburned.” A fun collection of trivia, but I’d choose another Jenkins and Page book as my “starter” book. (Here are printable masks to go with this book. This video has ideas for a game to go with the masks, where you add environmental challenges to an animal and ask the children how the animal would need to adapt.)
- Eye to Eye: How Animals See The World by Jenkins. Yet another book by Jenkins, best for 8 – 10 year olds. This book focuses just on eyes, with great up-close illustrations. Sample text: “At the back of the housecat’s eye is a reflective layer called a tapetum. This layer bounces light back through the cat’s retina, improving its eyesight in dim light. Like most predators, cats have forward facing eyes.”
- If You Hopped Like A Frog by Schwartz and Warhola. (YouTube or YouTube) This is more about math than about adaptations.The book description says “introduces the concept of ratio by comparing what humans would be able to do if they had bodies like different animals.” For example: “If you swallowed like a snake, you could gulp a hot dog thicker than a telephone pole….”” Or “If you grew as fast in the first nine months after you were born as you did in the nine months before you were born, you would have been a towering tot, taller than mountain tops and heavier than 2 1/2 million elephants.” In the back, there’s a detailed description of the math involved in the calculations. This is a book that three to four year olds would giggle over because the pictures and the ideas are so silly. But they wouldn’t be able to grasp the idea of proportions or imagining themselves to be all these different sizes. A 6 to 7 year old might have some grasp of the math. Reviewers on Amazon describe using it with middle and high school math classes to make ratios / proportions more entertaining.
- One Is a Snail, Ten is a Crab: A Counting by Feet Book by Sayre. (YouTube) Another “math” book, and one of my favorite math books ever. “1 is a snail. 2 is a person. 3 is a person and a snail…. 30 is three crabs or ten people and a crab… 90 is nine crabs or ten spiders and a crab…” This is a great pairing with our “How Many Feet” guessing game.
- Unbeatable Beaks by Swinburne, Paley. Age 4 – 7. (YouTube) All about the variety of beaks on birds, and their uses. “A beak can pry, a beak can preen, the shape is straight, bent, in between. A beak is a spoon, a beak is a slicer. A beak is a scraper, stabber, and spiker.” Each page shows illustrations of various birds with labels indicating their species. I love this book for supplementary material on our table with the bird beak activity. I personally wouldn’t read it aloud at group time, because it’s just a long litany of ideas that may come at a child too quickly / not get explained enough to understand.
- Elephant’s Child by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Raglin. This is a full text of Kipling’s tale, with illustrations. These are too long to read in a class, setting, but I have loved reading them to my own children because of the magic of the original words (“he was full of insatiable curiosity… now, you must know and understand, O Best Beloved… till he trod on what he thought was a log of wood at the very edge of the great gray-green, greasy Limpopo river, all set about with fever-trees.”)
- When I was a kid, I had a record… yeah, a 33 rpm LP because I’m that old… that was Captain Kangaroo telling Just So Stories, and that’s the version I want a book of…. I did make a cassette tape of the album for my older kids…. yeah, a cassette tape, because they’re that old. Maybe I need to digitize it for my youngest child… I did find recordings here, but I haven’t tried them. Or here is Sterling Holloway, the voice of Winnie the Pooh reading the story.
What if you don’t believe in evolution?
On Amazon, I noticed that some books on habitats and adaptations had negative reviews from people that complained that they taught about adaptations, which relates to evolution, which was against their spiritual beliefs. Personally, I teach from a scientific perspective, and I do talk about natural selection / evolution. However, some parents may choose to talk about bio-diversity as a sign of God’s hands in creating a vast array of creatures uniquely suited to their unique habitats.


Fenton Lecture Explores Life of Former Secret Service Agent – Jamestown Post Journal (April 13, 2017): A closer look at one of the country’s first Secret Service agents.
Patrick Tyrrell may not be a well-known figure in history. But over 100 years ago, the Chautauquan became one of the country’s first Secret Service agents, and as such, helped protect the body of one of the nation’s most celebrated presidents.
On Wednesday, Michelle Henry, Chautauqua County historian and records manager, explored the consequential — and checkered — life of Tyrrell during the Fenton History Center’s latest Brown Bag Lecture.
Tyrrell was first brought to Henry’s attention when one of his descendants contacted her and requested if she could dig up more information about her ancestor, who apparently had a sterling reputation busting counterfeiters in 1870s Chicago.
While researching, Henry was surprised to find Tyrrell’s name popping up more for his legal troubles than anything else.
“I could only find court actions against him at that time period,” Henry said. “So (his descendant) is either going to be tickled that I found anything or she’s going to be disappointed that her ancestor may not have been the character she thought he was.”
Tyrrell, an Irish immigrant turned Sheriff’s deputy in Dunkirk, apparently used his role as a law enforcement officer to con and steal from members of the public. He also had marital problems that led to a separation from his wife and seven children.
Tyrrell would reappear in Illinois in the 1870s; strangely, he was now married to his eldest son’s widow. The drama was indeed an unlikely backstory to what would arguably become Tyrrell’s greatest achievement.
In 1871, Tyrrell was hired by the newly-formed Secret Service, which sought to root out the rampant use of counterfeit money in the country. When Tyrrell nabbed Benjamin Boyd, a notorious engraver of counterfeit bills, the engraver’s gang hatched a plot to ensure his release.
“The gang decided the only way to maintain their business was to get Boyd out of jail,” Henry said. “So they hatched a plan to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body, take it to some sand dunes in Indiana and bury it … and demand a ransom of $250,000 and the release of Boyd.”
The scheme would take place on Election Night 1876 when people would not be paying attention to Lincoln’s monument, the gang thought. Unfortunately for them, one of Tyrrell’s men learned of the plot and a trap was set.
As two gang members broke into the monument and struggled to lift Lincoln’s lead casket, they heard a noise from one of Tyrrell’s men and fled the scene. They were captured 10 days later.
Lincoln’s son, Robert, was so pleased by the result that he presented Tyrrell with a framed portrait of his father. Incidentally, Robert Lincoln, an attorney, once represented Brocton native George Pullman, who developed the Pullman railroad sleeping car. The body of President Lincoln would later be buried in the same manner as Pullman, who requested his body be buried in an enormous grave with iron bars and filled with cement.
Henry called Tyrrell an interesting and far more complex character than history books claim.
“He’s a fun character because I think he really was good at his job … and a lot of published histories paint him in a very favorable light, which is fine,” she said. “But people have two sides. Maybe in his personal life, he just wasn’t that easy to live with. You can decide how you feel about him.”
Fenton Hosts Cemetery Preservationist Lecture – Jamestown Post-Journal (April 13, 2017): There is a possible new solution to preserving rural cemeteries.
On Wednesday, Amanda Brainard, the town of Leon cemetery records keeper, discussed what can be done to preserve rural cemeteries during the Fenton History Center’s Brown Bag Lecture series. Brainard, who has been working with the town of Leon since 2014, said one aspect to help preserve rural cemeteries is to stop thinking of them as ”creepy” places.
”As a community, we need to look beyond the ghosts,” she said.
As far as laws, she said there are basically no federal laws and very few New York state laws to assist with the preservation of rural cemeteries. She said possible solutions for people or organizations would be to start a volunteer maintenance program; contact the state Office of Historic Preservation to see if it can be registered as a historic place; contact veteran groups to see if they are willing to help preserve the cemetery if military personnel have been buried there; and contact local municipalities to see if they are willing to pass laws and fund money to help preserve the cemetery.
Brainard said there is a new group called the Northeaster Coalition For Cemetery Studies that has been created to help preserve rural cemeteries in Western New York.
She said the mission of the nonprofit group is to assist in writing, correcting and editing laws addressing abandoned cemeteries; study rural cemeteries for records; analyze and preserve documents for historical preservation; and manage the preservation and restoration of cemeteries.
Brainard said the Northeastern Coalition For Cemetery Studies goals include addressing the lack of laws to protect cemeteries; assisting municipalities with preserving cemeteries; starting volunteer maintenance programs; and establishing noninvasive cemetery research programs that will use ground penetrating radar, GIS, topographic surveys and cadaver dogs to help preserve the cemetery.
The first pilot preservation project for the Northeastern Coalition of Cemetery Studies is the Leon Hollow Cemetery on Riga Road in Leon, Brainard said. She said the hope is to get grant funding to purchase equipment to analyze the cemetery for preservation. For more information on the grassroots group, visit nccscemeteries.wixsite.com/nccs.
Voice of War Echoes at the Fenton – Jamestown Post-Journal (May 11, 2017): The words of a World War I veteran echoed at the Fenton History Center Wednesday.
During the Brown Bag Lecture series, Mary Jane Phillips Koenig presented her presentation, “Why It Matters: His Voice Echoes Still Across America,” about letters her great-uncle, Private Russell Archie Harvey, wrote to his mother while serving in the U.S. Army’s 357 Infantry Regiment, 90th Division during World War I.
Koenig, a retired school teacher, said she has spent a “lifetime” researching her great-uncle’s 20 letters that were saved by Harvey’s sister, May.
Koenig said Harvey was born in Corry, Pa., in 1888. She said Harvey’s family sold the family farm and moved to Jamestown around 1900. She added that Harvey spent around 14 years in Jamestown before the war. In an edition of the Jamestown Evening Journal from 1913, Harvey participated in a play as a member of the Knights of Pythias. The play included several other notable Jamestown residents of the time, which included Mayor Samuel Carlson and future Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson.
Koenig said Harvey was drafted into the Army in 1918 while he was living in Iowa. After Iowa, he went to Texas for basic training and then to New York City to make his way to the fighting in Europe. Harvey’s letters discuss several topics, including the steamship trip on the Delta to France. Harvey said he didn’t get seasick on the journey, but other troops on the ocean voyage weren’t so lucky.
Other topics discussed in letters included a 120-mile march by foot in France between posts; seeing an old castle that must have been built when “knights still wore armor;” about Harvey being a company scout; and about digging battlefield trenches.
In a letter dated Nov. 16, 1918, five days after the armistice that ended World War I, Harvey wrote a letter expressing that he is sincerely thankful to his mother and wants to live near her once he returns back to the United States.
Another letter expressed how, at one point, Harvey didn’t think he would see Christmas, which is why he didn’t request a gift package coupon for his family. Harvey wrote that he thought he would be “pushing up daisies” by Christmas.
In another letter not written by Harvey, a Robert Marx wrote Harvey to thank him for pulling him off the battlefield while he was injured. Koenig said that during her research she discovered that Marx later went on to create the Disabled American Veterans organization.
Before returning home to Jamestown, even after serving on the front lines in France, Harvey’s regiment served as guards in Germany after the war.
Koenig said that Harvey died in 1924. He is buried in Soldier’s Circle at Lake View Cemetery.
Copies of Harvey’s letters are on display at the Fenton History Center, located at 67 Washington St., as part of the exhibit, Over There: Life in Jamestown During WWI. The exhibit tells the story of what it was like in Jamestown during The Great War.
Veteran Discusses Experience in Flag Day – Jamestown Post-Journal (June 15, 2017): Flag Day was an appropriate time to hear from a Vietnam War veteran about his service to his country, which demonstrated the sacrifices made by all military personnel so Old Glory can be honored each year by Americans.
During the monthly Brown Bag Lecture Series at the Fenton History Center, Steve Trask, a Vietnam War veteran who was enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1969, talked about his experiences during the Vietnam War. Trask was a sergeant who completed Special Forces training in Ft. Devens, Mass.; airborne training in Ft. Bragg, Texas; Ranger Training in Az.; winter survival training in Klondike, Alaska; and jungle training in Panama before he started serving in Vietnam in 1968, three days before the Tet Offensive.
Trask said his journey to Vietnam wasn’t a smooth trip, which started with him traveling to Buffalo during an ice storm. From there he faced delays, which included him traveling across the state by train to finally take a flight to Seattle. He arrived at the bus to the base at 11:45 p.m., which was barely before his midnight deadline to report for duty.
Once in Vietnam, Trask said he was promoted to sniper and went to sniper training school. He talked about his experiences as a sniper, which included spending days in towers with his rifle aimed at the enemy or months at a time hiding in the jungles of Vietnam. He discussed how one piece of advice he received was not to look at the enemy’s face nor to count the number of enemy soldiers he shot.
“I don’t know how many people I shot,” he said. “I don’t remember a face.”
During his discussion, Trask talked about an up-close encounter with a tiger, enjoying a special Thanksgiving dinner on a ship with three of his cousins who were also serving in the U.S. military in Vietnam and how a pilot gave him his survival knife after Trask saved him after he parachuted into the jungle.
Trask said after his first year in Vietnam he re-enlisted for five more years. He said he was almost through his second tour when he was badly injured.
Trask sustained his injury following a blast from a satchel charge that was thrown into a bunker he was protecting. He was blown 100 feet behind the bunker after the blast. He added that he was covered by palm tree branches that had been cut down by enemy machine gun fire.
Trask remained covered by the palm tree branches for two days while in a coma before his body was discovered.
He then spent two-and-a-half weeks in a China Beach hospital, which he said was unlike the television show that aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Trask talked about how the doctors kept pestering him about going to Japan, which he refused. He then finally asked the doctors why they wanted to send him to Japan.
The doctors replied that he could be evaluated there so he could be sent back to the United States. Trask joked that he wishes the doctors would have told him that from the start.
Once back in the United States, Trask said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which led him to therapy for two-and-a-half years at the VA Medical Center in Erie, Pa.
Trask also said he spent 13 years in college at Jamestown Community College and Buffalo State following his service in Vietnam.
Pictured above: U.S. Army Veteran Steve Trask.
September 13th: Walnut Grove Archaeology Project: Year 6: Dr. Thomas Greer discussed the archaeological excavation that have been underway on the grounds of the Fenton History Center and additions to the artifacts that have been collected.
Team members of the Walnut Grove Archaeology Project continued in an area where an early structure associated with the mansion once stood. Dr. Thomas Greer and his colleagues investigated the location of the carriage house and west side house addition.
Interested in participating? Dig days take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer beginning in June. Excavation may also take place on some Saturdays. The days that are not spent digging will be spent washing artifacts. Due to the confined space and small scale of the project, the number of participants is limited. If you would like to join us call the Fenton History Center at (716) 664-6256.


This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
David Hockney stated "All art is contemporary if it's alive, and if it's not alive, what's the point of it?" ;The most exciting factor about contemporary art is that it's alive. It represents our society, our life and our time. What is contemporary art then? Contemporary art describes the form of art which is presents in the relatively recent past. The date of origin for the contemporary art varies in relation to contemporary art museum. However, it was usually placed in late 1900. Contemporary art is much more socially conscious than any other previous art forms have been. It deals with the one issue or another such as feminism, AIDS, Multiculturalism, and Globalization. Vietnamese contemporary art isn't an exception. Many contemporary artists are trying to speak their voice for negative and positive side of social issues in Hanoi. Rapid globalization and its consequences on Vietnamese people are one of the famous subjects to be considered because it of its strong influence in Vietnamese society. Therefore it has effects on contemporary art as well. Although there is more freedom in Vietnamese contemporary art than in the past, not a lot of Contemporary artists in Vietnam are including message such as philosophical questions or social issues in their artworks. Still, there were a small number of artists such as Pham Ngoc Duoc, Nguyen Thuy Hang who had strong message in their artwork.
Throughout this essay observation of the way Vietnamese artist express themselves about globalization in Vietnam will be done. Yet, understanding of globalization in Vietnamese society and contemporary art in Vietnam is necessary for deeper understanding
The Social issues of globalization in Vietnam
Globalization was very necessary for Vietnam in the past. After experiencing war and isolation for many decades, Vietnam desperately needed development. Today, with huge change and growth caused by globalization, it has become one of the most rapid developing countries in Asia. At first, globalization was just known as a way to boost the economies rapidly because of all the positive factors that globalization creates such as, improvement in technology and international transportation, increase in national income and creation of outsourcing concept. Nonetheless, in more recent years, globalization hasn't been considered very positive due to the some side effects it created. For instance, Spread of deadly disease such as HIV/AID and increase in terrorism, human trafficking, job insecurity created by higher competitiveness for business have been considered as negative factors of globalization in Vietnamese society.
Although there are many economical, environmental shortcoming of globalization, social effects give impact on people the most. Thus, it is easier for the artists to observe globalization in a social content. There are three main social matters of globalization in our society that have been mentioned frequently in contemporary art.
First is the loss in identification of personal trait due to cultural confusion brought by globalization. With easier contact between the countries caused by development of ICT or long distance transpiration caused by globalization, there are less cultural differences between the countries. This can reduce the misunderstanding or lack of communication but it also threatens the cultural diversity of a country. Loss in traditional culture and superiority of western culture is formed by this change  .
It is easy to recognize that traditional life style in Hanoi is changing dramatically, even to an eye of a foreigner like me. Traditional ceremony such as wedding and funeral are becoming simpler and more western, traditional food is changing into western fast-food style since fast food franchisor such as KFC is becoming more common. Even family life style is changing. Previously, a typical Vietnamese family would have three generation; grandparent, parents and children, but now only two generation remains together; parents and their child. This kind of change can often result lost in identification of certain young generation. Young people praise western culture and lifestyle and aim to become more like them yet, they are living in half traditional half westernized culture. This can makes confusion of whom they really are and which culture they should follow.
The second matter is the unsuitability of varied modern global society. While some young people understand and adapt the huge amount of novel culture, there are others who have difficulties comprehending them. These are usually people who do not have access to new technology and information which are necessary to understand modern global life. People with low income and aging generations are an example. This inaptness can make them feel isolated from the rest of the society causing depression and emotional wounds.
This leads to the last issue which is the increase of division in different groups comprised in one society. Old generation won't be able to understand young generation because their culture is just so different. Young generation can access to foreign culture easier than the elders while the elders would keep their traditional culture. They would possibly get different perspective from different culture resulting more gaps and misunderstandings.
The biggest reason why these issues are most concerned within contemporary artists is because they affect the local people straightly and significantly. Consequently the artists who are observing the environment and people around them could easily distinguish them.
Contemporary art in Vietnam
Vietnamese contemporary art is very young since it only started in 1990s. It might be immature and self-centered yet it is unique, innovative and original. This fascinating contemporary art scene in Hanoi was only possible because of freedom that is brought by Doi Moi policy and acceptance of some skills brought by French colony.
French colonize began at the end of nineteenth century, the French introduced the technique of oil painting to Vietnam and in 1925, they established 'Echole des painted' to educate Vietnamese students about the professional painting of traditional French art. Realistic and impressionistic style was adapted during this time. In many years before the revolution Vietnamese painting was mostly represented by dreamy landscapes painted by French style. Nevertheless After the independence from the French in 1945, Vietnam has chosen to become socialist country. The government controlled all branches of art to fit with the politics of the nation. Vietnamese art's only interest was based on revolution, especially in northern areas such as Hanoi. Artist's opinion wasn't a dominant factor in their art. Anything apart from revolution such as Nudes, Still life and abstract images were judged as useless, selfish. Also, it was the act of betraying the socialist ideology. Then, after the acceptance of Doi Moi policy by Vietnamese government in mid-1980s, the art scene in Vietnam completely changed. There was more openness if Vietnamese art and artist had more freedom about the topic of their artwork. They could finally challenge a different perspective with their artwork. Now, Vietnamese artists are getting international success. Due to the globalization many arrivals of the foreign investors, the Vietnamese art market has grown dramatically and also it is easier for many artists to study abroad and learn new perspective of art.
Since Doi Moi there have been two groups of artists who have different ideas about art. One group uses the traditional art element from French colonization time with romanticized images of Vietnam such as monk under banana or lotus leaf, a girl in traditional tunic. The other turned their critical eyes on political or social issue on Vietnam. However, the artists who had strong critical message had earned more international fame.
But the numbers of these artists are very few. Most of the contemporary artists' interest is based on traditional sense of Vietnam. These artists claim that they are representing their soul and spirit of the Vietnamese cultural traditions. These artists might not be welcomed in international art, but they take over most of main stream art.  One similarity which these two groups of artist have is that they are not having easy time in Vietnamese contemporary art world. While Vietnamese artists who are presenting their artwork in mainstream art stay passive because of lack of support, the others have to show their work only in underground art world. Underground art is a form of art which describes the art that is outside or on the fringes of popular culture. It is often unofficial and away from mass media  The reason why this group of artist has shown their work unofficially is because <it often faces incomprehension with its installation, performance, video, multi-media and conceptual art which only began in late 1990s In addition, controversial themes such as political and sexual content weren't well received from officialdom and artists had to struggle hard to find official acceptance. This has limited artist's creativity. Another aspect that brings in both groups of artists complexity is that some of the contemporary arts are just created for commercial purpose. Although, the number of art galleries in Hanoi is quiet big, very few of them have original piece of artwork from. Most of the galleries sell copy of famous artworks. Ms.Ha, the commercial art dealer who used to work for Mai gallery in 2005, has commented that the demand for Vietnamese artwork from foreign buyers has considerably decreased recently. This is because it is hard to justify the originality of the artwork since the numbers of fake artworks are too large. Moreover, after conducting an interview with Pham Ngoc Duong, it was clear that the idea of artists' human right isn't as strong in Vietnam as it is in other countries. In the past, Mr. Duong held an exhibition with numerous Vietnamese artists and some foreign artists from various countries. At the opening of the exhibition, Vietnamese police came in and started to outrage since some of the artworks contained some controversial topics that were banned in Vietnam. While Vietnamese senior artists just laughed and took the situation for a granted, many foreign artists were panic because this kind of phenomenon has never happened in their countries since they have more freedom. He also said he had to exhibit most of his artwork in private galleries because mainstream art galleries don't prefer his work since it often contains very strong message which against Vietnamese communist party's ideology.
Contemporary Vietnamese art has amazing potential. It is necessary to put some effort and protection so that there won't be any obstacle for its growth.
<unknown, copying painting at Le Huong, 'Reproduction <unknown, Painters with his painting, Hanoi, Vietnam,
of famous painting', 83 Ma May, Old quarter, www.fotosearch.com/GLW460/gwt229007/>
Pham Ngoc Duong 790
Pham Ngoc Duong is a famous contemporary artist who has participated in many contemporary art movements in Hanoi. He was born in 1976 in Vietnam; He graduated from the Vietnam University of fine art and lived in Hanoi. Since 1997 his art works have been exhibited with numerous groups. He also has had solo exhibition in many countries such as France, Switzerland, China, Norway, USA, Singapore, Japan as well as Vietnam.
His recent exhibition "People in the City" reflects the negative side of Vietnamese society caused by globalization and other social concerns.
<Pham Ngoc Duong, cold, 2009, Oil on Canvas, Goethe-institute Hanoi, Han>
What I first realized with this artwork is that it has successfully created the atmosphere of real Vietnamese local person living in poverty. It really carried out the sense of Vietnamese person realistically. The main figure of this painting is a mid-age man who is packed into a squared shape of invisible box. It isn't difficult to recognize that he's tired and uncomfortable. His rough face seems to record all the hardship he had to go though in his life. His clothes look shabby and filthy. He is maybe a homeless beggar or a laborer trying to sleep in cold weather. What's for sure is that he is low-class local person who struggles to live every day. The man is shrinking his body, possibly to keep his body warm from cold weather. Overall, the painting conveys painfully restricted and sympathy emotion by using Local Vietnamese man sleeping in a cold as a subject. Color, shape and space plays important role as element of art to create this emotion. The color of this artwork is very gloomy and dull. The Dark color of his face and clothes contrast with white, plain background. The main figure uses both warm and cool color to make them complement to each other. Hence, this constructs an imbalanced and awkward mood. None of the colors that he used is vivid. They are all muddy and dark. Rectangular form of the artwork makes the artwork look unique yet it makes the figure seem restricted and stuffy. The Empty, white space in the background emphasizes on isolated and vague emotion. In general, use of media and art element is very pleasant. The gradation of tone and smoothness built natural and realistic looking result.
After having an interview with the artist, it was easier to have better understanding of the his artworks. Mr. Duong said he was essentially trying to expose through this emotion built-in the artwork is the portrait of people who are living under difficult circumstances and pressure. The pressure caused by rapidly changing society, pressure from a lack of understanding of modern life, pressure from changes in culture, and from a lack of human rights. He explained that while studying art in French, he used to draw the faces of low-class laborers, and when he came back to Vietnam, he carried out the same drawing with Vietnamese laborers. He realized that the French laborers had much softer and comfortable facial features while many Vietnamese laborers are very strong and anxious. Then he started to look at faces of people around him like his mother, his friends and other strangers in the street. He felt the pressure and firmed pain like a slough within people's mind. He said this is because the Vietnamese society forces to keep people inside the shape. Unlike French people who frequently have liver performances, other cultural activities or to console with others to let all the stress and pressures out, Vietnamese people don't often have this opportunity. Therefore they have to live in a box not to harm or scratch other people in the society.
I asked him why he contains such a negative perspective in his artwork he said "If you only want to experience positivity of the life, it is hard when you face the harsh reality. For me, it is very important to laugh and have fun with the reality even it might be cruel". He also said "Although not many Vietnamese public can understand the meaning behind the artwork deeply, sometimes artists try to console their disappointments and pains with their artworks". He also mentioned about his recent exhibition, "With my exhibition, I wanted to portray the inner logic as well as the outer contradictions of Vietnamese society which are hidden behind people's face".
The way he sees the Vietnamese society was easy to understand since it's very close to my perspective. I loved how he transmitted the revolting reality in the humorous innovative manner. The use of material was mature and excellent. The message of the artwork was strong and well presented. Moreover, this artwork taught me a valuable lesson that artists shouldn't concentrate on only on brighter sides of one matter. On the contrary, they should consider reality and conveys problem whether it can be recognized to the public or not. This would make the difference in the world.
< Pham Ngoc Duong, High School Photo Shoot, 2009. Oil on canvas, Goethe-Institute Han>
2. <Pham Ngoc Duong, a boy and a computer, 2009. Oil on canvas, Goethe-Institute Han>
3.< Pham Ngoc Duong, old lady,2009.
Oil on canvas, Goethe-Institute
4.<Pham Ngoc Duong, A girl and the lotus, 2009. Oil on canvas, Goethe-Institute Han>
5.<Pham Ngoc Duong, gangster, 2009.Oil on canvas, Goethe-Institute Han>
Nguyen Thuy Hang 436
Another artist who has shown the portrait of Vietnam in rapid changing society is Nguyen Thuy Hang. She was born in 1978, graduated from the University of Fine Arts of Ho Chi Minh City with a B.A. in 2002. She attended the young artists' arts grant program of 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, at the same time; she studied privately in Minnesota and California in U.S.A. She was born right after the Vietnam-American war. So, her generation has fewer burdens from sorrow and trauma of the war. They are indirectly aware of the players, success, and failure of the war and they have to face the consequences of ended war. She also grew up with the experiences the development of globalization since she was born approximately when the globalization began in Vietnam. Consequently, she had seen and experienced the cost of rapid globalization in her life.
For Many years, she disapproved of participate in art world in Vietnam. She disliked the fact that the Vietnamese publicity cares "Acceptable artist expressions" more than the actual quality of the work. On top of that, inescapable matter of fame and fortune burdened her as well. Thuy Hang comments that she sees the Vietnamese contemporary artistic world as male-dominated. She says "its subtle known fact that we women, work more steadily and constantly than men. Men work in infrequent period; yet, they have more frequent exhibition and better known".
<Nguyen Thuy Hang, That Bunch, 2009. Dead tree, white clothe, bronze, Tadioto>
Thuy Hang often deals with a sense of alienation among modern women of Vietnam, sometimes in surrealistic. Her recent exhibition, 'The Bunch' also includes her unique sensation. Her sculptures consist of wood, metal and white bandage. There are many metal faces without expression attached to branches of tress. The tree is about one meter and fifty centimeter long and fifty centimeter wide. Tree is looking awkwardly separated from the ground and slightly mutated. Its trunk is too short compared to the brunch and its root is balancing unsafely on the floor. The whole tree is rolled by white bandage. Most of its brunches are very short and it has small metal faces attached in the end. Together, the artwork has very horrific and hurtful yet unique and melancholic atmosphere. The art elements which create this mood are form and texture. The form of this artwork is very important since it is 3D sculpture. The curvaceous line of three and mysterious shape of the faces makes the artwork appear more spooky. The fact that it doesn't have any facial expression makes the audience wonder and imagine about them. The texture of metallic face and white bandage applies more emotion to the artwork.
The white bandage in this work is actually used for mourning and the trees are from the branches of actual trees which were destroyed as Vietnam started to be globalized and more developed. The white bandage also contains the artist's hope for a better, easier society. She is purifies the disappointment what she found in the street of Hanoi. All the sculptures in her exhibition were called 'That Bunch'. Thuy Hang used this term to describe people of her post-war generation including herself. It is ironic that this generation tries to describe itself 'That Bunch'
This represents the women who are struggling to define themselves in a society caught in the violence of rapid development caused by globalization.
Thuy Hang's work is mysterious yet very thoughtful. The choice of medium seems very careful, leaving strong impression. It is speaking its opinion clearly while being quiet indirect. In my point of view, this artwork might be trying to console and comfort the hurt, ignored soul of the society. On the whole, the artwork conveys dreadful sensation within the inner issue with alienation that artist has harmoniously.
Other artworks that comments on globalization
New lifestyle by Nguyen Van Ho obviously presents the change in life style and its consequence on the society. The painting shows modernized scene in Vietnam with unique use of oil color similar to impressionists. The painting shows the scene in the bus which shows the reality of modern Vietnamese's' daily life well.
The stressed and empty look upon the man's face contrasts with alien like girl's arrogant and thoughtless face. The artworks stress on the division between citizens due to globalization.
<Nguyen Van Ho. New life style, 2009, Oil on Canvas, Nguyen art gallery >
This artwork by Dinh Thi Tham Poong shows the women in traditional tribal costumes. At first, the artwork could seem like one of the common contemporary Vietnamese artwork resembling beauty of traditional Vietnamese custom. A closer examination will reveal that these women are on both sides of ancient and modern customs. Through this complexity the artist has raised the question about women's identification between tradition and modern.
<Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Life's balance, 2003, Oil on Canvas, cantor gallery >
The last artwork is showing the nude portrait of woman's upper body leading toward KFC's building. The artist is combining typical symbol of globalization with naked women figure which often appears in traditional Vietnamese art.
The background is covered with dark clouds producing uncertain and ambiguous impression. It is very obvious to recognize that the topic in this artwork is globalization. Perhaps the artist is trying to illustrate the uncertainty and confusing sentiment brought by mixture of global and traditional symbol.
<Le Nguyen Manh, party on the beach, Oil on canvas, Nguyen art gallery>
Vietnamese contemporary art at the moment is unstable. With government's strict restriction about the content of the art and lack of support, contemporary artists are having hard time expressing themselves freely. In spite of these difficulties, some contemporary artists are managing to express their ideas about controversial topic which is giving huge impact on Vietnamese society such as globalization. Globalization has cons and pros effects on Vietnam. Nevertheless, negative social impacts of globalization on society are easier to recognize than the economic advantages in contemporary art. It is unsolved question why the artists prefer to reflect their negative point of view on one subject than the positive view. Some artists such as Nguyen Van Ho and Ngoc Pham Duong show their message obviously strongly in their artwork. Their voice towards their topic; globalization is clearly shown in their artwork. On the other hand, most artists prefer to express themselves indirectly. Most artists have shown the portrait of local people affected by rapid changing of globalization. They have done this by in an emotional sentimental way yet humorous way. Each artist has their unique perspective as their artistic style.
I think Vietnamese contemporary art has great potential that hasn't been veiled yet. It is important to give more support and attention because at the moment some artists are having hard time just exhibiting artworks to the public officially. As I write this essay I realized that it isn't just artistic qualities that make great artwork. It need long process of concerning the topic and getting to deeply understand them. I hope to produce and experience more of great artworks isn't just visually pleasant image.


SCARSDALE DIET, grapefruit diet, Beverly Hills diet, Cambridge diet, liquid protein diet, cabbage soup diet and, of course, Atkins diet and South Beach diet: The names change, the formulas alter, but the gimmick diet never goes away. For that reason alone, there is something pleasantly predictable about the regular reports of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, published every five years since 1980. Written under the auspices of the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, the reports are intended to reflect not the latest fad but widely accepted conclusions about nutrition. These then determine the content of school lunches and meals for the elderly and form the basis for the venerable "food pyramid." Historically they have been moderate, ungimmicky and unsurprising.
In recent years, their recommendations have come under challenge from diet gurus, such as the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who have argued that they reflect an unjustified "bias" toward low-fat foods. Nevertheless, the committee's preliminary 2005 conclusions are, once again, moderate, ungimmicky and unsurprising. Americans, the guidelines state, eat too few fruits and vegetables, get too little exercise and eat too much sugar. They should consume a wide variety of foods, choose fats and carbohydrates wisely, use little salt, limit calories -- no "eat as much as you want" suggestions here -- and drink alcohol in moderation. All of that, of course, is advice that could have been proffered in Aristotle's time.
Unfortunately, it is mostly being ignored -- which raises larger questions about the purpose of national guidelines. Indeed, the more important question the committee should examine is why so few Americans listen to what it says. Every year, some 400,000 Americans die from illnesses related to poor diet and lack of exercise -- about 16 percent of annual deaths. Obesity is on the rise; so are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and osteoporosis, all diseases related to diet, all difficult and expensive to deal with.
If officials are serious about changing America's eating habits, publishing scientific reports isn't enough. New ways have to be found to promote nutritional science, whether through school curricula, doctor's offices, public health campaigns, or Medicare and Medicaid literature. They might also look harder at successful experiments such as the USDA's "Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program," which, after providing $6 million worth of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables free to children in 107 schools, concluded that regular availability had -- surprise! -- an enormous impact on children's eating habits. If the government's nutritional scientists are being drowned out by soft-drink advertisements and Internet diet programs, then perhaps it's time to look at new and better ways to make them heard.


Contamination and causality
William Check, PhD
Back to Cover Story
While assays based on nucleic acid amplification have contributed greatly to the diagnosis of microbial pathogens, they need to be handled and interpreted carefully, cautions Dr. Michael Wilson, director of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Services at the Denver Health Medical Center. Two major issues are contamination and causality.
Because these tests greatly amplify any nucleic acid present in the sample, there is a high risk of contamination. Rigorous quality control is necessary. Specialized laboratories are keenly aware of the danger of carryover contamination and run multiple controls with every batch. "Someone who has never worked in a molecular biology laboratory might not be aware of the need for this degree of QC," Dr. Wilson notes. "Any well-run laboratory can probably do commercial amplification assays successfully if they follow the directions," he acknowledges, especially using kits that include safeguards against contamination. "But I do not think just any nonmolecular laboratory can set up an in-house assay adequately."
The high analytic sensitivity of amplification assays also raises the issue of etiology. "Just because you detect DNA doesn’t mean you can always make the jump to causality," Dr. Wilson says. If an assay detects herpes virus nucleic acid, is that replication or simply shedding from a latent infection?
Dr. Wilson advocates "healthy skepticism" toward molecular assays. "Think critically," he urges. "Like any other laboratory test, nucleic acid amplification just gives a result. It doesn’t replace other pertinent laboratory tests, and it doesn’t replace clinical judgment."


A teenager in Marlborough talks to Kat Duggan about being victimised and bullied online.
Not knowing who is behind the computer screen is the hardest part of receiving "hate" mail, a Marlborough teenager says.
One of the comments posted to her online even told her to "go die".
Like much of the bullying that goes on via social media and other websites, the comment was anonymous.
Such an easy attack to make, but so hurtful for the person receiving it, especially if they are already feeling vulnerable.
The counsellor who helped the teenager after the bullying attacks says people who join the online world need to be prepared to take steps to protect themselves from cyberbullying.
Bullying by social media and other forms of online contact has become another aspect of conflict, according to Marlborough Girls' College guidance counsellor Julie Saul.
She deals with cases of cyberbullying almost daily, and says it has become just another dimension of bullying.
"We will never stop people [from] being mean.
"No matter how fantastic you are in your life there will be someone that doesn't like you," Saul says.
Many of the girls she has dealt with have also begun using social media and texting to deal with conflict, which is a normal part of life but it is getting harder to resolve within the school, she says.
"We want to try encourage people to work through their conflict and resolve issues calmly. But there is an added complication of stuff that's happening outside school.
"We're often trying to resolve issues that have been created or made worse by social media."
The problem is that once an issue is made public via social media, people not previously involved feel they have a right to add their 2 cents worth.
"There are sometimes even parents that get involved with a conflict expressed on Facebook, and it's not helpful," she says.
"People are making it their problem when it was nothing to do with them."
Social media sites that have been used to cause particular problems are Facebook, ask.fm and sometimes Twitter, Saul says.
While Facebook is used by the most people, ask.fm - a website where users can ask other users questions - was more difficult to deal with because people had the option to post comments anonymously.
For one 15-year-old Marlborough Girls' student, the anonymity of ask.fm had made the situation harder to deal with than face-to-face bullying, despite moving schools because of personal attacks.
Not knowing who was making the comments was the hardest part of receiving "hate", she says.
On her ask.fm account, "out of nowhere, I got all these comments for no reason, saying you're fat, you're ugly, you're a hippo".
One of the comments even told her to "go die".
"It's quite sad, you would never think that somebody actually wants you to go and die," she says.
"They don't know how much it actually affects your confidence and stuff."
The girl, who the Express has agreed not to name, says she has a feeling about who was posting the comments.
She didn't have a personal issue with the girls, but is friends with somebody who does and believes she was getting the "hate" purely because of their association.
Saul says people need to be prepared to take action to protect themselves in a digital age, where social media is used every day - most of it in a positive way.
"[Social media] can also increase our safety and can increase your feeling of connection.
"But if you're not feeling that good in yourself, do you think ask.fm is a good idea?"
The death of New Zealand TV personality Charlotte Dawson in February highlighted the need for young people to think carefully about their actions online, and where they can go for help, Saul says.
Many of the problems she has dealt with involve young girls affected by low self-esteem. Using social media often opens them up for criticism or nasty comments, she says.
Victims of bullying can talk to friends, parents, teachers, or even the police to get help.
"I'd hate to think that there are people who think that the only way out of being bullied is to kill themselves," she says.
Online users have the option of blocking bullies, or contacting website administrators to report abuse or inappropriate behaviour on the websites.
The Harmful Digital Communications Bill, which is going through the select committee stage before becoming law, may have a small impact on cyberbullies but Saul is not convinced.
The proposed law will make it illegal to send messages and post material online with intent to cause harm, punishable by up to three months in jail or a $2000 fine. The maximum penalty for inciting someone to commit suicide would increase to three years' jail.
Young people are often the instigators of cyberbullying, and Saul says she is sceptical about how anyone under 17 will be prosecuted in court.
"It would make [police] youth aid really busy . . . but I guess some people would be, like, ‘oh, I don't wanna be in trouble with police'," she says.
Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker says the new law will give bullying victims options they didn't have now, and create a framework to define cyberbullying and harmful communication.
Having a legal framework will be helpful when the organisation is trying to explain to young people what they should and should not be doing, particularly when specific punishments are laid out, he says.
About 15 per cent to 25 per cent of students in New Zealand are victims of cyberbullying each year, while about one in 10 adults say they have been subjected to harmful digital communication, Cocker says.
The Marlborough student says being targeted by cyberbullies has opened her eyes to the nasty ways people can use social media and the dangers of strangers being able to look at your online profiles.
She decided to delete her ask.fm account to avoid being targeted again.
"It's your choice if you want to go on ask.fm [but] you've just got to realise that some people are nasty."
- The Marlborough Express
Is the region better served by having multiple events over one weekend or spread out throughout the year?Related story: (See story)


Understanding CFD Simulation Process with Examples
Having already explained the background & evolution of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in the earlier blog Introduction to CFD, let us now try to understand the CFD simulation process with a few examples."CFD is the science of predicting fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical reactions, and related phenomena by solving the mathematical equations which govern these processes using numerical methods"
It provides a qualitative and quantitative prediction of fluid flows by means of :
- Mathematical modeling (partial differential equations)
- Numerical methods (discretization and solution techniques)
- Software tools (solvers, pre- and post-processing utilities)
Simulation Process :
To understand the simulation process and the steps involved in it let us consider an example of a flow through a pipe bend. The figure below gives series of the steps that would be involved in its analysis. For a fluid flow through a pipe bend we have the geometry built up, segregated into smaller fragments/ segments, called a mesh. With this mesh we actually define our probe-points where we want the analysis to be done. We then define the boundary conditions to get a unique solution solving it with a computer. The results obtained gives us a lot of data along these probe points that are then post-processed with visualization tools to analyse the results.
Thus CFD process in overall is a 3 step procedure :
- Pre Processing : This step consist of defining a geometry to define our domain of interest. The domain of interest is then divided into segments, called as mesh generation step and the problem is set-up defining the boundary conditions. Gridgen, CFD-GEOM, or ANSYS Workbench Environment & Modules, ANSYS ICEM CFD, TGrid etc., are some of the popular pre-processing softwares.
- Solver : Once the problem is set-up defining the boundary conditions we solve it with the software on the computer, (can also be done by hand-calculations, but would take long time). We have different popular commercial softwares available for this like Star-CD and Star CCM+ (CD-Adapco), FLUENT and CFX (ANSYS, Inc), GASP (Aerosoft, Inc), CFD++ (Metacomp Technologies) etc. Also there are free to use softwares like OpenFOAM, CFL3D, Typhon, OVERFLOW, Wind-US etc, all with different capabilities. These softwares are capable of solving the equations at every probe-point defined during the mesh generation step and also we can include additional models as required by the physics. The numerical methods are also defined at the this stage and we solve the whole problem.
- Post-processing : Once we get the results as values at our probe points we analyse them by means of color plots, contour plots, appropriate graphical representations & can generate reports. Tecplot 360, EnSight, FieldView, ParaView, ANSYS CFD-Post etc., are some of the popular post processing softwares.
How CFD Works ?
Now let us try to analyze a real life problem, with 2 examples discussed below.
1. Test Case: Fin-Tube Heat Exchanger
Temperature contours2. Water flow over a tube bank
Consider the analysis of a cascade of tubes placed inside a domain across which a fluid (water) is flowing. The objective here is to compute average pressure drop and heat transfer per tube row. So it is a physical system in which we have a complicated setup of several cascade of tubes. To start with, we shall not proceed to solve the real problem but would try to simplify it taking a section for analysis, set-up the problem, first gain confidence over it and then if the computational resources are available and if time permits, proceed to implement on the real problem.
- flow is two-dimensional, laminar, incompressible
- flow approaching tube bank is steady with a known velocity
- body forces due to gravity are negligible
- flow is translationally periodic (i.e. geometry repeats itself)
As can be seen from the discretized geometry above, we have a fine mesh size at near the wall of the tubes and coarser at the other regions, so as to resolve the boundary layer flow at these regions. We have a whole system being modeled as we set up the problem on a software for example, Fluent as in figure below. In the solver we import the mesh, select the appropriate solver methodology, define operating conditions (no-slip, Qw or Tw at walls), initialize and iterate to get a converged solution.